* AB 119 prevents insurance companies from charging different rates for men and women for identical coverage.

* SB 782 prevents landlords from evicting tenants who are victims of domestic or sexual abuse or stalking.

* AB 1844 informally known as 'Chelsea's Law' and authored by local Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher - will increase penalties, parole provisions and oversight of sex offenders, including a "one-strike, life-without-parole penalty" for some.

* AB 1871 allows people to lease out their cars when they are not being used - alleviating the need to purchase additional insurance.

And so the list goes on and on... California now has over 57,000 laws on the books.

North Korea's holiday message - scrutinized by officials and analysts in neighboring countries for policy clues - comes after its November 23 artillery attack on a front-line South Korean island near the countries' disputed western sea border, the first attack on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War.

That barrage, which followed an alleged North Korean torpedoing of a South Korean warship in March, sent tensions between the Koreas soaring and fueled fears of war during the last weeks of 2010. Also Saturday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vowed to help improve tense relations between South and North Korea. Ban spoke with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak by telephone and said the world body would closely consult with Seoul, Lee's office said in a statement posted on its Web site.

Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, made the pledge as Lee called for the UN's cooperation in improving ties between South and North Korea. Lee called the 2011 as an "important year for the South-North relations," Lee's office said, without elaborating. The Korean peninsula remains technically in a state of war because the 1950s conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

"The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean peninsula," said the message, which was also read by a North Korean anchorwoman, wearing traditional Korean dress, in a state television broadcast monitored in Seoul. "If a war breaks out on this land, it will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust."

The switch from Estonia's old currency, the kroon, comes after a dreadful year for the eurozone economies which saw two members - Greece and Ireland - require emergency bailouts, with other nations on the precipice. Many feel that the inclusion of Estonia, whose $19 billion economy is dwarfed by the euro's total annual output of approximately $12.5 trillion, holds symbolic importance.

Germany's deputy foreign minister Werner Hoyer said: 'Estonia's accession to the eurozone is an encouraging sign for Europe as a whole because it shows the attractiveness of our common currency.' But Estonia could be the last new entrant for several years as fears about the strength of the single currency deter others.

State Treasurer Andrew Fraser said that on top of recovery costs, the state would receive less income because of damage to the mining sector. There are concerns that damage could cost billions of Australian dollars to repair.

"In many ways, it is a disaster of biblical proportions," he told journalists in the flood-hit town of Bundaberg. "The cost to the state will be huge - both in direct costs such as rebuilding roads, and other damaged infrastructure and providing relief payments to families - but also in lost income, while the mining, agriculture and tourism sectors recover," he said.

The floods have affected about 200,000, thousands of whom have been evacuated. An estimated 22 towns have been left isolated or inundated by the rising waters over an area larger than France and Germany. In some areas the waters have been receding, but around Rockhampton they are still rising. Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter said about 40% of the city could be affected when the Fitzroy River reaches its expected peak next week.

After the explosion, angry Christians clashed with police and local Muslims, reportedly throwing stones and targeting a nearby mosque. Protesters went into the mosque, throwing books out onto the street, the Associated Press news agency reported. The mayor of Alexandria, General Adel Labib, said on Egyptian TV that there had been recent threats of attacks on churches, though he tried to play down any possible sectarian motive for Saturday's bombing.

Christians from the Coptic Orthodox Church make up about 10% of Egypt's predominantly Muslim population. The rise of political Islam and the failure of the government to address Coptic claims of discrimination have fuelled divisions, analysts say. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has also been conducting a campaign against Christians, following the reported conversion to Islam by two Egyptian Christian women in order to divorce their husbands. The group said the women were being held against their will by the Coptic Church.

Alexandria, Egypt's second-largest city with a population of about four million, has seen sectarian violence in the past.

Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Cote d'Ivoire is on the brink of what may be a very bad 2011. After a five-year delay, Cote d'Ivoire held presidential elections on October 31. A peaceful first round of voting was commended by the international community, but the runoff between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara was marred by clashes and allegations of fraud on both sides. It's very possible that Cote d'Ivoire will take a turn for the worse in 2011. Gbagbo and Ouattara both have heavily armed supporters who seem ready to fight for the long haul.

