its time for another of the regular kunstler installments and once again he describes our predicament clearly;


It’s Nancy Pelosi’s smile that gets me…oh, and not in a good way. It’s a smile that is actually the opposite of what a smile is supposed to do: signal good will and good faith. Nancy’s smile is full of malice and bad faith, like the smiles on representations of Shiva-the-Destroyer and Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec sun god who demanded thousands of human hearts to eat, lest he bring on the end of the world.
It’s not exactly the end of the world in Washington D.C., but as the old saying goes: you can see it from there! It’s out on the edge of town like one of those sinister, broken-down circuses from the Ray Bradbury story-bag, with its ragtag cast of motheaten lions, crippled acrobats, a crooked wagon full of heartbroken freaks, and a shadowy ringmaster on a mission from the heart of darkness.
The new Democratic majority congress has convened in the spirit of a religious movement devoted to a single apocalyptic objective: toppling the Golden Golem of Greatness who rules in the House of White Privilege. They’re all revved up for inquisition, looking to apply as many thumbscrews, cattle prods, electrodes, waterboards, and bamboo splinters as necessary in pursuit of rectifying the heresy of the 2016 election.
The simpleton California congressman Brad Sherman (D-30^th dist.) couldn’t contain his glee, like a seven-year-old boy about to pull the wings off a fly. As soon as the Democratic majority was sworn in, he filed his articles of impeachment to impress his Wokester San Fernando Valley constituents out for deplorable blood. That was even a bit too much for Madam Speaker who reminded Sherman that some scintilla of a predicate crime was required — but surely would be when Special Counsel Robert Mueller hurls down his tablets of accusation from on high............http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/and-the-circus-came-to-town/

most 'consumers' only believe what their tv tells them as well as school and politicians. iran is one of those subjects that is presented by those with a dog in the fight. what isn't presented is the history of what the empire, beginning in about 1904, by england and then including america, have done to iran which has led to their current situation. a large part of that history is in 1953 the cia overthrew iran's democratically elected government, and its only gone downhill since then;

IRAN THE DANGER TO WORLD PEACE? I DON'T THINK SO!

Since the 1979 Iranian revolution and the downfall of the US Puppet Ruler the Shah, Iran has been an Islamic state. In that interval of time, 1979 to the present, Iran has not invaded anyone. Not once. People of all religions live in peace in Iran, even Jews, who find life so comfortable in Iran they refused an offer by the government of Israel to emigrate!

In the same period of time, Israel, a self-declared Jewish state, attacked Iraq in 1981, bombing the power station at Osirik, claiming it was a clandestine weapons factory. Subsequent examination of the ruins following the 2003 invasion proved Israel had lied. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. This led to the Massacres at Sabra and Shatilla. In February 2003 Israel stages incursions into Gaza and Nablus. In September 2007 Israel bombs Syria, again insisting they are destroying a clandestine weapons laboratory. Again there is no evidence to support Israel's claims. In 2006, Israel attacks Lebanon, killing 1200, mostly civilians, several UN observers, and littering the landscape with land mines on their way out. IN February 2008 Israel again raids Gaza, killing over 100. HAMAS agrees to a cease fire and keeps it for 6 months until November 4, when Israel again attacks, killing 6 HAMAS members, launching operation CAST LEAD. 1300 Gazans, mostly civilians, are killed. Israel loses 13 soldiers. Violations of international law include the use of White Phosphorus incendiary bombs against civilians and non-military targets. The United Nations investigates, but Israel refuses to cooperate. In May 2010, Israel attacks an international aid flotilla bringing food and medical supplies to Gaza in international waters. 9 people are murdered including an American from New York. Add to it the numerous assassinations such as last year's embarrassment in Dubai, and you get the picture, even without the overtly racist and apartheid statements coming from Israel's rabbis.

In the same period of time, the United States, officially a secular nation but predominantly Christian, attacked El Salvador (1980), Libya (1981), Sinai (1982), Lebanon (1982 1983), Egypt (1983), Grenada (1983), Honduras (1983), Chad (1983), Persian Gulf (1984), Libya (1986) , Bolivia (1986), Iran (1987), Persian Gulf (1987), Kuwait (1987), Iran (1988), Honduras (1988), Panama (1988), Libya (1989), Panama (1989), Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru (1989), Philippines (1989), Panama (1989-1990), Liberia (1990), Saudi Arabia (1990), Iraq (1991), Zaire (1991), Sierra Leone (1992), Somalia (1992), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1993 to present), Macedonia (1993), Haiti (1994), Macedonia (1994), Bosnia (1995), Liberia (1996), Central African Republic (1996), Albania (1997), Congo/Gabon (1997), Sierra Leon (1997), Cambodia (1997), Iraq (1998), Guinea/Bissau (1998), Kenya/Tanzania (1998 to 1999), Afghanistan/Sudan (1998), Liberia (1998), East Timor (1999), Serbia (1999), Sierra Leon (2000), Yemen (2000), East Timor (2000), Afghanistan (2001 to present), Yemen (2002), Philippines (2002) , Cote d'Ivoire (2002), Iraq (2003 to present), Liberia (2003), Georgia/Djibouti (2003), Haiti (2004), Georgia/Djibouti/Kenya/Ethiopia/Yemen/Eritrea War on Terror (2004), Pakistan drone attacks (2004 to present), Somalia (2007), South Ossetia/Georgia (2008), Syria (2008), Yemen (2009), Haiti (2010), etc. etc. etc. etc.

So, who is the danger to world peace?

here is the title posted below the video link i present below;

Frank De Martini WTC architect explains it would resist jetliner impacts At the time the Twin Towers were built;


https://youtu.be/gYSV2OxAvZE

this writer is well known in certain circles due to his web site and his book series based upon what he thinks is coming our way and perhaps soon. here he speaks about the threatened civil war potentially coming soon to a neighborhood near you;


A new paradigm has become evident in both the demographics and the political landscape of 21st Century America. Our nation’s major political camps are becoming increasingly polarized. The differences between the more populous and liberal coastal regions versus the lightly-populated and conservative inland regions are growing more sharp with every passing year. In the long term, a clash of wills between the Red and the Blue is almost inevitable. Whether this will result in conflict or in eventual partition and accommodation remains to be seen. Trouble might occur as early as the year 2020. Or it might be a full generation away. But sooner or later, I can definitely see it coming. This rift might result in a Second Civil War. If and when it comes, this war will not be on racial lines nor on economic lines per se. Rather, It will be a war of world views.

Even a liberal and profoundly statist magazine like The Atlantic has recognized that there are huge disparities between rural America and urban America. In a recent article titled Red State, Blue City, author David A. Graham pointed out there might be armed conflict between the two camps.

Another troubling change is the overt politicization of our government agencies. Recently the US FBI –once considered an unassailable paragon of the even-handed Rule of Law–has recently come under fire for harboring political schemers. These conspirators formed a secret society within the FBI that maneuvered the agency to selectively soft-pedal investigations on their friends, while ramrodding investigations on their political opponents.

The supposedly “Independent” Mueller investigations have been tainted by heavy political overtones. There are now competing camps within the FBI, the CIA, the DIA, and even the Department of the Interior. No state or Federal agency or subdivision of government can now be trusted to conform to the Constitution and its strictures. All of that went out the window, back around the turn of the Century. (The 21st Century, that is.)........http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/01.19/civilwar.html

the part i've pasted here below comes towards the end of this article that focuses mostly on stocks and money policies but is, in my mind, the most important part of the whole presentation;

Meanwhile, the ecological world continues to hurtle towards complete disaster.  This next piece of news is one we’ve covered before, but it’s once again in the headlines with some new, rather dire findings:

Building blocks of ocean food web in rapid decline as plankton productivity plunges

Dec 22, 2018

They're teeny, tiny plants and organisms but their impact on ocean life is huge.​

Phytoplankton and zooplankton that live near the surface are the base of the ocean's food system. Everything from small fish, big fish, whales and seabirds depend on their productivity.

"They actually determine what's going to happen, how much energy is going to be available for the rest of the food chain," explained Pierre Pepin, a senior researcher with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John's.

"Based on the measurements that we've been taking in this region, we've seen pretty close to 50 per cent decline in the overall biomass of zooplankton," said Pepin. "So that's pretty dramatic."

Scientists say local testing reveals half the amount of plankton in a square metre of water today. It's not just a problem here, declining plankton numbers are a global phenomenon.

(Source)

What scientists have been recording is an enormous drop in the very bottom of the entire food pyramid in the oceans of the world.  I cannot state this strongly enough; this is frightening and deserves our very highest and collective attention.  I cannot think of news much more alarming than a pronounced and continuing loss of oceanic plankton.

One does not simply wipe out the bottom of the oceanic food chain without consequences!

First they came for the insects, but I didn't realize that they were important because I hate mosquitoes and didn't really pay attention during biology.
Then they came for the phytoplankton and zooplankton, and, well, same reasons.
Then they came for all the fish in the ocean, but I switched to chicken, so no big deal, right?
Then they came for my oxygen and then it was too late...

On my recent trip to Costa Rica I leaned that even there, where it sounded vibrant and alive to me, that the insects have also begun to mysteriously and quietly disappear, mirroring the hyper-alarming decline in insects noted elsewhere across the world.

What’s going on?

Nobody really knows and I doubt anybody will ever be able to say for sure.  The natural world is a complex system with a seemingly infinite number of feedback loops in play.

But one thing we could immediately do is realize that whatever it is that we’ve been doing over the past 25 years that’s new should be stopped right away.

Any pesticides or new chemicals being used should be withdrawn from the market immediately.  That would be a sane and healthy response.

Instead the entire political and economic structure of the world is hyperventilating about creating more growth, getting stock prices to go back up, and generally acting as if human developed economic and monetary abstractions were themselves more important than anything else including reality.

So even if the central banks fold and “win the battle” by getting stocks and bonds to resume their march higher, they will assure that we “lose the war” by distracting the center mass of humanity with dreams of riches that will serve to deflect attention from the many predicaments that we face.......http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/01.19/theend.html

another picture that sums up a lot for those with small imaginations;

as you consider this picture imagine how long has it been since you felt you had a real choice;