Looking for my reaction a man placed a gold bar in my hands. I knew gold is heavy but my hands went down. Some people knew Nixon would put gold on the commodities market. Basically they’re the only people who made big money on gold.

An aside, The way the about 27lb. gold bars are thrown around on films is beyond false.

I worked in an industry that uses gold. 

Knowing gold’s value would go up, a few people with insider information put all they had & borrowed as much as possible into gold. 

It was not a bet. It was a sure thing. They knew ahead of time that Nixon would un-link the Dollar and gold. Basically those insiders were the only people who cashed in big on gold. 

The payback was life changing for some of them.

The mob tried to cash in on gold.

Our metal supplier got a call:

“Hey John, where you from?”

John, “Bensalem NJ”

“No I mean where you come from?”

John, “Sicily"

“OK we can talk. We want to buy some gold.”

John, “The price of gold is fixed on commodity markets the second you buy it. There’s no way to buy at a discount and sell high.”

 

As far as gold, "It's over for the little guy."

There are legitimate places to buy gold & precious metals:

Bloomberg Markets

Precious and Industrial Metals

Basically all radio & cable news gold ads are scams. 

"Dedicated viewers of Fox News are likely familiar with Lear Capital, a Los Angeles company that sells gold and silver coins. In recent years, the company’s ads have been a constant presence on Fox airwaves, warning viewers to protect their retirement savings from a looming “pension crisis” and “dollar collapse.”

"One such ad caught the attention of Terry White, a disabled retiree from New York. In 2018, White invested $174,000 in the coins, according to a lawsuit by the New York attorney general — only to later learn that Lear charged a 33 percent commission.

Over several transactions, White, 70, lost nearly $80,000, putting an “enormous strain” on his finances, said his wife, Jeanne, who blames Fox for their predicament: “They’re negligent,” she said. A regretful White said he thought Fox “wouldn’t take a commercial like that unless it was legitimate.”  

“An analysis by The Post of political newsletters, social media, podcasts and a national database of television ads collected by the company AdImpact found that pitches to invest in gold coins are a daily presence in media that caters to a right-wing audience and often echo conservative talking points about looming economic and societal collapse. The Post found no similar ads for gold retirement investments in mainstream or left-wing media sources in the databases.”

“They are priced like collectibles, but collectible coins aren’t typically sold in bulk,” said Everett Millman, a precious metals specialist at coin dealer Gainesville Coins. “If a customer spent the same amount of money on products that are more standard, like [Canadian] Silver Maple Leafs, they would end up with a lot more ounces per dollar.”

With the exclusive coins, Millman said, “They’re simply torching money.”

“No one in their right mind would pay the premiums that these guys are charging,” added Ken Lewis, CEO of online coin dealer Apmex, who reviewed several customer invoices at The Post’s request.

“Trump rallies are particularly big events for Hartford. On July 1, Newsmax aired a live broadcast of a Trump speech in Pickens, S.C., on a split screen with an ad for Hartford, which also sends “Trump Rally Special” email ads via Newsmax.”

“Some conservative figures offer explicit endorsements. Giuliani has called Hartford “the experts I trust most” on his podcast “Common Sense.” The “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast has featured ads for Hartford for at least a year, and a recent segment touted Augusta, urging listeners “to protect your dollars … with a gold IRA.” Neither Giuliani nor Cruz responded to requests for comment.

Two media dealmakers who have been involved in negotiations between conservative media figures and the gold IRA industry said revenue from the companies can amount to as much as 10 percent of total earnings for some personalities. The dealmakers spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their business relationships; one said the biggest personalities stand to earn millions of dollars a year.”

MORE AT:

The Washington Post

How right-wing news powers the ‘gold IRA’ industry

Ads for gold coins have become a mainstay on Fox News, Newsmax and other conservative outlets, even as regulators have accused some companies of defrauding elderly clients.

Jeremy B. Merrill

July 25, 2023 at 7:08 a.m. ET

“The 1st thing you did was a barrel roll, right?” Our friend was a B-26 squadron leader in WWII. He was extremely proud his daughter was in the Air Force Academy in line to be a fighter pilot. Until a cadet raped her & she was pregnant.

They were friends from Skippack PA. Can’t remember their names. 

They named their daughter Reagan. After leaving the Air Force Academy to raise her daughter Reagan began a long fight to be reinstated and graduate from the Air Force Academy. Her rapist did not even receive a reprimand. 

She was assigned to the Space Force, then less prestigious than a fighter pilot, but now the frontier of flight.

In the end our friends had a daughter with a promising Space Force career. And a granddaughter. But the good was tinged with sadness & anger.

