West Coast Publishing Surveillance 2015 november page

Topicality

T – Profiling =/= Surveillance

Interpretation and violation – surveillance is only gathering information about activities – profiling is distinct and much broader than surveillance

This volume is dedicated to the topics of ‘seeking security’ and ‘pre-empting harm’ – the hallmarks of the culture of control. Although this approach includes a wide array of practices, I concern myself in this chapter with only one small part of that story. I consider some of the ways in which Western governments now collect and use data about ordinary citizens as part of their larger effort to pre-empt the causing of criminal harms. In recent years, this topic (usually under the title ‘surveillance studies’) has been the object of more detailed discussions than almost any other in the criminological and broader sociological literature.3 In much of that literature, however, the collection of citizen data is treated as a single, monolithic phenomenon.4 However in this chapter, I argue that we ought to draw a fairly clear analytical distinction between three quite different ways in which governments collect and use citizen data as part of the crime control efforts: what I call (somewhat idiosyncratically)5 identification, surveillance and profiling. Identification is a core state function, and involves regulating and guaranteeing the identity of individuals; surveillance is concerned with capturing specific information about our activities; and profiling is an attempt to give specific content to what particular persons or classes of persons are like – their preferences, their practices, their personal histories, etc – in order to anticipate future behaviour. Governments often try to elide the important distinctions between these three practices and to introduce elements of surveillance and profiling under the cover of an identification scheme. The recent effort to introduce national identification cards in the UK is one example of this phenomenon.6 Although there is often substantial overlap between these three methods in practice, we can achieve significant analytical clarity in our discussions if we keep in mind that they are at least in principle distinct – so our acceptance or rejection of one need not necessarily require us to accept or reject the others.

Politcs TPP Disad NEG

* UNIQUENESS / INTERNAL LINKS*

Obama Political Capital Key / Every Drop

PC is key. Obama will need every drop of capital

While Hillary Clinton may have reversed her prior enthusiastic support of the TPP, if elected president, she can rediscover the geopolitical virtues that led her to embrace the TPP project when she served as secretary of state. And Clinton can toss in a couple of ‘side agreements’—reminiscent of NAFTA—to nudge the TPP closer to her concept of a gold standard. But between now and 2017, the TPP must survive a perilous journey through Congress. The timelines specified under Trade Promotion Authority mean that the soonest President Obama could sign the TPP text will be late January 2016. Meanwhile, Obama will need to agree with his Congressional counterparts— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and probable House Speaker Paul Ryan—on the text of the TPP implementing legislation, including any ‘sweeteners’ inserted to attract the votes of wavering congressmen. Then, in the midst of the presidential election campaign, the House and Senate must vote the implementing legislation up or down, without amendments. If he sees no clear shot at reaching ‘yes’, President Obama can elect to not submit implementing legislation to Congress, and instead leave the task of securing ratification to his successor. On balance, it appears that President Obama will use every ounce of his dwindling political capital stock to secure Congressional approval of the TPP in 2016 and, at the same time, secure his own historic legacy. But if the critical vote is postponed until 2017—when ratification seems all but certain, provided that Sanders and Trump remain far from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—the TPP will still enjoy a fine launch into the annals of path-breaking trade agreements.

New political enemies tank TPP

Simon Lester, analyst at the CATO Institute, October 30, 2015, “The Politics of the TPP,” The CATO Institute, http://www.cato.org/blog/politics-tpp, ACC. 10-30-2015

But if we can’t talk much about substance yet, what we can talk about is the politics of the TPP: What are its chances in Congress?  The Obama administration has taken a somewhat creative approach to assembling a coalition from across the political spectrum in support of the TPP. They have tried to appeal to free market conservatives by talking about how the TPP would involve “18,000 tax cuts,” in the form of lower tariffs on U.S. exports. They have tried to bring in liberal support by calling it the “most progressive trade agreement in history.” And some people have portrayed the TPP as having a security component, in order to bring security hawks on board. But here’s a key question related to the first two: Can they bring in supporters without creating new opponents?  For example, with regard to the TPP’s “progressive” nature, the administration says the TPP would do the following on labor protections: “Require laws on acceptable conditions of work related to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.”  Focusing on the first one, what exactly would the TPP require with a minimum wage?  If it requires that all TPP countries have a minimum wage – either set at a particular level, or just having one at all – some Republicans in Congress might object.

Obama Political Capital Key / Dems key

Obama needs strong political capital to convince Democrats

Gabrielle Levy, Staff Writer, October 21, 2015, “Obama Does Damage Control After Hillary Defects on TPP,” US News & World Report, http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/10/21/obama-does-damage-control-after-hillary-defects-on-tpp, ACC. 10-28-2015

President Barack Obama was scheduled to meet with congressional Democrats at the White House on Wednesday evening in an effort to convince them to rescue his landmark Pacific Rim trade pact as it faces increasingly long odds. Obama is expected to send formal notification to Congress as soon as this week that he intends to sign the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal eight years in the making that would establish trade rules among countries that comprise 40 percent of the global economy. The announcement of its completion on Oct. 5 sets off a months long process of technical and political considerations before the agreement can go into effect. When preliminary legislation vital to the trade deal came before Congress this summer, large numbers of Democrats opposed granting the president so-called "fast-track" authority to negotiate the multilateral agreement, with only a handful joining Republicans to advance it by the narrowest of margins. But now, with the GOP in the midst of an extended and painful leadership struggle and an approaching election year rendering them more reluctant to hand the president any victory, Obama is banking on convincing more Democrats to vote in favor of the deal when it ultimately comes to a vote.

