NBC Doctors Zimmerman 911 call

The news media has long been trusted. "They wouldn't say it if it wasn't true." Or, "It's in print so it must be true."

But Rush pointed out today what NBC had done. They think Zimmerman is guilty, and they want the rest of the country to think he's a mindless racist.

RUSH: We've got the NBC edited version of the George Zimmerman 911 call . This is typical. I was being facetious when I opened the program and said I can't believe NBC would doctor a tape. I can definitely believe NBC would doctor a tape. In fact, I expect NBC, after their investigation, to stand by this thing. You know what they're gonna say? Well, Zimmerman said it. They didn't put anything in that Zimmerman didn't say. They just left out a bunch of stuff he did say, and they left out a question he was asked. But they'll say he said it. Race is a template in the media. Have you seen the statistics, by the way? When blacks are murdered the vast majority of the murderers are black, that black-on-black crime is just off the charts, that the number of blacks murdered by whites is way down. (interruption) Well, what do you mean I'm not supposed to say that? Yes, there is, and the civil rights coalition acknowledges it, and they don't care because there's no racial component.

Remember, this is the race business. It doesn't matter if the percentages are 1% of black people murdered are murdered by whites, that's enough to propel the race industry, and they're gonna focus on it, race, race, race. The fact that the majority of blacks are killed by other blacks. Okay, fine. Let's leave it out there, it doesn't matter. It's not relevant to what we're talking about, they say. All you need is that one example. And so you've got somebody steeped in media traditions at NBC, and that template is almost branded in their brain. It's almost embellished. And so if they're reading a transcript and they see that they can assemble the various elements of the conversation in a way that confirms what they believe going in, they'll do it. And they think they're performing a service.

They don't think they've doctored anything. They think they're helping everybody understand what's really going on here, what really happened, and they're cutting away all of the irrelevant fat from the story, getting right to the meat and potatoes. That's what this guy thinks he's doing. There may be an element of somebody knowingly falsifying this and trying to get away with it. My point to you is that this is so delved in their brains that they don't think there's anything wrong with doctoring the tape. Remember, getting to the truth as they see it and as it's been explained to them and as they've been taught is all that matters. Anyway, we'll play the two segments the tape to show you what happened, let you hear it.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: NBC is self-investigating an edited 911 call from the night Trayvon Martin died. Let's put this in the right order. This is what actually happened. This is a tape of George Zimmerman's 911 call.

ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around looking about.

DISPATCHER: Okay. This guy, is he white, black, or Hispanic?

ZIMMERMAN: He looks black.

RUSH: George Zimmerman. This guy looks like he's up to no good, on drugs or something. It's raining, he's walking around looking about. Dispatcher: Okay, is he white, black, or Hispanic? Zimmerman: He looks black. Here's how it aired on NBC.

ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black.

RUSH: A 100% distortion, a 100% recreation of what happened. In order to put together that sound bite that you just heard they had to knowingly and willingly edit the question of the dispatcher and then they had to edit Zimmerman saying he looks black right after he says he looks like he's up to no good. But Zimmerman wasn't through when he said this guy looks like he's up to no good. That's where NBC stopped it. Zimmerman kept on. After he said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's walking around looking about." NBC takes that out. They took the dispatcher question out, and they added on Zimmerman saying, "He looks black."

What is there to investigate here? Anybody with two ears and an IQ of 50 knows what happened here. Is the investigation of who did it? Or are they investigating if it's wrong? What are they investigating at NBC? They're investigating how they can get out of this. They are investigating how they can come up with a plausible explanation for this. That's what NBC is doing. Listen to them again, play sound bite 15 first. This is what actually happened.

ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around looking about.

DISPATCHER: Okay. This guy, is he white, black, or Hispanic?

ZIMMERMAN: He looks black.

RUSH: This is what NBC aired last Tuesday on the Today Show.

ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black.

RUSH: Folks, this is outrageous, absolutely outrageous. This is one of the most glaring, obvious, egregious examples of racial bias and hatred. And, yes, it is hatred at NBC that led to this. There is no compassion here. There's no open-minded here. There's no tolerance here. Why didn't the 911 dispatcher ask if he was a white Hispanic? Isn't that a standard category now? The dispatcher said, "Is he white, black or Hispanic?" I didn't hear him say, "Is he white, black, or white Hispanic?" The New York Times added that for us, into the lexicon.

