How does one NOT get along with a Golden Retriever? Lovely breed! In fact, I'm pretty convinced that if everyone owned a Golden, the collective consciousness would have raised a long time ago. Pure joy (especially with socks and tennis balls)
Actually I was talking about slew of events that would result in breaking of USA in 3/5 unions in 2028-32. However, I was very angry and sad during the whole day today . Even now I don't have the required mental calmness. I will expand on it later.
Actually I was talking about slew of events that would result in breaking of USA in 3/5 unions in 2028-32. However, I was very angry and sad during the whole day today . Even now I don't have the required mental calmness. I will expand on it later.
Asian, it's interesting that you speak of that as I had two dreams recently of the U.S.A. separating. The first dream was the U.S. splitting into 5 mini-nations by the late 2020s and the second dream was every state in the union had split into two countries, one-half being red and the other half being blue, and it collapsed the economy; everything was in chaos.
I deeply hope that the dreams were metaphorical in nature and not literal. I'm not for sure if I could withstand the experience of a nation collapsing like the Balkans and the Soviet Union did back in the late 80s, early 90s.
Read an interesting international opinion piece in The Week (paywall I believe - http://theweek.com/print/406664/62099/article ). From the article; "Iran and Israel are on the verge of all-out war, said Richard Spencer in The Times (U.K.)." (Note that they quote several pieces by European and Middle East news outlets.)
An Israeli columnist argues that Netanyahu is trying to start a war. "Retaliating against an Iranian offensive is one thing, said Nahum Barnea in Yedioth Ahronoth(Israel), but purposely provoking such an attack is another entirely. Yet that is what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be doing."
In the past, the US has been able to moderate Israel's worst instincts but the Trump administration seems to be cheering them on. A war in the Middle East would cause a deep world wide recession through the disruption in the flow of oil. It may also split the western alliance once and for all with Europe going their own way.
Gracesinger, I wasn't really thinking about a full-on Logan movie scenario here. Some people here may be willing to shelter others if needed, but that's something best discussed if somebody actually offers, with whatever conditions they feel are appropriate.
I was thinking more along the lines of general warnings and advice.
Maria, your predictions are amazing. Care to offer more? I am impressed.
America is at a cross-road right now. What was needed at this time is self-less visionary leadership. Of course trump belongs on the total opposite side. Which is going to impact America in a horrible way. His administration's decisions like trade war(also getting involved with the war in the ME in future) will impact American economy in a bad way. Dollar will lose much of its value in the next decade and eventually cease to be the reserve currency of the world. The fall of American hegemony will give rise to a multi-polar world. Localization is one of the main features of the upcoming age. No one can stop it. But, with a bad leadership America's entry to the localization process will be full of turmoil.
I agree with the Zoron's blade runner vision. Right now what is happening(increase of mass shooting events and racial violence) is the beginning of that scenario. Eventually the political structure will implode, both in the Europe and in the USA.
Asian, I try to explain to my conservative friends about the danger of the US $ losing its status as the reserve currency. You can already see China maneuvering in that direction. I tell them that our standard of living will take a huge hit but they just don't get it. They think it's 1946 and the US can more or less set the global agenda and everyone sits up and listens. We are an empire in decline but also in denial about that decline.
Yes, Paul the time is different. The transfer of power from the British empire to America happened with mutual consent of both of these parties. Not only that, America inherited a western dominated world where eastern nations were laying in ruins. The pendulum has moved eastwards this time however, China's rise is the beginning.
Also due to trump, allies are angry and everyone is ganging up on America. By the time people will understand it will be too late. The post-WWII world order based on international rules will be destroyed. The trade war is a catalyst here. It will again increase during upcoming lunar eclipse.
The economy is already out of hand I'm afraid(it is already going on as said before people will get another shock before end of the year. It gradually increases through 2019 and crash at the beginning of 2020). You can stretch a debt-based economy for so long. However the middle east war will be a big reason for bad economic condition. A large amount of money will be diverted for that. Dollar not a being reserve currency is not full economic matter, wrong foreign policy of trump administration will be largely responsible for that.
Eventual citizens will rise up in protest against that, in demand for that money to be used for building infrastructure. The universities will be centers of new civil movement, which will again cause massive harm to their reputation. Foreign students will avoid American universities in future. That time is however, is still few years away from now.
Events happening now are confirming the potential mixed North Korea-Iran timeline that I sensed, that has the potential to end up in WWIII if it isn't stopped. The main points in the timeline are:
1. Talks between US and North Korea fail. Many people assume that they were some sort of success because Trump said so. However, the meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un was the beginning of the talks, rather than the end, as it's the custom. The talks have been happening since, and recently Bolton has confirmed that they're not going well.
2. Iran and North Korea discuss nuclear weapons and have some sort of agreement in order that Iran may get nuclear weapons quickly. This has happened recently, with the North Korean foreign minister recently visiting Iran.
3. After the failure of the North Korean talks, the White House gives North Korea an ultimatum or face the military option for de-nuclearisation. (This hasn't happened yet).
4. At the same time, the US does military exercises in the Middle East in order to intimidate Iran.
5. China and Russia see the combination of US postures on North Korea and Iran as threatening to start WWIII. They give a strongly worded ultimatum at the UN, making their red lines clear, the most significant being that they will not tolerate a military invasion of North Korea or Iran.
4. At this point, several EU countries will propose to mediate to resolve the conflict diplomatically. Things could step back from the brink, or they may not.
I just read Maria's post after looking at a CNBC picture of Putin seated next to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The expressions on both men and their body language are so striking and seem to confirm everything in Maria's post: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/07/russia-slams-us-sanctions-against-iran-promises-to-save-nuclear-deal.html
I also just so happened to be taking a break from Ronan Farrow's War on Peace, and found Maria's #4 heart-breaking. I hope the EU can pull off diplomacy for America, too, because Farrow's very dense book explains exactly why we don't have any diplomats left.
Maria I am glad that you have posted this today. Iran and North Korea have both been on my mind and in visions over the past few weeks.
What you've posted in roughly what I'm seeing too. I'm getting the sense that the US may start a war on two fronts. One with Iran and one with North Korea. When I think of this I see tangled rope. It's all intertwined.
The greed and arrogance of the Trump government will lower US standing in the world and it will now awaken the Chinese dragon. These wars, especially one on China's doorstep will eventually push China into showing it's strength. I see that the Trump government will continue to think that it will invade or sanction any country that it sees fit with continuing loss of support around the world. (It's already happening the EU has told businesses to ignore US sanctions against Iran and continue to trade with Iran). The US will be seen as the bully boy disrupting the peace in the world. The loss of power on the world stage will come as a major shock and will shake the US to its core. This is a war they simply cannot win. At this point the visions I am seeing is that countries around the world, especially Europe, will tell the US to remove it's bases, missiles and weapons to protect that countries people as it will be a target for an attack. One country will feel strong enough to do so and others will follow. Britain will stand by America's side to the very end until the UK breaks apart itself.
Iran on its own will be suprisingly strong and combat ready which will shock Israel and the US. The Trump government has brought in sanctions again so that they can weaken Iran for occupation. Dare I say it? There are more countries than just Russia and China willing to back Iran. I get the feeling that Iran likes to be seen as the weaker country. Psychological warfare. Be under no illusions this is a strong and capable country. This in turn will encourage others in the area to say they have had enough of US interference in the Middle East.
My visions of missiles being launched from a hillside are not subsiding. I cannot see any outcome other than war. I don't see a nuclear war. But I see one which the US will lose. I don't see the US being occupied either or under control of another country. But it will be severely weakened by economic turmoil, constant war and loss of allies. If Trump has any sense he will back off from both North Korea and Iran.
Sorry if this seems a total downer on the US but looking at the replies before I think we can all agree that there are major changes coming.
Celticwitch, what I see is that developments depend on how far war extends. If things remain limited to a regional Middle East conflict, or even two conflicts in very separate areas, we won't see nuclear weapons used or any attempt to attack/occupy mainland US territory.
However, if things go all the way to WWIII, which remains a possibility, at some point nuclear weapons will be used. Not in large scale, as in the MAD scenario, but to target specific military objectives. Also, in a WWIII scenario, certainly the US losing would be a potential outcome, and that would happen with attacks to US mainland. WWIII would not start if the winner wasn't hanging in the balance, that is, both sides could win or lose.
The Pentagon "gamed out" a war with Iran over a decade ago - the US lost. Iran just has too many advantages including straddling the Straights of Hormuz where much of the world's oil tanker traffic goes. War game was "Millennium Challenge" if anyone wants to look it up.
Also, I can't see a war because the military knows just how bad it could be. They "slow walked" plans to strike NK before and I would expect them to do the same here. If push came to shove they might just disobey.
(Posted this once before but it disappeared.)
I'm bumping this thread in hopes that Maria and others will update us on their predictions.
I'm especially curious what others are seeing regarding cyber attacks and the potentially catastrophic loss of life this could entail. What cyber weapons are Iran, China, Russia, and/or North Korea holding in their back pockets, and will they use them? And will Trump order the launch of something as destructive as Stuxnet, or worse?
Speaking of, Trump has spurious business links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (from that bizarre hotel job in Azerbaijan). In May, an Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported that the Revolutionary Guards wanted to see the U.S. scrap its nuclear deal. Its dissolution would make Rohani vulnerable for having supported it in the first place, and his "plans to curb the economic activity of the Guards will come to an end."
I've been meaning to post something more on this thread for a while but my sense of where things were heading kept shifting around - I think lots of things have been happening "behind the curtains" in the past month.
It's true that war with Iran would be a strategic nightmare - it has always been. That's why the people living there today are mostly the descendants of the people that have always lived there. It's a very difficult area to try to conquer. However, I don't think the US would attempt to conquer Iran in any conventional sense. What they can attempt, and where I feel things are heading, is a limited military operation in order to change 2 things: (1) Destroy any facilities capable of any nuclear programs (2) Give them enough trouble at home that they will call back their troops in Syria in order to deal with the situation in Iran. They also hope that those two things, combined with a propaganda campaign and support to anti-regime groups, can precipitate regime change in Iran. The problem with that plan is that it can easily escalate, and it's very likely to.
Vestralux, the question of cyber warfare is a complicated one, so I'll start a new thread on that. Where it comes to Iran, they have some good hackers, but they aren't a match for the US. When they have successfully attacked the US (the GPS attack on a military drone and then a boat), they had help from Russian hackers, who are very good.
It's true that scraping the nuclear deal, and the recent scraping of the old "friendship treaty" that amounted to very little but still put some limits on the sanctions that the US could impose on its own on Iran, has favored the fundamentalist hardliners in Iran. I don't get that Trump particularly wanted that. His main business interest here is the wide Israeli interests of the Kushner family, that as everybody knows, are intertwined with the business interests of the Trump family.
What all of this is leading to is a final showdown. Assad in Syria is determined to re-take the Golan Heights, and Iran has decided to help. Iran doesn't even recognize Israel as a country. And the US is preparing to respond not just by helping Israel defend the Golan Heights, but also attacking Iran. Right now, my feeling is that the main event is going to start at the end of this month. But it won't last long, just one wave of military operations, and then the US won't be doing much for the rest of the year. And in the meantime, Iran and Syria are going to re-group and try some guerrilla warfare, they won't be leaving in peace the Golan Heights. That's going to set things up for a bigger confrontation next year.
Maria, Thank you for responding. You've been pretty accurate and well informed as well. I wonder if anyone else, perhaps Bright Opal would weigh in. She's been picking up signals from that part of the world.
Maria, I inadvertently missed your post on the 6th, but I'm glad to see it tonight.
I've been seeing timeline instability in the Middle East where Iran is a central player, though there are shifts occurring which extend beyond Iran's borders. My post may be more appropriate to another thread (one specifically about the Middle East), but I'm placing it here for now. Let me know if there's a better place for this discussion.
I sense that axis powers are allying out of convenience and that certain of their movements will be Trump-dependent. We may see him appear to act assertively or claim a position with regard to the region, but I sense that he has too many competing interests and is at risk of being painfully checked.
Some questions:
1. Can anyone pick up a future map of Syria? (2-3 years out from now, for example.)
If so, does it appear whole, or has it been divided?
2. Is anyone able to see Erik Prince's organizational efforts in the region?
[If Israeli connections (Mossad or otherwise) show up, it may still be important to probe further out.]
3. Is anyone able to pick up the energy or morale of the secular-leaning Persian/Iranian population?
If so, can you follow this collective energy outward in time? How does it feel 10, 20, or 30 years in the future?