Bee blight blamed on Bayer

By William R. Toler

A complaint filed by German beekeepers alleges a pesticide made by Bayer CropScience is responsible for the loss of millions of honeybee colonies on both sides of the Atlantic, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.

Opponents claim clothianidin, a neuro-active insecticide, is the chemical culprit behind Colony Collapse Disorder. Clothianidin and other neonicotinoids cause fatal paralysis in insects.

Bayer claims that field studies suggest effects on bees are minimal.

Jailhouse Rockies

By William R. Toler

Political protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo. next week could wind up in a secret jail.

On Aug. 13, The Denver Post reported on the holding facility while the location was still secret. A few days later, the location was revealed. However, civil rights groups and other protesters disapprove of the facility dubbed “Gitmo on the Platte.”

The Post later reported that protesters said the “secret jail” was previously unfit for voting machines. “This facility has a long history,” said Glen Spagnuolo. “The city pulled its voting machines from here because the building gets too hot. Yet now, they’ll put people in there who use those machines to vote.

Georgia bigfoot a hoax

By William R. Toler

According to cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, the reported Bigfoot find in northern Georgia is a hoax.

Following Friday’s press conference — in which the supposed finders of the creature provided no new information, and even contradicted their stories — Coleman told George Noory, host of Coast to Coast A.M., that he was 99 percent sure the Bigfoot was not real.

Prior to Coleman’s dismissal, mask and prop maker Chuck Jarman announced on the international radio program that the bigfoot in the photo was a costume he created two years ago.

Coleman also said that high-profile claims that turn out to be hoaxes can be detrimental to those who are genuine in their search for the unknown.

Creepy creatures make mass media

By William R. Toler

Just this week, reports of two cryptids have made the news.

In northern Georgia, two men claim they have the body of a sasquatch, more commonly referred to as bigfoot (or skunk ape).

According to the Associated Press, Matt Whitton and Rick Dyer stumbled across the body in the woods and have kept the corpse frozen.

I was first made aware of the story about a month ago by to Coast to Coast A.M., an overnight talk-radio program that covers topics ranging from the paranormal to conspiracy theories.