Domestic, International shipping
Congressional Reform Act of 2012
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
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5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. |
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 12/31/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves.
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
term(s), then go home and back to work.
Help fix our congress.
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Gulf Ports Shut Down for Hurricane
Ports along the U.S. Gulf are suspending cargo operations in anticipation of Tropical Storm Isaac, which the National Weather Service said is expected to reach hurricane status when it hits shore late Tuesday.
The ports of New Orleans, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Mobile will shut down until the storm passes.
Mississippi River pilots ceased moving ships Monday morning, closing the river to deep-draft traffic until the storm threat passes. The Port of New Orleans’ administration building and cargo operations will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Our staff and terminal operators have taken all the necessary precautions in anticipation of the worst, while we hope for the best,” Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange said. “This isn’t our first rodeo.”
Cargo handling will be finished today on the MSC Nederland, which will remain in port along with five other ships until the river is reopened. Container gates will be closed at mid-afternoon. Breakbulk operations will continue until 5 p.m.
The Port of Mobile ordered all vessels to sail by Sunday afternoon unless otherwise approved by the Coast Guard, port officials said. Beginning Monday, no cargo will be received at the port terminals until the port can be reopened. All barges positioned in the port authority’s fleet areas also will be required to sail, and rail operations will be suspended by 5 p.m. Monday.
Port Tracker Forecasts Sluggish Europe Volume
Container volume through North European ports will remain sluggish this year as the continent’s economy struggles, Hackett Associates and the Bremen-based Institute of Shipping Economics said in their Port Tracker report.
Containerized imports from European ports are projected to decline more than 2 percent this year, compared with a 3.8 percent increase last year. Exports are expected to rise 2.4 percent this year, compared with an increase of nearly 11 percent last year, the report said.
During the next six months, imports are expected to rise 2 percent, compared with a decline of 0.3 percent a year earlier. Exports are expected to inch up 0.1 percent, compared with a 7.9 percent increase during last year’s June-November period.
“The European economic data makes for depressing reading. A no-growth GDP in Q2 in Germany is interpreted as a major achievement. Austerity remains the policy,” said economist Ben Hackett, founder and principal of Hackett Associates.
He said virtually any economic gauge points to an economic downturn that will cause the eurozone to follow the U.K., Spain, Portugal and others into recession.
Hackett and Michael Tasto of ISL, the report’s co-author, said weak cargo volumes would affect terminals and pressure carriers to reduce rates. Hackett noted that carriers already are dropping voyages during what normally is the peak season.
Tasto said carriers have stretched their capacity by slowing vessel speeds and putting 11 ships on weekly Asia-Europe services. He said, though, that carriers cannot expect to squeeze more out of slow-steaming.
Hackett said carriers are likely to resume price-cutting, and that 2010 may turn out to be the carriers’ only profitable year in five years. “They profess to avoid a price war this time around, but we doubt that the habit of a lifetime can be avoided,” he said.
