Christian's last text to her mother read, "If I do go down with the ship & the worst happens… just know that I am truly genuinely happy!!"
Well, that is fine and dandy and perhaps comforting to some but the question is just how adequate were the bilge pumps for the rigors of the voyage? Capacity and sturdiness are important. Once you lose the bilge pumps you lose the ship, it just takes some time for it to happen.
They were sailing into tremendous pounding and tremendous amounts of water. It would be manifestly unsafe if the pumps were inadequate or unreliable.
True, ships can indeed be safer out to sea than in harbor but if a ship sinks in the harbor, no crewmen will be lost.
The important thing is not the drills or the safety equipment such as beacons and survival suits. The important thing is the adequacy and reliability of the bilge pumps. It was a large storm and a powerful one. They would need those pumps. Once the electronics get shorted out even briefly, they won't need them anymore.
Quotations by the Captain of the Turks and Caicos registered Pincton Castle are not worth a thing. Look at that ship's record for sailing far out to sea with inexperienced students, inadequate training and conflicting orders.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Anniversary date.
Still a difficult date. It gets easier in some respects. Some of that ease is provided by the awareness that old age and its many maladies will soon relieve me of having to re-live it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Slap on the wrist...
Richard Munro, 53, has been jailed for five years for withholding evidence from prosecutors while investigating a murder in Fife 17 years ago.
Steven Johnston and Billy Allison were each jailed for ten years and later acquitted.
The criminal justice system depends upon police officers acting with honesty and integrity, judge Lord Doherty said: "The course of conduct you engaged in was a shocking affront to the principles which underly the criminal justice process.
"Your offence was committed in a variety of ways over a considerable period. It was calculated and deceitful."
Strong words from the bench followed by weak actions of a five year custodial sentence.
Steven Johnston and Billy Allison were each jailed for ten years and later acquitted.
The criminal justice system depends upon police officers acting with honesty and integrity, judge Lord Doherty said: "The course of conduct you engaged in was a shocking affront to the principles which underly the criminal justice process.
"Your offence was committed in a variety of ways over a considerable period. It was calculated and deceitful."
Strong words from the bench followed by weak actions of a five year custodial sentence.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Municipal bankruptcies
In California: Mammomth Lakes, Stockton and San Bernadino have all recently filed for bankruptcy protection from the pension and salary demands of teachers, police, firemen and nurses.
North Las Vegas has its half million a year Corrections Lieutenant with a fifteen million dollar pension looming at his retirement. Scranton, Pennsylvania just changed all city employees to 7.25 an hour so as to avoid bankruptcy filing.
North Las Vegas has its half million a year Corrections Lieutenant with a fifteen million dollar pension looming at his retirement. Scranton, Pennsylvania just changed all city employees to 7.25 an hour so as to avoid bankruptcy filing.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Roulette "Incident" at the Rio that never happened.
Yeppers!!
As expected, The Rio finally issued a press release admitting that no such incident of seven hits of the number 19 in a row took place. They claim the table was open and no repairman was working on the display panel. The Rio glossed over any obligation on its part that if it provides a display it must provide an accurate one. The Rio press release made no mention of deferred maintenance in this or in other areas and made no mention of the credit crunch CET (nee Harrah's) is facing. I'm sure that such deferred maintenance will continue until either "The Miracle" takes place or "The Default" takes place. In the meantime the company will keep their press releases and their whitewash handy. Undoubtedly they will also keep trying to sell off assets even at rock bottom prices in an attempt to stave off a credit crisis.
The poker player who snapped the photo of the display and tweeted it into internet immortality was simply wandering by and noticed it, he was not actually playing and he should have known that any such sequence would have resulted in a frenzied table.
As expected, The Rio finally issued a press release admitting that no such incident of seven hits of the number 19 in a row took place. They claim the table was open and no repairman was working on the display panel. The Rio glossed over any obligation on its part that if it provides a display it must provide an accurate one. The Rio press release made no mention of deferred maintenance in this or in other areas and made no mention of the credit crunch CET (nee Harrah's) is facing. I'm sure that such deferred maintenance will continue until either "The Miracle" takes place or "The Default" takes place. In the meantime the company will keep their press releases and their whitewash handy. Undoubtedly they will also keep trying to sell off assets even at rock bottom prices in an attempt to stave off a credit crisis.
The poker player who snapped the photo of the display and tweeted it into internet immortality was simply wandering by and noticed it, he was not actually playing and he should have known that any such sequence would have resulted in a frenzied table.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
More Amelia Earhart nonsense.
Rozella Lorenzi of Discovery News reports that dozens of radio signals that were picked up and previously declared spurious should be considered credible even though it would have required Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan to have ditched n the immediately vicinity of Gardner Island prior to fuel exhaustion, successfully beached the aircraft on the tiny atoll, sustained no damage to the starboard engine or electrical system, restarted the starboard engine which would have required both sufficient fuel and sufficient strength from dry batteries and a dry, undamaged electrical system and then the signal would have been propagated from an underbelly antenna. Is any of this reasonable? The plane was valuable. The Japanese wanted it. The Japanese got it. No Mystery.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Murder of Gareth Williams MI6 agent.
Gareth Williams case: Coroner Dr. Fiona Wilcox rendered her formal verdict. Detective Chief Inspector utters usual mouthings about police now following additional lines of inquiry as if they were actually making progress on the case. Impossible to state he did not get into the suitcase voluntarily. (How many people put a soft-sided holdall into a bathtub and then enter the suitcase and zip it up?) No determination as to why apartment temperature was so high during summer months. (Perhaps to accelerate the rate of body decomposition?)No determination for extreme cleanliness of apartment resulting in lack of DNA evidence. No determination that twenty thousand pounds worth of women's clothing was for perverse purposes. No determination of reasons for recent cell phone deletions. No determination of reasons for recent unauthorized searches on MI6 computer systems.
One thing certain: When MI6 is involved, no truth emerges.
One thing certain: When MI6 is involved, no truth emerges.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Why so trusting?
A male sex-offender living in a wooded area near Froggy Bottom a bar near Fort Bragg is able to pick up a 25 year old woman from the 261st Area Medical Support Company and take her to Froggy Bottom.
What did he do? Invite her to his homeless site in the woods? Drug her and convince her that there was a path with some nearby residential structure?
What did he do? Invite her to his homeless site in the woods? Drug her and convince her that there was a path with some nearby residential structure?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
So many damned experts!
Casinos these days have so many experts.
Now along comes a firm that says "take a few key employees out for intense seminars in top notch customer service and let the new, higher standards migrate throughout the entire organization's workforce.
What utter crap!
Benny Binion knew what to do. Give the customer a good bet, a good meal and a good stiff drink. Things have not changed. Casinos want to have ignorant customers who are being lead into the shearing shed by courteous and ever-smiling customer-service specialists. Meanwhile the casinos offer inexperienced first line supervisors, unmotivated employees, games at house edges that are a disgrace, and point systems that are a mass of fine print that taketh away all that is bestowed with Madison Avenue hoopla.
Boise, Idaho (PRWEB) April 18, 2012
“Bare-bones state budgets, taxation, new casinos, social media and online gaming – these are all factors that will contribute to a challenging year for casinos,” Baird says. “Stellar guest service and a superior gaming experience are the only real competitive advantages casinos have. That is where they must focus their efforts to compete.”
The recession has depleted state coffers and states are on the prowl for ways to increase revenue for schools and social services without raising taxes, according to Baird. “That old standby – the sin tax – is a perfect solution,” Baird says. “Nobody cares if existing casinos are taxed to the max.
Now along comes a firm that says "take a few key employees out for intense seminars in top notch customer service and let the new, higher standards migrate throughout the entire organization's workforce.
What utter crap!
Benny Binion knew what to do. Give the customer a good bet, a good meal and a good stiff drink. Things have not changed. Casinos want to have ignorant customers who are being lead into the shearing shed by courteous and ever-smiling customer-service specialists. Meanwhile the casinos offer inexperienced first line supervisors, unmotivated employees, games at house edges that are a disgrace, and point systems that are a mass of fine print that taketh away all that is bestowed with Madison Avenue hoopla.
Boise, Idaho (PRWEB) April 18, 2012
“Bare-bones state budgets, taxation, new casinos, social media and online gaming – these are all factors that will contribute to a challenging year for casinos,” Baird says. “Stellar guest service and a superior gaming experience are the only real competitive advantages casinos have. That is where they must focus their efforts to compete.”
The recession has depleted state coffers and states are on the prowl for ways to increase revenue for schools and social services without raising taxes, according to Baird. “That old standby – the sin tax – is a perfect solution,” Baird says. “Nobody cares if existing casinos are taxed to the max.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Police fixation as outright frame-up. Trial at last!!
Since the trial is currently underway, I wanted to re-post this blog item that was originally posted in relation to an analysis of the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation.
Police fixation on initially adopted viewpoints.
A retired Detective Superintendent of the Fife Constabulary has been indicted for Perverting the Course of Justice, a rather serious charge in the UK, for actions that resulted in two defendants each spending ten years in prison.
Quite obviously a murder of an alcoholic in Scotland has no factual relationship to the Jonbenet Ramsey murder in Colorado, but I took particular note of it solely because the officers involved, although guilty of multiple wrongdoings, embarked on their course of illegal suppression of exculpatory evidence solely because it was contrary to the then-accepted theory of the case which had been prematurely adopted by the police.
This is yet another example of how people become fixated on an early interpretation of the evidence and will go to great lengths to make certain that all later developments are in accord with the prior view. It is quite obvious that the first few witnesses to give evidence that was contrary to the accepted viewpoint may have been given short shrift for a variety of reasons but once the number of contrary witnesses mushroomed the police clung to their prematurely adopted viewpoint despite the utter reliability of the contrary witnesses and the clearly verifiable circumstances of their observations. Police computer records were knowingly altered so that all statements indicating the contrary point of view were suppressed. Witnesses were apparently threatened by a police official who later was appointed to a position wherein he was inspecting other police forces.
This incident might be of some interest to those who feel that it is improper for innocent persons to promptly “lawyer-up” or that meeting with senior officials will clear up early misunderstandings created by initial investigators.
Note: Although the significant point is the fixation on an early-adopted viewpoint, those who care to follow some of the underlying facts of the case should be aware of certain unique terminology. Bent is a term that is often used in the UK to refer to a homosexual but in relation to a police officer the term bent refers to one that is corrupt and the word then carries no connotation of sexual orientation. The word tip in the UK can indeed refer to information provided by a member of the public to the police in order to aid the solution of a crime but it can also refer to what in the United States would be called a garbage dump. The word grass refers to an act that in the United States would be perhaps termed snitching or informing. The term Procurator Fiscal in Scottish law is the rough equivalent to coroner in the United States, meaning an official who makes a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances of a death and who issues a formal report of allegations relating to deaths, violent crimes or police corruption.
Excerpted from the Daily Record:
Scots cop accused of corruption
Mar 24 2008 Exclusive by Mark Mcgivern.
A BENT detective who fled Britain when he was accused of corruption is facing a new police probe after being tracked to Devon. Police want to quiz former chief superintendent Richard Munro over claims he framed two innocent men for murder. Munro who served 26 years in Fife Constabulary, left the force in disgrace in 2004.
The corruption investigation was launched after the appeal judges branded Munro a liar and said he and his colleagues were guilty of grave misconduct. Munro quit Britain and lived in various countries in a camper van and finally slipped back into the UK to a bolthole in Devon. Before Munro left the force, he was on secondment to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary – which inspects police forces and advises ministers.
Police fixation on initially adopted viewpoints.
A retired Detective Superintendent of the Fife Constabulary has been indicted for Perverting the Course of Justice, a rather serious charge in the UK, for actions that resulted in two defendants each spending ten years in prison.
Quite obviously a murder of an alcoholic in Scotland has no factual relationship to the Jonbenet Ramsey murder in Colorado, but I took particular note of it solely because the officers involved, although guilty of multiple wrongdoings, embarked on their course of illegal suppression of exculpatory evidence solely because it was contrary to the then-accepted theory of the case which had been prematurely adopted by the police.
This is yet another example of how people become fixated on an early interpretation of the evidence and will go to great lengths to make certain that all later developments are in accord with the prior view. It is quite obvious that the first few witnesses to give evidence that was contrary to the accepted viewpoint may have been given short shrift for a variety of reasons but once the number of contrary witnesses mushroomed the police clung to their prematurely adopted viewpoint despite the utter reliability of the contrary witnesses and the clearly verifiable circumstances of their observations. Police computer records were knowingly altered so that all statements indicating the contrary point of view were suppressed. Witnesses were apparently threatened by a police official who later was appointed to a position wherein he was inspecting other police forces.
This incident might be of some interest to those who feel that it is improper for innocent persons to promptly “lawyer-up” or that meeting with senior officials will clear up early misunderstandings created by initial investigators.
