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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (21879)	7/31/2002 4:29:21 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Maurice, You lost me in the convolutions of your discussion of your local utility, but this part of it came through loud and clear: "The whole shambles was a pathetic attempt at 'privatisation' which has been a total shambles and waste of money and windfall ripoff for management and a few lucky customers. It would have been better to just leave the whole lot in public ownership." Of course, when the privateers used their shambalic mantra "free markets" and then used plenty of bribes to buy off the politicians, the results have been horrendous world-wide. Australia just suffered 400% wholesale electrical rate robbery by the same band of thieves who raped California and the Maharastra State in India, not to mention the poor rioters in the Dominican Republic who were protesting outrageous "free market" improvements to their rates for basic services. And did I mention the theft down in Bolivia, or Nigeria? This "free market" sickness is pretty much a world-wide cancer. Fortunately, it is much like a fatal cancer. Enron is proving that "free markets" need to be killed before they metastasize into something really ugly. The energy markets can be saved, I believe. But only once the world clearly understands that "free market" and "de-regulation" are code words for indecent greed, corporate deceit and immoral scheming.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (21879)	7/31/2002 9:18:01 PM
From: mcg404	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Maurice: <Now, hordes of immigrants, who did nothing to build this country, move into the area, open an electricity account and immediately have the same ownership as I do of the electricity supply, not to mention roads, hospitals, schools and a lot more besides.> I had no idea you were a Maori! But I guess you meant to say ‘recent' immigrants. And of course they did little to "build" the country as you say. Those cannibals got what was coming to them. Always convenient when you the civilization in your way is morally depraved. Makes their removal less troubling to the righteous god-fearing colonialist. But who am i to call the kettle black with the american history of native american genocide. But what is history but the obituary of nations... Not that i don't sympathize with your point...being the anti-immigration zealot myself. Although in the US such beliefs are highly politically incorrect. But of course we still have the frontier mentality that land and resources are infinite - a belief system not so easily shared by the island dwellers of the world. Interesting rant about the power company. Again i sympathize except for your whining about government. <They, like all government enterprises I ever dealt with, were remarkably inefficient, wasteful, extravagant, lazy and frustrating.> To use Jay's concept, that fact that governments are these things is neither right or wrong, but ‘just is'. But as the people of California learned last year, government run or government regulated can provide stability (both in terms of price and supply) to ‘essential' services like electricity. So we take our pick: inefficient, wasteful but stable government service or efficient, unstable private supply. Or somewhere in between. John