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Archive for September, 2011

Armed Muslim Extremists from Niger Helping Islamists in Nigeria Kill Christians

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

“KADUNA, Nigeria, August 31 (CDN) — Armed Muslims from Niger entered Nigeria’s Kaduna state this month to help Islamists there invade Christian communities, where they killed two Christians, including a 10-year-old boy, area sources said.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 21, the Muslim extremists entered Fadiya Bakut village in Bajju district of the Zango-Kataf Local Government Area, and attacked the home of Andrew Allahmagani, the district head in Fadiya, Allahmagani told Compass by telephone.

Allahmagani said he was sleeping that morning when he suddenly heard gunshots near his residence.

‘They [the attackers] later moved around the house shooting into windows and doors, including that of my wife,’ he said. ‘Afterward, they moved to the quarters of my brother, where they shot and killed my nephew, Fidelis Ishaku, who was 10 years old, and shot and injured my mother, who is 70.’

A Christian security guard at the house, 52-year-old Zaman Kaki, was also killed in the attack by about 10 assailants armed with guns, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons, Allahmagani said. Kaki leaves behind a wife and four children.” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War Tags:

Iran, North Korea to Discuss ‘Expansion of Cooperation’ in Talks

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

“A top Iranian official is scheduled to make an official visit to North Korea, the Islamic Republic announced on Tuesday, in order to discuss ‘expansion of cooperation’ with Pyongyang. The trip underlines the close ties between the two nations.

Israel and the West suspect Iran is trying to use its nuclear program to develop atomic weapons, and that North Korea had been aiding Iran by providing Iran with advanced missiles capable of targeting European capitals.

An announcement released on the Iranian parliament’s website on Tuesday indicated that parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, will arrive in Pyongyang for a three-day visit beginning Sunday.

Iranian and North Korean officials have said in the past that the two countries are in ‘one trench’ in the fight against ‘arrogant powers.’ Both are bitter enemies of the U.S.¬ and the West.” Read more.

Ahmadinejad: Iran is Determined to Eradicate the ‘Infectious Tumor’ of Israel, ‘Will Never Withdraw’ From This Policy – “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was determined to eradicate Israel, ISNA news agency reported Thursday. ‘Iran believes that whoever is for humanity should also be for eradicating the Zionist regime (Israel) as symbol of suppression and discrimination,’ Ahmadinejad said in an interview with a Lebanese television network, carried by ISNA.” Read more.

Iranian nuclear bid could provoke attack: Sarkozy – “France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Wednesday that Iran’s alleged attempts to build long-range missiles and nuclear weapons could lead unnamed countries to launch a pre-emptive attack. ‘Its military nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs,’ he said. Sarkozy did not say which country might launch such a strike, but it has been reported that Israel — perhaps with US support — has considered bombing Iranian nuclear sites if it believes Tehran is close to building a weapon.” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War

Feds: Earthquake May Have Exceeded Virginia Nuclear Plant’s Safeguards

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

By Andrew Restuccia – “The earthquake that prompted the shutdown of a Virginia nuclear power plant last week may have been more severe than the plant’s reactors were designed to withstand, federal regulators said.

The revelation is likely to put increased pressure on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to quickly implement a series of safety recommendations intended in part to protect plants from major natural disasters like earthquakes.

NRC said Monday that its preliminary analysis indicates that the ground motion caused by the magnitude-5.8 earthquake near the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Va., exceeded the maximum level the two reactors at the plant were built to handle.

But the commission noted in a statement Monday that ‘data is still being collected and analyzed to determine the precise level of shaking that was experienced at key locations within the North Anna facility.’

NRC decided to send additional inspectors to the North Anna power plant after conducting the analysis, the commission said Monday.” Read more.

Inspectors find that containers holding spent fuel shifted several inches in last week’s earthquake – “In another indication of the power of last week’s magnitude-5.8 earthquake, officials at North Anna Power Station said yesterday that 25 of 27 vertical steel casks that hold highly radioactive spent fuel shifted on their pads. Richard Zuercher, spokesman for Dominion power’s nuclear operations, said none is leaking, all are intact, and there is no danger to the public or plant employees. ‘The earthquake did move, slightly, some of the dry storage casks on the pad,’ he said. The steel casks, which weigh up to 115 tons when loaded, shifted between an inch and 4 inches. ‘We’re evaluating whether we need to move them back,’ Zuercher said.” Read more.

Categories: Earthquakes, Man-Made Disasters

Texas: Massive ‘Biblical’ Fish Kill Found at Grapevine Lake

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

“GRAPEVINE (CBSDFW.COM) – Just days before Labor Day weekend Lake Grapevine has had a massive fish kill.

Thousands of dead fish dot the lake’s shoreline, and floating atop the water.

