Judi Lynn
Judi Lynn's JournalThe Woman Who Saved Native Song
“We understand the people better if we know their music, and we appreciate the music better if we understand the people themselves.”
BY MARIA POPOVA
Tucked into a corner of the Library of Congress is the Densmore Collection of cylinder phonographs — a bygone medium containing the living songs of an ancient culture.
In the early twentieth century, the U.S. government continued its assault on Native Americans by demanding they relinquish their tribal languages and belief systems, teach their children English, and enter the American mainstream. As a result of this concerted erasure campaign, the average American came to see indigenous peoples as living fossils on the brink of cultural extinction.
Frances Densmore (May 21, 1867–June 5, 1957) — a young music teacher from Red Wing, Minnesota — was appalled. In consonance with the eternal truth that the best way to complain is to create, she set out to singlehandedly preserve a vital aspect of indigenous culture, the one art that is the heartbeat of every culture: music.
Thomas Edison had invented the phonograph — a mechanical means of recording and reproducing sound, using a wax-coated cardboard cylinder and a cutting stylus — when Frances was ten. Around that time, listening to the songs of the Dakota Indians near her home, she fell in love with music. In an era when higher education was closed to women with only limited exceptions, she spent three years studying music at Oberlin College — the first university to admit women, and the first to admit students of ethnic minorities — then devoted herself to teaching Western music to Native Americans (the academic term for whom was then “American Indians”) and learning their own traditional songs as they taught her in turn.
More:
https://www.themarginalian.org/2022/11/03/frances-densmore/
Polar Bears Are Gathering in Canada--and You Can Watch Them Live
Bears return to Churchill, Manitoba, every autumn to await the formation of sea ice on the Hudson Bay
Sarah Kuta
Daily Correspondent
November 2, 2022
Polar bears are back in Churchill, Manitoba. Courtesy of Kieran McIver / Polar Bears International
21
Every autumn, hundreds of polar bears return to Churchill, Manitoba—Canada’s northernmost seaport, a.k.a. the “polar bear capital of the world.” There, they wait for sea ice to form on Hudson Bay. The hungry bears have been fasting for months, so they’re eager for the opportunity to once again hunt their favorite food: ringed seals.
But to watch these majestic marine mammals, wildlife lovers don’t have to venture all the way to chilly Canada. Several live video streams—run by Polar Bears International (PBI), Explore.org (which also hosts Fat Bear Week) and other organizations—offer people around the world a chance to see the bears in action.
Some of the polar bear cams are stationary, while others roam Manitoba’s Wapusk National Park aboard so-called “tundra buggy” vehicles, which serve as mobile broadcast studios.
The video streams show the vast ruggedness of the Canadian tundra, as well as various bears lumbering around, snoozing, rolling in the snow, foraging for snacks and, occasionally, wrestling playfully with each other. Other animals sometimes make appearances on the video streams too, including ptarmigans, Arctic hares, Arctic foxes and owls.
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/polar-bears-are-gathering-in-canada-and-you-can-watch-on-live-video-streams-180981064/
Opinion: A new coup may be being planned in Bolivia
MIRIAM AMANCAY COLQUE looks at the confontational tactics by the country's right wing frustrated at having lost the general election
OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE: President Luis Arce Catacora (centre) inaugurates the first Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy Center in El Alto on March 6 2022. The facility will provide care to 36,000 patients per year who require diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring against cancer Photo: Vice Ministry of Communication/CC
FRESH fascist attacks in Bolivia endorsed by the national and international right-wing press, headed by the nefarious coup plotter Luis Fernando Camacho, intend to apply “the recipe of the empire” to overthrow the democratic government of Luis Arce, who was elected in October 2020 with more than 55 per cent of the vote.
The left-wing MAS-IPSP, made famous by former leader Evo Morales, defeated the coup plotters led by Jeanine Anez, Arturo Murillo Prijic, Fernando Lopez and the rest of the corrupt clique that in 2019 usurped power to massacre the people, loot the state coffers, embezzle strategic companies, increase the narcotraffic, reinstall rapacious neoliberalism and steal large areas of land.
