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!”
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)”
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”
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”
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”
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”
London Bridge is falling down
The story, that is, of the latest London Bridge incident. At 13:58 UT in London, a man wielding two knives attacked a number of people, with two later reported to have died from their injuries. This is the 2nd attack on the same London Bridge in two years. The attack was quickly called a terrorist incident, with the attacker dead from being shot by police. The attacker was identified as 28 year-old Usman Khan, who had been convicted of terrorist offenses in 2012. He was out on parole at the time. The story began in the Fishmonger’s Hall. From there, many fishy elements began to emerge from the official narrative of the event. Continue reading “London Bridge is falling down”
Remembering Kennedy
Friday marked a sombre anniversary in American history. It was one of those days that remains as a sharp memory. It was the day in 1963 that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. In North Carolina it was 1:30 on a Friday afternoon. I was in the 1st grade and we had finished lunch not long before. The announcement came over the intercom. The teachers were in shock and tears. We students didn’t really know what had happened, except that it was bad. What was an assassination? The teacher had to explain it to us, after she composed herself. Shortly thereafter we were all sent home. Today, I am remembering Kennedy and his legacy, as are many in the US. Next year will mark another important milestone for the US, and we will get to why later. Continue reading “Remembering Kennedy”
It’s all about the Benjamin now – Bibi, that is.
On 21st November 2019, “Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit handed down a harsh and severe charge sheet on Thursday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” People worldwide are cheering. The process in the Knesset of removing Bibi’s immunity from prosecution could take up to 30 days. This comes at a very interesting time in the evolving fortunes of the Middle East. We’ll look a little closer at Bibi’s contested chart here to get some clues about what to expect. Continue reading “It’s all about the Benjamin now – Bibi, that is.”
The 2019 Iranian fuel protests
On the 16th of November the Iranian government abruptly raised fuel prices in the nation without warning, thereby sparking widespread protests. Since then there have been some deaths, riots, and over a thousand people placed under arrest. But this bears an unsettling resemblance to other protests that have taken place in recent years in other nations. Iran has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world, and Iranians take it as a birth right that those prices remain low. Any increases are seen in a very dim light, especially since Trump withdrew from the JCPOA and re-imposed heavy sanctions on the nation. But we simply do not know the truth on the ground in Iran at the moment, for reasons we will examine here. Continue reading “The 2019 Iranian fuel protests”