THE CONFIDENTIAL MEMO AT THE HEART OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

renegademaster

in the age of information and leaks this is particularly sickening in my mind!

when is it going to end?

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/larry-summers-and-the-secret-end-game-memo

When a little birdie dropped the End Game memo through my window, its content was so explosive, so sick and plain evil, I just couldn't believe it.

The Memo confirmed every conspiracy freak’s fantasy: that in the late 1990s, the top US Treasury officials secretly conspired with a small cabal of banker big-shots to rip apart financial regulation across the planet. When you see 26.3 percent unemployment in Spain, desperation and hunger in Greece, riots in Indonesia and Detroit in bankruptcy, go back to this End Game memo, the genesis of the blood and tears.

The Treasury official playing the bankers’ secret End Game was Larry Summers. Today, Summers is Barack Obama’s leading choice for Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, the world’s central bank. If the confidential memo is authentic, then Summers shouldn’t be serving on the Fed, he should be serving hard time in some dungeon reserved for the criminally insane of the finance world.

The memo is authentic.

I had to fly to Geneva to get confirmation and wangle a meeting with the Secretary General of the World Trade Organisation, Pascal Lamy. Lamy, the Generalissimo of Globalisation, told me,

“The WTO was not created as some dark cabal of multinationals secretly cooking plots against the people... We don’t have cigar-smoking, rich, crazy bankers negotiating.”

Then I showed him the memo.

It begins with Larry Summers’ flunky, Timothy Geithner, reminding his boss to call the Bank bigshots to order their lobbyist armies to march:

“As we enter the end-game of the WTO financial services negotiations, I believe it would be a good idea for you to touch base with the CEOs…”

To avoid Summers having to call his office to get the phone numbers (which, under US law, would have to appear on public logs), Geithner listed the private lines of what were then the five most powerful CEOs on the planet. And here they are:

Goldman Sachs: John Corzine (212)902-8281

Merrill Lynch: David Kamanski (212)449-6868

Bank of America: David Coulter (415)622-2255

Citibank: John Reed (212)559-2732

Chase Manhattan: Walter Shipley (212)270-1380

Lamy was right: They don’t smoke cigars. Go ahead and dial them. I did, and sure enough, got a cheery personal hello from Reed – cheery until I revealed I wasn't Larry Summers. (Note: The other numbers were swiftly disconnected. And Corzine can’t be reached while he faces criminal charges.)

It's not the little cabal of confabs held by Summers and the banksters that’s so troubling. The horror is in the purpose of the "end game” itself.

Let me explain:

The year was 1997. US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin was pushing hard to de-regulate banks. That required, first, repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act to dismantle the barrier between commercial banks and investment banks. It was like replacing bank vaults with roulette wheels.

Second, the banks wanted the right to play a new high-risk game: “derivatives trading”. JP Morgan alone would soon carry $88 trillion of these pseudo-securities on its books as “assets”.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Summers (soon to replace Rubin as Secretary) body-blocked any attempt to control derivatives.

But what was the use of turning US banks into derivatives casinos if money would flee to nations with safer banking laws?

The answer conceived by the Big Bank Five: eliminate controls on banks in every nation on the planet -- in one single move. It was as brilliant as it was insanely dangerous.



Mod Snip: Please don't paste full articles.

biko

tldr

Anyone

So the cops knew that internal affairs were setting them up?

wil

biko wrote: »

tldr

Pity, was hoping for your summary. Have another go.

Tiddlypeeps

That article reads like dodgy murder mystery fiction.

It may well be true, and if it is it's f*cked up, but unless you can supply evidence of these memos actually existing then the conspiracy forum is that way

---

>

Jonny7

It's referencing the 1997 WTO talks which ended in December (the memo is dated November) The term "End-game" is just business jargon for the last stages of the negotiations.

whiskeyman

So no one really knew what a tracker mortgage was?

Jonny Blaze

Saw this yesterday and was sickened and enraged... and even (naively) surprised!

I wish people weren't so neutered and apathetic toward this stuff. Makes you want to go all 'French revolution' on it!

porsche959

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

Saw this yesterday and was sickened and enraged... and even (naively) surprised!

