THE HEADLINES

CONFESSIONS OF A DIPLOMATIC HIT-MAN.

(Counterpunch)

Frank Wisner, former C.I.A. agent, is in the long line of “special envoys” such as James Baker and Richard Holbrooke dispatched to the scenes of international crisis when the situations were deemed too hot for U.S. embassies to handle. He is now arriving in Cairo to meet with his old buddy Hosni Mubarak and try in the U.S. way to arrange the affairs of other countries when vital American interests are at stake.

WILL FREE “PREVENTIVE HEALTH” SERVICES UNDER NEW HEALTH CARE LAW COVER FREE CONTRACEPTIVES?

(New York Times)

That question is being “weighed” by Obama administration to the delight of birth control advocates and the consternation of the Catholic Church and other opponents of contraception. With the disposition of Republican and conservative Democrats to repeal objectionable components of the law, the inclusion of free contraceptives may endanger the whole “preventive health” coverage provisions of the law.

THE “HYBRID ENTITY” CALLED KENNETH FINEBERG MAKES A ROSY PREDICTION ABOUT RECOVERY OF GULF OF MEXICO FROM OIL SPELL.

(BBC)

As administrator of a fund to distribute $20 billion in damage compensation to spill victims, Fineberg says that the Gulf area will be (sort of) “fully recovered” by the end of 2012, though less than $4 billion of the promised compensation has been distributed. A federal judge decrees that Fineberg be identified as a “hybrid entity,” not an impartial arbitrator of settlement entitlement but actually an agent of British Petroleum itself.

THIS IS HOW A PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIST LOOKS.

(Black Agenda Report)

Michael Hudson, often read but seldom seen, is interviewed on Real News Network. He explains the philosophy behind very high taxation of the very wealthy, an almost “quaint” idea in today’s debates about tax rates. He also attacks the “wisdom” of a Wall Street style of economic thinking which asserts that lower taxation can help “create jobs,” contrary to the opposite view that higher taxation and spending have a “stimulus” effect on the economy that leads to fuller employment.

LET’S MAKE FLORIDA “THE PLACE TO DO BUSINESS.“

(Florida Capital News)

That is the agenda of new Governor Rick Scott as he proposes, to the delight of the Chamber of Commerce, the formation of a new Commerce Department for the state. This agency would huckster for “promoting” Florida throughout the U.S. and world, also advocating for “business friendly” policies like reductions in regulations of business operations and low taxes. That’s the cup of “tea” that he sees as key to the state’s economic revival.

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Quote of the day…

I have a feeling that it’s really no different than it was before.

Pat Cline, technical adviser for Protect Gainesville’s Citizens, as EPA releases “new” plan to clean up Cabot-Koppers Superfund site in Gainesville FL.

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