Charles Town, WV – Hear ye, hear ye. (Remember how events were announced back in the Revolutionary War days?)

On September 24, 2010, HMS Technologies, Inc. will be presenting the 2nd Annual Patriot’s Path Foundation Golf Tournament at the Locust Hill Golf Course in Charles Town, W. Va.

In discussing the decision to be the presentation sponsor for the tournament again this year, HMS President/CEO, Harry M. Siegel made the following statement:

 “As a Service Disabled Veteran who served our nation with pride and honor, it is a privilege to support this wonderful effort.

There has long been a need to have a safe, reasonably priced, residential housing program for veterans to come out of therapy as a staging point to re-enter the community. Patriot’s Path performs this service. I applaud them for serving those who served.”

The Tournament Format: Foursome Scramble

The tournament will be a Foursome scramble format – with prizes awarded to the top three teams in the A, B and C flights. There will be numerous on-course contests, including: a $10,000 hole-in-one contest, longest drive, straightest drive, and three “closest to the pin” contests.

Registration and breakfast will begin at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. There will be a $250 putting competition and an Awards Buffet at the conclusion of play. All teams and players will receive prizes and gifts. The cost is $75 per individual golfer and $280 per foursome. Early Bird Registration before September 17, 2010 is $65 per golfer and $260 per foursome.

There are sponsorship opportunities available for individuals, organizations, businesses and corporations. By sponsoring or participating in the tournament, irganizers remind people that they will be helping our nation’s military Veterans.

To register to be a player or a sponsor, visit the Patriot’s Path web site, or call David Hill at (304) 283-7199.

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Started in late 2008, the Patriot’s Path Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to assisting Veterans in re-entry into the community after they have completed treatment in the VA Medical System.

HMS Technolgies, Inc. is a leading Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business contractor involved in integrating technology, partners and clients for the common goal of teamed successes – in the Federal Sector and Commercial environments. For the Year 2010, HMS was a Nunn-Perry Award Winner. HMS was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Martinsburg, WV.

Washington, D.C. – If you’re in Virginia – or wherever – now’s the time to stand up and be heard. “Politicians” are supposed to be working for us, not the other way around.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte has announced that he will be holding an “America Speaking Out” town hall meeting in the Shenandoah Valley tomorrow - where he will be seeking opinions and suggestions from constituents on the important issues facing the 111th Congress.

The “America Speaking Out” initiative represents a new national dialogue that aims to bring the halls of Congress into American homes. House Republicans have been gathering comments, suggestions and priorities submitted on the AmericaSpeakingOut.com site and at town hall meetings across the country.  These comments and suggestions will be used to build an agenda that reflects the priorities of the American people.

In a press release, here is what Congressman Goodlatte says: “I feel it is important to keep an open line of communication so I can best serve the interests of the 6th Congressional District,” said Congressman Goodlatte.  “I look forward to hearing from the folks of the Shenandoah Valley at my upcoming town hall meeting.  If we in Congress work hand in hand with the American people we can change the way business is done in Washington.”

Let’s take him at his word, attend, and see how he – and our other elected officials – listen to what we wish to have happen, and actually incorporate it into the “agenda.”

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Congressman Goodlatte’s “America Speaking Out” town hall meeting will be held at the following time and location:

Shenandoah Valley
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Blue Ridge Community Center
Plecker Workforce Center
One College Lane
Weyers Cave, Va.

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It’s Your Voice and Your Vote – if you exercise them

There are so many issues that affect you and your family that you can have a say about. Rise to the occasion. Get involved. Who else will if you won’t? Don’t wait for others to do your bidding. They may not.

If U.S. citizens allow others to “govern” them without holding those people accountable, they are as much to blame for the direction of America – as any politician who say he/she is representing the “people,” but then operates otherwise.

What makes it to a vote in statehouses across the US of A and on our Congressional floor, is often regrettably much more a product of corporation lobbies or poltical tit-for-tat – rather than what the people have voiced that they wish from their elected representatives.

Hydrofracking, for example, is a great issue to let Congressman Goodlatte hear your views. Do we want large energy companies to come in and “rape” the Shenandoah Valley – all for some natural gas?

Here’s a politician who is at least taking the initiative to get people involved. Test him out. See who is really listening.

Fort Valley, VA – Come learn about an issue that’s sure to affect families across the Valley. On Saturday, August 28, 2010, The Fort Valley Lyceum will present a special citizen information session entitled; “Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Exploration in the Valley.” The event will be held from 10 to 11 a.m.. (The organizers encourage you to come at 9:30 a.m. for coffee and relax with your neighbors.)

WHERE: Fort Valley Community Center and Library, 6190 Woodstock Tower Road, Fort Valley, VA 22652

(Directions: From Rt. 675, take Rt. 678 (Fort Valley Road) north to Detrick.  At the Post Office in Detrick, turn left onto Woodstock Tower Rd.  The Community Center is .5 miles on the left.  From Rt. 55, take Rt. 678 south and turn right onto Woodstock Tower Rd.  The Community Center is .5 miles on the left.)

WHO: The speaker will be Seth Coffman, the Project Coordinator for Trout Unlimited’s Shenandoah Headwaters Home Rivers Initiative.

Trout Unlimited is the nation’s largest coldwater conservation organization working to conserve, protect, and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.  Seth’s work is focused on restoring native brook trout to spring creeks of the Shenandoah Valley and protecting existing populations of wild brook trout.

THE ISSUE: Recent advancements in drilling technology and demands for domestic energy sources have created a major energy boom for Marcellus Shale natural gas in the Mid Atlantic Appalachians. If not managed properly, this form of natural gas exploration and development has the potential to significantly alter the regions landscape and natural resources.

Seth will provide general information on the Marcellus Shale formation, where it is found in Virginia and will cover aspects of the drilling process and hydrofracing, and how it can impact the environment, groundwater, the rural landscape, our streams and communities.

COST: The Program is free and no reservations are required.

The Fort Valley Lyceum Lecture Series presents a monthly speaker program on the first, second, or fourth Saturday of each month, except for December.  Our goal is to provide programs of interest to all people of the local area.

If you have any questions, or know a good speaker to recommend, please call John Proudman at (540) 933-6514, or via e-mail at: miles2go ~at~ shentel.net.

Contact Information for this Event: (540) 933-6714

Arctic Sunrise sets our for Gulf

“White House energy adviser Carol Browner has recently been making the talk show rounds and telling the public about a new government assessment that shows that 75 percent of the oil from BP’s drilling disaster has either been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf. As she puts it, “Mother Nature did her part….”

You’re not alone if you think that sounds too good to be true.

That’s why we’ve sailed the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise to the Gulf and are embarking tomorrow on a three-month expedition to provide independent scientific analysis of the impacts of both the oil and chemical dispersants on the Gulf ecosystem. We have to know the truth about the damage that was done.

Relying on BP and Federal officials to do that job for us would be foolish at this point. From day one, BP was doing everything in its power to hide the true extent of the disaster and they often had the help of a Federal Government who seemed more concerned with maintaining its public image than addressing the problem. The Gulf deserves better. We deserve better.

But, we don’t have to run a single test to prove that oil drilling is dangerous and deadly. BP has done that work for us. And we don’t need any elaborate solutions to solve the problem either. What we need is to put an end to all new drilling and to transition to clean, renewable sources of energy.

Help us kick-off our tour of the Gulf by taking action and telling Congress “No New Drilling” today.

Look for Arctic Sunrise Updates

Over the course of the next three months, we’ll be telling you all about what we find in the Gulf on our website – in our blogs, through videos and photos and more.

We’ll also be giving you opportunities to help make the clean energy future we all know is possible a reality by stopping upcoming drilling projects, confronting the fossil fuel industry in your community and joining with people globally for a day of action.”

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The Threat of Sea Level Rise

On another important note: On August 5, 2010, the world witnessed a ice chunk – four times the size of Manhattan Island – that broke off of Greenland and is heading for the Nares Strait.

Greenpeace has a well-documented piece entitled, “The Threat of Sea Level Rise,” that explains recent changes, and discusses the possible impacts worldwide.

Here is the complete text of the Declaration of Independence, adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776. (The original spelling and capitalization have been retained.)

Just as applicable in 2010, as it was in 1776

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.

The Graff House where Jefferson wrote the Declaration.

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states.

To prove this,

Let facts be submitted to a candid world:

- He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

- He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

- He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

The Spirit of the People to Stand Up for Themselves

- He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

- He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

- He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

- He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

- He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

- He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

Some abuses now a reality again

- He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

- He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

- He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

- He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

The Declaration Committee: Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and John Adams.

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do.

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

(As Signed by):

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

(Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776.)

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You can download a free e-book of the Declaration from Project Gutenberg.

Read more about Monticello, and the history of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

What do you see?

However, central New York is, well, in the middle of everything, and, more importantly, provides water for one of the largest cities in the world: New York City.

The dramatic action being taken to prevent fracking in the state of the Big Apple may prove to be an excellent guideline for our small-town struggles.

On the Side of the Law

The major area of concern is central New York.  Currently, the 17 state lawmakers representing the area are divided on the issue, with five as proponents of hydrofracking, three against it, four undecided, and five others unwilling to respond any way.

Naturally, the proponents are interested in the economic benefits while others are looking closely at the potential, if not probable, environmental impacts.

Some, such as State Sen. Dave Valesky, D-Oneida, are not against the technique itself, but the idea of using it in watershed areas.

Just below the state level, the Westchester County Board of Legislators voted to encourage the state to ban fracking in the Catskill and Delaware watersheds, two watersheds that provide most of New York’s water.  Also hesitating are New York City and the counties of Onondaga, Sullivan, Cortland, and Tompkins, which have all passed similar resolutions regarding further research before the approval of hydrofracking.

Rally, Anyone?

The day was January 25, 2010; the place was the New York state Capitol building; the what was a rally against hydrofracking in New York.  Sponsored by many groups, including the Environmental Advcates of New York and citizens Campaign for the Environment, the rally drew over 600 protesters.

How big of a deal was it?  Google it.  There are countless videos splashed all over the internet documenting the event.

One rally down. But there was one more, and if a young girl has any input in the matter, it won’t be her last….

Young Involvement

Leyana Dassauer also protested in January.  However, instead of listening to various speakers in the Capitol building, she and various others gathered in Thornden Park to sing songs, share stories, and light candles.  Although considered stereotypical by some, the peaceful presentation for the opposing people worked wonders.

In fact, Dassauer intends to organize school presentations, starting with her local high school, Nottingham High School, where she will be a sophomore this fall.  Dassauer gives a younger feel to the matter, and connects the issue not only to lawmakers and property owners, but also to the new generation that would have to deal with any negative effects of the hydrofracking. The forums sprouting up in Syracuse should provide this girl with the necessary means to protect and project her point of view.

Plentiful Petitioning

Care2 is website that wants to let the state of New York know that they do not want hydraulic fracturing to take place there.  So what do they do about it?  They wrote a petition, of course.  So far, it has been signed by 5,624 people from many different states, not just New York, with a goal of 7,500 signatures.

Comparison to Our Local Issue in Virginia

Legally, so far, only small steps are being taken because it seems large steps wouldn’t be approved at this point.  The issue, though, is making news incredibly often, with more and more people of all ages becoming involved.

What our area has so far lacked is the organization and bold support that would provide for a rally, or, less overwhelming, perhaps, a well written and publicized petition.  Hopefully, enough support will be gathered that fracking will not be in the near future of our area.

Lauren Tabor is a local student.

Distraction is defined by wikipedia as: “the diversion of attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention onto the source of distraction.” While finding missing children is certainly a laudable goal (who can argue that?), we have police and detective forces responsible for handling those cases. But, Point to Point highway surveillance systems? What is the real connection with lost children?

See related definition of media distraction.

Primarily for Amber Alerts?

The use of taxpayers dollars to install elaborate, expensive, intrusive tracking and surveillance systems on our interstate highways for the stated purpose of issuing Amber Alerts – designed to find lost children – is a long shot, and perhaps a distraction from what’s really being put into place.

Does our government really care about us enough to pay all of that money for our benefit? Look at their recent track record of protecting the people – corporate bailouts, cuts in unemployment benefits, closed rest areas, the handling of the Gulf oil spill, increased fees for everything, the list goes on…

Once these systems are put into place, it will be very difficult for citizens to demand that they are dismantled.

Here’s a recent Associated Press article concerning Charleston, West Virginia:

“West Virginia highways have been equipped with a network of cameras and computerized message boards to make it easier to track down missing children. State officials say 17 automated message boards have been installed, and eight cameras have been put up along the Interstate 64 corridor to monitor traffic.

Bruce Kenney, who oversees traffic monitoring for the Division of Highways, says a $1.5 million computerized war room was built to compile traffic and weather information and control the cameras and message boards. The boards can be programmed to warn motorists about traffic conditions or spread word of an Amber Alert, which goes out when a child is missing or abducted.”

What do you think? Is a kidnapper going to put a child in a car in clear view of cameras, and, for that matter, choose to drive on a freeway that he/she knows has cameras? (Watch and see West Virginians how the system will be employed.)

Have you seen these types of message boards and cameras in your area – on roads and interstates near you? How often have they been used so far, and for what purposes?  Add your Comments below.

Here is VDOT  information about cameras and message boards on Interstate 81 in Virginia.

Point-to-Point Tracking Systems for people, cars

There are other reports on the Internet of these systems being built in the U.S., particularly in Maryland where Governor O’Malley signed a bill into law in October 2009 authorizing surveillance cameras in highway work zones and within a half-mile radius of schools.

So too, The US Federal Highway Administration has provided approximately 90 percent of the $43 million cost required to implement a pilot program – the Kansas City Scout Intelligent Transportation System.

The Kansas and Missouri Departments of Transportation provided the remaining portion with the amount split into two roughly equal parts according to how much of the network was located in each state. Maintenance cost is split similarly between the Kansas and Missouri Departments.

Here is the project’s official description of the Scout system:

“To effectively monitor traffic, the Kansas City Scout project employs a network designed to host a combination of various traffic detection devices. Stretching over 75 miles, the Scout system includes portions of Interstate 435, I-35, US 69 and K-10 in Kansas and portions of interstates 435, 35, 470, 670, 70; highways 71 and 169; and Route 9 on the Missouri side.

Scout uses technology such as closed-circuit cameras, electronic message boards and roadway sensors to monitor and manage traffic on these routes. Information is gathered using a crucial fibre-optic network that stretches for 90 miles beneath the roadside.

Following the launch of the Scout system in September 2004 several cameras were added to help remove blind-spots that were only recognised once it was fully operational. Three cameras were added in February 2005 to cover the I-470 mainline bridges west of Route 71, south Route71 and west Interstate 435 and also North Interstate 435 at Bannister Road. The new cameras were state-of-the-art 360 degree pan tilt and zoom and gave the system more than 80 cameras on the network.

Prominent features of the Scout system include 25 foot-wide electronic message boards and 45 foot-tall camera poles. In August 2007, an additional seveen cameras were deployed on Interstate 470 and Highway 71 to enhance coverage in South Kansas City.”

These sensors, cameras, and the resulting “command centers” – like CSI intelligence rooms with Abby standing by ready to help – are being built to catch motorists who drive faster between two points on the freeway than deemed permissible. The state then mails the motorist a hefty speeding ticket – without recourse, without any human being involved in citing the infraction whatsoever. What will we have next, arrest by computer?

In some cases, too, these services are being outsourced so it’s not even the government that is anonymously tracking people, but outside paid contractors. If police officers are given speeding ticket quotas, who is to say that contractors will not be awarded for the amount of revenue they help bring into state, or Federal, coffers?

These computerized highway tracking systems have been operational in some places in Europe for a while, and in the state of Florida, which supposedly installed an elaborate system of Interstate cameras under then-Governor Jeb Bush, and then dismantled them after legal action (i.e. privacy concerns.) The citizens would not stand for the cameras as an outright measure. But, what if they are instituted as a part of another “initiative”?

Since when do computers have more say, more rights, than humans?

When did we start allowing computer information to matter more than people? Where did “innocent until proven guilty” go in America? Have we given the right to accuse one of a crime  to computers?

A computer can be made to say or do anything. We all know that from the obnoxious computer “lady” that gives herself a name when we call to resolve an issue with our phone company, energy company, etc.

The simulated voice (not a real woman’s voice) will say, “Sorry, I did not hear that.” and I say, “That’s because you’re a computer, not a real person.”

Catch 22 Psychology at work

The psychology of the above situation where an elaborate tracking system is being put into place “to track down missing children,” establishes a situation where it looks bad for citizens to object to the intrusive surveillance because then, of course, they are objecting to finding missing children. Only a heel would not believe or say that finding missing children is not a good thing.

The argument against these surveillance systems puts U.S. citizens in a Catch 22 situation if they question or object to what the main purpose of the surveillance is.

Maybe I’m wrong. Judge it for yourself.

So many things these days are set up this way.

That’s not to say that some kids might be found by all of the highway cameras. But, getting taken by the notion that we are allowing one action to help ensure a given outcome is naive, and gives our rights, and our power away.

Young people …and everyone else, we all need to wake up.

What’s your opinion? Write a Comment below.

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Learn more about Catch 22 – What is it?

(Wikipedia) Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943 onwards, is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century

Among other things, Catch-22 is a general critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning. Resulting from its specific use in the book, the phrase “Catch-22″ is common idiomatic usage meaning “a no-win situation” or “a double bind” of any type. Within the book, “Catch-22″ is a military rule, the self-contradictory circular logic that, for example, prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions. In Heller’s own words:

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

Other forms of Catch-22 are invoked throughout the novel to justify various bureaucratic actions. At one point, victims of harassment by military police quote the MPs’ explanation of one of Catch-22’s provisions: “Catch-22 states that agents enforcing Catch-22 need not prove that Catch-22 actually contains whatever provision the accused violator is accused of violating.” Another character explains: “Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing.” The theme of a bureaucracy marginalizing the individual in an absurd way is similar to the world of Kafka’s The Trial, and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. The concept of ‘doublethink’ has definite echoes in Heller’s work.

Yossarian comes to realize that Catch-22 does not actually exist, but because the powers that be claim it does, and the world believes it does, it nevertheless has potent effects. Indeed, because it does not exist there is no way it can be repealed, undone, overthrown, or denounced.

A Four-Hour Tour

“Sit right back” and ride with me through rural WV. See for yourself just how “clean” the natural gas drilling process called “fracking” really is. We got a up-close, four-hour tour of this Wetzel County hydrofracturing operation (a large Chesapeake Energy project) two weeks ago by some local West Virginia residents, and want to share what we saw and heard.

To be informed about what’s going on with fracking, and everything that’s at stake, is the first step to slowing down the process until citizen interests are considered first - before corporate profits, and before the land in the United States (including WV and VA) is polluted possibly beyond repair – just like the Gulf.

With hydrofracking we’re really talking about hundreds of “ground zeros,” instead of one.

This article is an example of the power of electronic journalism. Whether you’re a child, a teen, or an adult, whatever your station in life, citizens can use technology and the Internet – blogs, videos, photos, writing, social networking, cell phones, electronic devices, etc. – to tell the stories that must be told, the stories of the people, of democracy and freedom.

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What You See Is What You Get

I had heard about the hydrofracking process, had researched it, and had written a number of articles on fracking, but what I saw when I visited the Wetzel County, WV site surprised me.  I left somber.

In the Northeast U.S., natural gas is generally found in the Marcelleus shale rock formation, which extends from New York – and as many people don’t realize, down into Virginia.

In Rockingham County, VA, Carrizo Oil & Gas (a Houston firm) has applied for the first application to hydrofrack in the state of Virginia – in tiny Bergton, to be exact.

Bergton is a rural area, outside of Harrisonburg, not far from James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University.

There are no Federal regulations against hydrofracking. Nor does Virginia have any – yet. So, the special use permit to drill a natural gas test well in Bergton is the first time hydrofracking has become a possibility in Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley. This is significant because once the “floodgates are open,” there will be no turning back. The water supply for the Valley, and by extension, Washington D.C., is at risk.

The situation is being studied and weighed by the local Rockingham County, VA,  Board of Supervisors (BOS) as you read this.

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Showing the Reality of Hydrofracking – Case Study: Wetzel County, West Virginia

Here’s what I learned about the process before I went on the tour… Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves the injection of between 3 to 8 million gallons of water, sand, and undisclosed chemicals at very high pressure down vertical pipes and then across into horizontal drilled wells as far down as 10,000 below the Earth’s surface.

The pressurized mixture causes the rock layer – in this case Marcellus shale – to crack. These fissures are held open by the sand particles so that natural gas from the shale can collect and then be pumped into holding tanks, or piped out directly to market.

The used-up fracking liquid is stored in open pits (below) and then either taken to a waste water treatment plant, or covered up by sand/dirt on site.

This is especially dangerous when a project is built on or by a floodplain.

During the process, about 200 large tanker trucks are needed to deliver the millions of gallons of water for the fracturing process for each single derrick/well.

Alternatively, although rarely disclosed in the permit and application, gas companies – can actually suck the water out of nearby streams to use for their own purposes.

What I was not prepared for was that with each step of the natural gas drilling process, there is machinery, construction, dust, invasion of the Earth’s crust – and yet another chopped-off hill – literally in every direction one looks.

There are water pipes along the side of almost every road, and up and down the hills.

There are compressor stations and storage tanks, dozens of heavy trucks, moving back and forth on small roads, and there are staging areas, where barrels of chemicals (with toxic signs on them) are just sitting outside on the ground (below).

The scale is big. It’s hard to show here. The “pads” that the derricks sit on, for example, can be as large as four or five acres. In Wetzel County, during the construction process, silt fences are not being used on any type of a regular basis. Thus, whatever is disturbed can spread to another area.

Here are some more pictures I snapped in Wetzel County, WV:

Not too far from Wheeling, the striking terrain of this remote West Virginia land (near Maud, WV on Route 7) used to be open, rolling, green-covered hills, with trees everywhere.

These are not your Old Grand Dad’s small oil derricks, ala Beverly Hillbillies style, dotting the landscape here and there, like fairy castles. No, hydrofracking is indeed an industrial undertaking.

Below are the small rural roads in Wetzel County that were never meant for dozens of 80,000 pound trucks rolling by, reducing some of the paved roads to dirt.

There is so much activity and wear & tear that the roads must be watered throughout the day just to control the dust it’s so thick (right).

The nearby streams in Wetzel County used to be freely flowing with clean water, and fish in them – and a habitat for other wildlife and plants (below).

Chesapeake Energy is taking hundreds of thousands of water a day from the local watershed to use in the fracking process. They siphon as much water from the streams as they need. Why is this permissible, when taking the water affects the whole region, not just the property that has been leased?

Quality of Life Must Trump Profiteering

Here’s the deal: The energy companies lay out their industrial operation like a grid, deciding where best to situate the wells to make the most money. If someone’s land is in that path, regardless of whether he/she has signed a lease, the oil company can still run pipes under his/her land.

That’s eminent domain in action; it takes power away from citizens, and places it into corporate hands – hands that most often have profit as a motivation, rather than quality of life.

You can see here how the water looks. It’s a red/rust color, about the consistency of chocolate milk.

One day, our “tour guide” said that he actually saw workers pulling out water from a stream as the minnows lay there dying. Many of the plants in the area are also gone. Barren land is what’s left behind.

Taking all of this water from the environment is happening even as some areas in the region have declared an emergency situation because of drought conditions.

There are other ramifications that affect the quality of life, too.

The Wetzel County residents used to be able to leave their homes at anytime without being delayed for hours because of the double-wide compressor machines that the large trucks trek up the country roads to the fracking sites three times a week. Now, citizen schedules must be built around Chesapeake’s corporate schedule.

These large trucks on the small roads also cause safety issues.

Our tour guide said that this past year EMT personnel had to use a Kybota to get an elderly woman from her home in order to take her to the hospital when the Chesapeake trucks were blocking the roads. Accidents, too, are common and have increased. A lifeline helicopter now circles above the area.

