Hot Anais Zanotta Bikini Pics

At Barnorama, "Anais Zanotti Shows Off Her Love For France In A Hot Bikini." (Via Linkiest.)

Anais Zanotti + French Bikini = Amazing!! http://t.co/M8WOGjfPYx pic.twitter.com/eDh1WIkXmB

— WTF Facts (@WTFfactx) August 30, 2014

John Kerry's Demand for 'Global Coalition' Signals Cowardice, Weakness, and Appeasement

It's almost like a bad joke, although sadly this is for real.

The headline of Secretary Kerry's op-ed at the New York Times says it all: "To Defeat Terror, We Need the World's Help: John Kerry: The Threat of ISIS Demands a Global Coalition." (Via Memeorandum.)

Kerry proclaims the need for "a broad coalition" nearly a half a dozen times. And he tries to lend authority to his case by calling on the memory of "the first President George Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III," who raised a truly broad international coalition behind 500,000 American troops to evict Saddam Hussein from Kuwait in 1991. The U.S. today would be lucky to get 500 "special advisers" in Iraq to coordinate the precipitous withdrawal of all American diplomatic and humanitarian personnel.

Kerry's essay is the modern equivalent of the "peace in our time" diplomacy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1938. It's a statement of avoidance-at-all-costs foreign policy that is the hallmark of the Obama presidency.

Pamela Geller has more, "Hiding From Behind: “Global coalition needed to stop Islamic State”":

More weakness and cowardice from the jihad sympathizer in the White House.

In the wake of Obama’s catastrophic failure in Iraq and Syria, the Obama administration is laying off on everyone else. The “Junior Varsity” team has conquered whole swaths of the Middle East and there is no stopping them. At least not while Hussein is in the White House.

Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry, a NY Times editorial, which I am sure the Islamic State reads every morning over the pile up of heads and corpses,  is a “global coalition using political, humanitarian, economic, law enforcement and intelligence tools to support military force.” Obama has no global coalition. He has alienated every ally we had. Unlike George Bush who had a “Coalition of the Willing” of 48 countries.

This is just another embarrassing example of Obama’s impotence. The rise of the Islamic State is a direct result of Obama’s foreign policy — the disengagement and dismantling American influence and power in the Middle East and the world. The spread of jihad is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever jihad wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles (paraphrasing Ayn Rand).

We have the military, cultural, and moral superiority to defeat jihad. We choose not to. A global coalition needs a leader. Has anyone called Stephen Harper?

And don't miss Tom Maguire, "Save It For The Funny Papers, Or, The Long Slow Flip-Flop Into Light."

(Via Memeorandum.)

BONUS: Fox News reports, "Kerry: The Threat of ISIS Demands a Global Coalition."

The Science is Settled and You're Racist

Andrew Klavan is hilarious.

Andrea Tantaros Tells the Leftist Speech Nazis to Get Bent

At Twitchy, "Andrea Tantaros: I will not apologize for criticizing radical Islamic jihadism."

I will not apologize for speaking the truth about radical Islamic jihadism. Period.

— Andrea Tantaros (@AndreaTantaros) August 30, 2014

I sent that along to a couple of leftist Nazis. These are disgusting people and Ms. Tantaros towers over them in moral clarity, to say nothing of intelligence.

.@pcheung630 Yo, Andrea Tantaros told you and your leftist speech censors to take a hike: https://t.co/ADaQdCy8RG cc. @MMFA #Outnumbered

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 30, 2014

.@joannarothkopf Miss, Andrea Tantaros won't be apologizing to speech Nazis like you: https://t.co/ADaQdCy8RG Nor should she. Get a clue.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 30, 2014

Terrorist Attack 'Highly Likely' in Britain

It's Kabuki theater.

Here's British Home Secretary Theresa May making her announcement on the elevated threat level in the U.K.:

The UK terror threat level has been raised to severe, meaning that a terrorist attack is "highly likely".

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, stressed that there was no information to suggest an attack was imminent.

She said the decision was taken as a result of the involvement of British fighters in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

It is the first time the threat level has been at “severe” since 2011 when it was reduced to “substantial”.

PREVIOUSLY: "'Severe' Terror Threat in Britain Amid Increasing Fears of U.K. Jihadists."

George Galloway Beaten Up — Left With Smashed Jaw

At Blazing Cat Fur:

The notoriously anti-Israel and anti-West Member of Parliament George Galloway has reportedly been beaten up on a London street tonight, with one news outlet reporting that Galloway has suffered a broken jaw at the hands of his attacker.

And Instapundit snarks, "COULDN’T HAPPEN TO A NICER GUY..."

Emma Kuziara Naughty Striptease

At Egotastic!, "Emma K. Poses for Sexy Photoshoot."

'Severe' Terror Threat in Britain Amid Increasing Fears of U.K. Jihadists

I think we're reaching the "overblown" phase of the latest threat about now.

That's not to say there isn't one. Only that while David Cameron continues to thread the multicultural needle, and President Obama admits he's got no strategy to defeat the terrorists, the opportunistic mass media has decided this is a good time to pump up the dangers of global jihad.

We'll probably die of political correctness first.

At BCF, "UK terror threat level raised to "Multicultural" - Jihadist attack now 'highly likely'."

And at Telegraph UK, "Britain facing 'greatest terrorist threat' in history":

David Cameron warns that Isil have made 'specific' threats against Britain as the terror threat level is raised.

Britain faces the “greatest and deepest” terror threat in the country’s history, David Cameron warned as he pledged emergency measures to tackle extremists.

The UK threat level was raised to “severe” — its second highest — meaning that a terrorist attack is “highly likely” in light of the growing danger from British jihadists returning from Iraq and Syria.

The Prime Minister said that the risk posed by Isil (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) will last for “decades” and raised the prospect of an expanding terrorist nation “on the shores of the Mediterranean”.

He disclosed that Isil had made “specific” threats against the UK and did not rule out military action to tackle the growing problem.

More than 500 Britons are believed to have gone to Iraq and Syria and at least half have returned, with some feared to be planning attacks here. One major plot has been foiled.

The warning came as it emerged that a laptop seized from Isil in Syria contained research on how to make a biological bomb and religious justification to use it against civilians.

On Monday, Mr Cameron will unveil a number of “uncompromising” measures to help tackle British jihadists and fill the “gaps in our armoury”.

They will include stopping British fanatics from travelling to or returning from the war zones by making it easier to seize their passports.

#Angels Beat #Athletics 4-0 in Spectacular Rivaly Match at Anaheim Stadium

I mentioned the playoff atmosphere in my post yesterday before the game, "Angels-Athletics Rivalry Has 'Playoff Feel'."

And there were no disappointments.

Mike DiGiovanna reports, at the Los Angeles Times, "Angels get A's for effort in 4-0 victory":

Ball squirted out of Coco Crisp's glove and over the wall. It's a 2-run HR for Iannetta for 2-0 #Angels lead, but what an effort by Crisp.

— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) August 30, 2014

That was #Angels C Chris Iannetta's first HR since May 25 vs. #Royals.

— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) August 30, 2014

Oakland center fielder Coco Crisp risked serious injury when he crashed into the wall in a gallant effort to rob Angels catcher Chris Iannetta of a two-run home run in the fifth inning Friday night.

Angels left fielder Josh Hamilton hurled his body into foul territory to make a superb diving catch of Alberto Callaspo's fifth-inning popup with two on, to which center fielder Mike Trout responded: "That's what I'm talking about, baby!"

