A ‘Sudden Occurance’: Authorities Investigate Thousands Of Fish Deaths In Ohatchee, Alabama

By Dixon Hayes, WBRC – “OHATCHEE, AL (WBRC) – Investigators are trying to find out what caused a massive fish kill below Neely Henry Dam in Ohatchee.

The fish were discovered Monday morning by an Alabama Power worker reporting to his shift at the dam. He saw a few dead fish before dawn, then in daylight saw many more.

The state Department of Conservation’s Wildlife Division joined officials with ADEM and Alabama Power Monday morning to take fish, temperature and water samples. They estimate some 13,000 fish were killed in a very short period of time either late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Most of the fish were smaller fish like shad and drum, but some larger game fish, including crappie, catfish, and bass, also started washing up.

Dan Catchings, who works with the Wildlife Division’s Eastaboga office, says it wasn’t an oxygen problem because the fish had plenty of oxygen. He also doesn’t believe it was bacteria or parasites, because the fish would’ve died more gradually if that were the case.

‘A bacteria kill, or disease kill, will begin at low numbers and will accumulate over a period of days, the numbers will increase. But this has been a real sudden occurance,’ Catchings told Fox6 News

‘There’s apparently something toxic in the water that’s working on the fish,’ Catchings added. ‘Something affected them very quickly and very acutely.'” Read more.

China: Red Tide Kills 55 Million Abalone Off The Coast Of Fujian Province

Xinhua – “Eight red tides have occurred this year off the coast of east China’s Fujian province, and the algal blooms have killed millions of abalone, according to local authorities.

A 278-square-km red tide covering a sea area of Pingtan county in Fujian was threatening local abalone farms, according to the Ocean and Fisheries Department of Pingtan County.

The department said that the algal bloom had suffocated 55 million abalone since Saturday, and inflicted direct economic losses of more than 220 million yuan (35 million U.S. dollars).

‘I will lose over 2 million yuan,’ said Zhuo Ronglan, a Pingtan abalone farmer.

Red tide can devastate fishery and aquaculture industries as the algae removes oxygen from the water, suffocating sea creatures.

Red tide might be caused by seawater pollution, changing water temperatures, lingering rains and over fishing, according to the department’s website.

Abalone is considered a delicacy for many and Fujian exports thousands of tonnes of it to Japan, the Republic of Korea as well as China’s Hong Kong and Taiwan each year.” Source – People’s Daily Online.

Iranian Official: Fallout From Western Military Action In Syria Will ‘Bury The Zionist Regime’

If the Iranians truly believed that, you’d think they would be itching for the West to intervene militarily in Syria. Considering the rhetoric coming out of Iran lately, they’d be willing to give their left leg (along with the right leg, both arms and a charred torso) to inflict a deep incision into the “cancerous tumor” … 

By Avi Issacharoff – “A western military intervention in war-torn Syria will result in a regional upheaval that would undoubtedly engulf Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday, following a massacre in the Syrian city of Houla, which garnered severe criticism in the West.

Russia said on Wednesday that the UN Security Council should not consider new measures to resolve the crisis in Syria at this point and signaled it would block any effort to authorize military intervention, the Interfax news agency reported.

The warnings came after the French President Francois Hollande said military intervention was not ruled out provided it was backed by the Security Council, and Germany said it would push for ‘new engagement’ by the council on Syria.

Referring to the possibility of military action being taken in order to depose the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani warned of the consequences of such a move.

‘Possibly, U.S. military officials are misunderstanding regional issues because Syria’s specifications are no way similar to those of Libya,’ Larijani, an aide of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said.

In what seemed to be an explicit threat against the consequences military action could have on Israel, Larijani said that violence form a Syrian version of Benghazi ‘will spread into Palestine and the ashes of such flame will definitely bury the Zionist regime.'” Read more.

Flashback: Top Syrian Cleric Warns West: We Have Suicide Bombers Who Are ‘Already In Your Countries’ – “Syria’s top Sunni Muslim cleric has warned Western countries against military intervention, threatening to retaliate with suicide bombings in the United States and Europe if his country comes under attack. Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun gave a speech and told the U.S. and Europe that ‘we will prepare suicide bombers who are already in your countries if you bomb Syria or Lebanon.’… Hassoun’s comments follow another warning by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who threatened ‘tough measures’ against any country that recognizes the newly formed opposition Syrian National Council.” Read more.

