The Faithful Watchman

Agricultural disaster after record rains cause catastrophic floods in British Columbia, Canada

Teo Blašković – November 18, 2021

British Columbia has declared a state of emergency on November 17, 2021, after several days of heavy rain caused catastrophic floods in parts of the province. At least 1 person has been killed but officials fear the death toll will rise.

Another atmospheric river event hit British Columbia and parts of the U.S. Northwest over the past weekend, dropping record-breaking rain. Parts of the region received more than 2 months of average rainfall in just 48 hours, causing rivers to overflow and low-lying plains to flood.¹

The resulting floods destroyed roads and bridges, submerged homes and farmland, leaving at least 1 person dead.

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said hundreds of farms have been affected provincewide, many in the Fraser Valley. Nearly in tears, she described the widespread flooding as an agricultural disaster.²

The region has been one of the hardest hit by floods, with evacuation orders still in effect for the city of Abbotsford — home to roughly half of all the dairy farms in British Columbia.

In addition, thousands of animals have perished in the floods and the government says it will work to get veterinarians into farms to treat animals. Some of the animals that escaped the floods are expected to be euthanized.

Some highways were closed after numerous landslides, including Highway 7 from Hope to Vancouver where as many as 100 vehicles were trapped between two landslides.¹

As of November 18, nearly 20 000 people are still out of their homes across the province.

https://watchers.news

Israel warns the world: Threat is ready to take it into ‘dark abyss’

RT – November 12, 2021

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has accused Iran of wanting to wipe out Tel Aviv and of seeking world domination via “radical militant Islam.” The warning comes after Tehran once-again threatened to destroy Israel.

In a pre-recorded message delivered during the Government Press Organization’s annual Christian Media Summit on Thursday, the PM remarked that “Here in Israel, we are fighting a very visible enemy, radical militant Islam that is sweeping across the Middle East.”

The premier’s remarks coincide with threats issued by the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. He warned that any mistake made by Israel in its dealings with Tehran will only accelerate Iran’s eradication of the Jewish state.

In his address, however, Bennett also noted positive developments in regional relations for Tel Aviv, claiming that Israel was “facing a new dawn” after creating ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain under the Abraham Accords, inked last year. The agreement saw Israel normalize relations with the two nations.

Israel’s navy publicly participated in joint exercises with the UAE and Bahrain in a first-of-its-kind operation, which started on Wednesday. While it was not clearly declared anywhere, Tel Aviv’s media has surmised that the drills were also to send a warning to Iran.

Tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv have simmered dangerously close to boiling point in recent months, with the latter expressing grievances over Iran’s nuclear program.

https://www.rt.com

Venezuelans Turn to Gold Nuggets as the Local Currency Implodes

Cryptogon – November 1, 2021

Dealing with physical gold in fractions of a gram seems extremely cumbersome, and, are vendors confident that they’re being paid in actual gold?

With the use of cryptocurrencies booming in Venezuela, I wonder if people are using any of the gold backed cryptos for the purposes described in this piece?

The most bugeyed Cryptogon readers will wave red flags and warn that these gold schemes could be scams. I understand this sentiment.

But…

If the point of using the physical gold is the protection it offers against the maniac state’s fiat emissions, it might make sense to use tokenized gold for day-to-day business operations. While tokenized gold isn’t physical gold, my guess is that there’s a good chance that alleged physical gold isn’t actual physical gold, in some cases.

If I was running a business and accepting payments in gold, I’d rather have tokenized gold than some yellow shiny stuff that came across the counter. Tokenized gold can be easily transferred anywhere, divided and, depending on the crypto, ultimately redeemed as physical gold. Allegedly physical gold, that is.

Keep in mind, actual physical gold can’t be disappeared by an EMP, a teenage hacker or a quantum computer.

Maybe business people could use tokenized gold for small amounts and eventually sweep these into a larger bar, or some other asset, for long term wealth preservation.

https://www.cryptogon.com

Statewide crisis! 19 million people under drought emergency in Southern California – That’s nearly half of all California residents

Strange Sounds – November 12, 2021

Nearly half of all California residents are under a regional drought emergency as record dry conditions continue to exacerbate a statewide crisis.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a wholesaler to 26 local agencies that together supply some 19 million people with water, declared a state of emergency Tuesday in a resolution that calls for increased conservation efforts.

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a statewide drought emergency, which authorizes the state water board to ban wasteful water uses, such as using potable water for washing sidewalks and driveways.

