REBUILD THE UNITED STATES!

  Inland waterway repair shortfalls may boost Pacific ports and hurt Gulf ports   By Stas Margaronis, written for the American Journal of Transportation The failure to invest in the inland system that feeds agricultural exports down the Mississippi River to Gulf Coast ports such as New Orleans may drive more exports to be shipped by rail to West Coast ports such as Vancouver,...

MEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL SHIPS DONATED MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO THE WORLD   BY STAS MARGARONIS, RBTUS   Medical Teams International (MTI), an Oregon-based, Christian global health organization packs donated medical supplies for needy clinics and hospitals all over the world. MTI is supporting a drive for Greek hospitals devastated by Greece's budgetary cutbacks.   The Greek effort,...

WILL GERMANY & EU DRIVE GREECE TO THE NAZIS? BY STAS MARGARONIS, RBTUS Unless Germany and the European Union move quickly to end demands for draconian cutbacks on Greek government spending, they will only worsen the country’s economic and political disintegration that is benefiting the Greek Nazi party. The Greek Nazi party, Golden Dawn, is gaining strength thanks to the political and...

Where Is Harry Bridges When We Need Him? By Stas Margaronis, RBTUS A new, innovative tug and barge service between the California ports of Stockton and Oakland that can shift as many as 750 truckloads per week off Northern California highways and reduce fuel costs and emissions, has been put on hold due to manning objections from dockworkers in Stockton. This barge service is expected to carry...

FLOATING WIND PLATFORMS: AN INTERVIEW WITH PAUL WILLIAMSON, DIRECTOR, MAINE WIND INDUSTRY INITIATIVE (MWII) BY STAS MARGARONIS RBTUS spoke with Paul Williamson, director of the Maine Wind Industry Initiative which is playing a leading role in developing new floating wind turbines that can reduce the time and installation cost of older fixed platform wind turbines being installed at sea. The new...

BLUE GREEN ALLIANCE PUSHES  PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT EXTENSION FOR WIND INDUSTRY BY STAS MARGARONIS The Blue Green Alliance,  a coalition of union and environmental organizations, is lobbying  Congress to approve a production tax credit (PTC) for the wind industry by the end of 2012 so as to maintain the momentum of new installations. Eric  Steen, deputy director of communications,  said: “It would...

ASCE: ONE MILLION JOBS AT RISK WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL REPAIR FUNDING BY STAS MARGARONIS One million American jobs are at risk if essential spending on repairing ports, waterways and airports is not forthcoming, according to a new Failure to Act report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). During a Washington press conference, Andrew W. Herrmann, P.E., president of ASCE, said that...

ASCE REPORT SAYS CUTBACKS POSE THREAT TO U.S. PORTS BY STAS MARGARONIS Cutbacks in federal spending pose a threat to U.S. waterborne transportation, according to a new report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The report says the expansion of  the  Panama Canal in 2015 offers new opportunities for East Coast, Gulf and inland waterway ports that could be lost by federal cutbacks....

GENERAL MCCHRYSTAL’S CALL FOR A NEW DRAFT CAN RESCUE YOUNGER AMERICANS BY STAS MARGARONIS In June, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the  former U.S. commander in Afghanistan,  stunned many Americans by advocating that the United States bring back the draft: "I think we ought to have a draft. I think if a nation goes to war, it shouldn't be solely .. represented by a professional force, because it gets...

SPENDING CUTS, INCOME DECLINES AND AGE DISCRIMINATION DIM JOB PROSPECTS BY STAS MARGARONIS Federal spending cuts are worsening job prospects for Americans at a time when people over 50 are facing serious challenges finding work, according to a Southern California employment trainer. Robert Grimm, vice president for Experience Unlimited (EU) in Lancaster, California says, “Prospective employers...