The violent police assaults in response to the Occupy movement are proof that Occupy has hit a nerve; Britain is preparing for the demise of the euro; meanwhile, the student wing of Occupy tries to encourage higher education. 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.

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The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy

The violent police assaults across the US are no coincidence. Occupy has touched the third rail of our political class’s venality.

Britain prepares for riots in euro collapse

British embassies in the eurozone have been told to draw up plans to help British expats through the collapse of the single currency, amid new fears for Italy and Spain.

The failure of mainstream economics

Mainstream economists failed, with respect to the economic crisis, on three counts: they failed to predict the crisis, they didn’t even include the possibility of a crisis in their theories, and they didn’t know what to do once it happened.

Occupy Higher Education

The student wing of the Occupy movement goes far beyond the issue of student debt. What is at stake are the language of politics and the nature of the university.

7 Things Fox Viewers Are Wildly Misinformed About

What’s stunning is how many different areas of the news and public policy Fox viewers are misinformed about.

Can Killer Drones Be Turned on America?

50 countries are trying to get their hands on military drone technology — What will they do with it?

Why our brains make us laugh

He who laughs last usually has to have the joke explained. But then why bother? After all, nothing kills humor faster than analysis.

The Occupy London library spreads its wings

The library founded by protesters at St Paul’s cathedral is expanding, with two new branches opening in London.

Resistance Takes Root in Barcelona

The Catalans have a phrase: em planto. It has a double meaning: ‘I plant,’ or ‘I’ve had enough.’

Corporations Are Patenting Human Genes and Tissues

Do you think that granting corporations the rights of people in the Citizens United case is disturbing? Then contemplate the fact that corporations have been patenting human genes and tissues at alarming rates — in the last 30 years, more than 40,000 patents have been granted on genes alone.