Kudos to Illinois for leading the way in children's vision care!!!  

Illinois recently passed a law that intends for ALL children to receive a comprehensive eye examination from an Eye Doctor before entering school - so no child from Illinois will fall between the cracks of the "vision screen" system.   Here in South Florida at Visionary Eyecare, we see WAY too many children that have significant visual problems that were simply NOT picked up on these school or pediatrician vision screenings.   When a child has a vision problem and it is not detected and treated early enough - this can lead to a LIFETIME of vision problems.

Please click on the above picture to sign a petition to fully support this legistlation by incorporating a Vision First Exam Form.  This exam form will insure that the children are receiving very thorough and comprehensive eye exams from an Eye Dr  before they attend school.

We want to support Illinois  every step of the way so hopefully they will support Florida on day in passing similar legislation one day for our children!!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN PETITION

For more information please visit:

Vision First Foundation:     http://www.visionfirstfoundation.org/ 

Janet's Journal BLOG:          http://janetsjournalblog.com/

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The UBC Farm is a 24 hectare student-driven learning and research farm located on the University of British Columbia's campus, and integrated with the wider community and is the only working farmland within the city of Vancouver. It hosted over 2000 students and 100 sustainable food systems related research projects in 2007 alone. Many campus social events, educational programs for children, community outreach programs and a weekly farmers' market run here. The ultimate goal of the farm is to retain and re-create existing farm and forest lands at the University of British Columbia into an internationally significant centre for sustainable agriculture, forestry and food systems.

However, the farm is slated as a 'future housing reserve’, which leaves this valuable resource threatened. Please visit the petition here and join myself and over 2,700 others to sign your name as a supporter to keep the UBC farmland untouched by housing development.

Their last 2008 market is scheduled for Saturday, October 18th, and this is just another way you can help support the farm. To receive updates on the farms progress, you can sign up for their email list on this web page, or check their blog or website for updates.

He taxes too much. If you vote for him you’ll be homeless. If you vote for the other one, your children will starve. But if you vote for the first guy, they’ll lose all their education and become stupid rejects, begging for day-old scraps behind the ghetto bakery. But the other guy will take your job. And the other one will tax your new raise so you actually come home with $5 less every week. One of them will date your mom. The other will shut down her nursing home. One will have dinner with terrorists at Arby’s while the other just sends him a check at Christmas, even though they don’t celebrate Christmas.

Here’s what I’m saying: There are bigger issues than whose face is on the front page. Every day 6000 kids are killed by mid-term or later abortion. They refuse to allow Bibles in schools, so Christian parents teach home school, allowing their children to learn math and moral values at the same time. While the schools are taking a massive dump when it comes to value and ethics and crime and teaching self-worth, the state of California just outlawed Christians from their God-given right to teach their own kids. Now they have to send them to the cesspool of a school that will teach anti-creation science, thereby infringing on the rights of students to practice their own religion freely (but don’t worry, they won’t attack Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, pagans, wiccans, Scientologists, etc. Just the Christians.)

Let’s see, what else? Lets talk about gay marriage. I’m all for gays to have the right to choose their lifestyle- its their choice. (Just like my kids schooling used to be.) But I’m not for the whole gay-marriage thing. Sure, they can practice it, but that doesn’t really make it a marriage. I know, I know, they’ve redefined what “marriage” is, but it used to be a union before God between a man and a woman. Since most homosexuals don’t believe in or care for God, they can’t really have a union before Him that He will honor. But, what they hey, they ignored my right to practice my faith (only if it’s from the Christian Bible) by ignoring the 1^st amendment, why not ignore the other principals too.

So who is going to do what to help me out? Am I personally going to benefit from either party being elected? Maybe, but probably not. There aren’t a whole lot of things that are going to actually make a difference in the way I daily live my life. I could be wrong, but here’s how I look at it:

If one side is accused of overtaxing and the other of allowing abortions, I will sacrifice a couple bucks, even a couple hundred, per year to vote for the sanctity of life.

If one side is accused of sending jobs overseas and the other of limiting free speech, I’m probably going to have to go for free speech. There will always be a need for jobs on the US. They may not be the best, but we have too many people not to need a ton of jobs. We also have a lot of politicians going after free speech, even though the ones attacked are the churches and the right. Hmm.

If one side wants to build a thousand mile fence at the borders and the other wants to let gays marry, I will go for the fence. Those guys are great climbers and if they can get in through, over or under a military fence, then they deserve to stay. For those that can’t, they can still come here, but have to go through the legal process. Meanwhile, I stand up for what I believe regarding gay marriage. I’m not anti-gay, but I’m not pro-gay. I’m just ok-gay; they can do their thing, but I don’t want tax dollars going toward something I find immoral.

Bottom line, I can’t do anything about the politicians. But, then again, I will probably never have to answer to them. I will, however, have to answer to God. I will stand before Him and be able to say that I voted for the things and the principles that are on His side, His Law, and His eternal purpose. I will say that I stood up for hundreds of thousands of innocent children and supported their right to life. I will say that I voted against the activity that led to His destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, the activities that He calls an abomination. I will be able to say that I stood up for His Word, His teaching, for the right to exhibit by faith, to speak freely the gospel. I will say, “Jesus, I stood up for you.”

What do you stand for?

Whether these politicians and investors realize it or not building a casino at this location is institutional and environmental racism against the many minority populations in the Chinatown community.

Read
•Philadelphia Inquirer Article, Chinatown Residents Fear Lure of Gaming by Jennifer Lin
•"Environmental Racism, Chinatown and the Gallery Casino" by Helen Gym
• angryasianman.com picked up the news

I googled around looking for related things and found these links
• Great Asian American Resource page at the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services

From an interview with Dr. Timothy Fong (whose name comes up in every search on this subject), Director of UCLA's Gambling Studies Program. He said this in his findings,

What did the focus groups reveal?
Number one, gambling was a common thing that a lot of community members did. Number two, it was very socially acceptable. And number three, almost everyone knew one or two people that they knew had a gambling problem. It was a very common thread that they also didn’t know what to do about that person; where to send them, what to say to them, what to do about it.

What was also very interesting was that the casinos were very aggressive in marketing toward Asian communities. But they didn’t blame them for that. They didn’t say that that was a bad practice. This is just a reality. We learn about a lot of bus tours that were marketed for Asian communities. Fliers that were marketed toward that community.

Sign the Petition

Tonight I attended a public forum as a representative of my church regarding a proposal to place casinos courtesy of Foxwoods at The Gallery in Philadelphia which is right at the entrance of Chinatown. This has gotten some press and after tonight's meeting I'm sure it will get some more. There were some very angry people there. Typically you don't find many Chinese folks speaking up about things much less political things but they were out in force tonight. In fact I'm very impressed with this gathering because it's much more diverse than I had anticipated. There were many voices. Among them were educators, students, long time residents, church goers, business owners and community leaders. They weren't just Chinese either. There were many non-Asians in the crowd.

Our church (CCCNC) officially took a stance of opposition against this proposal a couple of weeks ago and we're trying to prayerfully handle this with much grace, wisdom and peace. We know we need to be a voice for the many aliens and poor in our community. We know first hand the effects of gambling among the Chinese as we counsel many compulsive gamblers and the families devastated by their habits. This is probably one of the most important things we've been involved in for our community.
Please pray for us.

Representatives from Mayor Michael Nutter's office (Terry Gillen), Councilman DiCicco and State Representative O'Brien were receiving comments and arguments tonight at the Holy Redeemer School. It was not a good night to be in their shoes. If we want to build the next great American city, this is definitely not the way. The cost will be greater than any economic gain. This is institutional racism.

For More Info:
Asian Americans United for facts, petition, links and more.
Casino-Free Philadelphia, dedicated to say no to any casinos in the city of Philadelphia
Foxwoods Casino PA

Articles
PlanPhilly - City Set to See Foxwoods Design
PlanPhilly - City Sees Foxwoods Design

Other Resources
Gambling, Addiction and Asian Culture
Casinos Aggressively Market to Asian Americans, But Few Services Help Addicts
California Provides Glimpse Into Asian Gambling Culture
Resources from The Conference on Assessment & Treatment of Compulsive Gambling Among Asian American held on October 26, 2007 via AsianMentalHealth.org

“There’s this interest in gambling among the Chinese that transcends anything you see in any other socioeconomic or ethnic group" - Gary Loveman, Chief Executive at Harrah's

Sign the Petition

This is a response from the people of Britain against the barbaric religious laws of Islam. Sign the petition to let the Government know that We, The People do not want Sharia Law accepted or integrated into British law.

