Part 2, The Continuing Story Turkey/Uranus/Pluto, June 2013

I got the story in email, but it seems to suggest FB as well. In any case it appears to be a very clear and knowing picture of the situation in Turkey. Since there is a suggestion of a need for anonymity, I've simply removed all names and replaced with identifiers in brackets. There's my friend, the friend of my friend who lives/lived in Turkey, and another friend too.

An Occupy Gezi demostrator takes part in a gas mask dance protest in Gezi Park Photograph: Claudia Borgia/Demotix/Corbis

Since I started this in my astrological blog I guess that I need to include some astrology in order to keep a good fit. I apologize that I don't have time to translate it all into English, and this will be mostly astro-babble to those not versed in astrology. If you like learning about the Turkey crisis but not the astrology just scoot down to the sentence that begins, "Oh, and by the way . . ."

Write to startalker@aol.com if you'd like some help in dealing with your personal revolution!

The 1923 chart for the Republic shows a time of change but one when Uranus and Pluto were in a very harmonious Grand Trine with Venus. Not a "strong" trine but nonetheless a classic harmony indicative of a country with three languages and two principal ethnic groups united in its borders.

The May 25 eclipse activated Turkey's Progressed Mars among other connections. Saturn of severity and restriction has been transiting over the Sun of the Republic. The Progressed Sun has reached a stage with the Natal that indicates that it's time for action for continuation and growth. Uranus and Pluto (remember them) are closely involved with, challenging, and activating the Progressed Moon (the People). There are several chapters that might be written about the astrology, but this will have to assuage my guilt at almost not including astrology with this information that I think is just great and that you may never find in our conventional media.

Aloha, Tim

The anonymity request goes like this: "Oh, by the way, please don't use my name in any way associated with this. There are things in there that could get me arrested in Turkey when I travel there [deleted], so it's best for me to lay low at the moment. In fact, please don't mention that I'm [deleted]. Just say you got this from the friend of a friend who lives in Turkey. Thanks!

So here's what I got and recommend to anyone who wants to know what's really going on in Turkey and why.

On Tue, Jun 4, 2013 at 1:04 PM, [the friend of a friend who lives in Turkey]; wrote:
[friend who lives in Turkey], No SERIOUSLY,   What is going on over there?   I know what I hear on Pacifica Radio, (listener sponsored radio) but do you want to add an inside story?    I KNEW when you came back to the US that things there were brewing!   

To: [Friend] Sent: Tue, Jun 4, 2013 8:47 pm
Subject: Re: See what happens when you leave Turkey....the country falls apart!
Hi [Friend],

It's crazy over there ... but the people are finally fed up!  We wish we were there right now to join in the protests, but all we can do is be a part of the resistance movement from abroad, and try to enlighten people.  Most Americans have no clue about what's really going on there, and the White House, to it's discredit, is either clueless, or knows exactly what's going on and just doesn't want the boat to be rocked. 

Interestingly, [a friend] wrote me a note on FB asking me about it, and I sent him a long reply.  I'll copy and paste it for you to save time. (See below)  Bottom line is that the PM Erdogan is not only a religious fundamentalist (he's a former imam), but also a narcissistic and ruthless street fighter type of leader in the lineage of Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, Ghadafi, El-Assad (Syria), Kim Jun-Un, etc.  Erdogan, who convened Parliament at 7am to quickly pass a bill re. severe alcohol restrictions, and said this week "Whoever drinks alcohol is an alcoholic", is himself drunk on power.  Hence, his arrogant response to last week's Gezi Park protests, calling the people looters, marginals, extremists, etc. (if you see the photos you'll notice people of all ages and from all walks of life in Turkey) ... and saying things like "If you show up with 10,000 people, I'll summon a million of my supporters" and (in light of the fact that the first protesters climbed trees and hung on to keep the bulldozers at bay) said, "We should hang them all from trees!  They're used to that!"  I could go on and on and on about him, because I lived in Turkey for 10 years under his ruthless rule.  He is an extremely dangerous man, who needs to go! 
If you read some of the articles I've posted in recent days you'll get a better overall political view of what's happening.
Thanks for asking!
[a friend who lives in Turkey]

People sit down as they continue with their protest at Gezi Park Photograph: Selin Alemdar/Getty Images

COPY OF MY FB CONVERSATION WITH [a friend]:
[friend]
Wondering how Turkey came to be in this mess. If the folks are supportive of Ataturk's democracy, and presumably they still live in a democracy - in that they still have free elections - how did the radical Islamists come to dominion in the gov't, and why don't the folks just vote them out?
Sunday
12:01am
[a friend who lives in Turkey]
Excellent question, [friend]. Unfortunately, the secularists got bogged down with corruption and infighting sometime during the 1980's, resulting in a splintering of the secular democrats. By the time I reached Turkey in 1999 (to help with disaster relief in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that hit Turkey that killed over 18,000) there were around 20 different political parties running for elections. After two serious economic crises (similar to Argentina of the 80's and 90's, in which the currency wasn't worth the paper it was printed on) the center-left parties split their votes, allowing the former imam Erdogan and his newly formed AKP party, with it's roots in Islamic fundamentalism, to win the general election of 2001 with a little over 30% of the vote. AKP then took the new economic plan that the secularists had developed (and were in the process of implementing) and followed it to a T, resulting in an economic turnaround. They laid low concerning their religious agenda during their first term, focusing on the economy, and had such success in that area that they were returned to power in the 2007 elections with over 40% of the vote.

In Turkey, unless a party wins over 10% of the popular vote they cannot enter parliament, so the result in both elections for the fundamentalists was a roughly 2/3rds majority in parliament, allowing them to pass virtually any legislation they wanted. On the sly, they slowly took over the police force and judiciary with new appointments of their own people. Then they took over the normally almighty military (historical caretakers of Ataturk's vision) by trumping up charges of insurrection against over 200 generals and throwing them in jail, where they are lingering til today awaiting trials that will take years to materialize. In Turkey's past, the military would step in during times like this to get the country back on track with secular democracy, but alas, that is no longer an option. Finally, Erdogan has been ruthless with the media, jailing journalists who oppose him (Turkey has more journalists in jail today than any country in the world!) as well as buying up as many media companies as possible via his new-rich religious fundamentalist cronies. Meanwhile, he has developed a wide net of people beholden to him through a mix of govt handouts, charity and cronyism (handing out contracts to his buddies, etc.). In this way he has expanded his base. The country continued to prosper (8% growth last year, 2nd in the world to China) tripling per capita income since he took over, so a lot of the people are somewhat happy in that they have more money. Consequently, his party won the 2011 election with roughly 48% of the vote ...

However, in the process people who are aligned with the secular democracy are becoming more and more marginalized, and getting more and more upset at his authoritarian style of leadership and the way he is slowly (some say quickly) introducing religion in to the mix, as with the parliament decisions last week concerning major restrictions on alcohol.

Anti-government protesters demonstrate in Ankara Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters

I could go on and on all night about this, but will stop here. Suffice it to say that the cauldron has been boiling ... and the Gezi Park incident over the removal of trees from Istanbul's equivalent of NY's Central Park to turn it into a shopping mall tipped the cauldron over. The protest is not so much about trees now, as it is about Erdogan's politics, religion and autocratic style. Now it's wait and see what will happen next. My guess is that, knowing Erdogan, he will become even more aggressive and try to end all these demonstrations asap. (He has a pattern of dealing ruthlessly with all opposition.) But my hope, of course, is that a genuine people's power movement will result in a tidal wave of action that will return the country to its roots of secular democracy.

PS: Oh, one other very interesting (and scary) point ... Erdogan is currently serving in his 3rd and last (as allowed by the Constitution) term as Prime Minister, the true head of state in Turkey. We do have a President, but that position has heretofore been largely ceremonial. HOWEVER, Erdogan and his AKP party are in the process of changing the Constitution and switching over to a US-style presidential system. They hope to complete that process in time for next year's presidential election ... and, surprise, surprise, Erdogan will run for President. So, unless the people stop him, we're looking at another 3 terms of him as president (around 15 years or so), thus a bonafide middle eastern dictatorship that could last over 25 years. This is what makes the current uprising so important. For Turkey, it's probably now ... or never ... at least not for the foreseeable future. And the implications for this in terms of the Middle East (and the world) are astounding. Erdogan envisions himself as a sort of second coming Ottoman Empire sultan ... and the new leader of the Muslim world ... and that's what's so scary.
12:57am
[friend]
I never suspected the current crisis had much to do with trees, but was unaware of the growing discontent since the PM has seemed to be growing in popularity since first taking the helm, and from the viewpoint off the casual observer has appeared to be leading the country in a more prosperous, and presumably more satisfactory, direction. Your explanation helps clarify how a well organized, and focused, minority can seize power and placate the ignorant masses while methodically disenfranchising a large, disorganized, and perhaps myopic, opposition. Turkey apparently needs a leader who can consolidate the various opposition factions and challenge the regime. Unfortunately, given the ruthlessness of the PM, and the great effort required for such a leader to emerge, the likelihood of its occurrence is remote.
Sunday
4:12pm
[the friend of a friend who lives in Turkey]
Very perceptive, [friend]! We need a new "Ataturk".

Copyright © Tim Rubald 2013 (except for quoted portions & photos that belong to their owners).

The Continuing Story of Uranus/Pluto. Turkey, June 2013

The continuing story of Uranus/Pluto. Turkey ~ June 3-4, 2013 

Maria was traveling through Turkey when demonstrations began. I met Maria via my roommate Jayj Jacobs back at one astrology conference or another. It is special to read this from Maria. The actions in Turkey are against a repressive government. This is another of many manifestations of the current stage of the planetary cycle of Uranus with Pluto. For decades I've looked to this time with a sense of awe. Now we are in it. History is made day by day but the activity, and quality has its peaks and valleys. This is a revolutionary era.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2013/06/04/3_3.jpeg

"Status Update
By Maria Mateus
"We made it back to Romania safely yesterday afternoon. What a fantastic trip! Our hosts, Baris and Aysem were wonderful. The protests in the streets did not impact us much except for the drafting clouds of tear gas during key times of the day and some metro interruptions that made gatting around during peak times a bit tricky. But we managed to see the sites we were hoping to see.
"What is happening in Turkey in the last few days is a big deal. We got a crash course in Turkish politics and history from our hosts that certainly emphasized this point. Apparently this is a backlash against Erdogan's (the current PM) deluded ambitions to return to what he sees as the Ottoman glorious past and his non-democratic policies in that direction. The opposition to the plans to build a shopping mall in Taksim square was simply the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back in a long list of grievances.
"As a student of history, this trip was fascinating. But what was most exciting was getting to witness first-hand the power of social media not just to mobilize action, but to inspire it! Yesterday evening, from the front street-facing windows of Aysem's apartment, we saw hundreds of individuals come out into their windows and balconies to bang pots and pans at coordinated times during the evening in order to show their support for the protestors. Even I, and the dogs across the street joined in. In the back-facing windows that overlook a view of the whole downtown, we saw home lights simultaneously flickering on and off in the same show of support. And even while tear gas wafted into the windows at 2 am, we could hear the distant sounds of hundreds of thousands protesting in nearby Taksim square. As I watched Baris and Aysem glued to Facebook for the latest news, it dawned on me how the most effective tools of democratic inspiration have never been found down the barrel of a gun or in some state dept negotiation room. No union ever came from creating distance. Rather, it comes from the ability to get close to other individuals and discover that we all have friends, we all celebrate our accomplishments, we all need comfort during our setbacks, and we all have the potential to inspire each other. To attempt to control the means of such expression, is and will always be a losing proposition."

