April 19, 2001

Countdown to the Summit of the Americas #3: 1. Material found from various resources on the Web + 2. Corporate Globalization in the Americas Courtesy of the IMF, World Bank and IADB + 3. Chasing the holy grail of free trade + 4. Join IAC 'Mumia Global Resistance Brigades' @ anti-FTAA demos + 5. THE QUEBEC WALL: What lies behind Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)? + 6. WEAVING A WEB OF SOLIDARITY FEMINIST ACTIONS AGAINST THE FTAA + 7. TWO SUGGESTIONS: Earth Day/Day for Global Justice & An idea regarding Quebec City


Hello everyone

There are several ways to view the potential outcome of the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City where 34 heads of state will be discussing over the weekend about the future of trade in the Americas and their economic integration, thus paving the way for their gradual political unification. Here is the context which, in my humble opinion, is the incontrovertible real background that hardly anyone considers, whether for or against this economic pact.

Faced with the fast accelerating destruction of the intricately intertwined web of Life that is our planetary craddle, we must find a consensual way to redress the unsustainable path followed by the vast majority of countries on Earth, and to do so we must expose the fundamental flaws in our collective paradigm that are causing this situation.

Prominent amongst them is the trancelike belief that a continued economic growth is absolutely necessary and the only fix to unemployment problems. This is completely environmentally unsustainable.

Another major conceptual flaw is the economic doctrine whereby ever greater profits are necessary for the wealthiest companies and their stock holders, no matter the consequences for the population and the planet. This is ludicrous.

And finally the Cartesian fixation on explaining away everything through some kind of reductionist mechanical, chemical or physical theory and vehemently denying the existence of a more holistic, spiritual side of life means that most of the technological applications of our 20th century science have been implemented without due regard to the bigger picture and often ended up endangering the very fabric of Life on Earth - think about the biocontamination of Nature with genetically engineered organisms, the nuclear, chemical and overall toxic pollution of our planet and our bodies, and so on.

Unless strong voices are raised to address the key issue of cultural and spiritual transformation of how we, 21st century humans, perceive our relationship with the Web of Life and help catalyze a radical awakening to our responsibility to act as enlightened caretakers of all life on Earth, it is undeniable that our current economic, political and scientific cultural paradigms will lead us directly to our collective demise in the very near future.

What we urgently need is to free ourselves from the schakles of obsolete and environmentally dangerous values and ideas, not more free-trade business as usual.

And I'd like to believe that this is an idea whose time is finally coming...

Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000

"We live in a system which is so insane that it believes that if the economy isn’t growing, it’s dying."

- David Suzuki during his conference at the Peoples Summit in Quebec City (2001-04-19)
Summary at http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1106&language=english

"Behind the FTAA are the powers of Wall Street and the military-industrial complex."

- Michel Chossudovsky (Taken from his vitriolic and truthful analysis below: see "THE QUEBEC WALL")




1.

MATERIAL FOUND FROM VARIOUS RESOURCES ON THE WEB

THE OFFICIAL PR SPIN...

From: http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1081&language=english

CMAQ releases Post Summit DECLARATION OF QUEBEC CITY early - The CMAQ (2001-04-18)

Declaration of Quebec City

1. We, the democratically elected Heads of State and Government of the Americas, have met in Quebec City at our Third Summit, to renew our commitment to hemispheric integration and national and collective responsibility for improving the economic well-being and security of our people. We have adopted a Plan of Action to strenghten representative democracy, promote good governance and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. We seek to create greater prosperity and expand economic opportunities while fostering social justice and the realization of human potential. CLIP

AND NOW THE REAL DEAL - FTAA Chapter on investment leaked

FROM: http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1099&language=english

FTAA Chapter on investment leaked (2001-04-19)

According to The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, this chapter "deals fundamentally with whether investor rights will take precedence over labor, human and environmental rights." You may browse the chapter yourself at the link below (a hefty 172 k document!)

