Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population.
--Albert Einstein in Out of My Later Years, 1950
We need not worry so much
about what man descends from;
it's what he descends to
that shames the human race.
-Mark Twain
History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
--Abba Eban
Abraham had two sons, one born of his wife's servant named Ishmail and one by his wife (one of those surprises that women can have late in life) named Isaac and the descendants of those half-brothers have been trying to kill each other and prove they are their "father's" favorite ever since.
The most interesting thing is some biblical scholars now think the stories of Abraham, Moses and several of the Old Testament" figures were made up by King Josiah's scribes to prove a lineage.
On the other hand, several scholars claim, on the basis of archaeological and philological evidence, that many stories in the Old Testament, including the accounts about Abraham, Moses, and others, were actually made up by scribes under King Josiah (7th century BC/BCE) in order to provide a historical framework for the monotheistic belief in Yahweh. Such scholars claim that the archives of neighbouring countries that kept written records, such as Egypt, Assyria, etc., show no trace of the stories of the Bible or its main characters before 650 BC/BCE. Such claims are detailed in "Who Were the Early Israelites?" by William G. Dever, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 2003). Another similar book by Neil A. Silberman and Israel Finkelstein is "The Bible Unearthed," (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2001).
(Wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham
Maybe if the rest of humanity could get Hezbollah and Israel to learn their own personal rendition of "This Land is My Land, This Land is Your Land" encouraging them to break out in song this dreadful mess could be over.
I started the "war chart" for the time listed that Hezbollah captured those Israeli soldiers (April 12, 2006 @ 9:05am in Beirut, Lebanon.) and Mercury was at the critical degree of 29 Cancer and Retrograde. 29 Cancer is a degree that can be subjected to evil influences unless something positive is placed in the open void the 29 degree captures. The Sabian Symbol "A daughter of the American Revolution." I could write volumes on the potential meaning of that phrase, from the Illuminati, the Masons, the Jewish influence in America, so much for thought. There is more to the symbol of course, but this caught my eye and my imagination.
Jupiter in Scorpio square the Moon and Chiron conjunction in Aquarius and the 6th house is a sad commentary on the constant wounding going across borders, and ultimately an uneasy healing. This configuration also points to the potential of a great escalation involving several countries. Venus in this chart conjuncts GWB's North Node (a new pleasure for him?) and is opposed by Pluto, perhaps another waterloo.
The "cease-fire draft for peace" is a joke and the US knows it, so does the UN, it's an "I win you lose, or you lose and I win." Syria and Hezbollah have already said they won't accept it, and Condi, with as much of a sneer as she dared let herself muster on prime time TV said "now we'll see who is for peace and who isn't. Made me think the Cease Fire Agreement was drawn up without peace in mind but to let the world hopefully see Israel in a better light than they are seen now, even by some of their own countrymen.
It's the dead children turning people against the Hezbollah and Israel cause. The very first people killed in Israel was a little girl (Jewish) and a little boy (Arab) friends playing in the street like they did everyday, and a Hezbollah rocket hit and killed them in Haifa. That was an ominous omen to both sides, a desire to fight until every Jew and or Arab are dead. They are killing the land that they both must draw a living from, they are killing each other when there is no resolution in sight. The Jews believe they can wipe out all their terrorists, they cannot. The Arabs believe they can wipe out all the Jews, they cannot; but together they can wipe each other out. THEY WON'T DO THAT HOWEVER UNTIL SYRIA, IRAN, THE US AND RUSSIA ARE INVOLVED. Jordon and the Saudi's are going to try and stay out of the whole mess. Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to descend into hell.
It should be noted that Turkey wants to go after the Kurds and India is chomping at the bits to take on Pakistan. Don't include the Middle East into your travel plans this year if you can help it. Although the Christians in Beirut are being bombed now, there isn't going to be a Rapture or a return of Christ. We can hope after the carnage there might be a return of Christ Consciousness, or Buddah, someone who can bring the world back to the concept of peace and love.
Now onto the US, let's pick a state. Oh I know Connecticut and their Tuesday primary. Joe Liberman has been training for an election marathon, however he tripped several weeks ago and broke his leg and no matter how good the aspects might be for him on Tuesday, he simply will not be able to win.
Connecticut January 9, 1788, 1:30pm Hartfort. CT
Liberman Feb. 12, 1942 12:00pm Stamford, CT
Lamont Jan. 3, 1954 12:00pm, NY, NY
Connecticut has been very fond of Joe in the past (Venus conjunct Venus) They haven't been close but they've understood each other and felt comfortable with each other, but Pluto has been crossing their North Node and the state is in a mood for a change, and they are liking being the potential mavericks, they like the spotlight on them right now and all the big names coming through. Not only do they have Pluto going back and forth over their NN pushing for change, Ned Lamont's Moon sits right on top of their NN and Ned's Moon is in a trine to his natal Pluto. I am pretty sure Lamont will walk away with the day. The Full Moon does aspect Joe's and CT's Venus, but transiting Uranus is also conjuncting Joe's South Node and that points to a loss for Tuesday and a loss in November. Joe will need a miracle, I don't rule it out but neither do I see one coming.
This will be a horrific humiliation for him. I'm not quite sure why literally all the kings horses and all the kings men, from the Dems to the GOP to the media, are trying to put Joe together again. I've never seen anything quite like it, makes me wonder what Joe knows or can do that makes them so nervous about him being gone. But they are sure nervous.
Ms. Rice in in for another round of difficulty in carrying out her job when Saturn Opposes her 16 Aquarius Mars and the squaring her Sun by September, the Fall months are going to be difficult and she will need a lot of cover by her boss. It's not only her job, the long knives (neo-cons) are out after her. If she hangs on, or if she doesn't, she has some stunning successes coming her way in 2010. I will say that if she hasn't already, she may soon be lucky in love. And NO, I am not going to go there. She is a person that enjoys sudden unexpected good luck throughout her life and there is always a possibility that she will survive unscathed, the next 5 days will tell if she gets what she wants in the way of peace. Even if she does, she will continue to fall out of favor through Sept. and Oct. (November 14, 1954 11:30am, Birmingham, Alabama.)
That's it for the new thread, Morgana promises a Full Moon article in the next couple of days so I am not going to do one except to say "I've seen better," this Full Moon sets off the Aug. 11, 1999 Eclipse. It could be the day that an uneasy peace begins, but soon the temptation to go back to the "big firecrackers" will prove to be almost overwhelming for the boyz. We'll have to see what they do.
If only the Middle East could take Mark Twain's words to heart, "it's not where we come from that matters, it's what we become"