http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/bloom062905.htmlIt must be something in the water as this fellow "bloke" looks similarly on "things" as mois.

BIG day ahead for Ag, I have great expectations for Silver from now to Bastille Day ...$25/25%

Buck currently on a binge. Deciding which is worse for S/Market, higher Oil or higher Buck?
One things for sure, a combination of both is disasterous.

We watch!

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/27/opinion/27krugman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugmansnip
"Unocal sounds, in other words, like exactly the kind of company the Chinese government might want to control if it envisions a sort of "great game" in which major economic powers scramble for access to far-flung oil and natural gas reserves. (Buying a company is a lot cheaper, in lives and money, than invading an oil-producing country.) So the Unocal story gains extra resonance from the latest surge in oil prices.

If it were up to me, I'd block the Chinese bid for Unocal. But it would be a lot easier to take that position if the United States weren't so dependent on China right now, not just to buy our I.O.U.'s, but to help us deal with North Korea now that our military is bogged down in Iraq."

comment
China has a treasury full of $ and a national oil company to shop with it. The US has no national oil company with which to buy deep storage oil. US is using the military to protect/obtain what China can buy peacefully.

Hey Gandie, looks like someone put the electric collars on our poor hounds. Must be Friday before a three day (US) weekend. We need to figure out how to remove the batteries from those collars ;). Have a great weekend all you buggers out there

Can anyone remember when we last saw spot swing more than U$6.00? In less than 3 hours, spot has moved down about U$10.00. A good day for bargain hunters!

Incidentally, the folks at INO must have started the holiday early. The spot quote at the top of this page is asleep.

- Survivor

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north391.htmlThe Bureaucrats' Song And Dance by Gary North
"The looming bankrupcy of the federal government has it's advantages..."
Gary expertly draws some current portraits of entitlement programs on the precipice and why "the welfare chickens are coming home to roost". Obviously, by extension, the rest of the world will reverberate with similar repercussions.
Not surprising that gold is a household word in most of the world.

@ Survivor,

THe last big down day - a few months ago was -13.

The "$6 rule" is more applicable to up moves.

Increasing volatility may see this disappear in both directions.

http://www.rallymonkey.com/video/kenindex.swfThanks, goldilox.
Slingshot------<>

Is this the same Gary North who "expertly" missed predicting the impact of Year 2000 by about 19 country miles? If so, anything he writes should be taken with a grain of salt.

- Survivor

@ Slingshot,

As a "died in the wool" Giants fan, I find that video decidedly NOT FUNNY!

I'm off to Petco tonight to see if MY guys can keep their rally going against the division leader.

Go Gold and Giants - they both start with a resounding G!

Goldilox. I was trying to inject some humor into this gold setback. Did not think it was about the Giants. Well I do get to put my foot in my mouth on ocasion
Slingshot-----<>

@ survivor,

Even a lot of computer pros were taken in by the Y2K scare. Much effort was expended to repair sleazy MS-based code, but little major damage resulted.

UNIX and MAC users knew their SW would not "blow up", but the real issue was whether data base programmers had encoded two-digit or four-digit "date codes" in their record processing algorithms.

It was one of the single most "sales scams" of the internet bubble, and the excess replacement activity also fueled a bubble of HW sales that bit the manufacturers in the A$$ in 2001-2.

As a retired storage professional, I remember incredibly obtuse messages even within the industry, so I cannot fault analysts who tried to decode those messages.

Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble!

@ Slingshot,

Well, maybe a (not so) solid hold on 4th place in the division has me just a little "sensitive"!

Also maybe, the fact that I live only 60 miles from Anaheim and 460 miles from "home plate".

Just glad I don't have the typical "anger management" issues of some of today's players!

- LOL

Re: "increasing volatility"
Crude oil +$1.80
Is this related to the rumored "terrorist" threat? It's consistent with the past couple weeks in any case.
CRB has also bolted up. Metals markets close early today?

http://focus.comdirect.co.uk/en/detail/_pages/charts/main_large.html?sSymbol=GLD.FX1AND, the "Banksters" on the COMEX will have given Sir GAB a new stack of RED "O"s at the $428 level on the P&F GOLD chart !
They sure have fun when the no one is looking, don't they ?
THANKS for the "early" 4th of JULY Birthday present !
YELLOW is now a gift at this price !
<;-)

Maybe Greenspan raised rates just to bash POG-what was this story about a huge Goldcall sitting at 445?The weight of paper...

Unfortunately Gold hasn't become a bargain in sFR. as it measily dropped ~100Fr/kilo. as the $ is advancing further.

- For the managers of "Managed Markets Inc.", a subsidiary of your friendly TSY's ESF, dubbed -Exchange Stability For- the needs of Uncle Sam, the FED and its international minion CB's still clinging to Bretton Woods II. A proposition of fooling me thrice - and yes, THAT may be the problem!

... Or is it the upcoming Independence Day?

A country who is now dependent on much of the rest of the worlds savings to function may have lost a lot of what the founders fought for - including monetary affairs... and Independence, or has the meaning of the word undergone some hedonistic changes as well?

Happy long weekend to all friends - cb2

@ Gandy,

The ESF boyz seem to have given the pups a "play day".

Not too much "Independence Day" partying now, as we need them to resume "chomping at the bit" Tuesday morn!

When market players sense that their bonds, for example, have rolled into junk status with fears that the contracts (which is effectively what they are) won't be delivering as promised, the market response is a selloff in the price. You can probably recall many times that you witnessed various classes of bonds suffer a selloff (peerhaps some defaulting to worthlessness) even as the underlying currency held its ground or gained.

As time goes on, given the tightness of the physical gold metal market compared to the vast over-abundance of the corresponding derivatives (especially the price-setting futures market), it shouldn't surprise us to eventually reach days (or an irreversing trend) where the market's confidence (and corresponding price) plunges with regard to the highly leveraged and physically undeliverable promissory paper gold futures contracts.

Given the nature of each, futures contracts and metal, mere contracts are certainly NOT a true proxy for the benefits and economic bargaining power conveyed by actual metal ownership. However, until the market matures enough to recognize this, the price of the undefaultable metal will draft along passively in the wake of the dubious futures market and its price determinations. Hence, to anyone who currently understands the inherent difference in value between tangible ownership versus paper promises, days like these in which the futures have sold off present themselves as attractive opportunities to buy up the benefits of physical gold metal at nearly par with the deep discounting being applied by the market to the corresponding derivative pile of futures contracts.

Today's price action appears very clearly a NY COMEX futures phenomenon. A look at the daily chart shows that an early morning rising price promptly turned downward upon the 8:30am ET open of COMEX trading, and the downward path steeply accelerated as concurrent traders in the London gold market closed shop for the weekend.

To put a fine point on it, a question presents itself. When promissory bonds sell off, do you suddenly lose desire to bring home your paycheck? Probably not. Thus, if similar promissory futures contracts sell off, it does not stand to reason that you should be shaken in your drive to bring home tangible savings.

If you choose gold metal, and know what its unique benefits are, you will not be so easily rocked out of your lifeboat by (a superficial appearance of) turbulent waters.

R.

http://www.usagold.com/gold/special/wilhelm.htmlDetails on this allotment of Wilhelm I gold German 20 marks (minted 1871 - 1888). Get them while they last.

@Goldilox -

Yes, I do know what you mean. I was (still am) one of those 'pros'. In fact, I had the unenviable task of Y2K Coordinator for our medium-sized office.

We did a lot of research on the 'net and elsewhere. There was some well-informed material posted that helped us greatly with the analysis and remediation of our susceptible office systems. By comparison, Gary North was a bearded man in robe standing on the corner with an "End Of The World" picket sign. To make it worse, he left all that erroneous dribble up for months after the non-event.

OK, 'scuze my rant. Its Friday! (And BARGAIN DAY for any PM shoppers this afternoon!)

- Survivor

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Friday Market Excerpts

July 1 (from MarketWatch) -- Gold futures fell more than $8 an ounce Friday to finish 3% lower for the week after the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates.

With a holiday weekend looming in the U.S., traders also looked ahead to next week's Group of Eight summit in Scotland.

Gold contracts for August delivery closed at $428.80, down $8.30, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Metals futures trading on the exchange closed early Friday and will remain closed Monday for the July 4th holiday.

"The Fed activity has really pulled the rug out from gold for some reason," said Kevin Kerr, president of Kerr Trading International. On Thursday, Fed chief Alan Greenspan and other central bank policymakers did as expected, voting to boost the central bank's target for short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, to 3.25%, and signaled that further rate hikes are likely in the pipeline.

"Real speculation will begin with the next few meetings as rates reach 3.50%," said Thomas Hartmann, an analyst at Altavest Worldwide Trading, in a note to clients. "Greenspan & Co. appear to want to reach this plateau with little fanfare or worry, keeping their measured pace dull and simple, lulling the market in step."

But "questions about the U.S. economy will ultimately be faced in the coming months," he said. For now, the "inability of prices to hold above $440 puts gold on a downward tilt in the near term," Hartmann said.

The latest drop in gold is "not so much the holiday as the general skittish nature of gold bugs who have been burned by faded rallies before, including me," said Kerr.

"Seasonally, there is usually a top made about here so [the price decline is] absolutely no surprise," said John Stafford, editor of Stafford's Investment Strategy Letter, adding: "I always buy on days like this."

----(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CBOT_USU5&v=s...Friday's rarely disappoints eh?
Similar action in DX to the Dec/Jan rollover which ignited Buck and sent it on it's current charge North (not Gary ;-)

Can we perhaps now (again) cite repats as the DX driver ...methinks Yes however the nett Dollar amount this time through is a good bit less (given the higher relative Dollar exchange) and bodes ill for E/O/Quarter reporting.

Bond took a hit ...but there again, it stopped at a tad shy of 4.3% yield.
Rubicon or Maginot? Gee, now that's a poser!
I don't think we're looking at the BIG dump here given the way it stopped but, 1 day we'll look at this 4.3% level and collectively declare "Rubicon".

Silver ...Oh Boy, it's got some work to do now, but with 2300 contracts through the turnstiles and a nice uptick on LeaseRates, the glory days are still ahead. ID thru BD will see it SHINE imo.

Gold ...BumWad 'till August. (good term B-G/Span)

Don't mean to be a wet blanket, but maybe the strength in the dollar is due to the increase in $ interest rates, which are now considerably above those for the Euro.

Gold was down about 2% today. The HUI was marginally higher.

The folks who run the gold market have become all too obvious. They take down (short) the metal whenever an opportunity or need arises and cover their shorts on their shares at the same time. Conversely, they let the metal run higher and start shorting the shares just before another takedown.

Today they covered their share shorts. They're milking the black box hedge funds and poor saps who don't know the drill. It's like having a license to steal. We can take advantage of this. While most of us (I think) are not short term players we can see what's happening and take advantage with our incremental investing when oppotunities arise.

An "aufall" Friday, while the dollar seems to have resumed its role as the best of the bad lot among currencies...

Makes one wonder if the US dollar has got itself into a self-sustaining updraft...a kind or "runaway Greenspan effect".

While-ever the US currency is rising against other currencies and interest rates are rising as well, it makes it more desireable for foreigners to buy and hold US paper interest-bearing assets, since they gain on both rising interest rates (short-term rates, at least) and a benificial exchange rate...and the more they buy, the more the dollar rises and the more appealing the whole deal seems and so on and on it goes. Those already long-term holders of US paper assets, seeing the exchange rate "improving", as well as interest rates rising, will similarly be less anxious to diversify out of their US assets as they see their losses narrowing...so why not hold a bit longer and maybe they will narrow still more?

The only fly in the ointment is that the more the dollar rises, the cheaper imports (to the US) become and the more expensive (to foreigners) exports become; so the worse the trade deficit becomes -- unless the US corners the market on some dream new industry that everyone wants and no-one else can produce... That is, capital inflows truly manifest themselves in much greater productivity of things that America can actually sell to the rest of the world because the rest of the world wants them... At the moment, capital inflows are growing the US economy internally in things that the rest of the world does not particularly want, like US housing and excessive military equipment and hubris. It does not seem likely that some dream new export industry is going to emerge, so there is the risk of a runaway trade deficit.

A way out? Well in the absence of the wonderful new industry that Uncle Sam dreams up, that everyone wants and no-one else can produce, one way out might be for the US to surrender its role as producer and custodian of the World's reserve currency. Surely the days of Bretton Woods are over! The US is no longer the industrial powerhouse of a shattered world. Today it is the (conventional) military powerhouse of the world, and maybe the global media-spin powerhouse, but its old self has gone. OK, it still produces pretty good military systems that may be in demand abroad, but sales are tightly restricted to "favoured" clients, and it is inconceivable that the US can close its trade gap on military sales alone. But instead of addressing the reserve currency issue a broad, systemic aproach), there is a beat-up on China (narrow, nibbling-the-edges approach) to float its currency. OK, that may go some way, but even Al Greenspan acknowledges that it will do little to address the trade deficit which the US carries with ALL its major trading partners.

What about if contracts for the purchase of oil, and gas and iron ore and wheat and coal etc. were more and more written in Euros and Yen and Renminbi and Aussie dollars, Swedish krona, Brazilian real, etc? This should greatly reduce the demand for dollars and thereby lower its price in the FX markets. Those countries acquiring an excess of other currencies could then re-invest them in paper assets of the countries of their denomination (providing a capital boost for expansion which would be truly global; providing balance and fairness to the concept of "globalisation"), or exchange them in the currency markets for whatever currency they wanted. In other words, why the Heck in this day and age of instant computation and electronic transfer should we all be dealing with stone-age transactions involving the US dollar?

Is there any merit in this rant or should I go back and read my Economics 101 book? (Or perhaps rewrite the Economics 101 book!)

Cheers

:-)

Sorry...there is an opening parenthesis missing in my last message.

The corrected sentence in the fifth paragraph is:

"But instead of addressing the reserve currency issue (a broad, systemic aproach), there is a beat-up on China (narrow, nibbling-the-edges approach) to float its currency. "

Cheers

http://www.kitcocasey.com/displayArticle.php?id=173.

Price of Gold drops 10bucks going into G8 meeting-coincidence or not will be seen next week,usually POG drops after such meetings (well,except the one in Washington back then).What has been complained in a newsletter I subscribe to,that in the last months the wrong people have been bullish on Gold.And the performance of the Goldshares have been miserable to put it mildly.This still IS Another Goldmarket developing,even though the Gold revaluation did not take place.But the case for Gold HASE NEVER BEEN BETTER THAN NOW!

The interest level in the US is getting interesting-if 3.5% will be sufficient for the real intentions behind the rate rises?Or,can't it be raised further without going to ring bells regarding housing bubble/economy freezing etc?

Sundeck, That is quite a bit more advanced than ec 101 I would say!
I figure Israel will attack Iran on sept 11. So then, we have oil prices going where? So, hmmm, instant inflation, which will I suppose, cause a downturn for the global economy, lessening coming inflation in some commodities, products, despite fiat buildup.
So, religious war......I will cut back my reading of various sources to lessen my stress. I dont watch news at this point, that will have to continue. Someone posted recently, a study of high oil price impact on the us economy. In that situation, dollar strenghtens? CB's rally around the dollar because it is an emergency? World blames Israel, and of course the Admin. because Israel used US weapons, and US didnt stop thier planes.
Change ripples the world, gold goes up, breaks 500 I say.
IranianAmericans, how will they react? This is a wild card.
Some will probably do local harm. TIme to move to OZ?
What else happens when Israel attacks Iran? There is no way they wont. Sunni muslems dont have nice things to say about the shiite muslems. I have been invited to Iran. Ticket paid by a freind. He is from Tehran. He is a relative by marriage. He depresses me in only one way. He is a doctor, very smart in that way, yet his understanding of US is a combination of news sources from that region, and american leftist anti US media. Talking to him, I regret I am the only voice he gets that points out the good stuff. And how many educated doctors are among the Iranian folks in the US?
And he is in this condition? And americans are so carelessly inflameing him? Oh boy, we shall see.
What will happen in europe?
But, will destructions stop the big boys? The CB's?
They will hold the center, but......oh boy, Afganistan and Iraq were, well, nice and tidy. Number three? I dont want to see it. I suspect the forum will grow.

http://www.safrica.info/doing_business/businesstoday/businessnews/456770.htm Gold's changing fortune - SouthAfrica.info - June 1, 2005

{Date of below article}
July 1, 2005 - Time flies when you're having fun. Maybe that magma is getting closer than I thought...

http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html

@ $Bill.

Your quote: "He is a doctor, very smart in that way, yet his understanding of US is a combination of news sources from that region, and american leftist anti US media."

Would that "anti-US leftist media" be FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, or the newly NeoCon administered PBS? Or just anyone who suggests serious investigation into the covert perpetrators of 911, and the $millions made by the still unidentified source of airline puts on Sept 10? The IRS knows every tiny stock and option trade I ever made, so please don't feed me the line that these traders couldn't be identified by their broker, if anyone in power wanted wanted them to be.

Our "Reichstag Fire" has been successfully swept under the rug. We have been so dumbed down by public administering of drugs, corporate control of organized religion, and "ideological news media" that it will unfortunately take a second event before anyone wakes up and asks why.

They spirited away the evidence from the first attack before any "investigation" could be started, and found some ghost camel-jockies to blame for gold-medal aerobatics into the WTC and an 8-foot wide hole in the Pentagon supposedly made by a populated 24-ft wide plane that left no plane or human debris at the site. Why were 24 Mossad agents who were gleefully video-taping the 911 attack deported with "diplomatic immunity" before any questioning as to where they got foreknowledge of the event? Does it bother anyone that 8 of the named dead hijackers are alive and well in Paris, having never been in the US during 2001?

We were told "the admin never even thought of using planes for weapons", but Cheney was in the situation room conducting a "military exercise" of that very scenario at the time of the event. The 911 "investigation" was conducted by the very same crooked lawyers and politicians that hushed up "Whitewater" and "Watergate".

There hasn't been a "leftist media" in the US since the LA Free Press went out of business 20 years ago, unless you count the libertarian internet press as "leftist". What was "moderate-centrist" 20 years ago is considered radical left today, as TPTB have censored or demonized everything else. Every TV, radio, and major newspaper is owned by about 10 very rich families.

In fact, for his loyal admin support, Michael Powell single-handedly dismantled the media monopoly rules and handed Ruppert Murdock up to 45% media ownership in any locale - and that's just one of the 10 families.

As an example, I submit the last Presidential election, where the "centrist" Democrats were demonized by your "so-called leftist" press, to be replaced by corporate-shill Kerry so we could choose between two "skull and bones" candidates with nearly identical backing. Clinton and Kerry leftists? What a laugh! That's like suggesting Hitler and Mussolini were to the "left" of Franco.

I don't always agree with the minimally remaining "leftist" press, but if they are ignored completely, we will all be sporting the RFID bracelets of your NWO sooner than we'd prefer. The current corporate-owned media is as "bought and paid for" as was IG Farbin 60 years ago, and expects us to dutifully "line up" for our daily dose of ideologic BS.

Debate, deduction, and dissent are dinosaurs in this political environment. USA Gold is to be highly commended for offering a forum for debate that has long ago left the sleeping mainstream behind.

@ KnallGold,

Your quote,

"And the performance of the Goldshares have been miserable to put it mildly."

is certainly reflective of their long-term performance since last year's premature run-up, but I interpret the 10-15% recent gains and strength during Friday's PM hit as a sign of stronger investment interest in the miners.

Not a recomendation, of course, but the last few months have demonstrated a lot more public and private interest in all things "golden".

Whether that is from increased instabilty in other markets, or real interest in gold, the effect should be about the same.

http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.pnf?chart=$GOLD,PWTADANRBO[PA][D][F1!3!!!2!20]⪯f=GBUT, there they are --- the Stacked RED "700" on the P&F Gold chart !
I take this as a SIGN that Gold will be priced at US$700 within the next few YEARS !
<;-)
(PLEASE note that there is still ANOTHER space for downward movement, while not BREAKING the UP CHANNEL !)
GO YELLOW !

@ ge,

This new NeoCRB should help the manipulators "steer" (pun intended) their financial boat more precisely, as their CPI and PPI are rapidly losing all credibilty. Even Bill Seidman, CNBC's favorite GS and Snow shill, on Friday stammered his way through an incredibly weak explanation of why inflation can still be considered "tame".

Seidman's "commentary" is taking on the tone of Wilfred Brumley's "Ads for the Alzheimer's afflicted".

"if you're not buying your Medicare drugs from XXX, you might be paying too much . . . and we'll deliver them right to your door!"

@ Gandalf,

if they add another red zero, will it portend POG 7000?

Count me in!

NeoCRB?... Great Word!... Lol!!....

I made it up "all by myself".

I'm feeling my oats today, as I had seats behind the plate last night while my Gints stumbled their way to a win with unearned runs and great D against the division leading home team and their Cy Young candidate Jake Peavy!

Now we're only 8 games out!

"I see Orange People!" LOL

As the Jury is still out on whether this Dollar rally is "the real thing" or simply a Bear-Market "correction", it might be worth visiting the Golds recent history to perhaps gain some insight into future price developments.

These last few years have been witness to several structural changes in the GoldMarket including : -

Nymex "access" providing "round-the-clock" market participation.
Rothschilds quietly stepping aside from market-making duties in London.
The development of Chinese Gold trading infrastructure.
Similar moves in India, Dubai etc.
Willingness of mini-CB's to dis-hoard, acting as "shelf-stocker" on the Bullion front ...up until recently.
BoE Gold sales.
Swiss tranche ...1T/Day for 4odd years ...now complete.
There are more, but these will suffice.

When above developments are seen in the context of recent price movements, is it not quite apparent that : -

Price discovery Baton has transferred for London Spot to Comex Future.
Gold "Spot-price" determinant is now largely a derivative.
Comex "delivery" will be more and more associated with price "spikes"...likewise, non-delivery with price drops.

Whilst Ari et al insist that REAL Gold shoppers don't bother with Comex, the trend indicates "price" is being impacted more by them ...and, given the compounding 1Tplus/Day structural defecit, we could expect to see volitility in goldpricing increase "in-sync" with Comex delivery window.

IMHO.

...indications are that it's taking longer and longer each Month to "clear the decks" on delivery at Comex both with Gold AND Silver (witness May Ag and June Au)
Auguring bloody good for Bullion holders methinks.

All of it. Thanks.

R.

Par excellence SIR!

http://www.netcastdaily.com/fsnewshour.htmJim's guest today is none other than Dr. Boom, Gloom, and Doom, Marc Faber for a no holds barred discussion of infla-defla, wealth disparity, bubbles, asset inflationary cycles, etc.

When Jim said, "the CPI is skewed", Marc replied, "I think the CPI is a total fraud!"

Get your cup o' Joe ready for this one!

http://www.netcastdaily.com/fsnewshour.htmAdding a fouth hour to the show, Puplava also chats with Frank Barbera, CMT in an interview entitled

"Update on the Gold Market, A New Gold Index, & Why You Better Own Gold"

Might better brew a whole pot!

Goldilox, I think your economic homework is highly respectable. Your political homework is not at the same level.
Your analysis of economic subtleties is astute, your analysis of media bias, on either side, is not of the same caliber.
What we do here really, is allow each other to be our teachers. There is no other place on the web or otherwise, that I personally allow myself to be taught by folks that wander all over the map day after day. The only time I got ticked off here, was when some guy came in and insulted posters, that might have had a weakness where he was pointing, but he clearly didnt care for them, and I do.
Usually I mostly read, and I dont want to alter anyone. Last week the moon must have been full.
What media, politicians are doing, that is one thing, it is open forum, so......
how would you alter the constitution.
how do you see us in 5 years?
how do you view the church state issue?
what is the goal of any group that you view as the smartest?
what is the definition of obscenity?
what is the boundry of any personal limits from a supreme court perspective? now or in your view, the goal.
what was your post about the nwo?
Do any of these look fun enough to discuss?
anyone?

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1519745,00.html
Oil 'will hit $100 by winter'
Worst-ever crisis looms, says analyst � Surging demand to keep prices high
Heather Stewart, economics correspondent
Sunday July 3, 2005
The Observer
SNIP
Oil prices could rocket to $100 within six months, plunging the world into an unprecedented fuel crisis, controversial Texan oil analyst Matt Simmons has war

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1519747,00.html
Brussels plans 'dramatic' overhaul of CAP
Nick Mathiason
Sunday July 3, 2005
The Observer
SNIPS
The European Commission is planning a radical overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy. The CAP currently costs European taxpayers �30 billion.
In the midst of an attack on the controversial EU farm subsidy regime from Tony Blair, Brussels is attempting to reassert its political leadership of the 25-member trading bloc by putting on the table proposals which could dramatically alter the CAP.
+
EU SPLASHES OUT TO SELL US THE EURO
Despite losing referendums in France and Holland the EU's higher echelons have a comeback plan: to promote the single currency, writes Martin Jay in Brussels.
The Commission has already started to spend at least �16 million (�10.7m). According to a confidential report, there are now plans to increase this budget. The move follows indications from the European Central Bank in June that poor growth in eurozone countries could be partly attributed to the single currency.
The campaign is targeted at the Danes and Swedes as well as Brits, who are particularly singled out as they 'have a very low knowledge of the euro'.


SCRAP THE CAP

Curse of cotton
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1519764,00.html
EU policy on agriculture shackles Africa, but the US also hands billions to its farmers.

Hilary Benn: 'Ending unfair subsidies is a moral imperative' http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1519762,00.html

Georgia's legacy of slavery http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1519763,00.html
US cotton is dumped in Africa, pushing commodity prices down and ruining countries like Burkino Faso and Benin.

Noone should be for if they are they won't get the last laugh. IMHO
North may have made a major faux pas on Y2K, but he knows Gold & economics, and has vision beyond the mainstream fools. Trail Guide & Another will be shown to be prophetic and somewhat ahead of their time, again IMHO.

Much of what North foresaw as a result of Y2K computer meltdown could come to pass any time in the future thru virus's or other unkowns. Even a disruption of a few weeks could spell major problems thru-out our computer controled world. Mankinds complacency in this day and age is rampant & tantamount to stupidity.

Your post (133706) was awesome and obviously the outcome of some serious thought. It always stands out that fellow Americans will very seldom OPENLY appluad or agree with anything said against the State --even if it is true & needs said. How sad. It only perpetuates ALL that needs changing. That said there is a similar inclination here in OZ but to a much lesser degree. The Prime Minister is NOT placed on a pedestal & is fair game as are ALL our politicians.

$Bill is a bit of a lost cause -he will not SEE what is staring him in the face.Nice guy - -but. And please Bill do not even consider coming here to Australia. Help! There are enough here with blinkers on as is - - -

Hi $Bill,

I'll gladly debate you any day, as you tend to approach debate in an open, adult manner.

Some of your NWO ideas hit some interesting chords with me, so let me return your serve.

From my EXTENSIVE research, it seems to me that the NWO and PAX Americana are two birds of a feather. More often than not, I am asking for "investigation" to see if something really is true when preponderant evidence points to strong possibilities. I prefer truth over ideology, as I have had my fill of the Swaggarts, Robertsons, and Cheneys who tell me what I MUST believe in order to cement their political strongholds. The majority of people say "I can't believe they would do that", but refuse to examine any evidence whatsoever.

As Marc Faber remarked in his Puplava interview today, spreading Democracy by bankrupting the middle class is very dangerous, as witnessed in Weimar Germany. Hitler was "duly elected" by a really PO'd middle class. They saw that the Allies had made it impossible for them to have any chance at a reasonable post-war existence and chose a leader that would help them take it back! Bad gamble, but the Palestinians have been living in Israeli-Imposed concentration camps for three generations, and it is not hard for me me to understand "suicide" insurgencies under those conditions.

Heck, the US forefathers revolted over a 5% TAX. We give up >50% for "security" and "services", and are usually too afraid to even grumble a little.

Dr. Marc also commented on the UNOCAL-CNOOC deal.

China wants to purchase the Asian assets of UnoCal (approx 70% of their holdings) and resell the Western assets to Western companies. The US media wants us to believe that China intends to own all the 76 stations in America, the furthest from the truth, but it is what I have come to expect from Murdoch, et al.

Not to be too personal, but nay-sayers often fault my "research" and then fail to deliver anything that contradicts the evidence. I've read the 911 report, in all its inconsistencies, and also taken the time to read many of the the alternatives. Have you? Or are you accepting the admin's story - lock, stock, and barrel with no verification? I would say "Trust, but VERIFY"!

I would be the first to suggest that the 911-truth people don't have the answers all correct, but I would also be the first to want their mostly legitimate questions answered truthfully and completely. Don't just brand them as unpatriotic for having the cajones to question authority. The questions are too good to be completely whitewashed by "personalities and politics".

As to who are my teachers?

I learn by reading and listening to others, but then run what they say through the wringer to filter out the self-serving BS as best I can. No person or historical record is infallible, and I especially won't waste my time with people who try to convince me that all the ancient writings are crap except "one". Having studied how politically that book came about (through Roman emperor's edicts and purges), I have to call it to task, as well. Especially since none of the protagonists ever appear in any legitimate historian's accounts of the same time period.

I studied science in my youth - chemistry and physics - at no less than Teller Tech (UC Livermore Lab). I have lately taken to McCanney, not so much for his political stance as his very reasonable scientific research. Bit I also admire his willingness to call NOAA and NASA out on the carpet for their worship of 19th century scientific dogma and their complete fleecing of the public.

The NWO, as you call it, will stop at nothing to control everything! There is no reason for us to ignore alternative energy - not just in practice, but even in the universities, who fail or otherwise ostracize anyone who attempts to bypass traditional energy technology.

Well maybe one reason. Maintaining control over the masses and the "status quo".

@ YGM and TIH,

Timing is everything, and as George Ure reminds us about the WEBBOTs, interpretation and timing can get one into the soup very quickly. I am certain that Sinclair's fundamentals are strong, but his predictions have not been completely accurate.

I try to stick to the priciples and recognize the difference between stating fundamentals and practicing precognition.

Many of the fundamentals espressed by legitimate analysts are unassailable, but translating them into future events requires enough extrapolation to mess up the algorithm badly.

@ Pritcho,

Thanks for the support, but I would encourage you not to "write off" anyone. People can only understand your point if you attempt to give them the "best possible view" of what you see.

If you are gonna give up reaching out, those who have been afraid to judge the evidence will never be persuaded to take just one more peek!

All of us have labored through incomplete and often "maliciously altered" facts, and come to different conclusions. Sometimes a new body of evidence will reopen a line of thought, and sometimes not. You never know what will fall from a tree until you give it a little shake!

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0701-06.htmsnip:

Some people say that it is unpatriotic to question the war, or that it undermines the troops in the field. Those who make this claim understand neither history, democracy, patriotism, nor the deepest meaning of supporting our troops. Europeans historically came to refer to war as 'the sport of kings' because of the capriciousness with which monarchs engaged in it, seeking its spoils and its glory while risking millions of other people's lives in that pursuit.

Mindful of that history, America's Founders sought to introduce a system of checks and balances against such concentrated power. They wanted the people and their representatives to ask tough questions and choose for themselves whether to support or reject a president's policies, including those concerning war and peace. Americans who habitually revere the Founders would do well to remember that Jefferson said "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".

-Goldilox

Professor David Green of Hofstra Univ. in NY suggests that "support" for troops requires a lot more than yellow ribbons on our SUVs and mindless subservience to the media and admin rants, only to have them revealed as "emperor's clothing" not long afterward. The best way to "support the troops" this 4th of July is to take the time to be fully informed of their mission and their plight, and make sure your representatives know that you are watching!

I just wanted to briefly tell you about who I have been reading for conterpoint to govt spin. He is an economist and a teacher at Princeston Univ. He wrote a book that I really enjoyed and helped fill in the blanks as to motivations for some of the BS sold as truth....again his name ..Paul Krugman.
Interesting that an economist can print truth because they don't rely on interviews for life's blood and future the way many news people must. They can just examine historical facts, causes, effects, and who said what to determine truth from spin.

http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon/Au contraire Billy boy, you're most welcome in MY Oz!
Dont forget to pack some Gold (we don't have any!)...some USDollars (you'd be surprised what they buy downunder) and a compass (very hard to get used to Southern Hemisphere if you're an "outdoors" type).
Don't bring your Guns ...since young Marty Briant ran amok in Tazzie, we're not allowed to have Firearms. Of course the Port Arthur massacre was a CIA NWO ploy to disarm the populace ...but we all know that!
It IS curious though that in Switzerland they encourage Gun ownership in households. Must be the "controlled" media NOT reporting all the mass murders that happen there as a result of same.

I've put a Lunar Link up so you and anyone else for that matter can time your future rants with the Cycle and if necessary, seek absolution by deferring to the "lunatic" within ;-)

C-Man and TC ...thanks!

Remember good old Smedley Butler? USMC Major General...2 time earner of the Medal of Honor. Anyway...he said: "War is a Racket." Profits are tremendous and the only costs are in human lives. He said he had gone to many places and fought many people for corporate interests.
BTW...I'm in the sandbox right now. Hope to get out of here soon.

Pritcho, Goldilox, Topaz, I will prove Pritcho is right about the -lost cause- idea. First though, lets get unpleasantries out of the way. My sister and her kids live in Washington DC. Thier good freinds and neighbors, who I met, with thier 2 kids, were on the plane that went into the pentagon. The guy who approved the saudis to leave the country was not G. Bush, as falsely claimed by the 911 movie, it was that left over terrorism chief from the Clinton administration who at the 911 hearings, tried, with the media and the democrats and his book, tried to get blame shifted from himself.

You mention swaggart and robertson.....for you OZians, pat robertson ran for president, people think he is christian.....however, I saw him on TV say this as he was doing his regular -healings- via prayer. "there is a man driving a voltswagon, he doesnt know he has (insert medical problem), in the name of jesus...he is healed" Well, thats just swell. Only thing is, Jesus was not his name, it was Yeshua, and there is no psycics in christianity. No one that can see over distance, diagnose medical problems via some otherworldly all seeing capacity, and no one that can still be considered sane or christian if they think they can.
Swaggart, I saw on tv last week. I saw him as I scrolled by channels, and I thought, what the heck is wrong with his eyes? Is he drunk? on psycke drugs? He then, of all topics, talks about human sex behaviour, and how he know understands the -real- understanding of our behaviours and....to complete the bizarreness....says...that almost no other preachers understand what he understands.
This guy, was caught publically, once with a rather poor choice of a hooker. after making a tearful -and what should have been private apology to god-, he goes out and gets caught publically with another, this time even more tacky hooker.
Some people use this to dismiss Christianity, which is like blaming the steak for the guy wearing it on his head.
I bring this up, because you mentioned them Goldilox, but also, because, in OZ, the church and state are one.
Now Topaz might drop his compass reading that! However, when the state teaches religion, the church and state are one. It is only a matter of time before the state religion shows its head and takes over the nation.
In OZ, as in sunny england, the state religion is the same one that the united states is/has adopted.
In england, after 44 years of religious education in the schools, a poll of kids, who themselves 90 percent, say thier main source of religious knowledge is the RE class in shool, (soon to be 100 percent a generation from now, as parents leave this subject to the state, like thier parents did and thier parents did.)
Anyway, only 23 percent of the kids think jesus (actually Yeshua), is divine.
Well, and some of that 23 percent is muslim, who havent made the jump yet to the state relgions MAIN PREMISE......which is, actually buddist. The underlying premise, to this NWO religion, is that all religions are the same in this one key way.........no one is actually god.
Your belief system central figure, is just a historical figure. good? oh sure, still real? not on your life.
And there you have it. The new world order religion. as taught more and more around the world as they institute character education, morality education, religious education. To all countries of the world this is spreading.
In OZ, as in the US and England, the fight is not, should the state teach religion, but, if there is a fight at all, it is HOW.

On The US Economic Front:
The Privateer's central task is to deal effectively with POLITICAL economy. This is the too often
ignored intersection between politics and economics. When events require it, The Privateer will swing
hard over to the political side. There is nothing more political than war - the ultimate act of politics.
War, in its own right, has a direct influence upon economics because war is always a drain upon any
economy. It is also a direct internal political threat to the Lives, Liberty and Property of individuals
living inside the nations which have gone to war. That is today the case inside the US economy.
A Global Warning:
The BIS (Bank for International Settlements) recently stated this: "Growing domestic and international
debt has created the conditions for global economic and financial crises." This warning was given on
Monday, June 27.
The BIS, the Central Banker to the world, is where monetary officials and Central Bankers from over 55
countries have just held their annual meeting to privately discuss financial and monetary risks to the
world economy and financial system. There were no nations directly named to be the cause of the BIS
warning about "global economic and financial crises". Everybody at the meeting knew that the nation in
question is the United States of America. The importance in the statement from the BIS lies in the geo-
economic fact that it gives the blue seal of international approval to any other nation or nations to divorce
themselves, monetarily, financially and economically from the US economy. The reason for that would
be to lessen the future damage to themselves when the global debt crisis does arrive. The centre-point of
this growing "global economic and financial crisis" is the massive US current account and trade deficits,
powered ahead by the even more massive US credit surge.
Two Things Stand Economically To The Fore:
In 2004, Americans were holding $US 37 TRILLION in debt - more than $US 123,000 for every man,
woman and child in the US. Last year, the US recorded an overall internal credit expansion of $US
2,718.6 Billion - 26 percent of its GDP. National saving was virtually zero. Were the US to decelerate its
current internal credit expansion back to zero, the US economy would contract by that 26 percent of GDP.
The saga continues. Over the week to June 13, the US broad money supply (M3) rose $US 16 Billion to
$US 9.70 TRILLION. Four-week gains were $US 80 Billion. Year to date M3 growth has accelerated to
5.1%. This is "money" created, through loans, out of thin air, with credit piled on top.
The (Still) Friendly Foreign Lenders:
For all of 2004, foreign investors acquired a record net $US 1.255 TRILLION of US financial assets. In
the first quarter of 2005, this figure fell to an annual rate of $US 1.170 TRILLION. In these numbers lie
the real financial danger to the US. If foreigners stop lending, the US economy would dive by about 11
percent of its current GDP, simply from the cessation of the inflow of funds. As of the end of March
2005, global foreign investors held the following respective percentages of the total of Treasuries,
Agencies, US corporate bonds and US equities: 43.0%, 13.2%, 27.3% and 13.4%.
Combined world holdings of Treasuries and Agencies were 25.8% of the total. US capital market assets
readily salable by foreigners totalled $US 6.668 TRILLION or 68.5% of total US financial assets held by
foreigners. As of the end of March 2005, foreign investors held a grand total of $US 9.723 TRILLION of
US financial assets. As of the end of March, all foreign financial liabilities to the US came to $US 4.634
TRILLION, resulting in a net foreign claim against the US of $US 5.089 TRILLION.
The GLOBAL breakdown will likely happen in the second half of this year. The Bush Administration
plans to borrow internationally an additional $US 900 Billion this year.

So what's next? US of A, (meaning GWB and company), to attach Iran to cover it's mistakes?
SMELLING THE ROSES - AND IGNORING THE THORNS
On June 28, President Bush crashed and burned in Fort Bragg.
June 30 was the first anniversary of the end of 1.00% official interest rates in the US. On that day, the
FOMC duly raised official US interest rates by another 0.25%, the ninth such rate rise since June 30,
2004, to 3.25%. No one took much notice of that. What they did notice was the wording of the FOMC's
press release. The FOMC said that: "...even after this action, the stance of monetary policy remains
accommodative ...policy accommodation can be removed at a pace that is likely to be measured."
In short, there was no change from the wording used in the press releases which had accompanied
previous rate hikes. This led the US and global financial community to the conclusion that, contrary to
their previous assessment, the Fed was going to go on increasing rates. They were not going to stop, as
many on Wall Street and elsewhere thought they would.
The reaction to THIS was quite spectacular. On Friday, July 1, the US Dollar soared on the currency
markets. On the trade-weighted basis which is the $US index, it was up 1.02 points to a new 2005 high of
90.00. The US Dollar rose 1.24% against the Euro and 0.79% against the Yen. The rise was even more
spectacular against other currencies. Against the Aussie Dollar, for example, the US Dollar rose 1.45%.
Against the British Pound, it rose 1.37%. Oh, and against MONEY (Gold), the US Dollar rose 1.90%.
The Amazing One-Eyed Currency Markets:
The rationale (in this context - "justification") for this US Dollar leap was very instructive indeed.
Apparently, the main reason that the US Dollar is going up is that the prospect of HIGHER interest rates
in future is luring capital from all over the world to take advantage of the prospective higher yields on
offer. The first thing that this points out is the global hunger for yields. The second thing it points out is
that most of the world is now of the opinion that the only place left to find a viable return on capital
"invested" is in DEBT instruments and the "best" debt instrument" is the one which offers the HIGHEST
interest rate. There are still a few who pay lip service to "traditional" caveats by diffidently talking about
the status of the borrower and the ability to repay, but these are an endangered species in modern markets.
There was, and still is, a name for debt issues which pay yields which are notably higher than those paid
by the majority of debt issuers in a given market. These debt issues are called JUNK bonds. They are
called "junk" for the simple reason that the yields they offer ARE higher than the yields offered by most
of their competitors. Why are they higher? They are higher because the debt issuer is seen to be less
sound than the average, and that the risk to the capital is therefore higher than it would be if it was placed
in an instrument which pays a lower yield.
Way back in the distant past, in the days when debt was something which people took on cautiously and
repaid as fast as possible, a man named Bob Hope made a crack about banks: "A bank is a place that will
lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it." As the saying goes - many a true word is spoken
in jest. Nowadays, the situation is that the more "in need" the borrower, the more people want to lend to
him or her. Why? Because they can obtain a higher "yield" by doing so.
There was a time when a loan was not a substitute for productive effort but a means to make such an
effort more productive. The borrowers most favoured by the lenders were the ones who could show the
best record in both real wealth creation and the honouring of past obligations. These were the "triple A"
or "gilt-edged" borrowers, the ones who paid the LOWEST interest rates on borrowed money. Back then,
the lower the interest rate, the higher the proven viability of the borrower. That applied on all levels,
from individual to sovereign state. Today, the entire process has been turned on its head.

...just home from G-Daughters dancing Concert, the joys of late middle age eh?

The US certainly throws up more than it's fair share of Evangilists ...ALL promising a quick fix for current real or imagined woes under the "it's better because it's NEW" motto.
Here in Oz the State(s) provide (some would say MORE than) generous support for Schooling that founds it's basis on Religion. We have all the orthodox Schools (CofE, Catholic, an assortment of "fringe" religions etc) ...with the "State Schools" totally non-sectarian.

Whilst we here (Forum) struggle with lets call it Terrestrial issues, in reality, FAITH motivates most of our thoughts. A large part of the reason we come here is our Faith in Gold ...we speculate as to the machinations of the various markets, ...occasionally a "guru" comes forth to provide clarity and reinforce our convictions but, when it all boils down, FAITH based on 5000yr's of history is the rock upon which our idology rests.

Faith also motivates our religious thought. From a young age we (a large percentage) are taught to accept the misteries of Life and beyond ...according to whatever creed we are exposed to ...and generally carry that faith throughout our lives.
Which is all well and good however,

past experience has shown that these various creeds can, have and are used to alienate different societies/groups/nations to the detriment of all but the few.
If this NWO Religious motivation of which you speak seeks to create a "one God fits all" type of future, I don't believe thats all bad.

The most both frivolous and rewarding thing I've ever done Bill was a five day drive into the centre of Oz to watch a 30 second total eclipse which drew me to the conclusion...
...there IS a God, but to name him-her-them-it and further to claim some form of exclusivity over same, given our very VERY limited scope of understanding, IMHO is delusional or at best naive.

He really wraps up the major eco-political fundamentals over-ruling any political desired outcomes from any unilateral side.

As it seems the global sole superpower status of the US is already more than challenged by closer relations of Sino/ Russian understanding as well as a blatantly absent EU. An absence, now highlighted by the US "butler", Tony B., presiding over this impasse!

The ME may have become more explosive since the last elections, resulting in a hardliner and possibly real terrorist as president - the German ex Molotow Coctail lover as secretary of state comes to mind as a mild cartoon what may happen in reality.

The impasse in Iraq, both financial as militarily, the impasse on the home front, where GWB's ratings are spelling LD - as in lame duck - and the potential of impeachment may drive the admin to extremes.

Notwithstanding, the financial mess in the US of A -whatever else may ameliorate the plight of the neo-"Cons" an attack on Iran - mind you by airpower - may still constitute a valve to release the pressure for a little while.

Will it? Or will it be the last incendiary bomb to set the ME and with it the rest of the world on fire, which may not be contained anymore?

Who knows - we're all hoping that there will be some sanity returning, even as the behaveioral responses of cornered predators are known - the last straw may be self-survival...

... And now we've learned about the great wisdom of GDP growth by debt; The Germans are again the pariah of the globe as they decided to save and therefor are to be crucified as the only G8 nation to stagnate...
Lovely - I feel Germany is just again to begin saving its seed corn for future productivity ... and I'll spare you the rest of my rant - in particular as Marc Faber has spelled it out clearly in a recent broadcast.

... I'll better quit here and just reiterate that Rome was somewhat messy in its drawnout collapse. I'll count on the US to deliver a much more efficient job ... cb2

@ $ Bill,

Thanks for resonding, though I must admit, I'm both disappointed and encouraged by your response.

Encouraged by the fact that as a professed Christian, you still can see the obvious perversion by "highly political" pseudo-christians - at least the most blatant of them.

Discouraged by the fact you seem to miss the connection of the current admin to those phonies. Bush's family records go back to his grand-pappy Prescott, who, along with Henry Ford, was a BIG TIME Hitler supporter, right up to Pearl. His daddy's record of destruction of South American democracies and support for torture of dissidents in favor of US corporate takover of their resources is truly abysmal. (As for Ford, I still have a copy of his 1922 epic, "The International Jew - The World's Foremost Problem")

I also bear no admiration for the Clinton arm of the Demos, as I watched them sit quietly during the last election and then ignore the will of the party majority. At the last possible moment, they jumped right on the Bush bandwagon to subvert grass roots desire to remove the NeoCons and injected their own "Skull and Bones" SS-boy Kerry instead. OK, people, if you don't like Bush Jr, how about Bush Jr. Jr.?

As far as I can see there is a power struggle in Washington that amounts to the Drug-Arms cartel vs. the Oil-Arms cartel, and the loser is the American people. The winners are the Oil, Weapons, and Drug cartels who continually lower the standard of living for the American worker to reach some parity with their globalist partners - endangering any real freedom or democracy, and making billions in the shuffle. I cringe at the thought that the Weimar conditions leading to Hitler's rise are being repeated in the US of A.

You really only addressed my final thought. Can you comment on my assertion that these power groups are really one and the same, with the only serious struggle being "who gets to sit in the gilded chair when the flash bulbs go off"?

I have no quarrel with people who profess religion and keep it mostly between themselves and their "god as they understand him" to put it into AA terminology. But I will publicly resist those who feel that I must jump on their all too public bandwagon. Even Jesus supposedly said,

Matthew 6:5-8
5 And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee"

Revolutionaries and idealists, be they religious, scientific, or social always suffer at the hands of the "made" elite, as revolutionary ideas threaten the very status quo that supports their "holier than thou" positions of authority.

http://www.netcastdaily.com/fsnewshour.htmFor those interested, Mary Puplava has posted a note that yesterday's interview with Marc Faber will be transcribed and posted soon.

I highly recommend it if you prefer the written to the spoken word.

@ Toapz,

From my perspective, I hope never to see such a thing as One-World religion, as "organized religions" seem to be the "political perversion" of something that much better reflects itself in personal spirituality. That's as dangerous as One-World government.

"Freedom of religion" is supposed to protect my right to dissent in religious matters as well as political matters. . . something very important to the ideals of personal freedom!

http://www.usagold.com/Order_Form.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/30/AR2005063001082.html House Votes To Undercut High Court On Property
- Washington Post staff writers

Just heard Ray Charles' version of this song, and have "West Side Story" ,"I Wanna be in America" playing now. Just want all the America haters to know that it dosen't matter....we shall deal with our problems....and emerge, as we always have, ready to "march on."

And, by the way, if you get your *** in another crack, as you usually do, we shall come to the rescue, as we usually do. (I am speaking to America haters, foreign and domestic--we do not descriminate.) It is all ok....

And I would love to wish all America haters and America lovers--and those in the middle--a most happy and wonderful Fourth of July. My ribs have been rubbed, and my trusty Webbers stand ready--if the weather clears--got some great Chianti chilling--what a wonderful day to be alive! May God bless America.

Chin-chin....ting!
Buongiorno!

@ Bongiourno,et al

My patriotic bones run as deep as any, so happy July 4th to everyone.

To not question injustice and political deceit is the most unAmerican thing I can imagine.

As Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism".

This weekend I celebrate freedom, diversity, and the 1st amendment right to "call them as I see them" based on as much evidence as I can gather.

