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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1400 on: November 08, 2017, 09:43:15 PM »
Thanks for gathering relevant statistics.  Grim.
My heart goes out to you (with a planned donation to the PR Children's Hospital, as soon as I can figure out how to send one - their website is in Spanish (appropriately), but of which I am not fluent).

You may wish to check out this site:  https://sanjorgechildrens.childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/
It's in English, and you can select San Jorge Childrens Hospital from the drop-down.

Edit:  Or perhaps try Google Web Page Translate on your web page?
« Last Edit: November 09, 2017, 01:06:30 AM by Sigmetnow »
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Martin Gisser

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1401 on: November 09, 2017, 12:54:33 AM »
New stats being released that reinforce my suspicions:

From September 1-19, 2017, #PuertoRico averaged 82 deaths per day.
From September 20 (day #HurricaneMaria hit) to September 30, 2017, it averaged 117 per day.

 That is 35 more deaths per day on average.

September 2015: 2,242 registered deaths
September 2016: 2,366 registered deaths
September 2017: 2,838 registered death

October, 2015: 2,379 registered deaths
October 2016: 2,353 registered deaths
October 2017: 2,119 registered deaths (but these numbers will be changing bc PR gov't is taking 14 days to register deaths)

 Official numbers attributed to Maria:

20 direct deaths and 31 indirect deaths from Hurricane Maria, and the other 4 are from lepto, PR gov't says. #PuertoRico

From https://twitter.com/julito77/status/928310378425126913.
So, assuming a monthly death toll of below 2400, the aftermath death toll could be above 400.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1402 on: November 09, 2017, 01:08:29 AM »
Typhoon Damrey kills 106 in Vietnam, reservoirs brimming before APEC summit

Vietnam's long coastline makes it prone to destructive storms and flooding
* Deadliest storm this year in Vietnam
* More than 40 reservoirs releasing water
* Rains expected to ease from Thursday before APEC summit
http://news.trust.org/item/20171108125524-1ojjo
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1403 on: November 09, 2017, 07:35:54 PM »
Puerto Rico, Day 50:
Island-wide power generation has plunged due to the failure of a transmission line “repaired” by Whitefish Energy.
—82% of the island now w/o power.
    https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/928674494956408832

Blackout Puerto Rico
PREPA confirms power generation has plummeted to 18% after a failure of Cambalache [Manatí] 230KV line. Municipalities in the North have been affected. 
It could be tonight or tomorrow morning before power is restored.
    https://twitter.com/davidbegnaud/status/928672628273016832
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1404 on: November 11, 2017, 07:55:45 PM »
 Hurricane Harvey aftermath:

”We have a $10 million operating budget. We have $43 million in damage to just our infrastructure. Our science center has more than $100 million in damage. You do the math and you can see exactly where we are at right now,” said Bujan.

Two Months After Harvey, Coastal Texas Towns Still Desperate for Housing
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hurricane-harvey/two-months-after-harvey-coastal-texas-towns-still-desperate-housing-n819851
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1405 on: November 14, 2017, 01:10:14 AM »
Rebuilding Puerto Rico Will Cost $95 Billion, Says Island’s Governor
Quote
“The scale and scope of the catastrophe in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria knows no historical precedent,” the governor wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump. “The devastation throughout the Island represents an extraordinary challenge for American citizens residing in Puerto Rico and for the federal government.” ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/11/rebuilding-puerto-rico-will-cost-95-billion-says-islands-governor/#
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1406 on: November 15, 2017, 05:49:02 PM »
Puerto Rico, Day 56:
This morning, Governor @ricardorossello confirmed the island had reached his goal of 50% power generation by November 15th.
Minutes later, multiple people report a new widespread power outage in San Juan.
Life still tenuous, nearly two months after Maria
https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/930821180961017857

     HUGE boom outside... and then the power went out. The new normal in Puerto Rico.
     https://twitter.com/FrancesRobles/status/930801099333931008
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1407 on: November 17, 2017, 07:35:42 PM »
Ricardo Ramos, embattled head of Puerto Rico’s power utility, resigns
Quote
The embattled head of Puerto Rico’s power utility resigned on Friday, the latest controversy to hit the island as it struggles to bring its electric grid back online.

Ricardo Ramos, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Agency, submitted his resignation to Puerto Rico’s governor’s office only a few days after he testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee over the controversial contract he approved with Whitefish Energy Holdings, a small Montana firm to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid. ...
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/ricardo-ramos-embattled-head-puerto-rico-s-power-utility-resigns-n821881
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1408 on: November 18, 2017, 01:06:43 AM »
The U.S. Flooded One of Houston’s Richest Neighborhoods to Save Everyone Else
The Army Corps of Engineers sent water cascading into West Houston’s Energy Corridor to avoid a catastrophic reservoir failure during Hurricane Harvey. Now a web of lawsuits could change how the government handles extreme weather.
Quote
The lawyers in attendance are from all over the country: New Jersey, New Orleans, Washington, D.C. “It’s clear the court is incredibly focused on this case,” Jay Edelson, a class-action attorney known for challenging the titans of Silicon Valley, observes afterward. He flew down from Chicago with a few of his firm’s lawyers for the hearing. Everyone is mindful that, with extreme weather pushing the country’s infrastructure to the limits, the decisions made by Braden’s court could, as after Katrina, set important precedents for the federal government’s liability in the wake of disasters.

This situation, though, has two key differences. In New Orleans, economically disadvantaged communities, some of them historically black, bore the brunt of the loss, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of deaths. The victims in West Houston include white, wealthy, Republican-voting energy executives. They live in neighborhoods where the main employers are BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the median income is triple that of the rest of the city, and second homes and weekend-spin sports cars aren’t unusual. Their debris piles include wine fridges, coffee table books about Renoir, and Chinese bar carts from overseas assignments.

The West Houston cases are unlike the Katrina cases in another way, too: Rather than make a legal argument about official neglect, they speak to what happened when the federal government intentionally flooded one of the richest areas of a city to save everyone else. ...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-11-16/the-u-s-flooded-one-of-houston-s-richest-neighborhoods-to-save-everyone-else
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sidd

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1409 on: November 18, 2017, 05:25:18 AM »
Richer folk getting flooded. Can't have that.

"The issue of climate change is especially complicated in the Energy Corridor, where companies often deemed complicit in global warming are the neighborhood employers. At various points in my interviews with residents, I bring up the hovering question of climate change. Almost uniformly, they demur. "

A lot of these people work for the climate rapists.

sidd


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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1410 on: November 18, 2017, 05:55:20 AM »
The U.S. Flooded One of Houston’s Richest Neighborhoods to Save Everyone Else
The Army Corps of Engineers sent water cascading into West Houston’s Energy Corridor to avoid a catastrophic reservoir failure during Hurricane Harvey. Now a web of lawsuits could change how the government handles extreme weather.
Quote

This situation, though, has two key differences. In New Orleans, economically disadvantaged communities, some of them historically black, bore the brunt of the loss, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of deaths. The victims in West Houston include white, wealthy, Republican-voting energy executives. They live in neighborhoods where the main employers are BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the median income is triple that of the rest of the city, and second homes and weekend-spin sports cars aren’t unusual. Their debris piles include wine fridges, coffee table books about Renoir, and Chinese bar carts from overseas assignments.

...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-11-16/the-u-s-flooded-one-of-houston-s-richest-neighborhoods-to-save-everyone-else

Fuck 'em.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1411 on: November 19, 2017, 02:31:38 PM »
Puerto Rico, Day 59:
—Millions still w/o power
—Hundreds of thousands still w/o running water
—Still one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in U.S. history
—Now, Navy hospital ship is headed home.
https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/931954911952166912

While Americans in Puerto Rico are suffering and dying, some things Trump has done to make it WORSE:
1) did not extend Jones Act waiver
2) withdrawing military
3) USNS Comfort departing
4) no-bid contacts that have left millions without electricity.
https://twitter.com/amy_siskind/status/931937141994770435

