Friday, July 17, 2015

Obeid Saga

Migration, Laughter, forgetting, and French. Milan Kundera’s shoddy memory, his run-ins with history, his abandoning Czech – What did it all mean?

Judge Kozinski: There’s Very Little Justice In Our So-Called ‘Justice System’ Techdirt 

The Tax Office has ratcheted up the pressure on the Obeid family over a multimillion-dollar tax bill, seeking a court order to force family matriarch Judith and another five women of the clan to pay up immediately. ATO demands Obeid women pay millions as tax fight escalates

Disgraced former Labor minister Eddie Obeid is suing former corruption watchdog head David Ipp, Sydney silk Geoffrey Watson, who assisted historic inquiries into the Obeid family, and the state of NSW over a series of explosive investigations into his dealings in state Parliament.
Eddie Obeid sues former ICAC commissioner David Ipp, Geoffrey Watson SC, state of NSW

The murky world of secret payments to rugby league players to circumvent the salary cap is haunting the Parramatta Eels, with Eddie Obeid jnr admitting to financially assisting troubled star Chris Sandow, providing a discounted apartment to Darcy Lussick​ and offering real estate advice to Will Hopoate​ Murky world of secret player payments

An artist’s impression of Zhenyuanlong suni.
An artist’s impression of Zhenyuanlong suni

What good is the study of ethics if it doesn't make us more ethical? It breaks down strictures and transports us to wild, upredictable places ...

Speaking of ethics and breathtaking hypocrasies, ministerial staffers are coming across interesting stories. Those very same public service and industry bosses who say they cannot award their workers pay rises, decent pay rise, this year are at the same time awarding themselves bumper pay rises and lapping up eye-watering remuneration packages. Submissions to Ministers about the hardship felt by those on 400k to 900k are almost like something from Kafka or Orwell ...

David Cameron has insisted MPs should accept their pay rise despite widespread anger over the £7,000 hike. Plans to raise MPs' salaries by £7,000 amount to "crass hypocrisy", a Welsh Liberal Democrat MP has said. Ceredigion MP Mark Williams is one of several who have said they will not take the 10% increase to £74,000. He said he could not justify a "rise of that magnitude" to his constituents who were "enduring great hardship".
Like Bronwyb Bishop, David Cameron faces ethical dilemmas to explain crass hypocrisy

Speaker Bronwyn Bishop