HBG

Will 2012 be a terrifying year? An able historian seems to think so.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-Dark-Age.html

The writer is not a Daily Mail journalist.

Is it sensible to compare 1931 with 2011? Whether it's sensible or not, I hope 2012 does not turn out like 1932. History does not always have to repeat itself, surely?

rugbymatt

Amazing how they can predict up coming trouble but none could predict the crash begin... Lets hope 2012 is like the 1930's and we end up in a bitter struggle, some of us are armed!

bobd22

That's the thing that always gets me not one of them in 2006/2007 told us what was coming from whatever statistics they were looking at, yet we are supposed to believe that they can see what's coming? Right

Dick Dasterdly

Oh dear, seems we should all be shaking in our boots at the latest offering from the Ministry of Doom and Gloom.

Apart from the continuing decline of the Eurozone and Western civilisation in general, possibly the two most crucial areas will be the Middle East where the Iranians are beginning to flex their muscles bigtime and Russia where it seems like Putins number is up, though somehow I don't see him moving over quietly.

The Chinese will continue with their stealthy march towards global dominance, though looking on the bright side it could be a few years yet before we're all political prisoners slaving for a bowl of rice a day.

Meanwhile I think you can rest assured HBG that we won't have any need to nuke Buenos Aires,....well not just yet anyway.

No doubt we can also look forward to the DM carrying on cheering us up on a daily basis with its never ending good news stories about the UK and Spain.

HBG

I thought Dominic Sandbrook, a historian, presented a reasonably argued article comparing European events 80 years ago, and now.

I must admit I was startled by the many similarities, economic disaster leading to nationalism and closed borders. I have slightly more faith in historians than economists.

Especially after reading about that horrible man who got as gong from Cameron today for making 100 million betting on Northern Rock going down.

Domino

but if we do start to compare 1931 and 2011 what do we have to look forward to........
another major war (who with ?)
a period of recovery and growth
more immigration
more migration

nothing changes except the dates and the quality of advertising

steviedeluxe

I do wonder sometimes if we are the victims of an enormous hoax, designed so that all our money goes to the banksters and other rich folk. And maybe not just the rich - it's reported that an extra 2 million people flew between Spain and the UK in 2011.
Even with all the people being hit hard by recession in Spain, the sale of luxury branded goods is expected to have risen by 25% in 2011 (article in Spanish) - although the article does make it clear that rich tourists are big buyers of luxury items in Spain. No wonder Apple are opening up stores in the major Spanish cities.

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/econo...lpepieco_4/Tes

Domino

ISTR during one of the previous recessions that there was comment about the appallingly high level of unemployment in the Newcastle area, where 95% or something of all the Ferrari's were registered.

what do you want the figures to tell you and I will make them give you the answer......

Dick Dasterdly

Statistics, statistics.........

Fredbargate

Back in 82 my answer to the Falklands invasion was to drop a dummy nuclear weapon into the centre of Buenos Aires with a message giving them 24 hours to get out of the Falklands otherwise the next one would be live.

HBG

The head of the British Army said recently that the next war would be economic, not military, and that bankrupt countries cannot defend themselves. That makes sense to me.

The heads of the various European countries are all predicting that 2012 will be a lot worse than 2011, and the year just passed wasn't a great one. Austerity is an ugly word, and that's all you hear nowadays; cuts, cuts and more cuts.

I'm down to two Mars bars a week.

bobd22

Yes they are great at telling us what we already know these politicians pity they are crap at forewarning us.

dunmovin

2012...... well if I wake in the morning with a pulse and my wife does the same and we continue to do that ......it's not going to be a bad year

jimenato

I think that's about all we can hope for at the moment. You're male then?

Domino

I am sure they will be the first to the trough when it comes to salary review and getting their exes in on time.
Austerity does not apply to politicians only to the general public.
Seems the only thing a politician can forecast with any accuracy, after all they can't get their own national economy right.

See even HBG is down to 2 Mars bars, things are getting tough, bet his local politician has a whole box.