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Hissyspit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:10 AM
Original message
Kucinich on Stanford Group Fraud: Who Told SEC to "Stand Down?"
Source: Office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Kucinich: Who Told SEC to "Stand Down" on Stanford Probe?

Chairman of Domestic Policy Subcommittee Opens Inquiry

Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Washington, Feb 20 -

Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today sent a letter to Ms. Mary Schapiro, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting documents that could reveal which government agency told the SEC to "stand down" rather than take enforcement action against the Stanford Group in October 2006 as has been reported by the New York Times. Recent media reports have indicated that the SEC was aware of improprieties at Stanford Financial Group as early as October 2006, but withheld action at the request of another government agency.

In a report published in the February 17th edition of the New York Times, an SEC official said that an inquiry had been opened on Stanford in October of 2006. According to the Times report, an associate regional director of enforcement said the SEC "stood down" on its investigation as a result of the intervention of another federal agency.

- snip -

"If the SEC did indeed begin an inquiry in 2006 and was called off by another agency, our subcommittee will demand that the SEC reveal the name of that agency which told it not to enforce federal laws which protect investors," said Chairman Kucinich.

The full text of the letter follows:

February 20, 2009

Ms. Mary Schapiro
Chair
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549

Dear Ms. Schapiro:

Read more: http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=112160
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Lasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:21 AM
Response to Original message
1. This one bears watching.
Could get interesting.
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DUlover2909 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:34 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Yeah, my first thought was the White House, then DEA.
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Lasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:45 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. OK I get to guess too.
I was thinking CIA or Pentagon. But that might have gone through President Cheney.
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DUlover2909 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:02 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. I thought DEA because they might have had jurisdiction already
from an ongoing investigation. I thought White House because, well, ya know, Bush is an idiot and a piece of shit all rolled up into one.
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notesdev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:52 AM
Response to Reply #5
12. The DEA is an abomination
Is there any other agency whose mission could be better fulfilled by abolishing it entirely, rather than continuing to fund it?
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Baby Snooks Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:36 AM
Response to Reply #12
18. The DEA controls the drug trade...
The DEA controls the drug trade for the rich and powerful as well as for the CIA. It is part of the shadow government of the Bush Dynasty.

The purpose of the "lid" was to remove all traces of trails back to the shadow government and the dynsaty. And those who serve it.

As for Allen Stanford, well, he is no longer useful to the dynasty. So he will be thrown under the bus the way Ken Lay was.

The way it is. And maybe Dennis Kucinich doesn't know it. But other members of Congress do.
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DissedByBush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 04:17 PM
Response to Reply #18
61. The DEA was formed in 1973
It was formed out of Government departments dating back to 1968. It isn't a Bush conspiracy.

It does count among the government agencies that need to be abolished ASAP.
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Baby Snooks Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:03 PM
Response to Reply #61
65. The Bushes...
You need to study some real American history because the Bushes have been very much a part of our history for the past 100 years.
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DissedByBush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:18 PM
Response to Reply #65
72. The Bushes have a long history
And you forget they hit their first peak with Prescott Bush, who was liberal, vehemently pro-choice and even an officer of the United Negro College Fund.

The Bushes didn't go conservative until George H.W. Bush flipped so he could be Reagan's VP.
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dmr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:12 PM
Response to Reply #72
80. No, you have to go way back further - way, way back .....
and there's far, far more about Prescott, and it's not pretty.

By the old Republican values, Prescott was a Republican, not a liberal.





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DissedByBush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:26 PM
Response to Reply #80
85. Republican doesn't mean conservative
Even the meaning of liberal has changed over the years. Surely standing up for choice and for the rights of minorities was not the conservative position back then. The Peace Corps is very liberal in concept, and created by Democrats, but also championed by Prescott.
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Renew Deal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #2
102. I would also look at Pete Sessions and Greg Meek
They've taken a ton of money and trips from this guy.
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keopeli Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:47 AM
Response to Original message
4. Not just any agency could tell the SEC to stand down.
It would have to be higher up, even than the chairman of the SEC. Otherwise, the chairman of the SEC would get the final say. To overrule the chairman would take a higher authority.

It's possible the chairman of the SEC was just doing a little CYA by asserting this to the department, but unlikely. More likely is that the chairman wanted cover to begin with in writing.

The question is, who can overrule the chairman of the SEC?
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notesdev Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:46 AM
Response to Reply #4
11. The Treasury
That's who the SEC answers to. So we're probably talking Hank Paulson, if this directive was issued in 2006.
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:21 AM
Response to Reply #4
27. Cheney over ruled everyone, we know this.
I am thinking also the Carlyle Group, that infamous alumni of legally sanctioned international crooks....
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Optical.Catalyst Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:52 PM
Response to Reply #27
75. Cheney would be my pick
Bush didn't get involved with financial matters like Cheney did. Cheney seemed to alway have his finger in the pie with the secret meeting with big oil companies, no bid contracts with Kellog, Brown & Root, and other dealings.

Cheney was the paid representative of wealthy business concerns.
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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:34 PM
Response to Reply #75
81. yes
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PuraVidaDreamin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:06 AM
Response to Original message
6. Important Question! An answer must be forthcoming! Demand it!
I'd sure as hell like to know!
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exboyfil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:39 AM
Response to Original message
7. Well we know why the SEC did nothing with Madoff
because they were in bed with him. Literally in bed with him as in his niece marrying an SEC investigator. You can't make this stuff up.

I am of the opinion that the top two to three levels of the SEC should be shown the door. I would then go through the resumes of the remaining folks looking for the type of financial forensics skills necessary to detect fraud etc. I would then keep these folks and fire the remaining useless pieces of wood (up to about a half). I would then bring FBI agents and former FBI agents into the SEC. Then I would offer bounties up to 20% of their salary for finding fraud etc.
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:37 AM
Response to Reply #7
15. I like your idea
of reforming the SEC. Have you submitted your idea to the White House?

BTW, haven't seen you posting before, so welcome to DU! :hi:
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RUMMYisFROSTED Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:44 AM
Response to Reply #7
23. Bounties.
:think:
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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:35 PM
Response to Reply #7
82. they were probably threatened
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 08:35 PM by Rosa Luxemburg
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tclambert Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:59 AM
Response to Original message
8. Many reports have been linking Stanford to the Mexico's Gulf cartel.
So it could be the DEA investigating money laundering asked the SEC to give their criminal investigation some room.
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KittyWampus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #8
22. what?! how did i miss this. All we need now is a link to arms dealers and we have Iran/Contra redux
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 09:42 AM by KittyWampus
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catzies Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:01 PM
Response to Reply #22
89. You know, you may be proven right. Give it time.
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 11:02 PM by catzies
:scared:
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Joanne98 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:07 AM
Response to Original message
9. Stanford Financial was a member of FINRA. Schapiro should know about that.
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byeya Donating Member (209 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:27 AM
Response to Original message
10. C'Mon Dennis, hold public hearings if the answer is not
full and complete. I bet he'll do it.
It's my understanding that only the president or his representative could tell the SEC to back off and then, of course, the ethical thing for the SEC chair to do would be resign and say only she/he was not permitted to carry out the agency's duties to their full extent.
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pjt7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:10 AM
Response to Reply #10
13. This could be interesting
& if there really was an obstructer, I hope Kucinich get's @ it.

Love the guy, but Dennis produces too many headlines rather than final outcomes.

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bertman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 12:17 PM
Response to Reply #13
45. It's very difficult, damn nigh impossible, to produce final outcomes when your cohorts
undermine you at every turn.

At least Kucinich is attempting to shine the bright light into the dark corners of our government. There are lots of roaches and millipedes in those corners who do not want to be seen or even heard about. So, the rest of our "bought-and-paid-for-by-corporations" government representatives shuttle Kucinich's projects to the back of the line.

Dennis Kucinich is THE best peoples' advocate in our Congress. Hands down.

