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NEWS ... GLOBAL NEWS ... trials paid for by non-profit organisations— FIRST US WEAPON TO BE SENT in August 2002 and has moved steadily governments, medical institutions or chari- INTO SPACE IN JULY toward its long-established (northern) trials paid for by non-profit organisations— governments, medical institutions or chari- ties—they have yielded different results. Expensive new cancer drugs introduced in the last decade with claims of major ben- efits have increasingly been questioned. Evidence published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that 38 per cent of independent studies of the drugs reached unfavourable conclusions about them, compared with just five per cent of the studies funded by the pharma- ceutical industry. In the latest case, researchers commis- sioned by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop guidelines for prescribing antidepressant drugs to chil- dren say they were refused access to unpublished trials held by the pharmaceuti- cal companies. Published evidence suggested that the antidepressant drugs called SSRIs (selec- tive serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) were safe and effective for children. But when researchers obtained the unpublished evi- dence by contacting individual researchers who had worked on the trials, a picture emerged of increased risk of suicidal ideas and attempted suicide. Antidepressants, though not recommend- ed for children, were widely prescribed until last year when the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a warning to doctors to prohibit their use. This followed safety concerns raised by campaigners and taken up in two BBC television Panorama broad- casts. (Source: The Independent, UK, 22 April 2004) in August 2002 and has moved steadily toward its long-established (northern) summer 2004 launch date, according to NASA and press releases from the private contractors involved. (Source: The Moscow Times, 9 April 2004, http://}www.themoscowtimes.com) his July, the human race will pass a sin- ister milestone—the United States will break a long-held taboo and launch the first weapon into the global commons of outer space. It's a small step—a test satellite called the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE)—set for launch by a Minotaur missile from a NASA base in Virginia. NFIRE is part of the Bush regime's multibillion-dollar, crony-feeding boon- doggle known as "Missile Defense". The satellite's primary mission is to gather data on the exhaust fumes of rockets in space— information that will then be used to help future space weapons differentiate more clearly between a target and its trailing plume. But NFIRE is itself weaponised, carrying a projectile-packed "kill vehicle" that can destroy passing missiles—or the satellites of the USA's military and commercial rivals. This marks the first time in history that any nation has put a weapon into space, despite America's still-official policy against such a practice. And as Pentagon officials made clear in an eye-opening pre- sentation to Congress in February, NFIRE's test is just the first spark of a conflagration that will soon set the heavens ablaze with American weaponry capable of striking— and destroying—any spot on Earth. As one top Pentagon official—opposed to this lunatic proliferation, thus remaining anonymous—said, "We're crossing the Rubicon into space weaponisation". NFIRE is already operational. It began VENEZUELA TO PROHIBIT TRANSGENIC CROPS enezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced that the cultiva- tion of genetically engineered/modified crops will be prohibited on Venezuelan soil, possibly establishing the most sweep- ing restrictions on transgenic crops in the Western hemisphere. Before a recent international gathering of supporters in Caracas, President Chavez admonished genetically engineered crops as contrary to the interests and needs of the nation's farmers and farmworkers. He then zeroed in on Monsanto's plans to plant up to 500,000 acres of transgenic soybeans in Venezuela. President Chavez emphasised the impor- tance of food sovereignty and security— required by the Venezuelan Constitution— as the basis of his decision. Instead of these fields being used by Monsanto to grow its transgenic crops, they will be used to cultivate yuca, an indigenous crop, Chavez explained. He also announced the creation of a large seed-bank facility to maintain indigenous seeds for peasants’ movements around the world. The international peasants' organisation Via Campesina, representing more than 60 million farmers and farmworkers, had brought the issue to the attention of the Chavez administration when it learned of the contract with Monsanto. (Source: Venezuela Analysis, 21 April 2004, http:/www.venezuelanalysis.com) GM CROPS CAUSE DISASTER IN ARGENTINA enetically modified (GM) soya is being blamed for an environmental crisis that is threatening Argentina's fragile economic recovery. In 1997, Argentina became one of the first countries to authorise GM crops, when Monsanto's Roundup Ready soya was introduced there and in the USA. This GM variety is resistant to glyphosate, which Monsanto sells under the trade name Roundup. By 2002, almost half of Argentina's arable land—11.6 million hectares—was 8 = NEXUS JUNE — JULY 2004 Senunille www.nexusmagazine.com