NAPC Threatened for Reporting Public Bids Lilium

49 Pages·2017·13.09 MB·English

trillions
NAPC Threatened for Reporting The Climate Change Report
Public Bids Trump Didn't Want You To See
Lilium: The Air Taxi Becomes
The End of American Supremacy?
Real
China Steers Investment Toward 4 More Potentially Habitable
Belt and Road Projects Planets Discovered Nearby

Vol. 2 Issue 09 September 2017 www.Trillions.biz
In this Issue
05 NAPC Threatened for Reporting Public Bids
08 Lilium: The Air Taxi Becomes Real
10 China's Deepwater Port by Panama Likely to Sink Nicaragua Canal
12 Trump's Plan to Eliminate Red Tape on Infrastructure Projects Not What it Seems
14 Cooperative Governmental Purchasing: What You Need to Know
17 WARNING: Israel Is Killing Americans’ Right to Free Speech
22 The Biggest Thief – Feds to Take Innocent People’s Property Seized by State and Local
Agencies
25 How to Protect Your Assets From Government Thieves
26 Trump Slices Off Funds for Study of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining’s Health Effects
27 Trump Fires His Two Business Advisory Councils Before They Quit
29 US Army Recognizes the End of American Supremacy
34 Important 9/11 Activist Summit on 9/10/17
35 Four More Potentially Habitable Planets Discovered Nearby
36 The Climate-Change Report Trump Did Not Want You to See
39 China Steers Investments Toward Belt and Road Projects
41 Google is Committed to the Suppression of Free Speech
43 Climate Change Puts Asia’s Vital Yields at High Risk
45 Approaching Conflict with Tact and Maturity
48 The Problem with Populism and Why Trillions Takes an Activist Stance
Cover image © by Lilium
Trillions is published monthly by the North America Procurement Council, Inc. PBC
PO Box 40445, Grand Junction, CO 81504 * TEL [phone] * www.NAPC.pro
Copyright © 2017 All Rights Reserved
Trillions September 2017 2
From the Publisher
Two months have passed since our last bi-monthly ISIS has been defeated in large parts of Iraq and Syr-
issue and we are now back on our regular monthly ia thanks to the efforts of Russia, Iraq, Syria, Iran, and
schedule. the Kurds, while Trump has increased the slaughter
of civilians in the Middle East and Afghanistan to
July and August were eventful months with a num- provoke more hatred for America and get more Mus-
ber of important firsts and records. Our world is in- lims to seek revenge.
deed changing rapidly and mostly not for the better.
In July, Trump claimed that he would stop the fund-
While the US and South Korea were staging war games ing and arming of terrorists started under a classi-
to intimidate Kim Jong-un, North Korea launched a fied Obama operation that armed the same terrorist
long-range ballistic missile over Japan into the North groups that the U.S. pretends to be fighting. Accord-
Pacific. The missile could have reached Guam and ing to Newsbud, newly leaked documents show that
carried a nuclear warhead, but didn't. the CIA was indeed arming Islamic terrorists with
chemical weapons.
North Korea is being used by other countries as a
proxy to provoke the United States into a war it can- The international opioid drug crises worsens while
not win and Trump is taking the bait. Afghanistan continues to increase its massive pro-
duction of heroin under American occupation. Opi-
Super-storm Harvey brought South Texas its worst oid overdose is expected to kill more than 50,000
flooding ever with more than 50 inches of rain in Americans this year alone. If Trump wants to reduce
some areas and so far 30 dead—with the number ex- America's drug problem he needs to stop protecting
pected to rise. This is the worst rainfall disaster in Afghan poppy growers and the international heroin
known American history. Yet, vast numbers of Amer- trafficking network. The fields aren't hard to locate
icans refuse to accept that the climate is changing. and surely some of the 11,000+ American troops in
Afghanistan could be assigned to poppy eradication
The Arctic experienced more record high tempera- instead of protecting the fields and drug lords.
tures and ice loss. A Russian natural gas tanker was
able to cross the Arctic Ocean without an icebreaker The NAPC has been threatened by the Oklahoma En-
for the first time ever. ergy Resources Board (OERB) with a lawsuit for re-
porting on their public bid information. The OERB is a
Parts of southern Australia were consistently 10ºC state agency yet managed entirely by the oil and gas
(18ºF) above normal. The Australian winter was like industry. The threat is a gross violation of the Consti-
summer in many regions. tution's First Amendment, which guarantees freedom
of the press and the right to free speech.
Southern and eastern Europe sweltered in tempera-
tures above 40ºC (104ºF) in a heatwave nicknamed The mere existence of the OERB is a big Constitution-
"Lucifer". al and legal issue. Industry is not supposed to con-
trol government agencies, yet the OERB is managed
Trump pardoned career criminal and devout racist entirely by the oil and gas industry and represents its
Joe Arpaio who had been convicted of only one of interests, not the interests of the people.
his many crimes. Arpaio is one of America's most
successful Sheriff criminals and terrorized Maricopa Do we really want to live in a corporate dictatorship
County, Arizona for 24 years. The pardon will embold- where corporations control government and violate
en other racists and increase police brutality. our basic rights? Guess what, it is already happening
and is rapidly getting worse.
Under Trump, the Justice Dept. has already stopped
pursuing most cases of police criminality and bru- C'mon people, wake up and smell the fascism before
tality. Trump is also reinstating the militarization of it is too late to do anything about it.
America's police with surplus military equipment.
Tim Loncarich, Publisher
3 Trillions September 2017
Trillions is the official publication of the North America Procurement Council
(NAPC), a Colorado Public Benefit Corporation whose primary mission is to make
government procurement open-access and transparent in order to provide more
opportunities to more companies, reduce costs to taxpayers, stimulate the North
American economy and reduce corruption.
In 2017 we expect to provide close to 1 million business opportunities to more
than 2.5 million businesses through more than 115 web sites. The estimated
contract value of these business opportunities will be more than $3 trillion.
Ownership of AmericasBiz.net, CanadasBiz.net and each of the state portals has
been given to the people. For a list of portals visit www.napc.pro/portals
In addition to providing free business opportunities and a public procurement
solution, we offer market intelligence, productivity tools, publish news and offer
free classified business ads.
The NAPC is member supported. To explore the many ben-
efits of membership please visit www.NAPC.pro or call us
at 302-450-1923. Together, we can make a difference.
Trillions September 2017 4
NAPC Threatened for Reporting Public Bids
The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) has information publicly posted there on August 24, 2017,
threatened the North America Procurement Council it is an Oklahoma “state agency.” Its priorities stated
with legal action unless the NAPC stops reporting on there are admirable; the website states that “the single
bids from the board. largest budget allocation goes toward environmental
restoration.” It also states that “public and student
In late August, Mr. Thomas P. Goreson, an attorney
education together make up the second greatest
representing the OERB, sent a letter to Tim Loncarich,
expenditure.”
CEO of the NAPC. In his letter, he said, “The OERB
demands that Oklahoma Bid Network cease posting As to the OERB’s funding, it is paid for by (again as
on its website any projects of the OERB” and that it says on its website) “a voluntary one-tenth of one
“in the event your company fails to comply with this percent assessment on the sale of oil and natural gas
demand, the OERB will pursue appropriate legal in Oklahoma, paid for by oil and natural gas producers
action, including damages, injunctive relief, attorney’s and royalty owners.” The website says that “major oil
fees and costs.” companies, large and small independents and royalty
owners all contribute an equal share (one-tenth of one
For those reading this who are concerned that the
percent) to support the OERB in its environmental and
NAPC will stop posting such bids and deny contractors
educational programs.” As with other state agencies,
the right to know about such opportunities, you can be
the funds for this one are collected by the state and
reassured. Mr. Loncarich has notified Mr. Goreson that
then distributed back to the agency for use. As the
the NAPC intends to continue to post bids publicly
OERB notes, “The assessment is remitted to the
advertised by the OERB.