FTAA – NEGOTIATING GROUP ON INVESTMENT
REPORT OF THE NEGOTIATING GROUP ON INVESTMENT TO THE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE

http://www.wtowatch.org/library/admin/uploadedfiles/FTAA__02_Report_on_Investment_Draft_Investment.htm

OTHER DOCUMENTS TO BE FOUND AT http://www.cmaq.net/index.ch2?language=english

Latest Arrests in Connection with FTAA Protests -- As the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Summit draws near, police have begun the first round of arrests.
http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1105&language=english

Food Tyranny Area of the Americas -- Farmworkers, farmers, organisers and activists from about 20 countries throughout the Americas spent the past two days sharing their experiences and concerns about free trade, and hammering out alternative proposals and strategies of resistance.
http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1098&language=english

Police repression biggest threat at Quebec City (THIS IS A MUST-READ ARTICLE!)
Not since the War Measures Act, thirty years ago, has there been a greater display of the armed might of the state in Canada than there will be in Quebec City during the Summit of the Americas on April 20-22. And not since the War Measures Act, when the army occupied the city of Montreal after two public officials were kidnapped by the FLQ (Quebec Liberation Front) thirty years ago, has there been a greater need for people of conscience to speak out against the repression of dissent. CLIP
http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=809&language=english

Communications Forum at the People`s Summit discusses media activist issues -- Among the many speeches and discussions at the 2nd People`s Summit of the Americas today, an international group of media activists met for a forum on alternative media and the right to communicate.
http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1048&language=english

FTAA protest predicted to be bigger than the WTO (audio newscast) -- Activists mobilize for FTAA protest what is predicted to be bigger than the WTO. On April 20-22 in Quebec City, Canada
http://www.cmaq.net/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=961&language=english

CORPORATE WATCH has gathered background, news, and activist resources on what promises to be the most far reaching trade agreement to date.
The FTAA vs. Democracy (4/17/2001)
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/trade/

SEEL ALSO Big Tobacco and Free Trade
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/tobacco/featured/2001/rweissman.html

Download the just released ATTAC NEWSLETTER 77 - NO TO FTAA from
http://attac.org/attacinfoen/attacnews77.pdf
which includes:

- As Free Trade Summit Nears, Borders Tighten
- The Citizens' Pressure Must Civilize Globalization




2.

There is also an excellent and very comprehensive Web resource at http://www.ecocity.com/ on lots of topics including the FFTA. Click on the "Opposing the FTAA crucial info for biodiversity in our hemisphere" link on the top right corner to read "Understanding the Free Trade Area of the Americas: A Guide for the Activists".

Here is an excerpt:

Corporate Globalization in the Americas Courtesy of the IMF, World Bank and IADB

by Bob Naiman
Center for Economic and Policy Research (http://www.cepr.net)

The FTAA process is not happening in a vacuum. Many of the policies which would be locked in by an FTAA agreement are already in place in many Latin American countries. These policies have been put in place by a history of foreign interventions which empowered elites friendly to the interests of multinational corporations. If Salvador Allende were still President of Chile, if a Sandanista government led Nicaragua, if Jacabo Arbenz were President of Guatemala, if an FMLN government led El Salvador, if Maurice Bishop were President of Grenada, it is not likely that these governments would be championing a hemispheric "free trade agreement" along the lines of NAFTA.

Moreover, if the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) had not promoted and imposed "structural adjustment" policies in Latin America for the last twenty years, many of the policies of export-orientation, privatization, and openness to multinational corporations which would be codified by the FTAA, would not be in place.

Although pro-corporate policies are in place in many countries, there is tremendous opposition to them, and the signing of an FTAA would reduce the space for that opposition. For example, an uprising in Bolivia has been able, at least for the moment, to reverse the effects of a World Bank-sponsored privatization of a water utility to the Bechtel corporation. Under an FTAA, Bechtel could sue the Bolivian government to recover profits "lost" as a result of not being able to charge impoverished people more money for water. CLIP

Make sure to read "Protecting Corporate Profits" as well through the same URL at
http://www.ecocity.com/




3.

From: Le Monde diplomatique <english@Monde-diplomatique.fr>
Subject: April 2001

TOWARDS A 'FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS'

Chasing the holy grail of free trade

by DORVAL BRUNELLE

At the heart of the free-trade doctrine lies the conviction that exports drive growth. If every country, or group of countries, were to act in accordance with this belief, the contest would in theory become a zero-sum game as long as the players had comparable levels of development. But it is quite another thing when development levels are unequal. Removing trade barriers means that the strong get stronger, and drives weaker countries further into dependence, preventing them from fashioning policies to meet the needs of their populations, especially in agricultural matters. Such is the logic of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, which will be up for discussion at the Quebec summit on 20-22 April. The FTAA proposes to extend throughout the continent the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has already ruined Mexican agriculture. Backed by Washington, the FTAA is so untenable for the other nations of the hemisphere that their parliaments were not even told of its provisions. These countries are now ready to deliver a resounding 'no' to the FTAA.

