Astro-Link Round-Up on Occupy Wall Street w a 'Ferdinand the Bull' video!

Uranus/Pluto Rages as Ferdinand Hearts Occupy Wall Street 10.03.11

Did you know that on The Mountain Astrologer website today, expert astrologer Mary Plumb has published a News and Astrology article round-up of links concerning the ongoing and spreading (!) protests in progress in Manhattan of the Occupy Wall Street movement where I'm proud to say that America's younger generations (who are suffering from the thieving of Wall Street top hats wearers and champagne goblet toasters) and are not afraid to tell the fancy swells about their--our--grievances!

Mary includes images of America's natal horoscope, US Solar Return 2011, and a sunrise (solar) nativity for Occupy Wall Street set for its beginning: September 17, 2011 6:38:03 am edt NY, NY, with transiting Mars, the activist/protester/instigator, opposing US natal
Pluto 27Cap33 Rx (in US natal 2nd house of Money and Earning Ability.)

This transit of opposition marks a period when hostile forces are encountered (protesters v banksters, and riot police v we-the-people) with powerful, card-holding Pluto insuring a mobilizing effect, and the Mars/Pluto combination of energies relating to zeal, massive amounts of energy, heavy-handed police or military actions, and potentially explosive conditions.

Yes, this is the very contest of wills which this transit warns us against yet that is precisely what is happening in NYC, plus, the protests are spreading like...a contagion of a more positive kind than Gwyneth Paltrow can muster onscreen.

The interference of protesting Mars with business-as-usual and the attempt of the street marchers to change the status quo are at the foundation of Occupy Wall Street's motivations and resulting events as many journalists and pundits echo an off-the-point Establishment cry of "But what do they want?" (duh!) and "They have no leader" and "there's no one-pointed goal," with Mars, ruler of Aries, the poster boy for me-first-ism and pioneerism...but The Angry One is in more than a passing snit over continued Wall Street fraud and outright corporate deception as our lives and futures are co-opted by conglomerates more powerful than in their initial heyday of the Robber Baron Era of the 1880s and 1890s.

With Mars opposite US natal Pluto in Saturn-ruled Capricorn (business, government, law--all of which institutions the protesters and marchers are riling up in an unusual fashion--Uranus square Pluto), the movement if imprinted by this opposition to the people's desires (Mars) and its heartfelt sentiments are palpable and arouse Wall Street's antagonism and deep sense of self-protection (Saturn = boundaries and rules; Cancer = the canny self-protection of The Crab who will move sideways, if necessary, to escape and avoid.)

Now regardless of pepper-spray-in-face Tony Baloney's overreaction, the NYC police force has pension worries of its own thanks to fraud and embezzlement by corporate and government types--wonder if they know they're on the wrong side? Actually, police and other city officials are on the proverbial horns of a dilemma for their paychecks must be signed to be deposited even as the Wall Street Bull snorts its disapproval of the grass roots goings-on.

My opinion is that an honest and direct approach may shine a favorable light upon those who are involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests and indeed this manner of doing things in a peaceful way is the only chance to gain an upper hand through taking the moral high ground.

Goodness knows, Wall Street CEOs and their agents, minions, and operatives haven't a clue how to proceed along such a decent path without being lead by their comfort-loving noses like Disney's Ferdinand the Bull smelling flowers...



~:~

My Q for you: Aren't you loving the old films and photos (and history info) in Ken Burns' Prohibition which began showing on PBS last evening, Sunday? It's a three-part series detaili,somehting which must come from within. Astonsishingly, a majority of Americans in those days drank day and night but most brew weren't as strong as they are today.

Wish I could tell Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and any proto-fascists such as the corporate-backed Tea Party hierarchy crowd, and all Federalist Society disciples that their tiresome scapegoat tactic (it's them, not us) of 'projecting the shadow upon others; not being accountable or held accountable' has worn papery thin and we're fed up with wealthy, globally-inclined bankers and monarchists jerking our country around by her Aquarian nose. Even with transit Neptune, planet of loss, fraud, and delusion, still languishing near US natal Moon @ '28AQ' (we-the-people)--we are so over your sorry ways!

Now what a nasally post about the upturned snoots of Wall Street this turned out to be. Still, Mary Plumb's chart analyses are not-to-be-missed (thanks for the SO'W link, Mary!)

Plus, on a lighter note, I do hope you'll enjoy a little flowery Ferdinand just for old times' sake because...

2011 minus 1938 equals this Ferdinand cartoon is 73 years old! jc

Global Revolution link to Livestream of Occupy Wall Street protests

This Global Revolution link will take you to a Livestream video of the Occupy Wall Street protests which are not just for Manhattan anymore as other US cities join in v corporate elite banksters and gangsters...in a word, thieves.

Yes, the ongoing planetary Cardinal Grand Cross of revolt and upheaval and its attendant on-again-off-again T-Squares of blockage and frustration are really revving up the populace to demonstrate for truth, justice, and civil rights in earnest now--even in our usually placid America.

And astrological Pluto (favorite planet of wealthy plutocrats whether they know it or not) is at the base of the blockages, injustices, and thieving as Mr. Underworld acts from status quo Capricorn.

John Adams defines Revolution; America's Saturn/Neptune Revisited

Wall Street Tyranny, Revolution Defined, Saturn/Neptune, and a Sabian Symbol for the Ages

by Jude Cowell


From perpetual wars of imperialism to Wall Street bankers and global elites crashing the US economy, the 'New Millennium' has brought not the so-called "New Age" of skipping about with flowers in our hair, but dire conditions and chaos purposefully created by what seems to be a select few of unelected, ivory towered holier-than-thous signified in mundane astrology charts by Pluto.

And when combined with other planets, the branches of plutonians are even more closely described and identified--ex: Jupiter/Pluto = the Fed, the World Bank or bankers, the IMF, the WTO, those who mount large scale projects--even as the Vatican (Pluto = the pope; Jupiter = the hierophant, priest) and other bigwig religious 'leaders' who skulk the halls of earthly power.

Now if you've read Stars Over Washington before, you know that I often fuss about plutonian topics while posting articles, videos, and horoscopes blended with my own personal comments and analyses on Politics, Washington DC, corruption, the US Congress, esoteric subjects (ex: Max Igan videos), Astrology, Freemason/Illuminati info, and other topics that interest or annoy me--all on behalf of my country, America--a nation whose sovereignty I'd prefer to see continued, thanks. (My former residence of Washington DC and the perfidies of the US Congress and White Lodge--er, House, notwithstanding.)

Well, it is my blog, right? And no other writers lounge about SO'W unless noted with credit for their work.

So today I'm feeling Adams-y/Jefferson-y, even though they were Freemasons, which was the organization to join in their day if you wanted to get ahead in life and business. Actually, it's much the same in 2011, isn't it? Perhaps the worm entered the American apple when Weishaupt's Illuminati gained a hoof-hold with Jefferson, Paine, and others, and Rosicrucianism (Franklin, and probably Jefferson) blended into the secretive government mix as well from our nation's earliest days. Infiltration is the Illuminati's middle name--and the CFR has used infiltration of government institutions as a tactic since the secretive organization's inception, as have others of a similar take-over persuasion.


There May Be Clues in America's Natal Horoscope

US natal Saturn (14Lib48) = government; US natal Neptune (22Vir25) = hidden, secret, invisible. On July 4, 1776, the two planets were a mere 22 degrees 23 minutes apart, though the Founders were assumed to be unaware of Neptune's existence. Now that has always fascinated me since we as astrologers can glean things about the US horoscope which they (astrologers as they were) could not have known we would know...same with Pluto, though revolutionary, disruptive Uranus, so linked to America's principles and behavior, was discovered in their time--in 1781, between the American and the French Revolutions, and describing both.

And if we use the Sibly version of the US chart (July 4, 1776 5:10 pm LMT Philadelphia, PA), we find that its Midheaven (Goal; Aspiration; Public Standing or Status) = 00Lib53--a mere 3 degrees 36 minutes from our natal Saturn/Neptune midpoint. This suggests (to my sleuthing, conspiratorial mind) that 3 years 5 or 6 months after July 4, 1776, a goal (MC) was effected concerning an invisible, hidden, or secret government (Saturn/Neptune)--was a satanic Illuminati hoof-hold gained?

This takes us to December 1779-- January 1780 and is worth a look into historical events during that time period--though machinations of secret societies will not be found in history written by The Establishment (Saturn!) A book such as Nicholas Hagger's The Secret History of the West is a better source and it is extensively researched, plus, you may know of other books or websites that reveal more than the usual line on American history. Funny how the usual sources tend to totally leave out which secret society influenced whom and instigated which event!

In case you're wondering, the midpoint picture created in progressions during that time frame by America's 9th house Neptune and 10th house Saturn is:

Saturn/Neptune = MC: wavering between materialistic and idealistic inclinations; a peculiar character (or characters); losing courage quickly; emotional suffering. (Ebertin.) (Other midpoint sources reveal more, of course, but I don't have them with me today and won't until next week.) As always, any, all, or none may apply.

Yes, the combo of Saturn/Neptune may bring loss and grief and unfortunately, we don't have to look far afield to find that in 2011, do we? Especially since transiting Saturn brought 'grim reality' to US natal Neptune a year or so ago--with a simultaneous transit of dissolving Neptune to US natal Moon (we-the-people) which is still within orb in late Aquarius, and brought home foreclosures, refugeeism, unstable social conditions, fraud, loss, and grand schemes that seldom if ever pan out.

Quite a double blow to the people's hopes and dreams of beneficial change a la the Obama administration! Maybe that's part of why the GOP ran an old man and a wild woman against him--they wanted to sit out these transits! And one astrologer on the Republican payroll would have easily seen both transits coming from several decades away. (That's the venerable art and science of Astrology--bringing to the table the element of Time which no other system for analysis can.)


Now here's a quote from our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson, which in 2011 may be applied to the steady drip drip of many decades if not centuries as certain groups attempt to overthrow democracy and collapse America (financially, politically, and socially) so that 'global government' (another indication of Saturn/Neptune involvement since staid Saturn must rule, and secretive Neptune must merge) may be finally implemented according to a totalitarian template as promoted by satanists like Adam Weishaupt whose Illuminati symbols decorate America's Great Seal and paper currency:

"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of the day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers (administrators) too plainly proves a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing us to slavery." -Thomas Jefferson

And concerning the current societal topic in the news of "is it time for revolution in America?", here is a brief, familiar excerpt from one of the letters sent from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, dated August 24, 1815 (yet we know that the two Founders were well aware that posterity would read their sentiments--after years of not speaking, the letters gave them a chance to re-envision their past actions and justify their original intentions! Some say that Adams was against Illuminati influence in America, while Jefferson was for it which may have been at the base of the break in their earlier friendship):

"What do we mean by Revolution? The war? That was no part of the revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1760--1775, in the course of fifteen years, before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington."


Now 2012 Cometh

Is it possible that The Awakening of 2012, if indeed it occurs, relates to a similar "revolution in the minds of the people"? Well, astrologers have been tracking the ongoing Cardinal Grand Cross of planets which began in Spring 2010 with its generational squares between Saturn/Pluto, and Uranus/Pluto, for example, with both combinations bringing frustration, hardship, cruelty, and revolt across the face of the planet--and now in America (ex: Occupy Wall Street protests in NYC and elsewhere.)

Then there is a Sabian Symbol that obviously applies to our topic: '30 Cancer' = "A Daughter of the American Revolution" which Dane Rudhyar explains as:

"Keynote: The prestige and conservatism of a long-maintained heritage.

Here we have a symbol of the proud preservation of socio-cultural values in tradition. After several generations the ancestor who was perhaps a violent revolutionist or rabble-rouser--or even a fugitive from justice--acquires a halo of respectability. fThe tradition that once was born of revolution now extols "law and order", attempting to suppress any new forms of the revolutionary spirit."

(This symbol refers) "...mainly to the consolidation and concretization of life urges within a stable form of organization. In many instances the scenes presented picture social activities or events, yet at this stage it is the individual person and the problems attendant upon his development that are primarily considered."

('30Can' is) "...an example of what occurs when the individual chooses a path which totally embodies and glorifies tradition, a past which ends in a GLORIFICATION OF THE PAST."

Might it be possible to gage a time frame in which another of what John Adams described as a "revolution in the minds of the people" might have begun?

Well, if I had to hazard an astrological guess, an obvious choice of time frames would have to be the Solar Eclipse of July 22, 2009 @ a critical-crisis degree of 29Can27--rounded up, it's the DAR degree of '30 Cancer'. This points to the extreme opposition of the GOP and the Tea Party (and their secretive backers) to the presidency and person of Barack Obama which is ongoing, and if anything, more virulent as his term goes on.

