Goldman Wins Again As European Union Court Rules To Keep ECB Involvement In Greek Debt Fudging A Secret

Πηγή: Zero Hedge
By Tyler Durden
Nov 29 2012

Three years ago, a hard fought landmark FOIA lawsuit was won by the great Bloomberg reporter, the late Mark Pittman, in which the Fed was forced to disclose a plethora of previously secret bailout information, which in turn spurred the movement to "audit the Fed" and include a variety of largely watered down provisions in the Frank-Dodd bill. 

This victory came despite extensive objections by the Fed and the threat that the case may even escalate to the highly politicized Supreme Court, which lately has demonstrated conclusively that not only is justice not blind, but goes to the highest ideological bidder. 

Moments ago, Europe just learned that when it comes to secrecy of its supreme monetary leaders, in this case all originating from Goldman Sachs and defending data highly sensitive to the same Goldman Sachs, the European central bank's secrecy is not only matched by that of the Fed, but even more engrained in the "judicial" system of the Eurozone, after the European Union General Court in Luxembourg just announced that the European Central Bank will be allowed to refuse access to secret files showing how Greece used derivatives to hide its debt. Why? 

Simple: recall that it was Goldman Sachs who was the primary "advisor" on a decade worth of FX swaps-related deals which allowed Greece to outright lie about both its fiscal deficit and its total debt levels, and that it was a Goldman alum who became head of the same Greek debt office just before the country imploded. And certainly the ECB was involved and knew very all about the Greek behind the scenes shennanigans. And who happens to be head of the ECB? Why yet another former Goldman worker, of course. Mario Draghi.

And with yet another ex-Goldmanite taking over the BOE, any hopes of bank transparency in the UK have just been crushed as well. Goldman is taking over the world one central bank, and Supreme Court at a time, and leaving not a trace behind, even as it manages to create ever more debt out of thin air to keep the population occupied chasing trinkets, gadgets, and other unneeded stuff, while the real wealth plunder by Goldman et al enters its terminal phase.

From Bloomberg:

“Disclosure of those documents would have undermined the protection of the public interest so far as concerns the economic policy of the EU and Greece,” the European Union General Court in Luxembourg said today, rejecting a challenge by Bloomberg News. The news organization initially sought the documents in August 2010.

 The same excuse always and forever: the common man should not know what is truly going on behind the scenes, as the truth would "undermine protection of the public interest" - just leave it to the smart men in tweed suits to fret about the details; it is best if the general ignorant herd remains in the dark, or else its "protection" may be impaired...

Today’s ruling by three judges denies European taxpayers, on the hook for the cost of Greece’s 240 billion-euro ($311.5 billion) bailout, the opportunity to see whether EU officials knew of irregularities in Greece’s public accounts before they became public in 2009.
The decision underscores the lack of accountability at the ECB as it expands its powers to become the region’s lender of last resort and chief banking regulator. The central bank, which puts greater limits on its disclosures about its decision making than its British and U.S. equivalents, is under pressure from policy makers including governing council member Erkki Liikanen to boost transparency. ECB President Mario Draghi last month defended the Frankfurt-based bank, telling reporters it was already a “very transparent” institution.
Bloomberg News sought two internal papers drafted for the central bank’s six-member Executive Board. The first document is entitled “The impact on government deficit and debt from off- market swaps: the Greek case.” The second reviews Titlos Plc, a structure that allowed National Bank of Greece SA (ETE), the country’s biggest lender, to borrow from the ECB by creating collateral.

And just to complete the farce, perhaps the Fed will tell us how its own investigation launched in February of 2010(!) looking at Goldman's behind the scenes involvement in faking the Greek debt numbers for a decade, is going. Recall: "We are looking into a number of questions related to Goldman Sachs and other companies and their derivatives arrangements with Greece," Bernanke said in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. It is now nearly three years later and still nothing...

Naturally, we won't hold our breath.

Sadly, little can be added here: Goldman wins again, and justice for the common man is long dead.

Health officials tell Greece to act fast to control HIV

Πηγή: Reuters
By Kate Kelland
Nov 30 2012

A spiraling outbreak of HIV in debt-stricken Greece could run out of control unless urgent action is taken, European health officials said on Friday.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said infections with the AIDS-causing virus among drug users and other high-risk groups were rising fast, and that a failure to act would mean far higher costs in future.

ECDC director Marc Sprenger was in Athens on Friday visiting hospitals and needle exchanges. He said he would tell officials that free syringes and methadone programs must be stepped up, and testing and treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus made available to all.

"Immediate concerted action is needed in order to curb and eventually stop the current outbreak," he told Reuters as the ECDC published a report on Greece's HIV problem.

Since 2009, recession in Greece has reduced economic output by a fifth and sent unemployment to a record high.

The healthcare system is under extreme pressure, making it harder for the poor, unemployed or homeless to get treatment.

The ECDC said it was unclear how much Greece's debt crisis is contributing to the HIV outbreak, but it was evidently having "a significant social and health impact". There were fears in Athens that "HIV treatment services have reached a ceiling" because of a leap in case numbers in 2012.

While Greece has only 7.4 HIV infections per 100,000 people, compared to 10 per 100,000 in Britain or 27.3 in Estonia, rates have soared since 2011 in high-risk groups such as drug users.

From 2007 to 2010, there were only 10 to 15 cases a year of HIV infection in injecting drug users.

But during 2011, there were 256 such cases - or 27 percent of the total. Another 314 drug use HIV cases were reported between January and August 2012, bringing the total HIV cases for the year to August to 768.

Combination drugs can give patients with HIV near-normal life expectancy, but the drugs must be taken for life, and cost 10,000 to 22,000 euros ($13,000 to $28,500) a year.

"If a scale-up (in prevention and testing) is not achieved, it's likely that HIV transmission among people who inject drugs in Athens will continue and even accelerate - and could eventually spread," Sprenger said.

"The cost of prevention ... will be significantly less than the provision of treatment to those who become infected."

The ECDC said waiting times for methadone programs in Athens were more than seven years in August 2010, and only around seven syringes a year were given to each drug user.

Efforts by authorities to address this have now brought waiting lists down below four years and increased the number of syringes to 15 a year in 2011 and an expected 45 in 2012, but this is well below the international standard of 200 needles.

Rates of other health problems such as depression and suicide have been rising in Greece, which is also battling the re-emergence of mosquito-borne diseases such West Nile Virus and malaria.

Charles Dallara Discusses Greek Debt Reduction on CNBC

Mr. Dallara addressing the Hellenic Bank Association in Athens on November 15th.

Πηγή: IIF
Nov 27 2012

IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara told CNBC that it is critical for Greece to restart its engines of growth, without which no adjustments will help achieve debt sustainability.

On November 15th Mr. Dallara addressing the Hellenic Bank Association in Athens, called for a new Strategy to enable Greece and Europe to emerge from the Crisis.

He said that “less austerity and more growth” was urgently needed in both Greece and Europe, adding that “until the Greek economy returns to growth,” doubts will persist regarding Greece’s membership of the Euro and these will fuel contagion elsewhere in the Euro Area. “It is time to recognize that austerity alone condemns not just Greece but the whole of Europe to the probability of a painful and protracted era of little or no economic growth,” he said.


