UPDATED @ 4:41 EST:Christie Smythe is tweeting the Greebel defense case witness summaries this afternoon, as it just now opened. A former fellow partner of Mr. Greebel, Mr. Jacobs — is testifying that cap tables are often fluid, in pre-IPO deal negotiations. Uh-huh.
More, as the PACER file is updated.
Now Still notclear thatwhether Mr. Greebel will put on any affirmative defense case (when they return from lunch recess), or simply accept that the very capable Judge Matsumoto will reserve on the acquittal motion, and then agree that the AUSAs may begin closing arguments.
As I say — more, as I have it.
Martin Shkreli: Transitioning... To A Free Man. 
Shkreli worse off if Greebel acquitted. He loses his “my lawyer told me to do it and so it’s okay” defense. That’s a pretty strong argument – if one doesn’t believe it’s illegal, they don’t have the necessary criminal intent … one would think he’s going to argue that on appeal?
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Hmmm. I think Shkreli’s intent was a fact, found by the jury — not likely to be disturbed on appeal, unless manifestly against the weight of the evidence. I agree it’s bad for Shkreli if Mr. Greebel is acquitted — but I don’t think Shkreli can make much hay — on intent, either way.
I think Mr. Brafman’s Law360 article today was aimed at an appellate court, just the same. May post on that tomorrow.
Namaste!
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Um, ALDT 440 –the author of (by-line on) the Bloomberg article is your buddie, Christie Smythe, the one who staunchly defended Marty when he was on trial. So… do you dis-believe her now — or did you dis-believe her… then?
If not, why not? If so, why so?
Just curious….
Namaste
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Belief? Your post yesterday is correct and irrefutable: they both committed fraud. I’ve never said they didn’t commit fraud or that I follow her beliefs. In response to her Twitter post you commented on yesterday, I can’t tell if she is conflating a bunch of stuff together, doesn’t understand the charges, or thinks the application of law to the facts is immoral. If I was going to write a book about Shkreli, my premise would be selective prosecution. Shkreli himself has said that he is a product of his environment, and I agree with him.
This is about the best I can summarize my sentiment of Shkreli:
Part of me thinks he is lucky flowers bloomed in his turd pile. Another part of me thinks he could have matured and turned his life around, perhaps he was already on that path. He could have done great things with his talents and the resources he accumulated. Shkreli has a knack for stirring up controversy and bombarding inquiring minds with contradictory sub plots and anecdotes; I think that’s what makes his story so captivating.
Here’s why I protested Shkreli’s prosecution:
Initially, my belief was that scapegoating Shkreli would further legitimize systemic fraud. In other words, I felt Shkreli’s scapegoating would create a public perception that the checks and balances of our financial system are working properly when they are not. Unfortunately, it has always been a tough task trying to convince people to care or even question the status quo. I think it’s safe to say I failed, but I feel better knowing I tried. I’ve learned a lot from interactions with others on these topics too.
In my eyes, Shkreli’s prosecution is pointless waste of resources and serves no deterrent purpose or social benefit. If it did serve a purpose, what is it? Bitcoin is very good evidence that we have completely abandoned sensible financial regulation and accountability.
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I never thought I’d ask for you to “expand” on anything… But I’m curious because you’ve commented on things that you don’t understand so freely in the past. Please enlighten me on your comment: “Bitcoin is very good evidence that we have completely abandoned sensible financial regulation and accountability.” Please no links. Just your take in your own words. (Since that’s what comment boxes are for) P.S. Buck up little buddy. You sound down in the mouth. 🙂
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What have I commented on that you feel I don’t understand? We all make mistakes. You are always welcome to debate and challenge my claims instead of slandering.
Regarding Bitcoin, I don’t want to get into semantics or the various mechanics of different currencies, blockchain components, etc. As a whole, I think Bitcoin is a fraudulent endeavor.
