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<h2 class="pane-title"><a
href="http://crooksandliars.com/2014/07/eve-netroots-nation-detroits-shock"
class="active">On Eve Of Netroots Nation, Detroit's Shock
Doctrine Water Crisis Continues</a></h2>
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<div class="field field-submitted submitted"><big><big>By <a
href="http://crooksandliars.com/users/karoli" title="View
user profile.">karoli</a> July 14, 2014 7:00 am - <a
href="http://crooksandliars.com/2014/07/eve-netroots-nation-detroits-shock#disqus_thread"
data-disqus-identifier="node/98577">138 Comments</a></big></big></div>
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<div class="field field-node-summary"><big><big> </big></big>
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<div class="field-item odd"><big><big> There has been no letup
in the relentless march to privatize Detroit's water,
and even less response from lawmakers. Now the UN may
intervene. </big></big></div>
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<div class="cl-media-meta-item cl-media-meta-author"
title="Mon, 07/14/2014 - 07:00"><big><big><span
class="cl-media-icon icon-calendar"></span><a
href="http://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2014/07/bullock-detroit-water-shutoffs-about">1
day</a> ago by <a
href="http://crooksandliars.com/users/heather"
title="View user profile.">Heather</a></big></big></div>
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<p><big><big>Detroit's <a
href="http://crooksandliars.com/2014/06/water-wars-detroit-edition">water
crisis</a> has not abated, not even a little. The unelected,
undemocratic government ruling the city continues to shut
water off for poor people unable to pay their bills. And boy,
do they have some bills.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big><a
href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/canadians-fight-to-keep-water-on-for-79-000-in-detroit-1.2695043">CBC</a>:</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>Nicole Hill is behind on her water bill. Her toilets
are empty and her taps don't run.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>"I turn it on, nothing comes out. You don't hear
anything but the squeaking of the faucets," Hill said.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>She owes nearly<strong> $6,000</strong>. To have her
taps turned back on, she will have to pay <strong>$4,449</strong>.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>How in the holy hell can she owe that kind of money?
How much of that is for water charges and how much is for late
charges?</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>Also in that CBC report, news that <em>Canadians</em>
are working to get water to Detroit residents. That's
pathetic. After all, Detroit sits on the shores of Lake Erie,
part of the Great Lakes, which holds over 20 percent of the <em>world's</em>
water supply. There is really no excuse for anyone to be
without water in this day and age, and certainly not because
some undemocratically appointed austerity freak says so.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>David Alexander Bullock, spokesman for the <a
href="http://www.actioncac.org/spokesperson-corner.html">Change
Agent Consortium</a>, appeared on Melissa Harris-Perry's
show to discuss the evil <a
href="http://michronicleonline.com/2014/07/09/detroits-orwellian-water-crisis-is-water-dept-engaging-in-selective-shutoffs/">Orwellian
politics</a> in play here. </big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>While poor people see their water cut, businesses don't
suffer the same kind of draconian consequence for unpaid
bills. On the contrary. Golf courses, stadiums, restaurants
and other businesses continue to receive water delivery while
the city's poorest do without.</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big><a
href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/180625/against-austerity-detroit-water-human-right#">John
Nichols</a>, writing for <em>The Nation:</em></big></big></p>
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<blockquote>
<p><big><big>The Detroit officials who have ordered the shutoffs
say they are simply creating pressure to get bills paid, and
argue that they are trying to do so in a responsible manner.
But environmental writer Martin Lukacs <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2014/jun/25/detroits-water-war-a-tap-shut-off-that-could-impact-300000-people"
target="_blank">counters:</a></big></big></p>
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<blockquote>
<p><big><big>The official rationale for the water shut-downs—the
Detroit Water Department’s need to recoup millions <a
href="http://conversationsthatyouwillneverfinish.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/water-dispossession-and-resistance-by-shea-howell-week-62-of-the-occupation/">collapses
on inspection</a>. Detroit’s high-end golf club, the Red
Wing’s hockey arena, the Ford football stadium, and more
than half of the city’s commercial and industrial users
are also owing—a sum totalling $30 million. But no
contractors have showed up on their doorstep.</big></big></p>
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<div class="clab-inline-text"><big><big>↓ Story continues
below ↓</big></big></div>
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<p><big><big>The targeting of Detroit families is about
something else. <strong>It is a ruthless case of the
shock doctrine—the exploitation of natural or unnatural
shocks of crisis to push through pro-corporate policies
that couldn’t happen in any other circumstance.</strong>
</big></big></p>
</blockquote>
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<p><big><big>Congressman <a
href="http://conyers.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=253E6660-1B63-4D73-A2EF-8E2A5E163837"
target="_blank">John Conyers</a>, D-Detroit, has called on
the DWSD to stop the shutoffs, making the case that “in the
21st Century, in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one
should ever go without safe, clean water.”<br>
The congressman has aligned with the <a
href="http://detroitwaterbrigade.org/" target="_blank">Detroit
Water Brigade</a>, a grassroots movement that is
organizing to stop the shutoffs and to get water to
families. They’ve drawn international support. Canadians
living across the river in Windsor have been <a
href="http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/07/09/detroit-water-shut-offs-prompt-protestors-to-carry-windsor-h2o-cross-border/"
target="_blank">organizing</a> to deliver water to
Detroiters.</big></big></p>
</blockquote>
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<p><big><big><a href="http://www.netrootsnation.org/">Netroots
Nation</a> is set to convene in Detroit this Thursday. Will
attendees bring attention to this? Elizabeth Warren and Joe
Biden are keynote speakers. Will they address this and raise
consciousness?</big></big></p>
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<p><big><big>This should not be happening in this country anywhere.
Ever.</big></big></p>
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