There are so many different kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst.
— Thomas Mann, born on this date in 1875
“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”
– Jim Rohn (Nanny June Ninety Four)
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is now worth $141billion
The
Amazon founder is already worth $40billion more than he was just last
year. Amazon hit the top 10 in the Fortune 500 list for the first time,
nabbing the eighth ...
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is now worth $141 billion—here's how he became the world's richest man
Amazon
founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest person in the world, is
richer than he has ever been before. Since June 1, the tech titan's net
worth has ...
Apple fined $9 million for misleading iPhone users in Australia
TECHNOLOGY
giant Apple will be forced to pay 9 million in fines after the Federal
Court found the company misled hundreds of Australian customers by ...
ATO, tax expert confirm Aussies no longer have to save paper receipts
3 May 2018 · None of this is necessary, because the work practices that are bad for people don't help the company ...
↩︎ WIRED
The only way is ethics: UK.gov emphasises moral compass amid deluge of data plans
Cops fined £80,000 for revealing childhood abuse victims' names
MICHAEL PASCOE. The Australian government’s hypocritical stance on PNG corruption.
It’s illegal for Australian entities to bribe foreign entities, but apparently we’re perfectly happy to take dirty money from bribed foreigners and consort with corrupt leaders.
Malaysia’s prime-minister-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, called us out on Friday, expressing a view that Australia has been “completely dishonest” about ousted leader Najib Razak, and “complicit” in Malaysian corruption. Continue reading
Bulk email error blabs 56 identities and email addresses
Seeking to correct
digital news' fundamental problems
An acquaintance at the Civil Media Company told her about a
“foundation council” it was putting together. She was intrigued, met with
company leaders and was presented with another notion: CEO of what would
be the Civil Foundation.
She took the job on June 7 — and starts work this
morning.
Schiller saw talent, vision, opportunity and ambition in this
particular entrant in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space, dedicated to a
global community of quality newsrooms. She did her research into the start-up,
which already has launched several news sites on its
platform. (The latest, The Colorado Sun, officially launching today, includes several
former senior editors and reporters of the shrinking Denver Post.)
"There's much more that we don't know about what blockchain
can do for journalism and what we do know,” Schiller said in an interview.
“But it will be something.”
As she wrote in a Medium essay: What if digital could do
over the things it hadn’t accounted for over the past 15 years? “Knowing what
could go wrong, how might we have thought about governance, integrity of
information, identity and legitimacy?” Schiller wrote. “How might we have
thought about business models to support quality, and safeguards to protect us
from bad actors?”
At Civil, she’ll develop journalistic standards and practices.
She’ll also set up the Civil Foundation as an entity to make grants — and help
decide what it will focus on. Schiller knows broad outlines — impact,
accountability, filling news deserts, promoting newsgathering from challenging
and perhaps dangerous places — but her task is to help define it.
It’s illegal for Australian entities to bribe foreign entities, but apparently we’re perfectly happy to take dirty money from bribed foreigners and consort with corrupt leaders.
Malaysia’s prime-minister-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim, called us out on Friday, expressing a view that Australia has been “completely dishonest” about ousted leader Najib Razak, and “complicit” in Malaysian corruption. Continue reading
Seeking to correct digital news' fundamental problems
An acquaintance at the Civil Media Company told her about a
“foundation council” it was putting together. She was intrigued, met with
company leaders and was presented with another notion: CEO of what would
be the Civil Foundation.
She took the job on June 7 — and starts work this
morning.
Schiller saw talent, vision, opportunity and ambition in this
particular entrant in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space, dedicated to a
global community of quality newsrooms. She did her research into the start-up,
which already has launched several news sites on its
platform. (The latest, The Colorado Sun, officially launching today, includes several
former senior editors and reporters of the shrinking Denver Post.)
"There's much more that we don't know about what blockchain
can do for journalism and what we do know,” Schiller said in an interview.
“But it will be something.”
As she wrote in a Medium essay: What if digital could do
over the things it hadn’t accounted for over the past 15 years? “Knowing what
could go wrong, how might we have thought about governance, integrity of
information, identity and legitimacy?” Schiller wrote. “How might we have
thought about business models to support quality, and safeguards to protect us
from bad actors?”
At Civil, she’ll develop journalistic standards and practices.
She’ll also set up the Civil Foundation as an entity to make grants — and help
decide what it will focus on. Schiller knows broad outlines — impact,
accountability, filling news deserts, promoting newsgathering from challenging
and perhaps dangerous places — but her task is to help define it.
After the Scorpion Dragon Being spoke Sunday Poem
The Guardian: “Danish-Canadian urban designer Mikael Colville-Andersen busts some common myths and shows how the bicycle has the potential to transform cities around the world.”
The Face of Legal Technology in 2018 (and What it Means for the Future of Access to Justice) By Kristen Sonday, Paladin Updated: May 8, 2018.
“Introduction – In recent years, a curious paradox has emerged: There is far more legal technology being built than ever before, yet somehow, the access to justice (ATJ) gap in America keeps widening. In an age of natural disasters, politically charged immigration measures, an opioid epidemic (for which the Legal Services Corporation recently created a task force) and a housing emergency, the United States is facing a bona fide ATJ crisis. Right now, a whopping 86% of low-income Americans who need legal assistance never receive it—a shocking statistic that disproportionately affects women, immigrants, and minorities…Employing the first ever data-driven analysis of legaltech companies and their founders, I present two crucial (and until now, anecdotal) root causes:
1. Lack of representation from diverse communities within legaltech; and
2. Lack of focus by legaltech on problems that affect access to justice…”
Legal Analytics vs. Legal Research: What’s the Difference? - Law Technology Today: “Legal analytics involves mining data contained in case documents and docket entries, and then aggregating that data to provide previously unknowable insights into the behavior of the individuals (judges and lawyers), organizations (parties, courts, law firms), and the subjects of lawsuits (such as patents) that populate the litigation ecosystem. Litigators use legal analytics to reveal trends and patterns in past litigation that inform legal strategy and anticipate outcomes in current cases. While every litigator learns how to conduct legal research in law school, performs legal research on the job (or reviews research conducted by associates or staff), and applies the fruits of legal research to the facts of their cases, many may not yet have encountered legal analytics. Data-driven insights from legal analytics do not replace legal research or reasoning, or lawyers themselves. They are a supplement, both prior to and during litigation…”
• After years of growth, the use of social media for news is falling across the world - NiemanLab: “…People are becoming disenchanted with Facebook for news. The “Trump bump” appears to be sustaining itself.
The New York Times: “Founded in 1754, the New York Society Library, on East 79th Street in Manhattan, calls itself the oldest cultural institution in New York City. “If you can find one that’s older, let us know,” said Carolyn Waters, its head librarian. Yet the place remains little known, even to many New Yorkers. “It’s surprising to me how under the radar we’ve been,” said Ms. Waters, 54, who at times can seem like a den mother for the many writers who toil away in the library’s elegant reading and study rooms. Historically, these have included the likes of Herman Melville and Washington Irving. “We’ve always been a haven for writers,” Ms. Waters said. “You trip over them here. They’re everywhere.” Since this is a membership library supported by annual fees and its endowment, patrons must pay to enjoy lending privileges for its roughly 300,000 volumes on a broad array of subjects, including plenty of material about New York City. Members also enjoy access to the library’s stacks and its elegant, wood paneled spaces on upper floors decorated with paintings and sculptures. Ms. Waters has pushed to widen membership beyond the Upper East Side, despite the challenge of the name itself. “It’s frustrating, in many ways, to have that word, ‘society,’ in our name,” she said, because it can connote exclusivity…” [See also the New York Society Library Blog]
Researchers reverse cognitive impairments in mice with dementia Medical Xpress
Swiss Voters Strongly Reject Money Reform Proposal WSJ
MMT: economics for an economy focussed on meeting the needs of most people Tax Research UK
Wolff predicts a shift to socialism in America, because young people will push for it. A lot of mistakes were made in the name of socialism and communism, he says. We have to learn from history.
“I’d like to remind people the transition from feudalism to capitalism didn’t happen in some smooth way,” he says. “Capitalism came into the world after lots of fits and starts and trials and errors. Why do we imagine it will be any different going from capitalism to socialism?”
We can do better than capitalism, he says at the end of the show.
How LinkedIn turned this “Failmom” into a socialist Salon (UserFriendly).“This is fun in a jaded way.”
Quantifying The Economic Toll Of Segregation Forbes
CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSIONER: Help Americans First, Before Immigrants.
A key U.S. civil rights official, armed with data that cheap legal and illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American-born minorities, is calling on Congress to take a hard line stance in its developing immigration policy that gives priority to Americans workers.Believing he has an allies in President Trump and top White House adviser Stephen Miller, Peter N. Kirsanow, a commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights, said, “Government policy should be formulated around that concept: Benefit Americans first before you start to benefit foreigners.”In an interview with Secrets, the sole Republican on the eight person commission, added, “We should be looking at what helps Americans first.”Kirsanow expressed dismay that while the president has a solid immigration blueprint based on his promise to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, congressional Republicans are unfocused and some have endorsed business demands for more and cheaper imported labor.“I think this president is by far the strongest president that we’ve ever had from a pro-American immigration policy standpoint,” he said. “We’re getting more from this president than we could ever expect to get,” he added.Of Miller, he said, “I think Stephen Miller is probably the strongest advocate for a pro-American immigration policy.”Kirsanow this week sent a letter to Congress warning that minorities could be further squeezed out of the workforce in the tight labor market if more immigration is allowed and if some in Congress follow through with plans to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.
It’s as if the Dem and Republican establishments care more about votes and cheap labor than the well-being of their voters.
Inequality, Social Dysfunction and Misery Dandelion SaladArmy to issue updated chemical protective suits for toxic command climates Duffel Blog Feedback from Svit
Boston Globe lawsuit against former employee who alleged a
questionable text from top editor. Globe says it got information it needed
BIAS IN THAT ALGORITHM?: This tool claims to fix it, Fast Company reports
Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation vision statement:
Paul Ramsay was a leading Australian businessman who was passionate about education and wished to educate future generations in the traditions and practices of western civilisation: its history, philosophy, literature, science, theology, music, art and architecture.
He also wanted to create over time a cadre of leaders – Australians whose awareness and appreciation of their country’s Western heritage and values, of the challenges that have confronted leaders and people, with that broad heritage in the past, would help guide their decision making in the future.
The Ramsay Centre Scholarships will provide students from across Australia the opportunity to study western civilisation in this spirit at one of our partner universities. Places will also be available within the BA degrees to non-scholarship holders. [my yellow highlighting]
The ANU Observer, 8 March 2018:
ANU announced plans for a $25,000 a year scholarship associated with a proposed Bachelor of Western Civilization on Tuesday, subject to student consultation. The announcement occurred at a forum for staff and student feedback, where more details of the proposed program were given, though some students voiced concerns.
At $25,000, the scholarship is the largest ever offered at ANU. It will be larger by just above 15% than the Tuckwell Scholarship, which is set at $21,700 for 2018.....
In a question at the forum, one attendee quoted the CEO of the Ramsay Centre, Simon Haines, as saying, “If we feel like it’s not going to go to appreciation of Western Civilization, then we can withdraw the funding.”
Australian National University, FAQ - Potential ANU-Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation Partnership
Justice Department Threatens Investigation of Investigation (of Investigation) - POGO: “The fight between the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the Department of Justice continues to build, but there’s a new twist: A top DOJ official has reportedly promised to request lawyers for the House of Representatives investigate the Committee’s staff for unspecified misconduct. CNN reported Tuesday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has promised to “request that the House general counsel conduct an internal investigation of these Congressional staffers’ conduct” when Rosenstein returns from a foreign trip this week. Can he do that? He can ask, but it’s a pointless exercise, says Mort Rosenberg, one of the leading experts on Congressional procedure and oversight authorities, and a fellow with The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight. “I don’t quite fathom what Rosenstein is suggesting,” Rosenberg wrote in response to an inquiry. “I hardly think the House General Counsel would conduct an investigation” at the request of Rosenstein, Rosenberg said. The House Office of General Counsel has no responsibility to oversee the conduct of House staff or members, Rosenberg explained. It is the chamber’s legal advocate and adviser. It is more likely to defend the House against charges of misconduct than it is to make them. House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has pressed Rosenstein for months for information from the Russia investigation, and had issued a subpoena for certain sensitive documents DOJ had declined to produce. The standoff led to remarkable briefings last month, coordinated by the White House, between DOJ officials, senior Congressional Republicans, and top Congressional intelligence oversight members, in which highly classified information from the investigation was to be shared…”
Justice Department Threatens Investigation of Investigation (of Investigation) - POGO: “The fight between the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the Department of Justice continues to build, but there’s a new twist: A top DOJ official has reportedly promised to request lawyers for the House of Representatives investigate the Committee’s staff for unspecified misconduct. CNN reported Tuesday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has promised to “request that the House general counsel conduct an internal investigation of these Congressional staffers’ conduct” when Rosenstein returns from a foreign trip this week. Can he do that? He can ask, but it’s a pointless exercise, says Mort Rosenberg, one of the leading experts on Congressional procedure and oversight authorities, and a fellow with The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight. “I don’t quite fathom what Rosenstein is suggesting,” Rosenberg wrote in response to an inquiry. “I hardly think the House General Counsel would conduct an investigation” at the request of Rosenstein, Rosenberg said. The House Office of General Counsel has no responsibility to oversee the conduct of House staff or members, Rosenberg explained. It is the chamber’s legal advocate and adviser. It is more likely to defend the House against charges of misconduct than it is to make them. House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has pressed Rosenstein for months for information from the Russia investigation, and had issued a subpoena for certain sensitive documents DOJ had declined to produce. The standoff led to remarkable briefings last month, coordinated by the White House, between DOJ officials, senior Congressional Republicans, and top Congressional intelligence oversight members, in which highly classified information from the investigation was to be shared…”