Assad is off the US military hook and keeps his chemical weapons. Israel is the loser of this round

Israelis keep this posted on their refrigerator. Or else.

DEBKAfile  "Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have until now patted  themselves on the back for striking a balanced and cautious stance which kept Israel secure in the course of the nearly three-year old Syrian conflict. However, President Barack Obama’s decision to put US military action against Syria on hold - unveiled in six US TV interviews Tuesday, Sept. 10 - leaves Israel exposed to a major threat: Bashar Assad’s chemical warfare capability which is left intact.
"By buying into Moscow’s proposal to place Syria’s chemical arsenal under international oversight (picked up from a possible throwaway comment by US Secretary of State John Kerry), Obama has in fact opened the door to the “Iranian syndrome.' ”

Here is what happens when our allies make plans around US Democrats, especially Obama:
...." It was taken for granted that when the Syrian war reached a point at which the Syrian ruler used his chemical weapons, the US and its allies, including Israel, would deploy special forces for covert operations to destroy them."

Not any more.
 

Hollywood Conservatives: The Few, The Proud, The Unsilent Minority

Raging Against the Rhetoric   ...." Pop culture references permeate society and as I mentioned earlier today, many folks are far more concerned about twerking than the pending strike in Syria."

Nothing here

"With that said, there are a few proud patriots in Hollywood that use their stardom for good. One of those such people is James Woods. If you’re not following him on Twitter, you need to be. One, because he’s awesome. Two, because of exchanges like this one."

Nothing here.

Hollywood Won't Touch Syria Crisis  "A number of high-profile Hollywood names on hand for the festival, who’ve been outspoken in the past on U.S. military intervention, have been uncharacteristically quiet on the issue. THR reached out to more than a dozen, including Susan Sarandon, Penn Jillette, Josh Brolin and Tim Robbins, all of whom were unavailable for comment."

On the Russian rescue of Obama

Why is it in Russia's interests to help Obama save face with this plan?
If Obama and Democrats look inept, chances are they will be turned out of office in the next election, and which party do you think Putin would rather deal with?
The Obama Administration has been a godsend to Russia, first by giving up a missile defense intended for our Eastern European allies at no cost to the Russians. Then there was the promise of "flexibility" Obama gave to Medvedev along with turning against the allies who have stood alongside us against the Communists since World War 2, such as the UK and Israel.
Not least is the philosophical kinship Democrats now have with socialist nations and a stronger emotional tie with those nations opposing free enterprise and capitalism.
Putin knows a good thing when he sees it and Americans should be embarrassed.
The Tunnel Dweller

NY Times; Obama Backs Idea for Syria to Cede Control of Arms
"President Obama on Monday tentatively embraced a Russian diplomatic proposal to avert a United States military strike on Syria by having international monitors take control of the Syrian government’s chemical weapons."

The Monday Fox All-Star panel discusses this latest break: Video.

Krauthammer’s Take: Russian Proposal a Way to Let Obama ‘Off the Hook’   “ 'They’re going to seize the political opportunity and pretend it’s a real option which it really isn’t,” he said".

Israel Laughs at Obama's 'Face-Saving' Syria Deal
"President Barack Obama switched gears Monday, embracing a Russian-backed proposal to have Syria transfer its chemical weapons stockpile to international control--an idea that emerged from a gaffe earlier in the day by Secretary of State John Kerry. The proposal may allow President Obama to "save face" as defeat looms in Congress for his attack resolution, but Israeli leaders openly scorned the idea of trusting Syria to obey international monitors given that the regime has flouted similar measures on arming Hezbollah."

Pacifists being pacifists: Human Rights Activists Planning Syrian Trip to Forestall U.S. Strike
Where were these people when Syrians were being gassed? What have we heard from them regarding the execution of Syrian soldiers?

Peace In Our Time: Obama Caves to Putin, Assad, Iran

"On Monday, the Obama administration, overcome by its own frantic confusion over a situation of its own making in Syria, fainted into the arms of Russian President Vladimir Putin – and, in the process, appeased the Syrian regime after Bashar al-Assad gassed some 1,429 people in Damascus last month."...

 

Do not judge Neville Chamberlain too harshly by this comparison with Obama and today's Democrats. At least when Chamberlain realized he had been played by a dictator, he grew a pair and announced a red line at Poland that he really meant. He and his countrymen enforced this red line at tremendous cost to their nation, but then the United Kingdom was not infected with the silliness we see in today's western people. TD

 

Max Boot; The Long-Term Prospects of the Syria Deal  "This offers the Obama administration an obvious out from what looked to be a losing vote to authorize military action against Bashar Assad. But is it a real out or a mirage?"

Hobby Lobby and “rights” and Obamacare

Legal Insurrection   "Earlier this year, I covered the story of the buycott is support of Hobby Lobby.
"Over 60,000 Americans including myself bought items in support of an important legal case initiated by owner David Green."

....

"Some of the commentary to Green’s stance show a complete ignorance of free market principles blended with a heady doses of progressive condescension.  This Comment is a perfect example:"

I am sad to hear you don’t care about your employees. You are willing to close your business for this instead of offering your employees health care benefits? Do your employees know you make business decisions based on your religion in that you want to control their life? Don’t you have health care that offers the morning pill/contraception? Is this more because you don’t want your profit margins to be reduce?

.... "It turns out that Hobby Lobby provides generous health care benefits to its employees, including birth control."....

Diary bombshell: RFK Jr.’s secret slams against Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Gov. Cuomo

Via Drudge  "The Post exclusively reported Sunday how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. grappled with what he called his “lust demons” and kept a scorecard of more than two dozen conquests in a secret diary. Below are more sensational details from the journal, in which RFK Jr., a member of the political elite, bashes everyone from then-brother-in-law Andrew Cuomo to the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson."
....

“ 'Al Sharpton has done more damage to the black cause than [segregationist Alabama Gov.] George Wallace. He has suffocated the decent black leaders in New York,” he says. “His transparent venal blackmail and extortion schemes taint all black leadership.”
"Rev. Al Sharpton gave Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “the creeps,” he wrote in his diary.
"He goes on to call Sharpton a “buffoon” who has never escaped the “stench” of his advocacy for Tawana Brawley, the black Dutchess County teen who fabricated a story about six white men raping her in 1987."
...
"He writes that Jesse Jackson has “a desperate and destructive addiction to publicity.”W
"He recalls that Jackson, at labor leader Cesar Chavez’s funeral, pushed “Cesar’s friends and family out of the way to make himself lead pall bearer.”


Kennedy Jr. also blasted Andrew Cuomo and president G.W. Bush, but later groveled over his words about Jackson, Sharpton and Cuomo.

 I have nothing but respect for Governor Cuomo, Rev. Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, all of whom have distinguished themselves as extraordinary national leaders over the past decade.”

Leaked U.N. Report Confirms Global Warming Is Nonexistent, Planet Actually Cooling…

I repeat: Leaked U.N. Report Confirms Global Warming Is Nonexistent, Planet Actually Cooling…

Weasel Zippers   "Well, this is awkward. A leaked report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that the world is not warming but is actually cooling, and will continue to get colder until the middle of the century.
....
...." In fact, the Arctic ice caps have grown by 60 percent since 2012."

Full article here: About that whole global warming thing

Remember this lib effort to name hurricanes after global warming, um, climate change deniers?

Petition to the WMO to name extreme storms after climate change deniers.
 

Here Are The 3 Dumbest Things That Obama Administration Officials Said About Syria Just Today!

Downtrend  "Jeepers! It’s not even 3PM on the East Coast and the Obama Administration has already given us a full news day of dumb statements made about the looming conflict in Syria. We can’t wait for the President’s round of interviews tonight. That should be the icing on the cake!
"Here are the 3 dumbest things that have been said (or arguably, could ever be said) about Syria just today."

 

How Thomas Sowell Long Ago Predicted Obamacare's Looming Failure

Forbes   "Thomas Sowell wrote a fabulous book, The Quest for Cosmic

Sowell

Justice, which everybody who wishes to understand the essential impossibility of creating a world of “fair” outcomes should read. The essential problems with trying to correct inequities of this sort are the enormous knowledge required to pull it off and the fact that the act of addressing the problem creates new inequities for other people. Using the situation of health care reform, we can examine this issue in depth and see why the Affordable Care Act will not create cosmic justice."
....

All the thousands of pages of the Affordable Care Act serve the purpose of forcing some people to pay the costs for others in ways that they won’t notice.

 The Quest for Cosmic Justice   ..." It shows how "peace" movements have led to war and to needless casualties in those wars. It argues that "equality" is neither right nor wrong, but meaningless.
The Quest for Cosmic Justice shows how confused conceptions of justice end up promoting injustice, how confused conceptions of equality end up promoting inequality, and how the tyranny of social visions prevents many people from confronting the actual consequences of their own beliefs and policies. Those consequences include the steady and dangerous erosion of the fundamental principles of freedom -- and the quiet repeal of the American revolution.

Ick! How the 'Aliens' chestburster was created

CNET  "The Stan Winston School of Character Arts takes the gory wrappings off the chestburster puppet used in "Aliens.""

"Few images in film are as startling as that moment in "Alien" when the baby chestburster comes crawling out of of John Hurt's torso in a spray of gore. It was so gripping, the slimy little parasite was brought back for the sequel, "Aliens." Even better, it was created without the assistance of CGI."
 

On Syria, Sept 9th

Fox’s Chris Wallace Lands Interview with President Obama in White House on Monday   "According to a media source, Wallace was one of a few anchors Obama personally chose for a sit-down interview."
President Obama has chosen six interviewers. 
He "will be sitting down with Brian Williams for NBC Nightly News and Diane Sawyer for ABC World News. Additional discussions will be conducted with Wolf Blitzer for CNN, Scott Pelley for CBS Evening News and Gwen Ifill for PBS NewsHour" says DigitalSpy

Tune in to Special Report at 6p ET Monday night!

GOP rep supports Syria strike but can't get the White House to call him back  "Just how serious is Barack Obama about getting authorization from Congress to launch a strike on Syria?

"A Republican representative from Illinois...wants to help round up votes for the war resolution but no one at the White House has bothered to get back to him."

The writer posits that Obama has given up on this and expects the Senate to approve his request and the House to say no. Then he can blame Republicans for not letting him do what he did not really want to do. This is entirely in character with the Obama we have come to know, while attacking Syria's war-making capacity is not.

Syria and the Russians know whom they are dealing with here; they can merely suggest how bad the consequences will be and their words set millions around the world kneeling in peace prayers. TD

 Can you find Russia and Syria in this video?

Too bad there isn't a third evil character in this video to represent the Syrian rebels. A plague on both their houses.
 

You want me to what?

Susan Rice Will Brief Congress on Syria on Anniversary of Benghazi  "...House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers ... pointed to the administration's decision to have Rice brief members of Congress about this issue on the anniversary of the Benghazi attacks as emblematic of the administration's bumbling approach to making its case..."

 

 Obama’s “Credibility”: Much Ado About Nothing!   "Still, brain-dead Democrats should take solace in a simple, but profound truth: When it comes to credibility, Barack Obama has none to lose!"  John W Lillpop                               

John Kerry under fire for 'unbelievably small' comment  Video: Bill Kristol's thoughts

Four Big Questions for Obama Before the War Vote  ...."Given the perfidy of the administration on Benghazi, asking for direct proof is more than justified."....

 

One resident said the rebels — many of them wearing beards and shouting, “God is great!” — attacked Christian homes and churches shortly after seizing the village.

"If these reports are true, why wouldn’t we bomb these groups as well?"

 

Syrian chemical weapons may shed light on Saddam's missing WMDs  ..."Georges Sada, a former general of Saddam’s air force, detailed in his book, “Saddam’s Secrets,” how Saddam had secretly moved much of his WMD material to Syria before the U.S.-led invasion under the cover of providing relief to Syrian earthquake victims."

 

Yes, but...A no vote on Syria may cripple Obama’s domestic agenda too

"None of this is as important as America’s global credibility, when the U.S. must not stand back and let rogue dictators use weapons of mass destruction. That said, Obama’s foreign-policy blunders may end his domestic policy, too."

 

Hillary to speak on Syria today  "If she’s speaking from the White House, that means Hillary will come down all in on the side of American intervention, which is deeply unpopular across all political aggregations.  That will raise a lot of questions about Hillary’s own stewardship of American diplomacy during the “Assad the Reformer” period in which the US refused to demand Assad’s resignation for months while he conducted military attacks on demonstrators — after demanding Hosni Mubarak’s after just eight days of mostly peaceful protests in Tahrir Square."

 

Obama shrinkage hastened by Syria opposition   " “I do not think his presidency is shrinking, just struggling as second termers tend to do,” Geer said. “If we start to get better and better job numbers, he will start looking better and better too.' ”

  

Obama's Successful Foreign Failure; The president may look incompetent on Syria. But his behavior fits his strategy to weaken America abroad.

I need to get this published before Rush Limbaugh brings it up when his Monday show goes on. TD

NORMAN PODHORETZ  "The key to understanding what Mr. Obama has pulled off is the astonishing statement he made in the week before being elected president: "We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America." To those of us who took this declaration seriously, it meant that Mr. Obama really was the left-wing radical he seemed to be, given his associations with the likes of the anti-American preacher Jeremiah Wright and the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers, not to mention the intellectual influence over him of Saul Alinsky, the original "community organizer.' "
....
Mr. Podhoretz drives home his point with this:
"But foreign policy was another matter. As a left-wing radical, Mr. Obama believed that the United States had almost always been a retrograde and destructive force in world affairs. Accordingly, the fundamental transformation he wished to achieve here was to reduce the country's power and influence."

The Historic Christian Town Of Maaloula, Syria, Now Under Control Of Islamists

Syria: Christian Towns Are Being Emptied By Islamist Savagery

Weasel Zippers  "Here is a video and pictures of some of the beauty and special nature of Maaloula, a town where Christians and Muslims have lived in piece for hundreds of years-until al-Qaeda arrived."  

 

 

Now we only wait to see what the Islamists will do to this beautiful statue of Mary.

Syrian Christian towns emptied by jihad violence "The headline over at The Telegraph blares, "Syrian Christian towns emptied by sectarian violence." Sharia-compliant headlines. Muslims are slaughtering Christians. That is what is happening.  It is not sectarian violence. It is jihad. It is Islamic supremacism."

 

Syrian Rebels Retake Christian Village  "Breitbart News has previously reported that the Free Syrian Army posted videos of themselves attacking the city just one day after Sec. of State Kerry called them 'moderate' in a Senate hearing. One video shows the FSA shouting 'Allahu Akbar!’ as they open fire in the Christian village."