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Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Silent Dangers Crosswinds: A Decade Behind the Latitude of East

The difference between western and eastern intellectuals is that the former have not been kicked in the ass enough.

"To gaze at the world, as if you had never seen the world and have no idea what it is, and just describe it — then maybe you could see it"... Silent World

Cyber hackers breached the computer system of a defence contractor last year, the federal government has revealed.
Assistant Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan, who will on Tuesday launch the Australian Cyber Security Centre's annual threat report, can't confirm who was responsible for the hack.
How to stop Google tracking your every move Thai Tech (furzy). This works only if you are not an official Person of Interest.





Pilots skilfully land an Airbus A380 as it sways violently from side to side in crosswinds


“It’s important to celebrate milestones, and CrimeSolutions.gov has hit a big one — 500 rated programs. That’s 500 opportunities for the criminal and juvenile justice and victim service practitioners and policymakers we serve to learn about what works, what doesn’t, and what’s promising. While I am relatively new to the National Institute of Justice, I have spent a good part of my career championing evidence-based policy and the need for rigorous, replicated, program evaluations. All our resources are limited, and we need to ensure the programs we fund are effective in addressing the many issues faced by criminal justice agencies. CrimeSolutions.gov helps justice professionals, who may or may not be social scientists, improve their effectiveness. The systematic, independent review process and evidence ratings are intended to help practitioners and policymakers understand the implications of social science evidence that can otherwise be difficult to understand or apply, and serve as a basis for gauging the quality of evidence. In short, CrimeSolutions.gov strives to help practitioners answer the question: Does it work?”

  • “CrimeSolutions.gov content is organized a variety of ways, including by topic. Thetopic pages capture summary information as well as programs and practices that have been reviewed by CrimeSolutions.gov. Additionally, links to topical publications, Q&A, and related resources are also captured on the topical pages.” via working for dwarves

'Political vendetta': ABC boss attacks Turnbull government's media law reforms






The Reclusive Hedge Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency

Nick Patterson, a former colleague of Robert Mercer’s, said, “In my view, Trump wouldn’t be President if not for Bob.”
Private money has long played a big role in American elections. When there were limits on how much a single donor could give, however, it was 
Lmuch harder for an individual to have a decisive impact. Now, Potter said, “a single billionaire can write an eight-figure check and put not just their thumb but their whole hand on the scale—and we often have no idea who they are.” He continued, “Suddenly, a random billionaire can change politics and public policy—to sweep everything else off the table—even if they don’t speak publicly, and even if there’s almost no public awareness of his or her views.” 
No country for older men: China’s better educated, well-paid women are opting for younger husbands SCMP

For whom the bell tolls: cats kill more than a million Australian birds every day



Do You Have A Culture Of Fear? Three Questions To Ask
The Hon Dan Tehan MP
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security
‘Silent Dangers – Launch of the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s 2017 Threat Report’
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
https://www.npc.org.au/speakers/hon-dan-tehan-mp/


WHEN you are the chief executive of a public company, the temptation to opt for a merger or acquisition is great indeed. Many such bosses may get a call every week or so from an investment banker eager to offer the kind of deal that is sure to boost profits.
Plenty of those calls are proving fruitful. In the first three quarters of 2017, just over $2.5trn-worth of transactions were agreed globally, according to Dealogic, a data provider. The total was virtually unchanged from the same period in 2016, but the number in Europe, the Middle East and Africa was up by 21%.
It is easy to understand why an executive opts for a deal. Buying another business looks like decisive action, and is a lot easier than coming up with a new, best-selling product. Furthermore, being the acquirer is far more appealing than being the prey; better to be the butcher than the cattle. A takeover may keep activist hedge funds off the management’s back for a while longer ... Mergers

Tips on Compliance restructure | ASU Tax


 An Empty Parliament | Peter Hitchens | First Things
In my years of wandering its corridors and lobbies, of hanging about for late-night votes and dozing in committee rooms, I came to loathe British politics and to mistrust the special regiment of journalists (far too close to their sources) who write about it. I had hoped for a kingdom of the mind and found a squalid pantry in which greasy, unprincipled deals were made by people who were no better than they ought to be.
Sounds like Congress. Or Randwick City Council

"Mueller Tasks an Adviser With Getting Ahead of Pre-Emptive Pardons": Greg Farrell of Bloomberg News has an article that begins, "U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has a distinctly modern problem. The president, judging by his tweets, could try to pardon people in his circle even before prosecutors charge anyone with a crime. Mueller's all-star team of prosecutors, with expertise in money laundering and foreign bribery, has an answer to that. He's Michael Dreeben, a bookish career government lawyer with more than 100 Supreme Court appearances under his belt."

What Hollywood Movie-Makers Are Learning From TV (And It’s Changing Movies)


These days, for many screenwriters, the studio system can feel like a small, small, small, small world. And Hollywood film writers — along with everyone else — have noticed a simultaneous boom in Peak TV. Which means that, for Hollywood screenwriters, even as ­studio slates shrink and become more attuned to event blockbusters, opportunity on the small screen abounds. “Premium cable and the entrance of Netflix and Amazon hastened this movement toward the idea that a TV series can be anything — and that kind of flexibility was unimaginable 15 years ago.” … [Read More]



How to deal with ministerial advisers.
It's said to be a common problem in the public service, especially at higher levels: a ministerial adviser makes a request that sounds like a directive or mediates the agency's advice in a way that seems to overstep their role in the system.





Donald Duck launders Iranian cash through Slovenian banks



A Slovenian bank has been accused of laundering €1bn of transactions from Iran, according to the OCCRP. The allegations concern Iranian agents suspected of procuring supplies for the country’s nuclear programme. After Switzerland shut down their accounts it is alleged that the agents, (which included a man called Iraj Farrokhzadeh who was on the Interpol most wanted list), opened up accounts with the New Ljubljana Bank.


Between 40-50 transactions a day were made to 30,000 companies around the globe, including some with directors using names such as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

The centre right Slovenian Democratic Party has accused the previous government of obstructing the attempts of international investigations to uncover the scheme.

How to disarm corporate tax capture? Global Alliance for Tax Justice

Overcharged: the high costs of high finance  Fools’ Gold – rethinking competition









UBS Wants Van Gogh on Blockchain finews
“… use blockchains network to entice super-wealthy clients with a tempting new offering: the distributed ledger technology should make «bankable» physical assets like art, luxury cars or precious gems”









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