Unearthly Sounds of Earth Perplexing Scientists

By Nancy Houser – “Strange unearthly sounds heard around Earth are perplexing scientists, especially when similar sounds are heard at the same time. The sounds are described as ‘running trains,’ while others are described as trumpets or booming sounds. All are unearthly.

YouTube.com is full of videos displaying strange sounds from all over the world, with viewers asking for explanations. They vary in countries and states—with many heard at the same time but in different locations of Earth, such as the sounds in southern Sweden.

‘What’s going on is an interesting challenge, whatever it might be,’ said seismologist David Hill, scientist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey office in Menlo Park, Calif., in the article, ‘Mysterious ‘Booming Sounds’ Heard Around World Perplex Scientists.’ ‘It seems there is quite a range of processes in nature that might be responsible.’

Read more.

France: Hundreds of Muslims Defy Street Prayer Ban in Paris

I’m shocked!  C’est pas vrai! …

NY Post – “PARIS — Hundreds of Muslims defied a French ban on outdoor prayer — which came into force Friday –and took to the streets and sidewalks of Paris to pray.

The French government announced Thursday it was banning praying outside, with officials pledging to enforce the ban from Friday.

But 200 Muslims ignored the ban and prayed on the streets in the neighborhood of La Goutte d’Or, Le Parisien newspaper reported.

French interior minister Claude Gueant said he had nothing against Islam but wanted it out of the public eye because France was a secular state.

He added, ‘Street prayers must stop because they hurt the feelings of many of our compatriots who are shocked by the occupation of the public space for a religious practice.’

Although officials would persuade people to pray in mosques, Muslims who continued to pray in the street would be arrested, Gueant warned.

The ban angered French Muslim leaders who said Muslims only prayed outdoors because of a lack of space in mosques in France.” Read more.

Au Revoir: Islam Set to Become Dominant Religion in France – “New research suggests there are now more practising Muslims in France than practising Catholics. While 64 percent of French people describe themselves as Roman Catholic, only 2.9 percent of the population actually practice the Catholic faith. That compares to 3.8 percent of the population who practice the Muslim faith. The research was carried out by the French Institute of Public Opinion on behalf of the Catholic newspaper La Croix. More worrying for Islamic authorities in France is the finding that only 41 percent of the country’s 6 million Muslims actually describe themselves as ‘practising,’ although 75 percent are happy to label themselves ‘believers.’” Read more.

Saudi Arabia: ‘Moderate’ Anti-Assad Sheikh Declares that Christians Should Be ‘Torn Apart, Chopped Up and Fed to the Dogs’

“(ANSAmed) – ROME, SEPTEMBER 16 – A Syrian sheikh who has been exiled to Saudi Arabia and has become one of the voices of the uprising against Assad, urges his followers, in television sermons that have been broadcast in Syria as well, to ‘tear apart, chop up and feed’ the meat of all supporters of the current regime ‘to the dogs,’ including all Christians. The fundamentalist turn part of the Syrian opposition is taking is denounced on the website Terrasanta.net, of the Franciscan Custody.

Many Syrian Christians, the website reads, are terrorised; in some cities, like Homs, they are even afraid to leave their houses. Some churches have already been burned down. These appeals to hate were made in this context by sheikh Adnan al Aroor, who is described in a profile of television network Al Arabia as a ‘moderate Sunni’, a ‘symbolic figure’ for the anti-Assad activists, a man who invites people to ‘peaceful and non-violent’ rebellion. The sheikh broadcasts on the Islamic satellite channel al Safa, which has its headquarters in Saudi Arabia. The channel is very popular in Syria. In one of the sheik’s sermons that have been examined by the editorial staff of ‘Terrasanta’, al Aroor explains that Syrians can be divided into three groups: ‘the first includes people who are for the revolution and against Assad. When the President falls, the winners will look with favour on this group. The second group consists of people who are not for nor against the revolution. They can expect no privileges from the new regime. The third group opposes the revolution and backs Assad. The meat of these people – in the words of Al Aroor – will be ‘torn apart, chopped up and fed to the dogs.’ This is an explicit threat to Christians, who have always been considered to be protected by the current regime.'” Read more.

Maldives: New Law Will Imprison or Banish Anyone Who Preaches Any Religion Other Than Islam

“MALE, September 17 (HNS) – Maldives Criminalizes Preaching Any Religion But Islam

President’s Office has gazetted the controversial Religious Unity Regulation, declaring it an offence to preach a religion except Islam in the Maldives.

The 12-clause regulation makes it mandatory for preachers of Islam, both locals and foreigners, to have a first degree in a field of Islamic education from a ministry-approved college, university or centre.

A list of 36 worldwide institutes recognized by the ministry has been published in the gazette. The Maldives National University and local colleges and institutes are not included in the list.

The Islamic ministry is authorized under the regulation to license experienced persons who do not possess the educational qualification required.

The regulation, which instructs scholars to consider the social harmony, states practices that should be avoided in preaching Islam in the Maldives, including the practice of making comments in contradiction with prophetic traditions and majority view of the scholars.

The regulation does not allow preventing healthcare and education in the name of religion. It further instructs preachers to avoid giving sermons that support gender discrimination, racism or any other form of discrimination.

‘In explaining an issue that has been disputed by scholars, the different views expressed by scholars should be explained. If the scholar favors a certain point of view, evidence to support his view should be made clear,’ the regulation reads.

The regulation also prohibits comments of hatred towards people of other religions, spreading a religion other than Islam and using an object that resembles a sign of a religion other than Islam.

A person who violates the regulation will be sentenced to 2-5 years in prison, banishment or house arrest.” Read more.

Somalia: Islamists Again Behead Another for Leaving Islam and Converting to Christianity

Revelation 6:9-10, “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?'”

Mansuur Mohammed, 25, Beheaded by Al Shabab in 2008 After Leaving Islam for Christianity

“MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)–- Hungry minority Christians in Somalia faced another struggle Sunday, September 18, after suspected Islamic militants beheaded a Christian convert and foreign aid workers were banned from reaching a dying population.

Somali Christians and human rights activists confirmed that the body of Juma Nuradin Kamil, a kidnapped Christian who converted from Islam, was found decapitated near the southern town of Hudur on September 2.

He was apparently killed after three suspected members of the Islamic group al-Shabab pushed him into a car, witnesses said.

‘Islamic radicals kidnapped a Christian brother and then beheaded him. His decapitated body was discovered’ by locals on a street, explained Jonathan Racho, the regional manager for Africa of advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC).

His body was reportedly buried in secret after it lay two days in the open aid as locals feared Islamic reprisals.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from al-Shabab, but Christians said the beheading bore the hallmarks of the al-Qaida linked group.

Al-Shabab seeks to impose a strict version of seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law, and made clear it wants to rid Somalia of ‘apostates’. ‘Members of the Islamic radical group al-Shabaab have made their intentions very clear that they want to get rid of Christians in Somalia,’ Racho said.” Read more.

Flashback: Somalia: Islamic Militants Behead 11 Civilians in Mogadishu, ‘We Wake Up With Beheaded Bodies on the Streets Every Day’ – “Somali Islamist rebels have beheaded at least 11 civilians in the capital in the past two weeks, a campaign of terror that residents said Friday is designed to show the insurgency can still act in Mogadishu after withdrawing from their bases there earlier this month. ‘We wake up with beheaded bodies on the streets every day,’ said Abdinur Marwan, who lives in a district of Mogadishu called Hewila.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslims Behead Four Ex-Muslim Christian Orphanage Workers

UK: Six Muslim Men Arrested in Birmingham During Counter-Terrorism Raids for Planning a ‘Mass-Casualty Attack’

By Vikram Dodd and Richard Norton-Taylor – “Counter-terrorism officers have arrested six men, with the authorities fearing a mass-casualty attack on the British mainland was at an ‘advanced stage’ of planning, the Guardian has learned.

The arrests were made in Birmingham, with six young men arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, with a 22-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of failing to disclose information.

Police say the alleged plot, which they believe to be al-Qaida inspired, was thwarted after counter-terrorism officials received or developed intelligence about the men.

The arrests took place from 11.30am on Sunday, with the last suspect detained at around 1am on Monday morning. The raids took place in several deprived areas of the city that have sizeable Muslim populations.

The Liberal Democrat conference, which is taking place in Birmingham, was not a target.

West Midlands police said they had led a ‘major counter-terrorism operation’ which was intelligence-led. The operation involved the domestic security service, MI5, with officers from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command supporting the Birmingham-based force.

The terrorist threat level for the UK remained at ‘substantial’ after the arrests. It was lowered from the higher level of ‘severe’ in July.

The series of arrests, described as ‘significant’, suggest the intelligence surrounding them is sufficient to meet the standards required for court evidence.

Whitehall sources described it as a ‘major intelligence-led operation’ and added that the latest arrests showed that the threat from extremist Islamist ideology had not evaporated despite the deaths of Bin Laden and other prominent al-Qaida individuals in recent US drone strikes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.” Read more.

Welcome to a New, Free Libya: Rebels Continue to Round Up, Rape and Imprison Blacks, Force Them to Chant ‘Allah Akbar’

NATO, is this the liberated Libya you fought to build up? …

BBC – “Hundreds of African migrant workers in Libya have been imprisoned by fighters allied to the new interim authorities, accused of being mercenaries for Col Muammar Gaddafi, and there are claims that homes have been looted, and women and girls beaten and raped, as the BBC’s Ian Pannell reports.

It was a visit the Nigerian family had been dreading.

They had been hiding in their tiny slum home in a Tripoli suburb since Col Gaddafi had been swept from power, fearing the knock at the door. Earlier this month 20 rebel fighters came, demanding to be let in, shouting ‘murtazaka’.

It is the word every black African in Libya knows too well. Murtazaka is Arabic for ‘mercenary’, the armed men allegedly employed by the former regime to carry out some of the worst excesses of the conflict.

The fighters forced their way into the Nigerian family’s home. They beat the couple living there. They stole their possessions and money, abducted the father of the house and turned on his 16-year-old daughter. She told us what happened:

‘A group of armed men came to our house. They started knocking, they came in saying ‘murtazaka’. They locked my mother inside a toilet. Six of them raped me. They took our belongings and money. My father tried to stop them but they hit him and carried him away.’

That was nearly three weeks ago and she has not seen or heard of her father since.” Read more.

Obama-backed rebels torture, lynch, even behead Libyan blacks – “There are persistent reports that U.S.-backed Libyan rebels are killing black Libyans in towns and villages near Tripoli, but the Obama administration and many members of the Congressional Black Caucus remain relatively mute about what human rights groups and eye-witnesses call war crimes and genocide, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. The rebels committing the slaughter also have the backing of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, without which they would not have ousted the government of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who remains in hiding amid reports that he is preparing a counter-insurgency campaign against the loosely controlled rebels.” Read more.

Multiple Deaths Reported After 5.8 Earthquake Strikes Guatamala

Richter Magnitude 5.8 – GUATEMALA
Monday, September 19, 2011 at 12:34:00 PM
14.332°N, 90.142°W
Depth: 39.4 km (24.5 miles)

“Three people have been killed following a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Guatemala on Monday, according to local firefighters. Ana Staackman, who lives in Guatemala City, Guatemala, said she felt a strong shaking in her office building during the quake. Staackman said she is used to the earthquakes since they happen every other week but this one lasted longer and felt stronger than usual.” Read more.

Indonesia: Farmers Flee as World’s Deadliest Volcano Rumbles

By NASRULLAH ROA – “MOUNT TAMBORA, Indonesia — Bold farmers in Indonesia routinely ignore orders to evacuate the slopes of live volcanoes, but those living on Tambora took no chances when history’s deadliest mountain rumbled ominously this month.

Villagers like Hasanuddin Sanusi have heard since they were young how the mountain they call home once blew apart in the largest eruption ever recorded – an 1815 event widely forgotten outside their region – killing 90,000 people and blackening skies on the other side of the globe.