He praised the Greek people for their “resilience, fortitude and courage” and their “impressive willingness to bear short-term pain for the long-term gain that will come from the structural adjustment of the economy.”

He paid tribute to the governments of Greece that “have guided Greece through these last three tumultuous years”, and pointed out that “the current coalition has made a commendable start on the difficult measures needed to carry on the important work begun by its predecessors.”

On Greek banks, he reminded the audience that “in contrast to some other countries in the Eurozone, the banks here did not bring down the sovereign” and that in fact they “registered impressive levels of capital adequacy before the crisis, with core Tier 1 ratios of 10% or more, well above those for banks in the U.S. and the rest of Europe” and a return on equity before the crisis of “near 15%, compared with only about 10% on average in the U.S. and the rest of Europe.”

Mr. Dallara said that what is needed now for Greece “is to ease the pace of the remaining fiscal adjustment to something closer to that of Ireland, which has been moving steadily with annual reductions of 1.5% per annum” and pointed out that is “just one third of what is programmed in 2013 for Greece.”

On debt sustainability for Greece he laid out several steps that ought to be implemented, including “cutting interest rates on existing and prospective EU and IMF lending to funding costs,” which would give “meaningful debt service relief to Greece.” A more moderated adjustment path and accelerated drawing on unused EU investment structural funds would support investment spending and improve economic growth prospects.

On Europe, Mr. Dallara said that while “discipline and steady progress in reining in fiscal deficits are essential” they cannot alone do the job and that “growth must be restored sooner rather than later if Europe is to resume its rightful place as one of the world’s leading economic powers.” Mr. Dallara noted the important progress the Euro Area had made with regard to providing firmer fiscal foundations to Europe’s monetary union, but called for a clearer road map towards that goal.

A better balance within Europe between growth and austerity, he said, “could turn what threatens to become a vicious spiral of stagnant decline more generally into a virtuous circle of stronger growth and improved government revenues, feeding in turn into better job prospects and stronger profits for corporations and banks, the world over.”

U.N. vote recognises state of Palestine; U.S. objects

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, listens as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a meeting on Palestine on Thursday. The UN later voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority to a non-member observer state in the General Assembly, despite an aggressive US campaign to head off the vote.

Πηγή: The HIndu
Nov 30 2012

Palestine overwhelmingly won a historical UN General Assembly vote which will upgrade its status to non-member observer state at the world body, despite intense opposition from the US and Israel.

India was among the 138 nations in the 193-member body that voted in favour while nine countries opposed the resolution that sought upgrading the status of Palestinian Authority from ‘entity’ to ‘non-member observer state.

Forty-one countries abstained from the voting which took place on Thursday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said “an important vote” has taken place in the General Assembly. “Today’s vote underscores the urgency of a resumption of meaningful negotiations. We must give new impetus to our collective efforts to ensure that an independent, sovereign, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine lives side by side with a secure State of Israel,” Mr. Ban said in his remarks after the votes were cast.

The symbolic vote signified the huge international backing for Palestine and came as a stinging defeat for Israel and the US.

The vote could enable Palestine to access bodies like the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which prosecutes people for genocide, war crimes and major human rights violations. Some nations like the UK have said Palestine could use access to the ICC to complain about Israel.

In his address to the General Assembly before the vote, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the vote will “issue a birth certificate of the reality of the state of Palestine”.

“Our people have witnessed, and continue to witness, an unprecedented intensification of military assaults, the blockade, settlement activities and ethnic cleansing, particularly in occupied East Jerusalem, and mass arrests, attacks by settlers and other practices by which this Israeli occupation is becoming synonymous with an apartheid system of colonial occupation, which institutionalises the plague of racism and entrenches hatred and incitement,” Mr. Abbas said.

“The moment has arrived for the world to say clearly: enough of aggression, settlements and occupation,” he said.

“We did not come here seeking to delegitimise a State established years ago, and that is Israel; rather we came to affirm the legitimacy of the State that must now achieve its independence, and that is Palestine,” Mr. Abbas told the Assembly before the vote.

The Palestinian Authority President said with the vote the world was being asked to undertake a significant step in the process of rectifying the “unprecedented historical injustice” inflicted on the Palestinian people since 1948.

“Your support for our endeavour today,” he said, “will send a promising message - to millions of Palestinians on the land of Palestine, in the refugee camps both in the homeland and the Diaspora, and to the prisoners struggling for freedom in Israel’s prisons - that justice is possible and that there is a reason to be hopeful and that the peoples of the world do not accept the continuation of the occupation.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor said his delegation could not accept the resolution “because this resolution is so one-sided, it doesn’t advance peace, it pushes it backwards,” he stated, adding that peace could only be achieved through negotiations.

Mr. Prosor said the resolution would do nothing to advance the peace process.

“Today the Palestinians are turning their back on peace,” he said. “Don’t let history record that today the UN helped them along on their march of folly.”

“There’s only one route to Palestinian statehood and that route does not run through this chamber in New York. That route runs through direct negotiations between Jerusalem and Ramallah that will lead to a secure and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he added. “There are no shortcuts. No quick fixes. No instant solutions.”

The Israelis and Palestinians have yet to resume direct negotiations since talks stalled in September 2010, after Israel refused to extend its freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

In the resolution, the Assembly also voiced the hope that the Security Council will “consider favourably” the application submitted in September 2011 by Palestine for full UN membership.

The vote comes on the same day that the UN observed the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Established in 1977, the Day marks the date in 1947 when the Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning then-mandated Palestine into two States, one Jewish and one Arab.

Kosovo ex-PM Ramush Haradinaj cleared of war crimes

Πηγή: BBC
Nov 29 2012

A UN tribunal has cleared Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj of war crimes from the 1998-99 conflict, after a retrial in The Hague.

Mr Haradinaj, a rebel commander during the war, was accused of overseeing a campaign of torture and murder against Serbs and suspected collaborators.

But four years after the last acquittal the UN court ruled again that the prosecution had not proved the case.

Serbian officials reacted angrily, denouncing the UN tribunal.

President Tomislav Nikolic said in a statement that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was formed "to try the Serbian people".

He said the verdict would increase Euroscepticism in Serbia.

Mr Haradinaj's 2008 acquittal was overturned and a retrial ordered after appeal judges ruled that there had been witness intimidation.

But the ICTY's trial chamber once again cleared Mr Haradinaj and co-defendants Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj of all charges.

The indictment alleged the three men had been involved in a joint criminal enterprise to establish Kosovo Liberation Army control in western Kosovo through detention camps.

Ethnic Serbs, Roma and Albanians who were deemed to have collaborated with Serbs were allegedly tortured and killed.

Judge Bakone Moloto said the evidence established that Serbs and their suspected supporters were beaten at a KLA compound in Kosovo, and at least one of them had died of his injuries.

However, he said there was no evidence Mr Haradinaj or his co-defendants were involved in the attacks or a conspiracy to mistreat civilians.Political ambitions

Mr Haradinaj, who is the most senior ethnic Albanian indicted by the ICTY, has many supporters among the Kosovo Albanian community.

He served as prime minister for 100 days before he stepped down in early 2005 to deal with his first trial.

Many in Kosovo regard Ramush Haradinaj as a hero and celebrated his acquittal

Crowds in the capital Pristina watched the latest verdict on a giant screen, and celebrated his acquittal by letting off fireworks and cheering.

Mr Haradinaj's lawyer, Ben Emmerson, said his client now wants to restart his political career.

"With the consent of the people, he will soon be resuming his rightful position as the political leader of the country," Mr Emmerson told reporters at the court.

His face is splashed across vast billboards in Kosovo, accompanied by slogans like "the leader who keeps his word" and "forward with a clean slate".

However, he is still considered a war criminal in Belgrade, and an arrest warrant has been issued against him by Serbia's war crimes prosecutor.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has enlisted the support of ally Russia to block any move for international recognition.

Many Serbs feel there has been little accountability for crimes committed against them during the wars of the 1990s.

Buying back Greece: Another ad hoc deal or a step towards a solution?

Πηγή: Open Europe

By Raoul Ruparel
Nov 28 2012

Early on Tuesday morning the eurozone and the IMF reached an agreement which has been widely billed as their most comprehensive package to aid Greece. Now that the dust has settled somewhat, Open Europe assesses the key components of the deal.

Conclusion

For all the talk and all the figures flying around there is still only one that really matters – 124% debt to GDP ratio in 2020, clearly this is not sustainable. Further measures will be needed and the ad hoc nature of this deal, particularly the way it skirts the big decisions, suggests that fears over a ‘Grexit’ will return as soon as Greece begins missing its targets once again.

1. Debt buyback

The buyback is short on details, with little clue as to where the money will come from or which bonds will be purchased. The idea behind a buyback is that Greek bonds are currently trading at around 35 cents on the euro, which the Greek government could purchase and then retire, thereby reducing their debt by the difference in the current and nominal price.

Figure 1: Who owns Greek debt?


Source: Greek Ministry of Finance, Greek Public Debt Bulletins, European Commission, Bank of Greece, Open Europe calculations.[1]

As figure 1 shows, taxpayer-backed institutions – or the official sector (EFSF, Eurozone, IMF, ECB, NCBs, Bank of Greece and other loans) – now hold 70.5% (€212bn) of Greek debt. Greek monetary financial institutions (banks, pension funds, investment funds) hold around 10% (€30bn) of Greek debt while similar firms abroad hold around the same amount. Greece currently has a stock of around €18.4bn in T-bills (short term debt).

It seems that the EU/IMF/ECB Troika expects Greece to be given around €10bn to use for buy backs.[2]

Who would actually sell their bonds in a buyback? The official sector debt is ruled out of any buyback (most is in the form of loans while the ECB has rejected including its bonds). To us it seems illogical for any Greek institution to sell their holding of Greek debt at such a significant write-down, especially after the previous restructuring resulted in such a huge recapitalisation (which offset much of the benefit). The Troika seems to expect Greek banks to provide half of the bonds for sale under a buyback – this is either naïve or counterproductive given the likely recapitalisation needs.[3] Therefore, in reality we expect that only the €30bn of foreign held debt would be available for purchase.

This still fits with the €10bn in funding and the price of 35 cents on the euro and could deliver up to €20bn in debt reduction (around 11% of GDP), if all these bondholders took part.

However, it is unclear how many of these bondholders would wish to sell. Some will be holding the bonds to maturity and will not want to accept any further write downs, while others may be happy to wait for a default and take the case to court due to the new Greek bonds being governed under English law. In any case the debt reduction may be much lower.

Where will the €10bn for the buyback come from? This is far from clear but it is hard to imagine it being found anywhere other than the bailout funds, meaning a new transfer of around €9bn will be needed. This again poses significant political problems as leaders in Germany, the Netherlands and Finland (to name but a few) try to convince their parliaments (and public) that this is not more money into a black hole. It has been suggested that some of the other mechanisms mentioned below could be used to fund the buyback, but this looks impossible since they are being tapped to fill the existing funding gap.

These substantial obstacles to a successful debt buyback are crucial since the IMF has already stated its on-going participation in the Greek bailout hinges on this policy. The likes of Finland and the Netherlands have also previously stated that IMF involvement is requirement if they are expected to continue to aid Greece. With a plan on the buyback expected to be in place by 13 December, to allow for the release of the next tranche of bailout funds, this deal could hit a wall even sooner than many expected.

2. Interest rate reduction

The original bilateral loans to Greece will see their rated reduced by 1%, making it 0.5% over the 3 month Euribor rate. This means the interest on the loans could now be around 1% given current rates. Clearly this is much lower than the majority of eurozone countries can borrow at (especially given the very long maturities of the loans). Countries which are under a “full” bailout are exempted, although Spain, which is in the progress of seeking a bailout for its banking sector will not be. This could further political divisions within the eurozone.

This (along with other slight interest adjustments agreed) could deliver around €3.5bn up to 2016, so although it helps with the bailout extension it does not provide any real debt relief.

Meanwhile, reports already suggest that the Portuguese government has told its parliament that it will be seeking a similar deal with regards to its bailout.[4]

3. Deferral of interest and extension of maturities

This could aid in the short term, i.e. helping to fund the two year extension. However, on net it delivers no reduction and is once again a very short term ad hoc measure aimed at avoiding taking any significant decision on the Greek crisis – especially since a deferral on some interest payments was already in place. Similar things can be said of the maturity extension, especially given that many of the loans already have long maturities at 15 years. Once again this rescheduling of debt would amount to a technical default in most scenarios and does represent creditors forgoing real payments for a substantial amount of time.[5]

4. Dispersal of profits from the SMP

A key point here is that the ECB is not providing the money directly to Greece – thereby avoiding the legal problems of ‘monetary financing’, i.e. directly paying for states. The money will be dispersed to member states as usual and they will pass on an amount equivalent to this to Greece.

The issue with this however is that the profit from ECB actions, including profits accrued from its bond-buying programmes, is usually done on an annual basis and is paid out after it has passed through the ECB profit and loss account (meaning it can be used to offset any ECB losses, although this is unlikely at this time). It is not clear yet whether this will constrain when and how the money can be transferred. However, if the schedule is not the same a plausible case can be made that this is an additional injection of funds rather than a transferral of funds (although this is admittedly semantic over a long period).

5. The prospect of further measures in the future

The Eurogroup statement left the prospect of further measures to reduce the Greek debt burden hanging, teasing markets into believing that an official sector write down is just around the corner.

However, this does not quite seem to be the case. Firstly, such a prospect will only be realised if Greece manages to stick to its (still) strict reform and adjustment programme, something which, despite the extension, remains unlikely. This is driven home by the extensive strengthening of the ‘escrow account’ which increases the level of oversight and makes debt servicing the clear primary objective of the Greek government.

Secondly, while many have interpreted this deal as a step towards a larger more complete decision to keep Greece and others in the eurozone (some form of permanent fiscal transfer) this does not seem to immediately be the case. This deal does everything to avoid taking such a decision, and continues to sidestep the issue even if that means prolonging the pain and putting more taxpayer cash on the line. The hope is that such a deal will be politically more palatable after the German elections next autumn. This may well be true but given that many of the constraints on solving this crisis are legal as well as political, such a decision may not be much easier even after the elections.

Lastly, as the WSJ and FT point out today, extra measures will be necessary to reach the target of 124% debt to GDP in 2020.[6]

What does this deal mean for the Greek economy and the Greek people?

This is a question that has not been asked enough in the past two days, particularly the second part. The increase in oversight through the escrow account and the continuation of the current bailout programme mean more of the same for the Greek economy. Significant structural reforms are still to take place and internal devaluation is on-going. The two year delay in fiscal consolidation looks significant on the surface but much of this is offset by the amount Greece has missed its targets by this year given the two elections. The actual pace of fiscal consolidation is still rapid and the adjustment over the next few years, in an economy which is still contracting, will be unprecedented. The pay-out of the tranches (when and if the buyback hurdle is overcome) will be positive for Greece but only serves to help the economy limp along.

Given the impact on the Greek economy, the impact on the people can be inferred. There is unlikely to be any significant turnaround in the economy in the near future and the impact of public sector cuts will continue to be substantial, albeit maybe not as sharp as it would have been before the two year extension. However, the assumptions on unemployment in the Greek budget and latest Troika report look hopelessly optimistic – we expect it to continue to rise and public unrest along with it. In both cases more of the same seems to be on the cards despite this deal.

For more information please contact the office on 0044 (0)207 197 2333 or the author Raoul Ruparel on 0044 (0)757 696 5823.

[1] See here for a more detailed breakdown of debt shares and exact amounts for each share. The debt total of €301bn seems low given projections for the end of the year, however, when the next tranches of €34.4bn and €9.3bn are factored in the debt total is clearly in line with expectations. This does not include guarantees given by the Greek government, which amount to around €20bn. NCBs refers to National Central Banks.
[2] This amount is taken from a leaked document the key table of which was published by the FT. Cited by the FT Brussels blog, ‘Greece, round 3: let the debt relief talks begin’, 28 November 2012. For the specific table see:http://blogs.r.ftdata.co.uk/brusselsblog/files/2012/11/greece.pdf
[3] This is taken from a leaked document the key table of which was published by the FT. Cited by the FT Brussels blog, ‘New Greek bailout: the leaked chart’, 28 November 2012:http://blogs.r.ftdata.co.uk/brusselsblog/files/2012/11/Greece-2.pdf
[4] Cited by Journal de Negocios, ‘Portugal terá juros mais baixos e prazos mais longos nos empréstimos europeus’, 27 November 2012.
[5] This refers to the ‘Net present value’ loss which countries will face. Essentially this arises as future revenue flows are discounted, therefore the longer the payment of these loans is put off the less the money is seen to be worth in today’s terms. This drives home that creditors will be taking a loss somewhere along the line on these mechanisms.
[6] Cited by WSJ Real Time Brussels, ‘Greek debt deal explained’, 27 November 2012.

Libya’s New Crisis: A Wave of Assassinations Targeting Its Top Cops

Libyan police officers carry the body of Colonel Faraj al-Dersi, head of the Benghazi police force who was assassinated by gunmen, from the morgue in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Nov. 21, 2012

Πηγή: Time
By Steven Sotloff
Nov 26 2012

When Muhammad bin Halim stepped out of his front door in Benghazi one September morning, he waved at his neighbor before walking toward his candy-apple-red Hyundai. When the head of the financial-crimes unit in the Libyan Interior Ministry opened the door, a bomb exploded, sending him to the ground and showering him with debris. Luckily, he was uninjured; the same is not true for many of his colleagues.

A wave of assassinations targeting security officials has become the latest setback for a country still reeling from a Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans dead. Eight months of a revolutionary war in 2011 decimated Libya’s already deeply flawed civic institutions. With no security organizations to ensure order and an ineffective justice system unable to prosecute suspects, Libyans fear their country is slowly crumbling around them.

Around midnight on Nov.21, three gunmen jumped out of a car and pumped eight bullets into Colonel Faraj al-Dersi, temporary head of the Benghazi Police Department. Days earlier a caller into a local radio station threatened to kill al-Dersi, claiming his group had been following him. At a mourning tent outside his house Thursday, grieving relatives lamented his passing. “He went out of his way to help people and he gave back,” said his son Muhammad. On Friday, a colleague of al-Dersi’s in the Benghazi police force said that two American investigators had visited him to discuss the killing.

Al-Dersi was the latest security official to die in the line of duty. More than 20 have been killed in car bombs and shootings this year, mostly in the eastern city of Benghazi, once the center of the rebellion that toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi but now dominated by rival militias. Some, like Colonel Adil Baqramawi, were targeted for their links to the Gaddafi regime. But most of the deceased worked with the revolutionaries who toppled him.

“There are elements who want to disturb security,” says Wanis al-Sharif, an Interior Ministry official responsible for eastern Libya. “It is obvious that Takfir wa al-Hijra is behind this,” he says, referring to an extremist Islamist movement prevalent in Libya that declares certain fellow Muslims infidels and hence permissible to kill.

American and Libyan officials believe such Islamic extremists were responsible for the Sept. 11 attack as well. In the chaos that followed Gaddafi’s fall, these tight-knit ideological groups exert a great deal of influence on Libyan society. Today, they seek to prevent the emergence of strong security services that could curtail their activities. “They want to frighten the security services to prevent them from becoming tough enough to stop them,” al-Sharif says.

But al-Sharif and others believe another culprit lies behind assassinations targeting army officers — the very rebels who spearheaded the revolution. Their militias fear the emergence of a national army will force them to disband, thus eroding both their influence and stature in the new Libya. “There are unsatisfied militias that don’t want things to succeed,” explains Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, deputy chairman of the former interim government. “If an army is created, they will be the biggest losers.”

But the biggest loser today is a Libyan state stumbling from one crisis to the next. The government has not investigated the bombings and no one has been prosecuted. “We are capable of stopping these attacks, but the government doesn’t help us,” complains bin Halim who survived the assassination attempt. “We’ve requested things from the government but haven’t received enough. We are lucky if we get walkie-talkies.”

Both the interim government that sprouted up during the revolution and the elected body that replaced it have failed to build the institutions necessary to establish law and order. These failures are largely due to Gaddafi’s quixotic policies of state devolution, dismantling the control of the central government in certain areas while turning over the responsibilities of governance to municipalities. Gaddafi implemented such changes to eliminate a bureaucracy he believed was stymieing his revolutionary program. A politicized justice system with no real power took its cue from Gaddafi’s political henchmen. Today prosecutors and judges are unsure how exactly to try cases or where to even begin the process. “We are learning life from zero again, and that includes all the judicial people too,” notes Salah Sanussi, a political-science professor at Garyounis University in Benghazi.

With so many challenges ranging from disbanding the militias to learning Civics 101, Libya’s politicians are overwhelmed. But that does not deter bin Halim: “This bombing won’t stop me from protecting the Libyan people. I will keep protecting them, and we will arrest these people and try them fairly in court,” he says. Libya’s postrevolution aspirations for peace and stability hinge on that resolve.

