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militarism | terrorism | security

The elephant and the rising sun: Alliance for the future
27-Aug-2007 IntelliBriefs
India is prime "real estate" for Japan, both in economic and defense terms. Most importantly, India is a large consumer market with the potential to increase profits for Japanese corporations.
The swell of boycott
23-Aug-2007 New Matilda
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called for divestment from Israeli companies: a campaign aimed at the European Union, which accounts for two-thirds of Israel’s exports under an EU-Israel Association Agreement. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, has said that human rights conditions in the agreement should be invoked and Israel’s trading preferences suspended. This is unusual, for these were once distant voices.
110,000 citizens sign petition opposing move to North American Union
17-Aug-2007 PR Newswire
A newly launched petition protesting a move toward the creation of a North American "framework" has quickly captured the attention of US citizens.
Will security and prosperity partnerships end dissent as we know it?
15-Aug-2007 ZNet
Just about everyone on the Left knows what a free trade agreement is by now. But how many of us have heard of an SPP?
Bringing the SPP out of the shadows
14-Aug-2007 The Dominion
While many Canadians have never heard of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, activists from across North America are planning to make their presence felt at the "3 Bandidos" summit in Montebello, Quebec, and shed some light on what many are describing as ’NAFTA Plus’.
The Australia-Japan FTA negotiations: What do they really mean?
26-Jul-2007 Japan Focus
Ono Kazuoki, veteran of Japanese and Asian farmer movements, comments on the projected Australia-Japan FTA.
The militarization and annexation of North America
20-Jul-2007 OpEdNews
Besides the Bush administration’s imperial aims and permanent war on the world, add the one at home below the radar. It has a name: Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.
‘S. Korea-US Alliance Manifested in FTA’
7-Jun-2007
The half-century Korea-U.S. military alliance will continue to evolve throughout the 21st century because of the two countries’ ``convergence of national interests’’ beyond security issues, the top U.S. military officer said.
The politics of Asia’s big deals
26-May-2007 Newsweek
The US-South Korea free trade agreement comes at precisely the moment when America’s military presence on the Korean Peninsula is rapidly diminishing, anti-US nationalism in South Korea is growing and China is playing an ever more important leadership role in the region. "This FTA is about countering China," says Yang Sung Chul, a former US ambassador to South Korea, now professor at Korea University in Seoul. "It’s much more significant in strategic than economic terms."
NAFTA: Kicked up a notch
26-May-2007 Spero News
The expansion of NAFTA into the Security and Prosperity Partnership reveals the road ahead for other nations entering into free trade agreements. It is not a road most nations — or the US public — would take if they knew where it led.
Colombia rebels target US trade pact at peace talks
23-May-2007 Reuters
Colombia’s second largest guerrilla movement said on Tuesday it would agree to a cease-fire if the government dropped a free-trade pact signed in November with the United States.
Bipartisan trade deal: USTR "fact sheets"
13-May-2007 USTR
Colombia scandals cloud trade deal - US senator
4-May-2007
Colombia must resolve US concerns about a paramilitary scandal and the unsolved murders of trade unionists if it wants Congress to approve a free trade agreement, a spokesman for the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday.
Raw deal between Washington and Seoul
1-May-2007 FPIF
The US-Korea FTA cannot be seen apart from US-South Korean security ties, the presence in South Korea of more than 30,000 US troops and a 50-year economic relationship that has been heavily weighted towards American interests. From this perspective, the FTA is the fourth attempt by the United States to force its economic will on South Korea over the past half-century. By rejecting it, we can reject the flawed policies of corporate globalization while embracing a new relationship with the Korean people at the same time.
Musharraf for free trade agreement between Pakistan, United States
8-Apr-2007
President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday stressed the need for initiation of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and the United States to strengthen the bilateral relations by boosting trade and investment links.
Clark’s baggage ensures rock remains on road to trade deal
23-Mar-2007
Here’s my take on what really went down when Helen Clark met George Bush at the White House. The big international agenda - those issues that are really central to the security of the Western world, such as Iraq - was on the table.
Mexico, US presidents promise to extend free trade
15-Mar-2007 People’s Daily
Presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico and George W Bush of the United States held a series of meetings on Wednesday, promising to extend the free trade agreement between the two nations.
India-EU deal hits political rocks
14-Mar-2007
A planned free trade deal between the EU and India has run into serious difficulties over whether or not it should include clauses relating to human rights and weapons of mass destruction. But anti-poverty campaigners have also argued that an agreement is undesirable as it could potentially reduce India’s control over its own economy.
Japan, Australia strike strategic security cooperation agreement
14-Mar-2007
Japan and Australia agreed Tuesday to expand strategic cooperation in security and defense issues, and to expedite negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two countries.
US Alliance a distinct liability for Australia
26-Feb-2007 Online Opinion
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade report estimated that the benefits to Australia from the US FTA would be $ 9.9 billion over 20 years. That would amount to a mere $26.05 per person per year. Common sense suggests that it would be ridiculous to bargain away Australia’s sovereignty for such a “benefit”.