Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #90 on: 2011-02-17 13:01:55 »
I've never understood which part of never connect your Intranet to the Internet the Federal Boffins don't get; and the IT community has been pointing this out for decades. Apparantly this is believed to be enabled through PDF files the rumour says.
Sigh
Fritz
Damage from cyber attack on financial records limited, Day says
Source: Vancouver Sun Author: Bradley Bouzane Date: 2011.02.17
OTTAWA — Financial records were among the targets of international hackers who infiltrated the computer systems of some federal government departments, but Treasury Board President Stockwell Day says the damage was limited.
Day said the security breach — which originated in China and forced both the Treasury Board and Finance Department to make adjustments to employees' online access while investigators determined the scope of the breach — was a strong one, but not the worst seen by the government.
"I wouldn't say it's the most aggressive (attack), but it was a significant one," Day said Thursday in Ottawa.
"They were going after financial records. Our alarm systems . . . went off in time and we were able to shut things down and protect information, but it shows we have to be constantly vigilant."
The attacks were believed to have started more than a month ago and Day said similar attacks are common for all governments and will likely happen again.
Day could not specify Thursday how long the hackers' window of opportunity was open to access government information, but said the breach will not have any impact on the upcoming federal budget.
"It slows down your internal operations for a while because we had to immediately shut down certain parts of the network . . . but those are all in the process of being reopened and the budget is on track," he said.
He said steady advancements by cyber attackers force authorities to stay on their toes to combat unauthorized network access that could put confidential information into the wrong hands.
"We have every reason to think attempts like this (will) continue — it's something all governments are subjected to," Day said following an address to the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.
"As technology increases, the hackers become more rigorous and more robust and it just means we have to continue to make sure our defences are in place."
The Communications Security Establishment of Canada, the country's electronic intelligence agency, is reportedly investigating the security breach.
Hacking attempt shows Ottawa lacking in cyber security
Source: Toronto Star Author: The Canadian Press Date: 2011.02.17
OTTAWA—An attack on federal government computer networks which has left employees in key departments without Internet access is a reflection of Ottawa's lack of attention to cyber security, says a global security expert.
A government spokesman confirmed late Wednesday that there has been an “unauthorized attempt” to access computer networks at Canada's Treasury Board.
Jay Denney, a spokesman for Treasury Board President Stockwell Day, said security officials have taken action against the threat in line with the government's security policy.
“There are no indications that any data relating to Canadians was compromised by this unauthorized attempt,” said Denney.
Experts believe similar attacks have been happening for years.
“This is probably more of a significant wake-up moment than anything else,” said Rafal Rohozinski, a senior scholar with the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
“If they had looked three years ago they probably would have seen similar kinds of breaches. It’s just that now they’re a lot more aware of it, and they’re starting to look for it, and they’re finding it.”
Rohozinski said between 10 and 12 per cent of all computers in Canada — including those belonging to governments, businesses and individuals — are infected at any given time.
“That’s a fairly significant number. Your computer and mine being infected at home may mean that we may lose some pictures, a few documents and emails.”
“But when it happens within government departments, obviously it becomes a lot more serious.”
He said the latest attack is a reflection of the lack of attention that the government has given to cyber security for a long time.
“When you look at the U.K. government, for example, spending or committing 600 million pounds (C$951 million) to cyber security last year, at a time of real cutbacks across governments, and the Canadian government only putting forward $90 million — there’s a really big difference ... in terms of how seriously the problem is being seen.”
Denney confirmed that employee access to the Internet has been limited at the Treasury Board for the time being, but said the government “has plans in place to prevent, minimize and address the impacts of cyber threats.”
Meanwhile, media reports said the attacks extended to the Finance Department, although a department spokesman referred all questions to the Treasury Board.
The reports cited sources saying the attacks have been traced to computer servers in China.
The reports said attackers infiltrated highly classified documents on computer systems as part of a scheme to steal key passwords that unlock entire government data systems.
Security experts have been warning Ottawa that its computer networks are vulnerable.
