Posted on

The 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake

On the 6th of February 2023 at 04:17 TRT a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Türkiye and north-western Syria. As of this writing the quake has killed over 50,000 people, with over 120,000 injured, the great majority of them in Tűrkiye. There have been over 2100 aftershocks, with over 230 of those registering M4.0 or higher. Regional support was swift to Syria, with Russian troops still stationed in Syria aiding in rescue and relief efforts, not so much in Tűrkiye. More than 80 countries have offered material aid and assistance. Absent from those 80 were Western nations until very recently. The chart is rather interesting for several reasons. The quake is already having geopolitical effects, too. For more, read on… Continue reading “The 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake”

Posted on

Shoigu’s workshop

I have read somewhere that when dealing with Russia, one can either speak with Lavrov or one will have to speak with Shoigu. One goes first to Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister. If talks don’t work, then one has to speak with Shoigu. Sergei Shoigu is Russian Defense Minister. Recently Shoigu and Putin spent the weekend taking in the air of the forest, most likely in Tuva, Shoigu’s home base, and Shoigu’s workshop. Apparently the man enjoys woodworking and has a nice shop, from the photos. But that is not the subject of this post. Shoigu also has charge of another ‘workshop’, and it would appear that ‘talks’ between various parties and Shoigu will soon be taking place. Continue reading “Shoigu’s workshop”

Posted on

Operation Peace Spring and Rojava

On 9 Oct 2019 the Turks finally made good on their threats and invaded northern Syria. The US betrayed the Kurds, yet again, by pulling their troops back from the border of Turkey and commanding the Kurds to dismantle their posts there. Then began the Turkish operation code-named “Peace Spring” – an ironic name, really. However, it may bring just that in the second quarter of 2020, but probably not to the overall liking of the Turks or Washington. We’ll see why as we go along. Rojava may have just been consigned to the realm of dreams rather than reality. Continue reading “Operation Peace Spring and Rojava”

Posted on

The emerging situation in the Middle East

This follows on from a previous post. In the morning of 25 Mar 19 a missile was launched from Gaza and landed on a private home in the Moshav Mishmeret in Israel (chart). The Israelis claimed that Hamas had ordered the attack and responded with force, bombing sites in Gaza in retaliation. Hamas claimed the launch was a mistake, the result maybe of a lightning strike or some such. Regardless, the Israeli response as usual was to launch air strikes against the suspected site of the launch and other strategic targets. Continue reading “The emerging situation in the Middle East”

Posted on

A Christmas story…of sorts

It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas. Americans are getting a special gift this season, with the announcement by the Trump administration that the US troops in Syria are starting their withdrawal from Syria. The Pentagon has since confirmed it. State department employees begin their withdrawal from the 20th of December. The complete draw-down is supposed to take between 60 – 100 days. Continue reading “A Christmas story…of sorts”

Posted on

Syria: the last big battle?

OK, the first post. This post is actually from Aug 31, but I am travelling this week and my posts will be few and far between for the week. But we’ll start with a good one. With all the talk we have been hearing in the news about possible gas attacks in Syria, war with Iran, so on and so forth, here is an addendum I just added to the 2nd half of the Iran article I recently posted.   Talk about manufacturing consent in the West and jockeying for place among the actors…:

Update, as of 29 Aug 18: Since the original posting of this article, a couple of significant factors have come to light which may indeed signal a conflict with Iran.  The first and most significant item is that Syria and Iran have just signed a mutual defense pact. This was indicated by a solar arc of Jupiter to the Syrian Mars (military in general) and the following transits: Mars trine Syria’s Saturn (the latter ruling partnerships for Syria) and with transiting Mars in the 7th house, north node to Syria’s Pluto (a karmic link and the common destiny of large groups of people), and Jupiter sesquisquare to Syria’s Midheaven (the former representing the military for Syria).  We also make note of the approaching t-square of Saturn with the Syrian meridian axis, indicating a key decision of the Assad government. Saturn makes its direct station at a degree and a half from exactitude. The Iranian Defense Minister Hatami visited Damascus a couple of days ago in order to sign that agreement. Citing the linked article: Continue reading “Syria: the last big battle?”