Ahmadinejad speaks again

Iran is bragging about its near-nuclear capabilities again...

Judge for yourself, but what is happening now with Iran, Israel, and Palestine is undeniably crucial. This is perhaps one of the most important things of our time. Pay close attention. The conflict within the Middle-East has always made a huge impact on the world, and always will.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3500573,00.html

-Apollo

SUNS vs SPURS!

Hey Guys!

Anyone going to the game tonight? Let's see what happens when a REAL game is played!

Ironwood Teen Coordinator

Sunland

At sunland school we have a soccer team. And I am so happy that I made to the soccer team because they work so hard with us. And I am so happy that mrs.White and ms.river work with us.

it is all about cesar chavez hs

Chavez is cool and it has good sports like football and baseball.
They have good teachers too!

This year the football team won 3 games out of six, the freshman did good 2.
The coachs were great and teached us a lot of things and i give them a pat on the back.

mobama

I like the ideal of a black male running to be head of states.I know that Jesse Jackson raned but he puncked out.

South Point Question For Abused women.

Hey readers my school South Pointe High, has a club called Girl Talk. We are sponsoring an event and saying any ladys out there that has sufferd thru domestic violence(whos been abuse by anybody weather it's boyfriends, family member, or others) and that has survived it please let others know how you got out and started all over. We need you to come to our school and speak about it. All women are welcome, but please share with us your contact info so that you can participate at our event. If you want more information please contact the school directly. It's a private school so you will need to ask our concelor for permission. But we need to hear your experience to help us (young ladies) out!

thank you.

The Looking Glass Wars

I noticed someone commented on these books by Frank Beddor.

Love them!!

Check them out here: The Looking Glass Wars, http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/controller.jsp?R=2118838522, and Seeing Redd, http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/controller.jsp?R=2118838522. The next book (I think it's a 3 book series), will probably be out sometime next year.

Frank Beddor is a filmmaker so these books read a lot like watching a movie. He has plans to publish them as graphic novels, also.

3frog (Queen of Collections)

McCain carries Florida; Hillary makes a pointless gesture

At the time of writing this post, the official poll numbers have been announced for the Florida Republican and Democratic primaries. On the Republican side, John McCain edged out Mitt Romney: 43 to 37 percent. It turns out Giuliani's strategy of ignoring the first several states to focus on Florida didn't help much at all. We can probably safely assume Giuliani will drop out this week and endorse McCain. He may even be trying to set himself up to be in McCain's cabinet if McCain is elected President. Let's see.

I think Romney made a big mistake too. It would have been a big boost for him to win in Florida. And he could have. Here's how it breaks down. Mitt Romney decided to abandon South Carolina to go campaign in Nevada, a state he had essentially won without even going there??? Don't ask me how that works. By ignoring South Carolina, he did not take votes from McCain, which potentially could have allowed Huckabee to win there. Without McCain gaining momentum from South Carolina, Romney may have gained enough ground to edge out McCain in Florida. Therefore McCain would still be only win-less major conservative candidate remaining, and that might start to hurt him in the eyes of voters. Then it would be pretty much up to Romney versus Huckabee, a battle that either side could win. Romney lost a big chance for some momentum he will need going into Super Tuesday.

The Democratic side was really very boring, as the Democratic Party will be sending no delegates from Florida after Florida moved up its primary date. Thus, there was nothing at stake. Hillary Clinton campaigned anyway, and won in a landslide.

