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On Aug. 19th, a perfect late summer day in Ottawa, Canada, we joined our Canadian colleagues in a rally at the Parliament followed by a march to the U.S. and Mexican embassies to protest the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) meeting of Bush, Calderon and Harper. A meeting the mainstream media in the U.S. has totally blacked out.

Later we attended the Council of Canadians Forum on the hidden consequences of the SPP Leaders summit in Montebello. More than 500 activist[S] heard Elizabeth May, Green Party of Canada leader, condemn the SPP and promote a vision of a more just and sustainable North America. In her talk she cited the ongoing changes in national environmental, health and labor regulations. These changes increase the number of chemicals permitted, lower standards and quality of life in many areas, such as food security, air safety, environmental norms, health care and labor rights. For example, Canada is
raising pesticide limits on hundreds of fruits and vegetables to merge its policies with the United States. And these changes are being made at the behest of transnational corporations. The SPP is about letting big businesses set their own rules and having the public bear all the environmental and health risks of a deregulated market.

On August 20th the Canadian Green Party organized a counter summit at which the USGP was represented by Justine McCabe and Julia Willebrand, Co-chairs of the USGP International Committee. Justine brought greetings from USGP and informed the meeting of the USGP position in opposition to SPP.

Julia was asked to present a US perspective on SPP. Since our Canadian colleagues are well aware of the dangers of a race to the bottom, they know that the SPP is about increasing corporate profits by limiting what governments can do to protect its citizens from corporate abuse. So as a cautionary tale, Julia presented a picture of the ongoing privatization of community resources and services occurring in the US. As one example she cited the ever-increasing prison population and the concomitant growth of private prisons in the US as a dangerous precedent Canadians would wish to avoid and which SPP could make possible.

Janet Eaton, GP Canada International Trade critic who first raised USGP member¹s awareness about the menace of SPP provided a vivid historical presentation of the initiation and development of SPP.

Her power point presentation can be seen at:
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/policy/documents/deeper_look_spp/dr_janet_eaton

Since the SPP is not a formal treaty or agreement between countries but instead an ongoing dialogue¹, it is not accountable to legislative oversight. Despite the fact that high-level government meetings, which
include CEOs of the largest corporations, have been held for three years, the mainstream media has rarely covered any aspect being planned and executed. Since the U.S. public is kept ignorant of these plans for its future it is effectively removed from the decision-making process. The Green Party of the US must change that by bringing the fact of this dangerous descent into fascism to public awareness.

For more information on SPP and ways to take action:

"Behind Closed Doors: What they're not telling us about the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
http://www.canadians.org/integratethis/backgrounders/guide/index.html

This cooperative effort by the US and Canadian Greens was publicly initiated by joint press releases highlighting that this collaboration not only furthers the national interests of both parties but as members
of the Global Green movement, extends common Green values of social and economic justice,
environmental sustainability, participatory democracy and nonviolence.

National Green parties join forces to fight North American Union
http://www.greenparty.ca/en/releases/16.08.2007

Canadian and US Green Parties blast secretive NAFTA-Plus trade-security deal
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_08_15.shtml

This report prepared and presented by:
Justine McCabe
Julia Willebrand
Co-chairs United States Green Party International Committee
intcomm@gp-us.org

Thanks to DC Statehood Green T. E. Smith, the Green Party will now be listed among the organizations supporting the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial to be built on the National Mall in Washington, DC. "I felt that it was important that the Green Party provide tangible support for this project. People of Color, particularly Black People, are ignored and taken for granted by the two corporate parties - except on election day. The Green Party platform supports racial justice, the Democrats have not come out in favor of reparations for slavery, but the Green Party has supported reparations since 1998. The only way people will know about this is if we work together to support projects like the MLK Memorial".

