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Elder and daughter attacked by polar bear on expedition to repatriate Inuit remains

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1 year ago

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About 10 boats left a foggy Kangiqsualujjuaq on July 25 as part of a three-day journey in what was bound to be an eventful trip.

A team from the Inuit community located along the northeastern side of Ungava Bay joined representatives from the Avataq Cultural Institute, a Nunavik organization dedicated to preserving language and culture.

They equipped their motor boats and canoes with the necessities: food, camping gear and supplies. But their most precious cargo was the bones of four unknown people whose remains were excavated from Killiniq island — in Nunavut — decades ago.

The team set off to rebury the repatriated remains that had been dug up by an archeologist in the 1930s for research. They had been housed for years in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.

Rhoda Kokiapik, executive director at the Avataq Cultural Institute, heard about the remains last year.

After months of work with museum staff — who eventually agreed to cover the cost of the repatriation process — Kokiapik finally picked up the bones in April and got to work planning the trip.

“It’s unnatural for human remains to be stored in an institution,” said Kokiapik. “It’s very important that these remains or any other remains are properly put in place.”

But the trip didn’t go as smoothly as they had hoped.

In the early hours of the morning of July 26, Maggie Emudluk, mayor of Kangiqsualujjuaq, was home in bed when she was awoken by a frantic call.

A resident from town told her a polar bear had attacked two people 140 kilometres northeast of them on the first night of the trip and she needed to co-ordinate a rescue mission.

“The person, pretty much in a panic state, said ‘The people that are going to Killiniq have been attacked by polar bears’ …[I thought] ‘Oh my God,'” said Emudluk.

“It was a father with his daughter and son.”

Elder and daughter attacked by polar bear on 1st night out

Emudluk identified the three family members who were involved in the bear attack as elder Kenny Assevak and his adult children, daughter Siqua Baron and son Ned Baron — who had joined the expedition because of their roots in Killiniq.

The night of the incident, the family was sleeping in a tent when the polar bear showed up just after 2 a.m. Emudluk says the young polar bear reached the father first and then attacked the daughter before Ned Baron killed the bear with a gun at close range.

Emudluk says the father and daughter were seriously injured and are recovering but Ned Baron was not hurt.

Emudluk says the community reacted quickly.

“We dispatched the boat at 4:00 a.m. It’s a couple of hours to go down and we were able to get these people back in our community around … 9:00 a.m. in the morning,” said Emudluk.

She says the clinic airlifted the father and daughter — who both had serious cuts — to the hospital in Kuujjuaq, in Nunavik, Que. She says the elder was later taken to Montreal for treatment and is still recovering.

“It’s a wild country out there. It’s a beautiful but extremely hazardous environment,” said Emudluk, adding that the rest of the repatriation crew had to continue on.

“They had to finish what they’re trying to do.”

LISTEN | Polar bear injures 2 people travelling to bring Inuit remains home:

 

Quebec AM9:28Polar bear injured two residents participating in burial of repatriated Inuit remains in Nunavik

A team from Nunavik faced a number of challenges trying to bury the repatriated remains of four people this summer. Among them, a polar bear attack. CBC’s Rachel Watts spoke with the mayor of Kangiqsualujjuaq about the attack that happened on the first night of the journey.

Team forged on

Kokiapik, who was travelling ahead of the family with another group because of the thick fog, only heard the news over radio the next morning.

It was not how the team wanted the trip to start.

“[I thought] ‘Oh boy, oh boy, I hope everyone is okay,” recalled Kokiapik.

“We learned that they were rescued,” she said. “So that was a bit of an assurance for us … We had no choice but to continue. We were very, very, very far.”

Nunaingok shore where the remains were put to rest on Killiniq island. (Submitted by Rhoda Kokiapik)

The trip to the island took about seven hours by boat and when they finally arrived, Kokiapik says they got to work planning a proper burial.

This was Kokiapik’s first time on the island, which she says used to be inhabited by Inuit who were nomadic.

When the government of the Northwest Territories shut down the community on the island in the 1970s, residents were dispersed to several communities. Kokiapik says while some people return to the island regularly, others haven’t had the opportunity.

“People were happy,” said Kokiapik. “I know some were happy to finally go to their childhood place.”

A grave marked by rocks near a shoreline.
Rhoda Kokiapik says the team gathered rocks to mark the grave near the water. (Submitted by Rhoda Kokiapik)

Kokiapik says the team gathered rocks and found a spot to bury the remains near the water — a proper end to the trip that had been over a year in the making.

“It was such a surreal moment opening the box, which was wrapped in special material that will dissolve overtime,” said Kokiapik.

“After that, we said a short prayer performed by one of our elders … Every human deserves to be resting.”

 

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The Internet is Littered in ‘Educated Guesses’ Without the ‘Education’

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October 8, 2024

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Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.

The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.

Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.

The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.

Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.

On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.

The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.

More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.

Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:

  • You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
  • This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
  • In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!

Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.

Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.

There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.

Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.

Successful people tend to be secretive.

Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.

Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.

Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.

______________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

 

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Tight deadlines on software projects can put safety at risk: survey

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1 week ago

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October 8, 2024

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TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.

Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.

The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.

The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.

The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.

Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.

“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.

The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.

“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”

The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.

However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.

That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.

“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.

“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”

The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.

About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.

“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.

Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BB)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Beware of scams during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sales event: cybersecurity firm

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October 8, 2024

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As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.

In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.

The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”

“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.

“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”

Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.

Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.

In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.

The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.

Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.

“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.

“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.

Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.

Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.

“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.

“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”

Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.

As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.

But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.

Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.

The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

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