The World Events Thread

[RUPERTKBD]

Not sure what's the best place for this story......

 

Some folks may or may not be aware, but Alberta is going through it's own "Ahmaud Arbery" type case. The gist is a couple of redneck a$$holes saw a couple of Metis hunters, decided they were "stealing" and chased them down, before shooting both dead....

 

The shooters have claimed that they shot "in self defense".....but, thankfully, the jury wasn't buying it:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/cp-newsalert-jury-finds-alberta-men-guilty-of-murder-and-manslaughter-in-shooting/ar-AAXWd2U?li=AAggFp5

 

Quote

 

EDMONTON — A jury has found a man guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting of two Métis hunters on a rural road in Alberta.

 

They also found the man's father guilty of two counts of manslaughter in the deaths.

Lawyers for Anthony Bilodeau and his father Roger Bilodeau had argued the shooting was in self-defence.

The Crown argued the accused took the law into their own hands when they chased down Jacob Sansom and his uncle Maurice Cardinal, because they believed the hunters had been at the family's farm earlier and were trying to steal.

Prosecutors said the shooting was is no way justified.

Jurors heard that Sansom and Cardinal had been moose hunting before they were found dead on the side of a road near Glendon, Alta., in March 2020.

Sansom was shot once in the chest and Cardinal was hit three times in the shoulder.

More coming ...

 

Nice to see justice done in this case....

[Gurn]

Some days, I'd rather be living alone, on the moon; far far away from this kind of .....................

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/over-50-feared-dead-in-nigeria-church-attack-officials-say/ar-AAY6tUC?bk=1&ocid=msedgntp&cvid=0c02f9f3931a43cda7d03ddbf2618552

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on worshippers and detonated explosives at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday, leaving dozens feared dead, state lawmakers said.

 

The attackers targeted the St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state just as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, legislator Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said. Among the dead were many children, he said.

The presiding priest was abducted as well, said Adelegbe Timileyin, who represents the Owo area in Nigeria’s lower legislative chamber.

“Our hearts are heavy," Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu tweeted Sunday. “Our peace and tranquility have been attacked by the enemies of the people.”

Authorities did not immediately release an official death toll. Timileyin said at least 50 people had been killed, though others put the figure higher. Videos appearing to be from the scene of the attack showed church worshippers lying in pools of blood while people around them wailed.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said “only fiends from the nether region could have conceived and carried out such dastardly act,” according to a statement from his spokesman.

“No matter what, this country shall never give in to evil and wicked people, and darkness will never overcome light. Nigeria will eventually win,” said Buhari, who was elected after vowing to end Nigeria’s prolonged security crisis.

In Rome, Pope Francis responded to news of the attack.

“The pope has learned of the attack on the church in Ondo, Nigeria and the deaths of dozens of worshippers, many children, during the celebration of Pentecost. While the details are being clarified, Pope Francis prays for the victims and the country, painfully affected at a time of celebration, and entrusts them both to the Lord so that he may send his spirit to console them,” the pope said in a statement issued by the Vatican press office.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on the church. While much of Nigeria has struggled with security issues, Ondo is widely known as one of Nigeria's most peaceful states. The state, though, has been caught up in a rising violent conflict between farmers and herders.

Nigeria's security forces did not immediately respond to questions about how the attack occurred or if there are any leads about suspects. Owo is about 345 kilometers (215 miles) east of Lagos.

“In the history of Owo, we have never experienced such an ugly incident," said lawmaker Oluwole. “This is too much.”

[nuckin_futz]

Not a world event but a pretty funny story .........

 

Adam Sandler left ‘bleeding terribly’ after an accident in bed

Adam Sandler was excited to talk about his new film, Hustle, on Monday's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But before he could talk about anything, Fallon asked him about a visible bruise and scab under his eye.

 

“I had an accident, everybody,” Sandler said. “Everything's all right, but I wish it was a good story — it's pathetic.”

 

Sandler explained how he got into bed and the sheets were tucked in too tightly. When he tried to kick them loose with his feet, he forgot his iPhone was on his lap. The phone went flying in the air and ended up splitting the skin just beneath his eye. It occurred at 4 a.m. so instead of getting up to take care it, he just went to sleep.

