This article examines attempts in England to establish a "press council" that would control what reporters are allowed to write about issues involving science and product safety, particularly in regard to genetically modified foods. Mae-Wan Ho and Jonathan Mathews report on the seamless way in which the corporations, the state and the scientific establishment are co-ordinating their efforts to suppress scientific dissent and force feed the world with GM crops.

ExxonMobil's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the fact that burning fossil fuels has a role in global warming is creating a backlash against the world's biggest company. Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and People & Planet launched a campaign in the U.K. earlier this month to boycott Esso gasoline, supported by a variety of prominent politicians, celebrities and writers.

Like the old English "privateer" pirates of the Caribbean five hundred years ago, sailing under no national flag -- robbing and plundering Latin America's riches for the English Crown, Washington now employs hundreds of contract employees through U.S. corporations to carry out its policies in Colombia and other countries. Like the sixteenth century pirates, if they get caught in an embarrassing crime, or are killed, the U.S. government can deny responsibility for their actions.