I saw a brief discussion of where to hide your gold over at zerohedge.com the other day. I have seen these little conversations before, so I thought I would write an article on the is to get ideas from you all!
I have physical gold in five different places.
I also assume that you should NOT hold all your gold at a safety deposit box at the bank. Some of it OK. But, why run the risk (low probability IMO) of a confiscation?
Hiding your gold well is very important. You do not want to have a burglar walk off with a possibly BIG chunk of your wealth, that YOU saved for and thought was the best wealth preserver in town. Everybody's circumstances are different. Someone with a big house, or better yet, a nice tract of land is in a better position to hide it well. Someone living in a small apartment with weak locks in a bad neighborhood clearly has a harder problem.
If you have enough land so that you can dig a hole (or more holes, more on that in a moment) out of sight of your neighbors, than you will likely have all the security you need. Bury it at least one foot deep. I have seen a couple of people suggest that you could dig more holes, and dump dummy metals in them! Just kind of spread the holes around your real hole (with gold), and you're about as safe as you can be.
But, you better remember EXACTLY where your gold is! I hereby disclose that I buried about 1.75 oz of gold on property I owned in South Texas a long time ago (two feet deep). I took careful measurements based on two different formations of trees, and noted carefully where on my land it was. I moved away from Texas. Then some five years later, I went back. The trees had grown... Oh shit... I took my best shot, nope not there. That gold is now lost forever! Buried treasure! So, you better know EXACTLY where it is hidden.
Another idea about hiding gold on large property would be to, say, identify a BIG rock (in the desert say) that isn't going anywhere. Then walk exactly 50' west say. Take a GPS reading of the rock's westernmost tip. Bury it there.
But, what if you do not own land? Or your backyard is small and visible to your neighbors? You might have to hide it inside. But, where?
Here are some ideas:
-- in a safe, or use the safe as a decoy and hide the bulk somewhere else!
-- in the duct work (take off the vent screen, and stick your pile in there)
-- drop your gold into some spaghetti and put it in the freezer!
-- if you have carpentry skills (I do not), then you have lots of options
-- if you have lots of books you can carve out the pages like they used to do
Hide your gold well! I look forward to your ideas.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
A Leftist Perspective on Peru's Election
www.counterpunch.org is a well known website of pretty leftist folks. Here is an article there about Ollanta Humala's recent election to the Presidency of Peru.
http://www.counterpunch.org/dangl06082011.html
http://www.counterpunch.org/dangl06082011.html
A Snippet from FOFOA that Caught my Interest
As many of you know, FOFOA is my favorite gold analyst. He writes a blog that describes in great detail what he expects to happen to gold. The most dramatic act will be a quick, quantum like jump in the price of gold to $55,000 (+/-). In other words, Freegold.
I will not go further as his blog is the place to go for that, and because the Freegold idea cannot be briefly summarized.
fofoa.blogspot.com
But, I will paste in below a paragraph he recently wrote showing why we will NOT likely return to a gold standard. This is a very nice piece of fruit (and from his recent article "The Return to Honest Money"), I felt I should share it with you:
And yes, we are returning to honest money today! The signs are everywhere, the most prominent being the rising price of gold against a falling dollar. Those who are buying gold, like China, Russia, Europe, India, Asia and the Middle East, are preparing for the return to honest money. They are preparing because they realize there is a huge advantage in preparing for something that is coming versus just watching it arrive from the sidelines. Yet, for some reason, we don't hear them demanding a new fixed dollar-gold standard from the US. Hmm. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!
Read the paragraph and then re-read it. I believe it will resonate very well with many of you.
I hope to turn more attention back to the precious metals soon here in my blog.
Once I again I put out a call to EXPERTS willing to write a Guest Post here (especially on Silver)!
I will not go further as his blog is the place to go for that, and because the Freegold idea cannot be briefly summarized.
fofoa.blogspot.com
But, I will paste in below a paragraph he recently wrote showing why we will NOT likely return to a gold standard. This is a very nice piece of fruit (and from his recent article "The Return to Honest Money"), I felt I should share it with you:
And yes, we are returning to honest money today! The signs are everywhere, the most prominent being the rising price of gold against a falling dollar. Those who are buying gold, like China, Russia, Europe, India, Asia and the Middle East, are preparing for the return to honest money. They are preparing because they realize there is a huge advantage in preparing for something that is coming versus just watching it arrive from the sidelines. Yet, for some reason, we don't hear them demanding a new fixed dollar-gold standard from the US. Hmm. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!
Read the paragraph and then re-read it. I believe it will resonate very well with many of you.
I hope to turn more attention back to the precious metals soon here in my blog.
Once I again I put out a call to EXPERTS willing to write a Guest Post here (especially on Silver)!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Rare Earth Metals, Part 1
This article is not meant to be a serious one about the rare earth metals, more of an introduction and a test of reader interest in the subject. I myself am interested in the subject.
Perhaps one of my dear readers is an expert in this field? If so, kindly email me and we can work up a plan to have you do a Guest Post!
