puerto rico
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Puerto Rico (Spanish for “Rich Port”), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. “Free Associated State of Puerto Rico”) and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea.
It is an archipelago among the Greater Antilles that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. The capital and most populous city is San Juan. Its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates. The island’s population is approximately 3.4 million. Puerto Rico’s rich history, tropical climate, diverse natural scenery, traditional cuisine, and attractive tax incentives make it a popular destination for travelers from around the world.
Originally populated by the indigenous Taíno people, the island was claimed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus for the Crown of Castile during his second voyage. Later it endured invasion attempts from the French, Dutch, and British. Four centuries of Spanish colonial government transformed the island’s ethnic, cultural and physical landscapes primarily with waves of African slaves, and Canarian, and Andalusian settlers. In the Spanish imperial imagination, Puerto Rico played a secondary, but strategic role when compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and the mainland parts of New Spain. Spain’s distant administrative control continued up to the end of the 19th century, helping to produce a distinctive creole Hispanic culture and language that combined elements from the Native Americans, Africans, and Iberians. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico along with other Spanish colonies under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.
Puerto Ricans are by law natural-born citizens of the United States and may move freely between the island and the mainland.
but can be ignored in times of trouble.. ie: maria
The Trump administration says it is not planning to waive federal restrictions on foreign ships’ transportation of cargo to Puerto Rico and other areas affected by Hurricane Maria, as it did following hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
As it is not a state Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. As a U.S. territory, American citizens residing on the island are disenfranchised at the national level and do not vote for president and vice president of the United States. Congress approved a local constitution, allowing U.S. citizens on the territory to elect a governor. A 2012 referendum showed a majority (54% of those who voted) disagreed with “the present form of territorial status”, with full statehood the preferred option among those who voted for a change of status, although a significant number of people did not answer the second question of the referendum. Another fifth referendum was held on June 11, 2017, with “Statehood” and “Independence/Free Association” initially as the only available choices. At the recommendation of the Department of Justice, an option for the “current territorial status” was added. The referendum showed an overwhelming support for statehood, with 97.18% voting for it, although the voter turnout had a historically low figure of only 22.99% of the registered voters casting their ballots.
In early 2017, the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis posed serious problems for the government. The outstanding bond debt had climbed to $70 billion at a time with 12.4% unemployment. The debt had been increasing during a decade long recession. This was the second major financial crisis to affect the island after the Great Depression when the U.S. government, in 1935, provided relief efforts through the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration. On May 3, 2017, Puerto Rico’s financial oversight board in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico filed the debt restructuring petition which was made under Title III of PROMESA. By early August 2017, the debt was $72 billion with a 45% poverty rate.
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adding during maria devastation
ie: from Adam Burk fb share
From a friend in Puerto Rico:
Key points to take to your congresspeople and anyone you can get to listen and pay attention to Puerto Rico right now:
* People are in survival mode and rationing all resources.
Inability to communicate is biggest impact on coordination efforts* Hospitals and elderly homes don’t have diesel fuel
* No one can access cash and no electronic purchasing or bank processes are working
* Supplies of drinkable water are rapidly decreasing
* Six days after the hurricane and still many communities in the mountains that have gone unreached
* People in San Juan are getting supplies and managing – but outside of the metro area things remain very challenging
* The government has not been able to communicate with several remote towns
* People are beginning to get hysteric with lack of food, water, fuel, and cash. There is spirit and community amidst the challenges. And . . .
* There is a 7pm curfew
* Dealing with elderly is top priority
* Fuel is needed for generators and to provide transportation to get to and help family in remote areas
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US Ignores Puerto Rico’s Humanitarian Crisis: https://t.co/lj9cmjoyNF via @YouTube
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/TheYoungTurks/status/912520267192324096
3.5 Million Americans without power, potentially for months while Trump draws on divisive playbook, this time w NFL. https://t.co/yTLm19UC7K
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/nirvan/status/912519993614405633
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Azeem Ibrahim (@AzeemIbrahim) tweeted at 5:52 AM – 25 Sep 2017 :
Can we add #Myanmar to Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia…? Genocides we knew were happening but chose to ignore. https://t.co/dAlhOxby1U (http://twitter.com/AzeemIbrahim/status/912283781830254593?s=17)
and too puerto rico..? no..?
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Céline (@krustelkram) tweeted at 6:43 AM – 26 Sep 2017 :
thread… https://t.co/CLWWKER3NU (http://twitter.com/krustelkram/status/912658937278865408?s=17)
Colonialism 101:
#PuertoRico can’t get help from other countries unless the US gives permission, allows foreign ships to bring cargo.
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pammoran (@pammoran) tweeted at 4:10 AM – 27 Sep 2017 :
Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917, when President Woodrow Wilson signed Jones-Shafroth Act. #historymatters (http://twitter.com/pammoran/status/912982840815636480?s=17)
Angela Blanchard (@CajunAngela) tweeted at 5:25 AM – 27 Sep 2017 :
Nearly Half of Americans Don’t Know Puerto Ricans Are Fellow Citizens https://t.co/J08vdfky3C (http://twitter.com/CajunAngela/status/913001542256644096?s=17)
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“You can’t get money out of ATMs right now in Puerto Rico… a lot of people… are simply going hungry” https://t.co/bedHCOY6TC
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/913415552986746880
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Puerto Rico mayor fires back at Trump admin: “This is not a good news story, this is a people-are-dying story” https://t.co/eBhfcEcOil https://t.co/xIp8fs4fuK
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/thehill/status/913778419153932288
@jbendery
WOW. San Juan mayor: “I am going to do what I never thought I would do. I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying.
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NBC News (@NBCNews) tweeted at 3:02 PM on Fri, Sep 29, 2017:
San Juan mayor: “I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island…” https://t.co/R1N0xDT0fz
(https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/913871652768878592?s=03)
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Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy will make hurricane recovery brutal – here’s why https://t.co/TTXNAfSida
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/Salon/status/914128834366201856
owe 70 bn.. military up 80 bn
@NaomiAKLein
Amount of #PuertoRico‘s debt: $70-billion Amount Senate voted to increase military spending: $80-Billion #Cancelthedebt #JustReconstruction
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David Atkins (@DavidOAtkins) tweeted at 2:52 AM – 1 Oct 2017 :
@NaomiAKlein thank you for inspiring me to write this. https://t.co/GhtF1BYusF (http://twitter.com/DavidOAtkins/status/914412764612878336?s=17)
Don’t Let The Vultures Shock Doctrine Puerto Rico
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Peg (@ethnobot) tweeted at 6:14 AM on Fri, Oct 06, 2017:
FEMA leaves only stats that support Trump’s assertions. But full reports available on Puerto Rican website https://t.co/W7R1GTehlU https://t.co/ZFZhvrYFty
(https://twitter.com/ethnobot/status/916275494101880832?s=03)
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Puerto Rico Governor Responds To Elon Musk’s Offer To Have Tesla Rebuild The Island’s Power Grid
lovely.. along with.. let’s proto a deeper energy
Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) tweeted at 8:52 PM – 5 Oct 2017 :
Swooning hard.
Puerto Rico 2.0 could be one of the first major steps to Earth 2.0
Equitable, renewable.
This could actually be happening. https://t.co/16Ca9mYmAD (http://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/916134079820713984?s=17)
Nick Stewart (@nickstew_art) tweeted at 5:33 AM – 6 Oct 2017 :
This from @elonmusk – first really positive news re #PuertoRico since the storms … https://t.co/FgKCh7aOW1 No thanks to #Trump (http://twitter.com/nickstew_art/status/916265086163013633?s=17)
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gov: @ricardorossello
first lady: @BeatrizRossello
@ricardorossello
@elonmusk Let’s talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project.
rt by @BeatrizRossello:
@Tommy_Torres
Replying to @ricardorossello @elonmusk
If you make this happen, Puerto Rico and all future generations will be forever thankful. Probably less hurricanes for them too!
begs we proto a deeper energy alongside.. ie: free people a nother way
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Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 5:13 AM – 7 Oct 2017 :
White supremacy, the shock doctrine, disaster capitalism and climate catastrophe are all intersecting in Puerto Rico right now #PRontheMap (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/916622502767546369?s=17)
opp to proto roots of healing.. via 2 convos
ie: hlb via 2 convos that io dance.. as the day..[aka: not part\ial.. for (blank)’s sake…].. a nother way
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@matthewberryfcc
BREAKING: FCC issues experimental license to Google to provide emergency cellular service in Puerto Rico through Project Loon balloons.
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12 min video via Rosa
AgitArte (@AgitArte) tweeted at 3:43 AM – 9 Oct 2017 :
“People are burying loved ones in their backyards” – @rosaclemente reporting #PRontheMap
https://t.co/XfS2sgOGst (http://twitter.com/AgitArte/status/917324732864847873?s=17)
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michel fb share
this is how change happens, through pedagogical catastrophes …
Puerto Rico to Get Power Relief From German Microgrid Supplier
michel in comments: and yet, this is the opposite of the shock doctrine
?
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Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 6:56 AM – 9 Oct 2017 :
Day 20 of a humanitarian crisis and massive human rights violations by the US government against its own citizens #PRontheMap (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/917373087091392514?s=17)
Tim Kaine (@timkaine) tweeted at 12:25 PM – 9 Oct 2017 :
Was in #PuertoRico Saturday. Only 15% have power after 2wks. Hope to hit 25% by next month. 25%! Where else in USA would this be acceptable? (http://twitter.com/timkaine/status/917455975661162496?s=17)
Samantha Matson (@samanthamatson) tweeted at 12:25 PM – 9 Oct 2017 :
@timkaine Flint, MI. #DoSomething (http://twitter.com/samanthamatson/status/917456111178891264?s=17)
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Larry La Fountain (@larrylafountain) tweeted at 9:12 PM – 10 Oct 2017 :
US Authorities Are ‘Whitewashing’ the Devastation and Death Toll in Puerto Rico https://t.co/E9INWhOx4d via @angel15amc (http://twitter.com/larrylafountain/status/917950955257286656?s=17)
Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 4:48 AM – 11 Oct 2017 :
2 days ago people asking how we could say maybe 400 or more Pricans have died,how do we know?Were listening to Puerto Ricans #PRontheMap (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/918065765894541312?s=17)
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Vann R. Newkirk II (@fivefifths) tweeted at 5:32 AM – 12 Oct 2017 :
There are lots of people who haven’t even received first response yet. People need water. Roads still collapsing. Superfund sites flooded https://t.co/EUV3Z6nMbW (http://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/918439324072341504?s=17)
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CNN (@CNN) tweeted at 3:55 AM – 13 Oct 2017 :
Satellite images show how dark Puerto Rico has been due to little or no power days and weeks after Hurricane Maria https://t.co/tKQsL9kjjFhttps://t.co/18IS0mL1Kt (http://twitter.com/CNN/status/918777080967557120?s=17)
Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 4:30 AM – 13 Oct 2017 :
Can’t with #WomenBoycottTwitter instead why not #WomenHelpPuertoRico,what a privilege to silence 1 of the forms of communication #PRontheMap (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/918785933549424641?s=17)
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Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) tweeted at 5:01 PM – 13 Oct 2017 :
This man is feeding about half as many people in Puerto Rico as all of FEMA. https://t.co/oVBMbplTyS(http://twitter.com/samswey/status/918975063449309184?s=17)
Mary Jane Amato (@ThurberLouise) tweeted at 5:26 PM – 13 Oct 2017 :
