To: BirdDog who wrote (25660 ) 12/6/2001 8:21:24 PM From: Walt Deemer Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 52237 Re: Weekly World News -- by Randy Jeffries, Weekly World News WASHINGTON--The world economy is on the verge of collapse that will leave banks in total ruin, currency worthless--and at least a billion people homeless and starving in the streets. But even more frightening is the massive panic that will soon cause formerly law-abiding citizens to turn on one another in a violent, desperate scramble for food and other necessities! Experts say the financial nightmare will unfold in October--traditionally a horrible month for the stock market. Already, millions are stockpiling food, medicine, clothing and evenwater in an attempt to survive the coming disaster. This terrifying disclosure comes from a concerned group of the world's top economists, who say they're only declaring publicly what all the world's governments have been trying to cover up. "All indicators are there and have been there for the past three years,"said a noted economist and top financial expert Thomas VanDurman. "But the recent upheaval in the Asian market cinches it." Van Durman is referring to the dramatic decline of the Japanese stock market that resulted in a devastating devaluation of the yen. Experts everywhere are saying the collapse of the Asian banking system ishow inevitable--and when it fails, the American and European markets will tumble like dominoes. VanDurman is one of three American members of an international group of 22 experts who have united to study the problem. "This crisis will make the Great Depression of the 1930's look mild by comparison," he said. "The Great Depression was one of the darkest periods in American history. Once-wealthy people were left suddenly penniless. "But the coming disaster--that has already begun to show itself--will completely crush every nation in the world. Overnight, folding money will become worthless paper. Banks will shut down and at least a billion people will be without food and shelter. "But the worst aspect of all this is the panic that is beginning among people who can see what's taking place. That panic is what scares me more than anything else." VanDurman said the causes of the new depression have their roots in the crippled Japanese economy and the resulting imbalance between nations on the international market. "The seeds have been sown and millions of informed people know it. In Switzerlan, where five banks recently went bankrupt, people have begun converging on supermarkets, pharmacies, and hardward stores, buying up canned food, medicines, bottled water and other necessities. "There 's been rioting in Bern and Geneva. The panic has spread to the neighboring European countries of France, Italy, Austria, and Germany. And some people in the United States have already begun taking refuge in well-stocked mountain cabins." But VanDurman says we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. "Right now, only the ones who are aware of what's going on are acting out of fear," he says. "But that's nothing compared to what will happen in October when everyone in the world will feel the sting of poverty. Soon, people will be shooting one another over crusts of bread. "President Clinton knows about this problem. The White House has been rocked by the news, as have the governments of every nation in the world. But they refuse to inform the public, hoping against hope that something can be done in time. "I pray that we can find a solution before October."