Colombia

Despite a series of strategic losses in recent years - from territory to key leadership - the country's leftist guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), still maintain about 8,000 armed troops and perhaps twice that number of supporters. The rebels killed some 30 police in the weeks after Santos's inauguration, clearly to make a point. Meanwhile, new illegal armed groups have sprung up to capture the drug trafficking market, their ranks filled with former paramilitary fighters. If these new armed groups are not contained, Colombia stands to regress in its long fight to finally root out the drug trade - and the militancy it fuels.

Zimbabwe

Keep an eye on Zimbabwe in 2011 as the country's "unity" government - joining longtime President Robert Mugabe with opposition leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai - will warrant its conciliatory name less and less by the day. The flashpoint? Elections. Both men want to hold them - but they don't agree about what Zimbabweans should be voting on.

Iraq

Iraq today is in far better shape than it was in 2007, when nearly two dozen Iraqis were dying each day in suicide bombings. But it's still far from out of the woods. And these days, it's not militants but the country's politics that pose the biggest threat. The new government, formed in December after nine months of wrangling, is weak and lacks the institutions to rule effectively. Iraq's neighbors could exploit the country's ongoing political turmoil to gain influence and sway, particularly Iran, which has long supported Shiite militants. Insurgents also await an opportunity to capitalize on political discord. At the same time, US troops will be largely - if not entirely - withdrawn by the end of next year. And lacking that safety net, it would take very little for the country to lapse back into conflict.

Venezuela

Over the next 12 months, watch for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to take his brand of 21st-century socialism to the extremes. Having lost his majority in Parliament in September, Chavez has since been working hard to ensure that the new, opposition legislature will be irrelevant by the time it is sworn in in January. The Venezuelan president has consolidated control over the military and police, seized more private companies, and won temporary "decree powers" from the outgoing, pro-government National Assembly. Government-allied street gangs in Caracas stand ready to defend his revolution with Kalashnikovs.

Sudan

The fate of Sudan in 2011 will be set early, on January 9, when a referendum on southern self-determination is scheduled to take place, and which will likely result in independence for the south.

Should the vote go poorly, we might witness the re-ignition of conflict between north and south and an escalation of violence in Darfur, all of which could potentially draw in regional states. At this point, nothing is certain.

Finally, there's the tricky matter of creating a new, independent Southern Sudan, which many are already dubbing a pre-failed state. The border remains undecided - no small matter since the contested middle ground happens to sit on a large oil field.

Mexico

It has been four years since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the country's drug lords. During that time, 30,000 people have fallen victim to the conflict, many of them along the northern border with the United States, largely as a result of in-fighting among rival gangs vying for control of trafficking corridors.

America remains the largest market for drugs in the world, and so long as US users demand product, the cartels will keep the supply flowing.

Guatemala

Mexico's drug war is also sending shockwaves throughout Latin America. Under pressure from the Mexican state, the most infamous cartels are seeking friendlier ground and finding it in Guatemala, where the state is weak and the institutions are fragile. In the worst case scenario for 2011, Guatemala could be host to a perpetual turf war of attrition between these various cartels, all competing to control drug trafficking routes - and increasingly human-trafficking corridors - to the United States.

Haiti

Nature had it in for Haiti in 2010, but it may be politics that batters the small island country in the coming year. A November 28 presidential election, which should have led to the election of a new, legitimate government, remains wedged in an impasse over allegations of fraud. Already, Haiti was on the verge of a social breakdown. Today, more than 1 million Haitians remain homeless in the ruined capital. The government, whose ranks and infrastructure were devastated by the earthquake, has no capacity to deliver services or provide security. The run-off election will mark a year since the earthquake, with little improvement in the everyday lives of Haitians, whose patience is running out.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan, a land of striking beauty, grinding poverty, and rapacious leaders, could well become the next stomping ground for guerrillas - Central Asians and other Muslims from the former Soviet Union - who have been fighting alongside the Taliban for years and may now be thinking of returning home to settle scores with the region's brutal and corrupt leaders.

There is rising concern in Washington that Tajikistan will become the new theater of operations for Islamic militants, and might offer a convenient route for insurgent penetration of other volatile or vulnerable parts of Central Asia - first off, Tajikistan's desperately weak neighbor, Kyrgyzstan. In the coming year, it's easy to imagine Tajikistan sliding further and further toward a failed state as the government quietly cedes control of whole sections of the country to militants.

Pakistan

It's hard to remember a time when Pakistan didn't seem on the brink of collapse. This coming year will likely be no exception. The country faces a humanitarian crisis in its mid-section where floods displaced 10 million people, a security threat from terrorist groups operating on Pakistani soil, and political instability from a weak administration still trying to wield civilian control over the all-powerful military. Meanwhile in Islamabad, the civilian leadership under President Asif Ali Zardari has grown unpopular and weak, plagued by corruption and an inability to maintain control of the military leaders.

Somalia

If Somalia keeps heading south in 2011, the entire country could fall under Islamist insurgent control. Up to now, the country's UN-backed transitional government has withstood attacks from Islamist insurgents only thanks to protection from an African Union peacekeeping force; it remains weak and divided, a national government in name alone. Further, the capital city of Mogadishu is under perpetual siege by militants, a reality that has sent millions fleeing from their homes in this year alone.

Lebanon

Still smarting from a war with Israel in 2006 that left a precarious balance of power between Christians and Islamic fundamentalists, Lebanon today is arguably more than ever on the brink. Beneath the surface, tensions are mounting with no obvious safety valve. The deterrence regime has helped keep the peace, but the process it perpetuates - mutually reinforcing military preparations, Hezbollah's growing and more sophisticated arsenal, escalating Israeli threats - pulls in the opposite direction and could trigger the very result it has averted so far.

Nigeria

Nigeria's 2010 was about as rough as they come: The country's president disappeared on medical leave - and then died - hundreds were killed in sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in the country's middle belt, and a rebel amnesty in the oil-producing Niger Delta region completely unravelled, leading to a string of bombing attacks and kidnappings.

The rebellion in the Niger Delta is flaring up again, with militants promising to continue attacking oil facilities and government offices. A once effective anti-corruption commission has lost its momentum. And vast economic inequality is the order of the day, leaving oil wealth in the hands of a few while the majority of the country's 140 million people languish.

Guinea

Guinea enters 2011 on a hopeful path. In December, the West African country inaugurated its first-ever elected leader, Alpha Conde. After decades of strongman rule, followed by a 2009 coup, this new leadership seems nothing less than miraculous. But Guinea's military now has a strong stake in controlling mineral wealth - the country is the world's largest producer of bauxite - and other major industries. In the past, it has used strong-arm tactics to get its way, economically and otherwise, and this old habit will surely die hard. Having tasted the fruits of power under the junta, the military may not so easily return to its barracks.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Years after the official end of the Second Congo War, which raged from 1998 to 2003 and was responsible for up to 4.5 million deaths, whole swathes of the enormous Central African country remain in upheaval. In the eastern Kivu provinces, an undisciplined national army battles with rebel groups for territorial control. Amid the frenzy of violence and rape that follows in their path, the world's largest UN peacekeeping force is at a loss to protect even those civilians that live close to its bases.

Lurking behind the conflict is Congo's vast natural wealth. Government, militants, private corporations, and local citizens all angle to tap the gold, cobalt, copper, coltan and host of other minerals under the country's soil - which are focused in the east and south of the country. Meanwhile, the central government lies nearly 1,000 miles to the west, separated from its eastern provinces by impenetrable jungle, a different language, and ethnicity. Rebel groups still roam the eastern border regions, exercising their authority with impunity and cruelty. Neither the government nor rebel groups have the strength to win, but both have the resources to keep fighting indefinitely.

Three former bishops were among those confirmed at the service, which saw the first wave of Anglicans defecting to Rome to join the Ordinariate. The Pope introduced the structure in 2009 to welcome disillusioned Anglicans into the Catholic fold after secret meetings were held at the Vatican with Church of England bishops, as The Sunday Telegraph revealed a year earlier.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, admitted the move had put him in "an awkward position", but more recently he said he respected the decisions of those who decided to leave. While around 50 clergy are expected to defect to the Catholic Church over the coming months, it has been predicted that thousands of traditionalist worshippers will join the exodus, particularly if they are given no concessions once women are made bishops.

In the next few weeks, the next groups of clergy and worshippers are set to be received into the Catholic Church, which is due to announce the precise timetable for the launch of the Ordinariate this month. The confirmations at yesterday's service were the first step to its establishment in this country. All of the clergy who have resigned from the Church of England now have to be re-ordained as the Catholic Church does not recognise Anglican orders.

