Categoría: internacional
Detrás de la Razón – Terrorismo y Esclavitud: mujeres capturadas por Daesh
Noticia del pasado: Francia ultima un nuevo proyecto para Europa tras el referéndum británico
Hollande resucitará la idea del núcleo duro de países para reforzar el euro y crear la Europa de la Defensa.
Por: CARLOS YÁRNOZ
París 7 MAY 2016 – 06:27 EDT
Francois Hollande, presidente de Francia. Imagen en elpais.es
Las crisis del euro y de los refugiados, unidas al auge de grupos populistas y xenófobos, han originado en la Unión Europea unos vientos de insolidaridad que por vez primera en su historia soplan a favor de la fragmentación. Francia quiere ponerse a la cabeza de los países deseosos de invertir la tendencia antes de que sea demasiado tarde. Para ello, el presidente François Hollande presentará el mes que viene su proyecto para una nueva Europa “más coherente y solidaria”, en contra del deseo británico, entre otros. Incluirá, dice el Elíseo, la Europa de la Defensa, un pilar tan ambicioso como poco desarrollado.
El mandatario francés presentará su plan inmediatamente después del referéndum sobre la permanencia del Reino Unido en la UE, previsto para el 23 de junio. “No lo hará antes para no influir en la campaña”, añaden las fuentes oficiales consultadas, pero sí lo hará tras la consulta “sea cual sea el voto de los británicos”. El proyecto “será el mismo tanto si gana el sí como si gana el no”.
París quiere “una Europa más coherente y solidaria”, unas palabras utilizadas esta semana por el propio Hollande y que se traducen en medio de esta grave crisis en la reactivación de la idea de crear un núcleo duro de países de la zona euro que quieran avanzar más en la construcción europea aunque suponga nuevas pérdidas de soberanía. Es lo contrario que propugna Londres, líderes de países del Este o los partidos populistas y xenófobos que se extienden por toda Europa.
En el terreno económico, dicen personas próximas a Hollande, París quiere materializar ideas sobre la gobernanza de la eurozona que ya planteó el año pasado a raíz de las tensiones de la UE con Grecia: crear un Parlamento de la zona euro; contar con un presupuesto propio del club de la moneda única “para financiar inversiones paneuropeas”, y tener un gobierno económico para la divisa europea. Ahora, París añade la necesidad de lanzar políticas europeas en el terreno digital y en el de la transición energética.
De mayor calado político y estratégico en un momento en el que Europa afronta graves amenazas externas (al Este y al Sur) e internas (terrorismo yihadista), el socialista Hollande agrega también en estos momentos la necesidad de desarrollar la Europa de la Defensa, aún en mantillas. El presidente francés ha dicho a sus colaboradores que, tras la reciente visita de Barack Obama a Europa y de otros encuentros suyos con líderes estadounidenses, “es obvia” la decisión de Washington de que los europeos asuman una gran parte de su propia seguridad, ahora garantizada por Estados Unidos.
París insiste en que al proyecto de Hollande se sumarán “los países que lo deseen”. En el Elíseo señalan que el plan ha sido consensuado con Berlín. “Solo cuando Francia y Alemania están unidas puede avanzar Europa”, suele repetir el presidente francés. Y dan por hecho que en esa necesaria reactivación de Europa participarán activamente al menos Italia, España, Luxemburgo, Bélgica, Holanda o Portugal.
Tienen “más dudas”, en cambio, con un país clave como Polonia por la deriva antieuropeísta alimentada por sus propios líderes desde hace años y, sobre todo, a raíz de la llegada masiva de migrantes a Europa. “Hay europeos a tiempo completo cuando se trata de recibir, y a tiempo parcial cuando tienen que aportar”, acaba de decir el presidente de la Comisión, Jean-Claude Juncker, en referencia a Varsovia y otras capitales del Este.
“Lo que nos amenaza en este inicio del siglo XXI es el resurgir del nacionalismo”, ha alertado Hollande esta semana. La crisis de los refugiados ha puesto de relieve ese peligro y ha originado una pésima gestión del fenómeno que ha resquebrajado los cimientos del proyecto europeo.
Para el mandatario francés, como ha señalado el martes ante destacados miembros de su partido, ese nacionalismo creciente “que recorre toda Europa” ha provocado rechazos, cierres de fronteras, discursos a favor de la salida del euro o de la UE o “la exaltación de la identidad nacional” para discriminar a quien no es originario de un territorio concreto.
Francia debe estar en primera línea” a la hora de reaccionar ante esta grave situación en Europa, ha dicho el presidente francés. París sostiene que la situación es tan delicada que el plan para reactivar el proyecto europeo debe ser presentado con máxima urgencia.
Para conseguir la reactivación del proyecto europeo, Hollande intenta en primer lugar consensuar posiciones comunes con la canciller alemana, Angela Merkel. Las discrepancias entre París y Berlín se han agravado en el último año por la crisis de Grecia —Alemania se planteó la expulsión de Atenas del euro— y de los refugiados —Hollande vetó de facto el reparto por cuotas impulsado por Merkel.
El presidente francés acaba de hacer un balance de sus aportaciones a la Unión Europea desde que en 2012 llegó al poder y casi todas han sido contrarias a los intereses alemanes: desde el fomento de políticas de reactivación económica hasta el rechazo de la austeridad a toda costa pasando por su apoyo a las extraordinarias medidas de liquidez del Banco Central Europeo.
“Hoy es Francia quien defiende al BCE”, ha señalado el líder francés ante las críticas que recibe de Berlín el presidente de la institución, Mario Draghi.
“Es el momento de París y Berlín de plantear un proyecto positivo y renovado para Europa”, ha escrito en Le Figaro Christian Lequesne, profesor de Sciences Po. La urgencia es tal que ni Hollande ni Merkel quieren esperar a que pasen las elecciones presidenciales y federales, respectivamente, del año que viene en ambos países.
“Francia está lista; ahora Europa debe convencerse”, asegura el jefe del Estado francés.
MÁS DEMOCRACIA FRENTE A LOS EXTREMISMOS
C. Y.
Los peligros de los vientos nacionalistas a los que se ha referido François Hollande se concretan en el auge de la extrema derecha y el populismo en Francia, Alemania, Polonia o, más recientemente, en Austria. En Francia, el Frente Nacional de Marine Le Pen es el partido más votado con un discurso euroescéptico: “La UE no nos aporta nada; queremos recuperar soberanía territorial (no a Schengen), monetaria y presupuestaria”, reitera la líder ultraderechista.
Hollande asume que, para combatir a esos partidos, Europa necesita renovar un proyecto “que naufraga en muchos terrenos”, cuenta uno de sus asesores. La toma de decisiones y las propias instituciones europeas deben democratizarse, añade.
Pese al auge de esos partidos, sigue siendo mayoritario el rechazo a abandonar la UE o el euro. El 71% de los franceses desea seguir en la UE y el 73% en el euro, según un sondeo de Les Echos.
Le Pen aboga por la opción del Franxit y por organizar un referéndum similar al británico. En Francia y en toda Europa “para que cada país tenga la posibilidad de decir lo qué piensa de en qué se ha convertido hoy la UE”, como ha declarado a France 2. Ni los partidarios del Brexit la quieren ver en Londres apoyando la campaña. Todo un dato de las peligrosas derivas que sufre Europa.
En: elpais
Las apariencias engañan..no era un rito satánico, ni Illuminati, ni del NWO..no, es solo folklore de la zona
Contexto: Estamos en la inauguración del túnel Gotthard (o Túnel de San Gotardo) en Suiza el 01 de junio de 2016 con 600 espectadores y 600 participantes en esta obra. El realizador de esta “inusual” presentación es Volker Hesse, un director postmoderno medio loco y transgresor. Su inspiración: Las leyendas folklóricas de las culturas alpinas que se desarrollaron en este area geográfica de Suiza (“Yodeli, yodeli, oh, oh”).
Probablemente la maquina propagandística rusa haya catalogado este espectáculo como un “rito satánico” o “ceremonia luciferina”, pero no hay nada mas exagerado que dichas denominaciones. La presentación artística es extraña, para alguien que no es de la zona lo es. Pero por favor! no dejen que sus temores y creencias les hagan considerar algo que no conocen como algo malo o “satánico”. No dejen que su fe y religión juzguen algo sin haberlo aprendido y comprendido primero (en otras palabras, vean el video completo para luego criticar).
