How to kill the demos: the water struggle in Italy
How to kill the demos: the water struggle in Italy
Published on ZNet (first on Roarmag.org), by Andrea Muehlebach, January 20, 2016.
On November 28, 2015, water activists from the Southern Italian region of Campania staged a massive protest in the city of Naples. Some 5,000 water activists and environmentalists, trade unionists and workers from Naples’ water works protested a recently passed regional law that aims to centralize water management and set the stage for water privatization … //
… Revolution: … //
… Counter-Revolution: … //
… Neoliberal Authoritarianism: … //
… The rise of rebel mayors:
One of the most important legacies of the referendum was a legion of water committees that remain all over the Italian territory and that have acquired deep insight into the workings of neoliberalization and the processes of de-democratization that have accompanied it.
In Campania, the water committees of Castellammare di Stabia, Casalnuovo, Nocera Inferiore, Nocera Superiore, Roccapiemonte and many others represent the remnants of the demos that continues to hold politicians accountable, often at the local level through recourse to mayors — the most “proximate” representatives of the state and the most easily held accountable since they come from and live within the communities they represent.
Many mayors have been an important resource for the movement since the referendum. They continue to be so as they have publicly walked with protesting citizens. This is why the rise of protesting mayors is so significant and unusual: their radicalization is a symptom in a body politic where democracy is sick.
Mayors, especially in smaller towns, have of course always been complex mediators between the powers above and pressures from below. But in a context of intense de-democratization, pressures on mayors have built up and their roles have increasingly become fraught with contradiction. Brought to their knees by austerity policies and thus unable to provide for their constituencies — an incapacity exacerbated in the impoverished communities of the Italian South where infrastructures and services exist in growing states of utter disrepair — mayors are both the tail-end of a de-democratized political system and political pressure points of last resort for local citizens.
(full text).
Links:
Überraschend große Verluste, Deutsche Bank schockt Analysten, auf n-tv.de, 21. Jan 2016: die Umbrüche gehen bei der Deutschen Bank gewaltig ins Geld: Deutschlands größtes Geldhaus rauscht mit der Bilanz des zurückliegenden Jahres unerwartet tief in die roten Zahlen. Börsianer reagieren gespalten auf die Verlustwarnung … vor Steuern muss das Kreditinstitut für 2015 einen Verlust von 6,1 Milliarden Euro ausweisen, wie Deutschlands größtes Geldhaus am Vorabend überraschend mitteilte …;
Calling in Kallstadt, A Visit to Donald Trump’s Ancestral Home, on Spiegel Online International, by Kevin Hagen and Maria Feck (Photos), Jan 20, 2016: The village of Kallstadt is famous in Germany for its local specialty, stuffed pork belly. It’s also the place that Donald Trump’s grandfather called home before emigrating to America. Locals are ambivalent about the man’s politics and his bid for the presidency;
UK: Runcorn MP in thick of it in work and benefits debate, on Liverpool Echo.co.uk, Jan 18, 2016;
Britain’s Mental Health Crisis Demands Truly Revolutionary Solutions, on The Huffington Post, by Lee Williscroft-Ferris, Jan 18, 2016;
US: Free and paid help to file your tax return, on Consumer Affairs, by Mark Huffman, Jan 18, 2016;
US: Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. We can make it come true, on fusion.net, by Steven Shafarman, le 18 janv 2016;
Merkel hat versagt, Sarrazin hat recht – Hans-Olaf Henkel, der Aktionär, von Florian Söllner, 17. Jan 20216 … die große Flüchtlings-Milchmädchenrechnung: wie wichtig sind Zuwanderer für Deutschlands große DAX-Konzerne wie Daimler oder BMW – und was sind die Gefahren für die Gesellschaft …;
Ist sie noch die Richtige? Merkel erlebt Tage zum Vergessen, auf n-tv.de, von Johannes Graf, 17. Jan 2016 Kanzlern Merkel verliert in der Flüchtlingskrise an Zustimmung. Nicht nur die Wähler, auch die SPD und Politiker aus den eigenen Reihen setzen sich von ihr ab. Ein Rückblick auf ein Wochenende, an dem der Druck auf die CDU-Chefin zunahm;
Merkel und die Flüchtlingskrise: Immer wieder Ärger mit Schäuble, im Spiegel Online, von Florian Gathmann, 17. Jan 2016: vom Finanzminister kommt ein vergifteter Vorschlag, die eigenen Leute rebellieren, beim Koalitionspartner steigt die Unzufriedenheit: Der Druck auf Kanzlerin Merkel in der Flüchtlingskrise wächst – zumal schon bald wichtige Wahlen anstehen; (siehe auch Bild am Spnntag auf Twitter);
Allemagne. Accueil des réfugiés, le doute s’installe, dans Courrier International, le 17 janv 2016;
The Real Threat To Black People In America, 4.56 min, uploaded by The Alex Jones Channel, Jan 17, 2016;
Verarmung der Bevölkerung ist gewollt – Dirk Müller, 7.51 min, von Frubi Lurgyl, Nov 21, 2015;
The Federal Reserve (FED) Explained in 7 Minutes, 7.06 min, uploaded by Belligerent Politics, Jan 9, 2014: see also on en.wikipedia;
The Untold Historical Truth Of American Education – Charlotte Iserby, 136.00 min, uploaded by Belligerent Politics, May 13, 2013 … the scientific destruction of minds;
OR A SHORTER, OLDER EDITION:
The Secret History of Western Education, the Scientific Destruction of Minds – Charlotte Iserbyt, uploaded by The Alex Jones Channel, June 2011: part 1/5, 15.19 min; part 2/5, 15.08 min; part 3/5, 15.06 min; part 4/5, 14.59 min; part 5/5, 14.26 min; Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt served as the head of policy at the Department of Education during the first administration of Ronald Reagan. While working there she discovered a long term strategic plan by the tax exempt foundations to transform America from a nation of rugged individualists and problem solvers to a country of servile, brainwashed minions who simply regurgitate whatever they’re told.
2 websites: the deliberate dumbing down of america and ABCs of DumbDown.