Subject: Bolivia , Bechtel & water systems Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 22:38:34 -0500 To: David Hatchett From: Bob Armstrong David , A bit of Googling got me to your written reactions to 010911 . And your email addr . I think you know it's my manner to look at things very structurally - which leads me to be for free markets versus statist force . You're bringing up the water system privatization row I'd heard a bit about but hadn't remembered it involved Bechtel , caused= me to look up the details . As I pointed out , the only power an entity has in the market= place is their ability to provide something that people choose= relative to any alternatives . What immediately struck me in the= Bechtel situation , even without knowing any details , is that someone ,= in particular the state , had to invite them in . So somehow It= must have been failing pretty badly already to even contemplate= bringing them in in the first place . Anyway , Bechtel's description of the events is at http://www.bechtel.com/cochabambaresponse.htm with details in http://www.bechtel.com/pdf/cochabambafacts.pdf . Reading the whole thing , I think Bechtel , which even with its minority 27.5% interest in the project could have vetoed it , would have been very happy in retrospect to have just kissed it off since as it stands they lost their share of $25M . That's= their shareholders , of course , including pension funds , etc . It looks to me like our fucking government's export of our War= on Some Drugs to shrubs that the Bolivians have grown since times immemorial had more to do with the plight of the population . In any case , it's clear that Bolivia is becoming one of the basket cases of South America even with Bechtel just a bystander= . BUT OUR FUCKING DRUG WAR ISN'T . They have good reason to hate= US . My best to Lily , Bob A . -- Incidentally , I joined a bunch of fellow Manhattan Libertarians at the anti patriot-act event (= http://theloyalnine.net/Events.htm ) at Union Sq this afternoon . Poorly attended . Chatted some= with a French woman about the appropriateness but unlikelihood of= getting Bush impeached . Expressed how frightening it is that he seems= to have no real competition for a second term. Incidentally , my comments on the nonpartisan election= initiative are at= http://nyccfb.info/debates_vg/voter_guides/general_2003/ballot_p= roposal/statements_3_pro.htm#armstrong I hope you vote because I can't believe you are for the current Democratic party monopoly . Incidentally , my 0911 page is at http://cosy.com/y01/d0911.htm= . --=A0 =A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864 Restore our Right to Relax : =A0http://ny.lp.org/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?Against_the_Smoking_Ban Computing Environment : =A0http://CoSy/CoSy/ A WTC vision : http://CoSy.com/CoSy/ConicAllConnect/ Liberty : http://CoSy.com/Liberty.htm =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A02003/10/26 8:44:05 PM