Wednesday, December 12, 2018

By the numbers: Political tweets turn blue in 2018

Life's just a bunch of accidents, connected by one perfect end.
~ Daniel C. Tomas via Mana in Port according to Basil ;-)

Google CEO tells Congress why Trump comes up in searches for 'idiot'




 TIME magazine lauds journalists as its Person of the Year

Government's Sentencing Memorandum (United States v. Cohen, No. 18 Cr. 602 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 7, 2018)):
Between tax years 2012 and 2016, Cohen evaded taxes by failing to report more than $4 million in income to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), which resulted in the avoidance of more than $1.4 million due to the United States Treasury Department. Specifically, Cohen failed to report several different streams of income on his tax returns, which he swore were true and accurate. ...

 Ridley Scott and Asif Kapadia are working on a film adaptation of Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.  Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator, Alien) is producing while Kapadia (the excellent documentaries Amy & Senna) will direct. Harari, you’ll recall, is a Prophet and states in Sapiens that the Agricultural Revolution is “history’s biggest fraud”.


Rather than heralding a new era of easy living, the Agricultural Revolution left farmers with lives generally more difficult and less satisfying than those of foragers. Hunter-gatherers spent their time in more stimulating and varied ways, and were less in danger of starvation and disease. The Agricultural Revolution certainly enlarged the sum total of food at the disposal of humankind, but the extra food did not translate into a better diet or more leisure. Rather, it translated into population explosions and pampered elites. The average farmer worked harder than the average forager, and got a worse diet in return. The Agricultural Revolution was history’s biggest fraud.

By the numbers: Political tweets turn blue in 2018 - Axios: “New data from Twitter shows the top 10 U.S. politicians who were most tweeted about in the few months after the midterm election were Democrats, replacing a list that was once dominated by GOP lawmakers the majority of 2018. Why it matters: The political clout and conversation is changing with its politicians. Republicans like Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) who once dominated the subject of tweets, are now being replaced by nominated House speaker Nancy Pelosi and outgoing Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke in the rankings, per Twitter…”
Poynter: “Over the next three weeks, the International Fact-Checking Network is releasing a limited-run podcast about fact-checking and fake news.


 MEdia Dragon Ranked #5 on Google: Duck Duck Go: “Over the years, there has been considerable discussion of Google’s “filter bubble” problem. Put simply, it’s the manipulation of your search results based on your personal data. In practice this means links are moved up or down or added to your Google search results, necessitating the filtering of other search results altogether. These editorialized results are informed by the personal information Google has on you (like your search, browsing, and purchase history), and puts you in a bubble based on what Google’s algorithms think you’re most likely to click on. The filter bubble is particularly pernicious when searching for political topics. That’s because undecided and inquisitive voters turn to search engines to conduct basic research on candidates and issues in the critical time when they are forming their opinions on them. If they’re getting information that is swayed to one side because of their personal filter bubbles, then this can have a significant effect on political outcomes in aggregate…
Google has claimed to have taken steps to reduce its filter bubble problem, but our latest research reveals a very different story. Based on a study of individuals entering identical search terms at the same time, we found that:


    1. Most participants saw results unique to them. These discrepancies could not be explained by changes in location, time, by being logged in to Google, or by Google testing algorithm changes to a small subset of users.
    2. On the first page of search results, Google included links for some participants that it did not include for others, even when logged out and in private browsing mode.
    3. Results within the news and videos infoboxes also varied significantly. Even though people searched at the same time, people were shown different sources, even after accounting for location.
    4. Private browsing mode and being logged out of Google offered very little filter bubble protection. These tactics simply do not provide the anonymity most people expect. In fact, it’s simply not possible to use Google search and avoid its filter bubble…”

    Home Affairs secretary fears cyber doom; critics say he made it more likely
    NATIONAL SECURITY: The growing cyber threat is a war with no established doctrine, shaped by technologists, academics and business — but it will stumble in the dark without the policymaker and the strategist, says Michael Pezzullo.

    NSW, SA governments progress deals with Commonwealth on data sharing
    DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: Public bickering between the federal and Queensland IT ministers book-ended Friday’s meeting of the Australian Digital Council.

