THE HEADLINES

US Army soldiers in Afghanistan (Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images -- image from NPR)

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, FOLKS, MOVE ON!

(NPR)

Pew Center for public opinion research notices how Americans have generally lost interest in the Afghan conflict, even as recent violence in that country indicates that the conflict there is far from over and U.S. detachment therefrom becomes ever more problematic. While 90% of Americans, motivated by wounded national pride and a thirst for revenge for 9/11, supported the invasion in 2001, that support level is now down to around 40% and only 25% say they follow news of the war closely. One analyst at the Cato Institute suggests that this interest decline is related to the fact that, there being no military draft, most Americans have “no skin in the game” and therefore are bored and looking for the next new conflict to get excited about.

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FOR 90 YEARS, PANAMA HAS SERVED AS A “FLAG OF CONVENIENCE” FOR THE OFF-SHORE EVASION OF U.S. TAXES ON U.S. CORPORATIONS.

(Foreign Policy in Focus)

This was the term used in 1919, as Standard Oil’s ships “flew the flag” of Panama, registering as ships “belonging” to that country. This inaugurated nearly a century of Panama acting as the number one “tax haven” for companies seeking to avoid U.S. taxes. The current push by Republicans in Congress and by the Obama administration for a “free trade agreement” with Panama will only consolidate and enhance that role of the country as the “go to” place for all sorts of money laundering.

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IN THE U.S. TODAY, CAN A PERSON REALLY AFFORD TO DIE?

(USA Today)

For an increasing number the answer is no. With escalating costs of funerals and deterioration of income for many, funeral homes are reporting a drop-off in business as many dead bodies remain unclaimed and those which are claimed are buried cheaply as “indigents.” The “worst it’s ever been,” say some in the funeral business of their industry.

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TRAVAILS OF A BIG TIME FOOTBALL TEAM IN A LITTLE WESTERN STATE.

(Idaho Statesman)

That would be Boise State in Idaho, winner of their opening game against usual powerhouse University of Georgia. Boise has the dilemma of having to travel East to play their “big time” games. The dilemma is that a big-time college team has to recruit the very best of high school players, and it’s hard to sustain interest in a team that usually plays this far from home: how many players are you going to recruit out of Georgia or Ohio? The suggestion of more games being scheduled between Boise and the University of Idaho is likely to elicit a derisive snort: “whoever heard of the U of I?

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THEY ARE MY HEAD-LIGHTS, DAMMIT, AND I’LL FLASH THEM WHEN I PLEASE!

(Orlando Sentinel)

Motorists in Florida who flash their lights to warn other drivers of police enforcement operations ahead have been issued citations for this behavior. This has raised a “free speech” outcry which has led Seminole County and the Florida Highway Patrol to suspend the writing of such citations. When public safety interferes with civil rights, which should prevail?

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Quote of the day…

Our projections show that manufacturing output will grow from roughly $4.0 trillion in 2008 to $4.9 trillion in 2018, ranking it as America’s largest industry when measured by contributions to national output. But that will not translate to job growth. In fact, even as manufacturing’s output explodes over the next decade, its workforce will contract.

Report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, cited in an article noting lack of provision for expanded manufacturing employment in Obama’s job creation plan.

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