Utopia Talk / Politics / Puerto Rico situation worse then thought

Aeros rank	Sun Sep 24 05:12:04 2017 According to the Islands mayors, civil order is starting to break down and critical supplies like water are running out across the territory. The government in San Juan has still not been able to make contact with around 20 municipalities. San Juan itself remains largely flooded. http://www...-to-spread-plead-for-help.html Puerto Rico mayors say 'hysteria starting to spread,' plead for help A humanitarian crisis grew Saturday in Puerto Rico as towns were left without fresh water, fuel, power or phone service following Hurricane Maria's devastating passage across the island. A group of anxious mayors arrived in the capital to meet with Gov. Ricardo Rossello to present a long list of items they urgently need. The north coastal town of Manati had run out of fuel and fresh water, Mayor Jose Sanchez Gonzalez said. "Hysteria is starting to spread. The hospital is about to collapse. It's at capacity," he said, crying. "We need someone to help us immediately." The death toll from Maria in Puerto Rico was at least 10, including two police officers who drowned in floodwaters in the western town of Aguada. That number was expected to climb as officials from remote towns continued to check in with officials in San Juan. Authorities in the town of Vega Alta on the north coast said they had been unable to reach an entire neighborhood called Fatima, and were particularly worried about residents of a nursing home. "I need to get there today," Mayor Oscar Santiago told The Associated Press. "Not tomorrow, today." Rossello said Maria would clearly cost more than the last major storm to wallop the island, Hurricane George in September 1998. "This is without a doubt the biggest catastrophe in modern history for Puerto Rico," he said. A dam upstream of the towns of Quebradillas and Isabela in northwest Puerto Rico was cracked but had not burst by Saturday afternoon as the water continued to pour out of rain-swollen Lake Guajataca. Federal officials said Friday that 70,000 people, the number who live in the surrounding area, would have to be evacuated. But Javier Jimenez, mayor of the nearby town of San Sebastian, said he believed the number was far smaller. Secretary of Public Affairs Ramon Rosario said about 300 families were in harm's way. The governor said there is "significant damage" to the dam and authorities believe it could give way at any moment. "We don't know how long it's going to hold. The integrity of the structure has been compromised in a significant way," Rossello said. The 345-yard (316-meter) dam, which was built around 1928, holds back a man-made lake covering about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers). More than 15 inches (nearly 40 centimeters) of rain from Maria fell on the surrounding mountains, swelling the reservoir. Officials said 1,360 of the island's 1,600 cellphone towers were downed, and 85 percent of above-ground and underground phone and internet cables were knocked out. With roads blocked and phones dead, officials said, the situation may worsen. "We haven't seen the extent of the damage," Rossello told reporters in the capital. Rossello couldn't say when power might be restored. Maj. Gen. Derek P. Rydholm, deputy to the chief of the Air Force Reserve, said mobile communications systems were being flown in, but acknowledged "it's going to take a while" before people in Puerto Rico will be able to communicate with their families outside the island. The island's electric grid was in sorry shape long before Maria struck. The territory's $73 billion debt crisis has left agencies like the state power company broke. It abandoned most basic maintenance in recent years, leaving the island subject to regular blackouts. Rosello said he was distributing 250 satellite phones from FEMA to mayors across the island to re-establish contact. At least 31 lives in all have been lost around the Caribbean, including at least 15 on hard-hit Dominica. Haiti reported three deaths; Guadeloupe, two; and the Dominican Republic, one. Across Puerto Rico, more than 15,000 people are in shelters, including some 2,000 rescued from the north coastal town of Toa Baja. Some of the island's 3.4 million people planned to head to the U.S. to temporarily escape the devastation. At least in the short term, though, the soggy misery will continue: Additional rain — up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) — is expected through Saturday. In San Juan, Neida Febus wandered around her neighborhood with bowls of cooked rice, ground meat and avocado, offering food to the hungry. The damage was so extensive, the 64-year-old retiree said, that she didn't think the power would be turned back on until Christmas. "This storm crushed us from one end of the island to the other," she said. Hour-long lines formed at the few gas stations that reopened on Friday and anxious residents feared power could be out for weeks — or even months — and wondered how they would cope. "I'm from here. I believe we have to step up to the task. If everyone leaves, what are we going to do? With all the pros and the cons, I will stay here," Israel Molina, 68, who lost roofing from his San Juan mini-market to the storm, said, and then paused. "I might have a different response tomorrow."
Aeros rank	Sun Sep 24 05:13:20 2017 We are probably not talking a repair job here either, like Florida post Irma. Their electrical system was already being held together by duct tape and shoestring. It may be a total loss.
Sam Adams rank	Sun Sep 24 07:52:29 2017 Lol. What a fucked up place. Its like detroit but with more hurricanes.
Im better then you rank	Sun Sep 24 07:55:17 2017 Blockade the island and see what happens.
pillz rank	Sun Sep 24 08:56:01 2017 ^ This is the best course of action I mean, its obvious that they've been skimming on infrastructure intentionally so they could take advantage of a situation like this one to get free federal assistance and flood the continental US with peasants.
Nimatzo rank	Sun Sep 24 16:03:53 2017 Nuke it.
Seb rank	Sun Sep 24 16:29:00 2017 Maybe they could ask China to take them as a protectorate as the US is clearly failing in its duties.
Hot Rod rank	Sun Sep 24 16:31:30 2017 http://www...-rico.html#.7518-stage-hero1-8
murder rank	Sun Sep 24 16:56:32 2017 If China wants it, they'll have to buy it.
Nimatzo rank	Sun Sep 24 18:20:57 2017 Pfff what could it possibly be worth, now?
Rugian rank	Sun Sep 24 18:29:10 2017 Nimatzo iChihuaha Sun Sep 24 11:20:57 Pfff what could it possibly be worth, now? ---- Vieques 2.0
tumbleweed rank	Sun Sep 24 18:32:19 2017 maybe they'll unearth lots of pirate treasure
Aeros rank	Sun Sep 24 18:35:07 2017 "Maybe they could ask China to take them as a protectorate as the US is clearly failing in its duties." How are things in the British Virgin Islands Seb? Has her majesties government finally got those looting hordes under control?
Hot Rod rank	Sun Sep 24 19:07:52 2017 Personally, I have no desire to let China that close to us. Panama is even too close.
obaminated rank	Mon Sep 25 00:09:28 2017 I picture of post apocalyptic tropical wasteland. People have fallen into tribes with various idiosyncrasies. Some have stopped speaking entirely. Other wear assless chaps. From this desolate wasteland comes a wanderer, a nomad. His name is Max.
Seb rank	Mon Sep 25 00:31:49 2017 Aeros: Exactly my point!
swordtail rank	Tue Sep 26 19:18:28 2017 http://pbs.twimg.com/media/DKpqFV1WAAEnu63.jpg:large
Rugian rank	Tue Sep 26 19:34:15 2017 ^proof that Puerto Rico is siding with our North Korean enemies. Bomb the shit out of those traitors.
patom rank	Tue Sep 26 19:42:50 2017 Cmon Rugian, ain't got time to worry about Puerto Rico. The object of real importance is the NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem.
swordtail rank	Wed Sep 27 17:58:33 2017 Opinion | Op-Ed Contributor The Law Strangling Puerto Rico By NELSON A. DENISSEPT. 25, 2017 Hurricane Maria was the most powerful storm to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years. It left the entire island without electricity, which may take six months to restore. It toppled trees, shattered windows, tore off roofs and turned streets into rivers throughout the island. President Trump declared that “Puerto Rico was absolutely obliterated” and issued a federal disaster declaration. But the United States needs to do more. It needs to suspend the Jones Act in Puerto Rico. After World War I, America was worried about German U-boats, which had sunk nearly 5,000 ships during the war. Congress enacted the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, a.k.a. the Jones Act, to ensure that the country maintained a shipbuilding industry and seafaring labor force. Section 27 of this law decreed that only American ships could carry goods and passengers from one United States port to another. In addition, every ship must be built, crewed and owned by American citizens. Almost a century later, there are no U-boats lurking off the coast of Puerto Rico. The Jones Act has outlived its original intent, yet it is strangling the island’s economy. Under the law, any foreign registry vessel that enters Puerto Rico must pay punitive tariffs, fees and taxes, which are passed on to the Puerto Rican consumer. The foreign vessel has one other option: It can reroute to Jacksonville, Fla., where all the goods will be transferred to an American vessel, then shipped to Puerto Rico where — again — all the rerouting costs are passed through to the consumer. Thanks to the law, the price of goods from the United States mainland is at least double that in neighboring islands, including the United States Virgin Islands, which are not covered by the Jones Act. Moreover, the cost of living in Puerto Rico is 13 percent higher than in 325 urban areas elsewhere in the United States, even though per capita income in Puerto Rico is about $18,000, close to half that of Mississippi, the poorest of all 50 states. This is a shakedown, a mob protection racket, with Puerto Rico a captive market. The island is the fifth-largest market in the world for American products, and there are more Walmarts and Walgreens per square mile in Puerto Rico than anywhere else on the planet. A 2012 report by two University of Puerto Rico economists found that the Jones Act caused a $17 billion loss to the island’s economy from 1990 through 2010. Other studies have estimated the Jones Act’s damage to Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska to be $2.8 billion to $9.8 billion per year. According to all these reports, if the Jones Act did not exist, then neither would the public debt of Puerto Rico. Three American territories are exempt from the Jones Act, including the United States Virgin Islands. Outright repeal of the law has already been backed by the Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, Manhattan Institute and several major publications. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the Jones Act hurts the Puerto Rican economy, and two Republicans, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Representative Gary Palmer of Alabama, have submitted bills to repeal or suspend the law. (The shipbuilding industry supports the law.) The U-boats are gone and a protectionist law has been exposed. The crony capitalism of the Jones Act does not “protect” anyone and it is choking the economy of Puerto Rico. If the United States has any interest in the hurricane-battered people of Puerto Rico, it needs to take the law off their necks — and now. Recovering from the disaster will be difficult no matter what, but the Jones Act will make it that much harder. Food costs twice as much in Puerto Rico as in Florida. Jones Act relief will save many Puerto Ricans — especially children and seniors — from potential starvation. Jones Act relief will also enable islanders to find medicine, especially Canadian pharmaceuticals, at lifesaving rates. And it will give islanders access to international oil markets — crucial for running its electric grid — devoid of a 30 percent Jones Act markup. And suspending or repealing the law is crucial to the arduous rebuilding process ahead. In one town alone, 70,000 people were evacuated because of a failing dam. Jones Act relief will enable residents to buy materials, rebuild their homes and prevent an explosion of homelessness. This is not just about recovering from Hurricane Maria. It is also about Puerto Rico’s long-term future. If the Jones Act were suspended, consumer prices would drop by 15 percent to 20 percent and energy costs would plummet. A post-Jones Puerto Rico could modernize its infrastructure and develop its own island-based shipping industry. Indeed, the island could become a shipping hub between South America, the Caribbean and the rest of the world. This industry would generate thousands of jobs and opportunities for skilled laborers and small businesses. On an island with official unemployment over 10 percent (but actually closer to 25 percent), this would energize their entire work force. A humanitarian crisis is about to explode in Puerto Rico. But the consequences of Jones Act relief would be immediate and powerful. This is not the time to price-gouge the entire population. It is time for Congress to act ethically and responsibly and suspend the Jones Act in Puerto Rico. http://www...ane-puerto-rico-jones-act.html
swordtail rank	Fri Sep 29 21:24:43 2017 Tim O'Brien‏Verified account @TimOBrien Follow  More "This is an island. Surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water." - President Trump, speaking about Puerto Rico today. 9:15 AM - 29 Sep 2017
tumbleweed rank	Fri Sep 29 21:29:47 2017 that's what you get when you tell him to talk more about Puerto Rico
swordtail rank	Fri Sep 29 21:38:02 2017 if only Hillary was prez, then she could tell us how putin was responsible for the hurricane.
Rugian rank	Fri Sep 29 21:55:37 2017 If Hillary was president, she'd go down there and put on a fake Hispanic accent, right before collapsing from the tropical heat.
tumbleweed rank	Fri Sep 29 22:00:24 2017 having a president who is more likely to state wrong info than correct info is fantastic... it's completely acceptable
Rugian rank	Fri Sep 29 22:12:06 2017 Um, last time I checked, Puerto Rico IS an island, surrounded by big water. That's 2 out of 3, which is more right than wrong. QED.
murder rank	Fri Sep 29 22:31:27 2017 This is an island. Surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water. Salty water. Deep water. Wet water. This is an island surrounded by big, deep, wet, salty, ocean water. Why is everybody weeping?
tumbleweed rank	Fri Sep 29 22:31:38 2017 "Starting Wednesday, President Donald Trump has insisted seven times, in public comments to reporters and via his Twitter account, that Republicans failed to deliver on his campaign promise to tank Obamacare because “you can’t do it when somebody is in the hospital.”" http://www...-just-you-know-doing-his-thing 7 lies
Rugian rank	Fri Sep 29 22:37:09 2017 "If you like your plan you can keep it." -Barack Hussein Obama
Rugian rank	Fri Sep 29 22:38:46 2017 "Bill didn't rape me." -Hillary Clinton
tumbleweed rank	Fri Sep 29 22:39:40 2017 ^the one 'lie' of Obama's used for each of Trump's 3-5 million lies
Hot Rod rank	Fri Sep 29 23:45:36 2017 The one 'lie' of Trump's repeated 7 times compared to how many to ho many times did Obama repeat "If you like your plan you can keep it.? Please answer my question tw. I double dare you.
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 16:16:05 2017 my point that many of the times Trump lies (which is basically daily) his defenders (on TV) will say "well Obama said 'if you like your plan...'", it's always that one comment the mountain of lies & misinformation from Trump is ridiculous for a president, an adult picked at random would not achieve it... Trump is possibly the most ignorant/dishonest person in the country (over age 30) if you include his willingness to just make up shit instead of simply not talking about things when he doesn't know anything about it
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 16:18:51 2017 "The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump." ~the President of the USA "The Fake News Networks are working overtime in Puerto Rico doing their best to take the spirit away from our soldiers and first responders. Shame!" ~the President of the USA despicable
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 16:20:01 2017 "Fake News CNN and NBC are going out of their way to disparage our great First Responders as a way to "get Trump." Not fair to FR or effort!" ~the President of the USA he is -clearly- sick in the head
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 16:28:55 2017 "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job." ~it such great leadership... she took offense to the 'it's a good news' story comments & now Trump has to smear her
Hot Rod rank	Sat Sep 30 17:55:47 2017 Over 12,000 First Responders now. Things are not going perfectly because almost the entire infrastructure is destroyed. What hurts the most is the electricity being out. Followed by the roads and bridges being out. Then there is a lack of truck drivers. It takes time to clear all of that and get it functioning. She is a whiner and not able to see the big picture. But, I blame those who are lining their pockets, especially those in the power companies.
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 18:26:51 2017 and insulting her & the people is helpful? he's a horrible leader & a child
Hot Rod rank	Sat Sep 30 20:50:42 2017 She, the mayor of San Juan, is the one that started it. Trump merely responded which is right and just.
Trolly rank	Sat Sep 30 21:53:42 2017 So you're admitting trump is acting like a child and not a leader of a country and be presidential? Look!! progress!!
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 21:58:18 2017 That's The Argument Of A 5-Year-Old http://youtu.be/suKJhNUiAC0?t=16s
tumbleweed rank	Sat Sep 30 21:59:46 2017 ...and for the record, he had zero proof Cruz had anything to do with that ad, so Cruz didn't even start it Cruz also the name of the Puerto Rico mayor... interesting
kargen rank	Sat Sep 30 22:33:25 2017 The thing is if you are going to bash the federal government you probably shouldn't do it with a warehouse full of relief supplies as your backdrop. That just proves the point that the failure is at the local level. She is a politician though so the go to card is deflect the blame.
Trolly rank	Sat Sep 30 22:35:59 2017 Or as a President of the country, not respond from the golf course criticizing your fellow citizens who are in a crises. Since Trump is a child, he probably should watch a child's movie "Frozen." And do it's signature song; "let it go." But, since Trump is a child, and is child like, and is a sensitive bitch. Fuck him.
tumbleweed rank	Mon Oct 02 02:05:39 2017 Trump dedicated the Presidents Cup golf tournament trophy to those affected by hurricanes... so meaningful
tumbleweed rank	Tue Oct 03 19:17:48 2017 Trump Puerto Rico visit summary: "your death count is way less than Katrina, go me! ok, going around the table, who wants to praise me next?"
tumbleweed rank	Tue Oct 03 21:58:45 2017 video of Trump shooting paper towels into the crowd http://twitter.com/calebecarma/status/915281461435092992
Hot Rod rank	Tue Oct 03 23:28:01 2017 What's wrong with that. Everyone there seemed to get a kick out of it.
tumbleweed rank	Tue Oct 03 23:41:21 2017 it's what maybe you have Barron Trump do, not an adult President the mayor claimed after the praise-fest meeting Trump held, there was an actual productive meeting without him after... they have to shield him from reality & give him games to play to keep him entertained...
Forwyn rank	Wed Oct 04 00:36:46 2017 Who cares what the lying, photo-op leftist mayor says? She's clearly as unreliable as Trump.
tumbleweed rank	Wed Oct 04 00:40:02 2017 are you doubting there was a 2nd meeting? obviously the one Trump was in wasn't useful to anyone, full transcript here if you want to read the word 'amazing' a lot http://www...hurricane-maria-relief-efforts
Forwyn rank	Wed Oct 04 00:49:21 2017 So I take it she dropped the "we're dying", "this is genocide" charade to have a productive meeting?