What is the question that should be asked?

Yesterday, as I was channel surfing, I came across a news station doing a report on the Tayvon Martin case. The headline was, "Zimmerman's story doesn't add up." I didn't watch the thing, but it is sure interesting how in-depth the TV news places are going into the Martin case. Did we ever see such probing reporting during the campaign to get Obama elected? The news outlets definitely want to keep the Martin case churning, and they want Zimmerman to be guilty. And they don't want to talk about all the other black teens that have died since Martin did... only of course not killed by white cops or white Neighborhood Watch guys.

Also yesterday, while I was driving, I came across some talk show host..Michael Curry, I think. He is on the same station that airs Rush on weekdays.

And he told some long, involved story of him driving down a 4-lane highway. A mosquito was in his truck and he tried to swat it, concentrating on it to the exclusion of everything else, til he heard a horn honk and realized he'd swerved into the lane of oncoming traffic and he had to swerve back very quickly or he would have killed himself and who knows how many other people.

This was his analogy of what's going on with the Martin case. Don't let this one incident derail race relations.

But of course, this isn't just "one" incident. About once every couple of years, some unarmed black teen is killed by white cops - one guy had 40 bullet holes in him, another guy had 50. You would have thought ten or twenty would have been sufficient.

But I think there should be a shift in the kaleidoscope.

The question should not be, "Why do white cops occasionally gun down black teenagers?" The question should be, "Why do black teenagers put themselves in a position to be gunned down?"

No, I'm not trying to "blame the victim." I'm only trying to look at the facts.

If you look at the statistics, black crime is higher than white crime. Significantly higher. (That is not because whites are necessarily any less crooked than blacks, of course. Whites have jobs, so they steal from their employers. Indeed, you might say that's worse than what blacks do, because they don't need the money and steal anyway!)

But black teens, who don't have jobs, therefore aren't embezzling from employers but instead running around mugging people, stealing from stores, etc. So their rate of violent crime and murder is higher. (Obviously, I'm not saying all black teens. Just a percentage of them.)

Police are surely aware of these crime statistics. So when they see a black teen walking around late at night with a hoodie, and they get suspicious, are they racist? No? If black-white crime rates were the same, you could claim that. But they're not.

So its only common sense to stop the guy and ask him to identify himself. May be embarrassing for the teenager who is a law-abiding citizen, but like our Latino and Hispanic citizens who get the same treatment, don't blame the cops, blame the illegals who are tarnishing your character!

I think rather than worrying about white cops and their reactions, what our minority community leaders, and newspaper reporters, need to concentrate on, is the massive gang problem we've got in this country. More murders are committed every day by gang members than by any other segment of society. That's the real injustice in the US right now.

2 Apr 2012, Mon, SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/appt/2012/04/187255.htm
SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
11:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton attends the North American Leaders’ Summit, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

12:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton hosts a foreign ministers’ luncheon in honor of the North American Leaders’ Summit, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

2:25 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with State Department and USAID Franklin Fellows, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with President Obama, at the White House
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES
Deputy Secretary Nides is on foreign travel to Amman, Jordan for discussions with the Jordanian government on U.S.-Jordanian relations and meetings with the business community on U.S.-Jordanian business relations. While in Amman, Deputy Secretary Nides will meet with King Abdullah II and senior Jordanian government officials, including Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jaafar Hassan.

USAID ADMINISTRATOR RAJ SHAH
2:00 p.m. Administrator Shah participates in a USAID development forum with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, at USAID.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN
Under Secretary Sherman is on foreign travel to India, Nepal and Bangladesh through April 7.

US FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS
10:30 a.m. Under Secretary Hormats holds a conference call with USEU U.S. Ambassador William Kennard, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Director General of the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), Matthias Ruete and Henrik Hololei, Head Vice-President Kallas Cabinet, European Commission, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

US FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS MARIA OTERO
2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with the Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Beazley, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero meets with the Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security Alice Hill, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

6:00 p.m. Under Secretary Otero delivers remarks and participates in round table discussion, at the Truman National Security Project, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ACTING US FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ROSE GOTTEMOELLER
4:00 p.m. Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller delivers remarks on arms control in the information age, at the Estonian Information Technology College, in Tallinn, Estonia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
Ambassador Marshall assists with events at the White House for the working visit of His Excellency Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of Mexico, and The Right Honorable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada, on the occasion of the North American Leaders’ Summit.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS ROBERT BLAKE
Assistant Secretary Blake is on foreign travel to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, New Delhi, India and Bishkek, Kyrgygz.

