Sunday, December 25, 2022

THE SNOW BUILDS-THE SNOW BLOWS-TO GET OUT YOU NEED A GREAT SNOW BLOWER.

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)

THE SNOW BUILDS-THE SNOW BLOWS-TO GET OUT YOU NEED A GREAT SNOW BLOWER.

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.

Over 1,400 flight cancellations reported as winter storm clobbers US-Mychael Schnell-Sun, December 25, 2022 at 10:22 AM EST

More than 1,400 flights were canceled in the U.S. as of Sunday morning, with a winter storm battering several parts of the country.A total of 1,440 cancellations flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled by 10:15 a.m. EST on Christmas Day, according to FlightAware. An additional 2,003 flights were delayed.Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta saw the highest number of cancellations as of 10:15 a.m. Sunday, according to FlightAware. Eighty-nine flights scheduled to take off from the airport were canceled, and 118 flights meant to land at the location were scrapped.The flight disruptions come as a winter storm rolls through the U.S., leaving cities in cold temperatures for the holidays. The storm stretches from the Great Lakes by Canada to the Rio Grande near the border with Mexico. It has left millions of people in freezing temperatures, and many cities covered in snow.According to The Associated Press, approximately 60 percent of the U.S. population experienced some form of a winter advisory or warning. Thousands have lost power because of the weather.At least 23 people have died as of Sunday night, according to NBC News.Buffalo has seen blizzard conditions and feet of snow amid the storm, prompting New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to deploy the National Guard to Erie County on Friday. The Buffalo airport is closed until Monday.More than 3,400 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled on Saturday, according to FlightAware, and 8,538 delays were reported.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

Winter storm winding down in Buffalo and Syracuse, but lots more snow expected in Watertown-Published: Dec. 25, 2022, 9:28 a.m.- James T. Mulder | jmulder@syracuse.com

Syracuse, NY — The winter storm is winding down in Syracuse and Buffalo, but Watertown is expected to get another 13 to 19 inches of snow today, according to the National Weather Service.A winter storm warning is still in effect in Buffalo until 4 a.m. Monday.Buffalo had received 43 inches of snow as of this morning. Today’s forecast for Buffalo calls for a chance of snow showers, partly sunny conditions and a high of 23 degrees.A ban on all vehicles is still in effect in Western New York on I-90 from exit 46 (Henrietta) to the Pennsylvania line and on the Niagara Thruway (I-190) from I-90 to exit 22 (Route 62) until further notice.Temperatures are expected to climb to 23 degrees today in Syracuse under partly sunny skies. But breezy conditions and wind gusts as high as 33 miles per hour could result in wind chill temperatures as low as zero. Syracuse got about 3 inches of snow on Christmas eve.Watertown is under a blizzard warning until 1 p.m. Sunday. It could get another 13 to 19 inches of snow today.Across Upstate New York, nearly 39,000 customers remain without power, down from more than 100,000 this weekend, according to the utilities serving the region.The hardest hit areas are Erie and Niagara counties, with more than 30,000 customers without power as of 8 a.m. Sunday.In Central New York, most power has been restored. But 2,500 customers in Madison County were still without power Sunday morning. Up north, about 900 in the Watertown area don’t have power.

Utility crews across Canada scramble to restore power amid winter storm-Hundreds of thousands of people across the country still without electricity-Laura McQuillan · CBC News · Posted: Dec 24, 2022 9:56 AM ET |

