SAR #13116

The future's not what it used to be; it never was.

Personal Use Only: The White House has confirmed “with various degrees of confidence” that chemical weapons have been used “on a small scale” in Syria. But they didn't inhale.

Yawn: Unemployment in Spain continues to climb, reaching 27.2% of the workforce. In the under 25 sector, unemployment is well over 50%. Next door in 'healthy' France there are more than 4.7 million unemployed – higher than the previous record set in 1997. But help is on the way: The IMF has (now, finally after a couple of decades) seen the light and now believes that austerity is bad and should be discarded before “public acquiescence” evaporates.

Testing, Testing: Ha, turns out that 'the suspect' stopped talking once he was read the Miranda warning. Also turns out that he was unarmed when he hid in the boat and all the cops in New England took a few shots at him.

The Price Of Progress: In the last 7 years, as many as 2,600 "human guinea pigs" Indian volunteers have died during drug trials run by Bayer, Novartis and the rest. Another 12,000 suffered “serious adverse events”. They have to get the data for those fine print warnings somewhere. Only 17 of 475 drugs tested ended up being approved for marketing.

Half Right: Barbara Bush said there have been enough Bushes in the White House. Actually, Barbara, there's been at least one too many.

One For The Good Guys: The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency actually has the authority to protect the environment. At least sometimes. The industry lost no time in descending on Congress demanding they take this “overreach” away from executive agencies before another profit margin is hurt.

Mission Accomplices: Across Iraq, armed clashes between Sunni partisans and the Shiite-dominated government are increasing and it seems likely the country will spiral into anther civil war.

Trendsetting: Since 2000, more than 11.5 million Americans have lost their employer-provided health insurance.

Re-Runs: Almost all the Clinton-era officials who lay the groundwork that led to the reckless lending of the mortgage boom that became the financial disaster have been hired back by the Obama administration. To do what? Why, to find ways of spurring the "democratization of credit" to "under-served groups," as a way of extending "affordable housing" to those who cannot afford housing.

The Tax-Man Skippeth: The tax loophole for executive stock options allowed the seniors at Fortune 500 companies to avoid paying $11.2 billion in income taxes in 2012. They're worth it, right?

On The Trail: Marco Rubio (Presidential Wannabe-FL) says he is “open” to halting all student visas for students from Muslim countries as a reaction to this month’s bombings in Boston by two Americans. Actually, Rubio is open to anything that will get him air time.

The Parting Shot:

On the straight and narrow.