Oklahoma Tax Commission in the same manner as is
As background, according to Wikipedia, “The Oklahoma required by law for the payment of gross production
Energy Resources Board  (abbreviated as  OERB) is tax.” The OERB therefore acts like other state agencies,
an agency of the state of Oklahoma. Funded voluntarily even in this respect, using publicly-funded systems to
by Oklahoma’s  oil  and  natural gas  producers and help collect taxes and distribute them as appropriate
royalty owners." The OERB remediates orphaned and as defined by law.
and abandoned well sites and promotes the oil and
Unlike most government agencies, the OERB is
gas industry. The board was created by the state of
industry running a government agency for its own
Oklahoma as part of the Oklahoma Energy Education
purposes.
and Marketing Act and was signed into law during the
administration of Oklahoma governor David Walters. Its website states that “representation is divided
The wind and solar energy industry are not represented between independent oil and natural gas companies,
by the board and some of the information dispensed major oil and natural gas companies, petroleum
by the board is considered by many to be fossil fuel purchasers and royalty owners.”
industry propaganda.
The OERB’s chairman is Danny Morgan, who is also
As the OERB notes on its website, quoted based on the president of Morgan Well Service Inc. and Digger
5 Trillions September 2017
Oil and Gas Co. The vice-chair is Mike McDonald, co- in our reports on the bid advertisements from the
owner of Triad Energy, Inc. The secretary is Wade Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB), and I had
Hutchings, senior vice-president of exploration and initially agreed to temporarily stop posting bids from
production for Devon Energy. the OERB. After further consideration and consultation
with some of the owners of Oklahomabids.com, it
Because it is a state agency, the OERB must by law was decided to continue to post the OERB’s data. I
publicly advertise its bids. When actually put into should have informed the OERB of our intentions but
practice, this requirement ensures that the state [was unable to for a short time because of illness] and
agency involved will be able to award contracts at the neglected to assign the task to someone else.
best value to the people.
Please be hereby advised that we will continue to
In this, the state of Oklahoma, the OERB state agency
publish information related to the OERB, as is our right
and Oklahomabids.com, on behalf of the NAPC, all
under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,
share a common vision of making the best use of tax and that my previous statement to not publish the data
dollars for projects funded by the state. For the NAPC, is rescinded.
as stated on its website at (napc.pro), “One of our goals
is to provide public and private organizations with Your statement that we have continued to “post
the best possible e-purchasing platform and provide erroneous information concerning OERB projects”
suppliers free and open access to public procurement is false. When one compares our report with the
solicitations in order to streamline the procurement information publicly advertised by the OERB, there is no
process, reduce costs to taxpayers, improve the quality erroneous information. Previous errors were corrected
of suppliers’ services and help stimulate local and shortly after we became aware of them, and measures
national economies.” were taken to ensure that further errors were not made.
We have published a total of 140 reports on OERB going
What the OERB apparently reacted to, according to back to 2006 bids and as far as I know only two had
its letter from Mr. Goreson , the group’s attorney, was errors.
inaccuracies in some of the bid data on Oklahomabids.
com. As he noted in his letter to Mr. Loncarich, Mr. One of the errors we had previously was due to the
Goreson said: “The OERB has contacted your company Oklahoma Press Association republishing an old bid ad
on several occasions advising you about your inaccurate as new, so that error was not entirely our fault.
posting of information on Oklahoma Bid Network.
Your website has posted incorrect bid dates, incorrect The NAPC publishes the procurement solicitations from
most government agencies in the U.S. and Canada and
contact information and incorrect descriptions of the
expects to publish more than 800,000 reports this year.
scope of work for projects. Oklahoma Bid Network has
While we make every effort to only publish correct and
acknowledged its failure to post correct information
complete information, sometimes our data entry staff
relating to bids on the OERB’s projects. However,
do make errors. To help ensure that errors are identified
despite the OERB’s repeated demands that Oklahoma
and corrected we now have a button on our report form
Bid Network no longer post the OERB’s bid information
to notify us of an error or an update needed. Users can
on its website, your company continues to post
also use our contact form or call or fax us.
erroneous information concerning OERB projects.”
If we do publish any information on an OERB project
Mr. Goreson’s statement is simply false.
that is not accurate or needs to be updated, we would
Mr. Loncarich responded to Mr. Goreson’s letter in be more than happy to correct it immediately.
writing to clarify the NAPC’s role and position on this
matter as well as the truth about the errors mentioned Since our parent company was founded in 2001, none
by Mr. Goreson. In that letter, Mr. Loncarich said: of the 279,309 project owners we have published bid
reports on has ever threatened to sue us for publishing
“Please note that the website at Oklahomabids.com is information on their public bids and most value the
owned by the people of Oklahoma. The North America
public service we provide. So, it is rather strange that
Procurement Council, Inc. PBC (NAPC) is a public
the OERB is threatening to sue us.
benefit corporation that merely administers the site on
behalf of the people of Oklahoma. Starting in 2020 we
Because OERB does not seem to advertise its bids
will be seeking an Oklahoma based entity to take on the
widely, our publishing of OERB bids is an important public
administration.
service because it results in more and higher quality
bidders and lower potential cost to OERB. This means
It is true that we had previously made an error or two
that more well sites can be cleaned up more quickly.
Trillions September 2017 6
The benefit certainly outweighs the minor nuisance of is deeply committed to protecting the constitutional
any previous errors in our data. Therefore, the demands freedoms of every American and the integral human
of the OERB that we not publish information about their rights of all people
bids is unreasonable and not in the best interests of the
people of Oklahoma or the OERB. This case clearly demonstrates how the increased
influence of industry over government subverts the
At this point I assume that you are just making an empty U.S. Constitution and turns government against the
threat of litigation on behalf of an uninformed employee people.
of the OERB who is pursuing their own interests. If you
In a democracy, government regulates industry and
are really serious about violating the First Amendment
balances the needs of the people against the needs
and the civil rights of the people of Oklahoma and
of industry. In an oligarchy, powerful industries and
engaging in tortious interference, I strongly recommend
wealthy individuals regulate government for their own
that you first clear it with Attorney General Mike Hunter
self-interests and against the interests of the people.
and Governor Fallin. They may be familiar with the First
Amendment and the rights of the press and want to
The U.S. Constitution is what makes America great and
avoid a potentially damaging counter-suit.
prevented us from experiencing the totalitarianism of
Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and China, but it can
If it is your intention to pursue litigation against us,
only prevail if we continue to defend it.
please let me know so that I can notify our 2.5 million
users and assemble an effective legal team for a If we the people don’t defend our Constitution against
counter-suit. Such a case should be of national interest its enemies, we will end up living in a corporate fascist
and presents timely and important issues worthy of police state with no rights.
public attention. The First Amendment is well founded
For those unfamiliar with the First Amendment:
and there are a vast number of cases to support our
easily defensible position. Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
If it is not your intention to follow through on your exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
threats, then you might want to encourage the OERB to or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably
send us their bid advertisements directly or use our free to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
and easy-to-use e-procurement system that puts them redress of grievances.
in full control of their data and enables them to easily
This means that every American is free to report on
display procurement data from their own website, as
any public bid and anyone who tries to stop them is
they should already be doing.
violating their rights.
The work of the OERB is important and needs to be
The purest form of patriotism is defense of the U.S.
done in an open, effective and transparent manner that
Constitution because it is the foundation of what is
results in the best value to industry and gets more well
great about the country.
sites cleaned up more quickly.
Supporting those who seek to undermine the
Please ensure that all OERB Board members receive a Constitution and our rights is not at all patriotic but is
copy of this letter.” instead subversive, just like communists, anarchists,
fascists and Islamic jihadists are subversives.
