Israel to simulate striking Iran in massive IDF drill

ANNA AHRONHEIM – May 17, 2022

The IDF will simulate striking targets far from Israel’s borders with a large number of planes while simultaneously acquiring new targets on various fronts in real-time during its largest military drill in history.

The drill is unique and unprecedented in scope and will enable the army to maintain a high level of readiness in an ever-changing region, the IDF said. It aims to improve the military’s capabilities in an intense, multifront and prolonged war on all its borders.

During the drill, the IAF will practice striking targets far from Israel’s borders, while troops continue to contend with a multifront war on its borders.

The IDF is planning several military options against Iran should the nuclear talks between the West and the Islamic Republic fail, and it will practice one of the possible options during the exercise.

The military will also implement the lessons learned from Operation Guardian of the Walls throughout the entire month. During the 11 days of fighting last year, there was heavy rioting in those areas as well as in mixed Arab-Israeli cities such as Lod and Jaffa. Two people were killed, and several civilians were injured.

As part of the drill, the IDF will simulate scenarios in which there is rioting twice as violent as last year.

The military wants to be able to send troops before violence breaks out, and not in response to the violence, and it will work to keep roads open in areas in the Negev and in the Wadi Ara area of the North.

Thousands of soldiers and reservists are taking part in the drill, dubbed Chariots of Fire. All commands, including the IAF and Israel Navy and regular and reserve forces, will take part.

https://www.jpost.com

Global economy on the brink of recession as investors are now less tolerant of monetary policy tightening

Strange Sounds – May 20, 2022

The global economy is “teetering on the brink of recession” as the war in Ukraine, Covid-19 lock downs in China and a hawkish US Federal Reserve weigh on activity worldwide, the Institute of International Finance said in a report.

In its latest forecast, the IIF estimates global gross domestic product to grow 2.2 per cent this year, with activities slowing to 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. The Euro area as well as emerging markets, excluding China, are anticipated to go into a recession by the end of the year.

“Since the statistical carryover from 2021 is 2.3 per cent, this is a de facto flatlining of global GDP,” the report said.

The IIF’s estimates are below the latest prediction from the International Monetary Fund, which has also lowered its growth forecast this year, due to the Ukraine war and inflation stoked by soaring commodity prices.

The IMF projects global growth at 3.6 per cent this year and next, down 0.8 and 0.2 percentage points from its January forecast, respectively.

With the possibility of a recession, market regulators must approach policy normalisation more cautiously, the IIF said.

“In the past, rising uncertainty and mounting recession risk have had important effects on investor psychology, making markets less tolerant of monetary policy tightening that is seen as no longer warranted,” the institute said.

It cited the Fed’s last rate hiking cycle in December 2018, which it was forced to end abruptly after the S&P 500 index fell sharply. Markets judged that hike to be “unwarranted”, given the escalating trade war between the US and China at the time, the report said.

https://strangesounds.org

Huge 7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near remote Australian island

Ricky Scaparo – May 19, 2022

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake has been recorded near a remote Australian island. The Bureau of Meteorology reported the quake near Macquarie Island in the southwest Pacific Ocean at 8.49 pm on Thursday.

According to the Daily Mail, The earthquake was at a depth of 29.3km. BOM and the Australian territory located south of New Zealand on was briefly on tsunami warning but this was lifted by 10pm.

The quake was also recorded by the US Geological Survey. Located 1,600km southeast of Tasmania, Macquarie Island is home is to the Australian Antarctic Division station, which is occupied all year round. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997 and is a refuge for large colonies of penguins and seals.

The island is particularly active in terms of seismic activity, sitting on the boundary between the Australian Plate and the Pacific plate. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre initially put Australia on tsunami alert. According to the International Tsunami Information Centre, a “tsunami warning is issued when a tsunami with the potential to generate widespread inundation is imminent, expected, or occurring.

Warnings alert the public that dangerous coastal flooding accompanied by powerful currents is possible and may continue for several hours after initial arrival”. They later released an update confirming there was no risk of a tsunami.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

From Transmission Conundrum to Timing Factor, Experts Puzzle Over Outbreak of Monkeypox

Svetlana Ekimenko – May 21, 2022

With symptoms commonly including fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash with blisters, confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox – a rare disease previously limited to Western and Central Africa – have been spreading across Europe this spring.

As cases of monkeypox, both confirmed and suspected, have been reported in the US, Canada and several European countries – such as the UK, Portugal, Spain, Sweden France and, most recently, Germany – the medical community is racking its brains to figure out how the outbreak started.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to convene an emergency meeting of experts to discuss the outbreak, with a focus on transmission of the virus, its high prevalence in gays and bisexual men, as well as the situation with vaccines, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

The rare disease, a version of the smallpox virus that was eradicated in 1980 but is less transmissible, has previously been limited to Western and Central Africa.

On 7 May the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was the first health authority in Europe to announce a case of monkeypox publicly. It was confirmed in a person who had recently flown into the country from Nigeria.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), virus transmission appeared to have occurred as a result of homosexual contacts between men, at least in the UK case.

Since then, 19 more cases have been confirmed in the UK bringing the total up to 220, although the source remains elusive, as the infections appear to have been “locally acquired”, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

https://sputniknews.com

Texas Church Evicted After Pastor Criticized LGBTQ Mural In City Council Meeting

Katelynn Richardson – May 18, 2022

A new mural in the city of Georgetown, Texas, is generating controversy for its support of LGBTQ ideology. Members of one church who spoke out against public subsidies for sexual politics at a city council meeting believe their subsequent eviction from the Georgetown Palace Theatre was retaliation for their speech.

The mural is part of a jointly sponsored initiative between the Georgetown Independent School District (GISD), Georgetown City Council, and the Georgetown Arts and Culture Board to display the work of one student artist a year. Under the agreement, GISD sponsors materials up to $500, and the city is responsible for hiring an artist costing up to $500, Georgetown Community Impact Newspaper reported in March.

Last year, the mural followed the theme “Everyone Deserves Kindness.” This year’s mural, designed by a student at Forbes Middle School, displays the phrase “be your own person” in rainbow text above an assortment of red poppies, with some flowers painted with the transgender, bisexual, non-binary, and other sexual pride flags.

Church Leaders Speak Up

Church on the Square Pastor Bradley J. Helgerson, along with two other church members, spoke out against the mural at an April 26 Georgetown City Council meeting. Calling the ideology expressed by the mural “an attempt to fundamentally reorder society,” Helgerson said his remarks were aimed to provide “theological context for the ideology lurking behind this artistic expression.”

“Many have been fooled into thinking that such a rebellion against reality is an act of liberation. That when we tear down every norm we will be left with a freer society, that true freedom comes when the shackles of the sacred are removed,” Helgerson said. “But the work of the LGBTQ movement is not the work of liberation, but of liberationists whose desire it is to destroy the societal order itself, precisely because of its demand for conformity.”

“In other words, it’s not a matter of open-mindedness, but of closed-heartedness to right judgment that is the problem,” the pastor said. “Therefore, their goal is to remove all judgment, all boundaries, as is testified to by the endless numbers of genders and sexual orientations they affirm.”

https://thefederalist.com

Biden to visit Jerusalem with unprecedented statement: Zion belongs to Muslims

– May 11, 2022

US President Joe Biden is planning a visit to Israel in June. Still, a recent report claims that while here, he will visit the eastern section of Jerusalem in a clear message of support for establishing a Palestinian capital in the Jews’ eternal capital.

CNN reported on Monday that the President’s office had announced unfinalized plans for the visit to the eastern section of Jerusalem. The president may visit Al Makassed Hospital, located on the Mount of Olives. It is the largest Palestinian medical center in Jerusalem. Nearly 80% of the hospital employees are residents of the West Bank who have special permits to enter Israel.

No US president has ever visited this section of Jerusalem. This stands in stark contrast to President Trump, who prayed at the Western Wall. In addition, the Biden administration had pledged to reopen a consulate for Palestinians in the eastern section of Jerusalem after Trump closed the consulate when he moved the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Barry Shaw, a Senior Associate at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies, criticized Biden’s decision:

“He has demanded that he will not be accompanied by any Israeli official but will meet members of the Palestinian Authority who have been permitted to administer certain hospitals and schools in east Jerusalem but who insist that their capital will be in Israel’s undivided and sovereign capital, Jerusalem, even though their government and administrative…offices are in Ramallah.”

“This is a devious way for Biden and his State Department to get back at Israel and drive a wedge into Israel’s legitimate and exclusive sovereign rights over its Jerusalem capital, following Israel’s refusal to allow the State Department to open a US consulate there to serve Palestinians.”

“This visit…is likely to damage US-Israel relationships in a very profound way. While Biden is prepared to visit Jerusalem and meet Palestinian officials, his White House has publicly opposed the building of Jewish homes in Judea. Both over this issue and that of Iran, the gap is widening between Jerusalem and Washington.”

https://www.israel365news.com

DHS warns of threats to burn down Supreme Court, kill justices as abortion decision looms

Ryan Foley – May 20, 2022

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is warning that some pro-abortion extremists have expressed a desire to burn down the U.S. Supreme Court building if the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide is overturned.

A Department of Homeland Security memo published May 13, obtained by Axios, warns that violent threats directed at Supreme Court justices and others involved in the abortion debate, such as politicians, members of the clergy and healthcare providers “are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing in the Court’s official ruling” in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

The memo comes amid protests of an initial draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito. the draft indicates that a majority of justices are poised to reverse Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Politico published the leaked draft opinion on May 2, but the draft is not final.

The prospect of Roe’s reversal, which would send the abortion issue back to states to decide, has already led to acts of vandalism and violence at churches and pro-life pregnancy centers. Protesters have also descended upon the homes of the six Supreme Court justices appointed by Republican presidents, five of whom signed onto the draft of the majority opinion in Dobbs.

Axios reports that the U.S. government is gearing up for a potential surge in political violence once the Supreme Court decision is released, and law enforcement agencies are investigating social media threats to burn down or storm the Supreme Court building and murders justices and their clerks.

According to CBS News, the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium has referred over two dozen online posts to its partner agencies to investigate. Some of those posts spoke of “burning down or storming the U.S. Supreme Court and murdering Justices and their clerks, members of Congress, and lawful demonstrators.”

https://www.christianpost.com

IDF opens largest training drill in Israeli history

ANNA AHRONHEIM –  May 9, 2022

As tensions boil over in the West Bank amid a string of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel, the IDF launched the largest exercise in its history on Sunday.

Thousands of soldiers and reservists will take part in the drill, dubbed “Chariots of Fire,” including the air force, navy and regular and reserve forces.

The four-week drill will simulate a multifront and multidimensional war against Israel’s enemies in the air, at sea, on land and on the cyber front.

“There won’t be a unit that doesn’t take part in this drill,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ran Kohav said.

The goal of the drill is to improve the readiness of the entire military and examine the ability of troops to carry out a powerful and prolonged campaign against enemy forces. It will also reveal logistics and firepower issues that soldiers might face in a war.

The drill aims to improve cooperation between the IDF, government ministries, security organizations and civilian bodies, including their capabilities to transition from routine to a full emergency scenario with multiple areas that are constantly evolving.

A “cabinet” was also established to simulate the political echelon that would be an active partner in the decision-making process during war. The cabinet is made up of former reserve officers, including Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror and Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Gershon Hacohen.

https://www.jpost.com

On May 22: WHO will have authority to lock down all of America

– May 11, 2022

Officials from the Biden Administration are working to give the World Health Organization the power to unilaterally declare a health emergency in any country, thereby giving them emergency powers. The message from the administration and the vote are going unreported by the heritage media, but former Congressman Michele Bachmann is working hard at sounding the alarm.

Bachmann has stated that the upcoming vote in Geneva over the Biden Administration’s amendments would cede U.S. sovereignty to the WHO over national healthcare decisions in what she described as “the biggest global power grab that we have seen in our lifetimes.”

Bachmann’s concern is over the vote that will take place on May 22 in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) governing legislative body, the World Health Assembly (WHA). The vote is to ratify the amendments proposed by the Biden administration and are scheduled as “Provisional agenda item 16.2”.

Bachmann spoke about the dilemma on Steve Bannon’s War Room.

“This authority that they will be given will impact 99.4% of all the people in the world,” Bachmann said. “There are 193 nations belonging to the UN. The Biden administration is bringing amendments that were proposed that all nations of the earth cede their sovereignty over their national health care decisions to the WHO.”

“This means that the WHO would have decision-making authority to intervene in the United States government policy and any nation of the world without our permission. For instance, the lockdown where you see 26 million people today locked down in Shangai, China. They can’t leave their apartments or homes. The WHO would have the authority to be able to enforce that here in the United States, on whatever pretext they want. They don’t have to show data. They could do this.”

https://www.israel365news.com

Meteorologists Warn ‘Megadrought’ in US Southwest is Worst in 1,200 Years

Sputnik – May 12, 2022

A new study has found that the 22-year-long water shortage plaguing the American Southwest and western Mexico is the region’s worst in more than a millennium – a phenomenon dubbed a “megadrought.”

The study, published in Nature Climate Change, found that soil moisture deprivation has exceeded that of a megadrought in the 16th century that was previously the region’s worst known drought.

It’s so bad that University of California Los Angeles geographer Park Williams, the study’s lead author, has warned it would take a prolonged shift in weather patterns to remedy things.

The researchers looked at tree rings to compare the present drought’s intensity with those of years past, since trees generally produce wider rings in wet years and narrower rings in drier years. They found that since 2000, the average soil moisture deficit was twice that of any drought of the past century, with nothing comparable being found until 1,200 years back.

The region has always been quite dry, of course, with four large deserts dominating the terrain and the rest being fairly arid. Indigenous civilization was well-adapted to the precarious conditions, but modern cities have been built without respect to climate – and may soon suffer the consequences.

Reservoirs created by hydroelectric dams, like the famous Hoover Dam outside Las Vegas, Nevada, that holds back Lake Mead, are reaching historic lows. The lake provides the City That Never Sleeps with its freshwater, but has suffered steady water loss since 1983, which has accelerated in recent years, requiring modifications to Hoover Dam’s turbines to allow it to continue producing electricity despite the low water level.

https://sputniknews.com