Middle East Crisis: Orthodox Jewish demonstrators protest against the government of Israel outside the Israeli mission to the United Nations in New York City, May 31, 2010. The Israeli Commando raid of a humanitarian flotilla to Gaza in the predawn hours Monday on the Mediterranean Sea has sparked worldwide outrage with immense pressure placed on Israel's government to explain itself. The United Nations held an hurried emergency session in New York late Monday night as the crisis set off large protests in many of the world's cities. The Israeli commando attack threatens peace between Israel, Gaza, Turkey and Israel's Arab neighbors.
Credit: Chip East/Reuters
The Cardinal T-Square Crisis
Uranus Enters Aries
Volcanoes Erupt & Saturn Turns Direct & Death By Israeli Commando On Gaza Humanitarian Flotilla?
This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH Monday May 31, 2010 purports to show a woman carrying a blood soaked stretcher on board a Turkish ship attacked by Israeli commandos that was part of an humanitarian aid convoy heading to the Gaza Strip.
Plus,
Train Sabotage In India, Street Battles & Death In Jamaica & Mosque Attack In Pakistan?
And...
Astrological Global Cooling & Floods Forecast &
Mysterious Lights Over Canada?
Mundane World Forecast: 2010-2015
Mundane World Forecast: 2010-2015
By Theodore White; mundane Astrolog.S
I continue to warn anyone who will listen that the inclinations of Cardinal Crisis transits of 2010 are very strong, and so individuals, groups, peoples, populations, along with nations, their governments, leaders and policymakers should exercise caution and patience under the powerful planetary inclinations.
It seems that my mundane forecasts have not been heeded by the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Facing Gaza Crisis: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, on May 31, 2010. An Israeli statement said he has canceled forthcoming meetings with leaders in Canada, including upcoming June 1st talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, and is said to be on his way back to Israel. Credit: Chris Wattie/Reuters
Now, the crisis I have been warning about for over two years has started ~ with the strongest planetary inclinations just ahead.
Israel Attacks Gaza Humanitarian Flotilla: This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH Monday May 31, 2010 purports to show a Israeli commando aiming his weapon on the deck of a Turkish ship that was part of an humanitarian aid convoy heading to the Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers boarded this particular Turkish vessel in international waters off the Gaza coast. Israeli commandos stormed six ships Monday carrying hundreds of Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing at least nine people, and wounding dozens more. Protests against the attacks have spread in Turkey and across the Middle East. Credit: AP Photo/IHH via APTN
See emergency United Nations session that took place May 31, 2010 on the sudden outbreak of the Gaza Flotilla-Turkey-Israeli conflict:
This is the Cardinal T-Square Crisis.
It has been my forecast for some time that the world is entering a new, historic era. We are now on the cusp of this era with the May 28 entry of the planet Uranus, or what is called "ingress" by astrologers, into the tropical Sign at 00-Aries.
This is a significant transit which has not occurred in nearly 84 years, but we're not quite there yet.
The recent entry of Uranus into Aries is a "preview" to come of its official entry into the Earth's equinox seasonal point of 00-Aries in March 2011.
The time in the world concerning the mundane transits of Jupiter & Uranus is similar to that of the spring months of 1927 in the northern hemisphere, and the autumn in the southern hemisphere.
The current motion of Uranus into tropical Aries, along with that of Jupiter in early June, are "preview" transits of those to come starting by winter/spring 2011.
It also ends the previous 84 years, and, the last 42 years since the late 1960s, and opens a new cycle, which is previewed through the late spring to summer months of 2010.
The time in the world concerning the mundane transits of Jupiter & Uranus is similar to that of the spring months of 1927 in the northern hemisphere, and the autumn in the southern hemisphere.
The current motion of Uranus into tropical Aries, along with that of Jupiter in early June, are "preview" transits of those to come starting by winter/spring 2011.
It also ends the previous 84 years, and, the last 42 years since the late 1960s, and opens a new cycle, which is previewed through the late spring to summer months of 2010.
This continues my forecast that the world is entering a new era, which will make 2010 an historic year.
Uranus will spend the next several months in Aries, joined soon by Jupiter, until mid-August, when Uranus re-enters Pisces, followed by Jupiter, in the months from mid-August through early 2011.
Uranus in Aries also signifies accidents and fatalities by violent means, usually by sudden, unexpected strikes or impacts to the head. It is advised to take all prudent safety precautions.
Uranus will spend the next several months in Aries, joined soon by Jupiter, until mid-August, when Uranus re-enters Pisces, followed by Jupiter, in the months from mid-August through early 2011.
Uranus in Aries also signifies accidents and fatalities by violent means, usually by sudden, unexpected strikes or impacts to the head. It is advised to take all prudent safety precautions.
In the meantime, my forecast calls for many changes; especially regarding the world's climate and weather, among other topics.
I continue to forecast that travel is highly unfavorable this year, and that this is not the summer for your usual fun in the sun.
See how this woman was lucky to be rescued in New York City on Memorial Day. It is a sign of the problems to come this summer on the water. Again, I urge caution under the planetary inclinations.
Transiting Saturn turned direct at 27-Virgo May 30, preparing for its role in the cardinal T-square configurations just ahead.
And, to mark not only Saturn's direct motion, we also have the entry of Uranus into tropical Aries, where we have the eruptions of not one, but two volcanoes in Central & South America:
It covered miles of southern Guatemala with hot, choking smoldering ash and left hundreds of homes in ruins.
President Avaro Colom declared a state of “calamity” in two Guatemalan provinces. The international airport & schools have been closed with shelters for 1,700+ residents forced to evacuate their homes.
“We have to have calm, maturity, and do only what is essential while we see how the event evolves," Colom said. Mt. Pacaya has been almost continuously active for nearly a half century, the last time it covered Guatemala City with ash was in 1997-98, the last time Jupiter & Uranus met in conjunction.
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano erupted in April 2010, and caused massive disruptions of air travel over northern Europe.
I also warn about Iceland's second volcano: the mighty Katla Volcano, which has erupted 20 times in recorded history, with the last eruption occurring in 1918.
Katla Volcano, which, under the Cardinal Crisis transits, is set to erupt, will cause even more air flight disruptions, and, a coming colder climate, over much of Europe, and the northern hemisphere this year and into next.
I expect a colder climate to result into the second half of 2010, and the first half of 2011.
It covered miles of southern Guatemala with hot, choking smoldering ash and left hundreds of homes in ruins.
President Avaro Colom declared a state of “calamity” in two Guatemalan provinces. The international airport & schools have been closed with shelters for 1,700+ residents forced to evacuate their homes.
“We have to have calm, maturity, and do only what is essential while we see how the event evolves," Colom said. Mt. Pacaya has been almost continuously active for nearly a half century, the last time it covered Guatemala City with ash was in 1997-98, the last time Jupiter & Uranus met in conjunction.
Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano erupted in April 2010, and caused massive disruptions of air travel over northern Europe.
I also warn about Iceland's second volcano: the mighty Katla Volcano, which has erupted 20 times in recorded history, with the last eruption occurring in 1918.
Katla Volcano, which, under the Cardinal Crisis transits, is set to erupt, will cause even more air flight disruptions, and, a coming colder climate, over much of Europe, and the northern hemisphere this year and into next.
I expect a colder climate to result into the second half of 2010, and the first half of 2011.
TWO VOLCANOES ERUPT AS URANUS ENTERS ARIES
See & hear the power of Guatemala's Mount Pacaya's eruption
Deadly Encounter With Volcano: Cameraman Byron Secaida recounts his story after being rescued from the Pacaya volcano near Guatemala City May 27, 2010. Byron was working with TV journalist Anibal Archila who was suddenly killed while reporting for local news station Noti7 when he was fatally struck on the head & body by a "shower of large rocks" unexpectedly ejected from the erupting volcano. The sign Aries rules the head.
Credit: Daniel LeClaire/Reuters
Credit: Daniel LeClaire/Reuters
~ AP reports May 28, 2010 ~
Two Volcanoes Erupt as Uranus enters Aries: Guatemala officials declare a state of emergency as the Pacaya Volcano near the capital spews large rocks & hot ash, killing one reporter & leaving three children missing. Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked another volcano - the Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuador - prompting evacuations of hundreds of people from nearby villages. Volcano Pacaya, one of 8 active Guatemalan volcanoes erupted May 27 just 25 miles north of the capital just as Uranus enters Aries.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — "Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanoes in Central and South America on Friday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over wide regions.
A television reporter was killed and three children were missing, a spokesman for the national disaster committee said.
Residents clean their roof of ash and rocks on the slopes of the Pacaya Volcano, 45km outside Guatemala City, May 28, 2010. Credit: Daniel LeClaire/Reuters
The volcano’s eruption lost some intensity on Friday, according to the country’s Geophysical Research and Services Unit.
Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador, forcing the evacuations of hundreds of people from at least seven villages and closing down the airport and public schools in Guayaquil, the country's largest and most populated city.
A Second Volcano Erupts in Ecuador: Tungurahua Volcano spews dense choking ash, fiery lava, and huge stones into the skies during its eruption near Cotalo, Ecuador, May 28, 2010. Photo/AP
The National Geophysics Institute said that ash plumes soared six miles above the 16,479-foot crater. An institute researcher, Sandro Vaca, told Radio Sonorama that the eruption “seems to be growing rapidly,” but that there were no immediate reports of deaths."
Travel Unsafe: An American Airlines jet sits covered with volcanic ash from the eruption of the Pacaya Volcano on the runway at the International airport in Guatemala City May 28, 2010. Guatemala's Pacaya volcano spewed black ash & small rocks for a second day on Friday, after killing at least one person, forcing hundreds of families to evacuate and shutting down the international airport.
Credit: Daniel LeClaire/ReutersAgain, I continue to forecast and warn about danger & troubles on the High Seas
I continue to urge caution on, and over the world's oceans this year and have done so for well over a year now.
World transits are unfavorable for vacationing, sailing, and travel on and over water. This goes for scientific, humanitarian, rescue and military operations on, over, and below the oceans and high seas.
I have forecasted great accidents on the world's seas this year, and next year, due to the inclinations of the planets relative to the Earth.
This includes all travel this year on land, air and sea. I have forecasted this for some time due to my previous astronomical calculations of the Cardinal Crisis transits and their inclinations.
Many of these sudden and sad events are caused by human error, ignorance, haste, impulse, and stubbornness.
I continue to urge great care and caution this year under these particular planetary inclinations. Stay close to home this summer and allow the first series of cardinal transits to pass by. Even at home, near and in lakes, and on the roads, take care and use caution.
Again, according to my mundane calculations of the planets relative to the Earth, and their correlating influences, I continue to forecast that travel is highly unfavorable this year - especially the summer months in the northern hemisphere.
Again, caution is strongly urged.
Strange Lights, Sights & Sounds Over Western Canada?
In Mundane Astrology, during times of unique, and unusual planetary inclinations, sometimes there are anomalous events, or what are called "signs," in the skies seen with more frequency, such as the strange lights filmed over northern regions of the planet like Norway, and now, Canada.
See Norway-like Spiral Lights Seen Over Canada.
Recent Events Of Cardinal Crisis Forecasts
See linked events below
Residents of the Flor del Campo neighborhood watch the overflowing Choluteca River after heavy rains in Tegucigalpa, Honduras May 30, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
~ Tropical Storm Leaves Central America Under Water ~
By Carmen Visna
May 31, 2010 -- "Tropical Storm Agatha has become one of the top ten deadliest tropical storm systems on record, behind 6 full-force hurricanes, dropping nearly two feet of rain on central America in two days, flooding multiple nations’ low-lying areas and creating havoc across the region.
At least 142 people have been killed, mostly in flooding and landslides, and coffee growers and farmers are preparing for potential long-term impact on agriculture across the region.
In El Salvador, the extreme weather has left at least 6 people dead, with flooding spreading across farm land and low-lying areas. El Salvador’s Pres. Mauricio Funes has declared a state of emergency, amid worries the heavy rains and flooding will lead to landslides, mass evacuations, displacements, death and disease.
Funes warned that “We have finally decided to declare a red alert across the entire country”, but was careful to note that “we have not declared this alert because of a high number of deaths.”
Honduras has also declared a state of emergency, after 14 were killed.
In Guatemala, intense rains and winds coincided with lava flow and hot ash from the Pacaya Volcano, causing evacuations made more complex by the dangers posed by lava and ash.
The volcano’s surge in activity had closed the Pacaya airport, and with rains complicating the ash-removal effort, the flow of people and supplies into or out of the city will be impeded.
As of yesterday, there were over 17,000 people displaced and living in temporary housing in Guatemala, and authorities seek to coordinate the response, to ensure flooding does not lead to transport-related fatalities or the spread of disease.
According to a Global Voices report, quoting Geraldine Mac:
According to La Tribuna:
According to El Comercio, Perú, the rains have left at least 111,000 people displaced, and more to be evacuated, in Guatemala, with thousands of homes destroyed or damaged and fears of more to come as flooding continues.
The Mexican government has expressed solidarity and sympathy for the affected nations, including those communities most impacted in Honduras, namely Tegucigalpa, Choluteca and Comayagua."
~
For well over a year, I have been forecasting, and warning of water-related accidents, increased climate disasters, flooding, and violent events in, on, below, and around the water, the high seas, and the oceans.
This is not the year for risks under the global inclinations of the Cardinal transits.
Current events have already confirmed my mundane forecasts from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and earlier this year concerning the dangerous inclinations of cardinal crisis world transits.
I continue to urge caution, restraint, common sense, and prudence through the coming months, and into next year as well.
Credit: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
May 31, 2010 -- "Tropical Storm Agatha has become one of the top ten deadliest tropical storm systems on record, behind 6 full-force hurricanes, dropping nearly two feet of rain on central America in two days, flooding multiple nations’ low-lying areas and creating havoc across the region.
At least 142 people have been killed, mostly in flooding and landslides, and coffee growers and farmers are preparing for potential long-term impact on agriculture across the region.
In El Salvador, the extreme weather has left at least 6 people dead, with flooding spreading across farm land and low-lying areas. El Salvador’s Pres. Mauricio Funes has declared a state of emergency, amid worries the heavy rains and flooding will lead to landslides, mass evacuations, displacements, death and disease.
Funes warned that “We have finally decided to declare a red alert across the entire country”, but was careful to note that “we have not declared this alert because of a high number of deaths.”
Honduras has also declared a state of emergency, after 14 were killed.
In Guatemala, intense rains and winds coincided with lava flow and hot ash from the Pacaya Volcano, causing evacuations made more complex by the dangers posed by lava and ash.
The volcano’s surge in activity had closed the Pacaya airport, and with rains complicating the ash-removal effort, the flow of people and supplies into or out of the city will be impeded.
As of yesterday, there were over 17,000 people displaced and living in temporary housing in Guatemala, and authorities seek to coordinate the response, to ensure flooding does not lead to transport-related fatalities or the spread of disease.
According to a Global Voices report, quoting Geraldine Mac:
"A state of emergency has been declared in Guatemala as the storms heavy rain thrashes through Central America. ‘Agatha’s’ heavy rain has caused mud-slides which are destroying houses and businesses alike, cutting off roads and causing fear and panic throughout the region and there is a risk of a volcanic eruption.
Just over 120 miles from Guatemala City in the town of Alomolonga, a mudslide buried a house with a family of 2 adults and 2 children there was no survivors.
Four other adults and children have also been killed in separate incidents due to the amount of heavy rain causing more than just a few mud-slides and 11 people are missing. These mudslides have been causing traffic problems and power has been cut off from those places affected.""La Tribuna, of Honduras, reports that at least 142 people are confirmed dead in connection with Tropical Storm Agatha. Initial reports suggest Guatemala is the worst affected nation, with 118 confirmed deaths and reports of possibly many more missing or killed.
According to La Tribuna:
"Guatemala’s National Disaster-Reduction Coordinator reports 118 dead, but local officials have reported many more disappeared and at least 15 additional people killed in San Antonio Palopó and 11 additional people killed in Chimaltenango, not included in the official tallies. Part of the emergency response will be a more thorough accounting of who has been affected, injured, disappeared or killed by the storm."
According to El Comercio, Perú, the rains have left at least 111,000 people displaced, and more to be evacuated, in Guatemala, with thousands of homes destroyed or damaged and fears of more to come as flooding continues.
The Mexican government has expressed solidarity and sympathy for the affected nations, including those communities most impacted in Honduras, namely Tegucigalpa, Choluteca and Comayagua."
~
For well over a year, I have been forecasting, and warning of water-related accidents, increased climate disasters, flooding, and violent events in, on, below, and around the water, the high seas, and the oceans.
This is because of the configurations of the planets, especially those of Jupiter and Uranus, close to the end of the zodiac, conjoined to the fixed star Scheat, as well as to the sensitive cardinal seasonal point of 00-Aries.
I continue to forecast to all to not take chances this late spring into summer in the northern hemisphere, to remain vigilant with your children, and know where they are and what they are doing at all times, and keep them always in sight.
Current events have already confirmed my mundane forecasts from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and earlier this year concerning the dangerous inclinations of cardinal crisis world transits.
I continue to urge caution, restraint, common sense, and prudence through the coming months, and into next year as well.
Up to 19+ Killed As Israel Attacks Gaza Aid Flotilla in Mediterranean Sea (featured below)
30 Burnt Alive In India Bus Accident
Four Drown As Boat Sinks off Fuga Island
Water-Related Accidents Mar Memorial Day In U.S.
Three Dead And One Missing In U.S. Lake Accident
Six Die In Separate Water Accidents
47,000 Flee Floods
Two Die of Cholera As Floods Rage
Floodwater force more than 260 people to evacuate in South Kazakhstan
Tropical Storm & Mudslides kills 142+ people in Central America
Magnitude Six Earthquake Strikes
Summer of Oil Looms For Gulf Coast
It is essential for leaders, policy-makers, commanders and executive staff to exercise great caution, and to constantly drill all personnel on proper command structure guidelines, protocol, communications, and safety procedures.
The position of transiting Jupiter & Uranus conjoined to the fixed star Scheat signifies inclinations that can lead to accidents with great loss of life if great care is not exercised.
The Cardinal Crisis
Mass Protests Denounce Israeli Attacks On Gaza Humanitarian Flotilla
Turkey & Israel In Conflict?
In the Middle East, the Israeli government says it will stop a nine-ship humanitarian flotilla heading towards the Gaza Strip. Israel and Gaza could be on the cusp of its latest serious crisis, and possibly military confrontation with the powerful world transits. Caution is advised.
The international flotilla was carrying humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of people in defiance of a blockade imposed by Israel on the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
Tel Aviv says it is preparing to block the humanitarian flotilla at all costs."
~
And, as of May 31, 2010, that is exactly what happened under the Cardinal planetary influences.
This is what I have been forecasting and warning about taking place on the high seas, and with potential conflicts to spread elsewhere under these powerful cardinal world transits.
We can see here, under the influences of the Cardinal inclinations ~ poor decisions, bad leadership, haste, and impulse have led to violence, unneeded deaths and the potential spread of a broader violent conflict in the Middle East.
On the Gaza humanitarian flotilla, there have been deaths involved ~
JERUSALEM - (AP Reports) May 31, 2010 — "Israeli commandos on Monday stormed six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing at least 9 people and wounding dozens after encountering unexpected resistance as the forces boarded the vessels.
The operation in international waters off the Gaza coast was a nightmare scenario for Israel that looked certain to further damage its international standing, strain already tense relations with Turkey and draw unwanted attention to Gaza's plight.
The two sides offered conflicting accounts of what happened.
Israeli commandos storm Turkish Aid Ship: This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH Monday May 31, 2010 purports to show Israeli soldiers aboard a military vessel in international waters off the Gaza coast surrounding a Turkish ship. Credit: AP Photo/IHH via APTN
A reporter on one of the boats said the Israelis fired at the vessel before boarding it, and the Israelis said they only opened fire after being attacked by activists with sticks, knives and live fire.
Israeli security forces were on alert across the country.
The activists were headed to Gaza on a mission meant to draw attention to a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the coastal territory. Israel imposed the blockade after Hamas militants took power there.
"It's disgusting that they have come on board and attacked civilians. We are civilians," said Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza movement, which organized the flotilla.
Speaking from the east Mediterranean island of Cyprus, she said she had lost contact with the flotilla at about 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT).
Israel had declared it would not allow the ships to reach Gaza and had offered to transfer the aid to Gaza from an Israeli port.
Israeli naval commandos raided the ships while they were in international waters after ordering them to stop about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Gaza's coast, according to a pro-Palestinian activist in Greece involved in the aid mission.
A Turkish website showed video of pandemonium on board one of the ships, with activists in orange life jackets running around as some tried to help an activist apparently unconscious on the deck.
The site also showed video of an Israeli helicopter flying overhead and Israeli warships nearby.
Turkey's NTV showed activists beating one Israeli soldier with sticks as he rappelled from a helicopter onto one of the boats."
This strange and incredible exchange is reported by Ron Ben Yishai, a journalist embedded with the Israeli military who describes parts of the May 31, 2010 clash aboard one of the aid vessels bound for Gaza:
The lack of proper crowd-dispersal means, the reaction of the activists on-board, and their attempt to bring down an Israeli Defense Force helicopter?
By Ron Ben-Yishai
"Our Navy commandos fell right into the hands of the Gaza mission members. A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of the elite Flotilla 13 unit.
The original plan was to disembark on the top deck, and from there rush to the vessel’s bridge and order the Marmara’s captain to stop.
Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation’s commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck.
The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks, and tied to an antenna with the hopes of bringing the chopper down. However, Flotilla 13 fighters decided to carry on.
Navy commandos slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked.
Navy commandos slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked.
The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back.
However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests, such as the ones held in Bilin. The paint balls obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating the troops up and even attempted to wrest away their weapons.
One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandos were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations.
However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests, such as the ones held in Bilin. The paint balls obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating the troops up and even attempted to wrest away their weapons.
One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandos were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations.
When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other “don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” even though they sustained numerous blows.
‘I saw the tip of a rifle?’
The Navy commandos were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters.
‘I saw the tip of a rifle?’
The Navy commandos were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters.
The soldiers were told they were to verbally convince activists who offer resistance to give up, and only then use paint-balls. They were permitted to use their handguns only under extreme circumstances.
The planned rush towards the vessel’s bridge became impossible, even when a second chopper was brought in with another crew of soldiers.
The planned rush towards the vessel’s bridge became impossible, even when a second chopper was brought in with another crew of soldiers.
“Throw stun grenades,” shouted Flotilla 13’s commander who monitored the operation.
The Navy chief was not too far, on board a speedboat belonging to Flotilla 13, along with forces who attempted to climb into the back of the ship.
The forces hurled stun grenades, yet the rioters on the top deck, whose number swelled up to 30 by that time, kept on beating up about 30 commandos who kept gliding their way one by one from the helicopter.
The forces hurled stun grenades, yet the rioters on the top deck, whose number swelled up to 30 by that time, kept on beating up about 30 commandos who kept gliding their way one by one from the helicopter.
At one point, the attackers nabbed one commando, wrested away his handgun, and threw him down from the top deck to the lower deck, 30 feet below. The soldier sustained a serious head wound and lost his consciousness.
Only after this injury did Flotilla 13 troops ask for permission to use live fire.
Only after this injury did Flotilla 13 troops ask for permission to use live fire.
The commander approved it: "You can go ahead and fire."
The soldiers pulled out their handguns and started shooting at the rioters’ legs, a move that ultimately neutralized them.
Meanwhile, the rioters started to fire back at the commandos.
“I saw the tip of a rifle sticking out of the stairwell,” one commando said. “He fired at us and we fired back. We didn’t see if we hit him.
“I saw the tip of a rifle sticking out of the stairwell,” one commando said. “He fired at us and we fired back. We didn’t see if we hit him.
We looked for him later but couldn’t find him.” Two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds to their knee and stomach after rioters apparently fired at them using guns wrested away from troops.
'2 Errors?'
During the commotion, another commando was stabbed with a knife. In a later search aboard the Marmara, soldiers found caches of bats, clubs, knives, and slingshots used by the rioters ahead of the IDF takeover. It appeared the activists were well prepared for a fight.
Some passengers on the ship stood at the back and pounded the soldiers’ hands as they attempted to climb on board. Only after a 30-minute shootout and brutal assaults using clubs and knifes did commandos manage to reach the bridge and take over the Marmara.
It appears that the error in planning the operation was the estimate that passengers were indeed political activists and members of humanitarian groups who seek a political provocation, but would not resort to brutal violence.
The soldiers thought they will encounter 'Bilin-style' violence; instead, they got Bangkok!
The forces that disembarked from the helicopters were few; just dozens of troops – not enough to contend with the large group awaiting them.
The second error was that commanders did not address seriously enough the fact that a group of men were expecting the soldiers on the top deck.
The second error was that commanders did not address seriously enough the fact that a group of men were expecting the soldiers on the top deck.
Had they addressed this more seriously, they may have hurled tear-gas grenades and smoke grenades from the helicopter to create a screen that would have enabled them to carry out their mission, without the fighters falling right into the hands of the rioters, who severely assaulted them."
"The al-Jazeera satellite channel reported by telephone from the Turkish ship leading the flotilla that Israeli navy forces fired at the ship and boarded it, wounding the captain.
"These savages are killing people here, please help," a Turkish television reporter said.
The broadcast ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, "Everybody shut up!"
Credit: REUTERS/IHH
~ 'Israeli Attack on Gaza Aid Flotilla sparks International outrage' ~
By Robert Booth, The Guardian
NEAR GAZA - May 31, 2010 -- "Israeli navy stormed the Mavi Marmara, the [Turkish] flagship of a flotilla of vessels crewed by pro-Palestinian activists
They came by sea and air shattering the peace of a Mediterranean night. Shortly after 4:30 a.m. in international waters, the elite Flotilla 13 Unit of the Israeli Navy stormed the Mavi Marmara, the flagship of a flotilla crewed by an alliance of pro-Palestinian activists who combined to deliver 10,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza.
In a blitz of military strength, masked commandos rappelled on to the Turkish ship's deck from a helicopter and boarded from the side by fast attack launch.
They were armed with guns, stun grenades and tear gas. Assault craft drenched their target in dazzling light and used booming tannoys to warn the ship's passengers to halt their mission or face Israel taking "all the necessary measures in order to enforce this blockade".
The activists from as many as 50 different countries stood little chance in the face of such a show of strength.
But if Israel had been hoping to benefit from the cover of darkness by attacking at night, they did not reckon on the presence of a network of on board video cameras recording their opening moves.
Turkish television footage showed how one by one as the commandos descended by ropes to the deck they were ambushed by waiting passengers armed with what appeared to be metal bars, sticks and in one case, a table.
The reception for two commandos descending from a helicopter was brutal – the first was battered to the ground and heavily beaten and the second, landing seconds later, was assaulted by a man with a bar and forced to retreat into a doorway before fighting back out.
Whether these were the first blows struck in an incident that ended with the deaths of at least 9 people and the injury of at least 50, is disputed.
Those on board, including a reporter for Al Jazeera said the Israelis fired on the boat before boarding. Israel said it opened fire after its commandos were attacked by activists wielding knives, clubs and pistols wrested from its soldiers. It was impossible yesterday to verify either account.
What is certainly true is that shortly after the assault, all communications with the flotilla were blocked.
Mobile phones, satellite phones and internet access all went down, making it all but impossible to glean any account from the passengers about what happened beyond the few minutes that were captured on film.
Israel's version of events became the only one available in any detail.
The Guardian has attempted to piece together the story from electronic communications from the flotilla, video footage taken on board, interviews with the flotilla organizers, reports from journalists on board the Mavi Marmara, reports from journalists embedded with the Israeli military and statements from the Israelis.
'What Is Known'
During Sunday on the journey from Cyprus towards Gaza, the trip had been progressing well with spirits high among the pro-Palestinian activists, according to messages received from the flotilla at the Cyprus base of Free Gaza, one of the campaign groups behind the mission.
"They were excited because they knew they were on their way," said Greta Berlin, a Free Gaza activist in Cyprus who was in frequent contact.
"We would get little messages saying 'we are on a Mediterranean cruise, it is really quite lovely'.
There was no feeling until around midnight that anyone was in any danger."
Little did they know that three hours earlier than that, at around 9pm, three Israeli naval craft had left the northern Israeli port of Haifa to intercept them.
The plan was for Israel's elite Flotilla 13 unit to disembark on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara, and from there rush to the vessel's bridge and order the Marmara's captain to stop, said Israeli journalist, Ron Ben Yishai, who was embedded with the Israeli military.
By around 11pm Israel's taskforce was alongside the flotilla of six vessels and one of the navy ships broadcast a warning to the flotilla not to approach Gaza.
"If you ignore this order and enter the blockaded area, the Israeli navy will be forced to take all the necessary measures in order to enforce this blockade," the message said, according to a recording later broadcast on Israeli radio.
Then around midnight the flotilla coordinators appeared to become worried and Lubna Masarwa, a Palestinian Israeli on board the Marmara issued a series of urgent messages via Twitter.
"We didn't expect them now," she said. "We thought they will arrive at the morning, please stay in touch with the other boats … People here put there life jackets [sic], everybody preparing here...
'We are in international waters … Three boats are coming, not two, Three Israeli boats, we are 78 mile from Israel … Two Israeli ships coming toward us … they contact the ship asked who we are and disappeared, getting close to the ship we can see them."
The Free Gaza campaign was worried enough to issue "a call to the world from the people on the boats."
"This flotilla is bringing supplies the people of Gaza and are being met by military force," it said.
Over the next few hours as the Israeli ships circled, the flotilla issued a series of brief messages through their spot locater, a telecommunications device which charted their progress on a web site.
"This is a HELP message," it said at 12.30am. "We have been contacted by the Israelis but are still fine, don't worry."
Shortly afterward another states: "Challenger 2 [one of the boats] contacted by Israeli Defense Force radio A/O approached by IDF ships", and another: "Going ahead."
Three more "OK" signals between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. were then replaced at 4:30 a.m. by a red exclamation mark stating:
"Last position before IDF attack. 04:30 GMT, Latitude: 32.64113, Longitude:3 3.56727" – around 70 miles from the coast of northern Israel and 90 miles from Gaza.
The assault had been underway for at least 30 minutes, according to Dr Arafat Madi, one of the European organizers of the convoy who spoke to the activists by satellite phone shortly afterward.
"The Israelis took the phones from us as we were talking," he said. "We heard from them that the Israeli army attacked all the ships at once with hundreds of soldiers."
He said the Greek captain of one of the smaller vessels, the 8000, had been shot and two others were injured.
But he had no information about injuries on the other vessels and said they were struggling to get any information from the Israelis to give to worried families of the activists.
Video footage of the assault on the Marmara showed at least half a dozen armed and masked commandos gathering themselves on the bow deck of the ship, apparently having been helicoptered on.
During the assault, which began in earnest 40 miles from the coast, several journalists continued to broadcast from the aft deck, sharing a microphone in a relay as they broadcast to the world.
Reporting for Press TV, an Iranian state run channel, one said: "We are being hit by tear gas, stun grenades. We have navy ships on every side and helicopters ahead. We are being attacked on every side."
A group of activists on the ship were shown on video mustering at the top of a flight of stairs armed with makeshift weapons.
The ship's captain could be heard speaking over the tannoy urging them to give up: "Please, all the brothers, go back to your cabin and sit on your seats. Stop your resistance, they are using live ammunition. We can't protect ourselves."
Over the noise of gunfire, Jamal Elshayyal, reporting for Al Jazeera, told how two passengers had been killed and that a white flag of surrender was raised on board "after Israeli commandos descended upon the ship from a helicopter as well as surrounding it on all sides [in boats]."
He continued: "Despite the white flag being raised, the Israeli army is still shooting, still firing live munitions."
Shortly afterward the broadcasts stopped and all internet and satellite phone connections were lost.
The Israeli military had been surprised by the resistance they met, according to an account by Ben Yishai. He said the commandos were carrying paintball rifles. He said they were equipped with handguns but were only authorized to use them in life-threatening situations.
"The navy commandos were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters," he wrote on the Ynet News website.
Credit: The AP says it was given this image by the Israel Defense Force
"The rioters on the top deck, whose number swelled up to 30 by that time, kept on beating up about 30 commandos who kept gliding their way one by one from the helicopter."
He claimed activists stole the handgun from one commando and threw him 30 feet over a rail causing serious head injuries. Only after this were commandos authorised to use live ammunition and then shot at activists' legs, he said. He added that passengers pounded soldiers' hands as they tried to climb on board.
Footage from inside the ship broadcast on Turkish television showed the impact of the battle. A woman carried a bloodstained stretcher, men were shown bleeding from wounds, people moved about tending the injured.
People were stretched out on the floor and it was not clear if they were alive or dead."
~
Meanwhile, the AP reports May 31, 2010 that:
"The Israeli military said their troops only opened fire after encountering unexpected resistance from the activists and said they attacked troops with knives and iron rods, and one activist wrested an Israeli serviceman's weapon.
A total of four soldiers were wounded, including at least one hit by live fire, the army said. Two of the dead activists had fired at soldiers with pistols, the army said.
"They planned this attack," said Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovitch. "Our soldiers were injured from these knives and sharp metal objects ... as well as from live fire."
The ships were being towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod, and the wounded were evacuated by helicopter to Israeli hospitals, officials said. Sporadic clashes were still going on at mid-morning.
There were no details on the identities of the casualties, or on the conditions of some of the more prominent people on board, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators and Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 85. Organizers said the two prominent activists decided not to join the flotilla as planned.
Satellite phones on board the ships were turned off, and communication with a small group of reporters embedded with the Israeli military was blocked.
The Free Gaza Movement is an international group of pro-Palestinian activists that claims the blockade, imposed three years ago after the militant Islamic Hamas group overran Gaza, is unjust and a violation of international law.
Organizers included people affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group that often sends international activists into battle zones, and the IHH, a Turkish aid group that Israel accuses of having terrorist links.
News of the attack sparked violent protests in Turkey, which had unofficially supported the aid mission and has been vocally critical of Israeli military operations against Palestinians in Gaza.
Police blocked dozens of stone-throwing protesters who tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. The CNN-Turk and NTV televisions showed dozens of angry protesters scuffling with Turkish police and shouting, "Damn Israel!"
Turkey, Israel, The Middle East & World Community in the Cardinal T-Square Crisis
ANKARA, Turkey - (AP) May 31, 2010 – Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel and called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council as criticism and condemnations arose across Europe and the Arab world Monday over Israel's deadly commando raid on ships taking humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The flotilla of three cargo ships and three passenger ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid and 700 activists was carrying items that Israel bars from reaching Gaza, like cement and other building materials.
The activists said they also were carrying hundreds of electric-powered wheelchairs, prefabricated homes and water purifiers to the territory's 1.5 million residents.
"We did not want to see confrontation," said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Ontario at the time of the raid.
"We made repeated offers to the boats that they come to the (Israeli) port of Ashdod unload the humanitarian cargo, and we guaranteed to pass all humanitarian items through the crossings to the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, they rejected our offers and chose the path of confrontation."
The head of the Gaza Hamas government, Ismail Haniyeh, condemned the "brutal" Israeli attack.
"We call on the secretary-general of the U.N., Ban Ki-moon, to shoulder his responsibilities to protect the safety of the solidarity groups who were on board these ships and to secure their way to Gaza," Haniyeh told The Associated Press.
The violent takeover threatened to deal yet another blow to Israel's international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its three-year-old blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory.
Around 10,000 Turks marched in protest from the Israeli consulate in Istanbul to a main square, chanting, "Murderous Israel you will drown in the blood you shed!"
The Turkish protesters earlier tried to storm the Consulate building but were blocked by police. The flotilla of six ships, carrying some 700 activists, was sponsored in part by a Turkish organization.
Police stand guard in front of the residence of Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy during a protest in Ankara May 31, 2010. Credit: Reuters
Around 1,000 protested in Jordan's capital, Amman, calling for their government to cut diplomatic ties with Israel. Smaller protests erupted in capitals across the Middle East as well as in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, the Greek city of Thessaloniki and the Pakistani city of Karachi.
Palestinian youths protesting the raid scuffled with Israeli soldiers, throwing bottles and stones at them, at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, as senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called the Israeli raid a "war crime."
Israel says the activists attacked its commandos as they boarded the six ships taking tons of supplies to Gaza, while the flotilla's organizers say the Israeli forces opened fire first.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence, saying, "I am shocked by reports of killing of people in boats carrying supply to Gaza. I heard the ships were in international water. That is very bad."
He called for a "thorough investigation."
Credit: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP
The White House issued a cautious reaction, saying: "The United States deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained, and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy."
The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, said the bloc was deeply concerned and she called on Israel to carry out an inquiry.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned "the disproportionate use of force" against the flotilla.
Credit: Joel Saget/AFP
"All light must be shed on the circumstances of this tragedy, which underlines the urgency of resuming peace talks," he said in a statement.
Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief.
Greece, Egypt, Sweden, Spain and Denmark summoned Israel's ambassadors demanding explanations for the violence.
Credit: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/AP
At Barzilai hospital in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, a few activists trickled in under military escort. "They hit me," said a Greek man, whose right arm was in a sling, calling the Israelis "pirates."
He did not give his name and later was escorted away with a neck brace.
At a news conference in Tel Aviv, Israel's military chief of staff and navy commander said the violence was centered on the lead boat, which was carrying all but 100 of the activists.
Troops took over the five other boats without incident, military chief Gabi Ashkenazi said.
Reaction was swift and harsh, with a massive protest in Turkey, Israel's longtime Muslim ally, which unofficially supported the mission.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terrorism," and the government said it was recalling its ambassador and called off military exercises with the Jewish state.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting later Monday while the Arab League planned to meet Tuesday in Cairo.
Robin Churchill, a professor of international law at the University of Dundee in Scotland, said the Israeli commandos boarded the ship outside of Israel's territorial waters.
"As far as I can see, there is no legal basis for boarding these ships," Churchill said.
Many of the activists were from Europe.
The European Union deplored what it called excessive use of force and called for the Gaza blockade to be lifted immediately, calling it "politically unacceptable."
Israeli security forces were on alert across the country. Protesters gathered at two universities and burned tires and threw rocks in Israel's largest Arab city, but no injuries were reported.
But the strongest reaction came from Turkey.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc called Israel's actions "piracy" and said Turkey is withdrawing its ambassador on Monday as well as canceling three joint military drills and calling on the U.N. Security Council to convene in an emergency session about Israel.
Turkey is currently a member of the council.
"I strongly condemn the use of force by Israeli military forces on an aid convoy composed of 32 countries, including Turkey," Arinc said. "This attack must not remain unanswered." He also said a Turkish youth soccer team currently in Israel would be brought home.
The raid also brought heightened attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the tiny Mediterranean territory in 2007.
The blockade — along with Israel's fierce offensive against Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009 to stop Hamas rocket fire — has fueled anti-Israeli sentiment around the Arab world.
The president of Iran, a key supporter of Hamas, called the raid "an inhuman act."
"All in all, these (actions) only bring closer the end of the miserable and false regime" in Israel, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, according to state TV.
The Cairo-based Arab League called an emergency session for Tuesday to address the attack, as the two only Arab states with peace deals with Israel — Jordan and Egypt — sharply condemned the violence.
Jordan's information minister, Nabil al-Sharif, called it a "heinous crime" and called for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.
The incident also put Egypt in a tight position. The only Arab country bordering the Gaza Strip, it has helped enforce the blockade by cracking down on smuggling tunnels that are a key source of goods to Gaza's 1.5 million people and by rejecting pressure that it open its border crossing.
The Egyptian government has said it cannot open the border since there is no agreement on restoring European monitors who left during the Hamas takeover.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the violence underlines how Gaza "remains under total Israeli occupation," and it called "for the immediate lifting of the Israeli siege on Gaza."
In Beirut, about 500 Palestinian and Lebanese activists protested in front of the U.N. headquarters, setting Israeli flags on fire. "The only solution with the usurping entity is resistance.
This entity only understands the language of force," Hezbollah lawmaker Nawar al-Saheli told the crowd.
In neighboring Syria, more than 200 Syrian and Palestinian protesters staged a sit-in before the offices of the United Nations to denounce the Israeli raid.
The flotilla began the journey from international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon after two days of delays.
After nightfall Sunday, three Israeli navy missile boats left their base in Haifa, steaming out to sea to confront the ships.
Credit: Jack Guez/AFP
Two hours later, Israel Radio broadcast a recording of one of the missile boats warning the flotilla not to approach Gaza.
Credit: Reuters
"If you ignore this order and enter the blockaded area, the Israeli navy will be forced to take all the necessary measures in order to enforce this blockade," the radio message continued.
This is the ninth time that the Free Gaza movement has tried to ship in humanitarian aid to Gaza since August 2008.
Israel has allowed ships through five times, but has blocked them from entering Gaza waters since a three-week military offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in January 2009.
The latest flotilla was the largest to date."
~ Karoun Demirjian reported on the background leading up to the crisis for the Associated Press May 29, 2010 ~
JERUSALEM – "Ships carrying 10,000 tons of supplies and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to blockaded Gaza were being held up near Cyprus on Saturday, as organizers tried to get nearly two dozen high-profile supporters on board.
The flotilla was to set sail toward Gaza on Saturday afternoon, in any event, and approach the territory on Sunday, about 24 hours behind schedule, said Greta Berlin, one of the activists.
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, reiterated Saturday that the ships would be intercepted, denouncing the sea convoy as a provocation and violation of maritime laws.
Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Islamic militant Hamas seized the territory by force three years ago.
In Gaza, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said the flotilla signals the end of the blockade.
"If the ships reach Gaza, it's a victory for Gaza," Haniyeh told some 400 supporters Saturday, after touring Gaza City's small fishing harbor where several smaller vessels breaking the blockade have docked in the past.
"If they are intercepted and terrorized by the Zionists, it will be a victory for Gaza, too, and they will move again in new ships to break the siege of Gaza."
In Cyprus, organizers were trying to find a way to have two dozen would-be passengers, including 19 European legislators and an elderly Holocaust survivor, join the ships anchored in international waters off the island.
The Cypriot government did not allow smaller boats to ferry the group to the flotilla, Berlin said. Authorities in Cyprus said the decision was made to protect the island's "vital interests" — including economic ties with Israel.
Organizers then appealed to the Turkish government to get the group out via a Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus port. Turkish Cypriot officials have said they want to help the group as much as they can.
But a diplomatic tangle wasn't the only factor delaying the mission. Mechanical problems forced the flotilla to shrink from eight ships to five, and the boats have lost the ability to communicate by satellite phone twice, Berlin said.
Israeli authorities have said they will not comment on military tactics, but are determined to intercept and search the vessels, then tow them to an Israeli port.
Israel has prepared a makeshift detention center in its southern port of Ashdod, and officials have said the activists sailing on the ships face deportation or arrest.
The cargo, meanwhile, would undergo a security check, and then be transferred to U.N. agencies for distribution in Gaza.
"We will not let this flotilla get through. It harms Israeli security," Israel TV's Channel 10 on Saturday quoted Ayalon as saying.
Still, the aid convoy poses a serious dilemma that was debated at the highest levels of the Israeli government this week.
Scenes of Israeli naval commandos taking over vessels with aid shipments and detaining high-profile activists could further harm the Jewish state's image.
However, Israel is concerned about setting a precedent and eroding the blockade if it lets the vessels dock in Gaza.
Critics say the blockade has been counterproductive, failing to dislodge Hamas while deepening poverty in Gaza. There have been growing demands by the international community that Israel ease its grip or lift the closure altogether.
Earlier this week, Turkey urged Israel to end the blockade and said it was using diplomatic channels with Israel to avert a showdown over the flotilla.
However, Ankara has also said the sea convoy, arranged in part by a Turkish aid group, is a private initiative.
Turkish-Israeli relations cooled after Israel's military offensive against Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009.
In Gaza City, Haniyeh, the prime minister of Gaza, praised Turkey as a leader among Muslim nations. Gaza's harbor was decorated with Turkish flags.
"This fleet indicates that Turkey ... is leading strategic changes in the region based on disconnecting itself from the Zionist enterprise and joining the Muslim nations," he said.
Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist group, says the blockade is needed to prevent the Islamic militants from developing weapons.
It has condemned the flotilla as a publicity stunt, insisting there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and offering to deliver the aid through official channels.
Since Hamas took power in 2007, Gaza has come to rely on a series of underground tunnels connecting it with Egypt to smuggle in goods ranging from weapons to motorbikes.
Six Gazans were killed and 14 injured Saturday afternoon when a gas canister exploded in one of those tunnels, wounding and partially suffocating workers who were performing maintenance operations, according to Gazan security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity."
~
~ AFP reported May 28, 2010 ~
NICOSIA - "An aid flotilla due to sail for Gaza in defiance of an Israeli embargo will be delayed by a day until Saturday, organizers said.
“We won't begin leaving until Saturday [May 29th] but the boats are still going,” said Audrey Bomse of the Free Gaza Movement, the group that organized the multinational flotilla gathering off the coast of Cyprus.
“We've changed the coordinates twice because reportedly Israel has threatened to capture the Turkish ship so we decided to delay getting all the boats together,” she added.
“This has delayed everything by a day because changing coordinates takes time ... There were also technical difficulties with one of the boats so we had to move passengers from it on to the Turkish one,” Bomse said.
Hundreds of activists were bracing for the final leg of their attempt to bust the Gaza Strip embargo, a bid Israel vowed to defeat, as each side accused the other of violating international law.
Two cargo ships and five smaller boats loaded with thousands of tonnes of supplies and hundreds of passengers steamed towards a rendezvous off Cyprus where they planned to group before setting out for the Palestinian territory.
Organisers said an eighth ship, the Rachel Corrie that had left from Ireland, was lagging behind and would travel towards Gaza separately. The ships will meet in international waters, they said.
“The Cypriot government does not want us to leave from Cyprus. I can only assume pressure was put on them,” Bomse said.
A Cypriot government official said of the flotilla that Nicosia had not received any formal request from the Palestinian Authority for humanitarian aid.
Bomse said that a plan to ferry about 25 multinational MPs from Cyprus to one of the ships also had been abandoned.
“This is a group of MPs waiting to be ferried to another boat. The government said if we kept it quiet we would be able to do it but there was a huge amount of pressure and I suppose they gave in to Israel,” she charged.
Bomse said the group would now try to get the MPs on board from the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island, minus the MPs from Greece and Cyprus, which regard the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an illegal entity.
Israel earlier told the ambassadors of Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, and Ireland, the countries from which the ships set sail, that it “issued warrants that prohibit the entrance of the vessels to Gaza” and that the flotilla would be breaking international law."
~
I continue to urge extreme caution, prudent, common sense, diplomacy, and patience under the strong cardinal crisis transits; especially on the high seas, or there can be great losses of life, and unintended geopolitical consequences based on haste, impulse, unexpected happenings based inflexible, ideologically dangerous, and outworn views.
Let's take a look at what's been recently added to our rapidly growing list of world events on the Cardinal T-Square Crisis menu.
The Cardinal Crisis:
What is most apparent about the configuration of the Cardinal T-Square are the inclinations on individuals, groups and populations in various regions around the world, often violent, such as was recently witnessed in Athens, Greece, and in Bangkok, Thailand along with the building crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
The crisis in Gaza, and now, between Israel and Turkey, and what seems like much of the Middle East and the world, over the attacks on the Gaza humanitarian flotilla in this current crisis, is reflective of the Cardinal T-Square crisis, and its inclinations.
We've been seeing this elsewhere in the world; such as a week of 1930's-style "shoot outs" on the Caribbean streets of the tranquil island of Jamaica?
~ BBC Reports May 29-31, 2010 ~
"Jamaican security forces have defended their actions following a four-day anti-drugs offensive in the capital, Kingston, which left 73+ dead.
Maj Riccardo Blackwood from the Jamaican Defense Force said officers had faced trained gunmen and found numerous explosive devices. Jamaica has been criticized for its use of force in clashes with supporters of an alleged drug lord.
photo: AP
Christopher "Dudus" Coke is wanted by the US on drug and gun-running charges.
His supporters have said they will protect him at any cost.
Mr Blackwood said the military had found "a number of things that were quite alarming", during the raids, pointing out what he described as an improvised explosive device.
I continue to urge extreme caution, prudent, common sense, diplomacy, and patience under the strong cardinal crisis transits; especially on the high seas, or there can be great losses of life, and unintended geopolitical consequences based on haste, impulse, unexpected happenings based inflexible, ideologically dangerous, and outworn views.
Let's take a look at what's been recently added to our rapidly growing list of world events on the Cardinal T-Square Crisis menu.
The Cardinal Crisis:
Hot Spots
What is most apparent about the configuration of the Cardinal T-Square are the inclinations on individuals, groups and populations in various regions around the world, often violent, such as was recently witnessed in Athens, Greece, and in Bangkok, Thailand along with the building crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
The crisis in Gaza, and now, between Israel and Turkey, and what seems like much of the Middle East and the world, over the attacks on the Gaza humanitarian flotilla in this current crisis, is reflective of the Cardinal T-Square crisis, and its inclinations.
We've been seeing this elsewhere in the world; such as a week of 1930's-style "shoot outs" on the Caribbean streets of the tranquil island of Jamaica?
Gun Battles, Abuses, Drugs, Deaths & Mass Military Hunt For Kingpin On the Streets of Kingston?
~ BBC Reports May 29-31, 2010 ~
This frame grab shows soldiers on guard in Kingston, Jamaica. Thousands of armed police and soldiers barged past barricades into the capital's most violent slums, clashing with defenders of a gang leader sought by the United States. photo: AP/APTN
"Jamaican security forces have defended their actions following a four-day anti-drugs offensive in the capital, Kingston, which left 73+ dead.
Maj Riccardo Blackwood from the Jamaican Defense Force said officers had faced trained gunmen and found numerous explosive devices. Jamaica has been criticized for its use of force in clashes with supporters of an alleged drug lord.
Christopher "Dudus" Coke is wanted by the US on drug and gun-running charges.
His supporters have said they will protect him at any cost.
Mr Blackwood said the military had found "a number of things that were quite alarming", during the raids, pointing out what he described as an improvised explosive device.
"Other forms of plastic explosives which were used with electronic trigger mechanisms and booby traps were strategically placed all around the community," he said.
The clashes - sparked by a government announcement that it will extradite Mr Coke to the US - began on last May 23 and left 70+ civilians and 3 security personnel dead.
Residents of affected parts of Kingston say security forces were heavy-handed. Human rights group Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the unrest, saying that Jamaican police had a "dire" human rights track record.
The BBC's Nick Davis in Kingston said that some people in the country believe Mr Coke is wanted dead or alive.
But Jamaican police insist that Mr Coke will be arrested and brought to trial, our correspondent adds."
A witness, named Luci, describes the tense atmosphere in Kingston:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 -- Red Hills, Kingston, Jamaica-- "We heard gunshots yesterday, all afternoon. We could hear the battle moving through the city. Listen and you can hear straight away where they are fighting.
