2018 Chinese Year of the Dog

The Chinese New Year starts on February 16th 2018 and ends on February 4th 2019. It is the Year of the Dog and is under the grounded Element of Earth. During the Dog year, look after those close to you, secure your finances and work hard. Not all the problems that loom will be problems at all. It is a time to consolidate and move slowly forwards. It is an excellent year for those in the arts or communications industries.

2018 is a Year of the Earth Dog

2018 is a Year of the Earth Dog. The last Earth Dog year was 1958. In this year Fidel Castro’s revolutionary army began its successful assault on Havana, Cuba. Elvis Presley cut his hair and joined the army becoming US Private #53310761. Despite this, rock ‘n’ roll music began to spread across the globe, with a new generation of rockers taking the banner forwards. 1958 was the year of the founding of the European Union. This is ironic, since Brexit will be well underway in 2018, and this could be the beginning of the end for the pan-European project. 1958 also seems to have been an immense year for the birth of actors, including: Sharon Stone, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jamie Lee Curtis. Other notable births were Michael Jackson, Joan Jett and Brice Dickinson, so hopefully both music and Hollywood will benefit from the Year of the Earth Dog.

Other trends in 1958 were the space race for the stars between the USA and Russia and the beginning of the building of the motorways in Britain.

Turbulence and Battles

This Year of the Dog 2018 will be a time of turbulence and battles for stability in many nations. The so called Islamic State will experience major defeats and continue its deserved decline into the shadows. However, its diaspora of fighters will stage attacks in many Middle Eastern countries and manage to a lesser extent to infiltrate Europe. A new era will begin for an Iraq that is free of this terror. Unfortunately, its tensions will not subside completely. The war in Syria will be in decline, but the effects of its devastation will roll on with sporadic fighting, international tensions and endless investigations. There are omens of a government change in Syria. Anti Muslim tensions will continue to flare in many European countries and be much in the press.

World Leaders Under Pressure

Many world leaders will find themselves under pressure from both without and within their own nations. These will include Theresa May, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The Trump show will continue. Oddly, many of his policies will be effective and the American economy and employment situation will show remarkable progress. Trump can expect endless opposition from sections of the American public and awkwardness from within his own administration. He will battle on.

Mr Putin’s woes will emanate largely from outside Russia. He needs to stand firm in the face of international pressure and concentrate on making his own country better and more productive. Other leaders should try working with him. The Russian military will be modernising and growing. Vladimir is grooming the next Russian Federation leader.

The Space Race

The space race will be on again, with China coming up on the inside lane. America will seem rather lethargic in this arena, compared even to India and Great Britain. More knowledge will come from Mars and future plans for its exploration will steam ahead.

Revolutions and Unrest

The Dog year will bring revolutions and government overthrows. Egypt will experience unrest as well as other Islamic states and further flung countries such as Malaysia and perhaps Burma or Thailand. Eastern Europe will not remain unaffected by this surge of serious discontent, nor to a lesser extent will France.

There are signs of a natural disaster or weather phenomenon that will trouble China. Italy needs to ensure its emergency services are up to fighting force too.

British economy, robust 

The British economy will largely be robust, as will its employment statistics. The arguments over Brexit will continue, but it will be underway, with the European Union acting like a vindictive, hulking spoilt child. Luckily, voices from within Europe will speak out in support of Britain. The signs are that Britain will have the last laugh as several crisis situations affect the European conglomeration.

British politics will have the aura of a bun fight or a day out with the chimps at London Zoo. The Conservatives will face severe criticism, some of it unfair. They will fight on and Theresa May will remain strong in the face of opposition, some from within her own party. The Scottish Nationalists will continue to make trouble, but will be firmly put in their place. They will also begin to lose favour within Scotland. The Labour Party will continue in Monty Pythonesque ludicrousness. Fortunately for the whole scheme of British opposition politics, by the year’s end a proper leader will begin very slowly to emerge. Jeremy Corbyn will of course face a fresh leadership challenge and a potential scandal. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will also find himself in a jam.

UKIP will continue to waste its potential and shoot itself in the foot. That is if it can actually load the gun. However, it is too soon to write off this third force in British politics. They are not going away. Nigel Farage will however be doing very well, thank you very much, looking tanned and becoming a maverick political commentator and regular interview ‘head’ in both the USA and Britain. The Liberals will seem as if they are making a comeback, but they will display their own irrelevance with passion, especially over the European issue. Expect more by-elections and rumblings towards a general election, which will hopefully come to nothing.

International tensions will involve Britain. Turkey will face internal and external challenges, as will some of the Eastern bloc states.

Europe,rise of ‘populism’

All of Europe will see a continued rise of ‘populism’, with extreme right parties clawing at the gates of power. The political and left leaning media establishment will of course fight dirty, but will not be able to stem the tide. What will emerge is that the battle for supremacy between global liberal forces and the pride and individuality of individual peoples will become a continuing battle for the soul of the planet. One not easily won by either side. The right will make advances.

The political landscape in Germany will continue to change, with the far right growing and the centre right taking their glory by leaning their way. There’s a possibility of fresh elections in Austria.

The sound of gunfire and violence will be heard in Israel, and that state will face both criticism and support from outside. It is not only in the Palestinian territories that Israel will show its strength.

Over the globe, building work will continue with greater pace and technological advances. Many of the Arab states will be modernising their infrastructures and skylines.

North Korea, a source of conflict

There’s deep trouble in the wind circling around Japan, China, North Korea and South Korea. North Korea will be a source of conflict and Mr Trump will cast his shadow over the affair. There will be American intervention in the Middle East, particularly in the battle against Islamic State.

The Year of the Dog will also see the uncovering of ancient treasure hordes in Britain and Egypt. Also, new facts will emerge about former world conflicts. We can expect the discovery of ‘new’ dinosaurs and human ancestors.

The press will be interested in new evidence and theories about alien life in the light of fresh research. The aliens aren’t landing though!