August 20, 2007

Not much reporting at SPP meeting (Montebello, Canada)

The leaders of the U.S. (George Bush), Canada (Stephen Harper), and Mexico (Felipe Calderon) are meeting in Montebello, Canada to discuss the SPP ("Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America", spp.gov). Some say, and I tend to mostly agree, this is the precursor to a North American Union in which the three countries would be joined EU-style.

As could be expected, the mainstream media isn't doing their job and reporting on what's actually involved and trying to find out what it all means.

The best of a bad lot is "Police tear gas, pepper spray protesters at Montebello summit" (link), and only because it contains actual mainstream thoughts from some of those opposing the summit:

...Susan Howard-Azzey, a homemaker from St.catharines, Ont., criticized what she called the lack of transparency and consultation in the SPP process.

"I'm not impressed that the SPP is making such big decisions on behalf of Canadians without consulting us and when we go out to the streets we're criminalized."

A group of powerful business executives has been invited to make a closed-door presentation Tuesday at the summit on changes they believe the continent needs. No such invitation was extended to scientists, environmentalists, or other social activists.

...Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said people shouldn't be fooled about who really sets the agenda at these summits: the 30 business leaders who sit on the North American Competitiveness Council.

The group comprises leaders from 10 companies in each country and includes corporations like Wal-Mart, General Electric and weapons-maker Lockheed Martin. They advise the three national governments on facilitating trade.

Barlow called for a moratorium on the "profoundly anti-democratic" SPP until the citizens of all three countries are consulted and their elected representatives are given oversight over the business-driven initiative...

* "Clashes erupt at summit protest" discusses how most of the protesters are a bit wacky, without trying to discuss the stands of those who aren't (link).

* Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times offers "Bush's Talks With Neighbors Are Overshadowed by Storm", which contains nothing of note. It mentions the protests in the final paragraph without going into any detail.

* The interview Ray Suarez conducted with former Canadian PM Kim Campbell and former Mexican foreign minister Jorge Castaneda is likewise insipid (link), and doesn't even discuss the protests.

* "SPP deal could create common border standards" (link) describes some of the things they're discussing:

* Working on biometric systems -- incorporating unique identifiers like iris scans and fingerprints -- to improve the security for passports, visas, permanent resident cards, transportation credentials and other border documents.

* Implementing immigration measures that include requirements for admission and length of stay, visa decision-making standards, border lookout systems for wanted individuals, and the possibility of entry and exit procedures, and

* Devising ways to share data on high-risk travellers such as suspected terrorists and other criminals.

Related:
Ben Feller/AP whitewashes Bush Canada trip (SPP)

Posted to NAU at August 20, 2007 07:48 PM