What to Do with KSM?

Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Hold confirmed that the government will try U.S.S. Cole bomber Abd al-Hashiri at the prisoner-of-war camp in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. But he also cautioned the media at the press conference that that wouldn’t necessarily be the fate of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed “mastermind” of the September 11th attacks.

In the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, 17 sailors were killed. In the coordinated attacks of September 11th, the Obama administration reasons, over 2,700 civilians were killed. Therefore (apparently), the conclusion is that KSM should be tried in a civilian court.

By December 1944, Allied leaders were discussing what to do with captured Nazi war criminals. Stalin proposed summarily executing between 50,000-100,000 German staff orders. Joking, Roosevelt replied 49,000 would do. After seeing the extent of Nazi destruction throughout Europe, he was said to hope that Stalin would re-propose his plan

Churchill denounced the idea of “the cold blooded execution of soldiers who fought for their country.” However, he also stated that war criminals must pay for their crimes and that in accordance with the Moscow Document which he himself had written, they should be tried at the places where the crimes were committed. Churchill was vigorously opposed to political executions, but supported military trials for the atrocities they had committed, particularly against civilians.

Liberals argue that Ring of Fire mastermind Sheikh Abdel Rahman was successfully tried in civilian court, as was KSM’s nephew, Ramzi Yousef, for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Holder’s announcement seems to contradict Obama’s long-held plan to hold civilian trials for terror suspects.

According to Fox News:

"The 14-month delay in the al-Nashiri case has never been explained. Holder declared in November 2009 that al-Nashiri would face military justice. Holder made the announcement at the same press conference that he described his plan to try KSM, the self-professed plotter of the 9/11 attacks, in New York City, not far from the former site of the World Trade Center.

"Fierce resistance in New York and a bipartisan coalition in Congress blocking funds for the plan forced the administration to abandon the KSM plan. There has been no word for months on the plan for KSM and his alleged co-conspirators. The decision to move forward with a military trial for Al-Hashiri was a hopeful sign for a military trial for the 9/11 conspirators. Naturally, human rights groups are very unhappy.

"The fact that he as well as many of the other 173 Guantanamo detainees are Yemenis has caused diplomatic repercussions and resulted in two recent terrorist bombings in that country. The ACLU charges that the military tribunals are a cover-up for what they consider torture practices."

Advocates of the military tribunal argue that Obama wants the civilian trials in order to indict former Pres. Bush for “war crimes.” Families of 9/11 victims don’t want this murderer grandstanding for his Islamic cause in their very own city. If convicted, the judgment would be an indictment of Islam. KSM is said to be able to quote the Koran from memory. The defense would have difficult time convincing a jury that their client was simply a madman with delusions of grandeur (which he is) and not a representative of peaceful Muslim society (which it certainly doesn’t appear to be).

Or does the government, on both sides of the aisle, fear something more from the trial of KSM than Muslim unrest in foreign countries, diplomatic disapproval, waterboarding, and the media circus KSM is certain to create.

Upon his capture in March 2003, a New York City newspaper published online a declaratory statement from KSM. Within an hour, it was removed, but not before at least some New York area residents saw it, I being one of them.

There’s plenty of evidence against KSM, without adding this tidbit. His murder of Daniel Pearl alone is enough to at least put him away for life, alongside his nephew. Obama needs to stop playing politics with this trial. KSM considers himself a warrior in the cause of Islam. Does Obama? KSM would divulge too much information that would cause a danger to national security, cause problems in handling the trial, and endanger witnesses and his conviction. He would make a mockery of this trial, as he has done in every court case in which he has been involved.

It’s unfortunate that we don’t have a stronger leader to make the right decision in this case, give KSM a trial that will deal with him lawfully and satisfy the survivors of his victims, and the American people, that justice was dealt swiftly (as possible, this being the 10th year since the attacks). The sooner KSM is dispatched, one way or another, the better.

The White Dragon in the Room

I’m no fan of Communist China. Still, I was disappointed to learn that brand-new Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Rich McConnell declined an invitation to the White House dinner for visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao. McConnell cited a previous engagement and Boehner cited his policy to never have dinner with President Obama.

Boehner’s noted that the new speaker would be having “substantive” discussions later in the week with the Chinese president. However, that is beside the point; what Boehner fails to understand that no matter their politics, the Chinese believe in observing the niceties (unlike Liberal Democrats in this party).

Manners and protocol mean everything to the Chinese. There is no worse way you could insult the Chinese than to refuse to sit down to tea with them. Teahouses are indelible element in Chinese culture. They are the polar opposite to our fast-food restaurants. The whole purpose of a Chinese tea house, I’ve been told, is so that friends – or people who are attempting to be friends – can sit down and have a calm, quiet conversation over a cup of tea.

We tea partiers ought to know better than to snub people who hold tea in such veneration. Is the trade deficit between China and America a problem? You betcha, it is? Are we in a bind because they hold the majority of our debt, which we have no hope of repaying? You’re darned right, we are. Is the fact that they can outproduce us, disconcerting? Their 1.8 billion people against 400 million? I’d say we’re outnumbered.

Whose fault is all this, though? Is it the fault of the Chinese, or the Liberals in this country who adopted their politics? If we’re so worried about them outmanning and outwomanning us, why don’t we do something about it and have more kids? Instead of women taking the easy way out and producing more paperwork, maybe they should produce more children.

Everyone – men, women, and children – works in China, though. Often in deplorable conditions – and that’s after they spruced up their country for the Olympics. Prior to that, women were scratching a living out of the dirt, carrying their babies on their backs. It’s useless trying to ignore or dismiss China; they’re the White Dragon in the living room. Although historically they’re notoriously bad trading partners, slighting won’t make them – or us – any better for the faux pax

The worst part of this snub is that the snubbers don’t realize how highly the Chinese value the American work ethic. They’re still trying to catch up to us so they don’t realize the Liberals sabotaged our work ethic generations ago. They thought we prized hard work, perseverance, education, respect for parents and authority.

Yeah, they’re beating America because they thought that’s what they were supposed to do – strive for success, improve your circumstances, win. Don’t misunderstand; they don’t “love” us because, of course, we’re the competition. But up until last night, they had a high regard and respect for us because they thought we were a great country.

That’s what comes of hobnobbing with Liberals. They’re completely to blame for the economic, educational, and cultural mess we’re in. They had no business shaking their heads over our “second-class” status in the world, when they’re the ones responsible for bringing us down to that level.

Boehner should have sucked it up and attended that dinner, Obama or no Obama. Refusing to attend the dinner was almost certainly dishonorable in the eyes of the Chinese. Perhaps he can make up for it by inviting the Chinese president to tea. He might try the Shang Hai Tea House on Wisconsin Avenue.

Pre-Existing Foolishness

When I was in my early Twenties, just after college and starting to work, my mother told me I should get a health insurance policy. Being young and healthy, I just waved her off. She was just being middle-aged and stuffy, I thought. I’d worry about being unhealthy when that time came.

I didn’t listen to her when she told me at age 23 that my premium would be pretty darned cheap and always would be. The older I got and the longer, I waited, the more expensive the premium would be. I couldn’t count on an employer necessarily footing the bill. I could be fired, laid. The company could go out of business and then what would I do? The same things could happen in the next company. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. There’s no one I can blame. I should have thought more about independence when I was 23. Having my own health insurance so no one could dangle it over my head when I was older, like a company or the government.

Lay-offs are not only in the cards at my company; they’re written in stone, and my head is on the chopping block just like everyone else’s. Had I listened to my mother when I was 23, I wouldn’t be wondering where I’m going to get the money to pay for my blood pressure medication. I wouldn’t have to live in fear of some catastrophic illness or some other misfortune of health.

Darn. But here comes Obamacare making all sorts of promises. Only – I’m over 50 now and the government’s going to take care of their own first. Oh sure, they’ll take care of me – as long as I allow them to run my life. I haven’t read this 2,000 page bill, but judging by their past actions, they’ll force me to take all sorts of tests I don’t want. Instead of a physician’s assistant taking my blood pressure, some bureaucrat will be there, wagging their finger at me.

Why should other taxpayers have to pay for my foolishness and negligence when I was younger? Or anyone else’s mistakes? A tax is a penalty, and we’re going to penalized heavily for everything from obese teens and early pregnancies to double-wide wheel-chair scooters and cough medicine people should be able to buy over the counter with their own money.

