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Wednesday, May 17
Effect of Corporate Globalization on State & Local Governance
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 17 May 2006 04:00 PM CDT
 Effect of Corporate Globalization on State and Local Governance
From Public Citizen at www.citizen.org
Public
Citizen's Global Trade Watch (GTW) promotes democracy by challenging
corporate globalization, arguing that the current globalization model
is neither a random inevitability nor “free trade.” Our work seeks to
make the measurable outcomes of this model accessible to the public,
press, and policy-makers, while emphasizing that if the results are not
acceptable, then the model can and must be changed or replaced. GTW
works on an array of globalization issues, including health and safety,
environmental protection, economic justice, and democratic, accountable
governance.
The current corporate globalization process is pushing an ever-increasing number of issues away from local or even national democratic decision-making and into inaccessible international venues where few citizens or even their elected representatives can follow.
State laws and municipal policies are coming under attack as "barriers to trade." Yet, agreements such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and new negotiations currently underway at the World Trade Organization continue to expand the same failed approach. These negotiations aim to delve even deeper into areas traditionally under state and local control.
Three areas have particular relevance for state and local governance:
Government Procurement: When states sign up to government procurement provisions contained in agreements such as CAFTA or the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), common economic development and environmental policies, such as buy local laws, policies to prevent offshoring of state jobs, recycled content laws and others could be subject to challenge as barriers to trade.
Investment: Under NAFTA, the proposed CAFTA, and other agreements, corporations can use closed trade tribunals to privately enforce an extreme set of investor rights by directly suing the United States over the actions of state or local governments which restrict the profitability of their investments. NAFTA has already generated “regulatory takings” cases against land use decisions, environmental and public health policies, and adverse court rulings that would not have been possible in U.S. courts.
Services: The WTO services agreement could undermine state efforts to expand health care coverage and rein in health care costs, and places constraints on state and local land use planning. New negotiations in the services area could have additional implications for state regulation of water, energy, higher education, professional licensing and more.
Saturday, May 13
Iowa Blog Roundup
by
Sam Garchik
on Sat 13 May 2006 08:00 AM CDT
Iowa Blog Roundup
By Sam Garchik
A sad week in Iowa for progressives. The Iowa Blogosphere has done a first rate job of covering the Maytag closing and loss of 4,000 jobs. For those looking for national perspective, check out Iowa Progress' page of links. Political commentary by our local elected officials is brought to you by Political Forecast. As they point out, Democrats are again on te side of working people, and Conservatives are again on the side of corporate interests. Finally, Iowa Progress lists solutions and and provides an overall analysis of the situation.
Meanwhile, shrub gets away with, well. Not exactly wiretapping all of your phone calls, but looking at who you called. Who would have thought USA Today would be the defender of the common interest? Good old DFA is is organizing a petition drive, so make sure you tell our pols that you care.
Lastly, this blogger will be working on his kitchen, but you should try to hit the Iowa for Sensible Priorities Mother's Day Rally at the Capital on Sunday. It runs from 2 - 4 pm, and they are still looking for volunteers.
For Sale and Other Transactions
Iowa's Lowest Gas Prices was a great way to find out where to get cheap gas, and Cong. Boswell used to have a link to it on his web page. For some reason, the link is gone, and his new page is all business. I am currently entertaining suggestions as to why Cong B would want to get rid of the link. Conspiracy? Big Oil? The statewide party organization that shall not be named?
Speaking of conspriacies, still no idea who runs ChetNotStupid. However, the folks who sell our t-shirts and buttons are selling, "ChetNotStupid," stuff. I would feel bad if this is a Republican, so whoever does this, fess up!
And last week, I mentioned that I wouldn't comment on advertisements. For those candidates running for office, I am going to say that here's your chance to make your own! Paying for it is a different story, but at least you'll have no need for consultants.
Wednesday, May 10
Wal-Mart & Crime: Is Wal-Mart Safe?
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 10 May 2006 06:19 PM CDT
 Wal-Mart & Crime: Is Wal-Mart Safe?
By Paul Blank - www.wakeupwalmart.com
The
Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign recently released the first national study
detailing the problem of crime at Wal-Mart store locations called
“Wal-Mart & Crime: Is Wal-Mart Safe?” We requested the official
police reports (ie. calls for service) from 551 Wal-Mart store
locations throughout the U.S.
The
results are shocking and outrageous. In 2004, at just those 551
Wal-Mart stores, police were called to respond to over 148,331 police
incidents, including over 2,900 reports of serious or violent crimes....
Based
on this sample, nationally in 2004, we estimate police responded to
nearly 1 million reported police incidents at Wal-Mart stores costing
American taxpayers $77 million.
For a complete copy of the report and to view your local police report please go to:
www.WalMartCrimeReport.com
There
is no explanation why Wal-Mart, despite knowing it has a high level of
crime at some of its stores, has not taken the necessary steps to
improve public safety and address the serious threat to customers,
employees and the community.
As
early as 1994, Wal-Mart actually conducted its own crime study and
found nearly 80% of the crimes were being committed in its parking
lots. A 1996 confidential, internal Wal-Mart memo warned, “We are now
on notice of the violence that is happening on our parking lots in the
Houston area.”
And
yet, even with horrific examples of violent crimes and even rapes at
Wal-Mart stores, Wal-Mart has not publicly adopted a company-wide
policy of installing staffed security cameras and instituting roving
security patrols at all of its stores. In fact, according to a Wal-Mart
official in 2000, Wal-Mart failed to put in roving security patrols at
83% of its stores even though internal Wal-Mart studies showed these
patrols could reduce crime to near zero levels.
We
are sending a letter to Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott calling on Wal-Mart to
immediately take the necessary steps to protect its customers,
employees and the community by adopting a nationwide policy to make its
stores safer, including: putting in security cameras at all its stores,
actually having an employee watch those security cameras and
implementing roving security patrols in all of its parking lots.
As part of this campaign, we call on Wal-Mart to announce this new public safety initiative before Mother’s Day, May 14th 2006.
Please sign our letter calling on Wal-Mart to adopt a nation-wide policy to make its stores safer by Mother’s Day:
http://www.walmartcrimereport.com/letter.html
You
have the power to change Wal-Mart and help build a better America.
Please take a moment and pass our new website
www.WalMartCrimeReport.com and our new report, “Wal-Mart & Crime:
Is Wal-Mart Safe?” on to all of your friends.
Thank you for all that you do,
Paul Blank
WakeUpWalMart.com
P.S. To download a flyer about the report, click here:
http://walmartcrimereport.com/crime-flyer.pdf
Maytag Closing
by
Sam Garchik
on Wed 10 May 2006 06:03 AM CDT
 Maytag Closing
by Sam Garchik
An obituary for Maytag in Iowa comes to us from Drew Miller. DFIA and some unions in Iowa have had major differences, but working people everwhere should pay notice when Republicans and big business cut deals that undermine both. Politicians are talking about extra help for Maytag employees, but the best thing they could do is make sure Iowa jobs stay here.
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