USGS Evidence Shows Power of the Sixth Seal (Revelation 6:12)

New Evidence Shows Power of East Coast EarthquakesVirginia Earthquake Triggered Landslides at Great Distances

11/6/2012 8:30:00 AM USGS.gov

Earthquake shaking in the eastern United States can travel much farther and cause damage over larger areas than previously thought.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists found that last year’s magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia triggered landslides at distances four times farther—and over an area 20 times larger—than previous research has shown.

“We used landslides as an example and direct physical evidence to see how far-reaching shaking from east coast earthquakes could be,”

said Randall Jibson, USGS scientist and lead author of this study. “Not every earthquake will trigger landslides, but we can use landslide distributions to estimate characteristics of earthquake energy and how far regional ground shaking could occur.”

“Scientists are confirming with empirical data what more than 50 million people in the eastern U.S. experienced firsthand: this was one powerful earthquake,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “Calibrating the distance over which landslides occur may also help us reach back into the geologic record to look for evidence of past history of major earthquakes from the Virginia seismic zone.”

This study will help inform earthquake hazard and risk assessments as well as emergency preparedness, whether for landslides or other earthquake effects.

This study also supports existing research showing that although earthquakes  are less frequent in the East, their damaging effects can extend over a much larger area as compared to the western United States.

The research is being presented today at the Geological Society of America conference, and will be published in the December 2012 issue of the

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

The USGS found that the farthest landslide from the 2011 Virginia earthquake was 245 km (150 miles) from the epicenter. This is by far the greatest landslide distance recorded from any other earthquake of similar magnitude. Previous studies of worldwide earthquakes indicated that landslides occurred no farther than 60 km (36 miles) from the epicenter of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake.

“What makes this new study so unique is that it provides direct observational evidence from the largest earthquake to occur in more than 100 years in the eastern U.S,” said Jibson. “Now that we know more about the power of East Coast earthquakes, equations that predict ground shaking might need to be revised.”

It is estimated that approximately one-third of the U.S. population could have felt last year’s earthquake in Virginia, more than any earthquake in U.S. history.

About 148,000 people reported their ground-shaking experiences caused by the earthquake on the USGS “Did You Feel It?” website. Shaking reports came from southeastern Canada to Florida and as far west as Texas.

In addition to the great landslide distances recorded, the landslides from the 2011 Virginia earthquake occurred in an area 20 times larger than expected from studies of worldwide earthquakes. Scientists plotted the landslide locations that were farthest out and then calculated the area enclosed by those landslides. The observed landslides from last year’s Virginia earthquake enclose an area of about 33,400 km2

, while previous studies indicated an expected area of about 1,500 km2

from an earthquake of similar magnitude.

“The landslide distances from last year’s Virginia earthquake are remarkable compared to historical landslides across the world and represent the largest distance limit ever recorded,” said Edwin Harp, USGS scientist and co-author of this study. “There are limitations to our research, but the bottom line is that we now have a better understanding of the power of East Coast earthquakes and potential damage scenarios.”

The difference between seismic shaking in the East versus the West is due in part to the geologic structure and rock properties that allow seismic waves to travel farther without weakening.

Learn more

about the 2011 central Virginia earthquake.

The Russian and Chinese Nuclear Horns Perform War Games

Russia and China Conduct Axis War Games

Guy McCardle

War Games – 2022

“Would you like to play a game?” – This was asked of Matthew Broderick’s character by the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) computer in the 1983 movie “War Games.” If you remember that film, the NORAD computer decided to play a game called “Global Thermonuclear War” and concluded that it was a “strange game,” and the only winning solution was not to play.

As tensions with the United States continue to escalate, last Thursday, September 1st, two of the world’s largest nuclear weapons holders held joint war games in eastern Russia.

Russia and its allies launched their Vostok (the Russian word for “east”) 2022 war games on that date. The “games” are still underway, scheduled to last through September 7th. More than 50,000 troops are participating, including Chinese and Indian (another nuclear power) forces. The military exercises are intended to flaunt the growing cooperation between the two nations in the face of the US. However, they also seem to be meant to show us that they have enough forces to continue their war in Ukraine and host exercises with their allies.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov addresses the international gathering of troops. Screenshot from YouTube and France 24

Activities are being held at seven ranges in the Primorsky Region of Russia as well as the sea of Japan. The Russian Defence Ministry and Tassreport that approximately 50,000 troops will be involved and 140 aircraft and 60 warships. The major participating nations, in addition to the host, are China, India, Syria, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Laos.

During the opening ceremonies, Yevkurov said, “Today, soldiers and officers of 10 states are standing in a single formation, and a total of 13 countries are taking part in the exercise. Tens of thousands of servicemen and thousands of units of equipment are performing combat training missions according to a single plan at nine training grounds in real-time.” 

The nations participating in Vostok 2022. Screenshot from YouTube via France 24

The Deputy Minister explained the tactical exercises that they would help foster their commitment to mutual understanding and cooperation and strengthen combat unity among the participating states. This is all according to the Russian News Agency, TASS. Sounds like an axis of something to me.

The growing friendship between Russia and China reminds me of the Anti-Comintern Pact signed by Germany and Japan in 1936. According to sources at the World War II National Museum, “A part of the Pact kept secret entailed that neither country would help the Soviets in any way if Stalin attacked the other.” Historian Ian Kershaw characterized it in the following way, “the pact was more important for its symbolism than for its actual provisions: the two most militaristic, expansionist powers in the world had found their way to each other. Though the pact was ostensibly defensive, it had hardly enhanced the prospects for peace on either side of the globe.” 

Here’s a fun historical fact, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini had used the term “axis” in reference to the joining of like philosophies of the time one month before the Anti-Comintern Pact was signed. Then, the Pact of Steel, also known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, formalized a political and military agreement between the two like-minded nations.

The signing of the Pact of Steel in Berlin, 1939. If you squint a bit, the man to the immediate right of Hitler looks a bit like Putin. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As outlined by The New Yorker, way back in early February, before he launched his “special military operation” into Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping to discuss their version of a “new world order.” Of course, they discussed their ambitions concerning Ukraine and Taiwan.

The autocrats released a joint statement with verbiage that should raise more than a few eyebrows. The statement says, “Friendship between the two States has no limits” and “There are no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation.” This agreement is more than just a few soundbites; it is a five-thousand-word document.

None other than Robert Daly, who is the director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at The Wilson Center (try fitting that title on a business card), warns, “This is a pledge to stand shoulder to shoulder against America and the West, ideologically as well as militarily,” Looking forward, he comments, “This statement might be looked back on as the beginning of Cold War Two.” 

I’m reminded of how the Russians recently announced they would no longer be part of the International Space Station after 2024. So are they getting out of the outer space business? Not at all; they are pairing up with the Chinese and will be working with them on their Tiangong Space Station.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, this piece isn’t so much about the Russian war games themselves as it is about the idea of an axis of nations that aren’t huge fans of the US training together. You may wonder, “What is India doing mixing in with that crowd?” Fair question; they have sent contingents to military exercises with Russia before. They are really sitting on the fence on this one.

Through Voice of America, Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, tells us, “New Delhi is emphasizing that it will adhere to the independent position that it has taken in the wake of the Ukraine crisis and continue to remain neutral between the US and Russia.” Sort of like Switzerland with 1.38 billion people. India has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nor have they imposed any sanctions against Moscow. Quite the opposite, they have been taking advantage of discount prices in Russian oil, and their oil imports from that nation have risen significantly this year. India’s Foreign Minister justifies this by saying, “I have a country with a per capita income of $2,000. These aren’t people who can afford higher energy prices.”

I should point out that India is currently buying their weapons from Israel, the United States, and Russia (among other countries). They are trying to keep all of their suppliers happy, which is working now.

Boring. Lots of small groups marched on poorly maintained parade grounds and tanks getting stuck in the mud. Seriously, you don’t want to see that.

Really poorly maintained parade grounds. Screenshot from YouTube via France 24.

If you want to see Russian tanks stuck in the mud, watch some videos of their progress in Ukraine.

UK Trains the Australian Nuclear Horn: Daniel 7

Midshipmen assigned to the Yale University Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) program receive training in the Naval Submarine School’s damage control wet trainer. (U.S. Navy photo by Charles E. Spirtos)

UK To Train Australian Nuclear Sub Sailors

Bloomberg

September 4, 2022

By Ben Westcott (Bloomberg) Australian sailors will be trained by the UK Navy on board its nuclear-powered submarines, the next step toward Canberra fielding its own fleet of the vessels under the landmark AUKUS security agreement.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles joined British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the commissioning of the HMS Anson Astute-class nuclear submarine in the UK on Wednesday. Johnson said Australian sailors would train on the HMS Anson. 

Marles said in a statement Thursday that Australia was “working hand in glove” with the UK on building the skills which would allow them to one day field their own fleet of nuclear submarines. The timeline for the training wasn’t disclosed. 

“The technology, capability and lethality on show is truly impressive and Australia looks forward to progressing our talks through the AUKUS partnership,” Marles said.

Australia, the UK and the US struck a pact in September last year to deepen defense ties and increase sharing of intelligence and technology in the face of growing competition from China in the Asia-Pacific. 

Under the deal, known as AUKUS, the UK and the US agreed to help Australia build and operate its own fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines by 2040, greatly increasing Canberra’s military reach.

Also Read: Australian Shipbuilders Debate Nuclear Reactor Safety In Wake Of Submarine Deal

While the training of Australian sailors is the next step toward fulfilling the AUKUS agreement, many details still have to be resolved. Australia has yet to announce whether it will model its submarines on the UK or the US models or when the new vessels might be ready for service.

Marles said in June it would be “optimistic in the extreme” to expect the submarines to be ready by 2030.

Related Book: The Hunt for Red October By Tom Clancy

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.

The Antichrist and American Folly

Iraqi Turmoil and American Folly

The unrest in the wake of Muqtada al-Sadr’s resignation reminds us of the limits of American intervention.

Muqtada al-Sadr at the grand mosque of Kufa in the holy city of Najaf, on April 3, 2015. (Haidar Hamdani / AFP via Getty Images)

Sohrab Ahmari

Sep 6, 202212:05 AM

Iraq almost descended into civil war last week after an influential cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, withdrew from politics, having failed to secure a power-sharing deal with rival Shiite factions. The move prompted his supporters to storm the Green Zone, and at least 30 died and hundreds were wounded in the clashes that followed. Western authorities warned that the situation threatened the very survival of the Iraqi state, though a fragile calm has now been restored.

It is a shame that the American hawks who advocated for the 2003 invasion are too busy with other matters: many pushing escalation against Russia over Ukraine or, in the case of George W. Bush, teaching a Masterclass on leadership (yes, really).

The byzantine details behind the latest Iraqi unrest are almost beside the point, except insofar as they present an object lesson in the dangers of unintended consequences. Americans remember Sadr, if at all, as the leader of the Mahdi Army, which pitched ferocious battles against the U.S.-led occupation in the immediate wake of the Iraq War. Since then, he has emerged as an opponent of Tehran’s domination of Iraq.

That posture has naturally made Sadr a darling of the region’s Saudi-led Sunni bloc, with Riyadh-aligned outlets gushing over the cleric and his resistance against Persian hegemony. Arab News writer Baria Alamuddin, for example, insists that “this is not a struggle about religious authority, but a war for the survival of Iraq as an independent and sovereign nation, in which Sunnis, Kurds, liberals, and various minorities all have an equal stake.”

I’m not so sure. Sadr’s political life has long been bound up with the Shiite state next door, as evidenced by the fact that he spent the better part of a decade in Iran after the Americans routed his Mahdi uprising. Sadr’s own spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, has long been based in Iran’s holy city of Qom.

Indeed, part of the reason for Sadr’s resignation was Haeri’s decision to step down and urge his followers to pledge bay’ah (allegiance) to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sadr claims the Iranians coerced Haeri into resigning. That may or may not be true. Either way, the whole thing smells a lot like an intra-Shiite feud, not some nationalist battle royal pitting “bad” pro-Iran Shiites against “good” Shiites allied with Sunnis, Kurds, and liberals (what liberals, Ms. Alamuddin?!).

It was precisely such simplistic moralizing that set the stage for the 2003 invasion in the first place: the belief, downright hilarious in retrospect, that Iraq is a coherent national state and a democracy awaiting liberation—rather than a hodge-podge of factions forced to live together by the border-drawing whims of Western imperialists a century earlier. Of course, Iraq was bound to be torn apart by regional powers attached to various ethnic and sectarian blocs, with the Iranians likely to come out victorious thanks to the Shiites’ sheer numerical advantage.

