His interview with BBC's HardTalk this week covers a great deal of ground from modern debt jubilees (and how they should be structured), the Tea-Party and Occupy movements (and his growing fear of historically repeating the endgames of previous economic and social disenfranchisements), and the parasitic nature of our existing financial sector.

He is unequivocal on the outcome of the status quo, as he has been for many years, citing politicians as reactors not leaders with the view that the youth movements we are seeing will force change of leadership to enable non-orthodox solutions to our simple problem - too much private debt. "Write off the private debts, nationalize the banking system, and start all over again" is his starting point but his ideas on implementation warrant some attention as he attempts to promote creative instability and reduce the destructive instabilities of capitalism - recognizing that our world is not in equilibrium as every Keynesian economist would believe but inherently cyclical and unstable.

The Sunday Express has uncovered shocking cases of hunger and deprivation, even among the middle classes in areas once considered affluent. Diseases linked to poverty, such as rickets, could be making a comeback as Britons battle against the odds. One charity, The Trussell Trust, which operates 200 food banks across the country, says it is overwhelmed with increasing demand from Britain's "hidden hungry".

Earlier this month an Army veteran and his wife committed suicide after struggling to live "hand to mouth" on food handouts from a soup kitchen they walked 10 miles to get to. In other distressing cases a family of four was eating roadkill after the father lost his IT job, a mother burned her furniture so she could save on fuel and pay for food, another ate paper towels to curb her appetite so she could feed her daughter and a 10-year-old boy was arrested for stealing food for his younger sisters.

In the wake of these tragic stories, The Trust, which provides dried and tinned food parcels to tens of thousands of people across the country, will next week begin a special collection to provide treats, such as chocolate and crackers, for children on Christmas Day. Mark Ward, food bank manager, said: "Food banks are replacing the workhouses of 100 years ago. "There will always be people who need support, but now we are seeing poverty affecting people who never dreamed it would hit them, including young people and middle England."

Professor Philip James, former government advisor on nutrition, said: "The rate of malnutrition is reaching astonishing levels. Children are being denied fresh foods because families cannot afford to buy them. By early adolescence they will be affected by premature diabetes and signs of underlying heart disease." He said doctors are seeing a resurgence of rickets, a condition caused by a lack of vitamin D and thought to have been all but wiped out in countries like Britain.

Similar to the beliefs expressed by fundamentalist Christians, Muslim opponents to Darwinism maintain that Allah created the world, mankind and all known species in a single act. Steve Jones emeritus professor of human genetics at university college London has questioned why such students would want to study biology at all when it obviously conflicts with their beliefs. He told the Sunday Times: 'I had one or two slightly frisky discussions years ago with kids who belonged to fundamentalist Christian churches, now it is Islamic overwhelmingly.

'They don't come [to lectures] or they complain about it or they send notes or emails saying they shouldn't have to learn this stuff. What they object to - and I don't really understand it, I am not religious - they object to the idea that there is a random process out there which is not directed by God.' Earlier this year Usama Hasan, iman of the Masjid al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton, received death threats for suggesting that Darwinism and Islam might be compatible.

Sources within the group Muslims4UK partly blame the growing popularity of creationist beliefs within Islam on Turkish author Harun Yahya who, influenced by the success of Christian creationists in America, has written several books denouncing Darwinist theory. Yahya associates Dawinism with Nazism and his books and videos are available at many Islamic bookshops in the UK and regularly feature on Islamic television channels.

Hoping to gain a sizeable slice of seats in parliament, the group has cautiously avoided friction with the ruling military council, refusing to support this week's protests in Tahrir Square demanding the army immediately hand power to civilians. This has strengthened perceptions that its main concern is to ensure that nothing disrupts its election chances, fuelling anger among protesters. A top Brotherhood leader was forced out of Tahrir on Monday when he tried to visit the square.

"Their eye is on the elections and nothing else. They just want political gains," said one protester, shouting at another demonstrator who said he belonged to the Brotherhood's newly formed political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). The Brotherhood helped organize an initial anti-army protest in Tahrir on November 18, but stayed out of subsequent demonstrations in which 41 people were killed and 2,000 wounded.

In post-Mubarak Egypt, the group faces competition from newly formed liberal parties and rival Islamists who could suck away some support, but senior Brotherhood officials remain confident they will emerge as the biggest bloc in parliament. "We want to win, but not alone. We want the whole country to win in this democratic game," said Essam el-Erian, the FJP's deputy head, who spent years in and out of jail under Mubarak. He walked out of prison in February when police lost control.

What comes next? Most likely, Congress will make the national debt even worse. Republicans want to extend the George W Bush top-rate tax cuts. Democrats want to extend the Barack Obama payroll tax cut, and enact yet another bonus extension of unemployment benefits. One or all may happen by Christmas as both parties switch to full-blown pandering mode. If the costs in the December 2010 stimulus bill are any guide, a package of extended tax cuts for the well-off, payroll tax cuts for everyone and bonus payments to the unemployed will add around $700 billion to the national debt.

Bear in mind, last December's stimulus bill (the third, following a 2008 stimulus under Bush and a 2009 stimulus under Obama) entailed $860 billion in borrowing. If another $700 billion or so is borrowed for lead items on the parties' wish lists, during the very 12 months that Washington has refused to take action to reduce the national debt by $1.2 trillion over many years, an extra $1.5 trillion will be added to the debt in the here and now.

If tax-cut and unemployment-benefit extensions pass, Congress will already have spent every penny of the $1.2 trillion the deficit commission was supposed to save. Though no money has actually been saved yet - the "mandatory" spending reductions triggered by super committee inaction don't start until 2013, which leaves plenty of time for Congress to cancel them. As Oprah viewers know, when people finally toss out the clutter from their closets, often the next step is a wild shopping spree. In the case of Congress, the shopping spree looms without the first step of throwing stuff away.

Moody's also noted the political impetus to implement an effective resolution plan may only emerge after a series of shocks, which may lead to more countries losing access to market funding and requiring a support program. "This would very likely cause those countries' ratings to be moved into speculative grade in view of the solvency tests that would likely be required and the burden-sharing that might be imposed if (as is likely) support were to be needed for a sustained period."

Economist Tim Condon, head of research for Asia at ING, said the Moody's statement was unlikely to surprise markets. "It's basically common knowledge that everything in Europe is at risk," he said. "Quite a few people are contemplating a euro zone breakup scenario." Financial markets have put Italy, Spain and now France under increasing pressure on skepticism of the ability of European leaders to resolve the debt crisis, that has already sparked financial bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti aims to shore up the country's strained public finances this week by unveiling measures that could include a revamped housing tax. Contacts between the International Monetary Fund and Rome have intensified as concern has grown about a financial backstop for Italy, should the country need it. "The probability of multiple defaults by euro area countries is no longer negligible. In Moody's view, the "longer the liquidity crisis continues, the more rapidly the probability of defaults will continue to rise," it said. Such defaults would increase the chances that one or more members of the bloc would leave the euro area.

Americans spent more, too: The average holiday shopper spent $398.62 over the weekend, up from $365.34 a year ago. The results for the first holiday shopping weekend show that retailers' efforts to lure shoppers during the weak economy are working. Some like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and JC Penney have been making a stronger push online to better compete with the likes of rival Amazon.com. And major chains like Macy's, Target, Best Buy extended the traditional start to the shopping season by opening their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving evening instead of the pre-dawn Friday hours of years past.

But the question remains whether retailers' will be able to hold shoppers' attention throughout the remainder of the season, which can account for 25 to 40 percent of a merchant's annual revenue. After all, Americans are still very driven by deep discounting and they're more conscious of their spending budgets. Overall, holiday spending is expected to grow by a modest 2.8 percent to about $466 billion, according to the NRF. A fuller picture on spending will come Thursday when major retailers report their November sales figures. But for now, experts agree that retailers will likely have to continue to discount to get shoppers to spend.

Overall, Black Friday sales were $11.4 billion, up 7 percent, or nearly $1 billion from the same day last year, according to a report by ShopperTrak, which gathers data from 25,000 outlets across the country. It was the largest amount ever spent on that day and the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007. Additionally, customer counts climbed 5.1 percent that day compared with a year ago.

Union leaders have declared there is nothing the Government can do to avert the biggest strikes in a generation this week. As the Army is put on standby to secure Britain's borders, millions of public sector workers are being warned that a 'hugely generous' pensions offer from ministers will be withdrawn if a deal is not agreed by the end of the year. But the head of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber, said it was 'unlikely' there was anything the Government could say to persuade him to call off Wednesday's action.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said Mr Barber had 'let the cat out of the bag' and demonstrated the unions are hell-bent on confrontation with the Government. He also claimed the head of the biggest civil service union, Public and Commercial Services union leader Mark Serwotka, had refused even to attend talks in person. Mr Maude warned the 'irresponsible' strikes would inflict huge damage on Britain's economy. Ministers are seeking to increase pressure on Labour to urge its union paymasters to call off the action, though Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said yesterday that he had 'huge sympathy' for those taking part.

Wednesday's strike, by as many as two million public sector workers, has been triggered by Government proposals to limit the 1 trillion pounds future cost of their generous pension schemes. Though workers within ten years of retirement and the low-paid are being shielded from the changes, others are being told that they must work longer and contribute more to enjoy decent retirement benefits. The day of action - the biggest in 30 years - is expected to cause widespread disruption. As David Cameron prepared for emergency meetings today on contingency plans to try to limit the impact, Mr Maude confirmed troops would be on standby at ports and airports when immigration staff join the walk out.

He said the UK Border Agency was considering using the Armed Forces to 'make sure that our borders are secure and that inconvenience to travellers is minimised'. It is predicted that airports, such as Heathrow, will be hit by queues of as long as 12 hours and mass cancellations.

And ministers expect at least two thirds of all schools to close as the main teaching unions urge their members to walk out.

The victory for Morocco's Justice and Development Party came a month after Tunisia handed power to a previously-banned party of moderate Islamists. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is also expected to do well in an election starting Monday. PJD, which will get its first chance to head a coalition government, has said it will promote Islamic finance but steer clear of imposing a strict moral code on a country that depends on tourism.

The party, whose deceased founder was a physician of King Mohammed's grandfather, is loyal to the monarchy and backs its role as the supreme religious authority in the country. PJD won 107 seats in the 395-seat parliament, according to results from the interior ministry carried by the official MAP news agency. Three parties from the secularist Koutla bloc, with which the PJD wants to form a coalition, won a total 117 seats, the results showed.

Speaking before 50,000 army volunteers in Bushehr, the minister said "Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan, if the Americans make the mistake and attack Iran, we will show them how to fight," adding "Israel has to be punished for what it has done to the Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon." However, according to Iranian news outlets Vahidi did not specify if the missiles would be fired from Iran or other locations.

On Saturday a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said the country would target NATO's missile defense shield in Turkey if the US or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' aerospace division, was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying the warning is part of a new defense strategy to counter what it sees as an increase in threats from the US and Israel.

As Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani attended the funerals of the victims, including a major, the US sought to minimize the fallout from the crisis, which plunged Washington's already troubled relationship with Islamabad to an all-time low. Pakistan also ordered the US to vacate an airbase that is used by American drones to target al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the country's tribal region along the Afghan border.

There are forces working against a total rupture in the relationship. Pakistan still relies on billions of dollars in American military and civilian aid, and the US needs Islamabad's help to push Afghan insurgents to engage in peace talks. But tensions could rise further if militants unleash attacks against the stranded trucks ferrying NATO supplies to Afghanistan.

Suspected militants destroyed around 150 trucks and injured drivers and police a year ago after Pakistan closed one of its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies for about ten days in retaliation for a US helicopter attack that accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers.

The situation could be more dire this time because Pakistan, outraged at the alleged NATO attack before dawn Saturday, has closed both its crossings.

The two countries have found tensions rising since the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US special forces in a secret raid on the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May. Pakistan called the raid, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, a flagrant violation of its sovereignty while the Foreign Office equally condemned the attack. 'Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has condemned in the strongest terms the NATO/ISAF attack on the Pakistani post,' ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a statement.

The leaders of the three largest economies in the eurozone met in Strasbourg earlier, in an attempt to resolve the ongoing turmoil. The markets have continued to struggle, destabilising other world economies and both Merkel and Sarkozy have faced criticism about their failure to reach a solution. Speaking after meeting with the German Chancellor and Italian Premier Mario Monti, Sarkozy said "propositions for the modification of treaties" would be presented in the coming days.

He wouldn't elaborate on what these changes may be but said they would be ready in time for the next EU leaders summit on December 9. Treaty changes are a notoriously laborious endeavor, requiring the agreement of all 27 EU nations, including non-euro countries such as Britain and Poland. Merkel said the treaty changes would "make clear that we must take steps toward a fiscal union to express the conviction that we know policies must be more closely coordinated if you have a common, stable currency. It is political confidence in Europe that has been lost - we can only win it back politically," Merkel said.

Analysts warned that euro meltdown would wreak havoc in the banking system and plunge the global economy back into recession. Whitehall sources said contingency plans are being drawn up - and indicated that the longer the euro limps on, the more time Britain has to prepare. Fears are mounting that Greece will be forced to default on its debts as the crisis threatens to sink Spain and Italy. The storm hit Belgium last night as the country's credit rating was cut from AA+ to AA by Standard & Poor's amid tumbling confidence in the region.

And a leading French economist, Jacques Attali, the former president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said there was only a 50-50 chance of the euro surviving until Christmas.

Diplomats are preparing to help Britons abroad through a banking collapse and even riots arising from the debt crisis. The Treasury confirmed earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way. A senior minister has now revealed the extent of the Government's concern, saying that Britain is now planning on the basis that a euro collapse is now just a matter of time.

"It's in our interests that they keep playing for time because that gives us more time to prepare," the minister told the Daily Telegraph. Some economists believe that at worst, the outright collapse of the euro could reduce GDP in its member-states by up to half and trigger mass unemployment.

Analysts at UBS, an investment bank earlier this year warned that the most extreme consequences of a break-up include risks to basic property rights and the threat of civil disorder. "When the unemployment consequences are factored in, it is virtually impossible to consider a break-up scenario without some serious social consequences," UBS said.

Belgium has been without a permanent government for 530 days, as a series of negotiators has struggled without success to bridge the country's divide between its French-speakers and its Dutch-speakers. "In our opinion, protracted political uncertainty remains a risk to its creditworthiness," the ratings agency said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Yves Leterme said Friday "we really need strong signals now" from the six political parties trying to resolve the 2012 budget. He said the six parties needed a deal "tonight, the coming days - but preferably before we hit the market again" on Monday. After negotiators reached a constitutional deal two month ago giving regions more autonomy, talks are now stuck over how to contain Belgium's high debt and deficit.

In a statement, Standard & Poor's said Leterme's caretaker government "lacks a mandate to implement deeper fiscal and structural reforms."

The country's yields on long-term bonds are closing in on 6 percent - getting closer to the 7 percent financial danger zone that has pushed other European nations into international bailouts.