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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years

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Dow promised to turn sneakers into playground surfaces, then dumped them in Indonesia

Dow Chemicals plastered Singapore with ads for its sneaker recycling program, promising to turn old shoes into playground tracks. But the shoes it collected in its “recycling” bins were illegally dumped in Indonesia. This isn’t an aberration: it’s how nearly all plastic recycling has always worked.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/26/career-criminals/#fool-me-twice-three-times-four-times-a-hundred-times

Plastic recycling’s origin story starts in 1973, when Exxon’s scientists concluded that plastic recycling would never, ever be cost-effective (#ExxonKnew about this, too). Exxon sprang into action: they popularized the recycling circular arrow logo and backed “anti-littering” campaigns that blamed the rising tide of immortal, toxic garbage on peoples’ laziness.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/14/they-knew/#doing-it-again

Remember the campaign where an Italian guy dressed like a Native American shed a single tear as he contemplated plastic litter? Funded by the plastic industry, as a way of shifting blame for plastic waste from the wealthy, powerful corporations who lied about plastics recycling to the individuals who believed their lies:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-indian-crying-environment-ads-pollution-1123-20171113-story.html

When I was a kid in Ontario, we had centralized, regulated, reusable bottle depots — beer and soda bottles came in standard sizes, differentiated by paper labels that could be pressure-washed off. When you were done with your bottle, you returned it for a deposit and it got washed and returned to bottlers to be refilled again and again and again.

After intense lobbying from soda companies, brewers and the plastic industry, that program was replaced with curbside “blue boxes” that promised to recycle our plastic waste. 90% of the plastics created has never been — and will never be — recycled. Today, the plastic industry plans on tripling the amount of single-use plastic in use worldwide:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/26/plastic-fatalistic/#recycled-lies

You know those ads from companies like Bluetriton (formerly “Nestle Waters”) that promise that your single-use plastic bottles are “100% recyclable…and can be used for new bottles and all sorts of new, reusable things?”

Bluetriton is a private equity-backed rollup that has absorbed most of the bottled water companies you’re familiar with, including Poland Spring, Pure Life, Splash, Ozarka, and Arrowhead. When they were sued in DC for making false claims about their “recyclable” water-bottles, their defense was that these were “non-actionable puffery.” According to Bluetriton, when it described itself as “a guardian of sustainable resources” and “a company who, at its core, cares about water,” it was being “vague and hyperbolic.”

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/26/plastic-fatalistic/#recycled-lies

With this high standard for plastic recycling, Dow’s Singapore scam shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it seems to have surprised the government of Singapore. Writing for Reuters, Joe Brock, Yuddy Cahya Budiman and Joseph Campbell describe how they caught Dow red-handed:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/global-plastic-dow-shoes/

The method is actually pretty straightforward: Reuters hid tracking devices in cavities in the soles of sneakers, dropped them in one of Dow’s collection bins, and then followed them. The shoes were passed onto Dow’s subcontractor, Yok Impex Pte Ltd, who sent them hopping from island to island throughout Indonesia, until they ended up in junk-markets.

Not all the shoes, though — one pair was simply moved from Dow’s collection bin to a donation bin at a Singaporean community center. Of the 11 pairs that Reuters tracked, not one ended up at a recycling facility. So much for Dow’s slogan: “Others see an old shoe. We see the future.”

Dow blamed all this on Yok Impex, but didn’t explain why its “recycling” program involved a company whose sole trade is exporting used clothing. Dow promised to cancel its deal with Yok Impex, but Yok Impex’s accountant told Reuters that the deal would be remain in place until the end of the contract. Yok Impex, meanwhile, shifted the blame to the low-waged women who sort through the clothing donations it takes in from across Singapore.

Indonesia bans bulk imports of used clothes, on the grounds that used clothes are unhygenic, displace the local textiles industry, and shipments contain high volumes of waste that ends up in Indonesian incinerators, landfills and rivers.

In other words, Singaporeans thought they were saving the planet by putting their shoes in Dow bins, but they were really sending those shoes on a long journey to an unlicensed dump. Dow enlisted schoolchildren in used-shoe collection drives, making upbeat videos that featured students like Zhang Youjia boasting that they “contributed 15 pairs of shoes.”

Dow does this all the time. In 2021, Dow’s “breakthrough technology to turn plastic waste into clean fuel” in Idaho was revealed to be a plain old incinerator:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/environment-plastic-oil-recycling/

Also in 2021, in India, a Dow program to “use high-tech machinery to transform the [plastic from the Ganges] into clean fuel” was revealed to have ceased operations — but was still collecting plastic and promising that it was all being turned into fuel:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-environment-plastic-insight-idUSKBN29N024

Dow operates a nearly identical “shoe recycling” program in neighboring Malaysia, and did not return Reuters’ requests for comment as to whether the shoes collected for “recycling” in the far more populous nation were also being illegally dumped offshore.

The global business lobby loves the idea of “personal responsibility” and its evil twin, “caveat emptor.” Its pet economists worship the idea of “revealed preferences,” claiming that when we use plastic, we may claim that we don’t want to have our bodies poisoned with immortal, toxic microplastics, that we don’t want our land and waters despoiled — but we actually love it, because otherwise we’d “vote with our wallets” for something else.

The obvious advantage of telling people to vote with their wallets is that the less money you have in your wallet, the fewer votes you get. Companies like Dow have used their access to the capital markets (a fancy phrase for “rich people”) to gobble up their competitors, eliminating “wasteful competition” and piling up massive profits. Those profits are laundered into policy — like replacing Ontario’s zero-waste refillable bottle system with a “recycling” system that sent plastics to the ends of the Earth to be set on fire or buried or dumped in the sea.

The ruling class’s pet economists have a name for this policy laundering: they call it “regulatory capture.” Now, when you hear “regulatory capture,” you might think about companies that get so big that they are able to boss governments around, with the obvious answer that companies need to be regulated before they get too big to jail:

https://doctorow.medium.com/small-government-fd5870a9462e

But that’s not how elite economists talk about regulatory capture: for them, capture starts with the very existence of regulators. For them, any government agency that proposes to protect the public from corporate fraud and murder inevitably becomes an agent of the corporations it is supposed to rein in, so the only answer is to eliminate regulators altogether:

https://doctorow.medium.com/regulatory-capture-59b2013e2526

This nihilism lets rich people blame the rest of us for their sins: “if you didn’t want your children to roast or freeze to death in the climate emergency, you should have sold your car and used the subway (that we bribed your city not to build).”

Nihilism is contagious. Think of the music industry: before Napster, 80% of the music ever recorded was not for sale, banished to the scrapheap of history and the vaults of record companies who paid farcically low sums to their artists.

During the File Sharing Wars, listeners were excoriated for failing to pay for music — much of which wasn’t for sale in the first place. But today, fans overwhelmingly pay for Spotify, a streaming service that notoriously pays musicians infinitesimal sums for their work.

Spotify is a creature of the Big Three labels — Sony, Universal and Warner — who own 70% of all the world’s recorded music copyrights and 65% of all the world’s music publishing. The rock-bottom per-stream prices that Spotify pays were set by the Big Three. Why would the labels want less money from Spotify?

Simple: as co-owners of Spotify, they make more money when Spotify pays less for music. Musicians have a claim on the money they take out of Spotify as royalties — but dividends, buybacks and capital gains from Spotify are the labels’ to use as they see fit. They can share that bounty with some artists, all artists, or no artists.

Not only that, but the Big Three’s deal with Spotify includes a “most favored nation” clause, which means that the independent artists who aren’t under Sony/UMG/Warner’s thumb have to take the rock-bottom rate the Big Three insisted on — likewise the small labels who compete with the Big Three. The difference is that none of these artists and small labels have massive portfolios of Spotify stock, nor do they get free advertising on Spotify, or free inclusion on hot Spotify playlists, or monthly minimum payouts from Spotify.

