The Assad regime in Syria is gone.  A tectonic shift in the Middle East just happened over the weekend. On Sunday morning, Syrian rebels finally took Damascus. They took Bashar al-Assad’s palace. The Assad regime is no more. Assad has fled to Moscow where he is being granted some sort of asylum because the Russians backed the Assad regime. It’s important to remember that Syria is an artificial creation, post-World War I by the West, French, and British. Because of that, like many other states in the Middle East, it is unworkable and has been unworkable for a very long time. There are a large number of groups of various religious belief systems — many of them unbelievably radical, many of them terrorists — all fighting one another. The Syrian civil war is likely to continue for a long time to come because this is an unworkable patchwork of various groups in various areas of the country. There are numerous interests involved. The Russians are exceptionally interested in Syria because they wanted to secure ports on the Mediterranean Sea in Syria, which they actually did with the acquiescence of the Assad regime. Iran used Syria as a thoroughfare and helped prop up the Assad regime. Turkey, on the other hand, did not like the Assad regime and was also attempting to make its own incursions into Syria. That is because many people in Syria are Kurds and the Turks don’t like the Kurds in the same way they don’t like the Armenians. Israel wants to defend itself and make sure that it is not the victim of yet another land incursion from Syria. So Syria, as is geopolitically evident, is just a mess. That’s without even getting into the internal politics. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show Syria is split into many different territories. Certain opposition groups in the south of Syria border the Golan Heights and Jordan. Some of those are radical Sunni Islamists. Some of those are Druze. Druze are a different group who are Sunni Muslims, but they tend to be significantly less radical than many of the other Sunni Muslims in the area. The main terrorist-rebel coalition is located in the northwest of Syria. That coalition is run by a person named Abu Mohammed al-Golani, an Al-Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated terrorist. He’s in the north and backed by the Turks. The Kurds are in control of a large swath of the northeast area that was, at one time, not under the control of the Kurds but under the control of ISIS, where ISIS still has a presence. ISIS prisons held tens of thousands of prisoners in those Kurdish areas. After the Assad regime fell, the United States started launching airstrikes in these ISIS-type hotbeds in the Kurdish area of Syria in order to prevent ISIS from reconstituting. Turkey also has taken over huge swaths of the north of Syria. All the pretense from the media asserting that the people who just took over Syria might be moderate is flat wrong. By 2024, the Assad regime basically had no money. Their currency was effectively worthless; there were massive inflation rates. The Assad regime had to be propped up by outside forces, Iran and Russia. Russia gave them weaponry and other resources; in return, they got access to some coastal bases in Syria. Then, October 7 happened. Iran activated Hamas. Hamas murdered 1,200 Jews and pulled 250 more into Gaza, many of whom are still being held in the terror tunnels. Hezbollah started firing thousands of missiles over the course of a year into northern Israel, clearing out Israel’s north. Over the course of the subsequent year, Israel proceeded to take out Hamas and virtually all of their military resources, then turned to devastating Hezbollah. They also conducted operations in Syria to prevent Syria from being used as a thoroughfare for Hezbollah resources. So Iran’s sphere of influence got absolutely shellacked. Meanwhile, Russia was bogged down in their war with Ukraine. They simply didn’t have the money or the capacity to uphold the Assad regime. As a byproduct of the Ukraine war and Israel’s efforts, Assad had no allies upon whom to call. The legs of the stool on which his regime was standing got kicked out from underneath him and, as a result, the stool fell. What happened in Syria was not that the Sunni Muslim terrorist groups suddenly became good at war again. They were really low ebb at the beginning of 2024. What happened is that Assad was basically an eggshell skull. They tapped him. He fell. There was no one to come to his support. Thus, the terrorist-rebels took advantage and toppled the regime. That’s effectively the story here. Turkey backed many of these Sunni Muslim terrorist groups that hated the Assad regime. Wishing to expand their own sphere of influence into Syria, they took advantage of the chaos caused by Iran and Russia’s withdrawal. The two biggest losers in this situation are Russia, because they had backed the Assad regime, and Iran, which has lost their entire crescent of Islamic Shia terror. Hamas is gone. Hezbollah is gone. Assad is gone. These are all massive blows to the Iranian regime, all caused by what Iran started. It is one of the ultimate “f*** around and find out” moments in human history. The Iranian regime is in serious trouble right now. They have failed on every possible front. And with the Trump administration coming in and presumably increasing sanctions on the Iranian regime, the Iranian regime is going to have one of two choices: Either they’re going to have to cut some sort of deal with the West in which they abandon their nuclear efforts and presumably move toward some form of non-tyranny or they’re going to be forced to collapse. The state of Israel is not going to sit around waiting to see what Iran does next with its nuclear weapons — not after Israel already took out Iran’s air defenses. The big winner in Syria is Turkey. Turkey took an enormous amount of territory. The Kurds had basically cleared an enormous amount of territory. But now they’re going to be at war directly with the Turks, who are going to be pouring forces and resources into that region. As for Israel, they can be happy that the Iranian regime has lost power to use Syria as its tool. But the people replacing that regime are Al-Qaeda and ISIS jihadists. The fate of many people in Syria remains very much in doubt. Welcome to the Middle East, where there are no good solutions. * * * CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

