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Originally posted by Asher
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Shooting looters is a deterrent, not a punishment. -
I heard RIT ROTC has a few cadets down there who are serving in the NY National Guard, maintaining helicopters for Medivac and other Sandy-related missions.
This is exhibit A of why we have state military forces.Comment
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QFT. If the looters were being arrested I wouldn't suggest the death penalty for them. But this is people protecting their homes in the absence of working law enforcement.Originally posted by gribbler View PostComment
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NYC hotel owner refuses to boot locals for marathoners
New York4:42PM EDT November 2. 2012 - The owner of a Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Staten Island refuses to kick out his current guests, who lost their homes to superstorm Sandy, to runners arriving for Sunday's New York City Marathon.
owner Richard Nicotra told Hotel Check-In Friday afternoon that local residents are relying on his hotel while they remain homeless due to the storm and that he won't let them down.
Both Nicotra and his wife are second-generation Staten Island residents. Local cable channel NY1 first reported the story on Thursday.
"We opened up the doors to our hotels on Saturday and Sunday for people, and everybody anticipated being here for Monday night when the storm happened," Nicotra says. "They were hoping to go back to their houses. Tuesday was supposed to be a little better and Wednesday was supposed to be fine, but by Wednesday, we started to realize it was worse than we thought."
At first the hotel was telling guests that they would have to leave by Thursday, because they were sold out with marathon runners. But on Thursday morning, Nicotra's guests were in tears at the thought of checking out, he says.
"On Thursday morning, people were begging me and crying saying 'You can't throw me out. I have no place to go,'" he says.
Nicotra said he then contacted the marathon's organizers, the New York Road Runners, because they had a contract for rooms and told them "we have a problem here" and that "we can't just throw them out." Nicotra said he gave the group other options, including setting up a temporary dormitory in the hotel's 10,000-square-foot ballroom, which can house up to 500 people with cots.
"As Hilton says, hospitality is what we're all about. If we can make everyone happy we will, but if we can't, the choice is easy," Nicotra says. "We need to take care of our neighbors."
As a result of the NY1 story on Thursday, the hotel has seen a strong response on social media - almost all supportive, says Kristine Garlisi, spokeswoman for the Hilton Garden Inn in Staten Island's Bloomfield neighborhood.
"Hundreds of people" wrote in on the hotel's Facebook page to show their support, she says.
The reaction illustrates the challenge that New York faces in housing both local victims of Sandy and out-of-town visitors who can help bolster the economy. In announcing his decision to go ahead with the marathon two days ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited the event's economic impact.
The city-wide event traditionally attracts about 50,000 runners, including many from out of town who travel with friends or relatives, stay in hotels and spend money on restaurants.
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But the challenge is housing all of the runners who will show up.
Many hotels are filled with locals whose homes aren't habitable and out-of-town visitors who have not been able to fly back home because of the backlog caused by multi-day airport closures - two groups that keep extending their stays.
Meanwhile, marathon runners and their supporters had booked hotels months ago specifically so they could participate in the high-profile, annual event.
Among the hotels that do have room: The Pod Hotel on East 39th Street, which is selling rooms without electricity for around $160 a night.
Some runners conflicted
Baltimore-based marathon runner Ryan McGrath, 31, cohost of a radio show about running, told Hotel Check-In that he still plans to run Sunday's marathon, which will be his second in New York.
"When the mayor announced on Wednesday that (the marathon) was still going to be held, there was a very small percentage of people who were supportive," he says. "The biggest concern is the ethical dilemma of displacing people who are without homes who are staying in hotels."
But McGrath has been affected by Sandy, too. Before the storm, he'd planned to stay with his parents who live near the battered beach town of Sea Bright, N.J., but their home lost power. So now he's trying to find lodging. Some of his friends had reserved hotel rooms months ago - yet now are unsure whether the hotels are open or will have availability to check them in.
"Everything has been wiped out in our town," McGrath says. "It's not like I'm sitting here from a 30,000 foot view saying nothing's affected me. It's important for the city not only to move on and put on that tough New York attitude, but also from a financial perspective. I think a lot of of the people who are very angry aren't runners."No, I did not steal that from somebody on Something Awful.Comment
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So why aren't you down there?Originally posted by regexcellent View Post
<Reverend> IRC is just multiplayer notepad.
I like your SNOOPY POSTER! - While you Wait quote.Comment
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ehhhhhh, I seriously doubt someone making threats would limit it to just their property.Originally posted by regexcellent View Post"I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburgerComment
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I'm not an SMP cadet. I wouldn't be able to join until next year, anyway; I'd have to go to Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT).Originally posted by snoopy369 View PostSo why aren't you down there?
More National Guard feel good stuff:
ARLINGTON, Va. (Nov. 1, 2012) -- Since Hurricane Sandy made landfall Monday, more than 9,100 National Guard troops across 12 states have been assisting local authorities with missions such as search and rescue operations, food and water distribution, debris removal and providing security and shelter for storm victims.
