2014 in L'Alpe di Siusi, fresh from the US and Australia.
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Current Moon Phase
THE AQUARIUS FESTIVAL 2019
21 Jan 19
© Malvin Artley
Topics (linked to paragraphs):
Aquarius
Esoteric Aquarius
A preview
The full moon
Nations and cities
Tensions between Aquarian nations
The true secret of brotherhood
The forces of unity
Crimea and MH17
The nations and the world’s destiny
One atomic bomb can ruin your whole day
Space: the final frontier
WWI and today
Why Russia?
Financial empires
We, the 99%, and aircraft carriers
Is Russia really a threat?
The election: Are you ready?
Summary
The EU, US and UK
Britain, France and Germany
Why is the US so belligerent?
Regime change
Nourishing ourselves and others
Greetings Everyone!
And welcome to 2019! Over the holidays we had a friend over for a while from Australia. She wanted to experience a white Christmas, having never seen snow, and she got her wish. We did have a white Christmas of sorts. Her trip was interesting in several respects, aside from the fact that it is always good to catch up with friends. We had not seen each other for some years. We did the normal tourist things – you know, seeing the sights, taking in the history, taking her around as you normally would a guest from overseas. Normally when people come here from overseas it is like the ‘Japanese tourist’ syndrome, no offense to the Japanese. The latter actually have to cram a lot into a short trip, as they don’t usually get a lot of time off. But people normally want to see a lot when they are here in Italy, and there is a plethora of things to see in every region. It is an ancient culture, rich in history. I have lived here now for five years and have yet to see a lot of the country, and not from a lack of trying. But I digress.
I took my friend to see a few sights, but that was not her main purpose in being here. As it turns out, she is involved in an educational drive with respect to micro financing,[1] doing so through various talks in Rotary Clubs, those clubs exemplifying a certain theme – “to provide humanitarian service
and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.” The organization is non-partisan, non -sectarian and open to all people, regardless. It is a melding of business and professional interests. There are close to 32,000 of those clubs worldwide. The organization started in 1905 (chart) by businessmen and a lawyer in the US. They wanted to rekindle the spirit of friendliness they had known in their home towns. It now has branches in over 200 nations and regions worldwide, including Russia, with over 1.2 million members. It is the 2nd largest service club next to the Lions Club and the largest by reach. They also have had consultative status with the UN since 1946. If 1905 rings a bell, it was a big year in science, which paved the way toward the release of atomic energy 40 years later. That followed on from the 1st ray impulse, a liberating energy, which comes at the turn of each century.
Aquarius is associated with a particular class of lives, called ‘the Basket of Nourishment’, or the elemental lives.[2] These are the tiny lives that make up the body of any organism in their collective concert. We are unaware of them. But in fact, we can see ourselves as the elemental lives of our planetary corpus, along with all the other kingdoms in nature. It is the individual that is a ‘basket of nourishment’ for his or her society and nation, for without the collective input of individuals there is no culture, and society ceases to function as a viable concern. We could also say that each individual contributes their own micro-finance to the greater organism and receives the same in kind, under normal circumstances. This is also in turn connected with the theme of service, for which Aquarius is also known. We could see each individual contribution to a society as a service rendered, and society renders services in turn, at least in a healthy society. We know these services as infrastructure and social services. This is academic and generalized, of course, but the point is that without a well-nourished collective, society becomes disenfranchised and gradually ceases to function in a sound manner, eventually collapsing if the situation is dire enough. We discussed this in the Capricorn letter.
In the orthodox, Aquarius is the natural ruler of the 11th house, concerned with ‘friends, hopes and wishes’. And in mundane astrology that house is the national will and organizations and societies in general. In other words, Aquarius is associated with groups and group work, more especially, groups of like-minded people. And it doesn’t matter if the people know each other on the physical plane or not. The effect of group work is actually more powerful if it is not muddied by personal sentiments, good or otherwise. For these reasons, Aquarius has been called the sign of ‘the world server’.[3]
Esoteric Aquarius: Since we have included esoteric Buddhism in this series of letters for the past year, from the aspect of esoteric Buddhism, we have the following[6] connected with Aquarius:
Understanding then the essential nature of the generation and completion stages which are the heart of the four classes of tantra, I ask blessing to practise according to the teachings of the Holy Ones, without neglecting to practice yoga in the four sessions daily.
On the surface this is a rather cryptic stanza. When read in light of the last three signs of the zodiac as a process – Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces – the meaning becomes clearer. What we are looking at here are the initiations of the transfiguration through to the revelation, from initiate to Master. The ultimate aim of Aquarius in this light is the Great Renunciation (in Buddhist terms), which means bending all of one’s efforts to the service of all sentient beings. It is the complete renunciation of oneself in service to others. This is done subjectively through intensive occult meditation. In esoteric Buddhism, ‘practising yoga’ means a session of highest yoga tantra, which can last anywhere from two to four or more hours in a single session. To practise in four sessions daily is to spend essentially the greatest part of one’s day in meditation. It means withdrawing from the world and going into spiritual retreat, with standard lengths of time being from one month to twelve years or more, depending on what the aim is. A standard long retreat is three years.
A preview: At this point we will have to leave further discussion of this great sign for another time, realizing this has been a spotty presentation thus far. But there is a thread from the preceding that will run throughout the remainder of this piece. That thread relates to what we examined in the last letter, in the signs of our coming societal transition. What that transition will resemble has yet to be determined, but there are concerted efforts on all sides to affect their desired changes. In effect there is a battle going on now between the more reactionary, conservative and materialistic factions internationally and the emerging world order of the East, which is more forward-thinking at present than that of the West, more geared toward Aquarian principles and a battle which at present is more mental-emotional than physical, but which could turn violent at any moment.
This will be a powerful eclipse. The first activation it receives is on 2 July of this year by Mars, starting about a week before and lasting a week after. It receives a Saturn transit about a year later, which will reveal the realities of a great many things, probably with many truths coming to light. And there is much to be revealed, and which needs to be revealed. The eclipse takes place on the 1st degree of the Leo/Aquarius axis and it will be particularly important for the US, Canada and western South America. The fact that it is a supermoon also points to the possibility of earthquakes and/or other natural disasters. The Sun/Culmination line runs through central South America, affecting Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. Especially. The Moon/Culmination line runs through Beijing, Indonesia and Western Australia. So, we will need to watch those spaces in the buildup to the eclipse itself and the subsequent activations. Given current world tension it is anyone’s guess as to what can happen.
The eclipse set for Washington shows the eclipse axis on the meridian, with the Moon at the MC, highlighting homeland and leadership issues. Otherwise, it will affect the US (Pluto), the UK (Jupiter), Australia (MC), Saudi Arabia (Mars), Israel (Moon), North Korea (Venus), Ireland (Jupiter), China (Moon, Asc), Spain (Saturn), Iran (Jupiter), the Palestinians (Moon) and the present US administration (Sun). This could be a potent catalyst for geopolitical shifts over the next couple of years. We will address that sort of thing in the Chinese New Year letter in a couple of weeks.
The true secret of brotherhood (one hitherto unknown and unrealized) is hers to give the world, but as yet she knows not what it is. This fact, that Russia is the spiritual custodian of a revelation, is sensed by the other nations in the world; and the first reaction has been fear, based on certain initial mistakes and her premature activity upon the physical plane. Nevertheless, all peoples view Russia with expectation; they dimly realize that from her will come some new thing, for Russia is rapidly maturing and integrating and will demonstrate that she has much to give…The world is witnessing the uprising and the surging forward of a nation which has accomplished in a quarter of a century what other nations have taken many generations to work out. Russia is a giant, getting into his stride—a young giant, aware of great possibility, animated by a deeply religious, though unorthodox spirit, handicapped by a combination of oriental traits and occidental purposes, and distrusted by the world…[7]
The forces of unity: Much of what follows will not be easy to read, nor is it focused on the esoteric side, except for one caveat: The forces of unity must prevail if we are prevent another major world crisis. How that unity manifests is important. If it is a unity based upon the globalist, Atlanticist model, which tends toward a militaristic, super-state government, then it will set back the emerging Aquarian expression with its emphasis on service to humanity, probably for at least many decades. Thus, there are some hard truths to be faced over this year and in the next few as humanity struggles for its voice, which we will begin to examine here.