You may wish to click to view the July 2009 Eclipse horoscope which contains many correlations to current transits and to US natal placements--even Inaugural Moon 2009 shows up. Then click to enlarge the chart and read additional notes--you'll see that Venus is @ 18Gem, the Venus Transit degree that occurred during the G-20 Summit on Sea Island, Georgia in June 2004--and it looks as if Putin will be re-joining the old gang of bosses again soon as Russia's president deja-vu.


John Adams A-Rollin' in His Grave

No, the 'mental revolution' and physical revolts are not only for opposing President Obama (the black fellow inhabiting the White House) as evidenced by the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2011 and push backs against austerity measures in Wisconsin and elsewhere--with more revolts to come. For the July 2009 eclipse (11 South Saros Series) is the "systems fail, new methods are needed" eclipse which was part of the bankster-induced financial crisis as the president instituted initiatives to "reform" Wall Street which kinda-sorta helped Main Street but has done little to create jobs for we-the-people.

For jobs creation, Mr. Obama's initiatives need the financial and corporate industries to cooperate with the program in a communal spirit but as we've seen, they're not about to do that unless and until they are made to pay taxes to help support this nation. And most corporations don't seem at all interested in preserving American traditions, do they?


For more on similar themes such as 2012 and secretive, strange political bedfellows, try the Venus Occultation of June 5, 2012, another marker of change in the way modern America does things and which will probably not 'glorify past traditions' but toss them over on behalf of a new system.

Charles Koch to Economist Hayek: "Use Social Security"!

Well, the following article is so fascinating, its link just had to be posted here to read any time I start to forget what total hypocrites all anti-social-program conservatives are whether they call themselves Republican, Libertarian, Tea Party, or what-have-you--even *DINOs.

Letters have been outed from 1973 with Charles Koch (a Koch Industries brother and Tea Party backer) writing to famed laissez-faire economist Friedrich Hayek encouraging him to "use Social Security to support his medical needs. Hayek had taught in the US and paid into our SS system for ten years so Koch assured him he was entitled to what Koch and his ilk now like to call an "entitlement program."

You see, the professor had had some gall bladder surgery in Austria and feared "falling ill away from home" if he returned to the US to pontificate his economic theories.

But not to fear! For America's excellent Social Security insurance program came to Hayek's rescue!!

Personally, I think America's so-called "Ponzi scheme" should have been given a satin cape years ago. Besides--a Ponzi scheme isn't much of a Ponzi scheme unless and until it's stopped, at which time it collapses from its own weight--precisely the aim of the GOP and those such as the Koch Brothers who are determined that Wall Street get its greedy claws on the money while crashing our nation in the process.

And then, who can forget those halcyon days of 'President' George Bush schlepping round the country (on the tax payers' dime) peddling his disengenuous sales pitch about privatizing Social Security? Yet alas, his thin arguments didn't go over very well, did they? And though they've been fairly well shushed on the matter for now, GOP schemers continue to parrot the "SS is bankrupt" slogan whenever they feel so moved.

Now as you know, Dubya considers not privatizing the program that has made such a difference in millions of American lives (and in the lives of the odd foreigner, as we learn above) to be the "biggest failure" of his presidency--not invading the Holy Land, not bombing women and children, nor cynically sending US troops overseas to grab and guard US oil interests and fatten power elite portfolios--not even dooming America and the world to the misery of perpetual war--but to not handing SS monies on a golden platter to his Wall Street backers as the bankers who run the US government insisted.

So here's the Worst President in US History now, if you can stomach a re-listen of his attempt to sell us bank bailouts and TARP. But what he's actually doing is summing up the financials of his disastrous 8-year presidency::



Funny that the much-touted and obsessive conservative fear of "socialism" from the Obama administration ignores a key astrological factor concerning George Bush's natal chart which has always seemed very telling to me about Bush's hidden character--the Sabian Symbol (8 Leo) for his natal Ascendant (his nibs himself) is: "A Bolshevik Propagandist."

Or, as Dane Rudhyar gives the degree--and to me it seems to apply perfectly to Bush's 'Privatize SS You Suckers' Tour:

"A Communist Activist Spreading His Revolutionary Ideals"...

'Keynote: The emotional and ideological attempt to return to a state of non-differentiation and chaos as a prelude to a new type of order.'

(That would be Poppy Bush's 'New World Order' heralded by his Desert Storm invasion.)


Rudhyar expands on 8 Leo: "...ideally it could show how the vision of a cosmic order might heal the potential conflict between an obsolete Establishment and its youthful challengers. But reality today presents a more cruel picture of CATABOLIC ACTION.

...and one witnesses a struggle for personal and dictatorial power."


I'm not kidding--you can't make this stuff up!

~:~

*Democrats In Name Only, and close cousins of RINOs.

The first Symbol is from Marc Edmund Jones' The Sabian Symbols in Astrology; Rudhyar's book, An Astrological Mandala.

Occupy Wall Street Protests: Corralling the Bull (video)

It's been a busy couple of weeks here and since I'm feeling remiss for not blogging about the Occupy Wall Street protests that have been going on since Saturday September 17 in Zuccotti Park, NYC, here are two video reports on the situation.

It makes me proud to say that several hundred+ Americans are acting on their principles and though it's become quite novel these days for justice to triumph in America, it's way past time that the Bailouts of Big Banks become Jailouts.




Arrests and police brutality accompanied their peaceful demonstrations...and NY police 'corralled the Wall Street Bull'--to protect the statue from peaceful protestors, Americans to whom the sculptor Di Modica dedicated the beastly statue when it was installed in the middle of Broad Street on December 15, 1989!

How tragic that no one in authority has corralled the financial crooks of Wall Street to protect us from their bull.



And how interesting that the Pre-Natal Eclipse Series of the Bull's installation on December 15, 1989 is the 9 New South which repeated @ 19Virgo (not too far from US natal Neptune 22Vir25--Virgo, sign of Work and Employment) on *September 11, 2007 and is one background factor that timed the subprime mess leading to Financial Crash 2008.

9 New South = 'long term worries, paperwork, or communications issues are brought to the surface; a worrying piece of news arrives which may feel fated or karmic; responsibilities with paperwork come home to roost'. (Brady's Predictive Astrology.)

Oh, and another thing: 9 New South is the Pre-Natal Eclipse Series of Fedhead Ben Bernanke and since eclipses are 'wild cards' of the Universe--able to change conditions in a flash--he might have been waiting patiently for that solar card to be laid on Wall Street's table.


~:~

*Horoscope shown; post is sans edits. jc

SEC Shredded Documents; Earthquake Hits DC! 8.23.11

Just a heads-up today about Matt Taibbi's Rolling Stone article on the SEC (the American people's intrepid 'enforcer' against crime and fraud on Wall Street--puh!), shredding documents from their 'investigations' into Wall Street fraud and crime such as the Bernie Madoff case and others.

