All Give and No Take -the dangers of TTIP

 On the basis of this article: All Give and No Take | George Monbiot.

On the basis of it I have just written to my MP. You might do the same, perhaps.

I was pleased to receive your response to my concerns
about TTIP and to learn that you share something of my concern. I would
also not wish to lightly turn down a potentially large amount of
investment and income for British industry and commerce. I am also
pleased to know that you are concerned enough to keep a watch on the
process and its outcomes. However, I remain a little concerned and would
like to mention to you a more precise concern which I didn't think I
saw represented in your response. I hope you'll feel able to comment
further and perhaps reassure me about your own concerns with the TTIP
negotiations.



My concerns arise from the investigations of George Monbiot
(reported here )
in which he says "The most dangerous aspect of the talks is the
insistence on both sides
on a mechanism called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)(10).

ISDS allows corporations to sue governments at offshore arbitration
panels of corporate lawyers, bypassing domestic courts. Inserted into
other trade treaties, it has been used by big business to strike down
laws that impinge on its profits: the plain packaging of cigarettes;
tougher financial rules; stronger standards on water pollution and
public health; attempts to leave fossil fuels in the ground" This forms
the heart of my concern as it seems to form an effective trump card for
corporations over democratic governments who may wish to steer away from
a corporatist interpretation of neo-liberalism (a kind of government I
would like to help to elect, in fact).



Monbiot goes on to question the value of a clause/section designed
for situations where the rule of law might be inconstant: "what is it
doing in a US-EU treaty? A report commissioned by the UK
government found that ISDS “is highly unlikely to encourage investment”
and is “likely to provide the UK with few or no benefits.”(15)
But it could allow corporations on both sides of the ocean to sue the
living daylights out of governments that stand in their way."



My concern is for proper democratic scrutiny of the TTIP and I
support Monbiot's proposals for that: (1) all negotiating positions, on
both sides, would be released to the public as soon as they are tabled.

(2) every chapter of the agreement [sh]ould be subject to a separate vote in the European parliament.

(3) TTIP would contain a sunset clause. After five years it would be reconsidered

I wonder whether you would be prepared to help press those propositions upon the negotiators?

Cap And Trade Works!

FYI : "Europe's cap and trade system is having the intended effect: by putting a price on carbon emissions, it's made a meaningful dent in climate-disrupting pollution." More at Worldchanging: Bright Green: Cap And Trade Works!

Support a green recovery for Europe

"This Sunday, Europe’s leaders will meet to agree on further steps to tackle the economic crisis. They face a crucial choice: pour money into an unsustainable economic system which clearly has holes; or embrace a Green Recovery Plan that invests in low carbon technologies, energy efficiency, green jobs and public transport.

The European Union has a historic opportunity to shift away from short-term, protectionist measures and take bold action to create jobs and save the planet. We need all European governments on board. So let’s send our top political leaders a flood of messages, urging them to embrace a green New Deal that lays the foundation of a sustainable economic recovery." Support a green recovery for Europe:

Could Turkey create a liberal Islam?

Here an intriguing potential source and impetus to Reform in Islam: Adrian Hamilton: Could Turkey create an Islam acceptable to the West? - Adrian Hamilton, Commentators - Independent.co.uk. The heart of the matter for me is stated here.

"What is different about Turkey's move to liberalise the more oppressive tenets of the hadith is not so much what it is doing but that it is a state department of religious affairs which is doing it, at the behest of a governing party of Islamist origin elected to power in a secular country. That opens up the intriguing possibility that Turkey, an eager applicant for joining the EU, could bring with it an Islam redefined to become acceptable to a liberal west. It equally arouses fear that this is just the start of bringing Islamic law and values to a country that has been secular in constitution and culture since Ataturk turned it into a republic over 80 years ago.

Now that is really quite exciting. However, the road is rarely smooth, as such moves will themselves be interpreted by the wider Mohammedan* Islamic community:

It is easy to exaggerate the particular significance of the Turkish move. Turkey is no longer a centre of Islamic thought. Since the growth of orthodoxy is in itself partly a reaction against the west, anything that smacks of making Islam more westernised will tend to bring an immediate counter-reaction. The diktats of a department of religious affairs of a secular state is hardly the place where a reformation of a religion is going to start

.
Another thing to watch.

*I'm using the term "Mohammedan Islam" despite the opprobrium of using 'Mohammedan' in many circles. I think that this is a reaction to western 'orientalism' which made an analogy with Christianity, where the religion is named for the founder. Islam sees God as the founder, or Adam and says that Mohammed is 'merely' a prophet. However, I don't accept those reasons: huge chunks of Islam accord Mohammed intermediary status and actually I don't buy the founder myth. The reality is that it is a religion founded by Mohammed of Medina. Also, the term 'Islam' means submission [to God], and as such I regard it as applicable to Christians (who submit 'in Christ') though it may not be my favoured terminology, it is in our Baptismal promises. So 'Mohammedan Islam' in contrast to 'Christian Islam'.

