The Truth About the Farm Crisis

Finally the Liberal Ag Critic says what the Liberals would never say when they were the Government. That the WTO ruling on agribusiness benefits Cargill and the big agribusiness interests, not the producers or producing countries. Wayne Easter was talking with Craig Oliver today on CTV's Question Period. Strahl pledges Canada's farmers won't be forgotten

Easter finally admited the fact that the whole debate around subsidies to farmers is not about farmers at all but about global agribusiness as I have documented in my research on Cargill.

The industrialization of farming is the ongoing creation of capitalism, it has been since the industrial revolution and the origin of capitalism in England. And in terms of the world captialist agriculture, single crop production for export is leading to desertification.The destruction of the family farm is the agenda of agibusiness, it does not want food sovereignty nor sustainable agriculture the real basis of market agriculture. It wants to create large scale farms, run by managers using GPS technology for export crop production. WTO Who Cares?

Thus the destruction across the prairies of the community grain elevator and its replacement with the one stop shopping agribusiness like Cargill. They offer fertilizers, seed, seed cleaning and processing, shipping and selling of grains. In fact the largest port operation on the B.C. coast is Cargills.

This destruction of the family farm in the prairies began over thirty years ago, before Cargill, Kraft created the conditions of buying up dairy farms and prairie dairy operations in order to drive milk prices down by controlling the market. Thus the National Farmers Union in the early seventies called for the first ever national agribusiness boycott of Kraft.

In Canada the Kraft boycott in the seventies was the equivalent of, and cooresponded too, the grape boycott in the U.S. It was all about saving the family farm.

After Kraftco. came the American giant Cargill in the late seventies and early eighties buying up the grain elevator business. Green Cargill elevators dominated the prairies. Slowly at first and then becoming ever dominant. As the farm economy collapsed during the eighties more and more family farms in Canada and the U.S. were sold off to the agribusiness giants like Cargill and then ADM.

Farmers who survived did so because they bought up their neighbours farms, added mechanization, and cooresponding bank debt, and increased crop yeilds with fertilizers and seed from Cargill and then Monsanto. Crop production such as GMO Canola from Monsanto became a major export product. Farm production of grains was now part of the global agribusiness market, no longer did we have local food production for local use.

This was the changing and is the changing nature of food production in Canada. First the Loaf: And it has been subsidized and supported by the government. Regardless of political stripe. Mulroney Conservatives opened up the market to ADM, they allowed the last independent mill to be sold to them, Robin Hood Mills, and for a reward Mulroney was give a post as a director of ADM.The Ethanol Scam: ADM and Brian Mulroney


The Liberals before them had allowed Cargill in with a wink and a nod. Trudeau's disdain for the west and farmers was well known. And its cost was the death of the family farm. The farm crisis and corporate power

The new Liberal regime, under Chretien and Martin added the stake to the heart of farmers by allowing Monsanto's expansion of GMO production of canola, they opened up the possibility of radioactive food sterlization, and the Supreme Court allowed for Monsanto's patent and control of it's GMO seeds at the expense of the soveriegnty of the family farm.

No one is innocent in the death of the Family Farm in Canada, no government federally or provincially. The Farm Crisis & Corporate Profits A Report by Canada’s National Farmers Union November 30, 2005 View the report

It is inevitable the mechanization of farming, but it does not need to lead to agribusiness corporatization. Certainly in the 1930's we saw the greatest achievement of farm mechnization when thousands of combines cleared farmers crops across the North American prairies in just a few weeks. It was a colossal collective endeavour never achieved again, it was in response to the depression on North American prairie farmers.

Varty, John F. "On Protein, Prairie Wheat, and Good Bread: Rationalizing Technologies and the Canadian State, 1912-1935"
The Canadian Historical Review - Volume 85, Number 4, December 2004, pp. 721-753

Dependent Harvests Grain Production on the American and Canadian Plains and the Double Dependency with Mexico, 1880–1950

The Social Bases of Technical Change: Mechanization of the Wheatlands of Argentina and Canada, 1890 to 1914

From Farm to Factory: Structuring and Location of the US Farm Machinery Industry

Changing Machinery Technology and Agricultural Adjustment

Mechanization is not the enemy of the family farm, technology is not either. Nor is collectivism and cooperation. Marketing boards are the life blood of the family farm, but not the corporate farm which can market itself directly.

The Cooperative Commonwealth ideology of prairie populism reflected the needs of farmers/producers and of workers. Today that ideal is gone, as agribusiness truimphs with its capitalist market of food production. Gone is the real market of farm/producer cooperatives, which are essential for individual family farms.

The modern Canadian farmer instead of sharing or creating equipment cooperatives, has sold their soul to the banks to keep up on the latest in seed or mechanical technology. That along with single crop production has left them vulnerable to corporatization.

