Sand Wars: The Sands are Running Out!

It's time to draw a line in the sand because we've had our collective heads buried in this loose material consisting of rock or mineral grains for far too long. The impact of this elementary particle on our lives is second to only air and water. I had no idea!

Yes, I knew that sand is melted and transformed into glass, that it's crucial to the computer industry, and, of course, to the sabbaticals we take to rest and recreate, but I had no idea that it's the foundation of our modern development, our infrastructure, our way of life. From highways and habitats--reinforced concrete is two-thirds sand-- to cleaning products to cosmetics to food and wine to you name it, sand is at the core.

The construction of one average house takes 200 tons of sand; hospital takes 3,000 tons of sand; each km of highway takes 30,000 tons of sand, and construction of a nuclear plant requires 12 million tons of sand. That's a hell of a lot of sand! This kind of demand has created the never spoken of sand wars, sand mafias, and most important of all, to environmental damage the likes of which we've never seen.

No, the following documentary has absolutely nothing to do with "flat earth". So please do not disregard if you are not a "flat earther"; it's far too important. Having said that, I am very grateful to him for uploading this all important documentary.

So Watch! and then follow it up by reading Sand Wars: True Crimes Against Nature at Clint Richardson's Reality Blog and discover that the situation is much worse than even this documentary depicts.

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Why Did OPEC-Covering Wall Street Journal Reporter, David Bird, Go Missing?

Missing Wall Street Journal Reporter, David Bird

Almost two weeks ago, on Saturday January 11, 55-year old David Bird, a reporter who covers energy markets for the Wall Street Journal, left his house in the Millington section of Long Hill, NJ, telling his wife that he was going out for a quick walk.  He took his wallet and jacket, leaving his cell phone and the medication he takes twice daily (for liver transplant he had in 2005) behind.  He never returned-- disappearing without a trace, despite a continuing search by hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials, including the FBI.

Just to give you an idea of how expansive the investigation is, the following agencies are involved in the search, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office:

Long Hill Township Police Department, Morris County Sheriff’s Office, Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety-Office of Emergency Management, New Jersey State Police, Morris County Park Police, Harding Township Police Department, Bernards Township Police Department, Warren Township Police Department, New Jersey State Park Police, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Millington Fire Department, Stirling Fire Department, Warren Fire Department, Liberty Corner Fire Department, New Vernon Fire Department, Chatham Township Fire Department, New Providence Fire Department, Berkeley Heights Fire Department, Somerset County Department of Public Safety, Parsippany Search Rescue and Recovery, Whippany Swift Water, Boonton Dive Team, Pequannock Dive Team, Jefferson Dive Team, Picatinny Dive Team, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, United States Veterans Administration Police and Fire – Lyons, NJ, Long Hill First Aid Squad, Long Hill Township Office of Emergency Management, the Salvation Army, Long Hill Community Emergency Response Team Volunteers, and the Warren Township Community Emergency Response Team.

Moreover, according to all who knew him, he gave no indication of having a reason to disappear, not to mention Mr. Bird was an avid hiker, biker, camper, Boy Scout troop leader, and he ran in the New York City Marathon. In other words, the man was in good shape.

While there is no evidence as of yet suggesting a connection between his work and his disappearance, NBC reported that “the family believes that his coverage of OPEC may be related to his disappearance.” He was reporting on an oil glut -- “rising fuel inventories," specifically, "a supply imbalance caused by overproduction of shale oil in the U.S. in the face of slacking demand."  So it's possible that David Bird's factual reporting on the oversupply/low demand of oil might ruffle a few feathers in high places, not to mention it somewhat contradicts the propaganda that the U.S. is on the path to economic recovery.  It's also possible that Mr. Bird recently came across some information not yet published.  After all, the rich and powerful are always cooking up schemes to further enrich and empower themselves at our expense.

“The U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Senator Carl Levin, is currently investigating the role played by large Wall Street firms in owning tankers, terminals, and pipelines that store or transport oil while simultaneously speculating on the price of oil in the futures market. The investigation is broad in scope and includes Wall Street’s ownership of other commodities. It is understood that the investigation will also look at allegations by beer and soda manufacturers that Wall Street has gained control of the London Metal Exchange and metal warehouses where they have created bottlenecks in the supply of aluminum, raising prices to both the manufacturers and consumers for canned beer and soda.

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Gas Tax Holiday is the Proverbial Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Unlike President John F. Kennedy, who asked we, the people, 47 years ago, not to ask what our country can do for us, rather, what we can do for our country, politicians today ask and expect very little of the American people and with good reason...they risk losing the American people's vote.

We're quick to blame the politicians for not being honest; yet it is our job to keep them honest. What choice do they have but to pander, as John McCain is doing with this "Gas Tax Holiday" (GTH) b$llsh$t", when they know the majority of American people do not want to be asked to sacrifice anything nor take the time to think about what they're told?

