Treason
It is unusual, I know, but I am at a loss for words.
Captain Peacock [of commenter fame] sent a couple of links over the weekend. He included them in a comment, but I thought they needed a wee spot of highlighting.
They are both to the highly regarded site of Guido Fawkes.
Now normally, Guido has his cross-hairs aimed firmly at the Houses of Parliament in the UK, but during the week, he turned his attention to Anglo Irish Bank.
Now we all know that Anglo is the bank that has destroyed this country, with a little help from our government. It was a bank run by crooks with no regard for anything except greed and profit. As Guido points out, they were ripping off their customers long before they went bust.
There has been a lot of talk as to why we are bailing out this utterly corrupt institution. It is costing us, our children and our grandchildren. It has brought Ireland to the brink of bankruptcy. Why the fanatical determination of the part of our government to put the country in hock for generations?
Guido’s second article gives us a clear insight as to the probable reasons. It explains why Europe is so happy with the bailout, despite causing us financial ruin. It explains why Cowen refuses to listen to reason. This is the reason we will be in debt for many years to come.
As I say, I am at a loss for words.
If it is true, and it is too plausible not to be true, then Cowen is guilty of nothing less than treason.
Yep. Totally agree. And if I had endless wealth, I’d take a civil action against him. To act against the interests of your country and undermine it in favour of external interests is treason. He is endangering the well being and sovereignty of Ireland.
That is treason.
If it’s true, then what would be done about it? Precious little is my guess. FFers have a knack for avoiding jailtime despite blatant financial crimes.
Cowen & Co are only following a well trodden traitors path, created by Messrs Blair & Brown ..
In fact, considering the damage politicians (of all stripes) have done to our respective countries (and all to feather their own, or their cronies nests) .. I’m damed if I can figure out why no “economic cleansing” has taken place … Yet !!
if this is true, and there is little reason to doubt it, then we are, indeed, facing a truly awful world. or to abuse Yeats:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
whereby doubts are due as far as the beauty part is concerned….
Also seems strange to me that Peter Sutherland is telling the government (and by default the country) that Anglo bondholders interests have to be protected at all times, given that he himself represents one of those apparent bondholders (Goldman Sachs International).
Has he got the governments arm up its back, why do they feel such a compulsion to comply?
According to Lemmingham, the final bail-out costs of Anglo will be between €29 and €34 billion. Guido says in his article that the total face value of the bonds held amount to just €4 billion. I’m no economist, so could anyone please tell me where the other €25bn will be going to? Is there a reason we can’t just pay off these, mostly German bondholders, thereby protecting the country’s reputation Cowen is so worried about, and then just close Anglo down for good?
My loss of words seems to have extended to the comment area also. I am seriously contemplating making a unilateral Declaration of Independence for my little corner of the mountains. I have had enough. All politicians, people who do studies or surveys, people who think they know what’s really good for me and all bankers will be shot on sight at the borders.
Seamus – Not only that, but where exactly is this €34 billion going that it is apparently just vanishing? It has to be going somewhere?
There’s some suspicion surfacing that the other main Irish banks may also be Anglo bondholders – hence ‘systemic’. The whole thing looks more of a mess every day. And looking back Goldman Sachs and Rothschild advising the government on the blanket guarantee (the latter being paid for that advice), and both of them bondholders.
This ‘ll end up with Ireland selling off just about any asset it has left, right down to the minerals in the ground when it’s left with no other choice. And what’s the bet that it will be some of those same bondholders who’ll end up owning the silver! Talk about being taken for a ride!
You’re not often at a loss for words Grandad, even this late at night! I was reading down through the “comments” section underneath Guido’s second article and think I may be able to answer my own question. It seems the bondholders listed may be just the subordinate (as distinct from the senior bondholders) if that means anything.
Included among the comments is a great video of a Finnish TV newsman and also this witty effort (No 47) from someone calling himself
“The 12th Iman, stuck down a Well, just south of Tehran”:
“Look you lot, if I’ve told you once I’ve told you a hundred times the Irish political class are the biggest load of elephants bollocks, dragons breath, gibbering mad, gobshite hypocrites on this earth. This Stinks. May the fleas of a thousand camels itch about their groins and nether regions.
Now I have spoken. Will someone please send down a bloody rescue capsule. I’M GETTING REALLY PISSED OFF WITH THIS PLACE!!”
I’m going to bed (grumpy), but if you’re right about the subordinate thing Seamus then i’m even more pissed off! Rothschild and Goldman Sachs advising the government to commit the nation to 30 odd billion when in the background they’re worried about a little dent in their massive fortunes. I must have this wrong somewhere?
Gland to be of service Grandad I had noticed nothing in the Irish newspapers about this.
To call the government traitors is correct but they are also criminals as they colluded with criminals who have defrauded the Irish people. But there’s is no justice because I’m sorry to say the Irish people will let them get away with their criminals actions. I noticed on the internet a clip of the main crook Fitzpatrick coming out of the police station and the reporters calling out to him …’Seanie ‘ like he was some kind of nice guy instead of the crook he is. They should be throwing eggs at him….Seanie give me a break!.
He’s now having a good old laugh living off his wife’s millions while the whole of Ireland suffers because of his actions.
So at the next election I wish the Irish people would think of the power they have [if only for that one day] and use their vote wisely. Look at the people of France 9 million of them out on the streets because they are not prepared to take a cut in their pensions.
Have you seen these TDs taking any cuts Ahern swanking around thinking that some little shop girl should be paying his [two] mobile phone bills and other perks through her taxes.
If that crook EVER becomes the Irish President I’m giving up my Irish citizenship as I hold duel Irish & UK.
Anglo-Irish Bank’s bondholders include many members of the Euro Banking Association whose membership is made up of mostly European banks including (Drumm roll) Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland. In fact a chap called Vincent Brennan from Bank of Ireland sits on the Board of the EBA.
So we have Peter Sutherland advising Lendahand that under no circumstances should he consider a haircut for bondholders. At the same time he is non-executive Chairman of Goldman Sachs which is also a bondholder.
All we need to find out now are two things; (1) That Goldman Sachs are offering to buy potentially distressed Anglo bonds in the market at a discount (and they have a 5.5billion fund for exactly this purpose) and telling people Ireland is likely to default. They buy at 90% of the value and Sutherland hypoethically makes sure Lennie doesn’t default and GS are sitting on a 10% profit via market manipulation. (2) We find out that Anglo-Irish, Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland have been cross-buying in each other’s bonds via these nominee bondholders in ‘back to back’ deals like the same ones Fitzpatrick arranged for his loans to cover them appearing in Anglo’s books and we have what is effectively a share-ramping scandal only with bank bonds.
Strangely enough going back to Goldman Sachs they agreed to pay 550million in fines in the US last year for performing a manoeuver on mortgage debt exactly like the one I describe above.
Draw your own conclusions. Finally I would point out that the ODCE in Ireland has never made one white-collar prosecution . Also the European Market Abuse Directive which is the relevant EU wide legislation which covers such market manipulation it appears has never been tested in Ireland.
I’d say its about time.
This information needs to go mainstream to every household in the country so people can see for themselves exactly why they are being financially raped by this corrupted government. I am going to print off this article and start to pass it around to everyone i know and if everyone here will do the same and spread we may just start a revival of the “fighting irish” mentality. Otherwise we truly are doomed because the politicians are starting to circle their wagons to convince us that there is no other way. Without even reading that article i knew that we were being taken to the cleaners for subversive reasons but i actually feel sick seeing the real truth laid out in front of me,for what died the sons of Roisin?, for nothing apparently. Cowen and co along with the financiers should be rounded up and charged with TREASON,but i think the cancer in our society is too deep for us to ever get justice as they have bought off the courts system as well.