Islamic State Video of British Hostage John Cantlie

At the New York Times, "New ISIS Video Features British Hostage, John Cantlie, as Spokesman."

Scotland Rejects Referendum on Independence

At the Telegraph UK, "UK safe as Scotland rejects independence":

05.29: And this is tomorrow's Daily Telegraph 5am edition - The United Kingdom is safe.

Also at the Guardian UK, "Alex Salmond stays away from Scottish referendum count."

Video at Sky News, "Alex Salmond's Final Push for Votes."

Scottish Referendum Live Results

At Telegraph UK.

And background at London's Daily Mail, "Britain holds its breath: Counting begins in Scottish independence vote as polls close... so is the sun about to set on the Union?"

First result of the night from Clackmannanshire: YES 16,350 NO 19,036 88.6% turnout http://t.co/6fsRq5ewCz #indyref

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 19, 2014

First blood to 'No' as opening count declared in Clackmannanshire. #indyref http://t.co/kezJhD9VM6 pic.twitter.com/FlehHZljke

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 19, 2014

"Very healthy margin for the NO campaign in our first result" #BetterTogether #indyref

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) September 19, 2014

Expect updates.

Sara Malakul Lane

Beautiful.

At Egotastic!, "Sara Malakul Poses in See-Through Bodysuit for Photoshoot."

No Matter What, Repsac3 Will Attack You as Racist!

I'll be teaching all day.

In light of stalking hate-troll Walter James Casper's pathetic allegations of "bigotry" and "racism," here's Harry Stein's, "No Matter What...They'll Call This Book Racist: How our Fear of Talking Honestly About Race Hurts Us All."

Lolz. More blogging tonight!

A Strategy to Defeat the Islamic State

The U.S. needs to deploy at least 25,000 ground troops to effectively contain --- much less defeat --- the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, according to the new study from Kimberly Kagan, Frederick Kagan, and Jessica Lewis at the Institute for the Study of War:

Success against ISIS requires more than effective military operations. Political accord in Baghdad and the emergence of meaningful inclusive politics in Syria are necessary but not sufficient conditions for securing U.S. vital national security interests in the region. The U.S. must use the expanding leverage increased military support will give us in Baghdad to continue to shape the emerging Iraqi government to be as inclusive and non-sectarian as possible. The U.S. and its allies must meanwhile engage directly and energetically with Sunni leaders in Iraq outside of Baghdad to determine who represents (or might represent) Sunnis willing to re-engage with the government in Baghdad.

The U.S. must also engage much more vigorously in efforts to develop an inclusive government-in-waiting in Syria. We must do more than trying to unify what is left of the moderate opposition. We must also reach out to the ‘Alawite community and to Syria’s other minority groups in search of potential leaders who could join forces with moderate Sunni leaders to oppose extremists on all sides.

The deployment of U.S. forces into Syria and Iraq is as important to these political efforts as it is to our military efforts. We must not fall again into the trap of relying on leaders in Baghdad, Damascus, Amman, or Turkey to inform us of the situation on the ground, still less to rally their people from afar. Populations under attack respect most the leaders who stay with them and fight. Those are the leaders we must seek out for the benefit of the political settlement as much as for their military capabilities.

This phase of the strategy will require a significant commitment of U.S. forces — perhaps as many as 25,000 ground troops in all in Iraq and Syria — although in roles very different from those they played in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. The decisive effort will belong to teams of Special Forces and special mission units deployed in a dispersed footprint throughout the Sunni lands, as well as advising the Iraqi Security Forces and the moderate Syrian opposition. Those forces will likely number in the low thousands.

The dispersed footprint from which they will have to operate requires the support of at least a U.S. Army Combat Aviation Brigade (about 3,300 soldiers) to operate transport, reconnaissance, and attack helicopters. These special operators will be at high risk of locally-overwhelming enemy force, as well as attacks by ISIS operatives infiltrating the tribes and even the security forces among whom they will be living. They must have access to a large and responsive quick reaction force (QRF) that can get to threatened units rapidly and with dominating force. We estimate that two battalion-sized QRFs will need to be available at
all times, one in Iraq and one in Syria. Sustaining the availability of two battalions requires the deployment of two brigades, perhaps 7,000 soldiers in all. Additional forces will be required to secure temporary bases, provide MEDEVAC coverage, and support necessary enablers. Flight times and the MEDEVAC requirements to get wounded soldiers to help within the “golden hour” dictate that the U.S. will have to establish temporary bases inside Iraq and Syria. Bases in Kurdistan, Turkey, and Jordan are simply too far away from the core ISIS safe-havens along the Euphrates.

RTWT.

Scott Wiener, of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Takes Truvada to Prevent Contracting AIDS

From homosexual Josh Barro, at the New York Times, "San Francisco Official Says He Takes Truvada to Prevent H.I.V., and More Gay Men Should, Too":

Scott Wiener, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, made an unusual public announcement on Wednesday: He takes Truvada, a daily antiviral pill, to greatly reduce his risk of contracting H.I.V.

Taking the pills is a practice known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and some researchers believe it may reduce the risk of infection by 99 percent if patients take their medication daily as prescribed. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012, PrEP has increasingly been embraced by public health authorities and is one of three planks of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan in New York to sharply cut new H.I.V. infections.

But it carries a stigma in some parts of the gay population, and Mr. Wiener appears to be the first public official to disclose that he’s personally on it.

“A much larger segment of gay men should be taking a close look at PrEP,” Mr. Wiener, who represents the same Castro-based district once held by Harvey Milk, said in an interview on Wednesday. “I hope that my being public about my use of PrEP can help people take a second look at it.”

Oh, preventing HIV carries a "stigma" in the homosexual population, you know, among the bare-backing rim-station demographic, folks who Walter James Casper thinks are just swell.

It's not a healthy lifestyle. Indeed, young homosexual men of color are the most likely demographic cohort to contract and die from AIDS. But hey, wouldn't want to discourage that kind of bare-backing promiscuity, because bigotry!!!

More at the link.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown Calls on 'No Voters' to 'Stand Up and Be Counted'

The referendum's today.

I don't think it'll pass. Perhaps it'll be a close vote, but voters won't approve Scottish devolution. It's just hunch. I haven't looked at a single poll. Great Britain isn't great without Scotland. And both countries will be diminished, to say nothing of dangerously weakened in international politics.

Below, the former prime minister "begging" a no vote.

At at the Telegraph U.K., "Gordon Brown calls on No voters to 'stand up and be counted'":

Former Prime Minister delivers barnstorming speech at final Better Together rally before vote urging Unionists to 'hold your head high' and be confident of victory.

Gordon Brown has urged Unionists to "stand up and be counted" in a barnstorming speech to pro-UK activists on the eve of the Scottish independence vote.

The former prime minister told No voters to "hold your head high" and be "confident" that the majority of Scots will reject Alex Salmond's separatist pitch.

Mr Brown said his rejection of independence was not for himself but for "my children" and "Scotland's children", reminding Scot the vote is "a decision for all time".

The tub-thumping address was delivered to boisterous No activists as Better Together held a final rally before polls open at 7am on Thursday.

It was judged by many commentators as Mr Brown's best and most emotive intervention during a campaign which has seen him become the pro-UK camp's star speaker.

More.

Bwahaha! Walter James Casper III Shouts 'Bigotry' and 'Racism' to Silence the Opposition and Claim Victory!

Poor Repsac3.

Proved wrong from the get go, all he can do is cry bigotry like a typical leftist loser who's lost the debate. As I indicated yesterday, "When all you've got are lies and allegations of "racism," naturally all you can do is respond desperately with more lies and pathetic allegations."

And drum roll please!!!! Ta-da, Repsac's allegation of bigotry: "Making an accusation just because the murderer (& his victim) are Muslim & the victim is a member of his family is bigotry."


Are you losing the debate? Check! Call your opponent a "bigot," like Repsac3! Bwahahahaa!!

More, "According to Repsac3, Accusing Any Muslim of Honor Killing, No Matter the Circumstances, Makes You Guilty of 'Bigotry'."

Pathetic fascist stalker hate-troll Walter James Casper III, universally repudiated across the 'sphere, lol!

How the Left Gave U.K. Girls to Muslim Rape Gangs

At FrontPage Magazine.

Click through for the videos.

And see the Other McCain, "Rotherham Update."

PREVIOUSLY: "Political Correctness [Like Repsac's] Helped Cover Up Child Sexual Exploitation in #Rotherham."

Secretary John Kerry Takes on Code Pink During Senate Testimony on #ISIS Threat

Heh, at Hot Air, "John Kerry to Code Pink: If you care about women, you should want to fight ISIS."

Video at that link.

They're all commies, lol.

The Left's Secret Weapon! First Lady Michelle Obama to Stump for Democrat Candidates

The First Lady is hitting the campaign trail on behalf of fellow Democrats, via CNN, "Michelle Obama hits the campaign trail."

Word has it that she'll be taking the muzzle off to get down and dirty on the trail!



IMAGE CREDIT: Big Fur Hat.

This is What the Left Thinks of Women

Mind-boggling leftist misogyny.

Right up Walter James Casper's alley.

You know, those "compassionate" progressives, at Twitchy, "Elisabeth Hasselbeck makes devastating Benghazi point; HuffPo lies, libs spew foul misogyny."

HASSELBECK is FUCKING DIPSHIT FAUX NOISE BIMBO! Jokes about Domestic Abuse! FUCK AILES & her loser husband! #p2 @DavidSchantz @ehasselbeck

— WY Vet (@WYVeteran) September 17, 2014

So pathetic, she doesn't even make it into my hate-fuck column. http://t.co/lkFbK7EqM2

— SwimCharlieSwim (@swimcharlieswim) September 16, 2014

The U.N. Has Become a Global Platform for Anti-Semitism and the Destruction of Israel

From Anne Bayefsky, for Prager University, "Is the UN Fair to Israel?"



RELATED: From Danny Ayalon, "The Truth About the U.N."

The Islamic State of Sexual Violence

From Aki Peritz and Tara Maller, at Foreign Policy:

Of the many terrifying stories emerging from Islamic State-occupied Iraq and Syria, the violence directed toward women is perhaps the most difficult to contemplate.

The Islamic State's (IS) fighters are committing horrific sexual violence on a seemingly industrial scale: For example, the United Nations last month estimated that IS has forced some 1,500 women, teenage girls, and boys into sexual slavery. Amnesty International released a blistering document noting that IS abducts whole families in northern Iraq for sexual assault and worse. Even in the first few days following the fall of Mosul in June, women's rights activists reported multiple incidents of IS fighters going door to door, kidnapping and raping Mosul's women.

IS claims to be a religious organization, dedicated to re-establishing the caliphate and enforcing codes of modesty and behavior from the time of Muhammad and his followers. But this is rape, not religious conservatism. IS may dress up its sexual violence in religious justifications, saying its victims violated Islamic law, or were infidels, but their leaders are not fools. This is just another form of warfare.

Why isn't this crime against humanity getting more consistent attention in the West? It seems this society-destroying mass sexual violence is merely part of the laundry list for decrying IS behavior. Compare this to IS's recent spate of execution videos, and the industrial scale of the group's sexual assaults seems to fade into the background. Rarely do they seem to be the focal point of politicians' remarks, intelligence assessments, or justification for counterterrorism actions against the group. In his Sept. 10 speech laying out his plan for fighting IS, President Obama devoted just eight words to the issue: "They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage."

We both worked as CIA analysts focused on Iraq's insurgency and counterterrorism during much of the war. We lived and breathed the Iraq conflict for years, yet we don't recall reading internal or external intelligence products that exclusively focused upon the sexual violence that occurred in Iraq during that time, despite evidence that it was rampant as an instrument of war during the vicious sectarian reprisals of the mid-2000s.

Nor do we remember attempts to track this type of violence in the same way other types of attacks were tracked. We even asked some of our former and current CIA colleagues and they couldn't recall seeing anything specific either. While these memories are admittedly anecdotal, it suggests that there did not seem to be a particular focus on this topic. And that seems to be equally true right now...

More.

The Making of a Conservative Superstar

It's a Tom Cotton profile, from Molly Ball, at the Atlantic.

Democrats Have Lost Confidence in Butt-Ugly Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Man, this disgusting battle-axe getting canned is going to make my political year.

At Politico, "Democrats turn on Debbie Wasserman Schultz" (via Memeorandum).

A truly vile piece of human refuse:

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is in a behind-the-scenes struggle with the White House, congressional Democrats and Washington insiders who have lost confidence in her as both a unifying leader and reliable party spokesperson at a time when they need her most.

Long-simmering doubts about her have reached a peak after two recent public flubs: criticizing the White House’s handling of the border crisis and comparing the tea party to wife beaters.

The perception of critics is that Wasserman Schultz spends more energy tending to her own political ambitions than helping Democrats win. This includes using meetings with DNC donors to solicit contributions for her own PAC and campaign committee, traveling to uncompetitive districts to court House colleagues for her potential leadership bid and having DNC-paid staff focus on her personal political agenda.

She’s become a liability to the DNC, and even to her own prospects, critics say.

“I guess the best way to describe it is, it’s not that she’s losing a duel anywhere, it’s that she seems to keep shooting herself in the foot before she even gets the gun out of the holster,” said John Morgan, a major donor in Wasserman Schultz’s home state of Florida.

The stakes are high. Wasserman Schultz is a high-profile national figure who helped raise millions of dollars and served as a Democratic messenger to female voters during a presidential election in which Obama needed to exploit the gender gap to win, but November’s already difficult midterms are looming.

One example that sources point to as particularly troubling: Wasserman Schultz repeatedly trying to get the DNC to cover the costs of her wardrobe.

In 2012, Wasserman Schultz attempted to get the DNC to pay for her clothing at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, multiple sources say, but was blocked by staff in the committee’s Capitol Hill headquarters and at President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign headquarters in Chicago.

She asked again around Obama’s inauguration in 2013, pushing so hard that Obama senior adviser — and one-time Wasserman Schultz booster — Valerie Jarrett had to call her directly to get her to stop. (Jarrett said she does not recall that conversation.) One more time, according to independent sources with direct knowledge of the conversations, she tried again, asking for the DNC to buy clothing for the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.?

Wasserman Schultz denies that she ever tried to get the DNC to pick up her clothing tab. “I think that would be a totally inappropriate use of DNC funds,” she said in a statement. “I never asked someone to do that for me, I would hope that no one would seek that on my behalf, and I’m not aware that anyone did.”

Tracie Pough, Wasserman Schultz’s chief of staff at the DNC and her congressional office, was also involved in making inquiries about buying the clothing, according to sources. Pough denies making, directing or being aware of any inquiries.

But sources with knowledge of the discussions say Wasserman Schultz’s efforts couldn’t have been clearer. “She felt firmly that it should happen,” said a then-DNC staffer of the clothing request. “Even after it was explained that it couldn’t, she remained indignant.”

This story is based on interviews with three dozen current and former DNC staffers, committee officers, elected officials, state party leaders and top Democratic operatives in Washington and across the country.

Many expect a nascent Clinton campaign will engineer her ouster. Hurt feelings go back to spring 2008, when while serving as a co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Wasserman Schultz secretly reached out to the Obama campaign to pledge her support once the primary was over, sources say.

Meanwhile, the Obama team was so serious about replacing her after 2012 that they found a replacement candidate to back before deciding against it, according to people familiar with those discussions.

Obama and Wasserman Schultz have rarely even talked since 2011. They don’t meet about strategy or messaging. They don’t talk much on the phone.

Instead, the DNC chair stakes out the president of the United States at the end of photo lines at events and fundraisers.

“You need another picture, Debbie?” Obama tends to say, according to people who’ve been there for the encounters.

Chairing the DNC should be a political stepping stone — Ed Rendell, Terry McAuliffe and Tim Kaine all went onto bigger things, and even Howard Dean used the post to rehabilitate himself from the man who yelped his way out of a presidential campaign.

And without a doubt, the Florida congresswoman has had plenty of successes. She has overseen the integration of key elements of the Obama campaigns, including its voter file and data programs. After being left with $25 million in bills from the Obama campaign, the DNC enters the fall with the debt cleared and over $7 million on hand. She’s started new efforts to build relationships with labor and small business leaders and prioritized the DNC’s outreach to women voters.

“My tenure here is not about me,” Wasserman Schultz said in an interview with POLITICO at DNC headquarters. “I like to help build this party. That’s what I love and that’s what I focused on.”

She rejects the idea she is over-extended.

“I have always taken on a lot. It’s what I love to do. I don’t do anything half way,” she said, dismissing any worries that she’s overextended. “In some cases, it’s sniping, in other cases people are worried about me. I have a lot of Jewish mothers out there that I think very kindly say, ‘My god, she’s doing so much.’ It’s OK.”

More.

Saint Lucia-Based Flogg Blog Taken Down by Google

Well, Google's taken down individual blog posts at American Power. I won't be surprised if they take down my whole damn blog for some bogus "violation" of the terms of service (no doubt after complaints from leftist totalitarians).

And the Flogg Blog? Must have pissed someone off royally.

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Was a popular Saint Lucia blog taken down by Google hateful or just outspoken?"

