History of Money and Banking - USA Economy Markets Futures Economics Economist politics government

Below are links to Streaming Video off of Google that present a history of money and banking – beyond what most people understand – underlying the economy & government of the U. S., and the world. To better understand, recognize and react to economic concerns and political influences and other opportunities as they may develop – as well as to more safely and effectively invest and prepare for the future:

First are statements of reviews on the video, and then statements related to this subject by various notable people.

Following the links are a few discourses relative to this subject by Apostle / President Ezra T. Benson (somewhat condensed).

There are many books, audio discussions, and videos now prepared on this subject – in case more research is desired, and some references are included. Many people have made considerable efforts to make it easy to get educated on this. The following (1st ) video of "The Money Masters" seems to be the most comprehensive. The author, Bill Still has spent much of his life (often under threats) researching this matter.

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Reviews on The Video: “The Money Masters”

What you have shown in the scenario is what we are constantly doing at the personal level as well as the public level. It is the policy of exploitation that the rich employ against the poor. This is why grandfather [Mahatma Gandhi] said 'Materialism and morality have an inverse relationship - when one increases the other decreases.' If I may, I would like to keep the videos as resource material to teach students about economic violence in the world. With good wishes. Yours sincerely, Arun Gandhi, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence"

As you know, I am entirely sympathetic with the objectives of your Monetary Reform Act...You deserve a great deal of credit for carrying through so thoroughly on your own conception…I am impressed by your persistence and attention to detail in your successive revisions... Best wishes. Milton Friedman," Nobel Laureate in Economics; Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

"Compelling! Excellently produced and impressively documented. If you want to learn what our Founding Fathers and Presidents have to say about money and its control, you will want to see [The Money Masters]…"- Dr. D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries, FL

I endorse the video because people should know what is happening." - Malachi Martin, late Professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and a close associate of Pope John XXIII; author of: The Windswept House; Vatican; The Keys of the Blood, and numerous other books

I appreciate and applaud your efforts to accomplish something specific in the area of monetary reform. . . I do not hesitate to recommend that people view The Money Masters for the excellent overview of fraudulent banking which it presents. . . - G. Edward Griffin," author of The Creature from Jekyl Island, A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

"This is undoubtedly the most comprehensive presentation of the history of our money system and who is responsible for the disastrous consequences that has left us with an unconstitutional money system and multi-trillion dollar debt." - Dr. W. Cleon Skousen, author of The Naked Capitalist and The Naked Communist

This 3 ½ hour video is professionally produced in the style of A&E Biography and covers the history of monetary reform from Roman times to the present. It is packed with great quotations which make for a powerful argument for the need to reform the money system. A MUST for serious activists."- Ian Woods, publisher of Monetary Reform Magazine

"At last somebody has put together a video on the Fed that the average person can understand."- Betty Faulk, Huntington House Publishers

"The Money Masters is by far the best and most complete production on the subject of money that we have seen. We are pleased to endorse it... Special thanks for your efforts on the most important subject that we face."- Robert Carroll, Humane World Community, Inc.

"Outstanding! The best video yet on the history of the Federal Reserve and the mysterious disappearance of America's gold reserves. Fast-paced and riveting." - Larry Bates, former bank CEO, former Chair of the Tennessee House Banking Committee, author of The New Economic Disorder, Chief Economist FAMC

"As you know, this material is vital for an understanding of our sovereignty's transition into the U.N. You are to be commended for the video."- George S. Gabric, GSG Publishers

"We highly recommend that every American watch The Money Masters." - Zeldon Nelson, CEO National Center for Constitutional Studies

"The Money Masters is a great video. " - Bryon Dale, The Coalition to Reform Money

. . . it is powerful and an iron-clad indictment of the Federal Reserve! - Mogambo Guru -- Richard Daughty – Economist 8-23-06

"Absorbing and very enlightening! There was not a boring minute in the whole thing." - Marilyn Brannan, Associate Editor, Monetary and Economic Review

Related Quotes:

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks...will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. -Thomas Jefferson

History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance. -James Madison

If congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to use themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations. -Andrew Jackson The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity. -Abraham Lincoln

Despite these warnings, Woodrow Wilson signed the 1913 Federal Reserve Act. A few years later he wrote: I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men. -Woodrow Wilson

I don't think I could ever possibly recommend a documentary more highly. This is THE issue. It got Caesar killed, it got Lincoln killed, and was THE PRINCIPLE ISSUE of American politics until the last 30 years. The fact is that international banks have created a debt based system by which no country can EVER get out of debt. They make money out of nothing and charge us interest on it. They control the so called 'business cycle' and cause depressions and booms to suit their own personal aims. this documentary contains no conspiracy theory, only facts, and quotes from presidents, bank owners, and leading economists. The solution proposed in this video is nothing radical, and has proven itself again and again throughout history. It was proposed by many of the first presidents. Check it out...TPC

The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching plan, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole...Their secret is that they have annexed from governments, monarchies, and republics the power to create the world's money..." - Prof. Carroll Quigley, renowned, late Georgetown macro-historian (mentioned by former President Clinton in his first nomination acceptance speech), author of Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time

"Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money ." - Sir Josiah Stamp, Director of the Bank of England (in the 1920s); reputed to be the 2nd wealthiest man in England at that time.

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The video:

“The Money Masters” here:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=the+money+masters+video

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Other Related Links (Videos, Info., articles):

(1) Very poignant (audio) interview with author John Perkins about his (book) “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” also interview with Nomi Prins and “Other People's Money.” link here:

http://www.netcastdaily.com/fsnewshour.htm (about 50 min.) – (At this location until about 9/22/06 then it will be archived). Every Saturday this web site with Jim Puplava has very informative programs with insightful guests. You can choose your format (Real Player, Windows Media, MP3).

(2) “Capitalist_Conspriracy” – G. Edward Griffin -- good, clear, concise. Windows Media Video format:

http://www.propagandamatrix.com/multimedia/Capitalist_Conspriracy.wmv (about 47 min.)

(3) Money, Banking, & the Federal Reserve – from the Ludwig von Mises Institute: mms://mises.org/Fed

(4) List of Videos:

http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/video_drugsmoney.htm -- many eye opening videos. One in Particular: “Why We Fight” -- Eugene Jarecki

(5) The Creation of the Global Union - Robert Gaylon Ross, Sr.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5790256003948876527&q=the+money+masters+video

(6) New Movie: “America - Freedom to Fascism” http://freedomtofascism.com/

(7) Recent Commentary (9/5/06): “The Tragedy of Busted Myths”

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Willie/sep052006.html

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Four Discourses of Ezra Taft Benson (somewhat condensed):

The first from “The American Heritage of Freedom” is very meaningful, though a little more for background. Then “America's Challenge,” “Not Commanded in All Things” and “Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints” – are most pertinent & poignant.

