On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power
Location: Blogs Bob O'Brien's Sanity Check Blog
Posted by: bobo 4/30/2006
"The more they attack us, you know, we have barrels of ink and stacks of money, and all the resources in the World at our disposal, legal, and via our media, to crush them..."
Was this Khrushchev speaking to his massed troops, announcing that he would ride roughshod over all who dared oppose him?
Hitler stoking the fires of his army, as they prepared to go against the Soviet army?
Nope.
That is Dan Colarusso, New York Post. He was on a panel with Herb Greenberg and Joe Nocera, at the SABEW conference (Society of American Business Editors and Writers) speaking about how the media is being attacked by those mean old bloggers.
I'm not making this up.
The transcript is filled with such gems, such glimpses of the actual way that the media perceives itself. Occasionally, betwixt the acrimonious sniveling and whining about victimhood, the true nature of the unbridled arrogance of these people slips through, and one is left with quotes like the above.
We are all-powerful, and will crush all before us into submission.
Now, that is veiled, carefully concealed from our prying eyes, for the most part, but occasionally one of the panelists tells it like it is - and the picture isn't pretty.
Here's the full quote - it is actually even better than just the snippet:
"When I think about Patrick Byrne or the guys at Biovail, I mean, second-rate CEOs of third-rate companies. We hunt big fish at the Post. We, you know, Dick Parsons reads us first in the morning, Dick Foll (sp?) reads us first in the morning; we don't really care for these companies. I wouldn't really cover them except that one of my reporters whom I happen to respect has an interest in them. So we write about them and we think its an interesting story. But I could give or take it. I'd rather have a great story about Goldman Sachs.
But they are interesting, people should know about them. The more they attack us, you know, we have barrels of ink and stacks of money, and all the resources in the World at our disposal, legal, and via our media, to crush them, or at least bring them to some degree where they cannot do this with impunity. And, at this point in time, the Post's stance. I'm ready to sue one of them for libel or slander. Why not turn the tables? They say you can't do it. Herb said he thought about it. But why not? They want to be journalists? You want to write for the public? Here you go, now you know what we live through. And.. fine, we'll wage war with you as long as you want.
So we're very much prepared to do these things and be aggressive. But one thing we're not prepared to do, and the one thing I have advised our reporters to do, is not to deal with these people on their own terms. We do not refer.. we do not post to boards anymore. In fact, I told Roddy Boyd that I would cut his hands off if another one of his emails showed up on the Web. It's careless, and we don't know what road we are going down litigation wise. Is an email from a journalist. can that be.. can you be sued for libel in an email? You know, I don't know where it goes. And, so were being careful about that. We're not going to engage these people on their own terms. We know the rules and we know where everything shapes up.
So that's basically my response to this. Again, these are small companies, the ones that Herb's been knocked around with a little bit, they're small companies and they're not important to what I do in the course of a day, unless we write about them. And we're prepared to take them on wherever they'd like to be taken on, primarily court, if it comes to that."
Wow. So this bastion of freedom of speech indicates that they will use their superior economic resources to crush those who criticize them, in order to raise the cost of that free speech to a level where all those who dare mock or criticize them are effectively silenced by the threat of lawsuits.
That, my friends, is what we are actually dealing with. The unbridled arrogance of this perspective is breathtaking. And the hypocrisy is stunning. I mean, on the one hand, they are collectively mewling about their being victims of persecution, and on the other, we get a candid view of how they view the superior resources they command - instruments to "crush" their critics and any who dare expose them.
Take some time to digest that part of it, and let's move to the rest of it. I'll post the full transcript later on in the week - for now, I am simply savoring each nugget, wondering what to write about next.
But I digress.
In another section Calaruso takes pains to distance himself from the Page 6 guy who was allegedly extorting business personalities, based upon that smugly superior ability to leverage the publication's power and connections in the media - you know, the ability to tar and feather a guy or company by putting out the word to kindreds in the financial press to do so - to "crush" whoever the unfortunate target is. And yet, for a brief moment, we see that perspective is not an anomaly. It is not atypical at all.
Tut tut, I could go on for hours at the implications and contradictions in just those few words, but why belabor it. Let's move on to the rest of the quote's message, and tone.
First, we have a guy who probably has never been more than CEO of his checkbook, pronouncing those who have built billion-dollar companies to be second rate. Now, that's fine, opinions are like journalists - there are many flavors. But understand that this guy has never been a CEO. He is an editor. Who is discussing how best to silence and crush his opponents. I still can't get past that part. But I'll try.
He then advises his staff not to deal with "these people" on their own terms. Presumably that is where they are accountable for their statements, just as their targets are.
I actually agree with him regarding the email thing - I believe that the email exchange between the Businessweek reporter and Dr. Byrne of OSTK is a fascinating glimpse of how the supposedly unbiased press operate - but it is not flattering to the press to be exposed in that manner, and they should take care to preserve their veneer of civility and not allow the laymen to see how they actually go about their job.
There is much, much more in this - more Herb than one could wish for, charming examples of the insider boy's club which certain segments of the NY financial press clearly are members of, further demonstrations of how the press views its role.
We will crush those who dare oppose us.
What do you say to that?
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Last week, a broker at Citi was sanctioned by the NASD for mis-marking his naked shorted transactions as long sales, in order to circumvent the short selling restrictions, and presumably not have his orders show up in the legitimate short interest.
This is precisely what I have been opining occurs, much more frequently than anyone believes. The industry hides its naked short selling by lying.
Simple.
What is noteworthy is that it hasn't gotten very much press. Here is a broker for one of the major prime brokers, who performed 100 trades, not ONE of which was flagged or caught by the system.
How large were the trades? Thousands, or hundreds of thousands of shares? Who were the companies? Were they companies like CXN, who can't be shorted? Or were they OSTK shares - a company on the SHO list, where short selling is supposedly tightly restricted?
We don't know. That is secret.
Why is it secret? Again, we don't know. Presumably because if we knew, it would expose Citi to lawsuits from companies and shareholders harmed by the practice - and we can't have that.
So we aren't told.
And note that even though this is a breach of many of the rules that create a pretense of market integrity, the broker didn't even have to admit guilt. He was suspended for 90 days, and had to disgorge a chunk of cash, and pay a fine, but he is not going to jail.
This is our market.
And then we wonder when companies like CXN take the position that they are getting reamed by the industry, and that the same brokers whose staff violate the rules designed to protect investors, while the industry rolls its eyes and takes the position that, "That can't happen - it's against the rules!"
I mean, what kind of a farce is it when 100 trades, ostensibly sizable, can be mis-marked, and NOBODY BATS AN EYE?
Is it just me, or is it increasingly apparent that if you commit larcenous acts on Wall Street, the worst that can happen is you may have to spend a month or two on vacation?
WTF? WTFF?
Copyright ©2006 Bob O'Brien
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By mhatmccane on 5/1/2006
Truly amazing! Is this the conference that Chris Cox is supposed to be at?
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By bobo on 5/1/2006
Yes it is.
You should read the Herb stuff. Really astounding. But nothing compares to that one quote from the Post. It pretty much says it all.
I was pretty clear on what he was trying to convey. Didn't have any questions.
You?
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By harryofanguslane on 5/1/2006
What a Hoot! The guys think they're oh, so Powerful. Deja vu all over again. When the Government gets on to them, their masters (the publishers and owners) will leave them hanging, twisting slowly in the breeze.
I've said it so often and I'll say it again. Hubris is the most dangerous word in the English language. Even if it's Greek.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By Clearthinker on 5/1/2006
CITI broker is a smoking gun....if he did it 100 times over 19 months...how many thousands of trades were done this way by others.....
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By troydian on 5/1/2006
I have decieded to pummell my senator everyday with choice pieces of info If any of you would like to make a differnce..an e-mail a day to your elected official could be the straw that gets the camel OFF ehhs arse!! ^6 days in a row on this particular charge of the light brigade..... by the way I have been doing this for 3 years... all in an effort to seek justice.. I have already lost everything and I do mean everything...
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By troydian on 5/1/2006
well.. exept for my will to FIGHT!!
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By Wonder Boy on 5/1/2006
Is this the first of the fallout from the subpoenas to the media or just another Cox management move???
Senior SEC Enforcement Official Joins Kroll's San Francisco Office
Business Wire - May 01, 2006 11:30
SAN FRANCISCO, May 01, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kathleen Bisaccia, former assistant district administrator for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement in San Francisco, Calif., has joined the San Francisco office of risk consulting company Kroll Inc. As a managing director in its Business Intelligence & Investigations division, she is responsible for conducting corporate internal investigations in all areas of the federal securities laws, including financial reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Bisaccia will also oversee projects involving due diligence and other regulatory issues.
Bisaccia began her career at the SEC in 1991, when she joined its Los Angeles office as a staff attorney. She subsequently served as branch chief for four years, and following a move to the San Francisco office, as senior counsel and branch chief. Most recently, in March 2005, she assumed the senior position of assistant district administrator. In that capacity, she supervised enforcement managers and staff in all aspects of complex securities law investigations and litigation, including strategy, legal analysis, evidence collection and analysis, case planning, and evaluation of legal theories. Bisaccia also served as director of equities enforcement at the Pacific Stock Exchange in early 2000.
About Kroll: Kroll Inc., the world's leading risk consulting company, provides a broad range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services to help clients reduce risks, solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. Headquartered in New York with offices in more than 65 cities in over 25 countries, Kroll has a multidisciplinary corps of more than 3,900 employees and serves a global clientele of law firms, financial institutions, corporations, non-profit institutions, government agencies, and individuals. For more information, visit www.kroll.com.
SOURCE: Kroll Inc.
Kroll
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By rtway1 on 5/1/2006
I hope somebody sends or hand delivers the transscript of this to Mr. Cox head of the SEC, and I would also bet he or his staff read this blog site. If in fact his eyes do glaze over these quotes you have provided, and I deeply appreciate your providing the info, he should hang his head in shame for his public display of concern for these merchants of misery. Every day I am more convinced that this government is on a full time mission to keep the public uninformed and ignorant about the financial world so that they can be used like animals for slaughter to feed the appetites of the Wall St. club. Maybe someday,God willing, someone will emerge to power to clean up this system, currently the spot is certainly vacant.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By bobo on 5/1/2006
It would be very interesting to ask her when she got the job offer?
Want to bet a lot of money it was after she initiated the investigation into the hedge funds, assuming it was she who did so?
Kroll. Didn't Byrne list them as one of the arms of the miscreants - a facilitator and dirt digger for the bad guys?
Can some journalist contact her and ask, point blank, when she got the offer?
This stinks bigtime.
Bigtime.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By x. trapnell on 5/1/2006
Utter amazing quotation, fully in Tom Wolfe territory, worthy of becoming a permanent part of the lore of Wall Street. So rabid that it even manages to rehabilitate Boyd a bit. Even if he had been so inclined, no way that the NASAA November meeting could have been covered under this NY Post editor. No wonder Roddy had to pay for his own travel there.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By rtway1 on 5/1/2006
the only person in the media that has tremendous public exposure that has taken on a jihad against the elitist, bashing and lying press is O,Reilly on Fox,s show the Factor. I give this man all the credit in the world for having the gonads to single out these scum by newspaper and by their own names. He has had his life threatened and actually has bodyguards. This is also the most watched news show and that means the public is eager to hear the truth. I wish that more stations would follow suit. I wish we could get him to see these comments.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By InTheKnow on 5/1/2006
What a fuqing sham, what a fuqing rigged system, WTF,WTFF!
Let them all rot in hell!
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By rtway1 on 5/1/2006
Bob, is there anyway to get these quotes over to Leslie Stahl at 60 min. Maybe they will do a follow up on biovail or Ostk.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By InTheKnow on 5/1/2006
The arrogance of a bunch of cretins that started out doing restaurant reviews. This is typical Hitlerism at it's finest. A bunch of power hungry malcontents that would be at home at a KKK meeting! What a bunch of scumbags.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By notbobdavis on 5/1/2006
Do you have a link to the transcripts?
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By bobo on 5/1/2006
I will post the transcript in its entirety later in the week. There is no link. It is done based on audio from the conference.
Email Stahl this blog, and indicate that I have the transcript and would be more than willing to share it. Stunning stuff.
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Re: On The SABEW Conference, And The Arrogance Of Unbridled Power By bidrec on 5/1/2006
One thing that should be remarked here is the temerity of the Post has in calling another business "third rate" when, based on estimates of the New York Times, it loses about seventy million dollars a year.
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