Tuesday, 16 January 2024 — Southern Highlands, Australia

By Brian Chu Editor, The Australian Gold Report and Gold Stock Pro

[6 min read]

Dear Reader,

During the weekend, I finally found time to play with a few rapid antigen tests (RATs). I’d been meaning to do it for some time as I have been a long-time sceptic of both the PCR tests and RATs.

With a spare 10-pack of tests from my brother-in-law, I got to work.

I squeezed some lemon juice in one. Canned pineapple juice in the second. Sparkling shiraz in the third. A water solution containing toothpaste in the fourth and baking soda dissolved in water in the fifth.

The first and second tests were positive. The rest were negative.

Are the lemons or the can of pineapple juice infected with the virus? You wouldn’t think so, right?

So what does a positive result from these RATs imply?

RATs are a form of a litmus paper, which will register a positive result when the solution is acidic. Beyond that, I would suggest it’s a stretch to conclude that a positive result means you have the Wuhan virus or a variant.

Take a deep breath and let this sink in!

What it means to understand science

Modern society likes to put a pedestal on science, considering that as more rational than spiritual faith, superstitions and emotions.

But many have found themselves blindly following the science. They don’t realise they’re merely following authoritative voices who speak the right words and look the part.

If you ask me, that’s no different to worship, bowing to a different god or idol.

True understanding comes from knowing the theory and process. You can develop your knowledge by testing things out and learning how they work. You may even be able to demonstrate it where appropriate.

Going back to the RATs experiment, it’s chemistry.

Here’s my hypothesis and deductions based on my observations. What I’ve observed is that a sufficiently acidic solution will give a positive result. Therefore, we’re testing how acidic our body fluids are. And the authorities that endorsed these tests do so out of the assumption that the Wuhan virus and other variants cause the body to become acidic.

Is it possible that other illnesses and conditions can lead to a sick individual’s body fluids turn acidic? Quite likely.

That’s what we should test too.

Therefore, by scientific inference, I suggest that a positive result from a RAT isn’t sufficient to conclude that someone has the Wuhan virus or a variant.

Fauci: The science that ‘sort of just appeared’

So why was there so much hysteria and panic over a positive test in the last two or three years?

It all comes down to the people we trusted who weaved an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Think of the footage of people dying in hospitals and falling in the streets of Wuhan (look up the Chinese term ‘pengci’ to get an alternative perspective).

Over the last four years, we’ve seen things not adding up. I’ve named them in previous articles such as this.

These people betrayed our trust.

Worse still, their duplicity and lies came out as document leaks showing that they were more focused on pushing a narrative flouting valid scientific and medical practices.

Most prominent is Dr Fauci, the authoritative voice during the global Wuhan virus outbreak. We’ve seen last year how his private communications showed his stance was often the opposite of what he says publicly.

Senator Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist before becoming a US Senator, had been a longstanding critic of Dr Fauci’s duplicity. For over two years, he has revealed Dr Fauci’s changing stance on the origin of the virus, effectiveness of face masks, lockdowns and the mRNA vaccine.

In an episode of The Ingraham Angle last week, Senator Paul made the following evaluation of Dr Fauci’s character:

‘The one thing that’s consistent abut Anthony Fauci is that what he says in private is largely true, what he says in public is largely a lie.’

‘When asked by a fellow co-worker, Sylvia Burwell, he told her the truth. He said the masks don’t work because the pores are bigger than the virus…but then in public he wears three masks and in private he tells his colleagues you don’t need to wear one.

‘“It’s the same with immunity, it’s the same with the vaccines, and it's really the same with gain of function,” Paul said. In basic terms, the point of gain-of-function research is to make a virus more dangerous and supporters argue that the research can prepare scientists to handle it if one day the virus were to mutate naturally.

‘In private he said, yes, we’re suspicious that the virus was manipulated, looks manipulated and we know they’re doing gain of function in Wuhan. He describes it, that’s in a private email.

‘In public, to this day, he still denies that they funded any gain of function research in Wuhan. It’s all an entire lie.’

Besides Senator Paul, others have spoken against Dr Fauci and many of his allies. This accelerated after Elon Musk took over Twitter (now X) in October 2022.