kargen rank	Wed Oct 04 00:58:45 2017 "Or as a President of the country, not respond from the golf course criticizing your fellow citizens who are in a crises." Technology lets the president or basically anybody respond from damn near anywhere in the world they want. We are not tied to an office to be productive and haven't been for a very long time. The short of it is location really doesn't matter in these things.
tumbleweed rank	Wed Oct 04 04:18:37 2017 i don't know anything about the meeting, but seems logical they would have one (not just with her, but clearly without the child idiot) more from child idiot: “I think it meant a lot to the people of Puerto Rico that I was there. They really responded very nicely. And I guess it’s one of the few times anybody has done this. From what I am hearing it’s the first time that a sitting president has done something like this”
tumbleweed rank	Wed Oct 04 18:28:33 2017 "We have to look at their whole debt structure. You know, they owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street, and we’re going to have to wipe that out. You can say goodbye to that. I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs, but whoever it is, you can wave goodbye to that." ~Trump to Geraldo White House: "whoa whoa whoa... remember nothing the moron says is what 'his' administration actually believes" (paraphrase)
tumbleweed rank	Thu Oct 05 17:02:30 2017 "“Whoa! I’ve never seen that before,” Trump said, holding up a can of chicken. “That looks kind of good. Let’s start handing it out. Do you feel like this?” But few in the camera-wielding crowd appeared to be in need of a can of chicken. Trump moved down the line to the flashlights, asking the crowd who wanted one. He tried out one of the larger models, shining it at the television cameras and the crowd as if it were a spotlight. As he handed out some smaller flashlights, he declared: “Flashlights, you don’t need them anymore. You don’t need them anymore.” Trump passed out yellow bags of rice and then started tossing rolls of towels into the crowd as if he were shooting free throws. The crowd laughed and cheered him on. When he contemplated doing the same with the cans of chicken, the crowd gently told him no. The church is also distributing water purification kits, and a member explained the process to the president. “Wait,” Trump said, “you put it in dirty water?” “And then you can drink it after 10 to 12 hours,” she explained. “Would you do it? Would you drink it?” he asked. “Sure,” she said. “Really?” Trump said, a disgusted look coming across his face. “Really,” she said. “Is this your company or something?” Trump asked the woman, seeming suspicious of the aggressive pitch. “No,” she said, “I’m part of the church.” “This is an interesting thing,” Trump said as he started to hand out the kits. “Try that.” " http://www...7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html i actually searched the article to see if it was meant as satire or something but i heard Trump say some of that myself (like him claiming they don't need the flashlights any more... even though only ~7% of the people had power) we'll hope when he was contemplating throwing cans of chicken he said it as a joke... like his whole presidency
FUCK YOU FAG rank	Tue Oct 10 22:03:55 2017 ROFL! Follow the link to see pics http://the...f-tastelessness/#.tnw_99hQRZ8a Mark Zuckerberg’s VR trip to Puerto Rico is the height of tastelessness by Matthew Hughes — 20 hours ago in Facebook Sentient CEObot Mark Zuckerberg today took a trip to the disaster-stricken island of Puerto Rico via the medium of virtual reality and some ghastly Second Life-style avatars. It’s pretty much the most tasteless thing I’ve seen all year, and you can check it out here. Watch in sheer disbelief as the grinning 3D representation of the Zuckerbot points out the absolutely-fucking-obvious (“We’re on a bridge here. It’s flooded.”), before segueing awkwardly into how “magical” virtual reality is.
tumbleweed rank	Thu Oct 12 16:04:38 2017 Trump's getting tired of helping Puerto Rico " "Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes, now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making." says Sharyl Attkisson. A total lack of..... ...accountability say the Governor. Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes. Congress to decide how much to spend.... ...We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever! " they are still ~80% without power... hard to tell since FEMA curiously took off the two worst statistics of the recovery from their website (power & water)
patom rank	Thu Oct 12 17:24:38 2017 I thank God I don't owe Twitterman any money. I definitely don't owe him any respect. He's the kind of guy that would come to your hospital room after you've been in wreck and ask how soon you can get back to work to repay him.
tumbleweed rank	Thu Oct 12 17:31:49 2017 TRUMP's son had a 'charming' story about how his father gave him a bunch more responsibilities at work but wasn't paying him any more, so the son finally asked TRUMP about it, and he said why should he pay more when his son never asked for it adorable
Rugian rank	Thu Oct 12 17:38:57 2017 Teaching your kids to be assertive and stand up for themselves is a bad thing now? Its a great life lesson ffs.
tumbleweed rank	Thu Oct 12 17:43:35 2017 or taking advantage of his kids to save money as undoubtedly was his motive... a consistent pattern of his
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