A massive operation is under way to find and save a stricken vessel and its passengers. As time passes, anxious families and friends wait with growing fear. The US coastguard, Canadian armed forces and commercial vessels are all hunting for the Titan submersible, which has gone missing with five aboard on a dive to the wreck of the Titanic in the north Atlantic. The UK’s Ministry of Defence is also monitoring the situation.

It is hard to think of a starker contrast with the response to a fishing boat which sank in the Mediterranean last week with an estimated 750 people, including children, packed onboard. Only about 100 survived, making this one of the deadliest disasters in the Mediterranean. Greece and the EU blame people smugglers, who overcrowd boats and abuse those aboard them. But both have profound questions to answer about their own role in such disasters. Activists say authorities were repeatedly warned of the danger this boat faced, hours before it went down, but failed to act.

  • ivy@fedi196.gay
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    1 year ago

    I’m so tired of governments bending over backwards to help billionaires while ignoring average people

    I’m so tired of valuing people based on their net worth. these double standards are disappointing and honestly disgusting. I’m disgusted by our current politics and economics

    • Demonmariner@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Well, on the bright side, if there is a successful rescue the rescuees can afford to pay the bill. And they should be held to it.

    • cykablyatbot@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      undefined> I’m so tired of valuing people based on their net worth.

      You mean like you just did?
      In case you care, which you’ve already indicated you don’t, there are more researchers on the submarine than billionbaires.

      • alyaza [they/she]@beehaw.orgOPM
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        1 year ago

        You mean like you just did?

        “actually, you’re the one valuing people on net worth for pointing out the things we’ll do to accommodate billionaires but not for migrants” is such a piss take it’s not even funny

      • cnnrduncan@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        From what I’ve read there’s one researcher on the sub, two members of one of Pakistan’s richest families, an “explorer” who rode with the Amazon guy into space, and the CEO of the company that thought their submarines were too advanced to get categorised/certified for the depths they visit.

        • ag_roberston_author@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Don’t forget that the CEO also bragged in a video that the sub only has one button, is controlled by a cheap wireless logitech controller and he bought parts of the sub from camping world.

          • Thrashy@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            There’s nothing wrong with COTS equipment like the Camping World light that’s been made much fun of. The controller either, at least in principle, though the idea of using this battery-powered wireless device specifically is maybe not smart. But the fact that the guy who built it is bragging about them as if he’s pulled one over on Big Bathyscaphe should have been a red flag about the quality and safety factors built into the rest of the thing.

      • Azure@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        You should look more into the story and into the occupancy before you start taking random moral stances cause you want to be rich one day.