I wish people weren't so neutered and apathetic toward this stuff. Makes you want to go all 'French revolution' on it!

Honest question...why?

The power-brokers of the world have been in hock to the creed of free market extremism for quite a while now - that isn't news, surely?

Jonny7

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

Saw this yesterday and was sickened and enraged... and even (naively) surprised!

I wish people weren't so neutered and apathetic toward this stuff. Makes you want to go all 'French revolution' on it!

Probably because it's a harmless memo for the close of trade negotiations.. heavily editorialised into some plot or another in an online blog.

porsche959

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

That article reads like dodgy murder mystery fiction.

It may well be true, and if it is it's f*cked up, but unless you can supply evidence of these memos actually existing then the conspiracy forum is that way

---

>

Erhm. The article links to the actual memo. The writer's piece is interpretation, which you may or may not agree with.

--Kaiser--

I'd be willing to put money on this being a hoax

porsche959

Jonny7 wrote: »

Probably because it's a harmless memo for the close of trade negotiations.. heavily editorialised into some plot or another in an online blog.

I don't know I'd entirely agree that it's harmless, but it's unsurprising and not an important revelation for sure.

looksee

I'd be willing to put money on this being a hoax

Whose money?

Wossack

sounds like the name of a Tom Clancy novel

MadsL

looksee wrote: »

Whose money?

Someone else's of course.

renegademaster

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

I'd be willing to put money on this being a hoax

even after all that's come out over the last few years regarding dodgy banking practices, blatant contempt of the 99.9% these bankers screwed over, Libya and the handful of remaining non-rothchild central banking systems?!?

Jonny Blaze

The memo itself could be interpreted any number of ways and in itself is reasonably benign sure, but the willful collusion of finance companies in creating dangerous and risky market conditions via sub prime capital as well as self sustaining AAA ratings certifications which led to the financial crisis are not.

Neither is using economic bullying to force conservative commodity based economies to accept dealings in said bad capital.

'Revelations' such as this merely refocus my anger afresh.

Jonny Blaze

porsche959 wrote: »

Erhm. The article links to the actual memo. The writer's piece is interpretation, which you may or may not agree with.

There is also an interview the author did with officials at the WTO concerning this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqJmEPuBgc&feature=player_embedded

Tiddlypeeps

porsche959 wrote: »

Erhm. The article links to the actual memo. The writer's piece is interpretation, which you may or may not agree with.

Ah, so they are. Are these links working for anyone else, they don't seem to want to load for me

Memo 1:
http://www.gregpalast.com//vulturespicnic/pages/filecabinet/chapter12/Geithner_Summers%20Memo.pdf

Memo 2:
http://www.gregpalast.com//vulturespicnic/pages/filecabinet/chapter12/5_protocol.pdf

Jonny7

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

The memo itself could be interpreted any number of ways and in itself is reasonably benign sure, but the willful collusion of finance companies in creating dangerous and risky market conditions via sub prime capital as well as self sustaining AAA ratings certifications which led to the financial crisis are not.

Neither is using economic bullying to force conservative commodity based economies to accept dealings in said bad capital.

'Revelations' such as this merely refocus my anger afresh.

What revelation came from this memo?

renegademaster

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

Ah, so they are. Are these links working for anyone else, they don't seem to want to load for me

Memo 1:
http://www.gregpalast.com//vulturespicnic/pages/filecabinet/chapter12/Geithner_Summers%20Memo.pdf

Memo 2:
http://www.gregpalast.com//vulturespicnic/pages/filecabinet/chapter12/5_protocol.pdf

don't work for me.

*awaits anonymous or wikileaks to release the actual documents

Jonny Blaze

Jonny7 wrote: »

What revelation came from this memo?

None. Hence the quotation marks.

Also, are you a banker by any chance? You seem very defensive about this.

--Kaiser--

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

None. Hence the quotation marks.

Also, are you a banker by any chance? You seem very defensive about this.

