TISA - IMPOSING CORPORATE WISH LISTS by UNDEMOCRATIC MEANS

ministry of tokyo TISA IMPOSING CORPORATE WISH LISTS by UNDEMOCRATIC MEANS via @WikiLeaks SUMMARY SUMMARY from SOURCE https://systemicdisorder.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/TiSA-worse-than-tpp/ TITLE TPP is not dead:  It’s now called the Trade In Services Agreement (TiSA) Trans-Pacific Partnership or the so-called “free trade” regime is NOT buried countries involved in negotiating the TPP ARE seeking to find ways to RESURRECT it in NEW FORM TPP  remains alive in a NEW FORM with EVEN WORSE RULES Trade In Services Agreement,  even more secret than the Trans-Pacific Partnership And more dangerous Trade In Services Agreement (TiSA) being negotiated among 50 countries to: -- prohibit regulations on the financial industry -- eliminate laws to safeguard online or digital privacy -- render illegal any “buy local” rules at any level of government -- effectively dismantle public advantages derived from state-owned enterprises -- eliminate net neutrality TiSA negotiations began in April 2013  / gone through 21 rounds we only know what’s in it because of leaks: 1. earlier ones published by WikiLeaks 2. new cache published January 29 by Bilaterals.org Earlier draft versions of TiSA’s language would PROHIBIT any restrictions on: -- the size, expansion (or entry) of FINANCIAL companies -- ban on new REGULATIONS -- incl. a specific ban on any law that separates COMMERCIAL and INVESTMENT banking -- ie. equivalent of the U.S. Glass-Steagall Act it would BAN restrictions on: -- transfer of any data collected (incl. across borders); -- placing social security systems at risk of privatization or elimination; -- ending Internet privacy and net neutrality; TiSA is the backup plan in event of failure to implement: --  Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Parties to reconvene 2017, according to Australian govt statement however: governmental trade offices negotiating TiSA have not announced the next negotiating date ~ potentially as a precaution [circumvention], in effort to avoid the spotlight on FREE TRADE that derailed TPP Cover story for why TiSA is being negotiated is that it would uphold the right to hire the accountant or engineer of your choice - in reality is intended to enable: - the FINANCIAL industry - and INTERNET companies - to run roughshod over countries around the WORLD LIBERALISATION 'PROFESSIONAL SERVICES' > MANUFACTURING “liberalization” of PROFESSIONAL services is being promoted -- DEFINITION of “services” is being EXPANDED in order to stretch the category to encompass MANUFACTURING Deborah James Centre for Economy and Policy Research re: scope of this proposal: “Corporations no longer consider setting up a plant and producing goods to be simply ‘manufacturing goods.’  activity is now is BROKEN DOWN into: -- research and development services -- design services -- legal services -- real estate services -- architecture services -- engineering services -- construction services -- energy services -- employment contracting services -- consulting services -- manufacturing services -- adult education services -- payroll services -- maintenance services -- refuse disposal services -- warehousing services -- data management services -- telecommunications services -- audiovisual services -- banking services -- accounting services -- insurance services -- transportation services -- distribution services -- marketing services -- retail services -- postal and expedited delivery services -- and after-sales servicing -- [plus more] WORLD'S governments, on behalf of multi-national CAPITAL are DENYING the public INFORMATION -- many have neglected to update their official pages re TiSA in MONTHS Following are negotiating TiSA: -- European Union (on behalf of its 28 member countries) -- United States -- Canada -- Mexico -- Australia -- New Zealand -- Japan -- South Korea -- Taiwan -- Chile -- Colombia -- Peru -- Norway -- Switzerland -- Pakistan and Turkey New TRUMP admin is SILENT re TiSA USA - Office of the U.S. Trade Representative web site still says: “TiSA is part of  the Obama Administration’s ongoing effort to create economic opportunity for U.S. workers and businesses by expanding trade opportunities.” President Donald Trump is NOT against “free trade” deals Trump: claims he can do it better -- issued blustery calls for “fair deals” -- braggadocio puffing up Donald Trump’s supposed negotiating prowess typical White House passage: “To carry out his strategy, the President is appointing the toughest and smartest to his trade team, ensuring that Americans have the best negotiators possible. For too long, trade deals have been negotiated by, and for, members of the Washington establishment.” DENIAL of INFORMATION typical of the TiSA negotiators -- made good progress in working towards ... -- finding pathways towards solving ... outstanding issues -- conducted a stocktaking session to assess ... progress -- agreed to a comprehensive stocktake of the negotiations in addition to: discredited, boilerplate public-relations puffery, offered by various government trade offices one hint that TiSA negotiations are experiencing difficulty U.S. Congressional Research Service report (January 3, 2017) " ... U.S. position under a new administration is unclear,  the parties canceled the planned December 2016 meeting ... but ... meeting to determine ... to move forward in 2017" M.U.B.A.  MAKE UNRESTRICTED BANKING AGAIN TRUMP admin  moving quickly to ELIMINATE: Tepid  DODD-FRANK ACT financial-industry reforms TiSA’s provisions to dismantle financial regulation globally would not be a problem at all THAT talks are not progressing at the present -- does not mean the world can relax -- it took years of cross-border organizing & popular education to stop the TPP -- this effort will have to replicated if TiSA is to be HALTED Bilaterals.org COMMENTARY accompanying publication of several TiSA chapters stresses -- Trans-Pacific Partnership, despite its apparent defeat -- is being used as the MODEL for the: Trade In Services Agreement -- thus risk of the TPP becoming the “new norm” “Several proposed texts from the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement have been transferred to TiSA — incl. ... -- STATE-owned enterprises -- rights to hold data OFFSHORE (incl. financial data) -- e-commerce -- prohibitions on PERFORMANCE requirements for foreign investors TiSA -- texts originated with the United States -- supported by other parties to the TPP / even governments -- reluctant to agree to same in the TPP -- no longer bound by TPP suggests the TPP may become the new norm DESPITE only having been ratified in two of the 12 countries -- done on the basis of U.S. participation that no longer applies -- TPP cannot be allowed to become -- the new ‘default’ position for these flawed agreements” 1. most extreme measures have been dropped (at least for now) 2. much of the text is not agreed Bilaterals.org reports: -- effectiveness of opposition to TiSA -- has led governments to conclude they CANNOT SELL    some of the more extreme proposals -- thus dropped from previous leaked texts BUT -- fetters on the rights and responsibilities of governments    to REGULATE in the INTERESTS of citizens -- would still go FURTHER than ANY single other agreement -- no improvements on: -- inadequate protections for HEALTH -- inadequate protections for ENVIRONMENT -- inadequate protections for PRIVACY -- inadequate protections for WORKERS -- inadequate protections for HUMAN RIGHTS -- inadequate protections for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NOTHING to prevent DEVELOPING countries -- becoming even more vulnerable and dependent -- in an already unequal and unfair global economy TiSA would PROHIBIT developing countries -- from adopting MEASURES that countries like the United States -- used to facilitate industrial development (19th century) Sanya Reid Smith Third World Network international coalition specializing in development issues in an analysis for WikiLeaks: “[T]he proposals in this text RESTRICT the ability of developing countries to USE the development paths taken by many of the developed TiSA countries ... -- developed countries ‘kicking away the ladder’ after they have climbed up -- to prevent developing countries from developing the same way -- in TiSA, the USA is proposing restrictions on host countries -- being able to require senior managers be CITIZENS of the host country -- BUT as capital importer, the USA had the OPPOSITE law: -- 1885 USA contract labour law PROHIBITED the import of foreign workers -- USA required senior managers (and all other staff) be Americans -- ie. increasing the chances of skills being passed to locals TiSA -- proposals are more extreme than language in existing bilateral trade agreements -- many of TiSA’s provisions are lifted from TPP -- some go beyond TiSA’s already extreme proposals -- eg. the ENTIRE ELIMINATION of REGULATIONS of ANY kind against the FINANCIAL INDUSTRY - Article 14 of TiSA’s annex on financial services: - had contained the most explicit language prohibiting regulation (removed) - Article 9 of TiSA’s annex on financial services: - still contains language requiring NO LIMITATIONS beyond those applying to DOMESTIC financial firms - a smaller country -- would be required to allow a giant bank from a bigger country -- to TAKE OVER ITS ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM REGULATIONS against financial derivatives YET to be invented would be ILLEGAL Public Citizen analysis: “TiSA would require governments to allow any new financial products and services — including ones not yet invented — to be sold within their territories. The TiSA Annex on Financial Services clearly states that TiSA governments ‘shall permit’ foreign-owned firms to introduce any new financial product or service, so long as it does not require a new law or a change to an existing law.” - Article 21 of TiSA’s annex on financial services: - requires that any government that offers financial products through its postal service - LESSEN the QUALITY of its products - so that those are NO better than what PRIVATE CORPORATIONS offer CAUSE FOR ALARM Article 1 of the financial-services annex states: -- activities forming part of a statutory system of social security or public retirement plans -- are specifically covered by TiSA -- as are - activities conducted by a CENTRAL BANK or monetary authority - or by ANY OTHER PUBLIC ENTITY in pursuit of monetary or exchange-rate policies CAUSE FOR ALARM -- social security or other public retirement systems are covered -- & could be judged to be “illegally competing” with PRIVATE financial enterprises CAUSE FOR ALARM -- central banks could be CONSTRAINED from actions to shore up economies (during a future financial crisis) -- if banks decide such measures “constrain” their massive PROFITEERING off the crisis CAUSE FOR ALARM Article 10 of the annex: -- continues to explicitly ban restrictions on the transfer of information -- in “electronic or other form” -- of any “financial service supplier” ie. DATA TRANSFER OFF-SHORE / PRIVACY LAWS NULL & VOID -- EU laws guarding privacy -- that stop US-based Internet companies from taking data outside the EU -- to circumvent such privacy laws would be null and void -- laws instituting privacy protections > would be PROHIBITED BEFORE they could be enacted CAUSE FOR ALARM -- if enacted, could also provide a boon to companies like Uber -- whose MO is to CIRCUMVENT LOCAL LAWS Bilaterals.org analysis: “The main thrust of TiSA comes through ... -- e-commerce -- telecommunications -- financial services -- localisation rules -- commitments to allow UNFETTERED cross-border supply of services COLLECTIVELY WOULD EMPOWER -- global platforms who hold big data, like Google, without effective privacy protections -- tech companies like Uber who have become notorious for evading national regulation - paying minimal tax - exploiting so-called self-employed workers TiSA simply fuel to the bonfire re: backlash against global deals for global corporations language of TiSA, like all “free trade” agreements -- dry and legalistic -- HOW these rules are interpreted is what ultimately matters -- TiSA requires: - arbitration by judges possessing “requisite knowledge” ie. the usual lineup of corporate lawyers WHO REPRESENT CORPORATIONS in these TRIBUNALS will switch hats to sit in JUDGEMENT TRIBUNALS used to settle these “investor-state disputes” -- are held in SECRET -- with no ACCOUNTABILITY -- wiht no APPEAL INTENTION of “free trade” agreements is to elevate corporations to the level of governments however, they raise corporations ABOVE the level of governments 1. only INVESTORS can sue 2. governments CANNOT sue 3. individuals/public CANNOT sue 4. INVESTORS can sue governments to overturn any law or regulation / they claim will hurt PROFITS 5. INVESTORS can sue governments to overturn any law or regulation / they claim will hurt POTENTIAL FUTURE PROFITS 6. government (TAXPAYERS) - ordinarily has to pay MILLIONS of dollars in COSTS - even in rare instances when they win one of these cases each “free trade” agreement has a key provision elevating corporations above governments -- codifies the “equal treatment” of business interests in accordance with INTERNATIONAL LAW -- enables corporations to SUE over ANY regulation or other government act that violates “investor rights” -- ie. any REGULATION or LAW that may PREVENT the corporation from extracting the MAXIMUM possible PROFIT thus: -- taxation and regulation constitute “indirect expropriation” !! mandating COMPENSATION !! -- reduction in the VALUE of an asset is sufficient to establish EXPROPRIATION (rather than a physical taking of property as required under customary law) !! mandating COMPENSATION !! TRIBUNAL DECISIONS -- become PRECEDENTS for further EXPANSIONS of INVESTOR “rights” -- thus constitute the “evolving standard of investor rights” -- required under “free trade” agreements -- TiSA contains the usual passages requiring “equal treatment” I M P O S I N G CORPORATE WISH LISTS by:  UNDEMOCRATIC MEANS !! “free trade” deals ... much to do with IMPOSING CORPORATE WISH LISTS through UNDEMOCRATIC means !! -- elimination of any meaningful regulations for: -- labour -- safety -- health -- environment TiSA is another route to imposing MORE of this agenda Working people around the world scored a major victory in stopping the TPP, at least in its current form. Capital never rests; nor can we. Here we have class warfare in naked fashion ... THERE IS NO DOUBT on which side the capitalist world’s governments lie SUMMARY from SOURCE https://systemicdisorder.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/TiSA-worse-than-tpp/ That was a very good article from Systemic Disorder

American Oligarchy's Free Trade Deals Set to Destroy Europe

American Oligarchy's Free Trade Deal Set to Destroy Europe https://www.rt.com/op-edge/341801-ttip-eu-obama-us-elections/ NATO on trade, in Europe and Asia, is doomed Pepe Escobar is an independent geopolitical analyst. He writes for RT, Sputnik and TomDispatch, and is a frequent contributor to websites and radio and TV shows ranging from the US to East Asia. He is the former roving correspondent for Asia Times Online. Born in Brazil, he's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. He is the author of "Globalistan" (2007), "Red Zone Blues" (2007), "Obama does Globalistan" (2009) and "Empire of Chaos" (2014), all published by Nimble Books. His latest book is "2030", also by Nimble Books, out in December 2015. Published time: 4 May, 2016 14:03 The President of the United States (POTUS) is desperate. Exhibit A: His Op-Ed defending the Asian face - the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - of a wide-ranging, twin-headed NATO-on-trade “pivoting”. The European face is of course the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). POTUS frames TPP – as well as TTIP - in terms of a benign expansion of US exports, and private (US) firms having “a fair shot at competing against state-owned enterprises.” “Fair”? Not really. Let’s see how the mechanism works, focusing on TPP’s European twin. With impeccable timing, almost simultaneously to Obama’s Op-Ed, Greenpeace Netherlands leaked 248 pages of classified TTIP documents that were to be re-discussed last week by negotiators in New York. There have been no less than 13 rounds of TTIP negotiations so far, over nearly three years. The documents – negotiated in total secrecy since 2013 - represent roughly two-thirds of the latest negotiating text. An array of detailed studies, like this one, had been warning about the state of play. The veil of secrecy ended up being the ultimate giveaway to TTIP’s toxicity. Before the Greenpeace Netherlands leak, EU elected representatives could only examine these documents under a police watch, in a secure room, without access to experts, and on top of it they could not discuss the content with anyone else.   I will crush you with my GMOs Everything civil society across Europe – for at least three years – has been debating, and fearing, is confirmed; this is a sophisticated, toxic US-led corporate racket, a concerted assault across the spectrum, from the environment and animal welfare to labor rights and internet privacy. In a nutshell; it’s all about the US corporate galaxy pushing the EU to lower – or abase – a range of consumer protections. Hardball, predictably, is the name of the game. Washington no less than threatened to block EU car exports to force the EU to buy genetically engineered fruits and vegetables. In my travels in France, Italy and Spain over the past two years, I confirmed this to be the ultimate nightmare expressed by practitioners of top-end artisanal agriculture.  [traditional agricultural methods] Predictably, the lobbyist-infested European Commission (EC) fiercely defends TTIP, stressing it could benefit the EU’s economy by $150 billion a year, and raise car exports by 149 percent. Obviously don’t expect the EC to connect these “car exports” to a US-led GMO invasion of Europe. At least some nations have finally woken up from their (corporate lobbyist-induced) slumber. The French Minister for Foreign Trade, Matthias Fekl, said negotiations over a “bad deal” should stop. He went straight to the point, blaming Washington’s intransigence; “There cannot be an agreement without France and much less against France.” Perennially ineffectual President Francois Hollande, for his part, has threatened to block the deal altogether. Three years ago Paris had already secured an exemption for the French film industry not to be gobbled up by Hollywood. Now it’s also about the crucial agriculture front. Hollande said he would never accept “the undermining of the essential principles of our agriculture, our culture, of mutual access to public markets.” And what is the EC – leading the negotiations on behalf of the EU - doing? Pulling its predictable Trojan horse act; these are all “alarmist headlines” and “a storm in a teacup”. Puzzled EU citizens, en masse, may question if this is really the way for the EC – a bureaucratic Brussels behemoth - to supposedly defend the rights of EU consumers. Yet, infiltrated as it is by corporate lobbyism, the EC simply can’t protect the EU’s environmental and health standards, much more sophisticated than the US’s, from a corporate America bent on meddling with the content of EU laws all along the regulatory line.   I got an offer you can’t refuse POTUS was heavily campaigning for TTIP last month in Germany. POTUS still hopes he may have a deal in the bag before he leaves office in January 2017. White House spokesman Josh Earnest has tried to put on a brave face, saying the leaks will not have a "material impact" on the negotiations. Wrong; they will – as they are mobilizing public opinion all across the EU. David Cameron, in the UK, is also in a bind. He’s fiercely pro-TTIP. But Obama has already warned; this means Brexit is a no-no. Club Med nations, for their part, are leaning against. All 28 EU member nations – plus the European Parliament – would have to ratify TTIP if a deal is eventually reached. TPP, for its part, has been negotiated. But it has not been approved by the US Congress (nor by Pacific nations). The approval process has gone nowhere. In fact it will be up to either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Trump arguably is oblivious to TPP’s details; but considering the deal is being heavily championed by Obama, Trump may go against it. A case can be made that both TPP and TTIP vow to distort markets, in Europe and Asia; prop up (US) monopolies; transfer jobs to slave labor markets (in the case of parts of Asia); trample on intellectual property rights (in the case of the EU); facilitate tax evasion; and ultimately transfer more wealth from the many to the 0.00001 percent. And this leads us to how Hillary Clinton – the Wall Street/US establishment candidate – views both TPP and TTIP. Well, she supported both NAFTA and CAFTA, approved under Bill Clinton in the 1990s. As Secretary of State, she lobbied for the Panama trade deal. And, crucially, she has always treated the TPP as the “gold standard”. No wonder; this is the trade arm of the “pivoting to Asia” she’s been so fond of - a Pacific trade deal that excludes China, which happens to be the top trade partner of most Asian nations. Moreover, those by now famous Goldman Sachs speeches are increasingly being seen as payments for services rendered (and promised) by Hillary Clinton to the 0,0001 percent, who are, of course, in favor of global corporate America expansion.     Things we've learned from the #TTIPLeaks:     1. 'We're being sold down the river by our reps in the EU' - @WarOnWanthttps://t.co/CWH0smP0kY     — RT UK (@RTUKnews) May 3, 2016 Yet it ain’t over till the November ballot sings. Hillary now faces serious scrutiny by working class voters in the US. So no wonder, in another flip-flopping masterpiece, she’s now leaning towards describing herself as opposing both TPP and TTIP. Still, TPP at least may be approved during the post-election ‘lame-duck’ session of the US Congress. As for TTIP, it’s now mired in Walking Dead zone. Talk about what it takes for the Obama administration to imprint its trade “legacy” in the history books; to keep blackmailing Europeans and Asians alike as if it was just a lowly Mob extortion racket.  The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. https://www.rt.com/op-edge/341801-ttip-eu-obama-us-elections/ COMMENT They are a lowly mob extortion racket. Refuse, Europe. It's not worth it. Tell the reps of American oligarchs to f*ck off and tell the greedy European oligarchs to fuck off, as well. Communism has got to be better than this rip off and destruction of Europe for the sake of a few European ruling rich, whose selfishness and greed is destroying Europe.

Video - Julian Assange - 'The End of Democracy' - Angela Richter & Srećko Horvat

ꕤ ASSANGE VIDEO The End of Democracy Julian Assange (via video) in conversation with Angela Richter & Srećko Horvat https://vimeo.com/148660547 Das Ende der Demokratie Julian Assange (per Video) im Gespräch mit Angela Richter und Srećko Horvat from Volksbühne Berlin The end of democracy Julian Assange (via video) in conversation with Angela Richter & Srećko Horvat from Volksbühne Berlin Introduction Sebastian Kaiser Volksbühne at the Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Written intro along the lines that: the ideal of 'democracy' has figured prominently in the post WWII West. However, the reality is that "powerful corporations act like states" and wars are waged in the name of freedom, while "our digital activities are tapped and recorded almost entirely". WikiLeaks "taking the promise of democracy seriously under advanced technological conditions" -- transparency -- exposure of secret data flows -- platform for whistleblower information -- redeeming internet freedom -- online and active Assange -- hailed as a hero and cypherpunk genius by many -- denounced as high-tech terrorist -- exposed to public death threats -- persecuted by governments and intelligence services -- for 'damages' allegedly suffered ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Assange 9 December 2015 discussion -- Volksbühne via live stream from Ecuador embassy -- theatre director Angela Richter -- Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat Discussion -- Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) -- geopolitical implications -- of  huge influx of refugees into Europe -- reflecting on democracy’s criminal history -- potentially opening an alternative view on Europe --------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT About to watch/listen to this latest video (link at top page).  Sounds an interesting talk. ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Julian Assange  WikiLeaks  https://justice4assange.com https://govwaste.co.uk/ WikiLeaks Website https://wikileaks.org/index.en.html  Latest Book 'The WikiLeaks Files' http://www.versobooks.com/books/1931-the-wikileaks-files ꕤ

Transcript: WikiLeaks - €100,000 reward for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

TRANSCRIPT [ For quotation purposes, confirm audio beforehand.] SOURCE - VIDEO [11:00] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABDiHspTJww&t=1m34s ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- WikiLeaks is raising €100,000 reward for the Trans-Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) Narrator WikiLeaks is raising a €100,000 reward for Europe's most wanted secret: the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP). John Pilger Investigative Journalist This is something enormous. It is about a final control, and it's the United States saying: there maybe another power in the world, but we will be the ultimate power. Julian Assange Editor in Chief Wikileaks The TTIP is the most important thing that is happening in Europe right now. It's a secretive deal, being negotiated between Europe and the United States. Narrator Once signed, it will cement a key part of the US government's plan to create a new global block that will ensure the dominance of its largest companies, and to understand why, we need to go back to the 1950s. [COMMERCIAL CLIP - CHEVROLET] After the second world war, the United States accounted for half of the world's economy. Its influence was unmatched by any country and it was able to write the early rules of international trade to its advantage. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created in this context, and the US dicated rules that favoured American business. But as economies like China and India joined the WTO, it became a more democratised arena and the US found it harder to control its decision making. John Pilger Investigative Journalist At the WTO Doha rounds, India spoke up and Brazil spoke up, and the US lost control. Pascal Lamy WTO Chief I think it's no use beating around the bush. This meeting has collapsed. Narrator The US felt it needed a new strategy to maintain its global dominance, so in the classical American style, they went big. To bypass the WTO, they're creating the biggest international agreements that the world has ever seen. They're called the Three Big Ts: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ; the Trans-Atlantic Trade &  Investment Partnership (TTIP); the Trade In Services Agreement (TiSA); and they're all being negotiated in secret, right now. John Pilger Investigative Journalist We only found out when WikiLeaks was able to leak parts of them. John Hilary Executive Director War on Want What's interesting when you look across all of these deals, whether it be TTIP, TPP or TiSA, China is excluded. But also Brasil, Russia, India, South Africa. They're all excluded, because those are the emerging economies. Matt Kennard Centre for Investigative Journalism What is not often understood is that these agreements are part of a geopolitical war. This is a new war which is taking place between the United States and China. The United States is very scared of the rise of China, so it has moved to militarily encircle it through what is called 'the pivot to Asia'. And now it's moving onto doing that economically. Julian Assange Editor in Chief WikiLeaks The basic idea which comes across from reading US strategy papers, is the construction of a new grand enclosure, and to put inside this grand enclosure: the United States; 51 other countries; 1.6 billion people; and two-thirds of global GDP; to integrate Latin America away from Brazil and towards the United States;  to integrate South-East Asia away from China and towards the United States; and  to integrate Western Europe, pulling it away from Eurasia as a whole and towards the Atlantic. Narrator Of the Three Big Ts, WikiLeaks has revealed four (4) chapters of the TTP, which affects twelve (12) countries and the Americas and South-east Asia. We also obtained and released the core text of TiSA, which affects fifty-two (52) countries, including the EU. But nearly all of TiSA is still secret. When signed, TTIP will cover half of global GDP and will affect every European State, yet European parliamentarians have serious restrictions in accessing the proposed agreement Jean Lambert Member of the European Parliament Green Party Yeah, I found it incredible as well, but - for something that is a trade agreement, not a matter of life and death in terms of security where maybe you can understand some restrictions (and we don't even like those very much), but for a trade agreement? You know, that we can't actually make notes about what it is that we're reading; issues that we might want to take away to look into, which actually might reassure us, you know, if we really were able to sort of take this away and look at it in depth. John Hilary Executive Director War on Want We don't have access to the key documents, the most important ones. Because the devil is in the detail, when it comes to trade agreements, you kneed to know exactly what's in the text, so that you can assess what the impact's going to be. Julian Assange Editor in Chief WikiLeaks If EU parliamentarians want to see the TTIP, they have to call the US embassy and make an appointment. Appointments are only available two (2) days a week for two (2) hour time slots. Only two (2) parliamentarians are permitted at once. They go to the US embassy, they have to hand in every electronic device, so they cannot possibly make a copy. They must agree to keep everything confidential and they are led to a secure reading room where two (2) US embassy guards watch everything that they do. How can EU parliamentarians possibly understand what they're negotiating for Europe under these circumstances? Narrator The world's biggest corporations don't have the same problem. They have been receiving VIP access from day one, and have had abundant influence in the negotiations. John Pilger Investigative Journalist People - the likes of you and I - are excluded. Governments, to a great extent, are excluded. Those who are included are the multinational corporations. Matt Kennard Centre for Investigative Journalism These agreements are basically corporate ownership agreements. The funny thing about free trade agreements as we understand them is they often have nothing to do wiht trade, in the sense of the mutual lowering of tarrifs. What they are about is enshrining an investor rights regime in the respective countries, and ensuring that corporations can run wild in the respective economies, with very, very little regulation or impingement by government or authorities. Claire Provost Centre for Investigative Journalism These treaties will have huge, huge, implications, for literally almost every critical issue that individual citizens in our community would care about: health, education, the environment, privacy, and access to medicines, and the list could go on. Narrator One of the most criticised aspects of TTIP is a system called the Investor State Dispute Settlement, or ISDS. It's a secretive, international tribunal that allows companies to sue states over virtually anything that they can claim affects their investment. Claire Provost Centre for Investigative Journalism If a protest affects their profits, they can sue. If laws affect their profits, they can sue. If new regulations might impact where or what they want to do with their money, they can sue. John Hilary Executive Director War on Want This is a new power which will be handed over to the US corporations to sue the governments of Europe in a parallel judicial system which is available to them alone. So, people have no access to it. Domestic firms have no access to it. Governments have no access to it. It's just the foreign investors; in this case, US corporations. Narrator Based on ISDS history, critics argue that European state sovereignty and democracy are at serious risk. Previous law suits include Swedish company Vattenfall suing the German state for $3.7 billion for phasing out nuclear energy. British-American tobacco sued Australia for passing a law limiting cigarette advertising. The French company Veolia sued Egypt for raising the minimum wage. TTIP advocates say that in order for the EU and the US to become a single market, regulatory barriers need to be eliminated. This way, for example, a US seatbelt manufacturer already selling seatbelts to domestically wouldn't need to test for safety a second time as the EU would agree to recognise the US safety standards. They argue that this would save costs, create jobs and lower prices for consumers, but just how safe are US standards? John Hilary Executive Director War on Want So, in the US, seventy percent (70%) of all processed food sold in supermarkets contains genetically modified ingredients. Whereas in the European Union, we've said quite clearly we don't want GM ingredients in our food chain. Similarly, in the US 90% of all beef is produced using growth hormones which have been found to be carcinogenic in humans, so they're banned in the European Union, and what the US government is saying is that, under TTIP, under the free trade rules they want to bring in, European consumers don't get the right to choose. Narrator TTIP includes all of the most important public sectors in Europe, including education, water, railways, postal services, and, most controversially, it also includes public health services. Matt Kennard Centre for Investigative Journalism What is so scary about this is that corporations want to lock in their power. So they not only want increased power, they want to make impossible for sovereign governments to reverse the changes which are going to give them power. So, for example, with TTIP, if it passes with ISDS in it, the privatisation of the National Health Service (NHS) which is happening in the UK can never be reversed. John Pilger Investigative Journalist What is democratic about an enormous imposition of power on countries whose citizens have no way of knowing what's going on, of debating it, or influencing their government in its decision. That's anti-democratic. Julian Assange Editor in Chief WikiLeaks The history of these agreements shows that they're very difficult to change, unless people can see what's in them, and that's why they're kept secret. Because when the contents are revealed, it generates an opposition. Narrator: WikiLeaks has had considerable delaying the TPP and opening up the debate around it, and the TiSA, by releasing the draft texts. A publication of an earlier proposed US-EU agreement, the ACTA, killed it entirely. WikiLeaks is raising a €100,000 reward for Europe's most wanted secret: the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Help the world become a more transparent place. Do your part. Go to: www.wikileaks.org/ttip-reward SOURCE - VIDEO [11:00] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABDiHspTJww&t=1m34s ꕤ

Poland's Radek Sikorski - Crimea & Ukraine

Sikorski: If Poland is hawkish on Ukraine, is Russia a dove? Published: 12/09/2014 - 08:34 | Updated: 12/09/2014 - 09:11 SPECIAL REPORT: If the EU had reacted more strongly to Russia's annexation of Crimea and adopted sanction more quickly, as Poland advocated, the currrent conflict in Donetsk, Ukraine, would not have happened, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told EurActiv in an exclusive interview. At the age 18, Radosław (Radek) Sikorski chaired the student strike committee in Bydgoszcz in 1981. In June 1981 he travelled to the UK to study English. After martial law was declared in Poland in December 1981, he was granted political asylum in Britain. He studied at Oxford. In the mid-1980s, he worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as The Spectator and The Observer. He returned to Poland in August 1989 and since 2007 has served as deputy minister of defence, deputy minister of foreign affairs, minister of defence and foreign minister in Donald Tusk’s cabinet. He spoke to EurActiv’s Georgi Gotev and EurActiv Poland’s Krzysztof Kokoszczyński. Poland is one of the counties shaping EU foreign policy during the Ukrainian crisis. How can that influence be maintained and expanded into other areas of common policy? When we called for a united European energy policy or solidarity in response to Russian trade barriers we were often called “Russia-phobes”. Now, after president Putin broke a whole series of international agreements, Europe is starting to understand the value of solidarity and standing together. Not only against Russia. Better coordination among European countries translates into better security and economic position in the long run for all of us.  [comment 2016:  Oh, yeah.  Is that why Europe has been invaded by over 1 million Arabs and Africans (conservative estimates), while the European Union has stood by and watched with 'Welcome' signs .... ?   Is that why Europe is meddling in the Middle East?  Is Europe destroying countries to steal resources?  LOL ] But our analysis and ideas have been valuable and not only in case of Ukraine. Since it joined the EU, Poland has been actively shaping the European Union’s internal and external policy. We undertook several initiatives aimed at strengthening the EU Common European Security and Defence Policy and the Eastern European neighbourhood. Most recently, Poland, together with Sweden and the UK, was among those EU countries that initiated and drove the establishment of the European Union Advisory Mission to Security Sector Reform in Ukraine.  [Comment 2016:  these would be the evil governments then: Britain, Sweden & Poland - No doubt anti-Russian, pro-neocon and keen on intrigue and military actions.] The conflict in Ukraine has reinvigorated NATO, to a certain extent at least. In this new security environment do you foresee any developments in EU security policy or would that area of policy take now a definite back seat to arrangements through NATO? The Ukraine-Russia conflict has reinvigorated both NATO and the EU. Obviously there are areas one of the latter is more competent than the other. Mutual compatibility between their actions must be assured.  [comment 2016:  What?  Are you kidding?  All the EU did was punish European farmers with sanctions?  Tip out another load of rotten tomatoes in high street, Europe.  ] How would you respond to those in the EU who criticise Poland's position on Ukraine as too hawkish? If Poland is a “hawk”, than how are we to describe Russia? A “dove” of peace? As a neighbour of Russia, we wanted to be a partner with her as much as it is possible. We managed to establish cross-border movement with the Kaliningrad Region. Tens of thousands of Russian citizens may visit Poland without any bureaucratic formalities and trade started to flourish.  [comment 2016:  Russia might do better to partner with a snake than partner with Poland's politicians. ] However, when Russia decided to take over Crimea and to directly engage militarily in the territory of its neighbour, we had to clearly communicate to Moscow that it has to stop.   [comment  2016:  Crimea voted to return to the bosom of Mother Russia.  Return Kosovo to Serbia, you EU creeps.  ] Possibly, if the EU's reaction to the Crimea annexation had been vigorous enough and we had pushed forward for more decisive, immediate sanctions, then [the conflict in] Donetsk would not have happened. Poland aspires to become a regional leader in Central and Eastern Europe. What, in your view as foreign minister, is the current role of Poland in the region? It seems Poland is not – at least not yet – able to truly coordinate policy with the Baltic and other post-communist countries? Most of the time, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, for example, cannot be seen as “followers” of Polish policy...? Countries freely shape their policies – in line with democratic procedures, international commitments and according to their interests. The efforts of our four countries, all with similar backgrounds in terms of recent history, have made possible the creation of the Visegrad Group. It turned out to be an effective and flexible instrument of developing policies in the region. This does not mean however that we must always be unanimous and speak in one voice. Differences in the perception of interests which are at stake, specific circumstances, as well as traditions and the potential of the individual countries come into play.  [comment 2016:  Visegrad Group sounds like bad news.  Run.  ] Are you optimistic that the EU is warming up to the idea of putting in place a more coherent energy policy? How would you describe the Polish role in this endeavor? Recent developments in the East proved that EU needs to urgently push forward some of the key aspects of the energy agenda. The main challenge shall be to continue a consequent market integration based on common rules enshrined in the third energy package. Europe needs a well interconnected network of energy infrastructure and more efficient security of supply mechanisms. No member state shall be left alone in case of supply disruptions. Poland has always been a major proponent of the creation of the Energy Union which Prime Minister Tusk has called for on several occasions. We have the know-how about how the things work in the East and we know the major issues that restrict the development of the internal market in our region. Poland is one of the larger member states of the EU but she also enjoys warm relations with the US. The relations between Brussels and Washington can be sometimes tense – as was the case with PRISM and wiretapping of the senior politicians in the EU. How can Poland balance its relationship with the US with its responsibilities as a member state of the EU? And what can Poland do to defuse tensions between both sides of the Atlantic? And what about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?  [comment 2016:  LOL ... Yes, we know what kind of 'warm relations' Poland shares with the US, thanks to the leaked Radek tape.  ] Transatlantic cooperation and close ties between Europe and the US are the foundation of our common prosperity and security. We have to work on it regardless of some tensions which are unavoidable when we face so many complex challenges. Our good relations with US are an asset. There is no doubt Poland will be championing a “team spirit” among both the EU and US.  [comment 2016:  this guy sounds like a shill for US-Anglo capitalism.] Polish foreign policy is based on the principles and values we share on both sides of Atlantic. In the present security situation, we understand much better that the transatlantic community requires our engagement in any sphere – security, economy, democracy building. In this regard the TTIP may be a significant factor of Europe’s energy independence.  [comment 2016:  another creepy capitalist serving politician.] What does Donald Tusk’s appointment mean for Poland? The decision of EU leaders to elect Prime Minister Tusk to become next European Council President is a great achievement. It is undoubtedly the prime minister’s personal success but equally a success of Poland. We take this decision as both a signal of appreciation of the policies Poland has pursued over ten years of its EU membership and a sign that the distinctions between “old” and “new” member states are rapidly crumbling. On the 10th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the EU, a Pole will lead the institution which sets the priorities of Europe.  [comment:  Poland has been shilling for US-Anglo capitalism for a decade & this is its reward for being a lapdog.  Not much of an achievement, really, is it?  LOL  ] http://www.euractiv.com/sections/poland-ambitious-achievers/sikorski-if-poland-hawkish-ukraine-russia-dove-308392  COMMENT Noticed this has just had a bit of attention. This is from ages ago when I didn't know what was really going on. Not sure that my grasp of politics is greatly improved since, but I do know that Radek's 'sage' advice is wholly unimpressive and Euroactive onanists ought to be be ashamed of themselves.  LOL What a bunch of ass-kissers.  ;) [NOTE:  I've had to reformat this, as my earlier posts weren't formatted in a manner to allow for subsequent template alterations. ]