2. Style of dressing and acting that is half hipster-half wimp, very popular in 2009.
Example 1: The crash of the economy and the death of the striped shirt mortgage brokers has given rise to the Wimpsters.
Example 2: New York City and Sand State nightlife is now overrun by Wimpsters.
Example 3: The masculization of Females (sleeve tattoos, promiscuity, rejecting traditional male-female relations and not dressing in high heels and dresses etc) and the feminization of Males (tight jeans, pandering to a woman’s every desire, being a completely annoying chump, and rejecting European/Latin male-female relations etc) has created a culture of Wimpsters.
At any given Cipriani benefit ball, midtown, soho, downtown, I perform like Michael, MPM, Tyson, Jordan, or Jackson. Suited down, pocket squared, no mobb boss but I’ve been performing hits since I stepped on the scene. Long Vol, Short Vol, you can try to understand the Greeks but I bet you are still beta. They say Kanye ‘you keeps it too real boy’.
Like stone crab claws at Lure Fish Bar on Prince Street. I’m dishing at chicks like the point guard on your favorite team. Late night at White Star on Essex on the DL. Like new cash bond issuance in the credit markets, high grade priced 8 Bill, it was all good just a week ago. High Yields on the rise, the bifurcation was so February. I’m trading single B’s off the break like E tabs at a rave. If you’re long credit, watch the DIP or you’ll get crammed down harder than secured lenders in Chrysler by Uncle Sam. Pimp Cadillac population excluded.
I’ve respected the game since my first dice roll Timberland booted down. Summertime is around the corner. Gucci loafers, no socks, Eric Ripert dinners. Girls at Da Silvano. Bisteca next door. I’m fam at the Waverly. For the futures market non fluent, trade the VXX as hedge. Thank me later. Euro dollar futures. Spooz futures. Treasury futures. Curves steep now. Its cross asset class but same school.
Stocks at 1, you can’t short it that much more. I see your 100 shares front running me. Monaco. Marbella. Mauritius. Go long the Kiwi and AUD when inflation hits and it will. The funeral of CDO. RIP Equity tranche 2006. Synthetic CDO was an infant death. The rebirth of cash. The ailing of CDS. Non-Financial Hybrids pricing in 21% at call but then again capital structure arb wasn’t you. I forgive your weak ass, hustling just ain’t you. I’m still seen at Masa.
You have to admit: American’s love their gangsters. Robin Hood, Billy the Kid, Bonnie & Clyde, Al Capone, “Lucky” Luciano, Snoop Dog and La Cosa Nostra all speak to some part of the American Ethos. We love the celebrity Outlaws and Gangster stories and follow their exploits with rapt attention. We emulate them with Gangster Chic. We celebrate this archetype in movies like The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, American Gangster and Natural Born Killers. Yet these individuals are criminals, murderers and all around not so admirable individuals, so why is this?
I believe it is an outgrowth of the rugged individualist ethic combined with our penchant for celebrity worship and the populist American Dream of the little guy making it big. Think about it for a moment. The Outlaw/Gangster is his own man. He bows to no authority and does for himself. His exploits make for great media copy and he become infamous thereby. He’s the natural bootstrapper, rising from ignominious origins to attain wealth and respect, albeit often by way of the gun. He’s unapologetic seeking the approval of no-one, yet he gets it in spades and when he goes out, he goes out big in a blaze of glory. He has a taste for the finer things in life and he’s going to get them by hook or by crook. He is the everyman with a dream writ large. He is the American Bad-Boy seasoned with the Hickory smoke of danger. We men all want to be him and the gals all want to do him. This den of thieves, of players and pimps, of hustlers and outlaws each personifies the darker side of American Alphas, and like the battered wife, we keep coming back for more.
This article describes three American archetypes, the Star, the Born-Again Sinner and the Gangster. I think it makes a good case:
Most interesting of all, however, is to speculate about what a contemporary version of Rourke’s book might include. If a Rourke of 2031 were to use popular culture to identify our most common archetypes, what would she find? First of all, I think, would be the Star, a type unknown in 1830 but absolutely central today. The Star is our secular, consumerist version of the Greek god: The pinnacle of aspiration and the focus of fantasy, he or she gets to enjoy what the rest of us only dream about. The Star—whether he is an actor or singer or sports figure—is not simply admired for what he is done; he is worshipped for who he is, gratuitously. The intensity of our worship and need also gives rise to the subcategory of the Fallen Star, from Marilyn Monroe to Kurt Cobain. The Fallen Star allows us to mix pity with our envy, reassuring us that, while we may dream of becoming one, the Star is best seen from a distance.