Yasser Arafat: Eyes on Ramallah as Palestinian leader's body is exhumed

A tarpaulin erected around the mausoleum housing the former Palestinian Yasser Arafat is seen in Ramallah on Nov 26. The iconic leader's body was exhumed Tuesday.

Πηγή: The Telegraph
By AFP
Nov 27 2012

One of the biggest Middle East enigmas came closer to a resolution today, as the remains of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were exhumed to enable investigators to seek traces of poison.

The remains were exhumed this morning, according to Palestinian officals, and now international forensic experts will search for additional clues to Arafat's death.

The investigation will cap eight years of speculation about whether the former president was murdered, as many Palestinians believe.

French judges in charge of the investigation arrived on Sunday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Arafat's mausoleum stands in the grounds of the Muqataa complex, from which the late leader ruled and where president Mahmoud Abbas has his headquarters.

Rumours and speculation have surrounded Mr Arafat's death ever since a quick deterioration of his health before he died at the Percy military hospital near Paris in November 2004 at the age of 75.

Doctors were unable at the time to say what killed the Palestinians' first democratically-elected president and an autopsy was never performed, at his widow Suha's request.

But many Palestinians believed he was poisoned by Israel - a theory that gained ground in July when Al-Jazeera reported Swiss findings showing abnormal quantities of the radioactive substance polonium on Arafat's personal effects.

France opened a formal murder inquiry in late August at Suha's request.

Polonium was the substance that killed Russian ex-spy and fierce Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

Experts from the Swiss lab that tested the samples for the Al-Jazeera news network will work alongside the French investigators. Russian specialists will also be taking part in the process, at the request of the Palestinian leadership.

The exhumation process is to take place behind blue plastic sheets and far from the public view, with the French investigators overseeing the process.

Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the Palestinian team investigating Arafat's death, said the tomb will be opened, samples taken and a reburial ceremony held all on the same day.

An official statement is expected at the end of the process.

The samples will then be flown to laboratories in the three countries involved, with results expected within several months.

Some experts, however, have questioned whether anything conclusive will be found because polonium has a short life and dissipates quicker than some other radioactive substances.

And Jean-Rene Jourdain, deputy head of human protection at the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), cautioned it would take several weeks of analysis to be sure that the traces were man-made polonium rather than just coincidental contamination by naturally-occurring polonium.

"Even if traces of polonium are found, it doesn't mean that they are man-made," the French nuclear expert told AFP on Monday.

Bond-style weapons carried by North Korean assassin unveiled

The weapons, which would not be out of place in a James Bond film, included a black torch and two pens.

Πηγή: The Telegraph
By Julian Ryall
Nov 27 2012

Footage of three weapons that were found on a North Korean assassin when he was arrested on the platform of a subway in Seoul in September 2011 were shown on CNN on Monday.

The weapons, which would not be out of place in a James Bond film, included what at first glance appears to be a black torch with a wrist strap and the word "police" along one side. Upon closer inspection, however, one end has three holes and each contains a bullet, with a trigger mechanism in the body of the torch.

Two of the bullets remain in the weapon, which military authorities in the South said they have never seen before. Tests have shown that the flashlight-gun was accurate and the projectile was able to penetrate deep into a mattress from a distance of 16 feet, meaning it would have been lethal at short range.

The two other weapons found on the assassin, identified only by his family name of An, were an ordinary-looking ballpoint pen that contained a poison-tipped needle, while another pen was capable of firing a small projectile coated in a poisonous chemical. As little as 10 milligrams of the poison is reportedly sufficient to cause breathing problems and potentially heart failure.

The assassin had arranged to meet Park Sang-Hak in Seoul and prosecutors believe he had been ordered to kill the outspoken human rights activist.

Park, who defected from the North and now heads an organisation that regularly launches balloons across the border into the North bearing short-wave radios and messages that are critical of the regime, told authorities that he sensed something was amiss when An requested a meeting.

In the months before the apparent attempt on his life, Park's group had released balloons that called on the people of the North to follow the example of Arab states in North Africa and Middle East and rise up against their dictatorships in a Korean version of the Arab Spring.

Examining the weapons, Park told CNN, "You would notice a gun, but these weapons are so innocuous that you could easily kill someone.

"I'd be dead immediately," he said, adding that North Korea's efforts to silence him will have no effect on his activities.

South Korean police now provide Park with 24-hour protection.

An has been identified as a former North Korean special forces soldier who had been granted asylum in the South in the late 1990s after claiming he had fled the North.

News reports have suggested that he was forced to work for Pyongyang again after the regime made threats against members of his family still in the North.

Convicted in April, An was sentenced to four years in prison.

Eurozone strikes Greek aid deal

Πηγή: FT
By Peter Spiege
Nov 27 2012

After two false starts in as many weeks, international lenders on Tuesday finally reached a deal to overhaul Greece’s faltering bailout programme and release a long-delayed €34.4bn aid payment by agreeing to a series of measures that could relieve Greece of billions of euros in debt by the end of the decade.

The measures, which include reducing interest rates on Athens’ bailout loans to levels so low that some countries will probably take losses on them, are intended to cut Greek debt levels to 124 per cent of economic output by 2020, or 20 percentage points lower than Athens’ current debt path, officials said.

But several of the elements remain unfinished, including a Greek debt buyback programme whose success remains so uncertain that Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund chief, said her institution would not release its portion of Greek bailout aid until the transaction was successfully completed.

Ms Lagarde sought to play down the delay, saying the IMF and eurozone governments had disbursed out their tranches at different points in the past. But the difference highlighted ongoing tensions between Brussels and Washington that forced Monday’s late night meeting – the third Brussels gathering in two weeks on the Greek programme.

The IMF had been holding out for a deal to get Greece’s debt levels to 120 per cent of gross domestic product by 2020, a target which would have likely forced eurozone governments to make substantial writedowns on their bailout loans – something deemed politically explosive in creditor countries like Germany and the Netherlands.

In exchange for allowing a loosening in the target to 124 per cent, Ms Lagarde secured a commitment to get debt levels to “substantially below” 110 per cent in 2022, a promise that could force eurozone governments to provide even more debt relief in the future.

“It’s been hard work,” said Ms Lagarde of the negotiations. Added Jean-Claude Juncker, who chaired the meeting as head of the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers: “This has been a very difficult deal.”

Equity markets in Asia were generally higher in morning trading with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.4 per cent, the Hang Seng increasing 0.4 per cent in Hong Kong, and South Korea’s Kospi index moving 1 per cent higher. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.7 per cent, touching multiyear lows. The US dollar gained slightly to 1.2985 dollars per euro.

The centrepiece of the agreement is the change in interest rates on Greek bailout loans. Bilateral loans provided to Athens under its first bailout would be cut 100 basis points, to just 50 points above interbank rates, knocking about €2bn off Greek debt levels, or 2 per cent of GDP by 2020. Some eurozone countries, including Spain and Italy, borrow money at well above interbank rates, meaning they will probably be lending to Greece at a loss.

In addition, both the bilateral loans and assistance provided under a second Greek bailout, which is financed by the eurozone’s €440bn bailout fund, will have their maturities delayed another 15 years. Interest payments on the second bailout will also be deferred by 10 years.

