Secret Service director questioned

U.S. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson is expected to face sharp questioning Tuesday over security at the White House.

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Secret Service Chief Faces Lawmakers Over White House Breach by MICHAEL D. SHEAR

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

At a hearing on Tuesday, Julia Pierson took full responsibility for an intruder who breached security at the White House and said it would never happen again.

Published: October 1, 2014 at 4:00AM

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U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Drops

U.S. consumers unexpectedly pulled back on their economic optimism in September, according to a report released Tuesday.

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Occupy Central bigger than Hong Kong

The images are all too familiar. Young protesters, disenfranchised and frustrated, take to the streets to fight a government that is ignoring their demands. At first peaceful, the protests are met with the heavy hand of riot police. Photographs of resilient demonstrators — some standing obstinate amid the clouds of tear gas, others covered in pepper spray — flood the Internet. But what is surprising about this week’s images is that they come from Hong Kong, one of Asia’s financial hubs and a territory known for its stability.

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N.F.L. Says Penalty on Chiefs’ Husain Abdullah for Praying Was a Mistake by KEN BELSON

By KEN BELSON

An N.F.L. spokesman said Tuesday that Abdullah, a Muslim, should not have been given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike when he went to the “ground for religious reasons” after a touchdown.

Published: October 1, 2014 at 4:00AM

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Owl Struggles To Fathom iPhone Screen Even After A 90 Degree Head Turn, Is Basically All Of Us

They say owls are wise. So if Kuu the screech owl can’t make sense of this iPhone after a full 90 degree head turn, we don’t know what hope the rest of us have.

Watch Kuu squint and bend its big feathery neck to try to get on this iPhone’s level in the video, uploaded in January and currently trending thanks to a post on Tastefully Offensive.

So what’s on the iPhone screen that’s confusing Kuu? A ridiculously complicated update? A Sisyphian loading screen? A surprise U2 album?

According to the video’s description, the owl was actually struggling to comprehend his own reflection. No worries, Kuu. We still think you’re pretty wise.

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Sanitizing history in the name of patriotism

Conservative politicians across the country have spent much of the past few years attempting to remake public education in their image.

It can be seen in policies that turn teachers into free market independent contractors competing with their colleagues and counterparts at other schools, because conservatives believe competition is better than collaboration in every situation.

It can be seen in the multitude of efforts to integrate creationism in science classes, even though this theological doctrine has zero scientific content. But most recently it can be seen in the work of Jefferson Country Colorado school board member Julie Williams.

Williams has offered a proposal that aims to sanitize the districts U.S. History materials to “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage.”

This idea of presenting the U.S. as infallible has long been a conservative talking point but the reality is that patriotism is just conservative code for political correctness.

For instance, if you look at Williams Facebook page you will see that she is an aggressive opponent of Colorado using the Common Core Standards. Given that these standards have been approved of at the state level, her resistance and subsequent social media activism could certainly been seen as a general “disregard for the law.” Williams’ Facebook posts also reveal that she believes vaccines are responsible for some cases of autism, despite the CDC reports indicating that multiple studies find no such link. Is sharing this misinformation not a form of “social strife”?

American history is also full of events that are held up as glorious victories for the country, even though they would clearly be classified as “civil disorder.” The Boston Tea party, the Revolutionary War, Women’s Suffrage, and the Civil Rights movement are all events that are revered even though they also represent a citizenry struggling against government.

What Williams is really advocating for here is the power to manipulate public education to fit her naïve, idealized vision of America. There is no question that Americans have accomplished many great things and those achievements should certainly be part of every students education. However, as the iconic saying goes: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Slavery is a shameful part of American history but glossing over slavery means ignoring the core cause of the Civil War. It means skipping over the Civil Rights Movement.

Removing Japanese Americans from the homes and holding them in internment camps during World War II and the actions of Joe McCarthy during the Second Red Scare were both disgraceful actions by our government. But understanding how fear can lead to terrible decisions is clearly a topic worth discussing as we face new enemies like the Islamic State and the Ebola virus.

The Great Depression is obviously a time in our history that many would prefer to forget, but the massive wealth gap and a severe lack of government regulations that precipitated it are lessons that, if learned, may have prevented the Great Recession of 2008.

Countless American success stories prove that the knowledge gained from failing is often paramount in achieving success. Instead of seeing every poor decision in history as a black eye, we should view them as an opportunity to learn and grow. If education is supposed to prepare children for the real world, seeing history through rose colored glasses does students a great disservice.

