and a lecture series. and the university was so apprehensive about they gave an armed guard who would meet me and stay with me the entire time, to check me into the hotel under another name and have 22 security people on duty the night that i spoke. of course, nothing happened with all of that security. this is amazing, this is the united states of america? and now this has become more civilized in recent years. and so, when i felt recently at berkeley, this was not the fault of the students -- fell recently at berkeley, this was not the fault of the students. . or inviting me today, and i thank all of you wonderful people for coming. and again, i am challenging the young people, go out there and

be leaders. be active in the political process. maybe you will enjoy it as much as i have. thank you. thank you. [applause] caller>> there is nobody in amea more deserving of a lifetime achievement award phyllis schlafly. may god bless you and your family for many years ahead. thank you all for coming. save traveling.

god bless you all. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> president obama wrap up a summit yesterday with mexico's president it felipe calderon hinojosa and canada's prime minister stephen harper. they spoke about climate change, trade, and swine flu. yesterday's joint news conference is next on c-span. o ," washington journal" begins in under an hour. afghanistan, healthcare, and we will hear from the phoenix mayor phil gordon. "washington journal" begins at 7:00 eastern.

>> sunday, contributing editor and columnist for newsweek magazine on his public radio series "against the odds" that? -- which profiles people who have overcome significant obstacles. but this fall, enter the highest court, from the grand places to those only accessible by the nine justices. the supreme court, coming the first sunday in october, on c- span. >> president obama, mexican president felipe calderon hinojosa, and canadian president stephen harper met for the north american leaders conference in mexico. following talks, held a joint news conference to finish their summit.

>> we shall now begin the joint news conference. mr. felipe calderon hinojosa is taking the floor. >> mr. stephen harper, a good prime minister of canada and president obama, president of the united states of america, representatives of the media, national as well as international. the leaders from the united states, mexico, canada, have completed two fruitful meetings for the benefit of our nation's spirit to the leaders from north america's share of the business interests from our regional communities to be safe and secure and that can successfully handle the challenges of the present and the future.

and eight marked by globalization, the challenges can only be overcome jointly, does the importance of keeping the dialogue, trust, and cooperation amongst our three countries. americans, canadians, and mexicans have reiterated that the values upon which all countries were founded on democracy, freedom, justice, and the respect of human rights. our three nations have reiterated our need to combat the struggles over organized crime, transnational organized crime, in order to bring more security to our communities. the struggles we have let in mexico for the rule of law and if the security of our mexican people forces us to stop the traffic of weapons and money that goes from north to south againwith these organized crime

groups. the exchange of information and the building of our institutions is needed for our cooperation. it is an international crisis that we face. the north american region has to take the leadership in taking necessary measures to recover our economic growth. in our task we have set to implement cyclical measures that have been put into action. and according manner we can stabilize our economy and bring about trustworthiness in regard to the future of the global economy. it is necessary to build our financial international institutions. the international monetary fund,

which is fundamental to guarantee financial resources in the case of latin america. the support that will be a enabe us. commitment in regard to the poor countries in the regent of the north american countries, certain that at the next g-20 meeting that shall take place in pittsburg, united states will be a great opportunity to build the necessary agreements to inform these organizations that are key in building our economies. i thank president obama for fostering this commitment in pittsburgh. likewise, the u.s., mexico, canada have to restart our agreements. we recognize that it is essential to abide by nafta and to resolve the pending conflicts

that impede us to reach a greater regional competitiveness. it is important to see how we will fulfil our commitments in regard to the environment and in regard to our labour domain in the trade agreements we have among starke countries. i'm convinced that and tapping the advantages offered by our economic investments, labor, technology, and natural resources, by this we can be successful in the world that is ferociously competing. at this summit we have reached important agreement, boosting standardization of the regulations and specifications of our products as well as sanitary procedures that can be simplified as well as increasing without any losses, the economic

competitiveness of our region. the objective is to have secure and efficient conditions, these procedures to be implemented with no bureaucratic or far- fetched red tape in our offices. and this will decrease the prices for staples and foods and improve competitiveness of our economies. on the other hand, on the bilateral aspect, mexico and the u.s. will launch modernization initiatives at our common border is with it determined terms in order to promote the regional competitiveness actions. mexico commenceds and is pleased to say we will inaugurate the first international bridge that

