Home Gold Primer Q&A Daily Market Report Gold IRA Gold Coin Prices Charts Stats Essays Site Overview High Net Worth How to Buy Gold Live Gold Price Breaking Gold News Mobile Gold Price Gold Coin Images About Us-Contact Search Video Round Tables

Welcome to the USAGOLD Gold Discussion Archives. The archives of this gold discussion forum are a treasure trove of information to educate investors about protecting their wealth through portfolio diversification with private gold ownership. The discussion forum also covers the wider issues of the past, present, and future role of gold in international monetary policy and the dynamics of the modern gold markets...   (Discussion Forum Hall of Fame) (The Gold Trail) ("Thoughts!" by ANOTHER)   The opinions posted by all guests are expressly their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the management or staff of USAGOLD - Centennial Precious Metals. The hosting of the public discussion shall therefore not be construed as an endorsement by USAGOLD - Centennial Precious Metals of any of the opinions posted here.

FORUM ARCHIVES

Select date of the archive you wish to view Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Archives date back to September 22, 1998

WELCOME TO THE ARCHIVES!

ARCHIVED DISCUSSION FROM 3/11/2006
All times are U.S. Mountain Time

(Yesterday's Discussion.)

Rimh (3/11/06; 23:40:11MT - usagold.com msg#: 142337)
$$$$$$$ 562.1 $$$$$$$
While the Ides of March is commonly thought of as the 15th, some say it involves the latter part of March, thus covering the two other significant events slated for that time: the termination of M3 reporting and Iranian oil bourse startup. The potential of these issues to "go bad" may be the trigger for gold. As far as Beware the Ides, I would suggest we have been saying Beware the Dollar for some time, and most readers here have already prepared mentally and with physical for tough times ahead.

Chris Powell (3/11/06; 23:30:17MT - usagold.com msg#: 142336)
Professor von Braun's concerns about Barrick ...
http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/img2003/memoformotiontodis.pdf
... are easily resolved if one accepts
that the company is essentially what
it declared itself to be during the
Blanchard lawsuit: the agent of the
central banks in the gold market and
thus entitled to share their immunity
from suit. The link to Barrick's
declaration in the Blanchard case is
above.

Barrick further has confirmed this
declaration by announcing, as Prof.
von Braun indicates, that its hedging
contracts have a duration of 15 years
and are "evergreen" -- that is, that
their repayment can be postponed a
year every year.

As a result, Barrick's hedge book is
only a technical liability; the lenders
of the gold are the central banks and
very likely, ultimately, the U.S.
Treasury Department, and they DON'T WANT
THE GOLD BACK, for repayment would cause
a short squeeze.

GATA believes that the primary purpose
of Barrick's acquisition of Placer
Dome was to bring Placer's hedge book
under the umbrella of the "evergreen"
provisions of Barrick's hedge book --
to ensure that Placer would never
cover its hedges, nor have to, and
thus never tighten the gold market and
spike the gold price.

Barrick is never called on its hedge
book because the company is essentially
a U.S. government operation and has more
or less told the financial markets as
much. And Barrick is unlikely ever to
bid for Newmont because Newmont is not
heavily hedged and no danger to tighten
the market by closing hedges.

If governments ever want gold again, they
will have little trouble getting it,
either by nationalizing mines, increasing
mine royalty requirements, or confiscating
it from the public. But governments don't
want gold; they want a low gold price as
the reciprocal of the value of their fiat
currencies.


Goldilox (3/11/06; 23:12:01MT - usagold.com msg#: 142335)
Alaska hit by 'massive' oil spill
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4795866.stm
snip:

An oil spill discovered at Prudhoe Bay field is the largest ever on Alaska's North Slope region, US officials say.
They estimate that up to 267,000 gallons (one million litres) of crude leaked from a corroded transit pipeline at the state's northern tip.

The spill was detected on 2 March and plugged. Local environmentalists have described it as "a catastrophe".

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez shipping disaster spilled 11m gallons (42m litres) of oil onto the Alaskan coast.

'Painful reminder'

"I can confirm it's the largest spill of crude oil on the North Slope that we have record of," Linda Giguere, from Alaska's state department of environmental conservation, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

The estimate is based on a survey conducted several days ago at the site where the leak was discovered, officials say.

The spill covers about two acres (one hectare) of the snow-covered tundra in the sparsely populated region on Alaska's north coast, some 1,040km (650 miles) north of the state's biggest city, Anchorage.

The source of the spill was a hole caused by internal corrosion in the pipeline, officials say. It remains unclear when the leak started.

-Goldilox

More supply disruption and political backlash

Topaz (3/11/06; 23:01:53MT - usagold.com msg#: 142334)
Au-Ag.
http://www.futuresource.com/charts/charts.jsp?s=GC&o=SI&a=D&z=610x300&d=LOW&b=LINE&st=
Ya gotta love these metals, here we have a beautiful little conundrum of the futures paper-present metal kind.
With 1100 OI still outstanding for March Silver, I'd fully expect Ag to rocket upward from here ...take PPoG with it? ...we'll see!


7nomads (3/11/06; 22:33:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 142333)
$$$$518.9$$$$
Since this is only a guess, the Ides of March 2006 may test us all a little bit. The beginning of the last leg now before blast off. I figure gold will briefly drop to around $464 before heading higher. But in order for it to get that low we'll see some real tricks in the trading.

But a test is "only a test". So buy the dips.

Beer Man (3/11/06; 20:44:26MT - usagold.com msg#: 142332)
@ Noble1
Noble1 .. I agree with you post .... but I think you are a few words short of the rules ..... it wont matter .. the price will be $568.8 !!! HA! .. Good Luck to YOU !!

pilgrims_gold (3/11/06; 20:08:11MT - usagold.com msg#: 142331)
$$$$ 544.8 $$$$$$
Gold doesnt care about days or years or eons or milleniums, nor does it care about the Ides of March.
It doesnt care about fiat or money supply or inflation or deflation or recession or interest rates nor
does it care about m1 or m2 or Greenspan or federal reserve or bonds or stocks or derivatives.
It doesnt care about democrat or republican or facist or socialist or communist or capitalist.
It doesnt care about euroes or dollars or yens or any currency, although we believe we can take its temperature by those arbitrary measures. Gold is cold and yellow, made by the stars, and the more we have in our pockets, the safer we feel in our future.

The Invisible Hand (3/11/06; 19:28:19MT - usagold.com msg#: 142330)
The question is when
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1728790,00.html
Now US debt hits 7 per cent of GDP
Heather Stewart, economics correspondent
Sunday March 12, 2006
The Observer
SNIPS:
… the yawning deficit will put downward pressure on the dollar in the months ahead.
'In the long term, it's unsustainable,' said Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics. 'The solution will have to involve curbing the appetite for imports, and a fall in the dollar - the question is when.'
==
The ANSWER is: Monday March 20, 2006, when the Iranian Oil Bourse opens.

TownCrier (3/11/06; 19:13:58MT - usagold.com msg#: 142329)
Latest arrival from Professor von Braun -- 'An Unanswered Question'
http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/RocketSchool/20060311.html
(excerpts)

March 11th, 2006

Currently, given the rising gold price, the gold mining industry does not seem to be enjoying anything that resembles a resurgence as it once did in the early eighties, a period that led to the discovery of several new gold deposits. Instead we are hearing of a shortage of new projects, of declining production, rising costs and of little result-producing activity when it comes to exploration.

Two companies, Barrick and Newmont, now account for 25% of all gold produced in the world today...

In turn these 'major' miners have share registers heavily influenced by mutual funds, not the strongest of hands...

Takeovers and mergers have reduced the number of players within this industry considerably and I suspect it will get smaller still but not necessarily for the reasons given out by the companies themselves.

