Friday, March 23, 2018

Hackers and Elections






Bombing suspect blows himself up as police close in

 


Meet the voters in Russia’s heartland who are about to give Vladimir Putin another six years in office LA Times 

Department of Home Affairs plans new tax on parcels being posted to Australia

Social Justice Mocked: Eight Short Films.

Orbitz Hacked, Email Addresses Exposed



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It’s early March, two weeks before Russia’s polling day, but the presidential election season is already in full swing in Chubulga, a reindeer-herding settlement in north-eastern Yakutia. It’s an hour’s flight to the nearest village, which is itself a further two hours from the nearest asphalt road and 5,000km east of Moscow.
With a population of just three, this district is unlikely to turn the electoral tide. But with election officials desperate to raise turnout and show support for current president Vladimir Putin, no expense has been spared.
So they sent a team of election officials by plane, plus some trudging through the snow.  And this:
Results differ across regions. Some areas allegedly concoct results to show their loyalty to the Kremlin: Putin regularly polls above 99 per cent in Chechnya. In major cities like Moscow and St Petersburg, Putin is so unpopular among the middle class that he wins less than half the vote, despite accusations of voter fraud. In Yakutia, Putin’s last election return of 69 per cent was typical for ­Russia’s far-flung provinces. But the region’s vastness means that the key is maintaining the 75 per cent turnout. As a result, officials have to go further than anywhere else to show democracy in action.


Hold my beer and watch this! Vineyard of the Saker 



 Tesla boss in line for mega-pay deal BBC

  



The fate of the steering wheel hangs in the balance The Verge



Learning the art of saying nothing: politics to public service and back again.
Victorian MP Julian Hill reflects on his time in the bureaucracy, ministerial interference and not being scared to talk to journalists.

  


‘Trailblazers’ work together to address financial exclusion.
More than 3.3 million Australians are financially excluded. A team of corporate and government heavy hitters is taking action


IPEA takes kid-glove approach on Joyce, Campion travel expenses.
The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority's cautious approach to its
first high-profile case suggests its key concern is staying out of the controversy.


“The 2018 Edelman TRUST BAROMETER [Download the Global Results] reveals a world of seemingly stagnant distrust. People’s trust in business, government, NGOs and media remained largely unchanged from 2017 — 20 of 28 markets surveyed now lie in distruster territory, up one from last year. Yet dramatic shifts are taking place at the market level and within the institution of media.” Note – ‘distruster’ is new to me, but it sure works – especially in light of the following postings – Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, the 2016 Election, and a colossal misappropriation of social media data and Implications of Cambridge Analytica scandal widen in scope as do responses and associated revelations that keep on growing in magnitude.]