by
United States Marine Field McConnell
Plum City Online - (AbelDanger.net)
February 25, 2016
1. Abel Danger (AD) asserts that shareholders in Serco and insiders of The Trump Organisation used a loan from a cartel of banks led by Citibank to buy 22 Boeing [Shuttle] aircraft and modify them for the decoy, drone and liquidation maneuvers attributed to Osama Bin Laden on 9/11.
2. AD asserts that Serco equipped pay-to-play donors in the Clinton Foundation with the Navy's Onion Router (Tor) so donor hedge funds could trigger a "Double Occurrence" catastrophe (cat) bond claim following the controlled demolition of the WTC Twin Towers on 9/11.
3. AD asserts that Serco shareholder and co-sponsor of the Twin Tower cat bond J.P. Morgan Chase, has given Armstrong Williams – a Black TV Judas – a $60 million “sidecar” loan for the Resilience news injects and media plays needed to make Dr. Ben Carson’s election campaign look like a mail-order scam and ensure no-one with any forensic skills gets to the White House.
United States Marine Field McConnell (http://www.abeldanger.net/2010/01/field-mcconnell-bio.html) offers to show U.S. citizens how to look behind the curtain of Serco shareholded and Judas Black TV.
Ben Carson admits his campaign is at least possibly a scam
Most of the money was paid to the WTC cat-bond leveraged-lease master servicer and Serco shareholder, Wells Fargo.
Obama mastered cat bonds, leveraged leases and currency swaps at BIC in New York in 1984
Copy of SERCO GROUP PLC: List of Subsidiaries AND [Loan Shark] Shareholders!
(Mobile Playback Version)
Serco's National Visa Center
Jane Standley of BBC World - Early Clip at Famous Window
WAG THE DOG - Trailer - (1997) - HQ
FOX 5 WTC 7 collapse foreknowledge?
[Serco's] Defense Ammunition Center
Serco... Would you like to know more?
"Meet Armstrong Williams — the shady grifter who’s running Ben Carson's bizarro campaign TOM BOGGIONI
With each outrageous pronouncement followed by an even more confusing explanation, questions are being asked whether newly-minted GOP presidential front runner Ben Carson is sincerely running for president or using the primary process to market himself and his books — thereby putting money in his pocket.
In a GOP campaign season where wild and unsupported pronouncements by political outsiders have resulted in jumps in the polls over more measured comments by career politicians, Carson's almost daily headline-grabbing comments seemed timed to assist his recently completed book tour to promote his latest offering, "A More Perfect Union."
To explain the quixotic decision to stay out of the early primary states and cash-in on his celebrity by selling books instead, one need only look to Carson's business manager and unofficial campaign manager, political commentator Armstrong Williams.
Williams was a public relations executive who came to Washington and worked as an aide to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas when he was the chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. After a few other stops in the Beltway he fashioned himself into a popular conservative political commentator appearing on television, hosting a radio show and writing a syndicated column.
In 2005, Williams' career as a commentator took a hit when USA Today revealed he had secretly accepted $240,000 from President George W. Bush's administration to promote Bush's signature No Child Left Behind act by mentioning it favorably in his columns and in his media appearances. As a result, Williams was dropped by his syndicator, Tribune Media Services.
Further investigations into William's business practices revealed that the political commentator had previously allowed his syndicated radio show, "The Right Side," to be used by a front group representing the tobacco industry.
Despite these revelations — or maybe because of them — Williams has maintained a very lucrative career (he is the largest black owner of television stations in the U.S.) and he serves as CEO of the Graham Williams Group, an international marketing public relations firm where he represents Carson as his business manager.
With a relationship that goes back over 20 years, Williams has guided Carson's career from neurosurgeon to author of multiple best sellers and the subject of a television movie — helping to launch his political career as a conservative gadfly and potential presidential material.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Williams claims that he does not benefit financially from the Carson presidential campaign — although he is one of the Carson's staunchest defenders and continues to use his syndicated column and appearances to promote the candidate.
Recently, Williams admitted that he helped negotiate Carson's relationship with troubled medical supplement company Mannatech, although in January of this year he told National Review Online : "I don't know that he's ever had a compensated relationship with Mannatech."
As noted by Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine, Carson's campaign has all the trappings of a direct mail business operation; plowing an extraordinarily high rate of donations back into seeking even more donations while building up a potentially lucrative mailing list.
As Chait writes, "Spending most of your money to raise more money is not a good way to get elected president, but it is a good way to build a massive list of supporters that can later be monetized. Perhaps it is a giveaway that the official title for Armstrong Williams, the figure running the Carson 'campaign,' is 'business manager,' as opposed to 'campaign manager.' It does suggests that Carson is engaged in a for-profit venture.""
"ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS MAKES INROADS INTO MEDIA OWNERSHIP BY WILLIAM REED
Posted by curryg | Business and Financial, Commentary | 0 |
BUSINESS EXCHANGE
Armstrong Williams Makes Inroads into Media Ownership By William Reed NNPA Columnist
If you weren't paying attention, veteran conservative commentator Armstrong Williams is becoming a "media mogul" having purchased a trio of TV stations in transactions that were part of a number of larger TV acquisition deals brokered by Sinclair Broadcasting Inc.
Much could be said about how Williams' connection to conservative Republicans enhanced his entrance into the realm of media ownership. Over the years, Williams has become a multi-media manager and now an owner. Williams is a third-generation Republican.
A Williams' company, Howard Stirk Holdings, LLC, announced that it has completed negotiations to acquire TV stations WEYI in Flint, Mich., WWWB in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and WMMP in Charleston, S.C. The name "Howard Stirk" is taken from Williams' mother's maiden name, Howard, and his father’s middle name, Stirk.
Williams deserves recognition for his go-getter mentality. One of 10 children, he was reared on the family's 200-acre tobacco and swine farm in Marion, S.C. Williams displayed an early gift for writing and public speaking. He has extensive experience in television programming. He's also produced weekly television shows that aired on Sinclair Broadcast Group network stations since 1995. From 2002 to 2005 Williams hosted On Point with Armstrong Williams, a monthly prime time television series – a joint venture with Radio One – which aired on the TV One cable network.
The deal shows a lot about being in the right place at the right time. The Stirk Holdings acquisitions were announced simultaneous with Sinclair Broadcast Group's purchase of Barrington Broadcasting. The deal reinforces Sinclair as the nation’s largest independent owner of broadcast TV stations. Currently, Sinclair owns and operates the largest number of local television stations. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md., it owns or operates stations across the country – in nearly 60 primarily small and medium markets, many located in the South and Midwest.
Sinclair CFO David Amy said, the station group will guarantee Williams' loan and become a "service provider" to Williams' stations, presumably through stations Sinclair has or is in the process of acquiring in various markets. The key to the deal is that Sinclair is acquiring stations in markets where it already owns stations, and is therefore, attempting to divest itself of one station in each of those markets to comply with Federal Communication Commission (FCC) ownership rules.
The Smith family of Baltimore is Williams' business and political benefactors. The family retains a majority interest in Sinclair. All four Smith brothers serve as executives or directors. David Smith runs the business with three brothers: Frederick, Robert and J. Duncan. The Smith brothers are major Republican donors.
The deal represents an excellent example of how Blacks of the Republican persuasion can get a "leg up in life." Williams' Republican roots helped him get the deal.
"Sinclair Broadcast Group gave us a break. Without Sinclair it would not have been possible," Williams said. "Many in the industry talk about diversity and expanding opportunity, the Sinclair Group put words into action." David D. Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair, doesn't mince words.
"We're big believers in advocacy journalism, and he fits that mode. He was the first one I called” when the ownership possibility arose.
There's little question the 54-year-old Williams is qualified for the venture. Williams has enjoyed good sponsorship from media’s moguls over the years. He got his start in talk radio from another Republican, Radio One founder Cathy Hughes. Williams said his new acquisitions “were financed by JP Morgan in the amount of $60 million." He has known the president and CEO of Sinclair for more than a decade. "I have known David Smith for 15 years. We met at a White House Correspondents reception."
The Sinclair-Stirk Holdings pact offers promise for other such ventures, and may create new business connections and enterprises between Blacks and Whites. As of 2011, Whites owned 69 percent of 1,348 television stations, while Blacks owned 0.7 percent of all commercial TV stations. Williams may add a Harrisburg, Pa. television station to his collection. All the acquisitions are subject to approval by the FCC and antitrust authorities."
"Even Dr. Ben Carson…Wonders if His Campaign is a Scam?
STEVEN CROWDER
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 25 2016
Look, we've always loved Ben Carson. Check the archives, we've always had nice things to say about him. We even ignored the people who said his campaign was mainly a scam for his SuperPAC to make money.
This clip on the other hand where he admits to it? No bueno…
For months, reporters and political operatives (including me) have been pointing out that Ben Carson's campaign bears many of the hallmarks of a political scam operation. Now Carson seems to agree. On CNN on Tuesday, Carson discussed his year-end staff shake-up:
"Uh, it has helped me tremendously. There's no question about it. Uh, you know, we had people who really didn't seem to understand finances, or maybe they did, maybe (chuckle) maybe they were doing it on purpose. But, uh, obviously things have improved tremendously since that time and the morale is much better. Uh, the espirit de corps, so, yes, it was a tremendous benefit to us."
Carson has taken in incredible amounts of money during the race. His campaign has raised more than any other Republican presidential rival, though they've raised more when super PACs are included. But he's also spent more than any of them, so that despite his prolific fundraising, he has barely $4 million in cash on hand. Reminder: Carson hasn't won a primary. He’s not even come in second. Or third. Dr. Ben Carson, why are you still here?
The field is winnowing, as it always does, after actual votes are cast. Look, I don't blame you if you like Dr. Ben Carson. We'll always have the memories of him taking it to Obama at Obama's prayer breakfast. We'll always have the time he lit up the media about their hypocrisy. But at this point, his staying in the race isn't realistic for an actual shot at the presidency. Which makes one wonder what he’s actually doing in the race. Could it be he's there for strategic reasons? He has suggested being Donald Trump’s VP, after all…
What do you think? Is it time for Dr. Ben Carson to return home? Tweet me at @Courtneyscoffs.
Read more: http://louderwithcrowder.com/even-ben-carson-wonders-if-his-campaign-was-a-scam/#ixzz41CJB0iMG
Follow us: @scrowder on Twitter | stevencrowderofficial on Facebook"
"Catastrophe bonds (also known as cat bonds) are risk-linked securities that transfer a specified set of risks from a sponsor to investors. They were created and first used in the mid-1990s in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew and the Northridge earthquake.
Catastrophe bonds emerged from a need by insurance companies to alleviate some of the risks they would face if a major catastrophe occurred, which would incur damages that they could not cover by the premiums, and returns from investments using the premiums, that they received.[citation needed] An insurance company issues bonds through an investment bank, which are then sold to investors. These bonds are inherently risky, generally BB,[1] and usually have maturities less than 3 years. If no catastrophe occurred, the insurance company would pay a coupon to the investors, who made a healthy return. On the contrary, if a catastrophe did occur, then the principal would be forgiven and the insurance company would use this money to pay their claim-holders. Investors include hedge funds, catastrophe-oriented funds, and asset managers. They are often structured as floating-rate bonds whose principal is lost if specified trigger conditions are met. If triggered the principal is paid to the sponsor. The triggers are linked to major natural catastrophes. Catastrophe bonds are typically used by insurers as an alternative to traditional catastrophe reinsurance.
For example, if an insurer has built up a portfolio of risks by insuring properties in Florida, then it might wish to pass some of this risk on so that it can remain solvent after a large hurricane. It could simply purchase traditional catastrophe reinsurance, which would pass the risk on to reinsurers. Or it could sponsor a cat bond, which would pass the risk on to investors. In consultation with an investment bank, it would create a special purpose entity that would issue the cat bond. Investors would buy the bond, which might pay them a coupon of LIBOR plus a spread, generally (but not always) between 3 and 20%. If no hurricane hit Florida, then the investors would make a healthy return on their investment. But if a hurricane were to hit Florida and trigger the cat bond, then the principal initially contributed by the investors would be transferred to the sponsor to pay its claims to policyholders. The bond would technically be in default and be a loss to investors.[2]
Michael Moriarty, Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department, has been at the forefront of state regulatory efforts to have U.S. regulators encourage the development of insurance securitizations through cat bonds in the United States instead of off-shore, through encouraging two different methods—protected cells and special purpose reinsurance vehicles.[3] In August 2007 Michael Lewis, the author of Liar's Poker and Moneyball, wrote an article about catastrophe bonds that appeared in The New York Times Magazine, entitled "In Nature's Casino."[4]"
"Cantor Fitzgerald's corporate headquarters and New York City office,[7][8]on the 101st–105th floors of One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan(2–6 floors above the impact zone of a hijacked airliner), were destroyed during the September 11, 2001 attacks. At 8:46:46 A.M., six seconds after Cantor's tower was struck by the plane, a Goldman Sachs server issued an alert saying that its trading system had gone offline because it wasn't able to connect with a Cantor server.[9][10][11] Cantor Fitzgerald lost over two-thirds of its workforce, considerably more than any of the other World Trade Center tenants or the New York City Police Department, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, the New York City Fire Department, and the United States Department of Defense."
"Two World Trade Center
SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED AGREEMENT OF LEASE DATED AS OF JULY 16, 2001
THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY AND 2 WORLD TRADE CENTER LLC
PROPERTY: 2 World Trade Center
New York, New York …..
24.8.2 the Lessee (or Transferor) places into escrow, with a Depository mutually acceptable to the Port Authority and the Lessee (or Transferor), an amount equal to the disputed amount to be held in escrow by the Depository until the Security Release Date and thereupon the Depository shall disburse the escrowed amount in accordance with the joint direction of the parties or the direction of the arbitrator as described in Section 24.7.2 above, or, as security on the payment of the disputed amount, delivers to the Port Authority (and maintains or renews in successive one (I) year periods, in a manmer satisfactory to the Port Authority, until no earlier than the date which is thirty (30) days after the Security Release Date) an irrevocable, unconditional letter of credit in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Port Authority in an amount equal to the sum of (a) the disputed amount and (b) interest thereon (at the Prime Rate) for an initial period of one (I) year, payable to the Port Authority and issued by [Serco shareholders] Bank of America, N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Bank of New York/Mellon, HSBC Bank, Citibank, N.A., or any successor in interest to any of the foregoing, or a bank which is a member of the New York Clearing House Association or is a non-member bank reasonably acceptable to the Port Authority, is domiciled in the United States, has an office in New York City at which a letter of credit issued by such bank may be presented for payment, whose most recent issue of long term debt is rated AA or better by Standard & Poor's NY 73085178v4 Corporation (or any successor thereto) or rated Aa2 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (or any successor thereto), or if neither of such Persons nor their Successors is then in the business of rating such debt, a comparable rating from any other rating organization reasonably satisfactory to the Port Authority, and otherwise satisfies the requirements of an Institutional Investor. Any interest earned on funds escrowed by the Lessee or Transferor shall be allocated between the Port Authority and the Lessee or Transferor in the same proportion as the ultimate payment and/or reimbursement (as the case may be) to the Port Authority or the Lessee (or Transferor) of the escrowed amount (but no such interest paid to the Port Authority shall constitute a Transaction Payment)"
"Serco do a bunch more that didn’t even make our story: As well as thanking God for his success, CEO Chris Hyman is a Pentecostal Christian who has released a gospel album in America and fasts every Tuesday. Amazingly, he was also in the World Trade Centre on 9/11, on the 47th floor addressing shareholders [such as Wells Fargo with an insured interest in the leveraged lease on the WTC Twin Towewrs]. Serco run navy patrol boats for the ADF, as well as search and salvage operations through their partnership with P&O which form Defence Maritime Services. Serco run two Australian jails already, Acacia in WA and Borallon in Queensland. They’re one of the biggest companies In the UK for running electronic tagging of offenders under house arrest or parole."
"How Donald Trump Bought – and Lost – an Airline
by Gary Leff on October 7, 2015
Barbara Peterson has an outstanding article on Donald Trump and the Trump Shuttle.
The Eastern Airlines Shuttle concept began with no advance tickets and no check-in even. If you showed up for a flight, you were promised a seat. There was hourly service, more seats than passengers, so this usually wasn’t a problem.
Occasionally though the flights were oversubscribed and the airline made a big show of pulling out another plane for just that one last passenger (or – on the Sunday after Thanksgiving the first year of service – for more than one additional planeload of passengers for the last flight of the night). Trump had paid $365 million for the assets of the Eastern shuttle operation and its 17 planes, which he’d spun as a great deal—negotiated down from the $400 million asking price. But later, as the closing was delayed by Eastern's bankruptcy and other bidders emerged, Trump tried to get Eastern chief Frank Lorenzo to lower the price, since the value of the asset had indeed diminished. Instead Trump ended up taking five additional planes as compensation, which he described as a victory in his book The Art of Survival, published in 1990, when the airline was still flying. "This allowed me to refurbish my fleet without taking any planes out of service," he said.
True, but the shuttle needed only 16 planes to operate a full hourly schedule at its three cities, with one or two jets as spares, and extra aircraft are anathema to an airline—they don’t make money sitting on the ground.
Here's Donald Trump on with David Letterman just after the acquisition:
Trump spent $1 million a plane on refurbishments including:
..thick maroon carpeting, maple-veneer paneling, beige leather seats, and even faux marble sinks and gold-colored fixtures in the lavatories.
"The bathroom was a work of art," joked Nick Santangelo, who ran maintenance and engineering at the shuttle. “They used ideas from the hotel business, which wasn't bad, but they didn't always work." Older jets in particular guzzle fuel and airline executives are obsessed with saving even a few ounces of weight. Not so Trump: "At first they wanted to put in a ceramic sink, that was too heavy," said Santangelo. "Then one of his henchman decided they were going to put brass handles on the doors you use to get out in an emergency. Normal handles weigh a few ounces, and these things probably weighed five pounds each… you’d kill to save one pound, and they wanted to add 20 to 30 pounds to each plane."
Still, the airline lured customers with frills like airport concierges who would book same-day reservations at fancy restaurants; gourmet food and drink and tarted-up departure lounges. "We spent a lot on service," recalls Harteveldt. "Bagels and coffee in the morning; boxed dinners with sliced chateaubriand and salad; the flight attendants hustled to serve everyone meals and then pour two or even three rounds of drinks” in the 45 minutes the plane was in the air.
Trump had only put in $20 million of his own money, and the airline didn't make nearly enough to service its debt. With no buyers, Trump lost the airline and the [Citi cartel of] banks that had financed the Trump Shuttle deal contracted with US Air to run the operation in 1992. US Air only part-owned the operation (they purchased the remainder in 1997), taking a 40% stake and a 10 year management contract.
Ultimately Trump lost much more than his original investment, forfeiting over $100 million he had personally guaranteed.
While there's no more gold fixtures in the lavatories, there is a first class cabin on what’s now a mostly regional jet operation.
In 2003 US Airways added first class to the Shuttle — not because they thought they could sell first class seats, but removing coach seats didn't hurt their ability to carry passengers since the planes rarely went out fully booked. Instead this meant they didn’t even need a dedicate subfleet of aircraft for the operation, and for all intents and purposes the 'Shuttle' became just like any other route.
One interesting thing the Peterson piece reminded me of that I had forgotten was Trump's offer to take over American Airlines just a year into his foray as an airline operator. Trump likely never had financing for his offer, and may have been looking to simply make a trading profit on the American shares he did buy (an amount below the SEC reporting threshold). He ultimately lost money on the offer, though, caught up in the 1989 Friday the 13th stock market mini-crash.
And now of course it's the American Airlines brand (though in some sense America West) that takes over what was once the Trump Shuttle."
Yours sincerely,
Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222
David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation
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