In the past two years, governments around the world have begun to set up inquiries and investigations. As these people faced government hearings under oath, we see the extent of their bluffs.

Just last week, Dr Fauci returned to the US House to face a hearing by the Select Committee on Coronavirus Pandemic to answer questions regarding his role and recommendations during 2020–22.

This is the man that our authorities claimed to have saved the world from a disastrous pandemic.

You’d expect he’d be happy to share in detail what was on his mind and the decisions he had to weigh up as he drafted directives and policies for the world to follow.

Except, he responded to over a hundred questions with ‘I don’t recall’.

This doesn’t sound right.

When faced with a gruelling mission and the world’s burden on your shoulders, we’d think every decision and action becomes indelible in your mind.

Not with Dr Fauci.

However, it turns out it’s a ‘selective’ amnesia.

When quizzed over how the social distancing policy was implemented, Dr Fauci’s response was most insightful.

He claimed that it was not based on scientific data and that it ‘sort of just appeared’.

To put more context into this, the first time such a policy existed was in 2003 when the Communist Party of China imposed this during the SARS outbreak.

Clearly, the man who is ‘the science’ believes that science is by decree.

Not by evidence, logic or process.

What he says is science. Just follow, don’t question.

Above all, obey.

The collective will forget, but you must not

Many of you are likely over the pandemic.

Things are now returning to normal. So let’s move on, shall we?

I’m not sure if it’s that simple.

I want to be clear that I’m not just focusing on the pandemic. I want to highlight the herd mentality that caused us to live through what we did.

We saw how the authorities used our trust to prey upon our emotions and fears to control our thinking and actions. They could do this because of our ignorance and lack of understanding.

Those who made bad decisions on our behalf and passed harmful policies hid behind the cover of science, knowing that few would understand correct scientific practice. Even fewer could question them and sound the alarm because there was a coordinated campaign to suppress dissent.

In time, I have no doubt that the collective will forget about the pandemic and how their authorities not only failed but deceived them.

It’ll be a different event next time. But same playbook.

How can you protect yourself from this?

Learn the basics, build up your understanding and develop a critical mind. Listen to a wide range of experts, but take their views with a grain of salt.

The rise of AI and technology…how not to be a sucker

Most of you are aware that artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm. It’s everywhere now.

Remote home security and appliance management.

AI workers replacing humans.

Transport and logistics.

AI driven vehicles with self-navigating systems.

AI generated literature.

The future is AI.

Government and business leaders are getting behind AI and touting it to the public. They’re throwing stupendous amounts of funds and manpower behind developing this.

In the coming years, you’ll see how pervasive AI will be.

Whether you are looking at this from a social or investment perspective, it’s important to exercise caution.

Let’s hope that we learn from past lessons and not blindly follow the leaders of the herd.

Here at Fat Tail Investment Research, we’re preparing for the rise of AI. You’ll hear from us soon about a brand-new service that’ll help you both understand and capitalise on this major societal transformation, along with many other global tech innovations.

Stay tuned…

God bless,

Brian Chu,
Editor, The Australian Gold Report and Gold Stock Pro

Brian Chu is one of Australia’s foremost independent authorities on gold and gold stocks, with a unique strategy for valuing big producers and highly speculative explorers. He established a private family fund that only invests in ASX-listed gold mining companies, possibly the only such fund in Australia, putting his strategy and research skills to the test under public scrutiny. He currently writes two gold-focused investment advisories.

In his Australian Gold Report, Brian shows you a strategy for building long-term wealth in physical gold, along with a select portfolio of hand-picked stocks, mainly producers with proven revenue streams, chosen for their balance of risk and reward.

In his more specialised Gold Stock Pro service, Brian helps readers trade some of the most exciting, speculative gold mining plays on the ASX. He uses his proprietary system — based on the famous Lassonde Curve model, which tracks the life cycle of mining stocks. His aim is to help you get ready to trade the next phase of gold and silver’s anticipated longer-term bull market for opportunities to benefit.

By Bill Bonner Editor, Fat Tail Daily

[4 min read]

Dear Reader,

‘For the first time in 20 years, the US is not at war…we’ve turned the page,’ said the commander in chief on 21 September, 2021.  

