ON A CELL PHONE, THE ADDED FEATURES (PLATFORMS, SHORT STORIES, YEAR AHEAD, ETC.) CAN BE ACCESSED FROM THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER (STACKED LINES). ALSO, THE ‘TRANSLATE’ & WORLD CLOCK WILL APPEAR AT THE BOTTOM.
在手機上，添加的功能（平臺，短篇小說，提前一年等） 可以從左上角訪問（堆疊線）。
*** All times / dates: Please remember that all time references (e.g., “dawn”) are PDT – Pacific Daylight Time zone. You can refer to the World Clock in the sidebar for more listings or Google ‘time zone converter’.
Email: suningem@gmail.com
Tim’s YouTube links: Unveiling Astrology
Unveiling Astrology Part 2)
START NOTHING (ALL TIMES ARE PACIFIC DAYLIGHT): 5:06 am to 7:56 am Mon., 12:58 pm to 6:55 pm Wed., and 1:52 am to 4 am Sat.
PREAMBLE:
ALL SIGNS: DON’T buy property nor launch any significant practical (or love) project before June 23.
***
Jupiter starts a whole new good luck cycle this week (Monday, 5 :06 pm PDT) for a whole year ahead. I think I already outlined the area of good fortune for every sign last week or in May. I also, somewhere else, said the economy would be negatively impacted, and every sign’s good luck would be modified or squelched by Saturn’s square to Jupiter.
However, from September ’25 to mid-February.’26, this restriction will be lifted, so plan on taking significant action in those 5 1/2 months. The economy might also improve, Sept. to next Feb.
***
By July, every single (major) planet, from Jupiter to Pluto, will have changed signs, portending a huge change in circumstances, activities, goals and emotions for every sign. Some of these changes are somewhat “temporary” (Jupiter’s only lasts 1 year, Saturn’s 2 + years) but others are long-lasting, and can have a major effect on your entire life. Uranus will be in Gemini for 7 years, Neptune in Aries for 14 years, and Pluto in Aquarius for 19 years (18 left).
I’m hoping to give each sign a write-up on these changes, and what to watch out for (good and ill) during the decade + ahead. Haven’t quite figured out how yet. I’ll either do 1 or 2 signs per column, in place of their weekly forecast, or do one sign every Preamble. Constant readers have probably noticed that many of the articles in “PLATFORMS” are out of date, as they were written long ago. Pluto, for example, is no longer in Capricorn, so the article is out of date. I’m trying to get these removed. (I haven’t written many extra articles the last few years, as I’m getting old [77 next week] and I don’t feel like working as hard as I did.) In future, I will place each of the signs’ “decade +” forecasts there (in the “Platforms”) after I’ve put them in the column.
Maybe I’ll start next week.
***
If you have restless leg syndrome, try this: when you go to bed, scratch the soles of your bare feet with your fingernails two or three times. Do it hard enough that the soles of your feet still “burn” a few seconds later. That’s all.
WEEKLY FORECAST:
ARIES: March 21-April 19
The general accent remains on communications, paperwork, errands and casual acquaintances, Aries. A communication you made last week or prior, could be answered now, from Monday morning (8 am PDT) to late afternoon Wednesday, opening a door to a voyage, university admittance, a legal matter in your favour, publishing, or gentle love. Monday eve begins 12 + months of great good fortune in domestic, property, agri, mining, forestry, child-bearing, cultivation and pruning (people/situations and plants). This is a great year ahead for real estate, or finding a better rental. Use June for information gathering. Realize your own skepticism or “down mood” might work against good luck here — remain 1) optimistic, and 2) ambitious (e.g., buy a “status” house). Sunday stirs your subconscious, nudges you to make an important, beneficial communication. Wednesday suppertime to pre-dawn Sat. brings both opportunities and hold-backs in career/status situations. The opportunities are stronger, so march ahead. (Ignore “pipe dreams” Wed., tho.) Friday starts a month of (lucky) domestic focus. Saturday is for celebration, optimism, friends, popularity and happiness! (Note: don’t buy property nor launch any project before June 16, next week.)
TAURUS: April 20-May 20
Continue to sidestep friction at home, Taurus. This trend will disappear next week, so be patient! The general emphasis lies on money — buy/sell, collect and pay, hug a casual, maybe intimate friend, learn by rote, buy something nice but small. You are quite attractive to others now into early July, your good looks shine. You can talk easily now, too, so state your case in friendship, but also in general communications. Save, don’t spend — a 7-year “weird” period is coming in money matters. (I’ll explain later.) Sunday brings $ luck (try to make a $ situation permanent) — but also opportunities and relationships. Be wary, anger is brewing somewhere, also. Monday to suppertime Wed. brings secrets, mysteries, heightened intuition, major finances and sexual temptations, research and medical and lifestyle decisions/questions. Monday offers good intuition, but is disastrous for almost everything else. Sit on your hands! Prices might be too high Tuesday but Wed., at last, good luck and smooth sailing come. This night, though, demands scepticism. (Illusion/rejection prevail.) But Thursday daytime to predawn Sat. Offers sweet, gentle harmony (love), profound ideas/insights, and legal, scholastic or media success. Saturday’s for ambition — a pretty good day, but watch your nerves.
GEMINI: May 21-June 20
You are still energized, Gemini — popular, charismatic, confident, effective. Good time to start projects, gain allies/co-operation, see and be seen. Your income will increase — perhaps mightily — from this Monday to June 30, 2026. However, there will also be a weight or counter-trend trying to reduce your income, so you might only gain half of what you envision — still, that’s going to be a lot! DON’T launch any more plans before June 16 (next week) and remain wary of your own plans/inspirations through June 18. So just study the lay of the land and your options until later in June (after the 20th best). Meanwhile, Sunday’s for chores and mild health cures. Eat, dress sensibly. A sudden, unexpected prize or success or victory wreath might be laid on you Sunday. But be cautious, self-protective this night. Relationships, opportunities, fresh horizons and agreements and disagreements arise Monday to suppertime Wed. Monday’s terrible, Tuesday’s okay, and Wednesday is fortunate. Life’s depths surface Wed. night to pre-dawn Sat. (PDT). Medical, lifestyle, financial and sexual decisions confront you. Careful Wed. Thursday’s good (bad morning in Europe, daytime Asia) and Friday’s fine. Saturday: gentle love that will, if new, go nowhere. Late, accident potential. But a very pleasant day.
CANCER: June 21-July 20
Continue to lie low, Cancer. Rest, re-gather your energy and thoughts, seek advice, plan, liaise with gov’t, institutions and head office. You are growing hopeful, and friends/lovers are encouraging, supportive. Money still flows your way, but only to the middle of next week, then it’s back to normal. It’s a little late to tell you now, but it would have been a good idea since last April, to try to make any increases in income permanent, such as a pay raise. Pay down as much debt as you can now. The very good news is, Monday afternoon (PDT) begins a whole year of personal good fortune for you. This fortune will be somewhat suffocated by a partner, spouse or competitor, and seems to attach to your work or health, but it’s good fortune nonetheless, and will buoy you up until July 2026. (You might earn a promotion during these 12 month.) DON’T act on luck (or on anything big, important) before June 23. Study, plan instead. Sunday’s romantic but doesn’t end well if you push things. You might hear good news about the last year or an old project or employment. Tackle chores and protect your daily health Monday (many glitches) to suppertime Wednesday (good luck). Relationships fill Wed. night to pre-dawn Sat. Avoid Wed. night, but march forth Thurs./Fri. Saturday brings hidden treasure, lust, lifestyle decisions. Money and friends don’t mix this day.
LEO: July 21-Aug. 22
You’re still in a happy, upbeat mood, Leo, for two more weeks. One of your wishes either did come or is coming true. You’ll be popular, social, and flirtatious. Your magnetism stays high until next week. Higher-ups will favour you now to early July — take advantage. Pluto has started to influence your relationships, which can be good (grounds them in domesticity) or bad (simple rejection, or two destinies going in different directions). Your legal, learning, far travel and publishing/media sector has begun a new, deeply significant cycle, to last many years. Compassion/empathy and hard work will be necessary to “win” in these intellectual, cultural and media involvements. (More on this later.) Monday, Jupiter, the planet of great good fortune, enters your management sector, to stay just over 12 months. This is NOT a good personal year ahead, so focus on practical matters, money, and — if you have a career/employment, on a campaign to rise to management levels or beyond. (But DON’T start such actions until June 23 onward.) Your luck in management and behind-the-scenes situations is very high until July 2026. BUT it will be dampened or squelched to some degree by legal work rules, or health, or a shortfall in education — something like that. (You can improve any of these.) Still, the good luck endures, just not hugely, in these zones. Sunday’s for home, kids. Romance (and creative, pleasure urges) call, Monday (terrible!) Tuesday (smooth, okay) and Wednesday (best). Tackle chores late Wed. night to pre-dawn Sat. All’s good — don’t drink Wed. night. Saturday brings relationships. Too soon to act on an attraction. Take solace in the fact that this July will begin seven years of “dreams coming true” in the hunt for relocation, agreements, opportunities — and marriage or partnership.
VIRGO: Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Continue to pursue ambitious goals, Virgo, for two more weeks. You have been very lucky in this area for a whole year, but you have also encountered obstacles and slow walking from others, especially partners, associates or spouse. Both the grand luck and the (maybe silent) disapproval will fade quickly after Monday, when your good luck transfers to the social and political realms. For 12 + months, you will be happy, popular, will see a dream come true, and, if single, will face the strong possibility of a love affair — a light, friendly one. DON’T pursue any of this before June 23 (June 24 in Eastern Europe and Asia), as circumstances will suffocate any initiatives. To some degree, this lucky year ahead is “dampened” (but still alive!) with 1) disapproval from a mate; or 2) insistence (by you) on a deep, “heavy” romance — stay light! Sunday’s for errands, calls, trips. Monday (bad) Tuesday (okay) to suppertime Wednesday (good, best time) highlights your home and family, security and Mom Nature. Romance, pleasure and creativity draw you Wed. night to pre-dawn (PDT) Saturday. (Bad Wed., good after.) Saturday, tackle chores, eat right.
LIBRA: Sept. 23-Oct. 22
The accent remains on law, media, far travel, higher learning, social rituals and gentle love, Libra, this week and next. This zone has been a lucky one for you the last 12 months, though with burdens, glitches and quiet disapproval or non-co-operation. Monday, this luck switches, and starts a whole year of career, business, employment and status/prestige luck. Again, this luck will be partially, perhaps mildly, squelched by Neptune and Saturn — which now sit in your partnership and opportunities sign. This hints that others, particularly an adult child, a spouse, partner or associate, or co-workers, will try to interfere with, or put up boundary walls to hem in, your ambitions. Best idea: leave them out of your “ambition world.” A very practical year ahead, Libra, so marriage will not be so easy nor merry — deep themes enter, esp. the theme of security. DON’T start any projects before June 23 (5 am PDT). Sunday’s for shopping, selling, casual sex. Quit early. Maybe good news about something you’ve worked on for many months. Errands, communications and paperwork demand doing Monday (many obstacles) Tuesday (fine) and Wednesday before supper (fortunate). Ignore this last night, and Thursday pre-dawn — doubt and suspicion rule. But then to Saturday pre-dawn blesses you. Saturday — romance (and creativity, etc.)
SCORPIO: Oct. 23-Nov. 21
The accent remains on secrets, mysteries, research, medical and lifestyle questions, major finances, lust and power plays, Scorpio — for two more weeks. Your intuition is strong now, which helps you locate and uncover “treasures” (of $ or knowledge). Remain diplomatic with temperamental bosses (through June 16). People on your own level, though, treat you with grace and affection, the rest of June. Monday starts a year of love, insight, far travel, legal and learning themes, media and religion — profound thoughts and profound actions. But DON’T launch any projects nor relationships here until after June 23. (Many “mismatches” until then.) Your energy and charisma are great Sunday and to dawn Monday. (Maybe good financial, investment or tax news.) Chase $, buy/sell, collect and pay, Mon. (terrible) Tues. (okay) and Wed. (favourable, until late night, PDT). Intimacy possible with a sexy friend, but not guaranteed. Errands, paperwork and communications comes Wednesday night to pre-dawn Sat. Careful with tools, work, health Wed., early Thurs. Saturday’s for home, family, Mother Nature. Some accident potential very late Sat., early Sun.
SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Two more weeks of relationships, new horizons, opportunities and agreements (and opposition) and public appearances, Sage. But the great good luck in these ends Monday (to return in 12 years — don’t worry, there will be many other lucky things, also!). Monday switches your good fortune to more private, intimate or secret things, to investments and gov’t money, to lust and power plays, to medical and lifestyle questions — an interesting time and year ahead (to July 2026). Dig deep for treasure. (BUT — DON’T commit to any course of action, or investment, before June 24 or 25.) Sunday might hold one last-minute reward or chance, connected to your action(s) in the last 12 months. Rest, contemplate. Monday dawn to Wednesday suppertime (PDT) your energy, charisma and clout are high and strong — use this to solve problems, obstacles, Monday. Tuesday’s okay, Wed.’s good until late night. (When romance, money could become elusive.) Chase $, buy/sell, hug a “friendly” bf Thursday to dawn Sat. All’s well here. Short trips, paperwork, communications fill Sat. — good! (If buying someone a gift, find it before noon, not after.)
CAPRICORN: Dec. 22-Jan. 20
Two more weeks of drudgery, Cap. Pamper your health, esp. in diet. Continue to be wary, studious rather than impulsive in finances. (Until June 17.) Romance and creative interests are starting to look lucky, to early July. Someone wants to talk — perhaps a lot. The year ahead (to July 2026) will offer great good luck in relationships, opportunities, relocation, and opportunities. DON’T start anything in these zones before June 24. You’ll be happy Sunday, as social joys and optimism buoy you. (Late night is difficult.) Lie low, rest, contemplate and plan Monday to suppertime Wed. (PDT) — Monday’s confusing and filled with glitches, but Tuesday’s okay, and Wednesday is smooth and fortunate until you hit late-night “refusals.” Your energy, pizzazz, clout and efficiency climb Wed. night to dawn Sat. Get out, be seen, get things done, even woo someone. Daytime Sat. favours shopping, selling, casual sexual intimacy, and rote learning. A pleasant day!
AQUARIUS: Jan. 21-Feb. 18
The general accent remains on romance, charming kids, creative and inventive moments, pleasure, beauty and taking an optimistic risk, Aquarius. this area has been very fortunate over the last 12 months, but it has also been held down or squelched by Saturn, which represents the restrictions and quiet burdens of your life. For example, being married might have severely restricted your romantic actions. but this 12 months ends Monday, when a 12 month good luck cycle enters your sector of work, machinery and health. Just like the past one, this year-ahead luck will be restricted again by Saturn. Still, there will be gains, especially is you socialize at work, or organize a union, political group, etc. (DON’T start anything in this work zone before June 24.) Others are still either passionate or hostile (until June 17) — look before you leap into someone’s arms. Home, family will soothe and bless you until early July. Be ambitious Sunday. Hopes, wishes, optimism, popularity, flirting, social delights and entertainment arrive Monday (many problems) Tuesday (smooth) and Wednesday before supper (fortunate). Lie low, rest, plan and contemplate Wed. night (problems) to dawn Saturday — all ends well). Your energy and charisma surge Saturday — look for love or beauty, best before noon PDT.
PISCES: Feb. 19-March 20
Monday ends a full year of real estate, domestic and security luck, Pisces, and starts a full year of grand luck in romance, creativity, speculation and beauty. Two things: 1) don’t pursue this “lucky zone” before June 24, and 2) during much of the 12 months ahead, this great love luck will be restricted, even sometimes squelched, by your refusal to dream big, and/or money or possessive factors. From September ’25 to mid-February ’26, this restriction will be lifted, so plan on taking significant action in those 5 1/2 months. Work remains hard until June 17. Sunday is thoughtful, maybe contains good news about family, home. This night and Monday are difficult. Monday to suppertime Wed. brings ambition, prestige relations and worldly status concerns. Tues./Wed. can bring success. A wish might come true Wednesday eve to dawn Sat. Be sociable, mingle, flirt, let others know your aspirations. You’ll be happy! Saturday is for rest, quietude. Seek advice, plan, liaise with gov’t or head office. Don’t stay out late, esp. if drinking, driving.
THE END.
AFTERAMBLE:
Although it lives a full and satisfying life on its own, coincidence is sometimes enlisted into karma‘s army of reward and retribution.
***
“From the river to the sea,” the Palestinian motto calling for the end of Israel, is an Aquarian phrase. (Aquarius is the “Water Bearer.”) A year ago, when Pluto entered Aquarius for a 19 year transit, I wrote here that there would be rebellions that were deep and extremely hard to dislodge, and would include deaths — possibly massive deaths. So it seems the free Palestine movement taken up by young intellectuals in New York and elsewhere, is not going away soon. Logic will have no effect on them.
***
BTW, still on my Aquarius Pluto forecasts: the Ukrainians blew up two of Russia’s major bridges last week, after destroying 41 of Putin’s long-range bombers. (Remember, I predicted that many bridges would be destroyed and many aircraft damaged, 2024-2044.)
Ukraine’s leader, Zelenskyy, is an Aquarian. Next, the Kremlin!
(Zelenskyy’s an Aquarian, Putin’s a Libra, and Trump and Xi are Gemini — three signs that are supposed to get along! But not in war. The Iran-Iraq war long ago was also fought between harmonious signs. Libra Putin will face a lot of push-back over the next 2 + years. Ukraine’s massive drone-bombing of his airfields last week was the first push-back.
***
The epitome of mercantile greed: full body deodorant. Don’t smell like a human anymore. Spend multi-dollars on trying to make your body, your presence, your very being disappear behind a lightly scented lie. We’ll cover you up, because what you are is not good. It stinks. You stink, especially if you’re a woman. Nature is a crime. We have to fight it, eradicate nature, because we want to be faultless and blameless.
I suspect this whole body deodorant thing is a demon child of the Biden effort to pervert children, to promote transgenderism and perform Mengele-style surgical and chemical experiments on children. It’s also a reaction to the guilt the Democrats have created (and promoted!).
***
More greed: The stock market price of telecommunications giant Bell Canada has fallen in the last three years from $ 70 to $ 30. Once labelled the “widow’s stock” because it was so reliable, and issued a steady dividend, Bell is a prime example of corruption. This company has committed fraud, theft and deception for years. Finally, they’re paying for their sins.
(Proof? In 2002, Bell owed me a refund of $ 10. They issued a statement, but refused to pay. 23 years later, they still have not paid their debt. Several years ago, an investigative CBC program recorded Bell salespeople going door-to-door and giving fraudulent sales pitches to potential customers. Those who signed up, never received the services they were promised.)
When you’re corrupt, dishonest, you are destined to fail sooner or later, because although corruption hurts others, it hugely hurts the corrupt. Rot eats a corporate or political organism from within — just ask Hillary Clinton. Hard to stop the rot when the rot is yourself.
***
WARNING: A LONG DIATRIBE:
First Americans imported Africans and turned them into slaves. Then one side, calling themselves Democrats, fought the Civil War to keep slavery. After they lost the war, they created the KKK, to burn down Black houses, to murder and lynch and terrorize former Black slaves. Then they segregated them, to keep them down. Then they created Planned Parenthood, with the specific goal of aborting Black babies, to achieve a “pure White” population. (This is admitted by Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. Her goal was to “eliminate the Negro population.”) Then in the 1960’s, suddenly there was a revolution of civic conscience, sparked by MLK, a Black. (Who incidentally also raped several women, according to FBI files.)
The Democrats, seeing where this trend was going (to the ultimate condemnation and defeat of the Dems) suddenly performed a 180 degree switch in the ’60’s, and became the party that supported and nurtured Blacks. How? By leading them into the welfare state, where many of them sit now, getting “free” money to survive on, but not enough to escape the ghetto. The ghetto became the Democrats’ new “plantation.” To remain there, to receive free money, rent and food, all they had to do was vote Democrat — and not work, because work is the path out of this plantation.
When the Blacks began to wake up (under Trump’s first term, when he encouraged Black entrepreneurship) the Dems, seeing the turn that was happening and foreseeing a massive collapse in Black voter support, began sucking up to Latinos, and, under Biden, opened the borders to provide tens of millions of illegal immigrants as a pool of future Dem voters. (The Dem politicians, fabulously wealthy from insider trading and other graft, tend to address, seduce, prey upon, and utilize the poor — mainly by promising “free” money, food stamps, etc.) Then the Dems covertly took over the Administration, the White House, by installing a charming, demented old fool (and crook and pedophile) as President, and immediately locking him away (tho this was unnecessary, as one insider reports he would get lost in his own closets) and using his “autopen” to run the country, create Executive Orders, and issue pardons to themselves so they could forever escape all consequences for their crimes — these multiple crimes forming a pyramid, with Treason at the top.
It’s useless to accuse the Dems of corruption. They have been corrupt since the 1800’s, and remain corrupt today. The 2024 election appeared to be the first time the citizenry woke up and recognized this core dishonesty. They were repulsed by its new form: surgically mangling children’s sex organs (comparable to the Nazi’s experiments); throwing parents in jail when they protested these government crimes; encouraging men to beat women (mostly in sports, but they also still support the importation and protection of foreign rapists); spying on religions and accusing Catholics of being terrorists; “cancelling” vast swaths of lawyers, ending their careers (barring them from the bar) for no other crime than being Republicans; putting sex books in children’s libraries, books illustrating and encouraging kids to suck adult cocks, to try anal sex, same-sex sex, transvestism — and put on shows by trannies to “introduce” kids as young as 4 years old, into — let’s call a spade a spade — perversion. These were the practices that flourished under Hitler’s regime, especially during the decline, when Hitler was losing the war — why go on?
Despite what their younger members say now, the Dems loved Hitler — they even sent a young JFK to Germany to study/emulate Hitler’s methods.
Now that they are out of power federally, the Dems have enlisted 800 low-level judges to rule against Trump’s programs at every turn. They have corrupted even the judges. (As I predicted decades ago.)
To me, the Dems are the acme of corruption. It would be hard to find an organization more corrupt. It would be a blessing if this party self-immolated, which they appear to be doing presently. The Dems deserve one thing: non-existence.
For more on this, and on two further important points: the Dem’s early corruption and theft in colonial days, when Andrew Jackson for decades systematically displaced and murdered Indigenous tribes in order to take their land, subdivide it, and sell parcels to White settlers (earning himself a fortune comparable to Musk’s and Gates’ today) — and on Hillary and Bill Clinton’s connections to — nay, wading through — nay, creating much more of — this corruption — for more on all this, read Dinesh D’Souza’s book, “Hillary’s America.”
I pray Trump doesn’t crawl into the same corruption tunnel. He’s done and doing a lot of good things for everyone, Blacks included, but I’m worried about his recent pardon of the Chrissy’s, a husband-wife duo who were convicted of $ 30 million in (I think) social security fraud, a few days after one of their mothers gave Tump’s campaign one million dollars.
***
AN EVEN LONGER DIATRIBE:
The antisemitism thing stirs some deep, complex and confused emotions in me. I have several times thought of commenting in this column on the Gaza situation. But did not, because I’m not sure. I came to this late, because my main knowledge of Israeli history consisted of remembering the date of the six day war and a few other details. I watched the Exodus movie. So my knowledge was very superficial, and still is. I can only come at this in an observational way, which is that I first became aware of violence between the two sides a few years ago, and it seemed like kind of two brothers scrapping. And then there seemed to be a few years of peace. Maybe I was ignoring the situation. So to me, the first scenario of this entire conflict began October 7.
I know the Gazans were poor, and many felt repressed or injured by Israel’s economic and military presence, but I don’t know these for fact. I also don’t know the degree to which the news is truthful, pro or con Gaza or Israel.
So everything I say from here in, is my viewpoint and opinion, based on the meagre bits of news I encounter – I’m a very superficial researcher.
Hamas is waging war on Israel. If the October 7 attack was just one more campaign in a decades-long war, then it can be seen as a massacre, a tactic usually condemned but often used in war. The Allies used it against Japan and Germany near the end of WWII. If a war is a war and you’re trying to destroy your enemy, why would you balk at doing anything to destroy it/him?
But the ridiculousness of the Gazan’s position is that anyone with a logical mind could tell that they have been and still are hugely outmatched — a rat to a pit bull. They had to know that the repercussions for that October 7 massacre would far outweigh the victory of that day. Why then do it? And even now, Hamas , who has lost maybe half or more of its military arm, continues to fight back, and argue over negotiations, and generally be uncooperative.
Hamas does things which we in the west find repulsive. Their use of hostages. Their rapes. Their disregard for their own civilians’ lives. Here again, one has to depend on an unreliable news machine. Because reports have come out with some frequency that Hamas is commandeering the aid trucks and stealing all the food for their own organization. In the west, this would be called cowardly greed and worse, for it starves their own people.
But I don’t know what portion of this is cultural, and what is truly evil, if at all. If they let their own civilians be bombed and fired on, perhaps something there explains why they would feel justified in, performing the October 7 massacre. If we consider the killing of innocents in purposeful, painful ways to be evil, then Hamas is evil. Some might want to say Hamas has acted evilly, but that doesn’t mean the organization is evil. I was astounded when the news media a month ago announced that despite all the deprivation caused by the Israel assault, 85% or more of Gazans approved of Hamas and wanted them to stay in power. How can you explain this loyalty when they have triggered so much suffering? To my admittedly western eyes, there seems to be an ancient anger, as a friend of mine once said, buried deep in the experiential consciousness. This is an anger – an emotion – stronger than logic. Logic would have told them decades ago to peaceably mingle with the Israelis. A small portion of them have. Instead they are driven by an anger strong enough to justify murdering their own civilians, strong enough to justify kidnapping and holding hostages as pawns.
So in general, I support Israel. They were attacked, and they have the right, not only to attack back, but to make sure that no such surprise attack or massacre can occur again. This is just good civics – securing the safety of your own country. I fully think that the only way they are going to be secure, is to eradicate Hamas, no matter how long it takes. (I’m much more extreme in this matter than Israel would ever be. I would not ever do it or even advise it because I want to go to heaven someday. But with Mars rising on my local ascendant, my fantasy is that Israel simply tells the entire population of Gaza that they will start bombing to kill 10,000 or 20,000 Gazans a day until every hostage dead or alive is returned. Then I would begin to flood all the tunnels. When any Hamas emerged rather than drown, they would be imprisoned, or shot if they resist. The war ends, because the enemy is eliminated. Rebel groups might form after this, which could require keeping a police presence in Gaza.
But the main thing that should follow the war is a huge, ambitious rebuilding program. Gaza has beautiful beaches, and could have a thriving tourist industry. So this reconstruction won’t just be homes for citizens, but also luxury hotels and golf courses. Slowly, a Green belt, a belt of affluence, will crawl from the north to the south of Gaza, turning the strip into a middle class kind of place. A huge, huge construction project.
The population will need food and shelter, at Israel’s expense. There will be long periods, probably even years living in tents. Some relief for both Israel and the Palestinians, is that Israel will hire as many Gazans as possible to aid in the construction of the new cities and towns. It’s hard for me to imagine that after Israel turns their lives into fruitful, more luxurious areas – having a nice home is a major plus – the majority of the citizens will not opt for peace and relative wealth, post war. Still, they might remain in secret rebellion. Hard to say: how do you accept a gift of a good material life from people who have “murdered” your grandmother or brother? But as time passes, esp. as generations pass, feelings will eventually become ideas as they weaken. Eventually, if the Gazan society did become a stable, peaceful neighbour, the prisoners of war (Hamas military survivors) could be re-introduced to what we hope will be a society satisfied enough to reject any rebellion.
But in the meantime, why hasn’t Israel already done this? Why haven’t they embraced Gazans as brothers (in the miracle of life) already, say 50 years ago? Why did the Gazans attack Oct. 7, knowing it would spell their doom?