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posted by janrinok on Monday August 29 2016, @01:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the not-surrendering-to-corporations-for-now dept.

Common Dreams reports

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said [August 25] that the U.S. Senate will not vote on the 12-nation, corporate-friendly Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) this year, buoying progressive hopes that the trade deal will never come to fruition.

[...] McConnell told a Kentucky State Farm Bureau breakfast in Louisville that the agreement, "which has some serious flaws, will not be acted upon this year".

Common Dreams also reports

Germany's Vice Chancellor and Economic Minister said that the controversial Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has "de facto failed", admitting that negotiations between the U.S. and E.U. have completely stalled.

"Negotiations with the U.S. have de facto failed because, of course, as Europeans, we couldn't allow ourselves to submit to American demands", Sigmar Gabriel told the German news station ZDF [1][2] in an interview that will air at 7pm German time [August 28], according to Der Spiegel. [1]

"Everything has stalled", Gabriel said.

[1] In German [2] Content behind scripts

Reported by BBC, in English.

In 14 rounds of talks, the two sides had not agreed on a single common chapter out of 27 being discussed, Mr Gabriel said. "In my opinion the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed, even though nobody is really admitting it," said Mr Gabriel.

He suggested Washington was angry about a deal the EU struck with Canada, because it contained elements the US does not want to see in the TTIP.


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  • (Score: 0, Troll) by TheGratefulNet on Monday August 29 2016, @02:24PM

    by TheGratefulNet (659) on Monday August 29 2016, @02:24PM (#394701)

    write-in for president worked once. right?

    oh wait, it NEVER WORKED. NEVER. not once.

    what makes you think its even worth the effort?

    if you are not voting for one of the 2 'chosen few' (barf!) then you might as well just stay home.

    I don't like either one, but I'm under no false illusion that 3rd party candidates or write-ins will mean a single thing.

    now, you want to have some power: have the write-in's matter in terms of quantity and have that higher quantity LOWER the power of the ones who do get in. ie, lets vote them to be less influential and powerful. wouldn't that be something!

    but this is not the american way. our way is full of crap and the 'voting' is just an illusion that used to work but ceases to, at this point.

    the elites get together, they decide on a vacation outing who gets it and that guy gets it. the rest is all a show.

    so, write in your dog or your best friend. you are free to waste your time. and anyone else written in is a waste of time. its not like your vote matters anymore when you do this. no one says 'xyz got in but there was 20% who voted 'none of the above'. its not said and no one cares or even brings it up.

    not sure why you think the way you do, but as you grow older you realize how utterly powerless you are in this world. the schemers makes the rules and vote their own people in. and... here... we.... GO!

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29 2016, @02:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29 2016, @02:34PM (#394712)

    That's exactly the kind of attitute that has prevented anyone else from ever having a chance. It's self-reinforcing, and the problem will never be solved until that stigma changes. Don't kid yourself, your single vote isn't going to change who wins in the 2 party battle either, so either way your vote is worthless by itself, no matter what, so why keep voting for the terrible choices? We need some change here, both in voting and in the stigma of worthless votes. That's the real battle.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday August 29 2016, @02:52PM

    by Thexalon (636) on Monday August 29 2016, @02:52PM (#394732)

    I don't like either one, but I'm under no false illusion that 3rd party candidates or write-ins will mean a single thing.

    I think there's some value in quoting Eugene Debs here: "It is better to vote for what you want and not get it, than it is to vote for what you don't want and get it."

    Getting to the point where the media talking heads have to at least be giving lip service to Gary Johnson and/or Jill Stein will at the very least expand the range of what's considered "mainstream" political thought rather than having all their ideas and their party's proposals relegated to the lunatic fringe a la Vermin Supreme. Of course, even better is electing third-party candidates in down-ballot and even local races, but that's less likely than a 10% showing from somebody for president.

    --
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29 2016, @03:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29 2016, @03:52PM (#394774)

    I changed my name to "None of the Above" and I'm running for president. My platform: I'm neither Donald nor Hillary.