European Debt Crisis Talks Plunged Into Chaos as Leaders Announce Another Summit

10/21/2011 7 comments

By Louise Armitstead and Bruno Waterfield – “Plans to ‘decisively address’ the debt crisis this weekend were plunged into chaos on Thursday night as European leaders were forced to announce another ‘summit’ next week amid political deadlock between France and Germany.

A statement released by the Elysee Palace said that Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel would meet to discuss their “ambitious and comprehensive response” to the crisis ahead of the European Council summit on Sunday.

But in a tacit admission of the gulf between them, the statement added that resolutions would be ‘finally adopted’ at a ‘second meeting no later than Wednesday’.

Insiders said the weekend’s summit of European leaders came close to being cancelled altogether, with the French president Mr Sarkozy having to beg German Chancellor Mrs Merkel not to pull the plug during frantic telephone calls.

The news came as US President Barack Obama praised Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel for working ‘diligently’ for a ‘politically sustainable’ solution to the eurozone crisis in a video conference with the two leaders and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

The second summit delay sent shockwaves around the world. Politicians and financiers have been banking on repeated pledges from France and Germany to ‘decisively address’ the crisis by Sunday.” Read more.

Merkel rebuffs Sarkozy on euro zone solution – “France’s push to use more European Central Bank money to fight the euro zone debt crisis ran into strong resistance from Germany and other EU partners on Friday, leaving Paris increasingly isolated before a crucial summit. The rift between Europe’s two biggest powers has already forced leaders to tack on an extra summit in the coming week. They will now meet twice — on Sunday and Wednesday — to adopt a comprehensive strategy to fight the crisis that began in Greece, spread to Ireland and Portugal and is now threatening to engulf bigger economies in the 17-nation currency area.” Read more.

Categories: Man-Made Disasters

New Evidence Emerges That Fukushima Radiation in Canada Was Worse Than Canadian Officials Ever Let On

10/21/2011 Leave a comment

By Alex Roslin – “After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, Soviet officials were vilified for hiding the impacts from the public.

But when Japan’s Fukushima nuclear accident took place last March, public officials in Japan and Canada alike jumped straight into Chernobyl-style damage-control mode, dismissing any worries about impacts.

Now evidence has emerged that the radiation in Canada was worse than Canadian officials ever let on.

A Health Canada monitoring station in Calgary detected radioactive material in rainwater that exceeded Canadian guidelines during the month of March, according to Health Canada data obtained by the Georgia Straight.

Canadian government officials didn’t disclose the high radiation readings to the public. Instead, they repeatedly insisted that fallout drifting to Canada was negligible and posed no health concerns.

In fact, the data shows rainwater in Calgary last March had an average of 8.18 becquerels per litre of radioactive iodine, easily exceeding the Canadian guideline of six becquerels per litre for drinking water.

‘It’s above the recommended level [for drinking water],’ Eric Pellerin, chief of Health Canada’s radiation-surveillance division, admitted in a phone interview from Ottawa. ‘At any time you sample it, it should not exceed the guideline.’

Radioactive-iodine levels also spiked in March in Vancouver (which saw an average of 0.69 becquerels per litre), Winnipeg (which saw 0.64 becquerels per litre) and Ottawa (which saw 1.67 becquerels per litre), the data shows.

These levels didn’t exceed the Canadian guidelines, but the level discovered in Ottawa did surpass the more stringent ceiling for drinking water used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is 54 times less than the six becquerels per litre of iodine-131 (a radioactive isotope) allowed in this country.

Health Canada provided the data only after repeated requests from the Straight. It isn’t posted on Health Canada’s web page devoted to the impacts of Fukushima.” Read more.

Flashback: Toronto: High Radiation Levels Being Measured in Rain Water Just North of the GTA – “This is part 3 of my measurements of the radioactivity falling on the north of GTA (Greater Toronto Area), Canada on August 14th 2011 at 17h55. Aprox. 1 square meter of smooth surface wiped (glass, solar panels). Measured with a Eberline HP-260 Pancake Probe and with a Eberline E-140 counter… I measured 20 000 cpm per square meter of wipe today!!! This is the all time record since I have been taking measurements since March 14th 2011 . Previous record was 10 000cpm (counts per minute).” Read more.

Flashback: Canadian Gov’t Now Admits: Japan’s Fukushima Catastrophe Bringing Massive Radiation Spikes Over Canada – “After Japan’s Fukushima catastrophe, Canadian government officials reassured jittery Canadians that the radioactive plume billowing from the destroyed nuclear reactors posed zero health risks in this country. In fact, there was reason to worry. Health Canada detected massive amounts of radioactive material from Fukushima in Canadian air in March and April at monitoring stations across the country. The level of radioactive iodine spiked above the federal maximum allowed limit in the air at four of the five sites where Health Canada monitors levels of specific radioisotopes.” Read more.

Flashback: Canada: Fukushima Fallout Causing Highly Radioactive Rain to Fall in British ColumbiaWatch Video.

Categories: Man-Made Disasters

UK: Muslim Physiotherapist Launches Into Racist Rant Against Christian For Refusing Acupuncture Treatment

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“A MUSLIM physiotherapist who launched into a racist rant when a patient refused to undergo acupuncture at a Sheffield clinic has been struck off.

Zaffar Ali told the Christian woman her faith was ‘wrong’ and had ‘killed more people than any other religion’ after she said the treatment was against her beliefs.

He ‘tore into’ her at an NHS clinic in Sheffield, lambasting her with a series of ‘inappropriate remarks’ in an attempt to pressure her into accepting his recommendation, the Health Professions Council heard.

Ali, formerly of Shirebrook Road, Heeley, claimed he was trying to show her ‘another viewpoint’ but a string of charges against him were proved at a misconduct hearing.

He was already subject to a four-year caution imposed by the HPC in 2009 after he received criminal convictions for harassment and battery and was sacked from Sheffield NHS Primary Care Trust.

Ali admitted assault and harassment at Sheffield Magistrates Court.

He broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend and assaulted one of her male friends.

Ruling that he should be struck off the professional register, panel chairman Ian Griffiths said: ‘The proved facts amount to more than merely isolated incidents but show a pattern of inappropriate behaviour by Mr Ali, in particular towards female patients.'” Read more.

Christianity indeed has a bloody past.  But this bloviating bigot believes that it has ‘killed more people than any other religion’?  Normally I would ask what a fuming physician like this had been smoking, but it’s obvious that it’s tightly rolled Islamist propaganda.  That sort of drivel — which does nothing but merely expel what he’s been deeply inhaling — either completely whitewashes or ignores entirely some very important historical facts:

The bloody truth of the historic spread of Islam – “Jihad destroyed a Christian Middle East and a Christian North Africa. Soon it was the fate of the Persian Zoroastrian and the Hindu to be the victims of jihad. The history of political Islam is the destruction of Christianity in the Middle East, Egypt, Turkey and North Africa. Half of Christianity was lost. Before Islam, North Africa was the southern part of Europe (part of the Roman Empire). Around 60 million Christians were slaughtered during the jihadic conquest… The Jews became permanent dhimmis throughout Islam. In Africa over 120 million Christians and animists have died over the last 1400 years of jihad. Approximately 270 million nonbelievers died over the last 1400 years for the glory of political Islam. These are the Tears of Jihad which are not taught in any school.” Read more.

Hurriet Daily News: With 10 Million Muslims Killed Since 1948 at the Hands of Fellow Muslims, Golda Meir Was Right – “Let’s speak of facts. Sudan is not in the conventional Middle East, so let’s ignore the genocide there. Let’s ignore, also, the West Pakistani massacres in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) totaling 1.25 million in 1971. Or 200,000 deaths in Algeria in war between Islamists and the government in 1991-2006. But a simple, strictly Middle East research will give you one million deaths in the all-Muslim Iran-Iraq war; 300,000 Muslim minorities killed by Saddam Hussein; 80,000 Iranians killed during the Islamic revolution; 25,000 deaths in 1970-71, the days of Black September, by the Jordanian government in its fight against the Palestinians; and 20,000 Islamists killed in 1982 by the elder al-Assad in Hama. The World Health Organization’s estimate of Osama bin Laden’s carnage in Iraq was already 150,000 a few years earlier. In a 2007 research, Gunnar Heinsohn from the University of Bremen and Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, found out that some 11 million Muslims have been violently killed since 1948, of which 35,000, (0.3 percent) died during the six years of Arab war against Israel, or one out of every 315 fatalities. In contrast, over 90 percent who perished were killed by fellow Muslims.” Read more.

It’s quite apparent to me who truly needs to undergo some useful therapy here …

Malaysia: Authorities Give Green Light to Anti-Christian ‘Defend Islam’ Rally

10/20/2011 2 comments

Here’s a quick update to this story.  Of course, there was never any doubt that this ‘rally’ would be quickly approved by the Malaysian police.  Even if it hadn’t been approved many would have still gathered anyway.  The only question now is whether or not any Islamist mob-mentality will stoke violent sentiments and lead to anti-Christian aggression …

By Carolyn Hong – “Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian police have issued a permit for a mass gathering of Muslims this Saturday ‘to defend Islam against Christian proselytization’, an event politicians and others fear will stoke religious tension in this multiracial country.

The Himpunan Sejuta Umat, or gathering of one million Muslim faithful, is organized by 25 non-governmental organizations, including the Malay supremacy group Perkasa.

It is calling for a new law to punish those who try to convert Muslims.

The rally comes after a controversial raid in August by the Selangor Islamic authorities on a church dinner attended by Muslims. The Sultan of Selangor later said the authorities did find evidence of attempts to convert Muslims but it was insufficient for legal action.

Many Muslims regard apostasy to be one of the gravest sins.

The organizers of the Himpun rally are not overtly linked to any political party, and appear to be a pressure group like Perkasa, which is pushing the Malay parties in both the government and opposition to adopt its conservative agenda.” Read more.

S&P Sees Downgrade Blitz Across Southern Europe in EMU Recession

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – “Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is to warn that a double-dip recession in Europe would imperil France’s AAA rating and set off a string of downgrades across Southern Europe, undermining the EU’s debt crisis strategy.

The EU-IMF bail-out machinery would require an extra €250bn or more to stabilize eurozone debt markets, forcing Germany and EU’s creditor states to vastly increase rescue commitments.

The report, due Friday, said a double-dip recession would lead to a downgrade of ‘one or two notches’ for France, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal, both because of tumbling tax revenues and the extra costs of propping up banks.

The scenario looks increasingly likely after Germany slashed its growth forecast from 1.8pc to 1pc for 2012. Greece and Portugal are contracting at alarming speeds. Italy and Spain are already in industrial recession.

‘Confidence surveys have fallen off a cliff over past three months,’ said Marchel Alexandrovich from Jefferies Fixed Income. ‘The lagged effects of fiscal and monetary tightening are still working their way through the system so it looks highly likely that we are in recession now.'” Read more.

Categories: Man-Made Disasters

Texas: Record-Breaking 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles San Antonio Area

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“A record-breaking earthquake shook Atascosa County Thursday morning, rattling windows and sending tremors felt throughout Central and South Texas.

The magnitude 4.8 quake was the largest quake the area has felt since April 9, 1993, when a 4.3 earthquake moved through the area, said Julie Dutton, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The 1993 quake had been the largest in history since earthquake magnitudes were first catalogued in 1973. Only 13 earthquakes have struck the region since the agency began recording them, the most recent occurring in 1983.