On Thursday, more West Virginia National Guard members were activated to help clean up snow dumped by the monster storm system.
Also Thursday, the first of 17 Air Force cargo planes hauling 69 repair vehicles and gear from Southern California Edison utility company for use in New Jersey and New York will arrive at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y. That cargo will be used to reconstruct the battered electrical grid in those hard-hit areas.
"It's fair to say that the state police and NYPD and the National Guard saved hundreds of lives (Tuesday)," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
In New York, "bucket brigades" of Guard members climbed up 11 stories of hospital stairways to ferry fuel to rooftop generators; others carried patients down those same flights.
The storm killed 50 people in the United States and caused billions of dollars in damage in multiple states.
Widespread media reports featured Guard members helping out in flooded Hoboken, N.J.
"We saw the National Guard, and I sent my husband to tell them he had to get his pregnant wife out," eight-months pregnant Robyn Pecarsky told The New York Times after Guard members rescued her and her two children, 5- and 8-years-old, in Hoboken, where Guard members rescued thousands of stranded residents Wednesday.
National Guard support to states, local first responders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency includes providing communications; shelter and engineering support; evacuation and security support; high-water vehicle support; high-water search and rescue; power generation; food distribution; debris removal, transportation and delivery of essential equipment and supplies.
National Guard Civil Support Teams are on stand-by for hazardous materials responses and providing Joint Incident Site Communications Capability. JISCC provides a communications bridge between first responders and other local, state and federal agencies.
The largest numbers of National Guard troops were out in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
But Guard response operations have been winding down in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia, although some debris-removal missions continued along coastal Delaware and Maryland.
In Hoboken, hundreds of rescues by Guard members were reported throughout the day. People took to social media to express appreciation.
"My regards to WV National Guard for hiking in with MREs and bottled water for myself and about 100 others stranded on I-68 near the state line for more than 16 hours," a West Virginia resident posted in a public post on Facebook. "Thank you!"
In West Virginia, hit by feet of snow, Guard members were patrolling Interstate 68 for stranded motorists and assisting power providers with generators.
As has been increasingly the case in disasters, officials also used social media to communicate to residents. Hoboken officials told citizens the National Guard had arrived via Facebook and Twitter accounts.
"I just want to say thanks to the National Guard. You guys are awesome. We are so lucky to have you here," a North Carolina resident posted to Facebook.
More than 87,000 National Guard members are prepared to fill any gaps in mission command, medical, communications, logistics, transportation, engineering, civil support, maintenance, security and aviation through Emergency Management Assistance Compacts that allow states to provide mutual aid if needed.
The governors of at least 14 states and the mayor of the District of Columbia had declared a state of emergency because of the storm: Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Dual-status commanders were appointed to oversee and coordinate military response by citizen-Soldiers and citizen-Airmen in the hardest-hit states of New Jersey and New York.
In New Jersey, Maj. Gen. James Grant was appointed as a dual-status commander.
Dual-status commanders can command both federal and state National Guard forces. This special authority enables them to effectively integrate defense support operations and capabilities requested by governors.
Grant is chief of the New Jersey National Guard's joint staff. Prior to his 30-year career as an officer in the New Jersey Guard, he was an enlisted Marine.
The National Guard Bureau is monitoring the situation closely and coordinating with state, federal and local partners to ensure a coordinated and efficient response, Guard officials said. The National Guard -- the nation's first military responder -- supports the FEMA response and that of U.S. Northern Command, among other agencies.
Available National Guard resources include almost 140 rotary-winged aircraft to perform search and rescue, reconnaissance and personnel or cargo-carrying missions.
Critical equipment available from the National Guard also includes 75 zodiac boats, 3,125 high-water vehicles, 43 Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units, 3,535 generators and 726 debris-clearance vehicles.
(Steve Marshall of the National Guard Bureau contributed to this article.)
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Are you retarded?Originally posted by gribbler View Post
If you shoot someone who has looted, they have already looted. They are being punished. They can't be deterred from something they have done."The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "Comment
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I dunno, if someone were shooting looters I'd think twice about looting...being shot is not commonly understood to be a pleasant experience.Comment
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Are you retarded? If you are a looter and see that other looters are getting shot, don't you think that would serve as a deterrent?
xpostIf there is no sound in space, how come you can hear the lasers?
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By Asher logic: We shouldn't send people to jail because they've already committed crimes. We can't undo the crime.If there is no sound in space, how come you can hear the lasers?
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By your logic, sending people to jail is not a punishment.Originally posted by Hauldren Collider View Post"The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "Comment
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WTF? Why can't it be both?Originally posted by Asher View PostIf there is no sound in space, how come you can hear the lasers?
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That's what I'm asking you, because you have apparently disagreed.Originally posted by Hauldren Collider View Post
Shooting looters is a deterrent, not a punishment.
I fully agree with all of these
This is why I think you are retarded."The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "Comment
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