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AN OPEN LETTER TO
PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have  lived and unlike
Any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I  know nothing about you.


You scare me because I do not know how you paid for  your expensive
Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and  housing with no
Visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative  years of youth
Growing up in America and culturally you are not an  American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or  met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military  experience, thus
Don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class',  always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you  have aligned
Yourself with radical extremists who hate America     and you refuse to
Publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see  America fail..

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the  'blame America '
Crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a  European style
Country where the government sector dominates  instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health  care system
With a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to  responsibly
Capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale  reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American  capitalist goose
That lays the golden egg which provides the highest  standard of
Living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use  'extortion' tactics
Against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party  shrinks from
Challenging you on your wild and irresponsible  spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to  or even consider
Opposing points of view from intelligent  people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you  are both
Omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass  on everything
You do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to  silence the
Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer  opposing,
Conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over  governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second  term I will
Probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett
*
*
This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never  acknowledged it.
Big  surprise. Since it hit the Internet, however, it  has had over
500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed
Is that good men do nothing.. It's happening right  now.*

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Weak Dollars and Strong Commodities

January 13, 2011 by Jim Prince

Many market analysts believe there is an inverse relationship between the value of the United States dollar and the price of commodities. It isn’t uncommon to see headlines like these:

“U.S. Dollar’s Weakness Boosts Commodity Prices”

“Weaker Dollar Boosts Oil, Gold & Silver”

Some analysts claim this relationship is so powerful it outweighs the effect of fundamental factors. Others say the relationship is secondary to fundamentals like supply and demand. Some say the relationship is causal. Others say it is psychological, affecting the perception of traders. With so many opinions, whom do you believe?

As a technical trader, I always prefer to go to my charts and see what they tell me. I’m not so much interested in why such a relationship may exist. I’m interested first to see for myself whether such a relationship does in fact exist. Then I can decide how to use this knowledge to improve my trading success.

So let’s begin by looking at two charts that provide the easiest way to decide whether or not there really is a relationship between the value of the U.S. dollar and commodity prices. First we’ll look at the daily chart for the U.S. Dollar Index. We’ll look at a weekly chart, which gives us a more long-term picture than the daily chart.

Now let’s compare that with the chart of the CRB Continuous Commodity Index cash market, which is composed of data from a group of commodities that are believed to be the first to react to changing economic conditions.

When you look at these two charts together, the inverse relationship is quite noticeable.

In early to mid-2007, both charts are trading in their mid-range. From there, the U.S. dollar drops to a series of lows, while the CRB rises to highs. From mid-2008 the CRB steeply plunges from its high, reaching its low in the third quarter of that year. During that same time period the U.S. dollar soars to new highs. It then dips and hits a second high in early 2009. It then starts a steady downtrend until it hits a new low toward the end of 2009. By contrast, from 2009 to 2010 the CRB moves steadily upward. Then comes 2010. The U.S. dollar shoots up to a new high in mid-year, and then falls. Again, in contrast, during 2010 the CRB drops to a minor low (corresponding in time to the U.S. dollar high) and then soars to new highs. The two charts are almost mirror images of one another.

Now let’s look at the charts of some specific commodities to see whether they show the same pattern. Let’s start with the weekly chart for gold.

Although the range of the highs and lows varies between gold and the CRB, the shapes of the charts are very similar, with highs and lows being made within the same time frame.

Now let’s look at the weekly chart for corn, an example from the grain sector.

The corn chart is very similar to the CRB chart, with highs in mid-2008 and lows in the third quarter of 2008. Whereas the CRB chart then entered a steady climb, the corn chart remained in a trading range before starting its climb in 2010. The charts look very similar from mid-2010 to the present.

The story is the same for a number of other commodity markets. If you’re interested, you might check out the charts for crude oil, coffee and sugar, for example.

Now let’s look at some daily charts to get a closer-in look. Look at the chart of the March 2011 U.S. Dollar Index.

We see that over the four months from September through December, prices dropped to a low in early November; then they rose to a high in late November; and then entered into a mid-level trading range.

Let’s compare that to the same time period in the CRB CCI Index cash market.

In early September, while the U.S. Dollar Index was high and then began to drop, the CRB Index started low and began to rise. It hit a high in early November that corresponds to the low in early November made by the U.S. dollar. CRB prices then dropped to secondary lows in mid to late November, at the time that the U.S. dollar was heading for a high. After that CRB prices rose steadily, while the U.S. dollar Index entered a mid-level trading range.

Judging by these daily charts, it looks like the inverse relationship between commodity prices (as represented by the CRB Index) and the U.S. dollar seems to be holding for the short-term, as well as the long-term.

What does this mean to traders? Well, we can’t say for sure what causes this relationship, but we can see that it exists. If the U.S. dollar is making a big move, there’s a good possibility the commodity markets will be moving in the opposite direction. So, when we see the U.S. dollar moving, that can be our signal to check the commodity markets and consider trading them in the opposite direction from the dollar. This assumes an examination of the charts reveals that all the correct signs are there. And, of course, always take the right steps to manage and protect your position.