will be built between the u.s. and mexico. the u.s., mexico, and canada have coincided in the importance to face the repercussions of climatic change. the cost is high. but the price we shall pay for lack of action is not to be calculated, cannot possibly be calculated. we agree we have to foster the global agreement in copenhagen and instrumentation for agreeing on finance and support litigation in actions in regard to the global scale of the climatic change. we need to make progress in regard to clean energy and technology as well lead development of our carbon market in order to have a regional market. north america has to be recognized as a responsible region and must set the example for the world in terms of environmental cooperation amongst countries with different

levels of development. cooperation and solidarity amongst the north american region has to prevail. does it was demonstrated last april when our three countries face to the emergence of this new virus h1n1. working together, we showed it our highest expression of responsibility, accountability, and transparency. because we alerted timely the other regions in the hemisphere, they had the opportunity to implement preventive measures in order to update propagation of the virus and to avoid its legal repercussions. h1n1, as we know what, will be back this winter. we are getting prepared, all three countries, to face this in a responsible manner. these and obeyed its impact on r

people. the minister and mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, at this summit the representatives of the u.s., canada, and mexico have had and open dialogue, countries that share values to work to consolidate the right conditions for development and that has enabled a successful society based on brotherly and responsible relationships. we believe in an american region that is united, that is prosperous and wealthy, that is able to have a better future for the forthcoming generation. and i want to give the floor now to mr stephen harper, prime minister from canada. >> once again, thanks to president calderon and to the mexican people for their hospitality. thanks also to president obama candid exchanges on our

priority issues. the economy, north american health and security, and energy, environment and climate change are the three broad issues. on the economy, because of canada's strong record on financial regulation and fiscal management, we provided an informativion to these meetings. we continue to emphasize the countries must strengthen financial regulations institutions, continue to implement time the economic stimulus, and maintain open markets to resist protectionism. on north america health and security, we talked about our shared an effective response thus far to h1n1. it is a cross border threat to all of us. the excellent cooperation among our three countries helped to manage the initial outbreak. we will continue our cooperative efforts. on security, canada recognizes the courageous commitment of president calderon and taking on

the drug traffickers. we are supporting these efforts as it is a shared challenge for all of us in north america. also, on international peace and security, canada supports ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the political crisis in honduras. we must restore both democratic governance and the rule of law. excuse me, i missed energy and climate change. given the integrated nature of our economies, we spoke at someone about the importance of working together on a north american approach to climate change and also on doing our best to ensure that out of copenhagen going forward we reached an effective and genuinely international move of world protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. to conclude, canada, u.s., and mexico are good neighbors and good friends. qasab and countries in the modern world, we are independent

and interdependent. i look forward to seeing both president calderon and president obama at the g-20 if, looking for the hosting both of you next year at canada's summit in our great country. thank you. >> testing. good morning. buenos dias. i want to thank my great friend mr. calderon for his hospitality and for hosting us at this important summit as well as my good friend mr. stephen harper. i want to thank the people of guadalajara in mexico for the incredible what they have shown us -- warmth they have shown

me on my second trip to mexico. no matter how we say it, we come here today, three nations, one continent, because the challenge is what we will face together. this city could not be more fitting venue. here in guadalajara we see the richness of mexico's heritage, it's art and architecture, its vitality and culture. we also see the possibilities of mexico's future. innovation, high-tech industries, and an entrepreneur or shipped that makes this one of the most dynamic cities in the hemisphere. in guadalajara we also cr economy's coming together. mexicans, canadians, americans as tourists, business partners, neighbours, each bound by mutual respect and bringing their own traditions.

the 21st century is defined not simply by borders, but our bonds. that has defined the spirit of this production summit we have today. first we agree we have directed editor restore our common prosperity. the global recession has cost jobs and hurt families from seattle to toledo to tijuana. we renewed our commitment to work together in ottawa, washington, and mexico city, building on our progress of the g8 and g-20 summit, week continued to take coordinated efforts to restore economic growth and create jobs for our workers, including workers in the north american auto industry. because so much of our common prosperity and millions of jobs depend on trade that goes across our borders, billions of dollars worth of trade every day, we reaffirm the need to reject protectionism. we committed ourselves to the infrastructure investment of regulation, intellectual property protection on which

trade thrives. we are among each other's largest trading partners. we work together towards lasting prosperity, we need to expand that trade and not restricted. i would note our common prosperity depends on orderly legal migration. altria our nations have been enriched by it -- all three of our nations have been enriched by migration. my own brother-in-law is canadian. anamericans, canadians, and mexicans expect their borders to be secure. we're working to fix the immigration system in the u.s. because we have a nation of immigrants and the nation of laws. our future prosperity depends on clean energyenergy economies. we've committed ourselves to

green jobs and the goals set forth last month in italy. nations like the u.s., canada, and mexico will reduce emissions by 80% in 2015. we will work with other nations to cut global emissions in half. we have made progress toward the goals that will be negotiated at the copenhagen climate change meeting in the summer. thanks to it president calderon for his innovative proposal to build queen, sustainable economies and president harper for similar efforts. we reiterated, our three governments have worked closely, collectively, and responsibly against h1n1. we have continued to take necessary precautions to prepare for the upcoming floozies an end to protect the health of our people. to this challenge transcends borders. -- precautions to prepare for

the upcoming the flu season. and the violence and death caused by the drug trade. i heartily commend president calderon and his government for their determination and courage in taking on the cartels. the president reaffirmed his government's commitment to transparency, accountability, and human rights as they waged this difficult but necessary fight. the u.s. will remain a full partner in this effort. we will work to make sure mexico has been supported needs to dismantle and defeat the cartel's. the u.s. will continue our efforts to reduce the demand for drugs and continue to strengthen the security of our shared border. not only to protect american people, but to suspend the illegal southbound flow of american guns and money that helps fuel this extraordinary violence. third, we reaffirmed our commitment to our common

boundaries including democracy, peace, and human rights. we discussed the coup in honduras. our three nations stand united. president zelaya remains the democratically elected president. cothe constitution must be restored. we will work with the and organization of american states to get a peaceful solution i look forward to welcoming prime minister harper to washington in september. i look forward to welcoming both my friends at the tree -- g-20 summit in pittsburgh. where i hope to reciprocate president calderon's hospitality. our progress today is a reminder that no nation can handle the challenging times on the wrong. we can only achieve this by working together. half a billion people in north america expect this from us, so

that is what we will do. thank you very much. >> [speaking in spanish] good afternoon, there are certain questions about violation of human rights in mexico. all of these problems, fighting drug trafficking. are you going to certify mexico and how can we move forward with the merida initiative popery have also been concerned about any attempt against the life of felipe calderon hinojosa. we know about certain threads and insecurity that prevails. this is certainly related to your country. we are concerned about the visa problems as well.

what comments did you have regarding these questions? >> park[speaking in spanishh] >> pardon. >> what are your concerns regarding this? we would also like to know of mexico will be certified? and if you will help and apply resources for the merida initiative but we have also heard about attempts against the life of president calderon? do you have any knowledge of this? we are also concerned about national security and about visas. we would like to know, is there any possibility that you might turn this around?

that we might not have any limit on visas? >> i will just address the first two questions that seem to apply to the united states. number one, we have been very supportive of the merida initiative and will continue to do so. we have our tazeen resources transferred, equipment transferred in order to help president called around in what is a very courageous effort to deal with a drug cartel it, a set of cartels that are not only resulting in extraordinary violence to the people of mexico, but are also undermining institutions like the police and judiciary systems that unless stopped, will be very damaging to the country. with respect to it the conduct of this battle against the cartels, i have great confidence in president calderon's

administration applying the law enforcement techniques that are necessary to curb the power of the cartels, but doing so in a way that is conducive with human rights. we discussed this in our bilateral meeting. i am confident that, as the national police are brought in and, the ordination between military and local police and officials is improved, there is going to be transparency and accountability increased and that human rights will be observed. the biggest by far violators of human rights right now are the cartels, themselves, that are kidnapping people and exporting people and encouraging corruption in the region. that is what needs to be stopped. that is what president calderon is committed to doing and that is what i am committed to helping president calderon accomplished. >> ah>> on the question of visa,

it is important to understand is due to one thing on the. that is the dramatic rise we have seen over the last two years and this year in particular in the number of bogus refugee claims made from mexico into canada. it is important to understand that this decision first of all has nothing to do with the actions of the mexican government. the mexican government has cooperated with us in an effort to stem this particular problem. it continues to work with us in ways we might reverse it. but the underlying problem is in the canadian refugee laws. it is to is too easy in canada

to make a bogus refugee claim as a way of entering the country. we have to change that. it is unfair to those who are legitimate refugees and unfair to the hundreds of thousands of people working through our immigration system to become immigrants of this country, to our country. we will continue to work with mexican authorities to try to limit this problem. in the absence of legislative change, it is very difficult for our government to control this other than through the imposition of visas. it is the only tool available to us right now. we need additional tools, our parliament to stem the flow bogus refugee claims and to have additional tools to deal with the problem. >> alex pineta, canadian press it.

we will continue with him. >> the topic is very important to us, first of all, my government has a categorical commitment to human rights. the battle we are fighting against organized crime is precisely to preserve human rights of the mexican people, the right to safety and security, to personal safety and integrity, and the right to have a safe family. the right to work without being molested or disturbed, and the struggle for the security and safety of the mexican people. we have a strong commitment to protect the human rights of everybody, the victims and even of the criminals, themselves. this is how it's been. this is how it will continue to be. this is how the federal police black. the attorney general's and armed forces will act as well. in all the-- this is how the fel

police will act. anyone who's says there has not been human rights care for, that the authorities have not taken care for human rights, they are wrong. we have met the human rights commitments and we will continue to do so. not because of any money that might come through the merida initiative or what is said in the u.s. congress, but because we have a strong commitment to human rights. in a personal sense, for several decades now, i have always had this commitment. i have some details about

what you have pointed out, but it won't be the first or last occasion on which we might hear something about an attempt against my personal, about my life, my person. once again, the government just cannot stop. it cannot be deterred. we know that we are destroying their criminal organizations. we are hitting them hard. we are hitting at the heart of the organizations. we are making them back away. they know that we are not only taking an initiative in the struggle against crime, but we are actually being able to defend our country better as time goes by. this is not the type vengeance, of getting back to anyone. we want to make sure that mexico is a safe place to live in.

that we will be able to move forward in this world. not just talking about these organizations. our basic objective is to provide safety for the american people. this is something the mexican people are entitled to, that their children and families can go out to the street, they can go out to play, they can go to school, they can make progress, and fulfil their aspirations. that mexico be a free country, free of delinquency and violent. that mexico be a safe country. in the struggle we won't be intimidated nor will they put a stop to our efforts. once again, i certainly hope that mexican society recognizes all the efforts we are making a long beelines, the police force have been victims of the thames and karlie acts by the criminals, the efforts carried at by marines and soldiers. -- the police force has been victims of cowardly acts,

criminal acts. once again, we have had a dialogue with prime minister harper on several occasions as we did on this occasion. the matter of visas for a mexican visitors, we have talked openly and frankly. certainly, mexico certainly feels very bad about this decision, about this rejection, even though it is a privilege of the canadian government to stipulate this. but it gets in the way of a good relationship of what prime minister harper and i are doing, to better relations between the two countries. the explanation prime minister harper has mentioned, there's a problem with the bogus refugee claim problem, which has led to an abuse of the system.

we are going to try to work together. we are doing this in mexico to try to do away with the underlying causes of this abuse regarding the system for receiving refugees in canada. once again, for me it is clear that as the president of mexico, that i have an obligation of ensuring that a specific topic on the bilateral agenda not deter reaching our full potential of other matters on the agenda. once again, here lies a great opportunity in this particular area of economic complementarity of the three countries' economies. that this will take our whole region up to a higher state of competitiveness, to the benefit of our people. working along and making great strides. we certainly will continue to work along these lines in a frank and open way with prime

minister harper and president obama. we only get one question each. it's two parts. the first part is for the three leaders, primarily president obama. >> could you use the microphone? >> i would appreciate it the prime minister could speak in french as well. there's considerable cause outside the u.s.. i'm wondering what you discussed about buy amercica in the meeting. also, health care has been a big debate. canadians are looking on with some fascination as our health care system has become a political football in your country. i would like to ask prime

minister hart and president obama whether there are elements of the canadian health-care system, particularly the public model, which are worth emulating. >> with respectb to withuy amety american"provision, we have not seen some sweeping steps towards protectionism. there was a very particular provision that was in a recovery package, are stimulus package that did not extend beyond that. it was wto compliant. it was not something that i thought was necessary, but it was introduced at a time when we had a very severe economic

situation. it was important for us to act quickly. and not to get bogged down in debates around this particular provision. prime minister harper and i have discussed this. there may be mechanisms whereby states and local jurisdictions can work with the provinces to allow for cross border procurement practices that expand the trading relationships. but i do think it is important to keep this in perspective. this in no way has endangered the billions of dollars traded between our two countries. it is not a general provision. it was restricted to a very particular aspect of our recovery package. with respect to the health-care debate, we are having a vigorous debate in the u.s.. that is a healthy thing. the reason it is necessary is

because we are currently on an unsustainable path. we spent far more per person on health care than any nation on earth. are out comes in terms of various measures of well-being don't rank us at the top. we're not doing better than a lot of other advanced developed countries that are spending much less per person. individual families are being bankrupted because of the lack of insurance. we have 47 million people without health insurance in our country. for those with health insurance, they are always at risk of private insurers it of eliminating their insurance because of a pre-existing conditions or because they lose a job or change jobs. the final aspects of it is that our health care inflation is

going up so rapidly that our federal budget simply cannot sustain it, nor can businesses that are increasingly having to make decisions on whether they hire more workers or eliminate healthcare. whether that stop providing coverage or to force more costs on to their workers. the whole system is not working well. how do we change it? one sixth of the u.s. economy. there are going to be a lot of opinions. congress has moved forward. we are closer to achieving a serious health reform package than we have been in the last 40 or 50 years. but there has to be a debate. i have said that the canadian model works for canada. it would not order the united states. simply because we have evolved different. we have an employer-based system. uprighted based health-care system that stance side-by-side with medicare it and medicaid as well, and our veterans

administration health care system. so we have to develop a uniquely american approach to this problem. this, by the way, is a problem that all countries will have to deal with at some level, because if medical inflation continues at the pace is going, everybody's budgets will be put under severe strain. and so, we are trying to make sure we have a sensible plan that provides coverage for everybody, that continues it the role in the private marketplace, but provides people without health insurance that are falling through the cracks in the private marketplace a realistic and meaningful option. we have to do it in a way that also changes our delivery system so that we are not engaged in the kind of wasteful inefficient medical spending that is so costly to us. so, i suspect we will have it continue it vigorous debate. i suspect that few canadians will continue to get dragged in by those -- that you canadians

will continue to get dragged into the debate. i don't find canadians particularly scary, but i guess some opponents of reform do. i think that's a mistake. i suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge and we will get this fixed. startek along on the question. >-- sorry for taking so long on the question. >> [speaking and frencin french]

[speaking french] >> on buy american, we did have a good discussion, as president obama said. i'm happy to see our provinces and the federal government have recently come to an agreement to work collectively on this matter, which is largely, actually, within their jurisdiction since this concerns some national procurement. our respective trade ministers

have been talk, officials are talking, we expect -- i anticipate that president obama and i will be discussing this at greater length in upcoming meetings. on the american health care debate, on the debate over the system of health care, we know, as you know well, canadians support their own health care system. as for the rest of this question, the only answer is, this is an american debate and the responsibility of the provinces. >> ginger thompson. >> i'd like to start with president obama, please. given the fight you're having to wage for health care, i wonder if you can tell us what you think the prospects are for immigration reform, for comprehensive immigration reform which you said is your

goal, and whether you think the blows you're taking now on health care, and that the democrats are likely to take around the mid term elections, will make it hard if not impossible to achieve comprehensive immigration reform in this term, and who what you told president calderon about that? president calderon, i'd like to hear a little bit about your thoughts on honduras. there have been some in latin america who have said that the united states has not acted strongly enough to return the hon duran president to power. i wonder if you can talk a little bit about how you feel about what the united states could be doing or should be doing to restore democratic order in honduras and prime minister, harp -- prime minister harper, a few months ago, the homeland security secretary of the united states went to canada, or at least aggravated canadian sensibilities when she compared the canadian border to the

mexican border and i wonder what you think about that and how you feel about the united states using some of the enforcement strategies adopted on the southern border in the north? thank you. >> that's all? >> that's all, mr. president. >> well, first of all, ginger, i don't know if you're doing some prognosticating about the outcome of the mid term elections, which are over a year away, i anticipate we'll do just fine. and i think when all is said on health care reform, the american people are going to be glad that we acted to change an unsustainable system so that more people have coverage, we're bending the cost curve and we're getting insurance reform so that people don't get dropped because of pre-existing

conditions or other issues. so understand, though, i'm not acting based on short-term political calculations. i'm looking at what's best for the country,@@@@@@á@ @ @ @ r i'm looking at what is best for the country, long term. nobody kept elated that i could win the presidency, so that's not my style. with respect to immigration reform, i continue to believe it is also in long-term interest of the united states. we have a broken immigration system. nobody denies it. and if we continue on the path we are on, we will continue to have tensions with our mexican neighbors. we will continue to have people crossing the borders and a way that is dangerous for them, unfair for those who are applying legally to emigrate. we will continue to have employers exploiting workers

because they are not within the legal system. oftentimes, they are receiving less than minimum wide and are being abused in other fashions. that will suppress u.s. wages. that is causing ongoing tensions inside the united states. e going to change it. now, i've got a lot on my plate and it's very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don't all just crash at the same time. what we've said is in the fall when we come back, we're going to complete health care reform. we still have to act on energy legislation that has passed the house but the senate, i'm sure, is going to have its own ideas about how it wants to approach it. we still have financial regulatory reform that has to get done because we don't want a situation in which irresponsible actions in the global financial markets can

precip kate another crisis. that's a pretty big stack of bills. what we've been able to do is begin meeting with both democrats and republicans from the house and the senate, secretary napolitano is coordinating these discussions and i would anticipate that before the year is out, we'll have draft legislation along with sponsors, potentially, in the house and senate, who are ready to move this forward and when we come back next year that we should be in a position to start acting. now, am i going to be able to snap my fingers and get this done? no. this is going to be difficult, it's going to require bipartisan cooperation, there are going to be demagogues out there who try to suggest that any form of pathway for legalization, for those who are already in the united states, is unacceptable and those are

fights that i'd have to have if my poll numbers are at 70% or if my poll numbers are at 40%. that's just the nature of the u.s. immigration debate. but ultimately, i think the american people want fairness and we can create a system in which you have strong border security, we have an orderly process for people to come in, but we're also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the united states to be able to achieve a pathway to citizenship so they don't have to live in the shadows and their children and their grandchildren can have a full participation in the united states. i'm confident we can get it done. oh, excuse me, i know this wasn't directed at me, but i want to make one quick point on honduras because you repeated something that i've heard before. the same critics who say that

the united states has not intervened enough in honduras, are the same people who say we're always intervening and we need to get out of latin america. you can't have it both ways. we have been very clear in our belief that the president was removed from office illegally, that it was a coup, and he should return. we have cooperated with all international bodies in sending that message. if these critics think it's appropriate for us to suddenly act in ways that in every other context they consider inappropriate, then i think what that indicates is that maybe there's some hypocrisy

involved in their approach to u.s.-latin america relations that certainly is not going to gut my administration's policies. [speaking spanish] >> many of the people who work in the united states who live in the shadow, live in the state or come from jalisco, the state. these are people who have migrated to build a better future for their families. all of them, or most of them, have enormously contributed to the american society and the american economy and it is unthinkable to see that the u.s., the main power, the main economic power in the world,

