Yes, We Can Rebuild NAFTA And Protect Canadian Jobs

While I am less certain of this notion, of working "...with President Obama's plan...", which in its main outlines, I still do not see as being so different from Bush's global "plan", and being of the view we should rather have our own national plan, I do agree nonetheless that this country and the US are destined, over time and eventually, if not yet entirely, to have a close "relationship". And, I agree on the value in it. (Contrary to the view of our US Empire Loyalists in this country, I am not really "anti-American" per se".)

The problem is, in the current world order of things economic and political, outside of even the current economic collapse, which is no small factor all on its own, is that the US still does not eschew militarism and empire building as the central tenants of its interface with the world, including with us. And there does have to be a horse come before this cart here, in my view. For which reasons I am of the analysis view that for at least the relatively near foreseeable future, we need an attitude and policy direction more similar to that being adopted by a growing number of socially progressive and anti-imperialist Latin American states... keeping The Empire at arms length until such time as it comes to a more realistic and peaceful interface with the rest of the world. And this means that we all need first, to see a change of direction in US global military and Empire building behaviours. This is the horse that needs to precede and pull along this particular, perhaps eventual "North American FAIR Trade Agreement" cart which NAUWATCH proposes.

And frankly, I don't see the value of it coming anytime soon... though much depends on US experience here, in the Middle East, Latin America, even with Europe that is itself increasingly viewing the US and its empire ambitions with growing alarm, and vis a vis ourselves. A serious military defeat for the US Empire in the Middle East, including Iraq, Afghanistan and its policy support for Israel, will certainly serve to chasten and, hopefully, humble it. (And a humbled Amerika , in my view, will be a more reasonable partner to enter into trade and other relations with.) Likewise, the continued waning of its influence in Latin America will further serve to isolate and humble The Empire.

The piece de resistance however, in my view, that would serve the ends of a more "reasonable" and "safe" relationship with the US currently and in the future, for ourselves and the entire world, will be served, I appreciate thus far only hopefully, the day that Europe and ourselves weary of standing too close to them and their less than subtle bullying ways, likewise helping fight their Empire Wars, and being squeezed into the unequal "free trading" arrangements we currently have with them, as largely still, hewers of wood and drawers of water for them and/or simple markets for their goods and services. (To say nothing of being their gun fodder, lending some kind of legitimacy to their real imperialist bully face.)

So, pending the maturation of the above new conditions in our and everyone's relationship with a chastened and humbled US Empire, when it becomes but the USA we all admired once again, set back into just its own borders, and not spilled over everyone else's, I suggest we will be better served focusing on our own more rounded and evolved independent economic, democratic and political/military defence development. This being so certainly, rather than, especially in this collapse of the capitalist market period in any case, fussing about "fixing up/patching up" what has been little more than an instrument of "imperialist absorption" policy on the self-serving part of the US anyway, including under Obama. Which is the end fundamentally served by NAFTA.

Better, for now at least, that we just turn away from it, and turn back to focusing on our own interests, and like I say, economic, democratic, political and military defence development. Such that on the day the US Empire inevitably reaches that development of its imperialist ambitions day, when the material, human and relationships with the rest of the world costs exceed the benefits it derives from Empire, we are better positioned to ensure and insist upon a FAIR TRADE agreement with our more humbled southern neighbour.

Meanwhile, I am less convinced of the value of serving Obama's interest in negotiating a new NAFTA. I would rather, in the current world, it was left to die the natural death it is likely destined for anyway. They, frankly, if not now, certainly going forward, are going to have a greater need of us, if we do it right in the interim, than we of them. They are already over-populated, over-developed and depleted of adequate resources for their still endless growth capitalism needs. We still, though this too may change, have an opportunity to prevent this same fate happening to us. (Which I suggest, in the process means, we too, along with they, are going to have to get ready to turn away from the capitalist model of development, or collapse, this latter of which we are currently getting a forewarning taste of, pay we no heed.)

Coyote.

I couldn't agree more with the coyote. The 50 US states have been washed up for years. They have been bringing the spoils to Rome from too far abroad for too long. The US must consolidate or continue to face increasing costs in maintaining their empire. As that empire is aging, it is decaying from the inside out. The uber-capitalists have no country, it is all just a game for them; they will let Rome fall. With a $billion here and a billion there, they will always have more than they could ever hope to need. The current economic crisis allows them to claw back from the US workers. Now is the time that they are buying up the resources and properties at bargain basement prices. Canada has about 10 years to figure it out, or there will be little left that the corporations, thus the uber-capitalist pushers of NAFTA, don't own. Funny thing is, if the stocks and the CEOs vanished tomorrow, the materials and the workers - the only things of true value - would still be of use.