Off topic – Page 4 – Life on the Farmlet

We lost.

What do I mean by we? I mean we in the sense that Monsanto can now freely grow their crops and the bees and the wind can bring the pollen in to contaminate your organic produce.

Further, Judge Buchwald, in her ruling said that the corporate thugs at Monsanto have given us their “promise” not to bring litigation and “that should be a source of comfort.”

A source of comfort for who? Certainly not we as consumers! I do not relish the thought of eating hidden GMOs. If whole countries in other parts of the world can ban GMOs why aren’t we?

I want clean food, and at the very minimum I want proper labeling. I want the choice when I shop with my food dollars of knowing that my food does not contain GMOs.

Now, thanks to a judge in New York and the USDA I get neither.

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Please read the source article regarding the trial and it’s outcome here: The Chicago Tribune

Should you like to voice your opinion of her decision… Judge Buchwald can be found here: United States District Court – Southern District of New York

The case against Monsanto, and Judge Buchwald’s judgement, can be read here: Case 1:11-cv-02163-NRB Document 53 Filed 02/24/12

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NOTE: In my last post about this I complained that I felt like a “Gnat screaming in a wind tunnel.” Well, as a good friend pointed out, many gnats can be a force to be reckoned with. Use the links above to get informed and to contact those who are in charge. Let them know we are not just random and isolated nut-jobs out here.

Spread the word and Let your voices be heard

Thank you!

This little film was found by my friend Cindy who is a school librarian in Canada. She often finds many wonderful creations made of books, but this time she had one about books.

There is a bit of controversy about the new book readers, and I do admit I use the free software from Amazon to help save money on the cost of owning books, and yet… sitting and reading at my computer will never supplant the feel of a book in my hands.

There is a certain mystique about the bound volumes. I believe for me it is the scent of old ink on yellowed and dog-eared pages that bring me back time and again to the old favorites on my own bookshelf.

Then there is the library. Oh how I love the vastness of a library, the stacks and the sheer volume of their contents, the perfume of ink and paper all bound in cloth or leather, and the quiet solitude in which to revere the old tomes.

Image: Library, El Escorial, Spain via APTM (click photo for source)

What a beauty! But perhaps too big?

Oh! Now this is just perfect! Image: Rodrigo’s library via Your Shelves (click photo for source)

When I taught, I used to tell my students to treat all books with care. I told them that books were like old friends that could tell you stories, and that any time you’d like you could go back and read the story again. I told them that through the pages of a book they could learn anything, go anywhere, and discover new ideas and information to make them smarter, more wise. Many listened and they soon discovered that a good book on a favorite topic could make you magically learn to read… or so it seemed to them. Suddenly reading wasn’t a chore, it was fun and it became a favorite pastime.

Somehow, I believe that no matter how many books you can cram into that little flat handheld screen, it can not replace the hunt through the stacks for an old favorite. Perhaps the one in which you discovered to read all by yourself, or the one you got for your birthday from Grandma and Grandpa. Or one a good friend gave to you because they knew you loved it so much. No, that is not the same at all.

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