Trashing a western alliance that has won two world wars and the Cold War and cosying up to gangster despots, Trump is thundering ahead with a comprehensive revamp of America’s image. It’s partly to boost his contrarian narcissism – doing what has never been done before; and feeding his fanbase with a) lies about trade, and b) a facade of muscular leadership, neither of which are doing him harm in the popularity stakes, especially with the evangelicals and Mormons bizarrely enough.
The bling and blare of the North Korea summit is mainly for show since both sides need the appearance of a win. An actual deal would take months if not years of wrangling but Trump doesn’t do detail and Kim won’t denuclearize. The theory is that while the diplomacy is ongoing, neither side will lob bombs.
Haaretz, always tuned into the Middle East, says ‘the Trump administration hopes to ‘clear the table’ of the North Korean distraction before dealing with what it sees as the real threat: Iran.’ With Iran there’s no question of diplomacy and he’s now broken with G6 who are keen to keep the Iran deal going. With Bolton and Pompeo cheering him on, all bets are off as to what comes next with MBS of Saudi ramping up the rhetoric in his ear (and Jared’s).
On the USA chart, the tr North Node in Leo is on a Return exactly now. It was around before in April 1981, just as Reagan was nearly assassinated (in March). There in October 1962 for the Bay of Pigs Cuban Missile Crisis. There in the first half of 1944 with World War 11 being bitterly fought to a conclusion the following year. It is a critical juncture.
The USA North Node in Leo is the leadership node. When 9/11 happened tr Neptune was opposition the Node for what was not only a shocking atrocity but also a considerable dent to the USA’s self-esteem. In 2019 tr Uranus will also square the US Node. The last time Uranus was in Taurus square the Node, FD Roosevelt was in the White House, coping with a recession. That year there was a major heatwave in which thousands died. Also following a federal union strike, a corporate plan for strikebreaking was issued, which involved discrediting union leaders, scaring the public and using police and vigilantes to intimidate strikers. History never repeats exactly so it’ll be interesting to see what turns up this time round.
Pluto is, of course, also heading for its first Pluto Return since the founding in 1776, in 2022. Sometimes, though not always, powers that rise on one, falls on the next. Not immediately since empires tend to crumble slowly into decline.
In 2019/202 tr Pluto will also trine the USA Neptune; which hasn’t been around since 1874, With Ulysses Grant in the WH, when the Indian (Native American) Wars were being fought. The recessionary/hardship/maybe warlike Saturn Pluto conjunction draws close in early 2020, and exact in 2021, crashing into the USA fanatical Mercury opposition Pluto, which has been causing problems over the past year plus with tr Uranus in square.
All in all, testing times for the world’s greatest superpower.
The rest of the world has no idea how badly Trump is hated in the US. He is destroying everything possible, especially if it has anything to do with Obama. We can’t wait til he is out of office.
Well, he does like the notion of president for life.
Gulp.
Hi Marjorie
Would the instability due to intertwined economies also reflect as political and economic instability in the Europe? Will Russia and China emerge dominant on the world stage this downturn of current world powers?
I know you’ve mentioned that the EU zone (especially Germany) is in for a rough patch economically. As we’ve seen in Brexit, (imagined or actual) rough economic situations can be manipulated by malcontents on the political fringe. I am curious if this EU zone economic prediction is going to be a short glitch of a few years or a more sustained economic downturn/slowdown with possible repercussions for progressive liberal societies?