On behalf of both the NAPC and the users of Enemies of the Constitution are indeed enemies of
Oklahomabids.com, and for the benefit of the people the people, even if they are corporations or politicians.
of Oklahoma, Mr. Loncarich intends to continue
Many Americans have aligned themselves with
publishing bids issued by the state of Oklahoma and
political movements that are in reality subverting the
its agencies on the Oklahomabids.com website. It will
Constitution while claiming to put America first. You
continue to report on all the bid opportunities it can
simply can’t support America by undermining the
find.
Constitution.
The NAPC has been in discussions with The We the people of the United States need to wake the
Rutherford Institute about the case and they have hell up and realize that we can’t give control of our
offered to provide legal services if further action is government to corporations and still expect to live in
needed. The Rutherford Institute is a nonprofit civil
a free country.
liberties organization based in Charlottesville, VA that
7 Trillions September 2017
Lilium: The Air Taxi Becomes Real
Image by abendstimmung, CC
A small German start-up has figured out how to make This sounds like a dream, but it’s not. At least, it won’t
the air taxi of science fiction a reality. be in the not too distant future.
Imagine getting ready for a business commute that, Introducing the Lilium All-Electric VTOL Jet
in the past, you would have completely dreaded. In a
The company at the center of the idea, Lilium, is the
past that you can barely remember, you would have
brainchild of founder Daniel Wiegand along with Se-
crawled into your car, made sure you had enough gas
bastian Born, Matthias Meiner and Patrick Nathan. All
for the ride (and enough coffee to keep you alert) and
four hail from Germany's Technical University of Mu-
headed out. It might have been bumper-to-bumper all
nich. Together they founded Lilium in 2015 with the
the way, and in rush hour it might have taken hours
goal of completely transforming the concept of short-
to get less than 40 miles from home. You might have
range air travel.
arrived frustrated and exhausted at best.
The aircraft they invented is unique in that it is the first
That was the past. In the near future, what you might
fully-electric vertical takeoff and landing commercial
be able to do instead is take a quick hop to your local
aircraft built for commuter applications. It features
Air Taxi station, via a service called from the modern
36 electric fan engines mounted on its wings via 12
equivalent of that other old technology, the smart-
movable flaps. The flaps go down for takeoff and then
phone, just by pressing a button. You scan yourself
rotate smoothly into a horizontal position for forward
and your boarding receipt for your trip and settle into
movement.
your ultra-modern commuter aircraft. You land at your
destination’s Air Taxi station fast, traveling that same For safety, each engine is shielded as a separate sec-
40 miles – that used to take hours – in less than 15 tion, which protects the passengers in the event that a
minutes.
Trillions September 2017 8
Photo by babyfat0225, CC
single unit fails. The power cells are also designed so Getting the Business Off the Ground
that even if part of the battery configuration fails, there
The idea for the aircraft and the business originated in
will still be sufficient power to bring the aircraft safely
2013 in Glasgow, Scotland. By 2015, a 1:2-scale pro-
back to the ground.
totype was fully operational and tested. Then, in April
The aircraft is currently being designed for top speeds of this year, the first full-scale prototype took to the air
of up to 300 kilometers per hour, with a cruising range over Bavarian skies.
of 300 kilometers as well.
Next on the list is developing a full-capacity version of
At that rate, a flight from Manhattan to New York’s JFK the craft, at the same time as production and opera-
airport would take about five minutes. That compares tional issues are worked out for the product. Based on
to almost an hour of driving. current schedules, the first manned flight of the aircraft
is expected to happen around two years from now.
Being all-electric, the aircraft also means zero emis-
sions to get you on your way, if using green electricity. If all goes well, by 2025, only eight years from now, you
will be able to book your own Lilium jet. In between,
The Business Model
there are, of course, a few details to be worked out,
Even more important than the technology is the busi- such as getting through the mazes of regulatory agen-
ness model for the product. cy approvals both for the product and how it will be
used.
Everything about the Lilium VTOL Jet was designed to
directly compete with ordinary driving, in a cost-com- But for the inventors who are creating the aircraft and
petitive manner. The cost of the air taxi, its mainte- seeing it through, all that should be easily resolved, at
nance, the takeoff and landing locations, the software least in some countries. In other countries the bureau-
app to allow convenient booking at your fingertips, cracy and corruption may keep out such an innovation
the estimated component maintenance costs and for many years or even decades.
lifetimes and the other normal costs of running a
For the rest of us, who are just waiting to take a ride,
business were all considered. The air taxi is expect-
the Lilium VTOL Jet cannot get here fast enough.
ed to provide a premium service at a cost that does
not have to be much more than ground transportation. For more information visit https://lilium.com
Plus, it is much faster and less frustrating.
9 Trillions September 2017
China's Deepwater Port by Panama
Likely to Sink Nicaragua Canal
Science, politics and perhaps a little business may was the second poorest in all the Americas.
have dealt the final death blows to Nicaragua’s
Besides being ambitious, however, the Nicaragua ca-
long-delayed and very expensive alternative to the
nal is also seen as being massively destructive to the
Panama Canal.
environment. Part of why is the wide swath it would
For years, there has been a need either to expand the make across so much of the country. If it proceeded,
Panama Canal to allow more shipping or to find anoth- it would lay waste to major wetlands in and around
er route connecting the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Bluefields itself, damage the coastal Cerro Silva Nat-
Ocean. ural Reserve immediately below it and slice into the
northern parts of the San Miguelito wetlands near the
That other route of choice has been, up until very re-
center of the project. In all, an estimated 400,000 hect-
cently, the ambitious $50 billion transoceanic canal
ares of rain forests and wetlands would be destroyed
in Nicaragua. Planning for the canal has come a long
just in those areas alone. In addition, numerous en-
way, with the proposed route passing from the city
dangered species would be impacted and possibly
of Bluefields on the east, across a large land portion
pushed into extinction, with others being brought into
first, then into Lake Nicaragua itself and eventually to
endangered status.
Rio Brito on the west. In all, when complete, the canal
would total some 278 kilometers in length.
Another big concern is what might happen to the
8,264-square-kilometer Lake Nicaragua right in the
The developer for the project, if it were to continue,
middle of the canal’s path. Freshwater Lake Nicara-
would be the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Develop-
gua, the largest lake in Nicaragua and the 19th largest
ment Investment Company of the Hong Kong-based
in the world, would be sliced in two by the canal, with
HKND Group. It was granted a 50-year lease for the
extensive dredging required to take its average depth
project, plus concessions for the rights to build a rail
of only 15 meters before construction to 27 meters af-
system, oil pipelines, multiple industrial centers along
the way and even airports. The company was also giv- ter. There would also likely be the destruction of mul-
en the right to seize land where needed to do the work tiple critical biological ecosystems from construction
as well as the right to many natural resources that damage, saltwater seepage and various canal-intro-
might be uncovered as part of the canal development. duced sources of pollution.
The lease was also renewable for another 50 years, at
Collateral ecological damage is also expected on ei-
the developer’s request.
ther side of the projected route of the Nicaragua ca-
With the completed canal, Nicaragua would itself be nal. There are the two million hectares of the Bosawas
looking at a major boost in economic growth on multi- Biosphere Reserve located just 240 kilometers north
ple fronts, surging from only 4.5% annually as of 2013 of the canal, a location identified as one of the last
to an estimated 14.6% some two years after comple- places in the world for many valuable species already
tion of the canal. This would mean significant boosts near extinction. Only 110 kilometers south of the canal
in tax revenues and significant job growth in this ex- route is the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, an import-
tremely poor Central American nation that, as of 2014, ant 318,000-hectare tropical dry forest. While the canal
Trillions September 2017 10