Baltimore Harbor: Cargo Ship Hits, Causes Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse

[B-Man]

 

[B-Man]

[ChiGoose]

Maybe the internet was a bad idea...

 

Online Conspiracies About the Baltimore Bridge Collapse Are Out of Control

 

Conspiracy theorists are calling the Baltimore bridge collapse a “black swan event” and are blaming everything from Israel to DEI to Covid vaccines.

 

A non-exhaustive list of things that are getting blamed for the bridge collapse on Telegram and X include President Biden, Hamas, ISIS, P. Diddy, Nickelodeon, India, former president Barack Obama, Islam, aliens, Sri Lanka, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, Wokeness, Ukraine, foreign aid, the CIA, Jewish people, Israel, Russia, China, Iran, Covid vaccines, DEI, immigrants, Black people, and lockdowns.

 

The Francis Scott Key truss bridge collapsed when the MV Dali cargo ship collided with one of the bridge supports. Six construction workers, who were filling potholes on the bridge’s roadway at the time, are presumed dead. The ship is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and the 22-person crew were all Indian. The ship was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the time of the accident.

 

This did not stop people from “asking questions” about the incident, a frequent conspiracist response to major events. And though conspiracy theorists are having a hard time pinpointing exactly what conspiracy caused the collapse, the one thing they do agree on is that this incident is a “black swan event.”

 

The term black swan event has been around for decades and is used to describe a major global event (typically in the financial markets) that can cause significant damage to a country’s economy. But in recent years, the term has been co-opted by the conspiracy-minded to explain an event triggered by the so-called deep state that would signal an imminent revolution, a third world war, or some other apocalyptic catastrophe.

 

One of the first people to call the bridge collapse a black swan event was disgraced former US national security adviser Michael Flynn. “This is a BLACK SWAN event,” he wrote on X. “Black swans normally come out of the world of finance (not military) … There are harbor masters for every single one of these transit points in America that are in charge of assuring the safety of navigation … start there.” Flynn’s post has been viewed 7.2 million times.

 

Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, who has been charged in Romania with rape and human trafficking, also posted on X early on Tuesday morning, writing: “Nothing is safe. Black Swan Event imminent.” The post has been viewed almost 19 million times.

 

The term black swan quickly began trending on X, and soon conspiracists, extremists, and right-wing lawmakers began coming up with explanations for what or who triggered this “black swan event.”

 

One post claiming a link between the bridge collapse and the film Leave the World Behind has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. The post claimed that because the ship was headed to Sri Lanka, which has a lion on its flag, then the situation was linked to the ship that runs aground at the beginning of the film which was called White Lion. The post also points out that the film was produced by Obama.

 

A post from Anthony Sabatini, a former Florida state congressman, declared, without evidence, that “DEI did this”—and its been viewed over 2.2 million times.

 

Some politicians have boosted the conspiracy as well. “Is this an intentional attack or an accident?” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential and conspiracy-minded member of the GOP, posted on X above a video shared by a prominent QAnon conspiracist.

 

Under previous iterations of X, formerly Twitter, such speculation would typically have gained little traction, as the algorithm would have prioritized trusted news sources and primary evidence. But under Elon Musk’s reign, anyone willing to pay for a blue check can have their posts artificially boosted by the algorithm. This means that conspiracies like this are ending up in the news feeds of millions of people.

 

On Telegram, one prominent election denier claimed the incident was linked to the fact that the bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words for the Star Spangled Banner, and was thus an attempt to undermine America.

 

“Don't let them erase our history,” the conspiracist wrote.

 

Investigators are looking into the cause of the tragic incident, but William DelBagno, the FBI special agent in charge, said on Tuesday that there are no indications of terrorism.

 

Edited March 29 by ChiGoose

[JDHillFan]

5 minutes ago, ChiGoose said:

Maybe the internet was a bad idea...

 

Online Conspiracies About the Baltimore Bridge Collapse Are Out of Control

 

Conspiracy theorists are calling the Baltimore bridge collapse a “black swan event” and are blaming everything from Israel to DEI to Covid vaccines.

 

A non-exhaustive list of things that are getting blamed for the bridge collapse on Telegram and X include President Biden, Hamas, ISIS, P. Diddy, Nickelodeon, India, former president Barack Obama, Islam, aliens, Sri Lanka, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, Wokeness, Ukraine, foreign aid, the CIA, Jewish people, Israel, Russia, China, Iran, Covid vaccines, DEI, immigrants, Black people, and lockdowns.

 

The Francis Scott Key truss bridge collapsed when the MV Dali cargo ship collided with one of the bridge supports. Six construction workers, who were filling potholes on the bridge’s roadway at the time, are presumed dead. The ship is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., and the 22-person crew were all Indian. The ship was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the time of the accident.

 

This did not stop people from “asking questions” about the incident, a frequent conspiracist response to major events. And though conspiracy theorists are having a hard time pinpointing exactly what conspiracy caused the collapse, the one thing they do agree on is that this incident is a “black swan event.”

 

The term black swan event has been around for decades and is used to describe a major global event (typically in the financial markets) that can cause significant damage to a country’s economy. But in recent years, the term has been co-opted by the conspiracy-minded to explain an event triggered by the so-called deep state that would signal an imminent revolution, a third world war, or some other apocalyptic catastrophe.

 

One of the first people to call the bridge collapse a black swan event was disgraced former US national security adviser Michael Flynn. “This is a BLACK SWAN event,” he wrote on X. “Black swans normally come out of the world of finance (not military) … There are harbor masters for every single one of these transit points in America that are in charge of assuring the safety of navigation … start there.” Flynn’s post has been viewed 7.2 million times.

 

Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, who has been charged in Romania with rape and human trafficking, also posted on X early on Tuesday morning, writing: “Nothing is safe. Black Swan Event imminent.” The post has been viewed almost 19 million times.

 

The term black swan quickly began trending on X, and soon conspiracists, extremists, and right-wing lawmakers began coming up with explanations for what or who triggered this “black swan event.”

 

One post claiming a link between the bridge collapse and the film Leave the World Behind has been viewed more than 1.2 million times. The post claimed that because the ship was headed to Sri Lanka, which has a lion on its flag, then the situation was linked to the ship that runs aground at the beginning of the film which was called White Lion. The post also points out that the film was produced by Obama.

 

A post from Anthony Sabatini, a former Florida state congressman, declared, without evidence, that “DEI did this”—and its been viewed over 2.2 million times.

 

Some politicians have boosted the conspiracy as well. “Is this an intentional attack or an accident?” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential and conspiracy-minded member of the GOP, posted on X above a video shared by a prominent QAnon conspiracist.

 

Under previous iterations of X, formerly Twitter, such speculation would typically have gained little traction, as the algorithm would have prioritized trusted news sources and primary evidence. But under Elon Musk’s reign, anyone willing to pay for a blue check can have their posts artificially boosted by the algorithm. This means that conspiracies like this are ending up in the news feeds of millions of people.

 

On Telegram, one prominent election denier claimed the incident was linked to the fact that the bridge was named after Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words for the Star Spangled Banner, and was thus an attempt to undermine America.

 

“Don't let them erase our history,” the conspiracist wrote.

 

Investigators are looking into the cause of the tragic incident, but William DelBagno, the FBI special agent in charge, said on Tuesday that there are no indications of terrorism.

 

No shortage of idiots in the world that’s for damn sure. 

[BillsFanNC]

The King and it's steadfast adherence to the iron law of woke projection

 

The internet is to blame for loons jumping to conclusions about the Baltimore bridge, but not....

 

Russia collusion hoax

 

Very fine people hoax

 

Bloodbath hoax

 

Etc...

 

THOSE are are still very real...

 

 

 

 

[B-Man]

 

 

We could clear the bridge in weeks IF

 

1) our federal maritime agencies @DOTMARAD & @USCG were fully funded and functional

2) we had heavylift, salvage and offshore construction ships on hand. We don’t The Navy sold off almost its entire fleet of salvage ships. We don’t     even have a single fireboat in the Navy’s most important port.

3) The Navy hadn’t outsourced the majority of its salvage operations to a European company Sailing assets from Europe would take weeks and       would anger certain powerful lobbyists

4) The Army didn’t sell off the majority of it’s watercraft fleet and deprioritize the Corps of Engineers maritime missions

5) If our DOT Ready Reserve fleet was fully functional and not a half a century old

6) if the balance sheets of our US shipping companies, tugboat operators, construction companies encouraged growth

7) if silicon valley investors didn’t have a revulsion to investing in maritime startups with revolutionary new ideas

😎 if the media understood ships and focused on the right stories and pushed DC in the right directions

9) if environmental regulations were not onerous

10) local port politics

 

 

 

 

[All_Pro_Bills]

5 minutes ago, B-Man said:

 

 

We could clear the bridge in weeks IF

 

1) our federal maritime agencies @DOTMARAD & @USCG were fully funded and functional

2) we had heavylift, salvage and offshore construction ships on hand. We don’t The Navy sold off almost its entire fleet of salvage ships. We don’t     even have a single fireboat in the Navy’s most important port.

3) The Navy hadn’t outsourced the majority of its salvage operations to a European company Sailing assets from Europe would take weeks and       would anger certain powerful lobbyists

4) The Army didn’t sell off the majority of it’s watercraft fleet and deprioritize the Corps of Engineers maritime missions

5) If our DOT Ready Reserve fleet was fully functional and not a half a century old

6) if the balance sheets of our US shipping companies, tugboat operators, construction companies encouraged growth

7) if silicon valley investors didn’t have a revulsion to investing in maritime startups with revolutionary new ideas

😎 if the media understood ships and focused on the right stories and pushed DC in the right directions

9) if environmental regulations were not onerous

10) local port politics

 

 

 

 

The schmucks in charge for the past 30+ years have slowly dis-assembled a functional economy and society and left us more or less with our pants down when something like this happens.

[B-Man]

 

 

It Could Take HOW LONG to Rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge???

STEPHEN GREEN

 

 

Could it really take twice as long and four times as much money to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge than it did to build it in the first place?

The Key Bridge was built at a cost (adjusted for inflation) of about $200 million. Replacing it could take a decade and cost $400 million to $800 million dollars, according to experts in what has become a dismal field.

 

“To actually recreate that whole transportation network" could take a decade or more, structural engineer Ben Schafer told USA Today on Wednesday. Huge projects, Schafer said, now take “rarely less than 10 years."

 

Well, they didn't use to.

 

By comparison, the Apollo program that put a man on the moon required seven years, eight months, and 23 days. And — this is the really exciting part — everything about Apollo, from the massive Saturn V rocket to the "tiny" flight computer, had to be created from scratch. Those seven-and-a-half years included a monthslong delay following the tragic loss of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee during an Apollo 1 dress rehearsal that ended in a deadly crew capsule fire.

 

Construction began on the Hoover Dam on July 7, 1930, and five years later, it was complete. It started generating electrical power on Sept. 11, 1936 — exactly six years, two months, and four days after the first shovelful of dirt was moved. 

 

The Empire State Building was fully erect (heh) after just one year and 45 days of construction.

 

But those were all 20th Century projects, back when we used to get things done. Welcome to 21st Century America, where everything is needlessly time-consuming, expensive, stupid, or (most likely) all three.

 

The timing "all depends on factors that are still mostly unknown," the AP explained. "They range from the design of the new bridge to how swiftly government officials can navigate the bureaucracy of approving permits and awarding contracts."

 

{snip}

 

The replacement bridge will have to be new and somehow improved — or so they'll claim — and require months or years of study on the environmental impacts, even though there's been a bridge there for 50 years already. Hiring contractors will likely take twice as long as they'll have to meet strict new DEI standards. Competence and speed? Tertiary considerations, at best.

 

Planners will likely require three years just to decide on a new name. They'll eventually settle on "The George Floyd-Pete Buttigieg Antiracist Inclusive Transit Structure" or some such BS.

 

This is why we can't have nice things anymore. That's not entirely true, of course. We can have nice things — sometimes. But only when the stars align, the tea leaves are correct, and the progressives are distracted by something even shinier.

 

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2024/03/29/it-could-take-how-long-to-rebuild-francis-scott-key-bridge-n4927756

[JDHillFan]

Millions and millions of dollars are at stake. I am betting the shipping channel is in use during the month of May. 

[BillStime]

1 hour ago, B-Man said:

 

 

It Could Take HOW LONG to Rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge???

STEPHEN GREEN

 

 

Could it really take twice as long and four times as much money to replace the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge than it did to build it in the first place?

The Key Bridge was built at a cost (adjusted for inflation) of about $200 million. Replacing it could take a decade and cost $400 million to $800 million dollars, according to experts in what has become a dismal field.

 

“To actually recreate that whole transportation network" could take a decade or more, structural engineer Ben Schafer told USA Today on Wednesday. Huge projects, Schafer said, now take “rarely less than 10 years."

 

Well, they didn't use to.

 

By comparison, the Apollo program that put a man on the moon required seven years, eight months, and 23 days. And — this is the really exciting part — everything about Apollo, from the massive Saturn V rocket to the "tiny" flight computer, had to be created from scratch. Those seven-and-a-half years included a monthslong delay following the tragic loss of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee during an Apollo 1 dress rehearsal that ended in a deadly crew capsule fire.

 

Construction began on the Hoover Dam on July 7, 1930, and five years later, it was complete. It started generating electrical power on Sept. 11, 1936 — exactly six years, two months, and four days after the first shovelful of dirt was moved. 

 

The Empire State Building was fully erect (heh) after just one year and 45 days of construction.

 

But those were all 20th Century projects, back when we used to get things done. Welcome to 21st Century America, where everything is needlessly time-consuming, expensive, stupid, or (most likely) all three.

 

The timing "all depends on factors that are still mostly unknown," the AP explained. "They range from the design of the new bridge to how swiftly government officials can navigate the bureaucracy of approving permits and awarding contracts."

 

{snip}

 

The replacement bridge will have to be new and somehow improved — or so they'll claim — and require months or years of study on the environmental impacts, even though there's been a bridge there for 50 years already. Hiring contractors will likely take twice as long as they'll have to meet strict new DEI standards. Competence and speed? Tertiary considerations, at best.

 

Planners will likely require three years just to decide on a new name. They'll eventually settle on "The George Floyd-Pete Buttigieg Antiracist Inclusive Transit Structure" or some such BS.

 

This is why we can't have nice things anymore. That's not entirely true, of course. We can have nice things — sometimes. But only when the stars align, the tea leaves are correct, and the progressives are distracted by something even shinier.

 

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2024/03/29/it-could-take-how-long-to-rebuild-francis-scott-key-bridge-n4927756

The Peace Bridge is laughing at you.

 

 

[BillStime]

May the best psyop win!

 

 

[Wacka]

The McArthur Maze collapse in Oakland was rebuilt and opened in 6 weeks-2 months.  The Governator limited bids to 2 days and work started the next day after the bid was approved. They said it would take 6 months-one yer if they did it normally

Edited March 30 by Wacka

[T master]

On 3/26/2024 at 7:04 AM, Westside said:

Unfortunately when you spend all our money fixing other countries infrastructure, we left ours to crumble. Biden is the one in charge now and this falls on his lap. 

 

Come on ,sure he is the POTUS when this happened but if your saying this was his fault that is as bad as BT & Tibs blaming everything on Trump . There has been talk in the past that America's infrastructure is in major need of repair all over the country .

 

I just don't know how the ship was so close to that main support i drive large vehicles for a living not nearly as big as that ship but when in a situation like that your approach needs to be a lot more towards the large opening to the left of the ship especially as much room as you would need to complete that turn .

 

I got a text from a friend which is mostly a conspiracy theory that this was a planned thing to weaken the supplies to America's economy . In some weird kind of way with the way the world is today not saying that it's true but it sure wouldn't surprise me in some kind of way .

 

What country was the ship from have they said on the news ? One would think they would have a ton of safety features on a ship that size to avoid such disasters ...

[BillStime]

2 hours ago, Wacka said:

The McArthur Maze collapse in Oakland was rebuilt and opened in 6 weeks-2 months.  The Governtor limited bids to 2 days and work started the next day after the bid was approved. They said it would take 6 months-one yer if they did it normally

What’s your point?

 

You do realize these incidents are not even remotely the same… right? 

[Westside]

34 minutes ago, T master said:

 

Come on ,sure he is the POTUS when this happened but if your saying this was his fault that is as bad as BT & Tibs blaming everything on Trump . There has been talk in the past that America's infrastructure is in major need of repair all over the country .

 

I just don't know how the ship was so close to that main support i drive large vehicles for a living not nearly as big as that ship but when in a situation like that your approach needs to be a lot more towards the large opening to the left of the ship especially as much room as you would need to complete that turn .

 

I got a text from a friend which is mostly a conspiracy theory that this was a planned thing to weaken the supplies to America's economy . In some weird kind of way with the way the world is today not saying that it's true but it sure wouldn't surprise me in some kind of way .

 

What country was the ship from have they said on the news ? One would think they would have a ton of safety features on a ship that size to avoid such disasters ...

I was just playing there game. I do think with all the money spent on other countries infrastructure and so little money spent on ours. That is bidens fault. That is absolutely true.

[Roundybout]

On 3/29/2024 at 10:36 AM, B-Man said:

 

 

We could clear the bridge in weeks IF

 

1) our federal maritime agencies @DOTMARAD & @USCG were fully funded and functional

2) we had heavylift, salvage and offshore construction ships on hand. We don’t The Navy sold off almost its entire fleet of salvage ships. We don’t     even have a single fireboat in the Navy’s most important port.

3) The Navy hadn’t outsourced the majority of its salvage operations to a European company Sailing assets from Europe would take weeks and       would anger certain powerful lobbyists

4) The Army didn’t sell off the majority of it’s watercraft fleet and deprioritize the Corps of Engineers maritime missions

5) If our DOT Ready Reserve fleet was fully functional and not a half a century old

6) if the balance sheets of our US shipping companies, tugboat operators, construction companies encouraged growth

7) if silicon valley investors didn’t have a revulsion to investing in maritime startups with revolutionary new ideas

😎 if the media understood ships and focused on the right stories and pushed DC in the right directions

9) if environmental regulations were not onerous

10) local port politics

 

 

 

 

 

There are seven or eight heavy salvage ships on site right now. What is this guy talking about?

33 minutes ago, Westside said:

I was just playing there game. I do think with all the money spent on other countries infrastructure and so little money spent on ours. That is bidens fault. That is absolutely true.

 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest investment of capital in our infrastructure in decades but whatever you say. 

[Westside]

2 minutes ago, Roundybout said:

 

There are seven or eight heavy salvage ships on site right now. What is this guy talking about?

 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest investment of capital in our infrastructure in decades but whatever you say. 

How much junk is in that bill? Bipartisan, lol, what did they get two rinos to vote yes? 

[Roundybout]

1 minute ago, Westside said:

How much junk is in that bill? Bipartisan, lol, what did they get two rinos to vote yes? 

 

[BillStime]

Just now, Westside said:

How much junk is in that bill? Bipartisan, lol, what did they get two rinos to vote yes? 

 

The bill must contain beneficial elements, as evidenced by the numerous Republicans who voted against it yet continue to claim credit for it.

 

Meanwhile, Trump's infrastructure bill is what... two weeks away?

 

 

[Wacka]

1 hour ago, BillStime said:

What’s your point?

 

You do realize these incidents are not even remotely the same… right? 

When you cut the red tape, Things happen a lot faster. The contractor  called a place in in in Arizona to start constructing the beams . They had a police escort from AZ and CA state troopers all the way to the site. They had welders standing by to start immediately 24/7.As soon as the welds were inspected the concrete was poured. As soon as itched,they inspected it. The contractor bid under a million with  big  bonuses for every day they beat the deadline. It came in for under half what it would have cost if it was dime the normal slow way.

The same contractor built the S-curve approach on the Treasure Island approach  for the new Bay Bridgege in SF Bay. A several hundred  foot section had to repalce  temporarily  where the road went from  double decks to side by side.  They built the section on 150-200 ft high stilts, close the road on Labor  Day weekend, destroy that section and place the new section in . It was scheduled from Friday at 7- Tuesday  morning. They moved the new piece over and in place. It opened up Labor Day morning a day ahead of schedule. Look both up on the internet.