'Are You Kidding Me?' This Is the Plan to Save the Planet | News & Views

A daily roundup of progressive headlines, opinion, and analysis [Click here](1f9d0/ct0_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) to view this message in a browser window. [Common Dreams](1f9d0/ct1_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [] Our Fall Campaign is now underway. Despite all that's going wrong these days, what we hear most often from our Common Dreams readers is that we give them hope, that beyond exposing those behaving badly, we shine the light on so many people "behaving magnificently" in this world. If you can, at this critical time, [please support Common Dreams today.](1f9d0/ct2_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [Donate](1f9d0/ct2_1/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [] News & Views | 10/18/18 [] Feature... [] ['Are You Kidding Me?' Outrage as Democrats Push 'Incremental Steps' Over Bold Agenda Needed to Save Planet from Climate Catastrophe](1f9d0/ct3_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) ["The first and most important things Democrats should do is stop feeding the beast that's gotten us in this climate mess," David Turnbull, strategic communications director at Oil Change International, told Common Dreams. ](1f9d0/ct4_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) by Jake Johnson, staff writer Hundreds of mammal species have been wiped out due to human activity, planetary warming has sparked a "bugpocalypse" that is horrifying scientists, and United Nations experts are warning that the international community has just 12 years to transform global energy systems in order to avert climate... [] [] News... [] [Democrats Face Ridicule and Ire for Letting GOP Ram Through Six More Right-Wing Judges](1f9d0/ct5_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct6_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Jake Johnson, staff writer Less than a week after Senate Democrats cut a deal allowing Republicans to fast-track 15 of President Donald Trump's right-wing judicial picks in exchange for a recess that freed vulnerable lawmakers to hit the campaign trail, the GOP—surprising no one who has paid the slightest attention to American politics in recent decades—reneged on their so-called "truce" with the minority party on Wednesday and convened another hearing to start ramming through six more judges to lifetime federal court positions. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Less Than Year After GOP Tax Scam, Six Biggest Banks Already Raked in $9 Billion in Extra Profits](1f9d0/ct7_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct8_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Jake Johnson, staff writer It has been nearly a full year since the Republican Party rammed through its transparent scam of a tax bill in the face of massive grassroots resistance, and the results have been almost precisely what nearly every analyst predicted: Record profits for the rich and massive corporations, little to nothing for American workers. --------------------------------------------------------------- [While President Continues to Play Dumb on Murder, 2016 Reporting Shows Saudis Only Blacklisted Khashoggi After Journalist Criticized... Trump](1f9d0/ct9_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct10_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Julia Conley, staff writer As a columnist for the Washington Post, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi frequently criticized his home country's government—denouncing the country's treatment of women and most recently, in his final column published Wednesday, calling on Saudi officials to embrace press freedom. But he was banned from working in journalism in the kingdom after criticizing Trump. --------------------------------------------------------------- [] [Common Dreams is fueled by readers, like you. We can’t fall short -- our survival depends on it. Make sure Common Dreams keeps bringing you the news that matters -- please pitch in now.](1f9d0/ct11_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [I Believe in Common Dreams](1f9d0/ct12_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [] [For Next Weapon in Anti-Protest Arsenal, US Military Building Plasma Gun Capable of Vaporizing Human Flesh](1f9d0/ct13_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct14_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Jon Queally, staff writer At its highest setting, the new laser weapon would painfully vaporize the outer layer of skin—rather than burning it will be turned into gas—from 100 meters away. Also, this so-called "non-lethal" weapon can kill people. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Local Fury and Health Concerns as Japan Plans to Dump a Million Tons of Radioactive Fukushima Water Into Ocean](1f9d0/ct15_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct16_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Jake Johnson, staff writer In a move that has sparked outrage from local residents and dire health warnings from environmentalists, the Japanese government is reportedly planning to release 1.09 million tons of water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean despite evidence that it contains "radioactive material well above legally permitted levels." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Found in 90 Percent of Table Salt Brands, Study Finds Average Adult Ingests 2,000 Pieces of Microplastic Per Year](1f9d0/ct17_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct18_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Julia Conley, staff writer A year after researchers at a New York university discovered microplastics present in sea salt thanks to widespread plastic pollution, researchers in South Korea set out to find out how pervasive the problem is—and found that 90 percent of salt brands commonly used in homes around the world contain plastics. --------------------------------------------------------------- [] [More News](1f9d0/ct19_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [] Views... [] ['Tough on Crime' Jeff Sessions Touts Plummeting Corporate Crime Enforcement Like It's an Achievement](1f9d0/ct20_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct21_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Robert Weissman Attorney General's time at the Justice Department has resulted in near-record low white-collar crime prosecutions --------------------------------------------------------------- [When It Comes to Sustainability, We’re a Society of Distracted Drivers](1f9d0/ct22_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [If we’re asleep at the wheel, the likelihood of calamity skyrockets.(Photo: Screenshot) ](1f9d0/ct23_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) by Richard Heinberg We human beings are all, in effect, driving this planet --------------------------------------------------------------- [What Is Democracy, Anyway? Let’s Talk](1f9d0/ct24_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) 1f9d0/ct25_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX by Frances Moore Lappé Above all, democracy is a cultural journey—not an end stage—headed towards widely dispersed power and away from concentrated control --------------------------------------------------------------- [We Need To Inspire Courage to Stop Climate Change—Not Fatalism](1f9d0/ct26_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [People need to know that an alternative exists to our toxic status quo and understand how to fight for it. (Photo: Food&Water Watch) ](1f9d0/ct27_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) by Peter Thacher There is no other important social issue where we tolerate defeatism— climate change should be no exception. The only acceptable response is to work to fix it --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Rats Revolt](1f9d0/ct28_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [The key in Nader’s story to the citizens retaking control of Congress and the government is sustained mass nationwide demonstrations and rallies.(Photo: Sage Ross/flickr/cc)](1f9d0/ct29_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) by Chris Hedges There is no American who has fought with more tenacity, courage and integrity to expose the crimes of corporate power and to thwart the corporate coup d’état that has destroyed our democracy than Ralph Nader. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why Coverage of Indigenous Issues Is So Lousy](1f9d0/ct30_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [That was the story most journalists missed, in some cases because the story handed to them limited the historical scope of what was at stake in anti-pipeline protests. (Photo: Screenshot) ](1f9d0/ct31_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) by Daniel David Indigenous perspectives, plural because there are many, have always been missing to our understanding, whether it’s about pipelines, land rights, racism or music --------------------------------------------------------------- [] [More Views](1f9d0/ct32_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [] Newswire... [] [Trump Knew More About Preventing FBI Office Relocation Than Previously Revealed](1f9d0/ct33_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [‘Tough on Crime’ Attorney General Is Mum on Plummeting Corporate Crime Enforcement, Touts Near-Record Low White-Collar Crime Enforcement as if an Achievement](1f9d0/ct34_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [United States Supreme Court to Decide Whether to Stop Children’s Constitutional Case on the Eve of Trial](1f9d0/ct35_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [PHR Offers Forensic Expertise in Khashoggi Case and Calls for Independent International Investigation](1f9d0/ct36_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [Austrian Turbine Company Should Uphold Human Rights Principles In Mekong Mega Dam Project](1f9d0/ct37_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [More Newswire](1f9d0/ct38_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [] [Share this newsletter with a friend](1f9d0/ct39_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [] [Donate](1f9d0/ct40_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) --------------------------------------------------------------- [Support Common Dreams with a tax-deductible donation](1f9d0/ct41_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) If you prefer to donate by phone, call 207.775.0488 or by check, print [this form](1f9d0/ct42_0/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX) [Common Dreams](1f9d0/ct1_1/1?sid=TV2%3ADEH2oteyX), PO Box 443, Portland, ME 04112, USA | 207.775.0488 Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 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