We didn't win this freedom without dissent and debate, and we will not be able keep it if we repress them now.

Happy Birthday, Americans!

@ mikal,

I rather suspect that a lot of reps received correspondence from their constituencies suggesting that their beach homes were the next targets for eminent domain confiscation and development!


What's good for the goose is good for the gander!

@ Bongiourno,

Just a minor correction. . .

The song lyrics are actually:

"I like to be in America,
OK by me in America
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America"

-G

I wanna be there when the wrecking ball hits a Supreme's front door! What a great day! Agreed?

As for the other, do dissent--just try and keep yer wings level--too far to the left can be just as bad as the other way....Happy 4th!!
Buongiorno

Good one mas...junk bonds indeed...

There is a tendency amongst those managers who are brave with other people's money to pile into the junk bonds of companies that are seen "too be too big to fail", or who are perceived to be going through a "soft spot". It is hard to see US treasuries as anything other than junk with a capital "J" given the underlying debt levels... Not only is there little indication that the borrowing tendencies of "the company" are lessening, or that borrowings are leading to more productive capacity, but in the event of looming default, there is the additional threat of "monetisation"...i.e. "the company" having a licence to counterfeit it's way out of trouble...

Unfortunately, the US's attempt to increase its asset base by cheaply acquiring "rights" over oil-rich ME real-estate seem to have hit a "soft spot". In addition, I sense that Tony's love affair with the US seems to have cooled a tad (is it just me??) and he is now Hell-bent on salvaging some domestic reputation by "saving Africa"...perhaps before China gets there first. How deep, I wonder, does European colonial angst run in Africa? Was there ANY African state untouched by the colonial hand of the last two hundred years? Perhaps Tony's epiphany has political underpinnings...

Happy fourth of July to all U.S. Americans....

:-)

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=ec520bb9a3886b73Americans buying more guns, sales up 11%
- Big News Network - June 29, 2005
Short article that covers a small slice of the gun industry that includes imports and exports.

Topaz, Mas did fine work tonight with is posting.
Your granddaughter....... her parents, if they are in a free society, which they are not, would, in an ideal state, be free to choose the religious influences of thier child.
A goose flys by itself, it gets to travel x distance.
If the goose flys in a flock, it gets 78 percent farther than x.
Parents, if there is to be such a thing as parental rights and freedom of religion, must first and foremost have the right to carefully choose which flock they want to join to meet the needs of thier child and themselves as they see it.
AND, the flock they choose goes in the direction they choose, and helps them get there, like the goose, farther.
If the govt is teaching religion, then there is in fact, no freedom of religion and no parental rights.
Oh sure, some measure of it, but if the govt is teaching religion, you do not have parental rights or freedom of religion.
Your insight into life, and your trek to the center of OZ, are excellent and are in the realm of adult freedom of thought.
A child is not the goverments to sway. The govt, if it is actually the model of freedom of religion, which the US is not, and OZ is not either, MUST, first and foremost, not try to usurp parental rights to raise thier kids with the morality, religion, and character without the govt taking the education system to host whatever faction controls it, or individual teachers, to engage in the realm of opinion.
Goldilox, you project too much on me. I am an issue guy, not a party man. My issue, is exactly this. Freedom.
When tyrants threaten free societies, they must be handled.
War is not off the table of options. And war is not illigetimate. It is an option, and since evil is in this world, an option that will be required.
The bigger threat to freedom, is not terrorism. The biggest threat to freedom is govt invasion of parental rights and freedom of religion from govt.
More wars, not less, will come with the govt overstepping like it is in these areas.
Society will worsen, not better, with this overstepping.
OZians dont see it, English dont see it, Americans dont see it, the europeans dont see it, Like gold, private property rights, parental rights, separation of church and state, govt teaching religion, morality, character, legislating groundless freedoms to excess, all and probably more, constitute the ugly invasion of the tyranny of the powers that be. Or, theologically speaking, the devil factor, destroying what is good. While under the guise of enlightened action.

http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Hayden_063005,00.htmlH. Thomas Hayden: China Rising While U.S. Distracted in Mideast - June 29, 2005
The main conclusion of this military expert is that conflict and conquest are inevitable but must nonetheless be resisted. It's like being told that, as always, "There will be a long battle and atrocious sacrifices. But that's life." Maybe bankers are playing both ends against the middle.

open forum extends through July 4.

Topaz, is there reality or not. The level of invasion into my kids head by the govt may really surprise you.
In each and every year of schooling, they come at the religion teaching via, humanities, english, science, history, current issues, I am constantly dealing with the 2 youngest boys 13 and 15, and the programming of the school curriculum, which comes from the accursed NEA of the US govt. The idea that there is some way to just present religion is fantasy.
One of the rationals is "oh, the school is the marketplace of ideas." NO, in economic terms, it is a monopoly. What marketplace? There is one teacher, and many students. That is NOT a room full of equals. Even if the teacher says a sentence that on reading it printed, looks fine, but it is how that sentence is said! Actors say the same sentence 10 different ways for acting practice, and there are many ways a teacher can steer opinions of kids.
In fact, on the nea website, they dont even try to hide thier intent to break kids away from the thinking of thier parents.
You may say, well, is that so bad, and I say oh yes it is!
I can make long and lengthy case on how it is.
Topaz, I ask you to consider, I say, the problem is not that parents cause problems by raising thier kids free from govt religious interaction.
The problems all come from an involvement of govts and religion.
But, by saying that, to be really honest about the problem, it is bigger, due to enlightenment crap, there is all this stuff that IS religion, yet claims it is not.
THAT has to go also.
The govt may not be involved in OPINION about life.
The govt is the field of ACTION. Not opinion.
I should probably enlarge on that, and can, and frankly will have to in my court case, but, I say, review history, it is when the govts, the structure of govts of the world, who dont recognise the extent of parental rights, dont recognise that in order to have freedom of religion, the govt must not be involved in opinion on views of life, and the govt may not teach religion, or opinion on views of life.
They may not IF, what you are after, if freedom of religion. They may not IF, what you rae after is parental rights.
What am I missing here? Details yes, but fundamentally, I think this is the basics.
Anyone?

$ Bill,

My post was meant to express my ideas and observations, as well as to extract a few of yours -not to "project" on you. I only perceive what I read in your posts, flawed as that perception might be.

Please don't expect that my more general observations are meant to apply to you personally, and don't allow any misperception to block continued conversation.

I certainly don't expect we will agree on everything (although we probably don't disagree on everything), but I mean to honor your efforts at discourse.

My apologies, and happy 4th.

-G

$ Bill,

Re-reading your post, I suspect we agree on more than I might have thought before that post.

Perhaps we more often disagree on the roles of some of the protagonists.

Thanks Goldilox,

I just listened to Puplava's interview with Faber... It is wide-ranging and informative. Blessedly free from concrete wild predictions, but many options presented nonetheless.

Congratulations to Puplava for yet again another gem...

:-)

Goldilox, my dirty little secret, is that I am registered democrat. I am into local economy, the type of results that occur when loans are not only lifeblood, worker rights that dont leave us all as "associates" in the nwo,
uninsured and part time employees after the coming recession, free of govt overstepping and you know what?
I now suspect that one supreme court justice -threw- the vote on emminent domain. Hows about that for a conspiracy theory? One justice wanted to inflame the situation to get a -rationale- for a -conservative- jurist on next. Whatever -conservative might really mean I dont know frankly.

Because, the decision is just so bad! It dont make sense.
The thing that throws folks that read me, is this nwo stuff.
I just cannot make sense of many things unless there is a nwo fix in amongst the most important players.
Where I am taking action, is that the nwo, and surprise in one sense, the leftists, are joined in a bizarre alliance to teach religion to kids.
One wants the new global citizen, the other wants the religious involvement of humans destroyed.
Or, made into some -soothing image toothless niceity-.
Since they dont think there is a god, the idea of a devil factor is just way off the radar screen.
We can all just discover how perfect we are when we leave behind the -programming-.
George Bushes father, is definately a nwo guy, and he has helped the teaching of religion effort.
GB1 claims to be religious, so, his nwo intentions must either, be completely clueless as to the actual results of teaching religion by the govt, OR, these nwo guys dont care what old things must be damaged in whatever way in order for the nwo to come about.
Loss of industry? no problem.
Loss of soveriegnty? no problem.
Loss of sane money? no problem.
Loss of freedoms of parental rights? no problem.
Loss of local economy around the globe? no problem.
Loss of nature, creatures, resources? no problem.
This stuff and more.
I try to look to see the possible pluses of the nwo in order to know if there are some that warrent all this loss.
Maybe because there is no other way to have fiat continue?
No way to improve the maximum lives otherwise?
I dont know.
I am trying to see.
But, this parental rights stuff, this I oppose. Actively.

Jefferson must have been on pot when he said this.
"Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism".
Risking your life in the defence of freedom is.

Which judge threw the emminent domain case? Stevens?
When my wife, for gods sake, is upset about a supreme court ruling, and how did she even find out about it, then I suspect a fix. I am going to make a bizarre claim. I think Stevens - purposely led- his fellow judges off a judicial cliff. He is steering future supreme court choices from the bench. He thinks the living constitution is heading too far out, and leads a charge right off the constitutional map that is sure to inflame Americans.
You heard that here first I assure you!

I'll toss this up and see if it flies, but will understand if the ptb see fit to pull it...
...thankfully Bill, MY kids are long done with Schooling and if, as you believe, Gov't is overstepping the mark in Religious "education" nowadays, then I'm doubly so.
I would like to say though, that IF the Child is being brought up in a loving caring environment, NO AMOUNT of contra-input from Teachers, peers or the like will sway them (permanently) from the path as experienced through the examples set by their Family.
It's a sad reflection on our society that RE has to be even considered in Schools Bill, perhaps OTHER families don't or aren't so committed to their kids spritual well-being as you and your wife obviously are ...and full credit to you for it!

ANY aspiring megalomaniac, seeking to transition from Soup Kitchen to Gravy Train knows full well the first step is to align (him)self with a mainstream Religion...
...then, as time passes, as he "matures" toward States-man, his religious convictions can be allowed to wane ie: he becomes "far to occupied" with affairs of State, and the electorate accepts this.

Of course many try and few succeed (see, there is a God) and we can measure this failure by the number of quazi-megs who have to continually revert to their "religious" affiliations to keep getting elected.
Eventually the facade disappears, they fade from the scene, or go out in a blaze of Glory.
Such is life in our Democracy and, as Churchill put it: Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those others that have been tried.

So, we'd have to concede, "P" and "R" are part and parcel of life in Western Society ...sad but true IMHO.

Good luck with thew "Case" and Happy 4th Bill ...and all Americans, particularly arbyh (Spirits up, Head down arby) You-all DO have a lot to be both proud of and thankful for.

High-Ho Silver!

http://www.njagyouth.org/liberty.htmWishing all a Happy 4th of July. Especially the Men and Women of the Military around the world.
Slingshot-----------<>

http://news.com.com/The+coming+Web+security+woes/2010-1071_3-5772012.html?part=rss&tag=5772012⊂j=news The coming Web security woes | Declan McCullough - July 4, 2005

http://www.amconmag.com/2005_07_04/article1.htmlWho Owns the Dollar?


Our currency and our economy are held hostage by Asia.


by Paul Craig Roberts


China is the leading scapegoat for America's economic ills. On May 20, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman blamed China for the U.S. housing bubble. If only China were not lending us so much money, mortgage rates would be higher, forestalling a housing bubble. Krugman says China is a poor country and should be investing its capital at home, not lending it to the U.S.

Krugman could just as well have said, "If only U.S. manufacturers produced in America instead of outsourcing to China, the Chinese would not have any money to lend us. Thus, no housing bubble."

Krugman is correct that if foreign lending to the U.S. slows, interest rates will rise, putting a speculative housing market in trouble. But the interest of the U.S.-China relationship goes far beyond the effect on the U.S. housing market. Economists set in traditional ways of thinking miss the really important aspects of the relationship.............

So, COMEX gold was thoroughly whacked for some $8 US on Friday. A lovely swan dive!

This is obviously an engineered move, that has absolutely NOTHING to do with "market" activity.

What we are actually seeing, is the very beginning of a BANK RUN ON GOLD. The crowd outside the Banks is getting restive, rumors are moving about, the nervousness of the depositors is perceptible; one bit of bad news, and THE RUN IS ON, FULL THROTTLE!

So, the CABAL selects a Friday before a long weekend, to drive gold down with an extra hard spanking. Thus, the $427 figure will remain on the screens until Tuesday. More effect, for less gold expenditure!

The tiny market of gold, is so vitally important. Otherwise, why this obstinate endeavor to keep the dollar "price" of gold down? This effort is bound to fail, and yet, the effort goes on, with a cost to the general population which is paying the bills for this doomed effort.

Keep in mind: THE BANK RUN ON GOLD IS ON. The Banks are using the hand-held fire extinguishers to put down the flames, but the fire has been building for decades and the building is totally rotten, there will be no stopping this fire! Grab some gold before the run is on full-scale!

(Perhaps I shall repost this on Tuesday)

The GAB

Greetings Sir Topaz, I am 52, so I also qualify as the late middle age. May your granddaughter find a nice OZ boy, as here in the states, =comprehensive= sex and character education pushes a -its all ok- idea. The local newspaper ran an article that started on the front page, cheerfully declareing that sex boundries are being -outgrown- by kids.
And what precipitated this? They actually admitted, and used kids inteviews to confirm, that sex ed teachers tell young ones about the sex stuff available on the internet.
I have the article! So, the boys being interviewed, ran home and looked the stuff up and started their involvement with internet porn. The paper, by the way, this is the oldest still printing newspaper in the usa. And, in the capitol of the richest state in the US. The paper went on to -celebrate- this new fast track to deep sex involvement as some form of advanced human evolution. As if people of the past were stuck, and humankind were just waiting for this time to break free of any limits.
Character ed combines this, with what the future holds for Religious ed. which is, morality education. What happens there, is that any morality from religion becomes the states. I will say that another way.
Imagine the robbery.
Yup, robbery. It is in my head, and I dont know how much will come out in just a few sentences. As the govt teaches religion morality and sex ed and character ed more and more, it starves the useful and rich areas of family and church. Disparage what we will about faulty humans involved in anything, includeing church, still, churches can host vibrant and good communities of folks that can be quite rich and have very good results.
Sure, there are always nuts everywhere.
But, as the family less and less is the area to discuss reality, because the govt now does it, poorly as you might imagine, and on a vast scale, the richness, variety, and ---diversity--- of the community is lessened until the sameness of the -flock-, Is nationwide. In nwoland, worldwide.
Maybe this is how the Klingons did it, or the Jedi, or the Romolans, but I say, to give up parental rights and freedom of religion for the sake of the state is too high a price to pay.
We may think some religions stink, but thier decline is made more sure by parents having control.
To think each generation of kids just accept the handed down stuff of the parents leaves out the natural tendency of kids to do something different.
In claimiing to embrace the variety, the state crushes it and makes sameness, and frankly, stupid sameness.
It may seem like I am seeing this and makeing it larger than it has grown at this point, but that is only revealing of how distant you (not meaning -you- or anyone in particular, Topaz), but how much off the radar screen this is. Just as gold manipulation is hidden, and other things as you have humorously mentioned, this is also.
The nwo comes with its possible pluses, but also its tyranny, which always follows power and control.
Yes, happy day of independence, but oh my............what a night is dawning.

@ GAB,

The $DX run has a temporary benefit for gold buyers. While it is running up, hte sale remains in effect for US$ holders.

Once the DX resumes its waterfalls, the "red, white, and blue light special" will be GONE, and it's OFF TO THE RACES!

Technicians have suggested very low 90's portend a nice top for the sawbuck, so we should see if they are correct quite soon.

@ $ Bill,

You last post only helps convince me that individual spirituality upholds character more so than "organized religion". (I am not suggesting that you would disagree with this statement, but you are certainly free to).

With "individual spirituality", the special interest group is essentially "one", but organized religions often turn into PACs that end up serving not so much the individual, but the "leader of the PAC".

I will use the AA organization (and I use the term loosely) just for an example. Here is a collection of "groups" that recognizes "Higher Power" as the driving force, albiet "unnamed" to avoid diety nepotism. But it also strictly requires that positions on "all outside issues" (including moral judgements) be the total responsibility of the individual. Group endorsement of any kind is not allowed, even for such "relevant" entities as other "recovery" programs. Nor are they allowed to take donations from other than local members - strictly to preserve autonomy and eliminate any potential for selling "indulgences".

On issues of governance, no elected office is held longer than two years, and "trusted servants" are held accountable directly to their local group. No "professional servants" are hired - in fact the only "employees" are non-voting secretary-office administrators, janitors, and publishers, all of whom report to volunteer elected administrators. Each "volunteer servant" is responsible for his own financial support OUTSIDE of group activities.

Some have suggested that 12-step groups represent a "new" religion or even "cult", but as group endorsement of any "outside entity" (including other 12-step groups) is disallowed, focus on the group's "primary purpose" is better manitained - at least so far!

Perhaps I am being too idealistic, but this model has worked well for a number of generations, and spawned hundreds of other totally autonomous 12-step groups.

OK, I'm off to a Independence Day pickynick - food, fellowship, and frivolity is the order of the day. Have a "golden" 4th yourself.

Goldilox, consider the driving impulse of the actively involved religious guys. To some extent, idiocy, as any guy at the top of religious org has plenty of time to imagine he is supposed to rule the world to some extent, for god of course.
But, the real driver of even guys like me, is the changes being wrought by the faction I mentioned last week.
They are real, in force, in academia, media, and govt.
Also in religious orgs. And of course in the NEA, and in the head of all those imprinted with it from academia.
When there is no god, or no god with preferences, in your view, (again, not YOUR view, just a manner of speaking), your foundational cornerstone of view of life now is made up, to an extent that does really have an effect on your views, is a view of life that has no solid grounding for a moral perspective. It is flexible but without and legally based reasonings that are fixed. One may say, oh yeah, murder is wrong, and morally wrong, but, if there is just us here in life, then the murder is wrong idea is just an opinion. Might be popular, but it has no real basis because there is no basis in reality for any firm conviction.
Just your preference.
Did I say that too quick? or short?
If there is no authority beyond us human folk, any views are all without a basis but our opinion.
That being the case, the door is opened for what this faction insists is grounds for no limits in many areas.
Concerns about innocence of children just dont take precedence over individual freedom to explore excess.
And that is where the USA supreme court is today.
Check thier obscenity rulings.
Goldilox, I may misunderstand, but I believe you are in thier camp. If it is just an individually defined higher power, well, ok fine, but if groups agree to definitions defined by Yeshua, who does not claim to be a prophet, like moses or mohammed, and buddha, who didnt complete his theology enough to figure out who the heck he was to speak about the unconcious oneness as he did.
But more than the that, the real crux, is that the supreme court, like the faction, does not see proof that there is a god, so they provide no constitutional, or legal support or grounds, for those who think morality has a solid base.
A god with preferences base.
You like your independence on the god issue, but it seems wedded to a link to relativeism.
So really, the decision is this, one side or the other, do you think we have a god here with preferences? Or is it all relative.
The faction, is the faction of relativeists, wether they know it or not. The NWO? relativists by action. The education system in the nwo that teaches religion, morality, and I forget what else.....relativeism.
The -god is just all love- religions that are taking over US christianity and probably other countries....relativist.

The media? relativist. Notice how they demonize guys like me. extreme right wing conservative.
If I squawk? another extreme religious nut.
Media controlled by non relativists? Way smaller than you think. Who is reality based?
I think stupidity provides that answer. If there was no god, none of us, or at least one of us, would not be stupid.
There would be the smart group that could, with validity, tell us "hey you stupids! Stop being stupid! We did! Get it together! You are ruining the world!"

Now wouldnt that be special. Luckily for us, there is a god, and we wont be faced with that crowd, which already exists, having any validity. No one can escape the boundries of life. THAT is the proof that there is a god.
Also, it is the proof that there is a devil.
Anyway, that is the core of the remaining fight for independence. For freedom. On this fourth of July, there is a struggle for freedom that is different than previous. Or, actually the same, but a new form.
And free men are losing this fight. The relativists are winning. The fight is unpublicized, the way to fight is unseen. If you see "extreme right with religious nuts" making a fuss, now you know thier bind.
Many of them can not even articulate the dilemma.
Cannot climb on top of what is climbing on top of thier world, cannot see the nature, form, and strategy of the beast. Cannot see the way to fight it, and are in need of a hand. I plan to help them. And myself, and my kids.

The moon is about to be at its lowest point Topaz, so, I suppose, in the fun of our lunar discussion, I will fade back to my project. Thanks for the vent opportunity.

Today, I mourn the loss of the hard won freedoms articulated in our increasingly defunct Constitution.
Those who wave the flag while they alter or ignore the Constitution have proliferated like maggots on an ever-growing pile of garbage.
Oh well! Decomposition is a necessary part of the life cycle.
Gold is exempt from decomposition and I find comfort in that.
It's maggot proof.

Best Wishes

There are but a few of us who percieve the "devil in the detail" of Democracy. There are less still who have the courage of their convictions to take the fight to them. I take my hat of to you Sir.

It IS related to Gold too in that the decline in our Moral standards parallel that of the Monetary standard.

Looking forward to your further w-end input Bill ...with relish.

http://www.etherzone.com/2005/sees070105.shtmlINDEPENDENCE DAY... A MEMORIAL SERVICE? OR STATEMENT OF INTENT? - Dorothy Anne Seese

http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html

http://www.crbtrader.com/data/default.asp?page=optqte&sym=GCQ5&mode=dThe $445 option "call" came in for some more attention on Friday with OI now up to 28oddK.
This IS a curiousity!
For starters, "someone" has to write the things ...presumably a Futures "long" picking up a bit of cabbage? ...market-maker "churning" to allay a price spike?
Note too the "puts" OI at $360 and $390.

Townie, Gandy, anyone! ...THOUGHTS?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0701/p03s01-usmi.htmlCosts of Care for Veterans: High and Rising - Brad Knickerbocker - July 4, 2005

... The final question is when, not if reality will finally set in. An outcome, maybe not acceptable to the PTB, though an outcome which will overwhelm even the staunchest believers of goldilocks perpetuating monetary fraud:

Bill Buckler of the Privateer has expressed it clearly once again:

An Eloquent Summation Of The Situation:

Let us repeat what this British analyst - Mr Julian Callow (sic), an economist at Barclays Capital - had to
say about the fact that private Germans actually paid off an (admittedly small) portion of their debt last
year: "There is nowhere else where a country comes even close to such weak growth rates."
German net real wealth is increasing. German savings as a proportion of disposable (after tax) income is
stable at a high multiple of the rate of most other "developed nations". Yet Germany is suffering from
"weak growth rates". Yes, it certainly is. But what is growing much more "weakly" in Germany than it
is in the US - and most other "developed" nations - is DEBT. What is growing much more strongly is net
wealth and the seed corn for future wealth production - SAVINGS!
As The Privateer has pointed out many times, the REAL modern driver of economic "growth" is nothing
more or less than increased indebtedness. Mr Callow has proved our point with eloquent simplicity. A
nation's "growth" is measured by its capacity to create credit. Success in this endeavour is translated into
the desirability of such a nation's currency. And the YIELD offered by debt instruments denominated in
that currency is now the number one investment criteria for (most of) the global financial world.
Germany, in stark contrast to almost all the rest of the developed world (including Japan, given the
extreme profligacy of its government), has been EASING its debt servicing burdens for most of the past
decade. The rest of the world has been INCREASING theirs at a pace never before approached, with
only the higher yields on offer staving off a debt implosion. The end outcome, especially in the US which
is raising "yields" the most, is certain. At some point, the higher rates necessary for these yields will
overwhelm the consumers� ability to spend because it will overwhelm their ability to service existing
debt. When that happens, look out for some REALLY weak growth rates.


... Sorry, did not mean to spoil your Independence Day barbecue - though it's time to focus on the splinter in your eye and not only on the sand grain in EU's eye.

... Oh, and the reality is noone ever borrowed their way to lasting prosperity - except fraud on the short term ...
X-cuse right topic on wrong day ... and let the fireworks begin! cb2

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1631426,00.htmlGermany Gears Up for Cars Made of Plants | Business & Economics | Deutsche Welle | Christof Polzer and Rafeal Heiling

@ $ Bill,

Interesting response, but I don't sign up for any "relativistic" morals. The bottom line for me is "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", not because I can attribute it to a specific command source, but because in the end, I can only control my own behavior, and I choose to be productive rather than destructive.

Whether or not the Media is "relativistic" is an interesting thesis, as I find them demonizing my views as much as yours. Especially the "mainstream media".

My conclusion is that they are more corrupt than just "relativistic", but that again, is just my conclusion.

Thanks for the enlightening Independence day discourse!

-G

Goldilox, This is not AT you. A guy is walking down the street, doing to others what he would like them to do to him. He meets a guy who thinks quite differently. And HE, does something particularly nasty mean and perhaps life wrecking. Now, what comes from inside is a feeling of doing something rather vengeful and from revenge.
And my son, no longer having the kind of stuff I would have him grounded in, but in the -no authority figure- moral world of the nwo, or the relativists, goes with the base and devilish feelings that emerge from .......well........SOMEWHERE inside of him. Taking his clue from this real feeling he feels, and knowing that society moral laws are just agreements on opinions, and that there is no authority figure in life beyond the next guy, there is nothing in the way of him killing his attacker.
If he needs any logic to lean on, he can say to himself, well, if I did what he did to me to another, I would expect him to kill me, so, we are back to eye for eye, or worse.
Wonderful!
Before Jesus,(yeshua), that is how it was.

Understood, but note I did not say "do unto others as they do unto you", I said "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Big difference.

Thanks for an inspiring dialog this weekend, you are both articulate and deeply thoughtful.
In the case of the media (tv and major newspapers) I see a distinct liberal bias in relation to my own. On the radio I generally hear the opposite. The first stab at conservative tv is FoxTV that has at least expressed its intentions to be "fair and balanced". Other major networks and news organizations have been closely examined and found to have a liberal bias at least in the opinion of conservatives.

In the case of Christianity in the US I too am disturbed by religious charlatans but I do not perceive them as threats to our freedom. They are the product of a media that thrives on the fringes of human behavior, like Jerry Springer. My church is a small midwest Church of Christ (now turned non-denominational) built in 1900 in a tiny village where most of the members could walk in a few minutes. An addition to the church in 1967 added indoor toilet facilities and some Bible School rooms. Many of our members are older like me. They have the historical perspective of having grown up in a time when religion was not controversial or excluded from private or public life. These folks didn't always agree about religious matters but they didn't ask government to exclude religion from public life. The way I see it is that many Christians are becoming concerned about the gradual removal of anything connected to religion and being excluded from public view. There is a deep concern in my church that atheists and agnostics are winning the day. I am not surprised that "right wing Christians" are becoming more political. They are trying to hold the line against a perceived anti-religious platform, not trying to increase their political power. Today's Christian, even most of us old ones are mellowed and more accomodating. Cultural and religious diversity has come to our small community. Just a few miles away is a Sikh temple that is a welcome part of our township community. Most Christians have come to terms with diversity and only want to coexist peacefully with other religions.

$ Bill had it right when he lamented the erosion of parental preeminance in the rearing of children. The family of today is most often one parent (working) or two parents (both working) trying to make ends meet. Children are more and more influenced by daycare and public school. Public School is where religion has been excluded. Daycare is mostly antiseptic. Why have we come to this? Perhaps it is nothing more than economic excess. We have become more and more programmed to assess our place in society by our financial and social status. This is often in conflict with what's good for the kids.

Supper's on, got to go.

$ Bill,

I suggest your protagonist's "selfish" logic is completely faulty, as violence returned for violence only escalates unto infinity.

An "eye for an eye" eventually blinds everyone, as each new blinder must eventually become a "blindee", as well.

Though they certainly don't work to perfection, most modern criminal law is formulated in an attempt to halt the chain of violence rather than perpetuate it.

Case in point, do the "sex offenders" in the intelligence agencies' torture schools and their reservist "recruits" bring their new found skills home with them by default? We are told that those offenses are so "addictive" that FBI and DOJ agents involved in porn entrapment schemes must undergo regular psychological testing to ensure that they don't fall victim to the "disease" themselves. Are we protecting our society from the poorly trained "reservists" who have been ordered to commit sexual crimes against persons in the name of "intelligence gathering"? Or are we releasing them without treatment to spread their new "addictions" in our communities once they arrive home?

My original moral statement suggests that the perpetrator is victimized by the immoral act in addition to the "victim", and most studies support this hypothesis. This is not necessarily edict from "above" but simple "cause and effect". Perhaps this is why Jesus was quoted as telling his disciples to "put away the sword" - an effort to break the chain of violence for themselves.

Just some meanderings . . .

We're well past Noon so I suggest we resume our discussion next weekend to accomodate our generous hosts,

-G

@ Boilermaker,

. . .for bringing another view to the table. I can see all your points except the TV media. The only "fair and balanced" media I find today is C-Span. FOX regularly set up its commentators to crucify any liberal guests as traitorous, hardly "fair and balanced" when some of those crucified are not media professionals but families of victims of 911 whose only "treason" is asking for better investigative transparency.

Not being a member of any established religion, I am encouraged by your and $Bill's recognition of the political charlatans who hide behind the Bible to promote a very violent covert political agenda. Watching some of those creeps use pure entertainment skills to fleece half-senile grandmas of their milk money by tugging at heart-strings on TV makes me sick.

I guess it fits with the statement I heard from a more "liberal" religious leader the other day that "Christians who do not agree with those [Elmer Gantrys]" need to have their voices heard as well.

I have never been afraid of the display of historical items like 10 Commandment placards, Crucifixes, Madonnas, etc., nor have I been particularly concerned about allowing individual prayer in schools, as long as it is not "mandatory" or "pressured" upon any who prefer to abstain.

For my money, atheists and agnostics should have no more right to push their agenda than any one else. "Live and let live -to thine OWN self be true".

Peace and happy Independence Day to you and yours!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gata/message/3196... amid 'serious' settlement talks.

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http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B8AE7C68C%2DD9C2%2D4231%2DA9A6%2D14313D5CA655%7D&siteid=mktw&cbsReferrer=www.1stheadlines.com Dollar's surprising rally may not be sustained - Newswatch - July 4, 2005

This does NOT quite click, with me.

Sounds like someone has an interest in scaring the beejeezus out of everyone. These shrieks of fear usually turn out to have a purpose quite different from what we imagine. I'd take such warnings with a grain of salt...

What happens sometimes, is after these "warnings" and everyone has taken the bait - the bottom falls out of the market. "Remember Y2K!"

The GAB

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B2FF1280C%2D0842%2D470F%2D90D1%2D0D3CF4CB09F0%7D&siteid=mktwHere is a better, more direct link to story on $.

I guess I am just going to have to accept this about you Goldilox, you are overly generous layering your thoughts on top of anothers, thereby changeing it quite a bit!
example.. "I am encouraged by your and $Bill's recognition of the political charlatans who hide behind the Bible to promote a very violent covert political agenda."

You know, even if you have -reasons- why you think people should behave, there is no legal justification based in anything other than another mans changeable opinion if there is no god.
The impact of unclear relativeism, in peoples personal lives and when courts make decisions, is huge.
It does not matter what YOUR intent is as you engage others if there is no god and then there is no -rule- that means anything at all actually. And if there is no god, the smart man is the tyrant, and is actually the only sensible man who is being true to his nature, which is survival.
There is no justice you can make the case for if there is no god Goldilox. Just what you think is better. But that is just opinion, and there is no higher law you can refer to.
Your desire to do unto others nicely, with no god in the picture, is actually, a weak useless, frankly pathetic attempt to cower in a dog eat dog world hopeing others wont make your life harder and the stronger in your midst (the tyrants) will let you eat the scraps.
I mean, without god, this is what you end up with.
If there is no god, who is there to take the measure? And those that think that way, may seem invisible right now, but that is because we are all flush with fiat.
Take the fiat down, which might happen, and the last person you will want as a neighbor is a relativist.
Which the nwo will discover to thier regret, as they see that thier -new global citizen- is a beast without boundries when times get hard.
And hard times WILL be coming.
It may seem smart and free to discard the lord because -religion- seems so tacky to you, but, time will show another view that makes a case in a way you may embrace. May you live long enough for that to happen!

Boilermaker, It does appear that "they are taking religion out of the schools" because as a smokescreen, groups fight over =under god= or many small distracting issues that make the average joe think.....Gee, they are screaming bloody murder about any religion in schools so they must really be watching this carefully. But, the truth is something quite different. In 1963, the supreme court said "you can teach -about- religion, but not teach religion"
And in that door, the educational arm of the relativists, are teaching religion in ways that you would not like at all. Religion is in the schools in a huge way. America is going/gone the way of england, australia, and many other countries. They teach relativist religion.
Well, July 4 is about over, thanks for the discussion about Freedom as it stands today.

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I was not going to express my views on the above BUT this site has become unbearable for me today.Give born agains an excuse ---any excuse & they will take advantage to preach.Two days in a row is a bit much.

DollarBill you've used more than your share of band width-
pushing your religious dogma down others throats.The one thing that should be a NO GO area on this site is religion.
I hope the PTB are listening.

Frankly I feel very sorry for your children -having dogma forced into one at a young age is criminal & defies logic.
I know --my parents were religious loops who forced me to go to church & who read the bible every evening before retiring.They didn't drink,gamble or swear(unlike me) & gave 10% to the "missionaries".They also believed(literally)that the earth was created in an amazingly short time,that Jonah really was swallowed by a whale & that Noah loaded ALL the worlds creatures into a Boat to ride out the flood.

Luckily I survived all that & have no belief in a God what-so ever. I also do appreciate some of the moral values I learnt.What's different is that I don't bring up my thoughts on religion in public --unless confronted by missionary zeal.From what I've read & observed there are
more problems caused by religion in America -than anything else.Your preacher men certainly know how to whip up the masses.

At 60 being the way I am hasn't stopped me from living life in a fair & considerate to others manner - - nor in teaching my 16yr old son good values.He will be going on to university & goes to a private school - his religious values have not been flavoured by my own prejudices. Also while I very much watch what he does on his computer & for how long - I have never used net-nanny or similar. If he goes to a porn site & has a look I would not need to freak out.He's been told what he needs to know. I can't & won't force him to be a clone of me.

This has been way too long - -please give religion a big miss on this site. Free talk on what's shaping the world is
gratefully accepted.

No need for a reply or advice - you to Goldilox :)

@PRITCHO et al.

"Amen"...or should that be "Hey Man!"

(Dang Pritcho, you gone done roon'd my day...now don't say NUTTIN' about Santa... or the Tooth Fairy!!)

More seriously, I too have a very strong religious pedigree going way back to the U.S. religious right...or was it the left??? (I prefer to think of it as the upside-down.)

...and even MORE seriously, I hate to stifle free speech...perhaps, as a compromise, such comment could be restricted to the ****Sunday portion**** of Open Forum.

Admin: Please feel free to freely delete this piece of freedom of expression...I won't be offended.

Cheers

;-)

@ $bill.

"And if there is no god, the smart man is the tyrant, and is actually the only sensible man who is being true to his nature, which is survival."

Sad indictment, indeed, but I don't believe "survival" is man's nature, as you propose. You reduce us to animal instincts a little too easily.

The basic "nature" of a sentient being is not just "survival, reproduction, or self-defense", although those instincts seem to be programmed into our most hypothalmic responses and are certainly PART of our makeup. They do not describe the entire person, unless one is lobotomized.

It is not "survival" that fuels the quest for knowledge, the desire for independence, or even the desires for truth or love. It seems to be more a desire for growth as individuals, and to some extent, as a species.

It's interesting that our discussion is moving into an area explored by Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther some 500 years ago. You seem to be leaning toward Luther, the fatalist, while I prefer Erasmus, the freedom advocate - maybe just my perception.

Thanks again for the enlightening discourse.

As I write this, I notice that gold and silver are struggling to build Asian support from the Friday lows - let's hope they can bounce back this holiday-shortened week.

http://urbansurvival.com/week.htmsnip:

Not to say "we told you so" but there's a report this weekend in the British papers forecasting $100 oil by this winter, quoting no less than former Cheney energy advisor Matt Simmons. You know what this will do to prices of food, transportation, and will impact the economy in general, right?

-Goldilox

Matt Simmonds joins the T Boone Pickins bandwagon.

Original source linked at the URL.

snip:

We have just posted two astounding charts on the www.peoplenomics.com site that demand further public awareness: Program Trading on the NYSE for the week June 20-24 is reported as 76.3% of all trading volume! A program trade is defined by the NYSE as "Program trading is defined as a wide range of portfolio trading strategies involving the purchase or sale of 15 or more stocks having a total market value of $1 million or more." As we see if, if you buy or sell on the NYSE, your odds are about three out of four that you will be buying or selling to a machine program!

-Goldilox

The charts tell a very graphic story of how the modern SM is akin to playing chess with an AI computer.

For those who subscribe, George Noory's Coast-to-coast AM tonight hosted a number of comet model theorists including McCanney, Hoagland, Tom Flandern, and "Dr. Sky" discussing the "Deep Impact" mission results - what little has been released by NASA.

Very interesting discussion by some very smart mainstream and non-mainstream scientists.

The scientist mentioned in the previous post is Tom van Flandern - my mistake.

http://www.miningweekly.co.za/min/news/today/?show=70049snip:

For the past three years gold has marched in lockstep with the dollar.

As the dollar weakened, at first due to declining US interest rates, and later from fear of growing imbalances, the gold price rose in dollar terms, FNB chief economist Dr Cees Bruggemans writes this week in his 'Weekly Comment' article.

However, the gold price hardly changed in euro terms, which, he says, indicates a certain 'aloofness' to global affairs.

Over the past two months, however, this pattern has changed.

While the dollar has strengthened and Europe's political and economic attractiveness has suffered, gold did not ease off in dollar terms, remaining neutral in euro terms, as was to be expected on past performance.

Instead, gold regained its best dollar level of $440/oz and has risen against the sinking Euro, Bruggemans writes.

He concludes that, "something seems to have changed the market view of gold's value" although it is difficult to discern what factors are driving the physical gold price at the specific moment.

Bruggemans mentions jewellery and industrial demand as being influencing factors, but suggests that, as a financial insurance instrument, gold's role appears dormant at present.

Further, he questions whether gold could be experiencing a 'demand' shock, like many other commodities, such as oil, coal, iron-ore, copper and others as a result of steeply-rising Chinese (and Indian) demand.

Such a physical explanation for the sudden gain in the 'real' gold price sounds plausible, except that this Asian factor has been building up in other commodities for some three years, without registering at all the gold price, says Bruggemans.

Nonetheless, he warns that a 'demand' shock may still loom well for precious metals, as much as it appears to be affecting other commodities, at least until supply catches up.

He suggests that a more likely explanation for gold's sudden liveliness in the short-term, however, is its old role as a store of value of last resort in uncertain times.

-Goldilox

Nothing like a little global uncertainly to fuel PM interest!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/04/volcano_eruption/Silver UP a penny, 314 to go to crack double digits.

I think I'll bite my tongue 'till then.

G-Lox, the Link is to some Volcanic activity ..maybe related to the "trembling" ...also a 6.7 in Nias just a couple of hours ago ;-(

Goldilox, I do not "reduce us to animal instincts too easily". Either there is a god, or we are a dna creature without any reason to think there is a basis for law, except convenience.
This does not a "sad indictment" make.
Any evidence you see that is beyond dna creature features, are additional proofs that there is a god.
I choose to pick as my favorite proof, the issue of stupidity. Amongst the limits we are under, our inability to self perfect I find the most humorous proof. Because, the relativists think we can.
I think Luther and Erasmus, who was Catholic to the end, both whom liked to draw the mechanical drawings of the ways of god, did NOT succeed in describing the great flexible nature of god. They see concrete where I see a flexible surface.
However, niether would have described us as living in a -authority figure- free zone.

1. Predictions of $100 per barrel by Northern Winter, Matt Simmons' $500 per barrel "fair value", Australia blocking Shell takeover of Woodside in 2001, Putin hauling Yukos into the Russian fold and now calls for the Unocal takeover to be blocked. US troops welcomed in Georgia and Russians asked to leave, US and allied troops in Iraq, "unfavourable" election outcome in Iran, China and India striking oil/gas deals all over the globe, POO failing to drop on "strengthening" dollar.

Access to oil has moved from being a decisive factor in times of major conflict (Germany and Japan in WWII) to being a decisive factor in times of major peace.

The "new great game" indeed...

What strategy should a small non-oil-rich country adopt? In some dominant cultural paradigms, oil is seen as essential. However, there may be other cultural paradigms providing very high quality of life where oil is largely absent.

2. Dollar is quite volatile lately with major swings over half a percent in the BOT index in the space of less than an hour. Must be a fascinating time to be a currency trader. Gold still holding well above its long-term trend versus the USDX BOT index...more than $40 above, even in spite of the large drop on Fri.

3. The G8 debt relief theme is going to have the effect of focussing detailed attention onto the loans to poor countries from organisations like the World Bank...could be a double-edged sword...

:-)

Thanks, Bill.

I think there is a flaw in your analysis derived from imposing a basis for non-believer's foundation that you limit arbitrarily - relegating them to a sub-category - a theme often repeated in the earlier Hebrew "conquest" writings, and sadly, a strong basis for the most militant sects of modern Zionism.

I do not automatically reject extra-worldly intelligence, and even more precisely the concept of some "intelligent design". The point where we diverge is the axiomatic imposition that some Jewish late-comers to recorded history (with an assist from the 3rd century Roman emperors) "got it all right" and the entire rest of human history "got it all wrong". That strikes me as an incredibly chauvinistic stretch of historical accuracy.

Particularly when I see diverse scholarly examinations of the political manipulation of so-called "scripture" by the Romans some 200-300 years after the events - arbitrarily accepting some authors and rejecting others. This, topped off by strong evidence that they edited the remaining authors to fit their emperor's political agenda, and dated many of the events to fit their own holiday calendar strikes me as "a little fishy" (pun intended).

ref: The Jesus Mysteries, by Timothy Freke, Peter Gandy

Perhaps at this point we should celebrate our differences and move on before we bore the forum to tears or receive a well deserved "admin spanking".

Ciao!

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/business/worldbusiness/05bolivia.html?th&emc=thWith the oil price boom, countries are attempting to tighten the conditions of access to foreign companies. A brief summary from the NYT.

My recgnition that I am in a life with a lord god with preferences, did not come from reading scripture. I have read about 50 scripture sentences. The proof is in the boundries we face. The boundries speak volumes. It is in those boundries that I see/saw that there is a god with preferences of his own.
And that is an interesting topic, and is the -other- road to god recognition. One of the scientific roads.
And we can go there on the weekend.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/chron.htmlThanks for the article re "Energy-Rich Nations Are Raising Price of Foreign Admittance".

I am reminded of the windfall profits tax that was levied on US oil producers in the early 1980's when oil was priced above $20/bbl. About $73 billion was collected from 1980 to 1986 ostensibly to fund alternative energy projects. I recall massive projects such as shale oil recovery that were undertaken but quickly abandoned when oil prices fell way below the threshold for economic development. Today's high oil prices will very likely reactivate some of these projects and developers will be more secure that a price collapse such as occurred in 1986 is not in the cards. Hopefully the US government will not interfere this time around.

I think we can safely assume that gold miners will suffer the same fate (host government nationalizes or taxes the miner to subsistence levels) when gold prices move into high gear.

http://www.usagold.com/amk/usagoldmarketupdate.htmlGold vs. the Conundrum
How the Fed lost control of monetary policy and inspired a new world-wide move to gold ownership

Some analysts believe that gold's descent end of last week was a direct reaction to a combination of rising rates in the United States and a potential rate cut in Europe, a scenario that could put upward pressure on the dollar. This thinking ignores the more dominant trend of heavy capital flow from international sources (primarily Japan, China and Europe) inundating the market and driving dollar rates, and inevitably the dollar itself, lower. The process, if it goes unchecked (and no one at the moment seems to have a clue as to how to stop it), will be a tour de force for gold, the one primary asset that remains completely detached from the world's paper monetary system.


In the real world (the one that keeps shattering the economists' models), interest rates are steady to down on mortgages and longer term Treasuries despite the Fed's efforts to push interest rates higher. In other words, Alan Greenspan's Fed is being frustrated by the marketplace. The Fed has moved the fed funds rate progressively higher -- from 1.25% in June, 2004 to 3.25% now. 30-year mortgage rates during that same period have gone from roughly 6.25% to 5.5%.They have not been affected by the rate increases.


In last week's "Market Perspectives" Byron Wien, the resident sage at Morgan Stanley, relays this view from someone he calls The Smartest Man in Europe . . . . . . . . .

More at link
__________________________

Also,

Why summertime is the best time to buy gold. . . . .

An update on the pre-1933 European gold coin market

All new Short & Sweet

McHoots

Some good reading under the Nuggets section

The ABCs of Gold Investing -- D is for Diversification: Now more than ever

http://www.usagold.com/ProductsPage.htmlWhen in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a person to dissolve the hazardous bands which have tied his savings to the fates of corporate welfare, stocks, bonds, and the financial sector, and to assume among the instruments of the world a new foundation upon which to build his sovereign wealth and security, a decent respect for the lessons of the past require him to declare that this is the season which impels him to a diversification.

We hold these truths to be self evident, that only holdings of gold metal (not derivatives) convey the full power and benefits of ownership, and that men through the millennia have filled their treasuries purposefully with gold -- and not for light and transient causes -- that to secure these benefits, gold is sought out and traded among men, deriving its just powers from an unambiguous nature in the hands of its owners.

That whenever any unallocated or artificial form of gold or its derivative becomes destructive of that all-important unambiguous certainty, then it is the right of the market to abolish these imposters, to discount and berate with great scorn and furious derision any such form of "paper gold" that evinces a design to reduce their physical ownership under the absolute despotism of inflationary ambiguity.


Those who want the full-bodied benefits of gold BUY the METAL. Insofar as they may wish to construct a roof for nominal price exposure they SELL the FUTURES contracts. A newcomer must work hard to understand that these are two completely different vehicles.

Choose gold -- and declare your savings to be in a state of good health and independence.

Call USAGOLD-Centennial today to speak with a broker about a metal ownership strategy that's right for you.
1-800-869-5115

R.

http://www.usagold.com/cpm/aboutcpm.html

@ BM, Sundeck,

If the windfall energy profits tax was excused to fund "alternate energy projects" that never really materialized, I wonder what the corresponding "alternative money projects" might be?

@MK,

your quote:

"In other words, Alan Greenspan's Fed is being frustrated by the marketplace. The Fed has moved the fed funds rate progressively higher -- from 1.25% in June, 2004 to 3.25% now. 30-year mortgage rates during that same period have gone from roughly 6.25% to 5.5%.They have not been affected by the rate increases."

As mortgage rates are usually determined by longer term bond yields, aren't they specifically held down by the massive purchases of said instruments by the FED's liquidity partners China, BOJ and Carib Hedge Funds?

Why is this a "conundrum", if they buying the LTs exactly as they have been asked to do?

Is this an Imperial wardrobe question, or is the point that they buy more of the shorter duration instruments than expected - thus driving potential inversion?

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/428d3cfe-ed45-11d9-ac0d-00000e2511c8.htmlFT.com / Markets / Capital markets - Bonds Fall as Investors Book Profits - Jennifer Hughes, Joanna Chung, Marinko Sanchanta - July 5, 2005

Overlooking the aberration of ponderous religious posts from this past weekend, the trial period of weekend Free Forum has generally shown us that widening the range of topics does not necessarily detract from the quality of discussion as we originally feared it might. This clears the way for a relaxation of our past standard -- that posts should always have a detectible relation to gold ownership.

Therefore, we are changing forum rules through a furthering of this trial basis to widen the range of discussion throughout the weekdays as well. Permissible discussion topics will be broadened to include economics, the political economy and financial markets without a necessary gold component tied directly to the train of thought.

This generalization of the rules will allow posters to more fully develop their views and share them with others. We feel that this will make for a more interesting and dynamic discussion group. At the same time, we want to emphasize that this remains a gold forum intended for individuals who either own gold, contemplate ownership or advocate gold as a key element in the domestic or international monetary system. We simply ask posters to keep that in mind when composing their posts.

The rules having to do with forum decorum would remain in place as would the rules prohibiting the touting of specific stocks or promotion of any kind.

This new set of rules goes into effect today as of this post. We would like to thank all the posters who have made this a special place to gather on the internet. We hope you find this change amenable and look forward to your participation within the broadened guidelines.

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Tuesday Market Excerpts

Gold futures reach third session loss; opportunity knocks

July 5 (from MarketWatch) -- Gold futures closed at their lowest level in a month Tuesday, tallying a three-session loss of almost $15 after the U.S. dollar tapped a 13-month high against the euro.

But the dollar lost ground by the end of the metals trading session, raising the specter of higher investment demand for gold.

Analysts were upbeat about the longer-term outlook for the precious metal.

