Tag: Orwell

Treaty Or Trade Agreement?

TPP reality
Source: various screenshots spliced together to help worst-readers everywhere with a very complicated issue. Or maybe not. Contact me for TPP… I mean copyright infringement.

This post is NSFW due to some language issues I’m having.

The art of the deal. Rule #1. Lie. Rule #2. Lie. Rule #3. You guessed it, dear worst-reader: make it so that the truth is what you say it is. Rule #4. Let there only be one side that sets the rules and that one side can change those rules at will. Or the like. With that in mind, never thought the day would come when my beloved #americant would stand at world’s end–you know, the edge of a flat world where everything falls off if one isn’t careful–with it’s disguise wide open, displaying the man underneath. And do you know what the man underneath is wearing? That’s right. He’s wearing another disguise. Go figure, eh.

What is the difference between a treaty and a trade agreement?

Treaty: an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an (international) agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, among other terms.

Trade Agreement: (also known as trade pact) is a wide ranging tax, tariff and trade treaty that often includes investment guarantees. -Source: interwebnet search

You know, I often think about the opposing voices regarding America’s entry into WW2. Some of those voices were against the US entering the war because (and I paraphrase) America is a business and war is bad for business. Other’s who opposed said that America is a place of playboys and ditch-diggers. That was then, this is now. Seems to still hold.

We are not only in a state of perpetual war but also in a state of perpetual business. Both have never been so good. Profits at most major corporations are through the roof. Shareholders in-the-know have never been more secure. Financial institutions have only once before been as free as they are today. Can you say: hey we’re in pre 1929 America? Indeed. The war machine, in its fight to control the world’s oil is in one hand. In the other hand, big corporations are trying to own everything in order to protect their interests. Enter TPP. When TPP is put into force–and mind you, it will eventually pass–an economic block will be established that has never been seen before. The participants of TPP will represent 40% of the world’s economy, if not more. I don’t know about you but that blows this worst-writer’s mind. All of the countries involved in this, of course, will be lead by the US. Or?

Ok. The ingredients of TPP is a secret. But some stuff is trickling out. Wikileaks supposedly has actual TPP docs, which I’m struggling to read through. A prominent US politician has even spoke out against TPP. And that’s all fine and good. But what is the true reason for TPP? I can’t help but scratch my head over this. One thing that comes to mind is the last time there was a two term Democratic president. Clinton pushed through a similar but smaller scale trade agreement: NAFTA. Now, there’s another two term democratic president and he’s pushing something similar but on a grander scale. When one considers the results of NAFTA, it’s not hard–secrecy here or there–to figure out what’s gonna happen after TPP.

As stated, the actual ingredients of TPP is a secret. It’s as much a secret as the ingredients of TiSA and TTIP. Confused yet? Ok. TTIP is TPP between the US and Europe. TiSA is a kind of tweak or cousin of TPP and includes a few more countries. If one looks at a map of who is involved in all this, one thing–at least in my worst-mind–stands out. Get ready for this one, baby.

None of these trade agreements–even though I think they are treaties (see definitions above)–include any of the big, cheap labor manufacturing countries. India is not in it. Brazil is not in it. And here’s the big one. China is not in it either. Wow! What can that say about these trade agreements? But let’s not stop there. There is one other significant country, albeit not a cheap labor manufacturing giant, that is also not included: Russia. I know that there is some kind of backdoor to let China and India in but why does it have to be a backdoor? And why is China holding out? And what about Russia? Seriously. What’s up with that?

Man, this is so crazy that I don’t know which way to turn. And that’s probably a good thing. Yet I can’t help but worst-conspire to think that these agreements are about something that is much less complicated than a bunch of confusing acronyms or difference between a treaty and a trade agreement. So how ’bout this? I think this is about the US saving face. America has to prepare for the not-so-distant future where empire either solidifies or dies. American corporations, in their obsession to go global and thereby maximise profits at the cost of American manufacturing and labor, have realised that they have to do something to protect themselves. I mean, come on. TPP proposers aren’t stupid enough to forget that other people on this planet can actually think–unlike most voters in the US. The game they’ve played so far was enabled and facilitated by US law and, more importantly, US political ideology. That “political” game has not been played in other countries.

Enter: Neoliberalism. There are a few things neo-liberals didn’t plan for:

  1. they didn’t think they’d be so successful so fast,
  2. they didn’t think it would be this easy to inject political ideology into the #american mindset that would pave the way for so much corporate success
  3. and they didn’t expect the rest of the world to catch on so fast to the lie of the #americant dream.

