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SOPRANOS STAR James Gandolfini has left the bulk of his estimated $70 million (€54m) estate to his 13-year-old son and infant daughter.
The late actor, who died in Rome late last month, left millions of dollars to his wife and relatives.
The New York Post (reports that a will dated 19 December 2012 was filed on Tuesday in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court.
Gandolfini’s son, Michael, is to get the largest chunk through a trust set aside for him until he turns 21. He’ll split his father’s Italian property with 8-month-old half-sister Liliana when she turns 25.
The newspaper says the remainder of Gandolfini’s estate will be split among his wife, sisters and daughter.
Gandolfini grew up in Westwood, New Jersey. He left $200,000 each to his personal assistant and secretary.
The will is the first and primary filing of his estate; more filings are expected.
Peatlands is the natural carbon sink for the world and one of the most efficient ways the planet has for balancing the atmosphere.
It’s absolute insanity that in 2022 as the world burns and we’re told a climate catastrophe is imminent in the next 30 years that we still have people demanding they burn the last shield the earth has because it’s “nice heat for the fire”. Just unbelievable.
Older rural residents have had 20 years of warnings to prepare for this and clearly ignored them all. This isn’t a time for placating them once again, this is a time for Eamonn Ryan to actually stand by his principles for once although I follow expect he’ll give in and achieve nothing like usual.
@Rochelle: that might all be true….but we are still burning peat in large quantities but it is being imported from abroad…adding to carbon footprint…completely counterintuitive
@Rochelle: what did you expect them to do in them 20 years Rochelle. Maybe they can’t afford to retrofit their house to an A rating so they don’t need turf.
@Rochelle: A supplier selling turf only passed me on my bike I’m in Wexford Town the last time I checked Wexford didn’t have bogs so this turf is harvested on a commercial scale in the midlands or over west then transported to Wexford and driven around various areas. How in the hell is that environmentally friendly in any way. 1 stripping the bog 2 transportation of the turf. Our house here has an open fire and OFCH we never use the fire and OFCH goes on for 2 hours in the evening pre the war in Ukraine €200 of oil did us December to beginning of June. Some houses I’ve gone into are like saunas and I’m not Wim Hoff and like cold but I’m cosy.
@Rochelle: 100% correct.
@Rochelle: I have six hoopers cut that I use to ensure my elderly mother stays warm.
China built 250 coal power stations last year.
Go away with your high horse rambling. The severe climate change is coming from other countries and will continue to get worse!
@aidan mccormack: I can’t afford to retrofit my house, I don’t have turf, if I burn coal it has to be smokeless, yet I’m expected to get on with it and pay the ever rising price for heating and fuel for a stove
@Rochelle: Why are the bog owners not allowed to claim the Carbon credits on these vast carbon sinks. Coming from an environment where my family owns private bogland I find it crazy that we cannot avail of carbon credits yet any offset against our farm as well as the carbon sequestration from our farmland, big multinational companies in Irealnd can small private farmer can’t, our government wants to use our credits to sell to big tech so they can continue to build data centres here and green wash they are net zero.
If there is a God in heaven please please let there be an election
@Dave Barrett: I used to cut turf in the Dublin mountains during the 1970s, when are the people of Dublin going to get their turf?
What real evidence have we that 1300 deaths each year relate to burning turf? How many death certs record ‘turf burning’ as the cause of death? How many deaths are recorded as ‘stuck on a waiting list for 5 years’ for that matter. Pulling figures from their ring has long being a green party fear mongering tactic.
The UK are poised to green light it’s first new coal mine for decades from under the Irish sea. Instead of importing coal from Australia to power its steel industry. Michael Gove has weight up concerns from environmental groups and campaigners before making his decision.
‘Under the proposals the Woodhouse colliery, near Whitehaven in Cumbria, will be the first new deep coal mine since the 1980s and will extract coking coal from beneath the Irish Sea, 85 per cent of which will be exported.’
