You're out holiday shopping. The stores are crowded and everything is very busy. All of a sudden, you hear gunfire and shouting in a foreign accent. People are dropping their bags and taking cover, some falling to the ground. Screaming and panic and chaos ensue. What do you do?

GLOBAL TERRORISM HAS BECOME A PLAGUE. Fears of terror attacks are on the minds of westerners, and some say it is not if, but when. How can you prepare for such a scenario as what took place in Mumbai, India, if it comes to your mall? Director of the Northeast Intelligence Network Douglass L. Hagmann was interviewed on Israel National Radio's Weekend Edition and said that attacks like those in Mumbai will happen again.

Hagmann wants the public to know, "I've personally investigated potential terrorists who are in this country [USA] that appear to be training for just such scenarios." He went on to explain that he has evidence of Muslim groups training in the Catskills. They train with automatic weapons and the loud spats of gunfire are unsettling and disturbing to those neighbours who reside nearby. The most disturbing thing Hagmann says is that DURING SURVEILLANCE OF THIS MUSLIM GROUP IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THEY HAVE VIDEO OF THEM PRACTICING SHOOTING UP A YELLOW SCHOOL BUS they had brought onto their property. The school bus target shooting is disturbing because it could be A SIGN TO COME OF A FUTURE TERROR ATTACK ON AMERICAN SCHOOL CHILDREN.

HAGMANN STATES THAT THE MALL OF AMERICA IS A PRIME TARGET FOR ISLAMIC TERRORISTS. "The terrorists have published their desires to create an attack against American civilians in a retail shopping outlet. Number one, for the body count, number two, for the ease of the target and thirdly, they don't care if they kill women and children, in fact, all the better, and number four, it would have a serious economic affect on the country. WHY NOT ATTACK DURING A CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY?"

MILLIONS OF U.S. JOBS HAVE BEEN LOST AND MORE LAYOFFS ARE EXPECTED. Banks have reined in lending after a credit crisis and a housing collapse that has sent foreclosures surging. On Wall Street, several investment banks have collapsed. THE U.S. STOCK MARKET HAS LOST MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF ITS VALUE. Behemoths like Citigroup have struggled to survive.

Tough times also threaten the once-mighty U.S. auto industry, with General Motors and Chrysler LLC seeking billions in aid from Washington and warning of potential collapse if they do not get a bailout. "WE ARE SEEING THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE," said Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States."

On the right, former International Monetary Fund chief economist Simon Johnson sums up the view this way: "Capitalism is not dead, there is no alternative to capitalism. The myth of wonderful capitalism is dead but not capitalism, just the nice warm fuzziness."

EVERY WEEK, THERE IS MORE HARD-TO-BELIEVE NEWS; a Wall Street trader arrested on charges of a $50 billion investor fraud, and the governor of Illinois accused of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Experts are uncertain how long the American economic malaise will linger. Some predict a year or two, others fear a slowdown of as long as a decade, reminiscent of Japan's lost decade of the 1990s. Everyone agrees the situation in America, now officially in recession, is certainly bleak.

"PEOPLE START SEEING THEIR ECONOMIC SITUATION CHANGE, AND IT STIMULATES A SORT OF SURVIVAL PANIC," said Gaetano Vaccaro, deputy clinical director of Moonview Sanctuary, which treats patients for emotional and behavioral disorders. "WHEN WE ARE IN A SURVIVAL PANIC, WE ARE PRONE TO REALLY EXTREME BEHAVIORS." The U.S. recession that took hold in December last year has threatened personal finances in many ways as home prices fall, investments sour, retirement funds shrink, access to credit diminishes and jobs evaporate.

It is also a rude awakening for a generation of shoppers who grew up on easy access to credit and have never had to limit purchases to simply what they needed or could afford. Instead, buying and consuming have become part of the national culture, with many people using what is in their shopping bags to express their own identity, from the latest gadgets to designer handbags.

Besides an increase in shoplifting, psychologists said retailers need to be prepared for more instances of violent behavior like that seen at a Wal-Mart store in Long Island, New York the day after Thanksgiving. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see an uptick in crime, related to stealing," said UCLA's Fong. "I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF WE SEE MORE WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND MORE VIOLENCE AT THE MALLS."

