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TransPacific Partnership Will Undermine Democracy, Empower Transnational Corporations
By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese
The leaders of the member nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
pose for a group photo, November, 2010. (Photo: Gobierno de Chile)
Our country's democratic values could be under threat if President Obama fast tracks the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
On critical issues, the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being negotiated in secret by the Obama administration will undermine democracy in the United States and around the world and further empower transnational corporations. It will circumvent protections for health care, wages, labor rights, consumers' rights and the environment, and decrease regulation of big finance and risky investment practices.
The only way this treaty, which will be very unpopular with the American people once they are aware of it, can be approved is if the Obama administration avoids the democratic process by using an authority known as "Fast Track," which limits the constitutional checks and balances of Congress. If the TPP is approved, the sovereignty of the United States and other member nations will be dissipated by trade tribunals that favor corporate power and force national laws to be subservient to corporate interests.
Commemorating Land Day
by Stephen Lendman
On March 30, Palestinians worldwide observe Land Day. They've done so since 1976.
Nationwide protests and general strike action erupted. At issue was Israel's land confiscation policy and brutal occupation harshness.
In early 1975, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin announced plans to Judaize the Galilee. "Developing the Galilee," he called it.
He wanted to transform it into a majority Jewish region, construct eight industrial estates, and develop its economy exclusively for Jews. Doing so required dispossessing Arab citizens.
Regime Change Begins at Home
by Stephen Lendman
Charles Derber's book
It put monied interests in charge. Presidents, legislators, and high level bureaucrats serve them. Whatever they want they get. Institutionalized injustice follows. It's longstanding. Vital change more than ever is needed.
America had previous corporate regimes. None match today's extremism. Bold, creative strategies are needed to change things. Commitment creates possibilities. Nothing worth struggling for is easy. Failure to try assures disaster.
America's on a fast track to full-blown tyranny. It's a hair's breath away. Preventing it is top priority. It begins with knowledge. It involves knowing what's at stake.
Money power runs America. Fundamental freedoms are on the chopping block for elimination. Preventing it takes commitment.
Depositor Haircuts: The New Normal
by Stephen Lendman
On March 29, Cyprus Mail said banks opened Thursday. They did so amid calm.
Long lines queued. People waited patiently. A feared stampede didn't materialize. Whether it's the calm before the storm remains to be seen.
Looting Cypriot bank accounts reflects the new normal. It set a precedent. It did so for Europe. More on that below.
Wall Street banks operate the same way. So did MF Global.
Grand theft reflects official policy. Money is made the old-fashioned way. It's stolen. Nothing's done to stop it. Corrupt politicians and regulators permit it. They do so for benefits they derive.
Cyprus Postmortems: Part II
by Stephen Lendman
On March 28, Cyrus Mail said banks opened for the first time in almost two weeks. They did so at midday local time. Cypriots face draconian restrictions. How they'll react remains to be seen.
Capital controls limit withdrawals, restrict non-cash transactions, freeze check cashing, and convert checking accounts into fixed-term deposits
NYT Editors Ignore GMO Health Dangers
by Stephen Lendman
It doesn't surprise. Times policy is irresponsible. It's unprincipled. It's reprehensible. It's longstanding. It supports wealth, power and privilege.
It endorses what demands condemnation. It ignores GMO dangers. Doing so betrays its readers. More on that below.
GMO foods and ingredients are toxic. They're unsafe to eat. They harm human health. Independent scientific research proves it. Coverup and denial suppress what's vital to know.
How Congress let Monsanto off the hook
Michael Collins
Not many people like the messes Congress makes but everybody should see how they're made.
This article takes a close look at the legislation just passed by Congress and signed by President Obama allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to issue executive orders that bypass regulations, safety, and science for the purpose of speeding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered seeds (GE) and crops to market. The way the law is written, Secretary Tom Vilsack can lift restrictions on GMOs for a set period and, it appears, do so without hindrance from the courts.
Are genetically modified organisms (GMOs), seeds, and crops safe for human consumption? How has the scientific testing of these seeds been conducted and what are the results? Is there undue influence of the government and legislative process to fast track the delivery of GMOs to market? Who benefits from that influence, if it is present, and how are the benefits derived?
Destroying Public Education in Chicago
by Stephen Lendman
It's on the chopping block for elimination. It's happening nationwide. Chicago perhaps reflects the epicenter of what's wrong.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel spent years waging war on progressive politics. He's a former investment banker. He's a corporate predator turned politician. He's an unindicted war criminal. He belongs in prison, not City Hall.
He's Obama's former White House Chief of Staff. Becoming Chicago's mayor fulfilled his longtime ambition. He's notoriously anti-populist. He believes anything government does business does better so let it. He wants corporate profiteers running as many city functions as possible. He bullies, pressures and bribes union officials to go along.
Honduran Police State Repression
by Stephen Lendman
On June 28, 2009, Obama colluded with Honduran fascists. With US approval and support, they ousted Honduras' democratically elected president.
Manuel Zelaya was arrested at home. Security forces confronted him at gunpoint.
Junta rule replaced him. Porfirio (Pepe) Lobo Sosa heads Honduras' government. It’s illegitimate.
New BRICS Development Bank Announced
by Stephen Lendman
In September 2006, four original BRIC nations met in New York. On May 16, 2008, Yekaterinburg, Russia hosted a full-scale diplomatic meeting.
In June 2009, Brazil, Russia, India and China again met in Yekaterinburg.
Early steps were taken to end dollar supremacy. Eventual plans may replace it with a global currency or basket of major ones.
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