In the end, the question that Williams and her supporters need to ask themselves is: would they still advocate for a special committee to review and censor U.S. history materials if that committee was appointed by liberals? If the answer to that question is no, that tells you all you need to know about the goals of this proposal.

Previously published in the Detroit News.

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Not Just an Island, But a Bridge: Japan’s Thorny South Becomes Its Greatest Global Asset

NAHA, Japan — Japan has officially been taken off of life support. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s hyper-active international schedule and renewed emphasis on global affairs has led to renewed relations with new partners such as Australia and India, while defense laws have been transformed to allow greater cooperation with traditional allies in American and Europe. Even in Asia where Chinese and Korean antagonism attempts to contain Japan, efforts both governmental and otherwise are being launched to grow closer to reconciling the ancient disputes that set them at odds politically and socially. With all these moves, many in Japan are also reconsidering their county’s cornerstone relationship with the United States, including the 48 U.S. military facilities that are scattered throughout the country. In a recent trip organized by the Tokyo Foundation as part of the Trilateral Forum Tokyo which is a joint initiative with the German Marshall Fund of the United States I was able to experience for the first time the important role the Islands of Okinawa will play if the U.S.-Japanese alliance will survive Japan’s growth from regional actor to global player.

As an American raised in Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island, I’ve traveled to almost every one of the 47 prefectures that make up this nation, with the exception of Okinawa. Japan’s southernmost prefecture and archipelago that includes the hotly disputed Senkaku islands, this region is culinarily, culturally, geographically, and politically as far away from my home-island as one can get in Japan. Located closer to Taiwan and mainland China than it is to Tokyo, Okinawa has always been unique among the Japanese. Its history as the independent Ryuku Kingdom that tried to balance its trade relations between its larger Chinese and Japanese rivals was remarkably successful as it managed to borrow from both to create its own rich hybrid culture. The UNESCO World Heritage Shurijo Castle that hosted the G8 Summit in 2000 at first glance (pictured above) looks like a miniature version of Beijing’s Forbidden City but retains several traditional Japanese elements including gardens and ingenuity in its design.

Having been forcibly brought into Japan’s “sphere of influence” in 1609 and fully incorporated as the nation’s last prefecture in 1879, it shares many qualities with America’s last state of Hawaii. Similar to Pearl Harbor’s position in relation to U.S. history, Okinawa is the only part of its domestic “mainland” that saw intense fighting during World War Two. The 200,000 lives, including civilians, lost during the Battle of Okinawa represented over 1/3 of the existing population, dwarfing almost any other battlefield from World War Two. The intensity of the fighting left scars on Okinawans both from the Japanese soldiers who encouraged mass suicides rather than capture and Americans who subsequently occupied the islands until 1972. For a naturally pacifist people who invented karate (translated as empty hands) as a means to protect themselves without weapons, the shadows of this history loom large.

The weight of history is palpable across the islands, but the ongoing tensions as a result of American military bases that are a legacy of this history have fostered a sense of both Okinawan exceptionalism and victimhood. The prefecture represents just 0.4% of Japan’s landmass, while housing close to three-fourths of America’s bases in Japan. As a result, Okinawans grumble consistently about the unfair burden-sharing they endure on behalf of Japanese national security and the U.S.-Japan alliance. On our trip, we visited Kadena Airbase, America’s largest base in Asia which, according to its commander, could easily house a combined version of the Misawa, Yokosuka, Osan, and Pusan — bases which do not exist in one territory but are themselves spread across Japan and South Korea. From deterrence against North Korea or an overly aggressive China to disaster relief efforts like those used in the wake of the Philippine typhoon to operations conducted immediately after the Great Tohoku earthquake of 3/11/2011, Okinawa provides a crucial jumping off point to America’s critical and necessary role in the U.S.-Japan Alliance.

As China becomes increasingly more aggressive to U.S. allies in the region, America’s significant presence in Okinawa has never been more necessary. But the devil remains in the details of how 33 military bases across the island can be most efficiently dispersed and leveraged. Unlike mainland Japan, Okinawa continues to grow demographically and is geographically poised to experience an economic boom of increased tourism from other parts of Asia, particularly Taiwan. This November Okinawans will vote on a new governor, establishing the future tenor of their prefectural government. Both Tokyo and Washington will follow the results closely. In discussing the U.S. bases, every official we met re-affirmed their support for the U.S.-Japan alliance, one American official even going so far as claiming silent majorities that favor America’s presence despite the public vocal opposition to the bases. Polls showing that Okinawans tend to be more pro-American and anti-Chinese than mainland Japanese muddle the situation against a background of sensationalized press coverage. But after visiting I have a new appreciation for the beautiful paradox that is Okinawa.

A region thick with its own sense of exceptionalism but firmly planted in Japanese history, the Okinawan paradox is just the cultural bridge Japan is looking for. Quoting a famous Okinawan politician, during my time there I was assured that “to be Okinawan is to desire to be Japanese, but never be fully able to lose our Ryuku-ness.” In another instance, a professor of Ryuku culture and history affirmed this dual nature, explaining that while he is proud of being Japanese he is first and foremost an Okinawan. However, although he introduces himself as a Ryuku while visiting China or Taiwan, given the more positive reception, the professor strongly believes that Okinawa has a natural bridging role to play amidst rising tensions between China and Japan.

Okinawa as a frontier nation is nothing new to its people. Chinese attempts to assert revisionist claims on the Senkakus and broader Okinawa don’t seem to concern people on the island as much as it does Tokyo, and the recent Scottish referendum that captivated other small, nationalistic sub-states across the world was met in Okinawa with remarkable indifference. Amidst this geography, history, and myriad of paradox, Okinawa may just be the future of Japan’s involvement in Asia. Rather than allow its exceptionality to remain a thorn in the side of the U.S.-Japan Alliance, Okinawa should transform itself into a model for creative and dynamic cooperation in a rapidly changing regional landscape.

The resurgence of Japan under Prime Minister Abe that has revitalized its foreign policy has encouraged Tokyo into joining negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership and to reinterpreting its traditional definitions of collective self-defense. All of Japan and by extension the U.S.-Japan Alliance will be benefitted by embracing the lessons of Okinawa’s history, both positive and negative, from the independent trading state of the Ryuku Kingdom to the battlefields of World War Two. Continuing to engage locally and creating an inclusive framework to allow Okinawans to not only retain their uniqueness but shine as a result of it will be critical in the years ahead for both Americans and Japanese.

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Coworker With Resting Friendly Face Actually a Bitch

This post originally appeared on Reductress.com.

Coworkers of Jennifer Moore were shocked to discover that Jennifer, an administrative assistant with the condition known as “resting friendly face,” is actually a huge bitch.

Stephanie from accounting first made the realization as she asked Jennifer if she would like a cup of coffee. Jennifer responded, “No thanks, but it looks like YOU can sure use one,” all while still smiling.”

“For a moment, I thought she was still being nice,” said Stephanie, “But then I realized she was being a sneaky bitch.”

“I needed help making copies for our 11 a.m. meeting, and I thought Jen looked like the helpful type,” says Melanie from sales. “I was four words into my question when she told me ‘It’s not that complicated, you can’t just figure it out?’ All while smiling! It’s like she didn’t even care that I’d find out she was a bitch.”

After an attempted lunchtime conversation about the current season of The Mindy Project, Ted from HR was only met with eye rolling and heavy sighing. “It’s like her welcoming gaze was a trap, drawing me in only to shove me down into the dirt.”

“It was around 3:00 p.m. when I tried asking her for some paper clips,” reported Stacy, a senior level administrative assistant. “Her smile dropped, she rolled her eyes, and told me the color of my blouse totally clashed with my nail polish. Why would she do that? Why does someone who seems so nice need to act like such a bitch?”

Around 5 p.m., Jennifer made eye contact with Rachel from data entry, with what seemed to be a welcoming smile. Rachel attempted to respond when Jennifer answered her ringing phone, speaking loudly enough for Rachel to hear, “Ugh, thank God you called. That sad, bloated chick is trying to talk to me again.”

To read more, click here or visit Reductress.com.

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The Sunday Series, (The Lucky One), with Mark Brodinsky

The courage to move forward. A dedication which inspires us all. The hope for a better tomorrow. September marks National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and today the story of one young lady who is finding her way out of the darkness.

The Sunday Series (43): The Lucky One

They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step, for Neha Kundagrami the steps are painful, yet through it all she keeps the faith, keeps her head up, believes she is one of the lucky ones.

It all began with a small bump on the head, one which Neha says she believed was nothing — maybe she bumped her head on her headboard while she was sleeping. What Neha didn’t yet know, that from head to toe, her life would be forever changed.

“I kind of ignored the bump at first,” says Neha. “Then it started getting bigger and bigger. We started going to different doctors and the frightening thing was no two doctors concurred and every one said something different.” When some swelling also began on her neck Neha and her family finally visited a head and neck surgeon and he referred them to someone from his graduating class who worked at Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology. A lymph node was extracted. The diagnosis: acute B cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer. Cancerous lymphocytes can travel to many parts of the body and can accumulate to form tumors. Some of the most common forms of treatment are chemotherapy and steroids, but these treatments take their toll.

But then there’s the other side effect of chemotherapy, which Neha so eloquently explains: “No one understands what it’s like to be a kid with cancer. Ask any cancer patient what the worst part of chemotherapy was and they will not list any of the drugs that they had to take, or any pill, radiation or medication of some sort. Chemo is hard, but it is necessary, it becomes bearable. For almost all the patients the worst part of chemotherapy is the isolation it forces. The patient is forced to spend months at a time, either at home or in the hospital, barred from civilization. Without the common distractions, such as a trip to the movies, a day at an amusement park, or even something as simple as having friends over, there is nothing to distract from the discomfort of cancer treatment, which somehow manages to make the treatment even worse.”

At the age of 19, Neha is now finished with the chemotherapy and the steroid treatments which saved her life. But its hold on her life is far from over. Neha describes her journey into cancer as a “long, dark tunnel,” and it took baby steps to realize she could make it through, but the reality of those steps became increasingly more painful. The steroid treatments affected her mobility — in a big way. Her left hip collapsed and cannot be saved. Neha says, “imagine taking a Ping-Pong ball and running it over with a tractor and then putting it back in. That’s what my hip joint is like, flat.” A recent surgery, a bone graft on her right hip has stopped that disintegration. But now Neha moves about her college campus on crutches, not the easiest of travels and walking will be about the most she will ever be able to do — no running, no jumping, no dancing — just walking — the simple ability to get from one place to another. Yet Neha believes she is lucky.

“For so many kids cancer is their lives, it becomes their lives,” says Neha. “There are cancer patients that will never walk across the stage at graduation, never go to college, never get married or have kids. I’m one of the lucky ones. Two of my friends, Brooke Lauren Shockley and Sarah McMohan weren’t as lucky. They didn’t make it. After all the radiation, surgeries, chemo, spinal taps, and hospital visits. Nothing worked. They passed away before they even had a chance to live, and were stripped of their lives and their potential from the raging monster of cancer. These kids are the next generation, and every one of them deserves a chance at life. I can’t do anything about the suffering cancer has put me through. I can’t do anything about the scars it left, or the year I lost to treatment, or the months spent in the hospital begging to go home. But I can work to see the end of cancer. I can work to find a cure, so that children like Sarah and Brooke have the chance to grow past their teenage years and so that no mother goes home to an empty bedroom where her baby once slept. Because you can’t change the cards life handed you, but you can change how you play the hand.”

“I am one of the lucky ones, I realize that now. I may have had more surgeries than I care to remember. I may have had so many tubes sprouting from me that I looked like a blossoming flower. I may have even been so sick I couldn’t even remember what being healthy actually felt like. But I had a cure, a chance to get my life back. I had hope.”

And hope is far from overrated. Sometimes it’s all you have. As the calendar turns from National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, for so many children with cancer, time seems to stand still. Neha believes so many more advances can be made to better the lives of children fighting to survive. “We cannot rest,” says Neha, “until every cancer has a simple, easy cure, for our job will not be done until no other child has to suffer.”

No more suffering. A chance for another child to become one of the “lucky ones,” like Neha. It’s a chance worth fighting for.

Until next time, thanks for taking the time.

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Mark Brodinsky, Author, Blogger, Financial Services

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The 9 Biggest Myths About ISIS Debunked

When it comes to the Islamic State, the extremist group that has seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria using horrifying tactics, there is no shortage of speculation about its history and ambitions. But not all the claims about the organization now targeted by the U.S. hold up. Here’s a look at some of the biggest and most troubling misunderstandings about the Islamic State.

Myth 1: ISIS = Al-Qaeda

ISIS is not al-Qaeda. In fact, the groups are on less-than-friendly terms. Here’s the backstory:

ISIS’ roots lie in a Sunni Islamist militant group founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in 2005 and named his group al-Qaeda in Iraq. Their relationship was sometimes tense, and the groups developed different tactics, goals and styles of leadership.

After al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. strike in 2006, the group took the new name the Islamic State in Iraq. The group’s current leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, decided to expand into Syria after the country’s civil war broke out in 2011. In April 2013, al-Baghdadi proclaimed his group’s merger with al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, calling the new venture the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. But the al-Qaeda group denied the alliance, and when al-Baghdadi refused orders to focus on Iraq, al-Qaeda’s top leadership cut ties with ISIS. Since then, the two can be thought of as competitors.

Undated file image posted on a militant website shows ISIS fighters marching in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Militant Website)

Myth 2: ISIS Was Created By The CIA

One of the more eyebrow-raising theories about ISIS is that it is a creation of U.S., British and/or Israeli intelligence agencies. New York Times reporter Thomas Erdbrink told HuffPost Live that the belief is common among Iranians. The theory was traced back to a dubious blog post that was picked up by Iranian and other Middle Eastern media. Conservative media got hold of it, using it as an example of a government conspiracy. Politifact bestowed the theory its “Pants on fire” rating.

This undated image posted by the Raqqa Media Center, a Syrian opposition group, on Monday, June 30, 2014, shows ISIS fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center)

Myth 3: ISIS Represents All Muslims

As Alastair Crooke explains in a blog for the WorldPost, ISIS practices an ultra-radical interpretation of Sunni Islam.

In late September, a group of Muslim scholars from around the world issued a letter rebuking ISIS’ extreme ideology. The scholars tore down the group’s practices as un-Islamic, offering a point-by-point summary of how its ideology breaks from what most Muslims believe. The scholars wrote that in Islam, it is forbiden to torture, kill the innocent and attribute evil acts to God, rejecting how ISIS has sought to kill people they call “kafir” — or infidels who have not pledged allegiance to a single Muslim leader. For ISIS, the kafir may include other Muslims. The scholars go on to denounce other ISIS actions and beliefs, including forcing others to convert to its ideologies, denying women rights, and destroying the tombs of prophets.

Muslims around the world have condemned ISIS’ extreme beliefs. A movement started by British Muslims flooded social media with messages of “#NotInMyName,” rejecting ISIS’ brutal tactics and accusing the group of “hiding behind a false Islam.”

British Muslims send a clear message to #IS #ISIS sectarian murderers — #notinmyname http://ift.tt/1BWvSHW

— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaGeoNews) September 17, 2014

Myth 4: ISIS Has No Objective

Despite ISIS’ craven tactics and irrational aims, the group is not acting without motives and strategies. Its goal is to establish a caliphate — an Islamic state obedient to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

It has worked to this end by waging jihad in a fashion that captivates attention, exploits fears, woos disaffected communities, takes advantage of weaknesses in the region, spreads its message, enlists new recruits, and adds wealth and resources. If ISIS is mad, it is mad like a fox.

ISIS reveals the map of its intended state. So far, it includes, #Iraq, #Syria, #Jordan, #Israel, and #Kuwait. http://ift.tt/1uyIRP6

— Ali H. Soufan (@Ali_H_Soufan) June 12, 2014

Myth 5: ISIS Is Poised To Infiltrate The U.S. Via Mexico

Politicians, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), and media reports have claimed recently that the U.S.-Mexico border could, and potentially already has, been used as a U.S. entry point for ISIS forces. However, the allegations aren’t holding up. Franks’ claim that ISIS is presently in Mexico is highly unlikely, according to fact-checker Politifact. Top security officials said the U.S. has no evidence ISIS agents are crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, and there was no indication that it intends to do so. The Mexican government called the idea “absurd.”

Myth 6: ISIS Is Invincible

Despite ISIS victories in Iraq and Syria, and the ineptitude of the Iraqi military to stop its advance, analysts argue it is not unstoppable.

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a scholar and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that ISIS’ “strategy is a mess,” because it has has surrounded itself with enemies. Gartenstein-Ross and William McCants, a scholar of militant Islamism, both have noted that in declaring the Islamic State caliphate, ISIS has hinged its credibility on an unsustainable idea.

Vox’s Zach Beauchamp wrote that there are geographic and demographic limits that will keep ISIS from becoming an unstoppable force.

In addition, the group’s brutal tactics could alienate allies and potential conscripts, and may prevent it from wider public support.

Daily Beast reporter Jacob Siegel said he sees signs of tension within the ranks of ISIS that could lead to the group’s self-destruction.

And the U.S. and other opponents of ISIS believe the group can be contained to its former manifestation as a “rural insurgency,” a strategy outlined by Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Image posted on a militant website in June 2014, appears to show ISIS militants with captured Iraqi soldiers after taking over a base in Tikrit, Iraq. (AP Photo via militant website, File)

Myth 7: ISIS Is A Regional Problem

Wouldn’t this be convenient if true? Obama has stressed that if ISIS were to establish a permanent foothold in the Middle East, American interests would be at risk.

First, ISIS has stated it aspires to extend its caliphate beyond Syria and Iraq.

In addition, there are hundreds of American troops in Iraq, and U.S.-linked oil companies are based in the northern Iraq region of Kurdistan.

A Middle East in the grips of ISIS may also become an incubator for attacks directed at targets outside of the region, noted Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Through its command of social media and propaganda, ISIS has sought to inspire and recruit beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria. Analysts estimate there are thousands of Westerners among ISIS’ ranks, including Americans. U.S. officials said they fear ISIS may launch attacks in the U.S. and other Western nations as it broadens targets . There also is concern that ISIS’ Western recruits may return to the U.S., an Obama administration official acknowledged.

Finally, ISIS has beheaded two American journalists, a British aid worker, Lebanese soldiers, and others in Iraq and Syria. ISIS is believed to be holding more Westerners and journalists hostage. A separate extremist group in Algeria beheaded a French hostage last week over France’s participation in the campaign against ISIS.

Undated image shows a fighter of the Islamic State group waving their flag from inside a captured government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/ Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group)

Myth 8: The Rise Of Isis Is Obama’s Fault

The “blame Obama” argument focuses on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011, and the American president’s hesitancy to intervene in the Syrian civil war.

Critics argue that if the U.S. had kept a larger military presence in Iraq, ISIS would not have been able to rebound after incurring heavy losses in 2006.

The argument that President Barack Obama blew it by not supporting moderate rebel forces in Syria earlier in the civil war was recently fueled by Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and likely 2016 presidential candidate, in an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg. Clinton told Goldberg, “The failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad — there were Islamists, there were secularists, there was everything in the middle — the failure to do that left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled.”

Yet the rise of ISIS is a product of many factors. Focusing only on the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq or Obama’s hesitancy to intervene in Syria fails to acknowledge other important developments that affected ISIS and the world’s failure to contain it, including:

– The government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gave the U.S. little choice on leaving American troops in Iraq.

– Despite its size and strength, the Iraqi military’s fight against ISIS was plagued by missteps.

– ISIS took advantage of bitter tensions between Iraq’s Shia and Sunni Muslims.

– Maliki’s government in Iraq kicked the country’s Sunnis to the curb. ISIS seized on the Sunnis’ great discontent, and took up a sectarian war against the Shia.

– ISIS efforts to win public support included creating community programs, charming local children, distributing propaganda, and providing relief for suffering communities.

– Some experts are skeptical that deeper U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war would have prevented the rise of ISIS. They say the nature of the battles in Syria and the ragtag composition of the rebel forces likely would have limited the extent that U.S. assistance would have made a dent in the growth of ISIS.

Undated image posted in August 2014 by a Syrian opposition group shows ISIS fighters waving the group’s flag from a damaged display of a government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo/ Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group)

Myth 9: Sen. John McCain Met With ISIS

“@CountryStandard: Senator John McCain held secret meetings with ISIS in Syria http://ift.tt/YH4Buv””

Goh.

— unknown soldier (@cmfuentez) August 30, 2014

Another wild claim bouncing around the Internet links ISIS and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a vocal proponent of escalating the U.S. response to the militants. It started with a photo McCain posted online of a meeting with Free Syrian Army fighters during a 2013 trip to Syria. The photo was later inaccurately framed as showing McCain meeting ISIS militants and posted on social media and conspiracy theory blogs. From there, speculation grew, suggesting McCain had a role in ISIS’ creation, and had a relationship with ISIS leader al-Baghdadi, with photoshopped images of McCain pinning a medal on the chest of the ISIS leader as evidence. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) propelled the McCain-ISIS conspiracy in an interview with The Daily Beast, saying, “Here’s the problem. He [Sen. John McCain] did meet with ISIS, and had his picture taken, and didn’t know it was happening at the time.”

The theory has been thoroughly discredited. According to The Washington Post’s fact-checker, “there is zero evidence that any of the men that McCain met with in Syria are linked to the Islamic State.” The rebels who were portrayed as ISIS fighters were, in fact, members of the Free Syrian Army, who oppose both ISIS and Syrian President Assad.

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Air traffic control fire suspect in court

A contract employee accused of setting a fire at a key Chicago air traffic control center on Monday made his first court appearance since the incident created flight problems that rippled across the nation.

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