…And the World:  

We begin in Great Britain where  last week, the long-awating Leveson Inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal that touched the press, politicians and the police was released.  Prime Minister David Cameron, opposed to the proposal and his party, the Conservatives, have been concerned about regulating a free press.  His deputy Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats’ leader made a rare, independent statement supporting the reforms.  Debate is on-going in Parliament.  Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband has called for a vote before Christmas and said that failure to enact reforms would be an insult to victims.

Haaretz has a good breakdown of what polls tell us ahead of the Israel elections schedules for January.  This happens as Israel faces fresh diplomatic criticism for allowing a new settlement in the West Bank to be constructed that could make a two-state solution impossible after the UN voted to upgrade the Palestinian‘s nation status..

However, the Toronto Star reports that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may not be the nation’s biggest problem.  Rather it could be a contest between ultra-orthodox and secular Israelis.

And Mexico’s New President Enrique Pena Nieto was sworn in over the weekend.  Great expectations are being laid upon his shoulders.

The Feds:

Republicans have finally made a counter-proposal to deal with the fiscal cliff.  It relies on $800 billion in revenue increases, although not tax rate increases, and then $1.4 trillion in cuts across spending accounts, including entitlement programs.  Questions remain as to whether it is a legit counteroffer from Republicans.   Mother Jones’ David Corn reports on John Boehner’s own hostage crisis with the Tea Party within his own caucus.  Also notable, Corn reports that the White House is prepared to go over the fiscal cliff, if necessary.

In the vein of the deficit, the New York Times did a profile on Jacob Lew, PResident Obama’s Chief of Staff and a contender to replace Tim Geithner at Treasury.  He was also once Obama’s head of the Office of Management and Budget.

In media, Greater Cleveland is bracing for massive cuts at the city’s paper of record the Plain Dealer.  First reported by USA Today last week the, Plain Dealer could cut down to three day publication like its sister publication New Orleans’s Times-Picayune.  The New York Times goes into more detail about efforts to stop that from happening.  The Plain Dealer’s owner, Advance Publications, also owns the Springfield Republican.

The State of Things:

Doctors in Massachusetts are seeking guidance for how the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law will work.  The Boston Globe reports, however, that medical marijuana firms are already moving into the Bay State.

Elizabeth Warren has named some top staffers.  Among them Mindy Myers, her new Chief of Staff, Dan Geldon, Deputy Chief of Staff and Roger Lau as State Dirctor.  Myers, who was her Campaign Manager, is a veteran of numerous campaigns.  Geldon, a senior adviser, has worked with Warren in Washington.  Lau, a long time political operative in the state was Warren’s campaign political director and has worked for several politicians including Springfield’s own Richard Neal.  The announcement comes as Warren began her thank you tour across the state this weekend.

The Holyoke and Westfield city councils will hold their tax-setting meetings this week.  Holyoke is facing the prospect of its levy ceiling while Westfield will almost certainly see a tax hike.  Longmeadow, meanwhile, has opted not to switch over to a system of two separate tax rates for residents and businesses.

City Slickers:

The bid for a casino off of 291 in Springfield has been withdrawn.  Citing a sense that it did not have a chance, Ameristar withdrew Friday.  The Republican reported that residents of the East Springfield neighborhood where the site was proposed offered mixed reactions.

The Springfield City Council set the tax rates tonight.  Although pushed by falling property values, they do represent a cut in rates for both businesses and residents.  Also tonight the Council meets to discuss a plethora of financial orders.

Twitter Chatter:

According to Erskine Bowles, Speaker Boehner’s “offer” is neither the Simpson-Bowles Plan nor “the Bowles Plan.” momentoftruthproject.org/publications/b…

— Jay Carney (EOP) (@PressSec) December 3, 2012

The fiscal cliff, like many of the challenges of the last two years is a man-made crisis.  Republicans have refused to be reasonable and now after rejecting Simpson-Bowles originally two years ago, want to wrap up in its warm glow while hocking their “plan,” as the Bowles plan, as in Erskine Bowles, if to give the imprimatur of legitimacy.  Today we award the Tweet Prize to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.  In a simple, succinct tweet, Carney dispute the GOP’s main talking point and throws the misfit plan back in Republicans’ lap.  While we certainly agree with the rejection, the tweet is also armed with the necessary information to destroy the GOP’s clear attempt to masquerade their plan as something it is not.  Bowles did not endorse this plan and for calling them out for this latest nonsense, Carney shows which side is really “unserious” about the cliff.