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North Americans have a really hard time accepting this because we have a particular picture in our minds of what fascists are and what they do. But the brand of fascism that took root in early 20th century Europe is only another variety - a more overtly brutal one - than the kind that exists in North American and, through its many tentacles, the much of the rest of the world.

Fascism is a religion of the state. It assumes the organic unity of the body politic and longs for a national leader attuned to the will of the people. It is totalitarian in that it views everything as political and holds that any action by the state is justified to achieve the common good. It takes responsibility for all aspects of life, including our health and well-being, and seeks to impose uniformity of thought and action, whether by force or through regulation and social pressure. Everything, including the economy and religion, must be aligned with its objectives. Any rival identity is part of the “problem” and therefore defined as the enemy. (Goldberg; pg. 23)

[Goicoechea has] been active since student and other opposition emerged against the Chavez government’s refusal (with ample justification) to renew RCTV’s VHF operating license last May.

At stake, they believe, is no less than control of the world's food supply.

Since the dawn of civilization, farmers have saved seeds from the harvest and replanted them the following year.

But makers of genetically modified (GM) seeds -- introduced in 1996 and now grown by some 70,000 Canadian farmers, according to Monsanto -- have been putting a stop to that practice.

The 12 million farmers worldwide who will plant GM seeds this year sign contracts agreeing not to save or replant seeds. That means they must buy new seeds every year.

Critics charge such contracts confer almost unlimited power over farmers' lives to multinational companies whose priority is profit.

The debate over GM seeds has come into sharp focus as the world faces a food-price crisis that threatens to push millions into starvation.
In recent months, riots have erupted from Haiti to Bangladesh in the wake of soaring costs for staples like bread, rice and corn.
The crisis has prompted calls to step up investment in biotechnology to improve crop yields in developing countries.
"At a global level, it's a problem that's not going to be solved by organics or focusing on local food," says Douglas Southgate, a professor of agricultural economics at Ohio State University.
"Dealing with the problem on a global scale involves using biotechnology."
But Ottawa author Brewster Kneen, a fierce opponent of GM seeds, counters that biotechnology, as practised by companies like Monsanto, is not the answer. "The point was never feeding the world or saving the environment," says Kneen, author of several books about agriculture and biotechnology, including Farmageddon: Food and the Future of Biotechnology (www.ramshorn.ca/Books.html).
"It's about wealth, not about health."

…$215 million collectively in compensation to their chief executives last year.

It’s called a golden parachute. Win ‘er lose, it was written into their contracts from the get-go.

…choose a bowl of cherries over a bowl of pits…

Do you think life should be?

Ever wonder why…?