It makes one sick to think that banks like Goldman Sachs can manipulate the financial system purely for its own purposes without its being illegal. As far as it can be ascertained, the new bank reforms under Dodd-Frank still don't make those actions, or actions like those, illegal. No wonder we are waiting for the next crisis!
However, as some commentators have said, Goldman Sachs could be prosecuted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, that makes the CEO and CFO responsible for signing off on the accuracy of their financial reports. But, apparently, those actions don't apply to Goldman Sachs.
Everything seems to boil down to the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) of 2000 which
...."officially ensured deregulation of financial products known as over-the-counter derivatives....It clarified the law so that most over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions between 'sophisticated parties' would not be regulated as 'futures' ...or as 'securities.' Instead, the major dealers of those products (banks and securities firms) would continue to have their dealings in OTC derivatives supervised by their federal regulators under general 'safety and soundness' standards." (Wikipedia)
You can see why Blankfein insisted on how "sophisticated" his investors were!
President Obama, Part 1
President Obama, Part 2
You can see both videos here
13 COMMENTS:
Dear Mr Blankfein
When you dandle your grandson on your knee, what do you say to him? Do you talk about integrity, honesty, playing fair and being generous? Do you wish him to live in a world where everyone gets an equal chance to live a life without fear, with access to adequate food, shelter and education?
You and your bank have changed the world for the worse. Now savings are being ravaged; wages are flat and pensions are becoming smaller, except for the CEOs and other executives that brought this financial mess to us who now have more money than they can spend in a lifetime. Your next bit of lobbying will be for Your benefit; your next campaign contribution will be for Your benefit.
Perhaps through your grandsons or granddaughters, you can begin to have empathy for those from whom you stole through selling fraudulent securities. Maybe you will see that greed and money are not the answer.
Sincerely,
An Avid Observer and Believer in the Best in Human Nature
Obscene greed, pathological lying, cheating, stealing, whoring, thieving, and the unbelievably blatant hypocrisy is the norm, at least with most politicians, the top echelons of the monolithic corporations, and the lobbyists whom tirelessly pander to the government hacks for Corporate special interests, largely even more Deregulation.There seems that there are no boundaries at all with the likes of these people; they do not even live among any of us, really; further, I don't think they care at all. About any one or anything but themselves, their own self interests and mind-boggling covetousness, as if to say, "I have mine and I want it all to myself." Like an [anti-social] two year-old bratty child who has never been taught to share. Are we being duped by a bunch of sociopaths? Because these people display absolutely no conscience at all.So when did it start going so wrong? I do believe that it did start under Ronald Reagan and his "greed is good" mentality. And with all the reckless deregulation of every industry: No rules to follow, no legal obligations to honor, no recourse for anyone if they get trampled--and we are ALL getting trampled (Actually, I feel as if I am being RAPED REPEATEDLY IN BROAD DAYLIGHT), and left to run amok by, really, a bunch of greedy, stingy, totally AMORAL people who sold their souls to the DEVIL itself!!. We can all see the results (Just LOOK AROUND YOU).Conclusion: People, particularly THESE people, cannot and SHALL NOT be trusted; Trusted especially to be "good samaritans" on good faith; It is pretty clear to me that we, as a nation, must FORCE them to follow and obey some basic rules of conscience. These people, and I directly blame every last rotten one of them, they are so out of touch and so totally out of control in every conceivable way, it has become nothing but a game to these people; the power, the money, the fame and whatever else they are constantly and pitifully striving to attain. But there is no foundation for these people; no scruples, no sense of basic decency, no moral compass, no knowledge or awareness...of anything really, except their own insane and insatiable desires. There is absolutely nothing good about them and they offer society nothing good and certainly nothing of value.
His family is set..the money will never run out...and he's not interested.
Just like this guy!
Mr. Parasite Goes To Washington
Time for Corzine’s Law
The greatest con men and hucksters crave interaction with those they are swindling. Like an executioner who really likes his job, these sociopaths really like to look deeply into their victims’ eyes and witness the moment when they’ve won. Corzine testified to Congress without his attorney sitting next to him. No quick chats with counsel – no coaching in front of the cameras. No – Corzine wanted to shove the hearing in the faces of those who had the temerity to subpoena him. So the staging was raw, bold and risky, but the answers were finely pre-parsed to leave his accusers with nothing. In my opinion, the man is as sociopathic as they come – his career has been built on finding suckers and taking them for a ride – as a trader, as a partner, as a Senator, as a Governor, as a CEO and now as a witness. I think Corzine got off on leaving Congressmen befuddled and slack jawed as he related a narrative in which he, as CEO, was in no way responsible yet deeply apologetic.
http://wallstreetexaminer.com/2011/12/11/mr-parasite-goes-to-washington/
No government, any more than an individual, will long be respected without being truly respectable.--MADISON.
Here are more true words, True Words:
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."~ Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered..'" ~ Thomas Jefferson, 1802"There are plenty of ugly things about wealth and its possessors in the present age, and I suppose there have been in all ages. There are many rich people who so utterly lack patriotism, or show such sordid and selfish traits of character, or lead such mean and vacuous lives, that all right-minded men must look upon them with angry contempt...~Theodore Roosevelt
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
~ Sinclair Lewis
Tough Questions for MF Global, Conflicted Trustee Giddens & SIPC President Harbeck
EB: And now, from the lengthy statements filed by the liquidation trustee James W. Giddens and his counsel James B. Kobak, Jr., both of the law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (HHR), where many pages are spent revealing the firm's limited exposure to JP Morgan, glossed over is the most relevant fact: that MF Global's auditor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, is not only a material revenue center for HHR ($21 million over two years), but HHR's very auditor! If this is not grounds for a determination of "interestedness", then we don't know what is, especially in light of the MF Global offerings that were conducted backed by PwC opinions. (See Teri Buhl's "Jefferies Bond Trader Claims MF Global Lied to get Bonds Issued".)
Statement by Giddens:
Statement Corrected Trustees Statement - Mg Statement
Statement by Kobak:
Declaration of James B Kobak Jr in Sup - Main Document
And the memorandum of law filed by the completely useless SIPC, where we learn that the entity (whose sole mandate is to resolve failing brokers) had done exactly nothing until the day of the MF Global bankruptcy itself. Citing exigency as cause for selection of a liquidation trustee (Giddens) on the heals of an OIG report that found his fees in the Lehman liquidation were excessive, will not fly. Exactly why Giddens would then be placed on the SIPC reform committee is another question to be answered (presumably so he could recommend his hourly rate be lowered from $891 to $819).
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/tough-questions-mf-global-conflicted-trustee-giddens-sipc-president-harbeck?
Decade after decade, rampant and blatant high crimes among elected government officials and among the uber-wealthy whom run large corporations, continues to grow worse here in America. As I look on in utter disbelief, as political events unfold both here in America and around the world, a rather clear pattern emerges: Not one of these political and/or corporate powerhouses is ever prosecuted for breaking any laws, whether U. S. laws or International laws. And, make no mistake, the laws that these apparent "untouchables" brazenly breaking are very, very serious laws, such as fraud, scheme to defraud, elder (financial) abuse, profiteering, and, of course, constant war crimes. Again and again, year after year, I see these filthy criminals breaking every single law on the books, and still not one of them is ever held accountable for any of their blatant crimes!! One of the most glaring and recent examples without a doubt are the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Rove, WAR crimes. And, of course, all the other clansmen that get away with every crime imaginable up to and including murder. Not only is this incredible; it is also unforgivable.I also see that NONE of the (corporate-owned) media/press follows through on ANY of the facts of any of the many cases. One blip may appear one day on a back page of a (corporate-owned) newspaper, but then it just...disappears. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with any and all other law enforcement agencies, do absolutely NOTHING; In fact, the criminals get FULL Pardons, Full ASYLUM, right here in America; None are ever investigated, indicted, prosecuted or punished. In fact, they are ABOVE ALL LAWS.And Just Remember: It was President Obama that clearly stated that he would not get involved in prosecutions of these (war crimes and financial terrorism) crimes; He said, "I want to look forward, not go backward." Well, I say to him, I want to move forward by upholding both the U.S. laws and the world's laws. If we continue to totally ignore SERIOUS CONSTANT crimes and the criminals walk away scott-free every time, it only gives both the criminals and the would-be criminals license to behave as if they're above the law. And that is exactly how they conduct themselves. Indeed this is a travesty...
CME knows they are between a rock and a hard place.
At one point Armstrong’s firm rose to be perhaps
the largest multinational corporate advisor in the world. Armstrong had
this to say about about corruption in the system, “Given the
corruption in the legal system, the regulators...The SEC, the CFTC,
they’ve never prevented a single thing, nothing. Madoff, MF Global, you
name it they haven’t done it. So I don’t know what we are paying these
people for. Corzine, I know from (an) inside source at the SEC, there
were going to be rules to prevent them from doing exactly what they are
doing.”
Click here for a written intro on the interview by KWN of Martin Armstrong. Audio to be released later.
When asked about a communication he received regarding
the MF Global situation, Armstrong stated, “Largely because of my
comments on this subject, I received an email (from the CME) saying that
the CME is now considering ponying up $550 million to help the
investors to bring them back up to at least an 88% level instead of the
72% level from the court.
Legally the CME should bring it up to 100% and then they become the
creditor against the banks. They probably don’t have the money. But
the banks should be giving back all of the money they took from MF
Global. They know what the deal is, they know it was client’s assets….
They (investors) have been moving money dramatically from New York.
