finally..US NAVY KICKS ASS: clean drinking water to tsunami victims (PHOTO

[diamond14]

THANK GOD !!!! (and shame on bush* for sitting on his dead dying ass, on vacation, for 5 days).....GO NAVY...our HEROS save lives !


In this picture released by the US Navy, sailors assigned to the Reactor Department and Repair Division aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) fill jugs with purified water from a Potable Water Manifold in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday Jan. 4, 2005. The water jugs will be flown by Navy helicopters to regions isolated by the tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia. (AP Photo/ US Navy, Jordon R. Beesley, HO)

[Kingshakabobo]

1. Go Navy! n/t

[DELUSIONAL]

5. I'll second that! GO NAVY!

As a Navy brat -- born in a Navy hospital -- grew up on Navy bases -- GO NAVY!

These carriers carry an amazing array of tools and equipment -- really floating self sufficiant cities.

[ewagner]

10. Another Navy Brat here

OUTSTANDING NAVY!

[DemExpat]

2. Now, THIS is what all of that power should be used for!

:kick:

DemEx

[TrustingDog]

9. my thoughts exactly! there is SO much good that can be done...

instead of making pink mist out of people.

[theycanbiteme]

13. Hmmm....

how about NOT building aircraft carriers and the likes and dedicating
all that money to building eco-friendly villages, etc.
Instead of wasting BILLIONS on this crap, why haven't we started to
invest these same billions on more useful things.

Little tip folks...
The region is FULL of oil.

Cynisism to the max...

[DELUSIONAL]

14. The guys on the ground aren't thinking about this

and I am supportive of these guys -- they are probably putting in 20 hour days.

At the same time the civilian politicians -- the bushita gang sent in the Navy (belatedly) because Cheney or Rove figured the "what's in it for us rich dicks?" and then someone remembered the oil . . . .

But it is the sailors doing their best and coming up with novel solutions to complex problems.

Gee wouldn't it be wonderful if all the carriers and ships could be turned into PEACE ships and the Navy goes on peace missions?

But I can tell you that the sailor's dependents back home are going to be proud of their dads and moms -- not like kids of the parents involved in Iraq and Fallujah (when the full extent of war crimes is revealed to the American public).

Humans have the capacity of good and evil -- and we are seeing it right now -- Navy in Asia -- and US military in Iraq.

[proud patriot]

3. Woo Hoo

:D I'm so glad we have invested in helping .

from what I have seen we are doing a kick ass job .

I wish it had started five days sooner too.

[cornermouse]

Its not that I"m against helping the tsunami victims,

its just that I keep thinking about all the people who need help here and can't get it.

[Cuban_Liberal]

4. Yay for the squids!

:thumbsup:

[illflem]

6. That's great

but wouldn't it be better to have the water purifier where they need the water rather than have to transport it with helicopters?

[Cuban_Liberal]

7. They have those too. n/t

[driver8]

16. Good idea, except...

I was on an aircraft carrier similar to the Lincoln and worked in Reactor Dept./Engineering like the guys in the picture. The de-salination plant on the carriers is part of the engineering plant; you cannot simply remove it and airlift it where you want it. These plants are huge and complex. If I remember correctly, each plant can make about 100,000 gallons of freshwater a day and there are four plants.

Go Navy!!

[EVDebs]

26. Desal plant and water purification equip also coming from Diego Garcia n/t

[Billy Ruffian]

22. The water distillation plant on a carrier

isn't a portable item.

The steam turbines need pure water, and there are thousands and thousands of gallons of absolutely pure water being made on a carrier. It's distilled, not purified.

What the sailors did was make a filling manifold to utilize that fresh water that's on board.

A carrier probably doesn't have a portable water purifier to send. When one gets to the region, the helicopters can deliver it.

Ex Navy here, too (although on a much smaller ship)

[Justitia]

8. Thanks to the US Navy! Many seamen in my family,

I like when we're the GOOD guys O8)

[w13rd0]

11. I am glad for those in our military...

...charged with doing this necessary humanitarian work, but I have to wonder...

If we as a nation were willing to spend a quarter (maybe not even that much) the time, money and human resources on strictly humanitarian ventures (and no, "invanding and liberating" Iraq doesn't count), the need for that other 3/4 would be drastically reduced.

Our government has the responsibility of either taking these young men and women, who volunteer out of a desire to get an education or a sense of civic duty (or whatever), and putting them to 'good works' like these, after which they'll go on to take part in our society feeling like their efforts made a positive change...or we can put them in hostile nations, for two and three terms, inadequately equipped, and hope they aren't permanently pschologically scarred.

Bush was forced into providing this aid, just as he was "forced" to be "leaderlike" after 9-11. And of course, with the statement today, we see the naked propaganda of the effort. Were it not for the PR potential in their "war for hearts and minds", Bush would still be getting uppity at having $15 million called "stingy".

I wish these sorts of efforts were more common for our servicepersons than they are in the present age.

[Spinzonner]

12. What's the matter with you ?

How are Halliburton and Carlyle going to make any money on that kind of thing.

[Karenina]

15. Really.

:eyes: These are photo-ops (Da REAL $$$ is in blood, destruction und thievin') BUT I AM SOOOO PLEASED TO SEE IT. (Once upon a time I was a cheerleader in Annapolis):

GOOOOO NAVY!
BEEAAT ARMY!

[Octafish]

17. Wonder if Hawker Hurricane is in that pic?

Anyone remember the Chief's ship?

Godspeed Hawker Hurricane.

[GOPisEvil]

18. I believe Mr. Hurricane retired from the Navy.

:-)

[Octafish]

20. Thank ye, GOPisEvil!

[DireStrike]

19. Go Navy, it's your birthday!

Err, maybe I'm wrong about that one. But anyway GO US NAVY!

[phusion]

21. More feel good photos...

Ya, ya, I know...but I just thought this was a good photo.

<IMG SRC="">

[TheMightyFavog]

23. If I was in any sort of physical condition to be in the service...

I would have joined the Navy for exactly this reason.

You Navy people rock!

[Billy Ruffian]

24. More from the USN

http://www.navy.mil/local/tsunami/

The BonHomme Richard is there, (more, and bigger, helos than the Lincoln, I think) doing the same thing with water.

The Mercy is on the way (but will take 30 days to get there)

Twelve Military Sealift Command ships, including six Maritime Prepositioning Ships are on the way.

The logistics of the relief effort is staggering.

[EVDebs]

25. Solar ovens would be a great, cheap, gift item that could keep

other needed power sources available in supply chain and at the same time, as in Haiti, keep locals from burning trees/brush that keep soils intact during rains. See http://journeytoforever.org/sc.html

""Clean, safe water
The WHO says diseases spread through contaminated water cause 80% of the world's illnesses. Solar box cookers can pasteurize drinking water: heating water to 65 deg C for six minutes destroys disease organisms, and this temperature is easily achieved with solar box cookers.

-- "UNICEF estimates that 60% of rural families and 23% of urban families in developing countries are without safe water ... The most common recommendation is to boil the water. This recommendation is seldom followed the amount of scarce fuel it would require." -- From "A summary of water pasteurization techniques" by Dale Andreatta
http://solarcooking.org/solarwat.htm ""

The Navy is doing a great thing, don't get me wrong, but to keep these people independent and on their own, these solar ovens are the long range solution.



Also see the sites on biodiesel

[Billy Ruffian]

28. No disagreement

for long term solutions, but I doubt the MSC (esp. the prepositioning ships) have that kind of stuff.

What the US Navy *can* do is provide water, medical care, rebuilding assistance, etc.

[EVDebs]

29. Also, composting toilets along with the solar ovens and they've

just about got it licked ... then just water sources and foodstuff storage. Tropical climates make the shelter problem not as difficult.

[AmericanErrorist]

27. Rather, they're not kicking ass

[Zech Marquis]

30. thee are some REAL Heros!!!

When you work on a nuclear powered Navy ship, you're trained to fix, repair, and rebuild GOOD piping systems, so these good people are more than up to the challenge. It's also heartwarming to see those Navy helicopters and Air Force cargo planes getting aid out in large shipments :bounce: