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Part 2
So, the question was this: Where else is the supposed non-violent Muslim Brotherhood active in helping Islamic jihad and Hamas? Everywhere in the world.
The only difference between the nonviolent Muslim Brotherhood versus al-Qaeda, Hamas and Islamic jihad is that the three practice violence to oppose us while the other preaches the Dao of Mohammed and evangelism to promote the overthrow of our society from within and nurtured the three secretly. All have one aim: the takeover of our society, to replace the Bill of Rights and the Constitution with the Koran and Sharia law, and that we be governed by imams.
When looking out for potential enemies, we are used to searching for military groups who oppose us (al-Qaeda), or political organizations that spout anti-democratic rhetoric (Cold War communism), or people who steal our secrets (commercial and military).
In the 1930s we missed the evil of Nazism precisely because they appeared to be focused on economic development and national democratic growth. The real signs were all there; read Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,� written in 1925.
How did we miss the anti-semitism and greed to create a greater German world? Simple. We could not then believe that the power of rhetoric, just words, would seed society toward such evil. Surely that was unthinkable. At the time our observation techniques had not advanced to encompass radio and propaganda — a new world the Nazis had already professionally embraced.
Similarly, we are now myopic to the Islamic power of belief and indoctrination to promote death and destruction. Surely that is unthinkable; the Middle Ages are long past.
But we have only to look to some of the religious groups this nation has spawned (think Jonestown) to know the power some humans have over others, power that goes way beyond reason. Most Americans simply cannot fathom how someone can blow themselves and innocent people to smithereens, so we try and rationalize it with jokes about virgins in heaven.
Professionally applied belief systems are the most powerful weapons in the hands of evil humans. And indoctrinated humans can be the most misguided, capable enemies imaginable.
No good German could ever have committed the atrocities of the concentration camps, no good Rwandan could ever be capable of such barbarity with machetes, no good Jew could ever undertake the Massacre of the Innocents (as did Herod), no good Christian could have perpetrated the Spanish Inquisition and certainly no good American could ever be guilty of the My Lai Massacre … could they?
When pushed, or indoctrinated, humans are undoubtedly the most dangerous animals. We need to stop looking for traditional infrastructure within enemies’ organizations — especially where there is no need of such corporate organization within the Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas or Islamic jihad.
We are in the midst of a very real war; a jihad is being undertaken globally against us by extremist, powerful, misguided Muslims. We must start looking at the motives, plans, needs and beliefs of those individuals who are, already, opposed to everything we stand for and enjoy.
Not to do so, as we once erred in 1935, is to begin to fail in the protection of the Constitution and the way of life of all free peoples. And, no doubt, could lead to a much greater conflict in the decades to come.
Peter Riva, formerly of Amenia Union, lives in New Mexico.
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Telecom Reg’s Best Kept On the Books
When Connecticut land-use commissions update their regulations, it seems like a no-brainer to jettison old telecommunications regulations adopted decades ago during a short-lived period when municipalities had authority to regulate second generation (2G) transmissions prior to the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) being ordered by a state court in 2000 to regulate all cell tower infrastructure as “functionally equivalent” services.
It is far better to update those regs instead, especially for macro-towers given new technologies like small cells. Even though only ‘advisory’ to the CSC, the preferences of towns by law must be taken into consideration in CSC decision making. Detailed telecom regs – not just a general wish list -- are evidence that a town has put considerable thought into where they prefer such infrastructure be sited without prohibiting service that many – though not all – citizens want and that first responders rely on for public safety.
Such regs come in handy when egregious tower sites are proposed in sensitive areas, typically on private land. The regs are a town’s first line of defense, especially when cross referenced to plans of conservation and development, P&Z regulations, and wetlands setbacks. They identify how/where the town plans to intersect with the CSC process. They are also a roadmap for service providers regarding preferred sites and sometimes less neighborhood contention. In fact, to have no telecom regs can weaken a town’s rights to protect environmental, scenic, and historic assets, and serve up whole neighborhoods to unnecessary overlapping coverage and corporate overreach. Such regs are unique to every town and should not follow anyone else’s boiler plate, especially industry’s.
Connecticut is the only state that has a centralized siting entity for cell towers. The good news is that applicants must prove need for new tower sites in an evidentiary proceeding and any decisions have the weight of the state behind them. The bad news is that the CSC used to be far less industry-friendly and rote in their reviews, which now resemble a check list. There is an operative assumption at CSC that if an applicant wants a tower, they must need it, otherwise why spend significant money to run the approval gauntlet? This reflects a subtle shift over the years at CSC from sincere willingness to protect the environment toward minimal tweaking of bad applications with minor changes. The bottom line is that towns really cannot rely on the CSC to do all the work for them.
What CSC issues telecom providers is a “certificate of environmental compatibility” after an evidentiary proceeding (not unlike a court case) with intervenors, parties, expert witnesses, and the service provider’s technical pro’s sworn in and subject to cross examination. Service providers get to do the same with any opposition from intervenor/party participants – like towns and citizens -- and their experts. It’s an impressive process whose ultimate goal is the fine balancing between allowing adequate/reliable public services and protecting state ecology with minimal damage to scenic, historic, and recreational values. They unfortunately often fall short of their mandate – like approving cell towers with diesel generators over town aquifers -- evidenced by CSC only rejecting about five cell towers in the past 15-20 years.
The CSC was founded in 1972 and clarified its mission in the 1980’s to prevent the state from being carved up willy-nilly by gas pipelines, high tension corridors, and broadcast towers. With the sudden proliferation of cell towers beginning in late 1990’s, it became the most sued agency in Connecticut by both an arrogant upstart industry if applications were denied and by towns/citizens when bad sites were forced on them. CSC gradually formed a defensive posture that drives their decisions toward industry with deeper pockets and attorneys on retainer.
For citizens, nothing can wreck one’s day like the CSC. It behooves towns to protect what little toolkit they have, and understand the legal parameters of the CSC’s playing field. The CSC is not a “normal” government agency where municipal/citizen redress is based on logic and local support. Their process is largely immune to everything but specific kinds of evidence – like town regs with setbacks/fall zones, radio frequency transmission signal strengths, sensitive areas identified, and detailed wildlife inventory, among others.
There is a current cell tower fight involving two intervening towns -- Washington and Warren; both with good cell tower regs – over a tower site within 1200’ of a Montessori School, near Steep Rock’s nature preserves with comprehensive geology/wildlife databases that include endangered, threatened and special concern flora and fauna, on established federal/state migratory bird flyways, within throwing distance to a historic site capable of being listed on the Underground Railroad, and with an access road on a blind curve entering a state highway that will permanently damage wetlands, vernal pools, and core forests. There are well credentialed environmental experts, including Dr. Michael Klemens, former chair of Salisbury’s P&Z, as well as the former director of migratory bird management at the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and an RF engineer testifying to alternative approaches, plus three attorneys representing intervenors. It is the most professional challenge I have seen at CSC since Falls Village successfully mounted one that protected Robbins Swamps several years ago.
The hearing is ongoing, with uncertain results. To see what it takes today to stop an inappropriate tower siting, see Docket #543 under “Pending Matters” at https://portal.ct.gov/csc before removing local cell tower regs – the lowest hanging fruit that any town can possess in case it’s needed.
B, Blake Levitt is the Communications Director at The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council. She writes about how technology affects biology.