Neoliberals have kicked some serious ass in the past thirty or so years. Give them and yourselves a hand, suckers!

But what about this TPP stuff? Well, how ’bout this. TPP is really about America posing an ultimatum to the world it has molded. Are you with us or are you against us? (Sound familiar?) You decide peoples and countries of this earth. Whose side are you on? But before you make your decision, heed this: Don’t think you can fuck with us. We gave this planet, this earth-place, business, commerce and the lust of consumption. If you want part of that, pick your friends carefully. Once you do that, all that is left is to keep your people, your new & improved proletariate, from getting in the way. National laws, rules, regulations–they don’t interest us. We took care of laws, rules and regs back home, so don’t think you can pull that krapp on us. If you don’t like the pollution that comes from the manufacturing facilities that make stuff, fuck you! If your cheap labor dies while sewing sneakers for those who can buy them, fuck you! If you can’t stop your people from stealing movies over the interwebnets, Mickey Mouse will come and… fuck you! Etc., etc. Try getting out of the middle ages in the next millennia because like the last millennia this one is ours. You’re welcome people of earth. Until then watch us light you on fire with stuff.

Now! Go dream about buying an iPhone and shut the fuck up.

Good luck suckers.Rant on. -t

Links that motivated this post:

His Honesty

“His honesty about this paradox or contradiction is what determined him to write Nineteen Eighty-Four as an admonitory parable or fantasy in which ‘Ingsoc’–English Socialism–was the Newspeak term for the ruling ideology. It would have been perfectly easy for him to have avoided this crux. In the late 1940s, a dystopian novel based on the notorious horrors of ‘National Socialism’ would probably have been very well-received. But it would have done nothing to shake the complacency of Western intellectuals concerning the system of state terror for which, at the time, so many of them had either a blind spot or a soft spot.”

-Why Orwell Matters, Christopher Hitchens

Two Minutes Hate

“The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blow-lamp. Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police; and at such moments his heart went out to the lonely, derided heretic on the screen, sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies. And yet the very next instant he was at one with the people about him, and all that was said of Goldstein seemed to him to be true. At those moments his secret loathing of Big Brother changed into adoration, and Big Brother seemed to tower up, an invincible, fearless protector, standing like a rock against the hordes of Asia, and Goldstein, in spite of his isolation, his helplessness, and the doubt that hung about his very existence, seemed like some sinister enchanter, capable by the mere power of his voice of wrecking the structure of civilisation.” -George Orwell, 1984

Skittles Is Newspeak

Another fantastic piece of journalism? Indeed. And it doesn’t matter that mindless television spectacle should remind people of the last efforts to stall the fall of the Roman empire. You know, like they did with those coliseum games way back when. Just watch the vid, dear worst-reader. Three issues of #americant neo-fascism and corporatism are addressed.

  1. Wife beating
  2. Controlling history
  3. Newspeak

Even though the corporation (NFL) behind the television spectacle claim to be against wife beating their only effort in combating it is a bit of commercial air-time with a so-called PSA. That we are presented with a corporation taking responsibility for this dire issue is absurd. There should be adequate laws, if not a constitutional amendment not just protecting but also empowering women. Now. How many jokes have been made in the fraternity halls of #americant about women using the code of ordering pizza when they dial 911 to get help?

The days leading up to the game were full of news about a guy from Oakland named Marshawn. Once again the corporation (NFL) was able to extract a character from their story that millions upon millions could identify with. Or did they, perhaps, extract the wrong character? I’ll let others be the judge of that. But here’s what got under worst-writer’s skin. If you haven’t seen it, check out Marshawn’s Skittles promo. The moment I saw that and then listened to him rebel against corporate authority–by finding a brilliant way to not break his contract and still “talk” to the press–I thought of Trayvon Martin. Wasn’t Trayvon getting Skittles when he was shot by a wannabe-nazi for 1) wearing a hoody, 2) not taking any shit from wannabe-nazi, 3) and telling wannabe-nazi to f-off? Then comes the speculation (from journalist in vid, not mine) that the corporation (NFL) punished Marshawn for his rebellious ways by telling the Seahawks coach not to make him a hero at the end of the game. Yeah, talk about controlling history.

What does the voice of corporatism say? Here a few examples of what it says: Hits to defenceless players; Unnecessary risk; Concussions were down twenty-five percent.Well, as we see in the vid above, the last portion of it featuring the corporations spokesmen, aka the CEO, it speaks in the voice of well positioned PSA’s, contracts for controlling minions and blood letting. Indeed. It says what it knows Das Volk needs to hear. Sometimes the voice uses big words and sometimes it uses fancy words, not that there’s much of a difference between the two for those who can’t understand anyway. In defending what is truly a lust for violence–which the corporation (NFL) knows is all its audiences wants to consume and provides it the foundation for such outrageous profits–it exudes both interest and compassion as though it really cares. Yeah, right. We know what it really cares about. And so. Will the NFL simply outlaw helmet spearing? How about shortening the regular season back down to ten games? How about providing players with medical care after they retire? Oh well. When you’re the authority and you have the power to determine when the sun rises, newspeak is the least of your problems.

Rant on.

-Tommi-

Interwebnet Orwell Wet Dream

1984 world map

Post is NSFW and rude and proud of it.

Cool how all this “leaked” data is trickling down through the convenient pipes of the Interwebnets via well advertised news sites. But all serious kidding aside. How much is Glenn Greenwald earning from all this? What? Wrong question? Americans are more concerned not about the profits of journalists hoarding info that should be released en masse but instead about what their recent web browsing activities, FB posts and emails are that could be used as ammunition if they are caught in a bribery or extortion scandal? Ok. No-nevermind. Let’s move on.

John C. Dvorak has written an interesting post on the most recent release from S01E03* of the Edward Snowden freak show. Mr. Dvorak is upset that the NSA is referring to the American public, i.e. the tax payer financing that government agency, as an adversary. Really Mr. Dvorak? What? Have you never been pulled over for speeding but then tried to ask to see proof that you were speeding? Or have you never faced the bureaucracy of being told your papers are not in order and to get them in order before applying for a new driver’s license or passport or voter registration? And remember the first time you were asked to remove your belt or your shoes while boarding an airplane. And now you’re worried about being an adversary to the state? The fact is, America is a place of two peoples right now. One people is the authority. The other people is the adversary of that authority. And so. The use of the word “adversary” is really no different than using the word “fuck” during a church service. Ultimately it’s just a word. But if there are a few (or more) that take offence to that word, and so… Insignificance can also be a problem.

The question I have for Mr. Dvorak and those questioning authority is this: Are you just now realising that you are part of a centralised, controlled, authoritarian state because of documents that have been illegally obtained and are now being serially released to the public at the behest of advertising revenue? If so, welcome to the club. Indeed, we are all wallowing in Orwell’s luscious wet-dream. And don’t it feel good? I mean, you’re doing pretty well, ain’t ya, Mr. Dvorak? I mean, what are you ultimately complaining about here? Is your real gripe about the dream you are living and how it ain’t the dream you wanted? Well, I’m sorry to hear that. But thanks for finally waking up. I guess. And. Shame it’s only just now snuck up on so few of you (dumb-ass baby boomers) and all because of the use of a word in your church (of American’t) that you take offence to. So your days at Berkeley or wherever in dipshit California have come to pass and with all your doing all that’s left is to sit back and question what you have sown–to little, too late. You and your generation did all the taking and now that it’s payback time you question whether or not you are an adversary of the Orwellian state you built? Well, to that all I can say is that I hope to see you in church soon where during your eulogy for American’t I can yell fuck-you at the top of my lungs and no one will notice because they are more concerned about the NSA spying on their Internetweb porn usage.

May bigotry, ignorance and self-delusion be the pudding of the American’t cake. The world is fine, suckers. It really is all fine. There is nothing to see here. Move on. The mall is waiting.

*Worst-writer reserves the right to be incorrect on the episode designation of Edward Snowden’s freak show. And have no fear: S01E0? is coming soon enough.

Links:

Rant on.

-tgs-

Things Not Fought For Anymore

Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell

Swiped this book from the shelf of a friend. You know the situation. You go somewhere and you look through the book shelves of others. Every once-a-once you see a book and you say: she’s reading this? Why? And then you know, being the reader you are, that it can’t be right that she reads a book that you haven’t read yet, at least a book of this literary stature. All her pop-entertaining books can stay where they are. But this book… would mean that she’s one-up on you. That won’t fly.

Although Homage To Catalonia is politically one-sided, it’s a fascinating exposé of the ideological aftermath of WW1. Things fought for, things believed in, haves and havenots. Today war is just about having and having more. Idears are no longer fought for, the fight is now only about oil and hegemony.

Oh, in case you’re interested. It didn’t work between us. I returned the book after she saw it on my coffee table. And then I learned that there was no vindication. For she never actually read it.

Rant on.

-tgs-