Germans hanker after barrier

Declaration of interest. I was involved in a former [to me] diocese's link scheme with an eastern German KirchenKreis. However, my main interest here is in the way that the research is [mis?]intrepreted. We are told, "Only 3% of people who originated from East Germany said they were very satisfied with the way that German democracy worked." Well to make that work we need to know what the comparable percentage would be from the west; and note we are given only the 'very satisfied'. I would not be at all surprised to discover that under 10%, possibly under 5% in the west and other democracies would say they were "very satisfied" with the way democracy worked. I'm a believer in democracy, in that I think it the least bad form of government. I'm 'somewhat satisfied' with how our democracy works because I think it needs reform, but that's not to say I'm hankering for totalitarianism.

And again, 'ware of interpreting this: "The poll by the Forsa institute showed that 73% of those from the east believed that socialism was a good idea in principle, but had been poorly implemented. Over 90% argued that they enjoyed better social protection during the GDR era." I suspect that you'd get a lot of sympathy the world over with that sentiment. The argument, I think, is over wthether it can be impelemented and/or how effectively. Even died-in-the-wool capitalists will pay lip-service to the idea that it's a good idea in principle: it's the "but" that's significant and that impacts on the social protection issue: an argument that is continuing to this day the world over.

What is a bit more disturbing, but perhaps not totally surprising is this: "less than 5% of relationships in Germany are between east and west Germans, suggesting the a social and cultural divide still exists." But even here let's be wary of alarmist interpretations: think for a moment; probably the same could be said between many Scots and English, Geordies and Londoners, Northern Irish and East Anglians ... French and English (!). Again we'd need comparative figures for relationships between the different Laender to have a better idea of the significance of this figure.

Lies, damned lies and statistics. It's because of this kind of statistical illiteracy that people say and believe that.

Germans hanker after barrier | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited:

Christian religious 'rights' and the fandom instinct

This has been a few years in the making: ever since EU legislation gave the right for people to manifest their religion, some Christians have been itching to find a way to express their allegiance to Christ in comparable ways to other faith bodies. But it's difficult: we don't have set prayer times like Muslims that are integral to Christianity; we are told to pray but there is a lot of lassitude on just how. We don't have special clothes like a Sikh Turban, just commands to consider others and to be modest. And so, when the girl at the heart of this case made a chastity vow out of Christian convictions and sealed it with a ring. Well, commendable though her stance is, it was always going to be hard to claim it was integral, somehow, to Christain faith.

authorities claim the band, which is engraved with a Biblical verse, is not an integral part of the Christian faith and contravenes its uniform policy

This can seem disappointing to keen Christians, who feel the urge to fandom that others express by wearing team colours or putting up pix of singers but direct it to Christ (no necessarily bad thing there, but let's be honest that some zeal is, at least in part, tapping into the 'fandom' instinct) but let's take some satisfaction from knowing that our faith is flexible and responsive in cultural terms and that we are charged with dismantling 'sacred' and 'secular' divides, and not creating arbitrary ones just to be part of the religious burdens club.

Come to me all who are weary and burdened ... and I will give you rest.

Let's exalt in not having religious manifestations to parade; save, perhaps those of love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit?
School's chastity ring ban 'violated religious freedom'

Turkey -more complex than portrayed

My impression of the way Turkey is portrayed in the EU is of a Muslim juggernaut awaiting entry to the EU to flood 'us' with Islamist values and finish what the Ottoman empire failed to do at Vienna in 1683. So it's worth noting this and the article for future reflection as the debate unfolds. "The number of Turks who want an Islamic state fell from an already low 20% in 1999 to 9% last year. The percentage of women who cover their hair when they go into the street has also dropped, from 74% in 1999 to 64% last year. It is a reality that is easily visible, even in conservative suburbs of Istanbul like Uskudari, where mothers in headscarves can be seen strolling along with teenage daughters with black or tinted hair, uncovered and free."
The real struggle is inside Turkey, not on its borders | Guardian daily comment | Guardian Unlimited:

Food for thought: Muslims and integration

Just a little food for thought. It raises a host of questions.

Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Centre, told a press conference that the estimated 2.4 million Muslims living in the US were "decidedly American in outlook", believing that hard work could lead to advancement.
But the survey, called Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream, did disclose pockets within the community who are disaffected and sympathetic to violence and extremism.
The poll found that 8% of American Muslims regard suicide bombings against civilian targets as justified. Twice as many Muslims in Britain, Spain and France see such tactics as justified. But the poll showed that among American Muslims under 30, sympathy for suicide bombings jumped to 30%. In Britain it jumped to 35%, Spain 29% and France 42%.

Is this down to the kind of immigration and indeed migrants? I can't help thinking that the fact that Britain, France, Germany, Holland etc have been dealing with migrants from former colonies or allies is significant whereas, I suspect, US immigrants are more diverse and were more attracted to the ethos of the USA rather than it being a relatively easy place to migrate to, but I'm just hypothesising in some ignorance here.
US Muslims more assimilated than British | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited