A terrible papaya virus has been affecting Jamaica for six years. Now a
Jamaican woman has developed a genetically modified papaya that is resistant
to this virus, yet authorities are afraid to test the new variety in field
trials, writes Terence Giliard from the Caribbean. Already, buyers in Europe
are saying that they would be hesitant to buy the genetically modified papaya
from Jamaica because of the worries in the minds of European consumers about
all genetically modified crops. Worse, they fear that trials would contaminate
normal papaya and organically grown papaya in Jamaica, through cross
pollination. Unfortunately, Europeans are often unable to distinguish between
the islands. When I first went to England, most UK people asked Antigua? What
part of Jamaica is that?

What would all this mean for the free movement of papaya under the Caribbean
Community Single Market Economy? Would all Caribbean papaya become suspect?
And what about us? Who is looking out for our health and our environment? Even
if it turns out to be safe to eat, has anyone checked to see whether it is
safe to use genetically modified papayas in herbal medicine? Would it harm our
honeybees or the perception of our honey products?

On the positive side, Pier d’Ayala proposes that small island economies could
greatly benefit from research and development in a field that in principle
does not need large structural and capital-intensive investments. For example,
the well-known petunia flower seeds are very difficult to produce for the
single pure colours, such as white and red. To obtain such seeds the
correspondent petunia plantation must be grown in isolated glasshouses with
efficient pollen filtering systems and other sophisticated devices. Small
islands having certified that there are no petunias on their territory could
easily start growing petunias with low production costs. This could become a
profitable activity.

Picking up on the potential benefits of biotechnology, Peter Jacobs writes:
Being from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Caribbean) land space is limited.
It is up to small islands to use their resources profitably, especially in
view of the increasing price of fuel. Taiwan has been helping our island
develop crops that would yield maximum amount of fruit on a minimum farm area.
We now use tissue culture instead of suckers to grow bananas, we develop new
varieties of pineapples and also have a pig-rearing scheme with bigger pigs.
Yes, genetically modified products may have side effects, but if great care is
taken, I do not see why we cannot continue.

Returning back to some of the concerns relating to biotechnology, Patu Hohepa
(New Zealand) emphasizes: we are generally against genetic engineering because
of its unknown effects on our indigenous flora and fauna and on many products
we now eat. The effect of contaminated commercial corn seeds and soya from the
Americas is one such problem. The article about Hawaii’s experiences gives a
positive side too and I send our thanks from us indigenous Mäori. One major
concern is with commercial seed growers using genetic engineering to make
their products sterile, and thus farmers cannot save the seeds and replant
them. Add that to the increasing number of laws that take away our rights to
indigenous or native flora and fauna!

http://babelfish. altavista. com/tr allows for translation into other languages.
For those who prefer, you may respond to this forum in Español, Français or
Português.

Title: Biotechnology – threat or opportunity?
Author: P. d’Ayala, , T. Giliard, P. Hohepa, P. Jacobs
Date: Wednesday, 29 November 2006

Subject: JESSE JACKSON INVITES BILL COSBY...


I had never seen the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson cry in public. And
he's seldom upstaged. Until, Bill Cosby came to town.

Last month Jackson invited Cosby to the annual Rainbow/PUSH conference
For a conversation about controversial remarks the entertainer offered
May 17 at an NAACP dinner in Washington, D.C. That's when America's
Jell-O Man shook things up by arguing that African Americans were
Betraying the legacy of civil rights victories.

"The lower economic people," he said, "are not holding up their end in
This deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for
Their kids. $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for "Hooked
On
Phonics!"

Thursday morning, Cosby showed no signs of repenting as he strode
Across
The stage at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom before a standing-room-only
Crowd. Sporting a natty gold sports coat and dark glasses, he
Proceeded
To unload a laundry list of black America's self-imposed ills.

The iconic actor and comedian kidded that he couldn't compete with the
Oratory of the Reverend but he preached circles around Jackson in
Their
Nearly hour-long conversation, delivering brutally frank one-liners
And
The toughest of love.

The enemy, he argues, is us:
"There is a time, ladies and gentlemen, when we have to turn the
Mirror
Around." Cosby acknowledged he wasn't critiquing all blacks-just "the
50
Percent of African Americans in the lower economic neighborhood who
Drop
Out of school," and the alarming proportions of black men in prison
And
Black teenage mothers. The mostly black crowd seconded him with
Choruses
Of "Amens."

To critics who pose, it's unproductive to air our dirty laundry in
Public, he responds, "Your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30
Every day. It's cursing on the way home, on the bus, train, in the
Candy
Store. They are cursing and grabbing each other and going nowhere.
And,
The book bag is very, very thin because there's nothing in it."

"Don't worry about the white man," he adds. "I could care less about
What white people think about me . . . let 'em talk. What are they
Saying that is different from what their grandfathers said and did to
Us? What is different is what we are doing to ourselves."

