This is just a very brief, much postponed, and disgracefully last-minute notice to let you know that I'll be doing a lecture at the new New York Open Center on Friday, January 15. If you live in the NYC vicinity, do not have plans made for that date and would like to attend, see below.

www.opencenter.org
22 E 30th St
New York, NY 10016 (212) 219-2527

EGYPT TRIP

And equally belatedly, my February 16 - 28th Egypt trip is definitely on (I didn't think it would be.) There are places available for anyone able to jump on last minute. See my Trip info page

Apart from what appears to be my normal JAW genetically preordained inefficiency at keeping my site reasonably updated, and my mailing list reasonably informed, my entire past year has seen me working almost non-stop with my colleague, trend analyst Gerald Celente. (Google him up). We co-wrote TRENDS 2000 back in the 90's and most of the forecasts have come --or are now coming-- home to roost so I've had to put virtually all other projects temporarily aside to work with Celente.

But there are many new and immensely important scholarly developments to report, a few fascinating books have appeared and new plans are afoot to approach the long postponed geo-panel from a totally different and probably more realizable angle.

With a bit of luck I will find time to write up all of this in some detail in the hopefully-not-too-distant future.

John Anthony West

Trip's scheduled ... To learn all about a Magical Egypt trip, complete with a detailed itinerary and to get yourself a seat... read the Trip info page

PhoenixFire is now available!
Catch every enlightening broadcast...

The video interview... 26 minutes

An excellent and fun to watch video interview of John recorded by the Conscious Media Network at the recent CPAK 2007 Conference. An enlightened bunch, the Network features many, many quality interviews to catch up on and offers much of value to enrich understanding.

THE FOUR COWBOYS OF APOCALYPSE 2.0

PART 1, CAPITALISM

click here to play the show

Everyone is familiar with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, though not all know their pedigree. It’s the name given to the revelation of the future granted to St John on the Isle of Patmos. The horsemen themselves are Pestilence, War, Famine and Death (not necessarily in that order, depending upon which reference is consulted.) Their names (which might disincline people from wanting to bet on them in the Kentucky Derby) have made the word ‘apocalypse’ almost synonymous with Doomsday, which is, strictly speaking, incorrect. It derives from a Greek word meaning to ‘reveal’ or ‘disclose’ and by extension , it means a prophesy or vision of the future, not necessarily an ominous one.

Doomsday is quite another matter, more appropriately linked to another familiar word from Revelation, Armageddon, the site of the final decisive battle on the Day of Judgment, in which the Lamb bests the Whore of Babylon … and throngs of otherwise certifiable people are whisked off to heaven. It’s not easy to make rational sense out of Revelation (which doesn’t mean it can’t make sense on some other level) but it does read like it’s been written on something at least as potent as ayahuasca, though there’s no record of John visiting the Brazilian rainforest. On the other hand, who knows what they had growing on Patmos?

In any event, The Four Horsemen are pretty obvious. They ‘ve been around and universally active since long before St. John’s time and still are; no surprises there, and no need for further elaboration beyond perhaps noting that of the four, only War is directly attributable to errant, defiant, violent humanity. Unless, of course, it is argued (and so it is by some) that the other three horsemen are set loose in divine retribution; for a variety of human abominations –homosexuality, pre-marital sex, smoking or ingesting illegal substances, not wearing a seat belt, and so on.

The Four Cowboys of Apocalypse 2.0 are much less obvious, yet in one way or another they aid and abet the original Four. In the Walt Disney 3D, HD Western/Action-Thriller/Horror/Farce called Western Civilization, they are the self-appointed posse, riding white geldings; wearing white Stetsons, galloping roughshod over the globe and spreading ‘tidings of comfort and joy’.

When examined closely, The Four Cowboys are no less destructive than the original Four Horsemen, maybe ultimately more so since they come in disguise. All of them are played, with characteristic ineptitude, by John Wayne. They differ from the Four Horsemen in that they are all, each one, directly and unmistakably human generated.

They are: Capitalism, Patriotism, Democracy and Technology

In PhoenixFire 9 (and 10, and maybe 11) we deal with them in turn.

The role of Capitalism is easiest to understand, almost obvious in fact, except to the leaders and economists of almost every country in the world. This Cowboy occupies the whole of PF9, which may sound excessive, but is nevertheless appropriate, since it is this Cowboy that is largely responsible for the financial debacle now unfolding globally, and from which there is no foreseeable release or return.

The other three Cowboys will be discussed in subsequent PhoenixFires.

click here to play the show

Featured music track "Shake" by Stepford Wives

Links: The Emperor's new clothes (Con't.) a short story by JAW
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Omni magazine

Best,

John Anthony West



PHOENIXFIRE 8 CONSIDER THE KALI YUGA. click here to play PF8

I am author of the month on Graham Hancock's website, there you can find an essay relating to the Yugas and the cyclical view of history.

Some useful links: Richard Heinberg Sri Yukteswar

For those who’ve not been on a Magical Egypt Trip, here’s a way to get a feel for what they’re actually like. more..

I am reformulating my tour.

Too many people (especially Americans) have said they can't go because they can't afford to take the 18 days door-to-door that the trips require. Since 9/11 I've had huge problems making the trips run at all and am inclined to think that the 18 days is to no little extent responsible - since as of last winter the Americans were back in Egypt, but not with me.

I've therefore decided to reduce the package to 11/12 days door-to-door and make it a Cairo/Luxor intensive. This both shortens it and reduces the price by about $1000 and at the same time (if you look at the old itinerary, you'll see) still includes about 75-80% of the sites.

The cruise is out and that is in a sense a considerable 'miss'. There is no doubt that the 2 days (of the 4-5 nights advertised) actually spent sailing are a delight. But the fact is that there are now over 300 boats plying the river, and the result is that the two sites we visit en route to Aswan (Edfu & Kom Ombo) are a human zoo when we get there and the 'experience' is a long way from the Egypt I like to present.

The same applies to Abu Simbel. It's next to impossible to see and enjoy this wonderful place with huge crowds there and it is now also next to impossible to engineer the trip in such a way that Abu Simbel can be truly enjoyed. Moreover, they've now made it illegal for anyone to lecture inside the temple so my own presence there is hardly necessary. (People can get all the essential information from my guidebook.) This makes the only really serious miss Philae, which is also a zoo all day long from the opening time on - except, as I've just disccovered, during lunch when it empties out. But there's no practical way to include it and still keep the trip within the shorter period.

I am still looking for funding for our Geologists Panel. It is imperative to carry out this survey. Without it, the Sphinx theory, however valid and scientifically demonstrated, is heading towards academic limbo, misrepresented and marginalized by its opponents. A report by an independent panel of geologists with expertise in the various specialties involved is absolutely essential to provide the publicity and press to keep the battle alive. Without that, it could get buried. More.