JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN
REVELATION 6:7-8 (500 MILLION DEAD EACH FROM THE 4 JUDGEMENTS)(2 BILLION TOT DEAD HERE)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
THE COVID-19 TOTALS.
WORLD OVER ALL CASES 205,534,964 - DEAD 4,337,522 - AS OF THU AUG 12,2021 (PROBABLY IN THE LAST 200,000 DEAD-150,000 STILL GOT COVID AND DIED AFTER GETTING BOTH VACCINE SHOTS)
Blinken lauds ‘significant’ first post-normalization visit by Lapid in Morocco-Secretary says Biden administration will continue working with Israel and Morocco to strengthen all aspects of their new partnership and create more peaceful future for region-By Jacob Magid-AUG 12,21-Today, 3:30 am
NEW YORK — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Wednesday’s visit by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Morocco as Jerusalem and Rabat built on the normalization agreement signed last year between their two countries.Blinken in a statement called the visit, along with the upcoming reopening of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, “significant for Israel, Morocco, and the broader region.”“The United States will continue to work with Israel and Morocco to strengthen all aspects of our partnerships and create a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous future for all the people of the Middle East,” Blinken said.The administration says that the normalization agreements brokered by the previous White House were among the few Trump foreign policy initiatives it supports and seeks to build on. There were reports earlier this year that US President Joe Biden will appoint a special envoy tasked with advancing normalization between Israel and the Arab world; however, no such announcement has been made.Analysts speculate that while the administration may support the initiative in theory, it may be more difficult to build on it in practice as the new US government is unlikely to go as far in incentivizing potential candidates in the Arab world as former president Donald Trump did. Biden officials have raised eyebrows at Trump’s sale of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE along with his recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region. Both moves were essential in getting Abu Dhabi and Rabat, respectively, to agree to normalize relations with Israel.During his meeting with Lapid in Rabat on Wednesday, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita used the opportunity to call for a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 border.Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (left) touches down in Rabat, Morocco, on August 11, 2021. (Foreign Ministry)-On Israel-Morocco ties, Bourita said the bilateral relationship “is not like any other.” He referenced the status of the Jewish community in the kingdom and ties between Jews in Israel and Morocco.The two ministers signed three framework agreements that covered political consultation between the ministries; cooperation in culture, youth, and sports; and air service between the countries.Lapid was in Morocco for the first official visit by an Israeli top diplomat since 2003 and the highest-level trip since an agreement was signed by Jerusalem and Rabat last year to reestablish ties after some two decades.Lapid is set to officially open up the Israeli Liaison Office in Rabat on Thursday.On Thursday, Lapid will also spend time in Casablanca with the local Jewish community and will pray in the Beth-El Synagogue there.The trip is the fruit of a US-brokered deal for Morocco to resume ties with Israel, which were cut off in 2000 following the outbreak of the Second Intifada. Though the countries are not establishing full ties, Israeli officials have said they expect Rabat to eventually upgrade the relationship and establish embassies.Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
Israel set to approve new Palestinian and Jewish building in West Bank-Defense Ministry to okay 1,000 Palestinians homes and some 2,000 settler houses; Jerusalem court freezes Palestinian home demolitions in Silwan-By TOI staff, AFP and Jacob Magid-11 August 2021, 8:54 pm
The government is slated to approve new building in Palestinian areas of the West Bank as well as in Jewish settlements.Defense Minister Benny Gantz has approved the construction of 1,000 Palestinian homes in the Israeli-controlled Area C, mostly in the Jenin and Bethlehem areas, a defense official confirmed to The Times of Israel WednesdayMeanwhile, the ministry’s Civil Administration will also okay some 2,000 new homes in West Bank settlements, for the first time since both Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and US President Joe Biden took office.Area C makes up some 60 percent of the West Bank and is fully under Israeli security and administrative control. Israel rarely approves Palestinian construction in Area C, with the overwhelming majority of requests being denied. This has resulted in rampant illegal building, which is in turn often demolished by Israel.Between 2016 and 2018, just 21 of the 1,485 Palestinian applications for construction permits in Area C were approved by the Defense Ministry, or 0.81 percent.In 2019, the security cabinet approved — in principle — a record 700 building permits for Palestinians in what was widely seen as an attempt both to prevent the High Court of Justice from blocking further demolitions of Palestinian property on the grounds that it is impossible for Palestinians to build legally and to stave off international criticism against Israel for failing to allow Palestinian construction.However, an investigation by The Times of Israel last year found that very few of those buildings permits had actually been issued.Most of the international community considers settlement construction a violation of international law.Meanwhile, a lawyer said Wednesday that a Jerusalem court had ruled that dozens of home demolitions in a flashpoint Palestinian neighborhood should be frozen for six months.Israel had ordered the demolition of around 100 homes in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood on the edge of the Old City in East Jerusalem, claiming they were built illegally on public land.Monday’s court order froze most of those demolition orders until February 2022, while also allowing 16 homes to be razed immediately.“I have reached the conclusion that it is appropriate to grant a specific extension,” wrote Judge Sigal Albo of the Jerusalem Court for Local Affairs in the decision.Lawyer Ziad Kawar, representing residents in the Al-Bustan area of Silwan, told AFP the ruling was “progress” but “not a victory.” He said he would appeal to foreign diplomats to put pressure on Israel over home demolitions.View of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, April 8, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)-Kawar said his clients were applying for retroactive permission for their homes, which he said they built on their own private property without permission.“It is not possible to get permits there,” Kawar said.Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six Day War in 1967, and later annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.In the 1980s, settlers began moving into Silwan, which sits on land where — according to Jewish tradition — King David established his capital some 3,000 years ago, making the area hallowed ground in Jewish history.Israelis have said they hope to build a park devoted to the biblical King David in Al-Bustan.Several hundred settlers currently live in Silwan under heavy security, among about 50,000 Palestinians.
Hamas said to block UN team from inspecting school where tunnel was found-Bomb disposal experts, tasked with ensuring site is safe for opening of academic year, hustled away by terror group; UNRWA warns it won’t let students back until check completed-By TOI staff-11 August 2021, 3:42 pm
Hamas has prevented UN bomb disposal experts from inspecting a Palestinian refugee agency school in the Gaza Strip under which a tunnel dug by the terror group was uncovered during fighting in May, the Kan public broadcaster reported Tuesday.The team was asked by the UN Relief and Works Agency to make sure that its Zaitoun Preparatory Boys’ School was safe for students to return to with the upcoming start of the new academic year. The experts were to ensure that no unexploded munitions were in the compound, left over from the fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas.Sources in the Gaza Strip said that the experts arrived at the compound, but when Hamas learned of the development, it swiftly sent police to block them and order them to immediately leave.The team was also supposed to check another UNRWA school in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where it is suspected that Hamas dug another tunnel. Following the disruption at the first site, the UN team canceled the second inspection as well.As a result of the developments, UNRWA told Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, that it will not permit the 4,000 students who attend the schools to return to studies until the sites are properly checked, Kan reported.Hamas has dug an extensive network of tunnels under Gaza, which are used to move its forces or store weapons, including rockets and launchers.In the wake of the Kan report, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan asked the UN director-general and UNRWA director-general to carry out a thorough review of all UNRWA sites in the Gaza Strip.“The international community cannot ignore Hamas’s heinous human rights violations & the state of terror it inflicts on Gazans. Hamas is a terror organization that uses innocents & children as hostages & human shields,” Erdan tweeted Tuesday.According to UNRWA, Israeli attacks on the Zaitoun compound in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood took place on May 13 and 15 when the complex was empty. After the 11 days of fighting ended, investigators were sent to the school and discovered what appeared to be a tunnel underneath the compound that was revealed by a missile strike.UNRWA announced the discovery of the tunnel in June while condemning the Israeli bombings and the Hamas construction of the tunnel.“A detailed assessment on 31 May 2021 revealed what appears to be a cavity and a possible tunnel, at the location of the missile strike. The depth of the cavity is approximately 7.5 meters below the surface of the school. UNRWA discovered the existence of a possible tunnel in the context of the investigation of the fired missiles,” the agency said.According to UNRWA, the tunnel did not appear to originate or end at the school, but instead passed underneath it.UNRWA officials were said to be deliberating whether to make a more public issue of the spat over the schools, Kan reported. However, the UN agency was reluctant to clash with Hamas, having recently installed a new director in Gaza after the previous chief was recalled for saying that IDF airstrikes during the May fighting were “precise.”Matthias Schmale’s remarks to Israeli television news led to accusations from Hamas that he was exonerating Israel for the deaths of Palestinian civilians, prompting Schmale to apologize. An UNRWA spokesperson later told Channel 12 that Schmale had been called back to Jerusalem for consultations and had decided to take an extended leave of absence.Between May 10 and 21 Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and cities. Israel responded with intense airstrikes against Hamas targets until a ceasefire was reached.UNRWA schools in Gaza have been used in the past to store and launch rockets at Israel, particularly during the 2014 Gaza war.In 2017, the agency also said it had found a Hamas tunnel dug underneath one of its schools.In one case during the latest round of fighting, the IDF determined that the courtyard of at least one school — it was not immediately clear if it belonged to UNRWA — housed 14 underground rocket launchpads, which it said were used during the fighting.As schools in Gaza have regularly been used as refugee centers during times of conflict, the IDF’s official policy is to avoid striking them unless necessary.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)
IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)
ISAIAH 34:10
10 It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30 The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
031 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32 And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)
COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AM
EZEKIEL 39:11-22
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13 Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)(EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ARMIES)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
The face of Iran’s new terror government’: Israel blasts Raisi’s cabinet-Foreign Ministry calls on international community to condemn appointment of Ahmad Vahidi, who is wanted by Interpol over alleged role in 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires-By AP and TOI staff Today, 2:21 am
Israel on Wednesday urged the international community to condemn the appointment to Iran’s new cabinet of a “criminal” wanted by Interpol over his alleged role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires.In a statement reacting to the newly announced composition of Iran’s cabinet crafted by hardline President Ebrahim Raisi, the Foreign Ministry called the tapping of Gen. Ahmad Vahidi as interior minister a “shameful” choice.Vahidi is a former defense minister blacklisted by the US in 2010. He was the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ international operations arm, known as the Quds Force, at the time of the bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Argentina’s capital. His name appeared on an Interpol “red notice” list regarding the attack on the AMIA building.The AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) bombing, carried out by a Lebanese suicide bomber who drove a car bomb at the multistory building, killed 85 people and wounded hundreds. The bomber was subsequently identified as Ibrahim Hussein Berro, an operative of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group, and he was allegedly assisted by other Hezbollah and Iranian operatives.The Foreign Ministry also took the opportunity to reiterate its characterization of Raisi as the “butcher from Tehran,” noting that he was responsible for putting to death thousands of Iranian dissidents when he served as head of the country’s judiciary.