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Trader Alessio Rastani’s Interview Heard Round the World

Trader Alessio Rastani appeared on the BBC News a couple days ago and shocked the world with his incredibly blunt and stereotype-confirming account of the recession. Among the things he said:

If I see an opportunity to make money, I go with that. For most traders, we don’t really care that much how they’re going to fix the economy, how they’re going fix the whole situation. Our job is to make money from it. And personally, I’ve been dreaming of this moment for three years. I have a confession which is: I go to bed every night and I dream of another recession. I dream of another moment like this. Why? Because people don’t seem to remember but the ’30s depression — the depression of the 1930s — wasn’t just about a market crash. There were some people who were prepared to make money from that crash. And I think anybody can do that. It isn’t just just for the elite, anybody can actually make money. It’s an opportunity.

Many people initially suspected that Rastani was a member of the Yes Men, a group of comedians (?) who impersonate corporate figures and mock their heartlessness. Their most famous appearance occurred in 2004, when one of them appeared on the BBC impersonating a Dow Chemicals spokesman and announced a $12 billion settlement for the Bhopal disaster.

When reached by Forbes for comment, Rastani denied he was a fake. “I don’t know why they think it’s a hoax. No, I am a trader absolutely. I have trader friends who could back that up. One of my mentors is a bestselling author and trader. Everyone knows me.”

The BBC also investigated that possibility, but determined Rastani was completely genuine, “[We] can’t find any evidence to suggest that the interview with Alessio Rastani was a hoax. He is an independent market trader and one of a range of voices we’ve had on air to talk about the recession.”

Basically, he’s just an ass.

Tags: Alessio Rastani, BBC, Bhopal Disaster, Dow Chemicals, finance, financial trader, I dream of another recession, trader, Yes Men

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Categories News, Technology, You Outta Know

Incredible Video and Pictures From London Riots

10 Aug

For the fourth day in a row, a series of violent nighttime riots swept across the United Kingdom last evening. The disturbances turned deadly as three young men in Birmingham were murdered. Haroon Jahan, 21, Abdul Nasir, 31, and Shazad Ali, 30 were protecting their neighborhood from the rioters when a car ran them over. Another man who was assaulted by protesters in Enfield also died last evening, bringing the total deaths in the riots to 5.

Many point to the death of 29-year-old father Mark Duggan as the spark to the riots. According to limited information from the police, Duggan was a passenger in a taxi that was stopped. At some point during the stop, shots rang out and Duggan was fatally wounded. Information about his background remains uncertain, with some people alleging Duggan was tied to a violent gang.

At what should have been a peaceful memorial service to Duggan, violence suddenly erupted and has not stopped since. The Atlantic Wire has an excellent roundup of the various theories about the causes of the riots.

Sky News reporter Mark Stone was on the front line of the riots and actually tried to interview some of the looters who were savaging Clapham Junction.

Look at this unbelievable image as a fire tears through a building in Tottenham.

Fire in Tottenham

One of the most uncomfortable and shocking exchanges occurred on the BBC. Writer and intellectual Darcus Howe was interviewed live on television by presenter Fiona Armstrong. The exchange quickly turned to deeper racial issues in English society. Armstrong at one point asks, “You are not a stranger to riots yourself I understand, are you? You have taken part in them yourself.” Howe responds, “Stop accusing me of being a rioter and have some respect for an old West Indian Negro, because you wanted for me to get abusive. You just sound idiotic – have some respect.” The BBC has since apologized for the interview.

Here is an incredible picture of a woman jumping from a burning building into the arms of rescuers below.

Watch here as rioters attack police officers in Woolwich.

Ben Schoefield tweeted some amazing photographs of the violence in Liverpool, including this amazing picture of his car on fire.

Back to Mark Stone for a short video showing the violence as looters smash windows and try to rip televisions off the walls of some stores.

A horrifying image of a double-deck bus on fire during one of the first nights of the riots.

Finally, there is this moving speech from a West Indian woman in Hackney. She urges the rioters to stop, pointing out that they are destroying the businesses and property of their hard-working neighbors. The speech has explicatives and is NSFW.