THE END TIMES REPORT
End of April 2005
by Zachary Casper
DEATH OF POPE JOHN PAUL 2 nd . Probably the biggest story of this month was the passing of Pope John Paul. He was a very good and decent person, and was respected not only in the Catholic Church, but by those of other religions as well. I particularly liked his public stand against the invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces. However, I also feel that he made some mistakes. (Apologies if any of you readers are members of the Catholic Church, but if you are, you must know that you are not being a particularly good boy or girl by reading reports from a website devoted to astrology, a subject which has officially been condemned by the Church!) Pope John Paul was very conservative in his approach to Catholic doctrine, choosing to preserve it in its entirety, rather than daring to make changes, even minor ones. For instance, he refused to acknowledge the role of women in the Church, even though the divine right of females to practice, lead and teach spiritual subjects is undeniable. I also thought that his refusal to retire from his position due to his ill health, particularly during the last year of his life, was not intelligent and even downright silly. During the last few months of his life, he often appeared incapacitated, unable to manage, and in fact more dead than alive. The last few weeks presented, in my opinion, the very shameful and in fact humiliating spectacle of someone hanging on to power and position at all cost, when in fact his time was well and truly past. A detailed discussion of his horoscope will be appearing soon on this website.
JOSEPH RATZINGER / POPE BENEDICT 16 th BECOMES THE LAST VICAR OF ROME. Pope John Paul's successor is a German-born cardinal who was a close associate of the Pope during his tenure. Cardinal Ratzinger was elected the Pope on the second day of the secret balloting process, which is considered a quick election in the tradition of the Church. When I write that he is the Last Vicar of Rome, I don't just mean that he is the latest in the line of Popes. I mean that he will be THE LAST POPE. In the year 1139 or 1140, an Irish bishop known to us today as St. Malachy, who apparently had the gift of healing as well as prophecy, visited Rome and the Vatican. While there, he wrote single line predictions for 111 Popes to come in the future, giving them each symbolic one line appellation in Latin. For instance, John Paul 2 nd was labelled 'De Labore Solis' / From the Labor of the Sun', and his 26 years as pontiff and the many journeys that he took as a labor of love do warrant that appellation. Also, he was born about 9 hours after a solar eclipse, and apparently eclipses in the 12 th century were known as 'labore solis', or 'sun work'. After he had gone, it was predicted that there would only be one more Pope - called "Gloria Olivae / Glory of the Olive", the tree associated with the Benedictine order from which Cardinal Ratzinger came - left to reign. (Please note that some sources claim that St. Malachy predicted one further Pope after the present Pope Benedict, supposed to be called "Peter the Roman", but I believe that this prediction was not part of Malachy's original text, but added by the Benedictines to distance their order from the prediction that Pope Benedict would be the last. Also, Peter the Roman sounds suspiciously to me as if they expected Peter the Rock, the first Pope, to somehow miraculously appear from the grave and become the final Pope).
Personally and frankly, I am appalled that the Catholic Church would dare to present as its spiritual leader, someone with such a negative energy as the new Pope Benedict. When I first saw his photo, my reaction was that he had been a member of the Inquisition in a past lifetime. And indeed, most observers see him as a totally conservative figure, who will promote orthodoxy and blind obedience in the Church at all cost, and will fight liberals and progressives to his last dying breath. In fact, the Melbourne Age newspaper printed a front page story titled Is he the 'devil' liberals really know? right beside his photo. What a cynical choice by the Vatican! Also cynical is the fact that he is 78 years of age. Considering that the Vatican did not permit cardinals over the age of 80 to vote at all in the selection of the new pontiff, had the late Pope lived just two years longer, Cardinal Ratzinger would not have even been allowed to vote. In comparison, the late Pope was elected at age 58. Many observers think that Pope Benedict was elected as a deliberate short-term pope who will not have the time to generate the influence of Pope John Paul. If so, more cynical motives on the part of the Vatican.
PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR IS OVERTHROWN. Turning to more secular matters, there have been some very interesting developments in the South American nation of Ecuador. President Gutierrez - accused by many of corruption and trying to bribe the judiciary - was recently overthrown by a demonstration of people's power. Crowds marched on the presidential palace, which was surrounded by Army troops, but the troops stood aside and let the crowd run riot. The President fled by helicopter to Quito airport, where he boarded a private jet to flee, but crowds invaded the runway and forced the plane not to depart. Then he fled to the Brazilian embassy in Quito, and tried to get asylum in Brazil, which was granted. He was replaced as President by the former Vice-President, Senor Palacios. However, according to reports, a section of the community doesn't like the new president much either, so the situation remains volatile and somewhat unstable.
ANOTHER OF JOHNNY'S PRE-ELECTION LIES EXPOSED. Here in Australia, the news doesn't vary much. The latest of PM Howard's lies to be exposed as such was the Coalition's pre-election promise not to tamper with the Medicare safety net, or the fees that Medicare members pay in the event of such things as expensive surgery. In fact Tony Abbot, the government Health Minister, went on television before the election and gave the public an "iron clad" guarantee that the Medicare safety net would not be tampered with by a victorious Howard Government. Seeing the clip played again on television, I conclude that Abbot really did mean what he was saying at the time. He just didn't reckon that Johnny, his boss, would lie so completely and unscrupulously about a matter that was supposedly under Abbott's direct portfolio. But Tony Abbot - a serious contender to succeed Howard as Liberal Party leader if he ever retires - is learning what it really takes to be the leader of the Liberal Party: 1) You lie to the Australian public about any and everything, knowing (as I have remarked many times) that we JUST LOVE OUR LYING POLITICIANS in this country; 2) You make any and all kinds of promises, and then after you win the election, start cynically breaking them, one by one.
When Howard recently announced that the Medicare safety net was being increased, he said that he was sorry to have to do so, but that the economic blowout from not doing this would amount to over a billion dollars. It then came out that PM Howard had already known before the election - even as Abbot was going on TV and making his promises - that they would probably have to increase the Medicare safety net because of increasing costs in this matter. The good news is that in recent polls, the Labor Party has begun to outpoll the Liberals by 2 or 3 percent, and even Labor leader Kim Beazley's personal approval rating has topped Johnny's in recent days by 1 to 2 percent. Are we Australians at long last waking up to Johnny's cynical manipulation of us, or are we still such suckers and morons that we are willing to swallow more lies and false promises from the man come the next election!? You be the judge.
SCHAPELLE CORBY DRUG CASE EXPOSES THE DARK SIDE OF AUSTRALIAN AUTHORITIES. If you watch the news at all, you have undoubtedly heard the very sad and distressing case of the 27-year old woman from Queensland who was found to have about 4 kilograms of marijuana in the case carrying her surfboard when she landed at Denpasar Airport in Bali last year. Corby has always claimed that this was a set-up and that she had no knowledge of what had happened. And in my opinion, the relevant facts in the case confirm her innocence: 1) Why would anyone in their right mind try to take drugs from Australia INTO Indonesia, when they could make 5 - 10 times more money selling the stuff right here in Oz?! It just don't make no sense!! 2) A convicted criminal in a Victorian jail - who was flown to Bali at the request of Corby's defence team and allowed to testify at the trial - stated that he heard his fellow inmates laughing about Corby's predicament. According to the criminal, they knew that she was the innocent victim of a drug-smuggling plan gone wrong (it is alleged that the drugs were planted in Corby's case in Sydney and were to be unloaded when the plane stopped in Brisbane, but this didn't happen and so the drugs got flown to Bali, the next stop). 3) Sydney Airport (and Sydney in general) is a notoriously corrupt place. A former airport security officer, Gary Lee-Rodgers, tipped authorities off to a domestic drug-running operation at the airport, but then died mysteriously in 2002. His family and whistle blowers believe he was the victim of a revenge murder. 4) The Australian Federal Police (AFP) seemed to demonstrate a curious lack of co-operation with Corby's legal team. An advisor to the team said that the AFP knew more than they are admitting. The defence team recently asked the AFP to confirm to Indonesia's attorney general that they (AFP)were investigating an airport drug racket in Australia, but the AFP and Justice Minister Chris Ellison really haven't seemed too interested in helping (obviously, it would make Australia look very bad in the eyes of the world if these allegations are true. My personal opinion is that they are.) Interestingly, the media here in Australia don't seem to be too interested in pursuing this angle, perhaps for obvious reasons.
Seeing Corby's final appeal before the judges at the end of her trial, I am totally convinced that the young woman is innocent of the drug-smuggling charges. Her tearful and perplexed demeanour indicates that this is the case, and although that some will say that she is merely lying to get out of jail, if this is true, then she should be given an Academy Award for best actress in a bad drama. Will Corby get the lifetime jail term that Indonesian authorities are asking for? And if what I believe is an innocent victim of Australian drug smuggling gone wrong is convicted, just who else will get the bad karma for it all? This story is a really shocking example of the corruption, darkness and evil that lurk in certain parts of this country, but both the government and the police force don't seem to care much about investigating. But when we keep electing lying and dishonest politicians to power, how can we not expect that corruption and darkness will flourish and spread throughout the nation?!
YOUNG AUSTRALIAN DRUG SMUGGLERS CAUGHT IN BALI. And if the Corby case isn't bad enough news, recently while boarding a plane to leave Bali, nine young Australians (ranging in age from 19 to 26), including one woman, were caught by Indonesian authorities trying to smuggle heroin out of the country on a flight bound for Sydney. Four or five of the young people were caught red-handed with heroin strapped to their bodies. The others were accused of involvement in various ways, including two who were alleged to be the ring leaders of the operation. The Indonesian prosecutors have asked for the death penalty for all of them to be carried out, if convicted. This request has so shocked the Australian authorities, including the AFP which was working with Indonesian police to investigate the drug smuggling syndicate involved, that they have now refused to forward any further evidence to the Indonesians that could be used in the trial. Recent reports indicate that many of the smugglers - called "mules" - were threatened that if they did not co-operate, their families would be harmed or even killed. This is a very, very sad situation. It is, unfortunately, a sign of the corruption of the times.
JOHN KERRY SPEAKS OUT ABOUT CORRUPTION SURROUNDING U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. At long last, the Democratic Party candidate in last November's American presidential election has spoken out about the corruption and intimidation surrounding the poll. While not disputing the final result which returned Bush to the White House, in a public speech Kerry detailed some of the dirty tricks that the Republicans used last November. He said "Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated.. Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote." And the facts back him up. A lawsuit in Ohio - one of the key states whose supposed majority for Bush helped tip the scales - cited long lines and a shortage of voting machines in predominantly minority neighbourhoods. The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the suit. Kerry added "There is no magic wand. No one person is going to stand up and suddenly say it's going to change tomorrow. You have to do that."
All too true. But as long as the Republicans feel that they can keep stealing elections in whatever arena, they are not going to endorse the voting reform legislation that Kerry and Senator Hillary Clinton are proposing. Their Count Every Vote Act would require paper receipts for votes and authorise 500 million dollars (U.S.) to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment. Personally, I doubt that the Republican majority in Congress will let this very necessary legislation pass.
BUSH'S NOMINATION HITS STORMY SEAS. While, sadly, Paul Wolfowitz has been confirmed as the next head of the World Bank, the other important Bush nomination is really up against it. As I wrote in last month's report, Bush nominated John R. Bolton, presently an Undersecretary of State, as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton apparently despises the world body and his nomination was nothing short of a slap in the face to the U.N. But now some sordid details of Bolton's past have begun to surface. From the thus-far available evidence, he seems to be little more than an out and out bully, who treats his subordinates like garbage and is even willing to withhold important information from his superiors. In 2003, Bolton and another official attempted to pressure a former national intelligence officer for Latin America, who was working on a report on Cuba's biological weapons program. When the official refused, Bolton and his mate attacked his integrity and tried to have him transferred. This official was the third intelligence analyst reported to have been threatened or intimated by Bolton. Then there are reports that Bolton often blocked then-Secretary of State Colin Powell from receiving information vital to U.S. strategies on Iran (those reports eventually got to Powell via "back channels" at the State Department). Now there are reports that Colin Powell, no longer a public official, has been contacting wavering Republican Senators and explaining to them just what a jerk Bolton was when he worked for Powell. His intention is obviously to wreck the nomination, and you don't have to be a genius to figure out that the two men were not on friendly terms when Bolton worked under Powell in the State Department. Officials from that office cited a dozen examples of memos or information that Bolton refused to forward during his four years as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. But what takes the cake is what Melody Townsel, a Dallas businesswomen, revealed about Bolton in a letter to the committee investigating the nomination. He threatened, berated and harassed her in 1994 in a dispute over an overseas contract. At the time, Bolton was a private attorney and the incident occurred in Moscow over a private contract. She wrote "His behaviour back in 1994 wasn't just unforgivable, it was pathological. I cannot believe that this man is being seriously considered for any diplomatic position, let alone such a critical posting to the U.N."
There are reports that some Republican Senators are rattled or even mildly shocked by what was revealed (a State Department official who supposedly checked on the Moscow incident involving Townsel, denied that the incident had ever happened). A vote on the nomination, due in April, was put off until mid-May to give the relevant committees more time to investigate. Actually, I think that John Bolton is totally fit to be Bush's man. A bully for all seasons. A real macho dude, who treats anyone who disagrees with him like utter trash, and who likes to keep important information to himself. Bush couldn't have found a better person to represent his administration's hatred and contempt of the U.N. and all that it stands for.
© Zachary Casper 2005
Visit Daylesford and discover the arts of divination and healing,
therapies for wholeness, nourishment and pure joy.
Daylesford College of Astrology and Esoteric Sciences
107 Vincent St. Daylesford
Enquiries Ph 03 5348-4222 or 03 5348-1250
Email: ceaston@vic.chariot.net.au
www.esotericastrology.net.auastrology courses | esoteric studies | tarot courses | workshops | enrolment form | about us
books | articles | links | home | email
