The Cardinal Crisis
Jupiter opposes Saturn: Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers went on strike in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2011. Protesting to defend jobs, tuition and pensions, British citizens caused widespread disruption to schools and state-run services. A third of British schools were closed and another third were affected, officials said, as up to 350,000 teachers, lecturers and education staffers took action against plans to make them work longer hours and pay more into their pensions. Tax offices, museums and job centers were brought to a standstill as a further 100,000 civil servants walked out on the first nationwide day of strike action since the British coalition government took office last year. The coalition government has been the focal point of public sector anger ever since it announced austerity measures that include a two-year pay freeze with 330,000 job losses by 2015 in attempts to rein in record budget deficits. The June 2011 strike was the largest public sector strike since March 2006 when a million government workers walked out. Some British union leaders warned this may only be the beginning of many months, perhaps years, of massive civil unrest over jobs, education, health and pensions in the United Kingdom.
Austerity Or Revolution?
Greeks On The Brink
Plus,
Murdoch News Corp. Scandal Rages In The United Kingdom
&
Murdoch News Corp. Scandal Rages In The United Kingdom
&
16 Statistics On Baby Boomer Retirements That Will Drop Your Jaw In Awe
Also,
The Climate:
Heat Waves, Floods, Fires & Drought
Featuring
Drought & Famine:
10+ Million Souls Starve On Horn Of Africa
And,
Food, Energy & Gold Prices:
Is This The New Normal?
Plus,
Paul Krugman Asks, "President Barack 'Herbert Hoover' Obama?"
Also,
Europe In Crisis: Pain In Spain?
&
The Audacity Of Austerity?
Plus,
Mundane Advice, Solutions & Warnings...
&
The Audacity Of Austerity?
Plus,
Mundane Advice, Solutions & Warnings...
Global Astrology
By
Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
GoodWill and Peace To Humanity.
Praise Be To The Immortal God.
In this July 6, 2011 edition of Global Astrology we explore the ever growing perception that the world's economic, political and social health is getting worse, not better. Sorry to be a downer on these matters, but as a Capricorn sometimes that comes with the job and I just work here.
For years I have been forecasting that the motions of the outer planets relative to Earth, in my mundane analysis, depicts our planet in the midst of historic change. This change is generational and taking place worldwide.
As the overclass oligarchy passes on and their children, the baby boomers enter old age, times are surely changing from the post-modern industrial Information era of the 20th century to the new Knowledge Age of our early 21st century.
The transits of the outer planets relative to the Earth continue to show mundane astrologers that there's more history to come.
For that is why as astrologers we monitor the Sun, Moon and transit clocks of our world's skies very closely. Our heads no further from the heavens than our feet are from the ground. That is the mundane way.
For that is why as astrologers we monitor the Sun, Moon and transit clocks of our world's skies very closely. Our heads no further from the heavens than our feet are from the ground. That is the mundane way.
The transits of the outer planets relative to the Earth continue to show mundane astrologers that there's much more to come. In my July 2011 edition of Global Astrology we explore the impacts of climate to the economic struggles of nations to the shifting geopolitical situations worldwide - all in an effort to make some sense of a nonsensical era.
Recent World Events
Mass Shooting & Bombing shocks Norway
Alleged Norway mass killer jeered by public
Libyan rebels say military chief Abdel Fattah Younes assassinated
Syrian forces kill more people during protests
Singer Amy Winehouse dies at age 27
Jamaican mother & daughter found beheaded at home
Egyptians march on defense ministry
QVC Disses Jane Fonda Over A War That Ended 36 Years Ago?
Decade-long Baby Boomer administration test scores cheating scandal rocks Atlanta Public School System
Terror Attacks Kills 21, injures 113 in Mumbai, India
Beef tainted with Radiation sold to customers in supermarkets & restaurants across Japan
Dangerous levels of radiation detected in American Northwest's Drinking Water
Fukushima Nuclear disaster cleanup will take decades
Afghan president's influential brother assassinated by bodyguard at home
Anger grows in Russia as children found dead inside sunken tourist boat
Storm eight times the surface of earth rips across the planet Saturn
EU calls emergency talks on debt contagion in Italy
Widespread Murdoch News Corp. phone-hacking scandals angers British public
Ex-Cameron aide arrested in UK hacking scandal
Murdoch drops bid for British Sky Broadcast Network
7.1 magnitude Earthquake rocks northeastern Japan
11 Bodies Found On Outskirts of Mexico City
Gunfire rattles city of Karachi, Pakistan as deaths mount
40 Killed In Mexico Over 24 Hour Period
South Sudan becomes world's newest nation
Quartzsite, Arizona in state of emergency over allegations of cover-up of corruption involving city council & police chief Jeff Gilbert, woman citizen arrested for speaking at public hearing as Mayor of town stymied
White House: U.S. suspends $800 million in aid to Pakistan
Wyoming man held over killing four family members
31 dead, 100 injured as train derails in India
Airliner Crashes in the Congo, 127 reported dead
Michigan Suspect in 7 murders kills ex-girlfriends and his own daughter
Egyptians Rally, Demand Faster Reforms
American Space Shuttle Lifts-off for last time
IMF approves $3.2 billion Euro loan for Greece
U.S. regulators shut down banks in Illinois & Colorado
Former U.S. First Lady Betty Ford dies at age 93
Alleged Norway mass killer jeered by public
Libyan rebels say military chief Abdel Fattah Younes assassinated
Syrian forces kill more people during protests
Singer Amy Winehouse dies at age 27
Jamaican mother & daughter found beheaded at home
Egyptians march on defense ministry
QVC Disses Jane Fonda Over A War That Ended 36 Years Ago?
Decade-long Baby Boomer administration test scores cheating scandal rocks Atlanta Public School System
Terror Attacks Kills 21, injures 113 in Mumbai, India
Beef tainted with Radiation sold to customers in supermarkets & restaurants across Japan
Dangerous levels of radiation detected in American Northwest's Drinking Water
Fukushima Nuclear disaster cleanup will take decades
Afghan president's influential brother assassinated by bodyguard at home
Anger grows in Russia as children found dead inside sunken tourist boat
Storm eight times the surface of earth rips across the planet Saturn
EU calls emergency talks on debt contagion in Italy
Widespread Murdoch News Corp. phone-hacking scandals angers British public
Ex-Cameron aide arrested in UK hacking scandal
Murdoch drops bid for British Sky Broadcast Network
7.1 magnitude Earthquake rocks northeastern Japan
11 Bodies Found On Outskirts of Mexico City
Gunfire rattles city of Karachi, Pakistan as deaths mount
40 Killed In Mexico Over 24 Hour Period
South Sudan becomes world's newest nation
Quartzsite, Arizona in state of emergency over allegations of cover-up of corruption involving city council & police chief Jeff Gilbert, woman citizen arrested for speaking at public hearing as Mayor of town stymied
White House: U.S. suspends $800 million in aid to Pakistan
Wyoming man held over killing four family members
31 dead, 100 injured as train derails in India
Airliner Crashes in the Congo, 127 reported dead
Michigan Suspect in 7 murders kills ex-girlfriends and his own daughter
Egyptians Rally, Demand Faster Reforms
American Space Shuttle Lifts-off for last time
IMF approves $3.2 billion Euro loan for Greece
U.S. regulators shut down banks in Illinois & Colorado
Former U.S. First Lady Betty Ford dies at age 93
SEC Charges JP Morgan Securities with Fraud Involving Municipal Bonds In 31 States
U.S. troop pullout from Afghanistan starts
Building Boom In China stirs fear over Debt overload
U.S. troop pullout from Afghanistan starts
Building Boom In China stirs fear over Debt overload
Egypt to investigate alleged police abuse case
Hundreds of Afghan Militants Enter Pakistan, Killings In Border Villages
Hundreds of Afghan Militants Enter Pakistan, Killings In Border Villages
Greece set to Default on Massive Debt
Frail Children of Somali Drought Fight To Survive
20 people killed by Syrian security forces in biggest protests yet
President Obama and U.S. Congress Battle Over Debt Solution
Massive heatwave expected over U.S.
After Blaze, Sewage Floods into New York's rivers
Florida teenager kills parents, then throws big house party
Thousands Mourn Murdered Boy In Brooklyn, New York
Hundreds Riot In China Over Disabled Vendor's Death
Frail Children of Somali Drought Fight To Survive
20 people killed by Syrian security forces in biggest protests yet
President Obama and U.S. Congress Battle Over Debt Solution
Massive heatwave expected over U.S.
After Blaze, Sewage Floods into New York's rivers
Florida teenager kills parents, then throws big house party
Thousands Mourn Murdered Boy In Brooklyn, New York
Hundreds Riot In China Over Disabled Vendor's Death
The Cardinal Crisis
Murdoch News Corporation Empire Implodes?
A contrite Rupert Murdoch hangs his head as he tries to speak to the media after holding a private meeting with the parents and sister of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler in London, Friday, July 15, 2011.
Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
AP
London, England - Rupert Murdoch's scandal-rocked empire retreated from defiance to contrition as the media magnate accepted the resignation of his protege Rebekah Brooks, publicly apologized for his company's sins and met the family of a murdered schoolgirl whose phone was hacked by his News of The World tabloid.
The shift in strategy was aimed at calming a storm that has knocked billions off the value of Murdoch's News Corporation, scuttled his ambitions to take control of lucrative British Sky Broadcasting, withered his political power in Britain - and threatens to destabilize his globe-spanning business.
Just a day after asserting News Corp. had made only "minor mistakes," Murdoch issued an apology than ran in Britain's national newspapers for "serious wrongdoing" by the News of the World, which he shut down last week amid allegations of large-scale illegal hacking by its staff.
"We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by the individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out," said the full-page ad, signed by Murdoch and due to run in Saturday's editions of Britain's main national newspapers.
Murdoch promised "further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused."
Murdoch also met the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose phone was hacked by the News of the World in 2002. The revelation that journalists had accessed her phone in search of scoops inflamed the long-simmering scandal about illegal eavesdropping by the newspaper.
The 80-year-old mogul emerged from the meeting at a London hotel to catcalls of "shame on you!" from hecklers. He said that "as founder of the company I was appalled to find out what had happened and I apologized."
Dowler family lawyer Mark Lewis said Murdoch appeared humbled and had offered "a heartfelt and what seemed to be a very sincere apology."
"I don't think somebody could have held their head in their hands so many times and said that they were sorry," Lewis said.
Murdoch's tone was dramatically different from an interview published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal - which is owned by News Corp. - in which he said the company had handled the crisis "extremely well in every way possible" and complained he was "getting annoyed" at all the negative headlines.
The crisis claimed its most senior scalp Friday as Brooks, chief executive of Murdoch's British newspaper division, resigned.
The media magnate had defended the 43-year-old Brooks in the face of demands she step down from British politicians - including her friend and neighbor, Prime Minister David Cameron.
Image: Fiona Hanson/AP
After previously refusing to accept her resignation, he made an abrupt switch as News Corp. struggled but failed to contain the crisis. Brooks said she was stepping aside because "my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate."
"This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past," she said in an email to staff.
Brooks said she would "concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive."
A new chief executive untainted by the U.K. problems, Tom Mockridge, was installed to replace Brooks at News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch's global News Corp. Mockridge, a 55-year-old New Zealander, joined News Corp. in 1991 and has been in charge of Sky Italia since 2003.
The moves came after News Corp. brought in PR firm Edelman Communications to help with public relations and lobbying -- an admission, perhaps, that its attempts to manage the crisis have so far been a disaster.
News Corp.'s critics say the company has signally failed to appreciate the mood of public and political anger. Analyst Claire Enders said the company had appeared to cast itself as a victim - "which is completely impossible for people here to respond to and is making things worse."
Juno in Virgo: Chairman of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch, left, and chief executive of News International, Rebekah Brooks as they leave Murdoch's residence in central London, Sunday, July 10, 2011.
Image: Ian Nicholson/AP
Image: Ian Nicholson/AP
Brooks' departure marks a reversal of fortune for one of Britain's most powerful media executives, who rose from secretary to CEO during 22 years with News International.
Critics said she should have gone long ago. She was editor of the News of the World between 2000 and 2003, when the paper's employees allegedly hacked into 13-year-old Milly's phone as police searched for her, potentially interfering with the police investigation.
Brooks has always said she had no knowledge of phone hacking, though she did acknowledge in a 2003 appearance before lawmakers that her paper had paid police officers for information - an illegal practice that, along with hacking, is now the center of a criminal investigation.
Brooks had been in charge of News International's four -- now three -- British newspapers since 2007, following a four-year stint as editor of the market-leading daily tabloid, The Sun.
Just a week ago, she faced 200 angry employees at the News of the World who had lost their jobs as she kept hers when Murdoch shut down the paper.
When shareholders began to call for her to go, Brooks' position became untenable. Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Alsaud, the second-largest News Corp. stockholder, told the BBC on Thursday that if Brooks were found to be implicated in wrongdoing by the newspapers "for sure she has to go."
Her resignation was greeted with relief by British politicians.
"It is right that Rebekah Brooks has finally taken responsibility for the terrible events that happened on her watch," said opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. "No one in this country should exercise power without responsibility."
Cameron, who had called for Brooks to step down, said she made "the right decision," said the prime minister's spokesman, Steve Field.
Friday's events suggest Murdoch and his son James have realized their damage-limitation exercise has been a massive failure.
Allegations emerged last week that the News of the World hacked not only celebrities, politicians and athletes but a murdered schoolgirl as well as the victims of London's 2005 terrorist bombings and the families of dead British soldiers.
The company first shut down the News of the World and then abandoned a bid to take control of BSkyB in a bid to limit the damage to the greater News Corp. empire - which includes Fox News, the 20th Century Fox movie studio, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post - and the three remaining British newspapers - The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.
The crisis is far from over.
This week Cameron appointed a judge to conduct a sweeping inquiry into criminal activity at the paper and in the British media.
British police have arrested seven people in their investigation of phone hacking, and two others in a parallel investigation of alleged bribery of police officers.
Police say they have recovered a list of 3,700 names of potential victims but so far have been in touch with fewer than 200.
Police say they have recovered a list of 3,700 names of potential victims but so far have been in touch with fewer than 200.
Lawyers for Jude Law said the actor was suing The Sun for allegedly hacking into his voice mail. News International denied the claim, calling it "a deeply cynical and deliberately mischievous attempt" to drag The Sun into the hacking scandal.
Brooks and the two Murdochs face questions from a British parliamentary committee. Rupert and James Murdoch initially resisted, but agreed to appear after the committee issued formal summonses to them.
Being hauled before a hostile group of legislators marks a rapid change of fortune for Murdoch, long accustomed to being courted by prime ministers and other politicians.
Most worrying for the Murdochs are signs the crisis could yet spread to the United States, where the FBI has opened an investigation into whether 9/11 victims or their families were targeted by News Corp. papers.
News Corp. shares, which have rallied in recent days after losses last week, were up just over 1 per cent at $16.16 in early afternoon trading in New York.
Mundane Analysis:
A Handle On The Phone Hacking Scandal
A Handle On The Phone Hacking Scandal
By Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
GENESIS
GENESIS
The News Corporation scandal is one that stretches back years, only now coming more fully to light under the powerful world transits over London.
It also proves that political ideology - practiced as a corporate business model - especially in professional journalism - always fails in the end.
Between the years 2000 and 2005, executives and editors at the News of the World are alleged to have secretly hacked into the private telephones and cell phones of as many as 4,000 people; while also managing to allegedly bribe top and mid-level police officials who then offered up private information on celebrities, private citizens and victims of crime and their families.
It also proves that political ideology - practiced as a corporate business model - especially in professional journalism - always fails in the end.
Between the years 2000 and 2005, executives and editors at the News of the World are alleged to have secretly hacked into the private telephones and cell phones of as many as 4,000 people; while also managing to allegedly bribe top and mid-level police officials who then offered up private information on celebrities, private citizens and victims of crime and their families.
In 2006, the News of the World's royal editor and a private eye he paid were jailed for hacking in royal family phones. Murdoch executives said it was the work of a 'rogue' reporter and denied any widespread phone hacking. Curiously, the police probe at the time mysteriously just fizzled out.
WHY NOW?
There is a saying in mundane astrology that goes, 'What goes around, comes around." The June 15, 2011 lunar eclipse brought to a head the very serious issues that had been smoldering for years.
Just two weeks after June's lunar eclipse the News of the World hacking scandal broke in early July 2011 when the Guardian newspaper revealed there were possibly hundreds of hacking victims - including Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old missing schoolgirl who was later found to be murdered.
New revelations included huge secret cash payoffs and benefits to hacking victims with evidence that top Murdoch executives hid documents and emails showing widespread wrongdoing extending years.
The FALLOUT
* News Of The World shuts down - after 168 years in business.
*Former whistle-blower News Of The World showbiz reporter Sean Hoare found dead at residence
*Former whistle-blower News Of The World showbiz reporter Sean Hoare found dead at residence
* The head of Scotland Yard quits Sunday, July 17. His second-in-command follows suit and suddenly quits too - less than 24 hours later - on Monday, July 18.
* Ten people arrested so far, including a former News of the World editor who became Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman.
* Cameron's government in trouble as Murdoch's cozy relations with top pols becomes page one news.
* Murdoch forced to withdraw his bid to takeover British Sky Broadcasting.
* Murdoch cut loose his 'surrogate daughter,' top news executive Rebekah Brooks, and one of his oldest friends, Dow Jones Co. CEO Les Hinton, also the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, who suddenly resigned on Friday, July 15.
* Multiple police & government investigations now looking into other Murdoch-owned media, including those of Fox News Division.
* FBI probe into whether victims of the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks in New York had their private communications possibly hacked.
* Murdoch and his son James testify before a Select Committee hearing Tuesday, July 19, 2011 to be followed by a Special session of Parliament to meet Wednesday, July 20th.
Hackers Say they've gotten hold of thousands of emails from The Sun and News Of The World and plan to release them to the public.
Hackers Say they've gotten hold of thousands of emails from The Sun and News Of The World and plan to release them to the public.