Utility companies are making headway in their efforts to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people across Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and the Maritime provinces.In many parts of the country, including Ontario and B.C., officials are urging motorists to avoid travel if possible as treacherous winter conditions continue.Western and northern parts of Canada are facing another day of extremely cold temperatures, while in some places, rainfall will create flood risks due to the frozen ground.260,000 without power in Ontario, Quebec-In Ontario, upwards of 60,000 customers were without power on Saturday, mostly in eastern and southern parts of the province, as well as north past Thunder Bay.Hydro One crews had restored power to thousands of properties but were hampered by high winds, blowing snow and blizzard-like conditions which continue to cause outages. The utility company warned that some customers may face ongoing restoration delays.The Ontario Provincial Police were urging people to stay off the roads if possible, after massive pileups and hundreds of other collisions on Friday amid icy road conditions with very low visibility.A man gestures while another looks on, as cables pull a snow plow that is stuck behind them.There were multiple closures along Highway 401 on Saturday, while many other highway sections throughout southern parts of the province remained closed. Keep up to date with the latest closures on the 511 Ontario website.Fort Erie, at Ontario's border with Buffalo, N.Y., declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon. About 15,000 residents were without power, while flooding caused evacuations, and travellers and truck drivers were stranded near the Peace Bridge border crossing.
Chatham-Kent, in the province's southwest, also declared a state of emergency after road conditions led to multiple crashes and left hundreds of people stranded. It was urging people to stay off the roads so plows and tow trucks could attempt to clear snow and abandoned vehicles.Gerald Cheng, meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, says motorists need to take extreme care on Saturday as conditions remain hazardous due to snow and strong winds.In Quebec, more than 200,000 customers were without power on Saturday, with the Capitale-Nationale around Quebec City and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions hit hard. Hydro-Québec said it was hopeful about conditions improving throughout the day as crews continued restoration work.Highways around Montreal were blocked by multi-vehicle pileups on Saturday. Across the province, roads were covered in ice and snow, with zero visibility in some places.Environment Canada is warning blizzards, strong winds and other stormy weather in parts of Ontario and Quebec will likely continue into Christmas.Flood watch in B.C.Rainfall warnings and flood watches were issued in Vancouver and southwestern B.C., as heavy rain in the region follows a week of snowstorms.A significant winter storm swept through the region on Friday, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and the closure of crucial arterial bridges in Metro Vancouver, as well as ferry suspensions and avalanche risk elsewhere in the province.Most flights and ferries resumed service on Saturday, although some delays have been reported, according to Vancouver airport officials and B.C. Ferries.However, there are now rainfall warnings for most of Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. And the provincial River Forecast Centre issued a flood watch for the Lower Mainland and Central, West, and South Vancouver Island, including Victoria, on Saturday.Travel advisories remain in place for many provincial highways, urging motorists to take only essential trips. DriveBC said people on Highway 3, in particular, should be prepared for avalanche risk and road closures. The Sea to Sky Highway, north of Vancouver, was closed as of 11:30 a.m. due to multiple crashes.Power outages in Atlantic Canada-Tens of thousands of people were without power in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on Saturday, but crews managed to restore electricity to several thousand customers throughout the morning.More than 9,000 customers in Nova Scotia were without power on Saturday. High winds, rain and storm surges were expected to hit Cape Breton throughout the day.Waves wash over a wooden trail across rocks, while homes and trees are seen in the background.In New Brunswick, more than 20,000 customers were without power on Saturday, and N.B. Power warned some might have to spend Christmas without electricity. Environment Canada has issued a storm surge warning in the Bay of Chaleur from Miscou Island to Campbellton, where coastal flooding, beach erosion, minor infrastructure damage and coastal road washouts are expected.In P.E.I., strong winds were easing on Saturday. Flights at Charlottetown Airport have resumed, and the Confederation Bridge, which was closed to all traffic Friday night due to high winds, has reopened. Maritime Electric crews were working to restore power to about 2,000 properties and hoped to have them all reconnected by the end of Saturday.Newfoundland and Labrador escaped the brunt of the winter storm, but parts of the province are expected to face heavy downpours, strong winds and storm surges throughout Saturday.-Travel troubles continue-U.S.-bound border crossings at Niagara Falls (the Lewiston/Queenston, Rainbow and Peace bridges) were closed, according to the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Vehicles were still able to enter Canada at those border crossings. Current border wait times are posted on the Canada Border Services Agency website.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded on Via Rail trains on the Quebec City-Windsor corridor from Friday night into Saturday morning. In a statement, Via Rail told CBC News that power outages and fallen trees made it impossible to move some of the trains.The rail operator said it was trying to keep stuck passengers comfortable while it searched for alternative transport, and it promised them full refunds. More rail delays were expected on Saturday.Hundreds of passengers have been trapped on VIA Rail trains running between Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Kelly Crowe, who is stranded on a Via Rail train, talks about the ongoing situation.In a tweet, federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra called the Via Rail situation "unacceptable" and said the government was in contact with the rail operator "to resolve all issues safely and efficiently."A CN train derailed near Grafton, Ont., and was blocking a rail crossing. It was not immediately clear if bad weather was responsible. CN said the cause was under investigation and that the crossing was likely to remain closed for at least 24 hours.At Vancouver International Airport, arrivals and departures were returning to normal after two storms caused major disruptions this week. However, the airport warned passengers that their flight schedules could change and to check the latest flight information with their airline."We're almost back to a full schedule. Some cancellations are coming through because of weather events in other parts of the country, other parts of the continent," the airport's CEO, Tamara Vrooman, told journalists on Saturday.Air Canada is warning of further flight disruptions in Vancouver, Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal through to Christmas Day.WestJet's operations resumed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Saturday morning, as well as at Vancouver's airport on Friday night, but dozens of Saturday flights were cancelled. The airline was dealing with a backlog of luggage in Calgary due to cancelled flights but was ramping up delivery services to reunite bags with their owners.Elsewhere in Canada-The weather continues to be frigid in parts of Yukon, Northwest Territories, northern B.C. and the Prairies, with temperatures in the –40s or –50s C, depending on the region.If your home is without power, do not use outdoor heating equipment indoors, like fuel-burning heaters, lights, generators or portable stoves, as these can cause asphyxiation or carbon monoxide poisoning if used inside.