But the battle is still on. The Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare. While there’s little chance of it being signed, it sends a message to Fedzilla: we’re paying attention. Of course, the GOP has agreed to this kindergarten nonsense of sitting among the Democrats during the State of the Union address, precisely when they should be forming ranks in opposition to them. We didn’t send the Republicans to Congress to hold hands with the Liberals and sing, “I love you, you love me, we’re just one big Democracy.”  Well, we knew this was a pre-existing condition for the GOP before this last election.

I hope the Republicans rethink that strategy of “Can’t we all just get along?” If not, I’ll have to go out to the store and stock up on Pepto Bismol, because if I have to watch them holding hands and sing about feel-good deficits, I might just become violently ill.

City in Distress

In a scene from the film “Gone with the Wind,” during the siege of Atlanta, Scarlett O’Hara runs out onto the deserted street to stop a lone soldier on horseback. She asks him if the Rebels are deserting the city. The soldier replies that they have to, “before Sherman catches the lot of us. Better refugee south right quick, ma’am.”

The last defenses of the blighted city of Camden, N.J., are falling. The cavalry – its police and firefighters – are evacuating the city. Camden announced that as of today, approximately one quarter of its workforce, mainly the police and firefighters, would be laid off in order to close a $26.5 million budget deficit.

Rated as one of the most dangerous cities in America, Camden will be laying off 43 percent of its police force, in addition to 67 firefighters and 150 other municipal workers in order to balance the budget.

Officials have been seeking concessions on areas such as health benefits from unions in the hope of averting some layoffs. The city's $138.8 million budget for the fiscal year ending June 30 has been hard hit, like those of many other U.S. cities, by a sharp fall in revenues during the national economic downturn, at the same time as an increasing number of unemployed people have placed a greater demand on the city for services.

Campbell’s Soups Headquarters are still located in Camden, N.J., but they closed down their main factory years ago, throwing many unskilled workers onto unemployment. The rumor was that they’d moved their manufacturing facility to Mexico.

Glenn Beck and his radio buddies were laughing over Camden’s plight. No blame to them, there. The Reuters report (above) places the blame on the unions. No doubt, they drove Campbell’s soups away, the main business revenue producer and now the city’s law enforcement infrastructure is falling apart.

Camden’s school system is a shambles. It was a shambles ten years or more ago, when I visited it as a representative of my company. We were participating in a community beautification project. Meanwhile, Camden ranks as one of the worst school systems in the state, if not the nation. Their scores are dismal. Their streets, with miles of boarded up roughhouses, are dismal. Their crime rate is dismal. The remaining people are in a dismal state. I know – I spoke with some of them.

We were there to plant a garden on a street in one of Camden’s worst neighborhoods. A police escort had to supervise the operation and protect our volunteers, not to mention the governor who had come to the garden party, to congratulate the neighborhood residents.

Only the residents didn’t do anything. They didn’t lift a finger. They didn’t dare. As I was a photographer, not a gardener, I was free to walk about and ask questions. Most of the residents stayed resolutely on their steps. But a few brave souls wandered out as far as the sidewalk. So I approached them.

“Wouldn’t you residents like to help?” I asked as diplomatically as I could.

“No!” a man replied. “You all volunteered to come here. We didn’t ask you to come here.”

“But it’s your neighborhood,” I replied. “Don’t you care? Don’t you want it to look beautiful? We’ve come to help you, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could also help yourselves?”

“We can’t,” he said. “If we helped you, we’d be killed. The drug dealers won’t allow us. We shouldn’t even be talking to you. They’re watching us, even now.” He pointed down the street where some ominous-looking cars, with ominous looking occupants, watched the proceedings.

With that, he gathered the spectators together, and urged them to go back into their houses.

After everything was planted, I spoke to the police officers. One of them said that by morning the shrubbery would be gone, that no one would ever know we’d been there. The guy I drove down with and I were the last to leave the neighborhood. I told the officers we’d be all right. But they said the neighborhood was so dangerous that they didn’t dare leave us here, even for a few minutes.