Note: Although the significant point is the fixation on an early-adopted viewpoint, those who care to follow some of the underlying facts of the case should be aware of certain unique terminology. Bent is a term that is often used in the UK to refer to a homosexual but in relation to a police officer the term bent refers to one that is corrupt and the word then carries no connotation of sexual orientation. The word tip in the UK can indeed refer to information provided by a member of the public to the police in order to aid the solution of a crime but it can also refer to what in the United States would be called a garbage dump. The word grass refers to an act that in the United States would be perhaps termed snitching or informing. The term Procurator Fiscal in Scottish law is the rough equivalent to coroner in the United States, meaning an official who makes a preliminary inquiry into the circumstances of a death and who issues a formal report of allegations relating to deaths, violent crimes or police corruption.
Excerpted from the Daily Record:
Scots cop accused of corruption
Mar 24 2008 Exclusive by Mark Mcgivern.
A BENT detective who fled Britain when he was accused of corruption is facing a new police probe after being tracked to Devon. Police want to quiz former chief superintendent Richard Munro over claims he framed two innocent men for murder. Munro who served 26 years in Fife Constabulary, left the force in disgrace in 2004.
The corruption investigation was launched after the appeal judges branded Munro a liar and said he and his colleagues were guilty of grave misconduct. Munro quit Britain and lived in various countries in a camper van and finally slipped back into the UK to a bolthole in Devon. Before Munro left the force, he was on secondment to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary – which inspects police forces and advises ministers.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
School shooting
Shooting at Christian University in San Francisco?
Now to peer beneath the headlines:
Despite use of the term university the institution is largely a school for training licensed vocational nurses. It is perhaps officially open to anyone but is obviously a Korean owned school marketed to Korean speaking students.
Although San Francisco is used for description purposes the school is actually located in Oakland which is an economically depressed area. There is no known conn
Its unknown at the present time if the disgruntled shooter received low grades but it is clear that its really a Korean shooter and Korean victims.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Amelia Earhart
What happens when you take "leading edge technology" into enemy territory unescorted?
It had nothing to do with fortifying the mandated islands, Japan was not fortifying them.
It had nothing to do with her husband being in Fleet Intelligence. ALL New-England Blue-Bloods applied for a Naval Reserve commission in Fleet Intelligence to avoid the one year extra duty they would otherwise have to serve if they sought a career path in the Navy.
The search the Japanese conducted was a joke. The major vessels that supposedly took part in the search all stayed in port, there was no such search taking place.
It had nothing to do with Fred Noonan being moody, depressed and drunk. The best navigator in the world at the time was Fred Noonan, sober. The second best navigator in the world at the time was Fred Noonan, drunk.
It all related to the advanced technology of the plane. Japan wanted it. Lockheed sure wasn't going to sell it to them.
It had nothing to do with fortifying the mandated islands, Japan was not fortifying them.
It had nothing to do with her husband being in Fleet Intelligence. ALL New-England Blue-Bloods applied for a Naval Reserve commission in Fleet Intelligence to avoid the one year extra duty they would otherwise have to serve if they sought a career path in the Navy.
The search the Japanese conducted was a joke. The major vessels that supposedly took part in the search all stayed in port, there was no such search taking place.
It had nothing to do with Fred Noonan being moody, depressed and drunk. The best navigator in the world at the time was Fred Noonan, sober. The second best navigator in the world at the time was Fred Noonan, drunk.
It all related to the advanced technology of the plane. Japan wanted it. Lockheed sure wasn't going to sell it to them.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Phone Hacking: continued ad nauseam.
Now it seems there are claims that unidentified editors have attempted suicide and that some managerial personnel at British news organizations have hired personal security guards.
Claims of everything such as "newspapers been doing this for hundreds of years" to cozy relations between press and London police was recent. A news editor being loaned a retired police horse is an incident providing some comic relief to how close the relationships are.
Big deal. It was hushed up as long as could be, now the cat is out of the bag so why is anyone resisting it at this point in time.
It was widespread. The press and the coppers knew it. Each made money from the relationship. Each found it convenient to overlook the extent of what was going on but neither side was ignorant enough to believe it was one rogue reporter and one rogue private investigator. Not even members of the public believed any such nonsense. So why now do we have the arrest of Rebekkah Brooks and her husband on some predawn raid? I guess its the old joke of why you should never trust a policeman: you never know when he will turn honest.
