The Final Word on Gary Weiss and Wikipedia Options

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but technically, those e-mails from Gary Weiss never say that he edited Wikipedia. He danced around it, with "You just go into edit mode..." and "I may insert a reference...". But he never expressly said that he edited Wikipedia.

(I'm not an apologist for Weiss, and I consider Judd Bagley a friendly acquaintance, so... you know I'm just pointing it out, that everyone should read carefully.)

Greg

then you missed the IP header in the email and the IP editor on WP that day/week.

Yeah, Greg, Piperdown nails it. Mantanmoreland aside, the IP from which Weiss sent those emails (70.23.85.112) was on an edit warring tear the same day.

Because Verizon residential dsl assigns one IP per house, the only other explanation is that it was Gary's pesky live-in uncle Lastexit who was making those edits.

But wait...that would make Gary Mantanmoreland anyway, wouldn't it...

Wonder if we'll see this link on ASM any time soon

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/business...Fn84jphuLuBZSZQ

SEC says "Quit it with the Short/Distort"

From the article:

Lehman Brothers, for example, faced rumors last week that two major clients had stopped doing business with the firm. Lehman’s stock dived almost 20 percent before recovering somewhat as both clients denied the rumors.

This parallels a rumor repeated beyond all reason, by my reading of Vanity Fair's article on the matter, by CNBC about Bear Stearns. That the New York Times would report on such a rumor campaign against Lehman in an article on SEC comments and potential action suggests that CNBC either are or soon will have a close going-over from the authorities.

Yeah, Greg, Piperdown nails it. Mantanmoreland aside, the IP from which Weiss sent those emails (70.23.85.112) was on an edit warring tear the same day.

Because Verizon residential dsl assigns one IP per house, the only other explanation is that it was Gary's pesky live-in uncle Lastexit who was making those edits.

But wait...that would make Gary Mantanmoreland anyway, wouldn't it...

But, I thought someone could have installed a root kit on Gary's computer? Didn't some young Yale genius demonstrate with authority that this could be done?

the last entry, in its entirety, is a jpg of a noose on gary's blog page. quick, send samiharris and mantanmoreland over from slimmy's soopersekret mailing list to make sure he's not trying to hang Martin Luther for Nazi warcrimes again.

I doubt Liz Moyer will be rushing over with milk and cookies anytime soon.

This post has been edited by Piperdown: Mon 14th July 2008, 4:29pm

Wonder if we'll see this link on ASM any time soon

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/business...Fn84jphuLuBZSZQ

SEC says "Quit it with the Short/Distort"

Perhaps. To fill in those of you not paying attention, this war erupted over the issue of Naked short selling, the practice of selling stock one doesn't own and haven't successfully borrowed, in the hopes that it will drop in price before it needs to be returned. This practice (so it is said) is often accompanied by the active spreading of negative news and/or rumors about the company in question, in order to "encourage" that stock to drop.

Gary Weiss/Mantanmoreland has been a notable defender of "naked shorting", whilst Judd Bagley/WordBomb (once employed by Patrick Byrne/Overstock.com) has been a critic of it, and Overstock has -- in some views -- been a victim of the practice. Litigation is pending on the subject.

So, ASM could very well quote that article, as it somewhat supports Bagley/Bryne/Overstock's point of view, though it doesn't go directly after the "naked" aspect of short-selling, which is/was key to the dispute. Short-selling itself is a legal and useful part of the overall securities markets. External attempts to manipulate markets are, and have always been, illegal. Naked shorting (IMO) should be illegal, but technical aspects of the market make it difficult to prove, and the SEC has never made it an enforcement priority.

Permit me to be cynical, but are you now releasing certain emails because it's helpful to your lawsuit? I assume that's why you sat on them so long in the first place--as a bargaining chip for settlement for those who might be embarrassed by their contents. Not Gary, but others, perhaps.

In any case, good luck, I think. You've always been illuminating.

Background on this lawsuit.

I assume this is a question?

They have two main suits. One against the brokerages commenced in early 2007 seeking $3.5B: Here's a sympathetic story by Liz Moyer, who Mantanmoreland apparently hates. Bear Stearns was a defendant. LOL. Basically they're suing the I-banks for allowing naked short selling to occur and possibly for facilitating it. In February the court denied the defendant's motion to strike, which was seen as a small victory for Overstock. There might be a full trial in this case.

The other suit commence in 2005 against folk who they allege manipulated the price with short & distort tactics, and possibly illegal naked short selling. Principle defendants are Gradiant and Rocker Partners (associated with the famous "bearish" analyst Herb Greenberg, often seen on Jim Cramer's entertaining show Mad Money). Recently, there was a ruling allowing some of Gradiant's cross-complaints, but Overstock.com is counting that as a win. (There doesn't seem to be a neutral story about the court ruling, and I'm too tired to hunt for the order.) Anyhow, they're looking at a full trial on the merits in this case, which is wild. Suggests it's at least not totally frivolous, and lots of businesses might settle at this stage, which is why I asked Wordbomb my question.

Since Overstock retained their firm John O'Quinn on contingency, they seem to be in a very good place. Plaintiff's firms (aka "trial lawyers") don't take cases to loose 'em. Now that they've cleared the preliminary motions, I'd put my money on Overstock.

The defendant's are no doubt paying hand-over-fist for this, while John O'Quinn is paying for Overstock. They're sittin' pretty I think.

If Mantanmoreland is part of these cases, he's probably a very small part.

This post has been edited by One: Tue 15th July 2008, 3:12am

I gotta say that there's no smoking gun in your latest installment. There's some connection, as you've already proved, but I think it could be ideological coincidence that Gary and the DTCC badmouthed someone who thinks illegal naked short selling is, uh, bad.

That said, Gary seems to take it very passionately, almost like a religion (or Global Warming on WP). He's ether deeply cynical and doublethinking about free markets (that the free market can't regulate itself, ergo let's let unregulated private attacks proliferate), or he has a direct stake in this otherwise esoteric debate. Until now, I've assumed Hanlon's razor, so have pegged Gary as the former. It's increasingly difficult for me to believe that he's not got a palpable COI.

I gotta say that there's no smoking gun in your latest installment. There's some connection, as you've already proved, but I think it could be ideological coincidence that Gary and the DTCC badmouthed someone who thinks illegal naked short selling is, uh, bad.

That said, Gary seems to take it very passionately, almost like a religion (or Global Warming on WP). He's ether deeply cynical and doublethinking about free markets (that the free market can't regulate itself, ergo let's let unregulated private attacks proliferate), or he has a direct stake in this otherwise esoteric debate. Until now, I've assumed Hanlon's razor, so have pegged Gary as the former. It's increasingly difficult for me to believe that he's not got a palpable COI.

I've not polled many tenured WP'ians for their impressions of my interpretation of the edit history described here.

What do you think?

By the by, just today I realized that the church described in that article sits about 400 feet away from Weiss's home. Wish I'd checked on that earlier!

By the by, just today I realized that the church described in that article sits about 400 feet away from Weiss's home. Wish I'd checked on that earlier!

I found (and still find) this evidence quite convincing.

By the by, just today I realized that the church described in that article sits about 400 feet away from Weiss's home. Wish I'd checked on that earlier!

I found (and still find) this evidence quite convincing.

I'd say it's only a matter or time before this new evidence gets mentioned, at least in passing, in a major source like the NY Times, perhaps in a story about either of the two suits Overstock is involved in.

I gotta say that there's no smoking gun in your latest installment. There's some connection, as you've already proved, but I think it could be ideological coincidence that Gary and the DTCC badmouthed someone who thinks illegal naked short selling is, uh, bad.

That said, Gary seems to take it very passionately, almost like a religion (or Global Warming on WP). He's ether deeply cynical and doublethinking about free markets (that the free market can't regulate itself, ergo let's let unregulated private attacks proliferate), or he has a direct stake in this otherwise esoteric debate. Until now, I've assumed Hanlon's razor, so have pegged Gary as the former. It's increasingly difficult for me to believe that he's not got a palpable COI.

I've not polled many tenured WP'ians for their impressions of my interpretation of the edit history described here.

What do you think?

By the by, just today I realized that the church described in that article sits about 400 feet away from Weiss's home. Wish I'd checked on that earlier!

although it's still possible - the talk page comment on from MM on that IP page is not typical of his WP career, it's more typical of over-the-top acting of someone who realises they just gave away their IP - it's not solid. The church edits and surrounding edits from that IP and MM do not present any smoking gun for GW=DTCC, imho. I was hoping some of those emails would do that, more so than what's been shown on the asm blog, to be frank.

Like Mrs Slocombe and her....cat....GW is awfully awfully concerned about Mitchell and Trimbath, as you point out, and the "we's" and "us"'s in those emails aren't the royal kind. He wrote his book by himself, purports to blog on his own and to be an independent gumshoe who blesses Forbes with his wisdom once a season, so whats with the we's and us's, unless he's talking about his gnomes and sockpuppets again.

So I'm still open minded to GW=DTCC, but if I was on a panel I'd have to vote not guilty of that due to reasonable doubt with evidence presented so far.

But GW=MM without a Varkala doubt, lol.

in reading the emails on ASM so far, Gary is one fucked up "journalist" to call:

Liz Moyer
- CEO shill
- clown
- lobby against her getting a job at BW, only to end up at the same Forbes years later, lol

Mark Mitchell
- nitwit
- hambone
- concrete skull
- bozo
- jerk

and this was in email conversation to a man he was sending love letters and autographed books to...

I wonder how many other journalists he has such imaginative words for - perhaps his blog Medicrity has some, I wonder if Nocera is aware of how much Gray Lady Love GW has on the mediacrity blog, and if the UN's "Ian Williams" (wtf? talk about a weird obscure grudgefuck report obsession) knows who his secret admirer is too.

This post has been edited by Piperdown: Wed 16th July 2008, 4:48am

By the by, just today I realized that the church described in that article sits about 400 feet away from Weiss's home. Wish I'd checked on that earlier!

I found (and still find) this evidence quite convincing.

Socks of mine have been convicted with far less reliable evidence. In fact, once I was editing from a Hollywood, CA hotel, and Lord knows, I'm not "local" Hollywood.

Socks of mine have been convicted with far less reliable evidence. In fact, once I was editing from a Hollywood, CA hotel, and Lord knows, I'm not "local" Hollywood.

I was going to first make a "receipt joke" and ask you, Greg, if you turned in a receipt to work for a massage parlor in Hollywood, after that trip.

But that would be crass, so I won't.

I was also going to make a dirty sock/laundry joke.

But there's not one good enough, that I can thing of

Ah..... destiny....... destiny....

This post has been edited by Disillusioned Lackey: Wed 16th July 2008, 3:56pm

I agree with Piperdown. Although the evidence is clearly consistant with the proposition that GW=DTCC, and maybe even suggestive of the identity, I think it's also possible that he had special access to the DTCC one day as a fellow traveller, but that GW is not formally their stooge.

"We" and badmouthing a reporter at about the same time don't add anything the the evidence you already presented, IMO. He was clearly there. More than that would be speculative.

Press doesn't seem interested in the story. Our only hope is that they don't settle, that the trial lawyer tells the jury that they should send a message, and that the jury agrees. I'm sure aa fat verdict will turn some heads.

I agree with Piperdown. Although the evidence is clearly consistant with the proposition that GW=DTCC, and maybe even suggestive of the identity, I think it's also possible that he had special access to the DTCC one day as a fellow traveller, but that GW is not formally their stooge.

"We" and badmouthing a reporter at about the same time don't add anything the the evidence you already presented, IMO. He was clearly there. More than that would be speculative.

Press doesn't seem interested in the story. Our only hope is that they don't settle, that the trial lawyer tells the jury that they should send a message, and that the jury agrees. I'm sure aa fat verdict will turn some heads.

Did anyone else notice the DIA mention in the IP address for Weiss?

Is Gary Weiss part of the Defense Intelligence Agency? Or does he use an ISP allied to them?

It would make sense, given his vicious attacks on Byrne, who doesn't toe the party line, as per certain financial practices.

Oh, pardon me. That would be the NSA.

Gary Weiss's IP is out of the NSA. See - his IP is in the list of NSA IP Addreses HERE on crytome.org.



MessagePosté le: Mer Aoû 01, 2007 6:22 pm Votre Liste des Ip-Fédéraux n´est pas complete.

BellSouth.net Inc. [NSA-affiliated IP ranges]
(reassigned to Verizon and then reassigned to NSA program; Verizon contractors working with NSA involved here)
Atlanta GA
70.144.0.0 - 70.159.255.255
74.224.0.0 - 74.255.255.255
auth-dns.msy.bellsouth.net [205.152.132.24]
auth-dns.asm.bellsouth.net [205.152.37.24]
auth-dns.mia.bellsouth.net [205.152.144.24]
auth02.dns.bellsouth.net [205.152.132.25]
auth00.dns.bellsouth.net [205.152.37.25]
auth01.dns.bellsouth.net [205.152.144.25]

[/color]


Dedicated Internet Access, my buns.


DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY = DIA.

This post has been edited by Disillusioned Lackey: Sat 19th July 2008, 6:33pm