ted butler discusses manipulation of the silver market:

If manipulation can’t be proved by price alone, then what can it be proved by? Manipulation can be proved by concentration. You can’t have a manipulation without a concentration. Every manipulation case in CFTC history revolves around concentration. No market has been more concentrated than COMEX silver on the short side. Concentration is defined by an inordinately large percentage of the market being held by one or a few related trading entities. That’s why the CFTC’s front-line defense against manipulation is by monitoring concentration levels among large traders. It does so because it knows that manipulation and concentration go hand in hand.

When the skeptics are confronted with the facts of concentration on the short side of silver, they react in a predicable number of ways. They either try to change the topic, claim the CFTC must be aware of this and are not moving against the concentration for good reasons, or launch personal attacks or innuendoes on those bearing the message. Neither the skeptics, nor the CFTC, can deny the facts on the silver concentration or that JPMorgan inherited the concentrated short positions in COMEX and OTC silver and gold from Bear Stearns, as these facts come from the CFTC and other government data. All they can do is dance around the issue and pretend the facts are no big deal. Yet they continue to investigate and spend taxpayer money on no big deal. This is wrong.

The allegations regarding a silver manipulation have intensified and grown more specific over the years. More see the silver manipulation than ever before. More will see it in the future. Now the few remaining skeptics are the ones sounding shrill in their denials. But this was not an attempt by me to attack the skeptics - far from it. I respectfully invite them to objectively study the facts. Curiously, most of the remaining skeptics appear to reside in the popular media and established precious metals circles. As they become aware and convinced of the real facts concerning the silver manipulation, the impact of their enlightenment could be profound. Silver investments must be in place before that enlightenment to earn maximum returns.

Take the time to learn and understand the facts about silver and its price manipulation. This could be more important to your financial future than the most advanced degree from the most prestigious university. If you study the facts objectively, you will learn how silver is depressed in price and why the manipulation itself creates the investment opportunity of a lifetime. You will discover that the manipulation must end abruptly, sending the price skywards. You will learn that if the regulators from the CFTC don’t terminate the silver manipulation, it will still be terminated by the coming physical shortage. Be skeptical, but take the time to prove or disprove your skepticism. It could have a profound impact on your financial future.

http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1268406491.php