Tethers, or USDT I think on the market making Bitfinex exchange, are about the most tangible proof of fraud I can provide you with. Tethers are fake money people are stuffing into the exchanges to pump up Bitcoins and other cryptos, artificially inflating their prices.
There is lots more too, but I am too tired to get into it right now. I might make a blog about my crypto experiences in the near future. Perhaps you or Condor will make one?
From the Bitfinex website:
Each Tether is backed 1-to-1 by its corresponding currency, which can be viewed and verified in real-time via the Tether.to website and on the Blockchain. Tether will be fully transparent and audited to demonstrate 100% reserves at all times. (hahaha yeah right)
We see Tether as a significant optimization for the problems that plague bitcoin traders and exchanges when interfacing with the traditional banking system. We proudly support Tether and encourage other exchanges, OTC traders, and arbitrageurs to also use Tether. We believe that widespread adoption of a secure Blockchain-compatible ‘crypto-dollar’ will lead to better price discovery, market transparency and liquidity.
https://www.bitfinex.com/posts/31
https://tether.to/
Click to access TetherWhitePaper.pdf
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I think you and I completely agree about Bitcoin.
It’s not a question of whether — only a question of when — this particular bubble… pops.
Namaste
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Let me play devils advocate. How do you arrive at a value for gold? What makes it worth something?
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For what it’s worth, I’m shocked the tinfoil hat wearing DoucheTroll read the bitcoin white paper. He might find himself a convert. The paper’s author agrees which many of the tinfoil hat theories DoucheTroll pounds he table about — and are the ones the bitcoin creators hoped bitcoin would address. That is, circumventing money printing central banks and regulators. So I’m a little shocked that DoucheTroll is not waiving the flag of a bitcoin revolution. I also feel a bit dirty being on the same side of an issue with DoucheTroll. (Even if he doesn’t really grasp the issue)
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[Redacted.]
Again, I think we need a dedicated blog for this topic. I could go on and on about gold, fiat, etc. and I’m sure everyone else here could too. Maybe I will start a blog in January when my workload slows down.
The Bitcoin white paper? hahaha Are you referring to that stupid Satoshi Nakamoto paper designed for public consumption? As usual, you haven’t read up on the topic. Do check out this white paper from the NSA that was drafted in 1996 and get back to me about who really invented Bitcoin and why. My blog will start with an analysis of this paper.
http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/articles/money/nsamint/nsamint.htm
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Ding Ding ding. Still a douchetroll. 🙂
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Uh Oh someone got censored. Did you say something nasty? Bad little DoucheTroll!
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No — after I cleaned up your typos, Billy — Aldt440’s sentence about “fixing sentence” made no sense — so I removed it. That’s all.
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Damn, I thought maybe he went off on me. 🙂
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The guy with a tinfoil hat is referencing a paper written by: The National Security Agency Office of Information Security Research and Technology… What’s next? Cats & Dogs living together?
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The fact that you could go on and on and still not know a damn thing about what you’re saying is well documented in this blog. Nice try at side stepping the actual question and trying to again puff out your chest and trying to act as though you’re ultra informed and the rest of us are idiots. Not buying it. You’re a poser and you can’t explain yourself without spouting off nonsense. You know zero about the stock market. You’ve proven that in prior posts. You did a nice job of trying to side setp this very simple question. Again, you link to the work of another! You, little guy are such a fraud. It keeps getting more clear why you defend Marty. He does the same when I call him on his B.S. Lot’s of side stepping and changing the subject. Cute.
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What’s with the road rage? Do you ever calm down? Answer these questions in your own words and don’t deflect!!
“How do you arrive at a value for gold? What makes it worth something?”
A long time ago humans discovered the advantages of labor delegation and specialization.
If some folks hunt and others farm, there needs to be a medium of exchange. The primary function of money is to serve as a unit of value and as a medium of exchange.
In order for gold or any currency to serve as a medium of exchange / store of value, it must be scarce, have some utility, be durable, and be impossible to counterfeit. Gold satisfies all of these qualities: this is generally the reason it is universally accepted.
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Aww little DoucheTroll. It’s touching that you’re concerned about my mood.
Please try to pay attention.
You didn’t answer the question which was asked regarding the value of gold.
How can anyone take you seriously? You claim to be so well versed that you could go on and on. But all you do is copy and paste a text book definition of currency to answer a question about the value of gold. Come on man. Focus.
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Are you making the case that gold is a currency? If so when is the last time you went to the local market and used gold in exchange for goods?
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DoucheTroll at a loss for words. I never thought I’d see the day. Here’s more for you to study up on. I think your textbook is a bit ancient. What you’re describing (utility, durability) are the desirable features of ancient coinage, not modern currency. How durable is a paper dollar? What intrinsic utility does a paper dollar have?
My question wasn’t why gold was selected as the perfect material for ancient coinage. That’s plainly obvious. You said you could go on and on and you clearly fell short of even understanding the simple question.
I will ask again: What gives gold value? (in current day, not ancient times)
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Are you sure you want to play this game? You still haven’t figured out your logic and attitude is fundamentally flawed? Doubling down after getting schooled is never a good idea.
Sorry I had trouble understanding your question, perhaps I was put off by your drunken pleadings for Condor to help with editing after you botched your post and fell under your desk.
Before we get started on gold, I think your question is stupid, presented in a derogatory manner, and loaded. In the eyes of a layperson, it creates the inference that there is a simple and pedagogically sound answer when there is not. Frankly, I don’t think it matters what I type because you are too dumb to even bother reading what I post. I’ve rarely, if ever, seen a smidgen of logic, investigation, negotiation, or dialogue with you. All you care about is dominating this blog, control, and group / political identity.
I have a fundamentally different approach to life than you do. I collect massive amounts of information, debate it, reconcile it, ask questions and seek answers. I repeat this process several times on topics that I think are important and do my best to enhance the quality of my life with the results. Studying a a well formulated opinion on a topic that is contrary to what I have learned is extremely valuable learning experience for me. This is learning in my eyes, not memorizing facts or passing an aptitude test. I’ve done well with this method and you should look into it.
I never claimed to be well vested, I simply said I could go on and on. I don’t care about competitive metrics or being number one. Like I said, my fundamental approach to learning involves discussing subjects I am studying. The only reason I take a stern approach to the ideologies on this blog is because I think they are extremely toxic.
“I will ask again: What gives gold value? (in current day, not ancient times)”
Seriously, what kind of question is this?
My revised answer:
Gold coins were in mass circulation less than 100 years ago – I wouldn’t exactly call that ancient, so my first answer still holds true. Gold is still, even today, an important element of monetary policy and exchange for several dominant countries.
Gold price discovery is determined by complex interactions between the spot price and futures contracts on the COMEX. Policy and foreign trade are also important price discovery factors.
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You are hilarious. DoucheTroll is still an accurate description. You never fear flapping your mouth about subjects of which you know little to none. It’s simply precious. (Like precious metal)
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Unsurprisingly your answer about gold remains incorrect. Making silly claims to try to make your original answer correct just shows continued arrogance. I’m done with you. Good day.
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Oh please do post your cherished answer enlightened one. Inquiring minds would like to know. Are you scared I’m going to shred it?
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Negative. I’m not here to teach elementary economics to arrogant DoucheTrolls. Move along not little buckaroo. Plenty of other people’s thoughts you could be linking to.
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I can’t believe how Bloomberg is painting Greebel as a respectable professionali!! Greebel drafted the documents and knew exactly what was going on…. Katten is probably culpable too and I’m sure these transactions went through their internal auditing. Where is Katten’s employee manual? Even though I haven’t seen them, I’m assuming the engagement letters are prima facie evidence of, at minimum, very serious ethical breaches. Shireli tricked him into billing $600? an hour for services rendered??
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-06/a-martin-shkreli-trial-without-the-outbursts-anger-or-trashy?utm_content=tech&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-tech
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