News & Views | Weekly Top Ten

Week ending Friday February 17, 2012   Do you want to share the news with a friend? Click here to tell your friends about Common Dreams. Readers' Choice / Most Read Views... Katherine Stewart: The New Anti-Science Assault on US Schools Noam Chomsky: Hegemony and Its Dilemmas The 99% Spring: April 9-15, 2012 -- 100,000 Americans Will Train for Non-Violent Direct Action Annie Leonard: Don't Be Stupid, Cupid: How to Show Your Love Responsibly Jim Hightower: It's Official: Money Now Governs America Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: Money Throws Democracy Overboard Suzanne Moore: Instead of Being Disgusted by Poverty, We are Disgusted by Poor People Themselves John Atcheson: A Redo on the Walmartization of America, Redux Peter Barnes: How to Restore the Middle Class Kathy Kelly: Cold, Cold Heart Readers' Choice / Most Read News... Wikileaks Banned From UN Conference on Wikileaks UNESCO opens 2-day media conference in Paris. Israel To Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program The program, which recently installed solar panels and wind turbines in 16 communities, is providing 1,500 Palestinians with electricity -- who were formerly without reliable energy. Fears Growing as Fukushima Reactor Temperature Rising No. 2 Reactor Temperature Up to 82C. Is 'Prescription for Disaster' Our 'Most Optimistic' Climate Future? New data indicates warming of 2C now planet's "most optimistic" scenario. Documents Reveal Dark 'Heart' of 'Climate Denial Machine' The DeSmogBlog, which has long covered the impacts global warming and fossil fuel industry-backed misinformation campaigns, on Tuesday released internal documents from the Heartland Institute. Think Tank Squirms After 'Climate Denial' Docs Leak [T]he statement from Heartland communications director, Jim Lakely, identifies only one of the eight documents posted online on Tuesday night by the DeSmogBlog website as a "total fake". 'Global Square': Wikileaks Platform Launching in March 'To perpetuate and spread the creative and cooperative spirit of the occupations'. Court: Monsanto Guilty of Chemical Poisoning in France A French court Monday found US agriculture giant Monsanto legally responsible for the poisoning of a farmer with one of its herbicides in 2004. 'Climate Deniers' Crusade Against Science in Schools The Heartland Institute, a right-wing think tank, is planning to develop a “global warming curriculum” for elementary schoolchildren that presents climate science as “a major scientific controversy." Mortgage Settlement: 'We're Bailing Them Out Again!' Mortgage Deal or Not, Abusive Foreclosures Continue. Home About Us Donate Subscribe Archives Common Dreams Breaking News and Views for the Progressive Community. Independent, non-profit newscenter since 1997. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. www.commondreams.org You are subscribed to the Common Dreams Weekly Newsletter as F.Abdolian.blogi@blogger.com. Click here to unsubscribe.

♡ Independent Media?

February 14, 2012 Dear Farhad, As one of our loyal readers, you know why you rely on Common Dreams. It's where you find the most important news of the day; news that cuts through the BS; news you can trust. It's where you find great writers writing on the issues you care about. It's where you connect with other readers and writers who share your progressive values and your belief that we can all make a difference in this world. In fact, it is only through the power of people and independent, progressive journalism that a real dialogue has begun in this nation and around the globe to discuss the deep economic inequalities infecting every single problem we face today as a society. Today, I'm asking you to place a dollar value on this service and make a donation in whatever amount you can spare. It's been a week since we launched our critical Winter Fundraising Campaign. So far, we've raised just over $12,000 from our readers and supporters like you. We believe that it is only through independent media that we can save our threatened democracy. And we survive only through the generosity of our readers. We need to raise an additional $38,000 this month in order to avoid a budget deficit. The early part of the year is often a hard time to raise funds, can we rely on your help? Please make a donation today. We can't do it without you! Thank you (and Happy Valentines Day!), Craig Brown for the whole Common Dreams team P.S. You can make your secure, tax-deductible online donation right now here, and by PayPal here. Or, you can print our donation form by clicking here and mailing it back to us with a check. Thank you!

Click above to make an online tax deductible donation to Common Dreams. Or print our form and send a check to: Common Dreams, PO Box 443, Portland, Maine 04112-0443 Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our EIN is 20-3368194.) Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community. Independent, non-profit newscenter since 1997. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Home | About Us | Donate | Subscribe | Archives www.commondreams.org   You are subscribed to Common Dreams as F.Abdolian.blogi@blogger.com. Click here to unsubscribe.

Amnesty International: Will Bahrain crack down on protesters tomorrow?

	Stand up for the right to peaceful protest without the threat of violence.
	Dear Farhad, Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the start of protests in Bahrain. Tens of thousands are expected to take to the streets to protest a government that has committed terrible violence against its own citizens. When Bahrain's streets awaken in protest tomorrow, will government forces crack down on peaceful demonstrators again? Will there be more tear gas, torture, killings? We don't know what will happen tomorrow. But we do know that tragedy is not inevitable. Take action for a better tomorrow in Bahrain. Call on the Bahraini government and security forces to respect peaceful protest and assembly -- today, tomorrow, and for all the days to come. As protests enter their second year, the Middle East and North Africa remain in turmoil. As I wrote you over the weekend, the crisis in Syria is escalating. Civil society is under attack in Egypt. We can't let violence against peaceful protesters rekindle anew in Bahrain. If the Bahraini government keeps its promises -- to end torture and excessive force, to release peaceful protesters from prison, and to hold those responsible for abuses accountable -- it should have nothing to fear from nonviolent protests demanding political reforms. Under pressure, Bahrain's government has taken some positive steps forward -- but human rights violations continue in the country. Scores of people sentenced to prison terms for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly during last year's protests are still facing criminal charges. Two of those prisoners, leaders of the Bahrain Teachers' Association, face a critical hearing this coming weekend that could grant them their freedom -- or keep them jailed for years. The situation in Bahrain is dire, but it is not hopeless -- and we can have tremendous influence. Bahrain takes its international image seriously. And since Bahrain is a country with such close ties to the U.S., the Bahraini government is uniquely susceptible to pressure from the U.S. government and U.S.-based activists. Your action today could mean peace in Bahrain tomorrow. Tell the Bahraini government that you are watching closely -- and that when tomorrow comes, you expect them to do the right thing for human rights. With hope for tomorrow, Sanjeev Bery Advocacy Director, Middle East and North Africa Amnesty International USA		A better tomorrow in Bahrain? Tomorrow we hope to see a Bahrain without unjust arrests or protester deaths. Call on the Bahraini government to respect peaceful protests during tomorrow's one-year anniversary of Bahrain's anti-government uprising.
© 2012 Amnesty International USA | 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001 | 212.807.8400

News & Views | Weekly Top Ten

Week ending Friday February 10, 2012   Do you want to share the news with a friend? Click here to tell your friends about Common Dreams. Readers' Choice / Most Read Views... Bill McKibben: The Great Carbon Bubble: Why the Fossil Fuel Industry Fights So Hard Chris Hedges: The Cancer in Occupy Ira Chernus: Israel vs. Iran: The Truth Slips Out Bill Moyers & Michael Winship: Saul Alinsky, Who? George Monbiot: The Right's Stupidity Spreads, Enabled by a Too-Polite Left Ralph Nader: Can Democrats Landslide Republicans? Mike Prokosch: 'Starve the Beast' -- The Pentagon Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez: If You Want to Fight Cancer, Turn Those Pink Ribbons Green Bill Quigley: Occupying Corporations: How to Cut Corporate Power Harvey Wasserman: We May Yet Lose Tokyo… Not to Mention Alaska… and Now Georgia, Too Readers' Choice / Most Read News... Monsanto, Agent Orange Creator, Returns To Vietnam Monsanto ready to sell GM crops and weed-killing chemicals in Vietnam; Many outraged. 30,000 Domestic Drones to Fill Our Skies, Civil Liberties at Risk FAA Act would raise 'very serious privacy issues'. Scientists: Arctic Melting Contributing to European Freeze Is Climate Change Bringing the Arctic to Europe? Manipulating the Planet: Bill Gates' $$$ Behind Geoengineering Bill Gates among wealthy funding large-scale geoengineering. US Paints False Picture of Afghan War: US Army Officer “I’m going to get nuked,” Officer said in an interview last month. Temperature Soars Inside Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Also: Japan's Nuclear Exclusion Zone Shows Few Signs of Life. Bank Bailout 2: Obama Lets Mortgage Abusers Off the Hook The Obama Administration has followed a predictable pattern: Leave No One Accountable. President Obama Makes 'Accommodation' on Birth Control Policy Women who work for religious institutions that object to offering birth control coverage will get contraception for free, directly from their insurers. 'Hose Streets? Our Streets!' Belgian Firefighters Turn Their Ire (and Hoses) on Austerity Several hundred Belgian firefighters broke through police linesto hose down the prime minister's office in protest at the government's tougher retirement plans. 'Tango Down': CIA Website Hit The hacktivist group Anonymous claims to have taken the CIA's website Friday afternoon. Home About Us Donate Subscribe Archives Common Dreams Breaking News and Views for the Progressive Community. Independent, non-profit newscenter since 1997. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. www.commondreams.org You are subscribed to the Common Dreams Weekly Newsletter as F.Abdolian.blogi@blogger.com. Click here to unsubscribe.