God Will Be Televised

Hon-Ming Chen founded this new religious movement - a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, and UFOlogy - and brought it to the US in the early 90s, registering the group under the name God's Salvation Church. 160 members strong, the group set up shop in Garland, Texas in 1997, and predicted that at 12:01 am on March 31, 1998, God would show himself on a single TV channel across North America and save his followers from the doomed planet Earth. When the predicted appearance didn't happen, the group quickly became confused. Chen reportedly offered himself to be stoned or crucified as a concession but no one obliged him. The group fell apart soon afterward with many of the members returning to Taiwan.

The World Will Cease to Exist

Known as "The Amazing Criswell," Charles Criswell King was a flamboyant radio and TV broadcaster who decided to become a psychic. In March 1963, he correctly announced that John F Kennedy wouldn't run for re-election in 1964 because "something was going to happen to him." According to Criswell in 1968, the world would to cease to exist from August 18, 1999. But here we are. Go figure.

The Rapture Cometh - in the 80's

Former NASA engineer and bible student Edgar C Whisenant predicted that the Rapture, the return of Christ and the end of the world, would occur in 1988. He went on to sell four and a half million copies of his book, "88 Reasons Why The Rapture Could Be In 1988". Televangelists were so taken by Whisenant that many started airing tips on how to prepare for the Rapture as they neared 1988. After 1988 passed without incident, Whisenant went on to recalculate his prediction to1989, 1993, and even 1994, writing books for each year. Sales were weak.

The UFO Will Save Us

Heaven's Gate was an UFO-centered cult based in San Diego, led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The group believed that the Earth was about to be "recycled," and the only chance for human survival was to escape on a UFO trailing the Haley-Bopp Comet. On March 26, 1997, in a period when Hale-Bopp was at its brightest, the bodies of 39 members of the group were discovered by police, after committing suicide. At this point, the Earth has yet to be "recycled."

Computer Bugs Will Doom Us

The year 2000 was perfect symbolic fodder for would-be prophets - but one prediction of millennial disaster was rooted not in mysticism but rather a confounding computer bug. The Y2K problem resulted from the practice of abbreviating four-digit years to two digits meaning that when the "...97, 98, 99, 00..." ascending numbers suddenly became invalid, worldwide computer failures would ensue. Very little actually happened, but whether this was the result of preparation or because the problem was less severe than predicted may never be known.

The End Is Near - Just Not in 1844

William Miller was a prosperous Baptist farmer who became infatuated with prophetic symbolism eventually leading him to boldly predict the second coming of Christ - and the beginning of the end. Initially ambiguous over the exact date, he started to focus on 1844 and soon gained a large following of believers known as Millerites. What occurred instead in 1844 was known as the "Great Disappointment." With no appearance from Christ, Millerites were left disenchanted and confused.

The Sun Will Explode - Not

In 1919, meteorologist Albert Porta predicted that the alignment of six planets would generate such a significant magnetic current that the sun would explode and subsequently engulf the Earth on December 17 of that year. Miraculously, mankind avoided this doomsday destiny.

Did He See the End?

Legendary French seer Nostradamus was noted for allegedly predicting such events as the rise of Hitler, the Great Fire of London, the death of Princess Diana and even the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Nostradamus also wrote that in "1999 and seven months... from the sky will come the great king of terror." Perhaps it rained that day. But the end didn't come as predicted.

...But Maybe THIS One Is Right

Adored by conspiracy theorists, the Mayan calendar abruptly ends December 2012, at which point some predict a series of cataclysmic or transformative events will occur, many of these apocalyptic. It's been a popular date in media and entertainment, stories and movies that illustrate massive solar storms, magnetic pole reversals, earthquakes, supervolcanoes and other drastic natural events. For all we know, this one could be true. But it's probably not... right?

His announcement came hours after a bomb went off at a church in Egypt. At least 17 people died in the blast at the Coptic Christian Church in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria, sparking a clash between Christians and Muslims. Speaking in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Pope Benedict said the aim of the summit would be "to solemnly renew the effort of those with faith of all religions to live their faith as a service for the cause of peace".

"Facing the threatening tensions of the moment, especially discrimination, injustices and religious intolerance, which today strike Christians in a particular way, once again, I make a pressing appeal not to give in to discouragement and resignation," he said. He said the summit would also "honour the memory of the historical event promoted by my predecessor". Pope John Paul hosted a similar event in 1986, which was attended by leading Jews and Muslims, as well as the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Pope Benedict has repeatedly denounced attacks on Christians in Iraq, including an assault on a Baghdad cathedral in October which killed at least 50 people. The Vatican fears that the violence is driving many Christians out of the region.

