Worst Case Scenario Time In Europe

Not sure how much of this is the Telegraph being all crazy and how much of it is "stiff upper lip, carry on", but if any of it's true, it's a problem.

As the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out, British ministers privately warned that the break-up of the euro, once almost unthinkable, is now increasingly plausible.

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. 

On the other hand, I have been writing about the worst case scenario repeatedly coming true in the Greek Fire series of posts.  It's another thing entirely to consider Britain actually taking that possible level of disaster seriously enough to make preparations for the inevitable.

On the other hand, it's looking like Britain may not be the only ones preparing.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

Once again, this is the kind of tinfoil hat stuff you expect to hear during a downturn.  More research is needed into both these stories before I'm willing to pass judgment on them.  But these stories are now out there, and they need to be looked at.