REPEAL NAFTA!

This is the only way to stop the NAU, SPP, Illegal Invasion of The United States,
Mexican Truckers Invading U.S., NAFTA Superhighway, and all of the Treasonous Acts of the SPP / NAU Evil Powers That Be!

Congress MUST Repeal NAFTA!

Call, Fax, & E-mail Congress

Senate      House of Representatives

Call into C-SPAN's Washington Journal,

main stream and alternative talk radio programs, etc, 
Post this link and info everywhere! 
Get the message out that the only way to stop all of this is to

REPEAL NAFTA!

Most of the public knows nothing about any of this!

 We have to get this information out to everyone, awake and asleep!

Washington Journal LIVE Call In Phone Numbers

Please pass on this information far and wide!

OOIDA - The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
asks FMCSA for complete, accurate data on approved Mexican trucks  
11/2/07

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) often claims Mexican trucks are safer than U.S. trucks, but available data doesn’t back up those claims.

                (Note from Melissa:  Click here to see an article regarding this.)

 The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) requested that FMCSA provide explanations as to why certain carriers have been given approval to enter the United States when little or no data is available to demonstrate how they have fully complied with all applicable laws on safety and security. The request was included in the Association’s comments posted to the FMCSA public notice in the Federal Register. That notice discloses several Mexico-domiciled motor carriers that have passed a Pre-Authority Safety Audit (PASA).     

  Mexican truckers cite years of driving deep into U.S. -
say pilot program nothing new  10/29/07

Timeline of the Progress
Toward a North American
Union - EXCELLENT! 

Mexico Dynamite Truck Explosion Kills 34
 9/10/07

By JUAN MONTANO 

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (AP) — A dynamite-laden truck exploded after colliding with another vehicle on a busy highway in northern Mexico's coal country, killing at least 34 people, including three reporters at the scene, state and federal officials said.

Authorities said the two vehicles crashed into each other Sunday evening, drawing a crowd of curious onlookers as well as a small army of police, soldiers, emergency officials and journalists.

Shortly after the crowd arrived, the wreckage caught fire, and the dynamite exploded, sending a ball of fire into the sky that consumed nearby cars and left a 10-by-40 foot crater in the concrete, said Maximo Alberto Neri Lopez, a federal police official.

He said more than 150 people were injured.

The force of the explosion blew out the windows of a passenger bus a quarter-mile away.

The dead included three newspaper reporters from the nearby city of Monclova, said Luis Horacio de Hoyos of the Coahuila state Attorney General's Office.

It was unclear if the explosive truck's driver was among the dead. Early reports said he might have fled.

Coahuila state has a large mining industry, most of it in coal.

The explosion raised further questions about the safety of Mexican trucks.

This weekend, Mexico began sending its first tractor-trailers across U.S. territory under a long-delayed, NAFTA-mandated program. Before, Mexican trucks were limited to 25-mile zone along the border.

Many in the U.S. fought the change, arguing that Mexican trucks are unsafe.

Randy Grider, editor of Truckers News magazine, however, said Mexican trucks with hazardous materials aren't included in the new program.

"I think it would be a very long time before the border would open to hazardous loads," he said.

The truck that exploded in Coahuila did not appear to be headed for the U.S. It had recently left an Orica explosives plant and was headed west to Coquimatlan, Colima, a federal police officer who was not authorized to give his name told The Associated Press by phone.

A woman who answered the phone at Orica's offices in Monclova said all company officials were at a meeting, and she could not comment. The company is based in Australia and has operations in 50 countries across six continents.

Associated Press writer E. Eduardo Castillo contributed to this report.

Truck Explosion
 on Mexican Border Kills 34  9/10/07

Thirty four people are dead and 150 people are injured after a horrific explosion along the Mexican border.

A truck carring dynamite crashed into another big rig in the town of Piedras Negras, just southwest of San Antonio.

The truck was not crossing into the U.S., but the accident is raising new concerns about border safety.

In an unrelated development, Mexican trucks are now traveling deep into America. It's part of the NAFTA agreement. But teamsters spokeswoman Leslie Miller said this accident raises new concerns.

"In a very sad way this supports our argument that we should not be allowing these dangerous trucks to travel wherever they want throughout the United States," Leslie Miller said.

Some politicans plan to block funding for the cross border program. The Department of Transportation said the plan is safe.

