Mayor of stricken San Juan blasts U.S. official over 'good news' comment

[rooster59]

Mayor of stricken San Juan blasts U.S. official over 'good news' comment

By Robin Respaut and Dave Graham

 

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers and residents clear rubble from a destroyed house after an earthquake in San Juan Pilcaya, at the epicenter zone, Mexico, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - The mayor of the capital of Puerto Rico hit back on Friday at the comments of a top U.S. official who said federal efforts to help the territory recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria is "a good news story."

 

"Damn it, this is not a good news story," Carmen Yulin Cruz told CNN angrily on Friday. "This is a 'people-are-dying story.' This is a life-or-death story."

 

Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, who is helping coordinate U.S. help after Maria, said on Thursday she was satisfied with the response so far.

 

"I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," Duke said.

 

Maria, the most powerful storm to hit Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years, has killed at least 16 people on the island and more than 30 across the Caribbean.

 

As most of the island's 3.4 million residents faced a 10th day without power and struggled to find clean water and fuel, Cruz bristled at Duke's comment.

 

"This is a story of a devastation that continues to worsen because people are not getting food and water," Cruz said on CNN. "It is not good news when people are dying."

 

Duke travelled to Puerto Rico on Friday for a previously scheduled trip, joining Governor Ricardo Rossello for an aerial tour of the island. She told reporters she was proud of the work being done to help Puerto Rico recover, but that she and President Donald Trump would not be satisfied until the island was fully functional. She did not specifically address her 'good news' comment or Cruz's response.

 

Trump was scheduled to go Puerto Rico on Tuesday, while Vice President Mike Pence will be in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands late next week, an aide said.

 

Trump addressed the situation on Friday before a speech in Washington about his new tax plan.

 

"The electrical grid and other infrastructure were already in very, very poor shape. They were at their life's end prior to the hurricanes," said Trump.

"And now virtually everything has been wiped out, and we will have to really start all over again. We're literally starting from scratch."

 

Colonel James DeLapp, the Army Corps of Engineers commander for Puerto Rico, told CNN earlier on Friday that repairing Maria's widespread destruction was a massive undertaking.

 

"The closest thing we've had is when the Army Corps led the effort to restore Iraq's electricity in the early stages of the Iraq war in 2003 and 2004," he said.

 

Financing the rebuilding of the island is set to be complicated after Puerto Rico filed the largest-ever U.S. local government bankruptcy in May, weighed down by $72 billion in debt.

 

"Ultimately the government of Puerto Rico will have to work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort, which will end up being one of the biggest ever, will be funded and organised, and what we will do with the tremendous amount of existing debt already on the island," said Trump.

 

'ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES'

 

Life in Puerto Rico remains tough. In Old San Juan, the capital's historic colonial section, customers lined up on the sidewalk outside Casa Cortes ChocoBar cafe to get sandwiches and coffee from a small window between plywood planks clinging to the building wall.

 

"We're one of the few restaurants that have a generator," said Daniela Santini, 19, who works there. "Most businesses don't have electricity, only some have water. We're one of the lucky ones."

 

More troops, medical supplies and vehicles were on the way to the island, but it will be some time before the U.S. territory is back on its feet, the senior U.S. general appointed to lead military relief operations said on Friday.

 

"We're certainly bringing in more," Lieutenant General Jeffrey Buchanan told CNN on Friday, a day after he was appointed by the Pentagon.

 

Air Force, Navy and Army medical capabilities as well as more aircraft, helicopters of different types, and more logistical support are being dispatched, he said. "It's not enough, but we're bringing more in," Buchanan said.

 

Meanwhile, insurers and reinsurers were counting the cost of Maria, with one modelling firm estimating that claims could total as much as $85 billion. Adding in other storms and earthquakes, this year could be the costliest on record for the industry and tip some insurers and reinsurers into the red.

 

Trump defended his administration's handling of the disaster.

 

"Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello just stated: "The Administration and the President, every time we've spoken, they've delivered ...," Trump tweeted early on Friday.

 

Rossello told CNN on Friday the federal government has responded to his requests and that he was in regular contact with the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but more needed to be done.

 

"We are maximizing all of the resources that we have so that we can deliver goods, water food and supplies," he said. "We do have severe logistical limitations. It has been enhancing but it's still nowhere near where it needs to be."

 

The mayor of San Germán, a city of about 35,000 in the southwest corner of the island, challenged Rossello's assessment on Twitter.

 

"The governor is giving a message that everything is resolved and it is not true," he said in a tweet in Spanish. "There is no functional operational structure. We are alone."

 

In San Juan, Mayor Cruz asked for more immediate action.

 

"Mr. Trump, we appreciate everything you're doing, and we know it can be done faster," she said on CNN. "Let's just put a crew out there with enough equipment and let's just push things out of the way and move," she said.

 

Asked how long it would take for Puerto Rico to recover, Buchanan, the general leading the military effort, gave a slight sigh and said: "This is a very, very long duration."

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-30

 

[khwaibah]

President Douche Bag administration shows their true mentality. This disaster may very well out do W's on Hurricane Katrina and that was a major cock up.

[Stargeezr]

Maybe the population of Puerto Rio could live on the golf course that Trump owns

Maybe its club house is still intact,  at lest live in some place that is not blown apart.

Geezer

 

[RuamRudy]

5 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Maybe the population of Puerto Rio could live on the golf course that Trump owns

Maybe its club house is still intact,  at lest live in some place that is not blown apart.

Geezer

 

After his golf course went bankrupt he bailed - I see a pattern here...

 

 

[Dustdevil]

Heck of a job, Brownie.

[Stargeezr]

Yes the present USA president really is not that great of a businessman

  even his Casino in Atlanta went bank rupt, A casino!  What a joke..

Great big leader, and talker, or should I say tweeterer.

Geezer

[pegman]

If the Americans cannot look after their own maybe the Cuban government should step in. A week to decide to open up the "protection racket" shipping rules? This pathetic lot goes around exclaiming they are some kind of SuperPower rulers of the world. What a joke. Little wonder the North Vietnamese kicked their ass.

[Scott]

54 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Maybe the population of Puerto Rio could live on the golf course that Trump owns Maybe its club house is still intact,  at lest live in some place that is not blown apart.

Geezer

 

 

[sirineou]

I have no love lost for Trump and his henchman /woman but IMO the comment is being taken out of context.

She said:

" "I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," 

The operative phrase  being " in terms of" and the qualifying caveat

" ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," 

and I agree with her . Looking at the devastation the limited amount of casualties is indeed good news. 

 

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, sirineou said:

I have no love lost for Trump and his henchman /woman but IMO the comment is being taken out of context.

She said:

" "I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," 

The operative phrase  being " in terms of" and the qualifying caveat

" ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," 

and I agree with her . Looking at the devastation the limited amount of casualties is indeed good news. 

 

 

Trump just on CNN, making accusation that the democrats told the lady mayor to be nasty to him .  

[Silurian]

Donny John: "Exactly how many electoral votes does Puerto Rico have?"

Aide: "None, they don't affect the outcome of the Presidential election and have very little influence over national policy."

Donny John: "Never mind then. Time for some golf!"

 

 

Well, to be fair as Donny John stated..."This is an island. Surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water."

 

Yeah, that is some BIG water alright. Brilliant wisdom from the Dotard.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Silurian

[sirineou]

19 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Trump just on CNN, making accusation that the democrats told the lady mayor to be nasty to him .  

Mayor Cruz and others are taking the Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke's statement, out of context , and I don't think it is because they did not understood what she said.

As to their motives, I would let others more knowledgeable than me to decide.

 

[sirineou]

^^^^^^

I am sure the situation there is desperate, but I just watched the mayor  on TV and to equate the alleged inefficiency of the recovery effort to approaching "genocide"    is IMO Hyperbole to say the least.

 Perhaps the US is not doing enough to help them, but perhaps if she is going to accuse anyone of "Genocide"  she should look in the mirror and and take her part of the responsibility for driving the economy of Puerto Rico into bankruptcy,   and being unprepared . 

 

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

^^^^^^

I am sure the situation there is desperate, but I just watched the mayor  on TV and to equate the alleged inefficiency of the recovery effort to approaching "genocide"    is IMO Hyperbole to say the least.

 Perhaps the US is not doing enough to help them, but perhaps if she is going to accuse anyone of "Genocide"  she should look in the mirror and and take her part of the responsibility for driving the economy of Puerto Rico into bankruptcy,   and being unprepared . 

 

Your nice president screwed them out of 33 million in tax.

[Opl]

‘Unfit for office’: Trump’s latest ‘racist victim blaming’ tantrum blaming ‘lazy’ Puerto Ricans shocks the Internet: “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,” the president tweeted. “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.”

 

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/09/unfit-for-office-trumps-latest-racist-victim-blaming-tantrum-blaming-lazy-puerto-ricans-shocks-the-internet/

 

 

 

 

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

^^^^^^

I am sure the situation there is desperate, but I just watched the mayor  on TV and to equate the alleged inefficiency of the recovery effort to approaching "genocide"    is IMO Hyperbole to say the least.

 Perhaps the US is not doing enough to help them, but perhaps if she is going to accuse anyone of "Genocide"  she should look in the mirror and and take her part of the responsibility for driving the economy of Puerto Rico into bankruptcy,   and being unprepared . 

