U.S. Fate 2016
Jeb Bush’s Path To Defeat Began A Year Ago [FiveThirtyEight]
I don’t know, maybe it began 63 years ago. According to astrological timing techniques, he didn’t choose the best time to launch his campaign, either. If you wanted to show that you were your own man, you wouldn’t want a chart loaded with Gemini, the sign of siblings. There’s more about the chart in today’s blog post.

Ralston Reports: ‘Reid-Culinary bond’ won Nevada for Clinton [Reno Gazette-Journal]
Reid pledged neutrality, but he saved the day for Clinton, who likely would have lost to Sanders without the direct intervention of “Prince Harry.”

Wall Street Analyst Says Hillary Clinton Would be the Best President for Health Care Investors [The Intercept]
Wait, didn’t she say they hated her? Apparently not. They are happy that she will keep Obamacare – which the insurance companies helped write – and she won’t be able to get drug price legislation through Congress. Maybe Bernie Sanders could?

At least 1,730 Clinton emails contain classified material [McClatchy]
State Department says none was marked classified during Clinton’s tenure
Sixty-four of the newly released emails contained classified information
Next batch to be released next Friday, day before South Carolina primary

Ceres
Bakken pipeline OK looks likely in Iowa, say foes, supporters [Des Moines Register]
The Iowa Utilities Board plans to make a decision on the proposed Bakken oil pipeline in March, and supporters and critics of the project say approval appears increasingly likely.

296 Iowa landowners decline Bakken pipeline [Des Moines Register]
Eminent domain is the right of a government to seize private property for public use, in exchange for payment of fair market value. But that definition is posing a legal worry for Iowa utility regulators that may ultimately be resolved by Iowa’s courts.

El Niño Forecast [Weather Underground]
The “Godzilla” El Niño of 2015-2016 is already one of the strongest on record, having large consequences on global weather … Strong El Niño events typically weaken from winter into spring. However, the current El Niño remains considerably stronger for this time of year than the record-setting 1997-98 El Niño based on weekly readings. One of the effects meteorologists predicted was an intense hurricane/typhoon season. This forecast explains the El Niño phenomenon; what causes it, how long it could last, and effects on marine life, the food supply, and the global economy. Apparently there are going to be weekly updates. The latest was issued last Monday, four days before the worst typhoon on record ravaged Fiji.

In our technological age, we tend to overlook how something as basic as the weather can drive human activity. Bernie Sanders was derided for saying climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism, but this view is not inconsistent with the views of some historians that wars, socio-political turmoil, and cultural movements were linked to global climate trends.

My job is observing the “astrological weather,” which also tends to show up in periods of 1-3 years. Some astrologers believe these cycles correspond to weather patterns on Earth. It’s possible, and it would make sense that with Neptune in Pisces (Western tropical), we would hear more news about the oceans, particularly this year, while Neptune is being squared by Saturn and opposed by Jupiter – the so-called “mutable T-square.” These events might include weather extremes, unusual developments in marine life, effects of pollution, and so forth. I’m not an expert in this branch of astrology, so I always include that caveat when mentioning geophysical phenomena.

The Gangbanksters
Krugman and the Gang of Four Need to Apologize for Smearing Gerald Friedman [HuffPo]
By William K. Black, former bank regulator and author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One. Black blasts a group of former White House economists who used their influence to smear fellow economist Gerald Friedman, who recently reviewed Bernie Sanders’s economic plan and found it solid. Black also castigates New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman for using the “Gang of Four” letter as support for his string of hit jobs on Sanders. Black’s article comes on the heels of a total takedown of the Gang of Four by the impeccably credentialed James Kenneth Galbraith. That’s six dueling economists, arguing for candidates who are supposedly on the same team. In mundane astrology, the national economy and banks fall under the rulership of Jupiter, who’s currently in a square with Saturn and later this year will be part of a mutable T-square with Saturn and Neptune.

Red Pill
How the Democratic Party Got Lost [Consortium News]
[Hillary Clinton’s] stumbling candidacy and dependence on vast sums of special-interest money reflect the weaknesses of the Democratic Party, which lost its way in the 1980s and 1990s, forgetting its historic role as defender of the little guy. I’ve used “reality check” and “wake-up call” to characterize the Saturn-Neptune square. And really, that’s how I see Bernie Sander’s campaign. He says it’s not about him, and he is right. It’s far bigger than he.

Revolt of the Peasants
Dairy farmers’ uprisings lead the way to a democratic world food system [The Ecologist]
French farmers are protesting “free-trade” agreements they say favor corporate farms at the expense of small dairies. Last week they blocked roads with tractors, burned tires, and left “piles of steaming manure.” Fighting BS with BS.

Paradigm Shift
This is How the Liberal World Order Ends [Foreign Policy]
Not with a bang, but with a pair of defiant anti-establishment presidential candidates. More than any other article I’ve read lately, this analysis perfect reflects the current planetary cycles. Once I get into the groove with AChron, I’ll write a blog post with the specifics.

The Plutocracy
The Big Issue Is Big Money [Consortium News]
The biggest falsehood of Hillary Clinton’s campaign is to call Bernie Sanders a “single-issue” candidate, since he has actually addressed many issues. But there’s some truth in the charge because Sanders has identified Big Money as the root of many problems – and that is true.

Is Law Enforcement Crying Wolf About the Dangers of Locked Phones? [The Atlantic]
The examples put forward by FBI Director James Comey and his defenders are underwhelming. I read somewhere that the iPhone generation is so accustomed to having no privacy online that they shrug off incidents like this. But surveillance of citizens is one of the insidious ways the plutocrats consolidate their power.

Full Moon today at 1:20 p.m. EST, 3°33′ Virgo (Western Tropical)