USA - Did you ever imagine that we would be facing an epic shortage of workers all over the globe in the second half of 2021? Right now, thousands upon thousands of large companies all over the world are absolutely desperate for workers. They are raising wages, they are throwing in extra vacation days and they are even doing away with drug tests, but they still can’t find enough able-bodied people to hire.

GERMANY - High demand and the transition to green power has left much of Europe at risk of blackouts. In Germany, state authorities are teaching the public to heat their homes with candles and get used to “cooking without electricity.” State authorities in North-Rhine Westphalia will hold their first ‘Disaster Protection Day’ on Saturday, with instructors in the city of Bonn teaching citizens how to get by “in the event of a long power failure.” An advert by the federal Civil Protection Office gives a hint of what’s in store, and features an elderly woman wearing several layers of clothing, heating her apartment with candles burning under an upturned flower pot and sealing her windows with reflective foil. The Civil Protection Office on Friday unveiled an ad campaign focusing on all aspects of crisis preparation, and will soon release a targeted strategy addressing “stockpiling, extreme weather, power failure and emergency baggage.” Meanwhile, officials will present a new book entitled ‘Cooking Without Electricity’ at the event in Bonn on Saturday.

USA - An endless tsunami of illegal drugs is turning the streets of our major cities into desolate wastelands, and yet our politicians seem powerless to do anything about it. In fact, in some of our biggest cities the politicians actually don’t seem interested in doing anything about it. As I will discuss below, open air drug markets are operating freely right in the heart of New York City at this moment. Dealers and addicts go about their business without the slightest fear that the police will do anything. Meanwhile, the national death toll just continues to rise. An all-time record 93,000 Americans died as a result of a drug overdose last year. That was an increase of nearly 30 percent from the year before, and authorities are already warning that there will be another huge jump when the final numbers for 2021 come in. If you are searching for meaning in life, our society doesn’t have any answers for you.

USA - Dozens of cargo ships anchored off the coasts of Los Angeles [100 ships] and New York face shocking wait times of up to four weeks and railyards and trucking routes are hopelessly clogged due to the lack of manpower to unload goods – with an expert warning that the government needs to intervene or face spiraling inflation and unemployment. The backlog of billions of dollars of toys, clothing, electronics, vehicles, and furniture comes as the demand for consumer goods hit its highest point in history as consumers stay home instead of spending money on travel and entertainment. Supply chains have lagged far behind consumer demand due to a lack of manpower at American ports and the restrictions that came with the COVID-19 outbreak early last year. These constraints, which include social distancing and mandatory quarantines, have severely limited the number and ability of port workers to do their jobs. That’s what we’ve heard on the mainstream media!

CHINA - What would happen if the country where most of America’s manufacturing base was outsourced back in the days of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were to shut off the industrial power supply? The world is about to find out. China, reports indicate, has slashed the electricity supply to 16 of its 31 provincial jurisdictions in recent days. Many of these jurisdictions are factory-heavy, meaning everything that has a “Made in China” label slapped on it is now at risk of seeing shortages. Beijing has suddenly decided that the energy it has been using for decades to power all of the world’s outsourced manufacturing is “unclean” and must be limited. This has created waves of rolling blackouts that are interfering with production at a time when the supply chain is already suffering due to Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions. Is anyone really buying that China is suddenly worried about the environment?

UK - Laura Becker was female until 18, male at 20 and female again at 22. She feels there needs to be more awareness of the mental health issues many young ‘trans’ people face, before others damage their body needlessly as she did. In recent times, liberals’ desire to embrace the burgeoning trans movement has meant that if someone says they’re trans, people have been encouraged to support them unconditionally.

USA - Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all wake up someday and the pandemic is finally behind us? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go back to a world with no masks, no restrictions and no mandates? I know that is what so many of you want. I want it too. Just like millions of others, we are ready for this long nightmare to finally end. Unfortunately, we are now being told that this crisis is never going to have an end. COVID is apparently going to be with us indefinitely, and that means that we will be talking about masks, restrictions and mandates for years on end. I know that must sound extremely depressing, because it sounded extremely depressing when I wrote it. We are supposed to be “the land of the free”, and people should be able to make their own health decisions without any government oppression. Unfortunately, we are seeing a trend toward authoritarianism all over the globe, and many believe that it will only get worse in the years ahead. We desperately need change, because right now officials all over the world are telling us that there will never be a return to “normal”, and that would be a very bleak future indeed.

EUROPE - French President Emmanuel Macron was right when he said Tuesday that Europe should stop being naive and quit relying primarily on the United States for its defense. Indeed, it’s in the interests of both the United States and Europe to realize that. In one sense, this is nothing new from Macron. He has previously called for Europe to aspire to “strategic autonomy” and has argued for a “true European army” for years. Macron evidently believes that Europe weakens itself by relying on US arms and military might for its defense, and thus is unable to push for its own interests even in its own neighborhood. The recent announcement that Australia was ripping up a deal with France to build new submarines to pursue a new deal with Britain and the United States was thus only the spark that lit the fire. The kindling of fundamental strategic disagreement was laid long ago.The United States and Europe would both benefit from an alliance of true equals rather than maintaining the current imbalance. We are both stronger together if we are both strong separately.

RUSSIA - For the past 500 years European nations—Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, France and, briefly, Germany—were able to plunder much of the planet by projecting their naval power overseas. The ultimate inheritor of this naval imperial project is the United States, which, with the new addition of air power, and with its large aircraft carrier fleet and huge network of military bases throughout the planet, is supposedly able to impose Pax Americana on the entire world. Or, rather, was able to do so... But now this imperial project is at an end.

ISRAEL - "Israel is eager to contribute to the world - despite being in the toughest neighborhood on earth. We are an ancient nation. Returned - to our ancient homeland. Revived - our ancient language. Restored - our ancient sovereignty. Israel is a miracle of Jewish revival. Israelis don't wake up in the morning thinking about conflict. Israelis, like everyone else, want to lead a good life, take care of our families, and build a better world for our children. Which means that from time to time, we might need to leave our jobs, say goodbye to our families, and rush to the battlefield to defend our country - just like my friends and I have had to do ourselves."

NIGERIA - As Nigeria marks its 61st anniversary of independence, its citizens are stuck in a general anomie of despondency. This is as a result of general insecurity in the country, rising unemployment and high-cost of living. It is also an age of anxiety, with many measures of Nigeria’s socioeconomic progress painting a picture of a nation in great distress. Nigeria’s economy has been stagnant, growing at less than 1% cumulatively during the past six years, far below population growth of 2.6%. It also has about 40% of the population of about 200 million living below the poverty line. The country is equally beset by security and political challenges. Boko Haram insurgents still operate in the North-East. In the North-West, bandits are overwhelming the security forces. In North-Central Nigeria, deadly clashes between farmers and herders continue. And separatist and irredentist agitations resonate in the South-East and the South-West of the country. A lack of political leadership denies the country of the possibility of meaningful growth and critical citizenry.

UNITED NATIONS - Global industry groups have warned Governments of a "transport system collapse". The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 65 million workers and 80 percent of world's merchant shipping fleet, issued the warning in an open letter to the United Nations general assembly on Wednesday. The statement, which was signed by the International Air Transport Association, the International Road Transport Union and the International Transport Workers' Federation, claimed there could be a "global transport system collapse" if world Governments failed to restore pre-pandemic levels of travel movement or give priority vaccine notices to transport workers.

USA - Shutdown of the US Government could happen this week - and the results could be extremely damaging to the US economy, and would "help China", it's been claimed. A US Government shutdown is imminent as lawmakers in Washington DC fight over funding ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Democrats and Republicans have been arguing over a bill to pass funding for a new fiscal year that begins on Friday. On Monday, the Senate voted 48 to 50 and was not able to pass a government funding bill that would allow the progression of President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion federal overhaul.

CHINA - The UK'S fuel shortage pales in comparison to China's deepening energy crisis, as experts warn power cuts to the country's major industrial hubs threaten to upset the global economy. A crackdown on greenhouse emissions, the rising price of coal and increased demand for energy have led to one of the nation's biggest energy crises yet. China's industrial hubs, in particular, have borne the brunt of the outages, with officials in Guangdong province urging businesses to limit their power usage. Sudden power cuts and energy rationing have affected homes, businesses and factories, including manufacturers supplying tech giants Apple and Tesla. According to Ron Bousso, a Reuters writer who specialises in the oil and gas industries, the situation threatens to spill over into the rest of the global economy. International tech powers like Tesla rely on Chinese manufacturers for many key technologies and parts, which means their supply lines could be disrupted as a result.

USA - The chip crisis turned dire when the coronavirus hit. The chips, which are made by just a handful of firms, are notoriously hard to produce. And there just were not enough for everyone. Manufacturing the tiny chips is extremely complicated. It includes hundreds of steps, takes months to complete, and requires factories worth billions. "We commit to building a US-EU partnership ... to design and produce the most powerful and resource-efficient semiconductors," the White House said in a statement [on 29 Sept 2021 in Pittsburgh for the first meeting of the "EU-US Trade and Technology Council" (TTC)]. The elephant in the negotiation room is how to deal with China.