DDoug,

Interesting that you should bring this up. I think that you are right about the end of an era, but wait, where are the folk, IE., the Mayans who created that calendar, or could it be that the carver of the stone calendar just got mad and quit because the King would not pay for more carving. LOL BTW the movie was great for an action flick.

I did a lot of research on this, and this is what I have found. According to the best minds, every 26,000 years the earth tips 5 to 7 degrees back and forth at the North Pole. This tipping causes climate change, so what is now forest could end up being desert etc. It was an interesting search for information with lots of scientists thinking what we are seeing in the way of climate change is normal for the tipping action and then again in another 26K years, it will tip back to another position.

I do believe that long before the end of 2012 we will be in big financial trouble if we don't change our ways, bite the bullet, give up lots of entitlements, including SS, medicare and general welfare. But since no one wants to give up anything free, or what they think is free but is really paid for by the working class, nothing is going to change until it is too late to save our current way of life. This is what happened to the UK after WW II when the pound sterling was the world reserve currency. When the dollar replaced the pound, the UK under went high inflation, high unemployment and social unrest for a couple decades. I just hope that we can get our country fixed before ths happens to us.

As for who will end up on the top of the currency control board is anyone's guess; my best guess would be China or India. But anything can happen so it might be best to prepare for an emergency and be able to take care of yourself and family for a few months until things straighten out or completely fall apart.

As the old saying goes, "Who knows how WW III will be fought, but WW IV will be with sticks and stones."