Officials say half of Queensland's 715,305 square miles (1,852,642 square kilometers) is affected by the relentless flooding, which began last week after days of pounding rain caused swollen rivers to overflow. The flood zone covers an area larger than France and Germany combined and bigger than the state of Texas.

While the rain has stopped, the rivers are still surging to new heights and overflowing into low-lying towns as the water makes its way toward the sea. The muddy water inundating thousands of homes and businesses has led to a shortage of drinking water and raised fears of mosquito-borne disease.

"This is without a doubt a tragedy on an unprecedented scale," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Bligh warned that drenched communities could be stuck underwater for more than a week, and cleanup efforts were expected to cost billions of dollars.

German President Christian Wulff and his wife Bettina recently threw a minor wrench into his country's economic upswing. It was mid-December, and the presidential couple was touring the manufacturing facilities of Sick, a sensor producer in the small southwestern German city of Waldkirch. The honored guests had a hard time making their way past the assembly tables and conveyor belts and an even harder time holding a conversation with any of the workers. In this instance, the production halls loudspeakers were not to blame. Instead, the engineers and technicians simply had no time to chat. They were under a lot of pressure; they had orders to fill.

"Given the state of our order books, we simply can't stop the machinery," says company head Robert Bauer, adding that Wulff got a taste of "the actual situation on the ground." Indeed, Wulff may be president, but the customer is still king. For Sick, the reality of the economic boom has been a 25 percent year-on-year increase in orders in 2010 as well as 200 new employees in its German plant. Indeed, in recent months, the demand for light barriers and sensor technology has risen so rapidly that there are now shortages in materials. "We're working at full capacity," Bauer says.

Things aren't just buzzing in Waldkirch. Indeed, the economy is gaining steam all over Germany. The automotive industry has added additional, special shifts. The machine-building industry has made up for any drops in production resulting from the crisis. Even the trade and service sectors are hiring. There's no denying it: Germany has overcome the worst postwar recession in record time.

Still, there are also more pessimistic voices. For example, Gustav Adolf Horn, the head of the union-affiliated Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK), sees three potential sources of danger to continued economic growth. First, the global economy might once again weaken if emerging economies - and China, in particular - put the brakes on growth. Second, there is a potential danger coming from Germany's immediate neighbors, since many of their governments have managed to pass harsh auserity measures. And, finally, there is the yet-to-be-resolved euro crisis, which could potentially lead to a serious reversal. "For 2012," Horn warns, "you can't completely discount the possibility of an economic downturn or even a recession."

China repeatedly says it is planning a "peaceful rise" but the recent pace and scale of its military modernisation has alarmed many of its neighbours in the Asia-Pacific, including Japan which described China's military build-up as a "global concern" this month.

Mr Liang's remarks come at a time of increasingly difficult relations between the Chinese and US armed forces which a three-day visit by his counterpart Robert Gates is intended to address. A year ago China froze substantive military relations in protest at US arms sales to Taiwan and relations deteriorated further this summer when China objected to US plans to deploy one of its nuclear supercarriers, the USS George Washington, into the Yellow Sea off the Korean peninsula.

China also announced this month that it was preparing to launch its own aircraft carrier next year in a signal that China is determined to punch its weight as a rising superpower. The news came a year earlier than many US defence analysts had predicted. China is also working on a "carrier-killing" ballistic missile that could sink US carriers from afar, fundamentally reordering the balance of power in a region that has been dominated by the US since the end of the Second World War.

Analysts remain divided over whether China is initiating an Asian arms race. Even allowing for undeclared spending, China's annual defence budget is still less than one-sixth of America's $663 billion a year, or less than half the US figure when expressed as a percentage of GDP.

However in a speech earlier this year Mr Gates warned that China's new weapons, including its carrier-killing missile, "threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific", underscoring the difficulties that lie ahead as China and the US seek to contain growing strategic frictions.

But two centuries of observing sunspots - dark, relatively cool marks on the solar face linked to mighty magnetic forces - have revealed that our star follows a roughly 11-year cycle of behaviour. The latest cycle began in 1996 and for reasons which are unclear has taken longer than expected to end. Now, though, there are more and more signs that the Sun is shaking off its torpor and building towards "Solar Max," or the cycle's climax, say experts.