The magnitude of Thursday’s quake was initially reported as 4.6.

The USGS reported on its website that the earthquake struck at 7:24 a.m. about 47 miles southeast of San Antonio. The epicenter was in the rural community of Campbellton in Atascosa County.

The strongest tremors were felt just southeast of San Antonio, but people reported feeling the quake throughout the area. Weaker tremors were reported as far south as Kingsville and as far north as Georgetown, according to USGS. No significant damage was reported on the agency’s site.

A resident at the Cadillac Lofts in downtown San Antonio said the apartment complex felt like it was swaying during the tremor.

‘It was a little scary,’ Matthew Egan wrote in an email. ‘I’m from California, but at least back home everything was built on earthquake rollers. Makes me nervous to think how ill-prepared San Antonio might be for a bigger quake.'” Read more.

Categories: Earthquakes

New Zealand: Measles Outbreak Hits Waiheke Island

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“The measles outbreak which has infected more than 200 Aucklanders has now spread to Waiheke Island.

A 17-year-old resident on the island recently tested positive for the disease, Dawn Rigby, Manager of the Waiheke Trust says.

It is not known where the teenager contracted measles but because of the school holidays his contact with others has been limited.

There are no other suspected cases on Waiheke.

Since the measles outbreak began in May there have been 229 confirmed cases of the disease in Auckland.

Health officials are urging anyone who has not been immunised against the disease to be vaccinated.

The Ministry of Health is working with the three Auckland district health boards to ensure there is a sufficient supply of the measles vaccine, as the disease continues to spread.

Officials will administer the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for anyone who is not immunised free of charge.

The best protection against the disease is to have two doses of the MMR vaccine.

It is vital people born after January 1, 1969 check their immunisation status and if they are not vaccinated or have only received one dose of the vaccination, they should arrange an MMR vaccination.” Read more.

Flashback: UN Reports Measles Outbreaks in Ethiopia and Kenya – Dozens of Children Killed, Thousands Sickened – “GENEVA — United Nations officials say outbreaks of measles in Ethiopia and Kenya have killed dozens of children and sickened thousands of others. UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said Friday at least 17,584 measles cases, including 114 deaths, have been reported by Ethiopian health officials in the first half of the year. World Health Organization spokesman Tarek Jasarevic says at least 462 cases of measles, including 11 deaths, have been confirmed in recent months among Somali refugee children in the Kenyan refugee complex known as Dadaab. He says 2 million children in Ethiopia are at risk of contracting measles.” Read more.

Flashback: Measles Outbreak in Britain Continues: More Cases in First 3 Months of 2011 Than All of 2010 – “Britain is facing a measles outbreak with nearly more cases reported in the first three months of this year than the whole of 2010. The rise has sparked health officials to urge eveyone to ensure they are immunised against the potentially deadly infection. Data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed 334 confirmed cases of measles to the end of April in England and Wales – compared with 374 in all of last year. London was the worst affected area, with 104 cases, while the North East of England and Wales fared best with no cases reported.” Read more.

Categories: Pestilence

Thailand: Over 320 People Killed in Floods, Gov’t Says It Will Be Impossible to Protect Bangkok

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“The Thai government says it will be impossible to protect all of the capital from flooding because of a build-up of water to the north.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said sluice gates would be opened to allow a controlled release of water through parts of Bangkok.

Describing the flooding as a ‘national crisis’, she said officials were doing all they could to solve the problem.

Over 320 people have died in the floods across the country since July.

Central Bangkok is protected by flood barriers which have been reinforced by troops in recent days.

But the run-off from severe flooding in central parts of the country has built up to the north of the capital, and several northern suburbs are already under water.

‘Every direction’

On Wednesday, officials urged residents in seven Bangkok districts to move their possessions to higher ground in preparation for possible flooding.

Ms Yingluck said that every way of slowing the water entering the city had been tried.

