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Showing posts with label mob. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mob. Show all posts

Sunday, October 20, 2013

THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP SCAM

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From the book BLUE GOLD
by Maude Barlow & Tony Clarke
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PRIVATIZATION SCHEMES
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As one of the cardinal features of the Washington Consensus,
the private takeover of public institutions and enterprises has become the
prime instrument for the commodification of water.  Public services like
the delivery of water, traditionally by municipal governments in
most countries, are taken over by corporations,
often foreign owned, in the interests of making a profit. 
Through this privatization process,
water is turned into a commodity, priced, put on the market, and sold,
usually on the basis of ability to pay.
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Water privatization generally occurs in one of three forms.  First,
there is the complete sell-off by governments of public water delivery and
 treatment systems to corporations, as has happened in the United Kingdom.
Second, there is the model developed in France, whereby water corporations are
granted concessions or leases by governments to take over delivery of
the service and carry the cost of operating and maintaining the system,
while collecting all the revenues for the water service and keeping the 
surplus as a profit.  Third, there is a more restrictive model, in which
a corporation is contracted by the government to manage water services
for an administrative fee, but is not able to take over the collection of revenues,
let alone reap profits from surpluses.  While all three forms contain the
seeds of privatization, the most common one is the second model,
often referred to as "public-private partnerships." 
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And here's the beginning of Page 5 of the LLC website:
A Public-Private Partnership.

Every year, New Mexico municipalities spend millions of dollars purchasing water rights in controversial offsets. None of these purchases deliver any actual water to the cities. Infrastructure stills needs to be built and every year, millions are spent on energy costs necessary to pump, treat and deliver the water.
The Bureau of Reclamation has spent significant funds throughout the year to increase stream flow in the Rio Grande. For example its 2012 budget includes over $6 million for the “acquisition of supplemental non-Federal water, and pumping from the low flow conveyance channel into the Rio Grande
during the irrigation season”.
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In spite of all these expenditures, the river is running dry and public officials are sounding the alarm: “The pressures on the Rio Grande now and other rivers of the state in the future are great. If we didn’t have the storage in northern New Mexico reservoirs and the San Juan-Chama project, the Rio Grande would be dry right now. That’s a pretty shocking thing . . . Where are we going to get the water?” 
 Senator Tom Udall,
 Annual Water Conference,
 Las Cruces, August 2012.
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The value of the water rights at the benchmark prices New Mexico municipalities are paying exceeds the estimated construction cost of the Augustin Plains Ranch project. Operation and Maintenance costs of the project are significantly below current costs to the municipalities since no expensive energy is required to convey the project water to the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area.
.Our proposed Public Private Partnership will supply 54,000 Acre Feet of water every year to the Middle Rio Grande, at no additional costs
 to the citizens of New Mexico.

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Here's the link to the entire page from the website:
http://sanaugustinwater.com/partnership.html
  The graphic illustration below is  how they
see the "stakeholders," though it's interesting to
note that the LLC isn't included in the graphic.
The LLC being of course the Augustin Plains Ranch LLC,
otherwise known as "the foreigners" - Bruno Modena
and his son Vittorio, from Milan, Italy, the multi-millionaire
father-son team, and unnamed as yet other investors.
The would-be water thieves.
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BusinessDictionary.com defines "stakeholder" as
"A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization..
Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources."
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If they were included in the graphic, it would
certainly be represented as a giant leech,
disguised like a big oval bladder, called "OWNERS" -
 with tentacles attached everywhere, sucking
blood, money, and water from "The People."
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  They ought to be represented in the graphic.
They'll be getting the water, and all the damn money
that will come to them as a result of their theft.
In most respects, they've got the biggest stake.
Potentially, a huge fortune rides on the outcome here.
And the people of Catron and Socorro Counties,
and the people of New Mexico in the big picture,
 have the most to lose.
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And, without wanting to sound inhospitable,
or lacking basic human charity,
 the following needs to be said:
 THESE GUYS DON'T SEEM TO GET IT.
NO ONE
WANTS THEM AS A PARTNER. 
PEOPLE WANT THEM
TO LEAVE, TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.
IF THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP TO BE HAD,
IT WON'T BE WITH THE LIKES OF THESE.
IT WOULD BE BEST FOR ALL IF THEY
JUST MOVED ON.  PERIOD.
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The little that's known about these people is
either very bad, or worse.  Check the early blog posts
about their financial adventure in Maine.
It was a whole new form of extortion.
Everything else is hidden - no financial statements,
no tax returns, no nothing.
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From all appearances, (and this is just appearances),
they're international mobsters of some sort,
 very secretive, very closed
 They don't want anyone to know ANYTHING about them.
If they did, they'd have put up a financial profile
that was somewhat believable. 
Who they are.  Where all the damn money comes from.
 They never have put up any info - it's just
 a Santa Fe or New York lawyer's office
 as an address.
They sure as hell don't come out to western
New Mexico, announce who they are,
and invite everyone over to a Bar-B-Q.
 They're off in Norway, Germany, or maybe Italy,
or visiting Ukraine, Moldova, or Israel.
Or God Knows Where.
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[Editor's Note 10/15
Those countries, along with the U.S., compose
the Top 7 world audience for hits on the blog.
United Kingdom is coming on strong as
a new contender at #8.]
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These are international operators,
why else would all these people be interested?
This can't all be hits from kids in college 
"World Business Ethics 310" classes.
I see a family portrait in the mirror.
But, obviously, the less people know, the better,
as far as the Modenas and their organization
are concerned.
It's nice to know folks watch us though.
There's a snake in the grass.  Beware.
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But quien sabe, who knows, maybe they're in the
hospitality business.  Or maybe they are simply
trying to figure out how to launder a ton of cash,
and make a Sultan's ransom in the process.
Whatever.
These are NOT the kind of people you want
to do business with, especially WITH WATER. 
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  You should note that while there are
numerous claims about "costs" in their web
 copy, there are NO figures - NONE, NADA.
No proof, just "take our word for it."

Their Project Director is a liar and thief from
the Louis Berger Group, a federal contractor
working in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere,
that got hit with the largest war-time fine
for a federal contractor - in U.S. history.
This LLC Project Director, Michel Jichlinski,
was President and CEO of the outfit during the period 
 that the whisleblower's evidence covered. 
He's not American, he's a foreigner, 
carrying passports from....
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It was a massive fraud scheme via
 exotic accounting overbilling practices,
and where bribes to ANYONE were common,
which the company called "grease money".
 The entire company, the Louis Berger Group,
was called "a culture of fraud" by the whistleblower.
The FEDS believed him, obviously,
 after they saw the evidence.
The biggest fine ever for a war-time contractor
 - 69.3 million dollars - included both civil
and criminal penalties.
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But Jichlinski didn't go to jail,
though a few others did.
 It'd be no surprise to find out that
 he's got big connections on the Beltway.

Congressman Scumbag and he probably shoot a
few holes at Bethesda, when they're
not busy counting their money,
or working on a western water project.
As we all know, in Washington, money talks.
Sometimes a little too loudly.
"You know Congressman,
 it just requires a little bit more grease money,
and then we'll have it in the bag.
And of course we'll recognize your great efforts
on the behalf of our investment group,
who have so generously put up an offer here, 
an offer you couldn't refuse.
FORE!"
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Above: Michel Jichlinski, Project Director
of the WATER GRAB.
Below is a link to an article about the issue
from the McClatchy Washington Bureau - a
well-respected investigative newspaper/web outfit.
Below that is a link to a story about how
the Louis Berger Group went on to win
even more contracts.
  They have much more on the issue
 if you're interested.  Search it.
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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/search_results?q=louis+berger+group&x=0&y=0
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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/14/103380/us-hires-firms-with-questionable.html


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Take his word?
You've GOT to be kidding!
This guy's anti-American. Period.
You ARE if you steal from us.
And this guy STOLE MILLIONS!
He's a foreign OPERATOR. 
Mob connected?  Probably.
It hardly matters.  HE'S A PIG!

A federal contractor who lined his
pockets with U.S. cash by fraud -
milking millions and millions of your taxdollars
in illegal profits, on projects in war zones
in Iraq and Afghanistan - by fraud,
 by cooking the books, as they say.
We should take him to a gathering of
New Mexico combat veterans to pitch
his plan.  Could he live through it?
When pigs fly.
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And now we continue where we left off with
 BLUE GOLD.
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Shifting from public to private systems introduces, of course,
a completely different set of commercial imperatives into water-service
delivery.  Although the water industry insists on "full cost recovery" in
taking over a concession, this usually includes profit margins.
After all, the owners and shareholders of the privatizing corporation
are driven by demands for profits and dividends, which in turn,
are generally redistributed for investment globally in other divisions
of the corporation's overall operations.  Maximizing profit is
the prime goal, not ensuring sustainability or equal access to water.
Management of water resources, therefore, is based on market dynamics
of increasing consumption and profit maximization, rather
than on a long-term sustainability of a scarce resource for
future generations.  As a result, the price that a corporation is
prepared to pay for a water concession depends on the revenue
and profit-generating stream that can be
expected from the deal.
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"In 1999, Pickens formed Mesa Water and began to

accumulate water rights to sell to thirsty cities such as El Paso,
Lubbock, or San Antonio.  But as time passed, Mesa Water focused
on the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex.  Already the state's largest
water user, DFW's population was growing quickly in the midst
of a worsening drought.
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Many of Pickens's neighbors were alarmed by his plan to
privatize the groundwater, treating it as a commodity like oil or gas,
to be sold to the highest bidder.  Some of them rallied against him
and threatened lawsuits; others joined Mesa Water, hoping to profit.
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As water supplies are stretched thin across the country,
this scenario is becoming increasingly familiar.
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For much of the nation's history, Americans have fought
over surface water - who gets to use how much of lake or river water -
but most of those disputes have been settled; today the
biggest water wars are over groundwater."
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Alex Prud'Homme
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
The Fate of Freshwater in the 21st Century
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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

MAGDALENA'S WATER SHUTTING DOWN

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Sometime this afternoon the water in the Village of Magdalena
is going to be shut off.  The well is going dry, we are told,
 and while there might be some temporary relief, the actual 
solution being discussed is a new well, deeper, and weeks
 (months?) away  We'll have more details up as soon as we
 gather more info.  The National Guard is coming in with a
 water tank of potable water from someplace this evening.
Other tankers, from New Mexico Tech and a private outfit,
should be here sometime tommorow.
  Stuart Dyson of Channel 4 in Albuquerque is roaming
 around the area, talking to residents and officials,
 trying to get a handle on what's going on here. 
 The Channels 4 and 13 folks, as well  as CNN,
 have either just arrived, or have already left 
with stories in hand.
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  As unfortunate as this is, it draws attention to WATER
realities in this area, in this state.  It could also bring
 attention to the San Augustin aquifer issue.  It could
initiate the process of exposure of who these
 misguided Sons of Abraham actually are.
The press can be relentless.
The press can get damned nosy.
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The more Magdalena's problem is in the news,
the more these media folks will dig, and when they see
 the "STOP THE WATER GRAB" or
"TELL THE GUMBA NO AGUA" bumper stickers,
well, maybe in time they'll start asking more questions.
It's in their nature, as they say. 
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 If these foreigners were pumping the aquifer right now,
Magdalena would most probably be looking at a new well
a heck of a lot deeper than what's currently being discussed.
Like hundreds of feet deeper.
Ask the desert dwellers of Israel if they would allow
a bunch of foreign corporate thugs to get their water;
ask them if they'd allow  such a hideous nightmare
 on their "God-given" land.
Below: the Pool of Siloam, made famous in the
New Testament, when the blind man got his sight here.
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I am.  I'm contacting the Israeli government tomorrow
to ask for advice as to how to deal with water thieves, 
so we can forward it to Governor Susana Martinez.
"Desert Dwellers" have much in common, especially
with guarding their water sources from enemies,
or so-called enemies.
This is a water war,
 and the Israelis know a lot about this stuff.
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None of these foreigners are so-called "Stakeholders."
None of them live here. None of them give a rat's ass
 about New Mexicans, or Americans.
They have passports from where? 
 Israel, Norway, Germany?
 It's all about money.
Big money.
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The Project Director for the San Augustin project,
Michel Jichlinski, got his Masters in Economics from the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  He's also a proven thief,
liar, and general con artist.  He was the President and CEO
at the Louis Berger Group, a federal contractor in Afghanistan
and worldwide, when they got nailed for stealing millions
of U.S. dollars by cooking the books, bribery, and
cultivating a "culture of fraud" within the company,
 as the whistleblower put it.
NAILED for the biggest fine ever for a war-time contractor.
Thieves.  And this guy was the "Boss" through it all.
And now he's come to the Land of Enchantment.
God save us.
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Below: Darrell Petttis, owner of The Golden Spur Saloon
in Magdalena, gives Stuart Dyson an earful about water,
drought, and the San Augustin water issue
with the foreign "investors."
It's all tied together. 
The timing is probably right on target.
Further below: Water trucker Richard Smith.
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 Here are links to some of the news stories on
 Magdalena's water crisis.
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http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3059146.shtml?cat=500
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And here's a link to a Mountain Mail News
web article that's basically a statement from the State Water Engineer, Scott Verhines, about the Magdalena situation.
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http://www.mountainmailnews.com/?p=2586
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.Bottled water - lots of it - is available for all residents at the Fire Station.
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Magdalena residents getting some water

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“Today, we received water from the VLA and Alamogordo,” Marshall Larry Curly said Friday. “Each truckload of water is being tested to ensure chlorine levels are appropriate before water is being distributed.”
Curly said that as of Friday water is being fed through the water hydrant at the highest altitude, off of Kelly Road, and it is flowing back into the city water system and providing water to many households.
“We have put 26,000 gallons back into the system as of this morning, and will have 40,000 in by the end of the day.” Curly said. “Right now there is water down to about Sixth Street, and there should be water to Tenth Street by this evening.”
According to City Clerk Rita Broaddus, the city has applied for and received an exploratory permit from the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer to begin searching for the best place to drill a new well.
“What we need now is the money to drill,” Broaddus said.
The city has requests for emergency funding through Community Development Block Grant emergency funding program out of Washington, D.C., the New Mexico Department of Finance Administration and the New Mexico Finance Authority, as well as the New Mexico Environmental Department.
In the interim, the city is also working to bring back online the Spears Well, which was taken offline six to eight years ago because it did not meet new codes with regard to managing chlorine levels. There were also some plumbing and electrical problems with the well.
“It only pumps 30-35 gallons per minute, so it is not a production well for the city,” Broaddus said. “For now, we can take the chlorinator from the Trujillo Well and put it on the Spears Well to ensure that the water is properly chlorinated.”
The Trujillo well pumped 180-200 gallons per minute, before the well went dry. The city is currently working on the plumbing and electrical to bring the Spears well up to date, and then will begin filtering water from this well into the system.
Curly said that porta-potties have been set up throughout town for residents’ use until everyone has water through the city water system again.
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