Posted on 05/15/2015 11:49:40 AM PDT by Lorianne
The Senate today is holding a key procedural vote that would allow the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be “fast-tracked.”
So who can read the text of the TPP? Not you, it’s classified. Even members of Congress can only look at it one section at a time in the Capitol’s basement, without most of their staff or the ability to keep notes.
But there’s an exception: if you’re part of one of 28 U.S. government-appointed trade advisory committees providing advice to the U.S. negotiators. The committees with the most access to what’s going on in the negotiations are 16 “Industry Trade Advisory Committees,” whose members include AT&T, General Electric, Apple, Dow Chemical, Nike, Walmart and the American Petroleum Institute.
The TPP is an international trade agreement currently being negotiated between the US and 11 other countries, including Japan, Australia, Chile, Singapore and Malaysia. Among other things, it could could strengthen copyright laws, limit efforts at food safety reform and allow domestic policies to be contested by corporations in an international court. Its impact is expected to be sweeping, yet venues for public input hardly exist.
Industry Trade Advisory Committees, or ITACs, are cousins to Federal Advisory Committees like the National Petroleum Council that I wrote about recently. However, ITACs are functionally exempt from many of the transparency rules that generally govern Federal Advisory Committees, and their communications are largely shielded from FOIA in order to protect “third party commercial and/or financial information from disclosure.” And even if for some reason they wanted to tell someone what they’re doing, members must sign non-disclosure agreements so they can’t “compromise” government negotiating goals. Finally, they also escape requirements to balance their industry members with representatives from public interest groups.
(Excerpt) Read more at firstlook.org ...
A HIgh Speed Political Rail Job if ever there was one..
FAST TRack? And then some..
See see, it is open to the public as long as you run a giant crony corp....
Well then, let’s pass it to see what’s in it.
Like the former Soviet Union before us, laws are now passed entirely in secrecy.
We are one-hundred-percent the Soviet Socialist States of America.
Soon there will be nighttime arrests by anonymous police for violations of secret laws. The punishments will be classified and you will be ‘disappeared’.
It worked so well last time
Of course ‘they’ can read it. They wrote it. I wonder how much OFA will get once he’s out of office?
Your elected officials are owned by deceptions, some by the ongoing emergencies (financial, terror); some by the traditions/education they have embraced; some by a religious/traditions; all by the god that they listen too.
Actually the tradional/acedemic term for what has happened is fascism; USA has become a fascist state.
“Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.”
— Benito Mussolini
When religion joins together you (and I) will have an intertwined: goverment, business and religion.
Also known as: Babylon (revived).
That sounds like the Holy Roman Empire.
So... this is saying that the bill would prevent any attempts to make food safer.
???
And this is designed to benefit whom, exactly? Certainly not consumers.
Dozens that are vocal about it.
Hell, they are even OK with some Senators voting to cede their Constitutionally Mandated RESPONSIBILITY to review this pending agreement in detail, then vote with a Super-Majority to ratify.
Or not.
Instead, the ceded this righteous power and set the threshold to ANYTHING POTUS negotiates to a simple majority vote of 51 rather than the super-majority of 67.
Hell, nobody can even filibuster to set the threshold for cloture at 60.
This is PRECISELY how the US Senate addressed the Iran Nuclear "Treaty".
Come out all yea Republican Supporters and proclaim your support for Cruz, Paul and other POTUS candidates from the US Senate.
crony kickback capitalism
how much did they pay or promise to pay.......
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