coalition of the billing

From LegitGov.org:

The 'coalition of the billing:' Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq:

New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush regime has relied on corpora-terrorists to carry out the illegal occupation of Iraq. 04 Jul 2007 The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns. More than 180,000 mercenaries — including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis — are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times.


In outsourced US wars, contractor deaths top 1,000 03 Jul 2007:

The death toll for private contractors in the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has topped 1,000, a stark reminder of the risks run by civilians working with the military in roles previously held by soldiers. A further 13,000 mercenaries have been wounded in the two separate wars led by the United States against enemies who share fundamentalist Islamic beliefs and the hit-and-run tactics that drain conventional armies.

All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
Breaking News

Bush, Bush, and Putin: Lobster Partay!

Bush, Putin to Share Break from Tensions says HuffPost...or are they rehearsing their next big scene with Poppy-B holding the cue cards?

Lobsters of Kennebunkport watch out!!! For two of the most ruthless critters crawling the globe are in your neighborhood this weekend--and Putin is a frighteningly devilish cuss too!


UPDATE Monday: the result? Putin catches fish, pancakes on the griddle but disagreements as their sauce.

Teddy Roosevelt and the invisible government

"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day."

Theodore Roosevelt, April 19, 1906


Born in New York, Oct 27, 1858, this Roosevelt has the "mailed fist in a velvet glove" combo of Sun Scorpio-Moon Cancer. Very intuitive with a strong sense of duty, the weakness is letting subjective hunches replace objective reasoning (sounds like Bush and Cheney.)

This blend's Images for Integration are:

A mother eagle defends her babies with immense courage...A surgeon develops life-saving methods...A mother passionately defends her delinquent child and pleads for a compassionate verdict (Sun Sign-Moon Sign, Chas & Suzy Harvey.)

This personality blend is shared natally with Dan Rather, humorist Will Rogers, and Tatum O'Neill.

Here's another Teddy quote--perhaps the one he's most remembered for:

"There is a homely adage which runs, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far'."


Guess Cheney speaks softly enough--it's where and how to use the big stick that he's confused about. But most people know where he should put it.

green cards from fake job ads

How Fake Job Ads Defraud Americans To Secure Green Cards For Immigrants:

5 Minute Video

See what Bush and Congress really mean by a "shortage of skilled U.S. workers." Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and thousands of other companies are running fake ads in Sunday newspapers across the country each week,
InformationClearingHouse

Paris back to jail, Bush still free

News Update from Citizens for Legitimate Government 08 Jun 2007

from LegitGov.org

Breaking: Paris Hilton ordered back to jail; Bush still free 08 Jun 2007:

Screaming and crying, Paris Hilton was escorted out of a courtroom and back to jail Friday after a judge ruled that she must serve out her entire [discriminatory] 45-day sentence behind bars rather than in her Hollywood Hills home. [*Why* are Bush, Cheney Halliburton, Rice, Rumsfeld, Rove, Gonzales and 'Scooter' Libby free --while Paris Hilton is imprisoned 45 days for a traffic violation?!?]#

Good question (but driving drunk is more than a traffic violation.) Hilton isn't, however, a politician. But as we know, they drive drunk, too.

surrounded by enemies?

Lynn Hayes at the excellent Astro-Dynamics has posted a perfect quote for our times from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which makes a point that anyone with a conscience easily undertands.

That's a great Thought for the Day (the year and for the Millenium) Lynn, thanks!

Yet it's the conscience-free psychopaths who plague the world. And they don't give a hoot about emotional intelligence which they also lack.

And did you know that Mr.A. Cat wrote a fresh political limerick this morning? It's called Bossy Kitten's Lament and he penned it before he heard of Georgia's George W. Bush Avenue!

Venus, Castor, and Pollux tonight

Thanks to the Spaceweather.com Newsletter we find that Venus is lining up with the Twins of Gemini, Castor and Pollux..as she did on June 2, 1999. You'll find Tunc Tezel's photo of 1999's alignment as seen from Ankara, Turkey here for Venus' cycle is 8 years..so it's time.

With the WTC being so obviously symbolic of the Twins (Twin Towers), the previous date of Venus' line-up with the dark'n'light *Twins of Gemini isn't particularly comforting to this reluctant astrologer, although it should be a lovely enough sight this evening once the sky goes dark (look West--which may be what some other folk are doing.)

Venus's position in the tropical zodiac for this hook-up is 27Can19 and I'm posting a chunk of the chart for 9:00 pm edt along with George Bush's natal chart on the outside since Venus is conjuncting his Saturn 26Can30.

The transit of Venus to Saturn indicates a desire for solitude or, if in company, it must be that which serves some practical purpose (he doesn't have to worry--I won't be knockin'!) It may also indicate "grace brought to ambition" (Dr. Noel Tyl's Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology.)

Also tonight Mercury will conj US n Jupiter, so we may expect lots of international communications ("chatter"? hope not) and information will be pinging all about...perhaps more than is usual over a weekend...some 'new' news may surface esp within Jupiter's realms of philosophy, money, and expansion issues.

You also see here the ongoing triggering of Bush's n Venus/Pluto midpoint by tr Saturn which I have mentioned before...

Venus/Pluto = Saturn: immorality; a sense of tragedy; the fear of losing love (Ebertin; Tyl.)

This image shows a gaggle of Bush's natal planets (plus his n ASC) in the 8th house of transformation; debt; death; sex; other people's money; the occult, and more...a busy place, the 8th house, one of the Psychological houses. The crazy, greedy, secretive perver_...oops! did I just type that out loud? My bad.

Okay, here are some Symbols for tonight's Venus degree "28Can" using both The Sabian Symbols in Astrology and the formal yet interesting The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac by Adriano Carelli (used copies may be available, pub'd 1982 by the AFA), to get a fuller picture of Venus' doings:

"28Can": "A modern Pocohantas"...COMPATIBILITY.

With Jamestown still in the news and its 400th anniversary just passed in May, this is an interesting degree for lady Venus which speaks of, "...cooperation between various phases of human culture, such as those which have become crystallized in a faithfulness to the special values they have held intact and those which provide the new potentials of a genuine frontier spirit.

pos: high skill in bringing older or neglected reality to the service of fresher and more vital self-fulfillment;

neg/shadow or unconscious side: an inability to make personal adjustments and a stupid exaltation of conservatism."


Now we know that a"city on a hill" makes a well-lighted target as one did in 2001, for conservatism exists within al-Qaeda and its hydra-headed offspring, doesn't it? And since Venus' visit to Castor and Pollux of 1999 was prior to 9/11, I must say, "conservatism"? please--not again.

And the politizing and partisanship-above-all-win-at-any-cost attitude continue in Washington. You were expecting stewardship maybe? It's Pluto/Chiron's class warfare and oppression...'elite' rulers vs the sheeple, and we're losing in part because of our habit of identifying with the 'upper classes' which so many of us dream of joining one day (puh!)

Can a decent person with a conscience be that grasping and cold-hearted?

See the G-8 Protest article link just below, if you haven't...there are some people in the world who are not fooled by US or EU propaganda on these issues.


Back to Venus: Carelli's "28Can" degree has no word picture, but quoting in part for our purposes:

(The native) can display a remarkable political skill and a more remarkable administrative ability...the native is sure to get money galore as soon as he is of age...unfortunately, the gift for earning money might be warped into greed, and his foresight into stinginess...(there may be) loafing, political tact (giving) way to scheming, servilism, or even worse.

Also on tap tonight:

Setting at 9 pm is "18Gem", which is the Venus Transit degree of June 2004--which occurred at the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, GA..."18Gem": "Two Chinese men talking Chinese in a western crowd" (MEJ.)

A rare Venus Transit indicates new, unsuspected, and unusual alliances being entered into. (Remember the ridiculous open-shirted photo-op the big cheeses indulged themselves with upon the beach in 2004? Guffaw! Wonder who snapped that one with a straight face?) Bush and Putin were still in their fabled "eye gazing" phase of partnership, if I'm not mistaken.

Crowd, Police Clash at Protest of G-8 because it's G-8 Summit time again which links the 2007 Summit with the Summit of 2004 bwo Venus in particular.

This year, protest organizers are handing out leaflets saying:

The world shaped by the dominance of the G-8 is a world of hunger, social divisions, environmental destruction, and barriers against migrants and refugees."

And who can disagree? Imho, their global policies of war profiteering, pillaging of natural resources, and their cynical manipulations of governments are helping to create refugees, hunger, environmental degradations, and death.

Venus is, after all, a vengeful lady when scorned and was the trigger on 9/11 of the King of Alarm Solar Eclipse degree of Aug 11, 1999 when strife was let loose upon the earth. "19Leo" is also al-Qaeda's natal Sun's degree, btw, and Carelli's "19Leo" gives in part:

"...a senseless and stubborn arrogance sets him against those worthier, mightier, and better than himself...(he has a) grudge against mankind and unjustified rebellion against public opinion."

(There's more to this degree, but I shall save such joy for another post.)


Further Note on "28Can": the opposite or Illumination Point degree "28Cap" = "A large aviary." An interesting degree considering the recent drug-resistant strain of TB that's now been jetted around the globe...and his father-in-law just happened to be a TB expert at the CDC? Get OUT!


Question: have you read Congress' 2006 Solar Return? It's still in effect until November and contains Dane Rudhyar's version of the Sabian Symbol for "18Libra" which is the important US Mars' secondary station degree when our Mars function turned Rx for the first time in US history (July 2006.)

Mars = military, police, young men, pioneers, inside (Rx) instigators and could describe a leader of the feminine persuasion since Mars Rx natally was shared by many of the women suffragettes of the past.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi came into more power under this influence, but there could be more ladies to come with the 2008 election--and US Mars will be Rx by progression for 80 years hence.

Well, this post turned out to be more of a hodge-podge than initially intended and I still want to post on the Beatles concert of 1965 asap and the Great Uranus/Pluto conjunction of those rebellious times...perhaps later or on Sunday for my knarly typing finger is now officialy wumped out!



*Fixed Stars Castor and Pollux relate to creativity--one in the dark or hidden way and one in the light, and Castor esp relates to creative writing and communications.

U.S. military interventions 1890--1999

This chart for the US invasion of Hawaii, with tr Sun at MC conj US n Pluto (power; transformation; death) is the one I use for the start of the US military's fascination with invading and overthrowing something. As you see, the invasion--the sugar-grab--occurred just after the third Great Conjunction of Neptune and Pluto of 1891-1892, defining the Generation of Materialism of the pillaging robber and energy barons who still hold the purse strings in their claws. (Once you gain by hook or crook you become the crook with the hook.) These days, Neptune and Pluto are at the septile phase of their Cycle, a karmic stage where what has been sown must be reaped. Now using the Invasion of Hawaii chart doesn't count battles with native peoples through the years although you'll find the battle of Wounded Knee (Chiron = wound; knee = Saturn) on this list: U.S. Military Interventions 1890-1999 which was sent to me by Alex D'Atria at Astrology Communications Media. This post's timing is 'off' this evening with Memorial Day being tomorrow--and I certainly don't intend to disrespect our valiant troops who follow at times in the dark due to plutocratic leadership--but I want to give some notes on this chart which relate to more current times. The Balsamic phase of the Sun and Moon is so often when the sneakiest things are perpetrated...hidden at the dark of the Moon. As I said, the US natal Pluto is being triggered by tr Sun--why I've used the midday chart. Here are the midpoint pictures for this pile-up at the Public Status/Career Point (MC = The Goal or Aspiration): Sun/Pluto = MC: striving for power and control; upset and change to adopt new perspectives; power games with important consequences; Sun/MC ("the Goal") = Pluto: violent attainment of one's aims; desire to take the lead by use of force; the realization of extraordinary and unusual plans; success; a tragic destiny; Pluto/MC = Sun: the desire for power and authority. The invasion occurred during the 2 South Solar Eclipse Series: 2S = great gains through involvement with unusual group endeavors. This Eclipse has also manifested in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964, 1982, Dec 15, 2000 (4Cap14 conj the Pluto/Chiron midpoint in the invasion chart 1893.) It's so very often instructive to look at the Initial Eclipse in a Series for more info and this one began: Apr 17, 991 (OS), Sun/Moon 1Tau47 (opposite the NWO's n Sun, btw, 1993, when Uranus and Neptune had their Great Conjunction); Pluto/Chiron 4Cap26; Venus at Aries Point; NN 14Lib24, conj US n Saturn (authority; control)...(Predictive Astrology, Bernadette Brady.) Now which little future politicians were born during this Series thus having it as their Pre-natal Eclipse Series (PE)? At least three that I know of--and all three seem intent on never really going away: Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Hillary Clinton--fyi. Mars/Saturn: As you know, the harmful, destructive energy of the Mars/Saturn combo is one of the most difficult points in any chart. In the chart above, tr Mars/Saturn conjuncts US n Sun and opposes the Moon 14Cap04 (the Moon would have opposed US n Sun prior to noon that day, a culmination stage for national US ego issues--and perhaps a timing device for politicians who use Astrology--and let's not assume Reagan was the only one!): Mars/Saturn = Sun: the inability to meet all demands or to master all situations; death of members of the male population; physical threat; sense of loss; eking it out; Mars/Sat = Moon: feelings about losing something; death of members of the female population; depression; lack of courage; weakness of will. With Fixed Star Schedir rising, keyword: The Queen, I assume that the Sun represents the invaders while the Moon represents the population under invasion--and Hawaii's Queen who was toppled that day by the US military. The US sugar industry was so gratified! Now it's 2007 and the chess game continues with stalemates abounding...we know that a 'first' event chart may be used to define all subsequent events of the sort because everything is connected: past, present, and future...it's all about cycles and stages, isn't it? In Astrology we constantly see it expressed that how a thing begins is how it ends. Or if you prefer, the end is in the beginning--unless something truly extraordinary happens. Since this is basically the same concept as reap what you sow, it would take a miracle to turn the ship of America around from her disasterous course so long ago embarked upon and which we're now seeing played out in the Middle East. Crusading and invading--but on both sides, not just the US's! Yet if you read the list of US invasions given above, you may rightly wonder what it would take to rock the boat without capsizing her entirely. My saddest feeling is that I long ago gave up the assumption (nurtured through my growing up in America) that the elite ruling class gives a hoot for sustaining America--because capsizing her is just what they signed on for and they have no intention of ever letting go the reins of power and wealth. That's why the most unpopular president in US history is still infesting our White House...and shoe-horning that cuss out the door would take a miracle. Update 9 pm: just found this from Information Clearing House: Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq about "regime change" being US foreign policy for over 110 years. That's what she said.

