Vol. XVII, No. 4 Autumn Issue • 2009 The History of The Future: Trends 2012 The 2nd American Revolution Episode V Autumn 2012, the “Greatest De- troops killed in Afghanistan.” “US drone attack kills pression” has spread worldwide. Billions are unem- 60 civilians in Pakistan.” “Car bomb blast kills 47 ployed, homeless and desperate. Countries bank- in Iraq.” rupt, trade pacts broken, tariffs rise, borders close. In the eleven years since President George W. Protectionist, nationalist and anti-globalization Bush promised to bring Osama bin Laden back movements have moved out of the margins and “dead or alive,” there have been more Elvis sight- into the mainstream. Immigrants brought in dur- ings than traces of bin Laden. ing boom times — blamed for bringing down wages, The US military asks for more troops, more stealing jobs and rising crime — are being rounded money and more time. The President and Congress up and deported. plunder the treasury and sacrifice more lives all un- Despite differences between the 1930’s Great der the pretext of keeping America Al Qaeda-free. Depression and today’s “Greatest Depression,” un- The Israeli-Palestinian peace process remains settling similarities conjure up memories of pre- permanently and violently stalemated. World War II. From the United Kingdom to Russia, Iran, having forged a business/military alliance war drums eerily beat. with China and Russia, is now a Nuclear Club mem- China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore — all ber, and the world is forced to deal with it. countries that ramped up production to meet insa- Oil-rich nations, having sunk trillions and lost tiable business and consumer demands of the prior trillions in high stakes investments, are trying to decade — fight for survival. cope with internal rebellion and decreased demand Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, long indus- for their only cash crop. trialized and export driven, blame China for their India’s miracle economy has run out of mir- mounting trade imbalances, internal strife and acle, pushing it back into Third World conditions. Southeast Asian instability. Incessant flare-ups with Pakistan carry nuclear im- Mexico, once the US resort/retirement retreat, plications. is as dangerous as the Congo, and its government — Canada, Australia and New Zealand are not in what’s left of it — is equally ruthless. great shape, but compared to most other nations, Across much of South America, depression, they seem like paradise. coups and wars prevail; few nations have been Africa is Africa. Not much has changed. Cor- spared. ruption, poverty and conflict prevail. Despots and In Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan it’s the same dictators vie for control. Newly emerging colonial news, different year, different body count: “Five US powers outmaneuver old colonial powers to com- mandeer rich lodes of natural resources. Trendpost: Although SHCs (Safe Haven Countries) A few countries flourish, some even in the was not part of the lexicon in 2009, the concept was middle of regional hotspots. Smart citizenry, good on the minds of the very rich and the very tuned-in. leadership, a little luck, energy and resource self- Aware of the mounting fury of the millions who sufficient — they saw the trends coming and made had lost jobs, homes and futures, and the many other proactive decisions. millions who blamed their government for taking their taxes to cover the trillions in financial sector losses, the smart money had already moved to safe- ty or had escape plans in place. If it meant leaving mansions and businesses behind, that was a small price to pay for saving their necks. The on-trend, even with limited resources, had Editor and Publisher plans in place to escape before things turned ugly Gerald Celente and it was too late to leave. Executive Editor Businesses specializing in safe haven relocation John Anthony West services — opening foreign accounts, arranging for Contributing Editors dual citizenship and/or multi-nation passports — will Alex Silberman be in high demand. Dr. Mitchell Skolnick It was a worldwide trend. From Israel to Ar- Eldad Benary gentina, Russia to the USA, nations big and small, Special Research Reports each with their own problems, were unraveling. By Sharon Johnston 2012, with borders tightly sealed and money flows Assistant Editor restricted, choice havens were no longer admitting Laura Martin foreigners, but there would still be other options for Subscriptions Manager the determined. Erin Pawski Illustrations Trendpost: “Survivalism,” a trend building in 2009, Michael Maslin will be bigger business in 2012. There would be es- Design cape routes, safe harbors and satisfying futures for Norgaard Advertising & Design those with the nerve and wit to take their lives into All rights reserved. For information on permission to reproduce or trans- late material from the Trends Journal®, please write or call The Trends their own hands. Research Institute. The Trends Journal® (ISSN 1065-2094) is published Survival was more than guns and freeze-dried quarterly by the Trends Research Institute. ©2009. Globalnomic, the Trends Journal®, Trend Alert, Trends in the News and The Voice of The Millennium food. It also meant getting prepared emotionally, are registered trademarks of The Trends Research Institute. spiritually and physically … “Holistic Survival” The Trends Research Institute P.O. Box 3476, Kingston, NY 12402 was a profession waiting for professionals to prac- www.trendsresearch.com tice and teach. WHO’S WATCHING The Reality Show Back in autumn of 2009, sabers rattled, but there was no fear of a YOUR FUTURE? world on the edge. The future was looking brighter. Services by Gerald Celente and In fact, a recession-free future was predicted on the The Trends Research Institute: cover of The Economist: “After the storm: How to make the best of the recovery.” n Personalized Consulting Google it. Do the research. It was official: the n Custom Keynote Presentations Great Recession was over and the forecast for re- n Trend Tracking Seminars covery was nearly unanimous. Nobel prize-winning n Commissioned Research economists, Wall Street sages and Washington’s www.trendsresearch.com or call 845.331.3500 leading politicians who, with few exceptions, didn’t 2 The Trends Journal • Autumn 2009 see recession coming, now, with few exceptions, trades; White Shoe lingo dreamt up to cover up proclaimed it over. That’s how it was being played frauds, inside jobs, rip-offs, Madoffs and scams. out in the media. It was like a pulp fiction crime novel with a On Main Street they were playing a very differ- plot at once transcendentally cliched, corny and ent tune. For the limo driver, carpenter, merchant, transparent … and yet it was the perfect crime. The restaurateur, accountant, college grad … there was White Shoe Boys of the Wall Street Mob had taken no recovery. Business was either way off or going over Washington. It was The Great Bank Robbery. under. Low pay, lousy jobs, losing jobs, can’t find a Except it wasn’t the bank that was being robbed. It job … that was the reality. was the banks doing the robbing. But in the make-believe media world, the taste, Politicians, bought off by the mob, did as they the smell and the degradation of Main Street reality were told. By government edict, the wealth of the was covered over with glitz and pontification. nation was extorted from those who had the least In the Trends Journal®, where we report from and bestowed upon those who had the most and the real world, we called “recovery” a mirage, a wanted more. fraud, a barker’s spiel … and the problems the na- Thousand page bills were rushed into print tion faced were far bigger than just the economy. and rammed through Congress before lawmak- ers had a chance to read them. Bailouts, buyouts, THE MOB rescue plans, stimulus packages, cap and trade The greatest crime wave ever to hit America was … by whatever name, it was the greatest heist in sweeping across the nation. More lawless than Wild American history. Committed in broad daylight West desperados, better organized than gangland and with everyone watching, almost no one saw it Chicago, a ruthless mob of financial bandits and for what it was: “crime.” But Washington called it political wise guys had taken control of the United “legislation.” States. By order of the President and Congress it was Not a week went by without Wall Street and decreed that all living Americans, and their de- Washington committing crimes. If perpetrated by scendants for generations, would be responsible individuals it would have been called robbery, ex- for the bad bets made by banks, businesses and tortion, embezzlement, felony and fraud, and the financial institutions deemed “too big to fail.” criminals would have been indicted, hauled into court and brought to justice. FEAR FACTOR Had the Wall Street “families” been named There was no time to debate what might happen if Celente, Caruso, Mondavi, Bellini, Rossini and Bu- the “too big to fail” actually failed: immediate ac- itoni, they would have been called a financial Ma- tion had to be taken to avert catastrophe. fia, and the billions in buyouts and bailouts would It was the familiar fear tactic — one that had have been called extortion. Day after day, month worked in the past and would work again — an eco- after month, it would have been a headline grab- nomic version of the Bush/Cheney argument for bing, non-stop story. Movies, TV features, HBO se- the Iraq War. The people were told that Saddam ries, Congressional investigations, special prosecu- Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and ties tors and commissions … Mafia madness would have to Al Qaeda. If he wasn’t stopped, the next cloud been milked by Hollywood for every penny of its would be a mushroom cloud.