20 Predictions Made in 2000!

Every once in awhile, I like to look back at what I said before to see if what I said turned out or I was just wrong. There are not too many of us willing to lay bare our words. So, I've decided to print them out as I wrote them at the time.

Looking at these predictions I made in early 2000, just after the SC embarrassed themselves and assured the world that they would never be taken seriously again by handing their boy the Presidency in our first bloodless coup. (How can we forget: After the courage displayed by the CBC, not one Senator was willing to stand and make his or her case about the outcome of the election.)

Anyway, it is still early in the game and nobody is still taking China seriously as the new 'Super power' , GWB is still deciding our Russian policy by looking into Putin's eyes, Enron's top dogs are still running around instead of swinging at the end of a rope, our leader still believes that he communes with higher powers, and our people are one step closer to heading to Mexico to find work and the rest of us are plunging through the looking glass of insane policies designed to expedite this country's bankruptcy....so who can say?

Nevertheless, that ole' saw keeps playing in our minds: "Those who don't have an appreciation for the past, are doomed to repeat it!" But this time, you can count on GAIA to less forgiving, more vengeful!

Here are this Curmudgeon's old predictions:

Hey, gang, in light of our new government of retreads and hard-righters, we must still contemplate our role in the world. To date, there has been little evidence of anyone at Cabinet level either grasping the issues, discussing the significance of world events, environmental factors or anything of serious import to liberal voters. We have no evidence of position papers being prepared (some candidates had done this during the Primaries in prior elections), or any level of serious discourse on world matters. Unfortunately, they will not go away. Based on assessment of what is facing us globally, here's the best guess from yours truly.

Les Aaron


1.Iraq will arrange an alliance with Syria and Iran, possibly non-aggression. France and Russia will support it. Wide favor will be uncovered for ending embargo. Washington will jump up and down and attempt to re-institute the full embargo as we reach a stalemate with the rest of the world. Venezuela will side with Iraq and the price of crude will sky rocket.

2.The Pro-Clinton government of England will fall and there will be growing discord between our two countries. England will show increasing support for European views.
Hard-liners in this country will produce a schism between our countries.

3.An incident will occur between mainland China and Taiwan. America will send ships in a show of force...Our relationship with China will deteriorate further.
China will shift many of its purchases elsewhere. And it will affect our debt position.

4. America will back out of serious peace negotiations with Ireland plunging the country into further discord. A serious of bombings in London will exacerbate the problem... America will lend only token support..

5. Israel hawks will take over government; the Palestinians will
intensify conflicts. Israel will not have the same relationship it had with the west before. Yasir Arafat will be assasinated or disposed by his own people and replaced with a hard-liner committed to the destruction of Israel.
.
6.Syria's newly appointed "strongman" will have to show to his people that he can stand up to Israel and expect some border hostilities...

7.bin Laden will act up again bombing another American sanctuary in the middle east or possibly south Asia...hardliners in Washington will go after him with a vengeance.He will remain at loose.


8.Libya's terrorist leader will show his face and declare himself a voice of reason.
No one will know what to make of it.

9.The rising cost of oil will raise recessionary fears; nontheless, interest in alternative energy sources will lose momentum.

10. An increasing number of species will disappear as global warming and
various forms of air-borne pollutants will increase to levels not expected for at least twenty years...

11.Expect lack of rain to escalate food prices by at least 10% through-out the U.S.

12.Big tax refunds will place later programs in education and welfare in jeopardy.

13.Pakistan will innitiate new hostilities on the Indian border resulting in a military stand-off with the U.N. forced to mediate the conflict. Many crises will now become the problems of the UN and the Hague with the U.S. becoming further isolated.

14.Hostilities will break out in Serbia against Armenians and Croats! Without U.S. support, NATO will lose enthusiasm. Old antagonisms will surface and cause continued devastation.

15.Bangledesch will have major flooding again within the next two years!

16.Russia will find that Communism again offers attractions. Attempts at Democracy flounder as U.S. backs away from continued loans.. Antagonisms to the west will be revived.

17.NATO alliance becomes an empty shell as West fails to provide continued support.

18.UN dues remain unpaid in 2001.

19. Domestically, expect to see a growing lack of confidence in government; a return to "us" and "them" type of mentality reminiscient of the sixties...

20. Relations with Canada will fall to their lowest level in recent memory because of the interest in drilling in the north-land west of the Yukon and failure o stem acid rain.


Les Aaron