Lots more on Syria today, at the end

Letter to the Editor. Robert A. Hall: Culture, not race, the reason for killings

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/mailbag/robert-a-hall-culture-not-race-the-reason-for-killings/article_e0b8a542-1424-5151-a9b3-4c25725c955d.html

While basically accurate, their editing changed what I said a bit. I did not say that Scott saw Cervini stealing from a car. In the account I read, Scott saw the three teens and thought they might be stealing. Also, I did not say that Cervini rushed at Scott. Scott claimed this at trial, just as Zimmermen claimed that Martin attacked him. Not having been there, I tend to accept that the jury thought the claims were true in both cases. ~Bob

Medisave Accounts in Singapore. By John Goodman

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/medisave-accounts-in-singapore/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-32194

Excerpt: No, Singapore does not have a free market for health care. What it does have is an alternative to the European/American welfare state, in which private saving and private insurance do what employers and governments do in other countries. The Singapore philosophy is: Each generation should pay its own way. Each family should pay its own way. Each individual should pay his own way. Only after passing through these three filters, should anyone turn to the government for help. If the United States adopted a similar approach to public policy, there would be no deficit problem in this country.

Town Objects to Church’s Cross Over Fear It Might Offend Muslims. By Todd Starnes

http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/09/04/starnes-exclusive-town-objects-church%E2%80%99s-cross-over-fear-it-might-offend-muslims#ixzz2e1qRZw2Y

Excerpt: It’s a battle of Christians versus Christians in Brandon, Miss. where city officials oppose efforts by a prominent church to erect a giant cross because it violates a zoning ordinance. But the pastor of the church said elected officials are also afraid the cross might offend Muslims.

Bomb explodes near Egypt interior minister's convoy

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/80840/Egypt/Politics-/UPDATED-Bomb-explodes-near-Egypt-interior-minister.aspx

Excerpt: Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim survived an assassination attempt when a bomb detonated early on Thursday near his convoy in northeast Cairo, officials told Ahram Online.

Author: Hemingway watched Che’s firing squad massacres ‘while sipping Daiquiris’
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/04/author-hemingway-watched-ches-firing-squad-massacres-while-sipping-daiquiris/

Excerpt: “Hemingway hailed Castro’s revolution as ‘very pure and beautiful,’” Fontova said. “He was also a guest of honor at many of Che Guevara’s firing squad massacres. Hemingway loved to watch Che’s firing squads murder hundreds of Cubans. Hemingway would watch the massacres from a picnic chair while sipping Daiquiris.”

“My Administration is Proud to be Your Partner”, Obama Tells Muslim Brotherhood Pro-Hamas Group

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/my-administration-is-proud-to-be-your-partner-obama-tells-muslim-brotherhood-front-group-linked-to-terrorism/

Excerpt: Obama taped a statement congratulating ISNA, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Hamas Holy Land funding case, on its anniversary, telling the Muslim Brotherhood terror-linked front group, “My administration is proud to be your partner.”  ISNA’s president had met twice with Obama and Valerie Jarrett, making this a high end meeting. …“Muslim Americans are integral part of our character and history and we rely on your innovation and entrepreneurship to help keep moving this country forward,” Obama told ISNA members. (Forward to what? –Barb)

State Agency in Wisconsin Gave Thousands to Liberal Think Tank

http://www.redstate.com/briansikma/2013/09/04/state-agency-in-wisconsin-gave-thousands-to-liberal-think-tank/

Excerpt: The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is currently awarding $130,000 to the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, a liberal think-tank housed at the University of Wisconsin. The DWD is a state agency that is supposed to report to Governor Scott Walker. The Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), although housed at the University of Wisconsin, is a heavily ideological organization led by Professor Joel Rogers, who has advised the Obama Administration on so-called green policies.

The Sun’s Magnetic Field Is About to Reverse

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2013/09/the-suns-magnetic-field-is-about-to-reverse/#ixzz2e03GsOTo
Excerpt: Every 11 years, the strength of this magnetic field gradually decreases to zero, then emerges in the opposite direction, as part of the solar cycle. It’s as if, here on Earth, compasses pointed towards the Arctic as “North” for 11 years, then briefly wavered, then pointed towards Antarctica as “North” for the next 11 years (in fact, the Earth’s magnetic field does reverse as well, but it occurs with much less regularity, and takes a few hundred thousand years to do so). Recent observations indicate that the next solar magnetic reversal is imminent—in August, NASA announced that it was three or four months away.

Lost in migration: Earth's magnetic field overdue a flip

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/321220/scitech/science/lost-in-migration-earth-s-magnetic-field-overdue-a-flip

Excerpt: Scientists say earth's magnetic field is weakening and could all but disappear in as little as 500 years as a precursor to flipping upside down. It has happened before—the geological record suggests the magnetic field has reversed every 250,000 years, meaning that, with the last event 800,000 years ago, another would seem to be overdue… Ciaran Beggan, a geomagnetic specialist at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, said studies have also refined our understanding of how the field reverses.

Jeb Bush to present Hillary with Liberty Medal on eve of Benghazi anniversary

http://redalertpolitics.com/2013/09/03/jeb-bush-to-present-hillary-with-liberty-medal-on-eve-of-benghazi-anniversary/

Excerpt: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to receive the National Constitution Center’s 2013 Liberty MedalTuesday, but it is who’s presenting her the award that is causing the most controversy.  The potential 2016 presidential candidate will receive the honor from none other than former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who could very well end up as her Republican counterpart in the general election. … Incidentally, she will receive it on the eve of the first anniversary of the most controversial incident during her term as Secretary of State – the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. (Whoa!  Bad karma…Barb)

As Benghazi Anniversary Nears, NBC's Williams Skips Topic in Susan Rice Interview
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2013/09/04/benghazi-anniversary-nears-nbcs-williams-skips-topic-susan-rice-interv#ixzz2dzxrdWBA

Excerpt: On Tuesday, just days before the one-year anniversary of the September 11, 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams conducted an exclusive interview with White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice and completely ignored the topic.

Sen. McCain: Saying 'Allahu Akbar' Is Just Like Saying 'Thank God'
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/09/03/sen-john-mccain-saying-allahu-akbar-just-saying-thank-god#ixzz2dzwujLGJ

Excerpt: Sen. John McCain said shouting “Allahu Akbar” is the same as saying “thank God.” McCain (R-AZ) made that stunning theological pronouncement during an interview on Fox and Friends. (From Mark Levin site:  Twitter.com @DebraBurlingame - "Allahu Akbar" is the last human sound on United 93 cockpit voice recorder as it screamed into ground at 580 mph. –Barb)

Obama vs. Education 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/357543/obama-vs-education-editors

Excerpt: It was 50 years ago this June that George Wallace, the Democratic governor of Alabama, made his infamous “stand in the schoolhouse door” to prevent two black students from enrolling at an all-white school. …These many years later, Democrats still are standing in the schoolhouse door to prevent black students from enjoying the educational benefits available to their white peers, this time in Louisiana instead of Alabama. Playing the Wallace role this time is Eric Holder, whose Justice Department is petitioning a U.S. district court to abolish a Louisiana school-choice program that helps students, most of them black, to exit failing government schools. (They have black support regardless, but need to appease the teachers’ unions. ~Bob.)

Obama’s foot on Oval Office desk sends shockwaves around the world

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/4/obamas-feet-oval-office-desk-sends-shockwaves-arou/#ixzz2dz3QElcl
Excerpt: Shock, outrage and mocking criticism is building among conservatives — and those of other political stripes who put the White House and its possessions on a historical pedestal – over a photograph showing President Obama in an informal pose, with his foot on his Oval Office desk. The desk hails back from 1880, a gift fromBritain’s Queen Victoria. And even its construction is special: It was built with wood from the sunken Arctic Rescue Ship, the HMS Resolute. But to Mr. Obama, it’s a good place to rest his feet, as The Daily Mail reported.

Former Territorial Army male soldier, 28, becomes Britain’s first transgender Muslim woman and is now MARRIED
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2411152/Lucy-Vallender-Former-male-TA-soldier-UKs-transgender-Muslim-woman-MARRIED.html

Excerpt: A former trained soldier has swapped her Territorial Army beret for a veil and become Britain's first transgender Muslim woman.  Lucy Vallender used to be called Laurens and says she is finally 'true to herself' after a sex change three years ago. The 28-year-old is now married to a Muslim man she met on an online dating site, but he did not know she was once a man when they wed. (He could take Chelsea Manning as his second wife. ~Bob.)

