ALEC Touted "Transparency" in Pushing for the Panama Free Trade Agreement
An unprecedented leak of millions of documents has revealed how some of the world's most powerful figures hide their wealth from taxation and public scrutiny.
International
Edelman TransCanada Leak: Aggressive PR for Keystone Alt
Leaked documents expose a plan by Edelman for TransCanada to launch an "aggressive" American-style PR campaign to get controversial tar sands oil to refineries in eastern Canada for export.
Why We Should Oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership
There are always winners and losers in free trade. The winners are the one percent -- the wealthy at the top. The losers are the ninety-nine percent -- the rest of us. The latest free trade deal that is now being rushed by President Obama through Congress is known as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Partnership or Putsch?
In 2010, Gordon Lafer sat across the table from Assistant US Trade Representative Barbara Weisel, who was responsible for negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the mega-regional free-trade treaty among Vietnam, Malaysia, and ten other Pacific Rim countries that President Barack Obama's administration wants to conclude in the coming weeks.
What Do Guns Have to Do With Immigration? For Gun Owners of America, Everything
-- By Katie Lorenze
Gun Owners of America (GOA) has declared immigration reform a gun issue, warning that under the "scamnesty bill" currently in the U.S. Senate, "you can say buh bye to your guns and buh bye to the rest of your freedom."
Scaife-Funded Network Works Hard to Kill Immigration Reform
-- By Katie Lorenze
With immigration reform advancing through Congress, an anti-immigrant network funded by a small group of right-wing foundations is trying to kill reform by pressuring moderate Republicans and appealing to the party's xenophobic wing. The groups could stymie efforts by some Republicans to appeal to the country's growing Latino population by moving to the center on immigration.
Big Oil and the U.S. Chamber Fight to Keep Foreign Bribery Flourishing
by Sara Jerving and Mary Bottari
In a new lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), big energy extractors are pushing for carte blanche in their interactions with foreign governments, making it harder to track whether their deals are padding the coffers of dictators, warlords, or crony capitalists. The United States Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the National Foreign Trade Council filed a lawsuit on October 10, 2012 against a new SEC rule, which requires U.S. oil, mining and gas companies to formally disclose payments made to foreign governments as part of their annual SEC reporting.
Super Rich Holding $21 Trillion Overseas To Avoid Taxation
At a time when the gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of us is reaching historic heights across the globe, at least $21 trillion (with a "t") in unreported private financial wealth was recently discovered sitting in secret tax havens.
WTO Not So COOL: Rules Against Popular U.S. Meat Labeling Law
The World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a final ruling today against the U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. This popular pro-consumer policy, which informs shoppers where meat and other foods were raised or grown, enjoys the support of 93% of Americans, according to a 2010 Consumers Union poll. Now Congress must gut or change the law to avoid the application of punitive trade sanctions.
Senegal's Democracy in Jeopardy as Runoff Election Looms
Democracy is on the rocks in the West African nation of Senegal, where the streets have been the scene of violent clashes between police and protesters over a controversial presidential election. The riots, which have engulfed the nation over the past few weeks, erupted in response to incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's quest for a third term -- which his opponents deem unconstitutional.
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