And at Flogg Blog, "WHO SHUT DOWN THE FLOGG BLOG? A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON A CONTINUING INVESTIGATION."

Lovely Joey Fisher in Tight Jeans and Top

A lovely lady.

At Egotastic!, "Humpday Huzzah! Joey Fisher Strips Down to Bra and Jeans in Bodacious Photoshoot."

Bluest of Blue State Blues: California's Declining Quality of Life Under Democrat Party Rule

A devastating piece, from Andrew Puzder, at the O.C. Register, "Are Things Good Enough in California?":

California has become a very blue state. Democrats control both the governor’s office and the Legislature. With that power comes the responsibility to confront the problems facing the people of our state. In particular, Democrats are responsible for confronting our state’s increasing poverty, declining opportunity and significant income inequality – in other words, the problems Neel Kashkari is talking about. When Neel spends time as an unemployed 40-year-old looking for a job in Fresno, his point is that, despite all the gushing about a California comeback, our state government is failing to improve economic opportunities for those most in need.

The International Business Times recently noted that while California has the world’s eighth largest economy, it nonetheless has our nation’s highest poverty rate. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), for the three year period from 2009-11 (the bureau recommends the use of three-year averages to compare estimates across states), California had both the nation’s highest number (8.8 million) and percentage (23.5 percent) of people living in poverty. In the most recent report for 2010-12, the numbers were worse. While California still had both the nation’s highest number and percent of people living in poverty, there were more people (9 million) at a higher percentage (23.8 percent).

Gov. Brown refers to California’s poverty epidemic as “the flip side of California’s incredible attractiveness.” But, these are more than mere statistics. Behind these numbers are real Californians consumed by anxiety. Will there be jobs for them or their children? Will those jobs pay enough? Will they spend the rest of their lives dependent on government benefits? They struggle searching for jobs that offer dignity and self-respect, wondering whether their children will ever be able to support themselves or start families.

In July, California had the fourth-worst unemployment rate in the nation, at 7.4 percent. While that’s bad, it’s actually an improvement. Unfortunately, the big improvements have come in the wealthiest areas, particularly those affected by Silicon Valley’s high tech boom. July’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in the San Jose area and 4.9 percent in the San Francisco area.

Outside this enclave, it gets ugly. In Fresno, July’s unemployment rate was 10.8 percent; in Stockton, it was 11.1 percent; and, in Bakersfield, 10.4 percent. Once a beacon of opportunity, Los Angeles came in at a dismal 8.7 percent, which includes the low unemployment of the more affluent Westside.

Wealthy Californians in Silicon Valley and along our beautiful coast are prospering. For those less fortunate, those living in the other California, our state’s anti-business policies are depriving them of the jobs that could meaningfully improve their lives.

In Chief Executive Magazine’s 2014 survey of CEOs’ views on the best and worst states for business, California came in 50th for the 10th year in a row. It’s no surprise that Toyota moved its U.S. headquarters from Torrance to Texas or that even California-based Tesla Motors is locating its planned giant battery factory in Nevada rather than in California.

Small businesses fare no better. The Legislature just sent another round of bills for Gov. Brown’s signature that will further escalate California’s status as our nation’s most anti-business state and affirm the well-deserved “F” Thumbtack.com’s 2014 Small Business Friendliness Survey gave California for both small-businesses friendliness and overall regulation. Already struggling in the nation’s worst regulatory environment, California businesses, and those who desperately need the jobs they create, have little hope of assistance by way of veto from Gov. Brown.

Government regulations come at a cost. Noneconomic benefits may justify those costs but there are still costs. Rational governance would view regulations as investments in social benefits and resist regulations that fail to produce enough of such benefits or unnecessarily increase costs. California’s current leadership has failed to do so, resulting in poverty and income inequality.

According to an analysis by 24/7 Wall St. of Census Bureau data, California has our nation’s seventh-largest gap between rich and poor, the seventh-highest proportion of households earning more than $200,000 per year and the highest number of households earning less than $10,000 per year.

How can this be in a state dominated by Democrats, who proclaim their concern about income equality? It’s because California’s government has become so focused on regulating businesses and redistributing wealth that it’s forgotten that you can only redistribute wealth if you have it...

More.

California, the once-Golden State, getting even less golden under Democrat Party rule.

RELATED: A blast from the past, from Joel Kotkin, "The Golden State Is Crumbling."