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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A STORY OF HYPOCRISY AND OTHER NONSENSE

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Above is a modern replica of the Ark of the Covenant. 

 For those of you not familiar with the Ark, or have

 forgotten your Bible  stories from when you were a kid, 

here's a defiition and some details from Wikipedia.

(An Ark from Italy has a connection to our principal investor

on the Water Grab, Mr. Bruno Modena from Milan, Italy.
Read on, this gets fascinating.)

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"The Ark of the Covenant (Hebrew: אָרוֹן הַבְּרִית‎ ʾĀrôn Habbərît, modern pron. Aron Habrit), also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in the Book of Exodus as containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. According to some traditional interpretations of the Book of Exodus, Book of Numbers, and the Letter to the Hebrews the Ark also contained Aaron's rod, a jar of manna and the first Torah scroll as written by Moses; however, the first of the Books of Kings says that at the time of King Solomon, the Ark contained only the two Tablets of the Law.   According to the Book of Exodus, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accordance with the instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai. God was said to have communicated with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover."
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"The biblical account relates that during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was carried by the priests some 2,000 cubits in advance of the people and their army, or host.  When the Ark was borne by priests into the bed of the Jordan, water in the river separated, opening a pathway for the entire host to pass through (Josh. 3:15-16; 4:7-18). The city of Jericho was taken with no more than a shout after the Ark of the Covenant was paraded for seven days around its wall by seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns.
 (Josh. 6:4-20)."

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Every synagogue (Jewish house of prayer) has some form of  Holy Ark.
Some are simple, others extremely elaborate.
They don't look like the original Ark, but they serve a purpose
not unlike the original, only modified, one might say.
In time things become symbolic, ritualized, formalized, petrified,
and in some cases outright garish, and strange.

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In the early 1970's, an Ark that had once been in a synagogue

 in a small Italian town arrived in Israel.

The Jewish population of the town in Italy had dispersed,

 the synagogue had been torn down, and the Ark
and some other relics were stashed in a warehouse.

Bruno Modena took possession of the Ark and donated it to the

Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. 

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 It got an amazing amount of attention - 

years were spent in the restoration.  A special building, designed

by a well known architect in Israel, was constructed to display it.

Here's the link to a page from the Eretz Israel Museum website

 about the piece:

http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/212/

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You'll note the two tablets with the commandments on them

at the top - black with gold lettering.  So, here we have
a religious relic from Europe, built in the 18th century,
with a lot of valuable ($$$$$$$$) elements.
It almost sounds like a Catholic deal of some sort.
They love expensive, outlandish relics of the Church's past,
things they can somehow get their name attached to.
Give BIG and receive salvation.  A number of horribly
 misguided rich Catholics have bought into that lie.
I'd bet though that when Bruno comes for visits to Israel
he's treated like royalty.  Well, that was part
of the reason for doing it, right Bruno?
As well as eternal reward?
Your TICKET?
(Photos above and further below: Israel Eretz Museum)

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What's fascinating here is the irony of having someone who

must be something of a hero for finding, and then GIVING, the

piece to the museum, and then who so openly violates the

Tenth Commandment, the one about COVETING WHAT

DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU.  Your neighbor has

something you desire, in this case it's water.

It's not yours, but you want it.

You're guilty of violating the 10th Commandment.

You flaunt your desire right in God's sight,

and what?  Figure somehow you'll be forgiven because

of your generosity?
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Many Biblical and Torah scholars would disagree with you.
Some insist it doesn't work that way.
Some insist that the active plotting and scheming, by trying in
SOME way, ANY way, to GET WHAT YOU DESIRE,
WHAT YOU COVET, WHAT BELONGS TO YOUR NEIGHBOR,
IS ACTIVE DISOBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENT.
And that you'll pay the price.  Period.
(Check with your local Torah scholar.)
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Some people would declare you are possibly damning yourself

to an inevitable and disastrous surprise on your death.
God, many say, is no respecter of PERSONS.
The titles, the wealth, the acclaim, the ego...all mean nothing.
If you're a gambling man Bruno....well, maybe you're
betting that the scales the angel holds will tip in your favor.
Maybe you know more about the Divine Courts than we all do.
Maybe you've hedged your bets with gifts.  Elaborate ones.
I hate to tell you this, but I don't think it'll fly.
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Here's a thought from aish.com, a Jewish website:

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"If the desire for something is based on need, then fulfillment 
brings contentment. If the goal, however, is simply to have more
 than everyone else, then we are doomed to
 disappointment and to ever-greater dissatisfaction. There’s
 always somebody who has something we don’t — which is
 enough to stir up within us envy to prevent us from being
 content with what is ours. That’s why coveting
 consumes its practitioner.
In the most profound sense, those who covet fail to
acknowledge the powerful truth that there is enough in this
 world to satisfy everyone’s need but there’s never enough to
satisfy people’s greed."
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"The deepest depth of vulgarism is that of
 setting up money as the Ark of the Covenant."
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Thomas Carlyle 
Scottish Historian and Essayist 1795-1881 
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The Ark of the Covenant has symbolism all over it -
literally and figuratively.  Here are some interesting notes
from the JewishVirtualLibrary.org:

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"The Ark was used in the desert and in Israel
 proper for a number of spiritual and
 pragmatic purposes. Practically, God used the
 Ark as an indicator of when he wanted the
 nation to travel, and when to stop. In the
 traveling formation in the desert, the Ark was
 carried 2000 cubits ahead of the nation (Num.
 R. 2:9). According to one midrash, it would
 clear the path for the nation by burning
 snakes, scorpions, and thorns with two jets of
 flame that shot from its underside; another
 midrash says that rather than being carried by
 its bearers, the Ark in fact carried its bearers
 inches above the ground. When the Israelites
 went to war in the desert and during the
 conquering of Canaan, the Ark accompanied
 them; whether its presence was symbolic, to
 provide motivation for the Jews, or whether it
 actually aided them in fighting, is debated by
 commentators."

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(Above - A downburst out on the Plains, right about where the
Augustin Plains Ranch LLC is, on April 9 of this year.
Technically it's called a WET MICROBURST by weather guy types,
 smaller than 2.5 miles across, with a downpour and HEAVY winds.)
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(Continued from the JewishVirtualLibrary.org)
"Spiritually, the Ark was the manifestation of 
God's physical presence on earth (the shekhina).    
The relationship between the Ark and the shekhina

 is reinforced by the recurring motif of clouds.
 God's presence is frequently seen in 

   the guise of a cloud in the Bible (Ex. 24:16),

    and the Ark is constantly accompanied by

   clouds: When God spoke from between the

   Cherubs, there was a glowing cloud visible

   there (Ex. 40:35); when the Jews traveled,

they were led by the Ark and a pillar of clouds

(Num. 10:34); at night, the pillar of clouds was

  replaced by a pillar of fire, another common

  descriptor of God's appearance (Ex. 24:17)"

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Today many people, including some writers and historians,
 refer to Apocalyptic predictions that involve the Ark
in the world and times we live in now.
And of course, it's found it's way into contemporary
culture via Hollywood.  The "finding" of the real Ark
 remains a subject of endless conjecture.
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Below are illustrations and a song that concern an ancient story
 that was passed through the Nazerite brotherhood,
a religious group that John the Baptist had belonged to.
The story is related in the New Testament, but actually
probably predates the time of Christ.  Some scholars—e.g.,
 G. B. Caird, Joachim Jeremias, Marshall,  Hugo Gressmann, 
suggest the basic storyline of The Rich Man and Lazarus was
 derived from Jewish stories that had developed from an
 Egyptian folk tale about Si-Osiris.
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"We have in fact one of the cases where the background to the
 teaching is more probably found in non-biblical sources."

I. Howard Marshall, The New International Greek Testament
 Commentary: The Gospel of Luke.

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Our friend Jerry Hoogerwerf, from Socorro, New Mexico,
landed the other day to take us up for some
aerial reconnaissance and photography.

Jerry's a terrific pilot, and believes in what we're doing.

It was a FREEBIE.  Thanks a lot Jerry!

Thank God for our friends.

Off we go!

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Editor's Note: we had some corporate water nightmare stories
 here, but are re-posting them later in a new post/presentation.
This post had gotten too long - the Ark story is what brings people
who "search" for "whatever" and find this particular place.
This post has had a BIG number of hits,
second only to "THE RIO GRANDE" post,
and the hits are mostly from Europe,
 with big additions from Russia, Ukraine,
 Moldova, Israel....
These guys are international operators, and
so there's lots of curiousity about what happens when
 corporate pigs go up against a religious offense.
It doesn't happen often.

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  It's an apocalyptic story, from what I'm told.
  However, there's plenty of time and space for the 
 corporate water theft/control stories later -
 they are becoming legion.
These guys are just another drop in the bucket.

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