03 Economy – Page 156 – Public Intelligence Blog

2011/10/01

Penguin: Truth Tellers versus Triumph of the Lie

03 Economy, Blog Wisdom, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, IO Sense-Making, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth

Found this while browing, in comments to Robert Ringer's Triumph of the Lie, itself worth reading.

Doug Casey .. Douglas “Doug” Casey is an American-born free market economist, best-selling financial author, and international investor and entrepreneur.

Gerald Celente .. Gerald Celente is an American trend forecaster, publisher of the Trends Journal, business consultant and author who makes predictions about the global financial markets and other events of historical importance.

Bob Chapman .. Bob Chapman publishes International Forecaster, and brings to bear a lifetime of trading experience in gold and silver.

Bill Fleckenstein .. William A. Fleckenstein is president of Fleckenstein Capital, a money management firm based in Seattle. He writes a daily Market Rap column for his Web site, Fleckensteincapital.com, as well as the popular column Contrarian Chronicles for MSN Money.

Continue reading “Penguin: Truth Tellers versus Triumph of the Lie”

2011/10/012011/10/17

Mini-Me: Goldman Sachs Et Al In the Public Eye

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption

The Abacus prospectus

Felix Salmon

Reuters, 23 April 2010

I know you’ve been waiting for this one — here you go! Enjoy all 196 pages of it, and let me know what you find: Matthew Goldstein has already found a Goldman conflict of interest on page 71 (page 77 of the PDF) — the “Initial Collateral Security that is a CLO Security” turns out to be another Goldman product. Which is not obvious from the prospectus at all, since it isn’t even named.

ABACUS Offer Document

Pg 25

“The Protection Buyer or its affiliates and/or the Portfolio Selection Agent or its affiliates may have information, including material, non-public information, regarding the Reference Obligations and the Reference Entities.”

Looks like a lot of subprime shorts knew exactly what these servicers were up to. In terms of CDS payouts, default is a default…doesn’t matter how you come by it. Was this reference collateral selected on the basis of complicit servicers’ expertise in fabricating defaults?

If these reference obligations were selected and shorted with knowledge of subsidiary servicer complicity, this will turn out to be the largest insider trading scheme the world has ever seen.

Read comments

Phi Beta Iota: Emphasis added. “But enough eyeballs on it, no crime is invisible.” We are entering an era where Goldman Sachs and others are going to be subject to both enormous amounts of individual public scrutiny, and scorched earth legal campaigns by governments as well as Main Street corporations to extract compensation from Goldman Sachs and others for their many deliberate crimes that some call financial terrorism.

2011/09/30

Winslow Wheeler: Elitist Corruption on the Defense Budget

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Commerce, Corporations, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, DoD, Government, IO Deeds of War, Military, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Officers Call, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests

WinslowWheeler Cropped — Winslow Wheeler

Just as the leaders of US national security thinking led America into the war in Iraq based on the false premise of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and reckless, but politically powerful, rhetoric, Washington's elite are now circling the wagons around the defense budget. They are using the same disingenuous tactics and the same kind of rhetorical gibberish. While they have successfully intimidated the rest of the political system, they are also making huge fools of themselves.

I express my views on this and some defense budget facts you have not heard from these people in a commentary. Titled “The Stench of Elitism in Defense Spending,” it is available at the Politics page of the Huffington Post. Under the better mannered title “Elites Are Wrong,” an edit is also available at AOL Defense.

Full text below the line.

Continue reading “Winslow Wheeler: Elitist Corruption on the Defense Budget”

2011/09/292011/10/17

Koko: Leaderless Mobs – Occupy Wall Street & Occupy Freedom Plaza in Limbo

01 Poverty, 03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Government, IO Deeds of Peace, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth

Occupy Wall Street protesters driven by varying goals

Almost two weeks into an anti-greed sit-in, the ‘leaderless resistance movement' is at a crossroads.

By Tina Susman

Los Angeles Times

September 29, 2011, 5:48 p.m

Reporting from New York—

Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon have dropped in. A seasoned diplomat dispenses free advice. Supporters send everything from boxes of food and clothes to Whole Foods gift cards. They even have their own app, for the legions of fans following them on iPhones and Androids.

Nearly two weeks into a sit-in at a park in Manhattan's financial district, the “leaderless resistance movement” calling itself Occupy Wall Street is at a crossroads. The number of protesters on scene so far tops out at a few hundred, tiny by Athens or Cairo standards. But the traction they have gained from run-ins with police, a live feed from their encampment and celebrity visits is upping expectations. How about some specific demands, a long-term strategy, maybe even … office space?

So far the group, which generally defines itself as anti-greed, has none of those.

Read full article.

2011/09/29

Sunny: Federal Reserve Monitoring Social Sentiment…

03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, Advanced Cyber/IO, Commerce, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth

Federal Reserve looking to monitor social media

by Steve Ragan –

the tech herald, Sep 27 2011, 10:45

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) has invited companies specializing in sentiment analysis the chance to bid on a contract, which will allow the regional bank to monitor what people are saying about the Fed online. The solutions designed by hopeful vendors will need to track reactions and opinions expressed by the public in real time.

The RFP (Request for Proposal), was opened officially on September 16. Vendors wishing to take part in the bidding process will need to submit their solutions by 3:00 p.m. EST on September 28. Based on the RFP, the FRBNY is looking for a vendor who is in it for the long haul, and who can provide the most flexible monitoring system available for a reasonable amount of money.

Mini-Me Greek Default both Inevitable and Necessary

01 Poverty, 03 Economy, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Ethics, Government, IO Deeds of Peace, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Strategy

Mini-Me: Not only is the Greek default both inevitable and necessary, it may be the best possible catalyst for a new financial system combined with a massive global legal attack on Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and others that–with the full complicity of the US Government–“exploded” the global economy. Cases are starting to pop up that include racketeering charges (triple damages). My best guess is that Goldman Sachs, the IMF, the World Bank, and the Federal Reserve will cease to exist within 4-6 years.

YouTube: The Greek Debt Crisis Explained in Four Minutes

Why Greece Should Default on Debt and Leave the Euro

2011/09/292011/10/17

Pilots Take Wall Street Protests to “Next Level”

01 Poverty, 03 Economy, Civil Society, Corporations, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 27: Over 700 hundred Continental and United pilots, joined by additional pilots from other Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) carriers, demonstrate in front of Wall Street on September 27, 2011 in New York City. The pilots want to draw attention to the lack of progress on negotiations of the pilots' joint collective bargaining agreement ahead of the one-year anniversary of the corporate merger close date of United and Continental airlines.