In an interview with The Economist a couple of years ago, Emmanuel Macron had the following to say about the NATO alliance: “What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” His reference was in response to the actions of the Trump administration at the time in its relations with the EU. Trump, the epitome of the New York real estate mogul, had been poking at the Europeans to spend more money on US weaponry. Macron’s statement was the month before the pandemic began to grip the world’s attention and before the coming supply chain shocks and US actions overseas would enshrine his statement as being one of fact rather than conjecture. The question now remains, is NATO to be removed from life support and allowed to finally meet its end, or is it to remain as the shell of American influence over Europe for the foreseeable future? We’ll have a look at the astrology of the institution here. Continue reading “The demise of NATO”
Big Tech and Frances’ Haugenots
On 5 Oct 2021 testimony was given before Congress by one Frances Haugen, a supposed whistleblower from Facebook, about the need for certain regulations to be placed upon the media giant. That was the day after Facebook went ‘dark’ for over six hours and lost significant stock value. Was it a warning shot? Who knows? But as to why Frances Haugen is a ‘supposed’ whistleblower, that will be outlined as we go along in this post. Her testimony comes a day after the release of the Pandora Papers, which have been outed by commentators in independent media as a US government psy-op, though it did serve some positive purposes. Just who is Frances Haugen, though, and what is the agenda the Beltway is seeking to force upon social media? And is Haugen a part of that agenda? There is more to this social media story than we are told. Continue reading “Big Tech and Frances’ Haugenots”
The Pandora Papers and Facebook’s face-plant
On 4 Oct 2021 the Pandora Papers were released amidst much hoopla about exposing some of the most corrupt leaders and billionaires on the planet. Featured in Western mainstream news, unsurprisingly, was Vladimir Putin. Putin’s face loomed the largest in The Guardian’s coverage of the papers, yet he was not directly singled out as one of the soiled leaders. That automatically raised suspicions amongst the independent media. Then, later that day Facebook and its subsidiaries (WhatsApp and Instagram) went down as well. So the big question is, what was really going on and what does the astrology for the day say about it? Continue reading “The Pandora Papers and Facebook’s face-plant”
AUKUS takes on NATO
The AUKUS pact has faded from the news feed for now. But the effects of it will be felt across Europe for months to come. It is apparent at this point the Anglo nations, minus the Kiwis, are circling the wagons in preparation for a showdown with China – or so they seem to think. But what is that going to mean for Europe? Well, it seems the EU is not the superstate than many people thought it was, nor as important as the European Atlanticists thought they were to Uncle Sam. AUKUS has sent a shudder up the spine of the NATO alliance, and as a result, of the EU itself. We will examine what this event means for Europe in this post and some of the wider implications for the future of Europe, of NATO and the West in general. Continue reading “AUKUS takes on NATO”
The AUKUS ruckus
This is a story that will not be going away any time soon. We all might live in a yellow submarine, as the Beatles would have it, but Australians now get to try their hands at nuclear submarines. Well, ‘Yellowcake’ is part of the process, isn’t it? And we aren’t talking about Betty Crocker here. Jokes aside, the AUKUS – Australian, United Kingdom and United States – agreement has many threads running through it, which we will unpack to a degree here. The general world view is that AUKUS is a sub-standard deal (pardon the pun) for Australia, a win for the United States and UK, a loss for the EU and France, and otherwise an unwise decision on the part of the Australian government. There again, opinions differ, depending on one’s geopolitical stance. So, let’s start unpacking. Continue reading “The AUKUS ruckus”
The Libra ingress 2021
Welcome to the balance pole of the zodiac, the Libra ingress of the Sun. From here the daylight hours get shorter in the north and longer in the south. It is also a time when life gets weighed in the balance. Are our hearts up to the task? Do we move forward with confidence or shrink from what may seem to be a dark future and seek refuge in the realm of fantasy? To have a heart lighter than a feather can be a challenge in these times, but in the end we are weighed as to our intentions and actions. More to the point, we are weighed as to our ability to show compassion and express love. And sometimes, love means taking a stand, for ourselves, for our communities and for the future good of all. This is what the West is facing now, and our future will depend upon the actions we take in these days in line with the decisions we make about how we want to live. Continue reading “The Libra ingress 2021”
Iran at the crossroads
On 17 Sep 2021, the procedure was started for Iran to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This comes as the culmination of what will come to be known as one of the most terrible months in foreign policy for the Anglo West in recent memory. But first, one of my faves from Cream, which will give a hint to the purpose of this post:
The 2021 Kabul airport bombings and what comes next
The world was gripped by the recent bombings at the Kabul international airport, coming amidst the evacuations of many thousands of foreign nationals and Afghanis seeking to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. The airport was jammed with people trying to leave. It was a situation that was a security nightmare, with a government not yet formed, panic among the people seeking to leave and warnings of an imminent attack just hours before the event. At latest count, over 182 people were killed with at least 150 injured. Many questions have been raised and as yet are unanswered. But this event will change the face of Afghanistan. And as an effort to possibly sow wider chaos in that country, it has already backfired. But another specter has raised its head, one that is all too familiar for us now. Continue reading “The 2021 Kabul airport bombings and what comes next”
Biden’s gambit in Afghanistan
The post follows upon the two-part post on the American/NATO pull-out of Afghanistan. The hysteria and negative reporting in the American media has been going on at full throttle, with reports already steering the narrative in the public toward sanctioning the Afghanis and at the very least delaying recognition of any government that is to be formed. The hot war that has now ended is shifting toward a covert and hybrid war, with the effort to keep Afghanistan destabilized already taking shape. This post will be more of a focus on the US, though, along with the astrology of the US and what it will mean for the nation in the immediate years ahead. Continue reading “Biden’s gambit in Afghanistan”
The Saigon moment v 2.0
Def: Epic fail – Slang: a spectacularly embarrassing or humorous mistake, humiliating situation, etc., that is subject to ridicule and given a greatly exaggerated importance.
The entire world is now riveted on the news coming out of Afghanistan. The Taliban, in a few short weeks, have taken over all but the whole of the country after a 20-year occupation by American and NATO forces. Fingers are pointing everywhere: How could this have happened? Who is to blame for this disaster? How could we abandon Afghanistan like this? If we had just waited a few more weeks Afghanistan could have been saved…and so on. Some commenters are calling this Biden’s ‘Saigon moment’, and people are wringing their hands about the plight of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. What is the truth, why has this happened and what does the astrology of Afghanistan say? Read on to find out… Continue reading “The Saigon moment v 2.0”