A team of researchers from the University of Toronto and Ottawa-based SecDev Group released a report in April 2010, documenting a complex cyber espionage system of Chinese hackers.
They warned the government must take urgent action on cyberspace security, or risk becoming the next victim of a targeted attack by hackers using social media like Twitter to glean secret government or corporate information.
Rohozinski, who is the CEO of SecDev Group, said cyber security is complex and it's difficult for politicians to ascertain the level of risk.
“It’s not a policy issue that's as easy to understand as child poverty, or Northern communities, or building a road.”
“Committing funds to it is considerable because the expertise is hard to source, hard to find, and the scale of the problem could be massive.”
The test now, he said, is what the government will do to prevent it from happening again.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #91 on: 2011-02-17 13:09:29 »
So sad
Cheers
Fritz
Bev Oda came clean. Not
Source: The Record.ca Author: Editorial Date: 2011.02.17
Of all the wounds the federal Conservatives have suffered during their five years in government, some of the deepest and most painful are self-inflicted. And the latest, and perhaps unkindest, cut of all into their credibility has come from International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda.
Through mismanagement and her own dubious conduct, Oda has turned a relatively minor funding decision affecting a group most Canadians have never heard of into a national controversy and huge embarrassment for the government.
Today many fair-minded Canadians who examine the facts will conclude this cabinet minister wrongly doctored a document and deliberately misled Parliament as well as the public. Today, many fair-minded — and non-partisan — Canadians will believe she must resign from cabinet. What has Oda to say?
In November 2009, the multi-faith foreign aid group KAIROS learned the Conservative government was pulling the plug on federal funding that had been granted for years. In this case, the government denied KAIROS $7 million.
Had Oda’s department offered a full and frank explanation of why the funding was cut when an explanation was first sought, the matter probably would have died. To be sure, members of many Christian churches that are part of KAIROS would have grumbled. Governments, however, generally don’t drop in the polls because of a single, $7-million decision.
But Oda and her department were neither frank nor accurate in explaining why the decision was made. Far from it.
Last March, Jim Abbott, Oda’s parliamentary secretary, told the House of Commons that the Canadian International Development Agency had decided that KAIROS “did not meet the agency’s current priorities” and should be denied federal funding. Seven months later, Oda herself gave the Commons the impression that it was the development agency that cancelled KAIROS’ support. And, in fact, there was a document that rejected the funding and bore not only Oda’s signature but those of two senior development agency officials.
Canadians now know such explanations and impressions, so carefully nurtured by Oda and her department, were untrue. In reality, the Canadian International Development Agency approved funding for KAIROS. In reality, the document signed by the two development agency officials originally gave the go-ahead for the $7-million grant. But the document was altered to give a completely false impression of their intention after someone crudely inserted the word “not” into it.
Last December, Oda appeared before a Commons committee and accepted responsibility for the funding cut. But when it came to the doctored document, Oda denied doing the doctoring or knowing who “wrote the not.” This week, Oda admitted: “The ‘not’ was inserted at my direction.”
Perhaps the phoney excuses, the confusion, the doctored document and the fingers of blame pointing at the development agency are the result of a badly run department. Perhaps chaos has engulfed Oda’s fiefdom and the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing. That would be bad enough.
But many Canadians will reasonably wonder whether Oda spun an elaborate web of misimpressions to deflect criticism for a problematic decision from herself onto innocent public officials. A week ago, House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken called the document tampering “very troubling.” So is this whole affair which need not have happened but now reflects badly on the entire Stephen Harper government.
The opposition parties are calling for Oda’s resignation. It is now incumbent on the minister to explain her actions thoroughly and completely, and prove why she should not step down.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #92 on: 2011-03-29 14:09:04 »
Well 'dropping the writ' has become a Canadian pass time. IN 5 weeks we will yet again be voting in a federal election.
1- How are we dealing with the Baby Boomers, which begin turning 65 this year ? 2- Will we stop selling off all our natural resources ? 3- When do we down size government and pay off the debt ? ; not just the short fall in the payments. 4- Are we going to review the excessive cost of bilingualism ? 5- Fragging for Natural gas and Tar sands need to be discussed nationally and the cost associated to the tax payers.