After all there is still the unexplained issue of hedge books and what to do with them in a rising gold market. Currently Barrick's mark-to-market liability is estimated by some analysts to be about $5 billion dollars -- a considerable sum. Certainly 18 million ounces, the amount hedged, is a lot of gold to deliver, even more so when rising energy prices are adding to production costs.

Now most industries would like to have bankers that allowed them to reschedule liabilities at will, which is what appears to be taking place when it comes to the apparent lack of margin calls one would expect with an often noted but never resolved increasing mark-to-market liability.

...Which bullion banks are on the other side of the hedging program Barrick touts as being so successful? Is there a plan by these bullion bankers to get that gold back at or in a different time frame to what Barrick has in mind?

...a year or so out into an ongoing rising gold market enter the bullion bankers and it's goodbye shareholders. Is this an unlikely scenario? Well maybe, maybe not. But if you have 25% of total world gold production under one roof, much of it in 'safe' countries, coupled with an 18 million ounce hedge position and gold goes to $1000 per ounce that's going to dramatically increase the mark-to-market liability and how convenient it would be if there was only one door for the liability issuer to knock on.

Time will tell, but if Barrick ever announces a bid for Newmont it may be prudent to adopt a neutral stance until the issue of mark-to-market liability is clearly resolved.

^---(from URL)---^

Visit the URL for the full article and an index of previous publications at von Braun's 'Rocket School of Economics'

R.

Noble1 (3/11/06; 16:50:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 142328)
$$$$ 552.0 $$$$
The Ides of March shall pass without any fireworks. But history shall recount March 2006 as the time the match was lit.

USAGOLD / Centennial Precious Metals, Inc. (3/11/06; 15:04:25MT - usagold.com msg#: 142327)
A world of gold at your fingertips...
http://www.usagold.com/buy-gold-coins.html





Rad (3/11/06; 14:41:15MT - usagold.com msg#: 142326)
Federal retirement - G fund
I worked a while for the VA and tried to get my Thrift Savings Program (like 401, employee pretax funding) and FERS refunded last September. The TSP was in the G fund. Never got a check or an explanation from either. Called TSP in January, they said no record of request so sent another. There is no phone number listed anywhere I can find for FERS.
I don't even count these funds as assets. I would be happy just to get money from TSP. They are still leading on the doc's at the VA about getting a raise, the same raise that was supposed to occur when I was there 2 years ago. They pay about 1/3 what private practice does in my specialty and about 1/2 university jobs. Nobody in HR can tell you about retirement benefits because nobody knows what they are. Filled out extensive paperwork for partial loan repayment for student loans (small fraction), one of the supposed job benefits, didn't get one cent. After I started working I found out that because I worked there I was on a short list to get "drafted" into active duty even though I never was in the service. Never again.

Gandalf the White (3/11/06; 12:40:00MT - usagold.com msg#: 142325)
TA TA TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

UPDATE !

The "Ides of March" POG CONTEST

Following are listed the POG CONTEST entries !
(Listed in order of DECREASING values)
===

$$$$ $750.0 $$$$ Beamer (3/3/06; 16:07:46MT - usagold.com msg#: 142093)

**** $606.6 **** mdgc (3/9/06; 09:02:14MT - usagold.com msg#: 142246)

$$$$ $601.0 $$$$ Armageddon (3/7/06; 18:25:32MT - usagold.com msg#: 142207)

$$$$ $600.0 $$$$ el dorado (3/6/06; 16:58:32MT - usagold.com msg#: 142174)

$$$$ $599.0 $$$$ contrarian (3/11/06; 01:22:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 142314)

$$$$ $587.0 $$$$ Sundeck (3/6/06; 21:09:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 142183)

$$$$ $585.8 $$$$ Waverider (3/4/06; 21:01:58MT - usagold.com msg#: 142114)

$$$$ $583.4 $$$$ Flatliner (3/3/06; 10:39:39MT - usagold.com msg#: 142088)

$$$$ $580.1 $$$$ Slowman (3/5/06; 15:33:02MT - usagold.com msg#: 142138)

$$$$ $578.9 $$$$ Matthew (3/11/06; 02:50:36MT - usagold.com msg#: 142315)

$$$$ $577.1 $$$$ Chally (3/5/06; 22:37:54MT - usagold.com msg#: 142151)

$$$$ $574.5 $$$$ Whitewaterwoman (3/5/06; 13:28:05MT - usagold.com msg#: 142135)
**** $574.4 **** arbyh (3/5/06; 11:43:24MT - usagold.com msg#: 142133)

$$$$ $572.0 $$$$ Clink! (3/7/06; 06:40:36MT - usagold.com msg#: 142190)
$$$$ $571.9 $$$$ glockmaster19 (3/7/06; 14:33:19MT - usagold.com msg#: 142198)

$$$$ $570.0 $$$$ Liberty Head (3/5/06; 14:02:09MT - usagold.com msg#: 142137)

$$$$ $568.8 $$$$ Beer Man (03/04/06; 12:17:16MT - usagold.com msg#: 142102)

$$$$ $568.4 $$$$ Freedom (3/5/06; 11:12:11MT - usagold.com msg#: 142131)

$$$$ $567.6 $$$$ The Knife (3/6/06; 17:14:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 142175)

$$$$ $565.0 $$$$ Rocky (3/3/06; 14:30:02MT - usagold.com msg#: 142091)

$$$$ $564.7 $$$$ Mthirsty1 (3/6/06; 17:55:50MT - usagold.com msg#: 142179)

$$$ FRN564.0 $$$ Goldilox (3/7/06; 12:45:03MT - usagold.com msg#: 142193)

$$$ FRN560.5 $$$ Smeagol (3/4/06; 18:22:20MT - usagold.com msg#: 142108)

$$$$ $559.8 $$$$ 2023 (3/9/06; 02:13:17MT - usagold.com msg#: 142241)

**** $558.3 **** Boilermaker (3/9/06; 17:02:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 142265)

$$$$ $555.5 $$$$ Usul (3/10/06; 13:04:58MT - usagold.com msg#: 142293)

$$$$ $553.8 $$$$ 24karat (3/11/06; 11:04:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 142318)

$$$$ $551.1 $$$$ osa104c (3/9/06; 18:57:24MT - usagold.com msg#: 142270)

$$$$ $550.0 $$$$ Felix the Cat (3/11/06; 07:13:08MT - usagold.com msg#: 142316)

$$$$ $549.5 $$$$ Golden Lionheart (3/4/06; 22:13:41MT - usagold.com msg#: 142117)

$$$$ $549.0 $$$$ Lance (3/10/06; 12:21:40MT - usagold.com msg#: 142292)

$$$$ $548.5 $$$$ beowulf + (3/10/06; 07:54:45MT - usagold.com msg#: 142283)

$$$$ $548.0 $$$$ YGM (3/10/06; 09:27:26MT - usagold.com msg#: 142285)

$$$$ $546.5 $$$$ Topaz (3/4/06; 20:26:10MT - usagold.com msg#: 142112)

$$$$ $543.0 $$$$ Lothar of the Hill People (3/9/06; 15:50:37MT - usagold.com msg#: 142260)

$$$$ $540.0 $$$$ Camel (3/10/06; 17:45:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 142305)

$$$$ $539.9 $$$$ guns'n'butter (3/10/06; 22:13:53MT - usagold.com msg#: 142308)

$$$$ $538.2 $$$$ Shermag (3/11/06; 11:15:34MT - usagold.com msg#: 142320)

$$$$ $537.3 $$$$ balzac (3/10/06; 10:10:52MT - usagold.com msg#: 142287)

$$$$ $535.7 $$$$ Toolie (3/10/06; 20:59:19MT - usagold.com msg#: 142307)

$$$$ $533.0 $$$$ Nomad (3/10/06; 19:17:12MT - usagold.com msg#: 142306)

$$$$ $530.0 $$$$ tejbear (3/8/06; 04:54:08MT - usagold.com msg#: 142212)

$$$$ $520.0 $$$$ DryWasher (3/11/06; 09:34:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 142317)
===

NOTE: 36 Hours before ENTRY DEADLINE !
Tick Tock !!
<;-)



Toolie (3/11/06; 12:25:12MT - usagold.com msg#: 142324)
Shadowing Reality
http://www.weedenco.com/welling/Downloads/2006/0804welling022106.pdf
An interview with Walter J. (John) Williams. – 8 pages of PDF...

Snip: Real
unemployment right now—figured the way that the average
person thinks of unemployment, meaning figured
the way it was estimated back during the Great
Depression—is running about 12%. Real CPI right now
is running at about 8%. And the real GDP probably is in
contraction. I venture that if you talked about those
numbers now with the average person, they would say
that they seem reasonable. If you tell them that people
are playing with the official numbers, they say, "Yep, I
figured that. There are no great surprises there." I guess
what I am saying is that my work shows that the economic
perceptions of non-professionals actually have
some real validity; there are in fact reasons for the disconnect
between official statistics and what the populous
is feeling
....
All in all, if you
were to peel back changes that were made in the CPI going back to the
Carter years, you'd see that the CPI would now be 3.5%-4% higher. The
difference that it makes is significant: if the same CPI were used today
as was used when Jimmy Carter was President, Social Security checks
would be 70% higher.
....
But you can see that if you back out that one-time charge, that on a
GAAP basis, accounting for Social Security and Medicare, in 2003 the
deficit was around $3.7 trillion; in 2004 it was $3.4 trillion; and in 2005
it was $3.5 trillion. We've had three years in a row here where the GAAP
deficit has been basically $3.5 trillion. So the deficit and the total obligations
of the federal government are increasing by roughly the amount of
GDP every three years. In fact, the fiscal 2005 statement shows that
total federal obligations at the end September were $51 trillion; over
four times the level of GDP. It is unprecedented for a major country to
have its actual obligations so far out of whack.
....
It would clearly have to be on a much different basis than we had
before. But I would not rule out gold coming back into the monetary
system down the road here. Again, I'm not looking for all this to come
to a head in the next six months. It could be 10 years before this blows
apart. But what I'm looking at, I know central bankers and people in
Washington are also looking at. No one wants to talk about it, but they
know about it. So it's interesting to see how they behave around gold. I
think, despite the jawboning that happens fairly regularly to try to
knock down gold prices, that you're going to find more and more gold
ending up in central bank vaults, because that's going to help them in
the crisis that follows. I might actually start squirreling a little bit of it
away. (end snip)

@ Caradoc -- I've planted a few American Chestnut trees too. It's said that before the blight hit them that a squirrel could travel from New England to the Gulf of Mexico and touch nothing but Chestnut trees.


Gandalf the White (3/11/06; 12:09:27MT - usagold.com msg#: 142323)
Sir Caradoc's "POSTINGS" !
YES !, I agree that it seems that TPTB inside the Beltway during this time period are making up the rules as NEEDED !
What do you think would happen if any small business owner used the same funding techniques being excused by UNCLE SAM ?
AND, it would not take as long to happen as the ENRON exec's trials to happen either.
Does the elected "officials", other than Congressman Ron Paul and a FEW others, plan to say anything ?
What happened to the "Checks and Balances" ?
YELLOW is the persons ONLY protection !
GW

Goldilox (3/11/06; 12:00:04MT - usagold.com msg#: 142322)
About time?
@ Caradoc,

I usually follow George's logic, but I fear on this issue, he's fallen into the trap of believing HS BS. They all want more arms and "powers" so they can eventually round up dissidents of every variety. Deport some. Imprison others. When Halliburton's $300M "refugee camps" are ready, it will begin in earnest - with the next "natural disaster" - the one where "Little David plays upon his HAARP, Haleluh!"

Watched Nick Cage's latest melodrama "Lord of War" last night. The illegal and slightly illegal arms trade is one of the biggest businesses on the planet. In the period after Soviet collapse, over $32B was pilfered and "redistributed" to localized civil wars from the Ukraine alone.

During that same period, one remembers, Ollie North was running arms to Nicaragua and Iran in exchange for cocaine and heroin to be "redistributed" on the US city streets, and received a Presidential pardon from George the Elder for withholding testimony about it from CONgress.

My estimation is that when (not if) gold trade receives stricter "anti-terror" restrictions, it will facilitate the black ops control of gold, as well. The sheeple will be using their mandated RFID-implanted credit cards, as cash will be rendered uncontrollable by the latest "disaster". Oh, and as a marketing bonus, we'll get flu vaccine in our RFID injections.

I have traded in my Saturday Puplava rehash for the Saturday morning Web bot report. Off to read the latest.

Caradoc (3/11/06; 11:32:35MT - usagold.com msg#: 142321)
Good read
http://urbansurvival.com/week.htm
The following is a snip representing less than half of today's updates s to the site and doesn't show hyperlinks to details of each. -Caradoc

***text follows***
NASDAQ to Eat London?

Not yet, because an initial move on the past of NASDAQ to acquire the London Stock Exchange has been turned down. NASDAQ reportedly put a $4.2 billion dollar offer on the table and the Brits said "No..." Still, as these things usually go on for a while, we might see the London Stock Exchange become an object of competitive bidding..

Iraq Parliament Plans

It now looks like parliament will be getting underway in Iraq on the 19th of this month, at least that's the latest plan. This as the factions in the country need to meet and chill out a bit according to the US envoy.
Meantime, Islamic web sites are carrying what they say is "al Qaeda's last warning before "2 operations that will bring America to its knees." Considering what the future predictive software has been saying about March 21-29 (with a week either way), this is indeed a worrisome development.

About Time

Homeland Security seems to have done something right: Using deportation as a weapon against spreading gang violence in the US. Of course, the flip side is that the hard working Border Patrol Agents still need heavy weapons and more manpower to effectively close the porous southern border, but deporting gang members makes a lot of sense. It's a good start.

Shermag (3/11/06; 11:15:34MT - usagold.com msg#: 142320)
$$$ 538.2 $$$
This does indeed seem to be a time of particularly acute danger, with the Iranian nuclear standoff comming to a head. Throw in the Nigerian oil disruptions, continued and growing dissent in Iraq, and more evidence of a rolling over of the US housing market, and you have the foundations of a surge in gold price. The ides of march indeed seem more perilous now than at any time in the recent past.

Caradoc (3/11/06; 11:15:12MT - usagold.com msg#: 142319)
confidence waning
http://techweb.com/wire/security/181502468
Whether it's fading confidence in government or in peper/ electronic money, even a quick check of Drudge's web site has clues for us....

On the government side, Associated Press (AP) says "Bush Shocked by Arrest of Former Advisor," referring to Claude Allen, Bush's domestic policy advisor since early 2005, who resigned in February after getting sideways with local discount stores a month earlier for ("allegedly") scamming them out of money by getting refunds on things he hadn't bought in the first place. Since this is only March and the guy collected his last paycheck in late February, I think AP is being kind in describing him as a "former" advisor.
Link:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EX_BUSH_AIDE?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-03-11-09-15-44

Turning to the world of paper/ electronic money, Techweb News reports that Citibank's PIN scandal is the "Worst Hack Ever" and adds "[It] has hit national banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Washington Mutual, as well as smaller banks, including ones in Oregon, Ohio, and Pennsylvania...."

As a bridge between these two recent Drudge reports (i.e., addressing shinanigans by government or government officials that have to do with money and financial security), the feds have followed private industry's lead in coming up with a novel way to avoid officially hitting their legally mandated debt ceiling. It's simple: steal the money from your employee's pension funds.

