Monday Open Thread | 79 comments (79 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 8)

Monsanto jugé responsable de l'intoxication d'un agriculteur français - LeMonde.fr		Monsanto held responsible for the poisoning of a French farmer - LeMonde.fr
Le géant américain Monsanto a été jugé "responsable", lundi 13 février, à Lyon, de l'intoxication à l'herbicide en 2004 d'un agriculteur français, ouvrant la voie à des dommages-intérêts, ce qui constitue une première en France.		U.S. giant Monsanto was found "responsible" , Monday, Feb. 13, in Lyon, for the poisoning by herbicide in 2004 of a French farmer, paving the way for an award of damages, which is a first in France.
"Monsanto est responsable du préjudice de Paul François suite à l'inhalation du produit Lasso", peut-on lire dans le jugement du tribunal de grande instance de Lyon. En conséquence, le tribunal "condamne Monsanto à indemniser entièrement Pierre François de son préjudice", qui sera évalué après une expertise médicale.		"Monsanto is responsible for the harm caused to Paul Francois as a consequence of inhalation of the product Lasso" , states the verdict of the District Court of Lyon. Accordingly, the court "sentences Monsanto to fully compensate Paul Francois for his injury", for an amount which will be assessed after medical expertise.
Le 27 avril 2004, Paul François, un céréalier aujourd'hui âgé de 47 ans, avait reçu au visage des vapeurs de Lasso, un puissant désherbant produit par le leader mondial de l'agrochimie, en ouvrant la cuve d'un pulvérisateur. Il avait été rapidement pris de nausées puis de troubles (bégaiement, vertiges, maux de tête, troubles musculaires...) l'obligeant à interrompre son activité pendant près d'un an.		On April 27, 2004, Paul Francois, a grain farmer now aged 47, opened the tank of a sprayer and received a faceful of pulverised Lasso, a powerful herbicide produced by the world leader in agrochemicals. He was quickly overcome by nausea and disorders (stuttering, dizziness, headaches, muscular disorders ...) forcing him to stop work for almost a year.
Aujourd'hui, Paul François ne travaille plus qu'à mi-temps, en proie à des fatigues chroniques et à des maux de tête tenaces. Les médecins considèrent que son système nerveux central a été affecté.		Today, Paul Francois no longer works more than half-time, plagued by chronic fatigue and persistent headaches. Doctors consider his central nervous system was affected.

This case has been awaited for some time.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 11:48:12 AM EST

Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=13019020

Would not want that stuff in my garden...

by asdf on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 11:52:41 AM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

Yes, may they nail the f...ers.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 11:53:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Another very long-awaited trial (4.00 / 8)

UPDATE 1-Swiss, Belgian sentenced to jail in Italy asbestos trial | Reuters

Feb 13 (Reuters) - A Swiss tycoon and a Belgian baron were convicted by an Italian court and sentenced to 16 years in jail on Monday for negligence that led to more than 2,000 asbestos-related deaths in the biggest trial of its kind.
The case in Turin could set a precedent for proceedings worldwide about safety at the workplace.
Former Swiss owner Stephan Schmidheiny, 64, and Belgian shareholder and former executive Jean Louis Marie Ghislain De Cartier De Marchienne, 90, were accused of intentionally omitting to put in place measures to prevent asbestos damage at Swiss firm Eternit's Italian plants.
The defendants, who were tried in absentia, were charged for their role as executives at the fibre cement maker's Italian affiliate Eternit SpA. They deny wrongdoing.
"This is the biggest trial in the world and in history as far as safety at work is concerned," said prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello as he entered the courthouse in Turin.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 12:01:35 PM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Sweet.

What are damages awards like in France?

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 01:21:11 PM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 0)

Not particularly spectacular, though that is gradually changing. There isn't a big tort law sector here.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 01:43:37 PM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Corn Fields

Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar. Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.

by das monde on Mon Feb 13th, 2012 at 07:24:59 PM EST
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Re: Monday Open Thread (none / 1)

This seems to be an uncredited re-post of this article back from July, which was linked to on ET by Wife of Bath (and was itself mostly the literal translation of a Hungarian wire report).

That "bold stand" was not really a bold stand against Monsanto but late and rushed action hurting the farmers, as the article says:

Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds.
With season already under way, it is too late to sow new seeds, so this years harvest has been lost.
And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that distributed the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore, if any compensation is paid by the international seed producers, the money will be paid primarily to that company's creditors, rather than the farmers.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Feb 14th, 2012 at 09:22:57 AM EST
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Monday Open Thread | 79 comments (79 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)