Poor Detroit

[Brentos]

http://www.freep.com/article/20090428/B ... 1/90428014

Treasury said no to GM-Delphi deals

This makes no sense, except when you view it as pro-bankruptcy in favour of internationalist vulture capitalism. Its anti-working class, anti american.


The U.S. Treasury blocked moves by General Motors Corp. to increase payments to its former parts subsidiary Delphi Corp., which has been reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since 2005, and to acquire the supplier’s steering business.
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In a regulatory filing that details GM’s restructuring plan, the automaker said that the Obama administration’s automotive task force — which has the authority to reject transaction of more than $100 million — did not approve a deal that would have moved Delphi’s steering business to GM.

The task force also rejected a plan to add another $150 million to GM’s funding to the supplier, which was aimed at keeping the cash-strapped company operating through May.

The rejections have resulted in what is now a shorter timetable for Delphi to resolve its bankruptcy case.

GM, the Treasury, Delphi and its lenders are in negotiations and now face a May 9 deadline to come up with a deal that will resolve Delphi’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Without a deal by then, banks that are financing Delphi’s operations in bankruptcy could call their loans, resulting in the liquidation of the company.

GM warns in its filing that if Delphi can’t emerge from bankruptcy in the near-term, “it may be forced to sell all of its assets.”

If that happens, GM says it would have to foot the bill to find new suppliers and buy back Delphi’s plants to ensure the parts supply is not disrupted.

“If they’re going to run out of money, that could halt production, that could bring General Motors to its knees,” said Birmingham-based restructuring expert Van Conway.

An abrupt shutdown would almost certainly lead to a GM bankruptcy filing, one in which Delphi lenders would have little leverage, Conway said.

Meanwhile, GM sent a signal to Delphi that it would avert an abrupt production halt this summer, if Delphi failed to deliver parts, because 13 of GM’s North American plants would already be on an extended shut down.

Delphi said last week that it has had no supply disruptions in its more than three-year bankruptcy case.

[barracuda]

Cleveland Tourism Video

[chiggerbit]

I suppose I should really start a new thread on the off-topic topic of the old Nike missile bases so that it's all in one place, but for now, I'm putting it here, as Avalon and I had already discussed it on this thread. I'll pull it together in another thread when I have the time. I wonder what it is about the Nike bases, though.

This tidbit caught my eye:

http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/hambone/people1.html

"...[Dr. Louis "Jolly" ]West was to be the administrator of California Governor Ronald Reagan's proposed Violence Center at UCLA. The threat of psychosurgery, along with West's desire to acquire a closed Nike Missle base, derailed the plan.
(Scheflin and Opton, pg 318-20)...."

[gideon]

http://www.youtube.com/v/T6WKMNmFsxM

Have a look at this vid of Detroit, taken by a visitor there, this weekend!

[chiggerbit]

How incredibly, incredibly sad. Thanks for finding that, gideon.

[gideon]

http://www.youtube.com/v/T6WKMNmFsxM

All of you should watch this!!!

Have a look at this vid of Detroit, taken by a visitor there, this weekend!

[chiggerbit]

Greg Palast on GM deal that Alice posted elsewhere--thanks Alice:

ttp://www.gregpalast.com/grand-theft-au ... rupted-gm/

[chiggerbit]

Makes a person wonder:

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/general- ... outh/37012

Urban Dirt Responsible for Chronic Lead Poisoning in US Youth
Posted Aug 23 08 3:20pm


According to a new study, contaminated soil in older cities is found to be responsible for chronic lead poisoning in children in epidemic proportions, affecting hundreds of thousands of children. Study author, Gabriel M. Filippelli, Ph.D., professor of earth sciences and department chair at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis writes,, “Blood Pb (lead) levels above 10 μg/dL are disproportionately found in children living in many USA cities (15–20% in some cities compared to a national average of less than 2%) indicates that not all of the sources have been eliminated.”



He explains the problem further: “The blowing soil and dust young children ingest contains large amount of lead from lead paint and leaded gasoline deposited decades ago, and from industrial contamination. In Indianapolis, we found high levels of soil contamination. Many older urban centers, have lead poisoning rates that are 5 to 10 times the national average."



Chronic lead poisoning is more difficult to treat than is acute lead poisoning, and recovery can take years. Children are especially susceptible to the effects of lead, and it is common for levels for build up over time. Low levels of lead can affect a child’s mental development, and higher levels can produce aggression, irritability, digestive disorders, decreased appetite, and lack of energy, headaches, difficulty sleeping and sleep disturbance. Chelation therapy can be used to remove lead that has been built up over time.(1) Dr. Filippelli suggests the possibility of gong into areas that are covered with dirt, and spraying with high powered showers when moisture levels in the soil are low, to prevent dust from blowing from house to house, something that might be done on a regional basis.



Dr. Filippelli says, "Our review plus the new directions we suggest for remoisturizing soil to prevent blowing of contaminants, confirm that our approach to estimating lead burden and its remediation can be done anywhere in the U.S. where there is a lead concern. The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have focused their attention on indoor contamination as the direct source of lead to children. It is now time to open the door and solve the contaminated soil problem. We hope our study will raise awareness, and ultimately funding, to stop the poisoning of America's children, especially those living in older urban areas.”



(1 ) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 002473.htm



Source: Resuspension of urban soils as a persistent source of lead poisoning in children: A review and new directions



Resource: Chronic Lead Poisoning From Urban Soils

[chiggerbit]

See also Username's thread in the health forum:

http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?t=18423

Lead exposure in children linked to violent crime

[pepsified thinker]

two thoughts and a question--

1) that charter school where I started was near Fort Street & Sheaffer, which meant it was a stones throw from the Ford Rouge plant and what looked like some sort of petro-refinery complex (lots of big spherical tanks, IIRC).

Kids growing up there had a lot of hurdles to jump to have any chance of the 'good life'.

That, I already knew.

Now, reading this, it's like, "Geez! One more darned thing! Enough already!"

(at the same time--the place felt unhealthy, with interstates looping through it, and main traffic arteries, and semi-trucks/diesels of one sort rumbling through--not really a suprise to learn of such)

2) I looked at 'chelation' therapy and saw that it consists of using EDTA, either taken orally or via series of IV injections, because EDTA binds with heavy metals making them less reactive.

EDTA seemed sort of familiar, and looking at wikipedia I see it's widely used, even as a food additive. So I'm wondering if eating junky food would actually help off-set chronic high levels of lead in blood, etc. What levels of EDTA are theraputic and at what levels is it found in food, etc

Thus the
QUESTION--how to clean up urban soil, with re to lead, etc. ? Are there plants which can be grown that would take up the lead, and then could be harvested and the cuttings disposed of, so as to eventually reduce the lead?

Should we spray EDTA all over the place?

[chiggerbit]

I don't have a clue, pepsi, but this sure would pause me in eating even organically-grown veggies in that area without a soil test.

And I seem to remember seeing that there was a munitions plant in Detroit, or Warren?, at one time. Could be lots of DU, etc., around that place, depending on what they made. Ick!

[chiggerbit]

Ok, I see it's called the Detroit Army Tank Plant, but is in Warren, Michigan. Big difference, right?

http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/wells/DU-Main.html

[chiggerbit]

Hmmm, interesting...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... etroit.htm

....In response to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the plant was producing a record five tanks per day....

[beeline]

Yah, I don't think eating anything grown in urban dirt would be such a good idea. In my work, I have seen soil sample studies done by environmental engineering firms from various sites around Philly. the biggest problem is that, on a given lot, there could have been 3 or 4 different types of industry over the centuries. So what once may have been a tannery was then an ironworks then a livery, etc., and is now going to be new housing. Don't trust the dirt. For new construction they are supposed to remediate the soil, in other words dig up 12" of soil and then lay down clean dirt. But I have gardened enough to know roots go deeper than 12". And they didn't outlaw lead paint until what, like 1978? So even if the only structure on a given lot was a home, chances are it was painted with lead at some point, and those paint chips are now in the soil.

In sum, the only urban gardens to be trusted would be grown in above-ground pots with fresh soil, right out of the bag. IMHO.

[chiggerbit]

And they didn't outlaw lead paint until what, like 1978? So even if the only structure on a given lot was a home, chances are it was painted with lead at some point, and those paint chips are now in the soil.

In sum, the only urban gardens to be trusted would be grown in above-ground pots with fresh soil, right out of the bag. IMHO.

Yes, and demolishing those old derelict houses would only add more lead to the soil, I suppose. Between Detroit's organic gardening enterprise and Flint's re-wilding their demolished neighborhoods with forests, I guess I would choose the re-wilding project.