CommonDreams.org

Forsaking picnics and hotdog contests, two staples of New York City July 4 celebrations, area peace grandmothers held a unique holiday event, the Third Annual Reading of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence in beautiful Strawberry Fields. The readings were conducted on a gorgeous day in Yoko Ono's Central Park oasis dedicated to the memory of her husband, John Lennon. It is believed that this celebration is unique in the United States.

From Gaza, two heartrending videos tell the stories of two young Palestinians blocked from scholarships, and the world.

"Hear the anguish in these children's voices, and you will understand why it is absolutely essential for American Jews to recall their cultural memory of the Warsaw Ghetto, and why it is essential for Americans to say, Let these people go."

"This has the hallmarks of a politician slinking away before the shit hits the fan"

22 U.K. climate change activists who hijacked a coal train in a highly organized action were convicted of obstructing the train but cleared of stopping it in a case where the defendants doggedly raised global warming issues. The judge said they will likely face a sentence of community service but no jail time.

"(The judge) may think global warming is irrelevant but that does not mean that the British public does. The climate change movement is growing with every passing week and we are not waiting for the politicians to act."

As the cringe-worthy Gov. Mark Sanford continues to tell us more than we need to know, Jon Stewart nails the surreal nexus where sex, media, politics and showbiz meet in America .

"God killed Michael Jackson to save your ass, and you gave another interview?"

Taking anti-immigration rhetoric to a new xenophobic low – and citing Hispanic birth rates as proof – the so-called Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has released a report essentially finding that illegal immigrants playing their radios, probably loudly, are the reason for high energy consumption and carbon emissions that threaten the planet. Who knew?

From the report: "America's massive immigration-fueled population growth was the single largest contributing factor to the nation's increased energy consumption and carbon emissions over the past 35 years."

It seems lobbyists will have to influence-peddle the old-fashioned way – sneakily – now that the red-faced Washington Post has cancelled its planned series of "salons" offering access to policy-makers in exchange for a modest $25,000. (See below.) The leaked fliers for the events caused an uproar among people who seem to think news, and the opinions that inform it, shouldn't be for sale.

"We do not offer access to the newsroom for money," said editor Marcus Brauchli, who attributed the snafu to "a lack of effective communication internally." "We just are not in that business."

Mid-way through an Eco Week declared by DK GreenRoots, a new environmental advocacy group, a piece reminding us that bottled water makes no environmental, economic or moral sense. To wit: 

Along with the fossil fuels burned and greenhouse gases burned, making/ moving a 1-kg bottle of water uses 6.74 kg of water. Traces of Bisphenol-A have been found in almost every American tested for it. The average cost of a bottle of water is 2,000 times that of tap water. Over 26,000,000,000 bottles of water are sold in North America each year, with 86% going into landfills. 1,500 are discarded every second.

Etc. For more on DK Green Roots, go here.