Maybe he's just displaying healthy cynicism and critical thinking skills?
Something you should try one day

renegademaster

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

There is also an interview the author did with officials at the WTO concerning this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqJmEPuBgc&feature=player_embedded

never seen this til now, cheers for sharing it

Jonny Blaze

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Maybe he's just displaying healthy cynicism and critical thinking skills?
Something you should try one day

Um.. Excuse me? In what regard is anything I have said poorly thought out? Or even subject to such a statement?

--Kaiser--

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

Um.. Excuse me? In what regard is anything I have said poorly thought out? Or even subject to such a statement?

Exempli gratia

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

Saw this yesterday and was sickened and enraged... and even (naively) surprised!

I wish people weren't so neutered and apathetic toward this stuff. Makes you want to go all 'French revolution' on it!

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

None. Hence the quotation marks.

Also, are you a banker by any chance? You seem very defensive about this.

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

'Revelations' such as this merely refocus my anger afresh.

Jonny Blaze

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Exempli gratia

Congratulations, you have successfully quoted my statements without elaborating as to the intent of your own.

The question was

In what regard is anything I have said poorly thought out? Or even subject to such a statement?

Potatoeman

'Market investment' is a fancy word for gambling.

dr strangelove

wil wrote: »

Pity, was hoping for your summary. Have another go.

tl:dr - Yep, We're screwed.

--Kaiser--

Jonny Blaze wrote: »

Congratulations, you have successfully quoted my statements without elaborating as to the intent of your own.

The question was

Because you're getting incredibly worked up about something that a) may be a complete hoax or b) not even slightly relevant to what the site in the link is making it out to be

KyussBishop

The guy who wrote the article is Greg Palast, one of the most well-renowned investigative journalists around (particularly within the US); the people casting doubt on this, are just being cynical for the sake of it, not bothering to even do minimal research on what they are criticizing.

You can tell when someone has no intention of even looking at the validity of an argument, when they have a reflexive "I'm not convinced" response to everything presented - they usually only display this kind of cynicism against stuff that attacks their favoured ideology (free-market/deregulated capitalism - which so happens to include rhetorical defense of fraudsters, and defense of market conditions that allow fraud, i.e. defense of deregulation), and none towards anything that supports their ideology.

The "I'm not convinced" bollocks is typically just posters being obstinate and setting the ground for rhetorical attacks, without engaging in any actual substantive argument - because they will never win if they engage in logical argument, they need to resort to rhetoric.

Often, posters try to present this as intellligent 'skepticism', when it is just plain denial and cynicism - spreading FUD about an important topic, to bolster their own ideology.

--Kaiser--

KyussBishop wrote: »

The guy who wrote the article is Greg Palast, one of the most well-renowned investigative journalists around (particularly within the US); the people casting doubt on this, are just being cynical for the sake of it, not bothering to even do minimal research on what they are criticizing.

You can tell when someone has no intention of even looking at the validity of an argument, when they have a reflexive "I'm not convinced" response to everything presented - they usually only display this kind of cynicism against stuff that attacks their favoured ideology (free-market/deregulated capitalism - which so happens to include rhetorical defense of fraudsters, and defense of market conditions that allow fraud, i.e. defense of deregulation), and none towards anything that supports their ideology.

The "I'm not convinced" bollocks is typically just posters being obstinate and setting the ground for rhetorical attacks, without engaging in any actual substantive argument - because they will never win if they engage in logical argument, they need to resort to rhetoric.

Often, posters try to present this as intellligent 'skepticism', when it is just plain denial and cynicism - spreading FUD about an important topic, to bolster their own ideology.

It's not an intellectual deficiency to want to be convinced of something, to harbour doubts about what someone tells you. I'm more interested in what he can prove than how respected he is as a journalist. So far all I can find on the internet is the same article posted over and over again

hansfrei

Not new news. Didnt this all come out before the NSA started their grand schemes in 2008?

renegademaster

renegademaster wrote: »

The Memo confirmed every conspiracy freak’s fantasy: that in the late 1990s, the top US Treasury officials secretly conspired with a small cabal of banker big-shots to rip apart financial regulation across the planet. When you see 26.3 percent unemployment in Spain .... Detroit in bankruptcy, go back to this End Game memo, the genesis of the blood and tears.

A quick check suggests the Spanish unemployment rate fell from 19.5% at the start of 1998 to 8.0% in 2007 before ballooning back up to 27.3% now - was the memo responsible for the good outcomes or just the bad outcomes?

Robocop was made in 1987 - Detroit's problems didn't start in the late 90s.
I'm not going to bother reading the rest.

Tiddlypeeps

KyussBishop wrote: »

The guy who wrote the article is Greg Palast, one of the most well-renowned investigative journalists around (particularly within the US); the people casting doubt on this, are just being cynical for the sake of it, not bothering to even do minimal research on what they are criticizing.

You can tell when someone has no intention of even looking at the validity of an argument, when they have a reflexive "I'm not convinced" response to everything presented - they usually only display this kind of cynicism against stuff that attacks their favoured ideology (free-market/deregulated capitalism - which so happens to include rhetorical defense of fraudsters, and defense of market conditions that allow fraud, i.e. defense of deregulation), and none towards anything that supports their ideology.

The "I'm not convinced" bollocks is typically just posters being obstinate and setting the ground for rhetorical attacks, without engaging in any actual substantive argument - because they will never win if they engage in logical argument, they need to resort to rhetoric.

Often, posters try to present this as intellligent 'skepticism', when it is just plain denial and cynicism - spreading FUD about an important topic, to bolster their own ideology.

If someone makes a claim they want people to believe then the onus is on them to provide the evidence for it.

Someone not taking your word at face value is not cynicism.

The OP is making a very bold claim. That the entire financial collapse was essentially orchestrated. This may very well be the case but without reasonable evidence to back it up it appears to be just speculation and paranoia.

The OP hasn't even been able to provide working links to the memos in question, never mind reasonable proof that they are real.

Either way I think the memo's should be investigated but until then I think drawing any conclusions from them without further evidence is premature at best.

KyussBishop

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

It's not an intellectual deficiency to want to be convinced of something, to harbour doubts about what someone tells you. I'm more interested in what he can prove than how respected he is as a journalist. So far all I can find on the internet is the same article posted over and over again

There's nothing intellectual behind it. It's pure cynicism for the sake of it - a poster who does not give a toss about the argument, but wants to remain eternally unconvinced to cast doubt on it, and has no interest in the validity of the argument.

Would take them two seconds to check up the credibility of the author to guide their opinions, except no, they want to be unconvinced - at best that's ignorance, but is more often the case, just ideological defensiveness.

--Kaiser--

KyussBishop wrote: »

There's nothing intellectual behind it. It's pure cynicism for the sake of it - a poster who does not give a toss about the argument, but wants to remain eternally unconvinced to cast doubt on it, and has no interest in the validity of the argument.

Would take them two seconds to check up the credibility of the author to guide their opinions, except no, they want to be unconvinced - at best that's ignorance, but is more often the case, just ideological defensiveness.

Credibility of the author is not what is at issue - the credibility of the document is. And you're using plenty of rhetoric yourself

KyussBishop

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

If someone makes a claim they want people to believe then the onus is on them to provide the evidence for it.

Someone not taking your word at face value is not cynicism.

The OP is making a very bold claim. That the entire financial collapse was essentially orchestrated. This may very well be the case but without reasonable evidence to back it up it appears to be just speculation and paranoia.

The OP hasn't even been able to provide working links to the memos in question, never mind reasonable proof that they are real.

Either way I think the memo's should be investigated but until then I think drawing any conclusions from them without further evidence is premature at best.

The article in the OP quite clearly described the enforcement of deregulation around the world, which directly led to the economic crisis - what facts are you missing.

The memo is linked right there in the authors article, and even though his site is down right now, you have a high burden of proof to claim that he is presenting a fake memo, or making this up, seeing as he has such credibility as an author.

That is exactly making up an excuse to remain 'unconvinced', as it takes you no time at all to check up the authors credibility, and that he doesn't just 'make up' claims.

KyussBishop

It's actually up again now:
http://www.gregpalast.com//vulturespicnic/pages/filecabinet/chapter12/Geithner_Summers%20Memo.pdf

KyussBishop

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Credibility of the author is not what is at issue - the credibility of the document is. And you're using plenty of rhetoric yourself

The author explains right in the article that the authenticity is confirmed - you (and others) merely spreading FUD at this stage, to cast doubt on it.

