SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

PATHETIC – from London's Telegraph:   French patrol planes are scouring the seas off Scotland for a Russian submarine after Britain was forced to call on allies for help because it has scrapped its own sub-hunting aircraft.  A French Atlantique 2 maritime patrol plane has been searching for the submarine for at least 10 days, since the vessel was detected north of Scotland...Britain scrapped its own Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft after the cost cutting 2010 defence review, leading to warnings from defence chiefs that the country would be left reliant on others for aircraft to search its own waters.  Nothing like a nation advertising its weakness.

THE MAN WHO REALLY SHOULDN'T BE KING – From London's Telegraph:   Asked by Royal Correspondent Rhiannon Mills if there was a direct link between climate change, conflict and terrorism, the heir to the throne replied:  “It's only in the last few years that the Pentagon have actually started to pay attention to this. I mean it has a huge impact on what is happening. I mean the difficulty is sometimes to get this point across – that if we just leave it and say, well there are obviously lots of, there are endless problems arising all over the place therefore we deal with them in a short term way, we never deal with the underlying root cause which regrettably is what we're doing to our natural environment."  The Prince is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the United Nations climate change conference or COP21 in Paris next week. A nice fellow, but I hope his mommy lives a long time.

SIGN OF OUR TIMES – From Fox:   NEW YORK – Hundreds of emergency responders simulated a subway terror attack on Sunday, days before one of the city's biggest public events: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  The long-planned drill at a Manhattan station got a last-minute update in the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris. Officials added an "attacker" wearing a suicide vest.  "In New York City, we are, at this time, very well-prepared and continually improving that preparedness," Police Commissioner William Bratton said outside the abandoned Bowery station in lower Manhattan.  It's getting a little creepy in New York.  I'd be happier if Rudy Guiliani were in City Hall.

PERSONNEL NEWS – From CBS:   ATLANTA (CBS News) — Lawyers have the lowest health and well-being among all white-collar workers, according to a new study.  The research also indicates that those working in law are the highest users and abusers of alcohol and nicotine, as reported by AFR Weekend.  The PsychSafe study looked at more than 800 professionals, including 370 lawyers from firms and the bar, and 170 lawyers who work in government or in-house counsel.  The findings suggest that lawyers who work in law firms have the lowest psychological and psychosomatic health and well-being. Researchers say this is likely attributed to stressful workloads, overtime, and pressure.  And also to defending people they really wouldn't want in their homes.

November 22, 2015