Read the rest at http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2001/04/05americassummit

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!




4.

From: iacenter@iacenter.org
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001
Subject: Join IAC 'Mumia Global Resistance Brigades' @ anti-FTAA demos

JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL ACTION CENTER 'MUMIA GLOBAL RESISTANCE BRIGADES' @ anti-FTAA demonstrations around the country

* Look for our flags, banners and contingents at anti-FTAA demonstrations in Quebec City, Buffalo, San Diego/Tijuana and at solidarity actions around the country!

GO TO http://www.mumia2000.org to see our "Free Mumia" flags and to get more information.

Below is a MESSAGE FROM MUMIA ABU-JAMAL to the anti-globalization movement. We will be distributing it widely at these demonstrations.

"I think that we must pay strict attention to the Seattle experience. On the front lines of the popular rebellion against the WTO, this anti- globalist fervor showed the common interests of students, of anti- imperialists, of human rights activists, and labor. What the movement demonstrated is the power of mass mobilization and the ability of the people to derail something that was previously seen and feared as inevitable: the globalist domination of Western capitol.

"What mass humanist movements teach us all is that nothing is inevitable. That the power of the people can indeed build obstacles to the selfish interests of the rich. And that globalism can and indeed must be opposed by forms of globalist resistance. That nationalities are usually false illusions that what we have in common are humanity, crosses national borders.

"Globalism as a form of imperial economic domination knows no borders. When you look at vast multinational corporations, like Mobil or Exxon or General Motors, these aren't American corporations anymore. They are global entities that may have been formed in the U.S. or created or even born, but may have outgrown the cradle and operate in a plethora of languages, using many various currencies, on most continents.

"They fund government repression and environmental degradation and devastation in Nigeria, industrial pollution in Russia and political corruption in Peru. They are masters of governments, not citizens. Let us learn from them and build global networks of resistance - global resistance units - that speak in all tongues, and builds on all fronts.

"For the future of the globe will belong to the people, or will be a lifeless poisoned sponge for the privileged few. There is no other alternative. Let us learn how to grow, how to expand, and then how to win."

On a move, Long Live John Africa
Your brother, Mumia

International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
email: iacenter@iacenter.org
web: http://www.iacenter.org

http://www.mumia2000.org




5.

THIS IS A MOST COMPELLING ARTICLE!

THE QUEBEC WALL: What lies behind Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)?

by Michel Chossudovsky,
Professor of Economics,
University of Ottawa
[18 April 2001]

The Summit of the Americas will be held inside a four kilometer "bunker" made of concrete and galvanized steel fencing. The 10 feet high "Quebec Wall" encircles part of the historic city center including the parliamentary compound of the National Assembly, hotels and shopping areas. Cars will enter through closely guarded checkpoints; laissez-passers have been issued to official delegations, to the CEOs of major banks and corporations, as well as approved media and "selected invitees."

(Click to see map of the "Security Perimeter" at http://www.securitesommet.ca/pages/p_citoyen/p_cito_pe_f.html).

Outside the bunker, more than 6,000 police and security forces are on hand, equipped not only with "pepper spray" but also with "multi-shot" Arwen 37 guns shooting hard-coated plastic bullets. The latter --according to a RCMP spokesperson-- are "... 'meant to crack a rib and put them in a lot of pain', ... Tactical squads are usually required to test such less-lethal weapons --such as Tasers, which deliver electric shocks-- on themselves. But Toronto Police Constable Leighton said it would be 'too dangerous' to do so with the Arwen." 1

With Canadian Armed Forces personnel dispatched to Quebec's capital from military bases in Nova Scotia, the security apparatus in Quebec promises to be "better organized" than at the Seattle WTO Millenium Summit in 1999. In Seattle, the city's riot police was integrated with Gang Squads and SWAT teams of the Tactical Operations Divisions constituting the "more militarized components" of the police force.

By any standard this is the largest police operation in North America directed against ordinary citizens. Rather than "cordoning off" the conference center which is standard practice in international summits-- the Canadian authorities have chosen to "fence in" a large part of the downtown area --not only denying the rights of citizens to protest but also preventing residents from moving around within their own city.

And those who defy the Quebec Wall will be taken to Orsainville penitentiary which has been emptied of its entire prison population (including several members of the Hells Angels) to make room for these more dangerous "troublemakers."

