DR-CAFTA

I signed a petition re: the following info weeks ago.
Below you'll see some information re: the issue and below that you'll
see a response I recieved from our Congresswoman after signing the petition.

-----------------------------------------------------

The DR-CAFTA (Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement) passed the U.S. Senate on June 30, 2005 by a vote of 54 to 45. The Agreement has now moved to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. If the DR-CAFTA passes the house, it will have serious consequences for wildlife, habitat, farmed animals and marine creatures. The new regulations will enable U.S. meat producers to expand markets into Central America, and open previously protected waters to commercial fisheries. The Agreement is supported by the American Meat Institute and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who have already announced their intention to expand the market. If the DR-CAFTA passes the House, U.S. agriculture exports would be increased by approximately $1.5 billion per year, much of it from animal products.

The Agreement involves large, corporate farms that are notorious for animal cruelty.

Like most free trade agreements, the DR-CAFTA caters to corporations and would supercede a country’s own laws, such as environmental and animal protection legislation, replacing those laws with international, corporation-friendly legislation. If a country interferes with a corporation’s ability to make a profit (by enforcing animal protection legislation, for example), then the corporation may sue the country for millions of dollars.

For more information about DR-CAFTA, visit http://stopcafta.org/groups.php and http://ga0.org/campaign/DRCAFTA/explanation.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and urge him/her to vote against DR-CAFTA. http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home .

A vote on the DR-CAFTA is planned for the week of July 11, 2005 so you must act quickly!!

-------------------------------------------------

Thank you for expressing your thoughts regarding the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

DR-CAFTA is a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and five Central American nations: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The Dominican Republic, having completed separate negotiations with the United States, was added to the agreement in a subsequent signing by all parties.

DR-CAFTA would strengthen long term development and economic reform in these countries. The U.S. currently suffers high tariffs on trade with this region. President Bush has asked Congress to support his initiative to allow free trade and create jobs. This agreement would provide the United States with a critical tool in liberalizing trade in the region. Nevertheless, whatever the intended benefits of a free trade agreement, I remain cautious and sympathize with your reservations. Free trade agreements should not infringe on U.S. jobs and negatively affect our economy. Free trade should be beneficial for all sides. NAFTA was not a benefit for most U.S. industries, and I want to ensure we do not make the same mistake with DR-CAFTA.

Knowing your keen interest, I will thoroughly examine the merits of this issue to ensure the U.S. is not giving up jobs. Once again, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me.

I thank you for your concern regarding this very important matter and I hope you will continue to share your thoughts and views with me. It is my honor and privilege to serve the people of Florida's 5th Congressional District and my offices and staff are here to provide you with any
assistance you may need.

Sincerely,
Ginny Brown-Waite
Member of Congress

I'm a huge supporter of free trade, but I believe it should be done correctly. We need to insure that we aren't killing the environment. You can't just do 1 thing. You have to adjust for change and that's not being done in this situation. I'm not for throwing the DR-CAFTA out, but I'd like to see some revisions.

Surprise, Surprise...

Second U.S. Case of Mad Cow Disease Confirmed NPR.org, June 24, 2005 • The Agriculture Department confirms a second case of mad cow disease in the United States. The first came in December 2003. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says there's no danger to humans -- that the cow did not enter the food supply. A lab in England confirmed this case after conflicting results from U.S. tests.

It's not hard to believe that they are announcing that there is "no danger to humans" because the system has such amazing "firewalls!" (Excuse me while I cringe from the stench of this bullshit.) It will be sad to see the truth come out. Could we be more naive?

On another note:

I used to live in San Diego so from time to time I like to read up on what’s happening there. This doesn’t surprise me, but it does anger me. There is no doubt that there are activists who don’t abide by the law and do more harm than good, but I have a hard time believing that the FBI is chasing only those activists. I also have a hard time believing that they don’t have anything better to do…


http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2005/06/109378.shtml
Account by Michael Cardenas, story compiled by sdimc | 17.06.2005 11:43

UPDATE: 6/20 - At least eight, possibly nine activists have received subpoenas at this point. In addition, the Activist San Diego house in City Heights was visited by 3 federal agents.

6/18 - At least 4 activists have now received subpoenas from the FBI, some being visited at work in an extra step of harassment. Those receiving the subpoenas include David Agranoff, Colleen Dietzel and others. A community response will be announced soon.

The San Diego activist community has been the target of an intense campaign of harassment by federal law enforcement agencies, and that campaign went to a new level this morning. At a recent teach-in in San Francisco, a lawyer speaking about federal grand juries stated that they are often used in an attempt to "break the movement".

'This morning at 7:30AM, I was woken up by a knock on my door. The people knocking refused to identify themselves, simply saying they had "something for Michael Cardenas". When I opened my door, I found that it was two FBI agents. I wondered why I'm always at the door in my underwear when the FBI comes to my house. The agents were there to issue a subpoena to me for a federal grand jury to take place in San Diego on June 28th at 9:00AM.' - Michael Cardenas

The Grand Jury in San Diego continues the recent increase in government repression of political activity taking place all across the country, from New Jersey to San Francisco. Recently, 9 activists were subpoenaed in San Francisco. Last week an independent media activist Mark Conlan was visited and questioned by the FBI as well in connection with the La Jolla apartment complex fire set by the ELF in 2003.

In recent decades, the grand jury has been used increasingly to intimidate and harass activists who are pushing for social justice. Pressure on the animal rights, environmental justice, anti-war, and anarchist movements has been escalating. At a recent hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, John E. Lewis, Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI, testified that, "Investigating and preventing animal rights extremism and eco-terrorism is one of the FBI's highest domestic terrorism priorities."

Beautiful Beads...

Go here to read about some amazing women, their cause, and buy some of their hand crafted beaded jewelry.