Saturday, July 14th, 2018
Sandhya Jain, Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library - the pioneer (India)
Stephan: Here is some more good news about Monsanto, albeit a court decision in India. But it establishes an international precedent
Delhi High Court’s ruling which forbids Monsanto from stopping supplies to seed companies is a boost to domestic seed companies, and will curb the ability of multinationals to establish a seed monopoly
Opponents of genetically modified crops received a boost when the Delhi High Court upheld the Indian Patent Act, which states that seeds and life forms cannot be patented, and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (PPV&FR Act), which biotechnology multinationals have tried to undermine, and ruled that key plant genetic material cannot be patented. The court was deciding a dispute between Monsanto and Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, Prabhat Agri Biotech Ltd and Pravardhan Seeds Private Ltd, over interpretation of law, especially Section 3(j) of the Indian Patent Act and applicability of PPV&FR Act for transgenic plants.
Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Yogesh Khanna, on April 11, ruled that Monsanto Technologies LLC does not have the patent for Bt Cotton seed varieties ‘Bollgard’ and ‘Bollgard II’. The Bench permitted Monsanto three months to register the seed varieties under the Plant Varieties Act (PV Act), which would entitle the firm […]
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Saturday, July 14th, 2018
Stephan: Here is, as I consider it, good news. American christianity has been largely capture by a politically active White supremacist christofascist cult. I think they should be taxed, and am glad to see at least in a modest way it looks like it is going to happen.
Mainline church
There is no reason whatsoever to celebrate America these days; the concept of good news has all but vanished. In fact, it is highly likely that a fair number of Americans are mourning the demise of their nation as it existed for 239 years and see nothing but the relentless advance of corporate fascism and a bloodless theocratic coup d’état on the near horizon; many observers, including this author, believe the theocrats have taken over already. These are seriously bad days for America as a nation, and devastating for any citizen that embraced a secular democracy with liberties and freedom for all Americans regardless of race, religious affliction, or gender.
There was a bit of news recently that, although not necessarily good, is certainly worth celebrating if for no other reason than the religious right is up in arms over what they regard as an attack on their religious freedom. In addition, even more reason to marvel is that the attack came at the hands of Congressional Republicans and the religious right’s […]
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Jessica Corbett, Staff Writer - Common Dreams
Stephan: Here is some more good news from Europe. Ireland is going to be the first nation in the world to fully divest public money from the fossil fuel industry. In the U.S. the Trump administration is doing everything it can to stop something like this from happening.
Fossil fuel divestment activists displayed a sign outside the lower house of Ireland’s legislature.
Credit: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland/Trócaire/350.org)
Climate activists across the globe celebrated Thursday after the lower house of the Irish legislature passed a divestment bill with support from all parties, effectively ensuring that Ireland will become the first nation in the world to fully divest public money from the fossil fuel industry. (emphasis added)
“This week, packed with divestment announcements from churches, universities, and now the first full divestment by a national government, is sending a clear signal that breaking the ties with fossil fuel companies is becoming the new norm: investing in them is no longer economically viable nor morally right,” responded Nicolò Wojewoda of 350.org Europe. “The only way to meaningfully address the climate crisis is to stop funneling money into the fossil fuel industry and instead to support the momentous rise of renewable energy.”
“The groundswell that’s been building around the planet for divestment derives its power from everyone working together toward the same end. It’s all one […]
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Stephan: I am just over 6'2" and mostly fly economy. So seat size and leg space are matters that get my attention. I no longer fly United, and look for Alaska flights because of this issue. Well guys matters are about to get worse because, in America, profit always trumps wellbeing, largely now because Trump's administration is completely in the pocket of the corporate donors who paid for the Republican campaigns. So buckle up, and chew your knees. And if you voted for him pull down your little red hat. Sorry your seat won't go back but your discomfort is helping to MAGA
The FAA declined to regulate seat size and pitch on airlines, saying current dimensions do not present a safety hazard.
Credit: Ted S. Warren/AP
Cramped cabins, knocked knees, aggrieved elbows: all real problems for today’s flyers. But the Federal Aviation Administration has said they aren’t its problems — announcing Tuesday that it will not regulate airline seat size and legroom.
The decision came in the form of a letter responding to a lawsuit brought by the group Flyers Rights.
Flyers Rights said that shrinking seats, which it calls sardine seats, present an issue during emergency evacuations, especially as larger passengers could struggle to get out of the seats in a hurry.
But the FAA said that current seat size is not a safety issue. “The time it takes passengers to get out of their seats, even if those seats are relatively narrow and close together, is […]
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Jessica Corbett, - truthout
Stephan: Here is some excellent news about the evil Monsanto and its killer product Roundup. There is going to be a trial and here's the story.
Credit: Sustainablepulse.com
After opening arguments kicked off in California state court on Monday for a Bay Area man’s landmark lawsuit alleging that Monsanto’s popular weedkiller Roundup caused him to develop cancer, a federal judge on Tuesday ruled that hundreds of unrelated but similar cases against the agrochemical company can also proceed to trial.
US District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco concluded that although he believes the evidence presented by attorneys representing the cancer patients and their families, “seems too equivocal to support any firm conclusion that glyphosate,” the active ingredient Roundup, causes in cancer, the matter should be taken up by a jury. As Reuters noted, his decision “followed years of litigation and weeks of hearings.”
It also follows the first day of trial for DeWayne “Lee” Johnson’s suit in California’s San Francisco Superior Court. Johnson is a 46-year-old father of three who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of working as a groundskeeper for school district, a position which regularly exposed him to a pair of Monsanto products containing glyphosate.
Although the state of California and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — a branch of […]
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