Occupy UC Davis Pepper-Spray Cop Wants Workers’ Comp

The policeman who doused a group of protesters sitting peacefully (and later became the subject of myriads of memes), is claiming the event caused him psychological damage; Alex Gibney’s documentary about WikiLeaks is chock-full of propaganda meant to discredit Julian Assange; meanwhile, divers in Hawaii cleaned the ocean by hand and filled an 18-wheeler with human debris. 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.

Pepper-Spray Lieutenant Appeals for Worker’s Comp The former police lieutenant who became the target of worldwide ire after dousing Occupy UC Davis protesters with pepper spray, John Pike, is appealing for worker’s compensation, claiming psychiatric injury caused by the Nov. 18, 2011, incident.

On Henry Ford’s 150th Birthday, His Greatest Insight Has Been Tragically Forgotten Henry Ford, who was born 150 years ago today, is remembered as the guy who unleashed the full potential of the assembly line, beginning in 1913 when the Ford Motor Company cranked out Model T’s much faster and cheaper than anyone could imagine.

62 Years of Climate Change, in 13 Seconds NASA has released this amazing 13-second video that shows how climate change has affected temperatures around the globe have warmed since 1950.

North Berwick Drivers Warned Over Hidden Puffins Motorists in an East Lothian town have been asked to check for disorientated young puffins – known as pufflings – hiding under their vehicles.

A City Invokes Seizure Laws to Save Homes The power of eminent domain has traditionally worked against homeowners, who can be forced to sell their property to make way for a new highway or shopping mall.

The Assassination of Julian Assange We Steal Secrets, Alex Gibney’s documentary about Wikileaks and Julian Assange, teaches the difference between a hatchet job and character assassination.

Hawaii Ocean Debris Could Fill 18-Wheeler In an area off Hawaii, far removed from most human habitation, a recent cleanup effort yielded an 18-wheeler’s worth of human debris during a 19-day anti-pollution campaign this year.

Plot Thickens for Authors as Penguin and Random House Merger Creates £2.6bn Powerhouse The new Penguin Random House will control a quarter of world book publishing, and this has many in the industry, from writers and agents to smaller publishers, worried.

Why Nick Denton Could be the Most Disruptive Force in Online Media Right Now With the rollout of new blogging and rewriting features for readers who use its Kinja platform, Denton and Gawker Media continue to blur the line between their writers and editors and the people formerly known as the audience.