Know too…  Since 2005, the energy companies that run hydraulic fracturing operations have been exempt from compliance with The Clean Air Act and the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Right now, in essence, we’re living in an unregulated fracking free-for-all. That kind of “environment” has been demonstrated all too well in the Gulf of Mexico.

As one of the residents in Wetzel County, WV, remarked to me when we first arrived: “They do what they want.”

Here is what the residents told us. In Wetzel County, WV, before Chesapeake Energy came in, there were weight limit signs on the small roads and bridges near the soon-to-be fracking site , but a few days before their arrival, the locals said that these weight limit signs “miraculously disappeared.” There was a obstacle; it was eliminated.

Omission of pertinent information is also an issue. For example, a complete listing of the specific chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations are not made available to landowners, neighbors, local officials, or health care providers, nor is it required by any government entity.

There have been reports just this month in PA where energy companies have finally been pressured to release their list of 80-plus fracking chemicals. Why is it not required of these companies upfront – to state what they plan to inject into the ground? That’s only sensible and reasonable. (Cattle in PA have also been quarantined because of runoff fracking liquid.)

Fracking Divides People and Towns

Another observation: Perhaps, the most significant harm fracking brings to a community is a social one. Suffice it to say that division occurs when a fracking operation comes to town. The issue seems to intrinsically split the community into those who are financially benefiting from the drilling (and look the other way to the environmental harms), and those who have not leased land (or, who have decided to stand up for peoples’ health and the environment – on principle.)

If you’re interested, the technical aspects of how hydrofracking works are illustrated in this ABC News video.

Or, view this earlier article on the health effects of hydrofracking, as researched by Dr. Theo Colburn.

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The Regional Backdrop: Virginia is Next on the Radar Screen

Commentary: The Wetzel County, WV, Chesapeake Energy hydrofracking operation that you’ve just seen has been going on for four years now. It’s a great case study for us in Virginia, as we decide how we’ll handle our natural gas challenge.

We have a window of opportunity here in Virginia; for how long is unclear. We have a unique chance to make a difference for the Commonwealth, and also to set an example for the rest of the country as to what we’ll put up with, and what we won’t.

Will we act swiftly and decisively to hold energy companies accountable, or will allow big business interests and the clout of those who are making big bucks from the drilling to set the stage?

Here is a picture (right) of the Cowfer #1 natural gas (fracking) operation in Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania that Carrizo Oil & Gas built.

Here are other pictures of rural Bergton, VA, where a fracking operation is now being  proposed by Carrizo Oil & Gas:

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This is the first time any area of Virginia has had to deal with these fracking  issues. As part of their due diligence, members of the Rockingham County VA Board of Supervisors recently drove up to Wetzel County, WV, and took a similar tour of the Chesapeake Energy fracking operation. They also took video and still photos.

The people must know what is going on.

Let’s see which Virginia politician – local or otherwise - stands up first and sponsors legislation in the Virginia Assembly next session to regulate this first precedent-setting fracking operation in Virginia.

Whoever does take the lead will surely be lauded.

Proposed Bergton Drill Site is Next to the Watershed that Supplies D.C. with Drinking Water

It’s important to note that the Bergton drilling site is on a flood plain. And, it’s between two tributaries of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River (Rader Run and Bennett Run.) . Just this week, Governor McDonnell declared Rockingham County, Virginia, a disaster area due to current drought conditions.   After reading the Carrizo Oil & Gas application, the source of the millions of gallons of water needed for fracking in Bergton is a mystery. They only have budgeted $11,500 for “drilling and potable water” in the application.

We are all connected

If Carrizo does the same as Chesapeake Energy and siphons water from the local streams here in VA, the water situation will worsen. And, what will fracking so close to the watershed do to the water supply for the Valley – and by extension for the Washington DC area? Will we end up with water that looks and smells like Wetzel County’s  streams?

Without strong leadership soon, it’s likely that the Bergton, VA area will become much like the industrial scene that you’ve witnessed in the pictures from West Virginia.

The People Taking A Stand, Joining Together

Let’s hope that enough people get involved to have us learn from the experience of our neighbors in NY, PA, and WV. Virginia needs to enact a moratorium until regulations can be put into place to protect Virginia citizens, Virginia land, and our regional water supply. A natural gas severance tax of some sort would be advantageous for Virginia coffers, as well.

What can you do?

1) Watch for news on 7Bends.com about an upcoming citizen dialogue meeting to be held here in Virginia in the Fall. It will use the innovative Open Space Technology (OST) format which encourages open conversation among all of the people and parties involved, most prominently involving the citizens themselves.

2) Contact your elected officials today to ask what they plan to do about the situation. Be aware that there are 24 counties in Virginia that do have Marcellus shale, so your area could be next. The Bergton decision affects all Virginians.

What about the “Energy Independence” Argument?

Before I close this article, I want to lay the energy independence issue out on the table. The powerful energy industry – with its mega bucks, mega lobbyists, hefty community contributions and media buys – are touting natural gas drilling as “a clean source of energy” that will be one of nation’s answers to energy independence for the U.S.

Many Americans, when they first hear about “natural gas drilling,” react “Way to go! We want energy independence. We won’t have to rely on just coal, or on foreign suppliers.” That is a great aim. But, the reality is … to not object to the hydrofracking process – as it now exists in its unregulated state – is just not possible once you’ve witnessed it.

Without these regulations, it’s not a decision of the heart – or any type of logic – to want hydrofracking “in your own backyard.” That is, unless you’re one of the folks getting monthly checks, and you’ve abandoned your now-polluted piece of property, and bought a nice big house somewhere else. What about the land? What about your neighbors?

The race is on

As legislators try and play “catch up,” the natural gas drilling companies are racing “to get it while the getting is good” – that is, before the process is slowed down and handled responsibly.

A scene near Bergton now (pre-frack).

Imagine a sign reading: “Welcome visitors to the once beautiful Shenandoah Valley – that is, before hydrofracking.”

The streams, vegetation, water supply, and air for many thousands of people – just one degree of separation from the “ground zeros” that are being erected all across the countryside – are being threatened.

Responsible business is one thing; we welcome that. But, this unregulated, free-for-all is unacceptable. If Virginians do not take notice and enact regulations before the energy companies come into “frack” Virginia land, it will be difficult to stop the tide, as our neighboring states can definitely agree.

I always learned: leave whatever land or property you use better than the way you found it. We must make it so.

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“In general I esteem it a good maxim, that the best way to preserve the confidence of the people durably is to promote their true interest.”                 ~ George Washington

Here is the Official Summary of Senate Bill S 510 – from OpenCongress.org:

12/18/2009–Reported to Senate amended. FDA Food Safety Modernization Act – Title I: Improving Capacity to Prevent Food Safety Problems -

(Sec. 101)
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to inspect records related to food, including to:

(1) allow the inspection of records of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner as an adulterated food; and
(2) require that each person (excluding farms and restaurants) who manufactures, processes, packs, distributes, receives, holds, or imports an article of food permit inspection of his or her records if the Secretary believes that there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to such food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

(Sec. 102)
Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the registration of a food facility if the food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by a facility has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

The Bill also requires parents to provide documentation of their child’s food allergy to schools.

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When they speak about “adulterated food,” they are, in part, referring to genetically-modified food.

Wikipedia defines GM food as such:

Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms. Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. These techniques are much more precise than mutagenesis (mutation breeding) where an organism is exposed to radiation or chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change. Other techniques by which humans modify food organisms include selective breeding (plant breeding and animal breeding), and somaclonal variation.

GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. Typically, genetically modified foods are transgenic plant products: soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil. But animal products have also been developed. In 2006, a pig was controversially engineered to produce omega-3 fatty acids through the expression of a roundworm gene. Researchers have also developed a genetically-modified breed of pigs that are able to absorb plant phosphorus more efficiently, and as a consequence the phosphorus content of their manure is reduced by as much as 60 percent.

Critics have objected to GM foods on several grounds, including possible safety issues, ecological concerns, and economic concerns raised by the fact that these organisms are subject to intellectual property law.

Read more here about Monsanto and GM food, and the control of the world seed market.

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“Is freedom anything else than the right to live as we wish?  Nothing else.” ~ Epictetus

FoodFredom.Wordpress.com list the following effects if the US citizens do not stop the passage of  S 510:

1.  It puts all US food and all US farms under Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, in the event of contamination or an ill-defined emergency.

2.  It would end US sovereignty over its own food supply by insisting on compliance with the World Trade Organziation (WTO), thus threatening national security.  It would end the Uruguay Round Agreement Act of 1994, which put US sovereignty and US law under perfect protection.  Instead, S 510 states:

“COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.
Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization or any other treaty or international agreement to which the United States is a party.”

3.  It would allow the government, under Maritime Law, to define the introduction of any food into commerce (even direct sales between individuals) as smuggling into “the United States.”  Since under that law, the US is a corporate entity and not a location, “entry of food into the US” covers food produced anywhere within the land mass of this country and “entering into” it by virtue of being produced.

4.  It imposes Codex Alimentarius on the US, a global system of control over food.  It allows the United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the WTO to take control of every food on earth and remove access to natural food supplements.

Its bizarre history and its expected impact in limiting access to adequate nutrition (while mandating GM food, GM animals, pesticides, hormones, irradiation of food, etc.) threatens all safe and organic food and health itself, since the world knows now it needs vitamins to survive, not just to treat illnesses.

5.  It would remove the right to clean, store and thus own seed in the US, putting control of seeds in the hands of Monsanto and other multinationals, threatening US security. Seeds are the basis of all plants, and controlling them controls the food supply.

6.  It includes NAIS, an animal traceability program that threatens all small farmers and ranchers raising animals.  The UN is participating through the WHO, FAO, WTO, and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in allowing mass slaughter of even heritage breeds of animals and without proof of disease.

Biodiversity in farm animals is being wiped out to substitute genetically- engineered animals on which corporations hold patents. Animal diseases can be falsely declared.  S 510 includes the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite its involvement in the H1N1 vaccine campaign.

7.  It extends the policy – Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) -  to all food, thus threatening to do to all local food production and farming what HACCP did to meat production – put it in corporate hands and worsen food safety.

8.  It deconstructs what is left of the American economy.  It takes agriculture and food, which are the cornerstone of all economies, out of the hands of the citizenry, and puts them under the control of multinational corporations influencing the UN, WHO, FAO and WTO, with HHS, and CDC, acting as agents, with Homeland Security as the enforcer. The chance to rebuild the economy based on farming, ranching, gardens, food production, natural health, and all the jobs, tools and connected occupations would be eliminated.

9.  It would allow the government to mandate antibiotics, hormones, slaughterhouse waste, pesticides and GMOs.  This would industrialize every farm in the US, eliminate local organic farming, greatly increase global warming from increased use of oil-based products and long-distance delivery of foods, and make food even more unsafe.  The five items listed — the Five Pillars of Food Safety — are precisely the items in the food supply which are the primary source of its danger.

10. It uses food crimes as the entry into police state power and control.  The bill postpones defining all the regulations to be imposed; postpones defining crimes to be punished, postpones defining penalties to be applied.  It removes fundamental constitutional protections from all citizens in the country, making them subject to a corporate tribunal with unlimited power and penalties, and without judicial review. It is (similar to C-6 in Canada) the end of Rule of Law in the US.

[If you have some information you want to pass on, send it to Editor@7Bends.com. Feel free to add a Comment on the bottom of this article.]

Decide For Yourself

Read and form your opinion about whether justice is being served, or whether the motive is profit.

The Thomas family has asked that supporters and interested parties meet outside the Augusta County Courthouse at around 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL CONCERNED CITIZENS

“Approximately two years ago, in 2008,while incarcerated, I was given a politically-motivated “administrative transfer” from the Harrisonburg jail to the Middle River Regional Jail in Verona, Virginia, after writing to the local Health Department informing them that the facility in Harrisonburg had ceased making available HIV-testing for prisoners.

After being housed at Middle River for about three months, I was charged by that facility’s institutional investigator with two separate Class 6 felony charges(near misdemeanors) for (1) “possession of a deadly weapon,” and, (2) “destruction of a fire system”. The “deadly weapon” was a half-broken $.72 cent toothbrush holder, and the “fire system” was a sprinkler button, with an estimated value of less than $100.00.

