Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday, 7 June 2015

The European Union Times


Posted: 06 Jun 2015 04:46 AM PDT


The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade package is beginning to unravel, with more prominent voices slamming President Obama and the Republican leadership over the secretive deal that threatens to cost American jobs and hand big corporations new powers that would violate national sovereignty.
House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rules Committee chairman Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) refused to reveal to Breitbart whether they had read the TPP agreement but still said they would support the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and allow President Barack Obama to fast-track the TPP.
Lawmakers claim that TPA is separate from TPP and that they will review the final TPP agreement before it is considered by Congress.
However, as Matthew Boyle explains, this explanation doesn’t wash. A vote for the TPA is a de facto green light for the TPP since there is essentially no way to halt a trade deal once it has been fast-tracked.
“Since fast track was created in the Richard Nixon administration, not one trade deal that started on fast track has been thwarted. As such, a vote for TPA is a vote for TPP, since passing TPA will all but guarantee the successful passage of TPP,” writes Boyle.
Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Rep. John Boehner are also refusing to reveal if they have visited the “secret room” to read the controversial TPP document, although all three are set to vote for the TPA.
“It is unforgivable for the Republican majority to shirk its congressional duty and refuse to read the text of a bill that will give Obama unprecedented authority over our economy,” said Daniel Horowitz, the senior editor of the Conservative Review. “Passing a bill in order to find out what’s in it is what placed the Pelosi Congress in the ash-heap of history. It’s not an auspicious path for ambitious politicians.”
Obama is in the midst of an intense lobbying campaign to promote the TPP in advance of a crucial House vote on TPA next week which could go either way.
“The push from the president included direct calls to lawmakers, interviews with television stations in key states and plans to bring several Democrats aboard Air Force One with him to a summit in Germany this weekend,” reports the Washington Post.
Hewlett-Packard CEO and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina became the latest prominent voice to urge Obama to release the full text of TPP.
“President Obama has made lofty promises before and we’ve learned with this White House that the devil is in the details,” said Fiorina. “And the details are frequently very different than the lofty goals with which he describes the deal. So I’d like President Obama to tell us what’s in his trade deal before we grant him this broad fast track authority. So far, though, he’s been unwilling to do that and Hillary won’t even take a position on it. That should concern us. Mr. President, if you want TPA to pass, please just tell us what is in TPP.”
Meanwhile, despite claims that climate change mandates would not be a part of TPP, President Obama admitted during an NPR interview on Wednesday that this would indeed be the case.
“If we want to solve something like climate change, which is one of my highest priorities, then I’ve got to be able to get into places like Malaysia, and say to them, this is in your interest. What leverage do I have to get them to stop deforestation? Well part of the leverage is if I’m in a trade relationship with them that allows me to raise standards,” said Obama.
By passing such mandates via the TPP, Obama could sneak through draconian climate regulations under the radar, knowing that they would almost certainly be rejected by Congress on their own.
This would satisfy calls by the likes of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius – a Bilderberg member – to enforce the new rules via global treaties to cut Congress out of the equation. Obama will attend summit in Paris in December to negotiate a climate agreement.
“Obama would not need to get Congress to approve the unfair climate change treaty terms that he negotiates. Instead, he could get the Commission set up by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement to add those terms to the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” writes Howard Richman.
“After that, the Investor-State Dispute Settlement Provisions, set up by that agreement, could enforce Obama’s terms through the threat of multi-billion-dollar fines upon the U.S. government.”
Critics of the TPP assert that the trade deal will cost American jobs and give huge corporations the power to change U.S. laws.
Earlier this week, Wikileaks released 17 different documents related to the Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa), which is part of the TPP.
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Posted: 06 Jun 2015 04:38 AM PDT


A leaked document attributed to investor George Soros outlines the billionaire’s plan for Ukraine, which essentially boils down to an ambitious idea to use Kiev to topple Russian President Vladimir Putin, investigative historian Eric Zuesse said.
The confidential document, allegedly part of communications between Soros and Ukrainian authorities, was published by hacktivists from CyberBerkut, known for releasing embarrassing revelations with regard to the US meddling in Ukraine.
“While it would be more desirable to have Russia as a partner than an enemy, that is impossible as long as Putin persists in his current policies,” Zuesse quoted Soros as saying. In other words, Moscow should be a partner but Russian leader has to go, the historian said referring to Soros’ stance.
“Soros wants Ukrainians to get rid of Vladimir Putin, and this requires heavily arming Ukraine,” Zuesse commented. Billionaire’s logic is simple: Ukraine should receive lethal weapons from the West as a preparation for an offensive on Crimea.
The Ukrainian invasion of the Russian peninsula will not take place, “however the threat of it happening is important to Soros,” Zuesse underscored, adding that the European Union, especially Germany and France will never support the US initiative of arming Ukrainians.
Germany has been the fiercest critic of the idea, insisting that it will shatter hopes for peace and ensure that violence escalates. Moscow has also been a vocal opponent of sending lethal aid to Kiev, instead promoting the Minsk II agreements as the surest way to lasting peace in the region.
“Ukraine won’t invade Crimea. America’s real focus is on continuation and intensification of the anti-Russia sanctions,” Eric Zuesse said.
Washington apparently intends to weaken Russian economy through the restrictive measures imposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s alleged meddling in the Ukrainian affairs. Moscow has persistently denied the groundless claims.
Meanwhile, Ukraine will turn into a functioning and thriving democracy so lucrative for Russians that they would wish to overthrow Putin. That’s how Soros sees it, the investigative historian said.
Reality begs to differ with Soros. Miraculous economic recovery in a war-stricken country plagued by widespread corruption and lack of fundamental reforms is unlikely to happen. In the meantime, Ukraine is on the verge of economic collapse and Soros is likely aware of that.
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Posted: 06 Jun 2015 04:14 AM PDT