AS FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ
10:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez speaks with Michael Kowalski, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with United Arab Emirates Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON
12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jacobson participates in a luncheon hosted by the Secretary in honor of the North American Leaders Summit, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

3:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Wayne, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AS FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS ANDREW SHAPIRO
3:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Shapiro attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

AS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ANN STOCK
3:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DANIEL BENJAMIN
Ambassador Benjamin is on foreign travel to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates through April 5 for the inaugural meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum Countering Violent Extremism Working Group and to discuss counterterrorism initiatives with Emirati Government officials.

OFFICE OF GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE, AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE STEPHEN RAPP
Ambassador Rapp is on foreign travel in Istanbul, Turkey to participate in meetings related to the Friends of Syria Conference through April 2. Ambassador Rapp leaves Istanbul to speak about war crimes and accountability, in Waterloo, Iowa.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES MELANNE VERVEER
Ambassador Verveer is on foreign travel to Casablanca and Rabat, Morocco and Tunis, Tunisia through April 6. Please click here for more information. Ambassador Verveer meets with government, civil society, and business leaders to discuss ways to advance women’s empowerment and political and economic participation.

SR FOR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS KRIS BALDERSTON
11:30 a.m. Special Representative Balderston meets with Ambassador Bill Taylor, Special Coordinator for Middle East Transitions, to discuss relevant partnership opportunities at the State Department.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:00 p.m. Special Representative Balderston participates in an event and dinner to mark the launch of the 2012 Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances by the Hudson Institute at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

SR FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS
8:30 a.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Minas Gerais’ World Cup Secretary Flavia Rohlfs, Minas Gerais’ Secretary of Social Policies Jorge Nahas and Minas Gerais’ Head of International Relations Rodrigo de Oliveira Perpetuo to discuss U.S. cooperation in the preparations for the 2012 ICLEI World Congress and upcoming World Cup, in Lourdes, Minas Gerais Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Special Representative Lewis participates in a roundtable discussion with ACMinas President Roberto Luciano Fortes Fagundes, ACMinas Vice-President Angela Prata Pace Silva de Assis and other ACMinas Business Leaders, to discuss how AC Minas can facilitate private sector partnerships in World Cup preparations and social inclusion efforts, in Centro, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with SEBRAE World Cup Coordinator Monica Alencar, SEBRAE International Relations Manager Monica Segantini and SEBRAE Operations Director Elbe Brandao to discuss potential partnerships with women, Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous-Brazilian business owners, especially in light of the economic opportunities presented by the World Cup, in Santo Agostinho, Minas Gerais Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

2:30 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Minas Gerais’ Special Secretary of World Cup Sergio Barroso, to encourage partnerships and agreements between U.S. and Brazilian state and local governments in advance of the World Cup, in Bairro, Minas Gerais Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with the Minas Gerais’ Deputy Secretary of Sports Rogerio Romero to discuss subnational cooperation in preparations for the Olympic Gamesin Bairro, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

4:30 p.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Minas Gerais’ Secretary of Planning Renata Vilhena to discuss subnational cooperation in preparations for the World Cup, in Bairro, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULE
12:30 p.m. Daily Press Briefing with Spokesperson Victoria Nuland

2 April 2012, Mon, Pres andVP Schedules

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule
10:00 am
The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:15 am
The President hosts Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico for the North American Leaders’ Summit
State Dining Room
Closed Press

12:00 pm
The President attends a working lunch with Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico
The Green Room
Closed Press

1:15 pm
The President holds a joint press conference with Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico
The Rose Garden
Open Press

3:00 pm
The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press
4:20 pm
The President meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/vice-president
10:00 am
The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

3:00 pm
The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press

6:30 pm
The Vice President hosts a reception in honor of firefighters and law enforcement officials from across the country
Naval Observatory

OT: Golf. Whatever happened to play it as it lays???

