Monsanto, a leading global producer of genetically engineered seeds and pesticides, has been fined $1.5 million for bribing the Indonesian Ministry of Environment, as the company made efforts to bypass environmental regulations that restrict the sale of their genetically modified crops. Bribery does not seem to be as necessary for Monsanto to have its controversial products approved for sale in the U.S. The corporation kept its firm grip on U.S. policymaking last week by getting one of its former lobbyists, Martha Scott, appointed as Staff Director of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Other Monsanto key leaders in the U.S. government include Secretary of Agiculture Anne Veneman (formerly Monsanto Board of Director), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (formerly a Monsanto pharmaceutical Board of Director) and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (formerly a Monsanto lawyer). /old_articles/monlink.html