Analysis: Largest Series Of Strikes In Months/Years - A Shocking Night For Syria

A shocking night for Syria - Analysis

Airstrikes and active air defense across Damascus into the mountains near Lebanon and near Homs 160 km to the north awoke Syrians after midnight in the first hours of Monday. It was the largest series of airstrikes many had seen in months or years, according to social media accounts tweeting from Syria or in touch with people on the ground.

Houses were damaged, soldiers reported wounded and killed and in hospital, as well as civilian reported injured. Explosions rocked areas around Damascus, primarily to the west and into the mountains.

SANA state media says people were injured and homes damaged in Sahnaya near Damascus. But this is only one location and as the full picture emerges Syria’s regime and its allies in Tehran and Moscow will take notice. Over the years Syria has accused Israel of numerous airstrikes and Israel’s former Chief of Staff has said that more than 1,000 were carried out. However the larger picture is that the Syrian government must wonder what the message is.

Syria wants to put on a brave face, claiming that its air defense has downed incoming missiles. But in the past it has said the same and it has been shown that it cannot interdict airstrikes. Last fall Russia said it would provide the Syrian regime with the S-300 system. On Sunday images were released by ImageSat International showing four S-300 systems in Syria’s Masyaf area not far from Homs.

In addition a report at Ynet in May indicated that an airstrike at T-4 airbase on the road to Palmyra from Homs destroyed an Iranian 3rd Khordad air defense system that is supposed to be similar to the S-300. The two details matter for the Syrian regime because in both cases these relatively sophisticated air defense systems were either all sitting in the same place, and thus not deployed to protect all of Syria, or one was allegedly destroyed in T-4.

Syria knows that its Russian ally held a high level meeting with Israel in June with US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Israeli counterparts. Russia has stressed that it does not want Syria to become a battlefield for any foreign power against Iran. However Israel has said numerous times last year that it views the Iranian presence in Syria as a threat. US-Iran tensions are at an all-time high. US F-22 raptors were sent to the Persian Gulf this week in position to deal with any Iranian threat.

Reports now indicate that an Iranian-backed group used a drone from Iraq to attack a pipeline in Saudi Arabia in May. With each incident, whether rocket attacks near US troops in Iraq, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, or the Iranian downing of the US Global Hawk drone in June, the tensions are rising. 

The complex airstrikes in Syria on June 1 are the latest in what appears to be a much larger regional message to Damascus and its allies. The Within Syria Blog says “super heavy losses today.” As news continues to emerge about targets in Damascus and Homs, spanning such a wide area, Syria’s regime will have to weigh what it has lost. At the same time the US and Russia will be watching closely

Israeli Missiles Launched From Lebanese Airspace Into Damascus Area

‘Israeli missile strikes’ kill 4 Syrian civilians, including a toddler, injure 21 – state TV

Syrian air defenses have responded to apparent missile attacks in the vicinity of Damascus and Homs, Sana reports, with its military source claiming that a number of ‘hostile targets’ have been intercepted.

At least 4 people, including a baby, were killed in the strikes on Damascus countryside while 21 others suffered injuries, according to SANA. One of those injured is a month old baby girl, who suffered burns and facial wounds.

The missiles were launched from the Lebanese airspace, where Israeli aircraft were spotted making low-altitude flights around the time of the incident, according to TV-channel Al-Mayadeen and Al-Masdar News and other regional sources.

— Mulhak (@Mulhak) June 30, 2019

Even though at least three missiles were intercepted, besides the casualties a number of houses on the outskirts of Damascus suffered “material damage.” The targets allegedly included Mezzeh military airport near Damascus, as well as nearby towns of Jamraya, Sahnaya, and Daraya. Another site was also targeted in Homs Governorate, near the Lebanese border.

More pics, some missiles hit Mazzeh airbase in Damascus city. pic.twitter.com/4pftpOAgTK

— H.K 🇸🇾 (@Ibra_Joudeh) June 30, 2019

Israel which repeatedly carried out cross-border raids into Syria in the past, but rarely admitted them, has yet to comment on the latest incident. However, in recent weeks, Tel Aviv confirmed striking multiple Syrian Army installations, in retaliation to cross-border tensions surrounding the occupied Golan Heights.

#BREAKING#NOW
A number of explosions rocked the Syrian capital #Damascus.#Syria#Israel#IDF#IAF#Iran#IRGC#Russia#USApic.twitter.com/43n8qddjH8

— Eva J. Koulouriotis - إيفا كولوريوتي (@evacool_) June 30, 2019

Damascus on several occasions urged the UN to put an end to these blatant sovereignty violations by Israel. The Syrian government believes that Israeli strikes only bolster the fighting spirit of the remaining terrorists in the country.

Israeli Jets Hit Targets In Homs And Damascus: Powder Keg Could Blow With One Of These Attacks

Syria says four killed as Israeli jets hit targets in Homs and Damascus

Syria said Israeli jets attacked several military sites near the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs early Monday, killing four civilians, including a small infant.

State news agency SANA said that Syrian air defense had intercepted several of the incoming missiles that were fired from Lebanese airspace.

The report said four civilians, including a “month-old baby,” were killed and 21 people injured in explosions in Sahnaya, a neighborhood of Damascus. It blamed the deaths on “Zionist aggression.”

SANA gave no further details on the sites targeted.

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strikes had targeted a research center and a military airport west of the city of Homs where the Hezbollah Shiite terror group and Iranians are deployed.

Rami Abdel Rahman, the observatory chief, said the strikes injured some of these forces.

The targets near Damascus were still unclear.

There was no response from the Israel Defense Forces, which rarely comments on reported strikes.

Israel accuses Iran of seeking to set up a military presence in Syria that could be used to threaten the Jewish state.

The Israeli military has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years on targets linked to Iran, which is backing President Bashar Assad’s regime in the Syrian civil war.

The reported strikes came just hours after an Israeli satellite imagery analysis company said Syria’s entire S-300 air defense system appeared to be operational, indicating a greater threat to Israel’s ability to conduct airstrikes against Iranian and pro-Iranian forces in the country.

Until now, only three of the country’s four surface-to-air missile launchers had been seen fully erected at the Masyaf base in northwestern Syria.

Israel has threatened to destroy the S-300 system if it is used against its fighter jets, regardless of the potential blowback from Russia.




Satellite intel firm: Syria's entire S-300 air defenses likely operational

An Israeli satellite imagery analysis company on Sunday said Syria’s entire S-300 air defense system appeared to be operational, indicating a greater threat to Israel’s ability to conduct airstrikes against Iranian and pro-Iranian forces in the country.

Until now, only three of the country’s four surface-to-air missile launchers had been seen fully erected at the Masyaf base in northwestern Syria.

But satellite photographs released on Sunday showed the fourth in position as well, some nine months after Russia gave the air defense system to Syria, according to Israel’s ImageSat International.

On February 19, the firm said the system generally appeared to be operational, based on multiple satellite images of the battery, other than the fourth launcher.

“The images of the three erected launchers at various times in Syria indicate that they are probably operational,” the firm wrote on its website at the time.

ImageSat said at the time that the fourth launcher, which has now been seen erected, was “possibly an invalid, dummy or a different element that serves as deception.”

First Extreme Heat, Now Wildfires Out Of Control In Europe

Hell on Earth: And now the wildfires rage out of control after Continental Europe rocked by record 45.9 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit)

Hundreds of firefighters battled on Saturday to contain wildfires in southern France as a stifling heatwave brought record-breaking temperatures to parts of Europe, killing at least three people in Italy.

In the Gard region, where France's highest temperature on record was registered on Friday at 45.9 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit), scores of fires burned some 600 hectares (about 1,500 acres) of land and destroyed several houses and vehicles, emergency services said.

More than 700 firefighters and 10 aircraft were mobilized to tackle the fires in the Gard, some of which caused sections of motorways to be temporarily closed.

Several firefighters were hurt but no serious injuries were reported.

French media said a man had been arrested for deliberately starting fires in one Gard village.
The extreme heat was expected to ease on Saturday in southern France but highs were still forecast at close to 40 degrees.

A major wildfire in northeastern Spain is raging out of control for a third straight day.
Several hundred firefighters are at the blaze in the Catalonia region Friday as Spain is forecast to endure the peak of a recent heat wave, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Officials say cooler overnight temperatures allowed crews to slow the fire's advance, but authorities say it is the region's worst fire in two decades and 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) are at risk.
Miquel Buch, the regional interior minister, is asking people to exercise extreme caution in forested areas. He says fire services are at full stretch "and we can't allow another wildfire to break out." Some 500 people were evacuated to a school gym.

Others were told to stay indoors.

France 24 claimed France, Spain, Italy, Britain and parts of central Europe weathered a record heat wave this week.

Meteorologists blamed the unusually early summer heat on a scorching blast of hot air from northern Africa, with France recording its hottest temperature ever of 45.9 degrees Celsius Friday.
Relief is in sight starting Sunday.

Fukushima At 8 Years: 'Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe'

Fukushima: "An Ongoing Global Radiological Catastrophe". "A Huge Coverup". Dr. Helen Caldicott

The eight year anniversary of the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility passed mostly without comment in mainstream media circles. In spite of ongoing radiological contamination that will continue to spread and threaten human health for lifetimes to come, other stories dominate the international news cycle. The climate change conundrum, serious though it may be, seemingly crowds out all other clear and present environmental hazards.

As part of efforts to normalize this historic event and cover it up in its magnitude, the Japanese government has invested considerable financial, public relations and other resources into what they are billing the ‘Recovery Olympics‘ set to take place in a year’s time in Tokyo. 

But Helen Caldicott warns that the dangers associated with Fukushima have not gone away and remain a cause for concern. 

On the week marking the eighth anniversary of the Fukushima meltdowns, the Global Research News Hour radio program, hosted by Michael Welch, reached out to Dr. Caldicott to get her expert opinion on the health dangers posed by the most serious nuclear disaster since, at least, the 1986 Chernobyl event. Since its founding in 2001 she served as president of the US based Nuclear Policy Research Institute later called Beyond Nuclear which initiates symposia and educational projects aimed at informing the public about the dangers of nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and nuclear war. And she is the editor of the 2014 book, Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe. 

Global Research: Now the Japanese government is preparing to welcome visitors to Japan for the 2020 Olympic Games, and coverage of the 8th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster is hardly, it seems to me, registered given the significant radiological and other dangers that you cited and your authors cited in your 2014 book, Crisis Without End. Now it’s been more than four years since that book came out. I was hoping you could update our listenership on what is currently being recognized as the main health threats in 2019, perhaps not registered in the book, that you’re currently looking at in relation to the Fukushima meltdown.

Helen Caldicott: Well it’s difficult because the Japanese government has authorized really only examination of thyroid cancer. Now thyroid cancer is caused by radioactive iodine and there were many, many cases of that after Chernobyl. And already, they’ve looked at children under the age of 18 in the Fukushima prefecture at the time of the accident, and … how many children… 100…no 201 by June 18 last year… 201 had developed thyroid cancer. Some cancers had metastasized. The incidence of thyroid cancer in that population normally is 1 per million. So obviously it’s an epidemic of thyroid cancer and it’s just starting now.

What people need to understand is the latent period of carcinogenesis, ie the time after exposure to radiation when cancers develop is any time from 3 years to 80 years. And so it’s a very, very long period. Thyroid cancers appear early. Leukemia appears about 5 to 10 years later. They’re not looking for leukemia. Solid cancers of every organ, or any organ as such appear about 15 years later and continue and in fact the Hibakusha from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki who are still alive are still developing cancers in higher than normal numbers.

The Japanese government has told doctors that they are not to talk to their patients about radiation and illnesses derived thereof, and in fact if the doctors do do that, they might lose their funding from the government. The IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency interestingly set up a hospital – a cancer hospital – in Fukushima along with the Fukushima University for people with cancer, which tells you everything.

So there’s a huge, huge cover up. I have been to Japan twice and particularly to Fukushima and spoken to people there and the parents are desperate to hear the truth even if it’s not good truth. And they thanked me for telling them the truth. So it’s an absolute medical catastrophe I would say, and a total cover up to protect the nuclear industry and all its ramifications.

HC: Well there are ongoing emissions into the air consistently, number one. Number two, a huge amount of water is being stored –over a million gallons in tanks at the site. That water is being siphoned off from the reactor cores, the damaged melted cores. Water is pumped consistently every day, every hour, to keep the cores cool in case they have another melt. And that water, of course, is extremely contaminated.

Now they say they’ve filtered out the contaminants except for the tritium which is part of the water molecule, but they haven’t. There’s strontium, cesium, and many other elements in that water – it’s highly radioactive – and because there isn’t enough room to build more tanks, they’re talking about emptying all that water into the Pacific Ocean and the fishermen are very, very upset. The fish already being caught off Fukushima, some are obviously contaminated. But this will be a disaster.

Water comes down from the mountains behind the reactors, flows underneath the reactors into the sea and always has. And when the reactors were in good shape, the water was fine, didn’t get contaminated. But now the three molten cores in contact with that water flowing under the reactors and so the water flowing into the Pacific is very radioactive and that’s a separate thing from the million gallons or more in those tanks.

They put up a refrigerated wall of frozen dirt around the reactors to prevent that water from the mountains flowing underneath the reactors, which has cut down the amount of water flowing per day from 500 tons to about a hundred and fifty. But of course, if they lose electricity, that refrigeration system is going to fail, and it’s a transient thing anyway so it’s ridiculous. 

So over time the Pacific is going to become more and more radioactive.

They talk about decommissioning and removing those molten cores. When robots go in and try and have a look at them, their wiring just melts and disappears. They’re extraordinarily radioactive. No human can go near them because they would die within 48 hours from the radiation exposure. They will never, and I quote never, decommission those reactors. They will never be able to stop the water coming down from the mountains. And so, the truth be known, it’s an ongoing global radiological catastrophe which no one really is addressing in full.

S-400 Air Defense Weapons Now To Iran?

Russia offers Iran advanced S-400 air defense weapons

Moscow invites Tehran to bid for S-400 aid defense systems, Russia media reported on Sunday, June 30. Neither the US nor Israel figures in those reports, or last week’s deployment of US F-22 stealth jets to Qatar, amid a tense US-Iran standoff. The Russian Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation military cooperation service was quoted as announcing: “We are open for discussions on delivering S-400 Triumph air defense systems, including to Iran… We have not received an official request from our partners on this matter yet.”

The advanced S-400 can intercept cruise missiles as well as warplanes. It is now on offer to Iran although Moscow refused to supply them to the Islamic Republic last month. DEBKAfile notes: This turnabout has come shortly after Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Osaka on the sidelines of the G20 summit and indicates that they made no progress towards bridging their differences on the Iranian and Syria issues. The offer also signified the failure of the American, Russian and Israeli national security advisers, John Bolton, Nikolai Patrushev and Meir Ben-Shabbat, to reach a consensus on these issues when they met in Jerusalem five days ago.

On that occasion Patrushev stated that “Moscow has an interest in safeguarding Israel’s security.”

Our military sources note that Tehran may find an opportunity to accept Moscow’s proposition in the course of the 5th International Military-Technical Forum taking place at the National Park in the Russian capital, with the participation of 120 nations and armies.

  If this transaction does indeed go through, Iran will be the second Middle East nation to purchase the Russian S-400 weapons system, after Turkey, which expects delivery before the end of this year. 

In Osaka, our military sources add, President Trump told Turkish President Reccep Erdogan that Washington has withdrawn the threat of sanctions on his government for purchasing S-400s from Russia, although it is the first NATO member to buy arms from Moscow.

The Coming Asteroids

Four asteroids on COLLISION course with Earth

10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a]A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. (Revelation 8)

The United Nations fears that the possibility of an asteroid smashing into a densely populated area isn’t being taken seriously enough, so it designated June 30 as International Asteroid Day to raise awareness about the potentially catastrophic occurrence.

The date was chosen because the largest asteroid impact in recorded history took place over Tunguska, Russia on that day in 1908 when an enormous asteroid exploded and destroyed hundreds of acres of forest. 

To mark the event, here are four asteroids that could wallop into Earth.

1979 XB

With its 900-meter diameter, if this enormous rock hits our planet the impact would be devastating. It’s currently hurtling through the solar system at nearly 70,000kph and is getting almost 30km closer to Earth every second.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has put it in second place on its ‘Risk List’ for Near-Earth Asteroids. The orbit of this minor planet is unreliable but it’s predicted to have a chance of hitting Earth midway through this century.  

Experts warn that 1979 XB could suddenly come a lot closer to Earth, given only a tiny variation in its orbit. Its next predicted approach of Earth is set to come in 2024.

Apophis

Roughly the size of four football fields, Apophis is in very close orbit to Earth. It’s currently more than 200 million kilometers away but gets half a kilometer closer every second. 

It regularly passes Earth on its orbit but the latest radar and optical data suggests we’re in for a close shave when it blazes past our planet at a distance of just 30,000km in 2029. This is less than a tenth of the distance to the Moon.

It will next fly by Earth in mid-October this year when it will pass us at a safe distance of around 30 million kilometers. If Apophis did blast into Earth the impact is calculated to be similar to about 15,000 nuclear weapons detonating at once.

2010 RF12

This asteroid holds the dubious honor of topping both the Sentry List (Earth Impact Monitoring system) and the ESA impact risk list. It’s currently around 215 million kilometers from Earth and is traveling at a speed of 117,935kph. 

The danger from this asteroid isn’t forecast to come until the end of the century when it’s calculated to come as much as 40 times closer than the Moon. Luckily it weighs, a relatively small, 500 tons and is about seven meters in diameter. The impact is forecast to be slightly less than the meteor that hit the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013, which damaged thousands of buildings and injured hundreds of people. 

2010 RF12 is set to pass Earth on August 13, 2022 when astronomers around the world will train their telescopes on the object to learn as much as possible about it and its trajectory.

2000 SG344 

2000 SG344 is part of a group called the Aten Asteroids, which have orbits aligned very closely with Earth’s. It is predicted to have a chance of impact in the next three or four decades. With just a 50-meter diameter, it’s relatively small but is still twice as big as the Chelyabinsk meteor which caused so much damage six years ago. 

It’s currently traveling through space at more than 112,000kph and is getting 1.3km closer to Earth every second. Interestingly, it travels around the Sun in almost the exact same time as Earth, 353 days versus Earth’s 365 days. This gives astronomers regular chances to observe the asteroid and assess the risk it poses.

Undetected asteroids

Of course, a big part of the danger with hazardous space objects is that we are not good at detecting them and some of the most dangerous ones have caught us by surprise. When the Chelyabinsk meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere undetected, its explosion released up to 30 times more energy than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Japan in 1945.

As recently as last December, another asteroid broke apart over the Bering Sea that was 10 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Neither Near Earth Objects (NEOs) were tracked in advance. It’s hoped that International Asteroid Day will prompt authorities around the world to improve how they detect the potentially cataclysmic space rocks.

U.S.-North Korea To Hold Nuclear Talks

After meeting with Kim, Trump says US and North Korea to hold nuclear talks

US President Donald Trump said Sunday the US and North Korea have designated teams to resume stalled nuclear talks between the nations within weeks.

Earlier Trump became the first sitting US president to enter North Korea when he stepped across the border at the demilitarized zone for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump shared the news as he briefed reporters after spending about 50 minutes behind closed doors with Kim.

Trump said he hopes the sides can reach a comprehensive deal, but added that “speed is not the object.”

He said “We’re not looking for speed. We’re looking to get it right.”

Trump also told reporters, after bidding Kim farewell, that during their talks he raised the idea of a Kim visit to Washington.

He said he told Kim that “at the right time, you’re going to come over” and that that could be “any time he wants to do it.”

Trump added that he “would certainly extend the invite” and that, “at some point” it will happen.

Trump said he and Kim “had a very productive meeting” there and noted he tried to sell Kim on the prosperity he believes awaits North Korea if it gives up its nuclear program.

Trump said that sanctions remain on North Korea but he appeared to be leaving open the possibility of scaling them back as part of upcoming renewed negotiations, saying that: “at some point during the negotiation, things can happen.”

Will A Weakened Erdogan Create A Crisis To Maintain Power?

A Wounded Erdogan Is A Dangerous Erdogan

Authored by Conn Hallinan via Counterpunch.org,

For the second time in a row, Turkish voters have rebuked President Recep Tayyir Erdogan’s handpicked candidate for the mayoralty of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest and wealthiest city. The secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu, swamped Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate Binali Yildirim in an election that many see as a report card on the President’s 17 years of power.

So what does the outcome of the election mean for the future of Turkey, and in particular, its powerful president? For starters, an internal political realignment, but also maybe a dangerous foreign policy adventure.

Erdogan and his Party have been weakened politically and financially by the loss of Istanbul, even though the President did his best to steer clear of the campaign over the past several weeks. Since it was Erdogan that pressured the Supreme Election Council into annulling the results of the March 31 vote, whether he likes it or not, he owns the outcome.

His opponents in the AKP are already smelling blood. Former Prime Minister Ahmet Dovutoglu, who Erdogan sidelined in 2016, has begun criticizing the President’s inner circle, including Berat Albayrak, his son-in-law and current Finance Minister. There are rumors that Dovutoglu and former deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan are considering forming a new party on the right.

An Erdogan at bay, however, can be dangerous. When the AKP lost its majority in the 2015 general election, Erdogan reversed his attempt to peacefully resolve tensions with the Kurds and, instead, launched a war on Kurdish cities in the country’s southeast. While the war helped him to win back his majority in an election six months later, it alienated the Kurds and laid the groundwork for the AKP’s losses in the March 2019 election and the Istambul’s mayor’s race.

The fear is that Erdogan will look for a crisis that will resonate with Turkish nationalism, a strategy he has used in the past.

He tried to rally Turks behind overthrowing the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, but the war was never popular. Most Turks are not happy with the 3.7 million Syrian refugees currently camped in their country, nor with what increasingly appears to be a quagmire for the Turkish Army in Northern and Eastern Syria.

In general, Turkey’s foreign policy is a shambles.

But a confrontation over Cyprus—and therefore with Greece—is by no means out of the question. This past May, Turkey announced that it was sending a ship to explore for natural gas in the sea off Cyprus, waters that are clearly within the island’s economic exploitation zone.

Turkey has just finished large-scale naval exercises—code name “Sea Wolf”— in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean and, according to Baboulias, Turkish warplanes have been violating Greek airspace.

Any friction with Cyprus is friction with Greece, and there is a distinct possibility that two NATO members could find themselves in a face off. Erdogan likes to create tensions and then negotiate from strength, a penchant he shares with US President Donald Trump. While it seems unlikely that it will come to that, in this case Turkish domestic considerations could play a role.

The man may be down but he is hardly beaten. There are turbulent times ahead for Turkey.

UN Chief: 'Urgent Action' Needed To Avert 'Climate Change Catastrophe'

UN chief urges action to avert climate change 'catastrophe'

LIVE NOW

UN chief Antonio Guterres says climate-related devastation was striking the planet on a weekly basis and warned Sunday that urgent action must be taken to avoid a catastrophe.

“We are here because the world is facing a grave climate emergency,” Guterres tells a two-day Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting to prepare for a Climate Action Summit in New York in September.

“Climate disruption is happening now… It is progressing even faster than the world’s top scientists have predicted,” the UN secretary general says. “It is outpacing our efforts to address it. Climate change is running faster than we are.”

“Every week brings new climate-related devastation… floods, drought, heatwaves, wildfires and super storms,” Guterres says.

"I am asking all leaders, from governments and private sector, to present plans – at the summit or at the latest by December 2020 – to cut greenhouse emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 and get to carbon neutrality by 2050."
Powerful words from @antonioguterres at #ADClimateMeeting pic.twitter.com/g53cihDBcW

— Inger Andersen (@andersen_inger) June 30, 2019

He warned the situation would only deteriorate unless “we act now with ambition and urgency,” but some of the world’s decision-makers still did not realize the dangers.

Chaos vs Divine Order

The Hope That is in You

By Jack Kinsella

The Bible divides the world into four regional power blocs in the last days. The western alliance [the Revived Roman empire of antichrist – Dan 9:26], the ‘kings of the south’ [Africa and Islamic North Africa – Dan 11:40] the ‘kings of the east [China and Southeast Asia -Rev 16:12] the Gog-Magog alliance [Russian-Arab-Islamic alliance – Ezekiel 38-39].

The Bible also outlines a specific scenario for the last days, giving detailed descriptions of these four global spheres of influence.

