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resource scramble

saturday, june 13th, 2026

If you learned anything from this week’s extravaganza in Beijing, it is that Donald Trump is aggressively re-aligning world relations so that the USA does not end up one of the losers in the global resource scramble that lurks darkly behind all current events. China does not intend to be an eventual loser, either, though it has lost a lot of traction lately. The Eurolands are certainly the main losers, embracing loserdom as the old and sick long for death. India and some of the BRICs countries are looking a little loser-ish just now. Trump has done so much damage to libtardery that the Democrats will need a decade of uninterrupted power to undo it, which they're not going to get.

The primary resource all nations scramble for is oil. Without lavish supplies of oil, you can’t have an advanced techno-industrial economy and, as the feckless Eurolanders learned the hard way, there really isn’t an adequate substitute for oil. The flow of oil depends on economically producible reserves of oil country-by-country, but also on geographic advantage, as we are learning just now in the Hormuz crisis.

“Europe’s crude oil production started its permanent decline in 2001. Asia-Pacific’s production hit a maximum in 2010, and it has been declining since. Africa’s peak oil production took place in 2008, and it has been mostly declining since.” — Gail Tverberg, OurFiniteWorld.com

Also, turns out, the peak oil story is still real, despite fifteen years of shale oil miracles. The Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, are probably past peak. American shale oil is in the peaking zone, too — the Permian Basin in Texas is running short of sweet spots. The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (AMWR) is open for leasing, but it is expensive to drill and produce in the harsh arctic region and the US Geological Survey estimates recoverable reserves there between 7.7 – 10 billion barrels — America consumes roughly 7.5 billion barrels-a-year, so. . . .

There’s Canada, of course, and its tar sands, but the Great White North these days leans rather hostilely towards its neighbor to the south (us). Otherwise, North America is pretty fully explored oil-wise. There can’t be a whole lot of hidden, un-tapped “elephant” fields out there. On the plus side, America enjoys its geographic advantage, comfortably cushioned between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, far from the madding crowd of Eurasia.

We have lately trumpeted our supposed acquisition of Venezuela, but projected production of US companies there looking ahead several years would be under a million barrels-a-day while the US uses 20.5-million barrels a day. As for Venezuela’s jungle-bound oil sands, well, for now, fuggeddabowdit.

Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources puts its commercially recoverable oil resources (with current technology and prices) at around 80-billion barrels, which is a lot, and leaves Russia in a theoretically favorable place for the short term, anyway. China uses about 17-million barrels-a-day and imports about 70-percent of that. Its imports of Iranian oil are substantial but obscured in official statistics due to the evasion of US sanctions. The Hormuz blockade has put a hurt on China.

Here’s how the global resource scramble translates into geopolitical behavior: As has been evident for some time, US interests are increasingly alienated from Euroland’s interests, and better aligned with Russia’s interests. Europe is demonstrably insane these days, roiling with loose talk as it whirls around the drain. Russia, under V. Putin, looks more like the adult in the room. Even Russia’s military operation in Ukraine looks rational if you consider how the EU and the CIA started the damn thing in the first place circa 2014 for the very purpose of provoking Russia.

Mr. Trump has yearned to normalize relations with Russia since he stepped on-stage in 2016, to the great consternation of America’s neocons, CIA shadow-meisters, and the born-again communists running the Democratic Party (who seem to resent Russia ditching Marxism-Leninism thirty-five years ago). This week, the US and China have mutually proposed becoming “partners” rather than rivals on the world scene. We will surely remain mutually wary, but apparently things have changed.

Most urgently, China would like its oil imports from the Persian Gulf restored, and the obvious way to make that happen would be for them to lean on Iran to stop screwing around and come to terms with the US — give up the enriched uranium and stop laying jihad on everybody near and far. We’ll know soon enough if China will do that for us, and we have some goodies promised for them, Nvidia chips, soybeans, and more.

Mr. Trump is rearranging the global game-board bigly, and the net result will be the sorting-out of winners and losers. Iran is the poster boy for that. It could go either way for them, soon, and rather sharply. If Iran’s jihad-happy leaders just quit FAFOing, they have the chance to re-enter the global community as an advanced modern economy with a comfortable standard of living. Or, the US could just blow up what’s left there. China will probably deliver that message forcefully in the days ahead.

There remains, however, the dirty business of America’s domestic enemies, of whom we learn more and more each week. This week, it was the testimony of “whistleblower” CIA agent James Erdman that the CIA worked sedulously to conceal the true origins of Covid-19. It looks pretty much like what half of America has suspected all along: that Covid was a trip laid on the nation by its own Deep State (mainly the CIA), in concert with the rogue Democratic Party, for the express purpose of queering the 2020 election.

Related seditious operations apparently continue to this very hour. Former CIA Director John Brennan told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace this week: “There’s still a legion of professionals in the law enforcement environment, the Department of Justice, as well as the CIA and other places — the ones who are refusing to follow politically motivated prosecutions, those who are refusing to support any type of political activities on the part of the Trump administration. . . .” Did he just admit that the conspiracy he kicked off in 2016 is still ongoing? And that he is an active party to it? I think so. Do you think Joe DiGenova noticed that down in the DOJ’s Southern District of Florida?

Just as astoundingly, this week former FBI Director James Comey told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that he “still speaks regularly” to current FBI employees. Say, what. . . ? He palavers with the very agency that is investigating him for serious felonies, such as threatening the life of the US president? Sounds a little out-of-order, ya think? Does he long to spend the rest of his life as captain of the ping-pong team at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary?

Last year we mounted a GiveSendGo campaign to help Nurse / Midwife Kathie Breault pay her legal fees after “Joe Biden’s” DOJ indicted her for giving Covid vax cards to people who did not receive Covid-19 vaccinations so they would not be fired from their jobs under the Covid mandates. Kathie, age 67, was forced into a plea deal to avoid prison, but she faces a $10,000 fine. So, I have reactivated her GiveSendGo campaign, and urge you to consider helping her pay this fine. Click on: the Kathie Breault Legal Defense Fund.

© 5.15.2026 by James Howard Kunstler, "ClusterFuck Nation".

A Day In The Life.

Up at 8:30a on Saturday, a warm, 63°F, cloudy sky, breezy morning, I made coffee, fired-up the Win-7 Pentium HP Desktop to let its 32 million lines of code load, had breakfast, had a couple smokes in the garage and checked the leftover errands list. Zero. I scanned the weather and the breaking news websites, tuned into a "CP Show" Podcast 9-12 on local WSBA-910, and relaxed for the morning. Already 85° and climbing fast to 90°+

I may be old, but I got to see America before it went to shit.

After lunch, I did some small chores, grabbed a 2hr nap on the LR couch, and watched the F-1 GP Monaco Qualifying Procedure. Also, the York 52nd Street Rod Nationals East, are in town, many tens-of-thousands of them, at the massive York Fairgrounds. Hell of a severe t-storm slammed into the York area, around 5:35p. Thunder, lightning, 50-60mph winds and torrential winds. I'd just garaged my Jeep minutes before, in anticipation of 1-2" hail, observed. A true Summer storm.

Hell of a storm, with trees and power lines down all across the Susquehanna Valley, but East York wasn't affected. No TV all day, so I got news and weather from my Desktop's websites. After dinner, I was still watching F1 Monaco GP Race qualifying, until 11:30p, and bagged it for the night.

Up at 8:15a on Sunday, another clear, sunny, breezy, very warm 71° morning, I left the AC at 73° -- the humidity was oppressive outside already -- made coffee, had a couple smokes in the garage, and checked the weather and new websites. I got ready for the day, did 2 loads of laundry, skipped TV for the day and did 2 quick errands. It was very humid outside, from Saturday evening's violent t-storm, so I didn't spend much time outside, but did get a short nap in.