That is the drug culture, the same drug culture the Liberals worship. Their business is hopelessness and despair. Prosperous residents, happy families, good neighbors, attentive students are of no use to them or the Liberals. They thrive on poverty, despair, and ruin. Their weapons are fear and violence.

Once the “impediments” of law and order, of education and success, of jobs and prosperity are removed, their field will be cleared and Camden will be theirs to rule, much like Somalia is governed by thugs and murderers. The residents of Camden are trapped much the way the victims of Hurricane Katrina were.

Those who could flee, did so long ago. The city is largely abandoned to its fate now, occupied only by those who can’t afford to flee and have no place to go. The manufacturing industry, as is the case in much of the United States, has vanished. The children are basically uneducated, now, save where philanthropic organizations can assist the few willing to learn. Without an even a marginally educated populace, companies will never return.

The city is going bankrupt and throwing off its last defenses in the hope of survival, although in fact, what they’ve done is run up the white flag of surrender. One of two things will happen: the drug vultures will assume complete control of a corrupted government, or that government will give developers license to throw out the remaining residents to build a new, gentrified city, a move which will benefit various building unions greatly. Then Camden might see a rebirth, a Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of its former self.

Meanwhile, it’s a sad spectacle to witness, and a lesson in the evils of union politics, bureaucratic corruption, and the abandonment of basic American principles and values.  That's nothing to laugh about, especially if you a New Jersey taxpayer.

Eyre-Head Alert

Attention all Jane Eyre fans: the American release date of the new film version of Jane Eyre, directed by Cary Fukunaga and starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender has been announced as March 11, 2011.

There have been numerous film and television versions of Charlotte Bronte’s classic romance. On film, 1934, 1944 (the classic with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine), 1970 (with George C. Scott and Susannah York), and 1997. There have been numerous television productions, beginning in 1947, with Charlton Heston as a much-too-young Mr. Rochester. Most Eyre-Heads agree that the best television production was the 1973 miniseries starring Sorcha Cusak and Michael Jayston.

The trailer is out for the new film and it looks fairly interesting. Fukunaga takes a different perspective on the story, focusing on the darker side of a lonely governess living in a mansion with a mysterious, and dangerous, secret. The film is supposed to begin with our heroine running away from Thornfield Hall after learning what the secret is, a secret that fractures her relationship with the master she’s fallen in love with. Apparently, the story is told in flashbacks as Jane recovers from near starvation at a pastor’s home.

Wasikowska (who is Australian) is quite a good fit for the part. They don’t paint her too pretty in order to satisfy squeamish audiences. In the trailer, she looks, sounds, and acts the right age for Jane Eyre (18 – the actress is about 21). Some actresses who’ve taken on the part have been either too old, too tall, or too pretty for the part.

Fassbender looks a bit slim and so, a little young, to be Mr. Rochester but judging by the trailer, he’s got it where it counts. And then there’s Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax. This must be a much wiser and savvier Mrs. Fairfax than the housekeeper Charlotte Bronte wrote about. There’s nothing “simple” about Judi Dench, so this should be an interesting performance.

I fell in love with this book when I read it at age 14, as an English class assignment. I read it in one afternoon. I’ve worn out about five copies of the book. I’m looking forward to this movie. It holds promise of some scenes that are only alluded to in the book and generally haven’t been dramatized in productions. Especially interesting will be the scene where Mr. Rochester discovers Jane has fled. Thank goodness. I hope they deal a little more closely with the burning of Thornfield and Mr. Rochester’s heroics in that fire.

If this production doesn’t maybe some future production will. Bronte left a little wiggle room in the climax, where Jane flees. The narrative suggests obliquely that some occurrence requires Jane’s immediate presence and it is then that Rochester discovers she’s gone. Logic would suggest that the lawyer Briggs shows up the next morning to inform Jane of her uncle’s death. Briggs would undoubtedly know of the existence of the Rivers cousins, since he must inform them that they’re out of luck. Bronte didn’t delve too deeply into that aspect, lest she spoil the fate she has in store for Rochester. A simple question of Briggs – who else is named in the will and where do they live – would have given Rochester the clue he needed to find her.

But whatever the case, the director adds a new depth of spookiness and suspense to the much-loved novel.