COMEX August gold futures dropped $4.90, or 1.1%, to close at $423.90, its lowest ending level since June 1. As gold fell, the dollar hit a new 13-month high against the euro and established a one-year peak against the yen at one point Tuesday.

Still, many analysts emphasized that the latest decline in gold prices provides a good opportunity for investors to buy in.

They believe the gold market's headed higher in the longer term. "Investors should be buying aggressively at these levels," said Ned Schmidt, editor of the Value View Gold Report.

"Gold and silver are now deeply oversold, and poised for an explosive rally," he added.

Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter said the market may just surprise investors with "how fast it retraces the losses near term."

The dollar's already "showing signs of exhaustion," said Dale Doelling, chief market technician at Trends In Commodities.

Looking ahead, he wouldn't be "surprised to see a fairly violent spike down in the dollar just to see if the dollar bulls are paying attention." That could provide support for gold again.

John Reade, an analyst at UBS in London, also believes longer-term investors should use any further weakness in gold to build positions as the metal "remains set to benefit from the medium-term weakening of the U.S. dollar that we expect," he wrote in a note to clients.

----(see url for full news, 24-hr headlines)----

I'm still kinda interested in various views on the Bond market "conundrum".
Any takers?

Specifically, why would the FED be "so surprised" at the long rates remaining low if they are encouraging trading partners to buy them and push down those rates?

My only suggestion was the final statement in the original post - probably weak at best.

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-07-05T210600Z_01_L05010506_RTRIDST_0_GROUP-DOCUMENT.XMLLONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - The following is the full text of a draft final statement on the world economy by the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations, who will meet in the Scottish resort of Gleneagles from July 6-8.

The draft, dated June 28, was shown to Reuters.


The health of the global economy is a key concern to each of the members of the G8 and to the world as a whole....

...We acknowledge our shared responsibility to sustain and maintain balanced growth within our own economies. We agree that we must all play our part through vigorous action to support a smooth adjustment to more balanced growth. We are committed to concrete and credible actions, including: continued fiscal consolidation to increase national savings in the United States; further structural reforms in Europe...

We discussed the risks that sustained high energy prices pose for global economic growth. Building on the productive discussions by our Finance Ministers, we reaffirmed the need for concrete actions to reduce market volatility through more transparent and timely data, and welcomed progress towards a global framework for reporting oil reserves, and look forward to further analysis of the workings of the oil market. On investment, we urge oil producing countries and companies and consumers to recognise their common interest in ensuring investment in sufficient future supplies of oil and refining capacity, and call for the removal of barriers to investment throughout the supply chain. We ask our Finance Ministers to continue to monitor these issues closely.

To help developing countries adversely affected by the impact of higher oil prices, we encourage the IMF to develop financial facilities to respond to these and other shocks....

^-----(from url)----^

Almost a joke. Why bother having the meeting when the outcome has in essence already been decided?

R.

BTW, today's price drop through the sellout in the futures market seemed as good as a gift, so I dug deep for spare cash and had Jonathan broker a tidy order for me. Krugerrands, British sovereigns (kings), Swiss Helvetias, and even some Brazillian gold to spice things up. Three continents of gold will thus be gathered in a fourth. A happy day.

��Bush can not win in Iraq for the simple reason that they never planned to help the Iraqis to self govern. The USA went in there to stop the Iraqis from selling their oil in Euros. Saddam would still be there if he stayed with dollars. After all we put him in power to start with dollars. The Iraqi war is a war in who controls the flow of oil. the dollar faction or the Euro faction. The trouble is that there are some things that can not be changed. One of them is that oil and gold are being priced in function of the altering $ value exchange rate. The Euro concept (euro numeraire) is backed by 85% debt and 15% gold, and the $ concept ($ enumeraire) is backed by debt only. Debt cannot repay debt in the aggregate. It is the arrival of raw materials times price- man debited, nature credited that delivers earnings. No dollars are issued in non debt form. 15% of all new Euros are issued in non debt form. The bottom line is that debt cannot be paid off with debt, and debt generates no aggregate income that is not offset by more debt. It takes production times price to generate aggregate income for an economy. USA manufacturing capacity has and will continue to outsource production and the likes of WalMart will continue to import. But the $ numeraire is changing, and so is the Euro's numeraire. Now comes the new kid on the block, the yuan. The yuan has no backing be it debt or gold. It's backing is the work force of people who save in gold and other precious metal. Most of these people do not have a bank account of any kind. The people of China hold more gold then any nation on earth. India comes in second, Both China's and Indian fiat banking system are of the western fraud system of fiat of which most loans never get repaid. The fiat dollar over time will continue to devalue, until the USA decides to balance its books that can not ever be balanced. Unlike China we don't default 95% of the loans, we just renew the old debt with a new debt. The Euro has gained value and over the long run will continue to do so. Because some new Euros do come into circulation in none debt form some of the old debt do get paid down. Then there is gold backed by the working Chinese. The Euro, the dollar, and gold are now a trio, and have to compromise with each other or the whole ship of currency sinks and gold will take its place. Neither the Euro nor the Dollar want that to happen. So over time both dollar and euro currency will simply be devalued. By this time next year gasoline at the pump will be above $3.00 and the price of most things will be up at least 10%. As long as there is a means of rolling over debt, through time, the future of fiat money is acceptable to most western people who have long accepted indentured servitude mandated by contracts payable in fiat. In China 95% of all fiat loans are defaulted on. The party (government) simply creates the fiat out of nothing, then pays off the loan in exchange for payment of another kind, be it in goods, services, or part ownership. In the years to come as Bush democracy in the USA is perfected like it was in Hitler's Germany that was financed by Bush 41's father you can be sure that the White House will be adorned by another Bush or Bush puppet. A Bush conservative is one who enslaves the people with ever more debt, so they can enrich themselves. Why is the GAO demanding the White House to explain the disappearance on 911 the 2854 metric tons of gold that belonged to the Europeans stored at the WTC? Why is that gold now stored at the Bank of England and used to create credit that competes with our FED. How can Greenspan be so stupid in not seeing what is happening to long rates and why? Or should I say why he knows full well what is going on but can't do nothing about it but run with it?
Erhalt uns Gott de Burestand

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/photos/war_casualties/map/m10000.htmla map of the continental USA and the locations of Military Personel killed in Iraq and Afganistan. A visual impact second to none.

PLease note that

1. The "Gold reserve" of the Euro is 15% OF RESERVES (not of the money supply) and reserves are a very small part of outstanding money supply.

2. The Euro is totally a "debt currency", just as the dollar. No difference AT ALL!

3. What Europe has going for it, is a (comparatively) more rational behavior with regard to credit expansion. Europe is going easy (easiER!)on expanding debt, which is the other name for credit. Thus, European "growth" appears to be so weak; the other side of this, is Europe saves, builds up savings, not debt! While saving is going on, "growth" is slower. And the so-called "economists" abhor, detest and revile savings!

4. Gold in Euro-System reserves, has, in my opinion, only a decorative effect. It is like gold-leaf on clay statues, gold-leaf on boisserie, it looks lovely but is quite useless! Maybe in future, those reserves will prove useful. Not for the present, and (in the minds of today's bankers) not in the foreseeable future.

The GAB

Thanks for widening the scope allowed to posters on this Forum!

I think it is a wise move. Gold is a political metal; gold as money is at the heart of our civilization and so many things (material things) revolve around it, that it is very difficult to restrict discussion to themes directly involving gold, for all politics involves gold indirectly.

You will still have a job on your hands, in keeping this Forum from drifting off - into discussing the Constitutionality of Seat-belts, for instance.

Good luck!

The GAB

Hi there - nice to see your post & look forward to more thoughts. Would you mind please some elaboration on the following:

"Why is the GAO demanding the White House to explain the disappearance on 911 the 2854 metric tons of gold that belonged to the Europeans stored at the WTC? Why is that gold now stored at the Bank of England and used to create credit that competes with our FED."

A web link or similar would be great as this is something I have not seen discussed before. Thanks.

http://www.financialsense.com/transcriptions/Faber2005.htmlThe transcription of the Puplava - Marc Faber interview has been posted at the URL.

snip:

The problem with asset inflation � and I have observed this also in Hong Kong, and in Tokyo � is the asset inflation leads to a boom, say, in stocks or in real estate, and it really distracts the attention of people from actually producing something, because the manufacturer says to himself, "why should I be so stupid and work my butt off for a year, and make a profit of a million US dollars when my friend, he buys a piece of land or a few homes, financed on credit, and makes a few million by just speculating on real estate." And so the whole system...An asset bubble is actually very bad for an economy . . .

And all I can say is the demand for oil in Asia will double from 21 million barrels to 40 million barrels in say 10-12 years, because we start from a very low per capita consumption level. And on the supply side we have, today, a supply of around 84 million barrels/day. We don't know how much more oil can be produced. There are lots of people and studies that would point out that, actually, oil production will begin to diminish. My impression is that: the world will go to World War Three one day over oil, because China needs oil, the US needs oil, Japan needs oil, every country needs oil, including also India; and that these rising commodity prices will lead in the next few years to a rise in geopolitical tensions. And nobody can tell me there are fewer geopolitical tensions today than there were during the Cold War. In fact, the Cold War was a beautiful equilibrium because no dared to really do anything, and now the Cold War is over, and a lot of countries are up for grabs: the US is establishing bases in the Middle East, Central Asia; the Chinese also want to expand into Central Asia, because if you look at the map, China borders Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kirgizstan, and that border is several thousand miles long; and the Russians also have strategic interests in Central Asia.


-Goldilox

a really good read!

http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.pnf?chart=$GOLD,PWTADANRBO[PA][D][F1!3!!!2!20]⪯f=GThe last little RED "O" has arrived in the GOLD P&F chart !
This "leg" is complete !!
Get your YELLOW before it heads North again !!!
<;-)

http://www.lbma.org.uk/clearing_press.htmA bit dated but I don't recall seeing it posted before. A little further in you'll find a graph depicting the trend changes these last several months which hi-lites Mays sudden uptick.

Red Flags are literally everywhere!

It was England's gold auctions that led to Clinton's Bundesbank gold swap. It is the Bundesbank gold swap that led to 911. It was the Bush team that planned the WTC demolition to get the swapped gold back. The Bush team has a problem. Government statisticans, accountants, poloticians have cooked the books for so long in order to keep inflation numbers low to reduce the cost of inflation indexed payments going to retirees. The FED governors are also part of that conspiracy to keep inflation numbers low for the very same reason, but also to make gold look bad. The FED is now forced to make gold look bad in every way it can so they can keep their fiat enterprise going. It would not look good if they lost to gold.-- Once upon a time (1978) prices increased 9% and the next year (1979) prices increased 13%. Then FED chairman Volcker drove interest rates to 19% and that put an end to inflation. Fast forward to today, and once again we see rising prices caused by monetary expansion of credit. Today like then cost push forces add to inflation, especially in oil and food. I am a farmer and I work my farmstead (Burestand). Over the years I have lost money growing crops and made it up on price appreciation on the property. I can make a better living doing nothing productive by speculating instead of growing a crop. This is true with most farmers today. Farming is a capital intensive operation. Speculation is not as capital intensive as farming is. That is why we have a large growth in hedge funds. The FED seeing slowing real economy creates new credit that ends up going into speculation instead of growing or producing something real. The only way to stop speculation is to raise rates so high that the cost of speculation to speculate makes it unprofitable. -- Bush team is not going to put up a web site on how they destroyed the WTC buildings or on how to blame it on somebody else. For the record Bin Laden works for the CIA, and he has most of his money in ITERA of which the Carlyle Group and 532 members of the 535 mebers in Congress and every member of the Bush administration also own. When Bush was sitting in the classroom during the WTC demolition he was not the president. Cheney was. There is a part in the Patriot Act everyone should read. Will post it on my next post. -- There is a need for people to understand just what off balance sheet gold short convertible debt is.. The gold market is maybe a Trillion $'s. The real estate market is somewhwere north of 50 Trillion $'s. The bond maket is somewhere north of 60 Trillion $'s of which our debt clock accounts for $7.8 Trillion. The gold short convertible debt has and will never be accounted for. Under the new banckruptcy law that comes into effect this October all of this will change. Credit card debt minimum payments will double and so will many loans on real estate. Naked shorting will become legal. It will be interesting just how people and markets react to the new situation.-- Schaffe und zufrede sy mitenand, erhalt uns Gott de Burestand.

@ Boilermaker #133799

Interesting chronology, Sir Boilermaker, thanks...

@Goldilox #133803

Are you refering to the large profits of "financial" companies?

Ahhh...but they continue to invent new financial "products" all the time, so that they can make even more profits. Great while debt/credit="money" grows, but there is a fundamental difference between "energy" and "money". Energy is conserved, money (at least, fiat money) ever expands...but there are similarities between the two insofar as both energy and money "make things happen" in a sense.

I am a little intrigued by the analogy between energy and money; but need to think about it for a LOT longer...

@YGM #133812

Yes...makes one wonder what the 55,000 Vietnamese dead map would look like...much the same, but more densely clustered. In Australia, in every little country town, there are "War Memorials", usually in the form of an obilisk and/or a WWI soldier resting on arms-reversed with a plaque on which the names of the local fallen from WWI (the "Great War" = "the war to end all wars") appear...and with the names of the fallen from WWII (the war we weren't supposed to have) appended. Your hyperlinked map of the US is the electronic equivalent of these little memorials that crop up all over Australia in every tiny town...sometimes the town is no longer there (old gold-mining ghost towwn), just the memorial.

Cheers

��Elected officials as criminals are above the law. Federal officials use the Patriot Act to keep all their financial dealings secret, and anyone investigating them is considered a terrorist.
11.6 THE RULING CLASS ABOVE THE LAW
USA
Section 312 of 'Patriot Act II' gives immunity to law enforcement or public officials engaging in spying or demolition operations against the American people and places substantial restrictions on court injunctions against Federal violations of civil rights across the board. Section 205 allows top Federal officials to keep all their financial dealings secret, and anyone investigating them is considered a terrorist.
-- There is no difference between Hitler's patriot act or Bush's patriot act. Its just the wording because both occured in a different time period. Who ever wrote the Patriot Act had to copy it from Hitlers Patriot Act because a lot of it is just simply translated. I am sure Hitler did not translate the present Bush patriot act. It had to be the other way around. Wasn't it Bush 41 father that financed Hitler. By the way who owns 9% of Amoco (not the right spelling)? Who controls the ESF within the Treasury? If one wants to find out what is going on follow the money. News is just noise. Why is the FED now forced to buy US Treasuries to support the dollar by using an off balance sheet gold short convertible form of financing. Why is it convertible into bonds. If our debt was $7.8 Trillion as shown on our debt clock why is the total known bond debt in circulation north of $53 Trillion? If housing incresed in value at a rate of 13% year over year like during the last 5 years and the debt on the very same housing increased 17% a year during the same 5 years like it has, just who is getting ahead? I love my banker, he keeps me going in farming by increasing the worth of my farm to ever new heights that I can borrow against to keep going. It's kind of funny how the so called loan money he supposedly gives me does not even exist. What I am doing and have been doing is handing over my credit (% of ownership) in exchange of digital nothings. For some reason I feel good about it, but in truth I am a fool forced to work for nothing to make payments on loan proceeds with physical cash I have to earn first in exchange for digital nothings I got as loan proceeds. There is a reason why there is 800 billion $'s of paper money and coins in circulation that is supposed to pay the Trillions of accounted and the many more Trillions o off balance convertible gold short debt. I cant ask a kernel of seed corn grow into 22,000 plants per acre. But we the people are expected to pay Trillions o debt with Billions. It does not work that way.

Welcome.
So what you are saying is that things will get really interesting from this point onwards?
Thank you for your contributions! I always knew something funny was up about 911, just didn't sit right with me and my friends.
So now London has Europes gold, that must really piss someone off across the channel.
Gandalf are we ready with the dogs yet? Everything is looking Upwards!
We wait we watch we comment. Good luck to all gold lovers.

If Bush's Patriot Act Is the same as Hitler's Patriot act, what would it take to bring this to the attention of the American Public. I have read that Hitler's gun laws are the same as the 1968 Gun Control Act. Funny nobody can get a copy of Hitler's Law to compare them. I believe they will go for the guns before they go for the Gold.
Scary? You Betcha. Take a look at FEMA and the Presidential Exect Orders.
Welcome to the Forum,
Slingshot---<>

Yes London has Europe's gold but on paper it is Europe's stored gold. But in reality it is the Bush administration who are using it for credit creation and in direct competition with our privately owned FED. What the Bush Adinistration is doing is using that stolen gold in creative ways to get us people further into debt, while playing "Funny Money" numbers games that make it look like we the people are building wealth. The idea is to sell the idea that "methods" to achieve financial independence involves using OPM "other people's money" The idea of privatizing social security looks good on paper until you look at the details. The devil is in the details, and Bush could not make the details public because he as a pusher of those methods can't gloss over the fact that the other people expect to be paid back with interest and the only way that can be paid is with more debt. There is no other way. The president can't make a speech to the public and say that to be truly independent you need to owe no money to anyone, and that gold id money that is self backing. He would be shot out of office like Kennedy was for bringing silver coinage into circulation. In the years to come the secret of downward mobility is to learn to live a higher quality of life on lower income, paying fwer taxes and taking the exit ramp from the fast lane of life years before your neighbor. In the next 20 years an ounce of gold will again buy a house and a pickup load of credit won't. So my advice is cut your expenses now to buy that ounce of gold, because there will come a time you wish you had, but now can't. That is what happened to the German people not all that long ago. Keep in ming Hitler like Bush never won the election. It is not how people vote that counts its how votes are counted that counts. Today unlike then, machines can be programed to count a Bush vote as two votes instead of one. Even the Iraqi vote was a total con operation run by the Bush team. The problem today is that today's economy is an asset economy that enables consumers and businesses to draw on their equity credit as a source of purchasing power fed by asset appreciation. Going for an honest money gold standard will stop the asset appreciating econmy in its tracks. Most people speculate on gold and in the process lose money to the speculators of which the FED is the primary speculator. You are betting against the house. Gold is an insurance policy that is self backing which in today's world makes possible to create your own credit. All you have to know how to do it. Make interest work for you not working against you. Schaffe (work) und (and) zuffrede (be happy) sy mitenand (together), Guet (good) gedeihe (thoughts) uberall (overall), Erhalt (support) uns (us) Gott (god) de (the) Burestand (Farm, farmstead)

Rising long term IR signal inflation-manipulating them down alters perception of future inflation and prolonges the refinancing bubble.I think Goldilocks is right,but then,I'm a absent minded scientist with scattered hairs (actually,not many left) who just had a serious lab fire (we're all okay but there is a large damage,many days free of electrical machines is hurting also-complex society that we are)

Did you post under the name of Christian long ago?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/05/asia/web.0705kazakh.phpRegional Alliance Calls For Date of US-Led Terrorist Force Withdrawal -AP - July 6, 2005
US accused of fomenting dissent and unrest in East Asia as it's "temporary troops" wind down ops in Afghanistan. So the East Asian coalition consisting of Russia, China and others could hardly expect the US to overstay it's welcome. Especially now as they continue to move away from western trade dependence and dollar influence and sidle up to gold.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/07/06/china.gold.reut/index.htmlChina "To Allow Bank Gold Sales" - Reuters - July 6, 2005

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh25549_2005-07-06_14-33-32_n06206713_newsmlOf Canada's US$32.922 billion in foreign reserves for the month of June, there was no net dishoarding of the quantity (3.5 tonnes) held since May, however, revaluation due to changing market price of the bullion on hand raised the book value on the yellow reserve asset over the month by $3 million, up from $45 million in May to $48 million in June.

Net revaluation of Canada's full slate of foreign reserves, however, including all foreign currency positions, resulted in a decline of the reserve base by $285 million.

Serving as one example where a country would have done better holding more gold and less paper. Does this, at least in a small way, help demonstrate the path one might follow to a "free gold" transition?

R.

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http://www.usagold.com/amk/usagoldmarketupdate.html(excerpts) Overview . . . .

Traditionally, the summer months have been the best time for investors to buy gold. The past two summers serve as an illustration. In the summer of '04, gold traded in the $390 range. As the year ended, it hit its high for the year at $455. Similarly, in the summer of '03 gold hovered in the $360s. In December gold traded in $415 range. In fact, during the past two years, most of the gold's upside occurred between August and the New Year. So before heading forthat fishing stream, it might pay to first do some summertime bottom-fishing in the gold market. If the past is an indicator, we may not see current prices again for some time.

The Aden sisters, who have made some pretty good calls over the last few years, say that gold will either "consolidate for the summer before beginning a strong rise" or start a strong rise now. It is important for gold owners to keep in mind that much of gold's recent rally occurred while the dollar was rallying against its major competitors. There were good reasons for the break out and none of these were suddenly reconciled because the Fed decided to move its target interest rate up a quarter of a point.

^-----(see URL for more)----^

http://www.prudentbear.com/archive_comm_article.asp?category=Guest+Commentary&content_idx=44577Housing Speculation is more rampant than you think
July 6, 2005
Peter Schiff is C.E.O. and Chief Global Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. - Excerpts:

"As the "debate" over the existence of a housing bubble intensifies, both sides are likely to be proven wrong when it comes to predictions for housing declines should the bubble burst. Most bubble advocates believe that rather than collapsing, housing prices will either rise more slowly, fall slightly, or simply stop going up, thereby allowing stagnant incomes to catch up with surging prices. However, a closer look at the facts reveals it is far more likely to burst with as big a bang as did the NASDAQ five years ago."
As we've been saying all along, if you can't see the forest for the trees, you probably won't have what it takes to buy and especially, hold gold. Have self-deception and speculation ever been so widely promoted or spectacular?:

"Given such incentives, is it any wonder that housing speculation is so rampant? Should we be amazed that when reckless lenders offer buyers can't lose bets, with huge expected payoffs, that so many want a piece of the action? The fact that the majority of today's homebuyers are actually speculators in disguise, suggests that when the trend turns, prices will drop precipitously. Far from holding on to their homes, as even most housing bears suggest, owner/speculators will sell in droves, or worse, simply walk away from their bets, leaving lenders and tax payers to cover their losses." [Some of these ideas are familiar to most, some are not. More importantly it seems is the amazing gestalt in the current US (and global) housing market. What profound implications and with real estate resonant with the state of most other financial markets! What intractable codependence! How insignificant it does make the petty struggles and cravings of mankind.

'nough said, as all are actively managing its farmers to smithereeens, while the G8 summit is actively seeking debt forgiveness for the poorest ... a "noble pursuit" of paying back cents on the extortion of Dollars.

Well, let's just pat our backs - we've done our good deed and may now go back to the real itinerary. Guess, I don't have to spell it out. Just read the latest essay of Hugo Salinas Price and contemplate his chart offered in the article ... and you'll know what's on issue.

http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/salinas070505.html


cb2

... Nice to see you back under disguise, I'd guess?

Druid: Seems I've come across the subject of farming somewhere in these great halls.




FOA (11/12/01; 16:31:28MT - usagold.com msg#132)
There comes a time

There comes a time in all things when one must do nothing and simply wait. This is an ages old truth that crosses all the boundaries of life's endeavors; for everything is not always in the doing, but also in the watching. Any good farmer knows that he does not grow a crop; he only prepares his field so the growing, he knows is coming, can take nature's course.

My friends, we have crossed time and space, while plowing these fields of understanding, and the unfolding drama before us must now sprout it's own life. For now, it is my time to watch the trail and let the crop develop. Indeed, it will and it will do so for all to see.

Enough has been said to prove our reasoning is true, especially when the fields become full and in a shade of physical green only our seeds will produce. And planted them, we did, by hand, one at a time, over many years.
Enough has also been said about myself as this story was never about me; perhaps too much untruth was also said by others?

I am going to travel for a while and watch the trail from a distance. It won't be long before the rains come and the ground begins to open; in that time I will return. Until then; this farmer will rest from this work.

Thank you USAGOLD and all the fine people that make this media the best gold site in the world! Another time, we WILL hike again.

Sir Douglas
Your Trail Guide

http://urbansurvival.com/week.htmsnip:

A knowledgeable Wall Street insider has provided us with an interesting insight into what's driving the huge increase in program trading we documented this week ( see previous story below). He writes from 125 Broad Street that:

"from Monday: program trading

the public is a lot of program trading in the form mutual/index fund, and pension fund asset allocations. But the newest phenom is etf's. If you buy a etf, the etf has to buy the underlying stocks, they do it through programs"
OK - great insight - thanks! Now all I have to worry about is what happens when all the EFT's need to raise cash at the same time when the public gets nervous and wants out...

-Goldilox

ETFs are now being delivered for silver, currencies, and all manner of "stuff".

If the public decides that the paper markets are getting a bit too risky to stick around, the clamor for PMs will not only drive the prices through the roof, but also create supply shortages that might preclude acquiring gold at "any price".

But then, we've heard that all before, right?

OOPS, not quite sure how I accomplished that! LOL

Here is what HE might say (don't curse me, curse him, please!):

"More AID to Africa means helping them feed their desperately poor, and so produce more poor. AID will only aggravate the desperate situation of the Africans.

"The best policy with regard to Africa, would be a policy of benign neglect, UNDER A GOLD STANDARD world economy.

"The dollar reserve system is the great destroyer of nations, Africa's included. Elimination of that system would be the first thing to attend to, if anyone really cared about Africa - which no one really does care about.

"After that - leave them alone, and let them find their way of making a living. Aid would only delay Africa's reaching such stability as within the possibilities of African culture."

The GAB

@ GAB,

The Dollar reserve system has created a trade system (called "private investment" to make it sound more benign) that has extracted most of the resources in the under-developed nations by way of bribes and military support for some rather corrupt regimes. Once these "regimes" steal most of the IMF "economic aid", their populace and resources are then endentured to the IMF/WB system of control by $billions in "debt".

Whenever an Allende, Chavez, Ho, or Castro arises to organize the indigenous folks into stronger control of their resouces, they are demonized (or assassinated) by those who want to maintain control of world resources in a few bankster's hands. Don't get me wrong, these guys are politicians, not saints, but they are also politicians who cross the banksters, marking them for a bitter uphill struggle.

Case in point:

China's bid for UnoCal overtly included the sale of ALL non-Asian assets of the acquired company, in an attempt to "Asianize" Asia's oil resources. The US media and Congress have modified that fact, prefering to scare Americans with false rumors that the Chinese government will own all the 76 stations and control the flow of gas at the retail pumps.

Is there any reason (besides the Miami voting block) to embargo travel and trade with "communist" Cuba and yet maintain such a huge trade program with "communist" China? If doing business with China assists the growth of "capitalism" in the largest communist nation in the world, why would it not do so in the smallest one?

Notice also that the G8 demonstrators are ALL characterized as "anarchists" by the AA media. The media would never dare to suggest that "some" of them might be dissenters with potentially reasonable greviances.

The webs of deceit are so complex that even full-time investigators are often reaching for the details, as the intelligence services also maintain full-time "disinformation" bureaus to keep us all guessing at the truth and worshiping at the US$ throne.

Owning gold and silver is probably the best statement of doubt in their system of control, as it is the one asset not yet completely paperized by the "banksters".

http://www.fairus.org/Research/Research.cfm?ID=2626&c=54The Wall Street Journal clings stubbornly to the notion of open borders and shrilly denounces anyone who dares to question the wisdom of mass immigration, but it appears that others in the financial community are beginning to reassess Wall Street's love affair with low wage immigrant labor.

The January report issued by the investment firm of Bear Stearns, estimating the costs of illegal immigration to the United States is a welcome and important breakthrough in the important national debate about immigration. The Bear Stearns study also corroborates many of the recent studies conducted by FAIR. Last autumn, FAIR published "The Cost of Illegal Immigration to California," in which we estimated that the state, which is home to about 30 percent of the nation's illegal alien population, is incurring a net annual cost of about $10.5 billion as a result. This assessment is largely confirmed by the Bear Stearns report, which places the national price tag at about $35 billion a year.

Similar reports from FAIR, the Center for Immigration Studies and others, have long made the case that the "cheap labor" provided by illegal immigrants is, in fact, prohibitively expensive when all the social costs are calculated. The research of immigration reform groups like FAIR�now supported by business sector analysts�has been largely ignored by policymakers. It will be much more difficult for them to dismiss confirming information from sources such as Bear Stearns and Barron's.

(Don't curse me, curse him, please!)

"Diplomacy is a sign of vulnerability best countered by swift termination of the counterparty."

The fact that a particular Mr. M____. carried water a few hundred years ago doesn't necessarily mean it has any ability to slake the thirst of parched bodies today.

...Which is simply my way to demonstrate that I struggle to see a modern value or otherwise find a grasp upon the point you're trying to make. Furthermore, the statement regarding a gold standard within your context seems to be a non sequitur if ever there was one. Would you care to elaborate?

TIA

R.

Closer analysis of the Bear Sterns report and others like it suggest that the "cost analysis" skews the numbers to fit the conclusions. Aren't most of those $35B dollars paying the salaries or purchasing products within the US eceonmy. The concern, therefore isn't the absolute "cost" but the funneling of those resources from public coffers - more big, inefficient government!

Like taxation, SSI, HUD, and most other governement "enterprises", immigration policy is designed to line some existing deep pockets at the expense of public coffers.

The more we can be steered toward the potential "security" issues, the more publicly acceptable the fleecing becomes.

CNBC is focusing on the private prison business today as a "growth industry". At 6% market share, they stand poised to offer "cost relief" to the much overburdened public sector. Shades of IG FARBIN!

Murphy's 3rd law: Costs always overrun available funding!

@GAB: Sad statements but I agree. Although I do think that there is more to relieving the poor debt than is immediately apparent. A head-fake of sorts to mobilize more gold (physical) maybe.

@Goldilox: "Anarchists" - such a misused word. "I am waiting for the war to be fought which will make the world safe for anarchy" Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Last Thursday I took a preliminary rough cut at the anticipated results of the quarterly revaluation of reserve assets of the Eurosystem. The official statement is now in, showing the following.

Continued reallocations under the Central Bank Gold Agreement occurred during the week involving 360 million euro in yellow assets of three national central banks. This figure pales when compared to the asset revaluation enjoyed by gold's quarter-ending performance in euro terms. The new quarterly MTM value for each ounce of Eurosystem gold is at an all-time high of 361.231 euros, yielding a valuation gain on gold reserves of 12.094 billion euro.

Valuation of total gold and gold receivables now stands at 138.451 billion euro.

This value draws ever closer to parity with the net position in foreign currency, a larger fraction which tallied smaller quarterly gains than gold, and now stands at EUR 168.2 billion.

R.

Closing at 199 today, up 1.5% against fairly steady gold and a slight bump in sliver.

The 10-15% rise in the last few weeks suggests more "sideline" money is looking toward gold and silver in this abysmal "trader's market".

TC has already characterized their risk factors ad infinitum, but as a proxy for the metals, they certainly suggest strength.

Smaller security-minded investors are well positioned to take advantage of the current gold and silver "sale prices".

Flashes me back to the 1960's mantra:

"What if they declared a war and nobody showed?"

Lt Sweet crude finished the day well above $61 on fears of "Dennis" interrupting supply in the Gulf.

I've been watching the wind speed numbers, and so far they are barely above "small craft warning" levels, suggesting how skittish the oil market is - any threat of interruption scares the piddle out of them.

After so many analysts were accused of "crying wolf", we now see oil closer to $80 than than the conservative prediction of $40.

McCanney has suggested that NOAA will name every strong wind this year in a effort to fulfill their statistical projection. As his theories count solar wind - ionoshoeric interaction as the "activation energy" for strong storms, he suggests we watch the solar corona for more reliable warnings than NOAA's computer models.

If the oil markets are listening to NOAA, watch for more speculative froth in the Lt Sweet market.

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Wednesday Market Excerpts

July 6 (from MarketWatch) -- Gold futures closed higher Wednesday as traders took the opportunity to buy the precious metal as an investment hedge, breaking a three-session losing streak that cut prices by almost $15 an ounce.

"I'm not going out on that limb just yet, but it's possible that we've seen the bottom of the correction," said Dale Doelling, chief market technician at Trends In Commodities, adding that for now, he's going to "err on the side of caution and remain on the sidelines." COMEX August gold contracts tacked on 60 cents to close at $424.50.

"Gold is attempting to stabilize after one of the best 'bear raids' in many years last Friday," said Peter Grandich, editor of The Grandich Letter. Prices fell more than $8 that day.

Gold "needs to hold through Friday's employment report and then can resume its second-leg secular bull-market run," he said.

Strength in oil lately has promoted interest in the precious metals.

"The higher energy price outlook certainly is renewing thoughts of inflationary pressures," said John Person, president of National Futures Advisory Service. And "stock markets around the globe are making advances, which instills confidence that economic and business conditions are improving."

All in all, this is contrary to "what was previously perceived since many economists had thought higher energy costs were acting as a taxing effect," he said.

"It now seems more like an inflationary effect, therefore gold is a sure buy as an inflationary hedge," Person explained.

----(see url for full news, 24-hr headlines, market quotes)---

Alas! Towncrier, I do not care to elaborate.

The GAB

http://www.business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?&autono=193699(excerpts)

New Delhi�July 07, 2005 -- It is a common feature of international economics that countries with persistent balance of payments deficits are advised to depreciate their exchange rate; if they fail to heed to this advice they are eventually compelled to do so as they run out of sufficient international liquid resources to pay for the goods and services.
�
The only country that does not face this dilemma is the reserve nation whose currency is accepted by all trade surplus countries.
�
Thus America is unable to devalue the dollar in spite of mounting trade deficits as other countries choose to deposit their surpluses in America.
�
For, in contrast to America, countries that run persistent balance of payments surpluses do not need to change their exchange rate.
�
They can go on accumulating reserves indefinitely without having to revalue their currency. Unfortunately, this asymmetry between deficit and surplus countries nearly always leads to tensions between the two blocs....

...In the normal course, one should expect an outcry that the Americans should depreciate their exchange rate but unfortunately this has technical difficulties as the nominal value of all currencies is measured against the dollar.
�
The dollar cannot be devalued against itself, hence the proposal that other currencies like the Chinese should revalue against the dollar ... which they are unwilling to do. They can see no reason to take deliberate steps to change policies that are accumulating for them reserves.

...Thus, internationally the financial system faces an impasse....

One possible technical but highly speculative solution that could be considered by the Americans on their own initiative would be to choose any one international currency against which they would formally devalue....

^----(see url for full article)----^

All in all, this provides not a bad overview for newcomers to gain a rudimentary understanding of the international monetary puzzle.

The biggest puzzle, however, is how Sudhir Mulji misses the most obvious solution -- a paradigm shift toward a new reserve structure in which gold, rather than dollars (bonds) are targeted as the principal reserve asset among various nations, particularly those with surplus trade income looking for a place to park.

Give it time.

R.

http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/salinas070505.htmlThe campaign against my own economic illiteracy made great gains recently as I finished the revised and updated edition of Richard Duncan's "The Dollar Crisis". At least it feels like I skipped a grade. While I disagree with his solutions (global minimum wage and global central bank), the problems he discribes are certainly thought provoking. I believe Hugo Salinas Price has made some of the same observations recently. See link. The dollar standard has no self correcting mechanism to deal with trade imbalances.
The book set off a series of questions and realizations in my mind and I just wanted to recommend it to all of you who have also learned to stop worrying and love the dismal science. One example of many is the understanding that foreigners have such a surplus of dollars that they need to find more than one parking place in the lot for it. So, not only do they buy treasuries, they also buy equities, other currencies, companies in the United State and so on. I can think of a mine, a short line railroad, and a couple of pulp and paper mills in my neck of the woods that have been purchased by foreign companies. This hits home. And I know what happens to the local labor force - a decrease in pay and benefits. Duncan points out that were we on a gold standard China would have had all of America's gold by now, my fear is on the dollar standard they will instead end up owning all of America.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh34198_2005-07-06_20-51-37_n06236668_newsmlNEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid on Wednesday as crude prices flew to a record high above $61 a barrel, fueled by fears that two tropical storms would pinch supply.

The surge in oil prices capped a three-day run that drove NYMEX August crude futures up to settle at $61.28 a barrel -- up nearly $5, or more than 8 percent since June 30.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 101.12 points to end at 10,270.

...also drove down [were] the shares of several major oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.

"It's a very skittish market, with crude trading above $60 a barrel," said Michael Driscoll, senior managing director and listed trader at Bear Stearns, in New York.

Rising oil prices tend to weigh on stocks because they raise corporate costs for everything from trucking services to many industrial chemicals and also eat into consumers' discretionary spending by driving up gasoline prices.

^----(from url)----^

Gold remains a bargain. If you haven't already, start considering your diversification strategy, and call USAGOLD-Centennial for consulation on a plan that's right for you.

R.

@ Au-some,

When the Japanese came into the US RE market in the 1980's and bought a lot of high value properties, including Pebble Beach, the same concerns were voiced. A miracle RE delation kicked all their leveraged mortgages right back across the Pacific.

Perhaps the admin and globalists are "Prechterites", and expect global deflation to similarly take out the Chinese spendthrifts - unfortunately along witht the US boomers, who are drooling over 50-100% overvalued RE "bargains" and flipping them like the "burgers" in their day jobs!

Today:
Gold, 423.20; Oil, 61.28; Ratio: 6.9 "An all-time low."

The historic avg. has been around 15 to 1. A sorry statement regarding the control the paper market manipulators have over Gold, but the other (oil) that they have lost control.

Unlike farm commodities that producer and consumer need to price protect from acts of nature. I see no benefit to any party (save the price manipulators)in metal futures markets. The parties able to create as much purchasing power as needed from nothing at all, will naturally have the upper hand in driving the metal prices where ever they care to. The only way to regain honest metal prices is through the spot market. Futures in metals should be outlawed or otherwise done away with; they serve no economic value. IMO

@ Goldendome - as you've said -
"Gold, 423.20; Oil, 61.28; Ratio: 6.9 "An all-time low."

The historic avg. has been around 15 to 1. A sorry statement regarding the control the paper market manipulators have over Gold, but the other (oil) that they have lost control."

I'm not so sure that metal prices are anything else than farm prices to consider in your post. While farm prices are hedged for weather imponderabilities, metal prices are hedged for economic imponderabilities.

That said, it's just an aside to your post - Gold/Silver Ratio is way above its historic average of >16 and the DOW/Gold Ratio may still meet at 1:1 ... the only Q. remaining is price ... and then, maybe value follows gold!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/05/asia/web.0705kazakh.phpAn intriguing articla Sir Mikal! I saw a slightly different version in the local rag here.

I sometimes wonder if the $61 price tag wasn't a reaction to the thought that we've worn out our welcome in the oil patch. Given the context of the so called "bidding" for Unocal, I have to imagine that this "request" or "suggestion" is also part of the bidding process!. I can imagine the russians and the chinese thinking: "we'll pay you to leave now, or you can pay us when we force you out later."

Diplomacy is an unusual art with odd subtleties. Of course, Unocal, Afghanistan, extra-territorial "guest" bases are all separate and unrelated issues having nothing to do with each other, neither does china's trade surplus have anything to do with american current account profligacy! It's all so neatly compartmentalized, so obtuse.

The price of oil, like its rival the POG, needs to be put into proper context, and dollars are not helpful. China is willing to spend 18 billion to induce some american shareholders just to quit claim their holdings in Whatsitstan while letting the american assets of Unocal go free. Of course some of these so called "assets" are no more than scribbles on a map, ie potential oil needing much development before it graces the gas tanks of asia. Meanwhile, given the increasing volume of noise about IRAN I heard in the news over this past weekend, I am ready to assume that the US is willing to exchange a far more precious fluid merely to "secure" the rights to these "assets".

It seems the most interesting moves are being made with a phone call from bejing to moscow, and not from Al Zarqawi from a basement in baghdad with duct tape and fertilizer.

It's quite impressive, and... alarming. It hasn't quite gone eyeball to eyeball yet. But we're close. If a "potential" hurrican can validate 61$ POO, what "price" is bid for putting abrams tanks in downtown Tehran?

Of course I'm also ready to belive the Chinese are smart enough to "let" us conquer the middle east only to take over when we get tired. If I had a huge tank right now, I'd fill it with physical oil, but I'll have to satisfy myself with the yellow stuff.

Druid, I DID take a vacation, and look at the mess! On the bright side, Kyoto may be a moot point in about 10 years.

Namarie, nin mellyn!

The japanese real estate era was all splurge and fantasy. The chinese, I think, are playing chess.

Their style of play is most intriguing. Especially since they're using other countries pieces! It's difficult to find the chinese army since it seems to be all stationed in china. The rest of the "army" seems to be ingeniously mislabeled.

Influence, Relationships, connections. These are more important than contracts. When the first three are perfected, the contract need only state "I OWN you." and gold, oil, or pearls will roll towards China in exchange for "whatever."

Let's see gold ran from $418 to about $440 than back down to $423. Hm-m-m-m... It wasn't supposed to do this so soon. Was supposed to go up to about 455 or so before they (TPTB)wacked it down. 1.) Either TPTB got scared of the fast rise in the POG and wacked it down before it could get out of hand, or 2.) this was profit taking by the many, or 3.)TPTB have changed the limits of their cycle. I vote for #1 & #2. Will continue the wait for $455 or higher. Not a problem.

"What if they declared free credit and nobody showed?"

Goldilox (7/6/05; 13:07:52MT - usagold.com msg#: 133839)
Africa, South America, and the G8
@ GAB,

Goldilox, your quote:

The Dollar reserve system has created a trade system (called "private investment" to make it sound more benign) that has extracted most of the resources in the under-developed nations by way of bribes and military support for some rather corrupt regimes. Once these "regimes" steal most of the IMF "economic aid", their populace and resources are then endentured to the IMF/WB system of control by $billions in "debt".

Sums up a discussion we were having last night while watching a debate on debt relief in the most succinct way.

Have not had the time to visit these pages recently, but glad to see the gems of wisdom are still here in nearly every post.

Go Gold!!!!

http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=GC&o=100/DX&a=D&z=610x300&d=LOW&b=LINE&st=Metal-Power is clearly in evidence here with both April and June delivery clearly defined.
When that OTHER PM hits it's straps, (could be today, tomorrow ??) will PaperGold be dragged up with it ...or will PG be a millstone?
I 'spose it depends a lot on WHEN it runs. sooner, probably PoG won't go, later (say the 20th) we should see a double spike.

We Watch!

Goldendome,
Responding to your statements in #133854,
"I see no benefit to any party (save the price manipulators) in metal futures markets."
And
"Futures in metals should be outlawed or otherwise done away with; they serve no economic value. IMO"

IMO the precious metals futures markets do serve an economic purpose. I'll briefly explain the way I see it. Gold, silver, platinum, and other miners produce a mine product that is not fully refined or ready for coins, or jewelry. The miners almost always send their mine product to a refiner or smelter, bars or concentrates. When a mine ships the mine product they have finished with the core portion of their business, but they can't yet sell the finished refined gold or other precious metal. Their mining costs have been spent and they need to obtain payment for their product so that they can pay their bills. The refiners have yet to refine the material, and sometimes they have difficulty processing or backlogs and delays. It may be weeks or months until the material is processed and sold. By having a futures market the mining company can sell contracts to deliver the metal at a later date, and they are selling something that they really have, it's just not quite ready yet.
The refiners sometimes offer the service to the miners to purchase the material for the values contained. The price they pay is usually much less than the real total because there may be losses in processing or errors in estimating the true contained metal. They take the risk from the mining company, for a fee. But then they have the same problem. They just bought metal that isn't ready to be sold yet, and they need to pay their bills. They sell contracts for future delivery. The miner or refiner needs to be sure they will get adequately paid no matter how the market fluctuates, so they need to offset the risk of a lower price when the metal is finally refined and sold.
The futures contracts that either the miner or the refiner sell are bought by others who need to use the metal, jewelers, or mints. They need to be sure they will have a supply at a reasonable price when they need it in the future. So they buy future contracts for their supply.
This may seem like it's only a small part of the futures market, but probably over 95% of all the gold and silver that is mined is handled this way. Very few mining companies do final refining of their mine product. Take the world production of gold and a 30 day refining time and you can figure out how many futures contracts might be related directly to mine production.

O.k, so the explanation wasn't so brief. There may be serious problems with the operation of the futures markets, but that doesn't mean they have no economic value.

Mostly I just read this site, but sometimes I have to respond.

The commodity futures market no longer serves an econmic purpose for real production. It does however make possible large price swings. A good example of that is oil. The futures market makes possible to sell something you don't produce and cover by buying back that position. An example of that is what Barrick does. Barrick can on the futures market sell a lot more gold then it can possible produce. When price is favorable to them they buy back that position. Most exploration companies do the same thing. They simply sell what they don't have and at a later date cover after they have issued new shares where the poceeds are used to cover their position. On paper they can state that the funds were used for drilling a hole in the ground that was already there and use the same results from a previous drill as a new discovery. I just love it when three companes use the same drill hole results to anounce a new discovery. And of course new drilling will be needed to find out if there is enough there to make it feasible. What a joke. We need a futures market with housing. I would love to sell my house at a loss with the option to buy it back for the same price. I need a way to make a loss for income tax reporting. Last year more then 1000 paper farmers sold a lot of non-existing corn for $4.00 a bushel and bought it back for around $2.00 a bushel. They made a lot of money without having to own any land or plant a kernel of corn. This year Greenspan and company made sure the corn price stayed around $2.00 during spring and they are not going to let it fall below $2.50 this fall. They finally realized that in a real economy you have to produce real production of real things in physical form that actually have a use. You can't feed paper corn to a cow and get milk. That only happens on Wall Street. There is a reason the FED makes sure no dollars are issued in non-debt form. (The u in Gluck has two dots on it) Gluck im Hus und Gluck im Stall, Guet gedeihe uperall, Schaffe und zufrede sy mitenand, Erhalt uns Gott de Burestand

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aI8MdTZQaCiM&refer=homePossible terrorist attacks in the London. The financial centre is evacuated, according to radio messages.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aO_MCL5Sb3cQ&refer=homeContinued...

Why has Gold been trashed these days?

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=OBR&Date=20050707&ID=4946169 Shares sink on blasts, safe-havens sought - Reuters

http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/content/110940/content.asp?anunci468x60=danske&menu=macro&dia=772005 Economic Flash Comments - London explosions: Financial market impacts could be longer-lasting - Danske Bank - July 7, 2005

http://www.usagold.com/Order_Form.html

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh53267_2005-07-07_14-18-52_n07365870_newsmlNEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Gold futures in New York climbed on Thursday morning after four explosions ripped through London at morning rush hour, killing dozens of people and wounding scores.

"We're absolutely seeing safe-haven buying in the gold and silver today. I think it's going to be pretty choppy the rest of the day," a New York floor broker said.

"Morgan Stanley and HSBC have been pretty good buyers in here."

Witnesses in London saw the top ripped off a double-decker bus near Russell Square close to King's Cross train terminal, and three more apparently coordinated explosions caused carnage on packed subway trains as people went to work.

Investors flocked to safe haven assets, with precious metals and fixed-income assets rising while equities declined.

^-----(from url)-----^

Choose your safe havens carefully. Over rocky times ahead the "fixed-income" assets (bonds) will likely not serve you as securely as gold.

R.

http://keyinvest.ibb.ubs.com/ki/ch/en/newsbody.ki?newsid=3777519NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - The dollar slid against the
Swiss franc on Thursday while sterling fell against the U.S.
currency as investors sought safer alternatives after a series
of deadly explosions in London's transport system.

"The market is in a risk-reduction, flight-to-quality mode
and that is still supporting the Swiss franc. But we have
stabilized across the board from the initial knee-jerk
reaction," said Sophia Drossos, G10 currency strategist with
Morgan Stanley in New York.

In London, four blasts ripped through London during the
morning rush hour, killing at least 45 people and injuring
scores. The blasts came during as leaders of the Group of Eight
nations were meeting in Scotland.

The euro initially rallied against the dollar because
currency investors' first reaction was that the United States
could become another target for infrastructure attacks, a U.S.
based trader said.

^----(from url)----^

Up, down, sideways... at the end of the day it's all paper anyway.

R.

http://www.usagold.com/ProductsPage.html

Get the Legendary SECURITY of a Swiss Account...

...Delivered to Your Door.

Call USAGOLD - Centennial for Arrangements
1-800-869-5115

The announcement was made on CNBC a few moments ago by NY Governor Pataki was that all US public transit will be elevated to "orange" security level.

In open market operations today the Fed injected $9 billion into the nation's lendable money supply through a round of 14-day repurchase agreements largely at a sub-FOMC rate of 3.159 percent, and followed that up with an additional injection of $10.25 billion via overnight repos at 3.18 percent.

New supplies of "paper gold" can be made as easily, but real gold (metal) stands apart. To preserve your future purchasing power, the choice is clear.

R.

