SAR #13021

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Situational Ethics: Everyone is shocked, shocked mind you, to learn that the treasurer of the ruling Spanish political party 'acquired' some €15 million which he kept in a Swiss bank account. (The money is thought to come from bribes, and the scandal may bring down the government.). No one is shocked to learn that US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's banker friends made billions from information he leaked to them. Allegedly.

The Augustinian Solution: Obama is going to issue detailed rules for killing folks via drones. Of course the rules won't apply to the CIA, not yet.

Advise and Dissent: Delegations from some 140 countries have agreed to adopt a ground-breaking treaty limiting the use of health-hazardous mercury, the Swiss foreign ministry said. The world’s first legally binding treaty on mercury, reached after a week of thorny talks, will aim to reduce global emission levels... So, what will the Republicans find wrong with this one?

Too Much, Too Soon, Too Late: Now that the UK is going down for the third time, the Chancellor of the Exchequer suggests the government might think about backing down a bit on the austerity programme.

Been There, Done That: The UN says that 30% of 'detainees' handed over to the Afghans by NATO (for which read US) forces have been taken to secret facilities and tortured. NATO's Sgt Schultz, of course, knows nothing. Nothing.

Heresy: Warren Buffet was read out of the Capitalist Church after proclaiming that “the debt itself is not a problem,” and that he had an enormous head start in life because he was born white and male.

No Longer News: The Royal Bank of Scotland expects “a hefty fine” for its part in rigging Libor rates. Mamas don't let your children grow up to be cowboys bankers. HBSC is doling out $249 million to swindled homeowners, as part of the $5.7 billion a group of banks is paying for their part in wrecking the economy.

One For The Road: The EPA has given one on the largest polluters in the US – the cola-fired Navajo Generating Station in AZ - another five years before it has to stop killing the planet.

Perpetual War For Perpetual War: Intelligence and political leaders say that the West must be prepared to continue to 'respond' to the terrorist threat for decades. You know, like the Crusades, except the goal is not Jerusalem, but the world.

Wrong In So Many Ways:Republican former presidential wannabe Rick Santorum insists that Americans should be allowed to have armor-piercing bullets in case children are wearing body armor because they are “a right in our country.” As are M-60 grenade launchers, machine guns, Claymore mines and the Stoner M63 weapons system.

Loser In Translation: Former Republican this and that Newt Gingrich says that President Obama’s policies are allowing terrorism to “potentially” infect the United States. Nope, I don't know what he's talking about. Most likely he doesn't either.

The Parting Shot: