Non-vision predictions

We see predictions based on dreams I thought it would be good to see some predictions based on individual assessments of a subject.

Assumption: George Bush is re-elected in November
Discussion: What do you predict will happen in the next four years.

1. The election will be tight, should GWB win again I believe we will then see the Senate and House return to Democratic control. If there are many (close to half) that voted against this president I believe we will politically balance ourselves out.

2. Iran will be the next target in the War on Terrorism. The leadership of that country is as radical as the enemies that attacked the US.


3. North Korea will be resolved by either China or suppression by the rest of the world. I really don�t think the US will invade, China would not like our military sitting on their border.

4. The US economy will improve. But only due to the continued state of war. There are already reports of deficits in our military hardware and the need to build more. If there is another conflict we will most likely see our manufacturing industry kick into high gear. As we have learned in the past, war is good for the economy.


5. I do believe a draft will occur (possibly limited in scope) within the next 2 years. We just won�t have enough troops to fight these wars and protect the homeland. I think we will see a possible draft targeted at homeland defense with foreign campaigns handled by our volunteer army.

6. Since I believe another terror attack is inevitable I think we will see the Patriot Act 2 and possibly 3 go into place. Depending on the level of attack, I just wonder if most Americans will be against it if the Administration can show some wins gained by it being there. Another attack, especially if a WMD is used could really freak this nation out. We have not had to deal with war, etc in our backyard or neighborhood like many nations around the world. I think it makes us more open to radical changes.


7. If the election is contested in any way I believe we will see the radical right and left both become more mainstream. It worries me that we could possibly see an increase in domestic terrorism. We have seen it before and seen it tied to someone fighting back against the policy/actions of our own government. As the divide increases in the country we could be fighting the War on Terror home and abroad.

8. I believe space exploration will be put on hold. If we do use military force in another country we will move all resources to that effort. This bothers me because I feel the potential of exploration and advances in science could positively effect our future.

So if you are interested comment on your own thoughts. I know we don�t have any forward vision on these topics but we are responsible for our own destiny.

BTW: I realize a non-vision prediciton is really just a guess. It just sounded better that way.



[edit on 7/10/2004 by nativeokie]

Guesses based on logic, such as yours, are totally valid. Athough I have dreams, I put much more stock in my logical assessments of the situation.
I think your analysis is a good one. You are basing all this on the possibility that Bush is re-elected...right? Of course, there's a whole other set of probabilities/possibilities if Kerry were to be elected.
I agree, that if the election is close, there will be trouble of some sort. We already seem to be dividing among the extreme wings and, an electoral crisis, would deepen that divide.
I can't say much about the economy as I'm not well-versed in economics, but my husband, who's a financial analyst, thinks the economy is bogging down now, due to uncertainty. He feels the market will be unstable until there's more clarity on Iraq and the election is decided definatively. If Kerry wins, it will be bad for the healthcare and insurance stocks. If Bush wins, the stock market will probably rally.
I don't see us going after N. Korea either.
I agree that Iran will be the next target in the war on terror.
I also believe that the draft will be reinstated..at least on a limited basis.
And, I wholeheartedly agree that a terror attack, on US soil, particularly if involving any WMD, will totally freak out the country and lead to further loss of civil liberties.
Either way, through dreams or analysis, it seems we are in for a rocky time of it in the next few months/years.
joey

Ok here is my prediction based on my analysis of the current world situation. First of all I am an Australian and you may or may not be aware that we are coming up to a federal election. We have two main political party conteneders, The Liberal government lead by John Howard, he is the leader that voluntered Australians to be part of the 'Coalition of the willing' in 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'. The other main contender is the Labor party led by Mark Latham, Mark Latham has only recently become leader of the Labor party and in one of his first interviews as opposition leader he said that he would pull Australian troops out of Iraq by Christmas if his government was voted in by the Australian people.

Our joining with the United States and the coalition in Iraq either rightly or wrongly has made us a greater target for Al Qaeda.

Flashback to the Madrid bombings right before the Spanish elections where you have a country divided on their governments support of the war in Iraq and President Bush in general. Al Qaeda took advantage of the political situation and timed the bombings to cause the people to vote out the government that was supporting President Bush and his war on terror.Obviously Al Qaeda think they are onto a winner with this.

Will they try to do the same thing to influence the American elections ? I reckon they will try.

Will they try the same thing in Australia were the situation is very similar to that which lead to the Madrid bombings ? I hope not but I think they might.

In America, I think that terrorists will not strike until election-day itself.

There is a fringe that will blame all terror activity on Bush, which could cause a lot of unstability in a close election.

What happens if Kerry wins:

* No immediate change in Iraq policy. The troops start coming home in shifts, like Vietnam. After enough have been withdrawn, Iraqi insurgents overthrow the newly elected govt and route American forces. Like the fall of Saigon.

*Tax increases on consumption, especially gasoline.

* A Patriot 2 act.

*US forces participate in nation-building in Africa

*No draft

*America signs Kyoto accords, new Geneva accords, etc. American foreign policy focuses on free trade (despite howls from unions) and America joining "transnational" peacekeeping efforts in Africa.

*America supports, but is not a member of, a Latin American Union.

*A dirty bomb will be detonated in the central US. Once a bomb is smuggled in, terrorists can transport it anywhere.

*Their small-scale acts of terror will focus on cutting the Natural Gas supply to the northeast, and the Alaska pipe, which will be a major disruption of the economy. They have kept Iraq from recovering by this same method.

We can speculate until the cows come home that so and so will be elected, certain political standpoints will become this or that and the list goes on. Is it not the wiser to try and not just enjoy the gift of life we all have been given, the friends and family we know and the experiences we have had, for I am quite certain many, at least here on the ATS, have fairly comfortable and decent lives.
Not to say that we are a failed world by any means, I just think that it is sad that many people hide from themselves by becoming lost in the media and entertainment world and focus on bigger issues than one would generally take on. By all means the GLOBAL condition is in need of harmonization. Not as to amalgamate all across the world by any means at first except cooperation.

We all feel, live and exist built upon the same set of rules so-to-speak. We all hurt, laugh, interact, love, and such as well as being the same design as a system. All races and gender were created equal and any who contest that I would really wonder at your logic or argument because honestly we ARE THE SAME. We are humans being, we are here and we share the world in which we live.

I am so sick of hearing about aliens, ghosts, supernatural and occult phenomena, government conspiracies, wars, religious conflict, racism, sexism, morally reprehensible crimes, violence, hatred,
miserable living conditions, lack of funding to healthcare, lack of funding in schools, inflation in many different niche markets and so on and so on and so on. WHEN, will anyone look into their heart, truly discern what they require to fill it with love and joy, and realize that we cannot treat others in any ways we really do not want to be treated, but with a patient and careful progression as to provide a stable platform with which to reconstruct a sickened world into a healthy and conciencious one.

I DO like to philosophize and debate theology and many other topics of interest but without the emtotional attachment to necessarily all of them. Thus, I understand the conjecture and the nature of discussions as to debate and hash-out our differences but with an equal voice of unanimous participation and stop dwelling on fearful, negative topics that initiate paranoia and depression.
I think 2012 already happened. I think on many lvels we have been given a second chance and for that we should be grateful. I just can't find myself attempting to spend hours debating to myself about such things with non-relevant or direct issues when I could be courting a woman, enjoying my life or whatever took my fancy. Is it that such simple little pleasures in life have become meaningless to the average person. Why else would someone prefer an hour of CNN to say playing video games or
basically just dealing with his reality. Peace.

Originally posted by Lucifer

I am so sick of hearing about aliens, ghosts, supernatural and occult phenomena, government conspiracies, wars, religious conflict, racism, sexism, morally reprehensible crimes, violence, hatred, . . . and so on and so on and so on. . . .

I DO like to philosophize and debate theology and many other topics of interest but without the emtotional attachment to necessarily all of them. . . .

I just can't find myself attempting to spend hours debating to myself about such things with non-relevant or direct issues when I could be courting a woman, enjoying my life or whatever took my fancy. Is it that such simple little pleasures in life have become meaningless to the average person. Why else would someone prefer an hour of CNN to say playing video games or basically just dealing with his reality. Peace.

IF you are sick of hearing about ghosts and negativity, what the H are you doing wasting you're time at this site???? Are you being held hostage, handcuffed to your computer????

So, you like to philosophise. Great. Congradulations. Is the problem then that you don't like what OTHER people contribute???? Because that is exactly what everyone else is doing here, too.



Seriously though. You have an excellent point. Why spend time worrying about who will get elected and how the economy will do next year?

I tell you why I choose to spend my time in such a way: I make some of my income from speculating in the currency and securities markets. If I turn out to be right, I make supstantial baqshish off of my correct answers. So geopolitics and world-economics makes a difference in my life, because I like it and I let it.

Well, I am new to this type of forum. I am also a new member but I have a few predictions that I have come up with over the past few months from my studies of numerous web sites.
Today, there is a new message from Bin Laden which is re-broadcast of a message from 2003. Cloud Enterprises stated that the message from an important field marshal would be a calling to begin operations. I have read that the video is encoded. I believe wide scale attacks on the US will happen soon (possibly within the next 72 hours since the message of 72 hours, god willing has been refered to in a lot of recent chatter). It is hard to say what the scope of the attacks will be because of all of the miss-information that is spread throughout the media. But I highly believe the attack will be a bomb since there has been so many reports of explosions in the US in recent days (TN and NYC subway). The subway explosion may be a test for a chemical or biological attack. Although, I feel that this will just be the beginning. Look for something even more devastating -Suitcase Nukes in a number of cities.

President Bush will be reelected. A new military draft will begin early next year in response to the terrorist attacks on the US. The war on terrorism will have widespread support throughout the US after we are attacked. Most citizens will volunteer for service (just like they did after Pearl Harbor).

The US will attack Iran next year. North Korea will not be far behind since the US will discover that they are selling nuclear material to terrorists. China will invade Tawain within the next 2 years. They will suprise scholars that believe they will wait until 2020. China always follows the principles of Sun Tzu and will see no greater time to attack when the US is involved in 3 (possibly 4) conflicts. China has, and will continue to provide support to North Korea. They may also feel that it is in their best interest to provide support to Al Qeada.

Terrorist will not attack Europe. This would be determental to their cause. The US is isolated and would only gain more support from European allies in the war on terror if they are attack. Al Qeada will focus all efforts on the US and the UK.

The US will use tatical nukes in response to a nuclear attack inside of the US.

I know this is just speculation. I may be far off base, but then again I wonder if these predictions are in our near future. I have more to say but feel that I have said enough so I wonder what other members think...