CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
N.W.T. First Nation accuses head of economic development arm of diverting millions

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

N.W.T. First Nation accuses head of economic development arm of diverting millions© Provided by The Canadian Press

YELLOWKNIFE — A Northwest Territories Supreme Court justice has ordered that Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation companies be put in the care of a receiver-manager as the First Nation accuses the head of its business arm of misappropriating millions of dollars through self-dealing.

The First Nation and Chief James Marlowe filed suit against Ron Barlas, his wife, Zeba Barlas, and several companies last week, accusing Barlas of oppression, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and fraud. In court documents, they allege that Barlas, through "duplicity, threats and legal manoeuvring," had "illegally seized control" of the First Nation's companies and diverted an estimated $10 to $14 million from them to companies controlled by him and his wife over several years.

Barlas, who has been chief executive officer of Denesoline Corporation Ltd. since 2014, has denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement he plans to challenge the claims. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation has approximately 800 members and about 350 people are estimated to live in the remote community on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

Denesoline Corporation is the economic development arm of the First Nation and is responsible for business negotiations and management of various joint ventures. Its primary source of revenue comes from contracts with the three diamond mines in the territory, with which the First Nation has agreements.

Marlowe and the First Nation allege that since being hired as chief executive officer of Denesoline, Barlas has taken control of Ta'egera Company Ltd., a real estate holding corporation, and Tsa Corporation, a non-profit that owns Denesoline and Ta'egera, through invalid means. They allege these companies are no longer being operated for the benefit of First Nation members, they lack proper governance and oversight, and Tsa has not held an annual general meeting since 2019.

They further allege three companies — Northern Consulting Group Inc., Equipment North Inc., and Dene Aurora Environmental Technologies Inc. — are "alter-egos" of Barlas and his wife. They allege that these companies perform no independent work and have been used to divert and hold funds and assets that rightfully belong to the First Nation. In particular, the suit claims a joint venture between Denesoline and Northern Consulting Group was created to divert 49 per cent of revenues generated by Denesoline from other joint venture contracts, which they allege Barlas concealed from Tsa members.

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Other allegations the First Nation has made against Barlas include that Ta'egera purchased his family's home in Yellowknife, Equipment North bought an aeroponic farm that Barlas sold to Denesoline for $140,000 in profit but sent it to a former colleague in B.C. rather than Lutsel K'e, and that Denesoline paid $40,000 for renovations to a property owned by Equipment North in Yellowknife as well as $15,000 in monthly rent to the company.

Barlas has denied any wrongdoing and said the affidavits filed in support of the First Nation's suit contain "numerous false, unfounded or misleading allegations." He stated in his own affidavit that no funds have been diverted to companies owned and controlled by him or his family, full disclosure has been provided to Tsa members and he purchased his home with his own money.

"I have never taken funds which belong to the community, I have never taken steps to take over control of the corporations," he wrote.

Barlas said in an affidavit that Denesoline is the only Indigenous community-owned company to have no debts, has been awarded a Canadian Business Excellence Award annually from 2019 to 2023 and provides significant benefits to the community. In it, he also included an email attributed to former Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation chief Darryl Marlowe stating Barlas had "done more for the community of Lutsel K'e than anyone over the past 10 years" and that all of his agreements were signed lawfully.

The First Nation and its current chief applied to the court last week for an interim order appointing Riley Farber Inc., a business advisory firm with offices in Calgary, as receiver-manager of Denesoline, Tsa and Ta'egera while litigation proceeds. They also requested an interim Mareva injunction, which allows the court to freeze the assets of a defendant, to prevent the respondents from potentially dissipating funds or destroying evidence. They expressed concern that a large payment was pending to Denesoline, arguing there was "serious risk" those funds could be diverted.

An affidavit from Angela Bigg, president and chief executive officer of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., indicates that a total of $13.5 million was due to Denesoline-related entities by the end of April and further invoices totalling $6 million are expected in the coming weeks.

Deputy Justice William Grist granted both orders on Friday, which he said were "extraordinary," noting there was "some urgency" given the significant funding due.

The temporary orders are subject to review. The Maerva injunction order states it will cease to have effect if Barlas provides the court $9 million in financial security.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Emily Blake, The Canadian Press

END OF TWO DECADE DROUGHT

Leafs amazed by home support as playoff run continues
Story by Lance Hornby • Yesterday 
Toronto Sun

The crowds are going wild in Maple Leaf Square and all over the city as the Leafs continue their playoff campaign, and Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov can’t get enough. “Just huge. So nice,” he said.

 Chris young/THE CANADIAN PRESS© Provided by Toronto Sun

After Ilya Samsonov helped secure Game 6 on Saturday in Tampa Bay, his wife sent him some video of the party scenes back home that the overtime win had sparked.

They included the thousands reacting in real time in Maple Leaf Square, the honking horns and Leaf flags in the streets. People climbing light poles on Bremner Boulevard.

“Just huge, so nice” said the Russian goaltender. “She said it was so loud after we won and because we live downtown, our baby (one-month-old son Miroslav) is almost waking up.”

After their own emotional scene on the ice and in the visitors’ room at Amalie Arena, other Leafs caught clips of the celebrants. Morgan Rielly had been told to expect this whenever the team got past the first round, but it took 10 years. For impatient revellers it had been 19 seasons.

“To win one is like a breath of fresh air,” the defenceman said. “We all knew pretty quickly what was happening here, because we had friends in the Square. It’s so cool. We feel so lucky to have this kind of support and don’t take it for granted. It makes you want to win more for them.”

Another veteran blueliner Luke Schenn, whose first stint in Toronto as a young draft pick had no playoff series, had now been in two Cup parades in Tampa, but wants to keep the streets filled post-game here.

“That was wild, all the fans holding up jerseys,” he said. “Seemed like it brought a ton of people a lot of joy. People have been waiting for that a long time.

“It kind of brings people closer together. We have some who probably grew up talking about the history of the Leafs with their parents or grandparents and friends. That’s what you want sports to be.”

Samsonov came home Sunday and stepped out to dinner with a couple of Russian-speaking Marlies where he was quickly recognized by a few fans.

“They said ‘congrats, good job boys’. I know how important the first round is for this city.”

lhornby@postmedia.com

How encrypted Victorian newspaper personal ads shaped fiction like Sherlock and Enola Holmes

Story by Nathalie Cooke, Professor of English and Associate Dean (McGill Library), McGill University  Jacquelyn Sundberg, Outreach Librarian, McGill Library, McGill University

 • Yesterday THE CONVERSATION

How familiar are you with the Victorian-era newspaper feature known as the Agony Column? You are likely familiar with its methods and central plot lines, even if you don’t know what it is!

Anonymous personal advertisements made up the Agony Column in the mid- to late- 19th century. Authors of these advertisements sometimes coded them using different kinds of numbered ciphers and pseudonyms.

Although the Agony Column no longer exists as it did in the 19th century, our research has documented how private messages on this public forum have had an enduring impact on fiction, entertainment and popular culture.
Power of encryption

Encryption gave authors writing personal messages the ability to share private messages in a public forum. Personal dramas unfolding there day after day meant the Agony Column was widely popular in 19th-century English newspapers.

In 1881, a book was published about these private messages, in which editor Alice Clay wrote:

“Most of the advertisements … show a curious phase of life, interesting to an observer of human existence and human eccentricities. They are veiled in an air of mystery … but at the same time give a clue unmistakable to those for whom they were intended.”


Nearly all original and modern reworkings of Sherlock Holmes contain a plethora of newspaper codes to crack, harkening to the Agony Column.© (Shutterstock)
Longing, tragedy and the everyday

Advertisements written by individuals from across the British Empire were dubbed “the agonies” by 1853 because they were full of longing, tragedy and profound misfortune shadowing the Victorian domestic everyday. They occupied prime real estate in the second column on the front page of The Times.

Messages featured voices of desperate parents, forlorn lovers and savvy detectives. Many were published anonymously or under pseudonyms, making it impossible for most readers to know who wrote them.

As interest grew, the private was increasingly made public. Readers not only followed the episodic narratives, but also worked to crack the most puzzling codes and ciphers.

Detectives and amateur enthusiasts alike followed the drama of the agonies. As Stephen Winkworth wrote in Room Two More Guns: the Intriguing History of the Personal Column of the Times, the Agony Column became “more a meeting-place than a market-place and a forum where national quirks and characteristics can be expressed, where lovers can make their rendezvous and lost causes can be proclaimed.”

Fascination shaped novels

During the Victorian era, fascination with the Agony Column shaped both newspapers and novels.

Elements of sensational stories like the Constance Kent Road Hill House murder from front-page news began to appear in novels like Lady Audley’s Secret.

Original and modern reworkings of Sherlock Holmes contain a plethora of newspaper codes to crack. In the 2020 Netflix film adaptation of Enola Holmes, based on Nancy Springer’s novels, Sherlock Holmes’ case-cracking younger sister, Enola, communicates with her missing mother via ciphers.

Far beyond Sherlock and spinoffs, many popular films have had their plots advanced by the personal columns in the newspaper: movies like Ghost World (2001), Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) and Desperately Seeking Susan (1985).

Comparing novels and ‘the agonies’

We explore this cultural fascination in the exhibition News and Novel Sensations online through the McGill Library.

This includes access to two data sets: Our research team scraped 650,000 sentences from the Agony Column of The Times between 1860 and 1879, and over 25 million words from a corpus of 220 Victorian novels from 1800 to 1920.

Both datasets are available for anyone to explore and download on the project webpage. This will be a valuable resource for those studying the Victorian era and print history.

We will use both computational analysis of those data sets, and close reading, to continue to explore ways newspapers and the Agony Column featured in and shaped Victorian novels and Victorian readers’ experiences.

Victorian detective’s perspective


1874 image from ‘Figaro’s London Sketchbook of Celebrities,’ showing Ignatius Pollaky.© (Lindsay Scrapbook/Ohio State University, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum)

While the agonies and coded advertisements have captured some time in the spotlight thanks to the popularity of film productions of Sherlock and Enola Holmes, understanding just how popular or influential they were on Victorian society is difficult today.

Visitors to the website can explore some of the encrypted stories of The Times in a few unexpected ways, and gain a firsthand glimpse of another era’s print media.

Ignatius Pollaky, the so-called real-life Sherlock Holmes, was known for advertising his own business in the Agony Column and for inserting mysterious notes and messages in the newspaper relating to his cases.

We created a game as part of the exhibit called Pollaky’s Agonizing Adventure. The game allows visitors to track coded clues in the agony columns by following fictionalized detective case notes.

Visitors can experience how the agonies were embedded in the emerging world of detective practice, and experience how the agonies made communicating private messages and plans possible in the public medium of the newspaper.



The front page of ‘The Times’ as the player sees it in an online exhibit game, Pollaky’s Agonizing Adventure, designed to teach tracking coded clues in the Agony Columns.© (Jacquelyn Sundberg and Nathalie Cooke)
Changing vocabulary

Do you write like a Victorian? How far has our vocabulary shifted since that time? Our research team created the Victorian Vibecheck to allow visitors to create period-appropriate text.

