There's Gold in Them There Black Helicopters

Fact: For the two weeks ended April 6, noncommercial short interest in gold totaled 88,363 contracts, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Chicago. That was the largest short position in history (and just a fraction of total worldwide short interest). Short interest has declined in subsequent weeks but still remains at extremely high levels, equal to about 10% of total production last year.

The Gold Conspiracy
Gold Bugs Light Up as They Forecast a Short Squeeze

Fact: Michel Camdessus, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has extolled the virtue of using gold-sale proceeds to pay for debt relief for "heavily indebted poor countries," in the IMF parlance. President Clinton has expressed support for the sale of up to 10 million ounces of the approximately 103 million ounces of gold committed to the fund. To varying degrees, the notion has been seconded by financial and political luminaries such as Vice President Al Gore, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and Switzerland National Bank President Hans Meyer. Even German Finance Minister Hans Eicherl says Germany has "relaxed" its once-staunch anti-gold-sale stance.

Fact: Last month, Switzerland voted to begin decoupling the Swiss franc from its gold backing. The Swiss central bank could begin selling gold as early as next year, The New York Times reported. ...