Christmas reborn in Bethlehem with tourists back after pandemic, lifting spirits-Crowds at biblical city, revered as Jesus’s birthplace, still not at pre-COVID levels, but Palestinian Authority tourism minister says celebrations ‘very different’ from last year-By Agencies and TOI staff-DEC 25,22-Today, 6:58 am

The biblical town of Bethlehem marked a merry Christmas on Saturday, with thousands of visitors descending upon the traditional birthplace of Jesus as it rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic.Tourism is the economic lifeblood of this town in the West Bank, and for the past two years, the pandemic kept international visitors away.This year, visitors are back, hotels are full and shopkeepers have reported a brisk business in the runup to the holiday. Although the numbers have not reached pre-pandemic levels, the return of tourists has palpably raised spirits in Bethlehem.“We are celebrating Christmas this year in a very much different way than last year,” Palestinian Authority Tourism Minister Rula Maayah said. “We’re celebrating Christmas with pilgrims coming from all over the world.”Throughout the day, hundreds of people strolled through Manger Square for Christmas Eve celebrations. Marching bands pounding on drums and playing bagpipes paraded through the area, and foreign tourists meandered about and snapped selfies with the town’s large Christmas tree behind them.Cool gray weather, along with an occasional rain shower, did little to dampen spirits, though many people headed indoors to shops and restaurants to warm up. By nightfall, the crowds had thinned.Daisy Lucas, a 38-year-old Filipina who works in Israel, said it was a dream come true to mark the holiday in such an important place.“As a Christian walking in the places in the Bible, it’s so overwhelming,” she said. “This is the birthplace of Jesus Christ. As a Christian, that’s one achievement that’s on my bucket list.”Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, arrived from Jerusalem through a checkpoint in Israel’s West Bank security barrier.“We are living in very difficult challenges,” he said, noting the war in Ukraine and a recent wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence. “But the message of Christmas is a message of peace.”“It’s possible to change things,” he added. “We will be very clear in what we have to do and what we have to say in order to preserve the importance of unity and reconciliation among all.”
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa greets worshippers next to the security barrier between the West Bank city of Bethlehem and Jerusalem on his way to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem during Christmas, December 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)-Pizzaballa walked through Manger Square, waving to well-wishers before heading to the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born. Later, he was to celebrate Midnight Mass.Present-day reality was visible at Manger Square as banners showing photos of Palestinian terrorist Nasser Abu Hmeid were prominently displayed, days after he died of cancer in an Israeli prison clinic after spending some 20 years behind bars.Abu Hmeid, 51, was a founding member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terror group, the armed wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party. He had been serving multiple life sentences since 2002, after being convicted in the deaths of seven Israelis during the Palestinians’ Second Intifada, or uprising, against Israel in the early 2000s.

