|
Linda Schurman
Editor and Publisher

Home
Survive
on your own terms
updated 8/13/2007
An extension of resource to complement solutions set forth
in Linda's book "What Next?"
Newsletters
Verse by Linda
____________________
Disclaimer
Personal
Insights:












| |
|
We are
apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth... For my part, I am
willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst; and to provide for
it. .....Patrick Henry
|
|
THE
SOOTHESAYER INTERNET
February 2010
“The end of
democracy, and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when
government falls into the hands of the lending institutions and moneyed
incorporations.”
Thomas Jefferson
America for Sale
The recent ruling by
the Supreme Court is, in my opinion, the worst decision since they
circumvented the Florida voters and brought in the 2000 election for
George W. Bush. Bush’s appointments to The Court have now set the
stage. They have defeated multiple historic laws regulating campaign
finance by allowing unions and corporations, even those owned by foreign
governments (such as Chinese oil and Saudi oil corporations, giant
global hedge funds, etc.) to advertise to their hearts’ content for
individual candidates running for office. The banksters, big pharma,
big oil, giant insurance companies, etc., who populate Washington with
their multiple lobbyists, now have unlimited funds to dominate media
campaigns. Individual people who are embedded in these corporations are
allowed to be invisible and unaccountable. Regular individual
citizens are currently allowed to contribute a maximum of $2300 per
person.
The non-billionaire
population of the USA, many of whom have lost their homes, their jobs,
and their retirements, are moving into becoming inmates, soldiers, and
homeless people living in tents or with their relatives in basements.
No real regulation of Goldman Sachs’ activity, has happened, whose
credit default swaps made big money off AIG who was the counter party
and who were “saved” from bankruptcy by TARP money. In fact, it
recently leaked out that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told AIG to
keep their mouths shut about this deadly transaction.
Pres. Obama, formerly
a professor of constitutional law, is finally and most appropriately
outraged, appearing with Paul Volcker at his side, and promising to
reform the financial system, and pass a law limiting campaign finance.
Even if this law is passed, the Supremes can also declare this a
violation of “freedom of speech”. America’s descent into corporate rule
is demolishing democracy. The fear-mongering is alive and well with the
proposal of full body scanning machines at airports, and the continuance
of absurd wars costing billions of dollars, ruining the lives of our
young military personnel, to supposedly catch a few hundred terrorists.
Pres. Dwight Eisenhower’s words still ring in my ears: “Beware the
military-industrial complex.”
The Haiti Tragedy
In previous
newsletters, I have warned of an escalation of tectonic activity,
including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. The terrible
earthquake in Haiti has highlighted the woes of a nation that was mired
in poverty and deprivation before this disaster. It is forcing us to
look at many years of subjugation and plantation slavery in the early
years and neo-conservative policies of the U.S.A. in more recent years.
This time, Americans are exhibiting their generosity by contributing
money and personal effort to rescue their citizens. Unfortunately, the
Saturn/Pluto square hitting Haiti’s Mars/Saturn square will continue
through August, adding Uranus and Jupiter to form a T-square. The June
26th eclipse conjunct Pluto plays right into this deadly
configuration. All this points to continuing tectonic instability and
increasing crises.
The Economy
Although underlying
weakness is still with us, Jupiter in Pisces sextile Pluto between the 1st
and the 8th, gives some encouraging news. In addition, this
aspect will revive health care reform stimulating Congress to come up
with a more modest set of objectives. It also lends hope that Pres.
Obama will change his direction and begin a process of true economic
reform that includes breaking up the banking monopolies. The election
in Massachusetts was a wake up call to Washington. A new stimulus
package is likely on the way. Pres. Obama has finally stood up in
protest; to the Supreme Court (in his State of the Union speech), to the
Republicans who have presented themselves as the party of obstruction in
all things, and to the Banksters when, with Paul Volker at his side, he
announced his proposals for real and substantial financial regulation.
There are many people
who suspect a “conspiracy” on the part of the rich and powerful to bring
down our nation and control the world economy. My take on this is that
it is simple selfishness and greed magnified in geometric proportion to
their wealth and power that have led the heads of these institutions to
“buy” the government. They are the same groups who have been
deregulating banking, trading, investing, and lending since the early
1980s. I also think that with the current Saturn/Pluto square, combined
with the coming of the Saturn/Uranus/Jupiter opposition between April
and August of this year, we will see before us a battle of the Titans.
The horoscope of the “new” Goldman Sachs is hit extremely hard by these
configurations. We have watched this financial giant manipulate and
gamble with the economy using exotic derivatives and trades, while the
assets and households of millions of the people-at-large went down into
a black hole. The other banking giant, JP Morgan Chase is also a
massive user of derivatives and has certainly played this game. What
many do not know is that they are ancient rivals. Goldman Sachs people
have dominated the Treasury Dept. giving them an inside track, for
years, right into the present with Laurence Summers and protégé, Timothy
Geithner lurking in this administration. Pres. Obama standing up with
Paul Volker, past Treasury Secretary and formerly from JP Morgan Chase
may indicate a sea change and set the stage for the coming battle ahead.
I highly recommend
reading the article by Ellen Brown published on the internet January 28th,
at
www.webofdebt.com/articles. It is entitled “The Battle of the
Titans: JP Morgan vs. Goldman Sachs or Why the Market was down for 7
days in a Row.” She suggests and supports the case for Goldman
manipulating the stock market and basically operating the equivalent of
a “criminal syndicate”. This would also explain why many predictors of
market cycles, including myself, gave up predicting since we observed
the market frequently moving in the opposite direction from facts and
indicators with regard to the economy.
The great financial
“conspirators” are fighting each other tooth and nail. Our government
is at war with itself. The people-at-large are bewildered, feel
forsaken and are getting angry. Between April and August, severe
economic and political consequences will make themselves felt.
Gold has recently
tanked and the dollar has strengthened. There may be a major trend
reversal in March when Mars goes direct and Jupiter is trine and sextile
the nodes.
Wild fluctuations
will be present for some time. Those who buy and hold gold are not in
it to “invest” but to protect themselves in turbulent times. The
mortgage market is still tanking, and banks are still failing throughout
the nation. The “real” unemployment figure is close to 20%. Yet we
hear how the economy is “recovering”. I wonder who they think they are
kidding?
Lunations:
The new moon in
Aquarius on the 14th is conjunct Neptune and Chiron near the
moon in the chart of the U.S.A. This symbolism points to either illusion
or disillusion or both. We also need to be careful with regard to air
travel (Aquarius) due to strange weather conditions. This placement is
in the first house of Pres. Obama, opposes his Uranus and is square his
MC. Could this be when he starts phasing out the bad advisors and
bringing in a better team? We will see. The full moon in Virgo on the
28th could signify a stimulus package to create more jobs and
another push for health care legislation.
Other nations:
We need to get ready
for battles coming up in the Spring. Iran’s current revolution will
escalate in the period between April and August. Both Iraq and
Afghanistan will be coming apart at the seams. Israel will be moving
toward invading someone, possibly Iran, and failed states around the
world will be engaging in civil wars. This month will likely be
comparatively quiet.
Final Thoughts:
My husband and I find
ourselves conversing into the wee hours of the morning about the fate of
humanity and our small part in the trajectory of human history. We are
facing a profound series of crises in economies, climates, resources,
and faith in any future at all. Other periods in earth’s history
resembling this brought about climate extremes that caused many species
to go extinct. Later, new species arose, such as ourselves, who were
more intelligent and more complex. Darwin called this “natural
selection” or as we commonly refer to it: “survival of the fittest”.
Those who could adapt to the new environment lived and those who could
not did not survive.
I think the time has
come for what my husband called “intentional evolution”; an expansion of
consciousness that we choose to embrace, propelling us into a new and
advanced human presence on the planet. It will require courageously
opening ourselves to a less obstructed concept of the universe. It
will demand a heart centered determination to embrace one another and
the miracle of our planet’s having given us life in the first place.
Many of are sensing
that this new resonance and way of being is already here with us. It
calls to us out of the darkest hours and in times when we feel most
lost. Let us be quiet and listen to it together.
Linda
Linda
Linda Schurman
|
|
NOTE: I am proud to
introduce Kathy Spiliotopoulos, a
new contributor to this website, and I dearly hope an ongoing
contributor.... for she has so much to offer. Her first article
"Three
Steps to Achieve Health Care Reform Goals"
is
backed by over thirty years experience as a consultant to both
institutional and health insurance companies. I love her
introductory sentence.....
"The goals to empower
consumers to choose wisely, and pressure insurers, providers and health
care suppliers to deliver high quality economical services can be
achieved."
|
Note: I
welcome all your comments whether they are critical or complimentary.
This site represents astrology as a tool for a deeper understanding of
the themes and issues of our times. This period in which we all live
may be the most critical time for human civilization ever! It is my
wish that we all do our best with whatever talent we have been given, to
further the survival and evolution of life on planet earth!
our email is:
soothesayer@usa.net
|
|
Three Steps
to Achieve Health Care Reform Goals
The goals to empower
consumers to choose wisely, and pressure insurers, providers and health
care suppliers to deliver high quality economical services can be
achieved.
The first step is to
establish a basic set of health care benefits for everyone, perhaps
using the Federal Employee Program as a model. Benefits can be set up in
categories by age ranges, to reflect the care needed at each stage of
life. Implementation requires the cooperation of governors to give up
control over benefit mandates, and instead, to empower their staff to
conduct quality control, fraud and abuse prevention, and health delivery
improvement activities.
Currently, each state
is responsible for determining what benefits must be included in health
insurance policies issued to their residents. The benefit mandates vary
widely. Of course there are ways around them for big business. Large
employers self insure by spreading their risk over a large employee
base, with a customized set of benefits that exclude expensive,
undesirable mandates.
Establishing a uniform
benefit package creates a level playing field with the cost of the
universal mandate spread across everyone: individuals, small
businesses, large corporations, and the government. Establishing a
uniform benefit package supports the worthy goals of health care
reform:
· ▪
Protect consumer choice by
reducing complexity so that consumers know what they are buying and can
compare “apples to apples”
· ▪
Improve quality and coverage
by shifting states’ focus from mandating benefit mandates to assuring
quality and accessibility of care.
· ▪
Lower costs and thus insurance
premiums by reducing the complexity from 50 sets of benefit mandates to
a single set. The proposed “health insurance exchange” would cost less
to implement, supporting comparison of health insurance options
nationwide, instead of state by state.
The second step is to
establish uniform provider reimbursement methodologies that are
auditable to reduce fraud and waste, and that provide incentives for
outstanding performance centering around quality of care. There is no
other industry to my knowledge that has a more complicated way of
determining how to bill for their services than do health care
providers. Each third party payer, including insurance companies, the
federal government and state governments set payment methods and rates
they are willing to pay providers. Arrangements can be based on a fee
schedule, a per day allowance, a set fee by diagnosis, or capitation
whereby a fee is paid for each covered patient for a basic set of
services or for the entire care of the patient. Establishing uniform
reimbursement methodologies will dramatically cut administrative costs,
especially for providers.
Quality performance
expectations and guidelines for providers should be established as
benchmarks. Credentialing of health care providers should be included.
Providers who do not meet quality benchmarks can be retrained and/or
culled from the system, which sets the stage for torte reform. Tracking
performance and providing nationwide comparisons against standards in an
understandable format enhances consumer choice.
Other components of
the health care system contribute significant costs, and add
complexity. These include drug producers, pharmacies, laboratories,
durable medical equipment and medical supplies producers and
distributors. They also need to be included in the universal benefits
package, have accountable reimbursement methodologies, and quality
standards.
Primary responsibility
for quality control should be at the state level. The federal
government could provide grants for demonstration projects that increase
quality, reduce fraud and abuse and support sharing of best practices.
This will support the goals of reducing costs and improving quality.
The third step is to
reduce the number of federal health care programs. For example, why not
merge Medicare and Champus into the Federal Employee Program? Health
care benefits, claims and service could be differentiated if necessary
for each group of covered members so that federal employees, the elderly
and those servicing in Uniformed Services received appropriate coverage
and service. Three large bureaucracies could be reduced to one, saving
an enormous amount of money, and shrinking the government a little.
Achieving health care
reform goals requires a unified, realistic effort among all of the
participants in the health care system. Politicians at the state and
federal level must work together to simplify our overly complicated
system. If this miracle occurs, we will have great hope that “care” will
actually become the focus of our health care system.
* * * * *
About the Author:
Kathy Spiliotopoulos
has spent more than three decades consulting to the health care
industry, both to institutional providers and health insurance
companies. Her efforts have resulted in administrative cost reductions
and improved service, saving her clients collectively hundreds of
millions of dollars. Ms. Spiliotopoulos consults independently through
her company Nestor Advisory Services, and earlier in her career was a
consultant with Booz Allen and with Touche Ross, now Deloitte-Touche.
|
|
|
|
At long last,
my book “What Next? A Survival Guide to the 21st Century” is
in print. It is on sale on through my publisher.....

Click
here to
buy
I have been
working steadily on this publication for nearly four years. The
research I have done has been a “wake-up call” for me as I have tracked
the historic trajectories that have led us to where we are now: at the
critical point of choosing either extinction or illumination.
