The Trans-Pacific Partnership / EU-US Trade negotiations : the Totalitarian End-game of the Global Elite

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a global corporate noose around U.S. local, state, and national sovereignty – narrowly passed a major procedural hurdle in the Congress by gaining “fast track” status. … “fast track” is a euphemism for your members of Congress … handcuffing themselves, so as to prevent any amendments or adequate debate before the final vote … TPP is another euphemism that is used to avoid the word “treaty”, which would require ratification by two-thirds of the Senate.

The corporate-indentured politicians keep calling this gigantic treaty with thirty chapters, of which only five relate to traditional trade issues…. The other twenty-five chapters, if passed as they are, will have serious impacts on peoples livelihoods as workers and consumers, as well as your air, water, food, and medicines.

"Only corporations … are entitled to sue the U.S. and other governments for any alleged harm to their profits from health, safety or other regulations in secret tribunals that operate as offshore kangaroo courts, not in open courts. – Ralph Nader"

Read more: The Trans-Pacific Partnership: the Totalitarian End-game of the Global Elite | Global Research - Centre for Research on Globalization

Middle East - Palestinians to EU: Suspend trade agreements with Israel to protest demolition of homes

European support for Sussiya must be backed with action, the community spokesman Nasser Muhammed Nawajah wrote in a letter he sent to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

“Until today European support of the Israeli economy is expressed in the preferential conditions that Israel receives under its Trade and Association Agreements with Europe. The association agreement stipulates that ‘relations between the parties, as well as all the provisions of the agreement itself shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles’ and that this ‘constitutes an essential element of this agreement,’” he wrote

“In our opinion Sussiya is one example of how Israel continues to violate these principles and therefore we urge you to suspend Europe’s trade agreement with Israel as well as end trade with companies operating in settlements on occupied territories until Israel fulfills its obligation under international law,” he wrote.

A copy of the letter was posted on the twitter site of the NGO, the Palestinian Popular Struggle Coordination committee.
The US on Thursday warned Israel against the pending demolition of structures both in Sussiya and nearby Wadi Jahish.

“Demolition of this Palestinian village or of parts of it, and evictions of Palestinians from their homes would be harmful and provocative,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Thursday, as he focused his public comments on Sussiya.

Read more: Palestinians to EU: Suspend trade agreements with Israel to protest demolition of homes - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post

Communications - Geo-Blocking: EU opens antitrust case against 6 major US movie studios - by Raf Casert

The European Union on Thursday launched an antitrust case against six major U.S. movie studios and British satellite broadcaster Sky UK, in a move that could profoundly shake up the highly lucrative pay-television market in Europe.

The EU's executive Commission has sent a so-called statement of objections to the companies regarding what it says are "contractual restrictions" preventing EU consumers outside Britain and Ireland from accessing the services of Sky UK.

"European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU," EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said. "Our investigation shows that they cannot do this today."

The companies involved are all household names and produce some of the most popular — and profitable — movies around.

In addition to Sky, which has cornered a large chunk of the British pay-TV market through its acquisition of sports and movie rights, the Commission sent its objections to NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney and Warner Bros.

In a statement, the Commission said it found clauses requiring Sky to block access to films through its online or satellite pay-TV services to consumers outside Britain and Ireland — so-called "geo-blocking."

Note EU-Digest: Good action by EU Commission. Private sector should keep hands-off prohibiting free-choice of consumers in every area, including cultural expressions and presentations. 

Read more: EU opens antitrust case against 6 major US movie studios - The Denver Post

US Presidential Elections: - Trump details fabulous riches in White House bid

The Federal Election Commission released the document on Wednesday, a week after Trump filed the form claiming the staggering net worth that critics believe he has exaggerated.

His financial disclosure form, which all White House candidates have to file to qualify, lists a whopping 515 different positions and 168 different assets and sources of income.

It lists 23 separate assets valued at more than $50 million each, including real estate in Chicago and New York, golf clubs in Scotland and the US, a Florida holiday resort and aircraft.

Many items required that he check the box marked "$50 million or more" -- such as in the case of a building perhaps worth $1.5 billion, it said.

It says the Miss Universe pageant, which Trump owns, is worth between $5 and $25 million.

The form says he earned more than $1.7 million from speaking engagements last year, including $450,000 each on three separate occasions in February, May and June in 2014.

It even lists a Screen Actors Guild pension giving him an income of more than $110,000.

Note EU-Digest: among all the Republican Presidential  candidates Donald Trump is probably the only one who could possibly beat Hillary Clinton.

Read more: Flash - Trump details fabulous riches in White House bid - France 24

Netherlands Company Introduces Plastic Roads That Are More Durable, Climate Friendly Than Asphalt - by Katie Valentine

The Netherlands is already home to the world’s first solar road (or bike lane, technically). Now, the country could soon be the first to use recycled plastic as pavement.

