NPR Topics: Politics & Society

Looking Back on Jesse Helms' Life
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:14:00 -0400
Sen. No, as he was often called, "was a real throwback," says Merle Black, a professor of southern politics at Emory University. One of a select group of politicians who helped solidify Republican control in the South, he had a loyal constituency of working-class whites in North Carolina.
Financial Aid Woes Make Community College More Appealing
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:05:00 -0400
Despite efforts by the Bush Administration and Congress to quell turmoil in the student loan market, some students are still struggling to find money for college. We examine the case of two recent high school graduates who have been promised financial aid, but don't know how much they can count on.
When Did Flag Pins Become So Important?
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:00:00 -0400
Sen. Barack Obama Obama was questioned about why he doesn't always wear a flag pin during a Democratic debate in April. His critics say his lack of pin casts doubt on Obama's patriotism, and recently the Democratic candidate has been wearing one.

The Talk of the Town

The Chill
Nick Paumgarten Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000
If you had stumbled into Banjo Jim’s, in the East Village, on a recent Wednesday night and encountered a sixty-something guy leading a band through a fervent rendition of “Wild Thing,” for an audience of two dozen or so, you might have concluded, “This is lame,” and slipped back . . .
Oily Speculations
James Surowiecki Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000
When bad things happen, it’s always nice to have a scapegoat. So, with Americans furious about soaring oil prices, Congress has gone in search of someone to blame. There are a number of usual suspects to choose from, depending on your politics--OPEC, greedy oil companies, lily-livered environmentalists opposed . . .
Obama’s Iraq Problem
George Packer Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office. At the time, this pledge represented conventional thinking . . .

 

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Action Aid Food Rights Campaign: TRIPs review - Resources related to Action Aid's campaign on genetic resources with links to papers on IPRs, TRIPs, GM crops, agricultural trade and corporate control.
Meta Description: [ Our vision is a world without poverty in which every person can exercise their right to a life of dignity. Our mission is to work with poor and marginalised people to eradicate poverty by overcoming the injustice and inequity that cause it. ]

404 Alternative Mechanisms to Enhance Corporate Monopoly and BioSerfdom in the 21st Century - ETC Group Communiqué on the uncertainties surrounding intellectual property rights, which, being increasingly unacceptable to industry, is why new tools for monopoly control of biological and other resources are being developed.

Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) - UK Government IPR Commission's website containing background, papers, conference reports and UK government response. Commission's Report: Integrating IPRs and Development Policy available in many languages.

Comparing sui generis rights systems - Theme issue of Biotechnology and Development Monitor journal on Plant Variety Rights and sui generis systems. Journal covers all aspects of IPRs, seed systems and biotechnology. Links through home page of journal.
Meta Description: [ This is the index for Monitor no. 36 ]

Intellectual Property and Community Rights - Authoritative introduction to these issues by Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN) with links to key documents on patents, PVP, WTO/TRIPs and corporate control of agricultural biodiversity.
Meta Description: [ GRAIN is an international non-governmental organisation which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge. ]

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture - UKabc portal on the IT PGRFA (International Seed Treaty) that governs the access, use, conservation and development of the genetic resources of food security crop and forage species. Treaty outlaws IPRs on selected PGRFA. Links to all official FAO, media and CSO resources on the Treaty.
Meta Description: [ FAO International Seed Treaty, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture ]

People, Plants and Patents - Full text of 1994 book on the impact of intellectual property on trade, agricultural biodiversity, and rural society by The Crucible Group, hosted by IDRC.

Porto Alegre Treaty to Share the Global Commons - Full text and background of proposed treaty designed to ensure that governments and Indigenous Peoples, who are the caretakers of their part of the genetic commons, establish the appropriate statutory mechanisms needed to ensure both sovereignty and open access to the world's genetic diversity.
Meta Description: [ International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources (IU) ]

Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) - Site contains Trade and Development pages which include all QUNO publications on Trade and Intellectual Property, including aspects related to: Food, Sui Generis systems, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Traditional Knowledge
Meta Description: [ quno.info ]

Seeding Solutions - Full text and publication details of Volume 1 (ownership, conservation and exchange of genetic resources) and Volume 2 (legal mechanisms) which update People, Plants and Patents. Published by The Crucible Group/IDRC in 2000.

Small-scale Producers' Intellectual Rights to Agricultural Biodiversity - Introduction to the issues in a Kenyan context, with an emphasis on farmers, pastoralists and fisherfolk, and the need for protocols on intellectual property. Includes Via Campesina's statement on Farmers' Rights.

The True Cost of Gene Patents: The Economic and Social Consequences of Patenting Genes and Living Organisms - This Greenpeace report is one in a series that call for a substantial restriction of, or a complete end to, the patenting of genes and living organisms(2004)

Trade, Intellectual Property, Food and Biodiversity - Discussion paper prepared for the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) on key issues and options for the review of Article 27.3(b) of the WTO/TRIPs Agreement. Includes discussion of impacts on food security and agricultural biodiversity.
Meta Description: [ quno.info ]

Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Prior Art Database (TEK*PAD) - An online, searchable archive of public domain documented traditional ecological knowledge concerning indigenous knowledge and plant species uses necessary to establish prior art.

TRIPs, Biodiversity and Commonwealth Countries - Discussion paper prepared for the Commonwealth Secretariat on capacity building priorities for the Review of TRIPs Article 27.3(b). Extensive links to related papers and sites.

TRIPs, Sui Generis and Plant Variety Protection - Third World Network's pages on IP issues. Extensive and historical coverage of the issues from an authoritative developing country perspective.
Meta Description: [ A website containing extensive resources on issues relating to trade, biotechnology, development, Third World, North-South issues, and sells books and magazines online. ]

UPOV - International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants - Website of the institution that governs this 50 nation Convention on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) of crops and flowers. Details of the Convention, membership, conduct, implementation and so on.

WIPO: Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore - World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) pages on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources with links to Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore. Includes coverage of the intergovernmental committee covering all three issues.

World Patent System - Review by GRAIN of moves by the World Intellectual Property Organisation to implement a single global system for approval and administration of patents.
Meta Description: [ GRAIN is an international non-governmental organisation which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge. ]

WorldTrade Organisation - TRIPs / Patents pages - WTO's pages on the Agreement on Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPs), highlighting the patents clauses which include genetic resources patents. Links to all other aspects of trade and intellectual property.