*KEY PLAYERS
*Rupert Murdoch
The News Corp. CEO ordered the News of the World closed when it emerged reporters there had hacked voice-mails of a murdered teen, terrorism victims and slain soldiers.
*Rupert Murdoch also called off a controversial effort to buy British cable provider BSkyB. He is struggling to keep the scandal from jumping across the pond to the U.S., where he owns Fox News, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.
*Rupert Murdoch also called off a controversial effort to buy British cable provider BSkyB. He is struggling to keep the scandal from jumping across the pond to the U.S., where he owns Fox News, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.
*David Cameron: The British Prime Minister has been tainted by the scandal due to his close ties to News International execs. They include disgraced former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who was hired as his press secretary.
*Rebekah Brooks
*Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief executive in charge of Murdoch's British newspaper division was arrested Sunday, July 17 after resigning her position last week.
Brooks was editor of the News of the World from 2000 to 2003, when the most egregious hacking was committed.
Brooks was editor of the News of the World from 2000 to 2003, when the most egregious hacking was committed.
*Sir Paul Stephenson: Britain's former top cop was forced out as head of Scotland Yard on July 17 when questions were raised about his relationship with former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis.
Sir Paul Stephenson (left) and John Yates.
*John Yates: Scotland Yard's second in command stepped down July 18 for his failure to properly investigate the previous hacking scandal and his close ties to Murdoch executives.
*Milly Dowler
The scandal kicked into high gear when it emerged that News of the World reporters had hacked into teenager *Milly Dowler's voice mails in 2002 - while police were still searching for her - and erased her voice-mail messages to make space for more. This led investigators and her parents to think Milly was still alive, when in fact, she had been murdered.
A pathologist has told the Old Bailey it was not possible to say how murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler died by examining her remains.
The remains of the 13-year-old were found in woodland in Yateley Heath, Hampshire, six months after she went missing in 2002.
Pathologist Hugh White said there was nothing on the bones to suggest how she died.
Levi Bellfied, 43, denies abducting and murdering Milly. He also denies trying to kidnap 11-year-old Rachel Cowles in March 2002.
Dr.White told the jury some of Milly's bones had been scattered by wild animals and that the remains had probably been in the wood for "months not weeks".
"The remains were incomplete because of animal activity but there was no other obvious cause of injury," he said. He could not exclude suffocation or strangulation but was unable to say what had caused her death.
Asked if he could exclude natural causes, Dr White said: "Yes."
Levi Bellfield denies abducting and murdering Milly Dowler
"This is a girl of 13-years-old found in an environment where she could not have got to by herself - and she was without any clothes."
Milly vanished on 21 March 2002, in Station Avenue, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, as she was walking home from school. The prosecution allege Bellfield, who was living in a flat there, abducted and killed her before dumping her body.
The former wheel-clamper was convicted in 2008 of the murders of Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22, and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18.
*James Murdoch
*James Murdoch, the youngest son of Rupert Murdoch and heir apparent, is head of News Corp. Europe and Asia. He was key in pushing the BSkyB deal. His flat-footed response to the scandal has critics speculating about his future at the company amid inside family squabbles about who is to blame.
Rupert Murdoch’s family is estimated to have lost almost $1 billion (£620m) from the drop in News Corp stock since the phone-hacking scandal erupted into the headlines and led to the arrest of the company’s top U.K. newspaper executive.
The value of the family’s News Corp. holdings fell to about $4.96 billion (£3.07bn) in U.S. trading, from almost $6 billion (£3.72bn) at the July 1 close, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The data was collated before reports that News of the World had hacked into the voice-mail messages of murdered teenager Milly Dowler. The fall in News Corp. price represented at that time an estimated loss of 16 percent - highlighting the financial consequences for the Murdoch family as the hacking scandal widens.
The data was collated before reports that News of the World had hacked into the voice-mail messages of murdered teenager Milly Dowler. The fall in News Corp. price represented at that time an estimated loss of 16 percent - highlighting the financial consequences for the Murdoch family as the hacking scandal widens.
*Andy Coulson
*Andy Coulson ran the News of the World from 2003-2007 and was forced to resign when the first word of the hacking scandal came to light.
He then became a spokesman for the Conservative Party and later David Cameron's chief of communications. He stepped down from that job as questions about the hacking scandal continued to dog him.
*Sean Hoare
Sean Hoare (left) worked at the News of the World with Andy Coulson (right)
Image: Reuters
Sean Hoare, the former News of the World journalist who alleged that Andy Coulson knew directly about phone hacking, is one of the most talked about topics on Twitter following the sad news that he was discovered dead at his home on Monday morning, July 18.
Simon Ricketts, a Guardian journalist, recalled on Twitter how Sean Hoare helped him out years ago while he was on work experience at the Watford Observer:
"A little story to tell you of Sean Hoare and what kind of guy he could be. I was a work experience reporter on the local free paper. Sean took me under his wing immediately. He handed me a story on a plate.
"I went out to investigate, got all my notes and got back to the office and started to write it. I finished and Sean had a look. He got my notebook, extracted the best quotes, the ones I'd left in the notebook. He tickled, edited and expanded my story. By the time he'd finished, it was 100 times better. It got put on the front page of the paper. Sean insisted that my name go on the story.
When the paper came out, he walked over with a copy. He gave me it with a flourish. 'Congratulations on your first-ever splash,' he said. "So, I remember a lovely generous man and a hard-working journalist. And I shall raise a glass or 12 tonight to him."
Another reporter who knew Sean said, "At a time when the reputation of News of the World journalists is at rock bottom, it needs to be said that the paper's former show business correspondent Sean Hoare, who died on Monday, was a lovely man."
*Colin Myler: Took over the News of the World following Coulson's departure and oversaw its final closing. A former executive editor at the New York Post, Myler had earlier been bounced from the top job at the Daily Mirror when the paper was fined millions of pounds for printing the names of soccer players in a sex scandal in violation of a court order.
*Clive Goodman: Former royal editor at the News of the World, Goodman was jailed for four months in 2007 after it was revealed he had hacked the voicemails of the royal family.
*Glenn Mulcaire: A private investigator hired by the News of the World to hack the voicemails of thousands of people. He served six months in jail in 2007 for breaking into the royal family's messages.
*Gordon Brown: The former British Prime Minister accused reporters at Murdoch papers The Sun and The Sunday Times of illegally procuring his banking records and his sick son's medical file.
*Les Hinton
Les Hinton (left) with Rupert Murdoch
In one of the most shocking developments, *Les Hinton, the head of Dow Jones & Company and publisher of The Wall Street Journal suddenly resigned Friday, July 15, 2011.
Named 'publisher of the year" in 2010, Hinton had been with Murdoch for nearly 50 years, had run News International and in 2007 had testified before the British Parliament that he had no knowledge of the hacking.
Named 'publisher of the year" in 2010, Hinton had been with Murdoch for nearly 50 years, had run News International and in 2007 had testified before the British Parliament that he had no knowledge of the hacking.
*Nick Clegg: England's deputy prime minister in an unusual Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, Clegg called for scotching the BSkyB deal.
*Royal Family: Public knowledge of the scandal began when it was revealed News of the World employees had illegally hacked the voice-mails of members of the royal family.
*Tom Mockridge: Took over from Rebekah Brooks as head of News International following her resignation. Had previously run Sky Italia.
*Andy Hayman: The former Scotland Yard investigator in charge of the botched hacking probe, he later landed a job as columnist at News International publications.
*Hugh Grant
The movie star *Hugh Grant, a constant tabloid target, helped uncover parts of the scandal by wearing a wire to record a former News of the World editor admitting to telephone hacking.
The movie star *Hugh Grant, a constant tabloid target, helped uncover parts of the scandal by wearing a wire to record a former News of the World editor admitting to telephone hacking.
*Sienna Miller: The "Factory Girl" actress was paid $164,000 settlement from News International after it admitted intercepted her phone messages.
*Kelly Hoppen: Interior designer and Sienna Miller's step-mother had sued News International for allegedly hacking her phone.
*Jude Law
The actor *Jude Law has also sued News International. Law claims they hacked into his voice-mails while he was in the United States, opening the possibility of probes in the U.S. where federal officials are also probing whether any victims or their families who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks were also targeted for phone hacking.
*Steve Coogan: The comic actor and phone hacking victim reveled in the shuttering of the News of the World, calling it "a wonderful day for the press."
*Max Clifford: A powerhouse English publicist who specializes in brokering "kiss-and-tell" stories to competing tabloids, he was an early victim of the scandal and reportedly received £1 million for his silence.
*Gordon Taylor: Chief executive of the Footballer's Association was reportedly paid £1 million for his silence over his phone being hacked.
The most notable feature of current world transits over London is that of Mars, now in tropical Gemini, conjoined to the South Lunar Node, or the Dragon's Tail, also in Gemini.
Mars will reach 24-degrees Gemini and oppose the degree of the June 15, 2011 lunar eclipse in late July. Then, Mars will enter tropical Cancer on August 3, 2011, at the same time transiting Mercury will station retrograde.
The many people caught up in the raging phone-hacking scandal will sit and fume at home, frustrated, shocked, stressed, angry, confused and emotional with the losses of careers, power, money and access.
Looking at things from a mundane perspective, we can see that the June 15 Lunar Eclipse in tropical Sagittarius, rising in the horoscope below, set for London, signified the coming public furor over revelations of nearly a decade of illegal telephone hacking.
click on chart to enlarge
The lunar eclipse of June 15 is directly connected to the outbreak of the News Corportation phone hacking scandal.
Transiting Jupiter's position in the Fourth Mundane House of the Total Lunar Eclipse chart shows the outcome, which are monetary losses.
Transiting Jupiter's position in the Fourth Mundane House of the Total Lunar Eclipse chart shows the outcome, which are monetary losses.
Lilith is on the cusp of the Fourth House at 28-Aries in the June 15th Lunar eclipse chart for London signifying scandal that involves powerful executives with access to top police officials and extending into the prime minister's office.
The setting of the Gemini Sun, conjoined to the South Lunar Node in Gemini, preceded by transiting Venus in Gemini and followed by Mercury in Gemini, not only highlights the city of London (ruled by Gemini) but also that of a media empire.
Gemini is ruler of the spoken and written word, also by way of technology - communication in all its forms - including that of editors, journalists and the media.
The astrologer Peter Stockinger, who warned about June's lunar eclipse in May 2011 said at that time:
"One can immediately recognize that the Moon is conjunct the Ascendant, which makes this a significant eclipse for London and with it for the whole of the United Kingdom.
Stockinger adds that, "It might as well be noteworthy that the eclipsed Moon and Jupiter are in mutual reception by triplicity and that the Moon is furthermore forming an applying trine to Jupiter."
The map below depicts the June 15, 2011 Lunar eclipse and its line of angularity over southeastern England
Graphic by: Peter Stockinger
The event itself, inclined by world transits, has brought on a spate of strange but nonetheless relevant events which have taken place in the wake of the June 15 Lunar Eclipse:
British Prime Minister cuts Africa visit short to face UK phone hacking crisis
Man Rushes At Rupert Murdoch during July 19, 2011 Select Committee hearing
Man Rushes At Rupert Murdoch during July 19, 2011 Select Committee hearing
Mundane astrologer Tony Dickey says,
" Not sure I can remember a scandal with so many moving parts."
~
The Cardinal Crisis
"Touching Society In So Many Ways..."
"Touching Society In So Many Ways..."
By Tony Dickey, mundane Astrolog.S
The attached mind-map below shows how many areas of society the scandal touches, too many to discuss all here. But a quick look shows how many other key issues, mostly connected to the structural change we should expect at the Uranus-Pluto stress points.
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Mind-Map Graphic by Tony Dickey click on graphic to enlarge |
Rebekah Brooks, the News Of The World editor at the time an operative hacked Milly Dowler’s phone, deleting messages that gave police and family hope she still lived - her body was found months later.
CCTV: last known image of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler
Rebekah and Rupert are said to be close friends. Ms. Brooks and David Cameron are known to be such; their families regularly attend the same high-end social functions.
Rebekah Brooks (left) with Rupert and James Murdoch
The Murdoch solution to close News Of The World, a 168 year-old institution, smacks of an effort to protect Ms Brooks, now a Murdoch owned News International executive, at the expense of the 280+ people losing their jobs to the wanton disregard of the law by management.
Andy Coulson, close friend of Rebekah, resigned as the result of a previous (and related) phone-hacking scandal. Despite warnings from colleagues, Mr. Cameron ‘gave him a second chance,’ and hired him as the Conservative Party's Communications Director.
Prime Minister David Cameron (foreground) with Andy Coulson
Under pressure, Mr. Coulson resigned that position. As a result of the latest version of the scandal, Mr. Coulson was arrested and questioned.
Without too much hyperbole, justifiably, many now question Mr. Cameron’s choice of friends, but these choices bring up larger issues that all modern societies struggle to define - access to power.
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Synastry Chart cast by Tony Dickey click on chart to enlarge |
Rupert Murdoch: King-maker?
"In summer 2008, David Cameron and his wife were flown in Matthew Freud’s private plane to meet Rupert Murdoch in his yacht, Rosehearty, off a Greek island. Afterwards, Cameron was flown to Turkey for a family holiday, and Murdoch went on to Corfu for his daughter’s 40th birthday.
Osborne was already in Corfu, on a family holiday that acquired notoriety because Peter Mandelson was also in the area, and what was said in private aboard a yacht owned by the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska blew up into a political row after they returned to the UK."
- The Daily Mail
Tony Blair, of the more liberal Labor Party, flew half way round the world for a 90-minute meaning with Rupert Murdoch. Though David Cameron did not win enough votes to win outright election in 2010, no one doubts that endorsement from the Murdoch-owned Sun helped. Supposedly.
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| click on chart to enlarge |
Ed Miliband, leader of UK’s shadow government, has been warned to fear taking on the Murdoch family. In the U.S., Murdoch-owned Fox News works as unabashed spokes-network for the Republican Party.
It is easy to single out the Murdochs, but face it, journalists and politicians often hang in the same elite circles. A reporter banned from political class cocktail parties would soon seek other employment.
Rules of labor and class indicates who does what labor, who belongs to what class. Access to power, goes along way in determining who does what work and how much they get paid.
The scandal also comes at a time already warm with anger about how another class, the financial one, to which the Murdochs' also belongs, destroyed wealth across the developed world of the West.
With Rebekah Brooks promising revelations for a up to a year, the scandal will likely fan the flames of discontent already burning.
Many other issues, police accepting for information, privacy, ethics in the post-modern (1399 Neptune-Pluto 1892) world, but the story revolves around the media and the British press in particular.
Here, we run into concerns about freedom-of-the-press, if and how to regulate it and how to handle the Internet world - with developments like Wikileaks and whether the media competes for brain cells or eyeballs.
Expect more soon...
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I agree with Tony Dickey's assessment of the situation - and its wider implications - for it appears that a major sea-change is now underway in the world of corporate mega-media giants.
Is Rupert Murdoch's Global Control Of News Corp. Under Threat?
The Huffington Post reported July 18, 2011 that, "Independent directors of News Corp. are beginning to discuss whether or not Rupert Murdoch can stay on as the CEO of the company he founded and has almost completely dominated, Bloomberg is reporting.
Murdoch has been at the head of News Corp and its Australian predecessors since 1952, and he and his family have maintained an iron grip on the company ever since.
Yet, citing two anonymous sources, Bloomberg writes that people within the company "have begun questioning the company’s response to the crisis and whether a leadership change is needed."
Despite his making move after move to contain it, the phone hacking scandal surrounding Murdoch shows no signs of letting up. If anything, the scandal has only gotten worse, as it has engulfed Scotland Yard and threatens Murdoch's American holdings.
In addition, Murdoch, his son James and his former top British deputy Rebekah Brooks all face what is sure to be a highly uncomfortable session before Parliament on Tuesday, in which their collective claim not to have known about the massive phone-hacking operation at their biggest British newspaper will be put to the test.
Murdoch himself seemed to personify the puzzlingly slow response to the scandal when he claimed that News Corp had only made "minor mistakes" in its handling of things.
Since then, the company has hired a top PR agency and quickly set about making far more public displays of contrition. However, it may not be enough to save Murdoch.
One scenario that has been discussed in the press recently is for him to become chairman of News Corp, with COO Chase Carey assuming the mantle of CEO. This would sideline James Murdoch, who many see as too tainted by the hacking scandal to credibly become the new CEO of the company.
The hacking scandal will be examined in a special session of the British Parliament on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.
The examination must also deal with allegations, amid fast-moving multiple investigations, of potential police wrongdoing in the phone-hacking furor that has spread from Rupert Murdoch's media empire to the British Prime Minister's office to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police.
The Cardinal Crisis
Calling Scotland Yard?
The resignation of two of Scotland Yard's top officers - in less than 24 hours - leaves London’s police force with its biggest crisis in decades. Home Secretary Theresa May announced a parliamentary review of police corruption and a full police inspectorate inquiry after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson (left) and Assistant Commissioner John Yates both stepped down in the wake of News Corporation's phone-hacking scandal.
Chaos at Scotland Yard as Yates resigns and more officers face allegations
The Independent
July 19, 2011 -- London, England -- John Yates, formerly Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer, was last night being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over allegations he gave a job to the daughter of Neil Wallis, the former tabloid executive arrested last week over phone hacking.
As Scotland Yard was plunged into crisis with two high-profile resignations in 24 hours, the IPCC launched an inquiry into "serious allegations" about the conduct of four high-ranking Metropolitan Police officers, including Sir Paul Stephenson – who resigned as Met Commissioner on Sunday July 17, 2011 – and Mr Yates, who resigned as Assistant Commissioner on Monday, July 18.
Two other former senior Scotland Yard officers, understood to be former Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke and former Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, are also the subject of the investigation, which was triggered by a wide-ranging complaint from the Metropolitan Police Authority.
They said they had been called in to investigate Sir Paul's handling of the phone-hacking investigation and Mr. Yates's review of the investigation in 2009 and "his alleged involvement in inappropriately securing employment for the daughter of a friend."