The ultimate result is that the Iraq War ended up empowering Tehran—a terrible outcome according to the hawks’ own anti-Iran logic.

All of this raises what should be a discomfiting question: What sorts of unintended consequences are poised to unfold from the uniparty hawks’ determination to wage a long proxy war against Russia in Ukraine? Already, Western sanctions that were supposed to collapse Russia’s economy and lead to a palace coup against Vladimir Putin have instead buoyed the ruble to historic highs.

More than that, the sanctions impelled many in the developing world to look to the emerging BRICS formation (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as an alternative to an American-led global financial system, where your currency reserves aren’t safe from the ideological commitments of Foggy Bottom hawks and wokesters (but I repeat myself). Europeans, meanwhile, are looking ahead to a freezing winter as the combination of the sanctions and their own green follies leave the Continent struggling to fuel industries and households alike.

There are still more terrifying prospects. One I fear isn’t getting nearly enough attention is the possibility of renewed conflict in the Balkans, as pro-Russian populations in places like Serbia feel increasingly squeezed out of the European system, while Western-aligned ones press every advantage in long-simmering disputes over language, identity, and history.

Times like ours call for fair-minded diplomacy and strategic caution. That’s too much to ask of those in Washington who pushed Iraq to the brink—and who still occupy the commanding heights of our teetering empire.

Dear readers: I’m back from my book sabbatical. Look for this column every Tuesday, and tune in toward the end of every week when I join Emile, Helen, and Micah for the TAC Right Now podcast. Thanks for bearing with me.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sohrab Ahmari

Sohrab Ahmari is a founder and editor of Compact magazine, a contributing editor of The American Conservative, and a visiting fellow of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University. His books include From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith (Ignatius, 2019) and The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos (Convergent/Random House, 2021). He is currently writing a book about privatized tyranny in America.

Israel pressuring US to prevent another Obama nuclear deal

Israel says pressuring US to prevent Iran nuclear deal

Israel’s spy chief set to travel to Washington for talks on Iran nuclear file

ANKARA:

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday Israel will continue to pile pressure on the US administration to prevent the signing of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

“We are leading an intensive campaign meant to prevent the signing of a dangerous nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers,” Lapid said at a Cabinet meeting.

He, however, said that Israeli pressure on Washington will not reach the point of straining relations between the two countries, according to The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

His remarks came as Tehran and Washington have entered the last stretch to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, with both sides currently exchanging comments on a draft proposal tabled by the EU.

The Israeli premier said Washington took into consideration the reservations raised by Tel Aviv on the proposed Iran deal.

“We also spoke to other partners and presented demands [they should make of] the Iranians. We can’t say everything, but not everything should be subject to fights and speeches. There is another way, and it works better,” he added.

Lapid said Israel’s Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea is set to travel on Sunday to the United States to speak with officials there on the Iranian nuclear file.

Israel accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb, a claim denied by Tehran, which says its program is designed for peaceful purposes.

Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure campaign” on Tehran.

Iran retaliated by stepping back from its nuclear-related commitments under the deal. Tehran has since exceeded thresholds on the enrichment of uranium, as well as the amount it is allowed to possess under the pact.

Russia will use ‘tactical’ nukes

Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP FILESBelarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (right, pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin) claims his country’s aircraft have been ‘upgraded’ to make them capable of carrying Russian nuclear weapons.

Might Russia use ‘tactical’ nukes?

By: Gwynne Dyer Posted: 2:00 AM CDT Monday, Sep. 5, 2022 Last Modified: 9:23 AM CDT Monday, Sep. 5, 2022

Opinion

On Aug. 25 the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, announced the country’s combat aircraft have been “upgraded” by the Russians to carry nuclear weapons, and Belarusian pilots are being trained to deliver them. It got a single paragraph, or no notice at all, on most news sites. Nobody panicked.

That’s partly because nobody is afraid of the Belarusian air force, and nobody believes the Russians would really give Lukashenko nuclear weapons. It’s also partly because everybody has got used to Moscow reminding us every three or four weeks that it might use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine if it gets really cross.