A Southern California school district paid far-left transgender activists $12,000 for a six-hour training on transgender inclusion, a contract obtained by The Daily Wire reveals. The activists administered the training on behalf of an organization called TransFamily Support Services, which was paid the five-figure sum by the San Dieguito Union High School District, located in northern San Diego County. “In just six hours, #TeamTFSS trained 1,100 staff members across the entire San Dieguito Union High School District! Working with school districts is more crucial now than ever, especially as anti-trans rhetoric continues to infiltrate classrooms and campuses,” an Instagram post from the radical organization reads.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by TransFamily Support Services (@transfamilysos) “We need our teachers and staff to be equipped to support and include trans youth, creating the space for them to feel safe and know that they’re valued at school,” it goes on to say. Images in the post indicate that the training was led by two activists with the far-left organization. “There is no justification for a school district engaging with this organization that is steeped in pseudoscience, ideology and deception of parents,” Erika Sanzi, the Director of Outreach at Parents Defending Education told The Daily Wire. TransFamily Support Services encourages children to identify as the opposite sex and provides them with binders and packers through its “Gender Junk” program. “With the help of grants, we assist transgender youth in need to feel more at home in their bodies and alleviate gender dysphoria,” the organization states. The group offers to provide the items to children who don’t have “affirming families” that will purchase them the items. The far-left organization has also endorsed the use of irreversible surgeries and medical interventions for children who identify as transgender. TransFamily Support Services even co-hosted an online training event with the head of the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital’s Center for TransYouth Health and Development. The center’s director, Johanna Olson-Kennedy was caught on camera downplaying the severity of medical sex change attempts on children in 2018. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “If you want breasts at a later point in your life, you can go and get them,” she posited. Olson-Kennedy is now being sued for medical negligence over the removal of a 14-year-old girl’s breasts. She is the co-author of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health on the psychological effects of cross sex hormone therapy on youth. Two participants in the study committed suicide, while another 11 experienced suicidal ideation. Also present at the event co-hosted by TransFamily Support Services was Johanna Olson-Kennedy’s significant other, Aydin Olson-Kennedy. Aydin, who identifies as transgender, doesn’t believe that children should have to get approval letters from therapists before undergoing medical transitions, and even promoted a fundraiser to allow a person with Down syndrome to get a double mastectomy. One potential step to curtail the influence of far-left organizations on public schools could be to federally mandate increased transparency around outside contracting organizations, Sanzi explained. “The federal government could require more transparency around curriculum and contracts with consultants and vendors as a way to disincentivize partnerships with these kinds of organizations—failure to comply with transparency requirements could put funding at risk.” The Daily Wire asked the San Dieguito Union High School District if staff members refer students who identify as transgender to the outside organization but did not receive a response. TransFamily Support Services did not respond to a request for comment. 

Lara Trump announced this week that she is stepping down from her role as co-chair at the Republican National Committee (RNC) because she has completed the mission she set out to achieve. “Serving as the @GOP co-chair throughout the course of the most consequential election in American history has truly been the honor of my life,” she said in a statement. Lara Trump said that the organization’s goals during the 2024 election were to surpass all fundraising records, build the largest army of lawyers and poll watchers to ensure election integrity, and turn out millions of Americans and low propensity voters during early voting. “We accomplished all three,” she said. “The job I came to do is now complete and I intend to formally step down from the RNC at our next meeting.” “Thank you to our incredible team at the RNC, our amazing @ChairmanWhatley , and, of course, thank you to President @realDonaldTrump — we are so proud of you and I’m grateful you trusted me in this position,” she added. Serving as the @GOP co-chair throughout the course of the most consequential election in American history has truly been the honor of my life. At the RNC, we had three distinct goals: 1) surpass all fundraising records 2) build the largest army of lawyers and poll watchers… pic.twitter.com/bcHdDHhwQq — Lara Trump (@LaraLeaTrump) December 9, 2024 Her decision to step down from the role comes as there has been speculation that she may want to be the replacement for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the U.S. Senate if Rubio is confirmed early next year to be the next Secretary of State. In a statement last week, President-elect Donald Trump threw his support behind RNC co-chair Michael Whatley to continue serving as chairman moving forward. “Michael Whatley, from the Great State of North Carolina, has been with me since the beginning, and has done an OUTSTANDING and HISTORIC JOB in running the Republican National Committee with the fantastic Lara Trump!” Trump said. “He is a smart, tough lawyer who put together a completely unprecedented ELECTION INTEGRITY OPERATION that protected the Vote all across America, and a GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN that delivered the Votes we needed in every Battleground State.” “I have asked Michael to return as Chairman of the RNC to continue to build our Party, and be a trusted partner as we Make America Great Again, and ensure Free and Fair Elections,” he continued. “Republicans everywhere should support him as he continues his mission at the RNC. Thank you for your hard work, Michael!”

Authorities are taking sightings of “very sophisticated” unidentified flying objects (UFOs) that have unnerved residents in New Jersey “deadly seriously,” Governor Phil Murphy said on Monday. Nighttime sightings that have reportedly gone on for weeks have prompted investigations, FAA flight restrictions, and 21 mayors demanding further transparency from Murphy on what is happening. “I don’t blame people for being frustrated,” Murphy told reporters, adding that officials from “all levels of government” including the FBI and Homeland Security Department are looking into the matter. NEW: Governor Phil Murphy has spoken with White House officials about the ‘very sophisticated’ drones over New Jersey. “The minute you get eyes on them, they go dark… This is something we’re taking deadly seriously.” pic.twitter.com/aS12aM693P — UAP James (@UAPJames) December 9, 2024 Last week, the FBI released a statement stating that it was seeking any information from the public on “the cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed wing aircraft” along the Raritan River. Murphy, a Democrat, emphasized that officials do not see anything that would warrant public safety concerns. “Having said that, it’s really frustrating that we don’t have more answers as to where they’re coming from and why they’re doing what they’re doing,” he added. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE The governor said there were 49 sightings on Sunday night, but noted he believed the figure to be inflated with a fixed-wing plane mistaken for a drone and multiple people reporting the same object. “So we think these are overstated, but it’s a non-zero number,” Murphy said. Murphy said he was involved in discussions with the White House and Homeland Security leaders “pretty much all day” on Sunday. “I’m hoping that we’ll get answers sooner than later,” he said. “I would just ask folks to continue to let the FBI or their local law enforcement know when they see something.” What people are seeing are “apparently very, as I understand it, very sophisticated. The minute you get eyes on them, they go dark,” Murphy said. “We’re obviously most concerned about sensitive targets, and sensitive critical infrastructure,” he said. “So we’ve got military assets, we’ve got utility assets, we’ve got the president-elect — one of his homes here.” Murphy was alluding to President-elect Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, where “car-sized” drones have reportedly been seen nearby. “This is something we’re taking deadly seriously,” Murphy said. “We’ve gotten good cooperation out of the feds, but we need more, and that was my plea.” Murphy pledged to be transparent once he knows more. “The minute we know something, I’m not going to hide it under a bush,” he said. Murphy said he was not aware of any “nefarious drone” crashing, adding, “If there is one that’s crashed, could someone please call me and let me know where that is?” The governor did acknowledge “rumored downings,” noting that one turned out to be a toy and another was not found. “Having our hands on equipment that’s on the ground would be helpful, no question about it,” Murphy said.

'I'm embarrassed for the judge'

This blows, but it could've been much worse

'Shock to the system'

'Alvin Bragg is an absolute catastrophe'

Below is a complete list of every Beach Boys song released on the band’s studio albums, compilations and greatest hits packages. Songs are not repeated twice. Please check out the links below for more detailed reviews of these songs and albums. Complete List Of Beach Boys Songs From A to Z A-D “409” – Surfin’ Safari (1962) “4th of July” – Good Vibrations (1993) “Add Some Music to Your Day” – Sunflower (1970) “Airplane” – Love You (1977) “All Alone” – Endless Harmony Soundtrack (1998) “All Dressed Up for School” – Little Deuce Coupe/All Summer Long (1990) “All I Wanna The post Complete List Of Beach Boys Songs From A to Z appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

In the dark of winter, in a place where there are no street lights, a Christmas tree has grown so tall that people can see its sparkling lights from miles around. In fact, the entire town of Inkberrow in Worcestershire, England, gathers on Pepper Street every year for the annual “Switching on” ceremony. Avril and […] The post Tiny Christmas Tree Planted by Couple in 1979 is Now 52-ft Tall and Uniting a Town–LOOK appeared first on Good News Network.