THE SOOTHESAYER INTERNET

December 2007

Recent History – The challenge of the Chinese Curse!

Most assuredly we have been living in “interesting times”.  As we ponder how “chaos theory” has proven itself  in 2007, we are being forced out of our collective coma face to face with robber baron roulette players who have caused a collapse in the financial system of such monumental proportions that it is hard to fathom!  The sub-prime mortgages were sold by banks who issued them to hedge fund managers who put them in “tranches” as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were sold off to investors with a “model” projected value set up by Alice in Wonderland.  Now, as these loans go into foreclosure hundreds of thousands of people will lose their homes and the confusion and lack of regulatory rule of law is so profound, we frequently don’t even know who owns the loans!  On top of all this, these were submerged in the derivatives markets with consequences so profound, we are talking multiple trillions of dollars in losses.

The price of oil continues to skyrocket, as does the U.S. government budget deficit, corporate debt, and private debt.  The dollar is in free-fall and the holders of our debt are fleeing the Titanic America.   Oil-producing nations are looking to trade in Euro-dollars or possibly in a Middle Eastern currency. 

The real people who live on Main Street are waking up to the nightmare.  When polled, the majority have put the Iraq War in second place to severe worries about the economy.  Their homes are sinking in value like a rock.  The price of gasoline and heating oil is causing them to cut back on spending.  Their real wages have been falling for years and new “global” treaties being signed will remove more jobs from the U.S., along with the rule of law and national sovereignty, moving us toward a military Fascist state.  The infrastructure (highways, water and sewerage pipes, bridges, etc.) are falling apart as is access to a decent education and healthcare.

As Pluto goes into Capricorn in 2008 (through 2024), the second American Revolution will begin to launch itself.  Whether this revolution will be peaceful or violent will be up to all of us.

Politics:

Pathetic is the word!  There has not been one question in the presidential debates about the global derivatives collapse and I would bet all of my treasured gold shares that the powerful behind-the-scenes “Mafioso” have issued orders to anyone on the media not to mention any of this or they may mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night!

Most of the candidates are financed and supported by corporate America.  As I have said before, Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are the only truth-tellers and they are highly unlikely to get their parties’ nominations.  There is a grass-roots swell of fundraising for Ron Paul whose sun in late Leo could benefit from a trine of the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction this month.  There is always the element of surprise.  The public is ready to consider a third party candidate.  The only evident possibility is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who is a card-carrying member of the “Cabal”.  This doesn’t mean, however, that he would be a bad president.  Remember that both Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt, economic and social “Brahmins” were advocates of “the people” and busted the chops of the established robber barons of their times.  Interestingly, Bloomberg is born under the sign of Aquarius, as was Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.

January 1st, Mars opposes Pluto at 29 degrees Gemini/Sagittarius and is square Hillary Clinton’s Moon at 29 degrees Pisces.  This is a very difficult aspect and may threaten to “derail” her at the crucial time of the primaries, giving Barak Obama somewhat of an advantage.  However, Jupiter in Capricorn is in favorable aspect to her chart and Saturn in Virgo is also supportive.  We shall see!

The Economy:

On December 11th, Jupiter is conjunct Pluto at 28 degrees Sagittarius.  This usually coincides with lows in financial markets, but I would suspect that there will be troubling news on the 19th when Mercury is conjunct Pluto and on the 21st when Venus is square Neptune, devaluating the dollar even more, probably as the result of the Fed lowering interest rates again.  Gold may be sold around the 18th under the Venus trine Uranus, and come back up under the square on the 21st.  Jupiter goes into Capricorn on the 19th and will be there through Jan. 5th, 2009.  This is another bearish sign for the stock market.  People tend to flee into some kind of security and these days that is hard to find.   Readers who have regularly come to my site know that I believe gold is the way to go at this time.  You have to be prepared for gold to take a hit in January and hang in for the Spring of the year when Jupiter is sextile Uranus and gold may reach a new high.   

