FOFOA

Yonder ...thur be DRAGONS!!

2012-01-23T17:59:00.000-08:00

块大金条出现在江苏南京新街口一家商场内，配备了两个保安持枪现场保护。据现场工作人员介绍，这块“金条王”总重为99.999公斤，目前全国仅有一块，且纯度、重量都创下历史纪录。 Below is a fun little Chinese New Year guest post by Sir Topaz, aka One Bad Adder (although he seems to be pretty good at math to me). Just a little "food for thought" as he says... 9 月 8 evening Yan’an Road, Shanxi Road intersection, north-south and east-west traffic to each other and lack of traffic police

The Gold Must Flow

2012-01-17T01:14:00.000-08:00

In the last thread of comments, Jaqship asked about the possibility of a future Freegold tax, a punitive tax on gold meant to intimidate regular folks and steer them away from gold, and also to capture for the collective any windfall profit coming from a gold revaluation. Jaqship, who gave me permission to use his real name, is a long-time reader and supporter named Jeffrey Schramek. Jeff has

The Studebaker Effect

2012-01-11T01:15:00.000-08:00

One of my resolutions for 2012 is to spend some time finding new ways to introduce gold-resistant paperbugs to the powerful arguments for buying and holding physical gold right now. But I never want anyone to invest in anything based merely on a recommendation. I want them to understand the reasons for the purchase themselves. Peace of mind can only come from within, and that's what

Party Like It's MTM Time

2012-01-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

The ECB published its "Year of the RPG" year-end quarterly revaluation ConFinStat yesterday, and the trend continues. Here are the relevant results: In the week ending 30 December 2011 the increase of EUR 3.6 billion in gold and gold receivables (asset item 1) reflected quarterly revaluation adjustments, as well as the sale of gold coin by one Eurosystem central bank. Quarter-end revaluation

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T00:03:00.000-08:00

2012 Year of the Surprise Google defines a surprise as an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing. And I expect a few big ones in 2012. There are many kinds of surprises. There are pleasant surprises and unpleasant surprises, but often the unpleasantness comes from being on the wrong side of an unexpected event. I'm sure that being a client of Bernie Madoff or MF Global was quite

Merry Christmas North Korea

2011-12-24T20:38:00.000-08:00

North Korea Howls About South Korea’s Christmas Lights, Forcing Shutdown "North Korea’s so serious about mourning Kim Jong Il that it’s cancelled Christmas. That is to say, Pyongyang’s furious protests over South Korea’s plan to display Christmas lights near the two sides’ border has persuaded Seoul to cancel the display as a gesture of good will. "Psychological warfare" is how the communist

RIP Kim Jong Il

2011-12-19T03:59:00.000-08:00

The Dear Leader of North Korea has passed away. In tribute to this great man who stood strong against the Imperialistic West, I'd like to present this AWESOME travelogue for anyone who has always wanted to visit the tasty land they call "the soon to be reunified" north part of Korea. I just can't tell you how AWESOME this video travelogue is. Pop some popcorn now because it's about an hour

Unambiguous Wealth 2 – The MF Global Chronicles

2011-12-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I write post-length comments that would be more useful as actual posts. Here's one… Hello Edwardo, Thank you for the ZH link. I suppose I need to be more specific when I refer to "the ZH/GATA CB thesis." First let me state that Zero Hedge and GATA both provide a great service and they both do fantastic work, ZH comments section notwithstanding. It is their underlying thesis about

Unambiguous Wealth

2011-12-01T00:33:00.000-08:00

In the present monetary system, wealth is commonly held as ambiguous claims against the economy. We call it stocks, bonds, money market funds, mutual funds, etc… People hold their wealth in this way for the promise it makes of more wealth forthcoming! Sound familiar? Now, when I say that there will actually be much more wealth forthcoming for those with **unambiguous** ownership of physical

Discussion Forum

2011-11-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

There is an elephant in the room. Jim Rickards has been making some bold predictions while on his book tour for Currency Wars. He says that in the case of a collapse of confidence in the dollar, the U.S. could confiscate the gold owned by foreign governments, Germany in particular, that is stored in NYC at the Fed. He says the U.S. could then use this gold to dictate a new international

Moneyness

2011-11-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what money really is? You'll notice that everyone you read has a strong opinion about what money actually is, but who's right? Is money really just one single thing and then everything else has varying levels of moneyness relative to real money? Is gold real money? Or is money whatever the government says it is? Or is it whatever the market says it is? Is silver

Tweet this!

2011-10-21T00:20:00.000-07:00

FOFOA is now on Twitter! http://twitter.com/#!/FOFOA999 Still trying to figure out where I type to twit, but I'm sure I'll learn. ;) Follow @FOFOA999 Sincerely, FOFOA

RPG Update #4

2011-10-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

On New Year's Eve I dubbed 2011 "Year of the RPG" in deference to Robert Zoellick's recent editorial in which he described gold as "a key reference point to allow people to assess the relations between different currencies." This description was so close to Freegold that Zoellick's FT editorial led us to an additional name, "Reference Point Gold" or Freegold-RPG. Throughout the year I posted

October Open Forum

2011-10-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

October 1st is the National Day of the People's Republic of China. It is a public holiday. The National Day marks the start of one of the two Golden Weeks in the PRC. Golden Week (黄金周) in the mainland of the People's Republic of China is the name given to two annual 7-day national holidays, implemented in 2000: 1. The "Spring Festival (or Chinese Lunar New Year) Golden Week" begins in

On Scary Corrections

2011-09-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

In the wake of gold's scary 12.5% three week correction from its all-time high (and having to stew in it all weekend), I thought I'd share with you some encouraging comments I found on another website: ________________________________________________________ 1. Perspective Is today *really* a down day for gold? For $10,609.37 you could have bought the DOW on May 13, 2000. On June 6, 2006 you

Once Upon a Time

2011-09-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

_________________ The story I am about to relate to you was first told in a lecture hall at the School of Political Sciences in Paris (L'École des Sciences Politiques) on March 17, 1932, from the depths of the Great Depression. It is, perhaps, more relevant today than it was on the day Jacques Rueff delivered it. Rueff began with this: "The story I am going to relate covers a long period. It

Treasure Chest 2 – Game Changer

2011-08-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who donated in support of continuing this blog for a fourth year! Donations were rolling in last Tuesday pretty much on par with my other two fundraisers. But then on Wednesday, with the $100 plunge in the price of paper promises of future gold, the flow of donations pretty much dropped off a cliff. So I'd also like to thank the CME for messing up my fundraiser. Thanks

Three!

2011-08-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

Yay for Forum 1900, but now I have a much more significant milestone for y'all to celebrate. As of today this blog is three years old. I can hardly believe it. Here's what a chart of FOFOA might look like: The only secret to writing this blog (which is obviously not a secret) is that I stand on the shoulders of Giants. To me, the archives linked over there to the right have been a gold

Forum 1900

2011-08-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

For Aaron:

Forum 1800 - Part 2

2011-08-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 6, 2001 - GOLD @ $267.20 - FOA: "The result will be a massive dollar price rise in gold that performs over several years, as the reserve function transition politically begins." Tuesday, January 1, 2002 - Launch of euro notes and coins Friday, February 8, 2002 - GOLD ABOVE $300 Monday, December 1, 2003 - GOLD ABOVE $400 Thursday December 1, 2005 - GOLD ABOVE $500 Monday, April 17

The Long Road to Freegold

2011-08-15T01:08:00.000-07:00

On this, the 40th anniversary of the Nixon Shock, you will probably see the video below of Nixon closing the gold window at some of your favorite sites. Most will call it a crime for the purpose of promoting their expectation of justice defined as turning back the clock to the old gold standard. But it may be more instructive to think about this momentous occasion, 40 years ago today, as one

Forum 1800

2011-08-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

H/T to REDHILL for the awesome new HD version!!___________________________________________________________ After gold hit something like $1,775 on Monday and then fell back a bit, Patrick, a Belgian banker, emailed me this: In times as these it is great to have a vision... that way you just stay put. Otherwise I would have sold already... I replied with this: Exactly. You’ve got to

Forum 1700

2011-08-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, January 1, 2002 - Launch of euro notes and coins Friday, February 8, 2002 - GOLD ABOVE $300 Monday, December 1, 2003 - GOLD ABOVE $400 Thursday December 1, 2005 - GOLD ABOVE $500 Monday, April 17, 2006 - GOLD ABOVE $600 Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - GOLD ABOVE $700 Friday, November 2, 2007 - GOLD ABOVE $800 Monday, January 14, 2008 - GOLD ABOVE $900 Monday, March 17, 2008 - GOLD ABOVE $1000

Go Go South Korea

2011-08-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

The Bank of Korea released its new foreign reserve statement yesterday, which can be downloaded from its website here. In it the BoK disclosed the purchase of 25 tonnes of gold in July (or possibly June and July as reported elsewhere). It also reported a $6.55 billion revaluation gain which it attributed mainly to dollar weakness as reflected in its yen and pound-denominated reserves. Its "

Does Fiat Produce an Endless Sea of Wars?

2011-07-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Does fiat produce an endless sea of wars? Mish says it does, in Fiat Money Produces Endless Sea of Wars, Debt, Social Inequality, Economic Bubbles, Rampant Consumerism, Environmental Rape; Why Gold is the Answer. (As for the other plagues he enumerates, and perhaps even for the endless sea of wars, the real culprit is described in FOFOA's dilemma. More on this below.) Dominic Frisby

Forum 1600

2011-07-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Date: Tue Mar 31 1998 08:32ANOTHER (THOUGHTS!) ID#60253:Now, with the world awash in "US dollars" and "gold paper", a new asset is being formed to "draw" the oil producers closer to Europe! The offer is the "exact opposite" of the "US dollar agreement", this new offer will drive gold to a value that will allow it to become "the world oil

Euro Gold

2011-07-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

(Photo: REUTERS)A gold bar carrying the Euro sign is seen during the European Central Bank's Euro Exhibition organised by the Romania's Central Bank in Bucharest March 10, 2011.A little over a week ago on "Snapshot Day" (Thurs., June 30), the Eurosystem MTM party began with the CB rendition of "Whoop, There It Is" –-> Gold: EUR 1,043.382 per fine oz. – promptly followed by a dip down to EUR 1,022

From the Treasure Chest

2011-06-22T19:20:00.001-07:00

On my computer I have a database file that contains almost 50,000 email files. I probably refer back to and search this file more than I even realize. It's one of those things that you don't quite realize the value of it until you suddenly face the loss of it (perhaps like Satoshi Nakamoto and all his "millions").Very recently my computer crashed from what appeared to be a really nasty virus that

Bitcoin Open Forum - Part 3

2011-06-18T00:51:00.000-07:00

By request, here is my latest comment in post form:Hello Neverfox and Ramon,So it sounds like supporting (investing in or working for) Bitcoin is more about taking an activist role in an anarchist revolution against the government and the fat cat bankers than it is about finding the best way to protect your savings, amirite?Ramon, you wrote: "Even if 1/10th of 1% of USD-denominated wealth were to

Bitcoin Open Forum - Part 2

2011-06-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize in advance to any of you that have money riding on Bitcoin right now. I'm really not trying to slam it. And in all fairness, I only discovered this YouTube guy a couple hours ago on none other than the Bitcoin forum itself. Thank goodness for open source, because it enables us all to evaluate what we're being sold and told, with everything and all arguments on the table,

Bitcoin Open Forum

2011-06-15T22:32:00.001-07:00

I don't know much about Bitcoin, but I found this thread absolutely riveting. Thanks to RLP for posting the original story here! This is the first comment in the linked thread, a plea from the victim:I just got hacked - any help is welcome!June 13, 2011, 08:47:05 pm #1--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi everyone. I am totally devastated today. I just

Open Letter to Ron Paul

2011-06-03T02:21:00.001-07:00

Dear Dr. Paul,I would like to share with you what I think is a brilliant opportunity for you to lead the revaluation of the US gold stockpile from its present book value of $42.22/oz. which, as you say in the video below, "makes no sense whatsoever." I think that when a rare opportunity like the one I’m about to describe presents itself, the least we can do is to give it fair consideration.While

The Return to Honest Money

2011-05-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

What is honest money? And what does it mean "to return to honest money?" The most common answers to these questions have roots in the Austrian School of Economics, developed and made famous by the Austrian economists Carl Menger (1840-1921), Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) and Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992). At least the most common answers today come from modern followers of the Austrian School.

Costata's Silver Open Forum - Part 2

2011-05-14T02:35:00.001-07:00

Costata has been working on a few detailed responses to some of the comments in the last thread. But with the comments going over 600 in four days, and then Blogger swallowing about 140 of them on Thursday, I thought it would be a good idea to start a fresh open forum for Costata's replies and for all of you to continue the discussion.Sincerely,FOFOA

Costata's Silver Open Forum

2011-05-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

Listen up all you brave silver warriors. Uncle Costata has a story to tell you. In our first-ever guest post written exclusively for this blog, Costata lays it all out in stunning detail. And he invites you all to hit him back with your very best shot. Enjoy! -FOFOAHas the silver market been cornered.... AGAIN?by CostataThis open forum has one main purpose. To place a narrative before you, a

Open Forum

2011-05-02T20:59:00.001-07:00

Recovering DeflationistsIf you came here looking for the post Deflation or Hyperinflation?, please click on the link.Otherwise, here are a few odds 'n ends for those of you that like a little "content" with your Open Forum.________________________________________________________In the past week, I have had economic discussions outside of the context of this blog (and not online) twice. And there

Deflation or Hyperinflation?

