Ex-Mossad chief: 'Israeli gov't has let in KKK mentality'

Story by By YONAH JEREMY BOB
• Yesterday
The Jerusalem Post

Tamir Pardo, Former Director of the Mossad attends a press conference at the protest tent of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel against the proposed changes to the legal system, outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, on February 2, 2023.

(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo on Thursday framed the government's ongoing judicial overhaul along with actions by some of the more extreme ministers as a process with parallels to the Ku Klux Klan, in an interview with KAN radio.

He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “taken the Ku Klux Klan and brought them into the government,” equating ministers Itamar Ben Gvir, Betzalel Smotrich and others with the KKK.

Pardo noted that Smotrich had called for “burning down [the Palestinian village of] Huwara. How would this come about?” he asked rhetorically.

“Likud was established as a liberal party. Look at Mahal and look at Smotrich and Ben Gvir,” he warned.

Tamir Pardo, Former Director of the Mossad at the Herzliya Conference, on May 22, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

Pardo said that Netanyahu has, "aligned himself with racist and horrible parties and that his political positions are not far from them."

The former Mossad chief stated that if another country was passing some of the laws which the government is passing or working on, Israel would be attacking such countries as antisemitic.

"The leader has lost the northern direction [his moral compass]. None of what has happened would have happened if the prime minister had not led these processes forward," he said.

He dismissed theories that Netanyahu was dragged into the judicial overhaul by other coalition members like Justice Minister Yariv Levin, saying that such persons were merely carrying out Netanyahu's will.

Next, he stated, "the country is being torn into two pieces and the prime minister is not blinking" and that coalition members are expressing happiness," over the defeat of the side that is losing.

Breaking apart the IDF and the Mossad

In addition, he added that Netanyahu was in the process of breaking apart both the IDF and the Mossad.

The former Mossad chief said that through all of his years working for the Mossad and the IDF, he was able to sleep in the midst of dangerous operations situations, but that now he is having trouble sleeping at night out of dread at what will be in store for the country's future.

Moreover, the former Mossad chief said that Netanyahu has promoted a myth that he represents a downtrodden portion of the population which is getting to take back the country from some other ruling party, whereas Netanyahu has been prime minister since 2009 with only an 18-month break.

Pardo had some conflicts with Netanyahu over Iran and Palestinian policy when he was director of the Mossad, but mostly kept his disagreements under wraps and carried out the prime minister's orders.

However, since the prime minister's criminal probe got serious and Netanyahu refused to resign, Pardo has been a persistent critic accusing Netanyahu of corruption and of pushing forward the judicial overhaul to allegedly free himself from the criminal trial.

Scientists reveal new dinosaur found in Thailand

Story by Allison Elyse Gualtieri • Yesterday 

Credit: CBSNews

A dinosaur skeleton uncovered by scientists in northeastern Thailand is likely that of a newly discovered species, Minimocursor phunoiensis — and its kind was abundant 150 million years ago on what is now the Khorat Plateau, researchers said.

The skeleton "represents one of the best-preserved dinosaurs ever found in Southeast Asia," scientists said in a paper describing the find published earlier this month.

It is fairly complete from the base of its neck to the base of its tail, said paleontologist Clint Boyd, "including a well-preserved hand, which doesn't happen often in these animals. So it's giving us a lot of information about the early evolution in this group of what we call ornithischian dinosaurs."

These dinosaurs were the precursors to more commonly known dinosaurs such as Triceratops, said Boyd, who manages the paleontology program of the North Dakota Geological Survey.

Most ornithischians, like the newly identified species, were herbivores — plant-eaters — and likely lived in herds. They're named for the resemblance their hips and pelvises have to those of birds, and adults of different ornithischian species ranged from about 2 feet to approximately 50 feet long.

An analysis of the Minimocursor phunoiensis skeleton not only revealed the dino is a new discovery but that it was probably a fast runner. It also wasn't very big — researchers estimated the body length of the skeleton to be 60 centimeters long, or about 2 feet, and said an adult may have been up to 2 meters long, about six and a half feet, based on the length of other leg bones from the species found in the area.

"We usually think of dinosaurs as being these big, large, hulking animals, and this would be something more like a small deer-sized animal today. Not the most flashy animal in the environment, but at the time would have been a fairly common animal out there," he said.

