Archive for November 11, 2008
Great Cruise Deals for Military on Carnival Cruise Lines in Jacksonville!
Carnival Cruise Lines is offering a new promotion to active and retired military personnel who plan to cruise from Jacksonville: Prices start at $159 per person for a five-day cruise; and $189 for four-day cruises.
A few notes:
Reservations must be made between Nov. 1 – 30, 2008, to qualify; Promotions are available for departures through Dec. 31, 2009; and Active and retired military personnel may book up to three “Fun Ship” staterooms.
Check out Carnival’s official promotion notice.
For more information, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.
When my SIL and daughter got married after he returned from his duty in the Mediterranean, they went on a (grin) Caribbean cruise. The accommodations were reportedly a little more luxurious than on a destroyer.
Hanjin Signs Deal with Jax Port
After months of negotiations, Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd.’s board of directors has approved a 30-year lease with the Jacksonville Port Authority.
The South Korean company’s $300 million container terminal at Dames Point, which is expected to be operating in late 2011, will create more than 5,600 jobs and have a nearly $1 billion annual impact, according to JaxPort officials.
“As the United States continues to see increases in container traffic from Asia, Jacksonville is poised to play an even greater role in the global trade market,” Mayor John Peyton said in a news release. “This commitment from Hanjin, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, illustrates Jacksonville’s growing importance in the international marketplace.”
Construction of the 88-acre terminal facility is expected to take about two years once the permitting process is complete. It will be adjacent to the TraPac Container Terminal, which will be open in January 2008 to handle Mitsui OSK Lines.
“This is the one-two punch we have been working toward,” said Jaxport Executive Director Rick Ferrin in a news release. “TraPac put us on the map. Hanjin makes JaxPort a major player in Asian and European trade and together the new terminals help fulfill our mission of bringing jobs and opportunity to the region.”
The Hanjin terminal will be the company’s first dedicated operation on the East Coast and will capitalize on the increased traffic spurred the expansion of the Panama Canal.
Hanjin could begin calling on Jacksonville as soon as January, but it’s more likely it will be another year before the South Korean company adds shipping service to the port. Hanjin will add its shipping line and three others through their alliance with China Ocean Shipping Co., “K Line,” and Yang Ming Line.
With Hanjin coming aboard, the port will double its service to Asia, adding incentive for distributors to ramp up service through Jacksonville. Hanjin moves nearly 100 million tons of cargo annually through more than 50 countries. Source: Jacksonville Business Journal
In addition, did you know that Jaxport is the nation’s 2nd busiest vehicle handling port, and that only the port of New York/New Jersey is busier? I didn’t, either.
Oct. 30, 2008 — Statistics compiled by JAXPORT show that port tenants and customers handled a record 656,805 vehicles in fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, 2008. JAXPORT broke its own previous record of 615,030 vehicles handled in fiscal year 2002.
“We are very pleased with the growth of our roll-on/roll-off cargo business,” said Executive Director Rick Ferrin. “Our success is due to our outstanding auto processors and manufacturers, ocean carriers, experienced labor force and the exceptional facilities available here in Jacksonville.”
Both new and used passenger cars and trucks pass through JAXPORT. Construction equipment, semi-trucks and other heavy machinery are also included in the count. These vehicles include imports and exports, as well as domestic-made and distributed cars and trucks brought here to be “processed” by one of JAXPORT’s automobile processors: AMPORTS, WWL Vehicle Services and Southeast Toyota Distributors, Inc. Auto models handled at JAXPORT include those made by Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Ford, Chrysler and GM.
Processing involves cleaning, inspecting and adding equipment to the vehicles such as luggage racks, sound systems, sunroofs, air conditioning, specialty wheels and leather interiors. The processors prepare U.S.-made vehicles for export to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Puerto Rico, and import vehicles from countries such as Korea, Japan, Mexico and Germany to be delivered to dealerships throughout the Southeastern United States.
JAXPORT is the nation’s 2nd busiest vehicle handling port, behind the Port of New York/New Jersey. The vehicle import/export business through Jacksonville’s port supports thousands of direct area jobs and contributes to the port’s nearly $3 billion annual economic impact on Northeast Florida. Source: Jaxport
Detectives Call Woman’s Death Suspicious
VILANO BEACH, Fla. — A day after identifying a body pulled from the ocean as that of Melissa Lightsey, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office announced that the woman’s death is suspicious.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said it’s continuing its investigation into the 36-year-old’s death.
Lightsey was reported as last being seen swimming in chest-deep water near Surfside Park at Vilano Beach, by her husband, shortly after midnight Sunday.
Considering it was freaking COLD Sunday after midnight, I’d be very surprised if she entered the water voluntarily. I know that I would not be leaving a wedding and happily splashing about in the ocean with the temperature in the 40s (F) and a chill wind blowing.
Jacksonville Veteran’s Day Parade Begins at 11:01 a.m.
Jacksonville has the largest Veteran’s Day parade in the state of Florida. It is a fitting tribute from a city in which a quarter of the inhabitants have served/are serving!
The parade route today will commence at the Prime Osbourne Convention Center, take Water Street to Newnan Street, turn onto Bay Street, and then end at the stadium. There will be over 3,000 participants ranging from high school marching bands, active duty military, to retirees. Y’all enjoy the parade!
Michael Yon: Quicksand Awaits Obama in Afghanistan
A new president will soon begin to make critical decisions about Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic crisis at home, and countless other matters. While the Iraq war began, then boiled, and finally cooled before President-elect Obama will be sworn into office on January 20, 2009, the Afghanistan-Pakistan spectacle is just getting started. He was always a fierce opponent of our involvement in Iraq. And, as with so many Democrats in the Senate, he argued frequently, during the campaign, that we should have been focused on Afghanistan all along, because it is the real incubator of the international terrorist threat. Timing being everything, our new president will get his wish. Afghanistan now moves to center stage. The conflicts in Afghanistan and between Afghanistan and Pakistan have the simmering potential to overshadow anything we’ve seen in Iraq. Here are a few things I hope he understands:
Our enemies are winning. The enemies know it. We know it. Who are they? The Taliban, with its deep local roots, is enemy number one. Al-Qaeda is hanging around to make trouble. Some Paks, who don’t want to see a thriving Pushtun state on their border, are our enemies. They fund and shelter the Taliban even though we rely on them to help us defeat it. Nothing is straightforward in this part of the world. We have other enemies in Afghanistan who hate the Taliban.
Most of our allies are not very helpful. With the exception of the British, Canadians, Dutch, and a few others such as the Aussies, we are not fighting this with an “A-team” of international allies. With a few exceptions, our allies on the ground are comprised of several dozen countries that mostly refuse to fight. The bulk of NATO amounts to little more than a “Taliban piñata.” The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is proving nearly worthless and provides no credible threat to armed opposition groups (AOGs) in Afghanistan. Most of the NATO member countries seem to break out in a cold sweat at the mere mention of “Taliban.” They piled in when the war looked easy and largely humanitarian. But now that it’s getting harder and more dangerous, they would like to pile out.
Read the whole article here. Glad that there are real journalists left. Unfortunately (or is that fortunately?) they are self-funded.
Today I am in Kuwait, heading back into Iraq for an end-of-year round-up. Then it’s back to the war in Afghanistan for one heck of a fight. Please stay tuned. Your soldiers are locked in a deadly struggle tonight.
May they be victorious and arrive home safely.
