THE HEADLINES

(Mandel Ngan / AFP-Getty Images - from Newsweek)

“CLUELESSNESS IS A CONSTANT IN U.S. FOREIGN-POLICY MAKING.”

(Counterpunch)

So says James Bovard, noting that the floundering U.S. effort in Libya is based once again on the advice of foreign policy “experts” who have no clear idea of the likely outcomes of their recommended actions. All this is laid bare in periodic exposes of official foreign policy incompetence—from the Pentagon Paper to WikiLeaks.

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HUMANITARIAN MISSION TO PROTECT CIVILIANS IN LIBYA IS PRODUCING DEPLETED URANIUM FROM CRUISE MISSILES THAT WILL BE A HEALTH HAZARD TO CIVILIANS FOR DECADES TO COME.

(Global Research)

This is a conclusion of a careful study of the degree of DU contamination in the current Libyan operation by an Italian technology professor. There are “best” and “worst” case scenarios of the extent of this damage, but no “scenario” will support the blanket official denials of DU effects in Libya, where the arid climate promotes air dispersion of DU particles that were absent in, for example, the earlier Balkan War.

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TAX DAY OBSERVATION: REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANS HAVE BECOME A CASH COW FOR TAX PREPARING FIRMS.

(Mother Jones)

Those expecting refunds from the I.R.S. but unable to wait for their refund checks can get the cash from their preparers—at an astronomical rate of interest for a very short term loan. Quirks in the tax code like the earned income credit allowance have had the effect, whether intended or not, of increasing the level of refund payments to the poor—and by extension, to the profits of those who prepare their taxes in the complicated tax return filing system.

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OBAMA’S PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS ARE AN EXERCISE IN TRIANGULATION 101

(World Socialist)

His speech on the subject tries to please two contrasting audiences. For the financial elite he promises “austerity” measures that will drastically weaken the “safety net” of health care and other needs of the poor. For “popular” consumption he is able to parlay his modest proposals in the direction of more “progressive” taxation (against the rich) into a contrast with the more blatantly regressive features of the measures proposed in the GOP budget. It is less evilism elevated to an art form; but a budget still “evil” in its assault on the welfare of most Americans.

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FACEBOOK STAKE-OUT IN ORLANDO NABS A SCOOTER THIEF.

(Orlando Sentinel)

A woman whose scooter was stolen reports her plight among Facebook Friends, igniting a vigilante community of people who created a virtual posse that ultimately resulted in the arrest of the thief. This episode is representative of one trend in “social media” operation: to create networks of self-protection among internet-related people.

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Quote of the day...

We’ve not been made whole: our fishing grounds have been depleted, our oysters are dead and we’re not receiving the funds we need to support and sustain ourselves. We’re seeing money going everywhere but at ground zero. We’re the communities at ground zero – the first to be put out of work and we’re going to be the last to be able to go back to work and sustain ourselves.

Byron Encalade, president of the Louisiana Oystermen Association, one of numerous Gulf protesters appearing at London conference of British Petroleum.

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