Its inquiry came at the end of another turbulent day for the country's biggest police force, which has been severely criticized for its failure to investigate the News of the World's apparently extensive hacking of the phones of public figures.
In a development likely to raise more questions for police, it was revealed last night that Alex Marunchak, formerly head of the News of the World in Ireland, was carrying out potentially sensitive work for Scotland Yard while he was still a reporter at the News of the World.
Between 1980 and 2000, Mr Marunchak was on a list of interpreters used by the Metropolitan Police to provide translation and interpretation services for victims.
A statement from the Met said it had found Mr Marunchak had carried out a total of 27 hours of work on a freelance basis since 1996, when the records system became electronic, and it was likely he undertook work prior to 1996.
On Sunday night, July 17, 2011, Sir Paul resigned hours before a Commons statement on Scotland Yard, saying he could no longer remain in office because of questions about his links to Mr Wallis.
He also fired a parting shot at David Cameron for employing Andy Coulson, Mr Wallis's former editor at the NOTW.
Then, less than 24 hours later Mr. Yates also resigned, shortly after being told that he was about to be suspended. He insisted in a statement that he had done nothing wrong: "I have acted with complete integrity and my conscience is clear," Yates said.
John Yates
image: Jeremt Selwyn
"As I have said very recently, it is a matter of great personal regret that those potentially affected by phone hacking were not dealt with appropriately," he said.
"Sadly, there continues to be a huge amount of inaccurate, ill-informed and on occasion downright malicious gossip published about me personally. This has the potential to be a significant distraction in my current role as the national lead for counter terrorism."
Mr Yates's resignation came after a leading member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Dee Doocey, had described his review of the phone-hacking case two years ago as "a monumental error of judgement".
After only eight hours' work, two years ago, Mr Yates had deemed satisfactory the investigation carried out in the year 2006 into phone hacking by his predecessor, Andy Hayman.
Mr. Yates admitted earlier this month that he had not inspected 11,000 pages of the notes seized from the NOTW's private investigator Glenn Mulcaire which showed, according to the current police investigation Operation Weeting, that he had almost 4,000 likely victims.
Baroness Doocey, a long-standing critic of the Met's handling of phone hacking, said:
"Hundreds of victims of phone hacking were failed and his resignation is long overdue. He made a monumental error of judgement which rendered his position untenable."
One of the country’s most senior police officers said he is worried revelations uncovered in the phone hacking scandal have damaged public confidence in the service and have left people convinced corruption is endemic within the police, reports Martin Evans.
Sir Hugh Orde, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) expressed his concerns after allegations arose suggesting News of the World journalists routinely paid detectives for information.
He admitted he was concerned for the reputation of the police service but insisted that in his experience corruption was not a widespread problem among officers.
~
We now move on to the world's climate. In the wake of the recent El Nino/La Nina event of 2009-2011, the Earth's atmosphere continues to make headline news worldwide.
The Cardinal Crisis
Heat Waves, Floods, Fires & Drought
By Theodore White, astrometeorologist.S
As a mundane astrologer, I practice the full spectrum of astrological forecasting, including that of astrometeorology, or what was once known as 'weather prophecy.' This is better known today as meteorology and climatology. As an astrometeorologist, I forecast by astronomic means.
I once reminded a critic of astrometeorology that climate events - such as flood and drought - can and do exist together and occur very close to one another, or even at the same time under particular planetary configurations, which I remind everyone are cyclical.
After my 2006 forecast of the 2009-2011 El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or what is termed ENSO, we have observed the results - heavy rains, record snowpacks and flooding over more than half the planet.
Because of the ferocity of the recent ENSO, climate scientists and meteorologists alike are still busy adding up the extent of global weather damage among the numerous climate records smashed in 2010 and 2011.
Moreover, the astronomical positions of the outer planets Jupiter and Uranus, which have crossed the eastern plane, that of tropical Aries, and begun new orbital cycles, it is my forecast that we will continue to witness extreme and record-breaking climate and weather events throughout 2011 and into 2012.
For instance, a sudden major dust storm turned day into night in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
For instance, a sudden major dust storm turned day into night in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
From floods, to wildfires, to drought, expect the world's climate to heat up as we enter into the final six years of solar-forced global warming. One of my most serious concerns for some time has been drought.
Transiting Uranus is a player when it comes to long-range forecasting and in tropical Aries and sidereal Pisces, we can observe extreme cases of drought affecting many millions of people.
Transiting Uranus is a player when it comes to long-range forecasting and in tropical Aries and sidereal Pisces, we can observe extreme cases of drought affecting many millions of people.
Tropical Aries is considered a 'barren' Sign in mundane astrology and with Uranus in Aries for seven years, we can expect to witness all manner of unusual and sudden seismic, weather and volcanic events by means of the element of fire.
Not only Uranus, but Saturn too is also a major player when it comes to climate. Saturn's recent transit through tropical Virgo from 2007-2010 with the onset of ENSO's impact on prevailing global trade winds has cleared the path for little rain for nearly three years on the continent of Africa as we examine below.
In the northern hemisphere, where the 2011 summer season is underway, planetary signatures related to the climate show there are vast amounts of warmth and moisture over the mid-western, eastern and southern U.S. building into what meteorologists call a "heat dome," - bringing with it record-breaking temperatures along with thick, humid topical air to scores of cities stretching from the Plains states eastward to the Ohio Valley.
In the northern hemisphere, where the 2011 summer season is underway, planetary signatures related to the climate show there are vast amounts of warmth and moisture over the mid-western, eastern and southern U.S. building into what meteorologists call a "heat dome," - bringing with it record-breaking temperatures along with thick, humid topical air to scores of cities stretching from the Plains states eastward to the Ohio Valley.
A heat dome forms when a high-pressure system develops in the upper atmosphere. This causes the air below it to sink and compress because there's additional weight on top. That raises temperatures in the lower atmosphere, said Eli Jacks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Silver Spring, Md.
The dome of high pressure also pushes the jet stream and its drier, cooler air, farther north - it's now well into Canada - while the hot, humid air emanating from the Gulf of Mexico circulates clockwise around the heat dome - traveling farther inland than normal. Combined with generally clear skies and the Sun's higher summertime angle, "it gets really hot," Jacks said.
The dome of high pressure also pushes the jet stream and its drier, cooler air, farther north - it's now well into Canada - while the hot, humid air emanating from the Gulf of Mexico circulates clockwise around the heat dome - traveling farther inland than normal. Combined with generally clear skies and the Sun's higher summertime angle, "it gets really hot," Jacks said.
Transiting Jupiter will make ingress into tropical Gemini in June 2012. Jupiter's transits in combination with those of Venus and the South Lunar Node in Gemini will bring about health issues with the element of air next year - in tandem with Uranus in Aries - this will make 2012's climate warmer, drier and dangerous.
The Climate
Heat Waves
American Rashawn West holds his 1-year old son as he shakes sprinkler water off his head in Newark, New Jersey on July 21, 2011. Temperatures neared the 100-degree Fahrenheit mark in mid-July as millions of Americans sought ways to stay cool in the blistering heat and high humidity.
Image: Julio Cortez/AP
Record Heat Wave Treks Eastward in U.S.
The Sun in sidereal Cancer
Reuters
July 22, 2011-- New York -- Sweating crowds on the East Coast and in the Midwest flocked to waterfronts and urban cooling centers on Thursday to escape a massive heat wave that has killed at least 22 people this week.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for wide swaths of the country's mid-section and East Coast, saying the combined heat and humidity could spike the heat index or "real feel" of the warmth to 115 degrees through Saturday.
By early Thursday afternoon in New York City, the thermometer hit 91 but it felt more like 112.
Women on lunch break cool off at Daley Plaza, Chicago Illinois, July 20, 2011.
Image: Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune
Other cities watching their local heat indexes rise into the triple digits because of the oppressive mix of high temperatures and humidity included -- among others -- Tulsa, St. Louis, Buffalo, and Washington, D.C., according to the weather service.
In Chicago, where a five-day heat wave in 1995 killed hundreds, the city endured a fifth consecutive day of abnormally high temperatures with the heat index hitting 110 in the early afternoon -- and forecasters warned the heat wave could continue into the weekend.
image: E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune
In Oklahoma, where the heat has exacerbated a severe drought, Governor Mary Fallin said she planned to ease commercial vehicle restrictions to speed delivery of hay and other feed to cattle whose grazing areas have been destroyed by the weather.
Cattle in Big Rock, Illinois try to beat the heat in the water July 21, 2011
image: Donna Hartwig
Fallin said she would amend an existing drought-related emergency declaration she issued earlier this year to allow hay-haulers to operate bigger trucks with heavier loads on the state's roads.
"We have cattle that are starving," Fallin told Reuters, "and we have certain areas of the state where we need to get the hay delivered to the farmers and the ranchers and the cattlemen."
With the promise of refreshing ocean breezes, Boston's whale-watching ships and high speed tourist boats sold out their trips by mid-morning on Thursday, July 21, 2011.
Cooling centers in Richmond, Virginia, and New York City welcomed overheated residents and a truck labeled "Water Fountain on the Go" cruised Manhattan streets, offering to refill empty water bottles to keep residents hydrated.
image: Zbigniew Bzdak
Con Edison expected scattered outages in coming days amid an anticipated all-time high in electrical demand in New York, said utility spokesman John Micksid.
Chicago heat wave: A visiting family from the Ukraine cool off under a downtown water fountain July 21, 2011.
Image: Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune
Unhealthy smog levels triggered by the heat were reported in Chicago, where residents were asked by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to reduce polluting activities such as idling cars and mowing lawns.
By the weekend the heat was expected to cover nearly 50 percent of the country and impact nearly half the population, according to AccuWeather forecaster Mary Yoon.
"What makes this heat wave so impressive is the pure size and longevity," said Yoon.
image: Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune
"Through the rest of this week and into the weekend at least 15 states starting from the Southern Plains and Midwest and much of the Northeast will witness 90 degree plus temperatures with high humidity," she said.
Dog Days of Summer 2011: Rufio the canine knows how to cool off when temperatures soar!
Image: Kat Dunlap
Longstanding records in Philadelphia and other cities may melt away by Friday, when the mercury was expected to spike, according to meteorologist Meghan Evans of AccuWeather.
"Do not take this threat lightly," the National Weather Service warned in a statement on its website, noting the extreme temperatures are particularly dangerous for the elderly and the very young.
"The length of this heat wave will pose a very real and dangerous health risk to these at-risk groups and those that do not have access to air conditioning."
The low pressure system that barreled east was expected to bring powerful thunderstorms with hail to New England, forecasters said.
In the central United States, where the high temperatures have killed nearly two dozen already, more deaths were tied to the heat.
An elderly woman whose body was found in her bedroom in St. Louis, where a working air conditioner had not been turned on despite 99 degree temperatures, was determined on Wednesday to have died of heat stroke.
Similar causes of death were reported Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri, where a woman in her early 80s died, and in Hutchinson, Kansas, where three elderly people were found dead in their separate homes on Wednesday, July 20.
Of those who died in Hutchinson, one had a ceiling fan and another, a 76-year-old man, an air conditioner.
"He had an air-conditioning unit in the window but didn't use it because he didn't want to pay the electric bill," said Hutchinson Police Sergeant Thad Pickard.
Two people died from the heat in an Illinois county near the Mississippi River on Wednesday, July 20, according to St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone.
They were identified as Willie Gill, 72, of East St. Louis, Illinois, whose body was found dead of heat stroke in a ditch near his home; and Kevin Miller, 51, of Belleville, Illinois, who was found dead of a heat-related heart attack on his front porch, which faced westward toward the setting sun.
Temperatures in the area, which is about 15 miles east of St. Louis, reached 100 degrees on Wednesday, July 20th and again on Thursday.
Drought
A dry water pan in Bondo, Nyanza Province, Kenya
Image: Kenneth Odiwour/IRIN
Africa's worst Drought in 60 Years threatens Famine for Over Ten Million People
IRIN Reports
Nairobi -- July 1, 2011 -- Eastern Africa is experiencing what has been described as the "most severe food crisis in the world today," with at least 10 million people affected in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Somalia is one of the hardest-hit countries in the region, with deaths reported in some areas amid alarming malnutrition levels.
"We are no longer on the verge of a humanitarian disaster; we are in the middle of it now. It is happening and no one is helping," Isaq Ahmed, the chairman of the Mubarak Relief and Development Organization (MURDO), a local NGO working in the Lower Shebelle region of Somalia, told IRIN on 28 June 2011.
He said: "In the three districts of Qoryoley, Kurtunwarey and Sablale [in Lower Shebelle] our estimate is that some 5,000 families [30,000 people] have been seriously affected by the current drought."
Ahmed said those who can are seeking survival in Mogadishu.
"Those remaining in the area are the ones who cannot even afford transport to Mogadishu," he said, adding that a number of people had died due to a combination of hunger and related diseases.
On July 4, 2011, Oxfam launched its biggest appeal for Africa in response to a massive food crisis facing more than 12 million people across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Global Astrology joins with Oxfam who says they need $80 million to reach at least 3 million people in dire need of clean water, food and basic sanitation.
So the next time you are about to walk into a McDonald's to order that "Happy Meal with large fries and a diet Coca-Cola" - do the world a huge favor - stop and think of what is happening to our human brothers and sisters in Africa.
Have a heart. Use that human free will of yours to help save a soul. You never know, the next soul you save again just may be your own. Please, do whatever you are able, whatever you can afford to do without - and GIVE, Donate, and yes, pray so we can help save many, many lives. The world is shitty enough as it is. Let's not be among those out there, who, well, just don't give a shit.
So the next time you are about to walk into a McDonald's to order that "Happy Meal with large fries and a diet Coca-Cola" - do the world a huge favor - stop and think of what is happening to our human brothers and sisters in Africa.
Have a heart. Use that human free will of yours to help save a soul. You never know, the next soul you save again just may be your own. Please, do whatever you are able, whatever you can afford to do without - and GIVE, Donate, and yes, pray so we can help save many, many lives. The world is shitty enough as it is. Let's not be among those out there, who, well, just don't give a shit.
"Most of those who died were children, the elderly, and lactating and pregnant mothers," he said.
Up to eight people a day were being buried in Lower Shabelle, according to Sultan Sayidali Hassanow Aliyow Ibirow, a senior traditional elder in Lower Shabelle. Most of them were cattle herders who had lost everything.
"Three years of little or no rain have led to this disaster. People have not recovered from their previous losses [but] now we have an even worse drought," he said.
click on graphic to enlarge
Driest season since 1950?
In many pastoral zones, this is the driest season on record since 1950, according to OCHA. Drought conditions in Somalia have had regional implications, with refugees flowing into Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
An aid worker in Mogadishu, who preferred anonymity, told IRIN the number of people from the Bay, Bakol and Lower Shabelle regions coming into displaced persons camps in the Afgooye corridor has been increasing in recent months. "I would not say it is a flood yet but it is a steady stream and they are coming every single day."
Nearly every child or parent we have spoken to says they are not just fleeing fighting in Somalia - the drought and food crisis are equally perilous to them now.
According to Save the Children, children arriving from Somalia in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya are exhausted, malnourished and severely dehydrated.
"Nearly every child or parent we have spoken to says they are not just fleeing fighting in Somalia - the drought and food crisis are equally perilous to them now," said Catherine Fitzgibbon, Save the Children's Kenya program director.
Experts are warning that the situation could get worse in the short term if the delayed and poor rains cause the current crop to fail.
In Ethiopia, the estimated number of people in need of emergency food and non-food assistance was revised upwards from 2.8 million to 3.2 million.
Nearly two thirds of the requirements were in the southern Somali and Oromia regions as well as in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region, where shortages of water and food were recorded. Cereal prices there have continued to rise, with inflation rates close to 30 percent recorded in April.
According to the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group, a regional forum, the rate of Somali refugees arriving in southern Ethiopia has jumped from 5,000 per month to more than 30,000 in the second week of June.
Among new arrivals to the two camps in the Dolo Ado area, the Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate is 45 percent, way beyond the 15 percent emergency threshold set by the World Health Organisation.
In Djibouti, poor rains from March to May of this year hurt pastoral household food security and sent food prices shooting up.
The average price of wheat flour increased by 17 percent between January and February 2011, to $620 per ton, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Global Information and Early Warning System, GIEWS.
The average price of wheat flour increased by 17 percent between January and February 2011, to $620 per ton, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Global Information and Early Warning System, GIEWS.
In Kenya, rising inflation rates have also adversely affected poor households' ability to buy food. Prices of the main staple, maize, have tripled from about 1,300 shillings (US$14.4) in January to 4,500 ($50) for a 90kg bag.
Recently, the government announced the removal of tax on imported maize in a bid to cushion consumers. But millers say rising global maize prices mean the measure will have little impact on the commodity's prices locally.
"The problem has been compounded by the fact that the Kenyan shilling has been on a free-fall, trading at an all-time low [about 90 shillings to the US dollar] not experienced in the country for almost two decades. I do not see the cost of maize dropping any time soon," said a miller who requested anonymity.
The recent March to May "long rains" in Kenya were poor for the second or third successive season in most rangelands and cropping lowlands, with many of these areas receiving 10-50 percent of normal rains, noted the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET)
The consequences include declining water and pasture, and subsequent livestock deaths. In the predominantly pastoralist north, a low milk supply has contributed to malnutrition levels soaring above 35 percent. The GAM rate in northwestern Turkana has hit 37.4 percent, the highest ever in the district.
Nationally, at least 3.2 million people are currently food insecure - up from a projection of 2.4 and 1.6 million in April and January, respectively.
Even in Kenya's coastal region, thousands are food insecure, says the Kenya Red Cross Society's (KRCS) region manager, Gerald Bombe.
"There is a need to import maize and distribute food and water to the hardest hit areas," added Kevin Lunani, a local leader in the coastal Kisauni region.
Death & Suffering On The Horn of Africa
By Paul Vallely
The Independent
Suddenly there is talk of famine in Africa again. Ten million people are at risk of starvation in the worst drought conditions in 60 years in Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya.
Tens of thousands of people have left their homes in search of water and food. Hundreds of thousands of farm animals have died.