@samswey Where to donate for Jose Andres Puerto Rican efforts – https://t.co/ABFY4jPHNL (http://twitter.com/ThurberLouise/status/918981258406854656?s=17)
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30,000 US citizens of Utuado, Puerto Rico have NO water. They are drinking contaminated water from the river. I am sitting next to them crying. – @KrapelsMarco
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/MarkRuffalo/status/919319996471349249
Carl Zimmer (@carlzimmer) tweeted at 7:07 AM – 17 Oct 2017 :
27 days after Maria hit Puerto Rico, 82.3% have no power, 34.5% have no drinking water. [*up* 6.5% from yesterday] https://t.co/O329M8IoxZ (http://twitter.com/carlzimmer/status/920275066969116672?s=17)
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CNN (@CNN) tweeted at 6:58 AM – 18 Oct 2017 :
Google drones will drop burritos into people’s yards in Australia https://t.co/6XsYMaHuHAhttps://t.co/pKyTg5x7kh(http://twitter.com/CNN/status/920635125393707008?s=17)
so .. why not in pr..?
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Rosa Clemente on pr on democracy now
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/18/rosa_clemente_on_puerto_ricans_drinking
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anti shock doctrine
Brand new piece by @yeampierre + me: “Imagine a Puerto Rico recovery designed by Puerto Ricans” #AntiShockDoctrine https://t.co/pIZjJe3deN
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein/status/921416538271440896
given the tools to become true partners and save themselves.
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Ahmed Shihab-Eldin (@ASE) tweeted at 5:51 AM – 22 Oct 2017 :
AT&T and a Google-born moonshot project have teamed up to beam cell service to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico from… https://t.co/K92XIoI9sZ (http://twitter.com/ASE/status/922067818908147712?s=17)
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via Molly
Rafael Shimunov (@rafaelshimunov) tweeted at 6:08 AM – 23 Oct 2017 :
#PuertoRicoRelief story is both failure of nation & resilience of people. That’s why artists find it @mollycrabapple https://t.co/tMndVFf5EFhttps://t.co/zECUpq8SRQ (http://twitter.com/rafaelshimunov/status/922434654443048960?s=17)
Days now revolved around the maintenance of life. Wake up with the sunrise, the insect bites, the stultifying heat. Fetch and purify buckets of water. Make coffee, if you have coffee, on a sterno. Wash clothing in a bucket, shower in a bucket, scrub dishes in a bucket. Clean out your hurricane-wrecked house. Clear the downed trees with a machete. Cook on a fire. Sleep at nine, because there is no light. Don’t get sick — the hospitals are hazardous because there are too many bodies rotting in the morgue. Don’t tell yourself it will get better anytime soon.
Against these difficulties, Luis and Christine began to carry out their plans for a comedor social.
Like many activists, Luis and Christine saw in Maria the potential for change. “Hurricane Maria is an opportunity to see the power is in ourselves and not America,” Christine told me. “This is a great educational experience for us, to prove to ourselves we’re actually capable of rebuilding. That’s in complete dichotomy of generations on generations believing we needed another country to survive.”
It came from the community itself
For a long time, we told ourselves we were lazy, because that’s the story we’ve been told,” she said. “That we’re not capable of building or managing the country. If you tell yourself that, you’ll start like it acting it is true. This moment when, literally, the lights go off, is a great opportunity for us to ask ourselves what stories we are telling ourselves, and what stories we want to tell.
2 convos .. as the day..
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Elizabeth Yeampierre (@yeampierre) tweeted at 5:57 AM – 24 Oct 2017 :
About to go on @democracynow to talk about #justrecovery #ourpowerPR (http://twitter.com/yeampierre/status/922794252253327361?s=17)
Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:26 AM – 24 Oct 2017 :
.@yeampierre: “The Jones Act not only is delaying support for Puerto Rico… It’s also been responsible for the high cost of living” #DNlive https://t.co/kJ45fuyKUS(http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/922801469920858112?s=17)
Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:27 AM – 24 Oct 2017 :
“Puerto Rico is a model of extraction. For generations, the U.S. has basically extracted our land, our labor” – @yeampierre #DNlive https://t.co/rZK3b7y6Fm(http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/922801830261870593?s=17)
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whoa
Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 6:51 AM – 28 Oct 2017 :
Puerto Rico’s Government Just Admitted 911 People Died After The Hurricane — Of “Natural Causes”https://t.co/kKPkZn7wd1 (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/924257360062943232?s=17)
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#PaperBallots (@myminutia) tweeted at 7:48 AM – 24 Oct 2017 :
@KevinMKruse What a kakistocracy: “Whitefish Energy Holdings, which had a reported staff of only 2 FT employees when Hurricane Maria touched down….” (http://twitter.com/myminutia/status/922822178541842432?s=17)
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Daily Kos (@dailykos) tweeted at 7:02 AM – 29 Oct 2017 :
Baseball players step up to the plate to fight for Puerto Rico’s survival https://t.co/vg6a4hkyKz (http://twitter.com/dailykos/status/924622432362749952?s=17)
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Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:20 AM – 3 Nov 2017 :
Prof. Martin Cobian says Hurricane Maria “uncovered what was already a national crisis… It feels like we have been under austerity forever” https://t.co/d2dIChwZpU (http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/926423723082579968?s=17)
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@mollycrabapple
My dad wrote an amazing piece about Puerto Rico, the US, and the history of hurricanes https://t.co/hLbbX0O2W1
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/927658735467683840
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Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) tweeted at 5:57 PM – 5 Nov 2017 :
Most people in Puerto Rico have gone without electricity for over 6 weeks- the longest blackout in US history https://t.co/Ke10N6Q6cq(http://twitter.com/MiaFarrow/status/927339134905176064?s=17)
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Frances Robles (@FrancesRobles) tweeted at 1:25 PM on Fri, Nov 10, 2017:
The director of emergency management in Puerto Rico has resigned.
(https://twitter.com/FrancesRobles/status/929082688107155456?s=03)
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Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) tweeted at 6:01 AM – 18 Nov 2017 :
Puerto Ricans are invoking their rebel history as they rebuild their country https://t.co/urCsbmUSla (http://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/931869860103155714?s=17)
Puerto Rico is also a captive market for US products. The island has more Walmart stores per square mile than any place on earth; its concrete suburbs are packed with fast food outlets and strip malls. Pharmaceuticals and hedge fund debt have replaced coffee, tobacco, and cane.
Natural disasters have a way of clarifying things. They sweep away once-sturdy delusions, to reveal old treasures and scars.
Many Puerto Ricans told me that they believe the poor response from the federal government and the slow pace of the recovery are deliberate, part of a strategy to depopulate the island, so that it can be remade as a luxury hotel-filled playground for the rich. More than 139,000 Puerto Ricans have arrived in Florida since Maria—so many that Orange County is considering making a displaced persons’ camp near the airport to house them. And many of the people I spoke to while in Puerto Rico had plans to leave.
While San Juan and a few other cities are starting to recover, the countryside is not. It is now estimated that as many as nine hundred people may have died as a result of the hurricane. The federal government is offering Puerto Rico an aid package that contains over $4 billion of loans, while local officials of both major parties demonstrate egregious corruption, incompetence, and sloth. A viral video showed alleged FEMA officials partying at a hotel bar, while a much-shared post by an aid worker accused Unidos—the charity run by Puerto Rico’s first lady, which received millions of dollars from celebrities—of hoarding donations in the convention center and then distributing them to municipalities they hoped would support the incumbent governor in the next election.
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Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 5:20 AM – 21 Nov 2017 :
Puerto Rico and PROMESA: Reaffirming Colonialism | New Politics https://t.co/SuNJzFhv5h (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/932946704533540870?s=17)
Puerto Rican officials revealed that, given the depressed economy, the government could never generate the revenues required to pay the staggering $73 billion debt. They warned that without federal assistance Puerto Rico would soon face a profound humanitarian crisis that the insular government was incapable of managing. The federal government’s response was the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, popularly known by its acronym, PROMESA. The law, signed by President Obama on June 30, 2016, authorizes the president of the United States to appoint a financial control board with extraordinary powers and with a mandate to enforce measures to compel Puerto Rico to repay its creditors. According to the law, the financial control board “holds supremacy over any territorial law or regulation that is inconsistent with the Act or Fiscal reform plans.”
One persistent issue is the measure of authority granted by the federal government to the Puerto Rican people to govern themselves
PROMESA revives a dormant and derogatory image of Puerto Ricans as colonial subjects who cannot be trusted and who lack the requisite aptitude to manage a complex political economy.
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Retweeted Monisha Bajaj (@monishabajaj):
Video from #PRontheMap https://t.co/Pexzmc8IO6 via @PRontheMap @fistuptv… https://t.co/q2O5fYdFLd
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/934615180037763072
in puerto rico they have refined colonialism..
puerto rico is lifting itself up
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Global Voices (@globalvoices) tweeted at 5:30 AM – 28 Nov 2017 :
An Affordable University Education Is at Risk in Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico https://t.co/mQ4hdHVVYo “They’re taking advantage of the tragic moment” https://t.co/JWRKJ3V47g (http://twitter.com/globalvoices/status/935486007050465280?s=17)
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Retweeted Elizabeth Yeampierre (@yeampierre):
Over 1000 Puerto Ricans have died because of #HurricaneMaria & more… https://t.co/PGVYua2BvL
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/937906401640411136
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Jesus https://t.co/fLl2HBkob1
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/939214525940846592
Official Toll in Puerto Rico: 62.
Actual Deaths May Be 1,052.
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David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) tweeted at 3:56 PM on Sun, Dec 17, 2017:
People are understandably furious about the power outage at @ATLairport – but know this:Sunday in Puerto Rico
88 days after Maria
Status.pr reports:
*69% power generation
(Thousands of Americans have been without power for nearly 3 months; it may be May before everyone has it)
(https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/942528877972336642?s=03)
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more by Molly:
“We stand atop his house, carefully avoiding the nails and beams that are the remnants of what had once been his rooftop shed. He tells me that, nearly two months after Maria, the taps in Paloma Abajo are still dry.” #PuertoRico https://t.co/iIiYKAS09R https://t.co/r1MjSyie6P
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/943613372053979138
In 1921, he graduated valedictorian of his class at Harvard. In the years that came after, he advocated for armed insurrection against U.S. colonialism and spent twenty-six years in prison, where the U.S. (allegedly) experimented on him with radiation. They only let him out to die of the cancer this radiation caused.