– Jim Prince

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10 Trends for 2011

by Gerald Celente

Previously by Gerald Celente: 'Off With Their Heads 2.0'

After the tumultuous years of the Great Recession, a battered people may wish that 2011 will bring a return to kinder, gentler times. But that is not what we are predicting. Instead, the fruits of government and institutional action – and inaction – on many fronts will ripen in unplanned-for fashions.

Trends we have previously identified, and that have been brewing for some time, will reach maturity in 2011, impacting just about everyone in the world.

1. Wake-Up Call In 2011, the people of all nations will fully recognize how grave economic conditions have become, how ineffectual and self-serving the so-called solutions have been, and how dire the consequences will be. Having become convinced of the inability of leaders and know-it-all "arbiters of everything" to fulfill their promises, the people will do more than just question authority, they will defy authority. The seeds of revolution will be sown….

2. Crack-Up 2011 Among our Top Trends for last year was the "Crash of 2010." What happened? The stock market didn’t crash. We know. We made it clear in our Autumn Trends Journal that we were not forecasting a stock market crash – the equity markets were no longer a legitimate indicator of recovery or the real state of the economy. Yet the reliable indicators (employment numbers, the real estate market, currency pressures, sovereign debt problems) all bordered between crisis and disaster. In 2011, with the arsenal of schemes to prop them up depleted, we predict "Crack-Up 2011": teetering economies will collapse, currency wars will ensue, trade barriers will be erected, economic unions will splinter, and the onset of the "Greatest Depression" will be recognized by everyone….

3. Screw the People As times get even tougher and people get even poorer, the "authorities" will intensify their efforts to extract the funds needed to meet fiscal obligations. While there will be variations on the theme, the governments’ song will be the same: cut what you give, raise what you take.

4. Crime Waves No job + no money + compounding debt = high stress, strained relations, short fuses. In 2011, with the fuse lit, it will be prime time for Crime Time. When people lose everything and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it. Hardship-driven crimes will be committed across the socioeconomic spectrum by legions of the on-the-edge desperate who will do whatever they must to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table….

5. Crackdown on Liberty As crime rates rise, so will the voices demanding a crackdown. A national crusade to "Get Tough on Crime" will be waged against the citizenry. And just as in the "War on Terror," where "suspected terrorists" are killed before proven guilty or jailed without trial, in the "War on Crime" everyone is a suspect until proven innocent….

6. Alternative Energy In laboratories and workshops unnoticed by mainstream analysts, scientific visionaries and entrepreneurs are forging a new physics incorporating principles once thought impossible, working to create devices that liberate more energy than they consume. What are they, and how long will it be before they can be brought to market? Shrewd investors will ignore the "can’t be done" skepticism, and examine the newly emerging energy trend opportunities that will come of age in 2011….

7. Journalism 2.0 Though the trend has been in the making since the dawn of the Internet Revolution, 2011 will mark the year that new methods of news and information distribution will render the 20^th century model obsolete. With its unparalleled reach across borders and language barriers, "Journalism 2.0" has the potential to influence and educate citizens in a way that governments and corporate media moguls would never permit. Of the hundreds of trends we have forecast over three decades, few have the possibility of such far-reaching effects….

8. Cyberwars Just a decade ago, when the digital age was blooming and hackers were looked upon as annoying geeks, we forecast that the intrinsic fragility of the Internet and the vulnerability of the data it carried made it ripe for cyber-crime and cyber-warfare to flourish. In 2010, every major government acknowledged that Cyberwar was a clear and present danger and, in fact, had already begun. The demonstrable effects of Cyberwar and its companion, Cybercrime, are already significant – and will come of age in 2011. Equally disruptive will be the harsh measures taken by global governments to control free access to the web, identify its users, and literally shut down computers that it considers a threat to national security….

9. Youth of the World Unite University degrees in hand yet out of work, in debt and with no prospects on the horizon, feeling betrayed and angry, forced to live back at home, young adults and 20-somethings are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore. Filled with vigor, rife with passion, but not mature enough to control their impulses, the confrontations they engage in will often escalate disproportionately. Government efforts to exert control and return the youth to quiet complacency will be ham-fisted and ineffectual. The Revolution will be televised … blogged, YouTubed, Twittered and….

10. End of The World! The closer we get to 2012, the louder the calls will be that the "End is Near!" There have always been sects, at any time in history, that saw signs and portents proving the end of the world was imminent. But 2012 seems to hold a special meaning across a wide segment of "End-time" believers. Among the Armageddonites, the actual end of the world and annihilation of the Earth in 2012 is a matter of certainty. Even the rational and informed that carefully follow the news of never-ending global crises, may sometimes feel the world is in a perilous state. Both streams of thought are leading many to reevaluate their chances for personal survival, be it in heaven or on earth….

December 18, 2010

Gerald Celente is founder and director of The Trends Research Institute, author of Trends 2000 and Trend Tracking (Warner Books), and publisher of The Trends Journal. He has been forecasting trends since 1980, and recently called “The Collapse of ’09.”

Copyright © 2010 Gerald Celente

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Death Squads

Recently, one of the General Government’s District Court Judges dismissed a lawsuit thatchallenged the purported authority of the President to order the assassination overseas ofAmerican citizens whom someone in the Executive Branch has categorized as adangerous “terrorist”.

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