Whether prolonged or sudden, the transition to a stable monetary system will become possible only when the shortcomings of the status quo become unbearable. Such a transition is, by definition, nonlinear. So central-bank soothsaying based on the extrapolation of historical data and the repetition of conventional wisdom offers no guidance on what lies ahead.

It's amazing that there is no intelligent discourse among policy leaders on the subject of monetary rot and its implications for the future economic and political landscape. Until there is fundamental monetary reform on an international scale, most economic forecasts aren't worth the paper on which they are written.

Telltale signs of future trouble aren't hard to spot. Only a few months ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and a chorus of other high-ranking Fed officials were talking about exit strategies from the US central bank's bloated balance sheet and the financial system's unprecedented excess liquidity. Now, those same officials are talking about pumping more money into the system to stimulate growth.

Gold is an imperfect, but comparatively reliable, market gauge for the extent of current and future monetary destruction. The recent acceleration in the dollar price of the metal to $1,381, a record high in nominal terms, coincided with talk of a new round of quantitative easing and highly visible discord among major nations on trade and currency-valuation issues.

Naysayers point to gold's price and see a bubble, without understanding that the only acceleration that is taking place is in the rate of decline of paper currency. The Fed is organizing an attack on the dollar's value, believing that this is the most expedient way to defuse deflationary market forces. The man in the street is unaware, a perfect setup. Inflation can only be successful when the public doesn't see it coming.

The sudden torrent of commentary on gold isn't the sign of a bubble. Anti-gold pundits provide a great service to those who grasp this historical moment: They facilitate the advantageous positioning of the one asset most likely to be left standing when the dust settles.

The Fed's "QE2" risks accelerating the demise of the dollar-based currency system, perhaps leading to an unstable tripod with the euro and yuan, or a hybrid gold standard, or a multi-metal "bancor" along lines proposed by John Maynard Keynes in the 1940s. China's commerce ministry fired an irate broadside against Washington on Monday. "The continued and drastic US dollar depreciation recently has led countries including Japan, South Korea, and Thailand to intervene in the currency market, intensifying a 'currency war'. In the mid-term, the US dollar will continue to weaken and gaming between major currencies will escalate," it said.

David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC, said the root problem is lack of underlying demand in the global economy, leaving Western economies trapped near stalling speed. "There are no policy levers left. Countries are having to tighten fiscal policy, and interest rates are already near zero. The last resort is a weaker currency, so everybody is trying to do it," he said.

But whatever the rights and wrongs of the argument, the reality is that a chorus of Chinese officials and advisers is demanding that China switch reserves into gold or forms of oil. As this anti-dollar revolt gathers momentum worldwide, the US risks losing its "exorbitant privilege" of currency hegemony - to use the term of Charles de Gaulle.

The innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of Fed policy are poor countries such as India, where primary goods make up 60 percent of the price index and food inflation is now running at 14 percent. It is hard to gauge the impact of a falling dollar on commodities, but the pattern in mid-2008 was that it led to oil, metal, and grain price rises with multiple leverage. The core victims were the poorest food-importing countries in Africa and South Asia. Tell them that QE2 brings good news.

So the question that Ben Bernanke and his colleagues should ask themselves is whether they have thought through the global ramifications of their actions, and how the strategic consequences might rebound against America itself.

Americans have lived beyond their means for decades. It was a culture long defined by a mantra of entitlement, one that promised opportunities for all while ignoring the risks. Relentless and seemingly unstoppable upward mobility was the secular religion of the United States. Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, established the so-called ownership society, while Congress and the White House helped free it of the constraints of laws and regulations.

The dream was the country's driving force. It made Florida, Hollywood and the riches of Goldman Sachs possible, and it attracted millions of immigrants. Now, however, Americans are discovering that there are many directions that life can take, and at least one of them points downward. The conviction that stocks have always made everyone richer has become as much of a chimera in the United States as the belief that everyone has the right to own his own home, and then a bigger home, a second car and maybe even a yacht. But at some point, everything comes to an end.

The United States is a confused and fearful country in 2010. American companies are still world-class, but today Apple and Coca-Cola, Google and Microsoft are investing in Asia, where labor is cheap and markets are growing, and hardly at all in the United States. Some 47 percent of Americans don't believe that the America Dream is still realistic.

The Desperate States of America are loud and distressed. The country has always been a little paranoid, but now it's also despondent, hopeless and pessimistic. Americans have always believed in the country's capacity for regeneration, that a new awakening is possible at any time. Now, 63 percent of Americans don't believe that they will be able to maintain their current standard of living.

And if America is indeed on the downward slope, it will have consequences for the global economy and the political world order.

Lotter said the agency is merely being cautious with the approach of an early-December deadline when thousands of Indiana residents could see their unemployment benefits end after exhausting the maximum 99 weeks provided through multiple federal extension periods.

"Given the upcoming expiration of the federal extensions and the increased stress on some of the unemployed, we thought added security would provide an extra level of protection for our employees and clients," he said.

Lotter said state employees in the affected offices have also recently gone through stress-management training in which they learn how to respond appropriately to angry clients. "This is a stressful time for people in the economy," he said. "That's why we're not only taking this step (of hiring guards), but we're also increasing our training for our staff to be able to help people as they're trying to cope with these changes."

Up for election on Tuesday are all 435 House seats, 37 of the 100 seats in the Senate, governorships of 37 of the 50 states and all but four state legislatures. The Republican Party needs to gain 39 House seats to win control of the lower chamber of Congress - an amount opinion polls suggest they will easily win - and 10 to take over the Senate.

Democrats are hoping to hold on to the Senate by at least one or two seats. In addition, voters will decide on ballot measures ranging from marijuana legalisation in California to a referendum in Oklahoma on forbidding judges from using Islamic Sharia law in rulings.

Republicans are riding high in opinion polls, buoyed by discontent over unemployment running near 10%, slow economic growth and a burst housing market bubble that has seen many Americans lose their homes. The results of the day's gubernatorial and state legislative elections could also have a big impact on American politics. In a given state, the party that controls the state legislature and holds the governor's office has influence over the redrawing of the Congressional district map for the next 10 years.

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy will also outline plans, at a London summit, for a joint army expeditionary force. Downing Street called the measures "practical", but Labour said they left "big questions" over the UK's defences. Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy are to sign two treaties - one on greater general military co-operation and the other on nuclear weapons.

The latter will establish a centre in the UK to develop technology and another one in France to carry out the testing. It is understood that each country will still control its own warheads, and that nuclear secrets will not be shared. The other treaty will allow the setting up of a "combined joint expeditionary force", thought to involve a brigade of about 5,000 soldiers from each side.

Each country will retain a veto for each operation, which will operate under one military commander to be chosen at the time. The UK and France have also agreed to keep at least one aircraft carrier at sea between them at any one time. Joint work on drones, mine counter-measures and satellite communications is also proposed. In a statement, the French presidency said the test centre in Valduc, eastern France, would start operations in 2014.

While Americans' attention is riveted on fierce midterm battles and the subsequent power struggle in response to Barack Obama's attempted socialist revolution, a second stunning coup - one every bit as dangerous to the nation - is rapidly progressing toward victory with almost no notice or publicity.

This highly coordinated effort, once extremely controversial but today basically greenlighted by politicians and the press - including key conservatives - is rapidly advancing toward total victory, after which any return to Christian morality in American law and culture will become almost impossible.

Despite recent shocking news reports - like the CDC's revelation that 1 in 5 homosexual males in the US is infected with HIV/AIDS and new studies proving children raised by same-sex parents are far more likely to commit homosexual acts themselves than other kids - the radical "gay rights" agenda, including same-sex marriage and open homosexuality throughout the armed forces, is about to be forced down Americans' throats. Ironically, despite the almost total capitulation of America's elite class on this agenda - including the news media and pundits both left and right - Americans themselves overwhelmingly reject it.

In light of this growing rift between regular Americans and the political and cultural elite, WND Managing Editor David Kupelian asks the obvious question: "With the nation trying to counter a maniacal socialist coup in Washington, an economy in dire freefall and a wholesale invasion of the US across our southern border, why should anyone care about same-sex marriage at all?"

The answer, says Kupelian: "We all better care, because once gay marriage is legalized in America - something for which there's no precedent in 5,000 years of Western Civilization - schools will be required to indoctrinate children that homosexuality is perfectly normal and healthy, pastors and rabbis will fear preaching their faith's core moral values, gender confusion and gross immorality will dominate our culture, polygamy and other bizarre 'marriage' arrangements will be legalized, and much more - in short, America will become unrecognizable, regardless of who's president and which party is in power."

"We must keep in mind the feelings of our people, who have a justified desire to see that private investors are also on the hook, and not just taxpayers," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Or in the words of Bundesbank chief Axel Weber: "Next time there is a problem, (bondholders) should be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. So far the only ones who have paid for the solution are the taxpayers."

These were the terms imposed by Germany at Friday's EU summit as the Quid Pro Quo for the creation of a permanent rescue fund in 2013. A treaty change will be rammed through under Article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty, a trick that circumvents the need for full ratification. Eurosceptics can feel vindicated in warning that this "escalator" clause would soon be exploited for unchecked treaty-creep. Mrs Merkel needs a treaty change to prevent the German constitutional court from blocking the bail-out fund as a breach of EU law, and a treaty change is what she will get. "This will strengthen my position with the Karlsruhe court," she admitted openly.

There is little that these nations can do in the short-run as EMU members. They cannot offset fiscal tightening with full monetary stimulus or a weaker exchange rate - as Britain can. All they do can is soldier on, sell family silver to the Chinese and Gulf Arabs, beg the ECB to join the currency war to bring down the euro, and pray that the fragile global recovery does not sputter out.

Chancellor Merkel is ultimately correct. A mechanism for sovereign defaults is entirely healthy. Had it been in place long ago, EMU would have been stronger. The proper timing for this was at the Maastricht Treaty, or Amsterdam, or at the latest Nice, but in those days the EU elites were still arrogantly dismissive about the implications of a currency union. To wait until now borders on careless.

However, church and campaign groups have called the move "irresponsible". Ten of the Isle of Wight's 30 pharmacies will be able to provide a month's supply of the pill to a teenager without the need for a prescription. After that month is up, girls must make an appointment with their GP or sexual health nurse in order to get any additional supplies.

Jennifer Smith, from the Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust, said: "They are already sexually active, we haven't encouraged them to be sexually active. I would suggest that what we're doing is being entirely responsible by providing [contraception to] these most vulnerable women, for whom, for the most part, pregnancy is not a good outcome."

The Reverend Anthony Glaysher, from the Catholic diocese of Portsmouth, said it "fundamentally attacked the family". The Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, Andrew Turner, asked: "How can adults bring up their children if their children can go into a shop, more or less, and be handed over something which is so significant? I will be making my concern clear to the people who run the health service and they've got to understand that many people feel the same."

The gunmen had reportedly demanded the release of jailed al-Qaeda militants. A statement was posted on a militant website allegedly run by the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs, claiming responsibility for the attack. The statement reportedly said Iraqi Christians would be "exterminated" if Muslim women in Egypt were not freed. It specifically mentioned two women in Egypt who radicals believe are being held against their will after converting to Islam.

Pope Benedict XVI denounced the attack as he gave a holiday blessing on Monday. He said two priests had died in the siege, though it was unclear whether both were killed in the initial attempt to take hostages or during the raid by security services. He said he was praying for the victims "of this absurd violence, made more ferocious because it was directed against unarmed people gathered in the house of God". He called for a new effort to end the violence.

In his remarks aired by Radio London on Saturday, Hassan al Lawzi said Yemen's anti-terror efforts primarily stem from the official and popular determination and then from regional and international cooperation because terrorism is a pandemic threatening the whole globe that requires working together to root it out.

Regarding the media hype over the suspicious packages which were seized on their way to the US on board flights through Yemen, he said: "I want to affirm that there are unfortunately different and exaggerating reports on the issue serving al Qaeda and at the same time harming counterterrorism efforts." There was an official statement issued after involving Yemen in such a hype explaining that UPS cargo planes never take off or land in the country, said al Lawzi, adding: the statement also noted there are no direct flights from Yemen to either the US or UK.

