North American Union

[Soldier4Christ]

University reshuffles 'North American Union architect' 
Robert Pastor's global program dismantled, on sabbatical working with 'The Elders'

Robert Pastor – the American University professor whose writings have championed the creation of a North American Community – has resigned his position in the school's Office of International Affairs amid a reorganization that has dismantled many of his key programs.

Pastor confirmed to WND he began a one-year sabbatical Jan. 1 at American University and plans this year to work on three new books, including one on North America. He also is working with The Elders, the conflict-resolution group of world figures, including Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter.

Pastor explained in an e-mail he has stepped down as vice president of international affairs at the university and as director of the Center for North American Studies in the Office of International Affairs, a program he has headed since he began at American University in 2002.

"This reflects no change in my focus," Pastor insisted, "just a sabbatical to devote more time to research and writing."

WND confirmed, however, that university President Neil Kerwin has decided to shut down Pastor's Office of International Affairs.

The university's student newspaper, The Eagle, reported last week that Pastor had resigned his post in the Office of International Affairs following a decision by Kerwin to dismantle the department.

"Now that Kerwin has become permanent university president, he wants to change the international program to meet a new strategic focus," Eagle writer Jimm Phillips told WND.

WND contacted Kerwin's office to inquire about the ultimate status of Pastor's international programs after the break-up of the Office of International Affairs but received no return phone call before publication time.

Pastor explained his sabbatical to the Eagle.

"With the dismantling of the Office of International Affairs, there is, of course, no need for a vice president," Pastor told the campus paper. "President Kerwin and I both agreed that it would be helpful if I would remain until the end of the year to assure that the transition is smooth and the movement of OIA units to other parts of the campus is done properly and effectively and in a manner that could permit them to become even stronger."

Pastor admitted to the Eagle the move disappointed him.

"I personally believe that American University had set a gold standard in designing a cabinet-level position to give priority to these international programs," he said. "So, therefore, I am disappointed that the office will now be dismantled."

The Elders

Pastor told WND he planned to remain at American University after the sabbatical.

He said he has begun working as interim co-director of The Elders, a group of 13 world figures, including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter.

"I have been responsible for directing the Elders' work on conflict-resolution, with a special focus on Sudan and the Middle East with the help of some very talented and dedicated people," Pastor said. "I will continue directing this work for the next few months."

The Elders website explains the rationale for the group: "We are moving to a global village and yet we don't have our global elders. The Elders can be a group who have the trust of the world, who can speak freely, be fiercely independent and respond fast and flexibly in conflict situations."

Kerwin took over the presidency of American University on an interim basis following the dismissal of Benjamin Ladner, who was suspended in August 2005 by the university's board in a scandal looking into his alleged misuse of university funds in personal and travel expenses.

Kerwin's status was made permanent Sept. 1, becoming the school's 14th president.

In his interview with the university newspaper, Pastor admitted the controversy surrounding Ladner had been detrimental to his plans in 2005 to establish an American-style university in China.

"These issues came to a head shortly after the resignation of Dr. Ladner," Pastor told the Eagle, "and given the uncertainty within the university, after consultation with cabinet and faculty, [Kerwin] decided that AU should not go forward."

On Oct. 24, 2005, Ladner agreed to a $3.75 million departure package from American University in a deal that allowed him to resign rather than be fired. Ladner's request for a $6 million termination package had been rejected by the university board, which voted to fire him "for cause" if he did not accept the lower offer.

[Soldier4Christ]

Resolution fights North American Union 
Urges U.S. to withdraw from Security and Prosperity Partnership

A state lawmaker in Utah has introduced a resolution encouraging the U.S. to withdraw from the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and any other bilateral activity that would move the country toward an EU-style continental merger.

Republican state Rep. Stephen Sandstrom introduced House Resolution 1 to the Utah legislature this week after a similar measure passed the House last year by a 47-24 vote but was blocked by a Senate committee just before the session's close.

"I feel confident we will get this resolution passed this year," Sandstrom told WND. "We learned a lot last year about our opponents, and this year we are better prepared to anticipate their legislative moves to block us."

The resolution reads in part: "The gradual creation of such a North American Union from a merger of the United States, Mexico and Canada would be a direct threat to the United States Constitution and the national independence of the United States and would imply an eventual end to national borders within North America."

In a speech given in Salt Lake City to the Utah Eagle Forum's annual convention Jan. 19, Sandstrom compared the move toward a North American Union to the stealth methodology used by corporate elite to move Europe toward the European Union. The 50-year process began with the European Coal and Steel Agreement in 1957.

"While the newspaper articles and reporters published the sequential events of European integration, most people in the European Community nations thought, 'Ho-hum – no big deal,'" Sandstrom told the Eagle Forum meeting. "As a matter of fact, the Europeans continued to sleep like Gulliver until they were jolted awake when the euro replaced their national currencies."

When the euro was introduced, Sandstrom explained, "fortunes were made and lost, savings were devalued, prices and commodities were suddenly revalued, borders essentially evaporated and individual countries could no longer control their own immigration laws.

"Even their national flags – for which their ancestors had fought and died – were slowly being replaced by the flag of the European community, with its twelve golden stars on a blue background," he continued.

"When that happened, many political leaders and vast numbers of usurped citizens wanted to stop the pan-European train and get off, but it was too late," he said. "Too late, because they were part and parcel of the European Union – now and forever."

Sandstrom explained he introduced H.R. 1 a second time because he wants to stop the forward movement of the Security and Prosperity Partnership into a North American market, following the European model in which economic integration inevitably led to political integration.

"Just as in the European market decades ago," he told the Eagle Forum audience, "now there are both official and ad hoc forces here in the U.S. that continually press for further integration and harmonization at every opportunity."

As evidence, Sandstrom cited the free flow of labor invited to the U.S. by the failure to secure the border with Mexico, the push by the Bush administration to expand NAFTA and CAFTA by a series of individual free trade agreements seeking to push open markets country by country – first into Peru, followed by Columbia and Panama – and the bureaucratic trilateral working groups seeking under SPP to integrate and harmonize U.S. administrative laws with those in Mexico and Canada.

"We cannot and will not tolerate – not without a fight – the tearing down of 232 years of sovereign progress in which American has protected the etched-in-stone, under-God principles that were bequeathed to us by our founding fathers," he concluded.

According to tabulation on StopTheNau.org, 13 states have now passed similar resolutions opposing the SPP and the movement toward a future North American Union.

Utah is among six states considering a resolution against the SPP.

As WND reported, Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., has introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives a resolution expressing congressional opposition to construction of a NAFTA super highway system or entry into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada.

Goode's House Concurrent Resolution 40 currently has 43 bipartisan co-sponsors.

[Soldier4Christ]

N.J. Parkway lease mirrors NAFTA superhighway plan
Governor wants to generate money for state budget crisis


New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, is proposing a variation of the "public-private partnerships," being implemented in other parts of the country and according to critics a danger to the sovereignty of the U.S., as a solution for the state's expected $3 billion budget deficit, the biggest after California and New York.

Under the typical PPP structure that has been supported by the Bush administration, through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, projects such as the Trans-Texas Corridor highway, are under way. That new highway project is planned to be four football fields wide and run through Texas parallel to Interstate 35 from Laredo to the Oklahoma border.

It is being leased by foreign investors including Cintra, an infrastructure investment consortium in Spain that has made large payment to operate the highway and collect tolls on contracts written to last as long as a half century.

Critics' comments about such plans were typified by an attendee at a conference at which a Colorado "public-private partnership" plan was discussed.

"Under P3, the USA is up for sale," a conference attendee said. "Whatever the public now owns – roads, ports, waste management water systems, rail lines, public parking facilities, airports, even lotteries and sports stadiums – are up for grabs and the only requirement is that the foreigners have the cash."

Corzine's variation is that his public-private partnership would involve the creation of a New Jersey non-profit corporation that would issue bonds to raise the revenue to pay for a 75-year long-term lease on the highway.

The governor is calling the structure a "public benefit corporation," but whatever the name, he faced a hostile crowd at a recent town hall meeting on the issue.

"You’re supposed to be the wizard of Wall Street," an angry citizen challenged Corzine Monday night in Marlboro, N.J. "Can't you come up with a better solution to the state's debt crisis other than leasing away the Garden State Parkway?"

"This scheme to lease the Garden State Parkway doesn't work it's not done on the KISS principle," the questioner insisted. "Why can't you 'Keep it Simple, Stupid?' and just cut state spending until it meets your tax revenue?"

An estimated 750 New Jersey residents, angered the governor failed to propose a reduced New Jersey budget in light of the expected $3 billion deficit, objected to the highway manipulation.

Corzine's goal is to raise immediately somewhere between $32-$38 billion on a one-time basis when the PBC uses the bond revenue to lease what amounts to three highways – the Garden State Parkway, the Atlantic Highway, portions of the New Jersey Turnpike, and Route 440, which links the Turnpike with a Staten Island bridge.

Some $4 billion of the proceeds would be used in a capital reserve for toll road improvements and widening.

An estimated $10 billion would be used to eliminate existing debt on the toll roads and to create the appropriate bond reserves, while an upfront payment in the range of $18-$24 billion would be used to reduce state debt and fund transportation improvements.

"These won’t be junk bonds," Corzine, the onetime head of Wall Street investment banking firm Goldman Sachs pleaded with the Marlboro High School audience. "The bond market has received very favorably state finance proposals linked to a certain stream of revenue, such as toll road receipts."

But for more than an hour, dozens of attendees launching sharply critical questions, some bordering on anger and outrage.

"Why are you going to mortgage New Jersey highways for generations to come, just to get once-only upfront payment of $35 billion?" an attendee asked from the audience.

"You're going to give up some $150 billion in future toll revenues, or more, over decades just to get this one-time bailout," he continued. "What are you going to lease the next time you have a budget deficit?"

At one point, the strain on Corzine revealed itself. "If you have a better solution, let me know," he shot back at one critic.

Some said they did have better ideas: Cutting the budget by dismissing employees and working to reduce pension expenses, disqualifying part-time state workers and various state commissioners from pensions, cutting pension payments, and eliminating various Corzine appointees from participating.

"You talk out of both sides of your mouth and you are mortgaging our future by leasing the Parkway," one citizen said.

Corzine admitted the solution is not all good. "I don't like this situation one bit," he said. "As a politician, I don't like the challenge of having to explain this proposal."

He said under the plan, New Jersey may need to hike tolls 50 percent in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 to make needed toll road improvements.

"The state transportation fund will be broke in 2011," he said. "If we do nothing, we may have to both increase tolls and raise the gasoline tax in the state by 20 cents or more."

Another audience member said, "We simply don’t trust anybody in Trenton anymore. What will the next governor do, if we let you lease the Parkway now?"

In 1952 the New Jersey Highway Authority was established to oversee final construction on the Garden State Parkway, with the idea that the road would operate as a self-liquidating toll road.

WND earlier reported a top Texas Department of Transportation official told a EuroMoney conference that establishing public-private partnerships that give away control of U.S. infrastructure to foreigners is like playing the casino game "Texas hold'em."

"Sure, you can expect political objections, but if you play your cards right, you'll win," James Bass, the chief financial officer of TxDOT, told a two-day seminar devoted to teaching state government officials how to lease public assets to foreign investment interests.

