Doubtless there will be much glee in some quarters at the jailing of Jose Bove - not least, amongst those behind "The Make Jose Bove Serve His Time Petition".

The petition has attracted some fervent support. Dr. Stevens M. Brumbley, for instance, writes, "Jose Bove is a Fasist (sic) and I would prefer that civil society dealt with him through legal means than requiring another generation of young men to take up arms to once again stem the tide of facism (sic)."
[http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?cinagro4&51]

Dr. Brumbley, interestingly, also made clear his support for the attacks on Berkeley researcher Ignacio Chapela over his Mexican maize paper. He told CS Prakash's AgBioView list that those protesting at the character of the attacks on Chapela were undermining, "the very pillars upon which modern day science rests"!
[http://members.tripod.com/~ngin/280202a.htm]

According to the website of the 'Independent Greens', the Bove petition is an "international grassroots effort... to ensure that the French anti-technology radical be forced to go to jail".
[http://www.igreens.org.uk/make_jose_bove_serve_his_time.htm]

According to PetitionOnline.com, however, the contents of this "grassroots effort" were "written by Andura Smetacek". [bottom of the page: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/cinagro4/petition.html]

Sadly, Andura's "grassroots effort" doesn't seem to have garnered much support. Nor does everyone listed on the petition support its aims.

For instance, amongst those who've recently added their name:
77. George Monbiot   If anyone wants to see who "Andura Smetacek" really is, how this campaign has been funded by Monsanto's PR company The Bivings Group, and how the poor sods who have signed this petition in the belief that they are responding to a real initiative by a real person have been duped, please see the article I've written about viral marketing called "The Fake Persuaders", which you'll find on the Guardian website or on www.monbiot.com. Then check out what happens when you click on the link attached to this petition called "those who oppose terrorists and support science"
[http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?cinagro4&1]

When you click on "Those who oppose terrorists and support science", it takes you to to CS Prakash's agbioworld.org  According to PetitionOnline.com, this is who created the petition.

Amongst the petition's early signatories:

18. C. S. Prakash  Good job! Let Jailbird Jose serve his time and help the humanity!
[http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?cinagro4&51]

For George Monbiot's articles "Corporate Phantoms" and "The Fake Persuaders", plus all the latest news on Monsanto's web of deceit:
http://members.tripod.com/~ngin/deceit_index.html