“This is the face of the new terror government in Iran,” the ministry said, adding that its ministers “are responsible for killing people around the world.”The aftermath of the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires. (Newspaper La Nación (Argentina/Wikipedia Commons)-Raisi also nominated hardline career diplomat Hossein Amirabdollahian to the crucial post of foreign minister, as Iran and the US seek to resuscitate Tehran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers.Amirabdollahian, 56, has served in a range of administrations over the decades. He was deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs under former populist hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known in the West for his Holocaust denial and disputed reelection in 2009.According to Reuters, Amirabdollahian is an avowed anti-Westerner believed to have close relations with the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon as well as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards force.The parties to the nuclear accord have met in Vienna for months to try to revive the deal. The last round of talks ended in June with no date set for their resumption. Raisi has promised that his administration will focus on lifting sanctions that have clobbered Iran’s already ailing economy.The Iranian cabinet list, which offered few surprises, must still be confirmed by he country’s parliament. The supreme leader also typically weighs in on picking officials for the most sensitive positions, such as foreign minister.Javad Owji, 54, a longtime official in the country’s vital oil and gas sector, was nominated as oil minister. Raisi picked Rostam Ghasemi, a former oil minister under Ahmadinejad, as the minister for roads and urbanization. The list named Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, a former deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, as defense minister.
Taliban complete northeast Afghan blitz as three more provincial capitals fall-With capture of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Farah capitals, Islamist militia now controls two-thirds of nation as US and NATO finalize their withdrawal after decades of war-By TAMEEM AKHGAR and Jon Gambrell Today, 5:02 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban seized three more Afghan provincial capitals and a local army headquarters Wednesday, completing a blitz across the country’s northeast and giving them control of two-thirds of the nation as the US and NATO finalize their withdrawal after decades of war.The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Farah provinces put increasing pressure on the country’s central government to stem the tide of the advance, even as it lost a major base in Kunduz. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rushed to Balkh province, already surrounded by Taliban-held territory, to seek help from warlords, many linked to allegations of atrocities and corruption, in pushing back the insurgents. He also replaced his army chief of staff.While the capital of Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the stunning speed of the offensive raises questions of how long the Afghan government can maintain the control of the slivers of the country it has left. The government may eventually be forced to pull back to defend the capital and just a few other cities.“I think what I would say to President Ghani is if you remain spread out everywhere, the Taliban will be able to continue to apply their current approach with success,” warned Ben Barry, the senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “You’ve got to do a bit more than stopping the Taliban. You’ve got to show you can push them back.”The success of the Taliban offensive also calls into question whether they would ever rejoin long-stalled peace talks in Qatar aimed at moving Afghanistan toward an inclusive interim administration as the West hoped. Instead, the Taliban could come to power by force — or the country could splinter into factional fighting like it did after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.The multiple battle fronts have stretched the government’s special operations forces — while regular troops have often fled the battlefield — and the violence has pushed thousands of civilians to seek safety in the capital.Stranded people gather to seek information from security forces about opening the border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan which was closed by authorities a few days ago, in Chaman, Pakistan, August 11, 2021. (AP/Jafar Khan)-The US military, which plans to complete its withdrawal by the end of the month, has conducted some airstrikes but largely has avoided involving itself in the ground campaign.The latest US military intelligence assessment is that Kabul could come under insurgent pressure within 30 days and that if current trends hold, the Taliban could gain full control of the country within a couple of months, according to a US defense official, who discussed the internal assessment on condition of anonymity.Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — whose country is contemplating running and protecting Kabul airport following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops — told CNN-Turk television that he may meet with the Taliban leadership.“If we don’t bring them under control at the highest level … it will not be possible for us to ensure peace in Afghanistan,” Erdogan said.Humayoon Shahidzada, a lawmaker from the western province of Farah, confirmed Wednesday to The Associated Press his province’s capital of the same name fell.Taliban fighters dragged the shoeless, bloody corpse of one Afghan security force member through the street, shouting: “God is great!” Taliban fighters carrying M-16 rifles and driving Humvees and Ford pickup trucks donated by the Americans rolled through the streets of the capital.Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Farah, capital of Farah province southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan on August 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)-“The situation is under control in the city, our mujahedeen are patrolling in the city,” one Taliban fighter who did not give his name said, referring to his fellow insurgents as “holy warriors.”The crackle of automatic weapon fire continued throughout the day in Farah.Hujatullah Kheradmand, a lawmaker from Badakhshan, said the Taliban had seized his province’s capital, Faizabad. An Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak about an unacknowledged loss, said Baghlan’s capital, Poli-Khumri, also fell.The Afghan government and military did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the losses.The insurgents earlier captured six other provincial capitals in the country in less than a week.Taliban fighter is seen inside the city of Farah, capital of Farah province southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan on August 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)-On Wednesday, the headquarters of the Afghan National Army’s 217th Corps at Kunduz airport fell to the Taliban, according to Ghulam Rabani Rabani, a provincial council member in Kunduz, and lawmaker Shah Khan Sherzad. The insurgents posted video online they said showed surrendering troops.The province’s capital, also called Kunduz, was already among those seized, and the capture of the base now puts the country’s northeast firmly in Taliban hands.It wasn’t immediately clear what equipment was left behind for the insurgents, though a Taliban video showed them parading in Humvees and pickup trucks. Another video showed fighters on the airport’s tarmac next to an attack helicopter without rotor blades.In southern Helmand province, where the Taliban control nearly all of the capital of Lashkar Gar, a suicide car bomber targeted the government-held police headquarters, provincial council head Attaullah Afghan said. The building has been under siege for two weeks.The rapid fall of wide swaths of the country to the Taliban raises fears that the brutal tactics they used to rule Afghanistan before will also return. Some civilians who fled Taliban advances said the insurgents have imposed repressive restrictions on women and burned down schools, and there have been reports of revenge killings.In the face of the rapid deterioration in Afghanistan, Germany and the Netherlands both announced Wednesday they’d suspend deportations to the country.Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Farah, capital of Farah province southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, August 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammad Asif Khan)-Speaking to journalists Tuesday, a senior EU official said the insurgents held some 230 districts of the over 400 in Afghanistan. The official described another 65 in government control while the rest were contested. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal figures.In addition to the northeast, much of northern Afghanistan has also fallen to the Taliban, except for Balkh province. There, warlords Abdul Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammad Noor and Mohammad Mohaqiq planned to mobilize forces in support of the Afghan government to push back the Taliban.Dostum in particular has a troubled past, facing investigations after the 2001 US-led invasion for killing hundreds of Taliban fighters that year by letting them suffocate in sealed shipping containers.On Wednesday, Dostum said the Taliban “won’t be able to leave the north and will face the same fate” as the suffocated troops.Ghani, meanwhile, ordered Gen. Hibatullah Alizai to replace Gen. Wali Ahmadzai as the Afghan army chief of staff, according to an Afghan Defense Ministry official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision had yet to be made public.Alizai was the commander of the Afghan army’s Special Operations Corps — the elite troops that, along with the air force, have been forced to do most of the fighting as regular forces have collapsed.
Israel said to warn CIA chief that new Iranian president is mentally disturbed-William Burns visits Israel for talks focused on Iran; reportedly given dossier describing Ebrahim Raisi as a demented extremist who can’t be negotiated with-By TOI staff and AFP-11 August 2021, 4:01 amUpdated at 3:33 pm
Israel hosted US Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns Tuesday for talks focused on Iran, with Jerusalem reportedly attempting to deter any American rapprochement with Tehran by presenting Iran’s new president as a deranged misfit.Officials gave no details of the agenda for the CIA chief’s talks in Israel, but the Walla news site reported that Burns planned to meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Mossad spy agency head David Barnea and other senior intelligence figures.During the meeting with Barnea, Mossad official presented Burns with information intended to show Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi as untrustworthy and incapable of negotiating a new nuclear deal or sticking to his commitments, Channel 12 news reported.According to the channel, Barnea gave Burns a dossier on Raisi that portrayed him as exceptionally extreme, cruel, corrupt and unstable.“The Mossad described him as someone with mental disturbances,” the channel claimed in the unsourced report.Raisi, a hardline former judiciary head who was Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s choice for the role, has been accused of ordering the execution of thousands of prisoners toward the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988.He took office on Thursday, taking over for Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who agreed to a landmark deal in 2015 that curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.Burns, a career diplomat, played a key role in the US rapprochement with Iran that led to the deal between Iran and major powers.US President Joe Biden has sought to rejoin the pact after former president Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018. Israel opposes the deal and government officials have held successive rounds of talks with US counterparts on the nuclear negotiations.CIA Director William Burns speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 15, 2021. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)-The visit by Burns comes amid what analysts have called a “shadow war” that has seen a spate of attacks on facilities in Iran and maritime vessels linked to Israel.Last month, the MT Mercer Street, an oil products tanker operated by Israeli-controlled Zodiac maritime, was struck by a drone off the Omani coast, killing two crew members — a Briton and a Romanian.G7 foreign ministers on Friday pointed the finger of blame for the attack at Iran, as the US military released the findings of an investigation alleging the drones were made in the Islamic republic.Iran dismissed the allegations.Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday said Iran was “the greatest threat to peace in the region”.“We call on the international community to act to stop Iranian aggression,” Gantz said.Tug boats are moored next to the Israeli-managed tanker MT Mercer Street, off the Fujayrah port in the United Arab Emirates, on August 3, 2021. (Karim Sahib/AFP)-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday renewed vows to punish Iran for allegedly attacking the tanker, saying the world cannot allow “impunity.”“It is on all of our nations to hold accountable those responsible. Failing to do so will only fuel their sense of impunity and embolden others inclined to disregard the maritime order,” he said.Burns was also expected to travel to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a Palestinian official said.Walla News said he would also meet Palestinian intelligence chief Majed Faraj there.
Associated Press-N Korea repeats threat as US says joint drills are defensive-KIM TONG-HYUNG-Tue, August 10, 2021, 9:27 PM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Wednesday repeated a threat to respond to U.S.-South Korean military exercises it claims are an invasion rehearsal, while the United States insisted the drills were “purely defensive in nature” to maintain the South’s security.In a statement released by state media on Wednesday, senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol condemned South Korea for continuing the allied drills and warned of unspecified counteractions that would make Seoul “realize by the minute” that it had walked into a security crisis.A day earlier, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s leader, said the drills were the “most vivid expression of the U.S. hostile policy” toward North Korea and said the North will work faster to strengthen its preemptive strike capabilities.The allies have not confirmed when the drills will take place or other details, but local media have reported preliminary training was underway this week to set up larger computer-simulated drills on Aug. 16-26.Talking to reporters in Washington, State Department spokesperson Ned Price stressed that the drills were “purely defensive in nature.”“As we have long maintained, the United States harbors no hostile intent toward the DPRK,” Price said, using the initials of the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.“We support inter-Korean dialogue, we support inter-Korean engagement and will continue to work with our (South Korean) partners toward that end.”The South Korean government in a statement called for North Korea to respond to its offers for dialogue and said “raising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula wouldn't help anyone.”U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated “that diplomacy is the only pathway to a sustainable peace" and called for “a lowering of the rhetorical tensions that we are seeing."North Korea has a history of dialing up pressure on the South when it doesn’t get what it wants from the United States.Analysts say the North has been trying to exploit South Korea’s desperation for inter-Korean engagement, pressuring Seoul to drop the allied military drills and extract concessions from Washington on its behalf while the larger nuclear diplomacy remains stalemated.North Korea ended a yearlong pause in ballistic tests in March by firing two short-range missiles into the sea, continuing a tradition of testing new U.S. administrations with weapons demonstrations.But there haven’t been any known test launches since then as leader Kim Jong Un focused national efforts on fending off the coronavirus and salvaging a broken economy damaged further by pandemic border closures.North Korea’s threat that it may respond to the U.S.-South Korean drills with counteractions and advances of its preemptive strike capability may signal a resumption of its weapons testing activities.The North also could carry out a previous threat to abandon a 2018 agreement with Seoul on reducing military tensions, retire a ruling party unit devoted to inter-Korean affairs or abolish an office that had handled South Korean tourism at a North Korean resort, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor from Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies.The Diamond Mountain tours were a major symbol of engagement between the rivals and an important source of income for the cash-strapped North before Seoul suspended them in 2008 after a North Korean guard fatally shot a South Korean tourist.Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, said the North with its amped-up rhetoric may be trying to pressure South Korean presidential candidates to express differences with U.S. policy on sanctions and denuclearization ahead of the election in March next year.Since Kim Yo Jong’s statement was released on Tuesday, North Korea has not answered South Korea’s calls over inter-Korean communication channels. The hotlines had been disconnected for a year before the North agreed to reopen them in late July in what the Koreas then described as a conciliatory gesture.In Wednesday’s comments, Kim Yong Chol, a senior ruling party official who handles affairs with the South, said South Korea blew its opportunity for better ties by opting for “alliance with outsiders, not harmony with compatriots, escalation of tension, not detente, and confrontation, not improved relations.”“We will make them realize by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice,” he said.North Korea has long bristled at joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, which the allies insist are routine and defensive in nature. The North often responds to them with its own weapons tests.The allies in the past few years have canceled or downsized some of their joint training to provide space for diplomacy or because of the COVID-19 pandemic.The United States keeps about 28,000 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea, in a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.North Korea has suspended its nuclear and long-range missile tests since 2018, when leader Kim Jong Un initiated diplomacy with South Korea and then-President Donald Trump while attempting to leverage his nuclear weapons for badly needed sanctions relief.After the talks fell through in 2019 over disagreements in exchanging the release of sanctions and North Korea’s denuclearization steps, the North ramped up tests of new short-range, solid-fuel weapons to improve its ability to deliver nuclear strikes and overwhelm missile defense systems in South Korea and Japan.
SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE (NOT THE WORLD) THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER.
GENESIS 1:5,145 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:(ISRAELS HOLY DAYS AND SABBATH STARTS AT 6PM) And for SIGNS (PROPHECY SIGNS TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, OUR DAY)
SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS-CHEMICAL WEAPONS
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
REVELATION 16:21 80-120LB HAIL ON HUMANS
21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:(80-120 LBS) and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
FAMINE
EZEKIEL 5:16
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
DEUTORONOMY 28:24
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
LOCUSTS (DEMONIC) TORTURES SINNERS 5 MONTHS
REVELATION 9:1-6
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke (DEMONIC) locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
FEARFUL SIGHTS AND GREAT SIGNS FROM HEAVEN
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,221 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Hottest day in European records, as ‘Lucifer’ anticyclone sweeps through Italy-Regional authorities in Sicily record temperature of 119.8 degrees, beating country’s all-time record of 119.3 degrees from 1999, and 1977 record of 118.4 degrees in Greece-By AFP-AUG 12,21-Today, 3:08 am
ROME — Regional authorities in Sicily recorded temperatures of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) Wednesday as an anticyclone dubbed “Lucifer” swept in, which if confirmed would be a new Italian and European record.The blistering temperature was recorded near Syracuse, beating Italy’s all-time record of 48.5 degrees Celcius (119.3 Fahrenheit), set in Sicily in 1999, and the 1977 record of 48 degrees Celcius (118.4 Fahrenheit) at Eleusis in Greece.A spokesman for Italy’s national meteorological service said the result still had to be validated, while the World Meteorological Organization, which lists the Greece record as Europe’s highest, did not respond to requests for comment.Elsewhere in southern Italy, the anticyclone was forecast to send the mercury rising to 39-42 degrees before sweeping northwards, with weekend temperatures of up to 40 degrees in the central regions of Tuscany and Lazio, which includes Rome.As the capital warmed up on Wednesday, tourists sought out shade and water.“I kinda like it, it’s the goal of summer to be hot and sweat and just enjoy it!” said Nora Vert, a 20-year-old from France.People enjoy the sea on the beach of Torre Faro during a hot summer day in Messina, on August 11, 2021. (Giovanni ISOLINO / AFP)-The heat has raised fears for the fires that have blighted Sicily and the region of Calabria all summer, many caused by arson but fueled by warm winds and dry soil and plants.Firefighters said earlier Wednesday they had recorded 300 interventions in the past 12 hours, while a 77-year-old man died from burns received while trying to shelter his herd in the countryside near Reggio Calabria.The deputy head of environmental NGO WWF Italy, Dante Caserta, called for more resources, such as air support, to quell the flames “or it will be too late, and we will lose forever a priceless heritage.”The Madonie mountain range, near the Sicilian capital Palermo, has also for several days been besieged by flames that have destroyed crops, animals, homes and industrial buildings.Sicily’s governor, Nello Musumeci, called for a state of emergency to be declared for the mountains, while Agriculture Minister Stefano Patuanelli visited Wednesday to meet local mayors around Palermo.“The fires are an emergency that need immediate responses, first and foremost with the relief that must be given to those who have lost everything,” Patuanelli said.Blazes have also devastated Sardinia, with 13 fires recorded during the day on Tuesday. Over 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) burned last month in the west of the island during the worst fires seen in decades.Southern Europe has experienced intense heatwaves and wildfires this summer as experts warn climate change increases the intensity and frequency of such extreme weather events.
Associated Press-Northwest sizzles as heat wave hits many parts of US-Pacific Northwest Heat Wave-December Snedecor, a homeless woman who lives in a tent in Portland, Ore., helps set up snacks at a cooling center established to help vulnerable residents ride out the second dangerous heat wave to grip the Pacific Northwest this summer on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Snedecor, 46, spent two nights at the same cooling center in June when temperatures in the city soared to 116 degrees Fahrenheit and she plans to spend the night there again this week as temperatures are forecast to hit 100 F or higher for three consecutive days. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)-GILLIAN FLACCUS-Thu, August 12, 2021, 12:20 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Volunteers and county employees set up cots and stacked hundreds of bottles of water in an air-conditioned cooling center in a vacant building in Portland, Oregon, one of many such places being set up as the Northwest sees another stretch of sizzling temperatures.Scorching weather also hit other parts of the country this week. The weather service said heat advisories and warnings would be in effect from the Midwest to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic through at least Friday.In Portland, tempertures neared 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) on Wednesday and the mercury could soar past the century mark Thursday and Friday. Authorities trying to provide relief to vulnerable people are mindful of a record-shattering heat wave earlier this summer that killed hundreds in the Pacific Northwest.The high temperatures in Portland, part of a usually temperate region, would break all-time records this week if the late June heat wave had not done so already. Seattle will be cooler than Portland, with temperatures in the mid-90s, but it still has a chance to break records, and many people there, like in Oregon, don’t have air conditioning.People began coming into a 24-hour cooling center in north Portland before it opened Wednesday.The first few people in were experiencing homelessness, a population vulnerable to extreme heat. Among them was December Snedecor, who slept two nights in the same center in June when temperatures reached 116 F (47 C).She said she planned to sleep there again this week because the heat in her tent was unbearable.“I poured water over myself a lot. It was up in the teens, hundred-and-something heat. It made me dizzy. It was not good,” Snedecor said of the June heat. “I’ve just got to stay cool. I don’t want to die.”Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency and activated an emergency operations center, citing the potential for disruptions to the power grid and transportation. Besides opening cooling centers, city and county governments are extending public library hours and waiving bus fare for those headed to cooling centers. A 24-hour statewide help line will direct callers to the nearest cooling shelter and offer safety tips.Emergency officials have sent alerts to phones, said Dan Douthit, spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.The back-to-back heat waves, coupled with a summer that's been exceptionally warm and dry overall, are pummeling a region where summer highs usually drift into the 70s or 80s. Intense heat waves and a historic drought in the American West reflect climate change that is making weather more extreme.The June heat in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia killed hundreds of people and served as a wake-up call for what's ahead in a warming world. It was virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, a detailed scientific analysis found.Even younger residents struggled with the heat in June and dreaded this week's sweltering temperatures.Katherine Morgan, 27, has no air conditioning in her third-floor apartment and can't afford a window unit on the money she makes working at a bookstore and as a hostess at a brewery.She'll have to walk to work Thursday, the day when temperatures could again soar.“All my friends and I knew that climate change was real, but it’s getting really scary because it was gradually getting hot — and it suddenly got really hot, really fast," Morgan said.___Follow Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus.
