From Populism to Fake News – The Psyop Continues.

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-24/populism-fake-news-%E2%80%93-psyop-continues

Via The Daily Bell

Merkel Blames Populist Gains on Rise of ‘Fake News’ … This week Merkel blamed “fake news” in driving the rise of populism in the West. It looks like the left is just going to blame “fake news” every time they lose their grip on power. – Gateway Pundit

The elite is leveraging its “populism versus globalism” meme by declaring that populism is closely linked to “fake news.”

We’ve written numerous articles on the emergent elite meme, here and here, of “populism versus globalism” and warned that, “This meme is not only of the utmost importance, it is clearly warning us of considerable distress to come.”

But we didn’t imagine the populist propaganda concept would be turned in the direction of fake news, though that’s just what has happened – and most powerfully and suddenly.

More:

AFP reported:  German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Wednesday against the power of fake news on social media to spur the rise of populists, after launching her campaign for a fourth term.

Speaking in parliament for the first time since her announcement Sunday that she would seek re-election next year, Merkel cautioned that public opinion was being “manipulated” on the internet.

Yes public opinion is being manipulated – as usual. In our view, elite controllers continued to circulate propaganda to frighten people and influence their thinking.

We call their efforts “dominant social themes” …  fear-based propaganda designed to convince people that they are running out of food, water, a stable climate, etc. The solution is inevitably more government – either domestically or globally.

Elite themes reinforce people’s inclination to look toward government – the bigger, the better – to protect them. The goal evidently is world domination via government that is inevitably controlled discreetly by elite forces.

As a result of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, the elite-controlled mainstream media has lost no time in disseminating the term “populist” to describe the current rising, Western “nationalism.”

It is even beyond nationalism, of course. The entire globalist structure is being challenged because it is has continued to grow significantly – stripping people of resources and wealth.

But by defining “populism” on their terms, elites were able to create a contrasting meme – globalism – that could then be imbued with a variety of positive characteristics.

Globalism, in contrast to populism, is to be seen as positive and prosperity enhancing – and only under attack because it has not distributed its benefits equally.

Populism is presented as racist, greedy, insular and ignorant. “Fake news” is being positioned by Merkel as bothersome and dangerous because it encourages this aberrant populism.

What’s the goal? She says so herself: Government may have to regulate “fake news” so that it does not continue to create the growing scourge of “populism.”

Merkel, 62, said the challenge for democrats was to “reach and inspire people — we must confront this phenomenon and if necessary, regulate it.”

So now we can see how the “populist” meme is being deployed, to attack the alternative media in hopes of creating a groundswell of support for regulations that will control and retard it.

Of course it is perfectly possible to argue that this sort of manipulation does not exist in the manner described. But if one denies this paradigm, one has to address the question of why the “populism versus globalism” meme appeared suddenly in mid-summer, even before Trump won the election.

And then one needs to address why suddenly “fake news” is on the front page, collectively, of mainstream media with the inference that it is linked directly or indirectly to the growth of said populism.

As the recent election showed us, the mainstream media is capable of reporting with a single voice, no matter how falsely, when its organizers have in mind to present a concept or opinion in a certain way.

The fake news meme has developed inexorably out of “populism” propaganda and when looked at this way, one can see clearly that these various memes are programmatic. They are part of a mechanism designed to attack and blunt people’s desperate anger with the growing power of globalism.

It is even possible that some or much of the so-called fake news circulating has been secretly funded and generated by mainstream media controllers.

Conclusion: No, it would seem there is nothing coincidental about the emergence of “populism,” nor of the subsequent emergence of the fake news meme. One can argue, as we have herein, that they are a kind of weaponized media manipulation. They are, in fact, serial elite psyops designed to manipulate the general public.

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Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-23/louis-cammarosano-interconnectedness-silver-eagles-and-india%E2%80%99s-war-cash

 

Hold your real assets outside of the banking system in one of many private international facilities  -->    https://www.sprottmoney.com/intlstorage 

 

 

 

 

Louis Cammarosano: Interconnectedness of Silver Eagles and India’s War on Cash

Posted with permission and written by Rory Hall, The Daily Coin (CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL)

 

 

 

 

American Silver Eagle sales have been suspended for the year according to the Authorized Purchasers of U.S. Mint products. Once again, as we have seen in the past, the U.S. Mint makes a dramatic change without warning. Where else have we recently seen a very dramatic change in policy without warning? India announced, without warning, the ban of the most widely used bank notes in the country – without warning. While these are very different scenarios they demonstrate the absolute control governments around the world hold over our money and our currency. Silver, while tatted as an industrial metal, has been money longer than any other form of money on planet earth. Silver was money long before gold was accepted and circulated as money.

 

As we have pointed out, time and again, once a nation's money/currency becomes corrupt, the entire system must become corrupt in order to cover up the lie that money (gold and silver) will continually tell the citizens. Once the citizens become aware of the corruption of their money/currency, the citizens can begin to see the corruption supported by the lie.

 

“The more of these types of laws you make, the more corruption you create.” Louis Cammarosano, The Daily Coin

I recently penned Gold – Money of Kings where I pointed out that I was focusing more on gold than silver as gold is where the big, wealthy investors focus their capital and not silver. I love silver and understand the “silver story”. For this reason I will continue collecting silver, but in a different manner. Over the past several months I have really become a big fan of the America the Beautiful 5oz silver coin. For just about the same money, and in some cases less money, you can acquire a truly stunning piece of silver with an extremely low mintage that has a growing “coin collector” base.

 

Louis Cammarosano, Smaulgld, stopped by to discuss the America the Beautiful, share with the audience conversations we have been having offline regarding the American Silver Eagle situation (this conversation was recorded prior to us learning the U.S. Mint had suspended the sale of Silver Eagles) and what is happening in India. On the surface these three items may appear to be completely disconnected, but during our conversation you will discover the interconnectedness these items bring to the table.

 

India is the second most populated nation on planet Earth. The government decided to make illegal the two most circulated bank notes in the country, claiming this would help curb “corruption and terrorism”. The bank notes have the equivalent value of $7.50 and $15.00 American. If a total of $22.50 is driving “corruption and terrorism” in India our world has much larger problems than we ever imagined. It also appears that politicians, judges, government officials and mercenaries can be bought a lot cheaper than I ever thought possible. Personally, I have been under the misguided belief one would need tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, to even consider bribing a government official or funding mercenaries. Once again, the government is tipping its hand to show just how corrupt they have become while at the same time treating the citizens like a buffoon. We are not buffoons and the masses are learning, more and more everyday, who the real enemies of our lives to be. We see you and we know who you are.

 

India is a prime example of why everyone should possess physical gold and silver within arms reach at all times. The corruption, that we know is global, can turn on the citizens in a flash. The U.S. Mint, while not a reflection of corruption, made a change that will impact the next two-three months of any silver collector's life. This change, at the U.S. Mint, has happened on a number of occasions over the past three years, is just a small sample of what can happen right here in the U.S.

 

What happened in India, over night and without warning, demonstrates how serious these corrupt, criminal government officials are about controlling our lives. One of the ways we can protect our individual sovereignty is through possessing physical gold and silver. Will this save our life? Maybe. Will it protect our wealth and our individual freedoms? Yes. If you don’t think so ask any German that possessed gold or silver during World War II.

 

Gold and silver answer to no one, while at the same time answering to everyone. This is the biggest problem governments have with citizens possessing physical gold and silver. Accepted world wide with few to no questions ask, transactions can be 100% opaque. The transaction never happened unless one or both parties make it known. If you still live in the misguided mindset that what happened in India can’t happen here – remember this. The population of India represents 1 in 7 people on planet Earth. As you move through today every 7th person you see could be from India. There are 1,336,286,256 (May 2016 est.) people in India and as of August 2016 an estimated 7.4 billion people world wide. If this type of change can impact every 7th person you encounter – everyday – what are the odds it could soon impact you? What makes the other 6 people on this planet any different or any safer from these corrupt governments?

