I hadn't planned on posting beyond the one item you apparently didn't like today. I was happily watching "I, Robot" and reading my Globe between breaks when I came across this at the top of page A4.
"107 dead in crane collapse at Mecca mosque in Saudi Arabia" by Abdullah Al-Shihri Associated Press September 12, 2015
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A towering construction crane toppled over on Friday during a violent rainstorm in the Saudi city of Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, crashing into the Grand Mosque and killing at least 107 people ahead of the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage later this month.
My reaction when I read it was "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!" OMG!
I don't know why I would react that way. I'm not even Muslim, I'm a self-excommunicated Catholic who has soured on all organized religion (but not spirituality and God in whatever way you believe in him/her/it).
There are certainly worse things going on in the world at this time, stories I've been derelict in covering here. Wars are raging, refugees are running, and rumors are rampant of a World War III (let me clue you in a bit: we's already in one! What they are talking about now is moving from off-Broadway to Broadway in that Russia and China are being goaded into defensive action), and yet this first paragraph shook me to the core.
The only reason I can surmise is the human, cultural, and spiritual toll. It was the Grand Mosque before the pilgrimage!
And IT HAPPENED ON SEPTEMBER 11TH!!!!!
Add what happened in Chile in 1973 and you have a BAD DAY throughout the annals of Time -- except for 1814 and with Chile strangely absent! (The AmeriKan government owes them an apology, this blogger said through tears of rage. Would sorry from an American citizen help? It still wouldn't be enough.
Images posted by social media users showed a horrific scene, with police and onlookers attending to numerous bodies on the polished mosque floors.
Already fighting back the tears.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defense authority provided a series of rising casualty numbers on its official Twitter account as ambulances whisked the wounded to area hospitals. As of late Friday, it said about 240 were injured in the disaster.
A photo released by the authority showed police and workers in hard hats inspecting a pile of collapsed concrete slabs inside a part of the sprawling, ornately decorated mosque. Another showed the base of the toppled red-and-white crane tilted upward at a sharp angle.
The other thing is I do not normally put a lot of posting or coverage into crane accidents. It's one of the items I had to leave behind in my attempt to narrow the focus of this blog (and effort that has failed, by the way; I'm backed up behind belief and taking most of today off did not help).
Images aired on Saudi state television showed the crane’s metal boom smashed through what appeared to be the roof of the mosque.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
It smashed through the roof, and now the eyes are leaking a bit.
"Aaaaaaaaaahh!"
This blog has been known to dole out the sarcasm in generous and liberal portions with the italicized emphasis, but what is above was the scream that echoed in my skull when I read it (as the water dropped out the side of my eye).
Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Mansouri, the spokesman for the presidency of the Mecca and Medina mosque affairs, said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency that the accident happened late Friday afternoon during a severe storm carrying strong winds and heavy rain.
Strange.
Not a SANDSTORM?
Do they have HAARPs in the Middle East?
That is coming from someone who until very recently said "pah!" to such things. Now I'm not so sure. They have been seeding the clouds for years, the chemtrails are unfortunately true, and further technological advances can't be ruled out at this point.
I know some will think I'm a "poisoner of the well" on this; however, I am a reluctant poisoner who is being dragged to the ugly truth (if so). The fact that this happened on September the 11th just adds to the suspicion. This is what the mind-f*** managers of societies and the globe like to do. Furthers the symbolism and the searing event that will cross generations.
That was when I put the paper down, came over to the computer, logged on, and decided to post this.
Authorities did not provide details on the victims’ nationalities, but it was likely that the tragedy will touch several countries.
They have my condolences insofar as the value words typed on a computer screen. This is a terrible tragedy no matter how it happened.
The Grand Mosque and the cube-shaped Kaaba within it draw Muslims of all types from around the world throughout the year, though numbers increase significantly in the run-up to the hajj. The mosque is Islam’s holiest site to which Muslims face in daily prayers and a central site among the hajj rituals.
There goes that strange feeling in the chest again and the watery eyes.
Performing the pilgrimage once during one’s lifetime is a duty for all able-bodied adult Muslims. This year’s pilgrimage is expected to start around Sept. 22.
Mansouri said the crane, which was being used in construction work at the mosque, struck a circular area around the Kaaba and a nearby walkway.
