The new Annie Jacobsen book on biological warfare

 The new Annie Jacobsen book on biological warfare

Timothy Snyder: “What comes next? For the Nazis, the deportation and the pogrom of autumn 1938 were steps towards creating a centralised national police agency. In the US, something similar is unfolding with ICE.”

Every second cigarette in Australia is now illegal

Barry O'Farrell expected to return as Wests Tigers chairman 10 days after shock sacking

Former Australian Taxation Office staffer walks free after defrauding taxpayers in GST scam

A former Australian Taxation Office worker from Brisbane who defrauded taxpayers of $105,000 in a GST scam, and spent it on her lavish lifestyle has avoided jail.

Eva Ellen Dierens was in the District Court in Brisbane on Wednesday where the court heard she created a fictitious house-cleaning business, then facilitated the lodging $105,000 worth of fake GST refund claims.

The 28-year-old from Woolloongabba spent the money on tattoos, teeth straightening, an overseas holiday and a car loan, the court heard. 

Her ex-boyfriend, named in court as Zachariah Ahmed, was never charged over Dierens crime, Ms Tanzer-Wilde told the court.

Maybe a General Strike Isn’t So Impossible NowLabor Notes

The National: speaking truth to power

‘Looks like massive fraud’: Trump’s many pardons spark fury The release of drug traffickers and fraudsters is puzzling allies and sending shockwaves through legal circles.

Who Runs Congress’s Agencies?

First Branch Forecast: “While legislative branch agencies belong to Congress, not all are entirely free of executive branch entanglements. 

The question of how Congress chooses, oversees, and removes legislative branch agency heads is integral to the independence of the legislative branch, especially with recent White House efforts to take over or place personnel inside the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, the Government Publishing Office, and the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. 

Legislative branch agencies are responsible for providing confidential legal and policy advice to Congress, conducting its oversight of the Executive branch, providing Congress with access to records, independently evaluating the state of our economy, administering the legislative branch workplace including addressing complaints concerning member misbehavior, and much more. 

There are very good reasons why their activities should be fully independent and separate from White House control. A few years back we surveyedhow appointments work for officers like the Architect of the Capitol, Librarian of Congress, the Director of the Government Publishing Office, the Comptroller General of the United States, and there was no consistency. How inconsistent? Let’s provide some examples…”