Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks On Saturday Morning

By MARK DUNPHY – “The Orionid meteor shower will peak on Saturday morning, 22 October.

The Orionid meteors are made up of debris from a cloud of dust left behind by Halley’s Comet. As Earth passes through this cloud each year, some of the debris falls into Earth’s atmosphere where it heats up and glows brightly, forming the familiar meteors or ‘shooting stars’.

Forecasters expect more than 15 meteors per hour to fly across the sky on Saturday morning when the shower peaks.

The Orionids will appear to come from a source in the eastern sky beside a constellation called Orion, which can be found by looking for the well-known Orion’s Belt, a group of three bright stars in a line.

This year, the Moon and Mars are part of the show. They’ll form two vertices of a celestial triangle in the eastern sky on Saturday morning while the shower is most active; Regulus is the third vertex. Blue Regulus and red Mars are both approximately of 1st magnitude, so they are easy to see alongside the 35% crescent Moon. Many Orionids will be diving through the triangle in the hours before dawn.

‘We’re hoping for a great show for this year’s Orionid meteor shower tonight,’ said David Moore, Chairman of Astronomy Ireland. ‘The Moon doesn’t rise until long after midnight so with the darker skies we should be able to see more meteors than usual!'” Read more.

Canada: Muslim Family in Montreal Killed Their Three Teenage Daughters Because They Had Boyfriends, ‘May the Devil …(expletive) on Their Graves’

Matthew 24:12, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

Update: Guilty! …

“KINGSTON, Ont. – A Montreal family couldn’t bear the ‘treachery’ of their three teenaged daughters having boyfriends, so they drowned them and the father’s first wife, pushing a car into a canal and staging the scene to look like an implausible accident, court heard Thursday.

Days after the bodies were found the father was recorded saying, ‘There is nothing more valuable than our honour.’

Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 41, her husband Mohammad Shafia, 58, and their son, Hamed Mohammad Shafia, 20, are each charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Three teenage Shafia sisters, Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, along with Shafia’s first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 50, were found dead inside a submerged black Nissan Sentra discovered June 30, 2009 in the Rideau Canal. The family had stopped in Kingston on their way home from a trip to Niagara Falls.

An expert will be called to testify about honour killings and how in extreme cases, killing can be seen in some cultures as a way to restore honour to a family, the Crown attorney said Thursday at the outset of the trial. Disobedience by a female member of the family can cause shame and taint family honour, she said.

Laurie Lacelle quoted police wiretaps made surreptitiously in the days after the deaths that show the family’s concern for their honour.

‘Even if they hoist me up onto the gallows, nothing is more dear to me than my honour,’ Shafia said. ‘Let’s leave our destiny to God, and may God never make me, you or your mother honourless… There is nothing more valuable than our honour.’

When police began to suspect the three were involved in the deaths, they told the family they were examining a camera near the scene for clues, in the hopes this would prompt discussion among the Shafias in their car, which the police had bugged. They scoffed and immediately suspected police were bluffing.

‘If they had had any proof they would have come for us a long time ago,’ Shafia said.

Another wiretap recorded Shafia and Yahya talking about their daughters 20 days after they died.

‘If we remain alive… we have no tension thinking our daughter is in the arms of this or that boy, this or that man,’ Shafia said on a wiretap. ‘God’s curse on them for generations. May the devil …(expletive) on their graves. Is that what a daughter should be? Would a daughter be such a whore?'” Read more.

Nasrallah: Next War with Israel Will Start in Tel Aviv, Says Hezbollah Has ‘Many Surprises’ That Will Change the Face of the Region in a Future War

Unbeknownst to Israel at this time, they too will have a surprise that will literally change the face of the region in a coming future war.  And He is called Yeshua Ha-Mashiach:

Joel 3:4,11-12, “… what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head… Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations.”

Isaiah 17:1, “The burden against Damascus. ‘Behold, Damascus will cease from [being] a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.'”

By Haaretz – “The next war with Israel will start in Tel Aviv, not on the northern border, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned on Friday, the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

‘If Israel decided to wage a war against Lebanon, we will not only break the Israeli soldiers’ bones, we will smash them,’ Nasrallah was quoted as saying during a meeting with Hezbollah members.

‘The war would be waged without any red lines, and [Hezbollah] would in return commit to the new equations,’ Nasrallah said.

‘[Hezbollah] has many surprises that will change the face of the region,’ he added.

Nasrallah also discussed recent reports that foreign spies had inflitrated Hezbollah. He said that Hezbollah would be able investigate itself and overcome the spying efforts.” Source.

Flashback: ‘Syria increasing arms shipments to Hezbollah’ – “Damascus is increasing shipments of advanced missiles and other weapons to Hezbollah amid continuing unrest in Syria, The Times of London reported Friday quoting Western intelligence officials. The officials said Syria provided Hezbollah with eight Scud D missiles that have a range of 700 kilometers. The missiles ‘are accurate to within tens of meters and bring all of Israel, Jordan and large parts of Turkey within Hezbollah’s range,’ the officials were quoted by the newspaper as saying.” Read more.

Flashback: Hezbollah may be receiving weapons of mass destruction from Syria – “French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Saturday that Israel has asked Western countries to stop their diplomatic campaign against the Syrian regime for fear that the weapons of mass destruction of the Syrian regime will fall in the hands of Hezbollah and Hamas. The newspaper said the chief of military intelligence in the Israeli army, Major-General Aviv Kochavi has relayed the Israeli position during his visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York a few weeks ago. According to a French diplomat Kochavi warned that the Syrian arsenal of weapons will be directed at Israel if the regime of Bashar al-Assad falls.” Read more.

First Ebola-Like Virus Native to Europe Discovered

“A team of international researchers has discovered a new Ebola-like virus – Lloviu virus — in bats from northern Spain. Lloviu virus is the first known filovirus native to Europe, they report in a study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens on Octobr 20th.

The study was a collaboration among scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) in Spain, Roche Life Sciences, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Grupo Asturiano para el Estudio y Conservación de los Murciélagos, Consejo Suerior de Investigaciones Científicas and the Complutense University in Spain.

Filoviruses, which include well-known viruses like Ebola and Marburg, are among the deadliest pathogens in humans and non-human primates, and are generally found in East Africa and the Philippines. The findings thus expand the natural geographical distribution of filoviruses.

‘The study is an opportunity to advance the knowledge of filoviruses’ natural cycle,’ said Ana Negredo, one of the first authors of the study.

Scientists at ISCIII analyzed lung, liver, spleen, throat, brain and rectal samples from 34 bats found in caves in Asturias and Cantabria, Spain, following bat die-offs in France, Spain and Portugal in 2002 affecting mainly one bat species.

They screened these samples for a wide range of viruses using the polymerase chain reaction, a molecular technique that allows scientists to amplify genetic material, and. detected a filovirus. Filoviruses include ebolaviruses and marburgviruses, two viruses associated with severe disease in humans and other primates.” Read more.

British Columbia: Red Tide Alert for Waters Around Nanaimo

By Jenn McGarrigle – “Fisheries officials closed areas around Nanaimo for shellfish harvesting due to unacceptable marine biotoxin results Wednesday.

Some areas south of Nanaimo are closed to harvesting all bivalve shellfish (oysters, clams, scallops, mussels and geoducks). Other areas in and around Nanaimo are closed to harvest of all bivalve shellfish except manila clams, littleneck clams, oysters and mussels; or are open except for harvesting of butter clams and scallops.

A complete list of the closures, as well as a map of the sub-areas around Nanaimo, is available at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/psp. This information is also available by calling toll-free 1-866-431-3474.

Red Tide (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning contamination) is caused by microscopic marine organisms that product toxins that can accumulate in bivalve shellfish because these animals filter feed.

Eating shellfish in a red tide zone can result in serious illness or death.” Read more.

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

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.

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

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 Columbia – Watch Video.