Predictions for 2008

Now that the ball has dropped in Times Square and 2008 is officially here, a few predictions about the year ahead are in order. As usual, this journal offers a forecast with no qualifiers, hidden meanings or chance for reinterpretation in the future. Empirically verifiable in 365 days, the Kensington Review predicts:

• The Democratic Party will win the White House and retain control of both the House of Representatives and the US Senate;
• Gasoline will set a new price record in the US, but it will not officially exceed $4 a gallon;
• New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will run unsuccessfully for president;
• The US will not experience a recession, classically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth;
• The US dollar will lose value this year. New York Board of Trade's US dollar index, a gauge of the dollar's performance against a basket of six major currencies, will finish below the current level of 76.01;
• The Writers’ Guild of America will continue its strike through the Oscars, requiring a revamping of the ceremony;
• Usama bin Laden will still be a freeman on December 31, 2008;
• Boris Johnson will defeat Ken Livingstone to become Mayor of London in May’s election
• “Mr. Brooks”, which starred Kevin Costner, will win the Razzie for Worst Film of the Year;
• TV ratings for the Beijing Olympics will be lower than those for the 2004 Games in Athens
• Finally, Manchester United will win the English Premiership, damn.