fritter1970

Hey Midas,

Did you read the comments by Rickards on King World News a few days ago? I laugh my a$$ off at the charismatic way he describes his view on stuff. Always enjoyable to listen to. Has some interesting thoughts on gold in the article too.

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/12/30_Jim_Rickards_-_US_to_go_to_War_with_Iran,_Oil_%26_Gold_to_Spike.html

Rickards:

“But I think the (Iranian) regime is too entrenched, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp are too ruthless. They actually buy cranes, they hang people not from scaffolds, but from cranes, and they are buying more cranes because they are hanging more people. They’ll do whatever it takes, so I don’t see regime change.

What’s left? Well, what’s left is war and that is, unfortunately, where I see this heading. There is a lot of maneuvering going on already. The Iranians have a submarine fleet that’s kind of interesting because they run on battery power, so they are extremely quiet and hard to detect. They could take out one or two US vessels.

They also practice these swarm techniques. They have these speed boats, like in Miami Vice, that type of boat that can go 50, 60 knots. (They are) much faster than any naval vessel. They load them up with explosives, they put suicide crews on them....

If you send out one or two, you (the US) would swat them like flies. But if you send out fifty of them, even with these kind of laser guided gatling guns they have on some of the vessels, you can’t take all of them out. So the chance that one of them sinks one of our vessels is not insignificant.”

ok but at the end of the day one thing seems pretty indisputable?everyone is going to

print print print and I believe Rickards regarding China.Do you know why?

Because the Vice Premier of China virtually admitted recently what Rickards is saying.

Rickards: China’s Slowdown Will Be Worse Than You Think

http://profitimes.co...than-you-think/

Agree totally.

Not printing = Deflation = a quick economic death = politicians not being re-elected

Printing = Inflation = kicking the can down the road = politicians giving themselves the best chance of being re-elected

The end game of the two options is that printing will make a far, far bigger mess down the road - but politicians are such a$$holes they place their own career ahead of the countless millions that will be put into extreme poverty down the track. As far as the USA is concerned, it is Ron Paul as President or those printing presses will keep working overtime!

Got excessive fur growing from me ballbags, is it better to shave 'em or wax 'em ?

In my opinion it is much better to follow the commentary of investors with a long history of success who are independent of such a conflict of interest.

what about Jim Rogers and Marc Faber ?

" Faber speaks highly of gold which he says is cheaper today than ten years ago when compared to monetary base expansion and government debt."

http://www.mises.ca/...12-predictions/

Jim Rogers definitely. Straight down the line. No BS. I tend to focus on his long term investment recommendations because it is just too difficult to follow his short term trades. And if he moves out of a position and I don't hear about it I could get seriously burned.

For example, the only long term investment I have heard him recommend for some time is agriculture. I have not invested in agriculture however as I have a 'proof of life' rationale and I just have not seen enough life in agriculture. Rogers has been recommending agriculture for years but it has not really done much except for one period of a few months! But I have no doubt that it will prove a great investment.

He also likes gold and silver but has said for some months that he feels the price has been too high and that a correction was due. Sure as hell, down it came from 1900. When he says he is buying you can be confident it is a pretty good time to buy because he hates buying anything for more than bargain basement prices.

His recent commentary that gold will continue correcting aligned with other research I have undertaken so I just hope he is proven right and the coming weeks will provide a great buying opportunity for gold...... and silver!

And what about Citi analyst Tom Fitzpatrick ?

Gold Jumps As Citi Says Gold Sell Off Over, Reiterates $2400 Target

http://www.zerohedge...tes-2400-target

I love these guys who are so successful at investing they have to be a wage-earner with a bank.... better to follow the advice of a self-made billionaire investor like Jim Rogers

Have been getting a little hairy in the nether regions, just wondering if it is possible to get a professional wax job done in CM. Anyone have any recommendations ???

He also likes gold and silver but has said for some months that he feels the price has been too high and that a correction was due. Sure as hell, down it came from 1900. When he says he is buying you can be confident it is a pretty good time to buy because he hates buying anything for more than bargain basement prices.

His recent commentary that gold will continue correcting aligned with other research I have undertaken so I just hope he is proven right and the coming weeks will provide a great buying opportunity for gold...... and silver!

I also like Jim but I would also say that what he considers bargain basement prices may not work for individuals.

Remember he is buying for a large fund.

Also I am not sure if your buying metals or investing in paper representations of them....Sorry I have not been reading all the posts lately.

In any case....what I am trying to say is for individuals buying physical metals....forget all the timing

..buy on dips if you dont own any.

