SAR #14335

Writing is a form of pattern crime.

Yesterday Seems So Far Away: Ebola has disappeared from the daily news in the US. It has not disappeared from Sierra Leone. Where the hell is Sierra Leone and why should I care?

Transition/Translation: U.S. European Command chief,Gen. Phil Breedlove, on his return from Ukraine said “The US is committed to supporting Ukraine through this difficult challenge." Whether he was talking about Russian incursions or Chuck Hegel's departure was unclear.

Fixer-Upper: For about $250,000, federal marshals will sell you a lovely hilltop mansion on 100 acres atop a hill in New Hampshire. Along with the privacy and great views, the property may come with landmines and other hidden explosives emplaced by the previous owners who were distrustful of the federal government.

Politically Corrected: In AZ pages are being ripped out of biology textbooks because they described STDs and contraception – both of which are against the religious rights of some nut on the School Board. In Peterborough, ON, a school crossing guard was disciplined for “improperly touching” school children. He was giving them 'high fives' as they went to school. In Bellingham, WA, a breast-fed baby was taken from its mother because she'd given birth at home.

May The Force Be With You: No charges will be filed in the case of an unarmed white man gunned down by Salt Lake cops. According to the Cleveland PD, the officers who shot and killed a 12-year-old black boy two seconds after arriving on the scene and then refusing to render first aid to the toy gun toting victim were “following guidelines.” A man in Grand Junction, CO got off easy – he was just arrested when he pointed a banana at the cops, not shot. In the next state over, Denver's finest seized a tablet and erased a video of them making an unnecessarily violent arrest. 
 
Pyrrhic Victory: Ray Rice has won the right to return to professional football. He is eligible to play; who would have him?
 
The Odds: Costs are rising, Production is rising. Demand didn't get the memo. More oil is being pulled out of the Gulf's deepwater formations these days, with another million barrels a day to come on line by 2016 bringing output to nearly 2 mbd, but at higher prices than the current market will support. And costs continue to climb at over 10% a year. But that level of output can only last if ever more investment money is found. If prices stay down, so will the oil beneath the Gulf.

Profits & Loss: So the American uranium miners can despoil ever more of our planet, they're asking a federal appeals court to overturn the administrations prohibition banning mining alongside the Grand Canyon, because it hurts their profit. They also want to be able to dump mine tailings into the canyon, which is pretty much uninhabited and not good for cattle anyway. Besides, we need the uranium; we haven't had a good radiation disaster in years.

Things That Go Boom... How long before the US moneybags figure out that fracking shale for fun and profits may be fun, but not so profitable going forward?

Pay Me Now, Pay Me Later: The Republicans, acting on pure reflex, have proclaimed that the EPA regulations to cut ozone emissions – which causes smog, asthma, heart disease and premature death – would cost industry far more in profits than cutting smog, asthma,heart disease and premature death is worth. 
 
Porn O'Graph: What recovery?