Sorry, Carol, but I don't see that Big Business gives a rat's ass about either the protesters in Seattle/Quebec, or the damage they are doing to the environment.

The whole POINT of the protesters is that if they are stymied by environmental or labor laws in one country, they will just declare a "free trade" zone to include some other country without such laws, and move their production there. Until labor and environmental laws are universal within a "free trade zone," then the whole idea of "free trade" must be seen for what it is: a clever mantra covering up corporate greed and irresponsibility.

Until we can "level the playing field" not just between firms but between the environments and workforces of the various nations within a so-called "free trade zone," it will continue to be a mockery of the word "free" and a mockery of the nations and peoples being duped into such arrangements.

I'm all for true free trade, in which every firm must pay the WHOLE cost of their business -- granted, it will be passed along to the consumers. So be it. Until it is reckoned and paid in full, the consumers will not be held responsible for their reckless spending habits.

Which is what "reckless" means, right? Without reckoning. It's long past time for the day of reckoning. May it come swiftly.

Alex