Billionaire Bill Koch builds private Old West town in Colorado

Bill Koch's Old West town has a saloon and other buildings similar to this one. (Eric Pfeiffer/Yahoo! News)How does a billionaire with two politically active brothers and an Americas Cup title under his belt stand out? Bill Koch may have found the answer after building his own private Old West town in Colorado.

The Denver Post reports the town, located in Kebler Pass, has a saloon, church, jail and train station among its 50 or so buildings spread out over 420 acres. The roughly 10-square-mile property is located about 125 miles southwest of Denver.

And when the town's construction is complete, Koch will have his own mansion on a hill, overlooking the whole thing.

"It's the kind of stuff I guess you would expect a billionaire to construct. It's like something out of a 'Gunsmoke' movie set," Ramon Reed, chairman of the Gunnison County Planning Commission, told the paper.

Still, as impressive as the simulated Old West town is, Koch, 72, isn't interested in showing off his investment to the public. Instead, security guards stand in front of a locked gate to the town, making anyone not approved by Koch (whose personal fortune Forbes recently estimated to be in the range of $4 billion) a trespasser.

Koch brothers, David and Charles, are well known in political circles for funding a number of conservative causes. And while Bill Koch has donated to political candidates, including Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, he is not nearly as high profile a figure as his siblings. In fact, Bill Koch sued his siblings in 2001 for a greater stake of the family fortune, which he largely appears to be spending on nonpolitical ventures.

The creation of this town is a departure from another recent high-profile real estate purchase. In June, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison purchased the Hawaiian island of Lanai for a reported $500-$600 million. However, that location is open to the public and is home to around 3,200 residents.

While he has refused to comment directly on the Old West creation, Koch did disclose in a 2011 interview with Fine Art Notebook, "I shouldn't tell you this, but I am building my own Western town in Colorado."

In the same interview, he joked that his wife has suggested he appear on an episode of the television show "Hoarders," in response to his ever-growing collection of expensive Western memorabilia, which includes items once belonging to Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp and Jesse James.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/billionaire-bill-koch-builds-private-old-west-town-184240977.html

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National Auto Loan Delinquency Rate Hits New Record Low

insideARM.com August 21, 2012 http://www.insidearm.com/daily/banks-and-credit-grantors/auto-finance-receivables/national-auto-loan-delinquency-rate-hits-new-record-low/

For the second consecutive quarter, the national auto loan delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) hit its lowest level since TransUnion began tracking the data in 1999. Auto loan delinquency rates in Q2 2012 dropped to 0.33%, down from 0.36% Q1 2012. On a year-over-year basis, auto loan delinquencies declined 25% from 0.44% in Q2 2011.

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The information is reported by TransUnion and is part of its ongoing series of quarterly analyses of credit-active U.S. consumers and how they are managing credit related to mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.

?It?s not surprising that auto loan delinquencies remain at record low levels,? said Peter Turek, automotive vice president inTransUnion?s financial services business unit. ?A recent TransUnion studyfound that consumers now value their auto loans more than their credit cards and mortgages. This is partly due to the need for transportation to get to work or to seek employment in a difficult job market. Additionally, consumers with car loans have more equity in their vehicle than they have in the recent past because of the strong used car vehicle market. Consumers want to keep their auto loan relationships in good standing.?

In addition to increased demand in new and used autos, bank auto debt per borrower has risen nearly 6% from$12,689 in Q2 2011 to $13,427 in Q2 2012. Despite growing bank auto debt, the majority of states and cities are experiencing declines in their auto loan delinquency rates.

Between Q1 2012 and Q2 2012, 37 states experienced declines in their auto delinquency rates. On a more granular level, 58% of metropolitan areas saw decreases in their auto delinquency rates in Q2 2012. This is down from the prior period where 66% of MSAs experienced decreases.

?It?s impressive to see auto loan delinquencies remain so low despite a growing proportion of new loans going to non-prime consumers,? added Turek.

In Q2 2012 on a year-over-year basis, the percentage of new auto loans to non-prime borrowers (with a VantageScore? credit score lower than 700 on a scale of 501-990) increased by 9%. In the last two years (between Q2 2010 and Q2 2012), the percentage of new auto loans to non-prime borrowers has increased more than 20%.

?With the increase in non-prime borrowing, we do anticipate that auto loan delinquencies will begin to increase,? said Turek. ?We are at such a low auto loan delinquency level ? far from normal standards ? that a slight rise through the end of the year should be expected, though the overall rate will likely remain relatively low.?

TransUnion?s forecast is based on various economic assumptions, such as unemployment rates, consumer sentiment, disposable income, and interest rates. The forecast changes as the economy deviates from a conservative forecast or if there are unanticipated shocks to the economy affecting recovery.

Posted in Auto Finance Receivables, Credit Grantors, The Economy .

Source: http://www.insidearm.com/daily/banks-and-credit-grantors/auto-finance-receivables/national-auto-loan-delinquency-rate-hits-new-record-low/

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Egypt's defense minister vows to uproot militants

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) ? Egypt's new defense minister pledged Monday to crack down on militants in the largely lawless Sinai Peninsula, offering to pay Bedouins to collect weapons.

Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi visited the Sinai Monday for the first time since taking office in the aftermath of a bloody raid blamed on Islamist militants. Dozens stormed an Egyptian post on the Egypt-Gaza-Israel border on Aug. 6, killing 16 Egyptian soldiers. Then the attackers stole military vehicles and crashed through a checkpoint into Israel, where Israeli forces stopped them.

According to Egypt's official news agency and a tribal leader who met with him, el-Sissi listened to complaints from the Bedouins, especially about smuggling through an elaborate tunnels network between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Besides the offer of rewards for collecting weapons, El-Sissi told a gathering of leaders that the government has allocated 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($165 million) for Sinai development.

The tribal leader requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

In the wake of the Aug. 6 attack, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi retired his defense minister and army commander, a move seen as a bold stroke in the Islamist leader's power struggle with the military.

El-Sissi was appointed defense minister to replace Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who headed the military council that ran Egypt after last year's uprising toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

The Sinai has been a trouble spot since the uprising because of disarray in Egypt's security forces. Egypt also blames limitations under the 1979 peace treaty with Israel over the type and number of forces in the border area.

Israel has complained about the growing strength of Islamist militants in Sinai and has quietly authorized Egypt to send several thousand soldiers in.

Since the bloody attack two weeks ago, Egypt's official media have reported that forces have attacked several militant hideouts in Sinai, and militants have hit back with attacks of their own.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-defense-minister-vows-uproot-militants-192031591.html

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Dubai Real-estate Accident and Its Effects on Residential and ...

Dubai Real Estate accident has shadowed its wonderful houses and construction projects in dense grey clouds. You can find speculations that the problem would be set by 2012 but till then a destruction would be achieved. Even the hard and tall Burj Khalifa could not save it self from these stands and crises shuddered and abandoned in middle of other less breathtaking buildings.The value of home and rents in Dubai has fallen to shocking level and there still are number tenants and buyers. Most of the recently made skyscrapers are clear. Just in the greatest and the many Luxurious making of the world i.e. Burj Khalifa, more than 800 out of the 900 residences are empty.It was initially thought that the real estate sector?s fall in Dubai would affect the professional area mainly and the condition would soon be on the path to recovery. But that was just the end of the ice berg. The rumors of serious economic crises and fall of the city?s economy just properly did that. Key companies made a decision to shift their business and rapidly Dubai was no more the business centre of the very best rated brands.Commercial Property:The mistake of the city?s management caused over supply of infrastructure and luxurious resources in Dubai. The crises of residence in Dubai stopped the building of numerous houses and heavy decline was also faced by Dubai rental market in rates. This flood is no longer supply of delight for the owners; they?re now compelled to offer incredible bonuses to possibility tenants and they barely hear from their website again.Most of business activities have ceased in Dubai. About half of the development projects have postponed and the task speed at the rest of the projects is extremely slow. The interest and debt is piling on the town and the buyers are just not ready to be one of many victims of the worst ever property crises of Middle East.Residential Property:The problem in Dubai residential market is no better. Since many businesses have left the town, a lot of the expatriate are jobless and no further afford to have a condo of the own. A number of these immigrants have moved to different destinations. Taking into consideration the current conditions of economy, new residential tasks are on hold. The present condos haven?t any residents and the property owners, despite requiring cheaper charges, don?t get the results.It is now time to repair the condition in Dubai and make it as desirable for the purchases as it has always been. And to boost the economic climates of Dubai and Dubai attributes, the adding debt has to be mounted first.

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Source: http://2leep.in/dubai-real-estate-accident-and-its-effects-on-residential-and-commercial-property.html

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Artist employs her expertise to honor military pilots
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Attacks on Palestinians kindle debate on values

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Two vicious attacks on Palestinians, presumed to be the work of Jews, have some Israelis worried that their society is increasingly tolerant of hate crimes.

Over the weekend, unknown assailants firebombed a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank. Hours later, a mob of Jewish teens beat a 17-year-old Palestinian unconscious in downtown Jerusalem.

Israeli leaders have condemned the violence. On Tuesday, President Shimon Peres said he was "mortified" by the "intolerable" attack on the teen.

Others are cautioning against making broad indictments of Israeli society, arguing that incidents of violence and intolerance are not widespread, despite constant tensions from the longstanding conflict between Arabs and Jews.

One suspect in the attack on the Arab teen hinted at the corrosive effect of that conflict when he declared outside court on Monday, "He could die for all I care ? he's an Arab."

The suspect was among seven people, aged 13 to 19, who have been arrested in connection with the assault on 17-year-old Jamal Julani. Bystanders watched as he was kicked and beaten, to the point that he was in critical condition when was brought into a Jerusalem hospital early Friday. He has since regained consciousness but remains hospitalized, a spokeswoman for Hadassah Medical Center said Tuesday.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the violence was not the act of Jewish extremists, but "just kids" egged on by a Jewish girl who claimed to have been involved in an unspecified "sexual incident" with an Arab, an account her lawyer denied.

Rosenfeld said no arrests have been made in Thursday's firebombing of the Palestinian taxi, which wounded the six people inside. One remained in intensive care on Tuesday, and four others also remained hospitalized, Hadassah spokeswoman Etti Dvir said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring the people responsible for the firebombing to justice and relayed that message to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. His spokesman, Mark Regev, said the government "will have no tolerance whatsoever for racist violence."

Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon described the two weekend attacks as "terrorist acts" that "run contrary to Jewish ethics and values."

Critics charge that authorities are lax in pursuing Jews suspected of attacking Palestinians, noting few indictments or convictions in dozens of cases of assaults on Palestinians and their property every year.

They also accuse some of Israel's political and spiritual leaders of creating a toxic atmosphere by condoning ? and even encouraging ? violence against Arabs.

"Even the denunciation of the prime minister and other public figures can't obscure the fact that this (attack on the Arab teen) has a deep-seated political and social context," the Haaretz newspaper editorialized on Tuesday.

Social critics note that the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has bred hatred, dehumanization and violence on both sides. Palestinian attacks on Israeli vehicles in the West Bank are frequent, and many Palestinians consider them legitimate forms of resistance against Israeli occupation.

The Israeli military counted 196 Palestinian firebomb attacks and six shooting incidents in the first half of 2012, but it did not provide information on casualties.

Gerald Steinberg, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University, said the incidence of violence among Israelis is not exceptional in the world context.

"There are pockets within Israeli society, particularly among young teenagers, where there is a history of violence, intolerance, across the board. It extends to Jewish groups in Israel as much as it does to Palestinians," he said. "The evidence clearly shows that Israel is not any more tolerant than the United States or Europe, and there is a lot of stress in this society."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-08-21-Israel-Palestinians/id-faf51bd3bd754ccc81e38135c59bca33

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greekrpg.net | Blog | Cellphone Indication Jammer Throughout ...

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Source: http://greekrpg.net/blog/2012/08/cellphone-indication-jammer-throughout-university/

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