Pestilence

UNICEF: 'Measles surging at alarming levels'
UPI reports: "The number of measles cases around the globe surged to alarmingly high levels in 2018 with 98 countries reporting increases in infected patients from a year earlier, according to data by UNICEF. The Philippines, Brazil and France along with seven other countries account for almost two-thirds of the total increase, which UNICEF says is eroding progress already made in the fight against this curable and highly deadly disease."

Comment: I continue to note these because most people I've talked to think it's a small problem in the U.S. and don't realize it's a global outbreak. If we can't contain disease outbreaks for which we have time-tested vaccines, it does not bode well for our ability to deal with new threats.

Rumors of War

India-Pakistan tensions escalate after shootdown of fighter jets over Kashmir
UPI reports: "Tensions between Pakistan and India escalated Wednesday when the Pakistani air force shot down two Indian fighter jets after they entered national airspace, authorities said. [...] Both countries lay claim to Kashmir, a Muslim-majority area in the northern region of the Indian continent, but control only segments of it. India's Jammu and Kashmir was the site of a deadly suicide bomb attack this month that escalated tensions."

Comment: While many people remain distracted by domestic news some very important and dangerous events are taking place in South Asia. When two nuclear powers start shooting down warplanes we should take notice. This is a situation that could easily escalate.  

Mark of the Beast

New bitcoin gift cards could take cryptocurrency mainstream
UPI reports: "Edmonton, Canada-based Bitcoin Solutions has developed what it hopes is a new solution -- by allowing people to buy bitcoin gift cards online, which can be loaded into digital wallets and spent anywhere bitcoin is accepted. Or investors can hold on to the bitcoin as an investment. [...] Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum and others use a decentralized blockchain rather than a bank. The same blockchain can be used for micro payments, smart contracts and a host of other services that could disrupt traditional ways of doing business."

Comment: I should start with my usual disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the Mark of the Beast, I'm just noting trends. In this case, distributed ledger technology can be used for many different kinds of applications, including identity management, and I think it's a technology worth keeping a watchful eye on. 

Pestilence

CDC warns of severe flu strain 'wave'
UPI reports: "Americans aren't out of the woods yet, as the flu season continues to spread across the country, health officials reported Friday. One major shift that's occurred is in the viruses that are circulating. At the start of the flu season, the predominant strain was influenza A H1N1, but now a more severe strain, influenza A H3N2, accounts for nearly half of all the new cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [...] Getting kids vaccinated is crucial. This season, flu has already claimed the lives of 41 children."

Comment: There's that reminder again, get vaccinated! 

Pestilence

Nearly 1,000 Madagascar children dead of measles since October: WHO | Reuters
Reuters reports: "At least 922 children and young adults have died of measles in Madagascar since October, despite a huge emergency vaccination program, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. The number of deaths is based on official numbers, but these are likely to be very incomplete, as is the current total of infections, at 66,000, Dr. Katrina Kretsinger of WHO’s expanded program on immunization told a news briefing.

Comment: Has the measles outbreak fallen off the news radar in the U.S. ? If so, don't let it escape your notice that the measles outbreak is global. Here is but the latest report, this one from Madagascar.  Parents everywhere are strongly encouraged to vaccinate their children.

Pestilence

Japan battles worst measles outbreak in 10 years
UPI reports "Japan is currently battling its worst measles outbreak in a decade, authorities said. The National Institute of Infectious Diseases said that as of Feb. 10, the number of measles cases hit 167 for 2019, Asahi Shimbun reported. [...] Japans' outbreak has occurred as several Asian countries are working to contain the disease as well."

Comment: A reminder that the measles outbreak is global. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated to help prevent this very contagious disease.

Rumors of War - King of the North

Vladimir Putin threatens to target U.S. 'decision-making centers' if missiles deployed
UPI reports: "In his State of the Nation address, Putin threatened to target countries in Europe and the United States with new intermediate-range missiles if similar missiles are stationed against Russia in neighboring European nations. He said such a scenario would target U.S. decision-making centers. [...] The Trump administration announced this month an intention to withdraw from the INF treaty, saying Russia is not abiding by the agreement. Putin said Russia would do the same. The Cold War treaty was brokered in 1987 between former leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev."

Comment: I'd like to think that the end of the INF treaty is an opportunity for all the nuclear powers to join in a comprehensive arms reduction treaty. Somehow, I don't think that is the way Russia and the U.S. view the situation. 

Rumors of War

India city orders Pakistanis out as tensions rise after deadly terror attack
UPI reports: "Tensions over an attack that killed dozens in Kashmir last have prompted Indian officials to order Pakistani nationals out of Rajasthani within 48 hours. Forty-four Indian military personnel were killed in the suicide bombing in the Kashmir region of India last Thursday. It was the deadliest attack in 30 years."

Comment: When two nuclear powers start a cycle of attack and retribution we should take notice. 

Pestilence

Measles Cases Surge Globally Putting Many Lives at Risk - VOA
The Voice of America reports: "The World Health Organization (WHO) says that measles outbreaks and deaths are surging globally, putting years of progress made in reducing the killer disease at risk. The WHO is calling for urgent action to stop the spread of the highly contagious but fully preventable disease. [...] The WHO says many children in poor countries are not being vaccinated because they live in marginalized areas where clinics are not easily reached. In wealthier countries, it says parents sometimes choose not to have their children immunized because of false claims that the vaccine is dangerous."

Comment: In case you thought the measles outbreak was just afflicting those in the U.S. this report confirms that it is global. Please join me in praying for doctors and the medical community as they fight to contain this outbreak.

Rumors of War - Persia

Absent Iran takes center stage at Mideast talks in Poland - AP
The AP reports: "Although it is absent from the stage, Iran is nevertheless taking the spotlight at a Middle East security conference co-hosted by the United States and Poland that has highlighted deep divisions between the U.S. and some of its traditional allies. Amid uncertainty over its aims and questions about what it will deliver, the conference opened late Wednesday in Warsaw with some 60 nations in attendance. Yet, in an apparent test of U.S. influence and suspicions in Europe and elsewhere over the Trump administration’s intentions in Iran, many countries aren’t sending their top diplomats and will be represented at levels lower than their invited foreign ministers."

Comment: Could the Trump Administration be forming a "coalition of the willing" to attack Iran? 

Rumors of War

Russia passes first draft of bill to unplug from global Internet - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The proposal is to create an alternative domain name system to protect the Russian-language section of the Internet, in case it becomes disconnected from the global Internet. It would also make it easier for Russia to ban blocked websites, a prospect that's drawn criticism from those who fear Internet censorship, similar to that in China. [...] The bill is a result of discussions in December that said tighter Internet control was needed to respond to 'aggressive' U.S. national cybersecurity strategy."

Comment: This could be a strategy to achieve Chinese-style state control over the flow of information. It could also be an attempt to prepare for all-out cyberwar by protecting the Russian net if they take down the global internet. Of course, the internet was originally designed to survive war by being a distributed network, so we will see how well they do with trying to isolate themselves.

Persecution

Woman acquitted of blasphemy still can't leave Pakistan - AP
The AP reports: "A Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row in Pakistan has been transferred from a secret location near the capital to another in Karachi, but is still unable to leave the country to join her daughters in Canada, a friend said Saturday. [...] Bibi’s case has brought international attention to Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which carries an automatic death sentence for a conviction of insulting Islam. There have been widespread complaints that the law is used to settle scores and intimidate religious minorities, including Shiite Muslims."

Comment: Please join me in praying for Bibi's safety and her safe evacuation to Canada. 

Covenant With Many

Kushner to visit Mideast for peace plan push - Politico
Politico reports: "The president’s son-in-law will reveal significant details of the economic portion of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan. Jared Kushner will crisscross the Middle East later this month seeking buy-in for his peace plan from leaders throughout the region. [...] The forthcoming trip is intended in part to gauge regional reaction to the economic portion of the plan, which would create economic incentives — likely including job opportunities — for Palestinians."

Comment: I'm waiting eagerly to see how Trump's Mideast peace plan will differ from his predecessors. Will it require Israel to give up land to those peaceful Palestinians in yet another "land for peace" scheme? How much land is Israel expected to give and in exchange for what? After all, look at Gaza. Israel ceded control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians in 2005 and instead of using it to build a nice proto-state with schools, hospitals and parks they turned it into a missile launching platform and impoverished the people with corruption. Do we really think the Palestinians will make better use of even more land? From these very early reports, it would appear that Trump's plan does indeed offer new initiatives by asking regional players to support the peace plan financially. This looks to be a smart move if it makes Mideast peace a regional effort - a group effort  - and is thus less likely to disintegrate in the face of notoriously fickle Palestinian leadership. Well, times will tell of course, but Kushner's trip is an interesting development, one we will follow closely. 

Gog Alliance - Doomed Damscus

Netanyahu to meet with Putin to discuss Iran, Syria - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday he plans to travel to Russia later this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Feb. 21 trip, the first formal meeting between the two leaders in about a year, is expected to address Iranian efforts to establish a military presence in Syria."

Comment: Will be watching this closely. Would Russia have gone to all that effort and expense to secure the Assad regime and then turn Syria over to Iran? That is doubtful. Still, it's possible that Russia would acquiesce to a small permanent Iranian presence. I'm sure that is something Israel will go to great lengths to prevent.

Gog Alliance - King of the North

Intelligence community raises alarm on Turkey
UPI reports: "It is uncertain how Trump will approach Turkey, a historic ally that has grown friendlier with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years. [...] The alliance between the United States and Turkey could fracture without a shared fear for the Soviet Union that bonded the two countries during the Cold War [...] Further endangering relations is Turkey's growing alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Turkey signed a deal with Russia to receive an S-400 missile defense system, which has prompted senators to try and prevent Turkey from receiving F-35 jets from the United States should it purchase the Russian missiles."

Comment: This editor continues to be shocked that we are living in a new normal in which Russian, Turkish and Iranian military forces are one border away from Israel.  This news report talks about the deteriorating relationship between Turkey and the U.S. and ignores what I think is the far more important development. The operational links required to manage troops on the ground are creating strong bonds between Russia, Turkey and Iran at every level, from troops on the ground to head of state, as they work to manage ongoing operations in a complex war zone. As this continues the West will have to wonder how much longer they can continue to consider Turkey a NATO member?

Wars & Rumors of War

US pulls out of Cold War-era nuclear treaty, blaming Russia - AP
The AP reports: "The United States announced Friday that it is pulling out of a landmark nuclear arms treaty with Russia, arguing that it should not be constrained by a deal Moscow is violating with “impunity” by deploying banned missiles. Democrats in Congress and some arms control advocates slammed the decision as opening the door to an arms race. [...] The Trump decision reflects his administration’s view that the arms treaty was an unacceptable obstacle to more forcefully confronting not only Russia but also China. China’s military has grown mightily since the treaty was signed, and the pact has prevented the U.S. from deploying weapons to counter those being developed in Beijing."

Comment: Well, there you go, the Cold War nuclear arms race is back on. The world has just become a much more dangerous place.