NEW YORK CITY: Thousands Rally In Times Square Against Iran Nuclear Deal

The Jerusalem Post reports:

An estimated 10,000 people turned out at New York's landmark Times Square on Wednesday in protest over the Iran nuclear deal signed last week. They urged the US Congress to reject the agreement brokered in Vienna to rein in Tehran's atomic program. Speakers at Wednesday's rally included New York's former governor George Pataki, Jerusalem Post senior contributing editor Caroline Glick, former Manhattan district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, former congressman Allen West and Steven Emerson, founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Pataki addressed the crowd, saying that "this isn't a bad deal, it's a God-awful deal, it must be rejected. Congress must do its job and stand up for the American people, stand up for our safety and say 'no' to this Iranian deal." Claiming that "we know what the outcome of this deal will be," Glick said that "our responsibility as free men and women is to stand up and ensure the security and continuity and strength and morality of the United States of America."

GOP Arkansas Pol: It's Time To Nuke ISIS

"With ISIS spreading all over the Middle East and Africa and Islamic Extremists carrying out violence in Europe, The United Kingdom and even in the United States, I wonder why the civilized world just sits by when we have weapons that could wipe out these barbarians where they are concentrated? I believe it is time to annihilate the strongholds and pursue the rest till we have them all captured or killed. A strategically placed nuclear weapon would save the lives of our soldiers and quickly turn things around. It is time for the insanity to be stopped." - GOP Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert, in a posting on his Facebook page. Rapert did not specify where this nuclear weapon should be detonated. The above image is from the Arkansas Times.

RELATED: Until this week Rapert was most famous for telling a Tea Party gathering that they should not allow "minorities to run roughshod over what you people believe in." Last summer Rapert authored a resolution calling on the Arkansas Supreme Court to invalidate the same-sex marriages that took place in the brief period in which they were legal. The resolution failed.

Obama Asks Congress For War Powers

Via TIME Magazine:

President Barack Obama asked Congress Wednesday to formally authorize military force against the Islamic State group, arguing the militants could pose a threat to the U.S. homeland if their violent power grab goes unchecked and urging lawmakers to “show the world we are united in our resolve to counter the threat.” The president elected on a promise to end America’s wars is sending Congress a proposed joint resolution to authorize military force against the swift rise of Islamic State extremists, who are imposing violent rule across Iraq and Syria and have brazenly killed U.S. and allied hostages in brutal online propaganda videos.

In a five-paragraph letter to lawmakers accompanying the three-page draft resolution provided to The Associated Press, Obama said the Islamic State “poses a threat to the people and stability of Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East and to U.S. national security.” “It threatens American personnel and facilities located in the region and is responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller,” he said, listing the American hostages who died in IS custody. “If left unchecked, ISIL will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including to the United States homeland.”

The president will speak about his request today at 3:30PM. I'll post a live-stream.

King Of Saudi Arabia Dies At Age 91

SAUDI ARABIA: Gay Man Sentenced To Three Years For Hook-Up Profile

Via Gulf News:

A court in eastern Saudi Arabia has sentenced a homosexual man to three years in jail for engaging in “immoral acts”. The man, in his 30s, was also ordered to pay a SR100,000 fine by the court in the port city Dammam in the Eastern Province. According to a report in local news site Sabq, the man was apprehended by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice after he posted pictures of himself naked on social media and offered to have sex for free with other men. “Offensive” pictures and chats with other people were found on his confiscated mobile, Sabq said on Tuesday. Homosexuality and cross-dressing are social and legal offences in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.

Some major US-based hook-up apps have warned their foreign users that it might be possible to pinpoint their location via the apps' geolocation function. The above-linked story does not say how the arrested man was identified.

TRAILER: American Sniper

Directed by Clint Eastwood.

ISRAEL: Gay Club Promoter Denounced For Evoking ISIS Beheadings In Party Ads

Via NBC News:

An Israeli gay party promoter has published posters featuring a stark parody of ISIS beheading videos. Drek, which puts together events in famously gay-friendly Tel Aviv, apologized for the use of the homoerotic humor drawing on the gruesome murders of James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines, but also defended the posters. "Our way to express our contempt and criticism to things that take place in the reality in the past four years is through humor and satire," the event organizers said in a Facebook post. "We think our enemies victory will be when we live in fear and let them control our thoughts. We feel that humor takes the sting out of threatening and offensive issues. If our publications of our last party hurt the feeling of somebody, we apologize." Nevertheless, most commenting on the organization's Facebook page were supportive. "In my eyes the invitation is genius and smart. Satire is mostly a bit extreme and that is fine," Karam Dadu wrote.