Vibecheck quantifies how rarely, if ever, words in a given text appear in our corpus of more than 450 Victorian novels. The program then gives you a score based on whether it over- or under-uses words.

Visitors can enter their own text or choose from a list of examples to see if they can approximate a Victorian vibe.

How closely do Victorian novels resemble the agonies, or does our own language resemble the Victorians’? We invite visitors to explore for themselves.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:
How 19th-century Victorians’ wellness resolutions were about self-help — and playful ritual fun

Spirit photography: 19th-century innovation in bereavement rituals was likely invented by a woman

Jacquelyn Sundberg received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Nathalie Cooke receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

STONE O' SCONE IS A ROUGH ASHLER
The Stone of Destiny has a mysterious past beyond British coronations
Story by Ronan O’Connell • Yesterday
National Geographic

Prince Andrew steps off a dais on which rests the Stone of Scone, or Stone of Destiny, during a ceremony to reinstall it at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. The sandstone slab has been used for British royal coronations for centuries, but its origins are shrouded in legend.© Photograph by Gary Doak, Camera Press/Redux

When Britain’s King Charles III is crowned in London on May 6, he’ll sit on an ancient chair housing a 335-pound boulder cloaked in mystery. Used for British coronations since the late 14th century, the Stone of Scone is of unknown origins and age.

Legend traces this rectangular slab to Palestine 3,000 years ago, but scientists believe it is likely from Scotland. The stone is among the most prized treasures of this nation, where it was long used to crown Scottish kings. Then in 1296, it was stolen by England.


The full moon rises behind Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle, where the Stone of Scone is kept when not used for British coronations.© Photograph by Jane Barlow, PA Images/Getty Images

Until 1996, when it was finally given back to Scotland, the stone resided at Westminster Abbey, where it is now reappearing for Charles’ grand coronation. Soon after, the boulder will return to its current home, Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle.

Tourists to this magnificent fortress, which looms above the city on a hilltop, can admire the stone in the castle’s Crown Room. Or they can kneel upon a replica at lavish Scone Palace, 33 miles north of Edinburgh, where the original was part of Scottish coronations for centuries.


Elizabeth II sits on the throne during her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, on June 2, 1953. Three years before the coronation, the Stone of Scone was stolen and taken to Arbroath Abbey, north of Edinburgh.© Photograph by Fox Photos, Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In Edinburgh, Scone, and Westminster, travelers form a fleeting connection with the enduring puzzle of an artifact that’s been stolen twice, damaged repeatedly, mythologized endlessly, and disputed for seven centuries.

Rock of legend


The Stone of Scone rests inside the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, where it has been used for royal coronations since the 14th century.© Photograph by Sean Dempsey, PA Images/Getty Images

One enduring myth gives the stone an even longer history. This legend states it was used as a pillow by biblical figure Jacob, more than three millennia ago, before being moved from Palestine to Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Ireland, where it was then seized by Celtic Scots.

But the Stone, which is made of sandstone, “cannot have been Jacob’s Pillow because that would have been limestone,” the bedrock of the Holy Land, says British archaeologist David Breeze, who co-authored the book The Stone of Destiny: Artefact and Icon.

After King Edward I conquered Scotland in 1296, he moved the stone to Westminster Abbey. “It was later fitted into King Edward’s chair, upon which all English and British sovereigns have been crowned since the end of the 14th century,” says British royal historian Tracy Borman.

(How did England’s ‘lost king’ end up beneath a parking lot?)

Stealing the stone

The last time the stone was brought out to exercise its crowning powers was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Yet it nearly missed that event thanks to a bizarre caper three years earlier, involving Scottish city Arbroath. The stone was stolen from Westminster, which has hosted every British coronation since 1066, and turned up at the 12th-century Arbroath Abbey, about 80 miles north of Edinburgh.

This extraordinary heist was not the work of professional thieves, says Borman. Instead, it was the crude work of four Scottish students. They broke into the iconic Westminster, dragged the stone across its floor, and then drove away with it.

“After some negotiation between the Scottish and English governments, it was brought back to London in time for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II,” Borman explains. “In 1996, amidst growing support for Scottish devolution, the then-U.K. prime minister, John Major, announced the stone would be kept in Scotland when not in use at coronations.”

(Why Elizabeth II was modern Britain’s most unlikely queen.)

Upon its return to Scotland, scientific research established the stone’s geology was local, says Dauvit Broun, professor of Scottish history at the University of Glasgow. “It has been suggested that it could be the same kind of stone as is found near Scone itself,” Broun notes.

Link to kings

Yet even cutting-edge science can’t fully decode the stone, says Ewan Hyslop, head of research and climate change at Historic Environment Scotland (HES). This month, the organization completed a study involving 3D modeling and X-ray examinations that provided further evidence that the boulder appeared to be from Scone. But Hyslop conceded they still didn’t “have all the answers.”

(Here’s how the spirit of ancient Stonehenge was captured with a 21st-century drone.)

Along with the stone’s provenance, mystery surrounds its earliest uses. Researchers have yet to pinpoint when it first became associated with coronations, says Kathy Richmond, head of collections and applied conservation at HES.

“But legends around its origin strongly link it with kingship and the emergence of Scotland as a nation,” she says. “Sources such as the Scotichronicon attest to inauguration ceremonies taking place at Scone from at least the late ninth century.”

Myth also etched a powerful message into the stone’s surface. The 14th-century Scottish chronicler John of Fordoun claimed that before it was seized by the English, it had been inscribed with these words: “As long as fate plays fair, where this Stone lies, the Scots shall reign.”

For many centuries, fate was harsh. But now the Stone of Scone again sits proudly in the cradle of Scotland’s finest castle, when not in London bathed in the reflected glory of a coronation.

Mysterious New Markings Have Appeared on the U.K.'s Ancient Stone of Destiny

Story by Tim Newcomb • Yesterday 

Strange new markings have appeared on the U.K.'s ancient Stone of Destiny. The stone will be used during King Charles III's coronation. What do the clues mean?

© SUSANNAH IRELAND - Getty Images

An ancient stone, housed in Scotland and dubbed the “Stone of Destiny,” has been used in the coronation of kings since around 840 AD.

The origins of the stone’s prominence remain unknown.

New research has revealed never-before-seen markings on the stone, which will be used during King Charles III’s coronation in May.

There’s a special stone used in the coronation ceremonies of monarchs in the United Kingdom. It’s been this way since around 840 AD. And now we have found, for the first time, hidden markings on the red sandstone slab that will be a part of King Charles III’s May coronation.

An oblong block 25 inches long, 15 inches wide, and about 10 inches thick, the stone’s earliest origins are a mystery. But it has long held a special place in the royal history of the United Kingdom, and is considered by many to be a sacred object.

Believed to have been moved to Scone about 840 AD by Kenneth I from western Scotland, this block—also called the Stone of Scone—became part of the coronation tradition for Scottish rulers. It didn’t remain in Scotland forever, though, as King Edward I of England pillaged it in 1296 and moved it to Westminster. It was officially returned to Scotland in 1996—with some theft now a part of it’s history—and is currently housed in Edinburgh Castle. It remains part of the United Kingdom’s coronation tradition, however, and Scotland has agreed to allow it to be used as part of the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey come May 6.

Due to the remaining ambiguity in the Stone of Destiny’s very early history, the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has renewed its investigation into the red slab ahead of the big royal event. Using a newly created 3D model, researchers now have access to fresh angles and details, showing off what appear to be Roman numerals on the stone’s surface for the first time.

“It’s very existing to discover new information about an object as unique and important to Scotland’s history as the Stone of Destiny,” Ewan Hyslop, head of research and climate change at Historic Environment Scotland, says in a news release. “The high level of detail we’ve been able to capture through the digital imaging has enabled us to re-examine the tooling marks on the surface of the stone, which has helped confirm that the stone has been roughly worked by more than one stonemason with a number of different tools, as was previously thought.”

Digital imaging done with the help of Engine Shed—Scotland’s national building conservation center—showed off cross bedding, something HES calls ”indicative of the geological conditions in which the sandstone was formed and which is characteristic of sandstone of the Scone Sandstone Formation.” Prior and current research likely places the geologic origin of the stone in the Scone Sandstone Formation, near Perth.

The scan also shows off various tooling marks, degradation, and signs of repair. The digital scan was turned into a 3D-printed replica, which also helps with the coronation chair preparations.

Those new markings, though—we just don’t know what they’re all about. “The discovery of previously unrecorded markings is also significant, and while at this point we’re unable to say for certain what their purpose or meaning might be,” Hyslop says, “they offer the exciting opportunity for further areas of study.”

Additional X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed copper alloy traces on the surface, meaning the stone was likely used to house some sort of bronze or brass object. The finding of microscopic traces of gypsum plaster means a cast of the stone could have once been made.

“We may not have all the answers at this stage,” Hyslop says, “but what we’ve been able to uncover is testament to a variety of uses in the Stone’s long history and contributes to its provenance and authenticity.”

CANADA/UNCEDED TERRITORIES OF BC

New virtual reality app puts user in the shoes of ecological destroyer

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

As individuals, it can be difficult to understand how one’s own seemingly innocuous actions can have such a calamitous effect on the environment. Especially when those actions, no matter how accumulative, are meagre compared to those of big corporations and companies.

So what if you could witness first-hand the devastation caused as a result of your own actions and decisions? What if you could see, directly in front of you, the flora and fauna ravaged at your own hands? Would it make you think differently? Take responsibility?

Unceded Territories, a facet of Vancouver Biennale’s mobile app, is a hybrid of game and activism art that is designed to force users to think about their own role in the destruction of the environment.

It is an extension of its Oculus-based, namesake VR experience that world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019, the brainchild of First Nations artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and VR filmmaker Paisley Smith.

Miriam Blume, producer of the app and director of the Vancouver Biennale, said Unceded Territories is a call to action to be more conscious of both environmental destruction and systemic racism.

“The message about the intersection of the environment, colonialism and Indigenous human rights … well, relevant doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she said. “It is an important message to bring to the world, and when you can do that through art, that is a really important and special thing.”

The game begins by transporting its user to a beautiful and verdant landscape, with flourishing greenery and sparkling waters brought to life via Yuxweluptun’s vibrant, surrealist artwork. Orcas splash in the ocean nearby as wildlife flits between the trees.

A spirit bear appears as a warning of the user’s perilous role but it is too late, they have already become the villain. An ominous drumbeat by The Halluci Nation amplifies as the user drains the environment of its resources, shattering the picturesque scene until all that remains is the skeletons of wildlife and a forest aflame.

“You’re too greedy, leave it alone” a voice booms over the quickening drums. “Can’t you see you’re hurting Mother Earth?”

It is provocative and confrontational, a not-so-subtle representation of the environmental chaos mankind is wreaking on the planet.

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Yuxweluptun said he made Unceded Territories to force audiences to recognize their role in the destruction of the environment by having them embody the greedy Super Predator.