Israel grounds 11 F-35 jets after US fighter crashes during test-Military says some of its fleet to be examined for issue that apparently downed a modified version of the plane in Texas-By Emanuel Fabian-DEC 25,22-Today, 4:22 pm

The Israeli Air Force on Sunday said it had grounded 11 of its advanced F-35 stealth jets after a similar model of the plane crashed during a test flight in the United States earlier this month.On December 15, an F-35B crashed on a runway at a US Navy base in Texas, reportedly during a test of its hovering capabilities being conducted by Lockheed Martin. The pilot ejected safely and was unharmed.The Israeli military on Sunday said 11 of its F-35I jets would be checked for a similar issue to the one that apparently caused the crash, before being returned to service, following recommendations by the F-35 Joint Program Office.“From the findings and the information given, it was found that these planes require a dedicated inspection in order to rule out the possibility of a repeated malfunction in the Israeli array,” the Israel Defense Forces said.The F-35I, the Israeli version of the F-35, is based on the F-35A, which has a conventional takeoff and landing system. The B variant, used by the US Navy, allows for short takeoff and vertical landing on aircraft carriers.The military did not detail why only some of its jets may have the issue that caused the F-35B to crash.F-35 crash-lands in Fort Worth, TX – pilot ejected ???????? #aviation pic.twitter.com/Ov7qXf0xad— Houston Air Watch (@houstonairw) December 15, 2022-Earlier this year, the IAF grounded its entire F-35 fleet over a problem with its ejector seats, which was discovered by the US. The jets were returned to service after a week, after being examined for the issue.The fifth-generation F-35 has been lauded as a “game-changer” by the military, not only for its offensive and stealth capabilities, but for its ability to connect its systems with other aircraft and form an information-sharing network.US-made F-35 fighter jets at Nevatim Air Base on November 13, 2022. (IDF)-Israel has agreed to purchase at least 50 F-35 fighter jets from the US defense contractor Lockheed Martin. So far, 36 aircraft have been delivered, and the remaining planes are slated to arrive in batches of twos and threes until 2024.

Putin says West aiming to ‘tear apart’ historical Russia-President asserts his goal is to ‘unite the Russian people,’ declares that all US-supplied Patriot air-defense missiles deployed in Ukraine will be destroyed-By Agencies-DEC 25,22-Today, 2:00 pm

MOSCOW, Ruusia — Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the West for trying to “tear apart” Russia, in extracts from an interview to be aired on national television later Sunday.“At the core of it all is the policy of our geopolitical opponents aiming to tear apart Russia, the historical Russia,” Putin said.“They have always tried to ‘divide and conquer’… Our goal is something else — to unite the Russian people,” he said.Putin has used the concept of “historical Russia” to argue that Ukrainians and Russians are one people — undermining Kyiv’s sovereignty and justifying his 10-month offensive in Ukraine.“We are acting in the right direction, we are protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, of our people,” Putin said.The president repeated claims that Moscow was “ready to negotiate with all participants in this process (to find) an acceptable solution” to the conflict.In his first trip outside Ukraine since the offensive began in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earned firm pledges of support in Washington from US President Joe Biden, including the Pentagon’s most advanced air defense system.“Of course we will destroy it, 100 percent!” Putin said, referring to the Patriot missile battery promised to Zelensky.The latest US military aid package will include not only a Patriot missile battery but precision-guided bombs for fighter jets, US officials said last week. It represents an expansion in the kinds of advanced weaponry intended to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against what has been an increasing barrage of Russian missiles.Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said the delivery of the advanced surface-to-air missile system would be considered a provocative step and that the system and any crews accompanying it would be a legitimate target for Moscow’s military.“It’s a defensive system,” Biden said of sending the missile system. “It’s not escalatory — it’s defensive.”It was unclear when the Patriot battery would arrive on the front lines in Ukraine, given that US troops will have to train Ukrainian forces. The training, expected to be done in Germany, could take several months, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Putin's nuclear threats are stirring fears of a nightmare scenario. Here's what's in his arsenal and what could happen if he orders the unthinkable.John Haltiwanger,Charles R. Davis-Sat, December 24, 2022 at 12:32 PM EST

