Syria to sign Paris Climate agreement leaving only the United States out in the cold.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

Syria announced during United Nations climate talks on Tuesday that it would sign the Paris agreement on climate change. The move, which comes on the heels of Nicaragua signing the accord last month, will leave the United States as the only country that has rejected the global pact. 

According to several people who were in a plenary session at the climate talks in Bonn, Germany, a Syrian delegate announced that the country was poised to send its ratification of the Paris agreement to the United Nations. 

“This is the very last country that actually announced, so everyone has joined and the U.S. is now so isolated,” said Safa Al Jayoussi, executive director of IndyAct, an environmental organization based in Lebanon that works with Arab countries on climate change. 

A White House spokeswoman, Kelly Love, pointed reporters to a statement the administration made when Nicaragua joined the pact, noting there had been no change in the United States’ position.

“As the president previously stated, the United States is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms the are more favorable for our country,” the statement said.

And then there was one.

One arrogant despot, too ignorant and self absorbed to make an obvious choice that is good for his country as well as his planet. 

I am almost too ashamed for words.

It looks like Edward Snowden may have finally found a place to hide.

Courtesy of Fox News:  

NSA leaker Edward Snowden's effort to evade prosecution in the U.S. took a turn toward Latin America Friday after the Presidents of Venezuela and Nicaragua announced they were prepared to grant NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden asylum. 

Although there were no concrete details from Presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua or Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, it is believed that they are the first offers of asylum that Snowden has received since he requested asylum in several countries, including Nicaragua and Venezuela. 

"As head of state, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young American Edward Snowden so that he can live (without) ... persecution from the empire," President Maduro said, referring to the United States. He made the offer during a speech marking the anniversary of Venezuela's independence. It was not immediately clear if there were any conditions to Venezuela's offer. 

In Nicaragua, Ortega said he was willing to make the same offer "if circumstances allow it." Ortega didn't say what the right circumstances would be when he spoke during a speech in Managua. 

It does not seem to be a certainty that Snowden will end up in either of these countries but they are the first ones that seem ready to put out the welcome mat for him.

Of course this comes on the heels of new questions about his motives and his past statements, such as this gem:

User: the restrictions were made to appease the conservatives to get another bill passed. fucking cons. 

SNOWDEN: See, that’s why I’m goddamned glad for the second amendment. Me and all my lunatic, gun-toting NRA compatriots would be on the steps of Congress before the C-Span feed finished. 

Oh yeah, THAT is the kind of mentality we want looking through our emails!

There are also questions about how somebody with such a questionable past made it through the federal government's background check system.

If that were not troubling enough it appears that perhaps everybody's favorite Russian spy might not be entirely serious about wanting to bed and wed him.

This from Business Insider: 

Was Chapman serious? It does seem possible that a marriage to a Russian citizen could help Snowden, who recently lost his U.S. citizenship and is stuck in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, gain access to Russia or a third-party country. 

According to RFE/RL, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was forced to admit to reporters that he had no idea if the offer was serious or not. When asked via email if she was serious in her proposal by the Wall Street Journal, Chapman replied simply “you are welcome to use your imagination.”

Somehow this seems less like "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and more like "The Geek Who Got Caught Between a Rock and a Harder Rock."

Well one thing we know for certain is that this foreign intrigue style soap opera is far from over.