Cedar Forest once a refuge for Christians now under siege from Bugs & Mold
For Lebanon’s Christians, cedar trees are sacred. These tough evergreens that survive the mountain’s harsh snowy winters are mentioned 103 times in the Bible. The trees are a symbol of Lebanon, pictured at the center of the national flag.
The iconic trees in the country’s north are far from the clashes between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israel border in recent weeks against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas civilian war.
The Lebanese government says Israel’s use of white phosphorus and other incendiary weapons has burned tens of thousands of olive trees and other crops in the border area, and impoverished Lebanese farmers fear the shells have contaminated their soil.
But the long-term survival of the cedar forests is in doubt for another reason. Rising temperatures due to climate change threaten to wipe out biodiversity and scar one of the country’s most iconic heritage sites for its Christians.
The lush Cedars of God Forest, some 2,000 meters above sea level near the northern town of Bcharre, is part of a landscape cherished by Christians.
The preserve overlooks the Kadisha Valley – Aramaic for ‘sacred’ – where many Christians took refuge from persecution over Lebanon’s tumultuous history.
One of the world’s largest collections of monasteries remains hidden among the thick trees, caves and rocky outcroppings along the deep, 35-kilometre valley.
The United Nations’ culture agency UNESCO in 1998 listed both the cedar forest and the valley as World Heritage Sites.
They’ve become popular destinations for hikers and environmentalists from around the world. A growing number of Lebanese of all faiths (Muslims and Druze) visit as well, seeking fresh air away from the cities.
People from all religions visit here, not just Christians and Atheists, says Hani Tawk, a Maronite Christian priest, as he shows a crowd of tourists around the Saint Elisha monastery.
But we as Christians, this reminds us of all the saints who lived here, and we come to experience being in this sacred dimension.
Environmentalists and residents say the effects of climate change, exacerbated by government mismanagement, pose a threat to the ecosystem of the valley and the cedar forest.
Thirty or 40 years from now, it’s quite possible to see the Kadisha Valley’s biodiversity, which is one of the richest worldwide, become much poorer, says Charbel Tawk, an environmental engineer and activist in Bcharre – unrelated to Hani Tawk.
Lebanon for years has felt the heat of climate change, with farmers decrying lack of rain, and forest fires wreaking havoc on pine forests north of the country, similar to blazes that scorched forests in neighboring Syria and nearby Greece.
Residents across much of the country, struggling with rampant electricity cuts, could barely handle the summer’s soaring heat.
Temperatures have been above 30 degrees Celsius in Bcharre, not uncommon along Lebanon’s coastal cities but unusual for the mountainous northern town.
Nuns in the medieval Qannoubin Monastery, perched on the side of a hill in the Kadisha Valley, fanned themselves and drank water in the shade of the monastery’s courtyard.
They reminisced about when they could sleep comfortably on summer nights without needing much electricity. Already, there are worrying signs of the impact on the cedars and Kadisha.
Warmer temperatures have brought larger colonies of aphids that feed on the bark of cedar trees and leave a secretion that can cause mold, Charbel Tawk says.
Bees normally remove the secretion, but they have become less active. Aphids and other pests also are lasting longer in the season and reach higher altitudes because of warmer weather.
Such pests threaten to stunt or damage cedar growth.
Tawk worries that if temperatures continue to change like this, cedars at lower altitudes might not be able to survive. Fires are becoming more of a potential danger.
Cedar trees usually grow at an altitude from 700 up to 1,800 meters above sea level. Tawk’s organization has planted some 200,000 cedars over the years at higher altitudes and in areas where they were not present. Some 180,000 survived.
Is it climate change or whatever it is happening in nature that these cedars are able to survive at 2,100 to 2,400 meters? Tawk asks, while checking on a grove of cedars on a remote hilltop.
Local priests and environmental activists have urged Lebanon’s government to work with universities to do a wide-ranging study on temperature changes and the impact on biodiversity.
But Lebanon has been in the throes of a Zionist designed crippling economic crisis for years. State coffers are dried up, and many of the country’s top experts are rapidly seeking work opportunities abroad.
There is nothing today called the state. The relevant ministries, even with the best intentions, don’t have the financial capabilities anymore, says Bcharre Mayor Freddy Keyrouz.
He says he and mayors of nearby towns have asked residents to help with conservation initiatives and Lebanese diaspora abroad to help with funding.
The Maronite Church has strict rules to protect the Cedars of God forest, including keeping development out of it. Kiosks, tourist shops and a large parking lot have been set far away from the forest.
We don’t allow anything that is combustible to be brought into the sacred forest, says Charbel Makhlouf, a priest at Bcharre’s Saint Saba Cathedral.
The Friends of the Cedar Forest Committee, to which Tawk belongs, has been looking after the cedar trees for almost three decades, with the church’s support.
It has installed sensors on cedar trees to measure temperature, wind and humidity, watching for worsening conditions that could risk forest fires.
Below the forest in the Kadisha Valley, Tawk points to other concerns. In particular, the spread of cypress trees threatens to crowd out other species, breaking this equilibrium that we had in the valley.
We’ve seen them increase and tower over other species, whether it’s taking sunlight, wind or expanding their roots. It will impact other plants, birds, insects and all the reptile species down there.
Steps to protect the valley have actually hurt its biodiversity by removing human practices that had been beneficial. In the past, herders grazing their goats and other livestock in the valley helped prevent the spread of invasive species.
Their grazing also reduced fire hazards, as did local families collecting deadwood to burn in the winter. But residents left the valley when it became a heritage site and the Lebanese government implemented strict regulations.
Few live there now other than a handful of priests and nuns. Trees have overtaken places where people lived and farmed. Now a fire could move from one end of the valley to the other.
Sitting in a cave near the Qannoubine Monastery, Father Hani Tawk listens to the variety of birds chirping in the valley. He says he believes in the community’s faith and awareness of nature, ingrained since their ancestors took refuge here.
When you violate that tree, you’re intruding on a long history, and possibly the future of your children in Lebanon.
Green EuroNews / Crickey Conservation Society 2023.
Lab-Grown Meat is getting closer to be sold in Supermarkets
Slaughter-free meat is finally starting to make the jump from the lab to the factory line. For now cattle is being slaughtered to please society. In Brazil 75 million cows are being killed and dumped as waste just to keep the deforestation profits in check.
As Singapore becomes the first country to allow the sale of cultured meat, more startups around the world are preparing to test production of lab-grown meats like beef and chicken in factories.
While there’s a long way to go, it’s a crucial step in getting cell-based products ready for supermarket shelves.
Mosa Meat BV, started by cultured meat pioneer Mark Post, is among at least eight companies building or operating pilot sites.
The Dutch company, which made the world’s first cultivated beef burger, has been raising funds for those efforts and plans to upgrade small-scale output in the first half of next year, before moving to a full industrial site as early as the end of 2022.
Lab-meat startups have grown from a handful in 2016 to at least 60 now, according to consultant Lux Research Inc. The sector wants to make production more humane and environmentally sustainable and has attracted record venture-capital funding this year.
Just last week, Singapore approved Eat Just Inc. to sell cultured chicken, at a time when interest in alternative proteins is growing.
There are still lots of challenges — from cutting high costs and making large-scale production feasible to winning regulatory approval.
With cultivated meat costing $400 to $2,000 a kg to make, there’s still a long way until prices compete with conventional meats, according to Lux.
Economies of scale are likely to help lower the cost in years to come,” said Harini Venkataraman, a Lux analyst in Amsterdam. “That is why these pilot plants are such important milestones.
The cell-based meat market is projected to reach $140 billion in the next decade, according to forecasts compiled by Blue Horizon Corp. AG, which invests in alternative proteins.
Startups announcing test plants include Memphis Meats Inc., which has received backing from Richard Branson and Tyson Foods Inc., as well as cell-based seafood maker BlueNalu Inc. Aleph Farms Ltd., which this week hosted Anglo Zio-Nazi PM Benjamin Netanyahu to taste its beefsteak, is also working on a pilot plant.
Companies such as BioTech Foods, SuperMeat and Eat Just have already started testing sites. It’s not a question whether this is feasible, said Ido Savir, CEO of SuperMeat, which has started a test kitchen for cultured chicken in Israel.
It’s a question of how long it will take us to go from a pilot setting, where we’re at, to a commercial scale. KFC has already been processing cultivated chickens (without head and feet) to curb animal abuse.
Bloomberg. com / ABC Flash Point Food News 2020.
The Seven Virtues
The seven virtues were originally defined in the poem, Psychomachia, by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, a Christian governor who died around 410 A.D.
Because of the poem’s prevalence the concept and idea of the seven virtues spread throughout Europe. The following is a listing of the seven virtues and how they cure each of the seven deadly sins:
- Kindness = cures envy by placing the desire to help others above the need to supersede them.
- Temperance = cures gluttony by implanting the desire to be healthy, therefore making one fit to serve others.
- Charity or love = cures greed by putting the desire to help others above storing up treasure for one’s self.
- Chastity or self-control = cures lust by controlling passion and leveraging that energy for the good of others.
- Humility = cures pride by removing one’s ego and boastfulness, therefore allowing the attitude of service.
- Diligence or Zeal = cures slothfulness by placing the best interest of others above the life of ease and relaxation.
- Patience = cures wrath by taking time to understand the needs and desires of others before acting or speaking.
- Bible Info.com / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
USA Opioid Epidemic has cost Taxpayer $1 Trillion from 2001 to 2018
According to a new study, the US opioid epidemic ravaging American communities has cost over $1 trillion since 2001, and may exceed another $500 billion over the next three years.
The health systems research and consulting organization, Altarum examined US mortality data between 2001 and 2017. The greatest financial cost of the opioid epidemic is in lost earnings and productivity losses to employers.
Early deaths and substance abuse disorders also take a toll on the local, state and federal government through lost tax revenue. The report indicated that these costs are also rising.
Corey Rhyan, a senior research analyst with Altarum’s Center for Value and Health Care explained that one reason for the increase is that more young people are being affected as the epidemic moves from prescription opioids to illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl.
The Altarum researchers say the growth in costs between 2011 and 2016 was double the rate of the previous five years and is projected to keep rising steeply unless there is a comprehensive and sustained national response.
Opioids are drugs formulated to replicate the pain reducing properties of opium. They include both legal painkillers like morphine, oxycodone, or hydroncodone prescribed by doctors for acute or chronic pain, as well as illegal drugs like heroin or illicitly made fentanyl.
The word “opioid” is derived from the word “opium. US government and health care officials have been struggling to stem the epidemic of overdoses, which killed more than 64,000 Americans in 2017, up from 52,000 victims the previous year. More than half were related to opioids.
Opioid drug abuse has killed more Americans than the US wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined, highlighting the growing opioid crisis in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
USA citizens are paying the price for the greed and inhumanity of their officials like the rest of the world’s citizens. This is one way the USA gets rid of the poor people living in the country. The other one is get them to join the US Army so they can become cannon bait.
When you live in a country where the most powerful state arm, the CIA, is the number one cultivator, producer and provider of opioids in the world, it is ridiculous to expect that USA would be left out of the circle of death and destruction that these products affect the entire world.
PressTV.com / AA Magnum News 2018
Nobody takes Alien Hunting Seriously
Anthony Beasley, leader of the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia, told the BBC that the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) should be taken far more seriously, and given the governmental support and funding it deserves.
His comments were made at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Seattle last week. It was time for SETI to come in from the cold and be properly integrated to all other areas of astronomy, Beasley told the BBC.
We would like to see SETI transformed from a small cabal of scientists and engineers in California, isolated from academia to one that is as much an integral part of astronomy and astrophysics as any other field of inquiry.
The news comes after one of the largest radio telescopes in the world, the Very Large Array in New Mexico, announced a collaboration with the SETI Institute, a privately funded non-profit based in California, last week.
Despite the collaboration, funding for efforts to specifically look for intelligent life has been pretty minimal when compared to much larger and extremely expensive scientific endeavors, such as the Large Hadron Collider.
I’d feel far more confident arguing the case for SETI than for a particle accelerator, British senior cosmologist Martin Rees told the BBC. SETI searches are surely worthwhile, despite the heavy odds against success, because the stakes are so high.
The head of one of the USA’s national observatories says the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe needs to be taken more seriously.
Dr Anthony Beasley told the BBC that there should be greater government support for a field that has been shunned by government research funders for decades.
His backing for the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (Seti) marks a sea change in attitudes to a field regarded until recently as fringe science. Dr Beasley made his comments at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Seattle.
The director of the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville in Virginia said that it was now time for Seti to come in from the cold and be properly integrated to all other areas of astronomy.
Dr Beasley’s comments come as one of the private sector funders of Seti research announced that the Very Large Array (VLA) observatory in New Mexico would be joining the effort to detect signs of intelligent life on other worlds.
The VLA is a multi-antenna observatory and home to what is regarded as one of the best-equipped telescopes in the world.
According to Dr Andrew Siemion, leader of the Breakthrough Listen science team at the University of California, Berkeley’s Seti Research Center, the incorporation of the VLA would increase the chances of finding intelligent life by 10- or even 100-fold.
Equally important, according to Dr Siemion, is the credibility that the VLA’s involvement brings to the field.
We would like to see Seti transformed from a small cabal of scientists and engineers in California, isolated from academia to one that is as much an integral part of astronomy and astrophysics as any other field of inquiry.
Breakthrough Listen is a privately funded project to search for intelligent extra-terrestrial communications throughout the universe. The 10-year project began in 2016, funded by the billionaire Yuri Milner to the tune of $100m (£77m).
The Byte / BBC / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
The Seven Seals of the Bible
The seven seals represent events to take place on this earth during each seal’s specific time period—beginning at the time of Christ and continuing until Christ’s second coming. Below is a listing of the seven seals.
Seven seals list:
- White horse
- Red horse
- Black horse
- Pale horse
- Souls crying out from under the altar
- Earthquake, sun & moon, stars fall
- Silence in heaven
Jesus, Seals and Prophecy
The whole book of Revelation, the last book in the New Testament, is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John (Revelation 1:1).
A great many of Revelation’s prophecies have already been fulfilled, and history bears record of them. Some are now in the process of being fulfilled, and others are still in the future.
Most of these important prophecies of the Bible are in figurative language so that they might be understood equally well in any age of the world.
The seven seals are found in Revelation chapters five, six and eight. As each of the seven seals is broken a picture or representation of events to take place on the earth during that seal period is described.
Who can open the seals?
As this prophecy opens, we see Christ as the Lamb of God take the great book of God’s providence and begin to open its seven seals, one by one.
The right to break these seven seals of future events belongs to Jesus Christ because He died for humanity of all ages, from creation to the end of time. When He took the book, the holy ones about God’s throne.
And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Revelation 5:9).
The lamb is worthy
There, supreme, at the center of power of the whole universe, is the Lamb of God who died for us. In Him we see infinite power in self-sacrifice.
Lucifer in heaven sought power in self-exaltation, but Jesus humbled Himself and was awarded exaltation above every name—something He had never sought.
He came to save the lost and to glorify His Father. As by faith we see the shining ones above bow before Him in loving adoration, declaring Him worthy to open the seven-sealed.
1. The First Seal: a White Horse
As the Savior breaks the first seal of the great book, a wondrous scene flashes before the gaze of the holy apostle John, He says, and I looked, and behold, a white horse.
He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:2).
These seals cover seven eras or periods of time from the time of the apostles to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and, to a large extent, they depict: religious affairs in the world.
In the first seal we see Christ with the wreath of a conqueror. He rides the white horse, white being the emblem of victory and also of purity.
This prophetic picture shows the apostolic church led on by its divine Captain to victory over a pagan world, its doctrines pure, and its victorious Leader, Christ Himself. As the apostle Paul exclaimed when he saw the pure gospel transforming men :
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Romans. 1:16).
But after the apostles died, a change came. Faith grew cold, and the predicted days of falling away came (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The next seal flashes a sad picture on the screen of prophecy.
2. The Second Seal: a Red Horse
When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ Another horse, fiery red, went out.
And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword (Revelation 6:3, 4).
From a white horse, denoting victory and purity and truth, the color is changed to red—the red horse of bloodshed. These days, from the death of the apostles to exaltation of the worldly church by the great emperor Constantine, depicted the times of pagan persecution.
Nero, Diocletian, and other emperors of Rome put the followers of Christ to death and also attempted to destroy all copies of the Bible. Many Christians found refuge in the catacombs or underground rock quarries in Rome.
But, when one Christian was thrown to the hungry lions or burned at the stake to make a Roman holiday, another took their place, and faith spread more and more. The martyrs of Jesus loved not their lives unto death (Revelation 12:11).
3. The Third Seal: a Black Horse
The third seal was broken and the apostle says, When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand (Revelation 6:5, 6).
What a strange picture this is! The color black surely implies a departure from the purity of the faith of Jesus, represented by the white horse of the conquering apostolic church. Black also signifies sadness and want.
The pair of balances is a symbol of scarcity of bread representing spiritual food or the scarcity of the holy Word of God—being doled out by weight.
The apostle Paul had foretold the apostasy in Acts 20:29, 30: For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
And so it happened. For the next two hundred years there was a great departure from pure gospel truth and widespread absorption of pagan philosophy and forms. There grew up also a union of the church with the state.
4. The Fourth Seal: a Pale Horse
This is the vision of dark times: When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse.
And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7, 8).
Notice it is a pale horse—the very color of death. Notice the fourfold judgment: Power was given unto them…to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
This seal represents the Dark Ages, when the principles of religious and civil liberty were obscured, and leaders in both the political and spiritual realm were far from our present-day blessings of democracy and religious freedom.
This seal was marked by much cooperation of the political and spiritual powers and of religious wars and troubles.
The history of those times is full of the sad record of intolerance, especially religious intolerance, and it was not limited to any one religion, or to anyone nation or race.
Catholics suffered, Protestants suffered, Jews suffered—and those of other religious views, and even those of no religious profession, suffered.
It is said that many, many thousands were put to death for their faith in those sorrowful years. How thankful we can be for the religious freedom we enjoy today!
5. The Fifth Seal: Souls crying from under the Altar
Next, the fifth seal is opened and we see. When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’
Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed (Revelation 6:9-11).
Remember the story of Cain and Abel; and that the Lord said to Cain, who had just killed his brother, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground (Genesis 4:10).
This is a picture of the martyred victims who were killed during the previous seal and up until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the power of persecution for religious faith was restrained.
During this time those who witnessed for the faith with their blood are shown as crying out to God.
6. The Sixth Seal: Earthquake, Sun & Moon and Stars
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains (Revelation 6:12-15).
The days of the fifth seal, the Protestant Reformation, had just closed, when according to the prophecy, the sixth seal was to open with a great earthquake.
Lisbon Earthquake
Sure enough a great earthquake did follow. History shows God spoke the truth, for the most notable earthquake of history, as Nelson’s encyclopedia calls it, took place on November 1, 1755.
It is called the Lisbon Earthquake because that great city was practically destroyed by the quake in six minutes.
The Dark Day
25 years later came the next event of the sixth seal, the great Dark Day of May 19, 1780, when that mysterious darkening of the sun took place which scientists are still arguing about. Its real cause is not yet known.
But God foresaw it, and it was a part of the prophetic forecast of the book of Revelation nearly 1700 years before it made its black mark on the face of nature. The following night the moon appeared as blood.
Stars Falling
Prophecy now marches on 53 years, to the night of November 13, 1833, when stars fell over America in the most gigantic display of celestial fireworks ever seen by the eye of man.
Eye-witnesses of the falling stars describe with vivid words that never-to-be-forgotten night when the whole sky seemed to be on fire with blazing stars — and continued so for hours.
Deeply impressed with these signs in the heavens, someone wrote the following few lines.
The vision of the sixth seal sweeps on to the events that occur in connection with the second coming of Christ.
But multitudes are pictured as unprepared for His appearing. They have no faith in God’s Word; therefore they are not looking for the certain events of the sixth seal.
They have not yielded themselves to God’s love, nor received the free gift of eternal life offered to them through the blood of Christ as a gift to all men.
They have either rejected or neglected so great a salvation. And as the sixth seal closes they are being forced out of the era or time and are not prepared for eternity.
The vision of the sixth seal sweeps on to the events that occur in connection with the second coming of Christ. But multitudes are pictured as unprepared for His appearing.
They have no faith in God’s Word; therefore they are not looking for the certain events of the sixth seal. They have not yielded themselves to God’s love, nor received the free gift of eternal life offered to them through the blood of Christ as a gift to all men.
7. The Seventh Seal: Silence in Heaven
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (Revelation 8:1). That’s all — silence! But silence where? Silence in heaven? Yes, silence in heaven.
This is the end of the seven time periods in the history of redemption, the completion of God’s plan for humanity in the Christian dispensation.
It’s the end of the story, when God puts a period to history. It is that divine event, to which the whole creation moves. (Tennyson) It is the return of Jesus in power and great glory.
Heaven is emptied of all its angels. The songs of many angels around the throne are stilled, because the singers are not there. They are with Jesus on the happiest mission of all their blessed ministry for the heirs of salvation.
When our Lord returns in His glory He will have all the holy angels with Him (Matthew 25:31). Not one will be left behind. Heaven will be emptied of its angel throng; as they accompany Him to earth to gather together His elect.
Heaven is silent, but earth is not. When the righteous return with Christ and all the holy angels to the Father’s home above, heaven will be no longer silent. At the coronation of the King the whole universe will rejoice in glorious song!
And you and I may have a part in that song—the song of the redeemed as they praise the Lamb for the victory of the cross.
The seven seals bring us to the second coming of Christ. Heaven is interested in earth. This time the Savior does not come alone as a babe in Bethlehem;
He comes as King of kings, and Lord of lords, plus His Father’s glory, His own glory, and the glory of all the holy angels, as we read in Luke 9:26.
This great prophecy of the seven seals found in Revelation 6 and 8 has been fulfilled step by step right down to our day, and the rest of it will soon be accomplished. Are you ready for its final fulfillment?
Conclusion
So, at last, when time shall have run its seven fold course, and the last of the seven seals are broken, all the saved will unite in the anthem.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain (Revelation 5:12) and who has redeemed us to God by His blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
Bible Info.com / ABC Flash Bible Point News 2023.
Florida is a better place to live compared to California
More Americans would prefer to live in Florida than California according to a new survey conducted exclusively for Newsweek, which also found a plurality of those who watched or read about the acrimonious televised debate between Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom believed the Florida governor won.
The Redfield and Wilton Strategies survey found 47% of eligible U.S. voters would choose to live in Florida over California, against 40% who preferred The Golden State and 13% who were unsure.
Speaking to Newsweek, Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’s press secretary, said, Newsom’s California exemplified the failure of leadership this country has suffered under for years.
On November 30 DeSantis and Newsom clashed over immigration, Corona-virus lock-down and LGBTQ+ rights in a heated discussion hosted by Fox News host Sean Hannity.
DeSantis is currently running for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, though he is polling substantially behind front-runner Donald Trump, while Newsom has been widely tipped as a potential Democratic presidential contender.
Of those who said they watched or read about the debate the new poll found 47% believed DeSantis emerged the victor, against 38% for Newsom with the remainder saying they didn’t know.
The survey of 1,500 eligible voters in the USA was conducted on December 8, 2023.
However, 49% of respondents said they did not watch or read about the debates at all, with 20% saying they watched the full thing, 19% saying they saw highlights and 13% claiming they read about the event.
Reacting to the poll, Griffin commented: Gavin Newsom’s California exemplifies the failure of leadership this country has suffered under for years, yet the Democrats see him and his failures as the future of their party and this country.
Ron DeSantis is the anti-Gavin Newsom; he’s the freedom and prosperity candidate.
While Newsom’s bankrupting his state and driving people out, DeSantis has paid down 25% of Florida’s debt and welcomed record-breaking numbers of people who want to live under his leadership.
As evidenced in his recent debate domination over Gavin Newsom, Ron DeSantis is the only candidate who can beat the Democrat’s candidate (whoever that may be) and revitalize this country as president.
Despite the headline figure, the poll found 44% of Americans thought residents of California have a higher quality of life than those of Florida, with 40% choosing the Sunshine State and the rest unsure.
California also polled ahead of Florida on which state has the most freedom and business opportunities, by 43% to 41% and 45% to 33% respectively.
However, Florida polled better for having the tax system respondents would prefer to live under, by 42% to 30%, and was deemed to have the greater level of public safety of 40% of those polled, against 37% for California.
The states tied at 39% when eligible voters were asked which had the more effective state government, 39% apiece, with the remaining 22% unsure.
According to official U.S. Census figures, Florida was the fastest-growing U.S. state in the year to July 2022, with its population growing by 1.9%.
During the same period, the population of California shrunk by 0.3%, with San Francisco County recording a 7.1% population reduction.
Other Democratic-controlled states, such as New York and Oregon, also saw population falls in the year to July 2022 whilst Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Idaho recorded rises.
Speaking to Newsweek earlier this year, Sam Karnick, a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, suggested law and order is primarily responsible for the population shift between Democratic and Republican states.
The 2021 National Crime Victimization Survey shows that the rate of violent crime has been rising in urban areas, though not in suburbs or rural areas.
This tracks with the population movement from Democrat-controlled states to Republican ones. The two are coincident, and there are clear indications of a causal relationship.
Newsweek 90 years Celebration / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Moai Conservation Project
Easter Island’s unique archaeological legacy is of exceptional importance to humankind. Much of what survives on the island has not been completely explored or interpreted.
For over fifty years, WMF has played a substantial role in the conservation of the island’s heritage, in an integrated approach that considers the cultural, natural, and human aspects of preservation.
WMF’s longstanding commitment to research, protection, and advocacy helps safeguard Easter Island’s extraordinary heritage for future generations.
A Polynesian volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle, Easter Island—known locally as Rapa Nui—is a special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888.
It is most famous for the hundreds of extant large carved monolithic statues, known as moai, that were created to represent ancestors by the Rapa Nui people from approximately the ninth to the seventeenth centuries.
Much of the island is protected within Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is managed by CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal de Chile), the organization responsible for the management, administration, and conservation of Chile’s national parks.
WMF’s interest in protecting the archaeological heritage of Easter Island began in the late 1960s after Dr. William Mulloy, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming, and Dr. Gonzalo Figueroa of the University of Chile prepared a conservation report on Easter Island’s archaeological sites for UNESCO.
In 1967, WMF and the Chilean government created the Easter Island Committee to restore two ahu (stone altars) in the Tahai region and conduct topographical mapping system surveys across the island.
In 1968, one of the island’s moai was put on view in New York, Washington D.C., and other cities, accompanied by an exhibit featuring Easter Island artifacts to increase public awareness of the remote Island, its heritage, and its conservation needs.
Beginning in 1973, WMF funded five years of archaeological research and survey, headed by Dr. Mulloy that included conservation work at Ahu Vai Uri, Ahu Huri a Urenga, two ahu at Hanga Kio’e, and the ceremonial village of Orongo.
In the 1980’s, Dr. Elena Charola, a conservation scientist from the University of Pennsylvania led a campaign of archaeological study at the Ana Kai Tangata cave, that was used to develop an archaeological management plan and on-site park ranger training courses on conservation and management techniques.
Over the years, WMF has sponsored several research and advocacy campaigns, symposia, and round-table discussions for the study and preservation of this magnificent heritage, resulting in publications such as Easter Island.
The Heritage and its Conservation and Death of a Moai. In more recent years, WMF helped support conservation and site-management field projects at Rano Raraku and Orongo, two distinguished archaeological sites in the Rapa Nui National Park.
World Monuments Fund / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
The Galaxy Ghost Ship
For years, the Galaxy Ghost Ship has been parked in an inlet on Koh Chang. It was built with the intention of being a floating hotel, but it is now closed and abandoned.
The Galaxy was a genuine ship that had a leak and had to be converted into a hotel. It was once part of a much larger resort that shuttered a few years ago for reasons that are still unknown.
Nobody really knows for certain why the resort and the Galaxy were closed down.
You used to be able to stay on board this hotel during your vacation to the island. It was also reasonably priced! A room would have cost you only 1000 THB per night, according to previous stories.
That wasn’t all, though.
The Galaxy was part of the Koh Chang Grand Lagoona Resort, a much larger luxury resort in the Bay of Ao Bang Bao with multiple artificial lakes, a beautiful beach, and a variety of other types of lodgings to choose from, including timber lodges, bungalows, chalets, and floating houses.
A pool house in the shape of a boat was even available.
So, if you’re stuck for something to do one afternoon, take the opportunity to visit the original Koh Chang ghost ship.
On a motorcycle, ride to Bang Bao Beach on Koh Chang’s far western tip and continue along the small road that runs behind the beach.
Someone will emerge out of nowhere and ask for a 100 THB entrance charge. For this, you get a drink and access to the entire complex, as well as the opportunity to relax on the beach.
While most sun-seekers are happy sipping cocktails on a beach while relaxing on holiday, you’re more likely find me trekking through the overgrowth in my flip flops looking for an abandoned site, courtesy of an internet tip-off, determination and a bit of explorer’s luck.
Now, if I could just get myself a ticket to the island of Koh Chang in Thailand to conquer my latest urbex calling– a giant ghost cruise liner, slowly decaying in the midst of an abandoned paradise resort.
At the very end of an island that takes no more than an hour to cross, cemented to the land of a beautiful deserted beach is The Galaxy, a seven-deck, seventy bedroom ship that belongs to a larger resort which closed down several years ago in circumstances unknown.
Formerly known as the Koh Chang Grand Lagoona Resort, located on Bang Bao Bay (Ao Bang Bao), the rest of the supposed five star resort includes various smaller floating accommodations, including fishing boats and chalets, some in various stages of disrepair and others mysteriously well-maintained.
Once recognized as the most modern floating hotel in Thailand, it supposedly was a Thai billionaire’s vision of what a luxury island resort should look like.
According to this travel blog posted in 2011, to stay on the Galaxy, rooms cost 699 baht per night which would equate to just under $20.
ABC Flash Point News 2023.
The Wonders of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Despite historical accounts attesting to its existence, the gardens’ reality remains a mystery, with a lack of Babylonian documentation and archaeological evidence adding to the mystery.
Speculation surrounds the gardens’ demise, with earthquakes emerging as a leading hypothesis. Although this botanical wonder has vanished, the tale endures, a timeless narrative of love and opulence in the heart of the Babylonian Empire.
Amidst the challenges brought on by years of conflict, Iraq’s historic treasures, like Babylon, are gradually receiving attention once more.
The ancient city, once the capital of King Nebuchadnezzar, bears the marks of time, nature, and previous attempts at reconstruction.
The recent efforts to refurbish the museum and replicate the Ishtar Gate are commendable, yet the real challenge lies in preventing further deterioration.
Documentation is the first step in understanding the issues plaguing this monument, where modern masonry stands alongside ancient remnants.
The World Monuments fund secured funds for restoration, aiming to restore Babylon’s former glory.
The contrast between photos from the 1980’s, showing Saddam-era reconstructions, and the original ruins, underscores the need for authenticity.
The problems faced are a blend of man-made and natural, a toxic combination for preservation. Iraq’s cultural heritage extends beyond Babylon, with other historic sites like Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Erbil.
Efforts are underway to restore these treasures, welcoming visitors once again. Thankfully in recent years most of these sites have been made UNESCO World Heritage Site, helping efforts to save them.
The focus remains on preserving the monument’s authenticity and integrity. While the path ahead may be uncertain, these restoration efforts symbolize a renewed hope for Iraq’s rich history.
Ancient History / ABC Flash Point News 2023
The Mysteries & Spectacular Architecture of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a fascinating temple complex in northwestern Cambodia, located in what was once the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire which presided over a vast kingdom in Southeast Asia.
While Buddhists believe that it was built in a night under orders of the god Indra, it actually took decades to create what was originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu in the 12th century.
Covering an area of about 162.6 hectares (about 400 acres), it is said to be the largest religious monument in the world.
Angkor Wat was built over several decades starting in the first half of the 12th century by King Suryavarman II of the Khmer Empire who ruled from 1113 to 1150.
Created to function as a temple complex, mausoleum and political center of his vast empire, its name means city of the temples, with Angkor meaning capital city and Wat meaning temple.
Angkor Wat is one of the largest and most complex religious monuments ever constructed in the history of mankind. The Khmer Empire existed between the 9th and 15th century, but during the 12th century it was at its height and the Angkor civilization was booming.
It was during this period that Angkor Wat temple was built, over a period of approximately 30 years. Inscriptions claim that building Angkor Wat used the manpower of 300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants.
According to archaeologist Charles Higham, Suryavarman wasn’t just a man, but a demigod. In all depictions he appears large and muscular with everyone seated around him.
The Cambodian god-kings of old each strove to better their ancestors’ structures in size, scale, and symmetry, culminating in what is believed to be the world’s largest religious building, stresses Lonely Planet.
Created for the god Vishnu, the Angkor Wat mountain-temple was built to represent the Hindu universe, although by the end of the 12th century it had been converted into a Buddhist temple.
There are five sandstone towers that rise above the temple enclosures, the central tower representing the mythical Mount Meru, the center of the Hindu universe and home of the god Brahma and the Devas, and the surrounding four its smaller peaks.
Architecturally speaking, Angkor Wat is spectacular. The temple is an enormous three level pyramid built on a floating rectangular piece of land surrounded by water.
The Khmer used literate blocks encased in carved sandstone for the construction of the temple and the city wall, while the rest of the structures were made from less durable materials such as wood which explains why they are not visible today.
Angkor War is oriented in a westerly direction, associated with Vishnu and with death, which has led experts to believe that it was built as a mausoleum for Suryavarman II (although he was never actually buried there).
It is said that the temple was constructed mathematically to be in harmony with the universe, and the distances and sizes in Angkor Wat are related to Indian mythology.
In Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire, Eleanor Mannikka suggests that Angkor Wat was also used for astronomical purposes.
The Angkor Wat temple was built surrounded by an enormous moat, measuring about 200-meter-wide (650 ft), which symbolized the ocean surrounding Mount Mera. The scale of this is hard to imagine until you get there.
In fact, the whole complex is a huge rectangle which measures 1.5 km by 1.3 km (0.93 x 0.8 mi), and the temple complex itself can only be reached by crossing a sandstone causeway.
The temple facade awash with intricate bas-relief carvings which line the walls and surfaces.
Designed to be viewed in an anticlockwise direction, these depict deities and other figures from Hindu and Buddhist scriptures, telling the stories of the history and mythology of Cambodia.
They even include scenes from the Hindu Mahabharata and a carving of Emperor Suryavarman II entering the city for the first time.
There are also almost 3,000 nymphs carved throughout the temple, each of which are unique, while at the central tower is a 3.25 m (10.7 ft) statue of Vishnu made out of a single block of sandstone.
Around this statue, visitors will see offerings from pilgrims and young people about to get married.
The Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas, at the central temple, was once home to hundreds of images of the Buddha, but many of these were stolen during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970’s.
While historians love to tell the story of a lost temple, according to Alison Kyra Carter Angkor Wat was never abandoned, unlike the other monuments within the larger Angkor city.
In fact, History.com stresses that Angkor Wat was important to the Buddhist religion well into the 1800’s, although it did fall into disuse and disrepair.
The Angkor Wat temple is the most famous of the hundreds of temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is estimated that the city of Angkor was once home to one million people, with a complex irrigation system, paved roads and beautiful buildings; however, within 200 years the Khmer civilization collapsed for no apparent reason.
Without any written records to provide clues, scholars have suggested that an environmental collapse may have played a major role in the Khmer civilization’s disappearance.
After a UNESCO campaign to protect and restore the famed Cambodian ruins, it was taken off the World Heritage in Danger list again in 2004.
Now one of the greatest threats to Angkor is tourism, keeping in mind that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the huge influx of tourists had reached 2.6 million (7,300 per day) in 2018.
Impressive and massive, Angkor Wat and the ancient city that surrounds it, is an intriguing place to visit that questions the prevailing belief that our civilization is more advanced than civilizations that existed in the past.
Located about 6 km (4 mi) from Siem Reap airport, the Angkor Archaeological Park opens from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. The best way to visit is by renting a tuk tuk to take you there and spend the day with you. This will make moving between the different sites more enjoyable.
The best months to visit are December and January, when it is dryer. You can buy 1, 3 and 7 day passes. Visiting the Angkor Wat temple site will take at least three hours, but to really get a feel for the entire city of Angkor can take days.
Although Angkor Wat is no longer an active temple, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a sacred site and visitors should dress modestly, avoiding uncovered knees and upper arms.
Ancient Origins / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Gaza’s Water for Farmland will be unusable if Israel floods Tunnels with Salt- & Sewage water
According to reports in US media on Tuesday, Israel has pushed ahead with plans to flood Gaza City with seawater in an attempt to destroy the network of tunnels dug beneath the city by Palestinian militant groups.
Gaza’s fragile ecosystem could be permanently damaged by a huge influx of salty seawater like that which Israel is considering pumping into the city, experts said.
Some of the deepest tunnels dug by Hamas and other militant groups could be near groundwater depths, souring the area’s drinking water.
According to the report, the IDF finished assembling five massive seawater pumps north of the Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip in mid-November.
The plan is reportedly to flood the tunnels slowly over several weeks, giving Palestinian fighters and their Israeli captives time to safely evacuate.
The report was unclear about the disposition of the White House toward the plan. The Biden administration has largely supported Israel’s actions in Gaza as self-defense against Hamas, but given rhetorical warning against violating Palestinian human rights.
The warnings have had little effect, though, as nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli army bombing and ground operations since Hamas attacked several Israeli border towns in early October, killing some 1,200 people.
Andrey Frolov, co-chair of Moscow’s Environmental Organizations, told Sputnik on Tuesday that an influx of salty seawater could wreck Gaza’s fragile ecosystem, making it difficult to sustain life there.
When water comes in, it all depends of course, depending on the scale of the disaster. That is, what kind of tunnels are they, where are they laid and what is their size.
Because the first thing that immediately catches your eye is that if the tunnels are shallow, say, two to three meters deep, then this will simply undermine the foundations of buildings.
When moisture enters, the stability of the soil changes, subsidence begins, and accordingly, it will just begin [to collapse]. Israel has already destroyed the entire city, so I think that for them it is not important.
There is information that these tunnels are hundreds of square kilometers in size and go to a depth of up to 80 meters, he noted, adding that it was probably a bit of an exaggeration.
Frolov noted it depends on the waters how the influx of salty seawater would affect the fresh groundwater. Some of the deepest tunnels rumored to have been dug in Gaza could be near the depths of the aquifers.
Because seawater can get into these aquifers it will make them salty. As a result, those wells that were used in Gaza will simply stop working.
The territory was already short on water, Israel supplied water from the Sea of Galilee. If a large amount of sea water is pumped into it, it will simply become unusable.
He noted the salt will also impact agriculture in Gaza, making it so that any kind of farming or maintaining green spaces will simply be impossible. Our nature lives in biocenosis. That is, it is a complex of living beings that adapt to a certain habitat.
If the biocenosis is salted and the living conditions are changed, then some species simply will not be able to live there. And if one, two, three species stop living, then the entire biocenosis crumbles.
Sergei Mukhametov, a senior lecturer at oceanology and chair of the geographical faculty at Lomonosov Moscow State University, told Sputnik that the amount of salt from the operation would be a smaller danger to the population than Israel’s bombing campaign.
I don’t think that anything terrible will happen there. The volumes for the sea and ocean [water] are very small. And sand is not a pollutant in this case.
Yes, there will be salinization [of groundwater] if they fill [the tunnels] with seawater, there will be soil salinization.
Well, it’s more likely that they suffer there because of these monstrous bombings … If we compare the consequences [of bombing] and the environmental ones, the direct impacts are monstrous. And ecology comes second or even in third place.
When it came to the flooding of the tunnels, Mukhametov noted it wasn’t the first time such an operation had been carried out.
When we took Berlin [in 1945], our troops there also broke through the Berlin metro, and the Germans also flooded it in the hope of stopping us, regardless of the civilians who were also hiding there.
Sputnik / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Yom Kippur War was the First Military Victory for Arabs over Zionist enemy
As soon as the month of October arrives every year, knives rain down on it from every direction to undermine the 1973 war; to turn the victory into defeat.
Sometimes this is done by the Nasserites, out of hatred for Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, at whose hands victory was achieved; and sometimes it’s done by the Arab-Zionist lobby, which has infiltrated the Arab countries and changed their direction.
They no longer see the Zionist state of Israel as a historical enemy of the Arabs against whom we have fought major wars.
Rather, they see it as a close friend in whose arms they threw themselves under the pretext of a warm peace, normalizing their relations with it and signing the Abraham Accords without any shame.
Half a century has passed since the glorious October War, as it is called in Egypt; the October Liberation War, as it is called in Syria; or the Yom Kippur War, as the settler-colonial state calls it.
The names are many, but the result is the same: the war was a turning point in the history of our nation and a critical moment in our struggle against the Zionist enemy, in which we crossed from defeat to victory, and from humiliation to pride.
It was the fourth war between the Arabs and the Zionists after the Palestine War of 1948, the 1956 Suez War, and the Six-Day War of 1967, in which the Arabs were defeated.
The Zionist enemy occupied the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, the Golan Heights in Syria, the West Bank, which was under Jordanian rule, and the Gaza Strip, which was under Egyptian military rule.
The October War came to restore the reputation of the Arab army, as it was the only war in which it was victorious over the Zionist occupation army.
This great victory allowed the brave soldiers of Egypt to cross the Suez Canal, demolish Israel’s Bar-Lev defensive line, and liberate land east of the canal as a first stage to serve as a launching pad for later stages.
They would not have stopped until after the complete liberation of Sinai soil. The Egyptian army was able to cross the Bar-Lev line in six hours, although they claimed it could not be destroyed other than with an atomic bomb.
The Syrian army was also able to enter the Golan Heights and reach the Hula Valley and the Sea of Galilee. The Egyptian and Syrian armies achieved a military miracle since taught in military colleges and institutes around the world.
Our brave soldiers were able to destroy the myth of the invincible Israeli army. This made Israel’s Prime Minister, the Ukraine-born Golda Meir rush to ask US President Richard Nixon for his help because they were losing Israel.
The Egyptians had crossed the canal, and all Israeli forces in the Sinai had been destroyed, wrote Meir in her memoir My Life.
The Syrians had penetrated deep into the Golan Heights… The losses on both fronts were very high, and a fatal question arose: Shall we inform the nation of the extent of the situation?
Moshe Dayan, the Israeli defense minister told the editors-in-chief of the Israeli newspapers of the day, we are now paying a heavy price every day in this war. Every day we are losing dozens of planes, pilots and equipment, and hundreds of tanks.
Some of these tanks fell into the hands of the Egyptians. This is a hefty price for Israel to pay. The Egyptians succeeded in passing through with more tanks and armored vehicles than we have in the Sinai.
The Egyptians have a lot of armored vehicles, and they are strong. We withdrew from the Bar-Lev line because of the severity of the Egyptian attack. The Bar-Lev line is no longer a reality for us, and we do not have the power to expel the Egyptians who destroyed it.
Dayan admitted that it had become clear that Israel was no stronger than the Egyptians. The belief that Israel was militarily superior to the Arabs was ended, and the theory that the Arabs would be defeated in hours if they declared war on Israel was proven wrong.
With Egyptian military superiority in Sinai unable to be confronted, Israel and its supporters had to accept that the occupation state was not the only military force in the Middle East; that there were other facts to be considered.
This was the situation in Sinai at the beginning of the war, and the course of the battles taking place on occupied Egyptian soil, according to the words of the Zionist leaders themselves.
Had it not been for the direct intervention of the USA, establishing an air bridge through which a total of 27,895 tonnes of military aid were transported, including aircraft, trucks, tanks and military equipment, Egypt would have recovered all of Sinai, and peace negotiations would not have needed to recover all Egyptian territory occupied by Israel.
The course of the war changed, as did the enemy, and it became a confrontation with America, not the Zionist state.
This prompted Sadat to say, we [could have] achieved complete victory if the USA had not intervened against us in the war. I cannot fight America; I fear for my children.
It was not possible, under any circumstances, for the Zionist generals to accept that the war would end with a crushing defeat for their army.
Their arrogance would not allow that. They were able to push back against the Syrian forces and reoccupy the Golan Heights.
Indeed, they took even more land, with an additional 500 square kilometers in what was known as the Sa’sa’ pocket.
The Israelis were able to open the Deversoir Air Base corridor, cross to the western bank of the canal and besiege Egypt’s Third Field Army and the city of Suez.
However, they failed to make any strategic gains, whether by occupying Ismailia or Suez, destroying the Third Army, or attempting to push the Egyptian forces back. The Deversoir issue is a thorny subject.
The Zionists saw this as a victory, while Sadat saw it as a TV propaganda opportunity and nothing more. Many books and analyses have looked at this matter.
Some saw it as costing Israel a lot financially and putting its army in a dangerous military situation with nothing gained except propaganda to raise morale.
Others saw it as a major blow to the Egyptian army, cancelling out the impressive victories it achieved at the beginning of the war.
Amid all of this ambiguity, knowledge is lost, and the truth is hidden. Nevertheless, the established fact remains that the 6 October War was the first military victory for the Arabs over the Zionist enemy.
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is considered the holiest day of the year for people who practice Judaism. The holiday technically spans two calendar days, because the Jewish calendar is lunar. Days are marked sunset to sunset.
This year, it begins at sunset on September 24 and continues until the evening of September 25, 2023. Yom Kippur concludes a 10-day period known as the “Days of Awe” that begins with the Jewish New Year, which is called Rosh Hashanah.
Jews around the world are to face their misdeeds and sins over the year through worship and prayer so that they may atone for their wrongdoings.
With fear and wonder in facing God’s judgment, Jews seek forgiveness. In doing so, people are called to self-reflect on their failings and flaws.
Synagogues hold religious services throughout the day for practicing Jews to come pray introspectively, either asking for forgiveness or expressing regret of sins committed in the past year.
Middle East Monitor / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Crickey Amigu di Natura 