The second main element was an agreement by eurozone governments to give up about €7bn owed to them by the European Central Bank for profits on Greek bonds the bank holds. That money will instead be passed back to Greece, and officials said that would knock another 4.6 per cent of GDP off of Greek debt levels by 2020.

That leaves a substantial amount of the debt relief to the debt buyback programme. Eurozone officials refused to disclose details of the programme, saying they feared it would lead to a run-up in Greek bond prices, thus undermining its success. The key to a debt buyback is to purchase outstanding bonds at heavily distressed prices, allowing Greece to retire the debt far more cheaply than if they had to pay the bonds off when they reached maturity.

But in a statement, finance ministers said the buyback price for bonds could be no higher than prices at Friday’s market close – meaning there will be little if any premium offered to private debtholders, raising questions about how many will participate.

Even with the uncertainty, eurozone officials said they would release their €34.4bn once national parliaments approved the changes to the bailout; Mr Juncker said he aimed to finalise the payment by December 13. Another €9.3bn in delayed aid, which was also approved last night, will be disbursed in three separate “sub-tranches” in the first quarter of 2013 as long as Greece meets reform targets included in the programme.

Eurozone officials said they believed the overhauled bailout would be less subject to volatility in the future, since it includes automatic budget cuts in Greece’s fiscal accounts if Athens begins veering off track again. Since the first bailout was agreed in May 2010, eurozone officials have been forced to agree a second bailout and conduct a major overhaul of that second plan twice.

Experts take samples of Arafat belongings, Palestinians await Tuesday's exhumation

Πηγή: Xinhua
Nov 26 2012

Experts took Monday evening samples of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's belongings for testing, a well-informed Palestinian source said, while Palestinians wait with anxiety the exhumation of his remains on Tuesday to know the reasons behind his mysterious death.

The samples were taken from Arafat's personal office at al- Muqat'aa, the headquarters of the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA) in the West Bank, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

This move came just hours before Tuesday's exhumation of his remains in the West Bank city of Ramallah to investigate into the death of Arafat in November 2004.

The source added that a meeting was held Monday between PNA officials and international experts in Ramallah, who agreed on the preparations made to reopen Arafat's tomb and take the samples of his remains. The remains will be dug up without media coverage.

Experts from the Lausanne-based Institute of Radiation Physics on Sunday evening secretly examined the grave, which was near the Palestinian leadership's Ramallah headquarters, Palestinian sources told Xinhua earlier on Monday.

Delegations from France and Russia will also join the exhumation and investigation.

Adham Manasra, a young man from Ramallah, said that opening the tomb and testing samples of Arafat's remains "is the only way to know the real reasons behind his death."

"I'm concerned that the results will lead to internal disputes and mutual accusations," said Manasra.

The Palestinians accused Israel of being behind the death of Arafat, who died of a mysterious disease in a hospital in Paris eight years ago.

Debates over Arafat's death renewed after the Swiss experts tested Arafat's personal belongings as part of a documentary movie aired in July by Al-Jazeera, the Doha-based Arab news network. The report cited the Institute of Radiation Physics as saying that traces of radioactive polonium-210 were found on Arafat's underwear and toothbrush.

Farid Abu Dheir, a teacher at al-Najah University in the city of Nablus in the West Bank, told Xinhua that looking for the reasons behind Arafat's death was too late and has been delayed, noting that the PNA should also go on with all legal measures to take Israel to "international criminal court for killing Arafat."

However, other Palestinians expressed opposition against opening Arafat's grave. Amani Abu Shamseyeh, a Palestinian woman from Ramallah, said "Let President Arafat rest in peace."

Munir al-Jagoub, another young Palestinian activist, said " President Arafat always said that he wants to be buried in Jerusalem, so instead of opening and closing, they should take his remains to Jerusalem."

"Although Arafat died, his spirit is living inside us. No matter how he was killed or how he died, our love to him won't be changed," said al-Jagoub.

Meanwhile, many other Palestinians believe the death of Arafat has become part of the past and the Palestinians "should pay attention more to their future."

Comment: Meeting Cyprus’s Interim Natural Gas Needs

It is striking to note that natural gas costs about one tenth of the price of a barrel of oil equivalent.

Πηγή: Famagusta Gazette
By Constantinos Hadjistassou Ph.D.
Nov 26 2012

Owing to its numerous uses natural gas is the most versatile hydrocarbon. Predominantly consisting of methane (CH4) natural gas can be used to power vehicles, generate electricity, produce fertilisers, heat homes, cook food or even be converted into diesel.

It is striking to note that natural gas costs about one tenth of the price of a barrel of oil equivalent.

How about using natural gas to lower atmospheric emissions and reduce the price of electricity?

These two reasons partly explain why natural gas power stations have recently gained considerable popularity in relation to coal fired power plants. Whatsmore natural gas resources are more geographically distributed than oil.

Yet the cost of developing natural gas fields and transporting the gas to the markets can be in several occasions prohibitively expensive.

According to statistics from Eurostat, during the first half of 2012, Cypriot domestic consumers incurred the highest electricity price tag in Europe amounting to 0.2338 euro per kilowatt hour (kWh).

To a large extent this is attributed to the high price of diesel used to generate electricity and the Mari levy.

As a direct consequence the high electricity prices exacerbate inflation and negatively impact the competitiveness of the country hence hampering economic recovery.

Paradoxically, Cyprus following the discovery of the Aphrodite natural gas field with an estimated 200 billion cubic meters (bcm) has abundant natural gas both for the domestic market and for exports.

With only one caveat: developing an ultra-deep water natural gas field is a capital intensive business hard to justify solely for Cyprus’s natural gas domestic needs.

If the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) were to meet all of the island’s electricity demands with natural gas then about 1.2 bcm of natural gas per annum will be sufficient.

Carrying out the appraisal work, installing the subsea equipment, procuring the floating platform (if chosen) and laying the subsea pipeline from the Aphrodite field is expected to cost about 1.6 billion euros and could take from 4 to 5 years at the earliest optimistic scenario.

In the meantime, is it economically sustainable and rational to continue to rely on diesel and heavy fuel oil given that alternatives exist?

This is not to say that renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, cannot be incorporated into the energy mix.

Their intermittent nature though makes it necessary to maintain an installed capacity of power generation usually utilising fossil fuels should wind is not blowing and/or the sun is not glowing.

Recently, Cyprus’s Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) invited bids regarding the supply of natural gas to the Vasilikos power station. The invitation did not specify the form at which the natural gas will be imported in Cyprus hence leaving all options open to suppliers.

More importantly, DEFA specified that the supply of natural gas was for the duration of five years ending on the 30th of September 2018. Given the low volume of the natural gas supply, the lack of infrastructure in Cyprus to permit the import of natural gas, and the short time window of the supply it is unlikely companies will pursue expensive investments.

As a matter of fact natural gas will be imported either in liquefied or in gaseous state. Subsequently, we explore the different options available for introducing natural gas to the island.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

Compressed natural gas (CNG) constitutes an attractive technology for importing natural gas. Methane compression ranges from 130 to 275 bars.

Because the gas is transported in its gaseous form, CNG does not require an expensive regasification terminal. Only a jetty will be needed or a flexible submarine pipe (riser).

