{"id":20290,"date":"2016-03-02T06:54:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T14:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=20290"},"modified":"2016-03-02T06:54:11","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T14:54:11","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-01032016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/03\/02\/squatchs-open-thread-01032016\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 01\/03\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today was one of those days dealing with time consuming medical issues.  As  a result, the monthly report will be delayed one day.  Tomorrow I have physio and then it is report time.  On the home front, I have a lady bug invasion! This one bug keeps dive bombing my computer.  I have yet to be successful capturing the little beast and the furbabes so far have been totally disinterested in helping.<\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Common Dreams<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — A new study confirms what many activists have suspected for a long time: The private courts set up by international “trade” deals heavily favor billionaires and giant corporations, and they do so at the expense of governments and people. …<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A large anti-TPP demonstration took place in New Zealand in February. (Photo: Dominic Hartnett<\/a>\/flickr\/cc)<\/span><\/p>\n

The “investor-state dispute settlement” process, or ISDS, is built into treaties like NAFTA and the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It allows foreign investors to sue participating governments if they do anything that harms their investment in that nation. Corporations can sue governments through this process, but governments can’t sue corporations.  …<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Virtually all of the financial benefits of the ISDS have gone to the rich and powerful. Nearly 95 percent of all award money went to giant corporations or extremely wealthy individuals.<\/p>\n

The ISDS industry scored big, too. The authors found that ISDS “lawyers, arbitrators, experts and other actors” had earned an estimated $1.7 billion from these hearings by the spring of 2015.<\/p>\n

You can read a copy of the<\/span> York University Osgoode Hall study<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.  If for some reason you have trouble with this link, please click on the link within the article.  Many of us have known that the ISDS was problematic, especially in non US countries with other agreements like NAFTA.  The TPP and similar agreements must be stopped.  In the US, the wealthy and large corporations already have so much influence in government with the large sums they can use to "buy" politicians and elections.  They don't need more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Huffington Post<\/span><\/a><\/strong> — But Ryan said he had to speak out when he sees "something that runs counter to who we are as a party and as a country."<\/p>\n

"If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games," he said. "They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry."<\/p>\n

Ryan continued on to say that Republicans should not "prey on people's prejudices<\/strong>."<\/p>\n

"We appeal to their highest ideals," he said. "This is the party of Lincoln. We believe all people are created equal in the eyes of God and our government.<\/strong>"<\/p>\n

Ryan said that point was fundamental. "And if someone wants to be our nominee, they must understand this," he said.<\/p>\n

When I read this, I had to speak out!  First, I seem to recall that during the 2012 campaign, Paul Ryan was the Republican VP candidate for Romney and they courted the white supremacist vote.  The difference, they weren't as loud mouthed about it as Trump.  Second, there are a lot of Republican Congress critters who are openly bigots. Thirdly, the current Republican Party is the party of Lincoln in name only.  I am sure you can add to the points.<\/span><\/p>\n

Common Dreams<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — <\/font>Reigniting calls for Rick Snyder's resignation, emails released Friday reveal that advisers to the Michigan governor knew that Flint's water was toxic<\/a> as far back as October 2014.<\/p>\n

"My Mom is a City resident. Nice to know she's drinking water with elevated chlorine levels and fecal coliform," the governor's chief legal counsel said in an email sent just three weeks before the Republican governor's re-election, according<\/a> to the Detroit Free Press.<\/em><\/p>\n

After examining over 500 emails released by the governor's office, the Detroit News<\/em>reported<\/a> that "[t]wo top advisers to Gov. Rick Snyder urged switching Flint back to Detroit’s water system in October 2014, after General Motors Co. said the city’s heavily chlorinated river water was rusting engine parts."<\/p>\n

"There's no reasonable person who can believe at this point that every top adviser to Rick Snyder knew that there was an issue, but Snyder knew nothing," said<\/a> Lonnie Scott …<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n