View Full Version : FTX Ponzi Scheme?
Did you lose a Bazzillion Bucks in the FTX Ponzi scheme?
Probably not, neither did I :munchin
But you got to believe that bunches of the Swamp Critters are sitting with itchy butts, worried they may get called to the Congressional hearings.
Good for them, a little butt rash will do them well.. :lifter:D:lifter
Pfft...
This story will get buried just like the panama papers...
...all saved on the hard drive of hunters laptop for safe keeping
Pfft...
Maybe not,,
The Swamp smells money,,
and Republican Congressional Hearings.
:munchin
Badger52
11-18-2022, 11:37
I've seen a couple of emotional interviews with individual investors that, per their version, pretty much lost everything. Now, caveat emptor, put on your big boy pants when investing, and all that. Got it.
But it wouldn't surprise me if someone came along out of the blue one morning and decided to settle SBF's hash on their own, perhaps taking their own life as well.
A man with nothing left to lose is a serious force.
A man with nothing left to lose is a serious force.
They are mass-producing those as we speak...
If congress is investigating anything, you can bet it is because they already have a predetermined outcome and that the party driving said investigation stands to benefit from the outcome. In other words - you can bet your ass that one of two things is afoot:
1) A few congress critters lost BIG money on FTX when it went under and they are going to get their pound of flesh for getting fucked over.
2) A few congress critters know they will be able to smear some of their political opponents once the "findings" are mysteriously leaked to the media.
One thing is certain - they don't give a hang-over-cheap-beer-fart about American taxpayers that may have gotten fucked over when FTX went under.
Last hard class
11-20-2022, 23:12
The idiots who ran the FTX/Alameda research fiasco just gave me a favorite new phrase for the week:
"Effective Altruism"
Considering what they did, that is funny beyond words.
LHC
Airbornelawyer
11-20-2022, 23:58
I am still burned with all the money I lost on Confederate dollars and German Notgeld.
Badger52
11-21-2022, 05:23
The idiots who ran the FTX/Alameda research fiasco just gave me a favorite new phrase for the week:
"Effective Altruism"
Considering what they did, that is funny beyond words.
LHCLol, caught that. It is quickly becoming pundit-speak and likely to be folded into style-guides. Might even supplant the little elfin Carib press secretary's use of the phrase "top of mind" when desiring to show dirt-people how UN-nuanced they are.
The idiots who ran the FTX/Alameda research fiasco just gave me a favorite new phrase for the week: "Effective Altruism" Considering what they did, that is funny beyond words.
LHC
LHC,, Is this your website? :D
Effective altruism is about doing good better
Effective altruism is a research field and practical community that aims to find the best ways to help others, and put them into practice.
Everyone wants to do good, but many ways of doing good are ineffective. The EA community is focused on finding ways of doing good that actually work.
https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
I love when the stage performers on the left use phrases like "Effective Altruism"
It’s like companies like 'Toms' like to do with their products.
"Hey, for every pair you buy, we give one pair to the poor." They became become rich as fuck because people kept buying their overpriced environmentally friendly, low-fat sugar free vegan shoes. Then they turn right around and use the retail cost of the shoes they give away as a charitable tax write off to cover their bottom line.
Because they care.
They care about the children.
Because it ALWAYS about the children.
Especially the ones in China and Vietnam where the third-party contractors that make up most of their production base, manufactures those shoes.
What they really mean is that they will make an average pair of shoes that only cost a few bucks to make (because they are manufactured in Asian sweat shops) then they sell you a pair of those shoes for 100 times what it cost to make them and then they give away a free pair of low-quality canvass espadrilles to some folks in the third world. Then they make a YUGE marketing issue out of the fact that they give away a free pair for every pair purchased."[/I] Why? Because they love profits – and virtue signaling – and children. They just love the children – the beautiful, exploitable, profit boosting, mother fucking children.
There is no such thing in aMEriKa as altruism. Not anymore. Not in a long time. In fact, this illusion of "effective altruism" is just a fancy new-age way of saying "salesmanship" - or should I say "gender nonspecific salespersonship”
whatever
Anyway, let me illustrate how "effective altruism" works in the real world:
Once upon a time, there was a fellow named Navin R. Johnson. Now, Navin was a simple minded fellow -actually, he was just downright fucking stupid. He was idiot, he had no rhythm, and he was terribly naïve. He also had a nearly full head of grey hair which was a little unusual for an 18-year-old young man growing up on a farm but, whatever.
Navin was the adopted son of Mississippi sharecroppers. Good, god-fearing folks; folks that lived off the land and made the most of what they had. Folks that were humble enough to thank the good lord for everything they possessed. These people aren’t “altruistic” they are just ‘good people' that didn’t find the need to be quantified by fancy words. Good people that didn’t need to use empty double talk as a way of hiding the greed, avarice, and self-centered nature that plagued many of their neighbors.
There was something different about Navin though; there was a spark in his eye, a certain pep in his step that his family noticed when nobody else cared to see inside his heart. Navin was destined for something bigger. He was going to change things; he was going to “figure out how to benefit others as much as possible” and he was going to take action on that basis. Navin was going to seek his destiny; he was going to find a career “based on the amount of good that the career achieves, and complimentarily pledge to donate to charities to minimize social crises.”
He started small – earning his keep as a gas station attendant for fellow named Mr Hartounian but he quickly moved on to bigger and better things. It was during his time working as a weight guesser at a traveling amusement park and fairway carnival that he became aware of effective altruism. His job allowed him to interact with people and give away trinkets and collectibles under the guise of “guessing peoples weight” - not that he was very good at actually guessing weight, but guessing weight wasn’t really the purpose of the game. The purpose of the game was giving away free stuff to people and making them feel good about their victory, albeit for a small fee.
Navin would charge a small fee for guessing people’s weight. He normally guessed wrong, but it didn’t matter because the important thing is to benefit others as much as possible. Navin had a really good pitch and gave away a LOT of trinkets by using a simple approach that seemed to work on everyone but Mr Rube:
Navin R. Johnson: The most exciting game on the midway! Imagine the thrill of getting your weight guessed by a professional! You can blow up your cheeks, you can stick out your chest, but you're not going to fool the guesser. How 'bout you, sir? Step right up!
Carnival Rube: Hey honey, let's see how good this guy is. Now what do I win?
Navin R. Johnson: Ah, anything... in this general area, right in here. Anything, below the stereo, and on this side of the Bicentennial glasses. Anything between the ashtray, and the thimbles. Anything in this three inches. Right in here, this area, that includes the Chiclets, but not the erasers.
Carnival Rube: No sir! C'mon honey; he thought he had himself a rube.
Yes indeed – Navin was quite the pitchman – but he sucked at actually guessing weight. Early on, he didn’t even realize that his real job wasn’t really guessing weight. Since Navin has such a big heart (and because he was an ignorant naive dipshit) he mostly just worried that he was letting his boss down (Mr Frosty) by giving away so many trinkets and collectibles…
Navin R. Johnson: Boss, I’m just no good at this.
Frosty: Ah, c’mon Navin, you’re doing fine.
Navin R. Johnson: I've already given away eight pencils, two hoola dolls, and an ashtray, and I've only taken in fifteen dollars.
Frosty: Navin, you have taken in fifteen dollars and given away fifty cents worth of crap, which gives us a net profit of fourteen dollars and fifty cents.
Navin R. Johnson: Ah... It's a profit deal. Takes the pressure off. Get your weight guessed right here! Only a buck! Actual live weight guessing! Take a chance and win some crap!
There’s no arguing that Mavin wasn’t busy looking out for the welfare of others but his time at SJM Fiesta Shows sharpened his business acumen and prepared him for his big break – a big break that had came without him even realizing it. Navin’s big break came way back when he worked for Harry Hartounian. It just took some time for his luck to catch up with him. Thanks to ill-fitting eyeglasses and Navin’s skill with a soldering iron, Navin was to become a VERY wealth man. A man that would use his wealth to benefit others as much as possible. A man that would cultivate his career so he could figure out how to benefit others as much as possible. Navin positioned himself so that he could maximize his effective altruism.
He took on such tragic human conditions as cracked leather seats in a private airplane – how can a guy fly his friends to the Superbowl like a man when his leather seats are cracking?
…essential altruism
When there were families that hadn’t eaten in years, why did they go to Navin Johnson for charity?
…essential altruism
When something had to be done about Cat-Juggling, who was it that finally did something about it? NAVIN R. JOHNSON, THAT’S WHO and why Navin and not someone else?
…essential altruism
In the end though – when you step back and look at the life and times of someone who was so intertwined with “effective altruism” – you realize – all of that altruism was bullshit. He found his rhythm because he wanted acceptance. He left home because he wasn’t thankful for what he already had. He wanted to enrich himself. He wanted to “be somebody”
He never REALLY cared about others as much as he cared about “building his image”
He wanted his name in print. He wanted to be rich and famous. More importantly, he wanted everyone to acknowledge his richness and famousness. He didn’t care about the drink in his glass – as long as it had a little cocktail umbrella. He never even cared about the trinkets and collectibles when he worked at the carnival – he was just worried about making a profit.
Because THAT’S what effective altruism is really about.
The effective altruist just doesn’t have the common fucking decency to admit it and THAT is why the FTX ponzi scheme worked as well as it did for as long as it did:
Just like Navin giving money to the “families that hadn’t eaten in two years” – you just GOTTA give them some aid money because of “altruism”
…aka virtue signaling
Just like Navin paying for a fucking rich Texan to reupholster the leather seats in his private airplane, you just gotta spend the INVESTOR money paying for some bullshit to signal your virtue.
Just like Navin spending money to help end “Cat Juggling” – you gotta spend that FTX money on some contrived scheme – like COVID/anti-Vax/No Ivermectin messaging to show that you care…
…as a tad bit of irony, I noticed that the guy in the Cat Juggling video looked a LOT like Navin Johnson wearing a cheap mustache.
All the while, the ridiculous BULLSHIT ideas that are exploited to enrich one’s lifestyle often prove to be harmful to those that we claim to be helping. Even as we use our new found fame and fortune to rail on the waiter that we are far too fucking sophisticated to eat snails.
So, what is the end result of these galacticly insane financial shenanigans?
Lawsuits.
Lawsuits all around.
You get a lawsuit.
YOU get a lawsuit.
Everybody files a fucking lawsuit.
So, we all file a lawsuit – and what is the compensation once there is proof that the essential altruism has ASSFUCKED everybody that bought into this week’s latest bullshit idea?
One dollar.
Everybody got ONE fucking dollar.
One dollar…
…AND NINE CENTS !!
so in closing, FUCK YOU SBF – fuck you and fuck FTX right in your stupid asses.
…oh, and fuck Navin Johnson and his stupid ‘Opti-Grab’ idea as well.
Only an observation and in no way meant to suggest I am right
Badger52
11-21-2022, 15:37
I love when the stage performers on the left use phrases like "Effective Altruism"
...
so in closing, FUCK YOU SBF – fuck you and fuck FTX right in your stupid asses.
…oh, and fuck Navin Johnson and his stupid ‘Opti-Grab’ idea as well.
Only an observation and in no way meant to suggest I am rightI am in awe at the relevance of this history les... No! Not a lesson; literallly a SEMINAR. Art for your Monday contemplation.
The big tech investors who should've known better, and attached their implied seal of approval by dumping $$$$$$$$$ into SBF's thing, have simply revealed that they got conned better than they were conning. Boo-freakin'-hoo.
:munchin
Roguish Lawyer
11-21-2022, 17:41
I love when the stage performers on the left use phrases like "Effective Altruism"
It’s like companies like 'Toms' like to do with their products.
"Hey, for every pair you buy, we give one pair to the poor." They became become rich as fuck because people kept buying their overpriced environmentally friendly, low-fat sugar free vegan shoes. Then they turn right around and use the retail cost of the shoes they give away as a charitable tax write off to cover their bottom line.
Because they care.
They care about the children.
Because it ALWAYS about the children.
Especially the ones in China and Vietnam where the third-party contractors that make up most of their production base, manufactures those shoes.
What they really mean is that they will make an average pair of shoes that only cost a few bucks to make (because they are manufactured in Asian sweat shops) then they sell you a pair of those shoes for 100 times what it cost to make them and then they give away a free pair of low-quality canvass espadrilles to some folks in the third world. Then they make a YUGE marketing issue out of the fact that they give away a free pair for every pair purchased."[/I] Why? Because they love profits – and virtue signaling – and children. They just love the children – the beautiful, exploitable, profit boosting, mother fucking children.
There is no such thing in aMEriKa as altruism. Not anymore. Not in a long time. In fact, this illusion of "effective altruism" is just a fancy new-age way of saying "salesmanship" - or should I say "gender nonspecific salespersonship”
whatever
Anyway, let me illustrate how "effective altruism" works in the real world:
Once upon a time, there was a fellow named Navin R. Johnson. Now, Navin was a simple minded fellow -actually, he was just downright fucking stupid. He was idiot, he had no rhythm, and he was terribly naïve. He also had a nearly full head of grey hair which was a little unusual for an 18-year-old young man growing up on a farm but, whatever.
