Hello, my name is pale. (well not really really, but I know if you yelled "PALE!" in a crowd, I would turn and look)
I am a left wing hippie from British Columbia, Canada.
I live in the middle of a rain forest, but I'm pretty worldly in my own way.
I support pretty much every progressive issue including; social justice issues, international human rights, Women's reproductive rights, Environmental causes, and I have been known to hug a few trees.
I also support you, the American left. I will stand beside you in solidarity in your goals towards a non Republican controlled Whitehouse, House and Senate. I always have. If only there for moral support, I and many of my fellow Bloggers in the Great White North have as well. You may not know too much about us, but always know we are watching and cheering you on. Many of us are very clear that it is not the American People who have lost their way, just your government.
The Iraq occupation and decimation of civil rights. Healthcare issues and all the dirty tricks that the Bush admin has pulled, are something that a lot of Canadians follow closely.
None of us exists in a vacuum, we are all interconnected. Look at the markets in the US, and how the rest of the world may soon be scrambling because of it?
We also watch, because of the last federal election here and our slide from the Liberals in the middle to the Conservative fundy right.
We Canadian Progressives need just a little help from you. Not too much, just acknowledgment, and some discussion and attention to a little thing called the SPP. (Security and Prosperity Partnership)This will affect you all too.
Oh. You may have heard of it, you may also know that the Lou Dobbs crowd has their knickers in a twist about it for racist reasons. The RW bunch is not happy, so they say anyway.
And some of us up here in the GWN, are kinda thinking that maybe that's why no one is interested in talking about it? Its a question we have been pondering for a while now on our own blogs, and here too.
You know that one of the players in this is your own G.W.Bush? As we all know his reasons for doing anything are not for your own good. Certainly they aren't for my good.
He's closely aligned politically and ideologically to this guy, Stephen Harper. Thats the PM of Canada since 2006. Nasty fellow, bad temper. He has a Slim minority Conservative neocon Govt. in our parliamentary system. 36% voted for his party. They may not be as colourful as their Republican brethern, but they sure are picking up some of the same bad habits.
Hell, they even use the same Advertising companies and advisers.
Anyway, theres also the new President of Mexico, hes a "friendly" south'o'the border to the Bush Agenda.
Many have been calling them the three banditos.
Now, to be sure the US is probably not going to get the short end of the stick in this agreement, yet. Of course we can't be sure what the agreement is yet. Its a super duper secret. I maybe didn't mention that part?
No one knows what the SPP is, because so far leaked documents (sorry, pdf) are all that we have to glimpse into the inner neocon sanctum.
I guess the fact that the SPP is being written by Lockheed Martin, Manulife Canada (that's a insurer btw, they sell health insurance for instance.) and.....ah heck, I'll just post the whole list.
These are the people who are writing the new partnership, NAFTA on crack if you will.
NACC Members
Canadian Representatives:
Dominic D'Alessandro, Manulife Financial
Paul Desmarais, Jr., Power Corporation of Canada
David Ganong, Ganong Bros. Limited
Richard George, Suncor Energy Inc.
Hunter Harrison, CN
Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar Corporation (NACC chairperson)
Michael Sabia, Bell Canada Enterprises
Jim Shepherd, Canfor Corporation
Annette Verschuren, The Home Depot
Rick Waugh, Scotiabank
U.S. Representatives:
Lou Schorsch, Mittal
Joseph Gilmour, New York Life
William Clay Ford, Ford
Rick Wagoner, General Motors
Raymond Gilmartin, Merck
David J. O'Reilly, Chevron
Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric
H. Lee Scott, WalMart
Robert Stevens, Lockheed Martin
Michael Haverty, Kansas City Southern
Douglas R. Conant, Campbell’s Soup
James M. Kilts, Gillette
Herman Cain, Whirlpool
Mexican Representatives:
José Luís Barraza, President of Consejo Coordinador Empresarial (CCE) and CEO of
Grupo Impulso, Realiza & Asociados, Inmobiliaria Realiza and Optima
Gastón Azcárraga, President of Consejo Mexicano de Hombres de Negocios (CMHN)
and CEO of Mexicana de Aviación and Grupo Posadas
León Halkin, President of Confederación de Cámaras Industriales (CONCAMIN) and
Chairman of the Board and CEO of four companies in the industrial and real estate
markets
Valentín Díez, President of Consejo Mexicano de Comercio Exterior (COMCE) and
former Vicepresident of Grupo Modelo
Jaime Yesaki, President of Consejo Nacional Agropecuario (CNA) and CEO of several
poultry companies
Claudio X. González, President of Centro de Estudios Económicos del Sector Privado
(CEESP) and Chairman of the Board and CEO KimberlyClark de Mexico
Guillermo Vogel, Vice President of TAMSA (Tubos de Acero de México)
César de Anda Molina, President and CEO of Avicar de Occidente
Tomás González Sada, President and CEO of Grupo CYDSA
Alfredo Moisés Ceja, President of Finca Montegrande
Notice the big oil companies and Car manufacturers on there too. These guys want to set all the rules, environment, trade, immigration,wages and resources.
I understand that Canada has the most to lose resource wise.
This SPP, also involves the military, and Security. Scares the living shit outta me.
All policy dictated by the worst that Corporate North America has to offer.
Please look it over. Just because the Nutjobs on the right are not happy and are raising a stink, does not mean that there isn't more to this than meets the eye.
Remember 7 years ago. How did that election turn out? Do you recall having your opinions and fears discounted because it sounded so far fetched, so Twighlight zonish? Habeas Corpus? Torture? Domestic Spying?
And now the SPP.
Do you trust G.W. to bargain in your best interests?
Forewarned, is forearmed.
If you made it this far? Thanks for reading.
If you want to help your progressive brothers and sisters to the North and yourselves in the bargain? Keep this topic alive, It's your future too.
In Solidarity, Pale.
Update: Thank you everyone, we have been feeling isolated in the Canuckistan blogosphere, knowing this info and not being able to telegraph it to you all successfully. Its so important to the future all of us, and our children.
Strength in numbers, and the power of knowledge are all it takes. Call and write your elected representatives on both sides of the border. send them the links, it may be that they are in the dark too....At least they will have no excuses.
Council of Canadians
From the comments:
Canadian Council of chief Executives
More fingers in this pie.....
Update II: From Frank Frink ( you rock!) Garth Turners blog had a vid from Montebello.
MPtv