ISDS Case Map
militarism | terrorism | security
As he blasted the "ideological" opponents of his free-trade deal with Colombia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper played down recent reports of a Colombian terrorism infiltration into Canada.
As Mexican security budgets inflate with US aid-to combat the rising power of drug trafficking and organized crime-rights groups say these funds are increasingly being used to protect the interests of multinational corporations.
The Obama administration says security should be as stringent as on the Mexican frontier. Border residents and Canadian officials disagree, saying the terrorism threat is exaggerated.
"Inside US Trade", an American magazine, last Saturday quoted sources as saying NSC officials believe that the passage of the FTA bill will cement the Korea-U.S. alliance at a time when tension is mounting on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket.
A year-end report by the Pentagon's Joint Forces Command names two countries as likely candidates for a “rapid and sudden collapse” -- Pakistan and Mexico. Arguably, NAFTA is to blame for what could be Mexico's impending destabilization.
The Philippines and the European Union yesterday started talks in Manila for a general framework on bilateral cooperation that is requisite for a free trade agreement. The talks, which could take as long as two years to complete, will dwell on a wide variety of issues -- from peace, security and human rights, to protection of intellectual property and workers rights.
The recent war in Gaza has served to highlight the European Union's relations with Israel. Although the genocide in Gaza has embarrassed many EU officials, there are no signs that the European Union is going to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement signed in 2004.
Two conflicting statements about EU-Israeli relations were delivered Jan. 14, as the number of Palestinians, about one-third of them children, killed in Gaza continued to climb. The European Commission's envoy in Jerusalem claimed that a proposed 'upgrading' in relations with Israel cannot "proceed business as usual." Yet his statement was soon contradicted by the foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency.
The European Union and Israel have put negotiations on upgrading their ties on hold due to the war in the Gaza Strip, an EU envoy said on Wednesday.
"The EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended until Israel complies with international law. It was only last week that I personally met with the fishermen whose boats were illegally water-cannoned and fired upon by Israeli gunboats as they peacefully fish in Gaza waters."
