Tag Archives: Economy

The Internet Tarot Weather Dude’s Alien (ET) Invasion Forecast

I’m having fun with this and I hope anyone reading enjoys as well.

Region:  The Globe

Date(s):  The 5th of August through the 5th of September, 2017

Deck:  Renaissance

Cards Drawn:  The Hermit (9 Major Arcana, inverse) and 3 of coins (inverse)

Forecast:  August is a excellent month for sky watching, especially this August with the solar eclipse due to occur.  The date escapes me at this point, I want to say the 12th but my memory being what it is the date could just as well be the 21st.  If anyone is interested, I’m sure the actual date should be easy to find.  Either way I hope to see it with Meta.  There are the annual meteor showers, conditions permitting, if you are far enough away from the city lights.  I will probably miss it this year as I am currently town bound.

For any curious sky watchers with an eye towards aerial phenomena the Hermit indicates that being away from people, cities and towns or any other source of light pollution should prove interesting.  Odds are that any lights in the sky are of earthly origin as the three of coins leads me to assume, but you never know.  On a clear night in the proper conditions you might be able to spot the space station with the naked eye.  I had that pleasure myself years ago at a campground in Michigan called Sleeping Bear Dunes.  Really any campground with a clear view of the sky should do.

As far as alien invasions go, Unlikely.  So feel free to enjoy this August with out feeling the need to lay in supplies to survive the terror from deep space.

Have a better than average day.

don’t forget to count your blessings this midsummer’s eve.

Human Inspired Catastrophe Outlook

Region:  Global

Date(s) :  Tuesday June 13th to Wednesday September 13th, 2017

Deck:  Hermetic Tarot

Cards Drawn:  6 of Pentacles (inverse), The Hierophant (V major Arcana, inverse) and 8 of Pentacles.

Outlook for July 13 through September 13:

I know, what do I think I’m doing, But what can I do?  War, war and more war, the ever perennial world war III has started again.  Then of course there is the coming economic crash, collapse imminent, any day now, really!  I spend almost no time watching the traditional media institutions in the United States so maybe it just some of the weirder stuff I have fallen into the habit of viewing.  I have no idea how many of our fair citizen’s watch this stuff but I ma driven to consult the cards and see what they tell me.

Having little idea how to proceed I simply pulled three cards and they are above.

First a quick review,  There are three regions that are of interest to me.  Firstly is Eastern Europe, primarily the Baltic’s and Ukraine.  Secondarily the immigration issue and how it appears to be dealt with by countries like Poland, the Check Republic and Romania or is it Hungry? It seems to me that these countries are being unfairly singled out.  This is one of the reasons why the Russian Hack is so important to the congress.  It forces our attention to this region.  The Second Region lays between Egypt and Somalia to the south, Saudi Arabia Yemen and the gulf region front and center and Turkey and Iran to the north.  This one is more difficult for me to grasp being that the United States appears to have the bulk of the region peppered with Military bases.  Third and final is the south China sea.  Are you hearing much about this right now.  I picked up a story either on Algazeera or French 24 last night (Eastern Standard Time) about the Philippines recently joined a growing group of countries that are ending diplomatic relations with Taiwan.  France and Qatar might cause more than a shadow of a doubt about the veracity of the statement and there was no hard number given.

What do my Cards tell me?

World war 3 with biologic and Nukes abounding?  No.

Increased weapon sales? An attempt to put upward pressure in the oil market?  Trying to isolate Iran?  Yes to all three.  Chance of a scuffle, some blood shed, yes, escalating?  NO.   Not through the period of this reading.

Remember the Pentacles or Coins, a symbol concerned with the material and that includes wealth.

What about Eastern Europe?  No, neither the United States, at this time nor Russia want war, but the Rhetoric suits both administrations as the struggle to overcome growing electoral instability.  Watch for growing use of jingoistic language.  But I would expect the possibility of terror being quiet high for the the three month period ahead.  If you are planning to travel to the region I would make new plans.

