The basic rules for CVI are spelled out in the Interim Final Rule on Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), 6 CFR part 27, that went into effect on June 8th, 2007. Section 27.400 of this regulation establishes CVI, explains what is covered under the term, the basic information about what must be done to protect CVI, who is authorized to receive CVI and the sanctions that may be applied to personnel, companies and agencies that release CVI to unauthorized personnel.

At a minimum, the following information will be considered to be CVI:
1. Top Screen information provided under section 27.205
2. Security Vulnerability Assessments under section 27.215;
3. Site Security Plans under section 27.225;
4. Documents relating to the Department’s review and approval of Security Vulnerability Assessments and Site Security Plans, including Letters of Authorization, Letters of Approval and responses thereto; written notices; and other documents developed pursuant to section 27.240 or 27.245;
5. Alternate Security Programs under section 27.235;
6. Documents relating to inspection or audits under section 27.250;
7. Any records required to be created or retained under section 27.255;
8. Sensitive portions of orders, notices or letters under section 27.300; and
9. Information developed pursuant to section 27.200 and 27.205.

Since DHS has the responsibility to ensure that the CVI is properly protected, they have established a procedure to ensure that people with access to CVI, including personnel at the chemical facilities producing much of the information, are aware of the detailed requirements for the generation, documentation and security of such information. A key part of that procedure is an on-line training program for all personnel who may require access to CVI.

This Chemical-terrorism Vulnerability Information Authorized User Training is a web based training program with an evaluation. Once the evaluation has been completed on-line, an on-line form is submitted to DHS to apply to become an Authorized User. After completing the necessary background checks, DHS will notify that person’s parent organization, chemical facility, or government agency that they are authorized users of CVI. That does not automatically give them access to CVI, that can only be done after it has been determined that they have a need to know requirement for that particular CVI; it just means that they have received the CVI equivalent of a security clearance.

Any chemical facility that is going to be producing, receiving, handling, or storing CVI is going to have to prepare for the requirements under section 27.400. First the organization is going to have to appoint a CVI Point of Contact. This person will be responsible for ensuring that all personnel at the facility that will be handling CVI are trained and registered with DHS. They will ensure that all required safeguards for CVI are put into place and enforced at the facility. The Point of Contact will be responsible for determining who has the need-to-know for access to a CVI document at the facility. The Point of Contact will be the go-to-person for people outside of that facility that need to access the CVI from that facility.

The facility will also have to ensure that they have proper safeguards in place for handling and storing CVI documents. It might be advisable for the facility to designate a securable room as an Open Storage Room. Access to the room will have to be strictly limited to those people that have been cleared for access to CVI and have a need to know. The door to the room will have to be locked when no one is physically in the room. Lacking an Open Storage Room, everyone that works on or stores CVI will have to have a lockable container to store the material in when not in use.

For most commercial chemical facilities the requirements for handling, marking, storing and destroying CVI will be something very new. Facilities that have done extensive work for the Department of Defense or Department of Energy will be more familiar with these requirements, because they closely parallel the requirements for handling classified documents. In this case, however, the protection of CVI is done specifically to protect the interests of the chemical facility, not the Federal Government. This should make it easier for the facility personnel to understand why the additional effort is necessary.

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Mr. Gore asks the above question relatively early in his new book which deals with condemning the major media as a whole, “The Assault on Reason”. He believes that television and the media are working together to convolute the human mind into throwing away rational thought processes and embracing the various permutations the mass media came up with in convincing people that going to Iraq and waging an unwinnable war was the correct thing to do.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION IN CAHOOTS WITH THE MEDIA
Gore goes on to accuse the Bush administration of being in bed with the major media powers of America, including Rupert Murdoch who owns the national Fox news channel, along with a dozen other media outlets. He also feels that many Republicans sell out to organized money in order to pay for the huge advertising bill when it comes to generating a television presence before a major election.

Gore believes that the Bush administration has studied ways in which news outlets like Fox news are able to brainwash American citizens into re-electing every major Republican that Bush endorses. Since the president’s approval rating right now is less than 30 percent, it is hard to believe that Gore thinks Bush’s endorsement would be good for any Republican at this time, but he does argue that Bush is still taken seriously by voters living in red states such as Texas and Oklahoma.

POLITICS OF FEAR
Brain research plays a huge part in one of Gore’s book chapters entitled “Politics of Fear”. In this chapter, he sites scientific research that indicates moving images on television trigger primitive adaptive behavior that “immobilizes viewers.” He states that George Bush knows this and uses television to instill that fear into every viewer who watches programs on the terrorist threat and other frightening topics.

