Government asks cruise lines to house Katrina victims.

[trumad]

I mentinoned this idea yesterday and some here on DU ridiculed the idea.

The federal government today contacted cruise lines, including Miami's Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International, about using cruise ships to house Gulf Coast residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

No cruise lines reached by The Herald had yet made any decisions whether they would reroute ships to the ravaged areas, however.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12525796.htm

The thread from yesterday:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4513385

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. taht's easty, natinal emergency

they can be federalized... even though they are flagged in Liberia and Panama

[donheld]

10. taht's easty, natinal

taht's easty fro yuo ot yas.

[jasmeel]

2. OMG! I remember that! Maybe they're getting their ideas from

DU-because they have NONE of their own (and ours are better)!!

[jasmeel]

3. Maybe we could call and encourage them to help NO?

Any phone numbers?

[Liberal Dose]

4. Can the cruise ships be commandeered? You know, like a cop can take your

car if he needs it to chase a crook? Just wondering.

[Jacobin]

5. Yes. They can requisition it

Obviously, BushCo is utterly incompetent to manage anything more than an unsuccessful invasion of a non-threatening country.

Its clear that the government has no executive branch.

They are just swinging around in the wind

[nini]

12. The ships arent' registered in the US.. how can we 'take' them?

.

[Sequoia]

6. Well, I agreed with you. I hope some step up to the plate.

[Redstone]

7. Anyone who ridiculed that idea is a moron. It's a good idea.

Redstone

[trumad]

8. Read yesterday's thread that I posted above

There were several who were downright nasty about it.

[nini]

13. It's a great idea and those who ridiculed it said it wasn't feasible

as the ships are not registered in the US and our govt cannot simply order them to go there. I was one that brought that up and I hardly thought it wasn't something I wish could happen, it just isn't as easy as ordering them over there.


That was extent of the 'ridicule'

[DinahMoeHum]

9. I have not ridiculed this idea, but understand this: Lord knows

what new navigational hazards have been created in the NOLA ship channels as a result of Katrina. And not just the big items, but slightly smaller flotsam lurking underneath that could tear a hole in a ship's side.

Gotta tread on this real carefully. BTW, this is the main reason why Naval ports like Norfolk and Mayport order their vessels out to sea when a hurricane is coming. They don't want to risk their ships sunk/damaged in port and thus present navigational hazards for commercial and other vessels.

:shrug:

[ReadTomPaine]

11. Reminds me of the people who said this storm wasn't anything serious.

Stupidity, it seems, is highly contagious in a hurricane.