Hello Sir Erhalt uns Gott.
There are amazing thoughts passed back and forth here at the forum so I visit here frequently. I wanted to ask questions a couple of questions or make comments on your posts from July 5 and July 6.

Your post msg#: 133819 on July 6 said in response to PRITCHO: "the demolition of WTC to get the gold. It was England's gold auctions that led to Clinton's Bundesbank gold swap. It is the Bundesbank gold swap that led to 911. It was the Bush team that planned the WTC demolition to get the swapped gold back."

Can you explain more of what took happened in the scenario above as I've not seen these events related to each other anywhere else. I am familiar with England's well-publicized gold auctions. What was the purpose of the US / Bundesbank gold swap? How did the swap relate to England's auctions? How did this gold swap lead to Sept 11? Was gold was stored in the WTC vaults and the US needed to bring down the buildings to get the gold? So the US has stolen European gold? Why didn't the US just take it without killing innocent people? You seem so certain about these facts. Can you elaborate please?


Also how do the bombings that occurred in London today fit into all of this...or is it just noise?

Thanks in advance. I look forward to more of your posts.

2023

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh58514_2005-07-07_17-15-27_l07597198_newsmlFRANKFURT, July 7 (Reuters) - Central bankers have a number of tools they can use to make sure that financial markets and the economy operate smoothly after violent shocks....

Cutting interest rates is the most public and visible action central bankers can use to help restore business and consumer confidence, which often gets shaken by violence.

Equally important though is making sure the plumbing of the financial system, payments among banks and matching up trades on markets where billions of dollars gets transferred globally, is working. Otherwise the economy can seize up.

Central banks can pump masses of money temporarily into financial markets to make sure that banks have no shortage of cash when they are uncertain about their counterparty. They also can arrange swaps of financial assets if one financial centre faces a shortage of money.

Here is a look at some recent actions and statements from central banks after shocks to financial markets:

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

Planes slammed into the Pentagon in Washington and the World Trade Center in New York, and Al Qaeda claimed responsibility. The twin towers collapsed, killing thousands.

Financial markets in New York City were closed down and Wall Street devastated. Trading rooms were destroyed, power and telecommunications cut. Back-up systems for several investment banks were obliterated, making records for trades very hard to track and the Bank of New York, a lifeblood for the payments and clearing of trades, was hard hit.

-- The New York Fed started pumping masses of temporary reserves into the banking system through its daily repurchase operations to keep the financial system operating smoothly and prevent it seizing up because one party did not know whether a counter-party could meet its bills.

The average daily fed funds rate, the base interest rate for the whole U.S. financial system, plummeted from 3.50 percent on Sept. 11, the day of the attacks, to as low as 0.25 percent. Temporary reserves flooding into the market peaked at over $80 billion on Sept. 14.

^-----(from url)----^

Really, the only lesson to take away from all of this is that our payments systems are so important to the workings of everyday life that they will be kept adequately LIQUID at all costs, even with blind disregard to the actual position of counterparties, and the consequential depreciation of the currency unit.

The old days of true deflationary periods are well behind us, and money is wielded as a ratcheting tool by our monetary authorities -- it shall deliver only inflationary effects (of varying degrees) going forward, with no going back. Thus, as the response to problems is ever and always monetary ease and massive pumping, be sure to hold your savings in the form of gold so as not to suffer in tandem with the depreciating currencies of the world.

R.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/07/06/china.gold.reut/Should be good for demand...

On earlier subject (connecting the dots among gold sales/swaps and a possible German connection to 911), the high percentage of Saudis among 911 terrorists is less interesting than the 100% correlation between the terrorists and a particular mosque in Hamburg. I suspect, though, that the particular cleric who stirred up this particular segment of the ummah would have done the same if in Sweden or France or any other country.

Caradoc

In the spectrum of human psychology, there are certain people who cannot cope with the notion of randomness or of unrelated or inexplicable events. In order to cope, they simply fabricate connections as necessary to stitch all of the news elements floating around in their own mind into an intricate fabric of interlocking puzzle pieces neatly arranged into a series of causes and effects. He can state something matter-of-factly because that is how he has personally assimilated it into his own understanding; but that doesn't mean there is any actual credibility to the fabric of his story. In other words, don't feel obliged to believe something simply because somebody took the time to type it into words.

To help satisfy some of the residual curiosity you might have regarding the fate of gold stored in the World Trade Center area, reprinted below are a couple excerpts from news reports issued when it was finally recovered on October 31, 2001.

R.

--------
NEW YORK (AP) - Most of the $200 million US of gold and silver buried under a ruined building at the World Trade Center site has been removed so the remainder of the building can be demolished and cleared away. "I think we have most of it. I'm not sure we have all of it yet," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told reporters Wednesday.

The precious metals in a Bank of Nova Scotia vault at 4 World Trade Center were being taken away "because authorities need to demolish the building," said Pam Agnew, a spokeswoman for the Toronto-based bank. "For safety and security reasons, I don't want to give away any details that could put people's lives at risk."
----------
Workers at Ground Zero unearthed last night a buried treasure of gold, hidden for weeks under the ruins of the World Trade Center.

As a small army of federal agents with shotguns and automatic rifles stood guard, city cops and firefighters packed two Brink's armored trucks with the lode, sources said.

As workers inched closer to the gold yesterday, authorities began restricting access to the north side of Ground Zero and FBI and Secret Service agents joined cops and firefighters at the site.

I do remember the media saying that the metals were being removed from the WTC after 9/11. I am always very skeptical of things I read and hear in any media (even here at the forum sometimes) so that is why I asked Sir Erhalt for more details/information/facts. He seemed so sure that this is what occured --- gold swaps related to WTC on 9/11. Perhaps I am just naive .............but, well, I'm trying to make sense of this crazy world like the rest of us here. I saw his posts and just had to ask for opinions. Can anyone contribute to this 'mystery'?


Thanks again.

2023

I am not one who believes the media's pat story of cave dwellers performing 757 aerobatics maneuvers, but I have to go with TC on this one. The people behind this would most likely call $200M in gold "chump change".

Even Warren Buffett lost nearly that much in his currency "insurance" trades.

There are a lot of unanswered questions based on the volumes of untested evidence, and many political "conundra" raised by said questions.

Afer all, the most effective form of disinformation is to foment "wild goose chases", and this most likely qualifies.

For those who wish to explore more in-depth 911 investigations, may I suggest a few more sources (none of whom mention WTC gold). They do, however, ask some very important questions about potential involvement of globalists in "world terrorism" and motives for the same.

http://globalresearch.ca/
http://www.johnkaminski.com/
http://www.911truth.org

Read and judge for yourself. I trust no one who regularly frequents this forum is naive enough to believe everything they read, but ascertaining the right questions is always a good start.

Aside from this, I noticed that even after the London tragedy and the US "orange alert', gold and silver found only minor interruption from "business as usual", and we seem to be catching bids on each downdraft.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gata/message/3200International press release.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gata/message/3201Looks like the boys are a little miffed that this should be discussed.

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/RocketSchool/20050707.htmlExcerpts from the 'Rocket School of Economics':

July 7th, 2005

"Inflate or die!"

So says Richard Russell (www.dowtheoryletter.com) in a recent commentary when describing his view of the financial situation the US currently finds itself in. Stop inflating (read creating more debt) and the fiat currency game ends, as in goodbye to the US banking system as we know it.

....There is a great line from the original Star Wars movie which is: "Who is more the fool, the fool or the fool who follows the fool?" Which central bank is more the fool, or do we have a trio of fools? Without the US market, China and Japan have a problem, without China and Japan holding US securities, the US has a problem. At what point are these problems recognized by the participants and what do they do about it? Is there a solution?

...While there is no simple answer to the dilemma now appearing if you remain a participant and continue to hold paper assets, including real estate with a mortgage attached, you stand a good chance of suffering financial loss as a result of out of control banking policies administered by central banks that have a vested interest in their own survival and little else. You, the participant, have on the most part, been an unwitting party to this game of asset inflation, having had dangled before you the carrot of illisionary wealth represented by the cyclically increasing dollar value of hard and soft assets which, in fact, is merely the mirror image of a dollar devalued by the Fed's hyper-active printing press.

...A quote from Alan Greenspan in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal:

"In the absence of a gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights."

Perhaps the best financial strategy may well be to take Mr. Greenspan's warning about the absence of a gold standard seriously and get one's self on an individual or private gold standard...

^------(see url for full commentary)----^

R.

Thanks for the links that you posted on the WTC. I really dont believe anything the media has put out about 9/11.

As a side note, I guessed earlier this morning that the US stock markets would finish higher and that looks like what will happen. They just keep pumping the $$$ into the markets. My recent purchase here at CPM makes my future seem a little more secure.

Thanks to all at this forum/USAGold/CPM - I am so glad it's here every day.

2023

Contemplating todays Dollar/Gold chart and with it the SM's and Bonds in view of the atrocities in London it becomes clear that there is only one overwhelming strategy.

No, not the WAT, as was re-indoctrinated at the G8 Meetings - we will not ever budge to terror - and especially not at a time when we hand out some scraps to the poorest countries, we've raped forever and reset the Tokyo climate accords, probably to the worse.

Oh no, that's not the goal at all. The only goal is to set the globalized world "free" enough to choose and accept the new world order of a pa(u)perized monetary system, ensuring perpetual serfdom to its users, and perpetual power to its usurers.

All else is written off as collateral damage ... in the quest to keep the system working for another cloudy day ...

... Only the spin seems to go on forever ... and ever cb2

http://www.vlrc.org/articles/147.htmlFrom Dr. Edwin Viera:
"Contrary to a widespread belief, socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe did not collapse because of the clever geostrategic maneuvers of the Reagan Administration. Neither did the East Bloc break up because its leaders were incompetents who put into practice the wrong plans. Particular politicians and policies�East or West�had next to nothing to do with it.

The East Bloc fell apart�and had to fall apart, no matter what anyone did�because of an obscure principle of economics known as "the impossibility of rational economic calculation under bureaucratic central planning." Socialism failed�and must always fail�because, without prices for goods and services generated by a free market, central planners cannot allocate resources and manpower intelligently. But central planners cannot allow a free market to set prices (otherwise there could be no central planning). In the long run, this self-imposed bureaucratic blindness to the real values of people and things results in monumental waste, the failure of central plans to deliver sound capital investments and advancing standards of living, and finally the collapse of those societies that allow politicians and bureaucrats, rather than free entrepreneurs and workers, to direct the course of economic affairs."
See link for the rest.

No real impact on the markets. Why should it? Minor amount of people actually died today compare to the daily toll of accidental deaths...when you count the shootings its even worse! Then of course In the United States of America there are 4,000 abortions performed every day too. 41 million slaughtered since abortion was legalized. A few people die in a bomb blast? So what!


10. Machinery
Deaths per year: 350

We can thank the farmers of America for the inclusion of this particular misfortune as a cause of death. Between corn-huskers and wheat-threshers, is it a wonder? The reason it is last on the list is that there just aren't enough people in farming these days. Ironically, they have all been replaced by machines. Hmm� accident, or deliberate act by wanton machinery? We may never know.


9. Medical & Surgical Complications and Misadventures
Deaths per year: 500

While we are incredibly insensitive people, we did not coin the term "medical misadventure"- the National Safety Council did. How is death by surgeon a "misadventure?" While we're not sure, we suspect that this number refers to elective surgeries that people undertake, such as liposuction. After all, the removal of a brain tumor is not usually considered to be an "adventure."


8. Poisoning by gases
Deaths per year: 700

There's nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning � In this category, you mostly have deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty operation of a heating or cooking appliance, or a standing automobile. We assume, however, that the noxious gasses emitted by Uncle Albert qualify too.



7. Firearms
Deaths per year: 1,500

We can thank our second amendment rights for all 1500 of these deaths; call it the "right to die" amendment. You probably don't want to know how many countries in the world do not even have "accidental death by firearms" on their top ten, or their top twenty. Suffice it to say that it's most of them. Of the 1500, you're looking at about 75% young males between the age of 14 and 25 (and getting younger every year), who unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. For more information on the place of guns in society, click over to our pros and cons section.


6. Suffocation
Deaths per year: 3,300

Call this one the "Heimlich" section, as these deaths mostly resulted from blockages of the respiratory system by food or other objects.


5. Fires and burns
Deaths per year: 3,700

This would include deaths resulting from fires, such as smoke inhalation, falling beams, and sitting through Backdraft. Ironic that cancer is number two on the total deaths list, and a by-product of smoking is responsible for one of the top causes of accidental deaths. Are we getting the picture that this is a dangerous pastime? What kind of warnings do we have to put on these boxes, anyway?



4. Drowning
Deaths per year: 4,000

This includes all sorts of drownings in boat accidents and those resulting from swimming, playing in the water, falling in, or even having a bath. The human body is what, 70% water? And we begin our lives in a watery environment, there's lots of oxygen in water� what's the deal? Something for the scientists to work on.


3. Poisoning by solids and liquids
Deaths per year: 8,600

These would be all your commonly recognized poisons, as well as such items as mushrooms, shellfish, drug overdoses, and problems with medicines-which is a wide category, and why it is so high on the list. What they leave out is things like food poisoning or salmonella, which they classify as "disease deaths" and place on another list.


2. Falls
Deaths per year: 14,900

Then we come to the America's Funniest Home Videos category of accidental death, including falls from ladders, down stairs, over curbs, off buses, into manholes, and through plate glass windows.



1. Motor vehicle crashes
Deaths per year: 43,200

The winner, by a ridiculously huge (and ever-increasing) margin is: death by car wreck. Head on collision, sideswipe, single-vehicle smash-up, full car rollover, pedestrian takedown, choking on own carsick vomit, spontaneous combustion-the fun never stops for car owners. Try air travel instead; it's much safer. Do you see it anywhere on this list?

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Thursday Market Excerpts

July 7 (from MarketWatch) -- Gold prices logged a modest decline Thursday after spending most of the session posting gains on the heels of the apparent terrorist attacks in London.

The BBC reported that al-Qaida has taken responsibility for the blasts, which began in the morning rush hour.

Officials have confirmed dozens of fatalities and hundreds of injuries.

Against this backdrop, the August gold contract climbed as high as $427.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But it closed down 30 cents at $424.20.

"The shock of the bombings in London appears to be fading pretty quickly, with fundamentals returning to be a more key factor," said Thomas Hartmann, an analyst at Altavest Worldwide Trading. "Lower crude prices certainly are not being supportive of gold, nor has the dollar really budged at all," he said.

Peter Grandich, editor of The Grandich Letter also believes the " 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' crowd that roams Wall Street and much of the financial media" are likely starting to "play down" the blasts in London.

And the latest move is a "concentrated effort by a bear attack that began last Friday," he said, when prices fell over $8 an ounce.

Meanwhile, John Stafford, editor of Stafford's Investment Strategy Letter, called the reversal "G8 manipulation" that "keeps up the false appearance of 'calm'."

-----(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

Thank you FED_Reserves,

Interesting, if a bit macabre, statisitcs.

Of course, by your humoresque reasoning, petroleum is by far and away the most lethal substance in the US, especially in mechanical combination with steel!

Interesting that alcohol was not on the list, but it usually escapes under the wire as a mere "contributing factor".

Strong end-of-day support near 423, as sellers who chased gold below 420 were handed their heads by opportunistic buyers.

Oil was the really strange reactant today, as Lt Sweet was all over the map!

Very fishy! More 9/11 ops? This helps Blair's I.D. project which is revolting to English tradition.

The GAB

I do not know where this was posted, but was relayed to me:

"Bibi " should attend the " Israel Opportunity 2005 Conference for International Investors in London " in the Great Eastern Hotel above the Liverpool Street U-station but was forewarned by Scotland Yard not to go ...

STRANGE TWIST :BIBI NETANYAHO TARGETED? "SAVED" IN TIME
FarSight3 -- Thursday, 7 July 2005 , 6:02 a.m.

NEW: NETANYAHO WAS WARNED *BEFORE* THE BLASTS...
FarSight3 -- Thursday, 7 July 2005 , 6:26 a.m.

NEW: MORE MEDEA-COVERAGE ON *BIBI NETANYAHO* FOREWARNING...
FarSight3 -- Thursday, 7 July 2005 , 6:40 a.m.

" ISRAEL OPPORTUNITY 05 CONFERENCE" IN LONDON ON AFRICA ?
FarSight3 -- Thursday, 7 July 2005 , 7:15 a.m.

I picked up a nice batch this week, at $433/oz.

Two can play at this game, Messieurs Central Bankers.

Come again soon, always welcome!

The GAB

Are the attacks a conditioning of the public mInd for an extension of the war into IRAN?

Al Qaeda is a "cut-out" operation of CIA and MOSSAD, an "enemy" controlled by these elements. No question of that in my mind.

The GAB

I thought that this was worth repeating:

"In the spectrum of human psychology, there are certain people who cannot cope with the notion of randomness or of unrelated or inexplicable events. In order to cope, they simply fabricate connections as necessary to stitch all of the news elements floating around in their own mind into an intricate fabric of interlocking puzzle pieces neatly arranged into a series of causes and effects. He can state something matter-of-factly because that is how he has personally assimilated it into his own understanding; but that doesn't mean there is any actual credibility to the fabric of his story."

Of course, what comes out of some people's mouths or off the ends of their fingers is more complex than TC has described, but that is not a bad start...not bad at all. Individuals and groups have almost infinite facility to delude themselves...

:-)



@CB2

Yes Sir CoBra(too) ...clear days are not always pleasant days...but politics must go on.

Take care

Sir Au-some: We wonder what the good Dr. might have to say about the massive misallocation of capital that maybe brought about by government interference with natural interest rates in supposed free economic systems-- hmm?

We can further ponder the free printing of fiat in these free market systems and the short and long-term effects on the character and morality of those who benefit from the system and those who suffer theft by government inflation. Is a supposed free market economy that manipulates {by government mandates} the monetary system to produce desired results much less socialistic than some other form of socially planned system? Each distorts the economy and each can determine the winners and the losers to a large degree within that country.

The unabashed change in government attitude toward fiat and debt after 1971, and the unfettering of links internationally between dollars and gold has made all the difference in the world.
Unlimited license to print and to spend money can make any economy look pretty good! Heck, even you and I would look pretty good if we could just print it up at will and spend it-- or borrow and spend, and just keep rolling over the increasing debt amount forever.

The curtain on the next act is yet to raise. There has been a large degree of distorted interference in these economies that are traditionally considered to be non-socialistic. We will eventually see how it shakes out.

Yes, there are some who find a way to link their devils to any event that creates calamity. I come from the segment that sees pervasive high level financial and economic corruption in the US and elsewhere but not to the violent level suggested by some recent posters. To suggest that our president knew beforehand of 9/11 is way beyond my credibility limits. Perhaps we will hear that Tony Blair was seen running out of the London underground this morning. Whatever his faults the man is a hero in London for getting the 2012 Olympic games. Lately we've had some posts that reflect paranoia not reason or logic.

http://www.nymex.com/jsp/markets/sil_fut_wareho.jsp

There seems to be a mistake somewhere, as silver stocks are listed as only 91 million ounces as of close today. Yesterday they stood at 103 million or so.

Good point Sir Bat! When I saw the "initial" death toll of 33 that was my thought exactly. I dont suppose there are many around that remember the old anarchist days back in the 80s (1880's). A few bombs here and there dont seem to have any lasting effect on the world. As I recall someone got so disgusted with JP Morgan that they parked a horsecart full of explosives in front of THE bank back in 1904 or thereabouts. Killed 30. The stock market opened as usual latter that day. And then there was the rube that thought he could change America by killing president Cleveland (or was it McKinley?). There will always be terrorists and fruitcakes; if our definition of peace is the absence of these few malcontents then there will never be peace nor freedom for authoritarianism has never vanquished disorder since the founding of the world. A few bombs does not constitute war. When Qaddafi wanted to punish Britain over the Pan Am mess he shipped the IRA six TONS of semtex.

Lusitania
The Main
Tonkin

How could those compare to Pearl and the day the British sacked DC? In Tuchman's "The Guns of August" there is a chapter in which a french diplomat begs the brits to "just send us a SINGLE british soldier- we guarantee that he will be killed" (the idea being that his death will make a total intervention politically necessary.)

The patriot act will have a far more lasting effect than the WTC bombings, even if the former is soon forgotten. Today everbody "remembers" the great depression, only gold bugs remember the creation of the federal reserve.

Reality changes far too fast for that! But behold, rainy days have come! From atop the meneltarma you can see forever, including the fog banks that hug the coast where most people live. And beyond lies the approaching storm whose clouds obscure the order of battle so that you can not tell where the fleet lies, nor where the sea dragons lurk, nor from which direction the great wave approaches. To have this vantage is a far greater blessing than to know the present disposition of the enemy for that will change, but gold will be standing when the last clouds are parted.

http://www.eubusiness.com/Factsfig/050331131340.iaoggdgnFrom the ECB's web page:

31/03/2005
The European Central Bank said on Thursday that it had sold 47 tons of gold as part of last year's central bank gold sales agreement, but did not plan any further sales in the next six months.

_____________

A handshake and a smile. You can always rely on your central banker.

Re: msg 133894
Agree. Except that there is no need for the west to go beyond the stepped up rhetoric against Iran, Syria, Yemen and N Korea- so long as these countries and Al Quada, OPEC, and Iraqi and Afgani insurgents serve as handy scaegoats whenever the markets and financial mood get quiet and spooky, like before 9-11 and this time. It's treason to question the economy, the leadership authorities, etc if you're in a vulnerable poasition of power and some politico wants in on your territory. Extorting favors never looked easier.
Of course, I could be making this all up like that poor fellow on the stole underground gold. (TC/Randy has pegged the rationalizing syndrome well.) But the man's biggest mistake, besides not seeing the big gold picture, was to rant and obsess over his tale, and then to go out with an unprovoked obscenity-laced tirade (which was deleted). I regret to see him him go and hope he can return with a new(or the same) handle. Many do, whether here or at other forums. But mes are tough ad getting tougher in the world, and this makes posting that much more valuable to all.

Last line SHOULD read: "But times are tough and getting tougher..."

Batman you beat me to it -- I agree with your earlier post
(133894).Only the very naive will erase from their memory the FACT that Govts all over the world at different times --have commited Terrorist Acts to accelerate their own agendas eg:

**The French Govt --blowing up the GreenPeace Boat "Rainbow Warrior" at dock in New Zealands Auckland Harbour only a few yrs ago. Only 1 death.
(Very embarrassing as their operatives were caught)

**When the State Department publicly confirmed US support for terrorist attacks on agricultural cooperatives in Nicaragua, Kinsley wrote that we should not be too quick to condemn this official policy. Such international terrorist operations doubtless cause "vast civilian suffering," he conceded. But if they manage "to undermine morale and confidence in the government," then they are "perfectly legitimate." The policy is "sensible" if "cost-benefit analysis" shows that "the amount of blood and misery that will be poured in" yields "democracy". . . .

"Thus the clear message emerging from both officials and the media is that our (i.e., US or US-backed) "terrorism" is fine, as long as the goal is worthy; while their "terrorism," whatever the objective, is criminal and deserving of the harshest possible violent response"

To explore more check this link: http://www.museletter.com/archive/117.html


FROM RICHARD RUSSELL - - TODAY
Snip:
July 7, 2005 -- "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce." President James A. Garfield.

News: Six bombs go off in London, subway and transportation is London is halted. A European branch of Al-Qaeda takes credit. Question -- did the bombings occur as a protest against the G-8 meeting? Or against London's winning the 2012 Olympic bid? Did the bombings imply that "we can create havoc in London or New York or Spain or anywhere we choose. Be afraid, be very afraid, because we are the ones who are in control."

The initial reaction to the bombing (last night) was a huge drop in the S&P futures, a three-dollar drop in oil, and a five-dollar rise in gold. All this simmered down by the opening today. The economic fear is that following a disaster of this type, people will cut back on travel (and certainly travel by air), and they will cut back on their spending ("I'm going to stay home where I feel safe").
--------
Further Snip:
"The London bombings will accomplish one thing -- they will provide the rationale for almost any amount of US spending on defense. And you can be sure that Congress will rubber-stamp almost anything the White House and the Department of Defense can come up with -- that is anything calculated to keep us "safe from terrorism."

I've said all along that the Fed cannot depend on consumer spending or corporate expansion to keep the "economic home fires burning." Thus, it will be up to government spending (and damn the budget deficit) to keep the US economy afloat. The London bombing is just what was needed to justify all-out defense spending.

In his final speech, President Eisenhower warned about placing the nation in the hands of the "military-industrial complex." Subscribers, make no mistake about it -- we are there."

@Boilermaker,

What exactly constitutes "logic and reason"? For many, it is being redefined by the courage to question authority, their actions, and the motives behind them. It is applying Reagan's "Trust, but Verify" wider than just to percieved enemies.

Like you, I'm not entirely convinced by the most radical conspiracy theories, but instead look for some middle ground between the "official" story and the potential for abuse suggested by investigators.

However, since the SM bubble of post-Y2K, the interaction between the "economic", "political", and overt "military" seem all too closely interwoven, perhaps more so than in previous generations.

Was the invasion of Iraq necesary for regime change, securing oil resources, eliminating Euro support in international transactions, or maybe all of the above? The entire plan of execution and justification for the invasion pre-existed in the Pax Americana documents of 1998, ruining the credibility of the war admin.

Given the perceived necessity, does that excuse the manipulation and dismantling of the US intelligence services to achieve this? The Plame outing by the admin caused mass resignations by the "professional" intelligence officers, as many feared that the new DOI was more interested in "spin" than "intelligence".

Taking it only one step farther, we have yet to see a single piece of evidence linking the WTC event to any real, living "Al Qaeda" people, and in fact, 8 of the named perpetrators are still alive and well in Paris. That does not prove any professional intelligence "colaboration" in the event, but it raises enough questions along with other "evidence" that the investigation should be opened up, regardless of the sources of the information.

After all, if the White House is willing to "expose" a high level CIA agent like Valerie Plame and all her field assets for "purely political" reasons, shouldn't they also be willing to open up their 911 evidence to an unbiased investigation and finally put the myriad questions to rest?

I don't know all the answers, but my sense of fairness and justice demands that the questions be asked and answered.

The irony of all of this cannot escape the Chinese. Reagan and the NeoCons bankrupted the Soviet Union with their massive military-debt build up. Continuing that philosophy to nearly hyperbolic levels has brought the US to a financial "conundrum" that is easily as tenuous, while the Chinese have quietly acquired a strong hold on the purse strings.

The Grandich Letter

SPECIAL ALERT:

London Bombings Should Sadly Change the Investing Landscape

....Gold � I have not been a card-carrying member of the "gold is manipulated" fringe group within the metals and mining industry. This is not to say I do not respect what they have to say. But after Friday's trading pattern on the Comex and the opening today, I think I will be contacting them for an application.

Now in my third decade of following the gold market, I believe Friday's trading on the Comex was a "planned" bear raid and not a random coincidence of factors that led to an $8+ decline. With a major holiday weekend upon us, and extremely ill-liquid trading environment, gold suddenly tanked. You can search until the cows come home and not find any legitimate fundamental factor that could have even remotely led longs to suddenly want to liquidate their positions. The fact that this occurred as gold was approaching levels that could have led to a break out on the upside, well???????

Any doubt that there is someone (or a group) currently attempting to get Comex gold prices lower for reasons that the gold manipulation crowd have repeatedly stated for a long time now, left my body this morning. Minutes before gold is set to open on the Comex this morning, it begins to fall and is heavily sold as soon as the bell rings. Did any of the news change that led to the rise just minutes and hours before? Why at 7:20AM EST does the gold community believe gold deserves to be up $5 but in just one hour (and no new news) do players on the Comex hit the ground selling hard and lead gold to be up less than a buck?????..

-END

http://www.euronews.netwhat's that?
Politicians, the pope and JC Trichet?
Are these guys in the soul-brokerage buisines now?
or what are they accounting 4?
a cheaper currency?

economic models, symbols and reality
gold - hold on to it


debt relief, my proposition
an equal amount of IMF-gold for every newborn child
and by �puisement du stock the IMF goes out of buisines.
cheers

http://www.enterprisemission.com/weblog/weblog.htmAfter such a spectacular buildup to the July 4th "deep Impact" event, NASA has released only a few photographs with a "explanations" of the results, even after days to study the results.

Conspicuously missing from their release is any spectral data that would confirm or refute NASA's long-held Whipple theory that comets are big-bang remnants composed mostly of ice and primordial chemicals. Might they be just a bit embarrased?

The pre-impact photos clearly show solid rock formation, with no "steam engine" generating the amounts of vapor necessary to fuel the water vapor tails of Whipple theory. It seems that the Electric Solar System therory is gaining weight.

Scientists like Hoagland, McCanney, and van Flandern are suggesting that the fall of the unassailable comet theory opens NASA up to a lot of questions as to why they have continued "protecting" theories that non-NASA-sponsored researchers have claimed did not "hold water" for decades - pun intended.

The events today in London have completely overshadowed NASA's silence, of course, but as we have seen, even a Martha Stewart trial is enough to divert the media's professional ADHD-style attention.

Hoagland's blog is linked.

Are we getting more and more "Yawn, ho-hum" with these Gleneagles style events?
You can "almost" imagine them organising the whole sheebang ...Meeting, Protesters, Terrorist attacks whatever, simply to galvanise whats left of popular opinion that, for many reasons simply doesn't get it!

Numbers ARE dwindling though.

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DXY0&v=d6This would have to be a classic WoW Chart. NOBODY is confident in the Buck here, it is just as "weak" now, as it was @ 80.
We may have some time to wait before "exuberance" takes hold.

Perfect timing : G-8 + Tony's EU presidency (6 months) !
The global war on oil/gas-control, continues. Tony has become a multi-purpose poodle. The (in)famous "trans-atlantic" bridge. Evolving Euroland within or on the hedge of the AA dominance : Can Tony reconcile (amalgamate) the two (AA-EU) diverging visions on world affairs !?
Will this London 9/11 pull the whole EU into the AA camp !?

This are the political games that are being played on the back of innocent victims.

The AA financial industry and its fraternities (political factions) are backing up, Tony's pr�-programmed 6 months.
There is an encouragement of the oilprice-pain !!! The devastating economic effects are to be maximized as to polarize the different visions (EU-AA)(AA= anglo american).
The terror-weaponS (!) are used to divide and align the forming (evolving) global factions >>> AA - Asia - EU - rest. The oil-pricing is about the IMS (intern. mon. system). Soon, the old transatlantic alliance will have only its respective GAAP-debts (Trillions) in common...but both having a different vision on it.

The EU knew it in advance (since 9/11) that the risk of installing a rising level of terror in the EU, was always there ! This has been (still is) dominating the divisions within the EU. Two currency systems (�-$) in competition...euh, war. The London atrocity is simply another step in this evolving business. GOLD's future (its pricing) remains closely connected to how this trans atlantic diversion evolves within the global context of Asia factor and oilpricing.

China, India, Russia, ME (and their satelites) watch how the AA and the EU split or (re-)unite, whilst they continue their efforts to position themselves in the great oil/gas scramble(war).

It's great to see that MK allows us to opinion on the "political" aspects of the goldpricing...PRICING !
Was it significant to see (again) a flight into the euro, with the London bombs...coupled with a firm decline in oilprice !? Euro strength seems to go hand in hand with lower oilprices !? Dollar strength = rising oilprices, wich we see happening (again) at this very moment.

Oil AND euro-numeraire without a country, flag or anthem !?

Oil and euro-numeraire, ... for the time being,... unconnected to the goldpricing !!! Oil and euro strong in gold. And a dollar that still succeeds in remaining less (lesser) strong in gold. Significant, no !?

Yes, there is a goldpricing war going on ! Fixed goldprice (freezing) or MTM goldpricing !!! The London atrocity is one more element in the political theatre that goes with this gold-pricing competition. Greater Asia, ME, Russia (other), have to live, work and die under an $-IMS that is not a system of their choice (preference-?). They are all very familiar with "the" dollar...BUT ALSO WITH GOLD, and its pricing concept.

Of course, the EU can remain divided and weakened...politically ! But can the concept of MTM of goldpricing (freegold) remain frozen !? What does freegold mean for the two main competing numeraires (units of account - �-$)...whatever their respective political context !

Sir Kosares : It is NOT the euro currency that is threathening the $-IMS ...BUT...THE CHANGE IN GOLDPRICING !!! The change in goldpricing REGIME !!! And a new, modern (inevitable)(universal) goldpricing NEEDS AN APPROPIATE NUMERAIRE !!! And the "old" goldpricing regime was...a dollar-designed one. The new goldregime-freegold, is dollar incompatable.
The oilpricing devil cannot be forced back into the toothpaste tube...regardless of how much the � or $ negociates with the oil/gas-owners. There are other, fast growing kids, on the AA/EU globe. Dollar nor euro can continue to tell the whole world what is good for all of us on our decades' history of debt-driven political economy by the means of the common $-IMS. Forcing all the others to accept the principle of a "market-economy", also means (consequently) that oilpricing shouldn't be excluded at our western convience. Let the oil-owners price their wealth as they please and let gold-wealth be MARKED TO THE MARKET, as well.

A declining euro-dollar exchange rate + a further rising oilprice will have negative effects on the (very weak) growth in Euroland and threathen its (ECB) price-stability efforts ! An explosive coctail. Will this aspect force the euro back into the AA camp and provide the (false) (western)multilateral view on global policies !!!???
Can a (re)united (trans atlantic) west, bring the oilprices back down and restore the calm on the financial markets !!!??? And would with this action, the Asia-factor be eliminated ? I strongly doubt that this globe can compromise any further. Tony's six months is a very short period. And the African debt-relief (G-8) is an old farce that cannot cover the real (in)tentions between the different factions (visions-policies). A further stigmatation (diabolisation) of the global islamic community will certainly have serious consequences down the road.

How much goodwill can we keep buying with the shipments (commitments) of gold to the world's goldmetal accumulators !? Sooner or later, the "old" goldpricing system will break and will be the cause of the exploding "old" monetary ($-IMS) regime. A very elegant solution for destroying the giant debt asteroid.

@ Topaz,

Switching the perspective on your WoW chart to "MAX" tells a different story. The waterfall appears.

In Gold, the six month chart is almost a sine wave. One would think the market is completely benign - until expanding out to 1 year and beyond!

http://www.safehaven.com/article-3402.htmIf it was anything but $X you'd sell it short, all support down to 85 has been kicked out from under it ...overshoot and who knows where it'd stop.
In what might be viewed as the "Last Hurrah", Buck HAS TO appreciate as the appetite of Consumers for imports begins to wane. (less Imported G/S - less though higher valued Dollars exported = constant nett) The end-game does NOT include any rebalancing act whereby US Exports (G/S) might have a role to play ...as we say down here, "it's Sydney or the Bush"

Just my HO G'lox, Linked is a short, sweet article from Mr Pollock via next door.
Have a nice w-end.

snip:

July 08, 2005 09:21:22 (ET)

NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Gold futures in New York advanced on Friday, after briefly slipping to their lowest level in five weeks as the dollar rose after the U.S. jobs report for June.

But, with a subsequent sell-off in the dollar, gold recovered and looked to be darting around within a well-worn range between $420 and $440 an ounce again, after shedding prior gains linked to London's fatal blasts on Thursday.

Dealers said overnight speculative short selling and long liquidation quickly fizzled after the payrolls data.

"The funds came in and bought it after the unemployment number came out," said a COMEX gold floor trader. "That number sort of killed the dollar rally."

August gold ((GCQ5)) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1 at $425.20 an ounce by 9:53 a.m. EDT, after earlier sliding to $422.30.

Traders said clear direction was absent from the market and gold was still in a general sideways pattern, though it could make sharp moves in either direction before the weekend.

-Goldilox

Gnus from the pits! More crab-wise movement in PMs, although the HUI is up again today.

http://urbansurvival.com/week.htmsnip:

Happy Hype Day! Look for the market to go up on reports that go like this one: "Hiring around the country picked up slightly in June with employers adding 146,000 jobs -- helping to push the unemployment rate down to 5 percent, the lowest in nearly four years."

Well, not quite. You know about the Birth-Death Model which the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses to "correct" it's employment figures, right? So this morning I get a summary from a hawk-eyed reader who sees BLS headlines and then goes looking for the statistical chain which has been jerked to get the numbers reported:

"BLS says 146,000 new jobs in June 05, but 184,000 of those jobs came from the CES birth-death model.

The CES model must take into account all those new independent contractors created when employees get canned by GM and so many others."

If you doubt and need the source this statistically hip reader cited, check the following BLS chart: (see URL)

To our way of reading, that would imply that the economy lost 18-thousand jobs in the period, not the 146,000 gain which the wet nurse media report. And our favorite number, the U-6 table under Alternative measures of Labor Underutilization reflected a jump from 8.6% to 9.3% from May. That said, now you know how to read the official press "happy talk" release about June's job numbers

-Goldilox

George's insightful analysis, as always, is linked to the raw BLS report at his site.

http://www.usagold.com/cpm/aboutcpm.html

Now that SquareGain has replaced comdirect, have any of the well-read cartophiliacs lingering about figured out if the real-time resources for PM quotes is still available on their site? Or is it time to link some new ones?

Lazy and buzy are my excuses , , ,

-G

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh81147_2005-07-08_15-48-54_l08557431_newsmlLONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - A secret Internet chatroom run by Britain's financial regulators helped keep London's financial markets open after Thursday's bomb blasts, while financial firms activated security measures in case of further attacks.

The Bank of England, the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority switched on a secure section of their Financial Sector Continuity Web site to talk to major banks operating in the City of London's financial hub about how they were coping.

"In the light of yesterday's events the tripartite authorities (Treasury, Bank of England and FSA) have activated the contingency part of the Web site," they said on Friday.

The site, set up after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, allows regulators to coordinate and communicate with the financial services sector if there is a devastating event...

The Web site has a secure section where the authorities can communicate directly with big banks that are key to the stability of the international financial system.

The City of London's financial markets, where currencies, stocks, bonds and commodities worth trillions of dollars are traded daily, kept going despite disruption from the blasts.

"Contingency planning by banks has increased considerably in last three years, post September 11, and what yesterday shows is that the planning has worked," said David Key, crises management practice leader...

"There has also been a move away from the traditional focus on security towards risk management, or understanding the threat and developing resilience," he said.

^------(see url for full article)------^

When you fully understand that money is merely data, you finally realize how very vulnerable you potentially could be to chaos in the financial/telecommunications network.

A solid plan for developing your personal resistence is to choose tangible gold as a hefty portion of your savings. Call USAGOLD-Centennial today to begin a diversification program that's right for you.

R.

Listening to the "business news" in the car this morning, I heard a caller ask what to do with a couple thousand silver bullion coins his dad (who he explained away as a Depression era kid) left him. He complained, "they're just sitting there, not making me any money."

I guess he hasn't noticed that silver rose from $4.50 to $7 in the short time since his dad passed.

Too bad the father didn't pass on the meaning of his experience to the son.

To add insult to injury, the analyst on the radio suggested he sell them and buy gold and silver funds!

YEEEESH!

Approximately 8.1 million use heating oil as their main heating fuel. Residential space heating is the primary use for heating oil, making the demand highly seasonal. Most of the heating oil use occurs during October through March. The area of the country most reliant on heating oil is the Northeast

Some customers try to beat rising winter prices by filling their storage tanks in the summer or early fall when the prices are likely to be lower. However, most homeowners do not have large enough storage tanks to store the full amount needed to meet winter demands. Because homeowners may have to refill their tanks as often as 4 or 5 times during the heating season, possible rising or spiking prices are a concern.

Heating oil prices paid by consumers are determined by the cost of crude oil, the cost to produce the product, the cost to market and distribute the product, as well as the profits (sometimes losses) of refiners, wholesalers and dealers. The distribution and marketing costs accounted for 46 percent of the cost of a gallon of heating oil. The next largest component, crude oil, accounted for approximately 42 percent of the cost of a gallon of heating oil. Lastly, refinery processing costs account for another 12 percent.

Reasonable forshadowing::....Refinery prices will rise DRAMATICALLY, as crude oil prices rise.....Transportation, security.....Disruption Insurance???....Just another puzzle piece of the super spike hypothesis.....

PANIC TALK.....AMERICA NEEDS TO CONTROL ???, ITS OUR RIGHT...right?

As I double dip, let me add.....Gold was commonly transported for monetary exchange, (payroll, currency disbursement)......Parties rode shotgun to protect their interests.........America riding shotgun with dollars, covering the tankers will not fly much longer........GOLD is the new gun guarding this commodity.............welcome aboard the "flight train"......................hold on to your pants...

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Friday Market Excerpts

July 8 (from DowJones) -- The New York precious metals complex finished the "quietest day of the week" slightly mixed Friday, with gold's focus turning back to its longtime correlation with the euro against the U.S. dollar, traders said.

August gold tended to rise and fall with the single European currency, before the metal finally finished with a loss of 40 cents to $423.80.

"It was the quietest day of the week," said one trader.

"We saw gold starting to track the euro again. But to be frank, there was not a lot of volume."

Several other traders and analysts also cited the euro/dollar relationship as the main factor fueling gold's price action during the day.

Earlier this summer, there had been some decoupling of this correlation.

"We pretty much followed the dollar around," said Frank Lesh, futures analyst with Rand Financial Services. "The dollar was up when we (gold futures) were down. And it (gold) moved down when the dollar was up. That was about it."

COMEX August gold futures fell to a low of $422.30 in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. jobs report, when the euro slid to its $1.1876 low. But as the euro was moving to its high for the day of $1.1986 around midmorning, August gold was likewise hitting its high of $425.80.

The euro then gave back some of its gains during the last few hours of the trading day, fetching $1.1937 as gold closed, down slightly from $1.1950 late Thursday. Gold likewise drifted back down to finish with a 40-cent loss.

-----(see url for full news, 24-hr live newswire)----

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=921206(Reuters) Jul. 8, 2005 - Oil prices held near $61 a barrel on Friday as financial markets shrugged off the impact of London's bomb attacks and as a hurricane approached U.S. Gulf oil facilities.

The announcement by OPEC of the resumption of talks to consider raising output limits for the second time in a month did little to undermine prices.

^----(from url)----^

Hallmarks of a "brave new world".

R.

Hoagland's comments on the south african carbon spheroids reminded me of Vusamazulu's stories. There's a story about some geologist that giving a report to Kruger, his aside to his wife: "Come Mama! Meet the nice man who was here when God created africa!" Sir boilermaker, I readily admit some of my assertions make me look like an idiot; I try to call them stories, and name the author but sometimes I forget.

Some facts are simple, eg: Gold is rare and precious. It is easy to buy gold.

Oil at 60$+ is a fact which can not be hidden no matter how many times they repeat "it's lower than the inflation adjusted peak of $90". Sixty dollar oil is a more disturbing fact than all the bombs of Al Queda whether they kill 33 (as initially reported) or 3300.

Some facts require careful examination eg: 19 al queda hijackers carried out the WTC bombings. It is hard to punish Al Queda: they have ein fuher, but where ist der volk, und der heimat?

I'll stick with simple.

Meanwhile, does anybody know if these gentlemen have decided to dump gold to save africa from debt and disease?

http://www.jsmineset.com/snip:

China is presently bidding or has purchased three major US businesses. This is a neat way to dump dollars. Keep in mind that Chinese companies are not publicly traded, they are government entities � surprise, surprise. This is why when a Chinese company bids dollars for US companies it is very much a dump dollar asset producing game. We are two months into a negative inflow versus the US Trade Deficit TIC report. So it will require a miracle to keep the dyke from leaking on a third consecutive TIC report of less incoming funds into the US than the US Trade Deficit. If it is not this month, it will be coming soon.

-Goldilox

It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Chinese, who hold 30% of the purse strings for the US treasury, do not win any financial skirmish.

http://www.jsmineset.com/snip:

The price of oil is an inflationary disaster because it percolates through heavy industries and impacts consumers as their lines of credit become over extended. If you can keep business activity at a high level, which it will do in the face of high energy prices, the dollar will die a natural death. Those that will benefit from the well timed attack in London include the energy industry - due to increased risk premiums - Daddy Warbucks and the defense industry, Authoritarian Free Enterprise's birthing process, Russia, the Middle East and al Qaeda, although not necessarily in that order.

-Goldilox

As I heard on Comedy Central tonight, "OK, we conquered an oil producing country and the price of oil tripled. Whassup with that?"

Perhaps we should have given away an oil producer so the price would fall instead - I guess our friends in China are really trying to help us out with their generous UnoCal offer.

http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html

http://www.abcs-of-gold-investing.com/

Bearish look at bubble - SF Gate (7/8/2005 5:29 AM)["Bearish"! How daring!]
Colorado developer buys downtown block - Houston Chronicle (7/8/2005 8:31 AM) [Carion soon to visit suburbia en masse]
Mortgage rates post gains across board - CNN/Money (7/8/2005 8:34 AM)[The mortgage rate doll bobs it's little head, entreating "watch the doll, keep your on the doll"]
For U.S. newspapers, paper prices add to problems - Reuters (7/9/2005 6:39 AM) [Newspaper icons pine for state subsidies in the age of "information"]
Moody's says may cut GM to junk status - Reuters (7/7/2005 2:48 PM)[Hedge funds cower behind the spin]
China Oil Giants Crave Respectability and Power - NY Times (7/9/2005 6:39 AM)[China oil giants HAVE respectability and power]
ECB's Weber Says Inflation Risks Increased Since June - Bloomberg (7/8/2005 5:17 AM)[Rate INCREASES loom vs rate CUTS]
Snow Visits U.S.'s Biggest Oil Supplier: It's Not Saudi Arabia - Bloomberg (7/8/2005 5:18 AM)[Smoke and mirrors- oil and terrorism is the source of all maladies]
The Plaza Accord Nightmare China Must Avoid - Pesek, Bloomberg (7/8/2005 5:19 AM)
With Eye to China, Malaysians Ponder Revaluation - NY Times (7/8/2005 5:27 AM)
Who Cares About Inflation? - Norris, NY Times (7/8/2005 5:25 AM)

"watch the doll, keep your EYE on the doll" [and OFF the slip]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002370083_lukoil09.html?syndication=rssRussian Oil Giant Moving In - Deborah Yao - AP -
July 9, 2005 - Excerpt: "PHILADELPHIA � Lukoil, Russia's largest oil company, has launched a marketing offensive to put its name on gas stations across the U.S. and become as well known here as it is at home.
Over the past five years, OAO Lukoil (pronounced luke-oil) has entered the U.S. market by acquiring about 1,300 Getty gas stations and 800 Mobil locations in the Northeast. It is converting them to its brand and recently launched advertising to introduce itself to consumers in 13 states.
The company plans to keep acquiring assets in the U.S., the world's biggest consumer of oil. The Moscow-based conglomerate is the largest oil producer, refiner and distributor in Russia and second in the world in proven oil and natural-gas reserves, behind ExxonMobil.
"It is our hope that other major acquisitions will become available as the petroleum sector continues its consolidation," said Vadim Gluzman, president and chief executive of Lukoil Americas Holding, the oil giant's U.S. arm in East Meadow, N.Y."
[As Russians look to acquire more assets, China and other developing countries can expect similar opportunities, political ideology notwithstanding IMO. The linked Associated Press article is overlong but humorous in the
lengths it goes to represent, even patronize Lukoil and it's spokesmen- they're convinced they can position the company and brand name in the US, as "friendly" vs competing oil giants.]

@ mikal,

So, let me get this straight, failing to maintain the cold war threat of "nuking" the US, the current Russian regime has evolved its strategy to "luking" the US?

Added to the oil patch "action" is Asia, I'd say the US oil admin is either gambling away its hold on world oil resources, or trading US markets to globalist interests for "war support".

If we thought that Chevron, Exxon, et al, were prone to gouging the US retail customer at every opportunity, wait until the Chinese and Russians establish their retail footholds. To whom will we complain about "price gouging" then?

No wonder Jim Rogers "strongly suggests" we learn Chinese. It will likely be the official language of customer service in the coming decade.

Re: "Gouging" Well said. How many ways can they have us over a barrel?
But I think we consumers might have postponed that problem
for at least seven generations! You see, we really hold the cards in this game. There's almost unlimited mileage in our Shell and Lucky oil cards and only a phone call stands between us and our next credit limit increase. Big oil is REALLY pushing their luck.

@ mikal,

Perhaps, but like free mileage fom the airlines, the "free lunch" has to end somewhere. I retired with 1M+ airline miles, but have only been able to use them at "double" rates, because the "saver" seats are always taken, no matter how many months in advance I try to reserve my seat.

Who will be lacking a chair when the music stops?

They're all (globalists) in bed together if the truth be known. What a laugh now Russia (Putin) is now talking "Be careful w/ anti terrorist laws affecting the honest citizens" We could lose rights. LOL this coming from Russia??? The only war being waged in the world is the one against honest money (Gold) and the working class people. Trust our paper promises "OR ELSE".

Check this signal out....

Sino-US-Saudi oil refinery JV launched
By Wang Ying and Hu Meidong (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-09 08:50

China's largest oil refining and ethylene integrated joint venture was officially launched on Friday in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian Province.

A combined investment between Sinopec, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco, the new Fujian petrochemical complex will be able to produce 12 million tons of refined oil and 800,000 tons of ethylene annually by 2008, with new facilities to be added to the existing 4-million-ton-per-annum oil refining unit.

The three parties signed the joint venture contract on Friday and work on the site's infrastructure has begun.

Fujian Refining & Chemical Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Asia's largest oil refiner Sinopec, owns a 50 per cent stake in the new utility, with ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco controlling 25 per cent each.

Besides oil refining and ethylene production, the giant complex also includes other facilities to yield polyethylene, polypropylene and para-xylene products. It also has supporting infrastructure, such as a 300,000-ton dock.

Saudi Aramco will supply crude oil from the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia for the refining facilities. The three investors are also about to set up a refined oil retailing company in Fujian Province to sell refined oil produced by the under-construction petrochemical complex.

Leaders from the three investors yesterday declined to give detailed information about the oil retailing joint venture.

Both central and local government officials have attached great importance to the Fujian project since negotiations started in 1995.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's National Committee, said in a letter of congratulations that the petrochemical joint venture is expected to contribute to advancing China's petrochemical industry as well as boosting the regional economy.

"The advanced technology, reasonable product portfolio and robust market demand within Fujian Province will ensure a competitive success for our three-party joint venture," Wang Tianpu, president of Sinopec, told a news briefing before the ground-breaking ceremony in Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian Province.

Boasting business relations with China for over 100 years, ExxonMobil sees the Fujian project as "a significant milestone" to continue its business involvement with China in the long term, said E.G. Galante, the company's senior vice-president.

Saudi Aramco said through the world-class Fujian petrochemical joint venture the company will continue to work with Sinopec.

@YGM,

I think when the talk is about all-out Cuba-style embargos, it's definitely poppycock. On the other hand, the posturing is pretty predominant, and usually leads to "trade agreements" that favor one special interest group over another. In this way, I think it qualifies as more than smoke and mirrors.

http://www.jsmineset.comsnip:

Today's release of the COT data reveals a continuation of the staggering build-up in the spec long positions which show no sign of abating. What we are witnessing is, in my opinion, a near manic condition in which we really do have a massive imbalance of positions among the speculators.
As you and I have both repeatedly stated, specs can build positions larger than many people can envision and that makes fading them quite dangerous when it comes to taking contrarian positions in a market based solely on the COT data. However, there does come a time when we really do have the proverbial situation that occurs in which the majority of specs are piled over on one side of the boat. That being said, I believe we have reached such a point in the dollar and are close to the tipping point.

I say this based not just on the sheer size of the imbalance but also on the market internals which reveal a loss of upward momentum in the dollar.

I am not saying that a dollar top is imminent within the next few days. What I am saying is that the conditions are ripe for such a top to occur and for a hard sell-off to take place. All it will take is either an extraneous event or further continued stalling at this level which will trip the indicators over to the sell side. When that occurs, the trading funds, which live or die by their black boxes, will simultaneously and unthinkingly head for the exits, precipitating a real "religious" experience for any of those who happen to be on the wrong side.

It goes without saying that such an event will put a strong tail wind into the gold market and could very well be the spark which takes us through overhead resistance near the $440-$445 region.

The current dollar rally, when the sell-off finally does occur, will be then seen for what it is and was � a short covering rally induced by Fed and Wall Street spinners which fed on itself due to the poor timing by European officials on the EU Constitution vote.

Perversely, the dollar rally will only serve to have further worsened America's chronic Current Account Deficit.

-Goldilox

The rubber bands get wound tighter and tighter! Will they spin their way to dollar flight or snap during the windup?

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1525013,00.htmlSNIPS
[Soros] sees trouble brewing: in a divided and bickering European Union (with possible long-term implications for the single currency); or in Russia, where Vladimir Putin's version of democracy has become such a 'sham' that, by all rights, he should no longer have a seat at the G8 table. China, a society that has been 'opening' in response to a globalised economy, could now be heading for a trade war, he says, with a newly nationalistic America. 'Either it revalues the currency, or you're going to have a trade war,' says Soros. 'Either way they're going to decide within the next six to nine months.'
+
... Soros favours reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. But Europe, he says, is 'in crisis ... because of the tensions now, the differences between Blair and Chirac are so glaring that nothing - nothing - can be agreed. And I think it's going to get worse before it gets better - and it may never get better.'
At least for now, the EU has also turned its back on the idea of acting as a single, coherent political entity, says Soros, a development which may also haven an impact on the euro.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1525009,00.html
A warning from history
SNIPS
The famous slump on Wall Street in 1929 was followed by signs of recovery that punters thought would lead to a new bull market. Only in 1930-31 did it become apparent that the world was in the throes of a prolonged and deep depression. Likewise, 1987 is instructive: share prices were overheating, but it took a hurricane, not stern words from the Bank of England, to knock the market off its perch - and then a year for prices to recover.
More recently, consider what happened after 9/11. Trading on Wall Street was suspended; there were falls in the days following and then an extraordinary 20 per cent bounce in the next six months. Thereafter, the American market fell amid high-profile corporate disasters and growing panic in the run-up to the Iraq war.
I am not arguing that the terror attacks on London will dislocate the British economy, far less our national spirit - although in London itself there will be local damage to tourism this summer and consequently to retail sales, which have been in the doldrums for a over a year.
+
Alarm is growing over an oil price of $60 a barrel, and as we reported last week this could go to $100 by winter.

Yes, Sir Invisible: We see a splitting apart of the European factions like the fractionating of crude oil into it's various chemical components that takes place in the great distillation towers round the world. We see that on Friday crude traders bid oil down on prospects that Hurricane Dennis would swing easterly up the west coast of Florida and away from the oil and gas facilities. Could they be wrong? It looks now like Dennis is set to barrel in on similar course as last year's Ivan (right up the gut). Dennis could be upgraded to category 4, as compared to Ivan's category 3. Look out Monday. Gasoline unleaded is already $2.50 per. in Seattle. Gasoline on top of previously contracted debt IS, IS, slowing retail sales in all other sectors. I Know, I'm in the other sectors! I see it, Now!!!

I am often left wondering why, after the shortening of Market trading hrs subsquent to 9/11 they all returned to normal but for Gold. From my understanding the hrs are still shortened by 2.5 hrs. No hue and cry from anyone?

A poster at a neighboring forum had this to say about the purchase of UNOCAL by CNOOC:

"My only caveat is if the PRC is giving no or low interest rate loans to CNOOC, this should be reconsidered. It is far too easy for a central bank to create the money out of thin air and purchase actual, producing assets."

So easy to criticize others, for what your side is doing 24/7!

The FED is creating mountains of dollars, out of nothing, with which the US economy buys everything under the sun, in whatever amount and at whatever price at any time. But when these dollars are to COME HOME, "Oh NO! We can't have that!"

The US is apparently immune to high oil prices. One explanation may be, that since all it takes is more dollars to get a barrel, why, PRINT MORE OF THE DAMN STUFF and get over it!

Big question: How long is this racket going to last? BIS is making noises, saying "This can't go on" but - no action.

Doubtless very few will agree with me, but my view is that the world's Super Power is NOT the USA, but Israel which runs the USA. Israel aims at world domination as promised to them by their religion. Who can oppose its aims? Not Europe. Not the USA, under Israeli control; Russia - perhaps; Iran - definitely opposed and to be attacked, soon; North Korea - defiant but small potatos; Japan - under USA control; Australia - within the Israeli orbit; Canada - of little importance; Latin America - spiritually oppposed but materially a weak opponent; Africa - asleep; Islamic countries - definitely opposed and the current object of warfare, result to be seen; India - I have no knowledge; SE Asia - unsufficient knowledge, but as Moslems, opposed spiritually; that leaves: CHINA! 80% of Chinese belong to one single family, the HAN family.

China has had its fill of being cut up and exploited by foreign powers, and has come into its own upon the world stage.

The big showdown to come, is between Israel and its satellites (of which, the USA is one - Sorry!) and CHINA. All else is incidental.

The GAB

GAB - I agree with you 100% about Israel.

@ GAB,

Whether Israel is a US satellite or vice-versa can be argued ad nauseum. There is a simple reason the order is not as important as the relationship itself.

Consider how a fairly minor Miami voting block has succeeded in maintaining the Cuban embargo all these years in return for their block vote.

The Jewish-Evangelical vote have an infinitely stronger hold on Congress than the minor Cuban refugee block. The Jewish agenda is, of course, "security" for Israel, where the more radical Evangelicals want to hasten an Armegeddon that they fervently believe will usher in destruction of democracy by a Monarchy of their "savior".

The most obvious evidence is found in the "Foreign Aid" budget. Israel, a strong, profitable modern economy receives $billions in "aid"- more than all the other countries combined. Does a perfectly functioning economy really require the lion's share of "developmental" aid? - no it's actually made up of high-tech surveillance and weapons - guaranteed business for the M-I contractors.

Second on the list is Egypt, whose economy is also functioning, but not at Israeli levels. Many believe the Egyptian aid is for two purposes beyond "humanitarian aid".

1) A bribe to Arab powers to keep them from pursuing the Palestinian issue any more fervently.
2) Arms to feed the Arab powers and revolutionaries - continuing Arab-Israeli buldup in a "cold war" model.

The bottom line is that so little "Foreign Aid" is actually humanitarian that it is a cruel joke. All around the world, US Aid, IMF loans, WB "development funds" are all made up of armaments to keep the local ruling juntas comfortably in power - and trading their natural resources for continued support.

Thus we get the Orwellian term "humanitarian aid".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4668527.stmLuxembourg Vote Approves EU Referendum - BBC - July 10, 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4669461.stmIsrael Approves Jerusalem Barrier - BBC - July 10, 2005
The cabinet set a deadline for completion of the nearly 500 mile project by September 1, 2005. It will seperate the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as a future state.

http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1120751536.php"Each day the euro becomes a more fiat currency. Again, the ECB, the European Central Bank, has announced another sale of 108 million euros of gold last week, 10.3 tons. It suggests the ECB will have to cease or disguise sales well before the second year of the current Washington Accord, which starts in October. Over the past five weeks sales have averaged 11.9 tons, almost double the average maximum quarterly possible."

This, from Chapman's International Forecaster (see link) confirms what I have stated before at this Forum:

There is a RUN ON GOLD AT THE ECB. When a Bank has to sell assets (gold), to protect the value of its Bills in Circulation (Euros) that is by definition, a RUN ON THE BANK BY THE PUBLIC, TO REDEEM THE BILLS IT IS HOLDING.

We are witnessing a classic Bank Run! It makes no difference that the ECB has no formal commitment to maintain a gold value of the Euro: if the public sees that the gold obtainable with one Euro is falling, the public will want to exchange massive amounts of Euro for gold.

(Some numbers: One ounce of gold in Euros, latest price: E353.23. That is, E 11.3579/gram, or one Euro = .088 gram.

At E360, that is E 11.5756/gram, or one Euro = .08639 gram.

So, as the price of gold in Euros rises, you get less gold per Euro.)

That dreaded situation must be prevented! SELL GOLD to stop the run! But, the selling will NOT stop the run. The run will continue and the ECB will have to continue selling its gold until it comes to a point where a terrible decision must be taken: STOP SELLING! (Either to conserve what remains, or because there is no more gold to sell.)

At that point, the Euro price of gold will rise and rise and rise, and affect the Euro/$ exchange rate, and all Hell will break loose as the International Monetary Process falls apart.

The run is in its early stages, but it has begun. Get your gold stash in possession, time is running out.

The GAB

It will be the Central Banks leading the charge. At the end of the day CB's only value two things. Gold & collateral on loans. (ie; Land & material assets of worth) You can bet your bottom paper nothings the BIS and others (CB's like the Fed) are not going to be left holding all their own worthless paper in any currency collapse or devaluation of a G-8 nation. It isn't J6P buying all that Gold from the big miners every year

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1796snip
"Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam." So declares Oriana Fallaci in her new book, La Forza della Ragione, or, "The Force of Reason." And the famed Italian journalist is right: Christianity's ancient stronghold of Europe is rapidly giving way to Islam.

Two factors mainly contribute to this world-shaking development.

The hollowing out of Christianity. Europe is increasingly a post-Christian society, one with a diminishing connection to its tradition and its historic values. The numbers of believing, observant Christians has collapsed in the past two generations to the point that some observers call it the "new dark continent." Already, analysts estimate Britain's mosques host more worshippers each week than does the Church of England.

An anemic birth rate. Indigenous Europeans are dying out. Sustaining a population requires each woman on average to bear 2.1 children; in the European Union, the overall rate is one-third short, at 1.5 a woman, and falling. One study finds that, should current population trends continue and immigration cease, today's population of 375 million could decline to 275 million by 2075.To keep its working population even, the E.U. needs 1.6 million immigrants a year; to sustain the present workers-to-retirees ratio requires an astonishing 13.5 million immigrants annually."


comment
I've seen some rhetoric here suggesting that Israel has world manipulation and domination in mind. I'm sure there are Jewish financial and political leaders that can be identified with that effort. However, it's just not in the cards for such a tiny country and religion to be a serious threat to the larger powers. There are about 14 million Jews living in the world today. I'm not worried that they will try to rule us. I think they're more concerned about avoiding annihilation. Further, I find it extremely unlikely Israel orchestrates US policy from one administration to the next. Jews in the US vote Democratic no matter who's running for president.

Isn't it ironic that the Jewish population in Western and Northern Europe has declined from 9.5 million in 1933 to about 1.6 million today while at the same time the Muslim population in that area has increased from nearly nil to about 13 million today. I wonder if the average Brit, German or Frenchman is comfortable with that change.
I think most of us are familiar with the reasons for decline in the European Jewish population. It didn't happen by chance. It's not likely that Muslims can be so easily removed. There are just too many of them, they take their religion seriously and they control too much oil.
The US is lucky that the bulk of its immigration, legal and illegal, has been Hispanic Christians. This is no small matter. The gulf between Islam and Judeo-Christian culture is massive.

Sir GAB: Why didn't the long steady slide in the dollar, that only ended recently, prompt the U.S. to to sell Gold in order to protect the value of our bills in circulation, as you state the Europeans are doing? Is there a double standard in place? As far as we know, the U.S. has not liquidated any of it's gold since the closing of Gold Exchange standard in 1971, has it?

It has long seemed a curious circumstance that many gold holding nations around the world have supposedly sold gold over the years (though the buyers seem to be never announced). Yet, the U.S. seems insulated from these sales, as though our dollar is still...good as gold...though no one seems to know how much is really in the vaults--nor do they seem to do the math on dollars outstanding versus the gold that they may still erroneously believe still backs them.

As one of the posters that you seem to think suggested "Israeli World Domination" (something I didn't see mentioned in any of the posts), let me reply:

Your quote: "However, it's just not in the cards for such a tiny country and religion to be a serious threat to the larger powers"

completely overlooks the more important evidence that Evangelicals, the US Congress, and the admin are eating out of Israel's hand financially. For "not" participating in the Iraqi war effort, Israel received $10 billion in "thanks" from the admin over an above their annual $3B handout. Not a bad "thank you" gift for a such a "tiny country".

It's not necessary to dominate the population numbers game when "friends" are bankrupting themselves to throw $billions of "aid" at economically healthy allies.

Take that $10B and the $30B offered the Turks to erect a single air base, and the lackluster US business investment might show some signs of life. That's a pretty sizeable number to invest in "alternative energy" to approach a meaningful effort.

While the admin is so lavishly fertilizing allies with "war spoils", BLS estimates suggest that upwards of 14 million US workers now hold the position of "under-utilized labor", even while the singular hope of re-employment potential comes from the "population model" of the BLS computer algorithm.

There are a lot of EE's floating around (whose jobs went to India) that could offer great insight into alternative energy if research was supported by more than admin "hot air".

Sir Goldendome:

You ask hard questions, to answer which, requires information which is VERY closely guarded.

Evidently, the ECB is selling gold at a rate which, if persisted in, will exhaust the maximum amount it pledged to sell before September 30th 2005.

Why? The gold price of an ounce, in Euros, was lately well over Euros 360. A RUN on the ECB, whose object is to obtain GOLD, is ON. The ECB MUST stop that run!

The only thing it can do to diminish interest in gold - to quell the run - is to get the price down. And the only way it can do that, is by selling gold.

*****

The USA.

We do not know how much gold is still in Ft. Knox and other "deep storage" (sic).

There HAS been a long campaign to keep the price of gold down, in Dollars, and it may well have exhausted the Treasury - and even the stocks of other countries holding their tranches at the Fed in N.Y.

"But to sell the stocks of others, held for them in N.Y. - that would be, why - illegal!!"

"So it would, my little chickadee, so it would. But when the US Dollar dies, it's also the death of the USA, so, it doesn't make much difference if it's illegal or not."

The GAB

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=apVqz5YNv6iw&refer=australiaJuly 11 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose as much as $5.60 on July 7 after blasts killed about 50 people, the worst attack on London since World War II...

A group calling itself the al-Qaeda Organization in Europe has claimed responsibility for the bombings and warned Italy and Denmark may be next.

"If there is another attack soon, gold will go up and stay there," said Carlos Perez-Santalla, president of Hudson River Futures in New York, a metals trading company. "The London attacks would be seen as not just a one-shot deal, but the start of something bigger."

The U.S. has raised its terror threat level to ``high'' from "elevated" for public transit systems. Italy has stepped up security at tourist sites, and France increased border patrols and quadrupled military forces patrolling public areas.

...Gold also may get a boost from the surge in crude-oil, which reached a record $62.10 a barrel in New York on July 7 and is up 48 percent from a year ago. Higher energy costs have fueled concern about an acceleration of inflation.

Oil may extend gains this week as Hurricane Dennis threatens to disrupt U.S. supplies in the Gulf of Mexico...

^-----(from url)----^

Gold. Tangible, portable property with high global liquidity. A good asset to have your hands on in this new era of the so-called "ownership society".

Call USAGOLD-Centennial this week to discuss aligning your portfolio into a beneficial state of asset diversification.

R.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/nview.php?nseq=509 "CAFTA" Means Codex - FMN Staff - July 10, 2005
CAFTA(Central American Free Trade Agreement) will be voted on this week by the House after passing the Senate. Ron Paul has said that vitamins could come under the jurisdiction of the World Trade authorities. NAFTA had much greater support yet it's failure may help doom CAFTA.

http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/snieg_conc1.htmSnippet:

In a lengthy article in The American Conservative criticizing the rationale for the projected U.S. attack on Iraq, the veteran diplomatic historian Paul W. Schroeder noted (only in passing) "what is possibly the unacknowledged real reason and motive behind the policy � security for Israel." If Israel's security were indeed the real American motive for war, Schroeder wrote,

"It would represent something to my knowledge unique in history. It is common for great powers to try to fight wars by proxy, getting smaller powers to fight for their interests. This would be the first instance I know where a great power (in fact, a superpower) would do the fighting as the proxy of a small client state."

Is there any evidence that Israel and her supporters have managed to get the United States to fight for their interests?

end of snippet
---------------------

The article to which I am linking is also lengthy, but necessarily so. This is not a simple subject.

@ exponential

Interesting question. One that bears an analysis via the age old question, "Who really benefits?"

The two most pressing economic requisites for the destruction of Iraq are based in the more obvious dismantling - or better said "reduction" - of OPEC's nationalist leadership, and the need to crush the anti-dollar rebellion fomenting in the oil-producing nations. Notice that we've heard nothing more of the Islamic Gold Dinar since then, and western oil company "dollar" profits have soared to all-rime highs. In fact, Lt Sweet Crude has tripled its pre-invasion price.

The Dec tsunami and seven US carrier groups waiting just off their shores in the aftermath has also silenced the SE Asian Islamic currency advocates.

Formation of the Israeli state goes way back to the double-crosses that angered Lawrence. He assisted the Arabs in the overthrow of the Ottoman Turks only to watch his own British Army redraw Arab boundaries in a manner that would quash any idea of a "united Arab nation" - the same concern that ignited the Israeli attack in the six days war in '67.

The seeds of Israel as a "nation" were already being sown in British foreign policy before WWI. The AA alliance already foresaw a need for a base of operations near the oil patch and early Rothschild support was funding the unrest in Palestinian lands as early as the turn of the 20th century.

Thus my earlier assertion that Israel and the AA alliance are hardly at odds, except in minor execution details. Although Israel bombed Saddam's nuclear program independently in the media eyes, it could hardly have gotten away with it without tacit support from the AA powers. Ironically, the Israeli champion of this air raid was among those who died in the last mid-air Space Shuttle explosion, as he was on board to conduct US-Israeli joint space surveillance tests.

Anti-Iraq action, after so many years of the West supporting Saddam's Shiite and Kurdish purges, could only have been undertaken by UN or AA action, as any indication that the effort had Israeli origins would have set off an even greater Arab-Israeli war. This cannot be as well contained as a few decades ago, knowing that Pakistan now has nuclear capabilities and ties to both miliant Islam and US intelligence.

Israeli security is certainly important to the west, but quite a ways down the list of reasons for leveling Iraq and installing a "new" US-friendly regime to control the oil fields and Iraqi finances.

With the extra $10B they received for non-participation in the Iraqi invasion, they have plenty of funding to upgrade their high-tech weaponry.

http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=GC&o=100/DX&a=D&z=610x300&d=LOW&b=LINE&st=Now in full Paper mode, Gold is struggling to keep above the alt's here. The next couple of days will be interesting as REALITY hits Ag ...and PaperGold MAY just go with it.

Lunar half cycle means also a bit of seismicity, just to keep us on our toes.

A pointed Finger, a clenched Fist, hands outstretched take Gold, ...and give it a rest.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh15624_2005-07-11_09-13-57_sp302863_newsmlJAKARTA, July 11 (Reuters) - Indonesian prosecutors filed pollution charges against a local unit of U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corp. and its American chief executive on Monday, in a case that has raised concern among foreign investors.

...The case has alarmed foreign investors worried about the difficulty of doing business in Indonesia and raised fears about the risks for foreign company employees.

Investment in mining has slumped in recent years largely because of changes to mining laws that many investors believe do not offer enough protection.

Many investors also say Indonesia is one of the toughest places in the region to do business because of corruption, excessive red tape and tough labour laws.

^-----(from url)-----^

Just one example to demonstrate a few of the traditional pitfalls that can befall a mining company to adversely affect share value. Thus, to avail yourself of the true benefits of diversification available through gold, you must seek out ownership of the metal. The miners are a completely different kettle of fish.

R.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh24074_2005-07-11_15-22-31_n11377425_newsmlNEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on Monday, extending Friday's slide, with traders citing technical factors as they began turning their attention toward a heavy schedule of economic data this week.

George Goncalves, a Treasury strategist at Banc of America Securities in New York ... said the fact yields had risen above barriers at 4.11 percent and 4.12 percent suggested to him that the selling pressure might persist enough to test other yield barriers in the 4.19 percent to 4.20 percent range.

Traders said the market's bearish tone was set up by a technical reversal on Thursday when virtually all the gains related to the bomb attacks in London dissipated by the end of the day.

"The fireworks begin on Wednesday," Goncalves said. Wednesday's data include the May trade numbers and June import prices.

^-----(see url)---^

Trillions upon trillions of IOUs ultimately puts emphasis on the appetite of others.

R.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh22962_2005-07-11_14-35-22_n11374224_newsmlNEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Gold futures in New York extended a recovery from last week's five-week lows on Monday as the euro gained against the dollar, making bullion cheaper for traders in Europe, dealers said.

..."There's decent volume on the floor but the market is waiting for something," said a dealer at a bank. "There's been a lot of news in the past two weeks and it's in a consolidation period, in $420/30 range."

A big reduction in COMEX open interest recently shook out many stale positions and created a potential buying opportunity in gold with prices below $425, he added.

^----(from url)---^

When opportunity knocks, what you do by way of your response is what makes all the difference.

R.

http://www.usagold.com/gold-price.htmlIf the previous long-time overhead resistance level of 350 euro, now that it has been breached, has become the new basis for euro-denominated support, then a look at the graphs here reveal gold to be priced reasonably near to support lines in terms of BOTH the dollar and the euro -- thus giving a sort of double assurance that this is yet another reasonable entry point in time to establish or increase your position in gold.

You be the judge, as the decision for action is ultimately your own to make. See graphs at url.

Call USAGOLD-Centennial for consultation and great pricing on gold bullion, and gold coinage such as British sovereigns, Swiss helvetias, etc...

1-800-869-5115 (dial Extension 100 for the trading desk)

R.

Fannie Mae to sell $5.5 bln in bills Wednesday

New Issue - Freddie Mac sells $3.5 bln of bills

US Treasury to sell $15 bln 4-week bills Tuesday

Freddie Mac launches $7 bln of notes, pricing Tues

US Treasury to sell $13 bln in 5-year notes

----(all from Reuters)----

As mentioned earlier, it makes you wonder how strong and how long the appetite for billions new IOUs on top of outstanding trillions will prevail.

Diversify your IOUs into hard assets. Choose gold to retain portability and international liquidity.

R.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BE3370A10%2D6D1A%2D4411%2D8E6E%2DC5493D78F647%7D&;siteid=mktwReposted to eliminate accidental inclusion of CBS ads!

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold prices rebounded as much as $3 an ounce Monday after losing 1% in value last week, as traders gauged demand for the metal against a backdrop of a slightly weaker U.S. dollar and last week's terrorist bombings in London.

"Gold is attempting to build a base," said Peter Grandich, editor of The Grandich Letter, adding that "a weaker U.S. dollar and a renewed terrorism premium is helping to stabilize prices."

Gold for August delivery traded as high as $427 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was last at $426.80, up $3.

Gold has climbed "as the dollar has seen profit taking and this theme seems set to continue as the market has largely gone back into dollar-watching mode within the $420 to $430 area," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.

At last check, the dollar failed to sustain last week's year-plus peaks, taken lower by a symbolic vote in favor of a European Union constitution and by some relief in oil prices. See Currencies.

"The week ahead is likely to see a certain degree of 'safe-haven' positioning factored into the price of gold following Thursday's attack in London and terrorist hits in Iraq and Turkey over the weekend," Moore said in a note to clients.

Silver prices also gained ground, with the September contract trading up 8.5 cents at $7.115 an ounce. September palladium was up 40 cents at $186 an ounce, while July platinum traded at $867 an ounce, up $3.80.

-Goldilox

Analysts grasp as "reasons" for gold strength, focusing on "terror" and dollar weakness. Maybe the ESF is jut too busy trying to keep oil below $60.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh27011_2005-07-11_17-21-27_n11487451_newsmlNEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates may diversify as much as 5 percent of its foreign exchange reserves out of dollars and into euros, the country's central bank governor said in an interview...

"The euro has declined a lot and it is tempting to buy," Bloomberg cited central bank Governor Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi as saying.

The United Arab Emirates' central bank board will meet in Abu Dhabi in September and "if they see it's tempting, they might say, 'OK, why don't you put 5 percent in euros?'" al-Suwaidi said.

...Diversification of global central banks' foreign exchange reserves to trim weightings in dollars and increase weighting to euros and other non-dollar currencies has been one factor weighing on the dollar in recent years.

^----(from url)----^

"Tempting" due to current exchange rate window? And pre-announced so as to stifle any advantage when an official decision/action is not to be made until September??

(tongue now in cheek) Did you ever know central banks to be such amazingly shrewd speculators and motivated profit seekers in the foreign exchange markets?

Can you take this simply at face value?

R.

XF, AU

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http://www.jsmineset.com/There is an excellent DX chart with commentary over at Jsmineset provided by Lars Lundgren.

You might wanna take a look at his reasoning. The "strong growth" message looks a little shakier from this perspective.

For the last few weeks we've experienced POG support during some very strong USD sessions, based on EU buying (by people, not CBs). As the DX is looking frothy as it reaches the first FIB resistance, will we again see POG fueled by USDX correction?

It will be interesting to see if we can manage gold gains no matter which currency experiences a la carte favor.

Not much downside for the shinies in this "bugger thy neighbor's currency" market.

Oil prices are bouncing around like "crazy monkies", taking the SMs along for the ride. CNBC pundits are celebrating S&P four-year highs and the Dog is pushing three-year highs, but a few are reminding us that it has been completely range-bound during that period, allowing any short bounce to appear "bullish".

Gee, where was the NASDog four years ago? They are very careful about slicing the charts at the exact moment which supports their pre-conceived notions.

"a la carte favor" - what I really meant was "favor du jour".

-G

http://charts-d.quote.com:443/1002980432830?User=demo&Pswd=demo&DataType=GIF&Symbol=DX00Y∬erval=10&Ht=600&Wd=800&Display=2&Study=MA&Param1=13&Param2=0&Param3=&FontSize=10Terror concerns or waterfall resumption?

The California Assembly is currently arguing the merit of non-photovoltaic options and their eligibility for tax incentives. This is all included in the rate management bills before the assembly as a result of the 2001 electricity "crisis".

Interesting that this subject comes up while so many non-mainstream scientists and engineeers ar beginning to re-explore the Tesla direct electrical alternatives.

I'm watching the arguments on local public access.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8514801/ Feds no longer dismiss talk of housing bubble - America's Housing Craze - Martin Wolk - July 11, 2005
Standard article downplays most of the risk to investors and by extension, the economy while it skips around the surface issues, but the trip is still ugly.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/11/opinion/main708115.shtmlsnip:

But let's put aside the legal issues for a moment. This email demonstrates that Rove committed a firing offense. He leaked national security information as part of a fierce campaign to undermine Wilson, who had criticized the White House on the war on Iraq. Rove's overworked attorney, Robert Luskin, defends his client by arguing that Rove never revealed the name of Valerie Plame/Wilson to Cooper and that he only referred to her as Wilson's wife. This is not much of a defense. If Cooper or any other journalist had written that "Wilson's wife works for the CIA" -- without mentioning her name -- such a disclosure could have been expected to have the same effect as if her name had been used: Valerie Wilson would have been compromised, her anti-WMD work placed at risk, and national security potentially harmed. Either Rove knew that he was revealing an undercover officer to a reporter or he was identifying a CIA officer without bothering to check on her status and without considering the consequences of outing her. Take your pick: in both scenarios Rove is acting in a reckless and cavalier fashion, ignoring the national security interests of the nation to score a political point against a policy foe.

-Goldilox

Now let me get this straight. On the White house staff, only the NSA, President and CIA director are cleared to know the names of individual operatives. So, if Karl Rove knew Valerie Plame's status, who the heck revealed it to him illegally? Now his defense counsel is playing the "secret decoder ring" defense card.

Here we have an obvious scapegoat action, given that the coverup failed completely.

No doubt Rove was picked to take the fall because he is already suspect in the choice of an internet male prostitute as White House Press shill! No sense in letting two loyalists go down! Besides, who needs a campaign manager now?

There is no doubt that any "regular" citizen who publicly revealed a CIA agent would get free room and board in Gitmo, but "resignation" is the most we're likely to see for Mr. Rove.

What a sad commentary that this admin commits acts defined by law as "treason" to further their cause of "war under false pretenses". They obviously couldn't care less that their actions target high-level American intelligence professionals and their assets for enemy assassination, in addition to reducing the world's best intelligence gathering organization to a role as "political spin doctors".

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Monday Market Excerpts

July 11 (from DowJones) -- A weak U.S. dollar and bullish options play propped up COMEX gold futures Monday.

The benchmark August contract settled up $2.50 at $426.30. During the session, the contract pushed to a $427.40 high - matching last Thursday's high.

The dollar extended early losses as investors continued to take profits while the euro jumped above a key $1.2000 level to its highest level since July 1.

While the weakness of the dollar appeared to be the main driver for gold futures, George Gero, senior vice president at Legg Mason Wood Walker in New York, said a bullish options play also added to the upside momentum in gold.

"There are 40,000-plus calls over puts and that means total open interest in options is as much as futures," Gero said.

"There has been a lot of bargain hunting going on."

While gold mostly follows the moves of the oil market, it didn't move lower with oil on Monday.

"People have been asking if gold has de-coupled from oil," Gero said. "Gold is up because of the re-purchase from funds that sold last week."

On the fundamental side, industry sources said there have been no change but added that gold futures prices remain strong versus levels seen last year.

"Last year at this time gold was at $402 and even with the recent sell-off it's still above that level and that means oil and the euro have been supportive to gold," Gero added.

(Reuters) -- "Demand is pretty strong down here in the $420s," James Turk, founder of GoldMoney, said.

"And, considering that the summer months are normally slow, the fact that we're seeing strong physical support here is good too."

---(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire, market quotes)----

Goldilox: I respect your opinions on economic matters and read everything you post with great interest. I appreciate the trouble you must go to and the time you use to post. However, when it comes to politics there is no doubt in my mind that you slant everything with a bias that is predictable. I suggest you hold your comments until all the info is out there concerning this matter. With you it seems that you believe in the Old West saying; We will have the trail on Friday and hang them on Saturday. With respect, White Hills

Ned Johnston, owner of Ned Johnston Enterprises Inc. is offering $16 billion in short term paper this week.

Demand is expected to be weak.

;)

White Hills,

The internet press has been predicting this for weeks, so the "mainstream" is really the only place where this still qualifies as "news". They've only been "investigating" it for about two years now.

Perhaps you do not consider CBS a "strong enough source" for evidence in this case, but Rove's attorney publicly admitted his complicity this morning.

Admission of guilt is usually enough evidence for legal action, but I suspect we will enjoy plenty of additional legal maneuvering, as the NeoCons scramble to replace "loyalty to country" with "loyalty to the party".

My "politics" play no role in Rove's admitted actions, or in the national attention this story is getting. Even the loyalist FOX network has had commentators calling for indictment this afternoon.

This will be no doubt be a political "hot potato", but should we expect less from revelations of such a high-level national security violation?

@ Ned,

Are you collecting "monopoly money"? If people also send you the game pieces, can I have them?

Somehow, I suspect the zinc in the thimble, car, and top hat will be more valuable than the "Game FIAT".

@ White Hills,

Your quote: "With you it seems that you believe in the Old West saying; We will have the trail on Friday and hang them on Saturday"

is pretty malicious. I doubt you have bothered to reference any of the evidence I have offered if you believe that.

It doesn't really matter if you share my politics, as I mostly report what I can document. My personal comments are my opinion, and stated as such, as are most anyone else's.

One thing you will not get from me is "blind loyalty" to anyone without the benefit of scrutiny - right or left! The same voluminous research you laud in my financial posts is double in my political posts, as I endeavor to read both sides before commenting - something that takes gargantuan effort.

Actually, given Rove's public confession, I'm not concerned if or when the trial is held. Between this and Gaygate, his credibility is shot even if his only "sentence" is banishment to monitoring the teams' political coffers in Grand Cayman.

My greater disappointment is that this gang often goes to great lengths to sweep the evidence away and discredit other loyal Americans before the investigation even begins (not that they invented this behavior).

You can rest assured that when a "liberal" gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, I am every bit as vocal.

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/GD/MAfter a 20 year bear market (1980-2000), Gold double bottomed during the 1999-2001 period, then began a nice long term upsurge in the spring of 2001 which peaked in the winter of 2004. Was this wave 1? We have been consolidating sideways for the most part of 2005. Is this wave 2? This consolidation might serve as a major base for yet another huge upward surge. This next wave would be wave 3 and can be 1.8x the size of wave 1. It would be market by a surge above the wave 1 high, to new highs! This wave 3 surge could easily push past the alltime high for gold set in 1980. Will the next FED Chairman appointment and the retirement of AG kick off the next wave up? If so, I figure gold might continue to slideways awhile more but by the end of the year, should be making its break upward maybe near the 500's, and 2006 should be a stellar year for gold.

http:www.jmccanneyscience.com@ Topaz,

Were you the poster that was discussing weather with me last week?

If so, McCanney has posted some comments about Dennis at his site. He eschews anyone quoting or paraphrasing him, so I'll just post the link for your investigation.

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DXY0The waterfall is baaaaack!

I have read over your post again on the Rove matter. I don't really pay much attention to it all as these kind of political charges go back and forth with much ado about nothing. I will look in to the matter now that it is of interest to me and will ask a few questions. Does Wilson's wife work under her married name? Is she just a pencil pusher or an operative under cover? Did Rove ever mention her name? Was she instrumental in getting her Husband the job to look into the supposed attempts by unknown parties to buy nuclear mat'l as reported by the Brits? Did her husband investigate the report or did he give lip service and go through the motions? Why would Rove out her? What political objective would he have? Do we have a law being broken? There are so many questions to be answered before we ruin a man's reputation. He is looked with respect by many people and has been instrumental in both elections that put President Bush in the White House. Talk to you later.By the way I don't use spell check and can't type all that well so you will excuse a few spelling mistakes. White Hills

http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/schiff/2005/0705.html
This is from the article referred to by mikal:

"It is a bubble, and it will pop but it's not prices that pop � it's market activity that pops," said Christopher Thornberg, an economist at UCLA's Anderson business school. "Prices just go down glacially, but market transactions collapse."

Thornberg speculated that housing prices in a typically overheated market could go down 20 percent for two years and then rise slowly, by 5 percent a year. Or prices could stay flat for six years. In either case, inflation-adjusted housing values would be far lower in six years than they are today.

My link is to an article by Peter Schiff on Financial Sense. He says this is NOT a typically overheated market, and prices WILL pop - they will drop precipitously:

"As the "debate" over the existence of a housing bubble intensifies, both sides are likely to be proven wrong when it comes to predictions for housing declines should the bubble burst. Most bubble advocates believe that rather than collapsing, housing prices will either rise more slowly, fall slightly, or simply stop going up, thereby allowing stagnant incomes to catch up with surging prices. However, a closer look at the facts reveals it is far more likely to burst with as big a bang as did the NASDAQ five years ago...

"According to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors, 23% of homebuyers specifically identified their purchases as investments. Another 13% identified their purchases as vacation properties. Since rental yields are so low, those buying properties as investments are by definition speculating. However, buyers of vacation homes are also speculating, as inherent in the decision to buy such properties is the expectation of price appreciation. Absent such a forecast, it is far more economical to vacation in hotels. Further, as owners of rental or vacation properties do not occupy their properties as principal residences, a change in sentiment as to future price appreciation could easily cause such owners to sell, or worse, to walk away from mortgages in circumstances of negative equity.

"However, the mere fact that owners occupy their houses as principle residences does not necessarily remove such properties from the category of speculative investments. For example, 58% of recent California homebuyers financed their purchases using ARMs (with percentages in pricier counties exceeding 80%). The primary reason given to justify such mortgages was owners� intentions to resell the properties in relatively short periods of time. Such buying is clearly speculative, regardless of the speculator's intention to occupy the property.

"The fact that the majority of today's homebuyers are actually speculators in disguise, suggests that when the trend turns, prices will drop precipitously. Far from holding on to their homes, as even most housing bears suggest, owner/speculators will sell in droves, or worse, simply walk away from their bets, leaving lenders and tax payers to cover their losses."

--------------------------

My comment:

Which lenders? Not the banks, since they don't keep mortgages anymore. Mortagages turn into CMO's. The losses will be borne by people who own (directly or indirectly) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It will be up to the government to bail them out, to the tune of several trillion dollars. That's where the taxpayers come in. And that is also the point where the irresitible force (the inflationary effect of the government printing trillions of fiat dollars to bail out Freddie and Fannie) meets the immovable object (the deflationary effect of collapsing credit) with unpredictable consequences.

Incidentally, it amazes me that people write about real estate without knowing the difference between "principal" and "principle." O tempora! O mores!

@ White Hills,

Thanks for responding.

My typing is not stellar either - not by a long shot. I did, however, find it ironic that you misspelled "trial" as "trail" - as the trail of abuse is long.

Some of the questions are answered in the posted article itself. Others have been milled over in the press for the last couple years. Valerie Plame was definitely an NOC-field agent, and a high level one at that. See Sinclair's coverage of this event over the last 6 months for much more detail.

Congress even held investigative meetings aired all last week on C-Span. Thirty-four sitting members participated in the inquiry, which was supported by testimony from a number of current and former intel officers.

Unfortunately, just being part of Bush's entourage isn't enough to "vouch" for Rove's character, as Ken Lay was the largest admin campaign supporter in 2000, with funds from an ENRON treasury soon headed for oblivion. It took a pretty questionable action by the Supremes to keep the country from knowing that our public "energy policy" was designed by a secret committee that included the indicted CEO of the ENRON scandal. Under what principle of democracy does the public not have the right to know who formulates "national energy policy"? How can we reasonably be expected to verify potential "conflict of interest" in such secret dealings?

I'm not completely anti-Republican, as my own Republican Congressman appointed me to the Naval Academy in 1969 and my family is split right down the middle as "Republi-crats". However, I find the activities of this admin more than normally suspicious and certainly worthy of closer examination.

As I once remarked about some other politicians - "they certainly are no saints, they're politicians!" We must judge their actions much more strictly than their rhetoric. Do they "walk the talk?"

The laws in this country should be inviolable by leaders as well as citizens - perhaps our downfall is that we don't hold our public servants to similar standards as our citizens.

@ exponential,

I am completely behind Schiff's analysis. We are experiencing "covert inflation", that I think all stops will be let out to "spin" the inflation as asset growth.

Once interest rates turn north, and they will, the housing "bubble' will return to a more normal pattern, and the air will be let out of the balloon - as slowly as possible, of course, but the RE specs will take a big hit as they did in the 1980's.

I believe the authors of our completely fraudulent BLS and CPI numbers (to use Faber's words) know that inflation is all but impossible to halt, but they must avoid public panic at all costs and paint it as "benign".

http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/daily/2005/0624b.html
Kurt Richeb�cher weighs in on this:

"In the end, the main question is, of course, what happens when a housing bubble expires. As to be expected, Mr. Greenspan and the bullish consensus deny the possibility of a hard landing. A little logic says that such a landing is inevitable.

"An illuminating case in this respect is the very recent experience in the Netherlands. While traditionally a country highly conservative in its finances, it developed a housing bubble in 1998-99, after years of strong economic growth. House prices and credit growth soared at double-digit rates. As homeowners cashing in on their burgeoning home equity went on a spending spree, the household savings rate plunged from 12.9% of disposable income in 1998 to 6.8% just two years later.

"As the Dutch central bank raised its short-term rate from 2.5% to 4.5% from 1999-2000, house price inflation came to an abrupt halt. Household borrowing and mortgage equity withdrawal slumped sharply.

"Being deprived of their "wealth effects," the Dutch people returned to saving from their current income. Within just three years, the personal savings ratio was back to 12%, driving the Dutch economy into the worst recession among the industrialized countries. The growth rate of consumer spending sagged in a straight line from 4.7% in 1999 to minus 1.2% in 2003.

"We have recalled this episode to emphasize one point of greatest importance, yet one that is widely ignored. The Dutch example confirms that for consumer spending to slump in the wake of a fading housing bubble, house prices do not need to fall at all. It is sufficient that they stop rising, thereby depriving households of new wealth effects and the associated borrowing facilities.

"Therefore, major housing bubbles imperatively end in a hard landing. A second major adverse influence on economic growth implicitly arises from the sudden cessation of the building boom. Yet the worst looming problem is always the potential damage to the banking system through escalating bad loans."

----------------------------

My comment:

I'm not sure it is necessary for interest rates to go up any more than they already have. All we need at this point is a change in investor psychology. A flattening of house prices will, by itself, cause a recession. Then, the recession will cause a collapse of house prices, and that, in turn, will make the recession worse. It will feed on itself in a downward spiral.

And then what? I think the immovable object will prevail over the irresistible force. It's easy enough for Bernanke to talk about dropping money from helicopters, but obviously that can't really happen.

http://www.newgreatgame.com/excerpts.htm
Druid: Click on the link and check out the map. Some pretty interesting research put together by Lutz C. Kleveman author of "The New Great Game".

"It's easy enough for Bernanke to talk about dropping money from helicopters, but obviously that can't really happen."
---
Apparently you have already forgotten the $300 per person tax rebate/cash mailing that occurred just a couple years ago.

Why not make it $30,000 next time?

Theoretically and practically it can happen. That easily.

R.

http://www.mineweb.net/sections/sustainable_mining/460015.htm12-JUL-05, --(Mineweb.com) In case Mineweb readers have not noticed lately, mining-related investigative reporting pieces seem to be popping up all over U.S. news media.

The New York Times has been busy all summer firing on all cylinders to resume its on-going war against hardrock mining. (Pulitzer Prize, anyone???)

That favorite whipping boy of the Times Indonesian bureau, Newmont is bracing itself for a joint investigative effort by the Times and the PBS documentary series, Frontline.

...Our sources tell us that the New York Times has more investigative goodies to come related to mining. Where will their magical, mysterious, anti-mining journalistic beacon of reportorial excellence alight next?

...based Great Basin Minewatch has also jumped on board the mercury bandwagon. The Nevada Mining Association responded that Nevada gold mines are being blamed for mercury emissions, which may have come from other sources.

Finally, Reuters and the Chilean news media have been busy reporting on marches by environmental activists in 14 Chilean cities this past Saturday. One of their targets is Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama project. Anti-mining activists have honed in on Barrick's plans to move parts of two glaciers to another glacier.

^-----(from url)----^

When it comes to gold diversification, the only way to actually do it is with the metal. Investing in a mine or mining corporation is entirely a different (and riskier) kettle of fish. The reasons are legion.

R.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh32128_2005-07-11_22-05-42_n11505725_newsmlNEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co., the No. 5 U.S. bank, on Monday said it will tighten its lending standards to address potential environmental risks...

The San Francisco-based bank joined Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., in stiffening environmental lending standards.

Wells Fargo pledged by year end to adopt new due diligence procedures for mid-size and large business clients in environmentally sensitive industries.

... the emerging industry standard -- to phase out investing in operations that would degrade endangered forests...

^---(from url)---^

Just a hint of evolutionary policy that shows how corporate financing for certain operations may not be as readily available as once was the situation.

Put your money on gold that "already is" rather than on promises of gold that may never be -- that is, gold ore that may never actually see the light of day.

R.

http://www.crbtrader.com/data/default.asp?page=optqte&sym=GCQ5&mode=d...that may never be?
If I recall correctly the bulk of those 28K call options ...about 20k of them got written mid June.
We also had a 60oddT tranche from the "mystery Euro CB" that came to market about this time, taming PoG and quelling discussion of "decoupling".

Now, 20,000 x100 = 2,000,000 oz = ...60odd T!

Curiouser 'n curiouser!

Here's something to whet your appetite .........GOLDFANS....something that Jim Sinclair has stated is quite relevant to the upcoming activity in the GOLD MARKET..........

I hate to say it ......but if I were a big player(S) in this game ......given BERNAKE's comments on UNLIMITED PRINTING PRESS money ........

If this month is confirmed as the third in a row on THE US failure to meet financing requirements to balance the flow of funds relative to the DEFICIT..........

I would start taking METAL OFF THE COMEX .......
I THINK .......that is what is going to happen .....
on an international level and perhaps much quicker that many would imagine possible

starting with SILVER.......
The following was dated July 10


Trade Data Returns to the Forefront by Ezechiel Copic



After having absorbed the most recent interest rate decisions, the focus of the market turns to the topic of trade with the US trade balance for May due out on Wednesday and the US Treasury's TICS data due out July 18. With oil prices rising, there is a distinct possibility that the US trade deficit could exceed the $60 billion figure on its way to a new record high. This report will be especially important in light of the fact that for the past two months the TICS data has confirmed that net US-bound foreign capital inflows have failed to cover the monthly trade deficit.

This week also sees the release of industrial production data and retail sales figures, which should help to further clarify the situation among consumers and manufacturers. Industrial production for June is expected to duplicate May's 0.4% increase and retail sales are projected to increase 0.9% after having declined by 0.5% in May. However, much of the increase in retail sales is expected to come from the recent action by auto dealers to aggressively discount cars. Therefore, the markets will be more focused on retail sales excluding automobiles, which are forecasted to increase 0.5%. Any softness in industrial production and retail sales, coupled with a burgeoning trade deficit could prove bearish for the greenback.

Inflation data in the form of CPI and PPI for the US are also due out at the end of the week, with the headline figures forecasted to increase 0.3% and 0.5% (M/M), respectively.

http://www.forexnews.com/na/default.asp?f=N20050710D&cm=&cy=&ad=&cd=reference to former post

Someone on another site last week .......

stated that based on Gold action ..... in the wake of the London bombings .........that the bombings were a non event

Today the dollar is down bigtime and ..........
they are taking GOLD DOWN ..........at the same time ....

In the last couple of weeks ........THE FED HAS AGAIN FLOODED THE MARKET WITH LIQUIDITY ........

in unfathomable fashion .........

Sounds like something dramatic is getting ready to occur...
They know what happens if the TICS data goes upside down 3 months in a row......