These charges, although the most miniscule and petty of “offences” under Virginia law, carry a maximum of 10 years in prison; which I have been threatened with potentially being sentenced to, in the Augusta County Circuit Court.

I was released from prison nearly a year ago for good behavior after having participated in the Department of Correction’s Therapeutic Community prison facility at Indian Creek Correctional Center, for past issues with addiction and alcoholism.  Since my release, I have maintained employment at Tyson Foods Corporation, and have not failed a single drug screen, for which I am tested regularly. Consequently, for the first time, I was recently awarded visitation rights by the courts with my only child, my 5-year-old-son, Stephen Thomas.

However, the authorities in Augusta County are seeking to prosecute me, now, nearly a full two (2) years later, for the previously mentioned alleged offenses. The authorities in Augusta County have refused our repeated efforts to simply make restitution for the broken items in question and are intent on sending me back to prison now, during this most stable period of my life.

Any plea or finding of guilt by the court in Augusta County will result in an immediate parole violation and return to prison for several years, for me. The devastation that this ordeal would cause my family, myself, and particularly my 5-year-old, is simply unimaginable.

Because of the clear racial dynamics of this case, given the constant race –oriented insults that I was subjected to by correctional officers at Middle-River Jail on the date of the incident two years ago, I am desperately requesting the interest, investigation, attention and support of  you, my fellow citizens.

I humbly request your assistance in bringing these matters to a logical, rational, and amicable conclusion.  Our community does not need yet another fatherless African-American child, or another unwarranted African-American prisoner.

The trial date is set for July 14th, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Augusta County Circuit Court in Staunton VA . Any and all support is urgently and desperately needed. Thank you all for your time and interest.

Sincerely,

Steven L. Thomas ”

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Privatization of Prisons in the United States

(wikipedia) A private prison, jail, or detention center is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a local, state or federal government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with local, state, or federal governments that commit prisoners and then pay a per diem or monthly rate for each prisoner confined in the facility.

Today, the privatization of prisons refers both to the takeover of existing public facilities by private operators and to the building and operation of new and additional prisons by for-profit prison companies.

The Private Corrections Working Group of Jacksonville, FL, has a list of law suits brought against private prison corporations.

About Regional Jails in Virginia

According to the Virginia Association of Regional Jails (VARJ) web site:

“Presently, there are 18 regional jails in operation in Virginia, including Middle River Correctional Center in Staunton/Verona.  These 18 existing jails are comprised of approximately 76 counties, cities and towns and represent about 3.5 million citizens. They also employ approximately 1,000 staff with more to be hired in the future. Further, other localities around the state are in the “talking” stage of joining together and forming a regional jail, so we anticipate other regional jails coming on board over the next five years over and above what are now solidified.

History of Private Prisons in the U.S., and their Extraordinary Growth

(Wikipedia) – The privatization of prisons movement can be traced to the contracting out of confinement and care of prisoners after the American Revolution. Deprived of the ability to ship criminals and undesirables to the Colonies, Great Britain began placing them on hulks moored in English ports.

The partial transfer of San Quentin prison administration from private to public did not mark the end of privatization. The next phase began with the Reconstruction Period (1865-1876) in the south, after the end of the Civil War. Farmers and businessmen needed to find replacements for the labor force once their slaves had been freed. Beginning in 1868, convict leases were issued to private parties to supplement their workforce. This system remained in place until the early 20th century.

Federal and state government have had a long history of contracting out specific services to private firms, including medical services, food preparation, vocational training, and inmate transportation.

The 1980s, however, ushered in a new era of prison privatization. With a burgeoning prison population resulting from the War on Drugs and increased use of incarceration, prison overcrowding and rising costs became increasingly problematic for local, state, and federal governments. In response to this expanding criminal justice system, private business interests saw an opportunity for expansion, and consequently, private-sector involvement in prisons moved from the simple contracting of services to contracting for the complete management and operation of entire prisons.

The modern private prison business first emerged and established itself publicly in 1984 when the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) was awarded a contract to take over a facility in Hamilton County, Tennessee. This marked the first time that any government in the country had contracted out the complete operation of a jail to a private operator.

The following year, CCA gained further public attention when it offered to take over the entire state prison system of Tennessee for $200 million. The bid was ultimately defeated due to strong opposition from public employees and the skepticism of the state legislature. Despite that initial defeat, CCA since then has successfully expanded, as have other for-profit prison companies.

Private companies in the United States operate 264 correctional facilities, housing almost 99,000 adult offenders. Companies operating such facilities include the Corrections Corporation of America, the GEO Group, Inc, and Community Education Centers. (The GEO Group was formerly known as Wackenhut Securities.) Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) has a capacity of more than 80,000 beds in 65 correctional facilities. The GEO Group operates 61 facilities with a capacity of 49,000 offender beds. Most privately run facilities include both state and federal offenders.

Because the government pays these private prison companies a certain amount of money per day per prison, it has been argued that there’s a built-in corporate profit motive to keeping as many prisons in jail for as long as possible.

Learn more:

Here is a Cornell University study on the Increase in Private Prisons in the United States.

Here’s an article about the link between increased incarceration in the United States, especially for black youth, and the move toward privatizing prison management.

Did You Know?

In the U.S.  (‘the land of the free”), on average, 1 in 100 people are incarcerated. The U.S. Government and their contractors house 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated people, while accounting for only 5 percent of the world’s population. In Virginia, 1 in every 89 people are incarcerated. (Source – using Bureau of Justice statistics)

The Democracy Index lists the U.S. as number 17 in the world. Read more. 

If you have a relevant content link or some facts you want to share about the issue of Prison Privatization, write your comment below this article.

Reported on July 11, 2010 by Jack Dolan, of the Los Angeles Times -

“Sacramento -  A plan to let oil companies leave large parts of decommissioned drilling rigs in the ocean off California’s coast, saving them hundreds of millions of dollars, is sailing through the California Legislature at a time when the Gulf of Mexico spill has made the industry politically toxic.

The “rigs to reef” idea, which proponents say would create marine habitat, has been around for more than a decade. Former Gov. Gray Davis vetoed such a proposal in 2001, citing a lack of proof that abandoned oil rigs help the environment.

The natural science on the issue is still being debated, but the political science has swung in the oil companies’ favor: Their unlikely patron is powerful Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, a labor leader from East Los Angeles whose district has no coastline and who has proposed a new tax on oil companies to help close the state’s budget deficit.

Perez, a former member of the League of Conservation Voters’ board of directors, said opponents of offshore drilling should support his measure because helping the oil companies save money when they decommission wells could encourage them to shut down operations sooner.

“Just because there’s some upside in it for the oil companies doesn’t mean it’s bad,” Perez said.

Under existing law, the operators of more than two dozen rigs operating off the California coast will have to remove them when the oil runs out and they close the wells, a process likely to begin in the next few years.

Perez’s bill would require the companies to remove everything at the surface and 85 feet below. But they could leave the pilings, which stretch to the ocean floor — from several hundred to more than 1,000 feet.

The speaker’s staff cites studies estimating that decommissioning all the rigs off California’s coast could take five to 20 years, and that oil companies would save about $650 million by leaving the pilings in place.

The companies would keep half of that money. The other half would be split among an environmental trust fund to be created under the legislation, the county whose shoreline is closest to the rig and the state’s general fund. The general fund would receive 10 percent of that half, amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

With Perez’s legislative clout behind it, the plan passed the Assembly 73-0 and a key state Senate committee 9-0, even as images of oil washing up on the Gulf coast were being broadcast nationwide. The measure is expected to pass the full Senate. The governor has no stated position on it.

“Why would you give oil companies such a windfall at time like this?” said Sierra Club lobbyist Michael Endicott, who likened the Perez bill to offering offshore drillers a discounted dumping fee. “Anything that sends the signal that these things are in any way benign is a big problem.”

The Sierra Club opposes the plan, as does the Environmental Defense Center, based in Santa Barbara. Most of the rigs off California’s shore are in the Santa Barbara Channel.

“The oil companies have been pushing this legislation for years because there are such big cost savings,” said Kristi Birney Rieman, an analyst for the Santa Barbara group. A six-page letter the organization sent to legislators last month said there was no conclusive evidence that the pilings would increase the number of fish in local waters.

Four other environmental groups, including the Nature Conservancy and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said they would support the idea if the public received 85% to 95% of the oil companies’ savings.

“A ‘half-off sale’ is a bad deal for the people of California and for our oceans,” said a June 29 letter that the four groups sent to the state Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

But Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Assn., an oil industry group that is one of the bill’s original sponsors, said removing the pilings would endanger small fish that use the structures for protection. Association members have contributed $13,800 to Perez’s campaign account in recent months, state records show.

A spokesman for Chevron, which is a member of the trade group and provided $5,900 of the campaign cash to Perez, offered measured support.
“This bill will provide mutual benefits for both the environment and the industry,” said K.C. Bishop, a consultant for the company.

The public face of the rigs-to-reefs plan is longtime labor lobbyist Barry Broad. He also represents the Sport Fishing Conservancy, whose members hope the pilings will help boost game fish numbers.

Broad, who also represents the Teamsters, said he and Perez “have a relationship that goes back many years,” predating the speaker’s entry into politics. When Perez was an executive for the United Food and Commercial Workers, he hired Broad to lobby for the union.

The two were friends in 2001, when the previous rigs-to-reefs proposal made it to the governor’s desk.

“I remember at the time we both thought it was a pretty good idea,” Broad said.

Nine years later, Perez was sworn in as Assembly speaker.

“Sometimes the stars align,” Broad said.”

“The article in today’s Boston Herald is inaccurate in saying that I “had harsh words yesterday for the Israeli Navy.” The harsh words I spoke were specifically aimed at some non-governmental settlers in the West Bank who I believe have treated Arabs very badly, and, it should be noted, in contradiction to official Israeli government policy.

But I had nothing critical to say about the Israeli Navy. Indeed, I noted that I was not familiar with the specifics of the incident, and I talked about the U.S. experience in Afghanistan as an example of the difficult problems that occur when military organizations are required to use force.

I did say that I thought it was important in the interest of Israel and others that there be a credible inquiry into this, but I believe this inquiry should be conducted by a credible group commissioned by the Israeli government. The record of the United Nations with regard to Israel is a badly biased one and clearly no inquiry chartered by the U.N. would have the credibility that it ought to have.

My reference to “innocent people” was a reference to the problems the American military has encountered in Afghanistan – and before that to a great extent Iraq. As to the situation involving the Israeli Navy and those who were seeking to land in Gaza to aid and support Hamas, I noted that I did not know the specifics.

I do believe that the decision to seek to land that group of ships in the territory that is controlled by a terrorist group was a wholly irresponsible one, and created the situation in which violence occurred. I have since learned more about the incident and I note the Israeli report that violent force in fact initiated by those whose boat was boarded – entirely appropriately in my judgment – by the Israeli Navy.

The Israeli government has committed itself to appointing a credible inquiry and I support that. While governments investigating themselves are always faced with some skepticism, I believe that the Israeli government has a better record of legitimate self-criticism than almost any other government in the world in this regard, and the Israeli Supreme Court in particular has shown independence unmatched by any other judiciary in dealing with security actions taken against hostile forces.

Further, I want to emphasize again that my reference to actions that I am ashamed of is a reference to non-official actions by to non-official actions by some settlers who have acted inappropriately and sometimes violently against Arabs. I continue to believe that the Israeli government should be pushing harder to prevent any new settlements and to remove settlements as part of a genuine two state agreement from those areas of the West Bank not in and around Jerusalem.”

“Air France passenger jet heading from Rio de Janeiro to Paris made an emergency landing in north-eastern Brazil, following a bomb threat.

All 405 passengers and 18 crew members were safely evacuated from Flight 443, said Jorge Andrade, a spokesman for airport authority Infraero.

A spokesman for Air France in Brazil said the bomb threat was phoned in to Rio’s international airport by a female voice about 30 minutes after the plane took off.

The control tower contacted the jet and the decision was made to land in Recife, the Air France spokesman said.

The spokesman said authorities had not found any explosives after a five-hour search, and the jet was expected to be cleared to continue to Paris.

Solange Argenta, an Infraero spokeswoman at Recife airport, said the flight took off at 4.20pm local time yesterday and landed in Recife at 7.53pm.

The jet taxied to a secluded area of the airport and those on board were quickly removed. The airport was closed for about 30 minutes.

Flight 443 was on the same route as an Air France jet that crashed last June off Brazil’s north-eastern coast, killing all 228 on board. While no definite cause has been determined in the crash, authorities have repeatedly ruled out foul play.

*****

CNN International is also reporting on July 11, 2010:

Air France flight diverted after threat
By the CNN Wire Staff

July 11, 2010 — Updated 1543 GMT (2343 HKT)

* Bomb threat on board Air France plane forces diversion
* Plane left Rio de Janiero, Brazil bound for Paris, France
* Captain instead landed plane Recife, Brazil so it could be inspected
* Flight rescheduled, due to depart Recife Sunday

(CNN) — “The threat of an explosive device on board prompted the diversion of an Air France flight to Recife, Brazil, while it was en route from Rio de Janiero to Paris, France, the airline said in a statement.

The crew was informed of the threat while in flight, the statement said, and the captain decided to land in Recife so the aircraft could be inspected, Air France said. The plane landed about 8 p.m. Saturday and all 405 people on board disembarked. They were being housed in several hotels, the statement said.

The plane is expected to leave Recife at 8:10 p.m. (7:10 p.m. ET) Sunday and expected to arrive at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport at 9:50 a.m. Monday, the airline said.

Recife is about 1,100 miles (1,790 km) north-northeast of Rio de Janiero.”

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Shenandoah Valley Education News: Dana A. Fisher, agricultural educator from Central High School in Woodstock, Va., (pictured) has been selected as the 2010 Virginia winner of the Outstanding Agricultural Education Teacher Award – given by the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE).

Outstanding Ag Ed Teacher Award winners are agricultural educators who are at the pinnacle of their careers, conducting the highest quality agricultural education programs.  The award recognizes leadership in civic, community, and professional activities.  Award winners are innovators and catalysts for student success in agricultural education.

Fisher will compete against state Outstanding Ag Ed Teacher Award winners from surrounding states for the opportunity to be named the 2010 NAAE Outstanding Ag Ed Teacher for Region VI.  Regional winners will receive personal use of a Toyota Tundra pickup truck for two years, an expense paid trip to attend the 2010 NAAE convention in Las Vegas, and an invitation to a special awards dinner.

The NAAE Outstanding Ag Ed Teacher Award program is sponsored by Toyota as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

NAAE is the professional association for agricultural educators.  The mission of NAAE is “professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service.”  The NAAE office is located in Lexington, Kentucky.

To see more Education News in the Shenandoah Valley, visit the Shenandoah County Schools web site.

[Photo credit: Rick Cooley]

Here/hear is what five top astrologers have to say about the rare Total Solar Eclipse and New Moon which both happen this Sunday, following the line up of five planets that occurred on June 13, 2010 …

From your vantage point on Earth, what do you see and hear?

**In the Earth-Keepers newsletter, James Tyberonn explains:

“When a Total Solar Eclipse occurs on a New Moon, a very special energy of transformation occurs. On July 11, 2010 this will take place.

Are you ready? Take time for this day, and utilize its extraordinary potentials for the positive. Keep your energy intact, and do not allow emotions to fray, and indeed the temptation to become anxious or over react will be there.

The July 11 Total Solar Eclipse is a New Moon with an extremely tremendous impact. The Sun that gives us life and lights our path is joined briefly with the dark and mysterious qualities of the Moon. The Moon blocks the light of the Sun. In this moment of perceived darkness, spirituality and the psyche combine anew, beginning another cycle in the spiral of our personal development. Great openings and great closures can occur – great advancement or untoward downward spiral. It is up to you. This Eclipse is extremely meaningful. Don’t ignore it.”

**Astrologer Pat Paquette writes:

“The cardinal T-square between Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, and Jupiter continues to get closer, but as of the eclipse, Saturn remains in the final degree of mutable Virgo, so technically it’s not a cardinal  T-square. I’m not sure how much of a distinction this is, but I’ve theorized that Saturn in Virgo has been a stabilizing influence — an advantage we’ll lose once the lord of time re-enters cardinal Libra on July 21. That’s when the T-square will be at peak power.

That said, events don’t necessarily happen when planetary alignments are exact. There can be lags of days, weeks, or months, and sometimes events happen in advance of the planetary marker. That certainly was the case in 1989, the last time we had anything resembling this year’s cardinal build-up. With Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all in Capricorn, cardinal energies dominated the skies for much of that year.

I went back and looked at several charts for events in 1989, including the Exxon Valdez spill, Hurricane Hugo, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Loma Prieta earthquake, the protests in Tiananmen Square, and the collapse of the Hydro-Québec power grid due to a geomagnetic storm. None of these events occurred when the planets were in exact alignment, although some of them were pretty close. In some cases, key planets were on the Ascendant at the moment of the event.

What this tells us is that the changes could come at any moment. We know we’re in the hot zone, and so nothing that happens in the next two months should surprise us, no matter how unprecedented, extraordinary, or totally outside of human experience to date. We asked to come along on this journey, but we can’t control what happens once we’re on the trail.”

**Astrologer Gary Caton has these observations about the July 11th eclipse and their connection with time and light:

“As if there weren’t enough juice flowing through the cardinal signs — with four of the five outer planets currently transiting near the solstice and equinoctial points — we now begin a period where the Cancer archetype will be forced open, ejecting its inner contents and forcing all the world to become aware of the loss. This is because an eclipse is essentially a rip in the fabric of time, and the South Node (now in Cancer) suggests a loss.

To appreciate the power of an eclipse, it is useful to understand that time here on Earth is fractal. It is measured by the constant repetition of the primal alternations of darkness and light. This rhythm of dark/light is ingrained into our bodies and psyches.

When there is a disruption of this pattern, via an eclipse, the natural flow of the dark/light fractal is stopped in its tracks. There is darkness where there should be light. It is as if the Laws of our Universe are temporarily inverted. The world is stood on its head, specifically in terms of the archetype within which the eclipse is operating.

An eclipse occurs when there is a lunation near the lunar nodes — the place where the Moon crosses the path of the Sun or ecliptic. Astrologically, the lunar nodes have been called the head and tail of the dragon, for in myth it was a demonic serpent swallowing the heavenly orb. The North Node represents the head of the dragon, therefore something being taken in or ingested. The South Node or tail of the dragon represents something being released.

The South Node is now in the sign of Cancer. As a Cancer nation, it is hard not to remember the exodus of American celebrities and dignitaries that surrounded last summer’s solar eclipse at 29° Cancer. A partial list includes: Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, David Carradine, Karl Malden, Steve McNair, Walter Cronkite, Les Paul, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. We lost Ted Kennedy on the day that Venus crossed the eclipse degree. It is almost as if a door was opened to the “other side” through which these souls were bound to exit. It should be noted that the release doesn’t always have to be destructive. (It can signal transformation, rather than death.)

When wondering what the coming eclipse will release, it is important to remember that eclipses happen in families or series; a new member emerges about every 18 years. This is the Saros cycle, first discovered by Babylonian astronomer/astrologers more than two millennium ago.

Solar eclipses with very similar characteristics repeat every 18 years, 11 days, 8 hours; these eclipses are then part of the same family or Saros series. Any two eclipses separated by one Saros (6,585.3 days) share very similar geometries. They occur at the same node with the Moon, at nearly the same distance from Earth, and at the same time of year.

The current eclipse belongs to Saros Series 146, the last two of which occurred in June 1992 and 1974. This series is made up of a total of 76 eclipses; the current July 11, 2010 eclipse is number 27 in the series. The family began on September 19, 1541. The first total eclipse in the series took place on May 29, 1938. The eclipse of June 30, 1992 was the longest total eclipse of the series and lasted 5 minutes and 21 seconds with a magnitude 1.0592. The July 11, 2010 eclipse is the 2nd longest of the series, lasting 5 minutes and 20 seconds with a magnitude 1.0580.

When we look at the birth chart for this series, we see a very powerful conjunction of Mars with Uranus in late Leo near the Persian Royal star Regulus. Certainly this series has recently seen its share of sudden dramatic reversals in fame and/or power, including Hitler in 1938, Elvis in 1956, Nixon in 1974, and the British Royal Family in 1992.”

**Astrologer Rob Tillett makes these observations about the Cardinal Climax – a once-in-a-lifetime development between 2009 and 2012 – that he says will “retune the collective unconscious, redirecting social imperatives.”

The Cardinal Climax phase that is forming in the heavens, climaxing this year on July 31, 2010, is a rare occurrence indeed – one which will have powerful effects upon the world and those who dwell therein. It makes intense contacts with the US chart, the UK chart, the EC (European Community, now the European Union) chart, the Federal Reserve chart and the UN chart — not to mention the Australia chart.

The FIFA World Cup in South Africa has been positioned right across the eclipse cycle (June 11 – July 11), with the last day of the contest being on the day of the Solar Eclipse.

Let’s look at these aspects individually. The most immediately striking thing is the conjunction of the Moon with Pluto, with the Sun conjunct Mercury in opposition at the time of the eclipse. In addition to the stress inherent in the Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse, the conjunction of the Moon and Pluto awakens very powerful, strong-willed emotions and intense feelings.

The Sun in opposition gives difficulties with obstacles from those whose egos are threatened by situations in which power and control are paramount. Political disputes and social revolutions threaten danger and destruction. The common people (the Moon, Saturn) will be inclined to overthrow or resist their rulers (Sun, Jupiter) who will seek to control and repress them, even while offering blandishments and concessions.

Saturn is rising in Virgo, so the military will be ready to take control in trouble spots. These are likely to be in Europe, where tinder-boxes are crackling, thanks to the financial crisis. The eclipse angles are exactly superimposed upon the chart of the European Community, so Saturn (restriction, control, sorrow, karma, the past, the masses) is rising exactly conjunct the EC ascendant.

This chart is very heavily stressed in weeks ahead by the Solar Eclipse and then the Cardinal Climax. Greece’s chart too is heavily stressed by the eclipses and the 1974 chart also has Moon conjunct Pluto. This is not to say that other areas will not be affected. For example, Thailand is already more than crackling with political violence, and its significant that the eclipse Moon and Pluto fall exactly upon the ascendant of King Phumiphon Adunyadet (who is currently very ill in hospital), while eclipse Mars (violence) is exactly square his natal Saturn (common people) and eclipse Saturn is exactly opposed to his natal Uranus (disruption;catastrophe). Astrologically, the chart of the ruler always indicates developments in the nation, when activated. The Solar Eclipse also violently activates his chart, but enough of that.

Each of us will experience these stresses according to where the eclipse falls in our own charts, but stresses they will be! The Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) will be most affected, especially if you were born early in the sign. There are a number of other notable aspects, the most intense being the opposition of Mercury and Pluto, so it may be we are so intent on exerting the force of our own thoughts that we refuse to listen, or that others attempt to manipulate our ideas to their advantage.

It just isn’t the best time for easy exchanges or free thinking. Information may be withheld as a form of paranoia or protection, or the wrong information is deliberately given in an effort to mislead. Jupiter and Saturn are the Great Chronocrators, or Time Lords, and their major aspects always mark important developments, with the opposition being the most cathartic.

The T-square of Sun/Mercury to Jupiter and Uranus opposing Saturn announces a major shift of social priorities, probably in a direction that has been unexpected by most. Traditional values are threatened or even overthrown in the chaos, which comes about through forces over which we have no personal control. Normal schedules or plans may be disrupted by the weather, war, or other forces in the environment. The good side is that we will be forced to create unorthodox responses that may prove valuable in the long term. We may also feel that we are asserting our freedom or independence in so doing.

We have to make choices here, and the sheer volume of information may become overwhelming. Don’t get swamped in the details, but be sure to check that the info on which you base your decision is accurate.”

