Fate of the USS Iowa discussion

[Shipwreck]

Short and straight up. You are signing up to do a job that has zero to do with sexual orientation.

So why the *don't ask, don't tell* policy then ? If there is no justification, why not rescind it ?

[Dreadnought]

So why the *don't ask, don't tell* policy then ? If there is no justification, why not rescind it ?

That answer would be when you can get all to agree on what is most important when you sign those papers and become part of the military. Your job and your job and come home safely please. When all can agree that nothing is more important then the job at hand then rescind it. Until then work on a better clause for the papers, one that offends nobody and serves for all not matter color,sex, or creed.

Might be a good point to raise with McCain, He was ofcoarse military and a pow and I would say a good chance at being the next U.S. president.) Perhaps he can make it work.

It all goes back to responsibility for oneself and the life oneself leads.

[Shipwreck]

It all goes back to responsibility for oneself and the life oneself leads.

It's about people making the same sacrifice for their country having the same rights in their job. Shouldn't that be the case ?

[Dreadnought]

It's about people making the same sacrifice for their country having the same rights in their job. Shouldn't that be the case ?

Provided the fact that BOTH parties are protected. Otherwise the bill would appear oriented to appease a certain gender. And yes I do agree with your statement.

You and every person here knows that whatever your sexual orientation is has absolutely zero to do with your ability to do your job. Therefore whatever the orientation is, a "classification" of it has no place whatsoever in the modern or past military.

All I say is dont treat the troops that protect my country and my rights in any demeaning fashion because they (San Francisco board) disagree with the men that write its policies. These troops have zero say in the policy only follow it too the t. That is their job and what they are expected to uphold bar none.

[Shipwreck]

All I say is dont treat the troops that protect my country and my rights in any demeaning fashion because they (San Francisco board) disagree with the men that write its policies.

Did you read this post ?

[Dreadnought]

Did you read this post ?

Yes, But did you see the way they treated the Marines when they wanted to film a commercial on the street (reality) and they basically gave them every excuse in the book why they couldn't.

[Shipwreck]

Yes, But did you see the way they treated the Marines when they wanted to film a commercial on the street (reality) and they basically gave them every excuse in the book why they couldn't.

Read this :

Newsom welcomes the fleet with fierce defense of San Francisco as pro-military

Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 7, 2007

(10-06) 16:55 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - -- Mayor Gavin Newsom, attending Fleet Week festivities on the Marina Green on Saturday, lashed out at conservative critics who mocked San Francisco's consideration of a measure to ban the Navy's Blue Angels from flying over the city during this week's celebration.

He cited that criticism and reports that the city turned down a Marine request to make a television recruitment commercial in the Financial District as examples of what he called exploitation by conservatives who don't "allow the facts to get in their way."

"Shame on the extreme right," Newsom told The Chronicle. "I am sick and tired of this city being depicted as anti-military. The extreme right exploits the exception, when I believe there is a predominant respect in this city for the military, vets and those serving today."

The mayor praised the Board of Supervisors for rejecting Supervisor Chris Daly's proposal to ban the Blue Angels from flying over the city, and he said the Marines "were offered multiple locations" to shoot their commercial before they selected the Marin County site of Kirby Cove near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Newsom said the issue of the Blue Angels' safety - which Daly cited when making the case for his ban - was a valid one in the aftermath of a crash that killed a member of the famed flight demonstration team in April. Since the team was established in 1946, Daly said, 26 of its members have died in crashes.

But Newsom said proposals such as a flight ban play into the hands of conservative commentators and other critics "and end up hurting the city." He added that other approaches work better.

He said that after the April crash in South Carolina, his office "reached out to the Blue Angels" to discuss safety issues during Fleet Week.

"They said, 'Here are our safety records.' They gave us a level of confidence, and we moved forward - I think that's how you approach it," Newsom said.

Daly, informed of the mayor's comments, said: "It's unfortunate the mayor is more concerned about politics than about the safety of San Franciscans."

Fleet Week, an event intended to honor men and women serving in the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, has been held annually in the city since 1981.

