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ppi.022-New Zealand, NWO showcase, stumbles...
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Publisher's note:
I invite you to read the piece below, and then come back to my little
narrative...
OK. Now I ask you, how could our "US embassy official" possibly expect NZ
to take seriously that "we think people would be reluctant to invest in a
country that would not protect their franchise and their trademark", when
the US itself has policies not that different from NZ's?? And Japan's are
no "better".
The answer of course is that _nothing about globalization rhetoric makes
any sense, so why should this? It's all a big lie, and just like
granddaddy Madison-Avenue guru Goebbels said, you just need to tell it
often enough. US embassy officials, it seems, have that as their
profession. "Loss of jobs" indeed! Neoliberal policies, to anyone who
stops reading the Wall Street Journal long enough to smell the coffee can
tell you, is the _cause of most job losses. NZ is to be commended for this
isolated excercise of common sense.
Is everyone on the list aware that NZ is a globalist showcase nation?... a
kind of safe-house for neoliberal experiments? If there's interest, I can
dig up some background material, but in any case NZ is a good place to look
for the latest in identity-card schemes, surveillance systems, and other
mark-of-the-beast gadgetry, as well as compliance with the most suicidal
sovereignty giveaway schemes on offer in the neoliberal marketplace.
As a vanguard victim of the globalist assault, NZ is evidently held to a
"higher standard" than the rest of us, and hence deserves remand for its
failure to toe-the-line with pristine purity. And of course "the stick" is
readily available: the prediction about "investment reluctance" is all too
easy to fulfill. An "unexpected" capital flight from NZ (or from _anywhere
for that matter) is all to easy to arrange, with a few whispered warnings,
and disinvestment by a few institutional (ie TNC) investors -- the panic
starts and the speculator lemmings eagerly jump over the precipice. "SE
Asia crisis jumps to NZ" might read the headlines, and who would be
shocked?
So perhaps our embassy official makes perfect sense after all, if NZ
leaders appropriately decode his warning.
rkm
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Date: Wed, 20 May 1998
To: •••@••.•••
From: janice <•••@••.•••>
Subject: US takes dim view of end to parallel import ban.
Sender: •••@••.•••
US takes dim view of end to parallel ban
New Zealand's blanket removal of a ban on parallel imports sets a "dangerous
precedent" and would make it difficult for United States companies to
protect intellectual property rights and their brands, a US embassy official
told the N.Z.Business Herald.
He said US companies depended on a ban of parallel imports to protect
intellectual property rights, particularly in the sofware and entertainmnet
industries.
"We think that it ( the lifting of the ban) doesn't really work in the
long term interest of New Zealand. As far as that goes we think people would
be reluctant to invest in a country that would not protect their franchise
and their trademark, and this can lead to decreased foreign investment in
New Zealand and result in loss of jobs."
The Minister of Commerce John Luxton had earlier said that New Zealamd
would be following countries such as Japan and Singapore who had made
similar moves but continued to protect intellectual property rights.
The US Amabassador, Josiah Beeman, was not available for comment. But he
had said that the US would take action aginst this move. ( my note: United
States Trade represnetative Charlene Barshefsky is convening a special
review of New Zealand under "Special 301" - a provison in United States
trade law to protect intellectual property rights)
Previous US response to countries that have lifted the ban on parallel
imports has been to put counties on a watch list, followed by bilateral
negotiations to resolve the dispute, according to the embassy official.
The official said that although other countries had removed bans on parallel
imports, they had not done so across the board as New Zealand had.
A senior Ministry of Commerce official said that parallel was allowed
within the European Community, although this did not apply to goods coming
from outside the community.
In Japan, except for films there is no ban on parallel imports.
In the US, there is no ban on parallel imports interstate. The official
said that a recent US Supreme Court decision also ruled that a US company
could not use US copywright laws to prevent re-import of goods originally
manufactured in the US.
Australia allows parallel import of books under certain conditions. It has
legislation before parliament to allow the import of music CDs and to remove
restrictions on parallel importing of goods where there is copywright in the
labelling.
NZ Business Herald.
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"Seeking an Effective Democratic
Response to Globalization
and Corporate Power"
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an international workshop for activist leaders
June 25 <incl> July 2 - 1998 - Nova Scotia - Canada
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Restore democratic sovereignty
Create a sane and livable world
Bring corporate globalization under control.
CITIZENS FOR A DEMOCRATIC RENAISSANCE (CADRE)
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