Quote one place I've used rhetoric in place of actual argument.

Tiddlypeeps

KyussBishop wrote: »

The article in the OP quite clearly described the enforcement of deregulation around the world, which directly led to the economic crisis - what facts are you missing.

The memo is linked right there in the authors article, and even though his site is down right now, you have a high burden of proof to claim that he is presenting a fake memo, or making this up, seeing as he has such credibility as an author.

That is exactly making up an excuse to remain 'unconvinced', as it takes you no time at all to check up the authors credibility, and that he doesn't just 'make up' claims.

Thank you for linking the memo. It's kind of just made things more vague and fuzzy because it doesn't really say anything.

I believe the deregulation happened, it's the enforced bit that I take issue with.

Anyway I don't really see the point in debating with a person who calls someone a cynic just because they ask for evidence. It's not likely to lead to a reasonable debate.

Rented Mule

Detroit was going to go bankrupt regardless of what any bankers were doing.

Jonny7

KyussBishop wrote: »

The guy who wrote the article is Greg Palast, one of the most well-renowned investigative journalists around (particularly within the US); the people casting doubt on this, are just being cynical for the sake of it, not bothering to even do minimal research on what they are criticizing.

Never heard of the guy before, then again I don't watch Alex Jones or Russia Today so much anymore.

NuckingFacker

What should annoy people equally, but does not, for some reason, is the "end game" that is the EU. Despite having borrowed and ruled the entire Euro-zone into financial destitution, mass unemployment and massive transfers of wealth from Public funds to Private vaults, we all still struggle to be seen as "Model Europeans".

What's a "model european"? Someone aged 18-35 who is unemployed, or a worker who is Taxed half to death with little or no prospect of a pension? And what's a "Model European Country"? One that is mired in defecit and ruled by the IMF and ECB having become so powerless and overborrowed that it has to go begging for assistance? I'm not sure it's all it's cracked up to be.

There's more than one end-game being played out at the moment.

Jonny Blaze

Don't get me wrong, I definitely agree with adopting a position of skepticism when forming opinions, and I apologise if I was coming across as being overly incensed in my earlier comments Kaiser, i can see how it would seem like that from what i said.

I am not really all that worked up about any of this stuff, i was merely spouting off. However i don't know if there can be huge amount of doubt, at least in my mind, about the harm that has been done to the current global financial environment by the unbridled free market economics ushered in by the likes of thatcher and reagan.

UCDVet

Meh....

I expect people to act in their own best interest. Honestly, we all do it. Companies even have a legal obligation to act in the best interest of the share holders.

I can't blame someone for playing by the rules and trying to come out on top.
I can't blame a company for playing by the rules and trying to come out on top.

If someone is breaking the law, our politicians/judicial system is supposed to stop and punish them.
If someone isn't breaking the law, but is causing serious problems to others, our politicians/judicial system is supposed to adapt and make those actions illegal.

I can't blame a guy for moving his retirement into the funds he thinks will return the most money.
I can't blame a mortgage company for trying to maximize their returns.

If anyone failed, it was our politicians.
And we elected them.

FJR

Here is Greg Palast on Max Keiser show "keiser report number 498"

http://rt.com/shows/keiser-report/episode-498-max-keiser-929/

General General

Deleted User wrote: »

A quick check suggests the Spanish unemployment rate fell from 19.5% at the start of 1998 to 8.0% in 2007 before ballooning back up to 27.3% now - was the memo responsible for the good outcomes or just the bad outcomes?

Robocop was made in 1987 - Detroit's problems didn't start in the late 90s.
I'm not going to bother reading the rest.

Robocop was set in the future of 1987, duh.

:pac:

stmol32

renegademaster wrote: »

I had to fly to Geneva to get confirmation and wangle a meeting with the Secretary General of the World Trade Organisation...

That's an awful lot of dedication just so you can post a thread on boards.ie

Potatoeman

This thread reminds me of assault on wallstreet. I was watching it and all the time thinking why did he invest all his money if he needed it. Stocks and shares are a gamble.