I had to rush home from my friend's house when we heard they were burning shops in Red Hills Avenue. We got out of there fast!
Many businesses around here are closed today. Many innocent Jamaicans are being held at ransom.
But the fact remains that Dudus has kept the peace in an area the police found uncontrollable. Mr Coke has helped people the government overlooked and undervalued.
Even if he is caught or turns himself in, there will still be the issue of life after Dudus.
What will the people have to look forward to? Turf wars, petty thieves, starvation?
There are always three sides to every story yours, mine and the truth ~ and that is not always black and white.
'Reality check?'
The reality for Jamaicans is this: Yes, we are for the most part law abiding citizens who work hard for what we have, but some people like the residents of Tivoli are impoverished. Their dons look after them.
They only see politicians near elections; they cannot knock on the prime minister's door, or a Cherry Gardens resident's house asking for a job or food for their kids.
This situation has been ongoing for years, so who will keep the peace when Dudus is gone?
I do agree that one man cannot hold a whole city at ransom for an eternity, but this one man has also kept the peace for as long as he has been there.
Ironically, if you check the history of Jamaica it is the same politicians that have caused the situation, it has just spun beyond what they can control.
Do not for a minute think that this has gone on without their knowledge, without them turning a blind eye.
Keep in mind that our very PM is the representative for that area...
I hope that this situation will be resolved soon with as little loss of life as possible. I pray for my friends and family and those in the police forces."
~ Following Jamaica’s State of Emergency ~
by Robert Mackey
May 25, 2010 -- "As the armed confrontation between Jamaica’s security forces and gang members who are trying to prevent the extradition of their leader to the United States on drug and weapons charges continues on Tuesday, Jamaicans are using Twitter and YouTube to pass along news of the siege gleaned from firsthand reports and the local news media.After the country’s prime minister, Bruce Golding, announced that the authorities wanted to arrest the gang leader, Christopher Coke, a former political ally, a series of coordinated attacks were carried out on police stations in areas of the capital, Kingston.
credit: Foster/Getty
In response, the prime minister put troops on the streets and declared a state of emergency in Tivoli Gardens, the west Kingston neighborhood, or “garrison,” loyal to Mr. Coke, who is commonly known as Dudus, and his Shower Posse gang.
Before she left for work on Tuesday, Laura Redpath, a reporter for The Jamaica Gleaner, a Kingston newspaper, gave this summary of the latest reports from Television Jamaica on her Twitter feed:
"Weapons have been confiscated and security personnel are going door-to-door to “flush out the gunmen”: TVJ
"5 persons shot in ‘Monkey Town’ in Spanish Town #Jamaica: TVJ"Another Twitter user aggregating news reports is Chris Mills, the chief executive of Chrysalis Communications, a new media firm based in Jamaica.
On his feed, Mr. Mills noted two hours ago that a local television journalist said some of those killed had been taken to a hospital in the capital:
Reporter on @CVMTV reports seeing a truck with human bodies parked outside/near the Kingston Public Hospital, Downtown KingstonWithin the past hour Mr. Mills posted a link to a graphic image uploaded to TwitPic this morning, which is said to show the bodies of three people killed in the violence.
As Janine Mendes-Franco of Global Voices Online pointed out in a post on Jamaican bloggers on Monday, Annie Paul, a Jamaican writer and critic, is also using her Twitter feed to aggregate reports and comment on the siege, although she is following events from outside the country while attending a conference in Barbados.
On Monday, among snatches of information derived from online news sources, she posted this observation on what the chaos in the prime minister’s district of west Kingston means:
The pact between the criminals and the state has been broken, we are being shown the consequences of that rupture…
A Jamaica Defense Force armored vehicle makes its way into a barricaded street as violence flares in West Kingston. photo: Grindley/AP
"My colleague Marc Lacey explains that the criminal gangs are so powerful that “Jamaican politicians, no matter their party, know that their political survival often depends on the men Jamaicans call ‘dons,’ inner-city emperors who hold enormous sway over their communities and pull in huge sums from both legitimate and illegitimate means.
On Tuesday morning, Ms. Paul pointed to a report in today’s Jamaica Observer, which said that members of a second gang, allied with an opposition party, “are being paid up to $100,000 per day to join in the mounting unrest” as the government tries to arrest the leader of a gang that had supported the ruling Labor Party.
Along with a link to the article on the reported payments from Mr. Coke to members of a rival gang, Ms. Paul posted this comment:
If the criminals can forge a coalition why can’t our leaders?Over the weekend, Ms. Paul’s former employer, The Sunday Herald, published a report explaining why it might be hard for even the country’s military to dislodge the heavily armed gang members led by Mr. Coke.
It is not clear how many of the firearms allegedly bought with the proceeds from drugs sold on behalf of the Shower Posse in New York form part of what is believed to be a huge arsenal of arms and ammunition in the hands of gunmen in Tivoli Gardens who are now planning an assault against the security forces, should they move to arrest their leader Christopher Coke.
Jamaican police confirmed on Thursday that criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens are in possession of the 50-caliber Grizzly Big Boar rifle. [...]
This single shot, breech-loading rifle features a bull pup design with all steel construction to provide a solid, dependable firearm.
Ideal for snipers, the weapon, frequently used by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, could cripple a tank with its armor-piercing .50-caliber bullet. It is sold at a base price of US$8,900.
Local firearm experts say a gunman sitting on a high-rise building with such a weapon with telescopic lenses attached could do considerable damage.
Additionally, sources disclose that M60 sub-machine, M-16 and AK-47 assault rifles are aplenty in Tivoli Gardens and in the possession of support forces in Denham Town, surrounding west Kingston communities and in all Shower Posse branches in May Pen, St Ann, St James and other parishes.One of the online sources of information Ms. Paul points to is a live stream from the Web site of Jamaican’s Nationwide radio. Other Jamaican bloggers have been uploading copies of local radio and television reports on the crisis to YouTube.
A video blogger who uses the name InfamouzRedzz has uploaded audio taken from dozens of radio and television news broadcasts on his YouTube channel in the past 48 hours."
~
~ The BBC's Nick Davies describes the chaotic scenes ~
Kingston, Jamaica -- Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding has denounced unrest in the capital city Kingston as a "calculated assault on the authority of the state."
He vowed that criminals would not triumph, after supporters of an alleged drug-lord took to the streets to stop him from being arrested.
One police station was set on fire and two others shot at by suspected supporters of Christopher "Dudus" Coke.
The authorities have declared a state of emergency in parts of Kingston.
The trouble began late last week when the authorities announced they would arrest and extradite Mr Coke to the US.
His supporters set up barricades and said they would fight to protect him.
The BBC's Nick Davis in Montego Bay says the capital now represents a city under siege.
Troops and police have come under fire, and smoke is rising from the burning police station.
Mr Golding said security forces would be "moving swiftly to bring the current situation under control".
"Criminal elements bent on violence and mayhem will be detained," he said in a televised address.
"What is taking place is a calculated assault on the authority of the state that cannot be tolerated, and will not be allowed to continue."
A state of emergency allowing police to conduct searches without a warrant and restrict movement was put in place in West Kingston and St Andrew districts, where the violence broke out.
The government said the measures would be in place for at least a month.
'Jamaican PM vows 'decisive action?'
The areas are a stronghold of support for Mr Coke, 41, who says he is a community leader.
Our correspondent says Mr Coke's supporters see him as a man who is fulfilling a role that the government does not, such as giving them money to support their children.
Because of that he has a huge amount of support in the area, our correspondent adds.
Police have called for his surrender and have described the barricades surrounding his area a sign of "cowardice," the Associated Press news agency reported.
Most Wanted?
The US Justice Department says Mr Coke is one of the world's most dangerous drug barons.
He is accused of leading a gang called the Shower Posse - owing to the volume of bullets used in shootings - and operating an international smuggling network.
He faces a life sentence if he is convicted on charges filed against him in New York.
The gang has also been blamed for numerous murders in Jamaica and the US.
Prime Minister Golding said earlier this week that he was prepared to send Mr Coke to the US on drugs and weapons trafficking charges.
The decision reversed nine months of opposition to his extradition.
Mr Golding had argued that the evidence against Mr Coke was obtained illegally by intercepting mobile telephone calls.
But he changed his mind in the face of growing public discontent, and questions about his possible ties to Mr Coke.
He apologized to the nation and admitted he had mishandled the case.
The US and UK have warned travelers about possible violence and disorder in Kingston because of the situation."
~
Meanwhile, in eastern India, officials say an overnight high-speed train heading from Calcutta to the suburbs of Mumbai was sabotaged by, of all things, Maoist Rebels?
Train Sabotage In India?
Train Sabotage In India?
~ Manik Baerjee of The Associated Press Reports May 29, 2010 ~
CALCUTTA, India – Railway authorities canceled all night trains in an eastern Indian state Saturday after a passenger express train derailed and was hit by a cargo train, killing at least 115 people and injuring hundreds.
The government accused Maoist rebels of sabotaging the tracks. Railway workers and paramilitary soldiers used cranes to lift and pry apart train cars to pull out more bodies from the Jnaneswari Express, which was heading from Calcutta to suburban Mumbai when it derailed early Friday.
"So far we have pulled out 115 bodies. The clearing work will continue until the light fades," said Srikumar Mukherjee, state minister for civil defense, who is overseeing rescue operations at the crash site near the small town of Sardiha, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Calcutta in West Bengal state.
Railway officials said some bodies were still trapped between the engines of the two trains, which smashed together when the high speed passenger train derailed and was run over by an oncoming cargo train.
Rescue workers had not yet cut open a badly smashed train car where they expected to find still more bodies, said Surojit Kar Purkayastha, a senior police officer.
The work of removing the debris and pulling out the bodies was hampered by swarms of flies and the stench of corpses quickly decomposing in the humid heat, officials said.
Railway authorities said they would not run any trains at night in West Bengal for at least the next four days, when Indian Maoist rebels have called a general strike.
The area is a stronghold of the rebels, known as Naxalites, who have launched repeated and often-audacious attacks in recent months — despite government claims of a crackdown.
Just 11 days ago, the rebels ambushed a bus in central India, killing 31 police officers and civilians. A few weeks before that, 76 soldiers were killed in a rebel ambush — the deadliest attack by the rebels against government forces in the 43-year insurgency.
There have been dozens of smaller attack. The government vowed once again to crush the Naxalites, who Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has often described as India's biggest internal security challenge.
But analysts say the government is hobbled by vacillating policies, poorly trained and ill-armed security forces and vast tracts of India where the government has little influence and where poverty has brought considerable support to the Naxalites, who claim to be fighting on behalf of the rural poor.
The rebels, who have tapped into the poor's anger at being left out of the country's economic gains, are now present in 20 of the country's 28 states and have an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to the Home Ministry.
"There is an absence of government. There is an absence of competence in government.
There is an absence of coherence in response," said Ajai Sahni, a New Delhi-based analyst with close ties to India's security establishment. "The purpose of the Maoists is not to resolve grievances but to harvest them, and there are numerous grievances in the country to harvest."
In Sardiha, officials said the train tracks had been sabotaged but disagreed about exactly what had happened, with some saying it was caused by an explosion and others blaming cut rail lines.
A railway safety commission will meet Monday to examine all the evidence from the crash site to determine the cause of the derailment, officials said.
Bhupinder Singh, the top police official in West Bengal, said posters from the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, a group local officials believe is closely tied to the Maoists, had been found at the scene taking responsibility for the attack.
However, a spokesman for the group, Asit Mahato, denied any role, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The Maoists seldom claim credit for their attacks. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Sardiha area had been the scene of earlier Naxalite attacks, and that trains were under orders to travel slowly through the region — in part so that drivers can keep watch for sabotaged tracks or bombs, and in part so the effects of a crash are lessened if a train does derail.
~ Reuters reports May 29, 2010 ~
"At least 200 people were injured and the death toll could rise as rescuers search mangled carriages for survivors.
"This has been done by the Maoists," Bhupinder Singh, police chief of West Bengal state, where the incident occurred, told reporters. Singh said the Maoists had claimed responsibility.
The incident will put further pressure on the Congress party-led government to bring in the military to tackle a four-decade-long Maoist insurgency that has spread across rural swathes of eastern and central India.
The crash occurred in an area known to be a stronghold of the rebels. Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless and want to overthrow the government, have stepped up attacks in recent months.
credit: Parth Sanyal/Reuters
"It appears to be a case of sabotage where a portion of the railway track was removed. Whether explosives were used is not yet clear," Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in a statement.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said a bomb had hit the passenger train, derailing it.
"The death toll stands at 71 and it could rise," said Saumitra Majumdar, a railway spokesman.
'MAJOR CONCERN FOR INDIAN GOVERNMENT'
The Gyaneshwari Express, which was going to Mumbai from the eastern metropolis of Kolkata in West Bengal state, was derailed in the state's Jhargram area at around 1:30 a.m.
"The cries of women and children from inside the compartments have died down.
They (railway staff) are still struggling to cut through metal and bring out those trapped inside," Amitava Rath, a local journalist at the scene of the crash, told Reuters.
The incident took place days after a passenger airliner crashed in southern India, killing 158 people.
The Maoists have increased attacks this year. In April, 76 police were killed in an ambush in one of the heaviest tolls in years. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.
More than 1,000 attacks were recorded in 2009 and 600 people were killed. The Maoists regularly attack railway lines and factories, aiming to cripple economic activity.
The insurgency has created a sense that India is not fully in control of its territory and increased the risks for mining firms that operate in mineral-rich areas controlled by rebels.
Work on a $7-billion steel plant by India's third largest steel producer, JSW Steel Ltd, has been delayed. Frequent rebel strikes have hit production and shipment at firms such as India's largest miner of iron ore, NMDC Ltd and state-run National Aluminum Co Ltd.
The rebels have stepped up attacks in recent months in response to a government security offensive to drive them out of their jungle bases. Friday's attack is said to be their biggest strike against a civilian target.
U.K. Bansal, top Indian security official, told Reuters last week that the Maoists had changed tactics and were attacking civilians out of frustration with the government crackdown.
But many analysts said rising attacks undermined the government claim of winning the war against the Maoists.
"The government will have to react strongly and there has to be a well thought-out strategy, but I don't see that happening now. It will be usual posturing and if that happens the situation can get worse," said security analyst Uday Bhaskar.
The Maoists have won some support by siding with villagers battling land seizures by large companies and their attacks are a major distraction for a government wanting to get on its with economic agenda, including fighting high food prices.
The Maoists started their fight in 1967 with a peasant revolt, armed with bows and arrows and some stolen rifles, but have since grown to a militant insurgency armed with automatic weapons, shoulder rocket launchers, mines and explosives.
The rebels, with an estimated 20,000 combatants, including 6,000-8,000 hardcore fighters, aim to overthrow the government by 2050, say Indian officials.
In March, police suspected their hand in the derailment of India's most prestigious high-speed Rajdhani Express. Maoists have also taken over trains in past years in a show of strength, holding them for hours.
The movement is now present in a third of the country. They are mostly spread in rural pockets of 20 of India's 28 states and hurt potential business worth billions of dollars."
~
Brutal Sneak Attack During Friday Prayers At Mosque In Pakistan?
~ Reuters reports May 29, 2010 ~
Lahore, Pakistan -- "Gunmen attacked worshipers from a minority Muslim sect in two mosques of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 70 people, officials said.
The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and threw grenades at two Ahmadi mosques in residential neighborhoods in Pakistan's cultural capital.
Sajjad Bhutta, deputy commissioner of Lahore, said at least 70 people had been killed in the twin attacks in Garhi Shahu and Model Town. A total of 78 were injured.
The death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher, Bhutta said, because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building.
Police are still searching the area as two attackers were still at large.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the incidents would generate greater resolve to combat extremism.
"It's a reminder to the nation that Pakistan will achieve its destiny only after we get rid of the worst type of extremism and fundamentalism," he told a news conference. "The entire nation will fight this evil."
He said one attacker had been arrested. Police in Model Town confirmed one gunmen had been arrested and another killed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban.
"It's too early to say who is behind these attacks," said a Lahore-based security official. "But my guess is that like most other attacks, there would be some link to the Taliban or their associated militants."
Punjab's Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah, said the arrested attacker was a teenage Pashtun, an ethnic group making up the majority in parts of western Pakistan and Afghanistan.
This, he said, indicated a link to the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan and strongly hinted at a Taliban link.
The attacks were precise.
In Model Town in the early afternoon, three gunmen rode up on motorcycles, Sanaullah said. Two of them wore suicide vests.
"They first threw hand grenades toward the gathering and then opened fire," he said. "To keep police away from the building they hurled some hand grenades outside, which damaged vehicles and wounded some policemen."
One attacker was killed in the attack, and another critically wounded, Sanaullah said.
"The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts.
Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the mosque and sprayed bullets!" Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, told Reuters from Model Town.
Credit: Mana Rana/Reuters
"They had long beards. They were carrying rucksacks."
Bhutta said a suicide vest laden with explosives was recovered from the Model Town mosque, where some attackers escaped.
One fired at a television van before the area was made safe.
credit: Imran Sheik/Reuters
"He was young, clean-shaven. He sprayed bullets at our van while fleeing the scene," Rabia Mehmood, a reporter for Express Television, told Reuters.
'ATTACKS LAUNCHED AFTER PRAYERS?'
Witnesses said the assaults were launched shortly after prayers.
"I saw some gunmen run toward the Ahmadis' place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire," Mohammad Nawaz, a resident, told Reuters.
Friday's attack was the worst in Lahore since March 12, when twin suicide blasts killed 45 people, and the most deadly in Pakistan since December 31, 2009, when a suicide car bomb driven by a Taliban militant killed more than 100 civilians at a volleyball game in the tribal areas.
Ahmadis are a minority Muslim sect founded in the late 19th century.
They hold unorthodox beliefs among Muslims, including that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion and died in Kashmir. Some also believe that prophets have come after Mohammad, the founder of Islam, but that he retains his primacy.
Pakistan is the only Muslim state to have declared Ahmadis non-Muslims. Its 4 million-odd members have seen their religious rights in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan curtailed by law.
Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the fight against militancy, is often the scene of sectarian violence, with militants from Sunni Muslim groups attacking Shi'ite Muslim and Christian communities.
Separately, security forces battled Taliban militants in the Orakzai region near the Afghan border in the northwest and about 40 militants were killed and 30 wounded in attacks by government aircraft in three places, a paramilitary force officer said.
There was no independent confirmation of the toll. Militants often dispute government accounts.
Government forces have stepped up attacks in Orakzai in recent weeks after winding up offensives in several other areas."
~
Dates of Cardinal T-Square Transits
Mundane planetary configurations & dates 2010-2011
Compiled by Theodore White; mundane Astrolog.S 
- April 6-7 - Pluto stations retrograde at 5-Capricorn
- April 7, 2010 - Saturn re-enters tropical Virgo
- April 26, 2010 - Saturn opposes Uranus (4th opposition)
- May 23, 2010 - Jupiter opposes Saturn (first time since 1990-91)
- May 27-28, 2010 - Uranus enters tropical Aries
- May 30th, 2010 - Saturn stations direct motion at 27-Virgo
- June 5-6, 2010 - Jupiter enters tropical Aries
- June 6-7, 2010 - Mars enters tropical Virgo
- June 8, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus at 0-Aries
- July 5, 2010 - Uranus stations retrograde at 0-Aries
- July 8, 2010 - Jupiter turns North in declination
- July 11, 2010 - New Moon total eclipse at 19-Cancer (not seen in N. America)
- July 21, 2010 - Saturn re-enters tropical Libra for good
- July 23, 2010 - Jupiter stations retrograde
- July 25, 2010 - Jupiter Squares Pluto
- July 26, 2010 - Fifth Saturn/Uranus opposition
- July 31, 2010 - Mars & Jupiter turn S in Declination
- July 31 - Mars conjoins Saturn at 0-Libra
- August 3, 2010 - Jupiter, retrograde, Squares Pluto again
- August 6, 2010 - Venus turns South in Declination
- August 13-14, 2010 - Uranus re-enters tropical Pisces
- August 16, 2010 - Jupiter Opposes Saturn
- August 20, 2010 - Mercury retrogrades in Virgo
- August 21, 2010 - Saturn Squares Pluto
- September 8, 2010 - Saturn turns South in declination
- September 8, 2010 - New Moon at 15-Virgo
- September 8, 2010 - Venus enters Scorpio
- September 8-9, 2010 - Jupiter re-enters tropical Pisces
- September 12, 2010 - Mercury stations direct
- September 14, 2010 - Pluto stations direct
- September 14, 2010 - Mars enters Scorpio
- September 19, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus for first time in Pisces
- October 8, 2010 - Venus retrograde in Scorpio
- October 29-30 - Venus turns to "morning star" phase for ten months
- November 6, 7, 2010 - Neptune direct in motion
- November 18 - Venus stations direct
- November 18 - Jupiter stations direct
- December 5, 6- Uranus stations direct motion
- December 10-30 - Mercury retrograde
- January 4, 2011 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus a third time
- January 22, 2011 - Jupiter enters Aries
- Jan. 25, 26 - Saturn stations retrograde 17-Libra
- February 25, 2011 - Jupiter Squares Pluto
- March 3, 2011 - Transiting Lunar Nodes shift to Mutable Quality of Sagittarius & Gemini
- March 11-12, 2011 - Uranus enters Aries (first time in 84 years)
- March 28, 2011 - Jupiter opposes Saturn
My Astrometeorological General Climate & Weather Forecast: Global Cooling On The Way...
Credit: Daniel LeClaire/Reuters
I have been forecasting that travel is unfavorable this year, in the air, and on the high seas. Not only due to accidents caused by human error, but also by the effects of weather on world travel.
If the volcano eruption in Guatemala wasn't enough, now the first tropical storm of the season bringing heavy rains has formed off the coast of Guatemala.
~ AP Reports May 29, 2010 ~
GUATEMALA CITY – "Tropical Storm Agatha, the first of the season, formed in the East Pacific on Saturday, generating heavy rains in Guatemala and killing four people when a dislodged boulder crushed their house, authorities said.
The rains also threatened to turn black ash dumped by a huge volcanic eruption into cement-like mud.
Agatha was centered about 170 miles (275 kilometers) southwest of Puerto de San Jose, Guatemala, and moving toward the northeast at 5 mph (8 kph), said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph) and some strengthening was expected.
The storm was expected to dump from 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain and as much as 30 inches (75 centimeters) in isolated areas of Guatemala, threatening dangerous floods and mudslides.
A tropical storm warning was in effect Sunday for a stretch of coastline from El Salvador to far-southern Mexico.
Guatemalan disaster relief spokesman David Leon said officials worry that the rains could exacerbate damage in the country, where explosions from the Pacaya Volcano have reportedly destroyed 800 homes this week.
Leon said two children and two adults were killed Saturday when rains generated by Agatha dislodged a boulder that crushed a house they were in.
The deaths happened in the department of Quetzaltenango, 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Guatemala City and outside the area affected by Pacaya.
Pacaya, which is just south of the capital, started spewing lava and rocks Thursday afternoon, blanketing the capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport.
A TV reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close.
Airport official Felipe Castaneda told reporters Saturday that the airport would be closed for the next five days.
"The work to remove the ash was going forward, but the rain has complicated it," Castaneda said.
Meanwhile in Ecuador, strong explosions that rocked the Tungurahua volcano and prompted evacuations of 2,500 people eased Saturday.
"The danger lever of the volcano has been reduced," said Geophysical Institute monitor Mario Ruiz. The number of explosions had tapered off and there were no lava flows, he added.
Tungurahua, 95 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, buried entire villages in 2006, killing at least four and leaving thousands homeless."
~
My work as an astrometeorologist forms one of the basis of my foundations as a mundane astrologer. For years I have been forecasting major changes ahead for the world's climate, including these last years of global warming, which is solar and astronomically-forced, and why the earth has experienced climate warming since 1980-81.
In my astrometeorological view, humans are not responsible for global warming - the Sun is the cause.
In mundane astrology, the transits of the Sun and Uranus are connected to correlating events and anomalies such as climate, seismic, and weather events on Earth.
The main force is electromagnetic. When any weak structures are sparked by the motions and configurations of the Sun, and planets relative to the Earth the causes give way to effects. We see such correlations prove true once again with uncanny accuracy.
Uranus' entry into Aries has been marked by the eruptions of two volcanoes; as well as the continued eruptions of Iceland's volcano, which last month disrupted air travel over Europe.
If the volcano eruption in Guatemala wasn't enough, now the first tropical storm of the season bringing heavy rains has formed off the coast of Guatemala.
~ AP Reports May 29, 2010 ~
GUATEMALA CITY – "Tropical Storm Agatha, the first of the season, formed in the East Pacific on Saturday, generating heavy rains in Guatemala and killing four people when a dislodged boulder crushed their house, authorities said.
The rains also threatened to turn black ash dumped by a huge volcanic eruption into cement-like mud.
Agatha was centered about 170 miles (275 kilometers) southwest of Puerto de San Jose, Guatemala, and moving toward the northeast at 5 mph (8 kph), said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph) and some strengthening was expected.
The storm was expected to dump from 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain and as much as 30 inches (75 centimeters) in isolated areas of Guatemala, threatening dangerous floods and mudslides.
A tropical storm warning was in effect Sunday for a stretch of coastline from El Salvador to far-southern Mexico.
Guatemalan disaster relief spokesman David Leon said officials worry that the rains could exacerbate damage in the country, where explosions from the Pacaya Volcano have reportedly destroyed 800 homes this week.
Leon said two children and two adults were killed Saturday when rains generated by Agatha dislodged a boulder that crushed a house they were in.
The deaths happened in the department of Quetzaltenango, 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Guatemala City and outside the area affected by Pacaya.
Pacaya, which is just south of the capital, started spewing lava and rocks Thursday afternoon, blanketing the capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport.
A TV reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close.
Airport official Felipe Castaneda told reporters Saturday that the airport would be closed for the next five days.
"The work to remove the ash was going forward, but the rain has complicated it," Castaneda said.
Meanwhile in Ecuador, strong explosions that rocked the Tungurahua volcano and prompted evacuations of 2,500 people eased Saturday.
"The danger lever of the volcano has been reduced," said Geophysical Institute monitor Mario Ruiz. The number of explosions had tapered off and there were no lava flows, he added.
Tungurahua, 95 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, buried entire villages in 2006, killing at least four and leaving thousands homeless."
~
My work as an astrometeorologist forms one of the basis of my foundations as a mundane astrologer. For years I have been forecasting major changes ahead for the world's climate, including these last years of global warming, which is solar and astronomically-forced, and why the earth has experienced climate warming since 1980-81.
In my astrometeorological view, humans are not responsible for global warming - the Sun is the cause.
In mundane astrology, the transits of the Sun and Uranus are connected to correlating events and anomalies such as climate, seismic, and weather events on Earth.
The main force is electromagnetic. When any weak structures are sparked by the motions and configurations of the Sun, and planets relative to the Earth the causes give way to effects. We see such correlations prove true once again with uncanny accuracy.
Uranus' entry into Aries has been marked by the eruptions of two volcanoes; as well as the continued eruptions of Iceland's volcano, which last month disrupted air travel over Europe.
We are now in the 30th year of this current global warming cycle, which will give way to a new global cooling cycle that officially begins in the mid-2010s.
I expect to see lessening El Ninos, and increasing frequency of La Nina climatic events in the years ahead.
I expect to see lessening El Ninos, and increasing frequency of La Nina climatic events in the years ahead.
The causes are astronomical - solar and planetary motions regulate and control the Earth's climate and weather.
I have been forecasting for years that this year, 2010, and into the early years of this new decade will feature strong climate conditions ranging from heavy rains to extreme levels of drought, blasting dry winds, warmer than average temperatures for some regions, with cooler than average temperatures for others.
In effect, extreme climate and weather conditions.
I have been forecasting for years that this year, 2010, and into the early years of this new decade will feature strong climate conditions ranging from heavy rains to extreme levels of drought, blasting dry winds, warmer than average temperatures for some regions, with cooler than average temperatures for others.
In effect, extreme climate and weather conditions.
With Jupiter and Saturn in opposition, along with the positions of the planets that form the Cardinal T-square in the signs of Aries, Libra, and Capricorn, the next 4-5 years will see unusual magnetic outputs from the next solar cycle, which will close out the final phases of the 36-year global warming cycle.
This current phase of global warming will, according to my astronomical calculations, end by the year 2016-17.
This current phase of global warming will, according to my astronomical calculations, end by the year 2016-17.
Until the mid-2010s, expect global anomalies featuring heavy precipitation, and drought conditions throughout the world with cooler than normal climate anomalies, some of which will be caused by the the eruptions of active volcanoes, which are sparked by planetary inclinations.
The world has also been in an El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. Back in 2006, I have forecasted that by late 2009 and into 2010, first El Nino, then followed by La Nina will dominate the world's weather. I repeated my forecast in the years 2007, 2008, and 2009.
We are about to enter the La Nina stage of ENSO with significant climate impacts for at least 50% of the planet ranging from extreme levels of drought, to colder than average temperatures, or heavier than normal precipitation for some regions, and dry, cold, drought in others.
The eruption of at least three (3) volcanoes to date, with more eruptions on the way, will cause the world's climate to get unusually cloudier, and colder in the months and seasons ahead due to the amounts of volcanic ash entering the Earth's upper atmospheres.
As La Nina is thrown into the mix, along with the expected arrival of Solar Cycle #24, the next 4-5 years will be noteworthy for climatic changes and global weather extremes and anomalies. I have been forecasting this since 2006 for the years just ahead.
Expect a colder climate in the months ahead. Four years later, my long-range climate and weather forecasts are now being confirmed by others:
Global Cold Wave May Be Looming: This Time, The Science Is Good
By Art Horn
May 31, 2010 La Nina, A Solar Minimum, and a massive Volcanic eruption make a threesome of cold weather events not seen for 200 years?
"In a cosmically ironic twist of fate and timing, nature may be set to empirically freeze any and all anthropogenic global warming talk: a blast of Arctic cold may encase the earth in an icy grip not seen for 200 years.
This is not alarmist fantasy or 2012 babble — several natural forces that are known to cause cooling are awakening simultaneously, raising speculation of a “perfect storm” of downward pressures on global temperature.
This is not alarmist fantasy or 2012 babble — several natural forces that are known to cause cooling are awakening simultaneously, raising speculation of a “perfect storm” of downward pressures on global temperature.
These forces let loose one at a time can cause the Earth to cool and can bring about harsh winter conditions. If they all break free at once, the effects could be felt not just in the coming winter, but year-round, and for several years to come.
On March 20, a volcano erupted on the island of Iceland. The eruption has continued at varying intensity to this day.
On March 20, a volcano erupted on the island of Iceland. The eruption has continued at varying intensity to this day.
A volcano erupting on Iceland is not an uncommon event — the island is one of the few spots where the mid-oceanic ridge rears up out of the water, revealing its violent personality.
However, this particular volcano is different — it has acted as a reliable predictor of future much more explosive and consequential activity.
This volcano has only erupted three times since the 9th century, the last eruption occurring in the early 1820s. In the past, it has been followed by a much larger eruption by the nearby Katla volcano.
This volcano has only erupted three times since the 9th century, the last eruption occurring in the early 1820s. In the past, it has been followed by a much larger eruption by the nearby Katla volcano.
Katla has erupted many times on its own, usually every 60 to 80 years, and last blew in 1918. It’s overdue.
Magnus Tomi Gudmundson is a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, and an expert on volcanic ice eruptions:
"There is an increasing likelihood we’ll see a Katla eruption in the coming months or a year or two, but there’s no way that’s certain...
From records we know that every time Eyjafjallajokull has erupted, Katla has also erupted."
Magnus Tomi Gudmundson is a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, and an expert on volcanic ice eruptions:
"There is an increasing likelihood we’ll see a Katla eruption in the coming months or a year or two, but there’s no way that’s certain...
From records we know that every time Eyjafjallajokull has erupted, Katla has also erupted."
The reason this is ominously significant is that these giant eruptions can change the weather on a planetary scale for years.
Mount Laki, another large volcano in Iceland, has a history of producing climate changing eruptions. In the early summer of 1783, Laki erupted, releasing vast rivers of lava.
The explosive volcano also ejected a massive amount of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide into the air — the eruption was so violent that the ash and sulfur dioxide were injected into the stratosphere, some 8 miles up.
This cloud was then swept around the world by the stratospheric winds. The result was a significant decrease in the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface for several years.
That reduction in sunlight brought about bitter cold weather across the northern hemisphere. The winter of 1784 was the coldest ever seen in New England and in Europe.
That reduction in sunlight brought about bitter cold weather across the northern hemisphere. The winter of 1784 was the coldest ever seen in New England and in Europe.
New Jersey was buried under feet of snow. The Mississippi River froze all the way down to New Orleans! Ice was reported in the Gulf of Mexico. Historical records show that similar conditions existed during the following winter.
Other eruptions have caused similar consequences. Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with cataclysmic force in April of 1815, the largest eruption in over 1,600 years. It also came during a time of very low solar activity, known as the “Dalton Minimum.” The following year was called “The Year Without a Summer.”
Other eruptions have caused similar consequences. Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with cataclysmic force in April of 1815, the largest eruption in over 1,600 years. It also came during a time of very low solar activity, known as the “Dalton Minimum.” The following year was called “The Year Without a Summer.”
During early June of 1815, a foot of snow fell on Quebec City. In July and August, lake and river ice were observed as far south as Pennsylvania.
Frost killed crops across New England with a resulting famine. During the brutal winter of 1816/17, the temperature fell to -32 in New York City.
Mount Pinatubo exploded in June of 1991, after four centuries of sleep. The resultant cloud of volcanic ash in the stratosphere pounded the global temperature down a full one degree Fahrenheit by 1993.
Mount Pinatubo exploded in June of 1991, after four centuries of sleep. The resultant cloud of volcanic ash in the stratosphere pounded the global temperature down a full one degree Fahrenheit by 1993.
Record snowfall buried the Mid-Atlantic states and southern New England during the winter of 1993/94. Those same records were shattered just two years later in the winter of 1995/96 from the effects of the reduced sunlight.
If Eyjafjallajokull induces an eruption of Katla, that event alone could force global temperatures down for 3 to 5 years. But there is much more at work here.
We have just exited the longest and deepest solar minimum in nearly 100 years. During this minimum, the Sun had the greatest number of spotless days (days where there were no sunspots on the face of the sun) since the early 1800s.
If Eyjafjallajokull induces an eruption of Katla, that event alone could force global temperatures down for 3 to 5 years. But there is much more at work here.
We have just exited the longest and deepest solar minimum in nearly 100 years. During this minimum, the Sun had the greatest number of spotless days (days where there were no sunspots on the face of the sun) since the early 1800s.
The solar cycle is usually about 11 years from minimum to minimum — this past cycle 23 lasted 12.7 years.
The long length of a solar cycle has been shown to have significant short term climate significance.
Australian solar researcher Dr. David Archibald has shown that for every one year increase in the solar cycle length, there is a half-degree Celsius drop in the global temperature in the next cycle.
Using that relationship, we could expect a global temperature drop of one degree Fahrenheit by 2020. That alone would wipe out all of the warming of the last 150 years.
And there is yet a third player in this potential global temperature plunge.
Since autumn of 2009, we have been under the influence of a moderately strong El Nino. El Nino is a warming of the water in the Pacific Ocean along the equator from South America to the international dateline. El Nino’s warm water adds vast amounts of heat and humidity to the atmosphere.
Using that relationship, we could expect a global temperature drop of one degree Fahrenheit by 2020. That alone would wipe out all of the warming of the last 150 years.
And there is yet a third player in this potential global temperature plunge.
Since autumn of 2009, we have been under the influence of a moderately strong El Nino. El Nino is a warming of the water in the Pacific Ocean along the equator from South America to the international dateline. El Nino’s warm water adds vast amounts of heat and humidity to the atmosphere.
The result is a warmer Earth and greatly altered weather patterns around the world. The current El Nino is predicted to fade out this summer, and frequently after an El Nino we see the development of La Nina, the colder sister of El Nino. La Nina’s cooler waters along the equatorial Pacific act to cool the Earth’s temperature.
The stage could soon be set for a confluence of cold-inducing forces. A La Nina, a weaker sun, and a possible major eruption in Iceland could plunge the Earth into a period of bitter cold not seen for two hundred years.
Forecasts of natural phenomena are notoriously difficult. However, a unique set of natural circumstances have a chance to unify into a formidable triad.
The stage could soon be set for a confluence of cold-inducing forces. A La Nina, a weaker sun, and a possible major eruption in Iceland could plunge the Earth into a period of bitter cold not seen for two hundred years.
Forecasts of natural phenomena are notoriously difficult. However, a unique set of natural circumstances have a chance to unify into a formidable triad.
All eyes will be on Iceland to see if Katla awakens from its long sleep, and if it does, the theory of man-made global warming will be handed yet another crushing blow."
~
My climate forecast as it has been for several years stands unchanged. I expect that as the Sun begins its new solar cycle, for the earth to experience not only the last years of our 36-year global warming cycle, but will also experience the start of a new, 36-year global cooling cycle.
We are about to enter that transitional climate phase now. The main feature of this transition of the climate will be extremes & anomalies of weather worldwide.
It's going to be a very unusual weather and climate year in 2010 which will continue into 2011, according to my astrometeorological estimations.
Take no chances this year, and next, with Mother Nature. The global transits indicate the Earth is entering a very active and extreme climatic cycle that will last a while.
~ World Transits: 2010-2015
Global Forecast By Theodore White; mundane Astrolog.S
Θεόδωρος
There are six (6) major transits of the Cardinal Crisis Years - signified by the planets involved & their inclinations:
- Saturn oppose Uranus -
2008-2010
Frustrating attempts to change existing conditions
The new versus the old
Virgo/Pisces - Aries/Libra
Negative attitudes within personal areas of responsibility against those of personal freedom. People generally demand strict obedience to their authority but will rebel against authority at the same time.
Much cooperation is needed to avoid falling into the unfavorable inclinations of Saturn's opposition to Uranus.
A sustained cycle where much insight, honesty, and awareness is needed to offset the powerful tendency to be rigid and unforgiving in personal and professional affairs.
Extreme viewpoints expressed by the ignorant and mentally ill fall under this influence. Loud public pronouncements shouted with wild mannerisms expressing inconsistent attitudes can be observed.
Common sights are: bugged-eye pundits uttering unsubstantiated personal opinions as facts; personal attacks, insults, and acerbic comments designed to bring attention to oneself.
Impulse, haste, snap judgments, immaturity, poor communication skills lacking any sign of social grace and basic manners can be observed.
Negative emotional attitudes bordering on signs of stress and mental illness is also quite common.
There is widespread conflict between the old order and the new emerging order. This is generational.
Groups and individuals battle against corruption of the old establishment, while the old establishment denies losing their clout, and remain fixated on old methods, rejecting anything "new" that threatens their established order.
Concepts and ideas in economic, business and political affairs tend to be impractical, unreliable, and eccentric. Economic life continues to run at a low ebb.
See - Part 3 Of Spain Is Dying
These conflicts play out with professional and personal relationships in a pre-revolutionary manner - pushing relationships to breaking points.
Saturn's opposition to Uranus is unfavorable when dealing with joint accounts, finances, corporate business affairs, inheritances, insurance, and all economic matters important to organizations, groups, and individuals.
The economic climate is highly stressed, with conflicts between the "old" and the "new" at extremes and waiting for the breaking points to arrive.
Selfish motives within organizations, and groups tend to be those where others try to take credit for the work of others in order to advance their own careers leading to estrangements between associates, colleagues and friends.
Ulterior motives abound, as do negative emotions, rampant cynicism; along with personal and professional betrayals. The feelings are quite intense, as oppositions tend to be.
Saturn's inflexibility grinds against Uranus' desire for significant change. The events that have taken place in the world since 2001 is now moving into the "release" phase and into the second decade of the 2010s.
As the fifth and last Saturn/Uranus opposition peaks by July/August 2010, we should observe strong emotions worldwide; seeking a "release" from the pent up energies, anger, and recriminations that have built up over the recent decade of the 2000s.
- Saturn Square Pluto -
2010
Power Plays, Plots, Cold, Evil & Unsympathetic People
Power Plays, Plots, Cold, Evil & Unsympathetic People
Libra/Capricorn
General signs of paranoia exists within groups and organizations is one feature of a Saturn/Pluto Square. The large-scale implications of actions taken in government, business, and political groups often force people to face dangerous situations of a sinister nature.
The will power of those involved in personal and professional intrigues is heightened to the point of very negative inclinations with some people using coercive methods to achieve what they perceive as success.
Under Saturn/Pluto this can feature acts of blackmail, threats, and plots at the highest levels of government, within political groups, and corporations.
Paranoid individuals with extreme opinions, and viewpoints is also common under A Saturn/Pluto square.
The emotions can be deep, but the insights are often clouded by dishonorable associations and emotions to individuals and groups who do not have the best interests of others at heart.
Some individuals will find themselves battling against corruption and rampant dishonesty within organizations, or within associations, be they professional or personal with attacks on their reputation coming as a result of fighting dishonest persons and groups.
The coming revelations of widespread corruption in global financial markets, on Wall Street, and other stock markets will be under the Saturn/Pluto square.
Forcing major players to fight for their freedom because of accusations of the theft of tens of billions of dollars leading to a worldwide global recession.
Corporate power plays take center stage under the cardinal crisis transits with increasing political pressure and regulatory scrutiny on major banks, insurance companies, and those implicated in widespread financial malfeasance over the last decade.
The focus on these areas: unemployment, insurance, housing, stock markets, hedge funds, secret bank accounts, general economics, political and government affairs, alimony, and inheritances - is all common under the influences of Saturn's square from Libra to Pluto in Capricorn.
It is also common under these inclinations for opposing groups and individuals to use negative, dishonest, and evil means to obtain personal/profession advantages over others; or attempts to hide past acts of malfeasance to avoid implicating others involved in acts of corruption.
This often backfires under the Saturn/Pluto square and results in public scandal along with damage to the reputation and the careers of those who used negative means to gain what they "perceive" to be an advantage.
Nowhere does "do unto others as you would have them do unto you' applies more than under a Saturn/Pluto world square.
The effect on personal and professional connections can be long-lasting with people completely breaking off any further association with friends, family and colleagues.
Power struggles - both internal and external - is a main theme of a Saturn/Pluto Square.
The will-power is increased, but the personal judgment is often very poor. This gives way to intense emotions that are not clearly understood enough to make valuable judgment calls on all levels of decisions.
Often, decisions are based on perceived "associations" with others who are not one's friends, nor who share one's common interests, except to advance their own personal interests while using others as a means to and end. Very common under Saturn's square to Pluto.
After the square aspect passes, the events which have taken place under its influences are fully revealed, leading to permanent estrangements from those once trusted and valued as friends, associates, or lovers.
Saturn's continued transit through Libra (2010-2012) then features a full distrust and estrangement from those who used dishonest means during the Saturn/Pluto inclinations.
These estrangements will last a very long time and trust will never be restored after the world square aspect has moved out of orb.
- Jupiter Square Pluto -
Coercions, False Promotions, Litigation & Dishonesty
Aries/Capricorn - 2010-2011
Opposition from Jupiter in Cancer to Pluto in Capricorn arrives 2013-2014
The Jupiter/Pluto Square acts much like that of Saturn's square to Pluto. Jupiter's motion into Aries in mid-2010, and then again in February 2011, will square Pluto in tropical Capricorn.
The same kinds of conflicts under Saturn's influence by square to Pluto comes into action with hasty, impulsive and headstrong promotion of one's opinions as facts to gain a perceived advantage over others.
Temptation is strong with inclinations to use dishonest means to get what one thinks they want.
Rampant litigation under Jupiter's inclinations lead to a rush toward legal wars without first seeing the bigger picture. With the Jupiter square to Pluto: it is the forest first, the trees second, but do make sure you count each tree.
The contradictions of this is simple:
Jupiter's square to Pluto, in combination to its conjunction to Uranus in opposition to Saturn, and by square to Pluto, and back, fully complicates matters, so as to act as a powerful feedback loop with amplifiers about to blow loudly if the volume of intensity is not turned down.
The energies of the Cardinal Cross transits are simply too strong. Patience, slowing down, and reposing are the keys to effectively neutralizing these powerful cardinal inclinations.
Under the Jupiter/Pluto square, serious mistakes are often made preparing legal cases without first laying down the proper practical groundwork.
Often, this comes about because of ego, and headstrong acts featuring arrogance and pride; but wholly failing to take into account the small, but very important details.
The majority of litigation made under these influences will collapse like a house of cards after months of what seemed like a iron-clad case.
The only way to neutralize this transit, as with all the others of the Cardinal Crisis transits is to slow down, and to be strictly honest at all times in all personal and business affairs.
Also, the need to remain detached and practical while plodding step-by-step without ego, impulse, and haste. This is the antidote to the impulsive inclinations of cardinal transits.
Power-plays, and forced acts of coercion, with promotions of extreme expressions of personal, political and religious viewpoints is quite common under this global square.
Often, one's aspirations to remake others comes with neglecting one's own house while confused attitudes about ethics and morality are cast aside in favor of haste and impulse - rushing to judgment.
Struggles with corrupted individuals and groups is also common under a Jupiter/Pluto Square.
Criminal underworld groups, and their associates often war against one another in the perceived struggle for "power," without understanding the dire future implications of their violent acts which, in time, will return upon the very people involved in these evil affairs.
There can be dubious spiritual practices featuring over-optimistic false spiritual, religious and political beliefs shaped by the realization that there are large-scale forces at work that the individual (s) have been forced to see as a result of changes in lifestyles.
The square aspect in this respect can be positive if the individual (s) remember to not act in haste or impulse in accepting too easily that which is being realized.
Under the cardinal crisis transits, there are efforts by others to remake or coerce others to partake in evil behaviors - effectively using people to do the things which "appear" to advance the interests of those who agree to take part in actions, or groups.
After the 2010 Jupiter/Pluto Square comes another one by mid-2013 into the year 2014.
This will be part of the Grand Cardinal Cross of 2014 showing powerful cardinal inclinations of haste, and impulse that feeds into the coming Uranus-Pluto Squares of the 2010s.
Again, there is a sense that things are not changing as quickly as people would like them to, and the ramifications of the decade of the 2000s continue to persist into the early years of the 2010s.
Unless the problems of rampant past corruption - especially in the financial sector - then this world Grand Cross, with Jupiter now in Cancer, as part of another series of cardinal crisis configurations - will return to bite back with a vengeance in 2014.
- Jupiter Oppose Saturn -
2010-2012
Bad Business Timing, Questionable Tactics & Promised Favors Undone
Pisces/Aries - Virgo/Libra
Jupiter at 0-10 degrees Taurus
While this takes place, many people will see their own personal and professional responsibilities increase; while wages continue to stagnate from the lack of resources, which will be limited because of prior economic corruption and waste.
The opposition of Jupiter to Saturn can test what the true balance really is between being optimistic, and being pessimistic. Much will depend on the ability of the individual to be creative, and patient, while the opposition is underway.
It will not last forever, so those who are looking for opportunities during this time should be aware to remain cautiously optimistic, while clearly seeing what the true barriers to success will be during 2010 to 2012.
Most, if not all of the barriers are those held by people with cold, conservative and uncompromising attitudes. Hypocrisy and distorted moral values is also common under a Jupiter/Saturn opposition.
What used to make sense, and would be expected as normal modes of operation and procedures is perverted by the unyielding attitudes of uncompromising people.
Many of these people will be older, and due to the transit of Saturn, will exhibit rigid views without realizing that in a short period of time after the opposition has waned and passed; that they themselves will receive similar treatment from the very people whom they denied opportunities and relief.
The conflicts which come about during 2010-2012 under the Jupiter/Saturn opposition will tend towards ethics; morals; joint finances, family responsibilities, friendships, associations, romantic relationships, partnerships and corporate struggles that will test the reliability and strength of relationships in general.
The Jupiter/Saturn opposition will begin to weaken in February 2012, and by the end of March 2012, will move out of orb.
If anything defines some of the more tense cardinal energies of the 2010s, it will be the Uranus transit of Aries in global square to transiting Pluto in Capricorn. Pisces/Aries - Virgo/Libra
Jupiter at 0-10 degrees Taurus
Jupiter/Saturn oppositions arrive every 20 years. The last one took place in 1990-91. They usually always feature an economic recession, usually deep ones, which can take several years to emerge out of before conditions gradually improve.
Such will be the case with the 2010-2012 opposition of Jupiter/Saturn. During these oppositions expect business to suffer as the generational transition continues over the course of Jupiter's opposition to Saturn.
Because of the poor economic climate some people may resort towards using questionable tactics to get ahead and make money.
With the business climate contracted, some will seek shortcuts and dubious actions to get ahead while others continue to face competition with limited resources.
The desired expansion of business is fraught with frustration after frustration, red-tape, barriers, blocks, delays, and legal problems. Rising defaults & bankruptcies increase as a result of past mismanagement of resources and corruption with credit conditions tighter than normal.
See - Professor Warren Warns About 2011-2014
It is an unfavorable time to expand business concerns, or to take chances because of the uncertainty of finances, contracts and commitments from others, who tend to be unreliable due to limited resources, confusion, lack of planning, procrastination, and a general lack of honesty and fair play.
The crush of competition, fighting for a limited amount of customers, with resources lacking can further cause disruptions in professional and personal lives to the point of some leaving entire industries for good.
This will continue under the inclinations of Jupiter's opposition to Saturn.
It is a poor time to seek favors from others, as the business climate of 2010-2012 will continue to suffer from immense commercial & residential real estate losses, double-digit unemployment, and a general sense of malaise from an aging generational establishment.
Those seeing support from official institutions, such as federal, state, and local agencies, may find themselves frustrated with the lack of help usually expected from these offices.
This is because those in positions of power are either on their way out the door themselves, or have become cold and unsympathetic to those in need; preferring instead to look out only for themselves.
Such will be the case with the 2010-2012 opposition of Jupiter/Saturn. During these oppositions expect business to suffer as the generational transition continues over the course of Jupiter's opposition to Saturn.
Because of the poor economic climate some people may resort towards using questionable tactics to get ahead and make money.
With the business climate contracted, some will seek shortcuts and dubious actions to get ahead while others continue to face competition with limited resources.
The desired expansion of business is fraught with frustration after frustration, red-tape, barriers, blocks, delays, and legal problems. Rising defaults & bankruptcies increase as a result of past mismanagement of resources and corruption with credit conditions tighter than normal.
See - Professor Warren Warns About 2011-2014
It is an unfavorable time to expand business concerns, or to take chances because of the uncertainty of finances, contracts and commitments from others, who tend to be unreliable due to limited resources, confusion, lack of planning, procrastination, and a general lack of honesty and fair play.