Associated Press-First water cuts in US West supply to hammer Arizona farmers-FELICIA FONSECA-Thu, August 12, 2021, 12:11 AM
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — A harvester rumbles through the fields in the early morning light, mowing down rows of corn and chopping up ears, husks and stalks into mulch for feed at a local dairy.The cows won't get their salad next year, at least not from this farm. There won't be enough water to plant the corn croClimate change, drought and high demand are expected to force the first-ever mandatory cuts to a water supply that 40 million people across the American West depend on — the Colorado River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's projection next week will spare cities and tribes but hit Arizona farmers hard.They knew this was coming. They have left fields unplanted, laser leveled the land, lined canals, installed drip irrigation, experimented with drought-resistant crops and found other ways to use water more efficiently.Still, the cutbacks in Colorado River supply next year will be a blow for agriculture in Pinal County, Arizona's top producer of cotton, barley and livestock. Dairies largely rely on local farms for feed and will have to search farther out for supply, and the local economy will take a hit.The cuts are coming earlier than expected as a drought has intensified and reservoirs dipped to historic lows across the West. Scientists blame climate change for the warmer, more arid conditions over the past 30 years.Standing next to a dry field, his boots kicking up dust, farmer Will Thelander said "more and more of the farm is going to look like this next year because we won't have the water to keep things growing everywhere we want."His father, Dan, tried to steer his kids away from farming, not because water would be scarce but because development was expected to swallow farms between Phoenix and Tucson where their family grows alfalfa, corn for cows, and cotton, some destined for overseas markets.“It was fun just keeping the family business going, working with my dad,” said Thelander, a 34-year-old, fourth-generation farmer whose office is a dusty pickup truck.Thelander manages almost half of the 6,000 acres his family farms under Tempe Farming Co., much of it devoted to corn for cows. He's not planning on growing that crop next year, opting for others that will be more profitable on less land.He didn't plant anything on 400 acres this year to cut down on water use. Farmers' Colorado River water comes by way of Lake Mead, which sits on the Arizona-Nevada border and serves as a barometer for water deliveries to Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico, in the river’s lower basin.The nation’s largest reservoir already has hit the level that triggers mandatory shortages — 1,075 feet (328 meters) above sea level. The Bureau of Reclamation will issue the official projection for 2022 water deliveries Monday, giving users time to plan for what's to come.Arizona is expected to lose 512,000 acre-feet of water, about one-fifth of the state's Colorado River supply but less than 8% of its total water. Nevada will lose 21,000 acre-feet, and Mexico will lose 80,000 acre-feet. An acre-foot is enough water to supply one to two households a year.The cuts will be most deeply felt in Arizona, which entered into an agreement in 1968 for junior rights to Colorado River water in exchange for U.S. funding to build a 336-mile (540-kilometer) canal to send the water through the desert to major cities.Agriculture won't end in Pinal County, but the cuts to farmers will force more of them to rely on groundwater that's already overpumped.Hardly anyone expects a more than 20-year megadrought to improve. Models show the Colorado River will shrink even more in coming years because of climate change, leading to additional cuts that could ultimately affect home taps.The river carries melted snow from the Rocky Mountains and other tributaries through seven Western states, providing drinking water, nourishment for crops and habitat for plants and animals. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river's two largest reservoirs, are popular for recreation and their dams produce hydropower for the region.“It's such a significant river,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. “It used to be called the Nile of the West, which is almost impossible to believe these days.”Arizona has positioned itself to weather the cuts by storing water underground and in Lake Mead and through conservation. It's also trying to secure other water sources. Among the options are importing groundwater to metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson from other parts of the state, leasing more water from tribes, creating a more robust supply of recycled water and desalinating water from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.“They all work together," said Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project, which manages the canal system that carries river water. “Some of them are more near term, some of them are farther away, some of them are more costly than others, but all of those things need to be done.”Under a drought contingency plan that Western states signed in 2019, some of the water that farmers will lose will be replaced by other sources next year. Arizona, the Central Arizona Project, environmental groups and others have kicked in millions of dollars to soften the blow to farmers and improve groundwater infrastructure.The Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District, where Thelander farms, plans to have nine wells complete by year's end.District President Bryan Hartman said it won't pump anywhere near what it used to and will be looking for other sources, likely turning to cities and tribes with higher priority water rights.The next few months will be critical to planning for a future with less water."Growers will be asking, ‘How much water are we going to get, how many acre-feet, what are the flows going to be,' and that will determine the cropping pattern,” said Hartman, himself a farmer.Paul “Paco” Ollerton, 66, who largely grows feed for animals, will plant 25% to 35% less land next year.He thought he was done with farming back in 2005 when he sold his land, partly because he knew water would be hard to get.“I just finally woke up one day and thought, the secretary of the Interior one day is going to say, ‘It’s more important for you to flush your toilet and have water to brush your teeth with than farm,’” Ollerton said.Too young to retire, he leased back the land and has farmed across Pinal County.One of his farms along a stretch of interstate leading to San Diego uses drip irrigation that makes water use more efficient and crops more productive, he said. Making the rounds in his cotton fields, he flushes the system's valves with Aggie, a yellow lab who rides in the backseat of his pickup truck.His two children talk about being farmers, but he doesn’t promote the long hours or uncertainty. Three generations of farming likely ends with him.For Thelander, he's considered getting out of farming and starting a trucking business. But he also sees hope in guayule, a drought-resistant shrub that could be used in the production of rubber. His family's farm is participating in research for a tire manufacturer to see if it can be used on a large scale“This is my Hail Mary, trying to save farming for myself," Thelander said.___See AP’s complete coverage of the drought: https://apnews.com/hub/droughts.
