You remember AntiSocialMedia.Net, right? No? Yeah, we were doing out best trying to forget it also. It’s the website hosting what the New York Post describes as “bitter attacks … on the message board critics, accusing them of participating to various degrees in a conspiracy to malign the anti-naked short selling movement that Overstock.com supports.”
Well, it turns out that there was very good reason that AntiSocialMedia.Net was supporting the same causes as Overstock.com. It was being anonymously run by Overstock.com’s director of social media Judd Bagley.
Gary Weiss, who has been all over this story, wants to know:
Only one question arises in my mind: What laws were broken? Not “were laws broken?” but “what were the laws that were broken?” The new federal cyberstalking law comes to mind, obviously, but what others? Regulation FD is another good possibility, given the ASM Lie Machine was created after Bagley became a corporate officer. (And speaking of corporate disclosure, shouldn’t Overstock file an 8-K disclosing its involvement in ASM?)
Bagley is trying hard to distance himself from his employer, Patrick Byrne, which brought him on as “director of social media” in August with all the fanfare that you and I would use in buying a can of Raid cockroach spray. Nice try, but too late. Byrne himself promoted the site and contributed to it, and has indicated that he has advance knowledge of its disclosures. Once again, Byrne’s big mouth has landed him in deep doo-doo.
Judd Bagley Fesses Up [Gary-Weiss.com]
I am one of those accused by Mr. McSleaze of being a “criminal”; this is emphatically LIBEL according to the ancient definition:
>”What is “Libel Per Se”?
When libel is clear on its face, without the need for any explanatory matter, it is called libel per se. The following are often found to be libelous per se:
>”A statement that falsely:
Charges any person with crime, or with having been indicted, convicted, or punished for crime;
Imputes in him the present existence of an infectious, contagious, or loathsome disease;
Tends directly to injure him in respect to his office, profession, trade or business, either by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects that the office or other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing something with reference to his office, profession, trade, or business that has a natural tendency to lessen its profits;
Imputes to him impotence or a want of chastity.
Yes, it is libelous. Of course it is libelous. Darl old buddy, libelous is the least of it. Libeling you WADR is spitting on the sidewalk compared to the massive shit storm this is going to cause.
Read the bottom of Weiss’ recent update to his blog item, below his props to Dealbreaker:
But Bagley is just a side issue. Here is a question that is worth pondering:
Byrne said the following on the Investor Village Overstock message board on Dec. 23:
“I am not behind antisocialmedia.com, offer it no support, it has nothing to do with overstock. Technically, I do not “know” who out there is behind it (the person who is behind it has made an effort to shield me from that knowledge), though admittedly, I have a very good idea.”
Of course, we now know that at the time he said that, his “vice president for social media” was running ASM. As Byrne would put it, is that bad? Or as I would put it, is that a material misrepresentation under the securities laws?
I don’t know the answer. But that’s a good question, I would think.
ASM is not OSTK’s business last time I checked. So I am not sure how you can fit in “material” as it relates to securities laws. Plus the criminals behind naked short selling would never risk discovery with a lawsuit. But it is sure fun to read ASM and watch the criminal squirm.
http://www.antisocialmedia.net/
“What does Antisocialmedia.net have to do with the fight against illegal naked shorting?
As was explained here, this site exists to do exactly one thing: help increase awareness of, and opposition to, illegal naked shorting by exposing the existence of organized and well-financed proponents of the practice, many of which ply their trade full-time on the web.
Living online as they do, we’ve collected an enormous amount of information about them, down to many of their identities, some of which have been exposed here. These people are abetting fraud against our capital markets and need to be held accountable for their actions. That’s why the data and research we’ve amassed is being turned over to law enforcement so that true accountability may follow.”
Last time you checked where, Mr. McSleaze? At the office? At the time of your last back rub from Patrick Byrne?
This isn’t Mission Impossible, Sleazey. It doesn’t matter of “the secretary disavows all your actions.” Byrne’s paw prints were all over ASM even before you finally crawled out from behind your anonymous registration server.
Spin time is over, Sleazey, just like the man said.
“ASM is not OSTK’s business last time I checked.”