He points to ruined houses, the tarps thrown over missing roofs, and tells me about the people who climb the many steps into the mountains to get water from a well each day because, nearly two months after Maria, the taps in Paloma Abajo are still dry. But, he tells me, the people in the barrio are helping each other live.
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Puerto Rico (@PuertoRicoPUR) tweeted at 5:35 AM – 10 Jan 2018 :
112 DAYS WITHOUT POWER (http://twitter.com/PuertoRicoPUR/status/951069883382591488?s=17)
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Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) tweeted at 5:39 AM – 24 Jan 2018 :
FEMA Abruptly Cuts Housing Funds For Dozens Of Puerto Rican Families https://t.co/5111EKFfLW via @bri_sacks (http://twitter.com/Larryferlazzo/status/956144489726279680?s=17)
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Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) tweeted at 5:00 PM – 29 Jan 2018 :
Puerto Rico, Day 131:
—More than 1 million people still w/o power (31% of the island)
—Hundreds of thousands still w/o clean water
—Still a humanitarian emergencyFEMA has decided to “officially shut off” food and water aid on Wednesday. Wow.
https://t.co/GYwvb7rOUj (http://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/958127856768442368?s=17)
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Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) tweeted at 5:47 AM – 3 Feb 2018 :
Puerto Rico, Day 136:
—More than 1 million people still w/o power (30% of the island)
—One hundred thousand people still w/o clean water
—Still a humanitarian emergencyPuerto Rico has been without power for 4.5 months. Hurricane season starts in less than 4 months. (http://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/959770221681807360?s=17)
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Puerto Rico (@PuertoRicoPUR) tweeted at 3:31 AM – 13 Feb 2018 :
146 DAYS WITHOUT POWER (http://twitter.com/PuertoRicoPUR/status/963359885512663043?s=17)
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Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) tweeted at 6:13 AM – 5 Mar 2018 :
Puerto Rico, Day 166:
—More than 300,000 people still w/o power (13% of the island)
—Tens of thousands of people still w/o clean water
—For those people, Hurricane Maria is still a humanitarian emergency (http://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/970648462323863552?s=17)
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Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:33 AM – 21 Mar 2018 :
Journalist @NaomiAKlein, live on air at https://t.co/Xup8cdtnFB, outlines competing visions for Puerto Rico’s recovery as corporate forces seek to exploit the state of “shock, distraction and emergency” after Hurricane Maria: https://t.co/PK2UfsdX9L (http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/976436620940455936?s=17)
Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:40 AM – 25 Mar 2018 :
Naomi Klein describes how the ultrarich are relocating to Puerto Rico to evade taxes and turn the island into a hub for virtual currencies, while island residents continue to weather a humanitarian emergency without power: https://t.co/Y9Rr502UqU (http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/977887856990523394?s=17)
Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:55 AM – 21 Mar 2018 :
Anthropologist @yarimarbonilla notes Puerto Rico’s current government is recruiting ultrarich non-Puerto Ricans to take elite roles in the island’s recovery efforts, including leaders in blockchain and cryptocurrency. #DNlive https://t.co/DbRWJDPGhs (http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/976442214548213760?s=17)
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jan 2018 – Brainwash Festival: Naomi Klein, Srećko Horvat & Joris Luyendijk
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id0rby-ewP4]
1:00 – we’re in uncharted territory.. no place where we can look and say.. they’ve got it right..
i think there’s a crisis in connection that has to do w tech..ie: absent even in each other’s company.. multiple disconnection.. we are social creatures and that creates a crisis.. deeply longing for connection makes us ripe for demagogues to come in with these sort of cheap.. brands have been doing this for a long time.. and now politicians..
1:01 – when we think about what our alts are.. participation isn’t just for democracy .. it’s also about feeding this need.. deep longing for connection.. if that vacuum isn’t addressed.. it’s going to be filled…t
meeting maté basic needs
1:03 – we can’t simple say no.. we have to lay out a credible plan.. bring people along.. and build it in miniature wherever we can
let’s go ginorm small..
1:05 – one of the things i’m trying to do right now is support a plan for a people’s reconstruction of puerto rico
let’s try short bp .. in puerto rico
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naomi – 17 min video – on puerto rico
The Battle for Paradise: Naomi Klein Reports from Puerto Rico
Thank you! https://t.co/tBj9AK0xPO
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein/status/983688936492077057
5 min – who is puerto rico for.. who has right to make these decisions..
reimagining how island regenerates energy
9 min – had been following the monoculture of farming.. and getting food imported.. but after.. now multiple crops.. ie: not just coffee and sugar.. so farmers don’t have to starve anymore..