‘Conquest Is Coming’: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate in Egypt Says Christians Must Convert To Islam, Pay ‘Jizya’, Or Leave

And if they refuse? …

By Raymond Ibrahim – “According to the popular Egyptian website, El Bashayer, Muhammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate, just declared that he will ‘achieve the Islamic conquest (fath) of Egypt for the second time, and make all Christians convert to Islam, or else pay the jizya,’ the additional Islamic tax, or financial tribute, required of non-Muslims, or financial tribute.

In a brief report written by Samuel al-Ashay and published by El Bashayer on May 27, Morsi allegedly made these comments while speaking with a journalist at the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, adding ‘We will not allow Ahmed Shafiq [his contending presidential candidate] or anyone else to impede our second Islamic conquest of Egypt.’

After his interviewer pointed out that the first Muslim conquest of Egypt was ‘carried out at the hands of Amr bin al-As [in 641],’ he asked Morsi, ‘Who will the second Islamic conqueror be?’ Morsi, replied, ‘The second Muslim conqueror will be Muhammad Morsi,’ referring to himself, ‘and history will record it.’

When asked what he thought about many Christian Copts coming out to vote for his secular opponent, Ahmed Shafiq, Morsi reportedly said, ‘They need to know that conquest is coming, and Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizya or emigrate.’

If this interview is accurate, certainly Morsi would not be the first political Islamist in Egypt to say he wants to see the nation’s Christians subjugated and made to pay jizya (see here for more examples).

However, considering that the English language media are currently reporting that Morsi is trying to woo Egypt’s Christians and women to win more votes, it is difficult to imagine that he actually made those comments: one does not doubt that he favors the idea of a ‘second Islamic conquest’ and the subjugation of Christians; one doubts that he would be so foolish as to reveal his mind now, publicly, and thereby jeopardize his chances of winning the presidency.

Then again, his remarks are reported in the context of a private meeting at the headquarters of the Brotherhood’s political party. Perhaps Morsi thought he was speaking to a fellow Islamist who would not expose him? Perhaps he was frustrated at having to win Copts over and was ‘venting’? Stay tuned.” Source – Gatestone Institute.

Earth Experiences Back-to-Back Asteroid Close Encounters

By Adam Mann, Wired Science – “Two small asteroids buzzed by Earth, zooming well within the moon’s orbit, over the last 48 hours. Neither posed any danger, but the events were eagerly captured by amateur astronomers, and the second encounter was a record-setter.

The first asteroid, designated 2012 KP24, was first detected last week and passed within 32,000 miles of Earth on May 28. It is less than 70 feet across, approximately the size of a blue whale.

The second asteroid, named 2012 KT42, zipped by at midnight PDT on May 29, coming within 8,950 miles of Earth. That’s closer than the orbit of geosynchronous satellites, making the KT42 encounter one of the top 20 closest approaches ever recorded. The asteroid was discovered only a day before its flyby, but is a puny 15 feet across, not much bigger than a minivan.

To get a sense of how close each asteroid came, the moon orbits at a distance of 240,000 miles from Earth. Most near-Earth objects pass much farther away than lunar orbit.

Both NASA and amateur astronomers scan the skies for potentially dangerous asteroids. These two were detected so late because their small size made them hard to see. Officials with the Asteroid Watch program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted the passage of each rock, noting that each was at an intimate but safe distance.” Read more.

‘The Worst Crisis We Have Ever Lived Through’: Spain Faces ‘Total Emergency’ As Global Markets Tumble

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph – ““We’re in a situation of total emergency, the worst crisis we have ever lived through” said ex-premier Felipe Gonzalez, the country’s elder statesman.

The warning came as the yields on Spanish 10-year bonds spiked to 6.7pc, pushing the ‘risk premium’ over German Bunds to a post-euro high of 540 basis points. The IBEX index of stocks in Madrid fell 2.6pc, the lowest since the dotcom bust in 2003.

Chaos over the €23.5bn rescue of crippled lender Bankia has led to the abrupt resignation of central bank governor Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, who testified to the senate that he had been muzzled to avoid enflaming events as confidence in the country drains away.

Markets are on tenterhooks as Spanish yields test levels that forced the European Central Bank to respond last November with its €1 trillion liquidity blitz. ‘Nobody is short Spanish debt right now because they are expecting ECB intervention,’ said Andrew Roberts, credit chief at RBS. ‘If it doesn’t come — if we take out 6.8pc — we’re going to see a hyberbolic sell-off,’ he said.

Italy felt the full brunt of contagion from Spain on Wednesday, with 10-year yileds back near 6pc. The euro fell to a 2-year low of $1.239 against the dollar. Crude oil and metal prices plummeted and save-haven flight pushed rates on 2-year German debt to zero. Gilt yields fell to 1.64pc, the lowest in history.” Read more.

World markets tumble back into the red as fears grow Spain will need an EU bailout – “World markets tumbled back into the red today as fears grew Spain will need an EU bailout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1 per cent on doubts the nation will be able to afford to recapitalise its fourth biggest lender Bankia. There are also increasing worries that other Spanish banks will also need bailing out. The FTSE 100 Index was nearly 2 per cent or 96.8 points lower at 5295.3 as Spain saw the yield on its 10-year bonds rise to a record euro-era high of 6.68 per cent at one stage. This is close to the 7 per cent level that pushed Greece, Ireland and Portugal into taking a bailout in a sign that investors had little faith in the country’s ability to deal with its debts. Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Index, said: ‘Investor confidence wanes by the day, and it could only be a matter of time before the Spanish government is forced to ask for financial aid.'” Read more.

Study: Global Warming Sceptics Are Better Informed About Science Than Global Warming Advocates

By Rob Waugh – “Climate change sceptics are often derided as uninformed – but a new study proves that the opposite is the case.

Sceptical individuals are slightly MORE science literate than ‘believers’ in climate change.

The difference isn’t huge, according to a survey of 1500 U.S. adults.

57% of sceptics are ‘science literate’ according to tests asking basic science and maths questions, versus 56% of believers.

Dan Kahan, Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School said, ‘Political controversy over climate change cannot be attributed to the public’s limited ability to comprehend science.’ he said.

Researchers measured ‘science literacy’ with test items developed by the National Science Foundation.

The questions were simple questions such as ‘Electrons are smaller than atoms, true or false?’

They also measured their subjects’ ‘numeracy’—that is, their ability to understand quantitative information.

The controversy comes down, in effect, to a conflict over values – and informed individuals are better at fitting the scientific facts, and gaps in our knowledge, to whatever they happen to believe in.” Read more.

Lost photos prove Greenland’s ice was melting FASTER 80 years ago than today – “A stash of 80-year-old photo plates in a Danish basement has proved that Greenland’s ice was melting even faster then that it is now. In the thirties, Greenland’s ice was melting rapidly, then there was a cooling period in the middle part of the twentieth century, and now it is melting again, accelerating in the 2000s. Images of ice shelves from the pre-satellite era are extremely rare, so it’s often difficult to assess the scale and speed of Arctic ice melting today. Researchers at the National Survey and Cadastre of Denmark had been storing the glass plates since explorer Knud Rasmussen’s expedition to the southeast coast of Greenland in the early 1930s. In this week’s online edition of Nature Geoscience, Ohio State University researchers and colleagues in Denmark describe how they analyzed ice loss in the region by comparing the images on the plates to aerial photographs and satellite images taken from World War II to today. Taken together, the imagery shows that glaciers in the region were melting even faster in the 1930s than they are today …” Read more.

West Michigan Puzzled Over Mysterious Booms, ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’

WWMT – “WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – People are buzzing over what could have possibly caused a loud boom and violent shaking last night and this morning throughout West Michigan.

The reports came in from people in Calhoun, Branch and Kalamazoo Counties.

People from all over say they felt and heard it, but Newschannel Three has only heard of one case of actual damage happening during the same time.

John Nieuwenhuis, who lives in Oshtemo, says that he felt and heard the explosion, which shook his entire house.

‘Where the two trees are parallel and something completely scrapped both trees off at the same height and laid them to the west,’ said Nieuwenhuis.

Nieuwenhuis called the fire department but after extensively searching, they couldn’t find the source of an explosion.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this, we cut down trees, we log trees and what could have taken this down I have no idea,’ said Nieuwenhuis.

Newschannel Three tried to search into what might have caused the explosions but, it was a clear night and there was no earthquake activity reported anywhere in the Midwest.

Air Traffic Control in Kalamazoo says no planes were in the area that might have broken the sound barrier.” Source – WWMT.com.

The ‘New AIDS Of The Americas’: Experts Warn Of Deadly Insect-Borne Disease That Can Cause Victims’ Hearts To Explode

By Daily Mail Reporter – “A little-known life-threatening illness caused by blood sucking insects has been labelled the ‘new AIDS of the Americas’ by experts.

The parasitic illness called Chagas Disease has similarities to the early spread of HIV, according to a new study.

Similar to AIDS, Chagas is difficult to detect and it can take years for symptoms to emerge, according to experts writing in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

An estimated 10 million people worldwide are infected with most sufferers in Bolivia, Mexico, Columbia and Central America, as well as approximately 30,000 people in the U.S., reported the New York Times.

The disease – once largely contained to Latin America – has spread into the U.S due to increases in travel and immigration.

Due to the severity of the illness, the amount of people infected and the ability of prevention, Chagas is considered one of the Neglected Parasitic Infections, a group of five parasitic diseases that have been targeted by CDC for public health action.

Chagas commonly affects people in poverty-stricken areas and most U.S. cases are found in immigrants.

If caught early enough, the disease can be prevented with an intense 3-month drug treatment.

However, because of the lengthy incubation period and costly medication, Chagas is often left untreated.

Also known as the American trypanosomiasis, the disease spreads easily either through blood transfusions or, less commonly, from mother to child.

All blood banks in the U.S. and Latin America screen for traces of the disease.

Most blood banks in the U.S began screening for it in 2007.” Read more.

Seattle: Convert To Islam Tried To Run Marines Off Highway

By Mike Carter – “An ex-con with possible ties to the alleged Islamist terrorists has pleaded guilty in state court to charges that he tried to run two Marine recruiters off Interstate 5.

Michael Dale McCright, who was known on the Internet as ‘Mikhail Jihad,’ pleaded guilty to charges of felony harrassment and attempted malicious mischief. A plea agreement reached with the King County Prosecutor’s Office spared him a possible life prison term under the state’s ‘three-strikes’ law. McCright has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for first-degree robbery in 2006, assault in 2005.

When the 28-year-old McCright was arrested, investigators said he had a phone that had been used to call Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif. Abdul-Latif and another man were arrested in an FBI-Seattle police sting in June 2011 after allegedly plotting to kill federal employees and military recruits at the Military Entrance Processing Station on East Marginal Way over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

According to the charges against McCright, two Marine sergeants — one in uniform and the other in civilian clothes — were driving north near Northgate on July 12, 2011, when a small blue car came up behind them.

Marine Staff Sgt. Ryan Picklesimer described the driver as a ‘bearded white male wearing a tightfitting, white knit hat.’ The driver slowed, apparently to look at the government plate on Picklesimer’s car, then came alongside and saw the sergeant in his uniform.

‘Picklesimer reported, ‘His eyes widened and he appeared to become angry,’’ and then swerved at the sergeant’s car, forcing Picklesimer to take evasive action to avoid being hit, the charges allege. The sergeant was able to get the car’s license number, and he gave it to police.

McCright, of Lynnwood, admitted last week in King County Superior Court that he had tried to run the car off the road. The crimes carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Prosecutors say they will seek a 54-month sentence when McCright is sentenced [on] June 22.

Abdul-Latif is being prosecuted in federal court. His trial is set for October.” Source – The Seattle Times.

‘A New Wave Of Persecution’: Former Revolutionary Guard Member Describes The Crackdown On Christians In Iran

Mohabat News – “CBN — According to the Daily Caller, the regime has ordered Iranian intelligence to infiltrate church groups in major Iranian cities.

Agents are identifying pastors and other Christians, targeting them for arrest and torture in prison.

Former member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Reza Kahlili, verified the crackdown. He said Iran’s ayatollahs are frustrated with the large number of Muslims who are now embracing Christianity…

Q: Reza Thanks for joining us. What can you tell us about this latest crackdown? How extensive is it?

A: It’s been an order to the Iranian intelligence apparatus  specifically the guard’s intelligence to monitor the activities of Iranians for converting to Christianity, to suppress them, make arrests, terrify them and finally to torture them. And according to a source within the guard’s intelligence, they have tens of thousands of files for Iranians for converting to Christianity. This is a big concern for the government. They don’t know how to handle it. In one city, just the city of Shiraz with over one million population, according to the source, they have thirty thousand files of Iranians who they have confirmed that they have converted to Christianity. But the source says that tens of thousands more are unknown to the intelligence apparatus.

Q: How is this recent effort different from the ongoing attacks that Christians have faced from the Iranian government over the years?

Well, let me make one thing clear. Before the Islamic revolution, many in Iran, the youth, the elderly, though they did not adhere to the Islamic rules or practice Islam, they respected Islam. But today, that respect is visibly gone and they oppose the religion and what it prescribes. They are very outspoken about it.  People are joining the move to convert to the Christianity.

Q: Give us some examples; can you say specifically what is happening against the Christians there?

A: Well, according to this source, who himself was in the intelligence unit, and he saw and he witnessed some of the tortures being done. What they do they raid homes where teachings are taking place, they arrest them, they are taken and sometimes they beat their wives in front of their eyes to break them down, to force them to come before television and make false confessions. The source says that one of those arrested, a male, after three months in total darkness, and then he was all of a sudden brought to the courtyard, where he immediately lost his eye-sights. So, it is unimaginable what they do with the Christian converts.” Read more.

Flashback: Iranian Authorities Demand Christian Church To Hand Over Names Of All Its Members – “In addition to the increased restrictions against Iranian Christian converts, the Ministry of Intelligence has now ordered the leaders of the central AOG church in Tehran to compile a list of the names and National ID numbers of its members and submit it to the security authorities. According to Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News, reports from Tehran indicate that leaders of the central AOG church of Tehran asked their congregation in Sunday May 6 service to voluntarily present them with a list of their names and National ID numbers so that they submit the list to the officials. This reveals the identity of Christian converts and enables security authorities to record detailed information about the Christians.” Read more.

Nigeria: Islamic Extremists Causing Widespread Alarm, Killing Many More Christians Than What’s Being Reported

Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [Shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sura 48:29, “Mohammed is [Allah’s] apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers …”

Compass Direct News – “JOS, Nigeria, May 29 (CDN) — In Nigeria’s Plateau state, Christian leaders said more Christians have died at the hands of Muslim extremists than the 35 that the military reported thus far in May.

A Compass reporter was among a group of journalists that came under attack from Islamic extremists this month. In three local government areas in Plateau state, armed Fulani herdsmen attacked 15 Christian villages, killing and maiming Christians, destroying homes and leaving more than 1,000 villagers displaced, sources said.

The villages – Jwol, Foron, Tahoss, Bangai, Sopp, Werem, Danjol, Rinyam, Rim, Kak, Gwamrim, Gwom, Fang, Lwa and Riyas – are located in the local government areas of Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Riyom.

Villagers said the attackers were Muslim Fulani herdsmen likely supplied and instigated by Islamic extremist groups. Sources told Compass that Muslim gunmen invaded Rinyam village on May 9 at about 12:30 a.m. and shot seven Christians in their homes, though increasingly assailants are using only machetes and knives to avoid notice by soldiers charged with keeping order.

‘Seven people were shot dead, including two children,’ said Daniel Dem, an area legislator in the Plateau State House of Assembly. ‘Three were severely injured. They are now receiving medical attention at the Vom Christian Hospital.’

In Rim village, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed one Christian, Bulus Dakumbi, and injured two others, now receiving treatment at Vom Christian Hospital.

At Gwarim village, Muslim gunmen killed five Christians: Dinnatu Danbwarang, 48; Simi Joseph, 26; Rose Dalyop, 25; Jafates Samuel, 4; and Christiana Samuel, 7.

At Wereng village near Kuru Station, three members of a Christian family were killed when Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacked the village: Philip Francis Pam, 37; his wife Simi Francis, 28; and their only daughter, who was a few months old. Christian residents told Compass that the Muslim killers entered the family’s bedroom at 10 p.m. as they slept and murdered them.” Read more.

Nigeria extremists cause widespread alarm – “In brutally poor neighborhoods and mansions alike, this city choked by military checkpoints seethes with rumors, paranoia and conspiracy theories. Even academics like to assert a favorite: The homegrown Islamic extremist movement that is terrorizing northern Nigeria is a CIA creation. Others are convinced that the extremist group known as Boko Haram is a plot by the southern-led Nigerian government to create an eternal crisis in the north. How else to explain Boko Haram’s transformation from a group of radicals stashing homemade weapons to an organization that has half the country on military alert and U.S. lawmakers warning of threats to American interests? But outsiders have a more chilling explanation: The group has capitalized on ties to a neighboring Al Qaeda offshoot and access to large amounts of explosives, ammunition and weapons, some of which may be flowing out of Libya since the fall of Moammar Kadafi’s regime. That has not only made the group a danger to the Nigerian government, which appears uncertain how to deal with an increasingly bloody insurgency here in the mostly Muslim north, but has also raised the specter of a broader holy war.” Read more.