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defendandprotect Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 01:18 PM
Response to Reply #10
49. Rep. Bernie Sanders has been pushing for an investigation of the entire . . .
road to the financial collapse -- the whole magilla -- !!

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byeya Donating Member (209 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:14 PM
Response to Reply #49
76. May Goodness rain down on Bernie Sanders
for all the good he's done, said, and tried to do in his political career. It seems he doesn't get the ink he deserves but then he doesn't carry water for the corporate pre$$.
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:33 AM
Response to Original message
14. I hope we get to the bottom of this
with a new Administration and with so many people getting hurt, it would behoove all involved to get to the bottom of this.
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acmavm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:27 AM
Response to Original message
16. And once again it is DK who is out front and asking questions.
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ShortnFiery Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:37 AM
Response to Reply #16
19. Here Here!
Dennis Kucinich is a TRUE American Patriot. :patriot:

The knuckle dragging and deluded Jack Bauer wannabes could not "hold a candle" to Kucinich's noble convictions and moral courage. :thumbsup:
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acmavm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #19
21. Yep. We sure have very few dems to look up to, especially considering
how they have spent the last 8 years looking to pad their own nests rather than look out for the country and our interests. But this guy, he's been a pistol. Quite impressive.
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defendandprotect Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 01:19 PM
Response to Reply #16
50. Love Kucinich - and he's one of our few honest brokers . . .
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HughBeaumont Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 08:22 AM
Response to Reply #16
96. Yes, but let's brush off the little elf man from Cleveland.
He's only trying to, you know . . . HELP.
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geckosfeet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:27 AM
Response to Original message
17. ... and it turns out that Madoff
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 09:43 AM by geckosfeet
never bought one security for the clients that he ostensibly invested for.

How in blue blazes does an investigative body like the SEC miss that after being led to the doorstep by whistle blower after whistle blower? What were these people doing?

My take is that they had standing orders to look the other way.

IMO - there should many more resignations at the SEC.
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Baby Snooks Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #17
20. Not entirely true...
Among the seizures were several equity accounts in the name of the firm at other financial institutions. A ruse, perhaps, or perhaps all that was left. So to say he made no trades on behalf of clients is not entirely correct. He apparently made no trades on behalf of clients for the past 13 years. He was in business for almost 50 years.

Whatever the truth is it is being covered up.
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geckosfeet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:44 AM
Response to Reply #20
24. True during the era that the SEC was informed of his criminal activities.
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Baby Snooks Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:11 AM
Response to Reply #24
26. But he was investing in something...
Otherwise he would have run out of money a long time ago. Which is what happens in Ponzi schemes. He was paying out more than he was taking in. And that is probably what will be covered up. You can lose a lot of money in the hedge funds very quickly. Even Carlyle did.

Whatever the truth is, the bottom line is we will never know what it is. Just as we never will know what the truth is about Enron.

Someone mentioned to me the other day that what we are seeing is a redistribution of wealth. Just not the kind people expected to see.
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geckosfeet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:45 AM
Response to Reply #26
29. He was taking money from new investors and paying off the old ones with it.
That isn't investing.

I agree - redistribution wealth - to the rich. And truth about Madoff is probably so wrapped up in government malfeasance and corruption that we will never be allowed to learn the depth and breadth of it.
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Baby Snooks Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:07 PM
Response to Reply #29
66. For almost 50 years?
I doubt seriously even the Bushes could manage to hide a Ponzi scheme for almost 50 years. Bernie Madoff may have ended up running a Ponzi scheme trying to keep his firm intact but I don't believe he started out running one. Not for almost 50 years. Sorry. It's just not possible.
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notadmblnd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:23 AM
Response to Reply #20
38. Stanford is only 58 years old.
When did he take over the company?
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Baby Snooks Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:57 PM
Response to Reply #38
68. Some time in the 1990s...
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 06:06 PM by Baby Snooks
The actual firm is in Mexia. Which also brought us Anna Nicole Smith. Maybe there's something in the water in Mexia. His grandfather founded the firm. He and his father started buying up RTC properties back in the late 1980s and early 1990s and "made a killing" flipping them and apparently he decided to become an investment firm. Or someone decided he should become an investment firm. There are some questons being raised about what appears to be ongoing investigations for years with regard to his involvement with the drug cartels and money laundering. Nothing was ever proven. But maybe it was just covered up.

The real questions are with regard to his connections to the CIA and the DEA and, of course, to the Bushes. Everything in this country at this point seems to lead back to the Bushes for some reason. Maybe because they managed to install a shadow government which finally has become the actual government in a coup d'etat that no one noticed. Probably because everyone was too busy watching the unfolding scandals of the Clintons.

When all the polticians acted shocked and started donating the campaign contributions to charity, they did so as hypocrites. The investigations have never been public knowledge. But probably common knowledge in Washington. They just assumed since he had never been indicted it was okay to take the money. It's all about the money, honey.

Congress is nothing but a bordello. And Nancy Pelosi is apparently the perfect madame.
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L. Coyote Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 09:58 AM
Response to Original message
25. DU VIDEO: Kucinich on Stanford Group Fraud = link here
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lovuian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:38 AM
Response to Original message
28. this could be the Shadow Government we know is about
or Madioff and Stanford could have been fronts for the CIA or Dark Ops

but innocent people were shammed
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FarCenter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 04:36 PM
Response to Reply #28
63. Bankrupting individual investors is just collateral damage to those working for the Higher Good
Sacrifices must be made.
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Best_man23 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:56 AM
Response to Original message
30. Me thinks either WH or CIA
It had to be someone with a hell of a lot of clout.
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susu369 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:03 AM
Response to Original message
31. I believe that there are thousands
of Madoffs and Stanfords. Hope I'm wrong.
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JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:06 AM
Response to Reply #31
34. On that level, it may only be hundreds...
Remember, it's a very centralized world at the top.

But they're accounting for a couple of trillion worth in scam and skim.

And they were the government, straight-up, for some time. Let's not be naive that a great many of them still aren't the government.
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JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:08 AM
Response to Reply #34
35. "Business Insider": Was Alan Stanford a CIA Asset?
Follow this link for a compilation of various articles on Stanford as international drug money launderer with CIA protection. His assets are now being seized all over the place.

http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?p=250163#250163

.
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susu369 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:15 AM
Response to Reply #34
36. Yes, I agree with your point
(my imagination often gets out of hand)

:-)
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JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:03 AM
Response to Original message
32. 2006: White House Authorizes Spymaster to Waive SEC Rules for Companies
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 11:04 AM by JackRiddler
THIS IS A MUST READ - Bush expanded a provision allowing the executive to waive SEC rules for any company.

Would you be surprised if this has led to hundreds of billions in plunder?
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2006/nf20060523_2210.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily
Quote:
MAY 23, 2006

NEWS
By Dawn Kopecki

Intelligence Czar Can Waive SEC Rules

Now, the White House's top spymaster can cite national security to exempt businesses from reporting requirements. President George W. Bush has bestowed on his intelligence czar, John Negroponte, broad authority, in the name of national security, to excuse publicly traded companies from their usual accounting and securities-disclosure obligations. Notice of the development came in a brief entry in the Federal Register, dated May 5, 2006, that was opaque to the untrained eye.

Unbeknownst to almost all of Washington and the financial world, Bush and every other President since Jimmy Carter have had the authority to exempt companies working on certain top-secret defense projects from portions of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act. Administration officials told BusinessWeek that they believe this is the first time a President has ever delegated the authority to someone outside the Oval Office. It couldn't be immediately determined whether any company has received a waiver under this provision.

The timing of Bush's move is intriguing. On the same day the President signed the memo, Porter Goss resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency amid criticism of ineffectiveness and poor morale at the agency. Only six days later, on May 11, USA Today reported that the National Security Agency had obtained millions of calling records of ordinary citizens provided by three major U.S. phone companies. Negroponte oversees both the CIA and NSA in his role as the administration's top intelligence official.

FEW ANSWERS. White House spokeswoman Dana M. Perino said the timing of the May 5 Presidential memo had no significance. "There was nothing specific that prompted this memo," Perino said. In addition to refusing to explain why Bush decided to delegate this authority to Negroponte, the White House declined to say whether Bush or any other President has ever exercised the authority and allowed a company to avoid standard securities disclosure and accounting requirements. The White House wouldn't comment on whether Negroponte has granted such a waiver, and BusinessWeek so far hasn't identified any companies affected by the provision. Negroponte's office did not respond to requests for comment.

Securities-law experts said they were unfamiliar with the May 5 memo and the underlying Presidential authority at issue. John C. Coffee, a securities-law professor at Columbia University, speculated that defense contractors might want to use such an exemption to mask secret assignments for the Pentagon or CIA. "What you might hide is investments: You've spent umpteen million dollars that comes out of your working capital to build a plant in Iraq," which the government wants to keep secret. "That's the kind of scenario that would be plausible," Coffee said.

SNIP! FOLLOW LINK! TOP STORY!

------------------------------------

COMMENTARY:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:23 pm -- Anyone remember this item from Business Week more than two years ago? The White House authorized the intelligence czar (Negroponte at the time) discretion to grant secret waivers on all SEC rules for any company. National security apparently requires money laundering and cooked books. That would give incredible advantages to such a company in its dealings on the closed markets of derivatives. Wonder if any of the heavyweights involved in the current crisis are among the beneficiaries, and what impact this may have had? Was this the beginning of plunder operations in advance of the inevitable crash? Can companies who received such waivers still present cooked books as the derivatives now unwind? Will the DNI have the authority to block investigations of criminal behavior by protected financial players?
http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?p=220561#220561

.
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awnobles Donating Member (132 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:58 AM
Response to Reply #32
44. Negroponte
is all you need to know. His record in Iran-Contra and Central America points directly to the drug trade, money laundering and death squads.
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Career Prole Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 03:45 PM
Response to Reply #32
57. This is a pretty important post, IMO.
Thanks for reminding us!
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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:47 PM
Response to Reply #32
83. well we all know about Negroponte's history
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blm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 09:49 AM
Response to Reply #32
100. Definite must read....
need to repost in its own thread.
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man4allcats Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:05 AM
Response to Original message
33. Sometimes I think Dennis Kucinich is the sole avenue for
accountability in American government. This country is fortunate to have him. It is unfortunate there are not more like him. Of course I ultimately voted for Obama, but I'm proud to say Dennis Kucinich is the person I supported for President of the United States.

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NorthCarolina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:16 AM
Response to Reply #33
37. Same sentiments here.....but I also include Russ Feingold in that same mold. n/t
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LWolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #33
41. I have to agree.
DK is what I wish the rest of the party, and the government, could be.
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pjt7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:53 PM
Response to Reply #33
91. Dennis hadsto do more
than headlines.

He needs to bust some people, stone cold.
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LaPera Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 04:50 AM
Response to Reply #91
93. Got to be a Superman......
Edited on Sun Feb-22-09 05:00 AM by LaPera
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man4allcats Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 10:36 AM
Response to Reply #91
97. What would you suggest, a citizen's arrest?
Edited on Sun Feb-22-09 10:41 AM by man4allcats
Unfortunately it was not possible for DK or anyone else to force Bush enabler Nancy Pelosi to honor the oath of office she took, that one about defending the Constitution, when she entered Congress. Regrettably, it also may not be possible to convince President Obama to back off and let investigations go where the evidence leads even if that means Rove must honor Congressional subpoenas he receives and testify fully, truthfully and under oath with full knowledge that he can and will be charged if he commits perjury during the course of said testimony. Dennis does his best within the constraints of his power as a congressman to do what is right. With the exception of a handful of like minded others (Russ Feingold has also been mentioned), that is much more than can be said of any of the rest.
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fascisthunter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:24 AM
Response to Original message
39. very interesting.... I will be waiting to see what happens with this
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Pharaoh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
40. Told the SEC to stand down?
This is Dick Cheney, no doubt :popcorn:
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myrna minx Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:43 AM
Response to Original message
42. K&R n/t
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hootinholler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:48 AM
Response to Original message
43. My guess is the OVP. K&R n/t
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Faryn Balyncd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 12:20 PM
Response to Original message
46. This could be the crime that finally sends the criminals to the hokey.
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JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 12:38 PM
Response to Reply #46
47. "Make it so" but... how often have you had the same thought - since Enron?
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IDFbunny Donating Member (530 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 03:54 PM
Response to Reply #46
59. This could hook and fry a very big fish
Only the pigs had the authority to wave off the SEC.
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CountAllVotes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 12:41 PM
Response to Original message
48. we want the truth
and the whole truth, so HELP ME GOD!

:dem: :kick: & recommend!!
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mackerel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 01:39 PM
Response to Reply #48
51. In my view Kucinich is perfect where he is.
He doesn't have to compromise, he can continue to be the voice of descent and present the facts without being in anyone's pocket.
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Dover Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 01:40 PM
Response to Original message
52. SEC names former prosecutor Robert Khuzami enforcement director as agency faces criticism
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday named a former federal prosecutor as its new enforcement chief to lead the embattled agency's drive to strengthen its pursuit of financial fraud.

Robert Khuzami has been a top legal official on Wall Street at investment firm Deutsche Bank since 2004. Before that he worked for 11 years in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and prosecuted insider trading cases, Ponzi schemes and other financial crimes.

Khuzami, 52, replaces Linda Thomsen, the SEC enforcement director since May 2005. Her departure was announced last week.

Thomsen became a lightning rod for criticism over the SEC's failure to detect the $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly run by money manager Bernard Madoff, despite red flags raised to the agency staff by outsiders over the course of a decade.

"As head of the SEC's division of enforcement, the staff and I will relentlessly pursue and bring to justice those whose misconduct infects our markets, corrodes investor confidence and has caused so much financial suffering," Khuzami said in a statement. ...cont'd

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-sec-enforcement-chief,0,7977398.story
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sattahipdeep Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 02:23 PM
Response to Reply #52
54. Don't believe the corporate propaganda.
Get This.... Khuzami, Deutsche Bank AG’s general counsel for the Americas, was appointed today to head the SEC’s biggest division, the agency said in a statement.

Khuzami spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, encouraging Americans to re-elect then President George W. Bush to “protect both our lives and our liberties.”

He also contributed $2,300 to Arizona Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Deutsche Bank skirted the worst of the U.S. subprime mortgage crash by short-selling bonds that contributed to more than $1 trillion of losses and writedowns at the world’s largest financial companies.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ag0xTeE.ikGw&refer=home

Schapiro's corrupt as Markopolos pointed out.

01:02:11 MARKOPOLOS

01:02:39 REP.SHERMAN

....
01:05:01 REP.CASTLE

01:05:36 MARKOPOLOS

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=283836-1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=269332&mesg_id=269442

FBI Probes Stanford Ties to Mexico's Gulf Cartel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5uFXD2E0rc
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TBF Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 02:11 PM
Response to Original message
53. Robert Allen Stanford gave a lot of money in political contributions -
Edited on Sat Feb-21-09 02:13 PM by TBF
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Brother Buzz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 02:48 PM
Response to Original message
55. October 2006? Just before the midterm election? Who would benefit from
burying this investigation right before an election? :shrug:
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KamaAina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 02:53 PM
Response to Original message
56. Go Dennis!
Den-NIS! Den-NIS! Den-NIS! :yourock:
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ProgressIn2008 Donating Member (848 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 03:47 PM
Response to Original message
58. Well done. Good that someone with a D after his name has a spine and a conscience.
Here's hoping his own party doesn't obstruct the query. This will be interesting to watch.
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Waiting For Everyman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 04:04 PM
Response to Original message
60. Good question! And the same about Madoff and that whistleblower. nt
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pleah Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 04:29 PM
Response to Original message
62. K&R
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Tommy_J Donating Member (668 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 04:45 PM
Response to Original message
64. This is a big deal

I hope he really sinks his teeth into it. Go Dennis!
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sattahipdeep Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 05:44 PM
Response to Original message
67. While we're at it Dennis
Who told the military to stand down on 9-11?

