Obama Still of Two Minds on Gay Rights

While the Obama administration has spoken up for gay rights, it has yet to support gay marriage; Kevin Spacey has been heckling noisy audience members in his role as Richard III; meanwhile, L.A. and Occupy L.A. have come to a similar consensus about corporate personhood: It needs to go! 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.

Kudos to Obama on His New Gay Rights Initiative, But … On Tuesday, the Obama administration took bold and important action in advancing the cause of gay rights around the globe.

Kevin Spacey vs. Noisy Audience Members Kevin Spacey has won praise for a series of in-character attacks as Richard III on unruly audience members in Sydney, including a cutting rebuke of the owner of a ringing mobile phone.

Violent Video Games May Change the Brain Research finds that children who play violent video games or watch violent TV can become violent themselves, but what drives this change? Are they kids simply mimicking what they see on the screen, or could gaming have a more profound effect on their brains, affecting behavior?

Israelis, resentful of Orthodox grip on society, fight back Israel’s highly insular haredi minority — roughly 8 percent of the total population, and about a third of residents in Jerusalem — values piety above all else. What worries outsiders is when Haredi Jews use their size and influence to impose that piety on everyone else.

Art and the Limits of Neuroscience What is art? What does art reveal about human nature? The trend these days is to approach such questions in the key of neuroscience.

A Weimar moment for the Arab world Unhappily, the early years of Nazi Germany may be the appropriate analogy for the dangers following the Arab spring.

City and Occupy L.A. Agree: End Corporate Personhood What’s the issue that unites the occupiers and the city they’re occupying? Getting corporate money out of politics.

Twitter and the Campaign The political conversation on Twitter is markedly different than that on blogs — and both are decidedly different than the political narrative presented by the mainstream press, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Newt’s Two-Potty Rule Before announcing his presidential bid earlier this year, Newt Gingrich commanded a $50,000 fee when appearances were booked through his Washington, D.C. agent.