“I have often heard Degas say that in painting you must give the idea of the true by means of the false.”
~Walter Sickert, “The Royal Academy” (English Review, June 1912)
Instead of houses, young people have houseplantsEconomist (UserFriendly). I have cats because they are much more difficult to kill than plants (cats are very vocal as to their needs), but I’d have plants too if I were more successful with them.
(A Just World) Hang’em High Ian Welsh
Micheler, Eva and Whaley, Anna, Regulatory Technology – Replacing Law
with Computer Code (July 9, 2018). LSE Legal Studies Working Paper No.
14/2018. Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3210962
“Recently both the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct
Authority have carried out experiments using new digital technology for
regulatory purposes. The idea is to replace rules written in natural
legal language with computer code and to use artificial intelligence for
regulatory purposes. This new way of designing public law is in line
with the government’s vision for the UK to become a global leader in
digital technology. It is also reflected in the FCA’s business plan.
More than 20 per cent of APS submissions not made public
Thinking
about becoming a whistleblower? Here are some of
the things you should consider before sharing your
information.
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Edward
Snowden calls for whistleblower
protections and talks about life after leaking
documents from inside the U.S. National Security Agency that revealed
worldwide surveillance programs.
Simona Weinglass, Why are Israeli banks asking customers where their money comes from? (Times of Israel, here. Excerpts:
Israelis with business interests abroad report being summoned to their local bank, being asked to explain how they earned their money, and, if unable to provide satisfactory answers, having their bank account closed.
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The reason for these changes, Supervisor of Banks Hedva Ber told a conference in December, is that three of Israel’s major banks have come under criminal investigation over the past seven years by the US Justice Department for allegedly helping thousands of US citizens launder money and evade taxes — a fairly devastating state of affairs that has garnered remarkably little public attention.
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Bank Leumi admitted wrongdoing in 2014, agreeing with the US Justice Department that it had conspired to aid and assist a minimum of 1,500 US taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the US Internal Revenue Service by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and elsewhere around the world. According to a US Justice Department press release, Bank Leumi’s “criminal activity” spanned over a decade from at least 2000 to 2011, during which time Leumi also provided “hold mail” service for approximately 2,450 US accounts whereby bank statements were held abroad and not sent sent to the customer’s address in the United States. To avoid prosecution, Bank Leumi agreed to pay $400 million in fines to the US and New York State governments.
Meanewhile, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Mizrahi are still being investigated by the Department of Justice and the numbers of customers involved and size of the fines are expected to be on a similar scale.
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How
superstition changes the way we make decisions
"The simple act of crossing one’s fingers or clutching a rabbit’s foot
keychain flips loss aversion on its head. People become more risk-seeking in
gains but more risk-averse when facing losses." (Kellogg School blog)
Why we
choke under pressure (and how not to)
"We’ve shown perhaps counterintuitively that individuals who have the most
ability to focus, the most working memory, the most fluid intelligence, are
actually more prone to perform poorly under stress." (Freakonomics podcast)
It is an absurdity that the Prime Minister can merely pick whoever he wants to be the commissioner – with no specified competitive process, writes Verona Burgess.
Let’s assume we had a can opener – or if not a can opener, a public service review that was prepared to resolve the hottest button issues in conflicts of interest.
In the end, it all boils down to what parts of the Public Service Act 1999 need amending, along with some consequential amendments to other acts where necessary.
While the PS act should not have to consider every worst-case scenario, it should not have holes in it that have recently become obvious in hindsight.
The departure of John Lloyd and arrival of Peter Woolcott this week as the Australian Public Service Commissioner raises the red – or should we say blue – flag.
Time to fix the federal Public Service Act
At his valedictory last night, hosted by the Institute of Public Administration Australia, Lloyd admitted he deliberately avoided overshadowing his senior APSC staff with responsibility for IR. But there were a few other areas where those who worked with him on selection boards and interdepartmental committees noticed a particular passion Lloyd exhibited that became infectious Why John Lloyd’s APS supporters will miss him
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