Tens of thousands of people have left their homes in search of water and food. Hundreds of thousands of farm animals have died.
Every day some 1,200 Somalis are crossing the border into Kenya where, near the town of Dadaab, the world's biggest refugee camp - at 50 square kilometers - has developed.
Many of the children arriving there, after month-long treks across the unyielding desert, are so weak that they are dying despite receiving emergency care. Millions more are hungry and have begun the slow journey to wasting from malnutrition.
Oxfam has just launched its biggest ever appeal for the continent. The head of the United Nations humanitarian affairs department, Baroness Amos, yesterday appealed for donor nations to "dig deep" to help.
There is nothing sudden about all of this. It is a creeping disaster and an utterly preventable one. In April 2011, aid agencies warned that 8 million people were facing severe food shortages.
Nothing was done.
Hell on Earth: A dark vulture sits perched, behind a starving child in a stricken village, waiting for the child to die.
Nothing was done.
Three months later that figure has risen to 10 million. Predictions by the international Famine Early Warning Systems Network make clear what will happen by September if the world turns its back.
The classic first signals have been there for months. Livestock prices have plummeted and cereal prices soared, as they always do ahead of famine. Two-thirds of the population make their living by raising goats, sheep, cattle and camels.
When drought comes, both water and grazing for animals vanish and they sell for downward-spiraling prices. The problem has been exacerbated by a worldwide rise in food prices.
African governments long ago put in place strategic food reserves to cope with such emergencies. These were partially replenished after a good harvest last year. But they were not rebuilt to optimum levels because they had been so greatly depleted by previous years of successive drought.
The problem is that droughts which once came every decade now come every couple of years. A recent study suggests that dry conditions in East Africa are set to continue because of climate change.
The cold weather phase known as La Niña, the counterpart to the warming El Niño, is likely to dominate now. That will make the region's rain fall over the sea, bringing drought.
Yet if climate change is unreservedly the fault of the rich world, Africans must take the blame for the other major contributory factor - armed conflict. Somalia is riven with civil strife, from warlords to Kalashnikov-toting cattle-raiders. The resulting chaos has dissuaded the international community from properly funding the World Food Programme to cope with the levels of hunger the drought has produced.
Last year the WFP appealed for $500 million to address food insecurity in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.
Rich donor nations came up with less than half that. They do not need much of an excuse to keep their public purses tightly shut.
Rich donor nations came up with less than half that. They do not need much of an excuse to keep their public purses tightly shut.
Britain has just given £38m towards making good the deficit in WFP funding. The U.S. is expected to announce more money in early July 2011. But other nations are dragging their feet.
China should contribute. So should oil-rich Arab nations, especially since most of the affected population are Muslims.
There is another problem. Food aid is not enough. Moves must be made to increase productivity in both cereals and livestock. The herders of east Africa need assistance with feeding supplements and vaccinations for their animals, better water and soil conservation techniques and improved species of grasses and shrubs to prevent over-grazing.
The G8 meeting in 2009 promised $22 billion to improve such subsistence agriculture globally and boost food self-sufficiency. The money has not been delivered.
Without it, the destructive cycle will not be broken which forces hungry pastoralists to sell their means of production - livestock - as part of a short-term survival strategy.
Without it, the destructive cycle will not be broken which forces hungry pastoralists to sell their means of production - livestock - as part of a short-term survival strategy.
If famine is poised to stalk the dry lands of Africa again it will not be nature that is to blame, but the warlords of Africa and the complacency of the rich West.
~
The Cardinal Crisis
Food, Energy & Gold Prices:
Is This The New Normal?
Is This The New Normal?
By Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
World transits reveal that the people responsible for the economic crisis continue to not have a clue as to how to fix what they broke - intentionally or not. Moreover, the politics and policy arguments over 'debt ceilings' and how to 'service debt' continue to cloud the truth of these important matters.
Another problem that continues to persist is my perspective that the world is about to face its real economic collapse in 2012, just as the transit of Jupiter begins in tropical Gemini; while Uranus continues transit in the early degrees of tropical Aries square to Pluto in Capricorn.
Jupiter's synodic cycle for 2011 is that of the year 1928. The synodic cycle of 2012 is that of the year 1929, and history knows 1929 witnessed the bank/stock market crash that spawned the Great Depression.
Jupiter's synodic cycle for 2011 is that of the year 1928. The synodic cycle of 2012 is that of the year 1929, and history knows 1929 witnessed the bank/stock market crash that spawned the Great Depression.
Recent years of deplorable policymaking, poor decisions, no leadership, no due diligence, mismanagement, rampant criminal and corrupt practices, 'regulatory capture,' procrastination of reform with the failure of the overclass oligarchy/establishment to take any financial 'haircuts' - rather time and again choosing to 'kick the can down the road' - all this - all of it - will have resulted in a steeper economic crisis to come.
Meanwhile, people worldwide have felt the rampant speculation in Commodities - where food, energy and gold prices have spiked since 2007 - this also is connected to outrageous criminal activity.
The professional astrologer Willow explains to us that as Ceres stations retrograde at zero degrees Aries conjunct Uranus - that buying Organic Foods is a revolutionary act.
As Saturn transits Libra towards tropical Scorpio by October 2012, we can expect lots of talk and focus on commodities.
A movie filmed in the year 1982 in my hometown of Philadelphia gives us a curious view of what many commodities brokers and bankers have been up to for far too long. Turn your volume up to hear the conversation. Let's have a listen...
The professional astrologer Willow explains to us that as Ceres stations retrograde at zero degrees Aries conjunct Uranus - that buying Organic Foods is a revolutionary act.
As Saturn transits Libra towards tropical Scorpio by October 2012, we can expect lots of talk and focus on commodities.
A movie filmed in the year 1982 in my hometown of Philadelphia gives us a curious view of what many commodities brokers and bankers have been up to for far too long. Turn your volume up to hear the conversation. Let's have a listen...
Higher commodity prices might be the rule rather than the exception in the coming years, says a Purdue University agricultural economist.
While prices regularly rise and fall, they have trended upward in a way that suggests they've reached a plateau, said economist Mike Boehlje who attributed much of the price movement to bullish export markets, weather-shortened supplies and the effect that monetary policies have had on interest rates and investors.
"This higher level may be the new normal," he said. "But volatility has increased significantly for agricultural prices, as well as for agricultural inputs.
In terms of corn, for example, it's not unusual in futures markets to see prices moving 30 cents or more on a daily basis. And although prices may be higher, so are costs to producers. So margins are not likely to stay unusually high.
Corn and wheat during late spring in the northern hemisphere have traded in the range of $6-$7 per bushel with soybeans above $13 a bushel - that is double the prices five years ago.
The strong prices are not driven just by weather and shortage of crops. A major cause of surging prices is global demand for food. While agricultural exports always have been a mainstay of the U.S. economy, they have taken on even greater prominence as personal incomes grow in developing nations, Boehlje said.
Along with having more money to spend, people in those nations are demanding more and better food. "There's been a very rapid growth of income in Asia and, particularly, China," he said. "They've been very aggressive in buying food and trying to improve their diets.
"That was a big part of why agriculture in the United States didn't have the same level of pain from the recession as most of the rest of the U.S. economy."
China is a major purchaser of U.S. grains, especially soybeans. While many nations were still reeling from the global recession, China recovered quickly and continued to import agricultural products. Concerns about inflation have since cooled China's economic expansion.
Less obvious, but significant, influences on agricultural prices are actions the Federal Reserve has taken to strengthen the U.S. economy, Boehlje said.
The Fed's moves to both keep a lid on interest rates and provide U.S. capital markets with dollars have made agriculture an attractive option for those with cash to invest.
Chairman Ben Bernanke on June 22, 2011 announced the Federal Reserve would end its second round of U.S.Treasury bond purchases later in June.
The $600 billion program, known as Quantitative Easing II, contributed to a loss in the dollar's value. The weaker dollar further boosted U.S. exports to nations whose currency is worth more, Boehlje said.
The $600 billion program, known as Quantitative Easing II, contributed to a loss in the dollar's value. The weaker dollar further boosted U.S. exports to nations whose currency is worth more, Boehlje said.
Bernanke also said the Fed would leave the federal funds rate - a key interest rate used as a benchmark for business and consumer borrowing - near zero percent. The fed rate has been unchanged since December 2008.
The additional liquidity in capital markets from both rounds of quantitative easing means there is more money for investors to deploy. That creates complications, however, when interest rates are at or near zero percent, Boehlje said.
Investors "need to find some place to put those funds," he said. "And when you've got very low interest rates, it's not particularly attractive to put those funds into financial instruments that have low rates of return. So, you start looking at other places to invest those funds."
One attractive investment option for investors worried about possible inflation from an increased money supply and low interest rates is real goods. Commodities, farmland and other real assets often are better hedges against inflation than financial assets, he said.
Although signs point to continued high commodity prices, Boehlje noted that markets can retreat at any time. He urged farmers to carefully consider any additional risk they might take in their operations and be prepared for market corrections.
"When you're on a higher plateau, you also have the potential to fall a lot further when things don't go well," Boehlje said. "We need to acknowledge that we do have a lot more downside potential than we might have had otherwise."
The new normal. Austerity. Social unrest.
Let's now go to the nation of Greece, which for two years, has been on the forefront of the battle between its population and global banking cartels determined to force the cradle of democracy - into severe austerity.
The Cardinal Crisis
Greece & Europe On The Brink
Riot police and demonstrators clashed yet once again on June 29, 2011 in Athens, Greece during protests against imposed European Union and International Monetary Fund austerity demands passed by the Greek parliament. The financial crisis - particularly the austerity package put forth by the EU and the IMF - was met with outrage by the Greek public and lead to another round of social unrest. On 27 June 2011, Greek trade unions began a 48-hour labor strike in advance of the parliamentary vote on austerity, the first such strike since 1974. Massive demonstrations were organized throughout Greece, intended to pressure parliament into voting against the package. However, Greeks became even more furious when a second set of austerity measures was approved 29 June 2011 - with 155 out of 300 members of parliament voting in favor of austerity.
Image: John Kolesidis/Reuters
By Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
The events in the nation of Greece continue to be a cause of serious concern to everyone. The struggles of the Greek people against world robber barons is also a cause of alarm for all nations.
We cannot simply turn away from the perils facing the Greek people for these may be the same perils other nations may endure in the future should defenses against the robber baron cartels are not enacted.
The stakes are rising for Greece and the European Union, as seen by the June 15, 2011 total central lunar eclipse in tropical Sagittarius.
Total Lunar Eclipse Over The Acropolis of Athens
The lunar eclipse of June 2011 was a rare central lunar eclipse when the center of Earth's shadow passes across the face of the Moon.
Mundane Horoscope - Total Lunar Eclipse, June 15, 2011, Athens, Greece
click on chart to enlarge
The total lunar eclipse at 24-degrees of tropical Sagittarius shows us transiting Mars, located at the time of the eclipse over Athens, in the Mundane Fourth House. Mars is conjoined to the fixed star Algol, one of the most evil stars known to mundane astrology.
This signifies the bad blood between the people and their representatives in parliament over the austerity measures forced upon the people of Greece.
The June 2011 total lunar eclipse was the longest such eclipse since July 2000, and precedes the next total lunar eclipse over Greece in late July 2018.
That 2018 total lunar eclipse, seven years from now, occurs along the 4-degree axis of tropical Leo/Aquarius and will also be seen over Greece. This signifies that the time from 2011 to 2018 are essential for the Greek people to assert themselves for the well-being of democracy and the independence to choose the course and direction of their nation and their own lives.
Mundane Horoscope: July 27, 2018 Total Lunar Eclipse - Athens, Greece
click on chart to enlarge
Wikipedia notes that, "Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica periphery and it is one of the world's oldest cities - with a recorded history that spans 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state.
A center for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on what was then known as the European continent.
Today a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to the economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life of Greece and it is rated as an alpha-world city.
Mundane Comparison Charts - 2011 and 2018 lunar eclipses - Athens, Greece
click chart to enlarge
While the June 15, 2011 lunar eclipse fell at 24-Sagittarius, conjoined to the Dragon's Head in Sagittarius, the July 27, 2018 total lunar eclipse is conjoined by Mars in tropical Aquarius, along with the Dragon's Tail.
The building square from Uranus in Aries to Pluto in Capricorn in 2011 gives way as Uranus transits tropical Taurus by 2018 and squares the eclipsed Moon in Aquarius conjoined to Mars and the South Lunar Node, also in Aquarius.
Because the June 2011 total lunar eclipse had the Dragon's Head conjoined to the Moon, there are many opportunities for the Greek people to set things straight before deep levels of austerity are imposed on the country.
The next seven years for Greece will determine the long-range outcome because the July 2018 total lunar eclipse promises more negative inclinations due to the Dragon's Tail conjunction with the eclipsed Moon and Mars in tropical Aquarius.
Because the June 2011 total lunar eclipse had the Dragon's Head conjoined to the Moon, there are many opportunities for the Greek people to set things straight before deep levels of austerity are imposed on the country.
The next seven years for Greece will determine the long-range outcome because the July 2018 total lunar eclipse promises more negative inclinations due to the Dragon's Tail conjunction with the eclipsed Moon and Mars in tropical Aquarius.
What the above mundane chart clearly shows is that Greece could be on the verge of revolution long before 2018, should the people of Greece not extract themselves from the hold of robber barons who caused the economic decline under the guise of the Euro currency.
Reports in July 2011 reflect this -
Reuters - Greece faces severe restrictions on its sovereignty and must privatize state assets on a scale similar to the sell off of East German firms in the 1990s after communism fell, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said.
In an interview published after euro zone finance ministers in the Eurogroup approved a further 12 billion euro ($17.43 billion) installment of Greece's bailout, Juncker said he was optimistic that measures agreed with Athens would help to resolve the country's problems.
"The sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited," he told Germany's Focus magazine in the interview released on Sunday, adding that teams of experts from around the Eurozone would heading to Greece.
"For the forthcoming wave of privatizations they will need, for example, a solution based on a model of Germany's 'Treuhand agency'," Juncker added, referring to the privatization agency that sold off 14,000 East German firms between 1990 and 1994.
The Greek parliament voted on Thursday to set up a privatization agency under austerity plans agreed with the European Union and IMF which have provoked violent protests on the streets of Athens.
Greeks are acutely sensitive to any infringement of their sovereignty or suggestions of foreign "commissars" getting involved in running the country.
"One cannot be allowed to insult the Greeks. But one has to help them. They have said they are ready to accept expertise from the euro zone," Juncker said.
Athens must sell off five billion euros in state assets this year alone or risk missing targets set under its EU/IMF program, which could cut off its funding needed to keep the government running and avoid a debt default.
A repeat of Germany's Treuhand experience may prove bitter for Greeks, who are already suffering soaring unemployment as a recession drags into its third year.
Once the world's biggest holding company, Treuhand was supposed to sell off state property at a profit but closed its books with a huge deficit and a legacy of bitterness among the legions of workers whose jobs it destroyed.
Four million Germans were employed by Treuhand-owned companies in 1990 but only about 1.5 million jobs were left in 1994 when the agency closed.
Instead of reaping profits to be distributed to all east Germans, as it was designed to do, it ran up debts of 270 billion marks ($172 billion) in the fire sale of assets.
NOT FULLY FUNCTIONAL?
Juncker, also Luxembourg's Prime Minister, first floated the idea of a Treuhand-style agency for Greece in May. He said then he believed Greece could raise considerably more than the 50 billion euros in asset sales.
"The current package of measures, which Athens has agreed to, will bring a solution to the Greek question," he said in the Focus interview. However, he added that the Greek tax collection system was "not fully functional."
On Saturday, euro zone finance ministers agreed that the fifth tranche of the 110-billion-euro bailout agreed with Greece in May 2010 would be paid by July 15 - as long as the IMF's board signs off on the disbursement. The IMF is expected to meet on July 8 to approve it.
The payment will allow Greece to avoid the immediate threat of default, but the country still needs a second rescue package, which is also expected also to total around 110 billion euros and which will now probably be finalized only in September.
Juncker said the Greek crisis had been largely caused by itself. "Between 1999 and 2010 wages rose 106.6 percent even though the economy did not grow at the same pace. The wage policies were completely out of control and not based on (gains in) productivity," he said.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock, an investment advisor for Sitka Pacific Capital Management says, "Before receiving the next bailout tranche Greece May Have Missed June Primary Balance Target:
"Greece is at risk of missing a key budget target in June, European Union experts said in a report, a sign of the uphill struggle the country faces as it tries to get its deficit reduction plans back on track.
The report, prepared by European Commission budget experts with input from European Central Bank officials and published over the weekend, says that Greece could miss its June target for its primary budget balance, a measure of the government deficit that excludes interest payments on outstanding debt.
Government revenue faces "significant" shortfalls that have only partially been offset by lower spending and delayed payments, the report says. "As a result, the quarterly performance criterion on the primary balance could be missed already in June."
Spoon Feeding will Continue Regardless of Shortfalls
Mish says, "Short of telling the ECB, EU, and IMF to go to hell, nothing will stop the Plan to Spoon-Feed Greece to Death. The original bailout was 110 billion Euros, now it takes another $85 billion (and counting).
When the fire sale of Greek assets does not bring in enough money, the banks and IMF will place even harsher terms on Greece.
Notice the plan to spoon-feed payments to Greece in 12 billion-euro bites while demanding "progress." This will ensure Greece is sucked dry (at fire sale prices) of any government assets worth owning by the time the 'bailout' is over.
Portugal, and Ireland should make note of the process. The same 'bailout' plan will be used on them unless they tell the IMF and EU to go to hell."
French Plan to "Save Greece" Constitutes A Default?
The New York Times reports that the S&P Warns Bank Plan Would Cause Greek Default -
Greece risks being judged in default on its debt obligations if banks are forced to bear part of the pain, Standard & Poor’s said Monday, suggesting that current proposals for rescuing the euro zone’s weakest member may have to be reconsidered.
In particular, a plan proposed by the French government and banks “could require private sector debt restructuring in a form that we would view as an effective default,” S.&P. said in a statement.