 

Well, much of the reason Puerto Rico is in a fix is something called the Jones Act which only allows American ships to ship goods to Puerto Rico. The result of that being much higher prices for things like food and fuel oil.  Trump at first didn't want to suspend the Act because of the objections of shippers and such. Not that it would make much if any difference in the current emergency, but it is a long term drag on the Puerto Rican economy.

[ilostmypassword]

8 hours ago, sirineou said:

I have no love lost for Trump and his henchman /woman but IMO the comment is being taken out of context.

She said:

" "I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," 

The operative phrase  being " in terms of" and the qualifying caveat

" ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," 

and I agree with her . Looking at the devastation the limited amount of casualties is indeed good news. 

 

It is not a good news story in terms of its ability to reach people nor in terms of death. They haven't reached most people yet and what with hospital failures and lack of communications the death toll is unknown and will certainly rise.

The general widely credited with turning the situation around in New Orleans has panned the Trump administration's efforts so far.

[MajarTheLion]

This story is hilarious. If one reads carefully, there is no meat to this story. There is literally nothing to complain about. There seems to be a strange obsession with Duke's statement:

 

"I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," Duke said.

 

In reality, there is nothing wrong with her statement. Furthermore, Puerto Rico is a welfare state. 1/3 of their population is on food stamps- about triple the rate of that in the United States.  Of course they are going to sit around and whine. That's what welfare state leftists do. Complain. Thankfully, Houston had an entirely different experience with the outpouring of volunteering and cooperation in the affected area. 

 

Hopefully the author of this article crawled back under his or her rock to come up with some better material than this vague whining.

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, MajarTheLion said:

This story is hilarious. If one reads carefully, there is no meat to this story. There is literally nothing to complain about. There seems to be a strange obsession with Duke's statement:

 

"I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane," Duke said.

 

In reality, there is nothing wrong with her statement. Furthermore, Puerto Rico is a welfare state. 1/3 of their population is on food stamps- about triple the rate of that in the United States.  Of course they are going to sit around and whine. That's what welfare state leftists do. Complain. Thankfully, Houston had an entirely different experience with the outpouring of volunteering and cooperation in the affected area. 

 

Hopefully the author of this article crawled back under his or her rock to come up with some better material than this vague whining.

Yes all those whining people who have no electricity, no fuel, and lack access to clean water. Here's a report about another, whiner, General Honoré, the guy who turned the situation in New Orleans around after Katrina.."According to Honoré, Puerto Rico is much worse off than New Orleans was: “Puerto Rico is a bigger and tougher mission than Katrina,” he told Rachel Martin on Morning Edition. “And we had 20,000 federal troops, 20 ships, and 40,000 National Guard.”

https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/28/16379286/puerto-rico-response-trump-honore-interview

The general then went on to say that the Trump administration started sending ships about 4 days too late.

 

[MajarTheLion]

15 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Yes all those whining people who have no electricity, no fuel, and lack access to clean water. Here's a report about another, whiner, General Honoré, the guy who turned the situation in New Orleans around after Katrina.."According to Honoré, Puerto Rico is much worse off than New Orleans was: “Puerto Rico is a bigger and tougher mission than Katrina,” he told Rachel Martin on Morning Edition. “And we had 20,000 federal troops, 20 ships, and 40,000 National Guard.”

https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/28/16379286/puerto-rico-response-trump-honore-interview

The general then went on to say that the Trump administration started sending ships about 4 days too late.

 

Good for him.

[sirineou]

27 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

It is not a good news story in terms of its ability to reach people nor in terms of death. They haven't reached most people yet and what with hospital failures and lack of communications the death toll is unknown and will certainly rise.

The general widely credited with turning the situation around in New Orleans has panned the Trump administration's efforts so far.

Unless it will be It would be better news for you if there were more deaths , I would suggest that it is good news that the death toll is a low as it is.

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, MajarTheLion said:

Good for him.

And bad for you. Or at least your irrelevant assertions.

[MajarTheLion]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

Unless it will be It would be better news for you if there were more deaths , I would suggest that it is good news that the death toll is a low as it is.

Agreed. An island hit by such a horrible natural disaster, we should certainly be sad about those who have perished. But also we should be grateful that the death toll wasn't higher. 

 

At some point, it would be interesting to see how Puerto Rico's infrastructure preparedness played a role. That should certainly come later, and I could have done without Trump commenting on their infrastructure so early in the game. There will be plenty of time for analysis later. 

[MajarTheLion]

4 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

And bad for you. Or at least your irrelevant assertions.

What irrelevant assertions? My comments were addressed specifically to the topic at hand. 

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, MajarTheLion said:

What irrelevant assertions? My comments were addressed specifically to the topic at hand. 

 "Furthermore, Puerto Rico is a welfare state. 1/3 of their population is on food stamps- about triple the rate of that in the United States. "

Your statement is nonsense.

[MajarTheLion]

Just now, ilostmypassword said:

 "Furthermore, Puerto Rico is a welfare state. 1/3 of their population is on food stamps- about triple the rate of that in the United States. "

Your statement is nonsense.

 

No, it's the truth:

 

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=one+third+of+puerto+rico+on+food+stamps&oq=one+third+of+puerto+rico+on+food+stamps&gs_l=psy-ab.3...4777.10882.0.11141.44.36.0.0.0.0.636.4815.0j24j4j5-1.30.0.dummy_maps_web_fallback...0...1.1.64.psy-ab..14.29.4699.6..0j35i39k1j0i20i264k1j0i131k1j0i131i10k1j0i10k1j0i20i264i46k1j46i20i264k1j0i13i30k1j0i13i5i30k1j33i22i29i30k1j0i8i13i30k1j33i160k1j33i21k1.107.JfpESgALsZM

 

The truth is never nonsense. And the mentality of people in general in a disaster-affected area will absolutely have an affect on how said people get through a natural disaster. People who are used to providing for themselves will fare better than those who stick their hand out waiting for others to do for them.

 

 

[sirineou]

47 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Your nice president screwed them out of 33 million in tax.

I have no love lost for Trump, and the day he is gone would be a good day for me,

But his shortcomings do nothing to mitigate the political corruption that have brought Puerto Rico where it is.

Though the trumps response leaves a lot to be desired, I think the mayor and her ilk have a lot to answer for. IMO Her response is three pronged,

One is sincere frustration with FEMA

Two is Democratic politics.

Three is an attempt to inoculate herself for blame and improve her political position.

Anyone who does not think there are not a lot of politics involved in this is naive. 

,  

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, MajarTheLion said:

 

No, it's the truth:

 

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=one+third+of+puerto+rico+on+food+stamps&oq=one+third+of+puerto+rico+on+food+stamps&gs_l=psy-ab.3...4777.10882.0.11141.44.36.0.0.0.0.636.4815.0j24j4j5-1.30.0.dummy_maps_web_fallback...0...1.1.64.psy-ab..14.29.4699.6..0j35i39k1j0i20i264k1j0i131k1j0i131i10k1j0i10k1j0i20i264i46k1j46i20i264k1j0i13i30k1j0i13i5i30k1j33i22i29i30k1j0i8i13i30k1j33i160k1j33i21k1.107.JfpESgALsZM

 

The truth is never nonsense. And the mentality of people in general in a disaster-affected area will absolutely have an affect on how said people get through a natural disaster. People who are used to providing for themselves will fare better than those who stick their hand out waiting for others to do for them.

 

 

I said it was irrelevant. I didn't say it was untrue. Do you understand the difference  between irrelevant and untrue? It's also the truth that Puerto Rico is an island that was directly hit by a very powerful hurricane. It was left with no power, no communications, etc. That's a relevant fact. It's also a fact that Puerto Rico has beautiful beaches. That's an irrelevant fact. Just like your comment about food stamps. And as for your assertion about people just waiting with their hands out, that's called speculation. And you have zero evidence to back it up.

[MajarTheLion]

Just now, sirineou said:

I have no love lost for Trump, and the day he is gone would be a good day for me,

But his shortcomings do nothing to mitigate the political corruption that have brought Puerto Rico where it is.

Though the trumps response leaves a lot to be desired, I think the mayor and her ilk have a lot to answer for. IMO Her response is three pronged,

One is sincere frustration with FEMA

Two is Democratic politics.

Three is an attempt to inoculate herself for blame and improve her political position.

Anyone who does not think there are not a lot of politics involved in this is naive. 

,  

I saw an interesting example of this in an earlier post. Someone cited "failed hospitals" in their laundry list of complaints about Trump. Hospital preparedness is something Puerto Rico should have thought of beforehand. While Trump pointed out their poor infrastructure, I think that could have waited. That doesn't make it untrue, just bad timing.  It appears to me their failures will make our assistance a bigger job. But yes, of course we can, are and should help Puerto Rico. 

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, MajarTheLion said:

I saw an interesting example of this in an earlier post. Someone cited "failed hospitals" in their laundry list of complaints about Trump. Hospital preparedness is something Puerto Rico should have thought of beforehand. While Trump pointed out their poor infrastructure, I think that could have waited. That doesn't make it untrue, just bad timing.  It appears to me their failures will make our assistance a bigger job. But yes, of course we can, are and should help Puerto Rico. 

How do you know that they weren't prepared? There's only so much fuel can store for your generators. Have you forgotten that there's virtually no power to most of the island?