Predicting 2012

[Loppan Torkel]

Easy question.
All things considered - Oil peak, Euro crisis, US debt, Arab Autumn, Iran going nuclear, Israel attacking, Climate change, starvation, mass movements, radioactive Japan, Putin returning, Polar shifts, CERN creating black holes, Katla erupting, Mexican drug wars, 2012 doomsday prophesies, etc - How do you expect the year 2012 to turn out?

Poll coming: 10 = Excellent, 5 = normal, to 1 = Worst year ever

 

[Godwynn]

a perfect ten

 

[Civ'ed]

a five, I believe.

 

[Joecoolyo]

a 7

 

[JollyRoger]

For me personally - 10, for the rest of the world - 6

 

[dIZZyBlIZZy]

For me personally - 10, for the rest of the world - 6

I was going to say that, you stole my thunder!

Anyway, won't actually know for sure til late January/early February.

 

[Hygro]

How did he steal your thunder? That was hardly thunder.

 

[dIZZyBlIZZy]

How did he steal your thunder? That was hardly thunder.

Not literally, just using it as an idiom.

 

[civver_764]

I'm not even going to bother predicting, but 2011 has certainly been an interesting year.

 

[strijder20]

Wow, that's optimistic.
I vote 3.
Arab autumn? It can't get much worse than it was - can you explain that?
Oil prices are going to continue rising slowly, I guess, with the occasional stagnation and sudden peak turning up, so that won't effect a lot in 2012, although it might.

 

[warpus]

2012 is totally going all the way up to 11

 

[choxorn]

Nice closing date for the poll.

Clearly, the world will end on that date, and thus 2012 will be a 1.

 

[jtb1127]

It's going to be the greatest year ever. I can find 20 positives for every negative that was listed in the OP. It's a shame that the media only likes reporting negative things. It gives everyone the constant perception that hell is freezing over.

 

[Cutlass]

I'm not looking for much good to come of the year. But for better or for worse, the world isn't going to end.

 

[Tee Kay]

I've no good things and lots of terrible things lined up for next year, so I'd give it a one.

 

[Tani Coyote]

Link to video.

I, personally, think it's the next step.

===

Ahem!

The Drug War will likely escalate, with further penetration of the Cartels into the United States while the gov't does nothing.

The Middle East will continue to be a hotbed for activies; Iran will step up its nuclear program and Israel will not hesitate to bomb them. America will have the tough choice of either backing up Israel and fearing Iranian reprisal, or leaving Israel to its fate and thus losing face. Syria will likely descend into further chaos, probably with Assad still victorious, but not after much blood has been shed. NATO is unlikely to get involved this time, due to fallout from Libya.

Europe will not only have a more assertive Russia to lose sleep over, but tensions that stretch and pull the links of the EU. While the EU will likely survive, I imagine it will be a tense time.

Come December 21st, likely some incidents of hysteria, though hopefully nothing too drastic.

Nothing catastrophic, but nothing exactly good, either. I'd imagine a 6 or 7.

 

[NickyJ]

3. I don't really know how to go into much more detail. It's just going to be just another year of downward spiraling.

 

[Marla_Singer]

I'm astonished about how Americans are optimistic in this thread.

Basically, all the Western world lives on a time bomb called MASSIVE debt. In Europe, it's getting clear we will never ever be able to live the way we used to. Our model of society will necessarily evolve. We don't know how, but it will.

As for the US, well, I believe that's actually even more true than for us. As at least, households in Europe got savings... and our public deficits are altogether smaller than the US.

 

[warpus]

I'm astonished about how Americans are optimistic in this thread.

Basically, all the Western world lives on a time bomb called MASSIVE debt. In Europe, it's getting clear we will never ever be able to live the way we used to. Our model of society will necessarily evolve. We don't know how, but it will.

As for the US, well, I believe that's actually even more true than for us. As at least, households got savings... and less disbalanced government budgets.

I live close to America and what's going on concerns me a bit, but.. I live in a stable economy that should weather the storm. I have a stable job, so I don't think the economy going to crap is going to affect me.

*knock on bacon*

 

[Tani Coyote]

Further, Marla, Europe's only occupied on social welfare. Americans want social welfare, AND a massive military budget, too. Because we're convinced if we halved our standing army, some huge Fourth Reich or Neo Soviet Union would devour us for lunch.

That's not getting into the idea that given that the world's advanced nations tend to include the most militarily-equipped ones, that much of the welfare states that exist now could be partially subsidised by this. It's a recipe for disaster - whether you're building bombs or hospitals, everything is hinged on the nations giving eachother money. And when that money runs out...

Kind of shows the failing of the current system, if anything. Our interdependence and market economies have allowed a quality of life previously unheard of, but at the cost that things as simple as medicine and food have to be paid for.