Althouse: At the Tuesday Night Café…

March 26, 2024

At the Tuesday Night Café…

… you can write about whatever you want.

38 comments:

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Rick Beato on Today's really bad lyrics.; 3/26/24, 8:30 PM
rhhardin said...: Francis Scott Key
Gave proof through the night that the bridge was still there; 3/26/24, 8:30 PM
Drago said...: Has the Federal govt awarded the bridge repair contract to Jim Biden and Pelosi's husband yet?

They probably should given Beau Biden gave his life protecting the bridge while Dementia Boy was commuting over the bridge by rail.

Honest. You have Joe's word as a Biden.; 3/26/24, 8:35 PM
rhhardin said...: I'm pleasantly amazed by the numbers of Korean violinists on YouTube, other East Asians too. It sort of affirms that today's (IQ-wise) smart people notice yesterday's Western culture, back when Western people noticed that there are worthwhile things to parse in classical music, that you can do effortlessly while you listen.; 3/26/24, 8:42 PM
MikeD said...: Seen on Twitchy: https://twitchy.com/brettt/2024/03/26/transgender-lesbian-explains-that-cis-is-not-a-slur-n2394436
The quiet part out loud, a dude says he's transgender so he thinks he'll fuck lesbian women.; 3/26/24, 8:44 PM
West TX Intermediate Crude said...: I know zero about the design of cargo ships or how they are operated.
I do know that responsible officials in Baltimore, without being asked, emphasized that there is no sign that terrorism is involved, that the crash is just a tragic accident, the maritime analog of a virus jumping from a wet market to human population in a Chinese city.
OK.
It is known that the ship lost all power shortly before the crash, causing a catastrophic loss of power, steering, and control.
Is there no redundancy on a 90,000 ton ship? No backup generators, no batteries that would allow safe operation of a giant floating vessel that spends a lot of its time in relatively cramped harbors? All it takes is one system malfunctioning, and absolutely every vital system on the ship just stops working?
Maybe so. We don't hear about such things happening commonly; maybe if they did occur commonly, ships would be designed differently.
Considering that the ship had some covert assistance in bricking itself is the current equivalent of thinking that the recent virus actually escaped from a local virology institute. Unthinkable.
How many slices of Swiss cheese aligning perfectly does it take for a ship like this to do what it did, where it did it, when it did it?
I really have no idea, but it seems very likely that it would be far more likely to happen if somebody slipped some bad code into the ship's control system, or a small explosive under a vital component. The ship spends its life sailing around the world, has a crew from India, is potentially exposed to some shady characters as a matter of course.
If the officials had said that there is no sign of nefarious conduct contributing to this but we are investigating everything and ruling out nothing at this point, it would be believable, and preferable.
This has an odor of mendacity.; 3/26/24, 8:45 PM
Dave Begley said...: Why did MV Dali lose power?; 3/26/24, 8:56 PM
effinayright said...: I just want to tell all the althouse commenters I am the luckiest man alive.

JUST THS WEEK, I've been informed I've won 36 really nice things from Loew's, Home Depot, Harbour Freight, and a bunch of other stores I've never visited!

On top of that, out of the blue I scored one year's subscriptions to Netflix, Peacock, Hulu, HBO+, Amazon Prime, and---best of all! ---the Hallmark network, all for $2 each!

Seriously...can't these fucking Indian untouchables up their tired game?

There's a guy on YouTube who takes these crooks on, worming his way into their computer networks and utterly gutting their software, right down to their operating system source code and ALL their apps and files. On top of that he succeeds in showing them, using their own cameras, as they gradually wake up to being themselves scammed.

It's great fun watching him do his thing,, and even more enjoyable watching the thieves react to the destruction of their operations, and (in some cases) the arrival of the police.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUHFpfVPUYc&t=7s

Enjoy!; 3/26/24, 9:01 PM
Christopher B said...: Sal from "What's going on with shipping?" breaks down the events that lead to the MV Dali hitting the F Scott Key bridge.

