Water as human right – Historical overview

The following post is part of the @radiobubblenews research project on the privatization of water and sewerage companies in urban areas of Greece. The project is funded by the Isvara Foundation.

By @Polyfimos, translated by @SofoPaidi

When Peter Bradeck, president of Nestlé, one of the largest companies of water bottling in the world, confessed on camera that water is not a human right, a global discussion on what is a social product nowadays and what could be privately exploited, finally started on a well deserved basis. 

The privatization of the water supply in Greece almost always coexisted with financial crisis situations, empty State coffers and the immediate need for the State to get money from the private sector.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 25-31 May 2013

Prepared by the #rbnews international team, translated by @IrateGreek

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

Naomi Klein @ Radiobubble: Climate change is our best argument against free trade

Naomi Klein spoke today to Radiobubble's @JaquoUtopie about the economic and environmental crisis and how climate change affects economic and political transformation, but also about her upcoming work, gold mining and the movement opposing it in Skouries, the tar sands and the Idle No More movement in Canada. 

The way that in a moment of economic desperation governments and corporations use the crisis as a pretext to destroy the environment by convincing people that this is the easier way to “get money”, the scare tactics, the lack of a clear and inspiring articulation of a radically different vision are some of the issues they discussed, as well as the cost that people will have to pay if capitalism continues down that destructive road. 

But also about emerging peoples’ movements, the turning point in history when it’s time to create our own alternative, the failure of the media and the time for new models to develop and change the landscape, the hope, the future and her very young, beautiful son Tom.

You can listen to the interview above and/or read the transcript after the jump.  

#rbnews weekly bulletin 18-24 May 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 11-17 May 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 02-08 March 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

#rbnews weekly bulletin 23 February - 01 March 2013

The text companion to this week's #rbnews international show is now online. You can read it after the jump.

Privatizations in Greece: Myths and realities

In 2012, the radiobubblenews team conducted research into the issue of privatizations in Greece, with funding from radiobubble's donation crack and the generous support of the Isvara Foundation.
You can find a list of the radio shows, interviews and articles we put online as a result of this research project here in Greek. The key findings were presented in English on the #rbnews international show on 08 December 2012,whose podcast is available here.
The document below summarizes the key findings. You can read it online or download (needs issue account, but you can also download it from here)  print and disseminate it under the terms of a Creative Commons license (like everything else on the radiobubble website).

Greece: The big sell-off - Debunking Alexia Kefalas's report for French public TV

This post, co-authored by Okeanos (@Okeanews) and Theodora Oikonomides (@IrateGreek) was first published in French on Okeanews.

The weekly documentary magazine Envoyé Spécial broadcast on French public TV channel France 2 shortly before Christmas 2012 a report about privatizations in Greece. Titled "Greece: the big sell-off" ("Grèce: la grande braderie"), the report, devised and produced by Alexia Kefalas (@alexisKefalas) and Michel Tardy, is riddled with inaccuracies and oversights, and, what is more, one of the interviewees denies the role attributed to him. The result is a picture of privatizations in Greece which is entirely distorted. Here's an analysis of what journalists should not do.

At the time of writing, the report was available on YouTube in French. If you choose a video of the entire Envoyé Spécial show, it starts at approx. 33'.

#rbnews international show 08 Dec 2012 - Privatizations special

On #rbnews international on 08 December, we presented the key findings of the study conducted by Radiobubble on privatizations in Greece. The study was funded by the Isvara Foundation. Commenting on our findings is Greek economist Leonidas Vatikiotis (@LeonidasV), whom we interviewed earlier during the week.

You can listen to the podcast after the jump.