The Trans Pacific Partnership.
Um... So... I have researched it, (sparingly - it is excruciatingly boring...)... And... Um... It could be bad. It is like NAFTA, which... Was bad? You can Google "Trans Pacific Partnership good" and see articles as to why it could be good, and then Google "Trans Pacific Partnership bad" and see another set of articles to the contrary.
International trade agreements are a tad above my pay grade. I do know that lobbyists and big corporations are salivating at the mouth, and other orifices, for this thing to ratify... So... Yeah... It is probably bad. I also know that the all the meetings between the players on this thing have been done in seclusion with zero oversight... Yeah... Most likely bad.
My hatred of corporations is well known, and thanks to this blog thingy, well documented. I will usually defend capitalism. I will not defend capitalism bereft of humanitarianism.
Exxon has devoted a couple of million to clean energy research, while raking in historical profits. Historical as in since there has been commerce on this planet. Fantastic... At the ratio of investing in alternative energy, they will be able to buy Canada after the U.S. coastal region, and Interior region, and the rest of it become uninhabitable.
Monsanto, another monster of a corporation, is literally bulletproof under the law. You can not sue them. It is almost illegal to NOT use their product. This week, or last, a reporter was talking to a lobbyist, who claimed that this one preferred chemical of theirs is perfectly safe to drink. The reporter then went all Erin Brockovich and informed that they had some, would he care for a glass? The interview ended shortly thereafter.
Many European countries have enacted bans/restrictions/regulations on Monsanto. They have specified that the foods treated with their chemicals have to be labelled as "Genetically Modified". That would never happen here... Our politicians are so bought and paid for.
Walmart... They always catch flack when they come to towns and try to build... Mostly from small Mom n' Pop shops who can't compete with Walmart's low prices. The fun part is when you realize HOW Wally got the prices so low... First, pay your employees the least possible and keep them at 38 hours a week, so they don't have to be offered benefits. Second, buy in bulk, which is a sound strategy, granted. Third, become such a global monster, that you can make companies pay YOU to sell their shit.
If I ever find myself in need a fifty five gallon drum of ketchup... Costco. Would it cost me three bucks more than at Sam's? Sure, but it is worth it to me. They are doing it right.
I am not against all corporations. There are some that appear to have a soul. It is usually those built by a dumb schmo like the rest of us. They built it with their own hands. The people who helped them build it along the way, are taken care of. From the shipping manager, to the receptionist. If the head honcho does well, they all do well.
A lot of companies start out that way. Then time takes it's toll. The head honcho dies. His spoiled little bitch kids inherit the company. They don't care about Frank, the guy who drives the forklift in the warehouse. Never mind that Frank and the deceased ex. pres. would have drinks at a bar every other Friday... It is always the "next gen" that perverts what was EARNED and WORKED FOR... Usually because they never had to work for or earn a damn thing in their spoiled lives..
The only exception to that I can find to that example is "Tommy Boy".
Certain institutions have become "industrialized". This does not bode well. The Incarceration Industry? The Military Industrial Complex? The Private Security Industry? The Health Care Industry?
When corporations are in charge of food, war, prison, and healthcare.... oh, and 95% of the world's wealth... and they have made themselves unaccountable to any regulatory body through lobbyists, the bottom line is that constants of death and taxes are now negotiable.
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In "Aliens", by James Cameron, the bad guy was a slimy, acid in it's veins, black hearted, bastard... Named Burke, played by Paul Reiser. He was the Corporate Liason of Weyland-Utani... Accompanying, and dictating actions of troops during a military operation. Then they ran into some aliens. Upon reflection, almost every Cameron movie is pretty much anti-corporation. Also, for the record, THERE WAS ROOM FOR JACK, ROSE! You bitch.
They mostly come out at night, mostly,
d
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