I haven't seen these on any political platform, by any party.
Sigh
Fritz
Election, 2011: They're off! - Message to ROC got through
Why is Josée Legault lamenting the growing divide between the rest of Canada and Quebec? Crocodile tears? Of course, and the reason is obvious.
For 35 years, Quebec has been telling the ROC to give up on the country and get lost. Well, guess what? They finally got the hint. They know when they're not wanted. The technique of the self-fulfilling prophecy has worked just fine. Legault has what she wanted: Despite two referendums, Quebec has gained more sovereignty by the back door than the earliest Péquistes ever dreamed of.
While the rest of the world (including states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and others) is forging unity to face down regressive governments, Canada cannot even mount a countrywide campaign any more, because the Bloc, along with other "progressives," would never hear of it.
The days of the Upper and Lower Canadian patriots expressing solidarity and dividing the enemy are far behind us.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #93 on: 2011-03-29 14:18:43 »
There is an atomic bomb power plant in Deep River .... earth quake ... die...die... die...run for your lives we are all going to die ..... !!!!!! .... oh maybe I'm over 'reacting' ..... WTF
The media seems to be a biased write off .... me thinks !
A small earthquake was reported just north of Deep River, Ont. Tuesday.
The 3.5-magnitude quake happened at 12:04 p.m. about 66 kilometres northeast of Deep River, according to Earthquakes Canada.
Deep River is just 10 minutes from Chalk River, where the AECL nuclear plant is located. The small eastern Ontario town is about two hours northwest of Ottawa.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #94 on: 2011-04-07 18:31:23 »
I wonder how Harper is going to muzzle these brave scientists stating thier views. Will it get air play during the election ?
Cheers
Fritz
Canada hasn’t done enough to stop “dangerous” climate change: study
Source: NUNATSIAQ NEWS Author: MARGARET MUNRO Date: 2011.04.06
Warming of 2 C is expected to create an ice-free Arctic in the summer months, push up to one-third of all species to extinction and speed up melting of Greenland ice sheet. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)
Global temperature increases set to exceed "the 2 C warming target set to avoid dangerous climate change"
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his international colleagues have not gone far enough to avoid “dangerous” climate change, according to an Environment Canada report that could cause problems for the Conservatives on the campaign trail.
The study, published this week in a leading science journal, suggests that global greenhouse gas emissions “must ramp down to zero immediately” to avoid a 2 C rise in the planetary temperature this century. Allowing temperatures to climb more than 2 C could wipe out thousands of species, melt Arctic ice and trigger a rise in sea level of several metres.
Given the huge reductions required, the study warns that “it is unlikely that warming can be limited to the 2 C target agreed to in the 2009 Copenhagen Accord.”
The Environment Canada scientists were not available for interviews Wednesday.
Climatologist Andrew Weaver, at the University of Victoria, said the new report highlights the “hypocrisy” of the Harper government’s approach to climate change.
The Conservatives agreed internationally to take steps to help keep warming below the 2 C threshold, but the government continues to promote expanded use and export of Canadian oil and coal that are driving up emissions.
“If we want to deal with this problem, we have to start transforming our energy systems now,” said Weaver. “Not yesterday, not tomorrow, now. That means we should be weaning ourselves from our dependency on oil, not trying to expand it as fast a possible.”
Previous research also concluded that emissions must be slashed to zero to avoid a 2 C rise in global temperature by 2100 but Weaver said it is significant to have Environment Canada’s top climate team now come to same conclusion. Researchers say greenhouse gas emissions must be eliminated now to avoid future warming because the emissions build up and linger in the atmosphere for decades.
The Environment Canada team ran a sophisticated computer model for the study that will be used as part the next assessment report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is due out in 2014.
The upgraded Earth system model takes into account carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, aerosols, land use change, and the flow of carbon between the atmosphere and the oceans and land surfaces. The model enables researchers to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions reductions required to meet different levels of global warming.
The Environment Canada study found that, even under the lowest emissions scenario analyzed, the global temperature increase would exceed “the 2 C warming target set to avoid dangerous climate change by the 2009 UN Copenhagen Accord.”
“The results of this study suggest that limiting warming to roughly 2 C by the end of this century is unlikely since it requires an immediate ramp down of emissions followed by ongoing carbon sequestration in the second half of this century,” says the report of the Environment Canada team led by Gregory Flato, manager of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis in Victoria.
The American Geophysical Union, which published the study in the current issue of the Geophysical Research Letters, sent out a media release this week highlighting the Environment Canada report under the headline: “New study says 2 C warming may be unavoidable by 2100.”
Limiting warming to 2 C globally is widely seen as key to avoiding some of the far-reaching planetary impacts of climate change. It sounds like a modest increase but scientists say global warming of 2 C will see temperatures rise much higher in some regions — including the Arctic, which can expect to be 7 to 8 C hotter.
Warming of 2 C is expected to create an ice-free Arctic in the summer months, push up to one-third of all species to extinction and speed up melting of Greenland ice sheets, which could raise sea levels several metres over coming centuries.
“You don’t want to pass that threshold,” says Weaver.
He said he would like Canadians and their politicians to have a frank discussion about the climate realities facing the planet and the need to stop burning carbon-based fossil fuels. “We can’t wait around for this to be dealt with,” says Weaver. “We have to deal with it now.”
Cornwall ON – May Day, May 1st has been associated with organized labour for an awfully long time. During WW2 the Nazi’s tried to make it their day to pull from the Communists who were for so long synonymous with organized labour around the world.
On May 1st the US announced that it had shot and killed Osama Bin Laden as reported world wide.
It’s sucking the air out of most other headlines world wide today including our election here in Canada.
From reading various media reports the official spin is that Mr. Bin Laden was finally found after all these years in Pakistan and that US forces zoomed in.
Mr.Bin Laden was offered surrender, refused and was shot and killed with his body being buried at sea after following Muslim traditions.
It’s odd and weird in a sense. Conspiracy theorists are already scribbling all over the internet about it with many interesting summations.
Sadly this news is causing a buzz here in Canada where it’s election day. We here in Canada have a very big choice to make. According to most polls Mr. Harper will not be getting his majority. The polls also have the Orange surge breaking past Quebec and vaulting Mr. Layton into official opposition.
Some ridings of interest; it looks like Thomas Mulcair will have repelled the challenge from former Liberal MP Martin Cauchon and in Saanich it looks like it’s going to be a race to the wire for Green Party leader Elizabeth May. The NDP are doing well in her riding too and splitting the vote to the point where she may fail in her attempt to gain her seat; something that may cause the demise of the party in Canada as their National numbers are lower in the polls. In my riding it looks like the incumbent, Conservative MP Guy Lauzon will benefit from vote splitting and eke his way back in spite of personal and professional scandals, and a lack lustre performance in the campaign and during his last term in the riding.
Mr. Lauzon’s non handling of the bridge crisis has been booed at debates as has his ability to impact the area when it comes to jobs. His campaign lobbying regarding our airport expansion has also been criticized as he’d been near silenced about it prior and not shown any support to municipal efforts for expansion.
Spring is a time for change, and it looks like the Canadian political scene is changing. Personally I hope that this election sends a very loud message to our politicians that our votes do count.
That you can’t just keep selling out Canadian citizens. That putting industry reps into governing agencies isn’t something that’s good for Canada; that Canadians really want better internet service, and respect for what we are trying to do in Canada. We want Medicare, we want balanced budgets, and yes, even surpluses to reduce our debt load. Mostly, we want out votes to count and those we vote for to LISTEN TO US.
I hope that message is heard. I hope that Canadian politicians listen.
And I hope that as many of us go out and vote today, and not get distracted by foreign headlines.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #98 on: 2011-05-02 16:39:07 »
Sigh .....