As John stated in a comment on the Time to kick Islam out of Britain article;

Spread this link around to EVERYONE in your contact list in your email account. Its been up 3 days and has already 1,900 signitures

Thanks for the link John.

Remember, society and everything in it, freedom lovers and tyrants, are all just different humans pursuing different ends, and it is only People that have shaped humanity. All of the tyrants and fascism scum and all of those who fought for their freedoms and the individual rights to be the masters of their own lives. All people.

Just like us.

This is Our Time in the history of the human race. There have been many Times before us and there shall be many Times for future people to shape. But this is ours.

I'm going to loosely paraphrase (and edit) the Rifleman's Creed, mostly replacing 'rifle' with 'time' and such, mostly.

This is my Time. There are many like it but this one is mine. My Time is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. My Time, without me is useless. Without my Time, I am useless...

Lets make this Time of hours the kind of Time that future Fighters against Tyranny look back on and be inspired by!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/shariastop/

WE must change this. Us, there are no others to do it. There can be no others because we are all that this Time has. It must be us...

Libertarian Party UK

http://www.peta.org/Sea_Kittens/index.asp

Given the drastic situation for this country's sea kittens—who are often the victims of many major threats to their welfare and ways of life—it's high time that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stop allowing our little sea kitten friends to be tortured and killed. Who'd want to hurt a sea kitten anyway?!

Sea kittens are just as intelligent (not to mention adorable) as dogs and cats, and they feel pain just as all animals do.

Please take just a few moments to send an e-mail to H. Dale Hall, the director of the FWS, asking him to stop promoting the hunting of sea kittens (otherwise known as "fishing"). The promotion of sea kitten hunting is a glaring contradiction of FWS' mission to "conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats."

Obviously since I'm a vegan I support any animal rights issue I come across. I signed the petition and you can too! Just because we can hunt and eat other living creatures doesn't make it right.

1. People call Hunting a sport but when an animal does the same thing they call it an attack.
2. We say this animal is over populated and this one too...look at people. we've pushed animals homes to almost nothing and we are still clearing land! who is really overpopulated?

Ok I'm off my soap box now :D

*Ok well I tried to add my Sea Kitten I made but I am not having any luck adding it to my post, but she was a cutie!!

Dr. Robin was accused of passing derogatory remarks against the beard of Prophet Muhammad.

He is currently detained in Gujranawala jail. Dr. Robin's family was forced to go into hiding as the family members of the accused cannot stay at their home after the stigma of blasphemy has been slapped on any of their family members.

The family of Dr. Robin and some 20 Christian residents of district Hafizabad had come to see the APMA Chief; Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, after Dr. Robin was accused of blasphemy. They apprised him of the insecurity they had become exposed to after Robin was implicated in a blasphemy case.

The APMA has been extending financial support to the family as well as free legal aid to Dr. Robin since the occurrence of alleged blasphemy by Dr. Robin.

The family of the accused including Veenus, 50, Tariq 42, Waseem Bhatti, 32 and Francis Masih, a relative of Dr. Robin came to the APMA office in Islamabad on October 3, 2008.

Describing the fear and uncertainty that gripped the family members following leveling of blasphemy charges on Dr. Robin, Waseem told ANS that they felt as if a roof had been snatched from them.

“We felt secure after we met the APMA Chief Shahbaz Bhatti,” he said.

“We wanted our voice to be raised. We were desperately looking for someone to steer us out of the problem we were confronting. We were praying for some help. We prayed to God and we knew our prayers were heard when we met Shahbaz Bhatti”, said Waseem.

The young Christian man went on to say that fears of sorts were assailing the family's mind after detention of Dr. Robin. They (fears) left us disturbed and helpless all the more, he said.

