By Dana Gabriel

The North American Forum on Integration (NAFI) was created in 2002, and is one of many think tanks pushing for closer continental ties. In 2005, NAFI organized the Triumvirate, a North American mock parliament which meets once a year. The exercise brings together university students from the U.S., Mexico and Canada with participants assigned the roles of legislators, journalists or lobbyists. Over the years, the mock parliament has debated and drafted resolutions on such key issues as trade corridors, immigration, NAFTA’s Chapter 11, along with the creation of a North American investment fund and a customs union. Infowars reported that last year’s Triumvirate gathering was cancelled due to the swine flu pandemic scare.

America’s criminal addiction to militarism is a global pestilence

Prorogation was the tip of the iceberg of Harper's dismantling of democracy in this country.  Prorogation should be viewed within context of Harpers on-going destructive agenda which is documented to a limited extent by the media and by some national NGOs among others. The latest issue which has occurred with the " Rights and Democracy" agency [see article below] is a further example of the harm Harper is doing to this country, our democratic traditions and institutions, and our international reputation. Let's look at some of his attacks on democracy that proceeded proroguing: (a) gagging of MP´s (b) gagging of senior bureaucrats, (c) muzzling the media - cancelling press conferences in the parliamentary press gallery, (d) shutting down essential 'access to information' registry and database, (e) cancelling funding for all manner of civil society groups (social justice, anti- poverty,environmental, feminist, peace ) that recommend sound policy options for a principle- centred society (f) threatening to cut funding for political parties(g) Conservative Party chairpersons walking out on and thereby shutting down parliamentary committees, (g) Harper's manual of "dirty tricks" for his MPs on how to block the function of Parliamentary committees, (h) consulting with corporate sector and not rest of civil society groups as with the National Advisory Council on Competitiveness (NACC) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) (i) producing aggressive attack ads on the opposition between election periods etc. j) failing to implement legislation passed by Parliament with which he disagrees.k) ongoing interference in so-called independent agencies such as the RCMP review, the firing of Linda Keen from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and now this Rights and Democracy incursion aong others.

Activist Chats: John Bennett interviews Janet Eaton, Sierra Club Canada Pt. 2 of 5 From: SierraClubCanada | January 31, 2010 | 6 views Part two discusses the climate change movement in South America. 

Part 1 on home page http://www.sierraclub.ca/

By Joe Florito

A pounding at the door the other morning; my windows rattled. I was upstairs at work. I don't always leave my desk to hear the good news about Jehovah.

The pounder was insistent. I went down, if only for the sake of the windows.

Oh, jeeze, the cops.

Officers Firth and Kozar in attendance. "What's up, boys?" My preference was to talk to them through the plate glass door. They wanted to come inside.

Not a chance.