TTIP

History Is Knocking, Once Again

July 22, 2015 David Solnit, www.indypendent.org Resist! Corporatism, Corporatocracy, TISA, TPP, TTIP, WTO

By David Solnit for the Indypendent - “Seattle,” shorthand for the 1999 anti-WTO mass actions, was a moment when organized protest and resistance became a genuine popular uprising of thousands of ordinary people who successfully shut down the opening day of the WTO meeting, took over and occupied the downtown core of a major American city, and contributed to the collapse of negotiations that would have increased poverty, destruction, and misery around the world. Several years after the Seattle actions, a group of us calling ourselves the People Powered Strategy Project reflected on the key elements that made the one-day mass urban action and week of struggle in Seattle successful. We came up with the following principles in an effort to bring a people-power strategy to the antiwar movement, which had none after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, and I have added a few more. These same principles worked in San Francisco on March 20, 2003 — the day after the U.S. invasion of Iraq — when 20,000 people from the area shut down and occupied the Financial District, 2,000 of whom were arrested.

Newsletter – Culture Of Deception

July 18, 2015 Margaret Fowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Austerity, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Climate Change, FERC, Greece, Indigenous Rights, Propaganda, Puerto Rico, TISA, TPP, TTIP

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. A recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "The Climate Deception Dossiers," proves that the corporations which profit from the burning of fossil fuels knew about global warming decades ago, knew their industries contributed to it and responded by funding propaganda to deny global warming and pushing policies that increased their profits at the expense of a livable future. In "We are all Greeks Now," Chris Hedges connects corporate capitalism to the many crises we face. He writes, "Corporate profit is God. It does not matter who suffers." When profit is worshiped, truth is sacrificed and all manner of deception is justified."

TTIP Will Force All Europeans To Take Greece’s Medicine

July 17, 2015 John Hilary, www.politics.co.uk Educate! Austerity, Europe, Finance and the Economy, Free Trade, Greece, TTIP

By John Hilary in Politics - If the Greek crisis has shown how the institutions of the EU will stop at nothing to force through their own brand of capitalist discipline, TTIP is confirmation that we will all soon be tasting the same medicine. This week sees the 10th round of negotiations towards the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the controversial EU-US trade deal that threatens our jobs, our public services and our democracy itself. The talks come hot on the heels of last week's pro-TTIP vote in the European Parliament, where MEPs turned their backs on their electorate in favour of a deal that will benefit only big business and the banks. The European Parliament passed a resolution on July 8 giving the green light to the continuing TTIP negotiations, despite the fact that a record 2.3 million people from across the EU have now signed a European Citizens' Initiative rejecting the deal altogether.

Newsletter – Austerity Is A Weapon

July 12, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Austerity, Banking, Climate Change, Greece, Neoliberalism, TISA, TPP, TTIP

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - Austerity, decreased spending by government on necessary programs, is a type of economic sanction like the ones that are often imposed by one country upon another country as a form of punishment. Financial elites and their institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) force austerity measures on countries that have been driven into debt in order to extract every ounce of wealth from them and weaken the populace's ability to resist.Austerity Unite Against Austerity Austerity is a fundamental tool in the neo-liberal agenda that is spreading around the world to monetize and privatize everything. It is fundamental to our success in resisting this agenda and preserving a livable future that we understand austerity amounts to sanctions against the people. We hope Greece, and the rest of the world, begins to pursue a new economy rather than kow-towing to bankster criminals.

What Happens When Policy Is Made By Corporations?

July 12, 2015 Evgeny Morozov, www.theguardian.com Educate! Privacy, Trade, TTIP

By Evgeny Morozov for the Guardian - One overlooked aspect of the emerging legal architecture that they enact is that, barring a Greece-like rebellion from the citizens, Europe will eventually sacrifice its strong and much-cherished commitment to data protection. This protectionist stance – aimed, above all, at protecting citizens from excessive corporate and state intrusion – is increasingly at odds with the “grab everything” mentality of contemporary capitalism. A recent op-ed penned by Carl Bildt, the perennial hawk of Swedish politics and now also chair of the Global Commission on Internet Governance, a thinktank, captures that neoliberal mentality quite accurately. According to Bildt: “Barriers against the free flow of data are, in effect, barriers against trade.” By the same token, building fences around your house is also an offence against capitalism. Who knows what kinds of advertising deals could be made with your data?

