#Farmer Tractor Rally

[master-john-uk]

11th December 2024.

What a magnificent sight! Around 500 tractors took part in a rally in Central London as farmers protest against the governments new tax changes.

I was not in London today, but as I was driving towards Sevenoaks just before 8am this morning I stopped and showed my support as a convoy of around 25 tractors en-route to Westminster passed in the opposite direction.

[thoughtportal]

Tens of thousands of people streamed into a central square in Serbia's capital on Sunday for a rally against populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government, whose tight grip on power has been challenged by weeks of street protests led by university students.

The rally at Belgrade's Slavija Square, one of the largest in recent years, was called by students and farmer unions. It was part of a wider movement demanding accountability over the Nov. 1 collapse of a canopy at a railway station in the country's north that killed 15 people.

“We are all under the canopy,” read one of the banners displayed at the main Belgrade square.

Smaller rallies were also held in the cities of Nis and Kragujevac. The protest in Belgrade started with a 15-minute silence for the victims, and later chants of “You have blood on your hands!” were heard.

Many in Serbia blame the collapse on widespread corruption and sloppy work on the railway station building in the city of Novi Sad that was twice renovated in recent years as part of questionable mega projects involving Chinese state companies. Protesters demand that Vucic and those responsible face justice.

Read moreSerbia: Anti-corruption movement gains ground after deadly train station accident

Serbia's popular theater and movie actors joined the protest, with actor Bane Trifunovic describing Sunday’s rally as “a festival of freedom.”

In a show of confidence, the Serbian president on Sunday inaugurated a section of a newly built highway in central Serbia. Vucic said he wouldn't budge to opposition demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using students to try to seize power.

“We will beat them again,” said Vucic.“They (the opposition) don't know what to do but to use someone's children.”

In an apparent attempt to defuse the student-led protests, Vucic has been advertising what he said are “favorable” loans for young people to purchase apartments as well as attracting tens of thousands of doctors and other skilled people who have left the Balkan country for a better life in the West in recent years.

Prosecutors have arrested 13 people over the Novi Sad tragedy, including a government minister whose release later fueled public skepticism about the honesty of the investigation.

The weekslong protests reflect wider discontent with Vucic's rule. The populist leader formally says he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.

Opposition parties have said a transitional government that would prepare a free and fair election could be a way out of the political tensions as ruling populists also have been accused of rigging past votes.

Serbia’s government has extended school winter holidays by starting them nearly a week earlier to grapple with widening student protests.

Classes at universities throughout the Balkan country have been suspended for weeks with students camping inside their faculty buildings. In recent days, more high school students have joined the movement. Occasional violence has erupted when pro-government thugs tried to disrupt the protests.

A group of farmers said Sunday that police took away the tractor which they drove into central Belgrade ahead of the protest. In addition to the farmers, Serbia’s students also have received nationwide support from all walks of life including their professors, media personalities, lawyers and prominent individuals.

Vucic initially accused the students of launching protests for money but later said he has fulfilled their demands, including publishing documentation relating to the renovation work at the Novi Sad station.

(AP)

[head-post]

French farmers protest Mercosur deal

French farmers have announced a new wave of protests next week against a planned European Union free trade agreement with trade bloc Mercosur, saying increased imports of agricultural products from South America will damage their livelihoods.

Farmers are planning protests on Monday against the EU’s free trade agreement with Mercosur, saying increased imports from South America will damage European Union agriculture, the head of France’s largest farm lobby FNSEA said on Wednesday.

It came after farmers in Belgium called for demonstrations near EU headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. Several tractors stopped in the European neighbourhood on Schuman Square opposite the European Commission and EU Council buildings.

Farmers in Belgium, which has fallen on hard times, fear that a pending treaty with the Mercosur organisation, which brings together Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, could lead to a further decline in sales for European growers “due to unfair competition.” According to Belgian trade unions, the pact, which has been under discussion for years, could be approved during the upcoming G20 meeting on November 18-19 in Brazil.

The rally in Brussels was coordinated by police, who blocked several streets in Brussels, but traffic congestion was avoided.

“Bad agreement”

FNSEA head Arnaud Rousseau told France Inter radio:

This trade agreement, which links part of the South American states to Europe, risks having dramatic consequences for agriculture. So from Monday for a few days we will be in all regions to make sure that France’s voice is heard during the G20 in Brazil, and we hope that all European countries will join us because it’s not about a country, it’s not about France, it’s about Europe.

But French farmers are not going to block roads and motorways as they did last year, when anger at competition from cheaper imports, including from EU ally Ukraine, and the burden of regulation led to large-scale protests across the EU. He also added:

We are not here to worry the French people, we are here to tell them that we are proud to feed them and to continue to produce in France.

On Sunday, the country’s agriculture minister Annie Genevard called the planned free trade deal between South American countries and the EU a “bad agreement” as it would allow “99,000 tonnes of beef, 180,000 tonnes of sugar and the same amount of poultry” into the country and create damaging competition for local producers.

Weather-ravaged harvests and outbreaks of livestock disease, as well as political deadlock following snap elections earlier this summer, have added to French farmers’ discontent.

Read more HERE

[bengiyo]

Love Tractor Eps 5 & 6 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Ye Chan taught Sun Yeol how to pick strawberries and then they held a class for kids. Sun Yeol is not good with kids and was super rude to a girl who already felt isolated from her peers. She ran away, but Sun Yeol found her and injured himself while trying to help her (even though he was the one who further alienated her). Ye Chan and the community rallied to take care of Sun Yeol while he was injured, and our poor farmer got his little heart broken when he learned that Sun Yeol maybe has a lover in Seoul.

Episode 5

Oh good. Ye Chan only had a partial blackout. I don’t like when characters don’t remember anything.

Still a fan of the village head. Recommending that Ye Chan back off of Sun Yeol if he’s taken is the right advice.

It’s actually very fun for Ye Chan to rush to Sun Yeol when he calls for help, because Sun Yeol asking for help seems like a big step for him.

Oh ho! A hot boy has arrived!

Alright, fuck Sun Yeol’s dad. He broke up two gay musicians and forced his son to give up music. You also slap your son in public like this?

I feel bad for Inseo. He found a creator he admired and grew close to him. The Koreans are determined to give me second lead syndrome.

Ope. Inseo moved on. What in The Red Violin (1998) is going on with this emotional whiplash this episode?

I love how obviously Ye Chan’s feelings emanate from him. I like seeing characters who never needed to learn to mask.

I don’t care for Inseo. Kindness costs so little. There’s no need to be rude.

This show is getting as bad as Thailand with the dramatic changes in lighting between scenes. It’s suddenly night time?

Even the doctor is mad about Inseo being here. He said, “Where’s big gay man who was taking care of you? This twink looks unreliable.”

That’s right, Ye Chan! Don’t let that mean twink convince Sun Yeol to go back to Seoul!

Episode 6

Ye Chan’s mom is so intense. She’s not the sit around and chat about our feelings type, I guess.

I like him telling Ye Chan to go inside and wait. I thrive on hope.

This breakup scene is pretty affective even with how little time we’ve spent with them. They both gave up things to be together and it just didn’t work.

Timeline is a bit hard to track, but it seems like they haven’t seen in each other in a while.

Big fan of the “sweat yourself into exhaustion so you can rest” approach. It’s the best part about volunteering for me.

Okay, Village Head, I see you and your veiled insinuations.

It’s a party!

It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes!

Oh BL dream sequences, my belothed. At least this one was obvious.

Ye Chan is so helplessly gay. I love him.

Look at our brave farmer admitting his feelings even if he’s scared!

Okay, I will say I really liked the way Inseo was used this episode as a warm up for dealing with the dad stuff before the end of this. This show is actually pretty cute.

[genderqueer-hippie]

it's 10 pm and the people of a nearby neighborhood have decided it's drag racing time (based on the sounds). So. My ask is: opinions on drag racing, tractor pulls, and moster truck rallies? I suppose that's really 3 questions.

Drag racers get off my lawn! They're noisy but I'm so used to them it's almost like an extra redneck nature noise to accompany the crickets. I have never been to a tractor pull or a monster truck rally, but my grandpa loved tractor pulls. In his defense he was a beef farmer who also was really into the rodeo (and co-founded the local one in his hometown but I digress) ((oh extra sidenote that's the same one who had the motorcycle with sidecar)). Monster truck rally though... I don't think I have any adjacent anecdotes there. 🤔 But living in this here Midwest means there have been many nearby.

[oww666]

Belgian Farmers Tractors Rally: Voices from the Fields #belgium #farmer ... ...;.still going 

[alcoraplant]

Yorkshire farmers in tractor protest outside council offices

Frustrated farmers held a tractor rally in Beverley on Wednesday 8 January to highlight the importance of agriculture in the East Riding of Yorkshire. In total, 88 tractors circled the town centre, passing County Hall, where councillors were voting on a motion opposing the government’s controversial plan to levy a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026. The…

[boome11]

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Hundreds of tractors drove through Parliament Square on Wednesday in the latest protest by UK farmers against changes to tax reliefs announced by Rachel Reeves in the Budget. Farmers from across the country drove to central London to join the rally under the banner “RIP British Farming”, the most recent in a string of demonstrations by the industry, which says it is buckling under the strains of climate change, withdrawal of subsidies and post-Brexit trade deals. The protest took place as MPs on the House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee heard evidence from tax experts and farming group leaders about the impact of the proposed changes to inheritance tax reliefs on the farming and wider rural community. Under reforms to agricultural property and business property relief set out by the chancellor, farmers will be liable to pay a tax rate of 20 per cent on inherited agricultural and business assets valued at more than £1mn, which were previously exempt. The changes will apply from April 2026.Farmers protesting in London © Charlie Bibby/FTFarming leaders told MPs that the government had not listened to their concerns and warned that many farmers were considering dying by suicide before the changes took effect in 2026, rather than risk saddling their children with an unmanageable tax bill in the event of their death. “Those people who are in ill health or who don’t believe they will be able to live for the seven years may well decide they shouldn’t be here in April 2026,” Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union, told the committee. “No policy should ever be published that has that unintended side effect.” According to inheritance tax rules, farmers can gift agricultural assets while they are alive, but their estate remains liable for the duties if they die within seven years of the gift.After the hearing, Bradshaw told the Financial Times that the NFU was seeking a full consultation on the impact of the changes alongside other farm groups, and that ministers had failed to clarify what the targets were meant to achieve.Recommended“We’ve tried to give the government some space but they haven’t moved so far, so we understand why farmers are feeling they need to make sure their voices are heard,” he said. As tractors parked along Whitehall blasted their horns, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Sir Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions later on Wednesday to “change course” on the policy. Starmer defended the reforms, saying that for a typical farming family the threshold was closer to £3mn than £1mn, and accused the Conservatives of “fear-mongering”.Nigel Farage during the march © Charlie Bibby/FTOpposition MPs including Nigel Farage and James Cleverly posed for photographs with farmers at Wednesday’s protest.James Tassel, a sheep and cattle farmer from East Sussex at the protest with his wife and child, said the inheritance tax changes were one in a long list of problems facing farmers. “We’ve all worked hours and hours to earn nothing. And then they import lower grade food made at cheaper cost and we have to try and compete — it’s not a level playing field,” he said.Save British Farming, the group that organised the protest on Wednesday, and arranged a similar rally in March this year, has called for the IHT changes to be scrapped. It also wants the government to seek a veterinary agreement with the EU — a deal that Labour has said it will seek — and to reverse the accelerated removal of EU-era farming subsidies. Farmers have not received payments under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy since Brexit. Instead the UK has transitioned to a new scheme that rewards farmers for improving the natural environment and biodiversity, as well as reducing emissions. https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F36f9898f-59e0-4d49-b3f4-9d8e012e5b3d.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1 2024-12-11 14:04:35

[meetxx]

Que-1:   Cell phones have become important tools for activism. Explain how cell phones give power to individuals to document and share social injustices and enable movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo to gain momentum. How does this ability change who has the power in society ? Any examples should be from the last 5 years.

Cell Phones as Tools for Activism

Cell phones are regarded as a critical means through which modern activism is empowered to document and share social injustices, therefore changing societal power dynamics. Recording incidents on the phone and instantly disseminating them across platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook gives people voices that do not need to travel first through the traditional media.

One major example from India is the 2020–2021 Farmers' Protest, in which cell phones were significant in garnering support and publicizing the government policies affecting millions of farmers. Protesters recorded marches, speeches, and incidents involving police brutality on their smartphones and shared them on social media using hashtags such as #FarmersProtest. Such videos assisted in bringing international attention to the matter, as popular figure like Rihanna and Diljit Dosanjh echoed the cause. This international attention put pressure on the Indian government to eventually repeal the now-controversial farm laws in late 2021.

Shifting Power Dynamics

Cell phones shift societies' power to allow marginalized voices to be heard and hold authorities accountable. Whereas media once decided what stories were told or covered, often ignoring grassroots movements, with smartphones, people can pass around that gatekeeper and create their own narrative.

In the case of the Farmers' Protest, cameras on cell phones ensured that police actions would be modified, given the real possibility of videos going viral. In one such instance, videos of police clashes during the tractor rally on January 26, 2021, went viral, leading to public outcry and forcing officials to be more transparent about the situation.

Conclusion

The Indian Farmers’ Protest exemplifies how cell phones empower individuals to challenge authority and mobilize support, fundamentally altering power structures in society. Movements like this demonstrate the power of mobile technology in bringing visibility to social injustices, amplifying marginalized voices, and holding authorities accountable. The Hawthorn Effect further highlights how visibility and observation through cell phones can drive accountability and systemic change

[master-john-uk]

A Christmas themed tractor rally is taking place in London tomorrow (16th December 2024), as a continuation of the farmers' protest against changes to tax laws.

Those taking part have been reminded to make sure their tractors are road legal, and to observe all road signs and temporary road closures which will be in place for their benefit.

Tractors taking part will also have to pay the London Congestion Charge... which I think is reasonable, considering the amount of traffic congestion they are likely to cause!

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

WTNV quick rundown - 159 - Cat Show

Read the rest here!

Be the annoying goose you want to see in the world. Welcome to Night Vale.

It's the annual NV Cat Show and Cecil has entered Khoshekh. Because of this, it is being held at the radio station since Khoshekh can't go anywhere.

The cat show involves the judges checking each cats tail for posture and form, checking it's teeth and then holding each paw to stretch out the cat into an X to measure the cat's latitudinal, longitudinal, and diagonal lengths.

Everything is going fine until they try to examine Khoshekh who greatly dislikes being handled and attacks the judges, knocking them out with the sedative oils he secretes from his tentacles. He then emits a high pitched sound only other cats can hear which the other cats return also becoming upset.

The judges wake up with the minds of felines and therefore start to act like cats and nobody is judged as the winner. All of the cats and the human-cats leave the station and roam feral and free in the streets - except Khoshekh. Cecil pets him with protective gloves on and gives him a catnip plushy.

Weather: “Fuzzy Disco” by Talkie

Khoshekh has a 'smooshy face' and is long-haired except around his caudal spine and pincers he can sting with where he is short-haired. He has multiple tails at least one of which is black and at least one of which has nacreous scales on it. He has white paws. He has 'the floofiest' tentacles which secrete a sedative oil (which turns your mind into that of a cat when it knocks you out apparently). He has five rows of teeth. He has multiple eyes.

Amber Akinyi and her husband Wilson Levy have a cat called Berthold. He is fist-sized, short-haired, orange and white, has eight legs, multiple shiny black eyes and can make a web.

Susan Willman has a cat which is MAYBE called Dumpster and is scraggy tabby with dirty teeth and a sunken posture.

Men from the National Transportation Safety Board arrive from Washington, DC. They are asking Sheriff Sam about the missing Delta flight 18713. They say it was flying from Detroit to Albany and was believed to have gone down in Lake Erie. However, before it disappeared for good it was detected in NV which should have been impossible. Sheriff Sam suggests that they talk to Doug Biondi who is currently imprisoned for being 'dangerous' in the NV Asylum. They suggest that the men pretend to be inmates to blend in and then they can ask Doug all they wish to before taking them away to the Asylum.

Friday night is the Tour of Lights in Old Town Night Vale. Starting at 7pm a tractor will drive people around to look at the festive holiday lights adorning various historic homes. Last year's favorite was the Victorian mansion owned by Harrison Kip which included a 40-foot tall Santa overseeing a vast army of toiling elves, while an old Victrola played "Ave Maria" over crackling speakers, and clowns leapt suddenly from the shrubs handing outs red and green balloons shaped like long-dead family members.

Saturday is the bi-monthly NV Pub Crawl in downtown NV. This involves, every 8 weeks or so, every bar being overun by 7 inch long bugs that look 'a bit' like earwigs but with human faces.

There is a Tamika Flynn Book Club and John Peters, you know, the farmer? is a member.

Cecil doesn't understand Uranus jokes because he pronounces it in a way where it doesn't sound your Your Anus.

Stay tuned next for a noise you cannot hear, rallying a feral insurrection. Good night, Night Vale. Good night.

Proverb: Wanna feel old? Don't worry. You will.

[mybharatguru]

Plan to hold a tractor rally on August 15 across the country... Farmers met Rahul Gandhi

Agricultural organizations across the country are planning to hold a tractor rally on August 15.A group of farmers from six states namely Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Punjab, Aryana and Uttar Pradesh met the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, at the Parliament House premises in Delhi today. This group consisted of 12 agricultural leaders.During this meeting, Congress…

[head-post]

British farmers protest in London over inheritance tax change

Welsh farmers held a mass protest on Tuesday against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies that threaten their businesses and livelihoods.

The rally was held in the north Wales town of Llandudno near the building where Labour Party conferences are held. Hundreds of people took part in the protests, some arriving on farm tractors.

Previously, farms were entitled to 100 per cent inheritance tax relief on agricultural and business property, reducing the amounts farmers and landowners pay when farmland is passed on after death.

However, from April 6, 2026, the full death tax exemption will only apply to the first £1 million ($1.27 million) of combined agricultural and business property.

“Britain is going full Stalin”

Technology billionaire Elon Musk, a critic of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said on his social media account X on Monday that “Britain is going full Stalin,” in an apparent reference to the forced collectivisation of private farms carried out by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

He shared a Guardian newspaper commentary accusing farmers of “holding on to land for too long” and said inheritance tax changes could destroy farms and give young farmers a chance to buy land.

Impact of the policy change on farms

The National Farmers Union (NFU), which represents more than 45,000 members in England and Wales, said its “massive lobby” in parliament would help explain the impact of the policy change on farms, agriculture and the food supply. NFU president Tom Bradshaw said in a video message to members:

“This awful family farm tax has to be overturned. The evidence that this decision is based on is weak. Even the government can’t agree between Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and Treasury whether the figures are accurate.”

Central to the dispute is how many people may be affected. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that the “vast majority of farms” would not be impacted.

The government says the actual inheritance tax threshold could be as high as 3 million pounds ($3.8 million) when exemptions for each partner in a couple and for farm property are taken into account.

The Treasury argues that this way nearly three-quarters of farms will not have to pay death tax.

But the NFU insists that more farms will have to pay the tax when land, property and equipment are taken into account, citing Defra figures showing that 66 per cent of farms in England have a net worth of more than £1 million.

On Monday, protesters blocked a motorway leading to the French capital with tractors in protest at a free trade agreement between the European Union and the Common Market of South America “Mercosur” that could have been signed at Monday’s opening G20 summit in Brazil.

Read more HERE

[alcoholrehabilitationcentre]

Purana Tractor: Embracing the Legacy of Agricultural Machinery

In the world of agriculture, the "Purana tractor" stands as a testament to durability and reliability. This term, meaning "old tractor" in Hindi, reflects a rich history and a deep connection with farmers who have relied on these machines for decades. The Purana tractor is not just a piece of equipment; it's a symbol of resilience and an integral part of many farming communities.

Tractors revolutionized agriculture by making tasks like plowing, planting, and harvesting more efficient. The Purana tractor, often a vintage model from brands like Mahindra, John Deere, or Massey Ferguson, represents the early days of this mechanization. These tractors, built to last, have served multiple generations of farmers, a true testament to their engineering excellence.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Purana tractors is their simplicity. Unlike modern tractors equipped with advanced technology and electronics, these older models are mechanical marvels. They can be repaired and maintained with basic tools, making them accessible to farmers in remote areas with limited resources. This ease of maintenance has contributed significantly to their longevity and continued use.

Farmers often have a deep sentimental attachment to their Purana tractors. These machines have witnessed countless seasons, toiled through challenging weather, and played a crucial role in every harvest. For many, the Purana tractor is a family heirloom, passed down from one generation to the next. It's not uncommon to find a farmer reminiscing about their grandfather's tractor, still running strong with a little care and attention.

The Purana tractor also embodies sustainability in agriculture. In an era where the throwaway culture dominates, these tractors highlight the value of repairing and reusing rather than discarding. By keeping these old machines operational, farmers reduce waste and promote a more sustainable approach to farming.

Moreover, the Purana tractor has an economic significance. New tractors are a substantial investment, often out of reach for small-scale farmers. The Purana tractor, with its lower cost and proven reliability, provides an affordable alternative. This allows farmers to allocate their resources more efficiently, investing in other areas of their farms to boost productivity and sustainability.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in vintage machinery, including Purana tractors. Enthusiasts and collectors appreciate the craftsmanship and history embedded in these machines. Tractor rallies and vintage machinery shows have become popular, celebrating the legacy of these agricultural workhorses.

In conclusion, the Purana tractor is more than just an old machine; it is a symbol of resilience, sustainability, and a connection to the past. These tractors, with their enduring reliability and simplicity, continue to play a vital role in agriculture, embodying a legacy that transcends generations. For many farmers, the Purana tractor is a cherished partner in their journey, a true emblem of the enduring spirit of agriculture.

[lejournaldupeintre]

Thousands of tractors block Berlin as farmers protest over fuel subsidy cuts

Tractors line the streets of Berlin, in Germany. Berlin has nearly been brought to a standstill as thousands of farmers rally against tax rises and subsidy cuts, the culmination of a week of protests that have piled misery on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition. Streets leading to Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate were clogged with trucks and tractors on Monday, as more than 10,000…