Bayer AG

Type	Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as	FWB: BAYN
Industry	Pharmaceuticals, chemicals
Founded	1863
Founder(s)	Friedrich Bayer, Johann Friedrich Weskott
Headquarters	Leverkusen, Germany
Key people	Marijn Dekkers (CEO), Manfred Schneider (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products	Veterinary drugs, diagnostic imaging, general and specialty medicines, women's health products, over-the-counter drugs, diabetes care, pesticides, plant biotechnology, polymers, coatings, adhesives
Revenue	€36.53 billion (2011)[1]
Operating income	€4.149 billion (2011)[1]
Profit	€2.470 billion (2011)[1]
Total assets	€52.77 billion (end 2011)[1]
Total equity	€19.27 billion (end 2011)[1]
Employees	111,800 (FTE, 2011)[1]
Subsidiaries	Bayer MaterialScience, Bayer USA, Bayer Schering Pharma, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Bayer CropScience
Website	www.bayer.com

Bayer AG (German pronunciation: [ˈbaɪɐ]) is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen (today a part of Wuppertal), Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.

History[link]

Advertisement for Aspirin, Heroin, Lycetol and Salophen

Bayer AG was founded in Barmen (today a part of Wuppertal), Germany in 1863 by Friedrich Bayer and his partner, Johann Friedrich Weskott.

Bayer's first major product was acetylsalicylic acid (originally discovered by French chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt in 1853), a modification of salicylic acid or salicin, a folk remedy found in the bark of the willow plant. By 1899, Bayer's trademark Aspirin was registered worldwide for Bayer's brand of acetylsalicylic acid, but because of the confiscation of Bayer's US assets and trademarks during World War I by the United States — and the subsequent widespread usage of the word to describe all brands of the compound —, "Aspirin" lost its trademark status in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. It is now widely used in the US, UK, and France for all brands of the drug. However in over 80 other countries, such as Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Switzerland, it is still a registered trademark of Bayer.

In 1904, the Bayer company introduced the Bayer cross as its corporate logo. Because Bayer's aspirin was sold through pharmacists and doctors only, and the company could not put its own packaging on the drug, the Bayer cross was imprinted on the actual tablets, so that customers would associate Bayer with its aspirin.^{[citation needed]}

As part of the reparations after World War I, Bayer assets, including the rights to its name and trademarks, were confiscated in the United States, Canada, and several other countries. In the United States and Canada, Bayer's assets and trademarks were acquired by Sterling Drug, a predecessor of Sterling Winthrop.

The Bayer company then became part of IG Farben, a German chemical company conglomerate. During World War II, the IG Farben used slave labor in factories attached to large slave labor camps, notably the sub-camps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp.^[2] IG Farben owned 42.5% of the company that manufactured Zyklon B,^[3] a chemical used in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other extermination camps. After World War II, the Allies broke up IG Farben and Bayer reappeared as an individual business. The Bayer executive Fritz ter Meer, sentenced to seven years in prison by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, was made head of the supervisory board of Bayer in 1956, after his release.^[4]

In 1978, Bayer purchased Miles Laboratories and its subsidiaries Miles Canada and Cutter Laboratories (along with a product line including Alka-Seltzer, Flintstones vitamins and One-A-Day vitamins, and Cutter insect repellent). In 1994, Bayer AG purchased Sterling Winthrop's over-the-counter drug business from SmithKline Beecham and merged it with Miles Laboratories, thereby reacquiring the U.S. and Canadian trademark rights to "Bayer" and the Bayer cross, as well as the ownership of the Aspirin trademark in Canada.

On November 2, 2010, Bayer AG signed an agreement to buy Auckland-based animal health company Bomac Group.^[5]

Bayer Heroin bottle

Bayer has discovered, among others:

• Aspirin, an analgesic, antipyretic, and anticoagulant medicine, arguably was the most commercially successful drug ever.
• Heroin (diacetylmorphine), an addictive drug, was originally sold as a cough treatment. Heroin was a Bayer trademark, until World War I.
• Prontosil, the first sulfonamide.
• Ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic used to treat anthrax and urinary tract infections.
• Levitra, a treatment for erectile dysfunction.
• Polyurethane, a very versatile polymer used for a wide variety of applications
• Polycarbonate, the material used in plasic products, CDs, for example (Makrolon).
• Suramin
• Parathion, insecticide
• Propoxur, insecticide
• Primodos, hormone pregnancy testing

Logo[link]

The company's corporate logo, the Bayer cross, was introduced in 1904. It consists of the horizontal word "BAYER" crossed with the vertical word "BAYER", both words sharing the "Y", and enclosed in a circle. An illuminated version of the logo lights up the skyline of Leverkusen, where Bayer is headquartered. Installed in 1958, this is the largest illuminated advertisement in the world.

Operations[link]

Werner Wenning (Chairman of the Board of Management until October 2010)

To separate operational and strategic managements, Bayer AG was reorganized into a holding company in December 2003. The group's core businesses were transformed into limited companies, each controlled by Bayer AG. These companies are: Bayer CropScience AG; Bayer HealthCare AG; Bayer MaterialScience AG and Bayer Chemicals AG, and the three service limited companies Bayer Technology Services GmbH, Bayer Business Services GmbH and Bayer Industry Services GmbH & Co. OHG. Bayer AG shares are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange and previously on the New York Stock Exchange.

