Charlotte Johnson Wahl, a gifted painter and mother of Boris Johnson, has died aged 79. She is described as the moral authority in the family, warm and intelligent with a radical outlook and came from a distinguished family of ‘rich socialists.’ Her father was a legal academic who helped to draft the Universal Declaration of … Read more
Abimael Guzmán, ‘a Marxist megalomaniac’ and former philosophy professor whose Shining Path movement inflicted a reign of terror on Peru, has died in prison. He rose from academic obscurity to mesmerise his followers into provoking a civil war in which 70,000 died, until the atrocities he set in motion lost the sympathy of the people … Read more
Will the Royals survive to provide a symbolic anchor for the national psyche after the Queen passes? The present shenanigans of both her elder sons, Charles and Andrew, are raising huge questions and undermining the support of even the staunchest monarchists. Charles is described as a ‘spoilt brat’ with terrible judgement and Andrew is so … Read more
A global financial crunch looks likely around Pluto’s entry into Aquarius from late March 2023 onwards. It may not be the same as the 2008 Pluto-into-Capricorn crash but there is consternation writ large on several central bank charts. The US Federal Reserve has tr Pluto opposition the Neptune at zero degrees Leo in 2023/24 … Read more
‘Live in the midst of difficulties as if they did not exist’ is a laudable I Ching goal for a keep-calm-and-carry-on tranquillity but hardly helpful as government strategy in the face of mounting problems. Empty supermarket shelves, the result of a mixed Brexit and pingdemic effect, are alarming shoppers and likely to worsen towards Christmas. … Read more
Fifty years on ABBA, the Swedish pop group, who topped the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1983, are back together for their first studio album in 40 years to be released in November. A tour featuring virtual avatars will take place in 2022. They got together in 1972 as Pluto was shifting into Libra and … Read more
Will the yin and yang be permanently out of balance with the rise of misogyny? In the perpetual pendulum swing of effect and counter-effect it’s difficult to remember Martin Luther King’s sage words – “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Fifty years ago, Kabul was cosmopolitan and modern … Read more
In Scotland, the SNP are preparing to shake hands with the Greens in a power-sharing deal that will give Nicola Sturgeon a majority after the last election fell short. The seven Green MSPs agreed to most of the government’s policy agenda, including seeking another vote on independence before the end of 2023, and were handed … Read more
Hurricane Ida marked the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by coming ashore on Sunday as a category 3 or 4 and moving inland it has been downgraded to a category one storm. It is described as the worst storm behind Katrina’s category 5 which killed 1800 and caused $125 billion worth of damage in 2005. … Read more
In Afghanistan the largest British evacuation since the Second World War brought out 15,000 people, including 5,000 Britons and their families, plus more than 8,000 Afghan former UK staff and their families. But Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, has been getting it in the neck for the negligence of the Foreign Office in not preparing … Read more