want your political theater pure?

Dems Cave to Bush on Iraq War and you didn't think this "pure political theater" would work out any other way, did you?


Here's a SO'W recap of posts related to the Capitol Hill Theater (matinee tickets still available if you don't mind sitting behind the eight ball):

Dems' empty rhetoric and slogans as Bush's bush burns?

Washington as Shining Example

Mercury Transit and RX for Midterm Elections

Leo Strauss and neoconservatism

Stars of Nov 8 2006

meet Pilosi, Levin, and Feingold

meet Obama, Harman, and Conyers

Jim Webb

Congress swears

Congress 1994--2006

and last but not least, it's the ever popular burning bush of Bush: 8 Leo where we find our self-styled and self-mis-directed war president barrelling on and sailing above in spite of all common sense, common good, or conscience toward his fellow man.



Heads-Up on a lighter note--Art Balances Politics: Jude's Threshold has now gone Live for all sorts of stuff including two spiffy SlideShow Collages of drawings from my Dreamyfish Art ,Secret Moon Art, and Cosmic Persona Designs Galleries.

And you'll find downloadable drawings at my Lulu Storefront with more images on the way as time permits. Plus, if you know of a drawing you'd like to find available for downloading, contact me if you wish and I will comply if possible!

judecowell @ gmail dot com

mouthy in Jamestown

This is old propaganda but since Earthlink mailboxes have been squirrelly of late I'm just now accessing this White House Newsletter:


Bush pontificates in Jamestown


Here's an excerpt from the elitist-in-chief as he milks the 400-year-old J-Town cow:

Sunday, May 13, 2007

President and Mrs. Bush visited Jamestown to celebrate the 400th Anniversary.

"America is proud to promote the expansion of democracy, and we must continue to stand with all those struggling to claim their freedom. The advance of freedom is the great story of our time, and new chapters are being written every day, from Georgia and Ukraine, to Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon, to Afghanistan and Iraq. From our own history, we know the path to democracy is long, and it's hard. There are many challenges, and there are setbacks along the way. Yet we can have confidence in the outcome, because we've seen freedom's power to transform societies before."

Now when I read the above, I read: America is proud to promote...the propaganda that is the expansion of democracy. Yes, we've seen how Bush transforms societies--before and after, haven't we?

This Week in Washington 5.21.07

Since this week in Washington is critical you'd expect that the crisis flavor would show in the chart representing the week, wouldn't you?

Well, it does.

And even though the head varmint-in-chief has cleared out and hightailed it on down to his "ranch" in Texas, there is much hoo ha a-gwyin' on back at political headquarters in his sorry wake.

And no UN boss for dinner can hide the fact that the ornery cuss has a mess on his paws when he returns to the White House--it may even follow his tracks down to Crawford.

Monday's sunrise:

Can the Sun be at any more critical degree? 29Tau59..straining to be at 00Gem00..not a good place in the zodiac due to Fixed Star, Alcyone, keywords: rash or harsh judgements and narrow-minded to the point of being blind to the obvious. They say this varmint has a tin ear, too--and the Sun is in the "something to cry about" neighborhood.

It's almost 3:00 am edt right now...by 3:00 am in DC, the Moon will be at critical degree 29Can+ and forming a YOD (Finger of God) pattern with Sun and Pluto ("29Can" is the "Daughter of the American Revolution" degree, btw.)

Apex Pluto in YOD formation has a need to psychologically accept a direction in momentous situations that he'd rather not, thanks. This Pluto represents someone who's in a high-level authority position but something from past behaviors and attitudes must be changed before a new direction can be undertaken.

Apex Pluto in a YOD pattern has karmic, long-time-coming implications with objectivity lacking and a total engrossment in an extreme perspective that is out-of-focus with surroundings.

The midpoint picture for this YOD is:

Sun/Moon = Pluto: critical time of development; separation to start anew; biased attitude; changed circunstances; a soul torn by inner conflict.


Then we see a Mutable T-square between Mercury/Jupiter = Uranus: curiosity; quickness in repartee or on the uptake; ability to give good answers when challenged; successful propaganda activity; a resourceful orator; effective advertising; sudden inspiration.

