March 14, 2005
TOPIC: India’s Patent Law Could Change
GUESTS: Dr. Vandana Shiva, internationally renowned activist and writer, founder of Navdanya, a national organization that protects native seeds, author of many books, latest book is “Water Wars” published by South End Press, and an expert in Intellectual Property Rights
Under pressure from the US government and brand-name drug makers, such as Pfizer and Novartis, the government of India has modified it’s Patent Act of 1970. India is the leading supplier of low-cost generic AIDS drugs. The country's huge generic industry has been able to copy antiretrovirals and other medicines because under the existing law, India grants patents for the process of making drugs, rather than for the medicines themselves. The amended Patent Act could change that, making it impossible for Indian manufacturers to produce many of the newer generic AIDS drugs. Generic drugs from India have played a key role in lowering the price of antiretroviral treatment to make it feasible to scale up treatment more rapidly for 3.7 million Africans with AIDS who do not have access to treatment.
TOPIC: Oceans more vulnerable to agricultural runoff than previously thought, study finds
GUESTS: Mike Beman, PhD Student at the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University
A new study by Stanford University scientists released last week in Nature magazine concludes that fertilizer runoff from big farms can trigger sudden explosions of marine algae capable of disrupting ocean ecosystems and even producing "dead zones" in the sea. It is the first direct evidence linking large-scale coastal farming to massive algal blooms in the sea.
The study is based on satellite imagery of Mexico's Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez-a narrow, 700-mile-long stretch of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Mexican mainland from the Baja California Peninsula. The area is a hotspot of marine biodiversity and one of Mexico's most important commercial fishing centers. I spoke with one of the authors of the study last week. Mike Beman is a PhD Student at the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. For more information visit www.yaquivalley.stanford.edu. To read the paper visit www.nature.com.
TOPIC: Empire Notes
GUESTS: Rahul Mahajan, publisher of Empire Notes
And now this week’s edition of Empire notes, our weekly commentary by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and the New Crusade. Empire Notes, are exclusive to Uprising. Today’s commentary is about Iraq. Visit Empire Notes online at empirenotes.org.
TOPIC: “Maria Full of Grace”: A Critique
GUESTS: Mario Lumo, Colombian writer.
The movie, "Maria full of Grace," was a smashing success at the Independent Spirit Film Awards, receiving Best First Screenplay and Best Lead Actress at the IFP award ceremony just after the Oscars. The film's lead actress, Catalina Sandino, was also nominated for an Oscar for best actor. Despite winning awards as an Indie film, it was written and produced in the US and heavily promoted with corporate money. The movie is about a woman, Maria, who is a Colombian drug mule, flying to the US with a package of drugs in her stomach. The title of the film, “Maria Full of Grace”, is a pun, referring to the catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary pregnant with Jesus. Colombian writer Mario Lumo took great offense to the movie, calling it cultural colonialism, hyping stereotypes of Colombians and Latin Americans, ignoring the US and Colombian government's involvement in drug production, eradication, and militarization. Every Colombian leaving the Bogotá airport is already suspected of being a mule, heavily searched on both sides of the flight, according to Lumo, making even the small section of drug running portrayed in the film, unrealistic. Mario Lumo's article, based on his Spanish article in the Colombian paper, Semana, can be found on Counterpunch.org, he spoke with Uprising producer Thatcher Collins, last week.
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