LibDem Blogs - Aggregated!

Reports in today's papers that the UK Environment Secretary is to abolish the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission is a major blow to Wales' aspiration to remain GM-free. This commission was established by the government to monitor ethical and social issues linked to GM crops. However it is to be disbanded after its members insisted that conventional and organic farmers should be protected from contamination by GM crops - and be compensated if safeguards fail. The commission has made life difficult for Margaret Beckett because it wants strict rules to protect farmers who do not want to grow GM

It is impossible to imagine the sheer horror of 60,000 deaths from a single natural disaster. As further details emerge, including the fact that one third of the dead may be children, that the numbers may rise further and that disease could kill as many people again if fresh water and medicine do not reach stricken areas soon, the act of connection becomes ever more difficult. Some of the UK media have sought to bring home the reality of this tragedy by concentrating on stories of British causalties in the hope that it will help us comprehend it better.