 

 

 

 

Please email with any questions about this article or precious metals HERE

 

 

 

 

Louis Cammarosano: Interconnectedness of Silver Eagles and India’s War on Cash

Posted with permission and written by Rory Hall, The Daily Coin (CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL)

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Anniversary of Alternative Reporter’s Death

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-23/anniversary-alternative-reporter%E2%80%99s-death

Via The Daily Bell

We got the very sad news today, Nov. 22, 2015, that Dave McGowan passed away from cancer at 12:47 p.m.  – Truth and Shadows

We missed the anniversary of McGowan’s death, which was yesterday, but he was one helluva a writer, exposing in brief books the“directed history” of the modern era. So, we’ll remember him today. We’ve written about him before, here.

He died of an extremely aggressive form of lung cancer, which made some of his fans speculate that he’d actually been assassinated. Unfortunately, much of Dave’s work is no long freely available on the ‘Net, though some is available here.

The following is Dave’s last post here from his Blog Center for an Informed America (June 14, 2015).

Just nine weeks ago, on April 14, I presented a lengthy video deconstruction of the 2013 Boston Marathon incident through the Caravan to Midnight radio show/podcast. About a week later (on April 20, of all days), the nearly four-hour video presentation was uploaded to YouTube.

Not long after that, someone using the username Phoenix Archangel posted an interesting comment: “John [Wells, the host of the show] always signs off with some of the best advice ever. Speaking of advice: this David McGowan fella really ought to quit smoking. With all the elitist feathers he’s ruffling, he’s likely to come down with a spontaneous case of hitherto undiagnosed stage 4 inoperable Pancreatic cancer.”

… Mr./Ms Archangel … wasn’t too far off, though I’ve been told that it’s actually incurable small-cell lung cancer that has already spread to my liver and bones. And no, that’s unfortunately not a joke. It’s my new reality as of just a few short weeks ago, when my entire world was turned upside-down and I suddenly found myself being admitted to the oncology ward at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Four days later, I was beginning my first round of chemotherapy infusions. The second round begins tomorrow, on Monday, June 15.

More from Truth and Shadows:

The first thing I read from McGowan was his series on the Apollo Moon missions called “Wagging the Moondoggie.” This amazing 14-part series is what finally convinced me that the Moon landings never took place. What struck me was not only his insight but his wit. Very dry, which is the best kind.

In addition to what became a whole series on 9/11, I was also blown away by series on the Boston Marathon “bombing” and dark side of the music scene in Laurel Canyon in the 1960s (which became a book). Other books he has written include Programmed to Kill, Understanding the F-Word: American Fascism and the Politics of Illusion, and Derailing Democracy: The America the Media Don’t Want You to See.

We ran into McGowan’s work very early in the 2000s when we were researching an article on the Peak Oil hoax. At the time, libertarian analysis was mostly theoretical, but we were trying to focus on a synthesis between free-market theory and “directed” history.

We could hardly believe McGowan’s comments on Peak Oil. Without, apparently, a deep background in Austrian free-market economics, he nonetheless fully grasped the idiocy of asserting that the modern world was running out of oil, and that since alternatives were not going to be developed in a timely manner, the only solution was drastic, government action. He even mentioned abiotic oil, see here, as we recall.

When we read his short books, we were further impressed. McGowan moved far beyond simplistic assertions of “conspiracy” to show you clearly how modern history seemed to work.

For us, the book on the mid-1960s Laurel Canyon music scene here was perhaps the most brilliant. Who knew that Jimi Hendrix was in the military, here, prior to becoming a rock star? Who knew that many of the musical stars of the early- to the mid-1960s were somehow gathered together in Laurel Canyon prior to their fame, here – and that many or most had military ties or came from military families.

McGowan didn’t state everything. Some things he left up to you. But it was hard to come away from his books without understanding his main point, that society was directed purposefully from above and that before the Internet (and people like McGowan), you would live your entire life unknowingly according to someone else’s plan.

His short book about Laurel Canyon not only shows how directed history operates, it makes the point, resonantly, that society and even culture can be shifted according to elite strategies. In other words, in not very many pages it SHOWS (not tells) how Western social manipulation actually works. Likely it has worked this way for thousands of years.

Before McGowan, it was easy to believe that social manipulation must inevitably be a clumsy affair, imposed brutally as it was in the USSR. McGowan presents ways cultural reconfiguration can take place secretly and powerfully, without anyone but a handful knowing it is happening.

For instance, the standard story of the 1960s is that young people got upset over the war and in the process of protesting, quickly created an entire counterculture that opposed much of what “corporate America” stood for. The trouble with the 1960s counterculture was that it never adequately defined the real problem, nor did it fully explain the solution.

The hippie ethos blamed much of what was wrong with America on corporate greed and the like. This led to the conclusion that government itself could rectify what was wrong. But both modern corporations and today’s massive governments are the result of monopoly force wielded behind the scenes.

In reality, as McGowan showed, the 1960s movement was likely painstakingly created to generate certain results, mostly by reinforcing social chaos. Thus, blaming problems on corporations and looking to government for solutions was only to be expected, though it was wrongheaded on numerous levels.

As we know today from Internet information, government is seemingly supported by a handful of unfathomably rich individuals – those who likely control central banking – to provide “solutions” that inevitably generate more problems not less.

We know from Austrian economics that almost every law and regulation is surely a price fix that must drain prosperity from society. We know, via “marginal utility” here that valid prices can only be generated via market competition itself.

The 1960s hippie revolution explored little of this because – as McGowan suggested – it was created and sustained by the CIA. So many 1960s figures were apparently working with the CIA.

These may have included singer Jim Morrison, whose father helped initiate the fake military incidents that Lyndon Johnson used to generate the full-on Vietnam war here – and many other musicians, promoters and business opportunists. And also those individuals who initially dispersed CIA-created LSD, here.

In fact, one can speculate that the Vietnam War itself was created as part of a Hegelian dialectic that included the creation of a manipulated 1960s alternative “hippie” culture. Each Hegelian thesis demands an antithesis that leads to a synthesis. The war was the thesis, and the counterculture was the antithesis leading to the synthesis we have today.

The goal is always globalism, apparently. And social chaos must be regularly induced in order to reinforce additional government actions. If one has the patience and the desire, it is relatively easy to discern the evolution of these modern manipulations and even to predict their future.

It’s one reason, we continue to distrust narratives present in the mainstream media and even those being offered, sometimes, in the alternative media. We’re not sure that this presidential election, for instance, is what it seems. And we have written numerous articles suggesting that a good deal of purposeful propaganda surrounds nuclear weapons, to name one additional promotion, here.

Conclusion: McGowan helped show the way, however, and we simply need to follow his lead to better our own comprehension. It’s not pleasant to pursue such information, nor come to additional conclusions, but the alternative is living in ignorance of the true influences on our life and times. Some people are content to live without embarking on such explorations. Others are not.

Editor's Note: The Daily Bell is giving away a silver coin and a silver "white paper" to subscribers. If you enjoy DB's articles and want to stay up-to-date for free, please subscribe here. 

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Anniversary of Great Reporter’s Death

Privatize to Get Rid of Passports and Resolve Immigration

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Russia's Gold Buying In October Largest In Millenium - Putin's 'Gift' To Obama

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-23/russias-gold-buying-october-largest-millenium-putins-gift-obama

Russia gold buying accelerated in October with the Russian central bank buying a very large 48 metric tonnes or 1.3 million ounces of gold bullion.

This is the largest addition of gold to the Russian monetary reserves since 1998 and could be seen as a parting 'gift' by Prime Minister Putin to his rival ex-President Obama.

The Russian central bank gold purchase is the biggest monthly gold purchase of this millennium.

Concerns about systemic risk, currency wars and the devaluation of the dollar, euro and other major currencies has led to ongoing diversification into gold bullion purchases by large creditor nation central banks such as Russia and China.

Commerzbank went with the simple explanation:

“Clearly the central bank was taking advantage of the stronger ruble – which has made gold cheaper in local currency – to buy more gold.” 

“By contrast, the Chinese central bank bought only around four tons of gold last month – the second-lowest gold purchases since China began publishing monthly figures back in June 2015. The currency is likely to have played a role here, too – the yuan has been depreciating noticeably since the end of September.”

However, the Russian Central Bank has quietly been buying huge volumes of gold over the last 10 years. This diversification into gold accelerated since the financial crisis and since relations with the U.S. deteriorated in recent years. Russia bought gold systematically both when the ruble was strong and when it was weak.

In 2015, Russia added a record 208 tons of gold to her reserves compared with 172 tons for 2014.

According to the World Gold Council, only the central banks of the U.S., Germany, Italy, France and China currently hold larger gold reserves than Russia.

The Central Bank of Russia has outpaced the People's Bank of China (PBOC) by nearly 150 tonnes in the last seven years, and has been the world’s largest central bank buyer of gold reserves for some time. This trend is expected to continue.

Total gold mining production globally is  around 3,200 metric tonnes per year.

Thus, Russia's purchase of 48 metric tonnes is around 1.5% of total annual global gold production. This is a very large amount for one country to buy in just one month.

Some of the gold bought will have come from Russian gold production which is currently at about 26 metric tonnes per month. In 2014, Russia was the third largest gold miner in the world at 266.2 tonnes, just six tonnes short of Australia in second place and China in first place.

The Russian central bank is buying all of Russian gold production and sometimes buying gold on the international market.

This demand is solely from the Russian central bank. There is little data regarding investor, high net worth (HNW) and ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals including family offices who are diversifying into gold in Russia.

Russia is an increasingly wealthy nation with thousands of millionaires and hundreds of billionaires including mega rich oligarchs. It seems likely that some of these Russian investors are also diversifying into gold.

Clearly, Russia puts great strategic importance on its gold reserves. Both Prime Minister Medvedev and President Putin  have been photographed on numerous occasions holding gold bars and coins. The Russian central bank declared in May 2015 that Russia views gold bullion as “100% guarantee from legal and political risks.”

Prudent investors are following Russia’s lead by diversifying and having an allocation to physical gold coins and bars.

Must-Read Guide: Gold and Silver Storage Must Haves

 

Gold and Silver Bullion - News and Commentary

Gold slips as equities, dollar rise (Reuters.com)

Platinum market deficit set to shrink in 2017 – WPIC (Reuters.com)

French man discovers gold bars worth €3.5m after inheriting home (Telegraph.co.uk)

SA to exhaust gold reserves in 38 years (Fin24.com)

Christmas tree made out of SOLID GOLD worth £1.45million is unveiled in Tokyo (Mirror.co.uk)

Why Gold Fell After Trump Election - Rickards (DailyReckoning.com)

Junk-Bond Market Heads Toward Deep Freeze (Bloomberg.com)

The Spreading Bondfire and the Rising Price of Gold (GoldSeek.com)

UK borrowing shrinks in October ahead of Autumn Statement as Dow Jones closes over 19,000 for first time (Telegraph.co.uk)

London property: expect further price falls (MoneyWeek.com)

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

23 Nov: USD 1,213.25, GBP 998.00 & EUR 1,143.00 per ounce
22 Nov: USD 1,217.55, GBP 997.89 & EUR 1,144.98 per ounce
21 Nov: USD 1,214.95, GBP 984.72 & EUR 1,143.39 per ounce
18 Nov: USD 1,206.10, GBP 971.15 & EUR 1,135.54 per ounce
17 Nov: USD 1,232.00, GBP 988.19 & EUR 1,148.10 per ounce
16 Nov: USD 1,225.70, GBP 984.36 & EUR 1,144.68 per ounce
15 Nov: USD 1,228.90, GBP 988.65 & EUR 1,138.70 per ounce
14 Nov: USD 1,222.60, GBP 978.08 & EUR 1,136.53 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

23 Nov: USD 16.56, GBP 13.36 & EUR 15.59 per ounce
22 Nov: USD 16.76, GBP 13.46 & EUR 15.77 per ounce
21 Nov: USD 16.68, GBP 13.47 & EUR 15.69 per ounce
18 Nov: USD 16.51, GBP 13.30 & EUR 15.54 per ounce
17 Nov: USD 17.04, GBP 13.65 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
16 Nov: USD 16.95, GBP 13.64 & EUR 15.85 per ounce
15 Nov: USD 17.00, GBP 13.68 & EUR 15.80 per ounce
14 Nov: USD 17.20, GBP 13.73 & EUR 15.95 per ounce

Recent Market Updates

- Stocks, Bonds, Pension Funds “Will Be Wiped Out…” – Rickards
- Physical Gold Is A “Long-Term Position” as “Hedge Against Governments”
- Gold Sell Off On Fed Noise – “Interesting Times” To “Support Gold”
- Islamic Gold – Vital New Dynamic In Physical Gold Market
- Peak Gold Globally – “Bullish For Gold”
- Gold Price Should Go Higher On Global Risks and Trump – Capital Economics
- President Trump – Why Market Loves Him and Experts Wrong
- ‘Helicopter Money President’ Trump To Create Inflation and Gold Will Rise
- Central Bank Gold Demand continues in Q3
- Trump Victory Sends Gold Surging 5%
- An uncertain election outcome looks good for gold
- Ignore past elections, this one’s too uncertain
- Gold may be the only winner in US elections

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Privatize to Get Rid of Passports and Resolve Immigration

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-22/privatize-get-rid-passports-and-resolve-immigration

Via The Daily Bell

Privatize to Get Rid of Passports and Resolve Immigration

To silence dissidents, Gulf states are revoking their citizenship  Many are left stateless as a result. – The Economist

The Economist “newspaper” is worried that nations are beginning to use passports as a way to punish people that leaders don’t like.

This article focuses mainly on the Middle East, especially Bahrain, which the article calls an “energetic stripper.”

More here:

Bahrain’s … Sunni royals have dangled the threat of statelessness over its Shia majority to suppress an uprising launched in 2011, during the Arab spring.

In 2014 it stripped 21 people of their nationality. A year later the number was up tenfold. “Gulf rulers have turned people from citizens into subservient subjects,” says Abdulhadi Khalaf, a former Bahraini parliamentarian whose citizenship was revoked in 2012 and now lives safely in Sweden.

“Our passports are not a birthright. They are part of the ruler’s prerogative.”  Neighbouring states are following suit. Kuwait’s ruling Al-Sabah family have deprived 120 of their people of their nationality in the past two years, says Nawaf al-Hendal, who runs Kuwait Watch, a local monitor.

Qatar is another big stripper. It suspended citizenship of an entire clan — the Ghafrans— some 5,000 Ghafrans since 2004. But it’s not just travel that is affected when a passport is revoked, but also in many cases jobs, house ownership, even the ability to own a phone or maintain a bank account.

If you are abroad, you cannot return, nor can the birth of a child be recorded, nor even a marriage. The laws allowing passport revocation are broader now, according to The Economist, and include the “terrorism,” which can be defined loosely.

Loyalty is beginning to be used as a reason for passport removal, and the West is not exempt. Britain will remove passports based on the contravention of the “public good.” And many EU nations cite terrorism for some passport confiscations

In the US, passports may be suspended by the IRS if overseas citizens owe more than $50,000 and the IRS has filed a notice of lien. However, the largest issue regarding passports remains unexamined by this article. And that issue has to do with the necessity for passports in the first place.

It can be argued of course, that passports are an absolute necessity for nation-states, but passports are basically an invention of the 20th century. The Guardian tells us, “Passports were not generally required for international travel until the first world war.” Before then, passports were issued in a haphazard manner.  Here, from the Guardian:

Following an agreement among the League of Nations to standardise passports, the famous “old blue” was issued in 1920. Apart from a few adjustments to its duration and security features, the old blue remained a steady symbol of the touring Briton until it gradually began to be replaced by the burgundy-coloured European version in 1988.

INTERPOL is another form of global control that is less than 100 years old. Post-World War II, the United Nations has played a more active role in resuscitating and formalizing INTERPOL, see here.

Thus, international control of people’s movements and actions has drastically increased in the 20th and 21st century. Passports are now starting to represent regions rather than countries. A pan-African passport was announced earlier this year at the African Union (AU) summit in the Rwandan capital Kigali. From the report:

With the launch of the new pan-African document, the continent moved up a notch towards the free cross-border movement of goods and people—in direct opposite to Brexit, the decision by British voters to exit the European Union.

Of course, one could argue that expanding a passport’s operational function is not the same as reducing the power of a passport. In fact, even as passports expanded in power and scope in the 20th century,  there were many high-level discussions about getting rid of them.

From an article posted at Business Insider:

In 1947, the first problem considered at an expert meeting preparing for the UN World Conference on Passports and Frontier Formalities, was “the possibility of a return to the regime which existed before 1914 involving as a general rule the abolition of any requirement that travelers should carry passports”.

But delegates ultimately decided that a return to a passport-free world could only happen alongside a return to the global conditions that prevailed before the start of the first world war.

By 1947, that was a distant dream. The experts advised instead a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to attain this goal.

World leaders were still talking about banning passports as late as 1963, when the UN Conference on International Travel and Tourism recognised “the desirability, from both an economic and social point, of progressively freer international travel”. Once again, it was estimated that “it is not feasible to recommend the abolition of passports on a world-wide basis.”

Now, neither the public nor governments consider passports as a serious obstacle to freedom of movement, though any would-be traveller from Yemen, Afghanistan or Somalia would no doubt argue differently.

The world survived without passports for thousands – tens of thousands – of years. Likewise, the necessity of an expanding, global police force has not historically been a matter of discussion, much less implementation. Yet today the passport system is globally ubiquitous and growing. INTERPOL is merging some operations with the UN and becoming evermore aggressive and empowered.

The Economist article promotes the idea that passports ought to be seen as travel documents, not weapons of punishment. This is logical as far as it goes. But it never occurs to The Economist editors to argue that passports ought not to exist to begin with.

The Economist like most of the mainstream media is always apt to criticize the powers that government has but never to suggest that the real solution is to do away with those powers.

Even a passing familiarity with free-market economics would yield up options other than merely re-calibrating government power.

Private property is the key to a better and more rational world. If people – rather than their governments – owned a substantial portion of the world’s real estate, immigration might soon cease to be a problem. People themselves would decide who would come and go. The poisonous immigration battles now taking place would be at least mitigated.

Likewise, government abuse of passports would be considerably reduced if it were generally accepted that people had a right to invite people onto their own property without government permission.

The argument then comes up that “terrorism” necessitates passports and government control over immigration. But even a cursory examination of the history of al Qaeda and ISIS will show that the West and especially the US fostered these terrorist groups to begin with.

Here, from GlobalResearch.com:

The so-called “War on Terror” should be seen for what it really is: a pretext for maintaining a dangerously oversized U.S. military. The two most powerful groups in the U.S. foreign policy establishment are the Israel lobby, which directs U.S. Middle East policy, and the Military-Industrial-Complex, which profits from the former group’s actions.

Since George W. Bush declared the “War on Terror” in October 2001, it has cost the American taxpayer approximately 6.6 trillion dollars and thousands of fallen sons and daughters; but, the wars have also raked in billions of dollars for Washington’s military elite.

Those controlling government are ever jealous of their prerogatives and the wealth they have access to. They will create an endless amount of crises to justify and expand their control. Government itself, based on monopoly power and resultant force, is purveyor of the problem, always.

Conclusion: Reshaping public solutions does no good. Jettisoning them to greatest degree possible is the only viable solution.  

Editor's Note: The Daily Bell is giving away a silver coin and a silver "white paper" to subscribers. If you enjoy DB's articles and want to stay up-to-date for free, please subscribe here. 

More from The Daily Bell:

Rand Corp. Blasts ‘Truth Decay’ – Wants Facts Determined by Appropriate Leaders

How Deep Will Trump’s Truths Go?

India Bans Cash, Now Gold?

 

 

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Michael Pento Exclusive: Cheap Money to Continue Flowing & Helicopter Money to Start after 2017 Crash

Published here: http://goldsilverworlds.com/gold-silver-experts/michael-pento-exclusive-cheap-money-continue-flowing-helicopter-money-start-2017-crash/

Listen to the Podcast Audio: Click Here

Mike Gleason (Money Metals Exchange): It is my privilege now to welcome in Michael Pento, president and founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies and author of the book The Coming Bond Market Collapse: How to Survive the Demise of the U.S. Debt Market. Michael is a money manager who ascribes to the Austrian School of Economics and has been a regular guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business News, and also the Money Metals Podcast.

Michael, it’s always great to have you on. Thanks for joining us today and welcome back.

Michael Pento (Pento Portfolio Strategies): The best of all that list is the Money Metals Exchange. How’s that, Mike?

Mike Gleason: Well, thank you very much, again, for being generous with your time. Before we go any further, I would be remiss if we didn’t get your thoughts on what we saw with the presidential election. Trump defied the odds and managed to upset the establishment, similar setup to what we saw with Brexit with most pollsters completely missing the boat. They were calling for the mainstream political establishment to come away with the win, only to find out that the other side was pretty worked up and came out to vote in droves. Was it all that surprising that Trump rode a similar wave of dissatisfaction for the status quo to victory? What did you make of how it all played on in the end, Michael?

Michael Pento: It was surprising to the liberal corrupt media, but it wasn’t all that surprising to me. If you look at the fact that Americans haven’t had a real increase in wages and salaries for decades; if you look at the fact that the stock market hasn’t gone really anywhere since QE3 ended in October of 2014 in real terms; if you look at the fact that the economy can’t grow any faster than 2%; if you look at the fact that going back eight years you haven’t gotten any money when you put your deposits in the banking system… if you look at all those factors, it’s not surprising at all that an outsider who wants to drain the swamp would be elected president of the United States.

Mike Gleason: Now turning to the fallout in the financial world, what has the market reaction since the election said to you because many were calling for a major pullback in the equities markets if we got a Trump victory and it was heading that way election night, but the markets have since drastically reversed course. What are we to make of all that?

Michael Pento: I was short the market going into the election. I was short high yield. I was short emerging markets. I was short, a little bit short domestic markets. I was happy when the market was lock limit down. I think the Dow was down 800 points in the wee small hours of November 9th. And by the time I covered my shorts, I hardly made any money.

It was a Republican sweep that was not predicted by much of anybody. I guess gridlock was mostly predicted, but now what the people are thinking was let’s see, Donald Trump could be a little friendlier to businesses. He could reduce taxes. He could reduce regulations. By the way, complete candor, I did vote for Donald Trump, but I didn’t do so enthusiastically. I thought he’d be a far better president than Mrs. Clinton, but I also have some problems with Donald Trump and it would be remiss for me not to also tell you that I think Donald Trump is very inflationary and I think he might be in the process of popping the 35-year-old bond bubble.

Mike Gleason: There is a lot of optimism around some of Trump’s big proposals that you were referring to there, the tax cuts, infrastructure spending, cutting regulations, some are suddenly now expecting an economic renaissance akin to the one that occurred under Ronald Reagan, but there are lots of real differences in the landscape today versus 36 years ago.

For example, U.S. debt is over 100% of GDP. It was only about 30% back then. Individuals are also drowning in debt. From top to bottom America just is not in a good position to borrow and spend our way into an economic boom, but hey, if we get lower taxes and less bureaucracy, if Trump can deliver it great. But what are your thoughts? Is it a good time to get optimistic and invest accordingly?

Michael Pento: I have to say no. I don’t think I am overly optimistic right now. Let’s just go through some facts and you touched on how over-indebted we are. As a nation if you look at total non-financial debt we are at an all-time record high. It’s 230% of GDP, total non-financial debt. The country just cannot afford to go through a massive collapse in bond prices.

I’m talking about not rates going to 18%. Even if they go back sort of close to normal, the normal yield on the 10-year note is 7% going back to 1949. So, if you look at that average, suppose we go back to 4%, even 5% on the 10-year note, what’s that going to do to the housing market? What’s that going to do to every individual who was sequestered in bond proxies for the past eight years? You are going to collapse the entire stock market. You are going to collapse the real estate market and by definition, you are collapsing the bond market.

Mr. Trump is going to add to that collapse because he has huge deficit spending plans and that’s a huge increase in the supply of treasuries. He’s also – and this is what I hear from the members of the FOMC – that a Trump presidency suddenly means they are going to be more aggressive with their rate hike campaign. It’s going to be an accelerated campaign.

Now what happens if you have huge deficits, the deficits by the way are already up 34% year over year, now you have $1 trillion spending plan over the next 10 years. The Fed is more aggressively hiking rates, which means they are beginning to sell. In order to hike rates, you have to sell assets, so they are going to start to train their $4.5 trillion balance sheet and by raising short-term interest rates, much more supply. Who is going to buy it? The Chinese are not buying them anymore.

It’s a very, very bad situation that I think short term exists for the bond market. And if I’m right, by the way, the 10-year note’s yield went from 1.83% the night before the election to 2.3% in the wake just a few days after the election. Now if that kind of trend even remotely continues, Mr. Trump unfortunately is going to be welcomed in as so many other of his predecessors with a recession and maybe a very steep one.

There has not been one dollar of taxes that have been cut. There has not been one dollar spent on deficits. One shovel has yet to be bought for a shovel-ready project. All these things are yet to come, but what we do have now is mortgage applications, which are absolutely collapsing. I know we saw today was a huge increase in the number of home starts, especially on the single-family home front.

My point is if you are adding greatly to the supply of homes and yet mortgage applications are plunging and home sales are plunging, what is that going to do for the massively over-valued and record high real estate prices that exist in many sections of the country?

So, I’m optimistic. I’m hopeful in the long run regarding Donald Trump, but my big problem here is I don’t think with the massive amount of debt we have outstanding that we can actually start to see rates rise, undergo a collapse in the bond market and suddenly the stock market is going to love that. I don’t buy it. I’m just a little bit cautious for now.

Mike Gleason: Trump has been all over the map with his stance on Janet Yellen and the Fed. First he said he was a low interest rate guy, saying he and Janet Yellen shared some common ground on that. Then a few months back he became critical of her and accused the Fed of being too political. And now that he has been elected he seems to have softened a bit and doesn’t appear he is terribly interested in rocking the boat there.

So, my question is: do we really have any clue as to what kind of monetary policy we will see under a Trump presidency? There are many who believe we will just have massive money printing to fund major infrastructure spending and so forth, what do you think Michael?

Michael Pento: Well, you are so correct, Mike, a very good job on your part. So, candidate Trump accused the Fed of “being political.” I guess Mr. Trump, he wanted to become president, so what he would have liked to have seen is an aggressive Janet Yellen raising interest rates, throwing the economy into a recession and that would hand him the presidency.

But now that he has ascended to the president-elect stature, he has taken a step back. I don’t know if he is going to let Janet Yellen run out her tenure until February 2018. What if he was to supplant her with John Taylor with his Taylor Rule, which he is saying would increase rates dramatically very, very quickly according to the Taylor rule? There are a lot of things we are not quite sure of.

We do know this though. This is very clear throughout history. If you have a country that has a debt to GDP, which is well over 100%, if deficits are rising to 3%, 4%, 5% of GDP and you have huge plans to increase those deficits … and by the way, I am going to add this… he’s also a proponent of trade wars, which would add to the import prices and also increase domestic inflation. So, it’s more pressure on the bond market.

If you are going to have all those things in place, you are going to have to have a very, and history shows this clearly, you have to have a very accommodative central bank, one that is purchasing government debt, one that keeps interest rates well below nominal rates. Real interest rates have to be well into the negative category. You certainly cannot have all those things I mentioned and even a moderately aggressive central bank that is draining its balance sheets, selling assets into that structure. You are talking about a collapse in bonds that we have not seen ever before. And what that does to this record amount of debt and these record level of asset bubbles I think you can imagine is not going to be very good.

Mike Gleason: Precious metals bulls have been on the run since the election. Most expected Donald Trump’s victory would be good news for prices, but it hasn’t been so far now. Speculative longs are getting out of the futures markets and we are going to need to find some reason for that crowd to start buying again. Looking ahead over the next few months would do you see as some potential catalyst to bring new buyers back into the metals?

Michael Pento: Well I think the bull market in gold after the election lasted hours and gold spiked hugely right after the election and then it has been under pressure ever since as you pointed out. Gold has a problem here in the short term and it’s obviously been reflected in its price. The dollar is at a 13-year-high, and a rising dollar is not generally very good for the gold price. Rising nominal interest rates as I just mentioned from 1.83% to 2.3% and that’s not really for gold. And since you haven’t had any inflation yet kick into any increase, you have inflation, but you have not had any rapid increase in the rate of inflation, real rates are also rising. So, that’s very bad for the gold market in the short term.

That’s already, I think, I believe, much of that is already priced in, but what’s to come down the line I believe if we do get any trade wars, if we do get massive infrastructure I think Donald Trump is going to be recanting on his promise to replace Janet Yellen. And if he does replace Janet Yellen, he might put someone of the ilk of Arthur Burns into the Federal Reserve because as Donald Trump has avowed, he is the king of debt and he likes a weak dollar. He said this on record. He is getting the exact opposite. And if this over-indebted nation wants to avoid a recession…

By the way, let me go on record. I am going to be very clear. I believe we need to normalize interest rates. I am all for the collapse of this phony ersatz debt-disabled and asset bubble-ridden economy. But does Donald Trump have the guts, the temerity to allow a recession/depression to occur to get to the other side of that viable economy? I don’t think so, but that remains to be seen.

Mike Gleason: Touching on these trade wars here, you wrote about it in your Pentonomics piece this week, which was excellent by the way. You talked about how Trump is going to try to impose these tariffs on imported goods, forcing some of these manufacturers to start making products in America. You alluded to this a moment ago, but talk about that dynamic because products cannot be made as cheaply here as they can in China and that in turn could really spike a lot of inflation, is that fair to say?

Michael Pento: Yeah, as I covered before. If you look at Smoot-Hawley, the trade tariffs in 1930, not only are they inflationary, not only do they raise the cost of domestic goods and imported goods, but they are very recessionary. If you slap a tariff on China for their textiles that come into the country, well we don’t really have a textile industry here, so you’re looking about shortages. You’re talking about a huge spike in prices and not much good is going to come out of that in the short term. That’s going to be one of those catalysts I see for bringing gold and precious metal prices back into a bull market sometime in 2017.

Mike Gleason: So, bottom line here Michael as we begin to close, give us an idea of what the financial landscape is going to look like the next few months and years in your opinion? What are some of the greatest risks and opportunities and will precious metals still be a viable and important asset to go through it all?

Michael Pento: Well, I think so. I think precious metals will be extremely viable and a necessary asset. No matter what happens, you should always have about 10% to 15% of your portfolio in physical gold and precious metal-related assets, be they mining shares or gold stored in your physical possession or in a vault. So, let’s start from there.

But my gut feeling is Donald Trump is not going to get all of the things he wants accomplished and he is going to be more of a status quo (guy) than you think. He might get some tax cuts. He might get a little bit of a better trade infrastructure agreements accomplished. But the bottom line is this, there’s no avoiding the fact that the country – and even the globe as a whole – is in a condition of debt disablement. That’s the number one thing I want to stress.

If you look at Japan, Japan’s debt to GDP is to 230%. They are purchasing 80 trillion yen per year of assets. They have 50% of their ownership in ETF’s. They have almost 99% of the market of new issuance of government debt, JGB’s. This is the case all over the world. The central banks are controlling through financial repression the cost of money. And if that was to change we are going to have a depression not only in the United States but around the globe. I don’t think the Keynesians that still run the IMF and the BIS and all of those organizations are going to allow that to happen.

So, what I am saying is this. I think free, easy and cheap money is going to be around for a very long time. We have this brief, truncated period where central bankers want to back away from QE. I think it’s going to be a disaster and I think the global economy crashes in 2017 and that brings us back to the discussion of helicopter money. And that is where I think we are headed in 2017. It’s going to be a very dynamic, very challenging year for investors. You have to stay tuned, pay attention and the static modern portfolio model of investing is dead and gone and that is going to be proven absolutely true in 2017.

Mike Gleason: Well excellent stuff, Michael. We always appreciate your insights and thanks for being so generous with your time. We really enjoy your commentaries. And on that note if people want to both read and hear more of those from you and want to follow your work or learn more about your firm and how they could potentially become a client, tell them how they can do all that.

Michael Pento: Well, you can call the office directly at (732) 772-9500. My website is PentoPort.com and my email directly is Mpento@pentoport.com. I have a great website. There’s a podcast there you can subscribe to and we are doing very well here. And I think it’s going to be essential to have someone with a dynamic strategy to help you survive in the coming environment.

Mike Gleason: Well again great stuff, Michael. Enjoy your Thanksgiving next week and we’ll look forward to catching up with you again as we begin to learn more about what the economic environment is going to look like under this new administration. Thanks again for the time.

Michael Pento: Thanks for having me, Mike.

Mike Gleason: Well, that will wrap it up for this week. Thanks again to Michael Pento of Pento Portfolio Strategies, for more information visit PentoPort.com. You can sign up for his email list, listen to his mid-week podcasts and get his fantastic market commentaries on a regular basis. Again, just go to PentoPort.com.

Mike Gleason is a Director with Money Metals Exchange, a national precious metals dealer with over 50,000 customers. Gleason is a hard money advocate and a strong proponent of personal liberty, limited government and the Austrian School of Economics. A graduate of the University of Florida, Gleason has extensive experience in management, sales and logistics as well as precious metals investing. He also puts his longtime broadcasting background to good use, hosting a weekly precious metals podcast since 2011, a program listened to by tens of thousands each week.

The post Michael Pento Exclusive: Cheap Money to Continue Flowing & Helicopter Money to Start after 2017 Crash appeared first on Gold Silver Worlds.

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Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-22/gold-signals-trump-no-different

Hold your real assets outside of the banking system in one of many private international facilities  -->    https://www.sprottmoney.com/intlstorage 

 

 

 

 

Gold Signals Trump Is No Different

Posted with permission and written by Dave Kranzler & Rory Hall

 

 

 

 

The good news is that Hillary lost but the bad news is that Trump won.

 

A massive take-down of the gold and silver markets was put into action shortly after it became obvious that Trump was going to take the election. Gold had finished soaring about $64 when early returns indicated the possibility of an upset. So why was gold methodically disemboweled once Trump emerged as the official winner?

 

Contrary to all the propaganda smoke being blown from the right and the left, Trump won because of economics. Going back to 1932, in any Presidential election year in which the growth in real disposable income was less than 3.1%, the incumbent party holding the White House lost the White House – in 2016 the official real disposable income growth has been 2.33%. Please re-read that fact and let it sink in. There’s been six elections in which this occurred – this table was sourced from John Wiliams’ Shadowstats.com:

 

 

In other words, people vote with their wallets. The reason gold has been inexorably smashed in the paper markets – along with the Dow and S&P 500 manipulated higher – is nothing more than a form of propaganda in an attempt to make the public believe that a Trump presidency is a good thing – that Trump can save the economy from collapse. Jim Sinclair refers to this as “MOPE:” Management of Perception Economics. It’s the Central Planners’ signal that they still intend to continue stealing your wealth. They don’t care who is sitting in the Oval Office.

 

The takedown in gold included cooperation from India’s Prime Minister – a western elitist lapdog – who “coincidentally” removed large denomination currency bills from the banking system last week in an attempt to curtail the Indian public’s current voracious appetite for physical gold. Removing this element from the global market last week enabled the Fed and bullion banks to bombard the Comex and LBMA with massive amounts of paper gold derivatives to push down the price of gold.

 

Of course, the shenanigans in the west have stimulated demand for gold even more in the Asian markets. Last night the market premium in Viet Nam soared to over $91. Premiums this high in Viet Nam have not been seen since at least 2011. On the Shanghai Gold Exchange the market premium soared to $12.47 above world gold – on Friday it was $8.20. It is rare when the premium gets this high on the SGE and signals very heavy demand.

 

In this episode of the Shadow of Truth, we put closure – at least for us – on the election and we explain why Trump has no intentions of “draining the Swamp” and why the current take-down in the price of gold and silver is setting the market up for a much bigger move higher:

 

 

 

 

Please email with any questions about this article or precious metals HERE

 

 

 

 

 

Gold Signals Trump Is No Different

Posted with permission and written by Dave Kranzler & Rory Hall

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Stocks, Bonds, Pension Funds "Will Be Wiped Out..."

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-22/stocks-bonds-pension-funds-will-be-wiped-out

David McWilliams interviewed Jim Rickards at Kilkenomics for TV3’s Agenda and the short ten minute interview is a must watch.

McWilliams Rickards interview here (from 34:16)

Key points covered are

• We are already in global currency wars

• End of the dollar as the benchmark global reserve currency coming

• Higher inflationary – “all the currencies will fall against hard assets”

• Massive financial crisis coming – complexity theory, behavioral economics shows this

• “Allowing system to get larger and larger and we do not understand risk”

• “In 1998, Wall Street bailed out a hedge fund; in 2008, the  central banks bailed out Wall Street; in the next financial crisis which could be tomorrow or could be in 2018, who is going to bail out the central banks?”

• Best description of financial panic – “everybody wants their money back at same time …”

• “Money in the bank is not money – it is an unsecured liability of an occasional insolvent financial institution..”

• In a panic, everyone seeks to get their money “which is gold, silver or cash…”

Ireland’s Pensions Timebomb – Source: Irish Independent

• Next financial crisis will be so great that dollar will fall sharply – be very inflationary

• Prepare now with physical gold – “recommend 10%” allocation

• Gold, silver, property, land, natural resources, fine art will do well in coming inflation

• Stocks, bonds, pension funds “will be wiped out…”

• Don’t trust financial institutions as they do not understand risks in system themselves …

• “Blind leading the blind …”

 

Jim Rickards is editor of Strategic Intelligence for Agora Financial as well as the founder of the James Rickards Project: an inquiry into complex dynamics of geopolitics and capital. He is also the author of New York Times bestsellers The New Case for Gold, Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis and The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Financial System. Jim’s newest book, The Road to Ruin was published November 15.

David McWilliams is co-founder of Kilkenomics and one of Ireland’s leading economic commentators. He was one of the very few to accurately predict that the boom was a bubble that would all end in a monumental crash with bank failures, negative equity, rising unemployment and emigration. He is an economist, broadcaster and bestselling author and writes columns for the Sunday Business Post and Irish Independent. David also runs an daily economic bulletin called 360 Macro.

See McWilliams Rickards full TV3 interview from 34:16 here

 

Gold and Silver Bullion – News and Commentary

Gold logs modest rebound from 9-month low (MarketWatch.com)

Gold Climbs from 9-Month Low; US Bullion Coins Advance (CoinNews.net)

Gold rises for second day on a weaker dollar (Investing.com)

Bidding far more than expected, Chinese firm wins Barrick’s half of big Australian mine (Gata.org)

Randgold CEO says gold is ready to go higher (CNBC.com)

Gold desperately oversold, time to correct (FXStreet.com)

I’ve just bought some platinum – here’s why (CapitalAndConflict.com)

How Much Gold is Left on Earth? (WestCoastPlacer.com)

This Is The Real Reason Why The Public Is Broke And The Middle Class Is Being Destroyed (KingWorldNews.com)

The public sector strikes are really about housing (DavidMCWilliams.com)

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

22 Nov: USD 1,217.55, GBP 997.89 & EUR 1,144.98 per ounce
21 Nov: USD 1,214.95, GBP 984.72 & EUR 1,143.39 per ounce
18 Nov: USD 1,206.10, GBP 971.15 & EUR 1,135.54 per ounce
17 Nov: USD 1,232.00, GBP 988.19 & EUR 1,148.10 per ounce
16 Nov: USD 1,225.70, GBP 984.36 & EUR 1,144.68 per ounce
15 Nov: USD 1,228.90, GBP 988.65 & EUR 1,138.70 per ounce
14 Nov: USD 1,222.60, GBP 978.08 & EUR 1,136.53 per ounce
11 Nov: USD 1,255.65, GBP 991.96 & EUR 1,154.45 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

22 Nov: USD 16.76, GBP 13.46 & EUR 15.77 per ounce
21 Nov: USD 16.68, GBP 13.47 & EUR 15.69 per ounce
18 Nov: USD 16.51, GBP 13.30 & EUR 15.54 per ounce
17 Nov: USD 17.04, GBP 13.65 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
16 Nov: USD 16.95, GBP 13.64 & EUR 15.85 per ounce
15 Nov: USD 17.00, GBP 13.68 & EUR 15.80 per ounce
14 Nov: USD 17.20, GBP 13.73 & EUR 15.95 per ounce
11 Nov: USD 18.59, GBP 14.73 & EUR 17.09 per ounce

Recent Market Updates

– Physical Gold Is A “Long-Term Position” as “Hedge Against Governments”
– Gold Sell Off On Fed Noise – “Interesting Times” To “Support Gold”
– Islamic Gold – Vital New Dynamic In Physical Gold Market
– Peak Gold Globally – “Bullish For Gold”
– Gold Price Should Go Higher On Global Risks and Trump – Capital Economics
– President Trump – Why Market Loves Him and Experts Wrong
– ‘Helicopter Money President’ Trump To Create Inflation and Gold Will Rise
– Central Bank Gold Demand continues in Q3
– Trump Victory Sends Gold Surging 5%
– An uncertain election outcome looks good for gold
– Ignore past elections, this one’s too uncertain
– Gold may be the only winner in US elections
– The London Gold Market – ripe for take-over by China?

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Physical Gold Is "Hedge Against Governments"

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-21/physical-gold-hedge-against-governments

Physical gold is a "hedge against governments," a "long-term position" and is still "on a buy signal" in the longer-term according to Dominic Frisby writing in the UK’s best selling financial publication Money Week this week.

Frisby believes in owning physical gold for the long term and that gold is close to bottoming but could go lower in the short term:

"Gold has buckets of support in the $1,200-$1,230 area. It made its March and May lows there earlier in the year. The relative strength index is below 30 – meaning it is coming into the “buy” zone. Gold stocks were up 5% yesterday while gold was stable – that is often a bullish divergence.

So it’s very possible that gold could be making an intermediate-term low in these parts. If I sold everything now and it turned around and rallied, I’d feel like a right bozo.

The fundamental reason I own gold is that it is my hedge against governments. From a political upheaval perspective, 2016 has been the year that keeps on giving. I don’t see that changing. For all the volatility, you want a considerable long-term core position.

But this whole episode has been a valuable lesson in how, once you get swayed, it is very easy to get carried away.

I’m now comfortable with my position. From a risk-management point of view, I want to have some physical gold, some cash and some stocks. I have that.

But I want to see clearer signs before I go all in again. I don’t have that. Gold and gold stocks are still on a short-term “sell” signal for me."

Read the full article by Dominic Frisby on MoneyWeek here

News and Commentary

Gold bounces off 5-1/2-month low on physical buying (Reuters)

Dollar charges to 14-year high, bond tantrum in full swing (Reuters)

Gold edges higher as US dollar softens (Bulliondesk)

Gold price hike in Egypt leads to popularity of Chinese gold-plated ornaments (Global Times)

Indian traders buy gold to pre-empt feared curbs on overseas purchases (Business Live)

How the Italian referendum next month could surprise everyone (Moneyweek)

Italy’s banks in a slow-motion crisis. And Europe may pay – CNBC (CNBC)

The Big Short: is the next financial crisis on its way? – Guardian (The Guardian)

Is Silver Set To Surge Off Significant Support? (Zerohedge)

SocGen Sees "Sharp Rise In Gold" As India Plans Cap On Cash Holdings (Zerohedge)

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

21Nov: USD 1,214.95, GBP 984.72 & EUR 1,143.39 per ounce
18Nov: USD 1,206.10, GBP 971.15 & EUR 1,135.54 per ounce
17Nov: USD 1,232.00, GBP 988.19 & EUR 1,148.10 per ounce
16Nov: USD 1,225.70, GBP 984.36 & EUR 1,144.68 per ounce
15Nov: USD 1,228.90, GBP 988.65 & EUR 1,138.70 per ounce
14Nov: USD 1,222.60, GBP 978.08 & EUR 1,136.53 per ounce
11Nov: USD 1,255.65, GBP 991.96 & EUR 1,154.45 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

21Nov: USD 16.68, GBP 13.47 & EUR 15.69 per ounce
18Nov: USD 16.51, GBP 13.30 & EUR 15.54 per ounce
17Nov: USD 17.04, GBP 13.65 & EUR 15.87 per ounce
16Nov: USD 16.95, GBP 13.64 & EUR 15.85 per ounce
15Nov: USD 17.00, GBP 13.68 & EUR 15.80 per ounce
14Nov: USD 17.20, GBP 13.73 & EUR 15.95 per ounce
11Nov: USD 18.59, GBP 14.73 & EUR 17.09 per ounce

Recent Market Updates

- Gold Sell Off On Fed Noise – “Interesting Times” To “Support Gold”
- Islamic Gold – Vital New Dynamic In Physical Gold Market
- Peak Gold Globally – “Bullish For Gold”
- Gold Price Should Go Higher On Global Risks and Trump – Capital Economics
- President Trump – Why Market Loves Him and Experts Wrong
- ‘Helicopter Money President’ Trump To Create Inflation and Gold Will Rise
- Central Bank Gold Demand continues in Q3
- Trump Victory Sends Gold Surging 5%
- An uncertain election outcome looks good for gold
- Ignore past elections, this one’s too uncertain
- Gold may be the only winner in US elections
- The London Gold Market – ripe for take-over by China?
- Diwali, Gold and India – Is Love Affair Over?

Read More

Rand Corp. Blasts ‘Truth Decay’ – Wants Facts Determined by Appropriate Leaders

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-21/rand-corp-blasts-%E2%80%98truth-decay%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-wants-facts-determined-appropriate-leaders

Via The Daily Bell

Rand Corp. Blasts ‘Truth Decay’ – Wants Facts Determined by Appropriate Leaders

‘Truth Decay’ Makes Facts Subjective and Polarization More Extreme … Disagreements over policy have always existed—but disagreements over basic facts have not.  It’s a phenomenon that RAND CEO Michael Rich calls “truth decay.” –Rand Corporation blog

Michael Rich, head of Rand Corporation has come up with a new phrase to describe “fake news,“ calling it “truth decay.” The Rand Corporation is a leading military-industrial think tank with thousands of employees including scientists from around the world and domestic and international offices. 

These reports are part of a larger criticism Rich is making, one having to do with a news trend in America that involves citizens not only selecting their opinions, but also the “facts” that support them.

It’s been on his mind since long before the election results brought the topic into sharp relief, he told the audience Friday night as part of a Politics Aside discussion called Erosion of Truth.

“This is to me really a dangerous and unusual time in history. Because Americans not only feel entitled to their opinions—and rightly so—but many of them, a growing number of them, frankly, across the political spectrum also feel entitled to cherry pick facts to support their opinion, or even commission up new ‘facts’ if necessary,” Rich said.

“…When everyone has their own facts, then nobody really has any facts at all.”   Truth decay is a threat to a research organization like RAND, whose very existence is based on facts and objectivity, he said, but more importantly it’s a threat to society. It pushes political polarization to even greater extremes and prevents policymakers from reaching consensus on solutions to the nation’s biggest challenges.

As we can see, Rich is apparently worried that Americans inability to discern truth from fiction is making the US virtually ungovernable. He calls “polarization” the gravest threat facing America and his descriptive phrase, “truth decay” attempts to clarify the process.

If citizens cannot agree on facts than society’s political and business leaders cannot create common sense compromises that will buttress America as a unique success among nations.

Rich gave one example regarding the phase out chlorofluorocarbons — “organic compounds used as aerosol propellants, refrigerants, and solvents—that researchers said were depleting the ozone layer.”

While many did not believe that aerosol propellants were a danger to survival, RAND was able to use “best available evidence” to reframe the debate based on probabilities rather than certainty.

As a result, the Senate passed the treaty that banned CFCs. But today, thanks to the Internet, it is perfectly possible that RAND could not have presented “facts as probabilities” with such confidence because opponents would have used the Internet to gather opposing facts.

In fact, a quick search of the Internet turns up the following from the website “American Thinker,” as follows, here:

The global ban on CFCs was enacted based on a theory that continues to be challenged to this day. Chemists remain uncertain of the rate and extent of ozone depletion due to chlorine. In fact, the exact role of atmospheric CFCs remains uncertain. It appears that the primary catalyst of ozone depletion is atmospheric chlorine, and the most atmospheric chlorine by far is out-gassed from the oceans or emitted by volcanoes. Mankind’s contribution is miniscule (does this sound familiar?). Further, natural processes have by far the greatest influence on the ozone layer (e.g., solar influence).

Additionally, this article points out that DuPont’s patent on CFCs was lapsing when the campaign against CFCs was initiated. The inference is that DuPont wanted CFCs banned so that it could create profit-making alternatives.

This inference parallels (controversial) accusations that DuPont helped ban marijuana because a better procedure for hemp processing had just been developed at the time, one that would make hemp cloth competitive with DuPont products. The “decorticator” allowed for efficient extraction of hemp fiber from stalks.

The CFC debate and resolution, can be seen as an antecedent to the global warming movement itself. If Rand has not had the capability at the time to assert “probabilities,” the global warming crusade might have foundered before it began.

Spirited public debate is part of the political process, Rich concluded, but policy-making itself must be rooted in rigorous research and analysis of the facts.

The trouble is that ample evidence has accrued during this Internet era that even the most perceptive politicians may occasionally fail to select the correct fact pattern. Regardless, Rich seems to believe this is a risk worth taking. He is quoted as saying that the lack of an ”agreed-upon common set of facts [is] a recipe for [governmental] gridlock.”

Rich believes that the only solution is to return somehow to an environment where appropriate leaders are able to select accurate facts without fear of alternatives. Indeed, this may make for more efficient government. However, it is still unclear, despite Rich’s eloquence, whether promoting the primacy of governmental and industrial technocracy insures the validity of a given fact pattern. In fact, history seems to show, at least on occasion, that it does not.

Conclusion: Suppression of alternative fact-patterns may lead to government efficiency, but not necessarily government accuracy. And basing large government programs on inaccurate facts can lead to difficulties that too-often can turn into disasters. A factual monopoly is not always the same as a credible one.

Editor's Note: The Daily Bell is giving away a silver coin and a silver "white paper" to subscribers. If you enjoy DB's articles and want to stay up-to-date for free, please subscribe here. 

More from The Daily Bell:

How Deep Will Trump’s Truths Go?

India Bans Cash, Now Gold?

Tesla’s Musk Investigated Over SolarCity by Congress

 

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Why Did Gold Plunge After The Trump Victory?

Published here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-20/why-did-gold-plunge-after-trump-victory

Source: politico.com

It has been almost two  weeks since Donald Trump has been voted into the White House and the mass media is finally getting their heads around his victory. Most analysts (well, actually all of them) predicted a victory for Trump would be excellent for the precious metals prices, but even though the gold price increased to almost $1350 when the votes were being counted, we closed last week approximately $150/oz lower and the gold price was barely able to hold the $1200 level.

Source: stockcharts.com

Were we wrong? Was everyone wrong? Why did this happen?

Let’s do some fact-checking here to see why the long-thesis for gold remains in play, more than ever before.

Fact one: Trump has been acting against the Federal Reserve for several months now, claiming the Fed is deliberately keeping the interest rates low to help the current democratic president to leave office on a high. That’s not a ridiculous claim, although the economic recovery might be more fragile than you’d think.

Yes, there has been job growth, but it was predominantly situated in the part-time job categories with low average wages. So, yes, at surface it does look like the economy is doing better, but most of the new jobs barely cover the cost of living, so it wouldn’t be fair to expect a (sustainable) increase in spendable income.

Fact two: The new president wants to jump-start the economy by investing massive amounts in infrastructure-related projects. That’s usually not a bad idea as A) it’s the best way for a government to ‘intervene’ in a domestic economy without becoming too ‘pushy’ or calling the shots and B) it serves a long-term purpose and could actually have a serious indirect impact on the local economy as well.

Source: thefiscaltimes.com

But this very likely means the Trump administration will continue the Obama-course and continue to run a budget deficit for the next few years. Theoretically that’s not always negative as the cumulatively added value of getting people back at work and improve the existing facilities might pay off over time, but it will increase the pressure on the budget and the total debt situation.

And that’s what might cause some issues here. Right now, the total national debt is zeroing in on the 20 trillion dollar mark, and it’s not unlikely the Trump Administration will have to run an annual deficit of $1T (although it will very likely be more), and this could easily push the total debt to $25T by the end of Trump’s term. Fine, if the GDP is increasing at a similar pace, the debt/GDP ratio won’t change at all, but if you’re running a budget deficit, have a substantial amount of sovereign debt ànd are calling for higher interest rates, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that could potentially be a deathly cocktail.

Source: CNBC.com

Let’s use the $20T of government debt as our starting point. Should the interest rates increase to 3.5% (compared to 1.5% on the 10 year T-Note before this summer, and 2.335% right now), the total cost of debt would increase by approximately $400B per year. This sure sounds ‘acceptable’ when compared to the total debt, but let’s see what the trickle-down effect could be.

Source: tradingeconomics.com

In the USA, the total labor force consists of 152 million ‘employees’. As it’s tough to tax unemployed people (although governments will always find a way to do so), the entire $400B would technically have to be financed by a higher contribution from the labor force. In this case, every employee in the USA would have to contribute an additional $2,600 per year to fund the additional interest (and not a single dollar of that would be spent on actually reducing the principal amount of that debt).

That’s tough, but the USA isn’t an isolated case.

Countries have become used to and addicted to low interest rates, and it will be very tough, if not impossible, to break through this pattern. Italy might very well be one of the next domino’s to fall if/when the interest rates increase.

The Italian government debt is 2.2 trillion Euro, and a 1.5% increase of the average interest rates would create an annual shortfall of 33B EUR. That’s indeed a fraction of the exposure of the US, but as just 23 million people are employed in Italy, the additional pressure would technically be 1,400 EUR/year (and this is quite a conservative scenario because once the PIGS-issues come back to surface, Italy’s interest rate will very likely increase much faster than for instance Germany’s interest rates).

1,400 EUR/yr is just 120 EUR/month, but try to tell that to people who are making just 1250-1500/month and barely make ends meet.

And this is, and always has been, the real reason to have exposure to gold. Government spending will lead to higher inflation (expectations), and will ultimately renew the interest in gold as a hedge against inflation. And the status of gold as a safe haven will once again be confirmed when higher inflation rates and higher interest rates will push some countries over the edge.

>>> Protect yourself against inflation. Read our Guide to Gold right now!

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