Tony Bennett: Are we the terrorists?

From: RTAmerica  | Sep 28, 2011  

 

There has always been a thin line between exercising your right to free speech and being considered radical. Many celebrities have expressed their view on certain topics and have gotten in trouble for them. The latest of those celebrities is Tony Bennett. Should these celebrities be forced to eat humble pie?

Gerald Celente: The system is rigged

From: RTAmerica  | Sep 28, 2011 

 

In 2008 Goldman Sachs was one of two major investment banks that were bailed out. Shortly after, it was reported that they were giving huge bonuses. Now Goldman Sachs is laying off employees and making absurd cost cutting measures. Gerald Celente, a publisher for the Trends Journal, joins RT to talk about this.

Postponing Agony: Greece on EU cash needle

From: RussiaToday  | Sep 29, 2011 

 

German lawmakers have agreed to massively increase the size and power of the Eurozone's bailout fund - meaning Berlin will guarantee a whopping 211 BLN Euros' worth of loans. Greece is watching this closely, as it tries to convince the EU and IMF to release more emergency cash. But the Greek public's anger is focused on facing more cuts and tax hikes, as Sara Firth reports from Athens.

Weekend Chillout

Well after this week's market turmoil we all definitely need to chillout, and as the precious metals seem to have moved into a consolidation phase or at least a holding pattern we might be able to get some respite.

Due to the madness of the last week or so what else could this week's chillout be but.....

Sade ~ Nothing can come between us

I always hope that you remember
We'll never really learn the meaning of it all
What we have is strong and tender
So hold on
In the middle of the madness
When the time is running out and you're left alone
All I want is you to know that
It's strong still
Can't pull us apart
Nothing can come
Between us
Nothing can pull us apart
Can come
Between us

I always hope that you remember
What we have is strong and tender
In the middle of the madness

Hold on

 

Al-Qaeda warns Ahmadinejad to stop denying 9/11

This story is just too funny, you couldn't make this up. The US created Al-Qaeda is begging Iran's President to blame them for 911 instead of their "sworn enemy" haha....

From the UK Telegraph:

By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

In a curious case of enemies uniting against a common foe, the Yemen-based compiler of the terrorist organisation's Inspire magazine wrote that President Ahmadinejad had appeared "ridiculous" when he questioned the origins of the attack that killed almost 3,000 people.

"The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government," it said. "So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?"

US diplomats led a Western walkout at the UN General Assembly meeting last week during President Ahmadinejad's speech when he suggested the Osama bin Laden was killed to cover up the events of September 11.

"Would it not have been reasonable to bring to justice and openly bring to trial the main perpetrator of the incident in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin World Trade Centre towers?" he said.

He had previously jointed other "doubters" on the fringes of the political spectrum in claiming the attacks were a "big fabrication"......read on 

To hear what Ahmadinejad actually said on 911, the Gold Standard and printing trillion of dollars click here

Jeff Christian on Gold's recent sell-off

CPM Group MD, Jeff Christian, takes a look at some of the reasons behind gold's recent sell off and looks at some of the factors that could impact on the price going forward with Geoff Candy of Mineweb......listen here

Speculator Series with Doug Casey

Speculator Series with Doug Casey from Cambridge House International on Vimeo.

Peak Silver?

I have been meaning to write a magazine article on Peak Silver but the research for it was doing my head in, but no matter seems Ryan Jordan has beaten me to it.....

The idea of peak everything has made a comeback over the last ten years, and it may not be a coincidence that this discussion has paralleled the rising prices of many commodities since 2000. However, thinking about resource scarcity is nothing new. Many alive in the 1970s will remember the book Limits to Growth, which is still debated decades after its initial publication. Whether or not you agree with all aspects of that book’s arguments, you would have to concede that ever-increasing growth rates eventually lead to exponential (and therefore unsustainable) demand. Also, to say that something has “peaked” does not mean that we are going to run out of a certain resource. In many cases it simply means that the growth rate in resource production cannot keep up with population or economic growth......read in full

Keiser Report: The Greek Depression

From: RussiaToday  | Sep 29, 2011 

 

This week Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, ask why wallstreet protesters are maced in the face for merely walking on the sidewalk while JP Morgan's CEO can throw a tirade in the face of regulators and a central banker without being pepper-sprayed. They ask why Vince Cable doesn't pack some pepper spray.

