Category Archives: Military

Molly Deese for Convention Center and Tourism Authority @ LCC 2013-06-10



Do we have designated positions for specific local businesses on our appointed boards?
It sure looks like it, at least for Wild Adventures.


5.a. Valdosta/Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority



At the Work Session 10 June 2013
County Manager Joe Pritchard said Commissioners had a letter of resignation
from Bob Montgomery from VLCCCTA,
and a letter (he didn’t say from whom)
recommending Molly Deese to replace Montgomery.
Pritchard said Deese had been “filling in” for Montgomery at VLCCCTA.
Interesting. So Wild Adventures can send someone unappointed to fill in
on an appointed board?



He didn’t say who Deese is, but she is Continue reading →

Logistics and YouTube Videos! Marketing @ VLCIA 2013-04-16



So many things the Industrial Authority is doing that they could be promoting!
Some of them came out at their

16 April 2013 Board Meeting.
Maybe they even took notes about the Georgia Logistics Summit putting all its presentations on its YouTube channel.

In her

Marketing Report, Meghan Duke said
branded materials were now available and in use.

Valdostalowndesprospector.com has new feature for comparison of features
by county, city, etc. for any community in the world.
Several recent guests, including



Georgia Power South Region,
whom VLCIA took on a tour of their industrial parks and Steeda Autosports.
VLCIA hosted Board of GA Dept. of Economic Development at Moody AFB.
She didn’t say, but GDEcD Board of Directors says:

Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Board of Director’s
meeting will be held in February 21st, 2013 at Moody AFB, 1800 Moody
Road, Valdosta, GA 31601. Due to security on base you will need to
have a government (state, federal, etc.) issued ID, such as a
driver’s license, with you before you can enter the base. A
background check with need to be ran prior to the meeting day so
please contact Carrie Bisig & she will let you know what information
the base will need.

VLCIA had a community presentation in Atlanta with Continue reading →

Moody AFB exercises this month

Heard choppers lately? You’re about to hear more:
it’s spring Moody Air Force Base exercises!



PR carried by the Chamber of Commerce 16 April 2013,

JOINT ARMY AND AIR FORCE EXERCISE, April 21-26,

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — A joint military exercise will be
conducted from April 21 to April 26 on military training areas at
Moody Air Force Base, Ga., and in the vicinity of the surrounding
communities.

The 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based at Fort Benning, Ga.
is conducting the exercise along with units from the 160th Special
Operations Aviation Regiment from Fort Campbell, Ky., 820th Base
Defense Group at Moody AFB, and Air Force Special Operations Command
from Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Soldiers and Airmen will use

Continue reading →

ALEC again: GA HB 176 for higher cell towers with less local government oversight



After
massive public opposition
just fought off

a subdivision near Moody’s gate,
do we want telephone cell towers popping up in Moody’s flight lines?

Trying to outlaw municipal broadband isn’t the only thing telecom
companies and ALEC are up to in the Georgia legislature:
they’re also pushing a bill for higher cell towers with less
local government control over height or siting.
Do you want one next to you without even an opportunity for a local government hearing?

Here’s what ACCG says about

HB 176,
renamed from ‘Advanced Broadband Collocation Act’ to
‘Mobile Broadband Infrastructure Leads to Development (BILD) Act’:


Cell Tower Siting Preemption Legislation Progresses

HB 176 passed a House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications
Sub-Committee on Thursday. Representatives from ACCG, Cobb County,
Gwinnett County, GMA and several cities expressed concerns on the
impact this legislation will have on local cell tower siting
ordinances. This bill significantly preempts local governments in
reviewing and approving applications for both the modification of
existing cell towers and structures (collocation) and the
construction of new cell towers and structures local communities. As
HB 176 is the top priority of the wireless industry this session and
is being backed by many other influential groups including the
Americans for Prosperity and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, it has
very strong momentum. Please have your county staff review the bill
and inform your House members of any negative implications it has on
your local zoning, land use or tower/equipment application review
processes. This legislation will likely be heard on the House floor
soon.

Guess who’s chair of the

Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications SubCommittee?

Continue reading →

Members of the press or citizens are not welcome at library board? —George Boston Rhynes

Received today.
To quote

a VDT editorial of 3 March 2012:

When officials act like they have something to hide, they often do….

Here’s George’s Open Records Request.
-jsq


George Boston Rhynes
February 7, 2013

George Boston Rhynes (229-251-8645)

5004 Oak Drive

Valdosta, Georgia 31605

TO: Valdosta-Lowndes County; South Georgia Regional Library
Director/Chair person along with Board Members Respectively, Georgia
News Media Outlets concerned about open government and the sunshine
brightness…

SUBJECT: An open records request on behalf of the general public
right to know…

Continue reading →

Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer —Sierra Club



Sierra Club, one of the oldest, largest, and most influential
grassroots environmental activist groups in the U.S.,
has been

tentatively anti-nuke since 1974,
observing now that none of its conditions of
energy conservation, reactor safety, nuclear fuel disposal,
weapons proliferation,
or adequate regulation have ever been met,
has come out unequivocably against nuclear power.


Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer

The Sierra Club remains unequivocally opposed to nuclear energy.
Although nuclear plants have been in operation for less than 60
years, we now have seen three serious disasters.


Tragically, it took a horrific disaster in Japan to remind the world
that none of the fundamental problems with nuclear power have ever
been addressed.

Besides reactor safety, both nuclear proliferation and the required
long-term storage of nuclear waste (which remains lethal for more
than 100,000 years) make nuclear power a uniquely dangerous energy
technology for humanity.

Plenty of links in

that Sierra Club page.

Sierra Club is one of the first two of the 99 sponsors of

the Forward on Climate rally,
high noon Sunday 17 February 2013 on the National Mall in Washington D.C.
I’ll be there.
How about you?

-jsq

China, etc., mining uranium in Niger and Mali

A commenter on
Mali: a French War for Uranium
suggested that if "that zone" (presumably
the Sahara in Mali and Niger)
were such an El Dorado the U.S. and the Chinese would have long been interested.
Actually, it turns out numerous countries are involved, especially along
the
Uranium Highway in the Uranium Province in Niger.
Not the Americans so much, but definitely the Chinese.



According to

World Information Service on Energy Uranium Project,
in

Mali, it's the Canadians (Cascade Resources Ltd.,
Northern Canadian Uranium Inc., Rockgate Capital Corp.) and
the Australians (Oklo Uranium Ltd).:

The following companies are performing uranium prospection and/or exploration in Mali:


Cascade Resources Ltd. ,
Northern Canadian Uranium Inc. ,
Rockgate Capital Corp. ,
Oklo Uranium Ltd


Faléa uranium/silver project

> View deposit info
Opposition to uranium mining in Faléa: Association des ressortissants et
amis de la Commune de Faléa (ARACF)

Pre-Feasibility study on Faléa mine project started:


On Nov. 15, 2012, Rockgate Capital Corp. announced the commencement of a Pre-Feasibility study on its Faléa U-Ag-Cu project in south-west Mali. Rockgate has engaged the services of the DRA Group of Johannesburg, South Africa to complete the study.

Environmental and social baseline studies commissioned on Faléa mine project:
On April 26, 2010, Rockgate Capital Corp. announced that it has commissioned environmental and social baseline studies on the Faléa Project, Mali.

Apparently Niger has more recoverable Uranium than either the U.S. or Canada;
more than Kazakhstan; more than any country except Australia.




In Niger, it's Russia, Korea, India, and here are a few notes
about Chinese involvement:




Areva ready to give Chinese access to Imouraren uranium mine:

French nuclear giant Areva is ready to open up to a Chinese partner the

Continue reading →

Microloans for small farmers —USDA




USDA PR 0010.13:

USDA Finalizes New Microloan Program

Microloans up to $35,000 aim to assist small farmers, veterans, and
disadvantaged producers

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2013 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
today announced a new microloan program from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) designed to help small and family operations,
beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers secure loans under
$35,000. The new microloan program is aimed at bolstering the
progress of producers through their start-up years by providing
needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may
eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their
operations. The microloan program will also provide a less
burdensome, more simplified application process in comparison to
traditional farm loans.



“I have met several small and beginning farmers, returning
veterans and disadvantaged producers interested in careers in
farming who too often must rely on credit cards or personal loans
with high interest rates to finance their start-up
operations,” said Vilsack.“By further expanding access
to credit to those just starting to put down roots in farming, USDA
continues to help grow a new generation of farmers, while ensuring
the strength of an American agriculture sector that drives our
economy, creates jobs, and provides the most secure and affordable
food supply in the world.”

The new microloans, said Vilsack, represent how USDA continues to
make year-over-year gains in expanding credit opportunities for
minority, socially-disadvantaged and young and beginning farmers and
ranchers across the United States. The final rule establishing the
microloan program will be published in the Jan. 17 issue of the
Federal Register.

Administered through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) Operating Loan
Program,

Continue reading →

Mali: a French War for Uranium



Google for Mali War in French, and it seems nobody in France is fooled:
France is going to war in Mali for oil, gas, gold and… uranium just across the border in Niger.
Have you ever heard of a war for sunshine or wind?
Let’s get on with solar and wind for energy independence,
including from wars for fuels.

Even Le Monde politely asks the question,

Pourquoi la France intervient-elle au Mali?
Why is France intervening in Mali?

matL : Quels sont les enjeux stratégiques majeurs que présente le Mali, non seulement pour la France mais pour la région entière ? matL : What are the important policy challenges posed by Mali, not only for France but for the entire region?
Les enjeux sur les ressources extractives, à savoir notamment le
pétrole et le gaz sur le site de Taoudenni qui se trouve à cheval sur
trois pays, Mauritanie, Mali et Algérie. Ensuite, l’uranium puisqu’il
en a été découvert dans l’Adar des Iforas. Mais ces trois ressources
extractives ne sont pas encore en état d’exploitation. En revanche,
le Mali est le troisième producteur d’or sur le continent africain. Ce
sont là les enjeux géostragégiques. 		Issues of extractive resources, notably including oil and gas on the
site Taoudenni which straddles three countries, Mauritania, Mali
and Algeria. Then, since uranium has been discovered in the Adrar
des Iforas. But these three extractive resources are not yet ready to
use. However, Mali is the third largest gold producer in Africa. These
are the geostratigic issues.
S’il y avait implosion du Mali par la prise du pouvoir central par les
groupes armés djihadistes, il y aurait nécessairement des conséquences
négatives sur l’ensemble des pays de la sous-région. 		If there was implosion of Mali by making the central government by armed
groups jihadists, there would have negative consequences for all countries
in the sub-region.
Visiteur : Bonjour, le gisement d’uranium exploité par Areva se trouve
au Niger à quelques centaines de kilomètres à l’est de la zone de
combats. Pensez-vous qu’il existe un lien entre l’intervention et la
protection éventuelle de cette source d’énergie vitale pour la France ? 		Caller: Hello, the uranium deposit is operated by Areva in Niger a few
hundred kilometers east of the combat zone. Do you think there is a link
between the intervention and the possible protection of this vital energy
source for France?
En tout cas, l’hypothèse n’est pas du tout à écarter car il y aura
des conséquences sur l’ensemble de la sous-région. 		In any case, the hypothesis is not at all ruled out
because there will be an impact on the entire sub-region.

Stéphane Lhomme was more blunt in Le nouvel Observateur yesterday,

Guerre au Mali : sécuriser notre approvisionnement en uranium,
War in Mali: secure our provisions of uranium,

Continue reading →

Rep. Austin Scott (R GA-08) @ VLCoC 2013-01-10




Ron Borders
introduced

Congressman Austin Scott (R GA-08) who

made some remarks
on the front porch at the Chamber of Commerce Thursday 10 January 2013.

Bookended by some formulaic remarks about debt
(without mentioning
that
it’s already mostly solved),
the Congressman noted he is on the Committee on Armed Services.
He said there is no current

BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Commission),
although one has been asked for.
He said a BRAC wouldn’t do anything for near-term debt, anyway
(but he didn’t say anything about ending the war in Afghanistan
or stopping funding for un-needed weapons systems as ways of saving money).

He said he is the chair of a House Agriculture Subcommitee
(Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture).
He said he was for research, for the agricultural extension,
and for agricultural exports.

Here’s

the WCTV news report, with responses by Gretchen Quarterman,
Chair of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP).

Here’s

a video playlist:

Continue reading →