Author: stallworth.27

Global News Post 6 – Puerto Rico

Is Puerto Rico Prepared For This Hurricane Season?

Morning after Hurricane Maria

“Morning After Hurricane Maria”. Roosevelt Skerrit. https://flic.kr/p/YFixXU. No copyright.

As hurricane season officially began on Friday, June 1 in the Atlantic, many are asking if Puerto Rico is prepared in the instance something like Maria happens again. A lot of the preparation has revolved around the death toll numbers that have been reported from the island’s government and other studies. Public safety officials claim that there they have no reason to lie about the death toll and the studies they are carrying out to figure out the actual numbers and that because it is so high they are preparing for the worst this hurricane season. When the journalist of this article went to Puerto Rico she visited the FEMA warehouse, where she said there used to only be one, now there are four. They are stocked with tarps, water and cots and were sending a message from FEMA that they will have a plan in the instance something like Maria happens again. However, despite the appearance of being prepared, the mayor of Humacao stated that he feels his municipality is unprepared and that there is a disconnect between the government and the people.
The dialogue from this interview was interesting to see, because as I have reported before, the island and their government officials claim to be transparent, but it seems that same transparency isn’t being reciprocated if the people of Puerto Rico still have not recovered and feel unprepared in this new, upcoming hurricane season. Even the journalists there reporting on the story was unsure of the preparedness of the people due to their concern. This disconnect goes to show that the national perspective is far more deceiving than that of the local people and that can’t happen going into another hurricane season.
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/01/616257726/is-puerto-rico-prepared-for-this-hurricane-season

Global News Post 4 – Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s governor says there will be ‘hell to pay’ if officials withheld mortality data

La Perla

“La Perla”. Vxla. https://flic.kr/p/95eDBB. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Other than relief funding being a major talking point in regard to the devastation that occurred due to Hurricane Maria, the death toll has been another issue that has been reported on. Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rossello, spoke with the news saying that he defends his government’s efforts in tryin to get accurate numbers for the death toll of the resulting hurricane. Researchers not from the island concluded that the actual number that died from the aftermath was 4,645, which is almost 70 times higher than the original, official tally of 64 reported by the Puerto Rican government. Rossello stated that George Washington College would carryout another official study to get an accurate number for the death toll, and that the study has been delayed due to difficulty of obtaining correct death certificate information. However, according to a researcher apart of the Harvard study that was carried out stated that they did not receive any data from the government they requested. Despite these allegations Rossello stated, “I really want this to be very transparent. I want the truth to come out. That’s the bottom line. And I want us to learn from this tragedy”.
In the interview done with Rossello it appeared that he was unaware about data being withheld from researchers by his government, but he insists that they are doing all they can to be transparent with the people. Transparency seems to be a common thing among officials, especially with Rossello, following the hurricane, after recently mentioning the massive amounts of debt the country is in and why it sought so much aid from the US.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/31/us/puerto-rico-governor-responds-to-study/index.html

Global News Post 3 – Puerto Rico

Chairman Pai Proposes $954 Million Plan For Puerto Rico and USVI

Ajit Pai

“FCC Chairman Ajit Pai speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.” Gage Skidmore. https://flic.kr/p/GBJEcW. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Following the devastation in Puerto Rico, Chairman of the FCC, has proposed a $954 million plan to help restore networks in Puerto Rico. After months of struggling to get the much needed assistance the island sought from federal relief aid, the chairman proposed the long awaited plan back in March. The plan will direct the funds toward short-term assistance to help get communications back to normal operating standards and long-term assistance to help rebuild and restructure the broadband networks of the island for better and efficient access across the island. Not only will the funds be used to help repair the communications on the island, but also to ensure processes are in place to prevent anything from this extent to happen again in this years upcoming hurricane season.

This news was released by the FCC in attempts to make the public more aware of the efforts being taken to help the neighboring island. Further analyzation of this article also led me to the discovery that Puerto Rico was a major proponent for the repeal of the net neutrality rules, that was recently carried out by the current presidential administration. One of the major reasons the island may have been in favor of the new legislation is because according to the chair of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, the same Verizon funded group that is helping to allocate funds for rebuilding on the island, is the same group that was in favor of putting the new legislation in place.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/chairman-pai-proposes-954-million-plan-puerto-rico-and-usvi (the actual article will have the option to be opened as a word document or pdf)

Global News Post #5 – Puerto Rico

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-treasury-puertorico/puerto-rico-reaches-deal-to-access-u-s-disaster-loans-idUSKBN1GY2ND

“Mnuchin spoke at a press conference at the Teatrito of La Fortaleza, after meeting with the governor and some members of his team. (GFR Media)”

With the recent natural disaster in Puerto Rico, the island is still trying to recover and make repairs to damages caused by the hurricane. The article talks about a recent deal the U.S. made with Puerto Rico to help give aid through means of a disaster loan. Initially the U.S. Congress allocated around $4.9 billion in loans for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, however the Puerto Rico did not have access to this money. While the article did not address as to why Puerto Rico was not able to access these recovery funds, one would assume it has something to do with the billions of dollars of debt the island currently has, which led them to claim bankruptcy back in the summer of 2017. Despite the amount of debt the island has, they had reserves in the amount of $1.7 billion. When the U.S. Treasury and FEMA found this out they agreed to let Puerto Rico to have access to the disaster until March 2020, however only when Puerto Rico’s reserves dipped $1.1 billion. The announcement of the deal came after months of letters back and forth between Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rossello, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, when Mnuchin visited the island.

The long-disputed distribution of the funds for the island’s recovery seems reasonable in light of their recent status of filing for bankruptcy and the billions of dollars of debt they are currently in. As well as that, the island has cash reserves they did not disclose to the U.S. government, which would appear to be able to assist in recovery efforts meaning Puerto Rico may not need all of the money the U.S. was willing to let the island borrow. Unlike many of the other articles that discussed the recent negotiations between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, this article brought light to many of the issues that the two governments had that prevented Puerto Rico from borrowing the disaster loans from the U.S. Other articles made the U.S. out to be power hungry and unfair in not allowing the island to access large sums of money, however this article was clear in the conveying some of the reasoning behind why the U.S. had some reservations when the Puerto Rico asked for the money back in October 2017. The article did however, leave out that the U.S. and Puerto Rico still are having ongoing discussions as to whether the island will be allowed to be eligible for disaster loan forgiveness, that many other countries are eligible for, due to Puerto Rico’s mishandling of past government funds.

González, Joanisabel. “Mnuchin Reaches an Agreement with the Island.” El Nuevo Dia, 24 Mar. 2018, www.elnuevodia.com/english/english/nota/mnuchinreachesanagreementwiththeisland-2409091/.

Global News Post #2 – Puerto Rico

Congressmen warn of shortage in medicines

(GFR Media)While Puerto Ricans continue to rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, they have continued to face a growing number of obstacles in the new year. With flu season in full effect, Congressmen in the US and Puerto Rico, are asking the current US presidential administration what are they doing in order to deal with the shortage of medical supplies. With 30% of the island still without electricity, they are not able to contribute medical supplies to the US like they were able to, pre-hurricane.

Puerto Rico is responsible for 10% of the medicines consumed in the United States, and with the condition the island is currently in, they will not be able to produce these medicines especially with the lack of resources.

“In a letter, 29 senators and 63 congressmen asked the head of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, to know what steps are taken to avoid a lack of medical supplies, such as bags of saline solution. The legislators recalled that in Puerto Rico – where around 30% of the population still does not have electricity – almost 10% of the medicines consumed in the United States are produced.”

The letter penned to the head of the FDA, asks questions regarding what measures are in place to avoid new shortages of medicine, and if the government plans to approve new suppliers and if said approval will be permanent or temporary. Senators from both sides of the aisle are working together to ensure that the FDA is going to take the necessary steps to prevent a public health crisis across the US and Puerto Rico.

When epidemics, like the flu, sweep across the nation it’s important to think about the implications of relying on resources that are produced in far away places. While the US can’t produce everything they will need to face nationwide illnesses like the the flu, it should be the responsibility of lawmakers to have contingency plans in place, when the countries we obtain resources from fall on hard times. Having plans in place could make the difference of saving hundreds even thousands of lives.

With the writing of this letter to the FDA, lawmakers in the US and Puerto Rico are still waiting for an answer to the questions of the shortages that both countries are facing.

https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/politica/nota/congresistasadviertendeescasezenmedicamentos-2395521/

 

Puerto Rico – Information Network Report 1st Draft

Puerto Rico – Information Network Report 1st Draft

Newspaper:

  • El Nuevo Dia
    • El Nuevo Dia is a Puerto Rican newspaper. It is the leader in circulation and reaches more users on the island than any other newspaper. Not only is it an actual, physical newspaper, but it can also be accessed online. Many of its users access it through mobile phone.
    • It includes sections for Business, Sports, Travel, Entertainment, Opinion, World news, US news and Local News and politics under the ‘News’ tab.
    • https://www.elnuevodia.com/
    • El Nuevo Dia is updated daily; under the ‘Buscar’ (Search) bar, the date is posted everyday
    • I will monitor this source by subscribing to the newpaper. They have several types of subscriptions; digital only, ePaper, or both (since I live in the US, I obviously can’t subscribe to the actual newspaper). I am subscribing to the digital news, and I will receive email updates. The subscription is $0.99 for the first four weeks, then $2.99 every four weeks. I have also saved it as a bookmark in my browser. I will also follow their Twitter page since it is the source of social media I check most often.
    • I selected this source because it is the most followed and read newspaper source on the island. It also contains several different sections within the paper/website that provide access to not only politically based news, but to entertainment, beauty and other topics. It is an all-encompassing newspaper, and the website allows access to other blogs and websites, like Magacin and Por Dentro.
  • The San Juan Daily Star
    • The San Juan Daily Star is another Puerto Rican newspaper, however “the San Juan Weekly is distributed in strategic points, guaranteeing that its readers receive the newspaper promptly. The newspaper is distributed door to door in selected urbanizations, arriving to a strategic market…its greater concentration of circulation is in the metropolitan area, [however] the San Juan Weekly is distributed throughout all of [Puerto Rico].
    • In the newspaper you can find sections for International, Legal, Local, Mainland, Business, and Viewpoint (which I believe is a politically based opinion section).
    • http://www.sanjuanweeklypr.com/index.html
    • The source is updated daily, because it is a daily printed newspaper.
    • I will monitor this source by checking the newsletter that is sent out. There is a tab at the top in red that says, “Online Register” and you can subscribe to the daily newsletter for free and they will send you the print edition to your email. I will also set a weekly reminder on my phone, to remind myself to at least check the news once a week. I will also follow its Twitter page.
    • I selected this newspaper source because it is based in the island’s capital (San Juan) and it is based in English as well. The newspaper is spread all throughout the country, however it is a smaller publication than something like El Dia. It also appears that when it comes to US politics, that The San Juan Daily has more of a left or liberal leaning, based off of a piece I read in the Viewpoint section that criticized Donald Trump and his State of The Union address.

New Media:

  • Global Voices
    • Global Voices is a website based on citizen media reporting, that curates, verifies, and translates trending news from all over the world. It consists of bloggers, journalists, academics, and human rights activists.
    • It is web based and through it, you can access information in 40 different languages, from Africa, Asia, the Americas (North and South), Europe, and the Middle East. Under each continents’ section you can access specific countries. Tabs like Culture, Human Rights, and Digital Activism can be accessed as well.
    • https://globalvoices.org/-/world/latin-america/puerto-rico-us/
    • The website is updated fairly often. It isn’t updated daily, but it could be based off of when content is found and posted by its publishers. To make sure it is updated pretty frequently, there is a “Monthly Archive” tab that includes all content posted on the specific country you’ve chosen to look at. Currently there is information posted about Puerto Rico at least about once a month.
    • In order to monitor the tab on Puerto Rico, I have set the page as a bookmark in my web browser. I could subscribe to the newsletter but that will include information about the entire site that is posted, and I only want to focus on my country’s information. So, like The San Juan Daily, I will set a weekly reminder to check the website on any new updated information about my country. The reason I will check weekly is because since using the website for my global news post, there has been only one new story posted about my country and it has been 4 days since last using the website. My assumption is that there will be at least one new story posted a week.
    • I selected this source because in a way it acts as a global blog. The authors of the stories have varied views and they report on information about the countries that matter to them. Like a blog, it gives writers a choice of what they choose to talk about, however the information is checked and verified by other credited authors, such as journalists, academics and activists. It will allow me to get information about my country from several viewpoints, not from people who share the same thoughts and opinions.

Social Media:

  • Twitter – Ricardo Rossello
    • The source is a social media page of the current Governor of Puerto Rico. Information that can be found on his page is current political information about the island from the point of view of the New Progressive Party.
    • https://twitter.com/ricardorossello
    • The source is updated as often as the governor decides to tweet/retweet. So far, it appears that the governor tweets/retweets several times a day.
    • I’m monitoring this source by subscribing to the page’s tweets. I will get a mobile (and Apple Watch) notification each time something is tweeted/retweeted from the page. I have set the settings of notifications to include all things that the governor tweets/retweets.
    • I’ve selected this source because this is a page of a prominent political figure of my country, who obviously has certain beliefs and viewpoints that are not representative of the entire island, yet he represents the island. Through his page I will also be able to see the people who also follow this account to be able to get a better understanding of the people on the island of Puerto Rico. 

Data Source:

  • StatCounter Global Stats
    • This page is a data source, with monthly updated information about the browser usage of the world and specified countries (regions based on the page). The kind of information that can be found here is the types of web browsers being used, what devices are being used to access certain browsers, the operating systems being used, etc.
    • http://gs.statcounter.com/; the information can be accessed through this link, however to get to a specific country you will need to select the stat you would like to view, then scroll down and select from what region would you like to view the stats in.
    • The source is updated monthly. Based off of the charts, there is monthly data from the year 2017, hopefully there will be data released for January 2018. I will have to wait and see since the month of January just recently ended.
    • To monitor this source, I will put a monthly reminder in my phone and on my calendar to check the page since it appears that data is reported monthly.
    • The reason I chose this page is because based off of our recent conversations in this class on technology, ICT’s, and other information about web/browser access, I found it interesting that this page reports real-time data on different aspects of browser usage and information. And I can use this information to compare my country to other countries.

Visual and/or Audio Source:

  • NPR
    • This source is public radio, that can be accessed online, through an app, or through the radio. Most of the information that can be found is a radio broadcast show or podcast. You can find everything from informational news, math, science, entertainment, and lifestyle topics.
    • https://www.npr.org/tags/137175992/puerto-rico; I included this link because it is specific to finding information about my country.
    • The source is updated as often as people who have access to the site, decide to post. Based off of the Puerto Rico tag I am using to monitor my country, I have seen that there have been posts made in the past week.
    • I will monitor this source by downloading the NPR One app on my phone and select a podcast or radio show about my country when I have time to listen. I will do this by replacing some of the time I use in the car and at the grocery store listening to music, by listening to a radio broadcast or podcast instead. So that I do not forget, I will set a weekly reminder for Sunday’s and Wednesday’s (the beginning and middle of the week) to remind myself to listen to a podcast or radio broadcast.
    • I chose NPR because I have used it before and I know that it is a source that can encompass a wide variety of topics and it makes it better that I can use search tools and tags to narrow down information specific to my country.

Reflection of Search Process and Future Processes

I searched for information regarding my newspapers and print media primarily through using the resources offered in class. I started with PressReader because that led me to the most popular newspapers, that could be then sorted by country. Since a lot of information is based on the internet now and needs to be accessed with some form of digital technology, I resorted to using internet of course. However, the Google search engine is one that I use most often and can normally always find what I am looking for. I also know how to use the advanced search using Google, which helped a lot to sort through information. A strategy that worked best for me was not immediately selecting the first source I found from searching Google. Instead I would look at the source and see if it linked or connected to other sources that could incorporate complementary information. For example, El Dia (newspaper) has a web-based newspaper and through their newspaper’s website, I could access other blogs that weren’t necessarily news related but had information on topics pertaining to my country.

What I learned from searching for international information is that, while it can be difficult, it is not as difficult as I thought it would be. I did see that there was some bias in searching for international information. While a lot of information I sorted through could be found in Spanish (because my country is Puerto Rico), I found that a lot of the information I found came from English-based sources or US based sources. Next time I search for sources, I will try to use my current sources to lead me to other information, like the example of El Dia I gave. I found that the information is better tailored to my specific country and the perspective it takes on international news/information is different from the perspective we have of international news being from the US. It allows the person who is accessing the information to get the perspective from the country they are observing.

Global News Post #1 – Puerto Rico

Authorities Are ‘Whitewashing’ the Devastation and Death Toll in Puerto Rico

“For more than two weeks since the storm, Puerto Ricans have faced life-threatening shortages of food, water and fuel. More than 90% of homes are still without electricity, 60% without water, and 75% of telecommunications networks are still inoperable.”

While the people of Puerto Rico were working hard to rebuild, media outlets were reporting key statistics such as access to electricity and water, however other statistics that were reported, were said to have been ‘whitewashed’. The death toll on the island was reported to be a very low number despite the amount of devastation that occurred. Information that about the death toll that media sources were receiving was drastically different from what the U.S. government was releasing.

After the media drew attention to censorship, the data that went missing on FEMA’s website soon reappeared. While the debate of the accuracy of the reported information was going on, Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, decided to see for himself what was really happening on the island. What he saw was indeed not what was being portrayed in the U.S. Along with the censorship of the real crisis the people of Puerto Rico were facing, the president’s administration continued to control the narrative by only promoting and encouraging “good” news. Donald Trump went to Twitter several times to boast of “successful” relief efforts and lash out against the “fake news media”.

The purpose of reporting data on emergency management is critical to determine the amount of disaster relief a place needs. It helps determine how to understand and makes decisions about how to allocate resources when needed. When an area needs relief the way Puerto Rico does, a country that has had issues with infrastructure long before Hurricane Maria, it makes it more difficult to do this when government agencies in place to help can censor information needed to determine relief.

Today, Puerto Rico still doesn’t make breaking news headlines and hundreds of thousands of people are still left without power, according various news outlets that have reported on updates concerning the island. Only time will tell if Puerto Rico will get the attention and help they so desperately need.

 

Carrión, Ángel. “Authorities Are ‘Whitewashing’ the Devastation and Death Toll in Puerto Rico · Global Voices.” Global Voices, 11 Oct. 2017, globalvoices.org/2017/10/09/us-authorities-are-whitewashing-the-devastation-and-death-toll-in-puerto-rico/.