WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.

Two Democratic senators demanded Monday the project be stopped before investors begin registering this week. "The idea of a federal betting parlor on atrocities and terrorism is ridiculous and it's grotesque," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), said.

I just heard a hunk of the façade of the American dream hit the ground, and now we can peer inside those hallowed halls and see that it vaguely resembles a shopping mall. Or is it the faux trading floor that visitors would pass on the VIP tour of Enron headquarters?

The plan was approved by somebody named John Poindexter, director of the Total Information Awareness program -- a former Ronald Reagan aide who rose from the dead to take a role in the Bush II administration.

The Portsmouth (Maine) Herald wrote in an editorial this week, "You remember Poindexter -- he was the retired rear admiral who was relieved from his position as National Security Advisor during the Reagan administration [and was] convicted of conspiracy, lying to Congress, defrauding the government and destroying evidence in the Iran-Contra scandal. The only reason he is not in jail today is because he was granted immunity in the congressional investigation of the scandal."


Their Secret Meeting Place

News of the online disaster casino was downright catalytic in the theatre of my imagination. I began to ponder when and where the Boys meet to come up with their ideas. A vision arrived, that of a languid Washington DC evening, in the rough part of that square mile, where few Caucasians dare venture.

Imagine: Three discreet old beaten-up white Econoline vans pull up in front of an abandoned-looking warehouse. The van doors slide open. A bunch of seemingly homeless people -- a detail of Secret Service agents -- pours out of two of them, scatters around the streets and lays down in the gutters, securing a four-block radius. Their paper bags and loose clothes conceal their service weapons. Out of the third van, a man in a Texas Ranger's uniform emerges, followed by another in an authentic Nazi uniform accompanied by a small entourage, followed by a wolf, a tiger, and a variety of men in high-ranking military costumes. Next comes Mr. Spock. Another man, in a silk tuxedo, is wearing a top hat and is holding an ivory cane. Somebody is rolled out in a wheelchair.

It is The Administration, gathering for its after-hours activity. Dubya, one-time one-percent owner of the Texas Rangers, dons his former team's uniform as a birthright, walking stiffly in authentic cleats. Rumsfeld is the Nazi of his wildest fantasies, complete with the moustache, the devoted mistress and several aides dressed in SS uniforms. Wolfowitz is the wolf, Condi is the tiger, and since the generals don't ever take off their clothes, they're in their official uniforms. Spock is Colin Powell. The top hat and ivory cane belong to George the First, who ambles in like W.C. Fields. Our beloved Richard Cheney is twitching in the wheelchair: he does a masterful Strangelove, whacking himself in the face with a KFC drumstick every now and then for effect.

Inside the heavily air-conditioned warehouse is an extravagant military-industrial-themed wonderland private club with an endangered species buffet and exotic bar. There are fighter plane cockpit simulators, models of every nuclear missile ever manufactured, wax figures of Osama and Saddam, a mud wrestling ring for the Bush twins and a batting cage for Dubya. The president, who usually ignores the discussion in lieu of swinging in his batting cage, will only hit baseballs that are hand-painted with a perfect map of the globe on them.

There, snorting the finest chemicals sent to them by their friends in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, sipping thousand-dollar brandy and fighting over what performance to watch on the Holostage (Sinatra? Rolling Stones? Lawrence Welk reruns in 3-D? Old Reagan speeches?), they plan the future of the world.

Including coming up with ideas like the terrorism and assassination futures market.

Or, for example, the plan that made news Wednesday, the one to cancel the Sky Marshal program on cross-country flights (those federal agents on board airplanes trained to foil highjackings), which cancellation was announced just as intelligence reports say the threat of new terrorist plots is becoming more serious.

According to Wednesday's Washington Post, this is being done for "monetary" purposes to save the cost of hotel stays required by marshals after long flights. Perhaps we're just going to pretend that everything is fine and that, like just prior to 9-Eleven, it makes perfect sense to back off on anti-terrorism measures and take a "keep the shields down" approach to defense strategy. Why is this necessary? Well of course -- all our federal tax dollars have been spent preventing terrorism! So there's no money left to prevent terrorism.

Note: A little later Wednesday, the Sky Marshals were put back on cross-country flights after an MSNBC report exposed the idiotic plan.

Surreal astrology. Mars retrograde in Pisces. Reversals in direction on bizarre hallucinations.


As Close as it Gets

These were two of the more exciting news items that surfaced in the days close to the station of Mars in Pisces (which occurred overnight Monday to Tuesday), examples of what you might call the illusion wearing thin as Mars moves in for its closest, brightest approach in recorded history. According to Space.com, "At 5:51 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27, 2003, Mars will be within 34,646,418 miles (55,758,006 kilometers) of Earth. This will be the closest that Mars has come to our planet in nearly 60,000 years."

At this time, "Mars will be at 'opposition', the moment when the Sun, Earth and Mars will form a straight line; since we are closer to the Sun than Mars, this is also when we are overtaking Mars in our respective orbits," Space.com said.

Astrologers call this aspect Mars opposite Sun.

"Mars comes to opposition about every 26 months," Space.com continues. "But because of the elliptical orbits of Earth and Mars, not all oppositions are created equal. The 2003 opposition will be superior to all the others because Mars will be very near to its closest point to the Sun, called perihelion, when it arrives at opposition."

Since Mars will be at its closest point to the Sun just as the Earth passes between Mars and the Sun, it will also be closest to the Earth, appearing brighter and larger than it usually does during oppositions -- reaching an astonishing -2.9 magnitude. (A dim star might be 9th magnitude and a bright one 1st magnitude; Mars is so bright it will be in negative magnitude ratings.)

All this means a lot of Mars in our lives, but it's playing in reverse, and it's playing in the most slippery of all the signs, Pisces. As I proposed last week in some detail, Pisces is a kind of cosmic movie-generation software lending itself to various metaphors including advertising, drug trips and fantasies. Pisces has a big sign on it that says "Home of the Boundary Issue." Lest you think that only Pisces people have such situations, we all have Pisces in our charts.

If humans struggle with anything, it is Mars energy. Our planet is in a perpetual state of war; we have Mars issues. Planets like Pluto, Uranus and Saturn have shocking effects on people, but they don't usually leave us with a lot of room to wiggle around. When those slow planets come along, you just basically deal with what you're handed. Mars, alternately, is all about choice, volition, motivation and desire. You have endless possibilities for decision with Mars. The same energy can be turned to war, sports, anger, sex, passion, hard work, art, rebellion, oppression and love.

People tend to have a difficult time with this range of choices. What to do here is not so obvious. Hmm, maybe I'll go to work; maybe I'll paint a mural; maybe I'll conquer a few third-world countries. Credit or debit? Pro-war or anti-war? Ordinary flight or highjacking?

As Mars makes its closest pass to Earth in the history of history, it will be opposed by Jupiter (newly in Virgo), the Sun, Venus, the Moon and Mercury all in Virgo. So at one end of the polarity we'll have Mars and Uranus in Pisces, potentially acting really, really wacky: unpredictable, hallucinatory, delusionatory, confusatory, mild to medium psychotic, impassioned and zesty. At the other end of the dial we'll have all those other planets in Virgo playing it super cool, calm and calculated. It will make for an interesting programme.

One of my readers, John Dunn (related neither to the metaphysical poet nor the research astrologer with similar names), wrote to me May 15 suggesting that I throw some coverage at Mars retrograde issues. His email is pretty priceless, so I'm going to run with that for now.

"I suspect that this Big Old Mars will be pushing lots of buttons within individual charts, so that there is a heavy tendency to action and reaction. Perhaps the potential for violence or revolution. Since Big Mars will be opposing Venus, will the Venus polarity be empowered proportionately or will she be overwhelmed? Will the pack of Jupiter, Sun, Venus, and Moon create a "super stellium" of "clear heads" in Virgo to balance a retrograde Mars and retrograde Uranus in Pisces? (Note that retrograde Uranus is sliding backward towards the cusp and may play out some role reversals.)

"Perhaps a swelling Mars passing Uranus will create a startlingly new level of arrogance on the part of the Neocons. TV Pundits could doff their shirts for the Sunday morning chest pounding. Rush Limbaugh will flash his tits Mardi Gras style as Rumsey throws beads from the balcony of the White House. Viagra sales could slip when all the little soldiers are standing at attention on their own. (Do I really need to stake up my tomatoes this summer?) Maybe cod-pieces will make a come back. I predict that roosters will crow a bit louder and at unexpected junctures. Strutting will take on a global importance. You Da Man will be the national mantra.

"One thing is for sure: the Sun, Venus, Moon, and Jupiter will be watching this with the critical eyes of Virgo and they might not be entertained by these excessive and retrograde antics of Manly Manliness. I'm telling ya: even Big Daddy Jupiter will blush at the Mars excesses we will see late summer. What will the payback be as a deflating Mars goes stationary direct and has to march back through those oppositions (like a frat boy named 'Dubya' at dawn) toward a square with Pluto: can we spell performance anxiety? C'mon, this is priceless! (Let's hope the Testosterone fest is this harmless.)