Jupiter’s transit through Capricorn points to the government doing its mightiest to ward off systemic collapse.  New regulations will likely be created.  The rich and powerful are working secretly to rewrite laws and create new instruments to absorb a mountain of debt and worthless paper.  The saga of Citigroup, the largest bank in the U.S. is linked to a crash in the trading of debt instruments around the globe.  In danger of collapse, they recently ousted CEO, Chuck Prince, (poor guy), who leaves with a “performance bonus” of $12.5 million plus stock options and a pension.  Robert Rubin takes over, who is a charter member of the “cabal, ; who when he was Clinton’s Treasury Secretary helped repeal investor protection legislation  called the Glass-Steagall Act which was passed in the 1930’s to prevent a future collapse and depression.  The U.S. Treasury has approved a plan for all Citigroup’s smaller competitors to  bail them out by putting money into a SuperSIV (Structured Investment Vehicle) whose “structure” will not be released to the public. I could go on forever and ever.   There is also a strategy being implemented consisting of troubled banks getting into U.S. Treasuries that China is fleeing.  This creates the impression that these banks are still solvent and theoretically solves the problem of our gigantic budget deficits being dumped, threatening the U.S. government with bankruptcy.  In addition, the inflationary policy of the Feds lowering interest rates reduces the “real” amount of the debt.  These policies will lead to worse and worse consequences later on, as wages sink in value and food, energy, and healthcare prices rise.  I predict an inflationary recession until 2010 and then a deflationary depression.

The financial world has “decoupled” itself of any responsibility to the “real economy”, having been wallowing for some time in imaginary “futures” money.  Sadly, the future is now catching up with them.  Like the field of quantum physics – the world of finance  has a language all its own, known only to insiders, and is hardly comprehensible to the majority of the people.  Many people don’t even understand the “quarks and gluons” in the derivative contracts, etc. in which they are invested. With real people going into the real streets and real estate crashing, I’d say the masters of the universe are falling down to earth at about the speed of light.  They will likely flee at the speed of light to their mansions in Panama, Costa Rica, and Dubai where they have hidden their assets and let the rest of us face the consequences. 

If you followed my advice for the past several years, you will be much better off than many others: i.e. pay down your debt, buy gold, get out of the dollar, buy stocks in energy and water, insulate your house, install solar panels, plant an organic garden, and, most of all, get back into real citizenship and help take back our democracy!  If you haven’t already, read my book “What Next?  A Survival Guide to the 21st Century”.  

Other Nations:

Pakistan is a nation in chaos and every present and former leader is entering the ring. Pres. Musharraf  has recently given up his status as military commander.  The U.S. is backing him and the other has-beens are not liked any better than he is.  I think he will hang on for now but there is more serious upheaval in January.

Venezuela’s Hugo Chavaz is holding on this month but is in trouble in January, having to confront the Mars/Pluto opposition as it hits the chart of the nation in a very harsh aspect.  Those opposed to his rule will stage a rebellion and try to get power.

Mexico’s chart is destabilized this month by the Mercury, Jupiter, Pluto conjunction.  The political issue of illegal immigration into the U.S. will escalate as an issue this month and news will likely come out about their diminishing oil reserves.

China and Russia are getting closer this month and may be forging more agreements connected with oil and gas.  The Bush administration has been steadily alienating these nations.  China will likely find a way to ditch is U.S. Treasuries by February ’08 when Mercury goes direct in Aquarius on their natal ascendant.

Iraq, as I predicted last month, will likely continue to improve and move toward getting an effective representative government together.  We will likely have a military presence there for many years to come.  I think there will be a withdrawal of troops next September under a stellium of planets in Libra.

Pres. Bush set up a peace conference recently between Israel and Palestine, after avoiding the whole thing for nearly seven years.  I actually think some progress will be made in 2008 as Jupiter’s transit in Capricorn helps both countries.

Weather & Travel:

Watch for earthquake instabilities between the 21st and the 22nd.  There will be problems with weather and travel between the 7th and the 11th as Mercury is square Saturn and then square Uranus.  From Dec. 6th through the 30th, Venus is transiting Scorpio.  This usually brings about very cold weather in the U.S., particularly on the east coast.

Final Thoughts:

As we enter the holiday season, it is time to look seriously at the alternatives that the great avatars of faith lived and died for centuries ago.

At this time we are witnessing devastating wars, tribal genocides, escalating poverty, threatened economies and sources of energy, global pollution and climate change.  The obvious actionable alternatives are: a determined peace, ethnic cooperation, new more egalitarian economies, sustainable energies, and environmental restoration. 

However, the history of humanity up to now has been a version of the tooth and claw, eat or be eaten way of life perfected by the dinosaurs.  The only difference between us and them is that we have created technologies that make it easier for us to kill each other and destroy all other forms life on earth, while being consumed by our own narcissistic greed and tunnel vision.  The question is: is the human experiment a self-delusional failure?

I come in on the side of the alternative – a humanity who decides to respect the earth and all that lives on it, who is moved by beauty and inspired by truth, who chooses love over fear, who chooses hope over despair, and, who in the dark quiet night of the Winter Solstice, looks up at the constellations and gently touches infinite possibility.

Warmest and happiest Holidays to you all.