Cap Phantom

The United States of America along with NATO is involved in Afghanistan. Now more forces are going to be sent to Afghanistan. What will be the result? What does the United States of America gain by fighting in Afghanistan? More enmity with the Muslim world- The immediate gain is not a gain but a big loss – resulting in an enmity with the Muslim world. The Muslim world hates western powers coming to their countries and fighting. Why should the United States of America have this fight then? Can the Taliban be defeated? One may not think that with the kind of local support available, the taliban can ever be defeated. Tribal leaders have governed Afghanistan since ages. Most of them have joined the Taliban. They do not want a central government or democracy. The leaders of a tribe decide laws about everything. What the United States of America wants is to combine the country as a single entity governed by a single central government from Kabul. After years of fighting, the Afghani president Hamid Karazai’s writ does not extend beyond Kabul. The Nato forces and the US soldiers are fighting the tribals who have joined Taliban since years. But to achieve what? This fight can go on for years without giving any result. The better way to protect the free nations from terrorism is to increases internal security. Let them do what they want in Afghanistan, but do not allow them to enter United States of America. This approach will reduce the increasing hatred of Muslims towards the western nations. Some societies just do not adapt to democracy. Imposing it on them is a fruitless task, one may be inclined to think. None of the nations in the world want to be told how to govern. They want to be left alone the way they have been since centuries. Some countries resent western values and have their own system, which they wish to continue. The people do not support any American action in their country. During this type of recession, why does the USA want another Vietnam?

Bill Clinton was neither the first musical president of the United States nor the only one. Both Harry S. Truman and Richard Nixon were excellent piano players.

People were surprised to learn that the former President, Bill Clinton, plays the saxophone. But, several other Presidents of the United States of American were musically gifted, as well.

There are many former presidents who knew how to play instruments. They include:

* John Quincy Adams, who played the flute

* Thomas Jefferson, who played the violin, cello and clavichord

* Abraham Lincoln, who played the violin and harmonica

* John Tyler, who played violin

* Benjamin Franklin, who played both the violin and guitar

* Ronald Reagan, who played the harmonica

* Chester Arthur, who played the banjo

* Franklin Roosevelt, who played the piano

* Richard Nixon, who played both the piano and accordion

* Harry S.Truman, who played piano

* Woodrow Wilson, who played the violin.

Quite a few political leaders in the USA and abroad have been music lovers and accomplished instrumentalists. This supports the empirical belief that there is a relationship between intelligence and music.

Harry Truman once said about his music, “I missed being a musician, and the real reason I missed being one is because I wasn’t good enough.” He was president from 1945 to 1953.

The one who encouraged his love of music, reading, and history was his beloved mother, Martha Ellen Young. The young Truman was taught piano first by his mother, and then by a music teacher she hired to give the boy two lessons a week until he gave it up. Each day, Truman said, he awoke at 5:00 a.m. and practiced for a couple of hours before going to school. His mother showed disappointment when he decided, at age 15, to stop playing. His lessons became too expensive for him to continue, so Truman stopped taking them.

In 1945, his spouse announced that it was time for him to stop playing the piano. This was because someone published a picture of him playing the piano with an attractive, young Lauren Bacall perched on top of the instrument. At that time, Truman was Vice President, and the country was aware that he was a skilled pianist. He was known to have proficiently played music from famous composers including Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, just to name a few. Many people believed he could only play music like “Missouri Waltz”, but in reality he didn’t care for that type of music.

Actually, Truman thought about becoming a concert pianist when he was young. Even though he did not pursue his dream, he always kept a piano in his homes. For the rest of his life, Harry S. Truman played the piano for his friends, but he also played because it gave him a sense of peace. Former President Richard Nixon performed for Harry Truman once while making a visit to the White House.

In one of his most often quoted statements about his piano playing skills, Truman said that his choice was to be either a politician or a piano player in a whorehouse. He joked that there was very little difference. Other sources quote him as saying, “More than likely, if I hadn’t been President of the United States, I’d have ended up playing piano in a bawdy house.” His statements prove how much he loved to play the piano.

There has been feverish talk in the press recently as to the possible effects that the recent criminalisation of online gambling in the USA will have on the British market. Many have suggested that the UK government will follow suit, resulting in a prohibition on the activity within British borders, while others argue that this is, in fact, too good an opportunity for the UK government to pass up. It is argued by these individuals that, if the UK were to begin attracting American gamblers who now have nowhere else to go, the financial gains available to the Exchequer would be too great a temptation.

Online gambling is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the service industry in Britain. One need only look at Betfair, one of the market leaders, for evidence of this; last year the company recorded year-end profits of $44 million, off the back of a sports book which was only established in 2000. Similarly, the taxation of online gambling is one of the most easily available sources of revenue for the Exchequer; it is a seemingly never-ending stream of money which can be very easily taxed, particularly bearing in mind the general public antipathy towards gambling. It is this very concern as to ‘social cost’ of the activity, rather than the potential financial gain that it represents, that makes regulation and taxation politically possible.

It is the same antipathy which informs the growing opposition to the government’s legalisation of online gaming. It is thought in many quarters that the social cost far outweighs the social benefits and, as such, there are fears that the actions of the American government could pave the way for the outlawing of online gambling in the UK. However this seems unlikely; the British government has already expended large amounts of time and money establishing licensing laws around online gambling. Indeed, the government is now actively soliciting for business from companies who are to be exiled from the US, in a similar fashion to that seen in Antigua, whose government is offering to licence US gaming sites – albeit, of course, at a price.

The British government has a liberal history as far as online gambling goes, as illustrated by their actions with regard to the EU. As members of a common market, EU member states are obliged to accept goods and services (including the provision of online gaming) from all other member states, without prejudice. When a special exemption was made for online gambling, several member states sought to outlaw the practice. Britain, however, along with states such as Denmark, preferred to legislate and regulate, as a result of their belief that people would find a way of gaming regardless of its legality – the state might as well, therefore, try to make some money out of it.

It is for precisely these fiscal reasons that it seems almost certain that the process of legalisation and regulation of the online gambling industry will continue apace in Britain. The importance of the sector to the Exchequer is too high; paradoxically, in fact, the outlawing of the activity in the USA should cement this position.

Indeed, it is likely that we will see an even more markedly rapid growth in the sector as American gamblers look for a similar, but legal, gaming experience. This will have positive effects for the British gambling community; increased demand will mean an increase in the number and quality of services available. Similarly, on a more basic level, the more players taking part in a game, the higher the jackpots will be, or the more competitive the odds available. This can only be a good thing for players.

Emigration – moving from one country to another – can radically change a person’s life.  Of course, the more developed the country of your choice is, the more difficult is to emigrate there.  Developed countries build barriers to unregulated immigration and attempt to search for skills and talent among the crowds desiring to immigrate.

This article is for people who seek emigration to America which is among the countries with the most strict and difficult immigration laws.  There are four ways to obtain a green card – a status of a permanent resident alien in the USA.  One can immigrate on the basis of (a) family relations; (b) employment/professional skills; (c) by winning in a Diversity Lottery; or (d) by obtaining a status of refugee/political asylum.  There are thousands and thousands US law firms working in the area of immigration.  We – a law group of Milgrom & Associates – work on all kinds of immigration cases.  But our primary area is helping those whose goal is emigration on the basis of their unique professional skills and talent.  And in this area we perform certain services that, as far as we know, are not offered by any other American attorney or law firm.

Let’s say you are a foreign inventor and have a new invention you want to patent in the USA, or if you are a programmer, wrote a new computer program, and want to protect and register your copyright in the USA, or you are a composer who wrote a symphony which needs protection in the USA… In other words, if you (a) don’t live in the US, (b) created something valuable and (c) want to protect your intellectual property rights in America – we can help you in doing that.  Some other law firms offer such services, too.

Let’s further say that after taking steps to protect and register your rights you believe that there is a demand for your creation in America.  Then we can assist in monetization of your intellectual property.  We can search for a company interested in licensing, manufacturing, marketing and selling your invention, for example.  Or look for buyers for your computer program.  Or find performers for your symphony.  And when those interested parties are found we will conduct negotiations with them, draft an agreement on your behalf, and otherwise protect your interests.  Very few – if any – law firms in the US offer this kind of services to their foreign clients.
 
Finally, if your creation is commercially successful in America and emigration to the United States is your goal; we can help you and your family to get green cards – on the basis of that commercial success.  As far as we know, nobody in the US offers all of the above as one package.  These legal services offered by our firm are unique.
 
Also we assist foreign talents and professionally successful people from all walks of life – science, literature/theater/music, business, sports, and industry – in obtaining green cards.  We help them and their families in their emigration to the US.

Emigration to the US on the basis of professional achievements, getting green card for talent is not an easy task.  We will assist you in navigation of stormy emigration waters and bring your family ship into a safe harbor.

The political future of India is being hotly debated in the current pre-election scenario with questions like “who will form the next government?” and “who will be the next prime minister of India?” being uppermost in everyone’s mind.

The question bothering me, however, is that “Is it really possible to answer such questions based on astrology for a country blessed with political volatility like that of India?” There are at least ten prospective prime ministerial candidates for the upcoming general elections, of which there are a few like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi who nurture an unexpressed desire for the position. Some of the other possible contenders for the position include Sh. L.K. Advani, Sh. Narendra Modi, Smt. Mayawati, Sh. Sharad Pawar, Sh. Deve Gowda, Sh. Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sh. Ram Vilas Paswan.

Taking up the first question, “who will form the next government of India?,” one can easily see how national and regional parties have been busy promoting themselves. Even the common man can make out which of the two prominent national parties might enjoy a greater share of seats and which one lesser. He can also make an assessment of which regional parties might provide support to the national parties and the general political scenario at the time of elections.

When we consider the possibility of making such predictions on the basis of astrology, however, problems of a completely different nature arise. As, for instance, the date and time when the party was formally constituted are some of the essential requirements to make any kind of astrological predictions, which are not easily available most of the time. Now the question is, then how can astrological answers be sought about which parties would come together and who will form the next government.

Are birth details including the date, time and place of birth available for all the politicians? And if not, then how can astrological predictions be made about them with any level of certainty?

As part of the research and analysis conducted by “Astrological Research Centre” in the field of politics, we observed that people have already started making detailed astrological analysis and assessments regarding the next government at the centre when no one could predict before or even after 2004 general elections, that Dr. Manmohan Singh will become the prime minister of India. In the same manner, how would it be possible to make correct predictions this time around?

At Astrological Research Centre, we believe that it is only based on a methodical study of the horoscopes of all the main candidates contesting the election from every constituency that the strength of astrological Rajayogas can be assessed for all of them. Then the person with the strongest Rajayoga operating can be predicted to win the elections.

Likewise, a detailed study of the horoscopes of all the prominent politicians can reveal which of them have the most powerful Rajayogas. Such politicians alone can be the promising candidates for occupying an exalted position.

After 1992 elections, our institute sought the birth details of some politicians for research purposes, and to our surprise, the details received for the then prime minister Sh. P.V. Narsimha Rao mentioned the date of birth as 28 th June, 1921, time is between 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and place of birth is Karim Nagar, Andhra Pradesh (the letter received from PMO is available for reference). Now, one can see that a period of one hour between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. has been mentioned as the time of birth. Does an hour’s variation really not matter in making Indian astrological calculations?

Despite this drawback, we tried to establish the time of birth based on past events in his life and made a few predictions as well. We also asked for details of Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the opposition as a prominent leader of the BJP in 1994. The letter received was signed by Sh. Vajpayee himself and mentioned hat he was born on 25 th December, 1926 in Gwalior at about 5:00 p.m. The time of birth was approximate and not based on a clock.

In both of the abovementioned cases, when politicians themselves are in doubt of their birth details, it would be sheer dishonesty to even imagine being able to come up with accurate predictions and any results can only be predicted in terms of approximations.

Similarly, without a proper knowledge of the birth details of small-time as well as prominent politicians of the day, and without information of the time when different political parties were constituted, how is it possible to make reliable predictions on Indian politics?

In recently held presidential elections in America, Mr. Barack Obama and Mrs. Hillary Clinton fought for the coveted position. In USA, people elect their president directly from two chosen candidates, and one with the strongest Rajayoga emerges as the winner. In this case, Hillary Clinton also became a part of Obama’s cabinet, but did not become the president, which could mean that although she also had a Rajyoga but not as strong as Obama himself.

Similar examples can be found across the globe, especially in places with scarce regional and small-time parties unlike India. Political organizations of all shapes and sizes come together in order to help form the government in India, which, from an astrological viewpoint, is further complicated by an unending confusion in birth details of most of the politicians, leading us to the inevitable conclusion that, if not impossible, it is extremely difficult to make authentic political predictions in a country with a political framework like that of India.

Taking up another example, in the last cricket world cup, a horde of astrologers, numerologists and tarot readers created media hype with predictions of India entering the semi-finals when the team was ousted in the first round itself. Likewise, before one of the matches, some tarot readers predicted that Sehwag will shine today but soon he was out for a duck. It could well mean that the tarot reader made an assessment about Sehwag but perhaps did not study the fortunes of the bowler who claimed his wicket.

In the same manner, in order to make authentic predictions regarding the political future of India, we may have to study the horoscopes of all the candidates contesting the elections from different part of the country to decide upon who will win the elections and what would be the actual political configuration between different political parties of the state. Otherwise, an astrologer would be able to guess just as much as the common man.

It is a matter of serious debate and research in Indian astrology that “who will form the next government and who will be the next prime minister of India?” Else astrology and astrologers would only become a laughing stock for the world.

by Pt. Sunil Sharma
Director
Astrological Research Centre