Hi Bill
On Sunday night I enjoyed a dinner with Akiko Levinson, who is serving as the President of Gold Canyon Resources Inc. During our conversation she mentioned that she had participated in a conference call with you to help translate for a Japanese expert on the mining sector. Akiko told me she was very impressed with you and thought that your conversation had made a positive impression in Japan. This reminds me of the Russian representative that attended the Goldrush conference in the Yukon a few years ago, who commented that it was one of the best conferences he had ever participated in. And then there is the interest that has been expressed from senior Chinese economic representatives in the work that GATA has done. It seems the message is getting out there with people who are highly respected and knowledgeable about metals and mining.

How odd then that there is so much ridicule expressed towards our point of view by some other notable individuals that should know better. That pompous ass Philip Klapwijk of GFMS seems to think GATA is on par with terrorists. And of course Dennis Gartman knows damn well what is going on but prefers to tiptoe around the subject with double-speak and opaque commentary rather than confront the issues directly. There is a legion of senior mining execs that choose to remain silent and hug their reputations rather than speak out about the issues which are having a material impact on their companies and the performance of their stocks. Gartman speaks about mice, but the description is more appropriate for the real cowards in the mining industry who refuse to support GATA, or Sinclair and a few others, that are trying to shine the light on the corruption.

There have been many unsavory episodes throughout the last century or so, when people were well aware of shameful activity going on but prefered to ignore it rather than discuss it in polite company. Have we become such a nation of cynics that we are no longer prepared to confront and expose the scams that are undermining our society BEFORE they blow up and create so much losses for all of us to bear? Why was there no interest on the part of the regulators to go after Bernie Madoff several years ago? Why do the instutions that are caught cheating through outrageous conflicts of interest with their clients get let off so lightly with modest fines and no admission of guilt? Why have so many corporate and government leaders been allowed to skate after well-documented examples of perjury or negligence, some of which occurred live on national TV?

Until we break out of our collective willingness to tolerate the gross abuses of trust that have been sucking the life out of our economy, the problems will continue. It is a tiny handfull of people who so far have taken a stand to denounce the criminals that are active everyday in plain sight. I notice a gradual awareness building and a growing leadership of reputable people who have decided that enough is enough. I look forward to the day when we no longer ridicule those who challenge the criminals in our midst, and instead direct great shame on those who knew that things were ongoing but lacked the courage to confront it.
Cheers!
MexicoMike