Also Mr. Taibbi is interviewed by Amy Goodman on today's broadcast of Democracy Now! concerning this matter, if you care for a listen.

An example from the Taibbi-Goodman interview? Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman-Sachs (its stock price drooping) has now retained high-powered legal representation, the same group that defended Enron! Why, you'd think they were in-cahoots pals or something.

Well, 'they' often say, Money Talks. And obviously, Money doesn't mind Lying.

The SEC was created from section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 which was enacted on June 6, 1934. Click for details which include the names of current SEC members, a crew placed on the board in 2008, and with chairperson Mary Schapiro serving since January 27, 2009. It was time for the old Financial Collapse 2008 crowd to clear out after their collusion in The Big Fraud was done.

Two SEC Signature Planets of June 6, 1934

Looking at the transits for June 6, 1934 what pops out on a monetary level is a Venus/Uranus conjunction in early Taurus, a money sign with a negative side of greed and intolerance.

System buster Uranus is @ 00Tau00, in fact, the so-called 'Hitler degree' of violence (Adolf's natal Sun degree; looking back at that time we can see that he tended to act aggressively whenever his natal Sun (ego; hero's journey) was triggered (and other times, too, of course) so because we're talking about 1934, this is a transit of Uranus to Hitler's natal Sun, a time of sudden changes of direction toward a new identity (his rise to power and dictatorship.) There is also an inability to accept restriction or rejection with Uranus to n Sun, and he certainly resembles that remark.

So what of the Venus/Uranus imprint of 1934 upon the SEC's DNA, circa 2011?

Events of the 1930s era and their results attest to the following potentials for Venus/Uranus if one cares to remember or search them out, and certainly the hard aspect between the revolutionary pair, Uranus and Pluto, then as now, was very active (then as now.)

Under Politics and Business, here is a paraphrase of what Michael Munkasey says about the Venus/Uranus combination of planetary energies in his excellent book Midpoints: Unleashing the Power of the Planets:

Thesis: a treasury showing unexpected rises and falls in its valuation; a strange appreciation for financial assets or planning; rulers who use unusual means to develop available plant or tree resources.

Antithesis: a ruling body unable to cope with sudden infusions or lacks of financial resources; distinctive settings are suddenly exploited for development; unpredictable vanity shown by leaders or executives.

~:~

Washington DC Quake Alert!

At 1:52 pm edt, during today's Thom Hartmann broadcast now on my TV, an earthquake shook the building. The White House and other buildings in the District are being evacuated, and Charlottesville, VA is cited as the quake's epicenter. Thom, whose program is based in Washington DC (and has remained on-air) in an old brick building, further states that he felt the building shake yesterday (8.22.11.) Today, Thom's microphone and the set's background could be seen moving.

Charlottesville in near Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Hmm.

Shrinking the US economy IS the point! (video)

The president's deficit commission and the actions of the Fed, Wall Street, corporate America and others are focused on shrinking the US economy and hurting labor so that power elite fatcats can continue skimming trillions a little while longer even though they know the jig is up.

Today Timothy Geithner sang and danced on Capitol Hill trying to boost the idea that the TARP (black hole) did what it was supposed to do. Perhaps it did but was any of it paid out on behalf of the American people?

Now here we have Professor Michael Hudson (University of Missouri) offering his assessment of what's going on and why as the Fed's 'quantitative easing' sends more US billions abroad to purchase foreign stocks and assets. With so many connections between the White House and Wall Street (Goldman Sachs) it seems a no-brainer to me that the president had to know what he knew when he knew it - about the true financial condition of the US and what his bosses expected from him as he played the role of president 'going forward'.

Puts me in mind of the Inauguration 2009 horoscope that glorious January day full of Hope for Change (suckas! the ruse works every 4 years!) with moneybags Jupiter '3AQ' in 10th house next to the president (Sun '1AQ'.)

Dane Rudhyar gives '3AQ' as DESOCIALIZATION. Don't know about you, but as an American, I'm feeling quite desocialized by my own sorry, traitorous government right about now as our social fabric - what used to be a contract between the generations - is 'under scrutiny' and in line for being ripped apart by Catfood Commissions, party politics, secret deals, and in-cahoots presidents.

Yes, the world's financial party has been sent elsewhere (watch the above 10-minute video) like a rave though most Americans refuse to admit such things if they can see them at all. However, it will be impossible to ignore such new perspectives much longer.

And Inauguration 2009's Midheaven, the goal/aspiration point of the Obama administration? Besides having US natal Pluto upon it, there's a disturbing midpoint picture: Pluto/Chiron = Mc.

Deja-vu: the Lehman Brothers collapse 2008 - 2010

September 15, 2010: it's been two years since the stupid mistake was made to let the venerable Lehman Brothers firm crash into bankruptcy. This morning NPR did a 4 minute interview with Peter Chapman who's written a book on the subject. The interview is worth a listen, if you missed it.

Now here's a post I wrote in September 2008 which details, among other things, the Lehman Brothers crisis of 1984, a study in financial deja-vu that came to pass in 2008. What? Well, you know what I mean.

And here are my blabbings in honor of last year's 1st anniversary of the firm's bankruptcy filing with a little Astrology tossed in to the brew. President Obama remarked upon the situation to mark the 1st anniversary.

Then in March 2010 Lehman Brothers was in the news again.

In hindsight, some objects may be larger than they appear.

Financial Reform Bill signed

President Obama signed into law today his Financial Reform Bill @ 11:48 am edt White House, DC; Hour of Mars; chart-ruler Venus 12Vir25 is in 12th house and makes one major applying aspect (how things will proceed): a square with the Moon (the people); US natal Saturn 14Lib48 is our first natal planet to rise.

Here you see the Horoscope of the Financial Reform Bill signing, aka 'Wall Street Reform' (and thus this horoscope is the natal chart of the bill itself) but we'll have to keep the Wall Street potential for ethics improvement in mind as things go forward:



With separative South Node of the Moon at Mc (The Goal Point), Fixed Star Alhena (to have a mission) at Mc, and the above-mentioned Moon/Venus square, I don't expect the bill to garner much support from the American people especially with the constant and tiresome undermining from the opposing political party whose determination to cause Obama's failure as President affects America the Nation's failing or succeeding as well.

A good point is that the housing market may receive a boost from having NN at IC, the cusp of Home, Domestic Scene, and Real Estate. Yet there is lurking Pluto 3Cap28 Rx in the neighborhood (3rd house) focal planet in a midpoint picture:

Uranus/ASC = Pluto: use of force; a desire to attain success even under the most difficult circumstances; commanding success. There's a midpoint of energies opposing Mercury 20Leo55, planet of contracts and such...the combo = radical reforms; reformist policital groups.

Uranus/NN = Mercury: studying deeply before effecting change; a quick comprehension of things; excited thoughts shared with others; fast-traveling news; criticizing others. (Tyl; Ebertin; Munkasey; any, all, or none may apply.)

Another picture of interest: Mercury/Mc = Sun: further change.

If you count the ASC and MC, there's a Cardinal Grand Cross with the big bankster duo, Jupiter and Pluto which are squared to the degree (3Ari/Cap.)

A YOD between Sun/Saturn (sextiling one another still but just barely since Saturn changed signs) was pointing to an apex Neptune but now points to a crisis-ridden 29th degree: Chiron 29AQ57 Rx in 5th house of Gambling and Speculation.

And as you see, the ongoing opposition of wealthy, secretive Pluto to US natal Venus is on the Mc/Ic axis, the security/career axis - not a good portent for the signing, imho, yet it is one of the many reasons that reform is necessary.

SN at Mc has this Sabian Symbol: '12Can' = "A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby with a Message" - and you know, this isn't the first time in recent weeks that a reference to China turned up in a US mundane chart, for obvious reasons: China is our #1 creditor, and Pluto the Dragon echoes China's national and traditional archetype of The Dragon. So, the Dragon it is, opposing our evaluating Venus, one of the money planets. Our n Jupiter is within orb of Pluto's opposition, too. Double dip recession?

(Also, Venus is a significator of our Statue of Liberty made of her favorite metal, copper, which today was evacuated for supposedly an incorrect smoke detector reading. None were hurt, I believe, except for the long stair hike down. Hmm...)

Sun (the leader) 28Can47 in 10th house, a bright and shiny place, yet Sun opposes US natal Pluto (in the 4th house of this chart' US natal planets are scribbled outside the chart in red) which indicates that others will firmly stand in one's way when trying to get to the bottom of things. If this bill is a power play, it won't work as far as secret hand Pluto is concerned. As a power move against the American people, it will be blocked or resisted but is now on track to be ruthlessly forced upon us, unintended consequences, or no.

Additionally with Sun opposing our national Pluto, others may be jealous or intimidated by the events of the day, by the power wielded by the President.

Be that as it may or may not be, today Mr. Obama got to play boss and sign another large piece of legislation - and the DOW closed down this afternoon 109 points.

Perhaps Wall Street is pouting. Someone is trying to take away their red truck and they only have 1,000-gazillion-bazillion blue ones, boo hoo.

Plus, there are interesting items tucked into the new reform bill (one concerns Jim McDermott's 'conflict mineral' provision) and many specifics are not yet written - guess they're still in the 'vision' stage - but not to fret. For hordes of lobbyists are already on Capitol Hill and working to sway how the specifics are written in favor of the financial, real estate, and insurance industries.

Meanwhile, the careless-with-oversight ratings agencies (S&P, Moody's, and Fitch) are up to shenanigans, too, concerning the bond markets. Seems they're afraid they could get themselves sued. Oh really? Integrity in one's business doesn't often lead to getting sued, my financial friends! Oh ye Ponzi-enablers!

Oh, and transiting Saturn 00Lib00 conjoins US natal Mc 00:53 in the Sibly chart, and opposes more closely tr Uranus 00Ari29 Rx, both planets now in Cardinal (active, outgoing energy.) Jupiter 3Ari24 Rx travels in tandem with Hermes, one of trickster archetypes...aka, the magician or alchemist.

Speaking of alchemy, I wonder if anyone has spotted in the bill provisions that concern gold or the gold market? Plus, tr Midas 8Gem53 (conjunct US n Uranus 8:55) and Pan, another trickster element with a 'panic' vibe @ 7Gem43 - both opposing the people's Moon in Sagittarius.

So please click to enlarge the image for more details, consider this horoscope and the situation as you will, and get back to me with a comment, if you may, because LINK TV is rebroadcasting Orwell Rolls in His Grave right now, a documentary about media being part of the problem rather than being the public watchdogs that Thomas Jefferson thought they'd always be on behalf of the American people.

But instead, the mainstream media obfuscates issues, focuses on trivial stories, and blurs the line between news and entertainment. Is the future of this nation and our children's futures only 'entertainment'?!? (See link below for news of real value with no fluff; check local listings for regional times. In edt, Amy Goodman broadcasts at 11:00 am weekdays.)

All these class warfare 'players' are part of a global crime syndicate, and have weakened our democracy over decades. And I fear that we haven't held on to our republic very well either.

DemocracyNow!


President Obama's remarks at signing ceremony July 21, 2010:

Over the past two years, we have faced the worst recession since the Great Depression. Eight million people lost their jobs. Tens of millions saw the value of their homes and retirement savings plummet. Countless businesses have been unable to get the loans they need and many have been forced to shut their doors. And although the economy is growing again, too many people are still feeling the pain of the downturn.

Now, while a number of factors led to such a severe recession, the primary cause was a breakdown in our financial system. It was a crisis born of a failure of responsibility from certain corners of Wall Street to the halls of power in Washington. For years, our financial sector was governed by antiquated and poorly enforced rules that allowed some to game the system and take risks that endangered the entire economy.


Unscrupulous lenders locked consumers into complex loans with hidden costs. Firms like AIG placed massive, risky bets with borrowed money. And while the rules left abuse and excess unchecked, they also left taxpayers on the hook if a big bank or financial institution ever failed.

Now, even before the crisis hit, I went to Wall Street and I called for common-sense reforms to protect consumers and our economy as a whole. And soon after taking office, I proposed a set of reforms to empower consumers and investors, to bring the shadowy deals that caused this crisis into the light of day, and to put a stop to taxpayer bailouts once and for all. (Applause.) Today, thanks to a lot of people in this room, those reforms will become the law of the land.


Passing this bill was no easy task. To get there, we had to overcome the furious lobbying of an array of powerful interest groups and a partisan minority determined to block change. So the members who are here today, both on the stage and in the audience, they have done a great service in devoting so much time and expertise to this effort, to looking out for the public interests and not the special interests. (Applause.) And I also want to thank the three Republican senators who put partisanship aside -- (applause) -- judged this bill on the merits, and voted for reform. We’re grateful to them. (Applause.) And the Republican House members. (Applause.) Good to see you, Joe. (Applause.)

Now, let’s put this in perspective. The fact is, the financial industry is central to our nation’s ability to grow, to prosper, to compete and to innovate. There are a lot of banks that understand and fulfill this vital role, and there are a whole lot of bankers who want to do right -- and do right -- by their customers. This reform will help foster innovation, not hamper it. It is designed to make sure that everybody follows the same set of rules, so that firms compete on price and quality, not on tricks and not on traps.

With this law, we’ll crack down on abusive practices in the mortgage industry. We’ll make sure that contracts are simpler -– putting an end to many hidden penalties and fees in complex mortgages -– so folks know what they’re signing.

With this law, students who take out college loans will be provided clear and concise information about their obligations.

And with this law, ordinary investors -– like seniors and folks saving for retirement –- will be able to receive more information about the costs and risks of mutual funds and other investment products, so that they can make better financial decisions as to what will work for them.

So, all told, these reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history. (Applause.) In history. And these protections will be enforced by a new consumer watchdog with just one job: looking out for people -– not big banks, not lenders, not investment houses -– looking out for people as they interact with the financial system.

In the end, our financial system only works –- our market is only free –- when there are clear rules and basic safeguards that prevent abuse, that check excess, that ensure that it is more profitable to play by the rules than to game the system. And that’s what these reforms are designed to achieve -- no more, no less. Because that’s how we will ensure that our economy works for consumers, that it works for investors, that it works for financial institutions -– that it works for all of us.

This is the central lesson not only of this crisis but of our history. Ultimately, there’s no dividing line between Main Street and Wall Street. We rise or fall together as one nation. So these reforms will help lift our economy and lead all of us to a stronger, more prosperous future.

Who pays for Wall Street's 'mistakes'?

You know I really like Dean Baker's idea about Making Wall Street Pay, don't you?

I mean, really.

Of Econo-Bubbles and Quants

Hannah's Blog has been brought to my attention today by Alex D'Atria by way of an article on quants, the not-so-endearing nickname for the 'brainiac financial whizzes' who thought up derivatives and other destructive financial instruments, and how Pop goes Wall Street - The Balloon Economy is Designed to Fail, if you're up for it.

Alex's website Modern Astrology is available for you as well, so Why are you still here? as Ferris said...move along now!

Big Banks' impressive profits abracadabra-esque

Recent 'impressive' profit reports seemed more than a little abracadabra-esque to me and it turns out that (for once) I called it: the big banks' rosy profit numbers have a sorcerer's apprentice quality to them.

But you suspected this, didn't you? And the book-cooking and report-padding continue...

Madoff trial distracts while Ponzi schemes go on

How Bernie did it is beginning to surface. Madoff's former right-hand man Frank DiPascali is angling for a reduced sentence in exchange for singing like a canary naming names.

Meanwhile, some people think the Madoff trial is a distraction from Wall Street's basic Ponzi scheme (which it is) and that they should Free Bernie Madoff Now!


And for you, here are a few astrological notes on Bernard Madoff's natal chart, if you're interested in the bugger.

Econo-Crisis article round-up - with pithiness in between

For a weekend plethora of articles you may not find better than the following list if you're up for econo-crisis/financial collapse/government-and-banking fraud issues and what to do about them.

Apologies, but I couldn't refrain from tucking pithy comments in between each one...but I don't believe I've ever heisted any money from you, so perhaps you might forgive me my pithiness eventually, yes?


"Liquidate the Banks; Fire the Executives!"

By Mike Whitney

While Congress approved a mere $700 billion in emergency funding for the TARP, Geithner and Bernanke deftly sidestepped the public opposition to more bailouts and shoveled another $3.3 trillion through the back door via loans and leverage for crappy mortgage paper that will never regain its value. #

(It was crappy to begin with. -jc)


A Plea To President Obama: Don't Bankrupt America

By Sarah van Gelder

President Obama's massive giveaway to Wall Street threatens to bankrupt the federal government and undermine the agenda that got him elected. Here are some first steps needed to change course. #

(Too late - the NWO deed is accomplished, for the most part. -jc)


The Looting of America

By Barry Grey

The New York Times on Thursday published a front-page article that provides further insight into the economic and class interests that are being served by the Obama administration's economic "recovery" policies. #

(Pluto-Chiron = plutocracy; oppression; class warfare; corporatism and any other ism you'd care to name including fascism, racism, militarism, and imperialism; disenfranchisement; primal violence, etc. America's natal Pluto-Chiron midpoint at '9 Pisces' is conjunct her natal Ceres, asteroid of nurturing and security, which worked well to some degree with plutocrats running the middle class show - and vastly enriching themselves - until the jig was up at the New Millennium...


and now everyone - even the myopic among us who can't be bothered with ugly old Politics - can see its tendrils curling around the foreclosed-upon porch steps...

Pluto and Chiron had their Great Conjunction on Dec 30, 1999 - upon US natal Ascendant (Sibly chart = ASC '12 Sag') - and were in parallel mid-August 2004.

'12Sag' is also transiting Pluto's position on the morning of 9.11 (opposite Saturn on US Descendant.) And Dick Cheney's Secondary Progressed Pluto-Chiron midpoint was sitting upon his Progr'd MC (The Goal) on the morning of 9.11.01 - but you really must view his Progr'd chart for 9.11.01 to appreciate its aptness. -jc) Thanks for the heads-up, Anonymous - Cheney link should be de-typo'd now.


Revive Lincoln's Monetary Policy

By Ellen Brown

The bankers had Lincoln's government over a barrel, just as Wall Street has Congress in its vice-like grip today. #

(So Lincoln monkeyed with the central banking system's gravy train and we know where it led our 16th president one dark night: Ford's Theater and a death bed. -jc)


Howard Zinn on Class in America: Video Interview

"In the United States we are really brought up to think there's only really one class. That is, the idea of class conflict, class struggle, that is foreign to American culture." says Zinn. "We're brought up to think that we're part of one big happy family," according to Zinn this is simply a perpetuated lie that contradicts the reality that a large percentage of the population doesn't fit in to this happy family model. #


(Isn't that what governments are for - perpetuating lies? Which doesn't make it right. It makes it perhaps more wrong because their lies and frauds adversely affect - and rob - millions of people. But they think they're above all that lower class 'following laws' nonsense! -jc)

Okay, I'll hush for now about all this ugliness. It IS ugly, I agree.

Yet tomorrow morning is a new day and I shall leap up jubilantly because, as I hope you already know...He is risen!

Quotes from 1929 - 1931 and a little Astrology

Great Depression Quotes 1929 vs 2008: Have We Learned Anything? is a fascinating list of headlines and quotes from 1929 to 1931 replete with parallels to the 2008 Bail Out Bill of Hank Paulson and his political enabler, George Bush.

The information contained here makes tarring George Bush with the Herbert Hoover brush a natural thing to do, and you'll especially love the full spectrum of optimistic 'expert' remarks with mainstream media's well-timed cheer leading attempts to manufacture consent for bailing out...wait for it...Wall Street.

So have I personally learned anything from the list of quotes?

Oh Yes. I learned that the culprits and heisters of 2008 lifted their scripts almost word-for-word and their stage directions from what their predecessors said and did in Hoover's day even while propagandizing that the current meltdown "isn't the Great Depression"!

And of course they knew what they were doing, all wide-eyed and innocent - with Bernanke an admitted student - 'expert' - of the Great Depression.

So if you read, read to the last entry where the New World Cooperation propaganda rears its Gorgon head...July 12, 1931.

We now know the monster as the New World Economic Order, or NWO for short.

After all, it's been the knitting together of national economies in the last decades that has made a world economic crash possible.

Bwa ha ha...the better to rule you with, m'dear.


Now For A Little Astrology:

Checking the chart for July 31, 1931, noon, Manhattan, NYC, NY to get a little flavor of the times, we see Sun 19Can20 conj Pluto 20Can24 (critical degree '20Can' is Pluto's heliocentric North Node degree, an excessively powerful point in the zodiac and often involved when power plays are afoot.)

Opposite, also at critical degree, is Saturn 20Cap01 Rx which forms two Cardinal T-square patterns with Uranus 19Ari18 at apex, the outlet for this enormous energy.

Here are their midpoint pictures with the usual 'all, any, or none' limitation:

Sun-Saturn = Uranus: fluctuations; unusual circumstances; crises; imprisonment; separation; mourning; nervousness; inhibitions; a clash between the old, established ways of doing things and the new.

Saturn-Pluto = Uranus: brutal efforts to start a new order; an attack, regardless of potential losses; an ability to make sudden decisions in the most difficult circumstances; sudden acts of violence. (Tyl; Ebertin.)

As apex (focal) planet in a Cardinal T-square, Uranus acts as social catalyst, a role 'it' was born to play. (Uranus, or Ouronos, = a place, not a 'he' at all, but the sky.)

This catalyzing action is on behalf of collective reform and general social progress with radical disruption of Saturn's status quo the goal. (And Saturn is strong in his own sign of Capricorn.)

There is a strong urge to break down and shatter whatever impedes this 'progress' toward new ideals. This can be the social misfit that is purposefully out-of-tune with the established order of the environment.

Or, acting as radical reformer political groups, this is the law-unto-oneself type of entity where the will is defensively detached from all outer considerations. (How else can they cause misery of the masses and still look at themselves in the mirror?)

Highly intuitive, this apex Uranus uses insights with others to expose human frailties to themselves in a manner that compels them to radically alter their lifestyles. (Now there's a pretty good description of the effects of a staged economic meltdown - and with much media assistance ad nauseum.)

Positively, an apex Uranus can represent a social visionary with a charismatic power able to liberate mass consciousness from obsolete collective patterns of expression. (It took FDR's charisma for that. Hoover had none.)

The Cardinal (outgoing, initiating energy) quality of the T-square refines the apex Uranus to the role of a self-proclaimed social activist and head crusader for some current group cause or mass movement.

Abruptness may tend to alienate or intimidate those upon whom reforms fall. This reformer is prone toward excitement, vigor, and a straightforward approach yet too-sudden moves may appear illogically inconsistent and contrary to plans that are already set in motion.

Yet with staid Saturn involved, a measure of restraint and self-control is evident - yet there is danger of a build-up of active, compressed pressure which eventually must vent itself with an authoritarian flavor.

Inaugurating sweeping social changes was on the agenda in 1931, but within existing social structures. And the radicals' need for ultimate power and control are marked by the presence of both Saturn and Pluto.

The New Millennium has timed the breakdown of 'existing social structures' with 9/11's Saturn-Pluto opposition conjunct America's ASC/DESC axis (16 The Tower in the Tarot deck), and now with the manufactured meltdown of the economic crisis of 2008+.

Plus, on May 28, 2000, the Great Conjunction of Jupiter (expansion) and Saturn (restriction), the two social planets that affect financial cycles at their core, was very important in the scheme of things, so naturally I noticed that wounded and wounding Chiron on July 12, 1931 was conj the Jupiter-Saturn 2000 Conj degree...

'23Taurus'..."A Jewelry Shop Filled with the Most Magnificent Jewels" which has associations with greed, theft, loot, and rewards.

Yes, Republicans (Jupiter) and Democrats (Saturn) had a big planning session in May-June 2000 as they looked toward their shared millennial goals.

And now, by the trillions, jewels of wealth and ultimate power are falling into certain elite laps - just as they envisioned so long ago. Quite a pay-off!

~:~

Apex Uranus details: Dynamics of Aspect Analysis, Bil Tierney.

G20 was part of new order script

The G-20 Washout

By Mike Whitney

The financial crisis is being used by Wall Street big-wigs to restructure the economy and create a permanent class of working poor.

~:~

Yes, that's what many of us have been saying. And Congress is in on the game so they're no help.

Is there no one who cares for the common good?



Recommended: The August Review.

FDR, the Great Depression + New Moon in Scorpio

Well, it's always been lore in the media that everything was made all better by Roosevelt's taking on the collapsed economy, and we could say FDR tried, if we wanted to be generous to his hallowed memory.

Will we say the same about Great Depression 'expert' Ben Bernanke before he's done with his, Paulson's, Cheney's, and Bush's interventions?

FDR's interventions prolonged the Great Depression by seven years, says a report released August 10, 2004.

This date is of special interest because mid-August 2004 saw the parallel of guardian-of-the-riches Pluto with Chiron, synchronizing this plutocracy-corporatism-fascism pair - they had conjoined on Dec 30, 1999 to help usher in the New (sucky) Millennium, as you remember.

So obviously Wednesday, Oct 29 is the 79th 'anniversary' of the Crash of Oct 29, 1929, 'Black Tuesday' which means that our current '6 Scorpio' New Moon is close to being a Solar Return for the 1929 crash.

New Moons herald new beginnings and Scorpio is the sign of big business, money, spying, and hidden things.