***

"President Biden is set to give final approval on Friday to the biggest reshaping in generations of the country’s Uniform Code of Military Justice, stripping commanders of their authority over cases of sexual assault, rape and murder to ensure prosecutions that are independent of the chain of command.

By placing his signature on a far-reaching executive order, Mr. Biden is set to usher in the most significant changes to the modern military legal system since it was created in 1950. The order follows two decades of pressure from lawmakers and advocates of sexual assault victims, who argued that victims in the military were too often denied justice, culminating in a bipartisan law mandating changes.

In a statement, the White House called the changes made by the executive order “a turning point for survivors of gender-based violence in the military” and said they kept promises Mr. Biden made as a candidate.

“He’s made clear that our one truly sacred obligation as a nation is to prepare and equip those we send into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families both while they are deployed and when they return home,” the statement said. “The reforms implemented through today’s executive order do just that.”

The changes had for years been opposed by military commanders. But they were finally embraced by the Pentagon in 2021 and mandated by a law spearheaded by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York. Mr. Biden signed the landmark legislation into law two days after Christmas that year.

The law set up a two-year process for the Defense Department to create a cadre of special prosecutors to handle sexual assault and a handful of other high-profile crimes. The Offices of Special Trial Counsel, as they will be called, will be staffed by experienced military prosecutors who will report to the civilian leaders of the military’s branches.

The final step needed to change the Uniform Code of Military Justice under the law was a presidential executive order. Lawmakers directed Mr. Biden to issue it by December 2023. White House officials said Mr. Biden would do so on Friday, more than five months ahead of the deadline.

Under the rules established by Mr. Biden’s order, commanders in the military will no longer have the authority to decide whether to pursue charges in cases of sexual abuse and a handful of other serious crimes. Instead, that decision will fall to the new, specialized lawyers, White House officials said.

The decisions by those special prosecutors will be final and binding, and cannot be overridden by military commanders...

The fading of the military resistance provided the opportunity for bipartisan negotiations, eventually leading to the law in 2021 and, on Friday, Mr. Biden’s executive order.

The move to change the military justice system was also galvanized by the 2020 case of Specialist Vanessa Guillen, whose burned and mutilated body was discovered after she had tried to report instances of sexual harassment by another soldier, who the Army said killed her and later himself.

That case and others were frequently cited by Ms. Gillibrand and other female lawmakers, including former Representative Jackie Speier, Democrat of California, and Senator Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican who is a retired National Guard lieutenant colonel. Ms. Ernst said her own experience as a victim of sexual assault informed her views on the issue.

White House officials said that the military branches had already begun hiring for the Offices of Special Trial Counsel, which they expected to be fully operational by the end of the year. But they conceded that it would take years to measure how the changes affected the culture surrounding the prosecution of sexual assault and other serious crimes in the military.

Under the executive order, the special trial counsel offices will have their authority expanded in 2025 to include cases of sexual harassment.

MORE AT:

The New York Times

Biden to Overhaul Military Justice Code, Seeking to Curb Sexual Assault

The largest overhaul of the Uniform Code of Military Justice since its creation in 1950 will remove commanders’ authority over cases of sexual assault and a handful of other high-profile crimes.

July 28, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

By Michael D. Shear

Reporting from Washington

It's very clear inflation is down & jobs are up. So, Republicans are moving from the economy to impeaching Joe Biden for Hunter Biden's Laptop. But Lev Parnas a out a detailed timeline of Giuliani's attempts to malign the Biden family

Lev Parnas REVEALS MORE Trump Crimes HE WITNESSED and his BOMBSHELL Letter to Congress

 “For most of President Biden’s term, the fastest inflation in four decades provided Republicans with no shortage of ripe targets for political attacks over his economic stewardship, emerging as the central talking point of their 2022 midterm campaigns and the early 2024-presidential election campaigns.

But now that message may no longer be as powerful. Inflation has eased to 3 percent on an annual basis, down from 9 percent last year, and workers’ earnings are beginning to outpace rising costs. Economists’ fears of an imminent recession have abated as well, and Biden administration officials are eager to tout the billions of dollars in private investment unleashed from legislation on semiconductors and clean energy that they pushed through Congress.

The public has been sour on Biden’s economy. Is that about to change?

MORE AT:

The Washington Post

As inflation falls, GOP may have to rethink attacks on Biden economy

Soaring prices have given Republican lawmakers a powerful talking point, but its potency may begin to fade

Jeff Stein

ITS VERY CLEAR INFLATION IS DOWN & JOBS ARE UP SO REPUBLICANS ARE MOVING TO IMPEACH BIDEN FOR HUNTER BIDEN'S LAPTOP EXCEPT:

"In another blow to House Oversight Chair James Comer's (R-Ky.) probe into the Bidens and Ukraine, former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas wrote a scorching letter claiming there is "simply no merit" for the investigation.

Why it matters: Parnas, a Ukrainian-American businessman, was a central figure in former President Trump’s first impeachment investigation over efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens.

“With all due respect, Chairman Comer, the narrative you are seeking for this investigation has been proven false many times over, by a wide array of respected sources," Parnas wrote. "There is simply no merit to investigating this matter any further.”

"Please abandon this effort to investigate the Bidens, which is nothing more than a wild goose chase," he added.

Parnas also offered to testify under oath in Congress on the issue.

Flashback: Parnas was sentenced to 20 months in prison for campaign finance crimes last year, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges.

What he's saying:"[T]here has never been any evidence that Hunter or Joe Biden committed any crimes related to Ukrainian politics," Parnas wrote in the letter.

Parnas laid out a detailed timeline of Giuliani's attempts to malign the Biden family with allegations of corruption related to Ukraine as well as his close involvement in those efforts.

He claimed to have been in the room with key players, communicating frequently with Giuliani and "often interpreting between the Ukrainian and English languages."

"The truth is that everyone, from Giuliani and the BLT Team to Devin Nunes and his colleagues, to the people at FOX News, knew that these allegations against the Bidens were false," Parnas wrote.

"There has never been any factual evidence, only conspiracy theories spread by people who knew exactly what they were doing.”

MORE AT:

AXIOS

Former Giuliani associate urges Comer to "abandon" Biden investigation

Stef W. Kight
Alex Thompson

Jul 18, 2023 

Florida State Guard-DeSantis has his Schutzstaffel SS "armed combat-ready militia under his personal command.". "On the governor’s shopping list were helicopters, boats, police powers"

  "A Florida state guard established by the rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, under the guise of a civilian disaster relief force is instead being trained as an armed, combat-ready militia under his personal command, according to military veteran recruits who have quit the program.

Several veterans resigned after an encampment last month having become concerned at the “militaristic” training and “abuse” one disabled veteran suffered at the hands of instructors, according to an investigation by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.

Promoted by DeSantis as an “emergency focused, civilian defense force” when it was established in June 2022, the state guard has quickly morphed into something quite different, the report found.

Volunteers have been trained for military combat, including the use of weapons; khaki polo shirts and pants were replaced by camouflage uniforms; and recruits were “barked at” by boot camp instructors at the joint training base who woke them before dawn and imposed lights-out by 10pm.

Additionally, DeSantis’s compliant, Republican-led state legislature has contributed to the change of direction, this year approving a massive expansion in the force’s funding, size and equipment. Its budget increased from $10m to $107.5m, and its maximum size more than tripled from 400 recruits to 1,500.

On the governor’s shopping list were helicopters, boats, police powers and reportedly even cellphone-hacking technology for a force outside of federal jurisdiction, and accountable directly to him."

MORE AT:

TheGuardian

State guard set up by DeSantis is being trained as personal militia, veterans say

Richard Luscombe in Miami

@richlusc

Sat 15 Jul 2023 13.54 EDT

***

"The original plan to field 200 volunteers with a budget of $3.5 million, proposed in late 2021, grew to 1,500 people and $108 million. The first-year budget includes $50 million for five aircraft and $2.7 million for boats — equipment that many experts say is beyond the budget of most State Guards.

When the initial boot camp began in June, Mr. Newhouse and six other volunteers who spoke to The Times said they were surprised to find that the training syllabus included such lessons as rappelling off buildings and learning to use a compass to navigate out of the woods, skills they said seemed better suited to training for war.

One of the recruits, who like most of the others did not want to be named because of fear of reprisals, described the training as more like a “military fantasy camp” than the practical instruction expected in topics such as how to respond to hurricanes.

The volunteers said the training seemed poorly structured, with an inordinate amount of time spent, as one of them described it, “marching in fields.” Some of the men said that as veterans with years of experience in the military, they were offended when they were yelled at by junior instructors acting like drill sergeants, who disregarded their previous ranks.

They said they had expected sessions on such things as how to set up distribution of water and other resources during disasters. But that training, a copy of the schedule shows, came only at the very end, after classes on marksmanship and the concealed carry of weapons as well as a “combatives” class on hand-to-hand combat."

MORE AT:

Turmoil in Florida’s New State Guard, as Some Recruits Quit

Some who volunteered for the force commissioned by Gov. Ron DeSantis said the group, billed as a natural disaster relief organization, had become too militarized.

July 15, 2023Updated 4:06 p.m. ET

By Frances Robles

Reporting from Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in Starke, Fla.

