A Closer Look At The Sixth Seal (Revelation 6:12)

   

A Look at the Tri-State’s Active Fault Line

Monday, March 14, 2011

By Bob Hennelly

The Ramapo Fault is the longest fault in the Northeast that occasionally makes local headlines when minor tremors cause rock the Tri-State region. It begins in Pennsylvania, crosses the Delaware River and continues through Hunterdon, Somerset, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties before crossing the Hudson River near Indian Point nuclear facility.

In the past, it has generated occasional activity that generated a 2.6 magnitude quake in New Jersey’s Peakpack/Gladstone area and 3.0 magnitude quake in Mendham.

But the New Jersey-New York region is relatively seismically stable according to Dr. Dave Robinson, Professor of Geography at Rutgers. Although it does have activity.

„There is occasional seismic activity in New Jersey,“ said Robinson. „There have been a few quakes locally that have been felt and done a little bit of damage over the time since colonial settlement — some chimneys knocked down in Manhattan with a quake back in the 18th century, but nothing of a significant magnitude.“

Robinson said the Ramapo has on occasion registered a measurable quake but has not caused damage: „The Ramapo fault is associated with geological activities back 200 million years ago, but it’s still a little creaky now and again,“ he said.

„More recently, in the 1970s and early 1980s, earthquake risk along the Ramapo Fault received attention because of its proximity to Indian Point,“ according to the New Jersey Geological Survey website.

Historically, critics of the Indian Point Nuclear facility in Westchester County, New York, did cite its proximity to the Ramapo fault line as a significant risk.

In 1884, according to the New Jersey Geological Survey website, the  Rampao Fault was blamed for a 5.5 quake that toppled chimneys in New York City and New Jersey that was felt from Maine to Virginia.

„Subsequent investigations have shown the 1884 Earthquake epicenter was actually located in Brooklyn, New York, at least 25 miles from the Ramapo Fault,“ according to the New Jersey Geological Survey website.

The Terrifying Russian Nuclear Horn: Daniel 8

Why Russia’s 3,000 (Or More) Tactical Nuclear Weapons Should Terrify NATO

At a meeting with Russia’s defense industry and top military brass, Russian President Vladimir Putin extolled the progress made under Moscow’s sweeping military modernization programs: “the latest weapon systems and military hardware are intensively arriving for the Army and the Navy, the potential of the nuclear triad has strengthened substantially and the Navy has expanded its combat capabilities…” Putin added that “It is important to keep the required pace of producing advanced strike systems for the purposes of their employment and testing in the course of intensive combat training.”

The composition of Russia’s military has changed significantly in recent decades, with several of its service branches undergoing a post-Soviet transition into a lean, heavily modernized fighting force. But if there is one aspect of Russian military planning that’s unlikely to shift anytime soon, it’s Moscow’s continued reliance on tactical nuclear weapons as a core deterrent against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Here is the extent of Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal, and how Moscow plans to use it in the event of a major armed conflict with the west.

It should be noted that there is no universally accepted distinction between “tactical” and “strategic” weapons. There is at least some legal precedent, however: for arms control purposes, Russia and the U.S. typically define non-strategic nuclear weapons as those with a striking range of less than 5,500 km. More generally, a strategic warhead is understood to be a weapon used against infrastructure like factories, energy production facilities, cities, etc. to target the underlying sources of an enemy’s military power. On the other hand, a tactical warhead is used on a battlefield to affect immediate consequences in an ongoing military engagement.

At around 3,000 to 6,000 units, the Russian Federation possesses the largest tactical nuclear weapons stockpile in the world. These include not only warheads inherited from the Soviet Union but new and potent weapons systems developed in recent years.

As Putin acknowledged at his recent defense conference, a great chunk of these tactical weapons are operated by the Navy. “The latest weapon systems and military hardware are intensively arriving for the Army and the Navy, the potential of the nuclear triad has strengthened substantially and the Navy has expanded its combat capabilities, especially with warships carrying Kalibr cruise missiles,” he said. Notable carriers for these weapons include the new Yasen nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines and Admiral Gorshkov class frigates. The Air Force’s Tu-22M3M modernized bomber and modified MiG-31K interceptor carry the hypersonic, nuclear-capable Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile, posing a credible threat against high-profile NATO military assets like carrier strike groups (CSG’s). The Russian Ground Forces’ recent Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system can also accept nuclear warheads.

So, what does the Kremlin need all these nuclear warheads and advanced systems for?

Citing Russia’s supposed strategy of “escalate to de-escalate,” some observers have inferred offensive intent behind Russia’s tactical nukes; according to this line of reasoning, the Kremlin can seize a disputed territory and then quickly launch a preemptive tactical nuclear strike against nearby NATO assets to force the west into a diplomatic settlement. But, as I explained in-depth in a previous article, there is no evidence that the Kremlin is entertaining any such grand plans of conquest; the concerns behind “escalate to de-escalate” have been greatly overblown.

