The graphic (website) version of this newsletter can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/newsletter443.htm
Quote of the Week: "I attended my first meeting to oppose a third runway
back in 1949. This has been going on for 60 years and I'm very pleased to
see this today -- anything that brings attention to what the aviation
mafia
are trying to do." quote from a news story on the week long protests at
England's Heathrow Air****t
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Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#443.............................................................................August
26, 2007 Past newsletters can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm
The PASSUR air****t
flight
tracking system at many major U.S. air****ts
http://www.passur.com/sites.htm
(you must have Java installed to view it). If you want to get the
newsletter
sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy
rockaway@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
FAA Boss Gets Hired By Aviation Lobbyist Firm!!!
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As Bill Sees It (Editorial): FAA Boss Blakey Rewarded For Service To The
Aviation Industry With Lobbyist Job? A sitting FAA administrator (Marion
Blakey) announcing that she was going to work for the same aviation
industry
she is charged with regulating and the news media barely even covered the
story!!! Blakely didn't even think it was im****tant to wait until she was
out of office on Sept. 13th to make the annoucement!!! Apparently the news
media, which gets nice full page advertising ads and 60 second commercials
from the aviation industry, has lost their sense of smell. The Associated
Press (AP) didn't even touch the story. This is just another example that
shows the close relation****p the FAA regulators and the industry they are
"supposed" to regulate have. The "public," which has to bear the health
and
environmental impacts of the FAA/aviation industry deals, not only
doesn't
have a seat at the table, we are not even allowed in the building!!!
Official Corruption Accepted As Business As Usual In Bush Administration?
If
what Blakey did isn't illegal it should be. If this isn't official
corruption I don't know what is!!! Have we have come to accept official
corruption as the norm? Of course not one little peep of outrage by any
politician about this. I wonder how much "lobbying" Marion did for her job
while she was allegedly working for the public and regulating her future
employers? Is she now promising future lobbyist jobs to other FAA
officials
if they play ball with certain cor****ations she will soon be (formally)
representing? How interesting that she will leave her job 13 days after
the
northeast Airspace Redesign Plan gets final FAA approval. Blakey has
served
her masters well. I wonder what hideous female aviation industry stooge
(they apparently love women for this job)President Polluter will next
inflict on the public for the next five years?
Anti-Airspace Redesign Demonstration Today In Rockland County, New
York!!!
I hope that there will be thousands of people protesting the FAA
destroying
their quality-of-life by directing increased Newark Air****t flights over
their homes. I'm glad to see that they are getting sup****t from New Jersey
anti-aviation pollution group CAAN. If New Jersey communities want to stop
the FAA rats from destroying their lives they need to form a victim's
coalition and sue the FAA. As the basis of the FAA Airspace Redesign plan
is
political, not scientific routing of aircraft, there is a abundance of
environmental and health impacts that could be used as a legal basis to
have
this atrocity stopped. It is good to see that there is movement towards
forming a coalition to do just that. The one that makes the FAA nervous is
many communities uniting to fight them. That is why they devote so much
effort to play one community off another. Maybe someone will take some
home
movies and upload them to Youtube so we can see the demonstration. I would
be more than happy to put it the next newsletter.
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ROCKLAND COUNTY NEW YORK CITIZENS TO PROTEST FAA'S RECENTLY-UNCOVERED
PLAN
TO SEND HUNDREDS OF AIRPLANES DAILY THROUGH THE HEARTS OF THEIR
COMMUNITIES
· Rally Begins at NOON Sunday, August 26, 2007.
· Corner of Route 59 and Middletown Road, in Nanuet, Town of
Clarkstown, Rockland County, NY.
· Up to 600 flights per day will be routed less than 1 mile above
Rockland County communities on their descent to Newark Liberty
International
Air****t.
· Flights would fly over Rockland every 2.5 minutes affecting
homes,
schools, houses of wor****p, elder-care facilities, hospitals, playgrounds,
parks and villages.
ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY: Concerned Rockland residents will hold a rally Sunday
to protest a federal plan to direct up to 600 new flights over the heart
of
the County, as part of a new flight plan developed by the FAA in concert
with commercial airlines.