I have bought all I intend to years ago & have only swapped gold & silver back and forth a few times since.

But as a physical holder of decent quantity I did not think to sell in the least when gold was 1900/oz

After all sourcing a quantity of the form I like + premiums would pretty much mean nothing if I were to buy again now or even at the recent lows of $1550-ish

Just IMO of course.

I did see your earlier post about nothing goes straight up & of course I agree.

But there is nothing based in facts to suggest commodities will crash anytime soon.

There will be thrashing...yes & even more so if the paper game unfolds for what it is

But at the end of the day will prices be lower if paper is found to be misrepresenting the true amounts of physical or higher?

I wish I had stockpiled like yourself years ago. I take my hat off to you and wish I had possessed more foresight. I like your comment about how to buy gold and silver. I only buy physical precious metals. And I would never store it in the USA. They have an unfortunate history of confiscating it when the sh*t hits the fan.

I do understand where you are coming from when you say there is nothing based in facts to say precious metals will crash anytime soon. But Rogers is possibly the best commodities investor, and when he says for months we are due for a correction, and then the price drops from 1900 to 1550, and he says it will likely go to 1200-1300, it is certainly worthy of consideration.

The time frame I am talking about such a drop occurring is only 4 - 6 weeks. I really believe that given it is such a short amount of time a good strategy would be to start averaging in at $1300, then $1200, and at every hundred dollar drop from there with some possibility the price could go below $1000.

As the saying goes, the price of gold goes up the stairs and down the elevator. So worse case scenario, if gold rallies, you won't be left too far behind over 4 - 6 weeks. And the potential pay-off is extremely large.

P.S. absolutely agree to not sell any gold and silver no matter the price! Except when the time comes that it goes parabolic.

There are two things I am certain of :

(1) I knew with 100 per cent certainty from the start this old dude was a nutcase

(2) There was no way I was going near Bhumibol Dam on December 31, 2011

In my opinion it is much better to follow the commentary of investors with a long history of success who are independent of such a conflict of interest.

what about Jim Rogers and Marc Faber ?

" Faber speaks highly of gold which he says is cheaper today than ten years ago when compared to monetary base expansion and government debt."

http://www.mises.ca/...12-predictions/

Jim Rogers definitely. Straight down the line. No BS. I tend to focus on his long term investment recommendations because it is just too difficult to follow his short term trades. And if he moves out of a position and I don't hear about it I could get seriously burned.

For example, the only long term investment I have heard him recommend for some time is agriculture. I have not invested in agriculture however as I have a 'proof of life' rationale and I just have not seen enough life in agriculture. Rogers has been recommending agriculture for years but it has not really done much except for one period of a few months! But I have no doubt that it will prove a great investment.

He also likes gold and silver but has said for some months that he feels the price has been too high and that a correction was due. Sure as hell, down it came from 1900. When he says he is buying you can be confident it is a pretty good time to buy because he hates buying anything for more than bargain basement prices.

His recent commentary that gold will continue correcting aligned with other research I have undertaken so I just hope he is proven right and the coming weeks will provide a great buying opportunity for gold...... and silver!

Interesting articles:

http://www.hindustan...le1-790146.aspx

http://goldnews.bull..._gold_010320121

Excellent analysis Craig.

All the indicators are that gold is correcting. I expect there to be terrific buying opportunities in Jan/Feb before the bull returns. The year end figure for gold will be a new high. For the near term the gold market is taking a breather.

My prediction? In the near term gold will go to somewhere between $1200 - $1300, but, if we are lucky, it could even go to as low as the $900 region.

Silver will remain neutral for 2012. I also expect terrific buying opportunities in silver in the opening couple of months of the year.

I am targeting a silver purchase at the $20- $21 area.

John Embry doesn't agree with you...........

http://kingworldnews...Ever_Again.html

I enjoy reading King World News, however I do worry about the numbers of contributors who keep being interviewed repeatedly and every time state that gold is going to do nothing but go up. This is ridiculous. No market, especially commodities, goes up in a straight line.

I also have concerns that whenever the gold market goes down most of the contributors always blame it on "market manipulators" or "the cartel", when the truth is that it is just the dynamics of the market in operation. They blame any downward movement of gold on the market "getting smashed" by "manipulators", and do so in my opinion to cover their a$$ because the last time they were on they said it would go up! In other words it is just an excuse for them having been completely wrong about the direction in which the market would head.

What I am saying is that many of the people interviewed have severe conflicts of interest. As an example, John Embry is never, ever going to say "I am bearish on precious metals in the short-term" because he is part of Sprott Asset Management - and to say such a thing will mean people will sell out of their Sprott investments..... Do you see where I am going here?

