Monthly Archives: October 2015

10/31/15

Forget Vegas, Nevada Is Now About Reno And Lithium

Nevada is booming as new lithium companies rush in to stake out targets and massive business development gets underway, from Tesla to Amazon and Apple. As the state’s southwest corner fills up with new lithium players, Tesla gears up for its battery gigafactory and the world’s largest data center sets up shop, Nevada is poised for one of the greatest economic revival stories of the century.

In an exclusive interview with Oilprice.com, Brian Findlay, President and CEO of Dajin Resources Corp., discusses:

• How Tesla’s gigafactory is sparking a massive resurgence in Nevada
• Why other giant businesses are setting up shop here
• Why Nevada is ground zero for the lithium boom
• Why Reno will be the New Las Vegas
• What it all means for economic development and job creation
• The rush to stake out lithium targets, and the big names that are interested
• The few options left to get in on this game
• Who got there first, and where it’s all going

Oilprice.com: The first thing that used to come to everyone’s mind with any mention of Nevada was Las Vegas and gambling. Today, however, we think of a lithium boom, of Tesla, and of economic recovery. Why is Nevada suddenly on everyone’s radar?

Brian Findlay: Particularly in the energy sector—but not exclusively—Nevada is one of the best places to be right now. The economic recovery that is going on here in Reno, but also statewide, is one of the best success stories of the decade. Not only is Tesla’s battery gigafactory creating an amazing resurgence, but other major factories are moving to the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, which will house Switch, the world’s largest data center, along with some other huge names in the industry, including Amazon and Apple. The real estate market is on the upswing as a result of all of this activity, and this is only the beginning of the revival.

Oilprice.com: Can we get more specific about the impact from Tesla’s gigafactory?

Brian Findlay: First of all, this will be a fantastic market for job-seekers. This $5 billion factory will create some 9,000 jobs-and that’s based on figures from Nevada’s Office of Economic Development. Of those, the gigafactory will employ around 6,500 people directly when it’s up and running. Indirectly, we’re looking at the creation of over 16,000 new jobs. And because of the additional economic development the whole idea of the gigafactory has brought to Nevada, authorities in western Nevada estimate that Wahoe County, encompassing Reno and Sparks, will see 34,000 new jobs by 2019.

Oilprice.com: So on a larger scale, what kind of add-on economic development are we looking at?

Brian Findlay: On a much larger scale, it turns Reno into a significant attraction for other big businesses with expansion ambitions. In terms of economic development, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. Bloomberg estimates Tesla has already $800 million in battery reservations in the very first week of pre-order program, and this summer it tripled its land hold for the factory, adding another 2,000 acres to the 1,000 acres it originally scooped up. In fact, Bloomberg suggests that Tesla’s gigafactory is the biggest thing to happen to Nevada since the silver rush of the 1850s and the gaming boom centered on Las Vegas.

Oilprice.com: Year-on-year, what can we expect from this economic development? Where will this be in two decades?

Brian Findlay: There are all kinds of indicators out there—all of them impressive. One that really sticks out is the prognosis that Tesla’s gigafactory is expected to generate $97 billion economic activity in the Reno area alone over the next 20 years. But there are other immediate indicators that are also impressive, including the fact that Reno/Sparks housing prices are up 19 percent. The trickle-down effect has already been extensive, leading new business to flood into Reno, as I mentioned earlier. The Switch data center covers a massive 6.5 million square feet. When it’s completed, the 400 new permanent jobs it creates along with the 5,000 additional jobs for companies that use the data center’s services will add to the already burgeoning consumer purchasing power. This snowball-effect business development changes the game for Nevada entirely.

Oilprice.com: Ok, so why Nevada specifically? Why is this ground zero for Tesla’s gigafactory and the resulting economic development?

Brian Findlay: For Tesla, it’s all about Nevada because of the state’s lithium resources. It is no coincidence that Nevada is rich in lithium and that Tesla had stated that it wanted to source raw materials locally—not to mention that Nevada is the site of the only producing lithium mine in North America. But even more than this, Nevada is a mining-friendly state. The state’s authorities understand what is at stake here and the economic development prospects, which is why Tesla got a tax break.

Oilprice.com: How much lithium is Nevada sitting on?

Brian Findlay: Nevada’s lithium resources are second only to those in Chile, according to the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Beyond this, Nevada has a rich mining history. Not only is it ranked 1st in mining the U.S., but it’s 3rd in the world. It also accounts for 80 percent of total U.S. silver output. This unique lithium position has turned Nevada into a lithium hub, and companies are now racing to stake out potential targets. In fact, the south western Nevada lithium space has even recently attracted the attention of well-known investor and philanthropist Frank Giustra, who is not only a financier, but also the founder of LionsGate films and friends with Bill Clinton.

Oilprice.com: So we all know that lithium is what you would call an everyday mineral, but we tend to take it for granted. Why lithium? Why is it so important in this context?

Brian Findlay: Lithium is the key ingredient in batteries. It’s the preferred mineral for batteries because it has the highest electric output per unit weight. Supplies are thinning and demand—already attractive—is poised for a major spike. This new demand will be driven by grid storage, the ‘powerwall‘ and electric/hybrid vehicles. Just one of the planned battery gigafactories could need upwards of 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate right from the start—just to put the emerging demand picture into perspective. Beyond this, the demand for electric vehicles is growing based on environmental awareness, price and newfound convenience. Prices are now starting to reflect lithium’s rise, with one of the world’s largest producers, FMC, recently raising the price of lithium hydroxide across the board to $10,750 per ton. While other minerals are floundering in this market, lithium demand and prices remain strong.

Oilprice.com: While not directly related to lithium, do you have any comments on the ‘dieselgate‘ scandal involving VW’s alleged cheating on emissions standards, and how this might affect the electric/hybrid vehicle market?

Brian Findlay: Certainly this is another feather in lithium’s cap and it could indeed further the forward movement towards electric vehicles. Volkswagen will have to undergo a very costly reinvention and all companies are going to have to deal with emissions issues as consumers and lawmakers become more focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing climate change. This is good news for both lithium and the electric car industry.

Oilprice.com: Ok, let’s swing back to Nevada. What shifts have we already seen in the lithium sphere that further indicates where this is all going?

Brian Findlay: There has been a significant spill over effect so far. That the lithium race is on is most poignantly indicated by Albemarle’s acquisition for $6.2 billion of the Rockwood Lithium mine in western Nevada. Rockwood Lithium is North America’s only producing lithium mine, and it’s been in production since 1967. Another recent supply off-take agreement between a relatively small junior mining company and Tesla is also a strong indicator of where this is all going.

Oilprice.com: What does all this movement mean for junior lithium miners in general?

Brian Findlay: Listen, Western Nevada is now a hot bed of activity in the lithium sector, and the lithium-staking rush is moving ahead at full speed. Not only is this having a major impact on the local economy, but it’s making it much easier for smaller companies to raise exploration money. This, in turn, is helping junior companies to flourish into more significant companies, further creating new jobs and further boosting the economy. Joint ventures are happening, and they’re happening quickly.

Oilprice.com: How does Dajin Resources Corp. play into this lithium rush?

Brian Findlay: Dajin is a resource exploration company focused on the exploration and development of energy metal projects with strategically located brine-based lithium targets in Argentina and Nevada. Dajin has two 100 percent-owned projects in Nevada just a short distance from Albemarle’s Rockwood Lithium Mine.

Oilprice.com: Now that the target-staking is on in Nevada, how hard is it to break into lithium?

Brian Findlay: The bigger picture here is that in such a weak commodities market, there are only a few ways to get involved in the lithium space, and Dajin is ahead of many of the new exploration companies because it was one of the first to make inroads into Nevada. Dajin has been quietly acquiring strategic lithium properties and is well underway with its exploration program. At the end of the day, fueled by vision and foresight, Dajin has continued to advance while commodities have tumbled.

Article Source: http://oilprice.com/Interviews/Forget-Vegas-Nevada-Is-Now-About-Reno-And-Lithium.html

By James Stafford of Oilprice.com

10/31/15

The Growing Backlash Against Liberal Media Bias

By: Cliff Kincaid
Accuracy in Media

If you think media bias is bad now, brace yourself.