The rating agency also said it was cutting its long-term rating on Greece - three notches deeper into 'junk' territory, to CCC from B.
The rating agency also said it was cutting its long-term rating on Greece - three notches deeper into 'junk' territory, to CCC from B.
A finding by the credit ratings agencies of default would also require the E.C.B. to impose discounts, known as haircuts, on the Greek debt it has accepted as collateral.
That would inflict more financial pain on banks and bondholders with that debt.
That would inflict more financial pain on banks and bondholders with that debt.
Eurozone finance ministers agreed over the weekend to provide Athens with financing of €8.7 billion, or $12.6 billion, from the €110 billion bailout agreed to last year, to help the Greek government function through the summer. The new aid eliminates the prospect of a near-term default.
But finance ministers put off the question of how to provide a second bailout, reportedly valued at up to €90 billion, to keep the country operating through 2014, when it is hoped that Greece will be able to return to the credit markets.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, announced June 27, 2011 that French banks had agreed to a plan under which the banks would reinvest most of the proceeds of their holdings of Greek debt maturing between now and 2014 back into new long-term Greek securities.
But Standard & Poor’s said that it “views certain types of debt exchanges and similar restructuring as equivalent to a payment default" - when a transaction is seen as “distressed rather than purely opportunistic” and when it results “in investors receiving less value than the promise of the original securities.”
Both conditions would appear to be met by the French proposal, it said.
Rating Agency Rollover Default Conditions
Mish Shedlock says,
1.) It's a default if rollovers are distressed rather that opportunistic.
2.) It's a default if "investors receiving less value than the promise of the original securities.”
Point number one deals with the "voluntary" nature of the dealing. If banks roll over debt under duress, fearing bigger losses if they don't, the rating agencies will not consider that a "voluntary" rollover.
Even if a voluntary rollover can be constructed, condition number two must still be satisfied. I fail to see how that is possible, at least without destroying Greece.
Making Sense of the French Rollover Plan?
There is a nice article on Zero Hedge by Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors called Making Sense of the French Rollover Plan
There is a nice article on Zero Hedge by Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors called Making Sense of the French Rollover Plan
The French proposal is slightly complex at best and convoluted at worst.
Before digging into the specifics, let’s look at what a true rollover would look like.
Before digging into the specifics, let’s look at what a true rollover would look like.
If 'Participants' agreed with Greece to extend the maturity AND reduce the coupon AND do it immediately, that would be a clear example of a rollover that benefited Greece.
There are 3 key elements to a real rollover.
There are 3 key elements to a real rollover.
The first is that they would agree to the rollover now. That would take away uncertainty. The maturity extension is the rollover, and the longer it is delayed, the better for Greece.
The coupon on the new debt should be lower than the coupon Greece is currently paying.
If all 3 of these criteria are met, and the new bonds are pari passu with the existing bonds, then I think everyone would agree that Greece benefits, the Troika would benefit, and the Participants would have made a sacrifice.
If all 3 of these criteria are met, and the new bonds are pari passu with the existing bonds, then I think everyone would agree that Greece benefits, the Troika would benefit, and the Participants would have made a sacrifice.
Mish Shedlock: "We need to stop right there.
What Tchir says is true, but since when is the plan to benefit Greece? Moreover, even if the plan was to benefit Greece, notice the key phrase "the Participants would have made a sacrifice."
A sacrifice implies "investors receive less value than the promise of the original securities.”
That in turn implies default - at least to the ratings agencies.
Tchir continues ...
What Tchir says is true, but since when is the plan to benefit Greece? Moreover, even if the plan was to benefit Greece, notice the key phrase "the Participants would have made a sacrifice."
A sacrifice implies "investors receive less value than the promise of the original securities.”
That in turn implies default - at least to the ratings agencies.
Tchir continues ...
The French proposal, as we will see, potentially does not satisfy any of the 3 aspects listed – it is not immediate, the coupon will be higher than existing debt, and the maturity extension is linked to taking some debt out of the market, so it’s not as clearly a benefit as the headlines make it seem.
The ISDA credit derivative definitions for a Restructuring Credit Event have to meet 2 tests. The first part of the test is straightforward and is met if bonds are extended, or the coupon is reduced, for example.
The ISDA credit derivative definitions for a Restructuring Credit Event have to meet 2 tests. The first part of the test is straightforward and is met if bonds are extended, or the coupon is reduced, for example.
This condition would be met. The second condition is effectively that it is involuntary. If the actions of some bondholders can force other bondholders into an agreement then this condition would be met and there would be a CDS Credit Event.
In the case of Greek bonds, that looks unlikely. I have only looked at the offering circulars from a couple of bonds, but there does not appear to by anything that could force a bondholder to change the terms of the debt.
There is no reason, that on a €1 billion issue, €950 million could be exchanged and €50 million could remain outstanding. If that is the case, then there would be no CDS Credit Event under this true rollover.
The rating agencies have taken the position (right or wrong), that if a rollover is done under duress, the rollover is not voluntary.
Mish Shedlock: However, Tchir goes on to say "The Rating Agencies can be largely ignored."
The plan as it stands is complicated. Tchir does his best to explain it by comparing the rollover to 30 year mortgages.
Mish Shedlock: However, Tchir goes on to say "The Rating Agencies can be largely ignored."
The plan as it stands is complicated. Tchir does his best to explain it by comparing the rollover to 30 year mortgages.
The Participants are not lending to Greece for 30 years, the duration is much shorter, and the coupon payments start out potentially high, and become usurious in the later years.
The structure is designed in a such a way to make it look like the Participants are being helpful – 30 years at a low coupon, but separating the SPV into its zero coupon component and the loan to Greece clearly demonstrate that the terms being offered to Greece are far worse than the headlines that the Participants are selling to the public.
I would be surprised if Greece agrees to the loan terms as included in the French proposal and wonder if they have even been consulted?
The structure is designed in a such a way to make it look like the Participants are being helpful – 30 years at a low coupon, but separating the SPV into its zero coupon component and the loan to Greece clearly demonstrate that the terms being offered to Greece are far worse than the headlines that the Participants are selling to the public.
I would be surprised if Greece agrees to the loan terms as included in the French proposal and wonder if they have even been consulted?
Mish Shedlock: "Greece has had no say in this for the simple reason the plan is not to save Greece, but rather save the French banks who are most on hook should Greece default.
It will be interesting to see if the plan changes now that the S&P has warned the French plan for Greece constitutes a default. Even if the plan is modified, I do not see how it can be modified to meet the "voluntary" rollover criteria of the rating agencies.
Unless Tchir is correct that the rating agencies truly are irrelevant, something has to give.
Actually, something has to give. The situation in Greece is so dire and the economy, politics and riots so messy that Greece is going to default sooner or later anyway."
~
I concur as mundane world transits confirm. These intervening years 2011 to 2018 will determine the course of the Greek nation and that of the finances of Western democracy itself.
The Cardinal Crisis
Austerity or Revolution in Greece?
By RACHEL DONADIO
ATHENS - Greek lawmakers voted June 29, 2011 to sharply reduce government spending and sell off an array of national assets, staving off default on the country’s debt and easing, for the moment, a crisis among countries that use the Euro currency.
Markets rallied globally, and European leaders welcomed the passage of one of the most radical overhauls of the Greek economy since democracy was restored in 1974.
But the changes are deeply unpopular in Greece, where street protests continued, and the Socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou will need to overcome widespread skepticism that it can carry out the budget cuts, layoffs, tax increases and forced asset sales to put the measures into effect by June 30, 2011.
Image: Reuters
Economists also expressed concern that the austerity program demanded by European and international lenders could end up pushing the Greek economy into a deeper slump, making its debt even harder to pay back.
More broadly, critics said they doubted that Europe had done more than postpone a day of reckoning for the euro, with Ireland, Portugal and Spain, as well as Greece, all struggling with slow or negative growth and rising debts.
The passage of the measures, a difficult and possibly debilitating feat for a Socialist Party elected on a social welfare platform, ensures that Greece’s foreign lenders will unlock the next installment of $17 billion in aid that the country needs to meet its debt obligations through August.
Greek Austerity Figures
Amid tear gas, two Greek citizens arm in arm display a banner that says 'NO' during clashes with riot police in front of the Greek Parliament on June 29, 2011 in Athens as lawmakers moved towards a vote on a massive austerity package demanded by international creditors.
• Solidarity levy: At 1% for those earning between €12,000 (£10,800) and €20,000 a year, 2% for incomes between €20,000 and €50,000, 3% for those on €50,000 to €100,000, and 4% for those earning €100,000 or more. Lawmakers and public office holders will pay a 5% rate.
• Lower tax-free threshold: People will now pay tax on income over €8,000 a year, down from €12,000. This basic rate of tax will be set at 10%, with exemptions for those under 30, over 65, and the disabled.
• Sales tax: The VAT rate for restaurants and bars is being hiked from 13% to the new top rate of 23%. This rate already covers many products in the shops, including clothing, alcohol, electronics goods and some professional services.
Spending Cuts include:
• Public sector wages: Salaries will be reduced by 15%.
• The public sector wage bill: The goal is to cut 150,000 public sector jobs, through a hiring freeze and abolition of all temporary contracts. This should cut the total bill by €2bn by 2015.
• Social benefits and pensions: The retirement age is raised to age 65. Increased means testing and cuts to some benefits will reduce the total amount spend on benefits by €1.09bn in 2011, then €1.28bn in 2012, €1.03bn in 2013, €1.01bn in 2014 and €700m in 2015.
But analysts in Athens predicted the existing government might not last much longer than that, suggesting that political and financial uncertainty could continue for some time.
Protesters shout slogans near Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament on June 22, 2011 in Athens. Demonstrators had camped outside parliament since May 25, 2011 during a peaceful ongoing rally against austerity measures.
“It’s a giant step in terms of conception,” said Theodore Couloumbis, a vice president of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, in Athens. “But it’s a baby step in terms of realization or implementation.”
European political leaders have pressed Greece for months to commit to a thorough overhaul of its bloated, state-led economy, and they hailed the vote on June 29, 2011 as offering hope that the debt crisis was manageable.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany welcomed the development as “really good news,” while the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, said in a joint statement that Greece had taken “a vital step back - from the very grave scenario of default.”
They urged Greek lawmakers to pass the second vote on June 30 to carry out the measures, adding that “it would also allow for work to proceed rapidly on a second package of financial assistance, enabling the country to move forward and restoring hope to the Greek people.”
Officials have promised that they will make more money available to help stimulate growth in Greece if it sticks to its austerity pledges.
Europe has much at stake in making the new bailout a success because several other countries that use the euro face similar, if less immediate, problems of high debt, widespread unemployment and little or no growth.
Ultimately, many economists say, the sovereign debt of Greece and some other countries will have to be restructured, with their creditors accepting a discount on the debts’ face value. European officials have so far sought to avoid taking that step.
“If Europe comes together with an appropriate framework, that will enable a default to be avoided,” said Joseph E. Stiglitz, the Nobel-winning economist. “But there’s every sign that Europe won’t do that, so the likelihood of a problem down the line is very significant.”
Kenneth S. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, who is now a Harvard professor, said the Greek vote and the infusion of aid would only buy a little time.
“It’s certainly kicking the can down the road,” Professor Rogoff said. “Greece is basically being bribed not to default. But as long as Greece doesn’t grow briskly for a sustained period, it’s in hot water.”
Hope is also in short supply among many Greeks, who said that the first round of austerity imposed after Greece’s first bailout last year had worsened rather than improved their plight, and that the second round demanded even deeper cuts in many areas.
“Of course things will get worse,” said Thimios Vilias, 35, who said his two-year contract at an insurance company would run out soon and who came out to protest on Wednesday.
“The measures won’t do any good for Greece. We have more debt, more debt, more debt, and we have no work,” Mr. Vilias added.
~
The Cardinal Crisis
The Audacity of 'Austerity?'
By Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
For over a decade I have been studying the world transits of the Twenty-Tens and the Cardinal Crisis. It was not easy to be among the lone voices in the wilderness warning of troubles ahead while most of the world was experiencing the 'good times' of the leveraged derivatives financial bubble.
This really had been going on since 1982, right at the start of the last Saturn-Pluto conjunction, when what amounted to 'free credit' was released to baby boomers, who, after several years of cocaine snorting and disco dancing - dropped their progressive idealism and embraced greed.
It was time for rampant materialism and demanding not to be called 'Hippies' anymore - but 'Upwardly Mobile' that is - a "Yuppie." I could not believe this shit was happening all around me. I was only 19.
click to enlarge
I watched in absolute amazement how millions of baby boomers prostrated themselves to the very things they said they were 'totally against' - in favor of easy credit, cheap disco music and widespread designer drugs - at the very time millions were dying in Africa from widespread drought and famine, mind you.
When that happened back in the early 1980s, transiting Saturn was about to leave tropical Libra and enter tropical Scorpio, just at the cusp of the AIDS epidemic. Then Saturn entered Sagittarius and the stock market crash of 1987 came along and ended that 'Yuppie' era.
Max Keiser, working for years on Yuppified Wall Street of the raging 1980s said this about it all:
Saturn will enter tropical Scorpio in October 2012 through September 2015. It is my forecast that these years are those of hardships, imposed by austerity with socio-economic rebellions fueled by the Uranus-Pluto cardinal world squares with effects lasting - for many nations - clear to the next decade of the 2020s.
James Corbett of the Corbett Report on 'The Meaning of Austerity'
For over a decade I have been studying the world transits of the Twenty-Tens and the Cardinal Crisis. It was not easy to be among the lone voices in the wilderness warning of troubles ahead while most of the world was experiencing the 'good times' of the leveraged derivatives financial bubble.
This really had been going on since 1982, right at the start of the last Saturn-Pluto conjunction, when what amounted to 'free credit' was released to baby boomers, who, after several years of cocaine snorting and disco dancing - dropped their progressive idealism and embraced greed.
It was time for rampant materialism and demanding not to be called 'Hippies' anymore - but 'Upwardly Mobile' that is - a "Yuppie." I could not believe this shit was happening all around me. I was only 19.
I watched in absolute amazement how millions of baby boomers prostrated themselves to the very things they said they were 'totally against' - in favor of easy credit, cheap disco music and widespread designer drugs - at the very time millions were dying in Africa from widespread drought and famine, mind you.
When that happened back in the early 1980s, transiting Saturn was about to leave tropical Libra and enter tropical Scorpio, just at the cusp of the AIDS epidemic. Then Saturn entered Sagittarius and the stock market crash of 1987 came along and ended that 'Yuppie' era.
Max Keiser, working for years on Yuppified Wall Street of the raging 1980s said this about it all:
Saturn will enter tropical Scorpio in October 2012 through September 2015. It is my forecast that these years are those of hardships, imposed by austerity with socio-economic rebellions fueled by the Uranus-Pluto cardinal world squares with effects lasting - for many nations - clear to the next decade of the 2020s.
James Corbett of the Corbett Report on 'The Meaning of Austerity'
No matter how you slice it, the policies of austerity are now being used increasingly by governments to reduce what they say are deficit spending needs which brings on the raising of taxes to pay back global creditors.
We've examined the crisis of the Euro currency before on Global Astrology. The European currency is under great stress as the 17 member countries of the European Union ( EU) struggle with high rates of unemployment and imposed sovereign debt.
We've examined the crisis of the Euro currency before on Global Astrology. The European currency is under great stress as the 17 member countries of the European Union ( EU) struggle with high rates of unemployment and imposed sovereign debt.
The Euro is the official currency of 17 of the 27 member states which form the European Union and is the money of an estimated 332 million Europeans. Moreover it is estimated that over 175 million people globally use currencies pegged to the Euro - including 150 million souls in Africa.
What is called the Eurozone, consists of these nations - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The Euro is also used in five other European countries - Montenegro, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican as well as Kosovo.
The Euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the US Dollar. The Euro has more than €800 billion in circulation with the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in circulation around the world.
Under austerity, such as those being imposed on Greece, all kinds public projects and other forms of social spending are targeted to be cut which lowers a country's standard of living. Austerity is well-known for bringing on severe economic declines that affects the entire spectrum of any society.
Readers of Global Astrology know that it is my view that all of this is generational. The dying oligarchy and the outgoing baby boomer establishment does not want to pay for their failures and very bad bets. They continue to refuse to leave the casino until they can take the 'winnings' that they in fact - lost.
Of course, this is unacceptable. The refusal of bondholders, who represent the aged, to take their 'haircut' after not only mismanaging the financial community, but in fact, corrupting it beyond anything witnessed in Earth's history, truly should draw the contempt of anyone who claims to possess common sense.
How can you demand the World Series trophy when you lost the series? How are you able to claim the World Cup when you lost every match played? Just how are you able to demand the Heavyweight Championship of the world when you knocked yourself out?
Readers of Global Astrology know that it is my view that all of this is generational. The dying oligarchy and the outgoing baby boomer establishment does not want to pay for their failures and very bad bets. They continue to refuse to leave the casino until they can take the 'winnings' that they in fact - lost.
Of course, this is unacceptable. The refusal of bondholders, who represent the aged, to take their 'haircut' after not only mismanaging the financial community, but in fact, corrupting it beyond anything witnessed in Earth's history, truly should draw the contempt of anyone who claims to possess common sense.
How can you demand the World Series trophy when you lost the series? How are you able to claim the World Cup when you lost every match played? Just how are you able to demand the Heavyweight Championship of the world when you knocked yourself out?
In the United States, the White House and Congressional leaders have been in a series of deep talks on the U.S. debt ceiling with the two major parties Democrats and Republicans still far away from reaching a compromise on raising the debt ceiling so the U.S. does not default.
Interestingly, just within hours of each other legislators in Greece and the state of California both announced plans for fiscal austerity.
In California, after months of tense negotiations, the state's legislature passed an $86 billion budget, seeking to plug a $9.6 billion deficit with a mix of spending cuts, increased fees and higher-than-expected taxes.
Related legislation shifts state prison costs to local governments and further opens the door to ever more cuts in education and social services budgets if California's revenue projections come up short which it is almost certain to do. Cuts in March 2011 already slashed billions of dollars from welfare, Medi-Cal and in-home support services.
