permaculture

[lfl@intrex.net]

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 15:08:29 -0600, in alt.activism.underground
The WiscoTrader
Providing fair trade news and views
you won't find in the mainstream media.
Volume 2, January 25th, 2005

The Good
Milwaukee artist Terese Agnew's latest project, "Portrait of a Textile
Worker," is causing a stir among anti-sweatshop activists and labor
unions.
The 8x9 foot quilt is made out of thousands of garment labels, and
will be
on display from Jan. 28 to Feb. 12 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center
for the
Arts in Brookfield's Mitchell Park.  It will be unveiled during an
opening
reception with the artist on Jan. 28 at 6 p.m., and those wishing to
attend
should RSVP by calling 262-781-9470.

The Bad
This month, the US Department of Agriculture acknowledged our country
will
start importing more food than it exports, meaning Wisconsin family
farmers
will continue to suffer from our current unfair trade agenda.

The Ugly
Commerce Secretary to cast CAFTA opponents as anti-Hispanic.  Carlos
Gutierrez will pull a race card from out under his sleeve, despite
several
prominent Latino organizations voicing strong opposition to CAFTA.
Groups
including the League of United Latin American Citizens; the Salvadoran
American National Network, and the Central American Resource Center
say
CAFTA would hasten the outsourcing of US jobs and encourage the
exploitation
of poor Central American workers and the environment.  Several members
of
the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Reps. Xavier Becerra,
D-Calif.,
Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Hilda Solis, D-Calif., also oppose CAFTA.

Upcoming Events
January 28 -- Terese Agnew sweatshop quilt unveiled, Wilson Arts
Center,
Brookfield
February 6-13 -- Maggies' Organics tour visiting the Nueva Vida sewing
co-op
February 18-21 -- Chicago, United Students for Fair Trade national
convergence
March 1st - President's request for Fast Track extension due to
Congress
April 1-2 -- Ann Arbor, Conscientious Consumer Conference
April 2-5 -- Principles of Community Organizing Training Session,
Billings,
Montana. Apply online at www.worc.org. Or call 406-252-9672
May 2005 - GATS offers deadline
May 7th - 20th - Fairtrade Fortnight -- Next May Oxfam will be
celebrating
Fairtrade with a series of great events around the country.

News You Can Use
A Fight We Can Win - John Nichols of The Nation articulates how the
fight
against CAFTA has the makings for success. Evidence from the 2004
election-including the defeat of Republican congressional candidate
Billy
Tauzin III in Louisiana and the reelection of Democratic Senator Russ
Feingold in Wisconsin-suggests that the free trade message is
problematic
for Republicans. Click here to send a message to your Representative
about
CAFTA.

U.S.-Central American Trade Deal Lacks Support, Opponents Say -- A
trade
agreement between the U.S. and Central American nations is unlikely to
be
voted on in Congress because of a lack of support among lawmakers,
opponents
of the accord said. The House of Representatives is probably about 40
votes
shy of the majority needed to get the agreement passed.

CAFTA Causes Confrontation in Costa Rica -- Unions have announced that
they
are prepared to shut down the country if CAFTA is presented to the
parliament, and there are serious doubts about whether the agreement
has the
votes to pass in Costa Rica.  (Story in Spanish.)

Lawsuit challenges Wisconsin's voter list contractor -- The lawsuit
marks
yet another episode in a growing debate over the outsourcing of
government
work to private contractors like Accenture. The state spent $743.7
million
on contract work, twice what it spent a decade ago. Accenture helped
Florida
build a similar voter list, which the secretary of state said was
marred by
mistakes.

U.S., Panama Fail To Conclude FTA Talks - Last week the two failed to
conclude negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement largely
because
they were unable to agree on market access terms for a lengthy list of
sensitive agricultural commodities.

WTO Inaction May Condemn Garment Workers To Prostitution -- Reports
that
plant closures in Cambodia could push garment workers into
prostitution has
prompted renewed demands for the WTO to examine the impact of trade
liberalization.

China Workers Denied Rights--Chinese workers are denied the most basic
freedoms according to "The Struggle for Worker Rights in China." The
report
warns other developing countries will be pressured to deny workers'
rights
unless multinational companies and trade unions push China, which has
about
one-quarter of the world's workforce, to adopt basic rights.

Trade deficit shoots to record $60.3 billion -- Economists call the
deficit
"distressing", but the White House claimed it demonstrated the
strength of
the U.S. economy.  Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital disagreed,
adding,
"Treasury Secretary John Snow continued with his Rumpelstiltskin
routine of
characterizing disastrous economic news as if it were just the
opposite."
The largest U.S. trade deficit in November was with China: $16.6
billion.

New Numbers in for Area Job Loss Affected by China Trade -- The
Economic
Policy Institute in Washington estimates that Wisconsin lost 41,000
jobs
based on low-cost imports from China.

Gold Star Award
Last week the Texas State Democratic Party Executive Committee
unanimously
passed a resolution calling for party unity in opposition to CAFTA:

Therefore be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party will seek a
statement of unity against CAFTA from the Party's Congressional
Delegation;
and

Be it further resolved that the members of the SDEC will contact the
members
of the Party's Congressional Delegation and encourage them to pledge
publicly their opposition to CAFTA, and

Be it finally resolved that the SDEC will implore the members of the
Party's
Congressional Delegation to issue a joint statement against the CAFTA
agreement.

Take Action
On January 29th, People across the country are planning a Day of
Action
against Kohl's Department Store, a buyer from PT Sarasa Nugraha.
Please
call the Campaign for Labor Rights at 202-544-9355x20 or write them at
clr@clrlabor.org if you are interested in participating in your area.

To stop receiving this bi-monthly update of Wisconsin Fair Trade News,
simply reply to this email with remove in the subject line.  If this
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weeks, send an email to agussert@charter.net with subscribe in the
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line.
To join the Wisconsin Fair Trade Coalition, contact Andy Gussert at
agussert@charter.net.

The WiscoTrader is a publication of the Wisconsin Fair Trade Coalition
2158 Atwood Avenue, Suite 201, Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Tel 608.442.1378 ~ Fax 608.442.1439 ~ agussert@charter.net