Part of my childhood was spent downwind from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, so from a practical point of view I think the Iranians are nuts to build nuclear plants — even if they claim that its for heat and lighting.

Yeah, the French manage.
So do the Japanese, but the Japanese have excellent engineers — yet they are on an earthquake fault line. And one of their nuclear reactors was seriously scary a few years back after an earthquake occurred while a reactor was operating.

Iran is on an earthquake fault, and IIRC they’d have the Russians build their facility… (dunno where I read that…) Now, personally, I wouldn’t be very excited to have the same outfit that built Chernobyl creating my new nuclear facility, but hey — maybe I’m too snippity?

Problems remain: military and munitions can’t solve water shortages, food shortages, or problems related to population pressures and soil depletion.

So: we have new problems.
They are driven by biological factors.
They require new solutions.

Whether leadership in Congress and the WH will be courageous, bold and/or desperate enough to call bullshit on unworkable systems remains to be seen. I’m not holding my breath, but at the same time it does appear that smart people are quite fed up with the existing structures that are NOT functioning, and can’t be sustained.

Here’s hoping that BOTH Clinton and Gen Jones focus on the underlying biological, climatology, economic, and demographic data that makes for good decision-making. I define that approach as ’soft power’.

Call me picky, but it doesn’t appear that the Heritage Foundation or the Wingnut Think Tanks fundamentally grasp the very serious implications of a problem as seemingly ‘boring’ as soil degradation — whether in Niger, Thailand, Nebraska, or Brazil. Thus, they have no solutions to problems caused by depleted soils (e.g., flooding, erosion, drought, famine…).

I assume, therefore, that the Wingnut Think Tankers will oppose both Hillary Clinton and Gen Jones at every possible opportunity, aided, funded, and abetted by war profiteers and drug cartels who like things just the chaotic, dysfunctional way they are.

But bullets don’t feed people.
And even exporting relief programs doesn’t work over time; just adds to destabilizing dynamics.
Therein lies the opportunity for Clinton, Jones, and Obama.
Because the old, munitions-based ’solutions’ haven’t worked, they’ll have to try something different.