So, the 45-year-old farmer didn’t wait to hear what experts had to say when Mount Tambora started being rocked by a steady stream of quakes. He grabbed his wife and four young children, packed his belongings and raced down its quivering slopes.

‘It was like a horror story, growing up,’ said Hasanuddin, who joined hundreds of others in refusing to return to their mountainside villages for several days despite assurances they were safe.

‘A dragon sleeping inside the crater, that’s what we thought. If we made him angry – were disrespectful to nature, say – he’d wake up spitting flames, destroying all of mankind.’

…People here are jittery because of the mountain’s history – and they’re not used to feeling the earth move so violently beneath their feet. Aside from a few minor bursts in steam in the 1960s, the mountain has been quiet for much of the last 200 years.

Gede Suantika of the government’s Center for Volcanology said activity first picked up in April, with the volcanic quakes jumping from less than five a month to more than 200.

‘It also started spewing ash and smoke into the air, sometimes as high as 1,400 meters (4,600 feet),’ he said. ‘That’s something I’ve never seen it do before.'” Read more.

Pakistan: Flooding Affects Millions, Kills 347+, 31000 Villages Destroyed, Widespread Crop and Livestock Losses, 6000+ Stricken with Dengue Fever

“KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept. 19 (UPI) — Weeks of flooding in southern Pakistan killed at least 347 people and injured more than 600, the national disaster authority said Monday.

The region, with Sindh Province being the worst hit, has been devastated by massive flooding unleashed by torrential monsoon rains since early August.

Millions of people have been affected by the floods. CNN reported about 500,000 are sheltered in refugee camps.

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani canceled his trip to New York for the U.N. General Assembly session so he could supervise flood relief work, his spokesman said Friday.

In Sindh, water was standing anywhere from ankle-high to above the knees on empty lands where homes once stood, CNN reported.

United Nations agencies are distributing food and supplies to the affected areas.

The World Food Program estimates that 73 percent of the food crops and 36 percent of the livestock have been lost in the flooded areas.” Read more.

More than 6,000 struck with dengue fever in Pakistan – “Dengue fever has killed 25 people and affected more than 6,000 over the past two months in Lahore, Pakistan, a health department spokesman said Monday. In total, 6,400 cases of dengue fever have been documented, said Ikhlaq Ahmed, spokesman for the health department of Punjab province. Of those, 6,000 are in Lahore, a city of more than 6 million people known as Pakistan’s cultural capital. The 25 who died are all from Lahore, in eastern Pakistan. An average of 300 new cases of the virus-based disease, spread by mosquitoes, are being reported in the city daily.” Read more.

Australia: Freaked Out Driver Tail-Gated by UFO, Reported Sightings Double This Summer

By DAMIEN McCARTNEY – “A TERRITORY man was shaken after an encounter with a UFO south of Tennant Creek.

The man, who wished to be identified only as Aiden, was an hour south of Tennant Creek on his way to Melbourne when he noticed a bright light following him closely, the Katherine Times reported.

Aiden said he had left Tennant Creek at about 3.30am.

‘About an hour after I had set off I looked in my side mirror and noticed a light behind me,’ he said.

He thought nothing of it, believing it was another car – but the light got brighter.

‘I thought ‘geez, they must be driving fast’ as I was doing 120km/h,’ he said.

‘When I looked again after a few minutes the light was really bright but it was in the bloody sky.'” Read more.

UFO sightings spiked this summer – “According to an organization that tracks UFO reports, this summer has been an especially busy period for UFO sightings. The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) noted that sightings increased over the past six weeks, with some states more than doubling their normal numbers. Are we on the cusp of an alien invasion? Or maybe people just have more time on their hands to spot — and report — strange things in the sky? ‘It’s pretty exciting,’ said Clifford Clift, the international director of MUFON. ‘When you average 500 a month [nationwide] and go to 1,013 in one month, that’s an interesting spike in sighting reports.'” Read more.