FAKE CONSULTATION & FAKE PROBLEM SOLVING IN WOOLWICH

My education over the last twenty-five years hasn't just been about the technical aspects of contamination, groundwater and or remediation. Unfortunately it has also been about how politicians lie to the public. Most learn early on how to set up their deceptions. In our society there are endless choices between the public good and private benefit. Politicians soon learn that their job is to constantly assist the private benefit while convincing the public it's really for their good. Appearances are everything whether formation of committees, fact-finding panels or what have you.

Next the politicians must control important meetings. This includes allegedly public meetings as well as public advisory committees. The easiest way for the latter is simply by having the members appointed by the politcal body, in this case the local Council. Sometimes this isn't enough. When it comes down to allegedly solving a problem through a meeting, care must be taken. All parties probably already know what needs doing but simply are unwilling. It's too expensive or it's too embarassing to admit how out of control the problem is. Therefore having the appropriate knowledgable and competent people present could lead to problems. Afterall they might insist on speaking truthfully towards the problem hence embarassing the guilty parties and or advising the public as to the only proper course of action.

Therefore control of attendance at such a meeting is necessary. Either only invite people with limited knowledge or make certain that those invited are loyalists to your cause and know what the game is. Hence by eliminating the most truly knowledgable you have greatly weakened the opposition to your pretend solutions. If they aren't present they can't gum up the works with inconvenient facts and truths.

The other huge item is the Agenda. Be in charge of the agenda and have a Chair who will quickly change the direction of arguments that you don't care for. If the Agenda is brief and limited and discussion strays into sensitive, embarassing areas the Chair can simply say sorry but that's not on today's agenda. Perhaps tomorrow. In other words meetings need to be managed if not outright choreographed. That cannot be done if too many well informed, independent strong personalities are present who insist upon speaking directly to the main problem regardless of your printed agenda.

We were advised by Mayor Shantz at the public January 29/15 CPAC meeting that there would be a sitdown with all the parties and stakeholders to discuss bringing Chemtura and the M.O.E. back to public CPAC meetings. While a meeting may occur let's see exactly how many stakeholders are invited, how public the meeting is and how honest the Agenda is. I'm not holding my breathe on this one folks. Will Gail Martin and the Independent be invited? Will SWAT be invited? Will I be invited? Will it be held in a public place with access for the public? Ha! Chemtura have made it obvious they would rather parade naked down Arthur St. than speak publicly about east side contamination, Dioxins and DDT, 2028 cleanup deadline, the Stroh Drain, collector trenches, the MTE Report and on and on.