USNS Comfort to return from Puerto Rico
http://wtkr.com/2017/11/17/usns-comfort-returning-from-puerto-rico/

  Image:
These are the contents of a "meal" box FEMA is delivering to people in Puerto Rico - The company awarded the contract, Longbranch Partners LLC, has made nearly $10 million from Federal contracts since 2007 #HurricaneMaria
https://twitter.com/odelgauri/status/929837183950835713
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Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1412 on: November 19, 2017, 04:16:29 PM »
On the number of casualties: The government just announce new legislation so that protocols are in place to count indirect deaths. That number 55 only includes direct deaths and some seemingly random indirect deaths, like those who died of leptospirosis.

I'm more convinced than ever that the comfort was empty because officials weren't counting indirect deaths at all. This caused very bad decisions. Hopefully the new protocols avoid a repeat of this tragedy.

On power: when they say a percentage number with power they don't mean stable power at that level. Power outages for those who have power are almost a daily issue.

On Food: for some reason that escapes me, if you have food but need water you can't just get water. You must accept a box of food to go with the water.  I can't even imagine why. I gave the box of food to a family that lost everything.

By food I mean a box of junk food. But don't be too harsh on junkiness of the food. Without refrigeration, power or water people can't cook or preserve food.

On government: For state side emergencies there are clearly defined roles for Federal, state and local governments. In the case od Puerto Rico the state government completely folded and left the federal government to do tasks usually reserved for the locals.This slowed down everything.
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Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1413 on: November 21, 2017, 12:13:58 AM »

We surveyed 112 Puerto Rican funeral homes to check the accuracy of the hurricane death toll. This is what we found.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/20/health/hurricane-maria-uncounted-deaths-invs/index.html

Not only did they not count them, the Secretary of public safety made fun of allegations of higher death counts. He seemed 100% confident in the protocols even when the data screams otherwise.  This is why the Comfort was empty. There was no hurry because the death count seemed to be under control.

I really hope they release october numbers, but I doubt they will. It is likely the numbers are still running high.
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Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1414 on: November 21, 2017, 12:46:36 AM »
I want to add, I don't think there is a conspiracy from the government to hide the number of deaths. I wish. If that was the case at least decision makers in the know would have taken better decisions.It was nothing but negligence, amplified by naive decision makers. Fake governance.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1415 on: November 22, 2017, 04:19:37 PM »
Nov. 20: Whitefish halts power work in Puerto Rico over $83M owed
Quote
Whitefish Energy Holdings said late Monday that it was halting work to help restore power in Puerto Rico because the U.S. territory's government has not paid crews as part of a contract that led to accusations of overcharging and incompetence and contributed to the resignation of the power company director.

The Montana-based company said in a statement that invoices for work done in October are outstanding and that it can no longer keep working. The Associated Press obtained a letter dated Nov. 19 and signed by Whitefish CEO Andy Techmanski saying that Puerto Rico's government owes Whitefish more than $83 million and that the company would suspend work on Monday if it wasn't paid.

Whitefish said in the letter that the lack of payments is a breach of the $300 million contract that the administration of Gov. Ricardo Rossello cancelled last month. Even though the contract had been cancelled, both sides agreed Whitefish would complete its current projects and remain in Puerto Rico until Nov. 30. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/whitefish-halts-power-work-puerto-rico-83m-owed-51290652
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Paddy

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1416 on: November 22, 2017, 10:38:55 PM »
I want to add, I don't think there is a conspiracy from the government to hide the number of deaths. I wish. If that was the case at least decision makers in the know would have taken better decisions.It was nothing but negligence, amplified by naive decision makers. Fake governance.

Hanson's razor comes to mind. (Iirc it goes: "Never attribute to malice that which can more easily be attributed to stupidity")

wili

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1417 on: November 23, 2017, 04:24:03 AM »
"Whitefish halts power work in Puerto Rico..."

I thought they had already been fired.
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1418 on: November 23, 2017, 02:39:35 PM »
"Whitefish halts power work in Puerto Rico..."

I thought they had already been fired.

“Even though the contract had been cancelled, both sides agreed Whitefish would complete its current projects and remain in Puerto Rico until Nov. 30.”

