FUNDAMENTALS MATTER -Apr 9

-> The sad paradox of religion news -Brent Bozell, Media Research Center,Townhall.com

-> A FRESH GLOBAL PASSION RESURRECTED– David Bradshaw, Editor, RMP

-> GOLDBUGS DAZZLED BY SUCCESSES -John Dizard, FT
-> FUNDAMENTALS DON'T MATTER? -Richard Spohr, SATC
-> A RULE CHANGE FOR SILVER -Dr. Richard S. Appel
-> CAPITAL, SWEAT, KNOW-HOW, RISK AND LUCK -Richard Russell
-> PERSONAL SECURITY ACCOUNTS -John Mauldin, Frontlinethoughts
MORE FEATURE ARTICLES...

MARKET NEWS DIGEST

U.S. Hits Mosque Compound; 40 Dead -AP
Apr 7, 10:10 AM (ET)
By BASSEM MROUE and ABDUL-QADER SAADI

(AP) Sunni insurgents guard the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, 65 kms west of Baghdad, Wednesday April 7, ...

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - U.S. Marines in a fierce battle for this Sunni Muslim stronghold fired rockets that hit a mosque compound filled with worshippers Wednesday, and witnesses said as many as 40 people were killed. Shiite-inspired violence spread to nearly all of the country.

The fighting in Fallujah and neighboring Ramadi, where commanders confirmed 12 Marines were killed late Tuesday, was part of an intensified uprising involving both Sunni and Shiites that now stretched from Kirkuk in the north to the far south.

An Associated Press reporter in Fallujah saw cars ferrying the dead and wounded from the Abdul-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque. Witnesses said a helicopter fired three missiles into the compound, destroying part of a wall surrounding the mosque but not damaging the main building.

FULL STORY

BREAKING NEWS:
Iraq on verge of civil war: Blix -DrudgeReport.com
Investors' concern shifts to Iraq war By Adam Shell, USA TODAY

U.S. stocks post early gains -CBSMW
By Mark Cotton, CBS.MarketWatch.com
April 12, 2004

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - U.S. stocks opened higher Monday as the earnings season got off to a broadly positive start, with strength in Asian markets overnight lending support.

"The market is going to rally a little as there was no serious terrorist action over the weekend, other than the continuing blight in Iraq, which if it lasts longer will impact the market," said Barry Hyman, equity market strategist at Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum.

Hyman said the focus will be on earnings to drive the market forward, but comments from San Francisco Federal Reserve President Robert Parry, hinting at higher U.S. interest rates, will keep the specter of a rates rise at the forefront of investor minds.

Parry said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that inflation will probably run at a 1 to 2 percent pace over the next year, which would be above the central bank's four-decade-low 1 percent borrowing target.

"Let's assume inflation averages 1 to 2 percent,'' Parry said. "Then you could see maybe the natural (federal) funds rate would be -- I don't know -- 3.5 percent, something like that.''

Asian bourses provided a positive influence, with Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei Average closing up 1.2 percent, Taiwan's Weighted Average gaining 2.4 percent and South Korea's Kospi adding 1.5 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 44 points , or 0.4 percent at 10,486.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 10 points, or 0.5 percent at 2,063.

The S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent at 1,143, while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks rose 2.46 points, or 0.4 percent to 600.34.

On the currency markets, the dollar was mixed in early trade against a basket of major currencies.

The euro edged down 0.1 percent against the greenback to $1.2072. The British pound rose 0.2 percent to $1.8367 but the dollar fell back against the yen, down 0.5 percent at 105.73.

http://www.cbsmarketwatch.com

Precious Metals: Steady, Players Bullish -Dow Jones
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen

London, April 8 (OsterDowJones) - Gold was broadly steady above $420 after a late flurry on Wednesday prompted by escalating unrest in Iraq, where U.S.-led forces are facing some of the deadliest fighting since ousting Saddam Hussein last year.

Gold (XAU=) was trading at $421.80/422.30, compared with $422.75/423.50 in New York, with dealers citing slow trade ahead of closure on Friday and Monday for public holidays in Europe.

Silver (XAG=) fell back to $8.08/8.11 from $8.21/8.23 last quoted in New York. Analysts said gold was well placed for further gains next week, backed up by safe-haven buying as a hedge against geo-political uncertainty.

"Support for gold is now placed with the 10-day moving average at $420, and the metal should be supported by further safe-haven investment ahead of the long weekend," Barclays Capital said in a daily report.

Gold players will also be watching for further news after Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke took a leave of absence on Wednesday in an ethics row that exploded over a lavish hotel bill paid for him by a top German bank.

There are suspicions that Berlin would like to get its hands on the Bundesbank's gold reserves to help the government out of its budgetary difficulties -- something Welteke has resisted.

Spot palladium was higher in early European trade Wednesday as market players continue to be bullish on a prospect of higher demand.

Spot prices edged to a high of $322.50 a troy ounce during Asian hours - a level last seen in October 2002.

In European trade, prices consolidated around $320/oz and the London morning fix stayed at this level, up from $310/oz from Tuesday's afternoon fix.

Analysts said more longs have been added to palladium futures in New York and spot prices could test $350/oz in the near term.

Trade in Europe was quiet ahead of the long Easter weekend.

Market sentiment in palladium has improved despite the oversupply in the world market after a new technology by Umicore that will allow an increased usage of palladium in catalyst of diesel engines - the market exclusive to more expensive platinum. The company said the technology could be put in use in 2005 after tests and assessments by its customers.

Wednesday, platinum edged down marginally. The metal has spent most of this week under $900/oz, with players convinced the Umicore's palladium catalyst technology could cap platinum prices in the long term.

http://www.dowjones.com

Oil prices soar as inventories dip -CNNfn
Crude jumps 4% after agency says stocks fall by 2.1M barrels, gas stocks slip by 800,000 barrels.
April 7, 2004

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices raced nearly four percent higher Wednesday as a fall in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories reignited summer supply concerns in the world's biggest energy consumer.

U.S. light crude jumped $1.33, or 3.8 percent to $36.30 a barrel, while London's Brent crude rose $1.10 to $32.45 barrel.

Prices jumped after U.S. government's Energy Information Administration said weekly crude stocks had fallen by 2.1 million barrels to 292.2 million barrels, breaking a six-week run of rises.

Gasoline stocks, the market's focus as summer holiday driving demand nears, slipped by 800,000 barrels to 200.1 million. A Reuters survey of 10 analysts had predicted both crude and gasoline stocks rose last week.

http://www.cnnfn.com

The truth about Social Security is ugly -MSN Money
Apr 5, 2004

Arguing over Band-Aids like delayed retirement or increased immigration completely misses the point: Disaster is looming, and only real fixes are drastic and painful.

By Liz Pulliam Weston

What strikes me most about the arguments over Social Security is how many people just don’t get it.

They might understand, in a general way, that the system is in trouble. They might even know that it’s supposed to run out of money someday. What they don’t get is how seriously out of whack our national retirement system has become or how painful the solutions will have to be. Should someone suggest a fix that might remotely affect them, they howl bloody murder -- as if any of us working folk will be able to emerge from this financial debacle unscarred.

So I want to thank economist Laurence J. Kotlikoff and fellow personal finance columnist Scott Burns for laying it out so plainly in their new book, “The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know About America’s Economic Future.”

Here’s the abbreviated version: FULL STORY

Research Report: Social Insecurity ...

Madrid Bomb Ringleader Blows Self Up -Reuters
Apr 4, 2004

By Estelle Shirbon

LEGANES, Spain (Reuters) - The Tunisian suspected ringleader of last month's Madrid train bombings blew himself up with three accomplices after police cornered them in a suburban Madrid apartment, officials said Sunday.

Serhane ben Abdelmajid Farkhet, 35, known as El Tunecino (The Tunisian), was one of several men who yelled defiant Arabic slogans before detonating a charge that also killed a policeman, Interior Minister Angel Acebes told a news conference.

Another of the dead, Moroccan Abdennabi Kounjaa, was also among six suspects being hunted in connection with the March 11 bombings of four commuter trains, which killed 191 people.

Fifteen police officers were wounded by the explosion during the Saturday night raid in Leganes, a Madrid suburb. One of the wounded officers was in serious condition.

"The core group of those who carried out the terrorist act (the train bombings) have been detained or died in the collective suicide," Acebes said. "We have to highlight the magnificent work done by the security forces."

Investigators have clearly tied together three events that have rocked Spain in recent weeks: the March 11 train bombings, the discovery of a bomb wedged beneath a high-speed rail south of Madrid Friday, and Saturday's suicide blast.

Spain is holding 15 people, most of them Moroccan, over the March 11 attacks.

FULL STORY

READ: TERRORISM THREATENS WORLD MARKETS -- 3-22-04 -- Israel's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the #1 Hamas religious leader has followers vowing immediate retaliation on both Israel and America. Hamas said "the doors of hell have been opened" by Israel. I have a simple financial strategy to protect your assets from a prolonged market decline, no matter what happens.

Malaysian Militants Say bin Laden Ordered Attacks VOA News
Apr 3, 2004

Four Malaysians jailed in Indonesia have admitted to being part of a Southeast Asian terror group, and say they carried out a string of attacks inspired by a religious edict attributed to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

In an interview with Malaysia's TV3 television station, the men said they had belonged to the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist organization. The men also told the station they regret their actions. The interview was to have been broadcast late Friday.

One detainee, Mohamed Nasir, said Jemaah Islamiya's alleged spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, and the group's alleged operations chief, known as Hambali, issued the edict from Osama bin Laden. Nasir said it called on militants to kill Americans wherever they are, regardless of their age or gender.

Abu Bakar Bashir is due to be freed later this month after serving a sentence in Indonesia for immigration violations and forgery. Although he denies any connection with Jemaah Islamiyah, Indonesian authorities say he could face additional charges if he is linked to terrorist attacks.

Hambali is currently in U.S. custody after being arrested in Thailand last year.

http://www.voanews.com

COMMENTARY

Goldbugs dazzled by their own successes -John Dizard, FT
April 2 2004

There are two magic words in the deal world these days: "China" and "gold".

You can't lose with either one. On the one hand, you have a country where if you can sell just one unit of anything to more than 1bn people, that adds up to a lot of money. On the other, you have the only financial asset that can keep its value through political and economic turmoil, except when the price of the metal goes down.

Also, for the past couple of years the prices of Chinese assets and gold-related assets have been going up. So, what if the two concepts are combined, into, say, Chinese gold mines? It sounded good when I heard a Chinese gold mine pitch at the end of last month.

It may actually turn out to be good in the real world, as distinct from the world of mining promoters. There are high grade, low-cost Chinese properties, although they tend to be small compared with Russian mines. Sometimes even mine promoters can be on to a good thing.

However, while they are probably right that there are good prospects for low-cost gold in China, Russia and elsewhere, they are probably making a mistake about how to finance its development. I think they are selling too many shares and not hedging enough of their future gold production with short sales.

I have been around people in the gold business for more than 25 years, having been attracted to it about the time it crashed from its spectacular peak at the end of 1979 and the beginning of 1980. The only gold people who survived the drought in the business between 1980 and the beginning of this decade were the faith-based bulls and the calculating hedgers. The hedgers survived on the proceeds of short sales; the bulls survived on hope.

For the past couple of years the bulls have been in the ascendancy. That does not only mean the price has been rising - so they've made some money for once on call options and leveraged stocks - they have also made it an article of faith that the managers of publicly traded gold companies must reduce their hedging books in the face of rising prices. They believed for a long time the gold price was kept repressed in part by miners selling the metal short.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, miners who sold some of their production in the forward, futures, or options markets maintained they were simply being prudent. The goldbugs argued they were giving up the speculative potential that was the real reason for owning gold shares. They didn't want a steady income stream; they wanted the untold riches of the East, even if they had to wait for it.

With the revival of the gold price, which at around $430 last week was at a 15-year high, the bulls effected a purge of the mining company managements. Managers who believed hedging was a useful tactic were fired or forced to recant with public confessions of error in the style of the Cultural Revolution.

http://www.ft.com

READ: THINGS THEY NEVER TOLD YOU ABOUT GOLD -- 3-18-04 -- The 2nd Annual Savage financial checkup with author, and Swiss America CEO Craig Smith. 45 Minutes of hard-hitting truth about ... pressing domestic economic issues ... financial and monetary terrorism ... scandals on Wall Street ... how to go onto a personal gold standard. "I’m fascinated by Smith's perspectives!"

FUNDAMENTALS DON'T MATTER? -Richard Spohr, SATC
Apr 5, 2004

Well, they matter to me.

And, since I'm overdue for a rant, here are 17 of those butt-ugly fundamentals just off the top of my head...

1. Record U.S. budget deficit. More than half a trillion bucks..and counting. The Iraq quagmire doesn't look like it's going to reach its exit phase any time soon. The $1.7 trillion tax cut (40 percent to the richest 1 percent of Americans) might have been a tad overdone. And government spending shows no sign of slowing. Hell, Arnold Ziffle - the pig from Green Acres - would feel right at home with all the 'pork barrel' spending by Congress...

2. Record U.S. trade deficit. Hey, it's a mere half a Trillion smackers. Guess that's what happens when the U.S. stops actually making stuff and turns into a shop-till-you-drop, deep-in-debt, paper-shuffling economy. It appears that when you don't make anything, it's tough to export stuff.

3. Record U.S. debt - $35 Trillion and counting. That's a mere 350% the size of the U.S. GDP. Hey, according to Greenspan, it's all "manageable."

4. Record Credit Card defaults. On the bright side, this must be building strong hand muscles for all those store clerks who have to cut those cards in half with dull pairs of scissors.

5. Record personal bankruptcies. Five Million Americans have declared bankruptcy in the past three years. Just wait until the housing bubble pops...then that 'five million bankruptcies' tidbit will appear like something from "the good old days."

6. Record price of gas at the pump in the U.S. Wonder how many folks are pleased that they listened to Fed governor Poole who advised that the best way to get the economy humming would be to "go out and buy a SUV."

7. Thanks to the mortgage refi mania, the U.S. "homeowner" (a misnomer, since the banks own the homes) now owns a smaller percentage of equity in his/her own home than ever before. Hmmm. Sure won't take much of a housing price dip to make the mortgages worth more than the mortgaged properties. Can you say 'Default?'

8. Real unemployment at approximately 10 percent in the US. The layoffs, furloughs, staff reductions, downsizings, outsourcings and other 'cost cutting' measures will continue until morale improves.

9. A virtually negative savings rate by the indebted U.S. consumer, who continues to live the life of a CEO while earning a McJob salary. Total US consumer debt, including mortgage debt, is about $10 Trillion. Lest we forget, the spending by these up-to-their-arse-in-debt yokels accounts for 70 percent of the US economy.

10. A shrinking Peachback. Even the whizbangs at the Bank of Japan appear to be growing tired of throwing hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Yen into a festering sinkhole.

11. Significant inflation in the price of things that we NEED. The cost of gasoline, natural gas, heating oil, all other commodities, health care, insurance, etc. are soaring. House prices are...uh...through the roof. Property taxes are flying. And yet the Fed doesn't see any inflation and keeps interest rates at artificially low levels that haven't been seen in almost half a century. Think that the low Fed rate has anything to do with the sagging greenback? You bet it does. And that's why all the talk about a "strong dollar policy" is such a steaming crock of Kudlow.

12. There IS a housing price bubble. Templeton sees house prices declining by as much as 75 percent in the years to come. A Bank of England official warns of a 20 percent drop in housing prices in Jolly Olde England in the next year or so. The housing sector is about the only thing that has kept the US economy from a screaming swan dive into a deep recession. But given homeowners' massive debtloads, the fact that the market is at saturation levels and the realization that a shocking number of homes are mortgaged to the absolute limit (or more), this housing bubble appears on the verge of implosion. Even a hint of a rate increase by Greenspan will jack up the yield on 10-year T-Bills, an increase that will be mirrored by mortgage rates.

13. Somewhere around 40 percent of all U.S. "debt instruments" (bonds and T-bills) are owned by foreigners. With the disgustingly low yields and with the sagging greenback, even the BOJ fanatics can't keep shoveling dough into US bonds and T-bills. Heck, they'd be better off at the roulette wheel in Vegas. Methinks that some of the bigger, smarter foreign outfits will begin takin' their chips off the table and cashing out, taking their bankroll back home. That'll put more pressure on Greenie to do something, although he is currently doing a great immitation of Dr. DooNothing. He's not concerned about a sagging currency, about screwing all the senior citizens who rely on fixed income investments, about the rampant speculation in real estate or in the markets, about the undeniable inflation that he denies exists (guess it's not really "undeniable" then) or about the foolish American consumers who - attracted by 'no down payment', 'zero percent financing' pitches - are continuing to spend themselves into Debt Hell. If he's lucky, the guys in the soup line won't have any tar and feathers handy if Greenspan wanders past 'em.

14. A sickening lack of corporate governance. Earnings reports are more 'accounting fiction' than they are 'reality.' If these clowns expensed stock options, a shocking number of companies listed on the Nasdaq would cease to exist tomorrow. How many times do we have to hear bafflegab such as "Pro Forma" or "excluding some items", or "excluding 'Goodwill' expenses", or "Beat by a penny?" So what if corporate bigwigs lie, cheat and steal? The SEC is there to protect the small investors. (Laugh Track plays here).

15. Massive underfunding of corporate pension plans. Heck, even the US government agency that bails out floundering pension plans has gone to the government for a bailout, since it's about $10 billion in debt itself. I can see this turning into an absolutely incredible issue as retiring boomers suddenly learn that their pensions are reduced so greatly that they won't even be able to afford the 'premium' cat food. And that doesn't count those poor souls who are now getting zero pensions from the likes of Enron. Speaking of which, why is Ken Lay not playing tennis at some Club Fed crowbar hotel?

16. Stocks are overvalued. Depending on your source for P/E ratio commentary, the markets are either (pick one) modestly overvalued, significantly overvalued, vastly overvalued or wildly, ridiculously overvalued. Buffett, Templeton, Gross, Roach and Soros all say the markets are overvalued. Cramer says they're not. Who do you believe?

17. Market sentiment is extremely bullish. The investor newsletters are very bullish. There is no fear in the markets. The amount of money inflows into mutual funds set an all-time record during the first three months of this year. And yet...insiders have been dumping stocks like there's no tomorrow. Insiders have been selling as much as 60 times more shares than they've been buying during the past eight months or so. Either Joe Sixpack is wrong or the big-money insiders are wrong. My wager is that Mrs. Sixpack and all the little Sixpacks are gonna be telling Joe that he was out to lunch to blow the rent money on RIMM or some other such Ponzi scheme.

...Rant completed.

Yeah, I know that fundamentals don't matter... until the day when they're ALL that matters.

Read more on ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS - by Craig R. Smith

A RULE CHANGE FOR SILVER -Dr. Richard S. Appel, FinancialInsights
March 26, 2004

Silver recently broke above the important $6.00 level that should have at a minimum presented some important resistance. The impressive sustained buying frenzy that fired its advance quickly not only catapulted it quickly through that point, but has now placed it in a position to attack far higher price levels.

When I began working on this essay several days ago I thought that it would at least require a month or longer to attain the $7.50 price objective. This was the height to which silver earlier soared when Warren Buffet announced that he had purchased a substantial amount of the white metal in early 1998. Now that $7.50 has been surmounted, and barring a correction which should normally attend such an event, the next area of important resistance should be $8.00 followed by my intermediate price target of $10.00. Given the abruptness of silver’s current breathtaking advance, it is likely that we will not have long to wait before these targets are approached.

One issue that greatly impresses me is the effect of a recent unified letter campaign to various government officials. These outlined the abuses that have allegedly influenced the free trading silver market. It is believed that a group of bullion banks, brokerage firms and commercial interests have acted for years to suppress the price of silver. Ted Butler who has long championed silver initiated the campaign. He was responsible for the outpouring of thousands of individual letters to important officials such as Elliot Spitzer, New York’s Attorney General. Mr. Butler’s coaxing, along with that of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA.org) was instrumental in a flurry of letters that appear to have forced the authorities to at minimum look into these allegations. It is amazing that shortly after the campaign was initiated, silver appeared to become freed from the shackles that had prevented its price appreciation for a number of years. The timing was that precise.

If the allegations are true, which I believe is likely, those who have worked to maintain silver at an artificially low price will now be forced to stand aside and allow the market to set its own course. They will do this for fear of government sanctions against their indefensible actions. To me this is truly a great win for “the little guy”, the man in the street, all of us! Further, it proves that a number of people working together in search for truth and justice can actually make a difference! My hat is off to Ted Butler and GATA.

It is amazing how powerful the Internet can be if utilized properly. In this instance the availability of instantaneous communications allowed a vast number of individuals from varying countries and from very different walks of life, to successfully connect for a like-minded goal.

If indeed silver has broken away from the restraints that have impeded its advance for the past several years, it is now free to quickly make up for lost time. This will allow it to rise to the $8.00 area, which appears to me to be the white metal’s present minimum equilibrium level. However, there are other considerations that must be taken into account in order to determine the extent of silver’s remaining thrust if the suppressing forces have indeed been quieted.

I have been long waiting for the build up of silver’s fundamentals to propel it sharply higher. Silver has been in a supply deficit for nearly 15 years. During this time the vast majority of available above ground supplies have been consumed.. Further, the various government stockpiles have been all but exhausted. During the early 1970's, the U.S. government maintained a silver inventory of about 3 billion ounces. This has long since been depleted. The U.S. now finds itself in a position where it must compete in the marketplace to acquire needed silver supplies for the production of their various silver collector coins.

The enormous commodity short position against silver has been at an unsustainable level for quite some time. It appeared obvious that the shorts would eventually be forced to cover their positions. Further, given the amount of silver that they owed, a massive short squeeze seemed the likely outcome. The only question has always been one of timing! Now, we appear to be at the thresh-hold of the silver shorts long-awaited day of reckoning.

Given the fact that the above events appear to be coming to a head, the ultimate outcome will be a significant spike in the silver price. This will be needed to attract the sale of a sufficient quantity of silver from the “strong hands”, in order to clear the market. I believe that this process has now been set into motion! When the smoke settles, the only question is the needed dollar price that will effect the balance of the white metal’s supply and demand.

Given the above, I believe that within the foreseeable future we will be faced with a silver price well in excess of $10.00 an ounce. It is impossible to presently predict whether silver will rocket to $12.00, $15.00, or even $20.00 an ounce because there are too many unknowns. Further, the enormous short position has not been built up by an unwitting public. It has been undertaken by bullion banks, important brokerage firms as well as major commercial interests. In effect, by some of the most powerful, financially sound and shrewdest minds in the financial world. They will not easily go down fighting! There will likely be sharp corrections as negative information regarding silver enters the market. However, in the end, I believe that a year from now we will all look back at today’s silver price and wish we had owned more!

http://www.financialinsights.org

CAPITAL, SWEAT, KNOW-HOW, RISK AND LUCK -Richard Russell, DTL
Dow Theory Letters 03/30/2004

... I just read an interview in Smart Money magazine with fabled pioneer international investor, Sir John Templeton. Here is some of the conversation —

R. Russell — Does the U.S. government’s debt level worry you?

Sir John Templeton — Oh yes. There has never been any government anywhere in the world that has such a big deficit in the federal budget, and there has never been a nation in history that has such an adverse balance of trade. However, if you look at these debts and balance of trade as a percentage of gross national produce, they’re bad, but not unprecedented.

R. Russell — What does that mean for investors?

Sir John Templeton — It’s one more reason why this is a dangerous time to own stocks.

Russell comment — There it is, comments from perhaps the greatest international investor of all time.

Interesting, Russell, but what’s new? You want something new, here it is. Gold is now (finally) moving up against all the main currencies.

What does it mean? It means that if you’re a European or if you’re Japanese or Asian, gold is an appreciating asset. And slowly, very slowly, the idea may be dawning in your tired brain that gold (true intrinsic money) is worth a damn sight more than the paper your central bank is grinding out at will. Let me put it this way — it takes a mere decision from a central bank to create billion dollars more of paper. But it takes capital, sweat, know-how, risk and often pure luck to produce anything like a billion dollars worth of gold.

Gold has been treated as money for 5,000 years. Gold is the first metal mentioned in the Bible. On August 15, 1971, President Nixon closed the U.S.’s gold window, which meant that the U.S. would no longer honor its commitment to transfer its gold to its foreign central bank creditors. From that point on, the world was on a paper-money system. The world, from that point on, would operate on the basis of an ever-increasing ocean of irredeemable paper.”(3/30/04)

http://www.theAUreport.com

Read THE NEW GLOBAL CURRENCY: GOLD -Richard Russell

Personal Security Accounts - John Mauldin, Frontlinethoughts
Apr 2, 2004

Privatizing Social Security might sound nice to Republicans, but is anathema to Democrats. And frankly, allowing Mom and Pop investor to "time" the market in their accounts means some are going to not end up with a reasonable retirement. Control has its benefits and its very real costs. Are we going to have the government come in and pick up the costs for those who invested unwisely?

Letting people opt out of Social Security and going private (I would do so in a nano-second) means that someone through some other tax would have to finance the pay as you go system we now have. Even if we were to gradually do it, it would mean gradual tax increases or more government debt.

But taking the Al Gore approach (do nothing) means that future generations are going to have to cough up a lot of money. We merely postpone the crisis and payments to our kids, or they vote to stiff us.

I can give you the logic of privatizing Social Security. But it is not politically possible, and perhaps not even wise. So what might be? Kotlikoff and Burns offer the following novel suggestions.

1. Basically, stop accruing any more social security benefits to anyone. Simply stop the current system. 2. Any benefits already accumulated will be paid, but eliminate the Social Security tax. Anyone promised any benefit will get everything they have been promised, and in full. 3. Social Security's Old Age Insurance payroll tax is eliminated and replaced with equivalent compulsory contributions to something they call a Personal Security System (PSS) account. The account is invested in a weighted world index of stocks, bonds and real estate from every major stock market. 4. A new federal retails sales tax is used to pay off the accrued retirement benefits owed under the old system. 5. To eliminate the dramatic unfairness in the current system, worker contributions are shared 50-50 with their spouses. 6. The government contributes to PSS accounts on behalf of disables and unemployed. 7. The government matches PSS contributions on a progressive basis. 8. All PSS accounts are invested in a single market- weighted global index fund of stocks, bonds and real estate. 9. The government guarantees the real principle that workers contribute to their accounts. 10. Between age 57 and 67, workers PSS accounts are gradually sold off and transformed into inflation-protected pensions. 11. If a worker dies prior to age 67, any remaining PSS balances would be transferred to PSS accounts of the worker's heirs.

Young workers are guaranteed a far better retirement than current Social Security benefits. Depending upon contributions, it could be many times better. Everyone gets their benefits. The system they propose is clearly fairer. What's not to like?

