Excited Delirium

http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=88559595152&oid=29529380865

Worth watching, particularly if you’re in the 905 area and Harper Conservatives are swooping around you like carrion birds near a meat-packing plant.

The Food Industry in the US is a disaster and it’s already come our way under Harper’s watch.  Over the last two, the Harper Republicans Conservatives have handcuffed Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors in the interest of letting companies run their own show.

This has proven to be a deadly experiment.

However, it’s common-place in the US, where death from from e-coli and other diseases has become routine.

Here’s an interesting investigation into the food industry in the US and what it might mean to Canadians if we elect another Harper government:

From the first reports of a salmonella outbreak this spring, it took a full 89 days before jalapeño and serrano peppers correctly came under suspicion as the culprit. During that period, as more than 1,440 victims trickled in to hospitals, federal officials struggled to trace the source of the outbreak, erroneously singling out tomatoes for weeks before homing in on peppers. No sooner had that outbreak tapered off than the high-end Whole Foods Market was forced to launch a massive recall of E. coli-infested ground beef.

…

But the new model (of privatized inspections) has also created some alarming potential gaps. For one thing, there’s no certification system for these third-party inspectors. Critics worry that retailers hire these companies not only to ensure food quality but also as a defense mechanism to help protect their public image in case something goes wrong. "These audits are like icing on the cake of litigation," says Bill Marler, the attorney who represented more than 100 victims in the 1993 E. coli outbreak case linked to the Jack in the Box fast-food chain. "Every major manufacturer does them, and every manufacturer pays no attention to them."

…

The price tag is important. With new technology, companies can do all sorts of wild—if at times unsettling—things to keep food free of bacteria. For one thing, they can zap it with radiation. The government approved irradiated meat in 1997, and regulators last month gave the nod to leafy vegetables like lettuce and spinach. But irradiation is still controversial. Advocacy groups say it ruins taste and destroys nutrients, and consumer fears about irradiation have limited its adoption. More broadly, companies with effective new products—be they oxidizing sprays, viral cocktails, or microbe detectors—often struggle to find buyers, because of either costs or public concerns.

Brrr.  In the upcoming Canadian Election, people who think this OK can go ahead and vote Conservative.  Folks that actually like food should think twice, though.  A Harper majority will spell massive privatization of not just the food industry, but all other industries.

Sears has just launched a line of clothing based on uniforms distributed by the American military.

Here’s the original story .

I doubt that the line will be in Canada any time soon.  However, if it is, I suggest that all sane people stop shopping at Sears because this pushes flag waving and stupidity to the max.

I can just see a school yard now filled with Abu Gharib wannabes, torturing young nerds for their milk money.

Steve’s Republican Conservative government has been on the attack with the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) for some time.  They’ve been trying to dismantle it behind the scenes for the last two years, showing their complete and utter contempt for the notion of ‘local’.  Once again, we have solid proof that they are out of touch with most Canadians, despite their efforts to appear ‘warm’.

At the end of it all, can you really trust a man and his government when they spend more time in court than in Parliament?

Anyways, I thought this story might be interesting to some:

FARMERS TO SUE HARPER GOVERNMENT OVER ALLEGED ILLEGAL CHANGES TO CWB DIRECTOR ELECTIONS

Winnipeg, MB, September 10, 2008:  A group of farmers will take the Harper government to court, on the grounds that a change the federal government has made to the CWB director elections is illegal.

The courts have already proven this government has used illegal tactics — not once but twice — to try to force its policy on farmers, said Bill Woods, a farmer from Eston, SK, referencing the federal government’s failed attempts to remove barley from the CWB mandate and to gag the CWB to prevent it from telling farmers how it works. "We believe the government is again acting illegally, this time gerrymandering with the CWB director elections to favour anti-CWB candidates and their supporters."

Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, a coalition of farmers and other Canadians in support of democracy and a farmer-controlled CWB, have filed a lawsuit against the government today. The lawsuit argues that the recent government amendment to repeal section 28 of the Regulations Respecting the Election of Directors of the Canadian Wheat Board, which set third-party spending limits, was enacted in an improper manner and that it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Last Friday, the government enacted the regulatory change that has removed the $10,000 spending restriction on advertising expenses for third-party intervenors.

Anders Bruun, legal counsel acting for Friends, said the amendment is grossly unfair. "It pits farmer candidates, who are subject to a $15,000 election spending cap, against third parties who are now permitted to spend unlimited amounts of money without accountability to farmers."

"We’re fighting for farmers’ rights to make their own decisions regarding the future of their marketing agency, said Lynn Jacobson, a farmer from Enchant, AB. "And we’ll continue to resist anyone, any government, any foreign interest, any corporate giant who tries to take this right away from us."

Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board will hold a news tele-conference today at 2:00 p.m. CDT to discuss the legal application it has filed. Media are invited to join the conference by calling 1-800-319-4610.

For more information:

Lynn Jacobson (403) 894-5208 or (403) 739-2153
Bill Woods (306) 460-9599 or (306) 962-4477
Anders Bruun, Counsel (204) 233-9522