A new year……back to work…..
I started this, the attempt to predict, a couple of years ago…so far I have been kinda accurate but then some of them were gimmes…..First I will grade how I did for 2010 and then move on to this years predictions….
1–Pakistan will have a crisis and a new government…..close but no cigar
2–Afghan surge will go well at first…so far so good….+
3–Unemployment does not get below 8.5%–sorry this was a gimme….+
4–Immigration and Energy will be the next big congressional confrontations–this one is a toss up…immigration became hot and energy was put on a the back burner…close but no cigar!
5–Top Obama cabinet member will resign–head of the NIB, Romer and Orzag and Summers of the economic team and little dictator Rahm is gone….+
6–Economy will have another scandal–this one is good! The scandal of insurance companies screwing widows of dead military people…..+
7–Inflation will rise by 3rd quarter….The Fed peed all over this one…..-
8–Israel/Palestine will flair up again–another close one….the attack on the flotilla and the Gaza thingy is still hot…but it will be a close but no cigar!
9–Iran will be the focus of most of the US foreign policy….this was another “gimme”…it seems that Iran will always be a major priority in foreign policy…..+
10-a real third party shows ballot strength—way off dumbass!….-
11-Yemen will become much more volatile–many AQ guys in Yemen and the focus of drone strikes ….many plots come out of Yemen especially bomb plots….. so I give it a….+
Yes, I know these are open for interpretation….my blog…my interpretation…..the score is 6 plus…..3 close and 2 minus…not a bad prediction……
Another year begins and another year of aggravation and lots of coffee…..so here are my predictions for 2011…..
1–unemployment does NOT dip below 9%
2–inflation will be up to 2%
3–Washington remains the same partisan bound group as it has been last year
4–Germany will have a bit of a set back in the economy
5–Economic growth will be 3%
6–Tax cuts will NOT create jobs
7–More major economic problems in Europe (EU)
8–Afghan situation becomes more clouded than before
9–Pakistan will become unstable….
10-Energy and Education will be hot issue for Congress
Nostradamus! Cayce! Eat your hearts out! My crystal balls are bigger than theirs……
#s 4 and 7 are similar and I think #7 is closer to the likely reality. Going a bit further ahead – in 2012 I’d suggest the US will swing hard to the right again and Europe (including the UK) may well swing back to the left – probably hard left.
Sadly, the truth is that neither the right nor the left has any real answers at all for most people – one will concentrate on the rich and the other will send all but the strongest economy straight down the tubes benefitting no one at all – in which case all but the rich will suffer (under a hard left administration, the wealthy will just up stakes and go somewhere else, taking their money with them).
The answers that could benefit the majority and lie somewhere in the middle of all this laced with common sense and decency will NOT be forthcoming – probably not this century at the very least…
And so it will continue – partisan shit will rule and the vast majority will suffer as ever!
Altruism, decency and common sense all died with the rise of human rights (EU style), political correctness and all the partisan crap generated by democratic bureaucracy.
Crap! They are the same! Damn….caffeine does not get to the brain quick enough…..
On a different note….have you seen this site?
http://tenerifevirgins.wordpress.com
I made my changes in the predictions…..now that coffee is driving the mental process….LOL
Yes, I see now… There are of course only three economies in the EU (out of twenty six, is it now) that keep it going – the UK, Germany and France. All three are not in good shape and cannot afford to bail out any more countries, so who knows where this is headed.
As to your link – thanks, I hadn’tseen it, but I know what they’re talking about. Then again, these bloody tourists do my head in too, so it’s hardly surprising that the locals are a bit wary at times. If you speak Spanish, they’re as friandly as can be, though. If not, you may at times feel that you might just be the source of the laughter, but you’re never wuite sure. Damned Gringos!
We hear a lot here about the miracle of Germany and their recovery…….I did a bit of reading and I think they will have a set back…..
I though you might like the site……I found that in many countries that some say are arrogant and unfriendly……if Americans go aboard and act like Americans then we deserve the disdain….