The Military Steps In As Fuel Shortages Give NY A Taste Of Things To Come!

Some have been running the line that this was a HAARP-created disaster - as if there is no such thing as a natural disaster without the intervention of evil conspiracy.  Underlying this is a desire to keep the status-quo paradigm with man as lord of the universe - this keeps people from seeing the truth.

No. This is a natural disaster given energy and amplified by the forces unleashed by global warming.

However, there is no doubt in mind that this crisis will be used by the Powers That Be to further violate democratic principles, take away democratic rights and destroy the US constitution.

The main lesson for people unaffected by this disaster is ensure that you are fully prepared - physically, mentally and emotionally for the coming days.

  

NJ to Use Military Trucks as Polling Places in Storm-Battered Areas, Extends Mail-In Voting

Cryptogon,

2 November, 2012

Via: AP:

New Jersey will deploy military trucks to serve as polling places on Election Day in storm-battered communities, the state secretary of the state announced Thursday during a visit to this flood-ravaged town. The state is also extending the deadline on mail-in ballots.

Department of Defense trucks will be parked at regular polling places that have lost power, as long as the sites are still accessible. Paper ballots will be used.

Republican Secretary of State and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said voters will find “a DOD truck with a well-situated National Guardsman and a big sign saying, “Vote Here.”

Guadagno said it was still unclear how many of the state’s 3,000 polling places are without power, but she would know by Friday. Alternate sites are to be identified in cases where polling places are gone, she said.

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Military to Deliver Fuel to Storm-Ravaged Region

As long lines persisted at gas stations in the New York metropolitan area, federal authorities moved on Friday to restore supplies, instructing the Defense Department to send 24 million gallons of fuel to the region and lifting restrictions on deliveries by foreign-flagged ships.

NY Times

26 April, 2012

With the reopening of the Port of New York to tankers on Thursday, and the return of a critical Northeast fuel pipeline to full capacity on Friday, the biggest outstanding problems are the lack of power at hundreds of gas stations and continued panic buying by the public, industry officials said.

Because electricity will not be restored in parts of central New Jersey for seven to 10 days, gasoline shortages may remain severe in some areas. As of Friday, according to AAA, only 40 to 50 percent of the gas stations in New York City and New Jersey were operating, and even fewer were operating on Long Island. Most of the stations were out of service because of power failures.

“We have seen some stations open as power is restored, but other stations have closed while running out of gas,” said Michael Green, an AAA spokesman. “The long lines and supply problems will go away once power is restored.”

The Obama administration, realizing the political peril if it were to be blamed for fuel shortages in the days before the election, significantly accelerated its response on Friday.

It authorized the Defense Department to hire hundreds of trucks that will be used to deliver 12 million gallons each of gasoline and diesel fuel, mostly from commercial suppliers, to staging areas in New Jersey. The department is handling the task because its Defense Logistics Agency has contracting powers that enable it to move quickly.

From the staging areas, the fuel will be distributed throughout the region in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help resupply stations. Together, the gasoline and diesel are enough for 1.6 million vehicles with 15-gallon tanks.

The Pentagon has also been authorized by the Energy Department and the White House to tap the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. It will draw as much as two million gallons of diesel fuel — part of the 12 million total — for government emergency responders, helping them to keep electricity generators, water pumps, federal buildings, trucks and other vehicles running. The oil reserve, created by the federal government in 2000, holds 42 million gallons of ultralow-sulfur diesel at terminals in Groton, Conn., and Revere, Mass. It is the first time fuel has been released from the reserve.

Earlier Friday, the Homeland Security Department temporarily lifted a rule prohibiting foreign-flagged ships from delivering fuel between United States ports, a move that should soon bring additional tankers to the New York area with refined gasoline and diesel.

And on Thursday, the Defense Department used 17 of its aircraft to move 630 tons of equipment, including 10 bucket trucks and 20 pickup trucks, from West Coast utility companies to an Air National Guard base 60 miles north of New York City.

“We are working this as a team,” W. Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said at a news conference Friday morning.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said the federal government may end up sending more fuel than is needed. “Anyone running for office would rather err on the side of excess,” he said. “It’s a confidence builder. It will help placate people who think we are on the threshold of crisis.”

Government officials said they were confident that the shortages would ease in the coming week, as power was restored and the fuel now being delivered to the region arrived.

“There is no reason to panic; there is no reason for anxiety,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said at a news conference Friday. “We understand why there was a shortage, for very definable reasons. We also understand why it’s going to be better, and it’s going to be better in the near future.”

The fuel shortage has emerged as one of the most widespread problems after the storm, worsening the suffering in the region. Large parts of the public transit system remained out of service, and 3.5 million customers had no power Friday afternoon, down from eight million earlier in the week, according to Energy Department figures.

Of the region’s 127 fuel terminals — which hold gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel after they are delivered by pipeline, ship or local refinery — 25 were hit by flooding or power failures. Most have reopened or are preparing to reopen shortly, the Energy Department said Friday.

Two refineries in the New York area remained out of service — most critically the Phillips 66 refinery in Linden, N.J., which could be out for weeks because of flooding. But the reopening of the Port of New York on Thursday, after the Coast Guard removed debris floating in the water, allowed tankers sitting off shore to begin making their deliveries.

New York City officials announced Friday afternoon that power should be restored to all of Manhattan by Saturday. Con Edison said it would restore power to a vast majority of its customers in New York State by Nov. 11, while Public Service Electric and Gas, which serves New Jersey, forecast that its efforts to restore power would be virtually complete in the next seven to 10 days.

These efforts will mean more gas stations reopening as power comes back on.

Despite the closed gas stations, and local instances of gouging, prices at the pump have not shot up in most places. AAA reported that the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in New Jersey on Friday was $3.56, only 6 cents above the national average. Some communities were imposing alternating fueling days for vehicles with license plates ending in even and odd numbers. The average price in New York was more than 25 cents higher, but still below $4.

Energy experts said their greatest fear had been that the storm would damage several large refineries on the Delaware River. But none were seriously affected, and about 75 percent of the region’s refinery capacity remained operational.

“Some of the refineries are down, but that shouldn’t be a problem, because the Northeast is supplied by pipelines and ships from other parts of the country and the world,” said Bill Day, a spokesman for Valero Energy, the country’s biggest independent refiner, with more than 100 branded gas stations in the Northeast. “Terminals, ports and pipelines are all affected by electricity outages, so once the electricity is back, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Even if the Phillips 66 refinery and the other, smaller New Jersey refinery were out of service for the rest of the month, the region could still get back to normal, energy experts said, because November does not typically have high driving volume.

“Our best guess is that things will be close to normal for consumers by Wednesday,” said Brian Norris of the Oil Price Information Service

The Christchurch earthquake demonstrated that local solutions work best, but the government moved in quickly to establish central (and bureaucratic) control.

As society unravels in wake of Sandy, politicians endorse more power for FEMA

Aaron Dykes

Prison Planet,

2 November, 2012

News wires across the spectrum are filled with harrowing signs of unfolding social collapse in the wake of Sandy that could exacerbate in the days to come as power outages are expected to last a week, pitting residents against each other over access to gasoline, food and other necessary supplies in large pockets of the most densely populated area of the nation.

That desperation is sure to further intensify in proportion with strained resources, as order has already started to dissolve under reported limits on cash and commerce as electronic payment is suspended and those on food stamps are unable to use EBT payments.

Images of hungry people diving for food in dumpsters make clear that neither individuals nor governments were prepared to keep things running and meet basic needs despite the hype over the “superstorm” leading up to Sandy.

Shocking accounts of eroding civility have cropped up across social media and in reports. As Breitbartdemonstrated, numerous threats were made at gun or knife point, while long lines for gasoline saw fights and high tension. Gas stations continue to be guarded by armed police, as supplies are rationed.

Just a few of these chronicled comments include:

Just watched two people beat the sh– out of eachother in the gas station….On the bright side i have a full tank of gas now!!. #yay

Just awful! RT @metrogypsy: Someone just pulled a knife at Greenpoint #gas station as line stretches with hours long wait #gettingrealFAST
— Camila Xavier (@camilaxavier) November 1, 2012

2hrs at line in Rt23 in Butler. Got to pump They ran out of gas two cars before me.On reserve and can’t make it to other station #njgas
— Divina Arpino (@thearpinos) November 1, 2012

Watching the breakdown of society at a gas station on Long Island. #sandysucks
— Christina (@wooly_says) November 1, 2012

fightss at the gas station #madness
— Frank leahey (@fleahey22) November 1, 2012

Lootings and break-ins are predictably taking place as well, including reports that many thieves are dressing up as Con Edison or FEMA employees to gain access to homes.