Mexican truck carrying explosives for mining -- blows up

Regulation, Free Trade and Mexican Trucks
By Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas -  9/10/2007 

Another NAFTA nail is about to be hammered into the coffin Washington is building for the U.S. economy. Within the next few days our borders will be opened to the Mexican trucking industry in an unprecedented way. A "pilot" program is starting which will allow trucks from Mexico to haul goods beyond the 25 mile buffer zone to any point in the United States. Officials claim this is being done with utmost oversight, but Americans still have their legitimate concerns. Rather than securing our borders, we seem to be providing more pores for illegal aliens, drug dealers, and terrorists to permeate.

Not only that, but the anti-competitive and burdensome yoke of over-regulation of our industry at home is about to send a lot more Americans to the unemployment lines. The American Trucking industry has been heavily regulated since 1935. The express purpose of The Motor Carrier Act was to eliminate competition through permitting, regulating tariff rates, even approving routes. American trucking companies have been fighting ever since for some relief from the substantial regulatory burdens placed on them. Regulatory compliance is the single most daunting barrier to entry, and eats up huge amounts of profit. Now, to add insult to injury, Mexican trucking companies, not subject to the same onerous standards, will be allowed to roll right in and squeeze American industry further. This will severely undermine the ability of American trucking companies to remain solvent.

The fact that this is being done in the name of free trade is disturbing. Free trade is not complicated, yet NAFTA and CAFTA are comprised of thousands of pages of complicated legal jargon. All free trade really needs is two words: Low tariffs. Free trade does not require coordination with another government to benefit citizens here. Just like domestic businesses don't pay taxes, foreign businesses do not pay tariffs -- consumers do, in the form of higher prices. If foreign governments want to hurt their own citizens with protectionist tariffs, let them. But let us set a good example here, and show the world an honest example of true free trade. And let us stop hurting American workers with mountains of red tape in the name of safety. Safety standards should be set privately, by the industry and by the insurance companies who have the correct motivating factors to do so.

Free trade is not the problem, and pseudo free trade is what is being offered in the wrongly named North American Free Trade Agreement and all its offshoots. The problem is a government-managed economy and the burdensome regulation that results. For our economy to remain competitive in the world, we must remember what it is to be truly free. We must lift the regulatory shackles threatening to sink our industries into oblivion. Free trade begins with freedom domestically, and we can't afford to lose that.

Congressman Ron Paul is a Republican representing the state of Texas.

HawaiiReporter.com reports the real news, and prints all editorials submitted, even if they do not represent the viewpoint of the editors, as long as they are written clearly. Send editorials to mailto:Malia@HawaiiReporter.com

9/7/07, The Cullen Law Firm, PLLC

Mexico trucks program unpopular with 88 percent of poll respondents

FMCSA clears trucks for long-haul
operations between US, Mexico  9/7/07

Friday, 9/7/07

Would you like to see the Mexican border open up soon? Absolutely. I'd love access to a new market; or be able to run less costly truckers up here. 17%   No Way: Just think how Mexican competition would erode our domestic linehaul rates. 83%   Send this to a friend

Please take the poll and pass the links
& information regarding this on to others!

Poll Results as of 11:20 A.M. 
Pacific time on Friday, 9/7/07

Text appearing under photo:

"About 17 Mexican carriers are expected to receive
operating authority to haul into the US in the next month."

Peter DeFazio, Chair of 
Transportation Committee's 
Highways and Transit Subcommittee,
Warns Against Mexico Truck Plan

September 06, 2007 13:48PM

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., flanked by a pit crew of House Democrats, labor leaders and safety advocates offered some advice Thursday to motorists - stay home.

And if you must venture out, buckle in tight and watch your back.

The source of DeFazio's concern is a new test program pushed by the Bush Administration that would give permission to 100 trucking companies from Mexico to operate in the United States. The program could go into effect as soon as Friday and by DeFazio's estimate allow upwards of 500 Mexican trucks access to America's interstate system.

The White House says allowing Mexican-owned trucks to roam across America is required under the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, the 1994 treaty liberalizing trade across the continent. Administration officials insist that Mexican trucks are safe.

DeFazio vehemently disagreed on both counts.

``In Mexico there is very little rule of law as it relates to this industry or these drivers,'' he said during a Capitol Hill news conference.

Drivers, he said, could work 10 hours in Mexico, cross the border and drive another 10 hours. Mexico's drug testing of drivers is suspect and its inspection program for trucks is leaking oil, he said.

