March 2024 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Before cryptoanarchy there was High Times anarchy
by pro2rat＠yahoo.com.au 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Correlation not causation but this came out a decade before the cryptoanarchist manifesto Firewalled Firewalled like Bloomberg clickbait https://archive.hightimes.com/article/1978/11/1/anarchy >From memory of my own copy, thats survived almost 50 years, this isn't the worst potted history of anarchism you might ever read. Not the greatest either, but the timing is interesting. Mong almost certainly wanted to revive the discredited corpse of Murray Rothbard. Except he did reside in California most of his rotten life. Presented in the interest of non revisionist list history, oh, and buttbongs. Bong on!

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Bank.org Concern of BitLicense Marketplace Manipulation
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

July 25, 2021 BY ELECTRONIC MAIL United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 14420 Albemarle Point Place Suite 102 Chantilly, VA 20151-1750 ATTN: SEC TCR SUBMISSIONS Re: Bank.org Concern of BitLicense Marketplace Manipulation Dear Sir or Madam: Virtual currency fraud is a serious problem for such a developed country as the United States, whose bank regulators have drawn attention to the increase of these crimes. Having discovered that an unregulated virtual currency sphere (such as in Africa, or other developing markets) is very popular among virtual currency fraudsters, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NY-DFS) concluded that this kind of regulatory fraud was threatening U.S. national security. Bank.org’s NY-DFS Shelf Charter application journey has prompted us to contact the SEC with concern of common Directors at Facebook and PayPal (incl. Xoom) who have potentially manipulated the New York State Common Retirement Fund and New York State Teachers Retirement Fund through BitLicense marketplace manipulation tactics and computer crimes. Bank.org's key definition of virtual currency computer crimes is a consistent message across markets. These crimes are relatively new, having been in existence for only as long as Bitcoin has—which explains how unprepared society and the world, in general, is towards combating these crimes. We see this as no fault of NY-DFS and the original BitLicense mandate. Facebook and PayPal along with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo have leveraged BitLicensee connections to profit daily from virtual currency market manipulation structures with cross-border reach. PayPal's “Conditional BitLicense” may now be employed as a marketplace manipulation instrument. Meanwhile, common Directors at Facebook, PayPal (incl. Xoom) and Diem seemingly have collaborated in orchestrating a virtual currency marketplace manipulation exercise. The New York State Common Retirement Fund and New York State Teachers Retirement Fund are significant investors in Facebook, PayPal, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. >From their California headquarters, Directors at PayPal (incl. Xoom) have potentially leveraged a Conditional BitLicense award in collaboration with common Directors at Facebook to engage in marketplace manipulation techniques. The Diem Association further shares common PayPal and Facebook Directors in a potential chain of virtual currency computer software and market manipulation architectures. Bank.org must take the necessary steps to guard against fraud and to be extra vigilant about manipulation. We seek SEC guidance on the aforementioned concerns as we organize a reputable Board of Directors for NY-DFS approval. Respectfully yours with appreciation, Gunnar Larson - xNY.io | Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107

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RUIN: Money, Ego and Deception at FTX
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

RUIN: Money, Ego and Deception at FTX https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-10-26/ruin-money-ego-and-decepti…

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Your Dog Will Have an Anti-Aging Drug Before You Do
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Your Dog Will Have an Anti-Aging Drug Before You Do https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-03-30/anti-aging-drugs-want… Before we have an anti-aging drug for humans, we’re likely to have one for dogs. Multiple clinical trials are currently underway to test potential anti-aging compounds on dogs, since our best friends have become a popular animal model for human aging. Fido also represents a potentially huge market.

