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Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with "The End of Nature" in 1989, which is regarded as the first book for a general audience on climate change. The group he founded, 350.org, has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. The Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was "probably the country’s most important environmentalist."
Alexis Tsipras, a member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party since 2008, head of the SYRIZA parliamentary group since 2009, and leader of the Opposition since June 2012. SYRIZA currently leads in Greek opinion polls. Listen to the audio here.
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"Making War on Syria," by Reginald Johnson, June 14, 2013
"Syria in the Gunsights," by Reginald Johnson, May 9, 2013
"Curbing Gun Violence," by Reginald Johnson, April 4, 2013
"Fighting the Pipeline," by Reginald Johnson, March 26, 2013
"Downgrading Ed Schultz," by Reginald Johnson, March 17, 2013
"Rand Paul: Making a Point," by Reginald Johnson, March 8, 2013
"The Bipartisan Gift: Budget Cuts," by Reginald Johnson, March 2, 2013
"Fighting for Gun Control," by Reginald Johnson, Feb. 18, 2013
"Tyranny of the Minority," by Reginald Johnson, Jan. 28, 2013
"Is President Obama About to Betray Those Who Re-elected Him Less than 2 Months Ago?" by Scott Harris, Dec. 21, 2012
"Will the Slaughter of the Innocents in Newtown Lead to Gun Law Reform in U.S.?" by Scott Harris and Anna Manzo, Dec. 16, 2012
"My Friend in Sandy Hook," by Doug Moss, posted by Scott Harris, Dec. 16, 2012
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Posted Sept. 26, 2012
Interview with Ben Beachy, research director with Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, conducted by Scott Harris
Unlike NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement which was the subject of heated political debate in the U.S during the 1990s, a new free trade treaty, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, has escaped most public attention and controversy. The proposed free trade treaty, the largest in U.S. history, includes the nations of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S. and Vietnam. Japan, China, Mexico and Canada are expected to join the talks later. Although ongoing negotiations have been kept secret, leaked documents reveal that U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is pushing countries involved in negotiations to give pharmaceutical companies new patent and monopoly rights that could limit the public’s access to affordable medicines, such as retroviral drugs to treat HIV and AIDS.
Other concerns center around the treaty’s expansion of corporate power to challenge national laws on worker rights, environmental regulations and consumer protections.
Despite the fact that TPP negotiations have been held under conditions of unprecedented secrecy, some 600 corporate advisers have access to details of the talks, including draft text of the treaty’s language, while the public, members of Congress, journalists, and civil society are excluded. During the most recent round of treaty negotiations in Leesburg, Va., protesters from labor, consumer and environmental groups engaged in peaceful protest and direct action to focus public attention on their demand for more transparency in the negotiations.
While U.S. officials have pledged to hold a public comment period and congressional review after Trans-Pacific Partnership talks are complete, critics maintain this isn’t enough to provide civil society any meaningful input into the final language of the treaty. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Ben Beachy, research director with Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, who describes the many concerns labor, consumer and environmental groups have with ongoing negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
Find links to more information on free trade agreements at Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch's blog "Eyes on Trade" at Citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade.
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