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)
WILL CITIES BURN BY THE DEATH CULT OF GEORGE SOROS.
Leviticus 19:19 ESV /
“You
shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a
different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor
shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.(ALSO
YOU SHALL NOT TAKE A VACCINE MADE WITH ANIMAL PARTS.
Project Veritas NEW VIDEO: Alleged Pfizer Scientist CAUGHT Describing Mutating Viruses For PROFIT.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL9PlYkRD3Q-RZca6CCnPKw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btsAWkcl-oA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-LamoxBvW0
SEND CHECKS TO DEAD PEOPLE-RAND PAUL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y0cQ3H4664
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U1ViAabtd8
CBC-COVID-19 misinformation cost at least 2,800 lives and $300M, new report says-Thu, January 26, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EST
The
spread of COVID-19 misinformation in Canada cost at least 2,800 lives
and $300 million in hospital expenses over nine months of the pandemic,
according to estimates in a new report out Thursday.The report —
released by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), an independent
research organization that receives federal funding — examined how
misinformation affected COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths
between March and November of 2021.The authors suggest that
misinformation contributed to vaccine hesitancy for 2.3 million
Canadians. Had more people been willing to roll up their sleeves when a
vaccine was first available to them, Canada could have seen roughly
200,000 fewer COVID cases and 13,000 fewer hospitalizations, the report
says.Alex Himelfarb, chair of the expert panel that wrote the report,
said that its estimates are very conservative because it only examined a
nine-month period of the pandemic."It's pretty clear that tens of
thousands of hospitalizations did occur because of misinformation,"
Himelfarb told reporters. "We are confident that those are conservative
estimates."Himelfarb also said the $300 million estimate covers only
hospital costs — the study didn't include indirect costs associated with
factors such as delayed elective surgeries and lost wages.A number of
studies have found that getting vaccinated can reduce the risk of COVID
infection and hospitalization. But only 80 per cent of Canadians have
been fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from Health
Canada.The CCA report defines two groups of vaccine-hesitant
individuals: those who were reluctant to get a shot and those who
refused. It says that reluctant individuals expressed concerns about
vaccines in general and questioned the speed with which COVID vaccines
were developed.Vaccine refusers, on the other hand, were more likely to
believe that the pandemic is a hoax or greatly exaggerated, the report
says.Beyond the health impacts, misinformation is depriving people of
their right to be informed, said Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor at the
University of Bristol's School of Psychological Science in the U.K. and
one of the report's authors."In a democracy, the public should be able
to understand the risks we're facing … and act on that basis," he said.
"But if you're drenched in misinformation … then you're distorting the
public's ability — and you're denying people the right — to be informed
about the risks they're facing."The report says misinformation relies on
simple messages meant to evoke emotional reactions. It says
misinformation is often presented as coming from a credible source, such
as a scientific publication.Ideology can play a role: authors-The
authors also suggest that misinformation can be driven by someone's
personal worldview, ideology or political identity."Denial of collective
action problems is going to be very [prevalent] among people who don't
like collective action," Himelfarb said, noting that misinformation can
flow into political messaging."When misinformation becomes tied up with
identity and ideology, political leaders will often look to
misinformation as a means of building their coalition," he said. He did
not point to any single politician.People's Party of Canada Leader
Maxime Bernier, a vocal opponent of COVID-19 public health restrictions
and vaccine passports, appeared to unify a portion of the electorate
that views pandemic policies as government overreach when he finished
with roughly five per cent of the vote in the 2021 election.Lewandowsky
said social media can contribute to the spread of misinformation, but
policies to counter such misinformation — such as requiring labels on
inaccurate information — could help.Himelfarb said it's important to
balance tackling misinformation with freedom of expression."Finding that
sweet spot is a challenge," he said.Lewandowsky said one way to strike a
balance would be to make sure reliable information is more widely
available and to give people tools to identify misinformation."The
people who do misinform us have a certain repertoire of rhetorical
techniques … and we can identify those," he said.
Protests erupt in Memphis after Tyre Nichols video released-Graeme Massie-Fri, January 27, 2023 at 8:55 PM EST
Protesters
have shut down parts of Interstate 55 in Memphis after the city
released videos of the police beating of Tyre Nichols.The videos were
released on Friday evening and show five Memphis police officers beating
Nichols, 29, during the arrest. He died from his injuries three days
after the shocking incident.The five officers, all of whom are Black,
were immediately fired from the force and now face murder charges.The
protests began shortly after the video was released at 7pm ET, with a
large crowd taking to I-55 in downtown Memphis headed towards the
Mississippi River bridge, according to ABC24.Shortly after the video’s
release at 6 p.m., a large crowd took to I-55 in downtown Memphis and
appeared to be headed towards the Mississippi River Bridge.There were no
immediate reports of damage, according to the news channel.Protesters
then also headed towards the city’s police station, according to NBC
News.Meanwhile, groups of protesters also gathered in New York’s Times
Square, Washington DC and Atlanta, Georgia.The footage shows the Black
officers savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes
in an assault that the Nichols family’s legal team likened to the
infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney
King.Officers who caught up with Nichols after he fled the scene of the
initial stop then wrestled him to the ground and pepper spray was
seemingly deployed in Nichols’s face.“I am going to baton the f**k out
of you,” one officer can be heard shouting., while another says “Watch
out, I’ll spray your a** again.”Nichols on the ground can be heard
crying out loudly for his mother.The officers then can be heard on
bodycam video repeatedly shouting at Nichols “give me your f***ing
hands.”Another officer can be heard saying, “That mother f**** made me
spray myself” with pepper spray.The video then showed Nichols slumped
against a car while the officers stood around laughing, recounting the
arrest and what they had done to capture him.“I jumped in, started
rocking him,” one officer can be heard bragging as another claimed that
Nichols put his hand on their gun.“He literally had his hand on my gun.
That mother*****r was on there,” the officer stated.
An asteroid
will whip by Earth tonight in one of closest approaches ever
recorded-NASA says while it will be close, there is no risk the delivery
truck-sized asteroid will hit the planet-The Associated Press · Posted:
Jan 25, 2023 5:57 PM PST |
An asteroid the size of a delivery
truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such
encounters ever recorded.NASA insists it will be a near miss with no
chance of the asteroid hitting Earth.The U.S. space agency said
Wednesday that this newly discovered asteroid will zoom 3,600 kilometres
above the southern tip of South America. That's 10 times closer than
the bevy of communication satellites circling overhead.The closest
approach will occur at 7:27 p.m. ET.-Moonshots, meteors and planets:
Here are just a few things to look forward to in space in 2023-Even if
the space rock came a lot closer, scientists said most of it would burn
up in the atmosphere, with some of the bigger pieces possibly falling as
meteorites.NASA's impact hazard assessment system, called Scout,
quickly ruled out a strike, said its developer, Davide Farnocchia, an
engineer at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif."But despite the very few observations, it was nonetheless able to
predict that the asteroid would make an extraordinarily close approach
with Earth," Farnocchia said in a statement."In fact, this is one of the
closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded."Asteroid
spotted by amateur astronomer in Crimea-Discovered Saturday, the
asteroid known as 2023 BU is believed to be 3.5 to 8.5 metres across.It
was first spotted by Gennady Borisov, the same amateur astronomer in
Crimea who discovered an interstellar comet in 2019.NASA's planetary
defence test successfully shifts asteroid orbit 'We have impact!' NASA
slams spacecraft into asteroid in unprecedented test Within a few
days, dozens of observations were made by astronomers around the world,
allowing them to refine the asteroid's orbit.The asteroid's path will be
drastically altered by Earth's gravity once it zips by. Instead of
circling the sun every 359 days, it will move into an oval orbit lasting
425 days, according to NASA.
Breaking News-7 killed, several
hurt in shooting attack at Jerusalem synagogue; terrorist shot-Police
say officers kill gunman who fled scene of attack at Neve Yaakov
neighborhood, opened fire on forces-By Emanuel Fabian Today, 8:31
pmUpdated at 9:39 pm
Seven people were shot and killed and
several more wounded in a terror shooting attack at a synagogue in
Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood, police and medics said Friday
night.According to police, the terrorist arrived by car at around
8:15 p.m. at a building used as a synagogue in the neighborhood in the
northern part of East Jerusalem and opened fire.The attacker then fled
the scene toward the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina — several
hundred meters away — where he encountered officers who were called to
the scene.Police said the terrorist — a resident of East Jerusalem — was
shot dead after he opened fire on the officers while trying to escape
on foot.According to Channel 12 news, the terrorist first shot an
elderly woman in the street, then encountered a motorcycle rider and
shot him, before reaching the synagogue. Police did not immediately
confirm the details.Three victims — a woman in her 70s listed in
critical condition, a 20-year-old man in serious condition and a
14-year-old boy in moderate-serious condition — were taken to the
Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital. Another two victims — a man in his 30s
in critical condition and a woman in her 60s in moderate condition —
were taken to the Shaare Zedek hospital.Jerusalem District Police
Commander Doron Turgeman, speaking to reporters at the scene, said two
of the wounded victims had died, bringing the death toll to seven.The
victims were not immediately named.Dozens of officers were
dispatched to the scene, police said.National Security Minister Itamar
Ben Gvir, who is in charge of police, arrived at the scene of the
attack. Citizens at the scene shouted various comments at the minister,
some in support for retribution, some in anger. Some called out “Death
to terrorists.”“It’s on your watch!” one man cried. “Let’s see what you
do now.”Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who was in the United States for a
personal trip, was to head back to Israel on Friday night following the
attack, his office said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set
to hold an assessment with top security officials.Local residents told
Channel 12 news that it took 20 minutes for the police to arrive. “It’s a
disgrace,” one man said.Police responded to the accusation saying
officers had arrived at the scene and killed the terrorist within five
minutes of the first reports of gunfire.The terrorist was named as Aqlam
Khayri, 21, a resident of East Jerusalem with no prior terror-related
offenses, Hebrew-language media reports said.Friday’s deadly attack came
following days of violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Tensions have increased dramatically since Thursday morning, when an
Israel Defense Forces raid in the West Bank against a terrorist cell
left nine Palestinians dead — most of them gunmen and members of the
cell, though at least one civilian was also killed.Thursday overnight
saw rocket fire from Palestinian terror groups in Gaza and Israeli
retaliatory air strikes as both sides appeared intent on avoiding an
escalation into a full-scale war.Tensions were also high in Jerusalem
and the Temple Mount on Friday, though Muslim prayers went ahead without
issue.
Israeli envoy: The UN, founded upon ashes of Holocaust,
is failing its purpose-Gilad Erdan says world body holds ‘heinous double
standard’ against Jewish state, calls for action against officials who
have made antisemitic statements-By Luke Tress-JAN 27,23-Today, 7:52 pm
UNITED
NATIONS — Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, lashed the world
body for its disproportionate focus on Israel and for antisemitism in
its ranks in a speech to the General Assembly on Friday marking
Holocaust Remembrance Day.“The UN was founded upon the ashes of the
Holocaust. It was established to ensure such darkness never befell
humanity again,” Erdan said. “It is a living monument to the horrors
suffered by the Jewish people.”“As such, it is the UN’s responsibility
to lead the world in combating hatred, yet when it comes to fighting
antisemitism, sadly, the UN ignores its purpose,” he said to an audience
that included UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Holocaust
survivors and Erdan’s parents, the children of survivors.“Educational
programs are very, very important. Learning about history is crucial.
But at a time when antisemitism is on the rise and Holocaust denial is
spreading, words are not enough,” Erdan said. “In the past year, what
has the UN done to combat bigotry? There’s a politicized — we all know
it — and an institutionalized bias among member states. This bias is the
source of the disproportionate number of anti-Israel resolutions.”The
UN General Assembly condemned Israel more than all other countries
combined last year, and the Jewish State is the only country with a
mandated agenda item at every session of the UN Human Rights Council in
Geneva.“Mandating Israel bashing at every council session, singling out
the one and only Jewish state — yes, it is antisemitism, and on
Holocaust Remembrance Day it is our duty to call out this heinous double
standard,” Erdan said.He blasted the UN for inaction against officials
who have made antisemitic statements, including two UN-appointed
investigators into Israel, Miloon Kothari and Francesca
Alabanese.Kothari, a member of the UN’s Commission of Inquiry into
Israel, said last year that the “Jewish lobby” controlled social media
and questioned why Israel was allowed in the UN. Albanese, the special
rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, has said the “Jewish lobby”
has subjugated the US, compared Israelis to the Nazis, sympathized with
terror groups and said Israel starts wars out of greed. Her antisemitism
was exposed by The Times of Israel last year. Both investigators are
harshly critical of Israel and their official UN reports almost entirely
ignore Palestinian terror and violence.“Similar to Mr. Kothari, Ms.
Albanese still remains in her role and has been met with zero UN
condemnations,” Erdan said.Neither official has faced any repercussions
from the UN for their antisemitism. Guterres has spoken out against
antisemitism in the past year amid controversy over their statements.
His office has said the investigators are appointed by the Human Rights
Council and are outside of his purview.A bipartisan group of US Congress
members this week called on Guterres to remove Albanese from her
position.Erdan also blasted the UN agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA,
for antisemitism in its ranks, said other UN agencies distort casualty
figures for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by minimizing Israeli
deaths, and censured the UN for not adopting the widely accepted IHRA
definition of antisemitism.“When it comes to anything related to Isreal
this organization is very quick to respond and condemn, but when it
comes to Jew hatred the silence is deafening,” he said. “This double
standard is disgraceful.”“We all know that the libels of antisemitism
are always followed by horrific actions, so I beg you that our words
today also be followed by actions. The UN must remember its mission and
history. It must take a stand against antisemitism,” Erdan
said.Guterres, speaking ahead of Erdan, likened today’s climate to the
rhetoric in 1930s Germany that led to the Holocaust, saying the rise of
the Nazis was made possible by “the indifference, if not connivance, of
so many millions.”“We now know the terrifying depths of the abyss into
which Germany would plunge, but the alarm bells were already ringing in
1933. Too few bothered to listen, and fewer still spoke out. Today, we
can hear echoes of those same siren songs to hate,” he said.“The painful
truth is antisemitism is everywhere. In fact, it is increasing in
intensity,” he said, citing surveys and attacks on Jews in New York, Los
Angeles, Australia and Germany.Guterres was especially critical of
rhetoric on the internet and the entities responsible.“The threat is
global, and it is growing. And a leading accelerant of this growth is
the online world. Today, I am issuing an urgent appeal to everyone with
influence across the information ecosystem – regulators, policymakers,
technology companies, the media, civil society and governments. Stop the
hate. Set up guardrails, and enforce them,” he said.On Thursday,
Guterres, Erdan and Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan toured an
installation at UN headquarters commemorating the Holocaust. Yad
Vashem’s “Book of names” contains personal information about all known
victims of the Nazi genocide.In addition to the speeches and display at
UN headquarters in New York, commemorative events took place Friday at
the UN Human Rights Council, including memorial ceremonies and talks by
survivors.
Bank CEOs warn PM of signs funds moving out of country
amid judicial shakeup-Netanyahu meets with businesspeople amid concerns
that weakening courts will harm economy, insists opposite will occur;
says open to dialogue but overhaul to go ahead without delay-By TOI
staff-JAN 27,23-Today, 6:04 pmUpdated at 9:28 pm
Israeli bank
chiefs warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of potential economic
fallout from his government’s proposals for a sweeping makeover of the
country’s judiciary Friday, as he said he was open to dialogue but
insisted that he will not slow efforts to advance the judicial
overhaul.Netanyahu met at his Likud party’s headquarters in Tel Aviv
with the heads of several of Israel’s largest banks and other
businesspeople, seeking to push back against a growing chorus of
warnings from top business leaders and senior economists.Bank Hapoalim
CEO Dov Kotler told Netanyahu that banks have started to see an outflow
of funds in recent days, with various savings accounts being moved from
Israel abroad.“It’s still not on a dramatic scale but we are concerned
this is the start of trend,” Kotler was quoted as saying by the Walla
news site and Channel 12.Discount Bank CEO Uri Levin said: “It’s
impossible to ignore all the economic figures expressing so much concern
over the moves, and therefore you need to stop immediately and only
advance changes cautiously and with broad agreement. Maybe we are wrong
and you’re right, but the price of a mistake could be a fatal blow to
democracy and the economy.”Also present was Samer Haj-Yehia, chairman of
Bank Leumi, businessman and Netanyahu associate Shlomi Fogel, and tech
venture capitalists Michael Eisenberg and Chemi Peres, the son of late
president Shimon Peres.“The public is determined to fight. This is a
cross-party war between Israeli citizens and the government. You don’t
lead a revolution like this without changes or dialogue. You need to
stop this madness and start to talk,” Peres said, according to Channel
12.Netanyahu argued during the meeting that excess judicial oversight
was hampering economic growth.“The great success of Israel’s economy
isn’t because of judicialization but in spite of it,” he was quoted as
saying in a Likud statement. “The judicial reform will help Israel’s
economy and businesses.”“Not only will the reform not harm the economy,
it will cause it to take off,” he added.Netanyahu also said that Justice
Minister Yariv Levin, a member of his Likud party and the leading
figure in the push to upend the justice system, was open to discussing
his planned changes with opponents — “alongside the legislative process
and without delaying it.”“Up until now we haven’t heard any willingness
by the other side for enacting change. Even the smallest change in the
eyes of the critics is ‘the end of democracy,'” Netanyahu said in the
meeting,Channel 12 and Ynet, citing unidentified sources, reported that
the intense public backlash to the planned overhaul has surprised and
disturbed Netanyahu, who had hoped to pass changes without bringing on
such widespread condemnations and high-profile opposition from numerous
leading figures. The reports said Netanyahu had also wanted to avoid
becoming the face of the sweeping reforms, as his ongoing criminal trial
ostensibly precludes him from involving himself directly in issues that
could influence his affairs.The reports said the manner in which Levin
has handled the issue so far had caused tensions with Netanyahu. Likud
in a statement rejected such assertions, saying the minister had the
premier’s full support.Speaking to Channel 12 Friday night, Zvika
Williger, owner of the Willi-food importer of foodstuffs who was present
at the meeting, said: “We’re very worried by what’s happening… the
premier completely understands the situation. I think we can trust the
prime minister not to carry out a hasty plan. He specified that there
will be dialogue. He specified that he’s prepared for the president to
be a mediator between the sides…. He told me, ‘I promise we won’t harm
the Israeli economy.'”While a smattering of coalition lawmakers have
entertained the possibility of compromise — often in guarded, anonymous
comments to the media — most have largely ignored calls by the
opposition, President Isaac Herzog and others to negotiate over the
contours of the overhaul plan.“The fairy tales about ‘dialogue’ don’t
convince anyone when they come from a criminal defendant held hostage by
younger and more determined [coalition] partners,” opposition leader
Yair Lapid tweeted in response to Netanyahu’s remarks, referring to the
premier’s ongoing trial on graft charges.
“We won’t stop going out to
demonstrate against the shattering of democracy in Israel,” Lapid
added.As presented by Levin, the coalition’s proposals would severely
restrict the High Court’s capacity to strike down laws and government
decisions, with an “override clause” enabling the Knesset to
re-legislate struck-down laws with a bare majority of 61; give the
government complete control over the selection of judges; prevent the
court from using a test of “reasonableness” to judge legislation and
government decisions; and allow ministers to appoint their own legal
advisers, instead of getting counsel from advisers operating under the
aegis of the Justice Ministry.Critics have staged a series of large
protests saying the changes will gut the courts, leave minority rights
unprotected and concentrate too much power in the hands of the ruling
coalition. Proponents say the current system gives unelected judges and
lawyers too much power over elected officials.Opponents of the changes
rallied Friday in Jerusalem where several hundred people took part in a
protest convoy and demonstration.Demonstrators drove from Latrun in the
Ayalon Valley to the capital, where they held a rally outside the
Supreme Court, vowing to defend it from plans to weaken its power and
increase political influence.Some demonstrators formed a human chain
outside the Supreme Court “to protect” it.Among the participants was
former Likud justice minister Dan Meridor, who said protesters were
fighting “for the core values of the state as written in the Declaration
of Independence; a move… from an independent justice system to biased
judges appointed by the ruler; from fighting corruption to removing all
constraints.”Meanwhile, 40 more economists — led by American Nobel
Prize-winning economist Eric Maskin and Israel Prize recipient Menahem
Yaari — signed a letter released earlier this week against the proposed
overhaul, bringing the number of signatories to 310.“The reform of the
judicial system endangers the Israeli economy and may cause a drop in
Israel’s credit rating, lead investors to flee and bring a brain drain,”
they said. “Many studies have already proven that the concentration of
vast political power in the hands of the ruling group without strong
checks and balances could lead the country to economic decay.”The
letter, initially published Wednesday, has been signed by both right-
and left-leaning senior academics, including Nobel Prize winner Prof.
Daniel Kahneman and former Netanyahu economic adviser and National
Economic Council head Prof. Eugene Kandel.Its release came a day after
Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron reportedly outlined for Netanyahu the
potential consequences of weakening the courts and relayed warnings
made by senior economic figures and officials from credit rating firms
during his recent meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
According
to Israeli television reports, Yaron explicitly told Netanyahu that the
shakeup would harm the economy.A pair of Yaron’s successors, Karnit
Flug and Jacob Frenkel, has also spoken out against the government’s
plans, warning in an op-ed Sunday that it could negatively affect
Israel’s credit rating and “deal a severe blow to the economy and its
citizens,” a warning voiced by many workers in the tech sector.
Putin
blasts ‘neo-Nazis’ in Ukraine on Holocaust Remembrance Day-Russian
leader says ‘forgetting the lessons of history leads to the repetition
of terrible tragedies’ as he continues to compare war against Hitler
with current conflict-By AFP-JAN 23,-Today, 4:42 pm
MOSCOW —
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday repeated a claim that
neo-Nazis were committing crimes in Ukraine — an allegation Moscow has
used to justify its military intervention — as the world marked
Holocaust Remembrance Day.“Forgetting the lessons of history leads to
the repetition of terrible tragedies,” Putin said.“This is evidenced by
the crimes against civilians, ethnic cleansing and punitive actions
organized by neo-Nazis in Ukraine. It is against that evil that our
soldiers are bravely fighting,” he said in a statement.
Supporters of
Putin’s military operation allege Ukraine’s treatment of Russian
speakers in the country is comparable with the actions of Nazi
Germany.One of the goals of the operation was the “de-Nazification” of
Ukraine, Putin said, when he announced nearly one year ago he had
ordered Russian troops toward Kyiv.The claims have been blasted by the
Ukrainian government, the country’s Jewish community and world
leaders.The Soviet Union’s victory over Hitler’s army — long a symbol of
patriotic pride for Russians — has taken center stage since the
beginning of the military intervention.Putin said that “attempts to
revise the contributions of our country to the Great Victory (against
Hitler) actually equate to justifying the crimes of Nazism and open the
way for the revival of its deadly ideology.”Friday is the 78th
anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp built
by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland — a date that has become
International Holocaust Remembrance Day.The Auschwitz museum did not
invite Russian representatives to the ceremony marking the day the
Soviet Red Army liberated the Nazi camp because of the offensive in
Ukraine.“Russia will need an extremely long time and very deep
self-examination after this conflict in order to return to gatherings of
the civilized world,” Piotr Sawicki, a spokesman for the museum at the
site of the former camp, told AFP.Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar told
AFP that “for us, this is clearly a humiliation because we perfectly
know and remember the role of the Red Army in the liberation of
Auschwitz and in the victory over Nazism.”“These political games have no
place on Holocaust day,” Lazar added.
Chemical weapons watchdog
blames Syria’s air force for deadly 2018 chlorine attack-Organization
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigation finds ‘reasonable
grounds to believe’ helicopter dropped two cylinders containing gas,
killing 43-By Mike Corder Today, 2:27 pm
THE HAGUE,
Netherlands (AP) — An investigation by the global chemical weapons
watchdog established there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Syria’s
air force dropped two cylinders containing chlorine gas on the city of
Douma in April 2018, killing 43 people.A report published Friday by a
team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
offered the latest confirmation that the regime of Syrian President
Bashar Assad used chemical weapons during his country’s grinding civil
war.“The use of chemical weapons in Douma – and anywhere – is
unacceptable and a breach of international law,” OPCW Director-General
Fernando Arias said.The organization said that “reasonable grounds to
believe” is the standard of proof consistently adopted by international
fact-finding bodies and commissions of inquiry.Syria, which joined the
OPCW in 2013 under pressure from the international community after being
blamed for another deadly chemical weapon attack, does not recognize
the investigation team’s authority and has repeatedly denied using
chemical weapons.Despite the latest findings, bringing perpetrators in
Syria to justice remains a long way off. Syria’s ally Russia has, in the
past, blocked efforts by the UN Security Council to order an
International Criminal Court investigation in Syria.“The world now knows
the facts – it is up to the international community to take action, at
the OPCW and beyond,” Arias, a veteran Spanish diplomat, said.The report
said there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that during a government
military offensive to recapture Douma, at least one Syrian air force
Mi8/17 helicopter dropped two yellow cylinders on the city.One of the
cylinders hit the roof of a three-story residential building and
ruptured, “rapidly released toxic gas, chlorine, in very high
concentrations, which rapidly dispersed within the building killing 43
named individuals and affecting dozens more,” according to the report.A
second cylinder burst through the roof of another building into an
apartment below and only partially ruptured, “mildly affecting those who
first arrived at the scene,” the report added.Syrian authorities
refused the investigation team access to the sites of the chlorine
attacks. The country had its OPCW voting rights suspended in 2021 as
punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas, the first such sanction
imposed on a member nation.The painstaking investigation by the
organization’s team was set up to identify perpetrators of chemical
weapon attacks in Syria, built on earlier findings by an OPCW
fact-finding mission that chlorine was used as a weapon in Douma.The
investigators also interviewed dozens of witnesses and studied the blood
and urine of survivors as well as samples of soil and building
materials, according to the watchdog agency.The investigators also
carefully assessed and rejected alternative theories for what happened,
including Syria’s claim that the attack was staged and that bodies of
people killed elsewhere in Syria were taken to Douma to look like
victims of a gas attack.The report found that the two cylinders carrying
chlorine were modified and filled at the Dumayr air base and the
helicopter or helicopters that dropped them were under control of the
Syrian military’s elite Tiger Force.The OPCW team “considered a range of
possible scenarios and tested their validity against the evidence they
gathered and analyzed to reach their conclusion: that the Syrian Arab
Air Forces are the perpetrators of this attack,” the organization said
in a statement.The ongoing conflict that started in Syria more than a
decade ago has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the
country’s prewar population of 23 million.