 

“I was bleeding terribly,” Sandler explained. “I mean, I thought it was pitch black in the room, and I feel wetness and I tricked myself. I go, ‘This is probably just thick tears.’ ... I didn't want to get up, you know, because I was tired. And I was like, ‘Ah, we'll fix that later.’”

 

When he eventually woke up, he was shocked by how bad the injury really was.

 

“I woke up, it was horrible,” Sandler recalled, “It was bleeding all over it was gushing still and there was blood on the bed and all that stuff. So I said, ‘I've got to get this fixed.’ So I went to the Apple Store.”

[RUPERTKBD]

Betcha didn't know that Canada shares a land border with Denmark....at least, we do after this historic settlement, ending a "war" that most Canadians (and Danes, probably) didn't know we were fighting. Of course, as Canadians, we weren't fighting with guns, we were "fighting" with booze....

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/whisky-war-with-denmark-over-tiny-arctic-island-ends-peacefully-with-deal/ar-AAYrcEm?li=AAggXBV

 

Quote

 

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has struck a historic deal with Denmark, settling a dispute stretching back five decades over a 1.3-square-kilometre island in the Arctic.

 

Joly and the Danish foreign affairs minister Jeppe Kofod signed an agreement Tuesday to divide Hans Island, an uninhabited rock situated between Ellesmere Island, in Nunavut, and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

 

The island has been the subject of fifty years of diplomatic disputes between the two nations, as it sits in the territorial waters of both. 

Joly hailed the signing as a "historic day," adding that it ended the "friendliest of all wars" which involved both nations leaving bottles of spirits on the island with little notes for one another while removing each other's flags. 

 

After the signing of the deal, the foreign ministers symbolically exchanged bottles of spirits, with notes attached, to end the "whisky war." 

Joly said the agreement means that Canada and Denmark could both plant their flags "of the same colour" on the "small but important island in the Arctic." 

She said the dispute had occupied 26 previous Canadian foreign ministers and its peaceful resolution showed that nations can resolve territorial differences in "a peaceful manner." 

 

In a pointed reference to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Joly said the deal with Denmark had been struck "at a very important time in our history because we know that authoritarian leaders believe that they can … draw boundaries by force."

In a further reference to Russia, she said by striking a deal "Canada and Denmark and Greenland are sending a clear message to other Arctic states" that disputes can be resolved through peaceful diplomacy. 

The agreement over the sovereignty of Tartupaluk — the island's Inuit name — followed consultation with Inuit people from both Nunavut and Greenland. 

They will maintain hunting rights and freedom of movement on the island which has been part of their hunting grounds for centuries. 

The deal, Joly confirmed, has also prompted further negotiations on freedom of movement for Inuit living in Greenland and Nunavut, to make it easier for them to visit friends and family. 

The prime minister of Greenland, who also signed the deal, said the "boundary on Tartupaluk ... will signal the beginning of a closer partnership and co-operation between us in areas of shared interest and of particular benefit to Inuit."

Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout said she thought Hans Island should be officially renamed Tartupaluk.

"Inuit have long used Hans Island as a staging point for hunting," she said. "We are pleased that the rights of Inuit have been protected so that they can maintain free movement and their traditional way of life."

Kofod said the signing marked "a historic day."

"We have discussed the sovereignty of Tartupaluk for more than 50 years. After intensified negotiations over the past few years, we have now reached a solution," he said.

"Our efforts demonstrate our firm common commitment to resolve international disputes peacefully. I hope that our negotiation and the spirit of this agreement may inspire others."

The deal means that Canada, for the first time, shares a land border with Denmark. 

Asked if this could mean that Canada may now qualify to enter the Eurovision song contest, Joly joked that because Canada now has "a border" with the EU, Canada may apply to join the European singing competition.

The dispute over the small island has led to good-natured jostling since the 1980s between Canada and Denmark over which country rightfully owns it. 

In 1984, Canada planted a flag on the island and left a bottle of Canadian whisky. 

Later that year, Denmark's minister of Greenland affairs visited by helicopter, planting a Danish flag. He also left a bottle of aquavit, a Danish spirit, at the base of the flagpole and is reported to have left a note saying "welcome to the Danish Island." 

In 1988, a Danish Arctic Ocean patrol ship arrived and built a cairn with a flagpole and Danish flag on the island.

Then in 2001, Canadian geologists mapping northern Ellesmere Island flew there by helicopter. 

In 2005, defence minister Bill Graham went for a walk on Hans Island in a symbolic move. A week before he set foot there, Canadian Forces placed a Canadian flag and plaque on the island, prompting a protest from Denmark, which called in the Canadian ambassador. 

Both countries then agreed to reopen negotiations about the island, with former Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen saying it was "time to stop the flag war." 

The countries agreed to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for resolution if they couldn't reach a deal.

Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal said Canada and Denmark share a rich and co-operative history, and "it is fitting, and only a matter of time, that an equitable solution like this was reached, based on both practicality and compromise." 

The deal also resolved a disagreement between the two countries on maritime boundaries on the continental shelf. 

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said the deal was "a demonstration of how countries who are upstanding members of our international system can work together to settle disputes around international boundaries."  

"Few things are more sacrosanct in maintaining international order than ensuring that we respect each other's international boundaries," Chong said.

After the deal was signed, Joly presented her Danish counterpart with a bottle of Sortilege Prestige, a Canadian whisky and maple syrup liquor made in Quebec, while minister Kofod presented Joly with a bottle of Gammel Dansk Bitter Dram.

 

If this qualifies Canada for Eurovision, I say we send Nickelback....

[Ilunga]

I person in every 78 on this planet is displaced/ a refugee.

 

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-16/un-refugee-agency-says-100-million-people-displaced/101147952

 

 

 

 

 

[RUPERTKBD]

At the very least, someone should be fired over this......

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/16/us/alaska-students-floor-sealant-milk/index.html

 

Quote

 

Twelve elementary school children drank floor sealant believing it was milk after it was served to students at a childcare program in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, according to the school district.

Students in a summer care program at Sitʼ Eeti Shaanáx̱-Glacier Valley Elementary School began complaining that the milk they were served as part of the program's breakfast tasted bad and was burning their mouths and throats, Juneau School District said in a statement Wednesday.

The breakfast was served on trays by an outside contractor, NANA Management Services (NMS), at about 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday and the children brought their trays to a cafeteria table to eat, the district statement said.

After the children complained about the burning sensation, school district and NMS staff "immediately followed up by smelling/tasting the milk and looking at the container/label," the statement said. "It was found that the 'milk' served was actually a floor sealant resembling liquid milk. Staff immediately directed students to stop consuming the substance and removed it."

The site manager for RALLY, the summer care program, contacted poison control and alerted parents, according to the statement, and "all steps provided by poison control were carefully followed."

RALLY provides state-licensed childcare for elementary students ages 5 through 12 and is a partnership with the Juneau School District, according to the district website.

One student received medical treatment at a nearby hospital, and two other students were picked up from the school "and may have gone to seek medical advice," the statement said.

The condition of those students and the remaining nine children was not included in the statement.

An investigation into how the incident happened is ongoing and includes participation from the school district, NMS, the city and borough of Juneau, and Juneau Police Department, according to the statement, which did not specify who is leading the investigation.

In a separate statement sent Thursday, NMS said it dispatched its safety team to Juneau as soon as it became aware of the incident, "and leadership are en route to Juneau now."

"We are supporting the full investigation, looking at every contributing factor to determine exactly what happened. This process is key to identifying potential safety measures and putting those safety measures to work," the NMS statement reads.

 

[DrJockitch]

5 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

At the very least, someone should be fired over this......

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/16/us/alaska-students-floor-sealant-milk/index.html

 

How dumb do you…Oh, Alaska NVM. 

[RUPERTKBD]

2 hours ago, DrJockitch said:

How dumb do you…Oh, Alaska NVM. 

Yep. The state that elected Sarah Palin as Governor and now appear to be sending her to Congress.....

 

....not too many Mensa candidates wandering around....

[Gurn]

 

[bishopshodan]

My guess is, it's the Q-anon Shaman....or is that dude locked up?

