Talib Kweli Joins Tom Morello-Organized Tour Protesting Trans-Pacific Partnership

[DemMomma4Sanders]

Source: Billboard

The project is a partnership between Internet freedom nonprofit Fight for the Future and Firebrand Records, a label founded by Morello and Ryan Harvey. The tour's official site describes the TPP as an "anti-democratic deal between 12 countries that was negotiated in complete secrecy by government officials and hundreds of corporate lobbyists." It cites alleged threats to the environment, good-paying jobs, Internet freedom and general freedom of expression.

"Working people everywhere have had enough," said Morello in a statement. "The TPP is nothing short of a corporate takeover of our democracy. That's why people are rising up to stop it. Corporate lobbyists want to sneak the TPP through Congress quietly; that means it's time for us to get loud."

Lost actress Evangeline Lilly will act as an emcee at all of the events, and help facilitate a teach-in associated with each of the concerts.

Read more: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7424077/talib-kweli-tour-rock-against-tpp-trans-pacific-partnership

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Despite What Media Says, TPP Isn’t About Free Trade — It’s About Protecting Corporate Profits

Concerns that the TPP would lead to even more job losses “are real and I think that the political discussion is responding to those concerns from both parties,” Melinda St. Louis, director of international campaigns at Public Citizen, told The Intercept. But, she noted, “I do think that the trade aspects of the TPP are a small part of it. It’s only six of 30 chapters that have to do with trade and goods really at all. The rest of it is about setting global rules.”

One of the proposed TPP rules, for instance, involves the expansion of copyrights, which would impose anti-competitive costs on economies.

The agreement has been harshly criticized by humanitarian organizations like Doctors Without Borders, which deploys thousands of doctors overseas to offer medical care to those who cannot afford it, because it expands monopoly protections and patents for various pharmaceutical drugs.

For instance, the agreement requires the countries involved to offer eight years of market exclusivity, or five years plus other mechanisms, to assure “comparable market outcome” for a class of pharmaceutical products called biologics. These cutting-edge, biologically manufactured drugs have been used to treat Crohn’s disease, arthritis, and other common ailments — and expanding market exclusivity means there is less room for competitors to produce lower-cost generic drugs to compete.

https://theintercept.com/2016/07/05/despite-what-media-says-tpp-isnt-about-free-trade-its-about-helping-corporations/

[chapdrum]

1. Now how about some bigger names joining in?

Taylor Swift?
Jay Z/Beyonce?
Bieber?
Rihanna?

I notice that the biggest names in music/show business generally do not get involved, in anything - even having already made millions.

[hughee99]

2. What are they concerned about? If I understand correctly, Trump and Clinton are BOTH against it.

Unless they think it's going to get pushed through in the next 6 months.

[sangfroid]

3. Bet you a penny to a pound

Three weeks after she is elected, the TTP will be slightly rewritten and suddenly Hill will consider it the Gold Standard once again.