(M6.6) OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE

• 31 Oct 2013 23:03:56 UTC
• 31 Oct 2013 20:03:56 near epicenter
• 31 Oct 2013 18:03:56 standard time in your timezone

Ediror's note:  US West Coast:  Brace yourselves.

(M6.6) TAIWAN Quake

• 31 Oct 2013 12:02:08 UTC
• 31 Oct 2013 20:02:09 near epicenter
• 31 Oct 2013 07:02:08 standard time in your timezone

World Council of Churches Stands By As Christians Perish, Churches Wither

THE GATESTONE INSTITUTE

Who needs the WCC any more? Would the world, let alone Middle East Christians, be better off without it?

The World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva claims to represent and serve 345 churches worldwide. What has it done to help the persecuted churches in Iraq, Syria and Egypt? Or the flood of Syrian refugees into Jordan and Lebanon? Answer: it has devoted the whole of 2013 to promoting a World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel (September 22-28). That is, it has poured its Swiss francs into stirring up the one corner of the area that is currently almost calm.

It is not as if it is a secret that Muslim violence in Iraq drove out half the Christian population within a decade. Or that affiliates of Al-Qaeda have emptied whole Syrian villages and towns of their Christian populations. Or that almost a hundred Coptic churches in Egypt were assailed by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood shortly after President Morsi was deposed. And that was merely one chapter in the ongoing martyrdom of the Copts, which has seen 100,000 of them fleeing Egypt since the downfall of President Mubarak.

All such facts are documented on many websites, above all that of Raymond Ibrahim, which also records the endless attacks on Christians in Pakistan and Nigeria, indeed worldwide, by Muslim groups. Since August 2011, the Gatestone Institute has published his monthly roundup of such reports. Look at the website of the WCC, however, and you will hardly notice any awareness of all that. Instead, the WCC's website is loaded with schemes and resources relating to the Palestinians. The "resources" offer compilations of Palestinian propaganda, including calls for the so-called Palestinian "right of return" (that is, the transformation of Israel into an Arab-majority state).
The excuse for this absurd imbalance is that the WCC has maintained for decades, and insists on maintaining against all evidence, that the churches of the Middle East have no other real problem than the Palestinian issue. Earlier this year (May 21-25), the WCC held a conference on "Christian Presence and Witness in the Middle East" near Beirut, Lebanon. Its closing statement proclaimed: "Palestine continues to be the central issue in the region. Resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine in accordance with the UN resolutions and international law, will greatly help resolving the other conflicts in the region

Read the rest here.

SUMMARY: X-Ray Event exceeded X1 (R3)

Space Weather Message Code: SUMX01
Serial Number: 91
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 29 2221 UTC 

 SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded X1
Begin Time: 2013 Oct 29 2142 UTC
Maximum Time: 2013 Oct 29 2154 UTC
End Time: 2013 Oct 29 2201 UTC
X-ray Class: X2.3
Location: N05W90
NOAA Scale: R3 - Strong

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact consists of large portions of the sunlit side of Earth, strongest at the sub-solar point.
Radio - Wide area blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication for about an hour.

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(M6.0) BALLENY ISLANDS REGION

• 29 Oct 2013 10:37:55 UTC
• 29 Oct 2013 20:37:56 near epicenter
• 29 Oct 2013 05:37:55 standard time in your timezone

WARNING: Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse expected

Space Weather Message Code: WARSUD
Serial Number: 140
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 29 0744 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse expected
Valid From: 2013 Oct 29 0820 UTC
Valid To: 2013 Oct 29 0920 UTC
IP Shock Passage Observed: 2013 Oct 29 0722 UTC

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

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Powerful Storm Lashes Northern Europe

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/world/europe/powerful-storm-blasts-northern-europe.html?source=mog&gl=us

By STEPHEN CASTLE

October 28, 2013

LONDON — One of the most powerful storms in Europe in years left at least 13 people dead, hundreds of thousands without power and many stranded on Monday when trains, planes and ferries were canceled after high winds battered the northern part of the Continent.

Gusts of 99 miles per hour were recorded in the south of England as the storm brought parts of Britain to a standstill, uprooting trees, overturning a double-decker bus and toppling a crane near the London office of the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg.

At least 13 storm-related deaths were reported, with most victims crushed by falling trees. Germany had six deaths, Britain had five and the Netherlands and Denmark had one each, The Associated Press reported. One woman was also missing after being swept into the surf in France.

EU Proposal to Monitor "Intolerant" Citizens

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4036/eu-intolerant-citizens

While European leaders are busy expressing public indignation over reports of American espionage operations in the European Union, the European Parliament is quietly considering a proposal that calls for the direct surveillance of any EU citizen suspected of being "intolerant."

Critics say the measure -- which seeks to force the national governments of all 28 EU member states to establish "special administrative units" to monitor any individual or group expressing views that the self-appointed guardians of European multiculturalism deem to be "intolerant" -- represents an unparalleled threat to free speech in a Europe where citizens are already regularly punished for expressing the "wrong" opinions, especially about Islam.

The proposed European Framework National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance was recently presented to members of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, the only directly-elected body of the European Union.

The policy proposal was drafted by theEuropean Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), a non-governmental organization established in Paris in 2008 by the former president of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, and the president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor.

The ECTR -- which describes itself as a "tolerance watchdog" that "prepares practical recommendations to governments and international organizations on improving interreligious and interethnic relations on the continent" -- includes on its board more than a dozen prominent European politicians, including former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar.

ALERT: X-ray Flux exceeded M5 (R2)

Space Weather Message Code: ALTXMF
Serial Number: 197
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 28 0441 UTC

ALERT: X-Ray Flux exceeded M5
Threshold Reached: 2013 Oct 28 0440 UTC
NOAA Scale: R2 - 

Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact centered on sub-solar point on the sunlit side of Earth. Extent of blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication dependent upon current X-ray Flux intensity. For real-time information on affected area and expected duration please see http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/index.html.

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WARNING: Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse expected

Space Weather Message Code: WARSUD
Serial Number: 139
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 26 2155 UTC

WARNING: Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse expected
Valid From: 2013 Oct 26 2230 UTC
Valid To: 2013 Oct 26 2330 UTC
IP Shock Passage Observed: 2013 Oct 26 2145 UTC

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

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Two X-Class Flares and Three New M-Class Head Our Way

by Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media       October 26th, 2013 Sunspot region 1882 has been every active producing an X2.1 and X1.7 flare peaking around 15:03 UT on Oct. 25th. In addition, three new M-class flares have fired off from region 1882 measuring M1.3, M1.9, and M2.3. Filament eruptions occurred from surrounding coronal holes which released an additional amount of charged particles. Three CMEs (coronal mass ejections) accompanied these flares, with the 3rd CME producing a powerful 'full halo' event. Region 1882 is still off to the eastern limb therefore a direct hit to Earth is not likely, however, due to the power of these events, I expect a significant geomagnetic storm as the charged particles hit the Earth's magnetic field. As a result of the power released from the X-class flares, full halo CME, and significant filament discharge, the FAA has put out a warning to all high flying aircraft (38,000 feet or slightly higher) to immediately drop down to 32,000 to 28,000 feet to avoid instrument malfunction, and to reduce radiation exposure. CME VIDEO - CLICK HERE Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been ordered to take shelter in a special designed compartment which protects them from dangerous levels of radiation. Watch for continued extreme weather events over the next 72 hours such as escalation of tropical storms to hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and unusual shifts in wind and temperatures. I expect these events to heat the Earth's core which in-turn will elevate mantle plume activity. Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Facility - Ticking Bomb The crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility had already grabbed headlines in recent weeks after reports of radioactive water leaks into the Pacific Ocean and repeated exposure of plant workers to dangerous levels of radiation once more focused attention on the disaster and its aftermath. Then Friday's mag. 7.5 earthquake's epicenter sits right on top of the Japan Trench where mantle plumes and shifting tectonic plates regularly occur.  As you can see from the graphic below, the Island of Japan are surrounded by plumes, rifts, and ridges which would certainly be noticed be the most novice of geologist. To this author the decision to place a nuclear facility in the Fukushima region, scratch that, "anywhere" around Japanese Island is beyond reckless. It is so crazy, even a far-fetched idea that perhaps this is Japan's way of striking back at America for Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I know the conspiracy theorists will have a hay-day with this one. But then again………………. The natural ocean currents head right back to America's Pacific Coast. Furthermore, if a large tsunami were to occur, the swells and waves would come right to the shores of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. It is scenarios like this one which can give a reserved contemplator a second look at the demise of the mystical continent of Atlantis

2 solar flares Friday -- the second twice as intense as the first

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Sun activity in September created a "canyon of fire," NASA says.

BY AMY HUBBARD

October 25, 2013, 2:12 p.m.

The sun shot out a pair of gigantic solar flares early Friday -- the second one even bigger than the first, a NOAA expert tells the Los Angeles Times.

An X1-class solar flare occurred at about 1 a.m. PDT, followed by an even larger one about eight hours later.

"This one was an X2, twice as intense as the X1 that just occurred," said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in an interview Friday morning.

M7.3 - OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

• 25 Oct 2013 17:10:16 UTC
• 26 Oct 2013 03:10:17 near epicenter
• 25 Oct 2013 12:10:16 standard time in your timezone

ALERT: X-ray Flux exceeded M5

Space Weather Message Code: ALTXMF
Serial Number: 195
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 25 1457 UTC

ALERT: X-Ray Flux exceeded M5
Threshold Reached: 2013 Oct 25 1456 UTC
NOAA Scale: R2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact centered on sub-solar point on the sunlit side of Earth. Extent of blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication dependent upon current X-ray Flux intensity. For real-time information on affected area and expected duration please see http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/index.html.

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ALERT: X-ray Flux exceeded M5

Space Weather Message Code: ALTXMF
Serial Number: 195
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 25 1457 UTC

ALERT: X-Ray Flux exceeded M5
Threshold Reached: 2013 Oct 25 1456 UTC
NOAA Scale: R2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact centered on sub-solar point on the sunlit side of Earth. Extent of blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication dependent upon current X-ray Flux intensity. For real-time information on affected area and expected duration please see http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/index.html.

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Thank you for using the Product Subscription Service. If you would like to remove a product subscription or update the personal information in your account, go to the Product Subscription Site.Please do not use the from address for correspondence, as it is not monitored. For comments or help, please contact SWPC Help.p

X-Ray Event exceeded X1 (R3)

Space Weather Message Code: SUMX01
Serial Number: 88
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 25 0848 UTC 

 SUMMARY: X-ray Event exceeded X1
Begin Time: 2013 Oct 25 0753 UTC
Maximum Time: 2013 Oct 25 0801 UTC
End Time: 2013 Oct 25 0809 UTC
X-ray Class: X1.7
Location: S08E67
NOAA Scale: R3 - Strong

Comment: CORRECTION:  This flare is attributed to Region 1882, not 1875 as earlier reported.  No optical flare reported.

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact consists of large portions of the sunlit side of Earth, strongest at the sub-solar point.
Radio - Wide area blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication for about an hour.

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Thank you for using the Product Subscription Service. If you would like to remove a product subscription or update the personal information in your account, go to the Product Subscription Site.Please do not use the from address for correspondence, as it is not monitored. For comments or help, please contact SWPC Help.

M6.2 - EAST OF THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS

• 24 Oct 2013 19:25:12 UTC
• 24 Oct 2013 18:25:12 near epicenter
• 24 Oct 2013 14:25:12 standard time in your timezonep

ALERT: X-ray Flux exceeded M5

Space Weather Message Code: ALTXMF
Serial Number: 193
Issue Time: 2013 Oct 24 0030 UTC

ALERT: X-Ray Flux exceeded M5
Threshold Reached: 2013 Oct 24 0026 UTC
NOAA Scale: R2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at
www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

Potential Impacts: Area of impact centered on sub-solar point on the sunlit side of Earth. Extent of blackout of HF (high frequency) radio communication dependent upon current X-ray Flux intensity. For real-time information on affected area and expected duration please see http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/index.html.

Fukushima Now at China Syndrome Meltdown?

Japan Journalist: Melted nuclear fuel sank into the ground under Fukushima reactors — Irradiated groundwater is flowing into ocean through sea-bottom springs, it’s too late to do anything about this (PHOTO)

Excerpts from Hirose’s letter: [...] Inside Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactors #1 – #3 the pipes (which had circulated cooling water) are broken, which caused a meltdown. This means the nuclear fuel overheated, melted, and continued to melt anything it touched. Thus it melted through the bottom of the reactor, and then through the concrete floor of the building, and sank into the ground. [...] for two and a half years TEPCO workers have been desperately pouring water into the reactor, but it is not known whether the water is actually reaching the melted fuel. [...] Only the fact that irradiated water is leaking onto the surface of the ground around the reactor is reported. But deep under the surface the ground water is also being irradiated, and the ground water flows out to sea and mixes with the seawater through sea-bottom springs. It is too late to do anything about this. [...] It’s a sad story, but this is the present situation of Japan and of Tokyo. I had loved the Japanese food and this land until the Fukushima accident occurred.

Oarfish Quake Omen for West Coast?

Second oarfish washed ashore in California...

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/20/us/california-oarfish-mystery/

To the Japanese, in 2010, masses of oarfish washed ashore in Japan...

Oarfish omen spells earthquake disaster for Japan

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 7:00AM GMT 04 Mar 2010

Japan is bracing itself after dozens of rare giant oarfish - traditionally the harbinger of a powerful earthquake - have been washed ashore or caught in fishermen's nets.

The appearance of the fish follows Saturday's destructive 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile and the January 12 tremors in Haiti, which claimed an estimated 200,000 lives.

A quake with a magnitude of 6.4 has also struck southern Taiwan.

(M4.3) Mag Quake CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• 21 Oct 2013 17:04:10 UTC
• 21 Oct 2013 10:04:11 near epicenter
• 21 Oct 2013 12:04:10 standard time in your timezone

Tornado strikes France

RSOE

Tornado struck the settlement Bailleul in France. According to preliminary reports, one dead and two wounded caused a sudden tornado. The damage caused is significant. Other information not available yet.

(M3.0) SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA

• 21 Oct 2013 08:32:56 UTC
• 21 Oct 2013 01:32:56 near epicenter
• 21 Oct 2013 03:32:56 standard time in your timezone

Gunmen Fire at Church in Egypt; At Least 3

CAIRO — Gunmen on a motorcycle sprayed bullets at a church in a Cairo suburb late Sunday, killing at least three people. The attack appeared to be one of the deadliest in months against Egypt’s Christian minority, security officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which was apparently aimed at guests attending a wedding, the officials said. At least 12 people were injured in the shooting, the officials said.

The killings signaled a broadening of the violence that has gripped Egypt since early July, when the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist and the country’s first elected leader, after widespread protests against his rule.

Dollar wobbles as Fed tapering expectations pushed back

By Hideyuki Sano

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar was mired near an 8-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday on growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will have to delay scaling back its stimulus following a 16-day government shutdown.

The dollar index was little moved in Asian trade around 79.642 .DXY, but not far from a trough of 79.478 touched on Friday, its lowest level since February.

"In the last two months, previous payrolls figures were revised down. The U.S. economy is losing steam and cannot withstand tapering," said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank.

"There will be disappointment at every Fed meeting for the rest of the year, and each time the dollar will weaken," he added.

The Fed has two policy meetings scheduled this year, one on Oct 29-30 and the other on Dec 17-18.

A majority of market players now expect the Fed will begin reducing stimulus next year, though some analysts believe tapering of the bond buying program is still possible in December.

WND BISHOP: POPE LEADING CHURCH TO 'DISASTER'

Citing the famous prophecies of Fatima, traditionalist Roman Catholic Bishop Bernard Fellay warned in an address in Kansas City that Pope Francis is precipitating the church’s decline and could be a herald that the world is entering the age of the Antichrist.

Fellay, who leads a society that has no canonical status in the Roman Catholic Church, said the “modernist views” professed by the pontiff are at odds with traditional Catholic teaching.

“The situation in the Catholic Church is a real disaster and the present pope is making it 10,000 times worse,” Fellay charged Oct. 12 at the Angelus Press Conference in Kansas City.

Fellay is superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, whose ministers, according to the Vatican, do not legitimately exercise ministry in the church.

Fellay, in his address, drew heavily from the Third Secret of Fatima, which many Catholics believe was given by the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Lucia Santos, one of three poor children who claimed to experience a series of six apparitions of Mary in Fatima, Portugal, between May and October in 1917.

Read more at http://mobile.wnd.com/2013/10/bishop-pope-leading-church-to-disaster/#KIT2ZYUU4VHX7jPd.99

(M6.4) GULF OF CALIFORNIA

• 19 Oct 2013 17:54:56 UTC
• 19 Oct 2013 10:54:56 near epicenter
• 19 Oct 2013 12:54:56 standard time in your timezone

(M2.2) WEST VIRGINIA

• 19 Oct 2013 08:41:57 UTC
• 19 Oct 2013 04:41:57 near epicenter
• 19 Oct 2013 03:41:57 standard time in your timezone

(M7.1) BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

• 16 Oct 2013 10:31:01 UTC
• 16 Oct 2013 20:31:01 near epicenter
• 16 Oct 2013 05:31:01 standard time in your timezone

As U.S. faces potential downgrade, markets flash alarm over debt-ceiling impasse

Stock and bond markets — as well as the system of daily borrowing that helps banks operate and companies make payroll — are flashing increasing concern about whether Congress will find agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling, suggesting that investors may not give lawmakers much more time to haggle before markets swoon.

On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings warned that it could downgrade the nation’s credit rating by the end of the year if the showdown in Washington continues. Fitch would become the second major credit-rating firm to strip the United States of its pristine AAA rating, which could have ripple effects across a range of markets dependent on U.S. government debt.

“Political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default,” analysts at Fitch wrote Tuesday. “The U.S. risks being forced to incur widespread delays of payments to suppliers and employees, as well as Social Security payments to citizens — all of which would damage the perception of U.S. sovereign creditworthiness and the economy.”

http://m.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/as-us-faces-potential-downgrade-markets-flash-alarm-over-debt-ceiling-impasse/2013/10/15/0321fed6-35be-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html

823 aftershocks recorded after Bohol quake—NDRRMC

MANILA, Philippines — At least 823 aftershocks have been recorded since a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shocked parts of Visayas and Mindanao Tuesday, a disaster official said.

In a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday, Major Rey Balido of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that as of 8 a.m., there were 823 aftershocks recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

NDRRMC Executive Director Eduardo del Rosario, however, allayed fears from the aftershocks, saying these didn’t mean that they were “destructive” and that “less than five percent would be felt”.

As of 8 a.m., deaths from the quake rose to 107, with 97 from Bohol; nine from Cebu; and one from Siquijor.

There were also 276 persons injured.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/508069/823-aftershocks-recorded-after-bohol-quake-ndrrmc#ixzz2hrvvz9ln