THE QUEBEC WALL IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Barely a week before the Summit, the Canadian and provincial governments, the City of Quebec and Quebec City's Police force were taken to court by a Montreal lawyer and the Vancouver based Canadian Liberty Committe (CLC). In a signed affidavit, the Canadian government representative stated that democracy was not under threat, to ensure: ''freedom of expression ... the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has [sent] invitations to the Summit to approximately 60 representativesof interest groups and lobby groups." 2

Moreover, "alternative protest sites" ("sites alternatifs de manifestation") have been designated --on the other side of the Wall-- so that the rank and file of these same civil society organisations can do their own thing.

The "People's Summit", organized by NGOs and major trade unions-- will receive "financial contributions for the holding of seminars, colloquia and public meetings."3

The federal government has allocated Can$287,000-- a comfortable amount of money, but "peanuts" in comparison to the 46 million dollar budget allocated by Ottawa for the police operation and the erection of the Wall.

WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT

The official list of civil society invitees has not been made public but we have a good idea who the "partner" civil society organizations are. The invitees include leaders of major trade union federations as well as several CEOs of mainstream NGOs. 4

The ritual is broadly similar to that of the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO) Millenium Summit. Several months ahead of time, the WTO and Western governments had called for a "dialogue" with the leaders of selected civil society organisations. A carefully worded AFL-CIO petition had been drafted urging the WTO Summit to adopt "trade and investment rules [which] protect workers' rights and the environment". In Seattle, Labor's buzzword was to "make the global economy work for working families". 5

Similarly, last January at the global business Summit in Davos --regrouping the World's top corporate execs, heads of State and VIPs, the leaders of some 59 "civil society" organisations --including the CEOs of Greenpeace, Oxfam UK, Amnesty International and Save the Children Alliance-- were also in attendance.

The ploy is to selectively handpick civil society leaders "whom we can trust" and integrate them into a "dialogue", cut them off from their rank and file, make them feel that they are "global citizens" acting on behalf of their fellow workers but make them act in a way which serves the interests of the corporate establishment:

The participation of NGOs in the Annual Meeting in Davos is evidence of the fact that [we] purposely seek to integrate a broad spectrum of the major stakeholders in society in ... defining and advancing the global agenda ... We believe the [Davos] World Economic Forum provides the business community with the ideal framework for engaging in collaborative efforts with the other principal stakeholders [NGOs] of the global economy to "improve the state of the world," which is the Forum's mission. 6

AFL-CIO's John Sweeney and Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) Ken Georgetti --together with Bill Jordan of the International Confederation of Free trade Unions (ICTFU)-- were also in Davos, mingling in a friendly environment with financier George Soros, Microsoft's Bill Gates and World Bank President James Wolfensohn. Meanwhile the rank and file protesters of these "civil society" organisations were being beaten with clubs and assaulted with water cannons by the Swiss riot police "outside" the Conference venue at the "counter-Davos."

RITUAL OF DISSENT

In the New World Order, the ritual of inviting "civil society" leaders into the inner circles of power --while simultaneously repressing the rank and file-- serves several important functions. First, it says to the World that the critics of globalization "must make concessions" to earn the right to mingle. Second, it conveys the illusion that while the global elites should --under what is euphemistically called democracy-- be subject to criticism, they nonetheless rule legitimately. And third, it says "there is no alternative" to globalization: fundamental change is not possible and the most we can hope is to engage with these rulers in an ineffective "give and take".

While the "Globalizers" may adopt a few progressive phrases to demonstrate they have good intentions, their fundamental goals are not challenged. And what this "civil society mingling" does is to reinforce the clutch of the corporate establishment while weakening and dividing the protest movement.

An understanding of this process of co-optation is important, because tens of thousands of the most principled young people in Seattle, Prague and Quebec City are involved in the anti-globalization protests because they reject the notion that money is everything, because they reject the impoverishment of millions and the destruction of fragile Earth so that a few may get richer. This rank and file and some of their leaders as well, are to be applauded. But we need to go further. We need to challenge the right of the "Globalizers" to rule. This requires that we rethink the strategy of protest. Can we move to a higher plane, by launching mass movements in our respective countries, movements that bring the message of what globalization is doing, to ordinary people? For they are the force that must be mobilized to challenge those who would plunder the Globe.

THE FTAA: PRIVATIZATION OF A HEMISPHERE, UNDER U.S. CONTROL

The FTAA is a good deal more than a trade agreement. Throughout the Americas, it would radically transform the social existence of sovereign nations.