What about this....If you look at "WHO" was holding the majority of "SHORT" derivative positions on the domestic and international stock index markets prior to 911, and then reaped over a trillion dollars in profits within weeks from the ensuing collapse of those physical markets, you will find in that group who was responsible for 911. There is one problem in finding this out. That being, government controls the release of that information by and through the Federal agencies of the SEC Securities Exchange Commission and CFTC Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
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fascisthunter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:20 PM
Response to Reply #67
77. .
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Kingofalldems Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:00 PM
Response to Original message
69. Where are the Kucinich trashers/neocons/freepers now?
They won't dare show up on this thread.
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Imagevision Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:07 PM
Response to Original message
70. Kucinich needs to get Obama's Blackberry address...!
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inna Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:13 PM
Response to Original message
71. love Dennis. one of the very few congress critters i actually trust... nt
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DailyGrind51 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:23 PM
Response to Original message
73. Tom DeLay, George W. Bush, and Chris Dodd just for starters!
Tom DeLay: The former House majority leader got $4,200 in campaign contributions from Stanford and his committees paid for at least 16 flights on the banker’s jets.

Christopher Dodd: The Senate Banking Committee boss found $3,000 in his campaign coffers courtesy of Stanford.

Colin Powell: According to one ex-employee, Stanford paid the former Secretary of State $150,000 for a speech to the firm’s troops. Gen. Powell confirmed speaking to Stanford people in 2005 but said the fee wasn't $150,000.

Charles Rangel: Stanford donated $2,300 to the House Ways & Means Committee Chairman in 2008, and a total of $10,800 over five years.

George W. Bush: Stanford was feted in 2006 by the Inter-American Economic Council, a Latin-American business group at an event hosted buy then-President George W. Bush and his wife Laura.

Sen. Bill Nelson: This Democrat from Florida is the top recipient of Stanford's political donations, bagging some $45,900 since 2000.

Interestingly, Stanford's good friend – Republican Katherine Harris – unsuccessfully challenged Nelson for his Senate seat in 2006. During the campaign, she claimed Nelson had taken bribes but never disclosed any details.

http://www.businessinsider.com/stanfords-circle-sen-robert-torriceli
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sattahipdeep Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 12:50 PM
Response to Reply #73
98. Chris Dodd on Mary L. Schapiro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgymGJ4uNxA
6:30 7:07

Update - Latest on Allen Stanford Case - Bloomberg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLBxPLwpE4w
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Optical.Catalyst Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 06:42 PM
Response to Original message
74. One needs to look no further than the political party in charge of the Government in October, 2006
The Republicans burred this investigation. Probably so that a select few who were politically connected could extract their money without taking a loss before the fecal matter hit the air impellers.
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Mnemosyne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:20 PM
Response to Reply #74
86. And it's not as if * hasn't been guilty, though uncharged, with insider trading
in the past.

Treasonous Criminals.
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slipslidingaway Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 07:38 PM
Response to Original message
78. K&R....reminds me of this question that was never answered as
far as I know, too many questions have gone unanswered.


The King's Red Herring

by Kristen Breitweiser

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1220-22.htm

"...Evidence in the 9/11 Commission's Final Report indicates that there was no "misunderstanding" of the Reno Wall. Quite the opposite from any misunderstanding, evidence from the State Department proves that al Mihdhar was:

1. Known by the FBI as an armed and dangerous terrorist participating in terrorist acts,
2. Identified as a potential witness in an FBI investigation, and yet,
3. Inexplicably, a mere 6 days before 9/11, listed and ordered to be an individual not to be detained if caught by government inspectors....