‘We cannot block the water forever,’ she said. ‘We need areas that water can be drained through so water can flow out to the sea.'” Read more.

Categories: Natural Disasters

Sweden: Chancellor of ‘Justice’ Says That Imam’s On-Air Call for All Converts From Islam To Be Killed Was ‘Not Hate Speech’

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“It was not hate speech when Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR) featured a programme in which a Somali imam called for all converts from Islam to be killed, the Swedish Chancellor of Justice (Justitiekanslern, JK) has ruled.

The motivation for the decision not to open up an investigation into the matter was that the presenter protested against what the imam said immediately following the controversial statement.

The decision said that ”the programme features opinions that could be taken as a threat aginst those who have converted from Islam”.

However, due to the responses from the presenter, the Chancellor has decided not to investigate the matter further.

The programme in question was a panel discussion and was broadcast live by SR International’s Somali service.

The initial police report was filed by Erik Johansson, at the Swedish Evangelical Mission (Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelsen – EFS), after friends told him of the imam’s words underlining every Muslim’s responsibility to kill anyone who leaves Islam.

‘I received a call from my Somali friends who had heard the programme. I don’t speak the language myself and when they explained to me, I concluded that this wasn’t a message which should be on an SR channel,’ Erik Johansson told The Local at the time.

Johansson also contacted Sveriges Radio in order to register his dismay that the item was left available on their website for more than two weeks. Soon after his telephone call the programme was removed from the website.” Read more.

Flashback: Sweden: Imam Calls to Kill Converts on Radio Sweden, ‘It is the Duty of Every Muslim to Kill Those Who Leave Islam’ – ““‘It is the duty of every Muslim to kill those who leave Islam.’ This statement was made on Radio Sweden recently when an Imam from Rinkeby (Stockholm) was allowed to speak about how people should act against Somalis who convert to Christianity. The program with the death threats against converts was broadcast by the Somali department of Radio Sweden and was a follow-up on a previous segment about a group of Christian Somalis who came to Rinkeby Square to evangelize.” Read more.

California: Egyptian Christians in L.A. Demonstrate Against Religious Persecution

10/20/2011 2 comments

By Denise A Justin – “More than 2,000 Egyptian Christians (Coptic) gathered Oct. 16 in front of the Federal Building on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles to demand equality for Christians in Egypt and an end to the Egyptian military government’s persecution, including the injuring and killing of Christians and burning of churches.

Los Angeles was just one of the cities which joined with worldwide demonstrations in October to alert the public of the intolerable treatment of Christians, which make up about 15 percent of the Egyptian population.

I spoke with one of the organizers of the tearful demonstration in Los Angeles, which brought together Egyptian Christians, called Coptics, from all over Southern California to express their concern and sorrow for the violence in their homeland and their fears for their loved ones. Out of concern for the safety of his family members in Egypt, I will identify him only as Eskander.

Now a dual citizen of America and Egypt, he told me that during a recent visit to his homeland, he saw Christians mourning helplessly in front of government offices and the Christian cathedral and begging for help in gaining the return of their daughter, believed kidnapped by Muslim Extremists for conversion to Islam. Few escape to return and tell their story of rape, violence and intimidation, he said sadly.” Read more.

Egypt: Islamists Boast, ‘We Won’t Leave Any Christians in This Country’ – “A group of Muslims burnt down part of a church Friday – the Islamic Sabbath – in the village of Marinab, according to a report published in the daily Al Masry Al Youm. The village, situated close to the town of Edfu in the Aswan Governorate, is located some 800 kilometers south of Cairo. Security sources said Muslims rampaged through the village in what appeared to be a pogrom, clashing with the Christian residents and destroying their shops.” Read more.

Somalia: Islamic Extremists Vowing to Rid Country of Christianity Behead 17-Year-Old Christian

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“NAIROBI, Kenya, October 19 (CDN) — Militants from the Islamic extremist al Shabaab beheaded a 17-year-old Somali Christian near Mogadishu last month, a journalist in the Somali capital told Compass.

