Thanks Dante.Indeed both negative and positive liberty are essential.On research on human rights, we currently have a Call (open to univeristies, research organisations, civil society organisations, etc.) on this theme, available at (and copies below for convenience): http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/funding_en.htmlBestSSH.2012.4.2-1. Challenge: Human rights in EU external relations and internal policies
The challenge
Claiming human rights ranging from freedom of expression and association to protection
from torture or other degrading treatment is a prominent feature of democratisation
movements. This was the case in Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall/Iron
Curtain, to cases in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. While human rights may seem
to be taken for granted in the EU and other democratic polities, their widespread violation by
authoritarian regimes as well as democracies (usually by way of exceptions to the general
rule, on the basis of concerns over safety or security), indicates that human rights are far from
uncontested. Not only is the problem persistent; it is also changing in nature due to
globalisation, new forms of violence and war, and technological advances in information and
communication technologies, biological sciences, transport and other fields. All of these
factors influence how rights are perceived and are protected or violated. We need to build on
past and present knowledge, but also to investigate changes and identify ongoing patterns and
future trends.
FP7 Cooperation Work Programme: Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities
Page 42 of 70
Why it matters for Europe
Fundamental rights figure prominently in EU external actions (including trade, with clauses
on human rights in bilateral agreements since 1995) and the enlargement processes (especially
since the introduction of the Copenhagen criteria) as well as in internal policies (from antidiscrimination
to migration and justice).
The European Charter of Fundamental Rights, which became binding with the ratification of
the Lisbon Treaty and the prospect of EU accession to the European Convention of Human
Rights, adds judicial as well as political and symbolic dimensions to the EU's commitment to
take such rights seriously. Such commitment and legal obligations are, however, challenged
by factors that need deeper analysis so as to inform EU external and internal policies, and to
foster their coherence.
Addressing the challenge
Research dimensions to be taken into consideration:
- Provision of a systematic overview and comparative analysis of the social, economic, legal,
cultural or other factors that facilitate or hamper the protection of human rights in the external
and internal policies of the EU — as well as the coherence and consistency between such
external and internal dimensions in fields such as cross-border mobility, counter-terrorism and
judicial cooperation. The role of national, EU and international human rights institutions in
monitoring fundamental rights could be part of the analysis.
- The protection of human rights as a component of global governance, given that
globalisation brings the prospect of global diffusion of wealth, but also entails the risk of
deeper inequalities. Research could examine why and how large numbers of people –
especially in lower income countries - may see their basic rights eroded if globalisation is not
wisely managed. It could focus on specific rights and/or their interactions, namely rights of
access to health, education and family planning, to food, water, clear air or safe energy; and
how such access may be helped or hindered by global regulatory frameworks or the absence
of these (including, for example, on Intellectual Property Rights). The share of responsibility
and legal competences between the EU and its Member States in the above (including trade,
development and other multilateral instruments –and their consistency with internal policies)
could also be addressed.
- Human rights violations are a key aspect of violence among and within states, between
communities (along ethnic, religious or linguistic divides) and within communities (e.g. along
gender divides). Research could examine how historical and cultural contexts may have
influenced such divides and cause or exacerbate such violations, and how these divides and
violations could be overcome. It could assess the conditions under which state and non-state
actors may be among the perpetrators of human rights violations or, on the other hand, offer
protection of human rights. The relationship between the protection of human rights,
humanitarian law and assistance should also be examined, with a focus on vulnerable groups
in society (e.g. children, internally displaced persons, refugees). The relationship between the
protection of human rights and promoting democracy (including the role of EU Electoral
Observation Missions) and international criminal law could also form part of the research.
- The use of existing indicators (e.g. for understanding the human rights situation at country
level, for assessing the capacities of rights holders and duty bearers) or the development of
new indicators could help in mapping and identifying the main danger spots, as well as areas
in which there have been improvements. Assessing human freedoms is often contentious —
thus any choice of indicators, and the methodology to develop them, should be transparent to
FP7 Cooperation Work Programme: Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities
Page 43 of 70
allow informed debate. A forward-looking perspective on developments in human rights
violations and protection would be another useful research component.
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson [mailto:dante.monson@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 10:38 AM
To:
Subject: Hi Angela : Disaster Capitalism and "Impact of Regulatory Capture on Human Rights" ?Hi A,As a following of my messages related to "Real Democracy" movements,and more specifically what one could also call "Impact of Regulatory Capture on Human Rights"( others may call it "corruption" , or even "corporatism" )For your information ( see below ),in case it interests you, an example related to the united states, which indirectly,through "Shock Doctrine" / "Disaster Capitalism", can ( and I believe do ) affect policies taken and applied on the European Subcontinent.One may have difficulties seeing a direct relation with human rights,though for me such macro economic policy decisions have a direct influence not only on Negative Liberty - freedom from interference -( using Isaiah Berlin's definition ), but also on Positive Liberty - the power and resources to act to fulfill one's own potential -.Personal Opinion :It may be worth making similar investigations what concerns decisions taken by, or through european institutions,with individual status and history reports, for transparency, of individual bureaucrats and/or elected officials, and the people they work with.Possibly one step in such direction ( ? ), but for now, only for the European Parliament :I can compile more specific examples in relation to european bureaucrats,if this can support any research on the topic.Cordially,Dante
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 10:15 AM
Subject: "Too Big to Fail" - Amendments Rejected in Safe Banking Act of 2010
To: p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation@lists.ourproject.org>, econowmix@googlegroups.com
Staying with the same topic , specific amendments reducing the risk of "too big to fail"related to the "Safe Banking Act of 2010" have been rejected ( some more details below ).A case of "Regulatory Capture" to further investigate ?///A May 7 2010 reaction by TYT Network :"Too Big To Fail Bank Bill Killed By Bought Politicians"
//more on the bill that did not pass :S.3241 - SAFE Banking Act of 2010
"It was voted on and rejected as an amendment to the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, 33-61."//(Reuters) - The Senate Thursday rejected a proposal that would split up the six largest banks in an effort to ensure that large financial firms do not threaten the economy if they fail.
The measure, which failed by a vote of 33 to 61, would have placed hard limits on banks' market share of insured deposits and limited the size of their non-deposit liabilities.
more details :( S.3217 pasted below )//before the vote :"The bill would place a cap on any financial institution, limiting their total assets to 3% of GDP (that would lower to 2% for banks, as opposed to 3% for non-bank institutions). Currently, the 6 largest banks have holdings that equal 63% of GDP. The Safe Banking Act would also impose a 10% cap on any bank holding company’s share of insured deposits. Bank holding companies and “selected nonbank financial institutions” would have a leverage limit of 6%, meaning that they would not be able to lend out more than around sixteen dollars for every dollar of capital in house."///I also believe it is interesting to notice what has been approved, and what has been rejected ( see below ).It seems to me that one of the results of what has been approved has been an audit of some Federal Reserve Accounts : http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3excerpt :"As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world,"///
00161 20-May S. 3217 On the Motion S.Amdt. 3739 Agreed to Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline RE: Dodd Amdt. No. 3739; In the nature of a substitute. 00160 20-May S. 3217 On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 3739 Agreed to Upon Reconsideration Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 3739; In the nature of a substitute. 00159 19-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3746 Rejected Whitehouse Amdt. No. 3746 As Modified Further; To restore to the States the right to protect consumers from usurious lenders. 00158 19-May S. 3217 On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 3739 Rejected Motion to Invoke Cloture On Dodd Amdt. No. 3739; In the nature of a substitute. 00157 18-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4072 Agreed to Grassley Amdt. No. 4072; To provide for the independence of Inspectors General of certain designated Federal entities, and for other purposes. 00156 18-May S. 3217 On the Motion to Table S.Amdt. 4114 Agreed to Motion to Table Dorgan Amdt. No. 4114; To ban naked credit default swaps and for other purposes. 00155 18-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4071 Agreed to Carper Amdt. No. 4071; To address the applicability and preservation of certain State authorities, and for other purposes. 00154 18-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4034 Rejected Corker Amdt. No. 4034; To address the applicability of certain State authorities with respect to national banks, and for other purposes. 00153 18-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4051 Rejected Gregg Amdt. No. 4051 As Modified; To prohibit taxpayer bailouts of fiscally irresponsible State and local governments. 00152 17-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3986 Agreed to Cornyn Amdt. No. 3986; To protect United States taxpayers from paying for the bailouts of foreign governments. 00151 17-May S. 3217 On the Motion S.Amdt. 4020 Rejected Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline RE: Crapo Amdt. No. 4020; To limit further bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to enhance the regulation and oversight of such enterprises, and for other purposes. 00150 13-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3987 Rejected Thune Amdt. No. 3987; To provide for increased Congressional oversight through a sunset of the authority created under title X related to the creation of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 00149 13-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3989 Agreed to Durbin Amdt. No. 3989 as Modified; To ensure that the fees that small businesses and other entities are charged for accepting debit cards are reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred, and to limit payment card networks from imposing anti-competitive restrictions on small businesses and other entities that accept payment cards. 00148 13-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3832 Rejected Sessions Amdt. No. 3832; To provide an orderly and transparent bankruptcy process for non-bank financial institutions and prohibit bailout authority. 00147 13-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3774 Agreed to LeMieux Amdt. No. 3774 as Modified; To remove statutory references to credit rating agencies. 00146 13-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3991 Agreed to Franken Amdt. No. 3991; To instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a self-regulatory organization to assign credit rating agencies to provide initial credit ratings. 00145 12-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3943 Agreed to Reed Amdt. No. 3943; To establish a specific consumer protection liaison for service members and their families, and for other purposes. 00144 12-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3816 Rejected Chambliss Amdt. No. 3816; To implement regulatory oversight of the swap markets, to improve regulator's access to information about all swaps, to encourage clearing while preventing concentration of inadequately hedged risks in central clearinghouses and ensuring that corporate end users can continue to hedge their unique business risks, and to improve market transparency. 00143 12-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3759 Agreed to Hutchison Amdt. No. 3759 as Modified; To maintain the role of the Board of Governors as the supervisor of holding companies and State member banks. 00142 12-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3955 Rejected Corker Amdt. No. 3955; To provide for a study of the asset-backed securitization process and for residential mortgage underwriting standards. 00141 12-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3962 Agreed to Merkley Amdt. No. 3962; To prohibit certain payments to loan originators and to require verification by lenders of the ability of consumers to repay loans. 00140 11-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3839 Rejected McCain Amdt. No. 3839; To provide for enhanced regulation of, and to establish a term certain for the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to provide conditions for continued operation of such enterprises, to provide for the wind down of such operations and the dissolution of such enterprises, and to address budgetary treatment of such enterprises. 00139 11-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3938 Agreed to Dodd Amdt. No. 3938; To require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on ending the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and reforming the housing finance system. 00138 11-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3760 Rejected Vitter Amdt. No. 3760; To address availability of information concerning the meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, and for other purposes. 00137 11-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3738 Agreed to Sanders Amdt. No. 3738 as Modified; To require the non-partisan Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System that does not interfere with monetary policy, to let the American people know the names of the recipients of over $2,000,000,000,000 in taxpayer assistance from the Federal Reserve System, and for other purposes. 00136 06-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3733 Rejected Brown (OH) Amdt. No. 3733; To impose leverage and liability limits on bank holding companies and financial companies. 00135 06-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3898 Rejected Ensign Amdt. No. 3898; To amend the definition of the term "financial company" for purposes of limits on nondesposit liabilities. 00134 06-May S. 3217 On the Motion Agreed to Motion to Instruct the Sgt. At Arms; An original bill to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end "too big to fail", to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes. 00133 06-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3826 Rejected Shelby Amdt. No. 3826; To establish a Division of Consumer Financial Protection within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and for other purposes. 00132 06-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3749 Agreed to Tester Amdt. No. 3749; To require the Corporation to amend the definition of the term "assessment base". 00131 05-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3827 Agreed to Shelby-Dodd Amdt. No. 3827; To improve the bill. 00130 05-May S. 3217 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3737 Agreed to Boxer Amdt. No. 3737; To prohibit taxpayers from ever having to bail out the financial sector. 00129 05-May PN1246 On the Nomination Confirmed Confirmation Nancy D. Freudenthal, of Wyoming, to be U.S. District Judge 00128 05-May PN1341 On the Nomination Confirmed Confirmation Gloria M. Navarro, of Nevada, to be U.S. District Judge 00127 28-Apr S. 3217 On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected Second Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider S. 3217; An original bill to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end "too big to fail", to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes. 00126 27-Apr S. 3217 On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected Upon Reconsideration Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 3217; An original bill to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end "too big to fail", to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes. 00125 26-Apr S. 3217 On the Motion Agreed to Motion to Instruct the Sergeant at Arms; An original bill to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end "too big to fail", to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes. 00124 26-Apr S. 3217 On the Cloture Motion Rejected Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider S. 3217; An original bill to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end "too big to fail", to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes.
Forwarded conversation
Subject: Matt Tiabbi : "If it is too big to fail, it is too big to exist"
------------------------
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 8:21 PM
To: p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation@lists.ourproject.org>, econowmix@googlegroups.com
Matt Tiabbi ( excerpts from video - cnn interview ) :Break up the banks - No More Too Big to Fail Companies - If it is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. - Tax Payers should not be on the hook.http://4closurefraud.org/2011/10/25/matt-tiabbi-owss-beef-wall-street-isnt-winning-its-cheating/or
----------
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 8:35 PM
To: p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation@lists.ourproject.org>, econowmix@googlegroups.com
and a continuation on the CNN interview...Matt Tiabbi,excerpts :"...we hate the rich? Come on. Success is the national religion, and almost everyone is a believer. Americans love winners. But that's just the problem. These guys on Wall Street are not winning – they're cheating. And as much as we love the self-made success story, we hate the cheater that much more.""This isn't disappointment at having lost. It's anger because those other guys didn't really win, and people now want the score overturned.
All weekend I was thinking about this “jealousy” question, and I just kept coming back to all the different ways the game is rigged. People aren't jealous and they don’t want privileges. They just want a level playing field, and they want Wall Street to give up its cheat codes, ..."
continued on
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/owss-beef-wall-street-isnt-winning-its-cheating-20111025