Because you missed those colorful sweaters .
Sondra entered the show halfway through the first season.
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Warning: You might die seven days after watching this video.
Twenty years ago, Fox Mulder stepped onto our TV screens and into our hearts with the premiere of The X-Files . The truth is out there: Mulder is presh.
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President Obama spoke Tuesday night from the East Room of the White House on the crisis in Syria.
My fellow Americans, tonight I want to talk to you about Syria, why it matters and where we go from here. Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil war.
Over 100,000 people have been killed. Millions have fled the country. In that time, America's worked with allies to provide humanitarian support, to help the moderate opposition, and to shape a political settlement, but I have resisted calls for military action because we cannot resolve someone else's civil war through force, particularly after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The situation profoundly changed, though, on August 21st, when Assad's government gassed to death over 1,000 people, including hundreds of children. The images from this massacre are sickening: men, women, children lying in rows, killed by poison gas, others foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath, a father clutching his dead children, imploring them to get up and walk.
On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detail the terrible nature of chemical weapons and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off-limits, a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws of war.
This was not always the case. In World War I, American G.I.s were among the many thousands killed by deadly gas in the trenches of Europe. In World War II, the Nazis used gas to inflict the horror of the Holocaust. Because these weapons can kill on a mass scale, with no distinction between soldier and infant, the civilized world has spent a century working to ban them. And in 1997, the United States Senate overwhelmingly approved an international agreement prohibiting the use of chemical weapons, now joined by 189 governments that represent 98 percent of humanity.
On August 21st, these basic rules were violated, along with our sense of common humanity. No one disputes that chemical weapons were used in Syria. The world saw thousands of videos, cell phone pictures, and social media accounts from the attack, and humanitarian organizations told stories of hospitals packed with people who had symptoms of poison gas.
Moreover, we know the Assad regime was responsible. In the days leading up to August 21st, we know that Assad's chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix sarin
gas. They distributed gas masks to their troops. Then they fired rockets from a regime-controlled area into 11 neighborhoods that the regime has been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces. Shortly after those rockets landed, the gas spread, and hospitals filled with the dying and the wounded.
We know senior figures in Assad's military machine reviewed the results of the attack and the regime increased their shelling of the same neighborhoods in the days that followed. We've also studied samples of blood and hair from people at the site that tested positive for sarin.
When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory, but these things happened. The facts cannot be denied.
The question now is what the United States of America and the international community is prepared to do about it, because what happened to those people - to those children - is not only a violation of international law, it's also a danger to our security. Let me explain why.
If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. As the ban against these weapons erodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them. Over time, our troops would again face the prospect of chemical warfare on the battlefield, and it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons and to use them to attack civilians.
If fighting spills beyond Syria's borders, these weapons could threaten allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel. And a failure to stand against the use of chemical weapons would weaken prohibitions against other weapons of mass destruction and embolden Assad's ally, Iran, which must decide whether to ignore international law by building a nuclear weapon or to take a more peaceful path.
This is not a world we should accept. This is what's at stake. And that is why, after careful deliberation, I determined that it is in the national security interests of the United States to respond to the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime's ability to use them, and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use.
That's my judgment as commander-in-chief, but I'm also the president of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. So even though I possess the authority to order military strikes, I believed it was right in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security to take this debate to Congress. I believe our democracy is stronger when the president acts with the support of Congress, and I believe that America acts more effectively abroad when we stand together. This is especially true after a decade that put more and more war-making power in the hands of the president and more and more burdens on the shoulders of our troops, while sidelining the people's representatives from the critical decisions about when we use force.
Now, I know that after the terrible toll of Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of any military action - no matter how limited - is not going to be popular. After all, I've spent four-and-a-half years working to end wars, not to start them.
Our troops are out of Iraq. Our troops are coming home from Afghanistan. And I know Americans want all of us in Washington –especially me - to concentrate on the task of building our nation here at home, putting people back to work, educating our kids, growing our middle class. It's no wonder then that you're asking hard questions.
So let me answer some of the most important questions that I've heard from members of Congress and that I've read in letters that you've sent to me. First, many of you have asked, won't this put us on a slippery slope to another war? One man wrote to me that we are still recovering from our involvement in Iraq. A veteran put it more bluntly: This nation is sick and tired of war.
My answer is simple. I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria. I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan. I will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo. This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective, deterring the use of chemical weapons and degrading Assad's capabilities.