If the Star is the American triumphant, the Born-Again Sinner is the American repentant. The Sinner can be born again in the literal, Christian sense—this has been a common American experience ever since the 1820s, though Rourke only touches on religion in American Humor. But the posture of repentance, with the corresponding expectation of forgiveness, has transcended its evangelical origin, and today it shows up just about every time an American does something wrong. Bill Clinton’s lip-quivering apology for the Monica Lewinsky affair is the most famous recent example. On the other hand, Martha Stewart was widely blamed, after her conviction, for not giving a better performance as the Sinner—for failing to break down and ask forgiveness, as the archetype demands. Whether such contrition is genuine hardly matters; the archetype is so powerful that simply to act like a Born-Again Sinner is almost a guarantee of absolution.
Finally, there is the latest incarnation of an ancient American trope: the Gangster, whose ancestors are the backwoodsman, the cowboy, and the pirate. What defines him is not just his criminality or his violence, but the way he puts these things at the service of his own defiant moral code. The Gangster exalts personal loyalty and masculine power, in opposition to what he sees as an inhumane and hypocritical mainstream culture. Americans like to see the Gangster punished, in the end. But we want him to be killed, not imprisoned—his ending should be as outsized as his life. The Star, the Born-Again Sinner, and the Gangster account for a great deal of today’s American culture. But they are notably less comic than the archetypes Rourke found in our national psyche; after 200 years, perhaps America’s youthful high spirits have turned into something darker and more resigned.
The author also recognizes that the Outlaw/Gangster exudes masculinity. Power, danger, wealth, intrigue, loyalty, competence, intelligence, charisma and individually-determined morality: these are the traits that make men great. Interestingly these masculine traits naturally occured in Sicilian immigrants due to their unique history:
Just as the founders of our nation united to throw off the oppression of a parent government, the original Mafia was formed in medieval Italy and Sicily by peasant groups, “families” whose efforts were aimed at subverting the despotic and repressive rule of the Bourbon regime’s overlords, corrupt politicians, and land barons.Their code of ‘Omerta’ signified “manliness,” which included non-cooperation with authorities, self control in the face of adversity, and the vendetta in which any offense or slight to family must be avenged, no matter what the consequences or how long (it might take to avenge the victim)”
Frank Richard Prassel details the American penchant for the Outlaw in his book “The Great American Outlaw” as follows:
Deep within American folklore rides a mysterious and significant figure.He comes to us through mists of fact and fiction, an incarnate mixture of right and wrong.On the one hand, this ever-changing image represents crime, violence, and fear.On the other, it represents fearlessness, independence, and dedication.The figure poses a number of contradictions, including the true meanings of justice and freedom.Surrounded by legend, the outlaw endures as an enigma in our heritage
Like a moth to a flame we both love and hate the power and independence that defines a man’s man. As men in America have lost much of their former independence and so many have succumbed to the civilizing influence of PC culture, his Outlaw nature has been subsumed by a material culture where the affectation of hardness and steely resolve has supplanted action in at least suburban America. The decline of man has left a void in young men everywhere and given rise to the widespread acceptance of street culture and music, safely filtered through the corporate apparatus: the rise of the pretender. Lacking any expression of their own masculinity, legion angst ridden youth have co-opted street culture with the aid of their corporate handlers, mindlessly aping what they see on MTV. An industry rose up to satisfy this new need with expensive sneakers and jerseys becoming the haberdashery of choice and Gangster Chic was born.
This attire however is based on the corporate logo-splashed bastardized version of the Original Gangster Chic. Look back to the real deal and you come to a startling realization. These men were men of refined tastes. No teenager gear for them, they indulged in the finest suits and Italian shoes as befits an adult man of means. So strong is this association that Pinstripe suits have been forever branded Gangster Pinstripes. These men knew that intimidation lies not in outrageous appearance, but ability and will. Their appearance was impeccable, and their substance enforced their will. They had no need for pretense and putting on costumes. They took themselves seriously and conveyed this in their dress. Nowhere in their ensemble could a logo be seen. Modern Gangsters, when they mature, also frequently assume more upscale attire, with Air Force Ones replaced by Gators. Pimp culture has always recognized the value of a sharp appearance. They are forged in the mean streets and have no need to pretend at being bad-asses. The confidence rolls off of them in waves and like the heat shimmer on hot pavement; it is almost visible.
