Interesting post, upvoted! In addition to the commentators you mention, I'd add Louis Cammarosano of http://smaulgld.com Hive account@smaulgld to your list. He's one of few precious metal "contrarians" who are willing to challenge patently ridiculous stories that bullion dealers and PM bloggers are known to drum up.

This "gold backed Yuan" story is one such example - utterly fake with no verifiable sources, yet people run with it regardless. Louis, along with Koos Jansen of BullionStar and Rory Hall over at The Daily Coin, were the only three guys to investigate deeper.