Greece on edge of debtonation as govt tightens tax noose

From: RussiaToday  | Sep 28, 2011 

 

Senior officials from the EU and IMF are expected in Greece to study its progress in reducing its debt. They'll then decide whether to release further bailout cash. It follows angry protests on Tuesday after the government passed the most unpopular round of austerity measures yet.

Martin Armstrong on the immediate economic outlook

Cycle guru Martin Armstrong's latest musing on the global economy and the crisis in civilisation.

Click the photo to go through to the PDF

Central Banks Add to Gold Holdings

By Rhiannon Hoyle
The Wall Street Journal
Thursday, September 29, 2011

LONDON -- Emerging-market countries continued to top up their gold reserves in August, with Russia, Thailand and Bolivia among those to add to their holdings.

Central banks have bought gold as some seek to diversify foreign-exchange reserves that have grown along with emerging market export industries. The purchases have helped drive the price of gold higher, because they absorb supply and boost market sentiment.

This year, central-bank officials also began buying in earnest in reaction to the government debt woes affecting the U.S. dollar and the euro.

While central-bank officials are careful not to skew the market with huge purchases or disposals, metals consultancy GFMS Ltd. said "further large official-sector purchases should help sustain prices."

August was a volatile month for gold prices. Gold futures traded as low as $1,607 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Aug. 1 and touched a record $1,909.30 an ounce on Aug. 23.

GFMS, a unit of Thomson Reuters Corp., said central banks appear to be viewing gold as "intrinsically more sound than most, if not all" other perceived safe-haven assets, including U.S. Treasurys, German government bonds and the Japanese yen.

Bank of Finland dealer and market analyst Eija Salavirta said in an interview last week that emerging-market central banks are moving into the gold market as buyers because of a lack of options available to diversify their reserves.

"The big education we got from the economic crisis is that you have to diversify. And now that we are in exceptional times, [a lot of] countries…don't have that many choices," she said.

The central bank of Russia, a regular buyer from its own domestic market, continued its long-term program of gold accumulation in August by adding 118,000 troy ounces to its reserves, which now stand at 27.161 million ounces, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund.

Russia's holdings were up more than 7% since the start of 2011.

Thailand continued to boost its reserves, lifting them 300,000 ounces to 4.4 million ounces, a step up from its January holdings of 3.2 million ounces......read on

Paper Burns

From alexschaeferpainter on Sep 18, 2011
 

I went to paint the Los Angeles Federal Reserve Branch and this is how it turned out. Passersby like the painting but Homeland Security didn't...

'US, EU banks behind economic crisis'

By PressTVGlobalNews on Sep 28, 2011

European Commission chief says the EU could face the "biggest crisis in its history," and called for a financial transactions tax and the creation of eurobonds to fix the bloc's economic crisis.

 

Marc Faber to Reuters - You dont need the fed to tell you something is wrong

From: DoomBoomGloom  | Sep 23, 2011

Peter Schiff: Government perpetuates poverty

From: RTAmerica  | Sep 27, 2011 

 

Even in these tough economic times, Obama supporters are still paying upwards of $36k per person at campaign fundraisers. Protestors have lined up outside these events to express their frustration with the economic situation and disapproval with Obama's administration. Peter Schiff, president at Euro Pacific Capital, explains where this frustration originates from.

Greek PM appeals for German support

From: Euronews  | Sep 27, 2011

USA and EU play debt blame game

From: Euronews  | Sep 27, 2011 

 

http://www.euronews.net/ The rebound of the world's markets as this week began is far from reassuring, experts warn. Across the Atlantic, the US and EU each say the other should hurry up and pull itself together, or else. In a tit-for-tat fear game, there are elections involved.

Germany slams 'stupid' US plans to boost EU rescue fund

From the UK Telegraph:

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said it would be a folly to boost the EU's bail-out machinery (EFSF) beyond its €440bn lending limit by deploying leverage to up to €2 trillion, perhaps by raising funds from the European Central Bank.

"I don't understand how anyone in the European Commission can have such a stupid idea. The result would be to endanger the AAA sovereign debt ratings of other member states. It makes no sense," he said.

Mr Schauble told Washington to mind its own businesss after President Barack Obama rebuked EU leaders for failing to recapitalise banks and allowing the debt crisis to escalate to the point where it is "scaring the world".

"It's always much easier to give advice to others than to decide for yourself. I am well prepared to give advice to the US government," he said.

The comments risk irritating the White House. US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been a key driver of plans to give the EFSF enough firepower to shore up Italy and Spain, fearing a drift into "cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk" without dramatic action.....read on

James Turk - 'What we are looking at is worse than 2008'

James Turk discusses Gold, Silver and current market dramas with Eric King of King World News.....listen here

Let it be so

By Frizzers on Sep 22, 2011

Keiser Report: Pax Americana Pyramid Nightmare

By RussiaToday on Sep 27, 2011

This week Max Keiser and co-host Stacy Herbert discuss "Operation Twist", "BMW Town" and other pyramid schemes. In the second half of the show, Max talks to in-studio guest Joe Weisenthal of Business Insider about Operation Twist, monetary policy and Groupon.

Francois Trahan interviewed

From: WealthTrack  | Sep 26, 2011 

 

Wall Street's number one investment strategist and Financial Thought Leader, Francois Trahan will explain why the old economic models are failing and why safety is the best strategy for investors.

 

Occupy Wall Street

From: PressTVGlobalNews  | Sep 26, 2011  

 

More than one week has passed since protesters have camped out near Wall Street in New York; the place protesters have renamed Liberty Square.

"Occupy Wall Street" protesters identify themselves as the 99 percent that no longer tolerate the greed, corruption and the injustices of the one percent.

Nothing to see here, keep moving

As expected (hoped?) the Gold & Silver markets are recovering from their near death experience, hopefully readers of this blog are too. Did we all buy some more physical during the bloodbath? I did as the fire hoses were out this morning, so that means I missed out on the sweet spot of the dip but I am still up nicely for the day.

Of course there will be nothing found out of the ordinary by the CFTC and their two year old investigation into silver manipulation, just the animal spirits of the markets no doubt.

Trade safe, and prosper (old Vulcan farewell).

UK marching banned

From: RussiaToday  | Sep 26, 2011 

 

People in Britain have long been able to march in protest - but those voices are being silenced in parts of London - for an entire month. The government's letting police slap a blanket ban on public gatherings in the capital. For some it's putting freedom of expression under threat, as Laura Emmett reports.

John Embry on the buying opportunities in Gold & Silver

John Embry of Sprott Asset Management discusses the price action in Gold & Silver and the buying opportunities that currently exist with Eric King of King World News.......listen here

Deep sea treasure hunters have found the SS Gairsoppa

From Odyssey Marine Exploration:

The SS Gairsoppa was a 412 foot steel-hulled British cargo steamship that was enlisted in the service of the United Kingdom Ministry of War Transport and sunk by a German U-boat on February 17, 1941, approximately 300 miles southwest of Galway, Ireland.

The UK Ministry of War Transport paid an insurance loss of approximately £325,000 at the time for silver bars lost with the ship. In 2010, the United Kingdom (UK) Government Department for Transport awarded Odyssey, through a competitive bid, the exclusive salvage contract for this cargo from the SS Gairsoppa. Under the salvage contract, Odyssey will retain 80% of the net salved value of silver bullion recovered under the contract. Additional, uninsured silver may be aboard as well. Sources, including Lloyd’s Record of War Losses indicate a cargo of silver worth £600,000 at the time, which would equate to approximately 7 million total ounces of silver.

The shipwreck was located using the MAK-1M (deep-tow low frequency sonar system), aboard the chartered Russian research vessel RV Yuzhmorgeologiya. Visual inspection of the site was conducted with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the Odyssey Explorer. The video and still images acquired during the exploration of the shipwreck with the ROV were reviewed and analyzed at length to confirm the identity of the shipwreck as that of the SS Gairsoppa. The expedition and resulting data was also used to evaluate the condition of the shipwreck and to plan for recovery operations, which are expected to commence in the second quarter of 2011.

