'Revolution, food riots in America by 2012'

[Legless_Marine2]

Originally posted by ianmcc


How the hell do you become an undeveloped nation if you are already developed?

Incrementally.

Look to the states to see a showcase of this process.

[TKRIS]

Hysteria and Bullshit.










Except the part about the Zombiepocalypse, but, thanks to Norman Borlaug and Samuel Colt, I think I've got my bases covered.

[Fivewayradio]

America is likely to become a welfare state long before any of this fear-mongering bullshit happens. We're already witnessing the largest corporate welfare distribution in history and it's unlikely to end any time soon, as the dominoes continue to topple. Government will own huge stakes in corporate america and will eventually be unable to extricate itself due to the significance of it's investment. They'll call it something other than 'welfare state'-- in the same way that a war in Iraq was justified as a means to ending a problem that was generated in an entirely different country.

[googe]

Some rational thinking instead:

http://blogs.computerworld.com/fox_news_obama_gloom

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by googe
Some rational thinking instead:

http://blogs.computerworld.com/fox_news_obama_gloom

I knew it's fishy as soon as the article mention Fox News.

[/////AMG]

I want to see how many of these predictions this guy made that didn't actually happen

[zain123]

gotta love the beyond 'economist' community lol
half of you actually know what you're talking about but other..

[Legless_Marine2]

Originally posted by Fivewayradio
America is likely to become a welfare state

Isn't it already?

Originally posted by Fivewayradio
long before any of this fear-mongering bullshit happens. [/B]

I don't understand the differentiation. It's all part of the same process...

[The Cosworth]

shouldn't it be revelation in the title?

Why would a revolution cause food riots.



haha I love what someone posted:

Of course, that's not all Celente has predicted. I looked at some forecasts Celente made roughly ten years ago in his book, 'Trends 2000: How to Prepare for and Profit from the Changes of the 21st Century,' excerpted by Psychology Today in February 1997. Here are some of the lowlights.

Voluntary simplicity, once merely a counterculture ideal, will finally become a reality in the twenty-first century. ....Moderation, self-discipline, and spiritual growth will be the personal goals of the future, not material accumulation.


Such a stunningly accurate description of the Bush years.... NOT. Apparently Celente missed the boom in SUV sales (at least until gas hit $4 a gallon). The good news: He's got another 92 years for this one to come true.

The trend to convert lawns into gardens will have a significant impact not only on the way we eat but also on how we live and feel. ....Billions of dollars formerly spent on lawn care will either be saved or re-deployed into producing fresh food.


I was just thinking that as I waded through the succotash on my front lawn.... Just kidding. Do you know anyone who's farming on their front lawn? Home lawn care products and services have grown (ahem) at a steady rate throughout this decade.

Instead of being banished to nursing homes or retirement communities, large numbers of retirees... will move in with their adult children.


The US nursing home population actually increased by about 70,000 from 2001 to 2007, according to a survey by UCSF.

The videophone, meanwhile, will keep us in touch with faraway relatives. ...long-distance communication will be more like television.


I love this prediction. People have been making it since, what, the 1950's? Eventually it has to come true.

Other Celente predictions:

The public is going to demand that the government break up powerful corporate monopolies.
The return of individuality will spell an end to the multibillion-dollar fashion industry
Painting and sculpture will be revolutionized by the incorporation of virtual reality and computer technology
The macarena was only the beginning. Look for Americans to embrace Latin culture--particularly its music--on a wide scale.
Whatever happened to Ricky Martin? I miss Living La Vida Loca.

Here's what Celente missed: The Internet. Blogs. Online video. Digital music. The explosion in mobile communications. Social networks. The complete upheaval in the entertainment and information industries caused by all of the above. And, oh yeah, the first African-American president of the United States. That's the short list.

Celente isn't a seer. He just looks at current trends and extrapolates. That means, of course, he's totally blind to anything that doesn't yet show up on a data curve.

Any fool can do this, even me. But instead of reading the papers and poring over data, I used a Magic 8 Ball (the online version). Here's what it had to say:

* Food riots: Maybe

* Tent cities: Definitely

* Tax revolts: No way!

* The end of Christmas: Absolutely

* President Sarah Palin: Ask again later

(Celente didn't actually predict that last one, but I figured since we're trying to scare people, it was worth a try.)

