The Faithful Watchman

Iran can make fissile material for a bomb ‘in about 12 days’ – U.S. official

Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb in “about 12 days,” a top U.S. Defense Department official said on Tuesday, down from the estimated one year it would have taken while the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in effect.

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl made the comment to a House of Representatives hearing when pressed by a Republican lawmaker why the Biden administration had sought to revive the deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

“Because Iran’s nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA has been remarkable. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb’s worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days,” Kahl, the third ranking Defense Department official, told lawmakers.

“And so I think there is still the view that if you could resolve this issue diplomatically and put constraints back on their nuclear program, it is better than the other options. But right now, the JCPOA is on ice,” Kahl added.

Hamas: Huwara riots are a ‘declaration of war,’ cross all red lines

Suhai al-Hindi: “We are required to confront this conspiracy, killing and arson, with all our might, and the occupation knows only the language of force.”

The settler riots that swept Huwara on Sunday are a “declaration of war” and cross all red lines, warned Hamas political bureau official Suhai al-Hindi on Tuesday.

“The results of the Aqaba Summit are more killing, blood, and destruction for our Palestinian people, and what Nablus witnessed was a joint attack, as the occupation soldiers sponsor settlers to kill the Palestinian person and burn the Palestinian house and Palestinian entity,” said Hindi to the Palestinian news outlet Al-Watan Voice.

“We, on our part as Palestinians, cannot in any way accept this equation, and we cannot raise the white flag or accept that the enemy harms the Palestinian people,” added Hindi. “We are required to confront this conspiracy, killing and arson, with all our might, and the occupation knows only the language of force, not the language of dialogue, agreements and meetings.”

Hindi additionally pointed to riots that have taken place in recent days along the Gaza border, saying “The message of the rebellious youth in the eastern Gaza Strip is very clear, that when the Palestinian people suffer, the settler here on the Gaza border must suffer.”

Army Chief Warns Conflict With China Will Result In Strikes On US Mainland

Speaking at a recent event at the American Enterprise Institute, Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, outlined the potential risks facing the U.S. homeland in the event of conflict with China. She explained that the Chinese military could launch kinetic and non-kinetic attacks, including cyberattacks on power grids and pipelines, in an attempt to erode support for any conflict.

Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, Commander of U.S. Army Pacific, urged that American forces must be prepared and should accelerate their preparations, emphasizing that 2023 is an important year to create “enduring advantage.” He stated that the U.S. military is ready to respond to any threat that may arise and urged his forces to position themselves strategically to be ready to respond should the situation escalate beyond control.

Tensions have been rapidly escalating between China and the United States as experts warn that the two superpowers may be on a collision course towards war. In November 2021, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping ordered his troops to prepare for war and declared unifying Taiwan with mainland China “must be achieved”. Most experts predict that Beijing is “all but guaranteed” to attack Taiwan – it is just a matter of when.

Such a conflict would cut off U.S. access to world-leading semiconductors and other critical components manufactured in Taiwan. Not to mention the numerous pharmaceutical and consumer products we already rely upon China directly for. U.S. supplies of many products would soon run low, shutting down many businesses who rely on just in time inventory. Rationing, unemployment and inflation are all sure to follow.

20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at Asbury University revival: CDC

An estimated 20,000 people who flocked to Asbury University in Kentucky last month to participate in a two-week-long prayer event could have been exposed to measles by an attendee later found to be infected with the highly contagious virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned.

According to the CDC, measles, which spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, “is so contagious that if one person has it, 9 out of 10 people of all ages around him or her will also become infected if they are not protected.”

Asbury University said in a statement that the infected revival participant is a Jessamine County resident who was unvaccinated and asymptomatic when they attended the event, which started on Feb. 8. The infected participant attended the event on Feb. 18.

As of Feb. 28, only 3 cases of measles have been reported nationwide, including the Asbury revival participant. The agency urges doctors to “be on high alert for measles symptoms” among people who attended the event.

Texas sheriff warns that America is experiencing a ‘silent invasion’ of military age men

What’s happening at the southern U.S. border with Mexico is in fact an invasion, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe says.

“We’re experiencing a silent invasion of military age men,” Coe told The Center Square when describing what his deputies have been increasingly facing over the past two years.

He spoke with The Center Square during an Operation Lone Star task force multi-day operation during which law enforcement officers rescued foreign nationals from a burning vehicle and revived a five-year-old girl being smuggled who’d been stashed inside of a car’s trunk.

The “silent invasion,” Coe said, is being committed primarily by single, military age men between the ages of 17 and 45 who are illegally entering the U.S. They’re wearing camouflage and carrying backpacks, according to video captured by cameras placed throughout the county viewed by The Center Square. Many are armed and dangerous, committing robberies and engaging in shootouts with law enforcement, Coe said.

Spain decriminalizes sexual relations with animals as long as there is no physical injury that requires a veterinary visit

In case you didn’t think the world was sinking low enough with all the gender/pedophilia craziness, I give you Spain’s new Animal Welfare Law that decriminalizes having sex with animals because zoophiles are just another spectrum on the trans flag.

Here’s a link to a zoophilia march in Germany if you’re a moral human being having trouble believing this is a thing. It’s age-restricted on Youtube, so I’m not going to embed it here.

The Spanish zoophilia-affirming law was pushed by Ione Belarra Urteaga, the Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda.

Now, let’s pause a moment and think about that. There’s an actual ministry of the Spanish federal government with the words “2030 Agenda” in its official title.

In addition to championing human/animal love the 2030 Agenda ministry also oversees family affairs, minors protection, disability and prevention of youth crime, adoptions and foster care, and the promotion of cultural communication and youth association.

Kamala Harris Claims Biden Admin Reduced Electricity Costs. Here Are Some Facts.

Vice President Kamala Harris claimed on Wednesday that the Biden administration has decreased electricity prices for American families even as data indicate the exact opposite.

Harris remarked during a speech at Bowie State University in Maryland that efforts from the White House to lower costs have translated to lower power bills. “For working families,” she said, “we have reduced heating and electricity bills so folks have more money in their pocket to buy things like school supplies, replace the dishwasher, or take a family vacation.”

The national average cost of electricity has nevertheless increased from $0.136 per kilowatt-hour in January 2021 to $0.168 per kilowatt-hour in January 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, constituting a 24% increase over the two years since President Joe Biden assumed office. Electricity costs had remained relatively stable for the previous decade, never exceeding $0.150 per kilowatt-hour until March 2022.

Power costs in the northeastern United States increased 39%, from $0.169 per kilowatt-hour to $0.235 per kilowatt-hour, between January 2021 and January 2023, while western and midwestern cities, respectively, saw prices rise 17% and 15% over the same time horizon.

Even more severe trends exist for utility natural gas: national average prices for the fuel rose 63% between January 2021 and January 2023, according to more data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices for utility gas increased 112% for cities in the western United States, while prices rose 55% and 47% in the midwestern and northeastern portions of the country.

Canada: Committee Urges Govt To Extend Assisted Suicide To ‘Mature Minors’

A Canadian parliamentary committee has recommended the government expand its assisted suicide policies to allow “mature minors” to seek medical assistance to end their lives.

The parliamentary committee put out a report with 23 recommendations for the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among them a call to allow “mature minors” to seek Medical Assistance in Dying, known as MAiD in Canada.

The report does, however, suggest that the children who undergo assisted suicide should only do so if their natural death is “reasonably foreseeable” the National Post newspaper reports.

Members so the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) expressed dissent in the report on the subject of allowing children to seek MAiD and stated they could not back all of the recommendations in the report.

Other recommendations from the committee include calling on the government to look into the views of minors themselves on the topic of assisted suicide and their personal experiences.

Earlier this month, the Trudeau government moved to delay an expansion to MAiD that would have allowed people only suffering from mental illnesses to seek out assisted suicide.

Justice Minister David Lametti, who has previously directly compared MAiD to suicide, claimed the year-long delay was needed to “ensure that we move forward on this sensitive and complex issue in a prudent and measured way.”

“It will provide time to help provincial and territorial partners and the medical and nursing communities to prepare to deliver MAiD in these circumstances,” he said and added, “the safety of Canadians just comes first.”

Dangerous Skin-Rotting Drug Spreading Across Country

Xylazine, a drug used to sedate large animals, has been linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths across the country. The drug, also known as “tranq,” “tranq dope” and “zombie drug” is being used to cut heroin, fentanyl and other illicit drugs, says the New York Post. And its side effects can be horrifying ─ it can literally rot a user’s skin.

The Food and Drug Administration approved xylazine, a non-opioid, for veterinary use. It is not safe for humans and, frighteningly, those who overdose do not respond to naloxone, or Narcan, the most common overdose reversal treatment.

Xylazine results in excessive sleepiness, slows breathing and heart rate, and causes raw wounds that can become severe and spread quickly throughout the body, says the Post. The crusty ulcerations, which can turn into dead skin called eschar, may result in amputation if left untreated.

The drug is hitting big cities across the country, especially Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles. In Philadelphia, 90% of lab-tested dope samples from 2021 contained xylazine, which increases the risk of overdose when combined with other illegal substances. According to Insider, Philadelphia is regarded as ground zero for the drug, and it has traveled to the west, infiltrating California’s drug trade. Xylazine is used to cut the opioid fentanyl to lower dealer costs and extend the effects of the drug.

Dr. Gary Tsai, the director of substance abuse prevention and control with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, believes the drug’s prevalence “would increase deaths from overdoses.”

“The main concern is that we’re already amid the worst overdose crisis in history, nationally and locally,” Tsai told the Los Angeles Times.

Experts say that xylazine extends the high enjoyed by opioid users, but that the skin-rotting side effects kill any pleasure associated with the drug.

China successfully tests ‘phantom space strike’ weapon which can overwhelm an enemy’s missile defence systems ahead of a nuclear attack

Tactic could exhaust an enemy’s weapon supplies, making it easier to destroy it

Engineers said they a computer simulation came back with positive results

China has successfully tested a ‘phantom space strike’ – a new tactic to overwhelm and sabotage missile defences by emitting fake target signals from space.

Military engineers announced earlier this month they had completed a computer simulation and achieved positive results.

The tactic is designed to overwhelm the enemy on the basis that there is only so much a missile defence system would be able to cope with.

This can lead to exhaustion of the enemy’s weapon supplies, making it easier to destroy it.

In the simulation, a ballistic missile was launched against an enemy which had a missile defence system.