Trout raced into the left-center-field gap and caught Stephen Vogt's drive before slamming into the wall to save a run in the fourth. And Angels ace Jered Weaver pumped his fist violently and screamed an obscenity into the air after getting Josh Reddick to fly to left with the bases loaded to end the sixth.

What the Angels-Athletics rivalry might lack in name-brand recognition or a decades-old history of bitterness, it is making up for in on-field intensity.

Emotions ran high again Friday night, as Weaver gave up three hits in seven shutout innings to lead the Angels to a 4-0 victory before an energized crowd of 41,177 in Angel Stadium...

More.

In an all-around phenomenal game, the Coco Crisp effort to snag Iannetta's home run was particularly dramatic.

I picked up tickets yesterday afternoon, so our seats were way up on the top level, almost all the way down the third base line. From my angle, the center-field fence was parallel with my view. I was talking to my son and not paying close attention when Iannetta came up to bat, but I saw him get some good wood on the ball and was wondering if it was going to go out of the yard. And then here come the outfielders to try to make a play. It took me a second to remember that Crisp was playing center, but as soon as he went up I knew, and he slammed into the wall hard. It looked like he robbed Iannetta of the homer, but we were too far away to see the ball pop out of the glove. And then Crisp jumped up and clutched his abdomen, finally doubling over in pain. I saw an usher or groundsman behind the center-field wall go over and pick up a ball, so I thought then that Crisp wasn't able to hold on. But the scoreboard hadn't recording the home run, and I didn't see the umpire signal the score. Pretty intense baseball, that's for sure. And so different watching it at the park than on television.

In any case, here's the Athletics home page with the video, "Crisp exits after crash into wall on stellar effort."

VIDEO: Review of #ISIS Social Media Messaging Reveals Intent to Sneak Across U.S.-Mexico Border

At Fox News, "Online posts show ISIS eyeing Mexican border, says law enforcement bulletin."

Also, from Brandon Darby, at Breitbart, "EXCLUSIVE: BREITBART TEXAS VERIFIES ISIS BORDER THREAT WITH LEAKED DOC."

And picked up at local CBS News Los Angeles:

Angels-Athletics Rivalry Has 'Playoff Feel'

I'm heading out in a few minutes for Game 2 of the Labor Day weekend series between the Angels and Athletics at the Big A.

The Los Angeles Times reports, "Angels-Athletics is becoming a real rivalry."

This four-game series with #Athletics and #Angels is really setting up nicely for some great drama this weekend. Playoff feel

— Sean Cunningham (@News10Sean) August 29, 2014

Putin Denies Russia Sent Troops Into #Ukraine

More on the story out of Russia, at LAT, "Putin denies invading Ukraine, warns West 'not to mess with us'."

PREVIOUSLY: "Putin Lashes Out at Kiev."

Eiza Gonzalez

At WWTDD, "Eiza Gonzalez Is No Miley Cyrus."

The Concept of Western World Order in Crisis

A magisterial essay, from Henry Kissinger, at WSJ, "Henry Kissinger on the Assembly of a New World Order."

Dr. Kissinger has a new book coming out as well, World Order.

Homosexual Daniel Ashley Pierce Violently Disowned by Family During Profanity-Laced 'Intervention'

Huffington Post has the story, via Memeorandum, "WATCH: Family Has Horrifying, Violent Reaction To Son's Coming Out As Gay (GRAPHIC CONTENT)."

"How not to react" is right.

BMW X5 Security Plus Bullet-Proof Car

A little out of my price range, although I could sure use one.

At WSJ, "BMW Unveils Bulletproof Car: Moscow Plays Host to Launch of Cars That Can Withstand AK-47 Fire."

Putin Lashes Out at Kiev

At the Wall Street Journal, "Putin Lashes Out at Ukraine Over Failure of Talks: Comments Come as Ukraine Says It Wants to Join NATO":

MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Kiev and its allies of backing peace talks only as a smoke screen to continue military operations, sidestepping allegations that Russia is funneling troops into eastern Ukraine to fight alongside separatist rebels.

Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the crisis have dimmed significantly in recent days. Putin's claims came as Ukraine's government proposed repealing a law banning membership in military blocs and moving toward joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Russia considers a threat to its interests.

"The Ukrainian authorities must be forced to substantively start talks" with separatists in the east on greater autonomy, Mr. Putin told a youth forum in northwest Russia. He didn't specify how that would happen, but he blasted the West for allowing Kiev to continue fighting.

"You know what our partners' position boils down to?... 'yes, we must sit down at the negotiating table, but we need to let the Ukrainian government shoot a bit first,'" he said. "But that's not working. That has to be recognized."

Moscow has long called for Kiev to stop its military operation unconditionally, but previous cease-fires have fallen apart almost as soon as they were announced amid allegations from both sides of violations. Ukraine has said it is open to a truce but only if it is observed by both sides.

NATO said Thursday that more than 1,000 Russian soldiers are fighting in Ukraine in an incursion that appeared to be aimed at preventing Kiev from defeating the separatists on the battlefield.

Mr. Putin didn't specifically address the allegations from Kiev and the West, which other Russian officials denied. He said only that border violations by troops have happened on both sides and are a "technical" matter.

In unusually harsh language, Mr. Putin compared Ukrainian forces' tactics to those used by the Nazis in their invasion of Russia. "Sadly, it reminds me of World War II, when German fascist forces surrounded our cities, like Leningrad, and shelled population centers and their residents," he said. Kiev has denied those allegations.

Keeping up his defiance, Mr. Putin said that Russia wasn't involved in major conflicts, but would be ready to repel aggression. "Russia's partners...should understand it's best not to mess with us," he said.

Ukraine's proposal wasn't discussed at a Friday meeting of NATO ambassadors called to discuss the crisis, though the alliance's chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would "fully respect" any decision by Ukraine to try to join the alliance.

Ukraine had been seeking NATO membership under its previous pro-Western government in 2005, but the subsequent pro-Russian leadership passed the law banning bloc membership in 2010.

Ed Sheeran on Jimmy Kimmel Live

My son was there last night. Sheeran came on around 6:15pm.



And the interview is here, "Ed Sheeran on Elton John," and "Ed Sheeran's Sleepovers with Courteney Cox and Jamie Foxx."

The Obama Depression: In Poll, 7-in-10 Say Economy Has Permanently Changed for the Worse Since '09

The news articles and the survey report don't say it, but the findings from the new Rutgers University poll on the economy are nothing less than a devastating indictment of the Obama administration and its inept --- indeed, malicious --- handling of the economy since the crash of 2008.

Obama's 2009 stimulus bill was a boondoggle that proved Keynesian economics doesn't work.

Today, more than 5 and a half years since Obama took office, the national unemployment rate stands at 6.2 percent, and the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that unemployment in July increased in 30 states. We're still stuck in a tepid recovery, and Americans are hopping mad about it.

Here's the Rutgers report, "Unhappy, Worried, and Pessimistic: Americans in the Aftermath of the Great Recession":

The protracted and uneven recovery from the Great Recession has led most Americans to conclude that the U.S. economy has undergone a permanent change for the worse. Seven in ten now say the recession’s impact is permanent, up from half in 2009 when the recession officially ended. Much of this is rooted in direct experience. Fully one-quarter of the public says there has been a major decline in their quality of life owing to the recession, and 42 percent say they have less in salary and savings than when the recession began. Despite five years of recovery, sustained job growth, and reductions in the number of unemployed workers, Americans are not convinced that the economy is improving. Only one in three thinks the U.S. economy has gotten better in the last year and only one-quarter thinks it will improve next year. Moreover, just one in six Americans believe that job opportunities will be better for the next generation of workers, down from four in ten five years ago. These are some of the findings of a new survey conducted between July 24 and August 3, 2014 by the Heldrich Center with a nationally representative sample of 1,153 Americans.

Click through for the full report.

And then watch this astonishing focus group segment with pollster Frank Luntz on CBS News This Morning. The usual caveat is that focus groups are statistically insignificant, although the strong opinions held among the participants here, and the near universal disappointment among the participants, provides a crushing snapshot of the public sentiment with just over two months to go before the November midterm elections.

Jeffersonians Rally for Independence at the California Capitol

Fascinating.

At the Sacramento Bee:

After a rally at the Capitol marked by chants of “The time has come for 51!” and a surprise appearance by Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, supporters of the State of Jefferson presented their “declarations of separation” to the California Legislature on Thursday.

The declarations from Modoc and Siskiyou counties, expressing their desire to withdraw from California because of a lack of representation in Sacramento, marked the first official step in the secession movement’s long-running efforts to re-form as a new state in Northern California.
“We’re here not because we feel any ill will toward California,” said Mark Baird, a pilot and rancher from Yreka who has helped organize the Jefferson movement. “Our problem is (lawmakers) don’t have empathy for us because we’re so far away.”

Baird addressed a crowd of about 70 from across Northern California, clad in green shirts and carrying green flags bearing Jefferson’s seal. The yellow circle with two X’s stands for “double-crossed by Sacramento.”

Donnelly, a Republican from Twin Peaks in Southern California, showed up unannounced to support the rally, which frequently drew comparisons to the American Revolution through “taxation without representation” arguments and the “Don’t tread on me” snake logo.

“It’s time for another revolution,” Donnelly said. “A peaceful one.”

Keep reading.

Obama Signals No Immediate Plans to Defeat Islamic State

Actually, it's worse than "no immediate plans."

Obama admitted today that he's got no strategy to defeat ISIS.

At Twitchy, "Strategy? What strategy? Behold ‘the Obama Doctrine in one sentence’."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Obama Says No Plans for Imminent Escalation of Operations Against Islamic State: Extremists Killed Nearly 500 This Week in One Syrian Province, Opposition Activists Say":

President Barack Obama signaled the U.S. has no immediate plans to escalate military operations against Islamic State extremists in Iraq or Syria, stressing the need to counter the group's advance while formulating a broader strategy to protect U.S. interests and allies.

Mr. Obama spoke on a day when Syrian opposition activists said the Sunni radical group had killed nearly 500 people since Sunday in the northeastern province of Raqqa, most of them Syrian troops captured on an air base seized by Islamic State fighters.

The president, who met with his national security team Thursday afternoon, said the U.S. is still developing its plan to root Islamic State out of Iraq and Syria, where it has captured large swaths of territory since June.

"We don't have a strategy yet," Mr. Obama said of potential plans for airstrikes in Syria. He said the long-term blueprint to respond to the growth of the militant group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, can't depend on U.S. actions alone.

"Rooting out a cancer like ISIL will not be quick, or easy, but I'm confident that we can and we will, working closely with our allies and our partners," Mr. Obama said.

The president walked back reports suggesting an immediate escalation of military operations, including potential airstrikes in Syria.

"We need to make sure that we've got clear plans so we're developing them," he said. He said he was more focused on military activity in Iraq and the need for a unified government in Baghdad to help combat militant forces. "My priority at this point is to make sure that the gains that ISIL made in Iraq are rolled back and that Iraq has the opportunity to govern itself effectively and secure itself," Mr. Obama said...

More.

Surfers Race to Catch Massive Waves Sparked by Hurricane Marie

It's biggest surf seen for quite some time.

At LAT, "Surfers race to catch massive waves across Southland."

More at the Costa Mesa Daily Pilot, "Newport's Wedge lives up to its reputation: 1 hurt in thundering surf: Crowds gather on Balboa Peninsula to watch the big waves as lifeguards stand ready."

And at the O.C. Register, "Monster highs: Massive summer swells bring out surf legends, gawkers, destruction,"  and "The Wedge pounds bodyboarders for 3rd straight day."

Plus, some video at WSJ, "Hurricane Marie Brings Epic Waves to Southern Calif."

Nina Agdal for Mambo Swimwear Summer 2014

She's from Denmark, a point my son noted in his 6th grade country project this last school year, heh.

At Egotastic!, "Nina Agdal Models Bikinis for Mambo, I Feel Snake Bit In My Sensitive Areas."

Buy Some Books

I'll be teaching all day. More blogging tonight.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on The Pity Party: A Mean-Spirited Diatribe Against Liberal Compassion.

Or search for more at the banner link:

Russia Sends Regular Forces Into #Ukraine

This is just bizarre.

Another reminder of bygone days, like the interwar period's Nazi run-up to WWII.

At LAT, "Ukraine says Russian armored vehicles pouring across border."

Brazil’s Valley of Beauties Appeals for Single Men

And Brazil's got some smokin' ladies down there too.

At the Telegraph UK, "Women of Noiva do Cordeiro, deep in the countryside of south-east Brazil, where men are scarce or work far away in the city, are left to shoulder the town’s burdens alone."

But read the article.

It's a bunch of controlling radical feminists at Noiva do Cordeiro. No man of self-respect would subject himself to the "rules" they've laid down. These women are going to remain lonely for a long time to come.

Election Models Converging on GOP Senate Majority

Well, I'm certainly bullish, but still, no reason to get too excited just yet.

That said, this is far-left MSNBC contributor Chris Cillizza, so you never know.

At WaPo, "All of the election models are starting to converge. And they are all pointing to a Republican Senate."

The election models are starting to converge. And they are pointing to a Republican Senate. http://t.co/BZYt0HMiw0 pic.twitter.com/CbIUddq3ZU

— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) August 27, 2014

Maureen Dowd: Obama 'Outsourcing' Race Relations to Al Sharpton

MoDo's been on a roll lately.

At NYT, "He Has a Dream":

WASHINGTON — As he has grown weary of Washington, Barack Obama has shed parts of his presidency, like drying petals falling off a rose.

He left the explaining and selling of his signature health care legislation to Bill Clinton. He outsourced Congress to Rahm Emanuel in the first term, and now doesn’t bother to source it at all. He left schmoozing, as well as a spiraling Iraq, to Joe Biden. Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, comes across as more than a messagemeister. As the president floats in the empyrean, Rhodes seems to make foreign policy even as he’s spinning it.

But the one thing it was impossible to imagine, back in the giddy days of the 2009 inauguration, as Americans basked in their open-mindedness and pluralism, was that the first African-American president would outsource race...

Keep reading.

#USC Cornerback Josh Shaw Suspended Indefinitely for Totally Lying About 'Hero' Story — #FightOn #Trojans

At LAT, "USC's Shaw suspended indefinitely for fabricating heroic story."

And from KCAL 9 News Los Angeles:

BREAKING: USC's Josh Shaw admits to school that he lied about how he suffered his ankle injuries over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/rdHzWmrhZN

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 27, 2014

#USC coach Steve Sarkiaisn on Josh Shaw: “We are extremely disappointed in Josh. He let us all down." Shaw has retained a lawyer.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 27, 2014

Let's get the focus back on Saturday's game, instead of the distractions. Get fired up for Fresno State! #FightOn #BeatTheBulldogs

— USC Trojans Football (@uscfootball) August 27, 2014

PREVIOUSLY: "'Hero' Josh Shaw Investigation Hangs Over #USC Football."

New Child Fashion Necessity for In-Style Leftist Families: Striped 'Star of David' Holocaust Tees

Perfect leftist fashion item with a 1940s flair.

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Zara pulls plug on 'Holocaust shirt' for kids."

The company released a statement, indicating that the tee-shirts, with the "Star of David" on them, will be "exterminated":

The item in question, part of the Cowboy Collection for babies, was inspired by the character of the sheriff in Wild West movies. The word ‘Sheriff’ is visible on the star at the front of the item. Nevertheless, we can understand the sensitive context and connotation that was created. The item does not exist in Israel and as soon as the issue became clear, it was decided the product will be removed from shelves across the world and exterminated.

We sincerely apologize if, as a result, we have offended the feelings of our customers.

Yes, "sincerely." I'm sure.

Zara will destroy all of these shirts: http://t.co/a8ANyLkyYu pic.twitter.com/MoE2KNU46H

— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) August 27, 2014

New Jennifer Nicole Lee Photos from Miami Beach

At Egotastic!, "Jennifer Nicole Lee Spotted in South Beach."

Previously Jennifer Nicole Lee blogging here.

Political Correctness Helped Cover Up Child Sexual Exploitation in #Rotherham

More on the enormous depravity in Britain.

At Legal Insurrection, "Racial and religious targeting of white teenage girls — but investigators feared being labeled “racist,” according to independent report."

Also, commentary from Allison Pearson, at Telegraph UK, "Rotherham: In the face of such evil, who is the racist now?"

And at the Other McCain, "The Rotherham Horror."

PREVIOUSLY: "Sex Abuse Ignored in Britain: 1,400 Girls Raped by Muslim Sex-Trafficking Gangs as Police Feared 'Racism' Accusations."

VIDEO: Shirley Sotloff Appeals to Islamic State for the Release of Her Son, Steven Sotloff — #ISIS

An amazing development in the realm of international affairs. A bereaved mother appeals directly to the head of a transnational terrorist organization for the release of her son, held captive as a pawn in the terror war Islamic jihad is waging against the West. The video itself is particularly interesting for its production quality, and its apparent sponsorship by the New York Times. This is some kind of private party diplomacy that is extremely unusual. I'd have to research it, but we'd have to go back to the period of the 1980s, and the kidnappings conducted by the Islamic Jihad Organization in Lebanon, for something similar.

In any case, at the New York Times, "American Hostage’s Mother Issues Appeal to ISIS Leader: Plea to Islamic State for Release of Steven Sotloff" (via Memeorandum):

The mother of an American hostage being held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria released an emotional video appeal to his captors on Wednesday. Shirley Sotloff, the mother of the 31-year-old freelance journalist Steven J. Sotloff, addressed her plea directly to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and the self-declared caliph of the Muslim world.

Ms. Sotloff addresses Mr. Baghdadi as caliph, a title he bestowed on himself a few months ago, and calls on him to exercise his right to show clemency and follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad as previous caliphs did.

“I am sending this message to you, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Quraishi al-Hussaini, the caliph of the Islamic State. I am Shirley Sotloff. My son Steven is in your hands,” she begins. “You, the caliph, can grant amnesty. I ask you please to release my child,” she continues. “I ask you to use your authority to spare his life.”

Mr. Baghdadi — an Iraqi national who was jailed briefly by American forces in 2004 — declared a caliphate this year after his group captured a significant chunk of territory in Iraq. His claim to authority has not been recognized by most Muslims. In addressing Mr. Baghdadi as caliph of the Muslim world, Ms. Sotloff’s appeal is almost certainly the first time a non-Muslim has acknowledged his authority, a move that may prove controversial.

More.

Miley Cyrus' Homeless Friend Has a Warrant Out for His Arrest

Ms. Cyrus was being touted as a "humanitarian" after Sunday's VMAs.

Now, not so much.

At ABC News:

Jon Stewart Epic 'Race/Off' Rant

Leftists are creaming over this, but what the heck? Stewart's a riot.

Watch: "Race/Off."

'Hero' Josh Shaw Investigation Hangs Over #USC Football

The original story is that he saved his nephew from drowning. Now, maybe not so much.

At LAT, "Josh Shaw situation hangs over preparation for USC season opener."

Will Photo of Kay Hagan Greeting President Obama Doom Her Bid for Second Term?

At USA Today, "Hagan greets Obama: The politics of a photo op in North Carolina."

Photo: Obama and Sens Kay Hagan, Richard Burr in Charlotte, NC via @AP_Images pic.twitter.com/zQrHsMUQYU

— Charles Dharapak (@Dharapak) August 26, 2014

She was bashing Obama just yesterday. It's hard out there for a Democrat.

Sen. Kay Hagan & Obama Tuesday in North Carolina.... http://t.co/KrMEZN9H6H

— CAROLYN ZORN (@zorn17) August 25, 2014

President Obama heads to North Carolina today. And Kay Hagan has to walk a tightrope. http://t.co/m2TQd8WJb7

— Post Politics (@postpolitics) August 26, 2014

Sex Abuse Ignored in Britain: 1,400 Girls Raped by Muslim Sex-Trafficking Gangs as Police Feared 'Racism' Accusations

Look, the Telegraph UK won't even call these guys Muslims, even though they're from Pakistan and all have Arabic-Islamist names.

See, "Rotherham sex abuse scandal: 1,400 children exploited by Asian gangs while authorities turned a blind eye." Also "Video: Police 'sorry' for failure in Rotherham child sex abuse scandal."

But see London's Daily Mail, "Revealed: How fear of being seen as racist stopped social workers saving up to 1,400 children from sexual exploitation at the hands of Asian men in just ONE TOWN."



And especially at Bare Naked Islam, "UK HORRIFIC REVELATIONS: How fear of being called ‘racist’ prevented social workers from rescuing up to 1,400 mostly white girl children from sexual abuse and exploitation by Muslim sex ‘grooming’ gangs in just one town!"

And Iowahawk on Twitter:

BBC says1400 underage girls were raped because officials afraid to describe perps; yet BBC won't describe them either http://t.co/YFtF5RRTvl

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) August 26, 2014

Guardian also afraid to describe the child rapists who the BBC and government were afraid to describe http://t.co/XevC9tMKLg

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) August 26, 2014

Keira Knightley for Interview Magazine September 2014

She's lovely.

At Interview, "KEIRA KNIGHTLEY BY PATRICK DEMARCHELIIER."

Joshua Muravchik: Making David into Goliath

Here's another highly recommended book, from Joshua Muravchik, Making David into Goliath: How the World Turned Against Israel.

'Eric Holder Is One of the Biggest Race-Baiters in This Entire Country...'

Andrea Tantaros is da bomb!

Left-Wing Revolt Plunges Hollande Into Crisis

At Telegraph UK:

The French president is forced to order a reshuffle after two dissident cabinet ministers launch an open rebellion against his economic policy.

François Hollande was forced to order his second reshuffle in less than five months today after a revolt within the cabinet threatened to cripple his presidency.

The Left wing of France’s ruling Socialist Party is furious over Mr Hollande’s shift to more centrist economic policies with the introduction of tax and spending cuts aimed at reducing the country’s huge budget deficit.

The outgoing government, headed by the reformist prime minister, Manuel Valls, was appointed in March with the aim of bringing an end to infighting and the cabinet’s apparent lack of direction.

However, it was plunged into crisis over the weekend by Left-wingers led by Arnaud Montebourg, the flamboyant economy minister.

He defied Mr Hollande’s authority by publicly urging him to discard austerity and break with what he described as deficit-cutting measures imposed on the eurozone by “the most extreme orthodoxy of the German Right”.

More.

The Neo-Neocons

Lolz.

Jean Kaufman (Neo-Neocon) oughta get a kick out of that headline, via Bret Stephens, at WSJ, "ISIS Makes Liberals Rediscover the Necessity of Hard Power":

So now liberals want the U.S. to bomb Iraq, and maybe Syria as well, to stop and defeat ISIS, the vilest terror group of all time. Where, one might ask, were these neo-neocons a couple of years ago, when stopping ISIS in its infancy might have spared us the current catastrophe?

Oh, right, they were dining at the table of establishment respectability, drinking from the fountain of opportunistic punditry, hissing at the sound of the names Wolfowitz, Cheney, Libby and Perle.

And, always, rhapsodizing to the music of Barack Obama.

Not because he is the most egregious offender, but only because he's so utterly the type, it's worth turning to the work of George Packer, a writer for the New Yorker. Over the years Mr. Packer has been of this or that mind about Iraq. Yet he has always managed to remain at the dead center of conventional wisdom. Think of him as the bubble, intellectually speaking, in the spirit level of American opinion journalism.

Thus Mr. Packer was for the war when it began in 2003, although "just barely," as he later explained himself. In April 2005 he wrote that the "Iraq war was always winnable" and "still is"—a judgment that would have seemed prescient in the wake of the surge. But by then he had already disavowed his own foresight, saying, when he was in full mea culpa mode, that the line was "the single most doubtful" thing he had written in his acclaimed book "The Assassins' Gate."

Stephens continues to skewer Packer with example after example, and then:

And then along came ISIS.

In the current issue of the New Yorker, Mr. Packer has an essay titled "The Common Enemy," which paints ISIS in especially terrifying colors: The Islamic State's project is "totalitarian." Its ideology is "expansionist as well as eliminationist." It has "many hundreds of fighters holding European or American passports [who] will eventually return home with training, skills, and the arrogance of battlefield victory." It threatened a religious minority with "imminent genocide." Its ambitions will not "remain confined to the boundaries of the Tigris and the Euphrates." The administration's usual counterterrorism tool, the drone strike, is "barely relevant against the Islamic State's thousands of ground troops."

"Pay attention to other people's nightmares," he concludes, "because they might be contagious."

Correcto-mundo. Which brings us back to the questions confronting the Bush administration on Sept. 12, 2001. Are we going to fight terrorists over there—or are we going to wait for them to come here? Do we choose to confront terrorism by means of war—or as a criminal justice issue? Can we assume the cancer in the Middle East won't spread so we can "pivot" to Asia and do some more "nation-building at home"? Can we win with a light-footprint approach against a heavy-footprint enemy?

Say what you will about George W. Bush: He got every one of these questions right while Mr. Obama got every one of them wrong. It's a truth that may at last be dawning on the likes of Mr. Packer and the other neo-neocons, not that I expect them ever to admit it.

Heh. You gotta love it.

The Angry, Disillusioned Music of the London Rapper Accused of Beheading James Foley

From Elias Groll, at Foreign Policy.

The music of the British rapper who reportedly beheaded James Foley is an angry testament to a miserable childhood. http://t.co/S4Xy6qro22

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) August 25, 2014

Stop the Race to Judgment on #Ferguson

Deneen Borelli, on Hannity's last week.

And Jason Riley's very thoughtful as well:

'Holocaust Victims,' Relatives Challenge Elie Wiesel for Defending Israel

From Phyllis Chesler, at Big Peace.

A nice piece.

Egypt and United Arab Emirates Launch Airstrikes in Libya

The story's at NYT, "Arab Nations Strike in Libya, Surprising U.S."

And Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, at 7:30 minutes into this Megyn Kelly segment, slams the Obama administration: "Our erstwhile allies don't trust us anymore," because Obama'w letting the entire world go to hell.

Watch:

Black Suspect Arrested After Iraq Vet Beaten by Racial Mob Inflamed by Mike Brown and #Ferguson

"Life in post-racial America," via Instapundit.

At the New Orleans Times-Picayune, "Mississippi man beaten after he's warned restaurant wasn't safe for whites, witness says."

And at USA Today, "Witness: Beaten man told eatery 'not safe for whites'."

Also at Fire Andrea Mitchell, "Courtez McMillian beats West Point Marine Ralph Weems in Michael Brown revenge racist attack."

RT @famblog: Courtez McMillian beats white marine in Michael Brown revenge attack http://t.co/3NqirhEROU #tcot #tgdn pic.twitter.com/zq7GdXxFyD

— ┌П┐(•_•) (@exposeliberals) August 26, 2014

WHITE MARINE VET IN COMA AFTER BEING BEATEN BY BLACK MOB! ~Rebel III% http://t.co/8PcZp21pnM

— Conservative Freaks (@Freak1791) August 25, 2014

Layoffs at CNN? Start by Firing Serial Plagiarist Fareed Zakaria

It's hard out there.

At the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Turner Broadcasting to offer voluntary buyouts, layoffs also expected," and "Following layoffs memo, Jeff Zucker tells CNN employees they need to “do less and do it with less”":

CNN chief Jeff Zucker recently shared not so encouraging words with some of the news operation’s employees, many of whom have been bracing for potential jobs cuts.

“We are going to do less and have to do it with less,” Zucker said during a call-in to a news meeting Tuesday morning. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently received a partial transcript of the call from a Turner employee who asked not to be identified.

Zucker’s comments feed growing concerns among employees at CNN and other operations of Turner Broadcasting, which has nearly 13,000 full-time employees, about half of them in Atlanta.

Zucker made his comments to staff the day after Turner chief John Martin sent a memo to staff saying a more streamlined company would be in place by the start of next year and that employees would begin hearing more in coming weeks. Turner executives are trying to refocus the business, including shedding costs, spending more on original programming to boost ratings and looking to prioritize other growth options.

Zucker said, “We now have a sense of what Turner is expecting from CNN. I am working with the senior management team at CNN to figure out what this means for us. This will result in changes and what we do and what we stop doing.”

Here’s a transcript of part of Zucker’s call...

More at the link.

CNN can start by firing Fareed Zakaria.

Also at Variety, "Turner Broadcasting Prepares for Staff Buyout Offers Amid Bigger Changes Ahead."

Furious Marine Nick Powers Pens Open Letter to #ISIS

Megyn Kelly just interviewed Nick Powers. I'll update with the clip if becomes available.

Meanwhile, at Independent Journal Review, "Marine Vet’s Viral Post Warning ISIS: ‘Attack Us and There Will be No Mercy’."

'No Angel'

It turns out today's front-page New York Times article on Michael Brown referred to the black thug teenager as "no angel," which is exactly correct. Except that's not politically correct, so out came the knives of the leftist censors to tear into the skin of public editor Margaret Sullivan.

Here's her response to the latest leftist two-minute hate, "An Ill-Chosen Phrase, ‘No Angel,’ Brings a Storm of Protest":

In my view, the timing of the article (on the day of Mr. Brown’s funeral) was not ideal. Its pairing with a profile of Mr. Wilson seemed to inappropriately equate the two people. And “no angel” was a blunder.

In general, though, I found Mr. Eligon’s reporting to be solid and thorough. I came away from the profile with a deeper sense of who Michael Brown was, and an even greater sense of sorrow at the circumstances of his death.

She defends the piece, only to further inflame the black leftist lynch mobs:

So disturbing and unwarranted. The New York Times defends Michael Brown Jr. ‘no angel’ characterization http://t.co/jG2tsSuHP7

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) August 25, 2014

Hope and change!

The Militarization of Policing and What to Do About It

From Glenn Reynolds, at USA Today, "Police problem is unaccountable attitude":

Police officers act like they're in a war zone, forgetting they face citizens, not enemies.

Often, if you wait long enough, an idea comes around. Back in 2006, I wrote a piece for Popular Mechanics on how the federal government's transfer of surplus military equipment to local police departments -- sometimes in very small towns -- was leading to "SWAT overkill."

My complaints didn't get much traction with either the Bush or the Obama administrations. But now, in the wake of what many consider to be an overly militarized police response in Ferguson, Mo., President Obama has ordered a review of federal programs -- in the departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security -- to arm local police with military weapons.

Lawmakers -- from Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who quoted my 2006 piece in an op-ed in Time Magazine -- are looking at legislation to limit transfers. This is good. There's a role for SWAT teams in limited circumstances, but they've been overused in recent years, deployed for absurd things such as raids on sellers of raw milk. The problem is, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And when you have cool military equipment, there's a strong temptation to use it, just because, well, it's cool. (Federal regulatory agencies have succumbed to SWAT Fever too.)

I don't entirely blame the police. If somebody gave me a Bradley fighting vehicle, or an Apache helicopter, I'd take it.

But blurring the lines between civilian policing and military action is dangerous...

Continue reading.

Kristin Cavallari Super Tight in Body-Hugging Blue Dress for 'Good Morning America'

Amazing.

At London's Daily Mail, "Kristin Cavallari displays her super trim frame in a skintight blue dress for GMA ...just three months after giving birth."

I'm Reading Caroline Glick: The Israeli Solution

When Glick's new book came out I put in an order at Amazon, but I had the shipping address wrong while updating my account. The Post Office sent the book back.

So, I think it was late July, during the Gaza War (after I watched her congressional briefing), but I went out and bought a copy at the bookstore. Glick is simply the best analyst of Israel's international politics.

Be sure to get your copy if you haven't already. And make sure you've got the correct shipping information for Amazon, heh: The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East.

Obama Must Resist #ISIS and Hamas

From Professor Michael Curtis, at American Thinker:

The brutality of ISIS must be ended, and so must Hamas’s aggression against the State of Israel, and the accompanying disease of anti-Semitism.  Palestinians, including people from Fatah and the Palestinian Authority as well as Hamas, are prone to compare actions of Israel with those of the Nazis.  Speeches by their leaders and news reports speak of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza as a Holocaust, and of the Israeli Nazi mentality.  This rhetoric provides the excuse for Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens, and for anti-Semitic actions.

American and European leaders are dramatically aware of the horror of ISIS and are preparing to take some further action against its rise. They must now assess the aggressive nature of Hamas and act accordingly. Both ISIS and Hamas must be defeated.

RTWT.

Hamas Solidarity Protester: Hitler Should Have Finished the Jews

Video at Breitbart, "PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTER: HITLER SHOULD HAVE FINISHED THE JEWS."

Gangsta! Suge Knight, Hip-Hop Executive, Shot at Pre-VMAs Party in WeHo (VIDEO)

At Fox News, "Rap mogul Suge Knight injured in shooting at pre-VMA party."

And at LAT, "Suge Knight, 2 others shot at Chris Brown party on Sunset Strip," and "Chris Brown party shooting: Another chapter in the life of Suge Knight."

Peter Theo Curtis, Kidnapped American Journalist, Freed in Syria (VIDEO)

Al-Nusra Front released him.

At the Boston Globe, "American man with Mass. ties released in Syria":

An American journalist and author with Boston-area ties has been freed by his Al Qaeda-affiliated captors after nearly two years of imprisonment in Syria.

Peter Theo Curtis, 45, is on his way home after being released by the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al-Nusrah and handed over to United Nations forces in an Israeli-occupied village in the Golan Heights, according to statements from the UN, State Department, and family members.

The UN said on its website that Curtis was handed over to UN peacekeepers around 6:40 p.m. local time Sunday. He received a medical check-up, and was then transferred to US government representatives, the statement said.

In a detailed statement released through the State Department, members of Curtis’s family expressed elation and relief.

“We are so relieved that Theo is healthy and safe and that he is finally headed home after his ordeal,” Theo’s mother, Cambridge resident Nancy Curtis, said in the statement. “My heart is full at the extraordinary, dedicated, incredible people, too many to name individually, who have become my friends and have tirelessly helped us over these many months. Please know that we will be eternally grateful.”

Curtis’s family expressed gratitude to the US and Qatari governments for helping to negotiate his release, and said they had been told the negotiations proceeded on a humanitarian basis and did not involve the payment of a ransom. The US, along with the United Kingdom, has a policy barring the payment of ransoms to free its citizens who are being held abroad.

Nancy Curtis said she was “deeply saddened” by the death of James Foley, a New Hampshire journalist whose beheading by a fighter for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, was depicted in a graphic video released this week.

Nancy Curtis befriended Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, while their two sons were held captive for long stretches by separate groups, she said. She called for the release of others still imprisoned by Islamic militant groups in the Middle East.

ISIS, a radical Islamist group that blossomed in the chaos of Syria’s multi-front civil war, said Foley’s killing was in retaliation for US airstrikes on its fighters in Northern Iraq, where it has captured large swaths of territory in an attempt to establish a conservative caliphate state.

More.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Accelerant."

MTV to Shill Leftist #Ferguson Talking Points at Tonight's Video Music Awards — #VMAs

My son's in Inglewood for the VMAs.

He's got great tickets for the pit area, although they've got a blackout on social media for guests: No mobile phone allowed, period. I asked my kid how he was going to handle that and he was just bummed: "That sucks you can't take pictures!" I told him to leave his phone in the van.

In any case, when I see my boy again (hopefully tonight, if he's not out too late), I can deprogram him from all the leftist blather he'll be inundated with.

At the Washington Post, "MTV to turn Video Music Awards spotlight on Ferguson":

Last year, Miley Cyrus’s twerking, teddy-bear-filled performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards set off fierce arguments about race and cultural appropriation. This year, MTV is hoping to use its awards ceremony to start a different kind of conversation. Before and during the show, the network will be airing somber public service announcements about the ongoing standoff between law enforcement and the citizens of Ferguson, Mo., in the wake of the August 9 shooting death of teenager Michael Brown.

MTV’s spots are part of a larger campaign, Look Different, that the network developed in conjunction with organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza and the Southern Poverty Law Center. MTV has a long history of activist-oriented youth programming, and the Look Different program developed out of a paradox that MTV President Stephen Friedman told me he saw showing up in MTV polling.

“Eighty percent of our audience believes that bias is at the root of racism and prejudice,” Friedman said. “But when cultural explosions like Trayvon Martin, or the recent death on Staten Island, or what is now happening in Ferguson occur, our audience often feels paralyzed to discuss the issues.”

The reason? A good-intentioned schema for how to treat other people fairly that ultimately makes it more difficult to acknowledge unfairness or difference when it shows up anyway.

“Ironically, part of the problem is that this generation was taught to be color-blind,” Friedman told me. “As a result, they feel like they’re going to step on a land mine if they say the wrong thing. In fact, our research has shown that fully 70 percent of our white audience grew up not talking about race in their households. They’re striving for fairness and equality and often just aren’t sure how to to proceed.”

And that's a bad thing?

In other words, raising your kids so that race is just a background phenomenon is something to be ashamed of?

Leftists want you think race 24/7. You get Obama constantly talking race ("If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon"); Holder visiting Ferguson as the chief law-enforcement shakedown artist; and Al Sharpton as the White House point-man for the Democrat-left's perpetual outrage and distortion machine.

And MTV's on the case!

Like I said, I'll be deprogramming my kid later tonight, or tomorrow if I fall asleep before I get the chance.

More at the link, and also, "VMAs 2014 FAQ: Where to watch the show, red carpet details, and who’s performing."

Islamic State, Ferguson, and the Left in Crisis

From Wretchard, at Pajamas Media, "Paradigms Lost" (via Instapundit).

Islamic State Captures Major Air Base in #Syria From Government — UPDATE: Captured Syrian Soldiers Beheaded!

At the Wall Street Journal, "The Base Was the Last Government-Held Outpost in a Province Dominated by Islamic State":

"SashTam Islamic State Captures Major Syrian Air Base From Gov't http://t.co/sH3dYVpjJE #ObamaForeignPolicy #ISIS pic.twitter.com/Hlw3FcjsnU
— Mike Beacham (@Mike_Beacham) August 24, 2014

BEIRUT—The extremist group Islamic State captured a major air base in the northeastern province of Raqqa, driving out regime forces and gaining full control of an entire Syrian province for the first time in the civil war.

Several opposition activists based in the Raqqa area said Islamic State fighters were able to pierce the defenses of the Tabqa air base earlier Sunday and take it over. The capture came after fierce clashes with regime forces for five days at the gates of the military installation located near a town and a dam on the Euphrates River that bear the same name as the Tabqa air base.

It was the latest strategic conquest for the group, which has captured large swaths of territory in Syria and neighboring Iraq. Its recent advances in northern Iraq toward the semiautonomous Kurdish region and threats to religious minorities drew U.S. airstrikes on the militants in Iraq.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group tracking the conflict through its own network of activists inside Syria, said Islamic State militants captured most of the air base. A contingent of regime forces that had been stationed there withdrew to the town of Athraya to the southwest on a major supply route controlled by the regime, the Observatory said.

The regime's state-controlled news agency SANA described the withdrawal from the air base as a tactical one, an apparent attempt to soften the impact of the loss on regime supporters.

"Our forces have completed a successful regrouping operation after withdrawing from the air base, and they are still carrying out precision strikes against the terrorist groups in the area," said SANA.

The fall of the base to Islamic State fighters gives the group full control of Raqqa province, which shares borders with Turkey to the north and the crucial province of Aleppo to the west. East of Raqqa, the group already controls parts of Hasakah province and more than 80% of Deir-Ezzour province, both bordering Iraq.

Over the past month, Islamic State has succeeded in capturing the headquarters of the Syrian Army's 17th Division in Raqqa and another base for the 93rd Brigade of the same division also located in Raqqa.

The beheading of American journalist James Foley has prompted American officials to begin working to knit together a broader international campaign to combat Islamic State, an effort that the Pentagon warned will require taking the fight beyond Iraq and into Syria.

JWF has the update on Twitter. Click through for the report from McClatchy:

Islamic extremists seize Syrian military base then behead captured Assad soldiers http://t.co/4T4evr1Lhc

— JWF (@JammieWF) August 24, 2014

America: The Ostrich Years

From Derek Hunter, at Town Hall:

In every cartoon I’ve seen with an ostrich, there comes a scene where it gets scared and buries its head in the sand. Ostriches don’t do this in real life, but it came to symbolize, in cartoons at least, the concept of thinking something bad will go away if you simply ignore it. It’s foolish – some would say stupid – but it appears to be the crux of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.

There are times when a president has to be president, even on vacation. This is the part of the job President Obama seems to hold in contempt – the doing of it. The trappings – the motorcade, Air Force One, hanging out with celebrities, being a celebrity himself, having nearly every whim catered to – are the most appealing part of the job. But it is a job, and he sought it twice. He just doesn’t seem to like doing it.

This isn’t a new development. This president has been checked out to one degree or another since he checked in, but he at least paid lip service to the concept of domestic policy. He didn’t involve himself with the details of many of the laws Democrats in Congress passed; he just gave speeches in support of their concepts and signed them. But when policy issues crossed salt water, he lost all interest.

After a series of groveling speeches trying to make up for his predecessor, who just happens to be more popular than he is now, the president retreated to the comforts of his office and buried his head to the realities of the rest of the world.

Aside from occasional speeches and selfie-filled funerals or summits, Obama turned his gaze domestically and green-ward, to the golf course.

But the funny thing about the rest of the world is it doesn’t go away simply because you wish it would. The troubles of the world have a way of existing regardless whether you pay attention to them.

Afghanistan is on the verge of collapse. Libya is in anarchy. Israel is being attacked hourly by the terrorists in Hamas. Russia is putting its band back together. China is making aggressive moves toward us and Japan. And ISIS is executing people like it’s an Olympic event. Meanwhile, the president has given a few speeches and shaved two strokes off his handicap.

A great piece.

Keep reading.

Sexy Comes in All Sizes

The trend in plus-size fashion, at the San Francisco Chronicle, "Sexy comes in all sizes, says plus-size lingerie boutique owner."

BONUS: Great pic dump photos at Theo Sparks, here and here.

VIDEO: 6.1 Earthquake Hits Napa in Northern California — #NapaQuake

Here's video at the Telegraph UK, "A large earthquake rocked California's northern Bay Area damaging buildings, igniting fires, knocking out power to tens of thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness."

At at USA Today, "What exactly happened in Napa during earthquake?", and "Napa earthquake: Damaged water mains hurt fire efforts."

And at KRON4 – San Francisco:





More at the KRON YouTube page.

And see iOWNTHEWORLD, "NAPA, CA: NUMEROUS BUILDINGS UNINHABITABLE AFTER EARTHQUAKE."

Douglas Murray Interview with Michael Coren: 'British' Jihadis Abroad

Via Blazing Cat Fur.



And see Murray at the Spectator UK, "Britain’s beheaders – how we came to export jihad."

VIDEO: Race Hustler Al Sharpton Leads Staten Island Protest Over NYPD Chokehold Death of Eric Garner

Funny how Sharpton waited a month to have this protest, making sure to time it with the national race relations debate over Ferguson.

The irony is that in the case of Eric Garner, there's little controversy that the police used excessive force.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Thousands Protest in Staten Island Over Eric Garner's Death: Event, Led by Rev. Al Sharpton, Caps Weeks of New Scrutiny of the NYPD."



PREVIOUSLY: "VIDEO: Staten Island Man Dies After Placed in NYPD Chokehold, Slammed to Ground."

Emily Ratajkowski Cover Shoot for Ocean Drive Magazine

At Ocean Drive, "'Blurred Lines' Model Emily Ratajkowski on Playing Ben Affleck's Mistress in 'Gone Girl'."



HAT TIP: Fox News, "'Blurred Lines' model Emily Ratajkowski: Men need to get over naked women."

Obama's Foreign Policy Meltdown

A scathing piece, from Bret Stephens, at Commentary, "The Meltdown":

In July, after Germany trounced Brazil 7–1 in the semifinal match of the World Cup—including a first-half stretch in which the Brazilian soccer squad gave up an astonishing five goals in 19 minutes—a sports commentator wrote: “This was not a team losing. It was a dream dying.” These words could equally describe what has become of Barack Obama’s foreign policy since his second inauguration. The president, according to the infatuated view of his political aides and media flatterers, was supposed to be playing o jogo bonito, the beautiful game—ending wars, pressing resets, pursuing pivots, and restoring America’s good name abroad.

Instead, he crumbled.

As I write, the foreign policy of the United States is in a state of unprecedented disarray. In some cases, failed policy has given way to an absence of policy. So it is in Libya, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and, at least until recently, Ukraine. In other cases the president has doubled down on failed policy—extending nuclear negotiations with Iran; announcing the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Sometimes the administration has been the victim of events, such as Edward Snowden’s espionage, it made worse through bureaucratic fumbling and feckless administrative fixes. At other times the wounds have been self-inflicted: the espionage scandal in Germany (when it was learned that the United States had continued to spy on our ally despite prior revelations of the NSA’s eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel); the repeated declaration that “core al-Qaeda” was “on a path to defeat”; the prisoner swap with the Taliban that obtained Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s release.

Often the damage has been vivid, as in the collapse of the Israel–Palestinian talks in April followed by the war in Gaza. More frequently it can be heard in the whispered remarks of our allies. “The Polish-American alliance is worthless, even harmful, as it gives Poland a false sense of security,” Radek Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister and once one of its most reliably pro-American politicians, was overheard saying in June. “It’s bullshit.”

This is far from an exhaustive list. But it’s one that, at last, people have begun to notice. Foreign policy, considered a political strength of the president in his first term, has become a liability. In June, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that Americans disapproved of his handling of foreign affairs by a 57-to-37 percent ratio. Overseas, dismay with Obama mounts. Among Germans, who greeted the future president as a near-messiah when he spoke in Berlin in the summer of 2008, his approval rating fell to 43 percent in late 2013, from 88 percent in 2010. In Egypt, another country the president went out of his way to woo, he has accomplished the unlikely feat of making himself more unpopular than George W. Bush. In Israel, political leaders and commentators from across the political spectrum are united in their disdain for the administration. “The Obama administration proved once again that it is the best friend of its enemies, and the biggest enemy of its friends,” the center-left Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit noted in late July. It’s an observation being echoed by policymakers from Tokyo to Taipei to Tallinn.

But perhaps the most telling indicator is the collapsing confidence in the president among the Democratic-leaning foreign-policy elite in the United States. “Under Obama, the United States has suffered some real reputational damage,” admitted Washington Post columnist David Ignatius in May, adding: “I say this as someone who sympathizes with many of Obama’s foreign-policy goals.” Hillary Clinton, the president’s once loyal secretary of state, offered in early August that “great nations need organizing principles, and ‘don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.” Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter’s national-security adviser, warned in July that “we are losing control of our ability at the highest levels of dealing with challenges that, increasingly, many of us recognize as fundamental to our well-being.” The United States, he added, was “increasingly devoid of strategic will and a sense of direction.”

What's worse is we've still got over two more years of this.

Keep reading.

Nikki Finke Goes Silent in Reported Legal Dispute With Penske Media

I used to read Deadline Hollywood just to find Nikki Finke's dishy inside scoops.

At the New York Times:

The Hollywood journalist Nikki Finke has stopped writing about the movie industry while she and a former employer, Penske Media Corporation, try to reach a legal settlement, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

Ms. Finke built the site Deadline Hollywood into a machine for breaking industry news, and it became among the most influential news sites in the movie business. Penske acquired the site in 2009 and then in 2012 purchased the industry trade magazine Variety, setting off a dispute that caused Ms. Finke to leave the company.

In June of this year, Ms. Finke started her own site, NikkiFinke.com, and resumed reporting on Hollywood in apparent defiance of a noncompete agreement with Penske that barred her from doing so. But Ms. Finke stopped writing on Aug. 11, raising questions about her intentions for the new site.

BuzzFeed reported on Friday that Ms. Finke would shut down the site, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations suggested that it could remain active. Ms. Finke stopped writing about Hollywood, the person said, in order to reach a settlement with Penske that stipulated she could not cover the topic online. (A book she is working on is exempt from the current version of the agreement, as would be any writing in newspapers or magazines.)

She has told friends that she might turn her reporting attentions on NikkiFinke.com to Los Angeles generally, or the media or politics. If she returned to Penske’s media company, she would be allowed to report on movie industry news.

Well, that's like selling your soul to the devil, or something. Doesn't sound like she's going out easily. She may never be able to write about the movie industry online ever again.

'A casual glance at the mountain of distorted and simply false stories reported about Israel and its enemies makes clear that at a minimum, most of the Western media don’t care about the truth...'

From Caroline Glick, "Why Israel is losing the information war":

The goal of hasbara cannot be to educate the likes of The New York Times’ bureau chief Jodi Rudoren about the truth because the problem isn’t one of ignorance. The problem is that they consider the truth an impediment to their goal of reporting the narrative of Israeli criminality.

Rather than striving to educate, we must work to manipulate the Rudorens of the world into covering the truth.

Read it all at that top link.

Stopping the Jihadist Cancer in Iraq and Syria

From Daniel Byman, at the Wall Street Journal, "A Plan to Fight Islamic State":

When President Barack Obama called the Islamic State a "cancer" on Wednesday, the description may have been more apt than he intended. The Sunni jihadist group is indeed a malignant tumor metastasizing in the body of the Middle East. But like cancer, it will be stubbornly difficult to defeat—and some of the cures could end up killing the patient.

The spread has been shockingly quick. In June, the Islamic State surged deeper into Iraq, taking Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, advancing close to Baghdad and threatening Kurdish territory. The group even declared a "caliphate." Only Mr. Obama's Aug. 7 decision to launch U.S. airstrikes halted its advance.

The Islamic State is stalled militarily but far from beaten. But there is a way to turn the tide...

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VIDEO: Michael Brown Supporter Crashes Pro-Darren Wilson Rally in St. Louis

Via Progressives Today, "SCREAMING MICHAEL BROWN SUPPORTER Crashes Pro-Darren Wilson Rally in St. Louis (VIdeo)."

Parent in Phoenix Says Administrators Made Her Son Wear Pink Fairy Wings on First Day of High School

Because dressing up in queer fairy wings is totally normal, just like two men having disease-ridden sexual intercourse.

If you're not down with that you're a hater!

At the Arizona Republic, "Sunnyslope parent likens orientation to hazing" (via DernDawn):

Monalee Kamlley said her son was nervous to start classes at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix. She said she spent all summer reassuring him that his first day would be fine.

"The night before, he couldn't even eat he was so nervous, and he couldn't even sleep," Kamlley said.

So when she asked her son how it went after school, he hesitated, then finally mentioned that he had to "walk around in wings" for much of the morning.

Then she saw the costume: pink glittery "fairy" wings and a black furry mustache.

Kamlley said she's upset with the way Sunnyslope treated her son, and she likened the episode to hazing. Her son was embarrassed, she said, and added that the event ruined his first day of high school.

School officials said the costumes are part of the orientation program and weren't meant to embarrass the students. Principal Steve Ducey said they've never had other complaints but called the parent feedback "valuable." However, the school has no plans to get rid of the program, he said.

Whether the incident could be called hazing is murky, said Sabina Low, an assistant research professor at Arizona State University's T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. Hazing typically is a form of initiation that is intentionally humiliating but often meant as a bonding experience.

"I'm sure they did not set out to make it a humiliating experience for students. So I think calling this hazing is a little bit unclear," Low said. "This one might be a much-watered-down version of that."

More.

British Lingerie Chain Worries Sexy Underwear Named After Egyptian Goddess Might Be Confused with Islamist Barbarians

Well, yeah, you might wanna be more careful before naming your underwear brand "Isis."

At Blazing Cat Fur, "The name ‘Isis’ now unfit for use in polite company: Ann Summers sorry for ‘Isis’ lingerie":

A British lingerie chain store issued an apology on Friday after launching a new line of sexy underwear named after an Egyptian goddess whose name sounds like that of the terrorist group massacring its way through Syria and northern Iraq.