Consistent with the biblical account of water pouring out of the rock, there are clear signs of water erosion in an arid area where such erosion is evident nowhere else, said Richardson.

“It borders on the absurd to think all of these things are all coincidences. Further, all of the locals would have to be deceived, because they all call it the mountain of Moses, or the rock of Moses,” he said.

***

BREAKINGISRAELNEWS

Sanhedrin Urges Candidates for Jerusalem Mayor to Prepare for Third Temple

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz

November 8, 2018

“Yerushalayim built up, a city knit together.” Psalms 122:3 (The Israel Bible™)
Ofer Berkovich (left) and Moshe Lion – candidates for the Jerusalem Mayor. (Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90/Breaking Israel News)

Jerusalem will have a new mayor next week and more than any other election this year will decide the religious nature of Israel’s capital. The nascent Sanhedrin has addressed a letter to the two candidates emphasizing the role of the Third Temple in municipal current policy.

The Jerusalem mayoral election held last week ran five candidates, but the results were so close that an additional runoff vote next week is needed to choose between the top two. Moshe Lion with 33 percent of the vote and Ofer Berkovitch with 29 percent will run off against each other – with neither achieving the 40 percent of the electorate required to win office.

Lion has previously been closely allied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 1996, Lion was appointed managing director of the Prime Minister’s Office, serving simultaneously as his economic adviser. He continued in both those roles until 1999. Netanyahu, however, has not officially endorsed either candidate.

Berkovich is the founder and chairman of Jerusalem’s “Hitorerut (awakening) in Jerusalem”, a non-aligned Zionist political movement. Appointed as one of the city’s eight deputy mayors in 2013, he has been instrumental in passing laws to increase affordable housing in the city, such as double-taxing owners of vacant properties and allowing local authorities to utilize public lands for the purpose of building apartments which would be rented out at low prices. He wants to make Jerusalem cleaner and even more high-tech friendly. He has sponsored joint Arab-Israeli cultural and sports projects.

“When Arabs see that Jews are fighting with them, shoulder to shoulder, for a clean city and that the eastern part of the city remain clean, it will change their thinking,” Berkovich told Times of Israel in an interview..

As for terrorism, he believes that if they are provided better municipal services, they will have less reason to turn to Hamas.

But the politics of the eternal Jewish capital are most fiercely fought on the battlefield of religion. In addition to his political connections, Lion, religiously observant, was endorsed by leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis, an important asset in a city in which the Haredi represent approximately 35% of the overall Jewish vote.

Berkovich, on the other hand, was the only one of the candidates that led a secular lifestyle. He has campaigned for businesses to open on the Sabbath. Not only is that policy distasteful to the city’s religious residents, but Berkovich perceives Haredi politicians as having a negative impact.

“The other candidates are liable to capitulate to the Haredi extortion, and may not understand the strategic steps the city needs to take in order to flourish and get on the right track,” Berkovich told Times of Israel. “They weren’t partners in the successes of recent years: the vibrant cultural [scene], economic development, the urban revolution… I don’t think they know what is needed, I don’t think they know the city well enough, I don’t think they understand what to do here.”

The religious Jewish aspect of being the mayor Jerusalem was amplified to an even greater degree in an open letter that the Sanhedrin sent to the two candidates.

“With God’s merciful approval, one of you will be chosen as head of the city, may it be built and made ready for its ultimate purpose,” the Sanhedrin wrote. “We call on the candidates as well as the voters to make choices based on truth and on the main aspect of Jerusalem, which is the building of the Temple.”

The Sanhedrin wrote a similar letter to U.S. President Donald Trump after he won the election, calling on him to take a role in building the Third Temple just as Persian King Cyrus helped the Jews build the Second Temple after the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BCE.

“Avoiding this essential issue endangers the existence of the city and its identity as the capital of Israel, thereby endangering Israel itself,” the Sanhedrin wrote to the mayoral candidates. “Every Jew and all of humanity are commanded to ascend to the Temple Mount.”

“We expect you, as candidates, to relate to this role the city has as home of the Temple. This subject is not simply a matter of religious belief but must also be expressed in political, fiscal, and educational terms.”

The Sanhedrin emphasized the importance of Jerusalem in the world. In the letter, they noted that the capital of Israel is frequently the focus of domestic politics and, in the case of Trump, has become an essential part of his platform. In the letter, the Sanhedrin praised Trump for moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

“Jerusalem in its entirety is sanctified as Holy and is the spiritual center of the world, the throne of God. We urge you to make public your plans relating to this aspect of the city. There are several ways this can be accomplished, such as festivals of holiness to replace those of impurity.”

The Sanhedrin has already begun working toward this end, holding full-dress reenactments of the Temple service before the Biblical feasts. Another glorious example of this was the World Creation Concert held the week before Rosh Hashana, which several representatives from South American countries attended.

The Sanhedrin emphasized that the city will change when the Temple is built, requiring massive improvements to its infrastructure.

“Jerusalem must prepared to host the millions of pilgrims who will attend the feasts when the Third Temple is built,” the letter said. “We also call on the government to prepare a center for an international body to replace the United Nations and the Hague, one that will be rooted in the Bible.”

***

TODAY

Jewish religious candidate elected Jerusalem's mayor

FILE PHOTO: Jerusalem mayoral candidate Moshe Lion and his wife cast their votes in the second round of local council elections in Jerusalem. Photo: Reuters

Published14 NOVEMBER, 2018

JERUSALEM - A religious Jewish candidate won election as mayor of Jerusalem on Wednesday in a run-off against a secular contender for a post that shapes Israel's rule over the holy city at the heart of its conflict with the Palestinians.

Moshe Lion, a skullcap-wearing bureaucrat favored by two key members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist cabinet, defeated Ofer Berkovitch, the 35-year-old deputy mayor, after neither took enough votes in a five-man contest two weeks ago to win outright.

Nearly final results after Tuesday's run-off gave Lion close to 52 percent of the vote.

The ballot was held as part of nationwide Israeli municipal elections in which many candidates run as independents or on non-traditional party lists, making it difficult to gauge any broader political impact from the results.

While Netanyahu’s own approval ratings are strong, a senior member of his party and cabinet who ran for Jerusalem mayor with his blessing, Zeev Elkin, came in third in the first round of the poll.

The Jerusalem vote was largely boycotted by Palestinians who make up a third of the city’s population. They live in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that has not won international recognition.

Many Jerusalem Palestinians complain of entrenched neglect by the Israeli municipality. A Palestinian candidate who bucked the boycott by running for the administrative Jerusalem City Council failed to garner enough votes to get in.

Both Lion and Berkovitch had vowed to appeal to all sectors of the city, 21 percent of its Jewish population is secular and another 43 percent are religiously traditional and 36 percent are ultra-Orthodox. REUTERS

***

RT

Bomb Egypt, behead disloyal Arabs: Israel parts ways with 'Jewish ISIS' defense chief

November 14, 2018

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visits Gaza's Kerem Shalom crossing, July 22, 2018. © Reuters / Amir Cohen

Avigdor Lieberman has resigned as Israel's defense chief, but his inflammatory utterances – ranging from calling for disloyal Arabs to be beheaded, to proposing Egypt be bombed – remain as reminders of his right-wing politics.

Lieberman, who created Israel's right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, resigned as defense minister on Wednesday after denouncing the government's recent ceasefire with Hamas as a "capitulation to terror." If you think that sounds a wee bit immoderate, you clearly have not familiarized yourself with Avigdor Lieberman's decades of imprudent utterances. The politician's peculiar brand of secular nationalism has led to repeated accusations of extremism – even fascism.

Disloyal Arabs should be beheaded

Lieberman has the rare distinction of being perhaps the only Israeli minister to have called for the beheading of Arab citizens. Speaking at an election rally in March 2015, Lieberman – who was serving as Israel's foreign minister at the time – said that Israel's Arab minority, which makes up some 20 percent of the country's population, must show loyalty to the state or face the consequences.

Those who are against us, there's nothing to be done – we need to pick up an axe and cut off his head. Otherwise we won't survive here.

The provocative remarks were not received well, with one Arab-Israeli legislator demanding an investigation into the comments insisting this is akin to creating "Jewish ISIS."

More recently, Lieberman said that Israeli-Arabs who protested Washington's decision to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem "don't belong" in Israel and "are acting to harm us and destroy us from within." He also called for an economic boycott of Wadi Ara, an Israeli town populated mainly by Arab citizens.

Israel should drown Palestinian prisoners in the Dead Sea

Lieberman's antipathy for Arabs has been the politician's most consistent policy stance. In July 2003, the then-transportation minister offered to bus Palestinian prisoners to the Dead Sea – where, according to Lieberman's proposal, they would be drowned.

His suggestion enraged Arab members of the Knesset, with one calling Lieberman's comments "the ultimate fascist statement."

Drop nukes on Hamas?

Lieberman's resignation over Israel's recent ceasefire with Hamas is far from surprising if you consider just how much the Israeli statesman truly loathes the group. In January 2009, Lieberman said that Hamas must be made to "lose the will to fight" – and that Israel should look to the United States' war with Imperial Japan as an example.

We must continue to fight Hamas just like the United States did with the Japanese in World War II.

He went on to note that the US military was able to defeat the Japanese without occupying the Japanese mainland – a not-so-subtle nod at America's use of atomic bombs to force the Japanese into an unconditional surrender.

Hamas has seized on Lieberman's resignation, describing his departure as a victory for Palestinian resistance.

Knesset members who meet with the Palestinian government should be executed

As far as Lieberman is concerned, any Israeli who supports negotiations with Hamas is a collaborator who should be put to death.

In May 2006, Lieberman called for the execution of any Arab Knesset members who meet with representatives of the Palestinian Authority's Hamas-led government.

"World War II ended with the Nuremberg trials," Lieberman said during a speech in Israel's parliament.

The heads of the Nazi regime, along with their collaborators, were executed. I hope this will be the fate of the collaborators in [the Knesset].

The Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel issued a statement condemning Lieberman, saying that, "A man who compares the Arab MKs [members of Knesset] to the Nazis is apparently an ignoramus who doesn't know what the Nazis did to his own people. Such a man is an embarrassment to the Jewish nation."

A fellow MK and member of Yisrael Beiteinu defended Lieberman's fiery words, noting that he suggested executing "all"collaborators in parliament – not just Arab MKs.

In a similar display of anti-Arab sermonizing from 2003, Lieberman told an Arab MK: "Let me tell you openly. As far as I'm concerned you're much worse than [former Palestinian leader Yasser] Arafat …If it was up to me you'd be sitting in jail, at best."

Israel should … bomb Egypt?

At least one of Israel's neighbors is probably relieved by Lieberman's resignation: In 2001, the Israeli politician proposed bombing Egypt's Aswan Dam if Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak stationed troops in Sinai.

"Mubarak continues to act against us and to travel for consultations with Saddam Hussein. If he carries out his threat and puts forces into the Sinai, it would be an example of a (crossing) of the red line to which we would have to respond strongly, including by bombing the Aswan Dam," Lieberman declared.

The military operation would have "murdered all 80 million Egyptians and swept them into the Mediterranean in a vast continental African tsunami," according to Michigan University professor Juan Cole.

Real Clear Politics

Why Messianic Judaism Isn't Anti-Semitism

Myra Adams

November 2, 2018

While Americans are collectively grieving over last weekend’s horrific mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, a related controversy involving Vice President Mike Pence is sparking headlines and national condemnation in the media.

Monday night, at a political rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Pence invited Rabbi Loren Jacobs to offer a prayer for the 11 worshipers who were gunned down by a Jew-hating madman. Jacobs began his prayer by saying, “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, God and father of my Lord and Savior Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, and my God and father, too.” Continuing, Jacobs asked, “Lord, please work so that instead of division in our nation there is unity and peace.”

Unfortunately, instead of unity and peace, Jacobs’ prayer ignited a firestorm in the Jewish community since he is not a traditional rabbi but a “Messianic rabbi” – one who believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah.

It is unclear whether the vice president initially knew that about Rabbi Jacobs. If so, inviting him to the stage was tone-deaf considering the raw emotion of this national Jewish tragedy. Either way, Pence’s actions have cast a negative light on Messianic Judaism, and for this writer — a Jew who also believes that Jesus is the Messiah — it is all very personal.

Although I found much of the media coverage about Messianic Jews riddled with mischaracterizations, exaggerations, and inaccuracies, I resigned myself to letting the storm pass. However, late Tuesday night I read an article in The Hill that embedded a tweet from Steven I. Weiss asserting flatly, "‘Messianic Judaism’ is antisemitism.”

Such incendiary descriptions are nothing new. In over four decades since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I have experienced various degrees of hostility and insults from my own Jewish family and fellow Jews.

Although every Messianic Jew can attest to similar treatment, we all have unique and fascinating conversion stories. Here are some highlights from mine — shared in the hope that traditional Jews who have read this far will open their hearts and minds and reject the absurd and offensive claim that “Messianic Judaism is anti-Semitism.”

First, let’s begin with some Bible-based facts. Jesus was born and raised a Jew. He preached from the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) and worshiped in the temple. After his crucifixion, he was prepared for burial according to Jewish customs. The major theological differences between Judaism and Messianic Judaism (along with all Christian sects) are the beliefs that Jesus was the promised Christ -- that He was resurrected from the dead, is Messiah, Lord, and Savior, and will return someday.

How did I come to believe this? Born and raised Jewish in the Boston suburb of Needham with the last name of Kahn, my parents were culturally Jewish, but religious practice was virtually non-existent in my home.

Growing up I knew only two basic religious facts: I was Jewish, and Jews did not believe in Jesus. I was without faith, but during my sophomore year in college at Ohio State University, Jesus came to me. He pulled me to Him as if He had inserted a ring through my nose. Doubt and resistance were never options nor contemplated. Without ever seeing or hearing Him speak, I instinctively knew that this powerful force was Jesus. I had no choice but to follow Him even though I knew absolutely nothing about Him.

Over the years I have often been asked about my conversion. After describing the “ring through the nose,” I always add, “I had faith before I had knowledge.” Even after 43 years as a Jewish Christian, my quest for Biblical knowledge continues, but I call myself a “completed Jew.” This term is popular among Jewish believers and stems from the notion that the Old Testament prophesies and teachings are “completed” or fulfilled by Jesus and the New Testament.

With my background established, here is why I believe that it is highly offensive for Messianic Jews to be called anti-Semitic -- defined as producing hostility, prejudice, and discrimination against Jews.

First, such acts and behaviors toward Jews are evil, sinful and contrary to Jesus’ teachings in Mark (12:29-31) when he quotes from Torah’s book of Leviticus (19:17-18) and declares, "Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself" is the second greatest commandment. Therefore, Jews who follow Jesus would not knowingly engage in behavior toward traditional Jews that is anti-Semitic -- by definition.

Second, Jews believing that Jesus Christ was who He said He was, i.e., the Messiah, does not make us “anti-Jewish.” On the contrary, besides being “completed” in our faith as previously discussed, believing that Jesus is the Messiah makes us proud and privileged to be Jewish disciples of the greatest Jew who ever walked the planet. We also benefit knowing that His Spirit dwells within us. Messianic Jews can’t possibly be anti-Jewish since we follow a Jew who positively impacted and changed the course of human history, and still changes lives every day.

Meanwhile, Jewish believers in Christ, as do all Christians, fully acknowledge that over the centuries mankind has committed evil acts while evoking the name of Jesus -- acts that Jesus Himself would never approve of and from which He must be disassociated.

Finally, some loving advice to my Jewish brothers and sisters: learn about the Jewishness of Jesus. Read about His life and teachings in the New Testament without fear of “conversion.” Familiarize yourself with numerous, fascinating Old Testament Messianic prophesies that foretold His birth, life, and death centuries before He was born.

In addition, specifically educate yourself about why the great majority of Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah as opposed to the standard “Jews don’t believe in Jesus,” period.

Throughout my life, I have met many Jews who were unaware that Jesus was Jewish or who thought that He was an enemy of the Jews. Such ignorance only fosters hate and division, resulting in more Jews who believe that “Messianic Judaism is anti-Semitism.”

Most important, learn why “Jesus is love,” because the world could sure use more of that right now.

WND

The 3 C's of life

November 9, 2018

There are many choices in life that we face every day – hundreds, maybe thousands, of choices. Just start with the supermarket. The word super says it all. My wife sometimes will send me to the market, which never ends well. I buy things she didn’t ask me to buy, and I don’t buy the things she asked me to buy. I’m overwhelmed by all the choices.

Then there are the restaurants with menus the size of a book. That, too, can be overwhelming.

These are not big choices, however. They don’t have long-lasting repercussions. But there are life-changing choices we must make, like whom we marry and what career path we follow. And the most important choice of all is what we will do with Jesus Christ.

Life is filled with challenges, choices and consequences—the three Cs of life.

First, there are challenges. Sometimes they come as opportunities, and sometimes they come as temptations. When we’re faced with a particular challenge, we might respond to the opportunity, or we might give in to the temptation.

That brings us to choices. If we make the right choice, it will result in blessings. If we make the wrong choice, it will result in consequences.

The Bible is filled with the stories of men and women who made right and wrong choices. Think of Moses, who chose to suffer affliction with the Jewish people. He probably could have been a man of great power or maybe even the next pharaoh. Instead he saw the plight of his fellow Jews, who suffered under the tyranny of the Egyptians. He chose to suffer with them, which resulted in all of Israel being delivered from the kingdom of Egypt.

There was Joseph’s choice of obedience when he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife. There was Daniel’s choice of not compromising on even the smallest matters as he sat at the king’s table. Each one of these choices set a course their lives would take.
Then there are people who made wrong choices. Adam’s wrong choice cost him paradise. Esau’s wrong choice cost him his birthright. Saul’s wrong choice cost him his kingdom. Judas’ wrong choice brought the loss of his apostleship and his very life. And Pilate, Agrippa and Felix all missed eternity with Christ because of their wrong choices.

In the book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” Lewis Carroll writes about Alice coming to a fork in the road and asking the Cheshire Cat which way she should go.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” the cat told her.

We all will come to a fork in the road. Which way do we want to go? We decide that now. According to the Bible, there are two roads we can take in life. One is narrow. The other is wide. One is difficult. The other is much easier.

The Bible also tells us about two foundations we can build our lives on. And the choice we make depends on whether we will stand when the storm comes.

The Bible also tells us there are two places where we can spend eternity. And in Matthew 7 Jesus summed up all things in two choices. He tells us about two gates, two ways and two groups of people at the judgment.

At the end of this chapter Jesus gave an illustration of two men building houses. One was built on a good foundation, while the other was built on a bad one. And that foundation made all the difference in the world.

The most important time in building a house or any structure is the foundation. You have to get that right. If you don’t, you ultimately will have to tear up everything else and then go back and redo it.

The foundation isn’t the most exciting part of the building process. In fact, when you watch a foundation being laid, it appears as though almost nothing is happening for a long period of time. For most of us, the action starts when the walls are framed in and the drywall is put on. Next comes the plaster, followed by the paint or the wallpaper. That is the fun part. Yet the foundation is the most important.

In 1173, an Italian architect named Pisano began work on his most famous project: a tower that was to stand next to a cathedral in the Tuscany region of Italy. Apparently, he was in a bit of a rush, so he didn’t test the soil well enough. Today that tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, leans more than 16 feet off center. People come from around the world to see it. Scientists measure it yearly because it’s slowly tilting even more. They predict that one day it will collapse.

What is your life built on? You might say, “I’ve built my foundation on the church.” I wouldn’t advise that. The church is made up of flawed people like you and me. It will disappoint at times. Don’t build your foundation on a church or on a pastor.

Someone else might say, “I’ve built my foundation on my spouse.” I wouldn’t even advise that, either. Instead, build your foundation on Jesus Christ. He is the one who will sustain you.

Storms will come into every life, and these will determine what your foundation really is. If you’re wondering what your life is built on, you will know when the storms come. Storms can take many forms. Sometimes a storm comes as a tidal wave of temptation. At other times the storm is a slowly eroding effect of more subtle methods. Sometimes a storm will come into our lives in the form of a tragedy that begins to test our faith.

You decide right now whether you will be able to stand in that day by building your life on the right foundation. If you build your life on Jesus Christ, you will be able to face whatever storms come your way.

***

CBNNEWS

State Tells Christian Filmmakers: Make Same-Sex Marriage Films or Spend 90 Days in Jail

Steve Warren

October 15, 2018

Two Christian filmmakers appeared before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul Tuesday to challenge Minnesota state law which they say illegally forces them to produce and create films expressing messages that contradict their core beliefs.

Telescope Media Group owners Carl and Angel Larsen have already been threatened with hefty fines and up to 90 days in jail if they choose to disregard the law.

The couple is being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

The Larsens want to enter the wedding industry. However, the state's Human Rights Act stipulates if the couple creates films celebrating their Christian beliefs about marriage – that marriage is between one man and one woman, they must also create films about marriage that violate their beliefs, including films promoting same-sex marriages.

The government shouldn't threaten filmmakers with fines and jail time to force them to create films that violate their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Jeremy Tedesco in a press release. "Carl and Angel are storytellers – they script, stage, conduct interviews, capture footage, select music, edit and more – all to tell compelling stories through film that promote their religious beliefs."

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Masterpiece that the government must respect the belief—held by countless Americans from all walks of life—that marriage is between one man and one woman," he continued. "The 8th Circuit should reinstate the Larsens' lawsuit and order the state to stop forcing the Larsens to speak messages about marriage that violate their beliefs."

In 2017, the Larsens tried to challenge the law as unconstitutional but a lower court dismissed their case and mandated that they service same-sex weddings or close this part of their business. They are now appealing to the 8th Circuit Court.

According to the ADF, Minnesota officials have repeatedly stated that private businesses such as the Larsens' violate the law if they decline to create films promoting same-sex weddings. Penalties for violation include payment of a civil penalty to the state; triple compensatory damages; punitive damages of up to $25,000; a criminal penalty of up to $1,000; and even up to 90 days in jail.

***

WND

Scotland makes LGBT indoctrination mandatory for kids

November 11, 2018

Schools in Scotland soon will be required to teach students LGBT history to prevent “homophobia and transphobia” and to encourage exploration of their gender identity.
That’s according to the London Guardian, which says Scotland has become the first nation in the world to embed teaching about gender options in its regular school curriculum.

The move comes after lawmakers “accepted in full the recommendations of a working group led by the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign,” the report said.

“There will be no exemptions or opt-outs to the policy, which will embed LGBTI inclusive education across the curriculum and across subjects and which the Scottish government believes is a world first,” the report said.

Those advocating for mandates regarding alternative sexual lifestyles were cheered.

“This is a monumental victory for our campaign, and a historic moment for our country,” Jordan Daly of TIE told the newspaper.

In 1988, Scotland banned local authorities from promotion of homosexuality. While the ban was removed some time ago, it took until now for the formal promotions to be mandated.

“This implement of LGBTI inclusive education across all state schools is a world first. In a time of global uncertainty, this sends a strong and clear message to LGBTI young people that they are valued here in Scotland,” Daly said.

TIE said in the report it did a study and found nine in 10 LGBTI Scots “experience homophobia at school.”

“The investigation also found there was little understanding in schools about prejudice against people with variations of sex characteristics and intersex bodies,” the report said.

Three years ago, former Labor leader Kezia Dugdale promoted Scotland as having “the gayest parliament in the world.”

Four members at that time were LGBT, the report said.

In light of the new requirement, John Swinney, the deputy first minister, said Scotland is already considered one of the most progressive countries in Europe for “LGBTI equality.”

“I am delighted to announce we will be the first country in the world to have LGBTI-inclusive education embedded within the curriculum,” he said.

Until 1980, homosexuality was a crime in the country.

***

STRANGE SOUNDS

Insane! Nearly 2,000% increase in major quakes since 1900! What is going on?

By Strange Sounds

November 7, 2018

More precise seismometers and science cannot explain this nearly 2,000% increase in major earthquakes since 1900!

How to explain this nearly 2000% increase in major earthquakes from 1900 to 2018?

According to USGS, 3 major earthquakes (M>6.0) occurred in 1900 around the world.

One hundred years later, in 2000, USGS recorded 160. This is more than 150 major quakes than in 1900.

Between 1900 to 1918, USGS recorded 147 major quakes. This is 13 less jolts than the 160 recorded in 2000.

Between 2000 to 2018, the USGS has already recorded 2,911 major quakes so far. This is

an incredible 2,764 more tremors than between 1900 to 1918. And you can’t even load the map on the USGS website!

Between 1900 to 1918, the yearly average number of major quakes was 12. Since 2000, this number has risen to 243 / year.

I mean, of course we know more precisely where seismic fault lines are situated, better understand how strains and pressure are released and we have placed more seismographs around the world … But all of this cannot explain this nearly 2,000% increase in major quakes since 1900!

What’s going on in our world?

***

The Guardian

Alarm over talks to implant UK employees with microchips

Trades Union Congress concerned over tech being used to control and micromanage

Julie Kollewe

November 11, 2018

Jowan Österlund from Biohax holds a microchip implant the size of a grain of rice between his thumb and forefinger. Photograph: James Brooks/AP

Britain’s biggest employer organisation and main trade union body have sounded the alarm over the prospect of British companies implanting staff with microchips to improve security.UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK.

The tiny chips, implanted in the flesh between the thumb and forefinger, are similar to those for pets. They enable people to open their front door, access their office or start their car with a wave of their hand, and can also store medical data.

Another company, Biohax of Sweden, also provides human chip implants the size of a grain of rice. It told the Sunday Telegraph (£) that it is in discussions with several British legal and financial firms about fitting their employees with microchips, including one major company with hundreds of thousands of employees.

CBI spokesperson said: “While technology is changing the way we work, this makes for distinctly uncomfortable reading. Firms should be concentrating on rather more immediate priorities and focusing on engaging their employees.”

The TUC is worried that staff could be coerced into being microchipped. Its general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We know workers are already concerned that some employers are using tech to control and micromanage, whittling away their staff’s right to privacy.

“Microchipping would give bosses even more power and control over their workers. There are obvious risks involved, and employers must not brush them aside, or pressure staff into being chipped.”

Steven Northam, the founder and owner of Hampshire-based BioTeq, told the Guardian that most of its 150 implants have been for individuals, while some financial and engineering firms have also had the chips implanted in their staff.

BioTeq has also implanted them in employees of a bank testing the technology, and has shipped them to Spain, France, Germany, Japan and China.

They cost between £70 and £260 per person. Northam himself and all the directors at BioTeq and one of his other companies, IncuHive, have been microchipped.

Jowan Österlund, the founder of Biohax and a former body piercer, told the Telegraph that his microchips, which cost £150 each, could help financial and legal firms improve security. “These companies have sensitive documents they are dealing with. [The chips] would allow them to set restrictions for whoever.”

Österlund said big companies, with 200,000 employees, could offer this as an opt-in. “If you have a 15% uptake that is still a huge number of people that won’t require a physical ID pass.”

Last year Wisconsin-based Three Square Market partnered with Biohax and became the first company in the US to microchip its employees, on a voluntary basis.

KPMG, one of the big four accountancy firms, said it was not planning to microchip its employees and “would under no circumstances consider doing so”.

Fellow accounting firms EY and PwC also said they would not consider microchipping their employees. Deloitte declined to comment.

Biohax has plans to open an office in London, according to its website. It claims 4,000 people have been microchipped, mostly in Sweden. It is working with the state-owned Swedish rail firm Statens Järnvägar, to allow its passengers to travel via chip implants rather than train tickets. Biohax did not respond to requests for comment.

***

BBC

UFOs spotted off Irish coast under investigation

November 12, 2018

The Irish Aviation Authority is investigating reports of bright lights and UFOs off the south-west coast of Ireland.

It began at 06:47 local time on Friday 9 November when a British Airways pilot contacted Shannon air traffic control.

She wanted to know if there were military exercises in the area because there was something "moving so fast".

The air traffic controller said there were no such exercises.

The pilot, flying from the Canadian city of Montreal to Heathrow, said there was a "very bright light" and the object had come up along the left side of the aircraft before it "rapidly veered to the north".

She was wondering what it could be but said it did not seem to be heading for a collision.

Another pilot from a Virgin plane joined in and suggested it might be a meteor or another object re-entering the earth's atmosphere.

He said there were "multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory" and that they were very bright.

The pilot said he saw "two bright lights" over to the right which climbed away at speed.

One pilot said the speed was "astronomical, it was like Mach 2" - which is twice the speed of sound.

"Following reports from a small number of aircraft on Friday 9 November of unusual air activity the IAA has filed a report," the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said.

"This report will be investigated under the normal confidential occurrence investigation process."

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said it would not be appropriate for the airport to comment while the IAA investigation is ongoing.

AMMC

RT

VP Pence said to be gearing up for all-out Cold War with China unless it bows to all US demands

November 14, 2018

FILE PHOTO. Frontier soldiers practice sabreplay in Heihe, Heilongjiang province of China. © Whitehotpix/Global Look Press

Washington expects Beijing to undertake a dramatic change in all of its policies to accommodate US demands and is prepared for prolonged hostilities if it does not, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly said.

The confrontational stance of the Trump administration was described by journalist Josh Rogin in a Washington Post opinion piece. He said Pence outlined it to him during a flight aboard Air Force Two on the VP’s Asian trip.

The US wants China to offer concessions on a wide range of grievances, from intellectual property protection to territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to make a pledge to change Beijing’s economic, military, and political behavior during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on November 30. If Washington is not satisfied, there will be “an all-out Cold War,” according to Rogin.

“I think much of that will depend on Argentina,” Pence said. “The president’s attitude is, we want to make sure they know where we stand, what we are prepared to do, so they can come to Argentina with concrete proposals that address not just the trade deficit that we face… We’re convinced China knows where we stand.”

Pence said the US is “in a strong position” for a potential escalation of the trade war it has already unleashed on China. He added that the US had no intention of ceding influence in Asia to China and will not back down if Beijing choses to continue its current policies.

“Then so be it,” Pence said. “We are here to stay.”

Washington has been ramping up pressure on Beijing in recent years, imposing tariffs on Chinese goods and lately accusing China of interfering in US domestic politics.

Beijing seems to have no intention to concede. It responded to US tariffs with its own protectionist measures and continues its multibillion-dollar One Belt investment program, which is meant to secure additional stable trade routes to its most important suppliers and customers.

***

RT

Iranian central bank disconnected from SWIFT messaging – US treasury

November 12, 2018

Iranians queue for an ATM in Tehran © AFP / Atta Kenare

The Iranian Central Bank has been cut off the SWIFT financial messaging system, the US Treasury Department has said. Disconnection makes it more difficult for the Islamic Republic to settle import and export bills.

SWIFT planned the cutoff for several days, having come under pressure from the US to do so. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the move is “the right decision to protect the integrity of the international financial system.”

Last week, SWIFT said that it would begin cutting off access to several unspecified Iranian banks. More than 70 Iranian and Iranian-linked financial institutions were sanctioned, including a host of banks that allegedly provided services to Hamas and Hezbollah, and others that provided services to the Iranian armed forces.

While the US could not directly force SWIFT to cut off Iranian banks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had warned that penalties would be applied to firms that refused to comply with the latest sanctions.

A neutral entity, SWIFT had found itself torn between a US-EU diplomatic row as of late. Scrambling to save the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran deal, EU leaders enacted a ‘blocking’ law in August, prohibiting firms operating in the bloc from complying with the US sanctions.

Now, in siding with Washington, SWIFT, which is based outside Brussels, may face penalties in Europe.

Meanwhile, European leaders are planning on introducing an alternative system to ensure that payments to and from Iran can be processed. Such a system will not be ready for several months at least, and Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Sajjadpou expressed frustration last week with the delay, saying “what is lacking is both speed and efficiency.”

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a financial network that provides high-value cross-border transfers for members across the world. It is based in Belgium, but its board includes executives from US banks with US federal law allowing the administration to act against banks and regulators across the globe.
It supports most interbank messages, connecting over 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories.

***

RT

SWIFT’s Iran ban will ‘expedite global de-dollarization’ – Max Keiser

November 12, 2018

© Reuters / Thomas Mukoya

The blacklisting of Iran from international financial messaging system SWIFT serves as a warning to Washington’s enemies, but will hasten the demise of the dollar, stockbroker-turned broadcaster Max Keiser told RT.

SWIFT, a system that facilitates cross-border payments between 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries worldwide cut several Iranian banks, including the country’s central bank, off from its services on Monday. The move came as a result of US pressure and was described by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as “the right decision to protect the integrity of the international financial system.”

Max Keiser told RT that in pushing a hard line on Iran, the US will only force other countries to come up with alternatives, and stockpile gold to lessen their dependence on the almighty US dollar.

“The US puzzlingly seems to want to expedite global de-dollarization with its ill-advised weaponization of SWIFT,”Keiser said.

“The impact this is having globally is clear. Russia and China are developing an alternative to SWIFT while also buying hundreds of tonnes of Gold as a means to escape the $USD chokehold. This in turn will accelerate global de-dollarization.”

Russia has already drastically expanded its gold stockpile in recent years, as relations between Washington and Moscow have soured. As the Trump administration geared up to impose new sanctions on Moscow in August, the Russian government increased its holdings to over $83 billion, while simultaneously reducing its holdings of US debt from $96 billion in March to just $14.9 billion in May.

Whatever the long-term implications for the US dollar, Iran now faces a more drastic short-term problem. Without SWIFT access, the country cannot be paid for exports or pay for imports. With an economy reeling from US sanctions – applied in 19 rounds since President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran deal, in May – Tehran might have to think outside the box to ensure its economic survival.

“Iran needs to get smart and start hoarding Gold and Bitcoin if it wants to avoid the worst of the fallout,” Keiser told RT. “It is already, smartly, pursuing bilateral energy deals outside of the $USD, but it needs to add value to its currency with reserves of Gold and Bitcoin.”

“The world is anxious to stop this madness,” said Keiser, who sees gold and cryptocurrency as the way forward for the “post $USD hegemony.”

***

***

RT

WATCH thousands of far-right marchers light a SEA OF FLARES in Poland as police look on

November 11, 2018

© REUTERS / Kacper Pempel

The ultra-nationalist crowds that flocked to Poland for its independence day march were seen performing Nazi salutes and burning flares at the event attended by staggering 200,000 people. Police, however, stood idly by.

Crowds of people, including various far-right groups, unleashed a sea of fire and smoke on the streets and squares of the Polish capital of Warsaw during an event marking a centenary of Poland's independence on Sunday. Videos posted on social media show a Warsaw square being lit with thousands of red flares burnt by the marchers.

Described last year as the largest far-right gathering in the world, participants apparently felt quite comfortable on the Warsaw streets. Photos posted on social media showed members of the Polish National Radical Camp (ONR), which is often described as a neo-Nazi group, waving their flags as they took part in the celebration.

Members of another ultra-nationalist organization called the All-Polish Youth were seen unfurling a large banner with their symbols during the march. According to some reports, they also burned an EU flag.

Flares and firecrackers were also seen being thrown around in the streets, even though pyrotechnics were supposed to be prohibited at the rally. Eyewitnesses said that police ignored the antics.

Slogans such as "USA, empire of evil" and "Poland, white and Catholic" were shouted. However, Polish nationalists were not the only ones to attend the controversial event. Side by side with the ONR marched Italian neo-fascists from the radical Forza Nuova movement.

Some of them were wearing balaclavas while others were seen openly performing Nazi salutes.

Such actions prompted no response from the Polish authorities: there are no reports of any detentions or instances of police interference during the march. The Polish police were on strike at the time of the event and warned in advance that they would not be able to provide security for it.

The Polish government also made an unprecedented move by not only sanctioning the event but also taking part in it. President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the leader of the ruling conservative Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, all participated in a joint march.

Kaczynski, who is considered to be one of the most powerful men in Poland and is known for his uncompromising views, called the march a "great success," according to Radio Poland.

RT

‘It’s all acting’: NGO exposed teaching migrants how to trick ‘fing stupid’ EU border guards

November 13, 2018

Migrants crowded on the Greek border March 11, 2016. © Reuters / Stoyan Nenov

A group that helped over 15,000 refugees and migrants to get into Europe has been caught on tape admitting to systematically training asylum seekers to exploit screening interviews by feigning trauma and persecution.

Ariel Ricket, the executive director of Advocates Abroad, a major non-profit NGO which provides legal aid to migrants, has been caught on tape openly discussing how she teaches refugees to lie to border agents. The video was released by Canadian right-wing activist, author and internet personality, Lauren Southern, and will be a part of her new documentary film project 'Borderless,' which takes on the European migration crisis.

On its website, Advocates Abroad claims to have helped as many as 15,000 migrants cross the Greek border, and 2,500 more outside of Greece. The organization is massive, taking volunteers from major universities, and was even featured in a documentary film by the International Bar Association.

In the footage, Ricker describes how the organization provides training sessions for migrants seeking entry into Europe, in which they are taught how to act during interviews with border agents:

She also calls EASO (European Asylum Support Office) personnel tasked with screening the migrants “fing stupid,” and describes a formula that the organization has created to exploit them in screening interviews.

One method she teaches migrants is to exploit the presumed Christian sympathies of the predominantly Eastern Orthodox Greece by pretending to have been persecuted for being Christian. She even describes telling them how to pray during interviews, ironically because doing so reflects “honesty.”

Since then, however, the group’s Twitter and Facebook page with over 140,000 followers have both been deleted in the wake of the revelations.

The organization, which was founded in 2016, helped to shuffle migrants into a cash-strapped Greece, which was struggling to recover from its long-term government-debt crisis. The majority of migrants seeking entry into Europe first come through Greece, with arrivals peaking in 2015.

Ironically, some of the real victims of the NGO’s tactics are the refugees themselves – the real refugees who were forced to compete with fake candidates trained to game the system. Ricker’s “acting school” even instructed its pupils to feign the emotions of trauma survivors, seemingly without a thought for those seeking asylum who don’t need to pretend to be suffering from trauma.

In the past few years, Greece’s migrant camps have become dangerously overcrowded, resulting in violence and disease which the UN described as having reached “boiling point.” But Advocates Abroad isn’t responsible for maintaining the refugee camps, their only job is getting people through the gate.

Southern claims that the UNHCR has already responded to the tapes by saying that they are “alarmed by these reports,” and the backlash on social media has been understandably strong.

RT

California wildfire rips through nuclear waste site, fueling airborne toxin risk concerns

November 14, 2018

FILE PHOTO © Reuters / Eric Thayer

The Woolsey fire that engulfed over 90,000 acres in California last weekend may have spread toxic and radioactive substances from a Superfund site, according to activists who believe authorities might be downplaying the risks.

The fire passed through the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL), a federal Superfund site in the Simi Hills that was the site of the worst nuclear meltdown in US history in 1959. While the California Department of Toxic Substances Control said there was no reason to be concerned of "any risks other than those normally present in a wildfire situation," locals aren't so sure, pointing out that the agency has dragged its feet in cleaning up toxic sites and accusing it of a possible cover-up.

Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles president Robert Dodge castigated the DTSC, pointing out that the site – now owned by Boeing – remains radioactive and polluted despite the agency's promise to clean it up eight years ago. "These toxic materials are in SSFL's soil and vegetation, and when it burns and becomes airborne in smoke and ash, there is real possibility of heightened exposure for area residents."

The DTSC reassured residents that the SSFL facilities were not affected by the fire and claimed measurements of radiation and hazardous compounds from both the site and the surrounding communities were within normal levels, posing no danger other than that normally present in the aftermath of a wildfire. Thousands of people live within two miles of the site, which was originally developed to test rocket engines and conduct nuclear research in the 1940s.

NASA, which owns a small piece of the site, echoed the DTSC's message in a press release, stating that the fire presented no risks beyond those normally associated with wildfires although its property experienced "significant fire damage" across all three "historic districts."

Residents' concerns about authorities possibly downplaying the risks are fueled by the DTSC's track record of broken promises, combined with the very real history of nuclear meltdown onsite. The California state legislature commissioned an Independent Review Panel to investigate the DTSC and found in 2016 that the agency had placed communities "at risk" by "failing to perform its basic function of protecting the public and environment from industrial hazardous waste and contamination." The DTSC was held responsible for the Exide scandal in Vernon, in which a battery recycling plant leaked toxins into surrounding communities for decades, and was criticized for its backlog of hazardous waste permits.

Local parents have blamed contamination at the SSFL site for their children's cancers, and the Centers for Disease Control designated lab workers from the 1950s who developed cancer as part of a "special exposure cohort" eligible for compensation for their years of laboring in a radioactive environment. While the SSFL was the site of multiple nuclear accidents, the worst took place in 1959 when a reactor vented nuclear material to avoid an explosion, ultimately releasing 459 times more radiation than the infamous Three Mile Island meltdown 20 years later.

RT
California ‘war zone’: 63 killed, 600+ missing in raging wildfires (HARROWING VIDEOS)

November 16, 2018

Full article

All News Pipeline

Eerily Accurate 1994 Prophetic Word Warned Of Biblical Fires On West Coast And Brutal Cold In The East Ahead Of God's Judgement Upon America

- These Events Of 2018 Prove The Word 'Normal' Is Gone Forever

By Stefan Stanford

National Defense Strategy Commission they report that the US could now lose in a war against China or Russia as 'America's military superiority has eroded to a dangerous degree' according to this Daily Mail story.
Though the US potentially losing a war to Russia or China shouldn't be any surprise to ANP readers as we've been reporting for almost a full year now that MAD, 'mutually assured destruction', is no longer mutual thanks to Barack Obama's New START nuclear weapons reduction treaty.
As Dr. Peter Vincent Pry reported on ANP back on March 14th, thanks to Russia's new 'doomsday weapons' and the U.S. failing to develop such weapons, the US "no longer has the ability to deliver 400 equivalent megatons (EMTs) to destroy 25% of Russia's population and 75% of industry after a Russian first-strike, which is the classical definition of MAD requirements for the U.S. In contrast, Russia--after a U.S. first-strike--has the capability to destroy more than 25% of U.S. population and 75% of industry by delivering 100 EMTs against the U.S., whose population and industry is much more urbanized and concentrated than in Russia. U.S. population and industry is also much less well protected."
And while the Daily Mail story attempted to blame President Trump for the US falling behind Russia and China, as their story pointed out, the Congressional commission "lambasts 'political dysfunction and decisions made by both major political parties,' especially budget control measures implemented in 2011."
And though we're happy to finally see the mainstream media reporting upon this development that should keep some insane US politicians from pushing for war with nations that could wipe us off the map, as we see outlined within this ANP story, many believe that judgement is already being carried out upon America due to the sins of our past leaders and much worse may still be yet to come.

In this November 4th story over at Business Insider saved at Archive they reported that a number of different Russian media outlets had published at least 30 different stories over a several day period prior to the mid-term US elections suggesting that America could devolve into civil war sometime during the 2020 election.
With those coordinated stories reminding us of the coordinated efforts we've seen here in the US with the mainstream media consistently aligning upon story narratives while working their very best to divide the American people as Susan Duclos reports in this new story on ANP, the Business Insider story interestingly points out that the purpose of the Russian medias stories are an attempt to portray the American people and therefore America as divided. And as has long been warned, a nation divided cannot stand.
And while all of the Russian outlets used this opinion piece published by the Boston Globe by historian and Conservative commentator Niall Ferguson of Stanford University as their source, and in his story, Ferguson argues that America is already in what he calls a 'cultural civil war', being played out on social media websites, the Russian outlets failed to mention Ferguson's conclusion, that he believed a 'kinetic' civil war in America is highly unlikely and for many different reasons.
Yet as the Business Insider story correctly pointed out, another civil war in America would play directly into the hands of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin and any other enemies of America who might want a 'weakened America', and a divided America. And that includes the 'enemies of America within' who've long been working to take down our nation and merge it into their satanic new world order.
As we hear in the only video at the bottom of this story featuring Steve Quayle on the Hagmann and Hagmann Report, while the globalists are attacking nationalism, they are also going forward full speed ahead with their globalist agenda despite what President Trump is attempting to do for America. And so they continue to push us towards destruction with most Americans completely unaware of what's really going on.
And with record cold weather now being forecast for the East Coast as this November 12th story over at Ice Age Now had reported and winter storm Avery pummeling the East coast, bringing ferocious winds, ice and snow here while California goes through truly Biblical fires on the West Coast, we couldn't help but notice the incredible similarities between what is happening now to America and this prophetic word from Steve Quayle dated all the way back on April 15th of 1994. Within which Steve was warned of events just like these happening now as God delivers judgement upon America. As Steve tells ANP, "the word normal is gone forever". A partial screenshot of Steve's 1994 Prophetic Word is here with much more below.

As we see in the next screenshot below, Steve was also warned then that all of the little skirmishes that we're witnessing around the world now would one day turn into huge bloody battles and explosive wars and with them, entire financial systems would come crashing down. Warning also of judgement coming not only to America but to the entire world, Steve also mentioned global government, this back in 1994, long before the confirmations we've gotten of such government existing in 2018, though the mainstream media still runs gatekeeper.

Also warning all the way back then of foreign invaders at our borders and the Russians and Chinese scheming to take parts of America, we've seen just that with convoys of thousands of people rushing up to America from the south while China owns huge chunks of land in America already, including a big play made by them back in 2016 to buy up American farms and farmland.
And while we haven't yet witnessed an outright kinetic invasion, should America further fall into disarray and division as the 2020 election approaches and tensions heat up once again with America seemingly never more divided than we are now at any point since the Civil War, is it too much of a stretch to suggest that our enemies are just silently waiting, ready to pounce upon us?
As the American Thinker reported back on October 27th, the United Nations wants to be our world government by 2030, just over 10 years from now, and the UN has previously made it quite clear that they'll be happy to jump into the skirmish should widespread hostilities break out in America.

So we join Steve Quayle and pray for strength and redemption for America and Americans in the days ahead and ask ANP readers to join us in asking for God's protection of the first 'America-first' President that our nation has had in many, many years in President Donald Trump.
And we pray for the people of California who are now suffering tremendous hardships while wondering if what we are really witnessing is His Judgement upon our land for our leaders sins and if so, how much more will Americans have to bare in the days, weeks and months ahead? As Steve mentions, our world under judgement is accelerating beyond what most people can even embrace.

***

Natural Blaze

Did A 5G Experiment Test In The Hague, Netherlands, Prove Fatal To Birds In Trees?

By Catherine J. Frompovich

November 10, 2018

Has it finally happened: Probable confirmation 5G can kill wildlife?

Starlings roosting in trees in a park in The Hague, Netherlands, fell dead from their perches. A total of 297 dead birds were collected. Poor birdies!

However, birds were not the only wildlife seemingly affected.

[N]earby ducks that were swimming seemed to react very oddly as well; they were simultaneously putting their heads underwater to escape the radiation while others flew away, landing on the street or in the canal. [1]

It appears a 5G mast was being tested to see what interferences could occur from where RF radiation was tested with a peak frequency of 7.40 GHz, as reported by one source, but still not confirmed.

The “test, [was] in connection with the Dutch railway station, to see how large the range was and whether no harmful equipment would occur on and around the station.” [1]

I have to wonder if any humans experienced ill effects, or if humans were questioned as part of the test.

It ought to be noted that one GHz (Gigahertz) is ONE BILLION oscillations of energy per second; now multiply that by 7.40 GHz. What do you get? No wonder the poor birds probably died from heart failure!

According to reports, the birds did not look emaciated or ill. So why did so many birds drop from the trees? Similar mass die offs have happened in other places with fish and pollinators. The fact there was a 5G test going on emphasizes another dynamic regarding millimeter wave safety (5G)—ascertaining why the birds died; plus the ABSOLUTE need for REAL scientific—not consensus science—testing, i.e., environmental impact studies, regarding 5G before it is rolled out anywhere in the world!

References:

[1] https://www.sott.net/article/400047-Hundreds-of-birds-dead-during-5G-experiment-in-The-Hague-Netherlands

***

RT

Draft Brexit plan approved by British cabinet, released to public

November 14, 2018

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain on November 14, 2018. © Reuters / Henry Nicholls

Britain's cabinet has backed Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement, the prime minister has confirmed. She said that the deal is the best that could be negotiated and is in the interest of the country.

