Links

Just when you thought the global-warming mandarins couldn't embarrass honest scientists any more than they have, along comes a new scandal. Turns out the mandarins' temperature-measuring devices in all too many instances sat  next to the exhaust fans of air conditioning units, were surrounded by asphalt parking lots and roads, sat on blistering-hot rooftops, or near sidewalks and buildings that absorb and radiate heat.  Click here  for this sad, sad story and an album of incriminating photos.

There was a query in the chat room concerning the latest COT.  This is Rich Cash's specialty, including trading recommendations, and if you click here you can access his latest "Big Four" report.

Norton Buffalo, one of the great blues and chromatic harp players, died of cancer not long ago. He was a favorite around the Bay Area as well as a favorite of mine.  Here's a biographical track on YouTube narrated by his frequent musical partner, guitarist Roy Rogers.  Click here  to listen, or paste this URL into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G14YhwPgza0&feature=related

Click here for a laugh.

Click here  for a very scary read from former Wall Street Underground-er Nick Guarino. He says the falllout from the collapse of Dubai World has barely begun and that the final damages will vastly exceed the $60 billion currently estimated, sinking the global economy. This piece is not for the squeamish nor for gold bulls, who are not going to like its conclusions.  When the "Dubai-has-been-saved" delusion ends and the world's money managers panic, Guarino foresees a huge rally in Treasurys and the dollar, along with a corresponding collapse in gold and oil prices. The latter, he says, will fall to $5. Since we've already had a preview of how the markets will react when Dubai-induced panic hits, the only important question remaining to be answered  is whether you think Dubai's problems have been fully resolved.

The spotlight has been off Argentina for a while, but there is a new disaster taking shape there that is of a piece with the world's still-toxic financial problems.  Argentina's problems are detailed in the latest report from Larry Amernick.  To request a copy, click here.

The BBC's Max Keiser has sent me a link to an interview he did that sounds some of the same themes that I emphasized in today's commentary, 'Gold Passes Stress Test of Dubai Panic'. His list of sovereign buyers of gold should bolster your confidence about the metal's prospects.  Click here  to access the YouTube segment. If the link fails, simply paste the following into your browser search field: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSWSwhn-AWc  

From Duke's partner Panos Pamukoglu, a note on the passing of financial journalist Mark Pittman, whose trenchant reporting on the Federal Reserve opened many eyes to the central bank's shady ways: The financial community has recently suffered the loss of a prominent journalist. He was young and had much to offer still. Mark Pittman, 52, an investigative reporter for Bllomberg News, passed away on November 25. His astute criticism of powerful personalities leveled the field and helped me see the men behind their image.  He surely helped me open my eyes. His timely analysis and substantiated reports were instrumental in helping me to protect my financial well-being. Finally, he has been the only citizen who dared to confront and help  Bloomberg sue the FED for full disclosure. Thanks, Mark, for leading us.  Let us honor your memory by working to get rid of the FED now.  May you rest in peace.

The zero-interest- rate environment engineered by the Fed has dark moral implications that are made starkly clear in a Mises Institute essay written by Sarel Oberholster:  "It is appropriate to ask by what standards society decides that a homeowner who bought a property priced beyond his means must be subsidized by a pensioner who had saved to survive the income drought of old age? Why must a big bank have access to zero or near-zero cost of funds to carry all those losses making loans while an ordinary saver can no longer afford his child's tuition?"   Click here  to access the full essay, which deserves to be widely circulated.