The Next 100 Years

On the way home from work yesterday, I was blown away listening to George Freidman of global intelligence company Stratfor talking about his latest publication.

Here are a few interesting predictions:

1. The Islamist threat is on it's last legs.
2. Don't worry about Russia and China, Japan and Turkey are more of a threat.
3. China will not manage to become a global player due to isolationism and continuing internal problems. Whilst 200 million Chinese are benefiting from the economic situation in China 1.1 billion are not and eventually they will start to do something about it - again!
4. There is not a single country in the world with a rising birth rate threatening the core driver of capitalism - growth and by 2030 countries will be fighting to attract immigrants.
5. By 2040 Turkey, Japan and Poland will become regional powerhouses think Ottoman empire in relation to the first and in Japan's case they will be taking in chinese immigrant labour and exerting influence in eastern Russia following it's decline as a power with the collapse of it's military with Poland picking up the pieces on the western side.
6. A global war to look forward to in 2050 focussed on taking out US military space stations and after two years the US and it's ally Poland will win!
7. The biggest benefit of winning this tussle will be the creation of space based energy-collection facilities together with advances in robotics and other technologies that will ensure continued US dominance.

So don't write the US off yet!