h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

programmers will continue to fail to see how much reality tv sucks and we will be assaulted with even more trash telly.

The current British government will bring in near corporal laws restricting freedom of movement and speach, but one at a time so they think we'll not notice. And indeed the general public may not, after all they seem to only announce them as and when something in the press gets the public on the side of them.

The current government will suffer (another) humiliating defeat on some law or other that they try to bring in. But will stay in power because the other partys haven't got themselves together enough to be a serious opposition.

I like that last paragraph Pastey-so true...

Unfortunately.

Ssshhhhh Amy. If you tell everyone that I am about to upheave the literary world, everyone will want to do it!

Ann Widdecombe will be elected head of the Tory party. She'll take ol' Tony outside, duff him up, and send him home to Cherie. Then she'll be Prime Minister, and life will be much more entertaining.

My predictions for 2003:

1. The results of the five economic tests will be a complete non-event.

2. The AIDS vaccine will work (I hope....!)

3. Girls Aloud will split up.

4. IDS will be replaced as Tory leader.

5. Yasser Arafat will be replaced as Palestinian leader.

6. The problems in West Africa will continue to be ignored.

7. Catherine Zeta Jones will have five more children.

8. The Raelians will take over from the Scientologists as the next trendy sect.

9. JK Rowling will get a ghostwriter to finish that damn Harry Potter book.

10. Homegrown (British) hip hop will start getting some attention.

#7. poor Catherine ...

Yasser Arafat is going to be assasinated in 2004 or somewhere about that time, so I don't think he'll be replaced yet...

All the rest I agree with.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2631515.stm

A large scale survey will show that 51% of the population is in the majority.

A scientific study will find that food is bad for you. A subsequent study will find that food is good for you. The researchers in the latter study will be criticized by the researchers in the former study.

Barcode (Code 128-B) tattoos will become chic as a form of protest against invasion of privacy, government intrusion, etc. My barcode will say something obscene.

The Russian Space Program will collapse, and all the Russian rocket scientists will go build rockets for Iraq, China, and North Korea.

Barcode tattoo's are ALREADY chic!!!

Ok, I'll throw in a few.

1. There will be a war with Iraq. The United States and the UK will be the main combatants (although US troops will outnumber UK troops by 3 to 1). Italy, Canada, Turkey and France will have "supporting roles". The war will be over very quickly as Iraqi troops desert a la desert storm. Saddam Hussein will be murdered by his own bodyguards as Western troops converge on Baghdad. The aftermath of the war will be enormously controvertial, with the US not revealing a definite plan for post-Saddam Iraq. Blair will continue to agree with Bush despite it being a running-joke in the UK and internationally that he has strong reservations about Bush's handling of the Iraqi situation.

2. The Pope will die. The next Pope will surprise everyone and will be immediately reformist.

3. Robert Mugabe will fall from power in Zimbabwe.

4. Britain will not have a referendum on Euro-entry, despite a great deal of tedious speculation that we will.

5. Iain Duncan Smith's leadership of the Conservative Party in the UK will be seriously challenged. He will survive by appealing to "Party Unity" but the party will in fact be bitterly divided. Especially over the question of the EU and the Euro.

6. There will be a large-scale terrorist attack against a target in Western Europe. Almost certainly in the UK or France.

7. George Bush will come under major criticisms in the US, as the post 11/9 support for his leadership wanes.

8. Chris Evans will re-appear on British TV or Radio.

Daily Mail readers nominate Tim Henman as next leader of the Conservative Party, but he's unexpectedly defeated in the penultimate round of voting. Meanwhile Alistair Campbell announces the repeal of Universal Suffrage, citing the outcome of 2002's "PopStars, the Rivals" and "Fame Academy" as proof of its undemocratic nature.

The cliche of assuming what a Daily Mail reader is like will continue...

And let it be noted that I said the Pope will die first...

Blind Date (for those overseas researchers who don't know what this is, its a tired, brainless Saturday night TV show which the 'well loved' host has just left) will gain a new host: step forward Angus Deayton.

may be the Tories can hold a Tory Academy to find new leader
...a weekly tv show to air what happened!

Clive - *Andy Serkis will get nominated for an Oscar for his part as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy but will controversially miss out on the golden statue.

Yup, I agree on that one.

I predict that...

1) Someone close to me will get married.

2) Manchester will have a /serious/ earthquake, resulting in evacuations and all sorts of panic.

3) The world will witness a major environmental disaster (possibly due to war)... but Western governments will still not take heed.

4) A third 'Lord of the Rings' movie will be released.

5) And production will start on the next X Files movie.

6) Oh yeah... and I'll win the lottery!

7) And I'll finally work out where my aim/future in life lays.

I hope 7 happens to me too...

Here's a selfish one...

A new piece of software will be released sparking off a new craze off people turning their family photos (and ones taken at parties) into pieces of music.

... well, if I ever get around to finishing it.