AlterNet: Charles Ferguson’s ‘Predator Nation: Corporate Criminals, Political Corruption, and the Hijacking of America’

SEC: Taking on Big Firms is ‘Tempting,’ But We Prefer Whaling on Little Guys | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

John Pilger: Why the Assange Case Is Important

AlterNet: Why Activists in the US and Around the World Should be Learning from Montreal Student Strikers

“THE SALVADOR OPTION FOR SYRIA”: US-NATO Sponsored Death Squads Integrate “Opposition Forces”

AlterNet: Global CO2 Emissions Hit New Record in 2011, Keeping World on Track for ‘Devastating’ 11°F Warming

A reminder about WikiLeaks » Print – Salon.com

Markets and Morals – NYTimes.com – Kristof

Virtual Blackout From National Media on Voter Suppression in Florida

Glenn Greenwald: A reminder about WikiLeaks

as Nixon well knew: by demonizing Ellsberg personally, even those inclined to defend the leak would be reluctant to be associated with him. If Ellsberg became associated in the public mind not with his noble exposure of government lies but rather with “strange” psychological drives or bizarre sexual fantasies [] then he would become a figure of derision, an embarrassment, and nobody would want anything to do with him for fear of having his foibles reflect negatively on them .. This has been exactly the strategy used to ward off support for Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and Bradley Manning, with one difference: leaving aside Joe Biden, who denounced Assange as a “high-tech terrorist,” this time the role of Nixonian henchmen is played by establishment-defending or Obama-loyal media figures rather than the administration itself. The New York Times — led by John Burns and Bill Keller — has continuously obsessed on Assange’s alleged personality flaws while all but ignoring the vital disclosures about the U.S. Government for which he is partially responsible (Keller, the son of a Chevron CEO, wrote an article infamously complaining that Assange’s socks were “filthy” and that he “smelled”)

Political Money Talks – NYTimes.com

AlterNet: How Shameless Oligarchs Plunder Our World: From 1990s Russia to Present-Day Oklahoma

Amid Diamond Jubilee Fever, Scholars Reflect on Monarchy – NYTimes.com

7 Foods Experts Won’t Eat | Wake Up World

AlterNet: Groundbreaking Study Shows Why Fixing Healthcare Costs Is Still a Top Priority

AlterNet: On JFK’s 95th Birthday, Stephen King — Like Many Writers Before — Has a Theory About Kennedy’s Assassination

Adbusters: The Passion in Quebec

The mood on the streets of Montreal is electric, with growing numbers of activists flooding the streets nightly, banging pots and pans and vowing to protest until victorious. One jammer described the scene: “I come home from these protests euphoric. The first night I returned, I sat down on my couch and I burst into tears, as the act of resisting, loudly, with my neighbors, so joyfully, had released so much tension that I had been carrying around with me, fearing our government, fearing arrest, fearing for the future. I felt lighter… Every night is teargas and riot cops, but it is also joy, laughter, kindness, togetherness, and beautiful music. Our hearts are bursting…” After over 100 days of protest, the question is whether the students will go beyond a simple demand for free education to begin struggling for a totally different future

Doc Watson, Blind Guitar Wizard Who Influenced Generations, Dies at 89

Fiscal Phonies – NYTimes.com – Paul Krugman

Romney’s Regressivism – Robert Reich

Truthdig – The War on Gays – Chris Hedges

Truthdig – Truthdiggers of the Week: 400,000 Canadians Launching the ‘Maple Spring’

AlterNet: Most Americans Want Marijuana Legalized and Regulated

THE IRAQ WAR READER: A History of War Crimes and Genocide. The Unleashing of America’s New Global Militarism

Anti-Abortion Group Drafting Legislation State-by-State to Limit Women’s Choice