"Having uncovered the plan, which was developed in secret, Rockland County
citizens en masse are organizing as quickly as possible to put a stop to
this initiative, which threatens the security and quality of life for the
citizens of Rockland and surrounding counties," said Tom Sullivan,
Spokesman
for the recently-created group.
"We are seeking volunteers to help us spread the word, contact elected
officials, lobby in Wa****ngton, DC, sup****t recently-retained litigation
counsel, and sign paper and online petitions. We must stop the FAA from
issuing it's 'Record of Decision' scheduled for early September," Sullivan
continued.
A number of elected officials are scheduled to attend the rally,
including:
Hon. Edwin J. Day Rockland County Legislator
Hon. Ellen C. Jaffe New York State Assembly
Hon. Thom Kleiner Orangetown Supervisor
Hon. James F. Kralick Rockland County Sheriff
Hon. Patrick J. Moroney Rockland County Legislator
Hon. John Murphy Rockland County Legislator
Hon. Patrick Withers Rockland County Legislator
Hon. Kenneth P. Zebrowski New York State Assembly
In addition, representatives from the New Jersey Coalition Against
Aircraft
Noise (NJCAAN) will be attending, in a show of sup****t to the Rockland
County, NY rally organizers.
The rally will run from noon to 2 PM. A brief program is scheduled to
being
at 12:30, with remarks from elected officials, followed by an open forum
for citizens to comment.
More information is available at www.quietrockland.com.
Media Contact:
Cynthia Artin
cynthia@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
304 3790
FAA Administrator To Work For Aviation Industry As Lobbyist!!! WA****NGTON,
Aug 21 (Reuters) - The administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration was named chief executive of the Aerospace Industries
Association on Tuesday, the top lobbying group for aerospace
manufacturers.
Marion Blakey's five-year term at FAA ends on Sept. 13. She will remain
with
the agency until that time, a spokeswoman said. Blakey will succeed John
Douglass, who has led the trade organization since 1998. Blakey's
successor
at FAA has not been named. AIA members include Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote,
Profile, Research), General Electric Co. (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research),
United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Northrop
Grumman
Corp. (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), BAE Systems PLC (BA.L: Quote,
Profile, Research) and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2139515220070821
1
Sen. Schumer Says ****t Authority Should Take it Slow At Stewart Air****t:
Wa****ngton - US Senator Charles Schumer has some advice for the ****t
Authority of New York and New Jersey as it prepares to assume operation of
Stewart Air****t at Newburgh this fall - don't push anything down the
community's throat. Schumer told MidHudsonNews.com that it is very
im****tant for the ****t to listen to the local people before it makes any
changes at the air****t. "The one thing I say to the ****t Authority is that
you've got to work with the community; you can't just impose your will,"
he
said. "And while Stewart is an im****tant air****t to the New York City
metropolitan area, it's also a vital part of the area around Newburgh and
Orange County and they can't run roughshod over community wishes. We won't
let them do that." The ****t Authority expects to take over Stewart in
early
November. Editor's Note: It is hard to believe that Sen. Schumer (AKA
"Sen.
Schemer") is not just sending out more press releases that will make him
sound like he really cares about the people impacted by Stewart Air****t.
Chuck has been pu****ng for Stewart Air****t expansion for a long time as
the
picture on the upper right shows. Let Schumer get a night time curfew on
takeoffs and landings and I'll believe that he really isn't behind the
secret plan to make Stewart Air****t into a giant air cargo hub!!!
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/PA_Schumer-21Aug07.html
England: Week Long Air****t Pollution Protest Ends: The week-long camp that
ended yesterday at London's Heathrow air****t wasn't your typical summer
camp. Sure, as I wandered around the camp on Friday there was an air of
harmony and fun about the place. People were cooking huge amounts of food,
seminars were being held in marquees, children cycled around on a
pedal-powered moving sound system, and an older resident was dealing most
admirably with the compost toilets. The camp is committed to creating as
little carbon as possible all electricity was being provided by wind
turbines and solar panels. Welcome to Climate Camp, set up last Tuesday
north of Heathrow air****t in protest against the construction of a third
runway there and the proposed expansion of a 20 other UK air****ts. The
camp
hosted a series of scientific workshops and protests that ended Sunday
with
a peaceful demonstration and a blockade of BAA headquarters (the company
that owns Heathrow air****t and six other air****ts in the country). More
than
2,000 protesters were expected to mark out the 3-kilometer stretch of land
set aside for a third runway and then surround BAA's offices near the
air****t for the next 24 hours, or "as long as possible."
http://www.plentymag.com/thecurrent/2007/08/grand_finale_at_the_heathrow_c.php
Massachusetts: Who Will Get Logan Air****t's Noise? A new Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) proposal for airplanes departing to the southwest
from
Logan International Air****t could increase noise and undermine the
possibility of input from affected communities, according to JP's
representative on the Logan Air****t Community Advisory Council (CAC). The
proposed plan is to "fan" airplanes departing from runways 27 and 33L. It
would mean pilots would be able to depart from runway 27 at anywhere from
approximately 270 degrees, which would send them flying just north of
Boylston Street heading out of Kenmore Square, to 235 degrees, down the
Southwest Corridor toward Forest Hills Station, said Anastasia Lyman, JP's
representative on the CAC. The proposal is part of phase two of an
overflight noise abatement study for communities surrounding Logan Air****t
being undertaken by the FAA, in consultation with the CAC. Phase two of
the
study specifically considers measures that would require environmental
impact *****sments because of their potential noise impact. Brian
Glasscock,
head of the City of Boston's Environment Department, said, as he
understands
it, the FAA will not move forward with any plan the CAC does not approve.
Various city staff members, including a representative from the Mayor's
Office, are tracking the progress of the CAC, Glasscock said.
http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/node/1798
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13874630/detail.html
Editor's Note:
The
FAA fairly "fan" planes? That won't happen. They know the best way is to
concentrate flights over selected communities (usually poor, minority and
politically powerless). They love to use phony local Community Advisory
Councils to make routing decisions (which should be based on health and
fairness, not local politics) for them.
@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Im****tant Aviation
News
Stories This Week
Beneath Heathrow's pall of misery, a new political movement is born
It was not flawless, but the climate camp was still the most democratic
and
best organised protest I've witnessed
George Monbiot
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2152948,00.html#article_continue
Tuesday August 21, 2007
The Guardian
There are plenty of people at the Heathrow climate camp who say they are
campaigning on behalf of their children. But when Alf Pereira spoke on
Sunday outside the church in Harmondsworth, we knew he meant it. His
daughter died of bronchial problems caused, he believes, by pollution from
the air****t. She was buried in the graveyard behind us. He fears that if a
third runway is built, the developers will disinter her. Until this week,
Mr
Pereira's voice was drowned by the roar of jet engines. The people of the
villages around the air****t have been campaigning for years against the
threat of expansion, but no one in power has listened. Both the government
and the air****ts operator BAA appear determined to evict the living and
raise the dead.
Heathrow is already the busiest international air****t on earth. The new
runway and the terminal and approach roads it needs would demolish around
1,200 homes; one primary school will be flattened; six others will be
permanently blighted by noise. Separated from the rest of Heathrow, this
would, in effect, be a second air****t.
The government hopes to have the new air****t built "as soon as
practicable"
on the grounds that it will "generate the largest direct net economic
benefits of any new runway". The Times reveals that BAA has been allowed
to
influence the tests that will determine whether or not the runway would
breach the legal limits for pollution and noise. The government has also
given the company the results of its air pollution studies, while
withholding them from the public.
It seems pretty obvious that this scheme could go ahead only if the
government is prepared to rip up both its agreements with the public and
the
European Union's pollution laws. When Heathrow's fifth terminal was
approved, a planning condition capped the number of flights using the
air****t at 480,000 a year. The new runway would raise them to 720,000. BAA
also wants to end the "alternation agreement" that regulates flights at
Heathrow's existing runways: planes leaving the air****t currently switch
directions at 3pm in order to give the people of west London a break from
the noise. If the policy changes, the air****t could take a further 72,000
flights a year.
The government has promised that the area of land subject to noise levels
that the World Health Organisation defines as causing "serious annoyance"
(57 decibels or more) will not increase. But its own forecasts suggest the
new runway will expand this zone by at least 12%. This is almost certainly
an underestimate, which is perhaps why it has refused to publish maps of
the
flight paths to and from a third runway. A consortium of local authorities
has drawn up its own maps. They show a massive northern expansion of the
noise zone, sweeping over much of London and the counties to the west of
Heathrow.
The airlines say that they will make their planes quieter in order to meet
the government's promise. But they also say they will make them more
efficient to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, and the method favoured
by
some of them is to swap the current engine design for "open rotor"
turbines,
which are much noisier. They can't have it both ways.
Already the planes and their associated traffic have been breaching the
European Union's limits for nitrogen dioxide pollution, which suggests
that
current air****t activities are unlawful (remember that when you hear
ministers fulminating about our illegal protest). Now we are expected to
believe that air pollutants can be reduced to a level below the legal
limits
while the number of flights almost doubles. It looks as though our civil
servants will be busy with what they call "statistical interpretations of
the target". The rest of us call it lying.
Camping in the fields north of the air****t over the past week, I found
that
I fell asleep promptly at 11, when the flights mostly ceased, and woke -
despite my wax ear plugs - promptly at six, when they resumed. My throat
swelled and my eyes itched, and I am sure that my headache was not just
the
result of a few too many bottles of Pitfield's Eco Warrior. Even if we
were
to put climate change to one side, who can honestly claim that new
runways,
for all their economic benefits, improve the quality of our lives? A pall
of
skull-scraping misery hangs over the catchment area of every major
air****t.
But the business plan cannot be faulted: the more hellish our lives
become,
the more we seek to escape from them.
Of course we cannot put climate change to one side. In a previous article
I
showed that, depending on whether you believe the government's figures or
those produced by academic researchers, by 2050 the greenhouse gases
produced by the UK's air passengers will equate to between 91% and 258% of
the carbon dioxide the government says the whole economy should be
producing. Its air****t expansion plans, in conjunction with those of other
nations, will cause runaway climate change even if we were to spend the
rest
of our lives ****vering in the dark. So much for the economic benefits of
new
runways.
The people seeking to prevent this expansion know that when the government
sup****ts a development, explaining your objections at its public inquiries
is about as much use as shaking your fist at the sky. An elaborate theatre
of consultation and democracy is designed only to hide the fact that the
decision has already been made.
So what else do the critics of direct action expect us to do? How else do
they suggest we drag this issue out of the shadows and thrust it to the
front of the public mind?
We did not get everything right. The media strategy was hopeless:
sympathetic journalists were excluded, while unsympathetic journalists
went
undercover and stayed in the camp for as long as they wanted. But in other
respects it was better organised, more democratic and more disciplined
than
any I have seen before. It drew on the protests of the 1990s but
introduced
two new elements: much better logistics and a model of popular democracy
im****ted from Latin America.
All the facilities that 1,500 people would need - including running water,
sanitation, hot food twice a day, banks of computers and walkie-talkies,
stage lighting, sound systems, even a cinema - were set up in a few hours
on
unfamiliar ground, in the teeth of police blockades. A system of affinity
groups and neighbourhoods, feeding their decisions upwards to general
meetings, permitted a genuine participatory democracy of the kind that you
will never encounter in British public life. The actions themselves were
disciplined and remained non-violent, even when the police got heavy. I
left
the camp on Sunday evening convinced that a new political movement has
been
born.
We haven't prevented runaway climate change by camping beside Heathrow and
by surrounding the offices of BAA, and nor did we expect to do so. But we
have made it harder for Alf Pereira and the other invisible people to be
swept aside, and harder for the government to forget that its plan for
perpetual growth in cor****ate utopia is also a plan for the destruction of
life on earth.
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