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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
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offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
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The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

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offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Electric Car Bursts into Flames on Driveway and Engulfs ?550,000 Family Home Fri May 09, 2025 15:10 | Will Jones
The moment an electric car suddenly burst into flames on a driveway has been captured on CCTV, as the vehicle sparked a raging blaze which engulfed a van and a ?550,000 family home.
The post Electric Car Bursts into Flames on Driveway and Engulfs ?550,000 Family Home appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?I Was a Super Fit Cyclist Until I Had the Moderna Covid Vaccine. What Happened Next Left Me Wishing... Fri May 09, 2025 13:10 | Will Jones
Danielle Pieton was a super fit cyclist until she had the Moderna Covid vaccine in January 2022. What happened next left her wishing she was dead.
The post “I Was a Super Fit Cyclist Until I Had the Moderna Covid Vaccine. What Happened Next Left Me Wishing I Was Dead” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Nature Paper Claims to Pin Liability for ?Climate Damages? on Oil Companies Fri May 09, 2025 11:09 | Tilak Doshi
A new Nature paper claims to pin liability for 'climate damages' on oil companies so they can be sued in court. This escalation in the climate wars is scientifically bogus and economically disastrous, says Dr Tilak Doshi.
The post Nature Paper Claims to Pin Liability for ‘Climate Damages’ on Oil Companies appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link What Does David Lammy Mean by a State? Fri May 09, 2025 09:00 | James Alexander
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said it is "unacceptable" that Palestinians don't yet have a state. Professor James Alexander wonders if Lammy has thought through what a Palestinian state would actually look like.
The post What Does David Lammy Mean by a State? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link In Episode 35 of the Sceptic: Andrew Doyle on Labour?s Grooming Gang Shame, Andrew Orlowski on the I... Fri May 09, 2025 07:00 | Richard Eldred
In Episode 35 of the Sceptic: Andrew Doyle on Labour?s grooming gang shame, Andrew Orlowski on the India-UK trade deal and Canada?s ignored Covid vaccine injuries.
The post In Episode 35 of the Sceptic: Andrew Doyle on Labour?s Grooming Gang Shame, Andrew Orlowski on the India-UK Trade Deal and Canada?s Ignored Covid Vaccine Injuries appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Water Charges and TTIP!

category international | bin tax / household tax / water tax | other press author Sunday November 16, 2014 01:15author by T Report this post to the editors

This is a repost of an important article on the Irish Left Review website and goes into detail on the connection between the Water Charges and the upcoming Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which is currently being concluded in secret by the EU and US.

*** The water charges can and must be defeated by resistance and non-payment but water, as a human right, must also be secured as a publicly owned and controlled resource universally available. Remember, we had to fight water charges in the 1980’s and again in the 1990’s so let’s make this win a permanent one.
ttip_irishwater.jpg

The origin of the present water charges lies in the EUs Water Framework Directive (2000) which provided for full cost recovery for water use and whose Article 9 states:

‘Member States shall take account of the principle of recovery of the costs of water services …’


It also required Member States to have in place water-pricing policies by 2010. The Directive was transposed into Irish Law in 2003.

So, the origins of these punitive charges, this time around, are the Water Framework Directive which seeks to commodify water provision through the establishment of the principle of recovery of the costs of water services. The EU took advantage of the ‘bailout’ to make it a condition of the ‘loans’. This will open the way for the sale of Irish Water either in whole or in part, ostensibly to complete the single market or to promote competition ‘in the interests of the consumer’. This is just one reason why there is such resistance to a constitutional referendum to permanently retain Irish Water in public ownership – the other is TTIP.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), is currently being concluded in secret by the EU and US. Both sides have made clear their intention to use TTIP to get access to what is described as “public monopolies;” that is, public utilities including water. These services would then be vulnerable to greater outsourcing and private tendering for service delivery and eventually, to privatisation.

TTIP would open up public procurement contracts to the private sector, meaning that social, environmental or “public good” goals in public procurement would be removed. A private monopoly can fix its price at an unaffordable level, as Bechtel did in Bolivia, leading to a popular uprising; the termination of the contract and replacement of the government.

It would also make the nationalisation (or renationalisation) of services or resources virtually impossible, as incredibly, corporations would be able to sue for loss of future and expected profits. This is facilitated by the inclusion of an (ISDS) Investor – State Dispute Settlement clause in TTIP.

The TTIP agreement increases the pressure for the privatisation of ‘services of general interest’, such as water services. Foreign suppliers of services of general interest should not be entitled to claim “forgone profits” through ISDS. This provision, in effect would further legalise neo-liberalism as the economic and social framework in Ireland and the EU.

But even if ISDS is removed from TTIP, the main goal remains; to remove regulatory ‘barriers’ which restrict the potential profits to be made by transnational corporations on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet these ‘barriers’ are in reality some of our most prized social standards and environmental regulations, such as labour rights, food safety rules, regulations on the use of toxic chemicals and digital privacy laws. The stakes could not be higher.

Public water provision is only one of the services under threat from TTIP. Both water charges and TTIP must be defeated!

Related Link: http://www.irishleftreview.org/2014/11/10/water-charges-ttip/
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