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Billionaire Larry Fink of BlackRock, Which Grabbed Fed Bailouts in 2020-2021, Lectures Struggling Seniors on Making More Sacrifices
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/billionaire-larry-fink-of-blackrock-… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: March 27, 2024 ~ Laurence (Larry) Fink, Chairman and CEO, BlackRock Laurence (Larry) Fink, Chairman and CEO, BlackRock Yesterday, billionaire Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of the giant investment manager BlackRock, released his annual letter to shareholders. In it, Fink revives the same ole trope that billionaires Kenneth Langone and Stanley Druckenmiller were taking on a road show in 2013. Back then the billionaire propaganda was called: “Generational Theft: How Entitlement Spending is Stealing Opportunity from America’s Youth.” Every time there is talk of raising taxes on the super-rich, some of whom pay less in taxes than plumbers and teachers through a tricked-up tax dodge known as “carried interest,” the billionaires launch a concerted effort to scapegoat struggling seniors living on an average monthly Social Security retirement benefit of $1772.51. The inability of younger Americans to save enough for retirement couldn’t possibly have anything to do with Wall Street gobbling up two-thirds of lifetime retirement savings in fees, as Frontline documented back in 2013. The late John Bogle explained in the program that if a person works for 50 years and receives the typical long-term return of 7 percent on their 401(k) plan and Wall Street’s fees are 2 percent, almost two-thirds of their retirement account will go to Wall Street. Wall Street On Parade checked the math and documented it for our readers. The dramatic wealth and income inequality in the United States and the inability of young people to save enough to buy a home or build an adequate retirement account couldn’t possibly be because the “top 1% of American earners now control more wealth than the nation’s entire middle class,” according to federal data. We’ll take a hard look at what Fink is spewing out as retirement savings advice in a moment, but first a hard look at this man’s adoption of crony capitalism as a business model. In 2020 and 2021, as the Federal Reserve fashioned unprecedented bailout programs for Wall Street to address the economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic, Fink was engaging in numerous phone calls with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. That information comes from Powell’s publicly-released daily calendars. On March 1, 2021, there was a bizarre hour-long virtual meeting between Fink and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and Fed staff. At the time of that strange virtual meeting, BlackRock was managing upwards of $11.6 million of Powell’s personal wealth in its iShares Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) according to Powell’s financial disclosure form; BlackRock had received multiple no-bid contracts from the Fed to manage bailout programs during the pandemic; BlackRock had been allowed to buy up its own iShares ETFs to prop up their share prices under one of the Fed’s bailout programs; and it had a contract to manage hundreds of billions of dollars for more than five million federal government employees in their retirement plan, known as the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). And the Fed was not the only central bank receiving direction from BlackRock during the pandemic bailouts. (See our report: BlackRock Authored the Bailout Plan Before There Was a Crisis – Now It’s Been Hired by three Central Banks to Implement the Plan.) And this was not the first time BlackRock had been tapped by the Fed to oversee unprecedented bailouts on Wall Street. During the Wall Street financial crisis of 2007 to 2010, the Federal Reserve gave BlackRock no-bid contracts to manage the toxic assets held in three programs known as Maiden Lane, Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III. These were Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) set up by the New York Fed. (See These Are the Banks that Own the New York Fed and Its Money Button.) Maiden Lane purchased $30 billion of toxic assets from Bear Stearns as an inducement by the New York Fed to get JPMorgan to purchase the good parts of Bear Stearns. Maiden Lane II purchased mortgage-backed securities from the giant insurer, AIG, as part of a program to bail out its securities lending to Wall Street banks. Maiden Lane III purchased collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) on which AIG Financial Products had written credit default swaps that it couldn’t make good on to the Wall Street and foreign global banks to whom it owed the money. (Thus, the AIG bailout was actually a bailout of mega banks.) BlackRock was also one of the investment managers for the Fed’s mortgage backed securities purchase program during the 2007-2010 financial crisis. It also advised the Fed on the $300 billion pool of assets of Citigroup that the Fed ring-fenced and guaranteed. Additionally, the Federal government turned to BlackRock to evaluate the toxic assets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the government seized the entities in 2008 to prevent their collapse. Fink’s letter to shareholders yesterday has been widely covered by mainstream media – without the above critical context. In the letter, Fink attempts to scapegoat struggling seniors as follows: “It’s no wonder younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z, are so economically anxious. They believe my generation — the Baby Boomers — have focused on their own financial well-being to the detriment of who comes next. And in the case of retirement, they’re right.” Fink also strongly hints that the Social Security retirement age to receive benefits needs to be increased. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 50 percent of 18-24 year olds live at home with their parents in the United States. In many cases, the roof over that family’s head is possible because of Social Security retirement benefits. Social Security monthly retirement benefits come from the money that hard-working Americans paid into that program through their taxes over a lifetime of work. It’s not a tricked-up dodge like billionaires enjoy through “carried interest.” Fink also offers this preposterous analysis of the 2007 to 2010 Wall Street crash in the U.S.: “In Europe, where most assets were kept in banks, economies froze as banks were forced to shrink their balance sheets. Of course, U.S. banks had to tighten capital standards and pull back from lending as well. But because the U.S. had a more robust secondary pool of money – the capital markets — the nation was able to recover much more quickly.” Fink is brazenly attempting to rewrite Wall Street history. The capital markets in the U.S. were in free-fall; giant financial institutions were collapsing (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Washington Mutual and Wachovia to name a few). Internal emails released by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission showed that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were likely to be next. The capital markets did not save Wall Street. The secret and unprecedented $29 trillion money spigot from the Fed saved Wall Street and resuscitated the very villains who had brought on the financial crisis through unbridled greed and crony capitalism. It is nothing short of a disgrace that mainstream media is giving a platform to Fink to spew his propaganda.

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Video: Peter Thiel on CEO Salary
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Peter Thiel on CEO Salary Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Dnh3bS8NA/?igsh=MWZhNHVpaGJpbTNseQ==

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Sen. Menendez Won't Delay May 6 Trial As He Forgoes Appeal
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Sen. Menendez Won't Delay May 6 Trial As He Forgoes Appeal <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1818939?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> By Gina Kim Sen. Robert Menendez told a New York federal judge Thursday he won't seek interlocutory appeal of his order two weeks ago rejecting the lawmaker's bid to dismiss his bribery case based on the speech and debate clause of U.S. Constitution, teeing up his jury trial set for May 6. Letter attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1818939?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1818939?nl_pk=ac5a3855-e47c-4403-be…>

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Wells Fargo Sued Over Role In Texas Atty's Carbon Tech Scam
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Wells Fargo Sued Over Role In Texas Atty's Carbon Tech Scam <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/1818516?nl_pk=feb6bbba-7878-4d39-be…> By Peter McGuire Wells Fargo and an advisory group including an attorney and accountant from California facilitated a yearslong Ponzi scheme that deceived investors to put money into a fraudulent gas industry carbon capture technology venture, according to a proposed class action filed in Texas federal court. Complaint attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/1818516?nl_pk=feb6bbba-7878-4d39-be…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/1818516?nl_pk=feb6bbba-7878-4d39-be…>

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Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity <https://www.law360.com/health/articles/1818511?nl_pk=6422bbc2-a823-4be5-9a9…> Thanks to ambiguity in the 2018 Farm Bill, intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are largely unregulated and are widely available without restrictions on who can buy the products, and although there are several possible solutions, voluntary industry action by good actors is the best option, say Andrew Kline and Tommy Tobin at Perkins Coie. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/health/articles/1818511?nl_pk=6422bbc2-a823-4be5-9a9…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/health/articles/1818511?nl_pk=6422bbc2-a823-4be5-9a9…>

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Disbarring Jeffrey Clark Would Chill Gov't Dialogue, Prof Says
by Gunnar Larson 30 Mar '24

30 Mar '24

Disbarring Jeffrey Clark Would Chill Gov't Dialogue, Prof Says <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1818613?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…> By Ali Sullivan A Yale Law School professor said Thursday that he does not believe former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Clark should face punishment for advocating to send a letter to Georgia officials purporting to identify significant concerns with the 2020 election, testifying before a Washington, D.C., attorney ethics panel that such discipline would devastate free dialogue within government agencies. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1818613?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1818613?nl_pk=153d4a8a-6fb9-4a5…>

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