N said (January 29, 2012):

Hey Henry after reading your cruise ship write up I just wanted to say again how much I appreciate your articles. I look forward to the ones that you write the most by far.

I've made a lot of foolish mistakes in my life. I am tired of it. I used to think that I know everything, that I know better. Relying on what I thought was best and my value system did not get me far. I am thinking of becoming a Christian. I recently got a bible. I read it from time to time. I learn valuable things from it. Your website gives me a lot of indispensable guidance and wisdom as well. I badly lacked that earlier in my life. I did not have a close relationship with my father from around 14-30 years of age. We did not have any father son talks. I was so clueless about many things in life.

I look to your web site for guidance and spiritual guidance. I have been visiting your website for around 8 years now. I visit it just about every day.

Derek said (January 26, 2012):

In fact, it appears that – as with the Queen of the North "accident" in British Columbia: 1) a sex trap was used to occupy the attention of key ship's personnel; 2) the ship's autopilot was commandeered electronically so as to trigger an "accident"; 3) an insurance fraud was perpetrated by insiders via Lloyd's of London.

What City & Guilds of London knows about this is a very good question.

Guy said (January 25, 2012):

One thing that is very significant about the shipwreck was that it provided yet again another demonstration of the deep and significant sea change (pun intended) in the disposition of post Christian Western humanity. This first struck me when reading about the wreck of the British RORO passenger and car ferry 'The Herald of Free Enterprise' (another neatly metaphorical name there) back in 1987 - that is to say, the disgraceful spectacle of grown men trampling over women and children to get to safety.

I don't go with this idea that the masses will rebel and overthrow the NWO because people are fundamentally sound - in the West, at least, they aren't any more. There is a fundamental ignobility in the West (as typified by the pro-cannabis lobby proselytising on your home page here!) which means that most of us are not in fact worth rescuing. (This probably includes me here, I’m not making a special case!)

The cultural decline that has taken but a few decades (and truly accelerating from my birth year in 1962, so perhaps it's all MY fault!) is terminal I would say. There is no precedent for a civilisation recovering from a cultural and demographic death wish on this scale. I think a best case scenario is that a small number of authentically moral, low subsistence, traditional and orthodox cultures such as the Amish and Distributist Traditional Roman Catholics will keep the small glimmering light that is all that remains of Western Civilisation going after the downfall.

Irish Dan said (January 25, 2012):

For openers in my late teens/ early twenties, I served my time in a
shipbuilding yard and I am a qualified shipbuilder, City & Guilds of London Institute, Shipbuilding Craft ( with credit) I have also
worked in the Mechanical Engineering fields for a large part of my life.

There is grave disquiet and deep reservations in shipping circles
about these 'floating palaces' for a great many years now and the
general consensus is that they are all potential disasters waiting
to happen. Tragic and all as this shipwreck was, the loss of life was relatively light and it will be a price well worth paying if it also
acts as a wake up call to authorities and the general public as to
just how dangerous these floating hotels are.

Just one simple fact will illustrate the design priorities : once the
generators flooded, all lights went out. It would be quite a simple
matter to have an auxiliary generator room on the upper levels with designated personnel ready to go there in an emergency to get it started. The immediate return of full lights would have quelled some of the panic and probably resulted in the saving of most, if not all of the lives lost . ( Most land hotels have these bloody things on stand by, it is not rocket science!)

Another simple fact, most seagoing cargo and warship crews have experience of sudden freak waves of from 10 meters to 15, 20 or more. These waves cannot be predicted and there is no satisfactory explanation for them. Most ships have a low profile and warships are designed for rough seas breaking over them. With these high profile floating hotel type structures, there is a disproportionate amount of hull under the water compared to that over. One of these freak waves broadside and there is a complete capsize with almost a 100% life loss inevitable.

These risks are not explained to passengers : 'luxury ' and company profits are put over passenger safety. Even now the focus is on the Captain and his romantic life rather than the shortcomings of the ship per se. I have yet to see one detailed media article where a Naval Architect was asked to explain the limitations and dangers of these floating hotels and of how they are in breech of so many norms of good ship design. This shows where the priorities are, each and all have the potential, as I set out in opening, to be a monumental disaster waiting to happen!