Powers, J

potter: Pennyslvania’s Department of Homeland Security is in hot water after an<a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/pennsylvania-homeland-security-eco-terror-bulletin/3145/"> intelligence bulletin shows the agency has been monitoring non-violent activists</a>, including a film screening of <a href="http://gaslandthemovie.com/">Gasland</a>, and labeling them “environmental extremists.”

Governor Ed Rendell has said he is “appalled.” But he has said he

will not fire the state director of homeland security, James Powers.

As I discussed on <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/eco-terrorists-the-new-boogeyman-alyona-show/3134/">the Alyona Show recently</a>,

this intelligence memo represents a national problem. Local, state and

federal “domestic terrorism” priorities are completely out of line with

what most reasonable people would agree are true threats. They are

completely detached from any rational definition of terrorism. Perhaps

the best example of that is James Powers himself.

As director of homeland security, Powers is responsible for the controversial intelligence bulletins. <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/james-powers-environmentalists-timothy-mcveigh/3144/">James Powers wrote in an email </a>that

he intended for pro-drilling industry groups, “We want to continue

providing this support to the Marcellus Shale Formation natural gas

stakeholders while not feeding those groups fomenting dissent against

those same companies.” The department chose to focus its resources on

non-violent environmental groups such as <a href="http://climategroundzero.net/">Climate Ground Zero</a>. But do you know who James Powers does NOT think is a “terrorist”?

Timothy McVeigh.

As I reported here previously, <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/homeland-security-says-timothy-mcveigh-isnt-a-terrorist-but-peace-activists-are/701/">Powers does not think McVeigh is a terrorist, “just a person very angry with the U.S. government.”</a> McVeigh is responsible for the most destructive act of terrorism on U.S. soil prior to 9/11.

Unfortunately, James Powers is indicative of a broader problem. For instance, check out what the head of <a href="http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/jihad-crips-extreme-animal-rights-activists-all-the-same/2984/">New Jersey’s homeland security office, Charles McKenna, had to say</a> about his priorities:

“Jihad, Crips, extreme animal-rights activists, it’s all the same: people trying damage the system…”===Thu Sep 16, 2010 at 03:42 PM PDT

<h2><a id="titleHref" href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/09/16/902176/--Environmental-extremists-about-to-attack-shale-gas-drilling-in-PA">"Environmental extremists" about to attack shale gas drilling in PA?</a></h2>

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One of the most clever smear campaigns ever devised was to equate

environmental activism with terrorism. One testament to the success of

that hyperbolic deception emerged recently in Pennsylvania, home to

booming shale gas drilling operations in the Marcellus Formation. Abrahm

Lustgarten at Propublica describes an intelligence briefing that went

out to law enforcement officials in the state warning of possible acts

of "environmental extremism."

As debate over natural gas drilling in the Marcellus shale reaches a

fever pitch, state and federal authorities are warning Pennsylvania law

enforcement that "environmental extremists" pose an increasing threat to

security and to the energy sector.

<a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/do-environmental-extremists-pose-criminal-threat-to-gas-drilling">Propublica, Sept 8, article by Abrahm Lustgarten</a>

</blockquote>

</div>

The bulletin warns of "the

use of tactics to try to intimidate companies into making policy

decisions deemed appropriate by extremists." My linguistic skills are

rusty. To my untrained mind that sounds suspiciously like companies are

being pressured to protect water resources instead of maximize profits.

Heck, these fine companies should be able to dump their <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/gas-drillers-plead-guilty-to-felony-dumping-violations">heavily salinated and toxin-filled wastewater from drilling operations anywhere they damn well please</a>.

Collection and treatment of wastewater costs time and especially money.

And who really cares if someone's well water is affected by nearby

drilling operations? Let them drink bottled water like the rest of us.

Oh wait, my inner environmental extremist is slipping out as snark. I am

threatening security and the energy sector by raising these issues.

is where the FBI and Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security worries

that environmental extremists are going to strike fear in the populace

and turn them against weak regulation of gas drilling operations:

Current-4 October 2010:

The following meetings have been singled out for attendance by anti-Marcellus Shale Formation natural gas drilling activists:

2 September - a hearing on a proposed Marcellus Shale Formation gas

drilling ordinance in Cranberry Township (Butler County)

13 September - a hearing on Marcellus Shale Formation gas drilling in the

Pittsburgh City Council chambers (414 Grant St.)

20 September - a hearing in Damascus (Wayne County) on a proposed

amendment to zoning regulations regarding drilling

4 October - a hearing on a proposed amendment to the township zoning

ordinance to regulate oil and gas drilling operations in Upper St. Clair

Township (Allegheny County)

3 September 2010: A screening of the controversial Gasland movie is slated

for the Piazza in Northern Liberties (near the Delaware River) in Philadelphia.

</blockquote>

So the extremists are planning to attend public hearings on drilling regulations and watch Josh Fox's <a href="http://gaslandthemovie.com/">Gasland</a>,

an unflattering documentary about the industry. I am sure they will ask

difficult questions, demand restrictions and penalties on wastewater

dumping, sign petitions, and maybe even carry signs to "intimidate

companies into making policy decisions deemed appropriate."