THEY ARE AT THE READY .........to Manipulate markets with FIAT .......
but they cannot manipulate PRICE in the context of .........EVAPORATION OF SUPPLY in any COMMODITIES MARKET

This is the only tack that HARD MONEY / Sound ECONOMIC POLICY advocates have left to combat this insanity .....
and to protect themselves from RAMPANT INFLATIONARY POLICIES of the western central banks........

It's interesting to watch the Global players lining up
and taking sides with regard to HARD MONEY .......

and to watch who is heralding and practicing in 3D right in front of our EYES.........AUSTRIAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS PRINCIPLES

THANK you, MARC FABER ...........

http://charts-d.quote.com:443/1002980432830?User=demo&Pswd=demo&DataType=GIF&Symbol=DX00Y∬erval=10&Ht=600&Wd=800&Display=2&Study=MA&Param1=13&Param2=0&Param3=&FontSize=10Not to worry, the YELLOW will become more GOLDEN soon !
<;-)

http://business.iafrica.com/news/460257.htm12 Jul 2005 -- Spot gold was higher on Tuesday as the euro firmed above $1.21 against the US dollar, analysts said.

"There has been no major news to move the gold market today, with the only driver being the euro/dollar, which has been bid up aggressively," a Switzerland-based trader said.

^----(from url)----^

From overnight/overseas report.

R.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-07-12T130938Z_01_L12380487_RTRIDST_0_PICKS-MARKETS-CURRENCIES-RESERVES-DC.XMLLONDON (Reuters) - Signs that central banks in oil-rich nations are considering buying euros again to diversify their huge official reserves could aid the single currency after falling more than 10 percent against the dollar this year.

Oil prices' surge to a record high above $62 a barrel last week also suggests oil exporters such as Russia or those in the Middle East will have more dollars in their coffers to sell than before, which could help the euro regain ground, analysts say.

After hitting a 14-month low below $1.1870 last week, the euro staged a rally above $1.22 on Tuesday. The move came as the United Arab Emirates said it might convert five percent of its foreign exchange reserves to euros from dollars.

Qatar said last month it is considering shifting some of its foreign exchange reserves back into the euro given its fall, highlighting the increasingly pro-active way for oil-rich countries to manage their holdings.

"It's not that these banks have so much reserves. But it's the thinking process - if they are thinking like that other central bank community might see a value in the euro," said Shahab Jalinoos, senior currency strategist at ABN Amro.

In the three years to 2004, the euro gained nearly 60 percent against the dollar...

The Bank for International Settlements estimates the dollar's share in global reserves stood at 69 percent in 2004 ... while the euro's share was at 21 percent, suggesting a wave of diversification has yet to come.

^----(from url)----^

Due to their size and influence, CBs dare not move straight and simply into gold reserves from dollars as that would instantly shatter the smoothness of the transition they strive for.

Happily, however, given the smallness of our own size, we can follow their spirit of diversification -- while putting it into better practice with a straightforward shift into gold at the current time.

R.

Oil (suppression) over 60 a barrel again !!!!

HOW TO PUT GIANT Jack back in the BOX??????????????

http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?cat=TOPBIZ&src=704&feed=dji§ion=news≠ws_id=dji-00033020050712&date=20050712&alias=/alias/money/cm/nwBRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- Dexia Capital Markets and HSBC, in cooperation with Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank, the newly funded bank of the Group in Vienna with the focus on Central and Eastern Europe, have lead-managed with success the second 50-year bond issue in euro launched by a sovereign- after the France's issue in last February.

^-----(from url)-----^

The lesson here, for the euro-skeptics, is that their would be no institutional, market support for a 50-year low interest bond unless there was a high degree of corresponding institutional, market confidence in the ultimate fate of the denominating currency.

What does this imply for the gold owner? Recall that gold does especially well as the euro gains market share and climbs against the dollar. Recall also, institutionally, that as the eurosystem's current stock of dollar reserves lose value, there must be something present to fill the valuation void. That something is the present stock of gold.

Get yours today. Call USAGOLD-Centennial for assistance.

R.

CNBC Bubble-vision just ran a piece on "The End of the Euro", so I decided to Google the title and got 1.2M hits - pick your poison.

It seems that the recent reversal of the DX has brought the anti-Euro shills out in droves!

Of the articles I read, my favorite included deGaul's famous quote, "How can you govern a country with 247 types of cheeze?"

"Bugger-thy-neighbor's currency" continues!

http://www.usagold.com/Order_Form.html

http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-07-06T064015Z_01_ALL623920_RTRIDST_0_OZABS-MINERALS-GOLD-20050706.XMLsnip:

INGAPORE (Reuters) - China has allowed the country's four major commercial banks to sell gold bars to their customers in the near future to boost demand for investment, dealers said on Wednesday.

Currently, individuals in China are only allowed to buy gold-backed certificates from the Bank of China UL] and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, they said. Account holders use the certificates to trade in gold instead of buying or selling real bullion.

Two other banks, China Construction Bank and the Agriculture Bank of China, will also roll out gold bar products soon, dealers said.

"The China Banking Regulatory Commission has given an approval for these banks to start the business. The four major banks are preparing to launch gold bars for their customers in the near future," said one regional dealer who covers the Chinese market.

"This is the reason why I think China's gold consumption may rise by 10 percent this year. This is related to an increase in investment demand," he said.

Government officials could not be reached for comment but an official with the Shanghai Gold Exchange said: "We can't prevent commercial banks from doing this kind of thing."

-Goldilox

All in all, it's just another brick in the Wall!

Let's see what this does for the "demand' curve.

http://charts-d.quote.com:443/1002980432830?User=demo&Pswd=demo&DataType=GIF&Symbol=DX00Y∬erval=10&Ht=600&Wd=800&Display=2&Study=MA&Param1=13&Param2=0&Param3=&FontSize=10@ Gandalf,

The ESF seems to be ignoring the current waterfall. Are they too busy holding oil down, or are they taking some time to get their dog-bite suits on?

Gold and Silver also have not reacted to the drop, so I think something smells funny!

This is the reason oil is up $2 today.

Google: Thunder Horse BP for the details

The credit for this is Dennis

Sir Goldilox, Glad to hear that your Republican Congressman recommended you for the Naval Academy on merit, not on politics. This is how it should be and is one of the tenets of Republican philosophy.
There seems to be more to the Rove affair than meets the eye. I will, of course, let you know just how wrong you are and give you enough time to reply. I do respect the research that you do so I want to have all my ducks (democrats) in a row even though I pretty well know what has happened. We will examine the evidence to determine what is true and what is democrate(untrue). I will say that knowing just what I know, with a minimum of research, indicates the bias that you approached this subject with and the part it played in your post. With too many people it is not the weight of the evidence that matters but the seriousness of the charge. With respect, White Hills

Jacques de Larosi�re of Paribas recently gave a presentation on the future of central bank cooperation in which he said,

"with the elimination of financial borders, the development of new and always more complex products based on derivatives which are offered more and more widely to investors, the growing interconnexions between cross-border financial intermediaries, and the enormous and ever increasing electronic settlements through payment systems� are not factors that reduce systemic risks but, on the contrary, can increase them. The chain of transactions is long and involves a multitude of players. The break of a link of this chain can entail contagious reactions of which we had some examples in past.

"And this is where comes up the problem of the lender of last resort. Always a touchy issue, but more difficult still in a world without borders. "Never speak about it publicly but always think of it", according to the old saying. This responsibility will remain one of the important tasks for Central Banks of tomorrow. In this field, Central Bank cooperation is more and more essential, although governments can also be -and will be- involved in insolvency crises."

--------

My thoughts and additons:
In an environment where cooperation and putting independent and national assets against escalating risk becomes increasingly difficult to coordinate, it makes more sense, wherever possible, to simply eliminate need for such action through the elimination of the potential buildup of those particularly unnecessary systemic risks which could precipitate the need for such lender-of-last-resort action.

The institutional leasing/lending of gold through the bullion banking sector is one such obvious avenue of risk upon which the opportunity to eliminate it entirely ought be a firming policy option that is clearly recognized and dutifully exercised.

Maybe we'll all soon begin to see that this sort of thing is what the new euro-style reserve architecture (heading toward free MTM gold) and the subsequent Central Bank Gold Agreements (1999 and 2004) are all about.

R.

TownCrier says,

> Apparently you have already forgotten the $300 per person
> tax rebate/cash mailing that occurred just a couple years ago.

> Why not make it $30,000 next time?

> Theoretically and practically it can happen. That easily.

Any such program would have to go through Congress, and in Congress nothing is that easy. Any proposal involving tax cuts or rebates is intensely debated. Before they could send out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of rebate checks, there would have to be a constituency for it.

In a depression comparable to 1932, there might be a constituency for all kinds of radical programs. The idea of sending everybody $30,000 might be one proposal on the table, along with many others (such as defaulting on bonds, going back to the tax rates of the 1950's, confiscating property, repudiating the whole idea of globalization, etc).

In a situation less dire than 1932, there will not be a constituency for any such program.

The Fed can increase the money supply on its own, without going through Congress, but in that case the money doesn't go directly to households. There is really nothing Bernanke can do (supposing he is Greenspan's successor) that would be comparable to dropping money out of helicopters.

"with deregulated markets playing a bigger role than ever, and floating exchange rates increasingly the rule, it could also be argued that the need for international cooperation has now been much reduced. In a nutshell, if central banks are focussed on domestic price stability, and if domestic financial stability is assured by adequate governance and regulatory standards (albeit, likely to be internationally negotiated) what further role is there for international cooperation? Moreover it could also be argued that the narrower domestic mandate of central banks will reduce the scope of international central bank cooperation as well."

--------

Me again:
Thus, with the various national/regional currencies floating relatively while each finds its own real purchasing strength based on individual management of independent domestic monetary policies, we should see that the continued capping influence upon gold pricing through the tolerance of (if not also outright participation in) leasing makes less and less sense as it potentially builds exposure for high levels of cooperation in lender-of-last-resort activity and thereby putting one's own gold at risk -- short of officially allowing adversely affected institutions to skate over a default in which non-performance of a gold payments stream is allowed to be frozen at a selected book value and settled in paper.

In a brave new world, the only way to reap the full benefits of gold ownership during crunch time is to own the metal. All contracts inherently have built-in bankruptcy/default settlement procedures, and thus it can be effectively said of contracts that they are all simply promises which are/were made to be broken.

Again, therefore, choose actual OWNERSHIP -- choose gold.

R.

@ White Hills,

Just for historical elucidation, the Republican Congressman was Pete McCloskey, the lone Republican voice against Nixon's scorched earth bombing campaign and use of Agent Orange in Viet-Nam (a poorly thought out weapon that was eventually responsible for huge numbers of US service deaths and disabilities). He was essentually the "Ron Paul" of his generation, and a thorn in the side of the globalists of that time - much to my admiration.

I think it is interesting that those who most eschew my "bias" often haven't done their homework BEFORE posting and do not offer to include their own research. I'm encouraged that you want to learn more before debate. Having done a huge volume of research, I can in good conscience assure you that my bias is "informed", not simply "prejudice".

I do have a strong bias to honest government. From what we see out of the admin, the FED, and the BLS, and the current Congress, the evidence is strong that we are not experiencing anything of the sort, and I, for one, believe that our global financial "conundra" find their origins here. I will not take any leader's "word" for their honesty and ignore potential"conflicts of interest".

As Jefferson said, "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive."

I have no problem with anyone opposing my politics and I welcome informed debate. Read all you can and we'll talk again.

Have a golden day!

I didn't at the time realize that your original protest was directed to be in regard to a LITERAL interpretation of the common references to the prescription of anti-deflation medicine by way of money being dropped out of helicopters.

You are quite right. We will NOT likely see the sky filled with choppers precipitating a money rain.

R.

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Tuesday Market Excerpts

July 12 (from Reuters) -- U.S. gold futures finished higher in thin trade on Tuesday as a weaker dollar sparked speculative buying, but stiff upside technical resistance barred further gains for now, dealers said.

COMEX August gold contracts rose 80 cents to conclude at $427.10.

New York brokers extended gold's gains amid a surge in the euro since Monday and after currency-based fund buying in Tokyo gold futures overnight. "The euro has rallied on short covering and the (short-term) speculators just drove gold higher," a New York trader at an international bank said.

The dollar fell to three-week lows against the euro as investors cautiously eyed U.S. trade data for May due on Wednesday that could underscore the nation's external financing woes.

U.S. trade figures for May due on Wednesday could give gold and currencies a push, traders said, especially if data comes in far from expectations. Forecasts are for a trade deficit of $57 billion, which is basically flat from the prior month's trade gap.

The euro rose to $1.2235 by midafternoon, from $1.2064 late on Monday, stretching further away from recent 14-month lows. However, trading in metals has been muted by thin summertime volumes and gold's moves were subdued, compared with the euro's rally to a two-week high on Tuesday.

---(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

@TC,

While we're certainly seeing a proliferation of choppers from increased HS budgets, they're definitely not dropping money on us!

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/print_story.asp?print=1&guid={65850046-527E-4723-887B-A4A580CB9C7A}&siteid=mktwJuly 12, 2005, (MarketWatch) --

..."In light of this pullback in the dollar, the gold market is looking pretty decent, but the recent shellacking has put the bulls on the defensive so it may take some time for the market to gain its footing no matter how badly the dollar gets hit," said Dale Doelling, chief market technician at Trends In Commodities.

"But, as the painful memory of the rapid decline fades, the bulls will dominate once again and push gold beyond the June highs," he said.

Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter also believes the metal is headed higher. "The near-term prospects look good for the metal," he said.

"Gold usually puts in its summer bottom sometime between mid-July to early-August, so if we haven't bottomed yet, we should only have two or three weeks left of corrective action before beginning a rally that ... usually lasts through the fall," he said.

^----(from url)----^

R.

@TownCrier - I understand that "helicopters" are a figure of speech. My point is that the Fed can't do anything *equivalent* to that. They can't send money directly to households.

In my post last night, I wrote "Which lenders [will be left to cover the real estate losses]? Not the banks, since they don't keep mortgages anymore. Mortagages turn into CMO's. The losses will be borne by people who own (directly or indirectly) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It will be up to the government to bail them out, to the tune of several trillion dollars. That's where the taxpayers come in. And that is also the point where the irresistible force (the inflationary effect of the government printing trillions of fiat dollars to bail out Freddie and Fannie) meets the immovable object (the deflationary effect of collapsing credit) with unpredictable consequences."

After writing that, it occurred to me that my words were not grounded. It's not clear *how* the government could cover the losses in a situation where house prices collapse. There is no obvious way for anybody to get a handle on the situation. The whole idea of CMO's is to spread or diffuse the debt, and they serve that purpose very well. Even if the government stepped in and prevented Fannie and Freddie from going bankrupt - which they are not legally obligated to do - it's not clear what difference that would make. The losses will be borne by everyone who owns CMO's, which includes banks, insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, and other investors, not only in the US but all over the world.

In the tug of war between deflation and inflation, the two sides are not equal. Deflation can happen on its own. Inflation requires a proactive policy of some kind, and there are many political obstacles in the way.

Part of the problem described in Duncan's "Dollar Crisis" is how to get past the liquidity trap - pushing on a string. Sure there is unlimited money available, but how do you get it into the hands of the common man to keep the consumer economy going? Especially if the common man can't bear any more debt, mortgage or other. Duncan suggests a global minimum wage. I'm sure other machinations are being contemplated. I suspect the answer to the problem and the apparatus to administer it is already in place. Its called tax relief. We have already enjoyed some relief, more could be in the future. A different constituency could be targeted next time. Deductions could be increased for selected individuals. Single mothers could receive bigger deductions than Republicans for instance. (Oops, did I say that out loud?) Sorry, I am somewhat semi-serious about this concept. After all, the tax code does contain credits for people who may not even owe any tax. Isn't that like welfare distributed via IRS choppers! If we could file every quarter chopper money could be seeded into the economy all year long. Deficits don't matter! Do they?

The S&L crash 20 odd years ago had some of the same symptoms as we see now in housing; too much money being loaned into too many risky properties. Increasing inflation and interest rates cause a business slowdown, reduction in demand for space and higher financing costs. See-through office buildings had no tennants. The depositor's money in the S&L's were guaranteed by the FDIC so that the government couldn't just let them fail. They liquidated the S&L's and auctioned the properties. As I recall it cost about 500 billion but didn't trigger a total collapse. That was before Fannie and Freddie.

Now we have mortgages packaged into CMO's stacked miles high with no governmental backing (at least contractually). Who owns the CMO's? I haven't researched the ownership of this stack of shaky promises but I bet it's the little people whose assets are entrusted in the hands of pension funds and mutual funds. This time around the government does not have to assume ownership of the problem but you can bet they will come up with a solution that puts them in control of the liquidation of defaulted housing. I see a New Deal agency called "Stay Put" that matches defaulted owners (now renters) with their existing homes and becomes their benevolent landlord. A whole new concept in government housing. This will be an important step in the path to socialism that we have been descending for years.

All this talk about the possible need for helicopter money (emergency cash infusions) has me wondering: Why doesn't the government do something to lower the trade deficit and with it the cumulative current account deficit? Now I don't mean really lower it, like in spending less, but to create imponderable government delusion to make these deficits appear to be lower. Much as they do today with the GDP and Inflation numbers...lie!

Are the Chinese, Flip-flops that we buy this summer really no better than the flip-flops that we were buying in the past year or two? If the bean-counters can find a way that they are better, then their cost if the same or even higher may be less for deficit purposes than those of the past. This would be like the computer that costs us twice as much as it did five years ago, but is considered to cost only 20% of our old computer because of improvements. So more cost actually becomes less cost for CPI computations.

This would work for the trade deficit. More actual cost could actually cost less for official record keeping purposes and make us all feel much better about our national profligacy. This could take the pressure off future interest rates and slow down all of us worry warts, continually hyperventilating about when foreigners will pull the plug on our borrowing. Now they won't need to; the trends will be on more gentle glide path as more items are hedonistically adjusted. Gas, crude, and textiles will be some other items that will need some little do-hickeys done to them to enhance their apparent values.

Real costs be dammed! I'm just amazed that the government's pencillers haven't come up with more creative bookwork to camouflage with statistics and figures what they can't correct in real terms.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showdoc.php?id=908&type=4⪯sident=32Much has been said today and recently about helicopter money, real estate bubbles, and related topics of fear.

Well, be afraid; be very afraid.

How does this sound:

Then we come to the relief that is being given to those who are in danger of losing their farms or their homes. New machinery had to be set up for farm credit and for home credit in every one of the thirty-one hundred counties of the United States and every day that passes is saving homes and farms to hundreds of families. I have publicly asked that foreclosures on farms and chattels and on homes be delayed until every mortgagor in the country shall have had full opportunity to take advantage of Federal credit. I make the further request which many of you know has already been made through the great Federal credit organizations that if there is any family in the United States about to lose its home or about to lose its chattels, that family should telegraph at once either to the Farm Credit Administration or the Home Owners Loan Corporation in Washington requesting their help.
==========================================================
This is from an FDR fireside chat of 10/22/33.

The US stands ready to flood the market with FRNs. Why do you think the prez has never vetoed a spending bill -- what better screen for hyper inflation than just approving what congress wants to spend?

Its also interesting poking around the other fireside talks. One mentions that if the US had to pay out all its gold, only 1 in 25 could be made whole.

Your words from previous post: " I see a New Deal agency called "Stay Put" that matches defaulted owners (now renters) with their existing homes and becomes their benevolent landlord."

Sir: Perhaps you know or remember hearing that this was actually done during the Great Depression of the 1930's!

I can recall on several occasions when younger my folks, Aunts, and Uncles discussing exactly those happenings in the 1930's in the farm country of the midwest farm belt. I can recall them saying that there was no sense in removing the defaulted people from the land, for who would take their places? [Now this was not the Gov't involved so much, but greatly involved insurance companies that held the mortgages and some banks that survived].

The farmers were allowed to stay on the land, care for the buildings, produce what they could, and pay what they could. In so many areas, failure was on such a large scale, that who would be or could be caretakers other than those already there? Years later, the caretakers were often given first chance at re-working the debt and calling the farm again their own, but in many instances also, the caretakers eventually would leave and new owners for the land and buildings found. Everyone was greatly effected, the discussions were always very sober and matter of fact. To a large degree, I received the impressions that everyone--large and small alike--realized that they were into something special (in a negative way). They were all bound together in some respects and did what they collectively could to survive and get through those years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aNBTYjsvXN14&refer=usSnippets:

July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Oil prices rose for the first session in four after the U.S. government reported that as much as 96 percent of production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut by Hurricane Dennis.

...The U.S. Energy Department report will probably show stockpiles of crude oil declined by 2.8 million barrels in the week ended July 8, according to the median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Gasoline inventories may also have dropped.

... The U.S. Energy Department increased its estimate of crude- oil prices for the third quarter by 12 percent to an average of $59.17 a barrel, as rising worldwide demand outpaces production.

-----------------------------------------------

Comment: Looks like production and facilities actually suffered more than the first optomistic comments attempted to portray. Another Storm, Emily, appears to be on the way in through the Carribean.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005, 4:21:00 PM EST

WHAT DID ROVE KNOW?

Author: Jim Sinclair

Regarding Mr. Rove, Joseph Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame, it is critical to keep in mind that only three people in the USA outside of the CIA Director of Opts and the DDO have the legal right to know the name of a NOC (Non Official Cover Officer).

Even within the CIA ,the NOC's have code names when on active duty. Their private names are no where to be found in the Langley Noodle Factory. The stars on the wall at the entrance to Langley headquarters look directly at the words, "The Truth Will Set Us Free," representing those who died in the line of duty but carry no names.

Those three people with the legal right to know a NOC's name are the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State. This privilege is certainly not available to a political strategist or an administration Chief of Staff no matter how well positioned that individual is within the administration. This is why the defense is that he did not give the name of Valerie Plame because he didn't know it.

You have to marvel at a situation whereby the media has never focused on the key element of the entire Plame affair which is that Rove has no legal access or right to know that Plame was a NOC let alone a CIA employee.

You also have to marvel at how our entire society plays the game of form over substance by even confessing in legal parlance to leave the door open to claim innocence to the proper legal charge of High Treason which is punishable by death. What happened to "You do the crime, you do the time?"

In Wall Street you do the crime, you pay the government and there is no time, no stigma and no black marks on anyone's record. Still, the young ghetto kid who boosts a car goes directly to Attica for ten years minimum.

The most protected and secret asset that the USA's intelligence service has is its NOC list. Therefore it is inconceivable that Carl Rove had access to the information that was transmitted to many reporters as they did not figure out Plame was a NOC on their own.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Rove Told Reporter of Plame's Role But Didn't Name Her, Attorney Says
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 11, 2005; A01

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove spoke with at least one reporter about Valerie Plame's role at the CIA before she was identified as a covert agent in a newspaper column two years ago, but Rove's lawyer said yesterday that his client did not identify her by name.

Rove had a short conversation with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper on July 11, 2003, three days before Robert D. Novak publicly exposed Plame in a column about her husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV. Wilson had come under attack from the White House for his assertions that he found no evidence Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger and that he reported those findings to top administration officials. Wilson publicly accused the administration of leaking his wife's identity as a means of retaliation.

The leak of Plame's name to the news media spawned a federal grand jury investigation that has been seeking to find the origin of the disclosure. Cooper avoided jail time last week by agreeing to testify before the grand jury about conversations with his sources, while New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for refusing to discuss her confidential sources.

To be considered a violation of the law, a disclosure by a government official must have been deliberate, the person doing it must have known that the CIA officer was a covert agent, and he or she must have known that the government was actively concealing the covert agent's identity.
LINK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/10/AR2005071001000_pf.html
-----------------------------------------------------------
PS -Re earlier posts-Its impossible to have a constructive discussion with a mind that's already made up! (Just stating the bleeding obvious :)

@ Pritcho,

Sinclair is reiterating what I said all along. A very important issue is that Rove had no business even knowing that Ms. Plame was a NOC, so someone else committed a serious violation to tell him in the first place - a fact totally ignored by the media.

During my college education, I received a "security" clearance from the now defunct AEC for a research assignment at Lawrence Labs. We were constantly reminded that passing ANY secure information (even to our wives) was a FELONY - punishable by federal prison time! If at any time we were suspected of violating the agreement, we signed a waiver to allow them to order a polygraph at their discretion.

This issue is not Martha's flippant FBI fibbing, it has real national security ramifications - not to mention it cavalierly risks the lives of Ms. Plame and her subordinate operatives.

Every discussion starts from a position of "opinion". Reversing another's opinion can sometimes be accomplished with enough evidence - but not by denigration.

It is a long way from "Rove has no legal access or right to know" to "it is inconceivable that Carl Rove had access to the information."

But what does this have to do with gold?

and Miguel Tejada gets the new 'Vette as MVP!

Re: Crude rises on Dennis damage - Thanks aand good points!
I would have expected crude to rise anyway to retest
it's recent high around $61 and change due to the recent trend. At the same time, sharp corrections in this (manipulated, rigged, controlled,
or managed?) market seem to come about with equal volatility on any news. Inventories up, storage down, rumors, facts and spin etc.
Now we're hearing a flood of predictions for a moonshot in commodities including oil and just as many calls for a dive. Though I enjoy hearing them (and FOA might weigh in again on oil, etc. after the facts are apparent), I'm convinced that gold is not a commodity except in limited, mostly high-tech industrial uses and in derivative trading, rigging and hedging vehicles such as swaps, leases, futures, options and indices(also mining and exploration stocks are a paper/digital derivative- a proxy).
Gold is particularly well suited today to a hard asset role. Wealth, savings, insurance, and liquidity. Protection, portability, power over own's life. When you look at it's past, gold always asserts and reasserts this personal role at the proper time.

@ exponential,

Rove's direct relationship the POG is not at issue, but the general cavalier attitude of this admin to honest statistics, factual disclosures, and even the real cost of lives sacrificed in Iraq has a lot of people questioning their stewardship in areas of security and economic management.

As open forum has been gratiously extended by the hosts, questioning the admin's agenda is, to many, not completely non-sequitur.

Accepting the media's portrayal of gold as a general commodity fits right in with the agenda of the bullion and short managing banks.

If they can convince individuals to abandon gold as the governments "appear to have", it makes their manipulations even easier and their message of "FIAT" even more appealing.

Where do the government agendas end and the CB agendas begin? A revisit of "Creature of Jeckyll Island" can help clarify.

For your info sinclair has been onto this subject since it began -with the leak. He has been calling for hesds to roll - for obvious reasons. BTW I feel I'm entitled to MY opinion that discussion with an "openly stated" closed mind is a waste of time.All that occurs after that is a clash of egos -albeit in a somewhat civilized manner.

Re Sinclair:I read his site most mornings & have sometimes been less than impressed by the repeatitive nature of some dialogue.I took up the recent offer at his site to get the "Free" disc entitled "The Case For Gold" -an interview with James Sinclair.

It would have been hard not to be very impressed with his presentation & the clear & precise way he delivered it. I had my family sit through it without protest so it must have been good! Highly recommended -- I wonder how many others here also have indulged?

@ Pritcho,

I've been reading Sinclair daily for a number of years. I don't always agree with him, but in this case I find him right on target. My family has been involved with national security in a number of ways for generations. I personally find Rove's alleged violation despicable, and I am glad it has caught the attention of those who can further the investigation.

You're certainly welcome to your opinion about "discussion" of issues with those you feel have a "closed mind", but it appeared to me that you completely close off any potential for discussion when denigrating the other party.

Just an observation, not trying to start an argument.

http://www.urbansurvival.comHere's one for Rich:

"So when I went to the drug store after serious surgery today and noticed silver being touted as the best antibiotic out there, I received a "fourth opinion" that silver will soon shoot skyward. The third opinion was that the US military is buying anti-fungal socks with silver threads in them. The second opinion was the commitment of traders report. The first opinion was that of the web bots which so perfectly captured the Indonesia disaster, the Northeast power outage, and many more.

I'm not telling you this to encourage you to buy silver mind you, because that's not my business. But the next time you slice your finger in the kitchen and you don't want an infection, look at the new bandages out with silver in them."

One word - teriffic. I have watched this presentation several times and Mr Sinclair is very clear, concise, extremely well spoken. He knows the subject matter better than most anyone. Just my 2 pesos.

http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Investing101/1032.htmlsnip:

How prevalent and widespread is naked short selling? Judging from the growing number of stocks on the SHO list for "excessive trade failure settlement", and the fact that 17 companies have been on the list from Day One - 117 days and counting, and 37 have been on the list for over 100 days, it appears to be extremely widespread. If trade settlement is required by law in three days, how can 37 companies have excessive trade settlement failures for over 100 days in a row? There are currently 193 companies on the NASDAQ/OTCBB threshold list, and 51 on the NYSE threshold list. Throw in the AMEX stocks on the current threshold list, and there are 279 total stocks with excessive trade settlement failures. (Editor's note: Every time you hear the phrase "excessive trade settlement failures", think "excessive counterfeit shares".)

Many investors and companies believe that the amount of counterfeit shares exceeds the entire number of shares issued by the companies. However, there's no way way of knowing how many counterfeit shares exist in any companies. The SEC is the only one who knows, and they refuse to release that information, saying that "The release of this information could be used to engage in unlawful upward manipulation of the price of the securities in order to 'squeeze' the firms improperly."

Pay attention here: the SEC won't tell us how many shares have been illegally counterfeited, and how widespread the illegal manipulation is, because they're worried about illegal manipulation. Huh? Also, how could releasing the number of counterfeit shares sold in a particular stock create "unlawful upward manipulation of the price" unless the counterfeiting is so widespread that it created substantial "unlawful DOWNWARD manipulation of the price" due to massive illegal short selling? Even Orwell would shake his head at that bit of Doublespeak.

-Goldilox

While naked shorting continues in spite of the "new" regulations, some even suggest that Donaldson is leaving the SEC because he supported the end of this practice. Of course, one has to ask, why was no action taken in the first year of his watch.

Gold and silver, often the victim of short trading along with mining stocks, are but the tip of the iceberg in this reverse "Robin Hood" scandal.

All the more reason to "take delivery" of your own Precious.

snip:

Another revelation is that our balance of trade deficit with China got worse (I know, you're surprised, right?).

Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China $15.8 ($14.7 prev).
Which means China can up its takeover bid for Unocal and trade with the U.S. will pay for it. Economists are a funny lot in that they try to divine where the car is going by looking in the rear view mirror while career into the future. Today's report is just another milepost that means next to nothing, except to demonstrate that the teachings of economics (that markets look into the future 12-18 months) is academic gibberish.

-Goldilox

Even doped up on post-op pain meds, George makes more sense that the media hypesters. Scarey thought!

Now why are Congressmen now hollaring for a slowdown of China's appetite for UnoCal, when nary a one was out lobbying for manufacturing or computer service jobs that went to China and India in the last 4 years?

Wal-Mart and IBM yes! but UnoCal. No?

Omagosh, the "monster that ate NY and SF" is now threatening our Asian oil garden!

Here's a joke I got via email today. I think the punch line very aptly describes our preference for "hard money" over paper assets.

WORLDS DUMBEST KID: A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber
whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch
while I prove it to you." The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and
two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you
want, son?" The boy takes the quarters and leaves the dollar. "What did I
tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. "Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?" The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!

It sure is quiet here today.....US peso back up, gold down, oil below $US 60 again.........time to trade a few dollars for gold.

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Wednesday Market Excerpts

July 13 (from Reuters) -- U.S. gold futures settled lower but still within a well-worn range on Wednesday as the dollar bounced back after a two-day sell-off following a narrower U.S. trade deficit than expected in May.

COMEX August gold futures slid back $2.50 to end at $424.60 after dealing from $428 to $424.

Prices mainly aped moves in the euro after the U.S. government reported the trade gap in May narrowed to $55.35 billion, lower than the forecast for a $57 billion shortfall, easing concerns about U.S. external financing problems.

After a muted European session, "gold traded sideways until the U.S. open, when the dollar's reaction to the trade data prompted further offers," James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, said.

Gold's rally over the past three years was partly due to the huge U.S. trade gap, which pushed the dollar into a 30 percent decline against the euro by the end of last year. However, this year, rising interest rates have capped gold while the dollar has firmed. A stronger dollar weighs on dollar-priced gold as it gets costlier for traders holding foreign currencies.

Dealers said trader profit taking also seemed to pressure gold after it hit resistance above a short-term trend line.

Volumes have been light in gold and prices confined to a range due to summer holidays, after liquidation-type profit taking by funds starting late in June shoved prices off from three-month highs near $445.

"In the current slow conditions, gold looks comfortable in its $420-430 range with the dollar providing the large part of the market's intraday direction," Moore said.

---(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

America's coming economic crisis. A look back from the election of 2016" by James Fallows, in the July/August 2005 edition of The Atlantic.

The underlying theory is similar to that generally put forward on this Forum. One paragraph as an example:

...Once the run on the dollar started, everything seemed to happen at once. Two days after the Venezuelan oil shock the dollar was down by 25 percent against the yen and the yuan. Two weeks later it was down by 50 percent. By the time trading "stabilized," one U.S. dollar bought only 2.5 Chinese yuan - not eight, as it had a year earlier. ....

CNBC's Larry Kudlow is softly grilling Josh Bolton, the White House budget director on the announcement of reduced budget even with increased discretionary spending. They are also praising the tax cuts as economic stimulus, and suggesting that deficit reduction is "ahead of schedule".

All good and well, but no mention of the the off-budget spending, which thanks to Iraq involvement, is much larger than its historical proportion.

If anyone has those numbers available, I'd love to see the comparison of the whole picture before jumping on the economic "victory" band wagon.

-G

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh81007_2005-07-13_20-25-18_n13469643_newsmlHEADLINE: U.S. commercial paper to rise 33 pct in 2006 - S&P

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. companies are boosting sales of short-term debt, and a bigger jump is expected next year as earnings slow and firms borrow more for capital spending, Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday.

Sales of commercial paper by nonfinancial companies are expected to rise 17.9 percent this year and 32.5 percent in 2006, after a 13.9 percent rise in 2004, S&P said.

Although earnings are strong, they are expected to decelerate going forward, which will increase companies' cash needs, S&P said.

Companies often use commercial paper for day-to-day needs because it is easier to issue and cheaper than bonds.

^------(from url)-----^

When was the last time a tangible asset such as gold had to issue commercial paper and borrow money to keep the lights on, to pay salaries, of for general bridge financing to stave off bankrupcy?

Never. Because gold metal is ALWAYS "good as gold" -- free and clear. Make sure you have ample amounts in your portfolio.

R.

I would focus on the debt levels of the US Government and the speed at which it is growing.

7/12/2005 7,843,596,586,237.71 6.30%
9/30/2004 7,379,052,696,330.32 8.78%
9/30/2003 6,783,231,062,743.62 8.91%
9/30/2002 6,228,235,965,597.16 7.25%


Debt including everything the government owes including social security "surplus" in nearly 8 trillion.

Public debt is growing at nearly 2-3 times GDP.

I like the fact that everyone is so excited and happy on the CRUDELOW show that the deficit is only going be 333 billion! LOL! This is the kind of complacent attitude that is good for gold. Any attempt to seriously address the twin deficits (fiscal/trade) would hurt gold.

What we have in Washington, is the moral equivalent of ENRON, I guess you could call it GOVRON. It's a shameless operation they are running there. Its getting far far out of hand, nearly out of control.

I would laugh if GOVRON weren't so criminal.

'The calm before the storm'

http://www.mineweb.net/sections/gold_silver/460801.htmsnip:

JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com) -- On Wednesday, the three labour unions involved in wage talks with South Africa's Chamber of Mines, declared a dispute, another step towards possible strike action. However, given the parlous state of employment in the country's all-important old-mining industry, declaring a disptue may well not be tremendously threatening.

The announcement came after the union failed to accept the latest offer by the Chamber of a 4% increase in wages and conditions of service for employees. The wage offer, alone, was for a 3% increase.

"The gold producers, today, continued heaping insult on the mineworkers by merely adding a half percent to their offer of 2.5%," claimed the National Union of Mineworkers, in a statement.

The other two unions involved are the United Association of South Africa (UASA) and Solidarity. The Chamber of Mines negotiates on behalf of its members, including Harmony Gold, Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti.

Once again the Chamber pointed at the marginal or loss-making position of about four fifths of gold mines in South Africa, as the reason for its lower than inflation offer.

-Goldilox

Nothing much new here, as the miners (like most workers globally) struggle to keep wages abreast of inflation.

Of course, here in the states, we see 3 brokerage execs take "early outs" to the tune of $140M. That adds about $1.25 to the average salary of ALL US workers for the week, but only 3 people see any increase. It must really screw up the B(L)S numbers.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htmsnip:

The US Federal Reserve is engaged in a significant battle behind the scenes in the banking world. This is a true battle of the titans. The USFed is a household word, with its Chairman Greenspan a celebrated icon, a hero among inflation supporters, nay monetary drug addicts intent on speculation in lieu of actual work, and a savior in engineering a climate for commercial purchases without money. However, the Bank for International Settlements is the "old world" central bank from Switzerland. A better description of BIS is one of insurer/ underwriter/ counselor to all major world central banks. The war is over supremacy, leadership, lately steeped in defiance. The battle is over sound monetary policy. The true alpha dog is the BIS. The pretender to the throne is the USFed, whose role has been the more public for scrutiny since the 2000 stock bust, which was clearly the responsibility of the USFed in a grand colossal error. That concluding event might have merely stood as the climax of the Asian Meltdown of 1997, which took three years to reach the USA shores. The bust drew countless billions of European money, the resentment for which has not dissipated.

-Goldilox

In his inimitable style, Jim Willie CB breaks down the CB battle Royale. Can't tell the players without a program!

Good Read.

http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=TYXY&o=US&a=D&z=610x300&d=LOW&b=CANDLE&st=Long Yield continues to avoid this 4.3% like the plague. Although the "No-Go Zone" is narrowing, we're STILL convinced this represents the Zero% (at roughly 4.33%)
This Chart is just as ugly as DX from a direction PoV, but Yield down from here (convincingly anyway) seems a pipedream methinks.

Buck UP...Yield UP...Gold (come the 27th ...or beforehand if Ag gets going) up,Up, UP!

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=1&u=/nm/20050714/bs_nm/airlines_southwest_dcsnip
"The Dallas-based carrier reported second-quarter profit of $159 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with $113 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier......
Even as rivals post billions of dollars in losses, Southwest has managed to stay profitable because of its extensive purchasing of contracts that lock in prearranged prices of crude and heating oil.
Those hedges -- which cut operating costs by $196 million in the quarter -- have made Southwest a favorite with investors. It is the most valuable U.S. airline even though it ranks only No. 6 by revenue passenger miles, the industry's usual yardstick."

comment
Southwest's hedging gains exceded their overall profits. This is great while it lasts but it doesn't bode well for their core business which presumably would have operated at a loss without the hedges.
I see the possibility that some major US airlines will be nationalized at some point like the failing railroads in the 60's. Maybe called Govron Airlines? ;)

"Public debt is growing at nearly 2-3 times GDP."

Hm-m-m-m, who's fault is this? Not mine, I'm out of debt. Yes, I know FRN's are debt but I have no say on that. But what I do have a say on is my pesonal borrowing. How many here are free of the oppression of debt? I had one person here tell me that he would use debt if it was economically advantageous. (Never quite understood that.) People seem to like instant electronic fund payments. Convenience rules! But worse than that is that business likes instant payments. And with instant payments comes instant control. Anybody care about oppression?

One of the main problems with peopole using credit is that it affects all of us. With more poeple using digital money, companies are trashing cash sales in favor of digital sales. Goods are being offered for digital payments only. That means that people like me, who want to pay with cash, are being forced to use credit: no credit, no goods. (I think there's a pun in there.)

Sorry to be so blunt with you fine folks, but it's time to look into the mirror to see where one of the problems is.

Gonlyold (7/14/05; 08:15:31MT - usagold.com msg#: 134049)
Who's At Fault?
"Public debt is growing at nearly 2-3 times GDP."
==
Wouldn't it be (a) just (return of Justice)
if the culprits were sentenced like
(instead of???? - I don't know the details of the Ebbers case)
Bernie Ebbers?

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh98729_2005-07-14_15-06-16_wat003534_newsmlWASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - ..... Proceeds from the sale will be used to refund an estimated $31.44 billion publicly held bills maturing July 21 and to raise new cash of about $2.56 billion.

^------(from url)----^

For our government, borrowing anew to pay for previous borrowing and then borrowing some more has become as natural as breathing in and out.

R.

"Ho-hum! The boys are at it again!

"Big deal, down below $420. So?

"You gold-price manipulators are having your day; go on with your tricks, with you attempts to hide the Sun with the palm of your hand.

"Long after you are gone, gold will still be here, valued as only GOLD can be.

"You boys want to turn the world upside down, to turn artificiality into reality, and banish reality.

"Have it your way - you have the guns! We just watch and wait." - So chant The Eumenides.

The GAB

@Gonlyold

How do you define credit? So far as I can tell, the greenbacks in your pocket represent nothing more than a pre-printed expression of credit. So does your checkbook. Only physical gold can facilitate a transaction that is not credit based.

Regardless of Whether a transaction is expedited digitally or by printed paper, the value of the media is still zero. The only thing that brings a representation of value to the transaction is the implied credit behind the digits or the paper. This principle also applies to the use of credit cards to accomplish a transaction -GIVEN- that the transaction is cleared from the account before it becomes interest bearing debt.

I may have been the one who suggested to you earlier that using credit is advantagous. I thought this was obvious because wise use of a credit card includes employing an account that provides a discount when the balance is paid each month. In my case, that is around 2%. I run almost everything though this account. It costs me nothing and it yields a 2% discount on everything I purchase (plus I only write one check a month).


- Survivor

http://www.usagold.com/Order_Form.html

As I suspected, the pre-witching Friday short run is being executed. The rapid recovery of the HUI in the last few weeks has taken the miners I watch to some nice call option price levels, and the big guys that wrote those contracts are gonna pressure the July calls back to lower levels before Friday close, IMHO.

If this is the case, we could see resumption of the longer term upward trend starting Monday.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh91627_2005-07-14_10-40-46_pek302182_newsmlHEADLINE: China's forex reserves still rising fast

BEIJING, July 14 (Reuters) - China's foreign exchange reserves rose $51.9 billion in the second quarter to a record $711 billion...

China has the world's largest stockpile of reserves after Japan's. In the second quarter it added to its hoard at the rate of $570 million a day, or nearly $24 million an hour.

The rapid growth in reserves complicates China's efforts to manage monetary policy because the central bank [...issues...] yuan in exchange for foreign currencies to maintain the yuan's fixed peg of near 8.28 to the dollar.

...Beijing has pledged to make the currency more flexible through gradual reforms over time, but says it must first strengthen its financial system and ensure its economy is stable.

...an easing of market speculation and of foreign pressure may help create the conditions for a change to the yuan's peg before the end of the year.

...Upward pressure on the yuan is also coming from domestic firms and residents converting dollar savings into the currency.

^----(from url)----^

On that final note, this is also apt time for a reminder of an article featured at the DMR page:
______
HEADLINE: China to boost demand for individual gold investment
(Reuters, Jul6)
China will allow the country's four major commercial banks to sell gold bars to their customers in the near future to boost demand...
______

It could be deemed attractive domestic policy to let the residents bid up the price of gold with their flight from dollar savings instead of contributing direct pressure to the yuan/dollar exchange rate.

But getting back to the build-up of reserves as indicated in the original article, given the sheer size of current holdings, at a mere $18.5 billion offering as seen recently, think how many Unocals China could potentially bid on and acquire.

And as mentioned previously, such takeover bids are met with roadblocks, China will sure ponder "What's the practical use of these growing piles of dollars, anyway? What good are they?"

When a system's flaws become so starkly apparent, such as seen in the reserve structure of the international monetary system, you can be sure that change -- either by cool pre-emptive calcuation or (more likely) by crisis-response -- is not far behind.

Limit your direct exposure to dollars. Diversify with the internationally acceptible alternative: gold.

R.

@ TC,

your quote: "...an easing of market speculation and of foreign pressure may help create the conditions for a change to the yuan's peg before the end of the year."

If we thnk currency speculation has been wid in the last couple years, wait until this event explodes on the market.

Coney Island will envy the roller coaster ride on the Forex.

Wild, not wid! LOL

Re: "If we think currency speculation has been wild in the last couple years, wait until this event explodes on the market."
Got me to thinking, with all the talk about the absolute NEED for currency and exchange market "stability" from China as well as from the G8 bankers in contrast to "explosion". Rumor has it there are two types of US notes waiting to be circulated in a new valuation scheme of some kind. Concurrent with a yuan devaluaton? Possible stabilizers and cushions would have to be heavy duty. Gold should also enter the picture to achieve that function IMO.
Otherwise, gold would still be needed, except even more so.

I just got a belated birthday card from my Dad.

It listed the follwing stats for 1951:

Ave US salary: $1436
Fed budget: $45B
Fed Debt: $255B
Unemployment: 5.3%
Cost of US postage: $0.03
Ave gasoline price: $0.29

Oh, and the Yanks beat the Giants in the Fall Classic - even without the dang "Rally Monkey"!

The FED sure has done a great job of ""fighting inflafla!" - LOL

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Thursday Market Excerpts

July 14 (from DowJones) -- Dave Meger, analyst at Alaron Trading, said Thursday's dip was purely technical and able to happen quickly due to low volume.

"We are in the slow summer demand season and it's easy to see a drop in volume support," Meger said.

(from Reuters) -- Benchmark COMEX August gold futures ended $4.40 lower at $420.20 -- its weakest settlement since June 2.

Funds and speculative players turned heavy sellers in gold as oil fell from its high above $60 a barrel, dulling the metal's allure as a hedge against inflation, said floor traders.

"This is all liquidation, basis the crude oil collapse," said one long-time COMEX floor source.

"We ran sell stops (pre-placed automatic sell orders) from $422 all the way down to the lows. Then we held and short-cover bounced on the close."

August gold's session range ran from $425.10 to $419.20, where market watchers saw layers of chart support beginning.

The fall also was accelerated by a firmer dollar against the euro by midday, sources said.

But, following some vulnerability in the gold market during thin summer trading because of vacations, prices could strengthen again in a few months, analysts said.

"We believe that gold is poised to reach the $450-460 level by late September/October (historically the peak time of the summer seasonal rally)," Merrill Lynch analysts said in a weekly metals report.

(from MarketWatch) -- Thomas Hartmann, analyst at Altavest Worldwide Trading ... warned that gold is in "oversold territory."

"Gold remains on the defense but is building a base that I believe can lead to new highs above $455 sooner than most people think," said Peter Grandich, editor of The Grandich Letter.

"The U.S. dollar may have made an important top," he said, adding that "Wall Street is full of dollar bulls and the setting is right for them to be crushed -- again."

A reversal in the dollar's fortunes would bode well for gold, making the precious metal cheaper for foreign investors who must exchange their currencies to buy the dollar-denominated metal. It would also prompt many traders to take investment refuge in gold.

Prices for gold remain "stuck in a relatively narrow range after the recent surge higher and subsequent selloff," said John Reade, an analyst at UBS in London. Looking ahead, "we suspect that the short-term outlook for gold is for lower rather than higher prices," he said in a research note. "The dollar looks firm, and the very strong physical demand that assisted gold during the liquidation in May is now mostly absent for seasonal reasons," he noted.

Still, "any further weakness will present longer-terminvestors with good buying opportunity," he said, adding that he believes gold will move higher over the next 18 months on "expected weakening" in the dollar.

-----(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=96431Bloomberg -- The price of gold may rise to $725 an ounce by 2010 as surging economic growth turns China into the world's biggest jewellery consumer, said Graham Birch, who manages a Merrill Lynch & Co fund that has grown fivefold since 2000.

Rising demand in China and a weakening dollar pushed the price of gold in London to a 16-year high of $456.89 an ounce in December. Gold last reached $725 an ounce in January 1980.

"The Chinese are getting richer, and have very high savings rates," said Birch, who helps manage $8.5 billion in mining assets for Merrill Lynch in London, including the Gold & General Fund.

Citigroup Inc said on May 19 the gold price this year will surpass the 16-year high reached in December.

Fat Prophets, a privately owned financial-advisory company in Sydney, said on Wednesday gold may rise to $850 an ounce in as little as three years.

^----(from url)---^

Posted here in case you've overlooked this link among the DMR's "top stories" section.

R.

Well I come home this afternoon from my burger flipping job downtown and I see on CNBC that crude oil is down over $2.00 ......"sell it - who needs oil" they are probably saying......and that gold is down a few bucks too, about $420 or so........."who needs gold we've got Greenspin and W". CNBC is busy touting homes ..... and those wonderful homebuilding stocks ...are going to the moon!.............What an insane world that gets stranger every day. Almost time for another call to George at CPM. Have a great day all.

@Gonlyold-

Everything I own is paid for, and I pay off my credit cards every month.