Personalmente, creo que no debemos pensar que el mundo gira alrededor nuestro y de nuestra cultura o ideas y que todo lo que existe debería ser así en todos lados. Eso es un grave error, y se le llama etnocentrismo y en muchos contextos es contraproducente para la integración de diversas culturas. Por eso, antes de sentir miedo, acérquense al fenómeno y analícenlo, investiguen, pregúntense por qué las cosas son así y no como uno cree que deberían de ser. Se darán una gran sorpresa. Nunca juzguen lo desconocido desde los inciertos terrenos del miedo.
Also you can see: A winged baby, semi-naked dancers and a man with a bird’s nest on his head: How Switzerland decided to mark opening of world’s longest rail tunnel
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Senate votes down gun control proposals in wake of Orlando shootings
The Senate on Monday voted down four competing gun control proposals, allowing Democrats and Republicans to stake out political turf around a controversial, emotional issue that promises to play big in a campaign year.
The votes, which fell mostly along party lines, came as the debate over gun laws has been reinvigorated following the recent mass shootings at an Orlando nightclub popular with the gay community.
Despite both parties presenting proposals to tighten certain restrictions on buying a firearm, attempts to craft any compromise ran aground last week leading to Monday’s series of votes that served as a way for both sides to send political messages.
[Everything lawmakers said (and didn’t say) after the Orlando mass shooting]
Variations of all four proposals considered Monday already failed to pass the Senate in December following the deadly mass shooting at the hands of Islamic State sympathizers in San Bernardino, Calif.
Democrats charged that Monday’s votes fit a pattern of Republicans giving in to the demands of the National Rifle Association following tragic shooting incidents despite polls showing support for stricter gun laws.
“Senate Republicans ought to be embarrassed, but they’re not, because the NRA is happy,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats of pushing a “partisan agenda.”
[Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group employes “Survivor Network” to change gun control debate]
In the week since the most recent mass shooting, both Democrats and Republicans have repeatedly stated that terrorists should not be able to purchase guns.
But there are substantive differences between the proposals offered by both sides – all of which required 60 votes to advance in the Senate.
The Senate voted 47 to 53 to reject a measure from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to let the attorney general deny firearms and explosives to any suspected terrorists. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure, while Republican Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Mark Kirk of Illinois, both of whom face tough re-election contests, voted for it.
The Senate also rejected a Republican alternative from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), that would allow authorities to delay a gun sale to a terrorism suspect for three days or longer if a judge ruled during that time that there is probable cause to deny the firearm outright. The vote was 53 to 47, falling short of the 60 votes needed.
Two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, backed the measure. But three Republicans – Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Kirk and Susan Collins of Maine voted against Cornyn’s amendment.
[Despite Trump’s calls for action, Senate gun debate headed down familiar path]
Both provisions contained language to alert authorities if anyone who has been on a terror watch list in the last five years tries to buy a gun. Such a provision might not have prevented the Orlando shooter from buying the weapons he used in the nightclub massacre, but it would have let authorities know when he purchased the firearms.
Republicans argued Feinstein’s proposal doesn’t do enough to protect against situations where someone mistakenly on a terror watch list, or mistakenly suspected of links to terror groups, would be denied their Second Amendment rights.
Democrats countered that the time limitations in Cornyn’s alternative would make it functionally impossible to actually prevent suspicious individuals from purchasing firearms.
A handful of Republicans have also voiced their own criticism of Cornyn’s legislation. On Monday, Ayotte said that she would support the procedural votes on both the Cornyn and Feinstein measures – not because she thought either posed a satisfactory solution, but “to get to this debate, because I want a result,” she said.
Ayotte was working with Collins over the last week to try to come up with a compromise proposal. That proposal would prevent people on two subsets of the FBI’s database of suspected terrorists – the “No Fly List” and the “Selectee List” – from buying guns and alert the FBI if someone on those lists in the previous five years tried to purchase weapons.
On Monday, Sens. Manchin and Heitkamp said they were also participating in talks as well.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) tweeted that he is also with Collins to draft a compromise and expects “to get a vote this week.”
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said there would be more information about plans for Collins’ proposal once it was formally filed.
But leading Democrats said that Collins’ proposal was too narrow and would allow too many potential terrorists to fall through the cracks.