Obama Political Capital Key / GOP key

Republican support is crucial to TPP

Richard Katz, editor of The Oriental Economist Report, October 18, 2015, “Will US Republicans torpedo the TPP?,” The Australian Financial Review Magazine, AFR Weekend, http://www.afr.com/opinion/will-us-republicans-torpedo-the-tpp-20151016-gkbbnu, ACC. 10-31-2015

In a surprising development, US congressional Republicans and a few of their business allies now pose the biggest threat to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). When an agreement was finally announced on October 5, neither a single Republican leader in Congress, nor any broad business federation in the United States could be found to support it. Republican support for the TPP is indispensable since most congressional Democrats oppose it and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has come out against it.

Obama Political Capital Key / Bipart

Obama needs support from both sides to overcome opposition in Congress

Dan Steinbock, Difference Group analyst, October 30, 2015, “TPP – The Iron Curtain scenario And The Inclusive free trade scenario,” ValueWalk, http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/10/tpp-the-iron-curtain-scenario-and-the-inclusive-free-trade-scenario/?all=1, ACC. 10-30-2015

In the U.S. alone, the TPP faces a tough battle with a divided U.S. Congress, where only some Democrats support Obama’s trade policy and the Republican support is a lot more unpredictable amid contentious presidential campaigns, as evidenced by the stated opposition against the TPP by the leading Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Obama Political Capital Key / Orrin Hatch

Obama is spending political capital on TPP, but Orrin Hatch is key. Ticking off Hatch tanks the deal

Doug Palmer, Staff Writer, October 19, 2015, “Orrin Hatch holds cards on trade deal,” Politico, http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/orrin-hatch-tpp-pacific-trade-deal-decision-214893, ACC. 10-28-2015

No one fought harder to give President Barack Obama trade promotion authority to complete a landmark 12-nation deal than Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch. Now, no lawmaker may be more disappointed with the result — or better positioned to torpedo the deal if he chooses to oppose it. Days after the Obama administration announced a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement after nearly six years of negotiations, Hatch offered a stinging review and warned that the administration may have ignored congressional marching orders in a number of areas, including securing strong intellectual property protections for a new, cutting-edge class of drugs called biologics. "The negotiating objectives we included in our TPA law aren’t just pro forma," Hatch said on the Senate floor. "They aren’t suggestions or mere statements of members’ preferences. They represent the view of the bipartisan majority in Congress.” Just how far Hatch might go to register his disapproval is unclear. The Utah lawmaker said he’s still waiting to read the full text of the agreement before he decides how to proceed. But his harsh early remarks, coming from one of Congress’ strongest trade advocates, raises a red flag for the trade deal that represents a top priority for the Obama administration. Hatch was a driving force behind trade promotion authority to streamline congressional approval of the deal — it requires only a straight up or down vote with no amendments or filibusters to pass. In fact, Hatch fought to make it more difficult to unwind that process. Despite fast-track rules, though, congressional approval of the deal is far from certain — even if the White House and Republican leaders decide to hold it until the lame-duck session after the 2016 election. By securing language sought by Democrats — settling for far less than 12 years of monopoly protection for biologics, for instance, and barring tobacco companies from being able to sue countries for financial losses related to antismoking laws — the administration managed to tick off Republicans, among them Hatch, who accounted for the bulk of support for fast track authority. The administration is launching a full-court press, confident it can persuade a majority of lawmakers that the economic and geopolitical benefits of the agreement are bigger than any concern about individual provisions.

“Once we get folks to assess the agreement and make their judgments, I’m confident that we’ll have strong support for it because the TPP gives American businesses of all sizes … unprecedented access to vital markets in the Asia-Pacific,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who visited Delaware this month to build support. “We’re going to be sitting down with members on both sides of the aisle to make the case that the TPP will benefit the economies of their states and communities.” Still, one former Senate aide said that if Hatch decides to oppose the deal, he would easily get backing from other Republicans, who "won't take much convincing to believe that President Obama negotiated a bad deal, no matter the substance."

TPP will go through unless Hatch decides to oppose it

Doug Palmer, Staff Writer, October 19, 2015, “Orrin Hatch holds cards on trade deal,” Politico, http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/orrin-hatch-tpp-pacific-trade-deal-decision-214893, ACC. 10-28-2015

In the case of TPP, if Hatch decides to oppose it, the White House would probably think twice about submitting it for a vote. But if the administration went forward anyway, Hatch could pursue two options to force it back to the negotiating table by stripping “fast-track” protections from the deal. Both options are built into the TPA law. One allows both chambers to adopt a "procedural disapproval resolution" within 60 days of each other, asserting the White House did not adequately notify or consult Congress, or that the Asia-Pacific trade deal “fails to make progress in achieving the purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives” of the trade promotion law. The second option would allow either the House or the Senate to strip "fast track" procedures in that chamber only. To begin that process, the Senate Finance Committee or the House Ways and Means Committee would have to send the pact to the floor with a "negative recommendation," urging it be rejected, which would be subject to normal rules. Short of those nuclear options, the trade promotion law stacks the deck in the White House's favor. Once Obama sends the TPP deal to Congress, lawmakers have 90 legislative days to approve or reject the agreement without making any changes.

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