Sunday, January 10, 2016

Methane Gas Leak Near LA (Update), Hezbollah's Dangerous Game



Invisible methane gas leak forces thousands to flee upscale LA neighborhood

A nauseous gas leak in an upscale neighborhood north of Los Angeles has closed schools and forced thousands of families to flee the area.
Neighbors have left in a mass exodus from the invisible threat of the well, at Southern California Gas Co's Aliso Canyon storage facility, which wafts occasionally, sickening many in its path, as it continues to spew enormous amounts of climate-changing methane.
It has been gushing the equivalent of about a quarter of the state's daily output of methane, along with other gases, since it was reported on October 23. 
California Gov Jerry Brown declared an emergency last week in Porter Ranch for the prolonged blowout that requires the utility to cover the costs and instructs state regulators to protect ratepayers. 
The leak, which causes a sulfur-like smell, has cost the utility $50 million so far and is expected to balloon as the company tries a tricky fix to plug the well deep underground, while also shelling out compensation for exasperated residents and fighting dozens of lawsuits.



This infrared image released by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) shows methane gas leaking from the Aliso Canyon facility near the Porter Ranch suburb of Los Angeles
This infrared image released by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) shows methane gas leaking from the Aliso Canyon facility near the Porter Ranch suburb of Los Angeles


It is the largest natural gas storage facility west of the Mississippi River and can provide energy to all of Southern California for a month. 
The leak is also blamed for depositing tiny oil droplets on cars and houses that are about a mile away.
The well is one of 115 in the Santa Susana Mountains where Southern California Gas Co, a division of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, stores natural gas in a vacant oil field about a mile and a half underground. 
Porter Ranch resident Laura Gideon and her family endured the sickening stench from the out-of-control natural gas leak for about a month before they could no longer tolerate the nausea, headaches and nosebleeds.
After she went to the emergency room in November vomiting and with a severe migraine, Gideon, her husband and their two children abandoned the only home they'd ever known together in the upscale Los Angeles suburb of Porter Ranch.
They moved in with her parents about ten miles away to await a fix that could still be months away.
'We're in mourning now,' she said. 'We didn't ever want to leave. We were in a nice gated community. We were safe, you know, supposedly good schools. This wasn't our plan.'  

Public health officials said most of the gas is dissipating and not causing long-term problems, but foul-smelling additives that make highly flammable gas detectable has been blamed for maladies including irritated throats, coughs and respiratory problems.
'It's like being in a disaster area, but it's not a disaster you can see,' said Sue Hammarlund, who has seen her share of national disasters as a Red Cross volunteer and has suffered from headaches and nosebleeds recently. 'I think this is more debilitating mentally.'
Two local schools closed before the end of the year and nearly 1,900 students will start the year at different schools Monday.

While more than 4,500 families have either left or are on the move, many have stayed behind - either because they're not bothered by the smell, aren't worried or don't want to hassle with moving.

The company has apologized for failing to disclose the leak after residents began complaining about the smell and for reacting slowly to their concerns.
The incident is unprecedented for a utility and it is 'forging new ground,' said Gillian Wright, a SoCalGas vice president.
Under orders from the county health department to relocate people who want to leave, SoCalGas has offered to pay up to $250 a night for hotels, plus $45 per person per day for food, or up to up to $7,500 a month for rental homes. 






On January 4, Iran’s Shiite Lebanese mercenary force, Hezbollah, detonated a large explosive device on the Lebanon-Israel border in the Mount Dov region. Their target was a pair of Israeli D-9 armored bulldozers clearing the area of brush and other obstructions. There were no Israeli casualties.
Israel had anticipated an attack from Hezbollah following its liquidation of Samir Kuntar – the notorious child-killer turned Hezbollah commander – and other senior pro-Assad mercenaries in a Damascus suburb on December 19, 2015. Israel’s Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot warned Hezbollah of “harsh” consequences if the group decided to initiate a terror attack to avenge Kuntar.
The attack itself accomplished nothing. The heavily armored D-9 bulldozers were able to withstand the blast. In an effort to bolster its image and play to a demoralized constituency, Hezbollah claimed that the attack targeted a senior Mossad official and wounded some Israelis. The claim of course was false but demonstrates Hezbollah’s desperation.