***

Wikipedia

Florida State Guard

The Florida State Guard (FSG) is the state defense force of the U.S. state of Florida. The FSG was created in 1941 to serve as a stateside replacement for the Florida National Guard while the National Guard was deployed abroad during World War II. The FSG is available to the governor of Florida whenever needed, but unlike the National Guard, the FSG is trained and funded by the state and therefore can not be federalized.^[2] The FSG was reactivated in 2022 after the Florida legislature appropriated US$10 million in funding.^[3]

Background

State defense forces are authorized by the federal government under Title 32, Section 109 of the United States Code.^[4] Twenty-three states, as well as the territory of Puerto Rico, actively maintain these forces.^[5] Florida law also allows the creation of a state defense force, either as a full-sized force when any part of the National Guard is federally deployed, or as a reserve cadre of officers and non-commissioned officers regardless of National Guard deployment.^[2]

Original incarnation

Creation

Before the United States entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted a peacetime draft, and federalized various National Guard units, including Florida's National Guard.^[6] As a result, states which had previously counted on their National Guard to maintain peace, quell riots, protect against sabotage, or repel a potential invasion were given the alternative of creating their own state-level military forces under the State Guard Act signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 21, 1940.^[7] In 1941, the Florida Legislature and Governor Holland created Florida Defense Force, later to be rebranded as the Florida State Guard.^[8]

The purpose of the state defense forces, including the FSG, was to fulfil the National Guard's state obligations. This included guarding infrastructure, protecting against sabotage, calming riots, or aiding law enforcement. Although the mainland United States was never invaded during World War II, state defenses would have shared responsibility with the federal military and National Guard in defending American territory had an invasion occurred.

During the war, the First Air Squadron of the FSG regularly patrolled the coast of Florida, searching for German U-boats. The squadron was also used to assist in search-and-rescue missions.^[8]

Membership

Membership during WWII was open to all Florida men aged 18 to 60. The commitment lasted for three years, although members who were eligible could be drafted into the federal military at any time.^[8] Most of the members were veterans of World War I.^[9] Members of the Florida Defense Force's air wing, the First Air Squadron, were required to either have a private pilot's license or have served in the military at least one year.^[8] By 1943, the Florida State Guard numbered 2,100 Florida men in 36 units.^[10]

Organization

Each county was able to organize its own unit so long as it could recruit at minimum fifty Florida men who met the qualifications required by the state.^[8] By 1943, there were 63 separate units of state guardsmen organized. The FSG also maintained a separate air squadron, known as the First Air Squadron.^[10]

Equipment

Uniforms, surplus weapons, and other equipment were provided by the state of Florida.^[8] Florida law also permitted the FSG to use National Guard armories and receive any surplus weapons and equipment offered by the Department of Defense.^[2] The approximately 27 airplanes used by the First Air Squadron were privately owned by the fifteen individuals who piloted them; however, they were allowed to have "1st Air Squadron, Florida Defense Force" painted on both sides of the nose of each plane.^[8]

Disbandment

The Florida State Guard was disbanded in 1947 after the Florida Army National Guard was released from Federal Active Duty.^[8]

Reactivation

On December 2, 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis announced, in his $100 million budget for the Florida National Guard, that $3.5 million would be invested into reactivating the FSG. It would allow for training and equipment of up to 200 members.^[11] In March 2022, Florida lawmakers proposed a budget which included $10 million for reactivating the Florida State Guard. The funding would allow for an enlistment of 400 enlisted troops and six full-time civilian employees.^[3] The newly reactivated organization began soliciting applications from prospective employees in May 2022.^[12] On July 1st, 2023, the Florida legislature increased the size of the FSG to 1500 members.^[13]

On June 14, 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the reestablishment of the Florida State Guard as an emergency-focused civilian volunteer force and appointed retired Marine Corps. Lieutenant Colonel Chris Graham as director. On June 30, 2023, 120 New FSG Guardsmen were graduated from the Basic Operational Orientation Training Camp (BOOT Camp) at Camp Blanding, marking the Inaugural class of 2023 of the Florida State Guard, the first in 75 years. ^[14]

***

The two main constituent groups were the Allgemeine SS (General SS) and Waffen-SS(Armed SS). The Allgemeine SS was responsible for enforcing the racial policy of Nazi Germany and general policing, whereas the Waffen-SS consisted of the combat units of the SS, with a sworn allegiance to Hitler. A third component of the SS, the SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; "Death's Head Units"^[2]), ran the concentration camps and extermination camps. Additional subdivisions of the SS included the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) organizations. They were tasked with the detection of actual or potential enemies of the Nazi state, the neutralization of any opposition, policing the German people for their commitment to Nazi ideology, and providing domestic and foreign intelligence.

FROM: Wikipedia

Schutzstaffel