The underlying purpose of Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal is rather more mundane but no less impactful. The Kremlin, with its relatively limited resources, is unlikely to win in a prolonged, conventional, continental war with NATO. Thus, Russian military doctrine sees tactical nuclear warheads as a hedge against NATO–not only a deterrent but one of Russia’s only means of leveling the playing field in the mutually undesired event of an all-out war. As costly as these stockpiles are to store and maintain,  it would be exponentially more expensive– and ultimately futile, given the financial disparities between the two sides– for Russia to try to match NATO’s conventional strength. Tactical nuclear warheads are, and will likely continue to be, a cost-efficient way for Moscow to offset its disadvantage in this domain.

PMark Episkopos is a national security reporter for The National Interest.

The Antichrist congratulates Bashar al-Assad’s victory

Muqtada al-Sadr congratulates Bashar al-Assad’s victory

Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of Sadr’s movement in Iraq, congratulated Bashar al-Assad on his victory in the Syrian presidential election on Saturday night.

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA):

In this message, Muqtada al-Sadr, while congratulating the victory of Bashar al-Assad, stated that the honor of Syria and its dignity is the honor of the Syrians and their dignity.

The head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, also sent a message on Saturday night congratulating Bashar al-Assad on his victory in the Syrian presidential election and called for the expansion of relations.

“Bashar al-Assad has won the presidential election with 95.1 percent of the vote,” Syrian Parliament Speaker Hamouda Sabbagh told a news conference on Friday morning.

According to the speaker of the Syrian parliament, out of 14 million 239 thousand Syrians who participated in the presidential election, 13 million 540 thousand 360 voted for Bashar al-Assad.

Mahmoud Marie and Abdullah Salum Abdullah, the other Syrian presidential candidates, received 470,276 votes (equivalent to 3.3% of votes) and 213,968 votes (equivalent to 1.5% of votes), respectively.

The speaker of the Syrian parliament announced a 78% turnout in the presidential election.

The Syrian presidential election was held last Wednesday with three candidates competing and It was well received by the Syrian people.

With the announcement of the victory of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the recent election, the Syrian people celebrated in different cities.

The Nations Trample Outside the Temple Walls: Revelation 11

Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah coordinated Gaza fighting in joint war room — report

Newspaper editor affiliated with Lebanese terror group claims Hezbollah sent weapons and ammunition to Gaza during conflict

By TOI staff29 May 2021, 6:37 pm

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah coordinated with Hamas on the recent fighting in Gaza between Palestinian terrorists and Israel, according to the editor-in-chief of a Lebanese daily affiliated with Hezbollah.

Ibrahim Al-Amine, editor of the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar network over the weekend that during the 11-days of fighting in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, officers from the IRGC, Hamas and Hezbollah set up a joint military operations center in Beirut.

The commander of the IRGC’s overseas Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, visited the operations center twice during the military hostilities, according to Al-Amine.

The newspaper editor claimed Hezbollah sent weapons and ammunition to Gaza and “moved a number of Palestinian resistance officers out of the Strip during the aggression,” according to Al-Manar.

Palestinian factions were also provided with data on the movements of Israeli forces, Al-Amine asserted, asserting drones were used to prevent Israel from springing an “ambush” on terror operatives along the border.

He also said if Israel “expanded its aggression, the entire axis of resistance would have confronted it,” referring to Iran and its regional proxies.

Al-Amine’s comments came days after Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, said Hamas coordinated with the IRGC and Hezbollah throughout the fighting, in a press conference quoted by Israel’s Kan news.

Sinwar also said there was “full coordination between the resistance in Lebanon and resistance in Gaza,” referring to several rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon during the conflict.

The Israeli military blamed several of the rocket attacks from Lebanon on Palestinian factions in the country, not the Hezbollah terror group. However, it is unlikely that terrorists in southern Lebanon would be able to fire rockets without at least the tacit approval of the Iran-backed militia, which maintains a tight degree of control over southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Ghaani on Saturday issued fresh threats against Israel.

“I’d advise all Zionists to go back and repurchase the houses they have sold in Europe, the US and elsewhere to come to the Palestinian territories before the houses become more expensive than today,” he said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

During the conflict in Gaza, known in Israel as “Operation Guardian of the Walls,” Iranian state television reported that Ghaani spoke by phone with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh to laud the Islamist terror organization’s attacks on Israel.

The fighting in the Strip, which erupted on May 10 after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem amid escalating Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the city, ended last week with a ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza-ruling terror group.

Thirteen people were killed in Israel, all but one of them civilians, including a 5-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. Some 357 people in Israel were wounded. Terror groups in Gaza fired more than 4,300 rockets at Israel during the fighting.

Nope The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said at least 243 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and teens, with 1,910 people wounded. It does not differentiate between terror group members and civilians. The Israeli military maintained that it killed some 225 terrorist operatives and that the Palestinian death toll was in fact considerably higher than was reported. It also said some of the civilian fatalities were caused by Hamas rockets falling short and landing in the Strip.

Iran praises Hamas for trampoline outside the Temple Walls: Revelation 11

Iran praises Hamas for missile barrages, commemorates key missile makerhttps://andrewtheprophet.com

Although Hejazi reportedly died of a heart condition, IRGC Quds Force head praises him as “martyr” who helped develop missile tech against Israel.

Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, led by Quds Force leader Esmail Ghaani, commemorated the Iranian precision-guided missile expert Mohammad Hossein-Zadeh Hejazi over the weekend while threatening Israel.Hejazi was born in 1956 and reportedly died of a heart condition in April. According to the Tasnim News Agency’s defense group, Ghaani said in a speech commemorating the 40th day of the martyrdom of Maj.-Gen. Hejazi: “He stood up and symbolized the services rendered by martyr Qasem Soleimani at such a time – the fierce resistance of the Palestinians against the Zionist regime.”This statement, first of all, refers to Hejazi as a martyr, like former IRGC Quds Force commander Soleimani, who was killed by the US in January 2020. Ghaani took over the Quds Force when Soleimani was killed.Ghaani has connected Hejazi’s death to the war against Israel launched by Hamas on May 10.“In the first three days of the Palestinian war with the Zionist regime, we fired missiles at the occupied territories as much as the entire 22-day war,” he said, comparing it to the 2008-2009 conflict between Israel and Hamas.His point was that “more than 3,000 missiles fired by the resistance into the occupied territories are produced in the same geography.” It ended up being more than 4,000 rockets and missiles. He claimed that Palestinian children can look to this war as an example of how they will retake all of Israel and that the land is no longer well controlled by the “Zionist regime.”He said that he advised all “Zionists go back and buy your own houses again before the houses you sold in Europe and America and elsewhere – and came to the land of Palestine – become more expensive than they are today.”This real estate messaging has also been made by Hezbollah in recent days.On May 25, Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah said “Israelis have two citizenships, and their bags are packed and ready. Security will make them remain or leave. So they started saying, ‘Let’s leave. There’s no army or leadership to protect us.’ What happened recently in the ‘48 lands [of Israel] was a big shock to Israelis.”This idea that Israel is temporary, that time stopped in 1948 and that Palestine will rise completely as a one-state solution is a message that Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, via the Muslim Brotherhood, have sent to their allies in the West – who have shouted “from the river to the sea” to claim Israel will be destroyed.It is common among some on the extreme Left and the Islamist Right to make this claim. Iran and its allies have been pushing it as well.Hezbollah, Hamas and the IRGC in Iran increasingly coordinate messaging and operations. It is plausible that Iran and Hezbollah helped Hamas plan the May 10 war. Iran precisely spelled out Hamas’s plans prior to May 10.Ghaani also said that Hamas was able to continue to fire long-range missiles up until the day of the ceasefire on May 21 with Israel. “The Palestinian resistance acted in such a way that from the first day of the Zionist regime, they did not give up the war until they imposed these conditions on the Zionists.”He said that “resistance” is the answer and that Palestinians had made impressive gains. “The Zionist regime must think about the day when it will leave this land in humiliation, and our brothers in Palestine must plan and act wisely for that day from today.”He sees the recently fought “12-day war” as a turning point.The Quds Force head said that Hejazi “gave his life” for this mission, implying that Hejazi’s death may not have been natural.

Trusting the Pakistani Nuclear Horn: Daniel 8

PM fully trusts nuclear capability

Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday visited a National Command Authority (NCA) nuclear facility of the Strategic Forces Command and expressed full confidence in the country’s nuclear capability and protection to strengthen the national defence.

On his arrival, the prime minister was received by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza, and Director General Strategic Plans Division Lieutenant General Nadeem Zaki Manj. During the visit, the prime minister was apprised of various facets of Pakistan’s Strategic Programme.

The prime minister appreciated and acknowledged the untiring efforts of all the scientists and personnel associated with Pakistan’s Strategic Programme and expressed full confidence in Pakistan’s nuclear capability and protection to strengthen the national defence.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan commended efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in crossing historic milestone of Rs4,000 billion in any year the first time ever, as during July-May, the collections stood at Rs4,143 billion.

In a tweet, the prime minister said, “I commend efforts of FBR in crossing historic milestone of Rs4,000b in any year for first time ever. During Jul-May our collections reached Rs4,143b and still counting – 18 percent higher than same period last year. This reflects broad-based economic revival spurred by government policies.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan also took notice of complaint lodged by an expatriate Pakistani on the Citizens Portal regarding the transfer of a plot in a housing society.

According to the Prime Minister Office, action has been taken against officers of Islamabad Land Revenue on the directions of the prime minister. The circular registrar office had not addressed the complaint of the expatriate Pakistani.

On the directions of Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, the chief commissioner Islamabad held an inquiry into the complaint and a notification has been issued by his office regarding suspension and dismissal of relevant officers.

The deputy registrar Cooperative Societies, Islamabad has been immediately removed from his office and the chief commissioner has also recommended the Interior Ministry for the suspension of circular registrar. The inspector of cooperative housing societies and clerk of the circular registrar office have been dismissed from the service.

A show cause notice has also been issued to the housing society concerned and its bank accounts frozen. At the direction of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, the chief commissioner inquired into the complaints.

Accordingly, the chief commissioner’s Office issued notifications of suspension and dismissal of the officers concerned.

Meanwhile, members of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly called on Imran Khan. The members included Ali Shan Soni, Ali Raza Bukhari, Saghir Chughtai, former speaker Anwarul Haq and former minister Shehzad Chaudhry who announced to joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), expressing full confidence in the leadership, vision and policies of the prime minister.

The AJK lawmakers said that the prudent and coordinated strategy by which Imran Khan has taken the country out of the financial crisis and pursued Kashmir policy at national and international for a is appreciable.

“The fight is very admirable. We were inspired by the vision and practical steps of PTI and decided to join the party so that we could further the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” they maintained.

The meeting was also attended by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, Saifullah Niazi, Amir Kayani, Arshad Dad, Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry and others.

USGS confirms earthquake before the Sixth Seal: Revelation 6:12

USGS confirms earthquake reported in Livingston County

NEW YORK NEWS
by: Eric Snitil, James Battaglia
Posted: May 29, 2021 / 06:21 PM EDT / Updated: May 29, 2021 / 06:26 PM EDT

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, N.Y. (WROC) — Residents of Livingston County, New York felt a 2.4-magnitude earthquake Thursday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which studies landscapes, natural resources, and natural hazards that threaten the country.

It happened at 8:41 p.m., and many in the region felt the shake. Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty tweeted about the earthquake just before 9:30 p.m., saying his office was receiving multiple calls from concerned residents.

Schumer, Gillibrand urge USDA to fund more NYS dairy farmers
According to Eric Snitil, the chief meteorologist at NEWS10’s sister station in Rochester, earthquakes under 3.0 magnitude are difficult for the general public to notice. However, because Thursday’s quake occurred at a depth of roughly 2.3 miles, a little over 12,000 feet. Anything under 44 miles is considered “shallow.” Shallow quakes have a higher likelihood of being noticed, so even at a 2.4 magnitude, you might feel it.

Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

We really are due for the sixth seal: Revelation 6:12

  

Opinion/Al Southwick: Could an earthquake really rock New England? We are 265 years overdue

On Nov. 8, a 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck Buzzard’s Bay off the coast of New Bedford. Reverberations were felt up to 100 miles away, across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and parts of Connecticut and New York. News outlets scrambled to interview local residents who felt the ground shake their homes. Seismologists explained that New England earthquakes, while uncommon and usually minor, are by no means unheard of.

The last bad one we had took place on Nov. 18, 1755, a date long remembered.

It’s sometimes called the Boston Earthquake and sometimes the Cape Ann Earthquake. Its epicenter is thought to have been in the Atlantic Ocean about 25 miles east of Gloucester. Estimates say that it would have registered between 6.0 and 6.3 on the modern Richter scale. It was an occasion to remember as chronicled by John E. Ebel, director of the Weston observatory of Boston College:

“At about 4:30 in the morning on 18 November, 1755, a strong earthquake rocked the New England area. Observers reported damage to chimneys, brick buildings and stone walls in coastal communities from Portland, Maine to south of Boston … Chimneys were also damaged as far away as Springfield, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut. The earthquake was felt at Halifax, Nova Scotia to the northeast, Lake Champlain to the northwest, and Winyah, South Carolina to the southwest. The crew of a ship in deep water about 70 leagues east of Boston thought it had run aground and only realized it had felt an earthquake after it arrived at Boston later that same day.

“The 1755 earthquake rocked Boston, with the shaking lasting more than a minute. According to contemporary reports, as many as 1,500 chimneys were shattered or thrown down in part, the gable ends of about 15 brick buildings were broken out, and some church steeples ended up tilted due to the shaking. Falling chimney bricks created holes in the roofs of some houses. Some streets, particularly those on manmade ground along the water, were so covered with bricks and debris that passage by horse-drawn carriage was impossible. Many homes lost china and glassware that was thrown from shelves and shattered. A distiller’s cistern filled with liquor broke apart and lost its contents.”

We don’t have many details of the earthquake’s impact here, there being no newspaper in Worcester County at that time. We do know that one man, Christian Angel, working in a “silver” mine in Sterling, was buried alive when the ground shook. He is the only known fatality in these parts. We can assume that, if the quake shook down chimneys in Springfield and New Haven, it did even more damage hereabouts. We can imagine the cries of alarm and the feeling of panic as trees swayed violently, fields and meadows trembled underfoot and pottery fell off shelves and crashed below.

The Boston Earthquake was an aftershock from the gigantic Lisbon Earthquake that had leveled Lisbon, Portugal, a few days before. That cataclysm, estimated as an 8 or 9 on the modern Richter scale, was the most devastating natural catastrophe to hit western Europe since Roman times. The first shock struck on Nov. 1, at about 9 in the morning.

According to one account: ”Suddenly the city began to shudder violently, its tall medieval spires waving like a cornfield in the breeze … In the ancient cathedral, the Basilica de Santa Maria, the nave rocked and the massive chandeliers began swinging crazily. . . . Then came a second, even more powerful shock. And with it, the ornate façade of every great building in the square … broke away and cascaded forward.”

Until that moment, Lisbon had been one of the leading cities in western Europe, right up there with London and Paris. With 250,000 people, it was a center of culture, financial activity and exploration. Within minutes it was reduced to smoky, dusty rubble punctuated by human groans and screams. An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 lost their lives.

