Predictions for 2009? Results for 2008!

[dolari]

Every year, taking a page from Art Bell, I take predictions for what will happen in the upcoming year. If you have a prediction, something you know or feel will happen in 2009, post it here (please no "gimmies," predictions involving me, or predictions that could get the authorities on my ass). On Dec 31, 2009, we'll take those predictions and see if they happened.

So, did the predictions y'all made for 2008 come true?

madrona:Dennis Kucinich will demonstrate scientifically provable psi powers on live television. - BZZT

madrona:The majority of people who hated 2007 for what it did to them will be sad to see 2008 go. - Unknown...what say you, Livejournalland?

kireishojo:The dollar will continue to fall leading to canada being the major north-american world power. - DING If only for a few months in late 2008 where the Canadian Dollar trounced the US dollar.

jessie_c: There will be more Rethugnican sex scandals. - VERY DING

kowaiyukidono: [Glow in the dark] kitties will become a marketable (if horribly expensive) pet.. - BZZT - As fas as I can tell no one is selling them....yet.

kowaiyukidono: [Reverend Ken Hutcherson's Anti-LGBT Microsoft Stock Buyout] will come to nothing but some amusement and people wasting money on Microsoft stock. - DING - Ver amusing and a big waste.

kowaiyukidono:Marvel will fire Greg Land, or he will quit. - BZZT - Still drawing for Marvel as we speak.

lunomrulino: There will be dancing in the streets in celebration that this is the very last year of Geroge II's reign. - DING - Happened right here in downtown Seattle.

lunomrulino: The Beijing Olympics will the be focal point of some political protests. - DING

lunomrulinoThe most common respons to February 29th will be, "Oh yeah.... huh." - Unknown...what say you, Livejournalland?

ghostangel Barack Obama will get the Democratic Primary, Ron Paul will get the Republican Primary. And nobody will care. - DING, BZZT and BZZT (I think more people cared for the first time in a LONG time.

ghostangel: I predict that there will be a landslide victory for either one or the other. - BZZT 52.9 is a good percentage, but not quite a landslide.

ghostangel: I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Ron Paul will win. BZZT (But they're still trying!)

ghostangel: I will have a license and a car. But will still not drive anywhere. - Unknown, what say you, Ghostie?

branger23:Someone other than G.W. Bush will be elected President of the US. - DING

jessie_c: The Westboro Baptist Church goons will continue to spew out hatred in the name of god. Bush will continue to make an ass of himself. - DING

jessie_c: Bush will continue to make an ass of himself. - DING

jessie_c: The sun will rise in the East - DING

tekalynn: The War of 1812 will only remain a memory. - DING

Okay folks, no more gimmie predictions.

Comments

[kireishojo.livejournal.com]

well mine certainly wasnt a gimmie prediction

[jenndolari.livejournal.com]

It wasn't...the struck out ones were the gimmies. :)

[moiety-tx.livejournal.com]

For a non-incumbent, 52.9 really does end up counting as a landslide. At least according to places like fivethirtyeight.com. I really enjoyed this post!

[ghostangel.livejournal.com]

Do I get a ding for effort? XD

[jenndolari.livejournal.com]

When I think of landslide, I think more of Reagan's win in 1984. Population wise, it's still a bit close, but electoral wise...66%.

Hmmm....

I'll give it a provisional ding. :D

Predictions for '09

[heather2u.livejournal.com]

we will realize that things are worse than we ever imagined. We will also realize that we are stronger and more resourceful than we ever imagined. '09 will be a major growth experience for us all - well, many of us.

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

Some form of ENDA will pass. It will be controversial.
Harper will loose the next confidence motion and will call another election. Sadly he will win again but likely not a majority (or just barely)

[ghostangel.livejournal.com]

I will have a license and a car. But will still not drive anywhere. - Unknown, what say you, Ghostie? BZZT!

Damn, who was political last year that thought Ron Paul had a chance of winning? I see I still have memory lapses! o_o;

[ghostangel.livejournal.com]

Now predictions. Hopefully I will remember, but I don't bet on it. Nobody is letting me know who's bright idea last years predictions were. >_> This time only two from me, one political, one personal.

--Obama will probably have at least one attempt on his life in the next 4 years. (I know, not quite a year prediction, but keep it in mind yes?)

--I will have an intermediate/expert understanding of German.

[pazi-ashfeather.livejournal.com]

Although the economy will not about-face within the year, there will be a noticeable, albeit brief, spike in the markets sometime within two weeks of the inauguration.

(I've got a theory. Let's see what happens.)

[madrona.livejournal.com]

Barack Obama will restart the New Deal Alphabet Agencies to lower unemployment. When striking the first symbolic blow with a pickax to break ground for a new railroad, he will inadvertently discover a magical underground realm filled with unicorns. The horns the unicorns shed each year will turn out to be the missing ingredient in the cold fusion process and nearly free energy will hasten the approach of the Singularity.

The resultant peace and prosperity will, of course, trigger the beginning of the Tribulations as outlined in the book of Revelations.

[borgcube-jedi.livejournal.com]

The US changeover from analogue to digital TV will cause problems in rural areas as many people are upset about being unable to receive broadcast stations they used to. Also as a result, the viewership of broadcast TV among people over the age of 40 will decrease. (Cable and satellite TV patronage may or may not go up).

[wytwolf.livejournal.com]

Obama will be overly criticized for everything he does, and people will constantly grumble about the change he'll bring, because no one really likes change (even if they think they do).

P.S. Happy new year :)

[aspasia13.livejournal.com]

I'll take a stab:

The Economy:

- There will be another round of stimulus checks in the US. The relief will be mild at best for retailers as most people use the money to pay down debts rather than spur much new spending.

- The public will demand to know how the bailout money was used by the banks. While congress will hold hearings on the matter, in the end no one will be held accountable and no clear answers will be known.

- Banks will continue to not lend much money for most if not all of the year as the economy continues to stagnate.

- Lingering worries about the US economy will cause more investment in the Euro. More oil rich countries will switch from trading exclusively in dollars to a combination of USD, Euro, and Yuan.

- US Mining will begin to slowly increase as Chinese demand for raw materials continues to increase. This will have a modest boost on the economy, but the effect will be small overall.

The war(s):

- US troops will begin to pull out of Iraq towards the end of the year, but it won't ease the strain on the military or their families as further troops are deployed to Afghanistan.

- A political crisis will crop up in Iraq resulting in new leadership in the country. The result will be an even weaker central government whose main focus will be arbitrating the control of oil.

- A "surge" will be attempted in Afghanistan but, due to the vastly different culture and political situation than Iraq as well as not being nearly enough for the current situation, will only have mild success with little overall gains.

- Another terrorist attack will take place in India, raising tensions even further with Pakistan. India will make cross border attacks to take out targets they believe are responsible. The Pakistani government will protest and send more troops along the border, but no strong action will be taken at the urging of the US and other western governments.

Global politics:

- The tribes of northwest territories of Pakistan, long-time supporters of the Taliban, will instigate attacks against the Pakistani government that will gradually increase due to lack of significant action against India and US for cross border attacks. The Pakistani intelligence service (which also has strong clandestine support for the Taliban) will make a coup attempt. The end result will be the first civil war in a country with nuclear weapons (though that might not be IN 2009, but events of 2009 will lead to it).

- Russia will make a deal with China to make a new gas pipeline between the two countries so that it will not be at the mercy of Europe as its only customer.

- Russia will again invade Georgia under the guise of eliminating terrorist threats. The US will protest and again send ships into the Baltic but will not be able to do much as efforts are focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The EU will try to intervene diplomatically, but Russia will end up remaining in occupation after threatening to cut off gas supplies.

U.S. Politics

- U.S. Health care reform will be mentioned, but not introduced to congress this year.

- Existing same-sex marriages in CA will not be nullified as they will be deemed by the courts to have been done legally while it was allowed.

- California Prop 8 will be ruled invalid for procedural reasons (e.g. a simple ballot measure cannot override California's equal protection clause).

- Republicans will immediately blame Obama for the new stimulus package and the Afghanistan surge not having immediate results, despite them saying "these things take time to have an effect" when Bush did them in 2008. Nevertheless they will claim "Bush made them work, and Obama can't!"

- The main two focuses of the Obama presidency will be the worsening situation in Afghanistan/Pakistan and the Economy.

[zaecus.livejournal.com]

There will be a massive natural disaster in Chinese territory requiring outside assistance.

The US will be instrumental in helping deal with the aftermath of the natural disaster.

At least one major news outlet will ask the question, "Where was this when New Orleans needed it?"

As a result, foreign opinion of the US will begin to recover but domestic opinion of the US government will suffer.

[zaecus.livejournal.com]

An alpaca will be seen eating the roses in the white house rose garden.