THE SIXTH SEAL: NEW YORK CITY (REVELATION 6:12)

 

Earthquake activity in the New York City area

Wikipedia

Although the eastern United States is not as

seismically active

as regions near plate boundaries, large and damaging earthquakes do occur there. Furthermore, when these rare eastern U.S. earthquakes occur, the areas affected by them are much larger than for western U.S. earthquakes of the same magnitude.

Thus, earthquakes represent at least a moderate hazard to East Coast cities, including New York City and adjacent areas of very high population density.

Seismicity in the vicinity of New York City. Data are from the U.S. Geological Survey (Top, USGS) and the National Earthquake Information Center (Bottom, NEIC). In the top figure, closed red circles indicate 1924-2006 epicenters and open black circles indicate locations of the larger earthquakes that occurred in 1737, 1783 and 1884. Green lines indicate the trace of the Ramapo fault.

As can be seen in the maps of earthquake activity in this region(shown in the figure),

seismicity is scattered throughout most of the New York City area, with some hint of a concentration of earthquakes in the area surrounding Manhattan Island.

The largest known earthquake in this region occurred in 1884 and had a magnitude of approximately 5.For this earthquake, observations of fallen bricks and cracked plaster were reported from eastern Pennsylvania to central Connecticut, and the maximum intensity reported was at two sites in western Long Island (Jamaica, New York and Amityville, New York).

Two other earthquakes of approximately magnitude 5 occurred in this region in 1737 and 1783. The figure on the right shows maps of the distribution of earthquakes of magnitude 3 and greater that occurred in this region from 1924 to 2010, along with locations of the larger earthquakes that occurred in 1737, 1783 and 1884.

Background

The NYC area is part of the geologically complex structure of the Northern

Appalachian Mountains. This complex structure was formed during the past half billion years when the Earth’s crust underlying the Northern Appalachians was the site of two major geological episodes, each of which has left its imprint on the NYC area bedrock.

Between about 450 million years ago and about 250 million years ago, the Northern Appalachian region was affected by a continental collision, in which the ancient African continent collided with the ancient North American continent to form the supercontinent Pangaea.

Beginning about 200 million years ago, the present-day Atlantic ocean began to form as plate tectonic forces began to

rift

apart the continent of Pangaea. The last major episode of geological activity to affect the

bedrock

in the New York area occurred about 100 million years ago, during the Mesozoic era, when continental rifting that led to the opening of the present-day Atlantic ocean formed the Hartford and

Newark

Mesozoic rift basins.

Earthquake rates in the northeastern United States are about 50 to 200 times lower than in California, but

the earthquakes that do occur in the northeastern U.S. are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of the same magnitude in the western U.S.This means the area of damage from an earthquake in the northeastern U.S. could be larger than the area of damage caused by an earthquake of the same magnitude in the western U.S. The cooler rocks in the northeastern U.S. contribute to the seismic energy propagating as much as ten times further than in the warmer rocks of California.

A magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt as far as 100 km (60 mi) from its

epicenter, but it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake, although uncommon, can be felt as far as 500 km (300 mi) from its epicenter, and can cause damage as far away as 40 km (25 mi) from its epicenter. Earthquakes stronger than about magnitude 5.0 generate ground motions that are strong enough to be damaging in the epicentral area.

At well-studied plate boundaries like the

San Andreas fault

system in California, scientists can often make observations that allow them to identify the specific fault on which an earthquake took place. In contrast, east of the Rocky Mountains this is rarely the case.

The NYC area is far from the boundaries of the North American plate, which are in the center of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Caribbean Sea, and along the west coast of North America. The seismicity of the northeastern U.S. is generally considered to be due to ancient zones of weakness that are being reactivated in the present-day stress field. In this model, pre-existing faults that were formed during ancient geological episodes persist in the intraplate crust, and the earthquakes occur when the present-day stress is released along these zones of weakness.

The stress that causes the earthquakes is generally considered to be derived from present-day rifting at the Mid-Atlantic ridge.

Earthquakes and geologically mapped faults in the Northeastern U.S.

The northeastern U.S. has many known faults, but virtually all of the known faults have not been active for perhaps 90 million years or more. Also, the locations of the known faults are not well determined at earthquake depths. Accordingly, few (if any) earthquakes in the region can be unambiguously linked to known faults.

Given the current geological and seismological data, it is difficult to determine if a known fault in this region is still active today and could produce a modern earthquake. As in most other areas east of the Rocky Mountains, the best guide to earthquake hazard in the northeastern U.S. is probably the locations of the past earthquakes themselves.

The Ramapo fault and other New York City area faults

The Ramapo Fault, which marks the western boundary of the Newark rift basin, has been argued to be a major seismically active feature of this region,but it is difficult to discern the extent to which the Ramapo fault (or any other specific mapped fault in the area) might be any more of a source of future earthquakes than any other parts of the region. The Ramapo Fault zone spans more than 185 miles (300 kilometers) in

New York,

New Jersey, and

Pennsylvania. It is a system of

faults

between the northern

Appalachian Mountains

and Piedmont areas to the east. This fault is perhaps the best known fault zone in the Mid-Atlantic region, and some small earthquakes have been known to occur in its vicinity. Recently, public knowledge about the fault has increased – especially after the 1970s, when the fault’s proximity to the Indian Point nuclear plant in New York was noticed.

There is insufficient evidence to unequivocally demonstrate any strong correlation of earthquakes in the New York City area with specific faults or other geologic structures in this region. The damaging earthquake affecting New York City in 1884 was probably not associated with the Ramapo fault because the strongest shaking from that earthquake occurred on Long Island (quite far from the trace of the Ramapo fault). The relationship between faults and earthquakes in the New York City area is currently understood to be more complex than any simple association of a specific earthquake with a specific mapped fault.

A 2008 study argued that a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake might originate from the Ramapo fault zone,

which would almost definitely spawn hundreds or even thousands of fatalities and billions of dollars in damage. Studying around 400 earthquakes over the past 300 years, the study also argued that there was an additional fault zone extending from the Ramapo Fault zone into southwestern Connecticut. As can be seen in the above figure of seismicity, earthquakes are scattered throughout this region, with no particular concentration of activity along the Ramapo fault, or along the hypothesized fault zone extending into southwestern Connecticut.

Just off the northern terminus of the Ramapo fault is the

Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, built between 1956 and 1960 by

Consolidated Edison Company. The plant began operating in 1963, and it has been the subject of a controversy over concerns that an earthquake from the Ramapo fault will affect the power plant. Whether or not the Ramapo fault actually does pose a threat to this nuclear power plant remains an open question.

The Antichrist thanks independent parliament members for supporting majority government

Populist Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr looks on during a press conference. (Photo AP)

Sadr thanks independent parliament members for supporting majority government

“Delighted to see a tangible response from the independent parliament members to my recent tweet; I thank them for their stance in putting the country’s interest before their private interests.” 

 Dler S. Mohammed   2022/03/23 13:09

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr thanked the independent members of the Iraqi Parliament who showed their willingness to support his efforts to form a new government.

“Delighted to see a tangible response from the independent parliament members to my recent tweet,” Sadr tweeted on Wednesday. “I thank them for their stance in putting the country’s interest before their private interests.”

The Shiite leader said he is committed to returning the favor to the independent parliament members, “But not through cake sharing.”

Sadr also declared that he “will strive to destroy the schemes of the corrupt and build an Iraq led by the righteous, to raise the voice of the country with a national army and security forces.”

He also pledged to form “a majority government, an impartial judiciary” and “protected borders” and move Iraq “away from all external interference.”

On Monday, Sadr, the biggest winner of Iraq’s October 2021 parliamentary elections, called on the country’s independent members of parliament to attend the planned session for electing the country’s president. 

Sadr tweeted that his movement would allow them to participate in his majority government if they attended the session. 

The Iraqi Parliament has set Mar. 26 for lawmakers to vote on the next President of the Republic. There are nearly 40 independent MPs in the parliament.

Sadr’s Sadrist Movement is in alliance with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Sunni Al-Siyada Alliance in the Iraqi Parliament. That coalition has almost 170 seats. The Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF), mainly composed of political parties close to Iran, has 130 seats.

Wakeup Call Before the First Nuclear War: Revelation 16

Accidental Indian missile launch should serve as a wake-up call.

By SUFANA NOORWEZ

Posted on March 23, 2022 in Opinions

On Wednesday, March 9, a missile was fired from Indian territory into Pakistani territory. Remarkably, not a single person died. The missile was fired as a result of a technical malfunction on the part of India, and it did not contain any warheads. It also missed heavily populated areas in Pakistan, narrowly missed several commercial aircraft and was launched at a time of relatively low tensions between the two countries, which have previously had their issues. 

Although the Pakistani government criticized the Indian military for their “callousness and ineptitude,” they did not retaliate, nor did they go into a state of panic when they detected the missile in their airspace. Their and India’s actions in taking responsibility for investigating the origin of the mistakenly fired missile are a commendable example of international cooperation in the age of nuclear warfare.

Both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons, the use of which would undoubtedly cause human death and suffering on a scale we have only seen twice before. Given the complicated history of India-Pakistan relations, beginning with partition in 1947 and continuing with a series of skirmishes, wars and general political issues throughout the next seventy years, any acts of hostile aggression on the part of either country could prove to be devastating.

The reality of the situation is that both India and Pakistan were extremely lucky that this most recent incident led to no casualties. There may also come a time in the future when these two countries—and any other countries which possess nuclear weapons—may not be quite as lucky. The international political climate remains one in which competing countries—including India and Pakistan, the United States and Russia, among others—race to be at the same tactical advantage as their peers. While current technology has advanced to allow countries to ideally protect against situations of accidental misfire and technological malfunctions, a component of human error still remains. With weapons as devastating as nuclear missiles, human error and variability could be catastrophic.

Historically, there have also been several close calls with nuclear weapons which could have been devastating for human life. Most of them occurred in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War, when technology was not as advanced as today. However, when talking about human decisions, there is always the possibility of error. But there is no space for human error in the nuclear arena. Governments around the world should observe the India-Pakistan missile incident and carefully reflect on their own military practices, policies and safety protocols. 

The time to reflect on the frightening state of warfare is not during or after a missile crisis, but before. In the dog-eat-dog world of international relations, it may seem beneficial for countries to possess nuclear weapons, but the reality is that their detonation will ultimately result in all sides losing. In our current state, where large countries already possess arsenals of nuclear weapons, as well as the scientists who can easily manufacture them, it is unreasonable and likely impossible to wrangle such a powerful weapon away from those who possess them. However, stringent security measures can be taken to ensure that mistakes are not made when handling these weapons. The fact that the world has never experienced a nuclear weapon that has been accidentally launched is nothing short of a miracle, but we should not wait for it to happen before we evaluate and assess the parameters through which we handle them currently.

Although the India-Pakistan missile incident was resolved peacefully with no loss of life or retaliatory actions on the part of either country, the prospect that such errors can—and sometimes nearly do—happen should scare every one of us. Other countries, especially nuclear powers, should observe this incident and consider their own potential flaws and faults in the world of international relations. As high as tensions may rise, and the egos of political leaders may affect their decisions, an accidental launch of a nuclear weapon is non-negotiable, and every measure must be taken to ensure that it is an impossibility. 

The South Korean Nuclear Horn Will Rise: Daniel 7

South Korea and Japan ‘inevitably pushed’ to nuclear weapons

By Julian Kerr | Sydney | 24 March 2022

Japan and South Korea are being reluctantly and probably inevitably pushed towards becoming nuclear weapon states, former Singapore Foreign Minister Bilahari Kausikan told the RAAF air and space power conference in a wide-ranging keynote speech.

Just prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy had almost wistfully mused about his country giving up the nuclear arsenal it had inherited from the Soviet Union “in return for a piece of paper,” Kausikan commented.

Others had noticed this lesson. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested soon after the invasion began that the US deploy tactical nuclear weapons on Japanese soil “as it does in some NATO countries.”

“And in fact, for several decades Japan has been quietly preparing with American acquiescence if not complicity, for contingencies that may require an independent nuclear deterrent of its own,” Kausikan noted.

Opinion polls in South Korea had shown overwhelming support for the deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons on Korean territory, and Koreans had been openly debating the desirability of acquiring an independent nuclear deterrent for some time, he added.

As North Korea and China continued to improve their second-strike capability, and given the situation in Ukraine, questions were bound to arise – as they had in Europe decades ago – concerning the credibility of the US extended deterrent.

