2005 Predictions -- what's yours?

[radfringe]

When friends of ours use to gather at the end of the year -- we would write out a few predictions for the coming year. each of us would seal our predictions and they would all be given to one of us to keep until the end of that year where we would read them and see how "accurate" they were.

Predictions ranged from the personal to national to world-wide events.
I can't say our accuracy was all that good. However, it was interesting to see how close or how far off the mark we were.

What are your predictions for the coming year? You can get as specific or general as you like, and do not have to limit it to politics or national/world events...

[Eric J in MN]

1. Both New York, NY and St. Paul, MN elect new mayor (nt)

nt

[Elise]

2. Concerning national 'events':

I predict a further swing to the right in the USA before the pendulum effect takes hold and we begin the turnaround. This will (hopefully) occur in time for the 2006 elections.

Personally, I predict I will be married (for the 2nd time) by the end of 2005.

[Selatius]

3. My predictions: Same shit, different day

Bush and Co. are gonna try and ram through their pet projects through Congress, and we're still gonna be dying in a far off land called Iraq, not to mention Afghanistan.

I'm not going to touch the draft or things like martial law, since that would largely be affected by there being another terrorist attack in this country. It'd be a convenient way to introduce one or the other in the height of the "rally around the flag" effect.

[radfringe]

4. mine

-- Invasion of Iran and/or Syria by the end of the year

-- Iraq will still be a mess

-- Jobs will be even more difficult to find as more companies export jobs overseas

-- the FED will raise interest rates at least one more time, by summer they will hold it steady and then drop it 1/4point by September -- citing the weakening dollar, budget deficit, job creation as concerns

-- More proof of vote tampering and voter intimidation from 2004 pResidential election will hit the papers, but don't look for anything meaningful to be done about it.

-- the "big" scandal story will be about FDA rubber stamping drug approval. bush* will blather about accountability and his echo chamber will blame it all on Clinton.

-- there will be a loosely scattered rebellion in Congress among the Repugs against bush*'s court nominees and other legislation, but political pressure and intimidation will bring them "back into the fold"

-- a couple of "surprise" resignations from the bush* cabinet.

[roguevalley]

5. HUGE economic crash as the Chinese switch from $$ to euros.

Bush won't be able to cope and the wheels will come off the wagon. Scandal, scandal, scandal. The repigs in his party that still have a dash of soul will move away from him and he will be seen to be the naked little beast that he is.

[orpupilofnature57]

12. SOUL, must a different one , that guided the hand of ?% that voted

this idiot again.

[shraby]

8. The election debacle

will simmer and grow into a huge scandal that takes a bunch of Republicans down the tubes. Some will resign, some will be jailed.

The Plame case will come to a head and there will be indictments up into the white house. Could even get Cheney.

The whole torture business will be brought out, Bush will be impeached over it and several will go to jail..Gonzales, Rummy are two of the ones who will be jailed, possibly Gen. Miller and Gen. Myers, maybe Sanchez too.

The AIPAC/Franklin spy scandal will toss a few more into jail. Possibly Feith and those under him.

Let's face it, we have one of the biggest cabals of crooks in high places and they're luck can't hold out too much longer...too many things have been simmering for too long and they have made too many enemies.

[orpupilofnature57]

6. Shrubs neurosis rears it's ugly head enough, so that it becomes...

Apparent IMPEACHMENT is a viable option.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

7. I predict sun young moon will come out of his exile in Kalmykia and exert

himself trying to make his influence in Washington known and accepted. The man didn't buy himself a newspaper, (The Washington Times), and a president (The Son of a Bush), and have himself crowned "Emperor of the Universe" by a bunch of Washington Congressmen Flunkies for nothing you know! http://gadflyer.com/articles/?ArticleID=131
Hell's bells he's 80 something and he wants a chance to show off the president in his pocket before he dies, the insidious bastid!

[solinvictus]

9. A few

1) More outsourcing
2) more theocracy through the "faith based" shell game
3) more dead Americans coming home from Iraq
4) increasing numbers of working poor who are unable to afford housing

I don't see good things for anyone under this regime.

[Dangerman]

10. One...

The January 30 elections in Iraq will be canceled.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. * is going down

n/t

[indigobusiness]

13. Flu epidemic in February--bad because different strain from vaccine

Bird flu makes it to the US, also.

Dengue fever(breakbone fever)in Fla and Texas reaches alarming proportions by August.
Dollar collapse.
Rampant foreclosures and mass homelessness.
First paroxysms of economic depression.
Bush is reviled on all sides.
Impeachment looms.
Cheney heart attack.
Castro parties like it's 1999.
Kim Jong Il wins the Nobel Peace Prize and teams with Martha Stewart to bring origami and organic gardening to North Korea.

---edit
benburch just posted this in LBN:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4112463.stm

World health officials seem in little doubt that we stand on the verge of another influenza pandemic.

Experts believe it highly likely that a bird flu virus will soon mix with a human or pig virus and pass from human to human.

<snip>

Oxford has recently shown that one antiviral in particular - oseltamivir (Tamiflu) - will work to block all the known types of flu. This includes the strain scientists fear could be the one to trigger a pandemic, H5N1.

<more at link>

---------

Tamiflu is a product of Donald Rumsfeld's old company Gliead Sciences. Rumsfeld was chairman of Gliead until taking office in 2001. The Bush administration botched our chances at a flu vaccination this year. Who, I ask you, stands to profit if a pandemic results?

[shayes51]

14. Buyers' Remorse from the Red States

[JI7]

15. Cheif Justice Antonin Scalia

though the court still fails to overturn Roe v Wade disappointing right wing fundies.

[NJCher]

16. I'm going beyond 2005

Are you going to save this thread URL and bring it up later in the year and maybe next year?

Here are my predictions:

--dollar collapse
--bush inaugurated but election fraud continues to gain steam
--eventually bush abandoned by his supporters; he either resigns in disgrace (2006) or more likely, leaves because of "health" reasons.
--continued investigation into voting fraud moves more and more Americans away from the republican camp
--liebrals screwed again in 2006 and 08
--complete revolution in 2012; the people take back their government


Cher