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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
7/28/2015 2:00:12 PM

Kyrgyz leader says U.S. 'sought chaos' by decorating dissident

Reuters

Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev addresses a news conference following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin, April 1, 2015. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)


By Olga Dzyubenko

CHOLPON ATA, Kyrgyzstan (Reuters) - Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said on Monday the United States had sought to "create chaos" in his country by granting an award to a jailed dissident.

The Central Asian country protested to Washington this month and tore up a cooperation agreement after the U.S. State Department conferred a human rights award on Azimjon Askarov, jailed for life for inciting ethnic hatred.

"This (U.S. award) cannot fail to shock and, for Kyrgyzstan, this means ethnic instability and an attempt to create chaos," Atambayev told a news conference in a resort area outside the capital Bishkek.

"It's just revolting. Someone needs instability in Kyrgyzstan. Someone wants these ashes to smolder all the time."

The mainly Muslim nation of 5.5 million, which borders China and lies on a drug trafficking route out of Afghanistan, saw two presidents deposed by popular revolts in 2005 and 2010.

Political tensions are rising as Kyrgyzstan, struggling to build the first parliamentary democracy in an authoritarian region, prepares to elect a new legislature on Oct. 4.

Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek, was convicted of helping to incite ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in June 2010, when more than 400 people were killed, and of involvement in the killing of a policeman.

Human rights bodies say his conviction was unlawful and that he has been tortured in prison.

Ethnic Uzbeks are in a minority in Kyrgyzstan, but are heavily represented in the cities of Osh and Jalal Abad in the south, which saw the bloodshed in 2010. Many say they are excluded from prosperity by a political and security establishment dominated by ethnic Kyrgyz.

Atambayev said Washington had formed a preconception that "there will never be justice in Kyrgyzstan" for the Uzbek community.

"Again they are stirring up these separatist sentiments, which have already led to three bloody clashes."

Washington for its part called Askarov "a uniting figure in the human rights community, bringing together people of all ethnicities and backgrounds".

Kyrgyzstan is the biggest recipient in Central Asia of U.S. aid, which totals around $2 billion since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but Washington has said the cancellation of the 1993 Bilateral Agreement may hamper further assistance.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan is drawing closer to Russia, which maintains a military air base there and hosts thousands of Kyrgyz migrant workers.

In another gesture of defiance to the West, Atambayev defended two bills going through parliament which critics say are designed to imitate laws passed in Russia.

One would force charities funded from abroad to register as "foreign agents" if they encroach into politics; the other seeks to outlaw "gay propaganda".

"Those receiving grants from certain countries seek chaos and confusion in our country, but we want stability," Atambayev said.

(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
7/28/2015 2:08:50 PM

Arab ministers to meet after Jerusalem clashes

AFP

Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian man during clashes between protesters and police after authorities limited access for Muslim worshipers to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on July 26, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)


Cairo (AFP) - Arab League foreign ministers will meet in Cairo early next month to discuss clashes involving Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a senior Palestinian official said Monday.

Sunday's incident saw Israeli police enter the mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, as they clashed with Palestinians angered by Jews' access to the compound on an annual day of Jewish mourning.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told reporters that foreign ministers from 15 Arab states will meet on August 5 to discuss what he called the "dangerous development" in Jerusalem.

They will discuss "Israeli escalations at Al-Aqsa mosque, continuing settlements, extra-judicial arrests and assassinations and forced displacements" of Palestinians, he said after meeting the league's chief Nabil Al-Arabi at its Cairo headquarters.

Erakat said the meeting had been called by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

The 15 ministers represent Arab countries involved in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories in exchange for full normalisation of ties with the Arab world.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been comatose since a failed US diplomatic effort in April last year, and a war in the Gaza Strip last summer killed about 2,200 Palestinians.

The meeting will also discuss Palestinian reconciliation efforts and a new Arab bid to end the Israeli occupation through the United Nations, Erakat said.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
7/28/2015 2:20:53 PM

Boy Scouts of America end total ban on gay adults

Associated Press

Wochit
Boy Scouts of America Will Now Allow Gay Scout Leaders


NEW YORK (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America on Monday ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.

The new policy, aimed at easing a controversy that has embroiled the Boy Scouts for years, takes effect immediately. It was approved by the BSA's National Executive Board on a 45-12 vote during a closed-to-the-media teleconference.

"For far too long this issue has divided and distracted us," said the BSA's president, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. "Now it's time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good."

Initial reactions to the decision from groups on both sides suggested the issue would remain divisive.

The Mormon church, which sponsors more Scout units that any other organization, said it was "deeply troubled" by the decision. Church officials suggested they would look into the possibility of forming their own organization to replace Boy Scouts.

