Free Republic

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Goodman the least of problems at recent mayors conference You've got to hand it to Oscar Goodman. Most mayors go to the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting and get lobbied by companies. Oscar, ever the clever one, used the meeting to let his kid's company lobby the mayors. What's more, face time with a national collection of muckety-mucks who control purse strings usually doesn't come as cheap as the price of a rented room and a few drinks. In fact, it's not Las Vegans who should be upset with Oscar....

Missed the "Front Page" button for this, and thought it was worthy: World Water Forum Opens -- Water Could Become Cause of Conflict

It was trade and transnational corporations versus the environment at the recent Rio Plus Ten World Summit on Sustainable Development here, and the green groups, complain their supporters, came out on the short end of the stick. When the world gathered in Johannesburg a few weeks ago for the conference, the world's major environmentalist groups and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) believed they would make major gains in their respective agendas. However, now that the dust has settled, it would appear that the world's most powerful corporations have cemented their agenda of promoting trade, while the concerns of environmentalists – both radical...

Sanibel, Fla., was one of the first U.S. cities to endorse the Earth Charter nearly a year ago as a part of Earth Day celebrations. It was also the first U.S. city to withdraw its endorsement. This controversial document, promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev and Maurice Strong for a decade, is seen by many to be an effort to create a new "16 Commandments" to serve as the foundation for a new global religion. Sanibel citizens were not happy about the endorsement. Forty-two citizens and five former mayors signed an open letter, published in a local newspaper, demanding that the endorsement...

Multinational corporations that buy and sell water and water services are seeking public utilities in the industrialized world for what they hope will be guaranteed profits. In the United States, towns and cities are flirting with water privatization as a way to pass on the costs of upgrading their aging utility infrastructure. But water is unique. Unlike electricity, natural gas or telecommunications, everyone needs water to survive. Nonetheless, local officials worldwide are negotiating deals in private with companies that view a government-guaranteed monopoly on water as the ultimate deal. In their zeal to embrace white knights, local water boards...