Claims of everything such as "newspapers been doing this for hundreds of years" to cozy relations between press and London police was recent. A news editor being loaned a retired police horse is an incident providing some comic relief to how close the relationships are.
Big deal. It was hushed up as long as could be, now the cat is out of the bag so why is anyone resisting it at this point in time.
It was widespread. The press and the coppers knew it. Each made money from the relationship. Each found it convenient to overlook the extent of what was going on but neither side was ignorant enough to believe it was one rogue reporter and one rogue private investigator. Not even members of the public believed any such nonsense. So why now do we have the arrest of Rebekkah Brooks and her husband on some predawn raid? I guess its the old joke of why you should never trust a policeman: you never know when he will turn honest.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Eyeglasses and radar displays
News that the Costa Concordia's Captain was without his eyeglasses and unable to properly see the radar display hardly alters the basic situation. He was standing into danger at high speed towards well known submerged rocks on a publicity lark and most of the crew and all of the passengers were unaware of the obvious peril he was recklessly placing them in.
Bump into rocks at slow speed and there is a need for a damage report. Bump into rocks at nearly full speed and the damage report is simple: Fatal. Sinking Fast. What did anyone think? That pumps could handle the amount of incoming water or that the incoming water would somehow not interfere with the operation of the engines that provide power to the pumps?
Way would come off really fast and the vessel could have turned towards the available port since the speed would decay so fast and rudder authority lost fairly promptly.
Bump into rocks at slow speed and there is a need for a damage report. Bump into rocks at nearly full speed and the damage report is simple: Fatal. Sinking Fast. What did anyone think? That pumps could handle the amount of incoming water or that the incoming water would somehow not interfere with the operation of the engines that provide power to the pumps?
Way would come off really fast and the vessel could have turned towards the available port since the speed would decay so fast and rudder authority lost fairly promptly.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sorry for the hiatus: Surgery.
To the extent that I have any readers, you almost had to find some other obscure blogger to follow as I very nearly kicked the bucket. I had to go under the knife and a Catholic priest showed up in the dimly lit room. Shortly after beginning his activities he realized he should be at the next bed and I noticed he had slithered silently away. I thought for awhile how strange it would have been for someone like me to have been pronounced sober and to die so far away from a casino.
You all know I have an intense and abiding hatred for Medicine and refer to doctors as practitioners of the black and evil arts. So for me to go to the ER you can be certain that it was not simply that I was facing death but that the dying process seemed protracted in that death would elude me as I repeatedly regained consciousness time and time again only to lose it a few minutes later.
Idiots! Discharge Instructions are aimed at the level of an idiot. Pronunciation guide for the word "infection". What absolute idiots.
You all know I have an intense and abiding hatred for Medicine and refer to doctors as practitioners of the black and evil arts. So for me to go to the ER you can be certain that it was not simply that I was facing death but that the dying process seemed protracted in that death would elude me as I repeatedly regained consciousness time and time again only to lose it a few minutes later.
Idiots! Discharge Instructions are aimed at the level of an idiot. Pronunciation guide for the word "infection". What absolute idiots.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Harbor Masters Log re: Concordia
The Telegraph has provided a Harbor Masters log:
>22.06 Carabinieri (police) at Prato contact the Harbour Master’s office.
I understand a flurry of cell phone calls went out from passengers.
>A woman has called to say her mother is on the Concordia
>and the dining room ceiling has fallen on her and the crew
>have ordered passengers to don life jackets.
This may have been the truth though it is unknown if this was a general order broadcast throughout the ship or not. The extent of the gash was not known and apparently no one knew the rate at which water was entering the ship and no one was doing anything about pumps or plugging the leak either internally or externally. There was no data on which to base any estimate of time left afloat.
>22.14 Harbour Master contacts the Concordia asking if it is having problems.
No indication of what telephone number the Harbor Master called or who he spoke to. Perhaps this was a contact via radio.
>An officer replies that it’s only a blackout
>which has been going on for 20 minutes and
>which they will fix shortly.
Clearly this is public-relations hogwash.
The initial impact with the rocks was felt throughout the ship. A blackout does not cause massive shuddering. That "will fix in 20 minutes" is pure whimsey concocted out of thin air.
>Harbour Master asks about passengers donning life jackets,
>but the officer insists it’s only a power cut.
More lies. Why is this woman telling lies to the police on shore? To calm them?
>22.16 Guardia di Finanza (finance police) patrol boat G104
>is close to the island of Giglio and asks
>if it should check the Concordia.
This is perhaps motivated by hearing radio traffic, it seems strange that permission would be sought or there would be any hesitancy for the police boat to set a course for the passenger liner.
>22.17 Harbour Master informs superiors it suspects
>there is more wrong with the Concordia than
>the ship’s officer is letting on.
A wise conclusion but one wonders what makes him think that? The citizen report relayed to him by the police is being given far greater weight than the statements by the ship's officer.
>22.26 Harbour Master contacts ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino.
Unclear as to the manner of contact.
>He says the ship is taking on water through an opening on his left side
Apparently no statement of I hit a rock.
> and the ship is listing.
No statement of direction or degree. This is vital data.
>He says there are no dead or injured.
At this time, the Captain appears not to have had any reports of death or injuries.
>Harbor Master asks if he needs help.
Holed below the waterline, listing, ceilings collapsing, life vests being donned... but the Harbor Master didn't know if they needed help.
> The captain requests a tug boat.
Going to tow a listing vessel taking on water at an unknown rate are you?
Not going to get the passengers off first?
>22.06 Carabinieri (police) at Prato contact the Harbour Master’s office.
I understand a flurry of cell phone calls went out from passengers.
>A woman has called to say her mother is on the Concordia
>and the dining room ceiling has fallen on her and the crew
>have ordered passengers to don life jackets.
This may have been the truth though it is unknown if this was a general order broadcast throughout the ship or not. The extent of the gash was not known and apparently no one knew the rate at which water was entering the ship and no one was doing anything about pumps or plugging the leak either internally or externally. There was no data on which to base any estimate of time left afloat.
>22.14 Harbour Master contacts the Concordia asking if it is having problems.
No indication of what telephone number the Harbor Master called or who he spoke to. Perhaps this was a contact via radio.
>An officer replies that it’s only a blackout
>which has been going on for 20 minutes and
>which they will fix shortly.
Clearly this is public-relations hogwash.
The initial impact with the rocks was felt throughout the ship. A blackout does not cause massive shuddering. That "will fix in 20 minutes" is pure whimsey concocted out of thin air.
>Harbour Master asks about passengers donning life jackets,
>but the officer insists it’s only a power cut.
More lies. Why is this woman telling lies to the police on shore? To calm them?
>22.16 Guardia di Finanza (finance police) patrol boat G104
>is close to the island of Giglio and asks
>if it should check the Concordia.
This is perhaps motivated by hearing radio traffic, it seems strange that permission would be sought or there would be any hesitancy for the police boat to set a course for the passenger liner.
>22.17 Harbour Master informs superiors it suspects
>there is more wrong with the Concordia than
>the ship’s officer is letting on.
A wise conclusion but one wonders what makes him think that? The citizen report relayed to him by the police is being given far greater weight than the statements by the ship's officer.
>22.26 Harbour Master contacts ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino.
Unclear as to the manner of contact.
>He says the ship is taking on water through an opening on his left side
Apparently no statement of I hit a rock.
> and the ship is listing.
No statement of direction or degree. This is vital data.
>He says there are no dead or injured.
At this time, the Captain appears not to have had any reports of death or injuries.
>Harbor Master asks if he needs help.
Holed below the waterline, listing, ceilings collapsing, life vests being donned... but the Harbor Master didn't know if they needed help.
> The captain requests a tug boat.
Going to tow a listing vessel taking on water at an unknown rate are you?
Not going to get the passengers off first?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Concordia Video
I've withdrawn my comments on the video as the ship depicted as being the Concordia is actually a totally different vessel and the mislabled youtube video uploader clearly knows that.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Unauthorized but not unsafe course deviation?
It has been pointed out that the UK Hydrographic Office charts do not depict rocks in the area wherein the Concordia first impacted rocks. What other charts that might be normally used in the area depict has not been discussed.
A prior voyage of August 14th involved an even closer approach to the island and a transit near the area of impact on the fatal voyage.
So the course deviation on the fatal voyage might at this time appear to have been an unwise and selfishly motivated deviation that hazarded the vessel unnecessarily and that was made in a cavalier manner but the actual track of the vessel appears to have closely approximated that of a prior voyage.
It is unknown if the 24 year old ballerina who is supporting the captain's skill and actions has any knowledge of navigation matters.
It seems that with the vessel holed on the port side any listing should have been to port and should have been rather modest but the vessel listed to starboard and soon heeled hard over. It may have been that in an attempt to achieve a safe harbor the captain made such a tight turn as to cause the shipped water to slosh to the starboard side of the vessel.
A prior voyage of August 14th involved an even closer approach to the island and a transit near the area of impact on the fatal voyage.
So the course deviation on the fatal voyage might at this time appear to have been an unwise and selfishly motivated deviation that hazarded the vessel unnecessarily and that was made in a cavalier manner but the actual track of the vessel appears to have closely approximated that of a prior voyage.
It is unknown if the 24 year old ballerina who is supporting the captain's skill and actions has any knowledge of navigation matters.
It seems that with the vessel holed on the port side any listing should have been to port and should have been rather modest but the vessel listed to starboard and soon heeled hard over. It may have been that in an attempt to achieve a safe harbor the captain made such a tight turn as to cause the shipped water to slosh to the starboard side of the vessel.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Phone Hacking Update
In what has clearly become a major scandal in the UK it seems that many people were prone to suspect spouses and trusted employees but did not suspect phone hacking by tabloids. Even one person who phoned to receive his messages and found that his own number was busy apparently failed to become sufficiently suspicious of the integrity of his telephone messages.
Various amounts are being paid out as compensation accompanied by the usual disclaimers of not an admission of guilty knowledge by executives.
Various amounts are being paid out as compensation accompanied by the usual disclaimers of not an admission of guilty knowledge by executives.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
South Point Casino 72 Hour Sale
South Point Hotel and Casino begins its 72 hour sale on Wednesday January 18th at Noon Pacific Time and ends it at Noon of January 21st: Midweek rooms 40.00, Weekend rooms 60.00. One free Funbook. No Resort Fees. Rooms at South Point are generally large and clean.
The casino is bright and offers generous rules at Blackjack but is said to have an extremely low tolerance for card counters. Its craps offering remains the rather dismal 2x odds when most of Vegas offers 5x, 10x, 20x or 100x.
See: SouthPointCasino.com for details.
The casino is bright and offers generous rules at Blackjack but is said to have an extremely low tolerance for card counters. Its craps offering remains the rather dismal 2x odds when most of Vegas offers 5x, 10x, 20x or 100x.
See: SouthPointCasino.com for details.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Touristic Navigation: Italian Cruise Ship Runs Aground
Okay. An Italian cruise ship has run aground near a well-known reef equipped with electronic and visual aids to navigation to mark its position.
WHY is my first thought: what sporting events, particularly soccer matches, were playing on TV at the time of the collision?
It appears there was no counter-flooding to correct the very prompt list to starboard, but there are reports the vessel did attempt to steer for shallower water.
Weather was fine, seas were calm, all ship-board navigation systems working fine including separate GPS receivers.
Anyone know what teams were playing?
A fifty meter gash is going to admit a good deal of water and without separate compartments the sloshing is similar to the effect on Ro-Ro's where it takes very little water to affect lateral stability. Its better to be lower in the water but not list than it is to ship water and have it slosh about enough to make the listing fatal. A cruise ship that close to shore should never have been at risk of turning turtle.
The arrest of the Captain is in keeping with Italian law and does not imply that there has been any acts which under USA law would be considered Probable Cause. There was a statement made that the Captain had sailed close to the island to honor a retired Costa captain who lived there and was on board at the time but this statement contained no supporting evidence or statement indicating the source of the information. It does seem that other sources are accepting the validity of the claim that there was an intentional course alteration that resulted in the ship sailing fifteen miles closer to the island that it otherwise would have. The captain maintains that the chart he used showed no rocks being present at the location in question.
Reporting of the events has been almost as chaotic as the event. The Captain is reported to have been dining with passengers and to have been on the bridge. Much has been made of a premature departure but there is absolutely nothing in International Laws of the Sea that requires the Captain to remain aboard until all others are off the vessel. Nor incidentally is there any law about Women and Children first nor even about passengers first. Yep! That is correct. It seems the second and third officer were with him in the same lifeboat, though only the captain claims that he fell into the boat.