Pentagon training guide calls the Founding Fathers extremists

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTc0MTcwNjM

Excerpt: Once more, military training has become an Orwellian re-education camp where a radical transformation of the truth depicts the Founding Fathers as extremists and conservative groups as "hate groups." The people in charge of training those who keep us safe are indoctrinating their students with a set of standards that puts any serious patriot in the crosshairs of arrest for political extremism.  This is very worrisome. –Del)

Allen West Honors Rosh Hashanah by Supporting Israel. By Kevin Derby

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/allen-west-marks-rosh-hashanah-supporting-israel

Excerpt: Allen West: 'For thousands of years, the shofar has called the Jewish people together for many reasons, including ushering in the new year,” West posted on Facebook on Wednesday. “On this Rosh Hashanah, I pray the shofar will not be needed to sound an alarm of war for the people of Israel.

How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Case Study of Restaurant Workers. By Steve Lohr

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/how-surveillance-changes-behavior-a-restaurant-workers-case-study/?src=recg&_r=0

Excerpt: The impact, the researchers say, came not from firing workers engaged in theft, but mostly from their changed behavior. Knowing they were being monitored, the servers not only pulled back on any unethical practices, but also channeled their efforts into, say, prompting customers to have that dessert or a second beer, raising revenue for the restaurant and tips for themselves. “The same people who are stealing from you can be set up to succeed,” said Mr. Pierce of Washington University.

Police: If You're Being Attacked, Don't Try to Defend Yourself

http://lastresistance.com/3118/police-youre-attacked-dont-try-defend/
Excerpt: A few days ago, a couple of armed thugs tried to rob two college students in Virginia. As they probably quickly found out, they picked on the wrong guys. And yes, one of the attackers was black. The other appeared to be Latino. And I have no idea what race the victims were. I can guess that since their race is not being reported in the media, that they were probably white. It’s usually portrayed as racist when the media point out that white people are often victims of black attackers.

Many NH hospitals cut from Anthem insurance list

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130905/NEWS06/130909695

Excerpt: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the only insurer approved to offer policies on the health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act, has narrowed to 14 the number of hospitals for the ACA plans that will be offered beginning Oct. 1. (Apparently you can’t keep your hospital either. ~Bob.)

Northern California County Votes To Secede, Form New State Called “Jefferson”

http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/northern-california-county-votes-to-secede-form-new-state-called-jefferson/

Excerpt: In a nearly unanimous vote, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted overwhelmingly in favor of secession from the state of California and to form a new state named Jefferson.  (Up the rebels! ~Bob)

UK: This is the end of Westminster politics as we know it. And about time. By Douglas Carswell

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglascarswellmp/100234252/this-is-the-end-of-westminster-politics-as-we-know-it-and-about-time/

Excerpt: “The internet means politicians are under the microscope as never before” I wrote. "Hyper-accountability" was the term I used to try to encapsulate what the internet meant for MPs. They “cannot hide behind generic messages as they used to. They are held directly accountable by the folk back home” … and “the folk out there beyond Westminster are now just a mouse-click away … and they want more than the generic party line”.

Tweet from Bob Owens ‏@bob_owens2

@KatiePavlich You want to bring diversity of thought to universities? Clearly, you are an enemy of the state.

UK atheists realize Islam is the only religion they can't criticize: First, Richard Dawkins and now Stephen Fry. By Daniel Greenfield

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/uk-atheists-realize-islam-is-the-only-religion-they-cant-criticize/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uk-atheists-realize-islam-is-the-only-religion-they-cant-criticize

Excerpt: Then [Britain's King of the Luvvies] Stephen Fry stepped in to defend Dawkins with a since-deleted tweet which said, “Oh, have a look around the world and see them slaughtering each other, let alone others. So charming to women too …” The outcome was predictable. 

Experienced Applicants. By Mark Steyn

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/357386/experienced-applicants-mark-steyn

Excerpt: "An estimated one-fifth of a subset of all applicants for Central Intelligence Agency positions had significant ties to the terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah and al Qaeda, a newly released document from the Edward Snowden collection revealed Monday."

