Aa
Forget what you think about Assange, read about the TPP- scarey stuff
Julian Assange on the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Secretive Deal Isn’t About Trade, But Corporate Control
As negotiations continue, WikiLeaks has published leaked chapters of the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership — a global trade deal between the United States and 11 other countries. The TPP would cover 40 percent of the global economy, but details have been concealed from the public. A recently disclosed "Investment Chapter" highlights the intent of U.S.-led negotiators to create a tribunal where corporations can sue governments if their laws interfere with a company’s claimed future profits. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange warns the plan could chill the adoption of health and environmental regulations.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, the TPP is an international treaty that has 29 different chapters. We have released four of them, and we are trying to get the remainder. For the information that has been released, through the chapters that we got hold of and through some congressmen who have seen the contents of some of the others, but they are not allowed to write it down—
OK, so it’s a—the largest-ever international economic treaty that has ever been negotiated, very considerably larger than NAFTA. It is mostly not about trade. Only five of the 29 chapters are about traditional trade. The others are about regulating the Internet and what Internet—Internet service providers have to collect information. They have to hand it over to companies under certain circumstances. It’s about regulating labor, what labor conditions can be applied, regulating, whether you can favor local industry, regulating the hospital healthcare system, privatization of hospitals. So, essentially, every aspect of the modern economy, even banking services, are in the TPP.
And so, that is erecting and embedding new, ultramodern neoliberal structure in U.S. law and in the laws of the other countries that are participating, and is putting it in a treaty form. And by putting it in a treaty form, that means—with 14 countries involved, means it’s very, very hard to overturn. So if there’s a desire, democratic desire, in the United States to go down a different path—for example, to introduce more public transport—then you can’t easily change the TPP treaty, because you have to go back and get agreement of the other nations involved.
Now, looking at that example, what if the government or a state government decides it wants to build a hospital somewhere, and there’s a private hospital, has been erected nearby? Well, the TPP gives the constructor of the private hospital the right to sue the government over the expected—the loss in expected future profits. This is expected future profits. This is not an actual loss that has been sustained, where there’s desire to be compensated; this is a claim about the future. And we know from similar instruments where governments can be sued over free trade treaties that that is used to construct a chilling effect on environmental and health regulation law. For example, Togo, Australia, Uruguay are all being sued by tobacco companies, Philip Morris the leading one, to prevent them from introducing health warnings on the cigarette packets.
more:
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/27/julian_assange_on_the_trans_pacific
As negotiations continue, WikiLeaks has published leaked chapters of the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership — a global trade deal between the United States and 11 other countries. The TPP would cover 40 percent of the global economy, but details have been concealed from the public. A recently disclosed "Investment Chapter" highlights the intent of U.S.-led negotiators to create a tribunal where corporations can sue governments if their laws interfere with a company’s claimed future profits. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange warns the plan could chill the adoption of health and environmental regulations.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, the TPP is an international treaty that has 29 different chapters. We have released four of them, and we are trying to get the remainder. For the information that has been released, through the chapters that we got hold of and through some congressmen who have seen the contents of some of the others, but they are not allowed to write it down—
OK, so it’s a—the largest-ever international economic treaty that has ever been negotiated, very considerably larger than NAFTA. It is mostly not about trade. Only five of the 29 chapters are about traditional trade. The others are about regulating the Internet and what Internet—Internet service providers have to collect information. They have to hand it over to companies under certain circumstances. It’s about regulating labor, what labor conditions can be applied, regulating, whether you can favor local industry, regulating the hospital healthcare system, privatization of hospitals. So, essentially, every aspect of the modern economy, even banking services, are in the TPP.
And so, that is erecting and embedding new, ultramodern neoliberal structure in U.S. law and in the laws of the other countries that are participating, and is putting it in a treaty form. And by putting it in a treaty form, that means—with 14 countries involved, means it’s very, very hard to overturn. So if there’s a desire, democratic desire, in the United States to go down a different path—for example, to introduce more public transport—then you can’t easily change the TPP treaty, because you have to go back and get agreement of the other nations involved.
Now, looking at that example, what if the government or a state government decides it wants to build a hospital somewhere, and there’s a private hospital, has been erected nearby? Well, the TPP gives the constructor of the private hospital the right to sue the government over the expected—the loss in expected future profits. This is expected future profits. This is not an actual loss that has been sustained, where there’s desire to be compensated; this is a claim about the future. And we know from similar instruments where governments can be sued over free trade treaties that that is used to construct a chilling effect on environmental and health regulation law. For example, Togo, Australia, Uruguay are all being sued by tobacco companies, Philip Morris the leading one, to prevent them from introducing health warnings on the cigarette packets.
more:
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/27/julian_assange_on_the_trans_pacific
Well if we cross Carter off the list then I'm back to Kennedy and I was only a little kid when he was pres !
