Boston tea party
Early terrorists?
Long ago, American colonists took a stance against a government that didn't represent the voice of the people. Fast forward to today and the recent TPP and TTIP treaties essentially silence the voice of the people once again. But is anyone paying attention?

The men, unhappy with the decisions that had been forced upon them by people they had never seen before, decided to do something. Waiting until sunset, they dressed up as Indians, painted their faces, and marched down to the harbor. Upon reaching it, they stormed a ship, grabbed the cargo and threw it overboard. Shouting into the night, "no taxation without representation!" the men made a defiant stance against what they felt was an overreaching government that only saw them as streams of income. In response, the government attempted to crack down on society in a desperate attempt to remain in control. It didn't work and today historians note that the event, which came to be known as the Boston Tea Party, was one of the first shots of the War for Independence.

Of course, if this event were to happen today, media would report it like this —"A local militia, believed to be a terrorist organization, attacked the property of private citizens today at our nation's busiest port. Although no one was injured in the attack, a large quantity of merchandise, considered to be valuable to its owners and loathsome to the perpetrators, was destroyed. The terrorists, dressed in disguise and apparently intoxicated, were able to escape into the night with the help of local citizens who harbor these fugitives and conceal their identities from the authorities. It is believed that the terrorist attack was a response to the policies enacted by the occupying country's government. Even stronger policies are anticipated by the local citizens."

Although these two tales tell the same story, perception is key. And when 90% of American media is controlled by 6 companies, the narrative is tightly controlled. Not for the benefit of the people, of course, but for the benefit of the government. But not even for the government so much any more, as the recent buzz surrounding the TPP and TTIP have revealed. In fact, numerous stories over the last couple of weeks have shed light on just who was behind the treaties, and it reads like a list of who's who in the world of big business.That's right. Corporations wrote the treaties and the politicians, which are elected by the people to represent the people, either didn't read the treaties at all, or chose to play buzzword bingo when publicly discussing the matter. Of course, as the Guardian reports, the tens of thousands of dollars that went to the "yea" votes helped to convince those fence sitters which direction the wind was blowing and more importantly, helped their future re-election campaigns. Addressing this issue, Mansur Gidfar, spokesman for the anti-corruption group Represent. US noted -"It's a rare thing for members of Congress to go against the money these days. They know exactly which special interests they need to keep happy if they want to fund their reelection campaigns or secure a future job as a lobbyist." He went on to ask - "How can we expect politicians who routinely receive campaign money, lucrative job offers, and lavish gifts from special interests to make impartial decisions that directly affect those same special interests?"

One of the more interesting and yet unreported developments related to the TPP was brought up by the Guardian when it wrote —"The TPP includes an Investor State Dispute Settlement clause that allows a secret court (ICSID; International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) with global reach to arbitrate disputes between multinationals and the countries they operate in, potentially forcing governments to change sovereign laws or pay compensation to companies if they lose a case." That's right. A secret world court has been specifically created to choose between sovereign countries and trans-national corporations.The Guardian asks if the TPP is the end of democracy and that answer to that is yes, yes it is. Democracy is dead and Corporatocracy is the new normal.

The American colonists in their cry, "No taxation without representation" were essentially asking to be treated as a people with a vested interest in society. A people that is able to shape and determine the direction that that society wishes to go in. A society that listens to the voice of its people. TPP and TTIP and the secret world court silence that voice. And what will the American people do when learn they learn that once again, they are essentially being taxed without being represented? Probably not much, as the latest video from Mark Dice revealed. When asked, "What country famously broke away from England to start their own country in the late 1700's", one man responded, "I have no idea man, I don't know." Asked what Americans were celebrating on the 4th of July, another woman said that Independence Day was to recognize "the day that we overtook the south...it's our independence...from the south," which of course, doesn't make any sense at all, but at face value seems to be a reference to the civil war that took place almost a hundred years later. But it gets better! Another woman was also almost a century out of date with her knowledge, guessing that Abraham Lincoln signed the Declaration of Independence. She then topped her ignorance again by claiming that this occurred in 1964. When a man is asked, "What country did we declare our independence from, his wife responds, "California," before the man says, "I don't know", but went on to assure Dice that he will be celebrating the occasion anyway.

America celebrates Independence day on July 4th, which happens to fall on a Saturday this year. This of course means that the parties will be extra special and loud. Even though some Americans may not know why they are celebrating, they can be sure to do it with gusto. Although Obama has yet to sign TPP into law, it is almost a done deal. Which means that it could be argued that America is still a sovereign country. So pull up the barbecue, put the hot dogs on, and as Prince would say — "let's party like it's 1999".

What do you think dear listeners, "Will this be America's last Independence day celebration?"