Fritz
Canada's internet future at stake in Monday election
Source: The Register Author: Trevor Pott Date: 2011.05.02
The future of the Internet is at stake in Monday's Canadian election.
Candidates representing all major political parties have declared themselves "pro-internet Candidates" by pledging support for an open internet on the grassroots website Openmedia. Only one candidate among the dominant Conservative party has signed. Other parties are more strongly represented, with the NDP having 50 signed candidates; the Greens, 64; and the Liberals, 83.
Openmedia's agitation on digital policy issues gained attention earlier this year when almost half a million Canadians signed an online petition decrying punishingly low bandwidth caps and Usage Based Billing (UBB). The campaign went viral, forcing a climbdown on the issue by Canada's major ISPs. Those ideas, however, have since been revived.
As a response to the massive public outcry, Canada's major political parties made their digital policies clear. The NDP, Liberals, and Greens have taken a populist approach. Universally accessible broadband, net neutrality, copyright reforms, and transparency of the country's telecommunications regulatory body (the CRTC) are all recurring themes.
The Conservative platform differs. The Conservatives have announced no plans to review the transparency of the CRTC. They strongly oppose any and all calls for functional separation (unbundling of incumbents' infrastructure from retail operations) of Canada's telecommunications. Conservative Industry Minister Tony Clement considers functional separation "completely unrealistic," citing the telecommunications industry's current momentum towards greater integration, not less.
In conjunction with an overall "tough on crime" platform, Conservative digital policy is strongly focused on digital security. The Conservatives support stronger copyright laws and are opposed to fair-use format shifting. The right to break "digital locks" has become an election issue in at least one contentious riding.
The Conservatives have vowed that should they obtain a majority they will bundle together a series of crime bills – including many digital-policy items – and push through tougher laws within 100 days of election. These laws include a commitment to internet surveillance in the form of three "lawful-access" bills. Several of Canada's privacy commissioners have already expressed deep reservations over the content of these bills.
The lawful-access bills would require Canadian ISPs to purchase and maintain deep packet–inspection equipment. ISPs would be required to disclose personal information – including names, physical addresses, email addresses, and IP identifiers – without court oversight. These bills would create new police powers including data-transmission warrants allowing real-time access to data as well as retention of data for up to 90 days.
This is not the first time lawful access has been proposed. Liberal MP Dan McTeague proposed similar legislation in 2009, with the NDP demonstrating strong resistance. Lawful access is not currently addressed in the published digital policies of the NDP, Green, or Liberal parties. ®
Pros: Finally a majority government to get on with the business of running the country. The Separatist (the Block) party wiped out by Quebec and bringing Quebec back into the Federalist fold. A unified representation across the country. Elizabeth May of the green party with a voice on parliament hill is something I'm looking forward to. The Greens can hopefully get more traction with the new visibility. Prime Minister Harper gave the first even speak that had even a hint of caring and hope for a positive willingness to working together for all Canadians not just big business. Finally an end to the gun registry boondoggle More confidence in etting up business in Canada around the world
Cons: Canada is now polarized between right and left wing agendas. If the NDP and Liberals join up, we could be in a 2 party system with the same pitfalls as the US If the NDP can't deliver for Quebec then the Provincial Separatist will have fodder to re-initiate the separation movement. The conservatives arrive with only 40% of the popular vote; which seems to indicate that in may cases the vote split between the NDP and Liberals gave many ridings to the Conservatives. Still not a stellar voter turn out at only 60% The Internet will now become less free in Canada There will be bloodshed and down sizing of the Federal government
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #100 on: 2011-05-12 22:06:54 »
Get out your shovels and start digg'in .... "black gold; texas tea; the kin folk said move away from here ..... "
Cheers
Fritz
Boreal blues
Source: The Economist Author: print edition Date: 2011.05.12
In the frigid north tension grows between conservation and development
CANADA’S vast boreal zone contains the world’s largest intact old-growth forest and has more fresh water than the Amazon. Its flora help to slow climate change and it is a breeding ground for 3 billion migratory songbirds. Only 12% of the region is now formally protected, well below the 50% scientists say is necessary to save its ecosystem. On May 9th Quebec unveiled the Plan Nord, a C$2.1 billion ($2.2 billion) proposal that seeks both to develop its northern region and to safeguard its environment. But whether those two objectives are actually compatible remains open for debate.
For a party closely tied to the oil industry, the Conservatives—who won a majority on May 2nd after five years of minority government—have been surprisingly progressive in protecting boreal land. They have set aside 12% of the area’s 552m hectares (1.36 billion acres), including the Mealy Mountains national park in Labrador announced last year (see map). Some provinces have also taken the lead. In 2010 Ontario passed a law shielding half of its far north from development, and Manitoba recently protected 4m hectares of forest. Quebec’s Plan Nord would ban industrial activity in half of its north and make 12% a nature reserve, and offers tax credits for eco-friendly projects.
Yet provincial governments are also pushing to tap the region’s rich resources. Ontario has registered 30,000 mining claims in an area west of James Bay nicknamed the “Ring of Fire”, where chromite (used for stainless steel) was found in 2006. And Quebec’s Plan Nord will open an area twice as big as France to mining, energy development and forestry. Meanwhile Alberta has few limits on boreal oil exploration. In April its government released the details of a plan to protect 20% of the region’s land and faced a backlash from energy firms. The federal government has little power to make the provinces become greener.
Aboriginal groups, who hold treaty rights in the north, have also tussled with environmentalists, whom they blame for disrupting their fur trade and seal hunt. They hope that miners will provide much-needed jobs. Ontario’s Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Quebec and Labrador arm of the Assembly of First Nations say they were not adequately consulted before their provinces’ conservation laws were drafted, and now oppose the legislation. Indigenous peoples may not be as anti-green as oil companies, but they are no tree-huggers either.
In Nova Scotia, three companies currently…state that they plan to use fracking methods to extract natural gas.
In Nova Scotia, three companies currently have exploration licenses for petroleum hydrocarbons, and state that they plan to use hydraulic fracturing (fracking) methods to extract natural gas1.
The government of Nova Scotia Department of Energy website2 states that “In order to be awarded the rights to explore a block of land, [petroleum exploration companies] must go through a competitive bidding process. Successful bidders are chosen based on the financial value of the company's workplan over the term of the agreement, its technical capabilities and industry experience.
All onshore oil and gas exploration activity in Nova Scotia is regulated by various departments including Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources. These departments work together to set the terms and conditions on access to any Crown land under the exploration agreement. This agreement does not permit the company to conduct activities such as seismic and drilling without permission of the landowner, private and Crown.”
Onshore Petroleum Agreements in Nova ScotiaEastrock Resources Ltd, which appears to be a subsidiary of APEX, holds a leasing agreement which covers 258 000 hectares in Cumberland and Colchester counties, and has identified numerous drilling prospects for both conventional petroleum products and for shale gas2.
Forent Energy Ltd. holds a leasing agreement for 740 000 + 460 000 acres in the area south of Truro. The company is in preliminary phases of exploration, but expects to develop 10 to 15 petroleum targets before 20123.
Petroworth Resources Inc. holds the exploration and development rights to 383 000 acres near Lake Ainslie in Cape Breton. The company has completed seismic testing and has proposed a well in West Lake Ainslie just over 500 metres from the lake. Drilling will commence in summer 20114.
Elmworth Energy Corporation holds a leasing agreement which covers 474 000 acres around the Minas Basin. In early 2010, one well in this area was submitted to hydraulic fracture method, with 15% recovery of flowback waters and negligible gas production. A fault in this area was deemed to have altered the fracking effectiveness. Production was halted and this and other wells are being assessed for future fracking and production. To date, the company states that “the fracture treatments undertaken previously have commingled multiple zones together, making it difficult to separate gas from water in the subsurface”5. In other words, fracking activity altered the conditions in the subsurface, and resulted in mixing of groundwater and natural gas in this area.
Energy companies are halting oil and gas production and evacuating employees as unprecedented wildfires rip through northern Alberta and threaten to spread to key industry projects.
