Thursday, August 18, 2011

Mayor Colin Haime; Lantzville, BC, Canada

Chris J. Slater @ GrownFoods says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.

August 18, 2011 at 11:58 pm
Mayor Haime. I am a Canadian, a British Columbian, a neighbour to Lantzville; I live in the Cowichan Valley Regional District. I moved to Vancouver Island from Edmonton in 1978 to escape the “development above all else” mentality. So although not a resident of Lantzville, I and my family still need clean air, water, food and adequate shelter. No one in this world can live in isolation to anyone else. Having been to Compassion Farm, and having met Dirk Becker and Nicole Shaw, I can assure you the neighbour, Jim Brash and you, as the “majority of Council” – Mayor, wife as a Councillor and the other 2 who are pushing this issue, more than deserve the criticism you are now getting. Unlike you, we are having difficulty obtaining those 4 basics of life. I and my wife just watched you and Dirk on Shaw Cable and we are dismayed at your inflexible attitude and insistence on a flawed 2006 bylaw restricting people from people from growing their own organic air, water, food and shelter. Sir, drop the foolish litigation, stop wasting precious resources. In closing, you and council of Lantzville need to know you were elected to provide leadership in your community, the province of B.C., Canada and the world. So either you will lead, will follow or you will get out of the way; the times are changing.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Democracy in Action, YOUR FOOD

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Democracy in Action: Your FOOD


Nicole Shaw 
Nanaimo BC, Shaw Cable, August 18, 2011
Both Dirk Becker and Mayor Haime are being interviewed LIVE on Shaw Cable today. Would be great if someone could record it for us as we do not have cablevision. Our understanding is Dirk goes on live at 4pm... but as they want us there at 3:30, it could be that Mayor Haime is on at 3:30.... Thank you to whomever is able to record it!!

Protect Urban Agriculture, Save Compassion Farm...


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,
Location: Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Rope-a-Lantzville Dope

Susana Michaelis
‎(This post was buried in a long string and I think it is very important. Susana)

From: Dirk Becker
Dear folks,:
 
Nicole and I are very political. We feel strongly that the political is personal and involves every aspect our lives. I personally have run for office twice now. We also recognize that what we are doing here is not only political, it is also of global significance.
 
We have both served on many boards ranging from social, to environmental, to food.
Our lives have been turned upside down for 11 months now. I have not slept properly for most of that time (usually wake up at 4 am wet from nightmares) have been sick for 2 months, my back is out, our crops suck, the slugs are out of control, the weed are 3 feet tall etc.
 
Because of that and more, we have been pushed by our most trusted friends to retain a lawyer. The initial retainer will be about $5,000.00 We farm full time for a living, we also publish a magazine that is break even because we refuse to chase after and fill the magazine with ads. We also do free workshops, public talks, consult and counsel people weekly for free. I have been asked by a publisher to start a book, and another person has asked me to go on a cross canada tour to speak on this issue.
 
85% of farmers in canada have off farm jobs to make ends meet. I have not had a holiday for 10 years and we have not had a 2 night getaway for 2, going on 3 years now. In addition to all I have mentioned (there is more) we now need between 5,000 and $50,000.00 for this legal battle.
 
What we are asking is that you folks please take (this) battle to your personal face books. There are 1600+ members on this group. When they get posts from here and or join, we need them to be drawn to:
"Protect Urban Agriculture, Save Compassion Farm"
 
We need you and others (on this site) to direct their energy towards the future of food in canada through bottom up, grass roots actions like this.

Thank you for your understanding and support thus far, i sincerely hope you will stay the course with us, as this issue and fight affects all of in this group, the people of Vancouver Island, of British Columbia, of Canada, of North America and the rest of all people around the world.
 
Thank You,
Yours in Service, Dirk Becker.
7 hours ago · · ·

  • You and 2 others like this.
    • Glenda Allard Barr Thank you, Susana. This is, indeed, an important post. It hurts to read it, but it dramatizes the ordeal that Dirk and Nicole cannot escape, and the need for our energies to find resolution for this issue. I deleted the word "try" in the last sentence, because we cannot end the struggle until good sense prevails and the value of the work our farmers do is fully recognized!
      7 hours ago · · 1 person
    • Chris J. Slater Dirk and Nichol - "Rope-A-Dope!" http://en.wikipedia.org/wi​ki/Rope-a-dope and "Illegitimi non carborundum" http://en.wikipedia.org/wi​ki/Illegitimi_non_carborun​dum . Yes those who want to be your oppressors and bullies are truly sick. Agreed? But don't feed them and what they crave by wasting your time and energies by worrying about what they have or can do. Enjoy your chosen vocations, it's always darkest before dawn. And there is one coming. There are elections in the District of Lantzville in November and rather than trying to change the minds of those now in power, we need to expose them for what they are and work for regime change. To spend $5,000 on legal retainers let alone $50,000, or on advertising, hoping to educate or change their minds is foolishness. Get on with what you need to do. If that angry neighbour, Mayor, Councillors or anyone else is harassing you or your property, report them to the RCMP, by-law enforcement or whatever authority is responsible for good law and order. And thank you for sharing what losers they are. But what about Jack De Jong's well researched solution: apply for "Farm Tax Status" ? There are 9 properties in a situation similar to yours, but they already have the Status. That designation comes from the BC Assessment Authority and that MUST be the end of The D of L's demands, unless they want to continue this charade of discrimination. Raw Manure, Flies, Plague, Etc. In my opinion, having been there personally, they are FULL of IT! Better yet, the District of L will have less of YOUR tax dollars to spend on such foolishness. Please, reconsider and get that Status, then people, let's work to "Turf The Turkeys" in November! Please, Dirk and Nicole, continue your very important fight: to restore some sanity to our RIGHT to FEED ourselves and whoever we choose without government or corporate interference! People, please, wherever you are in the world, rise up, your RIGHTS must be respected! And tell everyone who EATS: Protect Urban Agriculture, Save Compassion Farm...How? Join the fight!
      Rope-a-dope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      en.wikipedia.org
      The Rope-a-dope is a boxing fighting style commonly associated with Muhammad Ali...See more
      12 minutes ago · · 1 person ·
    • Chris J. Slater FB always has to leave off something! Send this link to whoever you know who eats! http://www.facebook.com/gr​oups/143703205679538/ Ask them to join in a righteous campaign.
      Protect Urban Agriculture, Save Compassion Farm...
      One of our sacred local food sources (Compassion Farm - Lantzville, BC) has come under attack by those who do not understand the importance of urban agriculture. The purpose of this group is to creat...
      7 minutes ago · · 2 people ·
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,
Location: Ladysmith, BC V9G 1L9, Canada

