Drone Bites the Dust

Police shoot down an activist’s tiny flying video camera capturing footage of the uprising in Turkey; new documents reveal the role of rating agencies such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s in the 2008 meltdown; and you know things are bad in the U.S. when rather than pay for new car tires, people are renting them instead. 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.

Video Reportedly Shows Drone Shot Down by Police at Turkish Protests During the unrest in Turkey earlier this month, a mini-drone operated by an activist buzzed above protesters recording the action as it unfolded on the streets below.

Surprising Findings from a Comprehensive Report on Gun Violence Background checks are back. Last week, Vice President Joe Biden said that five U.S. senators—enough to change the outcome—have told him they’re looking for a way to switch their votes and pass legislation requiring a criminal background check for the purchase of a firearm.

The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis What about the ratings agencies?

Be Careful. Do Not Make Excuses for Obama Obama is not weak and doesn’t make mistakes. He intentionally, consciously betrays the middle class in the service of the bankers, the Robert Rubins of the world.

The Pursuit of Edward Snowden: Washington in a Rage, Striving to Run the World Rarely has any American provoked such fury in Washington’s high places.

Why China Let Snowden Go In the single strange month he spent in Hong Kong, Edward Snowden evolved from a tourist to a fugitive to an icon, and, finally, an irritant.

Why Shouldn’t David Gregory Be Charged with a Crime? Two weeks into the hullabaloo surrounding whistle-blower Edward Snowden and Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, one thing is clear: They did not just reveal potentially serious crimes perpetrated by the government — including possible perjury, unlawful spying and unconstitutional surveillance.

Protesters’ Demands Expand From Free Fare to Fair Society With a million people demonstrating in the streets of cities throughout Brazil, everyone’s scrambling to understand how a twenty-cent bus fare hike turned into a social revolt.

Colleges Draw Criticism for Their Role in Fostering Unpaid Internships The debate over unpaid internships has largely focused on the employers that offer them.

Brazil and Turkey: The Global Middle Class Rises This month has been marked by widespread mass protests across cities in both Brazil and Turkey.

Only in America It’s time to start a new feature: small items that reveal a great deal about what life is like in the United States after the crash of 2007-08 and in the midst of the Second Great Depression.