MONSANTO – “GLOBAL MONSTER CORPORATION”?

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VTaQf3nihBU?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Monsanto El Veneno Del Diablo Soja Argentina</span></b></span><b><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Monsanto Company is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation which is particularly famous for its genetically modified products and herbicides. It is also notable for its involvement in high profile lawsuits, where fines and damages have run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of them were related to health damage caused by Monsanto’s products.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Monsanto is one of the most powerful and controversial Agricultural and Biotechnology Corporation on the globe. Monsanto allegedly controls 90% of the world wide food market and is a key promoter of genetic modified food products as well as lead producer of pesticides.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Soybean_in_Argentina"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Soybean_in_Argentina</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Given the fact that Argentina is a major agricultural producer and exporter, the strong presence of Monsanto in Argentina must raise concerns, for the corporation is known for its lack of moral and controversial use of Biotechnology especially in genetic manipulated food products and chemicals used for pesticides. Most of the lawsuits are related to health problems connected to genetically manipulated food products and side effects of pesticides.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Currently Monsanto is engaged in countless legal battles and controversies around the globe, a frightening fact, given the power and political influence the corporation has. Some of the current controversies and lawsuits involving Monsanto are: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MONSANTO GUILTY OF CHEMICAL POISONING</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via Reuters</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A French court ruled that a controversial US biotech company Monsanto is guilty of unintentional chemical poisoning of a French farmer. The verdict sets a French precedent for pesticide-poisoning and more cases are expected to follow.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">­Grain farmer Paul Francois, says he suffered a number of neurological problems, including memory loss, stammering and headaches, after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weed killer in 2004. He blamed the company for failing to provide adequate warning labels on its products.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The present case is not the first of its kind. All previous health claims have reportedly failed because of the difficulties with proving the links between health issues and exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. Francois’s claims appeared to be easier to substantiate because he could describe a particular incident – the inhaling of a particular pesticide while cleaning the tank of his crop sprayer. The man was only able to obtain his work invalidity status after a court appeal.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">300K FARMERS HOPE FOR LAWSUIT AGAINST MONSANTO </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Via RT</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Around 300,000 organic farmers think that Monsanto, the biotech giant known for genetically modifying Mother Nature’s handwork for profit and pushing over the little guys all the while, is pretty seedy. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Now a judge in New York is debating if Monsanto’s questionable methods will go before a jury.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FOGGY PATENT CLAIM ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED SEED</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Last year, 270,000 organic farmers from around 60 family farms tried to take Monsanto to court over issues pertaining to a genetically-modified seed masterminded by the corporation. Not only were the smaller farms concerned over how the manufactured seeds had been carried by wind and creature alike onto their own plantations, but the biggest problem perhaps was that Monsanto was filing lawsuits themselves against farmers. Monsanto went after hundreds of farmers for infringing on their patented seed after audits revealed that their farms had contained their product as a result of routine pollination by animals and acts of nature. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SMALL FARM GRABBING TACTICS BY MONSANTO</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Unable to afford a proper defense, competing small farms have been bought out by the company in droves</b>. As a result, Monsanto saw their profits increase by the hundreds of millions over the last few years as a result. Between 1997 and 2010, <b>Monsanto tackled 144 organic farms with lawsuits and investigated roughly 500 plantations annually during that span with a so-called “seed police.”</b></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUp_lmr7pf68_tcjIj-POQw1Rl_tPc7aB3aa7cf7xhaEz7VNb_tT2a7u12cTUn1KVgdd8ac726TgG1ehBlSw0fS44G06koqj6f1b7nvz8ZyhVHYpDt5fQD4c4PjfHeidiba60gedHDGTel/s1600/monsanto_450_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUp_lmr7pf68_tcjIj-POQw1Rl_tPc7aB3aa7cf7xhaEz7VNb_tT2a7u12cTUn1KVgdd8ac726TgG1ehBlSw0fS44G06koqj6f1b7nvz8ZyhVHYpDt5fQD4c4PjfHeidiba60gedHDGTel/s400/monsanto_450_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>MONSANTO’S INCREASING REIGN OVER THE WORLD’S AGRICULTURE WILL SURPASS ANYTHING IMAGINABLE</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Farmers have been concerned that unless Monsanto is stopped, their reign over the world’s agriculture will surpass anything imaginable</b>. They are seeking pre-emptive protection from those questionable lawsuits and next month Judge Buchwald will weigh in on if the matter should go to trial. Her honor recently listened to oral arguments on Monsanto’s Motion to Dismiss, which the corporation hopes to win to cease the charges being brought by a total of 83 plaintiffs representing now over 300,000 organic farm-affiliated businesses. The legal team for the small-time farmers also offered their arguments. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN">ARGENTINA SAYS MONSANTO CONTRACTOR ABUSES WORKERS</span></b></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="strap"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Associated Press</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <span class="date">January 16, 2012</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Argentina's tax agency has raided a Monsanto Co. contractor and found what it calls slave-like conditions among workers in its cornfields.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The AFIP tax agency says Rural Power SA hired all its farmhands illegally, prevented them from leaving the fields and withheld their salaries. They had to de-tassel corn 14 hours a day and buy their food at inflated prices from the company store. AFIP says it will hold the American agro-giant responsible for its contractor's slave-like labor conditions.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Monsanto didn't immediately respond to calls Monday to its headquarters in Buenos Aires and in St. Louis, which was closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. Argentina's congress last month gave farmhands an 8-hour day and other benefits long denied under a dictatorship-era law.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Thursday,July 8^th 2010 </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">EU COURT RULING FAVOURS ARGENTINA IN DISPUTE WITH MONSANTO OVER SOY-SEED PATENT</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">United States Monsanto Co., the world’s biggest seed company, can’t use a European patent on its Roundup Ready soybeans to block Argentinean soy meal imports, the European Union’s highest court said Wednesday. MercoPress</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">MONSANTO’S HARVEST OF FEAR</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805">http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805</a></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>MONSANTO VS. CANADA</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">After an 8 year review, Canada rejected Monsanto's request for the approval of their genetically modified milk hormone, rBGH. This drug has been shown to make dairy cows produce 10% more milk than normal. This rejection was a major setback for the GE Giant because it was Monsanto's first GE product, and Monsanto had hoped that it's international exceptance would help lead the way to the approval of their other genetically engineered products, most notably crops like cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, rice, corn , and soybeans.<span lang="EN"></span></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Canada dissaproved of the rBGH drug because, as the product label acknowledges, it can cause udder infections, very painful, debilitating foot disorders, and reduced life span in treated cows. There is no doubt that bigger issues of genetic engineering in general also played a big role in the final decision.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/25365/monsanto.html">http://library.thinkquest.org/25365/monsanto.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/">http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">ARGENTINA BE WARY OF MONSANTO </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="titrearticle"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">ROUNDUP READY SOYA IN ARGENTINA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The GM soya, Round Up Ready (“RR”), which is resistant to spraying of Monsanto’s weed killer Round Up, took only a few years to become established in Argentina. This crop swept onto the market as financial crisis hit Argentina in 2001. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While soya cultivation represented only 3700 hectares in 1971, it had risen to 8.3 million hectares in 2000, 9.3m by 2001, 11.6m by 2002 and by 2007 had reached 16 million hectares or 60% of the land in cultivation, giving rise to the phrase “SOYISATION OF THE COUNTRY”. Of the total, 14 million hectares were sown with GM soya, representing a 37 million tone harvest, of which 90% was exported, mainly to Europe and China.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">ARGENTINE LAND GRABBING - MONSANTO STYLE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Due to the economic crisis in 2001, land prices had shot up in value, encouraging small landowners to sell up and concentrating land ownership. In the course of a decade the average landholding in the Pampas grew from 250 to 538 hectares while the number of farms fell by 30%. What’s more <b><span style="color: red;">16 million hectares of cultivable land were owned by foreign agribusinesses</span></b>. This caused a profound reorganisation from what had been a diverse and self-sufficient agriculture, to a <b>model of virtual monoculture</b>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Argentina’s leaders preferred to substitute an intensive industrial model of agriculture, open to exploitative practices, for traditional family farms. As Argentina’s Secretary of Agriculture remarked, soya was seen at the time as a lifebelt for an Argentine economy in danger of drowning. The State was raising taxes of 20% on oils and 23% on grains, representing 10 billion dollars a year, or 30% of the national revenue. <b>Another boost to the growing of GM soya was that Argentina had refused to grant Monsanto a patent for the GM seeds, so the small farmers were able to replant RR seeds without having to pay the firm from St Louis to use them</b>. To make sure they grabbed the whole market, Monsanto didn’t hesitate to sell its seed three times cheaper than in the US. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The new seed was seen as a “miracle” by many Argentine farmers allowing them to save on weed killers but also to spare the soil from too frequent spraying. <b>After a few years of using RR soya however many of them were disillusioned by the reality.</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">THE GREAT LET-DOWN: THE HIDDEN FACE OF GM SOYA</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The surge in GM soya, and what experts casually refer to as “<b>the rush for green gold</b>” <b>drove down production of crops that were needed to feed Argentineans</b>. Thus from 1996-7 to 2001-2, the number of dairy holdings dropped by 27% and for the first time in its history <b>Argentina had to import milk from Uruguay</b>. In the same period, Argentina recorded a decline of 44% in rice production, 44% in sunflowers and 36% in pork. <b>This was accompanied by a rise in the price of basic foodstuffs, so that in 2003 flour rose by 162%, lentils by 272% and rice by 130%. The irony of this situation is that Argentinians were being encouraged to substitute soya milk and soya steaks for the traditional milk and meat that had always formed part of the culinary heritage of their country.</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">“VOLUNTEER” SOYA: TOWARDS A STERILE SOIL</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCCfy8LreUJueMjGSDjMw07nEUWGy9BzeVCam-YYGGhupr84VeqBJanQ7XUr4FvjSClQb4y-iHhTsSw1GyoCyKC1RtTH28aiwNt8N4RogPtxPsbG2DlgxcUiIoAOEvM5hVw5vyYKOS4_U/s1600/GMOx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCCfy8LreUJueMjGSDjMw07nEUWGy9BzeVCam-YYGGhupr84VeqBJanQ7XUr4FvjSClQb4y-iHhTsSw1GyoCyKC1RtTH28aiwNt8N4RogPtxPsbG2DlgxcUiIoAOEvM5hVw5vyYKOS4_U/s400/GMOx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Before the advent of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready (“RR”) soya, <b><span style="color: red;">Argentine farmers used four or five different herbicides on the same land, including very toxic ones like 2-4D (an ingredient of “Agent Orange”)</span></b>, atrazine or paraquat (all banned in the European Union). But alternation of the different products stopped the weeds from developing resistance to any one of them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now, the exclusive use of Roundup had caused biotypes to appear. At first these were “tolerant” of glyphosate and farmers had to increase the doses of Roundup to get rid of them. But tolerance was followed by resistance and the appearance of “volunteer” soya which became ever more widespread in the Pampas. <b>Before the arrival of RR, Argentina used on average a million litres of glyphosate a year, but by 2005 that had grown to 150 million, with a considerable financial boost in consequence for Monsanto.</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Increasing spraying with Roundup was weakening soils because it destroys the microbial flora that it is essential to their fertility. As the soil becomes progressively more sterile, it becomes less productive, farmers are forced to use more fertilizer and so their costs of production rise. <b>The claim that using GMOs will increase profits is therefore somewhat in doubt.</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Rural populations are the first to be affected by the damage to their environment from massive use of Roundup. <b>Twice a year, crop dusters or “mosquitos” spray the herbicide across the whole countryside right up to people’s doorsteps. No precautions are taken in Argentina to reduce the impact of contamination by glyphosate, which affects the environment, the air and the ground water and in turn the population.</b> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to Dario Gianfelici, an Argentine doctor working in the countryside, “Along with several other colleagues in the region, we have recorded a significant increase in birth abnormalities, like miscarriages or early fetal death, </span><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">thyroid dysfunction</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">, respiratory dysfunction - like pulmonary oedema – kidney and endocrine dysfunction, liver and skin diseases and serious sight problems”.1 These are direct observations from the ground and not scientific proof.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Furthermore the increase in land area given over to growing soya has had an associated effect on deforestation which has increased to provide new terrain. The region of SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO has shown one of the <b>highest rates of deforestation in the world</b> with an average of 0.81% of the forest torn away each year, against a global rate of 0.23%. According to Jorge Menendez, Director for Forests with the Environment Ministry, between 1998 and 2002, that represented 800,000 hectares of forest in this region gone up in smoke to make way for soya. In the same period, 118,000 hectares were lost in the CHACO and 170,000 in SALTA. This is a veritable ecological tragedy for the primitive forests which shelter a biodiversity found here and nowhere else on the planet.</span></span></div><div class="spip"><br /></div><div class="spip"><br /></div><div class="spip"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="FR">MONSANTO VERSES ARGENTINA</span></b></span></div><div class="spip"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FxLZvwswr9oTG5AjcwETfFYwjog2qVdunf5kUxGKDY5igfufLbW4hbE9BroWIJjrzalgPvQ9AYwaNKBmynkhynzBkV_BVscyf4L_XINfDbw_hxMCZgW52Z5gIVRTyE-8GJszSMvYESZ6/s1600/genetic7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FxLZvwswr9oTG5AjcwETfFYwjog2qVdunf5kUxGKDY5igfufLbW4hbE9BroWIJjrzalgPvQ9AYwaNKBmynkhynzBkV_BVscyf4L_XINfDbw_hxMCZgW52Z5gIVRTyE-8GJszSMvYESZ6/s400/genetic7.