The Devil is in the details. I preface the details with this note. For those who do not know of Scott Burns, he is no liberal. He helped found the National Taxpayers Union and is no proponent of big government or taxes.

The national sales tax they propose to deal with the accumulated benefits already due to future retirees would start at 12%. Over time (many decades) it would decrease to about 3%, as with each passing year, those who die would stop receiving benefits.

They then follow this up with reasons why the sales tax is not really all that regressive, is certainly better than the current situation and so on. They explain why they use a world investment index. All nice arguments and reasonably set forth.

Is this realistic? Do you really want to invest in a world index with all the currency problems and other issues? As bad as the US debt may look, do we want to invest in a Europe where it is at least twice as bad? Are there better ways to solve the problem? Maybe, but it misses the point. And here we go from their analysis to mine.

FULL STORY

read: SOCIAL INSECURITY: Research Report -- 3-9-04 -- Part I: An Overview of the Social Security Crisis and Proposed Solutions. 77 million baby-boomers are about to retire. What can be done to avoid a funding crisis NOW?

The sad paradox of religion news -Brent Bozell, Townhall
April 7, 2004

Thanks to the historic box-office bonanza of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" ($330 million and rising), the topic of religion is "hot" right now. Still, you get a sinking feeling that for the press, it's just another raging fad like the Tickle Me Elmo doll or the Atkins diet.

The other night, ABC's Peter Jennings took three entire hours of prime-time television to explore the relationship between Jesus and St. Paul -- and that's two more hours than ABC gave Britney Spears a few months ago. Airing this subject matter -- and this much of it, too -- was a radical departure from the norm. But what about the quality? Wouldn't you know it, ABC had to put a negative spin on Paul; he isn't really to be trusted as a writer of the New Testament, and that he can be a force for what Peter Jennings calls "puritanical intolerance." He is somehow a human failure, and the Holy Spirit is nowhere to be found in the Word of God.

This sad paradox -- more religion news, with less religious context -- comes through in a Media Research Center study of 12 months of religion coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC from March 2003 to February 2004. Counting all the morning, evening and prime-time shows together, the amount of stories has more than doubled from a similar study of 1993 -- from 336 stories 10 years ago to 699 last year.

Some of that increase can be attributed to the passion over "The Passion," although the movie stories came in at about one-tenth of the total. In recent months, a number of other dramatic religious news stories have unfolded, from religious freedom in Iraq, to the installation of an openly gay Episcopal bishop, to the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's pontificate. Is this a trend that will last? It largely depends on what stories unfold, since the media don't usually go searching far and wide for religion stories.

News, with its focus on the shocking things at the expense of everyday happenings, still accentuates the negative with religion. For example, almost half of the evening-news stories on the Catholic church in the 12-month study period still focused on the problem of clerical sexual abuse. The quiet work of the faithful goes on, and the vast majority of Catholic bishops and priests go about serving their communities and leading souls to Christ without the slightest hiccup of media interest.

The hottest Protestant story of the year was the installation of openly gay Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, but reporters on that story treated it as a milestone against discrimination, focusing on its political impact, not its scriptural or theological implications. Most of the TV time on the happy-talk morning shows went to Robinson and his supporters (10 interviews to just one for an opponent). Just like in other political stories on the gay issue, the labeling was very imbalanced, since Robinson's critics within the church were described as "conservatives" 42 times, but Robinson's supporters drew just five "liberal" labels. Robinson himself was so revered that not once was he ever described as either "liberal" or even as an "activist." (Now ask how many times you've seen the label "conservative" and much worse attached to Pope John Paul.)

Yes, the networks love progressive fads, religious or secular, but they remained hostile to the most traditional interpretations of religion. One example was Gibson's "Passion," which was the biggest supposed anti-Semitism hubbub of the year, if not in the last decade or two. (Erupting as a "hate speech" hot button in August, it didn't become a story about Christian inspiration until the advance-ticket sales began in mid-February.) How sick is that? We have suicide bombers blowing up buses in Israel and very real anti-Semitism on the march in Europe, but the TV networks located the worldwide danger zone for Jews as the space between Mel Gibson's ears.

Progressive religious fads often emerge from academia, where professors can be located to tout -- as the most credible, objective, social-scientific findings -- loopy conspiracy theories like "The DaVinci Code" or phony "gospels" that teach Jesus was less like God and more like a profound Grateful Dead groupie. Sadly, the media's Rolodex of religion experts was dominated by academics who are hostile to religious orthodoxy. They are never described for the viewer at home as boutique liberals or hard-line secularists.