But who is Luis Fernando Camacho? He is a far-right separatist who dreams of dividing Bolivia and an extremist who for many years led the paramilitary neonazis Crucenista Youth Union (UJC).
He is a rich, daddy’s boy, a creature of dictatorships, accused of tax evasion, corruption and incompetence as a governor, with connections to tax havens earning him a mention in the Panama Papers. His father, Jose Luis Camacho Parada, is a blood-soaked paramilitary who was notorious during the dictatorships of Banzer and Luis Garcia Meza.
. . .In their supposedly “peaceful” forced blockade that started in October 22, the far-right “civic dictators” target and attack the dark-skinned people with racist, discriminatory insults: “Shitty collas, get out of here. Go back where you come from. Indians, savages, beasts ...”
They block the streets prohibiting the free transit to the humblest sectors that need to feed their families. With sticks and whips with nails in them they hit and kick women and men, causing serious injuries.
More:
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/new-coup-may-be-being-planned-bolivia
US-led panel exploring Cuba's solo development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines calls for lowerin
31-OCT-2022
US-led panel exploring Cuba's solo development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines calls for lowering barriers blocking global access to the country’s biotech innovations
First high-level delegation in five years to visit Cuba; groundbreaking Havana dialogue seeks greater role for Cuba to confront “shocking inequities” in global access to medical advances
First high-level delegation in five years to visit Cuba; groundbreaking Havana dialogue seeks greater role for Cuba to confront “shocking inequities” in global access to medical advances
Exchange also focuses on Cuba’s exceptional COVID vaccine coverage for adults and children—far greater and achieved far earlier than wealthy countries
SEATTLE (October 31, 2022) — The first U.S.-led scientific delegation to visit Cuba in five years released a consensus report today concluding that this small country’s ability to develop and rapidly immunize more than 90 percent of its citizens with safe and effective homegrown COVID-19 vaccines should serve as a model for confronting global public health emergencies in low-resource settings and the developing world.
The call for greater engagement with Cuba’s biotech sector was among the key conclusions of Cuba’s COVID-19 Vaccine Enterprise: Report from a High-Level Fact-Finding Delegation to Cuba, released today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
“What we learned about Cuba’s extraordinary COVID-19 vaccine work made it clear that it can be an important player for increasing global access to life-saving advances. And while the politics are complex, we must confront the barriers preventing its impressive brain trust of scientists and public health experts from doing so,” said Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Osterholm served as co-leader of the delegation alongside Cristina Rabadán-Diehl, PharmD, PhD, MPH, a scientist who spent 25 years leading international work at the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services before becoming Associate Director of Clinical Trials for Westat. The delegation (see delegation members below) was organized by MEDICC (Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba), a U.S.-based non-profit that promotes health-related dialogue and collaboration. The delegation also had members from Africa and the Caribbean and collectively brought expertise in public health systems, infectious diseases, biotechnology, and vaccine development.
More:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/969596
Taddeo on 'socialist' name-calling in District 27 race: two can play that game
WLRN 91.3 FM | By Helen Acevedo
Published October 31, 2022 at 12:11 PM EDT
One of the most competitive congressional races in the country is playing out right here in our backyard.
Florida’s District 27 — which covers broad parts of Miami-Dade County, stretching from Miami’s Little Havana to South Dade — is up in the air, with incumbent Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar and Democratic State Senator Annette Taddeo battling out for the seat.
The district has flipped between Republicans and Democrats over the past few election cycles but many believe this year's redistricting redrew the lines slightly in favor of Republicans.
Daniel Rivero, the co-host of the South Florida Roundup, sat down with Taddeo at her campaign office in South Miami to discuss the race and what she expects to do if elected. WLRN contacted Congresswoman Salazar’s campaign many times for an interview, but they did not respond.
While discussing affordability, Taddeo criticized Salazar for voting against bills that she thinks were in the best interest of the people – saying her opponent based her decisions on whether she thought they were "socialist".
More:
https://www.wlrn.org/politics/2022-10-31/taddeo-on-socialist-name-calling-in-district-27-race-two-can-play-that-game
Embark on a Mind-Bending Art Odyssey to Uruguay & Argentina
Find out why celebrities like Drake idolize the artist.
