In a September post, I pointed to a claim by a futurist outfit called the Arlington Institute that "something very substantial and disruptive is going to happen to the U.S. within the next 60 days or so."
Well, the 60 days are up, and happily the catastrophe – whatever it was supposed to be – did not occur.
Some people might say the credit crunch was the crisis in question. But it seems that something even bigger was anticipated. Here are some excerpts from Arlington's report on the matter, dated October 10, 2008 (PDF format). These are predictions made by various individuals:
The majority of people I have heard from, been in discussion with, or have read, all talk about an "October Surprise," something that will impact the Election in November and may derail it. There is inconsistency as to what, but these people see it as a tragedy that will be a serious setback for our country. The astrologers I read are scratching their heads to try to understand the aspects they see before and during the Election – it's not quite like anything they have observed before. The majority of these people feel this setback will involve one of our candidates or their running mate.
….
The Web Bots see September 22-27, 2008 as precursor dates to the main turning point date of October 7, 2008. Closely watch events during September 22-27, 2008 for hints as to what to expect on October 7, 2008.
Cliff said whenever "it" happens, and whatever "it" turns out to be, "it" will be a date in history you remember like 9/11, we will remember 10/7.
The Web Bots foresee that October 7, 2008 to February 19, 2009 will be filled with emotional intensity, and the length of the release period will be extraordinary. The Web Bots have never picked up any event lasting this long. In comparison, 9/11 length lasted about 10 days. This event will be four months of high emotion.
The Web Bots foresee consumer society collapsing by mid November 2008.
Hmmm. Well, it's not quite mid-November, but society doesn't appear to be collapsing. And I don't remember anything dramatic happening on October 7, nor were there any stunning developments regarding the presidential candidates and their running mates. In fact, the biggest surprise in this election season was that there was no "October surprise" at all.
The Arlington report includes a table summarizing the various predictions. These run the gamut from natural disasters to terrorist attacks to UFO arrivals. All appear to be wrong (or too vague to be meaningful).
One prediction is of an "EMP device detonated in WashDC/NYC. Inside job. Martial Law. Election put on Hold. Holy war starts." This was to have happened on October 13.
Another prediction: "Martial law, FEMA camps" in Texas and the Southwest on October 8.
Also on October 8: "Large terrorist attack in the US. Dirty bomb in LA or SFO. Want to stop elections. President declares martial law."
Luckily, we have escaped all these mishaps and continue to muddle through in our usual way.
Prophecies are easy. Getting them right – well, that's another story.