11 min – solar oasis.. farm school.. tiny islands of functionality in a sea of desperation..
fear that schools will be shut down .. outsider opp for reform
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Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) tweeted at 5:14 AM – 17 Apr 2018 :
New murals in El Centro de Imaginacion in Barrio Mariana, Puerto Rico. Each time I visit, I see the center coming more to life. Now, it has solar powered washing machines (there’s no electricity in Mariana), a tool library, and 2x week hosts meetings by social work students https://t.co/fKHRzp8oQt(http://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/986201302102347776?s=17)
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Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) tweeted at 6:40 AM – 1 May 2018 :
Puerto Rico, Day 223:
—More than 50,000 people still w/o power
—Tens of thousands of people still w/o clean water
—For these people, Hurricane Maria is still a humanitarian emergencyHurricane season starts in 31 days. (http://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/991296234706165761?s=17)
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Arts & Letters Daily (@aldaily) tweeted at 6:05 PM – 1 May 2018 :
What Frida Kahlo is to Mexico, Julia de Burgos is to Puerto Rico. Except that de Burgos isn’t well known to the rest of the world. Why not? https://t.co/7r6XP701v4 (http://twitter.com/aldaily/status/991468564560449541?s=17)Hana Addam El-Ghali (@hannousha) tweeted at 1:08 AM – 2 May 2018 :
The number of higher education institutions is increasing in Syria despite the conflict @ifi_aub @AlFanarMedia @BritishCouncil https://t.co/wQawfQV5So (http://twitter.com/hannousha/status/991575210150244352?s=17)Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) tweeted at 6:29 AM – 2 May 2018 :
A must read on the brutal attacks on Puerto Rico’s teachers and students yesterday as they resisted disaster capitalism. Very disturbing images. https://t.co/WxUaexwQPJ (http://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein/status/991655891144462336?s=17)Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) tweeted at 6:49 AM – 2 May 2018 :
First image: Istanbul’s Gezi protests, 2013
Second image: San Juan’s May Day protests, 2018 https://t.co/S7GLLIr7Kd (http://twitter.com/mollycrabapple/status/991661055280599042?s=17)
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Hurricane Maria ‘killed 4,600 in Puerto Rico’
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44294366
Hurricane Maria killed more than 4,600 people in Puerto Rico, 70 times the official toll, according to estimates in a Harvard University study.
The official death toll stands at 64.
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Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) tweeted at 6:43 AM – 31 May 2018 :
Yup. And the millions of children kicked out of their homes during the foreclosure crisis were also beneath notice. There’s a generation of foreclosure kids who are now adults. Not noticing neglectful abuse by those in power is a bipartisan project. https://t.co/emEaI3bx5l (http://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1002168626382819328?s=17)
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Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 5:05 AM – 3 Jun 2018 :
People are acting like Puerto Rico was all good before 45. It wasn’t. Every President has let down and not cared about Puerto Rico since America invaded us in 1898. Don’t forget President Obama signed PROMESA and 2 Puerto Rican congressional representatives supported PROMESA. (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/1003231200473944064?s=17)Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) tweeted at 5:08 AM – 3 Jun 2018 :
So please stop using Puerto Rico for your electoral political gain. 45 is a white supremacy who doesn’t care about us for sure. Obama and Clinton were not much better. Until Puerto Rico is allowed to decolonize and be able to self determine our own future it won’t get better. (http://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/1003231929418899457?s=17)
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Haymarket Books (@haymarketbooks) tweeted at 3:27 PM – 5 Jun 2018 :
Wednesday! Join us live online for The Battle for Paradise: Resisting Disaster Capitalism in Puerto Rico w/ @yeampierre, @NaomiAKlein, @juangon68, Katia R. Aviles-Vazquez, and Edwin Morales #OurPowerPRnyc, w/ @theintercept & @strandbookstore LIVE STREAM: https://t.co/dvO297fy6Thttps://t.co/NBGDXUwR8N (http://twitter.com/haymarketbooks/status/1004112536822865922?s=17)‘the word territory.. means someone has power.. and they just did that with 5000 people’ @yeampierre
‘imagine a puerto rican recovery designed by puerto ricans’ @betsyreed2
‘the key to success of the shock doctrine is secrecy’ @betsyreed2
‘found Seth Klarman – Puerto Rico’s debt.. billionaire from boston’ @betsyreed2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Klarman
‘privatizing of public resources’ @yeampierre
‘the big question hanging over the construction.. who is puerto rico for.. who gets to decide.. a people’s recovery was already under way before maria’ @NaomiAKlein
more than 80% of our food comes from abroad.. that’s a problem.. after maria.. has land.. but no harvest.. because had followed rules to crop coffee..
