from Claire Robinson, WEEKLY WATCH editor
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Dear all:

There's more good news news this week from Poland. The new Prime Minister has pledged in parliament to keep the country GM-free (EUROPE).

We have some interesting research reports (NEW RESEARCH). One shows that mice developed lung inflammation after being fed GM peas. Predictably, this study has been spun by the CSIRO scientists who conducted it as proving that the safety checks work. But in fact, all it shows is that this particular type of effect was obvious enough and rapid enough to show up in short and cursory experiments.

Another study shows that the industry has consistently lied about the safety of its CaMV promoter, used in most GM crops. And in THE OTHER TERRORISTS, New Scientist reveals that terrorists can easily order bioweapons over the internet. New Scientist also points out that America's laxly regulated food supply is wide open to any kind of GM product, no matter how suspect! (THE AMERICAS)

Sadly, Jose Bove and a French Member of the European Parliament were both jailed this week for uprooting GM crops in what seems a pattern of repression in France (EUROPE).

But it's good to see the Indian government, which has engaged in willful blindness regarding the catastrophe caused by Bt cotton, finally doing something to help its hard-pressed farmers. It has banned Terminator technology and protected farmers' rights to save seeds, in spite of intensive lobbying from industry (ASIA).

Claire [email protected]
www.gmwatch.org / www.lobbywatch.org

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CONTENTS
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EUROPE
AFRICA
NEW RESEARCH
LOBBYWATCH 1: US LOBBIES THE VATICAN AGAIN!
ASIA
THE AMERICAS
AUSTRALASIA
THE OTHER TERRORISTS
LOBBYWATCH 2: REUTERS FALLS FOR SPIN OVER AFRICA

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EUROPE
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+ POLAND'S PRIME MINISTER PLEDGES TO KEEP COUNTRY GM-FREE
The new Polish Prime Minister, who is seen as an ally of the U.S. on foreign policy issues, has pledged to the Polish Parliament in a crucial policy speech, seeking parliamentary backing, that he will keep Poland GM-free.

All but 2 of Poland's regions had already declared themselves GM-free zones and more than three quarters of Polish consumers have said they don't want to eat any food containing GM ingredients.

The news follows an earlier study by Russia's largest public opinion research body, showing that 95 per cent of Russians were either opposed to GM ingredients or seriously concerned by them.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5957

+ BOVE AND FRENCH MEP JAILED FOR DESTROYING GM CROPS
France's highest-profile farmer and a Green Party lawmaker were among those sentenced to prison terms for destroying a field of GM corn planted by an Iowa company in southern France.

Jose Bove of the Confédération Paysanne was sentenced to four months in prison. A Green Party lawmaker and a French member of the European Parliament, both received three-month sentences.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5948

+ FRENCH JAILINGS PART OF PATTERN OF REPRESSION
The jailing of Bove and others appears to be part of a brutal attempt to repress anti-GM demonstrators that has included police firing tear gas and stun grenades directly at demonstrators, leading to a number of people being injured. Bove has said that the French government had shown its true face in wanting to impose GM crops and the rule of the multinationals. As a result, anti-GM actions now generally happen under cover of darkness
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=4766

+ NEW GERMAN GOVT PLANS ILLEGAL LAW ON GMOs
The new German government is apparently planning to repeal strict liability for GMO contamination but its plans contravene both German and European law, according to the Institute for Nature Protection and Nature Protection Law, Tuebingen.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5940

+ CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER OF IRELAND ACCUSED OF GM COVER-UP
Dr Barry McSweeney, the Chief Scientific Officer of Ireland, who used a fake PhD to obtain his job, attempted to cover-up an official EU study on the risks of GMO crops in 2002, says GM-free Ireland Network.

Before assuming his current post in 2004, Dr McSweeney was CEO of the EU Joint Research Centre. While head of that organisation, McSweeney attempted to suppress the publication of the EC's official "Scenarios for Co-existence" report on the feasibility of introducing GM crops in EU member states.

The study concludes that GM crops inevitably contaminate conventional and organic crops and may cause 40% higher production costs for EU farmers. It states that all farmers would face high additional, in some cases unsustainable costs of production if GM crops were commercially grown in a large scale in Europe.

Mr McSweeney wrote to the EC recommending that the report should not be made public, stating, "given the sensitivity of the issue, I would suggest that the report be kept for internal use within the Commission only."
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5939

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AFRICA
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+ KENYA FREE TO ADOPT OR REJECT GMOs, CLAIMS U.S. EMBASSY
The US government is not imposing GMOS on Kenya, the US Embassy in Nairobi claims. The US embassy's claim was made at a meeting organised by the 'Africa Harvest' lobby group, headed by Florence Wambugu.

Both Wambugu and the US embassy are presenting the i