Brad and Angelina buy 850 year old house… subject to being allowed to build their own

[Bikernereid]

Maybe you guys can't get how putting in a race track will ruin a beautiful piece of 850 year old architecture. There are a lot of us who appreciate our ancestry, and environment and historical buidlings just the way they are.

Guess the Yanks are not happy enough with buying up European art they now have to take over our historical buidlings too.

It sounds as if money spoke (metaphorical bribe) in this case. Just hope that the local community and environment don't suffer.

My dream is to buy a small bit of land & have my own little race track too
Sure it'd be wrong if it ruined some historic site, polluted the earth/air/water or broke noise regulations etc. but I'd choose the property based on it's location and suitability for the purpose.
I'll be damned if someone tells me I can't make the 'improvements' I want to my own bit of dirt...
Where does it say they bribed anyone?

[Coldrider]

One would hope that the race tracks of our time are preserved for future generations. It would show a coming of age for sporting leisure compared to the coliseums of the past that reflect cruelty to fellow humans as a sporting amusement.

[madandy]

Maybe you guys can't get how putting in a race track will ruin a beautiful piece of 850 year old architecture. There are a lot of us who appreciate our ancestry, and environment and historical buidlings just the way they are.

Guess the Yanks are not happy enough with buying up European art they now have to take over our historical buidlings too.

It sounds as if money spoke (metaphorical bribe) in this case. Just hope that the local community and environment don't suffer.

If any Nation understands yanks buying up special land for themselves it's us Kiwis!
Its sounds like its the building that's special and not the land. As I stated, provided due consideration is given, and Brad & the fat lipped one invite some uber cool people to share their new track what's the big deal?
I totally agree that this could potentailly ruin a nice garden but one can only hope the local [French] officials have thought about the impact this new addition to the landscape will have.

[chris]

the massive funds they donate to charities

Not forgetting the need to broadcast the fact through most of the world's news agencies too...

[007XX]

Not forgetting the need to broadcast the fact through most of the world's news agencies too...

Two sides to that fence:

a- they are just wanting the attention (a s you imply in your post)...(although I fail to see how they could benefit from that, having already half of the paparazzis' population watching their every movement).

b- or...and this is my take on it: They are wanting to lead by example, bringing attention with their fame to otherwise maybe unknown or uncared for charities.

Why is it that everyone decides to see the darkest in everything? Can't anyone actually do some selfless good on this Earth and people actually acknowledge it for what it is, instead of turning it into some despicable ulterior motive?

Gah...righto.....deep breaths now...woooosaaaaaaaa

[Manxman]

I haven't met them, are they not very nice?

Ba-ling

[Rangi Racer]

I hope I get the big invite for a couple of hot laps. I have my own track too its called the southern motorway.

[Skyryder]

The problem is not what they do with their money but that they believe their money is right.

Milken is the classic example of this.

Skyryder

[Mikkel]

Oh my, sunshine. Just cos it is the way of the world doesn't make it right!!

It doesn't make it wrong either!

I just think that if you get rejected for planning you shouldn't be able to 'bribe' people to get what you want. The environment is prescious and shouldn't be there for rich people just to buy up and destroy just cos they can afford to.

There's a difference between withdrawing an offer and bribing to have it accepted. Morally it is subtle - legally it is huge.

Anyway, more people speaking english in France is by no means a bad thing. If they bring in another mile or two of liberated road even better.

Hell, if I had the money I'd buy a castle and a mountain pass in the alps. Fucking hell I'd have my fun!

The problem is not what they do with their money but that they believe their money is right.

Well, I don't know if they believe that their money gives them any rights.

Consider it this way: You go to buy a house with a nice garden that the owner has put a lot of time and effort into. You say that you're probably going to pave over the lawn because you can't be arsed mowing or so... The seller then gets pissy about you wanting to change stuff. You withdraw the offer - but as you're walking out of the driveway the seller realises that he actually would like to sell the property and says "Ah, fuck it!".

[ManDownUnder]

Why should people get what they want all the time? Is is not thier 'God' given right to have anything and everything just cos they are famous and have laods of dosh.

Interesting - you can take that from both sides of this example. Didn't the authorities get what they wanted too in this case (loads of dosh...)?

If they didn't want the cash, they had no reason to approve it. This sounds like a win win to me. And that's not a bad thing.

[terbang]

Maybe you guys can't get how putting in a race track will ruin a beautiful piece of 850 year old architecture. There are a lot of us who appreciate our ancestry, and environment and historical buidlings just the way they are.

Us Kiwis, like the yanks havent got that many years of our own local ancestry though a lot of our roots came from up north. But we left for may reasons (aussies included) and have sort of lost touch with that side of being human. Like the yanks, we are a bit rootless hence the big OE that most do back to europe. I'm with yer there lady, whatever the means be (money, connections, politics), I believe that we should all have equal priveledge (or denial) if we are planning to build a race track on a historical property. Bribery is for the third world..!

[terbang]

This sounds like a win win to me. And that's not a bad thing.

Not a bad thing for just two parties only, as is the way with financial incentive. But there is perhaps a wider community to consider if this place is indeed of historical value...

[ManDownUnder]

But there is perhaps a wider community to consider...

Totally agreed - and the cash going to the Authorites will (in theory) be used to the benefit of the wider community. That is the authority's raison d'etre.

That said, I'm always amased at how well authorities use their power to hold the community resonsible to themselves, rather than the intended (and exact opposite) situation.

[Finn]

They should pull the old building down and build something more modern. Just to piss off all the crybabies.

Obviously adopting half of Africa wasn't good enough for the KB linch mob.

They could of been turned down but the authorities took the money. The French are good like that.

[fire eyes]

if its not one bit of land, it will be another. Be it France or any other country. Money isn't 'be all end all' but offers more choices! I am not really a Brad & Angelina (film) fan but appreciate thier decisions to adopt and give those kids amazing opportunities they may not have otherwise had. Thats what I call paying it forward.