‘solar oasis.. farm school.. people have been able to power/feed communities.. but these are tiny islands.. ‘ @NaomiAKlein
‘many fear slowness to reopen schools is a plan to reform ed.. alliance/charter schools ‘ @NaomiAKlein
don’t allow parents to touch anything because of insurance
huge.. fighting for schools
saying the only solution is to privatize
an alt rooted in happiness
‘my dream.. a network of communities.. thru this crisis puerto ricans know what solutions are and are able to produce them..’ @yeampierre
‘doing a book fast enough to still be useful.. and no one was allowed to make money..’ @NaomiAKlein
https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1235-the-battle-for-paradise
‘on Elizabeth.. listening and finding out what helping really means..’ @NaomiAKlein
‘the barbarism of our economy laid bare in puerto rico.. to discount lives so sharply that you even refuse to report the dead’ @NaomiAKlein
‘i don’t think there was intent (to kill).. but i do know that there was knowledge.. and there were ways to make the dying stop.. we have to stop saying these deaths were a result of a natural disaster.. even the disaster wasn’t a natural disaster’ @NaomiAKlein
there may not be intent.. but boy is there indifference.. @NaomiAKlein
after the truth of crisis has been shown.. the economic crisis has increased.. @NaomiAKlein
‘the system had imposed a monoculture imposed system w external techs.. as an appendage of us.. so farmers were starving’ Katia R. Avilés-Vázquez
‘charity over solidarity.. to support their admin..’ Katia R. Avilés-Vázquez
‘today we got the announcement 264 schools are going to be closed.. sect of ed right after hurricane.. best opp to reform.. she tried to close many schools.. we learned from nola.. and we fought.. but there are ways to control people in a disaster’ @Edwin_Lorenzo
‘ie: imposed charter schools.. pr has a long history of not having charter schools.. upr (uni) closing half.. we’re still fighting.. ‘ @Edwin_Lorenzo
‘closing schools to take the money to pay for an illegal debt..trying to make terror to the people so they don’t protest..but we don’t have fear’ @Edwin_Lorenzo
‘@NaomiAKlein said.. homicide by public policy.. this issue of depopulating pr is not new..ie: they sterilized 1/3 of our women..that is genocide’ @yeampierre
‘we’re seeing it not only w the cryptocurrency arrogance.. we have to look at the history of pr to know where we’re going.. the purpose is to push us out..it’s always been about the lands.. history of taking from us’ @yeampierre
‘sometimes we forget that pr is the question.. here in the us it is pr that is our colony’ @juangon68
‘pr has more debt than any other state in the union than california..yet 1/10 size.. found 16 of 20 debt issues went largely to pay previous debts.. ie: wall street to pay themselves.. so .. knew it could never be paid.. ‘ @juangon68
‘this is why it’s so important to privatize.. so much cash to be had..’ @juangon68
‘we have to alert more people in the us.. pr is our problem here in the us’ @juangon68
‘on how to create local/livable econs.. the word ‘resilience’ doesn’t work for us.. because it means to bounce back to austerity..et al.. the language is unacceptable..’ @yeampierre
‘the idea of a just recovery is in envisioning what that justice looks like.. move away from extractive/capitalist econs’ @yeampierre
‘it isn’t tesla coming in and privatizing the grid.. the idea is frontline led/operated..’ @yeampierre
‘we will not be passive recipients to somebody’s good intentions/agenda.. the time for missionaries particularly in a colony.. the time for missionaries and the colonizing people that support them.. is over..’ @yeampierre
‘while govt keep imposing outside techs.. important that this is a shift from business as usual.. not just for the short term.. not just relief.. this is our lives’ Katia R. Avilés-Vázquez
‘we have been told.. if we fall in line.. if we behave.. it’s going to be ok.. but that has never been true’ Katia R. Avilés-Vázquez
‘vision for ed that goes beyond just stopping the closings.. can’t change ed system if you don’t change ie: colonization.. admin reform to put power into the communities’ @Edwin_Lorenzo
we have to end the common core.. accountability .. this isn’t going to happen by compromising.. @Edwin_Lorenzo
‘in 71 in the young lords.. went to pr and began org’ing.. w/trying to serve the people programs..what i’m most elated about.. building from ground up..’ @juangon68
‘in 71.. pr a divided nation.. 1/3 in us.. 2/3 on island.. so pr in us were minor part.. today.. there are over 5 mn pr in us.. and 3 min in pr.. so 5/8 in us.. one thing that happened in this crisis was the outpouring.. however.. can’t be won w/o expanding to overall american population.. a national problem/issue’ @juangon68
‘#1 ask.. spread the word.. #2 don’t fall victim to savior complexes.. #3 the debt must be audited.. #4 hold us accountable for deaths .. jones act.. has to be gone #5 le mesa has to be returned (pension..?) .. we now have the moral responsibility to disobey.. we ask you to stand w us’ Katia R. Avilés-Vázquez
@yeampierre @Edwin_Lorenzo
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democracy now fb share on puerto rico:
Naomi Klein: The massive death toll in Puerto Rico is not just a tragedy, or a natural disaster, but state-sponsored mass killing http://ow.ly/VFQ930knpAw
3 min clip: [https://www.facebook.com/democracynow/videos/10156399592448279/]
the phrasing.. ‘due to’ hurricane maria.. it’s not due to hurricane maria.. the largest cause was the collapsed healthcare system (ie: old people walking to get to a plug in for their oxygen).. which was intimately tied to the collapse of the electricity system.. which is intimately tied to the collapse of the water system.. so this is really about a total infra failure.. and it didn’t just fail.. a total society doesn’t have its infra fail unless you systematically knock out every support structure and you do so knowingly
rodolpho walsh when describing the econ policies of argentina’s military junta he called it ‘planned misery’.. i think that applies so much to what is going on.. i keep looking for a term to describe this.. it’s not a natural disaster.. not a tragedy.. it’s state sponsored mass killing..
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Thank you @blackthought for sharing Puerto Rico on the Map short video that speaks to death toll in Puerto Rico. Appreciate you. https://t.co/vATW8iNdtL #4645Boricuas #pronthemap
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/rosaclemente/status/1006925480988114946
3 min video – now maybe over 8000 deaths
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Bloomberg (@business) tweeted at 5:50 PM on Thu, Jun 21, 2018:
Deaths now exceed births in Puerto Rico https://t.co/QfKMY57KxDhttps://t.co/SUgoDkf6hh
(https://twitter.com/business/status/1009946736943681536?s=03)
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article jun 2018
Salon (@Salon) tweeted at 5:42 AM – 24 Jun 2018 :
Puerto Rico’s water system stutters back to normal https://t.co/Yq3JtpI7bD (http://twitter.com/Salon/status/1010850634894139395?s=17)Puerto Rican officials claim that water service on the U.S. island has been restored to more than 96 percent of customers as of June 6, but the report of progress masks underlying problems. Outside of cities, service has been slower to be reconnect. Flow is often intermittent and the water quality is uncertain.
