UK - From a business perspective, the choice between Corbyn and Johnson is one of the most dismal of the post-war age. We deserve better. What a miserable choice awaits voters on December 12. On the one hand we have the unrealistic flag-waving optimism of Boris Johnson, determined to take us out of Europe on a wing and a prayer, and on the other the reckless socialism of Comrade Corbyn. Hovering in the middle is the ineffectual liberalism of what’s her name; other than revoking article 50, nobody’s got a clue what she stands for. From a business perspective, the choice is one of the most dismal of the post-war age.

GERMANY - The country’s traditional powerhouses on the centre-left and the centre-right face a moment of reckoning. Postwar German politics has a reputation for being moderate, consensual and a touch on the dull side. But there have been moments of high drama. In November 1959, for example, the Social Democratic party (SPD) abandoned its historic ambition to replace capitalism with socialism, dropped the Marxist account of class struggle and began to pitch itself as a broad-based Volkspartei (people’s party).

EUROPE - Mario Draghi essentially failed. The outgoing president of the European Central Bank was brave, tenacious and skilful. He secured consent from Berlin for a rescue of the disintegrating Italian and Spanish debt markets in 2012. In that sense, he saved the euro. But for all his accomplishments he does not bequeath a safely-constructed monetary union to Christine Lagarde, his unlucky successor. The task was too great. The damage from the Trichet dark age and austerity overkill ran too deep. German and North European refusal to countenance fiscal union - albeit for valid constitutional reasons - leaves the euro an orphan currency with no pan-EMU budgetary mechanisms to counter economic shocks.

EUROPE - Residues from billions of doses of antibiotics, painkillers and antidepressants pose a significant risk to freshwater ecosystems and the global food chain, a new analysis said Thursday. There are growing fears that the unchecked use of antibiotics in both medicine and agriculture will have adverse effects on the environment and on human health. When animals and humans ingest medicines, up to 90 percent of active ingredients are excreted back into the environment. Many medicines are simply discarded - in the United States alone an estimated one third of the four billion drugs prescribed each year ends up as waste. Another study cited said "extremely high" concentrations of pharmaceutical products had already been detected in water ways in China, India, Israel, South Korea and the United States.

ISRAEL - The only project agreed on by Israel and Jordan that could possibly, in the foreseeable future, help save the Dead Sea from further shrinkage is stuck in a byzantine web of politics, bilateral tensions and Israeli foot-dragging. While the plan, conceived 17 years ago, gathers dust, the pace of the Dead Sea’s decline is gathering speed. Israel’s Regional Development Ministry reports that since 1976, the Dead Sea’s surface area has almost halved and its elevation has dropped more than 40 meters (130 feet) — from 390 meters (1,280 feet) below sea level to minus 434 meters (minus 1,425 feet) today.

USA - As the media are all out to get Trump, there is no way to get any valid information about the so-called impeachment. But you don’t have to pay too much attention to notice that the Democrats and the presstitutes are constantly changing the focus. The alleged whistleblower, who only had hearsay information, if that, has dropped out of the picture, being too compromised by his affliations and prior meetings with Adam Schiff during which the “whistleblowing” was planned as an attack on Trump.

USA - The House began public hearings this week, furthering the partisan move by the Democrats to impeach President Trump in a blatant abuse of constitutional authority. Representative Adam Schiff said in a press conference, “These open hearings will be an opportunity for the American people to evaluate the witnesses for themselves and also to learn firsthand about the facts of the president’s misconduct.”

USA - In a sharply divided country, here’s something many Americans agree on: It’s hard to know what’s a true and honest fact. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts finds that regardless of political belief, many Americans say they have a hard time figuring out if information is true. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they often come across one-sided information and about 6 in 10 say they regularly see conflicting reports about the same set of facts from different sources. “It is difficult to get facts. You have to read between the lines. You have to have a lot of common sense,” said Leah Williams, 29, of Modesto, California. A Republican, Williams says she relies on like-minded friends and family to help sort through conflicting information. “There are wolves in sheep’s clothing everywhere.” Democrats and Republicans alike frequently find the process challenging.

RUSSIA - Russian President Vladimir Putin succinctly summarized the shifting tectonic plates of geopolitics. Vladimir Putin: "The Dollar Enjoyed Great Trust Around The World. But For Some Reason It Is Being Used As A Political Weapon, Imposing Restrictions. Many Countries Are Now Turning Away From The Dollar As A Reserve Currency. US Dollar Will Collapse Soon."

First he explained the status quo… "The Dollar enjoyed great trust around the world. But, for some reason, it is now being used as a political weapon to impose restrictions."

Then Putin explained the consequences… "Many countries are now turning away from the Dollar as a Reserve Currency." And ultimately what happens… "US Dollar will collapse soon."

USA - Some lies are so big, many people can’t accept the fact that they’re lies. Their minds are boggled. “No,” they say, “that couldn’t be.” But yes, that could be, and is. The mainstream press is mentioning them, here and there, but without any intent to raise alarms, dig in, investigate, and get down to the core of the problem. So I’ll get to the core.

USA - It is getting scary out there. In order for society to function properly, we need to be able to assume that most people are going to behave rationally. And when I was growing up, it was generally safe to make that assumption. But now things have completely changed. No matter how hard one may try, there is simply no avoiding the hordes of crazy people that seem to be taking over our society.

UK - Approximately half of all insects have been lost since 1970 due to the heavy use of pesticides, which could spell disaster for all life on Earth, a new report suggests. Conservationists have called for action to be taken to halt the 'unnoticed insect apocalypse' in order to prevent a 'catastrophic collapse of nature's ecosystems'. Leading ecologists at the University of Sussex, who carried out the report for the Wildlife Trusts, revealed that 40 per cent of the one million known insect species are now nearing extinction. The use of pesticides, which has doubled over the last 25 years, has seen 23 species of bees and wasps go extinct. Without insects, a multitude of birds, bats, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and fish would disappear, for they would have nothing to eat. Eighty-seven percent, almost all plants require animal pollination, most of it delivered by insects - meaning the global human population could not be fed without insect pollination.

USA - Pessimism is spreading like wildfire on Wall Street, and this is particularly true among one very important group of investors. And considering how much money they have, it may be wise to listen to what they are telling us. According to a very alarming survey that was recently conducted by UBS Wealth Management, most wealthy investors now believe that there will be a “significant” stock market decline before the end of next year.

USA - The so-called War on Terror launched by the United States government in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks has cost at least 801,000 lives and $6.4 trillion according to a pair of reports published Wednesday by the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. "The numbers continue to accelerate, not only because many wars continue to be waged, but also because wars don't end when soldiers come home," said Costs of War co-director and Brown professor Catherine Lutz, who co-authored the project's report on deaths.

USA - Many Americans remain in precarious financial shape even as the economy continues to grow, with 7 of 10 saying they are struggling with at least one aspect of financial stability, such as paying bills or saving money. For instance, centrist think tank the Urban Institute has found that 4 in 10 Americans struggle to pay for basic needs such as groceries or housing. And a Zillow report released Thursday found that roughly a quarter of renters say that affording their payments is difficult or very difficult. Not only the poor face financial pressure, the new study suggests. Almost 20% of people earning between $30,000 and $100,000 said they spent more than they earned… "Income is not keeping pace with expenses."