Second-Largest Mall Operator Filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
April 16th, 2009Bargains.
Via: AP:
General Growth Properties Inc., the nation’s second-largest mall operator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Thursday after it failed to persuade a majority of its debt holders to give it more time to refinance billions of dollars in debt racked up during the housing boom.
The news sent the real estate investment trust’s stock down 60 cents, or 57 percent, to 45 cents in electronic premarket trading. Its stock traded last spring as high as $44.23.
The move by the Chicago-based company had been widely anticipated since the fall, when the company warned it might have to seek bankruptcy protection if it didn’t get lenders to rework its debt terms. Efforts to negotiate with its unsecured and secured creditors ultimately fell short late last month.
“While we have worked tirelessly in the past several months to address our maturing debts, the collapse of the credit markets has made it impossible for us to refinance maturing debt outside of Chapter 11,” Chief Executive Adam Metz said in a statement.
Chapter 11 protection typically allows a company to hold off creditors and operate as normal while it develops a financial reorganization plan.
The company had about $29.6 billion in assets and more than $27 billion in liabilities as of Dec. 31, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.
The company noted that some subsidiaries, including its third party management business and joint ventures, were not part of the bankruptcy petition.
General Growth said it intends to reorganize with the aim of cutting its corporate debt and extending the terms of its mortgage maturities. It also said it will continue operating all of its shopping centers during the bankruptcy process.
The company said shoppers at its malls will not be affected by its decision to file for bankruptcy protection.
NSA’s Intercepts Exceed Limits Set by Congress
April 16th, 2009Captain Obvious, is that you?
Via: New York Times:
The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, according to government officials.
Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “over-collection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to be unintentional.
Germany Bans Cultivation of GM Corn
April 15th, 2009Via: Der Spiegel:
Germany has banned the cultivation of GM corn, claiming that MON 810 is dangerous for the environment. But that argument might not stand up in court and Berlin could face fines totalling millions of euros if American multinational Monsanto decides to challenge the prohibition on its seed.
The sowing season may be just around the corner, but this year German farmers will not be planting gentically modified crops: German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner announced Tuesday she was banning the cultivation of GM corn in Germany.
Under the new regulations, the cultivation of MON 810, a GM corn produced by the American biotech giant Monsanto, will be prohibited in Germany, as will the sale of its seed. Aigner told reporters Tuesday she had legitimate reasons to believe that MON 810 posed “a danger to the environment,” a position which she said the Environment Ministry also supported. In taking the step, Aigner is taking advantage of a clause in EU law which allows individual countries to impose such bans.
And the Black World Said: Let There Be Light and PG&E Agreed to Buy Orbit-Generated Electricity from Solaren in 2016
April 14th, 2009Ah yes, large satellites will beam vast amounts of clean energy from the sun to earth, 24/7, base load style.
Let’s try to look past the headlines…
First of all, this idea isn’t quite as old as the hills, but it’s at least several decades old, depending on what you consider to be the origin of it. Issac Asimov wrote about it in 1941:
If solar power from space seems to have a science fiction ring to it, it’s because it does.
The concept was first proposed in 1941 by science fiction author Isaac Asimov in his book “Reason,” about a space station that collects solar energy and beams it to Earth.
“The dots to which our energy beams are directed … are cold and hard and human beings like myself live upon their surfaces – many billions of them … Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from … the Sun,” he wrote, theorizing microwaves for transmission.
So, what’s the story with Solaren, the company that’s allegedly going to supply PG&E with 200 megawatts of electricity from outer space, beginning in 2016?
D&B reports the company’s address as 32 MONTEREY CT MANHATTAN BEACH, CA 90266. Well, I don’t know about you, but all I see are condos near a golf course. Check White Pages and, yes, we’re looking at the CEOs housing complex. Ok, so Gary T. Spirnak, CEO of Solaren, is running this show from home.
With regard to investors, this CleanTech article states:
Solaren says it has a few million dollars in startup funding, but no paying customers, and its web site consists of one page with an animated company logo.
(You must see the website: solarenspace.com.)
According to Green Tech Media:
Calvin Boerman, Solaren’s director of energy services, told Dow Jones Newswires that the company is funded with seed money from Sprinak and other unnamed investors, and is actively seeking more funding.
Just so that we’re all clear on this: A guy called Gary Spirnak, listing his house as his company’s headquarters, has a plan to launch satellites into space to beam energy to the earth, and has attracted millions of dollars in seed money.
What is Gary Spirnak’s background? According to the Green Tech Media story above, Spirnak is, “A former U.S. Air Force spacecraft project engineer and director of advanced digital applications at Boeing Satellite Systems…”
Hold it right there. Gary Spirnak’s previous work dealt with black world military projects. But as director of that crypt at Boeing, he wasn’t just your average wrench turner. He would have been one of the high priests, with knowledge of multiple, absurdly compartmented projects.
Ahhhhhhhhh. Ok, so we don’t just have a guy in his house who managed to convince angel investors to hand over millions of dollars. We have a guy in his house, who has been involved with some of the most sensitive military secrets in existence, who managed to convince angel investors to hand over millions of dollars.
Maybe this is weird. Maybe it isn’t. But you know what it reminds me of? Iridium.
Billions of dollars in private capital were spent to build that thing, and after a spectacular bankruptcy, the CIA basically bought it for pennies on the dollar.
Would this Solaren bird really be used to generate clean power for PG&E. Maybe. Probably. What else might it wind up being used for? Let’s ask DARPA! The following is from Space-Based Solar Power As an Opportunity for Strategic Security, Report to the National Security Space Office, October 10, 2007:
For the DoD specifically, beamed energy from space in quantities greater than 5 MWe has the potential to be a disruptive game changer on the battlefield. SBSP and its enabling wireless power transmission technology could facilitate extremely flexible “energy on demand” for combat units and installations across an entire theater, while significantly reducing dependence on vulnerable over-land fuel deliveries. SBSP could also enable entirely new force structures and capabilities such as ultra long-endurance airborne or terrestrial surveillance or combat systems to include the individual soldier himself.
In short: The various death ray projects would have a viable power source.
Finally, I pulled the patent on the Solaren technology: U.S. Patent 6936760 Space-based power system.
What’s James E. Rogers’ background? He’s the first inventor listed on the patent, but I couldn’t find his name associated with Solaren in any other way.
Let’s be on the lookout for more interesting information on this.
Via: Next100:
As part of PG&E’s commitment to providing more renewable energy to its customers, the utility has supported a wide range of technologies, including wind, geothermal, biomass, wave and tidal, and at least a half dozen types of solar thermal and photovoltaic power.
Now PG&E is extending that approach to tap renewable energy at an entirely new level: solar power in space.
PG&E is seeking approval from state regulators for a power purchase agreement with Solaren Corp., a Southern California company that has contracted to deliver 200 megawatts of clean, renewable power over a 15 year period.
Solaren says it plans to generate the power using solar panels in earth orbit, then convert it to radio frequency energy for transmission to a receiving station in Fresno County. From there, the energy will be converted to electricity and fed into PG&E’s power grid.
Surge in First-Time Delinquent Income Taxpayers
April 14th, 2009Via: Reuters:
As a deep recession strips Americans of their jobs, homes and investments, the 2009 U.S. tax season promises to see a large uptick in first-time delinquent income taxpayers.
“Our calls are up 280 percent,” said Richard Boggs, founder and chief executive of Los Angeles-based Nationwide Tax Relief, a firm that helps delinquent taxpayers resolve tax issues.
“We’ve seen a huge rise in what we call the rookie delinquent taxpayer,” he said. “They are incredibly scared, and they have no idea what’s going to happen to them because, God bless them, they’ve never owed before.”
As the weak economy puts job security and a steady flow of income on a slippery slope, many are wary of the U.S. tax man, tax consultants say.
With household balance sheets under pressure, more U.S. households are having trouble keeping up with their day-to-day bills and struggling to pay their taxes.
“Folks are not paying their taxes because they are spending it on necessary living expenses,” said Kristin Lavieri, an accountant with Weinstein & Anastasio, PC in Hamden, Connecticut.
She added that more of the self-employed, who are required to pay taxes each quarter, are likely to end up with back taxes. “When there is not enough money for general operating expenses, there most definitely isn’t going to be enough for quarterly estimates,” Lavieri said.
Among those not self-employed, many also have to make tough decisions that could carry long-term financial consequences.
Many withdrew funds from 401k and IRA retirement savings accounts before the permitted time, unaware of the punitive taxes and penalties this would generate, said Larry Walker Jr, president of the financial and tax services firm 4-Serenity Inc in Snellville, Georgia.
Withdrawals from a retirement account before reaching the age of 59.5 are considered taxable income and generally incur an additional tax of 10 percent of the amount.
Other taxpayers did not have enough tax withheld from paychecks. As a result, they now owe taxes or will not receive the amount of refund they usually do, Walker said.
China Slows Purchases of U.S. and Other Bonds
April 13th, 2009Via: New York Times:
Reversing its role as the world’s fastest-growing buyer of United States Treasuries and other foreign bonds, the Chinese government actually sold bonds heavily in January and February before resuming purchases in March, according to data released during the weekend by China’s central bank.
China’s foreign reserves grew in the first quarter of this year at the slowest pace in nearly eight years, edging up $7.7 billion, compared with a record increase of $153.9 billion in the same quarter last year.
China has lent vast sums to the United States — roughly two-thirds of the central bank’s $1.95 trillion in foreign reserves are believed to be in American securities. But the Chinese government now finances a dwindling percentage of new American mortgages and government borrowing.
In the last two months, Premier Wen Jiabao and other Chinese officials have expressed growing nervousness about their country’s huge exposure to America’s financial well-being.
How to Get a No-Bid Contract for Russian Choppers
April 13th, 2009Via: Wired:
How did a company best known for its communications gear manage to get a $322 million, no-bid contract to supply the Iraqi military with Russian helicopters? Not even the Pentagon can come up with a convincing explanation.
Yesterday, I spent an hour on the phone with two Defense Department officials who tried to explain to me why ARINC, a Maryland subsidiary of the Carlyle Group, managed to become the United States’ largest broker for Russian military aircraft. They were polite and patient, but the only reason they gave me was that ARINC had some sort of one-of-a-kind, “special relationship” with Russia’s copter-supplier.
E-mails obtained by Danger Room through the Freedom of Information Act tell a very different story, however.
…
The two fine gentlemen on the phone with me yesterday wanted to assure me that everything was a-OK with this deal (and believe me, my heart goes out to them for this thankless task), but they clearly did not understand how the Russian aerospace industry works.
The Russians do not create exclusive agreements with American companies; they sell to whoever comes to them with a contract and the proven ability to pay. The officials involved in this sale should have realized one simple thing: By honoring an “exclusive agreement” rather than seeking multiple quotes, they allowed ARINC and the Russians to dictate the terms, which explains the the sky-high sticker price for the helos.
Israeli Military’s 60-Tonne Robot Bulldozer Force to Double
April 13th, 2009Via: Jerusalem Post:
The IDF Ground Forces Command plans to double the number of unmanned D9 armored bulldozers in the Engineering Corps arsenal after the vehicle provided exceptional results during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in January.
The unmanned version of the D9 bulldozer – called “Black Thunder” – was developed several years ago by the Engineering Corps and was only recently declassified.
“The unmanned D9 performed remarkably during Operation Cast Lead, clearing roads of mines and explosive devices,” explained one officer in the Ground Forces Command. “There was even one vehicle that was damaged, which demonstrates how it did its job since no one was injured.”
The Black Thunder looks like a regular D9 bulldozer but is equipped with a number of cameras that transmit images to the operator, who controls the vehicle with a wireless remote control. The unmanned D9 participated widely in Operation Cast Lead as well as in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
“The unmanned version is important since if there is a concern that an area is loaded with mines it can save lives,” the officer said, adding that in the event of a communications malfunction the vehicle can be turned into a manned vehicle and operated like a regular D9.
Related: Rachel Corrie
For Official Use Only: Department of Homeland Security Document Predicts Violence in Response to New Gun Restrictions
April 13th, 2009Via: Infowars:
(U//FOUO) Many
rightwing extremist groups perceive recent gun control legislation as a threat to their right to bear arms and in response have increased weapons and ammunition stockpiling, as well as renewed participation in paramilitary training exercises. Such activity, combined with a heightened level of extremist paranoia, has the potential to facilitate criminal activity and violence.
“The Obama DOJ is now squarely to the Right of an extremely conservative, pro-executive-power, Bush 43-appointed judge on issues of executive power and due-process-less detentions.”
April 13th, 2009Via: Salon:
It was once the case under the Bush administration that the U.S. would abduct people from around the world, accuse them of being Terrorists, ship them to Guantanamo, and then keep them there for as long as we wanted without offering them any real due process to contest the accusations against them. That due-process-denying framework was legalized by the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Many Democrats — including Barack Obama — claimed they were vehemently opposed to this denial of due process for detainees, and on June 12, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Boumediene v. Bush, ruled that the denial of habeas corpus rights to Guantanamo detainees was unconstitutional and that all Guantanamo detainees have the right to a full hearing in which they can contest the accusations against them.
In the wake of the Boumediene ruling, the U.S. Government wanted to preserve the power to abduct people from around the world and bring them to American prisons without having to provide them any due process. So, instead of bringing them to our Guantanamo prison camp (where, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, they were entitled to habeas hearings), the Bush administration would instead simply send them to our prison camp in Bagram, Afghanistan, and then argue that because they were flown to Bagram rather than Guantanamo, they had no rights of any kind and Boudemiene didn’t apply to them. The Bush DOJ treated the Boumediene ruling, grounded in our most basic constitutional guarantees, as though it was some sort of a silly game — fly your abducted prisoners to Guantanamo and they have constitutional rights, but fly them instead to Bagram and you can disappear them forever with no judicial process. Put another way, you just close Guantanamo, move it to Afghanistan, and — presto — all constitutional obligations disappear.
Back in February, the Obama administration shocked many civil libertarians by filing a brief in federal court that, in two sentences, declared that it embraced the most extremist Bush theory on this issue — the Obama DOJ argued, as The New York Times’s Charlie Savage put it, “that military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their imprisonment there, embracing a key argument of former President Bush’s legal team.”
