Israel’s attempts to threaten Iran are insane; the Sky Watch tower in Zuccotti Park causes more than a little unease; and a new app hints at a future in which phones will replace cash and credit cards. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

Insanity, not logic, guides Israel’s leadership

The men’s men who are threatening Iran now are the real cowards’ cowards. The brave ones are in fact those who are trying to thwart the insanity, from former Mossad chief Meir Dagan to Interior Minister Eli Yishai.

Creepy NYPD Watchtower Monitoring OWS

Sky Watch is like one of those mechanical forest walkers from the Star Wars movies without the lasers or the walking.

Washington vs the Rest of America

The biggest question in America these days is how to revive the economy.

MTV blows its street cred–Wall St. vs the Jersey Shore

There is no golden age of MTV, although a new oral history called “I Want My MTV” at least argues that there were better times to watch—namely, during its first 10 years.

Sympathy grows for alleged forgers

The four protagonists in Germany’s biggest art forgery scandal were sentenced to a total 15 years in prison on Oct. 27 following charges of forgery and corruption in a Cologne court.

Anger over Louvre’s plan to clean a Leonardo

Conservators approach works by Leonardo da Vinci at their peril for fear of creating a storm—especially in France.

Eva & Adele: A living artwork

They are a living artwork who claim to have come from the future in a time machine. Is Britain ready for Eva and Adele? Helen Pidd spends a day with Berlin’s oddest couple.

A new app called Card Case foretells a world without cash and plastic

Paying for stuff with your phone sounds awesome until you stop to think about it.

Street Art Finds a Home in Tel Aviv

What happens when the grimy surfaces of the street meet the sterile white walls of the museum?

The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election

Not since 1972 has generation played such a significant role in voter preferences as it has in recent elections.