The Oakland thugs, already guilty of repeated violence, tricked the city council into approving funds for an exercise for SWAT teams from around the US and the world.

The US government encourages the creation of SWAT teams by offering funds for them. Thus, the US has far too many of them. But once the team exists, it needs practice, so cities give them practice by sending them on a routine basis to apply shock and awe to people asleep in their homes. If they don't shoot you dead, they can give you a fatal heart attack.

The rate of non-police violence in the US has gone way down since 20 years ago. The US does need some SWAT teams, but I think 40 of them would suffice if each could travel by helicopter: one each in the biggest 30 urban areas, one in Hawaii, one in Alaska, and 8 more to scatter around the less populated parts of the country.

Skype is being investigated in Luxemburg for snooping for the NSA.

How right-wing media disproportionately cover the few scientists that deny anthropogenic global heating, and supplement them with nonscientists and by misrepresenting real scientists, to present a false impression of balance.

They are doing something similar with the US government shutdown.

The reason is clear: the same right-wing machine is at work, first creating bogus arguments that sound reasonable in a sound bite, second giving the spokesmen lots of air time.

Who's responsible for the government shutdown? Who was responsible for the financial crisis? Randian plutocrats, says Slavoj Žižek

France's ban on fracking is now fully legislated.