Marc Faber on Gold, Silver, Oil and Farmland

Gerald Celente on Jeff Rense Radio

From: GeraldCelenteChannel:

Mike Maloney - Bernanke is dumber than Gold

Bill Fleckenstein - On the US$, Inflation & Silver

Bill Fleckenstein, President of Fleckenstein Capital discusses the US dollar, inflation & silver with Eric King of King World News.....listen here

William Engdahl on 'uncreative destruction' in Arab world

From: RussiaToday | Apr 29, 2011

William Engdahl, author of 'A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order' joins RT to talk about the situation in the Middle East.

Inflation creates unrest in Uganda

Syrian protests update

Gold shines as world woes mount

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

Central banks that were net sellers of gold a decade ago are buying the precious metal to reduce their reliance on the dollar as a reserve currency, signaling demand that may extend a record rally in prices.

As developing countries accelerate purchases, gold may reach $US2000 an ounce this year, compared with a record of $US1538.80 yesterday in New York, said Robert McEwen, the chief executive officer of producer US Gold Corp. Euro Pacific Capital’s Michael Pento, who correctly predicted gold’s highs for the past two years, forecast a 2011 high of $US1600.

Prices reached a record 14 times this month on demand from investors seeking an alternative to the dollar after the currency slumped to the lowest since 2009, US debt widened, and the Federal Reserve signaled April 27 that borrowing costs will remain near zero per cent for an extended period. The economy in China, the biggest foreign holder of US Treasuries, grew 9.7 per cent in the first quarter.

“China is out to have more gold than America, and Russia is aspiring to the same,” McEwen said yesterday in an interview in New York. “When you have debt, you don’t have a lot of flexibility. China wants to show its currency has more backing than the US.”

In 2010, central banks became net buyers for the first time in two decades, adding 87 metric tons in official-sector purchases by countries including Bolivia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, according to World Gold Council data. China, with more than $US3 trillion in foreign-currency reserves, plans to set up new funds to invest in precious metals, Century Weekly reported this week. Russia purchased 8 tons of gold in the first quarter.

China’s gold reserves

China, which has just 1.6 per cent of its reserves in gold, may invest more than $US1 trillion in bullion, Pento said. “China wants to be an international player, and they need to own more gold than they currently have.......read on

Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship

Even without using his x-ray vision Superman can see that the USA doomed and is leaving before they can announce a "No Fly Zone"

From Comics Alliance:

Despite very literally being an alien immigrant, Superman has long been seen as a patriotic symbol of "truth, justice, and the American way," from his embrace of traditional American ideals to the iconic red and blue of his costume. What it means to stand for the "American way" is an increasingly complicated thing, however, both in the real world and in superhero comics, whose storylines have increasingly seemed to mirror current events and deal with moral and political complexities rather than simple black and white morality.

The key scene takes place in "The Incident," a short story in Action Comics #900 written by David S. Goyer with art by Miguel Sepulveda. In it, Superman consults with the President's national security advisor, who is incensed that Superman appeared in Tehran to non-violently support the protesters demonstrating against the Iranian regime, no doubt an analogue for the recent real-life protests in the Middle East. However, since Superman is viewed as an American icon in the DC Universe as well as our own, the Iranian government has construed his actions as the will of the American President, and indeed, an act of war.

Superman replies that it was foolish to think that his actions would not reflect politically on the American government, and that he therefore plans to renounce his American citizenship at the United Nations the next day, and to continue working as a superhero from a more global than national perspective. From a "realistic" standpoint it makes sense; it would indeed be impossible for a nigh-omnipotent being ideologically aligned with America to intercede against injustice beyond American borders without creating enormous political fallout for the U.S. government.

While this wouldn't be this first time a profoundly American comic book icon disassociated himself from his national identity -- remember when Captain America became Nomad? -- this could be a very significant turning point for Superman if its implications carry over into other storylines. Indeed, simply saying that "truth, justice and the American way [is] not enough anymore" is a pretty startling statement from the one man who has always represented those values the most.....read on

Gold hits new record of $1,570 as US$ falters

Gold has closed the week at $1565 as increasing numbers of US investors sort safe harbour in gold to protect themselves from an increasingly weak $.

Gold traded higher throughout the New York sessions and briefly touched an all time high of $1570 before settling back to $1565 at the close.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Erosion of faith in currencies, particularly the US dollar, is paying off nicely for Australia's gold miners, whose production has increased with the ever-rising gold price.

For a man carrying the title of ''Treasurer'', Peter Costello sure seemed comfortable getting rid of the treasure.

It was the winter of 1997, and the Reserve Bank of Australia had decided that a gold price around $450 an ounce was the ideal time to part with two-thirds of its bullion.

Conducted in secret over several months, the move spectacularly punctured both the gold price and confidence in the local mining industry.

As the gold mining sector cried treason, the fresh-faced treasurer stood firm behind the RBA's $2.4 billion decision.

''Gold no longer plays a significant role in the international financial system,'' Mr Costello was widely quoted as saying. ''One holds it for purposes of diversification.''

Fourteen years and a healthy dose of hindsight later, gold has more than tripled its value against the Australian dollar, and almost quintupled against the ailing US dollar.

The same stockpile would fetch about $7.6 billion if sold today, meaning we are more than $4 billion behind on the deal after accounting for inflation.

As the utterances of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke helped propel gold to new heights this week, the metal that seemed to have lost its lustre in 1997 is fast reclaiming its standing as the world's currency of choice......read on

Weekend chillout

Inspired by the range bound action in Silver this week, with the SLA holding the line at $45 and the banksters making increasingly desperate bombing raids of fiat silver as the price neared $50, it seems both sides will need to man their watchtowers.

All Along the Watchtower

"There must be some kind of way out of here,"
Said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion,
I can't get no relief.
Businessman they drink my wine,
Plowman dig my earth
None will level on the line, nobody offered his word, hey"

"No reason to get excited,"
The thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"