It's not just global politics that's getting ugly

After the drought last year in the southeast, Georgia (and Atlanta in particular) is still aching for water. And with no relief in sight, they're turning to their neighbor, Tennessee. But it's not an appeal for help, it's a demand: "Hey, give us back what's ours!" To which Tennessee is responding, "Huh? What you talking' 'bout Willis?"

To try to alleviate their water shortage issues, Georgia wants a share of the Tennessee river, which is just barely outside the northwest corner of Georgia. And to support their claim to a share of the river, they're citing the erroneous surveying job back in 1818, which placed the line just over a mile too far south. Moving the line to where it's "supposed" to be would make the river flow through part of Georgia, entitling it to a share of the flow.

Granted, this may well not develop into anything, but it shows the stress that people are under, and how unreasonable they're willing to get in order to maintain their livelihoods, rather than facing up to the problem and doing something to fix it. Silly little (literal) border conflicts are going to escalate and become uglier and more numerous as more and more resources run shorter and shorter.

Here's another example: Electricity riots in India.

And this one is perfect, in its circularity: Iraq can’t pump and refine oil without electricity. The electricity comes in from Turkey. Turkey doesn’t have enough oil to prevent rolling blackouts (which are now euphemized to “power shedding” for some silly reason), so Iraq gets shafted, and their power gets cut off, which further ensures that Turkey doesn't get enough oil. How much longer before we get armed conflict, one way or the other? Especially with Halliburton over there to make sure the oil keeps flowing?