Note that the ship's power is restored before it hits the bridge and it attempts to maneuver away from the bridge, at least going to full astern power since its speed drops as it nears the bridge.; 3/26/24, 9:26 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: YouTube: Feds Sought Data on EVERYONE Who Watched A Certain Video Last Year

"We don't know if they turned it over or not, however."
https://www.lehtoslaw.com; 3/26/24, 9:34 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: No idea when they'll get the bridge rebuilt. (They need to because it's the only bypass route that trucks carrying hazardous materials, which can't go through tunnels, have around Baltimore.) But the AP has already kicked off the effort to discredit Francis Scott Key. I expect they'll be looking to name it the George Floyd Memorial Bridge.; 3/26/24, 9:40 PM
Dave Begley said...: West TX nails it.; 3/26/24, 9:42 PM
wildswan said...: You notice that the government knew what caused the crash of that container ship into Key bridge within 12 hours, thus finishing its investigation before it even started it. You see, the mayor of Baltimore was still talking about the ongoing "rescue operation" when the government claimed to have finished its investigation into the possibility of terrorism. Well, glad to see the .gov working quickly.
I've been around Baltimore, going north and west on all its roads and bridges all my life. This disaster hits me though I live a thousand miles away now. We'll see how great a mayor Giuliani was as we see how badly Mayor Brandon Scott handles the situation. His big move is to request that pictures of the disaster stop going out. The PR angle has claimed his immediate attention. Saving the Port of Baltimore, not so much.
By the way, all you people are on the hook for the building of the new bridge which necessarily includes getting the old bridge out of its blocking position in the Patapsco. It would be quite job for the usual engineers. I don't see the DEI's doing it successfully. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has offered your taxes to fill this money pit, although, if the crash was error by the container ship captain and not terrorism, I don't see why the whole country has to pay the whole bill.; 3/26/24, 9:49 PM
TaeJohnDo said...: effinayright:

Agreed, he is fun to watch. I tell you what, as soon as the inheritance from the Nigerian Prince who I corresponded with last week get's loaded into my bank account, we can meet up in Madison and I'll buy you, Ann and Meade lunch. My treat.; 3/26/24, 11:16 PM
Carla Zaz said...: So now Donald Trump favors ObamaCare. Plus, after selling trading cards and shoes, now he's hawking his own Bibles.

You know, don't you, that he has nothing but contempt for you supporters of his?; 3/26/24, 11:29 PM
wendybar said...: Obamacare sucks. It doesn't help families, it is giving free healthcare to the illegals off of the middle classes backs.

Listen to an Obamacare voter for yourself. HE woke up. He now knows Hussein and the Progressives lied to us, and ruined our healthcare system.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1772279457711034482; 3/27/24, 3:44 AM
wendybar said...: Carla Zaz said...
So now Donald Trump favors ObamaCare. Plus, after selling trading cards and shoes, now he's hawking his own Bibles.

You know, don't you, that he has nothing but contempt for you supporters of his?

3/26/24, 11:29 PM

Oh, Honey,

I will take Trump anytime over America selling Joe Biden who opened the border wide and invited the invaders in to live off of American Taxpayers like you and me. Talk about contempt...he has contempt for all of us, unless we are black, gay, trans or illegal. Go back to sleep, and maybe when you wake up, you will live in the Utopia you dream of that doesn't exist.; 3/27/24, 4:10 AM
mezzrow said...: "You know, don't you, that he has nothing but contempt for you supporters of his?"

Who doesn't? Amirite?

Nice effort, Carla. We're way past that by now. Of course we're too ignorant to see it. Run along! Have a great day!; 3/27/24, 5:28 AM
Enigma said...: I have a hard time believing that the Baltimore ship crash was malicious -- mainly because of Baltimore's deep dysfunction for a long time. This is a city that has block after block of boarded up housing, that struggled to introduce rental bikes/scooters because the theft rate was off the charts, that had widespread anti-police violence in 2015, that had a mayor who sold bulk children's books for massive profit (i.e., similar to SC Justice Sotomayor), and that has aggressive window washers / beverage sellers in many intersections.

The politics were so broken that in-city dumping in vacant lots or abandoned houses was common in 2019, and Trump/conservatives were criticized for voluntarily cleaning up.

There's plenty of local incompetence to explain any issue in the city. Who controls hiring for maintenance and seaworthiness inspections in the port? [As many reports now indicate mechanical failure.]

(Even NPR said there were "riots" in 2015): https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/05/01/403629104/baltimore-protests-what-we-know-about-the-freddie-gray-arrest

("No shame" in 2017 bike thefts): https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/theres-no-shame-in-baltimores-bike-share-theft-problem-it-happened-in-new-york-and-paris/2017/10/04/f3758a2a-9d5b-11e7-9c8d-cf053ff30921_story.html

(Prison for the mayor in 2019): https://www.npr.org/2019/11/21/781787102/former-baltimore-mayor-pleads-guilty-in-childrens-book-scandal

Compare to Sotomayor's case in 2023; attempts to distract from this is likely why Clarence Thomas received so much heat: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/11/1187005372/sonia-sotomayor-supreme-court-staff-book-sales-signings-memoir

(Squeegee worker guilty of manslaughter in 2023): https://news.yahoo.com/squeegee-worker-guilty-manslaughter-case-172119336.html

(City selling houses for $1 in 2024; 13,500 vacant): https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/22/baltimore-one-dollar-homes/73066986007/

(Trump comment and the 2019 trash clean up controversy): https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/conservative-activist-trash-cleanup-baltimore-trump-tweets/; 3/27/24, 6:09 AM
Humperdink said...: @wendybar. I watched that video earlier. The guy is spot on about Obamacare. As a small business person, Obamacare killed us with premium increases. I know of no one that it helped. No, not one. Health insurers reaped a windfall.; 3/27/24, 6:20 AM
Humperdink said...: Not many people can say they were fired twice in the same month, but Ronna McDaniel can proudly claim that title. As Jesse Waters stated, the time frame for her new job was .3 Scaramuccis. (Actually, I think it was .1.)

Amusingly, the left hates her, the right think she's worthless. OTOH, there's always Uncle Mittens.; 3/27/24, 6:32 AM
wendybar said...: Humperdink,
Same here. Most of my family and friends are having a hard time dealing with their healthcare bills. The deductibles are out of control. Obamacare is great...if you are an illegal and get it for free.

I know people who are putting off doctor appointments because they have to pay for everything until their deductible is satisfied, and they may NOT even meet the deductible because they don't need more care. But they have to pay, to make sure all these "newcomers" are welcomed with open arms and free medical..along with free everything else you can think of.

Just wait until the freebies stop....then the REAL chaos will begin.; 3/27/24, 6:37 AM
Quaestor said...: ”I know zero about how the design of cargo ships or how they are operated.”

That ought to be sufficient information to nullify any opinion about the Dali incident, particularly without any access to the ship itself. Apparently, some people believe redundant systems are an iron-clad guarantee against accidents, although history teaches otherwise.

I too know zero about the design and operation of cargo ships, however, I do know something about naval history and the consequences of accidents. There are no more resilient vessels than warships. Going into harm’s way demand redundancy to a degree far exceeding such provisions typically found aboard merchantmen, yet human error can disable even the mightiest man of war. I won’t go into any detail except to cite the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (14-15 November 1942) which nearly witnessed the destruction of the newly commissioned Battleship South Dakota thanks to a chain reaction electrical failure caused by an experienced engineering officer’s first experience of actual combat. Hanlon’s razor applied then and most likely applies to this tragedy now. Anyone who “smells mendacity” at this stage of the investigation needs a breath of fresh air.; 3/27/24, 6:59 AM
Quaestor said...: MV Dali was under the command of the harbor pilot when the bridge was struck.; 3/27/24, 7:04 AM
ga6 said...: Why did MV Dali lose power?
forgot to change the fuel filter?; 3/27/24, 7:21 AM
Fritz said...: It is known that the ship lost all power shortly before the crash, causing a catastrophic loss of power, steering, and control.
Is there no redundancy on a 90,000 ton ship? No backup generators, no batteries that would allow safe operation of a giant floating vessel that spends a lot of its time in relatively cramped harbors? All it takes is one system malfunctioning, and absolutely every vital system on the ship just stops working?

From Wikipedia, "Dali is propelled by a single low-speed two-stroke crosshead diesel engine coupled to a fixed-pitch propeller. Her main engine, a 9-cylinder MAN-B&W 9S90ME-C9.2 unit manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries under license, is rated 41,480 kW (55,630 hp) at 82.5 rpm. Her service speed is 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). For maneuvering in ports, Dali has a single 3,000 kW (4,000 hp) bow thruster. Electricity is generated by two 3,840 kW (5,150 hp) and two 4,400 kW (5,900 hp) auxiliary diesel generators.

So, no, there is no backup. Lose power, and you're coasting. There are no brakes. If you still have electric you could steer (a little) with the bow thruster. You could (and I think they did) drop anchor, but at 8 kts, the anchors would probably pull through the muck at the bottom of the harbor for a bit before biting in (trust me I know this). You have about 5 minutes to figure out what to do before the 116,000 ton vessel hits the bridge. What do you do?

The really good news was that the ship put out an SOS, and the authorities closed the bridge, and, at 1:30 AM, there was very little traffic anyway, so very few cars and trucks went down with it.

All large ships going in and out of the harbor have a local pilot on board, by law, so we have some independent source for the assertions of what happened on the ship. Of course, when the MV Ever Forward missed a turn in the channels exiting the harbor back in 2022, and ran a ship drawing 50 ft into 12 feet of water it turned out the pilot was on his cell phone when it happened. The shipping company was still charged $100 M for the cost of freeing the vessel and environmental damage to some imaginary oyster bars.; 3/27/24, 7:22 AM
wendybar said...: NY Mayor Adams is a flaming RACIST like Al Sharpton. NYC is corrupt because of RACISTS like them.

Cracker this, Adams. You are a thug.

"I kicked those crackers' asses!" NYC mayor Eric Adams proves yet again that democracy is just a racial headcount, where the white man is ALWAYS fair game.
https://gab.com/WayoftheWorld/posts/112166312228412126#55ametywati; 3/27/24, 7:25 AM
Rocco said...: NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...
“But the AP has already kicked off the effort to discredit Francis Scott Key. I expect they'll be looking to name it the George Floyd Memorial Bridge.”

So instead of a knee on the neck, the Dali put a bow on a pier?; 3/27/24, 7:34 AM
roger said...: Kaylee Gain. Say her name.; 3/27/24, 8:00 AM
wildswan said...: Summarizing what was said on What's Happening with Shipping [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39w6aQFKSQ link from Christopher B said...]

Baltimore Port used to require ships to use two tugs until they got past the Key Bridge. This was discontinued for reasons of economy. The Dali lost electrical power as it approached the bridge, meaning it could not use its rudder. But it might have just continued on its track down the channel in which case it would not have rammed the bridge pilings. But it threw out an anchor and then when it got power back it tried to reverse. This caused it to slow sharply and this slowing would cause it to turn due to its kind of rudder. So it turned into the bridge piling as you can see it doing instead of passing while staying in the channel.
The construction of the bridge used the different spans to hold each other up so when one span went they all went, as seen in that amazing video.
This site has real information and is quite a relief from the the media.; 3/27/24, 8:20 AM
MadTownGuy said...: President Biden's statement on the Key Bridge incident:

"The Francis Scott Key Bridge is vital to our economy, and it's vital to our quality of life.

That's why I've directed my team to work with Maryland and move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible."

I see that the Army Corps of Engineers has been brought in already to start debris removal and assist in reconstruction - good - my Dad was in the ACOE in Germany after WWII. I'll reserve judgment on the enterprise until it's a done deal.; 3/27/24, 8:31 AM
West TX Intermediate Crude said...: Fritz-
Thank you for that. I shoulda checked Wiki before posting but it was late (for me).
But that all just reinforces my point. We see that the ship lost electric power (all lights went out, then briefly returned and lost again again before impact) at the same time it lost propulsive power. How can that happen with 4 auxiliary generators? There is also a 4000 hp bow thruster (~8% of the main engine hp, not enough to propel the ship but maybe enough to nudge it away from a perfect hit on the bridge pylon?). Wouldn't all of those be on ready standby when maneuvering in a congested harbor? The main engine and 4 auxiliary units going out at once is not something that should just happen.

Quaestor chooses to believe what the authorities say. Fine for him or her. No reason whatsoever to disbelieve any authority figure in a place like Baltimore.

Enigma points out that (paraphrasing) Baltimore is a dysfunctional shithole, with enough demonstrated incompetency to raise questions about the ability or desire of local officials to do proper inspections and maintenance. I have read elsewhere that there is concern about contaminated fuel. That may explain everything- if every generator and the main engine used a common fuel supply, which was filled from a contaminated source in Baltimore harbor, they could all fail due to this, and it could be due to incompetence rather than maliciousness. But all within a few seconds of each other?
They have us believing absurdities at this point. The atrocities will follow (apologies to Voltaire).; 3/27/24, 9:04 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Laken Riley, Ruby Garcia, George Floyd

One of these is not like the others …; 3/27/24, 9:07 AM
Narr said...: I'm glad now that we lost Intertoob access for about 30 hours, from Monday to last night--otherwise I would have posted something about the ship hitting the bridge.

My first reaction was to suspect sabotage, and I'm not ready to rule it out. (My wife, the poor dear, was skeptical--after all, who would do something like that? Hopefully someone is looking into the Nazi Jewkrainian angle.); 3/27/24, 9:38 AM
SteveWe said...: In an earlier posting by others: "Electricity is generated by two 3,840 kW (5,150 hp) and two 4,400 kW (5,900 hp) auxiliary diesel generators."

The two main generators are in the engine room. They power the main engine's lubricant and cooling water pumps. They also power the exhaust pumps and the intake air pumps. And they power the ship's main lighting and household systems (refrigeration, etc.).

Auxiliary generators are located behind the bridge and can, when running, power the bridge and secondary safety lighting. When the lights were off, Dali was blacked out. When the lights can back on, it was the auxiliary generators powering the bridge and safety lighting -- but still no power in the engine room.

They did restart the main propulsion engine without using whatever was left of the compressed air for the restart. After the restart, you can see a lot of black exhaust coming from the stack. That was because the engine room generators were not running so the propulsion engine was running without intake air pumps. They were in a run it until it breaks mode!https://www.youtube.com/watch?

gCaptain: https://gcaptain.com/ship-lost-control-before-hitting-baltimore-bridge/
youtube Chief MAKOi tour of engine room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nikOvuY6GR8&ab_channel=ChiefMAKOi; 3/27/24, 10:18 AM
SteveWe said...: I should also add that the rudder is controlled by hydraulics that are powered by an engine room generator. If there is no power, then the rudder cannot be controlled. Also, the rudder could have been stuck hard starboard which steered the Dali into the support pier.; 3/27/24, 10:25 AM
Jim at said...: You know, don't you, that he has nothing but contempt for you supporters of his? - Carla Zaz

Why do you care if we're so fucking stupid to know better?; 3/27/24, 4:06 PM
Jim at said...: You know, don't you, that he has nothing but contempt for you supporters of his? - Carla Zaz

Why do you care if we're so fucking stupid to know better?; 3/27/24, 4:16 PM