A Lack Of Vigilance Before The Sixth Seal (Revelation 6)

Faults Underlying Exercise Vigilant Guard

Story by: (Author NameStaff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta – 138th Public Affairs Detachment

Dated: Thu, Nov 5, 2009

This map illustrates the earthquake fault lines in Western New York. An earthquake in the region is a likely event, says University of Buffalo Professor Dr. Robert Jacobi.

TONAWANDA, NY — An earthquake in western New York, the scenario that Exercise Vigilant Guard is built around, is not that far-fetched, according to University of Buffalo geology professor Dr. Robert Jacobi.

When asked about earthquakes in the area, Jacobi pulls out a computer-generated state map, cross-hatched with diagonal lines representing geological faults.

The faults show that past earthquakes in the state were not random, and could occur again on the same fault systems, he said.

“In western New York, 6.5 magnitude earthquakes are possible,” he said.

This possibility underlies Exercise Vigilant Guard, a joint training opportunity for National Guard and emergency response organizations to build relationships with local, state, regional and federal partners against a variety of different homeland security threats including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

The exercise was based on an earthquake scenario, and a rubble pile at the Spaulding Fibre site here was used to simulate a collapsed building. The scenario was chosen as a result of extensive consultations with the earthquake experts at the University of Buffalo’s Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), said Brig. Gen. Mike Swezey, commander of 53rd Troop Command, who visited the site on Monday.

Earthquakes of up to 7 magnitude have occurred in the Northeastern part of the continent, and this scenario was calibrated on the magnitude 5.9 earthquake which occurred in Saguenay, Quebec in 1988, said Jacobi and Professor Andre Filiatrault, MCEER director.

“A 5.9 magnitude earthquake in this area is not an unrealistic scenario,” said Filiatrault.

Closer to home, a 1.9 magnitude earthquake occurred about 2.5 miles from the Spaulding Fibre site within the last decade, Jacobi said. He and other earthquake experts impaneled by the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada in 1997 found that there’s a 40 percent chance of 6.5 magnitude earthquake occurring along the Clareden-Linden fault system, which lies about halfway between Buffalo and Rochester, Jacobi added.

Jacobi and Filiatrault said the soft soil of western New York, especially in part of downtown Buffalo, would amplify tremors, causing more damage.

“It’s like jello in a bowl,” said Jacobi.

The area’s old infrastructure is vulnerable because it was built without reinforcing steel, said Filiatrault. Damage to industrial areas could release hazardous materials, he added.

“You’ll have significant damage,” Filiatrault said.

Exercise Vigilant Guard involved an earthquake’s aftermath, including infrastructure damage, injuries, deaths, displaced citizens and hazardous material incidents. All this week, more than 1,300 National Guard troops and hundreds of local and regional emergency response professionals have been training at several sites in western New York to respond these types of incidents.

Jacobi called Exercise Vigilant Guard “important and illuminating.”

“I’m proud of the National Guard for organizing and carrying out such an excellent exercise,” he said.

Training concluded Thursday.

More Deaths Outside the Temple Walls (Revelation 11:2)

After two Palestinian teenagers has been killed, and hundreds more wounded by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, an Egyptian-led ceasefire was called on Saturday night between Israel and the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, who had fired several rockets into Israeli territory, injuring at least three people.

According to international media, and the Israeli army, Saturday’s Israeli onslaught on the besieged Gaza strip marked the most intense daytime assault on the coastal enclave since Israel’s 2014 offensive which left nearly 2,000 Palestinians dead.

The two slain Palestinian teens were identified by the Gaza Health Ministry as Amir al-Nimri, 15, and Luay Kaheel, 16. They were killed when Israeli airstrike targeted a semi-abandoned building in western Gaza.

Witnesses reportedly said the two were playing on the roof of the building when they were killed, Al-Jazeera reported.

The Israeli army claimed the purpose of its strikes were twofold: first, as a response to rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, and secondly, in response to “incendiary kites” being flown from Gaza that have been starting fires on Israeli farmland in recent weeks.

“The Israeli armed forces delivered the strongest blow against Hamas since [the 2014 Gaza war] and we will increase the intensity of our attacks as necessary,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The Hamas movement, however, has said that its rockets and the incendiary kites are part of a natural reaction to Israel’s use of excessive force against the peaceful popular “Great March of Return” protests that began on March 30.

Since the massive protests began, Israel has killed at least 130 Palestinian demonstrators and injured over 13,000 more, according to the health ministry in Gaza. No Israeli injuries were reported as a result of the demonstrations.

While the march was set to end on May 15th, the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the demonstrations have persisted, along with Israel’s suppression of them.