He said he wants the user to feel the anger of the Indigenous communities who have watched their lands be put in peril, to fight for change.

“Are we that different than the pipeline executives sacrificing Mother Earth for their own wealth?” he said.

While by now we shouldn’t need an app to be made aware of the effects of environmental degradation, Vancouver’s own changing weather and recent wildfires is enough evidence of that alone, it does provide a more accessible way for people of all ages and backgrounds to engage.

“If we can engross a school child that is otherwise not interested in textbooks or traditional learning, or adults who think it’s a conversation that they don’t need to engage in, then we have succeeded, and Lawrence’s art activism does that so beautifully, and so poignantly,” she said.

“The idea of bringing Unceded Territories onto an app gave the project more extensibility. It allowed us to bring the artwork to where the audience was, and the audience is on their phone,” she said.

Vancouver Biennale’s founder and president Barrie Mowatt said the app, “in a playful way,” re-emphasizes how history has “gone wrong.”

He said it’s high time we all confronted our history, and took the time to realize that there is much to learn from the Indigenous communities who are more connected to, and thus have a greater respect for, the land.

“That land shouldn’t be used to amass wealth or to enhance their lifestyles, but for survival and collaboration, communication and connection,” he said.

The interactive experience is available through the Vancouver Biennale app, available on iOS and Android. Visit the VB website for more information and to download.

Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

MKerrLazenby@nsnews.comtwitter.com/MinaKerrLazenby

Mina Kerr-Lazenby, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ‘not planning’ to run for Senate seat in 2024

Story by Edward Helmore • Yesterday 

The Guardian

Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters© Provided by The Guardian

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will not run for a seat in the US Senate next year, according to her office, clearing the way for incumbent New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, to run for re-election unopposed by the progressive congresswoman.

“She is not planning to run for Senate in 2024. She is not planning to primary Gillibrand,” Lauren Hitt, Ocasio-Cortez’s spokesperson, told Politico.

Gillibrand, who launched her re-election campaign in January for a third Senate term, was widely believed to be facing a number of potential challengers in the state primary, including Ocasio-Cortez.

The announcement follows indications from other New York progressives, including Mondaire Jones, representatives Jamaal Bowman and Ritchie Torres, that they are not considering a challenge.

New York Democrats were hit hard in the midterm elections last year and the loss of four seats to Republican candidates is widely blamed for the party losing control of Congress. Avoiding an acrimonious left v progressive battle, and concentrating on recovering the 2022 losses, is considered the party’s political priority.

“I think it’s divisive. And unless you think you can win, it’s divisive unnecessarily,” Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York Democratic Party, told the outlet. “It’s using up resources we need to preserve for more coordinated work and the rest.”

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Camille Rivera, a New York-based progressive strategist, said that an intra- Democrat contest “could be pretty bruising and give a Republican a leg up”.

Signs of a deal between Ocasio-Cortez and Gillibrand came after rumors of a Senate seat challenge began to circulate last year. Gillibrand has faced criticism for her part in forcing former Senator Al Franken’s resignation, accepting donations from indicted crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried, and ties to Wall Street.

But Ocasio-Cortez’s staff’s choice of language – “not planning to run” is not the same as “not running”. Bronx representative Jamaal Bowman told the outlet he heard AOC’s name “weeks ago or months ago maybe” as a primary contender but hadn’t heard it since.

Ocasio-Cortez’s indication comes as high-profile progressives have said they’ll support Joe Biden’s re-election bid, despite misgivings about parts of his agenda. Ocasio-Cortez has said she “unequivocally” supports the party’s nominees.Since Biden’s re-election soft-launch on Tuesday, the sitting president has received endorsements from congressional progressive caucus leader Representative Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and squad members Ilhan Omar, Greg Casar and Delia Ramirez.

The endorsements come despite disquiet about Biden’s recent push to the middle on crime, energy policy and immigration.

“I think that people are looking at the incredible accomplishments, particularly the investments in climate change and equity, racial justice, and seeing that this is night and day from what anyone else has been able to do,” Jayapal told the Hill.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she’s “delighted” about Biden’s decision. “I’m in all the way,” she told the outlet.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who ran for the Democrat nomination against Biden in 2020, told CNN’s State of the Union Sunday: “If you believe in democracy, you want to see more people vote, not fewer people vote, I think the choice is pretty clear, and that choice is Biden.”

But Sanders leaned on Biden to be stronger on working-class issues, and urged the president and the party “to make it clear that we believe in a government that represents all, not just the few, take on the greed of the insurance companies, the drug companies, Wall Street, all the big money interests, and start delivering for working-class people.”

“You do that, I think Biden is going to win in a landslide,” Sanders added.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Energizer, Walmart sued for conspiring to raise battery prices

Illustration shows Walmart logo© Thomson Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Energizer Holdings Inc and Walmart Inc have been sued by consumers and retailers in three proposed class actions accusing them of conspiring to raise the prices of disposable batteries.

According to complaints filed on Friday, Energizer agreed "under pressure from Walmart" to inflate wholesale battery prices for other retailers starting around January 2018, and require those retailers not to undercut Walmart on price.

Walmart rivals allegedly risked higher wholesale prices or being cut off by Energizer, the largest U.S. disposable battery maker, if they charged less at checkout than Walmart, the world's largest retailer.

The scheme resulted in higher prices from Energizer and Berkshire Hathaway-owned Duracell, which together control 85% of the disposable battery market, that inflation and changes in demand could not explain, the complaints said.

Energizer had been trying to recover sales lost in 2013 when Walmart ended its exclusive battery contract with the retailer's Sam's Club unit, and created a team, Project Atlas, that worked to ensure Walmart's prices would be lowest, the complaints added.

Related video: Walmart CEO: Federal minimum wage should be raised (CNBC)

Duration 5:45   View on Watch

Walmart said it takes "allegations like this seriously and will respond in court as appropriate," in a statement to Reuters. Energizer did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Duracell is not a defendant.

The lawsuits, filed in federal court in San Francisco, seek unspecified compensatory and triple damages under federal and state antitrust laws and various state consumer protection laws. They also seek injunctions to block Energizer from tying battery sales to pricing, and require Energizer and Walmart to "dissipate" the effects of their anticompetitive conduct.

According to the plaintiffs, Energizer's share of the U.S. disposable battery market has risen to more than 50% from 40% in 2018.

The complaints quote an Energizer sales representative telling the chief executive of Walmart rival Portable Power Inc, which had been charging lower prices, on an early 2021 phone call why Energizer was cutting it off.

"She admitted that Energizer had adjusted its pricing policies at Walmart's request, telling him, 'This is 1000% about Walmart and wanting the best price,'" she was quoted as saying.

Portable Power is leading the retailers' lawsuit.

The cases in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, are: Copeland et al v Energizer Holdings Inc et al, No. 23-02087; Portable Power Inc v Energizer Holdings Inc et al, No. 23-02091, and Schuman et al v Energizer Holdings Inc et al, No. 23-02093.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Mike Scarcella in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Leslie Adler)

WILL HE WORK 996

Alibaba's Jack Ma turns up in Japan as college professor

Alibaba's Jack Ma turns up in Japan as college professor© Provided by The Canadian Press

TOKYO (AP) — Jack Ma, a cofounder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will be a visiting professor at Tokyo College, a research institute run by the prestigious University of Tokyo, the university said Monday.

Ma will carry out research in sustainable agriculture and food production, it said in a statement.

It said that Ma, who also heads his own Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization, will “share his rich experience and pioneering knowledge on entrepreneurship, corporate management and innovation,” with students and faculty.

Chinese regulators singled out Alibaba for scrutiny in a recent crackdown on technology and internet companies, having put the brakes on a planned initial public offering in 2020 of Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Group.

That came after he had criticized China’s regulators and financial systems in a speech in Shanghai. Ma kept a low profile for several years and traveled overseas before returning to China recently.

His appointment began Monday and runs through the end of October, the university said.

Tokyo College, founded in 2019, connects the University of Tokyo with researchers and institutions abroad, including Collège de France.

Its research focuses on themes such as the digital revolution, Japan viewed from within and outside, the humanities in 2050 and the value of life.

Ma founded e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China’s richest man.

He is well known in Japan as a friend of Masayoshi Son, the founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press

JACK MA'S WORKERS HOURS

Physicists Set New Quantum Record With Heaviest 'Schrödinger Cat' Yet

Story by Mike McRae • Yesterday -  ScienceAlert

Intense Grey Cat In Box

Atiny vibrating crystal weighing little more than a grain of sand has become the heaviest object ever to be recorded in a superposition of locations.

Physicists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich coupled a mechanical resonator to a type of superconducting circuit commonly used in quantum computing to effectively replicate Erwin Schrödinger's famous thought experiment on an unprecedented scale.

Ironically, Schrödinger would be somewhat skeptical that anything so large – well, anything at all – could exist in a nebulous state of reality.

Superposition states have no equivalent in our everyday experience. Watch a football drop, and you can track its rate of fall with a stopwatch. Its final resting position is as clear as day, and even how it spins in flight is obvious.

Should you close your eyes as it falls, there's no reason to think these states of location or behavior might be any different. Yet in quantum physics, features like position, spin, and momentum don't exist in any meaningful way until you see the ball resting on the ground.

Along with that other heavyweight of theoretical physics, Albert Einstein, Schrödinger wasn't exactly keen on interpretations of experiments that suggested particles lacked precise properties until an observation gave them one.

To show just how absurd the whole idea was, the Nobel-Prize-winning Austrian described a scenario where a particle's unobserved position was linked to the life of an unobserved cat.

Imagine, if you will, a particle randomly spat from a decaying atom, striking a Geiger counter, causing a vial of poison to shatter, instantly killing a cat. Since this all occurs inside a box, the events and their timing remain unobserved.

Going by what's known as the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum physics, the unseen system exists in a state of all possibilities until its final state is observed. The particle is both emitted and not-emitted. The Geiger counter is activated and not activated. The vial of poison is shattered and not shattered. And the cat is both alive and dead.

This mortal blur is virtually impossible to picture but is easily represented in the wave-like equation of Schrödinger's own devising.

Nearly a century on, Schrödinger's cat is no longer a joke. It's been observed not only in tiny particles but in entire molecules (not to mention in clusters of thousands of atoms). We can manipulate the box to ensure the cat never dies. We can even tinker with the setup to pull the cat apart. In fact, entire technologies are founded on the very principles of objects in states of superposition.

While no actual cats have ever been threatened by a quantum experiment – because, you know, ethics – the theory remains clear. Objects as large as cats, or indeed, humans, elephants, or even dinosaurs, can exist in states of superposition in the same way as electrons, quarks, and photons.

The mathematics leave little room for doubt, yet observing the effects of such a blurred existence on a large scale is a whole other story.

On the atomic level, a smear of unrealized fates can be seen using fairly rudimentary equipment. As the properties of objects grow, the fingerprints of superposition become harder to tease out experimentally.

In this latest experiment, a high-overtone bulk acoustic-wave resonator, or HBAR, served as a 16.2 microgram cat. What it lacked in whiskers and fish breath, it made up for in the fact it could hum across a short range of frequencies when powered by a current.

"By putting the two oscillation states of the crystal in a superposition, we have effectively created a Schrödinger cat weighing 16 micrograms," says senior author and ETH Zurich physicist Yiwen Chu.

For the roles of a radioactive atom, Geiger counter, and poison, the team used a transmon, a superconducting circuit that served as the experiment's power source, sensor, and superposition.

Hooking the two together allowed the researchers to set the HBAR into motion so that its oscillations quivered in two phases at once, a phenomenon that fed back into the transmon.

Just how big future experiments could go is an open question. On a practical front, pushing the limits of scale on superposition could lead to new methods for making quantum technology more robust or form the basis of ever-more sensitive tools for studying matter and the cosmos.

Fundamentally, there are still questions on what it means for matter to be in a superposition at all. Despite decades of advancement in making quantum mechanics more precise, there is still no clarity on why opening the box should make any difference to the fate of Schrödinger's cat.

Just what it means to turn a maybe into an actuality remains as much a mystery in particle physics as when Schrödinger dreamed up his preposterous idea of a cat that should not be.

This research was published in Science.

Canadian space technology firm still has sights set on moon after Japanese lander crash

Story by Chris Knight • National Post

A lunar rover mockup made by Clearpath Robotics tests a deep learning algorithm

© Provided by National Post

When the lunar lander from Japanese firm ispace crashed on the surface of the moon this week, it took with it the hopes of Canadian space technology company Mission Control Space Services. But not for long.

The Ottawa firm had partnered with ispace and with the space program of the United Arab Emirates to develop a deep-learning A.I. system for the UAE’s tiny Rashid rover. The rover, about the size of a microwave oven, was designed to operate for two weeks on the lunar surface, until the end of the moon’s long day.

Instead, it crashed and was presumed destroyed when the Hakuto-R mission made a hard landing on the lunar surface after running out of fuel during its final descent.

Ewan Reid, founder and CEO of eight-year-old Mission Control Space Services, said he was disappointed by the mission failure, but added that the company would continue to develop and deploy its deep-learning systems on future missions to the moon and, perhaps, Mars.

Japanese lunar lander apparently accelerated before crash, may have run out of fuel, ispace says

What time is it on the moon? One small step for lunar time

“It isn’t something that is a setback, it’s more in the category of a missed opportunity,” he told the National Post. “It wasn’t as if our technology failed and therefore we would have lost the trust of our customers. Rather we didn’t have a chance to validate the technology and cement the trust of our customers. So it wasn’t a setback, it was just not the step forward that we hoped it would be.”

He noted that the software and its Montreal-manufactured computer hardware were certified as operational just before the crash.

“We’re still the first to deploy deep learning A.I. in lunar orbit,” he said. “We are the first and only Canadian-owned company to actually deploy technology on a lunar rover mission.”

The company’s technology, called Spacefarer, would allow a rover to identify surface details that could then be transmitted back to Earth – saving bandwidth by, for instance, not sending data about the black sky above – or potentially to even navigate on its own, avoiding obstacles and seeking out areas of scientific interest. The moon, which got its first car in 1971 aboard Apollo 15, might one day join the Earth in having self-driving vehicles.

Reid is excited about potential Earth-orbit uses of the technology as well. A deep learning A.I. system could be used to filter out clouds from pictures taken from space, or automatically detect unregistered ocean vessels.

“Or understand exactly where a forest fire is, right away on board the spacecraft, and take a closer image to see where it could go next,” he said. “The list goes on and on of applications for deep learning in space.”

Even now, Mission Control Space Services’ algorithm is set to be beamed to OPS-SAT, a “flying laboratory” operated the European Space Agency, designed to test new techniques and technologies in low-Earth orbit.

“This is not going to stop us,” said Reid. “This is going to encourage us to keep trying and eventually to get it right and eventually land something softly on the moon and represent Canada in this new space era.”

He added that Mission Control Space Services already has plans for future missions, though he couldn’t yet go into specifics. But he pointed out that in the recent federal budget, Canada announced several billion dollars in space-related initiatives, including $1.2 billion over 13 years to develop a lunar utility vehicle to assist astronauts on the moon.

“Canada wants to be a major player in the new space economy, the new lunar economy, wants to be a runner in the space race,” said Reid. “And that’s extremely important for Canadian industry. With the support of the Canadian government, we can be leaders … We’re very well positioned to support a program like the lunar utility vehicle.”

He also told a story about the A.I. technology on the Rashid rover. Because his company tends to work with software rather than hardware, it doesn’t have much experience in creating part numbers for physical products. “We ended up having one of our employee’s daughter write the part number on that unit.”

When it comes to Canada’s future in space, then, the handwriting is on the wall. And on the moon.

Nokia plans to set up the first 4G cell network on the Moon later this year

Story by Scott Sutherland • The Weather Network

In planning for future lunar missions, NASA and Nokia have teamed up to deploy the first 4G communications network on the Moon.

In the years ahead, NASA has some ambitious plans for the Moon. Artemis II is expected to launch in November 2024, carrying 3 American astronauts and one Canadian on the first crewed lunar mission since 1972. Following that, Artemis III is scheduled for sometime in 2025. Using new technologies and sporting newly designed spacesuits, a team of astronauts will touch down near the Moon's south pole.

In the near term, these missions are intended as stepping stones for establishing the Lunar Gateway space station as a permanent human presence around the Moon. From there, Gateway will support further exploration of the lunar surface. In the long term, the station will also provide us with the knowledge necessary to send the first human missions to Mars.

However, for these plans to succeed, there needs to be a leap forward in space communication technology. To make that happen, NASA turned to Nokia.

In November 2023, SpaceX is expected to launch Intuitive Machines' IM-2 Nova-C lunar lander on a journey to touch down next to Shackleton crater, near the Moon's south pole. The primary mission of Nova-C is to extract a sample from a metre below the lunar surface to test for the presence of water ice. This will be the first attempt at extracting resources from the Moon. In addition, it will also release Lunar Outpost's M1 MAPP rover to roll around the landing site and perform a second 'first' for space exploration.

This artist's conception drawing shows what the Nova-C lander and M1 MAPP rover will look like at their landing site on the Moon. Credit: Nokia

As M1 MAPP roams about, part of its mission will be to deploy hardware designed by Nokia to establish a space-hardened, two-way 4G communications network with Nova-C.

Establishing the first 4G network on the Moon

Duration 0:39   View on Watch

"We are delivering a complete end-to-end LTE network that has multiple parts to it," Thierry E. Klein, the President of Bell Labs Solutions Research, said in a Nokia press release. "The first part is an LTE base station with integrated Evolved Packet Core network functionality." A wireless communication system with Evolved Packet Core, or EPC, is one that treats voice as the same as data on the network.

"It's integrated into a very small, ultra-compact form factor that will go on the lunar lander from our mission partner, Intuitive Machines, along with a passive antenna system," Klein explained. "The second part is the user equipment and an omni-directional antenna that will be integrated in a rover. The rovers will be transported to the lunar surface and autonomously deployed by the lunar lander. An LTE link will be established between the lander and the rover to provide lunar surface connectivity."



Nokia plans to set up the first 4G cell network on the Moon later this year© Provided by The Weather NetworkWhile this view may not be exactly what the M1 MAPP rover records as it rolls around, this simulation does show what the robot will need to track as it navigates and runs its tests — terrain, temperature, battery charge, rate of message delivery (throughput), and communication signal quality. Credit: Nokia

According to Klein, the purpose of using a rover is to test communications over a range of distances. The rover will stay within a few hundred metres of the lander to establish a short-range network. Then, it will drive between two and three kilometres away to test long-range communications.

Even though 4G is proven technology on Earth, putting a network on the Moon poses challenges over and above what we encounter here.

First, the equipment must be tough enough to survive both the vibrations and g-forces of the launch and the rigours of the landing. Second, there's the exposure to vacuum and the potential impact of cosmic rays on the electronics while on the lunar surface. Third, temperatures at the lunar south pole vary greatly between direct sunlight and shadow.



Nokia plans to set up the first 4G cell network on the Moon later this year© Provided by The Weather NetworkThis image of Shackleton crater, near the lunar south pole, was taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. On the left is how it appears to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), while on the right, data from LRO's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) reveals the interior of the perpetually-shadowed crater. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

While the rover will avoid travelling into the perpetually-shadowed craters in the region, a high crater edge or large boulder casts a long shadow at the south pole. Thus, a wrong turn or a poorly-planned route could plunge the rover into extreme cold conditions. Also, Nokia says that, even across the few centimetres thickness of their antennas, there could be a temperature difference of more than 100°C!

Additionally, the lunar environment and the properties of the lunar regolith may impose unique challenges and limitations on the hardware and on how radio waves propagate across the surface.

"The lessons learned from this first mission will be invaluable for future space exploration as well as for connectivity in remote parts of Earth," Nokia said on their website. "The long-term goal is to eventually deploy a permanent cellular network on the Moon so its future visitors – whether rovers, robots or humans – can easily communicate with voice, video and data applications. Our initial foray to the Moon is the first step toward connecting the far-flung corners of space."

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that this mission had an expected launch in late June of 2023 and named the Nova-C landing site as being near a crater named Malapert A. These details are for Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission. Nokia's lunar 4G network will be part of the IM-2 mission, which is expected to launch in November 2023 and land near Shackleton crater. These details have been corrected in the article above, and we apologize for any confusion.

Recalling Ranger 4, first U.S. spacecraft to land on another celestial body

On Monday, April 23, 1962, the Ranger 4 launched into space. Its mission was a part of NASA's unmanned Ranger program, which was created to get the first closeup images of the moon's surface.

The Ranger spacecraft was developed to capture images of the moon's surface and transmit them to Earth and then explode upon lunar impact.


Recalling Ranger 4, the first U.S. spacecraft to land on another celestial body© Provided by The Weather Network"Ranger IV satellite for use at the parade of progress show at the Public Hall Cleveland Ohio." Courtesy of NASA/Wikipedia

Ranger 1 launched in August 1961 and Ranger 2 launched in November of the same year. They both failed during the launch. Ranger 3 launched on Jan. 26, 1962, and missed the moon.

Ranger 4's mission is not considered "successful," but it did capture some footage of the moon's surface, and it was the United States' first spacecraft to reach another celestial body.

The mission failed because a computer onboard malfunctioned and didn't deploy the solar panels and navigation systems. The spacecraft ended up crashing on the far side of the moon and did not return any scientific data to Earth.

Ranger 7 was the first successful mission, launching on July 28, 1964. It transmitted images of the moon's surface to Earth.


Recalling Ranger 4, the first U.S. spacecraft to land on another celestial body© Provided by The Weather NetworkFirst image of the moon returned by a Ranger mission. Courtesy of NASA/Wikipedia

There were two more Ranger missions after the 7, and they were both successful. Ranger 9 was the program's final mission which launched in March 1965.

To learn about Ranger 4, listen to today's episode of This Day in Weather History

Thumbnail: Courtesy of NASA