SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

POLICE BLOTTER NEWS – FROM ABC LOCAL:  According to police in Alexandria, Louisiana, officers responded to the report of a man stuck in the chimney of a business early Friday morning.  Employees told officers that when they arrived at the business, they could hear a man yelling. They found he was stuck.  While officers were in route, police say the man was able to free himself from the chimney. He then reportedly threw a brick at an employee before running from the store.  Officers were soon able to locate the suspect. Police identify him as 41-year-old Matthew Mobley of Alexandria.  Police say this is the 77th time Mobley has been booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center.  Authorities might have noticed there was a problem after the 75th time.

PATHETIC – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   The Royal Navy’s fleet of attack submarines are all currently out of action – and Ministry of Defence chiefs are said to have kept it a secret from the Prime Minister.
Britain’s seven ‘hunter-killer’ vessels are understood to be ‘non-operational’, with five understood to be undergoing maintenance.  It is believed the HMS Astute, commissioned in 2010, is the only one currently at sea although she is still ‘weeks away’ from active service following a tune-up.  According to The Sun, it is the first time in decades Britain does not have an attack submarine on stand-by to respond to threats.
Sources said the Navy’s three Astute-class vessels – built by BAE Systems - are ‘beset by problems’ despite costing around £1.2billion each.   The others currently in service are the HMS Ambush - which is being repaired after crashing into a tanker off Gibraltar in 2016, and HMS Artful.   What a sad comedown from the once-glorious Royal Navy.  And it's happening here, too, with a frightening number of Navy and Air Force planes out of service because funds aren't available for needed maintenance.   We hope Trump will correct this.

THE REALITY – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:  France is going to put the Eiffel Tower behind an 8ft-high glass wall to protect it from terrorists following an attack at the Louvre.  The security measure is part of a multi-million euro plan to prevent jihadist attacks in the French capital, which have claimed 238 lives around France in the past two years.  It will cost around €19million and comes after a machete-wielding man stormed the Louvre last week in the latest attack on French soil.  'The terror threat remains high in Paris and the most vulnerable sites, led by the Eiffel Tower, must be the object of special security measures,' said deputy mayor Jean-Francois Martins.  'We have three aims: improve the look, make access easier and strengthen the protection of visitors and staff.'  'The wall will prevent individuals or vehicles storming the site visited by six million people each year.'  So it appears we're not the only ones thinking of walls.  I wonder how many leftist groups will condemn the wall in Paris.  Don't hold your breath waiting.

February 9, 2017