‘It was biblical, it was really weird,’ said Michael Ott, who keeps his boat at Silver Lake Marina on the southeast side of the lake. ‘Just walk up and found all these fish floating around, it was really strange.’

Ott noticed fish of all species and sizes grouped around boat slips and washed up along the shoreline, when he came to get his boat ready for the holiday weekend.

‘I saw catfish, alligator gar, bass,’ he explained, ‘fish that usually compete with each other for food, they were all congregating in the same area trying to get air.’

The Texas Parks and Wildlife surveyed the lake Tuesday afternoon to determine how many fish were killed. Biologists believe low levels of oxygen in the water caused the fish to die.” Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths

California: 15 Brown Pelicans Die Along Central Coast From Mystery Puncture Wounds

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

By LAURIE WHITWELL – “State Fish and Game wardens are trying to figure out why so many brown pelicans are appearing along California’s Central Coast with huge puncture wounds in their chests.

Fifteen birds have washed up dead in recent days, displaying wounds that could have been caused by a knife or other sharp object, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.

Three were brought into the Pacific Wildlife Care centre in Morro Bay last Thursday and two had to be euthanised because the injuries were so bad. The third is being treated.

The pelicans could be injuring themselves on rocks as they dive for baitfish in Port San Luis and Avila Beach, but officials say more sinister causes could be to blame.

‘We can’t rule out foul play,’ Warden Sean Kenady told the San Luis Obispo.

The wounds are more serious than typical injuries from fish hook and line entanglements, according to centre director Jeanette Stone.

‘These are wounds that are huge, gaping and ripped open at the chest,’ she said.” Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths

Taiwan: Fmr. Deputy Defense Minister Says China is Seeking to Paralyze Taiwan with an EMP Weapon

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

“Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Despite showing goodwill and friendliness in economic and cultural exchanges with Taiwan, China has never ceased its military exercises simulating attacks on Taiwan, former Deputy Defense Minister Lin Chong-pin said Thursday.

… China has accelerated its military modernization. In addition to deploying short-range ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army has never stopped drills simulating attacks on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands, cities and airports.

‘Since 2004, the mainland military has refrained from conducting military exercises in its southeastern coastal areas opposite Taiwan, instead staging drills in the Chinese hinterland… While they do not hype their live-fire drills, neither have they ever suspended them,’ said Lin, who is now a professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.

Moreover, he went on, China has spared no efforts to develop electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons, which do not cause human casualties but disable electronic communication and command systems.

‘Beijing’s top goal is to paralyze Taiwan rather than destroy it,’ Lin noted, adding that the ultimate goal of Beijing’s military hardware development and training drills is to prevent the United States from taking control of Taiwan.” Read more.

Taiwan must have ‘strike back’ capability: US report – “Although former premier Tang Fei said on Aug. 17 that Taiwan’s indigenous Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile would be like a mosquito’s bite on an elephant, a new report by a US think tank argues that Taiwan must have ‘some means of hitting back against Chinese military targets.’ ‘The ability to hit back at Chinese military targets may not have profound operational effects, but when an inferior force takes on a superior one, the ability to strike back has a nontrivial strategic and psychological impact on an attacker,’ said the 38-page Asian Alliances in the 21st Century report, released on Tuesday by the Washington-based think tank Project 2049 Institute.” Read more.

Categories: Wars and Rumors of War

Irene Reveals More Cracks in Quake-Damaged Washington Monument

09/01/2011 Leave a comment

“Washington (CNN) — Small pools of standing water were found in the Washington Monument during inspections following Hurricane Irene, the National Park Service told CNN Wednesday, indicating undiscovered cracks.

According to spokeswoman Carol Johnson, when crews entered the monument Monday following the weekend’s hurricane, water was pooled in the observatory near the top and in the monument’s interior stairwell. Engineers had inspected the monument and tried to plug the holes before the hurricane, but Johnson said the amount of water found means that some holes were missed.

‘There were some leaks that we were not able to identify or able to plug,’ Johnson said. ‘What happened was a lot of mortar popped out, so much so that you can see sunlight above 450 feet in the monument.’

The Washington Monument, built between 1848 and 1884, is 555 feet, five and one-eighth inches tall. Its walls are 15 feet thick at the base and 18 inches at the top, and are composed primarily of white marble blocks, according to the National Park Service.” Read more.

Strong Quake Aftershock Shakes Virginia – “Central Virginia has been shaken by another aftershock from last week’s earthquake that rattled the East Coast. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 3.4 magnitude aftershock at 5:09 a.m. Thursday. The epicenter was 4 miles south-southeast of Mineral. Mineral was the epicenter of last Tuesday’s 5.8 magnitude earthquake. More than 20 aftershocks ranging from 4.5 to 1.8 have followed the earthquake.” Read more.

Categories: Earthquakes