The Goldman way to screw and to abuse classified information

If you have ever studied the background of the LTCM disaster (1998) which brought the financial system close to a collapse in 1998 you will find the exact same story described below only they pulled it to the end and made a killing - literally. Under the claim they wanted to help out LTCM they came in and studied the whole book of LTCM and as they knew no one would bail them out they took the opposite trades as LTCM was forced to sell out.
Guess who was the Treasury Secretary at that time mr Rubin (ex CEO of Goldman)

Excerpt 1
In 1997 and 1998, Treasury Secretary Rubin, Deputy Secretary Lawrence Summers, and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan worked with the International Monetary Fund and others to effectively combat and contain financial crises in Russian, Asian, and Latin American financial markets.

and here another achievement of Rubin and Greenspan responsible for today's chaos on financial markets

Excerpt 2

In 1997, together with then-Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, Rubin strongly opposed the regulation of derivatives, when such regulation was proposed by then-head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Brooksley Born. Overexposure to credit derivatives of mortgage-backed securities was a key reason for the failure of US financial institutions Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, American International Group, and Washington Mutual in 2008.

Arthur Levitt Jr., a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has said in explaining Rubin's strong opposition to the regulations proposed by Born that Greenspan and Rubin were "joined at the hip on this." "They were certainly very fiercely opposed to this and persuaded me that this would cause chaos." ^[9] However, in Mr. Rubin’s autobiography, he notes that he believed derivatives could pose significant problems and that many people who used derivatives didn’t fully understand the risks they were taking.

that gents are the same chief economic advisers now for Obama - I really wonder if Obama made his homework why he ever could make them his team-mates? Either he had too - or is evil himself.

Excerpt 3

If the financial crisis were one bad episode of Law and Order, we would know from the opening scene that the trail of murder and deception leads straight to Goldman Sachs, we'd just have to sit through 58 minutes of poking around to get there. Lying beside Bear Stearns' body, we'd find a thread from a pristine GS suit carelessly left stuck to the bloody carpet. Knowing Goldman, we'd probably also find a business card signed "Love, Lloyd xoxo." Ballsy bastards, that bunch.

Who would Christopher Meloni play in this episode? That's all I want to know. I'd pay a whole crapload of money to see him rough up Ken Lewis or grab Lloyd Blankfein by the collar, shove him down, and growl "You tell me where the body is, you scumbag prick!"

I digress. Before I get too ahead of myself...

So I am fairly certain that most of us (those that count ourselves on the "sane" side of the crisis, that is, not the "Kool-aid" side) understand that there are bodies lying all over the battlefield and though we do not have definitive proof, it is fairly likely that we are already intimately acquainted with the culprits.

That being said, Goldman is still playing innocent. Isn't that adorable?

Via the New York Post, a "we have no idea what you're talking about" defense from the boys at GS so incredulous it makes me wonder if these guys have any shred of conscience at all. Likely not:

As Bear Stearns careened toward its eventual collapse, Wall Street golden child Goldman Sachs swooped in several times to offer aid -- but was dismissed out of fear the investment bank had an ulterior motive.

That's the picture author and Wall Street Journal reporter Kate Kelly paints in "Street Fighters," a book that comes out today from Penguin Group and chronicles the 72 hours leading up to the Federal Reserve-induced shotgun marriage of Bear and JPMorgan Chase in March 2008.

"When Goldman calls and offers their assistance, it's usually a moneymaking opportunity for them," Bear Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro is quoted as saying in the book.

According to the book, Goldman tried repeatedly to get in to review Bear's books under the guise of perhaps swooping in as a savior for the ailing firm. However, Bear execs, including then-CEO Alan Schwartz, were described as suspicious almost from the start, fearing Goldman might use what they learned about Bear to bet against the firm.

At one point shortly before Bear's demise, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein is described as screaming at top deal-makers involved in negotiations to save Bear, because his execs were being denied entry into Bear's Midtown headquarters to review its mortgage portfolio and make a bid for the firm.

Goldman workers eventually wormed their way into Bear's offices, but refused to sign confidentiality agreements that would have restricted them from disclosing confidential info or poaching Bear's staff.

Said a Goldman spokeswoman yesterday: "We went out of our way to be helpful to Bear Stearns and any suggestion to the contrary is either misinformed, intentionally malicious or both."

Helpful! Like AIG's Edward Liddy is offering a public service and the Federal Reserve is concerned about price stability!? You must be joking. No really. Do people actually believe this load of absolute bullshit?

Lloyd Blankfein throws a hissy fit because he can't suck what little marrow remains in Bear's bones before it curls up and dies and that is going out of their way to be helpful? Oh that's precious.