European Parliament Ignores The People Pushes Forward On TTIP

July 9, 2015 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Free Trade Agreements, Trade tribunals, TTIP

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - Guy Jones reports that a populist revolt was ignored, much like we saw in the United States over Fast Track trade authority: "Almost all the MEPs that voted in Parliament today have received many thousands of emails from their constituents wanting them to vote against TTIP because they’re concerned about the impact it will have on vital public services, on consumer rights, on regulations protecting workers and the environment. It shows who’s paying the piper in Strasbourg that MEPs can ignore such a strongly articulated public mandate and instead vote in favour of corporate interests." The resolution says ISDS should be replaced with a new system “subject to democratic principles and scrutiny.” Further, "the 28-nation Parliament also called for an arbitration system where 'the jurisdiction of courts of the EU and of the member states is respected, and where private interests cannot undermine public policy objectives.'"

Flashmob Choir Interrupts TTIP Congress

July 4, 2015 Cory Doctorow, www.boingboing.net Resist! Democract, Free Trade, TTIP

By Cory Doctorow in Boing Boing - Like its cousin, the Trans Pacific Partnership, TTIP is being negotiated by trade officials and industry reps, without any oversight from elected legislators and without any participation by citizens' groups, environmental groups, or labor groups. And like TPP, it is expected to arrive with Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions that lets offshore corporations sue your government to overturn the democratically enacted environmental, labor and safety laws that undermine their profitability. At a pro-TTIP congress where the Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister was promoting the treaty, a flashmob of attendees stood up singly and then in bunches, singing "Do You Hear the People Sing?" a rousing revolutionary song from Les Miserables, as the moderator sputtered with comic ineffectualness into the microphone. It's a hell of a video.

Newsletter – Resistance Is Necessary

June 28, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Black Lives Matter (BLM), fast track, Prisons, Racism, TISA, TPP, TTIP

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. This week, hidden amidst the news of the massacre in Charleston and the Supreme Court decisions on the health law, fair housing and marriage equality, the Senate passed Fast Track legislation and sent it to the president’s desk to be signed into law. Now the path is clear for the president to push the triple threat of treaties through Congress, unless we resist and stop them. The first one, the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), is expected to come to a Congress this fall. It will be followed by the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trade-in-Services Agreement (TiSA). The work to stop the TPP, TTIP and TiSA builds on decades of resistance to corporate globalization and neoliberal policies that exploit the poor and people of color. If we work with intention over the coming months, we could defeat the TPP and reject this paradigm.

Stop The TransPacific Partnership (TPP)

June 23, 2015 Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Resist! fast track, TISA, TPP, Trade, TTIP

By Margaret Flowers in Popular Resistance. In the days leading up to the Fast Track votes in the Senate, the activist community mobilized in an amazing way. Actions were held across the country, particularly focusing on the fourteen Democratic Senators who supported Fast Track in the last round. On June 23, the Senate held a procedural vote on the Fast Track bill that just reached the 60 votes needed to prevent a filibuster. This clears the way for the final vote which is expected to pass easily. Of the 14 Democrats who supported Fast Track previously, all but one voted to advance the vote.

EU Parliament Members To Senate: ‘No Fast Track’

June 23, 2015 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Educate! Congress, fast track, TPP, Trade, TTIP

By Staff of Popular Resistance. Note: Forty three members of the European Parliament sent a letter to the members of the US House of Representatives last week urging them to oppose Fast Track. They highlighted the broad reach of the treaties currently under negotiation and the importance of exploring their full impacts on their constituents before moving ahead on them. Like the US Congress, members of the EU Parliament have been excluded from the secret negotiations with limited access to the text. Unlike the US Congress, they do not have a choice whether they Fast Track the treaties or not. They advise the US Congress not to cede their power to provide checks and balances to the executive office. This week, the parliamentarians decided to publish their similar letter to the US Senate as an open letter for all to read. Here it is:

Almost $200 Million Donated To House To Pass TPA

June 21, 2015 Paola Casale, www.opednews.com Educate! Corruption, fast track, TAFTA, TISA, TPP, TTIP

By Paola Casale in Op-Ed News. Next week will be the key votes in the US Senate on Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority. See here on what you can do to stop it. The article below shows the kind of corruption we are up against. It covers the US House of Representatives where a vote was held last week. The vote was 218 in favor of TPA. That is the exact number for a majority in the US House of Representatives (10 did not vote in the House). The battle over TPA has become a conflict between people and money. The people won in the House two weeks ago but than the Republican leadership working with President Obama manipulated the rules for a re-vote. But rather than a re-vote they came up with a scheme to avoid a re-vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance which they lost in the House and stopped TPA from becoming law. They created a convoluted process that now looks on the verge of success that will make it very hard to stop the Obama trade agreements that will dramatically shift power to corporations over the global economy and all levels of US government.

GOP/Obama Want To Delay Fast Track Till July

June 15, 2015 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Congress, Democracy, fast track, TAFTA, TISA, TPP, TTIP

By Kevin Zeese. Washington, DC - Think about this: They write a treaty in secret with corporate interests 'assisting' the Obama administration, rigging the global economy for big business at the expense of people and planet; then they want to have a fast track process through Congress to rig the review of the rigged agreement; now because they lost the vote of fast track they want to rig the re-vote of the rigged fast track review of the rigged corporate trade agreement. Rigging on top of rigging on top of rigging -- and they claim the US is a democracy? Call Congress on www.StopFastTrack.com or call 202-224-3121 and tell them -- no rigged vote, no delay, vote now!

TTIP Chaos In Strasbourg

June 14, 2015 Khinezar Tint, www.globaljustice.org.uk Resist! Europe, European Parliament, European Union (EU), TTIP

By Khinezar Tint for Global Justice Now. On the evening of the 9th of June the EU Parliament decided to postpone a crucial plenary vote on the TTIP resolution a day before the vote was to occur. I was in Strasbourg representing Students Against TTIP in the Europe-wide campaign against the toxic trade deal when this snap decision occurred. Myself and other activists from across Europe had already begun planning our action for the morning of the vote when we heard the surprising news: that once again another spanner had been thrown in the works of the great whirring machine that is TTIP. The plenary vote that was supposed to take place was to be on a series of amendments to the TTIP resolution that was voted on in late May this year. Hundreds of amendments were submitted. The fact that so many amendments had been submitted for the resolution showed just how devisive the issue of TTIP had become in European Parliament, something that would have not occurred if it weren’t for the dedicated effort of European activists and campaigners who have brought TTIP, a trade deal that could have easily passed by in obscurity, to light—as made evident by a recent petition against TTIP that has already received two million signatures (and still counting)!

Not Over Yet, Some Tough Votes Ahead On Fast Track

June 12, 2015 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Congress, fast track, Obama, TAFTA, TISA, TPP, TTIP

While we all cheered the failure to pass Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) the House was quickly voting to pass Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). This provides several possible scenarios that could result in either position ultimately winning. While much of the media described this as a tremendous victory for those who oppose Fast Track and the Obama trade agenda, in fact we have some difficult challenges ahead. We need to hold the line on TAA to prevent any form of TAA from passing the House and prepare for a vote in the Senate if a new form of TAA passes or if the TPA bill passed in the House goes back to the Senate without TAA. We want our allies in the House to vote no on TAA no matter what kind of amendments are made to the bill. Now that TPA has passed, stopping TAA becomes even more important. The House TPA without TAA would be much more difficult to pass in the Senate. Our goal in the House is for no TAA bill to be passed.

Congress Occupied To Protest Fast Track for Trade Agreements

June 10, 2015 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! fast track, Occupy, TAFTA, TISA, TPP, TTIP

By Staff for Popular Resistance, Situated between the Capitol Building and the House Office Buildings activists are holding a 24 hour presence to protest trade agreements rigged for the biggest transnational corporations in the world. Popular Resistance, which is part of the Stop Fast Track coalition, organized the Rebellion Against Rigged Trade and has been outside of the Capitol during working hours. With today's announcement that a vote will come on Friday they will now maintain a 24 hour presence. "Elected officials are receiving tens of thousands of calls from constituents opposing fast track trade authority and we want them to see that people opposed to this undemocratic approach to passing laws are so dedicated they will stay outside 24 hours a day. Elected officials need to know the anger of their constituents is deep and that if Members vote for fast track, there will be serious political repercussions. We remember the impact that NAFTA had on elections. The people will not let Congress destroy their rights to protect the health and safety of their communities" said Margaret Flowers, co-director of Popular Resistance.

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