Posted on 12/31/2002 1:19:56 PM PST by Timesink
1. Chavez will survive a long troubled year while building allies among his neighbors and alienating OPEC officials. Venezuala turns the corner in November and starts to build a very strong economy based on their oil exports.
2. Bolivia and Columbia face severe problems with drug cartels and turn to both the U.S. and China requesting military assistance.
3. Fox cracks down on rebels in the Yucatan after a terrorist attack on a resort town and faces public outcry for his brutal rhetoric and the Mexican military's brutal actions. He has amazing success and starts focusing on the criminal families in Mexico City after the Yucatan campaign.
Region: Europe
1. Poland emerges as a true leader among former Soviet sattelites and gains respect by brokering a deal in the Balkans.
2. John Paul II vacates the seat of Peter on Easter Sunday. Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria is elected to elevation three days later. We are inundated with stories of how he is the first African Pope (false) and the first black Pope (false).
3. Central Italy faces a huge earthquake.
4. Spain is the focus of major archeological finds.
Region: Africa
1. Mugabe is assasinated.
2. Cape Town burns in week long riots.
3. Nigeria explodes into full blown Civil War. The rest of West Africa sits on the edge of open conflict.
Region: Middle-East
1. The complete collapse of Iraq in the face of the U.S. led assault shocks the Arab world. Open protests against the U.S. are coupled with thousands seeking asylum in U.S. embassies across the region.
2. The Palestinians follow Arafat until his assasination. The next leader starts serious negotiations with Israel and is able to work out a deal withdrawing the settlers and using a joint Israeli-Palestinian security force for the future Palestine. Jordan and Eygpt both endorse the deal.
3. The Saud family faces open rebellion. Radical Muslims declare the western third of Arabia as a new nation with Mecca as it's capital. Many young Muslims flock to Mecca to live off of the "generosity" of those on their Hahj.
Region: Asia
1. India and Pakistan come again to the edge of war over Kashmir.
2. Bhutan is invaded by China. China is condemned by the U.N. but could care less.
3. Terrorists from Indonesia commit an attack in Australia. Australia responds by "liberating" East Timor from Indonesia and arresting hundreds of muslim students.
4. North Korea backs down after promises by Japan and South Korea of financial aid.
Region: The U.S.
1. Cheap oil, everyone! Three days to the liberation of Iraq, Saddam dead in the first 10 hours of the attack. Venezuala signs a deal with the U.S. securing a low price for crude in November.
2. The economy recovers, manufacturing increases, and the Stock Market ends 2003 above 10,000.
3. 2 Supreme Court Justices retire by May and a third dies in October. President Bush is seen by presidential historians as someone who has shaped the whole make-up of the court as much as Roosevelt.
4. President Reagen dies a few hours after Pope John Paul II.
Well, we will see how good these predictions are.
After four days of the most intense bombing ever imagined U.S. and UK ground forces drive impeded to the outskirts of Bagdad. Regular Iraqi don't fight at all. Rumors persist that Saddam Hussien has been killed and Republican Guard forces start surrenduring en masse.
During mop-up operations, U.S. forces find dozens of bio and chem weapons but determine that Saddam was still months away from having nukes, with damaging evidence that France, Germany, Russia and at least one U.S. company supplied materials. It is revealed that North Korea has supplied Saddam with up to a dozen long range missles.
Saddam Hussien is presumed dead but it is revealed late in 2003 that he escaped and is in hiding in Syria. Syria makes the dreaded axis of evil list.
North Korea is appeased by South Korea and stops making public statements about nukes but hides their program and continues unabated.
Demonstrations turn to rioting in Venezuela and the U.S. announces that it is a haven for Al Queda. The U.S. imposes severe sanctions on Chavez regime with little success and the U.S. is forced to start a naval blockade. Chavez is killed in a bloody coop and it is determined that his connections with Fidel Castro and several S.A. dictators were worse than belived. Predators become a regular site in the southern hemisphere.
India and Pakistan escalates throughout the year as Musharef (sp?) is either assassinated or flees the country.
The U.S. economy grows at 3% in the first half of 2003 but kickstarts to 5% in the third and 6% in the fourth quarter. The stock market gains steam and has the Santa Rally it has been waiting on for years. The Dow ends the year at 11,000.
GallopingGhost finally gets out of debt meets the woman of his dreams.
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You are insane.
(1) I worked with some of the people who put men on the Moon. For your statement to be true, thousands upon thousands of them--straight-arrow engineers--would have had to LIE for decades.
(2) I've seen the hardware and its descendants. Worked with some of it.
(3) In case you did not notice, the Apollo astronauts emplaced a 'corner cube' reflector on the moon. One can still bounce laser beams off of it--indeed, it is done frequently to measure the precise distance to the Moon, which is slowly increasing due to tidal forces.
--Boris
Predictions I am hoping will come true:
Saddam's regime collapses without a war and major loss of US lives.
The Senate gets their sh*t together and passes the partial birth abortion ban - Bush signs.
Camp Xray at Gitmo has to expand.
Clinton initiates divorce proceedings against Ole' Crusty.
AlGore becomes even more irrelevant and tries building houses with Carter for some attention.
Best wishes to all tonight!
Oooh, I smell a friendly wager coming on. The Iggles are still trying to locate their jocks at the Meadowlands from my G-men running circles around them. (Although I think Fassel is going to give Barber a case of crazy glue next time they play).
However I will offer a couple of predictions.
Major terrorist attack on US soil.
Modest rebound in the economy.
Iraq defeated in a matter of days.
Collapse of Islamic government of Iran
North Korea attacks South and threatens/attacks Japan.
Surprise announcement of European constitution - formally creating a single United States of Europe - submitted to member states for ratification.
Major discovery in science or medicide will change civilization forever - i.e. cure for cancer, secret to reversing ageing, discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence.
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