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(Rolling Stone) Obvious Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression . "The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity."   (rollingstone.com) divider line 135
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Last One Left [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 04:51:12 AM  
This isn't the full article that appeared in print. The full version reads better, but is also more hyperbolic. Zero Hedge has it in PDF form.

 
Hobodeluxe [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 06:19:36 AM  
absolutely amazing.

 
snuffy [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 09:21:38 AM  
this piece is the most accurate explanation of how you just got farked and still are being farked by wall street.

where is your 401k now?

 
snuffy [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 09:26:45 AM  
thanks for the green light on this, admins.

now all that is needed for people to actually read it and then act on it.

we deserve what we get.

 
MorrisBird [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 09:27:43 AM  
I read the full article. Now, I'm depressed. Yet another depression started. So they've got that going for them, which is nice.

 
Bored Horde 2009-07-03 09:40:26 AM  
Rolling Stone delivers again.

 
Linux_Yes [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:02:28 AM  
this Country and probably most of the World is run by the International Banking Industry. nobody tells them what's what. at least until the next Revolutionary war anyway......

even the Federal Government does what its told.

 
Linux_Yes [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:05:46 AM  
snuffy: this piece is the most accurate explanation of how you just got farked and still are being farked by wall street.

where is your 401k now?


now we all know why the Owners of this Country love Freedom so much: the Freedom to do as they damn well please, at least until the War anyway.....

 
dragonaut 2009-07-03 10:10:16 AM  
I can't get to the article, can someone summarize with a few specifics so I know it isn't just paranoid finger pointing?

 
Cromar 2009-07-03 10:16:07 AM  
Should I even waste my time reading this? The very premise is retarded.

 
Apik0r0s 2009-07-03 10:16:26 AM  
Anti-Semites!

 
bluefelix 2009-07-03 10:17:41 AM  
I don't know if I want to RTFA... it sounds like my nephew and his weird ass conspiracy theories. I'd probably want my 10 minutes back.

 
Antidamascus 2009-07-03 10:18:03 AM  
Repeat?

 
spill_thrill 2009-07-03 10:18:40 AM  
Don't touch the trim!

 
Last One Left [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:19:11 AM  
eqtworld: If GS was the puppet master of the US economy for the last hundred years, their market cap would not be 55billion less than Google and 50 billion less than Apple (young companies).

It, quite honestly, is less about Goldman Sachs engineering every meltdown than it is a history of their role in every meltdown. But it's obvious they would have some part to play in everything that went on in the last century, given their importance in finance and politics.

Taibbi can be a bit much on the histrionics, and he does omit an awful lot of history, but it is Rolling Stone; it's about entertainment. It's no A Monetary History of the United States.

 
ExperianScaresCthulhu 2009-07-03 10:23:29 AM  
can't Goldman Sachs really just be short hand for 'da joooooooooooooooooozzzz'? is it ok to say 'it' as long as it's a company name and not the actual ethnic group?

 
Nabb1 [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:24:20 AM  
Cromar: Should I even waste my time reading this? The very premise is retarded.

It's like a Dan Brown novel - fun read, neat theory, but brain candy.

 
Shadowknight [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:24:30 AM  
Those things aren't screwing around, either.

img35.imageshack.us

 
ExperianScaresCthulhu 2009-07-03 10:26:19 AM  
Apik0r0s: Anti-Semites!

snuffy: this piece is the most accurate explanation of how you just got farked and still are being farked by wall street.

where is your 401k now?


Linux_Yes: this Country and probably most of the World is run by the International Banking Industry. nobody tells them what's what. at least until the next Revolutionary war anyway......

even the Federal Government does what its told.




so it is ok?

 
Bf+ 2009-07-03 10:27:18 AM  
bluefelix: I don't know if I want to RTFA... it sounds like my nephew and his weird ass conspiracy theories. I'd probably want my 10 minutes back.

Don't bother-- It sounds like your mind is already made up.

 
Hobodeluxe [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:27:44 AM  

the lead in

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.

Any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. What you need to know is the big picture: If America is circling the drain, Goldman Sachs has found a way to be that drain - an extremely unfortunate loophole in the system of Western democratic capitalism, which never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.

They achieve this using the same playbook over and over again. The formula is relatively simple: Goldman positions itself in the middle of a speculative bubble, selling investments they know are crap. Then they hoover up vast sums from the middle and lower floors of society with the aid of a crippled and corrupt state that allows it to rewrite the rules in exchange for the relative pennies the bank throws at political patronage. Finally, when it all goes bust, leaving millions of ordinary citizens broke and starving, they begin the entire process over again, riding in to rescue us all by lending us back our own money at interest, selling themselves as men above greed, just a bunch of really smart guys keeping the wheels greased. They've been pulling this same stunt over and over since the 1920s - and now they're preparing to do it again, creating what may be the biggest and most audacious bubble yet.

 
blueyedevil 2009-07-03 10:31:41 AM  
Was there any question that it was Matt Taibbi?

 
godofusa.com 2009-07-03 10:34:27 AM  
Democrats, the party of Wall Street.

 
Nabb1 [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:34:45 AM  
eqtworld: Last One Left: It, quite honestly, is less about Goldman Sachs engineering every meltdown than it is a history of their role in every meltdown. But it's obvious they would have some part to play in everything that went on in the last century, given their importance in finance and politics.

Well yeah, the whole point of an investment bank is to sell high and buy low.

That's like getting pissed at Warren Buffet, he openly does the same thing.


Or George Soros. He's a genius at short selling currency during economic downturns.

 
Pants full of macaroni!! 2009-07-03 10:35:11 AM  
Vampire Squid would be a great band name.

/yeah, got nuffin

 
Certainly You Jest 2009-07-03 10:35:47 AM  
WTF is the best investigative journalism around doing in fugging Rolling Stone?!?

I mean, good for Rolling Stone and all that, but shouldn't this guy be working for the Times or the Post?

Learn much more. (new window)

 
godofusa.com 2009-07-03 10:36:56 AM  
Nabb1: eqtworld: Last One Left: It, quite honestly, is less about Goldman Sachs engineering every meltdown than it is a history of their role in every meltdown. But it's obvious they would have some part to play in everything that went on in the last century, given their importance in finance and politics.

Well yeah, the whole point of an investment bank is to sell high and buy low.

That's like getting pissed at Warren Buffet, he openly does the same thing.

Or George Soros. He's a genius at short selling currency during economic downturns.


Soros is having a "very good crisis".

 
FlashHarry [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:37:11 AM  
godofusa.com: Democrats, the party of Wall Street.

lolwut?

 
FlashHarry [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:38:12 AM  
godofusa.com: Soros is having a "very good crisis".

do you hate capitalism, comrade?

 
crab66 2009-07-03 10:40:55 AM  
godofusa.com: Democrats, the party of Wall Street.

The opposite of truth is always fun.

 
Nabb1 [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:42:53 AM  
FlashHarry: godofusa.com: Soros is having a "very good crisis".

do you hate capitalism, comrade?


Those are Soros's own words. I know he gets a lot of admiration for his stated political views, but he doesn't hesitate to exploit what he decries for personal profit. Of course, he is smart as hell for doing it, but I have no illusions about what the man really is.

 
Lost Thought 00 2009-07-03 10:44:01 AM  
This is like saying Microsoft is behind everything that has every happened in computing for the last 30 years.

 
willfullyobscure 2009-07-03 10:44:24 AM  
Certainly You Jest: WTF is the best investigative journalism around doing in fugging Rolling Stone?!?


you are confused on a few things, i sense. this is the Phil Spector style of investigative journalism.

Matty is not working for a serious rag because he is a lazy, speculative, ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.

 
godofusa.com 2009-07-03 10:44:46 AM  
crab66: godofusa.com: Democrats, the party of Wall Street.

The opposite of truth is always fun.


Goldman Sachs is a Democrat factory. See: John Corzine. The "Wall Street Wizard" who destroyed New Jersey.

 
mloree 2009-07-03 10:46:23 AM  
I say we kill them all

 
FlashHarry [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 10:54:05 AM  
Nabb1: FlashHarry: godofusa.com: Soros is having a "very good crisis".

do you hate capitalism, comrade?

Those are Soros's own words. I know he gets a lot of admiration for his stated political views, but he doesn't hesitate to exploit what he decries for personal profit. Of course, he is smart as hell for doing it, but I have no illusions about what the man really is.


i'm well aware that soros said that. personally, i find the man fascinating. i was merely "feeding the troll" out of boredom.

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 10:58:55 AM  
eqtworld: Come on, this is like the 9/11 truthers who think Bush blew up the Pentagon with a missile and flew remote control jets into the towers.

Taibbi on the Truthers (new window)

He points out a couple of relevant facts about GS.

They have greatly profited from various bubbles.
They played a big part in creating these bubbles.
They have greatly profited from deregulation.
They have a great deal of influence in Washington, which they have used to get that deregulation.
They get serviced by both (R) and (D), so bend over taxpayer.

Here's something he didn't mention. They report close to $1 Trillion in assets. That has a lot more to say about their influence on the economy and power than their market cap, which is just the icing on the cake.

 
SVenus 2009-07-03 11:04:36 AM  
And the next bubble will be controlled by Goldman-Sachs, too.

Carbon trading. It's like a Ponzi scheme for jobs.

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 11:05:08 AM  
eqtworld: That's like getting pissed at Warren Buffet, he openly does the same thing.

Buffet specifically does not engage in short term derivative trading.

 
Satan_Sunburn 2009-07-03 11:05:25 AM  
Jesus Christ, get in the car! It's Goldman Sachs!

Seriously, that was a hell of a read. Thanks subby!

 
godofusa.com 2009-07-03 11:06:11 AM  
SVenus: And the next bubble will be controlled by Goldman-Sachs, too.

Carbon trading. It's like a Ponzi scheme for jobs.


GE is going to make a KILLING from the AGW hoax.

 
Metaluna Mutant 2009-07-03 11:09:06 AM  
farm3.static.flickr.com

 
crab66 2009-07-03 11:10:08 AM  
godofusa.com: crab66: godofusa.com: Democrats, the party of Wall Street.

The opposite of truth is always fun.

Goldman Sachs is a Democrat factory. See: John Corzine. The "Wall Street Wizard" who destroyed New Jersey.


Bullshiat.

 
hockeyfarker [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 11:12:50 AM  
that's some good imagery right there.

 
Ruz 2009-07-03 11:13:11 AM  
No mention of Citigroup's Dr. Evil plan?(Yes, they really called it that).

If you're going to massively manipulate the bond market, naming the plan after a film villain is the least you could do. Made me laugh at the time. Other people not so much.

 
Masso 2009-07-03 11:13:35 AM  
I read the article, there's nothing new here. Goldman Sachs sells high and buys low, got connections with DC. Same old Wall Street conspiracy story.

 
winterwhile 2009-07-03 11:13:46 AM  
so just how is that Stim working? Not so well dem-o-rats?

 
Hobodeluxe [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 11:18:22 AM  
winterwhile: so just how is that Stim working? Not so well dem-o-rats?

only about 1/8th of it has gone out. it's slow getting the money out to the states for some reason. but the money for unemployment benefits has been put to good use. but states still teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. Calif is about to have a day of reckoning if they can't get something done.

 
Erebus1954 2009-07-03 11:19:35 AM  
I wonder if Soros is shorting the US dollar.

 
Mentat [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 11:21:48 AM  
eqtworld: What does that have to do with anything? People making 40k a year bidding on 400k houses caused the problem.

No, because the value of the mortgage market is trivial in terms of the value of the derivatives market that has been built on top of it. When you build a house of cards on a pile of sleeping ferrets, you shouldn't blame the ferrets when they wake up.

 
Certainly You Jest 2009-07-03 11:23:55 AM  
willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: WTF is the best investigative journalism around doing in fugging Rolling Stone?!?


you are confused on a few things, i sense. this is the Phil Spector style of investigative journalism.

Matty is not working for a serious rag because he is a lazy, speculative, ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.


[citation needed]

Journalists goring your political ox are not necessarily hacks.

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 11:26:14 AM  
eqtworld: What does that have to do with anything? People making 40k a year bidding on 400k houses caused the problem.

You're woefully ignorant of the mechanics of this crisis. The impact of those loans defaulting was magnified 100 fold by derivative trading based on an improper evaluation of their risk. I'm not sure you can blame all of that on GS, bad they definitely participated and have come out smelling like a rose. Makes one suspicious.

Goldman to make record bonus payout (June 2009) (new window)

 
Masso 2009-07-03 11:29:27 AM  
Cucullen: eqtworld: What does that have to do with anything? People making 40k a year bidding on 400k houses caused the problem.

You're woefully ignorant of the mechanics of this crisis. The impact of those loans defaulting was magnified 100 fold by derivative trading based on an improper evaluation of their risk. I'm not sure you can blame all of that on GS, bad they definitely participated and have come out smelling like a rose. Makes one suspicious.

Goldman to make record bonus payout (June 2009) (new window)


People making good business decision is certain suspicious.

 
willfullyobscure 2009-07-03 11:32:49 AM  
Certainly You Jest: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.

[citation needed]


* - I am a professional, working journalist with a full and working knowledge of the standards and practices that go into good reporting and writing. This is inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat. The man does get good sources though; as long as they fit the story he already wrote in his head.*

there's your citation. I give a shiat about the politics of the issue; but this is textbook populist bullshiatrhetoric.

 
AnEvilGuest 2009-07-03 11:33:25 AM  
They just play the game well.
They pull all the dirty tricks they are accused of in the excerpt but so would anyone when the rules of the game allow it.

Who bought pump and dump internet stocks?
Greed, lazy suckers that's who.
Who got burned when oil prices fell?
dice rolling speculators of course.

It's just business and outside of being a little better at it than others where is this blood sucking, all powerful, vampire squid nonsense coming from?

Manipulating legislation and exploiting the public is what all large corporations try to do.
It's what makes them great and if entities like Aetna continue to loot America that's the public's fault for ignoring evidence and letting their emotions be played.

It's like crying because fire is hot, the heat is why it's useful, just don't be stupid and get burned.

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 11:34:38 AM  
eqtworld: This is about the amount of trouble I would expect the economy to be in given the current default rates and amount of home equity lost: it's not 100x worse than could be reasonably expected.

You should google what caused the financial crisis, instead of being willfully ignorant.

 
Lumi 2009-07-03 11:36:46 AM  
Wow. When I saw the quote in the headline and that it was from Rolling Stone, I thought, "Matt Taibi?"

Lo and behold, it was Matt Taibi.

I don't know whether to feel smug with myself for identifying his awesome way with words or whether to look up some good pics of Matt somewhere because for some reason he looks awful in this video. And normally he's full of hotness, and I don't want these newer images to override what my brain remembers.

 
tedbundee 2009-07-03 11:38:34 AM  
Good thing corruption doesn't exist in the United States.

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 11:39:58 AM  
Masso: People making good business decision is certain suspicious.

When "good business decision" includes sabotage, fraud and bribery, yes it is.

 
Lumi 2009-07-03 11:40:28 AM  
Certainly You Jest: WTF is the best investigative journalism around doing in fugging Rolling Stone?!?

Historically (past 40 years or so), Rolling Stone has been the best source of independent investigative journalism.

Even Stephen King alluded to that in the end of his book "Firestarter."

 
t3knomanser 2009-07-03 11:42:46 AM  
Cucullen: Makes one suspicious.

Not really. I started RTFAing, and he seemed to be whinging about what investment banks do, like it was some vast shadowy conspiracy. Investment banks track down investments that look like something they can turn a profit on, bundle them up, sell them, and make money. The fact that those investments may be garbage in the long term isn't their concern, nor is it their problem.

The fact that Goldman Sachs managed to come out of this looking good is that they were able to sniff out when the market was going to drop, and when they would stop being able to turn a profit, and they got out.

All bubbles are great moneymakers- if you get out before they pop. It's hard, perhaps impossible to predict when that's going to happen. You know it will, but you can't say when. Not with enough accuracy to maximize your profits. So you have to gamble, you have to lean on a bit more art than science, and you do your best to ride the bubble right up to the point it's going to pop, and you get out.

Goldman Sachs didn't get out in time, but it got out early enough that it wasn't a problem for them. They took a hit, but not so bad as some other banks.

 
t3knomanser 2009-07-03 11:45:30 AM  
Cucullen: When "good business decision" includes sabotage, fraud and bribery, yes it is.

What sabotage? What fraud? There were a few institutional failings, and there was a lot of bad math being passed around. It's not some shadowy conspiracy- it's a bunch of greedy people doing what greedy people do. Even worse, they were blatantly transparent about what they were doing, because, let's be honest: it's what we all expected from them.

And it's not bribery- it's campaign contributions.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 11:45:42 AM  
t3knomanser: Not really. I started RTFAing, and he seemed to be whinging about what investment banks do, like it was some vast shadowy conspiracy. Investment banks track down investments that look like something they can turn a profit on, bundle them up, sell them, and make money. The fact that those investments may be garbage in the long term isn't their concern, nor is it their problem.

Is this an appropriate point to mention the ratings agencies?

 
Masso 2009-07-03 11:47:34 AM  
Cucullen: Masso: People making good business decision is certain suspicious.

When "good business decision" includes sabotage, fraud and bribery, yes it is.


They're greedy and underhanded bastard, but I don't any conspiracy in what they do.

 
mferris 2009-07-03 11:50:43 AM  
Came for the head crab reference, left dissappointed.

 
RussianPooper [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 11:52:33 AM  
godofusa.com: SVenus: And the next bubble will be controlled by Goldman-Sachs, too.

Carbon trading. It's like a Ponzi scheme for jobs.

GE is going to make a KILLING from the AGW hoax.


I don't thing AGW is a hoax, however, I think the solutions being put forward and marketed as having any real impact on it at this point are hoaxes. The only way we could reverse it is to have huge amounts of the population die away and have the rest return to a pre-industrial existence.

 
darkvstar 2009-07-03 11:53:12 AM  
the most telling comment from Taibi is the statement about people being afraid to talk to him and insisting on anonymity....he said it felt like he was doing a piece on organized crime.
at least we know what to stay away from. carbon futures....WTF?

 
Bad_Seed 2009-07-03 11:57:39 AM  
Wow, a whole thread and nobody's mentioned Hank Paulson? Why is everyone talking about George Soros? He wasn't the CEO of Goldmans who later became Treasury Secretary who presided over a huge bank bailout which incidentally benefited his former employer.

Goldmans is the Haliburton of banking. The problem isn't that they are a bunch of shrewd traders (which they are), the problem is that they are a bunch of shrewd traders who can direct government policy.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 11:59:01 AM  
SupremeLeader: Ah, the greater fool theory.

I use that to justify scamming retards out of their money by selling them magic crystals.

A great theory, as long as you get rid of your soul and conscience first.


Welcome to Sepculation 101. Then again, if the crystals you sell actually do have magic powers but the 'tards fail to disclose this to you, who's the greater fool?

 
legion_of_doo 2009-07-03 12:06:29 PM  
Bad_Seed: Wow, a whole thread and nobody's mentioned Hank Paulson? Why is everyone talking about George Soros? He wasn't the CEO of Goldmans who later became Treasury Secretary who presided over a huge bank bailout which incidentally benefited his former employer.

Goldmans is the Haliburton of banking. The problem isn't that they are a bunch of shrewd traders (which they are), the problem is that they are a bunch of shrewd traders who can direct government policy.


Soros is a currency speculator/trader. He's done shiat to the Pound Sterling, and is pretty much persona non grata in Malaysia for destroying their currency. Soros is no "white hat" when it comes to currency futures & currency trade.

Now, Soros' currency trading was legal, just like speculating in mortgage backed securities was legal. If you want to blame GS for the crash in MBS prices & connect the dots over to the housing market, then you should have a field day with Soros' currency trading.

 
CaesarSneezy 2009-07-03 12:10:19 PM  
Bad_Seed: Wow, a whole thread and nobody's mentioned Hank Paulson? Why is everyone talking about George Soros? He wasn't the CEO of Goldmans who later became Treasury Secretary who presided over a huge bank bailout which incidentally benefited his former employer.

Goldmans is the Haliburton of banking. The problem isn't that they are a bunch of shrewd traders (which they are), the problem is that they are a bunch of shrewd traders who can direct government policy.


Agreed. Everything that's happened since the bailout from both parties has been a wholesale loot of the treasury, because they now know they can do anything. It's rats fleeing a sinking ship with everything they can.

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 12:11:03 PM  
willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: WTF is the best investigative journalism around doing in fugging Rolling Stone?!?


you are confused on a few things, i sense. this is the Phil Spector style of investigative journalism.

Matty is not working for a serious rag because he is a lazy, speculative, ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.


You know, you may be right. Apparently you spotted many of these these "logical and factual gullies" in his article.

If you have a minute, would you mind pointing them out to us, telling us where he's wrong, and what the truth really is?

Thanks in advance.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 12:13:29 PM  
SupremeLeader: Wait, the crystals actually work?
This changes everything!


Well, this depends on your definition of "work". Warding off evil spirits, not so much... but convincing a cute hippie witch you're a SNAG, no pun intended; they work like a charm.

 
Bad_Seed 2009-07-03 12:14:43 PM  
legion_of_doo: Soros is a currency speculator/trader. He's done shiat to the Pound Sterling, and is pretty much persona non grata in Malaysia for destroying their currency. Soros is no "white hat" when it comes to currency futures & currency trade.

The difference between Soros shorting the Pound and Goldmans making off like bandits is that Goeff Howe was not a former Soros employee.

 
olafmetal 2009-07-03 12:14:45 PM  
The political trolls might want to consider that lots of G&S employees work for and contribute to both political parties. The usual partisan tactics applied to this subject make you look even more retarded then usual.


G&S isn't the only company to repeatedly pay fines for security violations that equaled a tiny fraction of the profits they earned while breaking the law or the only company to receive large insurance payouts on terrible investments only because the government bailed out there insurance company, but they are a good example.

 
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent 2009-07-03 12:17:34 PM  
The article would be much stronger without the veiled, potentially unintentional anti-semitism in the first paragraph.

Hint to writers: if you're going to talk about anything regarding banking (particularly investment banking), stay as far away from the term "blood-sucking" as you can, even if it is perfectly descriptive. Even if you don't mean it to, it carries a weight that few of us are taught about today, but most of us sort of "know" what it means.

 
Bad_Seed 2009-07-03 12:19:46 PM  
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent: The article would be much stronger without the veiled, potentially unintentional anti-semitism in the first paragraph.

Hint to writers: if you're going to talk about anything regarding banking (particularly investment banking), stay as far away from the term "blood-sucking" as you can, even if it is perfectly descriptive. Even if you don't mean it to, it carries a weight that few of us are taught about today, but most of us sort of "know" what it means.


Would it be ok, if the Bank had a less Jewish-sounding name?

 
Hobodeluxe [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:20:51 PM  
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent: Hint to writers: if you're going to talk about anything regarding banking (particularly investment banking), stay as far away from the term "blood-sucking" as you can, even if it is perfectly descriptive. Even if you don't mean it to, it carries a weight that few of us are taught about today, but most of us sort of "know" what it means.

sounds anti-vampire to me. or anti-leech. are you saying you can't talk about greedy bankers without being anti-Semitic?

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 12:21:00 PM  
willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.

[citation needed]


* - I am a professional, working journalist with a full and working knowledge of the standards and practices that go into good reporting and writing. This is inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat. The man does get good sources though; as long as they fit the story he already wrote in his head.*

there's your citation. I give a shiat about the politics of the issue; but this is textbook populist bullshiatrhetoric.


Sorry, I see that you already answered my last question - just as expected.

For your next trick, I suggest that you label Taibbi as an "anti-Semite" and a "neo-Nazi". Maybe that will make people ignore him.

/You can always hope

 
GaryPDX [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:23:41 PM  
godofusa.com: crab66: godofusa.com: Democrats, the party of Wall Street.

The opposite of truth is always fun.

Goldman Sachs is a Democrat factory. See: John Corzine. The "Wall Street Wizard" who destroyed New Jersey.


Not to mention Tim Geitner, this administrations little darling.

 
Hobodeluxe [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:24:29 PM  
Farker T: For your next trick, I suggest that you label Taibbi as an "anti-Semite" and a "neo-Nazi"

done and done. it's a reflexive response.

 
The_Patriot 2009-07-03 12:26:36 PM  
blood...bankers...man, it's gonna be weird in September (new window)

thepatriotaxe.com

 
hahawinnipeg 2009-07-03 12:29:42 PM  
Awesome article. Maybe they can make a crappy movie with Clive Owen.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 12:30:25 PM  
GaryPDX: Not to mention Tim Geitner, this administrations little darling.

When did he work for Goldman?

 
Mr. Potatoass 2009-07-03 12:31:53 PM  
The_Patriot: blood...bankers...man, it's gonna be weird in September (new window)

Thanks for the link to the most unreadable web page I've ever gone to.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 12:32:14 PM  
hahawinnipeg: Awesome article. Maybe they can make a crappy movie with Clive Owen.

I think you and I are the only people here who will get that reference.

 
godofusa.com 2009-07-03 12:41:34 PM  
Clarence Potter: GaryPDX: Not to mention Tim Geitner, this administrations little darling.

When did he work for Goldman?


The TAX CHEAT worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, so just as corrupt as GS.

 
GaryPDX [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:42:19 PM  
Clarence Potter: GaryPDX: Not to mention Tim Geitner, this administrations little darling.

When did he work for Goldman?


When hasn't he? 5 years at the NY Fed and he was clueless?..uh huh.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 12:44:22 PM  
GaryPDX: When hasn't he? 5 years at the NY Fed and he was clueless?..uh huh.

When, specifically, did he work for Goldman?

 
Linux_Yes [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:44:34 PM  
ExperianScaresCthulhu: Linux

hardly. last time i checked, this Country was founded on a Government of, by and for the People, not wallstreet, Citibank, GM, or any other company.

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 12:45:50 PM  
Clarence Potter: GaryPDX: Not to mention Tim Geitner, this administrations little darling.

When did he work for Goldman?


Do you mean "work for" as in "was employed by", or as in "worked to benefit"?

Watch the video embedded here:

Is Tim Geithner Too Close to Goldman Sachs?
(pops)

 
GaryPDX [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:46:55 PM  
Clarence Potter: GaryPDX: When hasn't he? 5 years at the NY Fed and he was clueless?..uh huh.

When, specifically, did he work for Goldman?


You can't read? He was at the NY Fed for 5 years. You don't have to be on their payroll to do their bidding.

 
MikeFallopian 2009-07-03 12:50:43 PM  
It would be interesting to learn how much wealth was destroyed in the GS-underwritten CDOs, as a percentage of the entire wealth destruction from the housing bubble. Likewise with GS- financed IPOs in the tech bubble. I suspect it would not be nearly enough to justify Taibbi's thesis - and the fact that he doesn't seem to talk about the low interest rate regimes that preceded each bubble is fairly telling. After all, the Fed deliberately pumped up the housing bubble to fight weak employment and what looked like a really bad looming recession (not necessarily an irrational call on their part). My guess is that a world without GS would be a world that looks a hell of a lot like our world.

 
willfullyobscure 2009-07-03 12:51:47 PM  
Farker T: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.

[citation needed]


* - I am a professional, working journalist with a full and working knowledge of the standards and practices that go into good reporting and writing. This is inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat. The man does get good sources though; as long as they fit the story he already wrote in his head.*

there's your citation. I give a shiat about the politics of the issue; but this is textbook populist bullshiatrhetoric.

Sorry, I see that you already answered my last question - just as expected.

For your next trick, I suggest that you label Taibbi as an "anti-Semite" and a "neo-Nazi". Maybe that will make people ignore him.

/You can always hope


maybe I was unclear.

FORSOOTH, all ye now present:I giveth NOT the paltry weight and inconsequent value of a pile of Human Excreta in return for the value of my Opinions on the political nature of this Discourse, yea, even verily.

leaning on inflammatory populist barnburning is hack shiat whether it is Taibbi or O'Reilly. I stand by my professional assessment. this is all sizzle, no sausage.

 
Clarence Potter 2009-07-03 12:54:36 PM  
GaryPDX: You can't read? He was at the NY Fed for 5 years. You don't have to be on their payroll to do their bidding.

Oh, I see... your confusing conspiracy for fact. Got it, thanks.

 
freddie freeloader 2009-07-03 12:57:23 PM  
eqtworld:
Come on, this is like the 9/11 truthers who think Bush blew up the Pentagon with a missile and flew remote control jets into the towers.


This is exactly right. Bunch of scary-sounding conspiracy nonsense by someone who has no idea what is really going on.

 
GaryPDX [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 12:57:36 PM  
Clarence Potter: GaryPDX: You can't read? He was at the NY Fed for 5 years. You don't have to be on their payroll to do their bidding.

Oh, I see... your confusing conspiracy for fact. Got it, thanks.


If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, guess what? How do you explain little Timmy at the NY Fed and supposedly being completely clueless of what was happening and now he's the Sec of Treasury?

Yea okay. Coincidences of this magnitude do not exist.

 
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent 2009-07-03 12:57:42 PM  
Hobodeluxe: AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent: Hint to writers: if you're going to talk about anything regarding banking (particularly investment banking), stay as far away from the term "blood-sucking" as you can, even if it is perfectly descriptive. Even if you don't mean it to, it carries a weight that few of us are taught about today, but most of us sort of "know" what it means.

sounds anti-vampire to me. or anti-leech. are you saying you can't talk about greedy bankers without being anti-Semitic?


No, I'm saying if you're going to talk about greedy bankers, don't use anything that can be interpreted as anti-Semitic. There's too much history there to be ignorant of the implications of the usage, and it will severely damage your argument to a wide portion of your audience.

Blood-sucking is an anti-Semitic epithet implying a few things - one, that Jews were exploiting the Christian society that they lived within and leeched off of it, and two, the belief that Passover bread had to be made with the blood of Christian children (which is most likely an analogy for the banking practices of the time - interest was considered a sin by the Church). Anti-Semitic literature since time immemorial has depicted Jews as parasites.

Personally, I think it's a tribute to the United States that Jewish people are not considered separate from the rest of us, and that most of us can be ignorant of these sorts of things without malice, but it's unwise to use these phrases without understanding what they imply.

 
Lumi 2009-07-03 01:02:39 PM  
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent: The article would be much stronger without the veiled, potentially unintentional anti-semitism in the first paragraph.

Hint to writers: if you're going to talk about anything regarding banking (particularly investment banking), stay as far away from the term "blood-sucking" as you can, even if it is perfectly descriptive. Even if you don't mean it to, it carries a weight that few of us are taught about today, but most of us sort of "know" what it means.


Some of us weren't raised in anti-Semitic environments. Care to enlighten those of us as to the anti-Semitic connotations of "blood-sucking?"

 
Lumi 2009-07-03 01:03:30 PM  
Oh, you did. Never mind.

 
Masso 2009-07-03 01:12:26 PM  
GaryPDX: Clarence Potter: GaryPDX: You can't read? He was at the NY Fed for 5 years. You don't have to be on their payroll to do their bidding.

Oh, I see... your confusing conspiracy for fact. Got it, thanks.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, guess what? How do you explain little Timmy at the NY Fed and supposedly being completely clueless of what was happening and now he's the Sec of Treasury?

Yea okay. Coincidences of this magnitude do not exist.


How is working for NY Fed equivalent to working for GS? The hell is this.

 
helix400 2009-07-03 01:17:08 PM  
Looks like Matt Taibbi is getting tired of his 2004 Ohio conspiracy theory and appearing on Bill Maher. So now he's jumped head first into the world of Goldman Sachs conspiracies. I'm not surprised. Seems it's the next hot conspiracy theory, with lots of versions floating around. Some of which are found here: http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2009/01/07/Goldman-Conspiracy-Theo r ies

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 01:33:36 PM  
willfullyobscure: Farker T: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.

[citation needed]


* - I am a professional, working journalist with a full and working knowledge of the standards and practices that go into good reporting and writing. This is inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat. The man does get good sources though; as long as they fit the story he already wrote in his head.*

there's your citation. I give a shiat about the politics of the issue; but this is textbook populist bullshiatrhetoric.

Sorry, I see that you already answered my last question - just as expected.

For your next trick, I suggest that you label Taibbi as an "anti-Semite" and a "neo-Nazi". Maybe that will make people ignore him.

/You can always hope

maybe I was unclear.

FORSOOTH, all ye now present:I giveth NOT the paltry weight and inconsequent value of a pile of Human Excreta in return for the value of my Opinions on the political nature of this Discourse, yea, even verily.

leaning on inflammatory populist barnburning is hack shiat whether it is Taibbi or O'Reilly. I stand by my professional assessment. this is all sizzle, no sausage.


Here's the scoop: When you critique an author, accusing him of writing "inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat"and then fail repeatedly to SUPPORT those allegations, your critique comes off looking like "inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat".

Get it?

Now, back to writing your scathing reviews of muffin recipes for the West Westchester Ladies Cooking and Baking Club quarterly newsletter, Mr. "professional working journalist".

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 01:37:56 PM  
t3knomanser: Cucullen: When "good business decision" includes sabotage, fraud and bribery, yes it is.

What sabotage? What fraud? There were a few institutional failings, and there was a lot of bad math being passed around. It's not some shadowy conspiracy- it's a bunch of greedy people doing what greedy people do. Even worse, they were blatantly transparent about what they were doing, because, let's be honest: it's what we all expected from them.

And it's not bribery- it's campaign contributions.


Masso: They're greedy and underhanded bastard, but I don't any conspiracy in what they do.

I'm not sure what you mean by conspiracy or what would constitute that in your mind. I don't think anyone's actually accused them of that per se though. I certainly haven't used that word. I think the premise of Taibbi's article is that they have a parasitic relationship with our economy, rather than symbiotic. I'd agree though that this is generally what greedy people do.

There certainly seems to be evidence that GS was a major player in inflating the bubble, got out while they were ahead and is now in a position to buy undervalued assets as a result. The role they played in inflating the bubble and the influence they bought in DC that allowed them to do so, that's where the fraud and bribery come in. When they started short selling the assets they had originally used their financial weight to inflate in value, that's the sabotage. Perhaps there are more polite words to be used and intent is difficult to prove. I think its clear that everything is not kosher with GS though.

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 01:47:25 PM  
This isn't the first time that Taibbi has written on the subject. For those who accuse him of failing to support his allegations of hanky-panky by Goldman et al, I suggest you read this:

The Big Takeover

The global economic crisis isn't about money - it's about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution (new window)

 
Klingon Penis 2009-07-03 01:49:55 PM  
Matt Taibbi, 1970-2009

 
Mentat [TotalFark] 2009-07-03 01:52:16 PM  
eqtworld: /no idea what you mean

OK, different analogy. The Bible uses the image of building a house on the sand as a metaphor for building your spiritual life on God. If you build a house on sand and it's washed away, do you blame the ocean? Technically, you could, but it wouldn't have been an issue if you had had the foresight to build your house on a solid foundation. Likewise, the banks built a massive derivatives market built on the backs of borrowers who were over leveraging themselves. It's not as if there was no warning that this was the case, the banks, investors, government and people simply ignored it. Sure, technically it's the borrowers fault, but it was the banks and government that created the environment in which what should have been a relatively tame market correction became a catastrophic collapse.

But anyway, I like the image of sleeping ferrets so that's what I'm sticking with.

 
Cucullen 2009-07-03 02:07:05 PM  
Mentat: But anyway, I like the image of sleeping ferrets so that's what I'm sticking with.

I think the image of a brain slug is more apt.
www.hookandneedles.com
Though Taibbi's image of a vampire squid or Alien facehugger are good too. He seems like a sober version of HST.

 
archevilangel 2009-07-03 02:12:29 PM  
Congress Has 43,457,362 Reasons to Help Goldman Sachs(new window)

"Goldman Sachs bankers are also the number one contributors to the Barack Obama presidential campaign, giving $691,930 to his campaign in this cycle, according to the records. "

"In the 2008 election cycle, Goldman Sachs bankers have come up with $4.8 million in contributions to federal candidates, according to the records. 72 per cent of Goldman's money this year has gone to Democratic candidates and the national party, the majority party in Congress"

 
that_other_internet 2009-07-03 02:50:12 PM  
helix400: Looks like Matt Taibbi is getting tired of his 2004 Ohio conspiracy theory and appearing on Bill Maher. So now he's jumped head first into the world of Goldman Sachs conspiracies. I'm not surprised. Seems it's the next hot conspiracy theory, with lots of versions floating around. Some of which are found here: http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2009/01/07/Goldman-Conspiracy-Theo r ies

Actually...Taibbi didn't propose a conspiracy theory...I think that's Goldman Sachs' language you've borrowed.

The actual article simply provides a comprehensive history of the many dealings and relationships between Goldman Sachs, the government and the economy. Each and every relationship examined is a matter of public record.

I think most people who see all of those events and revolving door positions compiled into a single article naturally come to the conclusion that there is, at the very least, a conflict of interest being clearly presented.

While it may be "natural" for most financial experts to have previous careers in the largest financial institutions and for government officials to retire from public service back into those same institutions after overseeing policy and regulation of those same markets, it is also a clear sign of an incestuous relationship that by its very definition exemplifies a weakness in the system. He does not claim it is unnatural or centrally planned; the corruption and ensuing dangers are simply a natural result of the too-close relationship between the two entities.

While you may be fine with it, others are not. Large speculators are actually only a minority of the population. Such undue disproportionate influence and representation within a democratic republic is repulsive to most people.

I think we can all agree they are the "experts" on financial devices, but whether that expertise has proven valuable to the nation is extremely questionable in light of the volatility their speculation introduces.

 
Bf+ 2009-07-03 02:50:44 PM  
mloree: I say we kill them all


I say we kill him!
YEAH!!!
I say we hang him, then we kill him!
YEAH!!!
I say we stomp him!
YEAH!!!
Then we tattoo him!
YEAH!!!
Then we hang him!
YEAH!!!
And then we kill him!
YEAH!!!

I say we let him go.
NO!!!

 
that_other_internet 2009-07-03 02:55:55 PM  

 
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent 2009-07-03 03:04:08 PM  
Lumi: Some of us weren't raised in anti-Semitic environments. Care to enlighten those of us as to the anti-Semitic connotations of "blood-sucking?"

Attacking the messenger gets you nowhere, son.

 
radioman_ 2009-07-03 03:09:27 PM  
Goldman and Sachs are Jewish names, I believe. Just sayin'.

 
ZipSplat 2009-07-03 03:33:37 PM  
Rolling Stone, occasionally a good article and occasionally a credulous conspiracy theory.

Like the interview with St. John Hunt. Obvious fraud was obvious... But apparently not obvious to RS.

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 03:43:29 PM  
that_other_internet: Here's the map of the Goldman Revolving Door.

I think I'll need my GPS to navigate that one...

 
Burn98 2009-07-03 04:09:52 PM  
AnotherDisillusionedCollegeStudent: Lumi: Some of us weren't raised in anti-Semitic environments. Care to enlighten those of us as to the anti-Semitic connotations of "blood-sucking?"

Attacking the messenger gets you nowhere, son.


Avoiding the question get you to ignore.

 
Burn98 2009-07-03 04:13:53 PM  
ExperianScaresCthulhu: can't Goldman Sachs really just be short hand for 'da joooooooooooooooooozzzz'? is it ok to say 'it' as long as it's a company name and not the actual ethnic group?

There are many people in the world. Some of them are sleaze bags.

There are Jewish people in the world. Some of them are slease bags too.

Pointing out sleaze bags who happen to be Jewish is not anti-Semitic.

 
LawrencePerson 2009-07-03 05:01:27 PM  
I suspect that many Farkers are unaware of the numerous deep ties between Goldman Sachs and the Obama Administration. A few for instances:

Obama has put his trust in the advice of menâ"Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Chief Economic Advisor Larry Summers, and, informally, former Clinton Treasurer Robert Rubin, all linked to the investment bank Goldman Sachs."

"Despite President Barack Obama's pledge to limit the influence of lobbyists in his administration, a recent lobbyist for investment banking giant Goldman Sachs is in line to serve as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Mark Patterson was a registered lobbyist for Goldman until April 11, 2008, according to public filings."

"If AIG had managed to not collapse and not require $180 billion in taxpayer money, Goldman Sachs would be sitting today with some very very shaky investments. But since AIG collapsed, the folks at Goldman cleaned up. Goldman Sachs employees gave just shy of a million dollars to the Obama campaign, ranking second in contributions. Citigroup and JPMorgan ranked sixth and seventh. Goldman Sachs gave Obama four times more than they gave McCain."

Obama nominated "Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission...Gensler is a reassuring figure to the moguls of finance; he was a partner at Goldman Sachs before being brought by Goldman honcho Robert Rubin to the Clinton Treasury Department."

"When it came time to name a vice presidential running mate, Mr. Obama turned to Goldman Sachs Board Member James Johnson. Mr. Johnson was forced to vacate the post under controversy."

This above list is by no means exhaustive. Nor are the sources cited above (The Huffington Post, The Nation, etc.) exactly known for their fierce and unstinting criticism of Obama.

 
Pxtl 2009-07-03 05:18:43 PM  
See, this is why the term "anti-semite" has been deprived of all real meaning.

We're talking about a damned bank. A bank founded by Jews, yes, but a bank.

 
Burn98 2009-07-03 05:33:17 PM  
LawrencePerson: I suspect that many Farkers are unaware of the numerous deep ties between Goldman Sachs and the Obama Administration. A few for instances:

Trying to link Obama to bank failures is like tying to link Bush to the Enron failure.

There is no smoking gun. Just people casting suspicions around.

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 05:44:41 PM  
Burn98: LawrencePerson: I suspect that many Farkers are unaware of the numerous deep ties between Goldman Sachs and the Obama Administration. A few for instances:

Trying to link Obama to bank failures is like tying to link Bush to the Enron failure.

There is no smoking gun. Just people casting suspicions around.


Perhaps, but he's keeping the same "good ol' boy" cast of characters in place. Expect to see more of the same in the future.

 
pnjunction [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-07-03 05:55:38 PM  
MikeFallopian: It would be interesting to learn how much wealth was destroyed in the GS-underwritten CDOs, as a percentage of the entire wealth destruction from the housing bubble. Likewise with GS- financed IPOs in the tech bubble. I suspect it would not be nearly enough to justify Taibbi's thesis - and the fact that he doesn't seem to talk about the low interest rate regimes that preceded each bubble is fairly telling. After all, the Fed deliberately pumped up the housing bubble to fight weak employment and what looked like a really bad looming recession (not necessarily an irrational call on their part). My guess is that a world without GS would be a world that looks a hell of a lot like our world.

You're overlooking the influence that the Goldman Sachs exercised over the whole situation. The problem isn't that GS gave out the crappy mortgages, or sold all of the crappy CDOs, it's that their cronies had a direct hand in the policies that allowed and encouraged these things to happen. Then, when the shiat hit the fan, GS was right in line to benefit from bailout money.

You talk about what the Fed did, and the supposed reason for it, well who was running the Fed?'

The part where Friedman gets the conflict-of-interest waiver so he can run the NY Fed while owning GS stock and serving on the board is just the most blatant example of how interwined the Fed and GS are.

Your guess that we'd be in the same spot without GS might be right, but with GS cronies planted everywhere we'll never know will we. Godwin: It's like saying WWII would've happened the same without Hitler and Goebbels.

 
Apik0r0s 2009-07-03 05:55:44 PM  
Enjoy sucking the cock of your ruling class while you celebrate your imagined Independence this weekend.

Here's a hint we should have all learned from The Revolution: When speaking truth to power, it works best if you first get its attention by driving a musket ball through its face.

 
pnjunction [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-07-03 05:59:56 PM  
that_other_internet: Here's the map of the Goldman Revolving Door.