The militants, who have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity, killed Guled Jama Muktar on Sept. 25 in his home near Deynile, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mogadishu. The Islamic extremist group had been monitoring his family since the Christians arrived in Somalia from Kenya in 2008, said the source in Mogadishu, who requested anonymity.

The Islamic militants, who are fighting the transitional government for control of the country, knew from their observations of the family that they were Christians, the source said.

‘I personally know this family as Christians who used to have secret Bible meetings in their house,’ he said.

Based on talks with the boy’s parents and their neighbors, the source said al Shabaab members arrived at Muktar’s home at 6 a.m., when his parents, whose names are withheld for security reasons, were already at work at their retail space at the Hamarweyne market on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

The extremists found Muktar as he was preparing to go to school, he said.

‘The neighbors heard screaming coming from the house, and then it immediately stopped,’ the source said. ‘After awhile, they saw a white car leaving the homestead.'” Read more.

Flashback: 4 Christian Orphanage Workers Beheaded in Somalia – “Somali Islamic extremists beheaded four Christians recently after kidnapping them last month, according to eyewitness accounts reported to International Christian Concern (ICC). Members of the Islamic extremist organization Al-Shabaab had kidnapped Fatima Sultan, Ali Ma’ow, Sheik Mohammed Abdi, and Maaddey Diil on July 27 from their coastal town of Merca, 56 miles from Mogadishu, and eventually beheaded the Christians after they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ.” Read more.

Flashback: Somali Rebels ‘Behead Spies And Christians’ – “Somalia’s hard-line Islamist rebels beheaded seven people for being ‘Christians’ and ‘spies’, witnesses have said. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which controls large tracts of south Somalia and parts of the capital Mogadishu, has carried out similar executions before. But the beheadings in the south central town of Baidoa were believed to be the largest number of killings at one time, Somalis said. ‘Al Shabaab told us that they were beheaded for reasons they described as being Christian followers and spies’…” Read more.

Flashback: Christian Aid Workers in Somalia Beheaded for Converting from Islam – “Muslim extremists from the al Shabab group fighting the transitional government on Sept. 23 sliced the head off of Mansuur Mohammed, 25, a World Food Program (WFP) worker, before horrified onlookers of Manyafulka village, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Baidoa. The militants had intercepted Mohammed and a WFP driver, who managed to escape, earlier in the morning. Sources close to Mohammed’s family said he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2005.” Read more.

Series of At Least 38 Earthquakes Strike Big Island of Hawaii

10/20/2011 Leave a comment

“(AP) WAIMEA, Hawaii — A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck the north part of the Big Island on Wednesday, and the shaking was followed by a series of smaller temblors.

The first quake struck 13 miles southeast of Waimea at about 2 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered at a depth of 11.7 miles. About two dozen smaller quakes ranging in magnitude from 1.7 to 3.6 followed within two hours.

No tsunami alert was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage. Residents across the island reported feeling light to moderate shaking.

‘When you feel a four-and-a-half at close range, it feels like a truck crashed into a building,’ said Weston Thelen, seismic network manager for Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The smaller quakes were normal sizes for an aftershock sequence, he said, adding that they can continue at low levels for several days.

The vast island — spread across more than 4,000-square miles — was formed by several volcanoes. The latest earthquakes caused no detectable changes in the continuing eruption of Kilauea volcano, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.” Read more.

Earthquake Swarm at Mauna Kea in Hawaii – “Since early yesterday (Hawaii time), the volcano has experienced at least 38 earthquakes, some as large at M4.5, all centered NW of the main summit of Mauna Kea, all at depths between 14-19 km (see below), all below the crust under the Big Island. This is what a suspicious swarm looks like, where we have a strong focus of seismicity at depth under an active volcano – the question now is how persistent will this swarm be.” Read more.