Len Burman, former senior analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, 1989 to 1997 and currently Director of the Tax Policy Center, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute and finally author of "The Labyrinth of Capital Gains Tax Policy: A Guide for the Perplexed calculated, estimating that the average American family drives a car that gets 25 mpg, will drive that car 4,000 miles over the course of the summer, using 160 gallons of gas and then he multiplied the 160 gallons by .18 cents. He concluded the average American family would save a whopping $29 over the summer if the GTH goes into effect...$29!

Mr. Burman believes the amount saved would be much less considering the GTH may encourage people to drive more, thus increasing the demand for gas and causing supply to tighten. Supplies are already tighter in summer because people drive more. It's not Rocket Science, it's Econ 101...the cheaper the gas, the higher the demand, the tighter the supply, will cause prices to go up, not down. Not to mention, the GTH rewards those driving the gas guzzling SUVs, Hummers etc. because they would save the most.

Why doesn’t cutting the gas tax this summer make sense? It’s Econ 101 tax incidence theory: if the supply of a good is more or less unresponsive to the price, the price to consumers will always rise until the quantity demanded falls to match the quantity supplied. Cut taxes, and all that happens is that the pretax price rises by the same amount. The McCain gas tax plan is a giveaway to oil companies, disguised as a gift to consumers. -- Paul Krugman

And what about the nation's long-term energy goal? Doesn't the GTH further escalate the already problematic over consumption of limited resources? The 18.4 cent-per-gallon gas tax is the main source of revenue that pays for roads, bridges, and public transit. Suspending the gas tax would siphon off $10 billion from public transit and road and bridge repair, part of the solution to preventing the unnecessary depletion of our resources.

What good does teaching your child how to read in the womb; paying Ivy League prices so your child can attend prestigious pre-schools; insisting your child compete athletically at about the same level University students used to compete in previous generations, etc do when we have pushed the limits of the resources our civilization depend on simply because we over-consume? The rising standards-of-living across the globe - China and India - will only, to put it mildly, add fuel to the fire.

While John McCain continues George W. Bush's subversive tactics and Hilary Clinton follows right along, Barack Obama believes Americans are ready to sacrifice and smart enough to understand that if we continue on the same path that we've followed for the last eight years, the downfall of our nation may result. He trusts that Americans can figure out that the GTH is nothing but a politician's attempt to fleece the American public.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. -- JFK

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Resources For Our Troops

Since the current administration shows little interest in doing anything substantial to support our troops and veterans:

Citizen Soldier - GI Vetern's rights advocacy group founded during the Vietnam War.

GI Rights Hotline - who provide information to servicemembers about military discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights.

Military Law Task Force - assists those working on military law issues as well as military law counselors working directly with GIs.

National Gulf War Resource Center - help veterans of recent and current wars and operations.

National Institute Of Military Justice - to advance the fair administration of military justice and foster improved public understanding of the military justice system. NIMJ is not a government agency.

National Veterns Foundation - Lifeline for America's Veterns

National Veteran's Legal Services Program - ensuring that the U.S. government honors its commitment to our veterans by providing them the federal benefits they have earned through their service to our country.

Objector - supports and promotes individual and collective resistance to war and preparations for war.

Don't Ask Don't Tell:

ServiceMembers Legal Defense Network - a national, non-profit legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and related forms of intolerance.

Soloman Response - a place to voice opposition to the military discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

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Last year it was reported that the Bush Administration thought an additional $6/month was too much for our troops we better support.

The Bush Administration also strongly opposes:

• An additional $40 per month for widows of slain soldiers.
• An additional $100,000 death benefit for surviving family members of civilian employees who died supporting US forces in military operations.
• Price controls for prescription drugs under TRICARE, the military’s health care plan for military personnel and their dependents.

In addition, the administration does not want stricter accountability on contract employees, meaning the contractors doing the same or less work as the soldiers will get paid more than twice as much but we're going to look the other way.

Back in 2004 the Bush Administration's proposed budget cuts:

• Cut $1.5 billion from military family housing.
• Underfunded veterans' health care by $2 billion resulting in 200,000 United States veterans waiting more than six months for a medical visit because of health care shortages and 173,000 veterans across the country would be cut off from health care because enrollment fees and higher out-of-pocket costs.
• Opposed plan to give National Guard and Reserve Members access to health insurance.
• Cut $172 million allotted for educating the children of military personnel.
• Denied military families increase in child tax credit.

According to President Bush and friends, as long as America plasters "I Support the Troops" bumper stickers all over their gas-guzzling, road hogging, cup-holder happy Cadillac Escalades, tank-like Hummers, and Chevy Suburbans, United States citizens are doing their part.

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