What about China and the South China Sea?  Unless President Trump and Mad Dog Mike Mattis (Sp?) have some kind of a dumb ass attack, The cards say No.  Not profitable at this time.  It is possible that an incident could take place but it will be settled quickly and with little violence.

As far as the economy goes, The hierophant indicates an element of control form the top but that element of control can’t stop volatility from growing, what they can do is stop a slide once it starts by simple re positioning.  The will be bumps and scares but no collapse through the three month period, but it is a good time to reappraise any investments you might have.  There is a huge amount of leverage in both the bond market and the stock market,  Remember, fear traditionally sells.  It can provoke spending.  The problem right now is dwindling consumer confidence as well as diminished real capital in the hands of the average citizen as reflected in the current oil price.  Also expect the fed to raises rate at least one time this summer by 15 to 25 basis points.  This is an attempt to prepare if the situation worsens this winter.

Stay cool and have a better than average day.

The Trump Revolution?

I hesitate to use the word Revolution under most circumstances simply because of it mechanistic implications.  For example, if you mark a single tooth of a gear, like on a bicycle, let’s say, with a bit of bright yellow paint.  The gear has made one revolution when that bright yellow mark returns to its starting position.  This is what I mean when I use the term Mechanistic Implications.  In this context, nothing really changes after a revolution other than the names of the members of the ruling class and I believe there is some truth to this when we even just glance at the Trump administration.  On the other hand re could mean revolution as in the idea of re-evolving or re-imagining or world, human society and how it behaves or functions.  What’s weird to me about this is that I can hear both points of view represented in the two sides of the Trump Debate.   For those who believe he is some kind of a Fascist you should try and keep in mind that Corporations seriously usurped state power back in the late 90s and they had been working in that direction since before the Kennedy assassination.  I know how crazy this sounds and I need to state again for the record that I am a paranoid Schizophrenic or Schizoaffective depending on what decade and which of my various doctors you ask.  I know how crazy it sounds to me too.  I’ve been watching and mostly thinking about what I’ve been seeing and I just what to try to make it clear.

The big question is how did this guy get elected?

I’d like to brag and say that I knew he would be elected before super Tuesday but I suffered an intense fit of malaise and found myself occupied and mystified by the spectacle.  It doesn’t matter as I didn’t post on this then, but what is important is that it was my wife Meta who taught me the trick years ago.  It is nothing more then  a simple analyses of the media coverage including, now, the internet.  Whose face do you see the most often, whose voice do you hear the most often, how much live coverage does a candidate get and how many times is said candidate quoted.  This was true in the eighties for  the same reason that it is today but I fear I am about to derail my train of thought.

Did the Russian’s do it?  The Russian’s could be in serious trouble with in the next year or two as they may not be able to met their pension and subsidy obligations (Caspian Report YouTube) so I am unsure how many resources they can spare.  To be as Honest as I can be I believe that it would be in Russia’s interest to have a friendly administration so I don’t think the idea is that far fetched.  But before we start ginning up Anti-Russian sentiment we might want to look closer to home.

The first place to look would be the media itself, whether internet or cable/corporate (MSM) because it surely seemed to me, remember, I’m crazy, that Donald J. Trump was being pushed by them.  I just couldn’t shake the feeling.  Why didn’t they split the coverage evenly between the Republicans (Trump) and Clinton?  The argument was that the people running the media, line producers or what ever just couldn’t resist those add dollars.  It was Trump Mania, the money was too good.  Let me get this straight, management, CEO, COO, CFO, just haven’t noticed over the past three decades that the person they cover the most wins.  Is that what passes for genius these days?  It was so fucking obvious that the Weekly World News predicted both Clinton I and Baby Bush.  Why is it that whenever anything crazy happens that the defense on behalf of the corporate perpetrators is always, we were too stupid to know any better?  It well could have been that the talking heads on the screen and the producers managing their programs just thought a Trump victory impossible.  A college education doesn’t amount to much anymore that’s for sure.

Ask yourself a question and think about it, who was the media, especially the corporate media, really scared off?

Guess?

Based on coverage and on air attitude alone, in descending order, Jill Stein firstly, then Gary Johnson and finally Bernie Sanders.

There is no doubt in my mind that the media played a major role in getting Trump elected whether they as individuals, recognize that fact or not.  That’s only part of the equation though because I had the hardest time figuring out why anybody would vote for him, much less Hillary Clinton, even though I was certain he would win.  This state of mental information and prespective was a bit mind bending but I want to try and write my way through it.

20% of voters poled stated that they felt voting for Donald Trump would by like throwing a Molotov cocktail into the government (Storm Clouds Gathering/You Tube).  I can only think of one word to describe this emotional state and that is rage. There was an element of Donald Trump’s rhetoric, especially during the run up to the convention, that seemed to be pandering to certain elements of the far right.  If you have an opportunity check out his comments about the nature and type of people that illegally immigrate from the south and compare it to the rhetoric used by certain far right groups, the Neo Nazi’s. Aryan’s.  This is definitely race language with in that stance it just doesn’t sound like the race language from the 50s, 60s or even the 80s.  Immigrants, especially illegal immigrants are an easy target, most people won’t recognize the language as loaded and racist.  Most people don’t understand Northern Speak.  The Language of Political incorrectness had layers to it and different people hear different things  This stance along with Trump’s physical antics appeared to fall with in the lines of a certain style of liberty/nationalist political rhetoric if you are a member of some of the less savory elements from the hyper far right.  That still doesn’t account for the bulk of the people who voted for him.  Outside of Immigration where the candidate in question had fairly consist views even if his understanding of the cost and methods for execution appeared sketchy at times, he took every imaginable position.  It seemed that he spoke plainly and specifically to each audience and said basically, what he thought they wanted to hear.  NERD WRITER on You tube did an excellent dissection of the level of education or reading level exhibited by Trump through the text of his speeches which, it seems, was at about a fourth grade level.  It is a mistake to think that Donald Trump is some kind of a moron.  He is a promoter, promoting real estate projects, his brand or himself, that is how he makes his living.  Another word for promoter is Salesman.  A good sales man always knows his audience and in this case his audience lacked a college education.  KISS, a phrase I heard through out my youth when trying to communicate an idea, especially in high school.  Keep It Simple Stupid so that every one can understand it.  These supporters come from what we use to call in the old days the White Working class, largely lower working class.  The 2010 Census revealed that for the first time in U.S history more people lived in Urban areas than in Rural.  51% of the population are now living in the top twenty metropolitan areas.

The neo liberal evolution left a surprisingly large number of people behind, ruined many and left the rest without hope and for three or four decades now that there is a building resentment or resignation in the population.  But even this does account for his victory.  I got the impression that Trump didn’t expect to win, he seemed surprised to me.  In the end I think people voted for him, for the most part, not because they necessarily agreed with any particular part of his rhetoric but simply because he wasn’t a politician.  He was rich too, we American’s worship rich folks, I’m sure that didn’t hurt him either.

Donald Trump is like an empty glass, any given individual sees what they want in him.  If they want to see job creation and a better life then that is what they see.  If what they want to see comes from fear then it is fascism, racism, sexism, violent repressive state violence and oppression then that is what they see.  Trump is a spokesperson, a mouth piece, a show man and a distraction, what Lionel Nation on You Tube would call a rodeo clown except nobody is calling Trump that.  Instead they label him Crazy, stupid, incapable, narcissistic authoritarian or on the other hand a genius, a nationalist, anti globalist which, some , either positive of negative, maybe true.

Between Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump there wasn’t much of a choice.  60% of voters didn’t like either candidate (Redacted Tonight/You Tube)).  The election was a real shit storm, it was extremely divisive.  In my experience it isn’t unusual for a sizable portion of the population to dislike or hate the person of the president.  I became aware of this when I listened to people older than me talking about the Kennedy Assassination.  In their experience as many people cheered as those that cried.  So the idea that the population being split is some how novel is incorrect.  From where I sit it appears that both the administration and the corporate/citizen media are trying to agitate this situation.

