Recently, Inside U.S. Trade reported that Australia, New Zealand and Singapore have proposed replacing some elements of the U.S. proposed TPP chapter on IP with provisions from ACTA.   The table below compares the provisions from the two texts (as well as with TRIPS and the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement). Overall, the comparative analysis shows that TPP contains a plethora of TRIPS-plus provisions as well as ACTA-plus and Chile FTA-plus provisions.

The chart is organized in the following order of categories:  General Provisions; Scope; Special Measures Relating to Enforcement in the Digital Environment; Technological Protection Measures; Criminal Enforcement; Provisional Measures; Civil and Administrative Procedures and Remedies; Special Requirements Related to Border Enforcement; Rights Management Provisions.

This table is the product of work by multiple PIJIP fellows, including myself, Carrie Ellen Sager, and Sophia Castillo.

Click here to download the table.

We, representatives of peasants, workers, consumers, urban and rural poor, social movements and civil society organizations are gathering in Chiba and Tokyo, Japan from 12 to 15 October 2011. La Via Campesina South East and East Asia region with FTA Watch (Thailand), Shokkenren (Japan) and Task Force against Korea-US FTA (Republic of Korea) organize a strategic meeting to discuss Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This is to express our alarm on the implementation and pursuing of the agreements across Asia. Currently there are dozens of FTAs between countries and/or regions and they have been threatening peoples’ livelihood in the region.

At present, the world is still experiencing food, energy, financial and environmental crises. Corporations and capitals who cause these crises are trying to fill their already-full pocket by pushing FTAs and TPP. Only 1 percent of the world’s population are practicing and reaping benefits from free trade. This attempt will exacerbate the current crises and sacrifice the people, especially the poor.

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TPPA New Zealand Forum

The TPP Forum was a public meeting about the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. It was held in Wellington on July 7th, 2011.

http://tppwatch.org/
http://techliberty.org.nz

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

In response to the recent events in Chicago, a message from Occupy San Diego to the Worldwide Resistance that joined in the anti-NATO demonstrations, as well as the various Occupations, and students in Quebec as it was condensed by OSD GA.

phatlip:

Right now it’s about 5:40pm, and I’m watching TV where hundreds of protesters are at an impasse with hundreds of police officers, many of whom are starting to don riot gear. This isn’t happening in some country undergoing a revolution – this is happening less than a half mile from my place in Chicago. Just a few hours earlier, I attended the beginning of the march that was protesting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit that began today with over thirty presidents and prime ministers attending. It’s been a crazy weekend here so far, but I was most surprised to see Filipino representation among the protestors.

This is what I was doing earlier today.

thepeoplesrecord:

International Uprising Pushes Onward

The global working class is continuing to feed off of one another’s momentum to endure the wave of international protest. Momentous protests have propelled international social movements to continue the plight for human rights, educational opportunities and for an end to all wars.

The historical significance of the surge of political protests throughout the world is immense. In times of upheaval, we have seen great social and political changes during the aftermath. This progress is not because of any given political party in office at that time, but because of the people in the streets demanding a change. The international working class is no longer putting up with corrupt capitalist agendas, environmental degradation, crashing economies or skyrocketing poverty.

As the mainstream media remains nearly silent, these activist communities must not be ignored, and their causes must be recognizd as one world struggle.

The May Day protests on May 1 gave a fresh spqark to the spring offensive across the world. These are the events that marked the international surge of resistance in the past few weeks:  

• More than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners have participated in a mass hunger strike in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza to oppose the wrongful imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, horrific prison conditions and inhumane treatment during their incarceration without formal charges. Ten hunger-strikers were hospitalized by the end of the hunger strike. Israeli officials compromised a deal to allow solitary confinement prisoners to be returned to the other areas of the prison as well as to allow family visits.
  
• 106 activists were arrested outside of Quebec’s liberal party headquarters demanding an end to tuition hikes. Three were hospitalized, and one protester lost the use of an eye as police shot rubber bullets and fired tear gas at protesters.
  
• Inspired by the student movement in Canada, hundreds of Czech students mobilized on the streets to protest tuition hikes and education budget cuts, as well.
  
• On May 16, hundreds of protesters took the streets of Chile as a part of the Chilean Student Movement to demand free education.
  
• Student movements continue with momentum as dozens of California public university students go on a hunger strike until their demands – including a five-year moratorium on student fees and a decrease executive salaries – are met.
  
• Los Indignados of Spain celebrated their one-year anniversary with tens of thousands filling the streets to stand up against poverty and unemployment rates throughout the country in the anti-austerity movement.
  
• About 20 protesters were arrested in Nepal after the Nepali government decided to forcefully evict residents in Katmandu. Dozens were injured as riot police demolished homes and forced families to relocate.
  
• Thousands marched in Tahrir Square in Cairo to oppose the country’s brutal military rule as police violence left at least nine dead in the streets of Egypt.
  