The official text of the draft agreement consisting of 585 pages was published by European Commission.

Top British ministers debated whether to support the deal during a five-hour meeting inside 10 Downing Street, with some having been invited to the prime minister's office a day before to read it.

May said the plan is the “best that could be negotiated," adding that the “collective decision of [the] cabinet" was to push ahead with the deal.

“And I firmly believe with my head and my heart that this is a decision that is in the best interest of our entire United Kingdom," she said.

She added that the plan is the result of “thousands of hours of meetings." The deal was reached as the deadline for Brexit – March 2019 – was looming and many expressed concern that the divorce would not happen.

May noted that the deal will come under “intense scrutiny," while saying she is aware that “there will be difficult days ahead."

May declined to answer questions from the media, saying she will make a statement in parliament on Thursday.

Despite the agreement being backed by the Cabinet, she is still facing fierce opposition, including from Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg who wrote a letter to his colleagues urging them to vote against the deal in Parliament.

He lays out his disapproval of the plan in four parts, including the fact that the UK will be required to hand over £39 billion to the EU "for little or nothing in return" and will lock Britain into an EU customs union and EU laws.

Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) who campaigned for a hard Brexit, has tweeted his disapproval following May's announcement, calling the plan the “worst deal in history" and calling out any “genuine Brexiteers" who supported it.

Responding to the announcement, Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt said the deal makes Brexit possible while still allowing Britain to maintain a close relationship with the European Union.

"While I hope one day the UK will return, in the meantime this agreement will make a Brexit possible, while maintaining a close relationship between the EU and UK, a protection of citizens rights and the avoidance of a hard Irish border," he said.

The circumstances of Britain's exit from the European Union has been long negotiated, and Wednesday's approval of the deal puts an end to any uncertainty surrounding Britain's future in the European Union. It also ends the possibility of a messy “no deal" Brexit.

Those who are against Brexit, including Labour MPs David Lammy and Chuka Umunna, took particular note of one part of May's announcement, in which she spoke of three options – this deal, no deal, and no Brexit.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke out against the deal before it was agreed, calling it bad for Scotland.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has recommended the EU hold a summit with the UK this month.

The EU's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said the deal brings legal certainty on the consequences of Brexit, and called it a determining step towards ending the drawn out negotiations.

Barnier also warned that much work still needs to be done in the process of the UK exiting the EU, and that the road to an orderly Brexit won't be an easy one.

He declined to comment when addressed with the question of what the EU will do if the British parliament rejects the Brexit deal, which is still a possibility.

Sturgeon, however, was fine to weigh in on that possibility, saying that if it is rejected by Parlimaent "then the UK government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one."

***

RT

7 resignations and counting: May’s government ‘falling apart before our eyes’ over Brexit deal

November 15, 2018

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a news conference at Downing Street in London, November 15, 2018. Reuters/Matt Dunham  © Reuters

Seven high profile resignations have followed on the heels of Theresa May’s announcement that her cabinet has settled on a Brexit deal, with Labour claiming that the Conservative government is at risk of completely dissolving.

Shailesh Vara, the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office was the first top official to resign after the prime minister announced that her cabinet had reached a draft EU withdrawal agreement.

An hour after his announcement, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab – the man charged with negotiating and finalizing the deal – said he was stepping down, stating that the Brexit deal in its current form suffers from deep flaws. Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, submitted her letter of resignation shortly afterwards. More resignations have followed.

Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, Jon Trickett, predicted that this is the beginning of the end for May’s government.

Shailesh Vara: UK to be stuck in ‘a half-way house with no time limit’

Kicking off Thursday’s string of resignations, Vara didn’t mince words when describing his reservations about the cabinet-stamped Brexit deal.

Theresa May’s EU withdrawal agreement leaves the UK in a "halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally become a sovereign nation,” his letter of resignation states. Vara went on to warn that the draft agreement leaves a number of critical issues undecided, predicting that it “will take years to conclude” a trade deal with the bloc.

“We will be locked in a customs arrangement indefinitely, bound by rules determined by the EU over which we have no say,” he added.

Dominic Raab: Deal can’t be ‘reconciled’ with promises made to public

Announcing his resignation on Thursday morning, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted: “I cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU.”

Raab claimed that the deal in its current form gives the EU veto power over the UK’s ability to annul the deal.

Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith said that Raab’s resignation as Brexit secretary is “devastating” for May.

“It sounds like he has been ignored,” he told the BBC.

Raab’s departure will undoubtedly encourage other Brexit supporters to question the deal, political commentators have observed.

Esther McVey: Deal ‘does not honor’ Brexit referendum

Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey didn’t hold back when issuing her own letter of resignation. According to McVey, the deal “does not honour” the result of the Brexit referendum, in which a majority of Brits voted to leave the European Union.

Suella Braverman: ‘Unable to sincerely support’ deal

Suella Braverman, a junior minister in Britain’s Brexit ministry, issued her resignation on Thursday, saying that she couldn’t stomach the deal.

“I now find myself unable to sincerely support the deal agreed yesterday by cabinet,” she said in a letter posted on Twitter.

Braverman said that the deal is not what the British people voted for, and threatened to tear the country apart.

“It prevents an unequivocal exit from a customs union with the EU,” she said.

Rehman Chishti: "Reneges on the Tory manifesto commitment"

There was another by mid-afternoon, Rehman Chishti has stepped-down as the Vice-Chair of the Conservative party stating that he "cannot support" the draft EU Withdrawal deal.

Along with Chishti the trickle of resignations also included Ranil Jayawardena, Ministry of Justice PPS, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Department of Education PPS.

***

The Guardian

In the balance: scientists vote on first change to kilogram in a century

The weight is defined by a lump of metal in a Paris vault - which could make Earth ‘laughing stock of universe’

Ian Sample

November 9, 2018

Arnold Nicolaus, of the Physical-Technical Federal Agency, shows a silicone ball next to a copy of the kilogram prototype in Brunswick, Germany. Photograph: Jochen Luebke/EPA

For the band of specialists in the much-overlooked arena of metrology, it will be the most profound moment in more than a century. Since 1889, one of the pillars of the science, the kilogram, has been defined by a lump of metal held in a triple-locked vault in a lab on the outskirts of Paris. It is the one true kilogram in the world.

But not for much longer. Next week, leading figures in the field are set to make history. At the general conference on weights and measures in Versailles, representatives from 57 nations will vote for change. And so the kilogram, the only metric unit still based on a solitary object, will be reborn. Henceforth, the kilogram will be derived from a fundamental constant, a number that is woven into the fabric of the universe.

The vote is essentially a done deal. The debates have been had, the solutions agreed. But even popular revolutions can be tense affairs. “It will be nerve-racking,” said Stephan Schlamminger, a physicist at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, who will be in Versailles for the vote. “I’ve been thinking about this, or working on it, for as long as I have been a scientist. Sometimes I am in a state of disbelief. Is this really going to happen? Will I wake up and find this is all a dream?”

Much of the week’s meeting will be devoted to routine affairs such as budgets and the like, with votes cast on the Friday. “It will be nice to know that the whole thing has been resolved,” said Stuart Davidson, the head of mass metrology at the national physical laboratory in Teddington. “We’ll know, at least, that no-one has stood up and said this is rubbish, we’re not going with it.”

The roots of modern measurement can be traced back to the mid-18th century, when it became clear that nations might do well to share common units. With international trade on the up, it made no sense to price rolls of fabric, for example, according to the local duke’s shoe size. In the late 1700s King Louis XVI commissioned scientists to find a more sensible approach.

The assembled group proposed a system inspired by the natural world, one intended “for all times, for all people”. A metre was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. A kilogram was the mass of a litre of water. To make the units more practical, each was enshrined in a physical object, a metal bar for the metre, and a weight for the kilogram. In time, the scheme evolved into an international system of units (SI) with seven base units: the metre for distance, the second for time, the kilogram for mass, the mole for amount of substance, the ampere for electrical current, the kelvin for temperature, and the candela for luminosity.

