The image John Kerry WON'T want you to see: U.S. Secretary of State pictured dining with Assad and his wife at Damascus restaurant before war broke out in Syria  —  This astonishing photograph shows U.S Secretary of State John Kerry having a cosy and intimate dinner with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Obama To Meet With LGBT Activists While In Russia  —  After canceling a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin while there for the G20 summit, Obama may anger the Kremlin further by meeting with Russian activists — including from LGBT groups.  —  Jason Reed / Reuters

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Marines Website  —  A collection of pro-Syrian government hackers apparently defaced a Marine Corps recruitment website Monday.  —  The Syrian Electronic Army, which has hacked a series of websites, posted a letter on the Marines.com website arguing the Syrian government is “fighting a vile common enemy.”

RIP Frederik Pohl, the man who transformed science fiction  —  One of the leading lights of the science fiction world, editor and author Frederik Pohl, passed away this weekend after a career that defined the genre for decades.  —  His granddaughter Emily Pohl Weary confirmed the news:

Father who beat to death man he caught raping his five-year-old daughter will NOT face charges because of Texas state laws on deadly force  — A young father who beat his daughter's rapist to death after walking in on the assault will not face charges according to the states grand jury

MPs ‘right to reject Syria military action’ - BBC poll  —  Almost three-quarters of people believe MPs were right to reject UK military action in Syria, a poll commissioned by the BBC suggests.  —  The poll also suggested 72% did not think the move would damage the UK-US relationship …

Rand Paul to campaign for Steve Lonegan  —  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul will visit his sometime rival Chris Christie's home state of New Jersey next week to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Steve Lonegan, POLITICO has learned.  —  Paul, who sparred sharply with Christie this summer …

Assad: If The West Attacks, ‘Risk Of A Regional War Exists’  —  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed evidence the United States and France said shows his regime used chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, warning that any planned military response could result in a “regional war.”

Vote on Syria Sets Up Foreign Policy Clash Between 2 Wings of G.O.P.  —  WASHINGTON — The Congressional vote on whether to strike Syria will offer the best insight yet on which wing of the Republican Party — the traditional hawks, or a growing bloc of noninterventionists …

Sweet Cakes closing shop amid same-sex rift  —  GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN) — A bakery embroiled in controversy after an owner refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is closing up its Gresham storefront.  —  According to the “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” Facebook page …

To Authorize or Not to Authorize  —  Please also read “Against Symbolic Killing” our editor R. R. Reno's case against intervening in Syria. -ed.  —  Republicans should support some version of the authorization of force resolution.  They should do so even if they think that the President's policy …

A vote of no confidence is in order  —  What's wrong with asking Congress for authorization to go to war?  The Obama apologencia will tell us it is what the president meant to do all along.  They will tell us things are going according to plan.  What's the rush?

Syria Statement  —  Assuming the U.S. Congress authorises them, Washington (together with some allies) soon will launch military strikes against Syrian regime targets.  If so, it will have taken such action for reasons largely divorced from the interests of the Syrian people.

U.S. intelligence agencies spend millions to hunt for insider threats, document shows  —  The U.S. government suspects that individuals with connections to al-Qaeda and other hostile groups have repeatedly sought to obtain jobs in the intelligence community, and it reinvestigates thousands …

Labor Day  —  It's unfortunate that this year's Labor Day has been overshadowed in American politics and news coverage by a foreign policy crisis, since we really need every opportunity we can get to meditate on the contributions of wage-earners to national prosperity, and the eroding rights …

Skepticism Runs High On Capitol Hill After Classified Syria Briefing  —  “There's a lot of memories of another time when the president's people came in and said they had slam-dunk intelligence and that's not an episode most members ever want to repeat,” said Rep. Jim Himes.