Last time you checked where, Mr. McSleaze? At the office? At the time of your last back rub from Patrick Byrne, who advertised it in webcasts and talked about its smears before they appeared?
This isn’t Mission Impossible, Sleazey. It doesn’t matter of “the secretary disavows all your actions.” Byrne’s paw prints were all over ASM even before you crawled out from behind your anonymous registration server.
Spin time is over, Sleazey, just like the man said.
echo echo
Let the ex post facto recasting of ASM’s mission commence.
Hey Darl, if I got it wrong, and you’ve not been compensated *in any way* for what you’ve done (something I cannot conceive of being the case, but I suppose there could be another explanation), why are you telling everybody about it but me? The last thing I want is to get something wrong, both for the Karmic effects and for the more preset effect on my own credibility.
Please, as I’ve stated before, if I got it wrong then let’s talk and make it right.
Judd
antosocialmedia@gmail.com
ps: I don’t care what you say, I’ve never accused you of having an infectious, contagious, or loathsome disease. If I have, I officially retract that.
ooops…make that email antisocialmedia@gmail.com
Sometimes my I’s come out looking like U’s and O’s. Really wuerd. weord. weird.
First, this is public posturing as Bagley could easily PM Darl at Investor Village where they both post.
“…if I got it wrong, and you’ve not been compensated *in any way* for what you’ve done (something I cannot conceive of being the case, but I suppose there could be another explanation)”
To claim you are doing this on your own time with no compensation and then claim you can’t imagine someone on the opposite side would not require compensation is simply illogical or untrue.
Dear Judd:
I hope you read the following message massage I posted on Yahoo:
You are following the art of spinning in my blog my dear friend:
“When you cannot defend your actions or arguments attack the messenger to detract attention from your questionable actions.”
The focus of law enforcement is on Patrick Byrne and those acting in concert with him like you. After all, the SEC did subpoena documents from Overstock.com
Be careful my dear friend. Like I said, “It is not about traffic numbers” on your blog but “who is reading your blog” and “for what purpose.”
So keep it the entertainment coming. You and others acting in concert with you will be held ultimately responsible and accountable for your actions.
You had better hope that as corporate officers Mr. Byrnes’s bizarre actions in concert with you do not constitute any illegal actions.
Sam E. Antar (former Crazy Eddie CFO & ex-felon)
As to my message here:
If it is you it is nice to see that you have copied my ways and posted in your real name and not some anonymous handle. Quite honestly, I don’t go for that “Chinese wall” nonsense between ASM and Overstock.com. However, that will be for the investigators to decide.
Sam E. Antar (former Crazy Eddie CFO, convicted felon)
PS: As I once said in the Boston Herald “I was the worst of the worst, the scum of the scum” so I know what it takes to be guys like you and Pat.
Sorry Judd, I don’t have a staff like you and I am sorry for the typo:
Meant to say:
It is you it is nice to see that you have copied my ways and posted in your real name and not some anonymous handle.
Sam
Additional Personal Note to Judd:
Am I next my dear pal? I know I am a sinful human being even today. Take your best shot. The question my dear friend is not my sins but yours and Pat’s.
Sam E. Antar (Former Crazy Eddie CFO & ex-felon who is ready and waiting)
After Bagley’s public posturing, pretending to be interested in getting Darl’s input, Darl invited him to join a public discussion on my semi-private message board (listed in my URL). Bagley has not taken Darl up on the offer.
Make up your own mind about his sincerity.
Scipio:
Judd and Pat had better get ready for the real questions – the depositions that will most likely come later.
They had better lawyer up soon if they have not done so already.
Sam E. Antar (former Crazy Eddie CFO & ex-felon)
PS: Judd & Pat, I am ready and waiting for you.
Just to highlight how Bagley’s message was simply public posturing, read this post on Investor Village.
http://www.investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=3532&mn=3511&pt=msg&mid=1207924
He posted a message to a place he knows Darl reads and claims he didn’t know how to get in touch with him any other way so he posted his message here.
OK. Now wrap your brain around that. Keep trying.
I think that’s the same as calling someone on the phone to ask them what their number is. Only dumber.
GW”s cousin shorty says hi
Just for fun, you can vote on who you think is the sleaziest corporation of 2009. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2215/t/8981/signUp.jsp?key=4290