--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > on 8/17/05 9:48 PM, lurkernomore20002000 at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > snip > >> > > Speaking of which, I saw The Corporation last night. One of the most > >> powerful documentaries I've ever seen. > > > > snip > >> > > THE CORPORATION empowers viewers and > >> shows them that they can realistically enact change. For that > > reason, this > >> documentary makes real progress, encouraging viewers to take the > > world's > >> future into their own hands and away from corporations whose sole > > interest > >> is profit." > >> > >> Rick, can you describe in "nutshell", what course of action they > > suggest. Thom Hartmann talks alot about this. He seems to > > recommend the grass works stuff - voting, pressure on legislators. > > But when you put this on one side, and the pharmaceutical lobby, > > the bank lobby, the energy lobby, and, and, . . . on the other - > > well, wow. > > The documentary showed how the people in Bolivia rebelled when the Bechtel > Corporation tried to privatize their water supply such that the had to pay a > quarter of their income for water. The government (in Bechtel's pocket) > tried to suppress them. Some were injured and killed, but the people > prevailed and the government was toppled.
I haven't seen the documentary in question but I am a little familiar with the Bechtel/Bolivia incident. Bechtel wasn't trying to "privatize their water supply"; water in the city/town in question was and is free to all...it was the DISTRIBUTION system that Bechtel got a contract for and would charge people for. Instead of lugging pails of water for miles on their heads or on donkeys, people would get it instantaneaously through a system that Bechtel would build. If people didn't want to partake of the distribution system, they didn't have to...they could still waste their time lugging water around all day. Successive municipal governments had tried for years -- unsuccessfully -- to create a distribution system. Now, for once, it would be available, thanks to Bechtel. Then the local socialists riled everyone up and got them to protest against Bechtel because they were the evil exploiting Americans. And the socialists were successful; Bechtel stopped building the system and -- guess what? -- there was no longer any distribution of water for the people (at least at the point when I last heard about the story). Bechtel left the country and the people were at square one. Bechtel did nothing but good for some very poor people. > > There was also a lot of footage of the CEO of the world's largest carpet > manufacturer. He was a really cool guy, deeply committed to transforming his > company so that it had no negative environmental impact. He's accomplished > about 25% of that goal and intends to reach 100%. > > I guess they also recommended boycotts, and generally raising public > awareness of corporate misdeeds. I felt some sense of futility since the > corporations are so powerful, but look what's happened to Enron and several > big CEOs recently. Look at what Elliot Spitzer has been doing in New York. > There are plenty of examples throughout history of powerful entities > changing or being overthrown when enough people put their minds to it. > > I think this documentary will wake a lot of people up. I have a copy, so > anyone here in Fairfield is welcome to borrow it from me. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
