Editorials

The Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas, which some have dubbed PPA, was first launched by the Bush administration in September of 2008 in an effort to further deepen existing economic partnerships in the region.  Many speculated that it was a last ditch effort by Bush to resurrect a revised version of the failed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).  The Obama administration has continued with the PPA and is set to re-launch and expand the initiative which would lead to greater integration in the Americas.  Some aspects of the PPA are similar to the defunct Security and Prosperity Partnership and could spread SPP objectives to other parts of the Western Hemisphere.

By Stuart Trew

 

"The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is no longer an active initiative and as such this website will act as an archive for SPP documents. There will not be any updates to this site." -Disclaimer from the U.S. government's SPP website.

 Two "trials" proceed in one courtroom of the B.C. Supreme Court.  One relates to Gordon Campbell cabinet aides formally charged with crimes.  The other is a shadow trial of top people in power in B.C. who - thus far - have escaped all investigation in the BC Rail Scandal to say nothing of formal accusations of wrong-doing.

The BC Rail Scandal is a running sore.  But it is only part of the calculated, full-scale practice of breach of trust by the Gordon Campbell government.

A reluctance to spend MAY be a legacy of the recession??

Even as evidence mounts that the Great Recession has finally released its chokehold on the American economy, experts worry that the recovery may be weak, stymied by consumers’ reluctance to spend.

The replacing of long-time pre-trial hearings judge, Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett, in the BC Rail Scandal criminal case is fraught with dangerous implications.

The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) has essentially been rendered inactive, yet many of its key priorities such as energy integration were part of the agenda at the recent North American Leaders’ Summit held in Guadalajara, Mexico on Aug 9-10.  Environmental concerns are being used to further advance North American integration and the U.S., Canada and Mexico have committed to a more continental approach in combating climate change.

By Laura Carlsen

Times of crisis require bold leadership and innovative solutions. They are a sign of the need to break out of failed paradigms and unite people to create new ones.

Exactly the opposite happened when the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met at the North American Leaders Summit in Guadalajara on August 9-10. Instead of leadership, Presidents Calderon and Obama and Prime Minister Harper showed a penchant for generalities, conflict avoidance, and the formulaic proposals of a discredited past.

Lewis Carroll must have had Nova Scotia … and Canada in mind when he wrote his lengthy poem, “The Walrus And The Carpenter” in 1872. It’s often said (not often enough, these days) that "everything old is new again." Especially so for the confirmed and committed nihilists among us.

When one actually THINKS about it, there is much truth, and a lot to learn in examining history.

The Parade of Sail is long over and the icons of ROCK have left … now, out of the mists, reality emerges.

The crooked bastards that are the Halifax Regional Municipality have managed to slide through another neat little scam to pick your pockets. Get this ... if you are UNFORTUNATE enough to own a property within one kilometer of a BUS STOP, these slime balls are penalising (penisising) you an extra 8.8 cents per $100 of assessment in their new TRANSIT TAX. And you don't get kissed,even. The idea is that eventually, THEY will own your property.


And, THEY wonder why people are not happy and tend to drink more alcohol in Nova Scotia ... cynical pricks.

Did you know that a 24 of Labatt's Blue cost $25 in Quebec and $35 in one of the most expensive places to live in Canada? GREED?
 

Has the problem not been solved yet? And most importantly, why should I care?

In a provocative western Canada history essay first published in 2005, acclaimed Prairies writer Sharon Butala asked "What makes a Westerner?" and courageously put forward "Our stubborn refusal to recognize the French fact."Ironically, the book was pretty much ignored in Western Canada except perhaps for Saskatchewan, the author’s home. Nationwide, Lilac Moon was mainly overlooked by CBC and its Radio-Canada french counterpart. Similar treatment in Québec, and needless to say, never translated.

As a result of NAFTA, North America is already a well-integrated energy market with Canada and Mexico among the U.S.’s top energy trading partners.  Through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the North American Energy Working Group has further integrated a continental energy strategy.  Other initiatives are also pushing towards a single North American energy policy.

The Western Governors’ Association annual conference was held in Park City, Utah on June 14-16, 2009. The meetings were attended by three Canadian western premiers.  Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall spearheaded plans to develop a cross-border Western Energy Corridor.  Both have announced that they intend to establish a Western Energy Corridor Coalition to further promote the initiative.  The proposed energy corridor would be the largest of its kind in the world. 

http://www.borderfirereport.net/dana-gabriel/towards-a-north-american-energy-corridor.php

Trolls And Bullies Are
Debasing The Internet
By Michael Goodspeed
 8-5-9
 
As many reading this know, I have participated in the alternative media for many years, mostly as an essayist, occasionally on-air as a radio guest and co-host, and more recently as a video maker. I literally thank God every day for the Internet, and people like Jeff Rense and many others who have allowed me the opportunity to share my work with the public. The vast majority of alt media denizens understand just how gravely important is the health and vibrance of this medium; the Internet represents the most crucial database of independent, uncensored, worthwhile information in human history.
 
I shall now speak as briefly as possible about the darkest sides of Internet communication. Most Internet users today are familiar with the inane, abusive activities known as "trolling" or "flaming." Internet "trolls" are generally anonymous provocateurs who invade forums and comment sections for the primary purpose of disrupting discourse. Some "trolls" wish to defame people and damage reputations, some wish to discredit certain ideas and concepts, and others simply want to make spectacles of themselves through brute heckling.

Global Research, August 3, 2009

 

Alan G. Philips is an attorney with the following credentials:

-- he's one of the few American lawyers whose practice includes vaccine exemption and waiver issues;

-- he advises other attorneys seeking help for their own clients on vaccine exemptions;

-- he co-founded Citizens for Healthcare Freedom (CHF) as "a grassroots, nonprofit organization supporting an exciting new Consumer Health Freedom Act in North Carolina" where he lives and practices law;

-- he "may be the only attorney in the US with a website dedicated to vaccine exemptions" - vaccinerights.com;

-- he authored "The Authoritative Guide to Vaccine Legal Exemptions;" and

-- he's written numerous articles and publications on vaccinations and immunizations, including "Dispelling Vaccination Myths: An Introduction to the Contradictions Between Medical Science and Immunization Policy," published in 1996 and most recently updated in 2007.

Given the possibility of universally mandated untested, experimental, toxic, and extremely dangerous Swine Flu vaccinations this fall, Philips' work is especially relevant and vital.

In its entirety, it can be accessed at www.vaccinerights.com/. A brief account follows below, focusing on 10 myths and truths, which he explains plus some additional information. More than ever, information is vital for protection against vaccines that can cause annoying to life-threatening autoimmune diseases, even the illnesses they're designed to prevent.

Though Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have done everything to maintain the status quo on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), President Barack Obama has promised to "push the restart button" on several trade deals. While it's debatable how much his administration actually differs from its predecessor in these areas, trade activists remain hopeful that Obama will stick to his promises to renegotiate NAFTA and reconsider its expansion through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

Vince Li has been found not criminally responsible for the gruesome murder and beheading of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus last summer because he is mentally ill.

Li's trial took only two days and heard from only two witnesses. Both were psychiatrists who testified Li suffers from schizophrenia. They testified Li heard what he thought was the voice of God