However, CNG is economical over short to medium range sea journeys in relation to liquefied natural gas (LNG) which becomes economically viable over longer sea routes.

If the CNG technology is selected it means that Cyprus (or the gas supplier) will need to build the first CNG ship in the world.

Currently no such ship has been constructed. To date, several CNG ship concepts have been proposed but none has yet to materialise.

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)– a classification society– has approved one such design but it remains to be seen if the ship will become a reality.

Nevertheless, three distinct designs namely the coiled pipelines and the vertical or horizontal steel pipes featuring also composite materials have been proposed as a way of storing onboard pressurised natural gas.

CNG ships will be very expensive to build and will absorb the majority of the costs of importing natural gas to Cyprus.

Developing the Aphrodite Gas Field or Importing Gas from Israel

The second option is to lay a submarine pipeline either from Israel’s Tamar field, expected to start producing natural gas in 2013, or from the Aphrodite gas discovery to Vasilikos.

This is an expensive engineering endeavour and it is highly unlikely for such a project to become a reality unless some of the gas is destined for export. Possibly a Cyprus-Israeli joined LNG export terminal will justify the cost of the Israel-Cyprus pipeline.

The submarine pipeline will be laid using a J-type semisubmersible platform. Before pumping natural gas from the Aphrodite gas field the discovery will need to be appraised, subsea wells completed, and either a floating platform or a subsea (wet) development will be used to pump the gas to shore.

Considering that the pipeline will be laid at a water depth at times reaching 2,200 m the project will take at best 3 to 4 years to complete. A detailed survey of the seabed will be necessary to identify the optimal path the pipeline will follow.

Geo-hazards such as highly corrosive sea areas or an unstable sea bottom will need to be addressed. An environmental study is also a critical part of the process.

The cost of the pipeline from the Aphrodite gas field to Vasilikos a distance of about 185 km ranges from 615 million euros to 1.76 billion euros. These estimates are based on existing pipelines laid at similar water depths.

Namely the Blue Stream siphoning gas from Russia to Turkey and the Green Stream exporting gas from Libya to Italy.

An alternative option will be to lay a pipeline from Israel’s Tamar gas field without developing the Aphrodite gas field. Such a plan will be faster to implement that developing Block’s 12 gas field but will require a longer pipeline of about 240 km in length which comes at a higher cost.

Floating, Storage and Regasification Vessel (FSRU)

A Floating, Storage and Regasification Vessel (FSRU) is an LNG ship temporarily or permanently moored on the sea or a jetty capable of storing LNG and converting it back to its gaseous form on demand.

Natural gas is stored in the cryogenically cooled ship containers therefore obviating the need to construct natural gas storage tanks onland.

This floating natural gas solution was shortlisted back in 2004 to supply Cyprus with natural gas but was later on ruled out. Although the technology existed at that time no such FSRU ship was ever constructed or converted then.

Since 2009 four FSRUs have entered operation while another three are under construction.

Gas replenishment of the FSRU is accomplished via feeder LNG carriers. Worth noting that current FRSUs can deliver up to 5 bcm per annum well above the 1.2 bcm maximum demand of the EAC.

Deploying an FSRU requires a much shorter time window of about 2 to 3 years versus an onland regasification facility which takes 5 to 7 years. Depending on whether the FSRU is a new building or converted from an existing LNG carrier the costs may range from 120 to 200 million euros.

Shuttle and Regasification Vessel (SRV)

The Shuttle and Regasification Vessel (SRV) is again an LNG vessel which unlike the FRSU is not permanently or temporarily moored. Instead the SRV can transport natural gas from a natural gas liquefaction plant to Vasilikos.

Onboard regasification equipment can be used to convert LNG into compressed natural gas prior to pumping it onshore for storage via a jetty or a submarine pipeline connected to a flexible marine (pipe) riser.

Thus an SRV will discharge her LNG cargo to the receiving terminal in gaseous form and then another ship could drop-by when natural gas is needed to refuel the tanks on land.

Like in the case of the FRSU, natural gas will need to be sourced from an LNG export plant necessitating the need to sign a premium priced short term contract or divert LNG from another supplier.

Given the short duration of the contract which DEFA alludes to, this will push the unit price of natural gas to a much higher price than that of traditional LNG 15 to 20 year contracts. Currently, Japan pays $10 to $12 per million BTU.

Provided that existing SRVs will be delivering natural gas to Cyprus this option will be the fastest to implement.

The subsea pipeline and marine riser are expected to take about a year to construct with estimated costs of 20 to 40 million euros.

The availability of SRV vessels is the major consideration here. On-land natural gas storage tanks will be used to store the gas and could take at most 2 years to erect. Because this is a temporary solution Cyprus consumers will pay a premium for the natural gas.

LNG Regasification Terminal

This is the most expensive and time consuming option unlikely to be completed within the five year time horizon which DEFA specifies. Typically, an LNG receiving terminal including the natural gas storage facilities takes 5 to 7 years to construct and costs about 500 million euros (for about 8 million tonnes per annum).

Cyprus needs do not conform to the preceding requirements and hence this is the least likely option to be selected.

What the Future Holds

Ironically, Cyprus (and Noble Energy) despite having discovered about 200 bcm Cypriots pay the most expensive domestic electricity in the EU.

Coupled with the small volume of about 1.2 bcm needed to meet Cyprus’s electricity demands economic considerations dictate most decisions of importing natural gas.

Several options are therefore ruled out in favour of temporary solutions which command a premium natural gas price. Nevertheless, estimating the costs of inaction and comparing them with the costs of the interim solutions can help reach the best solution possible under the prevailing circumstances.
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Constantinos Hadjistassou Ph.D.is a researcher at the University of Cyprus specialising on hydrocarbons and low-carbon energy technologies. Website: www.energysequel.com

Why So Secretive? The Trans-Pacific Partnership as Global Coup

A summit with leaders of the member states of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) in November, 2010. 

Πηγή: Truthout
By Andrew Gavin Marshall
Nov 25 2012

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is the most secretive and “least transparent” trade negotiations in history.

Luckily for the populations and societies that will be affected by the agreement, there are public research organizations and alternative media outlets campaigning against it – and they’ve even released several leaks of draft agreement chapters. From these leaks, which are not covered by mainstream corporate-controlled news outlets, we are able to get a better understanding of what the Trans-Pacific Partnership actually encompasses.

For example, public interest groups have been warning that the TPP could result in millions of lost jobs. As a letter from Congress to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk stated, the TPP “will create binding policies on future Congresses in numerous areas,” including “those related to labor, patent and copyright, land use, food, agriculture and product standards, natural resources, the environment, professional licensing, state-owned enterprises and government procurement policies, as well as financial, healthcare, energy, telecommunications and other service sector regulations.”

In other words, as promised, the TPP goes far beyond “trade.”

Dubbed by many as “NAFTA on steroids” and a “corporate coup,” only two of the TPP’s 26 chapters actually have anything to do with trade. Most of it grants far-reaching new rights and privileges to corporations, specifically related to intellectual property rights (copyright and patent laws), as well as constraints on government regulations.