Food and water will continue to be an issue for days to come, with many residents already begging for help, with distribution of supplies hampered by a lack of power, and many groceries contaminated by the floods

Meanwhile, it’s politics as usual on the campaign trail – not in trading blows between the Obama and Romney camps just days ahead of the scheduled election – but in praising FEMA and endorsing more power and billions more in money for the bloated agency.

GOP Governor Chris Christie, presiding over the heavily affected state of New Jersey, has been most notable in embracing federal disaster relief in force – and with full federal funding – even praising President Obama despite the tense election season reaching crescendo, irking many GOP politicos.

Mitt Romney had to quickly backtrack from a populist-toned campaign pitch to put power back in the hands of state and local entities during disaster, instead backing the big government FEMA solution that has proven ridiculously incompetent during past disasters despite extensive and costly planning for emergency plans and a blank check to Homeland Security’s mission.

Mainstream media have echoed this uncritical endorsement, giving FEMA preemptive praise for its efforts in Sandy. ‘FEMA is the solution,’ and other bold claims are made to ensure the public does not break out of the illusion that FEMA is its loving savior.

But FEMA remains an agency capable only of a mismatched response, too slow to handle the most immediate needs to contain potential chaos, but always on pace for a gradual power grab after the fact, actually feeding off a greater disaster.

Once again, this bloated government agency can’t and won’t help the masses in a disaster. Yet politicians throughout the corporate-owned two party system are lining up to meet any request for FEMA funds, already approaching $12 billion plus, despite its track record of failure.

While nearly 5 million people are without power for perhaps another week, the Huffington Post, among others, has identified 17 million living in FEMA’s disaster relief zone, soon to be occupied by an inefficient, top down control mechanism.

This infographic details the extent of areas and populations under FEMA’s thumb:

 

Click for larger image.

Notoriously, FEMA botched any meaningful relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina in terms of its primary mandate to quickly rescue and care for the needs of displaced victims, yet went over the top in creating anoccupied martial law zone where guns were confiscated even in dry areas, the needy and vulnerable were placed in a hotbed of criminals at the Superdome and people were shot for trying to cross the bridge and exit the disaster zone.

Congressman Ron Paul weighed in as a lonely voice willing to critique FEMA’s history of inefficiency and naked power grabs, while defending the centuries of local aid organized within the community in simply helping each other:

Food stamps can’t buy groceries in Sandy power-out

In New York areas without electricity, Electronic Benefit Cards can't be used in stores

Natasha Lennard

Salon,

26 April, 2012

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers continue to live without electricity since Sandy barreled into the East Coast Monday. Stuck without power, many thousands of New York residents don’t just struggle to cook and preserve food — they can’t even buy it.

New Yorkers on the state’s food stamp program receive money for food necessities electronically, through Electronic Benefit Cards (EBTs). However, with Manhattan from 39th Street southward in power blackout along with parts of Brooklyn, most stores are only able to sell goods for cash. Power is expected to return by Saturday.

In a WNYC report (listen below) a resident of a Lower East Side public-housing complex in Manhattan explained, “The supermarkets don’t even really want to sell anything. They’re open but if you don’t have cash, you messed up. And everybody in these projects, they take EBT … food stamps.”

David Rhode wrote Thursday in the Atlantic that Sandy had further exposed the “hideous” inequality gap in New York City — which is currently the most economically divided it has been for 10 years. He noted, “Sandy humbled every one of the 19 million people in the New York City metropolitan area. But it humbled some more than others in an increasingly economically divided city … Those with a car could flee. Those with wealth could move into a hotel. Those with steady jobs could decline to come into work. But the city’s cooks, doormen, maintenance men, taxi drivers and maids left their loved ones at home.”

And many with no means but EBT can’t even stock up on food.