Putin has repeatedly made nuclear threats since he launched Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The use of a nuclear weapon is "directly tied to Russia's fate on the battlefield," one expert told Insider.A Russian tactical nuke could destroy about a dozen tanks, a researcher said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a lot of very unsettling nuclear threats since the start of Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine, and concerns are growing as his forces lose ground that he could resort to the unthinkable and order the use of weapons of mass destruction — a nightmare scenario.In September, Putin made a veiled reference to nuclear weapons while vowing to defend Russia's "territorial integrity," emphasizing that "this is not a bluff." Putin has continued to make threatening references to Russia's nuclear arsenal in the time since.The use of a tactical nuke would be a deliberate act — made "in cold blood," an expert said — that requires a multi-step process that US spy agencies may detect; so far, US officials have said they've seen no signs of it.Russia has the world's largest arsenal of tactical nukes, weapons whose battlefield impact may be limited to destroying a dozen armored vehicles but could still kill tens of thousands if used against a city. Unlike the ICBMs whose explosive power is measured in often measured in megatons, tactical nukes are not emergency-use weapons ready to be fired at a moment's notice, arms control experts said; they are aging weapons of questionable reliability that must be taken out of storage and shipped to a frontline unit for use.Even so, the use of just one tactical nuke could create a catastrophic chain reaction of escalation. President Joe Biden in October went as far to suggest the risk of nuclear "Armageddon" is the highest it's been since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the US has privately communicated to Russia that there would be "catastrophic consequences" if nuclear weapons are used.Putin hasn't quite said "we're going to launch nuclear weapons, but he wants the dialogue in the US and Europe to be, 'The longer this war goes on, the greater the threat of nuclear weapons might be used,'" John Erath, senior policy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told the Associated Press in December.Though some Russia watchers suspect Putin is bluffing to deter Western support for Kyiv, many top nuclear experts say that his threats should be taken seriously regardless.Russia's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons-A Russian Iskander missile launcher-A Russian Iskander-E missile launcher on display at the International Military Technical Forum 'Army 2022' on August 17, 2022 in Patriot Park, outside of Moscow, Russia.Getty Images-Putin, who has issued threats in vague terms, has not expressly said whether or not or how he might use a nuclear weapon. But military and nuclear weapons experts have said that if he did, Putin is more likely to employ a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine than a strategic nuclear weapon, though the latter remains an option.Tactical or non-strategic nuclear weapons are meant for more limited strikes or use on the battlefield over a shorter range while strategic nuclear weapons typically have higher explosive yields and are intended to be used against targets farther from the front lines.Russia has the largest nuclear stockpile in the world with 5,997 warheads, though roughly 1,500 are retired, according to the latest assessment from the Federation of American Scientists, and not all of Russia's active nuclear weapons are deployed.Russia is estimated to have around 1,912 tactical nuclear weapons in its arsenal, and it maintains a fully operational nuclear triad, giving it the ability to deliver nukes to their intended targets by way of land, air and sea.The explosive yield of a tactical nuclear weapon tends to range from around 10 to 100 kilotons (a kiloton is a unit of measurement equivalent to the explosive force of 1,000 tons of TNT), but Russia also has low-yield nukes that fall below one kiloton.That said, these weapons are still extraordinarily powerful. The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki by the US during World War II had an explosive yield of just 21 kilotons, and it still killed roughly 74,000 people. There are tactical nuclear weapons that are more than four times as powerful."These are devastating and indiscriminate killing machines," Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association (ACA), said of tactical nuclear weapons during a recent webinar hosted by his organization.Demonstrating resolve by going nuclear-Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, does not believe that at this stage, despite Putin's rhetoric, Russia is close to breaking the atomic taboo, potentially alienating its remaining allies and entrenching its status as an international pariah.And "there is a consensus among people who've been looking at all this that the battlefield use of nuclear weapons is very much out of the question," Podvig told Insider from his home in Geneva. "This is not that kind of war."Ukraine's forces are dispersed, meaning there likely would not be an opportunity to take out thousands of soldiers in a strike. At best, a single tactical nuclear weapon could destroy about a dozen tanks, Podvig said. It would also, among other things, be a logistical nightmare for a military that at least early on struggled to even feed its own troops."You need to coordinate. You need to deal with all the contamination," he said. "It's not easy."Even if the intent of such a strike were to simply demonstrate Russia's resolve and willingness to escalate, Podvig does not think it would achieve that with a battlefield nuke — it could in fact be read as Moscow being hesitant. If the Kremlin were seeking an effective demonstration, he argued, "it would have to be shocking," like nuking an entire city."It won't be enough just to have an explosion over the Black Sea somewhere to deliver the shock. You really would have to kill a lot of people — we are talking about tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people," he said. "And you would have to do that very much in cold blood."The devastation caused by a nuclear weapon could undermine Putin at home though. He sold this conflict to his population on the basis of shared history with Ukraine, creating a potential backlash were he to oversee, by way of nuclear force, the destruction of cities or the mass killing of Ukrainians, who he has described as "one people" with Russians. Such sentiments, however, have not prevented other wartime atrocities.It's Putin's call whether to use a nuke-Putin cabinet
Russia released a document in 2020 called the "Basic Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence," which outlines its nuclear doctrine. The document states that the Russian president makes the decision to use nuclear weapons."The Russian President is the Supreme Commander in Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, and he has the authority to direct the use of nuclear weapons," per the Congressional Research Service.In other words, it's Putin's call whether Russia uses a nuke, but letting one loose is not as simple as the press of a button.If Putin ordered a nuclear strike, it's possible that at some stage his orders could be refused. But there's no way of knowing if anyone would dare stand against the Russian leader, whose opponents have a history of winding up in prison or dying in violent ways.The whole process starts with a decision by Putin, Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, explained during the ACA webinar. "But of course, like in the United States, the military has to cooperate," he said."I don't think there's a red button on his desk that he can press and then suddenly the nuclear weapons start flying," Kristensen said, and it would likely "take longer," he continued, to use a tactical nuclear weapon than a strategic one given that these weapons are not immediately available.Russia's non-strategic nukes are "in central storage and would have to be brought out of their bunker first and transported out to the launch units that would fire them," Kristensen explained, adding that it's "reasonable to assume" Western intelligence would detect whether this is occurring given the number of steps involved. US intelligence has so far seen no indication that Putin is preparing to use nuclear weapons, according to recent reporting.And some of these nukes are potentially unreliable given their age and time in storage."Most of these warheads stored there are very old," Pavel Baev, a military researcher who previously worked for the Soviet defense ministry, told the Guardian in October. "Without testing it's really hard to say how suitable they are because many of them are past their expiration date."The document released by Russia in 2020 lays out four scenarios that could potentially lead to the use of nuclear weapons: the use of nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, conventional aggression that threatens Russia's existence, ballistic missiles that are already in flight and heading for Russia or its allies, and an attack on the government or military that jeopardizes Russia's nuclear response capabilities.But Putin's recent threats suggest that he might, though the risk remains low, ignore Russia's official nuclear doctrine and use a weapon of mass destruction to send a grave message to Ukraine and its Western allies.There's an open, evolving debate over whether Putin would actually take the extreme step of using a nuclear weapon, but there's widespread agreement that the Ukraine war has raised the risk of a nuclear crisis to a level not seen in decades.Kristensen said during the ACA webinar that he believes it's unlikely that Russia employs nuclear weapons in Ukraine. For that to happen, things would have to "escalate significantly" to a "direct clash between NATO and Russia," he said."That said, they've certainly rattled the sword and threatened something that looks like a scenario going beyond what Russia's declaratory policy is," he said, adding that if Russia did choose to use a nuclear weapon it would likely turn to a nuclear-armed Iskander short-range ballistic missile.The risks of Putin employing a nuclear weapon in the short-term are "still low," Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a former senior intelligence officer who led strategic analysis on Russia for the National Intelligence Council from 2015 to 2018, told Insider in late September. But Kendall-Taylor also emphasized that Putin's decision to annex four Ukrainian territories — declaring territories on the front lines of the war as part of Russia — "increased those risks.""I do worry now that as the Ukrainians reclaim territory that Russia has now annexed and that [Putin] claims as Russian, given that he now is so personally invested in this, that the risk of his use of a tactical nuke on the battlefield in Ukraine has gone up," she said, going on to say that the use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine is "directly tied to Russia's fate on the battlefield."If Putin did decide to use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, it would likely be "in hopes of shocking Ukraine into surrender or the West into cutting off aid to Ukraine," according to an assessment from the Institute for the Study of War. "Such attacks would be highly unlikely to force Ukraine or the West to surrender, however, and would be tremendous gambles of the sort that Putin has historically refused to take," ISW said.One of the most pressing questions surrounding the potential use of a nuclear weapon by Russia is how the West, and more specifically NATO, would respond.Ukraine is not a nuclear power. But multiple countries in NATO, a 30-member military alliance that has supported Ukraine in its fight against Russia, have nuclear arsenals of their own — including the US.The US and Russia collectively possess roughly 90% of the world's nuclear warheads. The two countries came dangerously close to nuclear war on more than one occasion during the Cold War, often by accident, but fortunately managed to avoid a catastrophe.The Biden administration has warned Russia there would be serious consequences if nuclear weapons are used, but it has not gone into specifics. Experts advise not going nuclear in response."I do not believe that a nuclear response is something that the United States and its allies should be placing on the table. We need to stay on the side of perhaps a firm military response, but one that would stay conventional in nature," Rose Gottemoeller, a former senior State Department official for arms control and nonproliferation issues and former deputy secretary general of NATO, said during ACA's webinar. Gottemoeller said that the response could target where Russia's nuclear attack originated, but the US could also consider executing a non-lethal attack first, such as employing offensive cyber capabilities."Any such attack would be carefully designed to be proportionate and to be responsive to what would be an egregious attack on a Ukrainian target using a nuclear weapon," Gottemoeller said, adding that she wanted "to stress and really underscore that none of these options for military action are desirable to NATO or to the United States of America."Read the original article on Business Insider.

