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But how does someone BECOME a director in the absence of a stockholder vote?
Why was the company unsuccessful in adding a fifth board member?
Instead of pecking at one another like angry, blind chickens, consider this. Among all this wailing and pessimism, no one seems to have noticed that, for all practical pusposes, no shares of CLYW have been traded in years. Even today, after the LA Fiasco, perhaps 1/4 of one percent of the stock has been traded. The only panic I see is here in this message board. The greater degree of panic-mongering and personal abuse, the more optimistic I become. Only someone delusional would spend weeks or months (or years) banging-away at their keyboards to scream doom, crazed spit flying from their mouths. If there is a rational reason, it's that they want to buy more shares on the cheap. There have been multiple chances in the past to sell shares at a profit. Most didn't. Sometimes the screechfest here is funny, but it's degenerated into juvenile name-calling. Thank you.
So? He must know CLYW has neither the money nor the time to sue him (one notes it takes 3-7 years for a civil suit to get to court). That's not an excuse, mind you. But what I've heard of Dave at this point indicates to me he's lost all perspective and is willing to destroy the company to "get back" at people he believes should have their lives ruined. What I want to know is the process he used to become an independent board member. I am more troubled by an unaccountable management than any delay in finally getting some $$ from the patents.
And not one of the 127 attendees used a cell phone or video camera to record Dave's address? Sounds unlikely.
Well, my Navy reunion was a spectacular success, with some of us even fitting into our uniforms! Great time by all.
My wife watched the webcast and took very good notes. From what I've seen, the company is set upon a path to profitability after filling some pot holes. Money to copy the financials? Looks like it's being done by shareholders (including me) through PayPal. Patent? Paperwork already being filed. Potential deals? Several, including T-Mobile. Venture capitalists? Once we get back on the Pinks. Company knows what has to be done to do this. Shareholders? Noisy, informed, motivated, literate. The mysterious Dave Williams? He can hold a grudge, that's for sure, but one way or another, the company is moving past him. Who he wants to sue is his business, but with the current wait for a civil trial here in MA seven years as an example, good luck to him. He may even find he wants to cooperate with the company. I am hoping to increase my shares (I'm self-employed) -- would like to get it up to an even million. Life is good.
If tomorrow the stock drops sharply, be not despairing. It will bounce back and continue to climb. There are a lot of talented people working for and with CLYW, many/most without being paid. If you can think of a better sign of optimism, let me know.
Yeah, but it tells you how immensely valuable the patent is, doesn't it?
Giving money is one thing. Ensuring that they be used for a specific purpose is almost impossible without a written contract.
Certainly someone in the audience recorded Dave's speech. It should be on YouTube at any time.
To call a forum in LA -- a long trip for most -- and then just pass gas would serve only to further enrage stockholders and piss-off the SEC. Please; explain why they would do this. They themselves own large blocks of stock. The only asset we have is intellectual property. Breaking-up the company would serve no one's interest, with the patents going up for auction by the receiver. This makes sense only if you are paranoid to believe that this is the company's dastardly plan, a pack of mendacities not seen since -- well, since the words "dastardly" and "mendacity" were in common use. This plan would involve a conspiracy to get the patents cheap at auction. Who wants to go there?
LightSquared is a potential patent licensee for CLYW Patents as its plans for a new network fall apart.
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LightSquared: Another Solyndra?
Richard Pollock
There’s a White House scandal involving favoritism towards a specific company high on President Obama’s political agenda — and it’s not Solyndra.
In this case, the company owner happens to be a big Democratic Party donor. And in the pursuit of giving preference to a specific company, the White House undercut a legendary four-star general and potentially undermined U.S. national security. Adding fuel to the explosive story: at one time President Obama was a personal investor, with $50,000 of his own money.
A report by Eli Lake at the Daily Beast charges that the White House pressured U.S. Air Force General William Shelton, commander of the U.S. Space Command, to change his testimony about the $14 billion LightSquared wireless internet project. The Space Command and Gen. Shelton warned that LightSquared could cripple the Pentagon’s Global Positioning System (GPS). Lake writes:
Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked in advance to the company. And the White House asked the general to alter the testimony.
Other commercial industry figures agreed that the new wireless system could interfere with aviation safety, disrupt military and rescue operations, and interfere with high-tech farming equipment and consumer navigation devices.
For years within the telecom industry there have been persistent complaints that LightSquared majority owner Philip Falcone’s political connections with the White House and the Federal Communications Commission have led to political and regulatory favoritism for his company. Falcone is a hedge fund investor who made a fortune shorting subprime debt. He is worth $2.2 billion and has been close to the administration and to Democratic Party officials.
On Thursday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski was slated to testify before the House Armed Services Committee about the political patronage in the granting of fast-track waivers for the company. But Genachowski stood up the committee — he refused to appear. Said Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH):
I consider the chairman’s failure to show up today to be an affront to the House Armed Services Committee.
Turner added he wanted to hear personally why the FCC agreed to a conditional waiver for LightSquared.
Both the Solyndra and LightSquared scandals are part of a larger, emerging narrative about the Obama administration’s decision to pick business winners and losers. Like the solar scandal, LightSquared is part of an Obama industrial policy to reshape America’s business landscape in the Democrats’ own political image. In this case, Obama’s dream was universal wireless broadband for all Americans.
In the Solyndra scandal, the White House pressured the U.S. Department of Energy to provide a half-billion dollar grant to a financially questionable solar energy company in pursuit of the president’s agenda for “green” technology.
In this LightSquared scandal, General William Shelton was asked by the Office of Management and Budget — an arm of the White House — to change his testimony. Even more damaging, OMB shared the general’s testimony with LightSquared.
LightSquared employs an army of eight high-powered lobbying firms, including one headed by former Democratic House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt. In 2011 alone, LightSquared spent $720,000 on lobbyists.
Quoting Rep. Turner, Lake reported:
“There was an attempt to influence the text of the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to bias his testimony,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said in an interview. “The only people who were involved in the process in preparation for the hearing included the Department of Defense, the White House, and the Office Management and Budget.”
iWatch, a project of the Center for Public Integrity, has conducted an exhaustive investigation of LightSquared and its high-level Obama connections. They found that in addition to the president, Donald Gips — Obama’s former personnel chief — had $500,000 invested in LightSquared. Gips raised half a million dollars as a “bundler” for the president’s 2008 campaign, and now has the politically coveted position of U.S. ambassador to South Africa.
iWatch also had harsh words for Obama’s head of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski. Genachowski also was one of Obama’s biggest fundraisers, bundling $500,000 for Obama’s presidential run. Under his chairmanship, the FCC granted special rulings and waivers to allow LightSquared to operate.
Falcone and his company also made major contributions to the FCC while his case was pending before the commission. In September 2010, LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja made a $30,400 contribution to the Democratic Party, the maximum donation allowable by law. Falcone twice gave the maximum allowable.
iWatch traced LightSquared payments to contacts within the administration. On September 22 Ahuja met with James Kohlenberger, Obama’s chief of staff for the White House Office of Science and Technology. A day later Ahuja gave $30,400 to the Democratic National Committee. A week later, on September 30, Falcone and his wife reportedly each gave $30,400 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
“Hi Aneesh!” LightSquared representative Dave Kumar wrote to Aneesh Chopra, the president’s chief technology adviser on Sept. 23, 2010. “I touched base with my client Sanjiv Ahuja and he expressed an interest in meeting with you. … He is going to be in D.C. next week for a fundraising dinner with the president.” The email was one of 300 emails obtained by iWatch.
In two separate rulings, the FCC favorably approved LightSquared requests: on March 26, 2010, and on January 26, 2011. The rulings allowed the company to switch from a satellite company to a wireless system based on 400,000 towers. The tower system could interfere with many GPS signals.
GPS proponents have been dismayed by the quick FCC rulings. “The whole process has been highly unusual,” said Dale Leibach, a spokesman for the industry group Coalition to Save Our GPS . “The FCC typically doesn’t act quickly on matters before them, and they acted with great haste and lightning speed” on LightSquared.
Like solar energy, Obama has pressed for a bold agenda for universal broadband availability. In his 2010 State of the Union address, the president became a big cheerleader for the idea. The president demanded that broadband be given to 98% of the American people. In February 2010, Obama released a bill called the American Jobs Act which called for universal coverage. He told a group of college students: “This isn’t just about faster Internet or being able to find a friend on Facebook. It’s about connecting every corner of America to the digital age.”
The president wasn’t only intellectually involved. Investment manager George W. Haywood steered Obama toward putting some of his personal money into the wireless company. Obama bought into it with a $50,000 investment, according to his 2005 Senate financial disclosure form.
Haywood has remained close personal friends with the president. Haywood and his wife attended the first White House state diner and a Super Bowl party at the White House in 2009.
In February 20, 2001 Haywood and Genachowski together met at the White House. A White House spokesman said the two men watched the NBA All-Star Game with Obama in the White House residence quarters. “That was a poker game,” said Haywood. “It was poker, pizza, beer and the … game.”
Obama explained during the 2007 campaign how he invested in the wireless company. “After I got my ($1.9 million) book contract, I had money to invest,” he said, referring to his second book, The Audacity of Hope. He said he wanted “a more aggressive strategy than the normal mutual funds.”
“I thought about going to Warren Buffett and I decided it would be embarrassing with only $100,000 to invest to ask his advice,” Obama told reporters. Instead, Haywood recommended a UBS stockbroker, who bought more than $50,000 in stock in SkyTerra Communications, which would become LightSquared.
For quite some time Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been trying to get the FCC to disclose information about LightSquared’s investors and their relationship to the White House. His office says they have had no success. Grassley asked:
Are there ties between the investors and the administration that might lead to the perception that the administration is biased toward approval? … In the absence of transparency, the perception might be that the FCC is rushing the public’s business to help a friend in need, regardless of the consequences for the public and the economy.
Thirty-four senators, including eight Democrats, wrote Genachowski in May of this year asking the commission to rescind LightSquared’s waiver. “GPS is integral to the functioning of our economy, and is essential for public safety.” Until the company can prove that its wireless system does not affect GPS use, “we request the Commission rescind LightSquared’s waiver.”
On May 31, Genachowski said he would not permit LightSquared to go into commercial service, but he did not rescind the waiver.
On June 23, the House Appropriations Committee passed a resolution to halt FCC expenditures on the LightSquared project until there are assurances it won’t disrupt GPS signals.
The LightSquared case has been quietly simmering in the background for years within the telecom community. But now with possible tampering of a four-star general’s testimony, the episode should get a greater public airing.
If so, in addition to a sinking economy the other narrative that might emerge is that the Obama administration — which promised openness and integrity in governance — is an administration full of insider dealings, political favors, and deceit.
>> one also notes that without a friday press release, the forum will just be hot air propaganda
I don't understand your reasoning. Why have another PR before the meeting occurs?
One notes the day traders and short-timers are doing another number on the pps for pennies after a small run-up preceding the forum.
I expect a lot of concerned/angry stockholders to show up and ask the Board a lot of troubling questions. How the BOD reacts will be just as important as the fact that the forum happens.
The 8K is a legal document. The BOD announced the settlement and its key elements. Again, if Daic were to welch on signing the agreement, the court would be very, very unhappy with him. Not the status someone would seek as they go back on the trial schedule in the same district court. Be more optimistic, people. Another poster noted that we have until 24 October for Daic to sign the agreement. That's another six weeks. Ask about it at the forum. I'll toast you from my Navy reunion.
The settlement announcement was 19 business days ago. I have no idea how long such details as patent reassignment and paper settlement of a case take. We know what Daic is, but he has not shown himself to be stupid. CLYW had a gripe with and case against Daic. That was us vs. him and all his money and shady associates. But if he fails to go through with a settlement as agreed to and ordered by the court, he would be in an entirely different world of fecal matter. I do not think his welching on the deal is in the cards.
Give the BOD some credit. They have scheduled a meeting with shareholders who are somewhere between disappointed and psychotic over what has happened to the company in past years. They could as easily have issued another PR regarding company status and future plans. While I don't know at the moment whom to trust, I see the forum as a very positive step.
Regarding number of shares owned, we must make it very clear to the board and other stockholders we do NOT want more shares issued now so as to dilute our investments.
At some point, a director holding the company hostage to his/her ego becomes destructive. It is then time to move past that person in the interest of the shareholders. The "Turini vs. Director 'B'" statements on the Facebook page show just how impossible the BOD had become, with utterly different beliefs in what was happening to the company. "Gekkos" like Daic will always be with us. Letting them hold a company hostage is simply irresponsible and arguably reason to be removed from management. IIRC, Dave Williams has 3.1M shares, or, less than 2% of the stock.
I believe the SEC statement delisting CLYW mentioned unreliable financials.
Don't overlook the day traders. They are especially troublesome with a stock on the grays and people on message boards claiming that company officers are axe murderers who are off their meds. That aside, a steady rise in pps days before what may be an historic meeting with the board is an optimistic sign.