A screenshot for those that don't follow the link:

img196.imageshack.us

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 
Bonanza Jellybean 2009-07-03 06:08:01 PM  
Thread incomplete without this:
i43.tinypic.com

 
willfullyobscure 2009-07-03 06:32:24 PM  
Farker T: willfullyobscure: Farker T: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.


Here's the scoop: When you critique an author, accusing him of writing "inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat"and then fail repeatedly to SUPPORT those allegations, your critique comes off looking like "inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat".


how's your fail taste?
see ------->willfullyobscure




Now, back to writing your scathing reviews of muffin recipes for the West Westchester Ladies Cooking and Baking Club quarterly newsletter, Mr. "professional working journalist".


LOL. listen, princess, I'm not trotting out my laurels to shout down a dimwit on a message board who can't even be bothered to PRETEND to understand the financial sector of the conutry's economy in the most rudimentary fashion before yelping about semi-fictional entertainment reporting.

you are the reason bandwagons were invented; now hop back on for your little hayride and don't bother with the most rudimentary critical thinking or trying to confirm or source any of the miles of conjectures, suppositions, assumptions and ommissions of context; you'll either forget about it a week, or you'll add it to your NWO crazy book and pat yourself on the head for "getting it"

At least i know what I don't understand- you don't even know where to start.

 
Cromar 2009-07-03 06:36:43 PM  
LawrencePerson: I suspect that many Farkers are unaware of the numerous deep ties between Goldman Sachs and the Obama Administration.

Oh, Goldman Sachs is linked to the Democrats? In that case, I agree 100% with whatever stupid crap this article said.

 
socoloco 2009-07-03 06:49:04 PM  
Until they are being hunted by drones there will be no justice.

 
Farker T 2009-07-03 08:22:15 PM  
willfullyobscure: Farker T: willfullyobscure: Farker T: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: willfullyobscure: Certainly You Jest: ethically-challeneged dunce who trades off on histrionics to cover up logical and factual gullies you could hide a jumbo jet in.


Here's the scoop: When you critique an author, accusing him of writing "inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat"and then fail repeatedly to SUPPORT those allegations, your critique comes off looking like "inflammatory, poorly supported, lazy, hack shiat".


how's your fail taste?
see ------->willfullyobscure

Now, back to writing your scathing reviews of muffin recipes for the West Westchester Ladies Cooking and Baking Club quarterly newsletter, Mr. "professional working journalist".

LOL. listen, princess, I'm not trotting out my laurels to shout down a dimwit on a message board who can't even be bothered to PRETEND to understand the financial sector of the conutry's economy in the most rudimentary fashion before yelping about semi-fictional entertainment reporting.

you are the reason bandwagons were invented; now hop back on for your little hayride and don't bother with the most rudimentary critical thinking or trying to confirm or source any of the miles of conjectures, suppositions, assumptions and ommissions of context; you'll either forget about it a week, or you'll add it to your NWO crazy book and pat yourself on the head for "getting it"

At least i know what I don't understand- you don't even know where to start.


Wow, that was a hell of a long-winded way to say "I'm trolling".

Next time just come out and say it, or show you union card.

 
StokeyBob 2009-07-04 12:21:04 AM  
Interesting article. I've been thinking more along these lines.

Did you ever wonder where the money for things like the subversion of the world's immigration laws may come from? Recently, I'm also seeing an ad campaign, using money we don't have, to sell us on a new health plan.

It seems to me as long as we allow people to print up fiat money there will be no place in the world where freedom can flourish.

If the Globalist oppose your efforts, paid for with real hard earned money, all they have to do is fire up the presses and shovel the money to any group that will oppose you.

Not only that but it seems they do it in such a way that the money to achieve THEIR goals is borrowed from them. Then we pay interest to a group outside of our country, like the Federal Reserve, on the creation and borrowing of OUR OWN money.

IN ESSENCE THEY BEAT US WITH OUR OWN STICK!

 
that_other_internet 2009-07-04 01:15:57 AM  
willfullyobscure: LOL. listen, princess, I'm not trotting out my laurels to shout down a dimwit on a message board who can't even be bothered to PRETEND to understand the financial sector of the conutry's economy in the most rudimentary fashion before yelping about semi-fictional entertainment reporting.

Following in the same footsteps of such great debaters as found in this thread and in the Goldman Sachs letter directed at Rolling Stones for carrying the Taibbi piece.

In other words, no specifics, no quotes, uses insults or casts dispersions on other posters or the article while proving no particular knowledge of the subject themselves, and uses only the broadest of dismissals, "b-bu-but it's in a magazine about music! the author HAS to be wrong!", to "counter" specific arguments.

Of course, Goldman Sachs didn't do any better that this poster....I believe they pulled out the canard of "conspiracy theory", assuming that the thousands of inter-related influential positions between the public and private sectors could only be bad if a lizard man or reverse vampire were pulling the strings.

The utter lack of ideological variety within this group is what is dangerous. It's not a conspiracy, nor is it required to be one in order to be dangerous; what's dangerous is the retardation that ensues when a group of like-minded ideologues aggregate into high positions of power and begin to assume that they know what's best for everyone. No matter their intent, the fact that they are all drawing from the same culture of financial "experts" means that their definition of improvement derives exclusively from a shared and extremely limited background.

 
squidzilla [TotalFark] 2009-07-04 01:57:37 AM  
This article is relevant to my interests.

 
willfullyobscure 2009-07-04 11:45:22 AM  
that_other_internet: willfullyobscure:

In other words, no specifics, no quotes, uses insults or casts dispersions on other posters or the article while proving no particular knowledge of the subject themselves, and uses only the broadest of dismissals, "b-bu-but it's in a magazine about music! the author HAS to be wrong!", to "counter" specific arguments.


dude. please. read the thread again, CAREFULLY (NB I suggest start around 12:45PM yesterday) and get back to me.

on the one hand, my critique of the article is based on my professional, qualified opinion AND a bare-bones deconstruction posted earlier, abetted by many other similar, supporting opinions. one the other hand, i didn't start with the insults (although I enjoy them to NO end)

dude.

 
xuanzhiyouxuan 2009-07-05 04:49:31 PM  
Last One Left: This isn't the full article that appeared in print. The full version reads better, but is also more hyperbolic. Zero Hedge has it in PDF form.

I sure wish zero hedge offered the pdf as an actual file rather than some embedded thing. Even the vile scribd allows you to download the pdf if you log in.

 
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