"The admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America," said a statement from Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City.

In contrast, the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-rights organization, said the Boy Scouts should not allow church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays.

"Discrimination should have no place in the Boy Scouts, period," said the HRC's president, Chad Griffin. "BSA officials should now demonstrate true leadership and begin the process of considering a full national policy of inclusion."

Gates foreshadowed Monday's action on May 21, when he told the Scouts' national meeting that the long-standing ban on participation by openly gay adults was no longer sustainable. He said the ban was likely to be the target of lawsuits that the Scouts likely would lose.

Two weeks ago, the new policy was approved unanimously by the BSA's 17-member National Executive Committee. It would allow local Scout units to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation — a stance that several Scout councils have already adopted in defiance of the official national policy.

In 2013, after heated internal debate, the BSA decided to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. Several denominations that collectively sponsor close to half of all Scout units — including the Roman Catholic church, the Mormon church and the Southern Baptist Convention — have been apprehensive about ending the ban on gay adults.

The BSA's top leaders pledged to defend the right of any church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays as adult volunteers. But that assurance has not satisfied some conservative church leaders.

"In recent years I have seen a definite cooling on the part of Baptist churches toward the Scouts," said the Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "This will probably bring that cooling to a freeze."

A more nuanced response came from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, which expressed interest in maintaining its ties with the BSA, but also voiced concerns. Notably, it conveyed a reluctance to accept participation by anyone who engaged in sexual conduct outside of a heterosexual marriage.

Under the BSA's new policy, gay leaders who were previously removed from Scouting because of the ban would have the opportunity to reapply for volunteer positions. If otherwise qualified, a gay adult would be eligible to serve as a Scoutmaster or unit leader.

Gates, who became the BSA's president in May 2014, said at the time that he personally would have favored ending the ban on gay adults, but he opposed any further debate after the Scouts' policymaking body upheld the ban. In May, he said that recent events "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not foresee and which we cannot ignore."

He cited an announcement by the BSA's New York City chapter in early April that it had hired Pascal Tessier, the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout, as a summer camp leader. Gates also cited broader gay-rights developments and warned that rigidly maintaining the ban "will be the end of us as a national movement."

The BSA's right to exclude gays was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. But since then, the policy has prompted numerous major corporations to suspend charitable donations to the Scouts and strained relations with some municipalities.

More recently, the BSA faced a civil rights investigation in New York and lawsuits in other states over the ban.

Kenneth Upton, a lawyer for the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal, questioned whether the BSA's new policy to let church-sponsored units continue to exclude gay adults would be sustainable.

"There will be a period of time where they'll have some legal protection," Upton said. "But that doesn't mean the lawsuits won't keep coming. ... They will become increasingly marginalized from the direction society is going."

Like several other major youth organizations, the Boy Scouts have experienced a membership decline in recent decades. Current membership, according to the BSA, is about 2.4 million boys and about 1 million adults.

After the 2013 decision to admit gay youth, some conservatives split from the BSA to form a new group, Trail Life USA, which has created its own ranks, badges and uniforms. The group claims a membership of more than 25,000 youths and adults.

___

This story corrects the first name of Kenneth Upton, a lawyer for Lambda Legal.

___

Associated Press writer Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.


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Boy Scouts end blanket ban on gay adult leaders


The new policy, aimed at quelling a longtime controversy, takes effect immediately.
Exemption for churches


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
7/28/2015 4:04:53 PM

Libya court sentences Gadhafi son to death for 2011 killings

Associated Press

FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, Seif al-Islam is seen after his capture in the custody of revolutionary fighters in Zintan. A court in the Libyan capital has sentenced Seif al-Islam to death over killings during the country's 2011 uprising. The Tripoli court handed down the sentence Tuesday for Seif al-Islam, who is currently being held by a militia that refuses to hand him over to the central government. The court sentenced eight others to death as well, including former Libyan spy chief Abdullah al-Senoussi. (AP Photo/Ammar El-Darwish, File)

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TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — A court in Libya on Tuesday sentenced a son of Moammar Gadhafi to death by firing squad after convicting him of murder and inciting genocide during the country's 2011 civil war.

It is unlikely, however, that the sentence against Seif al-Islam Gadhafi will be carried out anytime soon, as a militia in western Libya has refused to hand him over to the government for the past four years.

That uncertainty reflects the chaos still gripping this North African nation split between rival militias and governments while facing an affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group.

The Tripoli court sentenced to death eight others, including former Libyan spy chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, who is in their custody. Also sentenced to death were foreign intelligence chief Abuzed Omar-Dorda and Gadhafi's former Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.

The rulings can be appealed, and a defense lawyer in the case, Ali Aldaa, said he would challenge it before the Libyan Supreme Court. The Tripoli-based top court has in the past ruled the Tobruk government as illegitimate, raising questions over whether it is under pressure from militias that dominate the city.

Only 29 of the 38 Gadhafi-era figures were present in court. Six others were sentenced to life in prison and four were cleared of charges.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the trial was "undermined by serious due process violations," and called on the Libyan Supreme Court to independently review the verdict. Other international organizations, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Council of Europe, also condemned the verdict.

"This trial has been plagued by persistent, credible allegations of fair trial breaches that warrant independent and impartial judicial review," said Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch's deputy Middle East and North Africa director. "The victims of the serious crimes committed during the 2011 uprising deserve justice, but that can only be delivered through fair and transparent proceedings."

The Council of Europe said the case should have been turned over to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which wants Seif al-Islam on charges of crimes against humanity.

Libya has slid into chaos since the overthrow and killing of Gadhafi, who ruled the country for four decades. It is now bitterly divided between an elected parliament and government cornered in the country's east, with little power on the ground, and an Islamist militia-backed government in the west that has seized the capital, Tripoli.

Since the end of the civil war, Seif al-Islam has been held by a militia in Zintan, which is allied with the Tobruk-based internationally recognized government against the Tripoli one. The court that convicted him is affiliated with the Tripoli-based government.

During the trial, Seif al-Islam was accused of recruiting mercenaries who were given Libyan nationality, planning and carrying out attacks on civilian targets from the air, forming armed groups and shooting into crowds of demonstrators. Among the charges he was convicted of were incitement of murder and rape.

Hundreds of militias in Libya are battling for power and turf in a lawless environment has allowed human traffickers and kidnappers to flourish. Meanwhile, extremists returning from fighting in the Syrian civil war have created a local affiliate of the Islamic State group, taking territory and beheading captives.

The U.N. envoy for Libya has urged the Islamist-led government in Tripoli to sign a peace deal that would establish a unity government. Members of the Tobruk government and regional leaders signed the unity accord in Morocco on July 11.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Rohan in Cairo contributed to this report.

"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
7/28/2015 4:14:35 PM

Body believed to be missing California girl, 8, found

Associated Press

Associated Press Videos
Body Found, Believed to be Missing Calif. Girl


SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — The search for a missing 8-year-old girl came to a tragic end after police found a body inside a trash bin at a Northern California complex where she was last seen riding her scooter. A teenage boy, who also lives in the complex, was arrested in the case.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel said the body found by a detective Monday night at a Santa Cruz artist community and housing center likely belongs to Madyson Middleton.

"We haven't positively identified her yet but we believe she is probably Madyson Middleton," Vogel said.

A 15-year-old boy who lives in the complex was arrested around the same time the body was found and is being questioned on suspicion of homicide, Vogel said.

Madyson vanished Sunday afternoon at Tannery Arts Center, where she lives with her mother. She was last seen riding her new, white scooter in the courtyard, but at about 5 p.m. her mother realized she was gone.

Madyson's parents met with investigators Sunday night and again Monday at police headquarters before speaking with reporters outside.

"I can't explain how difficult this is," the girl's mother, Laura Jordan, said earlier Monday.

Jordan said she's looked at surveillance video from their housing complex that showed Madyson's last minutes before she disappeared. Police have said she was last seen on video surveillance at 4:12 p.m.

Jordan walked the edges of the courtyard, and police twice conducted a door-to-door search of the entire complex, as well as a homeless resource center and shelter across the street.

Beyond the 8-acre property, searchers from throughout the state looked in boats, helicopters, on foot and bike, with dogs and cameras.

Authorities didn't send volunteers onto adjacent hiking and biking trails for fear of disturbing potential evidence, but hundreds of volunteers showed up and looked for her in neighborhoods and streets.

Authorities used dogs to search nearby woods and parks and the San Lorenzo River levee. Helicopters searched the forest and the coastline, and the U.S. Coast Guard scoured the ocean 2 miles from where she was last seen.

The 4-foot-tall, 50-pound child has long brown hair, which was pulled to the side in a braid, and dark eyes. She was wearing a purple dress, black leggings, black flip-flops and a black helmet.

She lived with her mother at the Tannery Arts Center, a public-private nonprofit project that includes 100 affordable loft apartments for artists and their families, a café, and dance and art studios.

The property, a former leather tannery, is managed by The John Stewart Company. John Stewart, the company's chairman, said they turned the surveillance footage over to authorities Sunday night.

Site manager Warren Reed said the property is located in a very busy area, with a number of businesses and a major construction project nearby.

___

Associated Press writer Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.


"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)

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