"Every Californian should be outraged," said Yvonne Walker, of the Service Employees International Union. The austerity measures, she said, would cut "vital services Californians rely on."
The head of the California's law enforcement association called the new cuts "absolutely astounding," and predicts the austerity measures would force the elimination of 600 law enforcement positions. The reduction, he said, would amount to an invitation to drug gangs to invade California.
Meanwhile, at the University of California, already suffering from $500 million in cuts since March 2011 that led to higher tuition charges and prompted widespread student protests, the president's office said a further $150 million removed from the budget would destabilize higher education.
"I think we're already seeing something like Greece," said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Institute for America's Future, a progressive advocacy group. "We don't have that tradition in our country," he said, referring to rioting in the streets.
"But it's not to say it couldn't happen if people feel lied to, if there's a sense that sacrifice isn't being shared, or if the medicine prescribed to help the economy actually winds up hurting it."
"But it's not to say it couldn't happen if people feel lied to, if there's a sense that sacrifice isn't being shared, or if the medicine prescribed to help the economy actually winds up hurting it."
Something like that already happened in the state of Wisconsin, Hickey said, where popular hue-and-cry at Govornor Scott Walker sprang up not just from his having gone after public sector unions but his having beforehand given "tax cuts to the wealthy."
On the federal level, Hickey pointed to Republican-advocated budget cuts.: "Republicans have been promising that massive cuts to government programs would create jobs and help the economy," Hickey said.
"But if cuts kill growth and the economy gets worse, just as in Greece, people will be very angry." On the national level, he said, "Democrats should insist on one-to-one tax increases and budget cuts, not the three cuts-to-one tax increase the Republicans propose."
On the federal level, Hickey pointed to Republican-advocated budget cuts.: "Republicans have been promising that massive cuts to government programs would create jobs and help the economy," Hickey said.
"But if cuts kill growth and the economy gets worse, just as in Greece, people will be very angry." On the national level, he said, "Democrats should insist on one-to-one tax increases and budget cuts, not the three cuts-to-one tax increase the Republicans propose."
U.S. President Barack Obama gives a hard look across the negotiating table as he meets with U.S. Congressional leaders to agree on a 'balanced approach' to American "deficit reduction." The meeting took place in the Cabinet Room of the White House. From left to right: House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi; Speaker of the House John Boehner and President Obama.
Image: Larry Downing/Reuters
Reuters reported that President Obama and top U.S. lawmakers emerged from talks in July 2011 and were still far apart on breaking a budget deadlock.
Negotiators said they will work through the weekend for a deal to avoid a debt default. Obama and congressional leaders are aiming for at least $3 trillion and possibly more than $4 trillion in budget savings.
Negotiators said they will work through the weekend for a deal to avoid a debt default. Obama and congressional leaders are aiming for at least $3 trillion and possibly more than $4 trillion in budget savings.
Presented with three possible targets - roughly $2 trillion, $3 trillion, or more than $4 trillion over 10 years, all the participants agreed to one of the higher figures, say congressional aides.
The meeting dealt only with the size of a deal, but not policy specifics. A meeting for Sunday, July 10 is scheduled to tackle the more difficult question of how savings can be achieved, aides said.
The meeting dealt only with the size of a deal, but not policy specifics. A meeting for Sunday, July 10 is scheduled to tackle the more difficult question of how savings can be achieved, aides said.
But as Obama strives for a deficit reduction deal that would clear the way for Congress to increase the $14.3 trillion cap on government borrowing by the deadline of August 2, he faces a possible rebellion on his left flank.
The top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, expressed concerns that cuts in popular entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare might be part of the deficit-reduction deal.
Obama and U.S. lawmakers are aiming for an agreement that will cut government spending, possibly raise taxes and restore some semblance of order to U.S. fiscal policy.
The U.S. deficit is expected to be $1.4 trillion this year. The U.S. Treasury has warned it will run out of money to pay all of the country's bills if the debt ceiling is not increased by August 2.
The U.S. deficit is expected to be $1.4 trillion this year. The U.S. Treasury has warned it will run out of money to pay all of the country's bills if the debt ceiling is not increased by August 2.
If negotiators fail to reach a budget agreement by then, the U.S. government will default, which could push the United States back into recession and cause greater turmoil in global financial markets.
Briefing reporters after 90 minutes of talks, Obama said both sides still were far apart and that staff negotiators will work through the weekend to find each side's bottom line.
HARD BARGAINING?
President Obama said he will have another round of talks with top Democrats and Republicans on July 10, hoping to begin "the hard bargaining that's necessary to get a deal done."
"Everybody acknowledged that there's going to be pain involved politically on all sides," the President said, "but our biggest obligation is to make sure that we are doing the right thing."
Pelosi, the former speaker of the House until Democrats lost seats in elections last November said that Democrats feared the poor and elderly would bear the brunt of budget-cutting. The two sides have discussed changing the way the government measures inflation to restrain the growth of Social Security benefits and tax breaks, an approach that could save roughly $300 billion over 10 years.
"Do not consider Social Security a piggy bank for giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country. We are not going to balance the budget on the backs of seniors, women and people with disabilities," Pelosi said.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, told Republicans before meeting Obama that they should know by the end of the week whether a big agreement is possible.
"He said it was maybe 50-50," a Republican Party aide said. "Whether or not it happens is really dependent on whether they (Democrats) continue to insist on tax hikes."
Normally a routine vote, the debt ceiling has been embroiled in partisan politics, with Republicans seeking to impose deep spending cuts to reduce the budget deficit, which opinion polls show is a major worry for many Americans.
Obama, who seeks to avoid angering his liberal base ahead of the 2012 General Election, says he wants tax increases on the wealthy to lessen the pain of spending cuts. "I want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to and the parties are still far apart on a wide range of issues," Obama said.
Boehner said comprehensive tax reform is on the table and that changes are needed in benefit programs for the poor and elderly to ensure their long-term viability. "We believe that comprehensive tax reform, both on the corporate side and the personal side, will make America more competitive, help create jobs in our country, and is something that is under discussion," Boehner said.
Both sides have long sought a tax overhaul but have never agreed on how to carry it out. Democrats want to eliminate many tax breaks while Republicans generally want lower tax rates.
Boehner's top deputy in the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, signaled the possibility of a compromise on July 6 by saying Republicans could support ending some of the tax breaks that Democrats have proposed in return for tax cuts elsewhere.
Whatever the case may be, the so-called 'deficit" talks in Washington are smoke and mirrors for what is really on the table - and that is austerity - American-style.
And that, my friends, is what Jupiter in Gemini and Saturn in Scorpio tells me is coming soon to a city, county and state near you.
For example, this is what the Wall Street Journal reported June 27, 2011:
“In a move highlighting the severe fiscal stress facing many states, New Jersey officials have been negotiating a temporary bank loan of as much as $2.25 billion to plug a cash shortfall, according to people familiar with the matter.
The loan would cover bills the state will need to pay as its new fiscal year begins July 1. Normally, states have some cash available as they finish one fiscal year and begin the next, while gearing up for a bond offering based on the new budget.
State officials are negotiating with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. over terms for the bridge loan, following a spirited competition for the state’s business, several people familiar with the selection process said.”
As we will see below, it appears the state of New Jersey signals the start of the underfunded pension crisis.
According to some analysts, New Jersey may be the first state to use this highly unconventional approach of gaining a commercial bank funded bridge loan as large as $2.25 billion to ‘plug a cash shortfall.’
The loan raised by Governor Chris Christie’s state, “would cover bills the state will need to pay as its new fiscal year begins July 1. Normally, states have some cash available as they finish one fiscal year and begin the next, while gearing up for a bond offering based on the new budget.
Terms of the loan, also known as a credit line, have not been finalized and “negotiations could fall apart,’ according to the people familiar with the matter.
And since this will most likely be a benchmark loan with a term sheet to be promptly circulated to other cash-strapped states, it will be all the more important in defining key term components as subordination, collateralization and general interest rates.
And since this will most likely be a benchmark loan with a term sheet to be promptly circulated to other cash-strapped states, it will be all the more important in defining key term components as subordination, collateralization and general interest rates.
The term ‘austerity’ appears to be the label used more often to describe the economic chaos facing many populations – from the United Kingdom, to Ireland, to Spain, Portugal, Italy and of course Greece – what we are witnessing is the beginning of years of rebellions, revolts and revolutionary sentiments in reaction to the corrupt acts of criminal players on Wall Street, at hedge funds, in the halls of Washington and within the top executive suites of the ‘too big to fail banks.”
~
Barack ‘Herbert Hoover’ Obama?
By Paul Krugman
NY Times Columnist
The president said just recently that, 'Government has to start living within its means, just like families do. We have to cut the spending we can’t afford so we can put the economy on sounder footing, and give our businesses the confidence they need to grow and create jobs.'
Yep, the false government-family equivalence - the myth of expansionary austerity, and the confidence fairy, all in just two sentences.
This is truly a tragedy: the great progressive hope (well, I did warn people) is falling all over himself to endorse right-wing economic fallacies.
When I was young and naïve, I believed that important people took positions based on careful consideration of the options. Now I know better. Much of what Serious People believe rests on prejudices, not analysis.
And these prejudices are subject to fads and fashions others have watched, with amazement and horror, the emergence of a consensus in policy circles in favor of immediate fiscal austerity.
That is, somehow it has become conventional wisdom that now is the time to slash spending, despite the fact that the world’s major economies remain deeply depressed.
This conventional wisdom isn’t based on either evidence or careful analysis. Instead, it rests on what we might charitably call sheer speculation, and less charitably call figments of the policy elite’s imagination - specifically, on belief in what I’ve come to think of as the invisible bond vigilante and the confidence fairy.
Bond vigilantes are investors who pull the plug on governments they perceive as unable or unwilling to pay their debts. Now there’s no question that countries can suffer crises of confidence (see Greece, debt of).
But what the advocates of austerity claim is that (a) the bond vigilantes are about to attack America, and (b) spending anything more on stimulus will set them off.
What reason do we have to believe that any of this is true? Yes, America has long-run budget problems, but what we do on stimulus over the next couple of years has almost no bearing on our ability to deal with these long-run problems.
As Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the Congressional Budget Office, recently put it, “There is no intrinsic contradiction between providing additional fiscal stimulus today, while the unemployment rate is high and many factories and offices are underused, and imposing fiscal restraint several years from now, when output and employment will probably be close to their potential.”
Nonetheless, every few months we’re told that the bond vigilantes have arrived, and we must impose austerity ‘now now now,’ to appease them.
Three months ago, a slight uptick in long-term interest rates was greeted with near hysteria: “Debt Fears Send Rates Up,” was the headline at The Wall Street Journal, although there was no actual evidence of such fears, and Alan Greenspan pronounced the rise a “canary in the mine.”
Since then, long-term rates have plunged again. Far from fleeing U.S. government debt, investors evidently see it as their safest bet in a stumbling economy. Yet the advocates of austerity still assure us that bond vigilantes will attack any day now if we don’t slash spending immediately.
But don’t worry: spending cuts may hurt, but the confidence fairy will take away the pain. “The idea that austerity measures could trigger stagnation is incorrect,” declared Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, in a recent interview.
Why? Because ‘confidence-inspiring policies will foster and not hamper economic recovery.’
What’s the evidence for the belief that fiscal contraction is actually expansionary, because it improves confidence? (By the way, this is precisely the doctrine expounded by Herbert Hoover in 1932.)
Well, there have been historical cases of spending cuts and tax increases followed by economic growth. But as far as I can tell, every one of those examples proves, on closer examination, to be a case in which the negative effects of austerity were offset by other factors, factors not likely to be relevant today.
For example, Ireland’s era of austerity-with-growth in the 1980s depended on a drastic move from trade deficit to trade surplus, which isn’t a strategy everyone can pursue at the same time.
And current examples of austerity are anything but encouraging. Ireland has been a good soldier in this crisis, grimly implementing savage spending cuts. Its reward has been a Depression-level slump - and financial markets continue to treat it as a serious default risk.
Other good soldiers, like Latvia and Estonia, have done even worse - and all three nations have, believe it or not, had worse slumps in output and employment than Iceland, which was forced by the sheer scale of its financial crisis to adopt less orthodox policies.
So the next time you hear serious sounding people explaining the need for fiscal austerity, try to parse their argument.
Almost surely, you’ll discover that what sounds like hardheaded realism actually rests on a foundation of fantasy, on the belief that invisible vigilantes will punish us if we’re bad and the confidence fairy will reward us if we’re good.
And real-world policy - policy that will blight the lives of millions of working families - is being built on that foundation.
And real-world policy - policy that will blight the lives of millions of working families - is being built on that foundation.
~
The world transits of the Twenty-Tens clearly show us that a major generational shift is now in motion.
For more proof of this, we head to the European nation of Spain, where outrageous levels of rampant double-digit unemployment of those under 50, amid brutal austerity has caused Spaniards to hit the streets in defiant protest.
The Cardinal Crisis
Pain In Spain?
A Spanish citizen shouts and shows his hands covered with blood as police try to dismantle a camp set at Catalunya's square in Barcelona, Spain on Friday, May 27, 2011.
Image: Josep Lago/AFP
Spanish Police Turn Violent, 121 injured
By Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
The economic Panic of 2007-2008 - brought on by widespread levels of widespread corruption by aged financial insiders and their lackeys - are responsible for the losses of millions of jobs, the theft of perhaps trillions and the suppression of the generations just behind them.
We've seen the results throughout the nations of Greece, Ireland, Egypt and North Africa which continue to clearly show the inclinations of the budding Uranus-Pluto cardinal square.
The protests across the nation of Spain since May 15, 2011 demanding jobs, economic equality, and “real democracy” turned violent Friday when Spanish police attacked non-violent Spanish citizens demonstrating in peace.
Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets and struck citizens with truncheons who have been camped out in Barcelona's Plaza de Catalunya.
Spanish police officers strike young Spanish demonstrators with batons in Barcelona, Friday, May 27, 2011.
Image: Emilio Morenatti/AP
After two weeks of peaceful protests in a youth movement that brought tens of thousands of Spaniard to occupy plazas across Spain, the first violent altercations occurred in the Catalan capital Friday morning.
The local police force, called the 'Mossos d'Esquadra' were heavily equipped in anti-riot gear as they moved in after protesters.
The excuse was used that the demonstrators blocked cleaning trucks attempting to dismantle their encampment so Spanish officials could clear the square ahead of the Champions' League final between Barcelona FC and Manchester United in Wembley on Saturday night.
Reports on May 27, 2011 have at least 121 people injured in Barcelona as protesters defended themselves from police officers who were seen taunting and striking the demonstrators.
The protests, taking place just before elections last weekend reflect the seething anger among 16- to 24-year-olds who face a jobless rate of an incredible 45 percent amid the global corruption tied to the real estate ponzi schemes of bankers and hedge funds in the financial, residential and commercial sectors.
Luna, a Spaniard protesting in Barcelona, who the AP described as having “a thick, dark, wild pony tail and the rich voice of a radio announcer,” said it was virtually unheard of for someone to get a job in their field in Spain right after graduation. “I should be out looking for a job. But my heart tells me I should be here now,” Luna said.
The Spanish citizens call themselves 'los indignados' – the indignant ones – began gathering May 15 in a swelling movement known variously as "M-15", "Spanish Revolution" and "Real Democracy Now" - driven onto the streets in the cities of Spain by a deep economic crisis that has pushed youth unemployment to 45 per cent with 400% inflation in Spain since the adoption of the Euro currency in 1999.
Inspired by the North African 'Arab Spring' revolts, the Spanish protests swelled ahead of the regional elections in Spain last Sunday that delivered Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialists a resounding defeat.
Protesters from their base in Madrid's Puerta del Sol have vowed to continue their movement despite and are preparing their manifesto they say calls for the end to widespread financial and political corruption they say has been rampant in Spain and contributed directly to the crisis. They also demand a complete overhaul of the electoral system.
World transits over the nation of Spain show the same planetary energies of the cardinal crisis that has reflected the historical generational transition now underway.
The old establishment of the dying oligarchy and baby boomers refuse to accept that they continue to bankrupt the young while consuming massive amounts of resources amid widespread financial and economic fraud.
Knowledge Technology Fights Back: Social Networks
Known as the "Indignant", or "M-15" after the protest's birth date, the activists began on May 15, 2011 with a few hundred people camped out in Madrid decrying Spain's parties for an economic crisis.
Now, even as nightly rallies diminish at their sprawling plastic tent encampment in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square, they count nearly 150,000 "friends" on Facebook alone.
Indeed, the social network is at the heart of a slickly organised logistical operation.
One activist, a 28-year-old translator who identifies himself only by his nickname Zulo, is dedicated to updating the Facebook page of "Spanish Revolution." Connected by a WiFi antennae set up by neighbors and businesses - powered with solar panels - a dozen laptops are hooked up in the camp's "communication" stand.
Whether it is requesting supplies, giving advice in case of police intervention or linking to other city center protests across Spain, social networks are "an essential tool for us", Zulo said.
"At first we were stunned, we were overwhelmed by the scale of the mobilization on the Internet, we received so many messages of support," said Zulo, his hair bunched up in a tail of dreadlocks.
In the first days after the creation of the Facebook page Spanish revolution -- https://www.facebook.com/SpanishRevolution -- the account had 1,000 supporters registering every hour.
Now it has more than 146,000.
On micro-blogging site Twitter, the hash tags #acampadasol (Sol encampment), #notenemosmedio (we have no fear), #nosquedamos (we are staying) or #spanishrevolution have been among the most popular in Spain. Twitter account acampadasol had more than 50,000 followers.
According to Jose Feliz Tezanos, sociologist at Madrid's UNED university, social networks provided young protesters with a new meeting place. "There are eight of us updating social network accounts with our computers or smartphones," said Zulo, sporting a green T-shirt emblazoned with the words "social networks".
"Even if you cannot compare our situation to that of Arab countries, like them the role of social networks has been fundamental," he said. "But all that is virtual. And we are asking those who support us on the Internet to come down into the streets with us."