The reason the Dutch are so outraged is because ⅔ of the 298 passengers and crew on that airliner were Dutch. There were also 27 Australian and 43 Malaysian passengers on board that day. The data from the black boxes of the airliner were taken by the Dutch and never released to independent investigators. The investigation was biased and the Russians, who developed the alleged missile system, were not allowed a part in the investigation. Their evidence was discounted. The rush to blame Russia was revealing, in that the event seemed to be too perfect an opportunity to put distance between the EU and Russia. It worked as expected, but it is beginning to come unraveled, however slowly, as the fractious state of Ukraine increasingly reveals its true colors, as well as its backers. Ukraine was actually in a much better state before the Maidan coup of 2014 than after, and it was Western meddling, rather than Russia, that has brought about the fracturing of Ukraine along ethnic lines in their efforts to leverage Ukraine away from Russia. And just to put a finer point on it, Ukraine is quickly losing any immediate hope of joining the EU due to its present internal tensions and its poor relations with its neighbors.
The nations and the world’s destiny: Why is all this important? Why open old wounds? It is important precisely because the US, UK and Russia hold the immediate destiny of the world in their hands. The UK is the other major agitator against Russia. In fact, if we stand back and look at it, the nations that have Gemini as their soul or personality rulers (the US, UK, Brussels, Poland) are the main agitators against Russia, expressing the lowest and divisive aspect of that sign. New Zealand is the exception there. If we are to move into the Aquarian Age with any sort of peace and grace, then relations between these two great Aquarian nations must eventually be normalized, with cooler heads and common sense prevailing. To be pointed about it, we in the West need to be engaging with Russia instead of trying to isolate and threaten her, and having very serious and earnest conversations and negotiations. Instead, what we appear to be headed toward is a war, one that could quickly escalate to the point of being too terrible to even contemplate.[8]
What is Russia to do in such a situation? The film Dr. Strangelove was closer to a documentary film than people realize. There really is an approximation of what we might call a ‘doomsday machine’. And the president is not the only one who can order a nuclear strike. Lesser commanders can as well. The same situation exists in all other nuclear states. And speaking of strange leadership, the UK is not immune from it, either. The current British Defense Minister has stated, “…he’ll improve the readiness and availability of Britain’s warships, attack submarines and helicopters, and stepping up offensive cyber operations…” in order to counter the ‘Russian threat’. This attitude has a peculiarly American ring to it. There will be a more pointed reference to this sort of thinking in the UK a little later in this piece.
Space: the final frontier: And then, there is the US administration’s call to establish a ‘space command’, with one lawmaker stating, “It is urgent that we address space as a warfighting domain and this combatant command is a critical step in that direction…U.S. Space Command will allow us to accelerate our space capabilities to defend our national interests and deter our adversaries.” This is in addition to the proposed Space Force. It brings to mind the film Starship Troopers, a cult satire classic now. And in case you didn’t know, there are currently five Space Forces internationally, all in member states of the UN Security Council, and with only China’s being independent. For those readers who remember Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ Initiative, that was disbanded in 1993 under the Clinton administration – due to wasteful spending and a collapse of political support after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So space, instead of being the ‘final frontier’, is now the latest and greatest battlefield, now that we have a ‘resurgent Russia’ and the latest advances in Chinese space tech. Whatever happened to international cooperation in space exploration? Well, it is still ongoing, and we just had a fine example of it with the landing of the Chang’e-4 lunar lander on the far side of the moon – a true, Aquarian-style international effort. Only this time, it was without United States involvement. It was done primarily by the Chinese. Perhaps that is one reason the US now needs a Space Force? I don’t know. It is a rhetorical question, but I posted two articles on their mission (here and here).
To get to the bottom of this animosity toward Russia, we must ask some serious questions and be prepared to face some very inconvenient and uncomfortable truths about our home nations, especially if we live in the US, UK, France, the Netherlands and Australia. And that begins with asking ourselves who stands to gain from promoting such vitriol and why they would want to push us in an adversarial stance toward a nation that actually only wishes to live in peace with the other nations of the world, regardless of what we are fed in the corporate media.
Media and propaganda: If you think this is conspiracy, it is, but not from this keyboard. The media attacks on Russia and Putin especially would be funny if they weren’t so crazy and even dangerous. Putin and Russia have been accused of weaponizing almost everything, including tedium, silence, giant squids, the internet, health care information, the Western press (Imagine!) and even crickets. The so-called ‘liberal press’ in Western countries is shameless in its claims, produces little if any hard evidence and never, ever corrects itself if proven to be inaccurate or even lying. Of course, everyone knows the Russians are behind every nefarious undertaking (not). But our conditioning over the past century has been so complete, our culture so saturated with suspicions about Russia and China, too, for that matter, that we automatically flinch any time we hear anything about those nations. And all too easily, we tend to see them in a negative light. You just have to believe what you hear, you see. That is what our ‘free press’ and officials tell us, and then they turn around and tell us that anything outside of their narrative is ‘fake news’. And that brings us to something that has recently come to light about the propaganda machine in the West, most especially out of Washington and London.
There is a propaganda outlet – one of many in the US and UK – this one based in London that has been spewing anti-Russian rhetoric and putting forward all sorts of crazy proposals to deal with our little ‘Russian problem’. It is a government-run pseudo-non-governmental organization (NGO) parading itself as a non-partisan charitable organization called the ‘Integrity Initiative’ – an oxymoron if ever there was one. Their motto is, “Defending democracy against disinformation”. It was started, curiously enough, just after the Crimean secession. Perhaps not so curiously, after all. Problem is, their efforts are not only aimed at Russia. They target anyone who disagrees with their narrative, including meddling in the politics of fellow democracies in Europe, opposition parties within Britain itself and the US now. They have a long list of helpful hints on how to deal with a rising Russian threat. If you take the time to read through the list you will note that some of the items suggested have been taken to heart by the British government.
One of the Initiative’s main target nations in terms of providing them with this wealth of ‘information’ is Germany. Why? Because Germany is to be one of the main entry points of Russian gas into northern Europe, bypassing Ukraine, maybe to an extent. At least, that is the fear among some US and EU politicians. The Germans are also increasingly opposing US initiatives. There is also an old animosity, subconscious though it may be, between London and Berlin, and there is a concerted effort by Western powers to prevent any rapprochement between Berlin and Moscow. One does not have to look far before one finds ‘hit pieces’ on Russia. But a little research will show the sources of those pieces, such as the one just linked, very often to be military people, intelligence operatives or lawmakers who have a vested interest in keeping the status quo afloat. And, most of those pieces will be found on corporate and government news outlets. If you happen to read that article it is worth noting Germany’s AfD Party is split on its opinions about Russia. More on the far right later.
And now, along with the Integrity Initiative, there is a new app that that aims, according to their motto, at “Restoring Trust and Accountability” in the news. One can only imagine. This is a US initiative. If they have their way it will make it onto all web browsing devices sold in the US. You can download the app for your web browser if you like and it will tell you if a news site is trustworthy or not – in other words, if it conforms to the government/corporate accepted news stream. It will give you either a green check or a red exclamation mark, the latter indicating an ‘untrustworthy’ source, such as RT for example. Their real aim is to silence independent and alternative media. Personally, if I were to find the app on a web browser I would be thoroughly checking out all the sites, regardless of the valuation, and possibly adding some with the red mark to my list of regular news sites. This app is yet another step along the road of censorship.
Common sense and media: The point to this is that if we want to be more discerning and develop a clearer sense of what is factual reporting and what is not, we need to look at all news sites that we come across to gauge for ourselves, without pre-existing prejudices, rather than trusting the opinions of people who otherwise support sources who might have other agendas. Newspapers and corporate/government sites sometimes do report issues and events factually and fairly, but it is becoming far less common in the current political environment. There is a key to reading news stories – common sense – but it takes time, fact-checking and digging, in a world where time seems to be a premium and so many people just do not seem to be bothered to do so.
Why Russia?: This brings us finally to why there should be such a concerted campaign to discredit and push back against Russia. Going back to the videos about the WWI conspiracy, we find an age-old story: Empires on the verge of collapse find themselves overextended, grasping for resources and tend to invent enemies in order to justify their spending and even their very existence. Prior to WWI it was the British Empire that was supreme, reaching its farthest extent and range of influence by 1914, the start of the war. But WWI ruined Britain financially, which started the breakup of the empire. The primary reason for WWI were British efforts to halt the rise of Germany which, had it continued, would have replaced the UK as the primary economic powerhouse in Europe. That happened anyway, over time. We won’t go into all the history here, as the videos explain it well.
Essentially, like the US today, the UK at the time was seeking for a new world order, based in a Pax Britannia. World domination, if you will. This was the 1st ray of Britain, admixed with its 2nd ray, both of which were misused for the purpose. Fast forward to today, we have the US after the same sort of ideal – a Pax Americana – and two rising world powers, in the form of Russia and China, offering an alternative. Just as Britain was a century ago, the US is overextended, full of hubris and yet very much cognizant of its fading influence. It is also, though its corrupted leadership, seeking an unrestrained capitalism, as are corporate and banking interests in the UK. Hence, the need for the Russian and Chinese ‘threats’. This takes us back to the Capricorn letter and the signs of the collapsing social structure we are watching in the Western nations.
To put this in perspective, since deregulation and the floating of the dollar in the 1970s, along with the British secrecy locations and its covert financial empire, wealth has become concentrated essentially in ten cities worldwide, in a few nations. Referring to the number of people who have 30 million dollars and over in investible assets a clearer picture emerges, as follows: US (22,945), UK (3830), France (3950), Japan (5515), Hong Kong (10,010). This does not reflect who actually pulls the financial strings. Those latter people are far fewer and centered primarily in New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. By far, the richest people are centered in the US and Europe. Almost 30% of the richest people worldwide live in the US alone, based on 2017 figures. But what is perhaps also revealing are the nations where that number has dropped – The UK and Turkey. That brings up some other rather revealing trends, which are reflected in Middle East geopolitics, but which we will have to leave for now.
We, the 99%, and aircraft carriers: As we saw in the last letter, the primary thing that needs to take place before the Aquarian Age dynamics can manifest are provisions being in place for a decent living standard for the masses and a much reduced need to work just to survive. These masses are, as we are called now, the 99%. And as we also saw, the places where that sort of policy is manifesting are in the East, with Russia as a bridge between the East and the West. We see exactly the opposite situation manifesting now in the UK and the US, and to a lesser extent in the EU and Commonwealth nations. As an example, British readers may or may not be aware that their government is spending upwards of £ 26 billion on two aircraft carriers, all costs totaled, fitted out with American F35 fighter jets, at a time when poverty rates in the UK are high and increasing and the public health service – once the envy of the world – is in a serious state of deterioration. And this at a time when Brexit is the major news topic, which is yet another distraction from the real issues at hand, those being economic. Britain, like it or not, is closely tied to the EU. There will be more on this topic in the next letter, but the EU is facing a point of reckoning – either disintegration or reorganization – over the next few years. The Eurozone was set up to fail, in order to create a stronger, more centralized federal state of European union. But it has backfired. Britain is missing a golden opportunity for Europe as a whole if she leaves the Union now. Again, more on that in the next installment.
But back on topic, why are the Brits building these two mega-vessels? Dreams of renewing empire? Making Britain great again? Global ambitions once they are free of the EU? ‘Countering Russia’? We might well imagine that one reason the EU is a little tiffed at the UK at the moment is due to moves like the F35 aircraft order (138 of them), whereas the Euro Typhoon aircraft, in part designed by British Aerospace (BAE), lost out, as a small example. But even that points to the direction the UK is leaning. The point is that these aircraft carriers and current British belligerence toward Russia can only be described as foolish, putting it mildly, primarily because there is nothing to confront. And in case you didn’t know, the F35 fighter is not the great aircraft it is made out to be. It has considerable maintenance problems and costs, is not that reliable, nor is it even invisible to radar, as both the Russians and the Chinese have developed radars that can track and target them. Does all this raise a few questions? It should.
Is Russia really a threat?: Why do we say Russia is not a threat, when the media consistently pumps out the meme that it is? Well, to be clear, it is not a military threat, unless she is attacked first. The truth is that Russia is perceived as a threat because of what she represents: pushback against Western imperialistic ambitions in Asia (US, UK and French, primarily), an economy that has grown even in spite of sanctions, a growing infrastructure and rising living standards for its people (again, in spite of sanctions) and perhaps most importantly because she protects and aids China militarily, is rich in resources, has spoiled the ambitions of the aforementioned nations in the Middle East and Central Asia and presents peaceful plans (perish the thought) for coexistence with other nations. But the biggest reason is the alternative economic model that China and Russia present to the world at large, an alternative to the New York/London financial empires.
Russia has no imperial ambitions, nor does she seek to project her power across oceans, or even into Europe. If this counters your thoughts on the matter, I would advise reading and investigating works by people who actually know Russia, have lived there and who seek truth instead of living in media echo chambers or Beltway bubbles. You will not find such writers in sources like the New York Times, Washington Post, the Guardian or the BBC, as a general rule. I can supply a list, if you like. And to add to the problems of the West, Russia has done her own ‘pivot to the East’, peacefully and within her own borders, in seeking to integrate the vast untapped resources of her eastern regions with China’s B&R Initiative, thus effecting the Greater Eurasian Union, which had been the great prize of the West until Russia came along and spoiled it all.
The election: Are you ready?: Closer to home, in the US the talk since the election of Trump has been all about how the Russians interfered with the election. Yes, the influence of Russia in its magnitude truly was shocking, but not for the reason one might think. And now we have entered a new election cycle in the US for the 2020 presidential race. Be prepared. The coverage will be endless, jingoistic, constant talk about ‘democracy’, ‘strength’, ‘American values’, ‘Christian values’, ‘family values’…need we go on? And you can bet also there will be quite a lot about the amount of importance the candidates would place on the military and ‘countering Russian influence’ and this time around, Chinese influence. If you want to see where the nation is headed – and this applies to the UK and France, too – look at who the major contributors are to those candidates, who they hang around with, how they have voted in the past, who their advisors are and who they put in their cabinets after the fact.
Summary: We could go on and on about all the preceding points. If you have not read them, I have two articles on Russia and Russian-Western relations (here and here) if you care to read them. They will be confronting if the corporate media is your main source of ‘news’. The main points to be taken away from all of this discussion are that:
But back to our Aquarian siblings, as strange as it probably sounds to many readers, Russia is a key to stability in the EU, and not in any autocratic, negative sense. It is, after all, a natural trading partner with the EU and actually wants strong and stable EU, as well as good relations with EU member states. The EU depends on Russia for its energy needs. And as horrified as we are told to be about more populist leaders in the EU, not all of them want to see the EU break up. Nor are they monsters. They more often than not have legitimate concerns about their societies. Italy recognizes Russia’s place in the larger scheme of Europe, for example, as do the French to a degree and Germany. The Leo nations and places on the continent get along fairly well, with the exception of Romania, which vacillates between Russia and the West. If you really want to get to the core of the matter, it is neither the far right nor the Russians Europeans need to worry about.
Britain, France and Germany: It is also important in this regard to note that Britain is closely related both energetically and astrologically to both France and Germany. It is a triangle of nations that holds the fate of European unity or regression in their hands. These three, more than any other European nations need to sort out their differences and come to agreements on where the Union is headed, otherwise the whole of Europe will be ill-equipped to handle what is to come over the next few years, not that the other European nations don’t matter. Britain will not be free of the EU if Brexit takes place. She is too closely tied to the EU economically and culturally. Theirs is a difficult task, and all three have contributed to the problems of the EU. All three, together, can save the union, too, so long as their decisions do not place the other states in poorer or subservient positions. But to save the Union will mean essential changes to the governance of the Union itself.
Why is the US so belligerent?: Since the end of the World War in 1945 the US has sought to retain its hold over the 50% of the world’s wealth it enjoyed at the end of that war. We could perhaps say that a great opportunity was lost by that wealth not being redistributed after the war between nations on the basis of need, with the US offering guidance instead of demanding control, albeit covert in many instances. But then, human greed was still too strong. We are seeing the results of that today. Especially since the practices of deregulation and privatization since the 1970s, we have lived in what amounts to a gigantic Ponzi scheme, controlled by a few extremely wealthy capitalists in the aforementioned cities throughout the world. If 2018 was any indication, this year (2019) will be a defining moment in that scheme and more likely than not mark its demise. If so, it will totally transform world geopolitics, and probably much to the dismay of the Western nations, who stand to lose the most if the scheme falls apart. China, too, would suffer, but not so much as the West or Japan. For its part, Russia is better prepared to weather such a storm (here and here) than probably any other nation, again regardless of what we hear in the media.
Because of its hubris, perhaps, and because of its lack of knowledge about other cultures, because of its inexperience and the endemic corruption in US politics and especially in its military, the US (meaning the leadership in Washington) has made quite poor decisions with respect to its foreign policy and has cost the US taxpayer dearly. Each successive administration in the past few decades has only increased military spending, has increased American military involvement overseas and in spite of recent announcements of troop withdrawals from the Middle East, continues these disastrous policies. The present administration is no exception. So, this is what we are facing. What do we do when the wheels come off, then?
If there is a disastrous collapse in the US – there still may not be – Americans will bounce back. We have no enemies on our borders. We have vast resources and we have a nation full of very talented and inventive people. The one thing that must be avoided at all costs at this point is a major war with the Russian Federation. I have heard it stated by many in the esoteric community that there will not be a World War III. That may be, but that is no way precludes a major war between the US, UK and Russia. We need to be clear about this. And Europeans should be very wary of American and British intentions toward Russia. Theirs would be the main battlefield in such a conflict. Hopefully most of what we hear in the media towards Russia is only bluster.
Regime change: The true battle, as referenced at the start of this discussion, is between capital and labor, not between nations. It will be up to the people of the US and UK especially to take the reins of government back into their hands, away from the few venture capitalists, bankers, wayward lawmakers and foreign influences who currently pull the strings in our legislative halls. We need regime change in Washington and London. This refers not to changes of leaders, but to change of laws, enacting laws that remove private financing for campaigns, for instance, reinstating protections for the populace such as separating the investment and commercial banking sectors, breaking up emerging monopolies, returning basic essential infrastructure to the people (nationalization or at least stringent government oversight) and especially giving independent media a true and clear voice in public debate. What we will end up with most likely are mixed economies. People can still be very rich if they like, but there will not be the gross disparity of wealth we see now. And the rich will have to pay their share.
Nourishing ourselves and others: The people of a societies and nations are their nourishing factor. If the elements of a system are deprived, wither and die, the system collapses. In a healthy nation its people are cared for, encouraged to innovate and prosper and contribute to its progress. In a healthy nation, each gives according to their ability and the needs of the many, their own needs thus being met. This is not the state of affairs we see in nations functioning under our current neo-liberal economics. The trend is the opposite. And thus we see the rising of our discontent – yellow vests in France, protests in Zimbabwe, Sudan, Britain and the US, to list a few. And this is probably only a preview of what is to come. Once the economic situation gets tough enough people will be out in the streets en masse, protesting, or staying home in nationwide strikes. Only then will governments and lawmakers take notice. France is a test case for what is rising in Europe, and theirs is not a far-right phenomenon, nor was it instigated by Russia. Britain is on the edge, while in the US the economic situation has not yet cratered. But protests will come to those places, too.
By nourishing the people we will see a return of things like corner markets, shops and small businesses. Most of us remember them. In some communities we are lucky enough to still have them. These are the sorts of enterprises that build nations and communities – something we hear about at every election cycle, yet in which we see no change. My friend at the start of this piece is on to something. It is about re-empowering the average citizen, in giving people a chance to apply their special talents in a productive manner and which contribute to the growth and security of their homes and communities. In Aquarius, each is given to according to their need, and each gives accordingly by their abilities. Service is both individual and collective, give and take. No leader is going to make their nation great again. It is a nation’s people who make a nation great. Only we can do it. Only we, together, will make the differences we seek.
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