And apex Uranus in a Mutable T-square? Oh that's where it gets good and descriptive:

This (Uranus)is the radical thinker who defies tradition and is so erratic he's considered a social crank whose subversive ideas threaten society. His ideas may be too lofty to be practically utilized, and his idiosyncracies indicate a high-strung temperament which may operate willfully as a social catalyst.

The urge to break down and shatter what impedes his aspirations and ideals drives him to instigate sudden reforms that disrupt the status quo.

This is the social misfit who is willfully out-of-tune with the established order of his environment. The pressure being exerted upon him causes explosive--or even violent--outbursts for he is a law-unto-himself who defensively detaches his will from all outer pressures.

Hence his mosey down to Crawford!

There's more in the chart, of course, but the sandman is calling my name. Perhaps I can add to this post during the week...stay tuned, pardners...a bumpy ride pretty well describes this week in Washington.



(Apex info from: Dynamics of Aspect Analysis, Bil Tierney; midpoint pics from the usual: Ebertin and Tyl.)

had Lincoln survived

It's time for the annual University of Maryland Medical School Conference where they re-examine the deaths of historical figures to see if the diagnoses of the times were correct.

This year it's President Abraham Lincoln's head wound and his demise 10 days later that falls under their microscopes as the Conference Ponders Lincoln's Survival and apparently, if modern technology had been available in 1865, the consensus is that Lincoln would have probably survived his wound.

Yet brain injuries are unpredictable so his communication abilities are in doubt and a lengthy recuperation would have been in store.

His secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, who made several decisions the day after the assassination, would have taken the oath of office rather than Andrew Johnson if Lincoln had survived, and the course of US history could've or would've been changed, according to US presidential historian, Steven Lee Carson, who surmises that the US "would have been a better and more just nation, especially on race matters, in a far quicker fashion."

Me? I'm not so sure, given that all effects are a result of many causes, so who knows if things would've been better or "more just" any sooner? Plus, I believe we're in process of heading backward on these issues, circa 2007 (as in, the undermined (In-)Justice Dept.)

Still, it's all very interesting to surmise--medically and politically.

Because in 1865, the who's-in-charge question concerning presidential incapacitation was answered on a case-by-case basis until JFK's assassination thanks to the addition of the transfer-of-power 25th Amendment...and we know who benefited from that.

So let us consider Lincoln's Minor Progressions for today, May 18 (noon) and see if Abe has a message for the nation (click to enlarge esp if you're a fan of the chicken-scratch)...I'll be using the WHAT/WHERE, HOW/WHY method with Sabian Symbols for the angles of the chart, with negative interpretations for them--because I think they're more instructive in these difficult times:


"17Sag" ASC = WHAT? "An Easter sunrise service"...REBIRTH...

neg/shadow side: overconcern with superficial form and ceremony;

"17Gem" DESC = WHERE (Or 'leads to WHERE?') "The head of a youth dissolved into the head of mentality (or 'into that of a mature thinker')...DEVELOPMENT...

neg/shadow side: a defeat of accomplishment by a senseless clinging to the illusions of youth;

"5Ari" IC = HOW? ""A triangle with wings"...ZEAL...

neg/shadow side: blissful obliviousness to all normal or everyday considerations;

"5Lib" MC = WHY? "A man teaching the true inner knowledge"...AFFINITY...

neg/shadow side: fatuous pride in the self's acumen and subtle or underhanded attempts to dominate everyone.

You'll notice the Sun/Mercury conjunction rising and in fated degree while trining the Moon (the other trine or triangle being the karmic Saturn's trine with North Node...so Saturn is in fated Nodal degree) and NN is at "18Cap" which is the New World Order degree (as I think of it..the Great Conjunction degree of Uranus/Neptune Oct 24, 1993--their conj #3 of 3.)

Not that globalists weren't busy planning prior to 1993, but this is the "Union Jack" degree which I have used to pinpoint the NWO bwo Sabian Symbols (yes, it's allowed)...

"18Cap"...SUPERVISION...

neg/shadow side: smug or strong-armed paternalism.

And karmic Saturn-with-wings?

"19Tau"..."A new continent arises out of the ocean"...traditionally refers to America herself, but in the NWO context, may refer to the draconian North American Union they're slipping by us--US + Canada + Mexico-- meant to hold paws and cross hooves with the EU which they've already shoved through.

Here's the rest for "19Tau"...ORIGINALITY...

neg/shadow side: a genius for futile turmoil and persistent upset.


Fearmongering? Red-herring issues? Diversions of the political kind? Or how about prez campaigners "debating" anything BUT what we really need to talk and know about?


The Sabian Symbol for Lincoln's Minor Sun/Mercury conj...

"A child and a dog with borrowed eyeglasses"...EXAMINATION...

neg/shadow side: distorted vision and self-defeating prejudice.

It occurs to me that the opposite or Illumination Point of this degree, "21Gem" would be instructive as well:

"21 Gem"..."A labor demonstration"...REPRESENTATION...

neg/shadow side: futile ill-will and bluster (perhaps the 'Immigration bill'?)

Yes, "21Gem" points to George Bush's natal Uranus/NN conjunction, which is the 'reformist political groups and associations' combo.

Now you had to know I'd be bringing his sorry tush into it somewhere, didn't you? It's so easy with a cuss like him...

SO'W's mysteriously invisible posts

Dec 2006's posts turned unviewable a while back so here are links to most of them:


Winter Solstice 2006

Blair's Plane Misses Turn in Miami

the 110th Congress

Jim Webb and Dubya Have Speaks

Alexander Litvinenko Dec 4 1962

Scaramella Arrested in Italy

Kovtun in Hamburg

Gazprom

Gates of the Pentagon

Dec 4 Full Moon

Best Political Joke of 2006

Bruce Reed on Michael Chertoff

what's onnn the menyooo? breakfast at the White House

Iraq sues over oil-for-food kickbacks


Investigation continues...if there are more mysteriously missing posts, I'll route them out asap.

Jerry Falwell 1933--2007

UPDATE May 17: the headlines scream that Wolfowitz may resign this afternoon (another good riddance) so Saturn in Leo ploughs on removing those who must go now go now. Will Gonzo join the throng?


Saturn's current passage through Leo (leadership) has taken another leader, Jerry Falwell, as Saturn brings blockages, restrictions, and loss.

Born Aug 11, 1933, Falwell's n Sun 18Leo32 has again been triggered by tr Saturn 18Leo45 now moving direct.

