Why Precious Metals And U.S. Treasuries Aren't Good Bets Against The Current Uncertainty

The guy who wrote this article on Seeking Alpha thinks that it's better to short the SPDR S&P 500, or buy calls AND puts on the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), than to buy gold or silver.

Is this sound advice?

Here is the article link: https://seekingalpha.com/article/292113-why-precious-metals-and-u-s-trea...

Here is his reasoning:

"Precious metals are caught at the crosscurrents of a bearish trend (the recession), and a bullish trend (the sovereign debt crisis). That’s why they aren’t good bets against the current uncertainty, especially after their big run up. iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is up 350 percent since early 2009; SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is up 100 percent; and Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX) has soared 400 percent."