Mulling over Rene Laederach to Steve Asher 26 Aug 2003

Hi Rene...

SA> They've switched from forest extinction to shortage of water, so they
SA> need to impose additional feel-good, do-nothing levies on water
SA> "consumers" to make us respect it & use it wisely,
while simultaneously
SA> selling water "rights" to the supposedly lacking supply of water.

 RL> Here, sales of public utilities is not an option. Selling anything
 RL> where the state has a stake of more than 50% or where wewould sell
 RL> the majority of the votes would need a popular votation.

 RL> Probably not so in the land of Oz, though.

No, the voting public gets very little say (if any) on what public utilities
are sold off. The publicly owned telco was partially privatised a few years
back, & the justification for further sell-off includes the notion that
continued government control is like being "half pregnant". The full sale
will go ahead when they can get maximum return for the shares.

SA> Unfortunately, globalisation doesn't respect people or their political
SA> views. If the right-wing Americans try to do anything effective about
SA> it, they might just end up charged with violating the "PATRIOT" or
SA> "VICTORY" act, and disappear into the prison system.

 RL> 60 years ago, other people ended up in concentration camps. While I
 RL> think that some real criminals belong there, it's purely for 
 RL> crimes like rape or murder. 

They are the ones who seem to have "get out of jail free" cards, & get
minimal sentences. Shooting someone in the head & blinding them in an
eye rates a $110 good behaviour bond - watering the lawn on the wrong
day of the week gets a similar penalty.

 RL> We'll see how it turns out. If enough cops and soldiers get killed
 RL> over enforcing such laws, things might change. 

SA> Oops - "correctional services" system.

 RL> Ein Umerziehungslager fuer Reaktionaere, ja?

Re-education camp? (from a google search / translation)

 RL> (see www.a-human-right.com for some more explanation about the
 RL> subject and the sentence....)

Interesting site, with a handy glossary.

Cheers, Steve..

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