Why the TransPacific Partnership is a "pending disaster" for America and the world

By Joseph Brenner

(Daily Kos) There's been very little mention of what Obama's State of the Union speech has to say about the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty proposal.

As Robert Reich [Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century] has commented:

"If you haven’t heard much about the TPP, that’s part of the problem right there. It would be the largest trade deal in history — involving countries stretching from Chile to Japan, representing 792 million people and accounting for 40 percent of the world economy – yet it’s been devised in secret."

Reich calls the TPP a "pending disaster".  So what does Obama have to say? ...

The U.S. and other failing economies take note: Iceland may hold the solution to financial woes

When the world first learned of the economic collapse in Iceland during 2008, many felt it would be yet another exercise in corruption, bailouts and crippling debt. News reports were prolific in those early days when it looked as though this small country would be thrown into a never-ending downward spiral. But something unprecedented occurred: The people rose up in a bloodless revolution and ousted those responsible for the crash -- namely, the corrupt banking cartel. And now, the Icelandic economy is stronger than ever. Since Iceland's recovery is an exceptional model for other struggling nations, the question begs to be asked: Why is the mainstream media eerily silent about Iceland's victory?