By Daniel Maurer
Published on 10/26/2022 at 5:32 PM
José Ignacio Online
Just when you thought there could be no better way to catch the sunset—sipping on tannat at a rooftop infinity pool in the idyllic beach town of Jose Ignacio, Uruguay—a guide tells you it’s time to enter the skyspace. He leads you to what looks like a domed sepulcher, opens a monumental door, and ushers you into the latest immersive installation by an artist whose work is so “life-changing” that famous people around the world can't stop throwing money at him. And after what you see in this room, you too might just join the cult of James Turrell.
More:
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/visit-james-turrell-skyspace-south-america
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Wikipedia:
James Turrell (born May 6, 1943) is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement. Much of Turrell's career has been devoted to a still-unfinished work, Roden Crater, a natural cinder cone crater located outside Flagstaff, Arizona, that he is turning into a massive naked-eye observatory; and for his series of skyspaces, enclosed spaces that frame the sky.[1]
. . .
President Barack Obama presents the National Medal of Arts to visual artist James Turrell in a White House ceremony on July 28, 2014
. . .
Background
James Turrell was born in Los Angeles, California.[2][3] His father, Archibald Milton Turrell,[4] was an aeronautical engineer and educator. His mother, Margaret Hodges Turrell,[4] trained as a medical doctor and later worked in the Peace Corps. His parents were Quakers.
Turrell obtained a pilot's license when he was 16 years old. Later, registered as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, he flew Buddhist monks out of Chinese-controlled Tibet.[5] Some writers have suggested it was a CIA mission; Turrell called it "a humanitarian mission" — and that he found "some beautiful places to fly". For years he restored antique airplanes to support his "art habit".[5]
He received a BA degree from Pomona College in perceptual psychology in 1965 (including the study of the Ganzfeld effect) and also studied mathematics, geology, and astronomy. The following year, Turrell enrolled in the graduate Studio Art program at the University of California, Irvine, where he began making work using light projections.[6] His studies at Irvine were interrupted in 1966, when he was arrested for coaching young men to avoid the Vietnam draft. He spent about a year in jail.[1] In 1973, he received an Master of Arts degree from Claremont Graduate University.[7]
. . .
Roden Crater
In 1979 Turrell acquired an extinct cinder cone volcano located outside Flagstaff, Arizona. Since then he has spent decades moving tons of dirt and building tunnels and apertures to turn this crater into a massive naked-eye observatory for experiencing celestial phenomena.[5]
. . .
Satellite view of Roden Crater, the site of an epic artwork in progress by James Turrell outside Flagstaff, Arizona
Skyspaces
In the 1970s, Turrell began his series of "skyspaces" enclosed spaces open to the sky through an aperture in the roof. A Skyspace is an enclosed room large enough for roughly 15 people. Inside, the viewers sit on benches along the edge to view the sky through an opening in the roof.[18] As a lifelong Quaker, Turrell designed the Live Oak Meeting House for the Society of Friends, with an opening or skyhole in the roof, wherein the notion of light takes on a decidedly religious connotation. (See PBS documentary). His work Meeting (1986) at P.S. 1, which consists of a square room with a rectangular opening cut directly into the ceiling, is a recreation of such a meeting house.[19] In 2013, Turrell created another Quaker skyspace, Greet the Light, at the newly rebuilt Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting in Philadelphia.[20]
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Turrell
Please see this google images link for amazing views of this man's deeply interesting work:
https://tinyurl.com/2736dkjc
Bolivia Urges Brazil To Extradite Former Minister Of Defence For Possibly Plotting To Assassinate Pr
Bolivia Urges Brazil To Extradite Former Minister Of Defence For Possibly Plotting To Assassinate President Luis Arce
By Manuel Rueda?|?AP
November 1, 2022 at 7:50 p.m. EDT
Bolivia has requested the extradition of former Minister of Defense, Luis Fernando Lopez Julio, from Brazil for his involvement in the attempted assassination of President Luis Arce. Lopez was said to have fled to Brazil in 2020 around the same time as Arce’s inauguration after his plot had failed.
