If we wished to match the infamies of the Prakash list, we'd doubtless preface item 2 by saying it provided clear evidence that the GE industry were behind the attacks on New York and Washington. That the industry may benefit from the current 'war' and rumours of war (item 1) is a more credible suggestion.
1. War Means Business for the US
2. WAR DRUMS WEAKENING NORTH AMERICAN ECO-APPETITES
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1. War Means Business for the US, Says Peasant Group
NEWS RELEASE
September 29, 2001
Reference: RAFAEL MARIANO, KMP Chairperson
In a statement, the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today said that the borderless war led by the crisis-ridden United States would rake in super-profits through arms trade. The group said only the US will benefit from this war and the Filipino people will be used as cannon fodder.
KMP Chairperson Rafael Mariano said that "the US itself has the capability and control in the so-called biotechnology and monopoly of the arms race."
"Last year, US companies sold $15.2 billion worth of weapons, about 44 per cent of the total share of the global arms trade. In addition, developing countries are the largest customers. Saudi Arabia is at the top of the list, with $11 billion in new purchases last year, and Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are not far behind," the peasant leader said.
The KMP chief also said that the potential of biotechnology on military applications is inevitable through the weaponisation of bacteria and viruses. "Biowarfare do not require sophisticated bio-technologies, but that the mushrooming of biotech would increase the effectiveness of bio-weapons and that it would be next to impossible to monitor the institutions and scientists capable of developing such weapons."
"In fact, this is the reason why the US army convened a two-day workshop on the future military implications of biotechnology, in May of 1996," he said.
"President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be extra-cautious in seeking US help against biological warfare considering that the US is more capable and has a history of manufacturing, storing and using biological weapons itself with the help of US-based chemical companies, like Monsanto, who is now in the country" the KMP chief said.
KMP cited that Monsanto's development as a chemical company is intimately linked to war. The demand for industrial chemicals during World War II generated new technologies and mass production.
The peasant group also said that chemical companies like Monsanto made enormous profits and when the war ended they re-directed their industries towards the domestic market.
Mariano added that "US-based Monsanto was one of the major producers of Agent Orange, the military name for the herbicides used by US troops to clear jungles in Vietnam. It is a combination of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D phenoxy herbicides. Of the seven companies implicated in a lawsuit filed by American veterans of the Vietnam War, Monsanto had to pay nearly half of the $180 million settlement because its version of Agent Orange had the highest levels of dioxin."
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)
Peasant Movement of the Philippines
URL: http://www.geocities.com/kmp_ph
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2. WAR DRUMS WEAKENING ECO-APPETITES
September 27, 2001
The Gazette (Montreal)
Michelle Lalonde [via Agnet]
Canadian environmental groups are, according to this story, wrestling with whether to follow the lead of their U.S. counterparts and tone down their campaigns in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. The story says that several U.S. environmental groups have announced they will change or cancel certain campaigns to show support for their president in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on Sept. 11.
Some have removed criticism that targets U.S. President George W. Bush from their websites. Others have announced their campaigns are suspended while the government deals with issues of security and retaliation. John Bennett of the Sierra Club of Canada was cited as saying his group was not consulted when its American counterpart issued a statement saying it was suspending operations.
The story goes on to say that the Sierra Club, along with many other Canadian environmental organizations, cancelled a major event on genetically modified foods which had been scheduled on the day of the attacks. Peter Tabuns, executive director of Greenpeace Canada was quoted as saying, "People are on edge right now. They don't want to be startled by loud noises," adding that the organization will be focussing less on "green" issues and more on "peace" issues for the time being.
David Olive, a consultant to several Canadian environmental groups was quoted as saying, "I've been advising my clients not to publish reports or seek publicity right now because there is simply no room on the newscasts or in the newspapers."