Lord Simon's Home and Garden Occupied

Activists Urged Him to Say "NO to Patents on Life!"

by cornerhouse@gn.apc.org

At 7:15 a.m. on November 25, Lord Simon awoke at his house in Canonbury, England to the sight of 12 "eminent scientists" looking for footholds on his roof and taking samples from his garden plants. "Patent pending" stickers were applied to any interesting bit of living material. As the scientists checked out Simon's back garden for biodiversity, others with banners and megaphones asked him to say "No" to patents on life. The protest group calls itself NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). Simon is due to approve the European Union (EU) life patents directive.

The EU-proposed directive is the most contentious piece of European legislation this decade. It ha

NYC Earth First! and Wetlands, Rainforest Action Group Stump Mitsubishi

by TS1010@aol.com

"Earth First! Profits Last! Boycott Mitsubishi!" The chanting echoed through the main entrance to Mitsubishi International as employees looked on in shock at New York City's World Rainforest Week action on their doorsage: "After months of intense lobbying this early morning wake up call is the very last chance to exert pressure on the UK government. It's crystal clear; this directive is unacceptable. No departmental impact assessments have been carried out. The race to commodify life will be hastened. Companies will literally 'own' or have monopoly control over the world's biodiversity and parts of the human body so long as they 'are not in their natural state.' We want our bodies in their natural state; we don't want to wake up one morning to the new biotechnology world order."

Wilsden's colleague Adian Knott added, "The fact that it is Lord Simon who is going to Brussels [to vote on the directive] says everything-an unelected man with massive vested business interests will give the green light to the most crucial of questions-should companies have monopoly control on the smallest building blocks of life?"