The Fed's Open Market Committee will probably cut the benchmark rate in half, to 0.5 percent, according to the median of 84 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The central bank may also signal plans to channel credit to businesses and consumers by further enlarging its $2.26 trillion of assets.

Investor speculation that the Fed will ease monetary policy today pushed yields on 10-year Treasury notes to the lowest since 1954. The dollar traded near a two-month low against the euro and was close to its weakest level in 13 years versus the yen. BERNANKE HAS REPEATEDLY INVOKED EMERGENCY POWERS NOT USED TO SINCE THE 1930s and expanded the Fed's credit to the economy by $1.4 trillion. "The little bit of stability we have had is because there is an impression the Fed has almost unlimited resources and has adopted a tactic of intervention," said Ethan Harris, co-head of U.S. economic research at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York.

Update:- The US Federal Reserve has slashed its key interest rate from 1% to a range of BETWEEN ZERO AND 0.25% as it battles the country's recession. In its statement, the Federal Reserve warned that "THE OUTLOOK FOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITY HAS WEAKENED FURTHER".

Dominique Strauss-Kahn sounded a stark warning over the consequences of what he argued was weak and uncertain government reaction to the economic crisis. He used a hard-hitting speech in Madrid to single out eurozone nations over what he attacked as an inadequate response. The broadside from the IMF's managing director came as fears over a protracted global recession, and political fallout, mounted after China said that its factories' output registered the weakest growth in almost a decade last month.

Without swifter and more determined action by governments to boost economies, a world recovery could be delayed until late next year or early in 2010, with grave consequences, Mr Strauss-Kahn said. "A lot remains to be done, and if this work is not done it will be difficult to avoid a long-lasting crisis that everyone wants to avoid."

The IMF has called for governments in leading economies to spend a combined 2 per cent of global GDP, or $1.2 trillion (£1,075 billion), to try to fend off the danger from global recession. "If we are not able to do that, THEN SOCIAL UNREST MAY HAPPEN IN MANY COUNTRIES - INCLUDING ADVANCED ECONOMIES," Mr Strauss-Kahn suggested. He also claimed that VIOLENT PROTESTS COULD BREAK OUT IN COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE if the financial system was not reordered to benefit everyone rather than a small elite.

The NPD party has its biggest membership there and the far-right scene feels so safe that some sympathizers have already been making fun of the attack.

Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said the assault showed that far-right violence had reached a new level. "This attack on an individual prominent representative of the state is new," Herrmann told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "We must take this escalation of violence very seriously." Bavarian authorities had recently registered an increase in far-right activity, said Herrmann.

BAVARIA HAS A WELL-ESTABLISHED NEO-NAZI SCENE. The domestic intelligence service estimates that there are around 1,100 violent neo-Nazis in Bavaria and around 10,000 in Germany. In Passau alone, the number of far-right crimes doubled to 83 this year compared with 2007. ARSON ATTACKS AND RACIST ASSAULTS BY RIGHT-WING EXTREMISTS ARE PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN PARTS OF GERMANY. Authorities have expressed concern this year that the country's neo-Nazi scene is becoming more violent.

Almost two centuries after President James Monroe declared Latin America a U.S. sphere of influence, the region is breaking away. From socialist-leaning Venezuela to market-friendly Brazil, governments are expanding military, economic and diplomatic ties with potential U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran. THE U.S., SHE SAYS, "IS NO LONGER THE EXCLUSIVE GO-TO POWER IN THE REGION, especially in South America, where U.S. economic ties are much less important."

Since November, Russian warships have engaged in joint naval exercises with Venezuela, the first in the Caribbean since the Cold War; Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a free-trade agreement with Peru; and Brazil invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a state visit.

"While the U.S. remains aloof from a region it no longer sees as relevant to its strategic interests, other countries are making unprecedented, serious moves to fill the void," says Luiz Felipe Lampreia, Brazil's foreign minister from 1995 until 2001. "Countries in the region are more aware than ever that they LIVE IN A GLOBALIZED, POST-AMERICAN WORLD."

