Posts Tagged ‘spruikers’
Of trumpets
In response to Perry’s comment: “Anyone who finds it necessary to self-proclaim their religious virtue should be treated with great caution” Yes Perry, I agree – your litmus test is useful. But context is everything. A “mask” of self proclaimed virtue in business (or, more accurately, SALES, like the spruikers we discuss here occasionally) can […]
Live by the ethical assumptions of your market – or change your soul?
Liars Poker and The Big Short author Michael Lewis responds to the SEC’s fraud charges against Goldman Sachs on Bloomberg … The Bond Market Will Never Be The Same After Goldman First para: If you happen to be sitting on the Goldman Sachs bond-trading floor life must feel horribly unfair. You did nothing worse than […]
Dean Letfus: the reputation he deserves?
Someone emailed me a link to an article by property economist Gareth Kiernan of Infometrics in which he sets out to debunk (pull the legs off) arguments proffered by some self-proclaimed ‘property experts’ like spruiker Dean Letfus in defence of the tax treatment of property investment. …So I don’t buy into the whole “social service” […]
Exaggeration not just limited to property spruikers
Have a look at this: Verizon Claims To Cover More Countries Than Actually Exist via http://consumerist.com Oops!
The amazing restorative powers of Snake Oil, oops, US tax liens – and a canine love story?
The repeated sabre-rattling (‘legal threats’) by Shaun Stenning and Dean Letfus sparked by David Whitburn’s critical blog on the NZ Property Guru’s [sic] promotion of US tax liens recently reminded me of an earlier incident involving marketing US tax liens as ‘investments’ to guileless New Zealanders … It led to an undignified outcome for another […]
Exposing a dangerous fraud
Wow! Straight-talking, clear writing like this is a welcome thing. I applaud it. Exposing manipulators, fakers and dishonest hucksters for what they are is a truly worthwhile activity. Reading this encourages me to keep after the weeds — native and imported — in our own back yard … in spite of the insults, threats and abuse […]
And the spin goes on … Shaun Stenning’s latest
Here’s Shaun Stenning‘s latest effort to get the genie back in the bottle … by (again) threatening legal action and spinning a yarn about how copyright works. It’s interesting to see how he operates. Read the full letter here (160k PDF) for yourself and see how plausible you find it. Background: A bunch of very […]
What the scammers rely on … Believers
THE BELIEVERS: How America Fell for Bernard Madoff’s $65 Billion Investment Scam by Adam LeBor It was in luxurious Palm Beach, by the manicured lawns and Olympic-sized swimming pool, that financier Bernard Madoff ravaged the world of philanthropy and high society he had strived so hard to join, vaporising the assets of charities, foundations and […]
Shaun Stenning: Monkey or Organ Grinder?
The recent flurry of legal threats (well, threats of threats, really) from Australian Geekversity internet marketing ‘guru’ and travelling salesman Shaun Stenning and local property spruiker Dean Letfus seeking to suppress negative comment about their joint activities (and, apparently, really embarrassing photos on Facebook) has got me thinking. Judging by accounts of Shaun Stenning’s unpublicised […]
No April fool, Dean Letfus claims: “DEFAMATION!”
The Jekyll & Hyde-like transformation of Dean Letfus into Phil Jones continues. Now, apparently, he’s sending half-baked threats of ‘legal action’ to people who point out his, um, inconsistencies … Earlier this week I pointed to lawyer/investor/whistleblower David Whitburn’s blog in which he shared his concerns about the way US tax liens were being sold […]
Wow. Dean Letfus = Phil Jones (?)
Remember my comment: “Choose your enemies carefully because you will become like them” ? Well look at this: Property spruiker Dean Letfus has replaced his old boss (and nemesis?) Phil Jones in a ‘venture’ promoting US tax liens to NZ investors. (This after Letfus comprehensively criticized US tax liens as a suitable investment ‘vehicle’ publicly […]
James Cameron calls it as he sees it …
‘Let me put it this way,’ James Cameron said in an interview last month. ‘I’m happy to piss those guys off. I don’t agree with their worldview.’ Can’t argue with that. I feel the same way about weasels who try to paint themselves as my ‘competitors’ or ‘peers in the industry’… when they’re no such […]
Why ‘legal action’ can be sooo dangerous …
Look at the sort of thing comes out in the wash: For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately “roughed up” the videos to make them […]
A tale of woe … or fevered imagination?
The vast majority of the world’s population will NEVER visit an online discussion forum. They don’t care. (More important things to do etc.) Those who do (visit, and care) can be divided into a few categories from lurkers (who look but don’t post) to occasional and regular posters, to fanatical networkers and naked self-promoters who […]
