Tipping Point Quick Hits (9.29.22)

Nord Stream sabotage, protests in Iran, and the meaning of "harpazo"

Sabotage of the Nord Stream Pipelines

All the media coverage in the United States this week has been about Hurricane Ian, and rightly so. I’m praying for the people of Florida who have been impacted by the catastrophic impact of this Category 4 storm. As of this morning, millions were without power and the destruction and flooding seem overwhelming. I hope you’ll join me in prayer as recovery efforts get underway.

But at the same time, I don’t want you to miss another major, major news story that has gotten little attention on this side of the Atlantic. On Monday, leaks were discovered in the underwater Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which are concrete-coated pipes at the bottom of the Baltic Sea that deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany.

Neither of these pipelines are active—Russia turned off gas deliveries a few weeks ago on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline hasn’t been completed yet—but both still had natural gas in them and began showing losses of pressure on Monday. Within hours, seismographic data was showing evidence of powerful underwater explosions right before the leaks were discovered. Photos from the air showed enormous disturbances in the ocean.