....Who ordered his non-detainment a mere five days before 9/11? Perhaps current Secretary of State Rice (former National Security Advisor on 9/11) or her State Department counsel, Philip Zelikow, (former 9/11 Commission Staff Director) might have some answers?"






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veganlush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:07 PM
Response to Original message
79. This is why Kuncinich should be speaker of the house..n/t
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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 08:50 PM
Response to Original message
84. This is only the tip of the iceberg
this is a VERY big iceberg. They keep chipping away at it but it won't melt why?
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burrowowl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:51 PM
Response to Original message
87. Dennis and Bernie Sanders
2 real Statesmen!
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JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 10:53 PM
Response to Original message
88. keep it kicked for more news on probable CIA-protected drug money launderer
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6273823.html



FBI involved again

(...)

Around the same time, however, Texas securities regulators found evidence of potential money laundering involving Stanford, an official said Friday in Austin. But, because the activity involved offshore banks, it was referred to the FBI and SEC.

“Why it took 10 years for the feds to move on it, I cannot answer,” Securities Commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford told the Senate Finance Committee in Austin. Later, she added, “We worked with the FBI and the SEC and basically gave them the case. We told them what we’d seen and they were going to run with it.”


I can. So can anyone.

They didn't want to.

http://cryptogon.com/?p=7094

Follow it to watch video of report on FOXNEWS.



Which agency?

Well, last Tuesday (17 February 2009), Allen Stanford was unable to charter a private jet to take him from Houston to Antigua. Then, of all the places he could have gone, where did he turn up two days later?

Virginia. With an unidentified woman. At a private residence. With the FBI waiting for him at that private residence.

(...)

Who was the unidentified woman in the car? Is she his handler? I doubt that his handler would show up for a meeting with the J Edgars, but who knows what arrangements were made?

Where is Allen Stanford right now? “…A day later Stanford was nowhere to be seen in the historic Virginia town.”

Questions, questions.

This has to get rolled up. This has to go away.

UPDATE: The Woman’s Name is Andrea Stoelker, She’s Stanford’s Girlfriend

This is just too much:

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford was nowhere to be seen on Friday in this historic Virginia town, site of a fierce battle in the American Civil War and reputed through local lore to be haunted.



According to a local tour operator, Fredericksburg has a reputation as “one of the most haunted locales in the United States.”

“With a long history dating back to preColonial times, and a legacy of slavery and war, it is no wonder that so many unhappy phantoms wander the streets,” the tour operator says in promotional material.

I guess it’s fair to say that Fredericksburg is a pretty spooky place! *wink*



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catzies Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-21-09 11:06 PM
Response to Original message
90. My God. I've been here a long time & I know it sounds like hyperbole to say it
But this is one of the most important threads on DU ever.

Archiving to my hard drive.
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GreenTea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 04:10 AM
Response to Original message
92. Who else....but the Federally controlled (SEC) republicans (Bush) anti-regulation slime!
Edited on Sun Feb-22-09 04:17 AM by GreenTea
Corporate slime, republicans, corporations can do no wrong, Is greed wrong, but, the republicans don't see it as we do, Yes, you fucks!

I'd say so.

"Who Told SEC to "Stand Down?"

Indeed!
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EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 06:09 AM
Response to Original message
94. If Negroponte and his buddies were laundering through Stanford
and one of their main installations was in Venezuela then, isn't this karma? LOL! Who knows what kinds of records the Chenis can get his hands on.
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PuraVidaDreamin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 07:35 AM
Response to Original message
95. kicking again
Keith and Rachel please note!
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JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-22-09 07:12 PM
Response to Original message
99. Blog of Alex Dalmady, who helped break the Stanford story...
He played a role similar to what Markopoulos did with Madoff.

Download "Duck Tales," his original article breaking it open:
http://www.filesavr.com/ducktales

His blog:
http://dalmady.blogspot.com

Who Knew What When:
http://dalmady.blogspot.com/2009/02/stanford-who-knew-what-when.html

.
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goforit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-25-09 10:25 AM
Response to Original message
101. Goooo Kucinich!!!
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