THE REAL BATTLE IS FOR A LARGER SHARE OF THE REGION'S ABUNDANT RESOURCES AND EXPANDING ECONOMIES, and China has led the way.

The disease has spread quickly as the health care and water systems have collapsed amid a long political crisis.

Last week, President Robert Mugabe said the spread of cholera had been halted. He has accused Western powers, including Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler Britain, of using the cholera outbreak as a pretext to invade the country and overthrow him. "NOW THAT THERE IS NO CHOLERA, THERE IS NO CAUSE FOR WAR," he said. Other high-ranking officials have accused Britain of deliberately spreading cholera.

Meanwhile, the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the worst-hit area was the capital, Harare, with 208 confirmed deaths and 8,454 suspected cases. The UN has warned that up to 60,000 people could become infected if the outbreak is not contained.

Germany is seeking to solve Britain's dilemma over a large number of Eurofighter Typhoon jets IT HAS ORDERED BUT CANNOT AFFORD by proposing it buys half and delays a decision about the remainder by three years. The "informal offer", made to John Hutton, defence secretary, would help to solve the cash crisis facing the Ministry of Defence.

The Royal Bank of Scotland - which was forced to accept a £20billion government bail-out last month - said £400million was at risk in the hedge funds invested with 70-year-old Madoff. Spanish bank Santander, which owns Abbey and the savings business of Bradford & Bingley, said its potential exposure was more than £2billion, while HSBC could reportedly lose up to £668million.

And the Man Group, Britain's largest hedge fund manager, admitted that it had £231million invested in two funds that 'are directly or indirectly advised by Madoff Securities'. City 'superwoman' Nicola Horlick earlier attacked U.S. financial regulators after she became a victim of the investment scam which may yet turn out to be the world's biggest fraud. She said: 'It is astonishing that this apparent fraud seems to have been continuing for so long, while investors have continued to invest more money into the Madoff funds in good faith. IT SEEMS THAT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY HAS CONTINUED UNFETTERED AND UNDETECTED FOR YEARS.'

Madoff was arrested on December 11 and charged at federal court in Manhattan with a single count of securities fraud. He was released that day on a $10million bond guaranteed by his wife and secured by his Manhattan apartment. A day later, a federal court froze the firm's assets.

"Banks aren't lending so people are coming here for short-term loans against collateral like diamonds, watches and other jewelry," said Jordan Tabach-Bank, CEO of Beverly Loan Co, self-described "pawnbroker to the stars. I do see my share of actors, writers, producers and directors," he said, but also cited more visits from white-collar professionals and especially business owners struggling to meet payroll obligations.

In the 70 years of the family business, Beverly Loan, which usually charges 4 percent monthly interest on loans, has never loaned so much as it has in the past few months, he said. "We're a lot easier to deal with than a bank," he said from his office on the third floor of a Bank of America building near Rodeo Drive. An armed security guard watches over the reception, where case after case is filled with precious gems.

There are as many as 15,000 pawnbrokers across the United States. As the U.S. recession deepens, pawnbrokers - long seen as a lender of last resort - are noting a rise in business. No national body keeps statistics for the sector, but proprietors across the spectrum say they are thriving as home foreclosures spiral and bank credit remains scarce.

As we can see from the very public arguments between Britain and Germany, central banks do not always see recession in the same light. There is disagreement not just between the British and German governments, but between Germany and France and between the Government and Opposition in Britain. Mr Brown has pursued what has been called a Keynesian policy of making large bailout payments to the banks, combined with a short-term cut of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent. The British borrowing requirement had already been rising because of increased expenditure matched by falling revenues. The deficit will now rise to a forecast £118 billion into 2009, which will take at least five years to claw back, probably much longer.

Germany has been pursuing a much more cautious policy. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, made a key policy speech this month in Stuttgart; she sounds extraordinarily Thatcherite. She talked of the Verantwortung, which is the German for "responsibility". "As we are in Stuttgart, you should ask a Swabian housewife," Ms Merkel suggested. "She would give us some short and correct advice, which would be this: 'YOU CANNOT LIVE BEYOND YOUR MEANS IN THE LONG RUN.' WE ARE NOT GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SENSELESS RACE FOR BILLIONS."

I have found Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) one of the most helpful of the leading economists who have written about economic crises. He emphasises the importance of psychology. He wrote: "ALL CONSCIENTIOUS OBSERVERS OF CRISES HAVE NOTED THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE IMAGINATION. IT IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF CRISIS." And, of course, of THE ENDING OF CRISIS, WHEN THE DEPRESSED IMAGINATION TURNS TO HOPE.

If one considers the choice of policies between Mr Brown and the mythical Swabian housewife, one should ask which policy has more appeal for the human imagination. Is it a 1.5 per cent stimulus followed by massive debt, or is it a return to stable finance, paying one's way, lower debt and lower taxes? As Pareto observed: "IT IS OBVIOUS THAT PEOPLE CANNOT GO ON CONSUMING MORE THAN THEY PRODUCE INDEFINITELY."

The18 sets out its goals on its website. Among the goals are challenging the two-state solution, being relentless and joining the fight worldwide. "The18 will not be polite," the group warns. The group was founded after the election of Barack Obama to be President of the United States. Obama believes in "linkage," the group says, and believes that if Arab grievances are addressed, terrorism will cease. He will see the creation of a PA state as a top goal.

JEWISH NATIONALISTS MUST MAKE FIGHTING THE CREATION OF A PA STATE THEIR TOP GOAL, the group says. "All other issues are a diversion... we must steel ourselves to the reality that all else must be secondary to fighting two-state," member Michael Fenenbock explains in the group's manifesto. "IF WE LOSE THE TWO-STATE BATTLE... WE LOSE THE WHOLE GAME."

The18 is inspired by the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during the Holocaust, members say. On its site, the group mentions the uprising as a time when "a young Jew named Mordechai Anielewicz showed that a fearless handful of committed men and women can make a rebellion and he forever laid to rest the myth of the passive Jew."

"Oh noble Gaza, raise your head high," he screamed into the microphone, panting heavily. "You have made the Muslims raise their heads high. And you, people of Hebron - you are now waging a war against the Jews. You are well-versed in this. We saw how, on a day in 1929, you slaughtered the Jews in Hebron. Today, slaughter them on the land of Hebron. Kill them in Palestine. Arise, oh people of Palestine, all the people of Palestine - arise in defence of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, arise in defence of Nablus and Hebron. Arise and face the [PA] Preventive Security forces. Fear them not, for they are rabbits. They are wolves, so fear them not, oh lions," he exhorted.

"Oh young men, what will you say to the Jordanian government?" he continued. "Expel the Jewish ambassador from Amman. Amman is pure, and the Jewish ambassador must not defile its soil. Recall the Jordanian ambassador from Palestine. Only mujahideen should be in Palestine - not ambassadors, not ministers, or any representative of this nation. Do not recognize the ambassador of this nation in Palestine. PALESTINE IS THE LAND OF JIHAD, OF SACRIFICE, AND OF PREPARATION."

Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said that attempts by previous administrations to target exchange rates had been unsuccessful. The Government will continue to plot a course aimed at keeping inflation under control and supporting the economy, she said. Officials say that with inflation falling sharply the kind of interest hikes that might bolster sterling would be completely inappropriate at a time when the Government is intervening to support the economy.

Ms Cooper went further than most ministers normally do in talking about sterling. She acknowledged that British tourists were suffering as a result of sterling's weakness, but said that the low pound was also good for UK exporters.

The plunge in the base interest rate to just 2% over the past few months, coupled with an increase in Government borrowing, has prompted a collapse in the value of sterling, which is today trading at just 1.12 euros or 1.49 US dollars. As recently as last December, £1 would buy 1.40 euros or 2.06 dollars. SOME HOLIDAY-MAKERS ARE RECEIVING LESS THAN A EURO FOR EACH POUND THEY CHANGE because of commission charges at bureaux de change in High Streets and airports.