Much has been said about so many languages making announcements difficult but Italian and English would have taken care of very many of those aboard. Virtually all announcements could have been done in five languages to satisfy the vast majority of passengers on board. Don't tell me that they can't have a prior dictionary of safety messages with the words: Right, Left, Lifeboat, Walk, Cabin, Life vest in all languages.
A large ship so close to shallow water seems strange, a 160 foot gash is strangely large indicating speed was other than Dead Slow Ahead.
The question remains that irrespective of the reasons the vessel was off course, once the bottom was ripped out, why was there a failure of other systems, notably propulsion and power generation? Why were interior and exterior lights, particularly search lights not activated. Separate generators and battery power should have been available.
On-Edit: It appears that the captain has claimed he was engaged in "touristic navigation" which appears to be a phrase he has selected to avoid having to state that he was hazarding his vessel by intentionally standing into danger so as to delight a few friends of his on the ship and on the island.
On-Edit: Since Italian law and not International Maritime Law applies, it appears that his premature departure from the vessel can subject him to prison time. He had steamed approximate 25 miles on a "touristic" course that placed his vessel 15 miles closer to the rocks that his ship would have normally been.
Timeline:
9:30pm Impact with rocks. Crew comments to passengers were un-informative.
10:10pm Abandon Ship ordered.
10:12pm Police telephone ship in response to flurry of calls from passengers but are told only of an electrical blackout problem, not of collision, leak, list or abandon ship alarm.
WHY is my first thought: what sporting events, particularly soccer matches, were playing on TV at the time of the collision?
It appears there was no counter-flooding to correct the very prompt list to starboard, but there are reports the vessel did attempt to steer for shallower water.
Weather was fine, seas were calm, all ship-board navigation systems working fine including separate GPS receivers.
Anyone know what teams were playing?
A fifty meter gash is going to admit a good deal of water and without separate compartments the sloshing is similar to the effect on Ro-Ro's where it takes very little water to affect lateral stability. Its better to be lower in the water but not list than it is to ship water and have it slosh about enough to make the listing fatal. A cruise ship that close to shore should never have been at risk of turning turtle.
The arrest of the Captain is in keeping with Italian law and does not imply that there has been any acts which under USA law would be considered Probable Cause. There was a statement made that the Captain had sailed close to the island to honor a retired Costa captain who lived there and was on board at the time but this statement contained no supporting evidence or statement indicating the source of the information. It does seem that other sources are accepting the validity of the claim that there was an intentional course alteration that resulted in the ship sailing fifteen miles closer to the island that it otherwise would have. The captain maintains that the chart he used showed no rocks being present at the location in question.
Reporting of the events has been almost as chaotic as the event. The Captain is reported to have been dining with passengers and to have been on the bridge. Much has been made of a premature departure but there is absolutely nothing in International Laws of the Sea that requires the Captain to remain aboard until all others are off the vessel. Nor incidentally is there any law about Women and Children first nor even about passengers first. Yep! That is correct. It seems the second and third officer were with him in the same lifeboat, though only the captain claims that he fell into the boat.
Much has been said about so many languages making announcements difficult but Italian and English would have taken care of very many of those aboard. Virtually all announcements could have been done in five languages to satisfy the vast majority of passengers on board. Don't tell me that they can't have a prior dictionary of safety messages with the words: Right, Left, Lifeboat, Walk, Cabin, Life vest in all languages.
A large ship so close to shallow water seems strange, a 160 foot gash is strangely large indicating speed was other than Dead Slow Ahead.
The question remains that irrespective of the reasons the vessel was off course, once the bottom was ripped out, why was there a failure of other systems, notably propulsion and power generation? Why were interior and exterior lights, particularly search lights not activated. Separate generators and battery power should have been available.
On-Edit: It appears that the captain has claimed he was engaged in "touristic navigation" which appears to be a phrase he has selected to avoid having to state that he was hazarding his vessel by intentionally standing into danger so as to delight a few friends of his on the ship and on the island.
On-Edit: Since Italian law and not International Maritime Law applies, it appears that his premature departure from the vessel can subject him to prison time. He had steamed approximate 25 miles on a "touristic" course that placed his vessel 15 miles closer to the rocks that his ship would have normally been.
Timeline:
9:30pm Impact with rocks. Crew comments to passengers were un-informative.
10:10pm Abandon Ship ordered.
10:12pm Police telephone ship in response to flurry of calls from passengers but are told only of an electrical blackout problem, not of collision, leak, list or abandon ship alarm.
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