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THE AMERICAN HERITAGE OF FREEDOM – A PLAN OF GOD - - Ezra Taft Benson

Every member of the priesthood should understand the divine plan designed by the Lord to raise up the first free people in modern times. Here is how scripture says it was achieved:
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Seventh: God declared that the United States constitution was divinely inspired for the specific purpose of eliminating bondage and the violation of the rights and protection which belongs to “all flesh.” [D&C 101:77 - 80] Eighth: God placed a mandate upon his people to befriend and defend the constitutional laws on the land and see that the rights and privileges of a mankind are protected. He verified the declaration of the founding fathers, that God created all men free. He also warned against those who would enact laws encroaching upon the sacred rights and privileges of free men. He urged the election of honest and wise leaders and said that evil men and laws were of Satan. [D&C 98:5 - 10]
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Tenth: Concerning the US the Lord revealed to his prophets that its greatest threat would be a vast, world-wide “secret combination” which would not only threaten the US but also seek to “overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries.” [Ether 8:25] Eleventh: In connection with attack on the US, the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith there would be an attempt to overthrow the country by destroying the Constitution. Joseph Smith predicted that the time would come when the Constitution would hang, as it were, by a thread, and at that time “this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.” [Journal History, Brigham Young’s Speech, July 4, 1854]

It is my conviction that the elders of Israel, widely spread over the nation, will at that crucial time successfully rally the righteous of our country and provide the necessary balance of strength to save the institutions of constitutional government.

Twelfth: The Lord revealed to the Prophet Nephi that he established the gentiles on this land to be a free people forever, that if they were a righteous nation and overcame the wickedness and secret abominations which would arise in their midst, they would inherit the land forever [1 Nephi 14: 1-2]
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In the light of these prophecies, there should be no doubt in the mind of any priesthood holder that the human family is headed for trouble. There are rugged days ahead. It is time for every man who wishes to do his duty to get himself prepared—physically, spiritually, and psychologically—for the task which may come at any time, as suddenly as the whirlwind. Where do we stand today? All over the world the light of freedom is being diminished. Across whole continents of the earth freedom is being totally obliterated.
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Today the devil as a wolf in a supposedly new suit of sheep's clothing is enticing some men, both in and out of the Church, to parrot his line by advocating planned government-guaranteed security programs at the expense of our liberties. Latter-day Saints should be reminded how and why they voted as they did in heaven. If some have decided to change their votes they should repent—throw their support on the side of freedom—and cease promoting this subversion.
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In the ancient American civilization there was no word which struck greater terror to the hearts of the people than the name of the Gadiantons. It was a secret political party which operated as a murder cult. Its object was to infiltrate legitimate government, plant its officers in high places, and then seize power and live off the spoils appropriated from the people. (It would start out as a small group of dissenters, and by using secret oaths with the threat of death for defectors, it would gradually gain a choke hold on the political and economic life of whole civilizations.)
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One of the most urgent, heart-stirring appeals made by Moroni as he closed the Book of Mormon was addressed to the gentile nations of the last days. He foresaw the rise of a great worldwide secret combination among the gentiles which "seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries." (Ether 8:25.) He warned each gentile nation of the last days to purge itself of this gigantic criminal conspiracy which would seek to rule the world. The prophets, in our day, have continually warned us of these internal threats in our midst --
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The prophets have said that these threats are among us. The prophet Moroni, viewing our day, said, "Wherefore the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation." (Ether 8:24.)
. . . . the Lord has said that "whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold they shall be destroyed." (Ether 8:22.) Moroni described how the secret combination would take over a country and then fight the work of God, persecute the righteous, and murder those who resisted. Moroni therefore proceeded to describe the workings of the ancient secret combinations so that modern man could recognize this great political conspiracy in the last days. (See Ether 8:23-25.) Moroni seemed greatly exercised lest in our day we might not be able to recognize the startling fact that the same secret societies which destroyed the Jaredites and decimated numerous kingdoms of both Nephites and Lamanites would be precisely the same form of criminal conspiracy which would rise up among the gentile nations in this day. The strategems of the leaders of these societies are amazingly familiar to anyone who has studied the tactics of modern communist leaders. The Lord has declared that before the second coming of Christ it will be necessary to "destroy the secret works of darkness" in order to preserve the land of Zion—the Americas. (See 2 Ne. 10:11-16.)
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When socialism is understood, we will realize that many of the programs advocated, and some of those already adopted in the United States, fall clearly within the category of socialism. What is socialism? It is simply governmental ownership and management of the essential means for the production and distribution of goods. We must never forget that nations may sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity
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. . . . The fostering of full economic freedom lies at the base of our liberties. Only in perpetuating economic freedom can our social, political, and religious liberties be preserved. (Treasures of Life, pp. 501-502; Gospel Ideals, p. 433.) Again President McKay warned, citing the words of W. C. Mullendore, president of Southern California Edison Company: "During the first half of the twentieth century we have traveled far into the soul-destroying land of socialism and made strange alliances through which we have become involved in almost continuous hot and cold wars over the whole of the earth. In this retreat from freedom the voices of protesting citizens have been drowned by raucous shouts of intolerance and abuse from those who led the retreat and their millions of gullible youth, who are marching merrily to their doom, carrying banners on which are emblazoned such intriguing and misapplied labels as social justice, equality, reform, patriotism, social welfare. . . ." (Gospel Ideals, p. 273.) It is significant that the Prophet Joseph Smith, after attending lectures on socialism, made this official entry in Church history: "I said I did not believe the doctrine." (Documentary History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 33.)
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Third, we should help those who have been deceived or who are misinformed to find the truth. unless each person who knows the truth will "stand up and speak up," it is difficult for the deceived or confused citizen to find his way back.
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Fifth, each priesthood holder should use his influence in the community to resist the erosion process which is taking place in our political and economic life.
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He should not wait for the Lord's servants to give instruction for every detail once they have announced the direction in which the priesthood should go. Each member should exercise prayerful judgment and then act.

