2007-5-8 07:18:00
I am short of time tonight so I'll just make a few comments.
First, I thought I would do an update on some of the predictions I made at the first of the year. Here are several that seem to be coming true:
I said: The dollar will lose strength against the Euro.
This is a prediction I did not want to come true but it looks like it has.
On April 27, the news read:
"The dollar dropped to an all-time low against the euro after the U.S. government reported the economy grew at its slowest pace in four years.
"The dollar also weakened against most other major currencies, with a Federal Reserve index measuring dollar strength near the lowest level in its 36-year history. Hedge funds and other speculative investors increased bets on the euro's gain to a record for a third straight week..."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSp.blLzk9D4
Prediction: Look for more weather disasters this year and more damage by fire.
These recent tornadoes are a good start on this and there have been quite a few fires. We'll see what else develops during the year.
Prediction: Venezuela will become more communistic and controlled by Hugo Chavez. He will continue in his determination to hurt the United States and will secretly cooperate with terrorists.
On May 3, MSN news ran this story:
"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned he will nationalize the country's banks and largest steel producer in an apparent bid to strong-arm the businesses to contribute more to local industry."
He is also attempting to nationalize the oil industry.
Prediction: Frustrated Democrats who cannot stop Bush will call for all kinds of investigations.
So far this is right on the money.
Prediction: Mit Romney will get the Republican nomination (2008).
Romney's star seems to be on the rise. I believe that if he doesn't get the nomination this time he will in 2012. He has good Karma on his side because the press unjustly destroyed his Dad, George Romney, when he ran for president in 1968. Consequently Nixon got the nomination.
Prediction: Watch for tax increases followed by economic slowdown.
The latest bill that Bush vetoed had the largest tax increase in history. It's only a matter of time before another comes along and makes its way through.
Bryan writes:
"I can't help but wonder (and have for a while) if and how these (fairly) recent deaths have caused you to reflect, introspect; and what your reflections and/or introspections have revealed to you--not only about yourself, your family and loved ones, but possibility about other topics associated with it, such as death, love, family, friends, et al, for instance."
JJ:
I pretty much accept events as they come. Death is not permanent, but a temporary situation. If a good friend said he was moving to Australia I would be sad over the fact that I would miss him, but I would figure he would be happy wherever he was and that I would see him again.
Even so we should be no more upset when a loved one dies. We will meet again, but the temporary separation is inconvenient.
When I learned of my nephew's death I felt worse for my brother than I did for him because they were pretty close. I was also glad his death was quick and figured things would have been much worse if he had wound up as a paraplegic the rest of his life. That would have really been tough on my nephew Jeff, who was the outdoors type.
Global Warming Enlightenment:
Q: Could you rank the things that have the most significant impact and where would you put carbon dioxide on the list?
A: Well let me give you one fact first. In the first 30 feet of the atmosphere, on the average, outward radiation from the Earth, which is what CO2 is supposed to affect, how much [of the reflected energy] is absorbed by water vapor? In the first 30 feet, 80 percent, okay?
Q: Eighty percent of the heat radiated back from the surface is absorbed in the first 30 feet by water vapor...
A: And how much is absorbed by carbon dioxide? Eight hundredths of one percent. One one-thousandth as important as water vapor. You can go outside and spit and have the same effect as doubling carbon dioxide.
Interview with Reid A. Bryson, PhD, founding chairman of the University of Wisconsin Department of Meteorology - Sometimes called "the father of the science of modern climatology."
http://www.wecnmagazine.com/2007issues/may/may07.html
Copyright © 2007 by J J Dewey, All Rights Reserved