Category: Uncategorized

OBAMA AND CAMERON "say strong economies and democratic institutions will defeat "those who think they can muzzle freedom of speech and expression with violence." In a joint article for the Times of London newspaper, the two leaders say that "our ability to defend our freedoms is rooted in our economic strength and the values that we cherish." https://lnkd.in/drFvpBi View in LinkedIn

"BEETLES comprise an estimated 5–30 million species, over 350 ,000 of which have been formally described. In addition to the striking iridescence, beetles have also evolved facultative luminescence, ultraviolet signals, polarized reflectance and complex photonic crystals analogous to the fibre-optic technology used to deliver high-speed Internet connections." https://lnkd.in/dRSiEq2 View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT IN NATURE. This fragment themebreaker is the incredible iridescence of beetles and how paint technology is using them as exemplars. Until recently, iridescent paints have been impossible to manufacture, in part because the basis of natural iridescence has been obscure. But today, there are interesting ventures into the secrets of structural color. View in LinkedIn

SLIPPERY SLOPE ARGUMENT. "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups oppose the administration's revised proposal, fearing it could still serve as a precedent for product-specific health exceptions in future U.S. trade agreements on other agricultural and consumer goods like sugar, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals." https://lnkd.in/dDpdMVf View in LinkedIn

EXEMPT TOBACCO. "Tobacco products should be exempted from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ... This is not anti-trade, but the goals and benefits of trade are not compatible with tobacco. Trade has the potential to improve lives, while tobacco devastates lives, providing no benefit whatsoever to its addicted consumers." https://lnkd.in/dtMxZcK View in LinkedIn

EXCLUDE TOBACCO LOBBY. "Malaysia, another country in the TPP talks ... demands that tobacco be excluded entirely from the negotiations." https://lnkd.in/dDpdMVf View in LinkedIn

TOBACCO EXCLUSION. "Tobacco companies may be excluded from the investor protection chapter of the free trade agreement (TPP) ... the US is to suggest that the tobacco industry should not have the right to sue governments for introducing anti-smoking healthcare regulation, as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)" (Oct 2014). https://lnkd.in/dVCjRaZ View in LinkedIn

EXCLUDE TOBACCO FROM TALKS? "Should tobacco be like any other product in U.S. trade? The question bedeviled U.S. policymakers for decades, but it has now arisen again, with much controversy, in the context of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the pending trade deal between the United States and eleven other countries." https://lnkd.in/dDpdMVf View in LinkedIn

SHAMED BY OVERSEAS PRACTICES OF TOBACCO, "In 1997, Congress conditioned the appropriations of several U.S. government agencies on those funds not being used to promote tobacco internationally." Tobacco could not be part of publicly funded trade promotions. But this has been entirely ignored in practice. https://lnkd.in/dDpdMVf View in LinkedIn

PROHIBITION OF GOVERNMENT PROMOTION OF TOBACCO. "The Doggett and Durbin Amendments, as well as Presidential Executive Order 13913, prohibit federal agencies from promoting the sale or export of tobacco products. These laws have been ignored in recent trade negotiations." https://lnkd.in/dtMxZcK View in LinkedIn