Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Saturday 11 July 2015

The European Union Times



Posted: 10 Jul 2015 02:34 AM PDT


Despite vocal criticism, the EU Parliament has approved a non-binding resolution on the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, bridging a gap in protracted negotiations on the secretive trade pact between the EU and the US.
The resolution was approved by the majority of the parliament with 436 ‘Yes’ votes coming up against 241 ‘No’ votes in Strasbourg on Wednesday in hopes of influencing the TTIP negotiations between European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom and the USA. Washington insists that for negotiations to be successful a dispute body must be incorporated into the final agreement.
The resolution, introduced by European Parliament President Martin Schulz, seeks to replace the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism a new “more transparent” system of dispute resolution instead of using private arbitration panels to challenge government in a trade disagreements.
The vote signals “that the old system of investor-state dispute settlement should not and cannot be reproduced in TTIP,” Malmstrom said in a statement.
This system should be “subject to democratic principles and scrutiny”, in which disputes are processed “in a transparent manner”, by “publicly appointed, independent professional judges” and “in public hearings”. It should include “an appellate mechanism,” respect the jurisdiction of EU and member state courts and ensure that private interests “cannot undermine public policy objectives”, says the text.
But after months of bitter debate, while the centre-right parliamentarians see the trade deal with US as good for business, the Greens and far-left and far-right politicians see it as a threat to EU laws. Critics say it would allow US companies to challenge European food and environmental regulations on the grounds that they restrict trade.
Proponents of the deal say that it will boost GDP in the EU by €100 billion ($110 billion) and in the US by more than $100 billion, as well as create over 700,000 jobs in America. More free trade would increase investment, and widening export industries would add jobs.
But opponents of TTIP warn that these figures are not realistic and that cheaper goods and services would hurt the EU and help the US. One of the most contentious issues is also whether TTIP will weaken Europe’s rules over genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
“Parliament’s call today for a ‘new system’ must be heard, and it will be,” Malmstrom said. “I will now press ahead to flesh these out, and transform them into legal proposals, so that these further reforms can be incorporated into Europe’s proposals for TTIP.”
Boosting trade with the US may also come at a cost for European countries that may need to compromise on health, safety and environmental regulations. Following the passage in parliament the UK Independence Party (UKIP) criticized the decision.
“The people interested in the protection of the NHS, in consumer rights and a legal system fair to small businesses will be angry with this decision of the European Parliament to pass TTIP,” said UKIP trade spokesman William Dartmouth MEP. “This is a very damaging vote by MEPs which will hurt free trade and the financial well-being of patients, consumers and workers.”
While TTIP between the US and Europe would create the world’s largest free trade zone many Europeans believe that the agreement will elevate corporate interest above national interest. As a result demonstrators have taken place all across Europe, including in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Scandinavia.
The next round of TTIP negotiations is scheduled for July 13-17 in Brussels.
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Posted: 10 Jul 2015 01:55 AM PDT



White People documentary hosted by illegal immigrant features young Americans crying over their “white privilege”.
MTV will air a show later this month entitled White People which shows young white Americans crying on camera over their “white privilege” and publicly shaming them for “what they’ve done in America”.
No, this is not a joke. The documentary is hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, an illegal immigrant and amnesty activist who has worked for the Washington Post and the Huffington Post.
The trailer for the show, which has been widely criticized by YouTube respondents, features white people expressing angst about how they are desperate not to appear “racist” or “offend people.”
According to Kimberly Ricci, the documentary forces the participants “to internalize what they’ve done in America” – in other words, this a huge exercise in white guilt tripping for public consumption.
An MTV write up of the show also explains how Vargas talks to young Native Americans who feel that European settlers did not ‘save the country’.
“They are the ones who invaded. They are the ones who took,” says Vargas.
In the interests of balance, when will Vargas be fronting a show called Black People that collectively blames all black people for black crime statistics, including the fact that black people in America commit over half of homicides despite making up only 13 per cent of the population?
How about the fact that despite being outnumbered by whites five to one, blacks commit eight times more crimes against whites than vice-versa?
How about the fact that interracial rapes are almost exclusively black on white?
How about the Barbary slave trade, under which over 1 million white Christian Europeans were enslaved in North Africa until the middle of the 18th century?
Are black people going to be shown crying on camera having been shamed into taking responsibility for all of this? No, because that would be racist. But according to MTV and Vargas, subjecting someone to trial by media purely because of their skin color is perfectly acceptable – so long as they are white.
This documentary represents the culmination of years of race-baiting and racial division which is being driven by the mass media and the Obama White House, tensions which have rapidly accelerated since the Ferguson and Baltimore riots.
Responses to the video trailer on YouTube were savage, with the clip receiving twice as many ‘thumbs down’ in comparison to ‘thumbs up’.
“I’m black, even I know this show is straight up racist. Only because it’s stereotyping white people, all white INDIVIDUALS are not like that,” wrote one respondent.
“You want an uncomfortable conversation on race? Let’s talk about violent crime stats shall we? No? I get it, you only want white people to feel uncomfortable,” added another.
“Fu*k you MTV, I will NEVER apologize for the skin I was born with, nor will I apologize for being a male, or for being straight,” another respondent asserted.
However, many in the liberal media are celebrating the show, with Kristen Yoonsoo remarking how pleased she is about the fact that, “lots of white people tears lie ahead.”
“It’s always a good time poking fun at white people,” she concludes.
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Posted: 10 Jul 2015 01:40 AM PDT


According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the number of crimes conducted by immigrants in the US has increased drastically.
Given the March “ICE Weekly Departures and Detention Report”, 168,680 convicted criminal immigrants who had final orders of removal, remained at large in the US.
Another 179,018 convicted criminal immigrants with deportation cases pending also remained at large.
While the vast majority were not in custody some were detained, namely 6,220 criminal immigrants facing final deportation orders and another 7,680 convicted criminal immigrants with immigration cases pending.
The Obama administration meanwhile keeps releasing criminal immigrants. In 2013 they released 36,007 criminal immigrants who had nearly 88,000 convictions. Those convictions included 193 homicide convictions, 426 sexual assault convictions, 303 kidnapping convictions, and 1,075 aggravated assault convictions.
In January, the Department of Homeland Security revealed a 38-page document to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) showing that of those criminals released in 2013, 1,000 had gone on to commit additional crimes including, terroristic threats, lewd acts with a minor, various types of assault, DUI, robbery, hit-and-run, gang activity, rape, and child cruelty.
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