Message Board
Notes from Larry: I wish to thank those of you who come to this site even though I have been absent for quite some time. This site has a very important purpose. There is much to say and much to hear from all of you.
For those of you who might be wondering about m;y health, I am happy to report that I have fully recovered and am healthier and stronger then I have been in over 20 years. My health was not my reason for my absence. I just needed some time away and appreciate your understanding. I will, however, be back right after the New Year.
Volunteer Please contact me at
volunteer@goldmansachs666.com of you would like to participate. There is a lot happening and -
"Together We Can and Must Make A Difference".
Many of you have important messages and information the public needs to see. This can be your forum too. Email them to:
info@GS666.org or volunteer to post to:
volunteer@goldmansachs666.com.
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Media Inquiries: media @GoldmanSachs666.com
General Info: info@GS666.org
Volunteer Info: volunteer@GoldmanSachs666.com
To Larry: Larry@GoldmanSachs666.com
_____________________________________________
Not so funny...
ReplyDeleteWall Street isn’t afraid of the SEC.
They never have been and they never will be as long as the agency is structured as it is — one that brings only civil, not criminal, cases. The handful of men who run our nation’s investment banking institutions aren’t afraid of consequences that they consider to be mere slaps on the hand from an inconsequential agency. The SEC can only take money from these Masters of the Universe. These guys make gobs of money all day, every day and know that they’ll make more money tomorrow (can you say credit default swaps?). Losing a little of it is just a cost of doing business to them, so you don’t even come close to getting their attention unless you can take away their ability to make more money — like when you say the word ‘prison.’ And the only ones who can bring criminal charges against them are the Justice Department and state Attorneys General.
http://fedupusa.org/2010/04/24/wall-street-isnt-afraid-of-the-sec/
President Obama: Bring Back Black
ReplyDeleteI urge the President to play the race card--the human race card. The Founding Fathers sought to protect the Republic from this tyranny of private interests. This was meant to be a place where all members of the human race have a fair opportunity to thrive.
These show trials and faux 'investigations" distract us from the real job of reform and protect Wall Street's interests. It's time to bring back Black--or regulators like him--and truly give us our "Pecora" moment.
http://tinyurl.com/29dnglc
When the administration says recovery do they mean like from alcoholism...b/c that would explain a lot.
ReplyDeleteCamp desperation
Hundreds wait days to apply for job
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/2aeg3ro
where's the transparency we were promised?
ReplyDeleteThe White House, Federal Reserve and Wall Street lobbyists are kicking up their opposition to an amendment to audit the Fed as a Senate vote approaches, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the lead sponsor of the measure, said on Monday.
http://tinyurl.com/22l9wn7
May 3, 2010
ReplyDeleteRon Paul and Alan Grayson: Audit the Fed!
http://tinyurl.com/2ezprwa
If your too lazy to call then email them.
ReplyDeleteFed Privately Lobbies Congress to Kill Audit; What You Can Do!
http://tinyurl.com/36x3a2o
Who can stop the pusher man?
ReplyDeleteBelow is the most recent Texas straight talk from Ron Paul -- after 3 years of personally busting my hump with other Patriots to educate the American Sleeple about the FED and legislation such as HR.1207 and S.604, (some times door-to-door) I am more angry and frustrated then ever.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul has been fighting the Pusher Man for over 25 years and he finally got a FED Audit Bill (HR1207 text) passing via the banking reform legislation in the House. Now the evil FED and their shills slither back and take control of the Mainstreet corner to continue selling junk, no matter how sick it makes us all. It looks like the U.S. Senators are now all rolling up their dirty sleeves, hunting for vein that still functions. Dodd the Bankster shill and "Sell-out Sanders" are having their day. Right or Left- they are are worthless junkies. God bless Ron Paul and God damn the pusher man!
http://www.swarmusa.com/vb4/showthread.php/2031-I-say-God-Damn-the-Pusher-Man!
Imagine if Donald Trump and Bill Gates made a random bet for $13 billion, Trump lost, and then told the taxpayers to pay Gates. Crazy, right?
ReplyDeleteBut that's exactly what happened when AIG used $13 billion in taxpayer bailout money to pay off a side bet made by Goldman Sachs. Recently, Goldman boasted that they didn't even need the money. So, let's demand it back!
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has the ability to get our money back. And this Wednesday, our friends at The Young Turks progressive talk show will lead a protest and deliver thousands of petition signatures to Geithner demanding just that.
Can you sign the petition demanding Geithner get our money
http://tinyurl.com/2cy4dw4
The Young Turks have already done a great job getting thousands of signatures, and they're informing the media about Wednesday's petition delivery.
Every additional signature will increase the impact of Wednesday's event -- so please pass this email to others and share the petition on Facebook and Twitter after signing.
Lets send a message that as schools and government programs are facing budget cuts, it's absurd for the Treasury Department to let Goldman Sachs casually take $13 billion of our money.
http://www.theyoungturks.com/
Obama wouldn't be worried about this:
ReplyDeleteObama’s Priorities Compete With Lawmakers’ Agenda: Re-Election
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1phni1xF.GM&pos=9
If he did not sell out to TBTF's and focused on this:
In Brutal Job Market, More Than a Million Quit Looking
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37554163
But I guess he's really not that worried because at this point things are set up for him to do a Tony Blair!..
The next time we want REAL change!
No spine, no leadership, no change, no joke...
ReplyDeleteObama’s Approval Now Underwater Amid Gulf Oil Spill
IBD/TIPP Rating Hits 49.5
Americans disapprove of president’s handling of crisis by over 2-to-1
BY SEAN HIGGINS
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
As tar balls wash up on the Gulf Coast, President Obama is finding they are turning up on the White House lawn as well. A majority of Americans — 52% — give him poor grades for his handling of the BP oil spill.
The IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index fell 5.4% in June to 49.5. That’s the first time the reading has fallen below the neutral 50 level since Obama took office.
The public still views Obama more favorably overall than on specific issues.
“The share of Americans who rated him good or excellent overall is 41%,” said Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, which conducted the poll. “However his handling of the oil spill is approved by just 23%, a difference of 18 points.”
Obama has stepped up efforts to show he is in charge of the spill response and doing all that can be done. In a mass e-mail Saturday, he listed federal resources being deployed, calling it “the largest response to an environmental disaster of this kind” in U.S. history.
But the administration’s initial slow reaction and continued reliance on BP BP in the response have at times made it seem as helpless as an oil-drenched pelican.
Obama’s leadership rating — one of the IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership index’s three components — fell 8.2% over the last month.
The White House suspension of all offshore oil leases may not help. Though support for offshore drilling has softened, it still tops opposition, 49%-41%.
“People recognize that they don’t want to be dependent on (oil) production from one source,” said Karlyn Bowman, polling expert for the American Enterprise Institute. “We’ve seen support for offshore drilling drop in every poll, but in most polls it is still majority or plurality support.”
High prices at the pump and renewed Mideast tensions have tempered the reaction vs. offshore drilling, Bowman says. Most people tend to view the Gulf spill as an “isolated incident.”
However, 61% believe the spill will end up causing more damage than Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The poll found that 30% rated Obama’s response as “unacceptable” and 22% rated it “poor.” Just 6% rated it “excellent” and 17% “good.” The rest gave him an average score.
Funny how all the government programs only benefited the insiders of gov't and banking...nice job obama..
ReplyDeleteBanks' home takeovers surge 81 percent from same period in 2009
Nearly 11,000 Floridians lost their homes to bank takeover in May, a whopping 81 percent increase over the same month last year and an indication that loan modification programs are failing, some economists say.
http://tinyurl.com/287lvwv
Sheila Says:
ReplyDeleteJune 7th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
I have a question? Obama gave millions to the banks correct?