[Soldier4Christ]

Heads to roll? Mexican trucks in U.S. sparks firing call
Transportation secretary 'breaking law' by allowing foreign vehicles

Teamsters are launching a nationwide campaign to fire U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters for what they say is her "unlawful decision" to keep the American border open to Mexican trucks.

As WND reported, the Bush administration has decided to ignore a provision passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush as part of the 2008 omnibus spending bill that was intended to remove funding from the 2008 DOT appropriations bill for the Mexican truck demonstration project.

"It's a disgrace that Mary Peters is still in office," said Teamsters General President James Hoffa in a news release today. "She has broken the law and defied the will of the American people by exposing them to dangerous trucks from Mexico."

The Teamsters have created FireMaryPeters.com, a website complete with downloadable "Fire Mary Peters" windshield signs, recommended actions and an e-mail component urging citizens to ask their elected representatives to find Mary Peters in contempt of Congress.

The Teamsters have mailed a "Fire Mary Peters" bumper sticker to thousands of union members and supporters.

(Story continues below)

"Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is the latest member of the Bush administration to break the law," the Teamster website proclaims. "She continues to give dangerous Mexican trucks access to our highways despite overwhelmingly bipartisan measures passed by Congress and signed by President Bush."

The Teamsters have also placed posters and floor graphics in the Navy Yard Metro stop in Washington, D.C., near the DOT building.

Planned as well is a leafleting campaign at the Metro stop, where DOT employees will be handed cards asking them to call a "Fire Mary Peters" hotline to report other laws Peters has broken.

A "Fire Mary Peters" radio ad prepared by the Teamsters can be heard on the website.

A series of videos on the website shows a Teamster rally at the San Diego border and testimony Hoffa has given Congress opposing NAFTA.

The "Fire Mary Peters" campaign has a special focus in Peters' home state of Arizona, where letters and bumper stickers have been mailed to thousands of Teamsters, urging them to take action.

Although not yet announced, widespread rumors persist that Peters is planning to run for governor of Arizona in 2010.

In a separate legal action, the Teamsters Union will argue in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Feb. 12 that Peters broke federal laws aimed at ensuring American voters are not endangered by allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads.

WND telephoned the Department of Transportation asking for comment on this story, but received no return call.

[Soldier4Christ]

'Hola! Mexico!' says the Fed in Dallas
U.S. Federal Reserve adds top banker to new globalization panel

Mexico's equivalent of the chairmen of the Federal Reserve has been invited to join a new think tank on globalization created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Guillermo Ortiz, the governor of the Banco de Mexico since 1998, has joined the advisory board for the Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, according to a press release issued by the Fed last Thursday.

The Dallas Fed created the Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute in 2007 "for the purpose of better understanding how the process of deepening economic integration between the countries of the world, or globalization, alters the environment in which U.S. monetary policy decisions are being made."

Initially, the Stanford-educated Ortiz served Mexico's President Ernesto Zedillo as telecommunications and transportation secretary, but when the peso crashed during Zedillo's first month in office, Ortiz was shifted to serve as Mexican secretary of finance and public credit, where he helped manage the resulting devaluation of the peso.

He has also served as an executive director of the International Monetary Fund.

He opposed Mexico's President Vicente Fox by arguing Mexico should secure the border with the United States and create jobs in Mexico, to reduce the economic incentive for illegal immigration.

Still, with remittances from Mexican nationals working in the United States sending dollars back to Mexico reach an annual total exceeding $25 billion, economists such as Steven Hanke at Johns Hopkins University have been arguing since 2003 that Ortiz and the Banco of Mexico should "dollarize," by abandoning the peso to adopt the U.S. dollar as the official currency.

In 2007, the U.S. ran a $74 billion negative balance of trade with Mexico, up from a negative trade balance of $64 billion in 2006 and $49.7 billion in 2005.

In recent years, Ortiz has directed Banco de Mexico monetary policy to fight the continued threat of inflation.

The U.S. Department of State notes Mexico's economy is heavily dependent upon the U.S. with the U.S. buying 86 percents of Mexican exports in 2005.

This year, Ortiz has expressed concern the slowdown in the U.S. economy will cause an economic downturn in Mexico.

Others on the Dallas Fed's globalization advisory board include Charles R. Bean, chief economist and executive director, Bank of England; Martin Feldstein, president and CEO, National Bureau of Economic Research; George F. Baker, Professor of Economics, Harvard; R. Glenn Hubbard, dean, Columbia Business School; Otmar Issing, president Center for Financial Studies, Frankfurt, Germany; Finn Kydland, 2004 Nobel Laureate in Economics and Professor of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara; Kenneth S. Rogoff, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy, Harvard; and William White, Bank of International Settlements.

[Soldier4Christ]

N. American Army created without OK by Congress
U.S., Canada military ink deal to fight domestic emergencies

In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the American media, the United States and Canada signed a military agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis.

The agreement, defined as a Civil Assistance Plan, was not submitted to Congress for approval, nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist attacks.

In Canada, the agreement paving the way for the militaries of the U.S. and Canada to cross each other's borders to fight domestic emergencies was not announced either by the Harper government or the Canadian military, prompting sharp protest.

"It's kind of a trend when it comes to issues of Canada-U.S. relations and contentious issues like military integration," Stuart Trew, a researcher with the Council of Canadians told the Canwest News Service.  "We see that this government is reluctant to disclose information to Canadians that is readily available on American and Mexican websites."

The military Civil Assistance Plan can be seen as a further incremental step being taken toward creating a North American armed forces available to be deployed in domestic North American emergency situations.

The agreement was signed at U.S. Army North headquarters, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, by U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, and by Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command.

"This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our respective national military plans to respond quickly to the other nation's requests for military support of civil authorities," Renuart said in a statement published on the USNORTHCOM website.

"In discussing the new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan established by USNORTHCOM and Canada Command, Renuart stressed, "Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives, prevent human suffering an mitigate damage to property, is of the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making in a collaborative environment."

Lt. Gen. Dumais seconded Renuart's sentiments, stating, "The signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already strong working relationship between Canada Command and U.S. Northern Command."

"Our commands were created by our respective governments to respond to the defense and security challenges of the twenty-first century," he stressed, "and we both realize that these and other challenges are best met through cooperation between friends."

The statement on the USNORTHCOM website emphasized the plan recognizes the role of each nation's lead federal agency for emergency preparedness, which in the United States is the Department of Homeland Security and in Canada is Public Safety Canada.

The statement then noted the newly signed plan was designed to facilitate the military-to-military support of civil authorities once government authorities have agreed on an appropriate response.

As WND has previously reported, U.S. Northern Command was established on Oct. 1, 2002, as a military command tasked with anticipating and conducting homeland defense and civil support operations where U.S. armed forces are used in domestic emergencies.

Similarly, Canada Command was established on Feb. 1, 2006, to focus on domestic operations and offer a single point of contact for all domestic and continental defense and securities partners.

In Nov. 2007, WND published a six-part exclusive series, detailing WND's on-site presence during the NORAD-USNORTHCOM Vigilant Shield 2008, an exercise which involved Canada Command as a participant.

In an exclusive interview with WND during Vigilant Shield 2008, Gen. Renuart affirmed USNORTHCOM would deploy U.S. troops on U.S. soil should the president declare a domestic emergency in which the Department of Defense ordered USNORTHCOM involvement.

In May 2007, WND reported President Bush, on his own authority, signed National Security Presidential Directive 51, also known as Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, authorizing the president to declare a national emergency and take over all functions of federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, without necessarily obtaining the approval of Congress to do so.

[Soldier4Christ]

Trans-Texas corridor stirs controversy

The debate in Texas over a proposed 4,000-mile network of toll roads that will parallel the state's existing highway system is heating up

More than 10,000 people have attended public hearings across Texas to discuss the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, which has also been dubbed the "NAFTA superhighway." It is a project that is expected to cost an estimated $183 billion over 50 years. (hear audio report)
 
Terry Hall with the group Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom warns the project will create widespread eminent domain abuse and involve foreign control of public infrastructure. "They're taking huge swaths of land, up to a million acres of private Texas farm and ranch land," warns Hall. "Some of it is prime agriculture land ... and they're going to take that land and hand it over to private entities for commercial gain."
 
Hall accuses Congress of pulling a "bait and switch" when they promised Texas taxpayers a free interstate. "They designated this corridor route an international trade corridor back in 1995," argues Hall. "So for Governor Perry, or any of those folks who are trying to push toll roads here in Texas, to try and say that this road stops at the Texas border ... that it's not a NAFTA superhighway ... it is an international corridor and it has been designated as such."
Hall alleges that Governor Perry is "representing the interest of private industry over the public good," noting he has accepted more than $1 million worth of campaign contributions from road contractors and the "road lobby."
 
But the Republican governor is dismissing the concerns of some state residents who are upset the proposed 4,000-mile Trans-Texas Corridor running from Laredo to Canada will turn operation of the public highway system over to private, if not foreign companies. (hear part two of audio report)
 
Critics of the proposed highway project claim it was never approved by voters, and Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), CNN's Lou Dobbs, and others call the project a "NAFTA superhighway" and warn it will be part of a "North American Union" between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
 
Governor Perry calls critics of the Trans-Texas Corridor "unenlightened." "Here's what's more important rather than all of the black helicopter ... conspiracy theories," argues Perry. "We have many, many multi-national groups that run various things ... in the United States as we do in other countries, and nobody is going to roll up our highways and carry them back to Spain."
 
According to Perry, there is a reason CEO Magazine selected Texas as the number-one state to do business. "... nderstand you have to have a transportation infrastructure system in place so that people can get from point A to point B, and they don't spend all their time in gridlock instead of being with their kids at soccer practice or back home with their families," Perry explains.
 
Governor Perry maintains the controversial transportation network is necessary to "move [the state's] people and product around" and reduce road congestion.

[nChrist]

UM? - It seems like many politicians don't think that average people have a brain-cell in their head. The bottom line is real simple:  the people are being lied to, and the people are beginning to find out about it. Bluntly:  it is what they say it isn't - they just called it a different name. I think that most people will figure this out by the time the words are out of the mouths of the lying politicians. It's really past time for criminal charges for all involved. Treason will be the appropriate charge for quite a few. NO portion of this country is a dictatorship, and ALL are subject to the laws of the people. The people are in charge here, and our elected leaders do ONLY what we authorize them to do or TELL them what to do. There appears to be some Napoleon types loose who think they can do whatever they want to without the authorization of the people AND AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE! We do have some prison space left, and it should be used.

[Soldier4Christ]

Leaders push PR campaign for North American Union
Business council members to confront and refute critics of trilateral agenda

 The controversial Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP, continues closed-door meetings with business leaders while the heads of state of the U.S., Mexico and Canada now openly urge them to launch a public relations campaign to counter growing criticism of the trilateral cooperative some fear is a step toward a North American Union.

The information is contained in an internal memo from Canada's Foreign Affairs and Internal Trade ministry, obtained by WND under an Access to Information Act request.

The text of the undated memo is an internal government summary of the third SPP summit meeting held Aug. 20-21, 2007, in Montebello Quebec.

The redacted memo does not disclose the author or the date the memo was written.

The first sentence of the memo makes clear, as WND previously reported, the North American Competitiveness Council, or NACC, was the only participant invited to meet behind closed doors with the SPP bureaucrats. The SPP consists of 20 working groups plus the attending cabinet officers from each country and the heads of state.

"Leaders had a successful meeting with the members of the NACC, which had been launched at the leader's meeting in Cancun in March 2006, to counsel governments on how they might enhance North American competitiveness," the memo begins.

The NACC is a largely secretive SPP advisory council of representatives of 30 North American corporations selected by the Chambers of Commerce in the three nations.

The NACC has issued no press releases disclosing specific recommendations made to the SPP trilateral working groups tasked with "integrating" and "harmonizing" administrative rules and regulations into a North American format.

Nor have any minutes of SPP meetings with NACC participants ever been made public.

The PR offensive is clearly discussed in the third paragraph of the internal memo, where following an initial redacted sentence, the paragraph discusses comments made by the three heads of state in the closed door discussions, noting, "He also urged NACC members to assist in confronting and refuting critics of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP)."

The "He" in the sentence is not identified.

The fourth paragraph continues the PR theme: "In closing, all leaders expressed a desire for the NACC to play a role in articulating publicly the benefits of greater collaboration in North America."

Later, the memo admits, "Leaders discussed some of the difficulties of the SPP, including the lack of popular support and the failure of the public to understand the competitive challenges confronting North America."

After a redacted sentence, the memo continues, "Governments are faced with addressing the rapidly evolving competitive environment without fueling protectionism, when industry sectors face radical transformation."

The memo then documents a comment made by President Bush: "In terms of building public support, President Bush suggested engaging the support of those who had benefited from NAFTA and from North American integration (including small business owners) to tell their stories and humanize the impressive results."

The document says, regarding import safety, "President Bush underlined the importance of tackling the issue more broadly and showing that governments are ahead of this issue in order to prevent a trade protectionist backlash, especially against China."

Toward the end, the memo reinforces the public relations theme, emphasizing, "NACC members should have a role in communicating the merits of North American collaboration, including by engaging their employees and unions."

Meanwhile, the SPP ministers and trilateral working groups continue to pursue a policy of secret, closed-door meetings, where the press and the public is not invited to participate or observe the process.

In a meeting that was virtually unreported in the U.S. and Canada, a SPP ministerial meeting Feb. 27-28 in Las Cabos, Mexico, was disclosed openly in the Mexico City newspaper La Jornada.

The report in La Jornada said Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez visited Mexico City prior to the Los Cabos meeting "to renegotiate NAFTA" by offering to Mexico that undisclosed U.S. corporations and the U.S. government are planning to put as much as $141 billion in new investments in Mexico under Mexico's National Infrastructure Project 2007-2012.

A press release on the U.S. Trade and Development Agency website published Feb 21 presented the agenda for a Feb. 26-28 meeting in Mexico City at which Secretary Gutierrez planned to announce USTDA grants totaling more than $1.7 million were being made "to promote the development of transportation, energy and environmental projects under Mexico's National Infrastructure Program (NIP)."

A separate press release on the USTDA website documented that Mexico's National Infrastructure Program, launched by President Calderon in July 2007, was intended to create $141 billion in new infrastructure investment opportunities for U.S. firms by 2012.

An announcement posted on the homepage of the Department of Commerce's SPP website Feb. 28 confirmed Gutierrez and Department of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff traveled to Las Cabos to meet with their Mexican and Canadian counterparts in a ministerial meeting, preparing for the fourth SPP annual summit meeting scheduled for New Orleans April 21-22.

The SPP press release also confirmed the NACC attended the Los Cabos closed-door ministerial meeting.

Several other important points were disclosed in the Foreign Affairs and Internal Trade document obtained under the Access to Information Act request.

The document confirmed a much-rumored concern that the Harper government intended to downplay the SPP summits, as part of a strategy to defuse the intense criticism the effort has received from the political left in Canada.

"Prime Minister Harper described the SPP as a worthwhile project driving numerous low-profile, but important initiatives," the documents noted under the heading, "SPP Management."

The document further disclosed Harper's recommendation that each government appoint a single lead minister with overall responsibility for managing the trilateral bureaucrats involved in the 20 SPP working groups.

The commerce minister in each country, or "prosperity minister" as identified by the document, was tasked with this responsibility.

Until the document had come to light, the three governments had not given a clear explanation of the tasks or areas of responsibilities of each of the three ministers assigned in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to SPP.

Now, it appears the foreign minister representative, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the United States and her counterparts in Mexico and Canada, represent the top state-level official among the three, a designation that clearly places the SPP within the top foreign policy diplomatic level in each country.

Commerce Secretary Gutierrez and his counterparts would be considered the "SPP Prosperity Ministers," while Secretary Chertoff and his counterparts would be considered the "SPP Security Ministers," with overall management of the SPP coming under the "Prosperity Ministers" sphere.

Also, the document disclosed President Bush's continuing determination to favor only a virtual fence, not the placement of a physical fence, along the U.S. border with Mexico.

"President Bush outlined his vision of the border, with a strong emphasis on the use of technology," the document stressed.

As WND previously reported, an amendment submitted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, gutted the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by leaving the building of a 700-mile double-layer fence along the border with Mexico up to the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security and Chertoff.

WND has also reported Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., author of the fencing provisions of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, has introduced new legislation in the House of Representatives to put back the requirement of constructing double-layered fencing along the Mexican border within six months.

[Soldier4Christ]

Transportation Department to WND: No admittance
Reporter denied permission to hear defense of Mexican truck program

The Department of Transportation today barred WND from attending a news conference in which Secretary Mary Peters defended the controversial Bush administration program allowing Mexican trucks to travel freely on U.S. roads.

Agency spokesman Duane DeBruyne, who was screening reporters at the security entrance of the federal building at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., said he did not have the authority to allow entry to WND senior staff writer Jerome Corsi, who has reported extensively on the program and attended other news conferences on the subject.

