U.S. denies request for Puerto Rico shipping waiver

[Skjellyfetti]

We were able to mobilize 10,000 sailors and marines, 17 ships, 48 helicopters, and 12 aircraft to Haiti within a week after the earthquake in 2010.

On 12 January 2010, just hours after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Carl Vinson was ordered to redirect from its current deployment in the North Atlantic Ocean to Haiti to contribute to the relief effort as part of Operation Unified Response. Upon receiving orders from USSOUTHCOM, the Carl Vinson battle group proceeded to Mayport, Florida where the ships loitered offshore to receive additional supplies and helicopters. The ships arrived off Port au Prince on 15 January 2010 to commence operations. CNN medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, pediatric surgeon Henri Ford, and two Navy doctors removed a piece of concrete from the skull of a 12-year-old earthquake victim in an operation performed aboard Carl Vinson on 18 January. In addition to providing medical relief, CVN-70's excess desalination capacity was critical to providing water to Haiti's population during the earthquake relief.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecdsc9tIVEg[/youtube]

Took us almost a full week to bother dispatching the USNS Comfort for Puerto Rico.

[GannonFan]

We were able to mobilize 10,000 sailors and marines, 17 ships, 48 helicopters, and 12 aircraft to Haiti within a week after the earthquake in 2010.

On 12 January 2010, just hours after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Carl Vinson was ordered to redirect from its current deployment in the North Atlantic Ocean to Haiti to contribute to the relief effort as part of Operation Unified Response. Upon receiving orders from USSOUTHCOM, the Carl Vinson battle group proceeded to Mayport, Florida where the ships loitered offshore to receive additional supplies and helicopters. The ships arrived off Port au Prince on 15 January 2010 to commence operations. CNN medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, pediatric surgeon Henri Ford, and two Navy doctors removed a piece of concrete from the skull of a 12-year-old earthquake victim in an operation performed aboard Carl Vinson on 18 January. In addition to providing medical relief, CVN-70's excess desalination capacity was critical to providing water to Haiti's population during the earthquake relief.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecdsc9tIVEg[/youtube]

Took us almost a full week to bother dispatching the USNS Comfort for Puerto Rico.

Apparently boots on the ground (i.e. local authorities) wanted the priority to be on restoring power to the hospitals on the island itself, rather than relying on ferrying people to an offshore ship. Once they realized the enormity of that task, it was decided to get the ship. Apparently, from a CNN article, we have 10,000 relief workers there and something like 2,500 military personnel. These things aren't quick to clean up, so some idea that we can clean this thing up and get it back to being spiffy in no time at all sounds like partisan sniping rather than objective observation. Heck, I thought the biggest problem was the Jones Act.

[Skjellyfetti]

Heck, I thought the biggest problem was the Jones Act.

Never said it was the biggest problem.

Thought it was incredibly stupid to deny the waiver. They eventually wised up and fixed it. Should have been granted as soon as requested.

[CID1990]

Heck, I thought the biggest problem was the Jones Act.

Never said it was the biggest problem.

Thought it was incredibly stupid to deny the waiver. They eventually wised up and fixed it. Should have been granted as soon as requested.

Yep - it should have been scrapped at the first opportunity

Not that it is going to matter, but in this day and age of political blame and fingerpointing you must be seen to be "doing something"

I wonder where they are going to put the sudden flood of supplies and water

[HI54UNI]

Did jelly complain when the Jones Act wasn't waived during the Gulf oil spill?

[Ivytalk]

It's waived now.

/ thread

[CAA Flagship]

I wonder where they are going to put the sudden flood of supplies and water

On top of the supplies that are already there waiting to be distributed.

Mt. Walmart is born.

[93henfan]

So the current problem is that the cell phone service is down over most of PR and the port can't contact the workers to get the supplies moving. You would think these people would find a way to check in, but I guess not.
So if this is the major bottleneck, seems like mobilizing truck drivers and port workers would be the thing to do at this time.

Oddly, GoHens poster CaribbeanHen, who lives in Puerto Rico, hasn't missed a beat on his posting. He's been enjoying drinks while not having to work.

I think this whole crisis is a bit overstated. A Cat4 hurricane in the Caribbean? SHOCKING!

And it's not like they don't have generators and fuel. Reasonably intelligent and resourceful people will be just fine. Lazy, uneducated, entitled idiots will panic and do stupid shit and sit in long lines during rush periods and whine like bitches, usually in view of the nearest US camera crew. And that's what we'll be served on the evening news and CNN.com.

[89Hen]

We were able to mobilize 10,000 sailors and marines, 17 ships, 48 helicopters, and 12 aircraft to Haiti within a week after the earthquake in 2010.

Took us almost a full week to bother dispatching the USNS Comfort for Puerto Rico.

Apparently boots on the ground (i.e. local authorities) wanted the priority to be on restoring power to the hospitals on the island itself, rather than relying on ferrying people to an offshore ship. Once they realized the enormity of that task, it was decided to get the ship. Apparently, from a CNN article, we have 10,000 relief workers there and something like 2,500 military personnel. These things aren't quick to clean up, so some idea that we can clean this thing up and get it back to being spiffy in no time at all sounds like partisan sniping rather than objective observation. Heck, I thought the biggest problem was the Jones Act.

The biggest problem is whatever Jelly thinks will look like the biggest problem... until you can prove him wrong.

[Ibanez]

So the current problem is that the cell phone service is down over most of PR and the port can't contact the workers to get the supplies moving. You would think these people would find a way to check in, but I guess not.
So if this is the major bottleneck, seems like mobilizing truck drivers and port workers would be the thing to do at this time.

Oddly, GoHens poster CaribbeanHen, who lives in Puerto Rico, hasn't missed a beat on his posting. He's been enjoying drinks while not having to work.

I think this whole crisis is a bit overstated. A Cat4 hurricane in the Caribbean? SHOCKING!

And it's not like they don't have generators and fuel. Reasonably intelligent and resourceful people will be just fine. Lazy, uneducated, entitled idiots will panic and do stupid shit and sit in long lines during rush periods and whine like bitches, usually in view of the nearest US camera crew. And that's what we'll be served on the evening news and CNN.com.

The guy we bought our current house from was selling all his holdings in the states and moved to Puerto Rico on the advice of his Wall Street buddies. Apparently, there's been an influx of millionaires to PR to take advantage of some tax break(s). He moved in March, I know his company is now HQ'd there.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/05/investi ... index.html

[Rob Iola]

So the current problem is that the cell phone service is down over most of PR and the port can't contact the workers to get the supplies moving. You would think these people would find a way to check in, but I guess not.
So if this is the major bottleneck, seems like mobilizing truck drivers and port workers would be the thing to do at this time.

Oddly, GoHens poster CaribbeanHen, who lives in Puerto Rico, hasn't missed a beat on his posting. He's been enjoying drinks while not having to work.

I think this whole crisis is a bit overstated. A Cat4 hurricane in the Caribbean? SHOCKING!

And it's not like they don't have generators and fuel. Reasonably intelligent and resourceful people will be just fine. Lazy, uneducated, entitled idiots will panic and do stupid shit and sit in long lines during rush periods and whine like bitches, usually in view of the nearest US camera crew. And that's what we'll be served on the evening news and CNN.com.

ditto

[dbackjon]

It's waived now.

/ thread

For 10 days

[dbackjon]

This Puerto Rican crisis proves two t Donald Trump needs to be impeached tried for treason and in prison for the rest of his life the way he is handling the printer we can crisis

And anybody that thinks he's doing a good job is A fucking idiot

[93henfan]

This Puerto Rican crisis proves two t Donald Trump needs to be impeached tried for treason and in prison for the rest of his life the way he is handling the printer we can crisis

And anybody that thinks he's doing a good job is A fucking idiot

Three things:

1. Awwww, need a hug? (nohomo)

2. Turn off autocorrect.

3. Turn on spell check.

[kalm]

Oddly, GoHens poster CaribbeanHen, who lives in Puerto Rico, hasn't missed a beat on his posting. He's been enjoying drinks while not having to work.

I think this whole crisis is a bit overstated. A Cat4 hurricane in the Caribbean? SHOCKING!

And it's not like they don't have generators and fuel. Reasonably intelligent and resourceful people will be just fine. Lazy, uneducated, entitled idiots will panic and do stupid shit and sit in long lines during rush periods and whine like bitches, usually in view of the nearest US camera crew. And that's what we'll be served on the evening news and CNN.com.

The guy we bought our current house from was selling all his holdings in the states and moved to Puerto Rico on the advice of his Wall Street buddies. Apparently, there's been an influx of millionaires to PR to take advantage of some tax break(s). He moved in March, I know his company is now HQ'd there.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/05/investi ... index.html

So did Peter Schiff. He was bragging about it on the JRO a few weeks ago, escaping the ruthless regulatory burdens of California...

[Baldy]

This Puerto Rican crisis proves two t Donald Trump needs to be impeached tried for treason and in prison for the rest of his life the way he is handling the printer we can crisis

And anybody that thinks he's doing a good job is A fucking idiot

Unhinged Drama Queen.

[JohnStOnge]

Just saw a cool statement by Russel Honoré. He's in Puerto Rico and was being interviewed by CNN's Christi Paul. Paul asked him what he thought of this morning's Trump Twitter attack on the San Juan Mayor. Here's the exchange:

Paul: What is your reaction to the President's Tweet this morning?

Honoré: I have no reaction. The mayor is living on a cot and, uh, and I...I hope the President have a good day at golf.

That's a pretty good effort at getting the point across without having a reaction!

[CID1990]

Somebody call the bartender and tell him to cut Jon off

[Ivytalk]

It's waived now.

/ thread

For 10 days

Then /thread for 10 days.

[CAA Flagship]

This Puerto Rican crisis proves two t Donald Trump needs to be impeached tried for treason and in prison for the rest of his life the way he is handling the printer we can crisis

And anybody that thinks he's doing a good job is A fucking idiot

Fuck the printer we cans.

[Chizzang]

May I calmly say:
Puerto Rico is one supremely fucked up place
That has spent a huge amount of ink and advertising blaming everybody else for their problems
And I'm not talking about the hurricane

They should have had a revolution in 1972 (FALN)
There should have been a revolution there in 1997 /1998

You can't help people that are unwilling to help themselves (Period)
That island is exactly as fucked up as it has decided to be...

and somehow it's everybody else's fault
(especially America)

[CID1990]

May I calmly say:
Puerto Rico is one supremely **** up place
That has spent a huge amount of ink and advertising blaming everybody else for their problems
And I'm not talking about the hurricane

They should have had a revolution in 1972 (FALN)
There should have been a revolution there in 1997 /1998

You can't help people that are unwilling to help themselves (Period)
That island is exactly as **** up as it has decided to be...

and somehow it's everybody else's fault
(especially America)

I spent a lot of time there in the 80s and 90s.

In 1991 there were still people living in shanties as a result of Hurricane Hugo - two years after the storm

They cobbled together a rickety grid infrastructure to replace the old rickety grid infrastructure, and there haven't been any moves since then to upgrade or harden against these storms

Roads were in worse shape a month ago than they were after Hugo. There were ZERO pre-positioned goods or emergency supplies ANYWHERE in the country, except for what was already in the container port in San Juan -

and now that stuff is stuck there because, as Jon so eloquently pointed out, there's no cell service to call truck drivers <chuckle chuckle>.... because all the Puerto Rican truck drivers are sitting at home thinking, "I wonder when the port of San Juan will call me?"

Puerto Rico is a hard case. They complain about colonialism, resist statehood, and unfortunately the only tenable solution is to leave them as they are. Independence will be a problem because it will be an independent country where every citizen is also a US citizen (and therefore all their children not yet born will be also). Statehood will be a problem because it will kick off an immediate rebellion by anti-US groups, which will then be an absolute morass

At the end of the day, PR is our rebellious goth stepson - we aren't going to change him, and every other holiday he's going to show up at the family gathering, start fights over how we don't respect him, and then storm out of the house until the next holiday (after getting Mom to loan him enough cash to get him through to his next sales job at the mall)

[Col Hogan]

This is a pretty good article, even if it is HuffPost...I know the Air Force officer interviewed, and he's no-nonsense honest...

It shoots down the argument that the Feds are not doing enough...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/us- ... c468060dee

[Col Hogan]

May I calmly say:
Puerto Rico is one supremely **** up place
That has spent a huge amount of ink and advertising blaming everybody else for their problems
And I'm not talking about the hurricane

They should have had a revolution in 1972 (FALN)
There should have been a revolution there in 1997 /1998

You can't help people that are unwilling to help themselves (Period)
That island is exactly as **** up as it has decided to be...

and somehow it's everybody else's fault
(especially America)

I spent a lot of time there in the 80s and 90s.

In 1991 there were still people living in shanties as a result of Hurricane Hugo - two years after the storm

They cobbled together a rickety grid infrastructure to replace the old rickety grid infrastructure, and there haven't been any moves since then to upgrade or harden against these storms

Roads were in worse shape a month ago than they were after Hugo. There were ZERO pre-positioned goods or emergency supplies ANYWHERE in the country, except for what was already in the container port in San Juan -

and now that stuff is stuck there because, as Jon so eloquently pointed out, there's no cell service to call truck drivers <chuckle chuckle>.... because all the Puerto Rican truck drivers are sitting at home thinking, "I wonder when the port of San Juan will call me?"

Puerto Rico is a hard case. They complain about colonialism, resist statehood, and unfortunately the only tenable solution is to leave them as they are. Independence will be a problem because it will be an independent country where every citizen is also a US citizen (and therefore all their children not yet born will be also). Statehood will be a problem because it will kick off an immediate rebellion by anti-US groups, which will then be an absolute morass

At the end of the day, PR is our rebellious goth stepson - we aren't going to change him, and every other holiday he's going to show up at the family gathering, start fights over how we don't respect him, and then storm out of the house until the next holiday (after getting Mom to loan him enough cash to get him through to his next sales job at the mall)

I've been to third-world countries...and I've been to Puerto Rico...

Get outside of San Juan, and you would think you were in a third-world country, not a U.S. Comonwealth

[houndawg]

We were able to mobilize 10,000 sailors and marines, 17 ships, 48 helicopters, and 12 aircraft to Haiti within a week after the earthquake in 2010.



[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecdsc9tIVEg[/youtube]

Took us almost a full week to bother dispatching the USNS Comfort for Puerto Rico.

Apparently boots on the ground (i.e. local authorities) wanted the priority to be on restoring power to the hospitals on the island itself, rather than relying on ferrying people to an offshore ship. Once they realized the enormity of that task, it was decided to get the ship. Apparently, from a CNN article, we have 10,000 relief workers there and something like 2,500 military personnel. These things aren't quick to clean up, so some idea that we can clean this thing up and get it back to being spiffy in no time at all sounds like partisan sniping rather than objective observation. Heck, I thought the biggest problem was the Jones Act.

How can you say that when there are NFL players taking a knee?