TPP Signing Ceremony To Take Place In February (freezenet.ca)

Dangerous_Minds writes: New Zealand officials are hoping that the TPP signing ceremony is to take place in February in Auckland, New Zealand. According to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it is expected that all 12 countries are going to sign the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Those 12 countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., and Vietnam. Note: signing doesn't necessarily make the agreement law, but it is one critical step closer to ratification.

Comments

Well there Liberal supporters?

[Mashiki]

You believed ol' Justin Trudeau when he said he wouldn't support it, then flipflopped and said he would, then he wouldn't. Thanks for enabling this shit, if it get's signed all we can do is hope that the SCC tells them to shove it.

Another victory for corporate corruption

[Anonymous Coward]

These American imposed laws that extend the power of corporations are making a total mockery of democracy in the countries that haven't yet become US style corporate dictatorships.

Re:Another victory for corporate corruption

[FlyHelicopters]

These American imposed laws that extend the power of corporations are making a total mockery of democracy in the countries that haven't yet become US style corporate dictatorships.

And people wonder why I want an armed population...

I don't trust government. It can do good, I don't think we could live without any government (that would be equally silly), but I don't trust them either.

Re:Another victory for corporate corruption

[SuricouRaven]

I don't trust the armed population either. Rebellions ending in a more stable, prosperous and free country have happened - but they are the exception, not the norm.

Re:Another victory for corporate corruption

[Anonymous Coward]

The armed population thing is a joke.

If you put your armed american population on one side and your US military forced on the other side, which one wins?

If second amendment's spirit was followed, the real life USA would resemble grand theft auto much more closely.

Re:Another victory for corporate corruption

[KeensMustard]

And people wonder why I want an armed population...

Yes, and this is why.

If having an armed population is meant to prevent abuses (like this one), and abuses like this one keep happening, you have to conclude that the strategy is not working. But gun-o-philes don't seem to be able to see what's directly in front of them.

The gun-o-philes are complicit in tyranny. Their guns are ineffective against tyranny. But they can't accept that. So they minimise the tyranny constantly and resist/downplay/criticise the efforts of the rest of the populace to halt the slide toward tyranny by other means. By clinging to an idea that doesn't work, they contribute to the outcome they claim so fervently to be against.

Re:Get rid of this neoliberal scum!

[FlyHelicopters]

How did humankind get into such a sad state of affairs?

Too many people seem happy to turn over responsibility for their lives to government and just accept being sheep?

Sedition

[Anonymous Coward]

Any American government official who signs the TPP is guilty of sedition as far as I'm concerned. The TPP violates the sovereignty of the US, and has bypassed the will of the people through a quite literal conspiracy.

I loathe conspiracy theories, and don't subscribe to any of them. This single issue though is in fact a conspiracy to defraud the American people among others, and is a violation of our democracy. It's a conspiracy because it is an agreement that will affect all of us, but has intentionally been kept under wraps. Because the negotiators are acutely aware that if the TPP had been public knowledge for the last several years, there'd be at best another Battle in Seattle type of debacle, and that the people governed by the treaty wouldn't stand for it.

Re:Sedition

[FlyHelicopters]

I seriously doubt the average voter will care about it as an issue.

Sadly the average voter doesn't care because the average voter is an idiot...

Who neither knows about such things, nor actually wants to learn. Most people are happy to be ignorant and rant at the TV.

No thanks

[ChunderDownunder]

World Bank suggests Australia's economy would grow by less than 1%.

And of course, they're signing it in Mordor.

[cunina]

"In the darkness bind them," indeed.

This will be a disaster

[humptheElephant]

Just look at what's happening under NAFTA. A Canadian Company (Trans Canada) is suing the US for 15 billion because we stopped the Keystone pipeline (http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/7/transcanada_sues_the_us_for_15b). This means that a private corporation from a TPP country can sue the US or another trade partner and have it tried by a panel corporate representatives. The amount can be not only the cost of a project, but also the expected profits. For example, with the Keystone lawsuit, the cost of the pipeline is 3 billion and the expected profits 12 billion. So the US taxpayers are on the hook for the 15 billion if TransCanada wins.

Re:Feel free to use my letter

[rock_climbing_guy]

Dear MrKaos,

Thank you for taking the time to write to my office. I always appreciate engaged subjects taking a role in the democratic process.

Please rest assured that this agreement has been properly scrutinized by those who have the proper need to know. Rest assured that TPP is in the best interests of the people who matter.

We do understand that we have concerns, but we really don't care. Why? Because FUCK YOU, that's why!

Now shut up and go back to sleep.

Sincerely,

The Man