The movement rallied mostly 60,000 young people across Spain at its peak on the eve of Sunday's local elections. They are protesting astronomical jobless rates, political corruption and welfare cuts.
Back on April 7 thousands of young people protested in Madrid under the slogan "Youth without future." The unemployment rate among under-25s in the workforce in February was 44.6 percent.
The most recent protests truly began on March 15, when thousands hit the the streets in response to calls by Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now) spread through social networks.
"Now the role of the social networks is to let us carry on getting our message out, so the movement can continue beyond the Puerta del Sol encampment," said a spokesman, Pablo Prieto.
"Communication is instantaneous and more direct than via the traditional media," he said.
A new Twitter account, #takethesquare, has just been created to send the message of the "indignant" worldwide. In late May it had 2,711 followers and counting.
~
The Cardinal Crisis
Geopolitical Consequences Of Generational Change
Spain appeared to pull out of recession at the start of last year but the truth of the matter is that the economy, like many attacked by widespread corruption failed to gain any serious momentum with rampant unemployment skyrocketing.
The protests have resonated to Spaniards of all ages who say that their representatives are corrupt and must be removed from all positions for Spain to recover from the devastating attacks on their lives.
Suffering with double-digit unemployment and living with their parents, they say they want a political system which represents their interests.
Before we get back to the events in Spain, let's take a global view of the generational change at hand in 2011.
According to world transits, what is happening is that the Baby Boomer generation, now faced with retirement, does not want to retire.
This has happened because the boomer establishment, in their mismanagement of public and private institutions, have fleeced from within, lost billions in savings for the retirement of their generation and now are demanding that they be rewarded with ever more resources to plunder.
According to theendoftheamericandream.com, "the moment when the first Baby Boomers reach retirement age has arrived:
The day of economic reckoning that's been forecasted for many years is now already here. Today, America's elderly are living longer and the cost of health care is rising dramatically. Those two factors are going to make it incredibly expensive to take care of millions of retired Baby Boomers.
The sad truth is that the vast majority of baby boomers have not adequately saved for retirement. For many, their home equity was destroyed by the recent financial crisis. For others, their portfolios and 401Ks were devastated when the stock market tanked in the Panic of 2007-2008.
Meanwhile, company pension plans across America are woefully underfunded. Many state and local government pension programs are disasters when it came to due diligence and their fiduciary responsibilities handling all those tens of billions of dollars, of which some, $6-$8 billion dollars (depending who you ask) is still missing - somewhere in Iraq.
The federal government has already begun to pay out more in Social Security benefits than they are taking in, and the years ahead look downright apocalyptic for the Social Security program.
If we are not careful all Baby Boomers are going to push - consciously or not - the world into global bankruptcy and will only have themselves to blame when the generations immediately behind them decide to return the favor in spades.
Somebody had better get wise - and quick too - because transits wait for no generation and the clock, you know, is always ticking...
Somebody had better get wise - and quick too - because transits wait for no generation and the clock, you know, is always ticking...
16 Statistics on Baby Boomer Retirement that will drop your jaw in awe & disbelief
#1 - Beginning January 1st, 2011, every single day, more than 10,000 people born in the second wave of the Baby Boomer generation - born 1946 to 1953 - will turn the age of 65. That will continue to happen every day to the year 2018-2019.
#2 - According to one recent survey, 36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything at all to retirement savings.
#3 - Most Baby Boomers do not have a traditional pension plan because they have been going out of style over the past 30 years. Just consider the following quote from Time Magazine:
"The traditional pension plan is disappearing. In 1980, some 39 percent of private-sector workers had a pension that guaranteed a steady payout during retirement. Today that number stands closer to 15 percent, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C."
#4 - Over 30 percent of U.S. investors currently in their sixties have more than 80 percent of their 401k invested in equities. So what happens if the stock market crashes again?
#5 - 35% of Americans over the age of 65 rely almost entirely on Social Security payments alone.
#6 - According to another recent survey, 24% of U.S. workers admit that they have postponed their planned retirement age at least once during the past year of 2010.
#7 - Approximately 3 out of 4 Americans start claiming Social Security benefits the moment they are eligible at age 62. Most are doing this out of necessity. However, by claiming Social Security early they get locked in at a much lower amount than if they would have waited.
#8 - Pension consultant Girard Miller recently told California's Little Hoover Commission that American state and local government bodies in California have $325 billion in combined unfunded pension liabilities. When you break that down - it comes to $22,000 for every single working adult in California.
#9 - According to a recent report from Stanford University, California's three biggest pension funds are as much as $500 billion short of meeting future retiree benefit obligations.
#10 - It has been reported that the $33.7 billion Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded and is on the verge of complete collapse.
#11 - Robert Novy-Marx of the University of Chicago and Joshua D. Rauh of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management recently calculated the combined pension liability for all 50 U.S. states:
What they found was that all 50 states collectively are facing $5.17 trillion in pension obligations, but they only have $1.94 trillion set aside in state pension funds!
That is a difference of 3.2 trillion dollars. So where in the world is all of that extra money going to come from? Most of the states are already completely broke and on the verge of bankruptcy.
#12 - According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes in 2010.
That was not supposed to happen until at least 2016. Sadly, in the years ahead these 'social security deficits' are scheduled to become absolutely horrific as hordes of Baby Boomers retire.
#13 - In 1950, each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 American workers. In 2010, each retiree's Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers.
By 2025, it is projected that there will be approximately two U.S. workers for each retiree.
By 2025, it is projected that there will be approximately two U.S. workers for each retiree.
How in the world can the system possibly function properly with numbers like that?
#14 - According to a recent U.S. government report, soaring interest costs on the U.S. national debt plus rapidly escalating spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare will absorb approximately 92 cents of every single dollar of federal revenue by the year 2019. That is before a single dollar is spent on anything else.
#15 - After analyzing Congressional Budget Office data, Boston University economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff concluded that the U.S. government is facing a "fiscal gap" of $202 trillion dollars. A big chunk of that is made up of future obligations to Social Security and Medicare recipients.
#16 - According to a recent AARP survey of Baby Boomers, 40 percent of them plan to work "until they drop' and that just might happen too - causing even more resources to be diverted to take care of the boomer who does 'drop out.'
Companies all over America have been ending pension plans in anticipation of the time when the Baby Boomers would retire. 401k programs were supposed to be part of the answer, but if the stock market crashes again, it is absolutely going to devastate the Baby Boomers.
State and local governments are scrambling to find ways to pay out all the benefits that they have been promising. Many state and local governments will be forced into some very hard choices by the hordes of Baby Boomers that will now be retiring.
Of course, whenever a big financial crisis comes along these days everyone looks to the federal government to fix the problem. But the truth is that after fixing crisis after crisis the federal government is flat broke.
At our current pace, the Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government public debt will hit 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.
But our politicians just keep spending money. In order to pay the Baby Boomers, the federal government may indeed go into even more debt and have the Federal Reserve print up a bunch more money.
So in the end, Baby Boomers may get most of what they are owed. Of course it may be with radically devalued dollars. Already we are watching those on fixed incomes being devastated by the rising cost of food, gas, heat and health care.
What is going to happen one day when prices have risen so much that the checks that our seniors are getting are not enough to heat their homes? What are we going to do when those on fixed incomes are buying dog food because it is all that they can afford?
We are rapidly reaching a tipping point. As the first Baby Boomers retire the system is going to do okay. But as millions start pouring into the system it is going to start breaking down.
No, there is not much that we can do about it now. The baby boomers, when they became the establishment, should have been planning for all of this all along. These boomers, worldwide, should have been saving for retirement and governments should have been setting money aside.
But it didn't happen.
~
We will explore the scary near future of unfunded pensions in another edition of Global Astrology.
But let's get back to Spain for a moment.
What we see happening in Spain is symptomatic of the generational hegemony by its own boomer political class establishment and the complete mess they've made of the Spanish economy - weighted down , in austerity under a monetary currency called the Euro - but without a social/political union of its 17 participating nations that could have made the Euro work.
The Cardinal Crisis
Why Spaniards Protest, Arab-style?
By Guy Hedgcoe
MADRID, Spain — Ismael Molino may have a mild manner, but his words bristle with outrage as he hands out pamphlets in central Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, the hub of a protest movement that has bewildered the country’s politicians, shaken Spanish society and grabbed the attention of the world.
“We’re angry at the political class and the political system - the Spanish political class disgusts me,” says the 26-year-old physicist. “This movement is a way of calling for more democracy.”
The protests began in Madrid the week before Spain’s May 22 local elections — thus the movement’s name: “15-M,” or May 15.
Those taking part sought to highlight what they saw as the emptiness and aloofness of the official political campaign. With help from social networks, support quickly snowballed, as thousands occupied Puerta del Sol and then other squares across Spain, many of them sleeping at the protest sites and defying the authorities.
"Los indignados" - the outraged - as they are informally known, soon had the attention of the entire country.
The sit-ins in have been painstakingly organized. Despite the makeshift appearance of the Madrid protest, with its leaky tarpaulin roof and tents and sleeping bags scattered around, it has had a childcare center, a group of lawyers to represent its participants, and volunteer osteopaths to soothe aches caused by sleeping outside.
“It was young people that started all this, but then lots of others joined in — people who felt that something had to happen,” explained Molino. The outrage stems largely from a deep economic crisis that has left Spain struggling to emerge from recession and with an unemployment rate of 21 percent, the highest in the European Union.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has sought to fend off fears that Spain will not be able to finance its deficit with a series of deeply unpopular reforms, such as cutting subsidies for the jobless, raising taxes and increasing the retirement age.
Young people have been particularly hard hit by Spain’s crisis, with youth unemployment soaring to more than 40 percent. Unable to afford housing, political analyst Fernando Vallespin said young Spaniards see a desperate future.
“There’s a huge problem for young people in Spain economically,” he said. “They are mainly protected not so much by the state as by their families — many of them have to live at home with their parents. There are no opportunities for them.”
This predicament is echoed in many European nations, Vallespin said, although in Spain it is particularly acute:
"This might be the first European generation in which the young will not have the same social protection as their parents, they will not have the same income, nor the same security in their jobs.”
But the 15-M movement is not exclusively about economics, nor is it merely a protest against the current government. Its supporters are equally angry about the entire political system that allowed this economic crisis to take root.
A complaint voiced by demonstrators throughout the recent local election campaign was the grip that two parties - the Socialists and the conservative Popular Party - have on Spain’s institutions.
“We believe that the system favors two groups that don’t represent the country,” said Jesus Rodriguez, a 25-year-old student at the Madrid gathering. “We want a system that represents us, not one that is thrown upon us.”
Impunity is another grievance. About 100 candidates for office, mostly from the two main parties, were under investigation for corruption when the recent campaign began, according to El Pais newspaper.
“The current situation is unsustainable. We believe the best way forward is to offer alternatives and ideas — to be active participants, rather than simply restricted to listening and not acting,” said Marcos, a spokesman for 15-M.
In accordance with 15-M policy, Marcos, a 37-year-old graphic designer, does not give his full name, due to a wariness of the personality cult of traditional Spanish politics.
“Since the beginning of this movement, we have made sure there’s no leadership,” he said. “This movement is led by popular means, by assemblies, through consensus. It’s the people who decide where this is going; it’s not one person who drags all the others with him — that’s exactly what we want to avoid.”
Those assemblies in Madrid have approved a raft of broad resolutions, amounting to a manifesto-in-progress that focuses mainly on overhauling the political system.
It includes electoral reform, increasing separation of state powers and increased transparency to fight corruption.
Other issues that have been debated have a more social flavor, including banning bullfights and ensuring restaurants serve vegan food.
The youth-driven nature of this nascent movement and its determination to overthrow a traditional political model have led many to see it as an extension of the Arab Spring across the Mediterranean.
But given that Spain is a democracy with a Socialist government, a more apt comparison might be with Iceland, whose people have rejected, via referendums, paying compensation to other nations following a financial collapse.
With the local elections now over, and 15-M’s emblematic sit-ins gradually dispersing, the movement is trying to maintain its momentum by creating neighborhood assemblies that discuss issues of concern for residents.
An obvious difficulty is to find a permanent place in Spanish society without getting too close to the system the movement seeks to revolutionize. But while its future is uncertain, the outrage that gave birth to 15-M is still all too clear.
“It’s not just the fact that there’s no work,” said Ismael Molino. “For years we’ve been putting up with things we shouldn’t have to put up with."
In the video provided below, Zbigniew Brzezinski gave a Council on Foreign Relations branch in Montreal, Canada a 2010 presentation on world government and explains his fears of a mass global awakening that is taking place.
European political commentator Daniel Furr says:
"It was expected and anticipated. Protests do occur when government restrict, or reduce public spending and reform the role of public services in our lives. It is a natural function of political debates.
The European Union did not, however, prepare for a scenario of large scale revolts in Greece, Spain and soon to be Portugal.
Young people in Greece and Spain are not just protesting against the austerity measures imposed of them by the IMF and European Central Bank; the political system, in their eyes, is the heart of the problem.
European history is soaked in the most richest of revolutionary acts; Europeans, by nature, are more passionate about liberties and - unlike our American cousins - are willing to lacerate the current political arrangement to pieces. If necessary.
The catalyst for the French Revolution and destruction of the ancien régime was inflation on the price of bread. An innocent product in contemporary eyes provided the environment to remove Louis XVI. And his head, too.
A tempest is gathering across European capitals and it would be unwise for governments to ignore them."
~
Mundane Advice, Solutions & Warnings
By Theodore White, mundane Astrolog.S
In tense and challenging times many people are already overwhelmed by the swamp of bad economic news and revelations of widespread economic criminality and corruption within governments, banks and public institutions run into the ground by the dying oligarchy and their spawns.
Saturn's ingress into tropical Scorpio in October 2012 along with the continuing inclinations of the Cardinal Crisis transits show tough times are ahead for many. Some people will respond positively and make necessary adjustments and we can be sure that others will respond negatively and cause even more problems.
Advice & Solutions
My review of the Twenty-Tens has shown that to successfully navigate this decade it is essential to be able to adjust to the changing times by thinking and acting in advance as much as possible.
Trends forecaster Gerald Celente gives us his thoughts in July 2011:
While resources have been stolen, and drained from private and public services and as more and more families once considered middle class fall into poverty it is important to form healthy support groups among one another that can fill in the gaps left by the devastation of the economic crisis.
Advice & Solutions
My review of the Twenty-Tens has shown that to successfully navigate this decade it is essential to be able to adjust to the changing times by thinking and acting in advance as much as possible.
Trends forecaster Gerald Celente gives us his thoughts in July 2011:
While resources have been stolen, and drained from private and public services and as more and more families once considered middle class fall into poverty it is important to form healthy support groups among one another that can fill in the gaps left by the devastation of the economic crisis.
- Set medium and long-range goals that are clear
- Communicate well, don't waste valuable time
- Manage conflicts in ways that result in positive solutions
- Relocate to regions where the support is best
- Surround yourself with people who can be trusted
- Avoid unreliable people, groups and associations
- Draw up monthly and yearly plans that are practical
- Think outside the box
- Strengthen family & personal relationships to the best of your ability
- Refuse to participate in deceptive practices
- Be of good cheer, think and see in your mind's eye what you want
Transits can and do work in your favor, so while long-range trends may appear to be worse, also know so are opportunities.
The geopolitical, generational and societal transformation now underway could have been much easier if the boomer establishment had not broken the intragenerational contract. But the damage has already been done.
By 2012, mundane transits depict a special inter-era of sorts, featuring another build-up of the cardinal cross transits that will extend through this decade and culminate powerfully into the year 2020.
Know your personal astrological transits. Not to know is to be truly blind to your own self. Apply your energies to attract the opportunities that you seek. This is as much about thinking about what toward you aspire and then looking for signs of your healthy thoughts in your environment. Trust your instincts.
Mundane Warnings
Many, if not all, of the troubles centering today on economics, jobs, finance and the effects on society stem directly from bad men and women who believe that they sit in high places. So let's first talk about the realities of some rather 'low places," shall we?
People sometimes ask me if I believe in eternal punishment. I always answer that yes, I do believe and I have very good reasons why too.
I've seen a few things which, if I related to most people, they would not believe me. Yet, these things are true. They exist as surely as you and I do, are very real and are all around us - all the time - everywhere we go.
They see, hear, and record all that we do - from mortal birth to mortal death.
Natal astrological transits depict our destinies. We cannot escape our destiny, but we can truly alter and change our fates. And clocks are ticking...
The whole of astrology itself is wholly concerned with theological and spiritual matters, with destinies and the fates of individuals, groups, populations of the entire world.
The geopolitical, generational and societal transformation now underway could have been much easier if the boomer establishment had not broken the intragenerational contract. But the damage has already been done.
By 2012, mundane transits depict a special inter-era of sorts, featuring another build-up of the cardinal cross transits that will extend through this decade and culminate powerfully into the year 2020.
Know your personal astrological transits. Not to know is to be truly blind to your own self. Apply your energies to attract the opportunities that you seek. This is as much about thinking about what toward you aspire and then looking for signs of your healthy thoughts in your environment. Trust your instincts.
Mundane Warnings
Many, if not all, of the troubles centering today on economics, jobs, finance and the effects on society stem directly from bad men and women who believe that they sit in high places. So let's first talk about the realities of some rather 'low places," shall we?
People sometimes ask me if I believe in eternal punishment. I always answer that yes, I do believe and I have very good reasons why too.
I've seen a few things which, if I related to most people, they would not believe me. Yet, these things are true. They exist as surely as you and I do, are very real and are all around us - all the time - everywhere we go.
They see, hear, and record all that we do - from mortal birth to mortal death.
Natal astrological transits depict our destinies. We cannot escape our destiny, but we can truly alter and change our fates. And clocks are ticking...
The whole of astrology itself is wholly concerned with theological and spiritual matters, with destinies and the fates of individuals, groups, populations of the entire world.
So, once again, I remind those who falsely believe that somehow they are immune to punishment for the crimes they've committed against society, that everything they have said and done in private and public has been recorded by the ones who follow you everywhere you go. They seal your own souls with the things you have said, have done and do.