"The latest prediction looks at around midway 2013 as being the maximum phase of the solar cycle," said Joe Kunches of NASA's Space Weather Prediction Center. But there is a prolonged period of high activity, "more like a season, LASTING ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS," EITHER SIDE OF THE PEAK, he cautioned. At its angriest, the Sun can vomit forth tides of electromagnetic radiation and charged matter known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. This shock wave may take several days to reach Earth. When it arrives, it compresses the planet's protective magnetic field, releasing energy visible in high latitudes as shimmering auroras - the famous Northern Lights and Southern Lights.

But CMEs are not just pretty events. They can unleash static discharges and geomagnetic storms that can disrupt or even knock out the electronics on which our urbanised, Internet-obsessed, data-saturated society depends. Less feared, but also a problem, are solar flares, or eruptions of super-charged protons that can reach Earth in just minutes.

In the front line are telecommunications satellites in geostationary orbit, at an altitude of 36,000 kilometres (22,500 miles) and Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, on which modern airliners and ships depend for navigation, which orbit at 20,000 kms (12,000 miles). In January 1994, discharges of static electricity inflicted a five-month, 50-million-dollar outage of a Canadian telecoms satellite, Anik-E2.

Recurrence of a 1859 event today would fry 350 major transformers, leaving more than 130 million people without power, it heard. A bigger storm could cost between a trillion and two trillion dollars in the first year, and full recovery could take between four and 10 years.

The economy is growing due to unprecedented deficit spending by the government, fraudulent accounting by the Wall Street banks, the Federal Reserve buying $1.5 trillion of toxic mortgage "assets" from their Wall Street owners, various home buyer and auto tax credits and gimmick programs, and Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA accumulating taxpayer loses so morons can continue to purchase houses. Jobs are being created.

We are in the midst of a Greater Depression and no amount of spin by politicians and the media can wish it away. When we look at jobs in America across the decades, a picture of a country in decline, captured by financial elites, reveals itself. In 1970, America still produced goods, ran trade surpluses, and paid wages that allowed families to thrive with only one parent working. Only 34.6% of the population was employed, with a third of these workers producing goods.

Since 2000 the population of the U.S. has grown by 28.9 million people. The labor force between the ages of 18 and 64 has grown by 26.1 million people since 2000. The government insists that millions of Americans have chosen to "leave the workforce" and should not be considered unemployed.

This is laughable. Why would people choose to leave the workforce when wages are stagnant, retirement looms, prices relentlessly rise, and they are drowning in debt? The truth is that at least 46.8% of the population wants to be employed. That means that 145.2 million Americans would be working if they had the chance. Only 130.5 million are currently employed. This means that there are really 30 million Americans unemployed versus the 15 million reported by the government and MSM.

Not only is the country short 30 million jobs, but the type of jobs reveal a country of paper pushers, consultants, temp workers, government drones, waitresses, and clerks. In 1970, jobs in the goods producing industries made up 31.2% of all jobs. Today, they account for 13.8% of all jobs.

Today, we consistently run $500 billion to $700 billion annual trade deficits, consumer expenditures account for 71% of GDP, and private fixed investment is a pitiful 11.5% of GDP. We've degenerated from a productive goods producing society to a consumption based, debt fueled society. This is a classic late stage trait of declining empires. Rome and Britain before us experienced similar declines.

Representatives of British Airways and London Underground staff, who are already in dispute with their employers, will also be at the talks aiming to synchronise their ballots. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents 300,000 civil servants, told The Times: 'Strikes are inevitable. We are looking at the spring. The more of us that stand together against the cuts, the more problems we can create.'

'Unless you look like you want a fight, they won't negotiate. The Government has to see we are serious.' He added: 'Actions around Easter have quite an effect because so much is happening at that time of year. The end of April, beginning of May would be best. The royal wedding would not be a factor in our planning but nor would it be a factor to avoid.'

'You only have to look what happened with the BBC [when staff were rewarded with a better deal after threatening to boycott October's Conservative Party conference]. People soon sat up and took notice.' Meanwhile, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, used his New Year message to say that 2011 will be 'a horrible year', with millions of families reeling from the Government's austerity crackdown and protests on par with the ferocious poll tax riot of 1990.

He added: 'This is going to be a year when many people suffer, but it just could be the year when the campaign for change really gets going. This could well be the year that the country starts to say No to government in a way that they have not since middle Britain made a previous Conservative government abolish the poll tax.'