ONLINE TODAY
► Are you feeling some anti-romance feelings right now? Feelings are just feelings, so don't let this worry you. If you're single, you're going to start to appreciate your independence in a whole new way. But if you're in a relationship or just starting one, you might struggle with this sudden urge to be by yourself. Your partner will understand if you need your space, so don't be afraid to ask for it. Chances are, the distance will help you both rejoice in coming back together.
► GUARDIAN 3 September 2013
■ Obama hints at larger strategy to topple Assad in effort to win over Republicans
■ Ed Miliband says lobbying bill will put charities in jeopardy
► USA TODAY 3 September 2013 : Will Russia lobby Congress against Syria strike?
► TECHDIRT 3 September 2013 : MLK Jr.'s Sons Celebrate 50th Anniversary Of 'I Have A Dream' By Suing His Daughter
► GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 2 September 2013 :DeLong-in-Wonderland
► MICHELLE MALKIN 3 September 2013 : 'Possible GOP 2016 contender' Jeb Bush to present Hillary Clinton with 'Liberty Medal' on eve of Benghazi anniversary
► DAILY KOS 3 September 2013
■ North Carolina students fight back against voter suppression law
■ Shocker of the day: Ted Cruz lies about Obamacare
► NRA ILA 3 September 2013 : National gun debate hits close to home in Colorado recall vote || ► NY TIMES 2 September 2013 : National Gun Debate Hits Close to Home in Colorado Recall Vote
► SLASH DOT 3 September 2013 : Russia Issues Travel Warning To Its Citizens About United States and Extradition || NY TIMES 2 September 2013 : Russia Issues Travel Warning to Its Citizens About United States and Extradition
► NEWS & POLITIC : Secretary John Kerry Syria FULL Statement, Unveils Evidence of Chemical Attack by Assad's Government. Published on Aug 30, 2013 by YouHotNews
► NEWS & PEOPLE : Obama & Kerry Caught Misleading on Syria & Weapons Inspectors. Published on Sep 3, 2013 by Representative Press
► NEWS & POLITIC : Russia watching Syria's back. Published on Sep 2, 2013 by CNN
► NEWS & POLITIC : Seeking Approval for Syria Military Strike President Obama Meets With John McCain, Lindsey Graham. Published on Sep 3, 2013 by ABCNews
► NEWS & POLITIC : Syria: The History and Future of Imminent War. Published on Sep 2, 2013 by Stefan Molyneux
► NEWS & POLITIC : Chris Hedges on Obama Decision to Attack Syria and "Give Congress a Voice". Published on Aug 31, 2013 by TheRealNews
►NEWS & POLITIC : Rumsfeld = Full Of S*#t On Syria. Published on Sep 1, 2013 by The Young Turks
► TECHCRUNCH 3 September 2013 : Vimeo Offers $10,000 For Exclusive Rights To Indie Films From The Toronto International Film Festival
► WALL STREET JOURNAL 3 September 2013 : Vimeo Teams Up With Film Festival
► Whisper
► I need one dollar (New York City)
► The Quickening
► Record radiation readings near Fukushima contaminated water tanks
► Kerry shuts door to 'boots on ground' in Syria intervention. Kerry opens door to 'boots on ground' in Syria, then slams it shut
By Susan Cornwell and Patricia Zengerle - WASHINGTON - Secretary of State John Kerry briefly opened the door on Tuesday to authorizing U.S. ground troops in Syria, but quickly slammed it shut and told Congress that any resolution approving military force would prohibit "boots on the ground." | Draft Senate resolution on Syria (PDF)
* U.S. Senate panel reaches deal on draft authorization on Syria
* Top U.S. Republicans back Syria strike as refugee crisis mounts
* U.S. public opposes Syria intervention
* Influential U.S. pro-Israel lobby group backs action in SyriaBased on these facts, it is wrong if we say we are anti-American. The American people are basically good, but the U.S. government is currently suffering from a mental illness. The American people are often, in fact always been the victims of terrorism because the U.S. government action in determining its foreign policy.
So, good Americans, if you are the children of a family, terrorists hate you because of your parents vices, in this context is the U.S. government. As a parent, if the anti-American sentiment is always increasingly global, then it is the U.S. government omission to protect American people's image in the international arena.
* U.N.'s Ban casts doubt on legality of U.S. plans to punish Syria
► VIDEOS
■ Kerry vows no boots on ground in first Senate hearing on Syria
■ Syrian towns attacked by tanks, fighters jets
■ Obama to meet with Russian gay rights activists
■ Stock gains curtailed by Syria
► Australian PM Rudd battles Murdoch press
► Obama to Congress: Syria is not Iraq, Afghanistan
► Damascus residents retreat to parks to forget the war
► Iraqi Kurdistan absorbs Syrian refugees
► Merkel: Germany will not take any military action in Syria
► Israeli director sees cinema as tool to end violence
► Republican House speaker vows to back Obama on Syria strikes
► Syrian opposition fears fresh chemical attack
► Kerry and Hagel make case for US action against Syria
► Girl Shot in Head by Taliban Opens Library. Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old girl shot in the head by the Taliban on October 9, 2012, opens Birmingham, England's new public library. At 333,000 square feet, it is the largest public library in Europe.
► President Presses Syrian Case in Cabinet Room
► With Eye on Syria, Israel Tests Missiles With US
► Raw: Protest Interrupts Syria Hearing
► Obama's Hard Sell on Syria Continues
► Raw : Obama Off to G20 With Uncertainty Over Syria
Sep 3, 2013
Syria uncertainty hangs over Obama's overseas trip
By JULIE PACE and JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Deep uncertainty surrounding military action against Syria hangs over President Barack Obama's three-day overseas trip to Sweden and Russia, which takes him away from Washington just as he's seeking support on Capitol Hill for a strike.
Before he departed Tuesday night, Obama urged lawmakers meeting with him at the White House to support his plan to punish Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons to attack its own people. The president won the backing of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, though that hardly guarantees support in the fractured House of Representatives.
The president also will seek to bolster international support for a strike during talks with world leaders this week at the Group of 20 summit. Those efforts will pit him against Russian president and summit host Vladimir Putin, who has perhaps done the most to stymie international efforts to oust Syria's Bashar Assad.
Obama and Putin's clashing views on Syria have worsened a relationship already rife with tension from differences on human rights, missile defense, and the Russia's decision to grant asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
"It's been like watching a slow-moving train wreck for nearly two years," Andrew Kuchins, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of the Obama-Putin relationship. "Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama don't like each other at all. I think there's a deep degree of disrespect."
While Syria isn't officially on the agenda at the economy-focused G-20 summit, the potential for imminent military action is expected to dominate conversations on the sidelines of the summit. World leaders will be seeking guidance from the U.S. president about whether he plans to proceed with a strike if Congress rejects his proposed resolution - a question Obama's aides have refused to answer.
Votes in the House and the Senate are expected next week, just after Obama wraps up his trip.
During his meeting with lawmakers Tuesday, Obama said he was confident he'll be able to work with Congress to pass a resolution authorizing a strike.
Air Force One left Washington late Tuesday for an overnight flight to Stockholm. The White House hastily added the Sweden visit to Obama's schedule after he scrapped plans to meet one-on-one with Putin in Moscow ahead of the G-20 in response to Russia granting Snowden temporary asylum.
Snowden's leaks to American and foreign news organizations about secret government spying programs have sparked outrage overseas, particularly in Europe. Obama is likely to face questions about the scope of the programs while overseas, as he did earlier this summer during meetings with the Group of 8 industrial nations.
Even before the Snowden incident, relations between the U.S. and Russia were already on the rocks amid differences on missile defense and nuclear weapons, as well as American concerns over human rights and a new Russian law that targets "homosexual propaganda." Russian gay rights activists say they have been invited to meet with Obama while he is in St. Petersburg this week.
Putin also has appeared to relish blocking American and Western European efforts to weaken Assad throughout Syria's 2 1/2-year civil war. Russia remains one of Syria's strongest military and economic backers.
In a pointed jab last week, Putin asked Obama to reconsider a military strike, saying he was appealing to Obama not as a world leader, but as a Nobel Peace laureate.
"We have to remember what has happened in the last decades, how many times the United States has been the initiator of armed conflict in different regions of the world," Putin said. "Did this resolve even one problem?"
Administration officials insist the U.S. and Russia can still work productively together during the G-20, though in a slight to Putin, the White House has gone out of its way to characterize the trip as less of a visit to Russia than a trip to the G-20 that happened to be taking place there.
The White House also has ruled out a one-on-one meeting between Obama and Putin on the sidelines of the summit, though the two leaders certainly will spend time together in the larger summit sessions.
Obama will hold meetings at the summit with French President Francois Hollande and separately with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Hollande has become an increasingly important ally in the deliberations about military action in Syria. France has indicated a willingness to join the U.S. in a strike, though Hollande said Tuesday that he's waiting for a decision from the U.S. Congress and insisted France won't strike alone.
Obama has been trying to cultivate deeper ties with China's Xi. The two held a rare two-day summit in California earlier this year.
Obama's stop in Sweden on Wednesday will focus on issues such as climate change, security cooperation and trade. The trip marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has made a bilateral visit to Sweden.
While in Stockholm, Obama will hold private meetings with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and King Carl XVI Gustaf, and will break bread with Nordic leaders from Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. He also will highlight Sweden's technical research programs and celebrate Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who is credited for saving at least 20,000 Jews during the Holocaust before mysteriously disappearing after being imprisoned by authorities in the Soviet Union near the end of World War II.
***
Sep 3, 2013
France waits on US vote over Syria strikes
By RYAN LUCAS -Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) -- France will not carry out punitive missile strikes against Syria on its own and is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Congress on possible military action against Bashar Assad's regime, the French president said Tuesday.
As the Obama administration worked to build support ahead of the Congress vote, the U.S. and Israel conducted a joint missile test in the eastern Mediterranean in an apparent signal of military readiness. In the operation, a missile was fired from the sea toward the Israeli coast to test the tracking by the country's missile defense system.
The U.S. and France accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus that killed hundreds of people. President Barack Obama and his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, are pushing for a military response to punish Assad for his alleged use of poison gas against civilians - though U.S. officials say any action will be limited in scope, not aimed at helping to remove Assad.
Obama appeared on the verge of launching missile strikes before abruptly announcing on Saturday that he would first seek congressional approval. Congress returns from its summer recess next week.
On Tuesday, the White House won backing for military action from two powerful Republicans - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and House majority leader Eric Cantor.
In Paris, Hollande said that the U.S. vote "will have consequences on the coalition that we will have to create." He did not specify whether that meant a military coalition.
"A large coalition must therefore be created on the international scale, with the United States - which will soon take its decision - (and) with Europe ... and Arab countries," Hollande said.
If Congress votes no, France "will take up its responsibilities by supporting the democratic opposition (in Syria) in such a way that a response is provided," he added.
France's government on Monday released an extract of intelligence gathered by two leading French intelligence agencies alleging that Assad's regime was behind the attack and at least two other, smaller-scale ones earlier this year.
Hollande added Tuesday that France had indications the nerve agent sarin was used in the Aug. 21 attack, a claim U.S. officials have also made.
The French parliament will debate the Syria issue Wednesday, but no vote is scheduled. France's constitution doesn't require such a vote for military intervention unless its lasts longer than four months, though some French lawmakers have urged Hollande to call one anyway.
The U.S. and France say the alleged chemical attack violates international conventions. Russia, which with Iran has been a staunch backer of Assad throughout the conflict, has brushed aside Western evidence of an alleged Syrian regime role.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that any "punitive" action could unleash more turmoil and bloodshed in that nation's civil war.
"I take note of the argument for action to prevent a future use of chemical weapons. At the same time, we must consider the impact of any punitive measure on efforts to prevent further bloodshed and facilitate the political resolution of the conflict," Ban said.
With the Middle East anxious as it awaits a decision about strikes, Israel and the U.S. tested the Jewish state's Arrow 3 missile-defense system over the Mediterranean.
A medium-range decoy missile, known as a Sparrow, was fired in the Mediterranean, and the system successfully detected and tracked it, the Israeli Defense Ministry said. The decoy was not carrying a warhead and the system did not intercept it, the ministry said.
In a statement Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman George Little said the U.S. provided technical assistance and support to the Israeli test.
He said the test was "long planned to help evaluate the Arrow Ballistic Missile Defense system's ability to detect, track, and communicate information about a simulated threat to Israel."
He said the test had nothing to do with the U.S. consideration of military action in Syria.
Nonetheless, it served as a reminder to Syria and its patron, Iran, that Israel is pressing forward with development of a "multilayered" missile-defense system. Both Syria and Iran, and their Lebanese ally Hezbollah, possess vast arsenals of rockets and missiles.
The Arrow 3, expected to be operational around 2016, would be the first such "multilayer" missile-defense system, designed to intercept long-range missiles such the Iranian Shahab before they re-enter the atmosphere.
Last year, Israel also successfully tested a system designed to intercept missiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers (180 miles) which is expected to be operational by early 2015.
Another system for short-range rockets successfully shot down hundreds fired from the Gaza Strip during eight days of fighting in November, and more recently intercepted a rocket fired from Lebanon.
Meanwhile in Syria, regime troops recaptured the town of Ariha, a busy commercial center in the restive northern province of Idlib following days of heavy bombardment, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Ariha has changed hands several times in the past two years. Rebels had succeeded in wrestling it from government control late last month.
Since the outbreak of the Syria conflict in March 2011, the two sides have fought to a stalemate, though the Assad regime has retaken the offensive in recent months. Rebel fighters control large rural stretches in northern and eastern Syria, while Assad is holding on to most of the main urban areas.
The Syrian conflict, which began as a popular uprising against Assad in March 2011, later degenerated into a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people.
The U.N. refugee agency announced Tuesday that the number of Syrians who have fled the country has surpassed the 2 million mark.
Along with more than four million people displaced inside Syria, this means more than six million Syrians have been uprooted, out of an estimated population of 23 million.
Antonio Guterres, the head of the Office for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said Syria is hemorrhaging an average of almost 5,000 citizens a day across its borders, many of them with little more than the clothes they are wearing. Nearly 1.8 million refugees have fled in the past 12 months alone, he said.
The agency's special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, said "some neighboring countries could be brought to the point of collapse" if the situation keeps deteriorating at its current pace. Most Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
***
► NEWS
■ Syrian defector has proof of March chemical attack: opposition
■ Russia may send lawmakers to US to discuss Syria
■ War vote on Syria looms for White House hopefuls
■ Obama gets top Republican support on Syria strike; Congress returns next week
■ Unannounced Israel-U.S. missile test fuels jitters over Syria
■ Israel says Med missile joint exercise with US
■ Kerry says world must act as Obama wins Syria support
■ Obama: Assad must be held to account
■ Syria's Assad Regime Prepares for an American Assault
■ Senators warn Kerry: Syria can't become another Iraq. A Senate hearing about potential military strikes against Syria was dominated by discussion about Iraq. Secretary of State John Kerry promised there would be no ground troops.
■ Obama's 'reset' with Russia: What went wrong?
■ Syrian chemical weapons claims: How strong is the evidence? Depends on who you ask.
■ Senator Levin 'confident' U.S. will step up support for Syrian rebels
■ Obama confident Congress will approve Syria action
■ Incredible Technology: How Astronauts Could Hibernate On Mars Voyage
■ Hamas says Egyptian military building buffer zone with Gaza
■ Egypt president: Brotherhood's fate with judiciary
■ Egyptian helicopters strike militants in Sinai
■ Egypt's Sinai emerges as new theater for jihad
■ Egyptian helicopters fire rockets at militants in Sinai, killing at least 8
■ Wave of bombings, attacks in Iraq kill at least 67
■ Rodman in North Korea to visit authoritarian leader, won't say if jailed American on agenda
■ Obama invites Russian rights activists to meeting alongside G20 summit
■ Cameron to push G20 for Syria solution
■ Manila accuses China of sea violation, Beijing says wants peace
■ Putin Draws Cat's Bum During School Visit
■ Baghdad cracks down on protests as Iraq democracy falters
► SCREEN : Obama ramps up Syria strike support effort
► HEALTH : Fake Foods You Are Eating
► GOOD MORNING AMERICA
■ Syrian Rebels Want U.S. to Hit Hard, or Not at All
■ Four-Year-Old Daughter Adds Incredible Imagination to Artist Mom's Portraits
► SHINE : Cake for Every Religion - Heavenly Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah
► FINANCE : The Perfect Nap: Sleeping Is a Mix of Art and Science
► Sweden's Princess Madeleine to have baby in March
► US Senate draft backs Syria action
US senators agree on a draft resolution that would allow limited force to be used in response to alleged gas attacks in Syria last month.
* Kerry: Assad behind attack - VIDEO
* Can US hit Syrian chemical arms?
* UK vow on refugee aid
* Mardell: 'Mission creep' fears
* Refugees struggle to survive
* Labs to begin chemical tests
* Graphics: Explore a refugee camp
► MAGAZINE : Six ways the president will try to convince Congress
► VIDEOS
■ Syria crisis: US intervention 'limited and proportional' - Obama
■ Syria crisis: Bitterness grows against refugees
■ Obama wins key backing on Syria plan
■ UK 'to lead world' on aid for Syrian refugees, says Cameron
■ BBC in Damascus: Syrians forced onto own streets
► HEALTH : Sleep 'boosts brain cell numbers'
► OP-ED : UK giving export licenses to sell Syria nerve gas chemicals 'smacks of hypocrisy'
► Al-Qaeda working to defeat US drones since 2010 - report
► Manning officially submits presidential pardon request
► Prehistoric Canadian meteor caused 'dawn of civilization' - study
► Israel claims joint US missile launch in Mediterranean for 'target practice'
► Congress moves to approve Syria strike
► Syria 'chemical weapons' crisis: LIVE UPDATES
► Syria 'hemorrhaging' people in worst refugee crisis in recent history – UN
► Snowden's father has not yet been issued Russian visa – report
► Russia warns citizens against visiting countries that extradite to the US
► Russia's anti-gay crusader seeks tougher punishment for illegal abortions - report
► VIDEOS
■ Israel & US joint missile test in Mediterranean sparks Syria strike alarm
■ 'Future Historians: Why did Obama missile & torpedo Syrian peace deal?'
■ US Senate foreign relations committee debates Syria military action
► UN: Syrian refugee numbers cross two million
► Syrian opposition speaks to press
► Ban Ki-moon on chemical weapons
► Al Jazeera speaks to former US envoy to NATO on Syria
► US Congress leaders back Obama on Syria
► Obama Sells Syria to Senators
By Alex Rogers - The administration is drumming up Senate support for a military strike
* Kerry Creates Uncertainty Over 'Boots On The Ground'
* Assad Prepares for U.S. Assault
► PHOTOS : Disorder: Indonesia's Mental Health Facilities. Photographer Andrea Star Reese opens the doors of the controversial pasung facilities, which attempt to treat mental illness using restraints and shackles
► LONGEVITY : Women Living Longer Worldwide
► WORLD : Obama gets support in Congress for Syria attack
► LOCAL : Tougher penalties sought for men who pay for sex with girls. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors calls for laws making it a felony and requiring 'johns' to register as sex offenders and pay higher fines.
► FRAMEWORK - Behind the lens | Early morning news photographer. Posted By: Marc Martin
2 PICTURES TODAY
A man competes in the 10,000 Volt obstacle during the Tough Viking race in Stockholm on September 1, 2013. The course of the Tough Viking race consists of 12 kilometres filled with 15 brutal obstacles (barbed wire, mud, ice, water, tunnels, electricity, fire, climbing, etc.) designed by specialists in the Swedish Armed Forces. (AFP PHOTO/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND)
A scuba diver swims next to a Leather Bass close to Wolf Island at Galapagos Marine Reserve. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)
A man competes in the 10,000 Volt obstacle during the Tough Viking race in Stockholm on September 1, 2013. The course of the Tough Viking race consists of 12 kilometres filled with 15 brutal obstacles (barbed wire, mud, ice, water, tunnels, electricity, fire, climbing, etc.) designed by specialists in the Swedish Armed Forces. (AFP PHOTO/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND)
A scuba diver swims next to a Leather Bass close to Wolf Island at Galapagos Marine Reserve. (REUTERS/Jorge Silva)
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