How to build belonging at work (even if you’re not a manager)
My boss at home celebrated her birthday yesterday and my other boss is celebrating today ...
How much savage coarseness is concealed in refined, cultivated manners.
— Nikolai Gogol, who died in 1852 (As Before Christ so now ...)
Slander and failed advertising campaigns: how tax haven officials responded to the Financial Secrecy Index 2020
Lessons learned from organising the first virtual conference
Rev Paul Nicholson: a lifelong justice campaigner R.I.P.
How to Stop Touching Your Face NYT
Hunt for Nazis a race against time
Gov.UK – Information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms.
A financial law professor who lied to the Internal Revenue Service in order to hide nearly $600,000 in income will return to his job at the University of Minnesota after a month of docked pay.
Supreme Court To Consider Whether Financial Fraudsters Should Be Allowed To Just, You Know, Get Away With It Dealbreaker
Coronavirus mutates into second strain which is more aggressive and contagious Mirror like Daily Terror headlines at his story Is less alarming than headline
How to build belonging at work (even if you’re not a manager) - FastCompany: “…Creating a workplace where people from varied backgrounds are thriving doesn’t end with the hiring process. Inclusive facilities such as all-gender restrooms and lactation rooms are a massive step forward, but work remains to be done. The final, crucial piece of the puzzle is fostering a sense of belonging across the entire company. Solving this problem is a nebulous, occasionally messy, oh-so-human endeavor, and at no point will you clap the dust off your hands and say, “Well. Glad that’s sorted.” The good news is that anyone can be part of the solution, no matter if you’re the CEO or the intern who started last week. Managers do play a special role in this endeavor. First, they set the tone for their teams, so it’s important that they model vulnerability and authenticity. Those are big concepts, but bringing them to life can be as simple as publicly owning mistakes or giving your team a heads-up that you’re struggling with something in your personal life right now and may not be as available as usual. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a downer. Being open about your dorky obsession with turn-of-the-century operettas counts too…”
Federal Agencies’ Estimates of FY 2019 Improper Payments – March 2020 – GAO-20-344– “Agency-reported improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2019 totaled about $175 billion, based on improper payment estimates reported by federal programs, an increase from the fiscal year 2018 total of $151 billion. Of the $175 billion, about $121 billion (approximately 69 percent) was concentrated in three program areas: (1) Medicaid, (2) Medicare, and (3) Earned Income Tax Credit. About $74.6 billion (approximately 42.7 percent) of the government-wide estimate was reported as monetary loss, an amount that should not have been paid and in theory should or could be recovered. However, the federal government’s ability to understand the full scope of its improper payments is hindered by incomplete, unreliable, or understated agency estimates; risk assessments that may not accurately assess the risk of improper payment; and agencies not complying with reporting and other requirements in the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA)…”
Facebook is shifting its Libra cryptocurrency plans after intense regulatory pressure The Verge
Central banks and fintech data issues(PDF) Bank of International Settlements. “Fintech creates important data gaps.”
Mastercard is pioneering new payment technology that identifies commuters by the way they walk MarketWatch. From February, still germane.
Why so many epidemics originate in Asia and Africa – and why we can expect more The Conversation
NASA drops mind-blowing 1.8 billion-pixel Mars landscape panorama that might make you cry CNET
Simple Systems Have Less Downtime Greg Kogan. This is considered to be novel?!?!
Rats avoid harming other rats. The finding may help us understand sociopaths. National Geographic via Clinging Anabelle
THE QUESTION IS, IS IT AN IRRATIONAL FEAR? Coronavirus Is Triggering Fear of Going to Work
Coronavirus quarantine hotel in China collapses, trapping dozens
About 70 people are trapped after a five-storey hotel being used for coronavirus quarantine collapsed in the port city of Quanzhou in southeast China, state media said.
'There’s nobody here': Coronavirus fears impact shoppers and retailers
Significantly less people appear to be shopping at the Macquarie Centre in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in northwest Sydney.
Churches stop passing of bread, wine and set to go online
The measures come as Pope Francis is further limiting his public appearances to prevent crowds from gathering as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.
