Negotiations for the world’s biggest trade deal have been conducted in total secrecy over the last four years. What’s worse, deliberations are being held between world leaders and multinational corporations that are paving the way for a global corporate coup.

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) consists of twelve Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US.

Over 600 corporate advisors are consulting on the TPP to establish an international court tribunal made up of corporate representatives, which could supercede the sovereignty of countries involved and override existing laws. But despite the drastic implications this deal could have concerning everything from food safety to intellectual property rights, a stunning new report by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) reveals that neither ABC, CBS, nor NBC have even so much as mentioned the TPP since Obama’s State of the Union address in February of 2013.

Given the magnitude of this so called “free trade” agreement and the corporate media’s blacking out of the issue, it’s important to look back at some of Breaking the Set’s coverage of the TPP.

First, Kevin Zeese, co-founder of It’s Our Economy, explains why the mainstream media has ignored the story and calls the TPP a ‘privatization’ of state owned enterprises.

Kevin Zees on the TPP Corporate Coup d’Etat

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Breaking the Set explains how the media distracted citizens in order to allow Congress to sneakily introduce a measure to put the TPP on a legislative fast track, an undemocratic move that undermines public debate.

How Bridgegate Distracted America from TPP Fast Track

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Margaret Flowers, Organizer for Popular Resistance, discusses why fast tracking the TPP is so dangerous to the democratic process, and why everyone should care about this trade deal.

How You Can Stop the TPP: Say No to Fast Track!

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Then, Abby interviews legislative representative of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Mike Dolan. Dolan breaks down the content of the TPP chapter released by Wikileaks and explains how the legislation will affect global citizens.

Mike Dolan on Dangers of TPP Fast Track

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The TPP fast track is now facing obstacles in Congress due to grassroots pressure. However, talks are still taking place and the time to act is now.

Once the US and Japan finalize negotiations, the TPP’s global corporate takeover is closer to becoming a reality. Please spread the word about this disastrous trade deal and put pressure on your congressional representatives to vote NO on the TPP fast track and reject the deal.

Two-thirds of Americans stand in opposition to a TPP fast track. Make sure your voice is heard too.

Learn more at:

www.stoptpp.org

www.exposethetpp.org

https://www.citizen.org/TPP

Written by Abby Martin and Anya Parampil, Photo by flickr user DonkeyHotey

Following my on air statement opposing the editorial line of my network, I was inundated with mainstream media interview requests. But I only chose a few select outlets to say my piece.

First, I went on CNN with Piers Morgan and took the opportunity to call out the corporate media for its incessant warmongering and establishment bias.

As Firedoglake’s Kevin Gosztola wrote in the article ‘What the US Media’s Celebration of Protesting RT Anchors Conveniently Ignores':

“There is this view in US establishment media that they are immune to advancing nationalistic narratives in the same way that the Kremlin-backed news organization RT does. However, the coverage of the run-up to the Iraq War was such a moment where independent journalism was forsaken for state-identified journalism that amplified a case for war that rested upon neoconservative propaganda.”

National Public Radio (NPR)

I also got the chance to remind On the Media’s Bob Garfield that NPR receives sponsorship from oil companies after he continuously undermined RT as “explicit propaganda”.

NPR – Abby Martin, an anchor for the Kremlin-funded news channel Russia Today, launched herself into the headlines this week by sternly denouncing Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Given that RT is widely regarded as a 24-hour propaganda machine engineered to polish Russia’s image abroad, Martin shocked many with her outburst. Bob talks with Martin about why she wasn’t afraid to speak out.

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Tellingly, both Garfield and Morgan denied ever dealing with self-censorship. But their proclaimed ignorance about the issue only signifies how well they must toe the line.

Another point I brought up was questioning why I have to work for RT in order to hold corporations and government accountable for their actions. Virtually no network exists with the same reach as RT that would allow the calling out of war criminals and regular attacks on corporations like BP, Monsanto and Nestle.

Off the Grid with Jesse Ventura 

On Jesse Ventura’s show Off the Grid I discussed the West’s hypocritical posturing towards Russia, considering how many nations the US has militarily intervened in over the last several decades.

OFF THE GRID – The Governor turns the tables on Abby Martin, the outspoken host of RT’s “Breaking The Set.” The two discuss America’s response to Martin’s headline-making turn condemning military intervention in Crimea & why we need to think outside the two-party system.

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After my former colleague Liz Wahl resigned live on air, neocon stuntman and Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) senior fellow, James Kirchick, managed her publicity tour. Both Kirchick and Wahl marginalized my dissent while feeding into the anti-Russian fervor being peddled across the establishment press. This counter narrative is significant because the FPI’s stated mission is to pivot US foreign policy to deal with “rising and resurgent powers, including China and Russia”, and Kirchick used Wahl to help rally the public against Russia.

An in-depth Truthdig report by Max Blumenthal and Rania Khalek called ‘How Cold War-Hungry Neocons Stage Managed RT Anchor Liz Wahl’s Resignation’ explores this issue more in-depth.

Buzzsaw with Sean Stone

On Buzzsaw, I talked to Sean Stone about how neoconservatives hijacked my anti-war message to promote war with Russia, and the need for US, NATO and Russia to de-escalate military aggression in the region.

BUZZSAW – Russia, Ukraine, the Crimea crisis and criticizing Vladimir Putin on RT is discussed with Breaking the Set host, Abby Martin. The new Cold War, and need to use diplomacy to prevent World War III is looked at with Martin in this Buzzsaw interview hosted by Sean Stone.

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Given the longstanding respect I have had for Rap News, it was especially awesome to collaborate with Robert Foster and Giordano Nanni. Check out my terrible rap skills in this fantastic episode about media coverage of Ukraine.

RAP NEWS CRIMEA MEDIA WAR GAMES – Welcome to the paramilitary games in the Crimean Peninsula. The battle lines are drawn: it’s East versus West in a good old fashioned media cold-shoulder war, with each side firing 24 hour news cycle broadsides at each other with alacrity. It’s Mutually Assured Mass-Media Destruction: Crimedia Wars – and the stakes are high – who will win the War of Perception?

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Lastly, my brother Robbie and I candidly discussed the craziness on Media Roots Radio and I ranted about it with David Seaman on his podcast.

Abby Martin | @abbymartin

Photo by Buzzsaw

There are tons of amazing Breaking the Set segments I want to elaborate on, but producing a daily TV series leaves me with little time.

I also don’t expect viewers to watch all 300 episodes, and can only assume they’ve missed some BTS gems. To solve this dilemma, I’ve compiled my favorite clips from this season for your viewing pleasure.

Of course, this list is in no way exhaustive, and doesn’t include unbelievable stories like the New Mexico man who was forced to pay for his own anal invasion, consumer zombie shopping stampedes, private armies being hired for the 1%, a Hawaii Representative clubbing the homeless and much more insanity that you can find on Breaking the Set’s youtube channel.

Abby

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In the digital age of instant communication and entertainment overload, I explore humanity’s dependence on technology, the toxic ideal of equating consumption to happiness, and the inner dilemma of attaining conscious simplicity.

Finding Happiness Outside Material Consumption

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By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of the bravest girl in the world, 16 year old Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai. Malala was paraded around the US media circuit to speak out against radical Islam and promote education in the wake of surviving a near-death Taliban assault. However, she also personally urged Obama to end US drone strikes in Pakistan during a visit at the White House – a plea completely ignored by the administration and establishment press.

Malala’s Drone Warning Ignored

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Just one day after a frenzied media locked onto coverage of the woman executed by police after she slammed her car into a gate near the White House, John Constantino committed suicide by setting himself on fire in the middle of the National Mall in Washington DC. The difference between the two tragedies is that the corporate media made no more mention than a small blurb about the man. The omission of self-immolation coverage in the Western world, given the historical relevancy of the act, raises important questions.

 How the Media Ignores Self-Immolations

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The American people remain one of the most uninformed electorates in the industrialized world, due in large part to the fact that the mainstream media is controlled by only six giant corporate conglomerates that control nearly everything we see and hear: Viacom, Time Warner, Disney, News Corp, CBS and General Electric. I talk about putting the media back in the hands of the people by calling to unplug the MSM and join the ongoing March Against the Mainstream Media.

Join the Media Revolution

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Remember, remember the fifth of November. If you’ve seen V for Vendetta or been to any street protest in recent years, you know how emblematic the Guy Fawkes mask is. This segment outlines the evolution of Guy Fawkes day, the mask as a symbol of resistance and the first ever Million Mask March led by the hacktivist collective Anonymous.

Unity Through Anonymity

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I’ve often criticized the arrogant notion of American Exceptionalism when it comes to politically justifying destructive policies at home and abroad. I flip the concept around to highlight the categories in which the US truly is exceptional, from obesity to war making, but lacking in important areas like literacy and environmental protection.

Top Five Ways America is Exceptional

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The most recent chemical weapons attack in Syria prompted the US political and media establishment to repeat the same talking points that they had in the run-up to the Iraq War, blindly supporting the notion that Syria’s chemical weapons needed to be removed by force. Thankfully, the Obama administration went the diplomatic route after immense pressure forced him to back down from a military strike. In this clip, I dissect the war propagandists and question the interests that were driving their call for war.

Syria War Propagandists Debunked 

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Speaking of Syria, Obama’s “red line” of chemical weapons as the justification to militarily intervene in other countries is extraordinarily hypocritical, considering how the US has one of the biggest chemical weapons arsenals and has used them against international law repeatedly in modern warfare. I outline the top four chemical weapons attacks perpetrated by the US and its allies that the establishment doesn’t want you to know about.

Four Chemical Weapons Attacks the US Wants You to Forget

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