From: http://ldspatriots.com/Ezra%20Taft%20Benson%20American%20Heritage%20of%20Freedom.html

(Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 356.) Also: The Improvement Era – December 1961 THE AMERICAN HERITAGE OF FREEDOM – A PLAN OF GOD - - Ezra Taft Benson
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Quote:
It was Jefferson who said: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." It is one thing to win freedom; its preservation is equally important. . . . . . the tendency in this country will be to demand that the government take over more and more of the economic and social responsibilities and make more of the decisions for the people. This can result in but one thing: slavery of the individual to the state. (Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 305.)

http://ldspatriots.com/Ezra%20Taft%20Benson%20American%20way%20of%20life.html
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America's Challenge:

One of the greatest tragedies of all time—and a fact that an increasing number of us are gradually coming to realize—is this: The growth and increasing success of communism around the world has been primarily the result of the support—yes, increasing support—that it has received from right within the United States, and particularly from our own government. May I commend to you the book by Werner Keller entitled East Minus West Equals Zero, in order that you might see the documentation as to how we deliberately established Russia's industrial and war-making power. May I also commend to you the filmstrip The Great Pretense—How to Finance Communism While Ostensibly Opposing It, a documentary on how the free world finances communism.
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Sometimes we have appeared to take a step forward toward freedom, but it has inevitably been followed by two steps backward toward communism. Not only has this been true in our foisting communism onto other countries, but it also holds true regarding the increasing socialistic-communistic trends in America.

President Clark said:
And do not think that all these usurpations, intimidations, and impositions are being done to us through inadvertence or mistakes; the whole course is deliberately planned and carried out; its purpose is to destroy the Constitution and our constitutional government; then to bring chaos, out of which the new Statism, with its slavery, is to arise, with a cruel, relentless, selfish, ambitious crew in the saddle, riding hard with whip and spur, a red-shrouded band of night riders for despotism. . . . If we do not vigorously fight for our liberties, we shall go clear through to the end of the road and become another Russia, or worse. . . . (Church News, September 25, 1949.)

Thomas Jefferson said:
Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematical plan of reducing us to slavery. (A Summary View of the Rights of British America, 1774.)

Do you think we could have defeated Hitler in World War II if we had trained his pilots for him, built his steel mills, sent him billions in aid, traded with him, and let his men run for office in our country, work in our defense plants, teach our children? Yet this is exactly what we did for the communists, and our trade with them was in practically all the essentials that they needed to kill our men in Vietnam.

Quoting again from President Clark:
I have wished to bring together and call to your attention a number of matters, the close relationship of which it is easy to miss, and to indicate to you that, so assembled, they make a pattern which cannot be accounted for except on the theory that some group of minds is working out a diabolical plan for the destruction of our liberties and freedom, our divinely inspired Constitution and the Government our fathers set up thereunder, and the wiping out of our constitutional guarantees and the free lives, the security, the happiness, and the blessings we have enjoyed thereunder. (Address given to the Utah Wool Growers Association, January 24, 1945.)

Of the objectives for which the communists are presently pressing, how many can you name where they are not presently succeeding in this country? The communist party line is for increased East-West trade, peaceful coexistence, disarmament talks, reduction in military spending, etc. Are they succeeding?

Even back in the FBI Annual Report for 1964, J. Edgar Hoover reported: "The signing of the partial nuclear test ban treaty was interpreted by the Communist Party, USA, as resulting from a shift in the world balance of forces in favor of communism and as a turning away from capitalism toward `socialism.'"

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We must be devoted to sound principles in word and deed: principle above party, principle above pocketbook, principle above popularity.
After we are soundly grounded in principle, the next two steps should follow automatically:

1. We must be well informed from sources that are consistently accurate on the things of greatest consequence.

2. We must take action after we have done our homework. "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge," said the prophet Hosea. Let's not let it happen to us. First, let's do our homework, because action without the proper education can lead to fanaticism. But after we have done our homework, then let's take action, because education without action can only lead to frustration and failure. Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 379.) Location: http://ldspatriots.com/Ezra%20Taft%20Benson%20America's%20Challenge.html

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Not Commanded in All Things -- Ezra Taft Benson,

In 1831 the Lord said this to his church: For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. (D&C 58:26-29.) The purposes of the Lord—the great objectives—continue the same: the salvation and exaltation of his children. Usually the Lord gives us the overall objectives to be accomplished and some guidelines to follow, but he expects us to work out most of the details and methods.
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Sometimes the Lord hopefully waits on his children to act on their own, and when they do not, they lose the greater prize, and the Lord will either drop the entire matter and let them suffer the consequences or else he will have to spell it out in greater detail. Usually, I fear, the more he has to spell it out, the smaller is our reward.
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For years we have been counseled to have on hand a year's supply of food. Yet there are some today who will not start storing until the Church comes out with a detailed monthly home storage program. Now suppose that never happens. We still cannot say we have not been warned. Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church—and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing—a famine in this land of one year's duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned. Another warning: you and I sustain one man on this earth as God's mouthpiece. We do not need a prophet—we have one; what we desperately need is a listening ear.
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Hear the words of President David O. McKay: "No greater immediate responsibility rests upon members of the Church, upon all citizens of this Republic and of neighboring Republics than to protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States." (Man May Know for Himself, 1967, p. 377.) As important as are all other principles of the gospel, it was the freedom issue that determined whether you received a body. To have been on the wrong side of the freedom issue during the war in heaven meant eternal damnation. How then can Latter-day Saints expect to be on the wrong side in this life and escape the eternal consequences? The war in heaven is raging on earth today. The issues are the same: Shall men be compelled to do what others claim is for their best welfare or will they heed the counsel of the prophets and preserve their freedom?
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President McKay also said:
Today two mighty forces are battling for the supremacy of the world. The destiny of mankind is in the balance. It is a question of God and liberty, or atheism and slavery. . . . (Church News, July 18, 1953, p. 3.)

Those forces are known and have been designated by Satan on the one hand, and Christ on the other.

In Joshua's time they were called "gods of the Amorites," for one, and "the Lord" on the other. . . . In these days, they are called "domination by the state," on one hand, "personal liberty," on the other; communism on one, free agency on the other. (Speech at Brigham Young University, May 18, 1960, p. 2.)

Now, the Lord knew that before the gospel could flourish there must first be an atmosphere of freedom. This is why he first established the Constitution of this land through gentiles whom he raised up before he restored the gospel. In how many communist countries today are we doing missionary work, building chapels, etc.? And yet practically every one of those countries has been pushed into communism and kept under communism with the great assistance of evil forces which have been and are operating within our own country and neighboring lands. Yes, were it not for the tragic policies of governments—including our own—tens of millions of people murdered and hundreds of millions enslaved since World War II would be alive and free today to receive the restored gospel. President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., put it clearly and courageously when he said:
Reduced to its lowest terms, the great struggle which now rocks the whole earth more and more takes on the character of a struggle of the individual versus the state. . . This gigantic world-wide struggle, more and more takes on the form of a war to the death. We shall do well and wisely so to face and so to enter it. And we must all take part. Indeed, we all are taking part in that struggle, whether we will or not. Upon its final issue, liberty lives or dies. . . . The plain and simple issue now facing us in America is freedom or slavery. . . . We have largely lost the conflict so far waged. But there is time to win the final victory, if we sense our danger, and fight. (Vital Speeches, vol. 5 [1939], pp. 174-75.) Now where do we stand in this struggle, and what are we doing about it?

The devil knows that if the elders of Israel should ever wake up, they could step forth and help preserve freedom and extend the gospel. Therefore the devil has concentrated, and to a large extent successfully, on neutralizing much of the priesthood. He has reduced them to sleeping giants. His arguments are clever. Here are a few samples.

First: "We really haven't received much instruction about freedom," the devil says. This is a lie, for we have been warned time and again. No prophet of the Lord has ever issued more solemn warning than President David O. McKay.

Second: "You're too involved in other church work," says the devil. But freedom is a weighty matter of the law; the lesser principles of the gospel you should keep, but not leave this one undone. We may have to balance and manage our time better. Your other church work will be limited once you lose your freedom, as our Saints have found out in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and many other nations.

Third: "You want to be loved by everyone," says the devil, "and this freedom battle is so controversial you might be accused of engaging in politics." Of course, the government has penetrated so much of our lives that one can hardly speak for freedom without being accused of being political. Some might even call the war in heaven a political struggle—certainly it was controversial. Yet the valiant entered it with Michael. Those who support only the popular principles of the gospel have their reward. And those who want to lead the quiet, retiring life but still expect to do their full duty can't have it both ways.

Said Elder John A. Widtsoe:
The troubles of the world may largely be laid at the doors of those who are neither hot nor cold; who always follow the line of least resistance; whose timid hearts flutter at taking sides for truth. As in the great Council in the heavens, so in the Church of Christ on earth, there can be no neutrality. (Conference Report, April 1941, pp. 16-17.)

Fourth: "Wait until it becomes popular to do," says the devil, "or, at least, until everybody in the Church agrees on what should be done." But this fight for freedom might never become popular in our day. And if you wait until everybody agrees in this church, you will be waiting through the second coming of the Lord. Would you have hesitated to follow the inspired counsel of the Prophet Joseph Smith simply because some weak men disagreed with him? God's living mouthpiece has spoken to us—are we for him or against him? In spite of our prophets' opposition to increased federal aid and compulsory unionism, some Church members still champion these freedom-destroying programs. Where do you stand?

Fifth: "It might hurt your business or your family," says the devil, "and besides, why not let the gentiles save the country? They aren't as busy as you are." Well, there were many businessmen who went along with Hitler because it supposedly helped their business. They lost everything. Many of us are here today because our forefathers loved truth enough that they fought at Valley Forge or crossed the plains in spite of the price it cost them or their families. We had better take our small pain now than our greater loss later. There were souls who wished afterwards that they had stood and fought with Washington and the founding fathers, but they waited too long—they passed up eternal glory. There has never been a greater time than now to stand up against entrenched evil. And while the gentiles established the Constitution, we have a divine mandate to preserve it. But unfortunately, today in this freedom struggle, many gentiles are showing greater wisdom in their generation than the children of light.

Sixth: "Don't worry," says the devil; "the Lord will protect you, and besides, the world is so corrupt and heading toward destruction at such a pace that you can't stop it, so why try?" Well, to begin with, the Lord will not protect us unless we do our part. This devilish tactic of persuading people not to get concerned because the Lord will protect them no matter what they do is exposed by the Book of Mormon. Referring to the devil, it says: "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, and they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." (2 Ne. 28:21.)

I like that word carefully. In other words, don't shake them—you might wake them. But the Book of Mormon warns us that when we see these murderous conspiracies in our midst, we should awaken to our awful situation. Now, why should we awaken if the Lord is going to take care of us anyway? Let us suppose that it is too late to save freedom. It is still accounted unto us for righteousness' sake to stand up and fight. Some Book of Mormon prophets knew of the final desolate end of their nations, but they still fought on, and they saved some souls, including their own, by so doing. For, after all, the purpose of life is to prove ourselves, and the final victory will be for freedom. But many of the prophecies referring to America's preservation are conditional. That is, if we do our duty we can be preserved, and if not, then we shall be destroyed. This means that a good deal of the responsibility lies with the priesthood of this church as to what happens to America and as to how much tragedy can be avoided if we do act now. And now as to the last neutralizer that the devil used most effectively—it is simply this: "Don't do anything in the fight for freedom until the Church sets up its own specific program to save the Constitution." This brings us right back to the scripture about the slothful servants who will not do anything until they are "compelled in all things." Maybe the Lord will never set up a specific Church program for the purpose of saving the Constitution. Perhaps if he set one up at this time it might split the Church asunder, and perhaps he does not want that to happen yet, for not all the wheat and tares are fully ripe.

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that it will be the elders of Israel, not the Church, who will step forward to help save the Constitution. And have the elders been warned? Yes, they have. And besides, if the Church should ever inaugurate a program, who do you think would be in the forefront to get it moving? It would not be those who were sitting on the sidelines prior to that time or those who were appeasing the enemy. It would be those choice spirits who, not waiting to be "commanded in all things," will use their own free will, the counsel of the prophets, and the Spirit of the Lord as guidelines and who enter the battle "in a good cause" and bring to pass much righteousness in freedom's cause. If we had done our homework and were faithful, we could step forward at this time and help save this country. The fact that most of us are unprepared to do it is an indictment we will have to bear. The longer we wait, the heavier the chains, the deeper the blood, the more the persecution, and the less we can carry out our God-given mandate and worldwide mission. The war in heaven is raging on the earth today. Are you being neutralized in the battle?

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. . . ."

(Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 389.)
http://ldspatriots.com/Ezra%20Taft%20Benson%20Not%20Commanded%20in%20all%20things.html also in The Improvement Era, June 1965

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Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints - Ezra T. Benson

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"Patriotism," said Theodore Roosevelt, "means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. . . .

