Lucky for you. The local Jazz station just went off the air. Good thing I have a decent collection of Swing and Blues CDs (I hate smooth jazz).

And, yes. Now is a very good time to stay away from American Politics. I'm feeling pretty nihilistic about the current state of affairs, and I don't think I'm alone.

Nihilism is a bit extreme; however disgust across the board is quite appropriate.

Best that we leave the current political mess out of it. As for the OP, I think it hits the mark dead on. That is a pretty astute observation of how potentially Western civilization could end. However, the one nit that I'll pick is that I don't it's entirely accurate to lump that many nations together under such a large umbrella.

Thanks, Phaedrus. I don't have expertise in societal collapse, but I feel that examining historical precedents is probably about the best thing we can do. Too many TEOWAWKI people prepare based on their fears rather than knowledge about the rise and fall of human civilizations.

I'm glad someone pointed out the irresponsible reporting that misrepresents NASA's role in the study.

I spat coffee when I read this. You've been super-funny (at least, to me) in the last couple of weeks.

Agreed. Thanks for the smiles, Bing!!