Al Gore speculates in his new book that a print campaign for the initial march into Iraq would not have been a successful one because “the parts of the human brain that are central to the reasoning process are continually activated by the very act of reading words.” The “vividness” of television played a huge part in convincing the American people that we were totally justified by taking out Saddam Hussein and his repressive Iraq government by any means necessary.

THE BAD-MOUTHING BEGINS
The famous Nixon quote that states “People react to fear, not love.They don’t teach that in Sunday school, but it’s true” is an unbridled parallel to the current Bush philosophy, according to Mr. Gore. He writes in his book, “George W. Bush reminds me more of Nixon than any other president.” By making this comparison, Gore is obviously alluding to the fact that Bush should also face the same impeachment proceedings that caused Nixon to step down from the presidency in 1974.

THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE MUST CONTINUE AT ALL COSTS
An expert of one of the main chapters in Gore’s book includes this scary religious analysis, “Bush’s view of policies in the context of a fateful spiritual conflict between good and evil does not really represent Christian doctrine.” Gore goes on to state his case that Bush would like to eradicate the division between church and state so he can get all of the right-wing Christian senators and congressmen together and abolish abortion rights and same-sex marriages as being against the church and decent moral codes.

He also quotes James Madison’s warning that “a religious sect may degenerate into a political faction”, meaning that the right-wing Christian coalition could gain a huge power and influence over every political issue being voted on today. While that is a very terrifying thought, Gore is obviously trying to frighten the stable and sane people reading his book into voting for every Democrat in all future political elections over any Republican who would dare run against them in a national or local election.

While Gore makes some valid points overall in his new book, Gore’s agenda must be taken into account first. He would love nothing more than to see a new Democrat president take office in the next election that will approve of all of the environmental laws Gore has given his stamp of approval to. So read his new book with a grain of salt, and remember that politics is still a very dirty business.

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In its analysis, STRATFOR states that a slow shift to the political right in Europe extends beyond Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and includes Poland, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, the result of elections that have seen moderate and conservative parties making substantial gains.

While I agree with STRATFOR that a noticeable shift to the right is occurring in European politics, I break with their analysis on the future of the European Union. In the article, STRATFOR states that “A right-leaning Europe could be united under one leader, particularly since the states are brought closer together by common problems such as immigration and economic reform.” Despite common security concerns and increasingly intertwined economic interests, European nations have thus far been unwilling to sacrifice traditionally sovereign powers and rights to the EU. The French think of themselves first as French and second as European. Likewise with the British, who place primacy on their status as citizens of Great Britain above their association with Europeans on the Continent. Nationalist ideals have been, and will continue to be, a significant contributor to the rejection of the proposed European Union Constitution.

In an interesting twist to the article, STRATFOR speculates that a united Europe has only two viable contenders for its leadership: Germany and the United States. Germany has indeed replaced France as the leading power in Europe, and Chancellor Angela Merkel is certainly capable of pushing hard for a strengthened European Union that could challenge the United States as a global power. If the sovereignty concerns of the 27 EU member states could somehow be overcome, and that is a long shot at best, then Germany could emerge as the most dominant nation in the EU.

But the United States? While America does have significant “reach and influence,” as STRATFOR says, on the Continent, the idea of a unified Europe somehow led by the United States is inconceivable for a very simple, almost blatantly obvious, reason: the level of anti-American sentiment that exists on the Continent. The publics of most European nations adamantly oppose our actions in Iraq and many Europeans are resentful of our status as the world’s lone superpower. We are seen by many as bullies who seek to impose our standards and values on everyone else, and further interference in European affairs is not likely to be appreciated or tolerated.

The most positive aspect of the article is the recognition that conservatism in Europe is making significant strides. Europe is buckling under the pressure created by the leftist policies that have dominated the Continent for the last couple of decades. The immigration problems of European countries require immediate attention and the social welfare systems in place throughout Europe cannot be maintained, especially with dwindling numbers of workers and declining birth rates. The populations of European nations are responding to the growing crises on the Continent by turning to moderate and conservative candidates who will push their countries in the right direction. This bodes well for the United States, which is likely to benefit from improved relations that will facilitate solutions to the common economic and security concerns that threaten both America and the nations of Europe. The challenge will be for the United States to work with our European allies to advance conservative agendas while taking great care not to intrude too much into their internal affairs.

Technorati Tags: stratfor, united europe, european union, noticeable shift, continent, angela merkel, germany, likewise, substantial gains, i break, european politics, conservative parties, sovereign powers, pushing hard, intelligence company, economic interests, closer together, slow shift, political right, common security