http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/puertorico/ en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:27:52 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394473/posts There are four kinds of candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Politicians like Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Tim Pawlenty belong in the sure-thing category; we know they'll be running because, well, they already are. Next come the wild cards: the headliners who haven't decided on anything yet ... except to keep their options open. Think Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich. Finally there are the long shots. Until now, I would've stocked the long-shot pool with gents like Bobby Jindal, John Thune, and Haley Barbour—prominent Republicans who occasionally inspire 2012 speculation but stand little chance of actually getting (or,... Newsweek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394473/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:27:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389263/posts The bad blood continues to ferment between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands over rum taxes, as the two territories vie for perks to lure the lucrative industry. In the latest round, the U.S. Virgin Islands is accusing Puerto Rico and its backers of spreading “misinformation” related to a recent move by liquor company Diageo to open a rum plant in the Virgin Islands. Diageo, which owns Captain Morgan, is ending a long-standing relationship with Puerto Rico’s Destilería Serrallés. In a Nov. 13 letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), Gov. John deJongh of the Virgin... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389263/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:12:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388510/posts A broken fuel gauge at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. (Capeco) gasoline depot contributed to an explosion that forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, a U.S. federal agency said Tuesday. The faulty equipment prevented Capeco workers at the Bayamón facility from discovering that one of the tanks was overflowing before the fuel vapors ignited, according to the preliminary findings of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. “Filling the tank without a functioning control system is the type of activity the CSB will examine very closely,” said Jeffrey Wanko, the lead case investigator. He said the agency will examine... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388510/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:10:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388091/posts A country's consuls are usually low-key diplomats who handle issues like visa applications. But under President Hugo Chávez, two Venezuelan consuls in the United States have been anything but low-profile. One drew the FBI's attention for his close links to Puerto Rican pro-independence militants. Another sparked concerns over his ties to a website that has published several anti-semitic rants. Chávez has long been an exuberant salesman for ``21st Century Socialism,'' regularly bashing the U.S. ``empire'' and its ``lackeys,'' like Colombia next door and Israel farther afield. And his government has spent tens of millions of dollars selling that vision abroad.... Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388091/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:23:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387088/posts Your humble correspondent has just returned from the Caribbean paradise of Culebra. Politics were far from my mind as I snorkled the Culebran reefs. However, on my way home, I picked up a copy of the Puerto Rico Daily Sun in the western outskirts of San Juan and a certain story by Robert Friedman of their Washington, D.C. bureau caught my eye because it had the word "rum" in the title: "Debate heats up in D.C. over rum rebate." As a lover of that delightful beverage, I naturally scanned the story which, much to my amusement, illustrated the state of... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387088/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:38:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2383727/posts I left the service after 22 years in one piece and alive. Today, I am humbled by my countrymen (in the Jeffersonian sense) who made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you, brothers and sisters. May posterity learn who our true heroes were. War on Terror KIA from the Territory of Puerto Rico: PVT Francheska Velez, USA, KIA, November 5, 2009, Fort Hood, Texas SPC Israel Candelaria Mejías, USA, KIA April 5, 2009, Near Baghdad, Iraq SrA Jonathan Vega Yelner, USAF, KIA April 29, 2008, Near Bagram AB, Afghanistan CPT Ulises Burgos-Cruz, USA, KIA April 6, 2008, Balad, Iraq SGT Ricardo X.... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2383727/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:04:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383091/posts (English-language translation) Discussion of a bill drafted in English provoked during today's session brief discussions in [that language] and a request for the bill to be translated into Spanish. The bill seeks to establish an agreement with the states over pest control. The request to translate the bill was made in English by Popular [Democratic Party] Senator Alejandro García Padilla. [New Progressive Party] Senator Melinda Romero answered him in Spanish that the bill and report will be translated. Romero explained that the bill seeks to include Puerto Rico in a pact with the states concerning pest management. To do so,... El Vocero de Puerto Rico (Spanish-language article) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383091/posts#comment Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:13:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377646/posts Gov. Luis Fortuño said Tuesday it is not time to stage another general strike, but rather for all sectors to work together to jumpstart the economy. “I don’t think this is the moment to be halting the government, or much less the economy of Puerto Rico. We have much more to gain working together and that is what I feel we should do,” Fortuño said during a press conference when asked about a warning by the Todo Puerto Rico por Puerto Rico Coalition that another general strike was in the works. The Todo Puerto Rico por Puerto Rico Coalition on... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377646/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:20:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377443/posts Federal authorities were rounding up Tuesday morning 10 people, including singer Aldo Matta and a local developer, after a federal grand jury indicted them in a $15 million mortgage fraud scheme, FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Fraticelli said. U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez scheduled an 11:30 a.m. press conference to discuss the arrests, which reportedly took place in San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas and the state of Florida. The victims of the fraud were reportedly several local financial institutions, the FBI chief said. The indictments were handed up Oct 30. “These people were dedicated to a fraud scheme that took... Caribbean Business http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377443/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:02:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2376975/posts Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Executive Orders THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary __________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 30, 2009 EXECUTIVE ORDER -------------------------------- AMENDMENTS TO EXECUTIVE ORDERS 13183 AND 13494: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 40 U.S.C. 101, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Executive Order 13183 of December 23, 2000, as amended, is further amended as follows: (a) The preamble is amended by deleting ", includingPublic Law 106-346." (b)... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2376975/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 00:07:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370697/posts More than 100 federal agents entered the smoldering Caribbean Petroleum Corporation fuel depot on Sunday as the investigation began in earnest into the cause of an explosion that rocked the San Juan metro area early Friday morning and sparked a massive fire that burned for more than two days. The blast registered 2.8 on the Richter scale and the ensuing blaze sent up an enormous tower of toxic smoke that forced the evacuation of some 1,500 residents from communities surrounding the Bayamón facility. Marcial Orlando Félix, the head of the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Bureau in Puerto Rico... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370697/posts#comment Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:00:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369759/posts While government officials withheld speculation on the cause of the blast as fire brigades continued to battle the ensuing fire, union leaders called Friday evening for officials from the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. to explain what caused the powerful explosion and massive fire at the company’s fuel facility near San Juan Bay. Ricardo Santos, an official at UTIER, the largest electrical utility union in Puerto Rico, said information had begun to circulate that work had been done at the facility to try to stop a leak on Thursday afternoon. The blast, which rocked the San Juan metro area, occurred at around... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369759/posts#comment Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:59:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369098/posts <p>CATANO, Puerto Rico — An explosion at a Gulf gasoline facility Friday rocked a neighborhood outside Puerto Rico's capital, causing minor injuries and forcing evacuations as firefighters raced to prevent additional blasts.</p> <p>Several columns of black smoke and flames were rising from the Caribbean Petroleum Corp., a gasoline warehouse and distribution center on San Juan's bay that owns the Gulf brand in this U.S. Caribbean territory.</p> AP/Eyewitness/Local Radio & TV Reports http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369098/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:57:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369015/posts A large explosion has rocked an industrial complex in Puerto Rico's capital San Juan. No word on causes or casualties. BNO News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369015/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:25:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363839/posts Thousands of marchers converged in [the] Hato Rey [section of San Juan] and rallied for much of the day as the general strike against government layoffs and a range of other grievances was carried out without incident Thursday. The tensest moment came late in the day as University of Puerto Rico students continued to block the Las Américas Expressway in both directions between Piñero Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue. Police Department officials initially opted not to confront the students and agreed to let them carry out what UPR law student Kevin González called an “act of civil disobedience.” However, when the... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363839/posts#comment Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:39:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363202/posts Gov. Luis Fortuño reiterated his call for calm as the general strike got underway Thursday morning to protest his administration’s dismissal of more than 16,000 government workers. “What is vital here is that if we respect the rights of others, we will have a much more peaceful and fruitful coexistence,” the governor said in a radio interview. Asked if he was respecting the rights of others, Fortuño replied: “Every day I try to be better than the day before.” The governor expressed confidence that violence would not mar the protests, which will culminate in a massive rally on Roosevelt Avenue... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363202/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:39:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362145/posts (English-language translation) No one can question that the past few weeks have been very difficult for the Puerto Rican people. The government's decision to dramatically cut the public payroll to relieve the deficit that accumulated during the past years has had a direct and indirect impact on most Puerto Ricans. It involves a painful decision, so much to whoever makes it as to whoever is affected by it. The natural and anticipated reaction is to have raised, as it did, public expressions of protest. Finally, a call to a general strike tomorrow seems to have united a variety of labor,... El Vocero de Puerto Rico (Spanish-language editorial) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2362145/posts#comment Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:45:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361307/posts The Coalición Todo Puerto Rico por Puerto Rico’s plans for Thursday’s looming general strike began to take shape Monday as it claimed initial victories in its protest against the dismissal of more than 16,000 government workers: The postponing of the Public-Private Partnership Authority conference and the shuttering of the University of Puerto Rico system for the full week. The PPP conference had been slated for Oct. 15-16 at the Convention Center to showcase investment opportunities for specific local projects. The Fortuño administration is making a push for PPPs to undertake much-needed infrastructure projects and repairs that the government simply cannot... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361307/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:28:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361304/posts Union leaders snubbed Police Superintendent José Figueroa Sancha’s request for a meeting Monday to discuss plans and security for the general strike scheduled for Thursda[y] to protest the dismissal of more than 16,000 government workers. Union leader Federico Torres Montalvo said they stood up Figueroa because he had echoed comments by [Governor Luis Fortuño's] Chief of Staff Marcos Rodríguez-Ema characterizing protesters as “terrorists.” What the two Fortuño administration officials said was that truckers who blocked ports facilities may be in violation of federal anti-terrorism laws. “We are not terrorists and if the superintendent thinks we are terrorists, then we are... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361304/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:22:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360771/posts A coalition of labor groups will aim to paralyze economic activity around Plaza las Américas [Mall] as part of the general strike convened for Thursday to protest the Fortuño administration’s dismissal of more than 16,000 government workers. The protest by the Coordinadora Sindical and the Frente Amplio de Solidaridad y Lucha aims to bring the commercial hub around the Caribbean’s largest shopping center to a halt. Luis Pedraza Leduc, spokesman for the Coordinadora Sindical, confirmed that the aim of the protest is to cripple business. The demonstration is apparently separate from the protests being organized by the Coalición Todo Puerto... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360771/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:27:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360770/posts The University of Puerto Rico system will be shuttered all week due to the planned general strike by island labor unions scheduled for Thursday to protest the dismissal of more than 16,000 government workers. Interim UPR President Miguel A. Muñoz declared an academic and administrative recess at all 11 campuses system-wide, with the exception of the Medical Sciences Campus, where steps were being taken to ensure services to patients. “The safety of all the students and the university community in general is and should be our biggest priority. We can’t permit elements from outside the university system to undermine the... CaribbeanBusinessPR.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360770/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:22:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357499/posts (English-language translation) A new bomb threat was reported at noon at the Cruz A. Matos Environmental Agencies building, for which emergency personnel investigate the incident. Environmental Quality Board spokesman Luis Antonio Ocasio reported that personnel in the building are being evacuated. "The bomb threat was made from the same pay-telephone number where the last threat was called in on Tuesday," Ocasio explained. During Tuesday's incident, a graffiti message which read "Thanks for leaving me without food" was also noticed on the building. In addition, a fire was reported on the seventh floor of that building, which houses the permits division... El Vocero de Puerto Rico (Spanish-language article) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357499/posts#comment Thu, 8 Oct 2009 13:30:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357044/posts (English-language translation) Santurce - Scores of police officers, including the Tactical Operations Division, continue to surround Minillas Government Center allegedly to take security measures following an incident involving Governor Luis Fortuño, according to statements from Consumer Affairs Secretary Luis Rivera Marín. Security in the place is so tight that reporters were not granted access to the government complex's parking area, forcing members of the press to park on the highway and thus block sidewalks and access ramps for the disabled. "You already know what happened to the Governor, so this is not speculative. We have to ensure security and integrity.... El Vocero de Puerto Rico (Spanish-language article) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357044/posts#comment Wed, 7 Oct 2009 21:11:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2355922/posts Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum? Well not quite. Last year the plant of the company that produces Captain Morgan Rum announced that it was moving from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.The Move was based on a the Virgin Islands subsidizing the production Captain Morgan Rum throughout the 30-Year Deal. Rum is an industry that gets subsidized from the federal government out of U.S. rum taxes, the Virgin Islands planned on using the money from the Rum Taxes to pay the Morgan manufacturers. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are now fighing in Congress. Puerto Rico wants... washingon times/the lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2355922/posts#comment Tue, 6 Oct 2009 15:15:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353573/posts WASHINGTON - "When I die I want to reincarnate in Puerto Rico", said the Vice President of the United States, Joseph Biden, last night at a reception honoring the Hispanic Heritage Month. Biden, who in the past has supported statehood for Puerto Rico met a group of Hispanic civic and political leaders at his official residence in Washington, D.C. ElNuevoDia.com (Translation) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353573/posts#comment Fri, 2 Oct 2009 17:45:10 GMT