Lessons learned from organising the first virtual conference
The Spanish flu set the benchmark for pandemics. How does coronavirus compare?
Doctors commonly refer to the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak as "the greatest medical holocaust in history". A century later, there are several important factors that make the coronavirus outbreak different.
The heroism of Chinese doctors in Wuhan (WSJ, though I believe the paywall is off on this one). Recommended From a scientist, coronavirus pictures to ponder
Rev Paul Nicholson: a lifelong justice campaigner R.I.P.
How to Stop Touching Your Face NYT
Like a Ball of Fire London Review of Books. Andrew Cockburn on hypersonic weaponry.
Know yourself Times Literary Supplement. Will Self.
U.S. Accountant Enabler Connected with Panama Papers Pleads Guilty
A Massachusetts-based accountant who was charged along with three others in connection with a decades-long criminal scheme perpetrated by Mossack Fonseca & Co. (Mossack Fonseca), a Panamanian-based global law firm, and its related entities, pleaded guilty today to wire and tax fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and other charges.Number of locally transmitted coronavirus cases jumps in Sydney
Six new cases were confirmed overnight, and five of those patients caught the virus from another local case.
By many accounts, 94-year-old Friedrich Karl Berger, who has been living in the US for 60 years, seemed unremarkable.
Following up on my previous post, Justice Thomas, In Lone Dissent, Thrashes Chevron and His Own Brand X Decision: Kristin E. Hickman (Minnesota), Justice Thomas, Brand X, andBaldwin:
The Internet and academia are abuzz about Justice Thomas’s dissent from the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in Baldwin v. United States. Specifically, Justice Thomas called upon the Supreme Court to reconsider its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Ass’n v. Brand X Internet Services. The Court in Brand X held that an administering agency acting with the force of law — e.g., through notice-and-comment rulemaking — may adopt an interpretation of a statute it administers that is contrary to a pre-existing circuit court decision advancing a different interpretation, and reviewing courts must in such circumstances extend Chevron deference to the agency’s reasonable, contrary interpretation, irrespective of stare decisis. The opinion for the Court in Brand X was written by none other than Justice Thomas. In his dissent from the denial of cert in Baldwin, he said, “Although I authored Brand X, it is never too late to surrender former views to a better considered position” (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted).
From what I have read in the past 36 or so hours, and the reporters with whom I have spoken, some of the reactions to Justice Thomas’s Baldwin dissent have been mixed. Much of the media coverage is behind paywalls (e.g., Bloomberg Tax), unfortunately, though not all of it is. (See, e.g., Taxprof blog.) Ultimately, your reaction to Justice Thomas’s dissent may depend upon whether or not you see Justice Thomas’s opinion as A BIG DEAL. Some people do, others do not. Please put me in the “not” camp. ...
Gov.UK – Information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms.
Uncovering The CIA’s Audacious Operation That Gave Them Access To State Secrets (interview) WaPo. “So we end up with ostensibly private company that is secretly owned by two intelligence services.” That company is probably just an outlier, even though this operation is presented as incredibly successful.
Following up on my previous posts (links below): Minneapolis Star-Tribune, University of Minnesota Law Professor Who Lied to IRS Will Keep His Job:
Edward S. Adams has been on paid leave from the University of Minnesota Law School since the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an indictment in 2017 alleging he masterminded a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme. Adams has continued to collect his annual $170,820 salary in the meantime. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in federal court late last year as part of a deal with prosecutors.
10 cities captured nearly 50% of the growth in new tech jobs Recode
Coronavirus mutates into second strain which is more aggressive and contagious Mirror like Daily Terror headlines at his story Is less alarming than headline
A bonus antidote from Chuck L. Photo was dated 2/28. Subject line: “Jolie’s last photo shoot.” So so sorry, this is very hard to do. And she looked like a sweet girl:
On Friday, February 28, we saw our dear dachshund Jolie off on her last journey, to the great dog park in the sky. She would have fifteen years old on Sunday, March 1.
How to build belonging at work (even if you’re not a manager) - FastCompany: “…Creating a workplace where people from varied backgrounds are thriving doesn’t end with the hiring process. Inclusive facilities such as all-gender restrooms and lactation rooms are a massive step forward, but work remains to be done. The final, crucial piece of the puzzle is fostering a sense of belonging across the entire company. Solving this problem is a nebulous, occasionally messy, oh-so-human endeavor, and at no point will you clap the dust off your hands and say, “Well. Glad that’s sorted.” The good news is that anyone can be part of the solution, no matter if you’re the CEO or the intern who started last week. Managers do play a special role in this endeavor. First, they set the tone for their teams, so it’s important that they model vulnerability and authenticity. Those are big concepts, but bringing them to life can be as simple as publicly owning mistakes or giving your team a heads-up that you’re struggling with something in your personal life right now and may not be as available as usual. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a downer. Being open about your dorky obsession with turn-of-the-century operettas counts too…”
GAO – federal government misspent $175 billion in fiscal 2019
Federal Agencies’ Estimates of FY 2019 Improper Payments – March 2020 – GAO-20-344– “Agency-reported improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2019 totaled about $175 billion, based on improper payment estimates reported by federal programs, an increase from the fiscal year 2018 total of $151 billion. Of the $175 billion, about $121 billion (approximately 69 percent) was concentrated in three program areas: (1) Medicaid, (2) Medicare, and (3) Earned Income Tax Credit. About $74.6 billion (approximately 42.7 percent) of the government-wide estimate was reported as monetary loss, an amount that should not have been paid and in theory should or could be recovered. However, the federal government’s ability to understand the full scope of its improper payments is hindered by incomplete, unreliable, or understated agency estimates; risk assessments that may not accurately assess the risk of improper payment; and agencies not complying with reporting and other requirements in the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA)…”
Nina E. Olson (Center for Taxpayer Rights; former U.S. Taxpayer Advocate) presents The Taxpayer Advocate's Final Report to Congress at Toronto today as part of its James Hausman Tax Law and Policy Workshop Series:
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson today released her 37th and final report to Congress in advance of her previously announced retirement on July 31. In the preface, Olson reflects on her 18 years in the job and provides her assessment of the key challenges facing the IRS and the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) in the coming years. The report also presents a review of the 2019 filling season.
“I am enormously grateful for the opportunity I have had to advocate on behalf of our nation’s taxpayers,” Olson wrote. “Amazingly, despite the challenges of complying with our multi-million-word tax code, more than 150 million individual taxpayers and more than 10 million business entities do their civic duty every year by filing income tax returns with the IRS. That is an extraordinary achievement and one we should not take for granted.”
Too good to be true? Beware of fake online jobs - Fortune: “The posting on a big, reputable job board seemed perfect: An opening at a well-known company you’ve always admired, with generous pay and benefits and the option of working from home. Of course you submit a resume and after an interview or two by phone or video—usually with, say, the HR director and one other senior manager—you get a terrific offer, which you happily accept. Naturally, once you’ve signed the employment contract that comes to you by snail mail, your new employer needs all kinds of personal information about you, including your bank account number for direct deposit of your paychecks, so you fill out and return the forms they send. Then the nightmare starts. When you show up for your first day of work, no one at the company where you’ve supposedly been hired has ever heard of you—or, for that matter, of the “executives” who interviewed you. It gets worse: The balance in your bank account is now $0. And of course, you’ve already quit your old job. Unthinkable, right? But, according to a recent bulletin from the FBI, this scenario, or some diabolically clever variation of it, has been on the rise since early 2019….”
Facebook is shifting its Libra cryptocurrency plans after intense regulatory pressure The Verge
Central banks and fintech data issues(PDF) Bank of International Settlements. “Fintech creates important data gaps.”
Mastercard is pioneering new payment technology that identifies commuters by the way they walk MarketWatch. From February, still germane.
Why so many epidemics originate in Asia and Africa – and why we can expect more The Conversation
NASA drops mind-blowing 1.8 billion-pixel Mars landscape panorama that might make you cry CNET
Simple Systems Have Less Downtime Greg Kogan. This is considered to be novel?!?!