• Hundreds marched outside of the Bank of America shareholders meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina to protest foreclosures across the country. Four people were arrested.
  
• A dozen Russian writers led a protest of more than 10,000 people to oppose the Putin regime. The march stopped traffic for miles, and no arrests were made.
  
• Hundreds mobilized in Addison, Texas to fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which some say is a revised version of the NATO treaty.
  
• Thousands of Palestinians commemorated Nakba Day, which marks the day in 1948 when the state of Israel was established and began the displacement, murder and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinian families.
  
• More than 30 activists were arrested after police evicted Occupy Moscow earlier this week. About 10,000 people joined in the march as a part of the anti-austerity movement throughout Europe.
  
• Houston activists gathered at the county court house to demand justice for black 15-year-old teenager Chad Holley, who was beaten to death by a white former police officer who was acquitted of all charges earlier this week.
  
• Countless protests stormed Chicago as NATO negotiations took place over the weekend. Tens of thousands of activists descended upon the city to protest the Afghanistan war, immigration practices and in support of worker unions. Upwards of 15,000 people reclaimed Chicago’s streets from the brutal police forces of the Chicago Police Department on May 20 alone.

- G. Razo

CHICAGO — At the end of the first day of the NATO Summit in Chicago, the transatlantic alliance signed a $1.7 billion contract with Northrop Grumman for five Global Hawk UAVs.

The Block 40 Global Hawks, which are unarmed reconnaissance UAVs, are part the Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS) system.

NATO first announced the purchase in February but officially closed the deal May 21. A NATO official predicted it would cost NATO another $2 billion to operate the aircraft during the next 20 years.

“These are five Global Hawk drones that provide the kind of surveillance capability that we saw in the Libya operation was so vital to the effective operation of our military,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said at a press conference.

Although European air forces carried out the bulk of bombing missions in Libya last year, they relied heavily on drones provided by the United States to identify and hit targets during the campaign.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that NATO had not discussed where the aircraft could be deployed.

Of the 28 NATO member countries, 13 are currently contributing to the acquisition of the aircraft. They are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States.

Every NATO member is expected to participate in the long-term support of the program.

Northrop Grumman will be the prime contractor for NATO AGS and will build the Global Hawk air vehicle and its various payloads, including the ground surveillance radar. European industry will develop and deliver the system’s ground support stations.

Northrop Grumman officials, including CEO and President Wes Bush, joined NATO leaders and 28 defense ministers from NATO member countries for the signing in Chicago.

The main operating base for the AGS system will be at a NATO base in Sicily, where the U.S. Air Force bases Global Hawks and the U.S. Navy has the broad area maritime surveillance (BAMS) variant of the UAV.

Linchpin: Can you tell us what your role is in the anarchist and student movements in Quebec?

Rémi: At the moment, I’m a “supporter’’ of the Union Communiste Libertaire and I have been a member of the UCL for several years in the past. As for my role in the student movement, since I am not taking any courses in the current session, I’m not a member of any student union. But I am a student at UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal) studying for a Masters degree in Political Science. I am also on the executive committee of my teaching and research assistants union, which is a Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) local.

Inside the student movement I mostly do support work. I facilitate general assemblies and congresses. I organize workshops to share skills such as how to facilitate general assemblies and how to protect oneself from police in demonstrations, etc. I obviously also participate in the demonstrations and the different actions organized by the student movement.

Besides this, I am also writing a chapter on anarchism in the Quebec student movement for a book about anarchism in Quebec today.

http://linchpin.ca/content/Education/role-anarchists-Quebec-student-movement-interview-R%C3%A9mi-Bellemare-Caron

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On Friday, May 18, the Québec legislature signed a special “emergency law” to “restore order” in the province following three months of student protests in a strike against the government’s proposed 80% increase in the cost of tuition. A legislative debate lasted all night and resulted in a vote of 68-48 in favor of the legislation. The legislation has three main focal points: it “suspends” the school semester for schools majorly affected by the strike, it establishes extremely high fines for anyone who attempts to picket or block access to schools, and it imposes massive restrictions on where and how people may demonstrate and protest in the streets. The law is set to expire by July 1, 2013.

http://www.occupy.com/article/quebec-inches-closer-martial-law

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Addison, Texas – The United States said today that TPP partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam – made better-than-expected progress at the twelfth round of negotiations that formally concluded today outside Dallas, Texas. U.S. negotiators have reported to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk that the progress achieved during this round has further narrowed differences in the text and the teams can now see a clear path forward toward conclusion of most of the more than 20 chapters of the agreement.

The next round of TPP negotiations will be held in San Diego, California from July 2-10. The Stakeholder Engagement Forum for that round will take place on Monday, July 2, and stakeholders are encouraged to make their plans now to participate.

http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2012/may/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-talks-advance-texas

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