The Truth Behind the Aircraft Carriers in Port Photo

The truth behind the aircraft carriers photo

Posted at 3:45 PM on February 25, 2013 by Bob Collins
Filed under: Politics

Here's a picture that's picking up steam around the Internet today. A picture of five aircraft carriers in port in Norfolk, Virginia. The chances are pretty good it's going to show up in your Facebook feed soon.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2013/02/the_truth_behind_the_aircraft.shtml - .USyWVcYpw8o.facebook

The accompanying message is only partially correct:

What is wrong with this picture?
The picture is of the five nuclear carriers.
Just like Battleship Row, Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
This picture was taken the other day in Norfolk. The Obama Administration ordered 5 nuclear carriers into harbor for "routine" (?) inspections. Heads of the Navy were flabbergasted by the directive.

NORFOLK, VA. (February 8, 2013). The first time since WWII that five (*) aircraft carriers were docked together. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are all in port at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., the world's largest naval station.

Sources stated that this breached a long standing military protocol in the Navy meant to avoid massive enemy strike on major US forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ryan J. Courtade/Released)

What's the real story? Welcome to the sequester.

First, the picture was actually taken in mid-December, not this month. Second, none was ordered into port for "routine maintenance."

- The USS Enterprise was retired from the Navy in January. It's being dismantled.

- The USS Eisenhower deployed on Thursday and is on its way to the Middle East to relieve the USS Stennis, which will return to its home port on the West Coast. The Eisenhower was in port for two months to get its flight deck resurfaced.

- The USS Harry Truman was to depart on a mission to the Central Command in early February, but Navy officials asked the secretary of defense to cancel that mission, which presumably was to the Persian Gulf where the U.S. has had two aircraft carriers. Now it will have one -- the Eisenhower.

- The USS Bush was not ordered into port for "routine inspections." It had been undergoing tests of its ability to have aircraft, which it does not presently have. Its cruise was canceled because of the sequester.

- The USS Lincoln also was not ordered into port for routine maintenance. It was in port for a two-year refueling mission, which the Navy has now canceled because of the sequester cuts.

The Truman's situation is particularly interesting. WTVR TV in Richmonddescribed what happens to people when a deployment is canceled. Families depend on deployment money to pay bills. Many move home for family support. They are already gone. Single sailors with children already sent their kids to caretakers. Many sailors moved out of apartments or homes, have cars in storage and already set up mortgage and phones and bills. This will be a tough adjustment. Since they are now cancelled, only delayed indefinitely, they could have to leave suddenly if the budget impasse is solved. The Navy is asking for community help for these 5,000 sailors, giving leniency on bills. Living arrangements, help with temporary storage, temporary transportation...many of them do not have local family or a support system.

But back to the photo: It originally was paired with a U.S. Navy story about sailors coming home for Christmas:

Home for Christmas: 9 Flattops at Norfolk naval base, December 20, 2012.

With the returns from deployment of the carrier DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER on Dec. 19, and the amphibious ships IWO JIMA and NEW YORK on Dec. 20, the piers at Norfolk's naval base are about as full up as they'll ever be.

Five aircraft carriers, four big-deck amphibious assault ships, a full cast of "small boy" surface warships, along with nuclear submarines and support ships, are crowding the base, giving a comfortably snug feeling to the waterfront. Similar scenes -- although not with the gathering of flattops seen here -- are taking place at other fleet concentration areas like San Diego and Pearl Harbor.

The Navy makes a point of trying to gives its shipboard crews a chance to spend Christmas with their families, and for a few days the percentage of ships underway drops to the lowest point it will be all year. But many of these ships will be gone in two weeks as the pace of operations picks up again.

In a decade or so, scenes such as this at Norfolk could become quite rare, as the fleet is in the midst of a gradual shift from the Atlantic to Pacific. Within a few years, about sixty percent of the U.S. Navy's ships will be homeported at a Pacific base - virtually a mirror image of the Cold War emphasis on the Atlantic.

The Navy also says the story about this being the first time so many carriers were moored together since Pearl Harbor is untrue.

Not surprisingly, the story was changed, the picture was attached, and the Internet did its thing.

Comments:

For those that are wondering, there are 2 more flat-topped military ships in the background. These aren't aircraft carriers, technically - they're amphibious assault ships. "Amphibious assault ships are the centerpieces of US amphibious warfare and fulfill the same power projection role as aircraft carriers except that their striking force comprises land forces instead of aircraft. They deliver, command, coordinate, and fully support all elements of a 2200-strong marine amphibious unit in an amphibious assault using both air and amphibious vehicles."

Posted by Tyler | 

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I do remember seeing this around the beginning of the year as a "Wow, this is cool!" thing rather than something to be freaked out about. Sad that the internet lens of distortion took effect.

Posted by Ryan V. | 

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STILL a violation of law, regardless.

Posted by gma215 | 

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Which law? I assume you're referring to the law requiring the Navy to maintain 11 aircraft carriers. It now has 10 but Congress granted the Navy a waiver until the USS Ford comes online.

Posted by Bob Collins | 

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"The Internet did its thing"???

There is a culture of fabrication on the right that is not an "internet" thing. It's a traditional Southern Democrat (now doing business as the Republican Party) thing: feeding outrageous lies into the news cycle for political gain.

The people who did this knew exactly what the truth was, and deliberately altered it so as to inflame the GOP's hyper-paranoid base.

Posted by Mark Gisleson | 

Tired Fallen Angel

'Pastafarian' from EHT

‘Pastafarian' refuses to take spaghetti strainer off his head for license photo, South Brunswick cops say

http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/02/pastafarian_refuses_to_take_sp.html

By Anthony G. Attrino/NJ.com 

on February 20, 2013 at 10:27 AM, updated February 20, 2013 at 12:03 PM

SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Motor vehicle workers in Dayton called police on a man who insisted on wearing a pasta strainer on his head during the taking of his driver’s license photo, according to a police report.

South Brunswick police officers responded to the MVC facility on Route 130 on a call that a man renewing his driver's license refused to remove the strainer on his head, according to a police report. The incident occurred about noon on Saturday, Feb. 2.

The man, Aaron Williams, 25, who gave an Egg Harbor Township address, told motor vehicle workers the strainer was a religious head covering and he had a right to wear it in his driver’s license photo.

Williams said he practices Pastafarianism.

Pastafarianism, or the Church of the Flying Spaghettic Monster, is a movement opposing teaching in schools of intelligent design and creationism.

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Williams said he is serious about the movement.

“I take it as seriously as anybody else when it comes to religious beliefs,” he said.

According to a police report, an motor vehicle employee told Williams head coverings can’t be worn in license photos unless it’s for religious reasons.

Williams then pulled out his cell phone and began taking video of the worker – another violation of motor vehicle policy, according to the report.

Police advised Williams that the pasta strainer was not approved by the MVC and he would have to apply to the state to wear it in his license photo.

Williams reluctantly agreed to have his picture taken without the strainer, according to police.

He also agreed to delete the video he had taken of the motor vehicle worker, according to the report.

Asked why he’d left his home in Atlantic County to have his photo taken at the South Brunswick motor vehicle office, Williams said: “I like it. It’s a nice, new office.”

In Austria, self-described Pastafarian Niko Alm fought for three years for the right to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his driver's license photo. He won his fight after officials performed a mental-health check, according to NPR.

Dead Body Found in Pines

Dead body found in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/dead-body-found-in-brendan-t-byrne-state-forest/article_67804bbe-9d45-567f-944b-f65baba1891a.html

PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP — Authorities discovered a dead body in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest on Saturday morning, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Investigators have only been able to identify the body as that of a white male on Saturday, state police said.

The cause and manner of death remained under investigation.

It was unknown Saturday how long the body had been in the forest.

The body was discovered about 11 a.m. near a pond in Whitesbog Village by an ice skater, who called authorities.

The Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Officer is expected to perform an autopsy.

State police are asking anyone with information about the circumstances of the man’s death or his identity to call them.

Investigators can be reached at the state police Red Lion Barracks in Southampton at 609-859-2282.

Young White Buck and Doe

A young White Buck and Doe frolic with their white-tailed mate in the field near Range Road.

Thanks to David Olah for these pix.He said they were bouncing around having a good time. 

Jody's Whitesbog Photos

Jody's Whitesbog Photos - Thanks Jody! 

Dick Russell on the State of the Striped Bass

Dick Russell – Author and Environmental Journalist

Dick Russell - Striped Bass: A Grim Update 

DICK RUSSELL WRITES - 

STRIPED BASS: A GRIM UPDATE

In mid-August, the Cape Cod Times came out with a story headlined, "Infection attacking striped bass." The article cited the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries noting that "warming water temperatures might be causing an increase in the number of striped bass that have lesions from a viral or bacterial infection....The agency urged caution in handling fish because the disease can be transferred to humans through contact."

Yet, supposedly, according to "visual tests," this is not linked to the mycobacteriosis that has impacted upwards of 70 per cent of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay, a disease that eventually kills them. I passed the article along to a longtime fishing friend, Jim White, who's probably the top charterboat fishing captain in Rhode Island. He responded:

The State of Mass. is trying to protect the commercial rod and reel fishery from totally collapsing. If people knew about this, nobody would buy or eat any. I recently got a call from the US Coast Guard, District-1, some Ensign. He said that he was told that I was some sort of EXPERT on Myco and wanted to know what I knew about it. I said, I'm no expert, but I do know a lot about it. He then asked me if I have seen fish recently with signs of Myco. I replied, Do you mean in the last ten or twelve years, or just last week?

He was silent. He then asked, what do you mean the last ten or twelve years, I said, that's how long this shit has been out there. Are you serious he asked? YES, I said.

I then asked him WHY was the USCG looking for information on MYCO? He said their office have and has received thousands of calls from anglers wanting to know what the red sores are. I said, REALLY?? I then asked him if the USCG was now going to look into it, he said, YES, we have to because of so many complaints. I said, well, you're about 12-years too late pal.

I offered to show the Commandant of the USCG, my Power Point Presentation on MYCO and anyone else there that would want to view it. He said he'd pass my offer on to higher ranking people. That was over a month ago and I havn't heard a thing yet. Don't expect to either.

Then, about three or four days later, Mark Gibson [of the Rhode Island fisheries agency] put out a request to the RISAA Group for any information on fish with red sores, photos if possible and to bring fish in to DEM if they would. I contacted Gibson and this is what I asked him. READY??? "Mark, is or has everyone there in DEM, been living under a rock for the last ten or twelve years??? This shit isn't new, what are you talking about??"

He answered me, "Yes Jim, we know and knew it was here, but it was never such a big deal before, now it is. He then said that the ASMFC [Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission] would now HAVE TO CONSIDER THE EFFECTS OF MYCO ON THE STOCK AND IN THE STOCK ASSESSMENT!!! I said, Oh, boy, only twelve dam years too late. What do you think that is going to do at this point with the stock falling   like a stone off the top of a mountain??? He said, they'd HAVE to address it at this point, along with OTHER DISEASES.

I picked up on that one really quick. I asked, WHAT OTHER DISEASES??? HIS RESPONSE?? I CAN'T TELL YOU AT THIS TIME. I just love this disclaimer! Don't worry, they are fine, but wear heavy gloves, use anti-bacterial soap, and seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY if you show signs of infection. YEAH RIGHT!!! NO PROBLEM AT ALL. Just follow everyone else off the cliff, get in line.

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According to the article in the Cape Cod Times, a leading fisheries biologist in Virginia says "a lot more funding will be needed to research the connection between the striped bass and mycobacteriosis in northern waters." What I'm wondering about is why no connection is still being made between the infection and thinner striped bass due to a lack of food - specifically, menhaden, their time-honored food of choice in the Chesapeake region and along the coast. Earlier in August, the ASMFC agreed to move forward with new restrictions on the menhaden harvest - most of it taken by a single Virginia company, Omega Protein, which grinds the little baitfish up for fish meal and fish oil. But the governing commission ruled out slashing the catch by 75 percent, and said it MIGHT consider a 50 percent reduction after a public comment period. This is despite the fact that the menhaden stock is at its lowest point on record due to overfishing.

It's the same old story - study the problem, until it's too late. Which it pretty much is. Jim White gave me permission to post his subsequent comments, emailed to me after I asked him how the fishing was in Rhode Island this summer. He said:

HOW GOES THE FISHING THIS SUMMER??? 

Well, it would go better if there were some damn fish to catch! But there isn't~~ The fishing inside the [Narragansett] bay right now is as bad as it was in the late 1970's, maybe even a bit worse. There isn't a striped bass to be found anywhere, of any size, in any area, of the entire bay. 

Once in awhile, and RARELY, you come across a schoolie, ONE, after that, go home.
Our spring fishery used to run until about the first week of July. Then a   couple of years ago it went to the last week of June, then the third week of June, now its in the second week of June, and then for all practical purposes its OVER. 

Our fall fishery is NON-EXISTENT~ Its gone, done, over. Has been for YEARS now.
Ya know, I really believed that I would never see this happen again, guess I was either stupid or naive. 

I saw this coming about eight or nine years ago, when the so-called, "catch and release" FAD, started to deteriorate. And FAST!! 

Guys that came fishing for years, were now wanting to take fish home with them, ALL THE TIME. As the fish grew bigger, THEY ALL WANTED THEM, EVEN THE FLY FISHING GUYS. FRIGGING AMAZING!!!!! 

I'd try to tell them or explain to them, if you and everyone else does this, WE ARE GONNA RUN OUT OF FISH EVENTUALLY. 

No one paid too much attention to it then, BUT THEY ARENOW~~~!!!!!
Tried to tell them, I had already seen it, lived it, fought it, the same shit   was happening all over again. 

Only now it's worse, much worse. More people fishing, more tournaments than ever before, more boat owners, gear and electronics are a thousand times improved over what we used in the 70's and early 80's, there isn't much food for them, at least not menhaden, water quality is worse, and now we have DISEASE to deal with besides. IT DOESN'T GET TOO MUCH WORSE THAN THAT. 

Eventually, they will all say one more time, or once again, "Gee Jim, you were right We seem to have a problem with stripers." 

Yep, only this time, I don't believe that we are going to get as LUCKY as we did the last time. Just too many more issues at hand to deal with this time around, and no Claudine Schneider, or John Chaffee, or John Cole, hanging in the wings to help push things along. This time the fish are all on their own, with a Commission that is just as fucked up as it ever was. The same Commission that has bragged about doing it all themselves to help restore the striped bass, when in truth and reality, you and I brought them to the table kicking and screaming.

Talk about having the fox guard the hen house. More like Big Foot and Aliens in the hen house.

The vast majority of fish now being caught are from 20 to 50 or more lbs. No one reports seeing schools of school bass anymore. Very rarely. How long to do you think that will last?? Right now I'd say no more than one or two more years, at the top end. Even Block Island this summer has slowed WAY DOWN, and none of these assholes can see it for themselves.

They are back to saying, claiming, believing, that: the fish are someplace else, they are where the bait is, it's the water temperature, it's sun spots, it's the moon phase, they are two or three weeks behind, the tide is wrong, the wind is wrong, too many space shuttles went up, solar flares upset their migration, some unknown place is LOADED with them,

YOU KNOW THE EXCUSES. THEY NEVER END. THEY ONLY GET MORE WEIRD AS TIME GOES ON. PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO BLAME OR INVENT ALMOST ANYTHING EXCEPT, ADMIT THAT THEY ALL MADE A BIG MISTAKE.

ALL THE BEST PAL,
JIM

Dick Russell