Instead of moving to organic farming, mixed crops, truck farming, herb farming, organic animal husbandry, hemp farming, or with creation of bioenergy fuels, etc. along with cooperative farming of large areas in order to maintain soil conservation, cooperative/community equipment buying, the family farm today must grow or die. It must become a mini-corporation, which means it becomes vulnerable to corporate take over, mergers and aquistions by Agribusiness.

The alternative is cooperative farming and the creation of indigenous markets, like farmers markets in cities, supplying Halal and Kosher butchering and dairy needs, the vegatarian market, whole foods, etc. creating producer controled marketing boards and of course producer controled banks/credit unions for low interest loans, gaining control of transportation and grainaries, feedlots and slaughterhouses under producer worker control.

Those on the right who attack the Wheat Board for instance are those whose farms have succeeded in becoming a single crop corporation, having taken over their neighbours farms when they were driven to bankruptcy in the economic crisis of the eighties. The marketing boards in Quebec and Ontario are also reflections of this corporatist model of farming. And that is why agribusiness wants them destroyed, to allow the remaining corporate farms to taken over by them.

Also See:

Migration

A History of Canadian Wealth, 1914.

Origins of the Captialist State In Canada

The Real Story of Alberta's BSE Crisis

Lost and Found

Kids Are Commodities

Development Versus Population Growth

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National ID Card

Yep coming to a government office near you the new Canadian Bio-Metric National ID card. Why cause George Bush says so. U.S. says border passport a must

But our PM and his Peter of course toughed it out with the Americans and now;Border ID cards coming, PM says

Yep tough negotiators those Tories, can't wait till Stockwell Day meets with the Republican Homeland Security folks in the U.S. MacKay makes no headway in slowing controversial border ID plan

Of course no-one will admit that their whole border issue is not about security but good old fashioned Yankee anti-Mexican immigration jingoism. THE PREDATORY ESCALATION OF ‘IMMIGRATION POLICIES’

And while these ID cards will be embraced by those who live on both sides of the Canada US border the likelyhood of them being embraced by folks in North Carolina or Georgia is well zip, nada, zero.

But don't worry the majority of Americans don't travel farther than a few hunderd miles from home. To them thats a big deal. We are dealing with an insular nation of navel gazers, here folks.

America is a nation who in order to keep Mexican and Central American migrants out will impose a National ID card on us. And of course the Security Statist Tories will push it through for their own authoritarian purposes. And they will be supported by the Liberals who already planned for the National ID cards.

So where is the outrage from the right wing Liberaltarians and their ilk at the Blogging Tories?


See:
Migration

Development Versus Population Growth

Free Labour


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Canadians Not Social Conservatives

The right wing in Canada is a minority because most Canadians are not evangelical Christians, which has been the sole source of the rights power in the U.S.

Social Conservatives that attempted to dominate Harpers Conservatives had to rely on their American counterparts in the election to lobby for their christian values coalition. Their power is far less than the power of their bankbooks.

So says a recent poll.

So when folks tell us about how their 'values' are Canadian values, well no they aren't.

One of the key libertarian findings of the survey was that Canadians distrust institutions. And the church in all its forms is an institution we have a healthy scepticism about. Which is why Quebecois are Catholics as a community and individuals but disdain the church and its values.

Belief strong in Canada, but the pews are empty

The survey shows a widening gulf between Canadians and Americans.

In the U.S., regular church attendance is more the norm and has remained virtually unchanged since the Second World War.

Thirty-nine per cent of Americans said they went to church at least once a week, more than double Canada's regulars.

The difference can be attributed to Canadians' mistrust of institutions and the fact that there are fewer smaller evangelical churches in this country that there are in the U.S, said Richard Ascough, a religious studies professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

"The church in a way is perceived as just another institution and people are shying away more and more from things institutional," he said.

And the greatest growth in religion in Canada was in paganism and alternative spiritualities according to the last census done by Stats Canada. Alternative religions such as Wicca and Paganism were placed under the rubric "no religion".

Those who identified as pagans or had increased over 200%.

And the greatest growth was in Alberta. And contrary to Alberta's evangelical/social conservative image over a quarter of Albertans reported that they had no religion.

Which is why this makes sense; Da Vinci Code gospel to 22% in Alberta



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CLC at 50

The Canadian Labour Congress is fifty years old this year and Canada Post has issued a stamp commorating it's birthday. Now will they do the same for the labour movement's party; the NDP when it turns 50?

And prices for stamps were a heck of a lot less fifty years ago.

Ironically Canada Post provides a bit more labour history about the CLC than the CLC does on its own website. Tch, tch.