Russian President Vladimir Putin started hinting heavily on the very first day of the war that he might use nuclear weapons if other countries intervened to prevent his conquest of Ukraine. “The consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history,” he warned on Feb. 24.

That sounded like Putin was actually threatening to use his long-range, city-killing nukes on NATO countries if they intervened. After that opening fanfare, however, the threats from Russian official sources were dialed back to occasional reminders that Moscow might use much smaller “tactical” nukes on the eastern battlefields in Ukraine.

The talk-show super-patriots on Rossia-1 (state television) went on fantasising about a Third World War in full costume dress — “Why do we need a world if Russia is not in it?” as presenter Dmitri Kiselyov put it — but the military professionals had presumably pointed out to the regime that threatening Armageddon would alarm even Russia’s friends (such as China).

So the official references by Russian sources to possible nuclear use in Ukraine became more indirect and less frequent, particularly after Russia abandoned its failed attempt to seize Kyiv and the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine began making slow but steady progress. Even for Russians, nuclear use is a counsel of despair.

But now the Russian offensive in the east has fully stalled, and the perceived stalemate has put the question of tactical nuclear weapons back on the table. To be fair, the renewed chatter about the Russian use of mini-nukes is now coming more from pundits in the western media than from Russian sources, but the concern is genuine.

Even one tactical nuke could open up a hole in Ukrainian lines that Russian forces could pour through. The Russians would also hope that it would terrify the NATO countries into abandoning their support for Ukraine. On the other hand, it might escalate the conflict into a full-on nuclear war between Russia and the NATO countries.

Both sides will have war-gamed this to death, trying out the various possible moves and counter-moves once a single low-yield Russian nuclear weapon has been used on the Ukrainian front line. (Even Putin would not nuke a city, or launch a full strike on all of Ukraine. This would be “robust signalling,” not an overture to worldwide nuclear holocaust.)

The likelihood the Russians would actually choose to go down this road is currently quite low, but it is not zero. There is no genuine Russian national interest at stake here, but the careers of Putin and his closest associates certainly are at risk. For them, military defeat, or even a prolonged and costly stalemate, spells political ruin.

Many of them would just flee abroad and live with their money if the Ukrainian invasion fails and the regime collapses, but for Putin himself this seems to be a heritage issue. He feels the hand of history on his shoulder, and he has come to see himself as a historical figure on the scale of Catherine the Great or Peter the Great.

Putin is probably not thinking of ordering a single nuclear strike on Ukraine at the moment, for the military stalemate is still young and he clearly believes he still has cards to play. But if those cards don’t work and the Russian military and political situation deteriorates, he might be tempted. What should NATO do if he gives in to the temptation?

The best NATO response would be to do nothing nuclear at all. Just announce that any further nuclear weapons use, or any attempt by Russian troops to advance through the gap that the single strike opened in Ukraine’s defences, will be met by the full deployment of NATO’s conventional air power over Ukraine.

Is this what NATO’s war-gamers have concluded? I don’t know, but both sides will have been gaming out every possible response to the explosion of a single Russian tactical nuclear weapon in eastern Ukraine. Let us hope that this is what the NATO groups have decided — and that they have also communicated their decision to the Russians.

Gwynne Dyer’s new book is The Shortest History of War.

Hamas executes five outside the Temple Walls: Revelation 11

Hamas executes five in Gaza

Two spied for Israel, while the rest were convicted of murder, the terror group claims. 

Hamas members attend a rally in Beit Lahiya on May 30, 2021. Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90.

The Hamas terror group executed five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the first executions carried out in the Palestinian-controlled territories since 2017, Reutersreported on Sunday.

Two of the men were convicted of spying for Israel based on charges dating back to 2015 and 2009, the Hamas Interior Ministry said.

Hamas did not provide full names for the condemned, who were executed at dawn. It said three were convicted of murder.

The alleged spies, aged 44 and 54, passed information to Israel that led to the killing of Palestinians, it claimed.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined comment, according to Reuters.

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Human rights groups have criticized past instances of capital punishment carried out in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and have urged Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to end the practice.

Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from the P.A. in 2007, its courts have sentenced dozens to death and executed 27, according to human rights groups.