30 Aug 2013

a decent human being

johntheother: Are you one?
or "A well dressed, usually soft spoken predator"?

25 Quotes About The Coming War With Syria That Every American Should See


Aircraft Carrier - War With SyriaBy Michael Snyder: If Barack Obama is going to attack Syria, he is going to do it without the support of the American people, without the approval of Congress, without the approval of the United Nations, and without the help of the British.  Now that the British Parliament has voted against a military strike, the Obama administration is saying that it may take "unilateral action" against Syria.  But what good would "a shot across Syria's bow" actually do?  A "limited strike" is not going to bring down the Assad regime and it is certainly not going to end the bloody civil war that has been raging inside Syria.  Even if the U.S. eventually removed Assad, the al-Qaeda affiliated rebels that would take power would almost certainly be even worse than Assad.  Even in the midst of this bloody civil war, the rebels have taken the time and the effort to massacre entire Christian villages.  Why is Barack Obama so obsessed with helping such monsters?  There is no good outcome in Syria.  The Assad regime is absolutely horrible and the rebels are even worse.  Why would we want the U.S. military to get involved in such a mess?

German Election Finally Gets Messy: “Euro Is More Than A Currency” And Greece “Shouldn’t Have Been Allowed In”

By Wolf Richter: No debacle is allowed to interfere with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s efforts to hang on to her job, and any debacles get swept under the rug at least until after the elections on September 22. Every time uppity opposition voices stir up some controversy, it’s brushed off, denied, ridiculed, or minimized – and it has worked admirably well so far.
Even Edward Snowden’s revelations in the media detailing German involvement in NSA spying activities, among other sins, were successfully shuffled off. Llike in the US, it's a bi-partisan debacle, compromising political figures on both sides. The scandal is festering, but apparently without political fallout.
So time is running out for Peer Steinbrück, the SPD’s candidate to unseat one of the most popular German politicians. And when Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, for whatever reason, mentioned a week ago that Greece would need a third bailout, Steinbrück jumped on it. Another debacle! Turns out, Greece, though it has disappeared from the media, hasn’t disappeared from the list of bankrupt euro states. And Steinbrück needs to do something fast to change the election math.
If the election were held next Sunday, a series of weekly surveys, has been fairly consistent: 41% of the vote would go to the governing CDU/CSU and 5% to their coalition partner, the FDP, barely squeaking over the 5% minimum to get into the Bundestag. Together, the coalition would have 46% of the vote. On the other side: the SPD would garner 22%, the Greens 11%, and the Left Party 10%, giving their coalition 43% of the vote. The remainder wouldn’t clear the minimum.

Why 'Feminism' is poisoning Atheism (Part 5)

To contribute to seeing PZ Myers get sued.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mic...

Other than that, it was very sad to see Dave Silvermans actions this week. It is however not a new trend. Dave Silverman was almost the first in line to voice his support for Amy Roth after her famous 'being reduced to tears by a tshirt' incident at TAM a year or two back.

As Syria distracts, here’s what else is happening while no one is looking…

By Simon Black: Rome, Italy - As everyone is now completely distracted with the looming prospect of yet another illegal war to be waged by the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, let’s look at a few other things going on while no one is looking.
Gun control
Today, the Obama administration announced fresh measures to restrict the availability of firearms in the Land of the Free.
This time around, they want to ban the re-importation of firearms that have been exported from the US to allied nations. They also want to raise the bar on federal background checks.
But rather than go through Congress, the Obama administration is simply going to create a new ‘rule’.
‘Rules’ are a type of regulation created directly by agencies within the Executive Branch. They’re not laws, but they carry the same weight and effect as laws, complete with criminal and civil penalties.
Oftentimes, hundreds of new rules are proposed every single day in the Land of the Free. It’s the easiest way for the baby bombing President to circumvent the Constitution and simply decree whatever he wants.

In Stunning Move UK Parliament Rejects Syria Military Strike, Obama and the US MIC "Willing To Go It Alone"

Tyler Durden's pictureThe UK House of Commons, in a razor thin vote, rejected the Cameron proposal for military action in Syria with a vote 285 to 272.
Cameron promptly said he would respect the will of the House of Commons and UK Defense Secretary Phillip Hammond confirmed there would be no UK military intervention in Syria. Incidentally, this may have been the best outcome for an already humiliated British premier who will avoid being dragged into an unpopular war having both sided with his greatest ally, the US, and also relented and listened to the voice of the people. More importantly, the "people" in the UK actually had a voice, which is more than can so far be said about developments in the US. And speaking of the US, the NYT reports that even as the Syrian war "option" is slowly being shut out for staunch US allies (except for France of course), that Obama is "willing to move ahead with a limited military strike on Syria even while allies like Britain are debating whether to join the effort [ZH: and have now voted against it] and without an endorsement from the United Nations Security Council" citing senior administration officials.
The ETA for a unilateral move by Obama may be as soon as Saturday: