Join Us for the Premiere of Danny Schechter’s ‘Plunder’
If you’re in the New York metro area for this event (details below), join us by RSVPing to plunder [at] disinfo.com. Otherwise, please help us spread the word on Danny Schechter’s new film, Plunder: The Crime of our Time, now available on iTunes and DVD.
Aldon O. James, Jr., The President of The National Arts Club, Globalvision Inc. and The Disinformation Company cordially invite
You and a Guest To The Premiere Screening Of Danny Schechter’s New Investigative Film Exposing the Financial Crisis as A Crime Story
PLUNDER: THE CRIME OF OUR TIME (APRIL 29, 2010)
In March of this year, a national poll found that despite all the partisan political polarization, 82% of the American people want a “crackdown on Wall Street.”
Yet to date, a handful of white collar criminals have been prosecuted and jailed for causing the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression.
The film, Plunder: The Crime of our Time is being released in April by The Disinformation Company and will be available on cable systems’ Video-On-Demand, on DVD and via iTunes. It is the first documentary feature to treat the financial crisis as a crime story.
The hard-hitting film features testimony by Wall Street bankers, economists, a convicted white collar criminal, real estate brokers and victims of mortgage scams. It explains how an estimated $197 trillion disappeared because of elaborate and sophisticated financial frauds. Plunder also indicts the media for not warning us or investigating the crisis in a timely way.
Media Fail: The U.S. Gov’t Making An $8 Billion Dollar Profit Off Its Bailed-Out CitiGroup ‘Investment’ … Is Complete BullSh*t
Headlines like “U.S. to sell entire stake in Citi at hefty profit” are complete BS. Dylan Ratigan explains in the first part of this clip below how we, the taxpayers, gave a total of $23.7 trillion to these banksters. $8.8 billion hardly makes a dent.
The greatest transfer (”theft”) of wealth to bankers in the history of the world has happened, and the beneficiaries are in the heart of Manhattan. It’s great for those folks, but has damaged the lives of many people living outside of that city across the country…
Michael Moore Talks Wall Street Crime with Bill Maher on ‘Real Time’
Michael Moore returns to the scene of the crime of our time, interviewed in front of the Goldman Sachs offices in New York City on the March, 5, 2010 episode of Real Time With Bill Maher. The Moore interview begins at around 2:20 in this clip:
Fears of A Second Crash Are Real: Congress Lacks The Appetite for Action…
What will it take? What are they waiting for? What part of the reality of a systemic crisis that will get worse don’t they get?
How is it possible that after near three years of economic turmoil, with possibly hundreds of TRILLIONs down the rabbit hole — not that anyone is counting or apparently can count — that the geniuses who run our economy still don’t “get” that the sh*t has already hit the fan? How many more jobs and homes have to be lost?
Michael Moore is not the only one predicting a second crash. Paul Krugman is all out words excoriating the Administration for its tepidness. Nouriel Roubini, who forecast the first meltdown, now says we are in serious danger of a “double-dip,” a lethal combo of rising inflation and deeper recession.
Woe to us if we can’t see the handwriting on so many walls.
The people in the know know that nothing has been fixed, know that all the stimuli have barely stimulated, that the new jobs bill will never generate the number of jobs that are needed, and that the banks have obscenely been raking in oodles of money thanks to all the financing taxpayers pumped into their coffers.
Even as the Obamaites finally get around to proposing a measure to break up the big banks and erode the notion of financial institutions being too big to fail, we have the New York Times telling us that Congress does not have the “appetite” — that’s the word they use — to tackle even modest financial reforms.
U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion
Via the Onion:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy ceased to function this week after unexpected existential remarks by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shocked Americans into realizing that money is, in fact, just a meaningless and intangible social construct.
Calling it “basically no more than five rectangular strips of paper,” Fed chairman Ben Bernanke illustrates how much “$200″ is actually worth.
What began as a routine report before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday ended with Bernanke passionately disavowing the entire concept of currency, and negating in an instant the very foundation of the world’s largest economy.
“Though raising interest rates is unlikely at the moment, the Fed will of course act appropriately if we … if we …” said Bernanke, who then paused for a moment, looked down at his prepared statement, and shook his head in utter disbelief. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. None of this — this so-called ‘money’ — really matters…
Americans United For Change Goes After Wall Street ‘Casinos’ With TV Ad
From Americans United For Change:
Americans United for Change and American Family Voices unveiled a new television ad today as part of a ramped up coalitional effort urging Congress to pass President Obama’s financial regulatory reform plan to make Wall Street more transparent and accountable and prevent another financial crisis. The new ad comes as Citi, one of the largest recipients of taxpayer dollars, revealed how Wall Street is fully back to business as usual by announcing plans to create “the first derivatives intended to pay out in the event of a financial crisis.”
Donate to ‘Plunder’ and Receive Credit on the DVD
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Kickstarter campaign for Danny Schechter’s upcoming documentary taking on Wall Street fraud, Plunder: The Crime of Our Time.
With your help, we were able to reach our Kickstarter goal. I’ve been receiving some questions on whether you can still donate, and the answer is a resounding YES!
If you donate $20 or more by February 3rd, you will receive name credit on the “Plunder” DVD and on the film’s website.
So go here to donate, and if you’re still wondering what this is all about, read this.
Wall Street is NOT too big to JAIL.
— Ralph Bernardo, The Disinformation Company
Revealed: See Who Was Paid Off In The AIG Bailout
Ryan Grim and Shahien Nasiripour write on the Huffington Post:
A key question at the heart of the controversial bailout of AIG is just how much money the government lost. The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have worked to keep that number secret and to conceal who was on the winning end.
An unredacted document obtained by the Huffington Post list the damage in detail. Goldman Sachs alone, for instance, got $14 billion in government money for assets worth $6 billion at the time — a de facto $8 billion subsidy, courtesy of taxpayers.
The list was produced as part of a congressional investigation led by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee into the federal bailout of AIG…
Don’t Hold Your Breath: Financial Crisis Inquiry Report Due Out in December?!?
Via The Daily Show:
Watch out, Wall Street, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is going to be writing a report that is due in December.
Banks Set To Record Pay Their People
Stephen Grocer writes in the Wall Street Journal:
Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their people about $145 billion for 2009, a record sum that indicates how compensation is climbing despite fury over Wall Street’s pay culture.
An analysis by the Wall Street Journal shows that executives, traders, investment bankers, money managers and others at 38 top financial companies can expect to earn nearly 18% more than they did in 2008—and slightly more than in the record year of 2007. The conclusions are based on an examination of securities filings for the first nine months of 2009 and revenue estimates through year-end.
The rapid comeback of pay on Wall Street, which will be on display as companies report fourth-quarter results starting with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. on Friday, has exposed the industry to a broadening mix of proposed crackdowns, including a 10-year, $90 billion bank tax described for…
Sen. Byron Dorgan, Who Predicted Financial Collapse Ten Years Ago, Retiring
How easily we forget this whole mess started under a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, with the repeal of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act in 199. Here’s Huffington Post from a few months ago that sums up why a guy like this retiring is a big deal. Dan Froomkin writes:
He got it right last time.
Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, was one of eight senators who stood up to oppose the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in 1999. That repeal, which was signed into law by President Clinton exactly 10 years ago today, broke down the barriers between commercial banking and investment banking, and led to the growth of behemoth financial firms that were able to take enormous risks with impunity, because they were “too big to fail.”
“I think we will in 10 years’ time look back and say we should not have done this,” Dorgan said back then. The video of his speech has become something of a cult favorite for wonks — ten years, a $700 billion bailout and a major financial crisis later.
Danny Schechter: As the Economy Slides, Time to Rein in the Banksters
Here’s Plunder: The Crime of Our Time filmmaker Danny Schechter’s latest article on the Huffington Post. If you’d like to contribute to Danny’s effort to take down these “banksters” check our KickStarter, thanks for your support by your donation and helping to spread the word on this important film.
It’s a new week, a new year, and some, erroneously believe a new decade. What’s not new is the stranglehold the banks have on our economy, quietly stashing billions for more bonuses, while still restricting the flow of credit. Bad loans have been supplanted by no loans.
Writers on the left continue to go after one bankster — the one we love to hate: Goldman Sachs, which has become the poster child for profiteering and even serving bad coffee in their cafeterias. Most ignore the rest of the avaricious industry which is still volatile with big pockets of insolvency and dependence of government bailout funds.
While the media has recently focused on the terror threat posed in Detroit, the terrifying reality in Detroit is generally ignored. The Associated Press reports…
Danny Schechter Dissects Wall Street Fraud: ‘Plunder: The Crime of Our Time’
“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men, they create for themselves in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it, and a moral code that glorifies it.”
– Political economist Frederic Bastiat, The Law (1850)
“I used to think of Wall Street as a financial center.
I now think of it as a crime scene.”
– Filmmaker Danny Schechter, Plunder (2009)
I am an old-fashioned “follow-the-money” journalist. As I’m writing this, most economists have learned to downplay fear and panic and up-play the “resilience” of the market. It’s a belief that all we need is confidence and then, all will be right with the world. Sadly, journalism has gone along with this charade by first denying the crisis and then avoiding investigating its architects and beneficiaries.