Associated Press-Higher but still slim odds of asteroid Bennu slamming Earth-MARCIA DUNN-Wed, August 11, 2021, 4:44 PM
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The good news is that scientists have a better handle on asteroid Bennu’s whereabouts for the next 200 years. The bad news is that the space rock has a slightly greater chance of clobbering Earth than previously thought.But don’t be alarmed: Scientists reported Wednesday that the odds are still quite low that Bennu will hit us in the next century.“We shouldn't be worried about it too much,” said Davide Farnocchia, a scientist with NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who served as the study's lead author.While the odds of a strike have risen from 1-in-2,700 to 1-in-1,750 over the next century or two, scientists now have a much better idea of Bennu's path thanks to NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft, according to Farnocchia.“So I think that overall, the situation has improved," he told reporters.The spacecraft is headed back to Earth on a long, roundabout loop after collecting samples from the large, spinning rubble pile of an asteroid, considered one of the two most hazardous known asteroids in our solar system. The samples are due here in 2023.Before Osiris-Rex arrived at Bennu in 2018, telescopes provided solid insight into the asteroid, about one-third of a mile (one-half kilometer) in diameter. The spacecraft collected enough data over 2 1/2 years to help scientists better predict the asteroid’s orbital path well into the future.Their findings — published in the journal Icarus — should also help in charting the course of other asteroids and give Earth a better fighting chance if and when another hazardous space rock heads our way.Before Osiris-Rex arrived on the scene, scientists put the odds of Bennu hitting Earth through the year 2200 at 1-in-2,700. Now it's 1-in-1,750 through the year 2300. The single most menacing day is Sept. 24, 2182.Bennu will have a close encounter with Earth in 2135 when it passes within half the distance of the moon. Earth's gravity could tweak its future path and put it on a collision course with Earth in the 2200s — less likely now based on Osiris-Rex observations.If Bennu did slam into Earth, it wouldn’t wipe out life, dinosaur-style, but rather create a crater roughly 10 to 20 times the size of the asteroid, said Lindley Johnson, NASA's planetary defense officer. The area of devastation would be much bigger: as much as 100 times the size of the crater.If an object Bennu’s size hit the Eastern Seaboard, it “would pretty much devastate things up and down the coast," he told reporters.Scientists already are ahead of the curve with Bennu, which was discovered in 1999. Finding threatening asteroids in advance increases the chances and options for pushing them out of our way, Johnson said.“One-hundred years from now, who knows what the technology is going to be?” he said.In November, NASA plans to launch a mission to knock an asteroid off-course by hitting it. The experimental target will be the moonlet of a bigger space rock.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
BBC-Algeria forest fires: At least 65 people killed as fires spread-Wed, August 11, 2021, 9:48 AM
Wildfires tearing through northern Algeria have now killed at least 65 people, including 28 soldiers deployed to help the firefighters.The blazes in the mountainous Kabylie region are some of the worst in the country's history. Officials have blamed arson for many of them.President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has declared three days of national mourning for the victims.A total of 69 fires were burning on Wednesday, amid a heatwave sweeping across North Africa. The flames have been fanned by strong winds and tinder-dry conditions.In the worst-affected district of Tizi Ouzou, residents have fled and many homes have been destroyed. Many of the victims live in remote villages.Several people have been arrested on suspicion of starting fires, but officials gave no details.Emergency services have been overstretched and Algeria is nearing a deal with European partners to rent firefighting planes.On Facebook, there have been calls for volunteer doctors to provide support.The heatwave is expected to continue across North Africa until the end of the week, with temperatures in Algeria reaching 46C (115F).Fires have caused devastation in several Mediterranean countries in recent days, including Turkey, Greece, Lebanon and Cyprus.The fires come as the UN released a major report stating that the effects of climate change are even more severe than previously thought.The report warned that increasingly severe weather patterns that can fuel wildfires, such as heatwaves and droughts, will become more common if action is not taken soon.
Wildfire continues to ravage parts of California-Sat, August 7, 2021, 10:13 PM
At least eight people were missing Saturday (August 7) as the fire destroyed forest and tinder dry scrub in the Sierra Nevada mountains and a historic gold rush town.Even as the calmer, less windy weather gave firefighters a break overnight with the Dixie fire, the third largest fire in California's history, the Pulmas County Sheriff's Office released the somber news."We have received reports of eight unaccounted for individuals," the sheriff's office said in a statement, asking for the public's help in finding them.Five of the missing belong to the old mining town of Greenville where blazes leveled most of its downtown, about 160 miles north of Sacramento.Nearly 447,000 acres have already burned in the Dixie fire and it was 21 percent contained by mid-afternoon, said Edwin Zuniga, a firefighter and spokesman for Cal Fire, the combined firefighting entity battling the blaze.Earlier in the week, the fire was reported as 35 percent contained, but better mapping clarified the area, officials said.The cause of the fire is listed as unknown and remains under investigation.
