2008 Predictions

It's about that time of the year for me to revisit last December's predictions and throw out some new ones. Only last year's predictions were so spectacularly wrong that I'm ashamed to repeat them here. So let's just skip ahead to next year:

1. Russia will destabilize to the point that it will soar past Iran and Iraq as the US's number one foreign policy conundrum.

2. China will experience a spectacularly catastrophic environmental event embarrassingly close to the Beijing Olympics.

3. Facebook will find the path to profitability - and an even higher valuation - by cleaning up its interface and facilitating click-through purchases of products and services; example: books on your virtual bookshelf and favorite electronic gizmos can be dragged and dropped into a shopping cart.

4. College football will have a scandal that makes Mike Vick, Tim Donaghy, and steroids look forgettable by comparison, and it will involve sex, money, and race.

5. Bottled water will further plummet in popularity as a result of a fatality associated with tainted water.

6. The presidential and vice presidential teams in the November general election will include a woman (Clinton), a Hispanic (Richardson), a Mormon (Romney), and a Jew (Bloomberg).

7. Two words: Apple TV.