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/dlNfBt4_hKzmFbwrrBruMg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0xMDI0O3E9Nzk7dz0xNTQ3/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2013-06-04T104600Z_556595215_LR2E9640TWDYC_RTRMADP_3_TURKEY-PROTESTS-WOMEN.JPG

What follows by way of comment on these times are footnotes from the blog. Especially notice (3) and that Turkey was in flux then too.
(2) On Pluto in Capricorn (via this blog http://astrology-startalk.blogspot.com/) - risking (loss) is what Pluto in Capricorn is about. Capricorn is the order, social, governmental, business, religious, and is fundamental to how the world works. The World needs structure. It's the difference between explosive chaos, and harmony. It's a good thing, but as it becomes crystallized it needs to be broken up and restructured in order to grow, and for progress to happen. There are forces that will challenge the structure to that end. The planet will offer weather events, earthquakes, and volcanism. The human population will offer Arab Springs, Occupies, democracy, and human rights movements. The structure, that tends to resist change, includes businesses, corporations, and governments. If one looks at human history there are massive changes and developments through the ages. Are we to imagine that somehow this period will be the exception? That if we just hold on, that things will stay the same and work out?

On Uranus square Pluto and the 1960s: "now" is resonating with the same essential nature that was operative then, only more so. [The larger scale cycle for the planets Uranus and Pluto is approximately 127 years.]

Uranus and Pluto; now we are in a developmental crisis in their cycle, the force of which was birthed in the Nineteen Sixties. See this post in Gather, then scroll down to the "Dear Claudia" commentary for a continuation of the article. http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977413046 [link is currently down as Gather moves but if you're interested send me an email startalker@aol.com and I'll send an updated link when I have one]. 

(3) 1876-1877: a very significant world-wide drought and starvation; the Colombian Civil War; the Standard Oil Trust; the most contentious, bitter, and protracted presidential election in American history; the Compromise of 1877; the Sioux War/Little Big Horn/the Apache War; the telephone; the phonograph; the End of Reconstruction; Mexican-Texas border incursions; the Great Railroad Strike of 1877; The Crimean War - 15,000 Bulgarians massacred, with the destruction of more than fifty villages and five monasteries; Russia declares war on Turkey; the Serbian insurrection of 1875 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a series of wars involving also, Thracia, Montenegro, Turkey, and Bulgaria; Bismarck's Germany; Empire; riots in numerous cities; anti-Chinese attacks in San Francisco; "Boss" Tweed; and much more.

http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/turkey4.jpg?w=940&h=705

Copyright © Tim Rubald 2013 (except for quoted portions & photos that belong to their owners).

A few days in June. June 1-8, 2013.

A few days in June. From the astrologer, without the astrology talk.
June 1-8, 2013.
Today is June 2, Sun's Day

There's likely to be a growing feeling of action, of doing as we move into the month of June. We may pause to think about the current big changes happening, on the planet, and in our own dealing with the differences. We might even experience events, conversations, and urges, which call for our participation.
There may not be opportunities to do since this time is more about directing attention to potential. We are part of a process and our desires and intentions set the stage for what we make the times. There's a call for openness to possibility. If we move on a basis of lack and fear, that contributes. If we are inspired and hopeful, that contributes. Struggle is a waste of time. If scarcity is your chief sensation, be with it. Let fear take you as far as it will. Envision the worst case scenario but take your time doing it. Really explore. You've had these thoughts years ago and still you are here. Don't be afraid, don't struggle, scary imaginings never seem to match reality. On you go.

The 5th and 6th are days to watch life's movie, to receive. There's plenty of time to watch the credits, then to talk story with a friend, friends, or the clouds in the sky.

The dream is the message on the 6th and 7th. See where the music takes you. Read poetry or scripture, science fiction, fantasy, or imagine your own books and films. What are they? What are they about?

On the 8th we turn the key and feel the engine begin to throb easily. We engage the gear and begin a new journey through a familiar landscape, with fresh eyes.
Much love and aloha, fellow humans.

For your astrology write to Tim at STARTALKER@aol.com

© Copyright 2013 Tim Rubald