All of that adds up to serious danger.

``We have not found that the Mexican system is equivalent to the United State's system on anything but paper. And we have the right in the United States of America to demand that people come up to our standards if they want access to our markets. In this case they have failed to do that, plain and simple.''

And yet the program is almost certain to go into effect. Despite efforts by DeFazio and others, Congress has failed to pass legislation to stop the program. A bill by DeFazio breezed through the House 411-3 earlier this year but is stalled in the Senate.

Efforts to block the program in court have also failed. A federal appeals court ruled last week that the program could move forward.

DeFazio, who chairs the Transportation Committee's Highways and Transit Subcommittee, complained that the Bush Administration has ignored bi-partisan concerns about allowing Mexican trucks into the country.

``We are here to raise our voices in protest yet one more time in the hope that some one, somewhere downtown in the administration is listening and cares, cares about the safety of the American traveling public and cares about the economic future of many in the country,'' he said. ``This administration insists on defying the will of Congress and the interest of safety in the United States.''

Under NAFTA, truckers from the U.S., Canada and Mexico must be allowed to operate freely in all three countries. Canadian trucks have had full privileges for years but concerns about the safety of Mexican trucks have blocked most access. Currently Mexican trucks can enter the U.S. only at certain border crossing and are forbidden from going more than 20 miles inside the country.
The current pilot program is designed to study whether opening the U.S.-Mexico border to all trucks could be done safely.
DeFazio conceded that it might be difficult to stop the trucks now, though he vowed to continue the fight.

``If they do open the border and this begins, it does not make it an ongoing or permanent program by any stretch of the imagination. I just hope it doesn't take a horrible tragedy to bring it to an end,'' he said.

-- Charles Pope

9/5/07
Tony Dolz is a founding member of the Minutemen border security
and immigration reform grass-roots organization 
("America's Biggest Neighborhood Watch") and
the State of California Legislative Liaison for the
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC).

How your Senators voted
on key amendments to the Senate's (AMNESTY BILL)
so-called comprehensive immigration reform proposal

KGBT 4 - TV Harlingen, TX
NAFTA Mexican Commercial Trucks Travel On U.S. Highways

More Truth Here:

Latest News Articles on
Mexican Truckers Invading U.S.

Click Here!

More information and related articles here.

SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS' STATEMENT
ON BUSH’S OPEN HIGHWAYS INITIATIVE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  September 3, 2007

CONTACT: Colleen Murray  919 - 636 - 3203

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards today criticized the Bush administration’s open-highways initiative that would allow Mexican trucks to travel freely within the United States.  The initiative is expected to go into effect this week, unless it is blocked on Wednesday by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General.

Edwards released the following statement:

“Our trade policies should put workers and families first. Opening America’s highways to Mexico’s long-haul diesel trucks puts American jobs and safety at risk. The Department of Transportation has the power to block the program. I urge them to use it.

“Multinational corporations and their Washington lobbyists greased the way to extend NAFTA onto American highways and streets, without regard for the impact on the environment or on the safety of America’s workers and families. Last month, an audit found that the database used to monitor Mexican drivers with license convictions – known as the ‘52nd State System’ – has failed to record thousands of convictions.  Mexican diesel trucks will not be required to meet the stricter emissions standards of states like California.”
              
Under the NAFTA-related open-highways initiative, two Mexican trucking companies are initially expected to participate, with 22 more Mexican trucking companies rolling on American roads within a month.  Congress passed a law in May requiring that the Bush administration certify that safety and other reporting systems have been implemented before the borders are opened under the new initiative.

Note:  More to come on how many trucking companies / trucks will be on the road, as from what I have read the above numbers citing only 2 companies seems extremely low.  Melissa

Deal develops Canada's NAFTA Superhighway
Here come Chinese containers to Great White North  - 9/4/07

Name changed to hide 'Superhighway'?
Secret Document Reveals Original Moniker of 'Super Corridor'  - 9/2/07

Superhighway? WHAT superhighway?

Teamsters fighting cross-border trucking

Mexican truckers expected
to soon be hauling through U.S.

Read comments from readers
and leave your comments here.

