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1.) Our men in Damascus — In a really funny twist, “our men” actually hate us. The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Brendan Bordelon reports:
“Days after U.S. officials confirmed that the CIA is arming the Syrian opposition, a British consulting firm has released a study claiming that nearly half of all Syrian rebels now fight for hardcore jihadist or Islamist principles. The Telegraph received an advance copy of defense consultancy IHS Jane’s new report, which is due to be published later this week. It estimates that around 100,000 fighters are currently battling the Assad regime in Syria, but that they have splintered into as many as 1,000 separate factions. One in ten rebels, including thousands of foreigners, have aligned themselves with powerful international terrorist groups, most linked directly to al-Qaida. Around 30,000 to 35,000 more agree with that worldview, but focus largely on establishing an Islamic caliphate in Syria instead of actively seeking ways to spread the conflict beyond its borders. A further 30,000 rebels are labelled ‘moderate’ Islamists by IHS Jane’s, meaning they belong to groups that have at least some kind of an Islamic character.”
Somehow TheDC Morning doubts that what IHS Jane refers to as “moderate” Islamists are anywhere near what we in the West would consider “moderate.”
2.) America’s new war — First they came for Christmas, then they came for football. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein reports:
“In the bloody figurative war now being waged on the sport of football, author Daniel J. Flynn has entered the conflict on the side of America’s Game. ‘Looking around at the growing number of growing fatsos, I’m reminded that the most dangerous activity is inactivity,’ Flynn told The Daily Caller in an email interview about his new book, ‘The War on Football: Saving America’s Game.’ ‘We should be encouraging sports, not slobs.’ Flynn is the author of numerous books and a contributor to The American Spectator. Despite the recent media obsession with how dangerous football supposedly is, he says ‘[f]ootball players actually outlive their peers outside of the game.’ ‘The federal scientists looked at every player who competed in the NFL in five or more seasons between 1959 and 1988. Based on prevailing death rates among the comparable population in society, the scientists expected to find 625 deaths. They found 334,’ he said. ‘Less than one percent of the 3,439 players died from the neurodegenerative diseases that football’s critics obsess over. But heart disease, cancer, respiratory illness, and other more prolific killers claimed way fewer lives among the player cohort than among those in society.'”
Read the full interview. Why? Why not?
3.) A moment of silence — But only a moment. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports:
“President Obama delivered only brief condolences for the victims of the shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Monday morning, before quickly pivoting to a scheduled attack on Republicans. The pending budget crisis this fall is a pointless battle between GOP extremists and reasonable people, Obama declared today from the White House. ‘I can’t remember a time when one faction of one party promises chaos if it can’t get 100 percent of what it wants… that’s what happening right now,’ he insisted.”
Keep it classy, Mr. President!
4.) How can we believe in love anymore? — America’s classiest couple has called it quits. TheDC’s Taylor Bigler reports:
“A man and a woman (ish) who were 22 and 19, respectively, when they got engaged to be married last year have shockingly called off their engagement after realizing that they can do better than one another. Liam Hemsworth (of ‘The Hunger Games’) and Miley Cyrus (of your nightmares) are officially OVER, People reports. The celebrity couple got engaged in 2012 after about two years of dating and have subsequently spent the 12 months avoiding each other. … Hemsworth reportedly made out with the super hot (and much older) ‘Mad Men’ actress January Jones after the Oscars this past February, while Cyrus has been having ongoing affairs with foam fingers and sledgehammers.”
Does love mean anything anymore?
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — James Pethokoukis: This tweet of mine made Daily Caller’s Tweet of the Day: Bashar al-Assad’s regime is alive, and the Larry Summers nomination is dead
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Kim Jong Un Receives Greetings from Namibian President”
VIDEO: Brit Hume says Obama wants shutdown fight over health care budget