Generational Dynamics Forum - New Site

tim wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 11:10 am Iran is in an awakening era, where the younger generation is seeking to take power and install their own values in the country.

Protesters clash with security forces in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar; Pezeshkian: Government ‘can’t handle this alone’

Security forces clash with protesters in Iran’s main market as at least 35 killed in demonstrations

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Protesters angry over Iran’s ailing economy conducted a sit-in Tuesday at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, witnesses said, with security forces ultimately firing tear gas and dispersing demonstrators as the rest of the market shut down.

The protest at the Grand Bazaar, the beating heart for centuries of both Iran’s economic and political life, represents the latest signal that the demonstrations likely are to continue as the country’s rial currency fell to a record low Tuesday. Already, violence surrounding the protests has killed at least 35 people with authorities detaining more than 1,200 others, activists abroad say.

Meanwhile, the situation is likely to worsen as Iran’s Central Bank drastically reduced the subsidized exchange rates for dollars it offers to importers and producers in the country. That likely will see merchants pass on price hikes in the coming days for goods directly onto consumers, whose life savings already have dwindled over years of international sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic.

It was America's 1960s Awakening that united Protestants, Catholics and Jews, and cemented our support for Israel. (19-Sep-2006)Summary
William G. McLoughlin and other historians have long recognized America's "Great Awakenings" as times of great social turmoil and religious revival. Each Awakening resolved the turmoil by setting new priorities for the nation, and the most recent awakening solidified our support for Israel. Awakenings are a pillar of Generational Dynamics, and they occur in every nation and society throughout history. The most recent Awakenings among Muslim nations have solidified their desire to eliminate Israel.

Generational Dynamics predicts that there'll be a "clash of civilizations" world war, pitting the Muslim world (with China as an ally) against the Western World (with Russia and India as allies). This war was launched by events and social changes that occurred decades ago (and, some would say, centuries ago). Nothing can be done to prevent it today.

Although we can't predict the scenario leading up to that war, current events make it clear that Palestine and Israel will be the epicenter (or at least AN epicenter) of that war. This really shouldn't be surprising, since Palestine and Jerusalem have been the epicenter of many "world wars" for millennia.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that Israel is the only issue leading to a world war. America actually has signed a large number of mutual defense treaties with other countries as well. These include agreements with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the ANZUS agreement with Australia and New Zealand, and the NATO agreement with all of Europe, as well as with Israel.

More and more, I've been telling people lately the following: Treasure the time you have left, and use it to prepare yourself, your family, your community and your nation.

We can't predict the time frame for this war, but with the aggressiveness of Iran in its intent to eliminate Israel, with China's increasing economic instability, with Russia's increasing social instability, and with the the world population's increasing anxiety and fear over violence and terrorism, the time cannot be too far off.

Trump team puts a target on Cuba, with threats and oil blockade

No place was hit harder than Cuba by the shock waves that Saturday morning’s U.S. military seizure of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro sent throughout Latin America and the world.

Within hours of the operation — long before the government in Havana acknowledged it — phone calls and texts across the island spread the news that dozens of elite Cuban security forces had been killed guarding Maduro.

But by the time it finally released a statement late Sunday saying that 32 of its military and security personnel were dead in Caracas, the Cuban government had bigger problems on its hands.

Both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear over the weekend that the collapse of Cuba’s communist government was not only a likely side benefit of Maduro’s ouster but a goal.

“I don’t think we need [to take] any action,” Trump said as he flew back to Washington from his extended Florida holiday break. Without Maduro and the oil supplies Venezuela provided, he said, “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall.”

How the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Reinforces Xi’s Vision of Power in Asia

The U.S. assault on Venezuela points to a world where big powers seek to call the shots in their regions, an idea Beijing knows well.

‘Greenland belongs to its people’: European leaders unite over Trump’s threats to annex territory

European leaders urge Trump to respect Greenland’s borders

Stephen Miller Asserts U.S. Has Right to Take Greenland

In a CNN interview, the Trump aide also echoed the president’s intent to run Venezuela as he laid out a case for the United States to control weaker states by flexing its military might.

The global resource war is going kinetic

Today, the unipolar period which followed the end of the cold war is coming to an end. It’s being replaced by a tri-polar world if you count the three greatest military powers: the USA, Russia and China. Or, it's a bipolar world if you consider it to be a contest between the USA and its allies, and the emerging BRICS bloc.

In my humble opinion, (news flash), the US naval fleet currently assembled in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific is not actually about stopping drug boats. It's about securing the largest oil reserve in the world for U.S. refineries. It’s also a message to Russia and China that the USA is exerting a new economic Monroe Doctrine, with the Americas in our zone of control.

I'm also wondering about the timing of our recent attacks on the Muslim terror camps in northern Nigeria. The Christians have been enduring massacres in Nigeria for over a decade, and now we are suddenly taking notice. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe not. In any event, both with the Caribbean and Pacific drug boats, the recent attack on the alleged Venezuelan drug port, and the recent attacks inside Nigeria, America is flexing its kinetic muscles and putting our adversaries on notice. I'm not cheering on this development, I'm just noting it as a fact.

Navigator wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 12:23 am The take-out of Maduro makes great TV, but, unfortunately, resolving the situation in the US's favor will be complex.

Any dictator puts echelons of cronies in power below them. Just taking out the dictator does not take away the power these people have. Plus, they and their supporters are usually the only ones with weapons.

It would be great if Venezuela transitioned to regular democracy, but all the Chavez/Maduro cronies would lose what power/influence/wealth they now enjoy. I'm afraid they aren't going to go anywhere without a fight.

Similar situation in Iran for those that want freedom/overthrow of the Khameni regime.

FullMoon wrote: Sat Dec 27, 2025 12:03 pm

I'd like to think that in a Crisis people learn that a particular flavor of conflict is considered ugly and the cultures involved squish that form of conflict. Optimistic,

I've seen some otherwise well educated and intelligent people say something like this. Probably because they think this time is different. We're now more advanced and sophisticated to bring about the kind of destruction that's happened EVERY time in previous eras. And so they are also guilty of not providing enough resistance to the trend towards destruction besides looking away and saying that it's not bad enough and we'll be fine after this rough patch.