Being sharply dressed and well-groomed will take your game to an entirely new level as the indubitable G-Manifesto has maintained here. Building the internal confidence to handle your business no matter what will make you into more than a stuffed suit. Remember the traits that make the Outlaw and the Gangster unforgettable: Power, danger, wealth, intrigue, loyalty, competence, intelligence, charisma and individually-determined morality. Cultivate these in your life and integrate them into your being. They will serve you well. Become genuinely Gangster Chic.
G’s know that “Time is of the Essence”, and therefore the display and measurement thereof is crucial to the life, and lifestyle, of a G. There are many (too many in fact) brands of wristwatches for men, and there are too many men who just don’t care what goes on their wrist. This discussion is not for those men.
So you’re a G, or a wannabe G. You’ve got the Kiton / Henry Poole / Brioni / Borrelli / Turnbull & Asser thing down. You’ve got the Cleverly/E. Greene/Gucci/Lobb thing down. You’ve even got the Zimmerli/Hanro/Calida/Sunspel thing down (if you don’t have this down the fly girls will be laughing at just the wrong moment of intimacy). We’ll assume you’ve learned the difference between a .45 and a 9mm, as well as between Benson & Hedges and Nat Shermans or A. Fuente and Romeo y Julieta. Be that as it may, you’re probably still working on how a G puts the time on his wrist. This primer should get you where you need to be.
You’re ready to leave your abode, suited up, and the penultimate accoutrement, after the steel-and-lead, is the wristwatch. Depending on the task, or tasks, at hand, you may be wearing one, perhaps one of many, timepieces. What separates a G from a Joe the Plumber? Exclusivity, Precision, Refinement, and Comfort in All Environments. The same should stand for the wristwatch of a G. While a $40 Swatch can tell time with the same accuracy as a quartz Patek Phillipe (and the only quartz Patek is for women), I wouldn’t suggest a quartz at all. Quartz is accurate, but cheap. Quartz is accurate but battery powered. Quartz is accurate but mass-market. Batteries die. Quartz is disposable. An haute-horlogerie mechanical movement will last forever with proper servicing. Quartz-powered timepieces are simply very expensive, or very cheap, adornment that should be shunned. No further discussion need ensue.
Jadakiss – Happy 2 Be Here
Now, to the matter of which timepiece should, or should not, grace the wrist of a G:
G-Shock – Despite the name, this is a plastic piece of mass-merchandise, albeit a durable and accurate piece of mass merchandise. Thor Hyerdal wore an Eterna mechanical timepiece on the Kon Tiki (quartz didn’t exist back in 1947). NASA’s watch of choice since 1964 through today, is the mechanical Omega Speedmaster chronograph. Paul Newman’s watch of choice – Rolex Daytona Cosmograph automatic Chronograph Chronometer. Enough said.
There are certain manufactures of watches that have stood the test of time. They literally manufacture the entire watch, and are known for designing and manufacturing the movement, or the guts that keep the time. Swatch Group is, believe it or not, home to a number of highly respected Swiss manufactures. Richemont Group, another Swiss conglomerate, owns several well-respected manufactures, as does LVMH (owner of Louis Vuitton and Moet). The independent manufactures are perhaps the most exclusive.
A note about chronometers: They are often confused with chronographs, timepieces that measure fractions of a second and other time segments (hours, 10-minutes etc.). Chronometers are certified by official agencies in Switzerland and always come with certificates. Typically a chronometer will imply a higher quality movement and higher accuracy, but I’d stack a Patek, Girard-Perregaux, JLC, Grand Seiko, or other haute horlogerie piece against an “official” chronometer any time at all.
A note about case material: Yellow gold, while suitably expensive and flash, is no material for a G’s watch. White gold is subtle, platinum is rare, both are easily mistaken for steel except by those who truly know. I recommend steel as it is durable and subtle. Yellow or pink gold should be worn only with a band of alligator, crocodile, or other rare skin.
Here are the brands that merit our attention: Audemars Piguet – Royal Oak Breguet – Type XX chronograph Girard Perregaux – Laureato IWC - Ingenieur Jaeger-LeCoultre –Master Control, Master Ultra Thin, Reverso Duo Omega – Speedmaster Chrono, DeVille Chrono, Aqua Terra, Railmaster Patek Philppe – Nautilus. Their other pieces are too delicate for a G’s day-to-day mission. Rolex – Rolex, while being known on every street corner from Washington Heights to East LA, and everywhere else called earth, is in fact a well-made and solid timepiece. They are, however, overvalued in the market due to self-aggrandizing advertising. Their movements are solid, but I would put Omega’s George Daniels movement head-to-head, with the price/quality ratio favoring the Omega. Nevertheless, Rolex makes a durable watch (600,000 per year, and no, they are not handmade). Get a Sea-Dweller, Explorer II, or GMT. Seiko – Do not confuse their Grand Seiko and Phoenix lines with the department store quartz varieties. Their high-end pieces are brilliant, but unavailable in the States. Swoop the Phoenix automatic chronograph if you can find it. Zenith – Chronomaster. This same movement powered the Rolex Daytona for years.
There are many other high quality watchmakers in Switzerland, Germany, and even the States, but these are the names I’d suggest at the outset. So with these watchmakers a G can find (not always easily) the right watch for the right circumstances. Remember, we are focusing on Exclusivity, Precision, Refinement, and Comfort in All Environments.
Any of the above are well made classic machines that will get you everywhere you want to go, but should I choose to rank the above it would be difficult. Yet here are my top 5 G timepieces: #1 Thee A-P Royal Oak
#2 The JLC Master Control
#3 The IWC Ingenieur
#4 The Omega Railmaster
#5 The Rolex Explorer II
A G does his homework, and I would suggest that you supplement your watch knowledge with information from none other than the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry at http://www.fhs.ch/en/
January 20th and the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. In many respects, the world looked very different from two years ago when the idea of a black President seemed like a distant hope, when a nation was high on credit & flashing bling as if debt didn’t exist.
Back then, the Dow was at 12,580, on the way to 14,000 that summer. Bankers were “balling out”, lip sinking to “bringing sexy back” while bottle service was reaching the apex of America’s nightlife nightmare. General Motors was making money selling cars even while reporting some concerns about “nonprime mortgages” held by its financing division. 50 cent vs. Oprah. And the greatest worries about China and India were that their economies were growing so fast they could overheat.
Fast forward to present:
Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.
(Obama, Inaugural Address)
“…greatness is never a given. It must be earned.”(Obama, Inaugural Address)
The challenges the G faces are somewhat different in this sobering new landscape, but the fundamentals of the Game still remain the same. The truth is, G’s work well in any given circumstance — Veins of Ice and a diverse skill set unique to upheaval & adversity: agility, adaptability, smarts, smoothness, and belief in greatness. Real Game floats above the fray, Buddhist monk mentals & clarity of focus. International bases of operation on tropical islands with sunshine 365 days a year also play a key part in the Game.
Over the past few years, the U.S. government, originally crafted as a system that would serve the interests of the People, has devolved into a system of plutocracy where corporations control both the government and the People. Our nation’s policies on health, finance, environment, national defense and even education are increasingly slanted towards enriching corporations, usually at the expense of the People.
The only difference between a G and a Wall St. broker is that the latter is Government assisted money laundering, while the former — which gives back to small business — is prosecuted as criminal.
“Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.” (Al Capone)
But with Barack’s message of hope and with a willingness to find meaning in something greater than ourselves, it mandates a shift in the way we think about our goals, our range of action, and our commitment to values beyond self-enrichment. After all, our life on this small bubble is short… what kind of legacy are you going to leave behind?
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those that have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” FDR, Inaugural Address 1933
“A nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.” Obama, Inaugural Address 2009
With this blessing from two great Presidents, I’m going to take Obama & FDR’s call to action and inject cash back into the economy and to the People who need it. To the struggling exotic dancer trying to make ends meet for college (education); to the Casino’s and Luxury sector hit by slow times (tourism & hospitality); perfect the ‘art of the grease‘ (arts); donate regularly to charity …and what more noble pursuit than that of robbing yuppie drug dealers like a modern day Robin Hood?
Welcome to the new Era of Responsibility, play your part.
I’m thinkin of a master plan
Cause ain’t nothin but sweat inside my hand
Cause everything’s possible, nothing’s impossible
Gotta keep ahead, gotta keep my head
- Tafari
aka By the People for the People
aka Putting the G in Gentlemen
In ancient times Hannibal gave birth to modern war strategy. Leading Carthage through the Alps and Pyrenees with War Elephants to earn many decisive victories against the Romans, he was calculating and fearless.
In today’s market, skilled marksmen/traders/PE bankers know to be the same. Only the war is not fought with swords and shields, its derivatives, the VIX, and economic data a-la durable goods. If you’re longhorn like Texas, you got impaled. Hopefully for your sake you ultra shorted it with SDS, SKF and DXD. You are not wearing armor to the Punic war, it should be Paul Stewart suits, Gucci loafers and you too can live life. Salvatore Ferragamo ties. I’m just saying, I’m trying to maintain my seat at Da Silvano, it is pike mackerel season.
We all know bloods been spilled and it’s still spilling. 7 MC’s have been put in the line and executed. Here’s where you remember that you were born on The Street. With that as your birth right, you need to remember to flex with the market.
If it’s selling join the herd. If it’s rallying, play your pipe. Don’t be in love with your positions. Keep your love locked down and I mean your bank account. That is why you woke up in this life. It’s what provided the villa in Mykonos to meet Mediterranean chicks while having a meze.
I know the hysteria’s bad, the media can’t keep your name out its mouth. But remember, they chose to report, you chose to scalp. They’re wearing Men’s Wearhouse shirts, not even suits, shirts. You’re killing them scooping chicks at the Conde Nast Travelers Awards after party suited down. They’re writing about places you go. The summation of their life decisions led them to media. You’re trading Tribune leverage loans and Petros Brasileiro LEAPS. Convert vanilla CDS from spread to points upfront.
And when you collect, Nas already told you, take it in blood.
Days of Grace tattooed like Cus D’Amato on my arm.
You’ve touched on the core of what is the reason for the financial collapse over the past few weeks.
The sad thing is, most people watching their CNNs and MSNBCs have no idea why they’re losing their shirt and will be led like chickens to the slaughter in the next few months. It will only get worse.
To explain what’s going down, let me first drop a bit of economic background. All around the world, banks must comply with what are known as Basel regulations. These regulations determine how much capital a bank has to have in reserve. The amount of reserve a bank needs depends on the quality of the loans on its books. The more risky your loans on books, the more capital you need.
What AIG (the main company to blame) did, was to get around these Basel rules by issuing out unregulated insurance contracts, known as credit default swaps, that didn’t require ANY collateral or real capital to back it up. I’ll get back to all this.
Here’s how the hustle worked. Say you’re a heistman (wall st. bank) that had a lot of extra goods (deposits) lying around. You’ve got some nice jewelry in the stash and figure that you could earn some extra cash if you were to rent it out and have someone else temporarily hold on to them. There are some broke folks (subprime borrowers) a few blocks down the street that are trying to look hood rich and will pay you damn near all of their disposable income to wear your bling. The only problem is, you don’t really trust these broke folks. And even if you did trust them, you’d only loan out about 1/3 of your stash (total deposits) to make sure you had enough of the stash in your house (capital reserves) just in case things fucked up.
One day the nighborhood boss (AIG) comes to you with a proposition. His lieutenants (mortgage companies) have been selling weed, DVDs, fake Louis Vitton bags to the broke folks for years. He’s almost always gotten his money back. He trusts that they will pay him back, because he’s got their respect and he knows their history.
The neighborhood boss (AIG) proposes that HE rents out your jewelry to the broke neighborhood folks. In fact, since you don’t really trust his people, what he’ll do is he’ll back up his word with an IOU (CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS!!!) for just 2% of however much jewelry you want to loan out. If anyone in the neighborhood doesn’t pay the boss back, he’ll cover your entire losses out of his own pocket if you’ve got the IOU.
Now you’re loving this shit! You can earn the high rent (interest rate) by loaning out your jewelry (deposits) to the broke neighborhood folks (subprime borrowers), but you’re being backed by the neighborhood boss’s (AIG) IOUs (credit default swaps). You DEFINITELY trust the neighborhood boss because he’s old school from the days of Freeway Ricky Ross and has seen them all come and go. He’s got a solid rep.
In fact, you trust the boss so much, that you’re gonna loan out 95% of your stash. You KNOW he’s good for the payback, so why not make rent on as much of your stash as possible?
Well after a few months it turns out the neighborhood folks didn’t really have enough money to pay the rent for the bling. Between food, heat, bills, they just didn’t have the cash to keep up the hood rich lifestyle. And they all engraved their names on your jewelry so you can’t just take the jewelry back.
You’re pretty pissed about how that went down, but you’re not too worried yet. Remember that the neighborhood boss (AIG) sold you some IOUs just in case, so you plan on getting you’re money back.
Well as it turns out, you weren’t the only heistman (bank) the neighborhood boss was dealing with. He was doing business with hundreds of heistman across the country and giving out IOUs. The only problem was he didn’t have enough cash to back up all of these IOUs.
Now all the heistman are coming at the neighborhood boss with guns blazing AT THE SAME TIME asking for their goods back, but the boss doesn’t have nearly enough. He thought everyone would have paid him rent on time so he could keep up the hustle, but it didn’t turn out like that. Shit is about to get real ugly.
The local mayor (US gov’t) sees that a major war is about to break out in his neighborhood that’s going to take lives. If this war goes down, most of the heistman are going to get shot, the neighborhood boss DEFINITELY will get shot, and a lot of the neighborhood folks will get shot in the cross fire.
To ease the situation for a while, the mayor says he’ll pay off the heistmen and the neighborhood boss with some money he’ll raise by doubling property taxes next year.
At first the heistmen are cool with this proposal. Everybody stays alive, for now.
But then they start to wonder, how will they survive next year when the neighborhood folks have no money to rob?”
The Rest is Up to You…
Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA Your favorite International Playboy’s, favorite International Playboy
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
Most men are born timid, chances are — you were too. Most societies across the world today have promoted a culture of political correctness, conflict aversion, trend following, and a desire to be liked by all. And this isn’t entirely a bad thing. Going down this path will get you an OK house in the suburbs with a plain wife, 2.5 kids, and a dog named Spot. If this is a lifestyle you desire, stop reading now. For my real and aspiring G’s, please continue…
Bold Men Have Wills of Steel
One of my favorite UFC Fighters when I had time to watch TV was Tito Ortiz. The guy was a beast unleashed and if you had the misfortune of getting in his way when he was on a rampage, you were going to pay. He had a quote, which I try to live by that says: “RESPECT: I don’t earn it; I just fuckin take it!” But even as much as I admired the rawness of this cat, there’s another lesser known UFC Fighter who was a true man of boldness. Lee Murray. Let that name marinate for a bit.
Back in 2002, outside a London nightclub, Tito and Lee exchanged words, which eventually led to blows. Tito let out a left-right combo which both missed Lee. Lee then followed up with a 5 punch combo that knocked Tito the fuck out. COLD.
If that was the end of the story, he’d be an interesting side note in UFC history. But its what Lee did after which really impressed me with the strength of this man’s character (whether you agree with the DIRECTION of his character is another matter altogether).
In 2006, Lee was the alleged (ha! I love this word) mastermind behind the 53 million Pound CASH robbery from a British bank (about $100M US). He then fled to Morocco, which coincidentally(?) has no extradition treaty with England. The British gov’t has been coming after Lee since the robbery, but the Moroccan gov’t has steadily refused to give up Mr. Murray. (Side note: There are two women I have ever met that have given me the “Thunderbolt”, one was Moroccan.)
Lesson: I’m not recommending anyone going out and pull heists. Most people who try this would probably drop the ball and end up behind in the back seat of a squad car. What I DO recommend is that you find where you have an edge and adopt a mentality with an will of steel that was required for Lee to pull off what’s he’s done…while he was STILL in his 20′s. You have to have an unbendable vision of what you want, and anyone that stands in your way has to be dealt with accordingly.
Caution: Boldness without planning, boldness without information is leveraged stupidity. Do NOT do this. This is like doubling down when you have no edge. You will lose. Notice that Lee had a well executed after plan. Unlike many of the smash and grab low level criminals you find in major cities, he didn’t go back to his apartment or his mom’s house. He got out the country and went to a non-extradition country.
To win at chess, you have to see several moves ahead and anticipate your opponent’s move. If you don’t have the wisdom, the time, the STRENGTH OF WILL, and/or the balls to do this, stick to Checkers.
In 1925, 5 highly successful scrap metal dealers in France were invited to an official and highly confidential meeting with the “Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs” at the Hotel Crillon, then the most luxurious hotel in Paris. (Imagine this). The men had NO idea why they were invited and were overwhelmed with curiosity. Eventually, the director stepped into the room and addressed the men. He told the men that the French Government had decided to tear down the Eiffel Tower . Maintenance costs were too high, the gov’t was in debt and simply wouldn’t put up the money to upkeep it. At the time (this was in the 1920′s) Parisians thought the tower was a boondoggle, and eyesore, so this plan made sense at the time. The dealers saw this as a golden opportunity and saw they could make a killing selling the scrap metal on the open market.
The director invited all five men to propose bids on the project. Each of the 5 put in high bids hoping they would be the one to edge out the others and get this lucrative contract. After all the bids came in, it turns out Mr. P, one of the 5 dealers had the highest bid. He was invited to come back to the hotel with a certified check for 250,000 francs (about $1M today) to make a 25% downpayment on the total deal. After the deal was wrapped up, Mr. P waited, and waited….and waited to hear back from the director. He never heard back from him again. It turns out there was no such position as a “Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs” and that the government had no plans to tear down the Eiffel Tower!!
Lesson: The Director’s, real name, Count Victor Lustig, was a con artist extraordinaire, and he won big because he thought big. He had the BALLS to have a vision so extraordinary, that no one ever thought to question it. He even played the role of a government official to a T, having the creativity to even ask the winner of the bid for a small bribe to establish believability. Great men of history see beyond what others think impossible. Could you sell the Eiffel Tower?
The time is 20:20 hrs on 4th September 2006, and Vincent Alexis Michaels is sitting at his computer, working overtime at the bank he has been employed at for over 5 years, in Montreal. Vincent is suspected of murdering his wife 11 years ago. Vincent is also a poker player and convicted sex offender.
What Mr. Michaels doesn’t know is that for the last 2 years, every time he has communicated with other people, using anything electronic, his emissions and communications have been intercepted by a group of 16 men based in Scotland. Landline calls, cell phone calls, emails, faxes, sms text messages, message board posts and internet browsing activity have been intercepted by a system known under a classified name.
Tonight is a date with justice. Tonight is a date where the Professional has planned everything so perfectly that not a piece of dust or a strand of hair is out of place. The Professional goes by the name David, and enters the building where Mr. Michaels works. David is equipped with an H&K Mark .23 Socom pistol with a knights armament corp sound suppressor and 3 lasers: 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, to form a triangle of primary colours. David also has digital police scanners attached to his waist utility belt, and a PMR radio connected to Skype via Bluetooth, Wifi, and Wimax.
Skype is connected to an automated dialer, voice recognition equipment and signal analyzer. Power to the building will be dropped if a voice match against the target is confirmed.
David is wearing night vision goggles he bought from Utah over the internet. He has intercepted everything Vincent has done electronically for 2 years. He has planned this using 10 cycled anonymous proxies. David has viewed Google & Yahoo Maps, Google Earth, examined the electoral roll, and hacked into the RCMP’s database of criminal and sex offenders. Vincent doesn’t know his vehicle is tracked daily.
A mysterious man called Dr. David Webb, PhD, supplied the hitman with a laser reading device only possessed by the US Government. The device beams a laser at windows, and converts the internal air-pressure in a room, and the various bounces of sound off of that window, into a digital signal, and then converts it to analog sound, at the user’s request.
It takes David 8 flights of stairs to get up to the floor Vincent is on. Nobody can monitor the stairs, unlike the elevator, which can be monitored electronically.
“Pedro El Negro, Black Peter” “Peter has a list of all the bad kids” – “They receive a little donkey on their window sill, a little burro”. – Collateral
While preparing equipment and running a structured list through his mind, David listens to progressive house music and DJ sets such as Kenneth Thomas, Roger Liland, Perry O’Neil, Kasey Taylor and John Digweed. The beats match his work: no error, no room for mistake or a fade to black. This is not something you read in a book. Tonight he is listening to Abstract Habits (G Pal’s Bad Habit Remix) by Plastique Vision. Later he will listen to Space Drift by Undersky.
Undersky – Space Drift
David no longer feels emotion about a target. He has grown used to hearing about men all over the United States and Canada who hurt, abuse, torture or abandon their kids, men who murder their wives, or bank workers who give mortgages to people who they know can never pay it back. David is taking out the trash, the dregs of a deadbeat society. You become immune to emotion when emotion gets you killed. You become immune to emotion when your accuracy suffers because of it. David is a professional. He takes care of business, he gets the job done first time every time, and he does it with the aide of technology and a group of helpers who are so disconnected that even the CSE (Canadian Security Establishment) could not link any of them together.
Although being a hitman requires dedication, fitness, determination, and sometimes a rather cold, calculated attitude, David has other interests including computers, technology, mathematics and electronics. David is on a level of his own, and makes “Leon”, from the 1994 film of the same name, look like a joke. Jason Bourne wishes he could be David, even on a good day. Jack Bauer pales into insignificance compared to David.
It is now 20:43 hours and David has entered the building by using lockpicks to get in a door in a back alley. Prior to this, David had shown up in central Montreal, dressed in a flawless Versace suit and attended a corporate event. Near the middle of the event David went to the mens toilets and got changed and left through a window. He picked up his equipment at a classified location near abandoned warehouses.
David is wearing a Uniden BCD396T apco 25 ready digital police scanner and a Uniden two-way radio with a 20 mile range. The two-way radio is connected to an automatic voice sensor inside his vehicle, which houses it’s own Uniden Base Scanner, this time a BCD996T. He is monitoring Montreal’s response and SWAT team frequencies. David has a black Nomex lightweight balaclava in his utility belt, which he bought from Blackhawk Products in Virginia. On the right side of his belt is his silenced, tri-laser aimed pistol, a Mark .23 Socom, with Knights Armanent Corp Suppressor. On the left side on his belt he has silent flashbangs – flashbangs with no noise, just a magnesium burst, which effectively turns on all the retinal receptors at the back of your eye for a full 5 seconds, and makes your vision appear “paused”.
The building where the ‘dedos’ (target) lives, is almost entirely vacant, and David uses training he learned while at the French Special Police training facility outside of Paris, to avoid direct visual contact with anyone else.
Vincent is working on floor 4 in the “Investments and Savings” division. As David reaches floor 4, transmissions enter his earphones from his walkie-talkie: he is to take out the target without uttering a single word to him. Usually David has a question or some interrogation to carry out. Not this time. This is a mission of justice, revenge, punishment, and for David, absolute glory in taking out the trash of society. Vincent’s wife’s skull was found in 2004 by a rancher moving cattle. She had been missing since 1997. His wives’ family are connected to this contract, but he has no direct contact with them, too risky, too emotional. Vincent had also recently been found in possession of child pornography and showed no remorse whatsoever. A group from Illinois, which calls itself APMF – which stands for Anti-Paedophile Mercenary Force – took notice of Canadian news reports which linked Vincent to the people who own and run Limewire: the famous P2P program, which allows child porn on it’s network.
At 20:50 hours, David is at the start of the long line down the hall of floor 4. “PBX 139 to PBX 142, Target is in room 17.” David is wearing black military assault boots, black body overalls covered by a flightsuit. David puts on his balaclava, and night vision goggles, and attaches the suppressor to his weapon. As he begins to step down the hallway, everything goes into slow motion for David. He watches himself from above, behind, and to the side and at an angle from his own body.
“PBX 142 to PBX 139, cut power to building”. 3 seconds later the entire building is in darkness. He flips down his nightvision goggles and preps the holders on his silent flashbangs. As he approaches the door he moves at an angle and to the other side of it. He touches a switch and 3 military grade lasers come on in a triangular shape, and triad of colours: red, green and blue. All lasers have a 50 mile+ range in the darkness of night. David takes out a silent flash. The wooden beige coloured door is not locked but is closed over. He opens it so a space of about 10 inches and stops immediately.
“PBX 122 to PBX 142, Target in centre of room 17”. David has a sniper placed over a mile away in a building at the same height, who is armed with a Cheytac Intervention .408 calibre sniper rifle. The sniper is an ex-Navy Seal.
“Who’s there….hello….who’s there”. Vincent doesn’t understand why a door has opened and nobody came in. David then tears off the purple ripple-strip (better than a pin, which makes noise) from the silent flashbang and then throws it underarm into the computers at the centre of the room. He closes the door over, almost completely, for 2 seconds as it goes off. He then enters the room sticking closely to the wall, a pattern taught by the FBI-HRT (Federal Bureau of Investigation – Hostage Rescue Team). Through night vision he can see Vincent rubbing his eyes behind a computer in the centre of the room, and the lasers from his associate are coming into the window and dazzling him. David brings up the weapon to eye height, and then aims Vincent’s head. Two silenced rounds go off – a double tap. And Vincent falls to the ground.
“PBX 122 to PBX 142, couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Check target for memory sticks at computer.”
“Confirmed, Sandisk 16gb Cruzer Micro memory stick on desk, will retrieve.”
David then switches off his lasers, and leaves the building as quick as possible.
When David returns to his home in Scotland, he finds £400,000 in his bank account, and a letter from a contractor. The memory stick contained 25,000 images of child abuse. “Your next target will be given to you within 4 weeks”. “Here is a picture of the woman that Vincent murdered.” David looks at a photograph. “And the family who hired you to do this indirectly, if Vincent had got away with this murder, how angry would they be, how fucking furious do you think they would get, if the police couldn’t get justice?” David burns the letter and photograph.
The date stamp on the letter read “Fort Meade, Maryland”, which is where the NSA is based. The NSA’s new “Cyterix” program is part of a mission to rid America, Canada and Mexico of sex offenders who harm, abuse, and hurt children.
David has reached the Zenith of his career at 24: a hitman taking out the trash, and doing it in a way which makes the movies look lame.
