18/January/22

 

The plan of the UK government's home secretary Priti Patel to crack down on disruptive protests that pose a threat to national infrastructure was in disarray today after the House of Lords threw the measures out. In a series of late-night votes, peers rejected half a dozen government amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. It would have criminalised protesters who “lock themselves on” to street furniture to avoid being moved and made it a criminal offence to obstruct major transport works such as HS2 or national infrastructure such as airports. The Liberal Democrat Lord Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, called the proposed laws "draconian", "anti-democratic", and "reminiscent of Cold War eastern bloc police states". The Times

 

 

Until it was gobbled up by Bayer in 2018, Monsanto was among the most reviled companies in corporate America, targeted by anti-GMO and seed sovereignty activists, sued by people exposed to its chemicals, and exposed for bullying regulators, battling farmers and betraying science. Monsanto, of course, never saw it that way and it justified its actions, and the entire regime of toxic agrochemicals, genetically modified seeds and fertilizers, by claiming to “feed the world,” a mantra we hear even today. But in Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food Future, Bartow J. Elmore reveals another side of the story: the company’s products weren’t designed to feed the world but rather to create more opportunities to sell even more ag inputs. Ironically, even the problems arising from widespread use of its products spawned fresh business opportunities. FERN

 

 

Wildflowers are growing on the pavements of Brussels, where pesticides have been banned in public spaces since 2019. No matter what UK councils say, biodiversity-friendly management and public acceptance ARE possible. Nature is not dirty! @Morethanweeds on Twitter

 

 

Please sign the petition if you'd like pesticide use to be banned in urban areas. It is needless, ugly, destructive and dangerous. @DaveGoulson on Twitter

 

 

It’s time to end the reckless genetic engineering and weaponizing of pathogenic viruses and organisms, carried out under the guise of “biomedicine” and “biodefense,” by demanding an immediate and total global ban on all gain-of-function research. Sign the petition! Organic Consumers Association