2011-04-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

Chapter 84 – Bond salesmen's propaganda that "a dollar is a dollar" should be rewritten to say "a dollar is 3¢"Since most ordinary people, bankers, and company presidents have never studied currency theory, they swallow it hook, line, and sinker when the bond salesmen tell them, "a dollar is a dollar." That piece of propaganda should be rewritten to say "a dollar is 3¢." The nominal dollar is

Forum 1500

2011-04-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Forum 201

2011-04-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Reference Point: Gold - Update #2

2011-04-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

With gold near its all-time high, it's time for another Eurosystem MTM party. And just maybe, there is a timely message here for Congress and the U.S. Treasury. Yesterday President Obama vowed to veto the Republican's short-term spending bill, and today Washington is facing a possible full-on government shutdown in less than 26 hours when the cash funding runs out. [1] Not only that, but while

Big Gap in Understanding Weakens Deflationist Argument

2011-04-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

Last night Rick Ackerman published a piece called Big Gap in Logic Weakens Hyperinflation Argument:"My argument is simple, and I will not yield ground to any hyperinflationist who fails to explain, if the system collapses, where the money will come from to bid tangible assets skyward."Several of Rick's readers directed him to one of my posts to which he replied:"Well, I tried. The thoughtful but

A Winner Takes the Gold

2011-04-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! Fox Business correspondent Dagen McDowell takes the gold medal in Wasted Airtime for demonstrating her very "special" gold standard of loud, obnoxious and completely closed-minded cluelessness. But before we get to the incredible video of the win, I would like to refresh your understanding of the intellectually-challenged view that drives this amazing

Reference Point Revolution!

2011-03-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

I read a great article from Imprimis, the free publication put out by Hillsdale College in Michigan, titled The Floating Dollar as a Threat to Property Rights. [1] The article started out with the curious case of the incredible shrinking kilo (a problem normally faced only by drug lords that employ users as traffickers). Apparently this one particular metallic cylinder securely housed at the

Wendy's Open Forum - Part 3

2011-03-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

Just got this email notification...Wendy has left a new comment on your post "More Freegold Fodder":although you may be able to see me, I can't see anything after the 200th post this morning.Please FOFOA can you fix this??:( So sorry Wendy. Here's your new open forum. I think I hate Blogger's forced spam filter as much as you hate its forced pagination. A little choice in the settings would be

More Freegold Fodder

2011-03-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of the last post. Freegold fodder for a lively and relevant discussion! Part of what makes the following comments so interesting (aside from their mind-bending, perspective-altering content) is that they were all posted in the 48 hours leading up to the Washington Agreement on Gold, the first CBGA which took place at the IMF annual meeting in Washington DC on Sunday, Sept.

Indicium

2011-03-11T00:06:00.000-08:00

Several of you have expressed frustration with the direction the comments have been meandering lately. You've requested a more "Freegold oriented" discussion. I aim to please, so here is some Freegold fodder to get you started.Do any of you remember FOA writing about "K-Rands" and the fact that they are a legal tender gold coin yet they have no indicated face value? Here is one such excerpt:FOA (

Via Email

2011-03-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

----- Original Message -----From: victorthecleanerTo: FOFOASent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 11:23 PMSubject: question about bullion banksDear FOFOA,I have read a few of your postings with great interest although I admit by far not all of them. I have one question concerning the claim that it is the allocation of unallocated gold accounts that will put the bullion banks out of business. I shall be

Wendy's Open Forum - Part 2

2011-02-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

@ Wendy – Sorry I short-changed you on your last open forum. So here's another one. Apologies this time for invading your forum with a bit of tripe. (See below)@ All – A few thoughts on "Black Gold." I hate to draw attention to ridiculous notions with no basis in history or logic. But apparently this notion of massive secret storerooms of gold is still providing some with the comfort they seek in

How is that different from Freegold?

2011-02-19T20:34:00.001-08:00

FOFOA reader and supporter Cyril asked me by email:I have a little question that I’d like to ask you. I don’t know if you are familiar with Peter Schiff: he has a radio show every day where he talks about macro-economics.So the other night, I was listening to it and a caller brought you up in his question. He was a little dismayed that Peter Schiff was not aware of your work (and so was I). That’

Wendy's Open Forum

2011-02-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

Wendy: "FOFOA would you please start another post before I am forced to float through cyberspace unattached to anything. It's kinda creepy."Some give and ask nothing in return. Others ask questions, and a few even prompt new post ideas! Wendy gives and asks only to not be excluded by Blogger's screwy comment system. I aim to please! (To Wendy: I am working on another post, but it is not quite

Defending the Precious

2011-02-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

This blog must be confusing to first-time visitors. I can only imagine. I remember the first time I came across an excerpt of ANOTHER's writings posted in a forum thread. It was a bit strange, but somewhere deep inside of me a spark was lit and a hunger began to grow. The excerpt I came across was on a popular thread asking other participants what they thought about the quote. No one ever

Reply to Bron

2011-02-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

A Note: I originally started writing this reply to Bron to be posted in the last comments section. But somewhere around page 7 I realized it was too long to be a "comment." To anyone I have ever replied to: While my replies may be addressed to you, they are often written for everyone but you. To Bron: Once this reply got away from me a bit, I just sort of let it run. Hope you understand. End of

The View: A Classic Bank Run

2011-02-05T19:40:00.001-08:00

What I offer here on this blog is a view, backed up by premises and interpretations, sculpted into a framework of understanding, challenged and tested through repetitive application. After my last post I had a couple of brief conversations. One was public, with Bron Suchecki, Senior Analyst for the Perth Mint in Western Australia. The other was by email with a "gold bug" who is also a

Forum 201

2011-02-02T14:05:00.001-08:00

This is a new kind of comment forum, similar to an Open Forum, in honor of Wendy and others who suffer in silence, unable to access comments in excess of 200. And just for the record, do not buy this coin! Believe it or not, it is priced at a post-Freegold price. Your break-even point on this coin is gold at $33,102.47 per ounce (after shipping and handling)! Funny that it says the price can

Who is Draining GLD?

2011-01-29T01:06:00.001-08:00

Actual GLD VaultThere seems to be a misunderstanding in the gold market that when you buy or sell shares of GLD you are putting pressure on the price of gold. That selling shares of GLD into the exchange is somehow analogous to selling physical into the marketplace. Or that buying shares of GLD is somehow, somewhere down the chain, removing physical gold from the marketplace.We often look at

Freegold Foundations

2011-01-19T21:25:00.001-08:00

It has been fun to stumble across a number of sites where readers are attempting to explain my writings to others. It feels a little weird, yet pleasing. Some of you are amazingly apt at this difficult undertaking. While others I have seen fall a little short of the mark that I strive to hit. It's tough. Freegold is a deep subject with new angles each new way you look at it. I am constantly

Open Forum

2011-01-13T16:29:00.001-08:00

Reference Point: Gold - Update #1

2011-01-07T19:57:00.001-08:00

The system we have today is actually broken, only we haven't quite recognized it yet. And so we need a new one, and this is the time to do it, while the markets haven't quite figured it out yet.The preceding were the words of a billionaire more than a year ago. The following are the words of a Federal Reserve Bank president from just a couple days ago (emphasis mine)… Should the debate that is

It's Déjà vu All Over Again

2011-01-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

Did you experience a slight case of déjà vu today seeing the price soften as the London bullion banking community newly returns from its long-weekend holiday? More to the point, a MTM-minded person can ignore today's trading shenanigans because, more importantly, gold's price remained neatly elevated right through the key year-end revaluation period...Friday, July 2, 2010... Timing Is Everything:

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

2011Year of the RPGThat's Rocket Propelled Gold, or as Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank suggests, Reference Point Gold. Same outcome either way.The Year in Musical ReviewAs some of you may have noticed, I often put a song at the end of my posts. Generally it is both a song that I like, and one that in some way relates to the post. And now I present a few memories from what I consider

Windmills, Paper Tigers, Straw Men and Fallacious Fallacies

2010-12-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

The essence of a straw man argument is the superficial misrepresentation of statements taken out of context. And here, frankly, there is a lot of context. This is one of the reasons I do not actively promote, submit or publish my posts anywhere but here.There are a few spotlight sites that link or repost articles of their choosing, and I have granted permission to anyone who has asked. I also

Kicking the Hornets' Nest

2010-12-20T22:59:00.001-08:00

As someone here wrote in the comments, it sure seems like I kicked the hornet's nest on Friday. That wasn't my intention. Clearly the post was a message to "my readers," that is, to those with a little more background on the esoteric nature of this blog and the foundation on which it builds (i.e., the writings of Another and FOA). But it was a pleasant surprise for me to feel all the warmth and

Focal Point: Gold

2010-12-17T19:43:00.000-08:00

In game theory, a focal point (also called Schelling point) is a solution that people will tend to use in the absence of communication, because it seems natural, special or relevant to them. The concept was introduced by the Nobel Prize winning American economist Thomas Schelling in his book The Strategy of Conflict (1960). In this book (at p. 57), Schelling describes "focal point[s] for each

Freegold in the Proper Perspective

2010-12-08T23:42:00.000-08:00

I can see that we have a few new faces here. We even have some fast talkers! That's fine. Perhaps they have something useful to say. Perhaps not. In any case, new visitors often mistake the term Freegold for many things it is not. "Aristotle" is one who I greatly admire, for he took this journey long before me. And the records of his discoveries along the trail have been preserved for all who

Brodsky on Gold

2010-12-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

“…the U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to

The Value of Gold

2010-12-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

The concept of value can be a bit tricky. Value is one of those words that is tossed around as if there were universal agreement on its meaning. There is not. Often in such cases I simply use a different word, just to be sure we are on the same page. Years ago Town Crier did this with "value", substituting in the word "dearness":TownCrier (8/24/2000; 18:08:49MT - usagold.com msg#: 35476)Nice

Thanksgiving Week Open Forum

2010-11-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have sensed some consternation about the Irish bailout and how it relates to the 10 year old USAGold archives written by Another and FOA. The theme goes something like this: A/FOA didn't foresee what is happening today, therefore the Freegold they did foresee is now in jeopardy... Malarkey!Europe is presently operating under the $IMFS (that's the dollar international monetary and financial

Black Friday Open Forum

2010-11-26T01:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Black Friday to all! (I will be sleeping in)Wikipedia: Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day many U.S. retailers open very early, often at 5 a.m., and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season.Also thanks to Tyrone and "MrJohnbrown56" for this short FOFOA advertisement:

FOA on Currency Styling, Currency Management, Dollar Hyperinflation and End Game Scenarios

2010-11-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

Somewhere out there, FOA is walking this trail alone. He told us as much: "I will walk this trail in silence." :( <--That's me sad. FOA (11/12/01; 16:31:28MT - usagold.com msg#132)There comes a timeThere 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

Open Forum

2010-11-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Dilemma 2 – Homeless Dollars

2010-11-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

Since my last post we have had the announcement that $600 billion new dollars will be printed over the next six months. A day later we heard from the ROW (the rest of the world):China, Brazil and Germany on Thursday criticised the Fed’s action…the Brazilian finance minister who was the first to warn of a “currency war”, said: “Everybody wants the US economy to recover, but it does no good at all

Dilemma

2010-11-01T16:12:00.001-07:00

As the global reserve currency, the dollar finds itself in the position of being a global "network good." A "network good" derives its utility to the user (its value) from the "network effect," the number of other people also using it. A "network effect" is normally a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop. The more people that use a "network good," the more valuable it becomes and then more

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

An old Halloween standard where I come from… I was at this particular show, somewhere near the stage. You might even see me:we close our eyes we close our eyes and dreamand the world has turned around againwhen everybody is running in the big raceand having a good timewho am I to cast a shadow who am I?I looked death in the face last nightI saw him in a mirror and he simply smiledhe told me not

Flow Addendum

2010-10-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

The following is the essential companion to It's the Flow, Stupid, filling in gaps and answering questions. Whether or not you've read this masterpiece in the past, it is worth another look. If you are like me, you will find something new that you didn't see before. Sincerely,FOFOAPart 1 --- Stormclouds Gather...The estimable economist Milton Friedman stated his forgettable opinion in 1974 that

It's the Flow, Stupid

2010-10-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

"Gold has always been funny in that way. So many people worldwide think of it as money, it tends to dry up as the price rises."(ANOTHER, 1997)All the gold in the world is a fixed quantity. It always has been. It just gets moved around like poker chips on a table. Some of it is still in the ground and some is above ground, in portable form. But it is all owned by someone, underground or above. If

RIP Benoît Mandelbrot (1924-2010)

2010-10-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Mandelbrot, father of fractals, dies at 85 Sunday, 17 October 2010Benoit Mandelbrot, the Polish-born mathematician who played a central role in Chaos theory, has died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, aged 85, of cancer. He is most famous for his work on fractals – rough geometric features which repeat at different scales. The IBM scientist said he got the idea for his much reproduced

One Tin Soldier

2010-10-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Listen, children, to a storyThat was written long ago,About a kingdom on a mountainAnd the forum folk below.On the mountain was a treasureBuried deep beneath a stone,And the forum people sworeThey'd have it for their very own.So the people of the forumSent a message up the hill,Asking for the buried treasure,Tons of gold for which they'd kill.Came an answer from Another,"With our brothers we will

Open Forum

2010-10-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

Just something to watch if you want...

The Shoeshine Boy

2010-09-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

To set up this post I will share with you two brief predictions I recently received by email. These were both in email blind copied to large groups of recipients that included me. The two senders do not know each other. In fact, their only connection is that they are both supporters of my blog on the highest order, I know what they each do for a living (very respectable), and I therefore hold

Open Forum

2010-09-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

I think a few people didn't notice that at 200, the comment thread starts a new page. Jenn, yes, your comment posted two times and was answered. But here is a fresh thread to start anew.

Just Another Hyperinflation Post - Part 3

2010-09-13T21:21:00.001-07:00

Let's try this one more time. Let's look at it from a purely conceptual angle. Most of the following discussion will not be a proof of the inevitability of hyperinflation, but merely the proper way to view the flow of capital in a panic while analyzing the probability that it will be called "hyperinflation" in hindsight, after the fact. This is what seems to be most lacking in the descriptions I

Just Another Hyperinflation Post - Part 2

2010-09-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

The question was asked: Is this inevitable with any debt-based system?Short answer for now. ;) Systemic collapse is inevitable as long as the item used for lending is the same item used for saving. In a gold money system with gold lending (which is always demanded by the collective will) fractional reserve banking is the inevitable result. And from there, bank failures are the inevitable result

Just Another Hyperinflation Post - Part 1

2010-09-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Hyperinflation talk has come to the forefront once again (thanks to a few recent articles), and being my #2 (of 2) topic here at FOFOA, I have a small but relevant offering for you. This is a compilation of a few posts from a recent discussion I had on another forum. The subject was hyperinflation and the deflationists that emphatically say it is impossible here. And the question was asked, What

Credibility Inflation

2010-08-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a neat little concept that FOA introduced briefly in 1999. I think it explains a lot about the inflation, deflation, hyperinflation debate when it finally sinks in that this is where all the money went for the past 30 years: into inflating the credibility of the $IMFS far beyond the underlying reality. And yes, it has a direct impact on the Freegold revaluation as well. So here I will try

Two!

2010-08-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

As I told someone recently, my blog is not written for the gold novice. The concepts and principles I entertain are not found in any Gold 101 class. If you find them interesting, you should probably go read ANOTHER and FOA and then come back. In fact, you should probably read them a couple times to really understand where I’m coming from. The links are to the right.This weekend my blog turns two!

Confiscation Anatomy – Part 2

2010-08-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

Every few months or so a new farmer shows up here at FOFOA with a fresh vial of fox urine to scare the hungry bunnies away:I hate to be the bearer of bad news but friends, we got problems! Phillips argues that we will face gold confiscation when a new currency is created to replace the US Dollar as the world's reserve currency and it will be backed, partially, by gold. He is probably correct.

Relativity: What is Physical Gold REALLY Worth?

2010-08-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

What is a piece of physical gold in the hand (of a banker) really worth today?The following is a nice little video about the history and evolution of debt-based money. It is about 50 minutes long, but I am only referencing 5 minutes. I have set this video to start at the 4:14 mark automatically so just watch it to the end of this section to set the stage for this post...As sentient beings, we

Chimps, Champs, and Chumps

2010-07-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

By Aristotle (10/18/2000; 7:24:11MT - usagold.com msg#: 39302) I enjoyed the brief detour of the forum on Monday (and some previous days) into the realm of personality types -- with the Gold-related hypothesis that Gold advocates are most likely of the *NT* type. Dabbling with a linked on-line testing page revealed me to be distinctly a type INTP --for whatever that's worth to anyone keeping

Red Alert: Gold Backwardation!!!

