No Time 4 Bull

Well, I've been absent from this blog for way too long and I've had a couple of major news items sitting in my inbox that I haven't written about. It's about time.

For most of a year now, since last April, the precious metals markets and the financial industry have just been sort of quiet. The media would have us believe that the storm of 2008 is over and we're experiencing a 'recession'.

Funny enough, 'recess' might be the right word to use depending on the context. Recess is what happens in public schools at midday. All of the students get a break from the monotony and austerity of the classroom. Kind of like what happens in the Eye of a Storm, where everyone gets a break from the flooding, +120km/h winds, crumbling houses, crashing trees, etc. Kind of like where everyone gets a break from this collapse of the financial system.

None of the problems that led to the first storm in 2008 have been fixed. They are now worse since the only thing our leaders have done, and were able to do is create more debt to get out of debt. The can was simply kicked a bit further down the road. There have been a bunch of signals over the last few weeks that are pointing towards an end to this 'recess' and a continuing of the economic correction that began in 2008.

What really surprises me is the general shock that many have over the discovering of U.S. Secret Service agents frequenting prostitutes in Columbia prior to the U.S. president's arrival.  First of all, I'm not entirely sure how this could be that surprising to anyone. If one is asked what groups are those most likely to frequent prostitutes, high on the list of responses would be, "Why, those in the armed forces, of course!" While the Secret Service might not be what people think of when they make that response, many in the Service are likely to have had military experience, as well as being in an occupation that would probably fit in the definition of an "armed force."

Scondly, why does the Secret Service hold such a revered reputation? One of the seemingly shocked is commentator Cal Thomas. He writes, "What about the honor and noble history of the Secret Service, created in 1865 to stop the spread of counterfeit currency, and the reputation of the nation [they] represent?" I would think that the main purpose of preventing counterfeit is to maintain the value and soundness of the currency, but with the Federal Reserve expanding the monetary base by trillions the activity of individual counterfeiters makes little difference. The Secret Service deserves little praise, if any at all, for that. And what of their other job, which is to protect POTUS from assassination, even if he happens to target other Americans for assassination? In reality, they seem to have little difference than bodyguards of a Mafia Don, except that those in the Mafia don't enjoy the facade of being legitimate.

It has been claimed among news sources, and parroted in letters-to-the-editor pages, that the Trayvon Martin shooting demonstrates how dangerous "Stand Your Ground" laws are. However, those proclaiming this most likely don't understand what such laws state because if those laws apply in this case, Martin couldn't have just been minding his own business as some accounts of the case claim (I have read conflicting accounts and was not present at the shooting so I have no knowledge of what happened).

Depending on the state, when one is faced with imminent bodily harm he or she may be required by law to retreat as reasonably possible OR may be allowed to respond with a proportionate amount of force without retreating (the so-called "Stand Your Ground" law). Hence, the only way that this would apply is if Martin had displayed or threatened such aggression. Ironically, the anti-gun advocates seem to also accept the version of the story that states the shooter was unprovoked. This is a contradiction.

As I'm sure you've already heard, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is building a giant fortress in Bluffdale, UT that will store huge swaths of information including 'all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital “pocket litter,"' according to this Wired magazine article.

For those of you who would prefer that your activities that involve electronics remain private, I would recommend this article from International Man on using the Internet in "stealth mode".

I think this is one of those situations where we are fortunate that the government is so inefficient. Casting such a wide net when attempting to capture useful intelligence will leave them quite overwhelmed. However, this does not mean at all that this machination of Big Brother is benign. There is no doubt that they desire the capability to silence anyone they feel is a threat. In combination with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, there is the potential that dissenters could end up in some military detention facility without habeas corpus. It's not like this hasn't happened before in the U.S. Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, and others have all jailed people for their dissent. 

Stay safe out there.

Those of you following websites with a similar perspective might be familiar with the story of the boiling frog. It is assumed that if a frog is placed in boiling water it will jump out. However, if it is placed in cold water, and the heat slowly increased, so it gradually reaches the boiling point, the frog doesn't notice anything and slowly dies.

I would guess that most of our readers have at least our heads and hopefully vital organs out of the pot by this point. The water has been very hot for quite a long time and is finally approaching the boiling point. How do I know? Well, just look at the signs:

Here's Jim Sinclair with his perspective on the ongoing financial war. With the US kicking Iran and potentially India out of the SWIFT system, the first major shot has been fired. BRIC countries, or the East, have been pushed around by the West for a long time now, and they have waited quite a long time for the West to slowly bankrupt itself. The West doesn't have too many options left at this point and is resorting to more force, as should be expected. Because the East has been steadily moving away from using the USD for trade settlement and as a reserve, the West is looking to punish the revolutionaries. This is, in large part, what the conflicts in Iraq, Lybia, Syria, and now Iran are about. The problem is, locking countries out of SWIFT does not increase the use of the USD, and it divides the West and the East even more. Be prepared for more countries to join the East as the West tries to protect demand for the USD via more and more force.

It seems quite strange to me that even some of those more libertarian-minded can be in support of compulsory national service. Even the likes of Milton Friedman believed that compulsory military service could be defended on libertarian ground in Capitalism and Freedom. What seems to have become popular today is the idea of requiring some kind of community service, such as working in a nursing home. Problems abound with this idea, including unintended consequences. First and foremost is that no man has the right to force another to work, unless as recompense for harm done to person or property (including the breaking of contractual agreements) and, for whatever it's worth, the 13th Amendment outlaws slavery (but what else could one call the 16th Amendment?). Secondly, creating the apparatus for compulsory service and a culture that accepts such an immoral institution can lead it to be used for purposes differing from the original intent. Perhaps the "service" will become something less savory to the original supporter, such as being forced to work for extreme environmentalists, PETA, or some other organization with which one has disagreements. Once the door is opened for forced labor, it will be those in power who decide what the labor is used for. Thirdly, forced national service, as alluded to above, can easily become forced military service. The U.S. government is infatuated with foreign intervention and is itching for an excuse to reinstitute the draft, or better yet, have a standing army consisting of all 17-25 year-olds in America. What also is insidious is that those who are calling for this measure are above such an age for which they prescribe it (in the disgusting movie The Ides of March, the campaign manager for a presidential candidate suggested proposing such a measure for teenagers based on the fact that they cannot vote). Lastly, virtue cannot be forced.

On March 6 I had the displeasure of attending a Republican Presidential Caucus. It happened to be the largest one in the state, was very poorly organized, and took hours longer than necessary. Instead of being able to vote right away, attendees had to endure the speeches of representatives for each of the candidates.

The lady representing Ron Paul had many good things to say about him: he plans to cut the federal budget by $1 trillion dollars in the first year, balance it in three, and was the only one to predict the housing bubble. But she did not mention the fact that he is also the only candidate that opposes war. I suppose this might have been a strategic decision in a very Republican crowd. I wondered how I might have done things differently, had I had the opportunity to speak on Paul's behalf. After mentioning all of the superior economic policies and stance for civil liberties that he represents, I would have liked to close by engaging the audience in this manner:

"It is not an exaggeration to state that a vote for any of these other candidates is a vote for someone who will sanction the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Perhaps ignorance at one time could be excused, but I am telling you this now. Please realize that there just might be some blood on your hands by the decisions you make tonight."

I sincerely hope that the problem in this situation is that many Americans just don't realize how many lives are affected negatively by American foreign policy. But, in contemplating it, I am reminded of what the crowd said to Pilate in Matthew 27 after he told them that, "I am innocent of this man's blood...It is your responsibility!"

The people replied, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

Some signs of the largess or influence of a nation include religion, language, technology, media and money. Looking at the rise and fall of Empires over the last few centuries, there has been one consistent rise among many smaller collapses. Before the British Empire there were many smaller Empires. The British Empire collapsed only to morph into the American Empire, which seems to be turning into the United Nations Empire. Today is the West or the Anglo-American Empire, as the Daily Bell likes to call it and it is the largest Empire or power structure on Record.

The Daily Bell recently ran an article describing how and why China is also doing its part to continue the building of the Anglo-American Empire. China was effectively taken over by the West during the Opium Wars, and has since been playing along quite well.

If you use the spread of the English language, Christianity, Western technology (electronics), media entertainment, and US Dollars, almost all populated areas of the world have it in mind to become like America. Many nations use the US dollar not only for spending but also as savings and reserve currency. This is very obvious in Europe, North America, Oceania, South America and even many parts Asia and Africa.

No doubt you have heard of the proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress called SOPA and PIPA and of the protests of various websites against them. These measures are ostensibly intended to fight against copyright infringement and piracy on the web. Most of the protesting websites did not express disagreement with the enforcement of intellectual property (IP) laws, but that there would be privacy issues and regulation of websites by the feds. For this reason, I wanted to offer a different perspective on IP, which argues that it is neither necessary nor just.

Reading through the current list of predictions from analysts outside of the mainsteam media, it looks like the outlook for 2012 isn't very different, just more of the same. If anything things look a bit worse, because we haven't managed to air any of last year's laundry. We'll probably see more of that return to normal, where paper is worth nothing and real assets are considered wealth again. In other words, paper continues to depreciate and real assets continue to appreciate.

Here's Bullion Vault's Adrian Ash with an update on Chinese gold buying. They're still setting new highs every month. Maybe they know something the West doesn't?

Here's Deepcaster with a list of trends to look for in 2012. He is looking for “mega-moves in the precious metals”. His list of causes for those mega-moves:

1. “As of January 6, 2012 Investors had pulled money out of U.S. Equity Mutual Funds for the Ninth Straight Week.

2. The recent (ostensible) pick-up in the U.S. Economy has come partly: