Dead Whale Solution for Suez

From Richard Cronin:

I read a biography of Andrew Carnegie a long time ago. An interesting anecdote about Carnegie in his younger years was his employment as a railroad dispatcher, keeping track of rail movement by telegraph.

One night the wheels of a boxcar overheated and froze up, stopping the entire train. The boxcar was empty. The crew telegraphed Carnegie asking what they should do. Carnegie immediately responded to burn the boxcar down to the wheels and throw the trucks off the line.

When Carnegie’s superiors heard of what he had done, they were initially horrified. Then with a bit of reflection, they realized that keeping the line open and freight moving was far more valuable than the cost of the boxcar. Carnegie’s actions became standard practice for disabled/ immobile freight cars.

Fast forward to the Evergreen ship blocking the Suez Canal. Stand back and drop a MOAB. Get the film crews out. It’ll be just like the time that they blew up the dead whale washed ashore in Oregon.

Tim adds:

I was thinking that very thing. I didn't know enough about it where I wanted to come out and say so, but I was thinking "why don't they just blow the damned thing up and remove the debris?" Seems easier than what they are trying to do here.

Maybe I'm getting old and paranoid, but I have wondered if there aren't some people who want this blockage in international trade. Whose interests does it serve? It always pays to follow the money.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:58 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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