2014 in L'Alpe di Siusi, fresh from the US and Australia.
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Current Moon Phase
Gemini
Equanimity
The full moon
The New Reconstruction
Current events
The Unit
A democratic revolution
Thank the Lord!
The student protests
Resolution 6090
Palestine update
The ICC
Another American interregnum
Ukraine update
Rockin’ in the free world
The China-Russia summit
In conclusion
Greetings Everyone!
As I stated in the mail-out of the Wesak letter, I was recently in the United States for a couple of weeks, my voyage commencing during the full moon at Wesak. I landed at RDU just after the moment of the full moon, and I could already sense there were big changes afoot. As it turns out, I was not to be disappointed in that observation. My trip turned out to be more like a pilgrimage than a vacation, as there were many imprevisti (unexpected events, hitches) along the way. And as it turns out, the US has a collective personality in the sign of Gemini, so it is appropriate to have a bit of a look at what is going on in and for the US in this letter. In all, this letter will be partly a report on what I experienced in this, my latest trip to the US, as well as a look at the Goodwill Festival, the astrology of Gemini and topical events. We have a full plate for this month. We will get to all that presently. Comments from my trip will be scattered here throughout.
But like we see with the world conflicts, smart phones tell a very different story. The Israeli act was jeered and booed during the tests and the actual performance. And in 2022 the Ukrainian act was the victor, which was hardly a surprise. But as for Italy, the second-place act went to Baby Lasagna, so Italy won somewhat in name (the act was actually Croatian) while Italy came in seventh out of the field of 36, with Angelina Mango. It wasn’t a great result, but it wasn’t terrible, either. But the main focus of this letter is on Gemini and how current events reflect that sign going forward. So, we may as well get right into the sign, while the focus on the United States will come more in the next letter. The one thing I will say about the US this time, which will have relevance in a bit here, is how expensive everything had become, even since last year. With this introduction done, we move on to Gemini.
Gemini: As in the Wesak letter, we will not be focusing nearly as much on the sign this time, but instead upon the Gemini Festival – the Goodwill Festival – especially as this year precedes the 2025 festivals, so much ‘in the news’ these days in the Western esoteric community. As such, Gemini is the main symbol of duality in the zodiac.[2] The symbol for the sign is the twins, also called ‘the quarrelling brothers’. And there is quite a bit of quarrelling going on these days. Gemini brings together all diverse factors into a unity when it is functioning at its highest. At its lowest, the Gemini devolves into special interests, disconnected trivia (in which the Gemini type can delight), infighting and shallow discourse. At a world level, though, this is where the sign becomes quite important, for it is a call to discourse between groups and nations for the spiritual advancement of humanity. Discourse – calm, non-combative, inclusive and with a mind toward understanding – is what is most lacking these days. We seem to be talking at people instead of with them. There is only one humanity, after all, albeit with billions of individuals expressing ourselves.
Gemini is ruled at the three levels – orthodox, esoteric and hierarchical, resp. – by Mercury, Venus and the Earth.[3] The mercury rulership is the planet that governs the Geminian tendency toward interrelation, discourse and conflict resolution. At a more spiritual level the Venus expression integrates diverse factors into a coherent whole and brings the higher mind into interplay in a cohesive fashion:
Also,
“It is the constellation Gemini and its inherent second ray influence which control every one of the pairs of opposites in the Great Wheel. Gemini, therefore, forms with each of the pairs of opposites in the Zodiac a third factor, powerfully influencing the other two constellations…”[5]
As to what is imparted to us at the full moon when the sun is in Gemini, the full moon of Gemini, normally taking place in June, but this year in May, is called ‘The Festival of Humanity’.[6] The day of the full moon,
“…will be the day pre-eminently on which the divine nature of man [humanity] will be recognized and his power to express goodwill and to establish right human relations (because of his divinity) will be stressed. On this festival we are told Christ has for nearly two thousand years represented humanity and has stood before the Hierarchy as the God-man, the leader of His people and “the Eldest in a great family of brothers”. This will, therefore, be a festival of deep invocation and appeal; it will express a basic aspiration towards fellowship and for human and spiritual unity; it will represent the effect in the human consciousness of the work of the Buddha and of the Christ. It will be held at the time of the Full Moon of Gemini.”[7]
We note here the word ‘Christ’ means simply the World Teacher, no matter one’s faith or belief. Unfortunately the casual reader of Bailey’s works may be inclined to take such a passage as the one just quoted to mean it is a distinctly ‘Christian’ festival. The truth is otherwise, as the quote goes on to state. The essence of the meaning and work for this full moon is seen in the bolded text, above. Otherwise stated, the energy imparted at this full moon is one of goodwill toward all peoples, no matter their beliefs. In yet another way of stating the matter in the vernacular, “Love conquers all.” Love in this case is not a sentiment. It is the energy that raises all of humanity to realize each and every person’s divine essence.
“At the time of the Full Moon of June, and in preparation for the opportunity during the entire month of May, the point of focus for all servers must be the Christ and every effort must be directed to aiding His work as Representative for the people. He will endeavour to gather into Himself all that they have of appeal, prayer and demand—voiced or unvoiced—transmitting it in an act of spiritual intent to Shamballa.
