~Mary Ann Evans
When it comes to fact-checking, why do politicians get all the attention?
One of his most beloved lyric lines, from the song “Anthem” — a song that took Cohen a decade to write — remains what is perhaps the most meaningful message for our troubled and troubling times: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” It springs from a central concern of Cohen’s life and work, one which he revisited in various guises across various songs — including in “Suzanne”, where he writes “look among the garbage and the flowers / there are heroes in the seaweed,” and in the iconic “Hallelujah”: “There’s a blaze of light / In every word / It doesn’t matter which you heard / The holy or the broken Hallelujah”.
Putin Playing Nice for Now: NATO northern flank vulnerable to Russia
James Parker: “Oh, much. Much! … My thoughts do not have wings. They are auk-like.”Rivka Galchen: “I’m naturally inclined to see comic writing as not only more difficult, but also more ethical, more honest, more essential and even more serious.” Is It Harder to Write Humorously Than It Is to Write Seriously?
When it comes to fact-checking, why do politicians get all the attention?
In conclusion, the future belongs to stern, hectoring bozo-prose, with no giggles at all. Because it’s easier...
Writing for Quartz, a
psychology professor maintains that if facts are presented in just the right
manner, partisans "will permit truth to have a larger impact on their
thinking." Find out how to make reality real
again
Don Quijones, publisher of Raging Bull-shit and editor at Wolf Street on Biometric Sheep Clothing
France seeks to implement a variant of a biometric ID database that was nixed by its courts. Will this succeed and set a dangerous precedent?
A major problem with centralizing biometric data to this extent is that you make it a lot easier for it to be compromised. What’s to stop an insider from copying this data onto a drive and walking out with it, as Snowden and others have, including those who took Swiss banking data to the French and German authorities for money laundering investigations? This data would then most likely be sold online, on the so-called darknet.
“No computer system is impenetrable. (Anything you write online is like a postcard as any hacker and selected internal auditors and other government employees can read it along the way just like a postcard) All databases can be hacked. It’s always just a matter of time,” thundered French left-wing politician Jean-Jacques Urvoas in a 2012 blog post against Sarkozy’s proposed biometrics super database. Urvoas is now justice minister in Hollande’s government and hence is directly involved in drawing up the new decree, which bears a striking resemblance to Sarkozy’s earlier initiative.
US Election 2016: Trump’s victory should bring Australia’s independence Sydney Morning Herald. EM: “Pearl-clutching from down under.”
Free open source guide to tech definitions to help secure your digital communications and internet engagement
One of his most beloved lyric lines, from the song “Anthem” — a song that took Cohen a decade to write — remains what is perhaps the most meaningful message for our troubled and troubling times: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” It springs from a central concern of Cohen’s life and work, one which he revisited in various guises across various songs — including in “Suzanne”, where he writes “look among the garbage and the flowers / there are heroes in the seaweed,” and in the iconic “Hallelujah”: “There’s a blaze of light / In every word / It doesn’t matter which you heard / The holy or the broken Hallelujah”.
Dr Tobias Feakin has been appointed Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs. Feakin’s role, established as part of the government’s $230 million Cyber Security Strategy, will be to “identify opportunities for practical international cooperation and ensure Australia has a coordinated, consistent and influential voice on international cyber issues”
November 8, 2016 memorandum – OMB – “Federal Agency public websites and digital services are the primary means by which the public receives information from and interacts with the Federal Government. These websites and services help the public apply for benefits, search for jobs, comply with Federal rules, obtain authoritative information, and much more. Federal websites and digital services should always meet and maintain high standards of effectiveness and usability and provide quality information that is readily accessible to all…Federal Agency public websites and digital services are defined here as online information resources or services maintained in whole or in part by the departments and agencies in the Executive Branch of the U.S.Federal Government that are operated by an agency, contractor, or other organization on behalf of the to agency. They provide government information or services the public or a specific user group across a variety of delivery platforms and devices, and support the proper performance of an agency function.”
Senate Education and Employment APSBargaining inquiry 30 Nov 2016
New research (whistling while they work) shows agencies still need to improve support and protection of whistleblowers, and training about rights and responsibilities. As the federal government considers how to clean up its PID Act, there’s also the question of no-fault compensation.
Whistleblowers survey: ‘major defect’ in approach to compensation
Like parking inspectors, the guys who make sure banks are meeting regulatory standards are often not well regarded. They make no money for the bank and just slow other people's work.
That, however, creates an opportunity for Jeffrey Carmichael, former head of the banking industry watchdog the Australian Regulation Authority, who is now part of a new IBM venture that is trying to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to the ever-more-expensive task of helping banks comply with tonnes of regulation on consumer protection and the like.
In what they claim is a quantum leap for "reg-tech" (the kid brother of "fintech'), in September IBM bought a well connected Washington-based global advisory firm called Promontory Financial Group, of which Carmichael is Australasian chief executive.
The idea is to blend the access and knowledge of Promontory's team of former top banking regulators like Carmichael with IBM's artificial intelligence technology known as "Watson". If it works it will cut bank compliance costs without cutting corners. Using robots to keep banks from straying offside; Exclusive
New research (whistling while they work) shows agencies still need to improve support and protection of whistleblowers, and training about rights and responsibilities. As the federal government considers how to clean up its PID Act, there’s also the question of no-fault compensation.
Whistleblowers survey: ‘major defect’ in approach to compensation
Like parking inspectors, the guys who make sure banks are meeting regulatory standards are often not well regarded. They make no money for the bank and just slow other people's work.
That, however, creates an opportunity for Jeffrey Carmichael, former head of the banking industry watchdog the Australian Regulation Authority, who is now part of a new IBM venture that is trying to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to the ever-more-expensive task of helping banks comply with tonnes of regulation on consumer protection and the like.
In what they claim is a quantum leap for "reg-tech" (the kid brother of "fintech'), in September IBM bought a well connected Washington-based global advisory firm called Promontory Financial Group, of which Carmichael is Australasian chief executive.
The idea is to blend the access and knowledge of Promontory's team of former top banking regulators like Carmichael with IBM's artificial intelligence technology known as "Watson". If it works it will cut bank compliance costs without cutting corners. Using robots to keep banks from straying offside; Exclusive
We’ve all heard it: The more misinformation is repeated, the
“truer” it becomes. But new research indicates there’s a stronger factor
in whether someone believes a statement is true — and that’s whether it is
actually true. Read it.
National Law Journal, Adderall in Law Schools: A Dirty Little Secret:
It’s a law student’s steroid.
Adderall, the drug of choice for nearly all law students who admit to using prescription medication without a doctor’s approval, is attributed with intensifying focus, stimulating thought and eliminating the need for breaks or sleep.
Journalists too easily charmed by power, access, and creamy risotto Columbia Journalism Review
James Parker: “Oh, much. Much! … My thoughts do not have wings. They are auk-like.”Rivka Galchen: “I’m naturally inclined to see comic writing as not only more difficult, but also more ethical, more honest, more essential and even more serious.” Is It Harder to Write Humorously Than It Is to Write Seriously?