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Arlene Dávila (@arlenedavila1) tweeted at 5:25 AM on Wed, Jun 27, 2018:
Hey @nytimes you can also mention she’s Boricua! This is a major win for Puerto Ricans & NYC Latinxs to be represented by her! #Bronxrican Power! #AlexandriaOcasio-Cortez’s https://t.co/uEi0e88lHy
(https://twitter.com/arlenedavila1/status/1011933467179999232?s=03)Democracy Now! (@democracynow) tweeted at 6:05 AM – 27 Jun 2018 :
Then—We speak with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018), the 28-year-old Democratic Socialist who just ousted 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in Tuesday’s New York primary. Stream 8-9AM ET: https://t.co/Xup8cdtnFBhttps://t.co/KpbeHn54BP (http://twitter.com/democracynow/status/1011943516027703296?s=17)
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CNN (@CNN) tweeted at 6:14 AM – 4 Jul 2018 :
Previously unreleased data suggest Puerto Rico should have declared an outbreak of a bacterial illness after Hurricane Maria. But officials won’t call it that. https://t.co/rlpyUb5zew https://t.co/xZN64JnlzP (http://twitter.com/CNN/status/1014482536972607488?s=17)
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naomi klein‘s battle for paradise:
x
the book is necessary read for anyone who wishes to understand the ongoing crisis in pr and to grasp what is at stake..
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CNN (@CNN) tweeted at 5:34 AM – 10 Aug 2018 :
Puerto Rico now admits the death toll from Hurricane Maria could be 1,427 — far higher than the official toll of 64 https://t.co/GVOXtt9MUuhttps://t.co/ioFszbaetT (http://twitter.com/CNN/status/1027880920727076864?s=17)
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The Intercept (@theintercept) tweeted at 6:15 AM – 16 Aug 2018 :
A leading Democratic contender for Florida governor appears to own millions in Puerto Rican debt https://t.co/fCPleE15Fp by @ddayen (http://twitter.com/theintercept/status/1030065462783172608?s=17)
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10 min video on crypto and tech thinking they can rebuild pr to be tech center of world
[https://www.facebook.com/theguardian/videos/2350260431667677/]
sounds a lot like the same colonialism have had in past
it’s a perfect storm for someone how already has wealth..
get a cruise ship for extra beds.. bring burning man/ singularity u..
we love people and we love tech and we love it when people love the tech we love
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Julio Ricardo Varela (@julito77) tweeted at 2:29 PM on Tue, Aug 28, 2018:
Wait, @ricardorossello, said that 64 was never the official death count? And not the 2,975 is the official estimate?
#Macondo is in top shape today.
#PuertoRico
(https://twitter.com/julito77/status/1034538561234788352?s=03)
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The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) tweeted at 5:30 AM – 30 Aug 2018 :
José Andrés’ new memoir recounts how the chef leaped into action when hurricanes devastated Puerto Rico https://t.co/7Uv200BaqK(http://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1035127522042830848?s=17)ANDRÉS’S NEW BOOK, We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time—out this month, and one of the last titles published by Ecco’s Anthony Bourdain imprint—offers a play-by-play account of WCK’s activism across the territory. It reads like a coming-of-age story where personal, communal and institutional growth clash ceaselessly with the hurdles of bureaucracy. It’s also an argument for developing a new approach to aid, one based on rapid response, DIY ingenuity and the marshaling of local resources.
on hold at library
https://www.amazon.com/We-Fed-Island-Rebuilding-Puerto/dp/0062864483
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Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) tweeted at 9:24 PM – 18 Sep 2018 :
New PBS NewsHour Video: “Puerto Rico’s beleaguered public schools face controversial reform after Hurricane Maria” https://t.co/kZn8CKIiwJ (http://twitter.com/Larryferlazzo/status/1042253089716068352?s=17)
from 8 min video
6 min – you’re normally not given a stop and a reset button.. it created a receptiveness to some of the ideas
begs a quiet revolution
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The Intercept (@theintercept) tweeted at 5:24 AM – 19 Sep 2018 :
New @intercepted podcast: Hurricane colonialism — the economic, political, and environmental war on Puerto Rico https://t.co/jp8LCm9igR(http://twitter.com/theintercept/status/1042373855044685824?s=17)
41 mi – naomi: tough to know when to begin the story.. t
let’s go deep enough.. get to the roots of healing
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CNN (@CNN) tweeted at 5:10 AM – 20 Sep 2018 :
Meet the Puerto Rican sisterhood reinventing the island’s future after Hurricane Maria https://t.co/mIcH3twcBBhttps://t.co/WxyHTsDY2q(http://twitter.com/CNN/status/1042732642632982529?s=17)
Most of these women have never met, but together they display a raw human resolve capable of reinventing the island’s future.
Right now they are rebuilding Puerto Rican homes, restoring farms, installing solar power grids and seeking to transform the local economy — all motivated by a heartfelt wish for the island they call home to become whole again.For an additional cost, the homes can be fitted with a solar power microgrid, rainwater collection and a sewage treatment system that doubles as a garden.
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be you. 