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M A Y A ' S M O O N R E P O R T , J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 3 This was the New Moon in Sagittarius, and it occurred on the Ascendant of the U.S. Sibly chart. December, which encompassed the Sagittarian moon cycle, was filled with fateful action. The strike by oil management in Venezuela began on December 2, and still, in early January, is in progress. Venezuela is the biggest oil supplier to the U.S., and now, with the prospect of an imminent attack on the Iraqis, this is a big concern to the U.S. It is also hard on the economy of Venezuela, and half a dozen Latin American countries have been donating fuel oil and food to Venezuela. Weapons inspections began in Iraq. So far, according to Hans Blix, the head of the UN inspection team, there has been found "no smoking gun—or even a gun." In the meantime, the U.S. has been busily transporting troops and equipment to the area, and setting up headquarters in Qatar. It seems that all is in place for the attack. GW plans to use land mines, despite the fact that the rest of the world has outlawed them because they mostly injure civilians. He also says he won’t hesitate to use nuclear bombing. GW fired his Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, and nominated for his replacement John Snow, CEO of CSX, the big eastern freight and transportation conglomerate. Payback continues: CSX was one of the 100 largest contributors to federal campaigns. Also, CSX had a motto "to pursue all available opportunities to pay the lowest federal, state, and foreign taxes." As a result, in three of the last four years they paid no federal income tax at all. Instead, they got tax rebates. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been cut in the U.S. In the midst of the downturn, GW introduced his $675 billion "stimulus package," which consists mostly of tax cuts to the rich. Most economists agree that it will hurt, rather than help, the economy. In the meantime, California (and most other states as well) is hurting, with a $34 billion deficit, and a health care system which is falling apart. The major air carrier United Air, headquartered in San Francisco, filed for bankruptcy. The U.S. has shipped out smallpox vaccine to states, and announced a vaccination program which would begin with vaccinating 10,000,000 health workers and 500,000 troops. Many doctors and nurses are refusing to participate, and the poorly thought-out program may be derailed. About people: Jimmy Carter won a Nobel peace prize, actually announced by the committee as a rebuke against the current foreign policy of the U.S.... Henry Kissinger finally stepped down as chair of the 9-11 investigation... Senator Trent Lott made racist remarks in public, and was replaced as Senate Majority Leader by Senator Bill Frist, whose record is equally racist... Cardinal Bernard Law, Archbishop of Boston, resigned over sex scandals... Al Gore will not run in 2004. Middle Eastern "alien" males in the U.S. are now required to register with the INS. When they appear to register, many are summarily detained and jailed incommunicado, even though they have committed no crimes. In many cities in the U.S. people are demonstrating, protesting, and witnessing these illegal detentions. North Korea dismissed international nuclear inspectors, announced they would reactivate the nuclear reactor which they shut down in 1984, and said they would drop out of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. South Korea, in the meantime, elected a new young president, Roh Moo Hyun, who reflects the strong anti-U.S. feeling of the people. Roh also wants to continue détente with the North. Colorado River, and California water jurisdictions are having problems. GW announced a Saving Wetlands program which actually will be the destruction of wetlands. He also announced that the Forest Service is moving ahead to cut down forests—even though Congress didn’t pass his "Healthy" Forests Initiative. Twelve New York brokerage firms OK’d a $1 billion settlement to end investigations of their practices. In Florida, the first human clone, a baby girl named Eve, was announced by Cloneaid. This summary of the national scene in December is incomplete. Frankly, I could not keep up with December’s pace. I was too busy doing my own thing, which was extra writing. This eclipse was another catalyst to the changing identity of the U.S. The "good guys" are giving way to the ruthless imperialists. |