So let's shine a tiny little flashlight on these hidden things bwo Astrology, shall we? Just a teenchy one using word pictures.

'6Sco"..."A Gold Rush" seems quite appropriate after the DOW closed UP today 889 points (about 11%) so let's see what Marc Edmund Jones, Dane Rudhyar, Lynda Hill, and Adriano Carelli have to say about this degree.

Jones: AMBITION...

pos: instinctive self-dedication to the unseen potentials of everyday existence;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: a lack of practical discrimination and an irresistible desire for easy money.

Rudhyar: "The Gold Rush Tears Men Away From Their Native Soil"...

Keynote: The passionate search for new values which, at any level, promise a more abundant life. AVIDITY.

Hill: ~same image~

Keywords: 'having a cause or a mission to pursue; pilgrimages; the search for riches; immigration and migration; listening to clues; the search for the Holy Grail; pursuing a better life;

The Caution: being unrealistic or opportunistic; chasing the impossible dream; not being content with what one's got; the grass being greener elsewhere; lusting after rewards that may be unreal or transitory; risking what one has for what one could have; a wild goose chase.'

Carelli gives no word picture for this degree but the details for '6Sco' may apply: 'a real worker; if the will power can be educated at all, the native's limitation will not preclude success. Ups and downs can be expected in his social status, but if he is liable to fall, he is as well apt to rise again.'

~:~

The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Dr. Marc Edmund Jones
An Astrological Mandala, Dane Rudhyar
360 Degrees of Wisdom, Lynda Hill
The 360 Degrees of the Zodiac, Adriano Carelli

Greed, brought to you by Wall Street. Volatility by...unknown actors from afar...?

~:~

~On a lighter note: freshly-drawn art is available for viewing...a portrait of Astrid is ready if you'd care to snag yourself a brief Art Break.

Full Moon in Gemini Dec 12, 2008

A few details on Dec 12, 2008's Full Moon in Gemini have been added to Jude's Threshold if you'd care to have a peek.

The post directs you to a very interesting Astrology Forum thread concerning Dec 12's Full Moon which occurs the same month as the US Secondary Full Moon - by Progression - on the 4Vir/Pis10 axis which will be America's Christmas gift for 2008 and beyond.

One thing I doubt I've mentioned yet concerning America's Secondary Progressed Mars now gone retrograde at 18Lib+...that on another level it represents Wall Street players, gamblers, and other bankers - it's obvious as can be, no?

Mars itself as an actor in a chart signifies 'young males' so stock traders come under the purview of Mars; Rx can be 'weakened' or 'energy turned inward' (or 'strengthened' at Stationary degree.)

But the interesting tidbits about our Mars Rx are the Sabian Symbols for both '18' and '19 Libra'...in relation to Wall Street and America's rotten banking and insurance industries whose frilly underpants have been hung out to dry for the whole world to see:

'18'..."Two Men Placed Under Arrest";

'19'..."A Gang of Robbers in Hiding."

Is 'spread the wealth' same as socialism?

Charges are mulitplying by McCain and his surrogates that Barack Obama's tax proposals and other economic ideas are 'socialist' in nature.

Well, it's true that the phrase "spread the wealth" never goes over well with the richest class, and I can think of no better reason than this: if spreading or sharing actually occurred, half a million or so of their dollars might be used to feed the hungry, bind the wounds of the ill and dying, and comfort an orphan or a foster child or two.

Why, a factory might be built and a few jobs created - and after the corporate elite worked so hard to ship our jobs overseas, too!

So apparently, if there's one thing a rich man can't stand, it's being his brother's keeper by giving back a little of the largesse he receives through the laws of this great nation and from the sweat of the common worker's brow.

Never mind that a rich man has money and legal reps to avoid paying taxes which he rightly should have been paying all along. Plus, they didn't invent offshore or Swiss bank accounts for nuthin'!

As you know, it was King Midas who turned everything he touched into gold which became a major problem to him because gold isn't everything and people turned into golden statues make poor companions.

Now, lest a rich man think this gnat of a blogger covets his gold, let him rest at ease, for temporary values don't trump (Trump!) eternal values with me - for it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, says Scripture.

And you know that rich men probably think they have that circumvented just as they do with creative accounting tricks, triple sets of books, laws skewed on their behalf against the individual, world banks in cahoots, and Wall Street schemes galore.

But one day when All accounts are settled, we'll have to see about that. We'll all just have to see, won't we?

Wall Street loves a good scam

Professor Thayer Watkins of San Jose University Department of Economics recounts the tale of Equity Funding whose fake insurance policy scams were uncovered by auditors in 1973 causing the company to collapse. And since Wall Street's high assessment of Equity Funding had allowed buyouts of other profitable firms, the dominoes fell.

Yes, Equity Funding became a major success on Wall Street which shows you the company the scalliwags were keeping on both sides. Equity Funding created fake insurance policies early on - no one seems to know exactly when - to inflate their profits for Wall Street's admiration, then they sold them through the reinsurance market.

Stop me if any of this sounds familiar, because it should.

Prof Watkins uses Dirk's and Gross' book, The Great Wall Street Scandal as his source. A quick foray to Amazon shows that this book seems to be available from sellers but is out of print.

The Equity Funding section by Prof Watkins is part of his "Episodes of Financial Fraud and Speculation" which includes an article on the 1924 scandal of counterfeiting in Portugal by Alves Reis, a Keynesian scheme which turned out to have been better for the Portugese economy than the policies of former economics professor, Salazar, who became dictator of the country in 1932.

Another fraudulent epic included is the saga of the Penn State Bank of Oklahoma City and Bill 'Monkeybrains' Patterson which involved the oil and gas industries of OK and TX. Now I know that we're not supposed to mess with Texas (and as a rule, I don't), but apparently certain folks in Texas were cleared to mess with us a long time ago.

In summary, Prof Watkins provides some interesting reading here if you're in the mood for how fraud is perpetrated by the 'experts' which makes a perfect companion to the Fed's slight-of-hand today, esp if you click on some of the other links in the History category on the Home Page - ex: I highly recommend his article on the causes of the Great Depression and the Fed's blame due to their actions which precipitated the decline in money supply, along with banks hoarding the money, the general populace holding on to cash (sound familiar?), and the liquidationist policy of Treasury secretary Andrew Mellon.

Mellon and his pals thought that the liquidation of 'weak' banks was necessary for the recovery of the banking system.

Now I know we've all heard that before!

~:~

You may also be interested in reading a previous post of 10.8.08, your money is no good here which contains a link to James Cumes' article on the systemic financial collapse we are witnessing.