After incarceration of Dr. Robin, he said the family had lost the breadwinner and they were not in a position of hiring a lawyer.

“You need a lawyer to defend you even in a simple dispute. We knew we had to hire a competent defense counsel for Dr. Robin. It was again Mr. Shahbaz who extended free legal aid for Dr. Robin”, said Waseem as tears ran down his cheeks.

Waseem, who works as an animator in a local Non Governmental Organization (NGO) feared that it had become virtually impossible for Dr. Robin to run his clinic at the same locality.

He also ruled out possibility of any of his family members staying at the same place after leveling of blasphemy accusations on Dr. Robin.

“His (Dr. Robin's) family members are living in hiding. They have been able to find a roof above their heads with the help the APMA Chief extended to the family but you still feel alienated. You take time to settle down at a new place. You continue to live a tension-ridden life”, he said.

“The children of Dr. Robin have been robbed of fatherly love. Michael Rose, the youngest of Dr. Robin's children used to stay in a hostel. He does not feel comfortable staying at the hostel now”, said Waseem.

In response to a question he said that during this period of tribulation Dr. Robin had emerged as a strong Christian. He said his (Dr. Robin's) belief in Christ had only become stronger.

Tariq, a relative of Dr. Robin told ANS that Dr. Robin wished to be released as soon as possible.

He said the incident had come as a big jolt to the children of Dr. Robin.

He said they had not been able to concentrate on their studies fully after Robin was arrested by the police.

Francis, brother-in-law of Dr. Robin called for repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Citing his talks with a couple of Muslim friends, he said that they were of the view that the law should be repealed.

“My Muslim friends admitted that a thorough investigation should be made before lodging of a blasphemy-related Police First Information Report (FIR)”, said Tariq.

Tariq disclosed that he had been able to record a conversation between the complainant and some family members of Dr. Robin in which the complainant tried to do a “deal” with the family of the accused.

According to Tariq, the complainant said that he would withdraw charges against Dr. Robin if his family agreed to pay him money.

He claimed he recorded the conversation on September 19, a day ahead of the hearing of Dr. Robin's case in a lower court.

Echoing a grave concern of Pakistani Christians, who like their fellow Muslim Pakistanis want their concerns to be highlighted on national and print media, Tariq said that Dr. Robin's case only drew marginal coverage of the incident.

Lashing out at the police he alleged that the police failed to provide adequate security to Dr. Robin's family.

“If the Police had provided security to Dr. Robin's family and his vulnerable relatives then they might have decided to continue staying in Hafizabad but in the absence of any such security the family was forced to go into hiding”, he said.

In an apparent bid to support his disbelief in the police, he said that police did not take initiative for rescuing Dr. Robin's family “rather some local Christians entered Dr. Robin's home at about 3 am and rescued the family members who had become prone to attack by the angry Muslim residents of Hafizabad”.

“Do you want us to jump into fire”, he quoted a police official as saying, who Tariq and other Christian residents of the area wanted to rescue Dr. Robin's family members.

Post-arrest situation

Tariq said when he and some other members of Dr. Robin's family went to Dr. Robin's place to collect some clothes, books and some other daily use items they saw a “shocking scene”.

“Not even a single thing was at its place. There were visible signs of human presence at Dr. Robin's house. It was not hard to conclude that some people have been living at Dr. Robin's house. We saw crumbs of bread, chicken bones, and unwashed dishes.

Dr. Robin's house had been ransacked”, said Tariq, who looked scared while sketching the ransacked home of Dr. Robin.

He said that the lower court rejected a post-arrest bail petition, prompting the APMA to file a petition in Lahore High Court.

Asked who could have inhabited Dr. Robin's house after his arrest and exiting of his family members, Tariq said that the fundamentalist Muslims of the area could have maintained their presence at Dr. Robin's house. Nobody could have dared entering Dr. Robin's home if the police had been vigilant, he said.

Tariq disclosed that a small but angry Muslim crowd took out a rally in a bid to pressurize the court.

He said that participants of the rally were holding placards, which were inscribed with slogans, “Give death to Dr. Robin.”

He disclosed that the witnesses at a court hearing had submitted their written version on legal papers that Dr. Robin did not commit blasphemy.

He said he learned that Dr. Robin's lawyer also gave precedents of post-arrest bails granted to blasphemy accused in the past “but even then the judge did not grant post-arrest bail to Dr. Robin”.

Talking to the APMA Chief, Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Veenus said that recording of the alleged conversation between the complainant and some family members further angered the local Muslims.

Thanking Mr. Shahbaz, she said she was optimistic that Dr. Robin would soon be home due to the APMA's efforts.

She said: “I urge the Christians across the world to pray for release of my husband from prison. I cannot give fatherly love to my children. We want him back as soon as possible”, she said while talking to the APMA Chief”.

The APMA Chief told ANS that he was going to urge authorities to do an in-camera trial of Dr. Robin for security purposes. An application in this regard would be moved soon, he said.

He assured the family of the accused that Dr. Robin would soon be with them.

“The APMA is concerned. It (APMA) has been since leveling of the blasphemy accusations on Dr. Robin. We stand by you at this critical juncture in Robin's and your life,” Shahbaz told the family of Dr. Robin who had come to see him at his office in Islamabad.

“It is the case of entire Christian community. When children of Dr. Robin talk to me by phone, I could feel the agony in their voices. I understand what they are living through. The APMA will do all it can to ensure expedient release of Dr. Robin”, said Shahbaz.

“We understand that the Pakistan blasphemy laws are being misused to settle personal scores. Religious enmity, prejudice and intolerance have been found behind filing of blasphemy cases in the past”, he maintained.

“God will move in His own mysterious way. Dr. Robin will be with you soon”, the APMA Chief told Dr. Robin's spouse, Veenus.

Shahbaz reiterated his pledge that the APMA would continue to extend free legal aid to the blasphemy accused.

He said the APMA would continue to struggle until the blasphemy laws are repealed.

A person is reduced to the status of a refugee in his country after blasphemy allegations are leveled against him, said Shahbaz implying to the threats the accused and his family receive after slapping of blasphemy charges.

Responding a question, he said the APMA had been providing free legal aid and shelter to the blasphemy-accused since the abuse of the law became rampant in Pakistan.

The APMA, he said, wants to see the controversial laws abolished. He disclosed that he wanted to table a bill in parliament in a bid to either get the laws repealed or see them significantly amended.

He appealed to the Christians across the world to pray for the APMA and Pakistani Christians.

“I thank you for your previous prayers and support. We need your prayers to be able to continue fighting for the rights of the marginalized and the down-trodden Pakistani Christians and other minorities”, he said.

Dubbing Pakistan blasphemy laws as a death warrant in the hands of extremists, Shahbaz called for the repeal of the law, which he said had done more harm than good since their introduction in 1986.

Report from the Christian Telegraph

Dear Prime Minister

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND HIS CABINET

2 October 2008

Dear Prime Minister & Cabinet Members

By all accounts, we have lost a figure of uncommon strength and conviction in Mr JB Jeyaretnam.

No matter which side of the political fence we stand, it is undeniable that Mr JBJ, as he will be fondly remembered, has fought long and hard for what he believed was good for Singapore and, good for Singaporeans.

Mr JBJ did all he could with all he could. In staying the course, he has undoubtedly performed a public duty as a citizen of Singapore and, amply demonstrated the public spirit, the commitment to country and, the “nation before self” maxim that the government has sought to propagate.

As Singaporeans we are proud that such a man as Mr JBJ walked among us. We appreciate the sacrifices Mr JBJ has made for his beliefs in serving the people of Singapore. We are equally proud that the government, in spite of its political differences, has acknowledged the same resilience and service to nation in Mr JBJ.

Mr JBJ is an icon – an individual who stood up to serve the country and who stood tall for his beliefs and principles. As citizens of Singapore, we hope that Mr JBJ’s public spiritedness and love of the law can be preserved in the following manner:

> A professorial chair in the name of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam be created in the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and,

> A scholarship fund in the name of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam for graduate studies in political science and/or constitutional law and/or civil society studies.