Well if that is so, I am not quite sure why I have not been able to do a home modification. My husband and I live pay check to pay check. Our first mortage company states we make too much and our second says we make too little? Supposably your mortgage payment has to be to be 31% of your “gross income”, well first of all that is not fair as we never see our gross income it goes to taxes, medicare etc. Secondly, our mortgage company stated that my family spends too much on food; they allow only $135 per month per person in a household. I am not sure where they live but in Palm Beach County the cost of food is high. We spend approximately $800 per month for a family of 4 and that is being careful with coupons. I spend quite a bit on medical but that is not calculated into their profile for qualifying for a home modification. I believe with all honesty that the banks do not want to do modifications. I do not know one person that has qualified. What are the true qualifications? I am very upset. It just seems like you cannot win. Alot of us are upside with our mortgages, so if the government instituted the “hamp” program for those in need, what isnt it being utilized? Unfortunately, after living in our home for 12 years, which was the home my husband grew up in, we are forced to do a short sale…….So, here goes! I mean they may turn around and sale it what is the fair market value but maybe we could buy it for the fair market value, but they will not do that….I guess I misunderstood the whole “hamp” program. I thought if you were upside down with your mortgage and lived paycheck to paycheck, then they would refinance you according to what your home is worth….Oh by the way on another note, last year 2009 we had both the 1st and 2nd mortgage with the same bank and started the process of modifying our mortgage - then the 1st sold our mortgage to another company and then we had to start the process all over!!!!! Please help!!! Sincerely, LOST
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/realtime/2010/06/07/palm-beach-county-foreclosure-filings-down-again-in-may/#comment-24282
$34 Billion Asset Manager Says Market Prices Are Manipulated, Accuses NYSE Of Intellectual Property Theft, Debunks HFT "Liquidity Provider" Lies
ReplyDeleteAs part of the SEC's process to fix the broken market, it is currently soliciting public feedback on a variety of issues. Why it is doing so, we don't know - after all anything that does not conform to the SEC's preconception of what the most lucrative market to the SEC's recent batch of clients (see earlier news about an SEC director going to HFT specialist Getco) is, just ends up in the shredder anyway. At this point to believe that the SEC will do anything remotely in the interest of investors instead of millisecond speculators, is naive beyond compare. Nonetheless, while combing through some of the recent public responses on the topic of market structure, we came across the following presentation by $34 billion Southeastern Asset Management (SAM), titled "Comment & Analysis on Equity Market Structure" which must be brought to the attention of all those who have the temerity to defend HFT as an altruistic source of liquidity provisioning. SAM's 4 points are simple, and laid out very easily so that even the mildly retarded public, pardon, GETCO servants at the SEC can understand it: "1) The intent of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as provided for in its preamble is being twisted and abused for the benefit of gamblers and to the detriment of investors. 2) The markets are not "fair and honest", 3) Securities prices are presently "susceptible to manipulation and control, and the dissemination of such prices gives rise to excessive speculation, resulting in sudden and unreasonable fluctuations in the prices of securities. 4) The preceding three issues are fixable by the SEC." Let's dig in.
http://tinyurl.com/2ajshae
The U.S. economy is in shambles and Americans will continue to see high unemployment and lower living standards in the years to come, Howard Davidowitz tells Henry and Aaron in the accompanying clip.
ReplyDeleteDavidowitz lays much of the blame for the economy's woes at the feet of the Obama administration, which he calls "the worst of my lifetime."
Obama "Mr. Mass Destruction"
http://tinyurl.com/38o4ydn
A. As a securities lawyer, I can assure you all that the SEC most certainly DOES have the ability to bring criminal suits; which is precisely why I found it laughable when the news media made such a big deal over the SEC's suit against Goldman - it didn't even include any criminal charges, only civil ones, which would basically ensure that Goldman would get off with a slap on the wrist and a fine that, compared to the profits they've made off their fraudulent activities, is basically "chump change."
ReplyDeleteB. As for Mr. Davidowitz, I don't know what he bases his argument on, but in case he hadn't noticed, the U.S. economy was in shambles when Obama took office, thanks to eight long years under the singularly most incompetent and dysfunctional Presidential administration in modern history (though admittedly Carter ran a very close second). I'll concede that Obama has been more than a bit disappointing in his handling of the mess, but to blame it all on him, as if everything was just fine until he took office in late Jan. 2009? Has the financial meltdown that started in mid-2008 - or for that matter, the current recession that started in December 2007 - completely escaped Mr. Davidowitz? When was this guy born, yesterday?
Unlike all of the ideological nincompoops we see mouthing off these days, I have NO POLITICAL AMBITIONS; just a sincere desire to see my country restored to its former economic prominence and respected place in this world. So, let's get a few things straight here:
ReplyDelete1. The "problem" with the Fed is not its existence; rather, it's the fact that, as a result of nepotistic appointments by politicians who've been bought and paid for by Goldman Sachs and similar private interests, it, too, has come to be "bought and paid for" by those same private interests. Anyone who buys into the idea of eliminating the Fed should go crack open some history books - not the "revisionist" kind, but the HONEST kind; what they'll discover is that our history throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries was characterized by successive, periodic currency, fiscal and financial crises, accompanied by deep and prolonged economic recessions, some of which lasted literally for decades. The intended purpose of the Fed was to help stabilize our currency, financial markets and economy, in part by regulating the money supply to account for the fact that periods of economic expansion do, in fact, create new wealth (i.e., it’s not always necessarily a “zero-sum game”). Can anyone imagine what this country would be like if our current money supply was exactly the same as it was in 1912? The mere thought almost defies imagination. It's basically since the Fed came to be chaired exclusively by alumna of Goldman Sachs with clear conflicts of interest that it has become such a nefarious and untrustworthy institution.
