Rebuilding a Better Puerto Rico?

[Hypoxia]

I blame the fake media.

What’s the real media saying about Puerto Rico?

PR does not exist in that world, only Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Trinidad. The rest is a blank spot on their map.

Puerto Rico should elect a Communist Revolutionary Government. That is the usual Latin American way to attract the interest of the USA.

Alas, Puerto Ricans ain't much into Communist revolutiuons. But maybe if enough hammer-and-sickle signs were painted...

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

The Navy Sent A Floating Hospital To Puerto Rico, But Few Can Get Onto It

October 17, 2017

Puerto Rico continues to suffer nearly a month after Hurricane Maria, with 85 percent of the island still lacking electricity. Cellphone service and clean water is still limited throughout the territory, and hospitals have had a particularly hard time coping with limited resources and an influx of patients. In response, the federal government sent down the USNS Comfort, the Navy's East Coast hospital ship, which has 250 beds. Unfortunately, people in need don't seem to be able to get onboard.

http://gothamist.com/2017/10/17/puerto_rico_hospital.php#photo-1

There are only 33 Puerto Rican patients receiving care from the ship.

 

[DrDelirium]

"Meanwhile, critics have continued to speak out against the federal government's response to storm recovery. Recently, Congress pledged $4 billion to help Puerto Rico bounce back from the hurricane, despite experts estimating the island sustained at least $90 billion in damages. President Donald Trump has repeatedly mentioned how much the storm is costing the U.S. government, and recently threatened to pull federal relief workers from the island if Congress chose not to appropriate enough funds."

From the Gothamist article cited above.

Two things strike me here- one is the difference between $4 billion in federal disaster funds and $90 billion in damages is presented as if the Feds should pay the whole ticket. $4 billion may or may not be too low, but a significant amount of the $90 billion is stuff that belongs to rich people and businesses and damned well ought to be insured.
The other is that Trump 'threatened to' 'if'. If what? If congress, which is legally responsible for the administration of Puerto Rico, does not provide funds. Both of these are matters for congress to deal with- pass the bills, provide the money. But no mention of that.

 

[sr71plt]

I think Trump's plan is to let enough Puerto Rican Americans die to make $4 billion enough.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

Rebuilding a Better Puerto Rico?

Now that the comm and electricity systems needs to be completely rebuilt in PR, shouldn't we make it a priority to rebuild in a systematic 21st Century way? Rather than 'patch up' the systems shouldn't they be redesigned to be more hurricane resistant or more efficient and solar powered, or whatever?

Google to use balloons to provide Puerto Rico cell service



Obviously this would be a temporary fix, but;


If the good lord gives you chaos shouldn't you try to create something better than the makeshift patchwork you have to replace?

How about that for an infrastructure investment plan?

No money. No resources. No credit. That does not leave many options for that island.

If I were them I'd start petitioning another country for aide. Russia? China? I bet either country would welcome a foot hold a thousand miles off the coast of FL.

 

[sr71plt]

If I were them I'd start petitioning another country for aide. Russia? China? I bet either country would welcome a foot hold a thousand miles off the coast of FL.

If I were them, I'd organize to move en masse to Florida, where they could vote, and turn Florida blue. I understand that's in the works, if for no other reason than it's one of their only survival options.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Two years before the housing market collapsed in 2008 and millions of Americans lost their homes, Donald Trump said he was hoping for a crash.

"I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy," Trump said in a 2006 audiobook from Trump University, answering a question about "gloomy predictions that the real estate market is heading for a spectacular crash."
The U.


"If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know you can make a lot of money," Trump said in the 2006 audio book, "How to Build a Fortune." "If you're in a good cash position -- which I'm in a good cash position today -- then people like me would go in and buy like crazy."


http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/politics/donald-trump-2006-hopes-real-estate-market-crashes/index.html

The game plan in Puerto Rico is clear.

The sons of bitches are going to grind those poor bastards into dust, trigger a mass exodus of those who can afford to leave, and then swoop in and buy up the land at fire sale prices so they can build high priced condos to use as real estate for their next international money laundering scheme.

What surprises me? There are still Puerto Ricans who think the most racist government in 70 years is going to help them.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fema-not-our-job-deliver-water-and-food

 

[DrDelirium]

The game plan in Puerto Rico is clear.

The sons of bitches are going to grind those poor bastards into dust, trigger a mass exodus of those who can afford to leave, and then swoop in and buy up the land at fire sale prices so they can build high priced condos to use as real estate for their next international money laundering scheme.

They gotta do something, because all that Florida beach front is going to be underwater soon.

What surprises me? There are still Puerto Ricans who think the most racist government in 70 years is going to help them.

Of course they're going to help them. They don't want all the Puerto Ricans to leave- where would they get maids for those condos?

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fema-not-our-job-deliver-water-and-food

On the other hand, nobody is buying up Haiti. Having Trump come in and build high rise condos and hand out minimum wage service jobs probably seems like a dream come true compared to the Clinton Foundation just taking the aid money and running.

 

[Vanadorn]

On the other hand, nobody is buying up Haiti. Having Trump come in and build high rise condos and hand out minimum wage service jobs probably seems like a dream come true compared to the Clinton Foundation just taking the aid money and running.

And once again, deflect. Stop. Just stop.

CLINTON ISN'T FUCKING PRESIDENT!!!!! 25 years of the right-wing machine stomping all over the Clintons means to a sad 25% or so that he/she/they are one step to the east of the devil himself.

And President Fucknuts the Blowpop flat out admits that's what he'd do. Sweet Shit on a Stick! What does it take for a trumpanite to actual listen to words that come from the suckhole in his orange face?

-V

 

[DrDelirium]

And once again, deflect. Stop. Just stop.

CLINTON ISN'T FUCKING PRESIDENT!!!!! 25 years of the right-wing machine stomping all over the Clintons means to a sad 25% or so that he/she/they are one step to the east of the devil himself.

And President Fucknuts the Blowpop flat out admits that's what he'd do. Sweet Shit on a Stick! What does it take for a trumpanite to actual listen to words that come from the suckhole in his orange face?

-V

I wouldn't know, but as I mentioned in this thread, I'm not a Trump supporter. What would it take for you to acknowledge that Trump is nothing special, that Clinton ACTUALLY FUCKING MADE BANK OFF THE SUFFERING OF THE PEOPLE OF HAITI, and D's and R's are both part of a massive systemic problem that goes way beyond Trump and Puerto Rico? I guess to begin with you'd have to read whole paragraphs and not just search for key words to set yourself off with.

Here, for the simple minded: Trump is bad. Clinton is bad. They are part of a bad system that consistently puts people like them in power, and when in power, those people consistently do the same kinds of things.

That's not a deflection, all the stupid partisan bickering is a deflection from the real problem.

 

[JackLuis]

Trump gives his response to Puerto Rico ‘a ten’ — even as 28% of residents still lack drinking water

Despite the president’s boasts, however, the Federal Emergency Management Agency still estimates that 28% of Puerto Ricans lack access to potable water, while 83% still lack electricity. Additionally, only 392 miles of Puerto Rico’s 5,073 miles of roads are operational.

(Less than 8% of roads operational? This is a 10?)

Hurricane Maria first made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, and President Trump first visited the island on October 4.

Asshole Trump!

 

[phrodeau]

(edited)

What would it take for you to acknowledge that Trump is nothing special, that Clinton ACTUALLY FUCKING MADE BANK OFF THE SUFFERING OF THE PEOPLE OF HAITI, and D's and R's are both part of a massive systemic problem that goes way beyond Trump and Puerto Rico?

It would take a presentation of facts, not a half-baked Alex Jones rant.

 

[DrDelirium]

Trump gives his response to Puerto Rico ‘a ten’ — even as 28% of residents still lack drinking water



Asshole Trump!

Every year around here we have a natural disaster called 'winter.' There are places in the world where they know how to build roads that last a long time through very severe winters, but this isn't one of them. So the roads generally keep it together for about three or four years and then it starts looking like a third world country. But, being in the Richest Country On Earth, we, of course, get our roads fixed on a regular basis. About every ten years. When they come around to fix a particular road- say the mile-and-a-half long stretch between crossroads in my neighborhood, it generally takes five or six weeks. When they fix the four lanes up by the Walmart, it takes all summer, but that involves money from the state government, so they do it every three or four years. When they replaced the interstate overpass (federal!) it took five years.
I don't know the condition of the roads in general in Puerto Rico, or in what specific ways they were damaged, but I doubt they were better than the roads here before the hurricane, and given the terrain in Puerto Rico and the nature of the disaster, I'm going to guess that there are a lot of chunks of road that just disappeared, either washed down hill or buried. And in a place that's not a simple grid like downtown NYC, you have to fix the first one on a road before you can get to the next one, and you have to fix that before you can get to the next, etc. And, one hopes they are making them better than they were before, because Maria is not the last storm that will hit Puerto Rico.
I think it would be pretty remarkable if they actually fixed any roads at this early date. Cleared trees and mud off some, sure. Dumped gravel in some potholes, yes. Threw some waffle track over some dicey ground so they can drive a truck over it- slowly- sure. But if they are actually fixing roads at this point, they either are way ahead of the curve or their priorities are confused.

 

[DrDelirium]

I would also note that if the road in front of my house was damaged in a disaster of Maria-like magnitude (couldn't really happen because we're too small), they wouldn't fix it for years, beyond maybe dumping gravel on it periodically, and even that would be low priority because there aren't many people on the road, there are two ways in, and the longest possible hump on foot would be 3/4 of a mile to the nearest road that would be a priority to fix. I would be bitching and moaning, of course, because I'm right on the sweet spot where I'd have to make the longest trek, but realistically I could see why they would go after the canyon roads with only one exit and several thousand people on them first.

 

[JackLuis]

Tesla makes quick work of Puerto Rico hospital solar power relief project

Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted on Twitter that Tesla’s solar team could indeed outfit Puerto Rico with power facilities that could be used to generate and store power reserves when the existing grid isn’t available, as it has been after the U.S. territory faced the devastation of hurricane Maria. Now, Tesla is showing that it’s making good on its promise of help, with significant progress being made on one solar generation/storage facility on the island.

The facility in question will provide power to Hospital del Niño, with a combination of solar cells and Tesla’s Powerpack commercial energy storage batteries. That should mean it can not only generate power from the sun’s rays in times of need, but also store up a reserve that can be used to provide power around the clock and throughout varying weather conditions, even when the sun isn’t shining.

Tesla noted on Twitter that this is just the “first of many solar+storage projects going live,” after the company discussed how it might help with Puerto Rico’s ongoing recovery efforts with PR Governor Ricardo Rossello following an exchange between the Governor and Musk on Twitter. Rossello and Puerto Rican Chief Innovation Officer Glorimar Ripoli proposed turning the territory into a flagship example of what Tesla’s solar technologies can do for the world.

One small step for Musk, one giant leap for Puerto Rico!

 

[Hypoxia]

JACKPOT
$300M Puerto Rico Recovery Contract Awarded to Tiny Utility Company Linked to Major Trump Donor

A tiny utility company linked to a prominent Trump campaign donor has been awarded the massive contract to help rebuild the crippled island.

Puerto Rico has agreed to pay a reported $300 million for the restoration of its power grid to a tiny utility company that is primarily financed by a private-equity firm founded and run by a man who contributed large sums of money to President Trump, an investigation conducted by The Daily Beast has found.

Whitefish Energy Holdings, which had a reported staff of only two full-time employees when Hurricane Maria touched down, appears ill-equipped to handle the daunting task of restoring electricity to Puerto Rico’s more than 3 million residents.

It's only corruption if you get caught.

 

[JackLuis]

Trump administration is too ‘afraid’ to talk FEMA

The mayor of San Juan says the Trump administration is so "afraid" to discuss its "deplorable" response to Hurricane Maria that it hastily canceled a meeting between her and the Federal Emergency Management Agency after she had flown all the way to Washington on Tuesday.

Carmen Yulin Cruz said she was supposed to meet with FEMA Administrator Brock Long to discuss the agency response to the September 20 hurricane, which to this day has left 75 percent of the island without power—only to discover the meeting had been scrubbed and not even been rescheduled after she landed in the capital.

“It was deplorable how FEMA acted against the Puerto Rican people,” said Cruz. “What are they afraid of? The truth has to be told and people all over the world has seen how the Trump administration has treated Puerto Rico.”

They don't like to be yelled at, I guess?

 

[Beco]

Fix the tourist areas first, hospitals, airports, and the like, then move on. But, inland might never be right, ever again.

 

[cheesehead2]

Fix the tourist areas first, hospitals, airports, and the like, then move on. But, inland might never be right, ever again.

send over a few barges full of row boats and sink the island. New coral reef.

 

[Beco]

send over a few barges full of row boats and sink the island. New coral reef.

Wasnt that an episode of Lost?

More likely scenario is that Bezos buys the island....

 

[sr71plt]

Just evacuate all of the Puerto Ricans to Florida and point out to them where their new polling place is.

 

[JawnKarTurr]

The Government was massively in debt before the storms, neglected the whole island, and when efforts to help did come they complained despite very real logistics problems. But don't worry liberals it's still Trump's fault.


I hope they rebuild the island quickly and help those who need help, but frankly, there need to be some fundamental changes or it won't matter.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Trump's very good friends in Puerto Rico agreed to give a contract to Trump's very good friends in America.

It did not work out very well, for the people of Puerto Rico...

Just like the deal Puerto Rico made with Trump, over a golf course, the promises meant nothing and Puerto Rico got stuck with the bill, again.

A major Puerto Rican power line repaired by the tiny Montana company Whitefish Energy failed Thursday morning, plunging almost all of the island, including parts of San Juan and other major cities, back into darkness.

Just 18% of Puerto Rico now has power, according to the island's energy utility, down from 43% before the line failed on Thursday, wiping out a quarter of Puerto Rico's power generation.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhipraka...n-after-a-line?utm_term=.joEJR8EvN#.uwM1LaJBA

Whitefish Energy was unceremoniously kicked out. Is this a little Whitefish Energy sabotage and revenge ?

 

[Beco]

Just evacuate all of the Puerto Ricans to Florida and point out to them where their new polling place is.

I think they are already doing that....