The idea for plastic roads comes from VolkerWessels, a Netherlands-based construction firm. According to the company, plastic roads would be a “virtually maintenance free product” that’s “unaffected by corrosion and the weather.” The roads could handle temperatures as low as -40°F and as high as 176°F.

The company says that this hardiness will make the roads’ lifespans three times as long as typical asphalt roads.

According to the company, any type of recycled plastic can be used. The main goal, the company says, is to keep plastic out of the oceans.

The idea for plastic roads came after the company took a look at all the different road-related problems cities face, said Simon Jorritsma from InfraLinq, a subdivision of VolkerWessels and KWS Infra that works specifically with asphalt. Those problems included a future where oil — the main component of asphalt — is less available, as well as more immediate problems like flooding and road maintenance.

“For contractors, asphalt is a great and sound product to build roads,” Jorritsma said in an email to ThinkProgress. “However, contractors have to meet more and more demands concerning noise reduction, water permeability, and flatness. These questions and conditions were the inspiration which have led to the idea of the PlasticRoad.”

Read more: Netherlands Company Introduces Plastic Roads That Are More Durable, Climate Friendly Than Asphalt | ThinkProgress

Eurozone: The battle over the eurozone's future - by Duncan Weldon

While a Grexit has been avoided in the short term, the medium- to longer-term risk remains.

But in many ways the last few weeks in Greece have been the start of a bigger battle, a battle on what the eurozone of the future will look like.

Few now doubt that the institutional architecture of the zone is flawed. A currency union without a fiscal union was always vulnerable to these sort of shocks. And, perhaps more crucially, a currency union in which the banking system is still predominantly national, rather than European, was always likely to run into problems.

In a more ideal world - in a situation in which Greek banks were constrained and unable to extent credit - French, German and other lenders would have stepped into the breach.

It's hard to avoid the thought that the politics of European integration ran ahead of the economics of the underlying reality.

The last few weeks have exposed a sharp Franco-German divide. On one level, this is ideological. For France the euro is irreversible, the culmination of decades of integration. But the German view differs. They see the single currency as an agreed set of rules and behaviours and, if someone "breaks" the rules, they can be thrown out.

Their analysis of the underlying economics of the crisis differs, too. The Germans believe the tough fiscal rules agreed in 2012 are the answer to the crisis: legislate that states should be running sound public finances and these sorts of crises won't appear.

In a more ideal world - in a situation in which Greek banks were constrained and unable to extent credit - French, German and other lenders would have stepped into the breach.

It's hard to avoid the thought that the politics of European integration ran ahead of the economics of the underlying reality.

The last few weeks have exposed a sharp Franco-German divide. On one level, this is ideological.

For France the euro is irreversible, the culmination of decades of integration. But the German view differs.

They see the single currency as an agreed set of rules and behaviours and, if someone "breaks" the rules, they can be thrown out.

Their analysis of the underlying economics of the crisis differs, too.

The Germans believe the tough fiscal rules agreed in 2012 are the answer to the crisis: legislate that states should be running sound public finances and these sorts of crises won't appear.

Read more: The battle over the eurozone's future - BBC N

Greece: Krugman slams Greece, Germany slams Krugman - by Matt Clinch

Renowned economist, and a fervent critic of austerity, Paul Krugman has slammed the Greek government for accepting harsh tax and reform measures. On the very same weekend, German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, openly questioned the Nobel Prize-winner's knowledge of Europe's monetary union.

Krugman had been calling for Greece's government to reject the proposals that creditors have demanded in exchange for unlocking much-needed cash. He had dubbed the demands as "madness" and a "complete destruction of national sovereignty."

With the reforms having been given the green light, Krugman told CNN Sunday that he may have "overestimated the competence of the Greek government."

"(The Greek government) thought they could simply demand better terms without having any backup plan," he told the news channel in an interview. "So, certainly this is a shock."

The radical-left Syriza Party was elected this year with a mandate to reject tough austerity measures from creditors but last week agreed to a deal despite Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stating that he did not believe in it. Tsipras has since tried to weather a storm within his own party and experts suggest that another election could come later this year.

Krugman - a noted Keynesian - has been a very vocal critic of the austerity that has been placed on Greece from euro zone lawmakers, which include those in Berlin. Schaeuble used an opportunity to respond to Krugman when asked about the economist in an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel.

"Krugman is a prominent economist who won a Nobel Prize for his trade theory," he said in an interview on Saturday.

"But he has no idea about the architecture and foundation of the European currency union. In contrast to the United States, there is no central government in Europe and all 19 members of the euro zone must come to an agreement. It appears Mr. Krugman is unaware of that."

Read more: Krugman slams Greece, Germany slams Krugman