...
or Happy New Year, Heureuse Nouvelle Année, Buon Anno.
Those
who, like me, enjoyed life in 2012 could, today, well be wondering for how much
longer they can expect to ride their luck. Given the current world climate –
physical, political and economic – only a fool would predict with confidence the
state of the world twelve months hence. So, briefly, here goes.
Climate
change is beyond dispute. Its causes, however, are not. Unfortunately, the
debate surrounding it has been politicized to high heaven, making it all but
impossible to see the truth through such a thick fog of vested interests. In
the UK, a mere three years ago, the public was being warned, mainly by
third-rate politicians, about the inevitability of hot, dry summers soon becoming
the norm. Naturally, 2012 was the wettest year since records began. Such
scientific illiteracy is often staggering. I recall, a few months ago, reading
that ocean levels would rise as a result of Arctic ice caps melting. They will
not. The ice at the North Pole is waterborne. In accordance with Archimedes’
Principle, ocean levels will remain the same regardless. I predict only that more
dumb remarks will spew forth in the coming year.
War
is the easiest occurrence to predict, because it never ceases. China is at odds
with Japan; North Korea is flexing what muscles it has for the ‘benefit’ of its
neighbours in the South; Israel is absolutely on collision course with Iran; and
Africa remains, well, Africa. Stand by for business as usual.
The
West is drowning in a sea of debt. Europe, in particular, is slowly being asphyxiated
by the monstrous creation that is the Euro. The proud nation formerly known as
Greece is now, in effect, occupied by Germany; and the economic (mis)fortunes
of Spain, Italy, Portugal, and even France remain at the mercy of a cabal of
vainglorious politicians and bank chiefs. Breaking point is imminent.
The
UK has become grotesquely overpopulated, the population of England having
increased by 10% in just 10 years. A year from now, millions of Bulgarian and
Romanian nationals, too, will be eligible to immigrate. Unsustainable is too
polite a word. Unless the UK breaks free from the EU in 2013, the consequences
will be both unimaginable and unmanageable. Since Christmas, I have been
engrossed in a delightful book entitled Britain’s
Lost Cricket Grounds by Chris Arnot – a gift from my children. It
chronicles cricket venues nationwide which have succumbed to either cash-starved
neglect or concrete ‘development’. The worsening housing crisis will, because
of mass immigration, ensure that the country becomes ever less green and
pleasant in the near future.
As
national banks, on both sides of the Atlantic, continue their QE (money-printing)
extravaganza, inflation will rise at an increased rate. Paper money will lose
value. Bond yields will be slashed and pensions will become worthless. In
contrast, and as a direct consequence, precious metals will increase sharply in
value. History and logic prove that this must be so. Wise, long-term investors
will buy gold and silver bullion in 2013. Silver is probably the smartest bet,
but its purchase is, unlike that of gold, subject to 20% VAT. A 100g silver bar
can currently be bought for less than £100 (US$160), 1g of gold for about £40(US$64),
so neither is beyond the reach of most.
In
the light of the above minefield of world crises, I still look forward, most of
all, to another twelve months on which my own children, and all others, will be
able to look back and be thankful (to whomever) that, somehow, 2013 had treated
them kindly and fairly (Figure 53.1). I can, as ever, but hope.
Figure
53.1: My
raisons d’être
Copyright
© 2013 Paul Spradbery
Here
we go again – viva la vida – so watch this space for more musings on life, past and present, through the eyes of a
well-travelled Englishman (Figure 53.2).
Figure
53.2: Happy New Year to everyone, from
El Escritor Inglés
Copyright
© 2013 Paul Spradbery
Copyright
© 2013 Paul Spradbery
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