Originally published January 18 2010
Review of Health Ranger's predictions from 2008
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) In late 2008, I published a series of 37 predictions for 2009 (and beyond). One of those predictions was this:
"Massive health care reform efforts will be underway in 2009, but real reform laws won't be passed until 2010 or later. A universal care system where the government pays for all health care won't be passed. Rather, it will be some sort of compromised hybrid system that keeps health insurance companies profitable and employers penniless. In other words, the new reforms will be nothing more than a new rip-off that puts money into the hands of the ultra rich while soaking working-class citizens with higher taxes and higher costs of employment (which translate into lower wages). Expect to see mandatory health insurance laws put in place, turning you into a criminal if you don't buy expensive health insurance."
To the great astonishment of many people, every single element of this prediction has now come true via the new health care reform bill. We have a health "reform" system that keeps insurance companies profitable, that produces higher costs of employment and that is structured as a mandatory system where people who don't buy health insurance can be punished for violating the law.
I didn't get all my 2008 predictions right, however. Here's a review of the major predictions I made in 2008 and their results:
Prediction #1 - Big Pharma will begin to implode - Right
2009 was the year that Big Pharma paid record fines (in the billions of dollars) while also admitting, for the very first time, of committing a felony crime.
Prediction #2 - The U.S. Supreme Court will grant legal immunity to Big Pharma - Wrong
The Supreme Court decided against Big Pharma in this famous court decision handed down during 2009. I was surprised but very happy!
Prediction #3 - A wave of commercial bankruptcies will bring down retailers, malls and commercial real estate companies - Right
Circuit City famously filed for bankruptcy in January, 2009, and it was joined by numerous other retailers and commercial real estate companies throughout the year. 2009 was the year of the collapsing commercial real estate market.
Prediction #4 - Real inflation on food will hit 20 - 40 percent before the end of 2009 - Right
Food prices headed higher throughout 2009, and while I don't have a specific report to cite (because there hasn't been one written by anybody), the people I ask all say food prices are up at least 20 percent from the end of 2008. They're also headed much higher now thanks to the deep freeze that's destroying crops all across the world. Food prices will really spike later in 2010.
Prediction #5 - Melamine scandal widens, envelops meal replacement products - Half Right
The melamine scandal did indeed widen right at the end of 2009 as a new round of contamination was discovered. It hasn't yet enveloped meal replacement products, however, so I only score this as "half right." (http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/01/melami...)
Prediction #6 - At least three U.S. cities and states will announce their bankruptcy - Wrong
While California suffers its historic financial crisis, there were not three cities and states that declared bankruptcy in 2009.
Prediction #7 - Taxes will be raised for virtually all Americans - Right
Taxes were raised steadily throughout the year as the Federal Reserve continued to create billions of dollars to bail out the bankrupt federal government. Money creation is a hidden tax on the People, and the more money the Fed creates, the more worthless your existing money becomes.
Prediction #8 - Stevia will be GRAS approved by the FDA - Right
Stevia is now accepted by the FDA as being on the GRAS list, and it is now appearing in food and beverage products throughout the country, including stevia-sweetened soft drinks.
Prediction #9 - The credit rating of the U.S. Treasury will be downgraded - Not right yet...
I actually predicted this would happen with a 60% chance by 2012, so this prediction isn't finished yet. There's little doubt it will still come true by 2012.
Prediction #10 - Psychiatric doctors will be caught up in yet more scandals - Right
2009 was the year that Emory University got caught with its chairman, Charles Nemeroff, engaging in apparent Big Pharma payoffs and bribery. The NIH even shut down funding to the university. Read more here: http://www.naturalnews.com/026061_NIH_confli...
And in the WSJ blogs here: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/02/26/what-...
Prediction #11 - Big Pharma will push for mandatory medication policies, starting with mental health - Right
Big Pharma pushed hard for The Mothers Act, which would require mandatory testing and drugging of expectant mothers. The industry also worked out under-the-table deals with the Obama administration to put more mental health "screening" requirements into the health care reform bill.
Prediction #12 - The American Dental Association will abandon mercury - Not yet...
I predicted a 70% chance of this happening by 2012, recognizing it might take longer than a year to come true. This one is still on my predictions list...
Prediction #13 - Terrorists may strike New York or Los Angeles - Wrong
The only real terrorism event that took place in 2009 was the famous underwear bomber (http://www.naturalnews.com/027825_terrorists...). It wasn't an attack on NY or LA, so this one is wrong. (I only put a 20% confidence rating on this one.)
Other smaller predictions I made in 2008
The press will attack antioxidants and vitamins, declaring them to be worthless - Right (not exactly a difficult prediction...)
New laws will limit junk food advertising to children - Wrong
Drug companies will engineer yet another "miraculous" finding about statin drugs - Right
Obama will call for new gun control measures and the Democratic Congress will pass new laws restricting the gun ownership rights of U.S. citizens - Wrong
Another food contamination recall will occur that involves salmonella or e.coli contamination of fresh produce - Right
Another study will denounce any link between vaccines and autism. And yet, at the same time, drug companies will continue pushing for more mandatory vaccination policies, even as autism rates continue to escalate - Right
The anti-Federal Reserve movement will gain power, and Ron Paul will continue to play a pivotal role in the financial education of U.S. citizens - Right (in a big way!)
Beyond the Bisphenol-A and melamine scandals we've already witnessed, 2009 will see yet another food contaminant chemical surface, possibly a solvent chemical or some other food processing element - Right (ammonia in hamburger meat)
The raw foods movement will continue to grow, but it will shift away from its hippy drug-culture past and move into more mainstream circles where the term, "plant-based diet" will be used - Half right
More studies on Vitamin D will tout the incredible health benefits of the nutrient, but the American Cancer Society and the AMA will continue to avoid recommending it as a way to prevent cancer, since the cancer industry is so incredibly lucrative - Right
Municipal water fluoridation will meet with increasing resistance in 2009 as better educated citizens fight back against mandatory fluoridation policies - Right
Well-known freedom personalities like Alex Jones, Jeff Rense, the Health Ranger and others will continue to be attacked on public message boards by covert workers who are paid for each negative post - Right
The FDA will be sued over its censorship of truthful health claims for nutritional supplements - Right (this happened in April 2009 with a lawsuit filed by health freedom attorney Jonathan Emord)
The ocean's dead zones will continue to spread as pesticides, agricultural fertilizers and pharmaceuticals continue polluting the waterways - Right
Massive health care reform efforts will be underway in 2009, but real reform laws won't be passed until 2010 or later. A universal care system where the government pays for all health care won't be passed. Rather, it will be some sort of compromised hybrid system that keeps health insurance companies profitable and employers penniless. In other words, the new reforms will be nothing more than a new rip-off that puts money into the hands of the ultra rich while soaking working-class citizens with higher taxes and higher costs of employment (which translate into lower wages). Expect to see mandatory health insurance laws put in place, turning you into a criminal if you don't buy expensive health insurance - Right
The results: 79% correct
Counting up all the rights vs. wrongs, and leaving out those predictions that still have time on them, I come up with a total of 19 right predictions, and 5 wrong ones. (The half-right predictions count as 1/2 right and 1/2 wrong.)
That is a prediction success rate of 79%. Not bad overall. Some of the predictions here were easy, but others were more difficult and specific.
So what's in store for 2010?
I have many predictions for the years 2010 - 2012. They deserve their own article, so I'll save them until that article is published.
But here's a hint: The years 2010 - 2012 will be the most tumultuous in the history of human civilization. We will see more rapid changes, more bizarre developments, more natural disasters and more shocking events than at any time in recent memory.
Things are going to take place over the next three years that most people simply could never imagine today. They are game-changing events that will recalibrate the way people see themselves and the world around them. And most people aren't ready for these game-changing events.
I'll share more with you in an upcoming article.
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