Eh, it may be annoying, but if the pedestrian plaza's expanding, it means that it's thriving, and if it's thriving, it means that Newark's economy is. I mean, it's by checking out the pedestrian-oriented street retail sector that you get the pulse of a city's economic health, let's start with a striking example, Athens in crisis-ridden Greece : article here

Why is that? Well, if the retail street's thriving, it means that shops are opening there, and if shops are opening, it means that 1) expensive commercial real estate is being bought and that 2) the people can buy stuff there.

I feel stupid now. I've spent the first 23 years of my life regularily walking pretty much every day in front of that building, and I knew it was old, but not that old.

.. am I a prime example of the "ignorant American" all Europeans are laughing about?

Eh, it does look grotesque, but I feel that it's somehow appropriate. I mean, it catches one's attention and looks as violent as what it's commemorating.

If I were to choose, I'd let the monument be. Some people don't like it ; tough shit, some people didn't like the Eiffel Tower and wanted it gone as well.

Now, I feel that "catholic church" and "pedo sex abuse" are a little bit like clouds and rain, or like burgers and fries... I'm glad that I've left this shameful institution.

But it's like if every religion had its burden to carry. Catholicism has this, Protestantism has the super rich televangelists and a cult of money in general, Orthodoxy has corruption and political power abuse, Islam has terrorism, Judaism has violent zionism...

I was going to say that Atheism doesn't, but then I remembered about Communist repressions. I'm beginning to think that if there's a God, he isn't the one who created mankind, but that Satan did...