According to memorial organizers, the Green Party of the United States is the only political party to date to have made a financial contribution to the project. For more information about the MLK Memorial go to: http://www.mlkmemorial.org/

We Will Run
Green National Committee Proposal 305 the "We Will Run Resolution" passed with 113 yes votes, 10 no votes and 3 abstentions.

The resolution states in part that the Green Party will be conducting a contested presidential nomination process and that we will be nominating a presidential ticket at our 2008 convention. It also resolves to strengthen our eventual ticket by generating and applying resources to ensure, among other things, that we will maximize the number of ballot lines on which our nominees will appear.

Delegates from state Green Parties and caucuses in the party's National Committee completed their vote Tuesday, August 28th, with Chicago taking the lead over Detroit, Minneapolis, and Oakland. Chicago's proposal can be read at http://www.greenconvention2008.com. The convention will take place July 10 to 13, 2008.

The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago has a storied political convention tradition. It's where many a political campaign set up headquarters during convention week. It was in "smoke-filled room" at the Blackstone where a deal was cut to end a deadlock that made Warren Harding the 1920 Republican nominee. And Eisenhower watched the 1952 Republican convention from his room at the Blackstone (the first time the networks covered a convention gavel-to-gavel). Over the years, it has hosted at least 12 presidents on their visits to Chicago.

Just as Greens are working to rehabilitate that old style of politics, the Blackstone Hotel is also undergoing a process of top-to-bottom renewal. When it reopens later this fall, the Blackstone will be the most green-friendly hotel in the city, complete with a green roof. And when it opens this Fall the Blackstone will be non-smoking and a union shop.

One of the city's recognizable landmarks located in the heart of Chicago, the Chicago Theatre would be a spectacular setting for the convention. It would allow us to put the "Green Party" name on one of the most eye-catching, most photographed marquees in the city, and it's sure to be noticed by the thousands of residents and tourists alike. The Chicago Theatre is located directly on transit lines, close to everything, and is one of the larger venues which we could pack with up to 3,600 enthusiastic delegates, observers and media. The Chicago Theatre is also a union shop.

The combination of the world-class Blackstone Hotel and the historic Chicago Theatre will help the Green Party to attract celebrity guest speakers?not to mention the media?for our events and fundraisers.

In 2006, the Illinois Green Party did what many pundits said was impossible. Greens got on the ballot in one of the worst states for ballot access. Green candidates broke through to the media to receive more coverage than ever, even earning the endorsements of several major newspapers throughout the state. And the Green candidate for governor, Rich Whitney, was the choice of more than 350,000 voters, 10% statewide, twice the percentage needed to establish the party for the next four years!

In the era of Modern Medicine; in a Country that has turned back time in Health Care, the USA Health Care Industry has been dominated by the Insurance Companies.

The Insurance Companies in theory were supposed to protect the patients but in reality has turned into an uncontrollable monster that chooses the Physician and the Hospitals for the patient. The patient has no control over what he or she does.

The Insurance Companies in the USA while private are actually controlled by the governing elite of the USA called the Republicans, Democrats and their friends in Wall Street and Washington DC.

The Insurance Companies in the USA have committed crimes against humanity such as neglecting an extension of hospital stay to a patient with Gangrene after an operation of the Abdominal Aorta. This was the case of the State of California Insurance Company Medi Cal that refused to authorize additional treatments for a 70 year old lady who suffered from Leriche’s Syndrome [Occlusion of the Abdominal Aorta]. The lady in question was unceremoniously discharged and had to be readmitted in order to have her lower extremities amputated. This is the Medicine that is practiced in the Land of the Republicans and Democrats.

The Insurance Companies in the USA refused to pay for childbirth in a hospital but was willing to pay for a birth at home. The lady eventually suffered health problems which resulted in a still birth. The Insurance Company called United Health Care was the subject of a lawsuit by the lady Ms. Corcoran. This lawsuit ended up in the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court ruled in favour of Corcoran and against United Health Care with the following statement: “Insurance Companies should be held liable for making Medical Decisions”.

