Unless you have been sleeping in front of the television for the past year, tomorrow we have yet another of the seemingly endless elections in the US. At least that appears to be a big part of what we hear about on American television – who will be running for president in a few years, or Congress and so forth. This one has been touted as being special, though, and especially for the world at large. Why? Because the outcome will likely have far-reaching implications for foreign policy, for international relations between the US and its allies/enemies, for financial markets, and on and on. Yes, it is an important set of elections, because it will determine whether or not Trump becomes a lame duck, or emboldened as to his policies. And that will play heavily upon the national mood, which becomes more and more restive with the passing of years. So, are we going to hear a prediction as to the outcomes of those elections here? Continue reading “The US Midterm Report”
A wobbly moon and Halloween horrors
“World history is not the ground of happiness. The periods of happiness are empty pages in her.” (Hegel)
Starting on Thursday, 24 Oct, through to Halloween day, there was a series of shocking events, tragedies really, that marked the week before Halloween, and ended with Halloween day. It was one of those periods where we saw a confluence of violent events, and we were left scratching our heads wondering what was going on. Well, the signs were all there if one knew where to look, and we will outline some of that here. Before we do, though, as with any tragic event we extend our condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones and meditate for the safe and secure passage through the afterlife for those who lost their lives. Continue reading “A wobbly moon and Halloween horrors”
The Brazilian elections: There may be a few surprises shortly
In case you haven’t heard, elections were just held in Brazil. It was a landmark election for a number of reasons, which we will get to. Voter turnout was high. The man who won the presidential bid, Bolsonaro, defeated the challenger, Haddad, by 10 percentage points – a resounding win. Bolsonaro is controversial, to say the least. What may not be apparent is that Haddad made very significant gains in popularity after the first round of the election. In the first round he only polled at about 30%, whereas in the 2nd round he came in a 45%. But the election, in key respects, was a sham. Wait! you say… Continue reading “The Brazilian elections: There may be a few surprises shortly”
Scorpio and the European Union
Following upon our discussion of Scorpio, from the monthly letter, we move on now to a look at the European Union and what it is facing at the moment. Speculation has been rife in forums and media that the EU is doomed to break up, with dire forecasts about the rise of far right political parties and fears of fascism returning to the continent. It is quite fitting for Scorpio, really, looking at the glamours and fears that are aroused in the EU at this point in its short history. Is there any real basis for such fears, though? If so, why? And if not, then what can we realistically expect? We will examine those questions, along with some history, in this short article. From having investigated this over the past months, this is a short exposition. What has emerged in looking at the EU itself and the discussions I have seen about it, there are no pat answers, a lot of wishful thinking – and much of that negative toward the EU – overblown expectations and little knowledge of the Europeans’ views on the matter outside of the EU. So, we’ll start with the astrology of the entity itself and then move on from there…Continue to article HERE.
Featured pic from geoawesomeness
Scorpio for 2018 and the coming elections
The Scorpio article for 2018 is posted on the main site, which you can see HERE.
Topics (linked to paragraphs):
“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise – with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country”… Continue reading “Scorpio for 2018 and the coming elections”
The Khashoggi incident (viewer discretion advised)
Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist and WaPo columnist, has ‘been disappeared’. No one, except for the Saudis, knows where he is. It’s a mystery. Then again, maybe not so much. At about 1:15 PM local time on October 2, he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain divorce papers so he could remarry, and was never to be seen again. The event chart is below (bigger). His distraught fiancé waited outside the consulate until midnight hoping for his return before notifying Turkish authorities that he had disappeared. Turkish authorities claim Khashoggi had been murdered, claiming further they have a video of his murder. Apparently, he had on an Apple watch, which was linked to his phone in the hands of his fiancé outside, and the murder was recorded on the phone. Dick Tracy would be proud, if so. A few grains of salt might be in order for the latter. More likely was that the consulate was bugged. Either his dismembered body was spirited away in diplomatic baggage, buried in consular grounds elsewhere, or the still-alive Khashoggi was loaded into a mysterious black van and flown out to Saudi Arabia, to await, well, we can only guess. The details emerging from Turkish authorities are too gruesome to mention. The whole incident reads like a scene from The Sopranos. The Turks are outraged and have vowed a thorough investigation, but have fallen short of accusing the Saudis. Continue reading “The Khashoggi incident (viewer discretion advised)”
Tracking the wreckage of the Kavanaugh Express
Saturday, October 6 was a bad day for America. By ‘America’, I mean the majority of the American people. It was a great day for Republican operatives and hard right conservatives, and anyone who just wanted to stick it to Democrats and ‘liberals’. I put liberals in quotes because what is called the liberal left in the US is really neither, but that’s a topic for another discussion. Why I say it was a bad day for America is because of the vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) seat and his consequent installation in the SCOTUS. I had seen it coming, like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I just didn’t want to say at the time because of the sentiments I was seeing all over social media, from all sides. We’ll get to why I think the vote was against the American people in a bit, but first to the astrology to tell why I thought he would be confirmed. His hypothetical chart with transits is below (bigger), even though the time of day for his birth doesn’t matter much in this instance: Continue reading “Tracking the wreckage of the Kavanaugh Express”
Why can’t we be friends (with Iran)?
Following on our classic video clip by the band War, on the 3rd of October a ruling was handed down by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding a little-known treaty that had existed between the US and Iran since 1957. The ruling stated that the US was in violation of the Treaty of Amity, with US sanctions on Iran after having pulled out of the JCPOA (the Iran nuclear deal). The ruling further stated that the sanctions related to foodstuffs, medicines and spare parts for civil aviation had to be rescinded and normal relations restored, citing that the actions of the Trump administration were damaging the humanitarian security of the Iranian state. The Americans had argued that the court had no jurisdiction in the matter. The ICJ is the primary judicial arm of the UN, to which the US is a signatory. The ruling, which is equivalent to an injunction, will take about a year for a full ruling, but it was unanimous and was a win for Iran. The American response was immediate and predictable, given the current climate in Washington. The Trump administration rejected the ruling out of hand and decided it would tear up the treaty, further adding that it would be examining all such agreements as a result. Continue reading “Why can’t we be friends (with Iran)?”
Those Canucks and their grumpy Uncle, or NAFTA v. 2.0
Late in the evening of 30 Sep 18, a tentative agreement was struck between Canadian and American negotiators for a revision of the 1994 NAFTA treaty. It was the fulfillment of a campaign promise by Donald Trump to renegotiate NAFTA, having called it the worst trade deal ever for America. He is not the only one to feel that way, and we will get to why shortly. NAFTA has had its detractors across North America. On 27 August the US and Mexico reached agreement of terms for a renegotiated NAFTA, having sidelined Canada and thus increasing pressure on Canadian negotiators to either agree to a new deal or abandon NAFTA altogether. With the agreement reached at the end of last month, the scene is set for the implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – dubbed the USMCA, thus easing tensions in what had been an increasingly acrimonious relationship between the Trump administration and the Trudeau government over trade. As with the original NAFTA treaty, there are people who see pros and cons on all sides. But the point of real interest here is the study of Trump’s bullying tactics and a look at the astrology between Canada, the US, Trump and the original NAFTA treaty, the latter of which is actually quite interesting. Continue reading “Those Canucks and their grumpy Uncle, or NAFTA v. 2.0”
What they don’t tell you about Brett Kavanaugh
If you are American or live in the US, then you have no doubt heard of Brett Kavanaugh, and also with little doubt, have heard quite enough about him. If you have not heard of Brett Kavanaugh, then this will fill you in on what has been a heated debate in the US for weeks now. You see, Brett is Donald Trump’s pick to fill the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) seat vacated by the retirement of judge Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh was nominated for the post on July the 9th this year, when Saturn was opposite the US Venus/Jupiter conjunction. It was a sobering day for progressives and women. Controversy has surround his ascension to the higher courts of the land since the Bush days, and this time is no different. Kavanaugh is conservative, Catholic, Republican, Yale educated, from a privileged upbringing (his grandfather also went to Yale) and his parents are both attorneys. Public hearings on his confirmation started on Sept. 4th. Since then, accusations of sexual assault have been leveled against him by three women, and his character has been called into question. The question arises, though, are these accusations where the real focus of attention should be directed at Kavanaugh – many would say yes – or should there be something deeper at the heart of the hearings, something that the press is either not covering or covering up? Let’s see what the astrology says about the man and the nation. Continue reading “What they don’t tell you about Brett Kavanaugh”
