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Here's how Ukraine was being reported by the West before the war.

Today, increasing reports of far-right violence, ultranationalism, and erosion of basic freedoms are giving the lie to the West’s initial euphoria. There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.

These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity.

Five years after Maidan, the beacon of democracy is looking more like a torchlight march. A neo-Nazi battalion in the heart of Europe

If you whitewash NAZI POGROMS just because you want to beat Russia, fuck you. Siding with far-right fascists to defeat far-right fascists doesn't make you the good guy. There is no lesser of two evils here.

If you dismiss any criticism of Ukraine as Russian propaganda, you might want to ask why the rest of the world, including the West, was concerned about Nazism in the area and then suddenly changed their tune only after the war started.

We should be getting both sides into peace negotiations, not prolonging the bloodshed and providing Nazis with illegal cluster bombs

Really cool to see the West whitewash Azov Nazis

And by cool I mean disgusting

Fuck Ukrainian Nazis

Won't someone think of the small business owners?!

The woman added, "And that says a lot about where their heart and mind is through all of this and where our heart and mind is."

"You don't see our people swimming, snorkeling, surfing. Nobody is having fun in tragedy and continuing their lives like nothing has happened," she said. "There is two Hawaiis right now — there is the Hawaii we're living in and the Hawaii they're living in, they're visiting in."

The final paragraph...

According to NCEI’s Global Annual Temperature Outlook and data through July, it is virtually certain (> 99.0%) that 2023 will rank among the five-warmest years on record, with a nearly 50% probability that 2023 will rank as the warmest on record.

In wicked evil communist north korea, papers that are critical of a local small business kulak get raided by the police as punishment for speaking truth to power

Thread image created by yours truly, depicting Iran and Pakistan very impolitely not asking whether America, on the other side of the planet, is okay with them transporting gas around.

The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has long been obstructed by American involvement in the region. Iran completed its section of the pipeline quite quickly, but Pakistan has been unable to finish its construction for a decade due to the fear of falling afoul of American sanctions on Iran. The United States has repeatedly tried to pressure Pakistan to give up the project and obtain gas from other countries instead. Recent articles on the state of the pipeline are contradictory, with some stating that Iran or Pakistan have given up on the pipeline while American sanctions persist. Pakistani officials reject this framing, saying that they are still working with Iran to try and get the project completed somehow. Nonetheless, Iran is becoming increasingly frustrated and is threatening a legal battle and a demand for reparations.

Meanwhile, back in Niger, the $13 billion under-construction pipeline connecting Nigeria and other West African countries to Spain and Italy will likely face delays due to the sanctions applied by the West and ECOWAS on Niger. Those following the European gas fiasco will be aware that while Spain and Italy have been impacted by the energy crisis, they have been very busy making deals with African countries to replace their Russian gas, and thus stand a better chance than Germany of making it through the crisis with their industries somewhat intact. The coup has thrown a wrench into their plans, though they can still obtain some gas from northern African countries.

And, last but not least, America tried for years to stop the construction of the Nord Stream pipelines between Germany and Russia, which culminated in them deciding to blow them up late last year.

All in all - the United States really does not like it when countries build up energy infrastructure and gain some independence from them.

Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.

This week's first update is here in the comments.

This week's second update is here in the comments.

This week's third update is here in the comments.

A libertarian who wants people to sell their organs.

Fuck the Department of State, Foundation Atlas and our reactionary news conglomerate.

Worst in US history for 100 years.

The big four accounting giants racked up billions of dollars in auditing fees in the private sector as the quality of auditing declined, heightening concerns it could trigger another Enron-type corporate collapse.

The infiltration of the big four — EY, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC — in government departments has been well documented. What is less well known is their role in the private sector as auditors sprinkling holy water over company financial accounts, as well as offering consultancy services spanning tax minimisation advice, cyber security, IT and strategy.

Their power extends to the boardrooms of corporate Australia, where hundreds, possibly thousands, of alumni are directors of the most powerful organisations.

Governance and proxy adviser Ownership Matters crunched the numbers for 7.30, using four years of data, to unveil a series of uncomfortable truths about the depth and breadth of the big four across the country's ASX 300 companies.

Until now, the big four accounting firms had built themselves an aura of credibility and trust in government and corporate Australia.

The data reveals that 97 per cent of the external audit work of the ASX 300 companies was done by the big four.

These companies shelled out an estimated $4 billion in auditing and consulting fees to the big four between 2018 and 2022. But the concentration is in the biggest companies, with the top 20 ASX companies accounting for 50 per cent of the fees.

Even more concentrated are the big four banks — CBA, Westpac, National Australia Bank — and Macquarie Group, which spent a combined $832 million over four years, making them the biggest users of the big four's services.

But the real figure is unknown as listed companies only disclose consulting work done by their auditors, not other consultancy work.

And when it comes to servicing the $3.5 trillion superannuation industry, unlisted companies and trusts, the figures could be even more.

Alarmingly, while the big four have been dominating auditing, corporate watchdog ASIC has found the quality of auditing is declining. It is something Professor Allan Fels told 7.30 is a sleeper issue that could trigger a corporate collapse.

"We know that the global financial crisis of 2008 was partly triggered by bad auditing," Professor Fels said. "I have deep fears that something similar could occur to topple the global and the Australian economy in the coming period."

Last year, ASIC's inspection reports found deficiencies in a third of the biggest firms. Separate reviews found negative findings in 50 per cent of Deloitte's auditing cases and 48 per cent of KPMG's.

Accounting professor John Dumay described it as a market failure.

"To me, the value out of the audit is to be able to go to the investor and say, 'we have a good company, we're performing well, the auditors come and have given us a tick in a box, a clean bill of health, you can trust what we've got to say.' That's what an audit is supposed to do," he says.

"When it doesn't do that, because there are deficiencies in the audits themselves, then the system breaks down." People silhouetted against a white and blue KPMG logo.

Auditing plays a crucial role in the integrity of the financial system. Banks, investors, staff, suppliers and superannuation funds all rely on an auditor's independent assessment of financial accounts to ensure they can be trusted to make informed decisions.

When it fails it can be catastrophic. The collapse of Enron torched tens of billions of dollars of shareholder and employee money after it emerged that its financial accounts were a sham and it couldn't pay the bills.

In Australia, there are at least 10 legal actions underway, all alleging substandard auditing and advisory work across the big four firms. The cases include Noumi (formerly called Freedom Food Group) and its auditor Deloitte, the collapsed construction group Hastie Group and sandalwood producer Quintis, all of which misreported their accounts despite their auditors giving their stamp of approval. When the truth came out, shareholders took a drubbing.

Against this backdrop, Labor senator Deborah O'Neill recently reopened a parliamentary inquiry into the auditing industry to investigate the structure, deficient regulation and conflicts.

She will also look at why ASIC decided as part of a restructure it would abandon inspection reports, shrink the audit team and dump its highly regarded chief accountant, Doug Niven.

"It's hard to believe that this relatively new program, which was actually shedding some light on what was going on inside the big four, has been lost in a reshape of ASIC," she says. "I have grave concerns if nobody is watching. That's the perfect conditions in which further degrading of the quality of audit is likely to occur."

Senator O'Neill said conflicts had become the business model of the big four. "What we're observing is a business model where the conflict of interest is the model of business. That's how you grow your business," she told 7.30. "It's a failure of regulatory oversight that's allowed this to fester. And we cannot allow it to continue."

She says the longer an audit firm is inside a company, the more enmeshed relationships become.

It means the independence of the audit firm becomes questionable, which can impact their appetite to stand up to clients if accounting irregularities are suspected. If auditors act in the dual role as consultant, that independence can be further compromised.

Ownership Matters found that non-audit fees as a proportion of audit work for the audit firms was 39 per cent across the ASX300 companies between 2018 and 2022. This is where the big four act in the dual role of independent auditors and consultants, which is fraught with conflicts of interest.

Construction and developing giant Lendlease has had KPMG as its independent auditor for more than 65 years and their head offices are in the same building in Sydney.

They are also embroiled in a tax scandal with whistleblower Tony Watson, a tax lawyer whose career fell apart when he accused his client Lendlease of double dipping on tax, which he believed was wrong.

"I told them that they were stealing from our children, they were stealing from taxpayers," he told 7.30.

He joined law firm Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills in 1985, quickly moving up the ranks to become partner, managing its biggest client, Lendlease.

But things started to unravel when he told a senior executive he disagreed with a tax scheme that related to their retirement village acquisitions. He estimates it boosted profits by up to $300 million, which he says they weren't entitled to.

He says PwC was brought in for advice and backed the scheme. KPMG signed off on the accounts.

Mr Watson alleges in a court case lodged in the Federal Court against his law firm and Lendlease that by 2014 he was dumped from the Lendlease account. He spiralled into depression and while he was on unpaid sick leave, he was terminated.

"I just got a letter from them saying we've decided to terminate you," he tells 7.30

When he recovered from his breakdown, he says, he decided to revisit his concerns about Lendlease and its tax scheme, this time meeting senior Lendlease officials and a partner at PwC as well as writing letters to the company.

In one email, he says Lendlease is "taking an aggressive and wrong view" in its tax deductions. In another, he warns the ATO will not fall for it. He also tipped off the ATO, which is auditing this aspect of the company.

Now he is waiting for the ATO to give its verdict and for his legal action to go through the courts.

In a statement, Lendlease said it "periodically conducted robust audit tender processes," and that its auditor "KPMG had the strongest credentials and commercial insights" after its last tender a decade ago. Last year, it said it would conduct an audit tender process in 2023.

In a statement, it said, "in May 2023, we paused this process with the intent for it to be resumed at a later date". The company said it was confident its tax treatment was consistent with the law.

KPMG said in a statement: "We believe directors are best placed to determine the need for a change of auditors." It said its focus was on "delivering high-quality audits, and a deep understanding of the business is critical to achieving this". It added that "KPMG has comprehensive policies and processes in place to manage potential conflicts".

KPMG said ASIC's inspection reports were disappointing. It said it agreed with some but not all of ASIC's findings and it had launched an audit quality transformation program.

Deloitte said it was committed to delivering the highest quality audit services to clients and it remained focused on doing everything it could to deliver "trusted and expert" audit services for its clients.

ASIC said moving forward, it would combine its annual audit reviews with surveillance of financial reporting and that "targeted reviews of the quality control systems of the largest six firms will also be undertaken from time to time".

It said continuing to provide annual individual reports on the biggest firms "would not provide a meaningful measure of overall audit quality".

PwC declined to comment on Mr Watson's allegations but said: "PwC firms are subject to our global tax code of conduct, which requires tax positions be supported by credible basis in tax law."

Abigail Zwerner, a Virginia first-grade teacher, has been informed by lawyers for the Newport News school board that she is only entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim because the injury she sustained when a six-year-old child shot her is a “workplace injury”. The board’s lawyers claim that being shot is simply a hazard of her occupation. James Graves, the president of the Newport News teachers union, told the Daily Press “This is not military, this is not the police department. This is an education system,” On Facebook, Graves posted more thoughts: “These lawyers have started a significant hurricane in our district by saying that being shot is part of what teachers signed up for.”....

Horrific.

The mom says that Autumn has never dyed her hair; the color of her braids best matches her natural color.

Naturally lighter hair while black: a fireable offense

Honestly this seems like it could actually be a net negative since it only protects people with the means to sue...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/1339679

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/1339678

Archived version: https://archive.ph/FEj1f
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20230811200705/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/08/illinois-just-made-it-possible-to-sue-people-for-doxxing-attacks/

The little-known senator from Balochistan has been nominated to lead the country until its next general election.

Pakistani senator Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has been named as caretaker prime minister to oversee national elections, the prime minister’s office has said, following a meeting between outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz Ahmad.

“The prime minister [Sharif] and leader of opposition have jointly signed the advice which will be sent to the president for approval,” they said in a statement.

The little-known senator from Balochistan, Pakistan’s least-populous province, will head an interim government until the next vote.

“We first agreed that whoever should be prime minister, he should be from a smaller province so smaller provinces’ grievances should be addressed,” Riaz said after a meeting with Sharif.

Kakar is listed as an independent politician by the Senate, but is reported by local media to be a part of the Balochistan Awami Party, which is widely considered to be close to the country’s powerful military.

Pakistan’s parliament was dissolved on Wednesday and by law, an election should be held within 90 days, but the results of the latest census released last week means more time will likely be needed to redraw constituencies.

The Election Commission has to draw new boundaries for hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies and, based on that, it will give an election date.

The vote will likely go ahead without former prime minister Imran Khan, who was convicted of corruption last weekend and sentenced to three years in jail. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The interim government takes over a country that has been in political turmoil since Khan was dismissed by a no-confidence vote in April 2022, and which is also facing overlapping economic and security issues.

Khan was briefly arrested in May, following which thousands of his protesters stormed the streets, targeting government and army properties.

Some of those protesters are being tried in controversial military courts.

Meanwhile, Khan’s speeches and news conferences are banned from mainstream media while dozens of his party leaders have quit after alleged coercion by the military establishment.

The former prime minister has repeatedly accused Pakistan’s powerful military and its intelligence agency of openly trying to destroy his political party, Tehreek-e-Insaf, and said previously he had “no doubt” that he would be arrested ahead of the general election.

The military continues to have a huge role behind the scenes in Pakistan. It has ruled the country directly for more than three decades of its 76-year existence and wields significant power in politics.

Political analysts say that if the caretaker setup stretches beyond its constitutional tenure, a prolonged period without an elected government would allow the military to consolidate its control.