Navin was the adopted son of Mississippi sharecroppers. Good, god-fearing folks; folks that lived off the land and made the most of what they had. Folks that were humble enough to thank the good lord for everything they possessed. These people aren’t “altruistic” they are just ‘good people' that didn’t find the need to be quantified by fancy words. Good people that didn’t need to use empty double talk as a way of hiding the greed, avarice, and self-centered nature that plagued many of their neighbors.
There was something different about Navin though; there was a spark in his eye, a certain pep in his step that his family noticed when nobody else cared to see inside his heart. Navin was destined for something bigger. He was going to change things; he was going to “figure out how to benefit others as much as possible” and he was going to take action on that basis. Navin was going to seek his destiny; he was going to find a career “based on the amount of good that the career achieves, and complimentarily pledge to donate to charities to minimize social crises.”
He started small – earning his keep as a gas station attendant for fellow named Mr Hartounian but he quickly moved on to bigger and better things. It was during his time working as a weight guesser at a traveling amusement park and fairway carnival that he became aware of effective altruism. His job allowed him to interact with people and give away trinkets and collectibles under the guise of “guessing peoples weight” - not that he was very good at actually guessing weight, but guessing weight wasn’t really the purpose of the game. The purpose of the game was giving away free stuff to people and making them feel good about their victory, albeit for a small fee.
Navin would charge a small fee for guessing people’s weight. He normally guessed wrong, but it didn’t matter because the important thing is to benefit others as much as possible. Navin had a really good pitch and gave away a LOT of trinkets by using a simple approach that seemed to work on everyone but Mr Rube:
Yes indeed – Navin was quite the pitchman – but he sucked at actually guessing weight. Early on, he didn’t even realize that his real job wasn’t really guessing weight. Since Navin has such a big heart (and because he was an ignorant naive dipshit) he mostly just worried that he was letting his boss down (Mr Frosty) by giving away so many trinkets and collectibles…
There’s no arguing that Mavin wasn’t busy looking out for the welfare of others but his time at SJM Fiesta Shows sharpened his business acumen and prepared him for his big break – a big break that had came without him even realizing it. Navin’s big break came way back when he worked for Harry Hartounian. It just took some time for his luck to catch up with him. Thanks to ill-fitting eyeglasses and Navin’s skill with a soldering iron, Navin was to become a VERY wealth man. A man that would use his wealth to benefit others as much as possible. A man that would cultivate his career so he could figure out how to benefit others as much as possible. Navin positioned himself so that he could maximize his effective altruism.
He took on such tragic human conditions as cracked leather seats in a private airplane – how can a guy fly his friends to the Superbowl like a man when his leather seats are cracking?
…essential altruism
When there were families that hadn’t eaten in years, why did they go to Navin Johnson for charity?
…essential altruism
When something had to be done about Cat-Juggling, who was it that finally did something about it? NAVIN R. JOHNSON, THAT’S WHO and why Navin and not someone else?
…essential altruism
In the end though – when you step back and look at the life and times of someone who was so intertwined with “effective altruism” – you realize – all of that altruism was bullshit. He found his rhythm because he wanted acceptance. He left home because he wasn’t thankful for what he already had. He wanted to enrich himself. He wanted to “be somebody”
He never REALLY cared about others as much as he cared about “building his image”
He wanted his name in print. He wanted to be rich and famous. More importantly, he wanted everyone to acknowledge his richness and famousness. He didn’t care about the drink in his glass – as long as it had a little cocktail umbrella. He never even cared about the trinkets and collectibles when he worked at the carnival – he was just worried about making a profit.
Because THAT’S what effective altruism is really about.
The effective altruist just doesn’t have the common fucking decency to admit it and THAT is why the FTX ponzi scheme worked as well as it did for as long as it did:
Just like Navin giving money to the “families that hadn’t eaten in two years” – you just GOTTA give them some aid money because of “altruism”
…aka virtue signaling
Just like Navin paying for a fucking rich Texan to reupholster the leather seats in his private airplane, you just gotta spend the INVESTOR money paying for some bullshit to signal your virtue.
Just like Navin spending money to help end “Cat Juggling” – you gotta spend that FTX money on some contrived scheme – like COVID/anti-Vax/No Ivermectin messaging to show that you care…
…as a tad bit of irony, I noticed that the guy in the Cat Juggling video looked a LOT like Navin Johnson wearing a cheap mustache.
All the while, the ridiculous BULLSHIT ideas that are exploited to enrich one’s lifestyle often prove to be harmful to those that we claim to be helping. Even as we use our new found fame and fortune to rail on the waiter that we are far too fucking sophisticated to eat snails.
So, what is the end result of these galacticly insane financial shenanigans?
Lawsuits.
Lawsuits all around.
You get a lawsuit.
YOU get a lawsuit.
Everybody files a fucking lawsuit.
So, we all file a lawsuit – and what is the compensation once there is proof that the essential altruism has ASSFUCKED everybody that bought into this week’s latest bullshit idea?
One dollar.
Everybody got ONE fucking dollar.
One dollar…
…AND NINE CENTS !!
so in closing, FUCK YOU SBF – fuck you and fuck FTX right in your stupid asses.
…oh, and fuck Navin Johnson and his stupid ‘Opti-Grab’ idea as well.
Only an observation and in no way meant to suggest I am right
What a jerk
Box - a lot of words for just saying: "Navin R. Johnson...typical, run of the mill bastard."
Box - a lot of words for just saying: "Navin R. Johnson...typical, run of the mill bastard."
True, but even the life of a common gas pumper can serve as cautionary tale every now and again.
As far as the amount of words needed to say, "typical run-of-the-mill bastard" - sometimes I just fall victim to 'stream of consciousness' posting and I just can't help myself. It's like French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote way back in 1657, ...
Je n’ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n’ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.
Loosely translated, it means, If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter. (even though that quote is frequently and incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain).
Personally, I cannot stand needlessly verbose, drawn out internet posts that serve no real purpose except to allow the poster to proselytize about random content. I prefer to keep my posts short and succinct.
True. or, it could be just about the cans. He hates these cans.
Well done Box - I keep saying, you need to get on that book......: "Please, TAKE my money!!!"
Nuance - but you'll notice that not only do some people hate cans, they hate them with the full force of an AR15...
...and just like everyone else in the world that is wired just like him, Navin's first response was to blame the cans - not the shooter
So, what did Navin do once he was forced to admit the fact that it isn't the rifle or the cans that are defective - PEOPLE are defective?
He ran off and joined a fucking traveling carnival show.
So what have we learned?
People like Navin don't give a shit that you are a crook passing off stolen credit cards - and he doesn't mind needlessly destroying a church
Even in 1979, Hollywood had a tendancy of NOT blaming the criminal.
"Effective Altruism" is just a three dollar word that means the same thing as Caveat Emptor.
Most importantly, people like Mr Hartounian know whats up, even when people around them are in a panic and blaming everything but the real problem.
I have spoken
Box, well done. A running commentary and philosophical breakdown of contemporary society as demonstrated through the media of early eighties comedy. Excellent!! Almost as good as Swoop's sock-puppetry.
This is the crap that would get me in trouble when I was active duty and a bit of a smart ass. I was blowing out somewhere that was no threat and only for a couple of days. It may have even been local CONUS. The Opso was busting my ass to do my deployment package, PACE plan, register my DNA with the SAR satellite data base, etc. I told the dude that no one read that shit and I'd be right back. He was apoplectic and worried he may get in trouble if I didn't turn in my 30 page power point of "Jm's excellent two day adventure, proof of life, and recovery procedures (assisted and non-assisted)."
So I wildly extemporized on deploying into deep, deep, double-naught-secret cover; how I drew the plasma guns in the 40 mega-watt range, and that I had recently trained and been certified on the sky-crow (an improved version of the cobra (?) glider Kurt Russell rode into New York City as Snake Plisskin). That I had been in communication with Steven Seagal and he lent me his SEAL phone that he used in his destroyer movie but the fucker wouldn't give me extra batteries so I brought along extra glue and rubber bands (don't ask me why I said that). And if all else failed, I'd do what a former SEAL on my dive Team told me once: "If all goes to shit, set some really big shit on fire. They'll find you."
So I submitted that and went about my merry business and did my trip and got back and never, ever, ever, heard a word about it, thereby proving my contention that NOBODY read that shit.