2010-07-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

Did I get your attention with the title? Good! It's a great headline, isn't it? Well, stick with me for a minute and I'll try to live up to my seemingly feigned hype.And for you noobs that weren't attracted like moths to a freeway headlight by this title, you can get up to speed here, here and here.First, let me ask you a question. Which of these two scenarios should be more instrumental in the

FOA on Hyperinflation

2010-07-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Ben,The answer is yes, "deflation" is what we want. Because we realize that a "normal" level of inflation through credit expansion is impossible at this point and deflation is the shortest route to renewed prosperity. But we also know that you will not let it happen. You will not let the piper be paid by those that owe the piper. You will make sure that payment to the piper is spread as far

Gold: The Ultimate Wealth Consolidator

2010-07-18T23:44:00.001-07:00

Can you remember back to 2004, 2005 and 2006, when your home value (and equity) was at its all time high? Do you ever wish you had sold your house during those years? At that time did you consider the tremendous equity in your home to be your reserves? Do you sometimes wish you had consolidated those "reserves" before they vanished into thin air?I had a house I bought in 2000. In 2005 I sold it

Debtors v. Savers III - Back to "honest" gold money? Or forward on to Freegold?

2010-07-13T00:59:00.000-07:00

Goldendome (8/3/06; 23:48:54MT - usagold.com msg#: 146353)Amen! Brotherhttp://www.mises.org/story/2263But of all the consequences of central banking and fiat money, war is the worst because it exacts the biggest price from citizens and foreigners and everyone else caught in the crossfire. That is why sound money — by which I mean the gold standard — is a key to peace and freedom.-- Lew

Debtors v. Savers II - FOA Retro House Mix

2010-07-12T00:13:00.000-07:00

Trail Guide [FOA] (2/12/2000; 9:52:36MDT - Msg ID:25137)RealityHello ORO,Well, I knew that if I only asked, we would all receive! Boy did you deliver in ORO (Msg ID:25113).Good stuff for everyone to read, my friend. You mentioned; """ The comments below - particularly those to Aristotle, are somewhat harsh. I hope this is taken in the spirit of friendly criticism."""Sir, you can serve me (and

The Debtors and the Savers

2010-07-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ever hear the one about the little old lady living in an old but paid-off house, with a shoe box full of gold coins in the basement? Across the street lived a big guy, in a big McMansion. It had a special garage for the RV, and another four-car garage for the other four cars. He had a boat at the side and a trailer with two jet skis in front of the boat. Then one day little old lady noticed big

Timing Is Everything

2010-07-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've all heard it said (usually by puffed-up market players, or especially in old movies featuring that sort of character) "My boy, timing isn't everything... it's the ONLY thing!"To be sure, timing ISN'T everything, and it most certainly isn't the ONLY thing... but one thing about timing bears saying right here, right now....Did you notice how gold's little slide yesterday occurred...

A Little Gold Porn

2010-06-30T15:58:00.001-07:00

Mad World

2010-06-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

With a fresh round of "balance sheet money" petrifaction and conversion into "base money" through QE seemingly on the horizon, it may be time to take a fresh look at the most important and frightening situation that the Western public simply does not get. That the Fed and the ECB have been postponing (and ONLY postponing) the total collapse of our debt-driven economy and the entire international

Day 5 - Poll Results

2010-06-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

After 22 months of writing The Gold Trail, FOA disappeared, saying, "My spirit is low, I will walk this trail in silence."It was a sad day for many who followed FOA quietly, while a vocal minority hectored him right off the trail.Perhaps he should have held a fund raiser, like my Public Opinion Poll, because it raises not only funds, but also the soul. Apparently the silent majority does not like

In praise and support of FOFOA

2010-06-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

A "Guest Post"By GoldSubject on June 25, 2010from his blog at www.goldsubject.com FOFOA has asked for our support — let’s do our best! I will be requesting an “absentee ballot,” as he calls it, and would encourage anyone who is not familiar with his blog to go over and do some reading. You will be glad you did!I have a lot to thank FOFOA for. I found FOFOA’s blog the day after buying my first

Day 2 - Early Poll Indications

2010-06-25T04:43:00.000-07:00

I am heartened by the results thus far. Some of you have brought tears to my eyes, and you know who you are. It is looking very promising that this will not be me:When you make a donation you get to leave a comment, or a reason, or a purpose for the donation. These are great! Here are the ones from yesterday...Purpose: To keep you from flipping burgers Avoiding McDonalds!Step away from the