In short, the media have taken a burst of passionate Christian enthusiasm for an orthodox movie, and responded with an increase of religion programming that too often dismisses rather than debates that very orthodox vision. When surveys of the national media have shown that half of journalists are religiously unaffiliated and 86 percent never attend church or synagogue, it's not a surprise that they just don't get it.

http://www.townhall.com

Brent Bozell is President of Media Research Center, a Townhall.com member group.

A FRESH GLOBAL PASSION RESURRECTED– David Bradshaw, Editor, RMP
Apr 5, 2004

"He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5

About three weeks ago I went with a friend to see The Passion of the Christ. Having heard all the controversy over the “excessive” violence and “anti-Semitism”, I was on the lookout to see if this was in fact true, or just sour grapes from anti-Christian reviewers, who were hell-bent on attempting to discredit the movie. (which has backfired!)

While I must confess the brutality was the strongest I've ever seen in an artistic rendition of Christ's Passion, overall the film did a magnificent job in it’s portrayal of the Jesus of the Bible. There were a few scenes that I found myself turning away, but it was with tears in my eyes as the film forced me to face the reality of Christ’s suffering in ways I never have before on an such an intense emotional level.

As a Christian of thirty-some years, I have read, watched and even performed in Passion Plays dozens of times, but never have I felt what the Apostle Paul refers to as “the fellowship of His suffering as I did watching this movie.

As for the accusations of “anti-Semitic” … this is not the impression that came across the screen to me. It would be the same as saying the movie was “anti-Roman” or “anti-democratic” for the movie correctly portrays the major role that both Pontius Pilate and the townspeople of Jerusalem played in condemning the Christ.

The most unusual and yet genuine aspect of the movie was the Aramaic sub-titles which remained true to Scripture in virtually every detail. As Dr. Gary North points out, the decision to use a dead language to communicate the gospel was a stroke of genius by Mel Gibson because it instantly makes the film international and universal – which is refreshing in a world that has grown callous to the American version of Jesus that until now has been all that Hollywood filmmakers have offered us.

I predict that The Passion will not only break all box office records for a “religious” film, but it may well launch a fresh global perspective of the universality of Christianity.

The second major credit to this movie is that I believe it leaves the believer with a fresh understanding and awareness that His suffering was the pathway to redemption and glory.

Isaiah. 26:9 states that, "When judgment comes it teaches people righteousness." I believe that as the intensity of spiritual, ideological, governmental and economic warfare accelerates in the 21st century, it is going to require more Christians that can pray, think and steward God's resources strategically, without collapsing under the pressure -- just like Jesus did.

This of course flies in the face of today’s America’s secular humanist driven culture (cult?) – which lives for comfort, convenience and even luxury entitlement -- None of which were the hallmarks of Christ or of the early church … nor will they be hallmarks of the fresh global renewal in today’s church.

The implicit message of The Passion is that it is time for Christians to grow up, face the hard truths of the gospel and move on into a deeper relationship with Him as an act of both duty and worship.

"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I become a man, I put away such things." -I Cur. 13:11

Scientists tell us that every cell in our body carries in it two DNA codes; one code to bring the cell to maturity and reproduction, and another code to bring the cell into harmony and integration with the entire organism. It's part of God's natural design.

So it is in the spiritual realm. God has placed within every member of the body of Christ an individual destiny of maturity and reproduction and a corporate destiny to integrate with the whole body. This organism, the body of Christ, is called to conform to the head, King Jesus Christ, and then to transform the world into the image of His Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit living with each of us. (Perhaps this will be covered in The Passion, Pt. II)

Bottom line: Go see the film for yourself! –db

P.S. Braida, my 2-month old daughter is gearing up for her first Easter Celebration. Thankfully the Passion does not end at Calvary ... it did not even end with an empty tomb ... Christ's Passion lives on the hearts of 2 Billion Christians worldwide! Read more about the future role of the Church from the perspective of 65 top Christian leaders HERE.

Recommended Reviews:
Dr. Ted Baehr
Dr. Gary North

David M. Bradshaw is Editor of Real Money Perspectives, publisher of Rediscovering Gold in the 21st Century: The Complete Guide to the Next Gold Rush (7/01) and has been an economic commentator since 1987, when he produced the World Economic Perspectives radio show. In 1997, he produced a one-hour TV documentary, "Preparing Wisely for the Next Millennium," which was distributed free of charge at Blockbuster Video nationally. In 1999, he produced a one-hour radio special, "The Big Picture: The Shape of Things to Come" discussing geopolitical, economic and spiritual trends in the 21st Century. MORE...