Hezbollah, in anticipation of the next round, began a period of reconstruction and rearmament. Financed by Iranian petro dollars, it acquired sophisticated anti-tank missiles and cruise missiles and increased its rocket arsenal from 12,000 to over 100,000. Some of these rockets are said to be capable of hitting targets south of Tel-Aviv.

Most of the weapons were either transported overland through Syria or sent directly to Beirut International Airport, where Hezbollah operatives maintain complete control. These weapons transfers represented a clear violation of UN Resolution 1701 but the Western component of the UN had no stomach to challenge the Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah Axis of Evil and the Muslim component either didn’t care or actually supported it.

As Assad’s army shrunk due to defections, desertions, attrition and draft evasion, Hezbollah’s involvement grew steadily, and with its increased involvement came increased casualties. It is estimated that as many as one-thirdof Hezbollah’s frontline fighters have been killed or injured and many more are simply refusing to fight. Iran is experiencing similar problems losing several senior commanders, including generals, and facing mutinous soldiers refusing to fight in a war far from home.
Meanwhile, while Hezbollah is stuck in Syria’s quagmire, the Israel Defense Forces continues to prepare for the next round that is sure to come. The IDF has been intensifying military exercises simulating battlefield conditions that soldiers would most certainly face in Lebanon and continues to gather intelligence on Hezbollah utilizing both electronic surveillance and human intelligence (HUMINT). Israel’s intelligence forces have been successfulin penetrating the highest echelons of Hezbollah’s command structure.
special commando unit, composed of hand-picked soldiers from other elite units, has been formed specifically to deal with the Hezbollah menace. The armored forces have been upgraded as well. Merkava tanks and Namer armored personnel carriers are now fitted with special anti-rocket defense shields like the Trophy and Iron Fist systems. These are active defense systems capable of destroying any missile in midair before the projectile reaches the vehicle’s armor. Both platforms are battle-proven and are effective against both Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM).

To deal with Hezbollah’s rocket and missile menace, Israel has developed the Arrow, David’s Sling and Iron Dome missile defense systems with the latter proving itself in battle, having over a 90% successful rate of interception. Another system designed to shoot down mortar rounds is currently in development.
But the Israelis are not merely relying on defensive measures. Military intelligence has already mapped out thousands of targets which will be struck in the first days of the war. During the Second Lebanon War, the Israeli Air Force succeeded in destroying Hezbollah’s entire long-range missile capabilities in just 34 minutes.
Israel will not rely solely on its vaunted air force to destroy the missiles. The Second Lebanon War proved that the enemy must be denied territory from where it could launch its rockets. Therefore, an offensive strategy has been devised aimed specifically at acquiring territory so as to deny the enemy a platform from which it could launch its weapons.

Israel has also been carefully monitoring Hezbollah’s activities in Syria. The terror group has been keen on taking advantage of the lawlessness in Syria to transport sophisticated weaponry into Lebanon and set up bases of operations near Israel’s Golan Heights but Israel has conveyed to both Iran and Hezbollah by word and deed that it will not tolerate such nefarious activities.