The "Rare Earth" metals have been getting a lot of attention in the past couple of years or so. They are not all that rare, the problem is that they are usually not located in concentrated "ores". These chemical elements the Lanthanum Series (Lanthanum to Lutetium) and most miners also lump Scandium and Yttrium in with the rare earths.
The main reason the rare earths have been getting all this attention is because they have a wide variety of uses, especially in high tech and "Green Energy".
Application: Permanent Strong Magnets (think windmill turbines): Neodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium
Application: Computer Monitors: (Europium (red) and Terbium (yellow))
There are many, many other uses, including military uses (in sensors, etc.). In the iPhone (as well as all modern computers) several of these rare earths are used.
The main reason this subject has become relatively prominent is that China produces some 95% of the rare earth metals. China has cut way back on their exports int he past year, and the prices of the metals and their oxides has gone way up. The US government is well aware of how important this issue is for them.
Currently, to my knowledge, there is NO rare earth metal mining production is the USA. Molycorp (ticker: MCP on the NYSE) will be starting production of limited amounts about next year from their mine near the CA / NV border area. But, Molycorp does NOT have a plant set up to separate the rare earths from each other (they have very similar chemical properties). But, MCP is a way to play the rare earth frenzy. MCP IPO'd at $14 a share and is MUCH higher even though it has not produced ANY rare earths yet.
Other earlier stage miners worth a look:
Avalon (AVL)
Great Western (GWMGF, I think) <--- these guys own a couple of processing plants
Rare Earth Elements (REE)
My hunch is that these stocks are all overpriced now.
Expert and general opinion is ALWAYS welcome in subjects of interest to me! Please comment in the Comments section below if you want to pass along the information to the rest of us, or send me an email.
Perhaps one of my dear readers is an expert in this field? If so, kindly email me and we can work up a plan to have you do a Guest Post!
The "Rare Earth" metals have been getting a lot of attention in the past couple of years or so. They are not all that rare, the problem is that they are usually not located in concentrated "ores". These chemical elements the Lanthanum Series (Lanthanum to Lutetium) and most miners also lump Scandium and Yttrium in with the rare earths.
The main reason the rare earths have been getting all this attention is because they have a wide variety of uses, especially in high tech and "Green Energy".
Application: Permanent Strong Magnets (think windmill turbines): Neodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium
Application: Computer Monitors: (Europium (red) and Terbium (yellow))
There are many, many other uses, including military uses (in sensors, etc.). In the iPhone (as well as all modern computers) several of these rare earths are used.
The main reason this subject has become relatively prominent is that China produces some 95% of the rare earth metals. China has cut way back on their exports int he past year, and the prices of the metals and their oxides has gone way up. The US government is well aware of how important this issue is for them.
Currently, to my knowledge, there is NO rare earth metal mining production is the USA. Molycorp (ticker: MCP on the NYSE) will be starting production of limited amounts about next year from their mine near the CA / NV border area. But, Molycorp does NOT have a plant set up to separate the rare earths from each other (they have very similar chemical properties). But, MCP is a way to play the rare earth frenzy. MCP IPO'd at $14 a share and is MUCH higher even though it has not produced ANY rare earths yet.
Other earlier stage miners worth a look:
Avalon (AVL)
Great Western (GWMGF, I think) <--- these guys own a couple of processing plants
Rare Earth Elements (REE)
My hunch is that these stocks are all overpriced now.
Expert and general opinion is ALWAYS welcome in subjects of interest to me! Please comment in the Comments section below if you want to pass along the information to the rest of us, or send me an email.
Post from a Reader in the Middle East
The below reader "Jonny" of my blog passes along the below news. He does not say, but I believe he would be in Bahrain. (Yes, I know the above gold price widget is broken [Update 11:38 AM, seems to be working again], maybe I will take kitco's after all)
(begin his email)
Hi Robert,
I tried posting from my google account but the Blogger site is all in Arabic and I can't work out how to do it at the moment.
I wanted to say the following so perhaps you could post it for me as Jonny?
Thanks in advance.
This is my first time posting so greetings all!
I recall sensing trouble coming since the early 2000's, but possibly earlier.
Despite reportedly being bright, I performed poorly at school and have never been interested in any of my jobs; I never felt any value in any of it.
I became disillusioned with the UK and the western world in general and moved to the Middle East in 2007.
I got my mother to sell her house in the UK and put all here money into gold bullion and cash issued by more sanely run economies in expectation of a housing/economy crash, neither of which have happened (as TPTB have not allowed it).
I have felt foolish and doubted myself at times, wondering whether things can go back to normal. I guess time will tell although I think recent events back up my feelings.
Since being in the Middle East I have experienced some serious civil unrest and thought I would share the following post I made on facebook 6 weeks back:
----------------------------
To all my friends:
The internet is intermittent and mobiles are repeatedly cut. I am still here, alive and well. But the situation is fucked to say the least and I am not sure how it will end.
My girlfriend and I moved out of our flat 2 days ago (for the third time in just over a month) as it's less than 1km from the main demonstration area - which was cleared of protesters yesterday morning - and we are staying with friends in a safer location. For the second time in just over 1 month the open area to the front of our flat has been commandeered by the security forces as a sort of forward operating base and sealed off with razor wire, with battle tanks and various other military vehicles inside.
As many of you know, I have always been interested in conflict and in the Middle East and now I am getting the full HD experience. I have driven through numerous illegal road blocks with groups of Shia youths wielding bats, sticks, swords and and knives to protect their villages from security forces, to more recently military checkpoints with tanks and masked soldiers with rifles in hand. Parts of the country are now under daily curfew until further notice. On our way to grab some things from our flat today we went through at least 15 army and ministry of interior check points and passed through an area that had had just seen a heavy riot with shop fronts smashed and debris deliberately strewn across the highway. So far over 300 people have been lifted in the night and are now unofficially 'disappeared'. There are other tales I could tell but I haven't the time or the space.
I will assess the situation day by day. I do not have a single friend that has already chosen to leave for good. Although I do not feel threatened - as it's a dispute between the people and their government - it is clearly unnerving.
I will post an update again soon. Until then best wishes from the front line. For some reason the sign off words of an old friend seem somewhat fitting:
Keep low, move fast.
PS: I bet those of you who laughed at me for buying ballistic body armour to bring out here a few years back aren't laughing any more!
------------------------------
I fear this sort of thing could be coming to more countries and regions in the near future.
Anyway I'm pleased to have found a blog where people seem to share similar views as me.
(end his email)
I responded by email to Jonny by telling him to BE SAFE!
(begin his email)
Hi Robert,
I tried posting from my google account but the Blogger site is all in Arabic and I can't work out how to do it at the moment.
I wanted to say the following so perhaps you could post it for me as Jonny?
Thanks in advance.
This is my first time posting so greetings all!
I recall sensing trouble coming since the early 2000's, but possibly earlier.
Despite reportedly being bright, I performed poorly at school and have never been interested in any of my jobs; I never felt any value in any of it.
I became disillusioned with the UK and the western world in general and moved to the Middle East in 2007.
I got my mother to sell her house in the UK and put all here money into gold bullion and cash issued by more sanely run economies in expectation of a housing/economy crash, neither of which have happened (as TPTB have not allowed it).
I have felt foolish and doubted myself at times, wondering whether things can go back to normal. I guess time will tell although I think recent events back up my feelings.
Since being in the Middle East I have experienced some serious civil unrest and thought I would share the following post I made on facebook 6 weeks back:
----------------------------
To all my friends:
The internet is intermittent and mobiles are repeatedly cut. I am still here, alive and well. But the situation is fucked to say the least and I am not sure how it will end.
My girlfriend and I moved out of our flat 2 days ago (for the third time in just over a month) as it's less than 1km from the main demonstration area - which was cleared of protesters yesterday morning - and we are staying with friends in a safer location. For the second time in just over 1 month the open area to the front of our flat has been commandeered by the security forces as a sort of forward operating base and sealed off with razor wire, with battle tanks and various other military vehicles inside.
As many of you know, I have always been interested in conflict and in the Middle East and now I am getting the full HD experience. I have driven through numerous illegal road blocks with groups of Shia youths wielding bats, sticks, swords and and knives to protect their villages from security forces, to more recently military checkpoints with tanks and masked soldiers with rifles in hand. Parts of the country are now under daily curfew until further notice. On our way to grab some things from our flat today we went through at least 15 army and ministry of interior check points and passed through an area that had had just seen a heavy riot with shop fronts smashed and debris deliberately strewn across the highway. So far over 300 people have been lifted in the night and are now unofficially 'disappeared'. There are other tales I could tell but I haven't the time or the space.
I will assess the situation day by day. I do not have a single friend that has already chosen to leave for good. Although I do not feel threatened - as it's a dispute between the people and their government - it is clearly unnerving.
I will post an update again soon. Until then best wishes from the front line. For some reason the sign off words of an old friend seem somewhat fitting:
Keep low, move fast.
PS: I bet those of you who laughed at me for buying ballistic body armour to bring out here a few years back aren't laughing any more!
------------------------------
I fear this sort of thing could be coming to more countries and regions in the near future.
Anyway I'm pleased to have found a blog where people seem to share similar views as me.
(end his email)
I responded by email to Jonny by telling him to BE SAFE!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Robert Mix Downgrades Peru from AA to BBB with Outlook Negative.
The people of Peru have spoken, and they picked Ollanta Humala to be President of their country for the next five years.
I have lots of problems with the guy, based on what I have read. Humala was clearly Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's choice -- Chavez gave him lots of money, which IS after all interference in another country's internal affairs (and against Peruvian law). But, I guess it's OK if the Left does it. Humala some months ago was "just another Leftist Nationalist" in the Chavez / Evo Morales / Rafael Correa / Daniel Ortega / Cristina Kirchner (who else did I forget?) mode. Please bear in mind that Hugo Chavez has done great damage to the oil-rich economy of Venezuela, they have an inflation rate of 30% last I read.
Humala had been tracking towards the "center" in recent weeks, a ploy to win the election by not scaring a segment of the electorate. He was FOR nationalizing the mines some time ago, FOR abrogating the Free Trade Agreements that Peru had signed with other countries, FOR re-writing the Constitution of Peru, etc. Lately he has backed off from those positions.
What will Humala do? I really do not have any idea. Humala getting elected is clearly not a good thing, but does this mean that he will be a dangerous man to the freedoms of Peruvians? How will he treat foreign capital? Lots of unknowns.
And when there are lots of unknowns, investors don't invest. Therefore with great sadness I must issue the below Note:
"To those of you (and you know who you are) who I had asked to consider Peru to be a candidate country to go to if TSHTF here, I have to retract my recommendation. Peru is likely to now have its real estate sector implode, it has been in a bubble for a long time, and Humala's election is likely to destroy confidence in the political and economic leadership of the country. It would likely be wise to wait and see what Humala does before even considering any new investment money (or yourselves) going to Peru permanently."
I had thought that the people of Peru would have been tired of the Leftist crap that has damaged the country twice now in most adults' lifetimes there (in the 1960s when the Generals staged a coup and bought into Socialism and when Peru suffered at the hands of President Garcia (first time)). But, today I saw another demonstration of ETHNICITY always beating GENDER. We saw that here in the USA in 2008 when the African-American women went with Obama vs. Hillary in overwhelming numbers in the Democratic Party's primaries and caucuses. Ethnicity beats gender every time. That is a thought worth mulling over.
---
Democracy does not always mean wise choices are made by the electorate:
Adolf Hitler was ELECTED by the Germans.
Hugo Chavez was ELECTED by the Venezuelans.
The people do not always get what they expect. They do, however, get what they deserve. Just as we, the American people, have gotten what we deserve for electing someone promising Hope and Change, but instead has done nothing much different than W (except for burdening us with Obamacare), why our Nobel Peace Prize recipient even started another war! And has changed nothing.
As I rant on occasion at Zero Hedge:
NONE of our financial problems have been solved.
NO ONE of any significance has gone to jail since our markets crashed.
Many of you know that I realized a few months ago that "The fix was in" for us in late 2007. I cannot believe I missed the clue: so open and in sight. Barrons, the weekend financial paper, had their semi-annual "Big Money Poll" in October 2007. This is when they get BIG money managers together and ask them to make forecasts. Almost every question is finance related. The one NON-FINANCE question in late 2007 was:
Who will be the next President of the United States:
__ Hillary Clinton
__ Barrack Obama
__ John McCain
__ Mitt Romney
Barack Obama got the plurality (more votes than any of the others, although not the majority). Keep in mind that this was when Obama was relatively UNKNOWN. It looked like Hillary had a LOCK on the Democratic Party's nomination. But, "The Big Money" poll had already picked Obama... Wall $t. had spoken.
---
Back to Peru. We will just have to wait and see what happens there.
To those who have asked me about Peru as a tourist destination, I still say that Peru is a wonderful and interesting country. Ask ANYONE who has ever been there! It rivals Mexico in its history. The Andes are breathtaking. The people are nice and friendly. The food is very good (choose where you eat wisely though).
I guess my opinion on tourism would be to go SOONER rather than later. Who goes to Egypt anymore as a tourist? Things change. If the economy of Peru starts downward after so many years of growth, promising a great future, well bad things like a growing crime rate (as happened in our Depression in the 1930s) may mean that it would be better to go soon rather than put it off.
And none of us, dear readers is getting any younger. Peru is best seen while healthy and strong.
Ayy mi Peru, mi Peru, como has escogido tan mal hoy dia...
:-( :-( :-( :.-( :.-( :.-(
I have lots of problems with the guy, based on what I have read. Humala was clearly Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's choice -- Chavez gave him lots of money, which IS after all interference in another country's internal affairs (and against Peruvian law). But, I guess it's OK if the Left does it. Humala some months ago was "just another Leftist Nationalist" in the Chavez / Evo Morales / Rafael Correa / Daniel Ortega / Cristina Kirchner (who else did I forget?) mode. Please bear in mind that Hugo Chavez has done great damage to the oil-rich economy of Venezuela, they have an inflation rate of 30% last I read.
Humala had been tracking towards the "center" in recent weeks, a ploy to win the election by not scaring a segment of the electorate. He was FOR nationalizing the mines some time ago, FOR abrogating the Free Trade Agreements that Peru had signed with other countries, FOR re-writing the Constitution of Peru, etc. Lately he has backed off from those positions.
What will Humala do? I really do not have any idea. Humala getting elected is clearly not a good thing, but does this mean that he will be a dangerous man to the freedoms of Peruvians? How will he treat foreign capital? Lots of unknowns.
And when there are lots of unknowns, investors don't invest. Therefore with great sadness I must issue the below Note:
"To those of you (and you know who you are) who I had asked to consider Peru to be a candidate country to go to if TSHTF here, I have to retract my recommendation. Peru is likely to now have its real estate sector implode, it has been in a bubble for a long time, and Humala's election is likely to destroy confidence in the political and economic leadership of the country. It would likely be wise to wait and see what Humala does before even considering any new investment money (or yourselves) going to Peru permanently."
I had thought that the people of Peru would have been tired of the Leftist crap that has damaged the country twice now in most adults' lifetimes there (in the 1960s when the Generals staged a coup and bought into Socialism and when Peru suffered at the hands of President Garcia (first time)). But, today I saw another demonstration of ETHNICITY always beating GENDER. We saw that here in the USA in 2008 when the African-American women went with Obama vs. Hillary in overwhelming numbers in the Democratic Party's primaries and caucuses. Ethnicity beats gender every time. That is a thought worth mulling over.
---
Democracy does not always mean wise choices are made by the electorate:
Adolf Hitler was ELECTED by the Germans.
Hugo Chavez was ELECTED by the Venezuelans.
The people do not always get what they expect. They do, however, get what they deserve. Just as we, the American people, have gotten what we deserve for electing someone promising Hope and Change, but instead has done nothing much different than W (except for burdening us with Obamacare), why our Nobel Peace Prize recipient even started another war! And has changed nothing.
As I rant on occasion at Zero Hedge:
NONE of our financial problems have been solved.
NO ONE of any significance has gone to jail since our markets crashed.
Many of you know that I realized a few months ago that "The fix was in" for us in late 2007. I cannot believe I missed the clue: so open and in sight. Barrons, the weekend financial paper, had their semi-annual "Big Money Poll" in October 2007. This is when they get BIG money managers together and ask them to make forecasts. Almost every question is finance related. The one NON-FINANCE question in late 2007 was:
Who will be the next President of the United States:
__ Hillary Clinton
__ Barrack Obama
__ John McCain
__ Mitt Romney
Barack Obama got the plurality (more votes than any of the others, although not the majority). Keep in mind that this was when Obama was relatively UNKNOWN. It looked like Hillary had a LOCK on the Democratic Party's nomination. But, "The Big Money" poll had already picked Obama... Wall $t. had spoken.
---
Back to Peru. We will just have to wait and see what happens there.
To those who have asked me about Peru as a tourist destination, I still say that Peru is a wonderful and interesting country. Ask ANYONE who has ever been there! It rivals Mexico in its history. The Andes are breathtaking. The people are nice and friendly. The food is very good (choose where you eat wisely though).
I guess my opinion on tourism would be to go SOONER rather than later. Who goes to Egypt anymore as a tourist? Things change. If the economy of Peru starts downward after so many years of growth, promising a great future, well bad things like a growing crime rate (as happened in our Depression in the 1930s) may mean that it would be better to go soon rather than put it off.
And none of us, dear readers is getting any younger. Peru is best seen while healthy and strong.
Ayy mi Peru, mi Peru, como has escogido tan mal hoy dia...
:-( :-( :-( :.-( :.-( :.-(
Quick Update! Four Small Things.
I just bought a new computer today to replace my antique. This means that for a few more hours I will be doing, well, the stuff you have to do when you get a new computer! So far so good about getting everything to run. Next stop is my all important database.
---
Matt! Yes, you who commented on my Ameru Trading article. Please email me re sales channels, etc. Let me know what's up and I can better respond.
---
To my readers!
There are at least 155 of you! The below information will help me work better with you:
1) There are at least two of you who have asked me about business questions (Matt and another). This kind of thing is best discussed via email.
2) Comments should be made on the article itself (or related), and when you want other readers to see what you have to say (corrections, general comments, author errors, helpful links for me and you, and so on).
---
The TV says that looks like Ollanta Humala has won the Peruvian run-off election. This of course is terrible news for Peru and our business. I will have more to say on that in the coming days.
:(
---
Matt! Yes, you who commented on my Ameru Trading article. Please email me re sales channels, etc. Let me know what's up and I can better respond.
---
To my readers!
There are at least 155 of you! The below information will help me work better with you:
1) There are at least two of you who have asked me about business questions (Matt and another). This kind of thing is best discussed via email.
2) Comments should be made on the article itself (or related), and when you want other readers to see what you have to say (corrections, general comments, author errors, helpful links for me and you, and so on).
---
The TV says that looks like Ollanta Humala has won the Peruvian run-off election. This of course is terrible news for Peru and our business. I will have more to say on that in the coming days.
:(
Friday, June 3, 2011
My Own Personal Cognitive Dissonance... And What to Do...
Updated, Sat, June 4, 5:11 PM ET
Reader Goldsaver sent an interesting and long response to my article too. Please read his response after Cognitive Dissonance's response. Looks like this article hit a nerve!
Updated, Sat, June 4, 3:09 PM ET
Please go to bottom of article for a comment received by email from Cognitive Dissonance himself.
---
In which even the title of this article rips off two of my most highly respected writers / bloggers in the country ("Cognitive Dissonance" of www.zerohedge.com) and FOFOA (fofoa.blogspot.com)!
On Friday, I watched with mild horror as the markets were taken down yet again (except for GOLD, bitchez!, up $9.00/oz) by more bad economic news (the unemployment rate rose from 9.0% to 9.1% for starters). The Dow did not like that, being down some 110 points in the amount of time I could take three slow breaths at its open...
For some time now (starting from the time of Jimmy Carter!) I have had occasional bouts of nervousness about America's financial position. This kind of background anxiety, this feeling that "Something wicked comes this way" has been a feature, on and off, of my life for years. It started getting more noticeable about 2005 or so, when housing was clearly in an epic Bubble. And it got worse in 2007, right before the Bear Stearns collapse kicked off the dominoes and led to the Crash of 2008/9.
So, why do I now write about this now? Because I believe I have identified what ails me: cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is (REMEMBER, your congenial host of this blog is NO EXPERT in anything) the feeling of anxiety / loss of control / unaccounted nervousness & stress that is not really obvious to the one suffering from it. Especially re money...
The guy who has nailed this concept the best is IMO "Cognitive Dissonance", a very smart A-level writer at zerohedge.com. In long and hard to read (because he introduces psychological concepts that he forces us to examine and rub our noses into, even while very ugly...) articles he asks us to push HARD against the lies, propaganda and conditioning happening to us by various Top Dogs (my words) upon us, the American people.
---
Well, earlier on Friday (US ET), I dropped off my wife at a mall so she could could get hard to find items (she is very petite and has trouble finding things that she likes in her size).
I dropped her off at the mall, and had brought print-outs of material to read while at lunch.
The material I brought was, in general, VERY NEGATIVE about our (USA) prospects over the next whatever you want to name the number of months to come. And while eating my Whopper at Burger King, I was watching the Dow, heading down... Bad for me, and bad for my country. I went back to the piece I was reading (by a VERY BEARISH guy), and I paused, looked around me and thought: we are NOT going to get out of this without awful and horrendous pain...
And then the MENTAL pain hit me... While I am OK if the SHTF, probably, I know that many in America are not. Our country has no apparent 'way out of the box', in other words, it looks to me IMO, that a very nasty short to medium term future could be ahead of us. Bad, bad, bad. If things go off the rails, there will be tremendous suffering...
I then realized that the fear and anxiety I had at Burger King was likely "cognitive dissonance" in which the lies that the powers that be (TPTB) actually spread are indeed LIES! When the lies induce the people to accept a ROTTEN DEAL from the Banksters and our own government SHOULD be rejected as the lies of a powerful elite, then I saw the light...
It looks like from your observer and congenial host that we are being lied to... By our own government (surprise!) and then the mainstream media...
If you and your family do NOT own physical gold (that is, in your own hands held there at home), then you should consider:
Buy.Gold.Now. (physical gold only in your own possession only).
Your Comments and emails are welcome.
Respectfully submitted,
R A Mix
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From Cognitive Dissonance:
Reader Goldsaver sent an interesting and long response to my article too. Please read his response after Cognitive Dissonance's response. Looks like this article hit a nerve!
Updated, Sat, June 4, 3:09 PM ET
Please go to bottom of article for a comment received by email from Cognitive Dissonance himself.
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In which even the title of this article rips off two of my most highly respected writers / bloggers in the country ("Cognitive Dissonance" of www.zerohedge.com) and FOFOA (fofoa.blogspot.com)!
On Friday, I watched with mild horror as the markets were taken down yet again (except for GOLD, bitchez!, up $9.00/oz) by more bad economic news (the unemployment rate rose from 9.0% to 9.1% for starters). The Dow did not like that, being down some 110 points in the amount of time I could take three slow breaths at its open...
For some time now (starting from the time of Jimmy Carter!) I have had occasional bouts of nervousness about America's financial position. This kind of background anxiety, this feeling that "Something wicked comes this way" has been a feature, on and off, of my life for years. It started getting more noticeable about 2005 or so, when housing was clearly in an epic Bubble. And it got worse in 2007, right before the Bear Stearns collapse kicked off the dominoes and led to the Crash of 2008/9.
So, why do I now write about this now? Because I believe I have identified what ails me: cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is (REMEMBER, your congenial host of this blog is NO EXPERT in anything) the feeling of anxiety / loss of control / unaccounted nervousness & stress that is not really obvious to the one suffering from it. Especially re money...
The guy who has nailed this concept the best is IMO "Cognitive Dissonance", a very smart A-level writer at zerohedge.com. In long and hard to read (because he introduces psychological concepts that he forces us to examine and rub our noses into, even while very ugly...) articles he asks us to push HARD against the lies, propaganda and conditioning happening to us by various Top Dogs (my words) upon us, the American people.
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Well, earlier on Friday (US ET), I dropped off my wife at a mall so she could could get hard to find items (she is very petite and has trouble finding things that she likes in her size).
I dropped her off at the mall, and had brought print-outs of material to read while at lunch.
The material I brought was, in general, VERY NEGATIVE about our (USA) prospects over the next whatever you want to name the number of months to come. And while eating my Whopper at Burger King, I was watching the Dow, heading down... Bad for me, and bad for my country. I went back to the piece I was reading (by a VERY BEARISH guy), and I paused, looked around me and thought: we are NOT going to get out of this without awful and horrendous pain...
And then the MENTAL pain hit me... While I am OK if the SHTF, probably, I know that many in America are not. Our country has no apparent 'way out of the box', in other words, it looks to me IMO, that a very nasty short to medium term future could be ahead of us. Bad, bad, bad. If things go off the rails, there will be tremendous suffering...
I then realized that the fear and anxiety I had at Burger King was likely "cognitive dissonance" in which the lies that the powers that be (TPTB) actually spread are indeed LIES! When the lies induce the people to accept a ROTTEN DEAL from the Banksters and our own government SHOULD be rejected as the lies of a powerful elite, then I saw the light...
It looks like from your observer and congenial host that we are being lied to... By our own government (surprise!) and then the mainstream media...
If you and your family do NOT own physical gold (that is, in your own hands held there at home), then you should consider:
Buy.Gold.Now. (physical gold only in your own possession only).
Your Comments and emails are welcome.
Respectfully submitted,
R A Mix
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From Cognitive Dissonance:
Robert,
We all think of a Cognitive Dissonance as an event specific occurrence. For example, we find evidence that our spouse is cheating yet s/he strongly denies doing so and we want to believe him or her. Or our boss assures us there is no reason to lay off half the work force when clearly the company is losing business and must shed employees.
What you are describing in your post is what I term a General Cognitive Dissonance that is not specific to any one event or occurrence but rather expresses itself as overall feelings of dread, worry or fear. Interestingly I am in the middle of an article that discusses this exact phenomenon and hope to post it soon on Zero Hedge.
Basically it is as you describe where you can see from a big picture point of view how totally clueless the general population is to the coming storm and your mind reels when it begins to contemplate the wrenching social, emotional and physical dislocations coming round the bend. It is not a pretty sight to behold and if one is not proactive in seeking inner peace with regard to what you are and are not responsible for and what you can and cannot do about it, these growing internal fears can tear you apart.
Once again it is the reason why any personal search for a higher awareness and enlightenment must always begin within. In order to know something, first we must know ourselves. In order to heal something, first we must heal ourselves. As long as we wish to believe it is more complicated than this we will continue down our current path of self destruction beginning within ourselves.
Yours,
Cognitive Dissonance
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Below response is from reader Goldsaver:
This is a piece I wrote for a private group. Not my normal writing style, just having fun with it.
What is the Matrix?
You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about? –Morpheus
You have this strange feeling that something is wrong. You go to work, you pay your taxes, and you go to church. But there is something wrong. You can feel it right there at the base of your spine.
There is an emptiness and a feeling of fear that you just can’t put your finger on. So you look for the answers.
The media tells you to consume more while at the same time makes you feel greedy for doing so.
Society tells you to buy a bigger house and a bigger car and a bigger boat while at the same time telling you about a poor boy in Brazil that you need to feed. You are confused. How can you be responsible for little Raul’s hunger? So you send a few bucks and hope he will be alright. Yet, you still feel guilty.
Churches tell you to give 10% of your income and care for the poor or face eternal damnation while and you see the preacher driving a new Cadillac.
Yet you continue to struggle. You work harder and harder. You produce more and more. You consume more and more. You see GE making billions and paying no taxes and feel you afraid to take a tax deduction.
Yet this feeling remains.
Is the feeling you get when you realize the Federal Taxes you paid could have paid for your kid’s college tuition instead of having to take out a student loan.
Is the feeling you get when you hear about some new TSA procedure or some new dictate from the politburo, while at the same time thinking that you live in the land of the free.
It is Cognitive Dissonance, your brain struggling to accept two diametrically opposed concepts.
I know exactly how you feel.
And I have a secret. I know why you feel this way. I know the secret your brain is struggling to reconcile.
I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer... I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did. - Trinity
This secret is so terrible in its simplicity your mind can not accept that you have not seen it.
I can tell you the secret. But I can only show you the door, you have to be ready to walk thru it.
This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.</i> - Morpheus
The reason why you have this constant feeling that there is something wrong. The feeling that you are a hamster going around and around a wheel and going nowhere. It is a terrible secret.
The fear you have been feeling? The fear that they are controlling you with?
Your freedom is not evil. You are not guilty. The fear is not yours.
The fear is theirs.
It is the fear of the evil leeches and moochers and swindlers that have built the Matrix around you. It is pure terror. Yes. The terror that you will discover this basic truth.
The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
It is a banking system and a financial system. It is food marketing and food distribution. It is in what you buy and how you buy it. It packages, wraps and advertises. It recommends, it mandates, it controls. It is the reason why no matter who wins elections, nothing ever changes. It is in your kid’s schools and in your entertainment.
What is the truth?
The system that you see around you is designed for one thing and one thing only. To turn man into a machine for the purpose of production. Production for the benefit of the Ruling Class.
What is the truth?
That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind. - Morpheus
Is this too radical a concept for you? Did I go too far? I know you are thinking; “Common GS, I know things are getting bad, but we are sure to get a different President next time and we’ll be alright.”