disvalues the contribution of mexican laborers and workers. this is not only a good will statement. during our meeting, we handed the delegation the benefits of north america and why the mexican population represents in terms of the population of the united states. the only way to have sustained progress throughout the north american region, especially, is for allowing for the natural economic processes so immigration can happen, this implies the labor mobility that cannot be determined by mandate or decree. this is what we have underscored with president obama during this meet to keep on invoking the protection for the mexican laborers, whatever their migration conditions are in the united states and our highest commitment to the way

president obama has tackled this migration issue. now aside from defending the rights of the mexican laborers in the united states, one day, instead of the mexican people having to leave their country because they're hungry, we need an economic scheme where we have great investments coming from the u.s., hailing from canada, and opening here the labor opportunities that the mexicans so need. i think president barack obama has responded to the topic, or to the issue on honduras. what we have discussed and agreed is what needs to be done . to build the international action that was been taken in order to re-establish democracy in honduras, to strengthen the o.a.s. and the group that's going to meet, to build the mediation actions that oscar

arias, the president of costa rica, is carrying out in order to re-establish the constitutional law in honduras. this is not about a person or another. this is not about the president of honduras himself, per se, it is about the constitutional and democratic lives that ought to be defended in regards to the international legal framework we have all agreed upon and one more expression, i coincide in the contradiction highlighted by president obama. those who have rejected or have argued about the intervention of the united states in the region, are those who now are claiming for the determination or the intervention of the u.s. in the region no matter how legal this action might be. so we have to resort to international law and international instances beyond the intervention of one single

state or even more. the intervention of one single person to resolve such a dispute and such an issue. this is a path to be taken. today we congratulate ourselves that president obama is leading the administration of the united states but in the past that happened, but in the future we don't know who might be president next. i am not of those who share the idea that the u.s. are elected as the ultimate judge and the ultimate sovereign resolvers through the intermediation of the affairs in our country yes, we have to have -- our countries. yes, we have to open the paths to organizations, for groups we have formed such as rio group, groups that are friends of north america, countries that befriend honduras, that befriend central america, that befriend guatemala.

these countries must act on our own account, but in observance of the international law and the rules we have settled ourselves. we have to perform a group of friends of honduras that through -- with the help of oscar arias and with the help of the o.a.s. and their forthcoming action. >> just briefly, minister van lauden and secretary napolitano and other initials -- officials have been meeting on the question of our shared border, i think we have good cooperation in that regard. there's always work to be done. let me be clear, from the canadian perspective, we look at our border as a line between the two closest countries on earth. we have the largest trading relationship of any two countries on earth, but we also

share security concerns. i've said repeatedly, i'll say again, there's no such thing as a threat to the united states which is not a threat to the security of canada. that's why canada has been a steadfast ally of the united states, nafta, and norad for many, many years. we want to address the same security issues the united states wants to address and we want to do so in a way that doesn't impede commerce and doesn't impede the great sial interaction which has made our two countries so close over the decades. i'm just going to also weigh in a little bit. as a friend of the united states, on the question posed to president obama. if i were an american, i would be really fed up with this kind of hypocrisy. the united states is accused of meddling, except when it's accused of not meddling.

and the same types of -- the same types who are demanding the united states somehow intervene in honduras, the same type of people who would -- who would condemn long standing cooperation between colombia and the united states, which is being done for he jate in the security and drug traffic reasons that are in the interests of all the countries of this hemisphere. mexico and canada are involved in the mediation effort l efforts in supporting the mediation efforts of president areas -- areas. i think the united states has forcefully articulated its concerns and its outcomes in that regard and has been supportive of those of us working in the multilateral process to deal with this serious issue in the hemisphere. so, you know, i think that's precisely what we want to see from the united states is the

united states that leads on issues of values but is very supportive of multilateral attempts to deal with challenges that we all face. >> howell is c-span funded? >> donations. >> federal funds, grants. >> of private contributions. >> i don't know. >> if from commercials. >> advertising. >> if the government. >> 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service. a private-business initiative. no government mandate, no government money. [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008] . >> and coming up and 30 minutes, andrew of the center of new american security will talk about the political and security situation in afghanistan. after that, linda douglass of the white house office of reform joins us. and then