@leartius: The problem is mainly PM2.5s. PM2.5s are minute soot particles, small enough to enter deep into the lungs, and when in the body they can cause heart disease, brain haemorrhages, strokes, and lung cancer. This article explains why PM2.5s are so toxic:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7327965/
Essentially they cause oxidative stress, this involves the release of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the blood stream which causes the inflammation of blood vesicles, causing them to narrow and stiffen, and blood to thicken, the type of changes associated with heart disease and strokes.
How do we know PM2.5s are so toxic?
Alexeeff et al. averaged the results of 42 previous studies into air pollution (they read 69 studies but decided that 27 were not reliable enough for inclusion). They found a very modest 10 microgram per m2 increase in PM2.5s increased the risk of fatal coronary heart disease by 23%, fatal cerebrovascular disease by 24%, strokes by 13%, and possibly heart attacks by 8%. It is meta-Analyses like this that the EPA uses to estimate the disease burden caused by air pollution.
Is this study trustworthy?
This is a meta-analysis, a systematic review of many (42) previous, peer reviewed, medical studies published between 2005 and 2019. Since a meta-analysis does not rely on only one source of information but many, it is the most reliable forms of scientific evidence:
https://scienceforwork.com/trustworthiness-scientific-evidence/
Alexeeff, S.E., Liao, N.S., Liu, X., Van Den Eeden, S.K. and Sidney, S. 2021. Long‐Term PM2.5 Exposure and Risks of Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke Events: Review and Meta‐Analysis. Journal of the American Heart Association, 10, e016890.
Several studies in Ireland also confirmed the link between air pollution, heart attacks and strokes:
Quintyne, I., Sheridan, A., Kenny, P. and O’Dwyer, M., 2020. Air Quality and Its Association with Cardiovascular and Respiratory Hospital Admissions in Ireland. Ir Med J, 113(6), p.92.
Byrne, C.P., Bennett, K.E., Hickey, A., Kavanagh, P., Broderick, B., O’Mahony, M. and Williams, D.J., 2020. Short-term air pollution as a risk for stroke admission: a time-series analysis. Cerebrovascular Diseases, 49(4), pp.404-411.
I checked the EPA’s air quality website, today’s PM2.5 levels are between 9 and 17 microgram per m2, the Wold Heath Organisation says we need to keep PM2.5s below 25 (over a 24 hour period). These levels can be much higher depending on weather conditions, and levels of traffic and smoke from domestic heating.
@leartius: that jobs been shelved yet again in Cumbria im in the mining game up here ,,won’t see coal outta there in our time im afraid
How is being a millionaire supposedly a bad thing? All it shows is that you’ve succeeded in life.
@Vestigial: you can have succeeded in life and still not be a millionaire as well. Money isn’t a true measure of success overall.
@Vestigial: “hon” the Healy-Rae’s!!
@Vestigial: Many would view succeeding at capitalism as a negative trait. An indication of greed, ruthlessness, lack of empathy etc.
@Vestigial: like charlie haughey?
@Vestigial: the healy-raes have used their positions to grant their privately owned businesses government contracts. It just shows that they’re greedy sleeving bollix’ out for themselves at our expense.
@Vestigial: you have succeed in life within a system that allows such succeed. Same as millionaires in slaves trade succeeded in life within their system. It didn’t mean it was right.
@Vestigial: The is nothing wrong with being a millionaire or being successfull, the problems arise when said millionaires occupy positions of power either elected or unelected and continuously lobby for, dictate and implement measures that will negatively impact the lives of the less well off, but with zero impacts on themselves, while waxing lyrically about how it’s the right thing to do!
The funny thing is that they are never so enthusiastic about measures that will negatively impact them, but not the less well off.
And let’s be clear, the less well off bracket continues to grow, to include not only those at the poorest end of the scale, but also families in which both parents work and can barely make ends meet, while living a mediocre existence, due to the rising costs of everything.
@Liam Edward Harris: How did they grant government contracts to themselves?
@Rochelle: many, no more then likely a few. Very few. And when they reflect on how great their life is compared to those who don’t get to enjoy the benefits of capitalism its even less. Want more, do more.
@Vestigial: Not necessarily, many are born into money.
@Rochelle: or successfully meeting the need for a product/service. Capitalism isn’t perfect but capitalism with checks and balances is the best we have
@Great White Hope: ah but the Irish love a rogue, the cat on the street knew what Charlie was like and they kept on voting for him, same as good auld Bertie!!
The wealth comes from the labour of others. It is in effect unpaid wages or maybe the millionaires work a lot of overtime. Those who profit from the work of others and the need of people for homes are the lowest of the low.
@Bramley Hawthorne: So no one should set up a business for fear they’d get a return, as it would be an exploitation of the employees?
@Bramley Hawthorne: spot on. I’d imagine there were a few worried members of ff/FG/sf when this topic was mentioned. No shortage of wealth in the higher echelons of all three parties.
@Bramley Hawthorne: Socialist drivel.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: it’s socialist nonsense that has never worked and will never work. Which is fitting as in general socialists hate working. I once bought a book and then sold it for a small profit, in socialist logic I should be chastised for stealing the efforts of others.
@Bramley Hawthorne: Anyone who has a job profits from the work of others…
@v39e84kK: Socialists hate working? Just wow
@Diarmuid Hunt: the socialist fantacist never imagines himself as the ditch digger.
@v39e84kK: And that is the only form of work?
@v39e84kK: you do realise Ireland is a socialist country, don’t you? It’s how we have the HSE and social welfare Etc
@Joe_X: social programs don’t make a nation socialist. An attitude than anyone who employs anyone is a awful human would be a socialist talking point, blathering on about oppression and as the man said “The goal of socialism is communism”.
@v39e84kK: Socialism does not inevitably lead to communism or need communism as a goal. An attitude that anyone who uses employment as a way of enriching oneself to the detriment of others would be a socialist talking point not all employers are awful as you say. Stick to saying what you think rather than putting words in the mouths of others.
@Diarmuid Hunt: I was quoting Lenin. In whose mouth did I place words? Where has an economic system of pure socialism not lead to a communist state?
Will German Briquettes be Banned here or dose Ryan even know they Are on Sale here
@pat seery: you see it’s better to transport them hundreds of miles from Germany and Poland than to use Irish bogs. Trust the science, this saves the environment. Somehow….
None of the affected pensioners have forgotten what Labour did to not only womens’ pensions but to many mens’ pensions also – an action which has been perpetuated by all Parties in Dail Eireann. There are many thousands of pensioners who are being forced to live on reduced pensions courtesy of the unjust averaging tool which is being applied to their PRSI contributions.
So here we are again, another 1.50€ increase on gas. Yes, low ball park what is it overall. The here being, it’s gas, what alternative is there that isn’t going to set me about 30/40,000 euro of magic money I have lying around. Rural Ireland, yeah right, fairly great in the city life either, not, organise a protest, I am sick of it now, action is needed, simple as that.
@Dave.: And just to add, even if I did get a heat pump, its eletric power, the electric most likely wholly made up from gas generation.
@Dave.: the idea of the tax is to make it expensive so people don’t use it. But there’s no alternative for many, so literally all they’re doing is gouging. It’s pointless and doesn’t help anything.
@Dave.: Very easy to put up insulation boards inside your house, it’s a DIY job. Do one or two rooms a year so it’s not too much of an upheaval. Couple of hundred for each room. As I said it’s a simple job and very effective for keeping house warm.
You can’t get an old home up to the standard of not requiring a heat source. At least not in the manner you suggest.
@Dave.: Bit of a ramble there Dave. Not sure what any of that means.
The Rural Independents care only about their own little bubble constituencies, while trying to keep as much of the wider world out of them. They are about as far removed from the national interest as possible.
Unfortunately for them and us, this is simply not how reality works. The longer that politicians pretend otherwise, the bigger the hardship down the road.
@Urban Living Dublin: The problem is the Greens are bringing in laws which have no work around in rural areas: eg carbon tax. There is very little alternative to ICE vehicles out in these areas. No EV charging network fit for purpose, no public transport. The carbon tax was meant to get people to make the move from Fossils to Renewables, however that cannot happen in Rural areas due to the reasons I listed above. So all the carbon tax is doing is basically robbing people. Maybe come out rural sometime and see for yourself, maybe you’ll realise the urban areas doesn’t cover every one!
@Urban Living Dublin: funny, that’s exactly what you on a daily basis, regarding people who aren’t urban dwellers.
The ignorance is unbelievable.
@Joe_X: The biggest expense for this country is to retrofit homes, more than half of which have a BER of D or lower.
This retrofit programme, which must be funded by taxes i.e the carbon tax, will have a far bigger positive impact in rural Ireland, which is full of single-standing, often poor quality one-off houses, than in urban Ireland, where generally better insulated terraced houses, apartments and semi-Ds are much more common.
Rural Ireland already receives investment, tax redistribution (e.g. LPT) and carbon budget allocation that is disproportionate to its population size or economic importance. And that is fair, the rural way of life that should be protected.
But the biggest threat to any way of life is IMO a total resistance to any change, and these turf wars illustrate this not only to me, but to many others who live in our cities and towns. The more rural Ireland is resisting change, the more urban Ireland feels it is left carrying the water. You’d only have to look at e.g. the Netherlands to see what the consequences of this will be for rural Ireland.
@Jason Dawson: Whatever about my own beliefs, there is a reason why almost every independent TD is from a rural area. We call it ‘parish politics’ for a reason.
@Urban Living Dublin: all well and good to say that but that was not the purpse of the carbon tax as sold. The purpose of the carbon tax is to get people to change fuel sources which CANNOT currently be done in rural areas due to the usual Green policy of half baked ideas. As to your theory of terraced houses in urban areas being better insulated…..maybe in Dublin if that is your only experience, not in mine though. I live in a terraced block in the west of the country, built in the 60s, no insulation and to my knowledge none of these houses are insulated as once again green policies are not fit for purpose. You have so many hoops to jump through, that you nearly have to prove that you don’t need the grants to qualify for them!
It is not that Rural Ireland is resisting change, but why should rural Ireland be out of pocket due to paying these taxes when no alternative is in place.
@Joe_X: The carbon tax was sold with the purpose to tax the high emitter (emissions correlate quite strongly with income) to help fund the transition to a net-zero society. The benefit, of course, is that this tax will influence behaviour too.
My terraced house in Dublin is pre-1900 with a BER of D2. I would be 100% sure that if it was free-standing and double the size, as many rural houses would be, my energy bill would be significantly higher.
Even still, due to the high cost of energy, I’m looking into minor insulation upgrades (much more than this I cannot afford) and am pleased that the subsidies exist for this.
@Urban Living Dublin: Sorry but that was not how it was sold down here. As I said, it was meant to try convince people change the types of fuel they use, but as with all half baked green party ideas they seem to be based on Urban areas because they do not suit any rural dwellers that I know!
Now I’m glad the subsidies suit whatever upgrades you plan on doing, but remember, based on your own argument, it is the rural sector is paying for it. If you are anything like me, urban based, within a mile, there is a church, 2 shops the pub, offie, bookies. The nearest big shopping centre is about 3 miles away, there is a bus stop every half mile or so. Everything nice and convenient. Now compare it to where I grew up and where my family still lives, the nearest shop and church and pub and petrol station are 6 miles away in the nearest village. The closest bus stop is a mile beyond that on the main road, and quiet frankly, the bus service was more frequent when I growing up and the nearest large shopping centre is about 14 miles away. Rural people need their cars and seeing as the greens put a policy in place without the infrastructure for alternatives being ready, they need to be ICE vehicles. These people have no choice in the matter like you and I have. If I want, right now, I can walk to the local petrol station to get a bag of crisps if I so wished, on a well lit up foot path about a mile or so. My sister needs to walk 6 miles of back roads and the only lights you would have is you flash light! As I said, the carbon tax is just robbing the rural sector. Such a law is inherently unfair and should be repealed until everybody can avail of the same choices regardless of where they live. Once the people in rural areas can avail of the same choices you and I have concerning our energy and transport sources, by all means, bring back the carbon tax, but until then, it should be gone.
If Eamon Ryan wasn’t holding our weak government to ransom this story would not even be happening.
I thought compensation had been paid decades ago. https://www.npws.ie/peatlands-and-turf-cutting/cessation-turf-cutting-compensation-scheme/compensation-scheme-statistics
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