Nautical News

[GordMay]

Scientists name new tropical tree species after Hollywood actor

Leonardo DiCaprio has an Oscar, a BAFTA, and three Golden Globe awards, under his belt.
But his latest accolade comes from a group of international scientists, at London's Royal Botanic Kew Gardens, and the National Herbarium of Cameroon, who have honored the Hollywood actor, and environmental activist, by naming a new tropical tree species after him [1].

The uvariopsis dicaprio comes from the Ebo Forest, Cameroon, which is the first addition to the 2022 new species list, at RBG Kew.

DiCaprio drew attention [2] to the Yabassi Key Biodiversity Area, when it was under threat from a logging concession, last year. One month later, the Cameroonian government revoked the logging concession.

[1] "Uvariopsis dicaprio (Annonaceae) a new tree species with notes on its pollination biology, and the Critically Endangered narrowly endemic plant species of the Ebo Forest, Cameroon” ~ by George Gosline et al
➥ https://peerj.com/articles/12614/

[2] ➥ https://twitter.com/leodicaprio/stat...14607202902017

[GordMay]

Mine-clearing rat, “Magawa”, who was awarded a gold medal for heroism, in Cambodia, 'passes away peacefully', aged eight following, five-year career,
➥ https://nationalpost.com/news/world/...l-into-old-age

[GordMay]

The Base Tapes: recordings from inside the neo-Nazi group

When an anti-fascist infiltrator left The Base in 2020, he took 80 gigabytes of files with him. Those screengrabs, videos and audio detail the neo-Nazi organization from its beginnings, including around 100 hours of vetting calls with white supremacists hoping to join.

The Fifth Estate host Gillian Findlay guides us through that audio, the first-ever interview with the infiltrator who calls himself Tradian and what the recordings all tell us about "accelerationist" ideology.
Plus, FBI recordings of Base member and former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Mathews after he fled to the U.S.
Here & Hear ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1992081475698

[GordMay]

Over 80 fact-checking groups urge YouTube to fight disinformation
Organisations from around the world say YouTube has become ‘one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation’, and offered to help the platform debunk false statements.
More ➥ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/...disinformation

[GordMay]

176 Haitians rescued from overcrowded wooden boat trying to get to Florida
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/haitia...rida-1.6311256

Chinese 'ghost ship' found floating off the coast of Thailand
An abandoned Chinese 'ghost ship' was found floating off the coast of Thailand last Thursday. The ship was first discovered by workers on an off-shore oil rig. There were no crew, cargo or identifying documents onboard.
➥ https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/...nd-559102.html

[GordMay]

The Holy Grail of shipwrecks, the “San José”
“In 1708, the Spanish galleon "San José" sank in a deadly battle against English warships, taking with it billions in treasure.
Centuries passed until a secretive archaeologist found the wreck, but now nations are again warring over who may claim the gold and glory ...”
Much more ➥ https://www.vanityfair.com/style/202...t-lies-beneath

[GordMay]

Joe Rogan hosted virologist and self-proclaimed “inventor of mRNA”, Dr. Robert Malone [banned from Twitter for “repeated violations” of its COVID-19 misinformation policy] on his show The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), prompting hundreds of doctors to sign a petition [1], demanding Spotify “establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform”. Both YouTube and Twitter already have done so.

[1] An Open Letter to Spotify: A call from the global scientific and medical communities to implement a misinformation policy
“On Dec. 31, 2021, the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), a Spotify-exclusive podcast, uploaded a highly controversial episode featuring guest Dr. Robert Malone (#1757). The episode has been criticized for promoting baseless conspiracy theories and the JRE has a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals. JRE #1757 is not the only transgression to occur on the Spotify platform, but a relevant example of the platform’s failure to mitigate the damage it is causing ...”
More ➥ https://spotifyopenletter.wordpress....er-to-spotify/

[GordMay]

The Future of Work
From “The Economist”:
Our Free Exchange columnist reports from the American Economics Association conference in Boston, where (among many other things) participants discussed the future of work*. Fifteen per cent of full-time workers are expected to be wholly remote in future, up from 5% before the pandemic. Whether this shift will lead to long-term productivity gains remains a matter of debate.
“Will remote work stick after the pandemic?”
Speakers at the American Economics Association’s annual pow-wow take a shot at the question.
More reporting ➥ https://www.economist.com/finance-an...z000035g5CAAAY
Audio report ➥ https://www.economist.com/media-asse...28aaacc6d6.mp3

* “Shock or Shift? COVID-19 and the Future of Work (J2, D1)”: Friday, Jan. 7, 2022
➥ https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/20...GyRkq1XDBuoh4V

[GordMay]

Australia records highest temperature in 62 years
Australian authorities warned people to stay indoors on Friday as a severe heatwave along the northwestern coast pushed temperatures to a blistering 50.7 degrees Celsius (123 degrees Fahrenheit), hitting a high last seen 62 years ago.
Heatwave Service for Australia ➥ Heatwave Service for Australia

[GordMay]

Hana Horka: Czech singer dies after intentionally catching Covid
BBC ➥ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60050996
Global ➥ https://globalnews.ca/news/8524409/h...r-covid-death/

[GordMay]

The 19-year-old Belgian-British pilot, Zara Rutherford, set a world record as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, touching her small airplane down in western Belgium on Thursday — 155 days after she departed.
➥ https://twitter.com/search?q=zara+ru...Ctwgr%5Esearch

[GordMay]

How a sailboat helped Canada drop ocean sensors in the remote south Atlantic to study climate change
The 24-metre French sailboat “Iris” is in the south Atlantic right now in the midst of a three-month trip that will release 100 autonomous sensors, including a dozen from Canada, to measure ocean conditions. The research is part of the Argo program*, a network of 3,800 floating sensors around the world.
Canadian research scientist Blair Greenan says it's cheap, it's green and it solves a problem caused by the pandemic.
More about ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...sors-1.6322009

* Argo ➥ https://argo.ucsd.edu/

[GordMay]

More than 400 Canadian climate scientists, and other academics, are pleading with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to scrap her plan [1] to create a tax credit for companies that build carbon capture and storage facilities.
A letter [2] sent to Freeland Wednesday asks her to ditch the idea altogether, calling it a massive subsidy to the oil and gas industry that directly contradicts Canada's pledge to eliminate such subsidies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[1] “Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage”
➥ https://www.canada.ca/en/department-...n-storage.html

[2]“Letter from scientists, academics, and energy system modellers: Prevent proposed CCUS investment tax credit from becoming a fossil fuel subsidy”
➥ https://cehoicka.lab.yorku.ca/files/...2-4.pdf?x98920

[GordMay]

Cruise Ship flees U.S. Marshals

The cruise ship “Crystal Symphony”, that was supposed to dock in Miami, has instead sailed to Bimini, in the Bahamas, after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vesse,l as part of a lawsuit over $4 million in unpaid fuel.

The lawsuit was filed in a Miami federal court, by Peninsula Petroleum Far East, against the ship, under a maritime procedure that allows actions against vessels, for unpaid debts. The complaint says Crystal Symphony was chartered or managed by Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises, which are both sued for breach of contract, for allegedly owing $4.6 million in fuel.

Crystal Cruises announced, earlier this week, that it was suspending operations through late April. Besides Crystal Symphony, it has two other ships currently cruising, which end their voyages on Jan. 30 in Aruba, and on Feb. 4 in Argentina.

[GordMay]

F-35C Lightning II has Landing Mishap on USS "Carl Vinson" [CVN 70]

There were seven total Sailors injured.
The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft, and was recovered via U.S. military helicopter. The pilot is in stable condition.

Three Sailors required MEDEVAC to a medical treatment facility in Manila, Philippines, and four were treated by on-board medical personnel.

All three MEDEVACs are assessed as stable. Of the four Sailors treated by on-board medical, three have been released.

The crash occurred while the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson Strike Group was involved in a high-profile naval exercise with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group, the USS America Amphibious Ready Group and a Japanese Maritime Self Defense helicopter carrier.

USN Press Release ➥ https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Pr...s-carl-vinson/

More reporting about ➥ https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-...r-carl-vinson/