The unimportant news thread

[T. D.]

It appears the craft imploded after only a few hours:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-23/us-navy-detected-titanic-sub-s-catastrophic-implosion-days-ago

An elite US Navy acoustic detection system picked up the sound of a blast from near the debris site only hours after the submersible had deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a statement from a US defense official.

Expect abundant disclosure of the company's disregard for safety. Stories began appearing a few days ago:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-21/titanic-tour-operator-has-faced-questions-on-safety-for-years

[I subscribe to Bloomberg. In case of paywall, try right-clicking and selecting "open link in incognito window" or the like.]

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It appears the craft imploded after only a few hours:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-23/us-navy-detected-titanic-sub-s-catastrophic-implosion-days-ago

An elite US Navy acoustic detection system picked up the sound of a blast from near the debris site only hours after the submersible had deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a statement from a US defense official.

Expect abundant disclosure of the company's disregard for safety. Stories began appearing a few days ago:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-21/titanic-tour-operator-has-faced-questions-on-safety-for-years

[I subscribe to Bloomberg. In case of paywall, try right-clicking and selecting "open link in incognito window" or the like.]

I heard or read that earlier (I think late yesterday afternoon??) about the detection of the noise made from the implosion.  The impression that I got was that they weren't able to identify specifically where it came from.

Looks like I'll have to register with Bloomberg to at least get some access.

And, yeah, that company will certainly have some answering to do.  I did also see an article/interview in which someone had stated that OG got around having to be certified by only operating in international waters.

From the BBC website:  'William Kohnen, chairman of the Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee, has told the BBC that regulations for building submersible vessels were "written in blood".

Kohnen wrote a letter raising safety concerns about OceanGate's development of Titan in 2018.

He says OceanGate circumvented certification processes by operating in international waters.'

PD

[T. D.]

You could look for the WSJ story re. US Navy acoustic detection, but my impression is that the WSJ imposes total paywall.

[Florestan]

I might be alone in this but I think such endeavors are not only extremely dangerous, they are useless. I mean, why is it so important to look at Titanic's wreck at close range? The goddam ship sank long time ago taking more than 1,000 lives down with her. Let her --- and them --- rest in peace on the ocean's bed and let's concentrate on more pressing and contemporary issues. Have we solved all, or even most, of the problems we are facing in the here and the now? Could not all the money, knowledge and time invested in creating that goddam sub have been put to better use?   

[Spotted Horses]

I might be alone in this but I think such endeavors are not only extremely dangerous, they are useless. I mean, why is it so important to look at Titanic's wreck at close range? The goddam ship sank long time ago taking more than 1,000 lives down with her. Let her --- and them --- rest in peace on the ocean's bed and let's concentrate on more pressing and contemporary issues. Have we solved all, or even most, of the problems we are facing in the here and the now? Could not all the money, knowledge and time invested in creating that goddam sub have been put to better use?   

Quite so. I certainly feel sorry for the loss of life, but I don't see anything admirable in billionaires expending large resources to indulge their ghoulish fantasy of viewing a famous shipwreck where more than 1000 lost their lives. I feel slightly disgusted with myself for indulging my ghoulish desire to read news articles about it.

[T. D.]

Quite so. I certainly feel sorry for the loss of life, but I don't see anything admirable in billionaires expending large resources to indulge their ghoulish fantasy of viewing a famous shipwreck where more than 1000 lost their lives. I feel slightly disgusted with myself for indulging my ghoulish desire to read news articles about it.

[Added: No paywall here - https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/us/oceangate-expeditions-submersible-titanic/index.html ]

What about the resources expended in the search for the imploded submersible? Had to amount to many millions. Said billionaires should also pay for those.

And the lawsuit drama is beginning (surprise    ):

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-23/doomed-submersible-waivers-not-enough-to-ward-off-lawsuits

The passengers killed aboard OceanGate's Titan submersible signed waivers agreeing the trip to the bottom of the Atlantic might result in injury or death. But that may not be enough to protect the company from lawsuits.

The US Coast Guard pronounced the five people aboard the Titan dead after an intensive search turned up debris of the submersible on the ocean floor. Their deaths open OceanGate to potential lawsuits by the families of the passengers, particularly given the warning signs and questions the company faced in recent years. 

While the waivers signed by passengers generally shield a company in cases of negligence, they're less likely to hold up if there's "gross negligence," defined as wanton or reckless conduct affecting the life of another.

"It may well be that the surviving family members are so incredibly wealthy that they don't really care about the money — there are reasons to sue other than to collect damages," said Michael Sturley, a professor of maritime law at the University of Texas.

"They may want to bring a lawsuit in order to get the facts out, to learn what happened to their loved ones," Sturley said. "They may do it because they're angry."


But the company honcho perished in the implosion, and I'm sure the company will turn out to have no significant assets to go after...another surprise.

[DavidW]

I might be alone in this but I think such endeavors are not only extremely dangerous, they are useless.

It is actually not dangerous unless you go with a small company that doesn't certify nor stress test their vehicle.  James Cameron had been down to Titanic something like 30+ times, and also the Challenger Deep which is much deeper.  Bob Ballard found the Titanic roughly 40 years ago, and these kind of deep dives have been operated safely since the 1960s.

But I do agree with you that it is useless.  It is just essentially a joy ride.  And we now have a complete digital 3d scan of the wreck.

[Karl Henning]

I might be alone in this but I think such endeavors are not only extremely dangerous, they are useless. I mean, why is it so important to look at Titanic's wreck at close range?

Fat cat tourism.

[Karl Henning]

The median age of Americans reached an all-time high of 38.9 in 2022, according to data released yesterday from the US Census Bureau. The figure implies half of Americans were younger than 38.9 years last year, while half were older. 

 

The median age is up by 0.2 years from 2021 and is nearly half of the average life expectancy of Americans, which was 76.1 in 2022. The median age in 2000 was 35.3, and in 1980, it was 30 (see chart).

 

The census data also revealed 17 states had a median age above 40 in 2022, with Maine (44. and New Hampshire (43.3) leading the group. The states with the lowest median age were Utah (31.9), the District of Columbia (34., and Texas (35.5). Hawaii (40.7) saw the largest increase in its median age, up 0.4 years from 2021. No state saw a decrease

[Florestan]

It is actually not dangerous unless you go with a small company that doesn't certify nor stress test their vehicle.  James Cameron had been down to Titanic something like 30+ times, and also the Challenger Deep which is much deeper.  Bob Ballard found the Titanic roughly 40 years ago, and these kind of deep dives have been operated safely since the 1960s.

Fair enough --- but it's my understanding that Paul-Henri Nargeolet had been down to Titanic something like 100+ times (I'm just quoting the media I've been reading), did he really have to go there the 110th time? And (also quoting the media I've been reading) Stockton Rush had been down to Titanic in this very Titan submersible coffin* three times before the catastrophe.

* If they paid me not 250.000 USD, but 2.500.000 USD, I'd have never accepted to take the ride. I mean, come on, folks, something going deep down in the ocean, operated by a Play Station-like remote controller, are you kidding me?   

But I do agree with you that it is useless.  It is just essentially a joy ride.  And we now have a complete digital 3d scan of the wreck.

Yes, I've seen the images today and they are spectacular --- but also a moving, telling and ultimately sinister reminder of the fact that hubris always leads to tragedy. "A ship not even God could sink!" "Oh yeah?", quoth God, "just watch me!" 

[T. D.]

I wonder...what percentage of OceanGate expeditions included CEO Stockton Rush as a passenger?
I wouldn't be surprised if he was on almost every dive. Given how shaky the company appears, he might have participated in order to assure wealthy customers that he had "skin in the game".

[JBS]

I think Nargeolet was there as docent/tour guide. Harding and the Dawoods were the three paying passengers.

As for Harding btw

Hamish Harding (58), a British businessman, aviator, and space tourist.[117][39] He had previously descended into the Mariana Trench, broken the Guinness World Record for a circumnavigation of the Earth, and flew into space in 2022 on Blue Origin NS-21.

[From the Wikipedia page about this incident.
Of course Wikipedia has a page about it already:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Titan_submersible_incident

]

[JBS]

I wonder...what percentage of OceanGate expeditions included CEO Stockton Rush as a passenger?
I wouldn't be surprised if he was on almost every dive. Given how shaky the company appears, he might have participated in order to assure wealthy customers that he had "skin in the game".

I think he was the onboard crew.

[Florestan]

the Dawoods

Apparently, Dawood jr. was greatly reluctant to take the trip and did it only for his father's sake.

[Todd]

Climate Misalignment

How Development Bank Investments in Industrial Livestock Are at Odds With Their Paris Agreement Commitments

"Climate Misalignment" documents how MDBs' frameworks for aligning their investments with the Paris Agreement are resulting in misclassification of industrial livestock investments as compatible with the Agreement's mitigation and adaptation goals, and urges development banks to exclude industrial livestock and feed operations from sectors they consider "Paris-aligned."

This report provides some inadvertent chuckles.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus is not only famous but advocates various green causes, as celebrities are wont to do, and has even won awards for her hard work.  The Louis Dreyfus Company is one of the ecovillains cited in this report.  And yes, Ms Louis-Dreyfus derives a portion of her formidable wealth from the evil company one of her ancestors started.  Will she have the moral courage to divest and donate her ill-gotten gains to various ecocharities?  Will she boldly and bravely speak out against the chicanery of the agribusiness giant? 

[Karl Henning]

Meet the Man Who Raises Money for the Homeless by Painting Their Portraits

[Todd]

Harvard dishonesty expert accused of dishonesty

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Meet the Man Who Raises Money for the Homeless by Painting Their Portraits

Great story!

PD

[Karl Henning]

Man trains a chatbot on himself, converses with his digital twin.

[Karl Henning]

Orcas disrupt boat race near Spain in latest display of dangerous, puzzling behavior