There’s just one thing that I hope – that they don’t have Rochester throw himself on his couch, like a drama queen when Jane tells him he’s history. One of the versions tried remaining faithful to that description and it was so embarrassing. I hope they leave poor Mr. Rochester a little dignity, as they did in most of the other adaptations. Boys are willing to give Jane Eyre a chance – until they get to that scene – and then they’re done.

We Eyre-Heads will be brooding until March 11th.

Precession Panic

Over the weekend, some of my co-workers and Face Book friends were panicking about a report on The Huffington Post. Some astrologer told them that their astrological signs were all out of order and that Leos are actually Cancers and Aquarians are really Capricorns in disguise.

This link explains, with diagrams, what precession is all about: (http://www.crystalinks.com/precession.html).

In astronomy, "precession" refers to any of several slow changes in an astronomical body's rotational or orbital parameters, and especially to the Earth's precession of the equinoxes

Axial precession, scientifically termed precession of the equator, is a gravity-induced, slow and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In particular, it refers to the gradual shift in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation, which, like a wobbling top, traces out a cone in a cycle of approximately 26,000 years (called a Great or Platonic Year in astrology). The term “precession" typically refers only to this largest secular motion; other changes in the alignment of Earth's axis — nutation and polar motion — are much smaller in magnitude.

Earth's precession was historically called precession of the equinoxes because the equinoxes moved westward along the ecliptic relative to the fixed stars, opposite to the motion of the Sun along the ecliptic. This term is still used in non-technical discussions, that is, when detailed mathematics are absent. Historically, Hipparchus is credited with discovering precession of the equinoxes. The exact dates of his life are not known, but astronomical observations attributed to him by Ptolemy date from 147 BC to 127 BC.

With improvements in the ability to calculate the gravitational force between planets during the first half of the 19th century, it was recognized that the ecliptic itself moved slightly, which was named planetary precession as early as 1863, while the dominant component was named lunisolar precession. Their combination was named general precession instead of precession of the equinoxes. Lunisolar precession is caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and Sun on Earth's equatorial bulge, causing Earth's axis to move with respect to inertial space. Planetary precession (actually an advance) is due to the small angle between the gravitational force of the other planets on Earth and its orbital plane (the ecliptic), causing the plane of the ecliptic to shift slightly relative to inertial space.

Lunisolar precession is about 500 times larger than planetary precession. In addition to the Moon and Sun, the other planets also cause a small movement of Earth's axis in inertial space, making the contrast in the terms lunisolar versus planetary misleading, so in 2006 the International Astronomical Union recommended that the dominant component be renamed the precession of the equator and the minor component be renamed precession of the ecliptic, but their combination is still named general precession.

Axial precession is the movement of the rotational axis of an astronomical body, whereby the axis slowly traces out a cone. In the case of the Earth, this type of precession is also known as the precession of the equinoxes or precession of the equator. The Earth goes through one such complete precessional cycle in a period of approximately 26,000 years, during which the positions of stars as measured in the equatorial coordinate system will slowly change; the change is actually due to the change of the coordinates. Over this cycle the Earth's north axial pole moves from where it is now, within 1° of Polaris, in a circle around the ecliptic pole, with an angular radius of about 23.5 degrees (or approximately 23 degrees 27 arcminutes [2]). The shift is 1 degree in 72 years, where the angle is taken from the observer, not from the center of the circle.

Aristarchus of Samos (c. 280 BC) is the earliest known astronomer to recognize and assess the precession of the equinoxes at almost 1º per century (which is not far from the actual value for antiquity, 1.38º). The Precession (axial rotation) was later explained by Newtonian physics. Being an oblate spheroid, the Earth has a nonspherical shape, bulging outward at the equator. The gravitational tidal forces of the Moon and Sun apply torque as they attempt to pull the equatorial bulge into the plane of the ecliptic. The portion of the precession due to the combined action of the Sun and the Moon is called lunisolar precession.

The inclination of Earth's orbit, known as the precession of the ecliptic, drifts up and down. Relative to its present orbit this drift has a period of about 70,000 years. Relative to the invariable plane it has a 100,000 year period. The invariable plane represents the angular momentum of the solar system, and is approximately the orbital plane of Jupiter.