Penn West Exploration halted production of between 25,000 and 30,000 daily barrels of oil at operations threatened by a number of fires. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ-T39.550.140.36%) has evacuated a major work camp near its Horizon oil sands operation, and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE-T32.67-0.23-0.70%) may be forced to curtail some production as early as Tuesday as fires frustrate efforts to restart a pipeline that ships the company’s crude. More related to this story
* Fire crews gave everything in fight to save scorched Slave Lake, officials say * Fires in northern Alberta
Video Footage shows fury of Slave Lake wildfires Slave Lake city hall burns. Photo taken by local radio station 92.7 Lake FM which has also burned down.
Change in winds caused chaos for fire-devastated Slave Lake, Alta. Flames from forest fires near Widewater, Alberta May 15, 2011. Photos Forest fires rage across Alberta
“The fires are viciously out of control,” Penn West chief executive officer Bill Andrew said.
“The last thing you want is a bunch of oil and gas floating around when there’s a fire,” he said. “That’s why you shut things in.”
The emergency shutdowns are a sharp reminder that energy projects, especially those in isolated regions, must deal with more than engineering problems, human error, and financing woes. While forest fires are common in these northern zones, the number and power of this year’s blazes is unusual. Flooding in the south of Alberta and Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is also causing production problems for some companies.
Of the 115 fires in Alberta on Monday, 36 were out of control, a spokesman for Alberta Sustainable Resources Development said.
Penn West has accounted for hundreds of employees and their families around Slave Lake, where raging fires have forced the evacuation of 7,000. The company’s shutdown due to fire represents a significant portion of its overall production of about 170,000 barrels a day, and it has shut in another 10,000 barrels of production due to flooding in the south.
Light and heavy oil production, as well as natural gas operations have been affected, and the shutdowns will eat into the company’s revenue. Assuming the fires do not damage the facilities, Mr. Andrew predicted the fastest operations could resume would be in a week. Once the fires are contained, industry production in the province is expected to return to normal without any long-term damage, officials said.
CNRL has evacuated a camp near its Horizon oil sands operation, but has so far staved off production problems. Roughly 1,300 camp residents have been whisked out of two lodges, with the fire burning about 150 metres away from one of those housing complexes, the company said in a statement Monday.
CNRL's fire barrier has so far been able to keep the fire away from its three lodges, and it has not affected operations at Horizon. The project was hampered by a fire at its upgrader in January, and repairs are not yet complete. CNRL has cancelled in-bound flights to the site.
Meanwhile, Cenovus, another oil sands powerhouse, is also preparing for action at its Pelican Lake facility about 90 kilometres northeast of Slave Lake. Because the Plains All American Pipeline LP Rainbow line is shut down due to a previous spill and now further hampered by the fires, Cenovus will run out of storage space Tuesday afternoon if the pipeline does not resume operations. About 22,000 barrels of oil per day will be shut in, a Cenovus spokeswoman said.
The Rainbow pipeline leaked about 28,000 barrels of light oil on April 28, and the cleanup effort has been called off because of the fires around Slave Lake.
Cenovus hosts about 65 employees at its Pelican Lake camp, and they and their families are not in danger, the company said. The camp has not been evacuated. Some employees fly in to the site, while others drive in from nearby communities. There is a scheduled shift change Tuesday, but because highways are closed this will be disrupted, she said.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO-T44.88-0.27-0.60%) has moved about 250 contract employees who were building a water facility back to one of its camps. While work on the river water intake facility has stopped, it has not affected work at Imperial's Kearl oils sands site, which is also under construction, said Jon Harding, a spokesperson for Imperial. The water facility is about 37 kilometres northwest of the main site.
Exall Energy Corp., (EE-T1.61-0.09-5.29%) a junior oil and gas player, has also shut in 921 barrels of oil per day at its Marten Mountain operation, it said in a statement Monday. Enerchem International Inc. on Monday issued a “force majeure,” which left Exall without a buyer for its Marten Mountain crude. The producer is now searching for other ways to transport the oil, including trucking, to others who may buy the oil. However, trucking in northern Alberta is questionable because the fires have closed a number of highways.