In my opinion it is much better to follow the commentary of investors with a long history of success who are independent of such a conflict of interest.

All the indicators are that gold is correcting. I expect there to be terrific buying opportunities in Jan/Feb before the bull returns. The year end figure for gold will be a new high. For the near term the gold market is taking a breather.

My prediction? In the near term gold will go to somewhere between $1200 - $1300, but, if we are lucky, it could even go to as low as the $900 region.

Silver will remain neutral for 2012. I also expect terrific buying opportunities in silver in the opening couple of months of the year.

I am targeting a silver purchase at the $20- $21 area.

Is this kind of behaviour unusual?

I think I need to review my current after hours hobby.

That of course is an attempt to create a straw man and then knock it down to serve the purposes of inflating your own ego.

Gold was $277 in early January 2002. Even with the recent correction, it is up an average of 17.86% per year every year for the last decade. That is a remarkable return on investment for such a long time. And there is absolutely no reason to assume the trend is not going to continue.

bla-bla-bla... Gold was 850 dollars mid/end january 1980. since then Gold has neither yielded a single freaking inflation adjusted copper penny or a tiny bowl of rice. this is a remarkable shitty³ return on investment for such a long time when triple rated gilts in major [fiat] currencies raked in -during the same period- for more than a decade fat double digit returns. even with the recent yada yada... there is absolutely no reason to assume bla-bla-bla... and based on that assumption absolutely no reason to write an essay stating irrelevant facts to inflate your yakety-yak bla-bla ego.

Naam, do the world a favour and go back to Germany so you can be with your equally dismissive and arrogant brethren

Makes me laugh when I hear people defending this geezer.

If it walks like a snake, and talks like a snake.......

There have been posts by some German contributors to the Thaivisa business forum promoting Germany as the financial muscle of the EU. Unfortunately such confidence is a sad psychological allusion.

Stanford University and David M. Walker (former U.S. Comptroller General) have destroyed the idea that Germany can bail out the EU when it comes to the crunch. The truth is that the German Government’s fiscal position is so poor that it will not even be able to bail itself out when GFC2 ensues.

Germany ranks a dismal 25 in Stanford University’s “Sovereign Fiscal Responsibility Index”. It ranks far below the UK, and is below France and even Spain. It only ranks slightly ahead of Belgium, Italy and the United Sates.

It is interesting to note that the highest ranked country is Australia. A country that has very low public debt and an economy that is projected to derive enormous income from massive natural resource reserves for decades to come.

So the humbling message to our proud and over-confident German contributors? Pack your bags and head to where the wealth truly exists..... Australia.

Thailand has never been known to address mental health issues like that in the West. A lot has to do with losing face, what others will think, and other such issues. But Suan Prung is going to be your best option, here in C.M. If you do a search on the forum you will see that others have had positive experiences there.

All the best of luck to you.

+1

I have known a few Thais who have had significant mental health issues and there is definitely an issue with them not wanting to lose face by investing in counselling/psychiatry etc.

As such, it appears that the lack of demand for such resources means there is a massive lack of mental health assets in Thailand.

I admire tremendously your efforts to ask for help and sincerely hope you manage to find the resources needed to assist you.

If you search around in the forums, you will no doubt find an endless array of similar topics.

Since I seem to be among the first batch of responders, I will say that ...

This is the short story version.

Yes, the Thai educational system and power bodys encourage Thais to be very proud of their culture and to diminish or even altogether ignore other cultures. There is certainly an 'us and them' system of thinking often employed here.

However, if you look at history, you find this most anywhere. Notable current examples: USA, Germany, UK, Greece, Japan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Egypt ...

This topic is actually too complex to be informed in one spot, so I recommend checking out the following links if you want to really understand this.

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Thaification

http://kyotoreview.c...rticle_251.html

Out of curiosity, what makes you ask this question?

Thanks,

Thanks for the feedback ThailandMan.

I am asking the question because I visit Thailand regularly but feel that I do not spend enough time to break through the barriers and understand how Thai people really tick.

In short, I just want to understand Thai culture. How Thai people really see the world. And I think this nationalistic version of Thai culture that I hear about is possibly the biggest trait of the Thai character so would like to understand firstly, if it is true, and secondly, how it works.

I see one Thailand but keep hearing about another.

The Thailand that I see is one of the "Land Of Smiles". A friendly and courteous people.

But westerners who have been in Thailand a long, long time say that in reality most Thai people view themselves as a separate, higher-level form of human to other races.

I am hoping to get feedback from people who have been in Thailand a long time and can help me understand what is the "real Thailand".

Admittedly, I'd left cleaning alone for almost a year, and I don't have new teeth. Still, Grace charged 1700 baht, which is greater than I would have paid in the States, and there insurance would have paid most or all of it.

Good luck finding any dental clinic in the US that charges only $56 for a cleaning other than some hillbilly clinic up in Appalachia with a banjo playing in the background. In my metropolitan region, the Farang dentists who like to golf now charge close to $200 for a cleaning and the immigrant dentists (my new dentist is Iranian) charge around $125 which is what the insurance companies reimburse a dental clinic for a cleaning for those fortunate enough to have dental insurance. Most of us who do not work for the government or the big corporations (now the same duopoly of power) can only afford catastrophic medical without dental coverage.

+ 1

As if it is anywhere near remotely possible to have a dentist deep clean (40min - 1 hour) your teeth for $56 in the U.S. At best you will get the quickest clean in dental history (maybe a 5 minute clean if you are lucky).

I use the one quarter principle. If I am being charged one quarter or better of what I would be charged for dental in Australia then I feel it is a fair price. Grace meets this criteria so my advice..... stop being tight a*ses and just go to Grace.

The bottom line is you have to put up with it, Its their Country.

I agree. It only becomes a problem if you let it become one.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out

-- Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out

-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out

-- Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me

-- and there was no one left to speak for me.

JP Morgan stole the funds in the accounts that were calling for delivery… notices for delivery were replaced by stolen accounts.

stolen funds were traded against unknown quantities of Unobtainium adulterated with low grade Quadlithium and then sold to the Cardassians?

don't these stories belong to the Grimm Brothers collection of fairy tales Midas? i agree that a lot of shit has been going on and is still going on. but courts of law with judges possessing integrity still exist in the U.S. of A. and so do lawyers who'd jump on these stories even if they were only partly true.

Negatory. New York City is a soveriegnty unto itself. It is totally separate from the United States when it comes to the rule of law. It is a boys club that makes Russia look like a Sunday school picnic. Your comments prove you are a member of the flock. The comments of midas show that he is not with the blind. Unfortunately his kind are very, very rare.

What is more important? propping up one's share portfolio or giving the next generation at least a better chance of getting work and enjoying their lives?

i'd say propping up one's (not necessarily share) portfolio because that possibility exists. giving the next generation a better chance to enjoy their lives without going through a rough time is impossible. they will have to manage and cope with similar problems i had to cope growing up as a poor son of impoverished parents in post-war Germany.

by the way, i don't think it's right what the next one (or more generations) will be facing. being a realist and pragmatic i'm just stating facts.

Ah, you are German. That explains a lot.

Naam did not increase his gold holdings and neither did Mrs Naam

My name Naam. I talk like baby. Wife name Mrs Naam. I also call wife Mummy because Naam Mummy's boy.

Stop criticising with every comment twerp and have the balls to actually tell us how things will pan out and where you are investing if you are so dam_n brilliant....... or are you just a mamma's boy?

-i have no idea "how things will pan out". why not ask your acquaintances, the "guys in the trenches"?

-explaining my strategy of investing would be too tedious but even if i did beyond the grasp of "let's get rich fast" dreamers.

-where/when did i say i was brilliant? did i go short AUDUSD waiting for the gold price to collapse? who's the "twerp" here?

-i voice my views/opinions and criticise whenever i please.

any other questions?

an expert's forecast:

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4846172

Yep. Questioned answered. You're a mamma's boy. Take your toys home to mummy. This area is only for the men who have the nuts to at least one time voice where they're putting their money. It's not for a boy who is too afraid to do so.

As for AUD/USD.... the trade is not over mummy's boy. Why quote a trade that's still in play? Ah, that's right, cause you only criticise cause your balls are in mummy's purse.

Very interesting chart. I had no Idea of the relative size of the UK Financial sector debt. I wonder what assets they are financing with all that debt? Who are they lending to? How likely is that they will default on a chunk of that debt? I have some research to do now. However, I know the usual problem is disclosure isn't sufficient to really know if the debt is supported by real assets vs some flaky derivatives. UK not included in the latest credit watch for downgrade?

don't waste your time on nutters like Joe Weisenthal. he's one of the doom&gloomers who, instead of doing their own homework, use facts and figures worked out by others and then twist, misinterprete and quite often even forge them to suit their agenda. just like the rainbow press they couldn't exist / make a living without presenting sensational rubbish.

Stop criticising with every comment twerp and have the balls to actually tell us how things will pan out and where you are investing if you are so dam_n brilliant....... or are you just a mamma's boy?