Another MONSANTO story

Wow. this is a doozy. And it happened in Florida. DID you ever hear about this? I sure didn't. Its about Monsanto, Bovine Growth hormones and your milk. watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axU9ngbTxKw

Monsanto eats the world

If you aren't aware, Monsanto has created a Genetically Modified seed product. And they are trying to strong arm the world with it. This seed is to be purchased by you, the farmer, used once, harvested once, and then that's it. YOU WILL HAVE TO REPURCHASE THE SEED EVERY YEAR after that. HUH? Yep!! Didn't i just write in one of my posts, HE WHO CONTROLS THE FOOD, CONTROLS THE PEOPLE? (aristotle, smart man).

check out this site below for more unnerving information. Like the contract agreement a person must sign. My goodness what's next?

Monsanto sues a farmer


So read on:

Article from Here is below:

MONSANTO PATENTS ASSERTED AGAINST AMERICAN FARMERS REJECTED BY PATENT OFFICE:

PUBPAT Initiated Review Leads PTO to Find All Claims of All Four Patents Invalid

Public Patent Foundation, 24 July 2007.
http://www.pubpat.org/monsantorejections.htm

NEW YORK – July 24, 2007 -- The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has rejected four key Monsanto patents related to genetically modified crops that PUBPAT challenged last year because the agricultural giant is using them to harass, intimidate, sue - and in some cases literally bankrupt - American farmers. In its Office Actions rejecting each of the patents, the USPTO held that evidence submitted by PUBPAT, in addition to other prior art located by the Patent Office's Examiners, showed that Monsanto was not entitled to any of the patents.

Monsanto has filed dozens of patent infringement lawsuits asserting the four challenged patents against American farmers, many of whom are unable to hire adequate representation to defend themselves in court.

The crime these farmers are accused of is nothing more than saving seed from one year's crop to replant the following year, something farmers have done since the beginning of time.

One study of the matter found that, "Monsanto has used heavy-handed investigations and ruthless prosecutions that have fundamentally changed the way many American farmers farm. The result has been nothing less than an assault on the foundations of farming practices and traditions that have endured for centuries in this country and millennia around the world, including one of the oldest, the right to save and replant crop seed."

The lawsuits filed by Monsanto against American farmers include Monsanto Company v. Mitchell Scruggs, et al, 459 F.3d 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2006), Monsanto Company v. Kem Ralph individually, et al, 382 F.3d 1374 (Fed. Cir. 2004) and Monsanto Company v. Homan McFarling, 363 F.3d 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

Although Monsanto has the opportunity to respond to the Patent Office's rejections of the patents (U.S. Patents Nos. 5,164,316, 5,196,525, 5,322,938 and 5,352,605), third party requests for re-examination, like the ones filed by PUBPAT against the four Monsanto patents, are successful in having the reviewed patents either changed or completely revoked more than two-thirds of the time.

"We are extremely pleased that the Patent Office has agreed with us that Monsanto does not deserve these patents that it has used to unfairly bully American farmers," said Dan Ravicher, PUBPAT's Executive Director. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of the harm being caused to the public by Monsanto's aggressive
assertion of these patents, which threatens family farms and a diverse American food supply."

*Comment from GM-free Ireland: *
The rejection of the US patents may not affect their validity in Europe. Until the EU Patent Office takes similar action against all GMO crop patents, European farmers who are contaminated are also liable to patent infringment lawsuits and the expropriation of their seeds and crops.

In a 9 March 2007 live television debate on RTE's Seoige & O'Sea programme, Monsanto Ireland CEO Dr. Patrick O'Reilly vehemently denied that Monsanto had ever filed, or threatened to file, patent infringement lawsuits against American farmers contaminated by Monsanto's GM seeds or crops. The above mentioned lawsuits are evidence of the contrary.

Bank of America-Largest check to clear first policy. SUCKS!

Will it ever end? Will the big conglomerates stop abusing the little people? Why is it that its ok to screw your fellow?

My rant comes from this.... Yesterday, I log on to my bank site to find that 6 checks came thru all in the same day. 2 of which were meant to clear on a Sunday so what happens? they clear 2 days early on a Friday. Not saturday. That's fine. I guess. I had just made another deposit that Friday.

They very well could have cleared them Monday. NO they cleared them the previous Friday. what can you do... I had gone to the bank that past friday, hoping to deposit some money to cover the impending issue. But that didn't go in to reflect till Saturday. Plus, then i have to transfer that money. which i did, but for some odd reason it just didn't transfer IMMEDIATELY, like it has in the past, when i don't have a need for it right then. Odd, huh?.

What i couldn't believe, and what has been an issue with millions of people, and which BOA has been sued in the past over, and lost btw (never had to claim fault but did pay out a settlement)... is that they clear the largest check first. It doesn't matter that all 6 came in at the same time/same day. Or that the other five could have cleared. NO! what they do is clear the large $2000 check only. and let me bounce 5 others. $50- to $250.

If they clear 5 and bounce one, Bank of America only gets $35.
If they clear 1 and bounce five, Bank of America gets $175....

What a crock! or should i say crook.

I called. I spoke. They don't care. Its their policy. I mentioned that this is unethical. Sorry, its in your agreement. I looked at their agreement. This is a snapshot of what they have to say about it.


They essentially do this on purpose. Of course why wouldn't they? More profit for them!

Isn't there any kind of regulation that can stop them from raping the commpon JOE? If i had the money to pay out this extra added mistake, then i wouldn't be having this problem in the first place. Goes against reason, huh?

Most people do not have the added coverage. And of course, they mentioned to me, overdraft protection. Oh i did that! and stopped it pronto, I lost all control over my account at that point. Items came in earlier than expected, automatic withdrawals from my visa started happening. It became a mental safety net for someone like me. As is the hope of the bank. That you start relying on this service. and of course at 32% interest. (but thats another rant, another day)...

I don't know how they do it. How they get away with it. But they can manipulate your account in such ways as things are "pending" for 3 days, but on some days they go in immediately. Like the day, i was on the phone with a company and saw in REAL time it post to my bank account, the minute i hung up with the catalog company. Huh? So which is it? Why did last weeks deposit check sit pending for 3 days, when last months deposit was available the minute i drove out of the banks parking lot??

Here is the full description of their policy. You know the mice type brochures sent in your monthly statements? I've been "no Mail" now for over a year so that is intriguing. I told that to BOA, and she tells me well i signed my agreement of this policy when i opened my account. Well, i opened my account when i was 16 years old. It wasn't even BOA, it was Barnett Bank.


And here is another tidbit. I'm more important to them than someone that has a large account, with lots of money in it.. Get this!!! This quote taken from consumer law site:

Furthermore, it is often a small group of vulnerable consumers that make up most of the bank’s newly increased profits from bounce protection. One bank consultant revealed that 80% of a bank’s overdraft income comes from about the same 15 to 25% of their customer base.46 Another consultant estimated 4% of customers pay half the fees, as much as $2,000 per customer annually.47 This group of probably disproportionately low- to moderate- income consumers is carrying the weight of the huge run-up in overdraft income for banks

This sounds like the bully on the playground. They don't hit up the the strong, only the weak.

I'm finding this all .... Disgusting. Unethical. Cheap. Sleazy. Ridiculous.

I want to change accounts. I did some cursory research and ALL the big banks do this. And just the thought of moving my account is daunting. The hours spent getting my online banking all set up the way i wanted it. The time spent in-putting all the information. Finding all the mailing addresses. Setting up my automatic monthly payments. And getting those the way i want them. The Quicken files all organized by accounts. Setting up my computer to do it seamlessly. and so on....It will take me a month, or longer, to start over somewhere else. AND THEY KNOW this. And they got you, by the bootstraps. And so what does one do? where does one turn? To BOA this is their right. It says so in their agreement. They can and will screw you every chance they get. And its all legal. Because they put it in their service agreement, THAT NO ONE EVER READS.

You can find the full online agreement here.