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Monsanto's Harvest of Fear
Cognitive Dissident writes "Intellectual property thuggery is not restricted to the IT and entertainment industries. The May 2008 edition of Vanity Fair carries a major feature article on the mafiaa-like tactics of Monsanto in its pursuit of total domination of various facets of agribusiness. First in GM seeds with its 'Roundup Ready' crops designed to sell more of its Roundup herbicide, and more recently in milk production with rBGH designed to squeeze more milk out of individual cows, Monsanto has been resorting to increasingly over-the-top tactics to prevent what it sees as infringement or misrepresentation of its biotechnology. As with other forms of IP tyranny, the point is not really to help the public but to consolidate corporate power. Quotes: 'Some compare Monsanto's hard-line approach to Microsoft's zealous efforts to protect its software from pirates. At least with Microsoft the buyer of a program can use it over and over again. But farmers who buy Monsanto's seeds can't even do that.' and '"I don't know of a company that chooses to sue its own customer base," says Joseph Mendelson, of the Center for Food Safety. "It's a very bizarre business strategy." But it's one that Monsanto manages to get away with, because increasingly it's the dominant vendor in town.' Sound familiar?"
Well, they apparently don't make zombies or raving monsters, yet. So they are not the Resident Evil.
Quite close, though, maybe in a few decades.
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
Although I do think modifying crops to prevent offspring is not a nice thing to do, I do think nothing forbids the
farmers from hiring me to "crack the copy protection" (male sterility [in plants] isn't that hard to circumvent these days). Now if they offer me a better job compared to the current situation in research (shouldn't be to hard), I am all in for it.
waiting for your offers,
a biotechnologist.
They made Zombie Monarch Butterflies, though. RTFGP! Zombie Butterflies are worse than human zombies; they can fly!
Texas has the "Castle Law" stating that a person can defend their home, vehicle, or workplace with deadly force if they feel threatened. I wonder if Texas farmers can shoot lawyers on sight based on this law? ...seriously officer he came right at me with a briefcase...
I Don't Work Here
Develop a Round-Up resistant strain of weeds and release it under the GPL.
When... er... If they did I don't think they would issue a press release about it.
Then again we are talking about Monsanto. They might not only brag about it but also try to sue the families of the zombies for theft of their patented 'Under Ground Ready" embalming fluids.
"*sigh* If a money transport van crashes into your garden, is the money yours?"
*sigh*
That's the worst analogy I've ever heard. And I'm not kidding laddie, that one could win prizes.
Money doesn't require your own nutrients and your own plants to interact, breed with and nourish it. Money doesn't waft over walls with nobody to miss it, somebody probably cares and takes effort to stop money floating away. Money doesn't invisibly turn up and change your crops into something someone else has patented.
In short, sorry, but that analogy is so wide of the mark you may as well have said "*sigh* If a pizza truck crashes into your toenails, is the cat dead?"
"I think an etch-a-sketch with an ethernet port would beat IE7 in web standards compliance."
Similar to the upcoming US election results