** And finally, Jude Cowell on his Stars Over Washington blog adds:

“On July 11, 2010 there’s the Solar Eclipse with Scorpio (big business; betrayals and spying) rising with the midpoint of Saturn and Pluto, two of the main actors on 9/11/01 during their opposition.

Saturn/Pluto = ASC: concentration upon important matters; assessments of how to work with those in power; an environment that gives an impression of silent power or continuing influence; being placed in cumbersome or difficult circumstances; separation; melancholy; mourning or bereavement.

There is also 8th house involvement (Shared Resources, Debt, Credit, Insurance, Transformation, Death, the Occult) which relates to the Fixed Star Castor which is being triggered by the July 11, 2010 Solar Eclipse @ 19Can24, plus, ‘20Can/Cap are crisis or critical degrees.

Basically, 8th house crises are indicated yet the Solar Eclipse itself describes problems that at first seem worse, then clear with good outcomes… so don’t panic. The July 11 Eclipse is in the same Series (12S) as America’s Pre-Natal Eclipse Series (@ 00Pis34 in 1776, where Chiron transits now.)

That stock markets may be affected adversely by the July Solar Eclipse and by its herald, the June 26, 2010 Lunar Eclipse conjoining secretive Pluto in Saturn-ruled Capricorn, is a distinct possibility for Summer into Autumn 2010.

*****

Even NASA is getting into the picture. They have created a special website just for eclipses. “On Sunday, 2010 July 11, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses Earth’s southern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow crosses the South Pacific Ocean where it makes no landfall except for Mangaia (Cook Islands) and Easter Island (Isla de Pascua). The path of totality ends just after reaching southern Chile and Argentina. The Moon’s penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering the South Pacific and southern South America.”

Refer to Genesis 1:1  and comments below.

*****

First text – June 30, 2010 – Official Deep Horizon Response website – about media blackout restrictions on BP oil disaster press coverage – including fines and Federal Class D felony (1 to 5 years imprisonment) for  journalists (mainstream and independent bloggers, reporters, and photographers) who violate the Government’s rules …

“NEW ORLEANS – The Captains of the Port for Morgan City, La., New Orleans, La., and Mobile, Ala. , under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, has established a 20- meter safety zone surrounding all Deepwater Horizon booming operations and oil response efforts taking place in Southeast Louisiana. Vessels must not come within 20 meters of booming operations, boom, or oil spill response operations under penalty of law.

The safety zone has been put in place to protect members of the response effort, the installation and maintenance of oil containment boom, the operation of response equipment and protection of the environment by limiting access to and through deployed protective boom.

In areas where vessels operators cannot avoid the 20-meter rule, they are required to be cautious of boom and boom operations by transiting at a safe speed and distance. Violation of a safety zone can result in up to a $40,000 civil penalty. Willful violations may result in a class D felony.

Permission to enter any safety zone must be granted by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New Orleans by calling (504) 846-5923. See Deep Horizon Response web site.

**Also note that this week, it was announced that the Deep Horizon Response web site is being turned over to The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and will soon be given a .gov domain, rather than a .com domain.  DHS wants “a one-stop shop for information that is completely overseen by the government as it settles into the long-haul of dealing with the response to the disaster. The U.S. Coast Guard falls under Homeland Security’s authority.” Read more on MSNBC.

*****

Second text – July 2, 2010 – Associated Press article – about all press on the War in Afghanistan now having to go through (and be approved by) the Pentagon press office …

Excerpt: “The Pentagon’s small press office is about to get a lot busier. Even top military officials now have to get Pentagon clearance for interviews and other contact with reporters. Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued the order Friday (July 2, 2010) in a brief memo sent to military and civilian personnel worldwide; it was effective immediately.

The order tells officials to make sure they are not going out of bounds or unintentionally releasing information that the Pentagon wants to hold back. It comes after President Barack Obama fired the top general in Afghanistan for embarrassing comments in a magazine article. The memo does not spell out exactly how the new directive will work but appears to require hundreds of thousands of officers to funnel interview requests through a small central office at the Pentagon.”

Gates said: “We have far too many people talking to the media outside of channels, sometimes providing information which is simply incorrect, out of proper context, unauthorized, or uninformed by the perspective of those who are most knowledgeable,” about how the information may fit into larger government operations or goals.

Gates’ memo requires top Defense Department officials to tell (the pentagon press office) before interviews “or any other means of media and public engagement with possible national or international implications.” Gates warned in the memo that the leaking of classified information “is against the law, cannot be tolerated and will, when proven, lead to the prosecution of those found to be engaged in such activity.”

*****

Tonight, 7Bends.com is announcing “Did You See This?” This is a new feature – which aligns related stories together for your own conclusions, and also provides news (and possible connections between) stories not covered – or barely covered -  by the mainstream media. “Did You See This?” articles can be found under the “Hot Issues” pulldown tab at the top of the 7Bends home page. All sources are noted if readers want to research an issue further. Feel free to add Comments at the end of any article.

*****

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

RICHMOND, Va. —As communities in Lord Fairfax Health District endure record-high temperatures, local health department officials are advising residents to protect themselves against heat-related illnesses.

“Extreme heat can cause heat stroke or other heat related illnesses,” said Lord Fairfax Health District Epidemiologist, Patricia Shobe, MPH. “Avoid or put off significant activity until it cools off.” Ms. Shobe recommends residents to stay in air conditioned buildings and avoid long periods of activity outdoors.

The following tips will help people keep cool during the summer heat waves:

- Drink plenty of fluids, two to four glasses each hour. Avoid alcohol. When working outside, drink fruit juice or sports beverage during exercise to replace salt and minerals lost from sweating. (If you’re on a fluid-restricted diet, diuretics, or low-salt diet, talk to your doctor.)

- Plan outdoor activities around the heat. If you must go outside, go in the morning or at night when it’s cooler. Resting frequently when you are outside will give your body a chance to recover from heat.

- Avoid sunburns by using sunscreen, wearing a hat and light clothing. Sunburns limit the body’s ability to keep cool and cause loss of body fluids. Limit physical activity until your body adjusts to the heat.

- Do not keep children or pets in cars with windows rolled up. Temperatures  inside a car with closed (or partially opened) windows can reach up to 150    degrees quickly.

- Use the “buddy system” if you’re working outside. Heat-related illnesses      can cause confusion. Therefore, make sure someone else knows of your          plans. Use the buddy system” for elderly neighbors.

“The elderly, and persons with certain medical conditions, are particularly susceptible to high heat and humidity,” warned Ms. Shobe. She recommends that relatives and friends ensure that the elderly are not isolated, have plenty to drink, and that temperatures in their residence are within a safe range.

Persons with chronic diseases, the very young, and persons with mental illness are also susceptible to the heat. Individuals without access to an air-conditioned environment can cool off in malls or public libraries.

“When the heat is severe, fans alone are not enough because above a certain temperature, they don’t cool the body’s surface,” said Ms. Shobe.  She advises that even a few hours a day in an air-conditioned environment, with adequate hydration, may be enough to help avoid heat-related complications.

For more information about protecting you and your family against summer heat, go to the Virginia Department of Health web site.

As long as three football fields (372-yards) and 10 stories high, the newly- refurbished vessel is ready to be tested by BP and U.S. Government workers, and then go to work.

According to Socialmediaseo.net, the ship has been deployed by a Taiwanese company. “It was originally designed to be one of the world’s largest cargo vessels to transport crude oil and iron ore. But, following  the BP oil spill disaster, TMT, its owner, has modified the ship to become what is now known as the world’s first large-scale oil skimmer.”

Gulf residents wait for The A Whale to get the “go ahead”

Oil skimming efforts have been slowed this week as workers deal with Hurricane Alex; high waves and rains have required the evacuation of relief workers in the Gulf.

“BP’s relief well, which will supposedly allow the gushing pipe to be shut off completely, is not affected by the hurricane weather and is still on schedule to be completed by August,” reports socialmediaseo.net.

What’s the hold up?

A waiver must be granted before The A Whale can be utilized.

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (P.L. 66-261) is a United States Federal statute that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Section 27, also known as the Jones Act, deals with cabotage (i.e., coastal shipping) and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents.

According to wikipedia, the purpose of the law is to support the U.S. merchant marine industry, but agricultural interests generally oppose it because, they contend, it raises the cost of shipping their goods, making them less competitive with foreign sources.

Requests for waivers of certain provisions of the act are reviewed by the United States Maritime Administration on a case-by-case basis. Waivers have been granted in cases of national emergencies or in cases of strategic interest.

For instance, declining oil production prompted MARAD to grant a waiver to operators of the 512-foot Chinese vessel Tai An Kou to tow an oil rig from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska. The jackup rig will be under a two-year contract to drill in the Alaska’s Cook Inlet Basin. The waiver to the Chinese vessel is said to be the first of its kind granted to an independent oil-and-gas company.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff temporarily waived the U.S. Shipping Act for foreign vessels carrying oil and natural gas from September 1 to September 19, 2005.

Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas in the Pacific and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean are exempt from provisions of the Jones Act because so little shipping goes to those ports that requiring American cabotage would cause hardship.

Morrison World News reports that The A Whale could either be “an enormous boon to the region,” or conversely, ” a really big disappointment.”

They write: “Nobu Su, the CEO and founder of Taiwan Maritime Transport (TMT), told reporters in Norfolk last Friday that on account of the special holes he had cut in its sides, his vessel would roll across the Gulf ‘like a lawn mower cutting the grass.’

Though the ship and the process are entirely untested, Su insisted A Whale could ingest and process some 15 million gallons of oily water a day. By comparison, the entire emergency response since BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20 has collected 28 million gallons of oily water.”

Command Center officials in News Orleans are “about as excited as you can be about something that you have no idea what it can do,” said Kati Walsh, a spokesperson for the disaster’s Joint Information Center. “They want to remain in a neutral position about it until after it proves itself,” she said. “We don’t want to get everybody excited about something that may or may not work.” The next step will be for officials to set up a meeting and test the ship’s abilities, Walsh said.

But apparently, there have been communication problems. The unified command didn’t know the ship was already in the Gulf.

It’s reported that Walsh said the Jones Act — which limits the operation of foreign flagged vessels in U.S. waters — is not a factor as much as “the nature of the ship.” Morrison World News says that “while more traditional vessels of opportunity are allowed to start skimming without government pre-approval, this one would not be allowed to do so, she said. “The ship was just built, it hasn’t been proven yet, hasn’t been officially or formally tested yet.”

Two further problems remain. The processed oily water is supposedly returned back into the Gulf waters, even though it’s still somewhat polluted. And, the question abo9ut bow much The A Whale will get paid if it indeed works has not been negotiated. TMT has made it clear though that “this is not a charity operation.” Read more on the Morrison World News web site.

“Mr. Nobu has already sailed the ship around the world and modified it at his own expense,” Maisano, a TMT spokesperson, told reporters. “I’m sure that he’s looking at least to recover his costs.”

A Whale of a Job?

I guess we’ll all be watching – along with anxious Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida residents – to see just how long it takes the U.S. Government to act – to determine if The A Whale can indeed do “a whale of a job” in the Gulf.

[Note: The above photo was taken by Jose Martins of MarineTraffic.com.)

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has released a list of more than 80 chemicals used in drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region.

WENY obtained the list and noted that some of the chemicals have been shown to harm human health.

View WENY video.

The chemicals used in hydrofracking in Pennsylvania include:

• Chemicals in the Benzyne family (Benzenes have been shown to increase the risk of leukemia with long-term exposure);
• Xylene (which has been shown to cause damage to embryonic development);
• Napthalene (long-terms exposure has led to respiratory disease);
• Propylene (has been shown to harm male reproduction);
• Monoethanolamine and related amines (which have been shown to adversely affect liver and kidney function);
• Formaldehyde (known carcinogen); and
• Chemicals in the Nitrilotriacetic acid family (known carcinogens).

“The quantities of these chemicals used in any particular drilling operation is unknown and not currently regulated; but we do know that the drilling process involves millions of gallons of water and the addition of these and other chemicals in significant quantities in sufficient proportion to that volume of water to do things like reduce drill friction, inhibit corrosion, and act as solvents.