While it likely walked on two feet, Boyd said, it didn't have flashy horns or armor and likely was at the base of the food chain.

Scientists said Minimocursor phunoiensis likely lived during the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Boyd said the find is exciting because "we don't have a good fossil record, from anywhere in the world, let alone Southeast Asia," from that time period.

The dinosaur, found in the Phu Noi area of the Phy Kradung formation in 2012, is the first to be named for the place scientists said "contains a wealth of specimens." The formation is "one of the richest Southeast Asian non-marine vertebrate bone-beds," according to the paper, and researchers from the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre of Mahasarakham University and the Sirindhorn Museum have been working in the area for a decade.

The specimen, which was more than 50% complete, is now at the university.

Old Crow site will receive heritage designation on July 27

Story by The Canadian Press • Wednesday



One of the earliest trading posts in the territory will receive heritage designation on July 27.

Gindèhchik, also known as Rampart House, is located on the Porcupine River. It long served as a gathering place for Vuntut Gwitchin citizens who hunted and trapped in the area. In the late 1800s, the Hudson’s Bay Company began using it as a trading post.

Rebecca Jensen, manager of Yukon Historic Sites, says Gindèhchik is notable for being an early point of contact between settlers and the First Nation.

“(Here), families interacted with fur traders, explorers, missionaries, government officials, who then really had profound impacts on the livelihood, the wellbeing and the lives of the Gwitchin people and impacts to their culture,” Jensen says.

She says the site is also interesting for its location on the border between Canada and the U.S. It offers an early example of how the relationship between the two countries developed, and how that border impacted the Vuntut Gwitchin, who had always moved freely through the area before artificial borders were imposed.

“After Alaska was purchased, there was a real interest to try and firmly delineate the boundary between the U.S. and Canada, and especially with trying to figure out where the Hudson Bay posts were,” she says.



That led to the creation of one of the first more permanent settler villages, with the site expanding to include a church, rectory and homes for residents such as Archie Linklater, Amos Njootli and more.

Heritage features at the site include a number of standing and collapsed buildings, as well as the outlines of locations where campsites once were.

Jensen says certain buildings have needed more intense restoration work than others, including the log-by-log dismantling and rebuilding of some. Others are being left as relics. All, she says, are stabilized and cared for, so even if they’re not prioritized for full restoration, prevention of further deterioration is key.

Jensen says it’s hard to say how many people visit the site annually because it’s only staffed four weeks out of each year, but people on river trips frequently visit the site.

On July 27, visitors will include people coming by boat and helicopter from both Old Crow, Fort Yukon and Whitehorse.

They’ll attend a signing ceremony for the updated management plan of both Gindèhchik and the nearby Zheh Gwatsàl (LaPierre House). Located on the Bell River, Zheh Gwatsàl already has heritage designation. Both sites are co-owned by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and the Yukon Government.

Amy Kenny, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News

DISCOVERY OF CLOVIS PEOPLES IN OLD CROW 

Ruins uncovered near Vatican believed to be Emperor Nero’s theater

"What an artist dies with me!"

Nero, the emperor of Rome from AD 54 until AD 68, reportedly uttered those famous last words before his death in exile. Experts believe he may have left behind evidence of his love of the arts in the form of a theater he built near what today is the Vatican.

An archaeological excavation carried out in the courtyard of the frescoed Palazzo della Rovere has brought to light structures and decorations that experts say could be the remains of that theater.

The archeological site at the Palazzo della Rovere is seen.© Phoebe Natanson/ABC News

Daniela Porro, the special superintendent of Rome, said Wednesday this "exceptional" discovery is believed to be where Nero rehearsed poetry and musical performances, a place mentioned in Roman writings, but until now never located.

Archaeologists have been working on the site since 2020 and say they've found part of the hemicycle-shaped seating section, along with elegant columns in precious and valuable marbles, refined decorations in gold-leaf on stucco and storage rooms for costumes and scenery.

A table with artifacts is seen at the dig site.© Phoebe Natanson/ABC News

The dig, which was carried out in a circumscribed area within the walls of the grand palazzo, situated on Via della Conciliazione, just a few steps from St. Peter's Square, also gifted other rich historical findings. These include the possible remains of the Horti di Agrippina, which is where Caligula built a large circus for horse racing, as well as traces of the production and pilgrimage activities from the medieval age and even artifacts from the 15th century.

