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Kashmir, Pt. III: India

Finally, in this third section we will have a look at what the revocation of Article 370 will mean for India and why they went about it. The move has been called a ‘constitutional slight-of-hand’ and illegal, and on the whole it was the fulfillment of a campaign promise by the ruling party. Naturally, it has wide support among the Indian public, but what about the Kashmiris, who were not consulted? What will be the outcome for them? At this point, that is up in the air, but given India’s past behavior there, the outlook is not favorable for Kashmir. Continue reading “Kashmir, Pt. III: India”

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Salvini: Down but not out

On 20 Aug 2019 the Italian PM Giuseppe Conte resigned his post due to continued infighting between the coalition government and to preempt a confidence vote that had been put forward by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Conte went on to give an excoriating indictment of Salvini, accusing him of looking out only for himself and his party. The Italian press and much of the western press has followed in kind, painting Salvini as quite the rogue. President Sergio Mattarella wants the diverse factions in the Italian parliament to move quickly to form government, otherwise Italy faces new elections. The new government looks now to be formed, between the Pd and Five Star parties, with Conte as PM. If so, it will probably mean more austerity for Italy. But is that and the new coalition the right direction for the Italians? Continue reading “Salvini: Down but not out”

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Boris and his gamble

Boris Johnson has just played his hand. Probably at the prompting of his chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, he has asked the Queen to prorogue the UK Parliament. She has obliged, dissolving Parliament for five weeks. I have read many sources who say this is likely to result in a no-deal Brexit, much to the delight of many in England and Wales, much to the shock and disgust of Northern Ireland and Scotland – and some in England and Wales, too. It would appear that the Conservatives have finally gotten what they wanted, which is a clean break with the EU, which will also greatly please Donald Trump. I wouldn’t be so certain it will go that way. As the saying goes, it’s not over until…something about a lady singing. Continue reading “Boris and his gamble”

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Epstein: Is he or isn’t he — and how?

I like good mysteries. They sharpen the analytical skills, point us in different directions of thought, which we like to call “thinking outside the box” and often bring in new areas of study. More than that, however, they are a good measure of our common sense. Such is the current state of affairs with the mysterious ‘death’ of Jeffry Epstein. I put ‘death’ in quotes because we are only told of his demise. We have yet to see a body or an autopsy report. What do we really have, then? Continue reading “Epstein: Is he or isn’t he — and how?”

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The Sirius letter

For those who might have missed it, the Leo letter is now posted on the main site.  It is a look in particular this year at the shifting sands of capitalism and socialism, sure to be dog-whistle words in political contests in the US and UK in the coming year. The topics covered are Brexit, the Italian leadership spill and what it might mean for us here in Italy, Ukraine, Russia and the US (as always), the Hong Kong protests and China, France, Romania, South Korea, Deutsche Bank and more. There is also a brief mention of the Earth in astrology and, of course, an esoteric look at Leo. You can see the entire letter HERE. Enjoy!

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The trials of Deutsche Bank

Following on from our previous article about Boeing and its woes, there is another multinational corporation that is seeing its fair share of troubles as well. This company, however, has the capacity to bring about a crisis that would rival the Great Depression in its effects and bring about the end of the neo-liberal financial order. We refer here to Deutsche Bank. It has also seen its fair share of scandals in past years, too. And now, it is hemorrhaging assets at a rate of a billion dollars a day. Europeans should be especially concerned, but then, no one escapes if Deutsche Bank goes down. Continue reading “The trials of Deutsche Bank”

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Is Boeing going?

The Boeing Corporation has seen better days. After the crashes of two of its bread-and-butter aircraft due to a design fault, it is facing a loss of $2.5 billion a month due to the stoppage of sales and grounding of its entire fleet of 737 MAX aircraft, the type that was involved in the crashes. Almost 350 people died in those crashes. It was avoidable, had proper air safety procedures in the course of manufacturing and testing occurred. It is a story of a lack of oversight, cost-cutting, the rush to produce, and profits over people. It is a story across the spectrum of US industry. Continue reading “Is Boeing going?”

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The Earth in astrology

Unless one practices sidereal astrology, the Earth itself is hardly, if ever considered in standard astrological posts and literature. But it leaves an obvious question, as well as a hole in our interpretations. The Earth is a planet. It orbits the Sun. It interacts with the other planets. Why do we not consider it to be a viable or even important factor in astrological interpretation? Well in fact, the Earth does factor into astrology. We just don’t recognize it as such. Continue reading “The Earth in astrology”

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Boris, Pt II.

Boris Johnson met with the Queen to receive his invitation to form government at 3:34 this afternoon (24 July) in London, after Theresa May tendered her resignation. Now the Queen can go on her vacation to Balmoral. Boris faces a very busy and tense schedule when he enters #10. He has given his first speech upon his arrival at #10 to a rowdy crowd in attendance, promising steadfastly to leave the EU on Halloween day, along with a raft of other promises, as all politicians do. Now that we have a time for the start of his government we can see what is more likely to play out in the months ahead. Continue reading “Boris, Pt II.”