Just watched Louis Oosthuizen tee off his ball from the first tee. It took a funny bounce, hit the ground, bounced straight up, and then right back into the divot where it had first hit, so it was half buried in the dirt.

Instead of having to play it as it lay - as he'd have to do if it had landed in somoene else's divot, he got to "take a drop" right next to the divot, and hit it from there. Because it was in his "pitch mark" as opposed to someone else's pitch mark, or divot, he was able to "get relief."

And that is so bogus! Whether it was his pitch mark or someone else's should have made no difference, IMHO. Play it where it lays.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson, whom I was hoping would do very well today, started with a bogey. Damn you, Phil!

So much for peace in Syria

The UN apparently brokered a peace deal with Syria and its rebels - people who want to overthrow that government... but apparently that's not enough. Now the US - the bankrupt US - is going to provide "communications equipment" to the rebels. How much communications equipment, and who is going to run it, and who is going to pay for it? Will the Gulf States pay us for our help in this?

If the Gulf States want to help Syrian rebels with their civil war, let them. Why are we participating? Where are we going to get the money? Don't we have troubles of our own to contend with - poor black youths who can't get jobs (and are incapable of understanding why, apparently) who need funded programs to get them off the streets? And yet all the money that could be going to that is going overseas to help over throw a government that has nothing to do with us!

One does wonder what the average people of Syria think of the rebels, and of the government. Maybe they realize that once the new government gets into power, it will be just as despotic as the old one, only it will be impossible to overthrow because it will be part of the Gulf States or burgeoning Caliphate?

From Yahoo News: Syria conference: Gulf countries to fund rebels
ISTANBUL (AP) — An international coalition said Sunday that it will provide funding and communications equipment to Syrian rebels and opposition activists, reflecting a shift toward military options that might oust Syrian President Bashar Assad after a year of failed diplomacy aimed at stopping his crackdown on dissent.

Participants at a meeting on Syria, held in Istanbul, said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are creating a multimillion-dollar fund to pay members of the rebel Free Syrian Army and soldiers who defect from the regime and join opposition ranks. One delegate described the fund as a "pot of gold" to undermine Assad's army.

In addition, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States is providing communications equipment to help opposition members in Syria organize, remain in contact with the outside world and evade regime attacks.

"We are discussing with our international partners how best to expand this support," Clinton said.

The large-scale plan by Gulf countries to help Syria's badly overmatched rebels offers a solution to the international divide over whether to arm the rebels or support them through only non-lethal or humanitarian means. It also reflects frustration with appeals to Assad to stop his crackdown on dissent, as well as hopes of forcing his ouster by shifting the military balance on the ground.

Conference participants confirmed the Gulf plan on condition of anonymity because details were still being worked out. It was unclear how the fund would be set up and monitored, or how the money, allegedly earmarked for salaries, would be guaranteed. A participant said the fund would involve millions of dollars every month.

The Saudis and other Arab Gulf states have proposed giving weapons to the rebels, while the U.S. and other allies, including Turkey, have balked out of fear of fueling an all-out civil war. Washington hasn't taken any public position on the fund, but it appears that it has given tacit support to its Arab allies.

The salaries would aim to entice reluctant servicemen in Assad's military to break ranks and join the insurgency. With Syria's economy in a spiral, the Syrian opposition and U.S. and Arab officials hope soldiers will desert in large numbers and accelerate the downfall of the Assad regime.

At the meeting in Istanbul, delegates from dozens of countries also sought to increase pressure on Assad by pushing for tighter sanctions and increased diplomatic pressure, while urging the opposition to offer a democratic alternative to his regime.

Yet the show of solidarity at the "Friends of the Syrian People" conference was marred by the absence of China, Russia and Iran — key supporters of Assad who disagree with Western and Arab allies over how to stop the bloodshed. A peace plan by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has so far failed to take hold amid fresh reports of deadly violence.

"The Syrian regime should not be allowed at any cost to manipulate this plan to gain time," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an opening address.

Erdogan also indicated military options might have to be considered, if Syria does not cooperate with Annan's plan and the U.N. Security Council fails to unite in opposition to Assad. He referred to the vetoes of U.N. censure of Assad by Russia and China, which fear the measures could lead to foreign military intervention.