According to Kawsachunn News, Interior Minister, Eduardo Del Castillo said that Bolivia had filed a complaint to Brazil a few months back, which has now gained much attention when the details of the complaint were expanded by his ministry to include the assassination plot. Castillo continued that the end goal of the complaint was the extradition of Lopez from Brazil so that Bolivian justice may be rendered.
Del Castillo revealed further details of the assassination attempt on Monday citing that Lopez had contracted third parties to bring mercenaries and paramilitaries into Bolivia to kill Arce, who was running for candidacy at the time. The goal was to prevent Arce from being sworn in if he were to win the election. Information provided by The Intercept said Lopez had poured in hundreds of mercenaries from the United States to see his plan fulfilled.
In a leaked recording, a person who was identified as Lopez said he was working to “avoid the annihilation of my country”. He continued calling on the armed forces as well as the Bolivian people to “rise up” and prevent the accession of the Arce administration. Disagreement between ministers and divisions within the armed forces was strained further by Arce’s convincing electoral victory on Oct 18, 2020. The plot was never executed and several officials including Lopez either fled the country or were arrested by authorities on charges of corruption and alleged involvement in a coup in 2019.
The Intercept also said one of the hired group mercenaries that entered Bolivia had lodged at a hotel nearby government offices. The group was later arrested in Haiti for another assassination plot that saw the death of former President Jovenel Moise.
More:
https://www.latintimes.com/bolivia-urges-brazil-extradite-former-minister-defence-possibly-plotting-assassinate-531454
Jeanine Áñez, coup-installed president, and Luis Fernando López Julio
Luis Fernando Lopez Julio and illegitimate
president, backed by Trump, Jeanine Áñez.
Luis Fernando López Julio (born 15 October 1964) is a Bolivian businessman, retired military officer, and politician who served as minister of defense from 2019 to 2020. Appointed in the tail end of the 2019 political crisis, López, along with Minister of Government Arturo Murillo, quickly became characterized as the "strong men" of the Jeanine Áñez administration and were implicated in the deadly events at Senkata and Sacaba. López was called to hearings by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly but failed to present himself three consecutive times, ultimately resulting in his censure by the legislature. As per the terms of the Constitution, he was dismissed as minister but, exploiting a loophole in the document's text, he was reappointed just a day later. Soon after, reports revealed his participation in the tear gas case, which accused the ministries of government and defense of irregularly purchasing non-lethal weapons at inflated prices.
After the 2020 general election, López entered contact with American ex-army soldiers, seeking to facilitate the transport of mercenaries and paramilitaries to Bolivia in order to launch a preemptive coup d'état that would prevent President-elect Luis Arce from coming to office. After that endeavor proved unfruitful, he, along with Murillo, fled the country just three days prior to Arce's inauguration. He remains in hiding in Brazil as the Bolivian government seeks his extradition for crimes of breach of duties, among others.
. . .
Coup d'état plot
On 17 June 2021, journalists from The Intercept broke the story that in the few weeks after Luis Arce's victory in the 2020 general election López had attempted to facilitate a coup d'état to prevent his assumption to office. Leaked phone recordings and emails revealed that López had been in contact with Joe Pereira, a former civilian administrator with the U.S. Army. In the audio logs, López indicated that "military high command is already in preliminary talks" and promised that "the commander of the armed forces [Sergio Orellana] is working on all of this" and that "we have a united armed forces". López continued by stating that he was "focused on avoiding the annihilation of my country".[38] Among the concerns within the armed forces were fears that the Movement for Socialism intended to replace them with civilian militias along Venezuelan lines. During his ministerial administration, López had echoed such concerns, stating in January 2020 that "[Evo Morales] indicates that there is a serious intention to eliminate the Armed Forces and the Police so that there is a foreign militia in our country".[39] Bolivian political scientist Eduardo Gamarra also suggested that the armed forces "were rightly concerned there was going to be a major purge. The MAS was going to be furious".[38]
In different call logs, Pereira assured that he could "get up to 10,000 men with no problem", outlining a plan to pick up personnel in Homestead Air Reserve Base in Miami using Bolivian-owned C-130s, of which the Ministry of Defense had one. The mercenaries would be placed under shell contracts to disguise the purpose of their presence. Pereira's claims were later characterized as exaggerated with his assurance of 10,000 men being called "absurd". The coup plot ultimately never came to fruition, largely due to disagreements between López and Murillo, whose capacity as minister of government gave him singular control of police.[38]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Fernando_L%C3%B3pez
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Añez confesses that Camacho appointed Fernando López as Minister of Defense
published June 9, 2021
By Carlos Corz / LA RAZON.- In her tax statement, former president Jeanine Áñez confirmed that the excivic and governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, suggested Fernando López for Minister of Defense and that the decrees that made the purchase of gases viable tear gas were approved on the fast track with the participation of the entire cabinet.
Áñez testified on Monday before the Prosecutor's Office for the tear gas case, whose main defendants are former ministers López and the Government Arturo Murillo. Murillo is detained in the United States, precisely, for the complaint of overpricing in the purchase of non-lethal material.
In his statement, he explained that he named Murillo because he was part of his circle of fellow legislators and López at the suggestion of Camacho, who in November 2019 led the protests and civic mobilizations that, along with other events, led to the resignation of former President Evo Morales.
. . .
Camacho himself revealed in 2019 that he put López in the Áñez cabinet so that he fulfills the commitments that his father, Luis, made with the military so that they do not come out in defense of the Morales government.
More:
https://plurinacional.info/2021/06/09/anez-confiesa-que-camacho-puso-de-ministro-de-defensa-a-fernando-lopez/
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Google translation:
Despite the clear protagonism that women's movements are generating in the Latin American region, or as a kind of mockery of fate to this social expression, the most virulent opposition to the government of Evo Morales in Bolivia emerges embodied in a man they call " The male". By Nodal
Who is Luis Fernando Camacho, the man who leads the coup in Bolivia
The story of the "Macho"
He was born and raised in Santa Cruz, one of the richest and most powerful areas of Bolivia and the department in which the majority of the country's white population of European descent historically lives. After graduating as a lawyer from the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, he completed postgraduate studies at the University of Barcelona where he completed a master's degree in Financial and Tax Law.
His activism began when he was 23 years old as vice president of the Unión Juvenil Cruceñista civic organization , which although it defines itself as "civic" was described by the International Federation for Human Rights as "a kind of paramilitary group" that carries out acts of racism and discrimination. against indigenous inhabitants and institutions of the area.
Already in 2015, he joined the Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee -where his father was president between 1981 and 1983-, first as second vice president and then as first vice president. Since February 2019, Luis Fernando Camacho has chaired this organization that brings together business, neighborhood and labor entities in the region where most of the opposition to the transformation process led by Evo Morales since he became president in 2006 meets. In fact, He earned the nickname “macho” precisely because of the “courage” with which he leads the campaign against Morales, whom he accuses of being a “tyrant” and a “dictator”, although throughout his public life he demonstrated on several occasions that Morales nickname of "dictator" also suits him for his macho behavior and his patriarchal violence that his followers reply.
Along with his public life, Camacho is a university professor and businessman, and together with his family he is part of the Grupo Empresarial de Inversiones Nacional Vida SA The companies belonging to this corporation operate in the insurance, gas and services sectors. There are versions that indicate that one of the main causes of his staunch opposition to the Morales government is due to debts and million-dollar losses related to the gas business in Santa Cruz .
On the other hand, there are local media that link him to the Panama Papers as an intermediary, from the creation of three companies (Medis Overseas Corp., Navi International Holding and Positive Real Estates) to "help people and companies hide their fortunes in offshore entities, launder money and establish tax evasion schemes”.
More:
https://www.anred.org/2019/11/10/quien-es-luis-fernando-camacho-el-hombre-que-encabeza-el-golpe-de-estado-en-bolivia/
How Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Helped Lula Win
A democratic America took the air out of the Brazilian far right.
BY RYAN COOPER NOVEMBER 1, 2022
ROBERTO CASIMIRO/FOTOARENA/SIPA USA VIA AP IMAGES
The president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, makes a statement to the press in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 30, 2022, after the counting of votes.
In the runoff election for the presidency of Brazil on Sunday, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, by 51 to 49 percent. It’s an enormous victory and incredible comeback for Lula, his staff, and the thousands of ordinary Brazilians who worked themselves to the bone on the campaign.
But there is an international element as well. If Joe Biden had not won the U.S. election in 2020, it’s highly likely that Lula would not have been able to claim victory. Bolsonaro would have successfully rigged the vote, or simply attempted a putsch—and a second-term Donald Trump would have helped him do it. The danger of Bolsonaro and his movement remains, but they have suffered a major setback.
Here’s why. First, there is the recent context. Clearly inspired by Trump and the poisonous miasma of American right-wing media, Bolsonaro had for years spread conspiratorial insanity about Brazil’s electoral machinery (which in reality is famously efficient and reliable). This is becoming a classic political tactic of the extreme right around the world: spread disinformation about voting as preparation to discredit the election and seize power by force or fraud should you lose.
In July 2021, Biden’s pick for CIA director, William Burns—unusually, a career diplomat with decades of experience in the State Department—met with Bolsonaro face-to-face, along with his top staff, and told them to knock it off. Reuters reported: “Burns was making it clear that elections were not an issue that they should mess with,” and that this was widely understood to be a message carried from the White House.
More:
https://prospect.org/world/how-joe-biden-and-bernie-sanders-helped-lula-win/
How Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders Helped Lula Win
A democratic America took the air out of the Brazilian far right.
BY RYAN COOPER NOVEMBER 1, 2022
ROBERTO CASIMIRO/FOTOARENA/SIPA USA VIA AP IMAGES
The president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, makes a statement to the press in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 30, 2022, after the counting of votes.
In the runoff election for the presidency of Brazil on Sunday, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, by 51 to 49 percent. It’s an enormous victory and incredible comeback for Lula, his staff, and the thousands of ordinary Brazilians who worked themselves to the bone on the campaign.
But there is an international element as well. If Joe Biden had not won the U.S. election in 2020, it’s highly likely that Lula would not have been able to claim victory. Bolsonaro would have successfully rigged the vote, or simply attempted a putsch—and a second-term Donald Trump would have helped him do it. The danger of Bolsonaro and his movement remains, but they have suffered a major setback.
Here’s why. First, there is the recent context. Clearly inspired by Trump and the poisonous miasma of American right-wing media, Bolsonaro had for years spread conspiratorial insanity about Brazil’s electoral machinery (which in reality is famously efficient and reliable). This is becoming a classic political tactic of the extreme right around the world: spread disinformation about voting as preparation to discredit the election and seize power by force or fraud should you lose.
In July 2021, Biden’s pick for CIA director, William Burns—unusually, a career diplomat with decades of experience in the State Department—met with Bolsonaro face-to-face, along with his top staff, and told them to knock it off. Reuters reported: “Burns was making it clear that elections were not an issue that they should mess with,” and that this was widely understood to be a message carried from the White House.
More:
https://prospect.org/world/how-joe-biden-and-bernie-sanders-helped-lula-win/
TRADE TIFF BREWING BETWEEN U.S. AND MEXICO OVER BAN ON GMO CORN
Nov. 1, 2022
The Scoop reports:
Mexico has confirmed that the country does not plan to amend its ban on imports of GMO that is set to start in 2024. Mexico's Deputy Ag Minister says the country is on track to cut is imports of U.S. yellow corn by half through increased domestic production. Mexico is a top customer for U.S. corn, accounting for 20 to 25% of U.S. corn exports annually. So, this is a huge issue.
Mexico is back tracking on their reassurances made a year ago that they would not limit imports of GMO corn from the U.S. Instead, they say they'll make direct deals with farmers in the U.S, Argentina and Brazil who produce non-GMO corn to supply their need outside of domestic production. However, market experts say this is simply not doable.
Rich Nelson, with Allendale, "We've heard this story for the past two years. We all understand from the U.S. grain market perspective we simply don't think it's going to be realistic. Mexico gets about 90 to 92% of its corn from the U.S., 15 million ton annually and it our GMO corn that's about 92% of our product."