Seattle company donates security cameras to Amarillo Zoo after 'Chupacabra' mystery

https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/seattle-company-donates-security-cameras-to-amarillo-zoo-after-chupacabra-mystery

Edited June 17, 2022 by bishopshodan

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

 

In a press conference outside the British Embassy in New York, his brother Gabriel Shipton said they would take his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if not successful in the UK's High Court.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61839256

Julian Assange can be extradited, says UK home secretary

[4petesake]

 

Didn’t want to start a new thread since every transgender thread winds up getting locked, so I’ll leave it here as a news item without comment.

Hopefully we can have some responsible discussion about whether this might be a reasonable step in dealing with the issue. More info in the link.

 

Fina, swimming's world governing body, has voted to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's elite races if they have gone through any part of the process of male puberty. 

The new policy requires transgender competitors to have completed their transition by the age of 12 in order to be able to compete in women's competitions.

 

Fina will also aim to establish an 'open' category at competitions for swimmers whose gender identity is different than their birth sex.

The new policy, which was passed with 71% of the vote from 152 Fina members, was described as "only a first step towards full inclusion" for transgender athletes.

The decision was made during an extraordinary general congress at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.

Earlier Fina members heard a report from a transgender task force made up of leading figures from the world of medicine, law and sport.

"Fina's approach in drafting this policy was comprehensive, science-based and inclusive, and, importantly, Fina's approach emphasised competitive fairness," said Brent Nowicki, the governing body's executive director.
 

 

[DrJockitch]

4 minutes ago, 4petesake said:

 

Didn’t want to start a new thread since every transgender thread winds up getting locked, so I’ll leave it here as a news item without comment.

Hopefully we can have some responsible discussion about whether this might be a reasonable step in dealing with the issue. More info in the link.

 

Fina, swimming's world governing body, has voted to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's elite races if they have gone through any part of the process of male puberty. 

The new policy requires transgender competitors to have completed their transition by the age of 12 in order to be able to compete in women's competitions.

 

Fina will also aim to establish an 'open' category at competitions for swimmers whose gender identity is different than their birth sex.

The new policy, which was passed with 71% of the vote from 152 Fina members, was described as "only a first step towards full inclusion" for transgender athletes.

The decision was made during an extraordinary general congress at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.

Earlier Fina members heard a report from a transgender task force made up of leading figures from the world of medicine, law and sport.

"Fina's approach in drafting this policy was comprehensive, science-based and inclusive, and, importantly, Fina's approach emphasised competitive fairness," said Brent Nowicki, the governing body's executive director.
 

 

This seems like a very balanced approach to a fairly complex issue. 

[RUPERTKBD]

Looks like there's going to be a new election in Israel. Is Bibi going to try a comeback?

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/israel-to-dissolve-parliament-call-5th-election-in-3-years/ar-AAYFbY4?li=AAggFp4

[Gurn]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/travel/news/plane-crashes-and-bursts-into-flames-with-137-people-on-board/ar-AAYJkWI?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b2514cb06d2f4b2b8b67d12eec73e93e

A plane carrying 137 people crash landed at a Miami Airport before it burst into flames.

The pilot was forced to take evasive action after the aircraft’s landing gear failed.

Passengers reported ‘panic’ and ‘screaming all around’ during the incident, which took place aboard a Red Air flight.

It had departed from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on Monday.

The aircraft had been arriving into Miami Airport at 5.30pm when disaster struck.

A small building and a communications tower at the terminal were both hit due to the force of the chaotic landing.

The plane eventually came to rest near a grassy area by the side of the runway before thick smoke started to billow from the left wing.

Three people were taken to hospital following the incident.

‘I thought I was going to die, actually,’ Paola Garcia told CBS Miami. ‘There was an old man next to me and I was hugging him. It was horrible.’

 

 

‘We were bumping from side to side and all the windows like break and then everything’s fine.

‘Then the people start running and running and I like jump and start running because there was fire and all that.’

Red Air is a discount airline which was founded last year in the Dominican Republic.

The plane was carrying 126 passengers and 11 crew members when it was forced to crash land.