Exall said its facilities and operations are not under threat from the fires.
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN-N81.78-0.24-0.29%) has shut in a small amount of its production in northern Alberta, a spokesperson for the company said. The fires and the complications they caused, the spokesperson noted, are all part of doing business in northern Alberta.
A large, agitated beaver attracted a crowd in Fort Smith, N.W.T., this week when it meandered through town and got hissy with a German shepherd.
The beaver was spotted Monday evening wandering around a residential neighbourhood, along a busy street, through a graveyard and golf course, all the while escorted by an N.W.T. Environment and Natural Resources officer.
Mike Keizer, a longtime resident in the town of 2,400 near the N.W.T.-Alberta border, said he hopped on his bicycle as soon as he heard there was a beaver on the loose.
"It looked huge. I always thought beavers would be smaller," Keizer told CBC News on Thursday.
"All the beavers I've ever seen have been in water, so you only ever see pieces of them; like, you don't get to see the whole beaver."
Another Fort Smith resident, Jason Mercredi, shot video footage of the beaver moving in a ditch and on a sidewalk along McDougal Street.
"There's a beaver holding up [the] main street," Mercredi says in the video, before asking his uncle if the animal would attack.
The wayward animal, which Keizer estimated was the size of a dog, zigzagged across people's lawns and around their homes.
"Every time it got agitated or flustered, it would bang its tail on the ground. I mean, I was amazed at how fast it moved when it was agitated," he recalled.
Keizer said the beaver became especially agitated when it came nose-to-nose with somebody's German shepherd, with just a chain-link fence separating the two animals.
"It never backed down once. It grabbed the fence, it was hissing, and the dog was barking," Keizer said.
"When the ENR officer went to get it turned [around] so he'd get it away from town, he had a plywood sheet in front of him, and it rushed the sheet."
Keizer said he rode his bike ahead of the beaver, knocking on residents' doors and warning them to bring their dogs indoors "because there's a wild beaver walking through town, heading your way."
"While I was there, all kinds of people were driving up in their trucks and their cars and taking pictures," he said.
The beaver wandered about another kilometre or two before it headed towards the Slave River rapids and disappeared.
Keizer said in his 17 years living in Fort Smith, he has never seen a beaver — never mind a beaver so large — come into town.
Re:Canada Shoots itself in the Head : A Nation Going Down in Flames
« Reply #104 on: 2011-05-27 16:54:09 »
Seems someone has it in for the Japanese ? Sony now Honda .... coincidence ?
Cheers
Fritz
Honda Canada's security breach exposes 283,000 customers 2nd data leak in 6 months
Source: The Register Author: Dan Goodin Date: 2011.05.27
Honda's Canadian division has suffered a data breach that exposed the personal information of 283,000 customers, according to its website and published media reports.
The purloined data includes the names, addresses and vehicle identification numbers of customers who made purchases in 2009. The company is warning customers to be wary of scams, which could use the stolen information to trick customers into revealing additional data, which could be used in identity theft. Click here to find out more!
“We do not recommend that customers take any specific action at this time, other than being alert for marketing campaigns from third parties that reference your ownership of a Honda vehicle,” Honda's online advisory stated.
According to The Toronto Star, the breach affects 283,000 customers. Honda's advisory also said that Honda Financial Services account numbers were also exposed "in a small number of cases."
It's the second time in less than six months that Honda has reported a security breach that leaked customer's personally identifiable information. In late December, Honda's US division warned that hackers made off with a database containing the names, email addresses, and vehicle identification numbers of 2.2 million customers.
Honda's latest warning comes as Sony begins restoring some online gaming services to customers in Asia. The company exposed details for more than 100 million customers after hackers penetrated systems for its PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment service. ®
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Warming of 2 C is expected to create an ice-free Arctic in the summer months, push up to one-third of all species to extinction and speed up melting of Greenland ice sheet. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE) 