In fact, 92% of the world corn supply is GMO. So, Nelson says South America will have difficulty guaranteeing that volume of non-GMO product. He says, "Now you can certainly argue that Brazil is going to be much cheaper than us right now to cargo in but the question is do they have the supply of non-GMO corn that can be verified?"
More:
https://www.agrimarketing.com/s/142987
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Mexican farmer's daughter: NAFTA destroyed us
by Shasta Darlington and Patrick Gillespie @CNNMoney
February 9, 2017: 12:19 PM ET
If you ask President Donald Trump, Mexico won the lottery almost 25 years ago when it signed NAFTA, the free trade deal with the United States and Canada.
"It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA with massive numbers of jobs and companies lost," Trump tweeted on Jan. 26.
But if you ask Griselda Mendoza, the deal nearly destroyed her family and her community of corn farmers in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. "Before NAFTA, everybody here grew corn. People didn't make much money, but nobody went hungry," says Mendoza, 23, sharing common lore from her region. She was born just after NAFTA was signed.
As cheap American corn came pouring in from the border, it had a devastating effect on her family. Her father, Benancio Mendoza, couldn't compete and make a living wage selling corn. He had to give up and move to the United States looking for a job. He took up a job as a cook in Tennessee, saving up money to send home so his kids could attend school.
"He went north looking for a job and I didn't see him again for 18 years," says Mendoza, who now works as a secretary for the local government.
While NAFTA did boost Mexico's manufacturing industry, it gutted many farming towns -- especially mom and pop corn farmers like Benancio's. Mexico lost over 900,000 farming jobs in the first decade of NAFTA, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture.
More:
https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/09/news/economy/nafta-farming-mexico-us-corn-jobs/index.html
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Corn subsidies at root of U.S.-Mexico immigration problems
BY ANTHONY B. BRADLEY, PHD • FEBRUARY 29, 2012
America’s immigration debate will never be adequately addressed until we think clearly about the economic incentives that encourage Mexican citizens to risk their lives to cross the border. In fact, if we care about human dignity, we must think comprehensively about the conditions for human flourishing so that the effective policies promote the common good. Sadly, U.S. government farm subsidies create the conditions for the oppression and poor health care of Mexican migrant workers in ways that make those subsidies nothing less than immoral.
Dr. Seth M. Holmes, a professor of Health and Social Behavior at the University of California-Berkeley, identified the source of the problem in his watershed 2006 paper, “An Ethnographic Study of the Social Context of Migrant Health in the United States.” In the study we learn that 95 percent of agricultural workers in the United States were born in Mexico and 52 percent are undocumented. Most researchers agree that inequalities in the global market make up the primary driving force of labor migration patterns. Mexico’s current minimum wage is $4.60 (U.S.) a day. In contrast, the U.S. federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, while it is $7.65 in Arizona, $8 in California, $7.50 in New Mexico, and $7.25 in Texas.
The 2003 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deregulated all agricultural trade, except for corn and dairy products. The Mexican government complains that since NAFTA’s initial implementation in 1994, the United States has raised farm subsidies by 300 percent. As a result, Mexican corn farmers, who comprise the majority of the country’s agricultural sector, experienced drastic declines in the domestic price of their product. It should come as no surprise, then, that the United States began to experience an influx of Mexicans looking for employment in the latter half of the 1990s. Mexican farmers are now rightly protesting, because they cannot compete against prices that are artificially deflated for the sake of protecting Americans from necessary market corrections.
Holmes explains that migrant and seasonal farm workers suffer the poorest health status within the agriculture industry. For example, migrant workers have increased rates of many chronic conditions, such as HIV infection, malnutrition, anemia, hypertension, diabetes, anxiety, sterility, blood disorders, and abnormalities in liver and kidney function. This population has an increased incidence of acute sicknesses such as urinary tract and kidney infections, lung infections, heat stroke, anthrax, encephalitis, rabies, and tetanus. Tuberculosis prevalence is six times greater in this population than in the general United States population. Finally, Holmes reports, children of migrant farm workers show high rates of malnutrition, vision problems, dental problems, anemia, and excess blood lead levels.
More:
https://www.acton.org/pub/commentary/2012/02/29/corn-subsidies-root-us-mexico-immigration-problems
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