DeBruyne telephoned his supervisor, DOT spokeswoman Melissa DeLaney, who declined permission without explanation, requiring WND to leave the premises.

In a phone call to the DOT public affairs office, the agency explained it was requiring "press credentials" for admittance, and no one without them was allowed to participate.

The news conference was only for "credentialed members of the media," spokesman Bill Moseley told WND. "There's a specific credential. He did not have a media credential."

And how can a reporter obtain such a credential providing permission to attend?

"I don't know," Moseley responded.

But Corsi said he was never asked to produce media credentials of any kind, noting he had a press ID card issued by WND. DeBruyne, Corsi said, immediately recognized him and apologetically explained the department would "not accept your press credentials."

Corsi paraphrased DeBruyne saying, "We know who you are, we're know you're from WND, we read your stories."

"They never asked for what credentials I had," Corsi said. "They didn't want to see anything from me. That was never in question."

"It's outrageous you were turned away at the door," Teamster President James P. Hoffa told WND. "I thought we had free press in the United States. What's Secretary Peters afraid of?"

The press conference by Peters came in advance of what is expected to be a rancorous oversight hearing tomorrow scheduled by the Senate Commerce Committee on the issue.

"WND sent a New York-based reporter to Washington to cover an area within his specialization, only to be turned away by bureaucrats for not being 'credentialed,'" said Joseph Farah, WND's founder and editor.

"WorldNetDaily is credentialed by the Senate Press Gallery to cover the Capitol. WorldNetDaily is credentialed to cover the White House. WorldNetDaily is a member in good standing of the Washington Press Club. Our reporter on the scene is a Harvard Ph.D and best-selling author. WorldNetDaily is one of the largest news sources in the world, larger than any newspaper websites except the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. If those credentials aren't good enough, I’d sure like to know which journalists were permitted in the Department of Transportation hearing."

Hoffa told WND he planned to call Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J, who is expected to chair the hearing, to protest WND being turned away.

Leslie Miller, the Teamsters communications coordinator, also was dismayed WND had been prevented from hearing the DOT press conference.

"It's an absolute outrage when the executive branch of the government tries to stifle free speech by selecting who it shares information with," Miller wrote WND in an e-mail.

"What are they afraid of? Are their arguments so weak they can only allow people they consider 'friendly' into their news conferences?" she asked.

As WND previously reported, a constitutional crisis is developing over DOT's decision to continue the Mexican demonstration project in defiance of a vote by the House and Senate that removed funding for the effort. That vote was in the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Bush Dec. 26.

At the press conference today, Peters announced plans to forward to Congress a letter signed by 69 companies and associations urging Congress to allow the project to continue, under the argument that Mexico could retaliate if it is discontinued.

The letter argued Mexican retaliation could jeopardize up to 49,909 U.S. jobs in 17 states.

In a statement posted on the agency's website, Peters "cautioned Congress" not to stop the program.

"Whatever their reason, this is not time to let the politics of pessimism dim the promise of prosperity for hundreds of thousands of American drivers, growers and manufacturers," she said. "We should be looking for every chance to open new markets for our drivers, to find new buyers for our products and encourage new consumers for our produce.

"Our drivers and our workers don't deserve a timeout from success and prosperity. So my message to Congress is clear. If you want to help American businesses thrive, support American agricultural success, and champion American highway safety, then keep on trucking with cross border shipping," the statement said.

Rod Nofziger, director of government affairs at the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, was not impressed with Peters' statement.

"The Bush administration seems to appreciate Vladimir Putin's approach to executive branch activism," he said.

"Today's press conference was a weak attempt to shift the focus away from the safety and security deficiencies of their pilot program," Nofziger said in a e-mail. "It's sad they are turning to economic fear mongering to cover their tails."

Hoffa agreed, arguing Peters is on the losing side of the argument, both legally and in the court of public opinion.

"How many times does the Department of Transportation have to be told 'No'? The Senate has said 'No' and the House has said 'No.' President Bush signed the bill removing funding for the Mexican truck demonstration project to continue. What more does DOT need?" he said.

As WND reported, the Teamsters argued Feb. 12 in front of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that Peters broke federal laws aimed at ensuring American voters are not endangered by allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. roads.

In a press teleconference today, Hoffa cited as evidence of the safety hazards represented by Mexican trucks a Jan. 11 accident at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in Texas caused by a Mexican driver who made a U-turn at the border, triggering a collision and fire that killed four and left six with minor injuries.

Mexican truck drivers routinely make U-turns back into Mexico when they realize they will be stopped at the border and denied entry because they lack proper documentation to bring their cargo into the U.S.

"George Bush is a lame duck," Hoffa said. "The administration has a limited time frame to get Mexican trucks into the United States on an unlimited basis, and they don't care what they need to do to get this done."

Asked about Peter's argument that U.S. trucking companies want access to Mexico, Hoffa scoffed.

"It's ridiculous when the State Department issues regular warnings to alert U.S. citizens to the dangers of kidnappings and murder if they travel Mexico's roads," he said. "No trucker wants to drive a load of automobiles into Mexico to park them somewhere."

The arguments presented to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came in cases brought by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and a coalition of the Sierra Club, International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Public Citizen.

"It makes no sense that while safety and security laws are continually being ratcheted up on U.S.-based drivers and companies, the DOT wants to allow their Mexico-based counterparts to get by with lower standards," said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA.

His organization alleges the Mexican-based carriers are not meeting U.S. rules and regulations regarding safety. Specifically, OOIDA has challenged Department of Transportation claims that drug and alcohol testing programs, medical qualifications standards and commercial driver's license demands for truck drivers in Mexico are "equivalent" to those for U.S. drivers.

