Replies to post #1307 on Mining Sector Ideas

[gfp927z]

Bigworld, Thanks for the Rinear update. It's clear the US debt bomb will unravel at some point, with the timeline being the main question. I'm figuring the $40-50 trillion area is where global confidence in the dollar runs into big trouble. A guess, but that's the level I'm using for my own investment planning. At the rate we're going, the 40 tril level will be reached within a few years (see below). The official US debt is currently 34.5 tril, but has been increasing by ~1 tril every 100 days (!), so the math paints a very grim picture. Anyway, my bond allocation ladder goes out to Dec 2026, and I'm reluctant to go out much beyond that.

As Jim Rickards points out, a fiat / unbacked currency relies on confidence, and when that confidence is lost, things can snowball quickly. When Bretton Woods collapsed in 1971, the dollar went full 'fiat' with no backing at all, and Kissinger / Rockefellers scrambled to cook up the Petrodollar idea, which ensured constant global demand for dollars and US Treasuries from global oil sales. The US military could also be used to intervene if an oil producing country tried to wriggle out of the dollar system. The Petrodollar system worked great for decades, but is nearing the end of the road. We're now seeing global de-dollarization of trade accelerating, the BRICS expanding and planning their own gold-linked alternative to the dollar, and countries loading up on gold. The US resorts to sanctions, de-SWIFT-ing, and wars, but meanwhile the debt bomb clock keeps ticking.

A logical strategy would be to gradually move out of financial assets (stocks / bonds) and into more hard assets, like paid-for real estate, land, gold/silver, etc. The tentative timeline for the debt bomb looks like 40 tril (2026) --> 50 tril (2029), which means the next US President is most likely captain of the Titanic. If we assume 3 trillion of new debt per year, and 50 tril as the upper boundary of global confidence in the dollar, we have until 2029 at the latest -

Mid 2024 -- 34.5 tril
Mid 2025 -- 37.5 tril
Mid 2026 -- 40.5 tril
Mid 2027 -- 43.5 tril
Mid 2028 -- 46.5 tril
Mid 2029 -- 49.5 tril

In addition to moving more into hard assets, another idea would be to move to a place like New Zealand, where a US dollar crisis should have a much lower effect. To retire to New Zealand apparently requires 1.25 mil in assets (in NZ dollars), so approx $750 K in US dollars. Moving to New Zealand would also escape the lunacy of US politics, etc.




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[gfp927z]

Bigworld, Just wondering if your knee procedure is still scheduled for June? Thinking about the source of the initial bacteremia, there are several possibilities that your docs may not have considered. One is an asymptomatic oral infection. These are not that uncommon, and can easily be missed if you haven't had a full set of diagnostic xrays recently. It requires a complete set of dental xrays (periapicals) rather than just bitewings and/or a panoramic xray. The individual periapicals will show the entire tooth, root, and surrounding bone of every tooth. A panoramic xray of the entire mouth is useful, but can miss things. With a full set of periapical xrays, it's not that unusual to find teeth with associated areas of infection (apically), but with no symptoms or pain, so this is a possible source of a systemic bacteremia. The gums / gingiva is another path for bacteria to enter the bloodstream., so you need to floss at least twice / day, and have zero bleeding from the gums. Anyway, these are obvious potential sources of a bacteremia, but are easy to rule out and prevent.

Another possibility is 'leaky gut', which most American have some degree of, due to various factors. Cardiologist Steve Gundry has written extensively on the subject, but basically our intestinal walls become porous and allow bacteria and other substances to enter the vasculature surrounding the intestines, and from there the bacteria travel through the entire circulatory system. So basically a permanent low level bacteremia. This is bad enough, but add in a new knee implant, and you've got big problems. Fixing / sealing a leaky gut is not that difficult, but requires a big change in one's diet, along with the restoration of a healthy microbiome.

Anyway, those are two possible areas you may not have considered as the source of the bacteremia. The many cuts and scrapes on your legs from all that outdoor work is another obvious possibility.




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[gfp927z]

Looks like the sun saved its biggest CME blast for last, but luckily it missed the Earth, at least this time. But the odds say that a Carrington size CME hitting the Earth is inevitable (see next article), and our total dependence upon microelectronics leaves us extremely vulnerable.

Current microelectronics are estimated to be 1 million times more sensitive to EMP / Electro Magnetic Pulse than older electrical systems. A Carrington size event today puts us back to the Stone Age, but even worse due to the meltdown of nuclear power plants as they lose their backup cooling pumps. Time to start hardening our national power grid against EMP folks -


>>> Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in nearly a decade, but Earth should be safe this time


Associated Press

by MARCIA DUNN

5-14-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sun-shoots-out-biggest-solar-flare-in-nearly-a-decade-but-earth-should-be-safe-this-time/ar-BB1moHXQ?cvid=d5fbbfc4634a46a6921ac0a213f61771&ei=22


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly a decade Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.

“Not done yet!” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in an update.

It's the biggest flare of this 11-year solar cycle, which is approaching its peak, according to NOAA. The good news is that Earth should be out of the line of fire this time because the flare erupted on a part of the sun moving away from Earth.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the bright flash of the X-ray flare. It was the strongest since 2005, rated on the scale for these flares as X8.7.

Bryan Brasher at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado said it may turn out to have been even stronger when scientists gather data from other sources.

It follows nearly a week of flares and mass ejections of coronal plasma that threatened to disrupt power and communications on Earth and in orbit.

NASA said the weekend geomagnetic storm caused one of its environmental satellites to rotate unexpectedly because of reduced altitude from the space weather, and go into a protective hibernation known as safe mode. And at the International Space Station, the seven astronauts were advised to stay in areas with strong radiation shielding. The crew was never in any danger, according to NASA.

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