However, I am
greatly encouraged at discovering that many people are developing new
and innovative technologies that can solve the coming energy crises and
are conceiving of new, more egalitarian economic systems and societal
transformations. These pioneers may help us to navigate this “age of
transition” from cannibalizing our planet to living in concert with the
earth and each other.
Our journey
through the great constellations has taken us to this place in time,
this powerful historic point, this great challenge to human survival and
evolution. It will take great courage on all our parts to open our
hearts and minds to the level of truth needed to fulfill the great
prophecies given to us through the ages. I think we can do it!
|
WHAT NEXT?
A Survival Guide to the
21st Century
Since the turn of the
Millennium, the volume has been turned up. Global warming,
species extinction, economic catastrophe, political and
corporate corruption, terrorism and war all shout for our
attention on a daily basis.
“What Next?” calls for a stop
to the insanity. Author, Linda Schurman explains the history of
our times that led us into this seemingly uncharted territory,
by actually charting the planets and their personal message to
each and every one of us. She offers an unflinching diagnosis
of humanity’s current descent into the “end times” so often
referenced in books of prophecy. Her message informs us we do
not have to be casualties; that rather than marching toward the
“age of extinction”, we may be entering the “age of transition”.
Ms. Schurman has been
predicting our predicaments for over thirty years. She
highlights how to survive and thrive financially within an
entirely new context. She illustrates how we will likely invent
our way out of the looming energy crises. Her insights shed
light on how to restore health to the earth, inspiration to the
individual, and meaning to the community. She answers the
question we are all asking: “What can we do now?”
____________________
About the author:
LINDA SCHURMAN has had a private
practice in astrology for over thirty- four years. She serves
an international clientele that includes corporations, financial
service companies and private individuals. Linda holds a B.A.
in English and Education and is the author of numerous
articles. She is currently editor and publisher of the
newsletter “The SootheSayer” which is in print and online at
(http://soothesayer.com). A long-standing member of the
National Council for Geocosmic Research, she has appeared on
radio and television. A mother to five grown children and
grandmother to six, she resides in Ithaca, New York.
$15.95
USD plus Shipping & Handling: $4.95 USD
Click
here to buy
|
Reviews
The
Mountain Astrologer is
recognized as the best astrology magazine in the world.
http://www.mountainastrologer.com/book_rvu/rvu2008/rvu808.html
What Next? A Survival Guide to the 21st Century, by
Linda Schurman, Lazer Lady Publishing, Inc., 2505 Anthem Village Dr.,
Ste. E-165, Henderson, NV 89052 USA, 2007. Softcover—164 pp.—$15.95
(ISBN 978-0-9796900-2-0). Available from:
www.lazerladypublishing.com
Linda Schurman has maintained a private practice in
astrology for more than 34 years. She is also a studious observer of the
larger world stage, including domestic and global politics, climate
change, financial markets, and social justice.
What Next? A Survival Guide to the 21st Century
is a concise book that addresses the daunting issues of our time.
This book is clearly written for non-astrologers. The specific astrology
in the text is minimal; however, the author offers an educated view of
the challenges we all face. The information, though directed to the
general public, provides a timely and useful context for the concerns
that clients bring to practicing astrologers every day.
The first chapter, “Pluto in Sagittarius (Nov. 1995
– Nov. 2008),” sets up the immediate background of where we are now by
recapitulating the big themes of these years — Globalization, Financial
Speculation, Religion, Law, Education, and the Media.
The next three chapters cover a similar range of
themes and are organized around the outer planets’ transits: Uranus in
Pisces (Mar. 2003 – Mar. 2011); Neptune in Aquarius (Jan. 1998 – Feb.
2012) (Septile Pluto 2001 – 2011); and Pluto in Capricorn (2008 – 2024),
Uranus in Aries (2011 – 2018), Neptune in Pisces (2011 – 2026).Schurman
also writes on the upcoming Jupiter–Saturn conjunction in Aquarius (Dec.
2020)and offers a chapter on “Sedna — A Planet of the 21st Century.”
Although the book is organized by astrological motif, and there are key
astrological charts in the Appendices, the body of the text is informed
by the work of (non-mainstream) journalists and economists.
Given the subject matter, Linda Schurman’s book has
a necessarily unflinching tone; she diligently refers to research on
global warming, the energy crisis, corporate and political corruption,
and other such matters. This author writes a large story in accessible
language. She combines a view of the forces at work in the greater world
with a positive and practical set of ideas for managing life in these
often overwhelming times. For example, Schurman makes “prophecies” and
suggestions throughout the book: Chapter 4 contains sections on the
Worst-Case and Best-Case scenarios, as well as “The Quiet Revolution —
Moving into the Solution” and “New Frameworks of Consciousness.” Chapter
3 includes some investment recommendations and has a special section on
solar design.
Linda Schurman is facing reality and yet also holds
an impressively hopeful vision for the future. If you feel confused by
the complexity of the times, her book will help you to sort out what has
happened, who is responsible — and what we can do now (as she writes in
the Introduction) to help ourselves become “able to ‘invent’ our way out
of even the most profound set of challenges.”
— reviewed by Mary Plumb
by K. Diaz
A Practical and Spiritual Survival Guide for the 21st Century,
September 12, 2007
There are several doomsday books that have been
written that question our ability as a species to survive the threat of
global warming, the impending energy crisis and a world that is
imploding with new super bugs and looming pandemics, all of which are
eventually guaranteed to wipe out civilization as we know it. This book,
written by a well-renowned and incisive astrologer, not only points out
the harsh truth about what the future holds for our planet and its
people should we decide to continue our xenophobic thinking and
behavior; it also provides hope through concrete scientific information,
backed up by several references from well-respected professionals in
their specific fields. The author also shows, through previous
astrological patterns, how we are destined to repeat our mistakes with
much graver consequences unless we choose to raise our consciousness in
a way that connects us with every thread that runs through the universe
and to realize that we all individually and collectively play a part in
the future of our Mother Earth. The message that she brings to the table
is that we are all our brothers' keepers. The book is concise and easy
to read without the usual technical vernacular used in most astrology
books, although it provides charts of nations and events to prove her
points to the astrology student or professional. A beautifully written
book that provides hope for change and a different future for our
children and grandchildren in a world currently devoid of compassion and
understanding for one another.
Bonnie Neely
Important NOW Book, August 28, 2007
What Next? by Linda Schurman is an astute account
of the world's affairs, political, ecological, and economic, as they are
today. Linda, a well-known astrologer makes dire predictions about where
we are headed as a world, but she emphasizes it is up to us...we have
choices, because although the planets and heavens have patterns that are
read as given proclivities to certain events, they are not absolute
because mankind's will can change events or prevent some. The book is
important reading for our time, because we are running out of time for
changing our fate. For professionals, Shurman gives official
astrological charts to back up all her predictions. For the general
public, we need this book to wake us up to what will likely happen if we
don't act now. A MUST READ! I highly recommend this book.
Click
here to
buy
|
Disclaimer
Dealing in securities and/or futures contracts
has inherent risks. Profits might be made but losses might also be incurred. No
assurance of profits can be given, or should be taken to be given, in any way.
Prospective investors/traders should be aware of the potential risks of
investment in securities and/or futures contracts and should only make the
decision to invest, or trade, after careful consideration and performing due
diligence. If you are in any doubt as to any aspect of dealing in securities
and/or futures contracts, you should consult a licensed investment adviser,
securities dealer, futures broker or a person who is qualified and/or licensed
to give such advice.
Linda Schurman and/or Richard Schurman as
SootheSayer, and its contributors, is not qualified or authorized/licensed to
give investment advice, securities recommendations or futures trading advice. If
you wish to obtain investment advice or securities/futures recommendations, you
should consult a licensed investment adviser, securities dealer or futures
broker. You should not regard any comment or expression of opinion of
SootheSayer, or its contributors, as investment advice or securities
recommendations; nor should you act upon any investment advice given or
securities/futures recommendations made to you by a person who is not qualified
or licensed to give such advice or to make such recommendations.
The information herein is for educational
purposes only. SootheSayer, its contributors, and/or their assigns make no
guarantee, that even with the best education and guidance available, you will
become a successful trader or wealthy. Neither the presenter, Publisher, or
Distributor can assume any losses that may be incurred by the use of the methods
described herein and any such liability is hereby expressly disclaimed.
| |
What Next?
A Survival Guide to the 21st Century
USD $15.95 + $4.95 S&H
Click here
to buy
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
"One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong."
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.weblinks247.com/exrate/24hr-cad-small.gif)
(How much CAD to buy 1 USD)
Quotes are for information only and delayed by
at least 20 minutes.
_______
following are five links that, over
time, offer excellent insights into the financial crises we need to understand
LeMetropoleCafe
Jim Sinclair
GATA
caseyresearch.com
Goldmoney.com
_______
We will be recommending and/or
mentioning other books from time to time, therefore, for your convenience, we
have established an association with.....
__
|