A mobilising of the Forces of Light is going on upon the inner side of life. These Forces stand ready, but the word for action must come from the Christ, and He will give that word when the people give it to Him. We are the conditioners of our own destiny. Neither the Christ nor the Hierarchy may, at this stage in human evolution, take any step vitally affecting humanity unless released into this activity by humanity itself.”[8]
There is more which goes to explain why this is important:
Then, there is this, complementing the procedure just stated:
“The immediate task of the New Group of World Servers is to focus the massed longing, aspiration, desire and intent of humanity so as to bring about the needed synchronisation at the time of the Full Moon of May and of June this year, and throughout the intervening weeks from the receipt of this communication (as far as you are concerned)…
This they must do through their own clear thinking on current matters, by the cultivation of a receptive spirit, based on a willingness to learn, a readiness to let old preconceptions go and fixed ideas to disappear under the impact of new truths and new inspiration, and based also on a determination at all costs to recognise truth and presented spiritual developments.”[10]
The last sentence is essential, yet is rarely followed. There are a few ideas to parse here. Going to the penultimate quote above, what exactly is meant as the distinction between ‘cold light’ and ‘clear light’? ‘Cold light’ refers to a personal expression that is not swayed by personal sentiments in the face of any situation – cool, calm and collected. Nothing personal is allowed to deter one from the achievement of their service and spiritual goals. One sees matters ‘in the cold light of day’. It is a state of mind, one that can make one appear to be quite cold when it comes to personal relations, because such a person is not sentimental, yet their hearts remain ‘soft as butter’ when it comes to alleviating human suffering. At the level of personalities this is done through analysis of cause and effect, seeing matters as they are, rather than how one desires them to be. There is no prescription or proscription of outcomes. It is the mind of the sharp sword of discriminating wisdom. But when that mind is stilled and can ‘stand in the middle’ unperturbed by any external influence, then the clear light of intuition can dawn, which supersedes the cold light. Clear light begins with intuition, but it is much more and there are gradations of clear light, which one encounters in Vajrayana Buddhism. The clear light is experienced in the action of ‘ultimate bodhichitta’, a state indescribable in words, but ‘of the soul’ (higher Self), where everything is experienced as a unity, yet the individual conscious remains. When the two lights are blended, then one experiences the actions of an initiate in the worldly realms (our everyday life) – a clear channel for the divine, a ‘station of Light’ among the mass of humanity. This is the ‘Earth’ rulership of Gemini, wherein the blended lights of the personality and the soul illuminate every part of the world they touch. So, in terms of the work to be done at the times of the full moons of Wesak and Gemini, we have the following:
“I would ask you also to take those measures in your individual life and in your environment, wherever possible, which will help make the work to be done at the time of the Full Moon in May and in June successful…employing the power of the will as you can muster it and focus it at a point of tension. At the time of the Full Moon gather people together for an act of fusion and of cooperation, thus aiding humanity and throwing your small individual effort behind that of the Hierarchy.”[11]
And lastly:
“…there are spiritual realities for which it is worth dying if need be, and that war on evil can be waged without hate and with right purpose; secondly, plan at the same time for those practical measures which, after the war is over, will aid the period of reconstruction and help rehabilitate humanity, and lead to a saner, better, truer way of living.”
“How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were to abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger. May they abide in this way. Guru Tara, please inspire me to be able to do so.”
There is an essential point to be made here:
Equanimity: It has been noted there is a paralysis in certain groups that has been brought to the fore through the two main conflicts we have been witnessing over the past couple of years – in Ukraine and Israel. There is the feeling among members and especially the leadership of these groups that one must not take sides in any conflict. They believe this to be an exercise in equanimity. It is, in fact, a grave error and does no service to humanity. Equanimity in Buddhism and in general has a specific meaning. It means to be able to hold one’s consciousness in a point of ‘dynamic stillness’ between the pairs of opposites (soul and personality) and warring factions and thereby to form a channel between them so that peace and synthesis can eventuate. It also means, in the face of difficult situations such as our times are presenting, to be able to act within that frame of mind according to the need of the all parties involved, to invoke understanding between them, to provoke meaningful dialog. To not be ‘for’ or ‘against’ any side in a conflict does nothing to resolve conflicts. It is not equanimity. It does not promote equanimity. It is a passive state. But if we are to promote true equanimity as an act of will – the will-to-good – then it is beholden upon us to be open to all sides of a question and to be able to see all points of view, whether or not we agree with them. Then, if one side and/or the other are intractable, then a solution must be found that does the least harm to the intractable parties, while still preserving the essential goodness of all sides. This is something that is sorely lacking in our present world impasse. Yet, good is being done, should we choose to understand it, much as we are told it is otherwise. With these points in mind we move on to the full moon and our present events.
The full moon takes place on 23 May 2024 at 13:53 UTC (23:53 AEST). This lunation is quite reflective of the nature of this particular solar Festival. We see the Sun, Venus and Jupiter in a close stellium across the cusp of Taurus and Gemini. In addition, the stellium is sextile to Neptune, the latter in the last degree of Pisces. The stellium is also trine to Pluto. All the aforementioned planets form a triangle, with Neptune as the apex planet. It is a combination of factors that is invocative of the intuition. In fact the full moon axis forms a series of sextiles from Neptune to Pluto to the Moon, all showing a very constructive set of energies. In the last full moon, which had the full moon axis in a t-square with the apex Pluto, we had the effect of shaking out or shaking up the status quo in many areas, the notable points of which we will address shortly. The Wesak full moon was very highly charged, yet most illuminating, showing facts on the ground in many areas of life in the cold light of day.
As is common with Gemini there are two contrasting, yet related concepts conveyed by this symbol. Firstly, a garden must first be conceptualized, and done so in a manner that will be attractive to the public. Then it must be actualized, as in cultivated and planted, then tended. This is the first idea. After the garden has grown to be in its conceptualized state, then the tendency to keep it formally tended arises, causing an eventual crystallization as the garden becomes more familiar. People celebrate a beautiful garden. Many of the old established gardens have a ‘following’ and are ‘worshiped’ as places of quietude and reflection. They become formal. Dane Rudhyar attributes the worship of formalism to this symbol, as well as the concretization of ideas. Contrasting but also completing the polarity with the solar symbol is the Sabian symbol for the lunar degree:
Chess is a game of abstract strategy, the ultimate goal being to capture and depose the King. It is a European game, evolved around the end of the 15th century. The rules were standardized by the end of the 19th century. As such, it is a game that evolved in the European mind-set and all it represented,
starting in the large drives toward colonialization by the European powers of the time – the Dutch, British, French and Portuguese. The game has often been used to describe the state of play in international relations. Putin fans like to talk of him playing 5-D chess while the West plays checkers. Geopolitics has been called the Great Game, and is fashioned after chess, the aim being always to depose the leadership of the opposing nation. And in recent times the US and UK especially have been in the business of ‘deposing kings’ in nations who did not agree with Anglo-American diktat. If one doesn’t think so, there is a set of short videos called “Tales of the American Empire” that may prove revealing. It is well researched, with reference material. That brings us to our current events, in which the US has been instrumental and heavily involved in one way or another.
The New Reconstruction: One of the main things to keep in mind with the full moon of Gemini every year is the energy of reconstruction.[12] The major full moons in terms of human spiritual advancement and service are those that take place when the Sun is in Aries, Taurus and Gemini. They deal with the energies of restoration, enlightenment and reconstruction, respectively. The full moon of Gemini this year sets a tone for the years immediately ahead, plain enough to see, given events over the past several years, and accelerated since 2015. The world order is being reconstructed according to international law, with nation after nation eschewing the American/Western ‘rules-based order’. Since the last full moon (Wesak), enlightenment is beginning to make its presence known, shown in the student protests for Gaza, in Western media reporting of the true situation in Ukraine actually beginning to reflect realities on the ground there instead of elitist fantasies, of a wider world turning against the ghastly IOF campaign in mandate Palestine and of the highly reactive reporting in the mainstream media against the emerging order. Events and their significance regarding the points here are accelerating, as we will see below.
Current events: The following have taken place since the last full moon, not in order:
We begin our investigations with this item, though, following on from the last bullet point, above:
“The liberal international order is slowly coming apart – Its collapse could be sudden and irreversible.
For years the order that has governed the global economy since the second world war has been eroded. Today it is close to collapse. A worrying number of triggers could set off a descent into anarchy, where might is right and war is once again the resort of great powers. Even if it never comes to conflict, the effect on the economy of a breakdown in norms could be fast and brutal…”
Not only are the Russians getting ready to sweep across and conquer all of Europe (not), but now we are to expect a huge financial collapse that will send us all into chaos (we’ll see). Perhaps another pandemic is in the works, too (bird flu, per chance?). What’s a poor soul to do!? Well to start, most of us don’t read The Economist, but the headline is certainly catchy. No, this piece is a warning to the financial elites that – yes indeed – the old neoliberal order is in deep trouble. Paying attention to the bolded text above, what are they saying in the article? The one truthful bit is that the old order is close to collapse. That doesn’t mean everything is doom and gloom. It may be for the wealthy elites, but not necessarily for us. But the old order is far along in its decline. This much we know, and the signs are all self-evident for anyone paying attention. The rest of the bolded text is fearmongering, meant to ‘rally the troops’, like the Davos crowd.
The above points being clear enough, the days where powerful nations will be able to plunder developing economies is fast coming to a close. And that has the financial elites very worried. Add it to the growing list that has Western elites of all stripes in a twist – multipolarity, BRICS+, the rising tide of semi-socialized economies (you know, the ones that grow society and a healthy middle class, raise people out of poverty, etc., etc.), the coming demise of Zionism, the end of Empire, and so on. But there is another reason the financial elites are worried, and it has to do with something that is soon to be publicly announced – ‘the Unit’.
The Unit: Our monetary system for the past few centuries has been centered around the imperial-oligarchic system that have been controlled by the banking cartels. Our present economic theories have evolved in order to support this type of arrangement. A recent interview on The Duran with Alex Krainer spells all this out, as well as giving the historical context for the background of what we are witnessing. Our social media and mainstream commentary in the West these days is notably devoid of historical context. It is a fundamental in Buddhist teaching, for instance, that there is no independent arising of events. This is just another way of saying that whatever events we see have their causes in the past and our present choices and reactions to that karma. For instance, October 7 in Palestine was brought about by events that happened at least over the past century. They did not happen because one day Hamas decided, “Hey, let’s go attack Israel.” It was not a terrorist attack. It was an act of armed resistance, but will save that for a later topic here.
For the past 500 years at least, the economic system that has governed the world by the West has relied on imperial conquests and colonialism, the end result being that whole populations for the large part have been kept just above the poverty line, while the elites have enjoyed their wealth. The interview cited in this topic is a must watch regarding our present economic system, why it is collapsing, and where the world might be headed. The days when Washington, New York and London call the financial shots, supported by militarism, are being challenged by the emerging multipolar order. The people who have been running and benefiting by the present imperial oligarchic system are watching this multipolar world emerge and they are increasingly in panic, attempting to save their control over events and economies. That brings us to the title of this topic, a concept currently being precipitated within the emerging blocs of economies, who have been watching the events of the past two years with great interest and concern, and as a result are seeking a way to work around it. Thus, we have the Unit. This was recently explained in an article by Pepe Escobar in posted on the Sputnik News website. Here are the relevant bits:
“Welcome to The Unit [official site] – a concept that has already been discussed by the financial services and investments working group set up by the BRICS+ Business Council and has a serious shot at becoming official BRICS+ policy as early as in 2025. According to Alexey Subbotin, founder of Arkhangelsk Capital Management and one of the Unit conceptualizers, this is a new problem-solving system that addresses the key geoeconomic issue of these troubled times: a global crisis of trust.”
“The Global Majority [in red, left] has had enough of the centrally controlled monetary framework put in place 80 years ago in Bretton Woods and its endemic flaws: chronic deficits fueling irresponsible military spending; speculative bubbles; politically motivated sanctions and secondary sanctions; abuse of settlement and payment infrastructure; protectionism; and the lack of fair arbitration. In contrast, the Unit proposes a reliable, quick and economically efficient solution for cross-border payments. The – transactional – Unit is a game-changer as a new form of international currency that can be issued in a de-centralized way, and then recognized and regulated at national levels.”
If you want to know why the old Western powers are so up in arms over BRICS expansion and monetary policy, as well as why they want to kneecap China, Russia and Iran, read the entire articles cited in this topic and then tie it back into the interview with Alex Krainer, above. Particularly concerned about the emerging multipolar order are the British, hence their great fears over a rising Russia and events in Palestine, the latter also highlighting their dependence on oil from West Asia for the British economy. It is worth noting at this point that the soul expressions of Moscow and China are both ruled by Taurus and the first ray, whereas the personality of the UK is also ruled by Taurus and the first ray. It is clear going forward that the UK must lose its old imperial memories and ambitions if they want to have any place of significance in the emerging multipolar order. The Economist, cited above, is also a British publication, thus primarily addressing British financial and corporate elites. The solution to the present difficulties in international finance for the West lies in an old aphorism: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! With Britain’s 2nd ray soul expression as Gemini, a few words about what is going on in that nation are in order here, which will also apply bit by bit in the EU, starting with Rome’s Taurean soul, maybe.
A democratic revolution: The British public since the days of the ‘Iron Lady’ has been steadily pushed back into what the British public experienced during the Victorian era – high poverty, dwindling social safety net, wide disparities in wealth, etc. The fact was recently noted in a recent parliamentary question time by George Galloway, who cited poverty statistics, comparing them with the UK as a whole in distinction to his constituency in Rochdale. The leader of the Scottish national party went further, excoriating the Tory leadership about their direction and questioning who they really served – their constituents or their donor class. Looking at the UK especially post Brexit, there has been a noticeable decline in the living standards of the average British citizen. And as it stands, the Labour Party is showing little difference in its policies of the Tory party. The UK, like the US has become a uni-party political system. However, cracks are beginning to show in that system in the UK, as the British public has become royally fed up with the policies of the present government. That includes the Labour Party, which no longer represents the interests of the working class but instead represents corporate and financial interests.
Snap election: Rishi Sunak just announced (make sure the volume is up) – drowned out by rain and blown amplifiers – a snap general election on July 4th. Will it be a new Independence Day for the UK – from the US, from Israel, from 14 years of the Conservatives (Tories)? Why, for the love of all good things, was the announcement held on a small podium in the pouring rain, with not even an umbrella for Sunak, and with blaring protest music?? Is it an omen?? The whole circus was certainly ‘suggestive’ of what is to come on Independence Day for the UK. From what I have seen of other elections across our liberal democracies, it is probably best not to get one’s hopes up, at least not this time, though. Experience shows that often people will vote for the devil they know rather than someone who is a relative unknown in hard times, such as what the UK is facing now. Still, Uranus is active with the UK at this election, so surprises are in order. We cannot go into all that here, except to say that Uranus can signal conditions that may seem disastrous at first, but which later turn out to be the very thing we needed.
Social media has been excoriating of Sunak and the Tories (‘Thank you, Tories’ for example) with Sunak’s announcement. Even The Guardian got in on the act with their ‘Drowning Street’ roundup of the headlines in the British (Murdoch) tabloid press. The big three parties in the UK in the coming election – Labour, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats – were mocked as the ‘donkey derby’. But here is something to consider: Labour has been caught wrong-footed by the announcement, as in they have yet to field over a hundred candidates. There is more to this snap election than meets the eye. There is a strategy behind it, other than Tory members wanting out. Pluto and Jupiter are also active there, with the oligarchy and a lot of old money behind these elections. Expect the media blitz for the Conservatives to be immediate, heavy (like the rain for the announcement) and vicious against the other parties. Big Money in politics in our democracies generally wins elections. Watch what happens in the US, given its past record with elections, for instance. There may be another reason Sunak called for early elections, but we will not go into it here. Suffice it to say, this will be an ‘ineteresting’ summer for the UK.
So, with elections coming up in the UK, what are we looking at? Galloway won his seat in Parliament by a landslide victory in the Rochdale by-election. Upon his victory he stated, “Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale.” That was in February of this year. Galloway ran as the leader and founder of The Worker’s Party. The Worker’s Party was founded “to “defend the achievements of the USSR, China, Cuba etc” and is “unequivocally committed to class politics”. Those policies are another factor that galls the British establishment. The fact he won in a landslide was duly noted by the establishment in its attempts to smear him. The Worker’s Party is fielding up to 90 candidates in the coming general election. The pendulum always swings in politics. With Galloway and his party gaining in momentum we see perhaps the start of the swing to a true left in British politics. The UK is one of the nations where the battle between capital and labor is to be decided. Galloway and his Party are a part of that, representing labor. Labour (the party) no longer represents the working class. Then, there is another revolution that is building, starting in the US, but across the West. But we start with a bit of astrology. I will tell you from my own experience, though – vote your conscience at any election. Voting for ‘the lesser of two evils’ or ‘voting strategically’ only plays into the system, because the mainstream candidates usually win, and they are always vetted by the ‘powers behind the throne’ beforehand. That, my friends, is not democracy.
Thank the Lord!: There is planetary combination that has been called the ‘Thank the Lord!’ combo, referring to the Jupiter/Uranus aspects or midpoints. Of that combination, it has been stated:
“It is often very difficult to assess the nature of Jupiter-Uranus constellations. They indicate, in most cases, inner tensions or strains which are then suddenly released. At one time, the author named this configuration the “Thank the Lord” position, because people having such a configuration have repeatedly exclaimed the words “Thank the Lord” after the release of the tension or strain from which they were suffering.”[13]
The 2010 conjunction saw the start in Tunisia of the Arab Spring uprisings, the dump of top secret files on the Afghanistan War by WikiLeaks (the ‘Afghan War Diary’) as well as the Iraq War Logs, we trapped antimatter for the first time (expanding and bringing forward more questions in physics and our material universe), functioning artificial cells were created for the first time and Iranian scientists produced nuclear energy with lasers for the first time. These were all breakthroughs. But even more important than that was the start of the ‘Great Awakening’ of the public due to austerity measures after the Great Recession, causing disapproval of government policy, the realization government was not working for the people, that the rich were quite happy while the general public struggled more and more, and so on. It was the rise in what was then called ‘alternative media’, known these days as ‘independent media. And it became clear to people who paid attention that the West’s wars abroad were not about high minded values, but instead about control of resources and profits. Now that is coming home to roost, hence our next topic.
The student protests: The student pro-Palestinian occupation protests of 2024 started on 17 April at Columbia University (New York City), signalled by the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction. People of a certain age will recall the name of that university: It is the same one where the anti-war protests started against the Vietnam War. At the time of the present protests Jupiter had come within the one-degree orb of transiting Uranus, along with transiting Mars forming a sextile with both of them – a most energizing and fortuitous combination of factors. This was within the Wesak period, a week before the previous full moon. I arrived in the States a week later, so the public was already being ‘informed’ about the protests on the nightly news. The reporting was, shall we say, less than accurate. But the reaction of the American public was telling – as in there was not a particular public discourse about them. The few comments I did hear when the subject came up, especially among older Americans, was that the students were wrong in their actions and that the protests should not be happening. There are reasons for that, and largely due to the conditioning about Israel to which the American public has been subjected for decades, along with a strong strain of Islamophobia and a general ignorance among the public – deliberately fomented by any lack of context reported in the American media – regarding the plight of the Palestinians. Then the establishment line is that Israel is our great ally in the region and the only ‘democracy’ in the Middle East/West Asia.
There are several things the American and Western publics in general need to know about these student protests. Firstly the protests started at Ivy League universities. The students are the children of the elites by large. They have been described as, “…teachers. They are using those campuses for what they are truly supposed to be used for – education, refinement, upliftment, intellectual, cultural and moral excellence, for taking people out of ignorance and into understanding. No one is doing that on those campuses more than those young people today.” As such they represent the future leaders of their respective countries. They represent the peacemakers in their way, in their movement. And there are many other groups pushing for an end to Zionism, apartheid and genocide. They are teaching with non-violence what it means to stand against such evils. This has the powers that be in the nations where these protests are taking place concerned, shall we say. The demands of the students toward their universities are:
The protests also run counter to the pro-Israeli narrative across the Western media, which has caused great concern within Israel – hysteria in Israeli media. To the pro-Israeli Zionist elements within the US, the protests are an affront to the idea that Israel has a right to defend itself, even to exist, that Hamas somehow needs to be destroyed, and disregards the sentiments of the various peoples of the Islamic world. The US media in particular supports the idea that October 7th was an isolated event rather than what might be considered as a final stand for the Palestinian peoples against Zionism and the right of the Palestinian peoples to live freely in the land of mandate Palestine with equal rights and opportunities to the Jews. The media does this by constantly calling up October 7th, rather than looking at any causes or asking any hard questions, like the Gaza blockade, the Abraham Accords, increasing land grabs in the West Bank by Israeli settlers, Israeli apartheid, and so forth. In other words, the student protests also oppose the Zionist apartheid state that exists in Israel.
There are a couple of videos recommended for giving some background as to why The US and UK so wholeheartedly support Zionism and the Israeli state. (HERE for the 1st 5 minutes and HERE). The 2nd video mentions two films – Tantura and Europa: The last Battle. The 2nd one is revisionist, while the first one is a documentary. The speaker in the 2nd video is young, and what I can say at the moment is to take the 2nd set of films (10 videos) with salt handy, if you decide to watch them. That said, the root of the problem we are currently facing in Palestine is the heavy indoctrination of Israelis, Americans and the European public around Zionism. That is the message from the two women in the videos. Zionism itself began in Europe as an attempt to rid Europe of Jewish influence on the one hand, and by Jews as a means to escape increasing ostracism and violence.
Resolution 6090: As an American by birth, I see the passage of the House Bill 6090 an affront to every American, an infringement on free speech and the right to assemble and protest, its only purpose being to protect the Zionist state of Israel. It is an insult to and travesty of the Constitution, the basic laws of the land in the United States. But more than that, if by some chance – a quite likely chance – it becomes law in the US, its main purpose will more than likely be used to silence dissent and protect the donor class that so richly rewards members of Congress and a long list of Presidents. And the three main contenders at present for the presidency – Trump, Biden and RFK, Jr – are all staunch Zionists, along with tens-of-millions of evangelical American Christians, also Zionists. Conflating Zionism with anti-Semitism is a lie, as well as displaying willful ignorance on the part of the lawmakers. It is also an affront to non-Zionist Jews, who are now being targeted for a rising tide of anti-Semitism, even though the majority of Western Jews are not Semites themselves. No good will come of this bill. Above all, though, the passage of that bill shows the growing desperation of the Zionist lobbying groups and their supporters in the US and abroad, who see their soft power and influence evaporating in the face of the Gaza genocide and the student protests. The world outside the West applauds the pro-Palestinian protesters and sees that the shine of the City on the Hill gone, replaced by the ugly and rusting shell of Washington’s vaunted values of ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ that are paraded out at every possible turn on the campaign trail. Where does Israel stand at present, then?
Palestine update: The Israel-US game plan for Gaza is staring us in the face. Despite what we hear from the US media, there is no serious plan for a permanent ceasefire or for proper humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, nor will there be relief for the Palestinians there. The plan is to ‘relocate’ them and destroy Gaza. Their plan is likely to succeed, too, if matters continue as they are. Hamas had planned for a conflict lasting for one year. Now we are at 7 months. But Hamas shows no credible signs of weakening or of giving up. A recent presentation by John Mearsheimer at the CIS conference in Australia laid out the situation for Israel, and it looks pretty bad. Israel is in deep trouble. It is increasingly isolated on the world stage. It only exists now because of US support. The financial situation is grim. Hezbollah is sitting on 150,000 missiles which so far it has barely touched. The Houthis are beginning to strike targets in Israel, and not just out at sea. Hamas is still quite viable. None of Israel’s war aims have been achieved, nor are they ever likely to be. Its reputation is in ruins. They no longer have escalation dominance. They are surrounded by nations that would like to see the Zionist state gone. And there is no solution to the crisis on the horizon. Normalization of Israel with its neighbors is off the table, probably for good.
Further, there are two ‘Israels’ existing within the borders of mandate Palestine, along with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza:
One is a European-style liberal set (Ashkenazi) in the business centers of Tel Aviv and Haifa, as recently recounted by Alastair Crooke, completely divorced from what is happening in the West Bank. They feel as though they are the 51st state of America. The ‘other Israel’ is the Mizrahi sect that sees themselves in Biblical terms, very right-wing, seeing themselves as the rightful restorers of the Israeli state. They are not at all liberal. Both sectors are at war with each other. Israel can in no way be called a liberal democracy. But the interesting thing is that the Israeli division has its reflection in the US – Democrat/Ashkenazi, Republican/Mizrahi. It is a loose association, to be sure, but it is food for thought. Then, overlaid with the Israeli divide is a plurality of Israelis who see the present situation there existentially and October 7th as the beginning of a new holocaust. They largely believe Hamas wants to kill them all (which is untrue), as well as seeing the student protests as an effort to remove their legitimacy. It is what they believe and to thm it is entirely legitimate, which makes dialog impossible because they refuse to speak to any other view. The same is true on the other side of the divide. This we have the ‘quarreling brothers’ of Gemini in action, at present unable to come to terms with their respective world views.
Then to top it all off there is the Western pressure on Israel, telling the Israelis all they have to do is to have a ceasefire, have normalization with the Arab states, return to the old status quo and everything will be hunky-dory. The Western thinking on this crisis is preposterous. It is Saudi law, for instance, that there will be no normalization with Israel until the two-state solution is imposed. No Israeli believes or wants that. Perhaps it is a bit clearer as to why the situation in mandate Palestine is so intractable. And finally, The Resistance has stepped up its activity considerably since the invasion of Rafah. The Israelis have no strategy except to play whack-a-mole with Hamas, which goes nowhere. Then there is this:
The ICC: Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan of the ICC has issued applications for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant and three heads of Hamas. The deed is not yet done, and there will be considerable pressure to drop the application for Netanyahu and Gallant. The applications for Hamas leaders would likely stay. If the arrest warrants are issued then states who are members of the Rome statute are obliged to arrest them upon arrival on member states’ territories. The US, Russia and Israel are not members of the Rome Statute. The warrants would end almost all travel for Netanyahu and Gallant. (There are nonstop flights between Tel Aviv and New York.) Further “There is also a stigma coming with the warrants that will prevent pro-Zionist politicians from Europe and elsewhere from meeting with Netanyahoo or other involved persons.” We’ll see. The warrants would have no effect on Hamas because those charged never travel. But there is a furore on the internet about the announcement, and especially against one person – Amal Clooney, who issued a statement upon the application for the warrants. We won’t go into it, except for the reaction to the application for warrants and her statement.
The nature of the conflict in mandate Palestine is such that anyone with an opinion on it is tarred with a label, one that will stick for years. If one favors the Palestinians one is labelled as a ‘Jew-hater’, a ‘supporter of rapists’ (a story that has been thoroughly debunked), a ‘lover of terrorists’ and so on. If one issues a statement in favour of Israel one is labelled ‘Islamophobic’, a ‘genocide supporter’ and so on. There is no nuance. The matter is seen to be in terms of black and white. Either way, one gets pilloried in the court of public opinion. It should be noted, though, that armed resistance against occupying forces is allowed in international law. That is the reality of the Palestinian resistance, prosecuted by Hamas on October 7th. It is how the US was founded, after all. So, a question arises.
“[From Pinkas regarding Israel]…the divide is real, widening and becoming unbridgeable. The political, cultural and economic gaps and rifts are growing, accompanied by toxic vitriol that masquerades as political discourse. Even the most fundamental common narrative, the Declaration of Independence, is now being questioned with some of its basic tenets and guiding principles a source of political contention”.
[From Crooke] He is referring to Israel, but the same is true in the U.S., where the basic tenets and guiding principles of the Constitution (i.e. free speech) are a source of political contention. He talks also of the Right’s claim that Tel Aviv ‘is a bubble’, but adds: “As for the bubble claim, they’re right – but New York is a bubble [as is Washington], Paris and London are bubbles” – geographical, as well as ideological bubbles. Yet Pinkas does not ‘get’ the paradox he creates: Is not that the core of the problem? The ‘Techie-obsessed’ Metro-Élites of America versus the Rest (i.e. ‘flyover America’)? The bubbles are the problem, not something to be brushed aside.”
I observed this divide first-hand in my trip to the US. There is no dialog, only posturing or even worse, no dialog at all. And therein is the basis for the next American interregnum. Then there is the little matter of Ukraine.
Then, there is the fact that the US is progressively abandoning Ukraine. It is a bad look for the election, US efforts there being seen as a failure. As it stands, the US will walk away and leave the whole mess in Ukraine to the Europeans (including the British), saying it is a European matter – this, despite the fact that Washington cajoled the Europeans to join all-in on the war. The NATO proxy war against Russia, devoid of context in the West, will end on the battlefield with the surrender of the Kiev regime. Ukraine has been neither free nor independent, at least since 2014. The Western powers, headed by the US, have been openly meddling in Ukraine since the Maidan coup, usurping its independence and freedom, as well as pressing it to send its youth to war against Russia. And since a couple of days ago it is arguable as to whether or not Zelenskyy and the Kiev regime is still legitimate, since his term as President ended on the 20th of this month, with elections having been suspended under martial law. But there is a war on…
In a recent interview Zelenskyy acknowledged the facts: Ukraine (meaning the present government, though he means the nation) would not survive without American help. Stoltenberg has alluded to the fact that Ukraine will be left high and dry by the West if it does not prevail in the NATO proxy war against Russia:
“The first thing I will say is that first of all, you need to ensure that Ukraine prevails. Because unless Ukraine prevails, there’s nothing to reconstruct in the free and independent Ukraine.”
Also in that message is the call for all NATO members to increase their defence spending. It is the very thing the peoples of the West, save for a few, neither need nor desire. And at the same time, unreported, major dissentions among NATO members are reported, with vicious arguing between members as to the causes, how they got there and how to get out of it. But the Western elites, living in their think tank world, see no other way forward than to double down. So, the war will finish in Ukraine on the battlefield – unless perhaps saner heads in the West step forward and recognize what the Russians were actually presenting as a security treaty in December of 2021 (translate from Russian), overruling the more hawkish elements in their governments. There are serious doubts the leadership of the US or UK will allow it. No, only an ignoble defeat of their plans for Russia will bring reality home. Even then, defeat like we saw in Vietnam and are witnessing in West Asia will be met with denial, with attempts at spinning the losses as some kind of ‘victory’, and they will try to continue their attempts at destabilizing the regions around Russia, to ‘bleed’ Russia. It is apparent to the nations outside the West – the nations claiming their freedom and sovereignty – the West is on a losing streak and it is better to hitch their carts to the BRICS+ train. The American public wants a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine.
Rockin’ in the free world: Blinken was just in Kiev on a sudden visit. Such sudden visits often presage major events in the nation so blessed with the visit, irony noted. The Russians are making very quick gains in the north in the direction of Kharkov, Ukraine’s 2nd-largest city. The Ukrainian military is showing signs of collapse. Something has to be done. Zelenskyy was probably told by Blinken he has to hold on until the November election in the US, or to ‘make other arrangements’. A catastrophic collapse of Ukraine has to be avoided prior to the election. It would be a bad look for Biden. This is no joke. American politics and campaigning is hard at work in Ukraine and Israel now, with pressures on both nations to show some sort – any sort – of a victory in order that Biden can claim success – mission accomplished. As if to cap off his visit to Kiev on an inspirational note, Blinken took to the stage (Is not all politics but a stage performance?) and belted out his rendition of Neil Young’s, “Rockin’ in the free world.” I doubt Neil Young would approve.
