By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
IT'S A good thing that the Neptune/Saturn energy is behind us; I could use a vacation from unreality -- it's exhausting. In the past weeks, life has taken on a surreal quality that seems positively mythic (not that it hasn't been sneaking up on us by bits and pieces for years).
The political junkies are bone-weary, with just about everything the government tells us quickly refuted by facts, sometimes issued by their own agencies. For the pop culture aficionados, news of Lindsay Lohan's recent "successful" stint in rehab was knocked topsy-turvy by this week's headline that she'd received a DUI and was nabbed for possession of cocaine, less than two weeks after release. These last years of disinformation have turned many of us cynical, unable to believe most anything that comes down the pipe and fearful for the future. We're hungry for something authentic, truthful, real. Perhaps that's why the Democratic debate hosted by CNN in collaboration with YouTube seemed an energizing success; not the tight and practiced responses from candidates, particularly, but the filmed questions provided by citizens, starting with the guy who began his clip with "Wassup?"
The kind of dishonesty we've come to expect from government, and faithfully transcribed by mainstream media, exacts a price. George Bush now has an approval rating of 25% -- only one out of four people in this nation thinks he's worthy of his office, and the numbers of those who want him impeached are closing in on 50%. That's due to get worse as transiting Saturn moves to oppose the Moon in the US chart (the
Sibley chart), exact on July 28. The Moon represents the public mood and Saturn demands accountability. Meanwhile, Mr. Bush, determined not to let reality intrude on him, seems cheerful and, amazingly, confident. Not all of us have the president's Jupiter Sun square to keep us unrealistically optimistic, however.
Most of us have entered, willingly or un, the slipstream of change. Pluto's visit to the Galactic Core shoved the last of us into those quickly moving waters, and we're going somewhere, like it or not. Most of us don't like it, thank you very much; we like the idea of change, but not the shake-up that comes with it. We'd rather stay with what we know and trust -- but what would that be, these days? Recognize any of the signposts you see around you? Feel secure with how things are going? Some of us are just waking up to discover we don't know what's going on or why. What's going on is complex, but why seems obvious. We're being asked to grow; the universe has pushed us into it. Like elective surgery, that's something we'd just as soon put off 'til later. But remember the glass -- it will be half full or half empty, depending on how we choose to see this.
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Editor's Note: As an accredited journalist in the European Union, I receive many EC press releases every day. I don't usually reprint press releases; I can't remember one time; but this one is pretty special. Everyone has heard of Rwanda. The death penalty is one of those issues that particularly in the United States needs some light shined on it. Steve Bergstein has covered it previously in Psychsound, and this article by me on Mumia Abu-Jamal from the late 1990s gives a chilling glimpse at what is possible when things go wrong. -- e.f.c.
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Electric Chair by Andy Warhol. |
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COMMISSIONER MICHEL congratulated the Rwandan government and the Rwandan people on this important decision:
"It is with great satisfaction that I have learnt that Rwanda has formally adopted the law abolishing the death penalty. This important decision confirms the political and democratic commitment of the country towards national reconciliation. This significant step sends an important signal to the international community, showing Rwanda's commitment and respect for human rights. I hope that this decision will encourage other countries in Africa to follow".
Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said:
"I warmly welcome Rwanda's decision to join the ever-increasing number of abolitionist countries in the world. Rwanda's remarkable decision makes a significant contribution towards the abolition of the death penalty on the African continent and in the world at large. When a country like Rwanda, with the terrible violence it has known in its recent past, has chosen to break the cycle of violence that the death penalty represents, it should be a compelling example to other countries around the world."
The European Union campaigns across the world for abolition of the death penalty. This stance is rooted in the belief in the inherent dignity of all human beings and the inviolability of the human person, regardless of the crime committed. The European Commission is an active advocate for abolition through all instruments at its disposal. Initiatives at the political level include formal demarches and declarations. In addition, the EU also provides support on a more practical level through projects funded under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights.
Rwanda, a country marked by the legacy of genocide, has made impressive progress since 1994. National and local elections were held in 2003 and 2006 respectively. Basic human rights and fundamental freedoms are formally protected by the 2003 constitution, which also provides for institutions to monitor and protect these rights. Unity and reconciliation activities have increased with the nationwide roll-out of the Gacaca process in 2006 and the acceleration of the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Both are scheduled for completion in 2008. Rwanda's improving governance environment is reflected in its recent African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) report, endorsed by African Heads of State in 2006.
EC co-operation with Rwanda has evolved significantly over the past 15 years in order to adapt to the country's circumstances. In the pre-genocide period, the focus was on projects in the areas of rural development and transport. In the aftermath of the genocide and civil war, EC Cooperation took the form of humanitarian aid, emergency aid and physical rehabilitation, along with some support to the judicial system. The emphasis was on mobilising resources for discrete projects rather than building a coherent and structured programme.
Since 2000, Rwanda has been a partner in the European Development Fund (EDF). This has served as a transition between post-conflict relief/reconstruction and long term development aid focused on poverty reduction. Over the last 5 years, a total of over €215 million has been provided through the EDF, in close alignment with the Rwandan Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy. In coordination with other donors, EC co-operation has focused on macroeconomic support linked with social sectors (health, education), rural development (including infrastructure) as well as some support to governance initiatives and regional integration. The EC will continue its co-operation with Rwanda under the 10th EDF for the period 2008-2013.
By Kirsti Melto | Lunations
Full Moon in Aquarius -- July 30, 2007, 00:48 UT.
Chart by Solar Fire.
THE FULL MOON is in close conjunction with asteroid Child at 6+ degrees Aquarius. According to Martha Lang-Wescott, asteroid Child relates to "one's own experience as a child and to attitudes toward and events with children; childish reactions (ranging from innocence to immaturity)."
The Moon and asteroid Child are in conjunction with Nessus and
Chiron, two of the earliest discovered centaur planets, Chiron being the first, and Nessus the third. Chiron and Nessus have long been in ongoing conjunction, "the era-defining conjunction," as Eric Francis has described it.
Eric has written: "The centaurs (Chiron-like bodies, including Pholus, Nessus, Asbolus, Chariklo, and Hylonome) talk about transformation processes, healing processes, as well as psychological tools we use to get through life...Nessus talks about abuse patterns in the family of origin, and how they manifest psychologically in adults."
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| Weekly Horoscope for Friday, July 27, 2007, #673 - By ERIC FRANCIS |
Aries (March 20-April 19)
Matters have likely progressed faster than you may have expected or thought prudent in a romantic involvement or impassioned creative project, and you may feel you're once again in over your head. I suggest you let go of the feeling that you're heading for a minor disaster. If you look, you'll see not only an escape hatch when you most need it, but an opportunity to direct the course of events in a much more productive direction than your fears were telling you was possible. Note that someone will offer a suggestion for this possibility shortly before it manifests "in reality." You can save yourself time by recognizing a good thing when you see it.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
Your ability to get things done has been closely following your sense of emotional security. You may think that achievement feeds that security, and occasionally it does; at the moment, your ability to trust is leading the way. If you're experiencing self-doubt, remember that you tend to impose a nonexistent value called perfection on much of what you do. I suggest that in any personal growth work, you get inside the mentality of this psychological habit, which is clearly the result of your upbringing. You were taught that you cannot take a chance until you've calculated the exact potential for winning or losing. Really, to be fair, you must call that something other than a chance.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You'll make brilliant progress this weekend and into next week if you follow a strategy you set out some time ago. You may think that your professional life is too erratic or downright weird to be able to make plans and follow through with them. But if you can follow the choreography you suggested for yourself a couple of months ago, you'll be impressed at your foresight. In particular, you saw and developed a proposed response to a problem back then which may be invisible now, which still exists, and which need not hinder you; however, you need to keep your awareness on high and use what you know.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
This week's Aquarius Full Moon will go a long way toward helping you resolve long-term financial concerns. You will, at the least, be able to agree to terms that everyone feels comfortable with, and at best, move the logjams that seem to have clogged the river where you're trying to ply your trade. That, however, is a physical metaphor. You need a psychic one. Spend some time slipping into the agenda and energy pattern of all the people you're involved with, and there do seem to be a few. See if you get a clear signal about what they want. When in doubt, note that doubt, and drop a question into the box.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
You are currently getting a preview of the special care you need to take with money matters, but this is designed less as a warning and more as a calling to create a financial structure that really works for you. No doubt you've been reviewing things carefully for a while; a series of eclipses in your money house (with one more to come) has made this inevitable. The particular issue that's come up now is the way you make certain choices about what you value. You are at this moment getting a history lesson, and it may in truth be pretty ancient history. To sum up, it looks like the planets are pleading with you not to be so petty. You are standing on a fortune.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Over the next few days you may get some unusual insight into a health-related matter that's one and the same as a community issue. We tend to think of our health as being strictly individual in nature, though it often depends on two things: how we live collectively, and the psychic climate within our personal circle of friends. If you share any of these philosophies, you're poised to hit the jackpot on both information and action items. Your sense of what is true is so finely tuned right now that you can trust that the information you're receiving is indeed correct. The question is what exactly to do about it, and when to do it. Some things will lend themselves to immediate action and others to medium-range action. First things first.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
The solution to a professional question turns out to be easier than you think, which is perfectly grand as long as you know for sure what you want. You seem to be having your doubts, and those doubts seem to be showing up on a grand scale. Remember that there are certain things that cannot be nailed to facts, and facts add up to the truth only when we look at them from the right point of view. You can at this point in your life afford to conduct an experiment without worrying too much about the ultimate outcome. The door to doing that is open now, but for this phase of your life, it probably won't be open for long.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Don't misinterpret the seeming hesitation of a close partner or friend. They are not withdrawing their support or reconsidering whether they want to keep playing the game of life with you; rather they are moving within their own natural cycle and have some inner maintenance to do. I can assure you that their current self-focus will benefit you and your relationship. We both know there are plenty of influences in the situation to push things further and faster, and most of those are coming from you. If nothing else, you now have plenty of evidence in your life about the awesome power of slow, steady progress. You'd better show that evidence to the jury.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
You're probably taking a detail-oriented approach to success, which is one of the odd curiosities about the very sign that's so dedicated to living the Big Picture. The details you need to focus on now are the ones you missed in the past. You tend to overlook some of the basics where beauty, tangible value and common sense about what is true are concerned. I suggest you do a review and see where you can be, or in fact actually are, more in step with what I will reluctantly call popular opinion. You missed some choice opportunities recently, and you don't have to miss them again.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
Your persistence has paid off so far; you have averted all of the worst outcomes and most of the less savory ones. Over the next week or two, someone you feel you trust may be pushing you to make a decision or act on a crucial matter faster than you know is right. You need to politely tell this person to mind their beeswax, or thank them for their advice and then promptly forget it. Your sense of timing is close to perfect. The world is going to be rushing at a hectic pace during the current Aquarius Full Moon phase, but you must be the master of timing the most critical matters in your own life.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
A stunning Full Moon in your birth sign is inviting you to renew your promises to yourself, and to summon the strength to know you will keep them. You've grown tired of the nonstop obstacles that you seem to keep tripping over as if they were obscured by fog. Those blocks to your progress are moving out of the way perhaps a little less quickly than an avalanche, but they are indeed moving. What you have going for you at the moment is the intuitive light of the Moon illuminating your mind and your senses. Over the next few days, things that were long invisible will suddenly appear. If something looks like a dark object, remember that often the shape of the shadows reveals the shape of what is hidden.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
What manifests in the short term of a relationship is not necessarily what will develop in the long run. Whether you like it better or worse, whether you are able to articulate your desires in a clear way or not, you can trust one thing: there will be developments, and you will be able to put them to work for you. Yet here is what you basically must do with the current opportunity: look clearly, with both eyes, and check whether what you think you want is what you really want. At least raise the question and (with sincere gusto) ask the universe for some simple confirmation that you can really understand. Trust that you may not know the best outcome -- and I do mean best.
CREDITS: Associate Editor: Priya Kale. Webmaster: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Proofreader and Fact Checker: Sara Churchville. Horoscope Editor: Jessica Keet. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli.