Don’t get the “Post President Jimmy Carter” con fused with “The President Jimmy Carter. The “Post President Jimmy Carter” has a list of good deeds under his belt, but as far as his Presidency, not so much, I rate him 2nd to last on the list. How ever, I did enjoy his brother Billy. At a fundraiser in Atlanta, The auctioneer made a mistake and cost me a 6 pack of “Billy Beer I bid $20.00 and the auctioneer got confused and thought it was the guy I was biddy against. Long story short, the other guy walked away with my6 pack of “Billy Beer.
I've begun to think the last good president we had was Jimmy Carter and I didn't think he was so great at the time !
Nope
I don't consider myself a "real" Republican either, but I'm registered that way, too. I agree that it was disaster; I'm just saying, it's not over yet...
"Well, it could never be worse......'
I quit using that phrase because it seemed like ever time I said it, something happened to prove me wrong. As much as I hated Sadaam but, I knew killing him would be a mistake. A dictator is what is needed to keep things at bay. We can’t force democracy on anyone. That’s something they will have to fight and be willing to die for themselves. We helped create this mess and unless we plan on staying over there until the end of time, there is not anything we can do. It is no secrete that I dislike Obama but sooner or later we had to pull out and he made the call. Leaving more troops there would only prolong the inevitable and fill up more body bags. We did all we could to prepare them. I don’t really consider myself a Republican but that’s how I’m registered so, I’ll be the first to admit, It was a disaster. The closest they will ever come to peace is when he is replaced with another dictator. If it’s not to late,
I quit using that phrase because it seemed like ever time I said it, something happened to prove me wrong. As much as I hated Sadaam but, I knew killing him would be a mistake. A dictator is what is needed to keep things at bay. We can’t force democracy on anyone. That’s something they will have to fight and be willing to die for themselves. We helped create this mess and unless we plan on staying over there until the end of time, there is not anything we can do. It is no secrete that I dislike Obama but sooner or later we had to pull out and he made the call. Leaving more troops there would only prolong the inevitable and fill up more body bags. We did all we could to prepare them. I don’t really consider myself a Republican but that’s how I’m registered so, I’ll be the first to admit, It was a disaster. The closest they will ever come to peace is when he is replaced with another dictator. If it’s not to late,
And the Iraqi War is still not over!!
Well, it could never be worse for this country than the Iraq War!
And I know republicans are incapable of admitting that terrible truth.
And I know republicans are incapable of admitting that terrible truth.
Whatever his original intention, he hasn't been good for the country and if this passes, it will be even worse than most of the other things he's done.
Honestly, I don't think his intention is to knock down the US, I think like too many in office, his intention has become to fill his pockets to overflowing.
"Of all the damaging things Obama's done, if this goes through, I fear it may be the worst."
Could not agree more... I thought he was supposed to be "our" President and it sure looks like he's trying to do everything he can to knock down the U.S.
Could not agree more... I thought he was supposed to be "our" President and it sure looks like he's trying to do everything he can to knock down the U.S.
If your fears are on point, this is yet another perfect example of how little control "we they people" really have.
I'll probably always be more conservative than liberal but think I'm rooted pretty soundly in the middle. The more I pull back and get a bigger view of the picture, I see an even bigger nightmare than I thought I saw in the past.
I'll probably always be more conservative than liberal but think I'm rooted pretty soundly in the middle. The more I pull back and get a bigger view of the picture, I see an even bigger nightmare than I thought I saw in the past.
Right, why would anyone vote for something they haven't read let alone be supporting it ?? Why isn't the public allowed to know anything about this. Why do we have to go to wikileaks for information.
I fear this is not a good thing for anyone other than a few big corporations.
The idea that a corporation could sue someone for suspected damage to future profits is scarey. Big AG in China could sue small American farmers and according to TPP, the farmers would have no recourse.
Of all the damaging things Obama's done, if this goes through, I fear it may be the worst.
I fear this is not a good thing for anyone other than a few big corporations.
The idea that a corporation could sue someone for suspected damage to future profits is scarey. Big AG in China could sue small American farmers and according to TPP, the farmers would have no recourse.
Of all the damaging things Obama's done, if this goes through, I fear it may be the worst.
This is where some of the transparency I wanted would come in handy.
I've been trying to figure out for a while, why so many in Congress are for a treaty that's being withheld from the public like this one is. Why would they have to go into a private room to read it, why can't they talk about it and why aren't more of them going to read it?
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