Fundamental economic, social and institutional relations would be enshrined into a set of legally binding conditions. All public services that are at least in part subsidized by the State, would be opened up to international tender under the terms of the proposed clauses on "national treatment." If a government finances health or education, this service must be opened to international bidding. And who would bid? The large corporations would take control, all community based facilities would be transformed into profit-making undertakings---schools, sports clubs, day-care centers, everything.

Moreover, the FTAA clauses would literally allow for the privatization of municipalities. Water, sewer systems, roads and municipal services would be owned and operated by private companies (rather than by citizens) much in the same way as the "gated communities" in the US. More generally, the FTAA would destroy local economies, depress wages and impoverish millions of people. The agreement --entrenched in international law-- would annul or invalidate national laws.

The FTAA would also allow for the privatization of water, inter-city highways as well as entire urban areas. The FTAA would also lead to the demise of national, regional and municipal governments.

IMF MEDICINE BECOMES PERMANENT

Moreover, under FTAA rules, the enforcement of the IMF's deadly "economic medicine" --which has served to destroy national economies and impoverish developing countries --would no longer hinge upon cumbersome loan agreements, which for the governments had the advantage that they were not "legally binding" documents.

But under FTAA rules, Latin American governments would have no political leverage whatsoever; they would loose their "right" to even negotiate with their creditors: the "economic medicine" would become permanently entrenched in international law. Countries would not longer be "bonded" by external debt; they would be permanently "enslaved" by their creditors.

CHARTER OF RIGHTS FOR CORPORATIONS

The FTAA would grant a "charter of rights" to corporations, which would not only override national laws but would also enable private companies to sue national governments, demand the annulment of national laws and receive compensation for potential lost profits which result from government regulations.

While some of these broad issues will be debated at the People's Summit, they have not been included in the demands of trade union leaders from the US, Canada and Latin America. Regrouped under the umbrella of the ICFTU, The trade unions have called upon the FTAA Summit to include the usual core labor standards, environmental and human rights clauses in the agreement.

THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

This is not a trade deal; it is the American Empire. Behind the FTAA are the powers of Wall Street and the military-industrial complex. Ironically, while local economies including public services would be deregulated, under the FTAA the production of weapons of mass destruction by America's major defense contractors would remain heavily subsidized...

Although not officially on the FTAA agenda, the militarization of South America under "Plan Colombia", the signing of a "parallel" military cooperation protocol by 27 countries of the Americas (the so-called Declaration of Manaus) is an integral part of the process of hemispheric integration. US strategic interests are at stake.

The imposition of "free" trade by Washington is an instrument of economic conquest which serves US corporate interests as well as those of the military-intelligence-apparatus. Trade Negotiator Richard Zoellnick --who is slated to play a key role in Quebec City-- is part of the Bush National Security Team working closely with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

DOLLARISATION

The deregulation of national banking institutions is part and parcel of the Summit agenda. Supported by the Bush administration, Wall Street wants to extend its control throughout the hemisphere, eventually displacing or taking over existing national financial institutions.

With the help of the IMF, Washington is also bullying Latin American countries into accepting the US dollar as their national currency. The greenback has already been imposed on five Latin American countries including Ecuador, Argentina, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The economic and social consequences of "dollarisation" have been devastating. In these countries, Wall Street and the US Federal Reserve system directly control monetary policy. The entire structure of public expenditure is controlled by US creditors. Real wages have collapsed, social programs have been destroyed, large sectors of the population have been driven into abysmal poverty.

While not officially part of the FTAA Summit agenda, the adoption of the US dollar as the common currency for the Western Hemisphere is being discussed behind closed doors.

Militarisation and "dollarisation" are the essential building blocks of the American Empire.

DISARMING THE NEW WORLD ORDER

With mounting dissent from all sectors of society against the FTAA, the official Summit desperately needs the token participation of "civil society" leaders "on the inside", to give the appearance of being "democratic." The Summit is seeking the endorsement of these organizations in exchange for token modifications of the Agreement, which do not put into doubt the overall legitimacy of the FTAA nor modify substantially the workings of the proposed free trade area.

The hidden agenda is to weaken and divide the protest movement and orient the anti-globalization movement into areas that do not directly threaten the interests of the business establishment and --more importantly-- which do not raise the broader issue of Washington's political hegemony in the Western Hemisphere.