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center teams up with US health agency for pandemic research-Ramat Gan hospital to work with NIH for the quick identification of emerging pathogens and rapid deployment of scientific tools to fight them-By TOI staff-DEC 25,22-Today, 2:35 pm

An Israeli hospital has announced a new pandemic research institute in partnership with the US government’s National Institutes of Health.The Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan said in a statement that the new institute will focus on research, as well as working to create the tools necessary to fight epidemics and pandemics in the future.Researchers in Israel will work directly with their counterparts in the United States to quickly diagnose emerging pathogens, allowing them to predict the viral and bacterial threats of the future.The new partnership, to be named the Sheba Pandemic Research Institute (SPRI), was announced at a ceremony on Thursday.“The establishment of the Sheba Pandemic Research Institute represents a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to prevent and combat future epidemics and pandemics,” said Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the Sheba Pandemic Research Institute & Infectious Diseases Unit.
“Together with the NIH, we hope that the discovery of pathogens and infectious diseases can be translated into health outcomes that not only improve but protect the lives of patients worldwide,” Regev-Yochay said in a statement.Prof. Daniel Douek, chief of the NIH’s Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center and newly appointed senior scientific adviser at SPRI, said he believed the collaboration with the Israeli hospital could lead to breakthroughs in healthcare.“The core of the National Institutes of Health and Vaccine Research Center mission is the application of scientific and technological knowledge to design and develop vaccines and biologics against infectious diseases,” Douek said in a statement. “Together with Sheba, we can turn discovery into real health advances.”

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