So they would have time for other entities to get to the island and get up to speed, and not have repairs come to a complete halt.
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wili

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1419 on: November 23, 2017, 03:44:58 PM »
Ah, thanks.
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

Alexander555

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1420 on: November 27, 2017, 08:20:02 PM »
Still a week to go.

Alexander555

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1421 on: November 28, 2017, 08:00:17 PM »
And another one expected to make landfall.

Susan Anderson

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1422 on: November 28, 2017, 10:49:38 PM »
Jeff Masters at Wunderground has a new post on costs of US hurricane season (probably low relative to eventual, but a lot higher than previously projected): https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/2017-us-hurricane-damages-206-billion-highest-record 2017 U.S. Hurricane Damage Estimate of $206.6 Billion: Highest on Record

Daniel B.

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1423 on: November 28, 2017, 11:21:58 PM »
Jeff Masters at Wunderground has a new post on costs of US hurricane season (probably low relative to eventual, but a lot higher than previously projected): https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/2017-us-hurricane-damages-206-billion-highest-record 2017 U.S. Hurricane Damage Estimate of $206.6 Billion: Highest on Record

Yes, 2017 was certainly a very active Atlantic season.  Based on ACE, it was the 7th highest on record.  The higher damages are likely due to strike locations and increased building over other years.  The global hurricane season was about 10% below average, as the Pacific season was much quieter. 

A-Team

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1424 on: November 29, 2017, 01:52:46 PM »
Quote
Whitefish halts power work in Puerto Rico
Based on textual analysis of the second PREPA contract to the Texas startup, I'm belatedly realizing that Whitefish, a home business consisting of a former high voltage line repair guy and his wife (a nurse), did not have their in-house lawyer (didn't have one) write up the nasty lopsided contract with PREPA.

Instead, PREPA itself wrote up all the onerous terms, no audit, grotesque over-billing. To facilitate skimming. Indeed, one of the earliest 'casualties' was the PREPA contract lawyer. For over-doing it, to the point it attracted far too much attention.

Those weird quotes in the early days from Ramos make sense now ... how he never saw the contract due to phone system being down, even though the lawyer was using their sat phone in the same office. Was the lawyer was doing this on his own, thinking $300 million could be harvested without his supervisor ever learning about it?

True, Whitefish went along with it but on the mainland, electricity is classified as an 'essential public service' meaning that regulators look the other way on costs because the public wants the system up and running right after storms. Cost over-runs just add pennies to distributed electric bills. Contractors are not in the morals business or consumer advocacy.

If Whitefish had objected to PREPA's terms, saying whoa we can do it right and faster for a whole lot less, PREPA would have turned elsewhere for a contractor. But not to the mainland utility consortium pledged to help fellow utilities because they are all too familiar with what it costs to repair downed lines and not about to pad the bill to FEMA to facilitate Puerto Rican graft.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2017, 07:55:55 PM by A-Team »

Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1425 on: November 29, 2017, 06:27:09 PM »
What A-Team said fits my expectations.

From google translate:
Residents of Summit Hills in Río Piedras again denounce that brigades from the United States are waiting today for the Electric Power Authority to start working. | They have been going to the place for days and have not been able to work because, according to the neighbors, they do not have access to the substation.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155245997377921&id=61186232920

Hopefully  you can see that video. Basically the American brigades waiting on PREPA's beurocracy. If I didn't know how bad beurocracy can be, I would assign it to malice from local managers.

On a personal note, today is the fifth day without running water. No power yet. Generator working 16 hours a day for 70 days but it is still working. Doing the work usually reserved for water pumps is good excersice.

Pro Tip: leaving your waterhose out in the sun will net you 2 gallons of warm water. That's a very generous shower.
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1426 on: November 29, 2017, 07:46:24 PM »
Finally:
Quote
From: Arq. Norma Machado [mailto:█████@prw.net]
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017 11:42 AM
To: Bejnar, Tor <██████████@██████████>
Subject: RE: Email de Contacto

Thank you for your interest.
To make a donation to the Hospital, you can send a check or money order to Puerto Rico Children's Foundation to the following address P.O. Box 1999, Bayamon, P.R. 00960.  Other kinds of donations can also be sent to this address.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. 
[e-mail addresses redacted and emphasis added]

Thanks for gathering relevant statistics.  Grim.
My heart goes out to you (with a planned donation to the PR Children's Hospital, as soon as I can figure out how to send one - their website is in Spanish (appropriately), but of which I am not fluent).

You may wish to check out this site:  https://sanjorgechildrens.childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/
It's in English, and you can select San Jorge Childrens Hospital from the drop-down.

Edit:  Or perhaps try Google Web Page Translate on your web page?
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1427 on: November 29, 2017, 08:45:46 PM »
Puerto Rico, Day 70:
—Millions still w/o power
—Hundreds of thousands still w/o clean running water
—Still a humanitarian emergency
Now, the island faces a potential financial storm of a different kind
https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/935896715286253568

San Juan mayor: GOP tax bill would be worse for Puerto Rico than hurricanes
Quote
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on Tuesday said the tax legislation Republicans are pushing in Congress will have worse consequences for Puerto Rico than the hurricanes that hit the island earlier this year.

"This would be a much more devastating blow to our economy than Irma and Maria put together," Cruz said on "The Rachel Maddow Show."

Cruz noted that the tax proposal includes a 20 percent excise tax on goods imported from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States. That provision, she said, would destroy the island's economy.

"[Our economy] is crippled already, this would obliterate it," she said.

The San Juan mayor accused President Trump's administration of failing to protect the U.S. territory from the possibility of a humanitarian crisis, while claiming that GOP lawmakers have repeatedly pledged they will fix the language in the bill but have failed to do so. ...
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/362309-san-juan-mayor-gop-tax-bill-would-be-more-devastating-to-puerto-ricos-economy
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Brigantine

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1428 on: November 29, 2017, 10:39:08 PM »
"a 20 percent excise tax on goods imported from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States"

I suspect that's purely a Trump-style cynical tactic to get leverage over bondholders for Puerto Rico debt restructuring.

Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1429 on: November 29, 2017, 11:08:49 PM »
Tor thanks very much for your donation. I regret that they took so long in getting back to you. If you already sent them a donation thats great. I'm sure you will be helping children. If you haven't I've been thinking of other worthy causes.

Casa pueblo is another organization that will probably use your money for good. For years they have been promoting sustainability in PR and during the emergency they delivered solar light bulbs, solar panels and water filters to many communities. I think they have more accessible donation infrastructure.

http://casapueblo.org/index.php/calendario/

Another good cause is Dr Vargas Vidot charity " Iniciativa comunitaria". This man is a medical doctor who dedicates his spare time roaming the streets treating, feeding and just taking care of homeless people. He has been doing that for years. In 2016 he decided to run for a senate seat. He didn't campaign, he didn't ask for money yet he was elected with the highest number of votes. He gave me hope for my country. After his elections he doubled his efforts with the homeless. In my book he is a saint.

http://www.iniciativacomunitaria.org
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1430 on: November 30, 2017, 12:47:17 AM »
It took FEMA four weeks to realize no tarps were being delivered. 

Big contracts, no storm tarps for Puerto Rico
Quote
After Hurricane Maria damaged tens of thousands of homes in Puerto Rico, a newly created Florida company with an unproven record won more than $30 million in contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide emergency tarps and plastic sheeting for repairs.

Bronze Star LLC never delivered those urgently needed supplies, which even months later remain in demand by hurricane victims on the island.
...
It is not clear how thoroughly FEMA investigated Bronze Star or its ability to fulfill the contracts. Formed by two brothers in August, Bronze Star had never before won a government contract or delivered tarps or plastic sheeting. The address listed for the business is a single-family home in a residential subdivision in St. Cloud, Florida. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ap-exclusive-big-contracts-storm-tarps-puerto-rico-51436960
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Neven

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1431 on: November 30, 2017, 12:54:31 AM »
Tor thanks very much for your donation. I regret that they took so long in getting back to you. If you already sent them a donation thats great. I'm sure you will be helping children. If you haven't I've been thinking of other worthy causes.

