No charts today. No news today. Instead, I want to impress upon you a very simple idea that I hope you take seriously.

You need to buy gold today. Not paper gold. Not mining shares. Not futures or options. Real, physical gold that once your purchase is complete, you walk out with it in your hand. Preferably government issued coins. Bars and private issue coins are ok, but, the government issued ones are preferable, even though the premiums are a bit more. There is a reason the premiums are higher, and that is because those are more widely accepted and perceived to have greater value. Do NOT buy numismatic coins, but, the simple ordinary, run of the mill coins like the 1 oz. Gold American Eagle, or the Canadian maple, or whatever is local to you based on your geography.

I am not an alarmist and I am not a big believer in “the sky is falling”.

The credit crisis has reached a new point, and there is a great chance that we are about to see it transmogrify into a sovereign debt crisis that can very rapidly spread. Greece is giving an ultimatum with a 1 week deadline – “bail us out…or else”. Imagine that. On the surface, that seems ridiculous. What leverage does the debtor have that they can dictate terms to the holder of the debt? Imagine trying that stunt with your mortgage holder or the bank with your car loan or credit card?

It would be easy to dismiss this as bunk, as an extension of the Greek’s hubris and arrogance…but, that would be a grave mistake.

Greece knows something that gives them the confidence to play this gambit, so what is it? What does Greece know that they believe gives them leverage to make this ultimatum?

You are no doubt familiar with the concept of Pandora’s box, that once opened, that which is contained within gets out and cannot be put back in once out. It is this concept that Greece is banking on.

What we are staring in the face of is sovereign debt that is unpayable that will trigger credit default swaps that are unpayable that will trigger massively rising interest rates, that will trigger a vast amount of interest rate swaps that will trigger concerns about the debts in other countries, that will trigger rapidly rising spreads on CDS’s of other sovereign states that will trigger rising interest rates in those countries, that will trigger IRS’s that will cascade around the world with amazing speed. Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, England and yes, the United States – the grand daddy of them all.

Greece is the lynchpin on the grenade, the clasp on Pandora’s box that if opened, will unleash hell.

Governments will have 2 choices – default on their debt obligations or face the breakdown of their society and massive civil unrest.

Commerce will come to a halt. Banking systems will close. Governments will institute currency controls. Martial law will be declared. Unrest, uncertainty and despair will reign supreme.

How quickly will this take place? Faster than the first round of the credit crisis. Far faster.

Europe is not America. European investors are not going to throw away their gold to buy Treasuries. They will buy gold. In fact, they already are. That will skyrocket the price and lead to bids with no asks. Gold will become unavailable at any price as those that have will not be willing to sell – because they will not know if the currency they are being offered in exchange for their gold will be worth anything - or if it will survive.

I know this sounds alarmist and I apologize for that. It isnt my style.

These are facts. And they are staring us in the face. You need to act to protect your family and loved ones, and you need to do it – NOW. Today. This weekend.

Buy gold (or silver). You will sleep better at night in the coming weeks/months if you do.