With all that hand-wringing and concern, there must have been a spate

of recent incidents to justify raising the threat level for possible

acts of Eco-terrorism.™  Well, not according to the Pennsylvania State

Police.

Pennsylvania State Police said there have been only a few isolated crimes involving drilling facilities.

"We haven't had any incidents of any significance to date where we have identified a problem, or any environmental extremists,"

said Joseph Elias, a captain with the Pennsylvania State Police

Domestic Security Division, which was not involved in issuing the

bulletin.

<a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/do-environmental-extremists-pose-criminal-threat-to-gas-drilling">Propublica, Sept 8, article by Abrahm Lustgarten</a>

</blockquote>

Maybe the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security has received credible threats.

State Homeland Security Director James Powers explained that he has

been including anti-gas drilling activist information in his triweekly

intelligence briefings for about a month because there have been “five

to 10” incidents of vandalism around the state related to the natural

gas industry, which is one of the sectors he is charged with monitoring.

One of those incidents, he said, involved someone shooting a natural

gas container tank with a shotgun in Venango County.

<a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2010/09/against-gas-drilling-pa-big-brother-watching-you">Field and Stream, Sept 15</a>

</blockquote>

A shotgun blast in rural western Pennsylvania? I guess only

"environmental extremists" have guns in that area since the incident was

attributed to them without any other corroborating evidence. I wonder

what the other four to nine incidents of vandalism consisted of.

Graffiti? Photographs being taken? Water samples being drawn from

surrounding streams? People making rude gestures to drilling company

personnel?

The recipients of this confidential advisory are also noteworthy.

The advisory was sent to state law enforcement and local government groups, as well as businesses with a specific concern addressed in the bulletin. It was not intended to be distributed to the public.

</blockquote>

Lustgarten does not identify the "businesses with a specific concern

addressed in the bulletin." Another article, however, does identify

them.

<a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2010/09/against-gas-drilling-pa-big-brother-watching-you">The bulletins are also sent to gas companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale</a>.

</blockquote>

Here are the perspectives of drilling opponents, industry

representatives, and state homeland security on the purported threat of

"environmental extremism." I will let you decide which sounds more

credible.

Drilling opponents:

Anti-drilling activists in the state say that public hearings and

other events have been peaceful and that they see no evidence of violent

opposition. Given the lack of evidence about "extremist" crimes, they

say, the bulletin casts drilling opponents as criminals and threatens to

stifle open debate. [1]

</blockquote>

“I find it kind of creepy that the state is compiling information on

the innocuous activity of citizens,” said Jan Jarrett, president of

PennFuture, a group that has expressed concern about drilling issues.

[2]

</blockquote>

Drilling industry representatives:

A pro-drilling group, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, characterized

the vandalism in Pennsylvania as "directed at preventing our industry

from safely delivering these resources to Pennsylvanians." [1]

</blockquote>

State Homeland Security Director James Powers:

“I don’t care which side of the issue someone is on — or if he or she is innocent. My concern is public safety.” [2]

</blockquote>

[1] = <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/do-environmental-extremists-pose-criminal-threat-to-gas-drilling">Propublica, Sept 8, article by Abrahm Lustgarten</a>

[2] = <a href="http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2010/09/against-gas-drilling-pa-big-brother-watching-you">Field and Stream, Sept 15</a>

</blockquote>

Speaking of Pennsylvania Homeland Security Director James Powers, <a href="http://www.messagingarchitects.com/resources/security-compliance-news/email-security/pennsylvania-homeland-security-chief-slips-up-in-private-email19939175.html">he needs to learn a thing or two about email security</a>.

A private email sent from the account of Pennsylvania Homeland

Security chief James Powers pledges the organization's support for gas

drilling companies.

The City Paper of Philadelphia obtained the message, which Powers

mistakenly sent to an anti-drilling activist. Powers reportedly thought

he was sending it to someone with pro-drilling interests.

"We want to continue providing this support to the Marcellus Shale

Formation natural gas stakeholders," Powers wrote, according to a report

by City Paper.

</blockquote>

His dedication to support the Marcellus Shale Formation natural gas

stakeholders is touching. Keeping those pesky environmental extremists

in line must be part of that support. What a splendid public servant!

And where did the "intelligence" on possible eco-terrorist activities come from, if not from the state police? The <a href="http://www.terrorresponse.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=30&Itemid=2">Institute of Terrorism Research and Response</a>

(ITRR) was hired by the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security

for monitoring target groups, which consisted of gas drilling opponents,

tax protesters, and gay-rights organizations. Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell

just cancelled the $125,000 contract with ITRR after the details were

leaked to the public.

On Tuesday, Mr. Rendell canceled a one-year, $125,000 contract with

the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, which was providing

the state Office of Homeland Security with intelligence on gas-drilling

opponents, plus tax protests and gay-pride activities.