On New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany, around 1,000 Muslim migrants congregated by the city’s main train station, where they sexually assaulted numerous women and gleefully defied police; one officer recounted that the attackers showed a lack of respect for the police “like I have never experienced in my 29 years of public service.” An attacker crowed,  “I’m a Syrian! You have to treat me kindly! Mrs. Merkel invited me.” In response, Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker has vowed to make sure that women change their behavior, so that they don’t provoke the poor dears to sexual assault again.
That’s right. As hard as it may seem to believe, Reker blamed the victims, and declared that corrective measures would be taken. She said: “The women and young girls have to be more protected in the future so these things don’t happen again.” She didn’t mean protected by police. “This means,” Reker continued, “they should go out and have fun, but they need to be better prepared, especially with the Cologne carnival coming up. For this, we will publish online guidelines that these young women can read through to prepare themselves.”
Reker’s words recalled a hadith in which Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, said to a Muslim woman: “‘O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this,’ and he pointed to her face and hands.” (Sunan Abu Dawud 4092) The idea behind a woman covering everything except her face and hands is rooted in the assumption that if a man is tempted by her, it’s her fault. She can therefore try to quell that temptation by removing its impetus and covering up. If she fails to do so, or if she covers up and is attacked anyway, the fault lies entirely with her, and her family can cleanse itself of the dishonor she has brought upon them by putting her to death.

There is no room in this web of assumptions, which is all too common in the Islamic world, for the idea that if a man rapes or sexually assaults a woman, he bears the guilt. The guilt is all on his victim.
And now, Henriette Reker has shown us yet again that when multiculturalism and feminism come into conflict, multiculturalism always wins – at least when it comes to Islam. Feminists have been telling the world for decades that it is outrageous and wrong to say that a rape victim was “asking for it” because of the way she was dressed. But now, Reker has said essentially just that: if only the women in Cologne had been properly “prepared,” you see, if only they had access to the “guidelines” she is cooking up, then all would have been well. Reker said nothing about getting Muslim migrants “prepared” for life in Germany, and has made no announcement about issuing any “guidelines” for them about how to keep themselves from molesting women.

No, for Reker, as for Islamic supremacists everywhere, the responsibility to prevent sexual assault lies solely with them women. What, then, will her “guidelines” direct the non-Muslim women of Cologne to do? If she is consistent, they will tell women to buy a niqab. Buy a burqa. Or at very least to “dress modestly.” The “guidelines” will remind women that if they get attacked by migrants, it’s their own fault, as they should have been more careful.
And so Cologne’s Mayor slips without any evident hesitation into the Sharia mindset that it is entirely the woman’s responsibility to avoid tempting men, and entirely her fault if she is attacked.




6 comments:

GG2013 said...

Messengers from God

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. – Luke 1:12

Yet the angel had come on an errand of love, — had come to announce to Zacharias tidings which would fill his heart
with great joy. It is often so. All through the Bible we find that people were afraid of God’s angels. Their very glory startled
and terrified those to whom they appeared. It is ofttimes the same with us. When God’s messengers come to us on errands
of grace and peace, we are terrified, as if they were the messengers of wrath.

Angels do not appear to us in these days in their heavenly garb. They come no less really and no less frequently than in the
Bible days; but they wear other and various forms. Sometimes they appear in robes of gladness and light, but ofttimes they
come in dark garments. Yet our faith in our Father’s love should make us confident that every messenger that He sends to us,
whatever the garb, brings something good to us.

“All God’s angels come to us disguised,—
Sorrow and sickness, poverty and death,
One after other lift their frowning masks,
And we behold the seraph’s face beneath,
All radiant with the glory and the calm
Of having looked upon the face of God,

The things which we call trials and adversities are really God’s angels, though they seem terrible to us; and if we will only
quiet our hearts and wait, we shall find that they are messengers from heaven, and that they have brought blessings to us
from God. They have come to tell us of some new joy that is to be granted, — some spiritual joy, perhaps, to be born of
earthly sorrow, some strange and sweet surprise of love that is waiting for us. We want to learn to trust God so perfectly
that no messenger He ever sends shall alarm us.

ally said...

I will have to think about this one GG. I'm not sure I agree. Could you back this up with bib lical references?
Though they cause us to grow,illnesses and trials come from Satan, not God. God does allow and use these situations to temper and refine us.
Angels are actually physical beings.
Please correct me if I am wrong

GG2013 said...

Hi Ally-

That is too broad a topic to give a simple answer. I am going to provide a link that you can break down in detail that I found on line.
Then I will follow in a separate post the supporting scriptures. Angels are created of God. There are various angels, both good and
bad. This posting author wasn't saying to worship the angels first, and more importantly over God.

This article is speaking of the messengers of God,and the support we can expect while on this earth, because of him, through him and in him if God so chooses to send them to us.

This is not about the fallen angels, such as many dabble into today, known as "Aliens". We have seen those discussions on this site
in years gone by, but to no avail. We must watch that we are not entertaining angels unawares as you will see in Hewbews. Angels
are spirit beings, not physical beings. They were created by God for his purpose. You will notice in the scriptures in the bible, there
will be some stating god with a little G, instead of stating angels. We should not be worshiping anything or anyone other than God.
He will use his angels from the beginning until the end of time and even after as he sees fit and for his glory only. :)

The word “angel” actually comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger.” The matching Hebrew word mal'akhas the same meaning.

Sometimes, the Bible uses these words for human beings:

http://christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html

I haven't found any scripture that tells me that God bound up or disposed of all the angels he created. He is in charge and since we have or should have the spirit of Christ,
I don't even see the evilness of a fallen angel sticking around me when I mention Jesus' name. :)

We have the prayers and words provided in the bible to use to guard our hearts, minds, and spirit. We are physical beings that posses a soul. We must guard everything at all times.

Entertaining anything that is not of God is not good on many fronts. That is why we are to always test the spirits and steer clear of worshipping false idols or mediums, etc.

As the old saying goes " if you go looking for trouble, you will most certainly find it".

Hope these next few posts will jump start you in your search.

God Bless!!
GG

GG2013 said...

The Supremacy of the Son
…5For to which of the angels did He ever say, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again,
"I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"? 6And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,
"AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM." 7And of the angels He says, "WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE."…

Cross References
Psalm 97:7
All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols-- worship him, all you gods!

Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Hebrews 10:5
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;

1 Peter 3:22
who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Treasury of Scripture
And again, when he brings in the first-begotten into the world, he said, And let all the angels of God worship him.

The Storm at Sea
…22"Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23
"For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, 24saying, 'Do not be afraid,
Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.'…

Cross References
Acts 5:19
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

Acts 18:9
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.

Acts 23:11
The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

Romans 1:9
God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

2 Timothy 4:17
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was delivered from the lion's mouth.

Treasury of Scripture
For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

there.

Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought …
Acts 12:8-11,23 And the angel said to him, Gird yourself, and bind on your sandals. …
Acts 23:11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good …
Daniel 6:22 My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, that they …
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for …
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the …

GG2013 said...

Alive in Christ

…17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Let no one keep
defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels,taking his stand on
visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom
the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.…

Cross References
Romans 8:7
The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

1 Corinthians 4:6
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us
the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us
over against the other.

1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Ephesians 4:17
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:23
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their
harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Treasury of Scripture
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which
he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

GG2013 said...

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My
Father who is in heaven. 11"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.…

Cross References
1 Kings 22:19
Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven
standing around him on his right and on his left.

Esther 1:14
and were closest to the king--Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia
and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.

Luke 1:19
The angel said to him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

Acts 12:15
"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

Hebrews 9:24
For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven
itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.

Revelation 8:2
And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

Treasury of Scripture
Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the
face of my Father which is in heaven

God's Judgment on the Ungodly
…5Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the
land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6And angels who did not keep their own domain,
but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,7just
as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality
and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.…

Cross References
Matthew 10:15
Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of
God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held
for judgment;

2 Peter 2:9
if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment
on the day of judgment.

Jude 1:13
They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been
reserved forever.

Revelation 20:2
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Treasury of Scripture
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness to the judgment of the great day.