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In downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the nocturnal critter (and an impressive climber) began his ascent of the UBS Plaza building late afternoon Tuesday. But with cameras from inside and out tracking his progress, the little fella's push towards the top soon became an online sensation. (Photo: Twitter/@Paige_Donnelly)
A skyscraper-scaling raccoon lit up the Internet overnight--generating hope, anxiety, and the #mpraccoon hashtag on social media--and defenders of net neutrality warn it's just the latest example, benign and light-hearted as it is, of what could be lost if big telecoms and the Trump FCC are not thwarted in their effort to hijack control of the world wide web in the name of profit and greed.
In downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the nocturnal critter (and an impressive climber) began his ascent of the UBS Plaza building late afternoon Tuesday. But with cameras from inside and out tracking his progress, the little fella's push towards the top soon became an online sensation.
Watch:
But as Evan Greer, campaign director for the online advocay group Fight For the Future, tweeted:
While new rules by the FCC which killed net neutrality protections officially went into effect on Monday, groups like Fight for The Future--along with a broad coalition of civil rights organizations, online companies and services, and organized citizens--are refusing to accept defeat and have put a laser focus on the U.S. House of Representatives, demanding passage of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would nullify the corporate assault on the principle that guarantees all web traffic is treated equally.
In the end, we happily report, the raccoon made it safely to the top of the building on Wednesday morning. Its reward? Reportedly a nice bowl of cat food.
How Internet is that?
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A skyscraper-scaling raccoon lit up the Internet overnight--generating hope, anxiety, and the #mpraccoon hashtag on social media--and defenders of net neutrality warn it's just the latest example, benign and light-hearted as it is, of what could be lost if big telecoms and the Trump FCC are not thwarted in their effort to hijack control of the world wide web in the name of profit and greed.
In downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the nocturnal critter (and an impressive climber) began his ascent of the UBS Plaza building late afternoon Tuesday. But with cameras from inside and out tracking his progress, the little fella's push towards the top soon became an online sensation.
Watch:
But as Evan Greer, campaign director for the online advocay group Fight For the Future, tweeted:
While new rules by the FCC which killed net neutrality protections officially went into effect on Monday, groups like Fight for The Future--along with a broad coalition of civil rights organizations, online companies and services, and organized citizens--are refusing to accept defeat and have put a laser focus on the U.S. House of Representatives, demanding passage of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would nullify the corporate assault on the principle that guarantees all web traffic is treated equally.
In the end, we happily report, the raccoon made it safely to the top of the building on Wednesday morning. Its reward? Reportedly a nice bowl of cat food.
How Internet is that?
A skyscraper-scaling raccoon lit up the Internet overnight--generating hope, anxiety, and the #mpraccoon hashtag on social media--and defenders of net neutrality warn it's just the latest example, benign and light-hearted as it is, of what could be lost if big telecoms and the Trump FCC are not thwarted in their effort to hijack control of the world wide web in the name of profit and greed.
In downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the nocturnal critter (and an impressive climber) began his ascent of the UBS Plaza building late afternoon Tuesday. But with cameras from inside and out tracking his progress, the little fella's push towards the top soon became an online sensation.
Watch:
But as Evan Greer, campaign director for the online advocay group Fight For the Future, tweeted:
While new rules by the FCC which killed net neutrality protections officially went into effect on Monday, groups like Fight for The Future--along with a broad coalition of civil rights organizations, online companies and services, and organized citizens--are refusing to accept defeat and have put a laser focus on the U.S. House of Representatives, demanding passage of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would nullify the corporate assault on the principle that guarantees all web traffic is treated equally.
In the end, we happily report, the raccoon made it safely to the top of the building on Wednesday morning. Its reward? Reportedly a nice bowl of cat food.
How Internet is that?