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In order to dominate the market for GM soya, Monsanto hasn’t hesitated to extend a number of privileges in Argentina, like the bargain prices for RR soya seed, the lack of a patent and its undertaking not to sue farmers who replant part of their harvested seed.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">However <b>Monsanto</b> is in dispute with the Argentine government at the moment because the firm is claiming royalties on the sale and export of its GM soya. The firm <b>is demanding three dollars per tonne of soya grain or flour leaving Argentine ports or 15 dollars on arrival of the cargoes in European ports</b>. That represents a potential <b><span style="color: red;">financial boost of 160 million dollars a year for Monsanto</span></b>simply from Argentine soya exports destined for the EU. Currently no agreement has been reached between Monsanto and the Argentine government. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://monsanto.no/index.php/en/environment/gmo/gmo-news/92-monsantos-herbicide-roundup-linked-to-birth-defects-in-argentinas-agricultural-areas"><span lang="FR">http://monsanto.no/index.php/en/environment/gmo/gmo-news/92-monsantos-herbicide-roundup-linked-to-birth-defects-in-argentinas-agricultural-areas</span></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">MONSANTO TARGETS LATIN AMERICA FOR SEED BUSINESS GROWTH </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Via Dow Jones Newswires</span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">12/22/2011</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Monsanto claims more than 40% of Brazil's GMO seed market and more than half of Argentina's.</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The big farms of Brazil and Argentina have become a key <b>battleground for Monsanto Co. (MON) as the agribusiness heavyweight seeks to maintain its market leadership in genetically modified seeds in Latin America.</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As growth of Monsanto's GMO seeds outside the U.S. is expected to outpace the domestic market for the first time during the upcoming crop season, <b>Latin America has taken on new importance for Monsanto. </b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The momentum is expected to accelerate in 2012 in Latin America. Furthermore it is expected the ramp-up of the corn opportunity in Brazil and Argentina will be one of the single largest sources of new growth in the next few years according to Monsanto.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While the U.S. has a finite amount of cultivatable crop lands, there are still massive amounts of land available to expand production in Brazil and Argentina</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. (<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/01/latam-economic-downgrading-tactics-by.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/01/latam-economic-downgrading-tactics-by.html</a>)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moreover, the benefits of GMO seeds -- including increased resistance to pests and herbicides -- have won them increased usage by farmers in those nations. <b><span style="color: red;">Monsanto claims more than 40% of Brazil's GMO seed market and more than half of Argentina's</span></b>. Last year, the company's sales to Argentina totaled over $600 million out of Monsanto's overall global seed sales of $10.5 billion.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Brazil and Argentina are primed to boost Monsanto's</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> top line as farmers adopt biotech seeds and trade up to more advanced and higher-margin seeds.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">With 120 million acres of soybeans in South America versus 75 million in the U.S. it is a significant growth opportunity for Monsanto and the next blockbuster product, with a big opportunity for investors in South America</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvjCE_g2tKM?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="ES-AR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>

MONSANTO – “GLOBAL MONSTER CORPORATION”?

Monsanto El Veneno Del Diablo Soja Argentina The Monsanto Company is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation which is parti...

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THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 1

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14yW51w-dzRaMarKYLQA16A35K8ltyJ5DG_W9MMmbVoPSWs8gcv9Ds8OH1eKnNHTVJgsruL2KrMZSXjaAC5NunwBE58_bpp5qzB23LAiHyOnPDh_MY97-DVMcsCs_0waTviv3CVg_avYK/s1600/genetic_makeup_of_the_balkans_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14yW51w-dzRaMarKYLQA16A35K8ltyJ5DG_W9MMmbVoPSWs8gcv9Ds8OH1eKnNHTVJgsruL2KrMZSXjaAC5NunwBE58_bpp5qzB23LAiHyOnPDh_MY97-DVMcsCs_0waTviv3CVg_avYK/s640/genetic_makeup_of_the_balkans_map.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SOUTHEASTERN EUROPEAN ORGANIZED CRIME, EXTREMISM & GEOPOLITICS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: 153.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: 153.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORGANIZED CRIME (OC) SYNDICATES EMERGING IN THE BALKANS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The main threat to the BALKANS nowadays is the existence of well organized criminal groups that to an extent are an integral part of the world wide “Crime Syndicates” that for the most part control the narcotics trade as well as human trafficking in our époque. The infamous BALKAN drugs route is the main path by which narcotics and specifically heroin; are smuggled to EUROPEAN countries. It is actually a network of contrabands, corrupted public officials and war lords that make sure that the heroin produced in AFGHANISTAN is smoothly transferred to the EUROPE.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES (OC) CONSTANTLY INCREASE THEIR RICHES AND THUS POLITICAL INFLUENCE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to the Council of Foreign affairs, AFGHANISTAN has almost tripled its heroin production and in 2005 32,000 acres were reserved for poppy cultivation, out of 12,000 acres in 2004. This fact shows first of all failure by the International Community (IC) in that country to create the necessary framework for the reconstruction process. As far as the ramifications for the BALKANS are concerned, the increased profits by Organized Crime syndicates (OC) have boasted them with tremendous riches and political influence.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There are mainly two organized ethnic groups that deal most of the arrangements concerning the OC in the Balkans. The so-called ALBANIAN mafia and the TURKISH crime syndicates. The ALBANIAN OC is very active since the collapse of the Communist rule in this country that opened the way for various indigenous gangs to spread their wings further and take part in one of the most profitable commerce of all times, namely drugs and human trafficking. A leading FRENCH criminologist Xavier Raufer has extensively dealt with the issue of the ALBANIAN mafia. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He considers the ALBANIANS as the only true “Mafia” in the BALKANS due to the peculiar social structure of their society in the Northern parts of the country “The land of the Genghis”.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">An isolated society with very firm beliefs in issues of honor and manhood pride coupled with severe social problems and a culture of vendetta; has been transformed into a huge international crime network. Various reports indicate that roughly 70-80% of the heroin distributed in EUROPEAN is under ALBANIAN control, a really impressive percentage for a nation of just 6 million people. Moreover in the BALKAN route –In reality three distinct routes-, the ALBANIAN mafia plays a vital role in safeguarding the interests of the world drugs trade by having its “Soldiers” and “Capos” along the way and protecting shipments from police and official interruption.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN FROM ALBANIA IS ONE OF THE MAIN WAYS TO ESTABLISH A “WAR CHEST” FOR OC</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Furthermore ALBANIA as a country is a major producer of Cannabis, which is mainly exported to neighboring GREECE and ITALY. The narcotic traded is placed along the trafficking and human trafficking operations that have seen the ALBANIANS gaining the fame as the most powerful and dangerous criminal group in SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE. In GREECE alone the revenues from prostitution run at around 7.5 billion USD, a large portion of that being controlled by ALBANIAN criminal groups. Trafficking of women from ALBANIA is one of the main ways to establish a “War chest” for OC, in order to invest its wealth in the drugs trade.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In essence the first stage for every respectable OC unit, is to establish a prostitution ring, make easily large amounts of cash, and then invest them for the drugs trade by constructing the expensive logistics bases, fake companies, pay corrupted officials and so on. Therefore when looking into the different aspects of organized criminal activity, one should note that all forms of that activity are interconnected and that each one leads to the other. That actually is one of the differences of organized crime from the other forms of criminality.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN OC AND TERRORISM</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Back to the activities of the ALBANIAN criminal groups, the recent history illustrates the existence of a hybrid criminal form, meaning the interconnection between criminal activities and terrorism. The ALBANIAN groups that are mostly active in the North of the country have been associated with the preparations of the U.C.K guerilla forces in the late 90’s, as well as, with their arming and training. The troubling 90’s in SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE saw the convergence of the drugs trade along with the formation of radical Islamic groups and the pervasion of corruption in the upper echelons on the countries involved. In the ALBANIAN case the past decade it is assumed that the country is facing a virtual takeover of its institution by the OC that in its turn has been linked with international terrorism, with Al Qaeda withstanding.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The main role of the ALBANIAN Mafia in the narcotics trade is the one of wholesale distributor of AFGHAN heroine. Along the BALKAN route and especially the one passing through SOUTHERN BULGARIA, FYROM; the ALBANIANS import heroin and then dispense it to ITALY, or BOSNIA- CROATIA to AUSTRIA and CENTRAL EUROPE. After 1999 and the consequent ALBANIAN dominance in KOSOVO, Pristina has become the unquestionable narcotics capital of EUROPE. A traditionally provisional city in the midst of the BALKANS is nowadays the epicenter of all drugs deal of an area encompassing CENTRAL EUROPE, BALKANS, and MIDDLE EAST.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">KEY ELEMENT IN BALKANS OC: KOSOVO-ALBANIAN DIASPORA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The lack of law coupled with the existence of a society reluctant to pursue OC, has created a “black hole” in the centre of the BALKANS that primarily lives on criminal activities and the remittances of the KOSOVO-ALBANIAN Diaspora. The latter is strategically located in countries such as SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA, GERMANY and DENMARK and dominates the EUROPEAN heroin trade. Despite the fact that ALBANIANS are relatively newcomers to the EUROPEAN organized crime scene-Like the old-timers Sicilians, Corsicans – they have already taken over the entire EUROPEAN heroin market and make large advances in the sectors of trafficking, racketeering, arms smuggling, illegal gambling and human trafficking.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH CRIME SYNDICATES ARE THE <span style="font-size: large;">UNDISPUTED</span> PARTNER OF THE ALBANIANS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The infamous ALBANIAN mafia is a formidable criminal network, but the existence of another one, influential as well, should be added in order to examine the whole spectrum of drugs trade in the BALKANS. The TURKISH crime syndicates are the undisputable partner of the ALBANIANS. It would not be possible for the ALBANIANS to become distributors in the first place if the weren’t able to acquire their goods from the East, and that is where the role of the TURKS begins.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY is a country strategically located between the EAST and the WEST. Apart from its importance in political and military level, it is also an integral part of the international narcotics smuggling. It would just be very hard for heroin to travel from CENTRAL ASIA to EUROPE without being able to trespass TURKEY, the only ASIAN country bordering with EUROPE. TURKEY traditionally is producing Opium, for pharmaceutical purposes. In the early 70’s international pressure –Mostly from Nixon administration in the USA- obliged TURKEY to enforce stricter rules for Opium production in 1974. Up until then heroin was produced in TURKEY as an Opium derivative and quantities were sold to the West with the assistance of the Sicilian and Corsican mafias.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH NARCOTIC PRODUCTION BASES ESTABLISHED IN AFGHANISTAN AND NORTHERN PAKISTAN</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The heroin to be sold was transported with ships to Sicily, and then to Marseilles were the Corsicans had created labs for the fabrication of the commercial product. From then onwards it was transferred to New York and other USA ports where the AMERICAN-ITALIAN mafia would assure its allocation in the end-users, the heroin addicts. The forceful USA administration at that time declared a war against narcotics and obliged the TURKS to seek other sources of the lucrative opium. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Soon enough TURKISH operational production bases were established in AFGHANISTAN and NORTHERN PAKISTAN. The war in the former during the 80’s, as well as, the resurge of the KURDISH guerilla fighting after 1984 and the IRAQ-IRANIAN war the same period; created a convergence of political, criminal and military operations based in heroin trade.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Events such as the IRAN-Contra scandal illuminate how far the <b>heroin trade has penetrated the higher echelons of the world’s decision-making process and how it interacts with the international affairs.</b> See: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html</a>and <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html</a> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moreover the effective destruction of Beirut during the 80’s collapsed the cities ubiquitous reputation as the prime port for narcotics trade and this role was taken over by Istanbul. The situation after the end of the Cold War in 1989, found the TURKS financially strong from their trade in the previous decades and also ready enough to pursue stronger ties with the countries of Central ASIA.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY, A KEY PLAYER IN DRUG TRAFFICKING?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Furthermore the appearance of the ALBANIANS and the civil wars in former YUGOSLAVIA, provided ample of human resources in the BALKANS, eager in getting involved in the drugs trade so as to survive financially or gain capital to achieve their political aims. EUROPE now already hosted considerable TURKISH minorities-Especially GERMANY – and individuals from those TURKISH communities were used to act as local retail agents for the heroin distribution in EUROPE.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In 1996 the Susurluk accident(</span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susurluk_scandal">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susurluk_scandal</a>) revealed to TURKEY the extent where the Drug –Lords have penetrated the upper crust of the society and they were able to conduct their businesses untouched by the law. Even the spouse of the then TURKISH Prime Minister Tancu Tsiller was accused by the local media for close interactions with notable underworld figures. Furthermore the accusations that the TURKISH security forces were conducting drugs trade in South Eastern TURKE, were in relation to the civil strife in that region because of the KURDISH fight and that presents once more that politics and criminal groups seem to go hand in hand.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveE5Ekdx93pmeJM_1OTsg5banAE-UbpTwhAi_-1qJK_epdupMu45i8_77iwbBG1UfuACSPl0mMcwlX5hyphenhyphenzqAWvj-rEzBj4Nk44CP36HS9NUfS0ATDdbpNvZE5lPKtlBk_yn8hgEWUuTjL/s1600/balkan_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveE5Ekdx93pmeJM_1OTsg5banAE-UbpTwhAi_-1qJK_epdupMu45i8_77iwbBG1UfuACSPl0mMcwlX5hyphenhyphenzqAWvj-rEzBj4Nk44CP36HS9NUfS0ATDdbpNvZE5lPKtlBk_yn8hgEWUuTjL/s400/balkan_map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The modus opperandi of the TURKISH organized crime in drugs trade follows the role of the coordinator and distributor. Large amounts of heroin shipments enter TURKEY each month and then delivered through the BALKAN route mostly, to all over EUROPE. It has to be noted that the country with the largest TURKISH community-GERMANY- is being used also as a redistribution centre. That means that when heroin reaches GERMANY, it is being handed out from there to the other major EUROPEAN markets, especially UK and SCANDINAVIA. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moreover some of the strongest “Capo” of the TURKISH syndicates resided in GERMANY and generally speaking this country has become the centre of gravity for the TURKISH drug barons, as far as, their posture in the EUROPEAN narcotics scene is concerned. Furthermore the impact of the TURKISH drug lords has alarmed EUROPEAN security agencies due to the importance of their overall contribution in the narcotics market on the Continent. For instances since the 1970s, TURKEY has accounted for between 75 and 90 per cent of all heroin in the UK. The key traffickers are TURKS or criminals who operate along that route using TURKISH contacts.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The alliance of TURKISH and ALBANIAN crime groups can be explained at first glance by the cultural, religious and ethnic links –A large percentage of TURKS in Western TURKEY have ALBANIAN ancestry. Also, the tradition of the ALBANIANS to join and serve larger ethnic groups with whom they feel to have a kind of affinity might have its explanation. The same was the case in USA and New York especially where for decades the ALBANIAN crime syndicates tended to operate under the aegis and influence of the much stronger AMERICAN-SICILIAN crime corporations.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">See also </span>Part 2 to 6 on this Blog<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </span></span></div>

THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 1

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPEAN ORGANIZED CRIME, EXTREMISM & GEOPOLITICS Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos ...

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ARGENTINA AND MONSANTO

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<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">In 1996 the Argentine government under Ex president Menem (the sunny boy of the IMF) opened the agriculture market to controversial USA Agro giant MONSANTO in order to grow </span>genetically modified soya seeds. Consequently 60% of fertile land was sold to foreign agriculture entities, with devastating consequences for small farm producers and the environment (mono cultures), not to mention the extensive use of MONSANTOS herbicide “Roundup”, which generates cancer.<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TRY TO CONTROL ARGENTINA </span></b></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">in order to implement “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">CORPORATOCRACY”</span>(<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatocracy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatocracy</a>) in the wake of the agriculture boom. See: </span><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/10/corporatocracy.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/10/corporatocracy.html<span style="color: #444444;"><b>  </b></span></a><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>and</b></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CORN-SEED SALES IN BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND MEXICO HELP MONSANTO WITH RECORD EARNINGS</span></b></span></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/argentina-agriculture-curse.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/argentina-agriculture-curse.html</a></span></div><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/10/corporatocracy.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></a><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ANOTHER SETBACK FOR MONSANTO IN SOUTH AMERICA</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the ARGENTINE province of Córdoba justice system ordered the suspension of the construction of a corn seed-drying facility in the district of Malvinas ARGENTINAS, 14 kilometres outside the capital city of Córdoba.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Judges invoked “environmental risks” in the construction of the 300 million dollars plant </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The decision was made by a labour court in Córdoba City, which placed an injunction to halt the application of Order Number 821/2013, granting the firm permission to advance with its construction project.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The court thus accepted the appeal presented by the ARGENTINE Law Foundation Club and counters the ruling by Civil and Commercial Judge Claudia Zalazar, who on January 25 had authorized the beginning of the construction.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseW2NdnPvDpzJrRtIEOqv3BK377s97cvlZkzjabYfPelJhyphenhyphenWXkmO3x-M8LvkYKPqLcPFGEoSTdByY6rIu1FDkrUJ8gttPfxiRfCwDwaAHbL8WjSh6Y-qD8oiyPTyQnY0Otq8lkq2lzhnZ/s1600/IMG-20130208-00777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseW2NdnPvDpzJrRtIEOqv3BK377s97cvlZkzjabYfPelJhyphenhyphenWXkmO3x-M8LvkYKPqLcPFGEoSTdByY6rIu1FDkrUJ8gttPfxiRfCwDwaAHbL8WjSh6Y-qD8oiyPTyQnY0Otq8lkq2lzhnZ/s320/IMG-20130208-00777.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Monsanto out" protest graffiti in front of Monsanto HQ in Buenos Aires</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sources in Monsanto claimed that no prior legal warning had been received from the authorities and insisted that an appeal was more than likely.<br />In the resolution revealed on Monday, Judges Silvia Díaz and Luis Farías highlighted that the precautionary principle which prevailed in the decision was centred on questions of potential “environmental risks.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consequentially, the works will remain suspended until the fundamental issue leading to the appeal by the ARGENTINE Law Foundation Club and Malvinas ARGENTINA’S residents is resolved. The appellants have objected to the constitutional validity of the municipal order granted by Judge Zalazar which allowed for the beginning of a project approved by the provincial Water, Environment and Energy Ministry in September last year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Through a project notice, the ministry revealed that a facility of some 27 hectares, with similar characteristics to another built by Monsanto in Rojas, Buenos Aires province, would be built in Malvinas Argentinas. According to the firm, prior to the injunction, the plant was expected to be inaugurated in December after a 1.6 billion Pesos investment (approx. 300 million dollars).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In BRAZIL Monsanto said it was to file an immediate appeal of a recent ruling by a single judge of the BRAZILIAN Superior Court of Justice, relating to the company's request for term correction of a patent covering its Roundup Ready soybean product. The company will move forward with the next phase of the appeals process to secure its intellectual property rights and ensure its business is not disrupted in the country.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Monsanto had previously obtained patent protection in BRAZIL for its first-generation Roundup Ready soybean products. In accordance with BRAZILIAN law, Monsanto has sought to correct the term of its patent rights in BRAZIL to conform to the 2014 patent term granted in the UNITED STATES.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #666666;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">CORN-SEED SALES IN BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND MEXICO HELP MONSANTO WITH RECORD EARNINGS</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">US agricultural giant Monsanto Tuesday posted a large increase in quarterly earnings on strong results in corn seed sales in the US and Latin America and better sales of pesticides. The St Louis-based corporation said net income for the first quarter was 339 million dollars, up from 126 million a year earlier.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The results were boosted by particularly strong sales of its gene manipulated corn seed products in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, the company said.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Farmers in Brazil and Argentina have upgraded to new Monsanto genetically modified products, the company said. Sales in this category rose more than 27% compared to the same period last year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The company also said it also had a positive US order book that was better than the same point last year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The other big improvement came in the agricultural productivity category, which includes crop protection products and law-and-garden herbicide products. Sales in this category rose nearly 31% compared with the same period last year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We've achieved a successful start to the year, with contributions from multiple areas that speaks to the strength of our global business and provides confidence in our ability to realize a third consecutive year of significant growth,” said Hugh Grant, CEO of Monsanto.