But last week, Biden turned another page:

Dem, GOP Lawmakers say Biden had no authority to launch Yemen strikes

…fears of escalation to a regional war are running high

Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle Thursday night were lambasting the Biden administration for not getting congressional approval before moving ahead with military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” posted Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. “I have to give credit to @RepRoKhanna here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House.”

‘Why don’t you stick to finance,’ is a question that comes from readers from time to time. The answer: we’d love to. But two great questions hang in the balance. The first is whether international conflicts can be resolved by a ‘rules-based order?’ The second is like unto it; can an extraordinary debt pile be managed — by a rich, advanced nation — without resorting to inflation? Both questions put in doubt the competence and goodwill of our leaders.

‘Peak America’

Deep down in the megapolitical mulch, the roots of finance and politics intertwine, competing for nutrients. Politicians rely on finance for Big Money. Big Money relies on politicians for wars and special favours. 

Our guess is that we’ve already seen ‘Peak America’ in the late ‘90s. That was the best time — ever — to sell US equities. The Dow was trading at over 40 ounces of gold. So, if you had $100,000 in stocks…and you traded them for gold, you would have gotten 357 ounces.  

If you’d left your money in stocks, it would have grown from $100,000 to over $370,000 over the next 23 years. Not bad. But your gold coins would have gone from $280 per ounce in 1999 to over $2,000 an ounce today, turning your $100,000 into $714,000.  

The Soviet Union had ended the Cold War by dissolving itself. The US should have enjoyed a ‘peace dividend’…and should have used it to pay down debt, fix problems at home, and increase the value of its industries and the earnings of their employees.

But no…it was too late. By then, Americans had begun to think like the citizens of a late, degenerate empire; they sought protection from the outside world, not access to its markets. And they believed problems could be solved not by diplomacy and honest bargaining, but with firepower. Their movies signalled the glory of the Pentagon. Their sports events saluted the uniforms. And the ‘defense industry’ had so many members of Congress in its pocket that it could barely find its car keys. Threats to America went down, but military spending went up, and the opportunity was lost. Debt grew by $29 trillion so far this century.

And during that time, in the real-est terms possible, the value of America’s equity — the crème de la crème of its public businesses — fell by half. The US squandered its ‘peace dividend’ by starting a pointless war against ‘terrorism.’ It bungled up its economy with fake money and fake interest rates. It added more ‘stimulus’ to its economy than the world had ever seen, but it didn’t stimulate; it sedated. Growth rates fell from an average around 2.5% in the 1990s to only about 1.5% now. And the US also wasted its position as the leader of the ‘free world,’ by imposing sanctions, sponsoring nonsensical wars, and putting whistleblowers in jail and scoundrels in public office.  

An Inglorious Blaze

In other words, it did what major empires tend to do…it headed down in a blaze of war and inflation.  

To the typical American, the US bombing of the Houthis is another battle of good vs. evil…right vs. wrong…the rule of law vs. terrorism. But nature is much too mischievous to deliver up her gifts so neatly wrapped. 

More or less at the same time the US and Britain were hammering the Houthis, the International Court of Justice was taking up a claim, by South Africa, that the Israelis were committing genocide, aided and abetted by the USA. If the charge sticks, the government of Yemen — according the Genocide Convention — has not only the right, but the duty, to interdict shipping to Israeli ports.

Right? Wrong? Good? Bad? It might be easy to see world events in those terms.  That’s the way, for example, that the Houthis see things:

God is the Greatest
Death to America
Death to Israel
A Curse Upon the Jews
Victory to Islam

Gunning Up

But everyone has his own simpleminded fantasies and prejudices. And there’s always more to the story.

More importantly, what we see is the whole world ‘gunning up’ — led…or prompted…by the US. And there are more people gunning for the USA than ever before.

America is providing firepower on a scale not seen since The Second World War. The rest of the world believes it needs firepower of its own. People do not believe they can trust the US or the ‘rules-based order’ to protect them. They guard their homes with Smith and Wesson…and their countries with missiles and tanks. 

It has been two generations since the bloodbath of the 1940s. People now see violence as a reasonable…perhaps necessary…way to get what they want.   

Where this leads, we don’t know. But it could very well result in more violence, not less, and a further mark-down in the real value of US equities. In the meantime, let’s keep our eyes open...and the ammo near-to-hand.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
For Fat Tail Daily