"Every man who parrots the cry of `stand by the President' without adding the proviso `so far as he serves the Republic' takes an attitude as essentially unmanly as that of any Stuart royalist who championed the doctrine that the King could do no wrong. No self-respecting and intelligent free man could take such an attitude." (Theodore Roosevelt, Works, vol. 21, pp. 316, 321.) As Latter-day Saints we should pray for our civic leaders and encourage them in righteousness.

". . . to vote for wicked men, it would be sin," said Hyrum Smith. (Documentary History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 323.) And the Prophet Joseph Smith said, ". . . let the people of the whole Union, like the inflexible Romans, whenever they find a promise made by a candidate that is not practiced as an officer, hurl the miserable sycophant from his exaltation. . . ." (DHC, vol. 6, p. 207.) Joseph and Hyrum's trust did not run to the arm of flesh, but to God and correct eternal principles. "I am the greatest advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on the earth," said the Prophet Joseph Smith. (DHC, vol. 6, p. 56.)

The warning of President Joseph Fielding Smith is most timely: "Now I tell you it is time the people of the United States were waking up with the understanding that if they don't save the Constitution from the dangers that threaten it, we will have a change of government." (Conference Report, April 1950, p. 159.)

Another guideline given by the First Presidency was "to support good and conscientious candidates, of either party, who are aware of the great dangers" facing the free world. (Deseret News, November 2, 1964.)

Fortunately we have materials to help us face these threatening dangers in the writings of President David O. McKay and other Church leaders. Some other fine sources by LDS authors attempting to awaken and inform us of our duty are: Prophets, Principles, and National Survival (Jerreld L. Newquist), Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen (H. Verlan Andersen), and The Elders of Israel and the Constitution (Jerome Horowitz). But the greatest handbook for freedom in this fight against evil is the Book of Mormon.

This leads me to the second great civic standard for the Saints. For in addition to our inspired Constitution, we have the scriptures.

Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon was the "keystone of our religion" and the "most correct" book on earth. (DHC, vol. 6, p. 56.) This most correct book on earth states that the downfall of two great American civilizations came as a result of secret conspiracies whose desire was to overthrow the freedom of the people. "And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking," says Moroni, "and also the destruction of the people of Nephi." (Ether 8:21.) Now undoubtedly Moroni could have pointed out many factors that led to the destruction of the people, but notice how he singled out the secret combinations, just as the Church today could point out many threats to peace, prosperity, and the spread of God's work, but it has singled out as the greatest threat the Godless conspiracy. There is no conspiracy theory in the Book of Mormon—it is a conspiracy fact.

Then Moroni speaks to us in this day and says, "Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you. . . ." (Ether 8:24.)

The Book of Mormon further warns that "whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold they shall be destroyed. . . ." (Ether 8:22.)

This scripture should alert us to what is ahead unless we repent, because there is no question but that as people of the free world, we are increasingly upholding many of the evils of the adversary today. By court edict godless conspirators can run for government office, teach in our schools, hold office in labor unions, work in our defense plants, serve in our merchant marines, etc. As a nation, we are helping to underwrite many evil revolutionaries in our country.

Now we are assured that the Church will remain on the earth until the Lord comes again—but at what price? The Saints in the early days were assured that Zion would be established in Jackson County, but look at what their unfaithfulness cost them in bloodshed and delay.

President Clark warned us that "we stand in danger of losing our liberties, and that once lost, only blood will bring them back; and once lost, we of this church will, in order to keep the Church going forward, have more sacrifices to make and more persecutions to endure than we have yet known. . . ." (CR, April 1944, p. 116.)

He also stated that if the conspiracy "comes here it will probably come in its full vigor and there will be a lot of vacant places among those who guide and direct, not only this government, but also this Church of ours." (CR, April 1952, p. 80.)

Now the third great civic standard for the Saints is the inspired word of the prophets—particularly the living president, God's mouthpiece on the earth today. Keep your eye on the captain and judge the words of all lesser authority by his inspired counsel.

The story is told how Brigham Young, driving through a community, saw a man building a house and told him to double the walls. Shortly afterward a flood came through that town, resulting in much destruction, but this man's walls stood. While putting the roof on his house, he was heard singing, "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet!"

Joseph Smith taught that "a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such." (DHC, vol. 5, p. 265.)

Suppose a leader of the Church were to tell you that you were supporting the wrong side of a particular issue. Some might immediately resist this leader and his counsel or ignore it, but I would suggest that you first apply the fourth great civic standard for the faithful Saints. That standard is to live for, to get, and then to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. A number of years ago, because of a statement that appeared to represent the policy of the Church, a faithful member feared he was supporting the wrong candidate for public office. Humbly he took the matter up with the Lord. Through the Spirit of the Lord he gained the conviction of the course he should follow, and he dropped his support of this particular candidate. This good brother, by fervent prayer, got the answer that in time proved to be the right course.

We urge all men to read the Book of Mormon and then ask God if it is true. And the promise is sure that they may know of its truthfulness through the Holy Ghost, "and by the power of the Holy Ghost [men] may know the truth of all things." (Moro. 10:5.)

We need the constant guidance of that Spirit. We live in an age of deceit. "O my people," said Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, "they who lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths." (2 Ne. 13:12.)

The Lord holds us accountable if we are not wise and are deceived. "For they that are wise," he said, "and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day." (D&C 45:57.)

And so four great civic standards for the faithful Saints are, first, the Constitution ordained by God through wise men; second, the scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon; third, the inspired counsel of the prophets, especially the living president, and fourth, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God bless us all that we may use these standards and by so doing bless ourselves, our families, our community, our nation, and the world.

(Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 324.)
http://ldspatriots.com/Ezra%20Taft%20Benson%20Civic%20Standards%20for%20Saints.html

Also in the Ensign July 1972 **********************************************************

Other – Misc. Related Articles: The Case for the Barbarous Relic - - By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr 7/31/06

http://www.kitco.com/ind/rockwell/jul312006.html

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Excerpt From: All Rotten Eggs for Bernanke? http://www.kitco.com/ind/kakani/aug102006.html (at end)

Incidentally this will also prove the veracity of good ol ' Greenspan's words: "In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value."

