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a person who love Claims made by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) that the province’s oil sands companies were more efficient with their use of freshwater in oil production last year are being contested. The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) is arguing the AER’s data on water use performance — included in last week’s — contradict the regulator’s own claims. The AER says oil sands companies used 222 billion litres of freshwater to produce 669 million barrels of oil in 2023 — the equivalent of 332 litres of freshwater per barrel. But the 2022 report, according to the AWA, suggests 208 billion litres of freshwater were used to produce 657 million barrels of oil — 317 litres of freshwater per barrel. That would be a five per cent increase in freshwater use per barrel of oil, and a two per cent increase in oil sands production. “If companies were using water more efficiently, as the AER is claiming, we should be seeing freshwater consumption rising less than oil sands production, not more,” said Phillip Meintzer, a conservation specialist at the AWA. The AER’s 2023 report suggests 9.6 trillion litres of freshwater was allocated for use last year. Of that amount, it says 1.22 trillion litres (13 per cent) was allocated to develop energy resources — with the rest being allocated to agriculture, forestry, and municipalities. The AER says the energy industry used 22 per cent of its water allocation in 2023. The Alberta government recently announced $2.7 million to help oil and gas companies reduce water use after finding water use has been dropping, and that 80 per cent of water use is recycled. Those are for three projects, with $1.47 million for water filtration technology from Aqua Pure Technologies and Eximus Environmental Solutions, and $1.2 million for Canadian Natural Resources Limited to develop a chemical to help oil and bitumen flow faster. The projects combined are $6.1 million in public and private investments. 660 NewsRadio has contacted the AER and the Government of Alberta for comment.

Dr Charlotte Proudman, who specialises in family law, had faced a Bar Standards Board (BSB) disciplinary tribunal over a 14-part Twitter thread criticising a judge’s ruling over a domestic abuse case, saying it echoed a “boys’ club”. However, the five charges against the 36-year-old were dropped on Thursday. In an interview with The Times, Dr Proudman described the position of Mark Neale, the board’s director-general, as “untenable” and said its chairwoman, Kathryn Stone, should also stand down. “They need a change, not just in those two individuals, though, because, of course, it seeps down to the rest of the organisation,” she said. She told the paper she “genuinely” wanted to work with the Bar Standards Board in helping them to understand how misogyny and sexism have impacted women at the bar. However, she said that “under the current leadership, it’s just not going to be possible”. The charges alleged Dr Proudman had “failed to act with integrity” in posting the tweets, that they amounted to professional misconduct, were “misleading” and “inaccurately reflected the findings of the judge” in the case. The women’s rights campaigner was also accused of behaving in a way “which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public placed in her and in the profession”, and that she “knowingly or recklessly misled or attempted to mislead the public” by making the posts. But panel chairman Nicholas Ainley found her tweets are protected under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right of freedom of expression. He said her tweets did not “gravely damage” the judiciary, which would “put them outside” of Article 10 protection, even if they “might not have been pleasant for any judge to read” or even “hurtful”. “We take the view that the judiciary of England and Wales is far more robust than that,” he said. The panel also concluded that some of the tweets were only inaccurate “to a minor degree” and not to the extent necessary for a charge of a lack of integrity. Speaking after the hearing, Dr Proudman told the PA news agency: “This ruling is a victory for women’s rights and a right to freedom of speech. “The prosecution against me brought by my regulatory body, the Bar Standards Board, should never have happened and I said that from day one. “I criticised a domestic abuse judgment. Everyone should have the right to do that, whether you’re a barrister or not. Our justice system, which I strongly believe in, is robust enough to withstand criticism from me.” She believes her tweets help “foster confidence” in the justice system, adding: “Only that way can we go about building change and a better treatment for all victims, women and children and men who are affected by domestic abuse.” Explaining that the BSB appears to have spent almost £40,000 “of barristers’ money” on instructing counsel in her case, she added: “I think it’s shameful that they’re using our money to pay for, in my view, malicious, vexatious prosecutions which I have no doubt was a personal attack against me as a woman and as a feminist, as an outspoken critic and advocate for women’s rights.” Dr Proudman called for “systemic change” within the board. “They don’t understand gender, they don’t understand diversity, I don’t think they’ve ever heard of the concept misogyny and certainly not institutional misogyny,” she said. “Until they recognise the deeply rooted, entrenched issue of bullying, harassment, sexism at the bar, for which I have suffered relentlessly... and own up to it I don’t think we’re going to see any change and I have no confidence in them.” She told of how male barristers have called her insulting names on social media and made derogatory comments about her. In the posts on April 6 2022, Dr Proudman referenced a case in which her client alleged she had been subjected to coercive and controlling behaviour by her husband, a part-time judge, meaning she had been “unable to freely enter” the couple’s “post-nuptial” financial agreement. Commenting on the ruling by Family Court judge Sir Jonathan Cohen, Dr Proudman wrote: “I represented Amanda Traharne. “She said she was coerced into signing a post-nuptial agreement by her husband (who is a part-time judge). I lost the case. “I do not accept the Judge’s reasoning. I will never accept the minimisation of domestic abuse.” She continued: “Demeaning the significance of domestic abuse has the affect of silencing victims and rendering perpetrators invisible. “This judgement has echoes of (t)he ‘boys club’ which still exists among men in powerful positions.” In the thread, Dr Proudman wrote that the judge had described the relationship of the couple as “tempestuous”, which she argued was a “trivialisation” of domestic abuse. “Tempestuous? Lose his temper? Isn’t this the trivialisation of domestic abuse & gendered language. This is not normal married life,” she wrote.WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department's efforts to curb China's and Russia's access to American-made advanced computer chips have been “inadequate” and will need more funding to stymie their ability to manufacture advanced weapons, according to a report published Wednesday by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Biden administration imposed export controls to limit the ability of China and Russia ability to access U.S.-made chips after Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The agency's Bureau of Industry and Security, according to the report, does not have the resources to enforce export controls and has been too reliant on U.S. chip makers voluntarily complying with the rules. But the push for bolstering Commerce's export control enforcement comes as the incoming Trump administration says it is looking to dramatically reduce the size and scope of federal government . President-elect Donald Trump has tapped entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” to dismantle parts of the federal government. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. BIS’s budget, about $191 million, has remained essentially flat since 2010 when adjusted for inflation. “While BIS’ budget has been stagnant for a decade, the bureau works diligently around the clock to meet its mission and safeguard U.S. national security,” Commerce Department spokesperson Charlie Andrews said in a statement in response to the report. Andrews added that with “necessary resources from Congress” the agency would be "better equipped to address the challenges that come with our evolving national security environment.” In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, chair of the subcommittee, pointed to an audit of Texas Instruments that showed the Russian military continued to acquire components from Texas Instruments through front companies in Hong Kong to illustrate how the export controls are failing as an effective tool. The committee's findings, Blumenthal said, suggest that Texas Instruments “missed clear warning signs” that three companies in its distribution chain had been diverting products to Russia. Texas Instruments did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “While Congress must provide BIS more resources to undertake its critical mission, it is long past time for BIS to make full use of the enforcement powers Congress has conferred upon it and take aggressive steps to cut the flow of U.S. semiconductors into the Russian war machine,” Blumenthal wrote. It's not just Texas Instruments that's the issue. The subcommittee in September published a report that found aggregated exports from four major U.S. advanced chip manufacturers nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022 to Armenia and Georgia. Both of those countries are home to front companies known to assist Russia in acquiring advanced chips made in the U.S. despite export controls. China, meanwhile, has created “vast, barely disguised smuggling networks which enable it to continue to harness U.S. technology,” the subcommittee report asserts. Washington has been gradually expanding the number of companies affected by such export controls in China, as President Joe Biden’s administration has encouraged an expansion of investments in and manufacturing of chips in the U.S. But Chinese companies have found ways to evade export controls in part because of a lack of China subject matter experts and Chinese speakers assigned to Commerce's export control enforcement. The agency's current budget limits the number of international end-use checks, or physical verification overseas of distributors or companies receiving American-made chips that are the supposed end users of products. Currently, Commerce has only 11 export control officers spread around the globe to conduct such checks. The committee made several recommendations in its report, including Congress allocating more money for hiring additional personnel to enforce export controls, imposing larger fines on companies that violate controls and requiring periodic reviews of advanced chip companies’ export control plans by outside entities. Boak reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.India Struggles Early in First Test Against Australia

Stock market today: Indexes rally as markets cheer Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary

Elon Musk has 12 kids with three different partners but he’s managing to carve out quality time with the president-elect’s youngest son, Barron, as they gush about about planets and video games. The two bros apparently first hit it off at the the Trump family’s Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where Musk has become something of a fixture. Musk sat at Donald Trump’s table with the president-elect and his 18-year-old son. Musk and Barron got down over outer space, said Musk’s mom, Maye Musk, who was also at the holiday dinner. “ Barron and Elon were talking planets ,“ she told Fox Buisiness host Neil Cavuto Thursday. ”They were discussing all the different planets and why Mars is the best place to start a new civilization. And I was very impressed with him, too,” she added, meaning Barron. “They were talking all night,” she later added on X. “Barron is very smart.” Elon later reported on X that he and Barron were discussing ”consciousness and video games.” Barron has reportedly been largely socializing with his classmates at New York University via the internet from his Manhattan Trump Tower home as they play video games. The presidet-elect later had a moment with his “Best Buddy” Musk as the two men “grooved” together, stiffly, to Trump’s favorite song YMCA . Barron appeared embarrassed . But that’s the way it goes with bros sometimes.. Of the Trump clan, Maye Musk offered an interesting perspective: “Everyone is delightful, kind, sweet, generous, interesting and soft-spoken, which is interesting because, as politicians, you can talk loud.” Elon Musk will likely have plenty of time to further cultivate his relationship with Barron because he’s angling to buy a $100 million property near Mar-a-Lago , the New York Post’s Page Six has reported early this week.

Two upcoming events in the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands have been deemed as municipally significant. The reason is for the purposes of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s (AGCO) Special Occasion Permit process. This took place during Monday’s Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands council meeting in Lansdowne. The first designation was given for the Small Halls Music Event scheduled for Jan. 25. This will be hosted by the Seeley’s Bay Area Residents’ Association (SBARA). Alcohol will be served at the event and Small Halls has been advertising the event on its website, while SBARA has been advertising the event on its social media pages. Now that council has chosen to pass the resolution deeming the event municipally significant, the clerk will provide a letter to SBARA to support their application to the AGCO. Council also deemed the Comedy Night hosted by the St. Lawrence District Medical Centre scheduled for Feb. 22 as municipally significant for the same process. The request for the designation was made by the St. Lawrence District Medical Centre. The object of the comedy event is to fundraise to support the medical centre and to allow community members to enjoy an evening of entertainment. Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.Concrete Pumping Holdings: Shares Are Too Cheap To Ignore (Rating Upgrade)

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