Everyday Life & Interests - News & Politics | Sensitive Topics #2: Topics Inside Include; Death - War - Violence - Etc...

Sunrise at Midnight · 10-01-2015, 01:09 PM

Trigger Warning - This thread contains topics that may be seen as troubling or upsetting.

Topics within this thread contain stories, images and discussions that may cause a triggering event. To be respectful of everyone on the El&I board we have divided the News & Politics thread into two separate categories. "Lite" & "Sensitive"

This is the Sensitive Thread. Topics discussed here should be the ones that fall on the darker sides of the news, that includes any kind of violence, sexual crimes, death, abuse, kidnapping etc..... The lighter side of the news should be posted here News & Politics Lite When in doubt if a topic falls in a certain category, just post it in here and a Moderater can move it if necessary.

Please be patient with us, this is a work in progress and this opening post may be tweaked a bit more in the coming days.

Thank you,

Kali, Mandie & Lars

Sunrise at Midnight · 10-01-2015, 01:12 PM

13 Killed in Shooting at Oregon's Umpqua Community College: Official - NBC News

falling slowly · 10-01-2015, 01:17 PM

That's awful

**canflam** · 10-01-2015, 03:10 PM

Yeah. just learned about that. The suspect is reportedly dead. It's very sad. Last year of course was the shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale & now this 1 in Roseberg. The victim's families have my condolences.

I did want to mention this as well about last year's school shooting in Marysville.

Father of Marysville Pilchuck shooter guilty of illegal gun possesion

**sunnykerr** · 10-01-2015, 05:48 PM

12 dead in military plane crash in Afghanistan: U.S. official

**sunnykerr** · 10-03-2015, 10:14 AM

At least 16 dead after Doctors Without Borders clinic bombed in Afghanistan

Quote:

Afghan hospital attack: MSF condemns Kunduz air strikes

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" deadly air strikes on its hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz.

MSF said at least 12 of its staff and seven patients, three of them children, were killed in the attack.

It said the strikes had continued for more than 30 minutes after US and Nato officials were told of its location.

US forces were carrying out air strikes at the time.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the Nato force in his country had apologised for the bombing of the hospital. The Nato alliance has admitted its forces may have hit the hospital.

At least 37 people were seriously injured, 19 of them MSF staff.

MSF says that all parties to the conflict, including Kabul and Washington, had been told the precise GPS co-ordinates of the hospital in Kunduz on many occasions, including on 29 September.

After staff at the hospital became aware of the aerial bombardment in the early hours of Saturday morning, US and Afghan military officials were again informed, MSF said.

Reuters news agency quotes an MSF official as saying that frantic staff phoned military officials at Nato in Kabul and Washington as bombs landed on the hospital for nearly an hour.

The official said the first bomb had landed at 02:10, and MSF staff called Nato in Kabul at 02:19 and military officials in Washington a few minutes later, but the bombing continued until 03:13.

A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, Col Brian Tribus, said: "US forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz city at 02:15 (local time)... against individuals threatening the force.

"The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility."

In a statement, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said: "While we are still trying to determine exactly what happened, I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected.

"A full investigation into the tragic incident is under way in co-ordination with the Afghan government."

The Afghan interior ministry said a group of 10 to 15 militants were found hiding in the hospital.

"They are killed, all of the terrorists were killed, but we also lost doctors," ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said.

The Taliban denied that any of its fighters were there.

A Taliban statement described the air strikes which hit the hospital as "deliberate", and carried out by "the barbaric American forces".

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called for a swift, full and transparent investigation into the incident.

"This event is utterly tragic, inexcusable, and possibly even criminal," he said.

"International and Afghan military planners have an obligation to respect and protect civilians at all times, and medical facilities and personnel are the object of a special protection. These obligations apply no matter whose air force is involved, and irrespective of the location."

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also strongly condemned the bombing.

"Such attacks against health workers and facilities undermine the capacity of humanitarian organisations to assist the Afghan people at a time when they most urgently need it," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the ICRC delegation in Afghanistan.

MSF says that staff and patients critically injured in the attack on the hospital have been transferred to a hospital in Pul-e Khumri, two hours' drive away.

There has been intense fighting in Kunduz since Taliban fighters swept into the northern city on Monday.

Afghan officials said the government had regained control of Kunduz on Friday, but the Taliban denied the city had been retaken. Residents say many people are afraid to leave their homes.

US air power has been supporting Afghan government forces' efforts to regain the city.

In Badakhshan province, to the east of Kunduz, the Taliban have captured two districts in the past two days. The US embassy in Kabul has advised its citizens to leave the province.

Kunduz, with a population of around 300,000, is one of Afghanistan's largest cities and strategically important both as a transport hub and a bread-basket for the region.

The US-led Nato combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December 2014, but Nato forces remain for training and support purposes.

Nato's Resolute Support Mission, which was launched in January 2015, consists of more than 13,000 troops from 42 countries. The US contributes around half of these.

What do I know, maybe it was worth killing volunteer doctors in the region to administer care to the sick and wounded.

But, I gotta say, even if I know that such tragedies are part and parcel of war, it doesn't feel right.

In fact, it feels like a crime.

I know it probably wasn't, but that's how I felt when I read the headlines this morning.

**canflam** · 10-03-2015, 02:39 PM

Sad. Apparently they were told where this hospital was located also before they started bombing it.

**sunnykerr** · 10-04-2015, 08:43 AM

If these articles are correct, they were before and they were told during the bombing.

I suppose it's hard to stop a bomb that's been launched from reaching wherever it's going to reach (whether it's its intended target or not). And I'm trying to keep as open a mind as I can because I know I have a fairly virulent anti-war bias.

It's just, bombing a hospital? Bombing MSF volunteers? It's a dark day, indeed.

Sunrise at Midnight · 10-06-2015, 01:18 AM

That's sad about the hospital

I haven't read or listened to any reports about it. In the past hasn't it been the case that hospitals and schools were being used as "bases" because of the civilian targets that would be/could be killed?

Also it's sad about the cargo ship that sank during Hurricane Joaquin. 33 crew members missing

.

**canflam** · 10-06-2015, 04:19 PM

Yeah. Is the hurricane near you or people you know? I'm on the West Coast, so have watched footage of what happened on the Weather Channel. Very sad.

**sunnykerr** · 10-06-2015, 06:09 PM

^ I believe the Bahamas (and possibly Bermuda) got the worst of it. I don't know if there have been casualties, but entire islands or parts of islands have been flattened. They've seen the kind of flooding that contaminates wells, washes out roads and causes serious damage to significant infrastructires (like airports and such).

Of course, the Carolinas have also been experiencing record rains and thus record flooding, but (while not trying to minimize any of that), they didn't bear the full brunt of Joaquin.

In the Bahamas, the closest they've ever come to something this damaging was in 1992 with Andrew, and then they only caught a bit of it. This one stayed two days over the Bahamas.

Kali I'm sure plenty of terrorists will use whatever building they want as a "base." This wasn't a terrorist base. It was a Doctors Without Borders hospital. The army knew that. Hence this:

U.S. military 'deeply regrets' airstrike on Afghanistan hospital

Sunrise at Midnight · 10-06-2015, 08:47 PM

Yeah I get that Sunny, I was just saying in some other cases they have been used not in this particular case.

Odd question, someone told me today that the Oregon shooter was on a terror list...but when I searched for that it only came on non mainstream news pages, ( I'm guessing republican sides ) not any regular ones. Have you all heard this.?
Here's an example
Oregon Mass Shooter On Terror List Obama Refused To Take From Russia | EUTimes.net
Never heard of that site before but you can clearly tell it's not an Obama fan page...

Quote:

Originally Posted by canflam (View Post)

Yeah. Is the hurricane near you or people you know? I'm on the West Coast, so have watched footage of what happened on the Weather Channel. Very sad.

Not near me, I am in Florida though and have had my fair share of dealings with them in the past. One year was hit by 4 back to back

**canflam** · 10-07-2015, 02:22 PM

I didn't know about that site.

So what do you think about President Obama visiting Roseberg this week? People are furious about him going there.

Sunrise at Midnight · 10-08-2015, 08:32 AM

I've got conflicting thoughts about his visit. On one side, I've always been taught, even if you don't respect the person, respect the office they hold. On the other side, I can totally see how some people would be angry and feel like they will be used as props to promote gun control ( one family's quote, I'll track it down it's a second ).

Eta the quote:

Quote:

Stacy Boylan, father of Umpqua Community College student Ana Boylan, openly questions Obama’s motives for coming to Roseburg — with good reason, considering the president said “we should politicize” shootings such as that which occurred last week.

Ana continues to recover after being shot in the back by the gunman.

“I do believe it was Rahm Emmanuel [who] said, ‘Never let a good tragedy go to waste,'” Boylan told Fox News host Megyn Kelly in an appearance

Boylan, a staunch Second Amendment supporter, went on to say that Obama’s visit “is completely to support his gun control agenda.” He was also highly critical of gun-free zones, saying gunmen target these areas knowing they’re not going to be met with resistance.

“Gun-free zones are a problem, they’re an issue,” he said. “They’re a target for crazy people.”

When asked specifically if he will see Obama on Friday if the president wants to meet with families of the victims, Boylan said he has spoken to his daughter and other family members and they’ve decided that they will not be used as props to support a gun control agenda.

“On principle, I find that I am in disagreement with his policies on gun control, and therefore, we will not be attending the visit,”

On yet another side, I personally feel, if the majority want him to stay away, he should respect their wishes. If the majority want him there, he should go and those who don't want to meet with him can simply just not go.

**canflam** · 10-08-2015, 11:54 AM

Yeah. I was thinking that it is a nice gesture to visit the families of those that had tragedies in that shooting last month, but if people don't want to listen to what he says that's up to them. The mayor of Roseburg though does want the President to visit there. Hope it goes well if that's what happens.

So what is up with Ben Carson saying he would've attacked the gunman if he was in that position others were at Umpqua on that tragic day? Good grief man.


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