[Individual-members-EL] A few questions / informations

Mon Sep 1 13:13:27 CEST 2008

Dear Friends,
I will participate in ESF Malmo, representing European Feministe Initiative.
I agree with all you are telling and share your feelings, could speak
about my sad personnal experience with a company formally located in a tax
heaven (British Virgin Island).
Best regards from Poland
NIna
On Sun, Aug 31, 2008 at 7:12 PM, Georges SOSSOIS <
georgecamille.sossois at compaqnet.be> wrote:

>  Have you considered the case of Belgium where transnational firms
>
> enjoy royal privileges which have provoked President Bush's admiration?
> Some pay 1.25%  company tax instead of the 40% in the rest of the country.
> (notional interests they call that)
>
> It must be very social since the tax laws have been voted by a *socialist*-liberal
> majority!
>
> Say some socialist M.P.'s :" We did not know it would go so far !"
>
>
>
> The present chairman of the Socialist Party, when he was Minister of Public
> Companies, had presented the new shareholding policy about Belgacom if I
> remember (Telephone Company).
>
> An M.P. recounted the diverse elements and reached 49.9% for the State
> participation instead of the announced 50.1%.
>
> The Minister answered "It does not interest people".
>
> No comment!
>
>
>
> Another thing. People were complaining about the poor results in Peking. A
> socialist Minister proposed to suppress the "philosophical courses" (
> religions + non confessional "morale") and replace that by gymnastic. A
> brilliant (!)"Socialist" predecessor preferred healthy bodies to full heads:
> guess who? Adolf Hitler himself!!
>
> I do not invent it: it is written in "Mein Kampf". Cautiously the Minister
> of Education, another socialist, said it was impossible to change that as
> the "philosophical courses" are guaranteed by the Constitution.
>
> But no condemnation of that stupidity. It is not gymnastics they should
> give but History, shouldn't they?
>
>
>
> As for schools the situation is different in Belgium: we have very few
> private schools but we have "free" schools ( teachers are paid by the State
> but the rest is provided by the parents. There we have a free private
> management). 70% of the schools are "free" (mostly catholic) schools in the
> Flanders and 55% in the French speaking part of Belgium.  There the
> Community pays (except for books).
>
> In the schools depending on the local authorities, more and more things are
> given to the private sector (school -kitchen, maintenance, etc). They have
> been cautious enough to go progressively in order not to shock, nationally,
> the trade-unions.
>
>
>
> Since 1958, there is a competition amongst free schools and between the
> free school sector and the public one.
>
> More than once I have heard Centrists saying that public schools should be
> subsidised like the free ones.
>
> Now that we have lower means in our public schools, headmasters have more
> liberty to run the system.
>
> There are conflicts with the handworkers' union because my headmaster is
> giving the sack to hand workers in order to dispose of more money. For the
> rest he is playing with unemployed people set to work, so he can pay less.
> Therefore we have more and more hand workers who are not statutory and more
> obedient. Before all this was decided in Brussels but the bad job of giving
> the sack is given to the headmasters.
>
> That is what is happening after 20 years of "socialist" power. Needless to
> say that they have reduced the money in the school system.
>
>
>
> The conditions being better in the private sector, there is a lack of
> teachers so 1/3 are employed without the guarantees of a normal statute
> (chemists who teach mathematics, e.g.).As a shop steward, I can't motivate
> them to resist. Some tell me "Why should I take care? I'll find a better job
> in the private sector. It's just a matter of time and
> opportunities....... ".
>
> And some do. Some take part-time: they are self-dependent and it is just to
> earn money before the
>
> business develops itself.
>
> Some say "I adapt myself ".
>
> There were in the past many trade-union militants amongst the teacher. In
> my school, I am almost alone
>
> to speak about trade-unionism and actions. Who is going to teach about
> solidarity in such a context?
>
> The situation is much more difficult for my colleagues in the "catholic"
> schools.
>
>
>
> It will take me time to read the very interesting documentation sent by
> Mike. Sometimes I wonder "Where is all this going to stop? » Are we going
> back to Jurassic Park ?
>
>
>
> Georges
>
>
>  ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Nagler" <mnel at gmx.net>
> To: <individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de>
>   Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2008 7:36 PM
> Subject: [Individual-members-EL] A few questions / informations
>
> Dear friends,
>
> i am at the moment a little bit busy with things at our local level - thats
>
> why i didnt took part on discussions on that list after the 3rd european
> left summer universitiy..
>
> I have a few things that i want to tell you - and i looking forward if you
> can give me some help or informations on that:
>
>
> 1. At the moment our local parlament in our communitiy in Leipzig (east of
> germany) is going to make some contracts in (part-)privatisation in form of
>
> public-private-partnership. That concerns schools and perhaps also daycare
> facility for children. Its planned to make a decicion on that in the local
> parlament end of the year. At the moment we try to initiate a public debate
>
> on that - to stop that plans on privatisation. We have some experiences in
> other german cities with PPP and know also a bit about the big deals on
> that
> in other countries.
> Do you have any experiences with Public-Private-Partnerships in your
> country/region/city? It would help us very much to know about your
> experiences.
>
>
> 2. Few months ago i wrote that we are planning activities at the European
> Social Forum in Malmoe that will take part from 17.-21. september 2008.
> ("We" means in that sense different groups that work against privatisation
> in different european countries - individual members of the EL initiated
> that activity.)
> That preparations nearly finished and during the merging process on the ESF
>
> now there will be a meeting that is supported by different groups that do
> active work against privatization of public goods or even on
> remuncipalisation or socialization.
>
> For more informations on that see the enclosed document.
>
> Will anyone on that list take part at the ESF this year? If yes - it would
> be a nice idea to have a small meeting on individual members there.
>
>
> 3. As member in Attac and the Taxjustic-Network i am involved at the moment
>
> in preparations on a campaign against tax havens. That campaign will start
> in spring 2009 - of course also because next year will be elections for the
>
> european parlament - and we want to place that topic in the election
> campaign. (2009 we will have elections in my region at the local, the
> regional, the national and the european level.)
>
> I address this to you in the name of the working group on financial markets
>
> and taxes from Attac Germany because we are preparing an exhibition on tax
> havens. We want to show photos from real tax havens and Offshore Centers
> and
> inform people on tax evasion. The exhibition has already stations in 10
> cities in Austria and Germany, and the TJN UK, Attac Norway and France are
> also interested.
>
> We would be glad if we could get some photos from tax-havens and would like
>
> to asked you whether you could spread the call for photos among people that
>
> live in tax-havens.
>
> There is more information in english on the planned exhibition and the
> photo
> competition in the Newsletter of the TaxJusticeNetwork (page. 17):
> http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/TJF_4-2_AABA_-_Research.pdf
>
> On our homepage there are some photos from the tax haven Kleinwalsertal
> (but
> the text is in German):
>
> http://www.attac-netzwerk.de/ag-finanzmarkt-steuern/themen/steuern/steueroasen-ausstellung/#c4785
>
> Biggest tax havens in europe: Guernsey, Jersey, Malta, Cyprus, Isle of Man,
>
> Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Swizerland, Grenada, Ireland, Luxemburg, Monaco,
> Andorra, Great Britain, Madeira
>
> The biggest offshore centres in europe are: Belgium, City of London,
> Frankfurt, Netherlands, Swizerland
>
> It would be help us very much if you can spread that information. Also if
> you also interested in having that exhibition in your city next year - tell
>
> us.
>
>
> 4. Here an short up to date news from a big trade union demonstration
> initiated by NSZZ "Solidarnosc in Warszaw, poland, on the 29.08. with the
> slogan "Decent Work - Decent Life" ("Godna Praca - Godne Zycie"). . Its a
> slogan in co-ordination from WSF Nairobi 2007. And protest against the
> economic policy neoliberal government. 50.000 people took part on that
> demonstration.
>
> Photo and video from media:
>
>
> http://www.tvn24.pl/12690,1562878,0,1,petardy-w-kancelarie-premiera,wiadomosc.html
>
>
> http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/Wiadomosci/1,80273,5640578,Zwiazkowcy_pod_kancelaria_premiera__Zlodzieje.html
>
>
> http://www.wiadomosci24.pl/artykul/manifestacja_solidarnosci_w_warszawie_74832.html
>
>
> http://www.wiadomosci24.pl/artykul/mms_godna_praca_godna_emerytura_74814.html
>
>
> Best regards from germany,
>
> Mike
>
>
> Mike Nagler
> Körnerplatz 8
> 04107 Leipzig
>
> Mob: +49 (0) 179 - 96 19 584
> @ : mnel at gmx.net
>
> www.april-netzwerk.de
> www.taxjustice.net
> www.attac.de
> www.european-left.org
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Stephen Spence
> To: individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de
> Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2008 2:45 PM
> Subject: [Individual-members-EL] New Members of the List
>
>
> Deasr All,
>
> Mike Nagler was adding new members to this list but it still seems dead.
> Is
> there anybody out there?
>
> Best
>
> Stephen Spence
>
>
>
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