Security and Prosperity Partnership — Interview; Janet Eaton & Karen O’Donnell – 29 min – Apr 19, 2008
Alliance for Democracy – www.sounddemocracy.org
In this interview Janet Eaton provides an overview of the origins, structures and impacts of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), a NAFTA – plus initiative within a ‘security’ fortress America framework which is being executed, beneath the radar screen of public, Parliamentary and Congressional scrutiny, by executive levels of government with advice from big business. Impacts discussed include human rights and civil liberties under attack on the ‘security’ side and downward regulatory harmonization, tar sands and energy implications, NAFTA super corridor impacts, the environment as loser under both NAFTA and the SPP, loss of jobs, and attempts to privatize Mexico’s Pemex, among other things, on the so- called prosperity or trade side of the arrangement.
She also discusses the failures of NAFTA upon which the SPP is based, noting the lack of logic in continuing to promote and extend a free market, free trade system when corporate globalization and its mechanisms like free trade agreements have been shown to be flawed and failing. She speaks of a world teetering on the verge of ecosystem collapse, collapse of cheap oil, economic collapse and climate change tipping points all of which have been exacerbated by a global economic system based on unlimited growth, militarism, global trade and fossil fuel. She suggests we must redesign the entire economic system and involve ctizens and NGOs in the process. Karen O´Donnell, a labour representative and former Massachusetts State representative provides insight into US labor perspectives on the SPP while stressing the need for citizens to speak to their state representatives on issues like the SPP. Dave Lewit, from the New England branch of the Alliance for Democracy, as interviewer, introduces the ‘globalization impact bill’ and makes several references to the importance of citizen awareness and action in attempting to transform the system. He concludes “In general I think it falls to ‘we the people’ here locally to deal with this!”
See also:
http://www.newenglandalliance.org/sn_display1.php?row_ID=27 Everything You Wanted to Know About Globalization, NAFTA, and the “Security & Prosperity Partnership” a power point presentation by Dr. Janet Eaton in support of the ‘Globalization Impact Bill, State House, Boston, March 27, 2008. This power point provides SPP references as follows: SPP References -Canada
1. Council of Canadians Integrate This: Challenging the SPP http://www.canadians.org/integratethis/
2.Common Frontiers – NAFTA Must be Renegotiated http://www.commonfrontiers.ca/Single_Page_Docs/SinglePage_1col_docs/Ma r03_08_NAFTA_declaration.html
3. Canadian Labour Congress http://canadianlabour.ca/search.php?query=SPP+&action=Go
4. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives www.policyalternatives.ca 5.Centre for Research on Globalization www.globalresearch.ca
6. Green Party of Canada The Security and Prosperity Partnership http://www.greenparty.ca/en/policy/documents/deeper_look_spp
7. New Democratic Party of Canada http://www.ndp.ca/continentalintegration NDP launches stop SPP working group http://www.ndp.ca/page/5823
8. Canadian Action Party http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/home.html
9. Vive le Canada http://www.vivelecanada.ca/topics (News postings on Canada-US Relations including the SPP) John Foster. Beyond NAFTA: The Security and Prosperity Partnershiphttp://www.canadians.org/DI/documents/NAFTA_SPP_Foster.pdf Global Research Website: Commentary on the SPP and NAU
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=region®ionId=1
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)-Living with Uncle Conference Canada-US Relations in a Time of Empire Check Conf 2003, recent workshop http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2005/living_with_uncle_overview.pdf
National Forum of NGO´s -on National Insecurity-Living and Working Under Empire with background working paper of the same name. Feb. 2005 http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2005/national_insecurity.pdf
Council of Canadians (COC) -Crossing the Line Inquiry as well as an important background document “The Canada We Want -What´s the Big Idea?” Report March 2005
http://www.canadians.org/DI/issues/crossing_the_line/index.html
Sierra Club of Canada Atlantic Chapter
http://www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic/programs/economies/digbyquarry/Digby _Neck_Hearings_July_07.pdf SPP References US Alliance for Democracy
http://www.thealliancefordemocracy.org/html/eng/2378-AA.shtml
New England Alliance for Democracy
http://www.newenglandalliance.org/
Alliance for Responsible Trade
http://www.art-us.org/FTAs/NAFTA
Public Citizen Global Trade Watch http://www.citizen.org/trade/ Economic Policy Institute http://www.epinet.org/ Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/ Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Trade Observatory
http://www.tradeobservatory.org/ http://www.iatp.org/iatp/commentaries.cfm?refID=102007
Dollars & Sense From NAFTA to the SPP By Katherine Sciacchitano
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/year/2008/ Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/cac/water/WaterThreatsNAFTASPPAtlantica.pdf
Texas Corridor Watch http://www.corridorwatch.org/ttc/index.htm Judicial Watch http://www.judicialwatch.org/5979.shtml