Really? Do you really believe that it will make a difference? Do you really believe anything can make a difference at this point?
Do you believe that it is air you are breathing? In here?
I don’t want you to believe me. Belief requires faith and I have no use for your faith. I only need you to understand.
Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth.
What truth?
There is no spoon
That mortgage you bought your house with, the money did not exist before you signed it. You think that they loaned you their money? Nope, they loaned you yours. And they are charging you interest on it.
There is no mortgage.
That 401K you have been putting “money” in. You know the one. The one that will help you retire at 60 if you just follow that pretty green line. That is you loaning your wealth to investment bankers so they can buy new stuff. Do you really think you will ever accumulate enough to replace your income for 20-25 years? You were told that it would. But it won't. Don't believe me, do the math yourself.
There is no retirement.
Do you think that it is money you are working for? Look at it. Is that money? That piece of linen with pretty drawings or the digital entries in a bank's computer? The currency you are using is nothing more than credit coupons on your future labor and the labor of your fellow slaves.
There is no money.
Call me a radical. Hand me the tin foil if you wish. But at least open your eyes and look at the ugly truth in the face. You were born an Indentured Servant and are living in a system designed to keep you in the service of the Banking Masters for the rest of your life. The moment you wake, you wake in debt. Even if you succeed in paying off all your debt the very currency you are using is debt. And the Masters are making a profit from it.
Do you know how money is “created”?
The Treasury Department prints pretty pieces of paper called Treasury Notes. Not US Dollars; Treasury Notes. But, what is a note? A note is a promise. Not unlike a check or a mortgage. It is a promise to provide the holder of that note with a fixed number of dollars. And who is backing that promise? You are. Your future taxes. A portion of your future production. A piece of your life. The Federal Government is mortgaging a portion of your life to the holder of the note.
In exchange for what? I mean, if they are going to promise a piece of my life without my permission, it better be good. Right?
The Treasury Notes are sold in auction to three types of buyers: Direct, that is you and I, Indirect, that is Foreign banks using a primary dealer (a select group of banks) as an agent and the Primary Dealers. Who are the Primary Dealers? The banks that are the major shareholders of the Federal Reserve Bank, that’s who. Wait, isn’t the Federal Reserve Bank part of the Treasury? Nope. It is no more Federal than Federal Express. It is a private banking cartel established (privileged) by the Federal Government in 1913.
Ok, so what? you ask.
Want to know where the Primary Dealers get the “money”? Well, they borrow it from the Federal Reserve Bank at almost zero percent interest. And why wouldn’t they? After all, they own the Federal Reserve, why wouldn’t they borrow “money” from themselves at zero interest?
Ok, GS, but you still have not told me where money comes from.
Patience, Grasshopper. You didn’t think the Great and Powerful OZ would make it so obvious; did you?
Well, the Primary Dealers “borrow” the “money” by asking the Federal Reserve to place some zeroes and ones in their reserve accounts. This request constitutes a “loan”. A loan from a Primary Dealer is considered by the Fed to be a “no-risk asset”. So the Federal Reserve places that “no-risk asset” in their “balance sheet” as a deposit and in exchange “loans” the money to the Primary Dealers.
Let me simplify it some more. I know, I know it’s too evil to be true.
The actual “loan” created the “asset” that created the “money”.
So, ok, the Primary Dealers conjured up the money from nowhere, and…? You ask.
The Primary Dealers then use this newly created “money” to purchase the Treasury Notes. In essence, they are loaning the US Government “money” that does not exists!
No way!
Yes way.
Oh, and that is not the best part. The Primary Dealers now use these Treasury Notes to pay back the loans they took from the Federal Reserve. So how do they benefit? They know that the Federal Reserve is the “Lender of Last Resort”. It must buy the Treasury Notes at whatever price (or yield) they demand. They also know that the Federal Reserve will buy the notes a few days after the auction. So they can front load the auction and pocket the spread.
So, let me walk you thru it. The Treasury sells these pieces of paper called Treasury Notes to the Primary Dealers in exchange for “money” they created out of thin air. The Primary Dealers sell these notes back to the Federal Reserve at a profit and settle the debt. Yes, they are making a profit from “money” that does not exist!
But wait, there is more! (imitating Billy Mays)
Do you know where the “money” the Bank loaned you for your mortgage came from? The “money” the kind neighborhood banker had you jump thru hoops to get?
Don’t get ahead of me now.
It was created by your signature on the mortgage!
Yup. The moment you signed that document it became a Mortgage Backed Asset (MBS). This MBS is deposited by the bank in their account at the value of your loan and a bank check is issued to you against this asset. They loaned you your money.
And that’s not all (Billy Mays from the great beyond again)
Since banks are only required to keep about 10% of their assets as reserves, they can now issue 90% of the value on your home as credit to others in the form of credit cards. Yes, your money was not only loaned to you, it was loaned to your neighbors, your dentist and your dog groomer!
And the best part, they are charging interest to ALL OF YOU. On your “money”. “Money” created on your credit. Based on a currency backed by your future production.
Is good to be the King
There is no spoon
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