From the NY Times
Allah willed it.
Possibly Isis sabotage? They are into destroying antiquities these days. Maybe trying to enrage more Muslims?
Or simply an ironic 9/11 accident…
I feel sad for their loss. What a terrible tragedy.
What did these poor victims have to do with 9/11?
Nothing.
There were heavy storms in the area so I doubt it is anything sinister. Just a tragic accident. I feel sad for the victims and their families.
The videos show more of a tip over due to wind rather than collapse. Scant difference to the poor people underneath.
Gravity is a cruel mistress.
They’re destroying non-Islamic antiquities and Shia mosques. They’re not going to destroy the Grand Mosque.
Screw 9/11. It’s gotta be karmic retribution for building this architectural monstrosity.
Perhaps Allah is displeased with the recent conduct of some segment of the Muslim population…?
Holy shit, that looks thoroughly horrible. :eek: Still, I don’t suppose the poor sods killed/injured by the collapsing crane are to blame for it.
How sad.
The engineering that goes in to the Hajj is really spectacular. Even 50 years ago, visiting Mecca was an extraordinary effort, out of reach for the vast majority of Muslims. About 100,000 people embarked on the Hajj in 1960. Now, getting there is basically as easy as logging on to Orbitz.
Between a rising incomes in many once impoverished countries and the growth of regional airline industries, more people than ever are able to go. More than 2 million people are expected this year- and all of these people will be undertaking a specific set of rituals in specific places at specific times. People come from every corner of the world and every imaginable circumstance, and often do not share a common language.
Saudi Arabia has built enormous infrastructure to accommodate these crowds, and has had to introduce some changes in the rituals for the sake of safety. They’ve build enormous multi-level walkways and other structures to accommodate the crowd. Still, it’s an enormous stretch, and there are regular accidents, some very deadly.
Yes, you’ve nailed it dot dot dot question mark. Just a bit innuendo there, a wee bit suggestion, eh?
I got “The Tick” reference.
It is a tragedy, and unfortunately one that conspiracy nutters will likely make much wool out of. Hopefully for the sake of the survivors and families of the dead it gets less traction that the conspiracies of the 2001 attacks.
Stranger
The Middle East is indeed not averse to conspiracy theories, and the collapse of a crane operated by a Bin Laden family company on September 11 might well be seen as some sort of CIA-sponsored revenge.
The Saudis had finally managed to put together a few years without mass death at the hajj, and now this happens.
Wind can’t bend steel beams.
The Saudi government has no problems destroying antiquities in Mecca without outside help.
A crane is going to collapse onto the roof of the Grand Mosque at Mecca sometime during a twelve month period. The odds of it happening within 5 mins of the anniversiary of the exact time the north tower fell are over 5,000-1