Footage from the incident shows black smoke billowing from a fire on the left wing of the aircraft.

Firefighters who were rushed to the scene used flame-retardant foam to extinguish the flames.

Some passengers could be heard screaming as they rushed to escape the still burning plane.

A spokesperson for Miami Airport said that flights were delayed due to the crash.

Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava has travelled to the scene this morning.

She tweeted: ‘A plane arriving at @iflyMIA from Santo Domingo, DR caught on fire following a landing gear malfunction.

‘I have just arrived on the scene and am being briefed by @MiamiDadeFire.

‘Three passengers were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.’

The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, it has been confirmed by authorities.

 

 

[nuckin_futz]

Powerful quake in Afghanistan kills at least 1,000 people

The epicentre was in Afghanistan's Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan

A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported. Officials warned that the already grim death toll may still rise.

 

Information remained scarce on the magnitude-6.1 temblor that damaged buildings in Khost and Paktika provinces. Rescue efforts are likely to be complicated since many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year and the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from the longest war in its history.

 

The death toll given by the Bakhtar News Agency was equal to that of a quake in 2002 in northern Afghanistan. Those are the deadliest since 1998, when a 6.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tremors in Afghanistan's remote northeast killed at least 4,500 people.

 

Neighbouring Pakistan's Meteorological Department said the quake's epicentre was in Afghanistan's Paktika province, just near the border and some 50 kilometres southwest of the city of Khost.

Afghan boys site near their damaged house that was destroyed in an earthquake in the Spera District of the southwestern part of Khost province on Wednesday. Hundreds were killed after the quake struck the mountainous region in the eastern part of the country. (The Associated Press)

Footage from Paktika province near the Pakistan border showed victims being carried into helicopters to be airlifted from the area. Others were treated on the ground. One resident could be seen receiving IV fluids while sitting in a plastic chair outside the rubble of his home and still more were sprawled on gurneys. Other images showed residents picking through clay bricks and other rubble from destroyed stone houses.

Afghan emergency official Sharafuddin Muslim gave the death toll in a news conference Wednesday. Earlier, the director general of state-run Bakhtar news agency, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses have been destroyed in Paktika and dozens of people are believed trapped under the rubble.

Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, gave no specific death toll but wrote on Twitter that hundreds of people were killed and injured in the earthquake, which shook four districts in Paktika.

"We urge all aid agencies to send teams to the area immediately to prevent further catastrophe," he wrote.

People carry injured to a helicopter following a massive earthquake, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, on June 22, in this screen grab taken from a video. (Bakhtar News Agency/Reuters)

'Response is on its way': UN

In just one district of the neighbouring Khost province, the earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 95 others, local officials said.

In Kabul, Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund convened an emergency meeting at the presidential palace to co-ordinate the relief effort for victims in Paktika and Khost.

The "response is on its way," the United Nations resident co-ordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, wrote on Twitter.

TOPSHOT - An Afghan child is treated inside a hospital in the city of Sharan after getting injured in an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022. (Photo by Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD SAHEL ARMAN/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

After the Taliban swept across the country in 2021, the U.S. military and its allies fell back to Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport and later withdrew completely. Many international humanitarian organizations followed suit because of concerns about security and the Taliban's poor human rights record.

In the time since, the Taliban has worked with Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on restarting airport operations in Kabul and across the country — but nearly all international carriers still avoid the country, and reluctance on the part of aid organizations to put any money in the Taliban's coffers could make it difficult to fly in supplies and equipment.

 

The Afghan Red Crescent Society, however, sent 4,000 blankets, 800 tents and 800 kitchen kits to the affected area, according to Bakhtar's director general, Abdul Wahid Rayan.

The Italian medical aid group Emergency, which still operates in Afghanistan, said it sent seven ambulances and staff to the areas closest to the quake zone.

"The fear is that the victims will increase further, also because many people could be trapped under collapsed buildings," said Stefano Sozza, country director for Emergency in Afghanistan. "This latest tragedy cannot but further the condition of fragility and economic and social difficulties which Afghanistan has experienced for months."

Tremors felt in Pakistan and India

In most places in the world, an earthquake of this magnitude wouldn't inflict such extensive devastation, said Robert Sanders, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. But a quake's death toll more often comes down to geography, building quality and population density.

"Because of the mountainous area, there are rockslides and landslides that we won't know about until later reporting. Older buildings are likely to crumble and fail," he said. "Due to how condensed the area is in that part of the world, we've seen in the past similar earthquakes deal significant damage."

In this photo released by the news agency Bakhtar, Afghans look at destruction caused by an earthquake in the province of Paktika early Wednesday. (Bakhtar News Agency/The Associated Press)

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement offered his condolences over the earthquake, saying his nation will provide help to the Afghan people.

Mountainous Afghanistan and the larger region of South Asia along the Hindu Kush mountains, where the Indian tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian plate to the north, has long been vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.

• Pakistan earthquake kills at least 23, injures hundreds

The European seismological agency, EMSC, said the earthquake's tremors were felt over 500 kilometres by 119 million people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

In 2015, a major earthquake that struck the country's northeast killed over 200 people in Afghanistan and neighbouring northern Pakistan. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by nuckin_futz

[Gurn]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/us/explorers-find-the-world-s-deepest-shipwreck-four-miles-under-the-pacific/ar-AAYPNHv?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=8f78ad059be34176b0f43b2243f01303

It lurks over four miles deep below the Pacific Ocean, split in half and lodged on a slope.

There’s a new world’s deepest shipwreck to be identified and surveyed – and it’s the USS Destroyer Escort Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413), known as the Sammy B.

Victor Vescovo, an explorer who has previously completed expeditions to the world’s deepest points, located the wreck together on June 22.

It lies at a depth of 6,895 meters (22,621 feet), in the Philippine Sea. By comparison, Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak is 5,896 meters, while the highest permanent settlement in the world, La Rinconada in the Peruvian Andes, is 5,100 meters (16,700 feet).

Previously, the deepest wreck ever identified and surveyed was the USS Johnston, found last year by Vescovo. That lies at 6,469 meters.

Explorer Victor Vescovo piloted the search. - Caladan Oceanic

Vescovo, the pilot, and sonar specialist Jeremie Morizet, dove down to trace the wreck from end to end. It has broken into two pieces, lying about 10 meters (33 feet) from each other.

The Sammy B. sank in the Battle off Samar, on October 25, 1944, in which the US Navy defeated the larger Japanese fleet, east of the island of Samar in the Philippines. It fought three Japanese battleships, including the Yamato, said to be the largest ever constructed. The US ship carried 224 crewmembers, 89 of whom were killed. Captain Robert W. Copeland was one of the survivors.

89 of the 224 crew members were killed. - Caladan Oceanic

The ship “fought ferociously even though she was completely outclassed by the Japanese battleships and heavy cruisers she went up against,” Vescovo told CNN.

The heroism of her captain and crew is legendary in the Navy, and it was a great honor to find her final resting place. I think it helps bring closure to the story of the ship, for the families of those who were lost and those who served on her. I think that having a ship vanish into the depths, never to be seen again, can leave those affiliated with the ship feeling a sense of emptiness.

“Finding the wrecks can help bring closure, and also bring details about the battle that perhaps we didn’t know before. As we say, ‘Steel doesn’t lie.’”

 

 

Vescovo, the founder exploration company Caladan Oceanic, and a team from EYOS Expeditions made six dives over eight days looking for the ship, as well as for another US ship, the Gambier Bay. Previous records pointing to the ships’ location had been inaccurate, but the team were helped by a custom-built sidescan solar system, as well as exhaustive research.

Initially they located debris from the Sammy B. – a three-tube torpedo launcher, which it was the only one of the sunken ships to have. On the final day, they located the wreck.

Vescovo called it an “honor” to find the ship, saying in a statement that locating it had given the team the chance “to retell her story of heroism and duty.”

“In difficult times, it’s important to reflect on those who sacrificed so much, so willingly, in even more difficult times to ensure our freedoms and way of life,” he said.

“I always remain in awe of the extraordinary bravery of those who fought in this battle against truly overwhelming odds – and won.”

Vescovo called it an 'honor' to discover the ship. - Caladan Oceanic

And he told CNN that they hadn’t even been sure the trip would succeed.