"If the U.N. Security Council fails once again to bring about its historic responsibility, there will be no other choice than to support the Syrian people's right to self-defense," Erdogan said.

Clinton also expressed skepticism that the Syrian government would observe Annan's plans, which call for an immediate cease-fire and a Syrian-led negotiation process.

"Nearly a week has gone by, and we have to conclude that the regime is adding to its long list of broken promises," Clinton said. "The world must judge Assad by what he does, not by what he says. And we cannot sit back and wait any longer."

Clinton urged unity behind a plan that includes more sanctions, humanitarian aid, support for the opposition and the promise of justice one day for regime figures involved in atrocities.

Burhan Ghalioun, leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, called for the strengthening of Syrian rebel forces as well as "security corridors" inside Syria, a reference to internationally protected zones on Syrian territory that would allow the delivery of aid to civilians. However, the nations meeting in Istanbul have so far failed to agree on such an intervention, which could involve the risky deployment of foreign security forces.

"No one should allow this regime to feel at ease or to feel stronger by giving them a longer maneuvering area," he said, reflecting fears that Assad would try to use the Annan plan to prolong his tenure. "It's enough that the international community has flirted with the regime in Syria. Something has to change."

In a statement, the Syrian National Council said weapons supplies to the opposition were not "our preferred option" because of the risk they could escalate the killing of civilians, but it appealed for technical equipment to help rebels coordinate.

"For these supplies to be sent, neighboring countries need to allow for the transfer via their sea ports and across borders," the council said.

The one-day meeting followed an inaugural forum in Tunisia in February. Since then, Syrian opposition figures have tried to convince international sponsors that they can overcome their differences and shape the future of a country whose autocratic regime has long denied the free exchange of ideas.

Syria blasted the conference, calling it part of an international conspiracy to kill Syrians and weaken the country.

A front-page editorial in the official Al-Baath newspaper called it a "regional and international scramble to search for ways to kill more Syrians, sabotage their society and state, and move toward the broad objective of weakening Syria."

In Istanbul, police used tear gas and batons to disperse a group of about 40 Assad supporters who tried to approach the conference building. Many held portraits of the Syrian leader. One man waved Chinese and Russian flags.

The delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria's beleaguered civilians is a key provision of Annan's plan. Clinton announced $12 million in additional aid for Syria's people — doubling the total American assistance so far. Germany, whose foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, attended the Istanbul meeting, said it was nearly doubling its humanitarian contributions to €5.7 million ($7.6 million).

But a comprehensive solution did not appear imminent without the cooperation of the Syrian government, whose military assaults on towns and cities have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Syrian rebels, including army defectors, are fighting regime forces, but have been unable to consolidate their hold on territory because they are heavily outgunned.

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and Turkey has floated the idea of establishing a buffer zone inside Syria, if the flow of displaced people onto its territory becomes overwhelming. There are concerns that foreign intervention, even if it has a humanitarian goal, could widen the conflict by dragging in other countries and triggering a surge in sectarian tensions.

The United Nations estimates more than 9,000 people have been killed since the uprising to oust Assad began a year ago.

Why do single moms stay single?

I was flicking through channels earlier today, and came across a political talk show. I only listened for a few seconds. I didn't recognize the man doing the talking, but he was talking about unmarried mothers. Specifically "poor white women." [Yes, he was specifically talking about poor white women (remember although most black kids are born out of wedlock, white unwed motherhood is increasing at the highest percentage.]

"Why don't you get married?
"You think I'm going to marry that loser?"

Apparently poor white women don't marry the men who father their babies because they are losers who can't hold down jobs, and are unreliable, etc.

And it's certainly common sense - why marry a guy who can't hold down a job, or even bother to get one?

But that begs the question - why would you want this man to be the father of your child, and pass his worthless genes down to it? Why are you rewarding this guy for being a loser by providing him with free sex? (i.e., there's no reason for him to change his loser ways if he can get sex despite being a loser.)

It's a mindset that I just don't understand. You'd think they'd work hard to get good jobs so they'd no longer be poor, the find a good man and have a kid. But of course, since if they have a kid and are poor they can get more welfare, there's no reason, I guess, for them to not have a kid whenever they want.