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Two comments left at Truthout posts...

In one, William Rivers Pitt argues for continued resistance:

One correction: "The United States is a machine designed exclusively for the purpose of extracting wealth." This statement is true of all nation states, past and present, to concentrate power and wealth in a small number of elites. Recall how European royalty are all related - power concentrated in one family. At present, power is concentrated in persons controlling major business enterprises (despotic leaders like Putin and the Chinese central committee members manage this indirectly).

The real enemy isn't the other religion or race or nationality or education or sexuality or reproductive choice; these are all means to distract and divide the larger population to fight within ourselves. The real fight is for 'common people' to regain our rights of self-determination and agency against the powerful elites. Expanding rights for undocumented aliens or any other group doesn't detract the rights of other workers; if anything, it expands everyone's rights. Everyone who fights against the concentration of power is fighting for the rights of the many.

The other, describes the importance of 'open source' seeds:

Patents is how intellectual property is controlled so that only the 'owners' of information can derive profit from that information. 'Owners' oppose open source because it opens the door for more competition.

Open source is actually good for economies. In terms of seeds, greater seed diversity increases the diversity of market varieties available to consumers. It also increases consumer knowledge because greater choice necessitates being more informed as consumers.

If anything, the open source trend should expand beyond seeds and software into drug formations, other technologies and all manner of policy. It can only improve individual empowerment.

Thanks for the article.

Happy New Year to all.