“People are Dangerous” Noam Chomsky

Although this may not be conspiracy it very well could be a case of collusion.  A large portion of the population fighting among themselves, especially in large easily identified groups suits anyone looking to profit.  Fear Sells.  Fear confuses.  In these states obfuscation is simple to accomplish.  Don’t underestimate this, the crack down will come only if these groups interfere with the daily activities of large businesses.  This doesn’t change the fact that the administration is standing on shaky ground.  If Trump cannot deliver on key promises to his supporters, especially the economic ones, he’s got a problem.  He managed to pull off the immigrant ban and even if this next one is contested he’ll just try again.  Taking an anti illegal immigrant stance, or anti legal immigrant stance for that matter is like shooting fish in a bucket.  It works here, it works in Europe and pretty much everywhere else.  The concept is easy, whether it is simple like different is bad or slightly more complex like, if the economy doesn’t improve their will be no work for the new grown incoming people and of course there is fear of too mach competition or favoritism, fear never loses when it comes to influencing the population.  At this point I am indifferent about the illegal/refugee/new immigrant issue an largely see it as a Red Herring.  I felt at the time that if anyone really wanted to stop illegals they would simply prosecute the businesses that employ them, I mean this in the criminal sense.  Start throwing the individuals at the top these businesses in prison and watch the illegal flow cease.

I know that this will never happen.

It also appears that The Affordable Healthcare act isn’t being repealed at all, instead they are just amending the legislation (readthebill.gop).  So they are taking an insurance subsidy wrapped in a healthcare plan and removing the healthcare plan, it seems.  I could simply be incapable of comprehending the bill and they way it is written makes understanding it clearly difficult even though it is only 28 pages long.  It appears that this could affect a large portion of people, especially the 55 to 64 demographic, negatively, but I am prepared to wait and see.  There is a real anti-war attitude developing so we shall see if Trump’s Administration can reduce our exposure in foreign lands though we already have more boots on the ground in Syria.  The question is the cause, is it something that was already underway under The Obama Administration or was it something the Trump administration decided to do?  If it appears that Donald Trump is more of the same, just another deceitful politician who lacks the will or the intention to follow through on key issues, the population that voted for him will eventually begin to loose faith, example, pocket book issues/jobs/foreign policy/healthcare, things could get a bit shaky.  I don’t know how long his supporters will be able to keep the faith but the screaming mass of anti Trump people definitely create a feeling of conflict, the in sense of War, psychologically, as long as that atmosphere holds it will energize the Trump supporters to redouble their efforts.

If the economy should take a hard downward turn or some other catalyst occur, this tense situation has the potential for a serious spat of civil unrest/violence.  The Democrats need to rethink their platform, they need issues to support that appeal to a broader spectrum of people positively if they wish to have any opportunity to mount a serious challenge to the republican’s control of Congress.  I, personally, wouldn’t expect any serious introspection or refocusing of strategy from the Democrats until 2020 at the very earliest.

We have been suckered into a game of stick the prick and the question is who’s the prick?  We shall see because interest rates, the prime lending rate specifically, are going to start to rise.  The Trump Candidacy is the perfect environment for this move.  I would not expect the first increase to be any more that 25 points, (.25%) probably less.  With his rhetoric and his administrative style (Donald Trump) and the intense volatile division in the population some one other than the Federal Reserve or even the banking system will be blamed if the economy should sputter.  I don’t think an increase in interest rates alone will seriously harm what’s left of the economy, something else significant and unexpected has to happen about the same time.

That’s when things will get interesting.

Unlike so many others I still have faith in regular people.  A series of events, another dishonest/corrupt politician, a declining economy can either produce catastrophe or a unified movement.

Maybe we all get lucky and nothing will happen at all, maybe things will even improve, what do you think the odds of that are?