Casa pueblo is another organization that will probably use your money for good. For years they have been promoting sustainability in PR and during the emergency they delivered solar light bulbs, solar panels and water filters to many communities. I think they have more accessible donation infrastructure.

http://casapueblo.org/index.php/calendario/

Another good cause is Dr Vargas Vidot charity " Iniciativa comunitaria". This man is a medical doctor who dedicates his spare time roaming the streets treating, feeding and just taking care of homeless people. He has been doing that for years. In 2016 he decided to run for a senate seat. He didn't campaign, he didn't ask for money yet he was elected with the highest number of votes. He gave me hope for my country. After his elections he doubled his efforts with the homeless. In my book he is a saint.

http://www.iniciativacomunitaria.org

Thanks for the info, Archimid. I've sent small donations their way.
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TerryM

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1432 on: November 30, 2017, 01:14:34 AM »
Puerto Rico, Day 70:
—Millions still w/o power
—Hundreds of thousands still w/o clean running water
—Still a humanitarian emergency
Now, the island faces a potential financial storm of a different kind
https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/935896715286253568

San Juan mayor: GOP tax bill would be worse for Puerto Rico than hurricanes
Quote
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on Tuesday said the tax legislation Republicans are pushing in Congress will have worse consequences for Puerto Rico than the hurricanes that hit the island earlier this year.

"This would be a much more devastating blow to our economy than Irma and Maria put together," Cruz said on "The Rachel Maddow Show."

Cruz noted that the tax proposal includes a 20 percent excise tax on goods imported from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States. That provision, she said, would destroy the island's economy.

"[Our economy] is crippled already, this would obliterate it," she said.

The San Juan mayor accused President Trump's administration of failing to protect the U.S. territory from the possibility of a humanitarian crisis, while claiming that GOP lawmakers have repeatedly pledged they will fix the language in the bill but have failed to do so. ...
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/362309-san-juan-mayor-gop-tax-bill-would-be-more-devastating-to-puerto-ricos-economy


No economy can stand a 20% excise tax on their exports.


Will PR willingly remain as an American Territory, or is their anger only directed at the local government? It would seem as though there was plenty of blame to go around, but the 20% may shake whatever confidence the Puerto Ricans had in the benevolence of Uncle Sam.


I believe that Putin recently forgave ~13$B of debt from Cuba. Perhaps Trump could take a lesson from his Russian counterpart?


Terry

Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1433 on: November 30, 2017, 03:13:11 AM »
President Troll was clear about this. America first. To him Puerto Rico is not america. We don't even speak "American". Puerto Rico is a colony. What good is a colony if you are not extracting wealth?

He will squeeze every penny he can for short term profit. But that's only If the law passes. If it does, it won't be as bad as Maria and the Puerto Rican government, but it will certainly hurt. I'm more worried about the US after President Troll is done with it.
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Alexander555

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1434 on: November 30, 2017, 06:57:32 PM »
Archimid, don't understand me wrong. It's a shame that you guys are not already better off. But in reality Puerto Rico has been extracting wealth from the US. You borrowed 70 billion from the US pension saver. Money they are going to lose i assume. Puerto Rico has been a tax haven for many companies. That's alot of money that went into the pockests of a handfull of people. It's organised tax evasion. And when i look at your pension plans, 2 billion in assets to cover 45 billion of liabilities. Than i think i understand what kind of people have been running things in Puerto Rico. But you should not blame Trump for all of that. Looks like there were a few corrupt people walking around on the island.

Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1435 on: November 30, 2017, 07:29:21 PM »
Alexander555 I wouldn't say PR has been extracting wealth. I like to say the US  "imposed prosperity" on PR. For a bit over 50 years PR has become completely dependant on the US. There was no need to evolve good governance, because the US always bail us out. Gross inefficiencies that would have destroyed independent natios were covered up by debt and federal money.

