There is a fascinating new study out the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pointing to a connection between the slow story of climate change and the Syrian Civil War, which of course is the setting out of which ISIS and the current regional war war emerged. Connecting climate change to such a charged on-going event will of course drive attention and controversy. But what is equally interesting to me is the much more uncontroversial claim that in addition to the regional movement of the Arab Spring and the on-going refugee crisis spurred by the Iraq War, the 2007-2010 was destabilizing the Syrian regime out of our view (at least most of us who don’t follow these matters closely.)
Streaming Netanyahu’s speech to Congress beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Watch.
The DHS-immigration “showdown” with Obama is over, and the House GOP came away with nothing.
Extremist cleric Franklin Graham warns that “radical Islamists” are advising President Obama and “advising various levels of government … they hate Israel and they hate Christians, and so the storm is coming.”
In an interview yesterday with Reuters, President Obama points out that virtually nothing Benjamin Netanyahu has said about Iran or the nuclear negotiations has turned out to be true …
Anshel Pfeffer has this right. The aim of today’s speech is to keep Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister. Notably, though he still has the best shot at forming the next government, Netanyahu personally and his party have slipped in the polls over the last two weeks. Notably, Netanyahu’s top political advisor, Ron Dermer, who currently serves as Ambassador to the US, was in Jerusalem for the last ten days advising on the speech and Netanyahu’s reelection campaign during one of the tensest period between the two countries in decades.
5 Points on that Missouri politician’s suicide which came amidst an anti-Semitic whispering campaign.
Right wing radio host would like to see members of the Congressional Black Caucus “hanging from a noose in front of the U.S. Capitol building” for skipping the Netanyahu speech.
There are now apparently 51 members of Congress not attending Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech tomorrow. Seven Senators and 44 members of the House. The latest is Sen. Al Franken (D). The list is heavily weighted toward African-Americans but also toward Jews. By my count, Franken is the 6th Jewish member of Congress to sit it out.