LOL! I shouldn't be laughing, because I fly for a living. But back in 2010, when Obama ordered the US Coast Guard to close-down its LORAN-C network (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LORAN) for an estimated savings of $35M/year for the next four years, many (including me) sounded the alarm on relying just on GPS for fixing information. I was a "consumer" of LORAN for 20 years as a naval aircraft navigator. We were laughed at and told to shut up.
So now the entire GPS grid may be rendered unusable with no other system upon which to fall back. My personal opinion is that LightSquared will be given approval and the GPS network will be rendered largely useless. I have no idea what will follow GPS. I would not be buying stocks in any airline or GPS company.
Need For More Testing Debated In GPS-LightSquared WiFi Fight
Sep 13, 2011
By Graham Warwick
LightSquared has proposed additional changes to its planned broadband wireless network to mitigate interference with GPS, but pressure is growing for further testing before a decision is made on whether to approve deployment of the revised system.
LightSquared believes sufficient testing has been conducted to show most GPS receivers will not be overloaded by transmissions from its revised terrestrial network, but government witnesses at a congressional hearing Sept. 8 said tests already performed were not enough to ensure GPS would not still be compromised.
In the latest of several modifications made since government-mandated tests showed its base-station transmitters as originally proposed would interfere catastrophically with GPS, LightSquared says it will further reduce the power reaching the ground to mitigate interference with the most sensitive high-precision receivers used in agriculture, construction and scientific research.
Based on testing mandated by the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC), LightSquared has proposed using only the lower of its two 10-MHz frequency bands, the one furthest from the GPS signal. It will also operate at lower power and pay for the development of filters for high-precision receivers.
Referring to the technical working group that conducted the testing, LightSquared Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle told the House Science, Space and Technology committee that “every subgroup [performed testing] in the lower 10 [MHz]” and found interference only with high-precision receivers and not aviation and other GPS systems.
But Anthony Russo, director of the national coordination office for space-based positioning, navigation and timing, told the committee that government testing did not evaluate LightSquared’s proposed solution. The test groups recommended further testing in the lower 10-MHz configuration, he said.
“If there is a specific plan for additional federal testing, we have yet to hear it,” Carlisle said, although he noted the Defense Department is to test “certain classified receivers against the lower 10 that were not tested earlier.”
Carlisle argued that the testing already conducted showed there is no interference issue from transmissions in the lower 10-MHz band for the 400 million personal, vehicle and aviation GPS receivers in use today. Only an estimated 500,000-750,000 high-precision receivers would need to be replaced or retrofitted with filters, he argued.
Noting that LightSquared’s transmissions would be 5 billion times more powerful than GPS signals at ground level, Russo countered, “Our technical experts are split over whether it is feasible to develop a filter that is strong enough to knock out the [LightSquared] signal and still do the mission.”
The GPS industry continues to push for LightSquared’s high-power terrestrial network to be moved from spectrum reserved for low-power satellite signals to another frequency band. “The problem is where is it? It’s already taken by someone else,” Carlisle said.
Navy reunion locally on the 17th celebrating 100 years of US naval aviation. After I've dried-out (Wednesday, maybe?) I'll look forward to watching the recording.
http://www.navalaviationcentennial.org/
I have to respond to this. Some people believe that if they go to court as a plaintiff in a clear-cut case, they win. That's bunk. I participated in a civil trial that took seven years to come to court. The defendant was guilty as sin. The evidence was overwhelming of her guilt. She was toast... not! After an eight day trial, the jury was given the case for their decision. In less than two hours (before lunch) they found no fault with the defendant. They didn't even discuss the mountain of evidence that filled dozens of boxes. Do NOT tell me that "we lost our day in court to make Daic pay." Our day in court could have left CLYW with zero and Daic with everything. Even if we won in court, Daic's history shows that he appeals all judgments against him until the other side is either dead of old age or has gone crazy.
Posting such sentiment shows only a total ignorance of what happens in court. A settlement is almost always the better choice.
Many companies (both listed and IPO) on shakey financial ground approach their stockholders for loans. Typically, these loans pay up to 12% interest, compounded annually. The loans are to be paid back on a schedule; in the case of non-payment, these creditors literally become the company's asset owners and are the first in line if the company fails. It would be interesting to see the BOD's response to such a proposal, esp. if it provided money needed now to become relisted and make deals.