<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10258/1087684-100.stm">Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept 15, article by Joe Smydo</a>

</blockquote>

Even with the loss of ITRR, the industry has hired its own security consultant to deal with those environmental extremists.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The nation’s first Department of Homeland Security

secretary has agreed to serve as strategic adviser to an industry group

led by companies drilling for natural gas from the Marcellus Shale

formation.

The group announced Friday that Tom Ridge’s communications and policy

groups will be paid $75,000 a month for help in such areas as public

outreach, education and coalition building.

<a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/ex-homeland_security_boss_join.html">Syracuse Post-Standard, July 30</a>

</blockquote>

I am sure you remember Tom Ridge. He has an impressive résumé -

former Pennsylvania governor, Bush Homeland Security Director, creator

of the fabulous color-coded terrorist mood scale, and person responsible

for <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/20/tom-ridge-i-was-pressured_n_264127.html">elevating the terrorism threat level based on unspecified threats just before the 2004 presidential election</a>.

Although public outreach is not listed among <a href="http://www.ridgeglobal.com/expertise/risk_management_and_global_trade_security/index.php">Ridge Gobal's areas of expertise as security consultants</a>, suppressing public criticism and thwarting pesky regulation might fall under risk management.

We know that any effort to protect trade requires a comprehensive

focus on improving security throughout the entire supply chain. That’s

why we develop innovative security solutions designed to look at the

whole picture – solutions that protect everything from fixed assets to

assets in transit to human capital to brand equity and goodwill.

</blockquote>

It looks like one of Ridge's first major activities for the shale gas

industry, assuming he had no knowledge of the shenanigans by James

Powers, was damage control. He had to plug some embarrassing leaks.

Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and U.S. homeland

security secretary who's now an adviser to the Marcellus Shale

Coalition, today said Gov. Ed Rendell did the right thing in shutting

down a controversial intelligence-gathering program on gas-drilling

opponents and other groups.

Mr. Ridge called the program "rather bizarre," and he said gas-industry critics aren't terrorists.

"They have a difference of opinion," said Mr. Ridge, whose consulting

groups have a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Cecil-based

coalition.

He answered questions about the controversy this afternoon before

participating in a panel discussion, also including Mr. Rendell and

former Gov. Dick Thornburgh, at the annual conference of the State

Science and Technology Institute at the Omni William Penn Hotel,

Downtown.

<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10258/1087684-100.stm">Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept 15, article by Joe Smydo</a>

</blockquote>

Pardon my cynicism regarding Tom Ridge. During his tenure as head of Homeland Security, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/24/schuster.column/index.html">"eco-terrorists" were identified as the number one domestic terrorism threat.</a>

Misbehavior by the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security beginning a

month after Ridge was hired by the shale gas industry is certainly an

interesting coincidence.

I am not sure how Tom Ridge or James Powers defines eco-terrorism. This is what I call "eco-terrorism."
<h1 class="entry-title">Former director of Pennsylvania's Homeland Security destroyed original intelligence reports</h1>

<h5>Published: Saturday, November 06, 2010, 10:46 PM     Updated: Saturday, November 06, 2010, 10:54 PM</h5>

DONALD GILLILAND, The Patriot-News

</div>

James Powers, former director of the Pennsylvania Office of

Homeland Security, destroyed the original intelligence reports he

received from the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.

That may have violated multiple provisions of the state’s record retention policy.

“I destroyed the original copies because, to me, they were working

documents,” Powers wrote in an internal e-mail more than a week after

receiving a request for the records.

According to the state’s Employee Records Management Manual, “Records

that are the subject of a current Right-to-Know Law request must be

retained by the agency, even if their records retention and disposition

schedule indicates otherwise. These records may NOT be destroyed during

the duration of the active request, the appeal time related to the

request, and any subsequent appeal related to the request.”

Scott Davis, a Lower Paxton Twp. resident who operates the website

Pennsylvania Revolution, requested raw reports of the intelligence

monitoring program from the Homeland Security office.

Homeland Security is part of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management

Agency (PEMA). Internal e-mails from other PEMA staffers indicate that

the raw reports existed one day after Davis filed his request, but none

were released.

Eight days later, Powers sent his e-mail saying the reports had been shredded.

In his e-mail, Powers makes a point of asking if another staffer had saved any copies — because they could become public.

Powers writes: “We believe there may eventually arise a (Right-to-Know) request for the raw bulletins.”

He continues, “I considered this initial document as contractor input to

the final bulletin .... Once I pasted the ITRR data into my document, I

destroyed the original copies because to me they were working

documents. I didn’t need them anymore.”

The state Records Management Manual specifically points to “information

on a contract” and “routine correspondence” as examples of e-mails that

are considered to be official records that should not be destroyed.

If there is a question about whether an e-mail qualifies as an official record? The state manual is clear: save it.

Last week, The Patriot-News asked PEMA spokeswoman Maria Finn when those raw reports were actually deleted.

After a day of checking, she said the raw reports still exist — on another staffer’s computer.

She said “miscommunication” led to their not being released.

Finn supplied The Patriot-News with the raw reports, and said she would

also be sending copies to 49 other people who had submitted

Right-To-Know requests for them.

</div></blockquote>