It is also known that the chemicals involved in fracking can migrate to drinking water supplies and contaminate ground water and surface water.”

A more detailed information about the compounds listed above and other chemicals is available from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov

*****

Another great source of information on hydrofracking is the Water Portal on Source Watch – that has all of the latest news on this newly-applied method of natural gas extraction which is causing concern across the U.S. and the world. It includes a summary of pending legislation.

Closer to home – here in the Shenandoah Valley, we’re just now experiencing our first encounter with hydrofracking, as Carrizo Oil has requested a permit to hydrofrack for natural gas in the beautiful, small town of Bergton, Virginia in Rockingham County. The push is on to get hydrofracking regulations in place in Virginia before energy companies cause any damage here. Hopefully, we’ll listen and learn from our neighbors.

[The picture (above) of the rural country road was taken near Bergton, VA, the proposed site of the first hydrofracking operation in Virginia.]

“The governor truly hopes that this day off will allow state employees an opportunity to join him in honoring and celebrating the life of the state’s senior Senator,” says his aides.

West Virginians are invited to honor and celebrate the distinguished life of Sen. Byrd, with a public procession through Charleston, starting Thursday evening, July 1. Sen. Byrd will lie in repose at the state Capitol’s Lower Rotunda, from 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 1, 2010 until 9 a.m. on Friday, July 2, 2010, where the public is invited to pay their respects. A public, formal memorial service will also take place 11:30 a.m. on Friday, July 2, 2010 at the state Capitol’s North Plaza.

“This will be a beautiful service for a wonderful public servant,” said Manchin. “I invite all West Virginians to join us during this special day of remembrance and to celebrate the many accomplishments of this outstanding West Virginian.”

This Executive Order only applies to state government employees, including those who work at state colleges, such as Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. County employees also may take time off if the county commission elects to designate the day or part thereof as time off. Governor Manchin encourages all West Virginians to attend this celebration for the state’s senior U.S. Senator.

*****

Who will replace Senator Byrd?

The Washington Post had this to say:

“According to West Virginia law, Governor Joe Manchin III, a Democrat, will be able to select a replacement to serve out the remainder of Byrd’s term until 2012. However, there’s reasonable grounds for a challenge here: The law states that if a vacancy occurs more than two-and-a-half years before the term is up, a special election may be held; Byrd died two years, six months, and five days before his term expires.

But the law also holds that the special election will not take place until after a candidate “has been nominated at the primary election next following such timely filing and has thereafter been elected”—the “next” primary not being scheduled until 2012.

Still, it’s reasonable to expect a legal challenge to force a special election sooner; had Byrd died just one week later, all of this would be moot since the legal ambiguity would be eliminated. West Virginia has little experience in these matters, as Byrd has held his seat since 1959 and West Virginia’s other senator, John D. Rockefeller, since 1984.”

It’s also been reported by NorthJersey.com that U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg will replace the late Senator Robert Byrd as chairman of the influential subcommittee that controls homeland security funds.

Senator Byrd was 92.

Washington, D.C. – This month, Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte introduced bipartisan legislation – the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act – which will protect the health of the Chesapeake Bay, while also ensuring the strength and vitality of family farms and local communities within the Bay Watershed.

“The Chesapeake Bay, the argest estuary in the United States, is an incredibly complex ecosystem that includes important habitats and is a cherished part of our American heritage,” said Congressman Goodlatte.

“The Bay Watershed includes all types of land uses, from intensely urban areas, spread out suburban development and diverse agricultural practices. But, unquestionably, the Bay is in need and worthy of our attention and concern and I believe everyone has a role to play in restoring it.”

Congressman Goodlatte worked hard to ensure that the 2008 Farm Bill provided unprecedented incentive-based funding to help farmers and ranchers improve management practices, which would directly result in improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act is the next step in restoring and protecting the Bay.

There are other proposals to reauthorize the Bay Program. The goal of all involved is the same, the continued health and vitality of the Bay, but the map to that health and vitality is being strongly debated.

Unfortunately, proposals like the Presidential Executive Order, and legislation that would codify this order, which would force more mandates and overzealous regulations on all of those who live, work, and farm in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This strategy will limit economic growth and unfairly over regulate our local economies.

Goodlatte continued, “Instead of overregulation and intrusion into the lives and livelihoods of those who choose to make the Bay Watershed their home, the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act allows states and communities more flexibility in meeting water quality goals so that we can help restore and protect our natural resources.”

Specifically, the bill sets up new programs to give farmers, homebuilders, and localities new ways to meet their water quality goals.  The bill makes sure that the agencies are using common sense when regulating water quality goals for localities.

For over three decades Congress has been working to preserve and protect the Chesapeake Bay.  Despite the efforts of the federal, state, and local governments the health of the bay is still in peril.  This bill calls for a review of the EPA’s Bay model. We often hear complaints from those who make good faith efforts to restore the Bay that their efforts are not being recognized by EPA’s Bay model.

EPA’s model does not account for any voluntary measures being undertaken on farms to control nitrogen and phosphorous nor does it even account for some of the nitrogen and phosphorous reductions that are being achieved through government programs, like USDA’S Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Effectively, EPA is ignoring nutrient reductions that have already been achieved.  This new legislation requires that an independent evaluator assess and make recommendations to alter EPA’s Bay model, so that we can develop a model that will capture all of the nutrient reductions that are happening in the Bay.

“The people who call the Bay Watershed home are the ones who are the most concerned about protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay,” said Congressman Goodlatte.

“Unfortunately, too often these hardworking individuals are cast as villains and placed in a position where restoring the Bay is pitted against the economic livelihoods of their communities.  We can restore the Bay while also maintaining the economic livelihood of these communities.  The Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act is the way we can do both. 

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Congress, so that we can pass this important legislation and work to restore the Chesapeake Bay.”

For more information, visit Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s web site.

The Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act has been referred to the House Agriculture Committee on which Congressman Goodlatte serves as the Ranking Member of the Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research Subcommittee.

Richmond, VA – Well, July 1, 2010 will be upon us soon. Here are some of the new laws voted by the Virginia legislature last session – that will go into effect later this week in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Citizens will want to be aware of these changes, as should visitors to Virginia, and those passing through.

While some of these laws seem straightforward and necessary, on the other hand, Virginia, like many others states, has increased the penalties and fines on its citizens to help raise money for its ailing state budget.

Changes in transportation laws in Virginia

** Texting, sending email, reading, and writing – while driving a car – is now illegal in Virginia. Be aware that the ban applies to cell phones, laptop computers, plus a host of other wireless communication devices.

According to many studies on the dangers of texting while driving, texting and driving is as dangerous as drunk driving. Virginia joins 27 others states in enacting this legislation.

The ban applies to reading or sending text messages or e-mails while driving. The texting ban is a secondary offense, meaning that individuals can be cited only after being stopped by police for another infraction. It carries a $20 fine for a first offense, and a $50 penalty for subsequent violations. Certain emergency situations will be exempt.

** The courts can now suspend the driver’s licenses of teens who miss 10 consecutive days of school. The law doesn’t apply in cases where a student has withdrawn from school for reasons beyond the student’s control, for transferring to another school, or when the student’s parent or guardian objects.

** Virginia now prohibits people from driving certain mopeds, motorized scooters, electric-powered bicycles and wheelchairs on the highway. Restricted vehicles under this law are those with a top speed of less than 35 mph. Violators of the law face a $50 fine.

** DUI – Drunk driving law changes in Virginia – Two new laws targeting drunken drivers go into effect on July 1, 2010.  One extends to 10 years from five the period of time within which a motorist convicted of a second drunken driving offense is required to have an ignition interlock installed in his or her vehicle. That device prevents a car from being started when an intoxicated driver breathes into it.

The other law clarifies the penalty for driving without a required ignition interlock, making that offense a Class 1 misdemeanor. Convicted offenders also will lose their license for one year.

** Those convicted of reckless or aggressive driving, or DUI in Virginia (see above) — will have to pay hefty fees of up to $1,000 per year for three years. The state says that the money will go toward improving roads.

** Parents in Virginia now have to put their kids in booster seats until they’re 7 instead of 5 years old.

* In Virginia, it now will be a misdemeanor to smoke within 20 feet of a gasoline pump — and if that pump catches fire, violators could face a year in jail.

** During the 2010 session, Virginia lawmakers voted to expand the Commonwealth’s Move Over law to include protection for tow truck drivers and highway workers.

As of July 1, 2010, those driving in Virginia must move over  when approaching a tow truck or highway maintenance vehicle displaying amber lights, change lanes away from the flashing lights if possible to do so safely, and/or proceed with caution given the prevailing highway conditions. The offense is punishable as a traffic infraction. Read more about the new Move Over driving laws in Virginia.

A law allowing senior citizens to take safe-driving courses online also goes into effect. Several new Virginia specialty license plates will now be offered, including an anti-abortion plate that bears the “Choose Life” slogan.

Election law changes in Virginia

** Allows voters to wear political T-shirts, buttons or other apparel to the polls. This  became an issue after the Virginia State of Elections had prohibited voters from wearing apparel with political slogans or candidates’ names at the polls on Election Day because of a state law that outlaws electioneering within 40 feet of the polling place.

** Lists of registered voters - Allows the State Board of Elections to furnish, for a reasonable fee, lists of registered voters to commissioners of the revenue and city or county treasurers for tax assessment, collection, and enforcement purposes.

In addition, a new law provides that, upon request and at a reasonable charge not to exceed the actual cost incurred, a political party or candidate is entitled to receive a copy of (i) the list of officers of election showing their party designation and assigned precinct and (ii) any instructions or information provided by the State Board to local electoral boards and registrars. The Board is required to post on the Internet its rules and regulations within three business days of their adoption.

**Political contributions – Provides that neither the Governor, his political action committee, nor any pertinent Secretaries shall knowingly solicit or accept a contribution, gift, or other item with a value greater than $50 from any bidder, offeror, or private entity who has submitted a bid or proposal pursuant to the Virginia Public Procurement Act, the Public-Private Transportation Act, or the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act during the bidding period.

The restrictions only apply if the stated or expected value of the contract is $5 million or more and do not apply to contracts awarded as the result of competitive sealed bidding. Furthermore, no bidder, offeror, or private entity who has submitted a bid or proposal under such acts shall offer or promise to make such a gift to the Governor, his political action committee, or any of his pertinent Secretaries. Any violation shall be a civil penalty of $500 or up to two times the amount of the contribution or gift, whichever is greater.

**Electronic election reforms – The bill provides that the State Board shall provide only electronic pollbooks, and not paper pollbooks, for any election held on or after November 1, 2010, and for all subsequent years and makes corresponding amendments that become effective on November 1, 2010.

Other Changes in Virginia law as of July 1, 2010

**Novelty cigarette lighters – Prohibit stores from selling novelty cigarette lighters to those under 18. Del. Algie Howell, D-Norfolk, introduced the legislation when he learned of local fire officials’ concerns over the lighters, which often resemble toys.

**Tax on Pay-Per-View movies in hotels - Imposes a 10 percent tax on pay-per-view movies in Virginia hotel rooms, with the money divided evenly between the general fund and a pool of money that provides incentives for filmmakers to shoot movies in Virginia. The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.

** Concealed handgun information – Bars public access to a statewide database of Virginians with permits to carry concealed handguns. The public still could get information on concealed carry permit holders at each circuit court. The bill was introduced after The Roanoke Times posted the state police database of permit holders on its Web site.

In addition, friction with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg led to a new Virginia law that makes it a felony for anyone other than police to make straw purchases at gun shops. A “straw purchase” involves buying a gun for someone who’s not allowed to buy one.

This new  law is in response to sting operations ordered by Bloomberg, who sent undercover investigators to five states, including Virginia, to buy firearms after learning that 80-90 percent of guns used in crimes in New York City were purchased out of state. The city later sued 27 out-of-state gun dealers.

** Additional Pay Day Loan restrictions – Bars payday lenders in Virginia from offering different types of loans in an effort to get around tough new restrictions placed on the short-term, high-interest loans.

In reaction to a 2008 law, the majority of the state’s 800 payday lenders had begun offering open-end loans, which are unregulated and have sky-high interest rates.