N.S.A. Foils Much Internet Encryption. By Nicole Perlroth, Jeff Larson and Scott Shane

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/us/nsa-foils-much-internet-encryption.html?attCTA&no_interstitial

Excerpt: The National Security Agency is winning its long-running secret war on encryption, using supercomputers, technical trickery, court orders and behind-the-scenes persuasion to undermine the major tools protecting the privacy of everyday communications in the Internet age, according to newly disclosed documents.

Molon Labe: Armed 11 Year-Old Girl Defends Home from 3 Armed Burglars

http://conservativereport.org/molon-labe-armed-girl-defends-home/

I think the Jefferson quote is bogus. ~Bob

What Walmart knows about Hispanics, and Liberals don't: Hispanics want the American Dream, not government dependency. By Rachel-Campos Duffy

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/357644/what-walmart-knows-about-hispanics-rachel-campos-duffy

Excerpt: Standing in her bright, cheery kitchen holding a cup of coffee, Noemi talks about darker days in the 1980s, when she was on welfare and raising four kids on her own. Then she started working for Walmart and things in her life started turning around, she says, “almost immediately.” She proudly recounts the day she wrote a letter to the food-stamp office and told them she wouldn’t be needing their help anymore.

Syria:

Obama has reportedly asked OJ to help him find the person who really drew the Red Line. ~Bob

100 Facts: Syria, foreign intervention, and public opinion

http://kristensoltisanderson.com/post/60207488907/100-facts-syria-foreign-intervention-and-public

Senate may grant Obama’s wish on Syria; House is tougher, but president has key allies. By Al Kamen

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-may-grant-obamas-wish-on-syria-house-is-tougher-but-president-has-key-allies/2013/09/04/1769d272-1590-11e3-a2ec-b47e45e6f8ef_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

Excerpt: There’s been much talk that President Obama will have a tough time getting Congress to pass a resolution authorizing airstrikes on Syria in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons. But that may not be the case if we look at the 2002 Iraq war vote, in which Congress gave President George W. Bush the authority to wage full-scale war “to defend U.S. national security against . . . Iraq,”

Catholic Patriarch Of Syria To Obama: Your 'Criminal' Attack Will Only Benefit Muslim Extremists

http://www.ijreview.com/2013/09/76796-catholic-patriarch-syria-obama-criminal-attack-will-benefit-muslim-extremists/

Excerpt: The leader of the Greek Catholic Church in Syria said that if the U.S. were to launch an attack on the country, it would be “a criminal act” and would “reap more victims as Islamic Extremists continue to flow into Syria.

Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in West. By C. J. Chivers

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/middleeast/brutality-of-syrian-rebels-pose-dilemma-in-west.html?ref=world

Excerpt: The Syrian rebels posed casually, standing over their prisoners with firearms pointed down at the shirtless and terrified men. The prisoners, seven in all, were captured Syrian soldiers. Five were trussed, their backs marked with red welts. They kept their faces pressed to the dirt as the rebels’ commander recited a bitter revolutionary verse. (US troops humiliating prisoners? Outrage! Our “moderate” Muslim allies shooting prisoners? No red line here, move along. ~Bob. These thugs are Obama and McCain's pals. They are supported by your hard earned tax dollars. --Don Hank)

U.N. Official Warns Syrian Rebels About Atrocities

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/world/middleeast/united-nations-warns-syrian-rebels-over-atrocities.html

Excerpt: The top United Nations human rights official warned opposition fighters in Syria on Monday that they would not be immune from prosecution for atrocities, as videos from the Syrian city of Aleppo appeared to show a mass execution by rebel fighters of bound and blindfolded Syrian government soldiers. (Bad rebels. You are hurting Obama’s credibility. No filming! ~Bob.)

As US strike looms, al-Qaida-linked rebels attack regime-held Christian village

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/france-to-debate-syria-strikes-ahead-us-vote-israel-and-us-with-eye-on-syria-test-missile/2013/09/04/486f7bb6-1530-11e3-b220-2c950c7f3263_story.html

Excerpt: Al-Qaida-linked rebels launched an assault Wednesday on a regime-held Christian village in the densely populated west of Syria and new clashes erupted near the capital, Damascus — part of a brutal battle of attrition each side believes it can win despite more than two years of deadlock. (Once they win, the US-allied rebels will ethnically cleanse every Christian from Syria. ~Bob.)

I remember another time John Kerry testified about atrocities he never witnessed

http://floppingaces.net/2013/09/03/i-remember-another-time-john-kerry-testified-about-atrocities-he-never-witnessed/

Excerpt: The Obama administration toughened its tone toward President Bashar al-Assad’s regime with US Secretary of State John Kerry making it clear that the US is considering possible military action over the regime’s alleged chemical weapons use. Employing his strongest language yet, Kerry said Washington was still examining evidence, but left no doubt that Assad’s regime would be blamed.,,, Barack Obama picked the perfect front man should this all fall apart.

Putin 'Not Ruling Out' Syria Strike: Russian President hints he may support a military strike in Syria - if there's solid proof that Assad attacked his people with chemicals.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/171636#.Uif4wdJzGuI

Excerpt: “From our viewpoint, it seems absolutely absurd that the armed forces — the regular armed forces, which are on the offensive today and in some areas have encircled the so-called rebels and are finishing them off — that in these conditions they would start using forbidden chemical weapons while realizing quite well that it could serve as a pretext for applyingsanctions against them, including the use of force,” he said…. “If there is evidence that chemical weapons have been used, and used specifically by the regular army, this evidence should be submitted to the UN Security Council,” he said.

From the left: Shadow of a Doubt. By Maureen Dowd

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/opinion/dowd-shadow-of-a-doubt.html?emc=eta1

Excerpt: In many ways, Syria is an eerie replay of Iraq, but with many of the players scrambled and on opposite sides. Just about the only completely consistent person is John McCain, who’s always spoiling for a fight.

Syrian regime moves prisoners to likely targets of western military strikes
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syrian-regime-moves-prisoners-to-likely-targets-of-western-military-strikes

Excerpt: Syrian authorities have moved prisoners from their jail cells to installations the government believes could be targets of western military strikes, pro-democracy activists in Damascus and the opposition said yesterday.

Good analysis: Syria in Historical Context: What lessons does the past have for President Obama’s policy? By Victor Davis Hanson

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/357655/syria-historical-context-victor-davis-hanson

Excerpt: Even apart from clandestine CIA operations, and even after the unhappy end of the Vietnam War, we have attacked lots of countries and non-state militias. The roll call of recent American military interventions is quite astounding: Cambodia, Iran, Libya, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Liberia, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Zaire, and Afghanistan.

Letter from Trappist nuns in Syria: Fear and helplessness at impending U.S. attack. By Dr. Eowyn

http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/letter-from-trappist-nuns-in-syria-fear-and-helplessness-at-impending-u-s-attack/

Excerpt: And yet, as the pic below points out, there have been — and are — countless human rights abuses across the world more egregious than the Syrian chemical attack, but the United States does nothing. Which, of course, begs the question: Why the selective moral outrage in the case of Syria?

Good analysis: Syria and Byzantine Strategy. By Robert Kaplan

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stratfor/2013/09/05/syria-and-byzantine-strategy/

Excerpt: But Saddam got around to killing women and children, too, with chemical weapons. In March 1988, he gassed roughly 5,000 Kurds to death. As a British reporter with me in the Hawizeh Marshes had quipped, "You could fit the human rights of Iraq on the head of a pin, and still have room for the human rights of Iran."

Obama seeks an accomplice for Syria action. By George Will

http://www.humanevents.com/2013/09/05/obama-seeks-an-accomplice-for-syria-action/

Excerpt: Because Syria’s convulsion has become as serious as Barack Obama has been careless in speaking about it, he is suddenly and uncharacteristically insisting that Congress participate in governance. Regarding institutional derangements, he is the infection against which he pretends to be an immunization. In the Illinois legislature, he voted “present” 129 times to avoid difficulties; now he stoops from his executive grandeur to tutor Congress on accountability.

Obama Claims He Didn’t Set A Red Line. By Dana Loesch

http://www.redstate.com/dloesch/2013/09/04/obama-claims-he-didnt-set-a-red-line/

Excerpt: “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized,” the president said. “That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.”

Boehner, Cantor, and Pelosi agree - it’s time to attack Syria

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/57661

Moments ago, House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi all emerged from a White House meeting.  The topic, of course, was Syria.  …  They’re all convinced.  It’s time to support President Obama’s noble war against Assad.

In the teeth of abundant evidence that they're jihadis, Kerry insists that Syrian rebels are secular

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/in-the-teeth-of-abundant-evidence-that-theyre-jihadis-kerry-insists-that-syrian-rebels-are-secular.html

Excerpt: "Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of" --New York Times, April 28, 2013. Syrian rebels pledge loyalty to al-Qaeda -- USA Today, April 11, 2013.

Al-Qaeda Vows to Slaughter Christians After U.S. ‘Liberates’ Syria

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/04/al-qaeda-vows-to-slaughter-christians-after-u-s-liberates-syria/

Excerpt: While U.S. leaders continue pushing for war against the Syrian government, today “Al-Qaeda-linked rebels launched an assault on a regime-held Christian mountain village in the densely populated west of Syria and new clashes erupted near the capital, Damascus, on Wednesday…Arabic news agency Al Hadath gives more information concerning this latest terror attack on Syria’s Christians, specifically how the al-Qaeda linked rebels “terrorized the Christians, threatening to avenge themselves on them after the triumph of the revolution.”  Thus al-Qaeda terrorists eagerly await U.S. assistance against the Syrian government, so they can subjugate if not slaughter Syria’s Christians, secularists, and non-Muslims — even as the Obama administration tries to justify war on Syria by absurdly evoking the “human rights” of Syrians on the one hand, and lying about al-Qaeda’s presence in Syria on the other.

The Syrian ‘Rebels’ and Chemical Weapons: Remembering Your Al-Qaeda History

http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2013/09/03/the-syrian-rebels-and-chemical-weapons-remembering-your-al-qaeda-history/

Excerpt: Myopic focus on alleged chemical weapons use by the Assad regime in Syria is wrongheaded, as it has been all along. The salient issue is whether the United States should intervene militarily on behalf of enemies of the United States — the “rebel” factions, in which ties to al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood run deep. If chemical weapons use, rather than American national security, is to be our obsession, however, it is worth remembering al Qaeda’s history in that regard.

VIDEO: Obama Congratulates Muslim Brotherhood Front on Same Day He Decides to Strike Syria. By Bryon Preston

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/04/video-obama-congratulates-muslim-brotherhood-front-on-the-same-day-he-decides-to-strike-syria/

Excerpt: Here is Obama’s video greeting to the Muslim Brotherhood offshoot ISNA. It aired at the convention on Saturday, the same day President Obama announced his intention to launch military strikes on Syria, strikes that would effectively put the United States on the same side as Muslim Brotherhood offshoot al-Qaeda in Syria’s civil war.

President Hamlet: He doesn't know what to do. By John Podhoretz

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/president_hamlet_OSIGlKz72EGHW918ooyQyJ

Excerpt: In his voice-over prologue to his 1948 film version of “Hamlet,” Laurence Olivier says, “This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.” It’s by no means shameful to be likened to Hamlet; after all, Hamlet spoke the greatest poetry ever written in the English language, and his existential torments speak to the deepest truths of human nature. But Hamlet is 20 years old, a college student in shock from his father’s sudden death and his mother’s marriage to his uncle.

The “no’s” keep piling up on Syria resolution in the House

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/09/05/prospects-for-syria-resolution-dimming-in-house/?wpisrc=nl_pmpol#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled%2Cdrefresh%2Cerefresh&id=I0_1378402659285&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com&pfname=&rpctoken=34345834

Excerpt: Over the last two days, scores of members — most of them Republicans, but many of them Democrats — have expressed their opposition to the use of force in Syria.

Community Organizer Goes to War. By Ann Coulter

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2013-09-04.html

Excerpt: The Nobel Peace Prize winner needs to get Congress on the record so that whatever happens, the media can blame Republicans. No Republican who thinks seriously about America's national security interests -- by which I mean to exclude John McCain and Lindsey Graham -- can support Obama's "plan" to shoot blindly into this hornet's nest. It would be completely different if we knew with absolute certainty that Assad was responsible for chemical attacks on his own people.

Obama's 'red line' remarks on Syria were a train wreck. The president's credibility is on the line, not America's. By Nile Gardiner

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100234133/obamas-red-line-remarks-on-syria-were-a-train-wreck-the-presidents-credibility-is-on-the-line-not-americas/

Excerpt: President Obama has done himself no favours today with his disingenuous statements on Syria in Stockholm alongside Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. As The Weekly Standard first reported, Barack Obama claimed “he didn’t set a red line” on Syria’s use of chemical weapons, arguing that “the world set a red line” when it passed the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention prohibiting the use of chemical weapons. 

Someone tell me where I'm wrong.

Like everyone else, I have been watching Obama, Kerry, McCain, Graham, et al, demand we attack Syria for crossing some mythical "red line" that Obama set, but is now claiming no responsibility for. Has something changed in the 237 years since our founding that allows us to attack a country that has not first attacked us, has not threatened us, and is not really a threat to our national security? Did I miss something? Because if I didn't, wasn't it perfectly all right for Japan to have bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? After all, the United States was actually a bigger threat to Japan in 1941 than Syria is to us today. It seems to me that gassing one's own citizens, while horrible, can't possibly be enough to make Obama and Kerry to want to go to war. After all, they were perfectly okay when Saddam Hussein was gassing thousands of his citizens. Hell, he wiped out whole villages. –LLW

U.S. Air Force Lacks Preparedness for Syria Strike

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/171597#.UijW_tJzGuI

Excerpt: Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh says the U.S. Air Force is not in an ideal place to lead a major Syria Offensive.

Barack Obama's chief ally is a clueless French Socialist. The president's two-man Syria coalition looks desperate. By Nile Gardiner 

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100234317/barack-obamas-chief-ally-is-a-clueless-french-socialist-the-presidents-two-man-syria-coalition-looks-desperate/

Excerpt: The Obama White House is placing an awful lot of faith in French President Francois Hollande, whose approval rating at home is even lower than that of President Obama in the US. Obama has decided to meet privately with Hollande at the G20 summit, reportedly snubbing David Cameron, showing his displeasure with the UK after the House of Commons declined to support British involvement in a Syria intervention. Obama’s reliance on Hollande, a deeply unpopular Socialist whose left-wing policies have been disastrous for the French economy, is a huge gamble.

Tweet from @patsajak

Weird "Wheel" taping last night. Player buys a vowel, then claims world wanted him to buy one, then asks audience to decide

The Case of Obama's Missing Pants. By Daniel Greenfield

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-case-of-obamas-missing-pants.html

Excerpt: [Credibility is] about being able to effectively play the game of nations. In the bigger picture, it's about the perception that your opponent knows what he's doing. Announcing that you have to bomb another country to demonstrate your credibility is about the best possible way of proving that you have no idea what you're doing.

“All Syrian asylum-seekers who apply for asylum in Sweden will get it.” By Daniel Greenfield

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/sweden-all-syrian-asylum-seekers-who-apply-for-asylum-in-sweden-will-get-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sweden-all-syrian-asylum-seekers-who-apply-for-asylum-in-sweden-will-get-it

Excerpt: In related news, I’m told that the country of Sweden has just ceased to exist. There are 2 million Syrian refugees out there. And probably a lot more in Europe who aren’t from Syria who will claim to be Syrian refugees.

Grandpa Assad: "The Jews brought the Muslim Arabs civilizaton and have not taken anything by force. By Daniel Greenfield 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/grandpa-assad-the-jews-brought-to-the-muslim-arabs-civilization-have-not-taken-anything-by-force-nevertheless-the-muslims-declared-holy-war-against-them/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=grandpa-assad-the-jews-brought-to-the-muslim-arabs-civilization-have-not-taken-anything-by-force-nevertheless-the-muslims-declared-holy-war-against-them

Excerpt: This is an extraordinary document, though I wouldn’t make the mistake of reading too much into it. None of the Assads were good guys. Assad’s father was a monster.

The right questions on Syria. By William Kristoff

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/opinion/kristof-the-right-questions-on-syria.html?src=me&ref=general

Excerpt: Let’s be humble enough to acknowledge that we can’t be sure of the answer and that Syria will be bloody whatever we do. We Americans are often so self-absorbed as to think that what happens in Syria depends on us; in fact, it overwhelmingly depends on Syrians.

Tweet from John Nolte ‏@NolteNC

Difference between Bush believing FAULTY intelligence (from around world) & Obama IGNORING intel on violent rebels is ALL the difference.