UK Column News Special – Review of 2017 and looking forward to 2018 (Video)

Mike Robinson, Brian Gerrish, Alex Thomson, Patrick Henningsen and Mark Anderson discuss the main stories of 2017, and take a look at the year ahead.

START – – Brexit & EU: The Best of both Worlds document
04:16 – TTIP, TPP: trade agreements being done by the back door…?
14:17 – EU military unification: UK Column got it right
31:09 – Newsweek: Putin is preparing for WWIII…
41:03 – Google: the evil monopoly – the corporate control of news
54:48 – Looking forward to 2018…
H/t reader squodgy.
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Read about the engineered migrant crisis (below this article):

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Trump ‘Wins’ The Unions: Teamsters Praise TPP Withdrawal, Labor Chiefs Describe “Incredible” Meeting With Trump

FYI.


Trump Wins The Unions: Teamsters Praise TPP Withdrawal, Labor Chiefs Describe “Incredible” Meeting With Trump:

Shortly after Donald Trump made good on one of his core campaign promises on Monday morning by signing an executive order formally withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal, Trump told labor union leaders that he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement “at the appropriate time.”

The remarks came at the start of a meeting at the White House with leaders of construction, carpenters, plumbers and sheet metal unions, during which Trump pledged to stop trade deals that harmed American workers. 

Read moreTrump ‘Wins’ The Unions: Teamsters Praise TPP Withdrawal, Labor Chiefs Describe “Incredible” Meeting With Trump

Trump Says He Will Issue Executive Order On First Day In Office Withdrawing U.S. From TPP

FYI.


Trump Says He Will Issue Executive Order On First Day In Office Withdrawing U.S. From TPP:

In a video message released moments ago by Donald Trump, the President-Elect announced that he has asked his team to develop a list of executive actions for his first day as president and announced that he would issue an executive order on his first day of office, withdrawing the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership, and would issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the TPP, voiding Obama’s “free-trade legacy.”

Trump stated that his agenda “will be based on a simple core principle, putting America first… whether it’s producing steel, building cars, or curing disease, I want the next generation of production and innovation to happen right her on our great homeland.”

Read moreTrump Says He Will Issue Executive Order On First Day In Office Withdrawing U.S. From TPP

Australia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored Trade Deal

Australia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored Trade Deal:

President Obama made a foolish decision to not welcome China in the formation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

It was ludicrous for Obama to leave China out of things. China is the second biggest economy in the world, third if you treat the EU as a block.

Had China been in the deal all along, we may not have seen the ludicrous provision that allowed companies to sue governments. That provision was one of the key reasons the deal failed.

With the election of Trump, TPP is officially dead. China, not the US, will be at the center of a new Asian trade pact.

TPP Dead, China Strives to Fill Void

On November 10, in the wake of Trump’s election, Beijing sought to fill the void left by TPP by reviving its proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific pact.

Read moreAustralia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored Trade Deal

Jon Rappoport: Obama Tries to Sneak Through TPP in Lame-duck Congress

H/t reader squodgy:

“It will happen. The greed of bureaucrats ensures the TTP and its Atlantic equivalent will one day lead to a bankrupt world. There is no future if this is permitted.”


obama-tpp

Obama Tries to Sneak Through TPP in Lame-duck Congress:

By Jon Rappoport

First: know that the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) is a huge Globalist trade deal among 12 nations that would a) “phase out thousands of tariffs” (NY Times, 6/1/16) and b) set up corporate tribunals to punish nations that refuse to import goods (e.g., toxic pesticides, toxic medical drugs, GMOs).

In short, it’s a nightmare.

Wiping out tariffs is the cornerstone of the Globalist agenda. It allows companies in industrial countries to move their factories to Third World hell holes, pay slave wages, ignore environmental conditions, and then export their products back to the countries they abandoned—with no tariffs. No taxes. No penalties.

Read moreJon Rappoport: Obama Tries to Sneak Through TPP in Lame-duck Congress

Progressives BETRAYED! Democratic party official platform is now pro FRACKING, pro Monsanto, pro TPP, anti GMO labeling

Vote-Button-Monsanto-GMO-Fracking

Progressives BETRAYED! Democratic party official platform is now pro FRACKING, pro Monsanto, pro TPP, anti GMO labeling:

Because of the diverse audience we attract, there are a lot of Natural News readers who are still supporting the Democrats. If you’re one of those people, it’s time for you to question what you’re really supporting because you may not be aware that the democratic party openly supports fracking, Monsanto, vaccine mandates, chemical agriculture and the TPP. On top of that, they’re mostly opposed to GMO labeling, too. Only Sen. Sanders really stood up to the biotech industry on that point, and now after the DNC email leaks, you know how the democrat establishment hosed Sanders with a vindictive smear campaign to destroy his chances of winning the nomination.

The truth is, the Democrat party is not a party of progressive ideas. Even the progressive news website Common Dreams has authored this piece blasting the DNC for its betrayals.

Read moreProgressives BETRAYED! Democratic party official platform is now pro FRACKING, pro Monsanto, pro TPP, anti GMO labeling

Obama Administration Delays Release of Hillary Clinton TPP Emails Until After the Election

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Obama Administration Delays Release of Hillary Clinton TPP Emails Until After the Election:

And with Singapore and a growing list of other countries on both sides of the Pacific, we are making progress toward finalizing a far-reaching new trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The so-called TPP will lower barriers, raise standards, and drive long-term growth across the region. It will cover 40 percent of the world’s total trade and establish strong protections for workers and the environment. Better jobs with higher wages and safer working conditions, including for women, migrant workers and others too often in the past excluded from the formal economy will help build Asia’s middle class and rebalance the global economy. Canada and Mexico have already joined the original TPP partners. We continue to consult with Japan. And we are offering to assist with capacity building, so that every country in ASEAN can eventually join. We welcome the interest of any nation willing to meet 21st century standards as embodied in the TPP, including China.

– Hillary Clinton, November 2012

You’d think the American pubic deserves to have access to this information before the election.

Barack Obama disagrees.

Read moreObama Administration Delays Release of Hillary Clinton TPP Emails Until After the Election

Emails Show Obama Administration Using Goldman Sachs Lobbyists to Pass TPP

Emails Show Obama Administration Using Goldman Sachs Lobbyists to Pass TPP:

(COMMONDREAMSA series of emails released Friday show what activists describe as “collusion” between U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Wall Street executives to push for the passage the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The emails (pdf), obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the group Rootstrikers, which organizes against money in politics, include a message to Froman from a managing director at Goldman Sachs urging him to push for “robust commitments” on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions—which allow private corporations to sue governments for perceived loss of profits—to be included in the divisive trade deal.

Read moreEmails Show Obama Administration Using Goldman Sachs Lobbyists to Pass TPP

Full Text Of The Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership!

TPP-Trans-Pacific-Partnership

Full Text of the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership!:

The Obama Administration has been negotiating in secret, a commercial “trade” agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  We have the full text – and now you do too!

Read moreFull Text Of The Secret Trans-Pacific Partnership!

A Great Awakening – Public Support for Fake “Free Trade” Deals Plunges in the U.S. and Europe

TPP-Trade

A Great Awakening – Public Support for Fake “Free Trade” Deals Plunges in the U.S. and Europe:

Public opposition to the sovereignty killing corporate giveaway marketed as a free trade deal known as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has become so widespread that all the leading candidates for the U.S. Presidency are publicly against it. Specifically, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are virulently opposed, while Hillary Clinton is pretending to be against it in order to harvest votes.

Essentially, the more time the American public has to learn about this scam, the more they are against it. Which is precisely why the Obama administration wants to push it through as quickly as possible.

– From the post: Obama to Push Passage of TPP Trade Deal Despite Rising Public Opposition

One of the key themes here at Liberty Blitzkrieg over the past year or so, has been to highlight the fact that the plethora of “free trade” deals (TPP, TTIP and TISA) being promoted by the global robber barons are nothing more than fascist corporate handouts (links at the end). Calling them “free trade” deals is purely for PR, and primarily serves as a means for marketing these scams to the ignorant masses.

Read moreA Great Awakening – Public Support for Fake “Free Trade” Deals Plunges in the U.S. and Europe

Preview of the TPP? America Just Blocked a Massive Solar Project in India

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America just Blocked India’s Solar Program:

Solar power sees unprecedented boom in the United States – solar power grew by 6.2 gigawatts in 2014; and 1 million American homes have solar panels as of February 2016. However, the United States dragged India to the World Trade Organization claiming that India’s efforts to boost local production of solar cells and solar modules violated WTO rules.

Just recently, a WTO panel has ruled that the domestic content requirement (DCR) imposed under India’s National Solar Mission (NSM), is inconsistent with its archaic treaty obligations under the global trading regime. The requirement in question mandates a percentage of components to be sourced locally, to boost homegrown production of solar cells and solar modules.

Read morePreview of the TPP? America Just Blocked a Massive Solar Project in India

Obama To Push Passage Of TPP Trade Deal Despite Rising Public Opposition

What is wrong with TPP

Obama to Push Passage of TPP Trade Deal Despite Rising Public Opposition:

The United States is in the final stages of negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive free-trade agreement with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Singapore and seven other countries. Who will benefit from the TPP? American workers? Consumers? Small businesses? Taxpayers? Or the biggest multinational corporations in the world?

One strong hint is buried in the fine print of the closely guarded draft. The provision, an increasingly common feature of trade agreements, is called “Investor-State Dispute Settlement,” or ISDS. The name may sound mild, but don’t be fooled. Agreeing to ISDS in this enormous new treaty would tilt the playing field in the United States further in favor of big multinational corporations. Worse, it would undermine U.S. sovereignty.

Read moreObama To Push Passage Of TPP Trade Deal Despite Rising Public Opposition

I didn’t think TTIP could get any scarier, but then I spoke to the EU official in charge of it

I didn’t think TTIP could get any scarier, but then I spoke to the EU official in charge of it:

With just eight words she exposed everything that’s wrong with the deal, and why it needs to be defeated

I was recently granted a rare glimpse behind the official façade of the EU when I met with its Trade Commissioner in her Brussels office. I was there to discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the controversial treaty currently under negotiation between the EU and the USA.

Read moreI didn’t think TTIP could get any scarier, but then I spoke to the EU official in charge of it

TPP Trade Deal Will Cost US 448,000 Jobs, Say Researchers

TPP Trade Deal Will Cost US 448,000 Jobs, Say Researchers:

United States — One of the major purported selling points for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a supposed increase in new jobs as a result of the controversial trade deal. The deal involves 12 nations, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and more. However, two recent economic reports have contradicted the claims that jobs will increase. They have shown that, more than likely, the deal will lead to a loss of jobs.

First there was a World Bank report that predicted that TPP would produce negligible boosts to the economies of the U.S., Australia, and Canada. TechDirt writes:

Read moreTPP Trade Deal Will Cost US 448,000 Jobs, Say Researchers

15 News Stories from 2015 You Should Have Heard About But Probably Didn’t

cencored-news

15 News Stories from 2015 You Should Have Heard About But Probably Didn’t:

In 2015, the iron fist of power clamped down on humanity, from warfare to terrorism (I repeat myself) to surveillance, police brutality, and corporate hegemony. The environment was repeatedly decimated, the health of citizens was constantly put at risk, and the justice system and media alike were perverted to serve the interests of the powers that be.

However, while 2015 was discouraging for more reasons than most of us can count, many of the year’s most underreported stories evidence not only a widespread pattern that explicitly reveals the nature of power, but pushback from human beings worldwide on a path toward a better world.

 1. CISA Pushed Through the Senate, Effectively Clamping Down on Internet Freedom: For years, Congress has attempted to legalize corporate and state control of the internet. In 2011, they attempted to pass PIPA and SOPA, companion bills slammed by internet and tech companies and ultimately defeated after overwhelming public outcry. Then they passed  CISPA — which the president threatened to veto, having caught wind of the public’s opposition to heavy regulation of the internet (earlier this year, Obama reversed his position). However, corporate interests, like Hollywood’s studio monopoly, kept lawmakers’ tenacity afloat.

Read more15 News Stories from 2015 You Should Have Heard About But Probably Didn’t

Obama Explains Why ‘The Greatest Corporate Power Grab In History’ Is “The Right Thing For America”

change-we-can-believe-in

Obama Explains Why ‘The Greatest Corporate Power Grab In History’ Is “The Right Thing For America”:

Authored by Barack Obama, Op-Ed at BloombergView.com,

As president, my top priority is to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class. When I took office, America was in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression — but thanks to the hard work and resilience of the American people, our businesses have created 13.5 million jobs over the past 68 months, the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history. The unemployment rate has been cut nearly in half — lower than it’s been in more than seven years. We have come back further and faster from recession than nearly every other advanced nation on Earth.

That’s real progress. But as any middle-class family will tell you, we have more to do. That’s why I believe the Trans-Pacific Partnership is so important. It’s a trade deal that helps working families get ahead.

Read moreObama Explains Why ‘The Greatest Corporate Power Grab In History’ Is “The Right Thing For America”

ObamaTrade Details Unveiled, Officials Warn “It’s Worse Than We Thought”

obama-hand-sign

ObamaTrade Details Unveiled, Officials Warn “It’s Worse Than We Thought”:

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership means that America will write the rules for 21st century trade,” according to President Obama, but as Reuters reports, U.S. unions, lawmakers and interest groups questioned the long-awaited text of a landmark U.S.-backed Pacific trade deal on Thursday. “It’s worse than we thought,” Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, told members and U.S. labor representatives said the agreement contained weak, poorly worded or unenforceable provisions, concluding “we do not believe those improvements are significant or meaningful for workers.” It appears, that ObamaTrade may be a boon for factory and export economies like Malaysia and Vietnam, but – as expected – will achieve little for the average joe in America.

President Barack Obama, who championed the deal, will have to muster support among moderates in Washington to ensure ratification. “The TPP means that America will write the rules of the road in the 21st century,” Obama said in post online. “If we don’t pass this agreement – if America doesn’t write those rules – then countries like China will.” As Reuters reports,

Read moreObamaTrade Details Unveiled, Officials Warn “It’s Worse Than We Thought”

Google and YouTube now engaging in wholesale censorship of content they don’t want the public to see

Access-Denied-Computer-Hack-Security

Google and YouTube now engaging in wholesale censorship of content they don’t want the public to see:

“Take your pills and don’t ask questions. Drink the sweet wine of entertainment we have given you. Don’t think for yourself: just believe. The truth will no longer be published unless we allow it to be.”

Google, and its popular video sharing platform YouTube, are quickly becoming purveyors of propaganda, censoring material that could expose and question the status quo. These popular internet platforms are following in the footsteps of oppressive government regimes that punish whistle blowers and go after anyone who asks questions, seeks answers and reports on the most atrocious abuses of the day.

Read moreGoogle and YouTube now engaging in wholesale censorship of content they don’t want the public to see

Paul Ryan Hires Lobbyist Who Pushed for Obamacare and the Trans-Pacific Partnership as His Chief of Staff

Paul Ryan Hires Lobbyist Who Pushed for Obamacare and the Trans-Pacific Partnership as His Chief of Staff:

Paul Ryan has a terrible record as a Congressman. I can’t for the life of me understand how anyone can support a guy who’s been wrong on so many important issues, such as voting for the Iraq War and the banker bailouts, jus to name a few.

Which is why no one should be surprised that the useless cadre of Republicans in the House of Representatives are about to make him Speaker. The transition from John Boehner should be flawless.

Read morePaul Ryan Hires Lobbyist Who Pushed for Obamacare and the Trans-Pacific Partnership as His Chief of Staff

How the TPP Could Lead to Worldwide Internet Censorship

TPP-internet

How the TPP Could Lead to Worldwide Internet Censorship:

On Monday, we learned that global “leaders” had come to an agreement on the infamous Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP. While discouraging, this doesn’t mean the game is over – far from it.

Although politicians have come to a secret agreement, this democracy killing, corporate monstrosity still has to pass the U.S. Congress. So it’s now up to all of us to create an insurmountable degree of opposition and make sure this thing is dead on arrival.

Read moreHow the TPP Could Lead to Worldwide Internet Censorship

Did Obama Bomb Doctors Without Borders for Opposing TPP?

Did Obama Bomb Doctors Without Borders for Opposing TPP?:

Had the President of Nobel Peace Prize-winning Doctors Without Borders not warned us of the “imminent threat to global health” posed by the TPP, would these 22 doctors and patients have lost their lives early Saturday?

“I don’t know exactly how long, but it was maybe half an hour afterwards that they stopped bombing. I went out with the project coordinator to see what had happened. What we saw was the hospital destroyed, burning,” describednurse Lajos Zoltan Jecs of the U.S. bombardment of a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Harsh criticism and skepticism surround what is being labeled an errant U.S. bombardment of a hospital in Kunduz that left 22 people dead — many of them volunteers with Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders, the humanitarian aid agency) — but doubt lingers about the vague official story for a reason.

Doctors Without Borders Calls Airstrike a War Crime

Read moreDid Obama Bomb Doctors Without Borders for Opposing TPP?