Take it off, take it all off baybay.....!
Such a great response to the DKos diary the day before yesterday, Hi. Can we talk for a minute?
So today I wondered if we could spend a bit of time talking about what can be done to expose the SPP, to find out what’s in it? What we can do to halt it in it’s tracks before it becomes a fait accompli without any public input or scrutiny.
What is it about this SPP (Security and prosperity partnership) that bothers many of us so very much?
Besides being the under the guidance of three neocon governments, and the fact that it's being written by corporate North America?
As if that weren't enough......
Crossposted at A Creative Revolution
Its the secrecy of course. I have always been a firm believer that anything that has to be done in secret without debate and approval by our legislative bodies, is not a good thing. It usually means that civil liberties, (US terminology) and rights and freedoms (Canadian terminology) are eroded, or simply set aside.
Like illegal wiretapping, secret stuff it sets my teeth on edge and makes me nervous. I don’t think I’m all that unusual that way.
So how do we tackle this?
Some congressmen in the US have written a letter stating that the SPP should be set aside until such a time that there is an opportunity to look at it.
Great idea. Unfortunately it was only signed by 23, 22 of them being republican. The Wingnut world daily seems to be one of the few "news" organizations covering it. (I won’t link there, why feed their numbers?) But I did manage to find a copy here:
22 Congressman Oppose Treacherous NAU, 22 More Conspiracy Theorists
As a secretive "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP) meeting between the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. heads of states begins this week in Quebec, 22 members of the House of Representatives have put their names to a letter to president Bush demanding their concerns be heeded and that the administration back off the stealth program.
Now, while we can agree on the part where we want the three amigos to back off, we progressives have different reasons.
So if this whole SPP deal concerns you too, I would urge everyone in the US to write their Congresscritter, and ask them to please investigate this. Make the Bush admin and their pet corporations accountable.
I am wondering if it wouldnt be an expedient thing to set up a page with a sample letter, that can be sent electronically to each congressperson? (beyond my capabilities Im afraid)
Another problem is that all of the written stuff about this deal is from the Canadian left, or the Ron Paul sites. (yikes)
This link, that Frank Frink has been passing around is an excellent primer to the SPP, written specifically for Americans.
9/11 and the SPP
The Council of Canadians has some truly great material at their site, and although it is written from the Canadian POV, you cannot find this information anywhere else:
Behind Closed Doors: What they're not telling us about the Security and Prosperity Partnership
Write LTE's!
Canadians:
In Canada, the NDP (New Democrat party) is finally on the bandwagon. The Liberals are also beginning to see the light. Maybe. (Cynical pale, is on my right shoulder) The Greens have been organizing with their US counterparts already, and seem on the ball with this.
National Green parties join forces to fight North American Union
NDP site: Standing up for Canada by challenging the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
Liberal site:Putting Canada’s Interest First: A Liberal Blueprint for the SPP
FIND YOUR MP!
RIGHT ON CANADA!
LTE's of all the newspapers you can think of, small and large. Pass out handbillsif you can in your town. Unscientific statistics show that no one even KNOWS what the SPP is.
This diary is only a starting point. A brainstorm is needed, but showing what is going on in the light of day, and out of the shadows may be all it takes.
A Canadian blogger (JimBobby, he has his own style. But hes bloody brilliant!) had a idea back in July SPP Challenge - Blogosphere-Meatspace Crossover Poll Basically it went like this:
Here's how the poll works -
1. Read up on SPP. Here, too.
2. Over a few days, ask as many people as you can if they've ever heard of SPP or the Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America.
3. Keep track of the percentage or fraction of those who got a clue an' those who ain't.
4. Publish the results on yer boog.
Pretty easy, sez I.
If enough people do it, we could get a good idea of just how far under the radar SPP is flyin'.
And the followup a few days later.
I asked 47 people. Not a single one had ever heard of SPP. Some guessed (incorrectly). After getting a negative response, I asked 'em if they'd ever heard of the Security and Prosperity Partnership. Not a single one of my 47 subjects had ever heard of it.
I didn't give 'em any handouts but I did tell my interviewees that they should keep an eye out fer SPP in the news and that they'd maybe hear more about it in August when Dubya comes callin'.
Now that the Summit has come and gone and there's been media exposure the results could be a bit different. I'll probably drop by the local Council of Canadians chapter and pick up a bunch of handouts.
This idea, is perfectly do-able for a lot of us and would reach out past the blogs into "meatspace".
I know that there is a daily, nay, hourly outrage with the actions of the Bush Admin and that everyone in the US progressive blogosphere has their plate full. But this is possibly going to be one of the bigger outrages yet. How is that even possible?
In solidarity, Pale.
Update: At the Protests in Quebec Monday, the Police used provocateurs, to try to start some violence. Heres the vid.
There is no record of them being arrested, and the police stood and watched as one held a rock? Do you think that's normal procedure?
Diaried here last night: Police accused of using provocateurs at North American summit