-Apollo

Sources:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-analysis-florida-vote-jan30,1,5599717.story
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKQGmxj89vyXDiYDSNTLbKgEto-QD8UFVN5O2

Comicon wrap-up

Hello, all you fans of anime, fantasy, sci-fi, etc! The place to be this weekend was the Phoenix Comicon were thousands of fans descended on the Mesa Convention Center to meet, greet, and be seen. The Phoenix Public Library was there with a table talking about all the stuff we have to offer such as Comic Collab, Create! Zine, and the thousands of volumes of graphic novels in our collection. I was lucky to be there both days working at the library table, which had a sweet spot next to a Star Wars costuming table. Saturday I hung out with R2D2 and on Sunday with Yoda (he's just as nice as you think he is). One of the best things about these kind of conventions is getting to see all the different costumes. By far the most popular costumes were from Naruto and other anime shows. Like any respectable sci-fi convention there were also plenty of stormtroopers and at least five Vaders. However, the con was not all fun and games. There were some heated discussions regarding who would win in a knock down drag-out fight, Superman or Batman (Batman, duh!), and American comics vs. Anime. Your thoughts?

While there, I indulged my inner geek and bought some graphic novels based on the Grimm Fairy Tales and a novel by Frank Beddor, The Looking Glass Wars. It's supposed to be a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, if you're interested, the library does own multiple copies. Has anyone read this, and if so what did you think of it?

Librarylady19

McCain Surges

The past two weeks have seen a huge popularity boost for Senator John McCain (R). He has surged to top of polls in many states, beat out Huckabee in South Carolina, and may very well beat Giuliani in Florida.

The conservative from Arizona has faced criticism from both the left and right wings, each claiming that McCain is too much of a Republican or Democrat. Still, his relatively moderate stances have attracted a large following. Huckabee is still my #1 candidate, but as more and more people join McCain, Huckabee will have a hard time keeping up.

And to those who reason that McCain may choose Huckabee as his VP: McCain already has the support of the right. The conservatives are desperate enough to vote for the Republican candidate anyway, nearly no matter who it is. Choosing a strong social conservative like Huckabee will only alienate the left and allow a liberal to beat him in the general election. Yet choosing someone more liberal than himself would also risk losing the hard right voters. Therefore, I expect him to pick a mild to moderate conservative, perhaps a minority such as black, hispanic, or female to work against Obama or Clinton.

The main issue for conservatives is that McCain is the only one who is seen as having a good chance of becoming President. Recent polls put him 0-1 percent above Obama and Clinton. Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, and Paul are each respectively worse.

-Apollo

Do good unto others...

Make every effort to do something good for someone today. Even if it is the smallest thing, do something that will make a positive impact in another's life.

There is no greater reward than this.

-Apollo

Smile

Did you know that merely smiling greatly improves others' subconscious perceptions of you? It's true! Remember that first impressions do make a difference. Don't you want your impression to be a smiling one?

Smile today and you never know what may happen!

-Apollo

What's going on...with teens in the PPL?????

Hey teens, I want to know what is happening with teens at your library. Any good programs?? Any good fundraising? Are you making some money?? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Waiting to hear about the good stuff...

Manga, manga, manga

In Italian that means eat, eat, eat! But in libraryland it means those cool japanese style comics that we carry at PPL.

My current faves include:

Love.Com-http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/blaze/controller.jsp?R=2118921685. This one cracks me up. Tall girl, short boy-is it possible to find love together?

Dragon Eye-http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/blaze/controller.jsp?R=2118929161. Misfit band of warriors battling to save the world from.....giant chickens? (There's more to it than this-but writing these things is hard!)

Death Jr. 2-http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/blaze/controller.jsp?R=2118942534. Just read it.

Do you have a favorite series or title that you enjoy?

Eragon-Book 3

Rumor has it that Eragon Book 3, Brisingr, is going to be published in September 2008! As soon as I know for sure-I'll post the link to place a hold on the book.

Too young to leave us!

One of my favorite actors, Heath Ledger, died this week. He was only 28.

He starred in one of my favorite movies, 10 Things I Hate About You.

If you've never seen it, check it out at http://www.phoenixpubliclibrary.org/controller.jsp?R=2118558130 .

Bye Heath, gonna miss you.

The unjust campaign against God

I just found an article from awhile ago concerning the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and one of their decisions.

The majority opinion, written by Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, actually said this:

"God should not be in public school where he might unduly influence unsuspecting children without the consent of their parents," wrote Judge Alfred T. Goodwin in the majority opinion.

It takes about one second to realize what an outrageous comment this is. Goodwin is ignoring the whole essence of the situation by using consent as an excuse.

It gets worse.

Goodwin has asked for all administrators, teachers and hall monitors to be on the look-out for the Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost, and to immediately remove them from the premises if they are found.

Is he kidding? Sadly, probably not.

Even if we look at this from a totally non-religious viewpoint, why should we systematically remove such information and practices from our schools, let alone attempt to remove God Himself (if that was even possible)?

The ALA (American Library Association) Code of Ethics provides an excellent way to approach faith-based initiatives in schools. See II and VII.

II. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.
VII. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.

If we follow this, there should be no problems in our schools. But faith has its place and we cannot ignore that any longer.

Sources: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/127143/god_banned_from_public_schools.html
http://www.pla.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm

-Apollo

Military Recruitment Blockade

Military recruiters are now being put under severe limitations by the Chicago Board of Education. In public high schools, these recruiters will be now not allowed near the kids without going through adminstrative processes. Once they get in the schools, they will be put under a set of limitations to further reduce their ability to effectively recruit for the military.

I want to ask, where will we get the military we need? Serving in the military is one of the finest and most honorable career paths, and it is unwise to try to prevent these recruiters from doing their jobs and getting the information out. These recruiters are some of the best sources of good information for students. Students may actually make very uninformed decisions if left to their own devices. The recruiters give a great chance for students to actually ask their questions.

Meanwhile, the schools let liberal activists speak on a regular basis, I wonder how that works...

Source: AP through http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7768115

-Apollo

Focus the Nation declares the debate on global warming is "over"

An environment advocacy group, Focus the Nation, will be discussing solutions for global warming on many college campuses across America on January 31st. They claim that the debate should focus on solutions, as there is "no longer a meaningful scientific debate about whether or not global warming is caused by human-kind...".

Hold on a second, what about those countless scientists who denounce the idea of man-made global warming? Are you forgetting about them?

Focus the Nation even suggests radical ideas such as a tax on emissions (as if we don't have enough taxes already).

Let's not jump to such hasty conclusions...

Take a good look for yourself. The media doesn't give the other side a chance.

There are undoubtably bad things that humans do to the environment, I don't deny that, but the impact of humans is minimal (and unproven) on global warming.

I am not against humans being more conscious; how many of us are sickened by pollution? But no matter your opinion on conservation, the arrogant statements made by Focus the Nation should be discounted as liberal bias.

-Apollo

Source: CNSnews.com

Russia delivering key fuel to Iran

According to the Khaleej Times, Russia just completed its sixth shipment of fuel for the Iranian nucleur power plant in the city of Bushehr. Russia has delivered 66 tons of the fuel already, with another dozen tons or so planned. Although Russia had initially condemned Iran, they have continued to ship fuel to Iran. Despite claims from the Iranian government that their nuclear plants will be used purely for peaceful purposes, many countries in the West believe they are attempting to enter the nuclear arms business, and will potentially produce a nuclear weapon.

It makes you wonder what Russia is up to. Their actions are clearly speaking louder than their words.

-Apollo

An Amazing Book!

I'm reading A Picture of Dorian Gray for my Honors Sophomore English class and it's absolutely incredible! I'm a little more than halfway through and I'm really loving it. Every time the character Lord Henry says something, I'm just amazed. Every sentence is a new insight. I'm not done yet, so don't spoil it for me, because I've heard the ending has a twist and I can't wait to get there. Has anyone else read it, and if so, what were your opinions on it?

~iridescentbubbles

We rock at Wii Bowling

Eatting twizzlers and playing bowling. This is just the place to be on a Saturday afternoon playing games, eating and drinking is a great way to spend your weekend.

Wed teen night at ocotillo library

Four more days til bobi's birthday! I just played the Nintendo Wii bowling and boxing, it was pretty good.

Something's cookin' @ Juniper

Check out the cool teen programs we have that are just for you!