Three years ago, by choosing to be an “investigative” journalist, I made the film In Debt We Trust, with the idea in mind that I…
$14 Trillion, Not $700 Billion, is the Real Size of the Bailout
Posted on Before It’s News:
The price tag for the Wall Street bailout is often put at $700 billion—the size of the Troubled Assets Relief Program. But TARP is just the best known program in an array of more than 30 overseen by Treasury Department and Federal Reserve that have paid out or put aside money to bail out financial firms and inject money into the markets. To get a sense of the size of the real $14 trillion bailout, see the chart here. Below, a guide to the pieces of the puzzle:
Money Market Mutual Fund: In September 2008, the Treasury announced that it would insure the holdings of publicly offered money market mutual funds. According to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), these guarantees could have potentially cost the federal government more than $3 trillion [PDF].
Public-Private Investment Fund: This joint Treasury-Federal Reserve program bought toxic assets from banks and…
Wall Street Bonuses to Rise 40 Percent
Douglas A. McIntyre writes in MSN Money:
There has been plenty of evidence that firms like Goldman Sachs have had such huge profits that their bonus payouts may be at all-time highs.
The federal government has systematically begun to control bank pay packages. The Treasury “pay czar” is effectively controlling compensation at companies which still owe TARP money. The Fed is pressuring other large financial firms to tie pay to risk.
None of those efforts seems to be working well, because bankers are ignoring the signals from Washington.
A new compensation survey described in the Wall Street Journal predicts that Wall Street incentive pay will rise 40% this year. For those in the fixed-income part of the industry, the increase could be closer to 60%.
Data about pay packages will be available, in some cases, as banks release their proxies. It is safe to say that the study and other data from Wall Street show that…
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Received Swine Flu Vaccine First
KAREN MATTHEWS writes on the AP via Google News:
Some of New York’s biggest companies, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged.
Hospitals, universities and the Federal Reserve Bank also got doses of the vaccine for employees who need it the most, such as pregnant women or chronically ill workers, according to the city’s health department.
In order to receive the vaccine, companies had to have their own medical staff. Distributing large doses of the vaccine to such businesses is “a great avenue for vaccinating people at risk,” said Jessica Scaperotti, spokeswoman for the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
But critics said Wall Street firms should not have access to the vaccine before less wealthy Americans. “Vaccines should go to people who need them most, not people who happen to…
Dylan Ratigan: The Cost of Corporate Communism
Dylan Ratigan writes on the Huffington Post:
Lately I have been using the phrase “Corporate Communism” on my television show. I think it is an especially fitting term when discussing the current landscape in both our banking and health care systems.
As Americans, I believe we reject communism because it historically has allowed a tiny group of people to consolidate complete control over national resources (including people), in the process stifling competition, freedom and choice. It leaves its citizens stagnating under the perpetual broken systems with no natural motivation to innovate, improve services or reduce costs.
Lack of choice, lazy, unresponsive customer service, a culture of exploitation and a small powerbase formed by cronyism and nepotism are the hallmarks of a communist system that steals from its citizenry and a major reason why America spent half a century fighting a Cold War with the U.S.S.R.
And yet today we find ourselves as a country…
Remember, Remember the 5th of November
Please join us this November 5th for the largest one day multi-candidate donation event in history.
Pledge via feedburner here for the candidates of your choosing. Help spread the word.
Pay Your Bills on Time? There’s a Fee for That.
In an attempt to squeeze more revenue out of consumers who don’t rack up much debt, Citigroup, Bank of America, and other credit card companies are adding new fees. According to USA Today credit card users are being hit with new “inactivity fees” and fees for not putting enough debt on your credit cards. Consumers thinking about canceling their cards face taking a hit to their credit scores for closing an account.
Other consumers may have no choice – Citibank has been closing some credit card accounts without reason or warning, damaging their customers credit ratings.
I cut-up my credit cards last night.
Bailed-Out Banks Still Making Billions Off Derivatives: What “Everyone” Said Fueled the Financial Crisis…
Anyone think Gordon Gekko would be saying this today? On second thought, he probably would…
The Huffington Post reports:
Derivatives is one of the dirty words of the financial crisis. Though these often-risky bets were blamed by many for helping fuel the credit crunch and the downfall of Lehman Brothers and AIG, it seems that Wall Street has yet to learn its lesson.
U.S. commercial banks earned $5.2 billion trading derivatives in the second quarter of 2009, a 225 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Treasury Department.