More from Israel's Ynet News:

Though a number of people shrugged off the posters as poor taste, most were enraged: "Disgusting! Getting a laugh off of the murder of innocent victims," wrote one commentator; "very baaaaaaaaaaad," wrote another, while a third lamented it "poor satire". Posting the images online to Drek's Facebook page, the organizers wrote "as the new Islamic State gains traction in the Middle East, we at Drek have decided to give in to Sharia law and cheer the stubborn Daesh," using the Arab acronym for the group, and invoking a veiled play on words – "stubborn" in Hebrew can be written as "hard necked", a reference to the group's infamous executions. Amiri Kalman, one of the Drek's founders, said in response: "We are trying to react to current events. We have been doing it for a number of years. But we reject violence in any form and that includes the (execution) videos intended to scare the world."

The flag in the second image above is reportedly meant to represent the black flag of ISIS. 

Senate Approves Arming Syrian Rebels

Via the Associated Press:

In the heat of an election campaign, Congress cleared the way for the U.S. military to train and equip Syrian rebels for a war against Islamic State militants Thursday night, reluctant ratification of a new strategy that President Barack Obama outlined scarcely a week ago. The 78-22 Senate vote sent Obama legislation that also provides funding for the government after the end of the budget year on Sept. 30, eliminating any threat of a shutdown. The House approved the bill on Wednesday. In an appearance at the White House soon after the vote, Obama said he was pleased that a majority of both Republicans and Democrats had supported the legislation. "I believe we're strongest as a nation when the president and Congress work together," he said. Noting the killing of two Americans by the Islamic State group, he said that "as Americans we do not give in to fear" and would not be put off by such brutal tactics. In the Senate, 44 Democrats, 33 Republicans and one independent voted for the bill, while nine Democrats, 12 Republicans and one independent opposed it. The issue created new fault lines for this fall's elections for control of the Senate as well as the 2016 race for the White House.

How long until those weapons are used against us?

GOP Rep. Charlie Dent Slams Ted Cruz

"I support Israel, but what Senator Cruz did was outrageous and incendiary. He showed a true lack of sensitivity for the people he was speaking to, especially the religious leaders who were there. It was a political speech, inappropriate and, overall, an uncomfortable moment. He was speaking to people outside of the building. It was a willful and deliberate confrontation, and very self-serving." - Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), speaking about Sen. Ted Cruz being booed off the stage at an event for Arab Christians.

UNRELATED: Dent is one of eight House Republicans to have endorsed same-sex marriage.

McCain Battles With Former White House Spokesman Jay Carney Over ISIS Plan

Mediaite sets the stage:

Jay Carney, on his very first night working for CNN, ended up sparring with Senator John McCain over President Obama‘s ISIS speech, in which McCain repeatedly took shots at Carney for not telling the truth, saying at least once that “facts are stubborn things.” The second McCain appeared on CNN, he immediately got combative with Carney. McCain said that Obama unilaterally decided, against advisement from his national security team, not to train Syrian rebels. In addition, he said not leaving a residual force in Iraq was a huge mistake on Obama’s part. Carney disputed McCain’s claims, but the senator said, “Again, Mr. Carney, you are saying facts that are patently false.” They kept talking over each other and arguing, with McCain continuing to insist that Carney has his facts wrong.

Obama: It's Time To Get ISIS

Via CNN:

It's time to go after ISIS in Iraq and Syria, President Barack Obama said Wednesday night in a nationally televised address intended to sell stepped-up military efforts to a war-weary public. Obama said the United States would expand its airstrikes against the Sunni jihadists in Iraq to target them across the border in Syria. "I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are," he said. "That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven." The declaration answered calls from a growing number of U.S. politicians for such a step, with increasing public support.

Obama also announced another 475 American military advisers would go to Iraq, pushing the total figure to about 1,700. At the same time, he made clear the strategy differed from all-out war again in Iraq less than three years after he withdrew combat forces from the country. "It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil," Obama said. His address from the White House also sought to convince allies and the nation of a firm U.S. commitment to lead an international coalition to fight the jihadists who rampaged across northern Iraq from Syria this year. They are known as ISIS, ISIL and Islamic State.

Israel Rejects Kerry's Cease Fire Plan

FAA Bans US Flights To & From Tel Aviv

Via the Washington Post:

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday afternoon ordered U.S. carriers to stop flying to or from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, prohibiting them from traveling through Israel’s largest airport after a rocket landed nearby. Airlines were banned from flying to Tel Aviv for a 24-hour period beginning on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. The FAA said it will issue additional guidance by the end of that period.  This prohibition came after a rocket landed about a mile away from the airport, the FAA said. “The FAA immediately notified U.S. carriers when the agency learned of the rocket strike and informed them that the agency was finalizing [the notice],” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.” Even before the FAA’s notice was sent out, several U.S. airlines began canceling flights on Tuesday morning and afternoon.

United has suspended all service to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

Israel Expands Gaza Offensive

Saudi Police Arrest 35 Men At "Gay Party"

Gay Star News reports:

Saudi Arabia police have arrested 35 people and accused them of being gay. The men, allegedly dressed in women’s clothes, were arrested at a beach resort in the western city of Jeddah. According to local reports, neighbors contacted the religious police complaining of the loud music being played at the party. The police took the arrested men to the station and kept the dresses and music equipment until an investigation is complete. LGBTI rights in Saudi Arabia are non-existent. Homosexuality is taboo and punished with jail, flogging, chemical castration or even death.

Saudi Arabia is one of ten nations where homosexuals acts are punishable by the death penalty.

EGYPT: Four Men Sentenced To Prison For Committing Homosexual Acts

The Associated Press reports:

A judicial official says an Egyptian court has convicted four men of committing homosexual acts and sentenced them to up to eight years in prison. The Nasr City misdemeanor court issued its ruling on Monday. Police arrested the men for holding parties they say involved homosexual acts and where they found women's clothes and makeup. Three of the four received eight years while one received three years with hard labor.

Three years ago Egypt similarly sentenced 23 allegedly gay men to up to five years in prison.

LEBANON: Activists Hail "Landmark Ruling" On Criminalization Of Gay Sex

Via the Lebanon Daily Star:

A judge presiding over a case prosecuting homosexuality has ruled that a notorious piece of legislation criminalizing gay sex is not valid, a decision that has been hailed as a major achievement by activists in Lebanon. The latest edition of The Legal Agenda, a quarterly magazine published by the non-governmental organization of the same name, reported Tuesday that, in January, Judge Naji al-Dahdah cleared a transsexual woman of having a same-sex relationship with a man, an act criminalized under Article 534 of Lebanon’s penal code. “It’s a big step; it shows we’re moving in the right direction,” said Georges Azzi, a prominent activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights who is also the co-founder of Helem, a Lebanese group that has long been campaigning to change the law.

The judge declared that the ban on "unnatural sexual intercourse" is unclear as the meaning of "unnatural." It's not yet clear if the above-cited ruling is the final word on the issue.

Ariel Sharon Dies At 85

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died today at the age of 85.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the nation bowed its head to a man he described as “first and foremost a brave soldier and an outstanding military commander” who “had a central role in the battle for Israel’s security from the very beginning.” In many ways, Mr. Sharon’s story was that of his country. A champion of an iron-fisted, territory-expanding Zionism for most of his life, he stunned Israel and the world in 2005 with a Nixon-to-China reversal and withdrew all Israeli settlers and troops from Gaza. He then abandoned his Likud Party and formed a centrist movement called Kadima focused on further territorial withdrawal and a Palestinian state next door. Mr. Sharon was incapacitated eight years ago, in January 2006, and in elections that followed, Kadima still won the most votes. His former deputy, Ehud Olmert, became prime minister. But the impact of Mr. Sharon’s political shift went beyond Kadima. The hawkish Likud Party, led by his rival, Mr. Netanyahu, was returned to power in 2009, and Mr. Netanyahu, too, said then that he favored a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

BBC: Gay Rights Threatened In Lebanon

Kuwaiti MP Slams Amnesty International

"The decision to bar homosexuals from entering Kuwait is a sovereign decision. Amnesty International should take care of lofty and noble goals for which it was established, leave aside homosexuality and deviations and stop defending delinquents. The organisation should heed the annual rates of births outside the institution of marriage in Europe and abortions as well as the high rates of underage mothers and other moral crimes forbidden by all divine religions." - Kuwaiti MP Abdul Rahman Al Jiran, returning fire at Amnesty International, who last week strongly condemned Kuwait's plan.