>>Last I checked Dave Williams still has not surrendered the financials think he is scared if he does he goes straight to jail. Does not pass go does not collect $13,000.
Let me put you on the spot. How did you check? With whom? When? In the absence of verifiable documentation, why would anyone believe such rumors?
This thread is foolish. A company director refuses to hand-over to the board official financial records. The remaining directors get a court order for him to do so while telling the SEC that the hold-out is the source of the company being delisted. Situation resolved.
There was recently another thread claiming that the BOD is so stupid that it signed a settlement with Daic that allows Daic to not only keep ownership of the 923 patent but to get a large share of all US business. I know this board is largely entertainment for many, but come on.
You're welcome.
This is my understanding of the situation:
LightSquared was fully aware of the potential problem in running its comm spectrum up against one end of the GPS frequency range. It decided (1) it would simply bulldoze GPS out of the way since its revenue stream would dwarf that of the GPS industry thus bringing the federal governmnet huge tax monies while tripling its business revenue; or (2) it would make the FCC (through the FCC) require a tighter boundary around GPS freqs to solve the problem (which the GPS engineers say can't be done); or (3) they are actually too stupid to have foreseen the problem and now have too much invested to do a turnabout.
However, reality has intervened. (1) the GPS system is the primary source of navigation position information to the aviation and shipping world; (2) the military needs GPS for pin-point targeting of platforms and weapons (the military system rumored to be within 18 inches of a selected location and the degraded civil system within 8-10 feet); (3) the government, in its utter ignorance of the real world, decommissioned LORAN last year, a cheap and effective nav positioning system used for decades that gave position information within about 200 feet; (4) the FAA is starting to decommission the existing land-based VHF nav system of VOR/TACAN/DME, with which aircraft can make both presision and non-precision approaches to landing in IMC (bad weather), all to be replaved with GPS. This entire fiasco is typical of the Obama Administration's reliance on law professors who can't tell an aileron from and airdale.
I don't know which side will win: Lighr Squared's billions in revenue/taxes or the first time an airliner crashes on approach because of signal interference. The problem has a lot of similarities to companies such as Gridline Communications transmitting internet and cable TV over regular household electrical lines. It works -- usually.
And yes, Calypso's patent would probably help resolve the entire issue. If the BOD can get its act together.
Litton51
Retired US Navy combat aircraft navigator/bombardier and mission commander
Lightsquared is in a hell of a mess. Their new system interferes with GPS, the current world standard for vehicle navigation and positioning.
http://www.pnt.gov/interference/lightsquared/
I suspect the judge might be a wee bit pissed if Daic tries to weasel out of the settlement of record.
The answer to this question may end the September meeting early in screaming and chair-throwing.
8*)
Let's see what happens before that date.
Looking at the record per your hyperlink, the shortest period of time between changes recorded has been six weeks. It's been just 19 days since the settlement.
Anything meaningful happening to make pps go up?
I believe it has already been stated several times that an unelected director or officer is personally liable for money damages to a corporation through action or inaction. I find it impossible to believe that they would call a forum to announce bad news, esp. with the SEC probably attending.
You're not listening. I'm not recommending it. I mention it as a possibility unless the company gets its fecal material together.
Under current circumstances (which we arrived at by means I do not understand), the only option stockholders have is to petition the court to appoint a receiver for CLYW, removing the unelected BOD. I read somewhere that Dave Williams has done this and received a summary judgment allowing him to do so. The receiver would then have the power to run the company or declare bankruptcy and liquidate the company, with the patent(s) being auctioned off to the highest bidder for pennies on the dollar (which Daic would probably win). We stockholders allowed this to happen; one may argue we even worked to make it happen. This is typical of penny stocks; there is no institutional money to do anything the owners (us) want. CLYW stockholders are like drone bees; figuratively, we do all the work and then die.
As of this moment the only power we have is (1) to attend the informational forum in two weeks; (2) use the court to take control; or (3) grab our silkies and suck our thumbs and wait to see what happens. Up to now, (3) has been the reality.
The Fog of War.
Good questions.
Let's add that it is impossible -- impossible -- that the company financials are not on digital media as well as paper. There is no reason for the CFO to not be getting the records in order. This "he has it, no he has it" crap is simply nonsense. All that is required is a final copy electronically plus a signed signature sheet. Just like an income tax filing. Talk about a wild goose chase...