The debt is unpayable under the status quo. The problem took years to develop into the giant mess it is now. The US has been doind exactly the same thing. Growing deficits and magically expecting growth to erase them.

I don't blame Trump for the current mess in PR. This is mostly local government corruption and incompetence. As I said before, fake government.

Trump however is driving the US to catastrophe in many fronts. Blowing up PR  for short term profit is just one more shortsighted decision.
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Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1436 on: November 30, 2017, 11:32:41 PM »
BTW thanks Neven. Yes the government of PR is terrible, but there are people that need help.
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Archimid

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1437 on: December 01, 2017, 10:35:47 PM »
One quick correction. I don't blame Trump because no government could have defeated the gross incompetence of the Puertorican government. However I still think there was a pay for play with the Whitefish contract. We played at first, thats when the feds started to pour help but then the contract was canceled. That lead to resistance. Maybe time will tell if my conspiracy theory is right.
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Susan Anderson

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1438 on: December 02, 2017, 02:53:45 PM »
For a better informed evaluation of Puerto Rico, which was a ready field for looters who love deregulation and exploited its weak and easily manipulated government, try these. Those who want to turn my country (the US) into a banana republic are eager to remove any kind of limitation on profiteering and "disruption" should view this as a warning.

Profiting from Puerto Rico’s Pain
Hurricane Maria finally scared away debtholders. But other vultures continue to feed off the island.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/profiting-from-puerto-ricos-pain

John Oliver is particularly trenchant, and has done his research as usual:

« Last Edit: December 03, 2017, 08:41:51 PM by Susan Anderson »

Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1439 on: December 04, 2017, 02:58:22 AM »
U.S. feels the effects from Hurricane Maria on pharmaceutical manufacturers in Puerto Rico

FDA Puts Hospitals on Alert For IV Saline Solution Shortage
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/FDA-Puts-Hospitals-On-Alert-For-IV-Saline-Solution-Shortage-460769323.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1440 on: December 05, 2017, 07:29:01 PM »
Tropical Storm Ockhi is undergoing extratropical transition; “will be watched carefully for signs of regeneration.”

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Sigmetnow

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1441 on: December 06, 2017, 09:14:59 PM »
Tesla deploys 6 battery projects in order to power two islands in Puerto Rico, more to come
Quote
As part of Tesla’s continuous effort to deploy energy storage systems in Puerto Rico following their power issues after being ravaged by hurricanes, the local government has now announced that the company will deploy 6 new battery projects on two Puerto Rican islands.

Several additional larger scale projects are also reportedly in the works.
Tesla will combine its Powerpack systems with existing solar arrays on the islands of Vieques and Culebra in order to run microgrids until the main grid connected with underwater cables comes back online.

Tesla was apparently able to quickly deploy the batteries with full inverter and Powerpack systems on Vieques, like the one seen on a trailer [below].

The battery systems are being deployed at critical locations, like a sanitary sewer treatment plant, the Arcadia water pumping station, the Ciudad Dorada elderly community, the Susan Centeno hospital, and the Boys and Girls Club of Vieques. ...
https://electrek.co/2017/12/05/tesla-solar-battery-powerpack-puerto-rico/
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TerryM

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1442 on: December 07, 2017, 06:57:28 PM »
A prepper's view of what is happening in P.R.


http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/pmillion-people-in-puerto-rico-still-dont-have-power-12042017


She seems more interested in documenting what has happened rather than placing blame, an unusual perspective in these times. The very low death count might be connected to the fact that the families of those who lost members to the storm are eligible to receive federal assistance. She mentions some who died when their respirators failed with the electric grid, whose rapid cremation didn't allow the medical examiner to determine if their deaths were storm related.


If Trump's proposed 20% tax on Puerto Rican goods survives, the island won't. Are other outliers of the Empire, say American Samoa or Guam, facing the same export tax, or is this reserved for only one of the colonies?


Terry

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1443 on: December 07, 2017, 07:59:49 PM »
I feel that Puerto could make a fair statement along the lines of "no taxation without representation", but I don't know how it would go down in DC...