The statement made it clear that the security measures at Yemeni airports are tightened and strict with the authorities searching passengers and their luggage well, he said. "Despite the hype, unacceptable exaggeration and bringing the name of Yemen to this, Yemen is investigating the incident and working closely with relevant authorities in other countries to find out the truth about the allegedly terrorist packages."

Such hype serves only terrorists, and Yemen urges media to exercise maximum accuracy while reporting on and to avoid making hasty judgments about sensitive issues, he said.

The official wondered how the media mentioned the name of Yemen reporting that an explosive device was found onboard a cargo plane that landed in London coming from Yemen. UPS planes never land or take off in Yemen, the official made clear.

The security measures at Yemeni airports are tightened and the authorities search passengers and luggage well, the official said, adding that Yemen has recently installed modern checking systems that can detect dangerous or suspicious materials for the safety of passengers and planes.

We urge the media not to make hasty judgments about sensitive issues and the media should wait until investigations reveal the truth, the official said, as he pointed out that Yemen has launched an investigation into the allegations and planned to coordinate with the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the US over the issue. Yemen is determined to continue the war on terror in cooperation with the international community until it roots out all terrorists who pose threat to all, the official concluded.

Update - Mohammed al-Shaibah, Air Cargo Director for Yemenia Airways said to Yemen Post, "No UPS cargo plane left Yemeni lands over the land 48 hours. These accusations are false and baseless." He added, "No UPS or DHL cargo packages heading to Chicago through Yemen took place in the last 48 hours as well." yemenpost.net

Unbeknownst to most Americans, the United States Coast Guard has been attempting to 'cross the Rubicon' for decades, and actually achieved that goal in a silent coup in 2003 when it was moved from the Department of Transportation into the newly-created Department of Homeland Security. This change was not merely bureaucratic; it allows the Coast Guard to now openly declare itself "one of the five armed forces of the United States and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security."

The problem is that the Coast Guard is now attempting to straddle the line between a civil service agency (as it was set up to be and indeed has always been, except during times when it was specifically placed in the service of the Navy) and a branch of the military, conforming to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

For those who understand how the United States military has been set up, and the laws and prohibitions against military personnel engaging in the policing of civilians, the fact that the Coast Guard wants to act as a maritime police agency at the same time as it declares itself a branch of the military is a clear indication that the United States is now officially under martial law.

In 1878, Congress passed a law known as Posse Comitatus that prohibited the use of military personnel or assets in domestic law enforcement. At the time, it was clear that the act was an attempt to prohibit the military from policing civilians on US soil, as happened in the South under Reconstruction. What has been taking place in earnest since 9/11, however, is an attempt to erode the spirit and the substance of Posse Comitatus so that the Executive branch can effectively 'cross the rubicon' and use military personnel in domestic policing operations.

The tsunami death toll rose to over 449 yesterday as rescuers battled bad weather and logistical challenges to deliver aid to the remote islands. The two disasters have displaced more than 60,000 people - 13,000 on the tsunami-stricken Mentawai islands and around 50,000 in central Java where a 10-kilometre (six mile) exclusion zone has been set up around the volcano.

Aid workers said the tsunami wiped out at least 10 villages, mainly along the ocean-facing beaches of North and South Pagai islands, and officials fear the final toll could exceed 600. Aid had started to be dropped from helicopters on Friday, but aviation fuel shortages, stormy weather and poor communications on the largely undeveloped Mentawais were hampering the relief effort.

"We've started sending relief supplies, which are still limited but enough for the people to survive," national search and rescue spokesman Gagah Prakoso said.

The economist - one of the first to predict the US housing crash and nicknamed 'Dr Doom' - said the likely path of fiscal policy after next Tuesday's election will mean the country "experiencing serious fiscal drag just when it needs a further boost".

He argued that with a gridlock in Congress expected to get worse following next week's elections, President Obama's lack of forward looking action - such as tackling spending of social security and introducing VAT increases - meant he was trapped in a stalemate made worse "by the lack of a reason to act on the deficit".

This put the US on an "unsustainable fiscal course". "The risk... is that something on the fiscal side will snap... The trigger could be a debt rollover crisis in a major US state government," he wrote.