However, if I ever become convinced that hyperinflation is imminent, I will borrow as much as I can, and keep rolling it over, like Hugo Stinnes. I may use the borrowed money to buy gold wholesale and sell it retail, or I may use it for some other purpose, but I will use it. That's the only way to stay ahead of hyperinflation.

Bayer(the aspirin company) on it's web site (www.bayer.com)shows a blurb about their purchase of eurobonds and when one clicks on it one gets the message that in order to see the blurb one must certify that one is not a US or Italian person. Anyone know whats' up?

riding-bitts

Sir Goldielox, I haven't completed my investgation of the Rove affair. However the information that I have found so far does not warrant any of the comments that you made. I suggest you look again to your position. If you have any evidence that supports your position I would be interested. With Respect, White Hills

It is clear that someone leaked the information about the Senator's wife's identity. Look at the timing...who had the motive to sling adversity and muddy the waters in the face of the Senator?
When the leak occurred it created misdirection from real issues, so as to redirect media and public to discuss and focus on other issues.
Look at CIA "systematic dysfunction" methods of operation and you see blue prints for Republican offensive and defensive game play in practice on many levels all the way back to the Dukakis election bid and still in practice now.

In addition, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure." I noticed all the damn CPI figures being reported are saying minus food and energy in the footnotes. Why is that?: liars figure.
Gold was at 400 an ounce in 1994 too...must be negative inflation I guess. Sure right and monkeys fly out my bottom. Been to the grocery store lately?

As far as gold goes....buy gold, salt it away for a rainy day...wait and see, and hope that the crap never truly hits the fan in a mega crap storm.

http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/The King Report
M. Ramsey King Securities, Inc.
Thursday July 14, 2005 � Issue 3196 "Independent View of the News"

We erred in yesterday's missive by not listing the date of the comments attributed to James Cramer. The remarks are from his 2/29/00 column, which was two weeks before THE TOP of the bubble. We listed the link but we should've posted the date. The point is at major tops strident and unabashed bullishness with excuses for poor fundamentals pervades the Street.

Even though there was a greater than expected decline in crude oil and gasoline inventories, energy products fell sharply yesterday afternoon. Media stories attributed the declines to an increase in distillate inventories. This is totally wrong and is another example of financial writers parroting information from some trader source without doing the work and checking the facts.

The reason for the decline in oil and energy products is the unexpected 1% contraction in oil consumption from China in Q2. The NY Times: "A sudden and mysterious drop in China's oil consumption helped to push down the International Energy Agency's estimate on Wednesday of global demand for this year. After growing 11 percent in 2003 and 15.4 percent last year, China's overall oil use declined 1 percent in the second quarter from the comparable quarter a year earlier, the agency said." The IEA lowered its estimate of China's oil consumption growth to 5.5% from 7.1%. US demand was lowered to +0.8% from 1.4%. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/business/worldbusiness/14oil.html

We have been remiss in not mentioning another important factor for the explosive rally than commenced last Thursday � option expiration. We regularly note that a triple-digit DJIA rally usually precedes expiration in the window marked by the Thursday of the week prior to expiration WEEK (6 sessions prior to expiry) and the Wednesday of expiration week.

After the 1987 Crash, regulators and the US Congress became extremely concerned about the role of derivatives in the market, particularly at expiration. The �boys�, which at the time were program traders and option arbs, started playing their games on the day, or two, before expiration.

During the late �80s when sell imbalances on expiration threatened to produce a huge stock market sell-off, the program trading community and related traders would collectively intervene and absorb the sales.

In the early �90s, the Wednesday prior to expiration became known as �Weird Wednesday� because wise guys would exercise copious amounts of in-the-money OEX options (either puts or calls) just before the close. This would render option arbs massively short or long; forcing them to cover the next day. This pushed prices in the direction that favored the manipulators.

Back then, we had a few conversions with a staffer from Rep. Markey's (D-MA) office. Markey then headed the Congressional oversight subcommittee on markets. The manipulators were told point blank that if they did not �cease and desist� the Weird Wednesday gambit, Congress would take action.

So now the machinations take place far enough in advance of expiration that few �experts� even notice the regular triple-digit DJIA rally in the 2 to 6 sessions that precedes expiration.

Numerous articles have appeared that higher than expected taxes receipts have trimmed the deficit by about $100B. Of course econobulls and Bushies attribute the higher tax receipts to a �booming economy�.

Last week we noted that in the Q1 GDP report, disposable income increased only 0.4%; so it can't be wage growth. Yesterday's NY Times illuminates: "The biggest jump was not from taxes withheld from salaries but from quarterly payments on investment gains and business earnings, which were up 20 percent this year. That was similar, though much smaller than a sharp rise in tax revenue during the stock market boom of the late 1990's, which was followed by plunges in revenue when the market bubble burst. But many independent analysts cautioned that the improvement, though notable, could prove ephemeral and that it did little to eliminate much bigger fiscal problems just over the horizon." In the late �90s, capital gains from the bubble increased tax receipts; now it's real estate.

"In addition, while a lot of the increase in tax revenue flows from the improving economy and higher incomes, part of the jump stemmed from a special factor: the expiration of a temporary tax break that allowed companies to write off their investment in new equipment much more rapidly than normal.

That tax break reduced revenue by about $61 billion in 2004, but it merely postponed taxes that companies would have to pay once their equipment was fully depreciated."

http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1763375221&pt=YFurther to a discussion a couple of weeks back. Don't allow anger at gold manipulation drive you into the arms of your country's enemies.

Then again, let's hope it is all bluster. The US would wipe China off the face of the earth if it pulled a stunt like that, and this general must be aware of that fact.


Top Chinese general warns US over attack
By Alexandra Harney in Beijing and Demetri Sevastopulo and Edward Alden in Washington
Published: July 14 2005 21:59 | Last updated: July 15 2005 00:03

China is prepared to use nuclear weapons against the US if it is attacked by Washington during a confrontation over Taiwan, a Chinese general said on Thursday.

"If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," said General Zhu Chenghu.

...........

The "Rally Monkey" has retired to his Envioment Frendly Enclosure. He regrets his short sighted debut, but vows to return when the price of gold reaches $451.00. He is very proud of his golden fur which adorns his body. He also said, "All good things come to those who wait".
Had help from Dr. Dolittle.

Smile! Fellow Kights and Ladies.
Slingshot---------------<>

Fellow Knights and Ladies.
Slingshot----------<>

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=96484NEW DELHI, JULY 14: Although the best way to deal with the problems relating to mounting foreign exchange reserves is to go in for capital account convertibility, India is not yet ready to take the plunge in view of the fiscal constraints. The right course for India, suggested the Asian Development Bank (ADB), would be to try to generate demand for dollars by liberalising imports.

The ADB study on 'Foreign Exchange Reserves, Exchange Rate Regimes, and Monetary Policy: Issues in Asia,' by Akikko Terada-Hagiwara, pointed out that further trade liberalisation would stimulate imports, mopping up the excess supply of dollars and relieving the government of the burden of low-yielding foreign exchange reserves.

The accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, according to the study, can be attributed to the intervention by the monetary authority in the foreign exchange market....

The intervention by monetary authorities, the study said, in many cases did not prevent nominal and real appreciation of currencies. ......."as inflows persist and reserves accumulate, the countries need to be ready for the eventual capital outflows and policy adjustments."

^----(from url)-----^

As you consider this, bear in mind what I said earlier about China liberalizing the markets to allow gold ownership among its people.

The more you know, the more you choose gold to survive and prosper during the coming transition.

R.

@ White Hills,

When I refute someone's analysis, I ALWAYS TRY to post the info and source. Please offer me the same consideration. You keep saying, "My references don't concur", well, whip them out, dude, and let's see if they whither or bloom in the light of day!

Until I see information and SOURCES, I have no impetus to retract anything that was posted. Most of what I have seen so far this week (even on Bubble-Vision) SUPPORTS the allegations. By the way, who told Rove? That's a crime as well, but oops, sorry, now we're getting a too deep into the coverup!

Reminds me of a song lyric I wrote for Mark Russell years back. It goes,

"Well Ollie North sold armaments to Iran,
So they could blow Iraq into the sea.
Yes, Ollie North sold armaments to Iran,
But with a little coverup,
Just a little coverup,
They could keep the news from you and me.
With a coverup,
With a coverup,
A little bloomin' cover - up!"

with apologies to "Enry Iggins"

-G

At a time when quite often the important message is lost in a sea of information and opinion posted via the web, blogs, various newsletters, i.e. the rest. . .I hope that our readers do not overlook the very important insight imparted in #134073.

China and Japan, closed down from acquiring gold in sufficient quantity via official sector exchange simply because it isn't (and won't be) available, quietly passes the task to its citizenry -- an important stroke of cultural genius that few in the West will recognize for what it is. The East will acquire gold over time as a defense to the paper machinations of the West. That in turn, will provide a rising floor under the gold market as we proceed through the years to come.

Gold will not go away. No matter how hard they try, it will not go away.

The price of gold has fallen below $420 after several attempts to break resistance levels. Disappointment. Each charge to break resistance results in a setback. Adding insult to injury are those who prognostigate gold going to $575/ $850 /$950 and more. Three years. Ten Years. As they extrapulate into the future. Unless there is some unforeseen catastrophe, gold will assend and receed as it moves to greater heights and we will in a sense die from a thousand paper cuts should we not realise that we are not in control and this is what markets do. To the Lurkers and Newbies to the Gold Arena, I say these are times that will try mens souls and this arena is not for the faint of heart. I do not wish to compete with those whose armor has withstood the engagements of 10/15 or even 20 years. Only in my short time I can see through their eyes. So my Fellow Knights and Ladies, take each reversal in the POG as an gift and buy what you can afford, taking confidence that the Powers That Be will collapse as the fight for the world reserve currency ensues.
Slingshot--------------<>

@ ArcticFox,

"The biggest jump was not from taxes withheld from salaries but from quarterly payments on investment gains and business earnings, which were up 20 percent this year. "

I'm shocked!

It might be related to the fact that investment moguls are seeing their take increase by gazillions while the B(L)S tires to convince us that it means "wages" are up. LOL

-G

MK,

It could also be read as indicating that China has boxed itself in by acquiring too many dollars, as part of supporting the peg - i.e., they create artifical demand for dollars by buying them up as part of the yuan/dollar peg. A quick drop in the dollar would thus wipe out the value of China's dollar reserves.

This demonstrates to me that the peg is in fact an export subsidy.

To brainstorm: One possible strategy for the Chinese would be to use $US to buy up the shares of gold mining companies traded in the US. This would not trigger an immediate run on the metal price (as would purchases of the metal). It would maintain the peg for now. It would provide some exposure to gold in the future (maybe dividends paid in physical).

@ MK,

That really is a very important, if not oft' mentioned, point. The West, in its complacency, harbors fewer "personal libertarians" than the East, whose less than dependable governments have constantly reminded of them to take care of the "home front" first.

The eventual winners in the "bugger thy neighbor's currency" war will be NEITHER gubmint, but more likely the individuals who protect themselves and their families during the more uncertain times (AKA those who lose the least).

@ canmami,

Interesting hypothesis, especially as the better gold shares (unhedged) have been very stable and rising during the latest DX rebound.

http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.pnf?chart=$GOLD,PWTADANRBO[PA][D][F1!3!!!2!20]⪯f=G70,000 !!!
Get ready to change directions.
<;-)

Yesterday. my city voted to raise fees on all recreational facilities, not for the enhancement but to cover for decrease in revenue to the city. Shame! It only hurts the poor and those who use these facilities that are on fixed income. My city lost 3 million to a bad deal in development and now they will tax everyone for their incompentance. Next will be Gas. Then Property. Each city becoming a Fuedal State.
Damn, Where is my Pitchfork!

*********************************************************** To USAGOLD
It is wise to open the forum to subjects that skirt the progress of gold. Thank You. For we as Goldbugs see life through a different set of glasses and things that impact our lives are different and truly interest me what happens in Great Britian, Austrailia, China and so forth.
Slingshot---------<>

http://www.rense.com/general67/RUSC.HTMSnips.


"Russian Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that both President Putin (Russia) and President Hu (China) have ordered the immediate activation of 10 Combat Ready Divisions to counter the increasingly aggressive moves being made by the United States in the Caspian Oil Regions of Central Asia. Special Forces Army Units of both Russian Spetsnaz and Chinese Immediate Action Units were also ordered to be immediately deployed to both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to surround the large American Military bases in those regions, and that the governments of both of these countries have ordered the Americans to leave.

The government of Uzbekistan had called first for these actions, and as we can read as reported by the Indian National Newspaper Hindu News Service in its article titled

Uzbekistan Steps Up Pressure On US To Close Base

http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/09/stories/2005070900251500.htm

and which says -

"Uzbekistan is stepping up pressure on the United States to withdraw its air base set up in the Central Asian country for operations in neighbouring Afghanistan. Uzbekistan also said that the United States had not paid takeoff and landing fees, as well as compensation for security services, new infrastructure, ecological damage and inconvenience to the local population.

The statement was issued two days after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation called for the United States and its coalition allies in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing their military bases from Central Asia. Last month Uzbekistan introduced severe restrictions on American flights from the Khanabad base forcing the U.S. command to redeploy some aircraft to Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan has joined Uzbekistan in calling on Washington to shut down its air base near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek."

The government of Kyrgyzstan has also called for the Americans to leave their country, and as we can read as reported by the RIA Novosti News Service in their article titled

Kyrgyz Ambassador: US Base Must Go - Russia's Should Stay

http://en.rian.ru/world/20050711/40886695.html

and which says,

"The United States' military base near the Manas Airport, in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, must go and Russia's, at Kant, should stay, the Kyrgyz Ambassador to Russia said Monday at a press conference here. Apas Jumagulov recalled the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit explaining the need for the Manas base's withdrawal by the fact that the situation in the neighboring Afghanistan was returning to normal."

The actions of the United States Military Leaders though to these demands to leave have been met instead with their increasing their combat capabilities in both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and in total disregard to both Russian and Chinese warnings issued to them, and of which can read as reported by the USA Today News Service in their article titled

China, Russia-Led Alliance Wants Date For US Pullout

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-07-05-asia-summit_x.htm

and which says

"A regional alliance led by China and Russia called Tuesday for the U.S. and its coalition allies in Afghanistan to set a date for withdrawing from several states in Central Asia, reflecting growing unease at America's military presence in the region. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, urged a deadline be set for withdrawal of the foreign forces from its member states in light of what it said was a decline in active fighting in Afghanistan. The alliance's move appeared to be an attempt to push the United States out of a region that Moscow regards as historically part of its sphere of influence and in which China seeks a dominant role because of its extensive energy resources."

Angering President Putin also has been the United States pressuring the European Union to attempt to take away Russia's vast oil resources, and as we can read as reported by the Moscow Times News Service in their article titled

Putin's Aide Warns Of Finno-Ugric Conspiracy To Seize Russia's Oil Assets"


Druid: A very interesting set of articles if true.

Survivor said, "Only physical gold can facilitate a transaction that is not credit based."

For the most part, I agree. Keep in mind there is bartering. But I cannot phantom why you would jeopardize the very foundation of private transactions by helping facilitate a digital economy. Only if we initiating parties are able to conduct business amoungst ourselves, without being forced to include a third party in our dealings, are we truly free to engage in private enterprise. Being forced to use credit is being forced to include the bank in our dealings. Being forced to use a check is being forced to include a bank in our dealings.

When you say, "the wise use of a credit card includes employing an account that provides a discount when the balance is paid each month. In my case, that is around 2%. I run almost everything though this account. It costs me nothing and it yields a 2% discount on everything I purchase (plus I only write one check a month).", it impresses me as a philosophy of someone not fully cognizant of the transaction. (I truly hope that I said that without sounding antagonistic.)

You are, in effect, paying for your (and my - unfortunately) oppression. Have you read the terms of your banking contract? I'm not sure what exactly you agreed to but let me relate some terms of a recent bank card application I received.

The bank, Chase in this case, wants me to agree to:

"...(A)uthorize (the bank) to allocate (my) payments and credits in a way that is most favorable to or convenient for (the bank)."; i.e., not looking out for my best interests.

Have "Claims and disputes subject to arbitration."; i.e., no court proceedings.

Have the bank "...reserve the right to change the terms of (my) account (including APR's) at any time, for any reason..."; i.e., complete subjection to the bank.

Allow an increase in the APR should the bank not recieve my minimun payment on "any other account or loan with (the bank)...";i.e., we increase your APR at the first sign of financial problems.

If "...you fail to make payment to another creditor when due...we demand immediate payment of your outstanding balance..."; i.e., if you're having financial difficulty, the bank wants to make sure it gets it's money first, without regard to your other obligations.

That's what getting paid the 2% from the bank buys you. It's not "costing (you) nothing". It's costing you your freedom. Surely you didn't think the bank was just being nice to you? They're in business to take your money or your collateral that you mentioned in your application.

And surely you don't think this oppression stops with just currency do you? The gold bugs on this site are in jeopardy too. Once you can only buy things with digital money, how are the physical gold holders going to conduct business? Afterall, physical offerings, whether they be paper cash (fiat) or gold, will not be acceptable. And if and when that day comes, how much would you give to come back in time to today, and not help promote the use of digital money?

I could agree to let you run your business as you see fit if it didn't affect me. But as more and more people began to use more and more credit, companies are more and more opting for credit-only transactions. This makes my pursuit of happiness most difficult. I hope I can say this in a tactful way, but your type of business philosophy is ruining mine.

Many stories of mans accomplishments have resonated with its final outcome, but few have followed the TRAIL to the Legend. It is the posters at this Forum from which I will weave a story of Gold. A story of Old. A never ending, Wrong verses Right, for which the GoldBug will Forever Endure!
The Bagpipes sound across the far reaching dales and sing to the glory of those who refuse to be subdued. It is many formed into one. Our story is old and our foundation strong.

Welcome to " The Search for the Renaissance"

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

A renouned wizard enters the plaza of a small village and instantly is engulfed by the people.Gandalf!, they cry out. Behind him enters the Knights of the Oaken Table of Yore. They have just come from the Final Battle.

Slingshot--------------<>

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Focus/GG15Dh02.htmlSnip:

"...
``Iraq changed the government's thinking,'' said Pan Rui, an international relations expert at Fudan University in Shanghai. ``The Middle East is China's largest source of oil. America is now pursuing a grand strategy, the pursuit of American hegemony in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is the number one oil producer, and Iraq is number two [in terms of reserves]. Now, the United States has direct influence in both countries.''

..."

Sundeck: Interesting perspective from China's point of view on energy security...it's hard to imagine anything other than a hardening of international relationships (C.f. Druid's #134083) on the slippery-slide down from Hubbert's Peak...nations all clawing for a toe-hold...suspect we ain't seen nothin' yet...

With China's bid for Unocal going round and round the mulberry bush and Japan now opting to drill in nearby disputed waters, what else might we expect? I suspect we may see China and/or Japan bidding for other international oil companies that have strategic importance for themselves. After all, oil is bought and sold in dollars...right? Well what about oil producers?

;-)

http://www.enterprisemission.com/weblog/weblog.htmsnip:

"Something's" definitely been happening, since the highly-publicized culmination of "Deep Impact" the other night, but NOT in public. Something that's potentially far more revealing than "just another successful NASA mission":

A behind-the-scenes-eruption -- currently taking place in Washington and in Pasadena -- over precisely what Deep Impact actually ran into the other night ....

How do we know that such "an intense backroom debate and controversey" is occurring inside NASA?

One major clue has been the simple fact that -- unlike ALL previous NASA deep space missions the Space Agency has EVER conducted, over the last 40 or so years (of which I've been a witness to the majority, first-hand ...) -- "Deep Impact," following its Hollywood-like climax, has produced a stunning ... deafening ... totally anomalous--

SILENCE.

-Goldilox

For the bargain price of $333M, the US paxpayers have so far gotten about 6 stills of the Temple 1 comet intercept and NO spectral data. Check out Richard Hoagland's web blog if you're interested in his analysis.

http://www.jmccanneyscience.com/Jim McCanney's Thursday, 7/14/05 show visits the irony of FEMA being ready in the exact location of Dennis' landfall, when NOAA readily admits that they cannot accurately predict paths.

Not unlike the pre-placement of 7 US carrier groups in the South China Sea just prior to the Indonesian EQ. What amazes me is that this is more carrier groups than have ever been amassed in even a war effort, and they just happened to all be on the other side of the Indonesian peninsula on Dec. 26th after leaving West Coast home ports only days after returning from other deployments (a few months earlier). The locals here (Navy families) were not too happy about this, as they did not get their normal 3 month "stand down" for refueling, restocking, and family R&R, and the only explanation given was "Pacific Ocean exercises".

$ Bill - you might find his hypotheses very interesting, as he discusses possible NWO role in these events and the potential for using storms to manipulate Oil and NatGas futures pricing and political links to the same.

Scroll down to the archive for today's date to get the REAL PLAYER stream link.

CNBC just announced HP is expected to lay off 15-20K, including retirement of their COO with their earnings announcement.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones . . .

Should ease some housing pressures in Cupertino! If there is a new wave of unemployment stateside, watch for the RE bubble to stumble, as new buyers are already stertched to astoundng credit limits.

http://urbansurvival.com/week.htmsnip:

There's a report of an Egyptian national being captured this morning as the alleged mastermind of the London bombings of last week. We will hold the applause till more details come out. If true, score one for fine police work. However, I'd sure like to know more about the explosives involved which have been referred to as military in nature. Would a chemistry student build such explosives (more work) when nearly as good result might have been had from easier to formulate compounds?

-Goldilox

I was asking this question as they announced the arrest. Added to the previous release, it suggests he was formulating "serialized" C4, as the previous reports suggested that the explosives were identified as from "miltary stock". I wonder if any of our media "Sherlock Holmes" types will even pick up this reporting discrepancy.

Bob Pisani just did a piece on the Oil ETF that began trading on the LSE (not in US), suggesting that since the StreetTraks GLD debut defined the latest "top" in gold, that maybe release of the Oil ETF will define a "top" for oil.

Methinks the spin-meisters are working OT on this one! Score two whacks for the price of one!

"NASA Temple 1 silence continues"

Deep Impact found out that Temple1 is made of pure Gold and now they wait for the next Goldrally with the announcement (think again about the name Deep Impact!)

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2005-07-14T211051Z_01_N141421_RTRIDST_0_ENERGY-CONGRESS-CNOOC.XMLsnip:

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - A senior House Republican wants to require the U.S. Energy Department to review China's bid to buy American oil producer Unocal Corp. as part of a sweeping energy bill that House and Senate negotiators began discussing on Thursday.

Republican Richard Pombo of California, chairman of the House Resources Committee, proposed an amendment which would require the U.S. Energy Secretary to submit a confidential report to the White House within six months on the implications of state-run CNOOC Ltd.'s $18.5 billion bid for Unocal.

The measure would require the Energy Department review before the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States -- a multi-agency panel led by the Treasury Department -- could review CNOOC's acquisition plan.

"We must assess these matters now, rather than after CNOOC has acquired Unocal," Pombo wrote in a letter to Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican.

CNOOC's bid for Unocal could be the "Sputnik of our time," Pombo said, referring to the satellite the Soviet Union launched in 1957, which spurred a Cold War space race.


-Goldilox

CNBC also just announced a bill introduced in the Senate by Byron Dornan, SD, this morning to block the purchase.

This is shaping up to be quite the Congressional "donnybrook". I wonder where all these clowns were hiding when the bone pile jobs went to China and India. They seem a LOT more interested in their level of their gas tanks than the fate of their constituents.

CNBC just reported that Karl Rove has told the press that he learned of Plame's CIA status from Bob Novak, who to escape investigation months back, had said he got the info from the same reporters that Rove is accused of telling.

Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows!

It will be interesting to see who is left without a chair when the music stops.

Knallgold - you said, "tounge in cheek" that -

"Deep Impact found out that Temple1 is made of pure Gold"

Not impossible, it seems to me. Let us say, "within the realm of the possible."

I have long conjectured that the center of the Earth contains the heaviest metals: we are told that the core fo Earth is of iron, but, why not various layers of molten metals, with the heaviest at the center - Platinum, perhaps?

If the comets are remains of former planets, there might be a lot of heavy metal in them...

The GAB

Recently there was a two-hour show, Journey To The Center Of Earth, on the Science Channel. It compared Jules Verne's science fiction story to our current knowledge of what is under our feet.

The center of the earth according to the show, is solid, mostly iron, and is approximately 4000 miles from the surface.

The really interesting thing is, they estimated that there is enough gold to cover the entire land mass of the earth knee deep!!

Just for fun, perhaps one of our industrious visitors having a few moments of spare time and who's handy with spheroid geometry could do a volumetric calculation of a 'knee deep' (0.6m) shell at the earth's surface (radius~6350 km) and compare that with the volume of the core (radius of 'inner' core ~1300 km, radius of 'outer' core ~3400 km).

R.

I sent to Justin, he is underground in a coal mine at the moment. Will see what he can come up over the weekend.

On the knee deep gold, I could not believe it and replayed that part twice to be sure thats what they said.

@Gonlyold

Thanks for a thoughtful continuation of the subject. If I did not agree to some extent with the principles which underlie your position, I probably would not participate in this forum.

To be a goldbug in our current North American socio-economic culture, it is necessary to "live with one foot in each camp" however. No matter how much I would like to trade something of tangible value directly for the goods and services I require, the only currency acceptable to the corporate grocer, the utility company, and the taxman is some form of the currency that you have such distaste for.

Please note that I do not distinguish between greenbacks, checks, and the various forms of plastic. These are all means by which we are able to issue some of the credit that we hold in order to make a payment. (By "credit", I mean that the funny-money we hold is Credit to us by virtue of the fact that it represents Debt somewhere else.) We may perceive that the greenback is somehow more cash-like than checks or plastic, but in reality greenbacks are nothing more than another proxy for a debt balance that is tracked in an accounting system we know as "the bank".

It should be noted that the only thing which changed with the advent of digital transactions was increased communication velocity. The exact same process had been happening with paper transactions since long before the greenback was disconnected from gold.

But, back to living with a foot in both camps. The huge majority of what we receive as "income" comes to most of us as an electronic credit. Even after we exchange the electronic credit for "cash", we are still just holding a proxy for a debt elsewhere that has been electronically issued to us as a credit. Except for cash sewn into mattresses, all cash circulates continuously in and out of digital electronic form. We do get to exercise the other foot, however, by way of private transactions where both parties have the freedom to negotiate by barter or with precious metal. Another way is by exchanging digits for gold to hold as a store of wealth. And, of course, we plant that alternate foot by not owing anything to anyone.

So the bottom line is that since extricating oneself from the banking system would cut off both income and the ability to pay certain obligations, one foot must be kept within that system. Since all forms of transaction in that system are either paper/digital or a proxy for the same, those transactions all represent the same level of jeopardy to goldbugs (myself included). The best that can be done in this circumstance is to grab whatever advantages may be available there, and handle affairs in such a manner that the banksters never have a reason to exercise their many advantages which you documented so well. Perhaps someday there will be no taxes or utilities to pay, all food will be grown and bartered for locally, and the local doctor will accept a dozen eggs and some homemade bread for setting my broken middle finger. For now, that is not the case.

Lest my message be lost among the many words, the moral here is that transactions by greenback are just another form of doing business in the world of digital credit and debt.

Best wishes
- Survivor

"I have long conjectured that the center of the Earth contains the heaviest metals: we are told that the core fo Earth is of iron, but, why not various layers of molten metals, with the heaviest at the center - Platinum, perhaps?"

The effect of gravity on the surface of the earth might be very different than the effect of gravity at the center of the earth. At the surface, the mass of the earth is attracting the body at the surface, but at the center of the earth, the mass of the earth would apply forces equal in all directions (weightless?). Why would heavy metals "fall" to the center???
:-)

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Friday Market Excerpts

July 15 (from Reuters) -- U.S. gold futures finished a choppy session firmer and above fresh six-week lows on Friday, bolstered by speculative short covering before the weekend, dealers and analysts said.

The market bounced from a fund-led foray below $420 an ounce on Thursday and earlier on Friday after a lack of further selling prompted some investors to return to the market in late trade. Active COMEX August gold contracts climbed $1.10 to settle at $421.30 after earlier sinking as low as $418.20, which marked its weakest price since June 2.

Refco analyst Tom Boustead said, "Crude also was up a little bit, which helped to get people thinking about squaring positions ahead of the weekend."

Another analyst said the bottom for gold prices in the short term probably would be around Friday's low, because currencies were range-bound and high oil prices propped up gold as a hedge against inflation.

(from DowJones) -- Analysts at MKS Finance SA said thin liquidity and some squaring ahead of the weekend propelled the yellow metal higher but the return to an oversold state suggests that the liquidation might come to an end soon. "We believe any dip below $418 should be brief. In the near-term, $424 should, however, act as a strong resistance," MKS said.

-----(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

The gold star goes to you. At the earth's center, the pull of gravity is indeed differnent that what we experience on the surface. In fact, at the center, the pull of gravity is precisely ZERO, with a nice gradient of increasing force on a body as it is positioned nearer to the maximum pull which we experience at the surface, and then as the body continues upward into space the force declines again toward zero, but this time doing so exponentially with an inverse of the distance between the center of masses of the earth and the body in question.

With zero g at the earth's center, one might think it could be a pleasant place to visit, but despite a zero pull of gravity, the pressure (and heat) which you would find there is horrendously inhospitable.

Thanks to electromagnetic and density calculations from geophysical studies, scientists have calculated that Earth's core consists of approximately 85 percent iron.

For what it's worth.

R.

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm5/index_large.htmlTrack Emily here as she attempts to pin a tail on the donkey.

Inner Core = 1.55x10^20 m^3
Surface = 3.04x10^14 m^3

Core is much much bigger.

http://www.thebulliondesk.com/tbdchart.aspx?Code=XAG&chart=LGold, now in full-blown Paper mode has returned to it's currency mean. Both alt-DX and EuroPoG are back in touch with "un-reality" here.
Enigmatic Ag keeps us guessing though. Yonder Castle haven't updated it's LR's since the 8th and Bullion Desk (see Link) indicate some serious whipsawing.
We're still short 1500 Contracts on Comex (est) so the Silver Delivery Issue, although apparent benign in here, could get VERY interesting in the Day's and Weeks ahead.

We Watch!

Funny that my little post elicited (lovely word, that!) some comments.

We-e-e-l-l I have thought about that, too. Not being a physicist, I can only guess.

How about this guess: when the Earth was formed, the first particles that attracted each other into a mass, were those elements that had MORE MASS. Sound good? That means the heavier elements coallesced (another lovely word)or gathered together, first, then attracting, by their larger mass, the lighter elements. "Und so weiter..." And so forth.

How about this reason for "no comment" from the guys who have the data on the Comet collision "Tempe 1" -

Suppose they found out it WAS solid gold. "Hey! We need permission from above to talk about GOLD in a Comet, who knows, this is free publicity and we know that gold is out, gotta check this out first....mum's the word!"

Nah! Couldn't be! Just goes to show how NUTS goldbugs can be.

The GAB

"Scientists say geophysical studies show that the Earth's core is 85% iron."

I say, they're part of the CABAL. They just don't want to admit that gold and platinum are at the very core.

Politically incorrect, you know. On second thought, the remaining 15% in gold and platinum ain't all bad, either.

The GAB

Taking his calculations, and trusting that I didn't drop a decimal here or there, and further assuming the 'knee deep' statement to be valid, of the various material in the core, gold would represent only TWO ten-thousanths of a percent of the total material found there.
(0.000002%)

That is quite rare any way you slice it, but relatively speaking would be far more abundant than the greater scarcity with which gold is found in the earth's crust -- at a rate of approximately 0.005 parts per million, or FIVE ten-millionths of a percent of the total material in the crust.
(0.000000005%)

Happy is he who has a collection of that rarest of portable property!

R.

http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/reality/2005/0715.htmlsnip:

So there you have it folks, aging computers being blamed for PPI not being reported in a timely fashion on numerous occasions throughout '04 and apparently the fix for the problem rested in the procurement of new penpad computers for the folks who tabulate CPI?

What I see occurring here right before our eyes amounts to brazen �economic revisionism� or the reworking of benchmark yardsticks of historic value. I would suggest that economic revisionism has been elevated to a �high art form� at the Fed, Treasury and the BLS. These people practice their craft ever so incrementally and with cunning � beginning with seasonal adjustments to reporting numbers, then factoring in substitution, hedonic and quality adjustments and finally � once all the lines delineating reality are sufficiently blurred � they simply move the uprights back 25 yards whilst telling the blindfolded place kicker he has a simple �chip shot� from the 20-yard line.

None of this happens by accident. I would contend this is all part and parcel of a decaying fiat monetary system whose perpetuation mandates usurping inflation by its very definition. There is no conundrum on interest rates. Long term interest rates have been engineered down and remain low to induce credit expansion and consumption expenditure � period. Without it, the fiat system dies. Couple unnaturally cheap credit with a globalist mentality and you end up with exactly what we have achieved � zero savings and investment, plenty of outsourcing, dislocations and asset bubbles, a hollowed out manufacturing base and debt burdened and compromised middle class. In recent weeks, such luminaries as Warren Buffett, Robert Rubin, Paul Volcker and Stephen Roach have all � to varying degrees � fired warning shots humming a similar tune.

Interest rates, inflation and the price of gold are co-related and interdependent. This is why I write about gold and the suppression of its price. A rising gold price would make a mockery of nascent claims that inflation is low. It would also expose many of these false claims as deceptions. Unfortunately and shamefully, monetary officials prefer to conduct their carnie act, violating all of us, cloaked in double speak and secrecy behind drawn curtains.

This �creeping repositioning� of the CPI [outlined above] relative to the PPI has the same aroma as the recent recalibration of the CRB Index. What I do know for a fact is the BLS has been pumping out reports for a number of years suggesting inflation is tame or non existent. Empirically, I used to fill the gas tank of my car for less than 40 bucks two years ago and today it costs a cool 50. And I live in Canada � a country whose currency has risen appreciably against the U.S. dollar � oil's settlement currency. I don't really want to go off on a rant about the increased cost of food, insurance, tuition, cable tv, property tax, new homes, professional fees, prescription drugs and anything else associated with health care. Amazingly, the bulk of pundits and monetary officials getting airplay in the main stream media insist we're living in a �Goldilocks� economy.

Snip:
"For the week ended July 4, M-3, the broad US money supply, declined by $13 billion.
That ends the news. No, wait, there's more -- core inflation (food and energy) rose just 0.1% last month. The government's inflation statistics have become the laughing stock of the economic world, not that anyone gives a damn
about the government's statistics anymore."

Further Snip:

I just received the latest report (advisory) from my old pal, Sir Harry Schultz. I've known Harry for almost half a century. I first met Harry in 1961 just before he started his famous international advisory service. In those days Harry owned a number of newspapers here in California. Harry moved overseas to Monaco, and he's stayed overseas ever since. He's probably the world's most persistent traveler. Harry has lived in more countries than I even knew existed.

His international living and traveling has given Harry a unique overview of what's going on in the world. In his latest report, Harry gives his view of the global picture. He talks about "Separatization" (his new word) for what's going on. He means that instead of "one world" under one government, nations are now separating, and Harry is all for it. Below are some of Harry's comments about various nations. I can't say I disagree with anything Harry says below. Go Harry --
-----------------------------------------------------------

"Eastern Asia, China and the Indian sub-continent, which has taken over the leadership locomotive role. They want to trade (and raid) but definitely do not want to become part of the West. They want to be separate but equal (or equal plus for China). They're delighted with their new-found and growing power.

"The US has lost thrust (due largely to Asia powering) and lost moral leadership (due to the coup d'etat by the misguided policies of the neocons). If the neocons remain in power until 2009, they'll have destroyed so much of US economic, monetary and military power and influence it is unclear if it can be regained A.D. (after Bush). US political policies have separated the US from the rest of the world.

"Europe's case is even more extreme. They're unsure if they want to reform their socialism. They're at home with their termites, but the structure can't survive trade winds. Europe harbors a doomed economic and social philosophy. If they agree to reform, it'll take years, and maybe they don't have years (China). If they don't agree they'll become a white-collar second-world, no longer first, but not quite third.

"Black Africa, long a basket case economically, then politically (ego), now medically. Mostly refuses to help itself. Too busy arranging graft, corruption and channeling foreign aid into leaders' pockets. Still sees itself in black (them) and white (us) terms. Most are disgusting racists, especially the leaders. They would rather die than play by proven, humane rules.

"Brown (Arab) Africa: Also suffeouths from Colonial Blame Syndrome, but a few are less extreme. They let their Muslim religion separate them from the rest of the world.

"South America. Split. Non-cohesive. Who says that's bad? Separatization comes naturally here. That aside, the continent has some very pink spots (Venezuela, Cuba) and some bad behavior (cutting rain forests). Is largely anti-US, as a result of old wounds from the fruit companies and ongoing mega-bank treatment (lend and then repossess, and terrible IMF advice (what do they know? Not enough, another bureaucracy). But becoming a leading agricultural super-power. Hope South America doesn't find that China owns them one day.

"OZ and NZ (Australia and New Zealand). Happy to be left alone and separate. These two even avoid union with each other, have said yes/no, and maybe, but NO in the end.

"Canada -- Many wish their US border was a 50-foot Berlin wall. They're anti-Bush-wars (and made it clear). They separated themselves, one by one, from the US 250 years ago.

"Russia wants to trade with the West a bit, but mainly sees the West as a place to sell to (oil, gas, weapons). They still want to rebuild their military empire. Putin wants continued separatism.

"Middle East -- They create their own separatism -- in their heads. If they could open their minds/hearts, they could thrive and conquer violence. Until they do, they'll fool themselves that their separation is demanded by their religion, rather than by free choice.

"Japan/South Korea. A separate world of their own free choice. No desire to change."

Sir Goldilox: To get right to the heart of the matter, it would seem that there indeed has been no violation of the law. In the first place, Wilson's wife is NOT an Undercover CIA operative. She has a desk job in the CIA as an analyst. Her status in the CIA does not bring her under any criminal law or ethical practice as defined in this matter as has been publicly confirmed today by her superior�he also confirmed that Rove's statement did not endanger her, any other CIA employees or operatives.

Here is what is purported to have happened as reported by the journalist involved. In an interview on an entirely different subject, the reporter ended the session by asking Rove questions about Joe Wilson and his claim that he was sent to Niger by the administration and Dick Cheney to investigate the BRITISH INTELLIGENCE SERVICE report that Saddam was trying to buy yellow cake uranium in Niger, as mentioned in the State of the Union Speech by President George Bush. Rove, in an effort to steer the reporter away from the false reports, told him that Joe Wilson was lying and that no member of the administration had sent him and that he believed he had been recommended for the job by his wife whom he thought worked for the CIA. It would seem that this decision to send Wilson was from a mid-level CIA officer for whom Wilson's wife worked and even the head of the CIA did not know about the mission. They have written proof of her recommendation of her husband so there is no doubt there. Incidentally, as reported, Joe Wilson not only lied in his report but also to the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the report. He has been totally discredited even in the liberal media. Read Safire in the New York Times. By the way, the Brits stand by their report and indeed new information confirms the report. It would seem that the republican administration rushed to disavow the 18 or so minutes from the State of the Union speech because of the torrent of criticism by you lefties. But, they were premature because as it turns out, Saddam was trying to buy yellow cake uranium in Niger and the only lying was by Joe Wilson. I will let the readers of this post figure out why. So, there was no violation of law or ethics involved in the affair by Rove. The grand jury is not targeting him and he has already testified a couple of times as well as giving the special prosecutor complete cooperation. He has given all the reporters involved both general and specific waivers to reveal their sources. Therefore, why is the woman reporter in jail on contempt charges? That is a mystery yet to be revealed. I am sure that we will discuss this again and as the truth comes out it will be interesting to see how you can justify anything that you have said. By the way, I would be interested as to what acts this administration has committed that have been defined by law as "treason" to further their cause of "war under false pretenses" (a favorite liberal accusation) as represented by you in this forum. Trite, oft repeated statements like that show your bias. With Respect, White Hills

@ Pritcho,

Russell's opinion of the BLS numbers mirrors that spoken by Marc Faber.

Should be called "Rotten to the Core Inflation numbers".

THANK YOU, WHITE HILLS for setting the story straight!
Another liberal, left attack against this administration, which exposes the liberal left for what they really are made of. No solutions for AMERICA, just verbal garbage being spouted by a vicious bunch of antagonists.
What about HARRY REID on the senate floor, in the BOLTON confirmation hearings, talking about a FBI report filled with juicy tidbits about BOLTON which are classified and which most people did/do not have access to????? What about JOHN KERRY in the BOLTON confirmation hearings leaking the name of a CIA operative that Mr. Bolton had issues with during his tenure, some SMITH guy????????????? Good thing JOE WILSON had Chuck Schummer as his handler at the press conference this week! Made his lies more credible to the liberal left??????????? Liberal, left DEMOCRATS are no match for KARL ROVE. They are not even in his league! Sadam would have gotten that yellow cake from NIGER, but they probably wouldn't take anything but GOLD for payment.

The word "credit" is derived from the Latin "credo," which means I believe or I trust. If you believe someone is acting in good faith, and you trust them to conduct their affairs responsibly, then you give them credit. In some societies trust is the norm, and most people give each other credit. This is a good thing. When I was growing up in West Texas, oilmen made multi-million dollar deals with a handshake. That's how it's supposed to work.

In some societies, credit is not possible. In Russia, for example, people pay in cash, because they don't trust each other (and rightly so).

Like everyone here, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with our present financial system, but credit per se is not the root of the problem. The fact that debt is now *impersonal* may be a problem, but not credit itself.

@ White Hills,

Again you NEGLECT to link any sources for your information. This is getting habitual - not exactly conducive to "credibility."

So far, you're the ONLY source I've heard say Ms. Plame was just a desk clerk - against hundreds of sources who dispute it. I would not take your opinion (or anyone else's) as gospel without verification anyway, but as you resort to name-calling, your credibility is waning even more rapidly.

The "white cake" documents and the Downing St memos have been demonstrated to be complete fabrications over and over again.

Gotta go. A family emergency requires my attention for the next dew days.

-G

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,16849-1695974,00.htmlPrince sees dollar peg as key to a Gulf 'euro'
SNIP
The increased attractiveness of a stronger euro to Arab states was underlined yesterday as the UAE said that it might convert 5 per cent of its foreign currency holdings from dollars into euros.
But Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the billionaire Saudi investor, cast doubt yesterday over a change in the states� existing dollar peg. "Denominating in US dollars is the best scenario. The US economy has proven beyond doubt that it is the locomotive for growth of world economies," he said.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2bef8d40-f54b-11d9-8ffc-00000e2511c8.htmlSNIP
But long-term investors � pension funds, insurance companies and central banks, for instance � have to take greater account of risk factors such as a possible break-up of the eurozone than do shorter-term investors like hedge funds and day traders. Such long-term considerations could influence decisions by Asian central banks or Opec members about whether they switch out of the dollar and into the euro.

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=100104UAE considers switch to euro
SNIP
Dbai: The United Arab Emirates central bank is mulling plans to convert some five per cent of its dollar reserves to euros, a move which would signal a far-reaching trend among Gulf Arab states seeking to reduce their reliance on dollars, a report llow suit, is also in line with an increasing global trend among central banks to shift reserves away from the US and towards the eurozone, analysts say.

Three British soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in Amara in southeastern Iraq.

Two other soldiers suffered minor injuries.

The death toll among British forces now stands at 92, including 53 killed in action.

In Baghdad meanwhile, a car bomb exploded near a US convoy in the al-Ameen neighbourhood on Saturday morning.

It killed a suicide bomber and injured two people passing by. The violence follows the worst day in Baghdad since the end of April.

There were ten suicide car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital on Friday - at least 28 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded.

Al Qaeda's Iraq wing - led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - said the attacks had given it control of the city.

In Kirkuk in the north, late on Friday, a car packed with explosives detonated prematurely killing the two men in the vehicle and a passerby.

http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html

http://www.bis.org/review/r050715h.pdf Keynote speech by Dr Hans Georg Fabritius, a Member of the Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, at the International Arab Banking Summit 2005 - "The Euro-Arab Economic Dialogue", Frankfurt/Main, 23 June 2005.

SNIPS :
"Over the course of time trade relations between Europe and the Arab World have clearly intensified. For instance, German exports to the region increased by more than 10% last year. Although this is broadly in line with overall export growth in Germany, the strong increase occurred against broadly unfavourable exchange rate developments, given that the currencies of most Arab countries move in parallel with the US dollar.
Like trade in general, these developments have been to the benefit of both regions. A telling story of these mutual advantages is the fact that for Europe in general, and for Germany in particular, the dampening effects of the recent oil price shocks have been eased by a faster recycling of oil revenues in the oil producing countries.
This was made possible by increased foreign demand for European products in Arab countries. As imports from Europe play a much more important role for oil producing countries than imports from the United States, an oil price increase under unchanged trade structures leads to a demand shift in favour of Europe. To a certain degree, this is cushioning the adverse energy price effect."

"But one thing is crystal clear. The visible tensions about the European constitution and the financing of the European Union by no means hamper the proper functioning of EMU. It is becoming more and more necessary to re-emphasise this point since some observers have argued to the contrary and doubted the sustainability of the current institutional framework for common monetary policy."

"Moreover, the functioning of EMU is clearly visible in the growing international role of the euro. The euro's role as a reserve and invoicing currency and its relevance as an issuing currency on the international bond market is confirming this judgment. It is important to emphasise that the internationalisation of the euro reflects a market driven process and is no goal of the common monetary policy. Thus, the acceptance of the euro in international markets is even more reassuring."

"Despite these overall achievements, some have recently cast their doubts on the future of monetary integration in Europe in the face of heterogeneous developments at the level of member states.
And here I can only repeat myself. This line of argument neglects the basic empirical facts. The divergence in national inflation rates and output growth rates has not increased with EMU. Nominal convergence has not lead to real divergence and the heterogeneity within EMU is by no means significantly larger than in a well-established monetary union, ie the United States."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A nice read.

http://www.infowars.com/articles/nwo/china_russia_joint_nwo_statement.htmChina, Russia issue joint statement on new world order - Xinhua - July 15, 2005

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,16849-1695974,00.htmlPrince sees dollar peg as key to a Gulf 'euro' - Economics - Times Online - July 16, 2005

http://www.infowars.com/articles/world/china_tilts_russia_to_counter_uncle_sam.htmChina tilts to Russia to counter Uncle Sam
Taipai Times - July 14, 2005

Mikal, interesting nwo link.
I didnt like the idea of the un providing the grounding for law. Unless the church state issue is finally drawn right and accepted by all.

The whole Gold mined,melted in a cube,would just fit between the space between the Eiffeltower legs I heard.There might be more more Gold "deep storage" (2/3's already mined?),but knee deep covering the earth?Surely it could cover the earth,Gold can be stretched out very far (like the paperGoldgame...).
"Goldfoiled earth",I bet it would not last long as there is this human habit to collect this barbaric relict in whatever form.

Well said. I believe the "knee deep" reference
pertained to gold in the ground(unmined) + above ground(mined). All the mined gold could be stored in
a large modern living room(with vaulted ceiling?) I have heard. Of course unmined gold could be expected to be found
in trace amounts nearly EVERYWHERE, as it is
a constituent of the human body and other life forms,
sea water, rocks, soil, ice, magma, etc.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4681935.stmBBC NEWS | Business | How much oil do we really have? - July 15, 2005

http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/murphy071605.htmlgata@yahoogroups.com Subject: [GATA] 'Midas' commentary for July 15 posted in the clear at Gold-Eagle
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
GATA Chairman Bill Murphy's "Midas" commentary
at LeMetropoleCafe.com for Friday, July 15, has
been posted in the clear at Gold-Eagle here:
http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/murphy071605.html
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to GATA's dispatches, send an e-mail to:
gata-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The recent discussion of a knee deep shell of gold germinated specifically in regard to an outside estimation of the amount of unrecoverable atoms of gold possibly located within the earth's inaccessible core. Being unminable, you have no need to worry about it ever seeing the light of day.

R.

http://www.morganstanley.com/GEFdata/digests/20050714-thu.html
Andy Xie has been saying the price of oil could crash soon. Here are excerpts from his latest dispatch (last week):

"Asian economies are decelerating. China has just begun to decelerate. At some point, the oil market will abandon the fiction of endless Asian or Chinese demand. As we have learned from the past bubbles, when the expectation turns, oil prices are likely to collapse.

"Asian oil demand continues to decline. China reported that its crude imports dropped by 1.3% and refined products by 21% in June from last year. For the first half of 2005, China's crude imports rose by 3.9% compared to a 34.8% increase in 2004, and refined product imports dropped by 21.1% compared to a 34.1% increase in 2004. In contrast, China's coal imports rose by 58% in the first half of 2005.

