Fracking and Psychological Operations: Empire Comes Home

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Sorry for not sending this when it first came out but better late than never, an insight into Fracking businesses and how they "deal/methods" with concerned citizens:


Thursday, 08 March 2012 05:10 By Steve Horn, Truthout | News Analysis

"When among friends, you're far more likely to air your dirty secrets.

A corporate conference held in Houston, Texas, on October 31 to November 1, 2011, titled "Giving Communications Professionals At Unconventional Oil & Gas Companies The Tools To Design A Comprehensive Media & Stakeholder Relations Strategy For Engaging The Public On A Positive Image For The Industry" provides perfect evidence of this.

The goal at the conference was a simple one: communications professionals in the natural gas industry sharing with one another the optimal communications strategies and tools to fight back against media and community opposition to what is inherently a toxic product, natural gas.

Natural gas, obtained through the hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" process, was brought into the limelight by the Academy Award-nominated documentary film "Gasland," directed by Josh Fox.

On November 8, 2011, thanks to a smoking gun tip from Sharon Wilson, renowned anti-fracking activist and author of TexasSharon.com, CNBC investigative journalist Eamon Javers broke a story with huge implications. Wilson paid to attend the conference and recorded all sessions on an audio recorder and then handed them off to Javers, who broke the story live on national cable television.

Javers revealed that Matt Pitzarella, head of the public relations team at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based natural gas corporation, Range Resources, openly admitted that his corporation utilizes psychological warfare (psyops) military veterans as community relations professionals, hired to apply the skills gained on the periphery for work to be done here at home.

"We have several former PSYOPs folks that work for us at Range because they're very comfortable dealing with localized issues and local governments," said Pitzarella at the conference.

He continued, "Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of PSYOPs in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania."

Expanding on the comments made by Pitzarella, DeSmogBlog Executive Director Brendan DeMelle explained further, "Range Resources' Local Government Relations Manager in Pennsylvania is James Cannon, a former Marine and Army Reservist whose unit conducted PSYOPs during Operation Iraqi Freedom ... Range has sent threatening letters to residents of Mount Pleasant, PA, where citizens were concerned about the impacts of natural gas drilling on their community.........................................http://truth-out.org/news/item/7153