tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post6374828535728737148..comments2023-08-25T17:30:36.937+05:30Comments on Business Musings: In defence of TPP - Environment and Intellectual propertyRameshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-21614048766915443062015-05-27T06:05:07.821+05:302015-05-27T06:05:07.821+05:30The problem with environmental issues is that ther...The problem with environmental issues is that there is no overwhelming majority of people who think something should be done in the US. With issues like child labour, no discrimination, etc, probably 90% of the people support - so getting it in a treaty is easier. In evironment , there is absolutely no consensus. That is the problem.Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-19048966259858032112015-05-26T15:23:37.795+05:302015-05-26T15:23:37.795+05:30I read today morning, about antartic ice loss alte...I read today morning, about antartic ice loss altering earth's gravity. whether the US did something or did not do something with the Kyoto Protocol, i do not disagree with the point that when you are doing such a massive trade treaty, why not a stronger and a more emphatic environmental agenda. that would also strongly communicate that when you mean business, you mean business the right way. whatever be the political reasons for wrecking teh Kyoto Protocol, that doesnt punish US to sit tight and do nothing in every thing else that follows. dont agree with you here Ramesh. Sandhya Sriramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11833463085841210502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-21147429008255397742015-05-22T19:07:04.895+05:302015-05-22T19:07:04.895+05:30Of course the MSF position has merit. Considerable...Of course the MSF position has merit. Considerable merit. It is the balance between patent protection and cheap drugs which is difficult to strike. The reason I hesitate to criticise them is simply because they are a sainted organisation. I do not believe I have the right to criticise them in any way on any issue - I know you have a different point of view on this, but for me this is what I feel. By the way, the US position of different active windows for different countries appeals much to me.<br /><br />And of course the TPP should be debated, criticised, argued etc. Isn't that what we ourselves are doing. I am only defending the US stand on TPP and you can, should, and will, disagree. The secrecy isn't about suppressing debate as I have elaborately argued in the next post. So no quarrels there. As far as the President's rights are concerned, I frankly don't care who the US puts up as the authority with the power to negotiate - that's your call. But don't put up somebody to negotiate and then say he has no power to bind the country. You want to put the whole Congress as your negotiator - that's fine. But put somebody up with the authority to negotiate.<br /><br />Disagree with your view on environmental issues being pushed through the TPP. If you have a clear environmental goal , push it through the Kyoto Protocol, or its successor. That will anyway have precedence over any agreement in the TPP. Far from pushing an environmental agenda, the US wrecked the Kyoto protocol. I rest my case !!<br />Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-26731056816325107442015-05-22T10:24:33.596+05:302015-05-22T10:24:33.596+05:30Ahem, you duck an issue because you don't want...Ahem, you duck an issue because you don't want to argue with Doctors Without Borders? <br />So, are you saying that their complaint has merit? <br />And if so, then the TPP ought to factor in that complaint and the language has to be changed? <br />Which means that the TPP is up for discussion after all? <br />Who gets to decide which issue is weightier than others? <br />The US President does? <br />When was the last time the constitution that is difficult to amend said that the US President is the king (or perhaps a queen after 2017!) of the country with divine rights to make such decisions?<br /><br />democracy is, by its very nature, messy, my friend. Which is why sometimes even the frustrated idiot, er, pundit, Thomas Friedmann ends up touting the Chinese political model as being more efficient in how it can get things done! Which is why the George Obama presidencies have vastly increased the reach of the White House ... <br /><br />I suppose all these comments can also serve as my comments against your defense of secrecy ;)<br /><br />As for the environmental issues, the complaint is not that a Japan or a New Zealand will become less environment-friendly. In the TPP, the complaint is that the US is not using this wonderful opportunity to go after climate change issues. Especially when the rabid right is dead set against internal and international climate change deliberations. With the TPP, the worry is not anywhere like how it was with NAFTA--where it became easy for the polluting industries to flee south of the border, and that was also the time of the notorious Larry Summers memo in which ... well, Wikipedia has the goods on that.Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-20627355308530072292015-05-22T09:10:23.918+05:302015-05-22T09:10:23.918+05:30Aww. Thank you.Aww. Thank you.Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-9989438731091593592015-05-22T04:45:24.615+05:302015-05-22T04:45:24.615+05:30I am enjoying this immensely. Thank you for expla...I am enjoying this immensely. Thank you for explanations a layman can understand. I look forward to the final post and a well-deserved skewering of Warren.Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-54628753436841732772015-05-21T20:26:44.026+05:302015-05-21T20:26:44.026+05:30You are absolutely right Gilsu. This is the questi...You are absolutely right Gilsu. This is the question of trade offs and choices. For eg - we need power; there is simply no way to economic growth without power. And yet the activists object to every form of power - try constructing a dam and there is a huge agitation. Try a thermal power station and there are protests. Try Kudankulam and you know what happened. So what are we supposed to do. This is why I have little time for these activists who only oppose and propose nothing constructive. The likes of Arundhati Roy who only protest and object without contributing anything positive.Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740849900073154554.post-15440654640417378252015-05-21T15:03:12.723+05:302015-05-21T15:03:12.723+05:30oru doubt..those whoe oppose..if they are more pre...oru doubt..those whoe oppose..if they are more precise like..intha mathiri industrieslaam allo panna koodathu and intha mathiri arealam industrykaga kudukka koodathu apdiun condition poattu oppose panna..it should be acceptedla? why waste an already productive resource for something which is a lotterygilshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03259194565523548553noreply@blogger.com