“I don’t think either Japan or South Korea are eager to become nuclear weapon states; it will be immensely politically painful and internally divisive. But what are the alternatives?” Kausikan queried.

“I think the inherent logic of the circumstances these countries find themselves in will however reluctantly, push them in that direction because the alternative would be the breakup of the American alliance system and subordination to China.

“And for both Japan and South Korea, that would require such a redefinition of their national identity that the nuclear option would be the less dramatic option.”

Eventually, a multilateral balance of mutually assured destruction would arrive in northeast Asia – US, Japan, China, Russia, and the two Koreas, Kausikan stated.

“If you throw India and Pakistan into the equation, this multilateral nuclear balance will essentially freeze the existing configuration of power in the Indo-Pacific and will provide manoeuvre space for small countries.”

This kind of multilateral balance was not the kind of multibalance that China or Russia sought because nuclear weapons were a great equaliser, Kausikan noted.

“Insofar as the China dream is a dream of hierarchy with China at its apex, that dream will have to be substantially tempered de facto if not de jure to this new reality and that makes in the long run for healthier relationships between China and all its neighbours.”

The European Horns Tell Russia to Stop the Nuclear Saber Rattling

NATO tells Russia to quit ‘nuclear saber rattling,’ demands China stop ‘lies’ amid chemical attack threats

NATO warns any use of chemical weapons will change the nature of the war and have ‘far-reaching’ consequences

By Caitlin McFall | Fox News

Putin spokesman won’t rule out nuclear attack against Ukraine

Kash Patel, former defense department chief of staff, discusses Russia’s strategy to not take nuclear options off the table and warns against the use of chemical weapons which impact civilians for generations.

NATO took on two of the world’s superpowers Wednesday and condemned both Russia and China as the 30-member alliance looks to counter the growing threat of a biological, chemical or nuclear attack.

“Russia must stop its nuclear saber-rattling. This is dangerous, and it is irresponsible,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. 

“Any use of nuclear weapons will fundamentally change the nature of the conflict. And Russia must understand that a nuclear war should never be fought,” he continued. “They can never win a nuclear war.”

NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg took questions from reporters Friday, March 4, 2022. (NATO)

The secretary-general’s comments came just hours after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to take the threat of a nuclear attack off the table and President Biden warned the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine are a “real threat.”

Stoltenberg said he expects all 30 nations will be in attendance for the Thursday summit where the alliance will discuss increasing aid to Ukraine and bolstering defenses against chemical and biological attacks.

“We cannot take peace for granted,” the secretary-general warned. 

Stoltenberg refused to detail what NATO nations are doing to aid Ukraine and neighboring countries against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increasing threats, but warned Moscow that the alliance is prepared to counter “any threat, any attack.” 

“We face a fundamentally changed security environment where authoritarian powers are increasingly prepared to use force to get their way,” he told reporters. “Beijing has joined Moscow in questioning the right of independent nations to choose their own path. China has provided Russia with political support, including by spreading blatant lies and misinformation.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video link at the leaders’ summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 held in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Oct. 9, 2021. ((Photo by Li Xueren/Xinhua via Getty Images)  |   Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Stoltenberg said he expects NATO leaders will discuss China’s increasing role in the war in Ukraine after not only refusing to condemn the illegal invasion but for spreading the “same lies” as the Kremlin. 

Security officials have increasingly warned that China may look to provide material support to Russia – a move Biden warned against during his call with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week. 

Moscow has accused Washington and Kyiv of plotting to use chemical weapons against Russian forces as they remain stalled across Ukraine for a fourth week. 

But Stoltenberg shot down the accusation as “absolute[ly] false” and warned that NATO is increasingly concerned by the rhetoric. 

Gutted cars following a night air raid in the village of Bushiv, 40 kilometers west of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

“It may be a way for them to try to create a pretext for their use of chemical weapons,” he said citing Russia’s known use of the internationally banned weapons in Syria and on NATO territory in the U.K.

“The use of chemical weapons will totally change the nature of the conflict, and it will be a blatant violation of international law and will have far-reaching consensus,” he added. “Any use of chemical weapons is absolutely unacceptable.”

