CNN, FOX NEWS, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and other mainstream news sources are giving a great deal of their time covering the events in the Ukraine. At the same time the owners of these stations are quietly lobbying to get the Trans-Pacific trade deal (TPP) passed.
A concerned citizen passed along this news story to me earlier today. Republic Report, wrote this update about the TPPA:
“Earlier this month, Media Matters for America published a short research note revealing that most major cable and broadcast news outlets have largely ignored the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Media Matters’ “transcript search of CBS Evening News with Scott Pelly, ABC’s World News with Diane Sawyer, and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams from August 1, 2013 through January 31, 2014 found no mention of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Cable news outlets have not been much better. Fox News and CNN spent virtually no time on the issue.”
Recently, Republic Report broke several stories regarding the TPP, including bonuses paid by CitiGroup and Bank of America to officials also tapped by the administration to lead the TPP deal.
You might be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” You might change your mind when you discover these same companies are big players in the TPP trade deal. Time Warner Inc., the parent company of CNN; Comcast, the parent company of NBC and MSNBC; Twenty-First Century Fox, who owns FOX News, and Disney Corporation which owns ABC News all have lobbyists to get this trade deal done, but they don’t want you to know about it. The main thing these corporations want is tighter restrictions when it comes to intellectual property rights, but critics say it could restrict access to information as well. The public is left in the dark about issues that affect them right now; we don’t need more censorship, we need transparency!
The TPP is not just about intellectual property rights, it will affect your environment, your food, your prescription medications, your healthcare, and your wages. If you think it’s hard finding a job that pays a living wage now, just wait until the TPP passes!
Image via Fight for the Future
Last month over fifty groups opposing the TPP, circulated petitions via social media and were sent to members of Congress. That led many to believe the deal was “dead” because democrats didn’t seem interested to sign on. But remember when Obama said, “I have a pen and a phone?” Does that mean he will find some loophole to get this deal done without consent of Congress? Judging by his recent behavior, I would say he has instructed his legal team to do just that.
If you don’t believe Obama will do anything to get his way, then why did he nominate former SOPA lobbyist, Robert Holleyman as U.S. trade representative? Holleyman led efforts to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act legislation, better known as SOPA, when he was leader of the Business Software Alliance.
According to a report from the Nation, “… leaked TPP documents reveal that the United States is seeking to resurrect portions of the SOPA bill, …. holding Internet Service Providers liable for hosting copyright infringement and extending the copyright life of certain corporate-owned copyrights.”
Obama knows the American public does not want this trade deal and yet he is doing all he can to make it happen! He may have a pen and phone, but he isn’t the only one. Here are the phone numbers of the executives of three of the companies paying lobbyists to get the TPP passed. Emails are great and everything, but in my opinion, they are a passive way to go. Emails can be ignored and deleted. Jamming a company’s phone lines is a different story.
Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts (215) 286-1700
Disney Corporation Chairman and CEO Bob Igar (818) 560-1000
Time Warner Chairman and CEO Robert Marcus (212) 364- 8200
The White House (212) 456-1111
Sources:
http://www.republicreport.org/2014/tpp-media-companies/
http://www.thenation.com/blog/178575/obama-nominates-sopa-lobbyist-tpp-trade-post
I haven’t read your article, nor do I intend to, because I know it’s crap! Speaking as a man who cares about what is happening in Ukraine, I can tell you that the worst insult I suffered from CNN was that the Sunday before last, when Russia was first invading Ukraine, with 15,000 troops, all that got was a news crawl at the bottom of the screen, while the news was bellyaching about the Napa Valley earthquake, and how some Ritchie Rich’s wine cellar was trashed! Before that, while cable turned into the All ISIS and Iraq Channel, there was hope that MH17’s disaster would give Ukraine the attention it deserved. That’s right, it took the deaths of non – Ukrainians to make the world notice! But then Israel and HAMAS stepped on that headline with the war in Gaza! Ukraine? What’s that!?
In what universe do you think that your premise has any bearing to reality? Not this one!