Surging food and energy costs are stoking emerging-market inflation that's
serious enough to topple governments.
Nouriel Roubini, New York University economist

Will a Silver Shortage affect Food Prices?

If silver runs out, people will buy other things to protect the value of their dollars, such as food.  If people start buying up food, in amounts of up to $100,000, food prices will soar, and that will cause food prices to exceed the values that most people can afford, and then, most people will begin to starve.  The beauty of gold and silver is that you cannot eat them, and thus, there is no such thing as a price that is "too high" of a price for gold and silver. You can see what problems would be created if wealthy people began to buy 50 to 100 truckloads of food at a time, in the event that silver became unavailable.

Silver has three stages, but silver is still mired in stage one, which began in February 1991 after silver, had collapsed to $3.50.  It was an astounding 93% decline from its January 1980 peak of $50. 

From its $50 high in January 1980 to its $3.50 low in February 1991, the weak hands were shaken out.  At that point, the accumulation by strong hands – who were buying because the recognized that silver was an exceptional bargain – became the dominant force.  Their buying power was stronger than the selling pressure of the weak hands, and the price of silver responded by starting to climb.  It was classic stage one action, but here’s the important point. 

Silver is still in stage one.  It won’t advance into stage two until $50 is exceeded, just like gold did not enter stage two until its previous high of $850 was hurdled.

I expect that silver will exceed $50 this year, which is a point of view I first mentioned in my outlook for 2010.  www.fgmr.com/outlook - James Turk

The new regulations - - allowing smaller financial institutions - - to freely trade gold on the Shanghai Exchange will eventually give hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens’ new access to gold.

Environment

"When people lose everything and have nothing left to lose,
they lose it." – Gerald Celente, Trends Research

By the autumn of 2010, Celente warned readers of an imminent explosion: "Off With Their Heads 2.0" read our headline, capturing the revolutionary impulse of people who could no longer ignore the toll financial hardship was taking on their lives. 

KINGSTON, NY, 24 February 2011 - It is a matter of record! The spate of seething, youth-inspired Middle East uprisings that are toppling governments, reshaping the geopolitical landscape and roiling world markets blindsided the world's intelligence community. 

Not the CIA, Joint Chiefs of Staff or National Security Council saw it coming. Mossad and MI5 missed it! None of the mainstream media's star-studded stable of scholars, experts and think-tank policy wonks were thinking ahead. 

"The events of this week certainly underscore how important it is for us to be paying attention to space weather and to be prepared to respond and to mitigate potential impacts," said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco during the session on Saturday, which featured experts from the US and Europe. "Space weather is certainly becoming more front and center as threats to our critical infrastructure are realized." www.thespacereview.com

Experts say as many as 2 billion people around the world have diets deficient in zinc, and studies are raising concerns about the health implications this holds for infectious disease, immune function, DNA damage and cancer.

Zinc deficiency is quite common in the developing world. Even in the United States, about 12 percent of the population is probably at risk for zinc deficiency, and perhaps as many as 40 percent of the elderly. Many or most people have never been tested for zinc status, but existing tests are so poor it might not make much difference if they had been.

Water is the Next Oil

China also shows how changing weather will bump up against rising living standards. Severe droughts are imperiling wheat crops in the world's largest producer. It's creating shortages of drinking water both for China's 1.3 billion people and livestock. It's a reminder that water is the next oil. Governments will be scouring the globe for it before long.

Gold hasn't reinvented itself as a currency yet. But it is getting closer.

By making the announcement, J.P. Morgan is effectively saying gold is as rock solid an investment as triple-A rated Treasuries, adding to a movement that places gold at the top tier of asset classes. http://finance.yahoo.com/banking

Miscellaneous

"UCLA researchers show that specialized brain cells known as mirror neurons activate both when we observe the actions of others and when we simply read sentences describing the same action. When we read a book, these specialized cells respond as if we are actually doing what the book character was doing."

30^th ELECTRONICS SHOW & FLEAMARKET
--- Saturday, March 12, 2011 ---
--- Ticket Sales open at 8:00 AM; Doors open at 9:00 AM ---
--- Most Dealers Close at 3:00 PM ---

Held at the
PAVILION EXHIBITION HALL
WESTERN WASHINGTON FAIRGROUNDS
9th Ave SE. & Meridian ST S.
PUYALLUP, WA 98372

Ham licensee testing is also available during this event. www.mikeandkey.org/flea.htm

Here is the list of antique cars suitable for "One Second After" type solar or nuclear events:

DO NOT be misled by anecdotal stories circulating about, saying something like, "1983 and older is OK" or "1981 vehicles will be fine". These allegations are not backed by solid science. Stick to the list below to avoid acquiring something with electronic ignition and/or computerized engine control.

ALSO, any diesel powered car or truck is suitable if it utilizes a fully mechanical diesel injector pump in the engine. Ask a mechanic if you don't know what this means.
ALSO, in general motorcycles older than 1980 and in all original condition should be suitable.

Vehicles from above list with the best availability of repair parts as of 2011:

For all of the vehicles mentioned previously, the engine must be FACTORY ORIGINAL for the year of the car or truck. Many times a previous owner or mechanic will "improve" the old engine with newer electronic ignition parts, to elongate the time needed between tune ups. This will be to your detriment "one second after" unless you restore the motor to factory original components. If you are not savvy about factory original, contact one of our several masters who are mechanics, or buys/sells old vehicles as their profession.

Also, if you get a vehicle with a clutch (manual transmission) you will be able to push start or "bump" start it if the battery is dead.

It's a walk around the park, literally. A new study found that adults who walk for 40 minutes three times a week for a year had a region of the brain called the hippocampus - had that region grow bigger. www.npr.org/2011/brain

Local Coin Shops buying Gold and Silver: Goldmasters USA in Tacoma and Dan's West Olympia Coin