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Tuesday, July 04, 2023

4th July of Trust: Prigozhin’s March on Moscow - Undercover policing unit tactics not justified


    • "If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace." 

      - Hamilton Fish  


    "Independence Day: freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” 

    - Dwight D. Eisenhower  via Lou’s photogenic President Joe Bidden


The Scarcest Thing in the World

It's not oil or eggs or toilet paper—but something far more important  - trust 




The Clerkships Whisper Network: What It Is, Why It's Broken, And How To Fix It




No one was at the wheel, says PwC

The tax leaks saga was just a case of immaculate misconception. There were no guiding hands and hardly any tax partners.


Opening statement from Commissioner Chris Jordan to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, 30 May 2023.

I would like to make some opening remarks in relation to the PwC matter which I know is of great interest to this Committee, taxpayers, the tax profession, the media, and the general public.

The ATO has a proven track record of holding multinationals and their tax advisers to account.

A major part of our success is that we are ahead of the game when it comes to tax schemes potentially promoted by tax advisers.


Speech delivered by Acting Deputy Commissioner John Ford at the Financial Crime Summit on 31 May 2023

A reminder that ATO's digital self-help tools are the easiest and quickest way to resolve queries this tax time.
ATO Chief Service Delivery Officer David Allen said, 'we get lots of calls from the community about topics that can be easily resolved through our digital self-help tools, so it may be better to not wait in a queue to speak to someone when you can do it yourself, at a time and place that suits you.'

Meet Scyne’s cleanskin charged with keeping PwC’s problems at PwC

Everyone knows private equity likes making money, but a former judge brings that extra credibility that money cannot buy.


How journalists cover lies is the most important issue in news media


Lost in Transit: Digitization of Mail Expands Surveillance Beyond Prisons Logic(s)


Undercover policing unit tactics not justified, says report


Starbucks reverts to cash amid tech glitch Payments Dive


Markets and Speech: Where Does the Public Reside? Corey Robin. On 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis.


Your New Car Is Watching You And Collecting Your Data Jalopnik


Brown paper bags: ICAC report shot down Berejiklian’s defences then landed a hammer blow


The future is now: rethinking public ownershipRed Pepper

West wants to look the other way on UAE money laundering Politico EU


US files first-ever charges against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers Reuters


Where China stands on Fentanyl 


Jessikka Aro, a journalist who spent years researching the activities of pro-Russia internet trolls, wanted fact-checkers to know this: If you look for Russian influence in your region, you will find it — and it is vital that journalists work to expose these propaganda networks and inform the public.

Jessikka Aro, international fact-checkers discuss combatting Russian disinformation campaigns at GlobalFact 10


Prigozhin’s March on Moscow London Review of Books


Further thoughts on the lessons of the Prigozhin armed rebellion Gilbert Doctorow, Armageddon Newslettter


Vladimir Putin freezes out hardliners after Wagner mutiny FT


U.S. Levies New Sanctions on Wagner GroupForeign Policy


The real casualties of Russia’s ‘civil war’: the Beltway expert class Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone


FSB spooked the CIA on Prigozhin coup Indian Punchline


How Easy Is It to Fool A.I.-Detection Tools?

The New York Times: “…In recent months…startlingly lifelike images of these scenes created by artificial intelligence have spread virally online, threatening society’s ability to separate fact from fiction. To sort through the confusion, a fast-burgeoning crop of companies now offer services to detect what is real and what isn’t. Their tools analyze content using sophisticated algorithms, picking up on subtle signals to distinguish the images made with computers from the ones produced by human photographers and artists. But some tech leaders and misinformation experts have expressed concern that advances in A.I. will always stay a step ahead of the tools. To assess the effectiveness of current A.I.-detection technology, The New York Times tested five new services using more than 100 synthetic images and real photos. The results show that the services are advancing rapidly, but at times fall short…”