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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link The Case for Prosecuting Bob Vylan for Hate Speech Wed Jul 02, 2025 11:14 | Laura Perrins
As defenders of free speech we resent Britain's draconian hate speech laws. But until they're repealed they should be applied impartially ? and that means prosecuting antisemitic rappers too, says Laura Perrins.
The post The Case for Prosecuting Bob Vylan for Hate Speech appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link BBC Complaints Director Takes Six-Month Sabbatical to Learn How to Promote ?Climate Crisis? Wed Jul 02, 2025 09:00 | Chris Morrison
The BBC's Complaints Director, Colin Tregear, has taken a six-month sabbatical to learn how to promote the 'climate crisis' ? courtesy of the green grooming course run by the Oxford Climate Journalism Network.
The post BBC Complaints Director Takes Six-Month Sabbatical to Learn How to Promote ‘Climate Crisis’ appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why is Skeptical Inquirer Never Sceptical About Climate Change? Wed Jul 02, 2025 07:00 | Steven Tucker
US popular science magazine Skeptical Inquirer prides itself on putting science before dogma. Why then is it fully signed up to the regime consensus on Magical CO2 and its super-heating properties, asks Steven Tucker.
The post Why is Skeptical Inquirer Never Sceptical About Climate Change? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Wed Jul 02, 2025 01:09 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Sheer Bad Craziness of UK Immigration Law Tue Jul 01, 2025 19:30 | Dr David McGrogan
A sensible country does not seek to 'manage' foreign sex offenders and drug traffickers 'in the community', says Dr David McGrogan. It ejects them. It's well past time UK law were changed to make this absolutely clear.
The post The Sheer Bad Craziness of UK Immigration Law appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Monsanto soon to receive 30 European patents on food plants

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release author Thursday June 11, 2015 22:25author by no-patents-on-seeds.org - No Patents on Seedsauthor email info at no-patents-on-seeds dot orgauthor phone + 49 151 54638040 Report this post to the editors

Press Release: Coalition of No Patents on Seeds! publishes appeal to European governments

Press Release 21st May “Act now – save the future of our food!” The coalition of No Patents on Seeds! has published an international call to European governments to stop patents on plants and animals. They are warning that international corporations such as Monsanto are taking more and more control of resources needed for food production. As recent research shows, the European Patent Office (EPO) is about to grant 30 patents on plants derived from conventional breeding to Monsanto and its affiliated companies. The Swiss company Syngenta can expect to receive around a dozen patents very soon. Many of the patents claim vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, carrots and lettuce.

Currently, there are signs that Syngenta might be taken over by the US company Monsanto. This would unite the pending patent applications as well as several hundred granted patents on plants already held by one of the corporations. Consequently, Monsanto stands to substantially strengthen its predominant global market position and would be able to control the resources needed for food production in Europe to an unprecedented extent. Patents granted by the EPO very often cover the whole chain of food production such as seeds, plants and the fruits.

At the end of March 2015, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO confirmed an unacceptable interpretation of the current European patent law. While processes for conventional breeding cannot be patented, plants and animals stemming from these processes are regarded as patentable. This is not only contradictory in itself, it also undermines the prohibitions in European patent law. According to the European Patent Convention (EPC), patents on plant and animal varieties as well as on essentially biological processes for breeding are prohibited. This decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal is binding for all similar patent applications, such as the ones soon to be granted to Monsanto and Syngenta.

“Farmers, food producers and consumers will be severely impacted by the negative consequences. Patents on plants and animals give corporations the power to decide what is grown in the fields and which price we all have to pay for it”, says Christoph Then for No Patents on Seeds ! “European governments now have to come forward to protect the interests of the general public against those of patent lobbyists and multinational companies.”

The coalition of No Patents on Seeds ! demands that European governments take an active role in strengthening the prohibitions in European Patent Law by changing the rules of interpretation in current patent law. National laws such as those in Germany and the Netherlands already prohibit patents on plants and animals derived from conventional breeding. Other countries could follow this example right away and go even further. In a next step, the text of European Patent laws should be changed to exclude all breeding processes and breeding material, breeding traits, genetic resources plants and animals as well as food derived thereof from patentability.

The coalition of No Patents on Seeds! is organised by Bionext (Netherlands), The Berne Declaration (Switzerland), GeneWatch (UK), Greenpeace, Misereor (Germany), Development Fund (Norway), No Patents on Life (Germany), Red de Semillas (Spain), Rete Semi Rurali (Italy), Reseau Semences Paysannes (France) and Swissaid (Switzerland). They are calling for a revision of European Patent Law to exclude breeding material, plants and animals and food derived thereof from patentability. The coalition is supported by several hundred other organisations.

Contacts:
Christoph Then, + 49 151 54638040, info@no-patents-on-seeds.org,
Francois Meienberg, Berne Declaration, +41 44 277 70 04 food@evb.ch,

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