Maybe it's just me, but I think the pace of predictions of gold going over 1000 is picking up steam. Every day it seems someone else has it figured out that gold is about to head north. Just today, a few more jumped in including Peter Schiff who put in his two cents with, "Gold prices are poised for a "spectacular" and prolonged rally..." Looking at the charts, though, I think my eyes must be lying to me again.

When the big boys predict that gold is going to break 1000 and then head for 1200 and beyond, it makes me wonder if they're also predicting that that is when the cartel is going to throw in the towel, be overwhelmed, and beaten into the ground. I don't know how you can predict one without predicting the other, especially if you believe the assumption/hypothesis/theory/fact, (take your pick) that the cartel controls the PM's.

I seem to be getting only one side of it. Plenty of predictions of gold going up but few if any predictions of the cartel going down. It's as if some prisoner keeps predicting his escape, now that the bars have quietly fallen off his cell window, but not realizing he's still chained to the wall.

A few do talk about the demise of the cartel when they run out of gold to dump into the market, but no one I know of has put a date or time-line to it. Because like most things they just don't know. I've been hearing of it for at least 10 years, like a drum beat. Even one of my favorite gurus, years ago, used to say weeks and months until they're finished. Then he added years to the mix, which, to me, make more sense.

And I've heard about the positive effect of huge amounts of gold buying. That'll do the job. But didn't we just go through that. So much gold and silver buying that there were shortages everywhere, spiking premiums and a pending default of the Comex. What happened? Nothing. Doesn't seem to be a shortage anymore, the COMEX is still around and the cartel continued shorting through the whole thing. And nobody discusses any of that, since they're too busy predicting the next big thing. Besides the longer the cartel is able to manage the PMs, the longer they'll be able to manage the PMs.

That's because, imo, time allows them to develop more ways to accomplish their agenda. Most of these weren't around not that long ago for use, when needed, to manipulate the PMs: swaps, massive and continuous shorting, hedging in the options and futures markets, the ETF's siphoning off huge amounts of money otherwise headed for the PMs, systematically taking down the juniors, pocketing Nadler and the like, central bank collusion, strategic placing of press releases, quants on the payroll, etc. As time goes by, expect new ones.

I just watch the cartel's shorting numbers for gold and silver. So far, for me, as good an indicator as any as to price movement. If those nmbers keep going up, sooner or later, the PM's get whacked. Works every time. I'm waiting for the day those numbers quit going up and begin to tank. I'll take that as a start that things may be about to change.