from the page: "..At the end of the summit's first day, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that member countries had agreed to contribute 1% of their international reserves toward the bloc's main bank in order to create a reserve fund. The Bank of the Alba was established in 2008 with the intention of providing economic support to people-centred regional projects and to contribute to sustainable social and economic development across the region. The Bank is also cited as acting as a continental alternative to the International Monetary Fund... The heads of state also discussed the possibility of increasing the commercial use of the sucre, the bloc's virtual currency. The sucre is currently used for direct trading between the ALBA countries, allowing them to circumvent the U.S dollar and minimise the foreign-exchange risk.

from the page: "..The ACTA abolishes all legal oversight involving the removal of content and allows copyright holders to force ISPs to remove material from the internet, something that presently requires a court order. ISPs would then be faced with legal liabilities if they chose not to remove content. Theoretically, personal blogs can be removed for using company logos without permission or simply linking to copy written material; users could be criminalized... ACTA treaty will also obligate ISPs to disclose personal user information to copyright holders... ACTA would prohibit the production of generic pharmaceuticals and outlaw the use of certain seeds for crops through patents, furthering the corporate cartelization of the food and drug supply. ACTA would allow companies from any participating country (which include EU member states, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Morocco) to shut down websites without any explanation."

from the page: "Why does an appendectomy in Germany cost roughly a quarter what it costs in the United States? ($3,285 compared to $13,123). Or an MRI scan cost less than a third as much, on average, in Canada? ($304 compared to $1,009)... For Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the U.S. respectively, the average cost in dollars for bypass surgery is $13,998, $22,212, $16,325, $27,237 and in the U.S. $59,770. For cataract surgery the bill is $1,299, $927, $3,352, N.A. and in the U.S. $14,764... These include higher administrative costs to deal with insurance paperwork, higher insurance company profits and executive compensation and less developed electronic health records leading to costly errors... in the U.S. seeing specialists is often prohibitively expensive, and if you cannot afford such services, that is the longest waiting time of all. ..fully ten percent of all health care expenditures are the result of computerized billing fraud and abuse. That will be $270 billion this year.

from the page: "Under the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.., Korean civil servants would be excluded from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)’s process of price determination... The Ministry of Justice has found a tendency for large companies to apply for arbitration even when the probability of winning the cases is low... Even when it comes to fair policies, the sending of cases for arbitration can mean the state ends up having to pay several million dollars in arbitration and legal fees. The government officials who enacted the policies that the foreign companies object to are often held responsible, which can weaken the chances they will enact protective policies... Korea Post announced on November 11 2011 plans to pass a partial amendment to enforcement regulations for the law on post office deposit insurance, increasing the maximum insurable amount... As soon as AMCHAM expressed opposition to this, saying it violated the FTA, Korea Post withdrew the plan.

from the page: "Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae has commented on a proposal jointly signed in early December last year by Incheon District Court judge Kim Ha-neul and 165 other judges for the creation of an official Supreme Court-affiliated KORUS FTA research team, stating, “Such a forum will have to be created.” Yang made the statement at a new year’s press meeting on January 2 at the Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, where he also commented, “Most of the judges [that signed the proposal] did so with the aim of researching the agreement because they did not know about it, rather than in order to get involved in it at all costs.”"

from the page: "Pacific Rim is suing El Salvador for up to hundreds of millions of dollars under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement for not approving a mining license. Since Canada isn't part of this agreement, Pacific Rim opened a subsidiary in Reno, Nevada... Rather than complying with the environmental permitting process of El Salvador, Pacific Rim launched an attack under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). They are demanding compensation from the government of El Salvador that could rise to hundreds of millions of dollars. In an abuse of process designed to attract jurisdiction under DR-CAFTA, Pacific Rim moved its subsidiary from the Cayman Islands to Nevada in the United States. The case will be decided by a tribunal at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), associated with the World Bank..."

from the page: "Japan has denied a White House statement that .. [PM] Noda told U.S. President Barack Obama he would put all goods and services on the negotiating table for trade liberalization. The White House stood by its statement, issued on Saturday, despite Japan's denial... "It is not true that Prime Minister Noda made such a comment in the summit meeting. We pointed out to the U.S. side that the statement in question is not true and asked for explanation," a Japanese government statement said..." --Whatever Japanese and US govts say, both are in the habit of lying. Noda desperately tries to be a US' pet. we must remove him from office as soon as possible. despite knowing his head empty of ideas and irresponsibility, the US clings grotesquely to his crazy muddled statement to compel japan to accept the TPP joining whose condition is that Japan grants US' every request. we neither accept US' horrible inhumane healthcare system nor give our rights to self-determination to the US.

according to news report by one of the disgusting propaganda mainstream media, PM Noda had a talk with Kissinger at the PM official residence after his official announcement about TPP negotiation to the press, and informed him that Japanese government will begin consultations on the matter of japan's joining TPP negotiation with the states concerned, and Kissinger said, "the US has been calling for Japan's joining it. I recognize you for it."

This old malicious man, who regards Japan as a US colony for decades and who loathes and despises it, whipped himself into action on behalf of the US national interest, and came to Japan to pressure it to join TPP. Noda has never achieved accountability to the Japanese. His slavish devotion to the US shows that he believes that his master is the US and that he is held accountable not to the Japanese but to the US. He is the very autocratic shameless colonial administrator who lick boots of colonial masters who disdain him.

> Heated debate on whether Japan should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks continued..
it isn't heated because pro-tpp group's opinion is utterly devoid of concreteness and it isn't in the right ballpark.

> After several weeks of intense internal discussions...It was expected to wrap up by leaving the final decision with Noda.
what? the mainstream media have reported many times that he is about to say "japan joins." everyone knows that he, the no.1 yesman to the japan's and US' ruling class, does so regardless of their discussion. don't report as if it were fact that there had been a heated debate and that his decision reflects it. the fact is that there is no national consensus and that the japanese public is absolutely furious with and thoroughly disgusted his abandoning responsibility and accountability. democratic members who left it to him are in cahoots with him. we can't fail to put his announcement of japan's joining through a shredder before the entry into the TPP.

from the page: "..Japan has consistently opposed free trade in agriculture for decades... It was Japan's indecision during 1997-98 that destroyed the last attempt at regional negotiations in APEC. At that time, Japan pledged to liberalize certain sectors and was officially committed to the APEC process, but at the last moment withdrew... How has Japan changed in the last few years? Has it undergone a paradigm shift toward agricultural protectionism? Will Japan open its highly protected rice market?".. " --who has changed is not japan but the US. to win the election, obama has campaigned hard on a job-creation plan, which needs an enormous overseas market --japan. to pressure puppet japanese government to make a public commitment to join the TPP, notorious japan-handers -- Richard Armitage, John Hamre, William J. Perry, Joseph Nye, Dennis Blair, John Thomas Schieffer, and Michael Green -- are in japan now. why don't you mention this situation? don't you know it is a colony of it?

from the page:"..復興需要を米国財界としては経団連と提携して..先に取り込んで..。共同作戦での教訓を、より複雑化した日本や日本周辺での安全保障活動での共同作戦に活かすべき..いつの間にか集団的自衛権が前提..。「外圧がこの日本の重要な岐路の選択のさいに加わることはない」と..書いてある。外圧にならないようにジャパン・ハンドラーズのカウンターパートを使って..。福島原発の放射能の健康影響の共同研究。これも「先取特権」..。日本国内でTPPに関する議論が進んでいることは歓迎すべきである..。次に来るのが「法人税を減税し、財政圧力を軽減するために消費税率を段階的調整（増税）。..米国の主要輸出産品である医療機器のシェア（日米合弁）を拡大する狙い..。「日本は世界の原子力開発でアクティブに活動し続けることで、日本は核にかんする高度の安全性、透明性、不拡散経の協力も可能になる」と。原発をアメリカは日本にやめさせるわけがない..日本の原子力産業は米国の下請け.."--checking PM Noda's every act of treason against this report, it's clear he as a colonial administrator has discharged his duties as instructed in the US.

from the page:"..11月のAPECで交渉参加を表明すべき理由。..『アメリカがAPECで政権浮揚に繋がる大きな成果を表明するのは難しい』と。今あのオバマ政権が来年大統領選なのに政権側の支持率が低いんですね。でAPECで手柄がないと...『日本が参加表明出来ればアメリカが最も評価するタイミング。これを逃すとアメリカが歓迎するタイミングがなくなる』...。我々[米国]はこれからアジアに輸出を増やして輸出を５年かんで倍増すると宣言していて...１ドル70円程度の円高ドル安が続かないと達成できない...。オバマ大統領の手柄にして交渉参加表明するってことは、途中で抜けたらオバマ大統領、面目丸つぶれ。..普天間の問題で日米関係がおかしくなってる中で、尖閣諸島の問題とかが起きたので、えーアメリカに媚を売らなきゃいけないくなったので、パッと出したんだと、思います。だけれども、それは日本側がその経済的な日本の市場をアメリカに渡せばアメリカのご機嫌がそこ…えー直るとか守ってもらえるとか思ってるのは日本側がそう思ってるだけ。..日米軍事同盟というのは..アメリカが経済的な利益を取るためにやってるわけじゃなくて、アメリカの国防戦略上必要だから.."

from the page: "..In the last 15 years there is abundant evidence that this trade [NAFTA] deal has failed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics some 900,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. alone, and millions of Mexican farmers' livelihoods were devastated when they failed to compete with the influx of tariff-free, subsidized crops from the U.S. As with NAFTA, the U.S.-Korea FTA will likely offshore thousands of jobs from an already flailing economy. A large number of the endangered jobs pay around 40.5 percent more than the average wage in the U.S. Of the 159,000 lost jobs projected by the Economic Policy Institute, high tech and green jobs, along with manufacturing, are most at risk... Trade policy has the ugly effect of pitting workers around the world against one another. But when we talk to each other and see that neither side is actually benefiting, we start to wonder, who is? After all, if it's not working for you, and it's not working for me, it must be working for someone...

from the page: "...Mexican malnutrition has its roots in the way NAFTA and other neoliberal programs forced the nation to move away from producing its own basic foods to a "food security" model. "Food security" posits that a country is secure as long as it has sufficient income to import its food. It separates farm employment from food security and ignores unequal access to food within a country... Seventeen years after NAFTA, some two million farmers have been forced off their land by low prices and the dismantling of government supports. ... The areas that adapted successfully to industrial agriculture and agroexport crops are characterized by flagrant violation of the labor rights of migrant farm workers, widespread pollution and water waste... Take the case of Corn Products International (CPI). The transnational filed a NAFTA claim against the Mexican government in 2003, claiming a loss to its business due to a tax levied on high fructose corn syrup in beverages...

from the page: " ...Mexico’s reason for imposing the tax was to save a sugarcane industry that provided jobs for thousands of citizens and played a crucial economic role in many regions... A 2008 NAFTA tribunal ruled that Mexico had to pay $58.4 million to CPI... CPI’s wholly owned subsidiary Arancia Corn Products is among the most powerful food transnationals operating in the country, along with Maseca/Archers Daniel Midland and Cargill. Large agribusiness companies allegedly played a key role in the 2007 tortilla crisis by hoarding harvest as the international price went up, artificially drying up the national market and selling at nearly double the price they paid for the harvest... NAFTA and other FTAs give corporations the power to define what we eat, what we buy at the store, who will have a job and who won’t, and whether a village sustained by local food production will survive or witness the end of generations of livelihoods."

from the page: "..ラチェット規定ってのは..一旦韓国が認めた自由化、市場開放は、えーあとでやばいと気付いても元に戻してはならない。...ISDっていうのは、さっきのラチェット規定もそうですけども、治外法権..。要は、自国の国の基準で、自国の国民の意思で、自分の国の環境、衛生、福祉、安全、そういったことを守れなくすると。だから国家主権・国民主権を制限する。言い換えると、民主主義を動かなくするのがグローバル化...。TPPは条約なので、TPPの締結自体は国会の承認が必要です。だから国会で阻止できるかもしれない。でも、交渉参加の表明は、これは政府の専権事項で、どんなに民主的にみんなが反対しても、世論がみんな反対しようが、政治家が全員反対しようが、首相が交渉参加を表明しちゃったら終わり...。無残な結果になっても、TPP推進論者はですね、こういうんですよ、最後は。『..グローバルな流れに乗り遅れたんだから、淘汰されたんだから、仕方がない』... 新自由主義を唱えた政権ってのは..全部長命政権..。自分たちでフェアに競争して負けたものの面倒を政府が見るのがおかしいんだよ！と。つまり責任を逃れている。自己責任。駄目でも自己責任。"

from the page: "..Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Mark Sinclair emphasized that it has been a long-held objective of the Government of New Zealand to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, and there is a public perception that getting into the United States will be an ""el Dorado"" for New Zealand's commercial sector. However, the reality is..the United States is already quite open to New Zealand trade and investment.. Sinclair emphasized that New Zealand sees the TPP as a platform for future trade integration in the Asia Pacific. If the eight initial members can reach the ""gold standard"" on the TPP, it will ""put the squeeze"" on Japan, Korea and others, which is when the ""real payoff"" will come in the long term. He also stated that another challenge in negotiating is that the current economic and commercial situation has put a great deal of pressure on domestic agendas. Negotiators must therefore be very cognizant of the impact on jobs...

from the page: "..On February 4, 2011, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper addressed ways to coordinate and harmonize regulations... They announced the creation of the U.S.-Canada RCC which will, promote economic growth, job creation, and benefits to our consumers and businesses through increased regulatory transparency and coordination... Regulatory integration threatens Canadian sovereignty and democracy. Further harmonization with the U.S. could result in Canada losing control over its ability to regulate food safety... The proposed Canada-U.S. trade and security perimeter agreement supports the process of deregulation... A North American security perimeter goes well beyond keeping the U.S. safe from any perceived threats. It is a means to secure trade, resources and corporate interests. Much like the whole deep integration agenda, regulatory harmonization is taking incremental steps with the goal of achieving a single unified North American regulatory regime.

from the page: "...At a time when the global financial crisis has exposed deep flaws in the global free market, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Chile, Peru and Vietnam are negotiating a free-trade agreement initiated by the US... “US pharmaceutical companies want more changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so they can charge higher prices for medicines, agribusiness companies want to abolish GE food labelling and media and services companies want to weaken Australian content rules in media and in government purchasing. These are health, social and cultural policies that should be decided through democratic parliamentary processes, not secretly signed away in trade negotiations,” explained Mr Purse... “...the TPPA negotiations appear to be bolting the door closed on the options for governments to re-regulate the financial sector and impose controls on speculative capital flows in ways that meet the needs of their people”.