Great article Jordan. Effective altruism is just the latest iteration of a scam that has been going on for time immemorial. Convince people that you’re doing things “for the greater good” and then practice the prosperity gospel for yourself. Any ideology, belief, creed, philosophy, religion etc, that espouses that free markets don’t create human flourishing should be stamped out like an errant spark on a dry hay pile. Free markets are the ONLY thing that has ever created human flourishing -- and likely to be the only thing that ever will.
The timing of the FTX collapse is quite interesting, and assessing his motives is not easy. It almost looks like he served his purpose by funneling huge amounts to the democrats and after the election was left out to dry. His mother, a Stanford law professor, had a huge mega dem donor pac called Mind The Gap. Will be interesting to see if she also is left to blow in the wind after having had served her purpose. If it is determined that he misappropriated funds then that means that his donations (to include his mother's pac, if such were made) should be returned to the victims' restitution fund. I hope she is asked if her pac received any funds form FTX, SBF, or affiliated parties.
Maybe he had altruism in some form-but it was dem donor altruism. Due to his connections it is also entirely possible that he will get off with a wrist slap like Jon Corzine. I can already see that the main stream media is trying to run cover for him by portraying SBF and his circle of crooks as just a bunch of young innocent computer gamers who sleep on bean bag pillows and got carried away. Imagine the outrage and foaming of the mouth we would see if this was a Republican.
Not only was the collapse timing interesting, so was the launching of his exchange that came supposedly just 13 days after Biden announced his presidential campaign. How much money went to the "Big Guy"???
Though not foolproof, you really can tell a book by it's cover most of the time. The guy looked like a good-for-nothing bum and that turned out to be true. Shocking. Yet powerful people swooned at this guy and trusted him with billions.
Trust your instincts folks. People that are too lazy to properly groom themselves or otherwise make themselves look presentable are sending a pretty clear message; they don't care. I wouldn't give my keys to this guy at a car park looking like he does, let alone my money. Yet plenty of supposedly smart people did.
The reference to Bill Gates is perfect. Microsoft has fucked over everyone for years by charging way too much for their technology making Bill Gates rich beyond belief. Then he decides to give some of it away and he’s a great guy. How about just charging an honest amount? I do that with my business and I have absolutely zero guilt about my bank account. Total and utter frauds destroying society.
The sudden collapse of crypto exchange "FTX" and its Bankruptcy filing today, has revealed that FTX presently suffers from $10-$50 BILLION in liabilities with almost ZERO assets . . . and among those liabilities, are "investments" made by . . . . UKRAINE . . . .
At this early hour, it __appears__ that tens-of-billions in American "Military Aid" to Ukraine, which was allegedly to be used to fight Russia, was cash that Ukraine DID NOT use to fight Russia, but instead invested into FTX!
And, as you might guess from the Bankruptcy filing . . . . it now seems that all the money . . . is gone.
Yes, you read that correctly: Instead of using US Military Aid to fight Russia, Ukraine "invested" part or all of it, into FTX, and right now, it looks like all the money is gone.
Very interesting article and insight into this sordid circle of fraudsters.
I think this is 100% confirmation of an old and favorite Heinlein passage that I think came from Time Enough for Love. The passage is too long to quote in its entirety, but the gist is that left wing politicians are less trustworthy than right wing ones because the left wing ones will change their mind several times before breakfast --as long as they can be persuaded that something is 'for the people,' they'll agree to it.
Whereas the right wing types were straightforward crooks who realized that their only value to the people was in their ability to deliver on their promises so they could at least be relied on to thieve honestly.
Meanwhile, the left wing politicos thieve while actually believing they are saints due to their work 'for the people.' Here with SBF we see this phenomenon in action.
Nov 14, 2022·edited Nov 14, 2022Liked by Jordan Schachtel
effective altruism is the perfect ideological "beard" for the whining progressive progeny of the credentialed classes. it let's them act like gordon gekko and to run wild, lavish lifestyles and climb social ladders by splashing endless money in search of the bought power of regulatory capture while, by promising some "future good act" wrapping themselves in the mantle of righteous populism.
it's the career equivalent of buying a $200k EV so you can flaunt wealth while claiming "to care about gaia."
it's essentially an ethics ponzi scheme. i take from you now and give back more later. returns guaranteed! promise! just trust me!
the wealthy from princes to robber barons to warren buffet have long given back to societies and to do do so once rich is, perhaps, a fine thing. but to use this future promise as inducement to "make me rich now so i can do this unspecified thing later" is the reddest of flags. it's the equivalent of highly levered, unsecured ethical debt and to buy it from a kid clearly splashing every stupid pot from arena naming rights to superbowl ads and celebrity endorsement is only ever going to end one way.
and in the end, the ethics of "using phony altruism buying my way into a regulatory monopoly" is ethically bankrupt.
