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Luis Miguel Goitizolo

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RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES?
11/20/2015 1:21:56 AM
Oakland Man Becomes (At Least) 1000th
Person Killed by US Cops This Year

© Flickr/ webhostingreview

A database tracking US police killings reached 1,000 for 2015 on Sunday evening after cops in Oakland, California, shot and killed a man armed with a toy gun.

The Counted, a database compiled by the Guardian, monitors the demographics of those who have died at the hands of US law enforcement this year, and details how and why they were killed.

The thousandth person was shot and killed when he approached, holding a replica gun, officers who were towing vehicles used to perform “sideshow” stunts. The victim’s name has not yet been released.

“Officers working sideshow approached by subject who pointed firearm in their direction,” the Oakland police department reported on Twitter. “Officers fatally shot subject.”

The sideshow had left several Oakland streets shutdown on Saturday evening into Sunday morning as hundreds of cars rallied together for the event.

Sunday’s incident was the 883rd fatal shooting by a US law enforcement officer so far in 2015, according to the Guardian, and the 183rd death recorded in California this year, which has the highest number of any state.

According to the Counted, less than half — 481 — of those killed by police this year was armed with a gun.

Black Americans were also far more likely to be killed by police, with 2.54 per million population of white people killed by cops, and 5.94 per million of the black population.

According to their count, police in the United States are killing 3.1 people per day.

Another database, Killed by Police, which also tracks police killings, is already at 1038. As there is no official database, the ones that exist tend to have different numbers as they have different standards on which deaths to count.

For example, Killed by Police counts deaths in jails, if they occurred at the hand of a law enforcement officer.

Earlier this year, FBI Director James Comey stated that it is embarrassing that these databases have more information on police violence than the federal government.



Read more: http://sputniknews.com/us/20151117/1030225885/1000-people-killed-by-cops.html#ixzz3rzTDdzaq

"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?
11/20/2015 10:48:05 AM

European nations shut their borders to economic migrants

Associated Press

Migrants sit at no man's land near Idomeni village, northern Greece on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. The United Nations refugee agency says Macedonia has begun allowing only people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to cross its southern border from Greece, while Greek authorities say migrants of other nationalities are gathering on the Greek side of the border and blocking the crossing completely. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)


BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Most nations along Europe's refugee corridor abruptly shut their borders Thursday to those not coming from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq, leaving thousands desperately seeking a better life in the continent stranded at Balkan border crossings.

The overnight decision triggered the domino effect that both asylum-seekers and European nations had feared given the record number of people fleeing to Europe this year, and reflected new worries about possible militants coming in with the refugees.

Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia weren't allowing in so-called economic migrants whose countries aren't shattered by war. To cross, asylum-seekers needed to display identity documents to prove that they are from Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq — which many of them could not, even if they did come from those states.

"We're extremely worried about the latest developments and fear that people will be stranded without any assistance, shelter and food just as winter sets in," said Stephane Moissaing, the Doctors Without Borders head in Serbia.

"It is not acceptable that people who want to seek asylum are being segregated by nationalities," Moissaing added. "The right to ask for asylum is universal and cannot be connected to certain nationalities."

In the Greek village of Idomeni at the border with Macedonia, police said the border was essentially shut down to all since Thursday morning. Some 3,000 people were waiting at a camp nearby that provides temporary shelter for those heading north through the Balkans.

About 500 people from Iran, Morocco and Algeria gathered on the border between Greece and Macedonia to protest the closure. As a result, nobody else from the nationalities that Macedonia is letting through — Syrians, Afghans or Iraqis — were able to cross.

Dariush Yazdani, 25, from Tehran, said he was determined to reach Germany and faced imprisonment were he to return to Iran.

"I will never go back," he said.

Mohammed Mirzam, a 30-year-old from Afghanistan, knew he could go across but his wife and two children, Ilia, 5, and Elena, 3, are Iranians who would be blocked.

"We're trapped," he said from the Greek side of the border at Idomeni. "They won't let my family across. We have no money, and we're waiting without any idea of what is to happen."

On the Serbian border with Macedonia, the Serbs were letting in only migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. And on the Croatia-Serbia border, Croats were only accepting people from those three countries plus Palestine.

Slovenia — the next country in the chain — also said it has been turning back economic migrants.

"This is going to be definitely a challenging situation," U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman in Serbia Melita Sunjic said. "UNHCR does not think that there is any nation that can be excluded from international protection .... each case individually should be screened."

The partial closure of the borders could trigger huge pileups of desperate people along the Balkan corridor that has seen hundreds of thousands of people cross as they head to wealthy EU states, mostly Germany. Although Syrians are the biggest group among the asylum-seekers, tens of thousands of people fleeing poverty — such as Pakistanis, Bangladeshis or Sri Lankans — have also joined the surge.

Serbian Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin blamed EU-members Slovenia and Croatia for the ban, saying they have started turning back economic migrants — those fleeing poverty, not war.

"We have to protect our country. That is why we have applied reciprocal measures toward the people Slovenia and Croatia have no room for," Vulin said.

Slovenia's decision to start turning back people it considers economic migrants triggered the chain reaction along the Balkan migrant route.

"These foreigners do not qualify for international protection," said Slovenian police spokesman Drago Menegalia.

Slovenian officials say they will continue to allow refugees from war-ravaged countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq to pass through on their way to Austria and other richer EU states.

___

Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens, Costas Kantouris in Idomeni, and Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed.

"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?
11/20/2015 10:56:45 AM

Russia Destroys Islamic State In Raqqa? Moscow Claims It Disrupted Command Centers, Sent ISIS Leaders Fleeing From Capital City


By @Charress c.harress@ibtimes.com on

Aerial view of smoke after air strikes carried out by the Russian air force in Latakia Governorate , Syria, Nov. 5, 2015.REUTERS/Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via Reuters


Russian raids on Islamic State group targets in the Syrian city of Raqqa Thursday reportedly forced leaders of the jihadi militant group to flee the de facto capital city of its self-proclaimed caliphate. Jet fighters acting on orders from Moscow have conducted hundreds of raids since commencing military actions against the terror group in late September.

"The local residents watched senior [Islamic State group] leaders and commanders fleeing the Syrian city of Raqqa after the terrorist group had suffered serious losses under the Russian airstrikes and cruise missiles fired by the Russian navy," said a source who spoke to the Iranian news agency FARS Thursday. Iran is a close ally of Russia.

Further airstrikes by Russian warplanes had also totally disrupted the terrorists’ command system in several Syrian provinces, said Col. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian Army General Staff, Russia's government-backed news site Tass reported Thursday. "The terrorist command system in Homs province was completely disrupted due to the losses. We have registered incidences of refusal to fulfill the assigned tasks," Kartapolov said.

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151028/1029222519/russian-aistrikes-terrorists-flee-syria.html S.M. http://fb.me/6TuVS6Zuz


Russian officials are claiming that the speed with which they have hit the Islamic State group -- also known as ISIS or ISIL -- in recent attacks has forced field commanders to evacuate dead jihadi militants’ corpses from the battlefield at night and dump them in mass graves.

"As far as we know, in view of the fact that huge losses make it impossible to bury all the fighters according to the Islamic tradition, the field commanders have decided to dump the bodies of ordinary militants in cesspits," Kartapolov told journalists at a briefing, according to Tass.

While the Russian military is acting alone in its airstrikes against ISIS, it is cooperating on the ground with Syrian ground troops loyal to its authoritarian leader, Bashar Assad. In recent days, Moscow and Washington, D.C., have attempted to set aside diplomatic differences on the future of Assad to work together. Russia supports Assad while the U.S. want him to stand down.

France will be upping its cooperation with the U.S and Russia in the coming weeks as it launches a major offensive against ISIS in the wake of the deadly Paris attacks last week when at least 129 people were killed. The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is due to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean on Thursday or Friday.

(INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES)


"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?
11/20/2015 1:50:17 PM

Family: Dad Shoots Twin Babies to Death in Mom's Arms, Critically Injures Her, Kills Her Father

Inside Edition

Family: Dad Shoots Twin Babies to Death in Mom's Arms, Critically Injures Her, Kills Her Father


A mother lies hospitalized in critical condition after the father of her twin baby girls shot them to death in her arms, and then killed the woman’s dad, according to her family.

Ultimately, Gawain Rushane Wilson turned the weapon on himself and died at the scene, authorities said.

Read: Man Kills Ex-Girlfriend, Her 1-Year-old Daughter Before fleeing Toward Mexico: Police

The carnage took place in the Jacksonville, Florida, home of Travis Hiatt, the twin’s grandfather. His daughter, Megan, and her five-month-old girls Hayden and Kayden, had been living him, authorities said, according to local reports.

Wilson allegedly entered the home and forced his estranged girlfriend to pick up thebabies.

“He wanted to destroy her world,” the woman’s mother, Melissa Bateh, told First Coast News about last week’s devastation. “He wanted her to watch it be destroyed.”

Bateh said her 22-year-old daughter told her, “Mama, he killed them. He killed them in my arms. He made me hold them when he killed them. He made me watch.”

Read: Mom Charged With Death of Baby She Allegedly Threw From a Window as She Screamed 'Hallelujah!'

Jacksonville Sheriff’s deputies declined comment when reached by INSIDE EDITION Thursday evening.

Bateh said her daughter had to crawl through her infants’ blood to reach her father, who was dying on the floor. “He wanted her to tell her brother that he was the best son ever and he loved him.”

The mother said she had misgivings about her daughter’s relationship with Wilson, who she described as threatening and controlling.

He would limit Megan’s contact with family and friends and take away her cell phone, Bateh said.

“As a parent, you know,” she said. “I knew in my gut their relationship was not healthy.”

Watch Below: Mom Killed in Vegas Road Rage Incident Mentored Accused Teen




"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?
11/20/2015 2:00:12 PM

"Cowardly murder": Ex-drone operators speak out about their jobs

AFP

Brandon Bryant, photographed in Berlin on October 15, 2015 during a break in testimony on NSA spying, is among four former US drone operators who decried the technology's lethal use in an open letter published November 19 (AFP Photo/Bernd von Jutrczenka)

Washington (AFP) - America's use of drones to kill suspected jihadists around the world is driving hatred toward the United States and causing further radicalization, four former airmen have said.

In an open letter to President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and CIA Director John Brennan, the four former drone operators said they were involved in the killing of innocent civilians, and had gone on to suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like (the Islamic State group), while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool," the men wrote.

"This administration and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world," they added.

The four are Brandon Bryant, Cian Westmoreland, Stephen Lewis and Michael Haas. Westmoreland was a transmissions expert and the other three controlled powerful sensors on Predator drones.

According to The Guardian, which published interviews with the men on Thursday, the four had 20 years drone operating experience between them.

They told the newspaper that drone operators quickly grow numb to their work and sometimes killed people even if they were unsure whether they were hostile or not.

In one case, Bryant said his drone team killed five tribal men and a camel traveling from Pakistan to Afghanistan, even though they weren't certain who they were or what they were doing.

"We waited for those men to settle down in their beds and then we killed them in their sleep," Bryant told the newspaper. "That was cowardly murder."

When he left the service, Bryant was given an envelope containing a report card with the number of killings he'd been involved in -- that number was 1,626.

Since taking office in 2009, Obama has vastly expanded the drone program, authorizing many more strikes than his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.

Several countries across the Middle East and Central Asia have seen deadly drone strikes.

According to whistleblower papers published by The Intercept website last month, the Obama administration has underrepresented the true number of civilians killed in drone strikes.

In classified slides, the US military describes fatalities from targeted strikes as "enemy killed in action," even if their identity is unknown or they were not the intended targets, according to The Intercept.

In one five month period, nearly 90 percent of those killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets, The Intercept said.

"We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country's leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program," the men said in the letter.

"We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home."

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

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