(Note: the following are not, except by coincidence, exact quotes since I'm just taking a quick break from the important task of planting chestnut trees and am pressed for time.)

Like every embezeller who gets caught: "We're going to put the money back." To make it seem even more palatable, "We'll include interest so that when we repay it, it'll be like it never happened." May sound comforting to those whose money is being taken, but money that's to be repaid with interest sure as blue blazes sounds like debt that ought to be included when calculating the federal debt.

Just for Gandalf and any other longterm civil servants... Hey, Gandy! Isn't it cute that they first sniped away a week or two ago at newbies hired during the last 25 years or so by the mechanism of simply failing to make the "matching deposit" in the Thrift Savings Plan for those under FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System)? Sounded sort of reasonable, just delaying a contribution at a time when things are tight, yes? Besides, anybody who signed up for FERS was already putting themselves in the position of trusting a government which had gone on record as far back as Nixon as stating that those new quarters are worth just as much as the silver ones. I figure the new folks are sort of getting what they already agreed to. Now, however, I'm sure you'll join me in my position that by actually removing funds from the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), a depository that has been an untouchable "locked box" since the days of reforms implemented by Andrew Jackson, the embezzelers have reached new heights of perfidity. After all, those are real green dollars (or as real as they get), subtracted from your paycheck at the rate of 7.1% and fully taxed so that the total deduction has been more like 9 or 10% during all those years that you've been toiling away.

Your thoughts, esteemed Wizard?

Caradoc

PS: If the US population in general begins to see things differently by the end of the month and is feeling rebellious by this summer, it may be that those griping the loudest will be the same baby boomers who gained experience at being rebellious during the late 1960s.



24karat (3/11/06; 11:04:59MT - usagold.com msg#: 142318)
$$$$$$ 553.8 $$$$$$
No, I don't see the Ides of March as any significant turning point. I think the stars are already aligned for a big upward movement in the POG. Us goldgugs already know the many warning signs in place, right now, that give March 2006 as a month in which all hell could break loose. The average investor, though, may not get up to speed until these warning signs hit him in the face. It is then that the POG will go ballistic. IMO, this will not happen before the end of March.

Beware the Ides of March?
I guess this question is asked because the Ides have come to represent a warning of dark and ominous times to come. Originally it was just another day in the Roman calender. No need to beware the Ides of March.


Mikal,
Thank you for the link to "The Lies Behind the Numbers". The folks at Enron are going to pay the price for their "creative accounting" shinanigans. But the government, it seems, is just as crafty with the numbers game. Maybe the people behind this will also be unmasked.

DryWasher (3/11/06; 09:34:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 142317)
$$$$ $520.0 $$$$

The questions are, -- "Do you see the Ides of March 2006, as a significant turning point psychologically for gold, and, if so, in what way? (and) Should we BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH?"

NO, I do not see the Ides of March as a turning point, and YES,we should beware of the Ides of March just as we should beware of EVERY day in the future.

I picked a low Gold Price guess because I see a lot of volatility, NOT because I doubt that Gold is going MUCH higher long term.
If I turn out to be right, and you are not already loaded up on physical, it could be a good time to add a bit to your stash.

DryWasher.


Felix the Cat (3/11/06; 07:13:08MT - usagold.com msg#: 142316)
$$$$ $550.0 $$$$
After we have educated by Gandy 's non-prize question "When will be best time to sell the gold?", I think the questions of this time are meaningless for me, as I have not been considering to sell the gold, why have to beware and think the POG at this moment? However perhaps I should start to think to get some more at this magic time.