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1444 on: December 07, 2017, 08:53:46 PM »
some comments on Terry’s article:

Quote
…there is very little food, no fresh water, 97% are still without power, limited cell signals have stymied communications, and hospitals are struggling to keep people alive. There is no 911. Help is not on the way. If you have no cash, you can’t buy anything. As people get more desperate, violence increases

I could not have said it better myself.

Quote
chaos has begun. The mosquitos have multiplied like the plague. Dead livestock are all over the island including in whatever fresh water supplies they have.

I don’t know about livestock on all water supplies, but definitely many dead birds everywhere and thousands of livestock dead. However as far as I know a good portion of it was properly(but hastily) buried.

Quote
My family has been robbed and have lost whatever little they had left. The gang members are robbing people at gunpoint and the island is in desperation. People are shooting each other at gas stations to get fuel.

I fully expect that situations similar to that happened, probably more than once, but that was not my experience. I stood in three gas lines, a bank line, and many water  and food lines(at the supermarket) and never felt threatened. I doubt the what the author describes in that paragraph was the experience of most, but I’m sure it happened. Crime was rampant for sure. I saw things that I dare not say.

Quote
They’re telling us to rescue them and get them out of the island because they are scared for their lives

I don’t believe that for a second



To Terry

The very low death count might be connected to the fact that the families of those who lost members to the storm are eligible to receive federal assistance.

I don’t think so. I think a variety of factors caused the wrong low death count.

1. The protocol was so burocratic and restrictive that it couldn’t cope with the chaos.

2. Personel  was poorly trained resulting in massive break of the protocol when communications break down forced them to act independent from the chain of command.

3. Completely paralyzing fear of lawsuits by health care providers

4. Completely unqualified and negligent Public Safety Secretary combined with the chief disaster manager literally going on “vacation” in the middle of the emergency. More experienced and compassionate people would have looked at the jump in the mortality data and recognize there was something way off with their protocols. They should have used the mortality data to guide their response instead of going with an obviously flawed protocol.

I don’t think that in the beginning there was intention to deceive at all, even as the secretary of public safety was making fun of allegations of higher death counts. He was making fun of the allegations because he had 100% confidence in the protocols. He was inexperienced and detached enough to completely underestimate the magnitude of the disaster.
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budmantis

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1445 on: December 08, 2017, 05:09:39 AM »
I feel that Puerto could make a fair statement along the lines of "no taxation without representation", but I don't know how it would go down in DC...

"Taxation without representation", sounds like a familiar complaint from a former colony back about 240 years BP!

BudM

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1446 on: December 08, 2017, 07:42:05 AM »
Thanks Archimid
I'm particularly relieved that you don't feel the death count was skewed for financial reasons. That would have been unbelievably callus.


I thought perhaps that you would appreciate how others experienced, or reported on something you were so directly involved in. I've lived in, or adjacent to disaster areas, but I've never been personally affected. Not good planning, simply dumb luck.


The media, in most cases, made mountains out of mole hills, but in some instances they downplayed dangers that seemed very real to me. The internet is at it's best when it allows us to access first hand information, rather than sorting through the interpretation of others. I'm very appreciative of your willingness to share your own experiences.


Terry

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1447 on: December 10, 2017, 02:18:41 AM »
78 days without power. Having the power back is almost as shocking as when Maria took it away it. I still find myself walking into dark rooms instead of just flipping the switch. The refrigerator feels very cold and the ice maker is working.  It’s glorious.

Water service is spotty, but I’m getting enough to refill my reserves every night. The pump is now doing all the work I was doing. There was so much laundry to do.

My generator failled on day 73. I shouldn’t have pushed my with the electric chainsaw.
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TerryM

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1448 on: December 10, 2017, 10:41:08 AM »
Great news !
Hope your replacement generator isn't needed for many decades.


What an experience to write about.
Terry

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Re: Hurricane season 2017
« Reply #1449 on: December 10, 2017, 12:51:32 PM »
Archimid

That's brilliant news. You've provided a lesson for all of us, proving that when circumstances demand it, where there's a will there's a way!

But I have to have an answer to one more question.

How is the Mango?