The only way to change those seals is by baptism and it was the prime reason why John The Baptist shouted at the top of his lungs for everyone to 'repent!' He meant it because he knew these facts, as outlined by Jesus Christ to his disciples:
And Mary answered and said:
"My Lord, in what type then do Baptisms forgive sins?
"My Lord, in what type then do Baptisms forgive sins?
I heard you say: 'The Retributive Servitors follow the soul, being witnesses to it for all the sins which it commits, that they may convict it in the judgments.'
Now, therefore, my Lord, do the mysteries of the baptisms wipe out the sins which are in the hands of the retributive servitors, so that they forget them?
Now, therefore, my Lord, tell unto us the type, how they forgive sins; nay, we desire to know it with sureness."
Now, therefore, my Lord, tell unto us the type, how they forgive sins; nay, we desire to know it with sureness."
And the Saviour answered and said unto Mary:
"Finely has thou spoken. The servitors indeed are they who bear witness to all sins; but they abide in the judgments, seizing the souls and convicting all the souls of sinners who have received no mysteries - and they keep them fast in the Chaos - chastising them.
And those retributive receivers cannot overstep the chaos to reach to the orders which are above the chaos, and convict the souls which come forth out of those regions.
Now then, it is not lawful to use force on the souls which receive Mysteries, and lead them into the chaos, so that the retributive servitors may convict them.
But the retributive servitors convict the souls of the sinners and they keep fast those who have received no mysteries which may lead them out of the chaos.
The souls on the other hand which receive Mysteries - they have no power of convicting them, because they do not come forth out of their regions, and also, if they come forth into their regions, they are not able to obstruct them; no, they cannot lead them into that chaos.
"Hearken moreover that I may tell you the word in truth - in what type the Mystery of Baptism forgives sins.
Now, therefore, if the souls sin when they are still in the world, the retributive servitors indeed come and are witnesses of all the sins which the soul commits, lest in sooth they should come forth out of the regions of the Chaos, in order that they may convict them in the judgments which are outside the chaos.
And the counterfeiting spirit becomes witness of all the sins which the soul shall commit, in order that it may convict it in the judgments which are outside the chaos, not only that it may bear witness of them, but - all the sins of the souls.
It seals the sins and makes them fast [attach] onto the soul, in order that all the rulers of the chastisements of the sinners may recognize it, that it is a sinning soul, and that they may know of the number of sins which it has committed by the seals the counterfeiting spirit has made fast onto it - so that it shall be chastized according to the number of sins which it has committed.
This they do with all sinning souls.
Now, therefore, he who shall receive the mysteries of the baptisms, then the mystery of them becomes a great, exceedingly violent wise fire and it burns up the sins and enters into the soul secretly and consumes all the sins which the counterfeiting spirit has made fast onto it.
And when it has finished purifying all the sins which the counterfeiting spirit has made fast onto the soul, it enters into the body secretly and pursues all the pursuers secretly and separates them off on the side of the portion of the body.
For it pursues the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny and separates them off from the power and from the soul and puts them on the side of the body, so that it separates off the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny and the body into one portion - but the soul and power on the other hand it separates into another.
The Mystery of Baptism on the contrary remains in the midst of the two, continually separating them from one another, so that it makes them clean and purifies them, in order that they may not be stained by matter.
"Now, therefore, Mary, this is the way in which the mysteries of the baptisms forgive sins and all iniquities."
- Jesus Christ, Chapter 115, The Pistis Sophia
For those who did not and do not want to partake of such evil, know that you have made the right choice, because the prophecies on what awaits these financial criminals and their stooges are quite dire:
Peter said: "My Lord, let the women cease to question, in order that we also may question."
Jesus said unto Mary and the female disciplines:
"Give opportunity to your men brethren, that they also may question."
Peter answered and said: "My Lord, a robber and thief, whose sin is this persistently, when he comes out of the body, what is his chastisement?"
Jesus said:
"If the time of such a one is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Adōnis come after him, and lead his soul out of the body, and they spend three days circling round with it and instructing it concerning the creatures of the world.
"Thereafter they lead it down into the Amente before Ariēl, and he taketh vengeance on it in his chastisements three months, eight days and two hours.
"Thereafter they lead it into the chaos before Yaldabaōth and his forty-and-nine demons, and every one of his demons takes vengeance on it another three months, eight days and two hours.
"Thereafter they lead it on to the way of the midst, and every one of the rulers of the way of the midst takes vengeance on it through his dark smoke and his wicked fire another three months, eight days and two hours.
"Thereafter they lead it up unto the Virgin of Light, who judges the righteous and the sinners, that she may judge it.
And when the sphere turneth itself, she hands it over to her receivers, that they may cast it into the æons of the sphere. And they lead it forth into a water which is below the sphere; and it becomes a seething fire and eats into it until it purifies it utterly.
"Thereafter cometh Yaluham, the receiver of Sabaōth, the Adamas, brings the cup of forgetfulness and hands it unto the soul; and it drinks it and forgets all things and all the regions to which it had gone.
And they cast it into a lame, halt and blind body.
"This is the chastisement of the thief."
Andrew answered and said:
"An arrogant, overweening man, when he comes out of the body, what will happen to him?"
Jesus said:
"If the time of such an one is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Ariēl come after him and lead his soul out of the body and spend three days travelling round in the world and instructing it concerning the creatures of the world.
"Thereafter they lead it down into the Amente before Ariēl; and he takes vengeance on it with his chastisements twenty months.
"Thereafter they lead it into the chaos before Yaldabaōth and his forty-and-nine demons; and he and his demons, one by one, take vengeance on it another twenty months.
"Thereafter they carry it on to the way of the midst; and every one of the rulers of the way of the midst taketh vengeance on it another twenty months.
"And thereafter they lead it unto the Virgin of Light, that she may judge it. And when the sphere turneth itself, she hands it over to her receivers, that they may cast it into the æons of the sphere.
And the servitors of the sphere lead it into a water which is below the sphere; and it becomes a seething fire and eateth into it until it purifies it.
"And Yaluham, the receiver of Sabaōth, the Adamas, comes and brings the cup with the water of forgetfulness and hands it to the soul; and it drinks and forgets all things and all the regions to which it had gone.
And they cast it up into a lame and deformed body, so that all despise it persistently.
"This is the chastisement of the arrogant and overweening man."
- Jesus Christ, Chapter 146, Portions of the Books Of The Saviour, The Pistis Sophia
~
Christ continued in discourse and said to his disciples:
"When I shall have gone into the Light, then herald it unto the whole world and say to them:
'Cease not to seek day and night and remit not yourselves until you find the Mysteries of the Light-kingdom, which will purify you and make you into refined light and lead you into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say to them:
'Renounce the whole world and the whole matter therein and all its care and all its sins, in a word all its associations which are in it, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from all the chastisements which are in the judgments.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce murmuring, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce eavesdropping, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the judgments of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce litigiousness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the chastisements of Ariēl.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce false slander, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dog-faced one.
"Say unto them: Renounce false witness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and that ye may escape and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: Renounce pride and haughtiness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-pits of Ariēl.
"Say unto them: 'Renounce belly-love, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the judgments of Amente.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce babbling, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fires of Amente.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce craftiness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the chastisements which are in Amente.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce avarice, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce love of the world, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the pitch- and fire-coats of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce pillage, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of Ariēl.
"Say unto them: 'Renounce evil conversation, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the chastisements of the fire-rivers.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce wickedness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-seas of Ariēl.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce pitilessness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the judgments of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce wrath, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce cursing, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-seas of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce thieving, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the bubbling seas of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce robbery, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from Yaldabaōth.'
"Say unto them: Renounce slandering, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the lion-faced one.'
"Say unto them: Renounce fighting and strife, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the seething rivers of Yaldabaōth.'
"Say unto them: Renounce all Unknowing, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the servitors of Yaldabaōth and the fire-seas.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce evil doing, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from all the demons of Yaldabaōth and all his judgments.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce sloth, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the seething pitch-seas of Yaldabaōth.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce adultery, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light-kingdom and be saved from the sulphur- and pitch-seas of the lion-faced one.
"Say unto them: 'Renounce murder, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the crocodile-faced ruler - this one, who is in the cold, in the first chamber of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce pitilessness and impiety, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the rulers of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce Atheism, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the howling and grinding of teeth.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce magic potions, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the great cold and the hail of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: Renounce blasphemy, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the great dragon of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce the doctrines of error, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from all the chastisements of the great dragon of the outer darkness.'
"Say to those who teach the doctrines of error and to every one who is instructed by them:
'Woe unto you, for, if you do not repent and abandon your error, you will go into the chastisements of the great Dragon and of the Outer Darkness, which is exceedingly evil, and never will you be cast up into the world - but will be nonexistent until the end.'
"Say unto those who abandon the doctrines of truth of the First Mystery:
'Woe unto you, for your chastisement is sad compared with that of all men.
For you will abide in the great cold and ice and hail in the midst of the Dragon and of the Outer Darkness, and you will never from this hour on be cast up into the world, but you shall be frozen up in that region and at the dissolution of the Universe you will perish and become nonexistent eternally.'
The Boundaries Of The Ways Of The Worthy
"Say rather to the men of the world:
'Be calm, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Be loving unto men, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Be gentle, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Be peaceful, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Minister unto the poor and the sick and distressed, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them:
'Be you loving unto the Immortal God, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: Be righteous, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: Be good, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.
"Say unto them: Renounce all, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.
"These are all the boundaries of the ways for those who are worthy of the mysteries of the Light.'
"Unto such, therefore, who have renounced in this renunciation, give the Mysteries of the Light and hide them not from them at all, even though they are sinners and they have been in all the sins and all the iniquities of the world, all of which I have recounted unto you, in order that they may turn and repent and be in the submission which I have just recounted unto you.
Give unto them the Mysteries of the Light-kingdom and hide them not from them at all; for it is because of the sinfulness that I have brought the Mysteries into the world, that I may forgive all their sins which they have committed from the beginning on.
For this cause, have I said unto you aforetime: 'I am not come to call the righteous.'
Now, therefore, I have brought the mysteries that their sins may be forgiven for everyone and they be received into the Light-kingdom. For the mysteries are the gift of the First Mystery, that he may wipe out the sins and iniquities of all sinners."
- Jesus Christ, Chapter 102, Portions of the Books of the Saviour, The Pistis Sophia
~
Jesus said unto Mary and the female disciplines:
"Give opportunity to your men brethren, that they also may question."
Peter answered and said: "My Lord, a robber and thief, whose sin is this persistently, when he comes out of the body, what is his chastisement?"
Jesus said:
"If the time of such a one is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Adōnis come after him, and lead his soul out of the body, and they spend three days circling round with it and instructing it concerning the creatures of the world.
"Thereafter they lead it down into the Amente before Ariēl, and he taketh vengeance on it in his chastisements three months, eight days and two hours.
"Thereafter they lead it into the chaos before Yaldabaōth and his forty-and-nine demons, and every one of his demons takes vengeance on it another three months, eight days and two hours.
"Thereafter they lead it on to the way of the midst, and every one of the rulers of the way of the midst takes vengeance on it through his dark smoke and his wicked fire another three months, eight days and two hours.
"Thereafter they lead it up unto the Virgin of Light, who judges the righteous and the sinners, that she may judge it.
And when the sphere turneth itself, she hands it over to her receivers, that they may cast it into the æons of the sphere. And they lead it forth into a water which is below the sphere; and it becomes a seething fire and eats into it until it purifies it utterly.
"Thereafter cometh Yaluham, the receiver of Sabaōth, the Adamas, brings the cup of forgetfulness and hands it unto the soul; and it drinks it and forgets all things and all the regions to which it had gone.
And they cast it into a lame, halt and blind body.
"This is the chastisement of the thief."
Andrew answered and said:
"An arrogant, overweening man, when he comes out of the body, what will happen to him?"
Jesus said:
"If the time of such an one is completed through the sphere, the receivers of Ariēl come after him and lead his soul out of the body and spend three days travelling round in the world and instructing it concerning the creatures of the world.
"Thereafter they lead it down into the Amente before Ariēl; and he takes vengeance on it with his chastisements twenty months.
"Thereafter they lead it into the chaos before Yaldabaōth and his forty-and-nine demons; and he and his demons, one by one, take vengeance on it another twenty months.
"Thereafter they carry it on to the way of the midst; and every one of the rulers of the way of the midst taketh vengeance on it another twenty months.
"And thereafter they lead it unto the Virgin of Light, that she may judge it. And when the sphere turneth itself, she hands it over to her receivers, that they may cast it into the æons of the sphere.
And the servitors of the sphere lead it into a water which is below the sphere; and it becomes a seething fire and eateth into it until it purifies it.
"And Yaluham, the receiver of Sabaōth, the Adamas, comes and brings the cup with the water of forgetfulness and hands it to the soul; and it drinks and forgets all things and all the regions to which it had gone.
And they cast it up into a lame and deformed body, so that all despise it persistently.
"This is the chastisement of the arrogant and overweening man."
- Jesus Christ, Chapter 146, Portions of the Books Of The Saviour, The Pistis Sophia
Christ continued in discourse and said to his disciples:
"When I shall have gone into the Light, then herald it unto the whole world and say to them:
'Cease not to seek day and night and remit not yourselves until you find the Mysteries of the Light-kingdom, which will purify you and make you into refined light and lead you into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say to them:
'Renounce the whole world and the whole matter therein and all its care and all its sins, in a word all its associations which are in it, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from all the chastisements which are in the judgments.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce murmuring, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce eavesdropping, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the judgments of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce litigiousness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the chastisements of Ariēl.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce false slander, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dog-faced one.
"Say unto them: Renounce false witness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and that ye may escape and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: Renounce pride and haughtiness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-pits of Ariēl.
"Say unto them: 'Renounce belly-love, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the judgments of Amente.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce babbling, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fires of Amente.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce craftiness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the chastisements which are in Amente.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce avarice, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce love of the world, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the pitch- and fire-coats of the dog-faced one.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce pillage, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of Ariēl.
"Say unto them: 'Renounce evil conversation, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the chastisements of the fire-rivers.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce wickedness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-seas of Ariēl.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce pitilessness, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the judgments of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce wrath, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce cursing, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-seas of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce thieving, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the bubbling seas of the dragon-faced ones.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce robbery, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from Yaldabaōth.'
"Say unto them: Renounce slandering, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the fire-rivers of the lion-faced one.'
"Say unto them: Renounce fighting and strife, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the seething rivers of Yaldabaōth.'
"Say unto them: Renounce all Unknowing, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the servitors of Yaldabaōth and the fire-seas.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce evil doing, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from all the demons of Yaldabaōth and all his judgments.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce sloth, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the seething pitch-seas of Yaldabaōth.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce adultery, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light-kingdom and be saved from the sulphur- and pitch-seas of the lion-faced one.
"Say unto them: 'Renounce murder, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the crocodile-faced ruler - this one, who is in the cold, in the first chamber of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce pitilessness and impiety, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the rulers of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce Atheism, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the howling and grinding of teeth.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce magic potions, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the great cold and the hail of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: Renounce blasphemy, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the great dragon of the outer darkness.'
"Say unto them: 'Renounce the doctrines of error, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from all the chastisements of the great dragon of the outer darkness.'
"Say to those who teach the doctrines of error and to every one who is instructed by them:
'Woe unto you, for, if you do not repent and abandon your error, you will go into the chastisements of the great Dragon and of the Outer Darkness, which is exceedingly evil, and never will you be cast up into the world - but will be nonexistent until the end.'
"Say unto those who abandon the doctrines of truth of the First Mystery:
'Woe unto you, for your chastisement is sad compared with that of all men.
For you will abide in the great cold and ice and hail in the midst of the Dragon and of the Outer Darkness, and you will never from this hour on be cast up into the world, but you shall be frozen up in that region and at the dissolution of the Universe you will perish and become nonexistent eternally.'
The Boundaries Of The Ways Of The Worthy
"Say rather to the men of the world:
'Be calm, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Be loving unto men, that you may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Be gentle, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: 'Be peaceful, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: Be merciful, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.
"Say unto them: Give alms, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.
"Say unto them: 'Minister unto the poor and the sick and distressed, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them:
'Be you loving unto the Immortal God, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: Be righteous, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.'
"Say unto them: Be good, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.
"Say unto them: Renounce all, that you may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.
"These are all the boundaries of the ways for those who are worthy of the mysteries of the Light.'
"Unto such, therefore, who have renounced in this renunciation, give the Mysteries of the Light and hide them not from them at all, even though they are sinners and they have been in all the sins and all the iniquities of the world, all of which I have recounted unto you, in order that they may turn and repent and be in the submission which I have just recounted unto you.
Give unto them the Mysteries of the Light-kingdom and hide them not from them at all; for it is because of the sinfulness that I have brought the Mysteries into the world, that I may forgive all their sins which they have committed from the beginning on.
For this cause, have I said unto you aforetime: 'I am not come to call the righteous.'
Now, therefore, I have brought the mysteries that their sins may be forgiven for everyone and they be received into the Light-kingdom. For the mysteries are the gift of the First Mystery, that he may wipe out the sins and iniquities of all sinners."
- Jesus Christ, Chapter 102, Portions of the Books of the Saviour, The Pistis Sophia
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2 comments:
I agree that we really need to pay more attention to global protests and events as awful as famine in Africa... unfolding. To help if we are able. As for the rich who keep purses tightly shut, unfortunately that is how they remain a bunch of rich assholes.
Famine is very real, history tells, and it can strike pretty much anywhere, especially as a response to climatic changes and dramatic weather. And when combined with overpopulation, which is prevalent everywhere these days, it is catastrophic. One thing to remember, for all of us to remember, is that famine affects everyone, the rich as well as the poor, the deluded as well as those who are aware...
"Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains." -- Karl Marx
Thanks for writing this, Theo. And for the record, you're one of my favorite Capricorns!
Be well,
Deb
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