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Food and Agriculture

Monsanto Refuses to Testify on Genetically Modified Crops in Puerto Rico
Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero
June 19th, 2013

Monsanto has refused to testify at a major government hearing in Puerto Rico about local testing and sale of genetically modified seeds. Critics say that crops from these seeds harm the environment and can cause serious human health problems.

Millions against Monsanto rally in Puerto Rico. Photo: Indymedia Puerto Rico


Spies for Hire

War & Disaster Profiteering

Edward Snowden and the National Security Industrial Complex
Pratap Chatterjee
June 17th, 2013

Military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton is in the news over two of its former employees: Edward Snowden, the whistleblower, and James Clapper, U.S. intelligence czar. A review of Booz Allen's own high level conflicts of interest and shoddy work suggests that Congress should target the company, not the messenger.
Cartoon by Khalil Bendib

Pharmaceuticals

Myriad Loses Patent to Breast Cancer Genetic Test
Richard Smallteacher
June 13th, 2013

Myriad Genetics has lost its right to be the exclusive U.S. commercial provider of genetic screening tests for breast cancer or ovarian cancer. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which sued the company, claimed that the patent would limit scientific research as well as health care options for women.
DNA sequence exhibit at the Science Museum in London. Photo by John Goode. Used under Creative Commons license.

War & Disaster Profiteering

Google & Facebook Discussed Secret Systems for U.S. to Spy on Users
Pratap Chatterjee
June 8th, 2013

Google and Facebook have discussed – and possibly built – special portals for the U.S. government to snoop on user data, according to revelations sparked by an investigative series of articles by Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian.
James Clapper (far left) Martin Dempsey (3rd from left) at Defense Intelligence Agency ceremony. Photo: D. Myles Cullen for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Used under Creative Commons license.

Financial Services, Insurance and Banking

Cat and Mouse Game for Wall Street Hedge Fund
Richard Smallteacher
June 4th, 2013

Steve Cohen, the billionaire founder of the most profitable hedge fund in history with $15 billion in assets averaging 30 percent in annual profits for two decades, has become the most watched man on Wall Street. Will he lose all his outside investors and will he go to jail?
Cartoon by Khalil Bendib

Natural Resources

Lobbyists for Canadian Pipeline Have Deep Ties to White House
Pratap Chatterjee
May 31st, 2013

TransCanada and the provincial government of Alberta are paying former advisors to the Obama administration - as well as former staff of the Hillary Clinton and John Kerry presidential campaigns - to help them lobby for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to transport tar sands fuel to the U.S.
Syncrude Tar Sands Mining Operations. Photo by David Dodge, The Pembina Institute

Retail & Mega-Stores

Spinneys Lebanon Criticized for Labor Practices
Richard Smallteacher
May 28th, 2013

Charbel Nahas, the former Lebanese labor minister, is to appear before a court next month on charges of publishing incorrect information, slander and libel over the labor practices of Spinneys, the Dubai-based Middle Eastern supermarket chain.
Spinneys supermarket in Cairo. Photo: Asim Bharwani. Used under Creative Commons license.

Media & Entertainment

Verizon (and Google) Helped U.S. Government to Spy on Reporters
Pratap Chatterjee
May 23rd, 2013

Technology companies willingly provided information to U.S. government agencies to help the Obama administration snoop on reporters from the Associated Press and Fox news in order to ostensibly crack down on leaks that pose a “threat” to national security.
CorpWatch cartoon by Khalil Bendib

Retail & Mega-Stores

H&M Responds Slowly to Bangladesh Factory Collapse Killing 1,100
Puck Lo
May 19th, 2013

H&M (Hennes & Mauritz), a major Swedish “fast fashion” retailer, led 30 international companies this week to commit to a new $3 billion fund to improve the safety of garment factories in Bangladesh. Watchdog organizations say the companies acted only because of external pressure by activists and workers.
Protest advertisement designed by Avaaz