It's 4 a.m. and I can’t sleep, just like 10 years ago when President Bush was telling the world that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the United States must invade and occupy Iraq to rid humanity of these weapons. I didn’t believe President Bush ten years ago and I resigned as a U.S. diplomat.

Now a decade later, President Obama is telling the world that the use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad government must be answered by other weapons, even though the results of the UN inspection team have not been compiled—just as the Bush administration refused to wait for the UN report by the inspectors who had been looking for WMD in Iraq.

Secretary of State John Kerry pronounced that the UN inspectors “can’t tell us anything that we don’t already know.” President Obama says that any U.S. attack on the Assad government will be as punishment, not regime change. The strike will be “limited”—but tell that to the civilians who inevitably die when military attacks take place.

President Bush and his advisors either didn’t know or didn’t care about the probable consequences of their decision to invade and occupy Iraq:

Amid the increased likelihood that President Barack Obama will cave in to pressure from foreign policy hawks to “Libya-ize” Syria and to accord Syrian President Bashar al-Assad the same treatment meted out to Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the main question is WHY? Obviously, there is concern about the human rights catastrophe in Syria, but is the main target Syria’s main ally, Iran, as many suspect?

Surely, the objective has got to be more than simply giving Secretary of State John Kerry a chance to brag, in the manner of his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, regarding Gaddafi, “We came, we saw, he died.” And, there is little expectation – however many Cruise missiles the United States fires at Syrian targets in a fury over disputed claims about chemical weapons – that lives are likely to be saved.

So, what are Iran’s new leaders likely to see as the real driving force behind Obama’s felt need to acquiesce, again, in a march of folly? And why does it matter?

What do you call a proposal that breaks promises to city workers, destroys their family’s hard earned retirement security, lowers the city’s tax base, harms our fragile economy and actually requires the city of Cincinnati to pay out more in retiree funds?

In this case, the tiny group of wealthy financiers, tea party supporters and out of town petitioners sponsoring this ridiculous proposal are calling it by the misleading name of “Cincinnatians for Pension Reform” (CPR). However, unlike the medical procedure by the same name, this one would kill its patient!

WHO IS BEHIND CPR?

If you said; “It can’t be Cincinnatians, our own home town folks would never push something this bad, then you are actually right on the money!

What about the 7,000 signatures filed by the so-called “Cincinnatians for Pension Reform?” Actually, that phony group paid nearly $70,000 to the California Company Arno Petition Consultants to bring in and put up out of town petitioners in order for them to collect the signatures needed to qualify for ballot status.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- A TV station in Buddhist-majority Thailand has agreed to allow government-approved "Islamic experts" to revise a soap opera script after a small but vocal Muslim group complained that the show misrepresents their religion.

The soap opera "Fah Jarod Sai" or "Where the Sky Meets the Sand" stars Thai actors in a superficial melodrama portraying an imaginary Arab-style royal officer who falls in love with a girl who is half-Thai, half-French, in a fantasy kingdom named Hinfara.

On August 22, a small, outspoken Bangkok-based group, Muslims for Peace, demanded Channel 7 cancel the series.

On August 24, in response, Channel 7's executives met Thailand's moderate Muslim spiritual leader Aziz Phitakkumpon, who is the "Chularatchamontri" or State Counselor for Islamic Affairs, which is an advisory position approved by the prime minister and appointed by the king.

It was not announced whether or not the Chularatchamontri and his office's Muslim colleagues also objected to the soap opera.

The Muslims for Peace presented their complaint to Bangkok

BANGKOK, Thailand -- If you have an itchy trigger finger in Thailand, you need to be relatively wealthy to buy some of the best quality guns which are made in America and avidly collected.

Tourists meanwhile can buy custom-made leather holsters and other accessories at the estimated 80 weapons stores along Burapha Road, just east of the Sala Chalerm Krung Royal Theatre, where 90 percent of Bangkok's gun shops are located.

Most of the shops have been in business for more than 40 years, and welcome walk-in customers, but may discourage photographs of their deadly arsenals.

"Not many foreigners buy guns in Thailand because the price is really expensive, compared to the U.S. and other countries, because of our importing quota and taxes," says the Firearms Association of Thailand's Director of International Relations, Polpatr Tanomsup.

"Guns are really expensive, so it is considered a sport for the rich. Like cars, and stuff like that. It is like a Louis Vuitton for guys, or a Hermes bag for guys," Polpatr says.

Expats and other foreigners working in Thailand can buy guns, but