So these issues--who works the land and how much can be charged for rent,
for example--are where to start when discussing policy.
I personally feel the change in Mexico's constitution regarding land
ownership should be cause for a new revolution. I see its effects here with
thousands of now-displaced people coming to our community--some living in
caves--as their land and their livelihood was lost when corporations like
Grand Metropolitan bought up whole areas of land to plant tomatoes,
broccoli, and strawberries, all for export. This is around Irapuato
Michoacan Mexico.
>> I'd not envision any chemical pesticides,
>> fertilizers, or food additives.
>
>This can be done with existing technology. But what about democracy? A
>greater public good must be demonstable. More research is required, and
>the collective results assembled into legislation.
I cannot agree. We do not need more research--we have declining male sperm
count, declining fertility, increasing health problems with especially
children in areas of pesticide drift (see P A N U P S***Pesticide Action
Network
North America Updates Service http://www.panna.org/panna/ August 21, 1998
Millions of Californians May Be Exposed to Dangerous Pesticides in Air).
>> No prisons. Different ways for dealing with
>> crime,
>
>This hasn't been demonstrated as viable yet.
Of course it has. We have centuries of experience with both prisons and
alternative treatments of law-breakers. One way I would suggest would be to
place an offender to local mores in a multigenerational home setting where
he (or much more rarely she*) will have role models, be given work and a
guaranteed income, where good behavior and misbehaviors will be responded
to in ways designed to reinforce good behavior. The families who take
*criminals* in would be screened and supported by not only social
scientists but community members interested in community. I'd put people
from the city into a less urban setting maybe, and create new means for
support, especially to the families of the law-breakers as well as support
for the families who take them in.
With our current law setup, far more males than females are involved in the
system from police attention to arrests all the way up to prison time. I'd
suggest we need to look at the laws and evaluate how they are producing
good community in the light of this disproportionate application.
>Who is giving the land to the farmers, if it's not owned? What about
>favoritism?
farming would be done on community land. no one gives land to anyone. Group
interactions have been working on issues like *favoritism* for some
time--I'm certain measures such as farmer satisfaction, consumer
satisfaction, and food or flowers produced could be determined. We have new
experiences to bring to social interactions. And trying something isn't the
same as doing something--I'd like to see more doing and less trying. <g>
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