It is apparent Blinken does not see the irony in his performance, as the song is actually an anti-war song and a commentary on life in America and American leadership – “We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand.” It was written in the Bush Sr. era. Ukraine is being rocked instead. That said, we keep on rockin’ in the free world here in the West, nonetheless, while Ukrainians die. But the West is not so ‘free’ any longer. Irony abounds these days when it comes to contrasting views on Western exceptionalism, the views being dependent upon one’s background. In fact there is a growing view in the world majority that the West no longer represents freedom and democracy. The West is not ‘the World’, after all.
The China-Russia summit: Putin’s trip to China, together with a very large contingent of Russian government officials and industry leaders, has come and gone. They issued an 8,000 word statement (machine translate from Mandarin) at the end of the summit outlining their plans, probably for the years ahead. There is a long twitter thread that gives the meat of the statement. No doubt, it will cause a very strong reaction in the Western halls of power, because it fully consolidates the strategic partnership between the two nations as well as strengthening the core of the BRICS group. We have the following excerpt from their statement which gives the essence of their efforts going forward:
As an independent force in the process of establishing a multipolar world, China and Russia will fully tap the potential of their relations, promote the realization of an equal and orderly multipolar world and the democratization of international relations, and gather strength to build a fair and reasonable multipolar world.
The two sides believe that all countries have the right to independently choose their development models and political, economic, and social systems in accordance with their national conditions and the will of the people, oppose interference in the internal affairs of sovereign countries, oppose unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the Security Council, and oppose ideological lines. The two sides pointed out that neocolonialism and hegemonism are completely contrary to the trend of today’s era, and called for equal dialogue, the development of partnership, and the promotion of civilized exchanges and mutual learning.”
The bolded text is the most important for our considerations here. Is this not what was described and called for in the world going forward into the Aquarian age? (excerpted from pp. 200, 639 and 640 of A.A. Bailey’s The Externalisation of the Hierarchy) What we see here is a start and acceleration of the multipolar order and the evolution of economic blocs based upon mutual trust and similar cultures. Russia’s destiny (soul path) lies primarily in the East,[15] and in that we see the soul of Russia beginning to show more strongly. It is also notable that the sanctions imposed upon Russia at the outbreak of the present war in Ukraine were the major cause of Russia’s turn to the East and development both of its eastern regions and its relations with East Asia, especially China. Although the bulk of Russia’s population is European, it is a Eurasian nation and as such links the East and the West, hence its soul motto, “I link two ways.” That is supported by the astrological relations between the two nations as well, mentioned previously.
While I was in the US these past weeks I was questioned by a relative if I am pro-Russian. My answer was I am pro any nation that raises the lot of its people (fulfilling its soul path) according to Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms, which Russia and China are both on their way to fulfilling, despite how they are portrayed in the West. The two fundamental freedoms that must be fulfilled before the other two are really possible are freedom from want and freedom from fear. Freedom of speech and freedom to worship according to one’s conscience follow on from the previous two once a nation is established. It is clear that once one begins to investigate any nation with an open mind, much of what we hear about said nation (if they do not adhere to the wishes of the Western powers) is negative and false. Nowhere is this more evident than with Russia, Iran and China. It will be a long time before the West has any meaningful dialog with those nations, given our current leadership. And we can include the BRICS+ nations in that lot as well, Iran especially. That said, how many times in recent memory have we heard any positive comments in our Western media regarding the aforementioned nations and their leaders, and why not? They are questions worth answering for ourselves, especially with the rapid pace of change we are seeing with evolving events. For those readers who disagree with my statements in this topic, all can say is to investigate nations from media across the board and as much as possible with a mind free of bias, attachment and anger.
In conclusion: What we have seen since the last full moon are what amount to a series of geopolitical earthquakes. We have looked at turning points in the geopolitical landscape and past letters, but now those turning points are finally begun to precipitate. It is beholden to anyone of influence to understand what is going on, why, the causes leading to them and where they might lead. What we need at this juncture more than anything is an enlightened dialogue between warring parties, which at present refuse to talk to each other. This makes for a precipitous moment in the history of this century so far. The old saying that desperate times call for desperate measures is especially true, given everything that we have just examined. Please do take the time to set aside emotions, old sentiments for and against, and realize that what is happening is in timing with the cycles, yet still needs a proper understanding if we are to move forward into opportunity instead of falling into a further state of decline. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Anglo-American world. The age of empire is passed, while the age of competition is likewise in decline. Instead, we see the rise of Aquarian values such as cooperation, building mutual trust, and so on – all for one and one for all. The security of the Asian nations is set on a course toward stability and prosperity. The same can be true across the entire world. We only need to let go of the past, how to see things in the cold light of day and to seize upon the opportunities presented. The world no longer accepts the old axiom, “my way or the highway.” Instead, all roads lead us into the promise of the Aquarian age, an age where the will-to-good will predominate, while the old antagonisms of the past fade to dust. May your opportunities be plentiful and abundant. And above all may we all make the effort to see the good, the soul in all events. We are all meant to be stations of light in a troubled world.
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