Meanwhile, George W. Bush's trade negotiator Robert Zoellnick is preparing fast-track legislation packaged under the "presidential trade promotion authority", with a view to rushing the FTAA (without amendments) through the US Congress. In other words, instating the American Empire will not be subjected to the uncertainties of parliamentary consent.

In turn, in consultation with the AFL-CIO, the powerful Business Roundtable (BR) and The Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) --integrated by the representatives of America's largest corporations-- are pushing the line of the trade union bosses, they are demanding the Bush administration "to make labor and environmental standards part of future trade talks."6

While most of the protesters who have converged on Quebec City (including Quebec's vibrant student movement) reject the trade deal outright, the leaders of some of the mainstream "civil society" groups want to get their human rights, democracy, labor and environmental clauses embedded into the official texts and then "cry victory," we've done it! 7

However, by doing this they would not only go against their rank and file, they would also provide --without fully realizing the implications-- legitimacy to an all encompassing process which destroys institutions and impoverishes millions of people.

The American Empire cannot be amended; it must be rejected, fought and defeated. The FTAA must be closed down!

ENDNOTES
1. Toronto Star, 22 March 2001.
2. Canada, Province de Quebec, District de Quebec, Cours supérieure, No. 200-05-014848-019, Affidavit de Denis Ricard, Section II, paragragh 16).
3. According to the signed affidavit, Canada, Province de Québec, op cit.
4. CLC K. Georgetti and AFL-CIO J. Sweeney are also on the guest list of the official FTAA Summit in Quebec City. While the Council of Canadians (COC) has stated that it will decline Ottawa's invitation, Matthew Coon Come, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations has accepted. Among union leaders, the President of the Quebec's FTQ Henry Massé has accepted, while making clear that he will also be participating (outside the bunker) in the People's Summit in solidarity with his rank and file.
5. See AFL-CIO, "Make the Global Economy Work for Working Families", http://www.wslc.org/wto/index.htm , October 1999)
6. See World Economic Forum, Press Release, http://www.weforum.org/whatwedo.nsf/documents/what+we+do?Open (5 January 2001)
7. In these Times, 16 April 2001 ....

Related texts by Michel Chossudovsky:

Seattle and Beyond: Disarming the New World Order, November 1999 at http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/seattle.htm

Global Poverty in the Late 20th Century, Journal of International Affairs, Fall 1999 at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/chossu.htm .

CBC "Commentary", on the FTAA and the likely fate of the Canadian Dollar, CBC, 9 April 2001.

C Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, April 2001. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to post this text on non-commercial community internet sites, provided the essay remains intact and the copyright note is displayed. The text can also be photocopied for non-commercial distribution. To publish this text in printed and/or other forms contact the author at chossudovsky@videotron.ca, fax: 1-514-4256224. CLIP

Thanks for reading Emperor's Clothes! http://www.tenc.net




6.

WEAVING A WEB OF SOLIDARITY FEMINIST ACTIONS AGAINST THE FTAA

APRIL 19TH AND 20TH QUEBEC CITY

During the Summit of the Americas, women from the all over the planet will weave together their webs of solidarity… webs representing our hopes for a world without patriarchy, for a just world, that which we want to celebrate… webs representing the consequences of globalisation on our lives, that which we want to get rid of.

There will be two actions in the context of the « weaving a web of solidarity » action (for more details visit the site www.toilefemme.net)




TWO SUGGESTIONS

7.

From: "Joanne Stephenson" <teachandtravel@hotmail.com>
Subject: Earth Day/Day for Global Justice
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001

Dear Jean,

Could you please remind everyone on your list(s) to take time this Saturday
to please show up for demonstrations?

Also, a great page is up at:
http://www.canadians.org/campaigns/campaigns-tradepub-ftaa2.html

that explains a little more what the FTAA is all about.

Blessings,
Joanna

---

From: "June Mewhort" <jmewhort@quicklinks.on.ca>
Subject: An idea regarding Quebec City
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001

Dear Jean

There are a large number of people who will not be able to travel to Quebec City for the Summit of the Americas for many different reasons. However, I suggest that there is one way they can still participate. Everyone who cannot go physically can choose a time during the weekend to send white light to the summit participants and to the protesters so that all will be supercharged to make the right decisions for the future of humanity and democracy. I will be focusing on Quebec City many times during the weekend and fervently hope that others will join me in spirit.

June Mewhort







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