It’s no secret that students these days are being taught to be biased in the direction of the “progressive” point of view. The trend in journalism “education” is even more pronounced.

For example, Burlington College in the People’s Republic of Vermont offers a degree in “media activism,” symbolized by a clenched fist. The college says, “The degree is conceived explicitly for those who want to become media activists. Through technical training rooted in history and theory, students are encouraged to apply media making technique, craft, and art to issues of advocacy, activism and social change.”

One of the courses toward the media activism degree at Burlington is called “Historical Activism and Social Movements,” in which “Students will examine the social, economic, demographic, and political reasons that drive people into the streets demanding change, and the organizing and media making strategies which make it successful.” The course will “examine the much discussed contemporary movements (Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring, and European Austerity Protests) as well as historical and lesser known examples (Black Power, WWI, abolition, anti-corporate globalization and anti-colonial struggles).”

We found a similar course, “Media Activism and Social Movements,” at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

What is clearly missing is any discussion in these course descriptions of the Tea Party movement of grassroots conservatives as a development of interest or study. Instead, these courses are consumed with the idea that “social change” comes exclusively from the left and moves the country in a “progressive” direction.

The Tea Party movement, however, has been a tremendous force for social change in the United States—against the power of socialism. That’s one reason why so many Tea Party groups were targeted by Obama’s IRS.

As a result, the American Center for Law & Justice is representing dozens of Tea Party, conservative, and pro-life organizations in a federal lawsuit against the IRS.

Tea Party organizers are now running for Congress. Becky Gerritson, President of the Wetumpka Tea Party in Alabama, is a candidate for U.S. Congress in the very conservative 2nd district. She’s trying to take the Republican nomination for Congress away from Rep. Martha Roby, a John Boehner loyalist.

Left-wing activist groups increasingly make up the ranks not only of students but professors. Last year we reported on a feminist professor of communications at the University of Michigan who wrote a column in a socialist newspaper about the academic basis for hating Republicans. Susan J. Douglas had begun the column with the statement, “I hate Republicans” and declared that “marrying a Republican is unimaginable to me…”

When the media disregard basic elements of professional journalism, such as reporting who, what, when, where, why and how, the result can only be desperation on the part of news consumers, eager for alternative sources of news and information.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) tapped into this discontent when he aggressively attacked news media bias at the CNBC Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night. “The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media,” he said, noting the personal attacks on the Republicans. “How about talking about the substantive issues the people care about?”

As we discussed in our recent column, “The Vindication of Reed Irvine,” the Republican presidential candidates who attack the media, or are attacked BY the media, are going up in the polls.

Look for Senator Cruz to benefit from his masterful response to the CNBC “journalists” who moderated the Wednesday night debate.

He summarized the questions they were asking of the candidates this way:

“Are you a comic-book villain?”

“Can you do math?”

“Will you insult two people over here?”

“Why don’t you resign?”

“Why have your numbers fallen?”

Cruz is now asking people to “join me in declaring war on the liberal media agenda and taking back our country to deal with the substantive issues the people care about.”

Public disgust with media bias is one reason why Internet-delivered television systems, such as Roku, are growing in acceptance. Viewers can buy a Roku device for under $100 and bypass cable and satellite systems like CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, and even Fox News. But the real attraction is that independent conservative groups are able to take advantage of the technology and develop a channel, for a relatively inexpensive price, and compete for viewers. Roku is the future of television. It gives people true freedom of choice.

Conservatives also find hope in the growing number of citizen journalists and watchdog organizations engaged in the journalism business.

The Center for Medical Progress, which is releasing the Planned Parenthood videos on the harvesting of baby parts, describes itself as “a group of citizen journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances.” The group has made national news and has sparked the creation of a House select panel within the Energy and Commerce Committee for the purpose of investigating abortion practices.

James O’Keefe of Project Veritas, who almost single-handedly took down the Alinskyite ACORN organization, has recently been exposing questionable, if not illegal, conduct by the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. He wrote the book,Breakthrough: Our Guerilla War to Expose Fraud and Save Democracy.