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Monsanto's earnings came in at 62 cents per share, excluding exceptional items, well above the 37 cents per share projected by analysts. Monsanto shares were up are currently up 3% to 98.86 dollars.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">See:  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/monsanto-global-monster-corporation.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/monsanto-global-monster-corporation.html</a></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/monsanto-part-2.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/monsanto-part-2.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><h3><span style="color: #444444;">MONSANTO – “GLOBAL MONSTER CORPORATION”? </span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvjCE_g2tKM?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Monsanto Company is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation which is particularly famous for its genetically modified products and herbicides. It is also notable for its involvement in high profile lawsuits, where fines and damages have run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Most of them were related to health damage caused by Monsanto’s products.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monsanto is one of the most powerful and controversial Agricultural and Biotechnology Corporation on the globe. Monsanto allegedly controls 90% of the world wide food market and is a key promoter of genetic modified food products as well as lead producer of pesticides.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Soybean_in_Argentina">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Soybean_in_Argentina</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given the fact that Argentina is a major agricultural producer and exporter, the strong presence of Monsanto in Argentina must raise concerns, for the corporation is known for its lack of moral and controversial use of Biotechnology especially in genetic manipulated food products and chemicals used for pesticides. Most of the lawsuits are related to health problems connected to genetically manipulated food products and side effects of pesticides.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Currently Monsanto is engaged in countless legal battles and controversies around the globe, a frightening fact, given the power and political influence the corporation has. Some of the current controversies and lawsuits involving Monsanto are: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MONSANTO GUILTY OF CHEMICAL POISONING</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Via Reuters</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A French court ruled that a controversial US biotech company Monsanto is guilty of unintentional chemical poisoning of a French farmer. The verdict sets a French precedent for pesticide-poisoning and more cases are expected to follow.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">­Grain farmer Paul Francois, says he suffered a number of neurological problems, including memory loss, stammering and headaches, after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weed killer in 2004. He blamed the company for failing to provide adequate warning labels on its products.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The present case is not the first of its kind. All previous health claims have reportedly failed because of the difficulties with proving the links between health issues and exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. Francois’s claims appeared to be easier to substantiate because he could describe a particular incident – the inhaling of a particular pesticide while cleaning the tank of his crop sprayer. The man was only able to obtain his work invalidity status after a court appeal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">300K FARMERS HOPE FOR LAWSUIT AGAINST MONSANTO </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Via RT</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Around 300,000 organic farmers think that Monsanto, the biotech giant known for genetically modifying Mother Nature’s handwork for profit and pushing over the little guys all the while, is pretty seedy. <br />Now a judge in New York is debating if Monsanto’s questionable methods will go before a jury.<br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>FOGGY PATENT CLAIM ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED SEED</b></span><br /><br />Last year, 270,000 organic farmers from around 60 family farms tried to take Monsanto to court over issues pertaining to a genetically-modified seed masterminded by the corporation. Not only were the smaller farms concerned over how the manufactured seeds had been carried by wind and creature alike onto their own plantations, but the biggest problem perhaps was that Monsanto was filing lawsuits themselves against farmers. Monsanto went after hundreds of farmers for infringing on their patented seed after audits revealed that their farms had contained their product as a result of routine pollination by animals and acts of nature.<br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>SMALL FARM GRABBING TACTICS BY MONSANTO</b></span><br /><br /><b>Unable to afford a proper defense, competing small farms have been bought out by the company in droves</b>. As a result, Monsanto saw their profits increase by the hundreds of millions over the last few years as a result. Between 1997 and 2010, <b>Monsanto tackled 144 organic farms with lawsuits and investigated roughly 500 plantations annually during that span with a so-called “seed police.”</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>MONSANTO’S INCREASING REIGN OVER THE WORLD’S AGRICULTURE WILL SURPASS ANYTHING IMAGINABLE</b><br /></span><br /><b>Farmers have been concerned that unless Monsanto is stopped, their reign over the world’s agriculture will surpass anything imaginable</b>. They are seeking pre-emptive protection from those questionable lawsuits and next month Judge Buchwald will weigh in on if the matter should go to trial. Her honor recently listened to oral arguments on Monsanto’s Motion to Dismiss, which the corporation hopes to win to cease the charges being brought by a total of 83 plaintiffs representing now over 300,000 organic farm-affiliated businesses. The legal team for the small-time farmers also offered their arguments.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">ARGENTINA SAYS MONSANTO CONTRACTOR ABUSES WORKERS</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="strap"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Associated Press</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <span class="date">January 16, 2012</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Argentina's tax agency has raided a Monsanto Co. contractor and found what it calls slave-like conditions among workers in its cornfields.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The AFIP tax agency says Rural Power SA hired all its farmhands illegally, prevented them from leaving the fields and withheld their salaries. They had to de-tassel corn 14 hours a day and buy their food at inflated prices from the company store. AFIP says it will hold the American agro-giant responsible for its contractor's slave-like labor conditions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Monsanto didn't immediately respond to calls Monday to its headquarters in Buenos Aires and in St. Louis, which was closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. Argentina's congress last month gave farmhands an 8-hour day and other benefits long denied under a dictatorship-era law.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thursday,July 8^th 2010 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">EU COURT RULING FAVORS ARGENTINA IN DISPUTE WITH MONSANTO OVER SOY-SEED PATENT</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">United States Monsanto Co., the world’s biggest seed company, can’t use a European patent on its Roundup Ready soybeans to block Argentinean soy meal imports, the European Union’s highest court said Wednesday. MercoPress</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">MONSANTO’S HARVEST OF FEAR</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805">http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><b>MONSANTO VS. CANADA</b></span><br /><br />After an 8 year review, Canada rejected Monsanto's request for the approval of their genetically modified milk hormone, rBGH. This drug has been shown to make dairy cows produce 10% more milk than normal. This rejection was a major setback for the GE Giant because it was Monsanto's first GE product, and Monsanto had hoped that it's international exceptance would help lead the way to the approval of their other genetically engineered products, most notably crops like cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, rice, corn , and soybeans.