« Coal Mining Deaths | Main | James R. Risen State of War: Detailed Review »

2006 'Nostradamus' Predicts

Sure I’m late with this but I was on vacation last week, so here it goes...

Summary:

For those people over the age of 40 2006 will replace 1968 as the most pivotal year in our lives.

I believe we are sitting on the edge of conditions that are similar to the very worst and most dangerous years of the cold war.

Also, this year marks the beginning of the retirement of the baby boomers and the effect on the economy will be staggering. Each year of the next 10 years will result in a condition that almost none of us has ever seen except in a temporary basis; a shortage of workers. Those that are employable will find 2006 the beginning of very good times indeed as we are entering an era of a severe shortage of workers. This is not paradise, it has its own problems and we have almost no idea how to deal with them.

2006 will also mark the most significant change in the nations press as a public revolt will occur over the continued release of classified information in vague hopes of “getting Bush” will be increasingly seen to be working against the interests of the public. Shareholder takeovers of several failing media organizations will result in some organizations undergoing a political realignment.

Here’s the general breakdown of some of the things I think might happen in 2006.

The Good

- There will be a military strike against Iran. It will be sudden and it will be comprehensive, similar to Operation Desert Storm. It will not be the Israelis who do it, it will be the US, under UN sanction as a result of Iran doing something that cannot be sanctioned by anyone anywhere and that is 'embarrasing the Europeans'. Afterwards, the government of Iran crumble.

- The German Government will indict Gerhard Schroeder after scrutiny of his actions with GAZPROM. The result of the investigations will ignite a scandal, which will spread across all European governments.

- Fidel Castro will die. With any luck, it will also be a painful lingering death.

- Democrats will lose seats in the House and the Senate, but Howard Dean will proclaim it as a success. After losing yet another “cant lose” election, Howard Dean will be removed as head of the Democrat Party. The effect will be to split the Democrats along ideological lines, which will require a generation spent in exile to resolve.

- All charges against Scooter Libby will be dropped.

- Bush will lose his temper at a Press Conference. His angry response will cause his ratings will go up 10%. It will mark the beginning of a public war against the press by the administration.

- Several reporters will be jailed as a result of the release of classified information. Several members of the CIA and the NSA and the judiciary will also be indicted for espionage as a result of their efforts. It will have what is called a “chilling effect” on the press. While the press will be irritated beyond belief, American public sentiment will rise against the abuses of the press.

- The Bush Administration will begin to release recordings of tapped phone calls that are intercepted between Terrorists. One recording will be of an active member of the western press talking to a known terrorist.

- Zarkarwi will be killed by Iraqis. Zawahiri will be captured by Americans. Bin Laden will be found to have died by his own hand. All thee actions will be immediately ignored by the press.

- Several ‘big media’ organizations will undergo severe ideological transformation due to management changes brought on by shareholder revolts as a result of continued losses. Some will become even more leftist under the argument that they can provide the market with the “opposite of Fox”, while others will work to “outfox fox”. Bloggers will be increasingly integrated side by side with so called “professional” journalists further blurring the lines between the two.

The Bad

- General Motors will declare bankruptcy as a way to negate the hideously stupid contracts with the UAW. General Motors will come out of bankruptcy, lean, mean, efficient and profitable (not to mention smaller) but it will mark the end of the UAW as a force in American political life. The bankruptcy will rock the stock market for months.

- An American Military officer will be arrested by a European Government for “War Crimes” as a way to put President Bush on trial by proxy.

- Hugo Chavez will begin to openly support the revolt in Chiapas and will begin funding Communist revolution throughout Central America. He will begin to court Americans to support his “revolution”. There will be many who support him supplanting their previous support for the now dead Castro for support of Chavez.

- While Castro will die this year, nothing will change in Cuba as Raul Castro steps in to take his brothers place.

- Cheney will leave office for health reasons. His replacement will not be a Senator.

- Nancy Pelosi will step down as House Minority Leader.

- Harry Reid will resign from office.

- John Kerry will announce a significant health event that will impact his holding of the office of Senator. Ted Kennedy will suffer a life threatening and career ending stroke or heart attack. The state Government of Massachusetts will make extraordinary moves to ensure that Democrats replace both Senators, rather than a choice made by their Republican governor.

- The Canadian government will topple this year. Twice. It will come into question whether Canada can be governed. For the first time, serious consideration by Canadians will be given to the breakup of Canada.

The Ugly

- The economy will slow, not because of oil prices, inflation, taxation or global warming, but because of a lack of available employees to allow companies to grow fast enough to maintain revenue.

- Iran will explode a nuclear weapon before the end of the summer. The result will be isolation of Iran by the International community. The world will stand on the brink of nuclear war for the first time since the Cuban Missile crisis.

- Israel will demonstrate a sub launched missile system.

- President Bush will have at least one attempt on his life this year, not by terrorists, but by a ‘crazed lone gunman’. The press will bend over backwards to excuse the act of the madman as somehow “justified” further inflaming public ire against the press.

- China will invade North Korea after Kim Il Sung is killed in a Chinese sponsored coup. China will not call it an “invasion”, but that’s what it will be. The Chinese Border will be blockaded by China and the invasion will come from the sea with the aid of the Russian Navy. It will possibly be dressed up as an attempt to relieve the famine. America, South Korea and the world will look the other way. North Korea will remain isolated, but it will essentially become a prefecture of China.

Ok, they are all 'Wild Ass Guesses', but at least I didnt do what this meathead did.

Posted @ January 06, 2006 11:47 PM | Current Affairs

Posted by: Kerry at January 7, 2006 06:23 AM

Posted by: m at January 7, 2006 06:46 AM

Posted by: Bob at January 7, 2006 06:07 PM

Posted by: frank martin at January 7, 2006 10:54 PM

Posted by: hatless in hattiesburg at January 9, 2006 08:03 PM

Posted by: Frank Martin at January 9, 2006 09:22 PM