These are a few of the groups promoting real “social change” that the liberals won’t highlight in their courses on “media activism.”

10/31/15

The Big Loser in Wednesday Night’s GOP Debate: The Media

By: Roger Aronoff
Accuracy in Media

While the media focus on which of the candidates did well, and which didn’t, they overlooked the biggest loser of the night: the media. Whether intended or not, the difference in the questioning of the Democrats in their October 13 CNN debate versus the questioning of the Republicans in their three debates so far proved to be an issue that boiled over in Wednesday night’s debate. The Republican candidates decided to expose the obvious double standard by which the two party’s candidates are questioned, and punch back.

Yet The Washington Post listed winners and losers, without including the media. Same for an article on the CNBC website. But for those of us offended by the media’s kid-glove treatment of Hillary Clinton and the Democrats during their first debate, it was refreshing to see some of the Republicans taking their gloves off when it came to pointing out the media’s obvious bias.

Until the Democratic debate on CNN took place, many viewers still had the idea that the media were neutral players in the presidential race. But there were no questions about the many conflicts of interest between Mrs. Clinton’s actions as secretary of state and her family’s Clinton Foundation, which we have extensively cited. Nor were there questions about her handling, or mishandling, of classified materials on her unsecured, private server which she used for all of her emails during her four years as secretary of state.

Here were a few of the highlights aimed at the media bias against the GOP.

CNBC’s John Harwood asked this sarcastic question of Republican front-runner Donald Trump:

HARWOOD: Mr. Trump, you’ve done very well in this campaign so far by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it. Send 11 million people out of the country. Cut taxes $10 trillion without increasing the deficit. And make Americans better off because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others. Let’s be honest. Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?

Trump was not amused.

Carl Quintanilla aimed a gotcha question at Sen. Ted Cruz:

QUINTANILLA: Senator Cruz. Congressional Republicans, Democrats and the White House are about to strike a compromise that would raise the debt limit, prevent a government shutdown and calm financial markets that fear of — another Washington-created crisis is on the way. Does your opposition to it show that you’re not the kind of problem-solver American voters want?

Cruz responded with perhaps the most applauded line of the evening:

CRUZ: You know, let me say something at the outset. The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media. (APPLAUSE) This is not a cage match. And, you look at the questions — ‘Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain?’ ‘Ben Carson, can you do math?’ ‘John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?’ ‘Marco Rubio, why don’t you resign?’ ‘Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?’

How about talking about the substantive issues the people care about? And Carl — Carl, I’m not finished yet. The contrast with the Democratic debate, where every fawning question from the media was, ‘Which of you is more handsome and wise?’ And let me be clear.

QUINTANILLA: So, this is a question about (inaudible), which you have 30 seconds left to answer, should you choose to do so.

CRUZ: Let me be clear. The men and women on this stage have more ideas, more experience, more common sense than every participant in the Democratic debate. That debate reflected a debate between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. And nobody watching at home believes that any of the moderators had any intention of voting in a Republican primary. The questions that are being asked shouldn’t be trying to get people to tear into each other. It should be, ‘what are your substantive positions…’

Sen. Marco Rubio also took aim at the media:

RUBIO: OK. I know the Democrats have the ultimate Super Pac. It’s called the mainstream media who every single day… and I’ll tell you why. Last week, Hillary Clinton went before a committee. She admitted she had sent e-mails to her family saying, “Hey, this attack at Benghazi was caused by Al Qaida-like elements.” She spent over a week telling the families of those victims and the American people that it was because of a video. And yet the mainstream media is going around saying it was the greatest week in Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

It was the week she got exposed as a liar. It was the week that she got exposed as a liar…But she has her Super Pac helping her out, the American mainstream media.

QUINTANILLA: So when the Sun-Sentinel says Rubio should resign, not rip us off, when they say Floridians sent you to Washington to do a job, when they say you act like you hate your job, do you?

RUBIO: Let me say, I read that editorial today with a great amusement. It’s actually evidence of the bias that exists in the American media today.

QUINTANILLA: Well, do you hate your job?

RUBIO: Let me — let me answer your question on the Sun-Sentinel editorial today. Back in 2004, one of my predecessors to the Senate by the name of Bob Graham, a Democrat, ran for president missing over 30 percent of his votes. I don’t recall them calling for his resignation –

QUINTANILLA: Is that the standard?

RUBIO: Later that year, in 2004, John Kerry ran for president missing close to 60 to 70 percent of his votes. I don’t recall the Sun — in fact, the Sun-Sentinel endorsed him. In 2008, Barack Obama missed 60 or 70 percent of his votes, and the same newspaper endorsed him again. So this is another example of the double standard that exists in this country between the mainstream media and the conservative movement.

Instead of cowering in fear of the media, it appears that a number of the GOP candidates are fighting back, and calling them out. It wasn’t the first time, but it felt like a turning point. It’s about time.

10/31/15

Important message from Trevor Loudon and Judd Saul of the #EnemiesWithin!

By: Trevor Loudon
New Zeal

Trevor Loudon with Director Judd Saul (YouTube screenshot courtesy Judd Saul)

Trevor Loudon with Director Judd Saul (YouTube screenshot courtesy Judd Saul)

A political documentary that will expose key anti-American forces in the highest levels of the US government is nearing completion.

We need your help to film some remaining hard-hitting interviews and to complete final editing.

OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $55,000 by November 29, 2015.

This movie, will expose the insidious and deep influence a radical few have on the lives of Americans.

  • Bernie Sanders says he’s a “democratic socialist”, but is there evidence to prove he’s a hardcore communist?
  • How Marxist is Hillary Clinton?
  • Which US Senator supports a prominent Latin American terrorist group?
  • Which congress member is China’s best friend in the House of Representatives?
  • How many Marxist and Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers serve on the House Intelligence Committee?
  • How many anti-American radicals serve on the Armed Services Committee?

We are going to answer these questions and many more.

The Enemies Within will give you information about leading senators and congress members you have never seen before. It will shock you.

Help Trevor and Judd fund this movie HERE!

Watch Trevor with Director Judd Saul here:

Find the Enemies Within movie on Facebook and check out the website here.

10/30/15

Our Weasel Of the Week!! – 10/30/15

The Watcher’s Council

Yes, once again, It’s time to present this week’s statuette of shame, The Golden Weasel!!

Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week’s nominees were particularly slimy and despicable, but the votes are in and we have our winner… the envelope please…

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/151023112135-hillary-clinton-benghazi-hand-large-169.jpg
Democrat Front Runner Hillary Clinton!

Fausta’s Blog: Hillary, Weasel Queen par excellence. ‘Nuf said.

The Independent Sentinel: How do you beat Hillary – lied her butt off Thursday and did it so well!

Indeed, how could you beat Mrs. Clinton’s performance last week? It does indeed take a special kind of human being to knowingly lie to the entire country and to the grieving families of four dead Americans literally over their coffins. And all just to cover for Barack Obama and get him re-elected.

A number of Mrs. Clinton’s friends and minions in the media referred to her performance as a ‘triumph’ and a ‘win.’ In actuality, the fact that she’s unlikely to face any cost or punishment for her behavior or her illegal server and destruction of documents that were by law all supposed to be turned over when she left office is a major defeat… for the country. It always is, whenever a nation’s standard of justice, integrity and trust in public officials is compromised.

That includes the partisan Democrats on the Benghazi committee as well as the media.When ranking members of an investigating committee set up by congress contemptuously break House rules and openly leak what was supposed to be closed door testimony to the media in order to undermine it, there’s not much more to be said.

Well Mrs. Clinton, enjoy your Weasel. I had the names of Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty engraved on it. Since, as you say, you already live with this every day and lose sleep over it, what difference does it make at this point?

All the perfumes of Araby don’t fix it. Just ask Lady Macbeth.

Selah.

Well, there it is.

Check back next Tuesday to see who next week’s nominees for Weasel of the Week are!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum and remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council and the results are posted on Friday morning.

It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere and you won’t want to miss it… or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.

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