"In all seriousness, Perhaps the wiser men will find a true Male power expanded, illuminated and dignified by balance with the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Jupiter. A trine with Saturn after the retrograde may help firm up the lesson. This could be a golden chance for a man to be a Gentleman, a Warrior, and a Scholar in the finest sense of those concepts. I suspect that the actions of men within this window will reveal true character, and the oppositions will illuminate these actions." ++

Astronomy details at: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/mars_preview_021108.html


Current Astrological Highlights

The Moon is waxing. Mars is retrograde (see above). Sun, Venus and Jupiter remain in Leo. Mercury is in Virgo. The aspects of the week are a series of oppositions that will make communication, sex and financial transactions a little more interesting than usual. Monday, Sun opposes Neptune. Wednesday, Mercury opposes Mars. Thursday, Venus opposes Neptune.


Webcasting Comes to Planet Waves, or Vice Versa

Every Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. PST or 11:45 a.m. EST, I do a live webcast at http://www.voiceofvashon.org/ hosted by Susan McCabe. Please spread the word.


Planet Waves Horoscope by Eric Francis
http://www.PlanetWaves.net/


Birthdays This Week

Venus and Jupiter in your birth sign suggest an abundance of all good things, and your presence as a force for healing, love and wisdom in the lives of the people around you. Venus and Jupiter are the two benefic planets of traditional astrology. It's rare enough to have them together in the same sign; it happens in any one sign once every 12 years.

Jupiter's energy has been working on you for a while now, and if you look pack at the past 12 months you'll note a wide variety of improvements that have come into your life. The chances are these will last for years. You have a lot of energy and by all indications you're going to use it wisely; it seems you've come upon a new priority on protecting your gains, preserving your resources and conserving your cash. Not a bad policy these days.

Career developments will come in bursts, as surprises, and be attended by a fair amount of chaos. But that chaos will lead to progress if you keep your mind on the game.

The recent development of Mars turning retrograde in your house of shared resources, contracts and financial arrangements suggests a hesitancy on your part to involve yourself too deeply in the affairs of others. Uranus, which crossed that angle in March, had already added an "expect the unexpected" theme and granted you permission to renegotiate all the agreements into which you had entered up until that point. There is reason for caution, but that caution needs to come in gaining an understanding of the motives, ideals and intentions of the people with whom you share your life.

Because your mental skills and awareness are running strong, that should not be too difficult, as long as you ask yourself the question. Make sure your new agreements are negotiated on a level playing field. Part of that is full disclosure.

Other influences, though, suggest that all these things are more or less surface-level concerns. Examining own deep past is becoming an agenda item, which may serve more than any other factor to have you pull back emotionally, at least until you know how you feel. Under the influence of Saturn in Cancer, you may need to make a conscious effort to reach out to people, remember when the last time you saw close friends was, and get yourself onto some new turf every now and then.

This process of self-assessment will last for years -- two more years, actually, until Saturn reaches your sign and you embark on a whole new level of maturity and status in the world. For now, you're in preparation for events you cannot foresee. But as the oracle at Delphi offered to all who came there, Know Thyself is the most important prophecy you need to follow.


Aries (March 20-April 19)
You have come to some surprising revelations about yourself in recent months, but none so stunning as what's now unfolding. This really has been a lesson in taking that ever-lovin' Aries bull-headedness and putting it in the pen. Your flexibility, your recognition that ideas move, dance and flow with the currents of dreams, has not only been your spiritual life-saver. It has been your source of life, because life is change. Allowing for movement means granting the space to create your world as you go. It does not matter who, what or where you were yesterday. Today is astonishing, tomorrow is whatever you make it, and fear is purely optional.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Anyone with a strong placement in Taurus now has available one of the richest times for pleasures of the home, the family and the emotions in many moons. In the unlikely chance you're feeling worse rather than better right now, pick up the phone and make contact with the people who love you: they will welcome you and offer you comfort. To those who are feeling the awesome heart and soul of the sun light up your family and emotional life, take this as a sign of your true and eternal potential. You are a family person, and are happiest and most secure where there are loved ones and children around you.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Right now there are five major planets in Leo, which is your third solar house -- the house of written expression. In a moment, your ruling planet Mercury enters Virgo, a literate, intelligent and mentally-oriented sign. The stars are saying write. They are saying that what you have to say in writing is worth its weight in platinum, and carries a valuable message to anyone who reads it. But mostly they are saying that writing is very, very good for you at this moment, and will help you untangle the many threads of intrigue that have woven themselves into your good nature and good fortune. Tell the story.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Think money, think your value in gold, and, for heaven's sake, sell yourself. Certain allegedly spiritual beliefs that have prevented you from putting yourself on the market at your full value -- including the whole concept of "selling yourself" -- have slowed you down. If you found yourself at Rainbow Gathering, you'd do fine trading beads or giving away your talent and loving care. Here in the Western world, we play a different game, and right now if you pay attention, love yourself and remember that whatever you sell to the world yields results worth ten times their price, you'll be at the top of that game, to nobody's detriment.

Leo (July 22-Aug 23)
This week's stunning new moon in your birth sign is likely to have released many of the pressures you were subjected to in recent weeks, and the entry of Venus into your sign is a truly reassuring development. Venus joins Jupiter and Mercury in Leo as well, and all these planets reflect in your anniversary chart -- your solar return. Think long-term. Consider yourself an asset to yourself, to partners and in whatever situation you become involved. You are a magnet for positive energy, for strength and creativity. Just don't forget to keep making decisions. That's the one potential weak spot of your chart. Before you do, DECIDE.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You have many surprises coming, though presently you may be feeling nothing but uneasy about something vague. If you're using an unfolding domestic or partnership situation as a divining oracle, I suggest you switch to runes. The relationship is one thing; what the future holds for you is quite another. In a very real sense of the word, you are about to be reborn. And birth is a dangerous process, it is unpredictable and it is a point of no return. There are some people in your life who will be able to assist you as a midwife, and some who definitely will not. Choose well.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
The double entendre of the planets has finally become clear. You're being summoned by your sense of adult responsibility and the need to make your way in the world. And you are being summoned by a visionary sense of what's possible beyond anything you've ever experienced -- truly, the vision of a child. You may not think what you see in your heart is possible to attain in the world; you have been disappointed before. But the planets are not going to disappoint you this time, as long as you're willing to experiment with the idea that your deepest true responsibility to yourself is to explore your highest ideals, and to put just a grain of faith in yourself.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
It is not in your nature to take uncalculated risks. Indeed, it's not in your nature to do much that is not well thought-out six steps ahead, much like a good chess player works the board. But you need to take a chance right now. Most likely it's a professional chance. It may be on something that seems too good to be true; and to be sure, there are a couple of hidden pitfalls, there are risks and there are questions. Too good to be true -- not quite. Too promising to pass up? Most certainly.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
Anger is the "bad emotion" and many of the world's mystical systems make compelling cases for why it is useless, baseless and harmful. But you are human and you are entitled to feel what you feel while you're on this planet in physical form, and you're very likely to be some form of intense emotional discontent. At the same time you're also hearing awesome cosmic music, that higher calling that your chart and -- most likely -- your heart says is absolutely real. This may be familiar territory. The difference now is that you have truly rare clarity on both points.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Chiron is in your sign. This will become synonymous the historic 2002 thru 2005 era of your life. Two thousand five is a transitional year into a stage of your life so far out you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Oh-three and oh-four are the heart of the journey: as in now. What is it about now? About this very moment of your life? Put words to it. Experiment with your own ideas and concepts about your existence. You happen to be in a rare season for precise and visionary language, and what you observe and preserve in your notebook in these very days will provide information that will be valuable for years to come.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
Leo's recent new moon is just one of many factors suggesting that you're commencing a new volume in your affairs of the heart and soul. Not that recent events have been especially comforting or anything -- in the words of that great song, "Stake my future on a hell of a past." Yet the planets speak. In fact, just about every planet is speaking. The one that speaks the most clearly this week is Mars. The God of Desire's retrograde action unfolds in Pisces, your house of "love yourself or else drown in the sea of confusion." Relationships are one thing and love is waiting in a cab outside your door. But it can't save you from yourself.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Figure out which aspects of your thinking are backwards. Backwards includes acting as if you exist in some time rather than the present; or in reversing responsibility for whatever situations you face; or wanting things you don't really want; or aspiring downwards; or not putting first things first. Backwards also includes not distinguishing truth from lies in their various forms or not noticing certain things that are supposed to nourish you actually deplete you. If you can see where your thinking is backwards, it will be much easier to straighten it out.

Planet Waves Weekly and PlanetWaves.net are edited by Eric Francis, with help from Chelsea Bottinelli and the Vision List. This newsletter is $49.95 per year and published 48 times per year. We encourage our readers to contribute their artwork and writing to the Planet Waves project and to cultivate themselves as creative forces in the unusual and socially formative times in which we live.