The war machine is in overdrive as the push into Iraq and Syria reaches a fever pitch. With a designed to fail coalition in place we’ll examine the state of the US’ fight against ISIS.

Plus we look at the military response to the Ebola outbreak, the situation in Scotland, and everyones favorite celebrity who announced he is a cannabis user.

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— Show Notes —

NSA Update

Israel’s N.S.A. Scandal – NYTimes.com

IN Moscow this summer, while reporting a story for Wired magazine, I had the rare opportunity to hang out for three days with Edward J. Snowden. It gave me a chance to get a deeper understanding of who he is and why, as a National Security Agency contractor, he took the momentous step of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

Among his most shocking discoveries, he told me, was the fact that the N.S.A. was routinely passing along the private communications of Americans to a large and very secretive Israeli military organization known as Unit 8200. This transfer of intercepts, he said, included the contents of the communications as well as metadata such as who was calling whom.

Mr. Snowden stressed that the transfer of intercepts to Israel contained the communications — email as well as phone calls — of countless Arab- and Palestinian-Americans whose relatives in Israel and the Palestinian territories could become targets based on the communications. “I think that’s amazing,” he told me. “It’s one of the biggest abuses we’ve seen.”

Snowden Leaks Didn’t Make Al Qaeda Change Tactics, Says Report – NBC News.com

There is no evidence that Edward Snowden‘s revelations about NSA spying inspired Islamic terror groups to hide their electronic communications behind more sophisticated encryption software, according to a new analysis that challenges other recent research and assertions by U.S. officials about the impact of the leaks.

WWIII

U.S. House votes to arm Syrian rebels, but questions remain

The House voted 273-to-156 to authorize the plan, a test of support for Obama’s stepped-up campaign to “degrade and destroy” Islamic State fighters who have seized a third of both Iraq and Syria, declared war on the West and seek to establish a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.

Written as an amendment to a stopgap spending bill, the measure does not include any money to pay for the arms and training.

House, in Unusual Alignments, Moves Toward Vote on ISIS Fight – NYTimes.com

A House divided along unusual and unpredictable lines moved toward a vote Wednesday to authorize the training and arming of Syrian rebels to confront the militant group Islamic State, with President Obama leading efforts to secure a solid majority.

Russia: ‘Free Syrian Army No Longer Exists’; Rebels Are Coordinating With Terrorists

— Russia on Tuesday accused the West of ignoring its warnings about the growing terrorist threat in Syria, and claimed that the moderate rebel front — the one the Obama administration wants to arm as part of its anti-ISIS strategy — “no longer exists.”

Who Pays the Pro-War Pundits? Conflicts of Interest Exposed for TV Guests Backing Military Action | Democracy Now!

A new report finds many talking heads who have been fanning the flames of war in the news media have ties to Pentagon contractors.

Russians urged ‘don’t panic’ as rouble hits new low

The rouble fell about 1% to 38.71 per dollar, the weakest it has been since the currency was restructured in 1998.

Last week, the US and Europe introduced further sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

“Don’t panic,” said deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseyev.

Meet The Millionaires And Billionaires Suddenly Buying Tons Of Land In Africa – Business Insider

Oakland Institute just completed the most thorough investigative report on who’s buying land in Africa we’ve seen yet: “Hedge Funds Grabbing Land in Africa,” as BBC called it.

As commodities prices rise and inflation picks up, the OI made the report public, they say, because the number of investors buying up land in Africa concerns them.

Scotland

• The REAL Reason Britain is Freaking Out About Scottish Independence

Specifically, if Scotland becomes independent, it gets to keep 90% of the revenues from its huge oil reserves.

The New York Times reports:

Scottish nationalists have long argued that being governed from London has deprived their country of its fair share of the wealth from Britain’s oil and natural gas fields, which mostly lie in North Sea waters off their shores.

“It’s Scotland’s oil” was the rallying cry in the 1970s that helped raise the profile of the Scottish Nationalist Party, which now leads the country and is pushing for a vote to secede in the referendum on Thursday. Alex Salmond, the politician leading the separatist movement, has pointed to North Sea energy as the treasure that would help finance an independent Scotland — ensuring that the country could continue the generous public spending, including free university tuition, that he is promising voters.

High Note

50 Companies Look To Fill 500 Openings At Cannabis Job Fair In Denver « CBS Denver

There were about 50 companies looking for workers to fill about 500 jobs. The positions ranged from bud-tenders in the stores to upper level management. The type of companies was also quite varied.