What does this all have to do with us and the Man in the Moon? Well, to simplify things, popular astrology invented a conversion formula, called the Tropical Zodiac. They eliminated the 13th constellation, and made all the constellations and equal size, even though they’re not. The sun actually takes a longer time to pass through some constellations than others.

The Huffington Post chose an interesting time to break the news of something astrologers have known for centuries. All those New Agers who’ve been singing about the Age of Aquarius are either in the dark or want other people to be. We’re entering the Age of Capricorn, as I’ve warned numerous times in this blog.

All the events here on Earth point to it, from an astrological point of few. Everything will be bigger (and colder) in the Age of Capricorn. Big Corporations, Big Government, Big Taxes, Big Trucks, Big Planes. Big Everything. Capricorn is also the sign of Big Tyrants. I’m not talking about friendly little kings soothing their egos – I’m talking about cold-blooded tyrants who don’t care in the least about the little people.

We’re talking about someone who wants complete and total control of the world. Someone who was born six months after Barack Obama. By Tropical astrology standards, this person would have a stellium of planets in Aquarius. But in real time, all those planets are in Capricorn.

Around the time of his birth, people were walking around with cardboard signs announcing: “The End of the World is Coming” or “The End of the World is Here/Near.” And right around that time, the British nuclear disarmament movement came out with its infamous “Peace” sign, what they claim are the semaphore symbols for “N” and “D” – “nuclear disarmament.” But its history goes farther back and is said to be the Teutonic rune for death.

According to Jesusissavior.com: The symbol's origin in history proves it to be the visual mystic character for 'Aum' (the split 'Y'). This is the sacred word to the Hindu. Chanting 'Aum' is supposed to help awaken 'the serpent power of Brahma at the base of the human spine. Occultist Albert Pike also identifies this symbol as mystical in his book on Freemasonry Morals and Dogma.

The peace symbol (also called the “broken cross,” “crow's foot,” “witch's foot,” “Nero’s Cross,” (he crucified Peter upside down), “sign of the 'broken Jew,'” and the “symbol of the 'anti-Christ''”) is actually a cross with the arms broken. It also signifies the “gesture of despair,” and the “death of man.'” Encircled as it is in its current form, it represents the end of the world.

The Germanic tribes who used it attributed strange and mystical properties to the sign. Such a rune is said to have been used by black magicians in pagan incantations and condemnations. To this very day, the inverted broken cross--identical to the socialists' peace symbol--is known in Germany as a “todersrune,” or death rune. Not only was it ordered by Hitler's National Socialists that it must appear on German death notices, but it was part of the official inscription prescribed for the gravestones of Nazi officers of the dread SS. The symbol suited Nazi emphasis on pagan mysticism.

With the arms of the cross raised in an upright position, it is a Pythagorean emblem of the course of life, in the form of a rising path with fork roads to Good and Evil.' It also signifies fertility, but with the arms pointing downward, it denotes evil and death.

In fact, the inverted 'Man-rune'--the figure encircled in the common sign which the Communists tell us means “peace”--has for centuries been a favorite sign of Satanists.'

Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, used the peace symbol as the backdrop for his altar.

One former witch makes the following comment about the peace symbol:

“It is an ancient and powerful symbol of Antichrist. During the dark ages it was used in Druid Witchcraft and by Satanists of all sorts during the initiation of a new member to their order. They would draw the magic circle and give the initiate a cross. The initiate would then lift the cross and turn it upside down. He would then renounce Christianity in all three dimensions of time (past, present and future) and break the horizontal pieces downward forming the design of the “Raven's Foot.” This ugly symbol is nothing short of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. For one to wear or display this symbol is to announce either knowingly or unknowingly that you have rejected Christ. Remember, symbolism is a picture language, and a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Now that you know everything you’ve been told about astrology is bunk, here’s some of what you can expect living the Age of Capricorn: fear, authoritarianism, tyranny, rules, regulations, repression, great wealth and great poverty, stagnation, restrictions, monopolies, subordination, servitude, even slavery. In short, everything that is the opposite of Liberty.

Materialism, that bane of Liberals, will be rampant. There will be success – for some who play by the new rules. There will be no place for imagination or creativity, though. Great things will be done – at great cost, in terms of finances and human lives. Anything that is to be done will take a long time to do. The Age of Capricorn marks the Age of the Bureaucrat. This is where bureaucracy reaches its zenith.

You don’t need to read your daily horoscope to realize all this is true; just read the headlines.

Precession Panic

Over the weekend, some of my co-workers and Face Book friends were panicking about a report on The Huffington Post. Some astrologer told them that their astrological signs were all out of order and that Leos are actually Cancers and Aquarians are really Capricorns in disguise.




This link explains, with diagrams, what precession is all about: (http://www.crystalinks.com/precession.html).



In astronomy, "precession" refers to any of several slow changes in an astronomical body's rotational or orbital parameters, and especially to the Earth's precession of the equinoxes

Axial precession, scientifically termed precession of the equator, is a gravity-induced, slow and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In particular, it refers to the gradual shift in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation, which, like a wobbling top, traces out a cone in a cycle of approximately 26,000 years (called a Great or Platonic Year in astrology). The term “precession" typically refers only to this largest secular motion; other changes in the alignment of Earth's axis — nutation and polar motion — are much smaller in magnitude.

Earth's precession was historically called precession of the equinoxes because the equinoxes moved westward along the ecliptic relative to the fixed stars, opposite to the motion of the Sun along the ecliptic. This term is still used in non-technical discussions, that is, when detailed mathematics are absent. Historically, Hipparchus is credited with discovering precession of the equinoxes. The exact dates of his life are not known, but astronomical observations attributed to him by Ptolemy date from 147 BC to 127 BC.

With improvements in the ability to calculate the gravitational force between planets during the first half of the 19th century, it was recognized that the ecliptic itself moved slightly, which was named planetary precession as early as 1863, while the dominant component was named lunisolar precession. Their combination was named general precession instead of precession of the equinoxes. Lunisolar precession is caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and Sun on Earth's equatorial bulge, causing Earth's axis to move with respect to inertial space. Planetary precession (actually an advance) is due to the small angle between the gravitational force of the other planets on Earth and its orbital plane (the ecliptic), causing the plane of the ecliptic to shift slightly relative to inertial space.

Lunisolar precession is about 500 times larger than planetary precession. In addition to the Moon and Sun, the other planets also cause a small movement of Earth's axis in inertial space, making the contrast in the terms lunisolar versus planetary misleading, so in 2006 the International Astronomical Union recommended that the dominant component be renamed the precession of the equator and the minor component be renamed precession of the ecliptic, but their combination is still named general precession.

Axial precession is the movement of the rotational axis of an astronomical body, whereby the axis slowly traces out a cone. In the case of the Earth, this type of precession is also known as the precession of the equinoxes or precession of the equator. The Earth goes through one such complete precessional cycle in a period of approximately 26,000 years, during which the positions of stars as measured in the equatorial coordinate system will slowly change; the change is actually due to the change of the coordinates. Over this cycle the Earth's north axial pole moves from where it is now, within 1° of Polaris, in a circle around the ecliptic pole, with an angular radius of about 23.5 degrees (or approximately 23 degrees 27 arcminutes [2]). The shift is 1 degree in 72 years, where the angle is taken from the observer, not from the center of the circle.

Aristarchus of Samos (c. 280 BC) is the earliest known astronomer to recognize and assess the precession of the equinoxes at almost 1º per century (which is not far from the actual value for antiquity, 1.38º). The Precession (axial rotation) was later explained by Newtonian physics. Being an oblate spheroid, the Earth has a nonspherical shape, bulging outward at the equator. The gravitational tidal forces of the Moon and Sun apply torque as they attempt to pull the equatorial bulge into the plane of the ecliptic. The portion of the precession due to the combined action of the Sun and the Moon is called lunisolar precession.

The inclination of Earth's orbit, known as the precession of the ecliptic, drifts up and down. Relative to its present orbit this drift has a period of about 70,000 years. Relative to the invariable plane it has a 100,000 year period. The invariable plane represents the angular momentum of the solar system, and is approximately the orbital plane of Jupiter.

What does this all have to do with us and the Man in the Moon? Well, to simplify things, popular astrology invented a conversion formula, called the Tropical Zodiac. They eliminated the 13th constellation, and made all the constellations and equal size, even though they’re not. The sun actually takes a longer time to pass through some constellations than others.

The Huffington Post chose an interesting time to break the news of something astrologers have known for centuries. All those New Agers who’ve been singing about the Age of Aquarius are either in the dark or want other people to be. We’re entering the Age of Capricorn, as I’ve warned numerous times in this blog.

All the events here on Earth point to it, from an astrological point of few. Everything will be bigger (and colder) in the Age of Capricorn. Big Corporations, Big Government, Big Taxes, Big Trucks, Big Planes. Big Everything. Capricorn is also the sign of Big Tyrants. I’m not talking about friendly little kings soothing their egos – I’m talking about cold-blooded tyrants who don’t care in the least about the little people.

We’re talking about someone who wants complete and total control of the world. Someone who was born six months after Barack Obama. By Tropical astrology standards, this person would have a stellium of planets in Aquarius. But in real time, all those planets are in Capricorn.

Around the time of his birth, people were walking around with cardboard signs announcing: “The End of the World is Coming” or “The End of the World is Here/Near.” And right around that time, the British nuclear disarmament movement came out with its infamous “Peace” sign, what they claim are the semaphore symbols for “N” and “D” – “nuclear disarmament.” But its history goes farther back and is said to be the Teutonic rune for death.

According to Jesusissavior.com: The symbol's origin in history proves it to be the visual mystic character for 'Aum' (the split 'Y'). This is the sacred word to the Hindu. Chanting 'Aum' is supposed to help awaken 'the serpent power of Brahma at the base of the human spine. Occultist Albert Pike also identifies this symbol as mystical in his book on Freemasonry Morals and Dogma.

The peace symbol (also called the “broken cross,” “crow's foot,” “witch's foot,” “Nero’s Cross,” (he crucified Peter upside down), “sign of the 'broken Jew,'” and the “symbol of the 'anti-Christ''”) is actually a cross with the arms broken. It also signifies the “gesture of despair,” and the “death of man.'” Encircled as it is in its current form, it represents the end of the world.

The Germanic tribes who used it attributed strange and mystical properties to the sign. Such a rune is said to have been used by black magicians in pagan incantations and condemnations. To this very day, the inverted broken cross--identical to the socialists' peace symbol--is known in Germany as a “todersrune,” or death rune. Not only was it ordered by Hitler's National Socialists that it must appear on German death notices, but it was part of the official inscription prescribed for the gravestones of Nazi officers of the dread SS. The symbol suited Nazi emphasis on pagan mysticism.

With the arms of the cross raised in an upright position, it is a Pythagorean emblem of the course of life, in the form of a rising path with fork roads to Good and Evil.' It also signifies fertility, but with the arms pointing downward, it denotes evil and death.

In fact, the inverted 'Man-rune'--the figure encircled in the common sign which the Communists tell us means “peace”--has for centuries been a favorite sign of Satanists.'

Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, used the peace symbol as the backdrop for his altar.

One former witch makes the following comment about the peace symbol:

“It is an ancient and powerful symbol of Antichrist. During the dark ages it was used in Druid Witchcraft and by Satanists of all sorts during the initiation of a new member to their order. They would draw the magic circle and give the initiate a cross. The initiate would then lift the cross and turn it upside down. He would then renounce Christianity in all three dimensions of time (past, present and future) and break the horizontal pieces downward forming the design of the “Raven's Foot.” This ugly symbol is nothing short of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. For one to wear or display this symbol is to announce either knowingly or unknowingly that you have rejected Christ. Remember, symbolism is a picture language, and a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Now that you know everything you’ve been told about astrology is bunk, here’s some of what you can expect living the Age of Capricorn: fear, authoritarianism, tyranny, rules, regulations, repression, great wealth and great poverty, stagnation, restrictions, monopolies, subordination, servitude, even slavery. In short, everything that is the opposite of Liberty.

Materialism, that bane of Liberals, will be rampant. There will be success – for some who play by the new rules. There will be no place for imagination or creativity, though. Great things will be done – at great cost, in terms of finances and human lives. Anything that is to be done will take a long time to do. The Age of Capricorn marks the Age of the Bureaucrat. This is where bureaucracy reaches its zenith.

You don’t need to read your daily horoscope to realize all this is true; just read the headlines.