Tuesday’s declaration, which also pertains to businesses, supports Newsom’s proclamation, activates additional conservation efforts and expands water efficiency programs.

“We need immediate action to preserve and stretch our limited State Water Project supplies,” board Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray said in a statement. “Southern California on average gets about one-third of its water from Northern California via the state project. Next year, we’ll be lucky to get a small fraction of that.”

The declarations come as California struggles with unprecedented dry conditions and an ongoing strain on state water resources. California’s last two water years were the driest two-year period on record for precipitation. In August, Lake Oroville — the main reservoir in the State Water Project — reached its lowest point since the 1970s.

https://strangesounds.org

Fresh outbreaks of highly contagious bird flu confirmed in Europe

RT – November 8, 2021

Several outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N1 avian flu have cropped up across Poland’s poultry farms, affecting over half a million birds, animal health officials have said. An outbreak was also confirmed in England on Monday.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) revealed the Polish outbreaks on Monday, saying that five were documented in the eastern part of the country alone. Four of the instances were at turkey-fattening facilities, and one at a chicken broiler farm. Meanwhile in western Poland, another outbreak was discovered at a turkey and geese farm.

Nearly 650,000 fowl at the country’s farms have been contaminated with the highly pathogenic bird flu, the OIE said.

In a statement released by Poland’s Chief Inspectorate Veterinary on Saturday, the body said that it implements disease control measures at farms which suffer bird flu outbreaks. These actions can include killing infected animals, deep cleaning and disinfecting contaminated areas, and establishing designated infectious zones.

Warsaw is not alone in facing a bird flu outbreak. A 3km protection zone, as well as a 10km radius for surveillance purposes, was established on Monday in the UK county of Warwickshire, following an outbreak of the deadly influenza strain at a small poultry unit.

Poultry owners in this zone will be required to record the details of any visitors, to stop the spread of the highly contagious strain. Meanwhile, any owners in the 3km sphere will have to isolate their birds.

H5N1 is estimated to have a mortality rate of around 53% in humans who contract the disease following contact with infected fowl. Between 2003 and October 2021, 863 human infections with H5N1 have been recorded globally, according to World Health Organization data, with 456 of these proving fatal.

https://www.rt.com

The Jihadist Genocide of Christians in Nigeria Intensifies

Raymond Ibrahim – October 10, 2021

What several international observers have for years characterized as a “pure genocide” of Christians in Nigeria has reached new levels.

Since the Islamic insurgency began in earnest in July 2009 — first at the hands of Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization, and later by the Fulani, who are Muslim herdsmen also radicalized and motivated by jihadist ideology — more than 60,000 Christians have either been murdered or abducted during raids. The abducted Christians have never returned to their homes and their loved ones believe them to be dead. In addition, in the same time frame, approximately 20,000 churches and Christian schools have been torched and destroyed.

Some of these findings are documented in an August 4, 2021 report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, also known as “Intersociety,” a nonprofit human rights organization based in Nigeria.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org

Parents warned they may soon need a ‘license’ to raise their own children

Bob Unruh – November 10, 2021

A senior contributor at the Federalist, Stella Morabito, has published a warning to parents that if leftists are not stopped in their agenda, moms and dads soon could need a “license” to raise their own children.

“Licensing of parents might still sound fringy, but it’s an old social engineering dream that dies hard. And they’re busily building the road to get there. Unless there is aggressive and sustained pushback, you can count on the idea invading the mainstream,” she explained.

“So parents can’t let down their guard. They hold the key to getting through this wild ride.”

In her warning, published at the organization’s website, she cited the factors that are at issue now: the racist critical race theory that teaches all whites are racist in schools, “extremist” sex education that includes pornography, “social and emotional learning” instruction to tell children how they should feel, COVID-19 masks and vaccine mandates and more.

“All of these directives hijack the role of parents as the emotional and moral guides of their children,” she said. “Parents ought to be asking: What next? If those trends are left unchecked, I think the answer could be the state licensing of parents.”

While it may sound extreme, she pointed out that “let’s not forget that critical race theory and transgenderism were once laughed off as fringy academic notions before they burst into newsrooms, then into classrooms and public libraries.”

She pointed to instructor Hugh LaFollette who outlined “Licensing Parents” in a 1980 article, which suggested biological parent should be vetted under the same requirements as adoptive parents, with psychological testing and more.

Key was his claim that parents should not be considered to have “natural dominion” over their children.

https://www.wnd.com

Human Rights Commissioner Says Killing Babies in Abortions is a “Human Right”

Micaiah Bilger – November 10, 2021

A European human rights commissioner demanded Wednesday that Poland legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions, claiming this destruction of innocent human beings is a “human right” and abortion bans amount to “torture.”

Politico reports Dunja Mijatović, the commissioner for human rights for the Council of Europe, criticized Poland’s protections for unborn babies in a report to the European Court of Human Rights.

Her report came out ahead of an expected vote Thursday in European Parliament on a resolution to condemn Poland for its pro-life laws, according to the report.

Poland is one of the few countries in Europe that protects unborn babies from abortions. In 2020, its high court struck down an exception allowing abortions on unborn babies with disabilities. The country now allows abortions only in cases of rape, incest or threats to the mother’s life.

In her report this week, Mijatović argued that the 2020 ruling had a “harmful impact on women’s human rights” in Poland, and countries have a “human rights” obligation to legalize abortion on demand.

She insisted that Poland urgently overturn its pro-life laws and make abortion legal and easily accessible.

Abortions destroy the most basic human right of all, the right to life for babies in the womb. Yet, international leaders and abortion activists are trying to spin the issue by claiming the killing of unborn babies is a human right and laws that protect them are “cruel” and “torture.”

Mijatović did this in her report, quoting the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which claims that “criminalization of abortion, denial or delay of safe abortion and/or post-abortion care, forced continuation of pregnancy … are forms of gender-based violence that, depending on the circumstances, may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”

However, these international human rights leaders completely ignore the inhumane cruelty and torture that unborn babies suffer when they are killed in abortions. Some unborn babies are dismembered alive while their hearts are still beating, others are stabbed in the heart with poison.

https://www.lifenews.com

Drill for 2,000 rockets a day and internal strife: IDF preps for war

ANNA AHRONHEIM – November 1, 2021

Israel’s Home Front Command and National Emergency Authority (RAHEL) is holding a week-long drill that started on Sunday simulating a large-scale war in which civilians are evacuated from northern border communities and security agencies will deal with massive rocket barrages sent by Hezbollah.

The drill is taking lessons that have been learned from past events in the North, as well as those from the May fighting between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip – Operation Guardian of the Walls – and from the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Following the May fighting, the Home Front Command “carried out a very significant learning process with a lot of research, and this exercise is going to test what we’ve learned,” said Home Front Command Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Itzik Bar.

Israel Police and Magen David Adom are also participating in the drill, which ends Thursday, and will see all security and various governmental bodies take part.

“This exercise is also a great opportunity for all government ministries to understand the implications, starting with disruptions in the energy sector – we are talking about 24-hour power outages across the country, 72 hours in localized communities – and other such aspects in terms of continual functioning,” Bar said.

https://www.jpost.com

As the European Parliament threatens to sue the European Commission, it’s clear the EU is ripping itself apart over Poland

Paul A. Nuttall – October 22, 2021

The repercussions over Poland’s unwillingness to adhere to European law are increasing by the day, with the EU leaders divided and its institutions at war. However the situation is resolved, it’s proving very damaging to the bloc.

Poland’s refusal to bow to European Union pressure has revealed a fissure at the heart of the bloc. Brussels simply does not know how to proceed in its battle with Poland over the supremacy of EU law. Some want the Poles punished now, others want more negotiations, while Hungary is steadfastly standing by its ally.

European leaders met on Thursday in Brussels to discuss the situation. The European Council summit was, however, a torrid affair with leaders unable to agree over how to handle the tense situation. The issue was deemed so delicate that European Council President Charles Michel attempted to keep it off the agenda, only for France and other Western members to demand its inclusion.

Indeed, it seems that Michel’s instincts were correct, as its inclusion only revealed how divided European leaders are about how to deal with Poland. Some wanted to see the country punished for its insubordination, some supported the Poles’ stance, and others were keen to see a compromise.

In one corner were French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who want to see Poland penalised for its actions. Indeed, Rutte said “the independence of the Polish judiciary is the key issue we have to discuss. It is very difficult to see how a big new fund of money could be made available to Poland when this is not settled.”

Rutte also attempted to have the leaders temporarily end Poland’s voting rights until the situation was sorted, although he failed to garner enough support for this penalty.

https://www.rt.com