"Plunderers of the world, when nothing remains on the lands to which they have laid waste by wanton thievery, they search out across the seas. The wealth of another region excites their greed; and if it is weak, their lust for power as well. Nothing from the rising to the setting of the sun is enough for them. Among all others only they are compelled to attack the poor as well as the rich. Robbery, rape, and slaughter they falsely call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace."Tacitus, Agricola
I was interested to see that Greece may have agreed to 'privatize' their sea port and air port as a condition of reaching some agreement with their Euro/IMF creditors. And even more interesting is the report that the Ukraine is said to have drawn up a long list of assets it too will be offering up for privatization, no doubt in grateful return for the protection of the US and its NATO allies, for the enrichment of a powerful few, and their sons and benefactors and servants.
Money Shot: A money shot is an element of a film, video, broadcast, or print project that is disproportionately expensive to produce and/or is perceived as essential to the overall importance or revenue-generating potential of the work.
It is difficult to believe that the US and its corporate allies care anything about the Greek or Ukrainian people, their standards of living, their freedom, or their general welfare. It is not even clear that they care about their own people in that way anymore.
They seem to be in it for the power and for the money, opportunities as they say, and not for the nation but for a favored few. This overreach for profit and power of the corporatist state overseas and at home is the money shot.
This is the reason that we see the Western leadership engaging in discretionary wars, and secret trade treaties, and paper asset bubbles, and rigging markets, private bailouts and public austerity, so that they can continue to enrich the one percent through an economic policy of wealth transfer and plunder.
Gold and silver managed a decent rally up to overhead resistance today. Since The Bucket Shop has not yet changed in any meaningful way we must patiently wait to see if there is any follow through. Since the prices are apparently not connected to anything in particular, except for the whimsy of the most powerful and deep pocketed trading desk and their algos, anything is possible.
At the end of the day this is still just a game of Liar's Poker. And they are very good at it. Lying that is.
In that vein there were very few claim checks for bullion exchanged, and not much action in the warehouses.
I have included the gold and silver warehouse inventories below.
As a reminder there was overnight commentary about the near record number of potential claims per deliverable ounce of gold on the Comex here.
Below is a video in which Ray Dalio, one of the biggest and most successful money managers in the world, discusses his views on gold at the Council on Foreign Relations. Consider this an alternative view to some of the more banal, uninformed diatribes by the propeller heads.
This is nothing new from Dalio, and I have cited his views here before. His famous 'All Weather Fund' is thought to be holding about six billion dollars worth of gold.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from Ray Dalio on gold:
"Over the long run, the price of gold approximates the total amount of money in circulation divided by the size of the gold stock. If the market price of gold moves a long way from this level, it may indicate a buying or selling opportunity."
Have a pleasant evening.