    Operational Excellence for Government Summit 2019
    PARTNER EVENT: Join Service NSW, Sydney Trains, the ATO, National Health Service (UK) and more in Sydney to learn how to align your processes, people and technology to achieve organisational effectiveness.

    Cloud gets interesting
    A major study commissioned by Macquarie Government has found that complex legacy systems and data management are the biggest challenges for the deployment of cloud services in government. (Partner article)


    Visa processing outsourced: what could go wrong?



    Abul Rizvi, former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration

    Privatisation of core government functions such as visa processing is high risk, especially when undertaken under the cloak of commercial-in-confidence secrecy.


    Full-scale political row erupts over the merit of three APS appointments



    Verona Burgess


    Once more, it highlights one of the most painful nerve-points in the Australian Public Service: merit appointment




    Can markets do the job of regulators?
    BENEDICT SHEEHY: Politicians, policymakers and commentators often refer to the market as if it were a regulator, but this fundamentally misunderstands the task of both. Canberra's law school head reflects on the Banking Royal Commission.

    ‘Oh wow.’ How public servants react when the minister asks who worked for their opponent
    MISTAKEN INTENTIONS: It sounds ominous — a minister asking for a list of public servants seconded to the last minister’s office before a change of government — but it was all just a big misunderstanding.

    New models key to getting better access to new pan-tumour drugs
    Governments and clinicians should leverage the availability of data and the international experience to improve the speed and equity of patients’ access to treatment, agrees the speakers at a Canberra seminar. (Partner article)

    The future of regulations in Australia
    PARTNER EVENT: Regulators and government agencies must understand issues exposed by the Banking Royal Commission and respond effectively. Master the future of regulations in Australia at the Regulatory Reform Summit 2019
    High performing agencies - what does it take?
    The very understanding of what a high performance staff and culture looks like is changing dramatically says Kathy Hilyard, KPMG’s public sector partner. (Partner article)










  1. Why the UK is losing its costly battle against money laundering  (10 Dec 2018)


  2. Heston Blumenthal, the tax havens and the ripped-off workers  (10 Dec 2018)


  3. Deutsche Bank reports suspicious tax transactions  (10 Dec 2018)


  4. NHS Trusts are using tax avoidance schemes that cost £140m in public money - or 6,000 nursing jobs - every year (10 Dec 2018)


  5. British stockbroker at centre of £940m money-laundering investigation   (10 Dec 2018)


  6. Tax avoidance involving profit fragmentation  (10 Dec 2018)


  7. Australian Tax Office contractors accused of links to tax havens  (10 Dec 2018)


  8. New UK measures to tackle international money laundering  (10 Dec 2018)


  9. Group led by Thomas Piketty presents plan for 'a fairer Europe'  (10 Dec 2018)


  10. Study pushes for Scottish land and property tax reform  (10 Dec 2018)


  11. Income redistribution through taxes and transfers across OECD countries (7 Dec 2018)


  12. Report: £250 billion fraud in UK tax havens greater sum than 20 years of foreign aid budget  (7 Dec 2018)


  13. UK tax haven colonies enabled £250 billion in crimes  (7 Dec 2018)


  14. Trump's Tax Promise of Trillions Back to US Fails to Materialize  (7 Dec 2018)


  15. The EU's tax haven blacklist - impressive or impotent?  (7 Dec 2018)


  16. Local hospitals, universities invest millions in off-shore tax havens  (7 Dec 2018)


  17. UK receives top marks in fight against money laundering  (7 Dec 2018)


  18. Wealth firms slam fund groups on offshore fund tax reporting  (7 Dec 2018)


  19. Why hasn't Wightlink paid any corporation tax?  (7 Dec 2018)



    20. via BESPACIFIC Waters: Greetings friends, colleagues: my blog BeSpacific has been nominated (4 years in a row) in the category Best Legal Legal Tech Blog.
    Please take a minute this week and vote for BeSpacific here – https://www.theexpertinstitute.com/legal-blog/bespacific/ and share this request with your friends and colleagues as well.
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