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With dollar tumbling, Bernanke has to pretend that gold isn't better money

Section: Daily Dispatches

1:27p ET Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

At a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee today, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul asked Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke if gold is money. Bernanke said no, adding, when pressed, that central banks hold gold as an asset because of "tradition."

But isn't that "tradition" exactly gold's having been stamped into coins and used as money? Or is it just that gold, fabricated into jewelry, looks pretty when adorning a central banker's mistress after a long day at a secret conference somewhere that has been called for the purpose of trying to rule the world?

Of course the Fed chairman didn't explain that tradition today, and gold bugs -- rather, free-market bugs -- shouldn't get agitated about the seeming disrespect. In the face of Paul's noting the dollar's depreciation against gold lately, what else could Bernanke do except try to avoid gold's monetary characteristics? He could acknowledge that gold is money only at the expense of acknowledging that the sort of money issued by the Fed is horribly inferior. Indeed, today Bernanke might as well have been asked not whether gold is money but whether the dollar, the euro, the peso, or any irredeemable piece of paper is money anymore, or will be much longer.

Zero Hedge has posted video of today's exchange between Paul and Bernanke here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/ben-believes-golds-only-value-due-tradi...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.



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Golden Phoenix Shareholder Conference Call To Discuss
Start of Gold Production at Mineral Ridge Gold Project

Company Press Release, June 27, 2011

SPARKS, Nevada -- Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (GPXM) has scheduled its second quarter 2011 shareholder conference call for Tuesday, July 12. Shareholders are invited to participate in the call, will begin at 1 p.m. Pacific and 4 p.m. Eastern time.

Company management will provide updates on accomplishments in the second quarter and explain how the company's royalty mining growth strategy is expected to unfold in the second half of the year.

Topics to be updated include the start of gold production at Mineral Ridge, developments on the Vanderbilt Silver and Coyote Fault Gold projects, the Shining Tree and Peru projects, and drilling plans for 2011. Questions from shareholders will be answered as well.

"Thirteen months after closing the joint venture between Golden Phoenix and Scorpio Gold, the Mineral Ridge property has entered gold production," said Tom Klein, CEO of Golden Phoenix. "Last week both companies completed joint tours of Mineral Ridge. We look forward to providing a complete update on our conference call."

Participation in the shareholder conference call can be arranged by telephone, webcast, or Skype. To participate, dial 952-356-0015 and enter Conference ID 419582#.

For the company's full press release, please visit:

http://goldenphoenix.us/pressreleases/

Golden Phoenix (GPXM) is a U.S. mining company with international exposure to gold, silver, and strategic metals. The company's business model combines project generation and royalty mining that offers the potential for exploration upside, coupled with the backing of production and future royalty streams. View company videos here: http://www.GoldenPhoenix.us



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Prophecy (TSXV: PCY) Secures Russian Far East Seaport Allocation
and Updates Ulaan Ovoo Mine Production

Company Press Release, June 14, 2011

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Prophecy Coal Corp. TSX-V: PCY)(OTCQX: PRPCF)(Frankfurt: 1P2) has arranged with the Port of Sovgavan in the State of Khabarovsk, Russia, so the company will have initial access to port allocation of 25,000 tonnes of coal per month starting this month, potentially expandable to 50,000 tonnes per month, representing 300,000 to 600,000 tonnes annually. Prophecy also will be assigned a coal storage area at the port.

This arrangement provides Prophecy's Ulaan Ovoo thermal coal mine with immediate access to the Asian seaborne export coal markets. Sovgavan is strategically located on the seaboard of the Russian Far East. The port is privately owned and can accommodate seagoing vessels of up to 160 meters in length, with the depth of loading site of 9.5 meters. The port has loading capacity of 6,000 tonnes per day and direct connections to Trans-Siberian railroads and uncongested Russian state highways.

Securing the port opens Prophecy to a significant number of coal buyers, and the company is placing top priority to conclude rail transport within Russia and coal offtake contracts.

Prophecy's Ulaan Ovoo mine commenced production in 2011. So far this year the mine has produced 200,000 tonnes of coal, which are being stockpiled. The average quality is 4,200 kcal/kg NAR with 5 percent ash and 0.5 percent sulphur. Those attributes compare favorably to the coal being purchased by local Russian and Mongolian power plants.

For the complete company statement, please visit:

http://www.prophecycoal.com/news_2011_jun14_Prophecy_Secures_Russian_Sea...