28 | November | 2011 | Robot Pirate Ninja

(BEIRUT) — A U.N. investigation concluded Monday that Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity by killing and torturing hundreds of children, including a 2-year-old girl reportedly shot to death so she wouldn’t grow up to be a demonstrator.

The inquiry added to mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad, a day after the Arab League approved sweeping sanctions to push his embattled regime to end the violence. Syria’s foreign minister called the Arab move “a declaration of economic war” and warned of retaliation.

The report by a U.N. Human Rights Council panel found that at least 256 children were killed by government forces between mid-March and early November, some of them tortured to death.

via UN: Syrian Forces Killed 256 Children – TIME.

We would be as right to stop this as we were to stop Quadaffi [sp]. Unfortunately, because that actually worked out very well for the U.S. in the real world, but not in crazy-media land, there’s pretty much no public support for doing anything in this situation other than hand wringing/waving. And of course the sanctions (just as an FYI, Obama, as per, has been on top of this and we’ve been waginge “economic warfare” against Syria since April).

The Arab League has stepped up (again). This time further than before.

BEIRUT — In an unprecedented move against an Arab nation, the Arab League on Sunday approved economic sanctions on Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.

But even as world leaders abandon Assad, the regime has refused to ease a military assault on dissent that already has killed more than 3,500 people. On Sunday, Damascus slammed the sanctions as a betrayal of Arab solidarity and insisted a foreign conspiracy was behind the revolt, all but assuring more bloodshed will follow.

The sanctions are among the clearest signs yet of the isolation Syria is suffering because of the crackdown. Damascus has long boasted of being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism, but Assad has been abandoned by some of his closest allies and now his Arab neighbors. The growing movement against his regime could transform some of the most enduring alliances in the Middle East and beyond.

I’m not sure if we’re at an endgame on this yet, and curiously I actually trust my President to do the right thing…whatever that turns out to be.

Either way, this seriously puts a damper on Iran’s celebration re: Iraq, as their one remaining regional ally is eating itself.

Woman says she and Cain had 13-year affair; Cain denies accusation – CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/politics/cain-accusation-affair/?hpt=hp_c1

“Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults — a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public. No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public’s right to know and the media’s right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one’s bedroom door.

“Mr. Cain has alerted his wife to this new accusation and discussed it with her. He has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media and he will not do so even if his principled position is viewed unfavorably by members of the media.”

That’s from the campaign. This one should be pretty easy to suss out. Cain’s continued insistence that all…six now?…of these women are liars has already worn paper thin, this just wrecks it.

UPDATE: Here’s the link with what, to me, if pretty damning evidence.

White also supplied WAGA with phone records that showed 61 calls or text messages from one number that she said was Cain’s private cellphone. When the reporter texted the number, Cain called them back.

White said Cain never mistreated her or sexually harassed her and planned to keep the affair a secret but became bothered by how Cain handled allegations by four women that he had sexually harassed them.

“It bothered me that they were being demonized, sort of, they were treated as if they were automatically lying, and the burden of proof was on them,” White said. “I felt bad for them.”

[full story]

This seem pretty legit, as it stands right now. First up…not surprising someone with Cain’s “alleged” history has some strange on the side. Second…women don’t like men getting away with lying. And men don’t like them getting out of line, which is why when you look at whistleblower stats, you see a larger percentage of women facing harsher retaliation than men. It is standing up to this consistent situation that is the prime motivator here, from where I sit, and not just a nefarious plot to bring down one man. It’s consistent effort to bring down one liar, because he won’t stop doing it.

And he’ll keep doing it as long as he keeps getting way with it…and he’s been getting away with it for a looong time now.