Having natally an opposition between Sun (vitality; the heart) and Saturn 12AQ36 (protective structures; skeletal system; skin) conj IC (endings), it may describe a clear picture of heart problems unless I miss my guess--and I'm not one to keep up with the man's personal details (since I don't believe that Christians can possibly covet the halls of earthly power and remain true to Scripture.)

Between his n Sun and MC 13Leo05--and with Sun as final dispositor of the chart (AstroDataBank gives his natal chart an A rating) there is a midpoint picture worth noting because tr Saturn visited there in August 2006...Neptune/Pluto relates to religion and supernatural concerns...

Neptune/Pluto = tr Saturn: gradual decline of powers and faculties; pessimism; dark forebodings.

Then tr Saturn moved on to n Sun itself, a period of restriction and loss which isn't as difficult if you're a whippersnapper, but at age 74--and with possible heart problems--is a difficult transit to come out of in one piece with all your faculties intact.

Transit Chiron has recently been conjuncting his n Saturn at IC as well, as did undermining Neptune which tends to disintegrate structures when conjuncting Saturn. With his n Sun/Saturn opposition, this means Neptune also opposed n Sun...another indication of eroded (Nep) vitality (Sun.)

All I've heard before checking his chart is the announcement of his passing, so it will be interesting to see if his heart was involved, and if he'd had any surgeries in the last year or so--also indicated.

With n Mars/Chiron midpoint at n MC, this sacred warrior has gone down for the count and my best wishes go out to his family in this time of loss and sadness.


Here are some Previous Posts concerning Saturn in Leo, loss of leaders, restrictions, and such:


Fidel Castro who hasn't been seen in public in quite a while now;

Tony Blair has now announced he's out the door at the end of June-- good riddance;

Congress' Saturn Return and the last of this Saturn Return, hit #3, occurs July 13, 2007;

US Congress Solar Return 2006 is still in effect;

Bob Ney who's in the slammer for his dirty dealing (Saturn to n Pluto)--Saturn demands accountability when we take his lessons of responsibility lightly;

Cheney's Health plus Fixed Grand Cross the rigid my-way-or-the-highway stalemate we're still seeing in Washington;

midterm elections 2006--this post has Saturnian Scythe info and a link to John Townley's site with more on Saturn's harvesting sickle...


Wonder who'll be next?

McNulty is history, calls for Gonzales are still echoing through the chambers of Washington--how genuinely I know not, but he does have a bunch of Leo planets as does George Bush--so stay tuned for more on Saturn's stomp through Leo which completes in early Sep, 2007.

Makes you wonder if Bush will finish his term.

DC's Whistleblowers Week + Hookergate too

Not sure what I'd do without my friend, Alex D'Atria at Astrology Communications Media who has given me some great links concerning the May 13-19 Whistleblowers Week in Washington aka "WWW."

It's to be the largest gaggle of nonprofit whistleblower organizations, groups, and individuals ever assembled on Capitol Hill in US history...attracted to Washington by the dirty-dealing administration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

The Week's schedule includes testimony, discussion panels, workshops, a film night, and a book signing and is meant to highlight our country's need for Congress to pass stronger protection for whistleblowers everywhere.

The Congressional Tribunal takes place Tuesday, May 15, from 9 am to noon (I'll post on this time frame Sunday afternoon if all goes as planned.)

Dailykos has Deep Harm's column Scandals set to explode next week on Capitol Hill and you may wish to visit the Make It Safe Campaign as well...it has a full schedule of events.

DC Hookergate:

Then there's the 'DC Madam' Palfrey's customer list which many have tried to suppress and keep hidden but customer Dick Cheney's name just keeps being bandied about from when he lived part-time in McLean, VA, and was prez and CEO of Halliburton...and was quite the frisky fellow, they say.

Read about it (in spite of all Bush and Cheney can do to stop ya) at Wayne Madsen Report where you'll find mention not only of Palfrey's employee Brandy Britton's supposed suicide (how many women have ever used hanging as a method for suicide?) but also the murder of Asst US Atty Jonathan Luna, Dec 4, 2003, in a Pennsylvania creek. Not the Wassa-whatchamacallit, I assume. That would make George Washington squirm in his grave with Masonic fervor.

This scandal's tentacles reach deep, m'peops, and threatens to engulf this administration bwo the firing of US Atty for Maryland Thomas DiBragio who was considered "too aggressive"--and he was working on the Palfrey case, quelle surprise.

Seems the DiBragio firing and Luna's murder eliminated the threat that the ritzy GOP "stalwarts" who frequented the DC/Baltimore prostitution ring would be safe from exposure prior to the 2004 presidential election.

So for 2004 we got the same old pig with the bright red lipstick which now is wearing very thin...but at least it matches his hoof-nail polish...Madam Palfrey says that's very important, y'know.

Well, I do hope Whistleblowers Week amounts to something positive for America--but it will have to be after the puss of this administration is expelled from the scar that festers on Capitol Hill's a*s.

Bush's Progr'd Chart 5.12.07

Playing US President is a busy undertaking--it's hard werk, yall--and we might expect that George Bush's Secondary Progressed chart (physical plane) would be very active at the moment.

It is.

If you click to enlarge the chart you may see the Sun Vir/Moon Cap blend which gives these Images for Intergration:

A student passes entrance examination to a prestigious technical college...A headline: 'Small-town boy makes good...Fine bone china (my italics-jc)

(The first word picture sadly reminds me of the posthumous degrees that VA Tech is awarding this weekend.)


There are three midpoints rising in GB's Sec chart:

Jupiter/Pluto = ASC: organizing talent; desire for power; far-sightedness; prudence.

(The Jup/Pluto combo is a significator of plutocracy as is Pluto/Chiron.)

Mercury/Neptune = ASC: potential overreaction to others; exploitation or being exploited.

Ven/Pluto = ASC: an attractive personality wielding a great influence over others; an unusual love affair.

At MC (the Aspiration or WHY Point of the chart--the most visible point) we see Uranus/NN--the unusual political groups combo with the reformists' swagger...

Ura/NN = MC: the desire to bring plans to fruition jointly with others; seeking stimulating ideas from others (see Sec Moon degree's Symbol below); teamwork paying off; professional recognition.

Transit Saturn, now direct, is tromping on Bush's Sec Mars/Uranus midpoint...

Mars/Ura = tr Saturn:

A clash between controls and the freest spirit; controls cannot be tolerated; potential battles and separations; lack of adaptability; violent destruction; a heavy injury; surgery.

As you know, midpoint pictures give us a look at any or all ways in which things may manifest...or 'none of the above' yet I think we're seeing some of these manifestations now, don't you? And the Sec Progressions represent internal changes while tr Saturn (above) would bring external events and conditions...and in tr Saturn's case: accountability, restriction, and denial.

Nep/NN = Pluto: difficulty blending one's personal perspectives with others's views; exercising a bad influence upon associations (last Tuesday's meeting with 'concerned about re-election' Rs?); breakdown of relationships (some of the rats are leaving the sinking White House ship in droves while the gettin's good-jc)

Nep/MC = Pluto: adventurous enterprises; criminal offenses; pursuit of peculiar objectives; supernatural experiences or the supernatural as a professional focus (see Sec Moon degree's Symbol below); strange happenings on the job or in the home (the White House? like 11 pm meetings with the Brethren? -jc)

Mercury/ASC = Sun: desire to discuss vital matters which affect many people.

And let us not leave out Sec Mars for our very Martian dice-roller and Holy Land-bomber...

Jup/Nep = Mars: speculation; unreliability; irresponsible actions; relying on others and being let down; strong idealism with the need for practical focus.

Moon/Saturn = Mars: sense of real problems (it's hit him at last-jc); soul-conflicts; desire to overcome difficulties; feeling inferior; difficulty getting off the ground except by carefully planned strategies.

Venus/Nep = Mars: easy self-delusion; misdirected energy; sex drive has difficulty being fulfilled (they have Viagra for that--jc)

And old man Saturn is also being affected by two midppoints, NN/ASC (personal relationships) and ASC/MC (ID awareness; higher self + lower self.)

NN/ASC = Saturn: conservatism; feelings of suppression or oppression in the presence of other people; seclusion; mourning or bereavement (he's certainly brought a lot of it to the rest of the world-jc.)

ASC/MC = Saturn: conservatism is comfortable; austerity is important as a part of maturity and reliability (puh!-jc); feeling inferior (he is-jc); depression; mourning or bereavement.

Sabian Symbols (Dr. Marc Edmund Jones) for Sec Sun and Moon are:

Sun "13Vir": "A strong hand supplanting political hysteria (again: last Tuesday at the White House meeting with worried Rs?-jc)...keyword: POWER...

pos: consistent effectiveness in dramatizing personal potentials (it's all about the drama, photo-ops, and propaganda, isn't it? -jc);

neg/shadow side/unconscious: loss of all opportunity by timid action (seems odd considering his public brashness--pass the kool-aid?-jc)

"13Vir" is about providing an overall ordering for each moment of history if it is to count for much in the lives of others...since there is always a counsel of confusion to take over when events are allowed to drift or
when the immediate leadership proves deficient (oh yeah! my italics-jc)

Bush's Sec Moon has been at 00Cap00 lately, which is one of the four World Points (00Aries/Libr; 00Can/Cap)...where the most public events may manifest; and the Symbol for it (using the rounding-up method) is:

Moon "1Cap": "An Indian chief claiming power from the assembled tribe"...keyword: INFLEXIBILITY...

pos: an ever-effective authority following from a single eye of vision and a consistent dignity of character;

neg/shadow side/unconscious: idle pompousness and a senseless raising of minor issues (he tried that diversion with his peanut-funding whine-jc)

This degree concerns a determination to maintain every advantage gained by birth or through experience and to grasp every oppportunity for genuine self-expression (my italics-jc)

The opposite degree, the Illumination Point, an unconscious point which if integrated can move things along in a more positive fashion, is:

"1Can": "A furled and an unfurled flag displayed from a vessel"...keyword: ADAPTABILITY...

pos: a gift for highly profitable adjustment in every developing relationship with others;

neg: vacillation if not complete instability.

(I include the Illumination Point due to the Moon's connection to the Unconscious and because he needs to adapt and adjust--to learn how to 'play' fairly with others-jc)

So it seems that the Skull'n'Bones Society--and other secret associations (Ura/NN)-- are very busy now being called upon by Bush for extraordinary power from "the assembled tribe."

And with Bush's Sec Pluto/Chiron midpoint (16Vir34) now having risen in his Sec Chart, I believe we've ALL been feeling it--the plutocratic oppression and class warfare which is in process of being waged upon the world and which are touted ad nauseum by George Bush in his role as US President.

Since his Sec Chart is now at a Jupiter Hour we might look at Sec Jupiter's degree as well:

Sec Jupiter "27Libra": "An airplane hovering overhead"...keyword: REFLECTION...

pos: high effectiveness in self-adjustment or real skill in meeting the crises of life;

neg: complete inability to get down into immediate realities.

My fret is that his seldom-used self-reflection is coupled with self-pity now as Bush retreats into the bowels of my White House...will the Bubble World of George Bush continue to hover over America as he continues to run from the reality of the mess he's made?

Today on Capitol Hill 5.10.07

Today on Capitol Hill promises much drama with Alberto Gonzales again attempting to defend the administration's stacking of the deck at the Injustice Dept and a vote on the war funding stalemate.

Sparse time this morning to do (in?)justice to the day's chart factors but I do want to mention a few things.

We see 12Can17 rising at 9:30 am edt...Bush and the nation's natal Sun rising.

Saturn (Ds; authority; control; accountability) is now direct 18Leo32, and is therefore continuing to plague AG's Mars/Pluto midpoint:

Mars/Pluto = Saturn: forcibly overcoming obstacles and difficulties; leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of a particular task; hard hard work with extraordinary discipline needed and usually paying off.

For Bush it's his n Venus/Pluto being affected by Saturn:

Venus/Pluto = Saturn: immorality; a sense of tragedy (similar to what I felt when he first hijacked the Oval Office? 'Oval Office' is connected with the planet Venus which is out-of-bounds today.)

The day has an interesting quindecile (165 degrees, an aspect of compulsion-obsession) between Venus and Jupiter--and which relates specifically to the war funding bill:

Venus QD Jupiter: excessively driven with a need for relationships/money; idealism; codependency; morals and ethics based on those of one's partners/s and on material gain; excess and indulgence; belief systems become the major motivator (The Quindecile, Ricki Reeves.)

If you're visitng this blog, you may click to enlarge the day's chart set for 9:30 am when the curtain rises and you'll see my chicken scratch notes to add to your delight. Otherwise, here are the midpoints of the day beginning with the most obvious feature of the chart, the ongoing and explosive Mars/Uranus conjunction now widening yet snugged at MC, the WHY Point of the 9:30 am chart:

Mars/Uranus = MC: an inflexible character; violent or drastic measures; putting a gun to someone's head; injury; accident; extraordinary achievements. (btw: this midpoint pic was active when Cheney shot Whittington in the face.)

Mars/ASC = SUN: quarrel; mishap; excitability; intense teamwork; love of fighting; having to adjust things forcefully; operating in an inhospitable milieu.

Mercury/Pluto = NN: being recognized for communication skills; desire to be spokesperson for the community.

NN/MC = Uranus: sudden emotional reactions; acting impulsively or rashly; behaving restlessly with others; sudden and deeply moving experiences; zaniness; solving problems innovatively with others.

Here are the midpt pics from the FIXED T-squares--all with the inflexible, unyielding Sun as apex planet:

Moon/Saturn = Sun: feelings of enforced controls; sobering times; separation.

Saturn/Neptune = Sun: painstaking attention to hard work and feeling alone in the effort; sensitivity; illness from emotional suffering or setbacks. (The Saturn/Neptune combo usually bring grief, weakness, and torment in their wake.)

The T-square pattern also includes one between Saturn/Chiron which I believe is a picture of 'wounded authority' still pointing to the stubborn Taurean Sun...a Sun (leader) who is powerfully determined to succeed but attracts enduring power struggles in his relationships due to his unyieldingness. And so the stand-off continues! (Dynamics of Aspect Analysis, Bil Tierney.)

And now here is the Image for the idealistic and steadfast Sun-Moon blend for today:

Sun Tau-Moon AQ: A country squire holds the summer fete in his garden: all monies raised are divided between three charities in the village--the Friendly Farmer's Trust, the Local Artists' Guild, and the Quakers' Orphanage.

Hmm. Seems Bush can't grasp last November's message from The People--or the fact that the billions he so determined to spend (and continue to profit from) belong to us and we want his obscenely expensive war machine turned around and brought back home to stem the hemorraghing of America.

To close, here's a quote from two people who share natally the Sun Tau-Moon AQ blend:

"When you're down and out, something always turns up--and it's usually the noses of your friends." - Orson Welles

And: "May the Force be with you." - George Lucas

Asteroid Apollo flies by

Discovered by Wilhelm Reinmuth on April 24, 1932, asteroid Apollo is associated mythologically with the Greek sun god, Apollo and was the first of the Earth-crosser/Venus-crosser/Mars-crossers to be found.

At its sighting Apollo was Tropically at "1Scorpio", conj the New World Order's natal Sun degree...I'm only giving the negative version of the Sabian Symbols because I want to...

"1Sco": "A sight-seeing bus"> neg: a genius for avoiding any and every actual expenditure of self.

Apollo's Sidereal degree at discovery may be instructive for our current climate:

"5Sco": "A massive, rocky shore"> neg: blind stubborness or unreasoning conservatism.

Hmmm-m-m-m-m...

Astrologically there are three possible manifestations of this asteroid in our charts--and thus in our psyches--interpreted by the excellent Lee Lehman:

1. a personification of the Sun in the chart (self-protective, side-scuttling Cancer for US and George Bush);

2. a personification of Greek society's archetypal traits of the ideal man;

3. the giver or healer of disease.


Apollo's key phrase: against the odds.


It will be interesting to see how the next several days play out--a new cure or a new epedemic? Or other archetypal manifestations of Apollo's visit to Earth of the closer kind? Was Queen Elizabeth's visit to the US a few days early? Well, it has been years since she was last here!

And if you see any ideal men running about, I'd like to know about it, Barak Obama notwithstanding.


Space Weather News for May 7, 2007

SpaceWeather.com

ASTEROID FLYBY: This week, a famous asteroid is flying past Earth: 1862 Apollo.

Discovered in 1932, Apollo was the first asteroid recognized to cross Earth's orbit. Its discovery, and the subsequent discovery of many others like Apollo, helped
scientists understand that the threat of asteroid impacts didn't end with the
dinosaurs; it's a modern problem, too. There's no danger of a collision
this time. Apollo will be about 10.7 million kilometers away at closest approach
on May 8th. Southern hemisphere astronomers with big backyard telescopes may be
able to photograph the 1.7 km-wide asteroid and its tiny 75 meter-wide moon gliding
through the constellations Microscopium and Grus.

UMP

Just back from France, Mr.A.Cat has had me publish his latest limerick at Lim's Limericks concerning the UMP Party's Nicolas Sarkozy and his presidential victory Sunday.

At Lim's you'll find a link to an article on the ongoing riots, car burnings, window smashings, and arrests bedeviling the French nation. It's not certain that Sarkozy's expressed admiration for George Bush will be doing him a world o'good as he attempts to manifest his reformist tendencies upon France with her sluggish economy and large immigrant populations.

And where has Sarkozy been during the riots? Resting on a yacht in the Mediterranean. Sluggish economy indeed. Wonder whose name is on the yacht's title?

He's partying on down, I imagine, while Paris burns. The similaries between Bush, Sarkozy, and Nero I shall barely mention...esp with the incendiary Mars/Uranus snugged around NN...hyperexcitability; an excited demonstration shown to others; the execution of extraordinary and unusual enterprises.

Of course, Sunday's election occurred under this influence as well...and how do they count their votes so quickly in France when we can barely count ours at all?

Queen Elizabeth and Cousin George partay!

With more than a whiff of scandal in the exalted air in the US and Britain, it seems appropriate that Queen Elizabeth II has the same natal Sun-Moon personality blend as the Jamestown Colony (May 3, 1607 NS, sunrise: 5:07:32 am LMT, Sun/ASC 12Tau24, Moon 4Leo50.)

For speed purposes I'll be referring to the British monarch here as QE2--no disrepect intended...natal chart bwo AstroDataBank: Apr 21, 1926; 2:40 am BST, from official records...birthplace London, of course.

QE2's natal Sun is earlier in Taurus 00:12 conjunct Chiron--although out-of-sign with Chiron 28Ari01. With Sun conj Chiron, our full sense of self, of being who we are, is connected to the degree by which we experience spirituality and higher consciousness, and relates to identifying our dharma, or life's work.

She's always seemed to me to have an excellent sense of who she is, royal "WEs" to the contrary. However, her closest--and only--applying aspect to natal Sun is a nagging 'minor' semi-square with Venus (1A15)--perhaps showing in part the stiff view of her personality held by the public (with Saturn at MC, the most public point in any chart, doing the rest.)

A waxing (unconscious) Sun/Chiron conj (2S11) gives a very strong and innate sense of destiny with normal life patterns rarely if ever lived out (Chiron, Barbara Hand Clow.)

If you were Queen, you'd be above the crowd and feeling Saturn's isolation as well, and having her duty-bound Saturn at MC and in powerful Scorpio has made her path clear...Saturn's authority gave her no options but to follow the family business of monarchy.

Plus, natal SN (a separative point and Saturnian to boot) conj n ASC places the Lady 'outstanding in her own field'...and separates her from all but the closest relations. Having SN conj ASC may cause problems with them as well!

There's no time to delineate her entire natal chart, more's the pity, but I want to mention a few more interesting factors relating to her current US visit including the Sun Tau/Moon Leo synchronicity with Jamestown's founding.

This is a good time to give the regal, vain Sun Tau/Moon Leo blend with its fixed opinion tendencies and its materialistic, snobbish, and masterful traits:

Images: On a perfect summer's eve, a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream is held in the palace garden...Keeping up with the Joneses. (If she's here to check up on and rein in Cousin George, then we must be the Joneses!)

And here is a timely quote from QE2 herself:

"True patriotism doesn't exclude an understanding of the patriotism of others."

A most riveting observation considering with whom she's cavorting this weekend...perhaps she should've mentioned it to Cheney prior to 2000 and 2003.

QE2 shares this natal blend with Moshe Dayan, who said:

"Whenever you accept our views, we shall be in complete agreement with you."

Wonder who'll be carrying the bigger cattle prod in Washington on Monday? Couldn't Cousin George just have shipped over the gold as usual? But they had more big fish to fry, it seems...read further...

Another of her natal chart features worth mentionally is her Pluto/NN conj with its obvious 'power-as-destiny' flavor. This is the 'tiger-by-the-tail' aspect which gives QE2 the drive and determination to take advantage of prevailing social trends to her advantage (hullo, Jamestown, VA Tech, and Kentucky Derby!) Plu/NN has an even more deliberate and calculating quality than an Uranus/NN conj--which Bush has natally.

The Pluto/NN conj has a dangerous tendency to manipulate social forces which are often too large to handle safely. 'We' may find ourselves entrapped or crushed by the weight of circumstances in which we embroil ourselves (and as in all astrology and LIFE, we may experience this happening to others in our environment--ex: perfect description for the fates of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed esp since North Node represents a fated path or destiny.)

This affairs-out-of-hand quality of Plu/NN conjs may collapse existing structures in a dangerous way. Yeah. Same with the Middle East, thanks a bunch.


But back to QE2's jolly US vacation...

With her natal Saturn 24Sco27, I looked at her arrival chart using tr Moon 24Sco27 which actually timed perfectly with May 3 of her arrival upon our shores.

As her visit progresses, tr Moon crosses tr Jupiter 18Sag15 Rx--a pleasant contact--and then tr Pluto 28Sag37, a point conjuncting Fixed Star, Acumen, keywords: enduring attacks which weaken.

Someone is feeling isolated, alone, and weakened, and the Moon is here to (among other things) buck him up, it would seem. You may be tempted to think this refers only to Bush, but check out this midpoint picture which has been ongoing with tr Saturn 18Leo27...stomping between QE2's n Moon/Neptune:

Moon/Nep = tr Saturn: pessimism; despair; influenced strongly by prevailing and temporary circumstances and conditions; feeling frustrated or paralyzed; hard work to shake off indolence; sense of suffering under the yoke (probably a permanent condition with her motto, duty first, self second); restructuring ambition.

Hey, I know--she and Bush and their elitist cronies could pay for restructuring and rebuilding Iraq! Sometimes I have good ideas.

So after tr Moon visits Jupiter (Cheney?) and Pluto (your guess is as good as mine--Bush perhaps?) Moon will conj QE2's natal ASC on the night of the State Banquet at the White House, Monday, May 7...21Cap23. And of course, Sagittarius is the sign of the half HORSE/half man centaur--she throws down at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday!

By Monday, the Sun Tau/Moon Cap blend gives this *Image/word picture:

A royal banquet honours the longest-serving headmistress of the oldest most prestigious school in the land. (Sometimes Astrology amazes!)

So tr Moon (as QE2 herself--and the Moon makes a good timer) goes from the beginning of her trip to the Monday night barbeque (please, George, tell me you'll allow decent fare to be served!) beginning with her 9th house Saturn (albeit closely conj n MC 25Sco33), through her 11th house of Groups/Associations/Hopes and Wishes--Partay!...then through her behind-the-scenes 12th house of Karma and Self-Undoing, and on to conj natal Ascendant on Monday night: 21Cap23.

This gives three midpoint pictures as tr Moon approaches, goes between, and passes Jupiter and Pluto...

Moon/Plu = Jup: emotional conviction guides a new start; establishing one's new position with a gut feeling (oh dear--not again); great success; lucky chances;

Jup/Plu = Moon: the desire to bring about social improvements and aspirations; the ability to influence the masses or the public bwo an appeal to the emotions; a good psychologist (Bush and Cheney could use one--have at it, Old Girl!);

Moon/Jup = Pluto: an extraordinary and usual striving for possessions and wealth; the urge to start great enterprises (deja-vu?); major plans for major triumph; the big picture and the power to make it appear.

Well, isn't this nice? It is for them--tr NN (meetings; encounters; associations) is conjuncting QE2's n Venus, planet of relationships, money, and pleasant social functions--NN to Venus = cultural get-togethers.

May we only hope that the White House pretzels aren't too stale for the royal palate!

Tuesday she'll wing her way back to her own realm (that is, if you think Cornwallis' Surrender was for real and that American independence is lasting into 2007) where Tony Blair's Labour Party has just and justly suffered embarrassing defeats based primarily on Blair's support of the Bush-Cheney invasion of Iraq. And ten years in power seems like a mighty long time.

It'll be a royal wee wee wee, all the way home.

So why not close with a few bon mots from Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, another Scotsman, who so winningly said:

"You've forgotten the grandest moral attribute of a Scotsman, Maggie, that he'll do nothing which might damage his career."