Another video, on a Twitter posting, captured the apparent moment of the red-and-white crane’s collapse during a heavy rainstorm, with a loud boom, screams, and confusion.
I don't know if I could watch it.
The governor of the Mecca region, Prince Khalid al-Faisal, quickly called for the formation of a committee to investigate the cause of the accident. He directed all appropriate authorities to provide support for all of those injured, according to a statement from Mecca principality public affairs head Sultan al-Dosari that was carried on SPA.
Several cranes surround the mosque to support an ongoing expansion and other construction work that has transformed the area around the sanctuary.
Steep hills and low-rise traditional buildings that once surrounded the mosque have in recent years given way to shopping malls and luxury hotels — among them the world’s third-tallest building, a giant clock tower that is the centerpiece of the Abraj al-Bait complex.
It's their world; let 'em have it, right?
It was not immediately clear who owned the crane that collapsed.
Bin Ladens?
--more--"
I went into the Globe for a minute, and here is a preview of their Sunday sermon:
Man stabbed to death in Cambridge’s Central Square
FBI investigating cruise ship death off Cape Ann
Harvard student died Saturday, college says
More homes, more buyers expected in real estate market
Meanwhile, outside the $mall bubble atop Bo$ton....
Mass. still recovering from housing crash
Time for me to crash i.e. get to bed early tonight. I want to be well-rested for the work ahead of me tomorrow.
In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers will turn East.... regardless of religion.
NDUs:
I wrote that I was going to go to bed early (I did, before 10 pm) and got a good eight hours for what I thought would be a long day of blogging and then it hit me: the damn NFL season starts in full today!! That means I have to cut this short and go socialize or else hey, what, you don't like us anymore?
Let me begin my running up this post before hammering out as many as I can before shutting it down for the day (maybe I can sneak back late tonight, but don't wait for me).
Home sales likely to stay strong this fall
Leads the bu$ine$$ section.
Harvard student died Saturday, college says
Landed on page B6. Another college suicide?
FBI investigating cruise ship death off Cape Ann
Page B3, upper-righthand corner.
Man stabbed to death in Cambridge’s Central Square
Page B4, lower middle. A car pulled up, someone jumped out a car swearing, pushed him into a doorway, stabbed him, and then swore getting back in the car before it drove away.
"Saudi officials say winds toppled cranes at Mecca mosque" by Abdullah Al-Shihri Associated Press September 13, 2015
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Images shared on social media showed a horrifying scene. The crane boom pierced through the roof of the mosque, bringing down slabs of reinforced concrete and leaving bodies lying amid pools of blood on the polished mosque floors as frightened survivors screamed in panic.
All on 9/11.
Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his condolences and said the United States stands with Saudi Arabia and ‘‘all Muslims around the world in the aftermath of this dreadful incident at one of Islam’s holiest sites.’’
Now if only the war machine would stop adding to the millions already dead.
*********
The construction company Saudi Binladin Group is leading the mosque expansion and also built the Abraj al-Bait project. Binladins, who have been close to the ruling Al Saud family for decades, disowned the late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s.
I called it.
During the week of the hajj, Muslims converge on Mecca to perform a series of rituals, including the circling of the Kaaba, praying and holding vigil at Mount Arafat, and the symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles at the three pillars in Mina.
What I've noticed over the years is all religions are a little quirky when it comes to my Zionist War Daily -- all but one.
So a "violent thunderstorm roared through Islam’s holiest city with unusually powerful winds that also tore down trees and signs as the storm whipped through," but there was no lightning or stampede.
--more--"
The rest was basically a repeat of yesterday and I didn't want you to waste time.
And on this day in history?
"In 1814, during the War of 1812, British naval forces began bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore but were driven back by American defenders in a battle that lasted until the following morning."
That is what inspired Frances Scott Key to pen the National Anthem, which I like now that I know what it means. Before then I viewed it as jingoistic promotion of war, and then I suffered an epiphany
They play the Star-Spangled Banner before the football games (just before the fighter jet flyovers at taxpayer expense), and I don't want to miss it before kickoff.
I see from the hit totals they post became a bit more popular even though I'm starting to sink a bit. Heck, I've only put up 3 posts in three days. What do I expect?
