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Tuesday, August 16, 2022

#YourAccountYourCrime – Don’t become a money mule! ‘The siren has sounded’: Scientists pinpoint COVID’s origin

Criminal organizations often rely on money laundering to conceal the origin of their illicit funds. The aim is to make funds appear legitimate and at the same time distance criminal groups from prosecution. This action also makes it difficult for law enforcement to trace money trails.

Money mules are people who knowingly or, in certain cases, unknowingly help criminal organizations launder their illicit profits. They do this by providing their own accounts to help receive and transfer fraudulent funds, thereby "legitimizing" it.

#YourAccountYourCrime – Don’t become a money mule!


King 🤴- Coalition MPs finally discover a political norm they don’t like being trashed via Little Italy 🇮🇹 


 IRS asks watchdog to investigate Comey, McCabe audits


Julian Assange Wins Right to Appeal His U.S. Extradition at Supreme Court Daily Beast


‘The siren has sounded’: Scientists pinpoint COVID’s origin 

Since the emergence of COVID-19, a question has obsessed many: where did it come from? 

That question – and the fact the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan, home of the Wuhan Institute of Virology – has sparked geopolitical convulsions and a fracturing of faith in science, not to mention a thousand anonymous Twitter-sleuth accounts. 

 Continue reading



Cyber Intelligence: Strategic Warning Is Possible 

Governments and private security firms have studied many intelligence aspects of cyberconflict, but the public literature has not described the existence of a strategic cyber warning function or addressed the question of whether strategic warning of significant cyberattacks is possible.

This article argues that it is, but technical characteristics of cyberspace and the rapidly evolving nature of cyber-related conflict make cyber warning more difficult than traditional strategic warning. Addressing these complexities requires specialized teams of experts. In the U.S. case, new warning skills and institutions are needed. 

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Map of commercial ferries exposes China’s plan in Taiwan 

China’s commercial ferries are (mostly) still on their regular runs. And that’s a sign Taiwan is safe from invasion – for now. 

Beijing’s warships have surrounded the small island democracy. Combat aircraft are pushing its boundaries. Missiles are set to be fired into hastily vacated shipping lanes around – and inside – its territorial waters. 

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Lindsey Hughes, Russia in the Age of Peter the Great.  I only read part of this book, as it had more detail than what I was looking to consume, but it is clearly a major and very useful source on its topic.  It focuses on the progress, science, and state-building sides of the reign of Peter.


Explosions Rip Through Russian Base on CrimeaNYT. Single-sourced: “The senior Ukrainian official said the attack involved partisan resistance forces loyal to the government in Kyiv.” Could even be the same “official” who fed WaPo the same story. But maybe not! “Special forces” and “partisans” aren’t really the same thing.


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In many ways, the John Barilaro trade appointment saga is an accidental scandal. Upper house MP Daniel Mookhey, NSW Labor’s treasury expert, was on a fishing expedition when he sought documents outlining the recruitment process for the state’s six newly created senior trade and investment commissioners.

Using the powers of the upper house late last year, Mookhey asked for all available details on the lucrative overseas roles, including expenses for the trade offices, from rent and office equipment to flowers, wellbeing programs, school fees and parking fines.

Fishing expedition: How Labor stumbled across the scandal that has Perrottet under pressure