and this is ted butler's response to bart chilton. note the difference: this is clear, concise, and it makes sense. he shoots holes in the old arguments that the banks are long physical silver (somewhere else, maybe?) and explains that they in fact have even larger short positions in the derivatives markets:

As I wrote yesterday, all the evidence from the OTC market, as documented by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), indicates that the big U.S. banks, led by JPMorgan Chase, had been heavily short silver derivatives in the OTC as well. Since when do you hedge a short position with another short position?

Additionally, what Commissioner Chilton is suggesting is actually a worse form of manipulation than what I am alleging, if that is possible. Since the COMEX is clearly the dominant pricing force in silver, what he is saying, in effect, is that the big shorts may be buying somewhere else against their controlling COMEX short position. In other words, he is providing a motive for the big shorts, namely depress the price artificially on the COMEX to pick up off-setting long positions at distressed prices. Or, more likely, use a downward manipulation of COMEX silver prices to buy back short positions in the OTC market. Either activity is highly illegal.

Finally, I hope everyone notices that the argument that the big shorts have physical silver behind them has been jettisoned. Where the CFTC used to imply that the big shorts possessed physical silver, now it’s completely non-transparent swaps, forwards and lease positions. The same paper garbage derivatives that have just about ruined our financial system.

http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler...