AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Rebels including al-Qaida-linked fighters gained control of a Christian village northeast of the capital Damascus, Syrian activists said Sunday. Government media provided a dramatically different account of the battle suggesting regime forces were winning.

It was impossible to independently verify the reports from Maaloula, a scenic mountain community known for being one of the few places in the world where residents still speak the ancient Middle Eastern language of Aramaic. The village is on a UNESCO list of tentative world heritage sites.
The rebel advance into the area this week was spearheaded by Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, exacerbating fears among Syrians and religious minorities about the role played by Islamic extremists within the rebel ranks. (more…)

Next week (on Monday) CNN is set to rework the old Crossfire Show with a new cast.     Unfortunately, because of pundit selection, it is set-up to fail before it even starts.   The problem is best defined as “intellectual dishonesty”.

The cast is being sold as two progressives, Van Jones / Stephanie Cutter, versus two conservatives Newt Gingrich / S.E. Cupp.
Both Jones and Gingrich are good choices as each can present strong intellectual arguments around modern/current political aspects of current events.  However,  both Stephanie Cutter and S.E. Cupp are dishonest to a fault in almost all of their professional pontifications.
(more…)

This is so typical of a limo-liberal.   People like Bloomberg are the biggest racists in the Democrat universe.   Hypocritical jackass, that’s what he is.
(Via Politico)  Outgoing New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg laced into surging Democratic mayoral frontrunner Bill de Blasio in an interview published Saturday, saying he’s run a “racist” campaign with just three days left in the primary race.

The remarks from Bloomberg about de Blasio, the city’s Public Advocate who has showcased his biracial family on the campaign trail, came as the frontrunner is within striking distance of clearing the 40 percent mark in the primary vote that would prevent a runoff three weeks later.
“… there’s Bill de Blasio, who’s become the Democratic front-runner,” New York Magazine’s Chris Smith asked Bloomberg early on in a wide-ranging interview. “He has in some ways been running a class-warfare campaign …”
“Class-warfare and racist,” Bloomberg interrupted him.
“Racist?” Smith asked. (more…)

Think the mealy-mouthed, pansy Republicans can learn a lesson from Australia? Yeah, me neither… but the lessons are there for the taking if they’d just pull their PC embedded, wishy-washy, wind-testing heads out of their proverbial asses.
(Via Breitbart)  The conservatives won a stunning landslide victory in Australia’s national elections, capturing 53% of the vote Saturday. Conservative leaders emphasized a hard line against immigration, against a carbon tax, and against continual increases in government spending. This “no compromise” attitude became a key to victory.

Tony Abbott, Australia’s prime minister-elect, center, waves to supporters as he stands with wife Margie, second left, and their daughters Frances, left, Louise, second right, and Bridget after delivering his victory speech in Sydney.

Conservative leader Tony Abbot, a former Rhode Scholar and Catholic seminarian, has been the center of controversy throughout the campaign because of a “take-no-prisoners” attitude. And for a former boxer, this is hardly as surprise. Abbot has promised intense focus on an economy that is slowing down after a decades-long mining boom driven by demand for natural resources by China’s manufacturers.  (continue reading)

*Updated Congressional Vote Counts*   You can see how your congressional  House and Senate representatives are planning to vote:
Via ABC News Congressional Whip Polling:
OPPOSE MILITARY ACTION IN SYRIA: 75
LIKELY TO OPPOSE: 150                                        Total Oppose 225
SUPPORT MILITARY ACTION IN SYRIA: 19
LIKELY TO SUPPORT: 25                                       Total Support 44
UNDECIDED: 140
UNKNOWN: 23                                                          Total Undecided 163 (link)
The Huffington Post/Think Progress Polling: (more…)

(Via The Blaze)  The New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating a savage attack that took place Wednesday afternoon in Union Square, after witnesses say a man vowed to attack white people before assaulting multiple individuals and leaving one man brain dead.
The black suspect, Lashawn Marten, 31, was playing chess before randomly jumping up and declaring “I hate white people,” according to one witness.
Another eye-witness told WLNY-TV that Marten said “the next white person who walks by I’m going to f**k.”
Marten’s fists then started to fly, allegedly targeting random white individuals as they walked by. (more…)

Or as John McCain would say “Allahu Akbar” !!

In return Pope Francis rebukes President Obama !!

With all my strength, I ask each party in the conflict not to close themselves in solely on their own interests. #prayforpeace

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 5, 2013

Toward the end of this brief video Secretary Kerry says:

…. “I guarantee you if we turn our backs today, the picture we all saw in the paper today and the media of those people shot, that will take place more because more extremists will be attracted to this, because they will be funded as the only alternative in order to take on Assad”….

Accurately Rush Limbaugh opines.   Rush Limbaugh makes a great point regarding John Kerry’s insistence that these Syrian rebels are moderates — yet he referred to American military as murderers who terrorize women and children. (more…)

Since when have red lines mattered to this president? These certainly didn't. #tcot #benghazi #syria #uniteblue #p2 pic.twitter.com/R2ftGTMbEt

— Stig is posting his L's again (@HesNotTheStig) September 6, 2013

No longer willing to be a codependent enabler to stupid leadership decisions espoused on my behalf, and despite the structure around the pretext that failing to support them makes me unpatriotic, I’m furious with our President on this Syrian fiasco.
This is not a zero sum game, and I do not accept the presentation as such.   I also hold a principle that history holds value.
A failure to support President Obama’s personal opinion is not equivalent to supporting Assad or Iran.   The missing context is the application of freedom principles and history.  It is not unpatriotic to support freedom – It WAS unpatriotic of President Obama to draw a “red line” in our national sand without seeking permission of forethought. (more…)