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Chinese New Year, the year of “The Rat on the Crossbeam”

Every year at the start of the lunar New Year (Chinese New Year), I send out a letter with a forecast for the year. Those letters are the main geopolitical letters for the year, and they look back at historical precedents in a cycle of 60 years to gain a sense of what lies ahead for the current year. So, the last Metal Rat year was in 1960, and before that, 1900. What follows is a bit of fun, going through each of the twelve animal signs. I do this every year, too, but normally as a promo for a Chinese astrology program I helped develop 16 years ago (at the moment unavailable). The future of that program is now up in the air, so I am posting the promo here. Most people know their yearly animal sign. So, for a more lighthearted look at the year ahead for each of the signs, read on… Continue reading “Chinese New Year, the year of “The Rat on the Crossbeam””

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A little trouble in big China

[Update at end] If we were to read the news regarding China these days – and how can we not – one might be forgiven for thinking that a grave, deadly pandemic was in danger of sweeping across that nation, and putting the rest of the world at peril as a result (written 28 Jan 20). The rumor mill in social media has been alive and thriving in that regard. What are we talking about here? – the novel coronavirus, a.k.a. 2019-nCoV. There are rumors of a bio-weapon, Big Pharma trying to make a quick buck, the Chinese government on the verge of collapse, those lying Chinese covering up the true number of cases, the barbaric practices of the Chinese regarding animals (yes, that’s a trending tweet), and so on. A recent exchange on social media about this disease has prompted this article, especially any possible connection with Chinese New Year. For more info, read on. But first, a short video: Continue reading “A little trouble in big China”

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Regime change has come to Russia!

You read that title correctly. On 15 Jan this year, Medvedev and his entire cabinet resigned. But, before Russia and Putin critics get too excited, the establishments in the Western nations are not going to like what happens next. After years of being ignored, vilified, ostracized and threatened by the West – by the US and UK especially – Russia has decided now to think of herself first, of her citizenry, and is pulling away from globalism as it has existed in these past years, as well as from entanglements with neoliberal economics and the ‘rule of law’ as put forward by the West. Expect for demonization of Russia and all sorts of wild speculation to spike now in the Western press. “Putin has weaponized Russian sovereignty!” Continue reading “Regime change has come to Russia!”

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Ukraine Air flight 752: What really happened? (updated below)

Def: SNAFU: Acronym, military, ca.1941: a confused or chaotic state; a mess (more on the definition later). In the early hours of 8 Jan 2020 the Iranian IRCG lobbed 22 missiles into two military bases in Iraq – the al-Assad Air Base, which is the main American air base in the north of Iraq, and the American base in Iraqi Kurdistan at Erbil, in their Operation Martyr Soleimani. There were no reported casualties, but there was heavy damage to the bases. In the aftermath of the attack, some 4+ hours later, the Iranians shot down Ukraine Airlines flight 752, killing all 176 passengers and crew, a domestic flight, which had departed Tehran at 6:12 am. Most of the people on the plane were Iranian or of Iranian descent. It has been called human error, but was it really? We will examine that in this instalment as well as the wider picture for Iran. Continue reading “Ukraine Air flight 752: What really happened? (updated below)”

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Soleimani

Red flags can signify many things. There is one in particular that reflects the old maxim: Revenge is a dish best served cold. On 4 January the Iranians hoisted their red flag on the top of Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran in response to the assassination of their favorite son, Major General Qasem Soleimani. He was targeted in what has turned out to be an act of treachery by the Trump administration, which we will examine in due course, and in what will probably come to be known as one of the greatest blunders of foreign policy strategy in recent US history. If this already sounds like an apologist piece, read on, because appearances are often deceptive and as is usually the case, there is more to this than meets the eye. Continue reading “Soleimani”

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The Great Australian Fires of 2019/2020 (updated at end)

Australia is currently undergoing its largest bush fires in its short national history, which can also be seen as a very serious illness. An ‘illness’ you say? Probably the most widespread fires in its recorded history is an ‘illness’!? In fact, yes. And this is not downplaying what is happening there. As of this writing (2 Jan) there have been 18 fatalities (updated below), but the total land swept by the fires is 5,900,000 hectares (22,780 square miles), an area almost equal to the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut combined. We will look at the factors contributing to the fires here, but before we start, we also pray for a swift end to them, and hold our support for the families who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones. Continue reading “The Great Australian Fires of 2019/2020 (updated at end)”

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Overview and review of the UK election

The wait is finally over. The British public has decided, at least as to which party will lead the nation over the next years. And as predicted, there was an upset. But, the Tories won? How is that an upset? It was predicted by pundits from the outset they would win by a large enough margin to be able to push Brexit through by the end of January. Now, they may well get their wish. It was an upset because there were also many pundits, polls and insiders saying the election was too close to call and that there would be a hung Parliament. There were astrological precedents for the latter, but there were also wild cards. My prediction of a hung Parliament was based in those precedents. It was also an upset for progressives and remainers who had hoped for a hung Parliament, or even a long shot win by Corbyn. The latter was never in the cards or the stars. To see what happened, read on. Continue reading “Overview and review of the UK election”

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Disasters, an election, a full moon and a little study in midpoints

Recently, as in the past few days, there have been a series of violent events around the world. And in turn, people I have spoken with and encountered have noted a particular ‘energy’ in the air, manifesting as frustration, short tempers and general tension. Naturally, I decided to have a look at the astrology, and indeed there were factors that stood out. But, there were a couple of surprising indicators as well, which run counter to what one would normally expect in astrology. Continue reading “Disasters, an election, a full moon and a little study in midpoints”

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The Capricorn solar ingress 2019

On 22 December 2019 the Sun enters Capricorn, setting the primary tone for the quarter leading to Aries. That quarter will be a particularly potent one this year with many follow-on effects. The reasons for stating that will be outlined in the course of this article. The Capricorn quarter always contains the start of the lunar New Year, the year for 2020 being called “The Rat on the Crossbeam”, marking a year of important decisions, from which there is no turning back. To find out what else the quarter and the coming year will entail, read on. Continue reading “The Capricorn solar ingress 2019”