The leaked documents revealed that the Obama administration “intends to bestow radical new political powers upon multinational corporations,” as Obama and Kirk have emerged as strong advocates “for policies that environmental activists, financial reform advocates and labor unions have long rejected for eroding key protections currently in domestic laws.”

In other words, the already ineffective and mostly toothless environmental, financial, and labor regulations that exist are unacceptable to the Obama administration and the 600 corporations aligned with the TPP who are giving him his orders.

The agreement stipulates that foreign corporations operating in the United States would no longer be subject to domestic U.S. laws regarding protections for the environment, finance or labor rights, and could appeal to an “international tribunal” which would be given the power to overrule American law and impose sanctions on the U.S. for violating the new “rights” of corporations.

The “international tribunal” that would dictate the laws of the countries would be staffed by corporate lawyers acting as “judges,” thus ensuring that cases taken before them have a “fair and balanced” hearing – fairly balanced in favor of corporate rights above anything else.

A public interest coalition known as Citizens Trade Campaign published a draft of the TPP chapter on “investment” revealing information about the “international tribunal” which would allow corporations to directly sue governments that have barriers to “potential profits.”

Arthur Stamoulis, the executive director of Citizens Trade Campaign, explained that the draft texts “clearly contain proposals designed to give transnational corporations special rights that go far beyond those possessed by domestic businesses and American citizens... A proposal that could have such broad effects on environmental, consumer safety and other public interest regulations deserves public scrutiny and debate. It shouldn’t be crafted behind closed doors.”

Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, a public interest organization, undertook an analysis of the leaked document on investment and explained that the international corporate tribunal would allow corporations to overturn national laws and regulations or demand enormous sums in compensation, with the tribunal “empowered to order payment of unlimited government Treasury funds to foreign investors over TPP claims.”

Even under NAFTA, over $350 million has been paid by NAFTA-aligned governments to corporations for “barriers” to investment “rights,” including toxic waste dumps, logging rules, as well as bans on various toxic chemicals.

Because let’s be clear: for corporations, such regulations and concerns over health, safety and environmental issues are perceived solely as “barriers” to investment and profit. Thus their “government” would sue the foreign government on behalf of the corporation, on the premise that such regulations led to potential lost profits, for which the corporation should be compensated.

The TPP allows the corporations to directly sue the government in question. All of the TPP member countries, except for Australia, have agreed to adhere to the jurisdiction of this international tribunal, an unelected, anti-democratic and corporate-staffed kangaroo-court with legal authority over at least ten nations and their populations.

Further, TPP countries have not agreed on a set of obligations for corporations to meet in relation to health, labor or environmental standards, and thus a door is opened for corporations to obtain even more rights and privileges to plunder and exploit. Where corporate rights are extended, human and democratic rights are dismantled.

One of the most important areas in which the TPP has a profound effect is in relation to intellectual property rights, or copyright and patent laws. Corporations have been strong advocates of expanding intellectual property rights, namely, their intellectual property rights.

Pharmaceutical corporations are major proponents of these rights and are likely to be among the major beneficiaries of the intellectual property chapter of the TPP. The pharmaceutical industry ensured that strong patent rules were included in the 1995 World Trade Organization agreement, but ultimately felt that those rules did not go far enough.

Dean Baker, writing in the Guardian, explained that stronger patent rules establish “a government-granted monopoly, often as long as 14 years, that prohibits generic competitors from entering a market based on another company’s test results that show a drug to be safe and effective.” Baker noted that such laws are actually “the opposite of free trade” since they “involve increased government intervention in the market” and “restrict competition and lead to higher prices for consumers.”

Essentially, what this means is that in poor countries where more people need access to life-saving drugs, and at cheaper cost, it would be impossible for companies or governments to manufacture and sell cheaper generic brands of successful drugs held by multinational corporate patents. Such an agreement would hand over a monopoly of price-controls to these corporations, allowing them to set the prices as they deem fit, thus making the drugs incredibly expensive and often inaccessible to the people who need them most.

As U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman correctly noted, “In many parts of the world, access to generic drugs means the difference between life and death.”

The TPP is expected to increase such corporate patent rights more than any other agreement in history. Generic drug manufacturers in countries like Vietnam and Malaysia would suffer. So would sales of larger generics manufacturers in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, which supply low-cost drugs to much of the world.

While the United States has given up the right to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical corporations (hence the exorbitant price for drugs purchased in the U.S.), countries like New Zealand and even Canada to a lesser extent negotiate drug prices in order to keep the costs down for consumers. The TPP will grant new negotiating privileges to corporations, allowing them to appeal decisions by governments to challenge the high cost of drugs or to go with cheap alternatives. Referring to these changes, the U.S. manager of Doctors Without Borders’ Access to Medicines Campaign stated, “Bush was better than Obama on this.”

But that’s not all the TPP threatens: Internet freedom is also a major target.

The Council of Canadians and OpenMedia, major campaigners for Internet freedom, have warned that the TPP would “criminalize some everyday uses of the Internet,” including music downloads as well as the combining of different media works. OpenMedia warned that the TPP would “force service providers to collect and hand over your private data without privacy safeguards, and give media conglomerates more power to send you fines in the mail, remove online content – including entire websites – and even terminate your access to the Internet.”

Also advanced under the TPP chapter on intellectual property rights, new laws would have to be put in place by governments to regulate Internet usage. OpenMedia further warned that, from the leaked documents on intellectual property rights, “there can be heavy fines for average citizens online,” adding: “you could be fined for clicking on a link, people could be knocked off the Internet and web sites could be locked off.”

The TPP, warned OpenMedia founder Steve Anderson, “will limit innovation and free expression.” Under the TPP, there is no distinction between commercial and non-commercial copyright infringement. Thus, users who download music for personal use would face the same penalties as those who sell pirated music for profit.

Information that is created or shared on social networking sites could have Internet users fined, have their computers seized, their Internet usage terminated, or even get them a jail sentence. The TPP imposes a “three strikes” system for copyright infringement, where three violations would result in the termination of a household’s Internet access.

So, why all the secrecy? Corporate and political decision-makers study public opinion very closely; they know how to manipulate the public based upon what the majority think and believe. When it comes to “free trade” agreements, public opinion has forced negotiators into the darkness of back-room deals and unaccountable secrecy precisely because populations are so overwhelmingly against such agreements.

An opinion poll from 2011 revealed that the American public has – just over the previous few years – moved from “broad opposition” to “overwhelming opposition” toward NAFTA-style trade deals.

A major NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll from September of 2010 revealed that “the impact of trade and outsourcing is one of the only issues on which Americans of different classes, occupations and political persuasions agree,” with 86% saying that outsourcing jobs by U.S. companies to poor countries was “a top cause of our economic woes,” with 69% thinking that “free trade agreements between the United States and other countries cost the U.S. jobs.” Only 17% of Americans in 2010 felt that “free trade agreements” benefit the U.S., compared to 28% in 2007.

Because public opinion is strongly – and increasingly – against “free trade agreements,” secrecy is required in order to prevent the public from even knowing about, let alone actively opposing, agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And this, as U.S. Trade Representative Kirk explained, is a very “practical” reason for all the secrecy.