MORE: From fossils discovered in Mongolia to 19th century shipwrecks, some of the biggest discoveries of the year

Archaeologists say they're particularly thrilled to have found rare specimens of medieval glass goblets, cooking pots to make bread in, coins, bits of musical instruments and combs made from bone, "tools" used to make rosary beads and small insignia of medieval Christian devotion worn on pilgrims' clothing.

Archeologist and medieval history expert Ilaria de Luca displays items found at the excavation site.© Phoebe Natanson/ABC News

Archaeologist Marzia Di Mento, who is in charge of the dig, says that the findings will take years to study.

"It is a superb dig, one that every archaeologist dreams of…..being able to dig in this built-up historically-rich area is so rare," she told reporters.

Artifacts found at the excavation site are stored in containers.© Phoebe Natanson/ABC News

Archeologists say work is still in progress to study, catalogue and analyze all the findings before the area will be covered over for protection and the grand palazzo and garden restored to its original Renaissance grandeur.

MORE: Archeologists find ancient tomb of temple guard near Giza Pyramids

Part of the building will become a Four Seasons hotel that is expected to open in 2025.

Local officials say the artifacts will be put on display and all the dig's findings put in a city-run public databank to add to the wealth of information gathered over the years on life in Rome throughout the centuries.

Swordfish missing circle-shaped chunks of flesh hauled in by fishers. What bit it?

Fishers hauled in a swordfish (Xiphias gladius) covered in dozens of cookiecutter shark bites.

 Courtesy of TK Walker (screenshot from YouTube)

Fishers in Australia have hauled in a swordfish covered in dozens of strange, circular wounds following a shark "pack attack."

Tony "TK" Walker and his crew were fishing off the northeastern coast in the Coral Sea when they reeled in the large fish and soon identified the wounds as cookiecutter shark bites. 

"The cookie cutter sharks have had a go at this guy," Walker, a former commercial fisher from New Zealand, wrote in a Facebook post on July 19. "Must've been a pack attack, they made more than a snack out of him, that's for sure."

The swordfish (Xiphias gladius) was alive when the fishers hauled it onto their boat, but the bites were oozing blood, and the creature died shortly afterwards. As shown in a video on Walker's YouTube channel, the wounds were fresh, suggesting the attack occurred minutes before the mutilated swordfish was reeled in. 

Related: Shark bites man wading in waist-high water off South Carolina beach resort 

Although he regularly catches fish with cookiecutter shark bites, Walker said he'd never seen one so badly mauled. "We see these bites daily and often the fish will have three or four fresh bites and plenty of healed or semi-healed bites," he told Newsweek. But in 40 years of fishing, Walker had "never seen an attack like that."

Cookiecutter sharks (Isistius brasiliensis) are some of the weirdest sharks lurking in the ocean. They are named after their cookie cutter-shaped jaws, which they use to latch onto prey before spinning to scoop out a chunk of flesh, according to the Australian Museum.

These alien-looking sharks only grow to around 20 inches (50 centimeters) long, but they terrorize animals of all sizes, mostly around the coast of Australia and Tasmania. They are known to attack animals much larger than themselves, including great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), whales, orcas (Orcinus orca) and even humans. In 2009, the first and only known cookiecutter shark attack on a human took place off the coast of Hawaii, when a long-distance swimmer was bitten on the chest and left calf. 

"They race in while the fish is cruising along and just bite a chunk of meat out," Walker, who founded the company TK Offshore Fishing, told Newsweek. The sharks then dart off with their prize, leaving their prey no time to react, he added. "I would imagine it would be like mosquitoes buzzing around for the large swordfish and tuna."

Cookiecutter sharks may also lure their prey closer by posing as smaller fish, according to the Australian Museum. Their bellies are dotted with light-producing organs called photophores that make them invisible to creatures swimming below them. Only a dark-pigmented collar that lacks photophores stands out against the light that shines through the water from above, which may look like a little fish to other predators and entice them to attack. The cookiecutter shark then ambushes and latches onto the larger predator to remove a disk of its flesh.

Cenovus Energy cuts production outlook due to impact from wildfires, profit slumps

Story by Reuters • 

A warning sign is pictured near well heads that inject steam into the ground and pump oil out at the Cenovus Energy Christina Lake SAGD project south of Fort McMurray

© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) -Oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy Inc reported a 64% fall in second-quarter profit on Thursday, and lowered total production outlook for 2023 as wildfires in Canada's main oil producing province Alberta forced companies to curtail output.

Benchmark Brent crude averaged $79.92 a barrel in the second quarter, nearly 28% lower than a year earlier, pressured by the banking crisis and fears of a looming recession.

Some oil and gas companies in Alberta were also forced to re-curtail output as record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation led to an intense, early start to the wildfire season in western Canada this year.

The fires caused more than 30,000 people to abandon their homes while oil and gas producers shut in at least 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), or 3.7% of national production.

Cenovus lowered its 2023 upstream production outlook to between 775,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and 795,000 boepd, from its earlier forecast of 790,000 boepd and 810,000 boepd.

The company had said in May about 85,000 boepd of production, primarily dry gas, had been impacted in the company's Rainbow Lake, Kaybob-Edson, Elmworth-Wapiti and Clearwater operating areas.

Quarterly upstream production fell 4.2% to 729,900 boepd from 762,000 boepd a year earlier due to the impact of wildfire and planned maintenance.

The Canadian energy firm reported downstream throughput of 538,000 barrels per day (bpd), about 18% higher than a year earlier, as volumes ramped up after work was restarted at the Superior and Toledo refineries.

The company's net debt stood at C$6.4 billion as of June 30.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company reported a net income of C$866 million ($657.41 million), or 44 Canadian cents per share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with C$2.43 billion, or C$1.19 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected reported earnings per share of 41 Canadian cents.

($1 = 1.3173 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Arshreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

 TC Energy Corp. will split into two separate companies spinning off its liquids pipelines business.

CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. says it will split into two separate companies by spinning off its liquids pipelines business.

The Calgary-based pipeline giant says its board of directors has approved the plan, which comes as the result of a two-year strategic review.

Following the transaction, TC Energy will focus on natural gas infrastructure as well as nuclear, pumped hydro energy storage and new energy opportunities.

The new liquids pipeline business will focus on enhancing the value of the company's existing 4,900 kilometres of crude oil pipelines.

The company says the transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024.

The new liquids pipeline business will be publicly traded and will be headquartered in Calgary, with an office in Houston, Texas.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

The Canadian Press

IEA says coal use hit an all-time high last year — and global demand will persist near record levels

Story by Anmar Frangoul • CNBC

The IEA said 10,440 terawatt hours were generated from coal in 2022.

That figure accounted for 36% of the planet's electricity generation.

A fossil fuel, coal's use has a substantial impact on the environment.

Freight trains loaded with coal in China on Jan. 12, 2022. According to the IEA, coal consumption hit a record high last year

Coal consumption increased by 3.3% to hit a fresh record high of 8.3 billion metric tons in 2022, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

According to the Paris-based organization's Coal Market Update, demand increased "despite a weaker global economy, mainly driven by being more readily available and relatively cheaper than gas in many parts of the world."

Overall, the IEA said 10,440 terawatt hours were generated from coal in 2022, a figure that accounted for 36% of the planet's electricity generation.

Looking ahead, the IEA said coal consumption in 2023 would remain near last year's record levels.

Geographically, the picture in 2023 is mixed. "By region, coal demand fell faster than previously expected in the first half of this year in the United States and the European Union — by 24% and 16%, respectively," the IEA said in a statement accompanying its report.

"However, demand from the two largest consumers, China and India, grew by over 5% during the first half, more than offsetting declines elsewhere," it added.

Coal is a fossil fuel. Its use has a substantial impact on the environment, with environmental organization Greenpeace describing it as "the dirtiest, most polluting way of producing energy."

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, meanwhile, lists a range of emissions related to the burning of coal, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen oxides.

"Coal is the largest single source of carbon emissions from the energy sector, and in Europe and the United States, the growth of clean energy has put coal use into structural decline," Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA's director of energy markets and security, said Thursday.

"But demand remains stubbornly high in Asia, even as many of those economies have significantly ramped up renewable energy sources," he added.

Going forward, Sadamori said "greater policy efforts and investments" were needed in order to "drive a massive surge in clean energy and energy efficiency to reduce coal demand in economies where energy needs are growing fast."

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal approves $23B First Nations child welfare settlement

OTTAWA — The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has approved a $23.4-billion settlement agreement for First Nations children, youth and families harmed by the federal government's underfunding of child welfare services.

"According to the parties, this is the largest compensation settlement in Canadian history and it now includes a commitment from the Minister of Indigenous Services to request an apology from the Prime Minister," the decision, released Wednesday, reads.

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, has been negotiating the settlement alongside the Assembly of First Nations.

While compensation is important, justice will only be achieved once discrimination stops and effective measures are put in place so it doesn't happen again, Blackstock said in a release.

"The tribunal called Canada’s discrimination 'wilful and reckless' and a 'worst-case scenario' because it separated children unnecessarily from their families and created other serious harms – including the tragic deaths of some children."

The latest settlement comes more than 15 years after the two organizations jointly launched a human-rights complaint that sparked a years-long legal battle with Ottawa.

The 2007 complaint revolved around allegations that Ottawa's underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services amounted to discrimination, and that First Nations children were denied equal access to support including school supplies and medical equipment.

The tribunal eventually ruled in the complainants' favour, setting off a range of lawsuits, appeals and proposed settlements.

Last year, Ottawa offered to spend $20 billion to reform the child-welfare system and another $20 billion on compensation, but the tribunal rejected the proposal and raised concerns that not all eligible claimants would receive compensation.

The new deal included an extra $3 billion to compensate another 13,000 people and made other amendments both sides hoped would satisfy the tribunal's concerns.

On Wednesday, the tribunal announced that the additional measures met the bar.

Those who qualify for the settlement will receive at least $40,000, with some receiving more, as the government has agreed to pay interest on the payments.

"Complete justice will be achieved when systemic racial discrimination no longer exists. The compensation in this case is only one component," the decision reads.

"The tribunal, assisted meaningfully by the parties, has always focused on the need for a complete reform, the elimination of the systemic racial discrimination found and the need to prevent similar practices from arising. This continues to be the tribunal's focus."

Blackstock thanked First Nations leadership and experts, along with a long list of Indigenous groups and lawyers for their work on the file.

"Let’s finish the job by ending the discrimination and raising the first generation of First Nations children that do not have to recover from their childhoods."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Shinjiro Atae comes out as gay as Japan faces pressure to pass pro-LGBTQ+ legislation

Story by By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN 

Japanese pop star Shinjiro Atae announced that he is gay on Wednesday – a bold move for such a public figure in Japan, a the country still does not recognize same-sex unions.

According to a press release sent to CNN, Atae hosted a fan event where he shared his news through a “moving speech,” and was met with rousing applause and support from the 2,000 attendees who were present.

“Today was a very special day for me,” Atae wrote in a post on his Instagram page on Wednesday after the event, adding that after years of struggling to accept this part of himself, “I finally have the courage to open up to you about something. I am a gay man.”

His post continued, “It has taken me a long time to be able to say I am gay. I could not even say it to myself. However, I’ve come to realize it is better, both for me, and for the people I care about, including my fans, to live life authentically than to live a life never accepting who I truly am.”

Atae accompanied his announcement with the release of a new single, “Into the Light,” the proceeds of which, in part, will be donated to Pride House Tokyo – Japan’s first permanent LGBTQ+ center – and LGBTQ+ youth organization ReBit.

Known today for his solo music, Atae was previously a member of the co-ed Japanese super-group AAA (Triple A) for over a decade. The group originally debuted in 2005 when Atae was just 14.

The news of Atae’s coming out comes at a tenuous time in Japan, as the country faces increasing pressure from other Group of Seven (G7) nations to allow same-sex marriage.

Japan is the only G7 nation that doesn’t recognize either same-sex civil unions or same-sex marriage, and despite passing a bill last month to promote understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, many critics say the legislation doesn’t provide any human rights guarantees and might ultimately encourage discrimination.

For his part, Atae hopes his announcement helps others, writing on Wednesday that he hopes “people who are struggling with the same feeling will find courage and know they are not alone.”