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News & Events >> Fair Trade News November 2008 | ||||
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Fair Trade News November 2008 Newsletter of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition In this issue:
Elections - from fair trade victories to fair trade policy America voted yesterday, and we voted overwhelmingly for fair trade! With a President-elect Obama who has spoken about renegotiating NAFTA and halting outsourcing, and - perhaps more importantly - strong gains in Congress for candidates who ran on a fair trade platform, we have much to celebrate! As I write, the Burner-Reichert race - which could bring one more fair trade supporter to Congress - is still undecided. However, many other gains across the country put the fair trade movement in a much improved situation! Click here to see Public Citizen's report "Elections 2008: Fair Trade Gets an Upgrade." Of course, from here, we still have a long way to go. Even if Darcy Burner is elected, most WA Congress members still need convincing that fair trade is not crazy, protectionist, or socialist. We will probably need to remind many elected officials, including the next President, to make sure to walk the fair trade talk from the election period. We still need to build support for fair trade bills like the TRADE Act in the coming administration. But overall, we should celebrate! We are in a period of great opportunity that hasn't been seen for many years. The possibility of change is here, and it seems very likely that we will be able to bring together our energy and enthusiasm for new fair trade policies in the coming administration.
Situation in Colombia deteriorating Unfortunately, in other countries the situation has neither been positive nor promising. Colombia’s intelligence chief, Maria del Pilar Hurtado has stepped down after admitting to spying on the left-wing political opponent to President Alvaro Uribe. This comes after last year’s firing of Uribe's top police chief because of an illegal wiretapping scandal. Uribe has also had issues with a scandal revolving around Jorge Noguera who allegedly helped paramilitary death squads. Alvaro Uribe’s government also recently announced that it had fired more that two dozen officers and soldiers after hundreds of civilians went missing or were killed. The internal military investigation found that it appeared to have uncovered that there seems to be a social cleansing taking place and that innocent people have been killed and their deaths have been disguised as deaths due to warfare. This corrupt government that continually violates human rights and the rule of law certainly should not be rewarded with special trade rights. This country has proven to be unstable and not a reliable trade partner. Though some news sources have speculated that the Colombia FTA could be passed by linking it to a second economic stimulus package. While hopefully, recent political developments make such free trade expansions less likely, we must not consider ourselves out of the woods with this FTA yet!
"Made in LA" - three events in Washington this month Mark your calendars for three great upcoming events. The producers of the Emmy-award winning movie "Made in LA" are coming to the Pacific Northwest! Almudena Carrecedo (Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer) and Robert Bahar (Producer, Co-Writer) are bringing this powerful story to our region in just a few weeks. There are several opportunities for you to see this poignant film that describes the struggles and triumphs of workers in American sweatshops. The events in Washington State will be as follows:
Make sure to take advantage of one (or more!) of these great opportunities!
Confronting the Food Crisis: Cultivating Just Alternatives to the Corporate Food System Friday, December 5, 6-9pm. Evening kick-off event at Garfield Community Center. Saturday, December 6, 9-5:30pm: Seattle Central Community College Panel discussion: "Confronting the Food Crisis." Locally and fairly sourced lunch provided. Free and open to the public! Join the Community Alliance for Global Justice and its partners to support a just, sustainable food economy! Participate in a range of discussions, panels, and hands-on workshops that help us to understand corporate control and build just alternatives with respect to local and global food systems. Topics include: Understanding the food economy of western Washington; Impacts of U.S. trade agreements and corporate influence on the food system; Strategies for local eating; Equitable access to healthy food; Farmers and Farm-workers speak for themselves; Organizing for Food Justice...and much more. The new documentary about Pacific Northwest farmers, "GOOD FOOD" will be shown with the film makers in attendance, in addition to other films about food and farming issues. The Teach-In is free and open to the public. Child-care provided. For more details and program updates: http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org/ We welcome your involvement in organizing the Teach-in! Please contact Teresa at fjp@seattleglobaljustice.org or call CAGJ: 206.405.4600.
For further reading Public Citizen's Election Report Colombian Intelligence Chief Quits Amid Scandal History Repeats Itself for Indigenous Communities in Colombia
NAFTA Chapter 11 Case Against Pesticide Ban in Quebec
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