‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’

--Edmund Burke

Summary: Call for action against TPP, which the US government is trying to fast-track (to avoid public scrutiny)

SIX to seven years ago Microsoft was trying to fast-track a corruption-filled specification that it had labeled "Open XML". It was not open and Microsoft bribed a lot of people to get this pile of corruption fast-tracked. We later leaked the whole of "Open XML" (an anonymous whistleblower had handed it over to us) and then received threats from those whose corruption it exposed. Right now Wikileaks is doing the same with TPP because those in power in the US try to fast-track it. They hide it from the public, knowing darn well that the vast majority of the public would oppose it [1].

Some say that leaks break the law, but when leaks are needed to expose those who break the law, then those leaks are an act of whistleblowing. Remember that laws are typically being passed by those in power to criminalise acts that expose crimes of those in power. Civil disobedience is needed here; without it, nothing is going to improve. See what happened after NAFTA [2], the North American Free Trade Agreement. It's all about corporations and plutocrats; it doesn't do a single good thing for the majority of the population. It was all a big lie [3] and since it's in law now, it is almost irreversible. At the wave of a pen billions or perhaps trillions of dollars got looted, passed from the public to very few individuals who were already super-affluent.

Obama -- like Clinton -- is a big part of the problem here [4] and he has been sued over it [5]. Corporations themselves refute this propaganda [6] which is used to take away from everyone and impose further censorship [7], just like ACTA and SOPA. Sadly, those same lies are being spread by those in power in Europe [8] and in Australia [9]. This requires international action of scale previously unimaginable, beating even ACTA protests and NSA backlash.

There are trillions of dollars (or euros) at stake. This determines whether trillions will flow to super-affluent people at everyone else's expense or not. It's probably the simplest way to explain this to the common person. ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Fast-Track is bad for congress

   I'm not going to write here on the basis of stopping the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). I am drastically opposed to the TPP; as it is not yet being voted on though I will discuss what was newly introduced to Congress, on Thursday January 9th, 2014.
   
   The bill for Fast-Track and how it affects congress.
   
   Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) have introduced the bill in an attempt to create the veneer that Fast-Track is bi-partisan in nature.





2. NAFTA: 20 Years of Regret for Mexico

   It was 20 years ago that the North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico was implemented. In Washington, the date coincided with an outbreak of the bacteria cryptosporidium in the city's water supply, with residents having to boil their water before drinking it. The joke in town was, "See what happens, NAFTA takes effect and you can't drink the water here."

3. 20 Years on, Mexico is NAFTA's Biggest Lie





4. Obama Faces Backlash Over New Corporate Powers In Secret Trade Deal





5. Obama administration sued over its secretive trade negotiations

   For the last few years, the Obama administration has been negotiating a treaty known as the Trans Pacific Partnership. While the treaty is officially focused on promoting international trade, it also includes language on a number of other issues. One of them is the "intellectual property" section, which critics have warned could force the United States to adopt legal changes favorable to copyright holders.





6. Vast Majority Of US Businesses Say Intellectual Property Is Not Important





7. Copyright vs free speech: TPP will take away basic rights if ratified

   Through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), US corporatists are aiming to exert their legal control globally, by backing a move to extend intellectual property (IP) laws. But according to Snowden leaks, the move will come at the cost of free speech.





8. TAFTA/TTIP: European Commission Tells Us to "Get the Facts"; Here They Are

   Readers with long memories may recall in the dim and distant past that at one time "Get the Facts" was a favourite war-cry of Microsoft when attacking GNU/Linux and free software. Of course the "facts" were anything but, and I spent quite some time debunking them. Significantly, once the claims had been debunked often enough, and by enough people, the campaign went away, and was never heard of again.
   
   Rather interestingly, the European Commission now seems intent on recapitulating that saga and its fate. I've noticed several times recently it has invoked the "facts", and I've tried to show why its idea of facts leaves much to be desired. So far, most of my columns about TAFTA/TTIP have been over on Computerworld UK, under the rubric "TTIP Update." There also a fair few on Techdirt. Here I'd like to address a rather interesting addition to the "Get the Facts" collection that doesn't really sit well in either publication, since it's in German.





9. Abbott Government caves in to US demands in TPP talks

   Abbott Government caves in to US demands on stronger patents and higher prices for medicines in TPP talks
   
   A report from the Singapore TPP talks today in the specialized US trade journal, The Washington Trade Daily, claims that Australia, New Zealand and Canada have agreed to drop their objections to US proposals on medicines in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks due to finish in Singapore today,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convenor of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said today.