For those who say Cosby is just an elitist who's "got his" but doesn't
Understand the plight of the black poor, he reminds us that, "We're
Going to turn that mirror around. It's not just the poor-everybody's
Guilty."

Cosby and Jackson lamented that in the 50th year of Brown vs. Board of
Education, our failings betray our legacy. Jackson dabbed away tears
As
He recalled the financial struggles at Fisk University , a
Historically
Black college and Jackson's Alma mater.

When Cosby was done, the 1,000 people in the room all jumped to their
Feet in ovation. Long after Cosby had departed, I could not find a
Dissenter in the crowd. But in the hotel corridor I
Encountered a vintage poster for sale that said volumes. The poster,
Which advertised the Million Man March, was "discounted" to $5:
Remember
The Million Man March?

In 1995, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan exhorted "a million
Sober, disciplined, committed, dedicated, inspired black men to meet
In
Washington on a day of atonement.

In 2006, perhaps all that is left of that call is a $5 poster. We have
Shed tears too many times, at too many watershed moments before, while
The hopes they inspired have fallen by the wayside.

Not this time!
Cosby's plea to parents: "Before you get to the point where you say 'I
Can't do nothing with them'-do something with them."

Like:
Teach our children to speak English. There's no such thing as "talking
White". When the teacher calls, show up at the school. When the idiot
Box starts spewing profane rap videos, turn it off. Refrain from
Cursing
Around the kids. Teach our boys that women should be cherished, not
Raped and demeaned. Tell them that education is a prize we won with
Blood and tears, not a dishonor. Stop making excuses for the agents
And
Abettors of black-on-black crime.

It costs us nothing to do these things. But if we don't, it will cost
Us
Infinitely more tears.

We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second
Thought,
But when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
Think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the
Obscene
Pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is
Too
Often suppressed in school and the workplace.

I passed this on... will you

Bush Leads Groundbreaking for King Memorial

WASHINGTON (Nov. 13) - President Bush, appearing at a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for a memorial honoring slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said the National Mall monument will "preserve his legacy for ages."



Getty Images
Martin Luther King, Jr., waves to supporters at the National Mall in 1963 where he gave his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech. His memorial will be the first to an African American on the Mall.

Watch Video:
MLK Dream Becomes Reality
Oprah Honors MLK

Talk About It: Post Thoughts


Under overcast skies, Bush joined former President Clinton and a host of civil rights figures and members of Congress to celebrate the monument to be built not far from where King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in August of 1963.


"When Martin Luther King came to Washington in December of 1963," Bush said, "he came to hold this nation to its own standards. ... He stood not far from here ... with thousands gathered around him. His dream spread a message of hope."

"An assassin's bullet could not shatter his dream," Bush said. "As we break ground, we give Martin Luther King his rightful place among the many Americans honored on the National Mall. It will unite the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America."

The memorial, to be built roughly a half-mile from the Lincoln Memorial, where King gave his historic speech, will be the first to honor an African American on the Mall.

Among those present for the ceremony were poet and novelist Maya Angelou, television personality Oprah Winfrey and the Rev. Jesse Jackson and several members of Congress.

Donations for the memorial, which have mostly come from major corporations, hit $65.5 million earlier this month.

Harry Johnson, president of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, said he hopes to have the site completed by the spring of 2008.

The location is flanked by the Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt memorials near the eastern edge of the Potomac River Tidal Basin. From a distance, visitors can see the stairs where King delivered his most famous speech during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

The entrance to the memorial will include a central sculpture called "The Mountain of Despair." Its towering split rocks signify the divided America that inspired the nonviolent efforts of King and others to overcome racial and social barriers.

"This project has been over a decade in the making," Bush said, thanking Clinton, who signed the legislation authorizing the monument.

Aetna Faces National Boycott Over Slavery

Click Here to Enlarge Click Here to Enlarge Deadria Farmer-Paellmann


National (BlackNews.com) - Aetna Insurance Company is faced with a national boycott of its health insurance products as a result of their writing life insurance policies on the lives of enslaved Africans in the 1850's. Boycott organizers are demanding that Aetna settle a consolidated class action lawsuit by creating a Trust Fund to benefit descendants of enslaved Africans. The lawsuit is named Farmer-Paellmann, et al v. Brown & Williamson, et al. It is on appeal in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, IL. News of the boycott comes just days before "open season" begins -- a time during which government and private company employees can change their insurance carriers. Open season runs from Monday, November 13 through Monday, December 11, 2006 for some institutions.

A press conference to announce the boycott will take place on Wednesday, November 15, 2006, at 4 p.m., on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It will kick-off a campaign of online and local distribution of information urging employees to not use Aetna as their insurance carrier. The press effort is sponsored by the Restitution Study Group, a New York nonprofit.

The boycott effort supports a resolution passed by Blacks In Government (BIG), the nation's largest and oldest public service employees' organization. BIG has chapters in every state made up of federal, State and municipal employees. Black employees constitute approximately 3.4 million (17%) of the federal workforce. BIG's resolution demands that Aetna create a Trust Fund to benefit slave descendants with a portion of the funds going to assist African American Healthcare Institutions actively working to alleviate the health disparities plaguing African American families and communities. The resolution asks that government employees consider changing their insurers if Aetna fails to create the Trust Fund. The resolution was introduced by Pat Swailes, Life Member of BIG, and was passed at BIG's National Delegates Assembly in August 2006.

"Aetna benefited financially from insuring the lives of enslaved Africans, with slave owners as the beneficiaries, as if the Africans were farm animals or office equipment. Now the company refuses to pay restitution for that inhumane practice that financed domestic slavery. They left us no choice but to boycott," said Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Executive Director of the Restitution Study Group and lead plaintiff in the pending class action lawsuit. Farmer-Paellmann initiated the effort in 2000 to secure restitution from corporations complicit in slavery after she unearthed copies of slave insurance policies written by Aetna. She alleges that Aetna promised to apologize and pay restitution for writing the policies, but later backed down on paying restitution that was to be an increase in college and university scholarships for descendants of enslaved Africans. Farmer-Paellmann later learned that Aetna wrote an insurance policy on her enslaved ancestor Abel from South Carolina when she read the California Insurance Department's Slavery Era Registry published in 2002.

A coalition of community organizations, elected officials, civil and human rights advocates, and lawyers from the lawsuit will attend the press conference next week.

For more information about the boycott "Open Season = Change Season", a copy of the BIG Aetna resolution, and information about the pending lawsuit visit: www.rsgincorp. com


CONTACT:
Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Restitution Study Group: (917) 365-3007, paellmann@rcn. com
Bruce Afran, Esq.: (609) 924-2075, bruceafran@aol. com
Carl Mayer, Esq.: (609) 462-7979, carlmayer@aol. com

Dear Friends,
>
> PLEASE support the campaign to BAN PARAQUAT. Just
> click the www.stop-paraquat.net and your VOTE will
> make a difference. Thanks a lot.
>
>
>
> PRESS RELEASE of the Berne Declaration
>
> Zurich, November 6, 2006
>
> Stop Paraquat: Citizens around the World condemn
> Syngenta
>
> The campaign to stop the Syngenta pesticide
> paraquat is gathering support around the world. The
> International Union of Agricultural Workers'
> Associations (IUF), the 2005 Alternative Nobel Prize
> Laureate Irene Fernandez of Malaysia, and a
> representative of the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate
> said at a press conference in Switzerland that
> paraquat no longer has a place in agriculture
> because the highly toxic product of the Swiss
> agrochemical corporation had claimed too many
> victims already. Seeking to increase the pressure on
> Syngenta the Berne Declaration (BD) has called a
> “public proceeding”.
>
> In German-speaking countries the public proceeding
> in the paraquat case started in early October. So
> far, some 16 000 people have condemned Syngenta’s
> paraquat policies on www.stop-paraquat.net. "By
> marketing paraquat primarily to countries where it
> is not used according to instructions, Syngenta is
> acting with gross negligence and is complicit in ten
> thousands of poisonings every year" says BD-expert
> François Meienberg.
>
> Sue Langley, coordinator of the International
> Union of Agricultural Workers' Associations (IUF)
> representing over 2.5 million people in 125
> countries, explains why her members overwhelmingly
> oppose paraquat: “On banana plantations in Central
> America, palm oil plantations in South East Asia,
> and in many African countries workers suffer from
> the effects of paraquat on their health. The product
> must be banned worldwide.”
>
> Irene Fernandez, Right Livelihood Award Winner and
> Chairperson of the Pesticide Action Network Asia &
> the Pacific, has been fighting the use of paraquat
> in her home country for many years. A ban proclaimed
> by the Malaysian government in 2002 was never
> implemented – for various reasons, including an
> intervention by Syngenta. "Syngenta must be held
> accountable, at last, for the health damage caused
> by paraquat”, Fernandez insists.
>
> Sweden outlawed paraquat back in 1983 and in 2004
> filed an appeal to the European Court against a
> decision of the European Commission to re-approve
> paraquat for Europe. "Sweden has the opinion that
> we have a global responsibility to send clear
> signals that paraquat is not safe to use - neither
> in Europe nor in developing countries", said Kirsti
> Siirala, a representative of the Swedish Chemicals
> Inspectorate, at the press conference.
>
> For more information:
>
> François Meienberg, Campaign Director, Berne
> Declaration, Tel. +41 44 277 70 04, food@evb.ch
> or
> Oliver Classen, Media Officer, Berne Declaration,
> Tel. +41 44 277 70 06, medien@evb.ch