“Her alternative is not enough to close the loophole that creates this terror gap,” Feinstein said Monday.
Other Democrats said they aren’t convinced Collins could bring enough Republicans along to win the needed support for her proposal.
Harry Reid said after the vote Monday that Democrats wanted to see if Collins could “drum up the 20 votes or so” from Republicans for the proposal, so a vote on her amendment would not be just “a gesture in futility.”
The Senate also rejected, on a 44 to 56 vote, a measure from Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would expand background checks for anyone trying to purchase a firearm, including at a gun show or online.
It was a more expansive version of a 2103 compromise measure from Sens. Manchin and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that sought to expand background checks after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Conn. Their proposal never earned enough support to pass, but 54 senators supported it in 2013, and 48 senators backed it in the wake of the San Bernardino attack last year.
Both Manchin and Toomey refused to back Murphy’s more expansive measure. Democratic Sens. Heitkamp and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) – who is also running the Senate Democrats’ campaign operation this year – also voted against Murphy’s proposal.
Republicans objected to the breadth of the Murphy-Booker-Schumer proposal, which would require a background check for almost any sale or transfer of a firearm. Kirk was the only Republican to back the measure.
Most Republicans backed an alternative from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) that would only increase funding for the government to run background checks without expanding them. It failed on a 53 to 47 vote, falling short of the 60 votes needed.
Democrats also objected to Grassley’s amendment they said it could give people involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution for a mental illness the right to buy a gun once they are released.
Republican Sens. Kirk and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) voted against the proposal; Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) voted for it.
[Second Amendment and people who had been committed to a mental institution 28 years ago]
The Obama administration on Monday said it supported the Feinstein and Murphy-Booker-Schumer amendments.
Last week, Democrats took their frustrations to the Senate floor in a near 15-hour filibuster, led by Murphy, in which they demanded votes on their two proposals.
They credited the display with bringing about Monday’s votes. Republican leaders, meanwhile, derided them for staging a “campaign talk-athon” on the Senate floor that only slowed things down.
But Democrats are counting Monday’s votes as an incremental victory in their campaign to build a political movement to demand gun control measures.
At least three efforts to craft a compromise – two of them Republican-led – failed to produce a product Democrats were willing to endorse. But Murphy argued that those efforts “are another sign of significant cracking in the wall of opposition from the gun lobby.”
Monday’s votes came on the heels of the FBI releasing a partial transcript of the Orlando shooter’s 911 call to police during the attack, and of the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a challenge to Connecticut’s assault weapons ban.
[Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to Connecticut’s ban on ‘assault weapons’]
A federal ban on assault-style weapons expired in 2004, and while restoring it remains a part of the pro-gun control agenda, like-minded lawmakers aren’t demanding legislation be considered as forcefully as they are pushing for measures to expand background checks and keep suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms.
On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden responded to a petition demanding action on an assault weapons ban, saying: “The President and I agree with you. Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines should be banned from civilian ownership.”
In: washingtonpost
Clip Démo de “Résonances” – Part 2
Clip-Démo du spectacle “Résonances” Création 2008 de la Cie Grain de Son.
Direction artistique et Vielle à roue: Laurence Bourdin
Piano: Tomoko Miyagi
Contrebasse: Amanda Gardone
Enregistré en live à la Maison de la Musique de Ste Sigolène (43 – France) en Mars 2011.
Montage: GRETA du Velay / Image & Ricochet www.image-ricochet.fr
Gunman in Orlando pledged allegiance to ISIS; at least 50 killed in shooting rampage at gay club
ORLANDO — The gunman who opened fire inside a crowded nightclub here early Sunday morning, launching a rampage that killed 50 people and injured 53 others in the deadliest shooting spree in the country’s history, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, according to U.S. law enforcement officials.
In a rampage that President Obama said the FBI was investigating as an act of terrorism, this gunman fired a barrage of bullets inside Pulse, a popular gay bar and dance club, forcing people to drop to the floor and rush out through a back entrance during the club’s “Latin night.”
After the first round of gunshots, police said the shooter held hostages for about three hours until officers stormed inside to rescue people and killed him in a shootout, though many details remained unclear about the standoff and the final confrontation.
Witnesses and others said the shooting left a gruesome scene behind, with the bloodshed 20 minutes away from Disney evoking the carnage seen in war zones. One doctor at a nearby hospital said that victims came in with their bodies riddled with gunshots, while others “had their calves and forearms blown off.”
While many waited for much of Sunday for information on whether their loved ones were among the dead in Orlando, concerns reverberated outward of broader dangers posed to the LGBT community. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said a heavily-armed man there was arrested while going to a gay pride parade, while police in Washington increased security ahead of a Capital Pride Festival in the nation’s capital.
“We know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate,” Obama said during remarks at the White House. “And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people.”
The gunman, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, made a 911 call on Sunday identifying himself and declared allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State, according to U.S. law enforcement officials who asked not to be identified to discuss the ongoing investigation. Mateen, whose family is from Afghanistan, also cited the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon during that call. It was unclear if he made the call before or during the attack.
Details about Mateen’s background began to emerge slowly on Sunday. Much like Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers who carried out the Boston attack, Mateen had been the focus of an FBI investigation before launching an attack.
Ron Hopper of the FBI said that Mateen had twice been investigated by the bureau and that in both cases, he was interviewed before the probes were concluded. In 2013, Hopper said agents investigated Mateen after he made “inflammatory comments to coworkers alleging possible ties to terrorists.” Mateen was interviewed twice and, when investigators were unable to verify the details of his comments, the FBI closed the probe, Hopper said.
Mateen was investigated again in 2014 by the FBI. This time, they looked into potential ties connecting Mateen to Moner Mohammad Abusalha, the first American to carry out a suicide attack in Syria. Like Mateen, Abusalha lived in Fort Pierce, Fla.
“We determined that contact was minimal and did not constitute a substantive relationship or a threat at that time,” Hopper said.
Mateen’s pledge on the 911 call echoes what happened after the attack in San Bernardino, Calif., last December. Just after a husband and wife killed 14 people last December in an attack there, one of the shooters went on Facebook and pledged her allegiance to the emir of the Islamic State, a militant group also known as ISIS or ISIL. Officials later said the posting was made on behalf of both attackers.
The Islamic State-linked Amaq News Agency said in a message Sunday that the Orlando shooting “was carried out by an Islamic State fighter.” The same news agency had released a message showing the Islamic State claiming some credit for the San Bernardino attack two days after that occurred, while Amaq posted a statement from the group asserting responsibility for the Brussels attacks in March within hours.
The Islamic State has repeatedly executed gay people and then released videos showing these gruesome executions.
Hopper said Sunday that the FBI was still working to determine a motive. He said officials had not found any indications of outside help or another suspect, and added that they were confident there were no additional threats.
Mateen’s ex-wife said in an interview Sunday that he beat her repeatedly during their brief marriage, and said that Mateen, who was Muslim, was not very religious and gave no indications that he was devoted to radical Islam.
Mina said it appeared the gunman was armed with “a handgun and an AR-15-type assault rifle” and had additional rounds on him. “It appears he was organized and well-prepared,” Mina said.
Mateen legally bought the two guns believed to be used in the attack legally within “the last few days,” Trevor Velinor of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Sunday.
An AR-15 is the civilian variant of the military M-16 rifle. It is one of the most popular weapons in the United States and can be customized with a variety of accessories including different grips and sights. A standard magazine for it carries about 30 bullets.
Authorities did not initially outline what exactly occurred in the club after the first shots were fired at about 2 a.m. and before police stormed the building. Some information did begin to slowly emerge during the day. Police had said in the morning that 20 people were killed before saying later that the toll was significantly higher. Until Sunday, the 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech — which saw 32 people killed and 30 others injured — was the country’s worst mass shooting.
Police did not immediately offer details on the three-hour standoff, but a senior U.S. law enforcement official said officers were being cautious as an active-shooter scene turned into a hostage negotiation. When the gunman was inside during the hostage standoff, he was on the phone with police and no gunshots were heard, the official said.
“That is when you do wait,” the official said. “It was appropriate.”
But ultimately, police chose to go in and end the standoff because of concerns about treating the injured inside. Officials at nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center said at least nine of the people killed in the attack died at the hospital or were dead by the time they arrived.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina said that the toll from this latest mass slaughter could have been even greater, saying that a SWAT team “rescued at least 30 possible victims and brought them to safety.” Police said they were not able to say if all of the people killed or injured were shot during the initial burst of gunfire or during the shootout with 11 police officers three hours later.
“It’s absolutely terrible,” Mina said during a news briefing. “Fifty victims in one location, one shooting, is absolutely one of the worst tragedies we’ve seen.”
By Sunday afternoon, city officials had begun gradually releasing the names of victims who were killed after their relatives were informed.
In the aftermath of the shooting, officials said many things remained unknown, including:
- Details about a possible motivation for the gunman and more about his background.
- The final death toll.
- Identities of the people killed and injured.
- A clearer timeline of what happened inside the club and when all of the victims were injured.
A number of federal agencies were participating in a massive law enforcement response to the shooting in Orlando, authorities said. On Sunday afternoon, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who had been scheduled to attend a meeting in Beijing on cyber-security, said she was returning to Washington so she could monitor the ongoing investigation.
“We stand with the people of Orlando, who have endured a terrible attack on their city,” Obama said during a statement he made at the White House after meeting with FBI Director James Comey.
Obama said it was too early to know “the precise motivations of the killer,” but he said the FBI would investigate any possible links the gunman had to terrorist groups.
During his remarks Sunday afternoon, Obama — echoing comments he has made during numerous other statements given after shooting rampages — said the bloodshed in Orlando served as a reminder of how easily people can obtain guns in the United States. Pope Francis also expressed deep “horror and condemnation” of the shooting on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Obama also signed a proclamation honoring the victims and ordering that American flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on Thursday.
“We’re dealing with something we never imagined and is unimaginable,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (D) said during a news briefing Sunday.
Dyer said he had issued a state of emergency in the city, while Gov. Rick Scott (R) said he was issuing a similar order for surrounding Orange County and called the shooting “clearly an act of terror.”
His father hosted a political television show in Afghanistan and, in one video, declared his candidacy for the Afghan presidency.
“I unequivocally condemn the horrific attack in Orlando, Florida, USA. Nothing can justify killing of civilians,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter. “My sympathies and thoughts are with the families of the victims, the American people and the US government.”
One relative said that Mateen’s family was in shock after being told on Sunday morning about his involvement. This relative said Mateen’s family was very sorry about what had happened.
“We had a crime that will have a lasting effect on our community,” Dyer said. “We need to stand strong, we need to be supportive of the victims and their families.”
Police said that during the shootout with the gunman, one Orlando police officer was shot and saved by his Kevlar helmet.
Pulse shooting: In hail of gunfire in which suspect was killed, OPD officer was hit. Kevlar helmet saved his life. pic.twitter.com/MAb0jGi7r4
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 12, 2016
Numerous people injured were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, which was locked down until Sunday afternoon. Outside the staging area for families at Orlando Regional on Sunday afternoon, there were about 45 people waiting outside in the 84-degree heat. The hospital was only letting two family members go inside at a time.
Occasionally, people came out with tears pouring down their faces. One woman was on the ground, moaning “no” over and over again until her family led her away. Many people waiting brought water bottles to share, as well as pizza, and there has been a lot of crying and hugging as people recognize newcomers to the crowd.
Joannette Martinez said her family first became worried when they couldn’t find her 24-year-old sister, Yilnary. It was Yilmary’s first time at the club, Joanette said, a celebration because her brother in law was in town.
“No one’s told us anything,” Martinez said as she sat outside on the sidewalk, her back to the hospital, after waiting for several hours.
At a staging area set up for families at a Hampton Inn & Suites close to that hospital, Jose Honorato was waiting with his seven siblings for any word about his younger brother Miguel.
“He was at the club with three friends. They made it out safely when the shooting started but they don’t know if he made it out,” Honorato said.
Honorato said he had called Miguel’s phone, but it just kept ringing until it eventually began going right to voicemail. He said relatives in this waiting area were tense as they had not been given information yet.
OneBlood, a foundation with blood collection centers throughout the southeast, put out a call for donors after the shooting.
While many people sharing the call on social media reported that OneBlood is allowing all gay men who to donate — going against Food and Drug Administration guidelines — a spokesman for the foundation said that’s not true and that it was adhering to longstanding federal restriction on gay men from donating blood. (While the Food and Drug Administration recently updated its guidelines to allow men who have not had sex with another man within a year’s time to donate blood, the spokesman said OneBlood’s system hasn’t been updated to allow that yet.)
The horrific incident began as Saturday gave way to Sunday at the crowded club. Around 2 a.m., Pulse Orlando posted an urgent message on Facebook: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.”
Within minutes of the shooting, police vehicles and a SWAT team descended on the club.
“I was there,” Ricardo J. Negron posted on the club’s Facebook page several hours later. “Shooter opened fire @ around 2:00am. People on the dance floor and bar got down on the floor and some of us who were near the bar and back exit managed to go out through the outdoor area and just ran. I am safely home and hoping everyone gets home safely as well.”
An officer working at the club exchanged fire with the gunman, authorities said. It was then, according to police, that the incident developed into “a hostage situation”. Authorities said the man was armed with an “suspicious device,” in addition to his guns, Mina, the police chief, told reporters.
“The decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there,” Mina said.
Police later reported that a sound heard at the club was a “controlled explosion.”
Several neighbors from the quiet neighborhood around the club stood in clumps on the street on Sunday morning, hugging and consoling each other as many teared up as they came to terms with the idea that the shooting happened on their doorstep.
Joshua and Mary Zika live less than a block from the nightclub, and say they’ve never had any problems with the club before. “It might sound weird to have a nightclub in the middle of a residential neighborhood,” Mary Zika said.
They say they didn’t hear any shots or notice anything out of the ordinary, because helicopters are often heard in the area due to the nearby hospital. Instead, they found out about it from the news, reading and watching in disbelief as they realized this had happened just outside their door.
Both said they were particularly appalled that the shooter had appeared to target this particular population.
“We’re proud of our gay community in Orlando,” Mary Zika said.
The early-Sunday rampage followed the fatal shooting Friday night of a pop singer who was killed while signing autographs following a performance at an Orlando concert venue.
Christina Grimmie, a 22-year-old singer who was a finalist on NBC’s show “The Voice,” died hours after being shot by a gunman who then shot himself, police said.
Goldman, Markon and Berman reported from Washington. Peter Holley, Souad Mekhennet, Ariana Eunjung Cha, Greg Miller, Joby Warrick, Tim Craig, Sarah Larimer and Thomas Gibbons-Neff contributed to this report, which has been updated multiple times and will continue to be updated.
In: washingtonpost
Divertida rutina de la gimnasta boricua Sophina de Jesús
Misterios: La inquietante fotografía de Amy Bradley
Donald Trump supera el número mágico de delegados y asegura la nominación republicana
Según la agencia de noticias AP, este jueves el magnate logró acumular 1,238 delegados necesarios para convertirse en candidato presidencial.
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La agencia de noticias Associated Press (AP) informó este jueves que el virtual nominado presidencial republicano Donald Trump ya cuenta con la cantidad de delegados necesarios para ser el candidato de su partido.
Según la agencia, Trump alcanzó el número por un pequeño grupo de delegados no comprometidos -que son libres para votar a cualquier candidato- que le dijeron a AP que apoyarían al empresario en la convención nacional que se realizará en julio en Cleveland, Ohio.
La agencia AP es considerada como un referente para los medios de comunicación en materia electoral de los Estados Unidos.
Para llegar a la nominación republicana son necesarios 1,237 delegados. Trump ha llegado a 1,238 con el apoyo de estos delegados.
El cierre de la temporada de primarias para los republicanos es el próximo 7 de junio. Hasta allí, aún quedan cinco elecciones en California, Montana, Nueva Jersey, Nuevo México y Dakota del Sur. En esos estados quedan 303 delegados en juego todavía, que el magnate puede sumar.
Trump había ganado el pasado martes las primarias en el estado de Washington con 76% de los votos, frente a apenas un 20% que se repartieron en partes iguales los ex precandidatos el senador por Texas Ted Cruz y gobernador de Ohio John Kasich, cuyos nombres estaban en las boletas pese a que habían suspendido sus campañas semanas atrás.
Con esa victoria Trump llegó a los 1,196 delegados y aún no alcanzaba el número de delagados requeridos para la nominación automática, algo que cambió este jueves con la noticia de que delegados no comprometidos lo apoyarán en Cleveland.
En: univision