Free Republic

As our government enacts a stimulus package and President Barack 0bama announces bold initiatives to stem home mortgage foreclosures, disaster threatens family farmers and their communities. The government's response to plummeting commodity prices and tightening credit markets leads to the basic question: Who will produce our food? This is a worldwide crisis. U.S. policy and the demand for deregulation at all levels -- from food production to financial markets -- contribute greatly to the global collapse. The solution must be grounded in food sovereignty so that all farmers and their communities can regain control over their food supply. This response...

The U.S. Agriculture Department lacked controls to protect personal information on stolen computers and often failed to notify individuals whose information had been compromised, the department's inspector general said on Tuesday. The office of inspector general said in a report that it reviewed records from the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rural Development and Information Technology Services and found 95 computers were stolen between October 1, 2005, and May 31, 2006. "These agencies lacked policies and procedures to adequately notify proper authorities and affected parties when thefts of computer equipment occurred," Assistant Inspector General Robert Young said in...