Following the reorganization, its chemicals activities (with the exception of H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode) were combined with certain components of the polymers segment to form the new company Lanxess on July 1, 2004. Lanxess was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in early 2005. Bayer HealthCare's Diagnostics Division was acquired by Siemens Medical Solutions in January 2007.

In 2004, Bayer HealthCare AG acquired the over-the-counter (OTC) Pharmaceutical Division of Roche Pharmaceuticals.

On March 13, 2006, Merck KGaA announced a €14.6bn bid for Schering AG. Merck's takeover bid was surpassed by Bayer's $19.5bn bid on March 23, 2006.

On March 11, 2008, Bayer HealthCare announced an agreement to acquire the portfolio and OTC division of privately owned Sagmel, Inc., a US-based company that markets OTC medications in most of the Commonwealth of Independent States countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and others.^[6][7]

Locations[link]

• Germany - headquarters of the holding company, as well as the subsidiary companies Bayer CropScience, Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer HealthCare
• Belgium - including production facilities for Makrolon and polyurethanes (in Antwerp)
• Canada - Toronto headquarters and offices in Montreal and Calgary
• France - including European headquarters of Bayer CropScience (in Lyon)
• Italy - including five production facilities
• The Netherlands - including eight facilities and subsidiaries with 600 employees in three different sectors; Marketing and Sales, Production and Research.
• Philippines - including production of Canesten, Autan and Baygon
• United States - Bayer USA (Bayer Corporation) operates a suburban Pittsburgh regional corporate headquarters and research center
• United Kingdom - Newbury Berkshire

Bayer factory in Leverkusen, Germany

Subgroups and service companies[link]

Bayer AG comprises three subgroups and three services companies. The subgroups and service companies operate independently, led by the management holding company.^[8]

Bayer CropScience[link]

Bayer CropScience has products in crop protection and nonagricultural pest control. It also has activities in seeds and plant traits.^[8]

In 2002, Bayer AG acquired Aventis (now part of Sanofi) CropScience and fused it with their own agrochemicals division (Bayer Pflanzenschutz or "Crop Protection") to form Bayer CropScience. The company is now one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection (i.e. pesticides), nonagricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. In addition to conventional agrochemical business, it is involved in genetic engineering of food. The Belgian biotech company Plant Genetic Systems became part of the company by the acquisition of Aventis CropScience.

Also in 2002, Bayer AG acquired the Dutch seed company Nunhems.

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Bayer CropScience's LibertyLink genetically modified rice had contaminated the U.S. rice supply. Shortly after the public learned of the contamination, the E.U. banned imports of U.S. long-grain rice and the futures price plunged. In April 2010, a Lonoke County, Arkansas jury awarded a dozen farmers $48 million. The case is currently on appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court. On July 1, 2011 Bayer CropScience agreed to a global settlement for up to $750 million. In a statement to the media Bayer said: "Although Bayer CropScience believes it acted responsibly in the handling of its biotech rice, the company considers it important to resolve the litigation so that it can move forward focused on its fundamental mission of providing innovative solutions to modern agriculture." ^[9]

Bayer CropScience is involved in a joint project with Archer Daniels Midland Company and Daimler AG to develop jatropha as a biofuel.^[10]

Bayer HealthCare[link]

Bayer HealthCare is Bayer's pharmaceutical and medical products subgroup. It is involved in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of products that aim to improve the health of people and animals. Bayer HealthCare comprises a further four subdivisions: Bayer Schering Pharma, Bayer Consumer Care, Bayer Animal Health and Bayer Medical Care.^[8]

Bayer Pharma[link]

In 2007, Bayer took over Schering AG and formed Bayer Schering Pharma. The acquisition of Schering was the largest take-over in Bayer’s history. The name was changed to Bayer Pharma in 2011.

Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals is divided into two business units - General Medicine and Specialty Medicine.

Women's healthcare is an example of a General Medicine business unit. Bayer Pharma produces the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin. Both pills use a newer type of progesterone hormone called drospirenone in combination with estrogen. Yaz is advertised as a treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and moderate acne. Other key products include the cancer drug Nexavar, the multiple sclerosis drug Betaferon/Betaseron and the blood-clotting drug, Kogenate.^[8]

An example of a Specialty Medicine Business Unit is Diagnostic Imaging. Contrast agents from this unit helps play a crucial role in precise and early diagnosis and the selection of optimal treatment. Diagnostic imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound are used to make tissues and organs visible in their natural position inside the body along with contrast. Work is also focused on the development of tracers for positron emission tomography (PET). The PET tracer Florbetaben in Bayer's pipeline makes it possible to recognize beta Amyloid, one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, with high accuracy very early on and while the patient is still alive.

Bayer Consumer Care[link]

Bayer Consumer Care manages Bayer's OTC medicines portfolio. Key products include analgesics such as Bayer Aspirin and Aleve, food supplements Redoxon and Berocca, and skincare products Bepanthen and Bepanthol.^[8]

Bayer Animal Health[link]

Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division is the maker of Advantage Multi (imidacloprid + moxidectin) Topical Solution for dogs and cats, Advantage flea control for cats and dogs and K9 Advantix, a flea, tick, and mosquito control product for dogs. Advantage Multi, K9 Advantix and Advantage are trademarks of Bayer. The division specializes in parasite control and prescription pharmaceuticals for dogs, cats, horses, and cattle. North American operation for the Animal Health Division are headquartered in Shawnee, Kansas. Bayer Animal Health is a division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, one of the world's leading healthcare companies.

Bayer Diabetes Care[link]

Bayer Diabetes Care manages Bayer's medical devices portfolio. Key products include the blood glucose monitors Contour and Elite used in the management of diabetes.^[8]

Bayer Material Science[link]

Bayer MaterialScience is a supplier of high-tech ­polymers, and develops solutions for a broad range of applications relevant to everyday life.^[8]

Bayer Business Services[link]

Located at the Bayer USA Headquarters in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Bayer Business Services handles the information technology infrastructure and technical support aspect of Bayer USA and Bayer Canada. This is also the headquarters of the North American Service Desk, the central IT Help Desk for all of Bayer USA and Bayer Canada.

Bayer Technology Services[link]

Bayer Technology Services is engaged in process development and in process and plant engineering, construction and optimization.^[8]

Currenta[link]

Currenta offers services for the chemical industry, including utility supply, waste management, infrastructure, safety, security, analytics and vocational training.^[8]

Bayer 04 Leverkusen[link]

In 1904, the company founded the sports club TuS 04 ("Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co."), later SV Bayer 04 ("Sportvereinigung Bayer 04 Leverkusen"), finally becoming TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen ("Turn- und Sportverein") in 1984, generally, however, known simply as Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The club is best known for its football team, but has been involved in many other sports, including athletics, fencing, team handball, volleyball, boxing, and basketball. TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen is one of the largest sports clubs in Germany. The company also supports similar clubs at other company sites, including Dormagen (particularly handball), Wuppertal (particularly volleyball), and Krefeld-Uerdingen (featuring another former Bundesliga football club, SC Bayer 05 Uerdingen, now KFC Uerdingen 05).^[11]

Controversies[link]

Aspirin discoverer[link]

It has been documented that aspirin compounds were successfully synthesized by various other scientists or groups between 1848–1869, long before Bayer's claims. This fact led to various patent litigations in the early 20th century.^[12]

Arthur Eichengrün, a Bayer chemist, claimed to be the first to discover an aspirin formulation which did not have the unpleasant side effects of nausea and gastric pain. Eichengrün also claimed he invented the name aspirin and was the first person to use the new formulation to test its safety and efficacy. Bayer contends aspirin was discovered by Felix Hoffman to alleviate the sufferings of his father, who had arthritis. Various sources support the conflicting claims. ^[13][14][15]

Nazi chairman[link]

In 1956 Fritz ter Meer became chairman of Bayer's supervisory board. He was convicted at the Nuremberg trials for his part in carrying out experiments on human subjects at Auschwitz. He was found "guilty of count two, plunder and spoliation, and count three, slavery and mass murder" and sentenced to seven years imprisonment and served five years.^[16]

Liberty Link rice[link]

In August 2006, it became apparent that the United States rice crop had been contaminated with unapproved genetically engineered Bayer CropScience rice.^[17]

More specifically, the genetically engineered rice has an herbicide-resistance trait. These forms of rice are commonly referred to among US rice growers as, Liberty Link rice 601 or LL 601. Approximately 100 varieties of rice are produced primarily in the following six states: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and California.

Imidacloprid[link]

French and Nova Scotian beekeepers claim Bayer's seed treatment imidacloprid kills honeybees. France has since issued a provisional ban on the use of imidacloprid for corn seed treatment pending further action. A consortium of U.S. beekeepers filed a civil suit against Bayer CropScience for alleged losses.

HIV infected blood products[link]

A cite from http://www.haemophilia-litigation.com/, access date 31.05.2006:

"After 1978, there were four major companies in the United States engaged in the manufacture, production and sale of Factor VIII and IX: Armour Pharmaceutical Company, Bayer Corporation and its Cutter Biological division, Baxter Healthcare and its Hyland Pharmaceutical division and Alpha Therapeutic Corporation, which have been or are defendants in certain lawsuits.

The plaintiffs allege that the companies manufactured and sold blood factor products as beneficial "medicines" that were, in fact of likely to be contaminated with HIV and/or HCV. This resulted in the mass infection and/or deaths of thousands of haemophiliacs worldwide.^[18]

It is believed that three of these companies, Alpha, Baxter, and Cutter, recruited and paid donors from high risk populations, including prisoners (i.e. prison-based collections), intravenous drug users, and plasma centers with predominantly homosexual donors, esp. in cities with large populations thereof, to obtain blood plasma used for the production of Factor VIII and IX. Plaintiffs allege that these companies failed to exclude donors, as mandated by federal law, with a history of viral hepatitis. Such testing could have substantially reduced the likelihood of plasma containing HIV and/ or HCV entering plasma pools."^[19]

Baycol[link]

After 52 deaths were blamed on an alleged side effect of Bayer's anticholesterol drug Baycol, its manufacture and sale were discontinued in 2001. The side effect was rhabdomyolysis, causing renal failure, which occurred with a tenfold greater frequency in patients treated with Baycol in comparison to those prescribed alternate medications of the statin class.^[20]

Methyl parathion poisoning case[link]

In October 2001, Bayer was taken to court after 24 children in the remote Andean village of Tauccamarca, Peru were killed and 18 severely poisoned when they drank a powdered milk substitute contaminated with the insecticide methyl parathion. A Peruvian Congressional Subcommittee found significant evidence of criminal responsibility by Bayer and the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture.^[21]

Medicaid reimbursement[link]

In January 2001, Bayer agreed to pay $14 million to the United States and 45 states to settle allegations under the federal False Claims Act that the company caused physicians and other health care providers to submit fraudulently inflated reimbursement claims to Medicaid.^[22]

2006 Trasylol safety advisory[link]

In September 2006, Bayer was faulted by the FDA for not revealing during testimony the existence of a commissioned retrospective study of 67,000 patients, 30,000 of whom received Trasylol and the rest other antifibrinolytics. The study concluded Trasylol carried greater risks. The FDA was alerted to the study by one of the researchers involved. Although the FDA issued a statement of concern, they did not change their recommendation that the drug may benefit certain patients. In a Public Health Advisory Update dated October 3, 2006, the FDA recommended "physicians consider limiting Trasylol use to those situations in which the clinical benefit of reduced blood loss is necessary to medical management and outweighs the potential risks" and carefully monitor patients.^[23] The FDA took Trasylol off the market on November 5, 2007.^[24]

Prostate cancer claims[link]

In October 2009, the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued Bayer for "falsely claiming that the selenium in Men's One-A-Day multivitamins might reduce the risk of prostate cancer." ^[25]

Neonicotinoid pesticides[link]

In December 2010, a leaked memo from the EPA’s Environmental Fate and Effects Division asserted “Clothianidin’s (Bayer's neonicotinoid pesticide) major risk concern is to non-target insects (that is, honey bees). Exposure through contaminated pollen and nectar and potential toxic effects therefore remain an uncertainty for pollinators.”^[26][27][28] In January 2011, Avaaz.org launched an online petition to ban neonicotinoid pesticides.^[29]

Chemical accidents[link]

On August 28, 2008, an explosion occurred at the Bayer CropScience facility at Institute, West Virginia. A runaway reaction ruptured a tank and the resulting explosion killed two employees. The ruptured tank was close to a methyl isocyanate tank which was undamaged by the explosion.^[30]

Awards and recognition[link]

In October 2008, Bayer's Canadian division was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Canadian division was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers by the Toronto Star newspaper.^[31] Bayer USA was given a score of 85 (out of 100) in the Human Rights Campaign's 2011 Corporate Equality Index, a measure of gay and lesbian workplace equality.^[32]

See also[link]

	Germany portal
	Medicine portal
	Companies portal

• List of German companies
• List of pharmaceutical companies
• Medical technologist

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Blaschke, Stefan (1999). Unternehmen und Gemeinde: Das Bayerwerk im Raum Leverkusen 1891-1914. Cologne: SH-Verlag, ISBN 3-89498-068-0
• Tenfelde, Klaus (2007). Stimmt die Chemie? : Mitbestimmung und Sozialpolitik in der Geschichte des Bayer-Konzerns. Essen: Klartext, ISBN 978-3-89861-888-5

External links[link]

• Official website
• http://www.cbgnetwork.org/index2.html Coalition against BAYER-Dangers
• http://www.wonderdrug.com/ The original Bayer Asprin
• 2008 Q&A with Bayer USA CEO Greg Babe

v t e DAX companies of Germany Adidas Allianz BASF Bayer Beiersdorf BMW Commerzbank Daimler Deutsche Bank Deutsche Börse Deutsche Post Deutsche Telekom E.ON Fresenius Fresenius Medical Care HeidelbergCement Henkel Infineon Technologies K+S Linde Lufthansa MAN Merck METRO Munich Re RWE SAP Siemens ThyssenKrupp Volkswagen

Beppe Grillo
Leader of the Five Star Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office October 4, 2009
Personal details
Born	(1948-07-21) 21 July 1948 (age 63) Genoa, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Five Star Movement
Relations	Married
Children	6
Occupation	Comedian, Activist, Politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	http://www.beppegrillo.it/

Giuseppe Piero Grillo, better known as Beppe Grillo (born 21 July 1948), is an Italian activist, blogger, comedian and actor. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as leader of the Five Star Movement.

Biography[link]

Grillo was born in Genoa, Liguria.

After receiving his degree as an accountant, Grillo became a comedian by chance, improvising a monologue in an audition. Two weeks later he was discovered and launched by Italian TV presenter Pippo Baudo. He subsequently participated in the variety show Secondo Voi for two years (1977–78). Later, in 1979, he participated in Luna Park by Enzo Trapani, and Fantastico.

In the 1980s his success rose further, thanks to shows like Te la do io l'America (1982, 4 episodes) and Te lo do io il Brasile (1984, six episodes). In these shows, he narrated his experiences of his visits to the United States and Brazil, with anecdotes and witticisms about the culture, lifestyle and beauty of these places.

As a result, his popularity grew more and more, and he became the protagonist of another show developed especially for him, called Grillometro (Grillometer). In 1986, he was the star of prize-winning advertisements for a brand of yogurt.

Soon after this, his performances began to be characterized by an increasing level of political satire, often expressed in such a direct way that he quickly offended a lot of Italian politicians. In 1987 during the Saturday night TV show Fantastico 7, he attacked the Italian Socialist Party and its leader Bettino Craxi, then Italy's Prime Minister, on the occasion of his visit in the People's Republic of China. Grillo said:

If the Chinese are all socialists, whom do they steal from?

The joke hinted at the totalitarianism of the PRC, but even more to the widespread corruption for which the Italian Socialist Party was known. As a consequence, Grillo was effectively and silently banished from publicly owned television; yet, he was vindicated a few years later when the Italian Socialist Party had to be disbanded in a welter of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli, uncovered by the Mani pulite investigation. Craxi himself died in Tunisia, unable to return to Italy where he would have been jailed for several convictions.

Consequently, from the beginning of the 1990s his appearances on television became rare: according to many people, the reason for this is a silent ostracism by politicians offended by his revelations about their hidden financial activities, frauds and false claims. When one of his shows was finally allowed to be broadcast by RAI, in 1993, it obtained a record share of 16 million viewers. He was later banned definitively from Italian television.

He currently performs in theatres in Italy and abroad, often with outstanding success.^[1] Grillo's themes include energy usage, political and corporate corruption, finance, freedom of speech, child labour, globalization, and technology. Recently Grillo started to encourage the use of Wikipedia as the future of knowledge sharing, and generally he is a strong proponent of internet freedom.^[2]

Political activism[link]

Beppe Grillo in Bologna speaking at V-Day.

Grillo has spearheaded several national and international political campaigns. On Sept. 8, 2007, he organized a "V-Day Celebration" in Italy; the "V" stood for vendetta, vengeance, and vaffanculo ("fuck off"). During the rally, Grillo projected the names of two dozen Italian politicians who had been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption and tax evasion to abetting a murder. More than 2 million Italians participated in this rally.^[3] Grillo also used this rally to urge Italians to sign a petition calling for the introduction of a Bill of Popular Initiative to remove members of the Italian Parliament who have criminal convictions of any kind from their office.^[4] According to Internet scholars, V–day was the first case in Italian history of a political demonstration developed and promoted via word–of–mouth mobilization on the blogosphere and the social web.^[5]

This was followed by the second V-Day on 25 April 2008, in Turin, S.Carlo square. This V-Day was dedicated to the Italian press and its government financial support; Grillo heavily criticized the Italian press for the lack of freedom; Umberto Veronesi (about his support for incinerators); NATO bases in Italy, the politicians (Silvio Berlusconi had recently been re-elected) and Retequattro, still holding on to TV frequencies already assigned to Europa 7 [2].

Beppe Grillo in Turin during electoral campaign.

On 1 September 2005, thanks to contributions from readers of his blog, Grillo bought a full page advertisement in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in which he called for the resignation of the Bank of Italy's (then) governor Antonio Fazio over the Antonveneta banking scandal. In October 2005, Time chose him as one of the "European Heroes 2005" for his constant battle against corruption and financial scandals.^[6]

On 22 November 2005 Grillo also bought a page in the International Herald Tribune, again claiming that members of the Italian Parliament ought not to represent citizens if they have ever been convicted in a court of law, even in the first degree of the three available in the Italian system.^[7] His blog now contains a regularly updated list of members of the Italian Parliament who have been convicted in all three degrees, in what he calls "operation Clean Parliament".^[8] Grillo claimed, in 2007, that data suggested that even Scampia, the most dangerous suburb of Naples and one of the areas with the highest crime rate in Europe, actually had a lower crime rate than the Italian parliament's membership.^[9]

On 26 July 2007 Grillo was permitted to speak to the members of the European Parliament in Brussels, where he drew attention to the dangerous, negative state of current Italian politics.^[10]

In August 2008, Grillo was the subject of a report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent". Titled "The Clown Prince" the report profiled Grillo's life, political activism, V Day campaign, and use of the internet as a political tool.^[11]

In 2010, he started a political movement called "Movimento 5 stelle" ("Movement five stars"), without the desire to be a leader and to be elected, but only to join, by the Internet, people who believe in ideals like honesty and direct democracy, and saying that politicians are only subordinates of the people and that they should work for the country only for a short time and only if they are not condemned for crimes, and thinking about the problems of their country without any other interest. The movement will be truly a party chance only from the next political round, when they will purpose their name not only in some regions but also in the political elections. The five stars represent the five basic points of the shared program: Water, Environment, Transport, Connectivity, Growth.

Beppegrillo.it[link]

Grillo maintains a blog (available in Italian, English and Japanese) at beppegrillo.it which is updated daily. Comments to posts regularly top the thousands (in the Italian version). According to Technorati, the blog is ranked among the 10 most visited blogs in the world. In 2008, The Guardian ranked Grillo's blog among the world's most powerful blogs.^[12]

Grillo often receives letters of appreciation and support from prominent figures, such as Antonio Di Pietro (former Italian Minister of Infrastructures), Fausto Bertinotti (former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies), Renzo Piano, and even Nobel Prize Winners (like Dario Fo, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Dalai Lama, Muhammad Yunus).^[13]

Legal issues[link]

In 1980 he was found guilty of manslaughter for a car accident in which he was the driver; three passengers lost their lives.^[14]

During his shows Grillo never hesitates to name firms and personalities he considers corrupt, always supporting his views with data and documents^{[citation needed]}. For this reason he has been sued several times for libel by many people and organizations which he had exposed, such as Telecom Italia.

When Italian judges were investigating the Parmalat scandal, which was then the world's largest corporate bankruptcy scandal ever, Grillo was called to testify as he anticipated the imminent collapse of the dairy conglomerate in one of his shows. When he was asked by judges how he has been able to discover that, he simply said that Parmalat's financial holes were so evident that anybody who had enough ability to see them would see them, since the corporate accounting was easily accessible.^[15]

Criticism[link]

Grillo is often criticized for his lifestyle. In particular, critics blame him for owning a motor yacht and a Ferrari sports car, both being in contradiction with his well known ecologist stance. In his blog he admits that he did, in fact, acquire both but has since sold them.^[14]

Grillo is also criticized for taking advantage of the Condono Tombale, a fiscal amnesty granted by the first Berlusconi government in 2001, which Grillo publicly opposed.^[16] Grillo commented on this issue during the V-Day demonstration. He said that he had personally benefitted by only €500^{[citation needed]}.

Grillo has proposed that members of the Italian Parliament who have a criminal record should be barred from public office. As Grillo himself has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter caused by a car accident^[14] his critics^[who?] say he has no right to represent Italians either. Grillo has always stated that he is not interested in becoming a member of the Italian Parliament anyway.^[14] Despite this, in July 2009 he publicly expressed his intention to present himself as a candidate for the PD's primary elections^[17] which, however, does not imply automatic presence in the Italian parliament.

Another proposal of his is that members of Parliament be limited to two government terms of office after which they might not stand again. Detractors^[who?] argue that this would shorten the political life of competent and expert politicians, usually drawing Alcide De Gasperi, Aldo Moro and Enrico Berlinguer as examples of brilliant politicians who served more than two terms. Marco Travaglio replied that, for that sake, also the political life of much less popular Clemente Mastella would have suffered.^[18]

Grillo is criticized as being a mere demagogue who attacks politicians on superficial issues and their private lives while unable to provide a valid alternative. For instance, Daniele Luttazzi, famous Italian satirist, criticized Grillo in 2007 in an open letter published on the website of the news magazine Micromega. Luttazzi accused Grillo of being a "demagogue" and a "populist", suggesting Grillo to choose between satire and politics, asserting the two are incompatible.^[19]

In 2007 Grillo criticized the "Memorial Day of Foibe Massacres and Istrian-Dalmatian exodus" and the President of the Italian Repubblic Giorgio Napolitano^[20]

Filmography[link]

Grillo has appeared in three movies:

• Cercasi Gesù (1982)
• Scemo di Guerra (1985)
• Topo Galileo (1987)

In 2008, Grillo featured in the documentary, The Beppe Grillo Story, produced by Banyak Films for Al Jazeera English.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official websites[link]

• The English version of Beppe Grillo's personal blog
• Beppe Grillo's fans meeting map around the world

Other resources[link]

• 'Time' article about Grillo
• 'New York Times' video about Grillo
• 'New Yorker' Beppe’s Inferno

Osvaldo Bayer. Linz Am Rhein, 1999

Osvaldo Bayer (Santa Fe Province, Argentina, 18 February 1927) is a journalist and scriptwriter. He lives in Buenos Aires, and in Linz Am Rhine, Germany, where he went into exile during the "National Reorganization Process" dictatorship (1976–1983).^[1]

Biography[link]

Self-designed as an "ultra-pacifist anarchist", Osvaldo Bayer was raised in Bernal, in the Province of Buenos Aires, and then in Belgrano, Buenos Aires.^[1] His parents, however, were living in Rio Gallegos during the strike in the 1920s which led to the Patagonia rebelde movement.^[1]

After having worked for an insurance firm and on the merchant marine as an apprentice helmsman,^[1] he studied history in the University of Hamburg, Germany, from 1952 to 1956, and became there a member of the Socialist Students’ League.^[1]

Returning to Argentina afterwards, he dedicated himself to journalism, investigation, and history of Argentina, as well as writing film scenarios. He also studied medicine a year, then philosophy at Buenos Aires. According to him,

Disgusted by local socialist policies, he turned towards the Federación Libertaria Argentina (FLA), having already been acquainted to anarchist literature during his time in the German Socialist Students' League.^[1]

Furthermore, he founded the Department of Human Rights in the School of Philosophy and Humanities of the University of Buenos Aires.^[1]

He worked in the newspapers Noticias Gráficas, Clarin and Esquel, a local newspaper in the Patagonese town of Esquel. In 1958 he founded La Chispa ("The Spark"), "the first independent newspaper of Patagonia".

A year later, he was accused by Pedro Aramburu's military regime of diffusing strategic information, and forced by the National Gendarmerie to quit Esquel.^[1] Thereafter, Bayer was from 1959 to 1962 general secretary of the Press Syndicate. Immediately after being expelled from Esquel, he was hired by the national daily Diario Clarín, where he became Chief of Politics' section. He had, under his direction, the journalist Félix Luna, who founded in 1963 the history magazine Todo es Historia, to which Bayer collaborated.^[1]

In 1963, he was arrested for 63 days by General Juan Enrique Rauch, then Minister of Interior^{[citation needed]} under José María Guido's government, appointed by the military^[1] and little-son of Colonel Federico Rauch, for having unsuccessfully proposed during a debate in the library of Rauch (Buenos Aires Province) a plebiscite in order to rename the town to Arbolito, the nickname of the Ranquel (a tribe close to the Mapuche) who had allegedly killed the German militar in battle in 1829. Rauch was qualified by Bayer as guilty of genocide.^{[citation needed]}

During María Estela Martínez de Perón's regime, Bayer was threatened several times, due to the content of his work, and mainly of his book La Patagonia rebelde, on the crushing of a rural workers uprising in Patagonia during the early 1920s, under Hipólito Yrigoyen's rule. He was therefore forced to exile himself to Berlin in 1975, while the "Dirty War" was beginning, and only returned after Raúl Alfonsín's 1983 election and the transition to democracy.

Bayer's first book, on the Italian anarchist Severino Di Giovanni, a best-seller, was proscribed by President Raúl Alberto Lastiri (1973); La Patagonia Rebelde, his second work, by Isabel Perón, and other were burnt by the military after they took power in 1976. Francesco Rosi, who directed the Christ Stopped at Eboli, was supposed to make a film adaptation of his book on Di Giovanni, but renounced after the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing, saying it was not the time to make a film on a terrorist.^[1]

Transition to democracy[link]

He was nominated Doctor Honoris Causa on 20 April 2003 by the Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires for his work in the fields of human rights, literature and journalism. On this day, he alluded to his forced exile, stating that:

Bayer is today involved in the struggle for Indigenous rights. Fifteen days after having been declared "Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires" by the mayor Aníbal Ibarra, he was declared persona non grata by the Senate (an initiative of Eduardo Menem) for having proposed the unification of the Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia, as the "first step for a common Latin-American market".^[3]

As of 2008, he collaborates with the newspaper Página 12, founded by his friend Osvaldo Soriano (1943–1997). He is the author of the scenario of the film La Patagonia Rebelde, adapted from his book and realized by Héctor Olivera, which won the Silver Bear Award in the 1974 Berlin International Film Festival. He also wrote the screenplay of the 1988 film La Amiga, a drama on the dictatorship.

Bibliography[link]

• Severino Di Giovanni, el idealista de la violencia. Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Galerna, Buenos Aires (1970).
• La Patagonia rebelde (tomos I y II). Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Galerna, Buenos Aires (1972).
• La Patagonia rebelde (tomo III). Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Galerna, Buenos Aires (1974).
• Los anarquistas expropiadores y otros ensayos. Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Galerna, Buenos Aires (1975).
• La Patagonia rebelde (tomo IV). Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, 1975, Berlin.
• Exilio. Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer y Juan Gelman, editorial Legasa, Buenos Aires (1984).
• Fútbol argentino. Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires (1990).
• Rebeldía y esperanza. Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Grupo Editorial Zeta, Buenos Aires (1993).
• Severino Di Giovanni, el idealista de la violencia (reedición). Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Planeta, Buenos Aires (1998). ISBN 987-580-092-9
• En camino al paraíso. Ensayo. Osvaldo Bayer, editorial Vergara, Buenos Aires (1999).
• Rainer y Minou. Novela. Osvaldo Bayer, Editorial Planeta, Buenos Aires, (2001).

Filmography[link]

• Los cuentos del timonel by Eduardo Montes-Bradley. The film features Osvaldo Bayer in Germany. Argentina, 2001.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Documentos de Osvaldo Bayer
• Osvaldo Bayer page Anarchist Encyclopedia (English)
• Osvaldo Bayer, la Patagonia rebelde. La escritura de la memoria.
• Artículo de Bayer en Página12 referido a un caso de la problemática de los Pueblos Originarios

Ane Brun
Background information
Birth name	Ane Brunvoll
Born	(1976-03-10) 10 March 1976 (age 36)
Origin	Molde, Norway
Genres	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1998–present
Labels	DetErMine, Balloon Ranger Recordings
Website	www.anebrun.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

Ane Brun (Norwegian pronunciation: [ɑnə brʉn]) (born Ane Brunvoll on 10 March 1976 in Molde, Norway) is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist.^[1] Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, four of which are studio albums, a live DVD and a collection of duets. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden since 2001, where she writes, records and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings) when not on tour.

History[link]

After growing up in Molde, Norway she moved from her home town in 1995 and spent the next few years moving between Barcelona, Oslo and Bergen. In Bergen she began writing her own material while at university (jumping between courses in Spanish, law and music) as well as making a living working in record shops and bars.

After playing a few minor shows and recording her first demos in Bergen in 1999, she moved to Sweden, first to Uppsala and then to Stockholm in 2001, where she started to take her musical career seriously.

Ane recorded her debut album Spending Time with Morgan in 2002 in both Stockholm and back in Uppsala, with engineers and producers Katharina Nuttall, Cécile Grudet and Kim Nelson. It was released on the label, DetErMine, which she formed with Ellekari Larsson from Swedish band The Tiny. The debut album came out in 11 European countries in 2003 through a licence/distribution deal with V2 Music.

After releasing the first album Ane toured around Europe but soon took some time out. She had been working intensively for two years and felt somewhat burnt out and in need of a break. After a six month breather she started touring around Europe again and within the next year had her second album ready. A Temporary Dive was again produced by Katharina Nuttall and was released in 2005 throughout Europe, followed by the UK and the US in 2006, and in Japan in 2007. This album took the darker themes of Spending Time With Morgan further, through songs like "The Fight Song" and title track "A Temporary Dive", but there was also space for the lighter "Song No. 6", a duet with Ron Sexsmith.

A Temporary Dive was well received all over the world, picking up good reviews in magazines and newspapers from Time Magazine to The Independent. She received award nominations from all over Europe too, and that year took home the Spellemannpris, the equivalent of the Norwegian Grammies, for Best Female Artist.

After enjoying the collaboration on the previous few duets she had recorded, Ane was inspired to ask some artists whom she adored to sing with her on a full album called Duets. This album was released in November 2005 and besides another recording with Ron Sexsmith it also included songs with artists such as Syd Matters and Teitur. The collaboration with the band Madrugada on the single "Lift Me" gained her another Norwegian Grammy.

Ane spent much of the next couple of years touring the world in many different stage arrangements. She has played with a full band including string section, just herself and string section at times, sometimes just a cello, perhaps with one backing vocalist – or maybe three. Of course it all started with her and the acoustic guitar, so she often ends up coming back to these solo performances too. "There is something about the focus in playing by myself that fascinates me", she says. "There’s nothing to hide behind when I’m alone on stage and it becomes almost meditative for me when I play."

One of her tours was with a string quintet, and it was recorded and released as Live in Scandinavia (2007) and featured Nina Kinert and the guitarist Staffan Johansson. The album includes songs from Ane's first two albums with new string arrangements by Malene Bay-Foged.

In 2008 she released her third studio album, Changing of the Seasons, which was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Múm, Coco Rosie). It included string arrangements by American composer Nico Muhly (Antony and the Johnsons, Grizzly Bear, The Reader soundtrack). Later the same year came the album Sketches which included acoustic, demo versions of the songs on Changing of the Seasons. The Sketches tour featured a stripped down, sparse sound and now touring with musicians Rebekka Karijord, Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson, there were memorable gigs in places such as the Union Chapel in London.

Back on the road, a concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall was filmed and released as an album and live DVD in 2009. Late in 2009, Ane organised the No More Lullabies concert to bring attention to the issues of climate justice. She assembled 24 well-known Swedish artists such as Robyn, Loney, Dear, Titiyo and Benny Andersson of ABBA to take part in seven hours of live music and visuals to mark the International Day of Climate Action on October 24, 2009. They succeeded in drawing attention to the issue before the upcoming COP15 conference.

Ane featured as one of the guests on Peter Gabriel's 2011 studio album New Blood, singing on the re-recorded version of "Don't Give Up", recorded in 2010. She was subsequently invited to perform with him as support act and back-up singer on the New Blood tour throughout 2010.

In late 2011 Ane released her fourth studio album It All Starts with One, produced by Tobias Fröberg.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Spending Time with Morgan (2003) (#19 NO)
• A Temporary Dive (2005) (#1 NO) (#12 SWE) - Platinum
• Duets (2005) (#2 NO) - 2× Platinum
• Live in Scandinavia (2007) (#11 NO) (#12 SWE)
• Changing of the Seasons (2008) (#1 NO) (#2 SWE) - Gold
• Sketches (2008)
• Live at Stockholm Concert Hall (2009) (#2 NO DVD) (#7 SWE)
• It All Starts with One (2011) (#1 SWE #1 NO)

EPs[link]

• "My Lover Will Go" (2004)

Singles[link]

• "Are They Saying Goodbye" (2003)
• "Humming One of Your Songs" (2003)
• "I Shot My Heart" (2004)
• "Song No. 6" (2005)
• "Lift Me" - Madrugada feat. Ane Brun (2005) (#1 NO)
• "Rubber & Soul" feat. Teitur (2006)
• "Balloon Ranger" (2006)
• "Headphone Silence" (Henrik Schwarz/DF Remix) (2008)
• "Big in Japan" (2008) (#3 SWE)
• "True Colors" (2008) (#5 SWE)
• "To Let Myself Go" (Malkyl Remix) (2009)
• "Do You Remember" (2011)

Also appears on[link]

• "Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia" 3CD-album (Nascente, 2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ane Brun

• Official web site