The tensions in Gaza over the past two months, and the assault on Saturday, have lead many to speculate that a new Israeli war on the besieged territory could be on the horizon.

Right-wing Israeli Minister of Education Naftali Bennett dismissed the ceasefire , saying “we have to allow the IDF to act forcefully, with sophistication and thoroughly,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

New Yorkers are Ignorant About the Sixth Seal (Revelation 6:12)

Do New Yorkers Need to Worry About Earthquakes?

Friday, July 6, 2018, By Essence Britt

Jeffrey Karson, professor of earth sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, was interviewed by WSYR Radio to discuss recent volcanic and earthquake activity.

Karson, an expert in seismology says, “Earthquakes and volcanoes are completely normal behavior. They get our attention of course when they occur in places where they damage infrastructure and they impact the way people live.”

“That is a legitimate concern,” Karson says regarding the volcano in Missouri. He goes on to explain how earthquakes and volcanoes hit. He concludes that New York residents shouldn’t worry because an earthquake is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Trump Puts More Pressure on Iran Deal

Iran nuclear deal: US rejects EU plea for sanctions exemption

The US has rebuffed high-level pleas from the European Union to grant exemptions to European companies from its sanctions against Iran.

In a letter to European nations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US rejected the appeal because it wants to exert maximum pressure on Iran.

It said exemptions would only be made if they benefited US national security.

The EU fears that billions of dollars’ worth of trade could be jeopardised as a result of Washington’s new sanctions.

“We will seek to provide unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime,” the letter, which was also signed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said, according to NBC news.

It added that the US is “not in a position to make exceptions to this policy except in very specific circumstances”.

The strict sanctions were imposed in May after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The US withdrawal meant sanctions that were in place prior to the agreement were re-imposed.

Its opposition to the deal is at odds with that of France, Germany and the UK, which have pledged their commitment to it.

Some of Europe’s biggest firms rushed to do business with Iran after the nuclear deal took effect three years ago.

In 2017, EU exports to Iran (goods and services) totalled €10.8bn (£9.5bn; $12.9bn), and imports from Iran to the bloc were worth €10.1bn. The value of imports was nearly double the 2016 figure.

Now, European businesses are worried that their ties with the US could be damaged if they continue doing Iranian deals.

But earlier this year, the EU began reviving legislation that it said would allow its companies to continue doing business with Iran.

The so-called “blocking statute” was introduced in 1996 to circumvent US sanctions on Cuba but was never used.

An updated version of the measure should be in force before 6 August, when the first sanctions take effect.

Antichrist Must Manage Iraq’s Chaos

Iraq declared a state of emergency over the weekend. Not to fight off a resurgent ISIS. But to quell week-long protests across the southern part of the country.

Basra is the richest of all Iraq’s provinces. Not least because it is the largest producer of national oil; accounting for at least 85 percent of government revenue. Yet locals say there is little or no trickle-down effect. Indeed, they complain of poor public services and corruption. This led to the storming of a provincial government building in the city of Kerbala over the weekend. Baghdad has now shut down access to social media and internet services.

That this comes in the wake of general elections represents a blow to Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. After all, his Sairoon Alliance — bringing together the Sadrist Movement and Iraq’s Communist Party — emerged as the biggest winner at the polls. The Alliance had run on a pro-poor and anti-corruption mandate.

Another problem is that two months after Iraqis went ballot-boxing back in May, the country still has no representative government. For in the immediate electoral aftermath many parties cried political foul. Thus last month, a manual recount of some 11 million votes was ordered. This represents a mammoth task. One made almost impossible to complete given that last month a ballot storage box was set on fire.

This is much more than just a country recovering from an unjust war and demolition of a functional state. Locals in Basra have long complained that the region has not been allowed to prosper to the point where wealth flows are incoming. National unemployment runs at 10.8 percent. Though when it comes to the young generation, the figure jumps to over 20 percent. Nearly 59 percent of the population is under the age of 25.

The 2003 US-UK war of aggression in Iraq actively decimated local political structures and gave birth to Al Qaeda and ISIS in that country. But as with all military occupations, the presence of foreign troops does little to inject cash into local circular flows of income. Instead, lives are conducted almost entirely on base; with foodstuffs imported directly from home. Unlike international aid workers, there is little chance of boosting the domestic economy in simple terms.

That being said, what a prolonged military presence does may be far more damaging over a prolonged period. Particularly when engaged in combat. For this permanently stunts economic growth and educational development.

Thus Iraqis should be clear about just what they are getting into regarding the new American bases that are reportedly being planned in Anbar province. For if this has implications for long-term US involvement in the Syrian conflict across the border — the people or Iraq will likely be in a state of economic dire straits for a long time to come. *

Published in Daily Times, July 16^th2018.

Day: July 16, 2018