Catherine O'Mara, a paralegal from the Cullen Law Firm of Washington, D.C., previously compiled the safety inspection reports on the Mexico-based motor carriers and a summary of selected SafeStat Data.

Her work showed that in the span of one year, Sept. 21, 2006, to Sept. 21, 2007, four of the Mexican companies participating in the Bush administration's test trucking program collected more than 1,700 safety violations.

The Teamsters, who argued a separate legal challenge to the program on related issues, have taken the issue one step further, launching a campaign to encourage the firing of Peters, on whose watch the program has been developed.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

This and other issues represent a growing EVIL, ones where the people are excluded - AND the Law and Constitution are VIOLATED! More and more, it appears that things like this will be done more like a DICTATORSHIP than a DEMOCRACY. There are laws already in place that are being violated, and many things are being done without the approval of the people - AND OVER AND ABOVE THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIONS OF THE PEOPLE.

It's time for some CRIMINAL CHARGES AND PRISON.

[Soldier4Christ]

Inside the hush-hush North American Union confab
State Department talks open borders, EU links

A largely unreported meeting held at the State Department discussed integration of the U.S., Mexico and Canada in concert with a move toward a transatlantic union, linking a North American community with the European Union.

The meeting was held Monday under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, or ACIEP. WND obtained press credentials and attended as an observer. The meeting was held under "Chatham House" rules that prohibit reporters from attributing specific comments to individual participants.

The State Department website noted the meeting was opened by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs Daniel S. Sullivan and ACIEP Chairman Michael Gadbaw, vice president and senior counsel for General Electric's International Law & Policy group since December 1990.

WND observed about 25 ACIEP members, including U.S. corporations involved in international trade, prominent U.S. business trade groups, law firms involved with international business law, international investment firms and other international trade consultants.

No members of Congress attended the meeting.

The agenda for the ACIEP meeting was not published, and State Department officials in attendance could not give WND permission under Chatham House rules to publish the agenda.

The meeting agenda included topics reviewing the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP, and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council, or TEC.

The SPP, declared by the U.S., Canada and Mexico at a summit meeting in 2005, has 20 trilateral bureaucratic working groups that seek to "integrate and harmonize" administrative rules and regulations on a continental basis.

Several participants said the premise of the SPP is to create a North American business platform to benefit North America-based multi-national companies the way the European Union benefits its own.

Others noted the premise of the TEC is to create a convergence of administrative rules and regulations between Europe and North America, anticipating the creation of a "Transatlantic Economic Union" between the European Union and North America.

Participants pointed out that transatlantic trade is currently 40 percent of all world trade. They argue that trade and non-trade barriers need to be further reduced to maintain that market share as a framework is put in place to advance transatlantic economic integration.

Still, some participants argued that many corporations in North America already have moved beyond a North American focus to adopt a global perspective that transcends even the Transatlantic market.

"Supply chains and markets are everywhere," one participant asserted. "What's to stop global corporations from going after the cheapest labor available globally, wherever they can find it, provided the cost of transporting goods globally can be managed economically?"

Other participants argued regional alliances were still important, if only to put in place the institutional bases that ultimately would lead to global governance on uniform global administrative regulations favorable to multi-national corporations.

"North America should be a premiere platform to establish continental institutions," a participant said. "That's why we need to move the security perimeters to include the whole continent, especially as we open the borders between North American countries for expanding free trade."

One presentation on the agenda identified four reasons why administrative rules and regulations need to be integrated by SPP in North America and by the Transatlantic Economic Council, bridging together European Union and North American markets:
# Standardization – to keep prices low and productivity high;

# Investment – for every $1 traded, $4 is invested; right now 75 percent of investment in the U.S. comes from the EU, and 52 percent of the investment in the EU comes from the U.S.;

# Productivity Improvements – to lower production costs and stimulate trade; and

# Open Borders – to facilitate the free movement of labor to markets where employment opportunities are available.

The discussion pointed out the SPP trilateral working groups and the Transatlantic Economic Council were being supported by top-level Cabinet officers and the heads of state in both the EU and in North America.

Progress in EU-U.S. regulatory integration was noted in financial market coordination, investment rule cohesion, trade security measures and efforts undertaken recently to preserve intellectual property rights.

Before the meeting began, concerns were raised informally by participants worried that the Ohio Democratic Party primary had prompted both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to talk of renegotiating NAFTA.

Participants at the State Department meeting pointed out U.S. political candidates could be expected to argue "protectionist themes opposed to global economic integration" as a tactic, without necessarily being committed to taking aggressive steps once in office.

"The political dialogue misses the point of economic reality," one participant argued. "There is a J-curve correlation between when a currency like the U.S. dollar depreciates and when exports kick in to increase. We should accelerate the J-curve and our discussion about it, to help the local politics catch up with the international reality."

Part of the discussion was devoted to concerns that national regulators in North America and Europe were too reluctant to abandon provincial regulatory advantages.

"Regulators by nature are advocates, and they are hard to move," one participant grumbled. "What we need is more diplomats and negotiators to identify solutions, otherwise the bureaucrats will bog down the progress we need to see coming out of the SPP and TEC."

"North America is already an integrated continental economy and a continental-wide business platform," another said. "What we need now is more regulatory convergence. 'Harmonized' should mean that once approved, the same set of administrative regulations and procedures ought to be ready throughout NAFTA, SPP and the TEC."

As WND previously reported, the Transatlantic Economic Council, or TEC, was created by President Bush at an April 30 summit meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the current president of the European Council, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

WND also reported the Transatlantic Policy Network, a non-governmental organization headquartered in Washington and Brussels and advised by a bi-partisan congressional policy group chaired by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, has called for the creation of a Transatlantic Common Market between the U.S. and the European Union by 2015.

A complete membership list of the current 60-person Advisory Committee on International Policy is published on the State Department website.

ACIEP members include corporate officers from General Electric, Exxon Mobil, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Archer Daniels Midland, United Parcel Service, Citibank, Proctor & Gamble, Hunt Oil, CMS Energy, Boeing, 3M, Goldman Sachs and Cargill.

The most recent "Summary of Discussions" published on the Department of State website was for the Dec. 18 ACIEP meeting.

A published article on the State Department website includes photographs of the Dec. 18 ACIEP meeting, listing by name several participants who were photographed in attendance.

[nChrist]

UM? - It would appear that they plan to proceed without ever getting approval from the people. In fact, it will be over the objection of the people.

There's a big difference between countries trading goods versus countries giving up their sovereignty to some global governing body NOT elected or APPROVED by the people. This is illegal and Unconstitutional without the people voting on it. In fact, there are many things in these plan that require a vote of the people. Otherwise, authorizing officials need to spend some time in prison. Our government needs a reminder from time to time that they are ONLY SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE. I think this reminder is LONG PAST DUE!

[Soldier4Christ]

Mexican truck drivers take English exam in Spanish
DOT chief's admission to Senate panel contradicts administration's assurances

 Mexican truck drivers allowed to travel throughout the U.S. under a Bush administration demonstration project may not be proficient in English, despite Department of Transportation assurances to the contrary.

A brochure on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website instructs Mexican truck drivers, "Did you know … You MUST be able to read and speak English to drive trucks in the United States."

Still, at the Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing Tuesday, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and DOT Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III reluctantly admitted under intense questioning from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that Mexican drivers were being designated at the border as "proficient in English" even though they could explain U.S. traffic signs only in Spanish.

In the tense hearing, Dorgan accused Peters of being "arrogant" and in reckless disregard of a congressional vote to stop the Mexican trucking demonstration project by taking away funds to continue the project. Toward the end, the senator asked if it were true Mexican truckers could explain U.S. traffic signs only in Spanish when given English proficiency tests at the border.

"Does the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration test for English proficiency at the border include questions about U.S. highway signs?" Dorgan asked.

"Yes," Scovel replied. "The FMCSA English proficiency test at the border did not originally include U.S. highway signs, but now it does."

"Do you show a driver an octagonal 'STOP' sign at the border and qualify him if he explains the sign means 'ALTO'?" an incredulous Dorgan pressed.

"Alto" is the Spanish word for "Stop."

"Yes," Scovel answered reluctantly. "If the stop sign is identified as 'alto,' the driver is considered English proficient."

Dorgan drew the obvious conclusion, "In other words the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is allowing Mexican drivers in the demonstration project to prove their proficiency in English by responding to the examiner's questions in Spanish"

Peters responded, "U.S. highway signs comply with international standards. I drive frequently in Mexico and I always recognize the octagonal 'ALTO' signs as 'STOP' signs."

Dorgan interrupted.

"Excuse me, Madame Secretary," he interjected. "The question is not whether you understand Mexican highway signs when driving in Mexico but whether Mexican drivers entering the U.S. in your demonstration project can pass an English proficiency test by answering questions totally in Spanish."

Peters persisted: "But answering in Spanish, the drivers explain they understand the English-language highway signs."

Dorgan appeared astounded at the explanation.

"If you answer in Spanish, you're not English proficient," he insisted.

"My main concern is safety," Dorgan emphasized. "We've established that there are no equivalencies between Mexican trucks and U.S. trucks. There are no equivalent safety standards. Mexico has no reliable database for vehicle inspections, accident reports or driver's records.

"Now you tell us Mexican drivers can pass their English proficiency tests in Spanish," the senator continued, obviously outraged. "The Department of Transportation is telling Congress, 'We're doing this and we don't care.'

"I've treated you respectfully today, Secretary Peters, but I don't respect your decision," Dorgan said. "You have angered me further with your testimony and you reflect a Bush administration that obviously doesn't care what Congress thinks."

As WND reported yesterday, Dorgan accused Peters of defying Congress by parsing words to continue to allow Mexican trucks into the U.S. under the demonstration project, despite the clear intent of Congress to take away funds to bring the program to a halt.

WND also has reported Dorgan joined with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Reps. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn, and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., in a bipartisan, bicameral request for the General Accountability Office to investigate the DOT's decision to continue the project.

[Shammu]

Mexico Plans to Expand Migrant Education in US & Canada
March 17, 2008
Frontera NorteSur

Building on a cross-border educational initiative, Mexico's federal government plans to expand educational and vocational training programs for Mexican migrants in the United States. Speaking at an educational and economic development conference in Mexico last week, Mexican Education Minister Josefina Vazquez Mota said the administration of President Felipe Calderon plans to open an additional 100 community education centers to serve the migrant population in the United States. The functionary also announced that Mexico will open a similar educational facility in Canada for the first time.

The purpose of the centers is two-fold. Besides providing basic and secondary education skills, the programs aim to professionalize the work skills of migrants. Certification programs will be made available for Las Vegas gardeners, New York restaurant industry employees, California cosmetologists and Wisconsin dairy workers, Vazquez said, adding that better education and economic competitiveness are linked together by the ties between the three member states of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

"(Workers) will have certainty and labor mobility," Vazquez contended. "Their labor competencies will be recognized." For businessmen, the programs will provide "much more competitive, committed and cohesive personnel," she added. In the academic realm, the new community education centers will initially focus on teaching English to migrants.

According to Vazquez, the international program will be managed by Mexico's National College of Professional and Technical Education (Conalep), which will celebrate its 30th anniversary later this year. The educational institution is in the process of expanding its curricula to encompass robotics, informatics, alternative energy, tourism and health, among other subjects.

Mexico Plans to Expand Migrant Education in US & Canada