Truth can be transformative

February 10, 2012 Dear Common Dreamer, In an age when our politics and public policy coverage has become less about serious debate and deliberation -- and more about sound bites, attack ads, and the lies and distortions spun out by the corporate media -- Common Dreams provides a substantive alternative. We often hear from our readers that they gain sustenance from the news and views we publish. News free of corporate advertising and bias. Views focused on economic and social justice. Truth that can be transformative. The letters we receive reinforce our belief that for them, and for many of you, Common Dreams is an essential part of a progressive future. Some recent excerpts from our mail: For justice, peace, joy, love, dignity, equity and the end of corporate power! Keep up the good work. ~Nancy in New Hampshire Dear Common Dreams, Thanks so much for the sustenance you bring to so many! ~David in New Mexico Thank you.  You have become my best and most honest source for fair and un-biased information. ~Susan in California We must all be determined to transform this world in this new year - even in the next decade and century -- and struggle for what Henry Wallace as vice president called the "people's century." Thank you for what you do to this end. ~Andrew in Minnesota But these thank yous are not just for us -- they're really saying thanks to all of you too. Because without your support, we wouldn't be here. With your support, we are getting stronger every day. Our readership continues to grow with millions visiting our website every month. And as our progressive voice reaches more people -- providing reliable information, critical thought and creative ideas -- more activists are informed and inspired. Today, Common Dreams needs your help to keep this mission moving forward. We need to meet our $50,000 goal before we can end this Winter Campaign. Whatever amount you can afford will help. Remember - We can't do it without you! In solidarity, Malory Shaughnessy on behalf of Craig, Jon, Andrea, Jacob, Abby and the whole team here at Common Dreams P.S. You can make your secure, tax-deductible online donation right now here, and by PayPal here. Or, you can print our donation form by clicking here and mail it back to us with a check. Thank you!

Click above to make an online tax deductible donation to Common Dreams. Or print our form and send a check to: Common Dreams, PO Box 443, Portland, Maine 04112-0443 Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our EIN is 20-3368194.) Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community. Independent, non-profit newscenter since 1997. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Home | About Us | Donate | Subscribe | Archives www.commondreams.org   You are subscribed to Common Dreams as F.Abdolian.blogi@blogger.com. Click here to unsubscribe.

Our Super PAC

February 8, 2012 Dear Farhad, You know what we do. And you know why you read us. We don’t have to “sell” you on the importance of the work we do here at Common Dreams. Now we need your support to reach our Winter Fundraising goal of $50,000 to keep us moving forward -- reporting the news you count on and digging for the analysis you want. The recent unleashing of shadowy Super PACs is overwhelming our already polluted politics. Corporations and the wealthiest 0.01% want their special interests to dominate the interests of the 99%. In this corrupt world of bought and paid for elections only two things can stop them: the truth and people power. The corporate media’s mission? Profit. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. We work hard reporting on the news you care about. We work hard to amplify the voices who offer us good ideas, inspiration and vision. We work hard to nurture and help build people power. But we can't do it without you. You are our Super PAC! Please pitch in today and help keep us moving forward. Gratefully, Craig, Andrea, Jon, Malory, Jacob, Abby and the whole Common Dreams team P.S. Help us end this winter fundraising campaign quickly! Every tax-deductible contribution helps to keep Common Dreams alive. Thanks!!

Click above to make an online tax deductible donation to Common Dreams. Or print our form and send a check to: Common Dreams, PO Box 443, Portland, Maine 04112-0443 Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our EIN is 20-3368194.) Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community. Independent, non-profit newscenter since 1997. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Home | About Us | Donate | Subscribe | Archives www.commondreams.org   You are subscribed to Common Dreams as F.Abdolian.blogi@blogger.com. Click here to unsubscribe.