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Canada dissaproved of the rBGH drug because, as the product label acknowledges, it can cause udder infections, very painful, debilitating foot disorders, and reduced life span in treated cows. There is no doubt that bigger issues of genetic engineering in general also played a big role in the final decision.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/25365/monsanto.html">http://library.thinkquest.org/25365/monsanto.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/">http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ARGENTINA BE WARY OF MONSANTO </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="titrearticle"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">ROUNDUP READY SOYA IN ARGENTINA</span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The GM soya, Round Up Ready (“RR”), which is resistant to spraying of Monsanto’s weed killer Round Up, took only a few years to become established in Argentina. This crop swept onto the market as financial crisis hit Argentina in 2001. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While soya cultivation represented only 3700 hectares in 1971, it had risen to 8.3 million hectares in 2000, 9.3m by 2001, 11.6m by 2002 and by 2007 had reached 16 million hectares or 60% of the land in cultivation, giving rise to the phrase “SOYISATION OF THE COUNTRY”. Of the total, 14 million hectares were sown with GM soya, representing a 37 million tone harvest, of which 90% was exported, mainly to Europe and China.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ARGENTINE LAND GRABBING - MONSANTO STYLE</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Due to the economic crisis in 2001, land prices had shot up in value, encouraging small landowners to sell up and concentrating land ownership. In the course of a decade the average landholding in the Pampas grew from 250 to 538 hectares while the number of farms fell by 30%. What’s more <b><span style="color: red;">16 million hectares of cultivable land were owned by foreign agribusinesses</span></b>. This caused a profound reorganization from what had been a diverse and self-sufficient agriculture, to a <b>model of virtual monoculture</b>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Argentina’s leaders preferred to substitute an intensive industrial model of agriculture, open to exploitative practices, for traditional family farms. As Argentina’s Secretary of Agriculture remarked, soya was seen at the time as a lifebelt for an Argentine economy in danger of drowning. The State was raising taxes of 20% on oils and 23% on grains, representing 10 billion dollars a year, or 30% of the national revenue. <b>Another boost to the growing of GM soya was that Argentina had refused to grant Monsanto a patent for the GM seeds, so the small farmers were able to replant RR seeds without having to pay the firm from St Louis to use them</b>. To make sure they grabbed the whole market, Monsanto didn’t hesitate to sell its seed three times cheaper than in the US. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The new seed was seen as a “miracle” by many Argentine farmers allowing them to save on weed killers but also to spare the soil from too frequent spraying. <b>After a few years of using RR soya however many of them were disillusioned by the reality.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">THE GREAT LET-DOWN: THE HIDDEN FACE OF GM SOYA</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The surge in GM soya, and what experts casually refer to as “<b>the rush for green gold</b>” <b>drove down production of crops that were needed to feed Argentineans</b>. Thus from 1996-7 to 2001-2, the number of dairy holdings dropped by 27% and for the first time in its history <b>Argentina had to import milk from Uruguay</b>. In the same period, Argentina recorded a decline of 44% in rice production, 44% in sunflowers and 36% in pork. <b>This was accompanied by a rise in the price of basic foodstuffs, so that in 2003 flour rose by 162%, lentils by 272% and rice by 130%. The irony of this situation is that Argentinians were being encouraged to substitute soya milk and soya steaks for the traditional milk and meat that had always formed part of the culinary heritage of their country.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“VOLUNTEER” SOYA: TOWARDS A STERILE SOIL</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before the advent of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready (“RR”) soya, <b><span style="color: red;">Argentine farmers used four or five different herbicides on the same land, including very toxic ones like 2-4D (an ingredient of “Agent Orange”)</span></b>, atrazine or paraquat (all banned in the European Union). But alternation of the different products stopped the weeds from developing resistance to any one of them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, the exclusive use of Roundup had caused biotypes to appear. At first these were “tolerant” of glyphosate and farmers had to increase the doses of Roundup to get rid of them. But tolerance was followed by resistance and the appearance of “volunteer” soya which became ever more widespread in the Pampas. <b>Before the arrival of RR, Argentina used on average a million litres of glyphosate a year, but by 2005 that had grown to 150 million, with a considerable financial boost in consequence for Monsanto.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Increasing spraying with Roundup was weakening soils because it destroys the microbial flora that it is essential to their fertility. As the soil becomes progressively more sterile, it becomes less productive, farmers are forced to use more fertilizer and so their costs of production rise. <b>The claim that using GMOs will increase profits is therefore somewhat in doubt.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rural populations are the first to be affected by the damage to their environment from massive use of Roundup. <b>Twice a year, crop dusters or “mosquitos” spray the herbicide across the whole countryside right up to people’s doorsteps. No precautions are taken in Argentina to reduce the impact of contamination by glyphosate, which affects the environment, the air and the ground water and in turn the population.</b> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Dario Gianfelici, an Argentine doctor working in the countryside, “Along with several other colleagues in the region, we have recorded a significant increase in birth abnormalities, like miscarriages or early fetal death, <b><span style="color: red;">thyroid dysfunction</span></b>, respiratory dysfunction - like pulmonary oedema – kidney and endocrine dysfunction, liver and skin diseases and serious sight problems”.1 These are direct observations from the ground and not scientific proof.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Furthermore the increase in land area given over to growing soya has had an associated effect on deforestation which has increased to provide new terrain. The region of SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO has shown one of the <b>highest rates of deforestation in the world</b> with an average of 0.81% of the forest torn away each year, against a global rate of 0.23%. According to Jorge Menendez, Director for Forests with the Environment Ministry, between 1998 and 2002, that represented 800,000 hectares of forest in this region gone up in smoke to make way for soya. In the same period, 118,000 hectares were lost in the CHACO and 170,000 in SALTA. This is a veritable ecological tragedy for the primitive forests which shelter a biodiversity found here and nowhere else on the planet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">MONSANTO VERSES ARGENTINA</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In order to dominate the market for GM soya, Monsanto hasn’t hesitated to extend a number of privileges in Argentina, like the bargain prices for RR soya seed, the lack of a patent and its undertaking not to sue farmers who replant part of their harvested seed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However <b>Monsanto</b> is in dispute with the Argentine government at the moment because the firm is claiming royalties on the sale and export of its GM soya. The firm <b>is demanding three dollars per tonne of soya grain or flour leaving Argentine ports or 15 dollars on arrival of the cargoes in European ports</b>. That represents a potential <b><span style="color: red;">financial boost of 160 million dollars a year for Monsanto</span></b>simply from Argentine soya exports destined for the EU. Currently no agreement has been reached between Monsanto and the Argentine government. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://monsanto.no/index.php/en/environment/gmo/gmo-news/92-monsantos-herbicide-roundup-linked-to-birth-defects-in-argentinas-agricultural-areas"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">http://monsanto.no/index.php/en/environment/gmo/gmo-news/92-monsantos-herbicide-roundup-linked-to-birth-defects-in-argentinas-agricultural-areas</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MONSANTO TARGETS LATIN AMERICA FOR SEED BUSINESS GROWTH </span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Via Dow Jones Newswires<b> </b>12/22/2011</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monsanto claims more than 40% of Brazil's GMO seed market and more than half of Argentina's.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The big farms of Brazil and Argentina have become a key <b>battleground for Monsanto Co. (MON) as the agribusiness heavyweight seeks to maintain its market leadership in genetically modified seeds in Latin America.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As growth of Monsanto's GMO seeds outside the U.S. is expected to outpace the domestic market for the first time during the upcoming crop season, <b>Latin America has taken on new importance for Monsanto. </b>The momentum is expected to accelerate in 2012 in Latin America. Furthermore it is expected the ramp-up of the corn opportunity in Brazil and Argentina will be one of the single largest sources of new growth in the next few years according to Monsanto.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While the U.S. has a finite amount of cultivatable crop lands, there are still massive amounts of land available to expand production in Brazil and Argentina</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. (<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/01/latam-economic-downgrading-tactics-by.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/01/latam-economic-downgrading-tactics-by.html</a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Moreover, the benefits of GMO seeds -- including increased resistance to pests and herbicides -- have won them increased usage by farmers in those nations. <b><span style="color: red;">Monsanto claims more than 40% of Brazil's GMO seed market and more than half of Argentina's</span></b>. Last year, the company's sales to Argentina totaled over $600 million out of Monsanto's overall global seed sales of $10.5 billion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brazil and Argentina are primed to boost Monsanto's</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> top line as farmers adopt biotech seeds and trade up to more advanced and higher-margin seeds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With 120 million acres of soybeans in South America versus 75 million in the U.S. it is a significant growth opportunity for Monsanto and the next blockbuster product, with a big opportunity for investors in South America</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Leaked documents reveal US diplomats actually work for Monsanto</span> </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Article by Anthony Gucciardi via Natural News</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(NaturalNews) Biotech giant Monsanto has been genetically modifying the world's food supply and subsequently breeding environmental devastation for years, but leaked documents now reveal that Monsanto has also deeply infiltrated the United States government. With leaked reports revealing how U.S. diplomats are actually working for Monsanto to push their agenda along with other key government officials, Monsanto's grasp on international politics has never been clearer.<br /><br />Amazingly, the information reveals that the massive corporation is also intensely involved in the passing and regulations concerning the very GM ingredients they are responsible for. In fact, the information released by WikiLeaks reveals just how much power Monsanto has thanks to key positions within the United States government and elsewhere. Not only was it exposed that the U.S. is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto with military-style trade wars, but that many U.S. diplomats actually work directly for Monsanto.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What the leaked documents reveal -- Military style trade wars, government corruption</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In 2007 it was requested that specific nations inside the European Union be punished for not supporting the expansion of Monsanto's GMO crops. The request for such measures to be taken was made by Craig Stapleton, the United States ambassador to France and partner to George W. Bush. Despite mounting evidence linking Monsanto's GM corn to organ damage and environmental devastation, the ambassador plainly calls for 'target retaliation' against those not supporting the GM crop. In the leaked documents, Stapleton states:<br /><br />"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory. Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices."<br /><br />The undying support of key players within the U.S. towards Monsanto is undeniably made clear not only in this release, but in the legislative decisions taken by organizations such as the FDA and USDA. Legislative decisions such as allowing Monsanto's synthetic hormone Posilac (rBGH) to be injected into U.S. cows despite being banned in 27 countries. How did Monsanto pull this off?<br /><br />The biotech juggernaut managed to infiltrate the FDA positions responsible for the approval of rBGH, going as far as instating the company's own Margaret Miller as Deputy Director of Human Safety and Consultative Services. After assuming this position, Miller reviewed her own report on the safety and effectiveness of rBGH.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Many US diplomats pawns of Monsanto's GM agenda</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While it may be shocking to you if you are not familiar with the corrupt influence of Monsanto, the cables also show that many US diplomats are pushing GMO crops as a strategic government and commercial imperative. Interestingly enough, the U.S. focused their efforts toward advisers to the pope specifically, due to the fact that many Catholic figureheads have openly voiced their opposition to GM foods. With this kind of political influence, is it any wonder that many food staples are now predominantly GM? Nearly 93% of U.S. soybeans are heavily modified conservatively, with many other staple crops coming in at similar numbers.<br /><br />U.S. diplomats have unique opportunities to spread honest and intellectual campagins that can serve to better mankind and end suffering, however they are instead spreading the roots of Monsanto deeper and deeper into international territory. As a substitute for the betterment of mankind, these paid-off diplomats are now spreading environment desecration and health destruction.<br /><br />As if there wasn't already enough information to reveal Monsanto's corruption, the biotech giant also spends enormous amount of money lobbying government each year. Monsanto spent an astonishing $2 million lobbying the federal government in the 3rd quarter of 2011 alone, according to mainstream sources. Why so much cash? The government lobbying focuses on issues like regulations for GM crops and patent reforms. This 'legal' form of persuasion is the reason government agencies like the USDA and FDA let Monsanto roam freely.<br /><br />Satisfying government officials' financial vested interest is all that matters when dealing with corrupt mega-corporations like Monsanto. As long as these financial ties continue to exist, Monsanto will continue to reign over the food supply and continue to wreak devastation to the environment, ecosystem, and humankind.<br /><br /><b>Sources for this article include:</b><br /><a href="http://naturalsociety.com/us-start-trade-wars-with-nations-opposed-to-monsanto-gmo-crops/" target="_blank">http://naturalsociety.com/us-start-trade-wars-with-nations-opposed-to-monsanto-gmo-crops/</a><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops</a><br /><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9RL51J81.htm" target="_blank">http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9RL51J81.htm</a><br /><a href="http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/12/07PARIS4723.html" target="_blank">http://213.251.145.96/cable/2007/12/07PARIS4723.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/1677871/fearful-of-genetically-modified-crops-youre-too-late" target="_blank">http://www.fastcoexist.com/1677871/fearful-of-genetically-modified-crops-youre-too-late</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

ARGENTINA AND MONSANTO

"Monsanto out" Protest graffiti in front of Monsanto HQ Buenos Aires, Argentina ENVIRONMENTALISTS IN ARGENTINA MANAGE TO SUSPEND ...

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