The problem with making dire predictions like this is that modern economics is really an enormous confidence game. Like voodoo, it only works if you believe in it. You want to create a run on the banks? Tell people there's a run on the banks. So Celente isn't helping anybody except the folks who want to see the world collapse in the next four years, for entirely self-serving reasons.

Told you not to look.

[Legless_Marine2]

Originally posted by The Cosworth
shouldn't it be revelation in the title?

Why would a revolution cause food riots.

It seems unsurprising to me that the two would be closely associated.

Originally posted by The Cosworth

haha I love what someone posted:
<SNIP>

Nice catch, Cosworth. It's nice to see a counterpoint to the uncritical praise of Celente's PR machine.

That being said, I don't think all of the prediction's he's listed are necessarily wrong - Some may be off on timing. The "Erlich" effect, if you will.

In particular, I'm thinking of his reference to front lawn gardening.

Urban gardening is alive, and growing fast. Last spring was a record year for seed sellers, primarily due to the explosion among the urban gardening community. Next is expected to be even greater.

A fellow on my own street has torn out his front lawn, and replaced it with garden beds. He grew so many veggies last summer, that he shared with several of his neighbors, some of whom are now working with him on collaborative gardening projects for next spring.

It's there, and it's growing - Perhaps not as soon as Celente predicted.

It's also worth considering that frugality-driven responses such as urban gardening may come slower to prosperous Alberta than they would to other areas of NA that are feeling the pinch harder, and sooner.

[The Cosworth]

Originally posted by Legless_Marine2


It seems unsurprising to me that the two would be closely associated.




Nice catch, Cosworth. It's nice to see a counterpoint to the uncritical praise of Celente's PR machine.

That being said, I don't think all of the prediction's he's listed are necessarily wrong - Some may be off on timing. The &quot;Erlich&quot; effect, if you will

In particular, I'm thinking of his reference to front lawn gardening.

Urban gardening is alive, and growing fast. Last spring was a record year for seed sellers, primarily due to the explosion among the urban gardening community. Next is expected to be even greater.

A fellow on my own street has torn out his front lawn, and replaced it with garden beds. He grew so many veggies last summer, that he shared with several of his neighbors, some of whom are now working with him on collaborative gardening projects for next spring.

It's there, and it's growing - Perhaps not as soon as Celente predicted.

It's also worth considering that frugality-driven responses such as urban gardening may come slower to prosperous Alberta than they would to other areas of NA that are feeling the pinch harder, and sooner.

Not to re-quote or to de-value what your saying, this is just what I think about all predictions.

Celente isn't a seer. He just looks at current trends and extrapolates. That means, of course, he's totally blind to anything that doesn't yet show up on a data curve.

So I agree that he was right on a lot of things, because anyone who cares enough to study it could produce the same predictions. You cannot predict something that has yet to surface (like say Hitler before the 1890's) unless you are clarvoant (which I dont believe anyone is).

Your right he is correct on enough things to give him reason to be listened to.

However those are things that dont have a huge impact on society. Take your gardening example, does it affect oil prices if more people start to garden at home? Not really, what about job creation? not really as people still need to buy other food they cannot grow at home. It is more of a niche thing, and niche things have a better probability of coming true because there are a lot less unforseen factors.

Now take a food riot, these things affect everyones day to day, from oil to jobs to even survival. Now to say someone can predict the start and end to one is absurd. I doubt there is even a single person who is actively trying to stop front lawn farming, however there would be massive work to save a large exodus of people if a food riot started. I think predicting these events are too hard because outside factors and many people become involved to correct the situation.

I hope that makes sense I am not sure if it does.

[Eleanor]

Death Race anyone?

[Legless_Marine2]

Originally posted by The Cosworth


Not to re-quote or to de-value what your saying, this is just what I think about all predictions.

Celente isn't a seer. He just looks at current trends and extrapolates. That means, of course, he's totally blind to anything that doesn't yet show up on a data curve.

So I agree that he was right on a lot of things, because anyone who cares enough to study it could produce the same predictions. You cannot predict something that has yet to surface (like say Hitler before the 1890's) unless you are clarvoant (which I dont believe anyone is).

Your right he is correct on enough things to give him reason to be listened to.

However those are things that dont have a huge impact on society. Take your gardening example, does it affect oil prices if more people start to garden at home? Not really, what about job creation? not really as people still need to buy other food they cannot grow at home. It is more of a niche thing, and niche things have a better probability of coming true because there are a lot less unforseen factors.

Now take a food riot, these things affect everyones day to day, from oil to jobs to even survival. Now to say someone can predict the start and end to one is absurd. I doubt there is even a single person who is actively trying to stop front lawn farming, however there would be massive work to save a large exodus of people if a food riot started. I think predicting these events are too hard because outside factors and many people become involved to correct the situation.

I hope that makes sense I am not sure if it does.

I located the blog-source, and re-read it, and found I didn't care much for it. It was both uninformed and unfair. It seems grasping and excessive to take Celente to task for developments he didn't anticipate. Unfortunately, it's one of the few sites offering anything resembling a counterpoint to Celente's hype.

I never read Megatrends 2000, but if it's true the Celente predicted front-yard gardening back then, he's already a frickin genius. We don't see it much in Calgary yet, but it's an explosively growing phenomenon in the Western World. An inevitable response to concerns about food security and safety.

While it's somewhat true he's extrapolating trends, it's not an extrapolation many are informed enough to make. His predictions are unsurprising to me[1], after spending the last year immersing myself in books about energy, economics, and agriculture, but to many, they must seen outlandish. I know a year ago, they would have seemed very disconnected to me.

At the end of the day, it's difficult for most to find relevance in Celente's predictions, which serve mostly as a PR stunt to boost Celente's consulting biz. Some will see these predictions as self-evident, and some will see them as outlandish. Few will actually be enlightened by them.

Additionally, living in our Island of Albertan wealth, we're disconnected from the realities faced by most of the rest of the world, including other North Americans. Just because catastrophe hasn't struck us, doesn't mean it hasn't struck.

That being said, even Albertans are already going through the initial stages of food "Shortage", as increases costs have forced some to buy a little less. At this stage, such costs are easily absorbed, managed, or tolerated, but the process has already begun.

For many Americans, Celente's recent predictions have already become a reality this year.




[1] Qualifier: While I agree with Celente's predictions, I do not agree with his assigning time frames to them. Catastrophe is a progression that will engulf different people at different times.

[Hakkola]

LOL at 2012! A calendar ends! Ours ends on Dec 31st this year, it's the end of the world!!!!

... What do you mean we get a new calendar for next year? Really?

[01RedDX]

.

[Legless_Marine2]

Originally posted by Hakkola
LOL at 2012! A calendar ends! Ours ends on Dec 31st this year, it's the end of the world!!!!

... What do you mean we get a new calendar for next year? Really?

Hahaha... I've made the same joke.

Additionally, there's tons of Mayans still living in Central America - Can't someone get them to release an update or something?

[ianmcc]

The Mayan calender ended when the Spanish Conquistadors killed the calender maker; he only go up to 2012 before he died.

[The Cosworth]

Originally posted by ianmcc
The Mayan calender ended when the Spanish Conquistadors killed the calender maker; he only go up to 2012 before he died.

I always wondered that

[TKRIS]

Originally posted by ianmcc
The Mayan calender ended when the Spanish Conquistadors killed the calender maker; he only go up to 2012 before he died.

False.
The Mayans had several different cyclical calenders. The 2012 Doomsday bullshit is based on a misinterpretation of the Long Count calendar made by some New Age wackjob guy with a doctorate in art history, and an appallingly tenous grasp of actual history or science.

Of all the conspiracy bullshit I subject myself to on a regular basis in the interests of truth and self-abasement, the 2012 is one of the most obviously wrong of all of them. Anyone who believes ANY of the 2012 theories (and I've lost count of how many ways in which I've been told the world will end on that fateful day) either has a serious mental deficiency, or can't be bothered to take, literally, 5 minutes to research the validity of their beliefs.

I'm constantly amazed and depressed by the realization that while the entire culmination of human knowledge is, quite literally, at our fingertips, people continue to believe in mystic crystal skulls, chemtrails, and homeopathy...

[Legless_Marine2]

Originally posted by TKRIS
Hysteria and Bullshit.

"I do not understand this, so it cannot be true!!"