While TPP negotiators had hoped to finish off the negotiations in Singapore over the past few days, it appears that did not happen, though they claim to have made substantial progress and will meet again next month. From the reports of people there, the negotiators made sure that public interest groups were excluded from even the press briefing about the negotiations, which should tell you all you need to know about what the negotiators think of the public. But, in case you weren't sure, the USTR, Michael Froman, has finally explained why the TPP negotiating positions must be kept secret. Apparently, all of us in the public, are too fucking stupid to understand the important work that he's doing, and we might "misunderstand" it. Therefore, we peons must be kept in the dark, while important people like himself negotiate on our behalf. According to Jamie Love:

Froman said if the text was public, people would misunderstand "negotiating positions."

In other words, the USTR is not a fan of democracy.

If you think the public is too stupid to understand the public policy positions you're negotiating for, then you shouldn't be in that job.

(NaturalNews) Chris Gibson started developing acne at the young age of 11. He suffered with the skin condition for over 15 years, saying he was well into his 20s when he was cured. In his case, he had cystic acne, which can lead to severe scarring and permanent pockmarks. “Antibiotics… Accutane… [I] tried it all,” says Gibson, who often “kept counting on it” to “go away on its own.” Yet, he’s now been free of his problematic acne for 20 years, saying the simple fix was right in the fruit aisle all along. Apples… yes, apples, were his key for curing his persistent acne.
The food-skin connection

Gibson says he made the connection between the foods he was eating, the antibiotics he was taking and the health of his skin. Then he went on a fruit fast, and everything changed. He explains that it wasn’t the kind of fast “you hear about where people don’t eat anything. I ate just only apples for three days.” On the fourth day, all the breakouts stopped, and his swelling was gone. “I couldn’t believe this would work when all of the other things I had done did not.” Once he got his digestive system back on track, his acne went away and has not returned.

The latest round of talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have failed to lead to a resolution, with ministers confirming that debate is likely to continue into next year.

The announcement comes as Wikileaks releases an internal memo and spreadsheet, revealing that the US is putting heavy pressure on other nations to conform with its demands.

The failure of the talks to reach agreement is a major blow for the US, which hoped to see the deal largely wrapped up by now. The ministers say they’ll meet again next month, but haven’t set any new timeline for completion. And with many of the outstanding issues having been aired for months, it’s hard to see how full agreement will be reached any time soon.

More on: Forbes.com

Press TV - 12/11/13, CAH/HSN/SS
 

Slate - Jessica Olien, 12/06/13

People don’t actually like creativity.

Illustration by Rob Donnelly
 

This is the thing about creativity that is rarely acknowledged: Most people don’t actually like it. Studies confirm what many creative people have suspected all along: People are biased against creative thinking, despite all of their insistence otherwise.

Most people agree that what distinguishes those who become famously creative is their resilience. While creativity at times is very rewarding, it is not about happiness. Staw says a successful creative person is someone “who can survive conformity pressures and be impervious to social pressure.”

More: Slate.com

James C. Wilhelm, Contributor
Waking Times

The message for which I am primarily known has remained consistent for 52 years: unity, freedom, peace, love, justice, gratitude, giving. These words represent a powerful, stunning, and absolutely possible reality available to all humanity.

In 1976 I asked, “What do I do with the power that the ineffable experience of peace and love makes available to me?” I received two answers:

Communicate the possibility of lasting inner peace to as many people as possible.
Assist anyone who may choose peace, love, justice, equality of opportunity, responsibility, freedom to realize that these gifts are who they are.

I asked the question because the realization of peace within me brought with it the realization that I am not fulfilled until all sentient beings are fulfilled. And it was obvious to me that something about the way we humans were living was not working.