World Liberty Times

2012 Predictions and Beyond - Bernard Alvarez

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:57:18 PST

You ARE the Change and the Inspiration for our world

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:30:14 PDT

Being the Change and Living Awake Pt. 1 (Introduction)

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:38:12 PDT

'America Is NOT Broke': Michael Moore Speaks in Madison, WI -- March 5, ...

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:24:53 PST

Stones Reporter That Broke Story About Military Psy-Ops Used On U.S. Sen...

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:17:57 PST

Wisconsin Protests: Tens Of Thousands Turn Out In Madison Against Anti-Union Proposal

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:44:22 PST

Protests in Wisconsin continue to surge Friday, even as reports from Thursday evening claimed as many as 25,000 demonstrators had taken to the state's capitol building in Madison. Residents are turning out in droves to oppose a bill they view as an anti-union effort that would infringe on the rights of state workers, proposed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

As dissenters streamed into the halls of the capitol building Thursday, Democratic state senators fled the state in a move to block a vote on the measure. They ended up at a hotel in Northern Illinois, where they remain, at least for the time being. The state's Assembly has planned a vote for Friday.

While many, including President Obama, have characterized the bill as an "assault on unions," Gov. Walker maintained Friday that his legislation, which would strip state employees of their collective bargaining rights and force them to pay a larger share of the cost of health care and pensions, was a "modest proposal."

In an interview Thursday night, Walker told Fox News that the protests were serving as a cohesive force for Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin.

"If anything, I think it's made the Republicans in the Assembly and the Senate stronger," he said. "They're not going to be bullied. They're not going to be intimidated."

Walker has the support of some in GOP leadership, such as Speaker of the House John Boehner, who on Thursday released a statement commending the governor for "daring to speak the truth about the dire fiscal challenges Americans face at all levels of government." Some national Democrats have taken the side of the protesters, however, as the DNC has ramped up their pro-union organizing in Wisconsin and other states.

Wisconsin Protests: Tens Of Thousands Turn Out In Madison Against Anti-Union Proposal

Facebook Adds 'Civil Union,' 'Domestic Partnership' To Relationship Status Options

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:57:42 PST

Facebook has added two new relationship status options users can include in their online profiles: "in a civil union" and "in a domestic partnership."

The new fields are being rolled out in the U.S. and several other countries, including Canada, France, the U.K., and Australia, starting today.

"This has been a highly requested feature from users," said Facebook's Andrew Noyes, manager of public policy communications. "We want to provide options for people to genuinely and authentically reflect their relationships on Facebook."

Among other information included on their Facebook profiles, such as their alma mater and favorite books, users also have the option to characterize their relationships. Previously, the set of options included: single, in a relationship, married, engaged, it's complicated, in an open relationship, widowed, separated, and divorced.

The changes were made in consultation with Facebook's Network of Support, a group that includes LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, and the Human Rights Campaign.

"As LGBT people face a patchwork of relationship recognition laws, this gives people more tools to adequately describe their relationship," said Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. "Facebook has been a company that has tried to be inclusive of the LGBT community and this just one sign of it."

Richard Socarides, president of Equality Matters and former gay rights advisor to president Bill Clinton, echoed Cole-Schwartz's praise.

Patriot Act renewals fail to pass! - Global Illumination Council

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:55:43 PST

Reporting from Washington —
The Republican-led House failed to pass an extension of expiring sections of the Patriot Act on Tuesday, an unexpected setback for GOP leaders that shows the difficulty they face in controlling their majority and its "tea party"-inspired members.

Time is short: Key provisions of the terrorist surveillance law expire at the end of the month. A coalition of veteran conservative Republicans and new GOP lawmakers joined many Democrats in blocking passage of the measure, which many tea party activists see as federal government overreaching into private affairs.

The bill required a two-thirds vote to pass but fell seven votes short. Now, the White House and congressional leaders must devise a new strategy, and fast, or the provisions will lapse Feb. 28. The administration wants to extend the Sept. 11-era provisions through 2013. The House bill would have extended them until Dec. 8.

"I am disappointed in the outcome of tonight's vote," said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), author of the original act. "We are now under a time crunch."

With two federal holidays and an accompanying congressional recess, February is a short month for lawmakers. Just seven working days remain, Sensenbrenner said.

The expiring provisions include one giving federal investigators access to a suspect's personal materials — including library records — with a judge's approval. Another enables the government, with a court order, to conduct roving wiretaps of terrorism suspects as they change phones or locations. A third enables authorities to conduct surveillance on foreign terrorism suspects who do not appear to be affiliated with known groups — the "lone wolf" provision.

Supporters say the provisions have thwarted countless acts of terrorism and cannot be allowed to expire.

Read more: http://www.thegic.org/profiles/blogs/patriot-act-renewals-fail-to#ixzz1DTRfHZer

Patriot Act renewals fail to pass! - Global Illumination Council

What in the World Are They Spraying? MOVIE SCREENING - Global Illumination Council

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 05:52:59 PST

Today is Worldwide Chemtrail Awareness Day. For this most relevant event we will be screening the movie "What In The World Are They Spraying?" on our GICTV player on the Home page at 1 PM ET, US (please check world clock to figure out your time zone.)

What in the World Are They Spraying? MOVIE SCREENING - Global Illumination Council

World Chemtrail Awareness Day, Jan. 22, 2011 The 2012 Scenario | The 2012 Scenario

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:23:56 PST

Jean Hudon asks us all to be aware that World Chemtrail Awareness Day happens Jan. 22, 2011. He issues this round-up of sites and videos on chemtrails.

World Chemtrail Awareness Day – January 22, 2011

http://aircrap.org/world-chemtrail-awareness-day-january-22-2011/33385/

Our first World Anti Chemtrail Day Event originally took place the 20th of November, 2010. A second happening was immediately arranged (this one) because of the great success of the last and intense interest in the subject aroused by the new documentary film “What in ·the World are they Spraying”.This invitation marks a day where we have the opportunity to locally create a chemtrail-awareness event. Through our synchronization, we can reach people and politicians globally.Please share your information, with an introduction to the issues, and a presentation of the film:”What In the World Are They Spraying?” This new film gives you a well researched taste of what we are fighting for!

World Chemtrail Awareness Day, Jan. 22, 2011 The 2012 Scenario | The 2012 Scenario

CODL Lecture series - Introduction (Invoking VS Evoking)

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:37:25 PST

BRITAIN TO FREEZE DUE TO DEATH OF THE GULF STREAM

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:00:56 PST

As WikiLeaks' Assange Freed on Bail, Alleged Military Leaker Bradley Manning Imprisoned under Inhumane Conditions

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:41:33 PST

As WikiLeaks' Assange Freed on Bail, Alleged Military Leaker Bradley Manning Imprisoned under Inhumane Conditions

Your Christmas OOGA BOOGA Delivered Early! "HOW SCARED ARE YOU?"

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:15:42 PST

John Trudell Everything is Energy - The justBernard Show

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:53:22 PST

BBC News - Violence flares at Westminster as MPs debate fee rises

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:38:44 PST

Student demonstrators are clashing with police in Westminster as MPs debate plans to raise tuition fees in England to £9,000 a year.

A police officer has been seriously injured in violent struggles between police and protesters.

Protesters who had forced their way into Parliament Square pressed against police lines and threw missiles.

Riot police are lined up behind metal barriers surrounding the Houses of Parliament.

A police officer has been taken to hospital with a serious neck injury after being knocked unconscious, say police.

Violent scenes

There are reports of six injuries as protesters fought to break through police lines.

A breakaway group of protesters throwing flares has been pushed back by officers.

The police now say they are containing protesters on the square.

In violent scenes, the BBC's Mark Georgiou says there have been injuries to both police and protesters near to Westminster Abbey.

READ FULL STORY:

BBC News - Violence flares at Westminster as MPs debate fee rises

Naomi Wolf: Julian Assange Captured by World's Dating Police

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:34:04 PST

Dear Interpol:

As a longtime feminist activist, I have been overjoyed to discover your new commitment to engaging in global manhunts to arrest and prosecute men who behave like narcissistic jerks to women they are dating.

I see that Julian Assange is accused of having consensual sex with two women, in one case using a condom that broke. I understand, from thealleged victims' complaints to the media, that Assange is also accused of texting and tweeting in the taxi on the way to one of the women's apartments while on a date, and, disgustingly enough, 'reading stories about himself online' in the cab.

Both alleged victims are also upset that he began dating a second woman while still being in a relationship with the first. (Of course, as a feminist, I am also pleased that the alleged victims are using feminist-inspired rhetoric and law to assuage what appears to be personal injured feelings. That's what our brave suffragette foremothers intended!).

Thank you again, Interpol. I know you will now prioritize the global manhunt for 1.3 million guys I have heard similar complaints about personally in the US alone -- there is an entire fraternity at the University of Texas you need to arrest immediately. I also have firsthand information that John Smith in Providence, Rhode Island, went to a stag party -- with strippers! -- that his girlfriend wanted him to skip, and that Mark Levinson in Corvallis, Oregon, did not notice that his girlfriend got a really cute new haircut -- even though it was THREE INCHES SHORTER.

Terrorists. Go get 'em, Interpol!

Yours gratefully,

Naomi Wolf

Naomi Wolf: Julian Assange Captured by World's Dating Police

List of U.S. Senators who voted for S 510 Food Safety Act

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:10:08 PST

If signed into law, it would unleash a new era of FDA tyranny over farmers, food producers and even small family farms, many of which already exceed the "small farms exclusion" written into the bill.

Here's the list of US Senators who voted to approve final passage of S.510. Remember these names when the next election comes around:

Learn more:

List of U.S. Senators who voted for S 510 Food Safety Act

Socialism for the Rich

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:03:48 PST

Peter Lavelle asks his CrossTalk guests whether the only thing left of the modern welfare state is socialism for the rich.

Maker defends airport full-body image scanners - Los Angeles Times

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:44:40 PST

With increased airport security measures sparking passenger furor on Thanksgiving eve, the Torrance company that makes most of controversial full-body image scanners used across the country finds itself at the center of a heated debate over privacy rights and health concerns.

Rapiscan Systems Inc. manufactured 211 of the 385 image scanners in use at 68 airports nationwide. The machines, called the Secure 1000, use low levels of radiation to create what looks like a nude image of a screened passenger to detect weapons and contraband hidden under clothing.

Maker defends airport full-body image scanners - Los Angeles Times: "Rapiscan Systems"

Terrorist’s Convenient Plot To Use Prosthetic Devices Picked Up After TSA Explodes Cancer Victim’s Urine Bag | FDL Action

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:11:32 PST

Sources tell ABC News that intelligence has picked up terrorists discussing the use of prosthetic or medical devices to conceal explosives. The revelation comes as the White House today acknowledged that the implementation of new security measures at airports hasn’t gone perfectly.

Terrorist’s Convenient Plot To Use Prosthetic Devices Picked Up After TSA Explodes Cancer Victim’s Urine Bag | FDL Action

More Journalist's Arrested in GA

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:02:28 PST

An RT news crew has been freed on bail - after spending around 32 hours in a U.S. jail. They were taken into custody in the state of Georgia, while filming an annual rally near a military base nicknamed the 'School of Assassins'. Correspondent Kaelyn Forde and cameraman Jon Conway were forced to pay a fine after they were accused of taking part in the unlawful rally. Police are still considering another charge against them, for allegedly failing to obey officers' instructions. Kaelyn Forde, who's at the centre of the story, described the police's actions as 'brutal'.

London warns Bush to stay away or face arrest

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:23:50 PST

London Mayor, Boris Johnson tells Bush to keep book tour out of UK where he could face arrest for war crimes.

By Boris Johnson

It is not yet clear whether George W Bush is planning to cross the Atlantic to flog us his memoirs, but if I were his PR people I would urge caution. As book tours go, this one would be an absolute corker. It is not just that every European capital would be brought to a standstill, as book-signings turned into anti-war riots. The real trouble — from the Bush point of view — is that he might never see Texas again.

One moment he might be holding forth to a great perspiring tent at Hay-on-Wye. The next moment, click, some embarrassed member of the Welsh constabulary could walk on stage, place some handcuffs on the former leader of the Free World, and take him away to be charged. Of course, we are told this scenario is unlikely. Dubya is the former leader of a friendly power, with whom this country is determined to have good relations. But that is what torture-authorising Augusto Pinochet thought. And unlike Pinochet, Mr Bush is making no bones about what he has done.

Unless the 43rd president of the United States has been grievously misrepresented, he has admitted to authorising and sponsoring the use of torture. Asked whether he approved of “waterboarding” in three specific cases, he told his interviewer that “damn right” he did, and that this practice had saved lives in America and Britain. It is hard to overstate the enormity of this admission.

“Waterboarding” is a disgusting practice by which the victim is deliberately made to think that he is drowning. It is not some cunning new psych-ops technique conceived by the CIA. It has been used in the dungeons of dictators for centuries. It is not compatible either with the US constitution or the UN convention against torture. It is deemed to be torture in this country, and above all there is no evidence whatever that it has ever succeeded in doing what Mr Bush claimed. It does not work.

It does not produce much valuable information — and therefore it does not save lives. Of course we are all tempted, from time to time, by the utilitarian argument. We might become reluctant supporters of “extreme interrogation techniques” if we could really persuade ourselves that half an hour of waterboarding could really save a hundred lives — or indeed a single life. In reality, no such calculus is possible. When people are tortured, they will generally say anything to bring the agony to an end — which is why any such evidence is inadmissible in court.

In the case of the three men waterboarded on Bush’s orders, British ministers are not aware of any valuable information they gave about plots against Heathrow, Canary Wharf or anywhere else. All the policy has achieved is to degrade America in the eyes of the world, and to allow America’s enemies to utter great whoops of vindication. It is not good enough for Dubya now to claim that what he did was OK, because “the lawyers said it was legal”. The lawyers in question were Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee and his deputy, John Yoo, and after a good deal of political cattle-prodding from Rumsfeld et al, they produced a totally barmy attempt to redefine torture so as to allow waterboarding.

Pain was only torture, they determined, when it was “equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily functions, or even death”. If that is right, it would seem that most of the techniques of the Spanish Inquisition would be acceptable to the American government. You could beat the soles of someone’s feet; you could pour molten candle wax on their extremities; you could even pull their finger nails out without infringing those conditions.

How is some tired and frightened American officer supposed to make head or tail of this sophistry, late at night in some bleak Iraqi jail? How is he supposed to calibrate the pain that comes from an organ failure or death? It is no wonder, with orders like that coming from the top, that the troopers misbehaved so tragically in Abu Ghraib. They failed to see any moral difference between waterboarding their suspects and putting hoods over their heads. They failed to see any moral difference between waterboarding them and terrifying them with alsatian dogs or attaching electrodes to their genitals. They failed to see any moral difference, that is, because there isn’t any moral difference.

That is the real disaster of the waterboarding policy — that we are left with the impression that the entire US military are skidding their heels on the slippery slope towards barbarism. And that is emphatically not the case. Yesterday at the Cenotaph we remembered the sacrifice of men and women not just in two world wars, but also in Iraq and Afghanistan. The purpose of these conflicts is not so much to defeat “the enemy”, but to defend things we believe to be inalienable goods — freedom, democracy and, above all, the rule of law.

I believe that, of all nations, America still best upholds and guarantees those things. It would be ludicrous to suggest that the waterboarding disaster, or the evils of Abu Ghraib, have set up some kind of moral equivalence between America and – say – the murderous Taliban regime, let alone Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. If you want to appreciate the difference, remember that the perpetrators of Abu Ghraib were court-martialled, and we know about US interrogation techniques because of rules on freedom of information. But if your end is the spread of freedom and the rule of law, you cannot hope to achieve that end by means that are patently vile and illegal.

How could America complain to the Burmese generals about the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, when a president authorised torture? How can we talk about human rights in Beijing, when our number one ally and friend seems to be defending this kind of behaviour? I can’t think of any other American president, in my lifetime, who would have spoken in this way. Mr Bush should have remembered the words of the great Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who said in 1863 that “military necessity does not admit of cruelty”. Damn right.

READ FULL STORY:

George W. Bush can’t fight for freedom and authorise torture - Telegraph

Chemtrails and Monsanto's New Aluminum Resistance Gene - Coincidence? | Farm Wars

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 05:05:31 PST

By Barbara H. Peterson

Why did Monsanto Develop an Aluminum Resistance Gene?

Monsanto is currently marketing an aluminum resistance gene. Here’s the spin, folks:

Small-scale, resource-poor farmers in developing countries face daily stresses, including poor soils, drought, and lack of inputs. Ongoing trends such as climate change and population growth will likely exacerbate binding stresses. A new generation of genetically engineered (GE) crop research aims to alleviate these pressures through the improvement of subsistence crops—such as cassava, sorghum, and millet—that incorporate traits such as tolerance to drought, water, and aluminum in soils as well as plants with more efficient nitrogen and phosphorus use. (http://www.ifpri.org/publication/delivering-genetically-engineered-crops-poor-farmers)

Now, let’s take a look at journalist Michael Murphy’s research into chemtrails, geo-engineering, and the fact that extremely high levels of aluminum and barium are found in water, snow and soil, in areas shown to have heavy chemtrail patterns (three-part video):

WATCH VIDEO HERE: Chemtrails and Monsanto's New Aluminum Resistance Gene - Coincidence? | Farm Wars

Global Small Farmers Denounce Gates Foundation Purchase of 500,000 Monsanto Stock Shares

WWW.EKBTV@MAIL.COM — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:47:41 PST

Glendive, Montana. La Via Campesina, a global peasant movement representing small farmers, landless workers, fisherfolk, rural women, youth and indigenous peoples, with 150 member organizations from 70 countries on five continents, has denounced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust's recent acquisition of Monsanto Company shares. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was founded in 1994 by Microsoft founder William H. Gates, and today exerts a hegemonic influence on global agricultural development policy. The Foundation channels hundreds of millions of dollars into projects that encourage peasants and farmers to use Monsanto's genetically-engineered (GE) seed and agrochemicals. In August the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which manages the $33.5 billion asset trust endowment that funds the Foundation's philanthropic projects (and to which Bill & Melinda are trustees) disclosed that it purchased 500,000 shares of Monsanto shares for just over $23 million.(1)

According to Dena Hoff, a diversified family farmer in Glendive, Montana and North American coordinator of La Via Campesina, "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust's purchase of Monsanto shares indicates that the Gates Foundation's interest in promoting the company's seed is less about philanthropy than about profit-making. The Foundation is helping to open new markets for Monsanto, which is already the largest seed company in the world."

Since 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has collaborated with the Rockefeller Foundation, an ardent promoter of GE crops for the world's poor, to implement the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which is opening up the continent to GE seed and chemicals sold by Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta. The Foundation has given $456 million to AGRA, and in 2006 hired Robert Horsch, a Monsanto executive for 25 years, to work on the project. In Kenya about 70 percent of AGRA grantees work directly with Monsanto (2) , nearly 80 percent of Gates' funding in the country involves biotech, and over $100 million in grants has been made to Kenyan organizations connected to Monsanto. In 2008, some 30 percent of the Foundation's agricultural development funds went to promoting or developing GE seed varieties (3).

In April the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and finance ministers from the US, Canada, Spain and South Korea pledged $880 million to create the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), managed by the World Bank to "tackle world hunger and poverty."(4) In June GAFSP announced that it gave $35 million to Haiti to increase smallholder farmers' access to "agricultural inputs, technology, and supply chains."(5) In May Monsanto announced that it donated 475 tons of seed to Haiti, which is being distributed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The administrator of USAID is Rajiv Shah, who worked at the Gates Foundation before being appointed by the Obama administration in 2009.

According to Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Haitian Peasant Movement of Papaye and Caribbean coordinator of La Via Campesina, "It is really shocking for the peasant organizations and social movements in Haiti to learn about the decision of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to buy Monsanto shares while it is giving money for agricultural projects in Haiti that promote the company's seed and agrochemicals. The peasant organizations in Haiti want to denounce this policy which is against the interests of 80 percent of the Haitian population, and is against peasant agriculture-the base of Haiti's food production. "

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also funds the US government's Feed the Future initiative, administered by the State Department. At a July 20 congressional subcommittee hearing on Feed the Future, executive vice president for Monsanto Gerald Steiner testified that "Feed the Future is exciting not least because it recognizes both the business imperatives by which Monsanto and other companies must operate We want to do good in the world, while we also do well for our shareholders." Steiner mentioned Monsanto's project to develop drought resistant maize for Africa, also funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.(6)

According to Hoff, "Foundations, however well meaning, should not be setting food and agricultural policies for any nation of peoples. Democracy demands the informed participation of civil society to determine what is in the best interest of each nation's population. 'Doing well for our shareholders' seems an ulterior motive for meddling in the health and welfare of the planet and all its inhabitants in order to make a profit."

Perhaps not by coincidence, in July Monsanto's chief executive officer and president Hugh Grant purchased $2 million of company shares, and vice president and chief financial officer Carl M. Casale bought $1.6 million of shares. "Grant and Casale have pocketed nice sums from selling Monsanto shares over the years."(7) Purchase of Monsanto shares by Gates, Grant and Casale could have been in anticipation of last week's news that researchers published the genome for wheat, the staple grain for one-third of the world's population. "For Monsanto, a quality wheat genome map could potentially help in our efforts to bring better wheat varieties to farmers," said Monsanto. (8) In 2008, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $26.8 million to Cornell University to research wheat, and in May awarded $1.6 million to researchers at Washington State University to develop drought-resistant GE wheat varieties.(9)

The Gates Foundation continues to push Monsanto's products on the poor, despite mounting evidence of the ecological, economic and physical dangers of producing and consuming GE crops and agrochemicals. In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monsanto Co. vs. Geertson Seed Farms, its first case about a GE crop. The Court recognized that genetic contamination of non-GE crops from transgene flow of DNA from GE crops, which occurs through the spread of pollen by wind and bees, is harmful and onerous to the environment and farmers. According to the web site of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "AGRA and its partners have released more than 100 new varieties of improved seed across the [African] continent."(10)

La Via Campesina maintains that the best way to ensure healthy food, adapt to climate change, conserve soils, water and forests, and revitalize rural economies is with policies that promote food sovereignty and small-scale, agroecological farming systems-the foundation of which is native seed varieties. The United Nations estimates that 75 percent of the world's plant genetic diversity has been lost as farmers have abandoned native seed for genetically-uniform varieties offered by corporations such as Monsanto. Genetic homogeneity increases farmers' vulnerability to sudden changes in climate and the appearance of new pests and diseases, while seed agrobiodiversity - with native seed adapted to different microclimates, altitudes and soils-is fundamental for adapting to climate change. Saving and replanting native seed increases agrobiodiversity and strengthens crops' genetic plasticity (their capacity to adapt rapidly over generations to changing growing conditions).

According to Henry Saragih, general coordinator of La Via Campesina in Jakarta, "La Via Campesina condemns this misappropriation of humanitarian aid for commercial ends and the privatization of food policies"

Global Small Farmers Denounce Gates Foundation Purchase of 500,000 Monsanto Stock Shares