Suddenly the Australian media has discovered the TPTP secret talks are a danger to the nation's sovereignty and yet nobody in the media and parliament has grilled the Trade Minister , Andrew Robb , and Prime Minister ,Tony Abbott , about the matter. Last year, this blog drew attention to the fact that across the Tasman the smarter and more alert Kiwis were marching in Auckland against the TPTP . Weeks ago , the not for profit American Nation of Change ran several posts , one with a video, saying that the TPTP is designed to enhance the powers and profits of multinational companies with disregard for the nations involved in the proposed deal, including the USA.
One of the posts was headed WHY IS HUGE TRADE DEAL BEING KEPT SECRET? Prominent American political commentator and author , Jim Hightower , mentioned previously in Little Darwin , had this to say in Nation of Change:
This thing TPTP is a supersized and nuclearized NAFTA ( North American Free Trade Agreement ), the 1994
trade scam rammed through Congress by Bill Clinton, Wall Street's Robert Rubin,
and the entire corporate establishment. They promised that the"glories of
globalization" would shower prosperity across our land.
They lied.
Corporations got the gold. We got the shaft--thousands of factories closed,
millions of middle-class jobs went south, and the economies of hundreds of
towns and cities (including Detroit) were hollowed out. --Twenty years later, the
corporate gang that stuck us with NAFTA is back, hoping to fool us with an even
more destructive multinational deal. This time we really must pay attention,
because TPP is not just another trade deal. First, it is massive and
open-ended. It would hitch us immediately to 11 Pacific Rim nations (Australia,
Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore,
and Vietnam), and its door would remain wide open to lure China, Indonesia,
Russia, and other nations to come in. Second, note that many of those countries
already have trade agreements with the US. Hence, THIS AMAZING FACT: TPP is a
"trade deal" that mostly does not deal with trade. In fact, of the 29
chapters in this document, only five cover traditional trade matters! (ends)
It has been clearly shown that the proposed deal would enable drug companies to keep prices of pharmaceuticals high ( Canada has already been challenged for taking steps to lower drug cost ) ; tobacco companies could oppose plain labelling of cigarette packets ; Australia could face court action for passing legislation to protect the health of the populace , food packaging regulations ... on and on it goes . Wake up Australia.
Incidently, it was Australia's own hero ,Julian Assange , now locked up like the man in the iron mask in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London , while we Aussie's , mesmerised by fireworks, football, cricket and the gowns worn by bimbos at assorted US and Australian circuses and do not raise his plight , who first leaked parts of the secret TPTP, dealing with intellectual property and the environment , which clearly indicated it was a picnic for lawyers and multinationals .
Assange , widely quoted in America , recently wrote : “If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs.”
On the alert ABC Late Night Live there was an enlightening discussion this week about the pact and informed commentators in Washington , Australia and Auckland explained how Australia would suffer if this deal is signed .
It has been clearly shown that the proposed deal would enable drug companies to keep prices of pharmaceuticals high ( Canada has already been challenged for taking steps to lower drug cost ) ; tobacco companies could oppose plain labelling of cigarette packets ; Australia could face court action for passing legislation to protect the health of the populace , food packaging regulations ... on and on it goes . Wake up Australia.
Incidently, it was Australia's own hero ,Julian Assange , now locked up like the man in the iron mask in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London , while we Aussie's , mesmerised by fireworks, football, cricket and the gowns worn by bimbos at assorted US and Australian circuses and do not raise his plight , who first leaked parts of the secret TPTP, dealing with intellectual property and the environment , which clearly indicated it was a picnic for lawyers and multinationals .
Assange , widely quoted in America , recently wrote : “If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs.”
On the alert ABC Late Night Live there was an enlightening discussion this week about the pact and informed commentators in Washington , Australia and Auckland explained how Australia would suffer if this deal is signed .
NOTE: Once again this blog urges readers to visit Nation of Change for continual informative posts on such issues as democracy, the impact of big money in governance , fracking , GM, the meanness of giant corporations towards their workforce, secrecy, robber banks ,global warming ... all relevant to Australia ... frequently well ahead of the Australian media and some of its supposed hotshot reporters and "specialist" writers.
