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I sincerely hope the Iraqi parliament will hold its ground, and that this "Pact" is indeed a sign of a weakened US position.

The question of the US's presence is critical in many respects but most notably in that Bremer's infamous, corporatist 100 Orders will, in principle, be rescindable, when / if the US gets the hell out.

All of the Orders are despicable, across the board, but none more so than N° 81, which outlaws the use of native wheat seed, in favor of genetically modified varieties [you'll never guess who was breathing down Bremer's neck].

More on Order 81 here. As for the 99 others, see here and here.

by Loefing on Fri Oct 24th, 2008 at 05:17:52 PM EST
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Fortunately for the Iraqis, I doubt the CPA or Iraqi gov has ever had anywhere close to enough power to actually enforce something as absurd as that.
by Zwackus on Fri Oct 24th, 2008 at 05:44:25 PM EST
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There's been a shortage of seed, not to mention security, these past years. And farmers are looking to the government for help.

A handful of seasons of gm wheat cultivation would suffice to irreperably pollute an 8000 year patrimony of wheat species.

by Loefing on Fri Oct 24th, 2008 at 06:13:52 PM EST
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scusi: 'irreparably'.
by Loefing on Fri Oct 24th, 2008 at 06:15:16 PM EST
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Isn't gm wheat often engineered for a single growing season, to prevent farmers from reusing the seeds the next year?

--
$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
by martingale on Sat Oct 25th, 2008 at 05:36:59 AM EST
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