** College-age suicide prevention – Virginia now will require its public colleges to create policies to identify and help suicidal students. The bill was signed 11 days before the Virginia Tech killings, in which a troubled student shot and killed 32 students and faculty and himself.

** Tanning for minors – Virginians 14 and under now need parental approval to go to a tanning salon.

Read about changes to Virginia mental health laws as of July 1, 2010.

Oh, by the way, The Commonwealth of Virginia will also be increasing the speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph – for certain sections of its highways on July 1, 2010.

Terry was Chair of the National Democratic Party and a candidate for the Democratic nomination to run for Virginia Governor in 2009.

“Terry is working hard right now to bring business and jobs to Virginia,” says Tony Dorrell, Chair of the Shenandoah County Democrats.”Come on out and join us, and bring a friend.”

The summer picnic is a potluck and new residents, visitors, and guests are all welcome. Bring a dish of some kind – entre, salad, or dessert. The Democratic Women’s Club will provide bread, drinks, and table decorations.

The Town Park is behind the old red brick school building in Edinburg – at the large shelter on the left just before swimming pool.  (Directions: Get off Interstate-81 at the Edinburg exit  You’ll be on Stoney Creek. Go toward Route 11 and take Picadilly Street to Town Park Avenue.)

There will also be a 50-50 drawing and door prizes. Attendees may also wish to bring some lawn chairs for possible use if the Picnic Shelter overflows.

For more information, send an email to: tdorrell ~at~ shentel.net, or visit the Shenandoah County Democrats web site.

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Background: Who is Terry McAuliffe?

Terry McAuliffe is a longtime fundraiser and political advisor for the Democratic Party.  He served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005.  He served as Co-Chair of President Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign, and also served as Chair of the 2008 Hilary Clinton presidential campaign.  In 2009, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination to run for Governor of Virginia.

In addition to his political interests, Terry McAuliffe has a long and successful career in business.  He formed his own asphalt driveway paving company at the age of 14.  Through the years he has invested in, started up, and managed companies involved in finances, land deals, and technology.  He currently is Chairman of Green Tech Automotive, which manufactures electronic and hybrid vehicles.  He is a champion of green energy, and is working to bring green energy business and jobs to Virginia.

Terry McAuliffe lives in Mc Lean, Virginia with his wife Dorothy, daughters Dori, Mary, and Sally, and sons Jack and Peter.

Woodstock, VA – Robert A. Belyea, Director of Special Education and Student Services for Shenandoah County Public Schools, has been selected as this year’s Special Education Director recipient of the James T. Micklem Award of Excellence for 2010 for the state of Virginia.

The award, initially called the Virginia Council of Administrators of Special Education (VCASE) Award of Excellence, was established in 1978 to recognize efforts made on behalf of exceptional children.  In 1988 it was renamed for James Michlem, the first State Director of Special Education, in recognition of his outstanding service and leadership.

Mr. Belyea began his career as a School Psychologist in 1973, and became the Special Education Director for Shenandoah County Public Schools in 1986.

Under Mr. Belyea’s leadership his school division has consistently scored among the top school divisions in the state on the State Performance Plan; established partnerships with private preschools to provide inclusive services to children with disabilities; worked with a regional program to embed a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst in the school division to coordinate services for children on the Autism Spectrum; facilitated an in-home service model for families with very young children on the Autism Spectrum; was one of the first divisions to successfully established a software program to assist teachers writing IEPs; assisted in developing low cost local alternatives to sending severely disabled students out of county; and developed an innovative recruitment program to bring special education teachers to teach in the division.

Mr. Belyea has served as a mentor to new Special Education Directors, assisted VCASE on several issues and currently serves as the Region IV Representative to the State Special Education Council.

Mr. Belyea was also instrumental in developing the Wellness Fair for all school division employees as part of the division’s Wellness plan. He will represent Virginia for the outstanding administrators’ award at the national CASE level.

Overview – What to Expect

This Summit  is the fourth G-20 Conference.  Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the host of the event. The theme of the Toronto summit is “Recovery and New Beginnings,” referring to an economic stimulus from the impact of the ongoing world recession. The stated goals of the Toronto Summit are: 1) to work on the ideas brought up during the earlier Washington, London, and Pittsburgh summits, 2) to improve the international financial sector, and 3) to keep open markets.

On May 8, 2010. Stephen Harper extended guest invitations to the leaders of Ethiopia, Malawi, Netherlands, Spain, and Vietnam.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Labour Organization, as well as Ethiopia, Malawi, and Vietnam will make their first G-20 summit attendances in Toronto. British Prime Minister David Cameron will attend his first international diplomatic conference after being elected. (See list of representatives below.)

Virtual media blackout of protests at last G-20 Summit held in Pittsburgh, PA

On September 24-25, 2009, at the last G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pa, there was a virtual major media blackout of the citizens there, protesting the economic bailouts that were happening at the time. Primarily, only independent news sources – like The Examiner – showed the disturbing pictures and videos of police and military tanks controlling the crowds. The Pittsburgh G-20 site was actually bordered off – with the citizens having to remain outside the perimeter.

Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters, armored Humvees and crews of U.S. Army soldiers, as well as ten 25-foot boats with M240 machine guns from the Coast Guard, were on hand in Pittsburgh in the event of large-scale violent protests or a terrorist attack.

On September 24, 2009, a crowd gathered in Schenley Plaza, as world leaders met that evening at the Phipps Conservatory nearby for a working dinner. An initially quiet gathering quickly escalated and turned violent after 9:00 PM EDT.

Hundreds of police encircled the crowd, which spilled over onto Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard near the Cathedral of Learning. An estimated 300 riot police lined the sidewalk behind the William Pitt Union, with 200 more officers blocking Forbes Avenue nearby to contain the protesters. However, the crowd quickly grew to about 500 as nearby University of Pittsburgh students – evident by shouts of “Let’s Go Pitt!” heard – curious about the sirens and police presence, joined the crowd. Police shot several rounds of pepper spray into the crowd

By the end of day on September 25, 2009, police estimated that about 4,500 people participated in protests throughout the city, with 190 arrests being made. Dozens of University of Pittsburgh students – who say they were wrongfully arrested and subjected to heavy-handed police tactics during the G-20 meeting – called for an investigation into the police actions.

Twitter enters the picture as activist tool

New York City activist Elliot Madison used Twitter to report an order to disperse message from the Pittsburgh police during the protests. Police raided Madison’s hotel room, and one week later Madison’s New York home was raided by FBI agents. Police claim Madison and a co-defendant used computers and a radio scanner to track police movements and then passed on that information to protesters using cell phones and the social networking site Twitter. Madison is being charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of instruments of crime.

Security of concern in Toronto; many measures have been put into place

Security measured are likely to be much the same at the 2010 Summit. Economic conditions across the globe have continued to deteriorate. Since the Pittsburgh Summit on September 24-25, 2009,  the world has witnessed the bailout of Greece, for example.

For at least two months, the Toronto Police Service, Peel Regional Police, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), together forming an “Integrated Security Unit,”  have been working on security in the Toronto region, especially in the Downtown core, where the Summit will take place.

Police officials have already chosen locations to detain protestors and plan traffic detours which will be in place during the two-day Summit. Toronto’s Pearson International Airport in Mississauga will handle the arrivals of the world leaders. Nav Canada has announced that it will place restrictions on the airspace in Toronto. According to the Globe and Mail, 10,000 uniformed police officers, 1,000 security guards, and several Canadian military forces will be deployed during the Summit.

The surrounding areas of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, specifically bordered by Queen Street West (north), Queen’s Quay (south), Yonge Street (east), and Spadina Avenue (west), have been divided into zones where different levels of security will be in place.

Site of 2010 G-20 Summit “off limits” to civilians and protestors

The Convention Centre, itself, will be fenced and off-limits to civilians and protestors. Toronto Police have put up several temporary CCTV security cameras in the area, in addition to the permanent ones already in use.

Toronto Police originally announced that Trinity Bellwoods Park would be the site for protesters, but following major opposition from local communities, police have relocated the “protesting site” to north of Queen’s Park. And, in fact, on May 6-7, 2010 across the Greater Toronto Area, The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) conducted an Amalgam Virgo preparation exercise  – using CF-18 Hornet jets, CH-124 Sea Kings and CH-146 Griffon helicopters at low altitudes.

Many businesses and traffic routes will be affected

Major banks headquartered in Downtown Toronto, which happen to be the largest banks in Canada’s banking industry, have made plans to have employees work outside of their downtown headquarters and work in alternative working places, such as at home or in other branches. In addition, the Director of Communications of Canada Post, Deborah Harron-Thompson, announced that post boxes along the streets in the vicinity of the summit location will be removed for security concerns.

The Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard are expected to be closed during the summit dates. The city is strongly recommending the use of public transportation in the Downtown area.  The Yonge-University-Spadina subway line and its stations close to the Convention Centre will remain operational.

Commuter rail service at Union Station will also remain operational.  The CN Tower, classes at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus, and the PATH, Toronto’s underground city, will be closed down during the Summit, June 26 and June 27.

On the sports front

The three-game Major League Baseball (MLB) series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies, which were set to take place from June 25-27 at the Rogers Centre, have been relocated to be held at Philadelphia instead.

A media centre for international media personnel, journalists, and press will be set up at the Direct Energy Centre at the Exhibition Place during the summit.

Who will be at the 2010 G-20  Summit in Toronto?

On May 8, 2010. Stephen Harper extended invitations to the Summit to the leaders of Ethiopia, Malawi, Netherlands, Spain, and Vietnam. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Labour Organization, as well as Ethiopia, Malawi, and Vietnam will make their first G-20 summit attendances in Toronto. British Prime Minister David Cameron will attend his first international diplomatic conference after being elected.

G-20 member representatives include:

* Argentina – represented by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina
* Australia – represented by Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia
* Brazil – represented by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
* Canada – represented by Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada (Host)
* People’s Republic of China – represented by Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China
* France – represented by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
* Germany – represented by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
* India – represented by Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
* Indonesia – represented by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia
* Italy – represented by Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy
* Japan – represented by Yukio Hatoyama, Prime Minister of Japan
* Mexico – represented by Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico
* South Korea – represented by Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea
* Russia – represented by Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia
* Saudi Arabia – represented by Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia
* South Africa – represented by Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
* Turkey – represented by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey
* United Kingdom – represented by David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
* United States – represented by Barack Obama, President of the United States

Guest nations representatives include:

* Ethiopia – represented by Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of Ethiopia
* Malawi – represented by Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi
* Netherlands – represented by Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (unless changed due to the June election)
* Spain – represented by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain
* Vietnam – represented by Nguy?n Minh Tri?t, President of Vietnam
* European Commission – represented by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
* European Council – represented by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council

International organizations representatives:

* Financial Stability Forum – represented by Mario Draghi, Chairman of the Financial Stability Forum
* International Labour Organization – represented by Juan Somavía, Head of the International Labour Organization
* International Monetary Fund – represented by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
* Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – represented by José Ángel Gurría, Secretariat General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
* United Nations – represented by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
* World Bank Group – represented by Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank
* World Trade Organization-  represented by Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization

Preparations for demonstrations began many weeks ago. The Ontario Federation of Labour is expected, for example, to lead a rally of 20,000 protesters in front of Queen’s Park.

Obama urging nations to “safeguard and strengthen the recovery”

According to the Politics Daily web site:  (On Friday), in advance of the economic summit in Toronto, President Obama urged America’s economic partners to “safeguard and strengthen” a recovery from recession in the face of continuing challenges, including the European Union debt crisis.

“We must maintain the momentum,” Obama said in a lengthy letter to the Group of 20 industrial nations meeting in Toronto. Obama did not single out any G-20 nation by name, but said “some countries” must deal with “weakness of consumer demand” and an over-reliance on exports.

“Our highest priority in Toronto must be to safeguard the recovery,” he said. “We worked exceptionally hard to restore growth; we cannot falter or lose strength now.” Budget deficits, he said, should be dealt with in the “medium term” – an apparent reference to the importance he places on continued spending to stimulate the economy.’

For more information, see wikipedia.