Four killed in knife attack outside the Temple Walls: Revelation 11

Four killed in knife attack in southern Israel

Issued on: 22/03/2022 – 18:39

Text by:NEWS WIRES

The unrest at a gas station and outside a shopping centre in the southern city of Beersheba began shortly after 4:00 pm (1400 GMT), police and emergency medical responders said. 

After arriving at the gas station, the assailant left his car and “stabbed a woman”, according to police. 

He then returned to his car and rammed it into a 60-year-old man on his bicycle outside the shopping centre.

The suspect then left his car again and began stabbing others around the shopping centre, according to police and the Magen David Adom emergency medical response organisation. 

Police said that “civilians who were at the scene fired (at the suspect) and neutralised him,” without specifying the suspect’s condition. 

An MDA spokesman told AFP that four people had been killed. 

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said he held “a consultation with the minister of internal security and the commissioner of the police” following the attack.

He later praised those who shot the alleged assailant, saying they “showed resourcefulness and courage and prevented further casualties”. 

“Security forces are on high alert. We will work hard against terrorists. We will pursue them as well and those who help them,” the Israeli premier tweeted.  

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, released a statement that did not claim the attack but blamed it on Israel’s treatments of Palestinians.

Speaking to a Hamas-controlled radio station, group spokesman Hazem Qassem said the “operation is a response to the policy of ethnic displacement practiced by Israel against our Palestinian people inside the occupied territories”.

Stabbing and car-ramming attacks, often by lone Palestinian assailants, are common in Israel. 

But its southern region, including Beersheba, have recently been spared such violence, with much of it instead concentrated in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem or the occupied West Bank.

Recent unrest in the south has involved clashes between Israel’s Bedouin community — part of Israel’s 20 percent Arab minority — and security forces.

There were no immediate details from police on any possible affiliations of the presumed attacker. 

(AFP) 

Iraq’s independent MPs to discuss the Antichrist’s invitation

Iraqi Parliament’s during a session for electing President of Republic, Feb. 7, 2022. (Photo: Iraqi PM Office/HO/AFP)

Iraq’s independent MPs to discuss Moqtada al-Sadr’s invitation

On Monday Al-Sadr called on independent MPs to attend the upcoming session for the presidential election, and promised that voting MPs would have a place in the national majority government. 

 Kurdistan 24   2022/03/22 11:08

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq’s independent members of parliament are set to discuss a proposal laid out by the biggest winner of the October 2021 elections, Moqtada Al-Sadr, concerning their attendance at the legislative house’s upcoming presidential election. The announcement came from an Independent MP, Hussein Arab, on Monday, but no date for the meeting was disclosed.

Following a number of failed attempts to elect a president of Iraq, mainly due to lack of quorum and legal jostling over various candidates’ constitutional legitimacy, the Iraqi parliament recently set March 26 as the final date for electing the president.

A failure to do so would lead Iraq into political uncertainty, as it would bolster the idea of holding a new parliamentary election. It took the political parties over a year to agree on an election law for the latest ballot.

On Monday Al-Sadr, the biggest winner of the recent election with 73 of the chamber’s 329 seats, called on independent MPs to attend the upcoming session. For their attendance, Al-Sadr promised that his alliance – composed of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Sunni Taqadum (Progress) Coalition – would allow independent MPs to participate in the national majority government.

The independent representatives will hold a meeting to discuss the proposal, Hussein Arab, an MP of the group, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Monday. The discussion will result in a clear position, he stated.

If Sadr’s alliance permits independent MP’s to have a say in nominating the prime minister, they will be willing to attend the session, Adnan Al-Jabri, another member of the group, told state media.

To make a quorum for the session, an attendance of at least 220 members of parliament is required, per an Iraqi Federal Court ruling. Sadr and his allies hold approximately 170 seats, while their rivals, mainly pro-Iranian groups, hold nearly 130 seats.

The independent MPs’ seats are estimated to be around 40.

Six months after the election, Iraq has only been able to elect the Speaker of Parliament – one of three top positions.

There are currently 40 candidates for the position of President of the Republic. While a largely ceremonial post, the seat has traditionally been reserved for the Kurdish parties since the elections of 2005.

The KDP’s candidate for the position is Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Rebar Ahmed, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has re-nominated current Iraqi President Barham Salih.