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.”
