Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

In response to GATA's August 23 dispatch -- "Tocqueville's Hathaway Marvels at Gold's Depression but Declines to Explain It" --

http://www.gata.org/node/18446

-- a friend who is a fund manager writes:

"Don’t be so hard on Hathaway. ... Once you start making a lot of noise about what goes on behind the curtain you have no idea of the dirty tricks and outright criminality that will be thrown your way by your complicit brokers.

"I maintained a fairly low-leveraged hedge fund with a typical exposure of 90 percent long and 30-40 percent short. In October 2008 I was notified that effective tomorrow no borrowing would be allowed for funds invested in commodities, so overnight you had to go from 90 percent long and 30 percent short to 90-10.

"This is the same kind of thing they threw at the Hunt Brothers. ...

"The market rigging has gone on so long it’s obvious now, and as you say the wait will require free markets re-emerging.

"In 2008 there were almost 50 precious metals hedge funds and tons of precious metals mutual funds. What are there now -- three or four? ...

"Putting more money into this sector is admitting you cannot see that the vast majority of people are blind.

"In this business you learn lessons the hard way, as by buying gold stocks while the investment banks create money from thin air to hit the bid on futures, exchange-traded funds, and even stocks. With criminality this deep you duck for cover and learn to live another day.

"I do admire and appreciate GATA's efforts, but Hathaway is too high-profile not to suffer for anything he might say about the market rigging. He knows everything you have reported and more. ...

"Until mass psychology turns against the abuses of power, fighting them is like standing in front of a freight train. The evidence GATA has presented is undeniable, but the rigging goes on and on. Despite all your work it’s even worse now. The manipulation is so blatant but almost no one cares in every asset class."

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Your secretary/treasurer replied:

"Thanks for your thoughtful note.

"GATA does understand the risks to anyone who challenges the market rigging. We often have addressed the vulnerability of the monetary metals mining industry, vulnerability to government for mining permits, royalty payments, and environmental regulation compliance, and to the big investment banks, which the industry needs for financing even though these banks are also the agents of government in all markets.

"But if people in the monetary metals industry would be in too much jeopardy to protest the price suppression directly, they could try to find ways of assisting the struggle through intermediaries and their elected representatives.

"Hardly anyone in the industry will go even that far.

"GATA has a few brave supporters in the industry but we can't keep going back to them for help, and when there is no other help we have to try to fight all the money and power in the world with little resources of our own, even as so much more could be done if we had more support.

"Besides, while they may be too scared, people in the monetary metals industry have moral and legal obligations to their investors. If they can't meet those obligations, they should get out of the business rather than help perpetuate a deception.

"Yes, everyone who challenges power faces risks. But what is the world supposed to do here -- just sit back quietly and accept the deception, the injustice, the thievery, and the imperialism? GATA welcomes suggestions."

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

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 -- Published: Monday, 27 August 2018 | E-Mail  | Print  | Source: GoldSeek.com

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