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Politics : Support the French! Viva Democracy! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (1465)	6/26/2003 6:32:06 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Respond to of 7834

Racist Lefty Loons Protest Food for Starving Protesters swarm streets as world's agriculture secretaries ready to meet KIM BACA, Associated Press Writer Sunday, June 22, 2003 (06-22) 20:34 PDT SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Hundreds of protesters descended on city streets Sunday as agriculture officials from around the world prepared for a meeting where United States government officials will pitch advances in genetically engineered food and farming. Chanting, banging drums and carrying signs that read, "No Frankenfood" and "We Don't Want to Eat Their Corporate Creations," protesters swarmed the streets around the state Capitol and nearby conference center. Demonstrators blocked traffic and overturned a trash bin near a hotel where agriculture ministers were staying. Police said they made at least 11 arrests. Arrested demonstrators were charged with unlawful assembly, vandalism and possessing weapons, including a switchblade and other sharp objects, police said. Agriculture officials from more than 100 nations are expected to attend the three-day Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural Science and Technology, which starts Monday and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Department officials say the conference is designed to help developing countries reduce hunger and improve nutrition using advanced technology. They say biotechnology in particular can help reduce pesticide use and yield better harvests than conventional crops, helping preserve the environment and improving health. But activists argue that biotechnology is not the antidote to the complex food problems facing developing nations. Instead, they fear the conference is an attempt by corporate farming and biotech interests to push into new markets. "The policies they are talking about do not benefit poor people in the world, they benefit large agriculture companies," said protester Eddy Jara, a 30-year old nutritionist from Berkeley. "The policies encourage and pressure companies to release trade restrictions and make it easier to extract natural resources from these countries." The Bush administration "is trying to force dangerous and untested food on poor countries," said Patrick Reinsborough of the Mobilization for the Food and Sovereignty, Democracy and Justice, the umbrella group organizing the protest. Biotech giants Monsanto Co. and DowAgro Sciences along with Coca-Cola Co. are major corporate sponsors of the event. "They're trying to put the interest of giant U.S. agribusiness ahead of the interests of small farmers and local democratic decision making," Reinsborough said. The mobilization group, which includes organic farmers and their consumers, and other activists argue the long-term health and environmental risks of biotechnology haven't been properly studied. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman said the conference will also highlight farming methods and pest management to help developing countries cut world hunger by 2015, a goal set by agriculture secretaries at the World Food Summit last year. More than 800 million people face chronic hunger or malnutrition, she said. "What we're talking about is increasing food productivity in areas of the world where people are both hungry and poor," she said. "Many developing countries get 90 percent of their food from local production and there isn't any infrastructure." Sacramento city, state and federal officials say they are prepared to prevent the violence that plagued World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle three years ago. Downtown Seattle was shut down after tens of thousands smashed windows and vandalized cars. Police fought back with rubber bullets and tear gas. "Obviously, people have the right to express their concerns," said police spokesman Justin Risley. "We're obviously concerned about people who want to endanger the lives of other people or damage property. But everyone is in agreement that they want a nonviolent and safe environment for everyone." The Agriculture Department has also closed the conference to the public and certain events to the media. The press did not receive an agenda until the day before the conference. Department officials cited security reasons. The conference convenes at a time when the debate over genetically modified foods has reached a fever pitch. The United States is demanding that the World Trade Organization force the European Union to ends its ban on genetically modified food. In the process, opposition to biotechnology is galvanizing outside the United States, and the protesters say inside the country as well. sfgate.com

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (1465)	6/26/2003 7:45:12 AM
From: average joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7834

One only needs look at the history and government of Monaco to understand why they don't understand even basic ideas of freedom, liberty and justice. History: The history of Monaco is inseparable from that of the House of Grimaldi. Originally of Genoese extraction, the Grimaldis rose to prominence during the 12th century, when one member of the family became ambassador both to the court of the German Emperor Frederick II (Barbarossa) and to that of his Byzantine counterpart, Manuel Commenus. In the late 13th century, however, with the Holy Roman Empire riven by internal strife, the Grimaldi family was forced to take refuge in Provence. It was François Grimaldi who led a group of partisans into the fortress of Monaco in 1297, which has been ruled by the family ever since, the Grimaldis preserving their independence through a mixture of good luck and cunning diplomacy. At various times, they were to be found allied with almost every power in the region, particularly during the Italian Wars in the late-15th and early-16th centuries. Monaco’s geographical position left them ideally placed to either help or hinder the repeated and largely unsuccessful attempts by the kings of France to conquer Italy. This Machiavellian approach – indeed, Machiavelli himself was in Monaco in the early 16th century to sign a treaty on behalf of Florence – paid dividends in 1612 when Honoré II was granted the title of prince by the French crown. He signed a treaty of friendship with France, and the principality remained independent from that time on, despite a brief interruption during the French Revolution. The family’s motto – ‘Deo Juvante’ (With God’s Help) – provides another possible explanation for the survival of this tiny country. Monaco became an independent state under French protection in 1861. The first constitution, introduced in 1911, was overhauled in 1962 when legislative authority was vested jointly in the Prince and the elected National Council. The dominant political grouping in the early years of the new constitution was the National and Democratic Union (UND) which won five successive elections between 1978 and the latest poll in February 1998, at which the UND took all 18 seats on the National Council. The principality’s two opposition parties – one liberal, one communist – were by now all but moribund. The French government maintains a firm grip on the principality, through its ambassador and key appointees in the executive and judiciary. Prince Rainier, the incumbent member of the Grimaldi dynasty who has occupied the position since 1963, has proved unexpectedly determined to resist French pressure at any level. Most recently, a dispute over the corrupt exploitations of tax concessions and secret banking facilities for wealthy foreigners (the basis of the Monegasque economy), has led to threats by the Prince to break off relations with France. These will not actually be put into effect but many observers were surprised by the vehemence of the Prince’s reaction to French pressure. Since then, in April 2002, Monaco has been ‘named and shamed’ by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has spearheaded a major campaign against money-laundering and multi-national fraud. Moncao is on a ‘blacklist’ of seven countries which have failed to take adequate measures to deal with the problem. The French government has also threatened to take further punitive measures. Government: The government of the principality is controlled by the hereditary ruler Prince Rainier III, under whom executive authority is exercised by a Minister of State. The Monegasque electorate elects the 18-member Conseil National (National Council) for a five-year term; the Council and the Prince share legislative power.