Since then, New England has been mildly shaken by quakes from time to time. One series of tremors on March 1, 1925, was felt throughout Worcester County, from Fitchburg to Worcester, and caused a lot of speculation.

What if another quake like that in 1755 hit New England today? What would happen? That question was studied 15 years ago by the Massachusetts Civil Defense Agency. Its report is sobering:

“The occurrence of a Richter magnitude 6.25 earthquake off Cape Ann, Massachusetts … would cause damage in the range of 2 to 10 billion dollars … in the Boston metropolitan area (within Route 128) due to ground shaking, with significant additional losses due to secondary effects such as soil liquefaction failures, fires and economic interruptions. Hundreds of deaths and thousands of major and minor injuries would be expected … Thousands of people could be displaced from their homes … Additional damage may also be experienced outside the 128 area, especially closer to the earthquake epicenter.”

So even if we don’t worry much about volcanoes, we know that hurricanes and tornadoes are always possible. As for earthquakes, they may not happen in this century or even in this millennium, but it is sobering to think that if the tectonic plates under Boston and Gloucester shift again, we could see a repeat of 1755.

23rd anniversary of the Pakistani Nuclear Horn: Daniel 8

Pakistan observes 23rd anniversary of N-tests

Our Correspondent

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Yaum-e-Takbeer was observed on Friday to commemorate the historic nuclear tests Pakistan conducted on May 28, 1998.

The nuclear explosions, which were conducted in self-defence and deterrence against external threats to the country to respond to India’s aggression of nuclear tests, made Pakistan’s defence invincible. As a result, Pakistan became the first nuclear power in the Muslim world and seventh in the world.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar in a tweet said that 23 years ago on this day, Pakistan restored balance of power in the region by successfully establishing credible minimum nuclear deterrence. He said the armed forces and the nation pay tribute to all those involved in making this dream come true.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, in a statement, said Pakistan is committed to working for the promotion of peace and stability at the regional and global levels. He said the nation reaffirms its resolve to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence against any form of aggression. Pakistan has been actively contributing to international efforts for strengthening global norms on arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament and follows latest international standards on export controls, nuclear safety and security at the national level.

He said this year, the Yaum-e-Takbeer has been marked by the inauguration of the 1100MW K-2 Nuclear Power Plant in Karachi which adds valuable, cleaner, reliable and affordable electricity to the national energy mix. This underscores the role of nuclear science and technology in the socio-economic development of the country and the welfare of its people.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akhtar, Director General, Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs, of the Foreign Office, said Pakistan does not want to enter arms race but would not remain oblivious to destabilizing developments in the region.

He was speaking at a webinar at the Islamabad Policy Institute on the 23rd anniversary of the 1998 nuclear tests, according to a statement issued by the think tank.

“Pakistan remains committed to avoidance of any arms race and is ready to discuss bilateral measures for confidence-building and restraint, there should be no doubt about our resolve to take measures necessary to safeguard our security and deny any space for war or fanciful misadventures,” Kamran Akhtar said.

India is exploring preemptive counterforce options, besides militarizing the space and artificial intelligence. While these moves are dangerous and destabilizing, it is feared that they could unleash a risky regional arms race and crisis instability. “There is a renewed arms race generating de-stabilizing effects at the global and regional levels. These developments are casting their dark shadows on the region,” the senior Pakistani diplomat said. He criticized the global nuclear order for being discriminatory. “This has undermined the credibility and efficacy of the international nuclear regime,” he added.

Adviser to the Strategic Plans Division Ambassador Zamir Akram, speaking on this occasion, said the strategic stability in the region is “tenuous and continuously tested” by the aggressive Indian actions and doctrines. “For maintaining deterrence, Pakistan will need to continuously upgrade its capabilities in line with what India is doing. Only then we would be able to ensure our security and credible deterrence could prevail,” Akram said.

He too spoke about Indian test of anti-satellite weapons and integration of new warfare technologies such as cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, robotics and lethal autonomous weapons in the arsenal. “Pakistan will have to respond to these developments and cannot remain complacent,” he stressed.

Executive Director Islamabad Policy Institute Prof Sajjad Bokhari said: “While Pakistan seeks a peaceful region with high-degree of strategic stability that avoids a costly arms race, it undoubtedly cannot remain oblivious to the evolving security dynamics in South Asia.” While pursuing peace to focus on socio-economic development, he suggested, Pakistan needs to continuously prepare for averting any threat to its territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

Bokhari, however, regretted that Pakistan’s space programme has for long remained under-resourced and neglected. “The time has come to invest in the space technologies to harness civilian and military potential,” he said.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s sister Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari shared a picture of her grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto inaugurating Pakistan’s nuclear programme in 1972.

“Good thing there is photo evidence for today’s youth deprived of actual history. Will all the puppet parties trying to take false credit of what everyone, including themselves, already know. #Pakistan is #Nuclear thanks to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” she tweeted.

Israel’s ‘war crimes’ outside the Temple Walls: Revelation 11

Israel’s attacks on Gaza may constitute ‘war crimes’: UN rights chief

27/05/2021 – 13:02

Geneva (AFP)

Israel’s recent deadly air strikes on Gaza may constitute war crimes, the UN rights chief said Thursday, as countries discussed launching a broad, international investigation.

Addressing a special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet voiced deep concern about the “high level of civilian fatalities and injuries” from the attacks on Gaza.

“If found to be indiscriminate and disproportionate in their impact on civilians and civilian objects, such attacks may constitute war crimes,” she warned.

She also said her office had “not seen evidence” that the buildings targeted in Gaza, including residential homes, medical facilities and media offices, were “hosting armed groups or being used for military purposes”, as claimed by Israel.

Bachelet also stressed that rockets fired by Hamas were “indiscriminate and fail to distinguish between military and civilian objects,” and were thereby “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made her statement at the start of a special one-day council session focused on the recent flare-up of violence.

Before a truce took hold last Friday, Israeli air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 254 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict, the health ministry in Gaza says. 

Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Arab-Israeli teenager, medics say. Some 357 people in Israel were wounded.

– ‘Root causes’ –

At the rights council, countries were debating a proposal to set up a broad, international investigation into violations surrounding the latest violence, but also into “systematic” abuses in the Palestinian territories and inside Israel.

The proposal calls for an unprecedented level of scrutiny on abuses and their “root causes” in the decades-long Middle East conflict.

The draft resolution presented by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation calls for the council to “urgently establish an ongoing independent, international commission of inquiry… in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in Israel”.

The investigators, the text said, should probe “all alleged violations and abuses” of international law linked to the tensions that sparked the latest violence, but also “underlying root causes of recurrent tensions and instability, including systematic discrimination and repression based on group identity”.

The investigation should focus on establishing facts and gather evidence that could be used in legal proceedings, and should try to identify perpetrators to ensure they are held accountable, it said.

– ‘Purposely raised tensions’ –

Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, slammed the session and the draft text, insisting they were yet another example of the council’s bias against Israel.

“Hamas initiated this conflict,” she said, insisting the “terrorist organisation that glorifies death” had “purposely raised tensions in Jerusalem to justify its attack.” 

Pointing to the 4,400 rockets launched on Israeli cities, she urged the council not to “embolden and reward Hamas” for such behaviour, and stressed that “Israel has the right to defend itself”.

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki hit back at that claim, telling the council “we refuse to equate between the coloniser and the colonised.”

Accusing Israel of instituting “an apartheid system based on the forced displacement of our people,” he insisted that “the right to self defence and the right to resist occupation is a right we have as the Palestinian people.”

– Open-ended investigation –

If the resolution passes, it would create the council’s first ever open-ended commission of inquiry (COI) — the highest-level investigation that can be ordered by the council.

Other COIs, like the one on Syria, need their mandates renewed every year.

And while the council has previously ordered eight investigations into rights violations committed in the Palestinian territories, this would be the first one with a mandate to examine “root causes” in the drawn-out conflict, and also to probe systematic abuses committed within Israel.

It remains unclear if there will be enough support in the council to pass the resolution.

Twenty council members were among the 66 countries that backed holding the special session.

Thursday’s session marks the 30th extraordinary meeting since the Human Rights Council’s creation 15 years ago.

It will be the ninth focused on Israel, which has long complained it faces bias in the council.

© 2021 AFP

Witnessing the Carnage Outside the Temple Walls: Revelation 11

Gaza Notebook: The Surreal Scenes I Witnessed During ‘The Worst Eid Ever’

Anas Baba May 28, 20214:38 PM ET

I’m a Palestinian photojournalist who lives in Gaza City. Out of all the destruction I documented this month during the 11-day war between Hamas and Israel, one early morning stands out.

It was two weeks ago on the Eid holiday, and I went out to take pictures of the rubble at 5:30 a.m. The holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan is one of the moments we Palestinians wait for all year. Men wear cologne and traditional jalabiya robes instead of pants. Women wear thobes. We go to the mosque for the fajr prayer and to hear a lesson from the imam about how we should visit each other to spread the spirit of love. People on the streets have big smiles.

We had hoped both sides would call a cease-fire on our holy day, like they did during the last war between Gaza and Israel in 2014. But this time, they didn’t. It came a week later, after more than 250 people were killed in Gaza, according to authorities there, and many more were wounded. In Israel, authorities said 12 people were killed as more than 4,000 rockets were fired from Gaza.

I went to Saraya, a square in central Gaza City, and found people looking for an open mosque, just to feel the Eid, but instead witnessing an irrational scene: There was a massive hole in the street, where an Israeli missile had hit, next to a billboard with Ramadan greetings and another billboard with the silhouette of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Hamas military wing.

The mosques weren’t open. Local radio stations were warning people not to leave their homes. Gaza’s ministry of Islamic affairs announced there would be no communal prayers because it was too dangerous to gather during war. It said it was not haram, not forbidden, to pray at home with one’s family.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something?” I heard. It was Abu Kamal, the owner of the Kodak Express. He was on the balcony of his apartment above his photo shop, talking to me on the street below.

“I don’t have the courage to go outside my home and look at the doors of my shop. Tell me, is it bad?”

“I’m sorry, but God loves you very much,” I joked. “Only the windows got broken. Everything else is OK.”

The smile I saw on his face was, for me, the real Eid.

I asked him what had happened. He said he’d felt nothing like it in his life. The sound made a hole in his ears. He jumped from bed and went to his children’s room with his wife. The first airstrike hit. The second. The third.

“The whole house was dancing,” he said.

After the tenth airstrike, everything fell silent.

“I didn’t understand if I was alive or not. By the crying of my family, I understood I was alive,” he told me. “I didn’t have courage to look outside my window to look at my shop until I heard the tuk-tuk-tuk of your camera.”

I left Abu Kamal and drove to take pictures of a collapsed building, when I saw people running. They said they’d just got a call from the Israelis, warning their five-story building in an upscale residential neighborhood would be hit. Sixty families were evacuating.

I saw four kids, a mom and a dad. Their faces were terrified. I pulled over and offered them a lift. The dad was so happy. He said he wanted to flee to his father-in-law’s home, but didn’t have a car.

It was 6:30 a.m. A girl and a boy were holding lollipops and didn’t understand what was happening. The little boy, maybe 9 years old, said to his father: “Baba [Papa], why are we going to Grandpa’s early?”

The father, accountant Mohammed Shamali, was wearing flip-flops and pajamas and holding two suitcases. One contained their official documents. The other had his wife’s bracelets and gold jewelry.

“I was trying to convince my children: ‘All the bombs you hear are not war. It’s a celebration for the upcoming Eid.’ And when Eid came, we evacuated our home,” he said. “This is the worst Eid ever.”

I dropped them off and took their photo on the curb, waiting for Grandpa to open the door.

Then I called my mom. I hadn’t been home for three days because I was staying at my dad’s office, taking photos of rocket fire from the roof at night.

“Happy Eid, Mama,” I told her. She started to cry.

Anas Baba is a freelance photographer and journalist based in Gaza City.

Wait, we can get the Sixth Seal? Revelation 6:12

Wait, we can get earthquakes in Western New York?

WEATHER BLOG

by: Christine GregoryPosted: May 28, 2021 / 12:40 PM EDT / Updated: May 28, 2021 / 02:34 PM EDT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The short answer to that is, yes! And Thursday evening was a prime example of that.

At approximately 8:41 P.M., residents from Livingston County reported feeling the light tremor. It occurred about 30 miles southeast of Batavia and rated a 2.4 in magnitude on the Richter scale. USGS confirms earthquake reported in Livingston County

We typically don’t think of New York state for having earthquakes, but they certainly are capable of having them. 

Upon my own investigation, there does appear to be an existing fault line right nearby where the quake happened that may have contributed to the light tremor, but it is not confirmed by official sources.

The Clarendon-Linden fault line consists of a major series of faults that runs from Lake Ontario to Allegany county, that are said to be responsible for much of the seismic activity that occurs in the region. It is a north-south oriented fault system that displays both strike-slip and dip-slip motion. 

Strike-Slip Fault

Dip-Slip Fault

Clarendon-Linden Fault System

Image courtesy: glyfac.buffalo.edu

This fault is actively known for minor quakes, but is said to not be a large threat to the area. According to Genesee county, researchers have identified many potential fault lines both to the east, and to the west of the Clarendon-Linden Fault.

According to the University at Buffalo, they have proof that upstate New York is criss-crossed by fault lines. Through remote sensing by satellite and planes, a research group found that “there are hundreds of faults throughout the Appalachian Plateau, some of which may have been seismically active — albeit sporadically — since Precambrian times, about 1 billion years ago.”

The state of New York averages about a handful of minor earthquakes every year. In Western New York in December of 2019, a 2.1 earthquake occurred near Sodus Point over Lake Ontario, and in March of 2016, a 2.1 earthquake occurred near Attica in Genesee county. 

For an interactive map of recent earthquakes from the USGS click HERE.

~Meteorologist Christine Gregory 

Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

East Coast Quakes and the Sixth Seal: Revelation 6

   

Items lie on the floor of a grocery store after an earthquake on Sunday, August 9, 2020 in North Carolina.

East Coast Quakes: What to Know About the Tremors Below

By Meteorologist Dominic Ramunni Nationwide PUBLISHED 7:13 PM ET Aug. 11, 2020 PUBLISHED 7:13 PM EDT Aug. 11, 2020

People across the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic were shaken, literally, on a Sunday morning as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in North Carolina on August 9, 2020.

Centered in Sparta, NC, the tremor knocked groceries off shelves and left many wondering just when the next big one could strike.

Fault Lines

Compared to the West Coast, there are far fewer fault lines in the East. This is why earthquakes in the East are relatively uncommon and weaker in magnitude.

That said, earthquakes still occur in the East.

According to Spectrum News Meteorologist Matthew East, “Earthquakes have occurred in every eastern U.S. state, and a majority of states have recorded damaging earthquakes. However, they are pretty rare. For instance, the Sparta earthquake Sunday was the strongest in North Carolina in over 100 years.”

While nowhere near to the extent of the West Coast, damaging earthquakes can and do affect much of the eastern half of the country.

For example, across the Tennesse River Valley lies the New Madrid Fault Line. While much smaller in size than those found farther west, the fault has managed to produce several earthquakes over magnitude 7.0 in the last couple hundred years.

In 1886, an estimated magnitude 7.0 struck Charleston, South Carolina along a previously unknown seismic zone. Nearly the entire town had to be rebuilt.

Vulnerabilities

The eastern half of the U.S. has its own set of vulnerabilities from earthquakes.

Seismic waves actually travel farther in the East as opposed to the West Coast. This is because the rocks that make up the East are tens, if not hundreds, of millions of years older than in the West.

These older rocks have had much more time to bond together with other rocks under the tremendous pressure of Earth’s crust. This allows seismic energy to transfer between rocks more efficiently during an earthquake, causing the shaking to be felt much further.

This is why, during the latest quake in North Carolina, impacts were felt not just across the state, but reports of shaking came as far as Atlanta, Georgia, nearly 300 miles away.

Reports of shaking from different earthquakes of similar magnitude.

Quakes in the East can also be more damaging to infrastructure than in the West. This is generally due to the older buildings found east. Architects in the early-to-mid 1900s simply were not accounting for earthquakes in their designs for cities along the East Coast.

When a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Virginia in 2011, not only were numerous historical monuments in Washington, D.C. damaged, shaking was reported up and down the East Coast with tremors even reported in Canada.

Unpredictable

There is no way to accurately predict when or where an earthquake may strike.

Some quakes will have a smaller earthquake precede the primary one. This is called a foreshock.

The problem is though, it’s difficult to say whether the foreshock is in fact a foreshock and not the primary earthquake. Only time will tell the difference.

The United State Geological Survey (USGS) is experimenting with early warning detection systems in the West Coast.

While this system cannot predict earthquakes before they occur, they can provide warning up to tens of seconds in advance that shaking is imminent. This could provide just enough time to find a secure location before the tremors begin.

Much like hurricanes, tornadoes, or snowstorms, earthquakes are a natural occuring phenomenon that we can prepare for.

The USGS provides an abundance of resources on how to best stay safe when the earth starts to quake.

Biden increases the budget against the Chinese nuclear horn: Daniel 7

Biden’s defense budget seeks greater China deterrence and nuclear funding

May 27, 202111:30 AM MDT
U.S. President Joe Biden takes off his sunglasses to speak to media ahead of his departure from Washington for travel to Cleveland, Ohio at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., May 27, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
U.S. President Joe Biden’s $715 billion Department of Defense budget will shift funding from old systems to help modernize the nuclear arsenal to deter China, while also developing future warfare capabilities, people familiar with the budget said.

The defense spending request, which will be sent to Congress on Friday, is expected to contain investments in troop readyness, space, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative aimed at countering China’s military build-up in the region and nuclear weapons technology, the people said.

The budget request would buy ships, jets and pay for maintenance and salaries, but an additional $38 billion is earmarked for defense-related programs at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Energy and other agencies bringing the national security budget to $753 billion, a 1.7% increase over the 2021 figure.

There will also be money to further develop and test of hypersonic weapons and other “next generation” weapons systems as the military aims to build capabilities to counter Russia and China.

President’s budget requests, including those for the military, are commonly a starting point for negotiations with Congress which ultimately decides how funds are spent.

The Pacific Deterrence Initiative, created to counter China, focuses on competition in the Indo-Pacific and aims to boost U.S. preparedness in the region through funding radars, satellites and missile systems.

To pay for this, people familiar with the shift said, the Pentagon is seeking to divest some of its older equipment with higher maintenance costs including four Littoral Combat Ships, several A-10 aircraft which provide close air support to ground troops, as well as the number of KC-10 and KC-135 planes in the mid-air refueling fleets.

Tensions with an increasingly assertive China are on the minds of U.S. military planners. Bejing accused the United States last week of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a U.S. warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway.

The U.S. Army’s goal for troops in the budget was reduced very marginally, the people said.

“We must modernize if deterrence is to endure and, if confirmed, I would seek to increase the speed and scale of innovation in our force,” Kathleen Hicks said in her testimony in February before she was confirmed as deputy secretary of defense.

Among the Pentagon’s competing priorities, the Biden administration will request 85 stealthy F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), the people said. The 2021 and 2020 presidential budgets requested 79 and 78 of the jets respectively, ultimately Congress authorized additional fighters. Senators and governors have come out to support the jet which has a huge industrial base. read more

The U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding plan, published in the final months of the Trump administration, and had 12 new surface combatant ships for the 2022 budget. But the Biden request has only eight new warships, the people said.

Despite shaving numbers from older systems the Biden administration will continue to invest in modernizing the U.S. nuclear triad, an expensive undertaking that will cost an average of more than $60 billion per year over this decade and more than a trillion dollars in total, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Funding will go to improve nuclear command and control as well as delivery platforms like the Columbia Class nuclear submarine made by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII.N) and General Dynamics (GD.N) and the certification to carry nuclear bombs aboard the stealthy F-35 jet fighters.

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