Snapshots.NAFTA's Effect on Jobs in Maine "It's killing us. Something's got to be done."--Congressman Michael Michaud (D-Me.) discussing NAFTA's effect on the paper industry in Bucksport, Maine Boston Globe, March 28, 2004 Trojan Horse NAFTA NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world's Tribunal "If Congress had known that there was anything like this in NAFTA, they would never have voted for it."--Abner Mikva, former congressman and federal judge who now serves as a judge with a NAFTA tribunal. which claims that its rulings under NAFTA's Chapter 11 supersede To obliterate, replace, make void, or useless. Supersede means to take the place of, as by reason of superior worth or right. A recently enacted statute that repeals an older law is said to supersede the prior legislation. state and federal law jurisdiction New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times, April 18, 2004 Do You Believe Him? "When we debated NAFTA, not a single word was uttered in discussing Chapter 11. No one really knew just how high the stakes would get."--Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) commenting on the claims made by the NAFTA tribunal New York Times, April 18, 2004 Understatement of the Year "There is surely something odd about the world's greatest power being the world's greatest debtor."--Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and current President of Harvard University The President is the chief administrator of Harvard University. Ex officio the chairman of the Harvard Corporation, she is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to her the day-to-day running of the university. quoted in the Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2004 Even Johnnie and Susie Owe Plenty "The good news is that as of September 30, 2002, we had about $1 trillion in reported assets. The bad news is that we had almost $8 trillion in reported liabilities. According to my math, that left us with an approximate $7 trillion accumulated deficit, or a little over $24,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States."--David M. Walker, U.S. Comptroller General during his September 17, 2003 speech in Washington, D.C. Borrowing the Rope ... "The Chinese are now the second-largest foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities U.S. Treasury securities Interest-bearing obligations if the U.S. government issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a means of borrowing money to meet government expenditures not covered by tax revenues. (after Japan), with almost $150 billion as of January 2004--and $220 billion if you include Hong Kong's holdings."--Jack White, financial analyst, and UCSD UCSD University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, California) UCSD User Centered System Design UCSD Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District (Illinois) UCSD Ultra Cool Sexy Dudes Professor Doug Ramsey Barron's, April 5, 2004 Whistleblower whis·tle·blow·er or whis·tle-blow·er or whistle blower n. One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority: "The Pentagon's most famous whistleblower is . . Speaks Out About 9-11 "I saw papers that show U.S. knew al-Qa'ida would attack cities with airplanes. [Condoleezza Rice's claim that there was no information about using airplanes as missiles is] an outrageous lie."--Sibel Edmonds, former FBI translator discussing the top-secret work she did immediately after the 9-11 attack London Independent, April 2, 2004 British Discovering European Union's Destructive Meaning "The EU was sold to the British people as a trading agreement and has turned into a Political Union which is changing our basic laws and traditions."--Mike Nattrass, UK Independence Party Deputy Leader in a March 30, 2004 letter to The John Birch Society John Birch Society, ultraconservative, anti-Communist organization in the United States. It was founded in Dec., 1958, by manufacturer Robert Welch and named after John Birch, an American intelligence officer killed by Communists in China (Aug., 1945). Dechristianization's Inevitable Fallout "Dechristianization is surely the key. The result is that, in today's Britain, France, Belgium, and Germany, more peoplc pray in mosques on Fridays than in churches on Sundays."--Srdja Trifkovic, foreign affairs editor Chronicles magazine Keep Foreign Legal Opinions Out of U.S. Courts "It is my view that modern foreign legal material can never be relevant to any interpretation of, that is to say, to the meaning of the U.S. Constitution."--Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice in a letter to conservative friends Applauding Transfer of Sovereignty "The Bush administration has a secret multilateral side [that] allows foreigners--unelected bureaucrats in Geneva--to overrule The refusal by a judge to sustain an objection set forth by an attorney during a trial, such as an objection to a particular question posed to a witness. To make void, annul, supersede, or reject through a subsequent decision or action. laws passed by Congress and signed by the president.... All of which, in my view, is exactly right."--Fareed Zakaria, International Editor, Newsweek, May 10 issue, formerly Managing Editor for Foreign Affairs, journal of the Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an influential and independent, nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921 and based at 58 East 68th Street (corner Park Avenue) in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. Denmark Official Wants a More Powerful UN "It underlines the need of the legitimating United Nations also to seek hard power to enforce its resolutions."--Per Stig Moiler, Danish Foreign Minster praising Amitai Etzioni's new book From Empire to Community, which calls for a new form of global governance known as communitarianism communitarianism Political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of community in the functioning of political life, in the analysis and evaluation of political institutions, and in understanding human identity and well-being. Neoconservative ne·o·con·ser·va·tism also ne·o-con·ser·va·tism n. An intellectual and political movement in favor of political, economic, and social conservatism that arose in opposition to the perceived liberalism of the 1960s: Leader Admits Affinity with Liberals "If you read the last few issues of The Weekly Standard, it has as much or more in common with the liberal hawks than with traditional conservatives."--William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard New York Times, April 19, 2004 Nader Wants President Bush Impeached [Mr. Bush's actions] rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors The offenses for which presidents, vice presidents, and all civil officers, including federal judges, can be removed from office through a process called Impeachment. The phrase high crimes and misdemeanors is found in the U.S. Constitution. , tie is a messianic militarist who should be impeached for sending the nation to war based on false premises."--Ralph Nader in his May 21 speech delivered at Council on Foreign Relations headquarters in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. New Iraq Prime Minister Admits UN Is in Charge "[No one should be] targeting the multinational forces of the Did China Really Renounce Mao and Marx? "China today is no longer a Communist nation in any meaningful sense."--Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist, New York Times, commenting about the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre Communist Chinese Leader Warns Taiwan "He is riding near the edge of the cliff, and there is no sign that he is going to rein in to check the speed of, or cause to stop, by drawing the reins. to cause (a person) to slow down or cease some activity; - to rein in is used commonly of superiors in a chain of command, ordering a subordinate to moderate or cease some activity deemed excessive. See also: Rein Rein his horse," United Nations, which are led by the United States."--Ayad Allawi, Iraq's new, UN-selected prime minister baring his understanding that the United Nations, not the United States, leads the military operation in his country Abortion "Rights" Likened to Social Security "We are going to make women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and , and especially reproductive rights, another third rail of American politics, just like social security. This is no longer going to be a political football debated every two or four years."--Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority president New York Times, April 22, 2004 Importance of Manufacturing Capacity "I'm warning you that the world power that loses its manufacturing capacity no longer is a world power."--Retiring Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.) commenting on his state's sharply eroding manufacturing base in the wake of NAFTA and other trade pacts Forecasting a Revolution "The CEOs at these companies are making $5 million, $10 million, $15 million a year and they are sending these $30,000 to $50,000-a-year jobs overseas, We need to wake up and stop this or there's going to be another revolution on this country."--John Ragucci, alderman for Everett, Massachusetts Boston Globe, March 28, 2004 Frankly Speaking ... "Our problem today is too little government." --Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) Boston Globe, March 14, 2004 |
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