For the past 129 years, the world’s official unit of mass has been the international prototype kilogram, or IPK, a shiny cylinder of platinum-iridium stored under three sealed bell jars at the international bureau of weights and measures (BIPM) in Sèvres, west of Paris. National metrology labs hold copies of the IPK to calibrate measurements in their own countries. Every 40 years or so, the copies are returned to Paris for checks against the IPK, nicknamed Le Grand K.

It’s not a bad system. Because Le Grand K defines the kilogram, its mass is never in doubt. It is always, with 100% accuracy, one kilogram. And yet its weight goes up and down. In storage, the platinum picks up pollutants from the air and the cylinder gets ever so slightly heavier. When it is cleaned, the kilogram loses weight as tiny amounts of alloy are removed. The net effect is hard to gauge, but copies can put on tens of micrograms in a century. All scientists know for sure is that the kilogram that defines all others is not what it used to be.

It is enough to irk metrologists. “If aliens ever visit Earth what else would we talk about other than physics?” said Schlamminger. “If we want to talk about physics we have to agree on a set of units, but if we say our unit of mass is based on a lump of metal we keep in Paris, we’ll be the laughing stock of the universe.”

If the vote proceeds as expected, Earth will be spared such galactic shame. Since 1983, the metre has been derived from the speed of light in a vacuum. The kilogram makeover will derive mass from the Planck constant, a number deeply rooted in the quantum world. It describes the size of bundles of energy, known as quanta, which pour out of a hot oven, for example.

The redefinition is easier said than done. Scientists first use a supremely sensitive piece of equipment called a Kibble balance to calculate Planck’s constant from a 1kg reference mass. The instrument is similar to a scales, but instead of counteracting one weight with another, the object being weighed is balanced by electromagnetic forces. Planck’s constant is proportional to the energy needed to balance the mass. Then, armed with a precise value for Planck’s constant, researchers can do the reverse, and use the balance to measure unknown masses.

With a positive vote the new system of units, including updates to the mole, Kelvin and ampere, comes into effect on 20 May 2019. The revolution will hardly be felt beyond the world of metrology. No one will weigh their carrots any differently at the supermarket. But behind the scenes, a more elegant system will be at work.

“The greatest satisfaction for me will be completing the historic arc that started with the French revolution,” said Schlamminger. “The idea was to have a measurement system for all times and for all people. They fell short on the kilogram. It has these problems with stability, so it is not for all times, and it is locked in a safe, so it is not for all people. Planck’s constant never changes, so it is the same for all time. And its value is woven into the fabric of the universe, so it is there for everyone.”

***

StudyFinds

Pity In The City: People Who Live In Big Cities Reach ‘Peak Stress’ Every 18 Days, Survey Finds

By Ben Renner

November 13, 2018

NEW YORK — Life in the concrete jungle isn’t for everyone, but even the common city-dweller can only handle the constant noise and fast-paced lifestyle for so long. A new survey finds that people who live in big cities last just 18 days on average before they find themselves in need of a getaway to calmer confines.

The survey, commissioned by Wyndham Vacation Rentals, polled 1,000 adults residing in American cities with a population of at least one million on their most common city annoyances, as well as their estimates of how many times those annoyances happened to them on a daily or weekly basis. Another 1,000 adults who live in the suburbs were also surveyed.

Researchers found that living in a big city comes with plenty of headaches. In those18 days, city-dwellers will be bumped into 12 times, miss their bus or train 13 times, feel rushed by a stranger 15 times, and find themselves waiting in 15 long lines.

In general, people who live in the city reach “peak stress” — becoming so fed up with the daily inconveniences of living in an urban area and wish they were away from it all — about 10 times a month on average. That’s compared to seven times a month for those in the suburbs, and just six times for residents in more rural settings.

What else can drive a city resident mad? Those who can’t navigate the sidewalks correctly, for one. In those 18 days before peak stress, they can expect to be stuck behind a prohibitively slow walker 15 times. They’ll also step in 13 puddles, get woken up too early by loud noises outside their windows 16 times, and ride a cramped bus or train 14 times before needing to go on vacation.

Perhaps cookie-cutter suburbia is the way to go. The survey found that city-dwellers are twice as likely to say they are “very stressed” on a typical day than suburban dwellers.

“This study shed an important light on what motivates people to plan an escape and how different daily routines impact vacation planning,” notes Mary Lynn Clark, president at Wyndham Vacation Rentals, in a statement.

Of course, as many New Yorkers will agree, living in the big city means residing in a cramped apartment or home. Sixty-five percent say they don’t have enough space in their homes. And the commute to work? Talk about a drag: city-dwellers spend seven hours a week going to and from work, compared to just four hours for those in the ‘burbs.

All this makes it quite understandable that city folk daydream for 12 hours a month (that’s six full days a year) about being somewhere far more relaxing. It’s no surprise that natural settings are their go-to places for pleasure. The top three spots city-dwellers prefer to de-stress were the beach, the mountains, or a quiet cabin in the woods.

“The survey’s findings also underline a growing trend of people turning to the mountains for a break. The beach is often synonymous with relaxation, but the mountains are becoming an equally attractive haven, especially for those who live in big cities,” says Clark.

Relief doesn’t come right away, however. The survey found even after they’ve arrived at their dream destination, it still takes seven hours before a city-dweller even begins to unwind.

WHAT CITY-DWELLERS EXPERIENCE BEFORE HITTING ‘PEAK CITY’

Times bumped into: 12
Long lines waited in: 15
Times just missed bus/train: 13
Times rushed: 15
Times foot stepped on: 13
Times splashed by car: 12
Times caught in rain: 13
Cramped bus/train rides: 14
Bus/train delays: 14
Solicitors encountered: 14
Times nearly hit by car: 12
Times nearly hit by cyclist: 12
Times stuck behind slow walkers: 15
Puddles stepped in: 13
Woken up by city noise: 16
Times can’t find a bathroom: 14
Times sweat through clothes: 17

The survey was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Wyndham Vacation Rentals in October 2018.

***

***

THE EPOCH TIMES

Just One Energy Drink Could Increase Risk of Heart Attack

BY SARAH LE, EPOCH TIMES

November 7, 2018 Updated: November 7, 2018

Just one energy drink can harm blood vessel function and increase the risk of cardiac problems, according to a new study that will be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018 in Chicago.

Researchers at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston studied 44 healthy and non-smoking medical students in their 20s for the small-scale study.

Each student drank a 24-ounce energy drink, and their blood vessel function was tested before and 90 minutes later. The researchers used ultrasound to measure “artery flow-mediated dilation,” which is an indicator for general blood vessel health.

“They found vessel dilation was on average 5.1 percent in diameter before the energy drink and fell to 2.8 percent diameter after, suggesting acute impairment in vascular function,” according to a press release.

These results show that energy drinks can reduce blood flow to vital organs of the body, while increasing the risk of conditions such as heart attacks due to constricted blood vessels.

John Higgins, M.D., M.B.A., and his colleagues from the study said this result could be caused by the combined effect of substances in the energy drinks, which often include significant amounts of caffeine, taurine, herbs, and sugar.

“As energy drinks are becoming more and more popular, it is important to study the effects of these drinks on those who frequently drink them and better determine what, if any, is a safe consumption pattern,” the authors said.

This is not the first time evidence of potential harm has emerged regarding energy drinks.

A study from 2015 by the Mayo Clinic found that just drinking one 16-ounce energy drink significantly increased blood pressure and norepinephrine, a stress hormone chemical. These effects are also known to potentially increase the risk of cardiovascular events.

“These results suggest that people should be cautious when consuming energy drinks due to possible health risks,” said Anna Svatikova, M.D., Ph.D., lead author on the study. “Asking patients about energy drink consumption should become routine for physicians, particularly when interpreting vital signs in the acute setting.”

The World Health Organization analyzed studies on energy drinks in Europe in 2014 and found that the main problem with energy drinks was the high caffeine content. Too much caffeine can cause heart palpitations, hypertension, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and even death in rare cases.

While the Food and Drug Administration can regulate food products to make sure they’re safe for consumption, energy drinks are considered supplements.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to review dietary supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed,” states the FDA website.

Surveys have found that around 30% to 50% of adolescents and young adults consume energy drinks.

***

Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Produtions

“To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:19)