Currently, there are five. Four of them are in a state of flux, realigning themselves, almost against reason in some cases, to conform to the scenario outlined by Scripture.

The fifth, the United States, grows increasingly isolated. Washington is so lonely it has gone into denial, sometimes even pretending it has real friends.

Prime examples of America’s ‘pretend’ friends include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the core group of Western European nations led by France and Germany. They are our ‘friends’ in the sense they are not currently enemies.

America has only one unquestioning and unequivocal ally within the sea of nations. That ally, the land of Israel, is the central character around which the entire end-time drama is played out.

Assessment

In this generation, the world has divided itself into four spheres of influence, as measured from Jerusalem; Russia to the north, China to the east, the Islamic Middle East and Africa to the south, and Europe to the west.

America is a sphere of influence unto itself, not part of any, but engaged in — and resented by — all four.

This is the precise lineup of nations predicted by Scripture for a horrible end-times war that will engulf the whole earth.

The Scripture assigns a role to each of these four; Gog-Magog, the Kings of the East, the Kings of the South and the revived Roman Empire of antichrist.

There is no mention of the fifth existing global sphere of influence currently led by America. On the fate of the United States, Scripture is silent.

There are a number of possible reasons. The most obvious one is an expansion of the current world war — one so devastating to America that it has no role left to play in the last days.

Another, more hopeful scenario would be the Rapture of the Church. The sudden disappearance of millions of Americans would also account for America’s absence during the Tribulation Period.

Which scenario is correct remains to be seen. But what is of importance to Christians who are anticipating the return of Christ is the fact it is all taking shape now.

Christianity has no nationality. Jesus said we are in the world, but not of it. Christianity is, at its roots, not American. If Christianity were to have a national identity, it would be Jewish.

This is not a time for fear, but a time for prayer and for redoubling our efforts to inform the world of what is taking place. The Lord is preparing for His return. The signs of the times are all around us. There is no time to waste in pointless debate over signs, and seasons and times.

We of the Church have “a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” (2 Peter 1:19)

We already know what is to come to pass, and what the signs of the times will be. There is no debate.

And Jesus told us that “when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)

It’s true, my brothers and sisters! Jesus IS coming. The KING is coming! In the words of the old hymn, ‘it may be morning, may be noon, may be evening and maybe SOON’ — but He IS coming.

The fields are white with the harvest, but the laborers be few. Don’t be afraid of what is to come. Everybody you meet will be afraid.

We must be prepared and “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”(1 Peter 3:15) “…for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Revelation 12:12)

That is the purpose of your Omega Letter. To journal the events that lead to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in this generation, both as a warning and as a cause for hope.

What appears to be chaos is really evidence of a Divine Order. The events that are conspiring together to bring the world to the brink of annihilation are not taking place at random, but as part of a pre-ordained plan of God.

For those of us who trust God instead of our own understanding, it means that everything will turn out ok in the end, no matter how terrifying things look at the moment.

We don’t know how, we don’t know when, but we don’t really NEED to know. We only need to know that He does. Bible prophecy confirms that everything is going according to plan.

Because we “KNOW that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Even chaos.

Focus On Israel

Focus on Israel

By Jack Kinsella

Sometimes, it must appear as if the Omega Letter is really the Israeli Letter, given our focus on the Middle East, in particular, Israel.

Such is not our intent. But Israel is the linchpin in studying Bible prophecy. Jesus’ description of the signs of His Return [Matt 24:3] are given from the perspective of someone standing on the Mount of Olives.

Without Israel, Bible prophecy doesn’t make sense.

That is one reason that Christians who believe Israel was replaced by the Church have no use for prophecy. See “What is Preterism“?

Center of Global Attention

In addition, Israel is at the top of the world’s agenda, and the mission of the Omega Letter Digest is to document the world’s slide toward the Tribulation using secular resources to demonstrate the accuracy of Bible prophecy.

Since Bible prophecy for the last days and through the Tribulation is centered around Israel [see Daniel’s 70th Week]. Israel serves as a mile marker. The closer it appears to come to extinction, the closer the Return of Christ, Who, according to Scripture, prevents that from happening.

The Eternal Generation

In a very real sense, what we are witnessing is not the actual fulfillment of prophecy for the last days. The next prophetic event to be fulfilled in the Church Age is the Rapture. Then the events of the Tribulation follow. Both remain future — near future, we would argue.

So instead, we are eyewitnesses to the staging process. The Bible says that there are a number of seemingly unrelated events that take place all in a single generation, somewhere in time.

Bible Prophecy Demands A Jewish State

Bible prophecy makes numerous references to the existence of a Jewish state called Israel in the last days [Ezekiel 37]. It also demands that Israel be in disputed possession of the city of Jerusalem [Zechariah 12].

It demands a conflict between Israel and her neighbors [Daniel 9]. The conflict is so intractable it will require supernatural intervention to resolve it [Dan 9:27, Zech 12:2-3].

Israel’s rebirth even took the Jews by surprise. Abba Eban, one of Israel’s Founding Fathers, wrote in his book, Personal Witness, that on the day David Ben Gurion composed the telegram asking Harry Truman to recognize the Jewish state, it was still unnamed.

The name ‘Israel’ wasn’t selected until the following day.

“Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” (Isaiah 66:8).

Bible Prophecy Demands A Global Government

Throughout history, men have sought to rule the world. And throughout history, other men have resisted the attempt. In the last two global wars, the effort began with the conquest of Europe.

Following the last attempt, the Benelux Treaty brought together the first six European states, forming the nucleus of the modern European Union. Wars couldn’t unite them. Peace did [Daniel 8:25].

The same global war was responsible for the creation of the United Nations. The UN created the template for a global government. But the UN is an organism with 191 heads and no brain. It doesn’t take a political scientist to see it is a failed experiment.

How Europe will eventually replace the UN is unclear, but it is the most likely candidate — the world would never accept the US or Russia. Europe would be far more acceptable. The Bible says it will happen [Daniel 9, Rev 13].

Bible Prophecy Demands a Global Economy

The global economy is a reality. The prophecy of the Mark of the Beast [Rev 13:17] demands a system whereby the buying and selling of individuals will be tracked and monitored. Those outside the economic system of antichrist will be ‘unable to buy or sell’.

Entry into the system requires some kind of mark of allegiance to the antichrist. Tracking sales is a reality. Nobody can function in today’s economy unless they are in the ‘system’. If you doubt it, get a bank account without a Social Security number or try and buy a new car using cash.

Bible Prophecy Demands a Global Religion

The Mark of the Beast is an economic system, but also a system of worship. The false prophet [Rev 13:11] has two horns like a lamb [symbolic of Christianity – the Lamb of God] but speaks as a dragon [Satan]. A counterfeit Christianity preaching another Jesus and a different gospel [2 Cor 11:4]. That is already well entrenched in mainstream Christian denominations that teach salvation by works, church membership or ritual.

The war on terror has also created a global suspicion of fundamental anything.

What is a Fundamentalist?

To a Christian, a fundamentalist is one who practices the fundamentals of Christian faith, eschewing traditions of men and preferring the Word of God.

The world has a different perspective.

Fundamentalists, Jewish, Christian, Muslim — they’re all bombers. Christian fundamentalists blow up abortion clinics, Jewish fundamentalists blow up Arabs and Muslim fundamentalists blow up anybody. That is the prevailing propaganda, is it not?

It isn’t a stretch to expect that the sudden legitimization of ‘faith’ [whether in Jehovah, Jesus or Allah] will eventually blend together into a kind of global ecumenical belief in one ‘god’ for all. Those who hold to the ‘old ways’ would be, well, fundamentalists.

We get lots of email asking where we are in Bible prophecy right now. Israel was reborn in 1948. The Benelux Treaty was signed in 1948. The World Council of Churches was created in Amsterdam in 1948. The transistor — the invention credited as giving birth to the Computer Age [making possible a global economy] was invented in 1948.

The General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trades [forerunner to the World Trade Organization] was signed in 1948. Where are we in Bible prophecy right now? Jesus said ‘when these things begin to come to pass, look up’ [Luke 21:28] because ‘this generation shall not pass, til all be fulfilled’ [Matthew 24:34].

Although no man knows the day or hour, [Matt 24:33] ‘when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors’ [Mark 13:29].

Where are we in Bible prophecy right now?

Near. Even at the doors.