After dinner, I watched Discovery's "Filthy Fortunes until 11:45p, and called it Yankee Doodle. Lights out.

Up at 7a on Monday, a heavily overcast, 66° MORNING, i left the AC at 73° made coffee, and scanned the news and weather. I checked the schedule for the usual Monday down south trip, got ready for the day, and left at 12:45p.

Traffic was light, but SLOW, and I still managed to make decent time on the 4-stop trip. Back home around 2p, I unloaded, had lunch and worked on some condo chores, took the recycle/garbage bins to the curb for morning p/u, and grabbed a 2hr snooze. I watched the evening news at 6, and some race highlights from selected world-class venues, including the F1 Monaco GP (Replay). Lights out at 1a. My cleaning lady's in at 8:30a.

Up at 5:30a on Tuesday, I made coffee, checked the weather and news, and got ready for the day. JoAnne arrived around 8:30, and got to work. I stayed out of her way, got a scheduled Weis Market delivery at 11:30, got it put away, and dragged the 2 garbage/recycle bins up the driveway and into the garage. After lunch, I did some weeding in the back patio garden, took a nice 2hr nap, and enjoyed the low humidity and warm temps until 6p, when the evening news came on FNC.

I watched History's "The Mystery at Skinwalker Ranch" until 1a, and bagged it for the night.

Awake at 5aq on Wednesday, I rolled over and went back to sleep until 7:30, on Wednesday, a heavily-clouded, rainy 69° morning, left the AC at 73°, made coffee, and scanned the weather and news. Temps and humidity are going to get ugly over the next 4-5 days, but tat's Summer's opening salvo. I got ready for then day, and 2 app'ts, and left at 12 noon.

I got thru both app'ts, and headed home around 1:30p. After lunch, I checked the weather maps, and saw pretty severe t-storms heading toward the York are. Notices were posted: ***SEVERE STORM WARNING*** and ***FLASH FLOOD WARNING***, so I secured the back patio furniture as they approached. The first t-storm hit at 4:15 with tropical deluge rainfall, and the second cell hit around 4:45, with lightning, thunder and more rain deluges. I enjoyed it, but many were caught out in it -- ask Sherry how she liked it -- and somehow survived.

Skies cleared and it became a beautiful evening, as I watched the evening news and Discovery's "Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch" until 12 midnight. Lights out.

I slept-in until 9:30a on Thursday, a sunny, an already oppressively-hot, sultry, 82° morning. I left the AC at 73°, made coffee, checked email, new and the weather sites. a *** Severe Thunderstorm Watch*** was posted for late afternoon/ early evening, with heavy downpours, damaging winds and large hail; I moved the Jeep inside the garage, so I wouldn't have to scramble later. I'll do today's errands, tomorrow. Sherry called to reschedule our day together, so she wouldn't be caught in the storm, again.

I had a couple chores to do, had lunch and took a 2hr nap on the LR couch. By 6p, I watched the evening news, and switched to History's "Ancient Aliens" series until the massive, black t-storm hit the area: a big nothingburger, compared to yesterday's t-storm. We got exactly 1,432.7 drops of rain -- I counted them all! LOL -- just enough to wet the streets and mulch. I called Sherry, and went back to watching "AA" until 12:30a, and bagged it for the night.

Up at 8a on Friday, another sunny, very hot and humid, 88° morning. Forecast is for oppressive heat and severe t-storms. Hey, it's Summer in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Natch. The AC was set at 73°, I made coffee and scanned the weather and news sites. I had errands to do, but decided to stay inside, out of the heat. I can't breathe well in this weather. I had a 1p Weis Market delivery, aq nice lunch, and worked on some paperwork for an upcoming Jeep registration/ inspection/ oil change.

Although -t-storms were forecast, none occurred. I watched the evening, and switched to Discovery's "Gold Rush" until 12:30a, and unplugged.

Today begins a new week, here in the "Journal", and it's clear, so far. I'll see Sherry later today, and we'll try to get something going for us. Yabba, dabba, doo.