Others have asked whether it's worth acting if we don't take out Assad. Now, some members of Congress have said there's no point in simply doing a pinprick strike in Syria.
Let me make something clear: The United States military doesn't do pinpricks. Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver.
I don't think we should remove another dictator with force. We learned from Iraq that doing so makes us responsible for all that comes next. But a targeted strike can makes Assad - or any other dictator - think twice before using chemical weapons.
Other questions involve the dangers of retaliation. We don't dismiss any threats, but the Assad regime does not have the ability to seriously threaten our military. Any other - any other retaliation they might seek is in line with threats that we face every day. Neither Assad nor his allies have any interest in escalation that would lead to his demise, and our ally, Israel, can defend itself with overwhelming force, as well as the unshakable support of the United States of America.
Many of you have asked a broader question: Why should we get involved at all in a place that's so complicated and where, as one person wrote to me, those who come after Assad may be enemies of human rights?
It's true that some of Assad's opponents are extremists. But al Qaida will only draw strength in a more chaotic Syria if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death.
The majority of the Syrian people, and the Syrian opposition we work with, just want to live in peace, with dignity and freedom. And the day after any military action, we would redouble our efforts to achieve a political solution that strengthens those who reject the forces of tyranny and extremism.
Finally, many of you have asked, why not leave this to other countries or seek solutions short of force? As several people wrote to me, we should not be the world's policemen.
I agree. And I have a deeply held preference for peaceful solutions. Over the last two years, my administration has tried diplomacy and sanctions, warnings and negotiations, but chemical weapons were still used by the Assad regime.
However, over the last few days, we've seen some encouraging signs, in part because of the credible threat of U.S. military action, as well as constructive talks that I had with President Putin. The Russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the international community in pushing Assad to give up his chemical weapons. The Assad regime has now admitting that it has these weapons and even said they'd join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits their use.
It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments, but this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad's strongest allies.
I have therefore asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. I'm sending Secretary of State John Kerry to meet his Russian counterpart on Thursday, and I will continue my own discussions with President Putin.
I've spoken to the leaders of two of our closest allies – France and the United Kingdom - and we will work together in consultation with Russia and China to put forward a resolution at the U.N. Security Council requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control.
We'll also give U.N. inspectors the opportunity to report their findings about what happened on August 21st, and we will continue to rally support from allies from Europe to the Americas, from Asia to the Middle East, who agree on the need for action.
Meanwhile, I've ordered our military to maintain their current posture to keep the pressure on Assad and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails. And tonight I give thanks, again, to our military and their families for their incredible strength and sacrifices.
My fellow Americans, for nearly seven decades, the United States has been the anchor of global security. This has meant doing more than forging international agreements; it has meant enforcing them. The burdens of leadership are often heavy, but the world's a better place because we have borne them.
And so to my friends on the right, I ask you to reconcile your commitment to America's military might with the failure to act when a cause is so plainly just.
To my friends on the left, I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain and going still on a cold hospital floor, for sometimes resolutions and statements of condemnation are simply not enough.
Indeed, I'd ask every member of Congress and those of you watching at home tonight to view those videos of the attack, and then ask, what kind of world will we live in if the United States of
America sees a dictator brazenly violate international law with poison gas and we choose to look the other way?
Franklin Roosevelt once said, "Our national determination to keep free of foreign wars and foreign entanglements cannot prevent us from feeling deep concern when ideas and principles that we have cherished are challenged."
Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used.
America is not the world's policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong, but when with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act.
That's what makes America different. That's what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Plus the marketing genius of Miley Cyrus, the 14 best-dressed couples of all time, and 20 X-Files fan-fiction crossovers for the ages.
"Put on your Versace apron": And 15 other utterly fantastic cooking instructions from 2 Chainz. - [Grub Street]
Andrew Kelly / Reuters
Miley Cyrus, marketing genius? Her new video, "Wrecking Ball," has received over 15 million views in 24 hours. - [Salon]
Evan Agostini / Invision / AP / Via salon.com
We're getting closer and closer to a female superhero blockbuster. And you know what? It's about time. - [The Atlantic Wire]
Marvel / Via theatlanticwire.com
Because the truly great couples also look great side-by-side: The 14 best-dressed couples of all time. - [Refinery29]
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images / Via nymag.com
The New York mayoral candidate’s former sexting partner showed up at his “victory party,” hosted at Connelly’s Pub & Restaurant in midtown Manhattan, on the night of the primary. Huma Abedin, Weiner’s wife, is expected at the campaign party with their one-year-old son.
Because some people need to be reminded.
Tokyo just won the bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Let’s travel back almost half-a-century ago to the last time the city hosted the games.
People were excited.
AP
Really excited.
JUAN MABROMATA / AFP / Getty Images
Cat ears and glow sticks in the air excited.
Adam Pretty / Getty Images
Tokyo last hosted the Summer Olympics back in 1964 and there are a few things you may not know about those games.
You had ONE job, guys.
Do it right and your kitchen will smell like delicious, toasty hazelnuts. Do it wrong and your kitchen will smell like burnt coal and defeat.
Image credits below
Aymann Ismail of ANIMALNewYork teamed up with BMX master Tyrone Williams for a video that shows all the fun you can have on one of New York City’s most divisive icons.
According to the Crimson White , Alpha Gamma Delta, Tri Delta, Chi Omega, and Pi Beta Phi all blocked two black students from pledging this year.
According to an article, alumnae from four sororities at the University of Alabama blocked two black students with high scores that were being sought after as pledges for the school's sororities.
"People are too scared of what the repercussions are of maybe taking a black girl," Gotz said. "That's stupid, but who's going to be the one to make that jump? How much longer is it going to take till we have a black girl in a sorority? It's been years, and it hasn't happened."
All you want is to love the Bears. Why must they make it so hard sometimes?
It's his contract year, and everyone knows you get magical powers in your contract year!
Via brodin-the-allfather.tumblr.com
"But his teammates really respect him!"
Via juanelway.com
Everyone knows it's a fact, OK?
This was just something you invented to distract us from how freezing Soldier Field is, isn't it?
“You couldn’t find a Yankee on the streets of New York City. You couldn’t find a Yankee down at Ground Zero, talking to the guys who were working 24/7.” Unsurprisingly, Valentine is wrong.
Adam Hunger / Reuters
"Let it be said that during the time from 9/11 to 9/21, the Yankees were (not around). You couldn't find a Yankee on the streets of New York City. You couldn't find a Yankee down at Ground Zero, talking to the guys who were working 24/7. Many of them didn't live here, and so it wasn't their fault. And many of them did not partake in all that, so there was some of that jealousy going around. Like, 'Why are we so tired? Why are we wasted? Why have we been to the funerals and the firehouses, and the Yankees are getting all the credit for bringing baseball back?' And I said 'This isn't about credit, guys. This is about doing the right thing.'"
Via deadspin.com
Koji Sasahara, File / AP
"There was this lady, I never even got her name, but she was introduced to me by a paramedic," Bernie Williams said. "She had a look on her face of total devastation, and what can you say to a person like that? The only thing I could come up with was 'I think you need a hug.' I hugged her and she started crying. It was very emotional, and something I'll never forget." Williams was one of a dozen or so Yankees players and coaches to caravan around the city, stopping at the rescue staging area at the Javits Center, the Armory and St. Vincent's Hospital. "I hope it made a difference," said Scott Brosius. "You could say hello, shake someone's hand, take a picture with them, and just for a moment, get a smile from them. I know it was good for us to go down there, I hope it was good for them also. I hope we were able to lift their spirits for a few moments."
Via mlb.mlb.com
“Wait, you’re gay?”
Kris Connor / Getty Images
Fred Prouser / Reuters
D Dipasupil / Getty Images
The road to the open road is often a bumpy road, but a road you will be glad you rode nonetheless.
You studied your ass off. You got this.
Via youtube.com
"How close do my wheels need to be to the curb when parking?" WHAT KIND OF DEVIL QUESTION IS THIS?
Via kill-them-w-kindness.tumblr.com
You can totally fit into that space. There's so much room!
Via forgifs.com
You got it in, now you just have to get it out.
Via stuff.co.nz
Former Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer tweeted his personal tale from September 11th. He was an aide to President Bush at the time.
It was the hair we never wanted but got anyway.
Fameflynet Pictures
Fameflynet Pictures
Fameflynet Pictures
Think about it, people. JUST THINK ABOUT IT.
The science is too complicated to explain right now, but given the number of boxers in the world at any particular moment and the fact that "upside down" is really just a matter of perspective, when you think about it, there is at LEAST a 99% chance that a boxer is smiling upside down at this VERY MOMENT.
