Iraq: The US is considering military action inside Syria to stop the fanatical ISIS militants occupying part of Syria and Iraq. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said, “we’re actively considering what’s going to be necessary to deal with that threat, and we’re not going to be restricted by borders.”

ISIS may have some initial difficulty fighting back in the press. Syrian forces have killed chief press officer Abu Mosa. In a recent interview with Vice News, Mosa promised to “raise the flag of Allah in the White House.”

   Twitter postings have also caused concern. One pictures a note in front of Chicago’s Old Republic building saying:

#AmessagefromISIStoUS


We are in your state


We are in your cities


We are in your streets

You are our goals anywhere.

And as if ISIS isn’t bad enough, Iraq has intramural warfare as well. An attack by Shia militiamen on a Sunni mosque in Diyala province has killed 64 people.

Gaza: A four-year old Israeli boy died in a Hamas mortar attack yesterday and as a result Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will “intensify” military operations against Hamas in Gaza. “Hamas will pay a heavy price,” Netanyahu said. Israel exacts revenge for every casualty, but the balance of death is heavily in Israel’s favor. At least 2,070 Palestinians, most of them civilians and about 400 of them children, have been killed in fighting this summer.

Ukraine: Russian forces have been inside the Ukraine border firing artillery in support of pro-Russian separatists, NATO says. Russia has long been supporting the separatists, but this appears to be the most direct involvement in combat against the Ukraine army. This comes just as a Russian aid convoy skipped through customs and entered Ukraine without clearance. It’s been feared that the aid convoy held up at the border is really a Trojan Horse to get in and help the rebels.

A NATO statement says there’s an “alarming” buildup of Russian troops on the border and, “We have also seen transfers of large quantities of advanced weapons, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery to separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine.”

Far East: A Chinese fighter jet confronted a US surveillance plane in international airspace this week, coming within 30 feet, the Pentagon said. The fighter at first flew under the P-8 Poseidon, then parallel, and finally did a barrel roll, which is considered an aggressive move. The Pentagon described the intercept as “very dangerous” and the US has filed a protest.

Gun Check: Following the UC Santa Barbara shooting rampage, the California legislature passed a law requiring police officers who check on troubled people to find out whether they own guns. Police had checked on 22-year-old Elliot Rodger at the request of his mother, but didn’t check whether he owned guns. A month later Rodger killed seven people and wounded 13.

High Finance: Bank of America settled on a $16.5 billion fine with the federal government for selling junk mortgages and the company stock jumped 4 percent, which means the fine is not enough to really punish the bank. With financial gerrymandering and tax write-offs, BOA can weather it just fine. Some economists and critics are asking why bank executives are not being sent to jail, instead of levying a fine on the company that’s passed along to customers and shareholders as part of the cost of business.

What’s In a Name: The Washington Post editorial board said Friday that it will no longer use the name “Washington Redskins” in its editorials. The board wrote that the name “unquestionably offends not only many Native Americans but many other Americans, too.” Several other major newspapers and some sportswriters also have begun to refer to the football team merely as “Washington.”

It’s an unusual journalistic decision. Journalists call things by their real names. If a politician’s name is Adolph Hitler, that’s the name you print. Apparently the Washington Post will abstain whenever possible from using the name “Redskins,” even while objecting to the name “Redskins.” The editorial board said that “while we wait for the National Football League to catch up with thoughtful opinion and common decency, we have decided that, except when it is essential for clarity or effect, we will no longer use the slur ourselves.”

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