This struggle between Patients, Health Care Professionals, and the Insurance Companies [as well as their patrons called the Republicans and Democrats] is not over. It will continue to play out until Insurance Companies and their patrons are brought before an International Tribune for Crimes against Humanity and are made to pay restitution. It is the responsibility of people to know about the need for simplification by going back to the relationship between Physician and Patient.

“We would be better off with only 6 million people [out of a total of 12 million], with our own people who support the liberation struggle (ZANU-PF)."
- Foreign Secretary of Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party Didymus Mutasa
“ Estaremos major matando mas de la mitad de Zimbabwe para quedarnos con aquellos que apoyan nuestra lucha revolucionaria [Mugabe y ZANU-PF]"
- Canciller del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores del Presidente Mugabe’s, Didymus Mutasa

FREE VERMONT - GREEN MOUNTAIN VOICES OF INDEPENDENCE
E-ISSUE/SEPTEMBER 2007: The "Back To School" With Sustainability and Secession" Issue - (#27)

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OUR MISSION: Welcome to the future of Vermont. Dateline - September 2007.
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SPIRIT OF '77: VERMONT COMMONS Summer 2007 Issue Is Now Online!
EDITORIAL: "The Tragedy of America - Why Our Hope Is Disunion": http://vtcommons.org/node/851
Donald Livingston on "the New England Secession Tradition": http://vtcommons.org/node/852
Glenn Cahilly on "America's Descent Into Fascism": http://vtcommons.org/node/847
Craig Byrne's "Declaration of Cultural Independence": http://vtcommons.org/node/846
Vermont Vox Pop - An Interview with Marion Leonard: http://vtcommons.org/node/848
Carl Watner on "Nonviolent Resistance to U.S. Empire": http://vtcommons.org/node/845
Steve Moyer on Vermont complimentary currency: http://vtcommons.org/node/842
The Middlebury Institute on the American secession movement today: http://vtcommons.org/node/844
"The Greenneck's" humorous take on being 'wicked outdoorsy': http://vtcommons.org/node/843
Vermont Libre: Vermonters' Support For Secession Increases Dramatically: http://vtcommons.org/node/841
Kirkpatrick Sale offers a global perspective on Separatism: http://vtcommons.org/node/840
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals exclusive interview: http://vtcommons.org/node/801
UVM Secession Debate transcript: http://vtcommons.org/node/800
Mad River Valley "Imagining Our Common Future" Conference: http://vtcommons.org/node/799
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SIGN POSTS: STORIES RELATED TO VERMONT SUSTAINABILITY AND SECESSION
U.S. Officials Promise Changes at Vermont/Canada Border Crossings
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/NEWS02/708310303/1007/NEWS05

New Homeland Security Rules Worry Vermont Farmers
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS02/708250302/1007

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant Officials "Baffled" By Cooling Tower Collapse
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS01/708250359/1002/NEWS01

Letter: Wind Power Is "Best Choice"
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/NEWS01/708250359/1002/NEWS01

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Workers' Union and Management Ratify "Tentative" Contract
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS02/708280331/1003/NEWS02
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VERMONT INDEPENDENCE IN THE NEWS:
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NOW ON THE WEB! THE Spring 2007 "RECLAIMING OUR COMMONS" Issue
Featuring Dr. Rick Foley on "the Great Hydropower Heist," Susan Ohanian on "a Call for Slow Schools,"
Abe Collins of Carbon Farmers of America on how farms might help solve global climate change;
Don Mayer on "VBSR: Beyond the Bottom Line;" Kirkpatrick Sale on "Decentralization - The Third Way;"
Tim Matson's "Free Vermont Media" recommendations; Don Livingston on "the New England Secession Tradition,"
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NEW UVM POLL INDICATES DRAMATIC INCREASE IN SUPPORT FOR VERMONT INDEPENDENCE
The latest 2007 UVM Center for Rural Studies poll results indicate that the number of
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