SAR #16266

You don't need a god to know when you have sinned.

Precision: The mistaken US-led coalition bombing of a Syrian military position Saturday is being excused by US spokesmen, claiming that it “may have happened because the personnel weren't wearing military uniforms.” Nice to know what the targeting criterion is.

Hold The Fries: While at one point during the Recent Unpleasantness about half of recent college grads were underemployed, fewer than 10% of them actually worked as baristas. They were often employed in jobs that did not require a degree, but made more at them than non-degreed stiffs. Liberal arts grads were three times as likely to be underemployed than chemical engineers and biologists.

Fine Point: Paul Krugman is urging us to “vote as if it matters.” As if.

Asked & Answered: “What Have We Learned From The Crisis?” Well, if 'the crisis' is the Recent Economic Disaster and the 'we' are the economists, then the answer is: Not much, mostly what doesn't work to wrest the economy away from Wall Street and get it started again.

Place Your Bets: Obama says that Israel cannot “permanently occupy, settle Palestinian land.” Define 'permanently'.

Ratchet: Russia is sending an aircraft carrier to Syria, to protect Aleppo from UN humanitarian convoys. Actually, the US – which has AWACS and satellites glued to Syrian airspace – says it doesn't know whose aircraft bombed the destroyed convoy, but that's not really believable.

Words for the day: 'Incentivised reviews' As in “I got paid to praise.... on Amazon.”

Partnership: A pair of bipartisan bills are marching through Congress, pretending to block a $1.15 billion sale of US tanks to Saudi Arabia. The sponsors citing concern about the paucity of Saudi contributions to their PACs the number of civilians killed in Yemen by US munitions and equipment.

Edited: Banking Has Become a Criminal Enterprise in the US . And we're not too sure about the tense, either.

Writing Prompt: A single F-35A fighter jet – which cannot do most of the things it was supposed to do and all of which are now grounded because of more design flaws – costs more than it would to send 3,300 kids to college this year. What does this say about values?

Enigma: Scientists have announced they have, at long last, figured out why Tardigrades are so infernally indestructible. Have you figured out what a Tardigrade is? Hey, it might be important!

Excuses: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that black men may have a legitimate reason to flee the police. Fear of killed, for example.

Noted: Even with the new and improved and much higher premiums for Obamacare, they are, on average, still lower than employer-sponsored health insurance plans.

Spontaneous Combustion: The top tier of executives at Wells Fargo, all of whom are 'deeply sorry' for all the theft and fraud, are being urged to resign before they have to give back their bonuses and give up their golden parachutes.

A Parting Shot: