New chapter in Cold River as it flows past Coast of Fires ...
Like Media Dragon, Kevin loves the dramas at work and the movies, although one only needs to go into a DVD store to see that for every great film out there, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, that aren't so good. He has some sympathy for a business that has to live off creative ideas, but his advice to the movie industry would be to get closer to the audience… Movie Magic For serial entrepreneurs, there are no failures, only learning experiences.It's the thrill of a good idea and managing opportunities that count - the wealth will take care of itself. Our greatest storytellers are also the ones with the greatest empathy In a deep stroke of good timing
Excited about ideas like Dr Cope or Patricia Azarias Most of all, they are willing to collaborate
The really good scholars are self-confident, and that confidence allows them to treat everyone else with respect and kindness. They are excited about ideas, and they are willing to share. Most of all, they are willing to collaborate — they are the ones organizing symposia, inviting guest speakers, cultivating graduate students, and just generally creating the kind of atmosphere where good work flourishes and everyone benefits.
It’s amazing to me how many times I’ve seen people — “established” scholars and younger students alike — give absolutely terrible papers, and then walk around snubbing everyone around them. Insecurity leads to intellectual isolation; people become greedy, self-centered, and unwilling to share. When they do present things, they are often incoherent because they don’t care a whit about sharing their thoughts with the community; indeed sometimes it seems like they try to intentionally make their arguments confusing in order to make themselves seem smarter. It backfires — they end up sounding pompous and priggish, but they don’t end up sparking fresh ideas or adding anything new to the discourse.
• Backfires; [Michael Lewis, of Moneyball fame, has now added one more story to MoneyLaw's repertoire of narratives highlighting the value of good teamwork … the single factor that makes a great team player is the mirror image of the single factor that turns even the most productive scholar into a toxic Arschloch: selfishness. Battier has almost none of that trait, and his teamwork makes him the greatest basketball player that no casual fan can name. Rocket man ; The only two things in life that are certain are Death and Taxes, so the popular lamentation goes. As all taxpaying Americans know, the government utilizes its powers under the Sixteenth Amendment to collect its citizens' money and utilize it, ideally, for public good ]
• · The transformation of the media world is well underway, facilitated by the spread of digital tools. A myriad of innovative new media organizations have sprung up to take advantage of the opportunities that stem from low-cost distribution networks Papers Explore News and Information as Digital Media Come of Age ; The New Media Index is a weekly report that captures the leading commentary of blogs and social media sites focused on news and compares those subjects to that of the mainstream press. The Project also tracks the most popular news video on YouTube each week. Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism Launches New Media Index
• · Adapting some of the technology pioneered by Google News, we're now showing categories on the left side of the website and organizing the blog posts within those categories into clusters, which are groupings of posts about the same story or event Official Google Blog ; Every blog has its day: Politically-interested Internet users' perceptions of blog credibility. Examininatin of U.S. politically-interested Internet users' perceptions of the credibility of blogs. The study found that blogs were judged as moderately credible, but as more credible than any mainstream media or online source. Both reliance and motivations predicted blog credibility after controlling for demographics and political variables. Reliance proved a consistently stronger predictor than blog motivations. Also, information-seeking motives predicted credibility better than entertainment ones. Politically-interested Internet Users' Perceptions of Blog Credibility
• · · Another New Obama Administration Website: Recovery.gov Goes Live Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going Recovery.gov ; What you should not do if you are a Vice Dean of Research earning a $269,280 salary with an $115,000 administrative stipend: steal a student's bike in full view of a security camera Candid Camera
• · · · Although, key people at HBOS did do wrong, I am also sure that their intentions were usually good and, in a sense, they were also caught up themselves in what the Greek tragedies would call the “ineluctability of fate”. To mix a few well known similes / metaphors / stories, the current financial crisis is a bit like the story of the Emperor’s new clothes. Anyone whose eyes were not blinded by money, power and pride (Hubris) who really looked carefully knew there was something wrong and that economic growth based almost solely on excessive consumer spending based on excessive consumer credit based on massively increasing property prices which were caused by the very same excessively easy credit could only ultimately lead to disaster. But sadly, no-one wanted or felt able to speak up for fear of stepping out of line with the rest of the lemmings who were busy organising themselves to run over the edge of the cliff behind the pied piper CEOs and executive teams that were being paid so much to play that tune and take them in that direction. I am still toxic waste now for having spoken out all those years ago! I would be amazed if there were not many executives who, if they really examined their consciences closely, would not say that they knew this too. HBOS whistleblower: statement of evidence; Secrecy in Britain about corporate tax and failure to enforce the law have allowed tax avoidance to flourish, the Guardian's tax gap investigation has found. The government has failed to enforce disclosure rules in the Companies Act under which details of all offshore subsidiaries, which can be used for tax avoidance, must be publicly registered. A climate of private and state secrecy
• · · · · Senators Carl Levin and Charles Grassley introduced on Jan. 29 the “Hedge Fund Transparency Act,” and voting against that would be akin to attacking Mom and apple pie. We have come to learn that hedge funds are hardly immune to the market’s travails, and the immunity the managers of these vehicles enjoyed is likely to end with greater regulatory control and disclosure of trading strategies. Mr. Madoff showed that the black-box investment strategy is a chimera. His scam worked for as long as it did because he kept his investment program away from outside scrutiny, using a little-known accounting firm and not using an independent custodian to hold the securities. If the proposed legislation sheds a bit more light on the hedge fund world, then it may be worthwhile. Greater regulation is no panacea, but breaking down the idea that great wealth and a rising economy somehow makes one a “sophisticated investor” would be a positive development. Public disclosure can have a great leveling effect by showing that investment managers are not necessarily all that sophisticated. And rather than making investments more complex, perhaps a return to an earlier time that valued protecting clients and managing their investments for the long term might be worth considering. The next time you read that a financial advisor or hedge fund manager is a “sophisticated investor,” make sure to take it with a grain of salt. ; It is nonsense to defend tax avoidance by arguing that rewards are reaped by tomorrow's pensioners …. There is nothing new about tax avoidance. Most Georgian houses have blind windows, bricked up to avoid window taxes. And almost a millennium ago, in what could be seen as a blatant but dramatic tax avoidance device, Lady Godiva rode naked through Coventry to shelter its citizens from the Heregeld.
When Lady Godiva rode through Coventry, people closed their windows and stayed indoors. But the time for turning a blind eye to avoidance has long gone: we now need greater tax transparency Backdoor fictions
• · · · · · At the last count, since rules requiring the disclosure of tax avoidance arrangements to HMRC were introduced in 2004 there had been around 14,000 such schemes. Or so we thought. Now it seems these might be far from the limit of the problem, as many "promoters" of schemes, such as accountants, lawyers and specialist "boutique" tax avoidance firms, are refusing to play the game. A parliamentary answer obtained by Austin Mitchell MP, who has also tabled an early-day motion urging action on tax avoidance, reveals that no fewer than 90 promoters are under investigation for failing to disclose schemes. Presumably they were either hoping they wouldn't be picked up or think they have found a loophole in the rules. Presumably they were either hoping they wouldn't be picked up or think they have found a loophole in the rules. ; Dozens of senior civil servants accepted lavish corporate hospitality including trips to Wimbledon and the Chelsea Flower Show and invitations to watch England, Chelsea and Manchester United play. Sir Brian Bender is a top Whitehall mandarin. So what was he doing at Wimbledon, the Derby and the Chelsea Flower Show?; Humor of rules TRIGUBOFF'S SPARE HOUSE IS PART OF HIS HOME, JUDGE RULES