Court denies emergency motion to stop NAFTA trucks pilot

Posted:  9/2/2007

Press statement

Download court decision

More about NAFTA trucks

A federal appeals court denied an emergency motion to stop the Bush administration’s pilot project for allowing Mexico-domiciled trucks to operate in the U.S., which the administration could allow as early as September 6.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an emergency motion filed by Public Citizen, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other groups, asking the federal court to block the start of a U.S. Department of Transportation’s pilot program. The pilot program will allow a select number of Mexican trucks into the United States to carry cargo beyond the narrow zones near the border to which their operations are currently limited.

The court’s ruling does not address the merits of the lawsuit itself, which alleges that the program violates a law Congress passed in May and fails to ensure the safety of American drivers.  That lawsuit will proceed, and the court will address the lawfulness of the pilot program after full briefing and argument.

Groups sue to stop NAFTA truck pilot program

Posted:  8/29/2007

Download the emergency motion for stay
and the petition for review

More Resources:

Comments

Testimony

Articles
Background Information
Briefs
Fact Sheets
Legislation
Letters
Other Helpful Sources
Press Releases
Statements

Lou Dobb's Tonight Transcript:
The State of American Labor
Aired September 3, 2007 - 18:00   ET

Lou Dobbs Transcripts

Videos - Click Here

North American Union, SPP, NAFTA,
CFR Task Force Documents on NAU

More information and related articles here.

Mexican Truckers Set to Invade U.S.

From CNN'S "Lou Dobbs Tonight" 8/30/07 Transcript:  

In court papers, DOT says -- quote -- "Further delay in complying with our NAFTA motor carrier commitments would cause considerable harm to our relationship with Mexico, an important trading and diplomatic partner." 

ROMANS: Trucks from Mexico could soon be going through America's heartland, raising critical safety and national security concerns. We will have that story.

ROMANS: The Teamsters Union, the Sierra Club and Public Citizen are fighting plans to open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks.

The Teamsters filed suit in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block an administration plan allowing Mexican trucks deep into this country as early perhaps as Saturday. Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa called it a slap in the face to American workers opening highways to potentially dangerous Mexican trucks on Labor Day weekend.

Opponents of the plan also warn the Mexican big rigs are not subject to U.S. safety standards. And Mexican trucks crossing into America's heartland could further compromise border security.

Lisa Sylvester reports on this latest battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pilot program to allow Mexican trucks into the American heartland could start this weekend or early next week. And, over the next year, more than 500 Mexican semi-trucks could be allowed on to U.S. highways, over the objections of the Teamsters Union, environmental and safety watchdog groups, and lawmakers.

(Note from AVR:  Due to conflicting written information in articles and documents, including statements made by FMCSA and DOT, it is unclear whether this is a "pilot program" or a "demonstration program" as it is being referred to as both of these.  A "Pilot Program" would entail Congressional oversight.  It is also referred to as a "Demonstration Project" or

"Demonstration Program", according to the official documents we have read!  More to come about this asap.)

YVETTE PENA LOPEZ, TEAMSTERS UNION: We're going to have these ticking time bomb trucks on our highways. They're not going to be inspected. Not every single truck can be inspected that comes across our border. We don't know who is driving these trucks.

SYLVESTER: An August report by the Department of Transportation's inspector general found Mexico has no certified testing laboratories for drug and alcohol testing of drivers. And systems used to track convictions of Mexican commercial drivers contain data inconsistencies.

Others have raised concerns, including hours of service and English proficiency.

BONNIE ROBIN-VERGEER, PUBLIC CITIZEN: Our view is that this program should be halted until the safety standards are addressed and the program is actually done right.

SYLVESTER: Last month, the House passed a measure that would block funding for the pilot program.

TODD SPENCER, OWNER-OPERATOR, INDEPENDENT DRIVERS ASSOCIATION: The House of Representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, voted unanimously to cut off funds for this pilot project. Yet, and then as quickly as they did that, they went home on recess, and while they're gone on recess, the administration is moving steadily ahead.

SYLVESTER: The Department of Transportation did not make anyone available for an interview, but in a statement said -- quote -- "The department's cross-border truck demonstration program will have no impact on safety, given the thorough pre-screening and safety inspections that every truck from Mexico will have to endure."

In court papers, DOT says -- quote -- "Further delay in complying with our NAFTA motor carrier commitments would cause considerable harm to our relationship with Mexico, an important trading and diplomatic partner."

Source

More Lou Dobbs Transcripts

Public Citizen is a group featured on Lou Dobbs which opposes Mexican truckers invading the U.S. and is part of several groups which have filed a motion in court for an emergency stay to stop these trucks from rolling into the U.S. as early as Saturday, September 1, 2007, Labor Day weekend.

Groups to Court: Stop NAFTA Truck Pilot Program

(Note from AVR:  Due to conflicting written information in articles and documents, including statements made by FMCSA and DOT, it is unclear whether this is a "pilot program" or a "demonstration program" as it is being referred to as both of these.  A "Pilot Program" would entail Congressional oversight.  It is also referred to as a "Demonstration Project" or

"Demonstration Program", according to the official documents we have read!  More to come about this asap.)

Once again, the Bush administration is trying to open U.S. highways to Mexico-domiciled trucks, violating a law Congress passed in May and disregarding the safety of American drivers.

Five groups - Public Citizen, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 
Sierra Club, Environmental Law Foundation and the Brotherhood of Teamsters, Auto and Truck Drivers, Local 70 - filed suit today in California to delay the program, which is scheduled to take effect as early as Sept. 1.

Aug. 29, 2007

Groups Sue to Block NAFTA Truck Pilot Program

Bush Administration Ignoring Congress;
Mexico-Domiciled Trucks May Have Full Access
to the Nation’s Highways as Early as Saturday

LEARN more. 

VIEW the petitioners’ emergency motion for stay.

VIEW the petition for review.

No. 03-358
United States Dep't of Transportation
v. Public Citizen - Petition     
View PDF Version

Sierra Club Lawsuits

Supreme Court Allows Polluting Mexican Trucks onto American Highways

Case Updates:

June 1, 2004 

In early June the Supreme Court gave the Bush Administration a green light to allow outdated and polluting Mexican trucks onto American highways. The decision upholds a NAFTA requirement that trucks be allowed free rein on U.S. highways despite non-compliance with the Clean Air Act and other U.S. clean air laws. Sierra Club had originally stepped in as a friend of the court to stop any weakening of environmental protections. Unfortunately, the decision means that many communities are going to experience even dirtier air as these outdated trucks hit the road.

April 1, 2004

The Club joined with a diverse coalition as a friend of the court to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that the Department of Transportation (DOT) must comply with domestic laws requiring a full assessment of the environmental and public health threats that might result from permitting a huge new influx of heavy trucks from Mexico. The coalition is defending a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that held that the transportation agency violated federal laws by failing to conduct a thorough review of the environmental impacts of the truck traffic. Because most trucks used to haul freight from Mexico are older and less subject to emissions controls, they are likely to emit much more deadly particulate matter and nitrogen oxides than U.S. trucks. The Supreme Court agreed last December to review the case at the request of the Bush administration. A decision is expected in June 2004 following oral arguments in April.

Source

Five groups - Public Citizen, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 
Sierra Club, Environmental Law Foundation and the Brotherhood of Teamsters, Auto and Truck Drivers, Local 70 - filed suit today in California to delay the program, which is scheduled to take effect as early as Sept. 1.

Complaint for Temporary Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief
and Declaratory Judgment from Environmental Law Foundation, a California-based nonprofit organization which works to enforce
environmental laws (such as Proposition 65) against polluters.

More from Environmental Law Foundation:

May 02, 2002: Suit Seeks to Halt Bush Plan On Entry of Mexican Trucks

May 01, 2002: PRESS RELEASE:
 Groups Seek to Halt Bush Administration
from Allowing Environmentally Unsafe Trucks from Mexico 
on U.S. Highways

SPECIAL REPORT:
OOIDA Seeks Injunction of Cross-Border Program

(Note from AVR:  Due to conflicting written information in articles and documents, including statements made by FMCSA and DOT, it is unclear whether this is a "pilot program" or a "demonstration program" as it is being referred to as both of these.  A "Pilot Program" would entail Congressional oversight.  It is also referred to as a "Demonstration Project" or

"Demonstration Program", according to the official documents we have read!  More to come about this asap.)

Videos - Click Here

More videos will be posted asap!

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A Labor Day Message from General President James P. Hoffa

August 31, 2007

This Monday, we pay tribute to the millions of hardworking men and women who make our world better and keep our country vital. The recognition is well-deserved, although a single day hardly seems adequate to address the contributions of workers and the generations who preceded them.

As we approach Labor Day, the American labor movement is reinvigorated and working for profoundly important things: the continued existence of the middle class and our national safety. I’m proud that the 1.4 million members of the Teamsters Union are at the