MIND you that good old Sam started Alameda research in 2017
AND his mother is Barbara Fried who runs a bunch of DEM PACS
Gary Gensler is the current chair of The Securities and Exchange Commission. He was sworn into that office in April 17, 2021. Before that however, he was (and apparently still is) a professor at MIT who taught ‘blockchain technology, digital currencies, financial technology, and public policy’.
According to Mr. Weir, Genslers’ boss at MIT was Glenn Ellison. Ellisons’ daughter Caroline, was named co-CEO on Oct. 12, 2021 of Alameda Research before being named sole CEO in late August of 2022. According to Coin98…’In 2021, Alameda Research was one of the most influential venture capitals in crypto. They participate in investing in crypto projects and trading, OTC, and market-making.’…
Not to mention the possible connections between FTX, Ukraine and the tens of millions of dollars donated to democrat election efforts! There is a possibility that the "government (tm)" of Ukraine, i.e., Zelensky and his cabal of henchmen took American economic aide, which was given without ANY oversight and put it into FTX surreptitiously and illegally, which became part of the largesse of SBF "donated" to the democrats to buoy their electoral thievery in a circular money laundering scheme. The corruption is staggering! And is it any wonder that the democrats are so quick to scream "conspiracy theory" at any mention of this scheme? It's how they try to avoid responsibility and their allies in Big MEdia always assist them in their efforts.
My initial reaction was where is the WEF tie in? And there it was in the socials media puff piece about all the “worthy causes” he wants us to all spend our money on. Head line? Global warming. Of course! And then Covid 19 and let’s eradicate tropical diseases (err how? Bill Gates so-called vaccines of course…).
Driven by “evidence and reason”? I think not. Driven by the desire to dominate more like… This is identical to the machinations of the WEF and foundations like the Gates creatures have set up, through which they maintain control of all their wealth with no tax consequences, thus they are effectively outside the government system. What, you may ask, is an elites group doing messing about in socialism? Answer is they aren’t. They are using socialism, wokeism and public health as Trojan horses to achieve the level of control they feel is their due because they are so much smarter than the rest of us. That is identical behavioural psychology to Marxism, Fascism and feudalism, all 3 of which manifest broadly identically with a small elite group dominating the masses, who are serfs.
Covid 19 policy is a clear example of their ability to formulate and execute against this end goal, and the broad population’s willingness to go along with it. Global warming is the next “existential” threat and this will be backed up with more pandemics. How do we know? Because they have promised this will happen. They are promising us that the Apocalypse of Revelations is at hand and only they can save us, from ourselves. And therein lies their warped moral justification for all their evils, the same type of warped moral justifications used by Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot et al. Just because they wear grandpa sweaters, business suits and sweats doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have been wearing snappy black military uniforms in 1940s Germany. We must get rid of these now or our children and grandchildren will have to fight another war of independence. If we don’t they will be right that we do not deserve freedom, only serfdom…
I've bought some crypto on FTX but never stored there. Let this be a lesson....learn how a self-custody wallet works and never trust any KYC exchange for storage.
Great article Jordan. Effective altruism is just the latest iteration of a scam that has been going on for time immemorial. Convince people that you’re doing things “for the greater good” and then practice the prosperity gospel for yourself. Any ideology, belief, creed, philosophy, religion etc, that espouses that free markets don’t create human flourishing should be stamped out like an errant spark on a dry hay pile. Free markets are the ONLY thing that has ever created human flourishing -- and likely to be the only thing that ever will.
