October 10, 2007 (LPAC)--Goldman Sachs might have been designated the case officer for running the take-down of the financial system, and their allegedly enormous profit margins versus other major investment banks, as recently reported, is only one aspect of the 'royal privilege' given them in this plot. Yes, it's a sprint to the top of rock-bottom, and Goldman Sachs sure holds a convincing lead. Part of their strategy is to appoint former Goldman executives to act as 'friends in high places', as for instance, the heads of the Plunge Protection Team in the U.S., and also, the International Financial Stability Forum, which is the global Plunge Protection Team in charge of managing systemic risks. In addition, ex-GS'ers are on both the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation and the High-Level City Group.

On top of that, they are running entire countries. Take Italy as a prime example of this: current Premier Romano Prodi, was a paid adviser to Goldman Sachs; as Premier, Prodi brought into his government another Goldman Sachs executive, Massimo Tononi, who is undersecretary of Finances in charge of privatizations. Rumors that Linda Costamagna, wife of Goldman Sachs executive Claudio Costamagna, had financed Prodi's election campaign, have never been denied. The governor of the Bank of Italy, "Mr. Britannia" Mario Draghi, who is the afore mentioned chairman of the International Financial Stability Forum, had served as European chairman of Goldman Sachs for four years, before becoming a central banker. The baton also goes back and forth; Mario Monti, former EU Commissioner, is now at Goldman Sachs as is Berlusconi's undersecretary of state to the Government, Gianni Letta, his "cabinet minister," so to speak. Being at the top of the bottom never looked so easy.