Saturday's events began with a string of eight U.S. and Canadian ships - frigates, mine sweepers, cutters, a destroyer and the World War II Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien - steaming beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the bay under a brilliant blue sky.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., watched from a Marina Green reviewing stand as the parade of ships passed by. Asked about the Blue Angels' flights, she said the team should be appreciated for what it is - an amazing display of superb technical proficiency.

"When I was mayor, I went up with the Blue Angels, and we did a loop," she said. "It was the most exciting day of my life."

The Blue Angels took to the skies in the mid-afternoon, to the delight of thousands of onlookers who craned their heads, looking for a glimpse of the F/A-18 Hornet jets.

Steve Wilson, a 51-year-old optometrist, took his 11-year-old and 13-year-old sons out of school in West Virginia for a few days to bring them to see the Fleet Week events.

Wilson said he had followed the controversy over whether the Blue Angels should fly over the city and said, "If there were any reason to be against it, it would be about safety - not about 'we shouldn't be in Iraq.'

"We're there and we're going to be there for a long time to come," Wilson said. "I've talked to a lot of military people, and it's unfortunate, but it's the way it is. This Fleet Week event gives us a chance to honor the military - we owe them a huge debt of gratitude."

Link

[Shipwreck]

More bad news on the USS Iowa front :

Vallejo votes to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy
Carolyn Jones, Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

00:12 PDT Vallejo -- The Vallejo City Council voted to declare bankruptcy Tuesday night after months of last-ditch wrangling failed to rescue the city from financial catastrophe.

The North Bay city of 117,000 now heads into largely uncharted territory, as no California city of this size has ever opted for this route.

"This has been a long frustrating process for everyone," said City Manager Joseph Tanner. "There are no winners here tonight."

After about four hours of discussion and public comment from the standing-room-only crowd, the council voted 7-0 to approve Tanner's recommendation to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection as a means to reorganize its finances, which have been shattered by spiraling public employee salaries and the plummeting housing market.

The move allows the city to freeze its debts while maintaining city services. Police, fire and other unions and many in the audience were outraged at the move, accusing the council of poor leadership.

The city suffers from mismanagement and has less debt than it claims, said a union spokesman, Ken Shoemaker, a representative of the electrical union.

Vallejo faces a $16 million shortfall and no money in its reserve account for the fiscal year beginning July 1. In March, the city shaved several million dollars from its payroll, museums, public works, senior centers, libraries and other services to avoid bankruptcy, but needed to make further cuts to meet increased expenses in the next fiscal year.

The city and its police and fire unions held a final contract negotiating session Sunday but failed to reach an agreement before Tuesday's City Council meeting.

The city and its public safety unions have been at the bargaining table for about two years. The city is asking for its police and firefighters to take salary, benefit and staff cuts, while the unions say any further cuts would endanger public safety as well as the safety of the police and firefighters.

Vallejo spends 74 percent of its $80 million general fund budget on public safety salaries, significantly higher than the state average. The generous contracts are the result of deals struck in the 1970s, following a police strike that left the city in turmoil.

The City Council had been split on whether to declare bankruptcy. Some, including Mayor Osby Davis, said the stigma would threaten the city's long-term economic development and discourage investors, while others said it would give the city time to restructure its budget and offer protection from creditors.

What's unknown is whether bankruptcy will dissolve the city's labor contracts, which most City Hall staffers say is the primary reason for the city's financial mess. A judge will have to decide whether to dissolve the contracts.

Vallejo became the second California city to declare bankruptcy, but the first to do so because of long-term economic woes. Desert Hot Springs (Riverside County) declared bankruptcy in 2001 after losing a lawsuit brought by a developer. Orange County declared bankruptcy in 1994 after losing $1.6 billion in bad investments.

Cities and counties throughout the state are in a predicament similar to Vallejo's, and many are watching to see what happens in the North Bay city over the next few months.

If the regional and national economies suffer another down year, numerous Bay Area cities - especially those highly dependent on the housing market for property- and transfer-tax revenues - are likely to be investigating bankruptcy options.

Link

[Shipwreck]

USS Iowa Veterans website under attack :

The DECK-LOG is temporarily OFFLINE!!

Our Deck Log has been taken off line for a period of time due to the great increase in spam that has been posted to it.

As web-master I have implemented several tactics to automatically delete these spam entries. In the last four days there has been 25,000 posts to our deck log. (yeah - twenty five THOUSAND!!!) It is necessary for the well being of our server and our web-site that the deck log be taken down for a week or so.

If any member have any immediate concerns please CLICK HERE to view a listing of Veteran's Association Officers and contact them accordingly.

Very Respectfully - John E. Schultz, Web Master

Fekking spammers.

[Dreadnought]

USS Iowa Veterans website under attack :



Fekking spammers.

What do you expect for a POS.

[Shipwreck]

Not so encouraging :

Iowa proponents worry about museum placement
By JESSICA A. YORK/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 09/26/2008 08:17:47 AM PDT

The potential close proximity of a floating museum and a new shipyard at Mare Island have given rise to compatibility concerns.

One nonprofit group - Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square - has its sights set on Mare Island and its members fear heavy industry and a museum would butt heads if placed side-by-side, even with a similar focus on shipping.

Finding a permanent home for the USS Iowa battleship to berth has been the group's mission for the past 12 years. For more than seven years, it has been anchored in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet.

Recently, the focus for its final docking has zeroed in on Mare Island, and particularly the shoreline between dry docks 1 and 2, said organization president and director Merylin Wong.

During an open house Saturday, members of Historic Ships Memorial at Pacific Square shared concerns that a ship dismantling business would hurt their plans for the Iowa.

"If you have heavy industry taking place just 50 feet away, you can imagine what the consequences of that - it might never happen," Wong said this week.

Much Mare Island property, including island dry docks, is overseen by developer Lennar Mare Island. In recent months, the developer and city have taken steps toward finding and assisting interested marine-related companies to lease the dry docks and related nearby property.

At least seven companies were recently sent shipping-specific planning permit applications co-drafted by city staff and Lennar Mare Island, said an LMI spokesperson. One of those companies, whose identity has yet to be disclosed, has completed a first draft of the application and received comments back from LMI and city staff, said Jason Keadjian of LMI.

The president of Allied Defense Recycling, one company vying for space to set up a shipping yard on Mare Island, said the Iowa could benefit from having a ship facility near it, both to maintain the dock area and help with ship wear and tear.

"The only question is where to put (the Iowa) so you don't have a conflict with families and children," said Jay Amast, Allied president and CEO. "It seems to us that it would be a compatible use."

Wong said that group had recently spent tens of thousands of dollars developing architectural and design plans for their proposed site.

The group has also raised about $1 million of what members estimated will be a $16 million to $20 million project, Wong said. The volunteer group hopes to raise the balance within the next year and a half, she said.

Keadjian, of LMI, said that both bringing the Iowa and a shipping business to Mare Island are tentative proposals and that compatibility will be a bridge crossed as city permits are sought.

"LMI has been very supportive of the group's efforts to bring the USS Iowa to the island, but they have ... significant funding challenges," Keadjian said. "Without a final draft application from one of the potential users related to either ship dismantling or ship breaking, it's difficult to determine what compatibility issues could arise, but it would be our goal to work with the applicant, to work with the city to address those issues."

Wong said she has her doubts that the uses could peacefully coexist in such close proximity, mainly due to environmental issues.

"The hope is that we could work to see that all of us can be there along that stretch," Wong said. "It just so happens that at this point we were so far along and then there's interest of alternate uses at exactly the same point where we were interested."/Times-Herald staff writer Sarah Rohrs contributed to this article.

Link

[Gun Grape]

Having a Ship Breaking company located beside her would save money when she has to be hauled off for scrap. Doesn't have to be towed far.


Just saying

[Shipwreck]

Having a Ship Breaking company located beside her would save money when she has to be hauled off for scrap. Doesn't have to be towed far.


Just saying

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