The timing of the FTX collapse is quite interesting, and assessing his motives is not easy. It almost looks like he served his purpose by funneling huge amounts to the democrats and after the election was left out to dry. His mother, a Stanford law professor, had a huge mega dem donor pac called Mind The Gap. Will be interesting to see if she also is left to blow in the wind after having had served her purpose. If it is determined that he misappropriated funds then that means that his donations (to include his mother's pac, if such were made) should be returned to the victims' restitution fund. I hope she is asked if her pac received any funds form FTX, SBF, or affiliated parties.
Maybe he had altruism in some form-but it was dem donor altruism. Due to his connections it is also entirely possible that he will get off with a wrist slap like Jon Corzine. I can already see that the main stream media is trying to run cover for him by portraying SBF and his circle of crooks as just a bunch of young innocent computer gamers who sleep on bean bag pillows and got carried away. Imagine the outrage and foaming of the mouth we would see if this was a Republican.
Not only was the collapse timing interesting, so was the launching of his exchange that came supposedly just 13 days after Biden announced his presidential campaign. How much money went to the "Big Guy"???
According to wiki (if it is still up) Biden received 5 million from him in 2020.
Reports are now noting donations of 39 million to dem candidates in 2022.
Good question. Probably the standard 10% for the "big guy".
Though not foolproof, you really can tell a book by it's cover most of the time. The guy looked like a good-for-nothing bum and that turned out to be true. Shocking. Yet powerful people swooned at this guy and trusted him with billions.
Trust your instincts folks. People that are too lazy to properly groom themselves or otherwise make themselves look presentable are sending a pretty clear message; they don't care. I wouldn't give my keys to this guy at a car park looking like he does, let alone my money. Yet plenty of supposedly smart people did.
Nice article Jordan.
The reference to Bill Gates is perfect. Microsoft has fucked over everyone for years by charging way too much for their technology making Bill Gates rich beyond belief. Then he decides to give some of it away and he’s a great guy. How about just charging an honest amount? I do that with my business and I have absolutely zero guilt about my bank account. Total and utter frauds destroying society.
This guy wanted to be like Bill Gates, without even putting in the work of founding Microsoft.
Was this just a money laundering scheme???
The sudden collapse of crypto exchange "FTX" and its Bankruptcy filing today, has revealed that FTX presently suffers from $10-$50 BILLION in liabilities with almost ZERO assets . . . and among those liabilities, are "investments" made by . . . . UKRAINE . . . .
At this early hour, it __appears__ that tens-of-billions in American "Military Aid" to Ukraine, which was allegedly to be used to fight Russia, was cash that Ukraine DID NOT use to fight Russia, but instead invested into FTX!
And, as you might guess from the Bankruptcy filing . . . . it now seems that all the money . . . is gone.
Yes, you read that correctly: Instead of using US Military Aid to fight Russia, Ukraine "invested" part or all of it, into FTX, and right now, it looks like all the money is gone.
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page
It's not "gone" it's just moved to other accounts.
DNC accounts.
Very interesting article and insight into this sordid circle of fraudsters.
I think this is 100% confirmation of an old and favorite Heinlein passage that I think came from Time Enough for Love. The passage is too long to quote in its entirety, but the gist is that left wing politicians are less trustworthy than right wing ones because the left wing ones will change their mind several times before breakfast --as long as they can be persuaded that something is 'for the people,' they'll agree to it.
Whereas the right wing types were straightforward crooks who realized that their only value to the people was in their ability to deliver on their promises so they could at least be relied on to thieve honestly.
Meanwhile, the left wing politicos thieve while actually believing they are saints due to their work 'for the people.' Here with SBF we see this phenomenon in action.
I am reading Heinlein's Glory Road right now, my first novel by him. What a treat-The Moon is a Harsh Mistress will be next.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the best! You should read Stranger in a Strange Land also of course.
effective altruism is the perfect ideological "beard" for the whining progressive progeny of the credentialed classes. it let's them act like gordon gekko and to run wild, lavish lifestyles and climb social ladders by splashing endless money in search of the bought power of regulatory capture while, by promising some "future good act" wrapping themselves in the mantle of righteous populism.
it's the career equivalent of buying a $200k EV so you can flaunt wealth while claiming "to care about gaia."
it's essentially an ethics ponzi scheme. i take from you now and give back more later. returns guaranteed! promise! just trust me!
the wealthy from princes to robber barons to warren buffet have long given back to societies and to do do so once rich is, perhaps, a fine thing. but to use this future promise as inducement to "make me rich now so i can do this unspecified thing later" is the reddest of flags. it's the equivalent of highly levered, unsecured ethical debt and to buy it from a kid clearly splashing every stupid pot from arena naming rights to superbowl ads and celebrity endorsement is only ever going to end one way.
and in the end, the ethics of "using phony altruism buying my way into a regulatory monopoly" is ethically bankrupt.
MIND you that good old Sam started Alameda research in 2017
AND his mother is Barbara Fried who runs a bunch of DEM PACS
Gary Gensler is the current chair of The Securities and Exchange Commission. He was sworn into that office in April 17, 2021. Before that however, he was (and apparently still is) a professor at MIT who taught ‘blockchain technology, digital currencies, financial technology, and public policy’.
According to Mr. Weir, Genslers’ boss at MIT was Glenn Ellison. Ellisons’ daughter Caroline, was named co-CEO on Oct. 12, 2021 of Alameda Research before being named sole CEO in late August of 2022. According to Coin98…’In 2021, Alameda Research was one of the most influential venture capitals in crypto. They participate in investing in crypto projects and trading, OTC, and market-making.’…
https://www.encouragingangels.org/new-blog/2022/11/11/ftx-files-for-bankruptcy-while-smf-steps-down-as-ceo-are-the-sec-and-the-federal-reserve-part-of-the-story-of-ftx
Major left-wing circle-jerk
Reminds me of certain televangelists............
Yes! That's it, good ol' TV preacher
Proving you can steal more with a computer than with a gun.
God protect us against these altruists and philanthropists!
For those in the back, I will repeat "THE ENDS DO NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS!"
Not to mention the possible connections between FTX, Ukraine and the tens of millions of dollars donated to democrat election efforts! There is a possibility that the "government (tm)" of Ukraine, i.e., Zelensky and his cabal of henchmen took American economic aide, which was given without ANY oversight and put it into FTX surreptitiously and illegally, which became part of the largesse of SBF "donated" to the democrats to buoy their electoral thievery in a circular money laundering scheme. The corruption is staggering! And is it any wonder that the democrats are so quick to scream "conspiracy theory" at any mention of this scheme? It's how they try to avoid responsibility and their allies in Big MEdia always assist them in their efforts.
My initial reaction was where is the WEF tie in? And there it was in the socials media puff piece about all the “worthy causes” he wants us to all spend our money on. Head line? Global warming. Of course! And then Covid 19 and let’s eradicate tropical diseases (err how? Bill Gates so-called vaccines of course…).
Driven by “evidence and reason”? I think not. Driven by the desire to dominate more like… This is identical to the machinations of the WEF and foundations like the Gates creatures have set up, through which they maintain control of all their wealth with no tax consequences, thus they are effectively outside the government system. What, you may ask, is an elites group doing messing about in socialism? Answer is they aren’t. They are using socialism, wokeism and public health as Trojan horses to achieve the level of control they feel is their due because they are so much smarter than the rest of us. That is identical behavioural psychology to Marxism, Fascism and feudalism, all 3 of which manifest broadly identically with a small elite group dominating the masses, who are serfs.
Covid 19 policy is a clear example of their ability to formulate and execute against this end goal, and the broad population’s willingness to go along with it. Global warming is the next “existential” threat and this will be backed up with more pandemics. How do we know? Because they have promised this will happen. They are promising us that the Apocalypse of Revelations is at hand and only they can save us, from ourselves. And therein lies their warped moral justification for all their evils, the same type of warped moral justifications used by Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot et al. Just because they wear grandpa sweaters, business suits and sweats doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have been wearing snappy black military uniforms in 1940s Germany. We must get rid of these now or our children and grandchildren will have to fight another war of independence. If we don’t they will be right that we do not deserve freedom, only serfdom…
There is (or was, don't know if it's still there) a glowing review of ftx on wef's website
Moral bankrupcty meets bankruptcy?
I've bought some crypto on FTX but never stored there. Let this be a lesson....learn how a self-custody wallet works and never trust any KYC exchange for storage.
In other words, the business model is to create self-made money, use that to leverage political power, and then cash out for federal reserve notes.
isn't that a form of money-laundering?
Ya think?
Then again, a lot of bribery and money laundering are entirely legal under current law.