We also humbly ask the government to further demonstrate its commitment to public spiritedness and active citizenry by taking the lead to provide the seed fund for the above honours for others to follow.

We look forward to your encouragement as we mourn the loss of one of Singapore’s outstanding sons.

Yours in good faith,

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

Follow the link for the undersigned.

The following people have already signed the petition.

> Dana Lam Yoke Kiew
> SxxxxxxxxH
> Braema Mathi
> SxxxxxxxxG
> Siew Kum Hong
> SxxxxxxxxE
> Au Wai Pang
> SxxxxxxxxJ
> Manohar P Sabnani
> SxxxxxxxxA
> Teri Teo Shiwen
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> Constance Singam
> SxxxxxxxxE
> Cheng U Wen, Lena
> SxxxxxxxxD
> Lim Siew Wai, William
> SxxxxxxxxD
> Benedict Jacob-Thambiah
> SxxxxxxxxI
> T Sasitharan
> SxxxxxxxxZ
> Stephanie Chok
> SxxxxxxxxB
> Heng Hiang Khng
> SxxxxxxxxE
> Jacqueline Tan
> SxxxxxxxxC
> Serene Yap
> SxxxxxxxxG
> Guna Subramaniam
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> Betty Lau Pway Sian
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> Laremy Lee
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> Jeffrey Ho
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Click here to sign the petition and get this ad on the air.

Malaysians from all woks of life have collectively and strongly denounced the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and have called for the unconditional release of it's detainees and the abolishment of the draconian law. Several members of the ruling BN coalition have also voiced their discontent and condemned the use of the ISA, the most prominent one being the de-facto law minister at that time, Zaid Ibrahim. He was initially brought into the BN cabinet to give our judiciary a much needed reform. His call also fell on deaf ears and the gentleman subsequently tendered his resignation. If the law minister himself thinks that the ISA needs to be abolished, I don't think a stronger indication is needed to at least review the matter. ISA detainees remain in detention without trial. Many human right watchdog groups have also called for the abolishment of this inhumane law. ISA detainees still remain in detention without trial.

Malaysians have signed numerous petitions to the government demanding the release of all ISA detainees. Judging from the government's reaction, it would not be unwise to suspect that those in the corridors of power might not have even read these petitions. We Malaysians are a peaceful and civilised lot. We want to be civil in making our pleas and demands. Instead of taking violently to the streets and bringing the country into unprecedented chaos, we have resorted to writing petitions to our so-called "leaders". These petitions have been ignored.

Malaysians have, once again, resorted to peaceful protesting. This time around, we are sending emails directly to those we want to reach. In this latest show of support, emails will be sent to our Home Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Prime Minister and YM Raja Petra Kamarudin himself. This move has garnered amazing support thus far. More than 50,000 emails have been sent. All you have to do to lend your support to this noble cause is click here. You do not need to go through the hassle of writing a long email to get the message across. A letter has already been drafted. You just need to fill in your name and remember to click the "send" button for all four recipients. It's as simple as that.

Let's all do our part as good, decent and responsible Malaysians and send out these emails to the people out there who have the power to make these decisions. Once again, you can do so by clicking here. RPK and he HINDRAF five have sacrificed too much for us. I make this plea to one and all to show them that they are in our thoughts and prayers and that we are forever indebted to them for their role in the imminent reforms that Malaysia is about to undergo. Show them we care. Show them we are greatful. Show them they are not alone.

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Je relaie la pétition ci-dessous pour la défense d'une librairie de BD de Bordeaux : Oscar Hibou.

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"A l'heure où les institutions affirment leur volonté de soutenir la librairie indépendante, à l'heure où notre ministre de la Culture, Christine Albanel, à grand renfort de communiqués et rapports semble en faire une priorité; une toute autre réalité, en totale contradiction avec les discours et ces beaux principes, s'établit, lentement mais sûrement. Une réalité cruelle mais qui semble devenue implacable, inéluctable... et ce malgré les efforts développés par l'Arpel dans notre région qui fait tout son possible, avec les moyens dont elle dispose, pour défendre cette profession.

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LA LIBRAIRIE INDEPENDANTE : CHRONIQUE D'UNE MORT ANNONCEE

LE CAS OSCAR HIBOU

Est-il bien indispensable de rappeler les atouts de la librairie indépendante, la nécessité de sa persistance sur le double maillage urbain et culturel ? Dans le doute, offrons-nous ce luxe, histoire de nous rafraîchir les esprits...
Car ces établissements et leurs équipes, certes commerces de proximité, au rôle social avéré, ne se bornent pas seulement à vendre des livres. Leur rôle et leur implication est bien au-delà de cette seule activité. Ces petites entreprises, souvent spécialisées, sont aussi de véritables acteurs de la vie culturelle, partie-prenantes dans la participation et l'organisation de manifestations et temps forts divers. Leurs libraires sont des partenaires précieux pour l'ensemble des acteurs du livre, des bibliothèques aux artistes, en passant pas les éditeurs pour ne citer qu'eux. Ils effectuent un véritable travail de sélection, de mise en valeur des créateurs locaux, des petites maisons d'édition, etc. Nous allons tous dans ces librairies pour être conseillés, passer un moment convivial, échanger, faire des découvertes, débattre ou au contraire se retrouver dans un univers emprunt d'intimité... Qui n'a pas rencontré un auteur ou une oeuvre grâce à son libraire ? Qui n'a jamais fais la connaissance d'un livre-trésor ou même d'un livre-ovni grâce à son libraire ? Etc, etc, etc. Donc comment prouver davantage que ces professionnels sont indispensables au fonctionnement de ce grand concept de démocratisation culturelle (certes souvent mis à mal, auquel parfois beaucoup ne croient plus) et surtout luttent contre l'uniformisation de la culture ?
Car c'est bien de ce danger dont il s'agit, une menace qui plane et s'installe et risque de régenter le livre comme elle l'a fait pour la musique et plus spécifiquement le disque. Est-ce bien cela que nous voulons puisque c'est vers cela que nous tendons ?
Pouvons-nous sincèrement croire qu'une grande surface culturelle ou même le numérique_qui se profilent comme les deux ultimes options_ pourra nous apporter autant de richesse, de diversité et d'humanité ? Certes non. Et pourtant, la véritable librairie indépendante est en train de disparaître. Le prix unique du livre, récemment chahuté, semble sur la sellette. La masse éditoriale est devenue titanesque. La rotation des stocks, la durée de vie d'un titre et les politiques bancaires sont carrément ubuesques !... Et c'est bien l'ensemble de ces paramètres, en vrac, qui sont en train de faire chavirer la Culture et sa cohorte de métiers. Le livre serait un produit de consommation comme les autres ?
Nous avons vu récemment fermer Bédélire, une véritable institution bordelaise dans la bande-dessinée. Certes, cela nous a très sûrement attristés... Ciné Folie est en train de liquider. C'est bien dommage ! Et c'est bientôt au tour de la Librairie Oscar Hibou (là encore une institution), lâchée par ses partenaires bancaires. Et nous ne parlons que de Bordeaux, qu'en est-il des autres villes, de l'ensemble du territoire national ?

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Pensant que nous n'avons pas encore raté complètement le coche et refusant de croire à toute forme de fatalité, nous appelons tous ceux qui partagent ce sentiment à se mobiliser : qu'ils soient professionnels du livre, bibliothécaires, auteurs, acteurs de la vie culturelle, amateurs de livres, clients, passionnés ou tout simplement citoyens... Car notre démarche, loin de toute pensée élitiste, vise simplement à défendre la dernière librairie indépendante qui a contribué a faire de Bordeaux une place importante de la bande-dessinée, même si à travers cela nous défendons, comme cette librairie le fait chaque jour, une certaine (belle) idée de la Culture.
Merci à chacun de mettre en oeuvre tout ce qui est en son pouvoir pour aider la Librairie Oscar Hibou à ne pas fermer ses portes et aller plus loin dans son entreprise."

Le Comité / collectif pour Oscar Hibou

Envoyez votre e-mail de soutien comportant vos nom, prénoms, commune de résidence à :

pouroscarhibou@gmail.com

Ou

en cliquant ICI.

Merci

Silence

TAKE ACTION: Tell EPA to Protect People from Pesticide Poisoning

Dear Christine,
Endosulfan is a dangerous pesticide in the same family of chemicals as DDT, the notorious pesticide that was banned in 1972 because it poisoned people, wildlife, and the environment. Like DDT, endosulfan is a serious threat to people -- especially farmworkers and children. The European Union and many other countries have already recognized this danger and have banned endosulfan's use.

Sign a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging them to ban endosulfan's use on food!

Acute exposure to endosulfan can lead to serious health problems, including nausea, vomiting, brain damage, coma, and even death. Additionally, endosulfan has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer and miscarriage as well as developmental problems in young children. A study found that children exposed to endosulfan when they were fetuses had a significantly higher incidence of autism.

Endosulfan has been found in our food and water supplies and due to its high mobility it has even been detected in remote national parks, on Mount Everest, and in the Arctic! Despite these risks, EPA continues to permit endosulfan's use in agriculture.

The EPA is now deciding whether it should adopt stronger protections to keep endosulfan off of our food and out of our environment. Chemical companies are fighting to keep endosulfan on the market. Don't let the voice of industry be the only one that the EPA hears. They need to hear from you too!

The deadline for submitting public comments to the EPA is October 20th. Add your voice to the call from thousands of others to demand that the EPA protect people from endosulfan today!

Take action!

During a political rally near Seton Hall's campus, ONE members were able ONE band two of New Jersey's most important political figures.  Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine were both given the iconic white ONE wrist bands.  We told these leaders that ONE is a coalition of Americans that are focused on the issues of extreme poverty and global disease, and that as voters these issues are important to us.  Their responses were of gratitude and passion as they both told us that these issues should be discussed more in the public discourse.  I was personally struck by the compassion that Mayor Booker displayed as he expressed the importance of our advocacy.  ONE by ONE all Americans are truly coming together to make poverty history.

HA NOI — Representatives of the Viet Nam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) yesterday submitted a petition to the US Supreme Court, urging reconsideration of the US Court of Appeals verdict relating to a lawsuit launched by Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

The lawsuit was originally launched against several US chemical companies that manufactured the deadly dioxin, but has since been rejected by the US Court of Appeals.

"If the petition is approved, VAVA may then lodge an appeal with the US Supreme Court in line with US laws," said VAVA vice president-cum-general secretary Tran Xuan Thu at a press briefing yesterday.

The 41-page petition argues that verdicts reached by the US Hearings and Appeals Courts were not in accordance with US legal procedures.

The petition points out that the verdicts made by the US Hearings Court and then upheld by the US Court of Appeals were based on trivial objections and aimed at denying the truth of the harmful effects of dioxin. The petition points out the fallacy in saying that chemical substances produced by a number of US companies for US soldiers to use during the war in Viet Nam were herbicides and were not known to be toxic to humans.

The verdict reached by the US Court of Appeals said that the US did not intend to affect humans when spraying the toxic chemicals, and that the resulting dioxin pollution was an unintended consequence of the scattering of these chemicals.

The petition argues that the use of Agent Orange, which contains high levels of dioxins, violates international practices forbidding the use of toxic substances against humans.

Following submission of the petition to the US Supreme Court, a press briefing is scheduled to be held in front of the US Supreme Court in New York led by Johnathan Moore, representative of the lawyers’ team representing VAVA - the petitioner; Mike Marceau, deputy president of the US Veterans for Peace, and two Vietnamese Agent Orange victims, Dang Thi Hong Nhut and Tran Thi Hoan.

"If the US Supreme Court does not accept the petition, it is still possible for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims to continue the lawsuit at courts in 11 other areas in the US as the US Supreme Court’s rejection is valid only in area No 2, where the petition is being submitted," said lawyer Luu Van Dat, a member of VAVA’s executive board.

According to VAVA, the US forces sprayed approximately 80 million litres of herbicides, including nearly 400kg of dioxin, onto Vietnamese soil during the 10 years of the American war between 1961 and 1971.

An estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to dioxin with around 3 million suffering from the effects of Agent Orange.—