“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
Nobody messes with the Irish ☘️
Stalwart Irish Fishermen Uncowed By Russian Threats And Diplomatic Games
Russian military drills spark debate on Irish security
“After the Olympics, we’ll get ruthless,” Goebbels confides in his diary on 7 August.” Then there will be some shooting.”
On the ground in Beijing, on the trail of the Olympic spirit
Covid-19 news: 119 people test positive at Beijing Winter Olympics.
Chevron’s Prosecution of Steven Donziger The Nation.
Italian businessmen scammed €440 million in virus tax credits, say police
The government is unable to say why it did not put basic checks to tackle Covid fraud in place
Further to my blog post yesterday, quoting Lord Prem Sikka, who I have worked with for twenty years on tax justice issues, I note this
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Lord Agnew resigned yesterday suggesting in the process that government losses to fraud were at least £29 billion a year. I am afraid I have
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“Top Risks is Eurasia Group’s annual forecast of the political risks that are most likely to play out over the course of the year. This year’s report was published on 3 January 2022.
John Farnham leads tributes to Australian music identity Glenn Wheatley
Pete Recommends Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 22, 2022 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness.
Four highlights from this week: IRS Will Soon Require Selfies for Online Access; Ransomware and phishing: Google Drive will now warn you about suspicious files of bills and identity documents; How to avoid seeing yourself on video calls. Sometimes you can’t turn your camera off but you still want to stay out of view; and Bill to Ban Surveillance Advertising Introduced.
Covid crushed company culture but something better will take its place -Quartz: “Nearly two years into the pandemic, many business leaders are concerned that remote work hurts company culture. They’re also a bit sad without it. “I know I’m not alone in missing the hum of activity, the energy, creativity and collaboration of our in-person meetings and the sense of community we’ve all built,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a June memo explaining why he eventually wants workers back in the office at least part-time.
“I worry we’re creating a culture where people are not exposing themselves in ways they would be in the office,” Judith Carr-Rodriguez, CEO of New York City advertising firm FIG, told Bloomberg last month. A 2021 PwC survey found that 29% of US executives like the idea of employees being in the office at least three days a week for the sake of company culture, while 18% said they prefer four days a week in the office and 21% voted for five days a week in the office. These executives aren’t wrong, exactly.
Working from home can indeed make it harder for employees to forge relationships with one another. Sixty-five percent of people who switched to remote work during the pandemic say they feel less connected to their coworkers, according to a December 2020 survey from the Pew Research Center. And some management experts have theorized that employees’ newfound sense of detachment is one contributing factor in the Great Resignation.
But if the shift to remote and distributed work has made some employees feel less connected to one another and, by extension, to their companies, is that such a problem? Perhaps it’s a sign that business leaders need to reexamine their views on what actually comprises company culture, and whether our traditional models are out of date…”
Why the rich got richer – an inadequate explanation from the BBC
I watched this programme on BBC2 last night: For those with an hour to spare and the ability to withstand the frustration of watching it
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