“The Sammy B is a small vessel as military ships go, and we weren’t really sure that we could find her in the vast and extremely deep ocean where she went down. But with perseverance, some great historical analysis, and a whole lot of deep ocean technology and hard work, we were able to find her and provide a great opportunity to tell her amazing story,” he said.

“It is unbelievably thrilling to find a wreck on the bottom of the deep ocean, given all the difficulties in trying to find them. It is such an immense privilege to be the first person to see them after they went down in battle almost 80 years ago.”

Vescovo's team made six dives in search of the vessel. - Caladan Oceanic

Kelvin Murray, Expedition Leader and Director of Expedition Operations & Undersea Projects for EYOS said, “As ever, there’s been an incredible and dedicated effort by the whole team – the ship’s crew, sub team, historians and other specialists. Using a combination of detective work and innovative technology, everyone has pulled together to reveal the final resting place of this tenacious ship.

“It’s been a challenging, thrilling and poignant expedition, one that recognizes the ships and sailors from all nations who fought so hard during this battle. We are all proud of what has been achieved and humbled by what we witnessed.”

The team also went lower to over 7,000 meters to look for one other vessel – a carrier, called Gambier Bay – but were unable to find it. They didn’t look for the other destroyer, USS Hoel, due to lack of data.

The technology used to locate the Sammy B. means that it might not be the world's deepest wreck for long. - Caladan Oceanic

But the Sammy B. might not be the deepest wreck for too long. The group thinks its new Deep Ocean Search sidescan sonar is the deepest side-scan sonar ever operated on a submersible – normally, they go up to 6,000 meters, but this has been tested to 11,000 meters, or full ocean depth. The Caladan Oceanic team plans to take it right to the bottom next month.

[Gurn]

4 minutes ago, gurn said:

including the Yamato, said to be the largest ever constructed.

The Yamato wasn't/isn't "said to be the largest"- it flat out was

Yamato 71,659 tons at full load 862 feet in LOA

Iowa class 61,000 tons in 1968 (New Jersey)    887 feet LOA

11 minutes ago, gurn said:

who fought in this battle against truly overwhelming odds – and won.”

The ship sank, so it doesn't look like they won.

An overall victory in this battle, but sunken ships are not the  winners

[Gurn]

More cancelled B.C. ferry trips to come:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/ferry-sailings-to-be-cancelled-if-staffing-shortages-persist-b-c-ferries/ar-AAYQ89e?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=16896ae84c904dcc8267c701512f208f

For the second weekend in a row, B.C. Ferries cancelled sailings from Vancouver and Victoria due to staffing shortages. Cancellations to sailings may continue throughout the summer if these staffing shortages persist, according to B.C. Ferries.

The corporation cancelled two sailings on Friday, June 17th and another four on Sunday, June 19th. The cancelled trips were exiting from Tsawwassen in Vancouver and Swartz Bay in Victoria. Sailings were also cancelled from the same two stops on Friday and Sunday of the previous weekend.

“We have had a few occasions recently where we have had to cancel some of our service because we knew didn’t have the required crew to operate the vessel,” says Deborah Marshall, a spokesperson for B.C. Ferries. 

She says there’s a chance disruptions to service will continue. “There may be times, sporadically, where we do have to cancel service because we’re not able to fill all the required positions on board,” she says.

Marshall says the company, which performs close to 475 sailings along the coast of British Columbia per day, is actively recruiting new staff to resolve the issue. B.C. Ferries has hired 860 new staff members in recent months, but the company is still having difficulties filling some positions. “Coming out of a pandemic, we found that it is quite a challenging job market. It’s difficult to attract new people,” she explained.

Marshall says some crucial ship-work positions, like chief engineers and captains, are harder to recruit as they require technical training and experience.

B.C. Ferries will work to notify customers in the case of future trip cancellations. All updates on service interruptions can also be found on the B.C. Ferries’ website and on Twitter page. 

[Gurn]

^ If they paid more, they would likely fill most of those jobs.

Also- not violating the collective agreement and illegally laying people off, might have resulted in having some old guard stay with them, rather than retire.