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Excerpt From: The Terror Behind The Economic Numbers 8-21-06 http://www.kitco.com/ind/Droke/aug212006.html By my count there have been at least 700 terrorist bombings (not counting military bombings) since the beginning of this year through August 18 on a global scale and mostly in the Middle East. This number doesn’t include the number of bombing attempts that failed or bombs that were diffused, nor does it contain the growing number of bomb threats (which can have the same psychological impact as an actual bombing). The total death toll this year from all non-military bombings is just over 3,200. Most of the deaths occurred in the Mid-East region. The number wounded from terrorist bombings so far this year is well over 10,000. If we combine the number of deaths from all forms of (mostly) Mid-East violence this year, military and terrorist, the number killed is in the tens of thousands. (In a future commentary we’ll discuss the population reduction motive behind bombing campaigns but for now our focus is on the psychological/economic effects of bombings).

That strategically timed bombing campaigns, both terrorist and military, can provided an added support beneath the major stock markets as well as bolster the global economy, was a profitable discovery made by the global financial controllers. This is because both the market and the economy are buoyed and to a large extent driven by the base human emotion of fear. The more fear is generated through bombings and other forms of orchestrated terror, and the more this fear is emphasized by the media, it serves as an economic shock absorber and can prevent severe stock price declines from occurring. This was the formula used to halt the stock market slide of 2001 and also has been used to great effect ever since. - - - - - -

- - - - - - -

One global economic theorist has said, "An emerging global economy needs a new paradigm on which it can function." Is it not possible – indeed, probable – that fear/terror is that "new paradigm" that will help generate the fully integrated global economy? The growing mountain of evidence overwhelmingly supports this conclusion.

From: http://www.321gold.com/editorials/fekete/fekete081106.html To Barrick or to be Barricked, That is the Question Antal E. Fekete - former shareholder of Barrick Gold

Aug 11, 2006

Dear Mr.Kingston:

Thank you for writing. You ask me whether Barrick is a 'buy' now that it has reached its long-time ambition of becoming the first: the largest gold producer of the world. Would it now start moving up from its place of being the last: the world's worst large-cap share price-performer in the gold-mining business?

I am a monetary economist and as a rule do not offer investment advice. Having said that, the name "Barrick" touches a raw nerve in me. I used to be a shareholder. In 1992 I took early retirement from my professorship, accepting bribe money (they call it 'golden handshake') from Memorial University of Newfoundland, my academic home for 35 years. At stake was about $50,000 which I invested in Barrick shares and leaps, with the idea of arbitraging one against the other. As the gold price went up, I would sell leaps and put the proceeds into shares, and vice versa. Most of this investment has gone up in smoke as a result of Barrick's 'Brave New World of Hedging'. I decided that, in reply to your kind letter, I would tell my story.

The Godfather

Barrick's founder and godfather, Peter Munk, like myself, grew up in Budapest. Truncating the original 'Munkácsy', a name his family shared with one of the most famous Hungarian painters Mihály Munkácsy, Munk got himself a new name when he landed in the New World. We did not know each other but, as schoolboys we had the same experiences, spoke the same street jargon, and trod on the same cobblestones. Above all, gold loomed large in our lives, making an indelible impression. In 1944 Munk's father bought their exit visas from German-occupied Hungary to neutral Switzerland, along with a train-load of other Jews, all paying for their escape with gold. The Swiss government agreed to play the role of go-between.

I learned about the life-saving properties of gold a few months later in a different context. When the Red Army placed Budapest under a siege those who had gold ate; those who didn't went hungry. My family did not have much gold, but there was a heavy gold chain that used to hold the gold pocket watch of my grandfather in better days. The watch itself had been bartered away in hard times for food before I was born during the hyperinflation following World War I. During the next hyperinflation, following World War II, dentists refused to take paper money for professional services rendered. My mother paid for dental work needed by my sister in gold. I still remember the dentist's delicate hands: he clipped off an agreed length of the chain. And his face: he had the smile of Shylock as he was preparing to take his pound of flesh. My mother gave me the remnants of that gold chain, thus abridged, before she died. My wife has it now. It has been fashioned into a pretty bracelet.

Munk came to Canada to study electrical engineering at the University of Toronto. During the pre-Christmas shopping seasons, as a student he was arbitraging Xmas trees between the parking lots of various supermarkets. When I came to Canada in 1957 I already had my university degree and settled down to a teaching career in Newfoundland. Munk as an electrical engineer went into producing high-end stereo systems and met his first Waterloo in Nova Scotia. He had made the bad decision of accepting government financing for his factory.'Never again!' he vowed after his business deal with the provincial government unraveled and he lost his entire investment. (This did not prevent him, years later, from courting retired politicians such as former Prime Minister Brian Malrooney of Canada, and Ex-President George Bush, both of whom took their seats on the 'Advisory Board' of Barrick.) The next bad decision was to design luxury hotels (never actually built) in the shadow of the Egyptian pyramids, an idea about as brilliant as setting up a pork-chop stand in Jerusalem.

A little bit of etymology Munk initially conceived American Barrick in 1980 as a junior oil and gas company. In 1983 he reconstituted it as a gold mining company, renaming it Barrick Gold. If you have read my piece 'Ultracrepidarian Musings', then you know that I have an avid curiosity about the origin of words. Naturally, I could not resist the urge to research the word 'Barrick'.

At an early brain-storming session, as described in the authorized biography of Munk, the question was raised how to name the fledgling company. Munk, who was obsessed with big and quick success, had no patience with such trivial details, exclaimed: 'Call it Baszik, Szarik, Barrick, as you will; I couldn't care less'. The name Barrick stuck. Knowledge of the Hungarian language helps the etymologist. The first two words' English equivalents are 'f...ck' and 'sh...t'. In Hungarian four-letter words have six letters to sport and, as verbs, they are also distinguished by their '-ik' ending, forming a special conjugation class of their own.

Gold mining and hedging: killing the goose laying the golden egg?

As a shareholder I was concerned about Barrick's preposterous ideas on hedging. Munk was fond of using innovative financing techniques and Barrick boasted that its credit standing is second to none, due to its unique hedging policy. I realized that the word 'hedging' as used by Barrick was a misnomer. It is not hedging at all, any more than a shill is winner at the poker table. The appearance is that she is winning big; in fact she has to surrender every cent of those gains to the casino owner at the end of the day. Barrick was simply selling its production forward, at one point as far as five years out as measured by current output, with settlement postponed, at the option of the 'hedger', for as long as fifteen years. Imagine, no margin calls for fifteen years, no matter how much the price may move against your position! Barrick justified this insane policy by the statistical Principle of Mean Reversal asserting that all economic indicators, including prices (however volatile) ultimately tend to return to the mean. Fifteen years was considered sufficiently long for even the most 'absurd' spikes in the gold price 'to correct'. I demurred. Gold was an exception to mean reversal. In a hyperinflation, after the 'dead cat bounce' of paper money, you could wait till doomsday for the gold price to correct.

I wrote a paper with the title Gold mining and hedging: killing the goose laying the golden egg? In it I explained that forward selling must be carefully distinguished from hedging. A proper hedging strategy would require that the mine channel production into a fund, which would then buy gold in the open market when the price was low and falling, and sell when the price was high and rising. The income from this arbitrage would more than make up for lost revenues from the outright sale of mine product. Above all, such a strategy would not impart a bearish sentiment to the market. Speculators knew that the gold mine would sooner or later step in as a buyer whenever the gold price weakened, and they would try to preempt it. They would want to buy first. And conversely. The chips could fall where they may. But since Barrick had an established policy of selling forward, and never buying forward, speculators would abandon the long side of the market in droves. They would move to the short side en bloc, in trying to forestall Barrick. They would want to sell first. Under these circumstances the chips could no longer fall where they may. Fall they did alright, together with gold. The gold price was effectively capped. Worse still was the long-term effect. Just as you cannot 'cap' an active volcano, you can't cap the gold price forever either. It is bound to erupt and, when it does, you can kiss good-bye to the Principle of Mean Reversal. In the end Barrick could be saddled with a king-size liability that it may never be able to live down. Shareholders do not need to have a PhD in vulcanology to find this out. As soon as they do, they will vote with their feet. Shareholder-proofing corporate governance Indeed, they have no alternative. After the Nova Scotia fiasco Munk decided that he would construct a corporate structure that would be 'shareholder-proof'. He developed the 'perfect poison pill'. Not only will Barrick never be the victim of a hostile take-over bid, shareholders will have to eat from his hands. The corporate governance of Barrick epitomizes this. Shareholders are pariahs, sacrificial lambs on the altar of high management policy. They have the right to vote with management. But that's about all. In case of a disagreement they can go and fly a kite. Management lives in its own world of an unassailable bunker.

In 1994 I did not know this. I was naive. I wrote a letter to Munk asking him for a meeting. I wanted to present to him a copy of my paper with my compliments. In reply Munk told me that I had to show my paper to his Senior Vice-President and CFO, Jamie Sokalsky first. By the time I could see Jamie company headquarters were moved from Yorkville, a bohemian district of Toronto, to the Royal Bank Towers downtown, projecting an entirely different corporate image. The significance of this move was lost on me at the time. I believed that I could convince Sokalsky of the errors of Barrick's ways.

The meeting lasted for two hours. I could see from his occasional remarks that Sokalsky understood everything I have said. He did not argue with me. He said that what I was talking about was all very interesting and promised that he would read my paper carefully and give me a written answer. I have never heard from him since, nor have I heard from Randall Oliphant, the President of the company. Both men were fired later by Munk as shareholder dissatisfaction with the company's hedging policies, and with the low-altitude flight of the share price, could be heard inside of the bunker, sound-proofing notwithstanding. Scapegoats had to be thrown to the wolves to keep the latter away from the door.

I sold my shares and leaps, as did thousands of others. And I went back to my own den to lick my wounds. If forward sales, why not forward purchases, too? Barrick never explained to the world what has happened, or how they would fix the flawed policy. Even today, the new guy at the helm President Greg Wilkins defends the policy of 'a reasonable level of hedging' as an 'essential risk-management tool for the company'. It is supposed to 'stabilize revenues and satisfy banks that finance its projects'. But if this were true, then the policy should be made even-handed. Barrick has never admitted that its one-sided forward selling was responsible for the bearish bias in the gold market for the last decade of the century and the millennium. In my paper I suggested an easy way to repair this bias. The company could complement its forward sales by forward purchases. These are triggered whenever the gold price is low and falling. Just as the gold mine lifts its short hedges as production is delivered into the hedge book, it can lift long hedges as deals to buy new gold properties are being closed out. In this way the mine can acquire new gold properties at the best possible price. I have evidence that Sokalsky understood my point perfectly well, the point being that the bias against the long side of the market would be removed as speculators would be coaxed back to it. Quite possibly my paper was in the hands of the top brass when they discussed the dismal failure of their policy of unilateral hedging, as it dawned on them when the new century and millennium did. For all I know, Sokalsky could have proposed as a face-saving measure my idea of 'bilateral hedging' which, for him, could have been a 'skin-saving' measure as well.

Is Barrick a front to cover up gold-laundering? That is, unless Barrick was a front to cover up gold laundering by governments, in which case unilateral forward selling was not a mistake but a deliberate policy. I couldn't help but believe that the company had a vested interest in suppressing the price of gold. Its ambition to become No. 1 also points that way. It is not about vanity. It is about pricing power. The suspicion that Barrick is a front to cover up a gigantic gold-laundering operation, presumably on behalf of a government (or governments) that need more time to complete a gold-acquisition program in the order of thousands of tons of gold, is hard to escape. Incidentally, if you interpret 'gold laundering' as a polite expression for 'stealing shareholder gold', no harm done.

Clearly, such a conspiracy theory can never be proved or disproved. I was not the only one who suggested it. GATA and Golden Sextant named Barrick as a co-conspirator in the illegal scheme to suppress the gold price.

When in the early 1990's Barrick sued the United States Treasury over a user-fee issue and, implausibly, won in the court, I failed to smell the rat. Only later did this lawsuit appear like a whale-size red herring to me, dropped to deflect suspicion away from Barrick lest someone think it was a front. "Behold, little David conquering the towering Goliath! What rubbish it is to suggest that David was bribed by Goliath to do it!" At about the same time Barrick moved its headquarters to shed its image as a maverick, to assume the image of a 'responsible corporate citizen'. No longer did it have to rub shoulders with hippies after its credentials were established beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Achilles heel, or noose around the neck? One analyst has called its hedge book Barrick's Achilles heel. But to others it looks more like a noose around the neck that no amount of 'creative book-keeping' or 'off balance-sheet financing' can hide forever. It has been stated publicly that Barrick would be bankrupt if it marked to market its liabilities. Wilkins gave himself till the end of 2009 to clean up the mess and reduce the hedge-book from 14,3 million ounces of gold to 9,5 million. But by that time the gold price could be well into four digits. The question is whether the kindly and gentlemanly bullion bankers will honor their 'no margin calls for fifteen years' pledge at those lofty prices. If shareholders can't throw the rascals out, maybe the bullion bankers can, and will.

Maximize life, not profits. In the meantime an even larger business challenge is confronting Barrick in the shape of a cost-of-production squeeze. Under a gold standard, the gold miner typically mines his property most conservatively. He goes after marginal grades of ore, the most expensive to exploit, where a base metal miner would go after the highest grades, the least expensive. The gold miner is not interested in maximizing profits as is the base metal miner. And for a very good reason, too. The marginal utility of a base metal declines. The miner wants to extract it from the bowels of the earth before the price may drop even more. By contrast, the marginal utility of gold is constant. There is no rush to dig it up, only to bury it again in bank vaults. Therefore the gold miner wants to maximize the productive life of his mine, not profits. Barrick threw this wisdom of the trade to the winds as it has been mining the highest grades of ore available, and at break-neck speed to boot. Now it has to face the consequences. Its mined-out properties will have to be closed down prematurely, from which gold has been extracted and sold at what must, in retrospect, appear as give-away prices. My suggestion of forward purchases of gold combined with the miner's problem of premature exhaustion of gold properties, would have made a perfect fit. Barrick would have been in an extremely strong position to buy new gold properties while lifting the long hedges it had put on when the gold price was much lower.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Nevada
Here is how a reporter described the scene at Barrick's annual meeting of the shareholders in Toronto's Metro Convention Centre last spring:

"The sky is dull grey, but the mood inside is dazzling. Pockets of spontaneous applause break out during the presentations. Standing at a podium emblazooned with the Barrick logo before a cinemascope-sized graphic display of the company's global reach, Wilkins leads shareholders through the past year's triumphs, and hints at a long and prosperous future for a company that now has unprecedented size and clout. "He is followed by the 78-year old Munk, resplendent in a dark grey pinstripe suit, pale blue shirt and a luminescent pink tie. Munk pauses for effect and then leans over the podium. In a gravelly voice speckled with traces of his Budapest childhood, he delivers a rumination that is both self-congratulatory and self-deprecating, at once a nod to Barrick's humble origins and a prelude to a glorious future. 'I can't help but sit back and say that what we have done here has been spectacular', he says. 'But it's not the mines, it's not the reserves, [and] it's not the credit rating that's the best in the industry. What makes me proud, what makes me exceptionally happy, are the intangibles...those intangible values of integrity from which every decision automatically springs. It's the culture that this company has had in its DNA from the time it bought Camflo Mines'.

"You should give as good as you get. Integrity, as Munk says, means many things in gold mining, including paying people fairly for their work and contributing to local communities. It can even mean, he says puckishly, funding and building housing projects for miners in places like Elko, 'that dusty, miserable Nevada town with one whorehouse'."

Hey, Munk, wait a minute! It's all very well to fund and build posh whorehouses where miners and top brass can Barrick to their heart's content! But what about the share price? What about the patrimony of the shareholders? Shareholders? They will be Barricked. Again.

I know it. I have been there. Yours, etc.

References:

Charles Davis, So Big It's Brutal, Report on Business, The Globe and Mail: Toronto, June 2006, p 64-73 Bob Landis, Readings from the Book of Barrick: A Goldbug Ponders the Unthinkable, www.goldensextant.com , May 21, 2002 Richard Rohmer, Golden Phoenix: The Biography of Peter Munk, Key Porter Books, 1999

A.E. Fekete, The Texas Hedges of Barrick, http://shoemakerconsulting.com/goldisfreedom/archives/Texashedges. May 2002 Ferdinand Lips, Gold Wars:

Will hedging kill the goose laying the golden egg? p 161-167, New York: FAME, 2002

Aug 11, 2006 Antal E. Fekete former Barrick shareholder E-mail: aefekete@hotmail.com Fekete archives

From: http://www.kitco.com/ind/Willie/aug102006.html End: RISK TO USDOLLAR The true safe haven is not a government bond of any type, certainly not one which is responsible for 65% of all global debt in 2005 on a global basis. Especially not a govt bond from the nation which is so deeply committed to war in the Middle East in pursuit of oil, complete with its instability. Especially not from a nation which has authorized pre-emptive strikes while at the same time relying upon questionable usage of intelligence information. Especially not from a nation which has a growing deficit and trade imbalance beyond structural remedy, complete with poor repayment potential. Especially not from a nation which has corrupted and rigged markets against Constitutionally mandated metals (gold & silver) which stand in opposition to its USDollar. The USTreasury Bond, long the safe haven, is like a giant metallic pillbox sitting in on open field during a massive lightning storm. All those who hunker down in the USTBond pillbox run the risk of financial electrocution. As long as the funding for military operations and state dominated corporations comes from the same large pool in which USDollars float, gold and crude oil will outperform all other investments. The USGovt is bound to flood the system in order to finance its operations, where like the first-borns, the first to feed at the table is the war machine. The second to feed is the fleet of state corporations. The back draft of preferential financial feeding creates a colossal wind current for gold and crude oil. Essential commercial and financial commodities rise in price in times of war, strife, and chaos. The unspoken truth is that the gold and crude oil price have risen markedly since the Iraqi War, which kicked off the Global Energy War. As it rages, yellow gold and black gold will continue to rise.

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From: http://www.kitco.com/ind/grandich/aug162006.html Grandich Letter Special Alert: Get Ready For Some Fall Action By Peter Grandich 8-16-06

- Cartel and Plunge Protection Team – While I don’t believe the gold market is influenced by “forces” almost on a daily basis as some like to suggest, I have no doubt in my mind that unnatural acts have impacted gold by parties who may still think they’re winning the battle but have not realized the war is over – and they lost! For those who dismiss manipulation, remind them how long some claimed there was a stock market plunge protection team, only to be laughed at for even suggesting such a group existed, then to hear FED Chairman Bernanke admit it in recent testimony.

http://www.gata.org remains a critical part of my due diligence process for metals and mining shares.

- America is a nation of debt junkies who have been robbing Peter to pay Paul but Peter is now apped out. The ability to borrow thanks to the real estate bubble only forestalled the inevitable debt meltdown. Personally, I have no doubt of its coming and have urged all loved ones and anyone who would listen to get out of debt ASAP.

- The U.S. Dollar barely budged despite a plethora of geopolitical events that just a few years ago would have led to a big rally in the U.S. Dollar. This is a clear sign it’s heading lower.

- Most Americans who don’t spend any real time out of the country have no idea how un-welcomed and un-liked Uncle Sam is in the world today. You used to be able to count on your hands the countries who didn’t like us. Now, we can count on our hands those countries who still welcome us with open arms.

- Key currencies like the Euro and the Yen are going to see their Central banks raising rates more than the U.S., which is only going to add to dollar weakness.

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