“They just want to use these words. ‘That’s racist. That’s sexist. That’s prejudice.’ They don’t even know what they’re talking about”.
During an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” Thursday comedian Jerry Seinfeld revealed that an increasing number of stand-up comics are avoiding college campuses because they’ve become “so pc.”
After being questioned on the current climate in comedy, Seinfeld stated that fellow comedians warn him “all the time” about performing at universities.
“I don’t play colleges but I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges, they’re so pc,’” Seinfeld said.
Using a personal story involving his 14-year-old daughter, Seinfeld explained how the politically correct-obsessed youth regularly parrots buzzwords they know little to nothing about.
“My daughter’s 14. My wife says to her, ‘Well, you know, in the next couple of years, I think maybe you’re going to want to hang around the city more on the weekends so you can see boys.’ You know, my daughter says, ‘That’s sexist,’” Seinfeld said.
“They just want to use these words. ‘That’s racist. That’s sexist. That’s prejudice.’ They don’t even know what they’re talking about.”
Seinfeld, like many other comedians, has long argued that comedy itself has been harmed by such attempts to stifle free speech.
During an interview with Buzzfeed last year Seinfeld made similar comments after being confronted about the number of “white males” on his show “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”
“This really pisses me off…” Seinfeld said. “I mean, people think it’s the census or something? Does this got to represent the actual pie chart of America? Who cares… If you’re funny, I’m interested. If you’re not funny, I’m not interested. I have no interest in gender or race or anything like that.”
Former late night talk show host and stand-up comedian Jay Leno also revealed during an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” last March that he had been called racist by a college student for saying that he didn’t like guacamole.
“No it’s not racist. Being anti-guacamole is not racist,” Leno said. “You have no idea what racism is. That’s not racist, you idiot! You moron!”
The year prior comedian Chris Rock announced to New York Magazine that he had stopped playing college campuses altogether over students’ social views.
“It was just like, this is not as much fun as it used to be,” Rock said. “I remember talking to George Carlin before he died and him saying the exact same thing.”
Unsurprisingly, radical leftist news outlets who perpetuate this toxic mentality, such as Salon, have attempted to belittle comedians who highlight the absurdity of political correctness.
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Posted: 06 Jun 2015 03:58 AM PDT
A map of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road.
Iran is participating in an ambitious Chinese plan to revive the Silk Road which aims to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through a network of roads, railways, ports and airports.
Deputy Economy Minister Massoud Karbasian says Iran will turn to a transit route for more than 12 million tonnes of goods a year if the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road come to life.
The initiative is the brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping who has hoped it would annually create more than $2.5 trillion of trade among the countries in a decade.
Beijing says it already has more than 50 countries on board to implement the project. It has opened an initial $40 billion fund with an additional gold-related kitty expected to raise $16 billion in investment for infrastructure.
The project requires staggering sums of investment in order to come to fruition that would include building infrastructure across Central and Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and Europe.
Karbasian said a budget to a tune of $900 billion has been allocated by China for the project.
It includes an overland route to pass through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Iran before connecting to Turkey, Greece and Austria.
A maritime route will link Chinese ports to Pakistan and the Persian Gulf en route to Belgium’s Antwerp through the Nile and Kenya in Africa.
The two routes combined encompass a territory housing 4.4 billion people or 63% of the world’s population. The aggregate wealth of the countries involved adds up to $2.1 trillion or 29% of the world’s gross domestic product.
Iran’s position
On Wednesday, a Chinese delegation of transportation officials toured the Iranian Port of Shahid Rajaee in the Persian Gulf to assess investment opportunities, the Mehr news agency said.
Last month, Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Netmatzadeh said Iran wants to splurge up to $8 billion over the next six years to revamp and expand its railway network.
Iran is currently linked to Central Asia through a railway network which connects it to Turkmenistan en route to Kazakhstan, and another to Europe via Turkey.
Iran is uniquely positioned in the geographical map of the modern Silk Road. Karbasian, who is also the head of the customs administration (IRICA), said Iran neighbors 15 countries, including seven land-locked nations.
“These neighbors cannot ignore Iran’s role in transit,” he said.
The ancient Silk Road, established more than 2,100 years ago, connected the Han dynasty’s capital of Xian to Persia.
Through it, Iran’s grapes, beans, pomegranates, spinach, onions and other special products were introduced into China while tea, ginger, mulberries, peaches, apricots and oranges were brought to Iran over a period of more than a millennium.
Geopolitical importance
The new Silk Road plan is also on course to lead to significant geopolitical changes. It could spell the collapse of US economic dominance through the dollar and lead to the prevalence of trade in local currencies.
In April, China accepted Iran as a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is potentially a rival to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank — both under US influence.
Iran has also been given the green light to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which is led by China and Russia.
Maritime Silk Road is set to put an end to European monopoly on international shipping.
The Europeans have a sanctions regime in place against Iran’s shipping industry. Over 250 shipping companies in China, meanwhile, account for less than 20% of transportation of goods.
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Posted: 06 Jun 2015 03:51 AM PDT


The Ukrainian parliament has adopted amendments to state law allowing “admission of the armed forces of other states on the territory of Ukraine.” The possible hosting of foreign weapons of mass destruction is also mentioned in the documents.
Amendments to Ukrainian law were adopted on Thursday by the Verkhovna Rada, receiving a majority of 240 votes (the required minimum being 226). The bill was submitted to the parliament in May by PM Arseny Yatsenyuk. It focuses on the provision of “international peacekeeping and security” assistance to Ukraine at its request.
Peacekeeping missions are to be deployed “on the basis of decision of the UN and/or the EU,” the bill published on the parliament’s official website says.
Previously, the presence of any international military forces on the territory of Ukraine not specifically sanctioned by state law was only possible by adopting a special law initiated by the president. Implementation of the new amendments “will create necessary conditions for deployment on the territory of Ukraine international peacekeeping and security” missions without the need for additional legal authorization, the explanatory note to the draft bill said.
The presence of such armed forces in Ukraine “should ensure an early normalization of situation” in Donbass, the note added, saying that they would help “restore law and order and life, constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens” in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
In a comparative table, published among the accompanying documents to the bill, “potential carriers of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction are permitted under international agreement with Ukraine for short-term accommodation,” with Kiev providing proper control during the period that such forces were stationed there.
Implementation of the law “will not require additional expenditures from the State Budget of Ukraine,” its documents say.
The previous law also required that the length of time temporary peacekeeping forces were to be deployed in Ukraine be stipulated, while the new amendments allow an indefinite period, long enough “to achieve the goal of the stay.”
A separate amendment banned the presence of “armed forces of states that unleash military aggression against Ukraine.” This appears to be a clear reference to the Rada’s January statement calling Russia an “aggressor” – although the body has been reluctant to approve a legally binding law saying exactly that.
Moscow denies being part of the conflict, stressing that Kiev is fighting a civil war with eastern Ukrainians, not Russian forces. The Kremlin has consistently and adamantly denied any presence of Russian troops or hardware in eastern Ukraine, pointing out that there is no evidence proving otherwise.
With violence in south-eastern Ukraine on the rise again, it is “very important to avoid any actions or steps that provoke escalation of tension,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, as quoted by RIA Novosti. Saying that there is “no shortage” of provocative actions from Kiev’s side, Peskov said the main point is “to concentrate on implementation of [Minsk] agreements.”“This is what Moscow expects the most,” he added.
The new bill on international peacekeeping missions in Ukraine contradicts the Minsk agreements, Russian State Duma MP Leonid Slutsky said. “Minsk-2 did not provide for peacekeepers in resolution of the national conflict,” Slutsky said, as quoted by TASS.
The new legal act is “doomed for inaction,” a member of the Russian Duma’s defense committee, Franz Klintsevich, said, adding that the bill is “pure PR and propaganda.” “I cannot simulate a situation in which the United Nations will vote to deploy international military to Ukraine,” Klintsevich told journalists, as cited by RIA Novosti.
The Lugansk People’s Republic’s envoy to the so-called Contact Group on Ukraine in Minsk, Vladislav Dainego, commented that the law was adopted to “justify the presence” of foreign military that are “already operating in Ukraine.” “There are some 20,000 [troops], primarily from Hungary and Poland,” Dainego claimed when speaking to Interfax, adding that the status of those forces was unclear.
Kiev came up with the initiative to employ peacekeeping missions in Donbass earlier this year. Moscow has insisted that deployment of such forces in Ukraine would be relevant only after all points of the Minsk agreement have been fully implemented, and only if both sides of the conflict – Kiev and the rebel republics – agree to the measure.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 08:43