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Montebello: Stop on the Road
to North American Union
JBS
Tuesday Aug 21, 2007
UPDATE 3 -- Canadian Paper: Montebello Intended to be
Stop on Road to Union
According to Canada's National Post, the outcome
of the Montebello summit will be drab, boring, and forgetable.
"Despite all the fancy talk, the diplomatic pomp and the
apocalyptic protests that will emanate over the next two days
from Montebello, Que., the drab facts behind the summit of leaders
from Canada, the United States and Mexico are far less dramatic
than the grandiose meeting might suggest," announces the
report by Richard Foot of the CanWest News Service. According
to Foot, the summit will cover such exciting ground as "Regulations
over food-colour dyes, common standards for hazardous materials
containers, [and] navigation systems for North American airways...."
The almost unspoken comment in the story is "see, nothing
funny going on here."
That's what you'd expect from the story, but it gets
much more interesting. In fact, the National Post admits
that the summit was intended to be the next stop on the road to
forming the North American Union. "This week's gathering
inside the cedar walls of Chateau Montebello -- a magnificent,
60-year-old, resort on the banks of the Ottawa River -- was initially
intended as a political pit stop on the road to a stronger North
American economic union," Foot reports matter-of-factly.
(Article continues below)
Along the way, the report suggests, critics (like the John Birch
Society) started getting in the way, and may now have become an
impenetrable obstacle to those hoping to build that economic union.
"The SPP process could survive its critics if the three leaders
had the political clout to give it momentum," Foot writes,
"But Mr. Bush now occupies an unpopular, lame-duck presidency.
Mr. Harper and Mr. Calderon each have only a tenuous hold on power
and may soon each face another election. None seems determined
to invest much political energy into the process."
If the National Post report is any indication, the effort
to build a North American Union may be faltering, and that is
something that should cheer patriotic Americans (and Canadians
and Mexicans).
Despite
protests, summit results likely more pomp than glory -- National
Post
UPDATE 2 -- Riot Police, Tear Gas Reported in Montebello
The Canadian news site Canoe.ca is reporting that riot police
using tear gas have clashed with protestors outside the SPP summit
in Montebello. "The decision to send out the riot police,
some armed with tear gas, was made late this morning. As groups
of protesters shouted slogans phalanxes of officers arrived and
completely cordoned off the area of the Chateau" where the
summit is being held, said the report. Such rent-a-mob activity
at the summit should not be confused with legitimate and principled
opposition. Anarchist
and communist mob violence of this sort, which has been on
display at previous high-level meetings of heads of state, typically
serves to discredit legitimate, peaceful protest and opposition.
As such the John Birch Society condemns violent protest activity
while nevertheless continuing to call for public debate about,
and proper legislative action to stop, the SPP process.
Tensions
rise in Montebello -- Canoe.ca
UPDATE -- Robert Pastor Speaks
American University Professor Robert Pastor, often described as
the architect behind plans for a North American Union, says in
an op-ed in the Latin Business Chronicle that the Montebello
summit agenda is not nearly aggressive enough. According to Pastor,
the "Bush Administration and many Republicans have been intimidated
by the criticism" from opponents of the SPP and as a result
are only pursuing a timid agenda. While deploring the secrecy
enshrouding all SPP efforts, Pastor nevertheless points to a 2003
survey that claims that most in North America want to see a merger
of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. According to Pastor, "A
majority in all three countries favored an economic union if they
felt it would improve their standard of living." Consequently,
he complains, "Whatever the three leaders actually do in
Montebello, there will be protests that they are doing too much,
but the real problem is that they are doing too little."
North
American Summit: More or Less? -- Latin Business Chronicle
SPP Summit Kicks Off
The third Security and Prospertity Partnership (SPP)
summit of North American leaders is underway in Montebello, Quebec.
As described by Canada.com "the three leaders are convening
... for a two-day summit ... aimed at deepening the integration
of Canada, Mexico and the United States. The three leaders have
met twice before and the agenda for this year's summit includes
border security, energy, the environment and food and product
safety."
As with past SPP summits, held to discuss, as the Canada.com
report hints, the deeping integration of the three North American
nations in something akin to a North American Union, this latest
summit is being held behind closed doors with little or no legislative
oversight or participation. To keep readers informed, the John
Birch Society will provide links to headlines related to the summit
in this space througout the day.
Why
we should worry about the Montebello talks -- Halifax
Chronicle-Herald
President
Bush to Hold Summit With Canada, Mexico Leaders -- Wall
Street Journal
North
American leaders meet in Quebec Monday -- Canada.com
Upcoming
Meeting Fuels 'North American Union' Fears -- CNSNews.com
Protests
begin ahead of Montebello summit -- CTV.ca News
Controversy
follows three-country accord into Canada -- Canada National
Post
International
delegation denounces SPP on National Day of Action -- Canada
News Wire
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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