jules.ca

telecom, technology and the occasional floobergeist

I’ve got an abundance of bits and pieces of canadian telecom and internet experience, and I am thrilled to be in a place in time when all is changing, technology is developing, and the status quo is being disrupted. 

Floobergeist is a word that is beginning to defy definition.  The more I roll that smooth pebble around, the more it becomes to mean. Floobergeist started out as the magic dust that turns dreams into ideas.  And then it began to encompass the zing that happens when you have conversations about those ideas. And now, it’s the whole evolution from dream to conversation, with each step improving the later and the former along the way.

Everyone aspires to good conversations. They can lead you to adventures you’ve never imagined, and to people you can twig with.

Let’s have a good conversation…

welcome.

Blood Money in SouthWestern Ontario

September 12, 2008  /  jules kivell

By Melvyn Calderon/Greenpeace HO/A.P. Images The dark finger of Monsanto touches down in rural Canadian commuities like a twister. Offering $1500 scholarships to students enrolled in agricultural programs, Monsanto claims:

“Monsanto Canada is a big supporter of science and agricultural education programs and we’ve made a concerted effort to raise awareness of opportunities in the agricultural sector and support students who want to pursue agriculture or forestry as a career path,” said Trish Jordan, Monsanto Canada’s director of public affairs and coordinator of the scholarship program. “It’s just great to see such a positive response to our program. I wish we could have helped every student who applied.”
This hit my radar, as a local youth from Glencoe, Ontario [who’s name is withheld to protect the innocent] was one of the *lucky* recipients of a $1500 scholarship. Now who thought this would be a good idea? Monsanto, quite possibly the world’s worst corporation, is sponsoring Canadian youth in agriculture. Can you say payout with blood money?

From a 2008 Vanity Fair article:
Most Americans know Monsanto because of what it sells to put on our lawns— the ubiquitous weed killer Roundup. What they may not know is that the company now profoundly influences—and one day may virtually control—what we put on our tables.


Monsanto has always had its’ fingers in genetically modified seeds and is the world’s largest producer of herbicide and pesticide chemicals. More recently though, Monsanto has set its’ sights on the Canadian Dairy Board, and Canada’s milk supply. The Canadian Government has ruled that Monsanto chemicals are too dangerous to Canadians. Monsanto produces artificial hormones (bovine growth hormone) for cattle, intended to increase growth and milk production.

Monsanto’s genetically modified milk has been ruled unsafe by the United Nations.

In the US, Monsanto is fighting all varieties of Dairy Boards, trying to force their milk produced by cows on artificial hormones into the milk supply chain.

In Canada, Monsanto has been fighting local farmers for decades over its’ genetically modified seeds.

From USA Today:
Agribusiness giant Monsanto sued the farmer, Percy Schmeiser, after its agents found biotech canola growing in his fields in 1997. It contends he replanted seeds from those plants without paying a technology fee of about $12 an acre.

Canadians don’t want genetically modified seeds. Full stop. Don’t just take my word for it. The Google results are astounding.
Monsanto is the worst type of bully. Slapping Canadians with one had, and bribing with the other hand.

Considering the bad taste in Canadian’s mouths, it’s not so surprising that the marketing division of Monsanto is trying to *buy* improvements in Canadian public approval by sponsoring youth in agriculture.

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