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Our Drinking Water and Fracking CBM on Vancouver Island

Your Water and Fracking CBM on Vancouver Island: This will be a new fight for people who value their drinking water over Coal Bed Methane which is obtained by drilling wells (hole in the ground) loading it up with fracking fluids to fracture the underlying geology to release methane gas for heating, etc.

Fracking - Natural Gas Affects Water Quality
webcache.googleusercontent.com
In our phone interview, Jessica Ernst says she's "still getting used to" being compared to Erin Brockovich (the environmental activist made famous by Julia Robert's film portrayal ten years ago). The comparison comes easy because the outspoken Ernst, a landowner in the town of Rosebud, Alberta, is o...
24 minutes ago · · ·

  • You like this.

    • Chris J. Slater Drilling in Canada

      Meanwhile, the BC government has been pushing drilling for unconventional sources of natural gas since at least 2005, offering $50,000 royalty credits for every well drilled before December 2008, and selling oil and gas "sub-surface rights" at a fever pitch.

      Both BC and Saskatchewan have been courting the industry with lax or no environmental regulations and promises of low royalties charged to the companies. The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) predicts a 10 percent increase in drilling in BC in 2010, mostly in the Montney shale field of northeastern BC and the Horn River Basin near Fort Nelson.

      In 2006, researchers for West Coast Environmental Law published a report noting that the oil and gas industry had identified at least six areas of BC holding coalbed methane (CBM) natural gas potential: Peace country in the north east; Elk Valley in the southeast; Vancouver Island; the south central interior (around Merritt and Princeton); northwestern BC (around Telkwa and Iskut); and the Queen Charlotte Islands.

      Nanaimo Daily News (Nov. 7, 2009) has reported that Vancouver Island's CBM gas deposits - stretching from Chemainus to Parksville, and in the Comox-Campbell River area - are currently not of interest to the industry. Nonetheless, a group called Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane-Vancouver Island, (Tom Easton
      Citizens Concerned about Coalbed Methane – Vancouver Island
      250.923.3091
      eastont@uniserve.com
      www.cbmvi.org ) has for the past year been pushing for development under its action plan, "Building a Safe Future for CBM."

      In 2008, BC took in a record $2.4 billion from these leases, which is now its biggest source of royalties income.
      12 minutes ago · · 1 person

    • Chris J. Slater MORE GOOD NEWS ABOUT CITIZENS ORGANIZING LOCALLY TO PREVENT GREEDY PUPPET POLITICIANS, INDUSTRIALISTS AND CORPORATIONS FROM DESTROYING EVEN OUR WATER!! This is a very interesting story... http://www.sabrinaartel.co​m/trailer-talk-shale-proje​ct/ Sabrina Artel has Ben Price explaining how communities can fight corporate power with a new legal weapon.(
      It’s coming down to Home Rule and self-determination as a way to protect municipalities...applicabl​e for urban farming?)

      These last few days for gas drilling news in New York has been critical and a new level of urgency has been reached as the country watches how New York defines and decides its fate, the future of its famous unfiltered water supply, and communities in the directly impacted regions, whether for or against drilling are forging ahead to determine their immediate future and that for future generations.

      It’s coming down to Home Rule and self-determination as a way to protect municipalities from fracking. As the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) releases New Recommendations for Drilling in New York explained in the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) released a few days ago, environmental groups, like Catskill Mountainkeeper are calling for a statewide ban and municipalities organize to decide the fate of their towns.

      This is the continuation of the story of individuals speaking up when the gas corporations are attempting to control their hometowns and of individual becoming increasingly involved in their local government, collaborating with each other as they face drilling throughout the area. MORE GOOD NEWS ABOUT CITIZENS ORGANIZING LOCALLY TO PREVENT GREEDY SHORTED PRIVATIZING PUPPET POLITICIANS, INDUSTRIALISTS AND CORPORATIONS FROM DESTROYING EVEN OUR WATER!!

      Trailer Talk's Frack Talk Shale Project
      www.sabrinaartel.com
      With The Frack Talk Shale Project, the Trailer Talk team will be addressing this...
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)