Formed in 1872 as the Canadian Labour Union from groups that had promoted the Nine Hours Movement, it evolved over the years as mergers and reorganizations took place. Between 1883 and 1956, it operated under the name the Trades and Labour Congress (TLU). In 1939, the TLU expelled members affiliated with the US-based Committee for Industrial Organizing (CIO); the expelled members set up the Canadian Labour Council. In 1956, the Trades and Labour Congress merged with the Canadian Labour Council to become the Canadian Labour Congress.



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Do As I Say

Vision TV is showing a biography of the founder of the Toronto Star, Joseph E. Atkinson, and of course the Star has a lengthy article on Atkinson and the biopic. It shows that the paper has long been the voice of the red liberal establishment in Canada. And in someways Atkinson's editorialship reminds me of Judy Rebick and Rabble.ca a case of progressives saying do as I say not as I do.

Much is made of Atkinson supporting striking unionworkers in the General Motors' strikes in the late 1930s. Former publisher Beland Honderich, filmed just before his death, allows a smile in saying Atkinson's determination to keep the Newspaper Guild out of his newsroom was at odds with his philosophy. The Guild only received full recognition in 1949, the year after Atkinson's death.

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Union Busters To Speak in Victoria

The psuedo fascist security goons who dress in paramilitary drag and work for AFI are a common sight on picket lines across Canada. These goons assault picketers and act as provcatuers on the picket lines. The company boasts its anti-union security operations protecting scabs who cross picket lines.

AFI ensures employers are secure as secondary picketing becomes commonplace In keeping with its commitment to help employers mitigate extraordinary risks, two leading security experts from AFI International Group Inc. will deliver an address in Victoria April 20 on ways to ensure the security and protection of non-union employees and management during a labour dispute.

These goons assualted several of the Edmonton IWW branch members who were supporting the Telus Strikers here. We have seen them at other strikes as well. So folks out in B.C. should show them a bit of labour courtesy and set up a picket action at their speaking engagement.

  Two of AFI's senior executives - Warren Wilson, Vice President of
Corporate Relations and Michael Thompson, Executive Vice President of
Investigations - will be addressing human resource professionals April 20 at
the B.C. Human Resources Management Association (HRMA) annual conference,
Building Business Results in Victoria April 19-21.

Also see: Union Busting Alberta Style


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The enemy of my enemy

Is not my friend says Jack Layton about the Liberals move to the left in their Leadership race. Layton says Liberal hopefuls wasting their time seeking alliance with NDP
And no its not because he is pissed off with Bob Rae being a turncoat. Rather it is the pragmatic real politicks of Layton. He did it with the Liberal government and now he plans to do it with the Harpocrites. As the Salmon Arm Observer reports;

Of particular interest is the apparent co-operation between the Tories and the NDP - traditionally parties on opposite sides of the political spectrum. The message is clear: work together. So far, the NDP and the Conservatives appear to be doing that. Harper met several times with opposition leaders prior to the throne speech and NDP Leader Jack Layton said he felt issues he raised in their talks were reflected in the speech. While Harper and Layton as allies might be sickening to die-hard right wingers and ardent lefties, it also represents reality.
Harper's move to identify common ground with the NDP may be borne as much out of political expediency as anything else. But so what if it produces a long-lasting government that delivers a little something for those on both sides of the political divide?
If the Liberals have become Canada's natural governing party by straddling the political middle, then co-operation between the Conservatives and NDP might represent a logical evolution. In fact, this sort of left-right alliance might be a global trend.
Those who scoff at the prospect of an NDP-Tory coalition might want to look to Germany, which is currently being governed by former political enemies now working together.

Layton wants to be King Maker again. And lets not forget this is not about the Left or the NDP, its all about Jack.

A tip o the blog to Maple Leaf Politics

Also see: Edmontons Liberal Leadership Candidate


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Stephen Bush

Galloping Beaver writes;

Stephen Harper's appearance in front of an armed forces audience twice in as many months is somewhat illuminating. That isn't to say it's good. In fact, it shows a real desire on Harper's part to emulate his chicken-hawk hero in Washington. His speech and words are mere copies of the jingoistic rhetoric for which George W. Bush has become well-known.

And I would add that Georgie Porgie has been using the term; "Cut and Run" quite a bit lately ever since his pal Stephen used it in his pronouncement in Kandahar.

"There will be some who want to cut and run, but cutting and running is not my way and it's not the Canadian way," he said, to a round of applause.

Of course Bush used the term cut and run before the Harper did.

This is the new face of Canadian US relations, a mirror image of each others autarchic politics.

Muzzling the press, muzzling the cabinet, making Law and Order and Security the catchphrases for politics. Yep Stephen is a Bush now.






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A Message From the Management

rabble staff
recent-rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12458

posted 13 April 2006 08:48 PM

---

We on rabble staff have been watching the protest by many babblers on behalf of Audra, whose contract was terminated at the beginning of April. We are all sorry to see Audra go, and have enjoyed having her as a colleague at rabble. We are also sorry for the loss many babblers are feeling right now.

We understand that you have perceived our working conditions at rabble to be very poor. We have seen comparisons of rabble's labour practices to sweatshops, individual board members viciously maligned, and the discussion forum spammed almost into inoperability by participants who are understandably unhappy about losing Audra as one of their moderators. We have seen suggestions that rabble be turned into a worker's co-operative, and a demand that the rabble management committee answer to the participants on babble for their labour practices.

We feel that the protest you are engaging in is not a strike. It is a protest/boycott. We are the workers on this site, and we are not on strike.

We furthermore have no desire to be on strike. We do not feel that rabble is a poor employer. On the contrary, the management style of rabble is very staff-directed and oriented. We are currently going through a renewal process which we feel is a constructive way to address any work-related issues we might have. We enjoy the collaborative spirit of working together on it, and we are happy to have a Board that encourages us to do so.

It is with dismay and anger that we have read some of the attacks on individual members of the management committee (namely, Judy Rebick and Wayne MacPhail), as well as the committee as a whole. They are not just colleagues, but friends who share our progressive principles and values. While we appreciate that those who have
been protesting on Audra's behalf, and on the behalf of rabble workers in general mean well, we feel that you do not have an accurate impression of our working conditions.

Therefore, we do not support the current protest action on babble. We feel that babble is a very important part of the site, and that it cannot continue to be disrupted in the manner that it has been, and certainly not in the name of the workers at rabble. We would like the protest to end.

This is an excellent example of contract workers being coopted by liberal left
organizations that spout the progressive line but are neither worker run cooperatives nor unionized.

The Babble board at rabble.ca has now been shut down for the weekned, and who knows how long after that, due to the online picketing of it and protest commentaries over the firing of the Babble editor/administrator. Rabble Needs A Union

The folks at Rabble.ca have no union thus no grievance procedure, no recourse to outside arbitration, nor do they have a democratic worker run organization, there are owners and there are workers by their own admission.

This is not unlike situations that have arisen at other progressive organizations such as Greenpeace, which fired staff, when they unionized.

Rabble.ca staff are correct though in asking folks to quit spiking the babble board with attacks and trolling.

Better to BOYCOTT RABBLE.CA

Read Straight Goods instead, which started before Rabble. And oh yes if you have a complaint about how Rabble has treated its NON UNIONIZED staff, write to their advertisers who ARE UNIONS and ask them to boycott Rabble until this situation is resolved between the users/consumers of babble and its 'owners' and their staff.

This is an important lesson for the progressive Left community; Rabble and all so called progressive media online and in print that pay writers and editors should be unionized. Period. Even if the workers are on contract. If they aren't then they are hypocrites and despite their ideological bent still screw workers.

Also see: Unite the Left

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Only 9% Support for Harper

The Blogging Tories and other syncophants of the Harpocrite government will be doing cartwheels over the latest poll headlines: PM's agenda resonating with voters, new poll finds

But wait lets dig a little deeper and we find;

In all regions of the country, about 9 per cent of respondents said Mr. Harper's priorities were identical to their own,

So we have a government that represents the interests of less than 10% of Canadians. There should be no joy in Mudville over that number.

It has remained static. This is the real base of the right wing in Canada.

Meanwhile the great unwashed middle, 54-58% of those polled, is found to be 'supportive' of the governments priorities but, and it's a BIG BUT;

“When you poke further and say, ‘Do you have any other priorities?' a solid majority say yes,” Mr. Gregg said.

Those other priorities cover a broad range of issues, topped by education, the environment and other aspects of health beyond the reduction of waiting times.

“When you put those three together, you've got a good solid chunk of the population and that should be a little warning sign to him,” Mr. Gregg said. “There's stuff that he's doing right now in terms of cutting back on the greenhouse-gas emissions that just plays to his weakness.”

And this poll will bouy the Stalinist regime of the Harpocrite. He will use the poll to justify his autarchic authoritarian control over his party and the cabinet in Ottawa,Alberta. And let's remember it's only a honeymoon poll.

The government has had only one week in the house with a question period dominated by the Harpocrite anwsering for all his ministers. Wait till the budget and the bills come into the house. What we have here is Stephen Bush, remaking the PMO into the White House.

It's not obvious that Canadians will be comfortable with this new Canada. What is certain is that this much change can only happen if a prime minister applies his extraordinary powers in ways usually associated with presidents.And that's what Harper is doing. In commanding centre stage, he is accelerating a trend that reduces ministers to bit players whose principal role is filling policy blanks. At the same time, he's reading from the George W. Bush script by staying relentlessly on-message and playing to public perceptions of the media as negative, unruly children in desperate need of adult discipline. PM's control strategy is working — for now

For an excellent slice and dice commentary on this poll see:A BCer in Toronto


More on Harper

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