This is why I like the ECU board so much. A vast majority of posts are actually NOT about ECU directly but about finances, the economy, and political issues.

Why is all that O/T stuff so great on the ECU board? Because it's all part of the whole system we have to operate in. Gold and silver prices don't operate in a vacuum. They are both very political metals because the whole house of cards of finance and government are dependent on gold & silver not being money in the minds of the populous worldwide.

The ECU board provided a melting pot of issues. All the issues discussed have a relationship to what the gold & silver prices are doing, or not allowed to do. All of which affect just about every gold and silver miner's share price.

Political party issues enter the conversations at times, which some don't care to read, yet they, too, are very important in how the parties view their power, resulting in laws that never, ever would have made it generations ago.

Even religion entered into posts which some just can't tolerate. Even that's vastly important. Politics is intertwined with religious backdrops, especially in foreign policy. Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc., are constantly the reasons for international tensions, and wars. Whole governments are based on religion, yet some think it shouldn't be discussed because it can be too personal. The point is, it all, somewhere, somehow, affects gold & silver.

Pic is a vast store of knowledge on a great array of subjects. I personally view him as the main catalyst for making the ECU board a fantastic meeting place.

I don't agree with everything he says, he doesn't with me either. However, that's what makes for great discussions, especially for open-minded people.

So technically, nothing is really off topic when it comes to discussing what the heck is going on in the world which is affecting our stocks.

Besides:

1. I never remember to look at the O/T boards;

2. Just talking company numbers and actions is so darn dry; and

3. I'm especially interested in Pic's study of celestial influences.

Terry