4.  Not in My Backyard: Residents Block Qaddafi's Tent

An affluent Westchester, N.Y., town issued a stop-work order yesterday after a building inspector found laborers constructing an unauthorized Bedouin-style tent on Donald Trump's 213-acre estate. The tent was to house Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, who had previously applied for—and been denied—permits to set up the tent in New Jersey and Central Park. Qaddafi—whom the New York Post describes as "a cruel and eccentric despot … guarded by female bodyguards"—is in town for the week to attend the U.N. General Assembly, and he arrived at the Libyan Mission yesterday afternoon. It is unclear whether or not Trump was aware that the property would be rented to Mr. Qaddafi. While Trump representatives initially denied that Qaddafi was renting the estate, a spokeswoman later released a statement declaring that "the property was leased on a short-term basis to Middle Eastern partners, who may or may not have a relationship to Mr. Khadafy. We are looking into the matter." As a result of the tent debacle, Qaddafi was resigned to stay at a Manhattan hotel last night.

Read original story in The New York Post | Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009

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