The crush of competition, fighting for a limited amount of customers, with resources lacking can further cause disruptions in professional and personal lives to the point of some leaving entire industries for good.
This will continue under the inclinations of Jupiter's opposition to Saturn.
It is a poor time to seek favors from others, as the business climate of 2010-2012 will continue to suffer from immense commercial & residential real estate losses, double-digit unemployment, and a general sense of malaise from an aging generational establishment.
Those seeing support from official institutions, such as federal, state, and local agencies, may find themselves frustrated with the lack of help usually expected from these offices.
This is because those in positions of power are either on their way out the door themselves, or have become cold and unsympathetic to those in need; preferring instead to look out only for themselves.
While this takes place, many people will see their own personal and professional responsibilities increase; while wages continue to stagnate from the lack of resources, which will be limited because of prior economic corruption and waste.
The opposition of Jupiter to Saturn can test what the true balance really is between being optimistic, and being pessimistic. Much will depend on the ability of the individual to be creative, and patient, while the opposition is underway.
It will not last forever, so those who are looking for opportunities during this time should be aware to remain cautiously optimistic, while clearly seeing what the true barriers to success will be during 2010 to 2012.
Most, if not all of the barriers are those held by people with cold, conservative and uncompromising attitudes. Hypocrisy and distorted moral values is also common under a Jupiter/Saturn opposition.
What used to make sense, and would be expected as normal modes of operation and procedures is perverted by the unyielding attitudes of uncompromising people.
Many of these people will be older, and due to the transit of Saturn, will exhibit rigid views without realizing that in a short period of time after the opposition has waned and passed; that they themselves will receive similar treatment from the very people whom they denied opportunities and relief.
The conflicts which come about during 2010-2012 under the Jupiter/Saturn opposition will tend towards ethics; morals; joint finances, family responsibilities, friendships, associations, romantic relationships, partnerships and corporate struggles that will test the reliability and strength of relationships in general.
The Jupiter/Saturn opposition will begin to weaken in February 2012, and by the end of March 2012, will move out of orb.
By this time, those who were frustrated, or blocked from advancement will find an easier go of things gradually in 2012 as Saturn moves out of opposition to the outer planets, and brings a sense of relief by 2013.
However, memories will be still fresh from the red tape, delays, and barriers put up by those with unyielding attitudes. This will come back to haunt those who denied others the potential for advancement during the 2010s, and leads into the coming Uranus/Pluto squares of the 2010s.
The relief in 2013 doesn't last long due to Jupiter's motion out of tropical Gemini, and into tropical Cancer where Jupiter will transit to oppose Pluto in Capricorn - initiating yet another chapter of the Cardinal Crisis Years.
- Jupiter Oppose Pluto -
August 2013 - June 2014
Cancer/Capricorn
Part of the Cardinal Grand Cross of April 2014
Forced Reforms, Business Clash, Coercions, International Tensions & Revolts
By the end of June 2013, transiting Jupiter will have moved out of tropical Gemini, and enter Cancer. Making a nice trine to transiting Saturn in Scorpio by early July, it would appear that the struggles, and tensions of the previous two-and-a-half years are over.
However, this is not so according to the world transits. This is simply a breather with more to come by the following month of August, when transiting Mars conjoins Jupiter in Cancer and oppose Pluto in Capricorn.
Jupiter's opposition to Pluto is a time of what appears to be continued stresses around finances, economics, and what policies should be enacted, and which should not.
There can be tendencies to push things too quickly, to overreach with big plans, and grandiose ideas without firming up foundations.
There can be tendencies to push things too quickly, to overreach with big plans, and grandiose ideas without firming up foundations.
During the period of the Jupiter-Pluto opposition, it is important to take time to make certain that the practical matters of business and personal life are attended to by balancing one's sense of organization against one's desire to push out and expand.
Under this influence come attempts to force, to coerce, or to remake others - claiming one's desires to reform other while not paying attention to one's own need for it personally. This is also extended internationally.
Under this influence come attempts to force, to coerce, or to remake others - claiming one's desires to reform other while not paying attention to one's own need for it personally. This is also extended internationally.
A fine balance must be taken under a Jupiter-Pluto opposition before initiating wide reforms carelessly without prior deep thought, insight, and understanding of the long-term consequences.
Jupiter is in Cancer - the home sign of the United States - so in 2013 and 2014, the opposition to Pluto can indicate tensions from the people towards government, or, to an administration in power at the time as well as international tensions abroad.
The areas highlighted are those around political policies, philosophical ideology, education, religion, and cultural beliefs and norms clashing against anything that appears to be autocratic in nature.
The strongest date of the opposition is in the year 2014, when transiting Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto form a Grand Cross in the cardinal signs of Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn. The peak of this grand cross is in April 2014.
Jupiter will oppose Pluto, while in square aspect to both Uranus in Aries, and Mars, retrograde in Libra by April 2014. Tensions are high and this grand cross speaks of both international and national tensions at a peak under yet another Cardinal Crisis.
Mixed with a sense of over-optimism, underneath the public feelings at this time is also impatience, and a strong lack of practical common sense that allows many to jump to conclusions - which is part of the cardinal inclinations of haste and impulse once again coming to the fore.
The sense of adventure and grandiose idealism at this time is marked by a hesitancy seen by the retrograde of Mars in Libra at this time.
There are unexpected hostile dealings with foreigners for those outside their home countries, and those overseas tend towards being unpredictable and unreliable.
There are unexpected hostile dealings with foreigners for those outside their home countries, and those overseas tend towards being unpredictable and unreliable.
Spring 2014 into summer 2014 is not a good time for overseas travel. Moreover, the diplomatic tensions are high, so diplomats may come into contact with those in foreign states those who may be difficult to contend with at this time.
Prudence, tact, and foresight is strong advised among all parties, be they individuals, groups, companies, organizations or nations.
Prudence, tact, and foresight is strong advised among all parties, be they individuals, groups, companies, organizations or nations.
The Grand Cross of 2014 signals a sort of "peaking" of the previous cardinal transits of 2010 and 2011 with inclinations of demanding freedom at all cost without taking on the mantle of patience, and responsibility that comes along with demands.
Before 2014, the sense of optimism fueled by the coming and going of the year 2012 when the world did not come to an end, and the inclinations of the year 2013 with a sense of new-found, but cautious optimism, is met by April 2014 with a sense that rebellion and revolt is once again on the horizon.
The international tensions at this time in 2014 will stem from former disagreements and beliefs among nations which appear to have undermined future matters by ignoring principles with empty words - saying one thing, but doing another.
This obviously leads to international clashes when trust appears to be broken between some nations. This shows in world transits of 2014. It is the year of the diplomat.
Mars' retrograde in Libra (March 1, 2014 to May 19, 2014) plays a strong role in the Cardinal Grand Cross of that year.
Wise decision-making is at a premium; so heads of state, and their diplomats should be careful not to overreach, nor to promise more than they can deliver, but to balance threats with peaceful acts, and with careful solutions via prudent diplomacy and tact.
Mars' opposition to Uranus in Aries in 2014 speaks of conflicts, and clashes among states, organizations, friends, and family who take sides on the broader issues of the times. The transit of Mars in Libra (December 7, 2013 to July 25, 2014) is a long one.
The retrograde of Mars from March to May 19, 2014 takes part during the strongest months of the Cardinal Grand Cross in April & May.
Decision-making is important here, and, with Mars declining in Libra, it is essential to have the right players in position during this time of global transits. The wrong personalities involved as "diplomats" are apt to make things that much worse simply because of their personal and political ideologies.
It is wise to remove ideological hotheads in critical positions at this time in 2014 and to replace them with calm, cool, and smart diplomats who can be trusted and relied upon to create atmospheres for leaders where positive progress can be made.
Compounding this will be a total Lunar eclipse at 25-Libra during the early morning hours of April 15, 2014 that will be visible over the Americas, the Pacific, and east Australia.
The degrees indicated by Sabian symbols say ~
- 25º Libra - "The sign of an autumn leaf brings to a pilgrim the sudden revelation of the mystery of life and death."
- 26º Libra - "An Eagle and a large White Dove Turning into each other."
My forecast is for an international conflict at this time of the Grand Cross, that continues into July 2014, before either being resolved fully, or which escalates into warfare.
The choices indicated here by Jupiter's opposition to Pluto show that successful advance diplomacy must be made prior to spring 2014, and that signs of the coming conflicts will be seen in late 2012, and early 2013.
Spring 2014 in the northern hemisphere is a tense time of international tension that should be resolved by carefully handling the energies with proper decision-making, diplomacy, and a fine balance between leadership and international cooperation.
In this way, President Theodore Roosevelt's advice to "speak softly but carry a big stick" applies very well at this time in the world. The energies of the solar year of 2014 are about the promotion of peace, calm, and wise diplomacy.
Though the ignorant may propound immediate military action; the consequences are far-reaching into the future - so leaders at this time in 2014 will need to exercise wise restraint while carefully balancing the advice of doves and hawks to come to a solution that will satisfy everyone.
Compounding the problem at this time is the fifth exact square between Uranus and Pluto which occurs in April 2014. This is part of the Global Grand Cardinal Cross that year. We will now take a look at the roles these two outer planets will play, along with their powerful inclinations.
- Uranus Square Pluto -
2011-2020 overall
Rebellions, Revolts & Revolutionary Sentiments
Aries/Capricorn
early Taurus/Capricorn
Handling this world square will not be an easy matter after the failures of the past generation to resolve many of the outstanding issues of the end of the 20th century, and the decade of the 2000s.
By July 2011, transiting Uranus will come very close to performing a near-exact square to Pluto in Capricorn, but Uranus will station retrograde on July 9, 2011 - delaying the first exact square with Pluto for 11 more months.
Uranus and Pluto, as slow moving outer planets, will remain in orb for most of the decade of the 2010s. Their most powerful inclinations occur from 2011 to the year 2018.
The first of seven (7) exact squares begins officially on June 24, 2012 with Uranus and Pluto square at 8-Capricorn. This is the first in a series of very powerful world square aspects between both planets relative to the Earth.
The Uranus/Pluto Cardinal squares lasts, overall, from 2011 to 2020.
An unprecedented Seven (7) exact squares occur in just three (3) years: 2012 to 2015
(*) = significant dates
1. June 24, 2012 – first global square at 8-degrees Aries/Capricorn
2. *September 18-19, 2012 – second square at 6-degrees Aries/Capricorn
3. May 20, 2013 – third square at 11-degrees Aries/Capricorn
4. November 1, 2013 – fourth square at 9-degrees Aries/Capricorn
5. *April 21, 2014 – fifth square at 13-degrees Aries/Capricorn
6. December 14-15, 2014 – sixth square at 12-degrees Aries/Capricorn
7. *March 16-17, 2015 – seventh global square at 15-degrees Aries/Capricorn
The last time Uranus and Pluto met in global square aspect was during the 1930s. This was a decade of reactionary, extreme right-wing politics, revolutionary socialism, rising crime, rebellions, revolts, and restrictive laws gradually reducing freedoms throughout Europe and the then-Soviet Union.
The Bank Crisis and Stock Market Crash of 1929-33 fueled the early years of the Great Depression with rising waves of petty crime and bank robberies. The resulting foreclosures of homes, businesses and family farms amid a depressed global economic system cast a dark shadow over the world.
The NYSE reaching its lowest trading point in history. Weather anomalies under the influence of Uranus in Aries led to the hottest year in U.S. history in 1933-34 with drought and dust storms raging across the American Midwest.
Meanwhile, political extremism ensued with the rise of tyrants, as Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany while in Japan, radical forms of militarism spread so much that it was being openly taught in elementary and high schools.
The revolts, rebellions and revolutionary sentiments under the Uranus/Pluto squares thus paved the way for the Second World War that followed by the end of the 1930s.
The Bank Crisis and Stock Market Crash of 1929-33 fueled the early years of the Great Depression with rising waves of petty crime and bank robberies. The resulting foreclosures of homes, businesses and family farms amid a depressed global economic system cast a dark shadow over the world.
The NYSE reaching its lowest trading point in history. Weather anomalies under the influence of Uranus in Aries led to the hottest year in U.S. history in 1933-34 with drought and dust storms raging across the American Midwest.
Meanwhile, political extremism ensued with the rise of tyrants, as Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany while in Japan, radical forms of militarism spread so much that it was being openly taught in elementary and high schools.
The revolts, rebellions and revolutionary sentiments under the Uranus/Pluto squares thus paved the way for the Second World War that followed by the end of the 1930s.
Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn revolve their squares worldwide for much of the 2010s, but the most powerful periods are between 2012 through 2015.
This is a time of great upsets within nations which have now experienced at least four to seven years in the wake of the global economic crisis.
Uranus' penchant for sudden change against Pluto's desire structure in Capricorn for a kind of transformational war that butt heads over the "kinds" of new changes to be realized and those not to be supported.
While this is happening, populations around the world seem to have had it to their chins with the constant disruptions of their lives; the losses of lifestyles over the years.
They react powerfully by demanding immediate changes without question while the forces of the status quo and old establishment refuse to yield - deciding to procrastinate even more.
Groups, organizations and individuals have become radicalized by the events since 2008. So much so, that by the time (June 2012) of the first of seven exact Uranus/Pluto square social unrest is a certainty in regions around the world.
There are increasing signs of rebellions, revolts and foreboding examples of revolutionary sentiments expressed in various nations upset with the status quo, represented by Pluto in Capricorn.
It seems everything is on the table here: economic, social, political and religious structures are be challenged from all sides. People want change, and intend on getting it.
The headstrong inclinations of Aries, with Uranus in it's 7-year transit in this sign, squaring Pluto can indicate sudden deaths coming about unexpectedly; usually through acts of violence, and from common accidents, and unexpected large-scale disasters related to weather extremes.
Past associations, friendships and relationships can become radically changed under Uranus and Pluto's cardinal squares. It is at this time, between 2012-2015 that companies that were hanging on by a thread financially - can suddenly break and fall into bankruptcy.
The entry of Neptune into tropical Pisces in February 2012 will impress dissolution on failing companies afterward, with a slow, but gradual death into the mid-to-late 2010s.
The sudden losses associated with Uranus' transit in Aries can bring about greater financial losses than expected while corporations continue to witness power struggles as the generational transition picks up speed in the early to mid-2010s.
The revolutionary sentiments inclined by Uranus/Pluto come about as a result of the frustrations of the decade of the 2000s.
The global economic crisis, and the resulting societal effects have angered many populations who feel that their governments and representatives were not representing them, but corporate monied-interests that pilfered society's resources.
The resulting backlash featured under the Uranus/Pluto squares of the 2010s will be widespread, and quite unsettling for those involved in the mismanagement of trillions of dollars and euros over the previous decade.
Rising crime can be a problem; also fueled by the lack of resources because of the Banking Crisis of 2008-2012.
Hasty and impulsive actions to acquire money through illegal acts become more public as law and order seems to be failing to take hold of the rising tide of criminal acts perpetuated by career criminals let out on the streets after being released from prison, but not reformed.
State officials, under pressure financially, are forced to release thousands of prisoners in the early 2010s to relieve the system from overcrowding.
State lawmakers all over the U.S., who say they need to save money from the devastating losses in state revenues say must release tens of thousands of convicts from prison in the 2010s, including drug addicts, thieves and violent criminals.
If there has been little reform of the system during the time of incarcerations, then obviously the lingering effects of the economic crisis that awaits convicts on the street can be a threat to public safety under the Uranus/Pluto squares.
By the spring of 2014, things become quite tense again globally with another Cardinal Cross - this time a Grand Cross configuration featuring Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto in the Signs of Libra, Cancer, Aries and Capricorn.
Grand Cross configurations in cardinal signs seek immediate release of strong, emotional pent-up energies.
If there has been little reform of the system during the time of incarcerations, then obviously the lingering effects of the economic crisis that awaits convicts on the street can be a threat to public safety under the Uranus/Pluto squares.
By the spring of 2014, things become quite tense again globally with another Cardinal Cross - this time a Grand Cross configuration featuring Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto in the Signs of Libra, Cancer, Aries and Capricorn.
Grand Cross configurations in cardinal signs seek immediate release of strong, emotional pent-up energies.
By April 2014, there is a sense among populations that they have had enough. They eject the usual explainations behind the causes of the economic crisis, which, by this time, will have persisted at various levels significantly enough to cause outright revolts in some nations.
At the same time, international tensions are sure to be high as well. There is a strong need for calm, but strong diplomacy as the Cardinal Grand Cross energies peak by April & May 2014.
Resolution of conflicts between nations can occur by utilizing cooperative stances, as well as using the carrot and stick method to bring unwilling parties to the bargaining tables to resolve differences.
The energies of Uranus Square Pluto can be violent. Accidents, and deaths are caused by haste, impulse, and the refusal to be patient, and tolerant.
Aries is the Sign of haste/impulse, while Pluto seeks general transformation, but through a gradual and steady use of the authority, forms, disciplines and structures of Capricorn.
The clashes between pre-revolutionary forces and those managing the old systems of structure can meet in the middle, but this can only be accomplished through diplomacy, understanding with all sides being flexible.
Uranus' transit in square to Pluto will undoubtedly shape much of the international climate of the 2010s to the point that presidents, prime ministers, diplomats, national leaders, CEOs, managers, and all those in executive positions will have to carefully determine how best to handle their respective leadership roles over the next 10-12 years.
It will not be easy. Those who make the effort to plan ahead, and who are flexible in their thinking, and their attitudes, will do much better than those who are not.
Nonetheless, expect the global square of Uranus to Pluto to be the prime cardinal inclinational force that will make world news time and again through the decade of the 2010s, and into the mid-2020s.
One doesn't have to make perfect decisions all the time, that's not what I mean. Under the inclinations of the mundane world transits, the important thing is to know when your opportunities to progress are, and to also know when risks are too much at any particular time.
Personal Guidance: 2010-2011
Try to see the next decade of the 2010s as a road. Right now, in this solar year between 2010 and 2011 - the world is at a historic crossroads. The same will be for many people worldwide.
People who have planetary positions at the end of the signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces; as well as those who have positions, either natally, or by progression, in the early degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn ~ will feel the transpersonal inclinations of the Cardinal T-square transits.
Those with angles allow the late degrees of mutable signs, or the early degrees of cardinal signs will also feel the cardinal transits of the outer planets.
The best way to deal with them is to use the transits in creative work, and personal work to reshape your own personal expressions, and looks, while knowing that a global transition is underway.
People who will fall under the inclinations will be those who project their problems into the lives of others rather than to face them honestly and resolve that which is within themselves.
Because the cardinal transits seek action, anyone so inclined in this way, failing to resolve their own inner issues, will be "reactionary" in their attitudes and expressions.
From June to late 2010 global transits are in the red zone+ with heavy doses of squares (challenges, use of power) and oppositions (ideologies/violent conflicts.)
Not a great summer. Too many egos and ideological heads butting all against one another at the same time. Travel totally sucks. Unfavorable transits all around. A mess.
My mundane advice would be to allow this summer and autumn to go by resting, relaxing, and not pushing anything at all, and for everyone to calm down. But, I'm just an astrologer, what do I know?
After mid-September to mid-November 2010, a time to reassess, review, and deal with the emotional consequences of it all. Venus transits Scorpio from September 2010 to January 2011, and is retrograde in Scorpio from October to November.
I continue to forecast also on the months of October through December 2010, which is a strong emotional time full of drama because of the Venus retrograde, along with Mars' transit of Scorpio and Sagittarius during those months.
People who have left unresolved matters around foreclosures, businesses, professional jobs, careers, relationships, etc., will have to face these months which show that the end is near for their respective lifestyles.
Anyone who has people in their lives who refuse to see that times are changing had best take a look at themselves and get a grip.
Time to start saying "no" to the outworn methods and people who have been causing a lot of grief in society over the past several years of the economic, and now, social crisis.
The months of July through mid-November 2010 is generally a time to chill out, but to work with oneself and others to improve conditions heading into next year. This is a good time to take a closer look at the things going on in the world.
Do not be misled, there's a ton of evil crap that's been going on for a long time that needs attending to by the people.
The Cardinal transits of 2010 is simply the beginning 4-5 years of the public's reckoning.
Remember the end of the movie Frankenstein? This might give you a clue to what I've been seeing astrologically...
However, if anyone has a late start, then new projects will have to wait to get going until after mid-November 2010.
From that time onwards, to the late summer of 2011, excellent transits exist for those working with proper positive and healthy aspirations & goals.
There is still time from late May 2010 to mid-July 2010 to make adjustments, but people who are lag behind must see what is outworn, and no longer useful, so you can progress into the new decade on much better footing.
Don't wait to make changes, as you should be already doing so now. By mid-July 2010, transits are not favorable through to mid-November, so, patience will be needed if you miss your deadlines by July, or, put them off until late autumn.
Venus' direct motion November 18, 2010 is joined by Jupiter's direct motion the same day.
This features a time of renewal for early birds who are looking to jump start their engines for the years ahead. A wise time to do so is after mid-November 2010 through to August 2011.
This ten-month cycle is excellent for people with positive plans, and who are starting new careers, lives, relationships, projects, businesses, etc.
I would be planning right now, work through summer, keeping things low profile and not giving in to the cardinal inclinations of haste and impulse, but continue to progress without personal "dramas" through September, October, and into mid-November 2010.
That Venus retrograde in Scorpio (Oct. 7-8 to Nov. 18, 2010) is strong. It also features a time of phase change of Venus from "evening star" to morning star by October 29, 2010.
Evening to Morning Star Venus: By late October 2010, Venus will begin to rise ahead of the Sun rather than after it, shifting from 'evening' to 'morning star.' The morning star cycle lasts from late October 2010 to August 2011.
photograph/NASA
By the way, the Japanese just launched two new Venus probes on May 21.
If you look to the western skies at this time of writing (May 2010) as the sun sets on clear days towards night, you will see Venus shining as evening star.
Dynamic Japanese 2010 Probe Of Venus Gets Started: Soon after blasting off from southern Japan, the rocket deployed a satellite called Akatsuki, or 'Dawn' in English, which will reach orbit around Venus in six months. The same rocket also unloaded Ikaros, a probe propelled by a solar sail that will accelerate as it passes Venus towards the far side of the Sun.
The current Venus "evening star" cycle will end by October 29, 2010, when Venus is at 5-6 degrees of tropical Scorpio, just a day or two before Halloween.
During the second half of September, and into October, both Venus and Mars will transit tropical Scorpio.
Relationships are highlighted with endings and new beginnings during the autumn months in the northern hemisphere, and spring in the southern.
This is a time of personal emotional change, of transitions, and the choices you make will determine how you will live over the next 10-12 years.
So, make wise decisions during the summer and autumn months of 2010, and into the winter of 2011.
Those with angles allow the late degrees of mutable signs, or the early degrees of cardinal signs will also feel the cardinal transits of the outer planets.
The best way to deal with them is to use the transits in creative work, and personal work to reshape your own personal expressions, and looks, while knowing that a global transition is underway.
People who will fall under the inclinations will be those who project their problems into the lives of others rather than to face them honestly and resolve that which is within themselves.
Because the cardinal transits seek action, anyone so inclined in this way, failing to resolve their own inner issues, will be "reactionary" in their attitudes and expressions.
From June to late 2010 global transits are in the red zone+ with heavy doses of squares (challenges, use of power) and oppositions (ideologies/violent conflicts.)
Not a great summer. Too many egos and ideological heads butting all against one another at the same time. Travel totally sucks. Unfavorable transits all around. A mess.
My mundane advice would be to allow this summer and autumn to go by resting, relaxing, and not pushing anything at all, and for everyone to calm down. But, I'm just an astrologer, what do I know?
After mid-September to mid-November 2010, a time to reassess, review, and deal with the emotional consequences of it all. Venus transits Scorpio from September 2010 to January 2011, and is retrograde in Scorpio from October to November.
I continue to forecast also on the months of October through December 2010, which is a strong emotional time full of drama because of the Venus retrograde, along with Mars' transit of Scorpio and Sagittarius during those months.
People who have left unresolved matters around foreclosures, businesses, professional jobs, careers, relationships, etc., will have to face these months which show that the end is near for their respective lifestyles.
Anyone who has people in their lives who refuse to see that times are changing had best take a look at themselves and get a grip.
Time to start saying "no" to the outworn methods and people who have been causing a lot of grief in society over the past several years of the economic, and now, social crisis.
Do not be misled, there's a ton of evil crap that's been going on for a long time that needs attending to by the people.
The Cardinal transits of 2010 is simply the beginning 4-5 years of the public's reckoning.
Remember the end of the movie Frankenstein? This might give you a clue to what I've been seeing astrologically...
However, if anyone has a late start, then new projects will have to wait to get going until after mid-November 2010.
From that time onwards, to the late summer of 2011, excellent transits exist for those working with proper positive and healthy aspirations & goals.
There is still time from late May 2010 to mid-July 2010 to make adjustments, but people who are lag behind must see what is outworn, and no longer useful, so you can progress into the new decade on much better footing.
Don't wait to make changes, as you should be already doing so now. By mid-July 2010, transits are not favorable through to mid-November, so, patience will be needed if you miss your deadlines by July, or, put them off until late autumn.
Venus' direct motion November 18, 2010 is joined by Jupiter's direct motion the same day.
This features a time of renewal for early birds who are looking to jump start their engines for the years ahead. A wise time to do so is after mid-November 2010 through to August 2011.
I would be planning right now, work through summer, keeping things low profile and not giving in to the cardinal inclinations of haste and impulse, but continue to progress without personal "dramas" through September, October, and into mid-November 2010.
That Venus retrograde in Scorpio (Oct. 7-8 to Nov. 18, 2010) is strong. It also features a time of phase change of Venus from "evening star" to morning star by October 29, 2010.
photograph/NASA
By the way, the Japanese just launched two new Venus probes on May 21.
If you look to the western skies at this time of writing (May 2010) as the sun sets on clear days towards night, you will see Venus shining as evening star.
Dynamic Japanese 2010 Probe Of Venus Gets Started: Soon after blasting off from southern Japan, the rocket deployed a satellite called Akatsuki, or 'Dawn' in English, which will reach orbit around Venus in six months. The same rocket also unloaded Ikaros, a probe propelled by a solar sail that will accelerate as it passes Venus towards the far side of the Sun.
The current Venus "evening star" cycle will end by October 29, 2010, when Venus is at 5-6 degrees of tropical Scorpio, just a day or two before Halloween.
During the second half of September, and into October, both Venus and Mars will transit tropical Scorpio.
Relationships are highlighted with endings and new beginnings during the autumn months in the northern hemisphere, and spring in the southern.
This is a time of personal emotional change, of transitions, and the choices you make will determine how you will live over the next 10-12 years.
So, make wise decisions during the summer and autumn months of 2010, and into the winter of 2011.
One doesn't have to make perfect decisions all the time, that's not what I mean. Under the inclinations of the mundane world transits, the important thing is to know when your opportunities to progress are, and to also know when risks are too much at any particular time.
Relationships of all kinds are now going through change, so people and associates you may have been around for some years will tend to wind down, endings, or will have already ended.
This is okay, for if the times call for change, and for progressing, then so be it. Inside yourself, it is going to have to sound something like this:
The thing is to remember to take a chance on developing new healthy relationships that will form the lifestyles and people you will come to know better in the new decade just ahead.
Knowing that times in the world are changing, why not form some new, positive, and exciting associations, and make things better?
The transitional year of 2010 will lead into a new era in 2011 that will last through the 2010s and 2020s.
This is okay, for if the times call for change, and for progressing, then so be it. Inside yourself, it is going to have to sound something like this:
The thing is to remember to take a chance on developing new healthy relationships that will form the lifestyles and people you will come to know better in the new decade just ahead.
Knowing that times in the world are changing, why not form some new, positive, and exciting associations, and make things better?
The transitional year of 2010 will lead into a new era in 2011 that will last through the 2010s and 2020s.
The cardinal planetary inclinations, for the most part, signify significant changes in all areas of life: professional & personal.
How you handle this internally will have long lasting consequences; so be prudent about what is your fault, and what is not your fault.
How you handle this internally will have long lasting consequences; so be prudent about what is your fault, and what is not your fault.
The key thing to know about transpersonal effects of the causes which have been at play in the world is that it isn't your fault.
That is why it is "transpersonal," ~ meaning causes that affect large populations, and the general climate of the times.
This is important because there are many people out there who are depressed about matters they had nothing personally to do with, but somehow are convinced that it is their fault.
Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to your average Earthling just making their way through life.
We all know that the so-called forces of the bad guys who are to blame for much of the mess is the reason why the economic and social breakdowns occur. Those bad guys have something else coming their way...
My advice to anyone who hangs around any such bad people is to casually back yourself out of the room, and say, thanks, but no thanks. The world transits ahead, over the coming years, will not be kind to people such as that.
And, you don't want to be around people, who, because of their evil acts, have their names being written on the tips of lightning bolts, would you?
Knowing the distinction between what is personal and transpersonal frees up those who may have been depressed about losing homes to foreclosures, careers, jobs, and associates in challenging economic times.
This is what is the start of the cardinal transits is really about from now into the mid-2010s.
This is what is the start of the cardinal transits is really about from now into the mid-2010s.
The personal effects from the cardinal crisis are transpersonal, and will appear as unresolved inner issues, which are best put aside and resolved.
This is because transits can force anything that is left unresolved within a person to appear, by force of the inclinations of the transits, into the outer, material world.
This is because transits can force anything that is left unresolved within a person to appear, by force of the inclinations of the transits, into the outer, material world.
Regressing into old habits, because of unresolved personal issues, will allow the transpersonal transits of the planets to then materialize into your personal world.
However, be letting go, and giving up any regressive thought patterns, you can easily free up your mind and emotions for the more important matters of the future.
Positive thoughts go a long way into the 2010s, and no better time to start than right now. Those people who use their thoughts to form clear, positive images, and who do not allow themselves to be distracted by outworn, unresolved matters of the past will do best in this new decade.
Knowing that your own personal issues are resolved within; you will also be able to clearly see how transpersonal forces in the world affect you socially, professionally and personally.
Knowing the clear difference between what is your fault and what is not your fault in the current and future climate of how things are going in the world decreases emotional depression.
Once you wake up to this fact, then you are better equipped, and able, to make sense, and proper use out of the cardinal crisis transits the world is just beginning to enter into this spring of 2010.
Jupiter's transits for the world are interesting. The historic conjunction to Uranus in June &, September 2010, and again in early January 2011 signifies unique opportunities for people who seek positive climates and willing to work for these goals.
The three Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions, one in Aries (June 8, 2010) and two conjunctions in Pisces (September 2010 & January 2011) is clearly a sign of the changing times astronomically.
Touching up the seasonal point of 0-Aries the conjunction is both a help, and a hearken of coming global changes. I continue to forecast that this is an historic time, and will be seen as one in the years ahead.
The Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions gives the world a chance to take an important step in consciousness, which, along with the social breakdowns, and worries of the future, comes at a time of transitional generational change.
The causes, the inclinations, are transpersonal in nature and affect the entire world.
Knowing these differences frees a person up from being depressed about things that they had no say, or control over in the first place.
Positive thoughts go a long way into the 2010s, and no better time to start than right now. Those people who use their thoughts to form clear, positive images, and who do not allow themselves to be distracted by outworn, unresolved matters of the past will do best in this new decade.
Knowing the clear difference between what is your fault and what is not your fault in the current and future climate of how things are going in the world decreases emotional depression.
Once you wake up to this fact, then you are better equipped, and able, to make sense, and proper use out of the cardinal crisis transits the world is just beginning to enter into this spring of 2010.
Jupiter's transits for the world are interesting. The historic conjunction to Uranus in June &, September 2010, and again in early January 2011 signifies unique opportunities for people who seek positive climates and willing to work for these goals.
The three Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions, one in Aries (June 8, 2010) and two conjunctions in Pisces (September 2010 & January 2011) is clearly a sign of the changing times astronomically.
Touching up the seasonal point of 0-Aries the conjunction is both a help, and a hearken of coming global changes. I continue to forecast that this is an historic time, and will be seen as one in the years ahead.
The Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions gives the world a chance to take an important step in consciousness, which, along with the social breakdowns, and worries of the future, comes at a time of transitional generational change.
The causes, the inclinations, are transpersonal in nature and affect the entire world.
Knowing these differences frees a person up from being depressed about things that they had no say, or control over in the first place.
Here's a nine-year protesting at JP Morgan Chase in New York.
Think he's depressed?
No, even a child knows things aren't as they should be, and he, like others who know this, are speaking out, and are loud about it. Positive action does yield positive results ~ especially with favorable transits.
Depends on how a person looks at things in the world, doesn't it?
Think he's depressed?
No, even a child knows things aren't as they should be, and he, like others who know this, are speaking out, and are loud about it. Positive action does yield positive results ~ especially with favorable transits.
Depends on how a person looks at things in the world, doesn't it?
The idea behind handling and navigating the Cardinal Crisis is to speak up, and speak out, but to also pace yourself about solutions as well as the problems in the world ~ transpersonally ~ as well as how you want to handle them personally in your own life.
It really is how you see that there are two different points of view that are connected, that of oneself, and that of other places in the world.
We are all connected to one another, and share common values (we hope) as human beings, so, the cardinal crisis is about a collective human progression that is now beginning to take place, and we call this mundane history.
It really is how you see that there are two different points of view that are connected, that of oneself, and that of other places in the world.
We are all connected to one another, and share common values (we hope) as human beings, so, the cardinal crisis is about a collective human progression that is now beginning to take place, and we call this mundane history.
A new astrological global era is beginning in this new decade; have no doubt about it; so it is a time of historic change, adapting, and seeking out new positive possibilities amid the confusion, corruption and chaos of the recent past, and, sadly, the current present.
How you choose to enter this new decade personally, with all its transpersonal causes, challenges, and exciting possibilities ~ between now and March 2011 ~ will determine the tone and course of the entire decade of the 2010s.
So, choose well.
How you choose to enter this new decade personally, with all its transpersonal causes, challenges, and exciting possibilities ~ between now and March 2011 ~ will determine the tone and course of the entire decade of the 2010s.
So, choose well.
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