You don’t want your money at a place that’s trading right now…It’s just
crazy. What’s going on around the world, everybody is really concerned
at practically every level and now we have MF Global, which is bringing into question the validity of the US financial system.
Just because the CME is thinking about actually doing their job,
doesn’t mean they will do it. It is gg’s humble opinion that the CME
knows Martin’s influence and they are trying to quell the mass exit of
funds from the US trading houses by starting their own rumor mill. Get
that piece of paper from your broker if you decide to continue to trade,
regardless of the outcome of MF Global’s customer funds.
If CME reps were at the World Economic Conference, they know they are doomed.
http://totallygroovygirlfriday.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/cme-is-talking-to-martin-armstrong/
Did Jonny Lie?
The MF Global scandal continues to rot and sicken. After the bell the testimony from CME Chairman Duffy to the Senate indicated that Jon Corzine was perjuring himself when he said he had no knowledge of the customer money transfers. That does open up a 'he said, he said' situation, depending on who said what, and what they really know.
And Giddens just testified that on Saturday lawyers notified him by phone and email that Corzine knew of the transfers of customer funds and that at all times the people doing the transfers were under the authority of MF Global management
Perhaps now would be a good time to cut a deal and throw someone else under the bus, Jon, and not 'take one for the team.' And please stay out of parks, accept no packages, and don't fly in small airplanes if you do.
As noted intraday, JPM and the Trustee are divvying up the MF Global cash account amongst themselves. The Trustee hopes to pay back the customers out of the company assets 'if possible.'
MF Global is more of a crime scene than a simple bankruptcy. What puzzles me is how MF Global was able to transfer all these customers funds and assets without records in the banking system? What happened to all those anti-money-laundering rules on fund transfers? Are they just for the 'little people' too?
The interests of the customers seem largely under-represented. Where is the CFTC and the Justice Department in all this again? Will Max Keiser put up a documentary titled Where's Jonny for funding?
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2011/12/gold-daily-and-silver-weekly-charts_13.html
CME Executive Chairman Terry Duffy Throws Jon Corzine Under The Bus, Implies The "Honorable" Governor Lied Under Oath
Following another boring day of hemming and hewing, during which
Corzine repeatedly exhibited unbearable amnesia and said he had no
knowledge of virtually anything until Sunday night, here comes the CME
Executive Chairman Terry Duffy, under oath, with what Roberts
said "is a bomb" statement which basically says that Corzine lied under
oath. Specifically, according to Duffy's remarks during the Q&A, an
MF Global employee, a woman, advised the CME that Corzine had been
aware of a $175 million loan made to Euro affiliates just days prior to
the bankruptcy: a loan which effectively was that of commingled
customer accounts, and more importantly a refutation of previous
statement under oath by the man who was "financial advisor" to none
other than the vice president of the United States who said he did not
know about this until late on Sunday. This was not in his prepared
testimony. What was is that "Transfers of customer funds for the
benefit of the firm constitute serious violations of our rules and of
the Commodity Exchange Act." And now we know that according to the
Chairman of the CME, the MF Global head lied about the timing of the
disclosure. And where it gets worse, is that MF Global was well aware of
this, it told the CME to it knew about the segregated account money,
and most importantly, it told the CME to stop looking for the segregated
account money! Because being the firm of Obama's handler apparently makes you equivalent with the law.http://www.zerohedge.com/news/cme-chairman-terry-duffy-throws-jon-corzine-under-bus?
Was The "Collapse" Of MF Global Premeditated? A Conspiracy Theory
Which bring us to a rather disturbing theory proposed by Walter Burien of CAFR1.com who has floated the rather the chilling idea, and what some may call an outright conspiracy theory, that by scuttling MF, Corzine effectively helped some shell company (or companies) which were controlled by a "cabal" of his closest confidants (we will let readers come up with their own theories who the former CEO of Goldman Sachs may have been close with) to make the offsetting profit that resulted from the accelerated and massive losses borne by MF's stakeholders in the vicious liquidation. As Burien says: "A government and media cover up would just focus on MFG's loss. A true and open investigation would be focused on "who" took the other side of the coin; the profit."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/was-collapse-mf-global-premeditated-conspiracy-theory?
Say goodbye to the 1st, 5th, & 6th amendments!
December 14 - Obama Will Not Veto the Assault on the Bill of Rights
We begin with Shahid Buttar, the executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee to discuss the contents of the Defense Authorization bill the President had threatened to veto but now appears willing to sign into law. We examine provisions in the bill the Pentagon and the FBI opposed which the White House now accepts and determine how much they pose a threat to the civil liberties of Americans exercising their constitutional rights under the first, fifth and sixth amendments.
http://ianmasters.com/sites/default/files/mp3/bbriefing_2011_12_14a_rashid%20buttar.mp3
http://ianmasters.com/content/december-14-obama-will-not-veto-assault-bill-rights-real-reason-post-office-going-broke-can-
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