Free Republic

Dr Christopher Lehnert talked about the potential robots held for the agriculture industry at CQ University yesterday. A STEREOTYPICAL farmer might wear overalls and gumboots in 2015. But in not long at all, he could be a state-of-the-art robot. Agricultural robotics research fellow Dr Christopher Lehnert spoke at CQUniversity yesterday about robots being developed to pick fruit and detect weeds. One problem they could solve was harvesting labour shortages. "It's a causal workforce problem. (For farmers) their really high risk is getting a workforce to pick the fruit," Mr Lehnert said. "There's not a worry about job losses. We're just...

FRESNO, Calif. — With the harvest in full swing on the West Coast, farmers in California and other states say they can't find enough people to pick high value crops such as grapes, peppers, apples and pears. In some cases, workers have walked off fields in the middle of harvest, lured by offers of better pay or easier work elsewhere. The shortage and competition for workers means labor expenses have climbed, harvests are getting delayed and less fruit and vegetable products are being picked, prompting some growers to say their income is suffering. But farmworkers, whose incomes are some of...

I always love reading articles by Walter Williams, well-known professor of economics. He has a succinct way of avoiding a lot of verbal claptrap and cutting right to the chase. In a recent column on illegal immigration he wrote: "At the heart of today's immigration problem is its illegality. According to several estimates there are 11 million people who are in our country illegally, mostly from Mexico...First, there's the refusal to call these people 'illegal aliens.' The politicallY preferred term is 'undocumented workers,' which is nothing less than verbal sleight-of-hand." Professor Williams also mentions his colleague, Thomas Sowell, who refers...

Politicians really are either the dumbest individuals around, providing a perfect example of the saying ‘cream of the crap,’ or they are the most deceitful bunch of good-for-nothings to walk our streets. Perhaps they are both. For over a decade, the American people have screamed for our elected officials to do something to fix our illegal immigration problems, and have consistently denounced any idea about another amnesty for these law-breakers. So what does the U.S. Senate do? Discuss immigration, but they focused on amnesty plans (simply labeled ‘guest-worker programs’). At least on paper the House appears headed in the right...

Many parents are outraged over learning that their kids are being used by school administrators and teachers to further their own political agenda. Officials with Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland say those students who attend the upcoming pro-illegal immigration rally can get credit for their Student Service Learning hours. However, no credit is being offered for attending rallies that are opposed to open borders or illegal immigration. The immigration rally scheduled to be held in Montgomery County on Monday is expected to attract thousands, including some children from a local school district. Every high school student in MCPS must...

Mexican President Vicente Fox denounced as "disgraceful and shameful" on Wednesday a proposal to build a high-tech wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants. Concerned about the huge numbers of illegal immigrants streaming across the border and worried it could be an entry point for terrorists, a U.S. lawmaker has proposed building two parallel steel and wire fences running from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Coast. But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said a wall running the length of a border would cost too much. Mexico has expressed indignation at the idea. Fox, speaking in...