"Oil is a speculative bubble. I have never seen people buying something on what I believe is so much misinformation. While oil traders debate if China's demand is growing at 5% or 8%, their demand could be equal to half of China's.

"Oil bubbles do not last, because they depress economies and, hence, demand. Other bubbles (e.g., technology or property) tend to increase demand initially. This is why I believe that the days for the oil bubble are numbered. As the weak economic and oil demand data pour in from Asia, some speculators could run, which could, in my view, trigger a stampede."

Could deflation bring about higher gold prices than could higher inflation?

I formerly thought, "No way!" Now as we view the continued control of gold and silver in the futures market, I'm beginning to wonder and reassess.

With continuing and even increased monetary inflation in the presence of controlled government statistics on CPI, etc. --more fiat money just gives more ability to those shorting the metals markets. Those, who are given easy access to the created dollars and profit from controlling the metals. In fact, the higher the monetary inflation, the more dollars they have available to sell paper gold in what seems endless volume! In addition, nearly all asset classes appear to benefit and rise in value during--at least--a mild inflation fever, making the sterile asset (gold) appear unattractive. Apparently, there could be no end to this game, with so many governments and vested interests involved, helping one another along the road of inflation [they're all involved]. And, since all governments round the world take part and profit from the paper games, all are likely (IMO) to continue playing the game of easy government money creation, with gold being held in check to make paper continue to appear competitive even against the back drop of terrible monetary inflation. I don't see anyone-or nation-rocking that boat.

Now, let's look at the alternative...deflation. Here, of course, we are talking about the destruction of paper money and the credits it creates. Since many will not know which assets will be safe and which may go to zero, gold and silver might benefit from both the need (by the metals market controllers) to re-deploy their assets elsewhere to prop up other potential asset failures, and the alternative safe-haven, U.S. Bond, yield dropping to about zero. Some money pouring out of faltering asset classes looking for a safe-haven will stick to failure proof gold and silver. With paper credits disappearing and short interest possibly distracted, could this possibly be the time that even a modest rush to the safe-havens would spark a significant price surge in gold and silver?

The uncertainty created by total and catastrophic credit destruction brought about by a significant deflation, might do more in a short time for the price of gold than the monetary inflation that is now in part used to control gold through the futures market selling.

I would like to add two more of Mr. Xie's comments and then add some of my own.

"Developing Asia consumes 17.3 million barrels per day."
Thailand is 3.3 times as dependent on oil as the US, Korea 1.8 times, and Taiwan 1.6 times."

As I read Mr. Xie's articles it reminded me of someone that is too deep in shorts and needs justification and support.

I would say his analysis on Thailand, Korea and Taiwan's consumption could be off as much on the positive side as negative. Who really knows when they actually purchase oil and what hedges they use? He could be using June average prices for January purchases. As for China's demand, I have observed in base metals that they tend to buy in large quantities and then run down inventory. I suspect they do the same with oil. The fact that they are building new coal fired plants does not detract from their need for oil fired electricity as China still has some shortage problems in power generation.

As an aside to Asia's oil demand, Indonesia is in an oil shortage situation and they are an OPEC member. If they could get more dollars, they would use more oil.

I really like the reference to oil speculation being half of China's demand. As far as I can tell silver speculation is half the worlds demand. Doesn't seem to bother the users of silver. And I have no doubt that the speculative demand for copper is greater than the LME, Shanghi, and COMEX warehoused combined. Funny how it's only a problem with oil?

It appears that America's gasoline demand alone is higher than half the Asia developing world consumption of oil so how can we be so much more efficient in its use? Americans are the biggest wasters on this planet and our SUVS consume way more than their mopeds and motorcycles.

Rising prices for oil have been different for many parts of the world. Those not tied to the $ haven't seen nearly the % rise as those that are. This may be one of the final straws that breaks many currencies away from the dollar.

It is possible Asia's incredible growth in demand will slow but I find it unlikely it will reverse much unless the US can get is insatiable appetite for Asian goods out of its system I also point out he sure was flippant about rising production. As I see it, production is the real problem in the oil equation.

Glenn

Exponential, I suspect the rise in oil prices was orchestrated to depress the world economy use of oil so that oil supplies are not super tight when israel attacks iran in (my guess) september.
With the nwo link provided by Mikal, China and Russia were making some pretty significant comments.
While rush limbaugh is thinking the -chicoms- the chinese govt, is all just godless commies, I hardly think so.
I think they know they are too huge to go to a system like ours, and suspect, that the leaders of China are among the growing christian population. Not all the govt, but the top guys.
I have been researching the jihad genesis. It appears to be a reaction. Not the first cause. The first cause appears to be israels govt structure of church and state.
Most middle east troubles grew from that.
Depending on your definition, fundamentalist can mean those that think church and state are destined to be some form of -one-.
To unravel the -terrorist- problem, can only be done by unraveling the confusion by finding the proper clarity about what constitutes the proper church state relationship.
It must be compelling enough to convince all the various parties that it is superiour to the problem causeing structures we now have.
Rush limbaugh has declared war on the public square with his club gitmo products. I think it would be best if he discovers there is a boundry to free speech.
If there is such a thing as freedom of religion, it must include a few new boundries. Boundries that protect it.
Although some will view it as limiting it.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fg-chinaoil17jul17,1,4300137.story?track=mostemailedlink&coll=la-home-local&ctrack=1&cset=trueSnip:

"...
Seeking oil abroad

China's growing demand for oil has led it to look overseas for new supplies. A sample:

*

- Canada: Granted access to oil sands in Alberta, considered the richest reserves outside Saudi Arabia; has 17% stake in Calgary firm with proprietary oil sands technology.

- El Segundo: CNOOC Ltd. made an unsolicited $18.5-billion bid for Unocal Corp.

Indian Ocean

- Nigeria: New railways funded by China.

- Gabon: China paying for port project.

- Angola: China's second-largest supplier is among the African nations benefiting financially in return for oil. Projects include electricity for Angolan slums.

- Russia: In talks for a 1,500-mile, $2.5-billion pipeline to supply 700 million tons of Russian crude over 25 years.

- Sudan: Its largest oil investor is China, which holds a 41% stake in a major Sudanese oil consortium.

- Kazakhstan: A $2.5-billion pipeline to western China is due for completion this year; it will be capable of transporting 20 million tons of oil annually.

- Iran: Chinese companies spent $70 billion for a majority stake in the nation's largest onshore oil field. China has also promoted relations by selling weapons to Iran.

- Saudi Arabia: China's largest oil supplier has a consulate in Hong Kong and a Beijing office for its state oil company.

- Rwanda: Road projects funded by China.

- Myanmar: Officials negotiating to build oil and natural gas pipelines from northern Myanmar to southwestern China.

- Strait of Malacca: The pirate-infested bottleneck off Malaysia through which more than 60% of China's oil imports flow.

- Spratly Islands: China called this month for joint exploration in the disputed islands near the Philippines.

- Philippines: State oil companies reached a deal in 2004 to research oil in the South China Sea.

- Indonesia: Third-largest oil and gas producer is also China's largest offshore oil producer. Will provide liquefied natural gas to fill a new terminal in Guangdong province.
..."

Sundeck: A fairly long summary of China's ongoing search for energy security from the LA Times. China's footprint on world affairs is getting larger by the day...

:-)

From your report, Andy used as part of his supporting commentary, "This is just another speculative bubble on the credulity of the participants and the availability of cheap money," and shortly thereafter concluding, "Oil bubbles do not last, because they depress economies and, hence, demand."

How does he so quickly forget the essence of his earlier comment -- "the availability of cheap money"?

In the tug-o-war for pricing influence which occurs between demands within the real economy on one side and the more relatively superficial invoicing on the other.

Does Xie expect that something as easy to create as 'money' is suddenly going to become less available or less cheap? How can he be so sure that what he chooses to see as a soon-to-burst oil 'bubble' isn't actually, in all greater likelihood, a reflection of pricing long askew now coming into an improved real economic balance?

R.

Dollar Bill, You Said: I have been researching the Jihad Genesis. It appears to be a reaction. Not the first cause. The first cause appears to be Israels govt. structure of church and state. Most middle east troubles grew from that.
White Hills said: A little history for you to think about: Year 691-Dome of the Rock erected in Jerusalem-Year 715-Great Mosque erected in Damascus-Year 732-Battle of Tours checks Islam's advance across Europe-Years 1095to1291-Crusades define bitter relations and struggle between Christianity and Islam for future centuries-Year 1453- Ottoman Turks conquer Bysantine Empire-Year 1492- Roman Catholic Christianity enforced once more in Spain-Years 1914-1918- Ottoman rulers make a fatal miscalculation in joining the Empires fortunes with those of Kaiser Wilhelm-
For all these centuries Islam's domination even in Europe has been impressive.Arabs, Moors, and or Ottomans controlled Spain for 800 years, Portugal for 600 years, Greece and Bulgaria for 5 hundred years, Romania and Serbia for 400 years, Sicily for 300 years, and Hungary for 150 years. Italy,Austria,Bosnia,Croatia,Wallachia,Albania, Moldavia,Armenia,Georgia,Poland, The Ukraine, and eastern and southern Russia were all battlesfields where Islam conquered or was conquered in violent conflicts marked by cruely, bloodlust, a fearful loss of life. This violent spread of Islam was to bring Jihad to the infidels and pagans, that is everybody that does not accept
Allah.
I think you can recognize some of the areas of conflict from recent times, Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, George to name a few. Jihad is the method that Islam uses to fight the infidels as they are directed to do in the Koran. A individual Muslin may not agree with Jihad but will not oppose it or even speak out against it. It is considered Allah's will and no sin would be as great as opposing Allahs word.It would be the duty of any Muslim to kill such a person. Incidently there is a Muslim hit list out with such people on it.
For the last 300 years the Islam has been on the defensive but recently 50 years or so have once again mustering their strenght to once again spread Islam with the Sword, called terriorism.
Israel is a democracy, the only one in the Middle east, and they are jews. That alone makes them the enemy of Islam. Islam will never stop until they are killed or run out of the middle east. Islam will never stop attacking the west using terrorism and all methods of war to defeat us. It is what their God tells them to do
Dollar Bill, Do you really think that all of this started with Israels govt. structure of church and state. Give us a break! White Hills

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm5/projectedpath_large.html
Just heard a BBC radio news report that Pemex has evacuated ALL of their offshore oil platforms as hurricane Emily approaches the Yucatan and then is projected to continue in the Western Gulf of Mexico to the East coast of Mexico. The report indicated that 15,000 oil workers have been idled and as much as 3/4 of Mexico's oil output could be affected on a short term basis.

----Lock those gas caps.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=96760Snip:

"...
The minister had sought to allow free import of gold and had made an announcement in this regard with a caveat 'subject to regulatory approval�. And the regulator RBI made sure that it flexed its arms. RBI just poured cold water over the commerce minister's proposal.

Reasons were best known to the regulator. Repeated attempts by media to find out the grounds for such an approach went in vain. Now again there are talks of liberalizing gold. Hope this time around it doesn't turn out to be a damp squib. The new gold policy is expected in September is likely to address a variety of issues�ranging from setting up of special zones for gold trade to concerns relating to launching gold exchange traded funds.

..."

Sundeck: More talk of "liberalising" India's gold...two edged sword...freeing up imports and exports could boost gold demand, but I don't like the sound of ETFs...

Incidentally, did you now that a "squib" is an explosive device, like a firecracker or a simple gunpowder primer? Hence, "damp squib" = something that does not go "bang!"

http://www.24x7updates.com/FullStory-News-Disneyland_goes_50_in_style-ID-74448.htmlSnips:

"...
Disneyland marked its 50th anniversary Sunday with a ceremony that culminated with a fireworks-and-confetti display featuring Mickey Mouse and dozens of other characters brought to life by founder Walt Disney and thousands of Disney fans donning special gold colored Micky ears.
...

While just one dollar would have gotten you into the magic kingdom in 1955, the cheapest day ticket in 2005 will set visitors back 56 dollars.
..."

Sundeck: Golden mouse ears may help to hear the dollar bills falling into the US's debt jar...

...but how about that? $1 entry in 1955 and $56 now!!!! Is one likely to have 56-times more fun now than in 1955? Perhaps that WAPPING 55-times inflation figure needs some "head-onic" adjustment...maybe that is what the golden ears represent?? Make it sound better than it is...

;-)

The participants on the Morgan Stanley GEF have different personalities. At one end of the scale you have the imperturbable Richard Berner. At the other end you have the excitable Andy Xie. He is the one who is most likely to talk about hyperinflation and deflationary collapse. He is the closest thing to a gold bug on the Morgan Stanley site. He is the most fun to read, but if you want to be right about the markets it's usually better to listen to Dick Berner and Stephen Li Jen.

That said, Andy Xie does have his finger on the pulse of the Chinese economy. His thesis that POO may collapse is based on his perception that the boom in China is not going to last much longer. China has vast overcapacity, the speculative bubble in real estate is coming to an end, and the Chinese banking system is an accident waiting to happen. This is a perfect recipe for recession or worse. It's like that cartoon where the guy runs off the edge of a cliff and keeps running, until he looks down and realizes what he has done.

TownCrier - "Does Xie expect that something as easy to create as 'money' is suddenly going to become less available or less cheap?" No, it's not that money will be less available. It will be available, but it doesn't enter the economy until someone borrows it. Look at Japan: the banks have lots of money to lend, but not many takers. Andy Xie is saying that when the Chinese economy starts to contract in a serious way, that will happen in China too. There is no point borrowing money to invest in new projects, since China already has way too much capacity.

Junior Miner - "I really like the reference to oil speculation being half of China's demand. As far as I can tell silver speculation is half the worlds demand. Doesn't seem to bother the users of silver. And I have no doubt that the speculative demand for copper is greater than the LME, Shanghi, and COMEX warehoused combined. Funny how it's only a problem with oil?" - Who said it's only a problem with oil? The same thing would happen with any commodity. If speculators create their own demand, then when they stop buying, the price collapses. Andy Xie claims that real (industrial) demand for oil is about to decline, and when the speculators see this, they will stampede for the exit. If he is right, then the price of copper will also collapse.

What Mr. Xie isn't taking into account is that many speculators buy oil futures because they think there is going to be a bigger war in the Middle East. If that happens, POO will spike up regardless of what happens in China or anywhere else. As long as speculators are worried about that, they will continue to buy oil futures, even if industrial demand weakens.

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/RocketSchool/20050717.htmlExcerpts from the 'Rocket School of Economics':

July 17th, 2005 -- Productivity and Cashflow

Whatever happened to good old fashioned cashflow, cashflow derived from producing something which was sold at a profit? Today it is estimated that profits from the manufacturing sector account for 10% of corporate profits, while in excess of 50% comes from financial transactions or money shuffling. This is a complete reversal from the early 1950's when manufacturing accounted for 55% of corporate profits. Obviously productivity has declined over the last fifty years and the production of goods has been replaced by the 'click the ticket' brigade.

The manufacturing base that provided the bulk of US corporate profits has gone, having been moved offshore, first to Japan, now to China, two countries which today are effectively the largest creditors of the US. Productivity, the key to wealth, is now located in foreign lands, while money shuffling still appears to be centered in the US. Obviously when a country has the designated world's reserve currency, the US dollar, the source of this 'wealth' the ultimate paper gold mine, then it can dictate the terms and conditions to all players, especially as the currency in question has no redemptive value.

...Direct ownership of hard assets may well be the new vogue. Jeffrey Knight, of Putnam Investments (www.putnam.com) was quoted in the Boston Herald, 7/14/05, (www.BostonHerald.com) as saying: "I think gold is a buy. I think it's a long term buy. Nobody wants a strong currency any more. It could happen that all 'fiat' (i.e. paper) currencies will try to compete lower. That undermines 'fiat' currencies as a store of value."

Wow, that's an interesting statement coming from a fund manager, when compared to the rah-rah that still appears on CNBC. Notice this gentleman is not saying buy real estate, he is saying that long term ownership of gold may be prudent. We could not agree more, having recommended buying gold at $280 back in 2001. Once again it is important to actually own what you purchase, and taking delivery of the metal completes the transaction.

For those that are fortunate enough to have exited paper assets and are sitting in cash (liquid debt,) transferring this into something that is not debt, but is tangible and can not be erased with a stroke of a pen, is wise. No debt, exposure to commodities, ownership of gold and if possible, direct and indirect exposure to commodity production, including gold, may well become the hallmark of financially surviving the next ten years.

^-----(see url to access full commentary and archives)-----^

White Hills, thank you for the added history. I also am adding history to the analysis, being early in the morning, I should have mentioned, as you did, that the -recent- emergence is the one you mention 50 years ago.
The recent one is the one that needs untangleing.
Imagine how hopeless thier cause if they were trying the old style jihad. Europeans for example, are not very interested in church once a week, bowing 5 times a day certainly is not a likely possibility.
There may be some of that old style jihad going on in Africa. Hard to really tell, religious fighting there could really be almost coincidental to the tribal fighting.

http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.22848/pub_detail.aspIt is economics that led me to this topic.
There are those whose intent is to topple the economic game.
Granted we talk about the behaviours of the top money men whom we believe, for the most part, are acting in a way that is reckless and threatens collapse. Also, the very tool used by the economy, fiat, is usually faced with collapse by this point just by fiat design.
The source of the threat is of course us. But, rather than get all ticked at -terrorists-, I believe, like our finanacial discussions, it is structural.
The link, is to a voice on the -right-. not a voice in the wilderness, but one echoeing reasons that are moving us towards destruction of financial norms.
In history, and now, the same entangleing, collideing forces of church, money and state are threatening us all.
I think there is a structural solution.

@ Dollar Bill, et al,

Just a little addendum to the "history". The Israeli state is indeed a democracy, as their home elections are usually even closer races than those in the US. The forces for more expansionist Zionism and "peaceful" coexistance continue a strong political battleground in their elective process, though rarely mentioned in western media - it certainly is prominent in the Israeli media.

The less than radical Arab governments find the Israeli presence unacceptible not for its democracy, but for its "history", given that it was created by the more "terrorist" elements in the Zionist movement as an answer to Jewish resettlement. The majority of the immigrants to that state are refugees from WWII and cold war politics who were not even welcomed in their own home countries after the war fall of Nazism.

The Arabs find it appalling that the west supports a state created on Arab lands for jewish refuges that the same supporting countries would not allow back home after WWII.

Israel, to them, has becoime another of the west's "not in my back yard" issues, and they feel that the Jewish state was "dumped on them" as an answer to western Jewish resttlement issues.

Without choosing sides, this is the real basis for lack of any "common ground" in Middle East negotiations.

As to $ Bill's assertion about "solutions" to the financial mess, my main concern is that imposed solutions tend to be heavily biased toward those imposing them and bad for everyone else - not unlike the FED Reserve decision of 1913.

http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/Greetings Goldilox, It might have been a typo on my part, but I dont think I have a "solution" for any economic structural issue.
The Jewish Muslim issue was very different 70 years ago.
There were Jewish communities in all the so called Muslim countries.
The zionists, who really went after the dream of a Jewish state, made efforts to force the Jewish communities from those countries to help populate Israel.
Jewish people, the -bulk-, are like all of us -bulk- people, we are all dragged along by the activist/govt/religion guys to destinations and troubles that us -bulk- would never cause on our own as we live lives trying to keep our families safe from financial, and forms of tyrannical trouble.
I am driving off in a moment till saturday. Have a good week.
Here is a surprising link

@ S Bill,

I wasn't meaning to hang the solution on you personally, but you had mentioned a "structural solution", and I was referring to that.

I was adding some "history" not to simplify the issue in any way, but to remind everyone just how complex it really is. The media-simplified description ignores many of those complexities, though I am sure they are not lost on the diplomatic corps.

I am also out of town attending a family funeral, so my attention is rightfully divided.

Good will to you and yours, my friend.

-G

Not the one rescued today, but the real thing, which has (had?)some numismatic value.

In Europe gold numismatics hasn't really played a major role ever - as it bullion was bullion, in bars and coins, since we always could buy coins - not bars necessarily.

There is a lot of debate on Panda's on several friendly sites and I can only say that my former bank's numismatic outlet had been agents to the Chinese mint at the outset. Early 1980's i'd guess.

Anyway the first batch was only some 20Koz's for a series per year at spot plus a few bucks. I recall to have bought 3 series at the time and a year later they offered to buy back at 4 times the original price - still hold on to two sets.

Is it the power of gold alone or the power of supply/demand =scarcity and collecting value?

cb2

PS - Hello Goldie - great posts all over the place - thanks!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4693081.stm

... and PM's not allowed to stray for a day ... cb2

Where your tale illustrates the effect upon pricing/value based on the supply and demand market fundamentals of a 'scarce' gold ounce as contrasted with a more 'generic' gold ounce, it provides an additional insight for future expectations regarding the higher potential values awaiting a 'free gold' physical-based market (reflecting 'scarcity') as contrasted with the marketplace's present abundance of 'generic' paper gold.

To drive home the point, imagine if you had simply assigned your Panda gold coin sets to an unallocated account (where they would have become a paper statement of generic ounces) rather than maintaining a discrete ownership of that specific property as you actually did. Clearly, your ability to reap the higher value was contingent upon your ability to product the actual property in question upon your transaction with the buyer. Had your Panda ownership been watered down into the form of a quarterly paper statement of generic 'ounces', you would have only been able to reap the value per ounce that the market currently establishes as the par value for the swirling multitude of tonnes of generic paper gold per each papery ounce.

All to say, if the unallocated (generic) papery 'ounces' of gold are eliminated from the market's supply/demand pricing equation as would be the situation in a 'free gold' market, then suddenly the pricing on all tangible ounces would start to behave as illustrated by your Panda's -- with an impressive adjustment upward in recognized market value.

And certainly, even among the worldly 150k tonnes of scarce tangible ounces, some of those ounces will continue to be priced higher still due to their additional scarcity and special desirability (numismatic or otherwise) among their golden peers.

Food for thought and discussion.

R.

http://www.usagold.com/bulletin/board.htmlAttractive pricing and a wealth of info on United States $20 gold pieces -- Liberties and St. Gaudens.

See announcement at the Bulletin Board for more details.

http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=TYXY&o=&a=V%3A15&z=610x300&d=LOW&b=CANDLE&st=It will be interesting to watch developments here ...as Bonds took a hit in the arvo, DX/Au reacted accordingly. This doesn't bode well in the aftermarket as Foreigners ...major position holders, get a crack at disposal.

We'll see!

Numismatics ...dunno!
Can't REALLY imagine them "outperforming" Bullion in a Fiat washout. I think premiums would maintain their "current" $ amount but NOT their Ratio ie: Spot X3 @ $420 ($1260) may well become Spot + $840 @ $5000. IMHO.

I've still got a "Soft-Spot" for my '99 Euro Set though.

Outperforming? - Don't believe it either as in the longer run an ounce is an ounce ...
Gata be in it to win it - as someone is hammering the point!

Go Gold and take delivery - to be safe - cb2

Please note I was not the one to utter the words or sentiment "outperform" -- as that is not what I was driving at. That issue specifically would be for the market to decide, and it certainly lays well outside of my limited scope of study and projection.

Ouside of my primary point about scarce physical gold value versus wimpy value of abundant paper gold, all that I was trying to convey in my simple final remark was very simply this, that at such time as when the dust settles, and I quote: "some of those ounces will continue to be priced higher". This was offered, almost as an afterthought, simply for the sake of framing a more complete picture at the end of the road.

Notions of "outperformance" have more to do with choosing one's entry point, and that's not where my thoughts were coming from. But in that regard, certainly anyone who got into $20 gold pieces at the time of circulation (at face value = bullion value = $20.67 per ounce) will always be sitting fat, and setting the ultimate benchmark for "outperformance" per se. Agreed?

R.

http://www.usagold.com/DailyQuotes.html
The Daily Gold Market Report has beenupdated.

If you are considering investments in gold we invite you to request our freeintroductory information packet detailing the products and services offeredby USAGOLD ~ Centennial Precious Metals. We welcome your inquiry and lookforward to working with you.

Monday Market Excerpts

July 18 (from MarketWatch) -- Gold futures closed with a modest loss Monday, but an analyst stressed that the U.S. dollar is likely to see further weakness, spurring investment demand for the precious metal.

COMEX August gold futures fell 30 cents to close at $421.

Gold prices lost ground in the past week "after the latest economic fictions on U.S. inflation were released and the U.S. trade deficit failed to deteriorate," said Ned Schmidt, editor of the Value View Gold Report.

"But the sellers could not control" the market, he added, and that "these markets -- gold and silver -- have a strong following of buyers that are not about to run."

"Gold investors know the fundamentals of the dollar are on their side," according to Schmidt.

"The bear market for the dollar [is] likely to resume."

In a research note Monday, John Reade, an analyst at UBS in London, said that any further weakness in gold "will present longer-term investors with good buying opportunity."

He predicts that gold will move higher over the next 18 months on "expected weakening" of the U.S. dollar.

Indeed, the dollar failed to gain ground Monday against major rivals after the Treasury Department reported that foreign capital inflows to the United States rebounded to $60 billion in May, the strongest showing since February's $79.6 billion.

---(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)---

... Let me quote an old Wall Street friend, who's writing some great insights to some of his old friends and clients ...

*Although I remain a strong advocate of gold playing an important monetary role, it is unquestionably for the best that the collusion between the U.S. and probably other members of the G8 which aimed at abolishing gold's monetary role for all eternity, is never exposed. The future of democracy and the capitalist system is in grave danger at this time, and to heap even more disrepute on our political leadership would not in any way be helpful.

Too many pillars of our society have been severely damaged by scandal in our times. ... Another scandal of this magnitude ... would only serve to further undermine the underpinnings of civilization!" ---

Seems to me- it's past pretensions - the future of fiat currencies, floating vis a vis their intrinsic value vs the supreme fiat has run its course and is now only "sinking" in terms of relative purchasing power towards the standards of its competitors ... Or is it the other way around?!

Who cares; In reality the Post - some wanna dub it - Bretton Woods II - is just an unimagable crime, pulled off by an administration with no compucture for their own citizens. A socialist democratic Republic had more of a civic conscience than Washington, D.C. (See Cuba in the aftermath of Dennis' destructive path - Fidel says : F__ Off!)

Right or wrong - The 'Ugly American' is re-surfacing in its plight to prove its super power status. A status which has been undermined by its own actions - actions of imperialism - "occupying", or at least having military bases in 170 countries of the globe.

I'd guess the Empire is on its last legs as Iraq and Afghanistan proves to even undermine the notion of air- and sophisticated weapons power - the last vestige of super power - which may fall any day on the debt burden - called credit to "equal?" powers.

Great! Being the remaining global Superpower - being probably toppled by the sins which have toppled its cold and other war enemies.
... Some feel W-.D.C. is the ultimate enemy to world peace and prosperity ...

... Can't really oppose the notion ...

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh74425_2005-07-18_22-13-48_n18272189_newsmlNEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended a seven-day rally to close lower on Monday after disappointing earnings from Citigroup. Oil prices, Treasury bond prices, gold and the dollar all declined.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 65.84 points...

Crude oil futures slumped on NYMEX as Hurricane Emily diminished as a threat to U.S. Gulf of Mexico production...

The dollar slipped across the board as a capital inflows report showed selling of U.S. stocks by foreigners in May, suggesting uneven interest in dollar-denominated assets...

U.S. Treasury bond prices fell on Monday as negative technicals were exacerbated by expectations of optimistic testimony to Congress this week from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan... The benchmark 10-year notes fell 12/32 for a yield of 4.22 percent -- its highest since early May...

U.S. gold futures finished a shade lower...

^----(from url)----^

That's quite a headline on this one... EVERYthing down.

No joy in Mudville today.

R.

GOLD is creeping back up! Gonna bust out and leave bonds, oil and the $, in a cloud of dust!

CB2 stated "Who cares; In reality the Post - some wanna dub it - Bretton Woods II - is just an unimagable crime, pulled off by an administration with no compucture for their own citizens. A socialist democratic Republic had more of a civic conscience than Washington, D.C. (See Cuba in the aftermath of Dennis' destructive path - Fidel says : F__ Off!)"

Max...... I'm a little lost here....did I misunderstand something. Is Cuba a Democratic Republic? Well Socialist maybe, but not the kind that asks your opinion. I've always prefered republics over democracies but I don't think Cuba comes close to either.....and free aspirin for the masses doesn't put them there. I'm at least as cynical as anyone here with regard to manipulation of the masses for the good of the ruling elite. But I would think the severe and total lack of tolerance for diverse opinions and free choice would tend to rule Cuba out of either of these categories. Perhaps the American tradition of individual responsibilty is just a silly illusion destined for the dustbin of history. But if so then why save anything, especially gold coins? Let the government take care of you...like in the socialist democratic republic of Cuba.

"The Ugly American"?
"Imperial Occupier"?
"Global Superpower"?
"Washington, D. C.--
the ultimate enemy"

If you must, why don't you at least
pick on your home-grown agents of
this superpower?
Your political analysis is just a bit
too shallow; dig a little deeper, will
you?
Or, at least, acknowledge the gutsiness
of this world domination scheme. Do you
really believe a peaceful integration of
the world is possible?
I can't be more specific nor personal
because then the USAgold administration
will abort me faster than an ounce of
fake gold...Edelweiss forever...OvS

http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/reality/2005/0403.htmlIn "Today's" Market Wrap Up at Financial Sense Rob Kirby draws attention to an article I'd missed --see above.It is indeed a "Must Read" and certainly explains the rise (temporary) in the US $. I've linked it -see above.

Snip - (From Kirby)

"I wanted to take a moment and revisit a wonderful essay written April 3, 2005 by Professor Robert Bell titled The Invisible Hand (of the US Government) in Financial Markets. In this essay, Bell outlines the significance of The American Jobs Creation Act signed into law on Oct. 22/04. In his paper, Bell explains that the law provides American companies with monies "off shore" to repatriate it for a one year period and have their effective tax rates on these repatriated funds lowered from 35% to 5.25%. He predicted that this would result in a substantial flow of homeward bound funds. He concluded as a result of his analysis, that bearish sentiment toward the U.S. dollar [particularly negative at the time] would not likely be manifested with the dollar making new lows. In fact, Bell was one of the only prognosticators that I remember reading who had a fundamentally credible thesis as to why the dollar would do better in spite of the burdening twin deficits � even if only temporarily."

Sir Max Rabbitz, BRAVO!!!! White Hills

Sometimes the truth hurts -- and our friend CoBra only stated what he sees as the truth --especially as seen from outside of the USA.For what it's worth I agree with his sentiments.Many Americans also see what's happening and are reporting it - -Its just NOT getting played at home!

From the latest "The Privateer" -an American living in Oz)
Snip:
"The United States executed a deliberate, purposeful bombing campaign against Saddam Hussein's Iraq
beginning in May 2002. These air operations had no basis in international law and constituted aggressive
acts. Nor did these air operations have ANY Congressional authorisation. President Bush initiated
hostilities a full TEN months before his administration determined that all diplomatic means had been
exhausted and six months before Congress had actually approved the use of force. By the Pentagon's own
admission, it carried out seventy-eight individual offensive air strikes against Iraq in 2002 alone. The US
official Iraq invasion began on March 19, 2003.
Right here are the VALID grounds in international law for the full reopening of the Nuremberg Articles
and the public trials of Mr Bush, Mr Blair and Mr Howard from Australia for waging aggressive war in
the same manner that the German leadership was charged after their defeat in 1945. US Lieutenant-
General Michael Mosely's own evidence is amply sufficient.
The UN and its articles was established after the Nuremberg trials. In the case of Iraq, there was NEVER
an authorisation to initiate a military attack. That would have taken an additional UN Resolution. The
Bush Administration never attempted to get such a resolution, knowing it would be vetoed."

Snip:
This Is Where The US TURNS:
With no comparison attempted or intended, this is what President Bush has tried to do in his national
address to the US troops at Fort Bragg on June 28. Bush sank! He was repetitive. He looked distracted
and annoyed. He had NO new solutions on offer to his own invasion and military occupation of Iraq.

This was the one grand public address President Bush could not afford to blow. It was meant to change Americans� perception of his war in the Middle East. He failed! A new political pivot has been hammered into the ground inside the United States. From now on, the President of the United States is staring at a catastrophic political failure which is rolling straight at him. The majority of Americans have begun to discover that they were LIED into a FALSE war.
Snip:
THE SILENCE OF THE TROOPS
The trailing effects and reports about the address made by President Bush on June 28 to the gathered US
troops at Fort Bragg has been remarkable. Even Mr Bush's adherents have been all but missing in action
up and down the US media. His critics were likewise floundering. They too had nothing really to "bite"
on. Both sides, adherents and critics alike, have gone through the motions. Understandably so. They had
already heard it all before.
Trailing further behind in the national debate (such as it was) about this speech by President Bush,
another issue has come to the fore. This was the near silence of the US troops gathered to hear the
speech. Even the New York Times reported on this event! This is notable in the extreme. On many past
occasions, President Bush has used US troops as a decorative backstop to his public appearances. His
speeches have always been to massive applause, foot stomping, and even loud yells. This time, there was
only silence. At the end of Mr Bush's speech, there was a very slow and polite clapping of hands, and
that was led by and mostly confined to the officers present.
The Signal - "We've Got Your Number":
As any mid-rank officer in just about any military force anywhere knows, this display of silence (that is
what is was) is deadly dangerous! It would have made cold shivers run up and down the spines of most
senior officers. It is the oldest "signal" known to fighting men. It is the signal the troops use to make
clear their contempt for their senior commanders - in this case their Commander In Chief.
We're On Our Own:
A "display of silence" happens when good troops finally realise that their own command is fake, that it is
all an act. The act is meant to impress, but there is no substance behind it. What the men in Caesar's
legions knew was the primal, crude, animalistic fact that Caesar was no faker. They all knew that if came
to the point, Caesar would, at the drop of a hat, fight any of them. And he'd likely win!
When the opposite is the case, good soldiers react the other way. They will not fight for fakers. They
will fight, often with naked ferocity, for themselves and for each other - simply to stay alive.

Again from "The Privateer" (Yes I do think it's good value)

Snip:
One Step Backward - Two EU Options:

By having been forced this one step backwards, courtesy of the voters of France and Holland, the EU is in
the perfect political position to be a "broker" between the contending parties of Russia/China and the
USA. The EU is not a perfect broker, having an interest in getting the US out of the Iraqi oil fields itself,
but it is the best broker for the purposes of all three contenders - and all three know this.
Neither Russia nor China seems to mind this EU position. The Bush Administration is next to certain to
see it as a hidden and dark conspiracy directed against itself. That is a futile diplomatic position for the
US to choose. It will only leave President Bush entirely politically isolated, except for Mr Blair in his
role as a butler. If, by default, President Bush chooses to stand alone and therefore isolated, he will place
the EU in the geo-political position of not being responsible for any potential political outcome.

The Balance Player:

The most likely outcome of the G-8 Summit will be a full US global isolation. That outcome would give
the EU two options. The EU can diplomatically, geo-politically and geo-strategically stand aside. That
would give them the later free choice of supporting the US. Their second option would be to choose to
support Russia and China in a three-party move to lever the US out of the Middle East. If the US, at the
G-8 Summit, reluctantly agrees to leave the Middle East in stages, the world will not hear about any such
agreement for a long time. All the world will see is it happening, with all kinds of US distracting excuses
attached. But if the US does not enter into any such hidden agreement at the G-8 Summit, President Bush
has not only gambled the global peace. He has also gambled the entire nation which is the USA. The
world will certainly see THAT, because such a vast gamble by President Bush will require a full-scale US
air campaign directed at IRAN! If that happens, it will simply be Mr Bush risking a global war to sustain
and keep his gains in Iraq and the Middle East.
If a massive and sustained US air campaign directed at IRAN does happen, expect the EU to stand aside
entirely as a non-participant. Since the UK is already militarily engaged in Iraq, that will force Prime
Minister Blair into supporting the US attack upon Iran. That would mean that the UK, by that act, has left
the European Union. In the end, that leaves Europe to the Europeans, which was always the aim.

@OvS

> I can't be more specific nor personal
> because then the USAgold administration
> will abort me faster than an ounce of
> fake gold...Edelweiss forever...OvS

Well, go for it. What are you driving at? Sounds interesting to me.

Try using the chutzpah principle: don't assume in advance that there are limits to what you can do, just keep pushing until the limits reveal themselves. If there are things that "can't be said," just go ahead and say those things, and see what happens.

Edelweiss forever, indeed.

Hello CoBra(too!

Some will find my request 'off topic' but I tried without posting to no avail.

On (02/07/02; 13:23:21MT in usagold.com msg#: 69545 you quoted Mechtilde von Lichnowsky.

Can you tell me which of her books contains the verses you quoted (and others like them.) I've searched the Web high and low and your quotes here in this forum are one of a very few warm threads.

Thanks in advance,

Timberline

@ PRITCHO

Wow. Thanks for that post. That's why I read the forum - there are things posted here that would not come to my attention otherwise. I had no idea the troops gave him the silent treatment.

> What the men in Caesar's legions knew was the
> primal, crude, animalistic fact that Caesar was no faker.
> They all knew that if it came to the point, Caesar would,
> at the drop of a hat, fight any of them. And he'd likely win!
> When the opposite is the case, good soldiers react
> the other way. They will not fight for fakers.

I grew up in Midland, Texas, and played on the same playground with George Bush in the first five grades. I can tell you for a fact that Georgie Porgie was not and is not a fighting man. Apparently the troops are finally catching on to who he is. The burning question is, what happens when they come home? When a hundred thousand Iraq veterans come back, what are they going to do?

It's going to be like Italy and Germany in the aftermath of the First World War.

Thanks for your story - In the playground with GB.I guess it doesn't get any closer than that:)

Yes it will be very interesting when the guys come home - trouble is spread over a large population the ones that really care are the families & friends - lets hope they can make a big enough noise! Not much being said at the moment cause it only affects a limited number - -different story though if the PTB tried to bring in a draft

- - - Then the $heite would hit the proverbial.

:-) OvS

A fine lady.
Born on August 3rd, 1879 Countess
von und zu Arco-Zinneberg at Castle
Schoenburg, Lower Bavaria.
She was a great-grand daughter of
the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa
and was educated in a convent-school.
Married Count Lichnowsky. She was
against Hitler and her books were
banned in Nazi Germany. Between 1912
and 1914, accompanied her husband to
London were she was an important member
of the cultural and artistic inner
circles. Etc.,etc. OvS

http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=GC&o=100/DX&a=D&z=610x300&d=LOW&b=LINE&st=PoG steeling the loins here as Bond Yields pussy-foot about ...giving Buck a leg up.
The SM (read DOW) might come in for a bit of downdraft with repatriations of lower valued currency surely draining Buck profits ...and arb Business a Zero sum game.


Silver, Just be patient ...we aren't done for July yet, imo!

http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=GC&o=100/DX&a=M&z=610x300&d=medium&b=LINE&st=Without doubt my Favourite Chart and clearly showing Golds striving to break free...
...note '05 action as it treats the alt's with a contempt not seen since back in the '80's ...
...and to think it's only a PAPER substitute of the REAL thing!

http://www.freemarketnews.com/nview.php?nseq=555 Dow 2000, Gold 2000? - FreeMarketNews - July 19, 2005

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2005-07-19-walmart-bank_x.htm?csp=34Wal-Mart Applies to Create a Utah Bank - AP - July 19, 2005
"Critics fear Wal-Mart could drive smaller banks and credit unions out of business." Competition and shifting economic climate threaten to drive away moneychangers!

The brief bio from OvS is correct. Got to sift through my library for more details - The verses came from her book
"Halb und Halb" ... weiss das Kalb,
was geschieht, wenn mans zieht
aus dem kuhwarm �berhitzten Stall.

I think there was only one second edition, also more than 60 years ago.
Will revert as soon as I find it. Some of the verses there are real gold!
Thanks cb2

Three Texas surgeons were playing golf together and discussing surgeries they had performed.
One of them said, "I'm the best surgeon in Texas. A concert pianist lost 7 fingers in an accident, I reattached them, and 8 months later he performed a private concert for the Queen of England."
One of the others said, "That's nothing. A young man lost both arms and legs in an accident, I reattached them, and 2 years later he won a gold medal in field events in the Olympics."
The third surgeon said, "You guys are amateurs. Several years ago a cowboy who was high on cocaine and alcohol rode a horse head-on into a train traveling 80 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the horse's ass and a cowboy hat. Now he's president of the United States.

Thank you CoBra(too).

Spare yourself digging through your books.

All I needed was the title. Stanford Libraries will not let their copy circulate; it is a rare book, however....

A quick search of the author and title, expressed as it is cataloged at Stanford, i.e., "Halb & Halb" yields copies for sale all over Europe. Now all I need to do decipher all the used book codes as expressed in German.

Gold is where you find it.......

Baumgrenze

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/chart-7-19-2005.gif.

http://www.usagold.com/bulletin/board.html

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Tuesday Market Excerpts

July 19 (from Reuters) -- Gold slipped but still held atop a key support level at $418.20 -- the six-week low reached last Friday -- as the dollar climbed on thoughts that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to hike interest rates this year.

COMEX August gold futures fell 80 cents to end at $420.20 after dealing from $422.40 to $418.90. Fed chief Greenspan was expected to give an optimistic assessment of the U.S. economy in two days of congressional testimony starting Wednesday.

Rising rates usually prop up the greenback and weigh on gold by making the dollar-denominated metal less attractive for overseas investors. "The market's following the euro lower," said a broker, noting that trade was thin and some participants seemed content to stay on the sidelines ahead of Greenspan's testimony.

Analysts said the precious metals market slipped into the summer doldrums this week, with volumes thinned by vacations, and gold specifically was staying in a well-worn, $15 range.

"We can expect a period of reduced price volatility over the summer, with the likely trading range (in spot gold) set by technical support located between $418 and $415 and overhead resistance in the form of the long-term moving averages pegged between $428 and $430," Standard Bank said in a report.

----(see url for full news, 24-hr newswire)----

http://www.dailyfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2329&Itemid=39ŋine=rss&keyword=articleWill Greenspan Bring the Dollar More Volatility? - Kathy Lien - July 19, 2005
Excerpt: "The debate between 3.75% and 4.00% rates should remain very much alive after Greenspan's speeches Wednesday and Thursday, but as always, the semi-annual Humphrey Hawkins testimony does have the means of moving markets, especially since there will be a lively question and answer session after each of his testimonies."

This is much ado about nothing, in my opinion. Banking isn't like selling consumer staples and cheap clothes. My hometown (150,000 people), still has several mom-and-pop banks as well as several credit unions, despite the presence of Bank of America (huge, national bank), and US Bank (a large regional bank). Lots of small towns with little more than a gas station have a bank. Maybe if Walmart went into a place with very limited existing banking options, you would see some of them go down. Otherwise, the competition should be welcomed. The fee structure at the large mega banks is very bad for the consumer, and there's no denying they're in collusion with one another. I'd like to see Walmart stick it too them in that regard. It's why I bank at a credit union.

One place Walmart could be very successful is if they start putting Walmart branded banks in their supercenters. Lots of lower class folks that traditional banks have turned their backs on would see the appeal of banking where they shop. Not to mention all the Walmart employees who would be given incentives to direct deposit their pay in the Walmart bank. Think of that. Aren't they the largest private employer in the United States?

-beaumon (nearly secumming to the summer gold doldrums)

My condolences Sir Goldilox.

Given the discussion over Tempel 1, I wonder that nobody has ever asked, why, given the smashings and crashings, the general tumult, and eruptions that earth is subject to (and has been subjected to), why it is that the earth is NOT a uniform alloyed mixture? Of course the vast majority of the universe is quite dull, empty space, a sprinlking of stars and gas clouds. Ignoring the odd erosionary processes that will create a salt flats, and so on, yet still we find whole mountains of granite, fields of basalt, acres of rocky quartz, in general:

Somehow, all the rocks got sorted into separate piles!

It does seem to be an odd violation of entropy which mere handwaving allusions to van der walls forces fail to explain in any satisfactory manner. The Valar alone know or could tell how a uniform gas cloud produces little blobs of yellow metal extruded into a quartz matrix. Perhaps Eru has a sense of humor after all, no? There is a joke that humor is the one thing elves taught the Valar: and the student never quite did learn the lesson properly, they're much too serious! Oh well, universal uniformity would be dull.

The Golden Sphere.

Now just imagine the kind of smashings that would be required to mine that "deep vault"! Mmmmm Orc mischief, not a nice thought... best observed from a VERY great distance, (temporal distance too!)... As a few dwarves have told me time and again: If you dont want solder splashes on your new tunic, herinko, dont stand so close to the solder pot!

AE
AiL

Once everybody's been out-sourced
Across the USA
Then everybody'd be serfin�
Like Michigan today

You'll see �em beggin� fer money
And leftovers too
It's a Bushie Bushie con-e-me
Serfin� USA

You'll catch �em serfin� in Georgia
Philidelpha P.A.
The Carolinas and Kanses
Their jobs gone away
All over Manhattan
And Cali-forni-a
Everybody's gone serfin�
Serfin� USA

Everybodys been out-sourced
Serfin� USA

Ya know iffin ya don't pro-duce
Then ya can't consume
We don't make no exports
It spells a certain doom
Look out for fallin� dollars
It's goin down to stay
Everybodys gone serfin�
Serfin� USA

The farmers and the cowboys
On federal aeeed
McMansions repossessed
And Escalades
Even illegal labor
Can no longer get paid.

Everybodys been out-sourced
Serfin� USA

Everybodys been out-sourced
Serfin� USA

Everybodys been out-sourced
Serfin� USA

(Townie, no hard feelings if you wipe it)

Ladies and Knights of the Table Round. Please excuse my absence for these past few days for I had a Friend who has befallen Dire Straits. To say further, he should recover. Now I return to this Forum and see that some try to twist the truth. To state I will not allow any disinformation when it comes to our military ( the Ground Troops ) I WILL FIGHT IT TO THE END!
Sir Pritcho. I did seen that commentary by President Bush. And you can say all you want against him and his policies. But if you notice at the beginning all Troops were called to ATTENTION and then put at ease. It was respect for the Commander in Chief.I do say Sir Pritcho, They Know their DUTY. Call it respect or disgust. I call it RESPECT! Many times I have stood in formation without giving no response to a statement that had given support.
Sir Pritcho. You can say all you want about about the political point of veiw but I will not stand by and let you degrade our troops when I know it to be false.
I have two friends and One family menber that proves you wrong. Even if you site some link.
I Stand at the Ready!
Slingshot----------------<>

http://charts-d.quote.com:443/1002980432830?User=demo&Pswd=demo&DataType=GIF&Symbol=DX00Y∬erval=10&Ht=600&Wd=800&Display=2&Study=MA&Param1=13&Param2=0&Param3=&FontSize=10LOOK !! The BEAUTIFUL WATERFALLS have returned to the US$ Chart.
GET YELLOW.
<;-)

Good to see you, Gandalf the White.
Slingshot----------<>

WELL, WELL, Gandalf the White,
You have been most silent in keeping with the way of an enlightened Wizard But I have found that your peculiar comments have been missing except for the occasional graph for which I am most in graditude. Yet Wizard, we have a common bond and I need not say no more. You wait for the pronouncements of Sir Towncrier and Sir MarkeTalk to bulwark what you have already known. But the out come?
Slingshot-----------<>

Awaiting Reply.
Slingshot--<>

Obviously you seem inclined to shoot the messenger. What a shame --it reminds me of the FACT that you can take a horse to water BUT you can't make him drink.The comments that I cut & pasted were also reported in the New York Times.Your outporing of what ever it was -doesn't change facts -just cause you don't want to believe it.

I don't deal with fantasy - - I know you do --perhaps you should stick with that?

Far from it to shoot the messenger. But what have you to believe, the News Media? or from trusted friends and Family?
Slingshot-----------<>

Sir Slingshot -

I just checked in before retiring. I will be here for about five minutes.

> But if you notice at the beginning
> all Troops were called to ATTENTION and then put at ease.

Yes, that's standard procedure, isn't it? But normally they applaud and cheer the Commander in Chief. The fact that they were called to attention and then put at ease doesn't stop them from responding to the speech.

Orders may be given to express neither pro or con as to the contents of the speech. It is informative in nature. The soldier only takes orders.
Slingshot------<>

> The soldier only takes orders.

No, I don't think so. Soldiers are men, not robots. They have emotions and express them. Normally a Presidential speech is interrupted by applause. When that doesn't happen, it's not because the soldiers were ordered not to applaud.

There was a lack of applause because there was a lack of enthusiasm - to say the least.

Good Sir, I do Not Deal With Fantasy. A Story yes for entertainment, but I deal with reality! Since you have underestimated me as to my contributionions to this forum, I question your motives as you post as to being pro or con to the well being of the USA Fighting Man. Are You Anti US. That is Fine But Leave the Soldier out!
Slingshot---------------<>

Yes I agree. I have been at many military assemblies and the fact that no cheer was raised does not mean S**T
Slingshot------------<>