Matthew (3/11/06; 02:50:36MT - usagold.com msg#: 142315)
$$$$578.9$$$$$
Beware the Ides of March?
If the US chooses this date to start the next stage of the Middle East show - maybe.
With the US Caesar exposed as never before the real question is - who will play the role of Brutus?
This appears to be a long play.

contrarian (3/11/06; 01:22:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 142314)
$$$$599.0$$$$
Given that 2006 Mar 14 23:35 Tue is the full moon, and that many factors such as Iran Oil Bourse, the exploding US budget beyond legal limit, bird flu, terrorism, a stock market hitting the four year cycle downdraft, fractal indications of fractures in the stock market, derivatives out of control, a possible new war with Iran, a housing market about to sink, interest rates continuing to go up, GM and Fannie Mae about to go belly up, I'll hazard $599.0, and I do think the Ides of March as a turning point for all these reasons, and therefore gold bugs should not beware the Ides of March as prices march upward.

Gandalf the White (3/11/06; 00:12:28MT - usagold.com msg#: 142312)
<;-)
(All you youngin's)---- THAT is the turn of the "20th CENTURY" !
<;-)

Gandalf the White (3/11/06; 00:09:33MT - usagold.com msg#: 142311)
TAA TAA TAAAAAAAAAAAAA, TAA TAA TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !

"FIRST CALL !!" The CONTEST is still open to entry for only about 48 HOURS ! DO NOT forget to enter and have a chance to WIN the Mexican 10 Peso GOLDPIECE.

(BTW, I gathered three of these beauties today for a FAB price. Do you realize that these coins were going for only US$5. around the turn of the CENTURY ?)
THINK about THAT !
<;-)


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ A "PRICE of GOLD" GUESSING CONTEST!! $$$$$$$$$$$$

At the request of SIR MK, USAGOLD - Centennial Precious Metals shall have a price guessing contest on the closing (Settlement price) of gold for the APRIL, 2006 Comex contract (GCJ06) on Wednesday, March 15, 2006, ---BUT all entries must be posted to the TableRound before Midnight on Sunday, March 12, 2006, AND ALL ENTRIES must answer SIR MK's QUESTIONS !!

The POG Contest winner -- the closest price guess to the actual Settlement Price -- will receive an uncirculated Mexician 10 Peso GOLDPIECE which contains Actual Gold Content of 0.2411 fine ozs of GOLD.

There will be also be two runners-up prizes for the next closest prognostications --- each winning an one ounce pure Silver U.S. Eagle.

The QUESTIONS -- (actually two Questions) <;-) --
(Put on your THINKING HATS !)

The questions are, -- "Do you see the Ides of March 2006, as a significant turning point psychologically for gold, and, if so, in what way? (and) Should we BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH?"
===

THE RULES -- (We MUST have RULES !!) --- PLEASE READ !!

1) The Winner is the poster with the Price Guess closest to the Settlement price of the COMEX (most active) April 2006 Gold Contract (GCJ06) on the date of Wednesday, March 15, 2006.

2) Price "Guesses" shall be stated in Dollars and tenths !
(Such as $567.8)

3) "Guesses" shall be SHOWN in the SUBJECT BOX location AND enclosed in markers of "Dollar Signs" so as to be OFFICIAL !
(Such as $$$$$ $567.8 $$$$$$$ )

4) ONLY one "Guess" per Knight or Lady is allowed, and once that "Guess" has been "taken" -- no one can duplicate it !! FIRST COME has rights to that "Guess".

5) HOWEVER, All "Guesses" MUST be posted before the clock in Denver strikes MIDNIGHT (24:00) on: Sunday, March 12, 2006.

6) AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (as this part MUST accompany the Price prognostication)

--- In order for your entry to be valid, entries will need to have a 30 word paragraph (more or less) discussing;
"THE QUESTIONS" <===== NOTE !!!
---





ViewYesterday's Discussion.

Permission to reprint is hereby granted where the USAGOLD name is cited along with our web address, mailing address and phone number. For electronic reproductions, citing the post heading and the http://www.usagold.com/cpmforum/ website address as the source is sufficient.

Thursday February 9
website support: sitemaster@usagold.com
Site Map - Privacy- Disclaimer
The USAGOLD logo and stylized gold coin pile are trademarks of Michael J. Kosares.
© 1997-2012 Michael J. Kosares / USAGOLD All Rights Reserved