The Gairsoppa was discovered approximately 4700 meters below the surface of the north Atlantic, in international waters approximately 300 miles off the coast of Ireland.

For more information on the history of SS Gairsoppa click here

From the UK Telegraph:

World Markets Driven by Europe's Debt Crisis

From: AssociatedPress  | Sep 26, 2011

World stock markets on Monday were driven by Europe's debt crisis and the lack of a detailed plan to resolve it. Asian markets tumbled, but Europe indexes rose on hopes leaders will consider a new approach to the crisis.

The world didn't end

Well it seems the world of Gold and Silver did not end over night Sydney time. The 'players' seemed to have folded their Gold and Silver shorts and put them neatly away for the next COMEX option expiry or tipped off CME margin increase (or both as we have seen over the last week).

With Gold at $1625 and Silver at $30.70 and both trading throughout the London and New York sessions flat to rising it seems that most of the downside risk has been bled out of the market and the fire hoses are out hosing away the remnants of the weak long position holders.

As I have often told my clients, Silver is the roller coaster – lots of bravado on the slow trek up, then an immense amount of fear and pain on the way down.......but a feeling of elation when it levels out at the bottom. Gold I had been comparing to the merry-go-round, the horses go up and down but you don't need to be strapped in – maybe I should have mentioned you still need to hang on to the golden pole though.

So for those wishing to take long term positions in physical, particularly in silver at around the $30 level your risk/reward profile is looking particularly promising. For those in for the short trade buying silver at around $30, being patient over the next few weeks and seeing if it gets back over $40 and then taking some profits prior to the expected Greek default in several weeks time looks like some easy, but not risk free money.

Note these comments are general in nature and do not in anyway constitute trading advice. The market is made up of millions participants and JP Morgan, some of these participants may read the current market conditions very differently to me and hence the market could move in a direction opposite to my observations above. Remember without risk there is no reward ~ Fortune does favour the brave (but also kills some of the brave along the way). Whatever the outcome remember physical Gold and Silver have never gone bankrupt or fallen to zero in the last 5,000 years - unlike some companies that mine them and the fiat currency they are purchased with.

Traders rule the World!

Draconian IMF cuts call under fire

From: RussiaToday  | Sep 26, 2011 

Eurozone leaders are preparing a rescue plan to prevent the escalation of the financial turmoil threatening to send the global economy back into recession. It comes as the IMF has warned it may not be able to help out bigger European economies struggling to tackle their debt. With a Greek default now widely considered a matter of time, the priority is to prevent bigger states such as Italy and Spain being dragged down. Greece has been hit by another wave of public protests against government austerity measures. But as RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports, the IMF is accused of being too tough on some countries while being too soft on others, like the U.S., where the 2008 crisis began.

Quant trading: How mathematicians rule the markets

From BBC News:

Trading floors were once the preserve of adrenalin-fuelled dealers aggressively executing the orders of brokers who relied on research, experience and gut instinct to decide where best to invest.

Long ago computers made dealers redundant, yet brokers and their ilk have remained the masters of the investment universe, free to buy and sell wherever they see fit.

But the last bastion of the old order is now under threat.

Investment decisions are no longer being made by financiers, but increasingly by PhD mathematicians and the immensely complex computer programs they devise.

Fundamental research and intuition are being usurped by algorithmic formulae. Quant trading is taking over the world's financial capitals.
New paradigm

Mathematicians have long played a vital role in risk management at financial institutions, but their skill set is increasingly being used to make money, not just to stop losing it.

Ian Ellis, director at Ride Arcade Limited, explains how electronic trading works

Firms are now employing gifted academic statisticians to track patterns or trends in trading behaviour and create formulae to predict future market movements. These formulae are then fed into powerful computers that buy and sell automatically according to triggers generated by the algorithms.

These so-called quantitative trading programs underpin all quickfire trades - known as high-frequency trading (HFT) - in which stocks can be held for just a matter of seconds........read on

EU given six weeks to protect itself against 'inevitable Greek default'

From The Guardian:

European Union governments will spend the next six weeks building a financial firewall to protect their fragile banking systems against what is now seen as an inevitable Greek default.

G20 sources said that up to 50% was likely to be wiped from the face value of Greece's €350bn debt – but not until Europe had put into place a war chest to prevent the contagion spreading.

More money will be disbursed by the International Monetary Fund and the EU next month to keep the Greek government afloat, but this is seen as a short-term fix while Europe's leaders beef up the eurozone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.

Europe came under ferocious pressure at this weekend's IMF meeting in Washington to contain the spiralling crisis, which is blamed for dragging the global economy to the brink of a double-dip recession. The IMF is reportedly willing to continue bailing out Greece in the short-term, provided that Europe uses the time to tackle the issue of debt once and for all. The Washington-based lender believes the 18-month delay since Greece was first bailed out last spring has exacerbated the crisis.

Tim Geithner, the US treasury secretary, said: "The threat of cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table, otherwise it will undermine all other efforts, both within Europe and globally.

"Decisions as to how to conclusively address the region's problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe."......read on

Can Chinese buying halt the slide?

Just watching the market action in Gold and Silver, it seems that someone has taken a large long position (buying) in Gold and Silver (or maybe in just one market, causing similar price movements in the other, thinking silver not gold as the market is tiny and easier to move).

It this the China Put finally kicking in? Only time will tell. Although in silver the US$26 level was an extremely sweet price compared the $40+ levels of only last week. That $26 level was approx. a 40% decline from the $43 level hit at the start of September. It was so sweet that it briefly knocked the price of my favourite silver bar, the 1kg PAMP, to below AUD$1,000 (damn it I should be buying not blogging!).

Now lets see how the 'players' in London and New York react to this counter move, will they roll over and play dead or hit it with their spandex gold and silver shorts :-)

Keiser Report: Cultural Fragging

  From RussiaToday on Sep 25, 2011

This week Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, discuss cultural fragging and financial flashbacks. They also discuss Papandreou's high frequency austerity measures for Greece. In the second half of the show Max talks to Ned Naylor-Leyland of Cheviot Asset Management about the latest developments in the silver manipulation case against JP Morgan.

WTF? - 'Gold is backed by nothing unlike the US Dollar'

This video is pure gold.

I wet myself laughing when I heard the air-head say the following:

"Some investors aren't confident with what gold is backed by- or if its backed by anything at all, as compared to something like the US dollar. Investors are comfortable that the US dollar is backed by the American government, so that no matter what is happening to the US economy, something like the US dollar is backed by the Federal Reserve, that's going to be around a year from now.  That's a much more comfortable investment for them."

How about the fact that Gold is backed by:

• The Earth and its finite supply of Gold
• The three major monotheistic religion's holy book stating that Gold is Money
• 5,000 years of the free market choosing Gold over ALL other forms of money (except silver).

Whereas the Fiat US Dollar is backed by:

• Infinite supply from the Fed and its member banks
• Being outlawed as Money in the US constitution
• Having lost 96% of its value since the Fed has been "backing" it - source

I think the Todd Hirsch mentioned is this guy

Whilst very funny and sad, it is typical of mainstream media. The first time I was interviewed on national Australian TV the only vaguely intelligent question I received was from the weather girl.

Eurozone leaders bring monetary union to the brink

From the UK Telegraph:

By Ed Conway

There’s a thin line between tragedy and comedy, and this weekend the finance ministers of the euro area blundered over it. They gathered in Washington in the shadow of the darkest economic clouds since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, with the world’s eyes upon them.

Even as they met, stock markets around the world suffered their worst day since those dark months of recession. The MSCI World stock market index dropped into technical bear market territory. European sovereign debt teetered on the brink of insolvency and its banking system threatened to topple.

G20 sources finally conceded that it is now a question of when, not if, Greece will default. And in the face of this hideous storm what did they come up with? A deadline. In fact, that’s not quite it: they set themselves a deadline to come up with a timetable. You couldn’t make it up. Euro leaders have been given six weeks to devise a legal framework to implement measures which, if they are lucky, may have a fighting chance of saving the euro.

Of course, if ever there were a bunch of people you could count on to miss a deadline like this, it is the eurozone’s ministers. It is their prevarication throughout the recent crisis – whether over addressing their public finances, recapitalising their banks or addressing the rot at the heart of the single currency – which has left us where we are today........read on

Truth About Markets

This weeks' show maybe the best ever recorded. Max & Stacy discuss this weeks moves in equities, commodities, Gold & Silver and the political machinations behind those moves.  As well as the ever present danger facing the silver investor - Bullion Back. Listen:  Streaming  /  MP3 file

Gerald Celente - 'I am in the Gold market for long term security'

Gerald Celente discusses gold, silver and the fascist state with Eric King of King World News......listen here

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at UN General Assembly

I always find it worthwhile to go to the source than rely on the interrprentation of others, particarly when those in question dare to speak the Truth.

I recommend listening to the whole of the following speech but for those short on time I highly recommend listening to the following two time periods:

05:00 - 11:30
17:57 - 20:03

My favourite section is at 09:42 when the US diplomats walkout as Ahmadinejad dares to mention that many of the world's current problems can be traced back to the 'mysterious September 11 incident' and the undermining of the Bretton Woods system by printing trillions of dollars without the backing of gold reserves....

Putin in 2012 Presidential bid

From: RussiaToday  | Sep 25, 2011

IMF calls on Europe to act

From: AlJazeeraEnglish  | Sep 24, 2011

Protesters arrested in anti-Wall Street rally

From: AlJazeeraEnglish  | Sep 24, 2011 

 

Dozens of people have been arrested in New York after police shut down a protest against Wall Street financial firms.

The organiser of the demonstration, a group calling itself "Occupy Wall Street", used social media to call for peaceful protests against what they describe as corporate greed in America.

They had hoped to turn the sit-in into an American version of Tahrir Square - a reference to the centre of the largely peaceful uprising in Egypt - before they say the police cracked down.

Are we IMF'D?

From: RTAmerica  | Sep 23, 2011 

 

With the eurozone debt crisis continuing and persistent high unemployment plaguing the US, much of the world is believed to be spiraling towards recession. While global growth is expected to stall, can the International Monetary Fund offer any solutions to this worldwide crisis? Or is the very institution actually part of the problem? Paul Craig Roberts, columnist and former Reagan administration official, explains to RT's Lauren Lyster.

Yemen protests re-ignite with presidents return

Inside Story - Saleh's return marked by violence

From: AlJazeeraEnglish  | Sep 25, 2011

Multi-trillion plan to save the eurozone being prepared

From the UK Telegraph:

German and French authorities have begun work on a three-pronged strategy behind the scenes amid escalating fears that the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis is spiralling out of control.

Their aim is to build a “firebreak” around Greece, Portugal and Ireland to prevent the crisis spreading to Italy and Spain, countries considered “too big to bail”.

According to sources, progress has been made at the G20 meeting in Washington, where global leaders piled pressure on the eurozone to fix its problems before plunging the world back into recession. In a G20 communique issued on Friday, the world’s leading economies set themselves a six-week deadline to resolve the crisis – to unveil a solution by the G20 summit in Cannes on November 4......read on

From: Euronews  | Sep 25, 2011

Case Closed: CME Hikes Gold, Silver, Copper Margins

Sorry for being a slow on posting the story of the CME margin hikes, I do occasionally have to sleep, although by the timings of some of my posts many may wonder when. 

Unlike most CME margin hikes, whilst suspect, could be argued they were in reaction to sharply rising prices in gold or silver but these particular hikes are against a back drop of a few weeks of flat prices, then of course plunging prices as those in the know got a whiff of the coming hikes seem particularly manipulative to the downside.

From Zerohedge:

And there you have it: CME just hiked gold margins by 21%, silver by 16% and copper by 18%. Mystery solved.

But taking a long term view the 10 year trend is still your best friend:

To paraphrase Monty Python looking at the 10 year graphs vs. the last two days moves in gold and silver...."Tis but a scratch"

From the movie The Holy Grail

Black Knight: I move for no man.
Arthur: So be it!  (Arthur cuts off the Black Knight's left arm).
Arthur: Now stand aside, worthy adversary.
Black Knight: 'Tis but a scratch.
Arthur: A scratch? Your arm's off!
Black Knight: No, it isn't.
Arthur: Well, what's that then?
Black Knight: I've had worse.