2. Revisionist "history," insofar as it is (re-)written years after the fact by and specifically for the benefit of those with specific political agendas, is basically NOTHING MORE THAN A CODE WORD FOR SHAMELESS PROPAGANDA.
3. According to the most comprehensive study of national health care spending ever conducted, as of late 2004, a staggering $0.42 out of every dollar spent on health care went to administrative costs at insurance companies, excessive prescription drug costs, excessive and unnecessary diagnostic testing and shareholder profits, distributed as dividends to investors in publicly-held insurance companies. It is also worth noting that, since that study was published, we have also witnessed a further explosion in insurance premiums that can only be attributed to the need by large, oligarchic insurance companies to cover losses incurred on their investments - presumably in toxic, asset-backed securities. Those insurance companies were allowed to "go public," invest in such financial sludge and consolidate their health insurance businesses with other, less (or un)profitable lines of business as a result of LACK of regulation. The health insurance industry as a whole has also been allowed to consolidate so as to eliminate any meaningful competition by being EXPRESSLY EXEMPTED from antitrust regulation.
As eloquent and adept as folks like Ron Paul may be at articulating our frustrations with the problems we now face, I unfortunately fail to see how they offer any rational solutions:
ReplyDelete- Let's not forget, it is DEREGULATION (e.g., repeal of Glass-Steagall) that has brought about financial institutions that we're told are "too big to fail" - and, in fact, much of that deregulation was won by arguing that it was 'necessary for our financial institutions to be able to compete against European conglomerates that operated free of such compartmentalization and restrictions;'
- The other main contributing factor behind "too big to fail" is the failure of our government to enforce our antitrust laws - a policy that was first adopted by the Reagan administration. In fact, we are now facing the same problem first articulated by Teddy Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th Century; namely, that certain private interests have grown so big and powerful that they effectively "own" our government. This has been further compounded by the unchecked, weed-like growth of the lobbying industry and its ability to finance our politicians.
- The current disenfranchisement of successive economic classes of our population - and, for that matter, much of the depth and persistence of the current recession - has been brought about primarily by over-concentration of wealth - a condition which also characterized the economy of the late 1920s - and we all know what followed then.
I have yet to hear Ron Paul – or any other Libertarian for that matter – come up with any meaningful proposal aimed at fixing ANY of those problems. In fact, it seems to me that the libertarian “solution” amounts to nothing more than denial and abdication and, as such, would most likely only bring us more of the same misery with which we are now all afflicted.
Unfortunately for the Ron Pauls of this world, the “first step” in our recovery is recognizing that THERE IS NO “ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL” IDEOLOGICAL SOLUTION. We will need to overhaul much of our financial regulation by rationalizing it - not by dumping it wholesale. And, we will need to address the problem of overconcentration of wealth by creating a business environment that induces corporate management and investors to pay workers honest, living wages in the first place instead of hoarding all of the wealth for themselves, rather than by confiscating hoarded wealth by taxation, thereby setting off the same old, misguided “free market capitalism vs. socialism” debate. According to recent statistics, the average CEO compensation in BRAZIL is a little over 100 times the compensation paid to the average worker; here in the US, that CEO’s compensation is OVER 400 TIMES the compensation paid to the average worker. As such, our corporate pay structures now more closely resemble those of “third world” countries than even those of most “developing, second-world” nations. Doesn’t anyone see anything wrong with this? Apparently not, because the moment anyone proposes to change that situation, they get demonized – by the very people who are victims of such hoarding – as “socialists,” apparently because many people out there are living in their own little fantasy worlds, and are literally willing to vote against their own economic interests in favor of their fantasies of becoming the next billionaire, ‘if only the government would stop making them pay taxes.’ REALITY CHECK: YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY ANY INCOME TAXES IF YOU HAVE NO INCOME; DOES THAT MAKE YOU ANY BETTER OFF?
ReplyDeleteIf we are to regain our position as a leading economic and moral powerhouse in this world, we are going to have to reign in and moderate our all too prevalent “Greed is good” and “Holier-than-thou” mentalities in favor of the greater good of our society. That means (among other things) enacting campaign finance reform and stripping the lobbying industry of its power over our politicians to restore our government to what it was intended to be: By the People For the People. It means enforcing our antitrust laws as originally contemplated by those who enacted them; it means enacting and enforcing strict prohibitions against appointing those with blatant conflicts of interest to high positions of power within our regulatory system; and, it means creating disincentives for lopsided compensation structures that unreasonably overcompensate the wealthy while cannibalizing our middle classes – for example, we could change our tax laws to provide that excessive executive compensation (say, anything in excess of 100 times that paid to the company’s average full-time employee) would no longer be deductible as a “business expense.” But, perhaps most of all, it means that it is time for people to stop blindly following a bunch of simplistic ideologues who are incapable of recognizing that different times may call for different solutions, and allowing their opinions to be swayed by a bunch of greedy, disingenuous media jerks who spout empty, meaningless slogans and then laugh all the way to the bank.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always used to say that politics is like a pendulum: it swings too far to the left, and you need to push towards the right to get back to center; it swings too far to the right, and you need to push towards the left to get back to center – and extremes OF ANY KIND ultimately never bring anything but misery and disaster. NO SINGLE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY IS ALWAYS IDEAL. What made this country the most advanced and prosperous nation in the world was the fact that extremism had never been allowed to prevail over moderation. The main difference between the extreme right and the extreme left is, religion is the extreme right’s politics, while politics is the extreme left’s religion – starts to look kind of circular, huh?
Sorry to get off on such a lengthy rant, but it both sickens and scares me to see how many people are becoming disciples of extremist and polarizing ideologues based simply on their emotional appeal in voicing frustrations rather than on their offering any real, rational solutions to our very real-life challenges. WISEN UP, AMERICA – WANT TO SEE AMERICAN INGENUITY BACK AT WORK? THEN TURN OFF THE CABLE “NEWS” AND DEMAND SOME HONEST, INFORMATIVE AND TRULY UNBIASED REPORTING RATHER THAN MINDLESS, “FORMULA” SOUNDBYTES AND ACCUSATIONS; TELL THE PARASITIC, EXPLOITATIVE, SLOGAN-SLINGING “POPULISTS” AND PHONY, “BUSINESS-AS-USUAL,” PARTY-LINE POLITICIANS TO GO HOME; FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO US ALL INSTEAD OF THE PETTY, SELF-INDULGENT SPECIAL INTEREST ISSUES THEY WOULD HAVE YOU OBSESS ON. START THINKING FOR YOURSELVES AGAIN AND TELL THEM ALL THAT THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE TO STOP INSULTING YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND WORK A LOT HARDER FOR YOUR VOTES AND SUPPORT!
If we are to regain our position as a leading economic and moral powerhouse in this world, we are going to have to reign in and moderate our all too prevalent “Greed is good” and “Holier-than-thou” mentalities in favor of the greater good of our society. That means (among other things) enacting campaign finance reform and stripping the lobbying industry of its power over our politicians to restore our government to what it was intended to be: By the People For the People. It means enforcing our antitrust laws as originally contemplated by those who enacted them; it means enacting and enforcing strict prohibitions against appointing those with blatant conflicts of interest to high positions of power within our regulatory system; and, it means creating disincentives for lopsided compensation structures that unreasonably overcompensate the wealthy while cannibalizing our middle classes – for example, we could change our tax laws to provide that excessive executive compensation (say, anything in excess of 100 times that paid to the company’s average full-time employee) would no longer be deductible as a “business expense.” But, perhaps most of all, it means that it is time for people to stop blindly following a bunch of simplistic ideologues who are incapable of recognizing that different times may call for different solutions, and allowing their opinions to be swayed by a bunch of greedy, disingenuous media jerks who spout empty, meaningless slogans and then laugh all the way to the bank.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always used to say that politics is like a pendulum: it swings too far to the left, and you need to push towards the right to get back to center; it swings too far to the right, and you need to push towards the left to get back to center – and extremes OF ANY KIND ultimately never bring anything but misery and disaster. NO SINGLE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY IS ALWAYS IDEAL. What made this country the most advanced and prosperous nation in the world was the fact that extremism had never been allowed to prevail over moderation. The main difference between the extreme right and the extreme left is, religion is the extreme right’s politics, while politics is the extreme left’s religion – starts to look kind of circular, huh?
Sorry to get off on such a lengthy rant, but it both sickens and scares me to see how many people are becoming disciples of extremist and polarizing ideologues based simply on their emotional appeal in voicing frustrations rather than on their offering any real, rational solutions to our very real-life challenges.