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“But isn’t most of that water still controlled by all sorts of people and governments?”

“No stad locates a likely water source, then offers to run it, enerous concessions Once it has its foot in the door it uses bribery, extortion, or more to convert it to private ownership In the past five years Gogstad has stepped up the pace of privatization tremendously It’s been helped by the fact that under the new international trade agreeer owns its water For Godsakes, Joe, this is Owens Valley all over again, but it’s happening ide!”

“Youroctopus”

“Nice analogy even if it is a little cliché” He took a red grease pencil from his pocket and drew lines and arrows on the map “Here are your tentacles Water will flow from Canada and Alaska to China Froo to Africa and the Mideast Australia has contracts to export water to Asia On the surface separate interests are involved But Gogstad calls the shots through its shadow corporations”

“How do they intend to move all that water?”

“A Gogstad coy to transport s In addition, Gogstad shipyards have been building fifty-thousand-gross-ton tankers that can serve double duty hauling oil and water”

“That’s got to be pretty expensive”

“They say water flows uphill to money The customers will pay any price Most of it won’t quench the thirst of so in a dust bowl It’s for high tech, one of the biggest polluters, incidentally”

“The whole thing is incredible”

“Hold on to your seat, Joe, because that’s only part of it” He tapped thestad controlling the Canadian water supply? There’s a plan to divert h the Great Lakes to the US Sun Belt” His finger moved to Alaska “California and the other desert states have sucked the Colorado River practically dry, so another schelacier water froh a vast systeiant reservoirs A tenth of British Columbia would be flooded, and there would be massive natural resource and hue aically placed to benefit froy and construction money?”

“I think I

know the answer”

“Uh-huh They’ll reap billions! The plans for this boondoggle have been around for years They’ve never advanced because they’re so destructive and expensive, but they are getting soh”

“Gogstad again?”

“Now you’re getting it,” Cohen said He was beco stad has bought up newspapers and TV stations It can create a drustad can bring to bear is phenoot ex-presidents, prime ministers, secretaries of state on their boards There’s no way to fight it You put that kind of political and financial clout in the hands of so methods, and you’ll knohy I’m so damned nervous”