The Hightower Lowdown - The Trans Pacific Partnership

[demwing]

January 2015, Volume 17, Number 1
Written by Jim Hightower

During the past six years, the officials and trade specialists of the 12 countries have huddled in 24 rounds of intense, deeply secret negotiations, and now they're ready to spring their scheme on the unsuspecting public. This year--possibly in March--Obama will hold a flashy press conference, launch a major PR campaign, and begin arm-twisting and horse-trading to try winning congressional ratification of the TPP coup.

I have no clue why he is doing this to us, but I do know that we must defeat his raw deal of a trade bill. And we can, in large part because its contents are butt-ugly--but we have a job ahead of us to make sure that the American people see those contents. The danger posed by TPP's package of corporate favors can be summed up in a line from Bruce King, the former governor of New Mexico. He was a good guy, but he was given to mangling metaphors and goofing up literary references. One day, a couple of staffers urged him to support a particular bill, but Bruce thought it sounded pretty dicey, so he backed away, saying: "I don't know, boys--I'm afraid we're about to open a big box of Pandoras."

Goofy, yet well-put! Let's peek at a few of the Pandoras in the TPP box:

http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/3851#.VMWUYdLF_To

See that Pandora's Box at the link above...but do not miss this lowdown!

Starting with the WTO and NAFTA, and drawing the money line through to the TPP, Hightower exposes the ongoing corporate coup d'etat, and absolutely goes ballistic on the Clintons, the Bushes, AND Obama for "stealthfully negotiated international trade deals during the past two-plus decades that have fabricated, piece by piece, what now amounts to a privatized world government. It's a secretive, autocratic, plutocratic, bureaucratic government of, by, and for multinational corporations."

[RiverLover]

1. Bye bye "Made in America" labels. But nothing will be made here anyways, cuz globalization &

the New World Order are so GREAT.

Thanks for posting demwing. I love Jim Hightower!!

[newfie11]

2. I'm afraid this will go through

Im far from confident that our congress will not pass it. In fact I'm thinking there's very few in congress that aren't going to vote FOR this and Pres Obama is promoting it.

I don't understand how a secret trade deal read by no one but a select few can be passed unless there's lots of money changing hand in congress.
God help this country! The land of the oligarchs not the free.

[demwing]

3. "The land of the oligarchs not the free."

No..This land is made for you and me...

[JDPriestly]

4. K&R. Great article.

Defeat TPP.

[AzDar]

5. K & R

[rocktivity]

6. Sounds familiar

So the Iraq oil law was a dry run...

rocktivity

[Enthusiast]

9. This same group of miscreants would like to repeat this in Iran.

[demwing]

7. Kick for the Monday crowd. /nt

[Enthusiast]

8. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

I love this!

Bruce King said, "I don't know, boys--I'm afraid we're about to open a big box of Pandoras."

[Demeter]

10. It's all that, and a bag of chips, as my daughter would say

made with GMO potatoes and GMO soybean oil...

[sabrina 1]

11. 'A Corporate Coup D'etat'! That's exactly what it is and I cannot understand why

anyone would do this, let alone those who are elected to protect this country from this sort of 'economic invasion'.

It just makes no sense.

That is a great article, I read it last night and I'd like to see those who are trying to defend the TPP explain WHY they would defend something that will essentially be an assault on the sovereignty of several nations.