The idea that we shop at the wrong kind of monopolist in the wrong way is a recipe for absolute despair. It doesn’t matter whether you listen to music with the Big Tech-owned monopoly service (Youtube) or the Big Content-owned monopoly service (Spotify). The money you hand over to these giant companies goes to artists the same way that the sneakers you put in a Dow collection bin goes to a recycling plant.

Think of the billions of human labor hours we all spent washing and sorting our plastics for a recycling program that didn’t exist and will never exist — imagine if we’d spent that time and energy demanding that our politicians hold petrochemical companies to account instead.

At the end of Break ’Em Up, Zephyr Teachout’s outstanding 2020 book on monopolies, Teachout has some choice words for “consumerism” as a theory of change. She writes that if you’re on your way to a protest against a new Amazon warehouse but you never make it because you waste too much time looking for a mom-and-pop stationers to sell you a marker to write your protest sign, Amazon wins:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/29/break-em-up/#break-em-up

The problem isn’t that you shop the wrong way. Yes, by all means, support the creators and producers you care about in the way that they prefer, but keep your eye on the prize. Structural problems don’t have individual solutions. The problem isn’t that you have chosen single-use plastics — it’s that in our world everything for sale is packaged in single-use plastics. The problem isn’t that you’ve bought a subscription to the wrong music streaming service — it’s that labels have been allowed to buy all their competitors, creators’ unions have been smashed and degraded, and giant accounting scams by big companies generate minuscule fines.

The good news is that after 40 years of despair inducing regulatory nihilism and “vote with your wallet” talk, we’re finally paying attention to systemic problems, with a new generation of trustbusting radicals working around the world to end corporate impunity.

Dow is a repeat offender. A repeat, repeat offender. Chrissakes, they’re the linear descendants of Union Carbide, the company that poisoned Bhopal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

They shouldn’t be trusted to run a lemonade stand, let alone a “recycling” program. The same goes for Big Tech and Big Content company and the markets for creative labor. These companies have repeatedly demonstrated their unfitness, their habitual deception and immorality. These companies have captured their regulators, repeatedly, so we need better regulators — and weaker companies.

The thing I love about Teachout’s book is that it talks about what we should be demanding from our governments — it’s a manifesto for a movement against corporate power, not a movement for “responsible consumerism.” That was the template that Rebecca Giblin and I followed when we wrote Chokepoint Capitalism, our book about the brutal, corrupt creative labor market:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

We have a chapter on Spotify (multiple chapters, in fact!). For our audiobook, we made that chapter a “Spotify Exclusive” — it’s the only part of the book you can get on Spotify, and it’s free:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/12/streaming-doesnt-pay/#stunt-publishing

Next Thu (Mar 2) I’ll be in Brussels for Antitrust, Regulation and the Political Economy, along with a who’s-who of European and US trustbusters. It’s livestreamed, and both in-person and virtual attendance are free. On Fri (Mar 3), I’ll be in Graz for the Elevate Festival.

[Image ID: A woman kneeling to tie her running shoe. She stands on a background of plastic waste. In the top right corner is the logo for Dow chemicals. Below it is the Dow slogan, 'Others see an old shoe. We see the future.']

#pluralistic

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twoset-updates · 1 year

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[110723 tsv reddit post]

Responding to Allegations

Hi Twosetters,

Thank you for your patience in waiting for our response. We are well aware of the allegations of worker exploitation that have been circulating our subreddit in the past few weeks. We take such issues very seriously, as we believe this to be a grave matter. Therefore, we needed time to conduct an internal investigation to evaluate the validity of these claims.

It’s tricky because we need to balance the confidentiality and privacy of our existing team members with the transparency and information that we think needs to be communicated. Quite frankly, these are internal matters, and any disputes should have gone through professional and/or legal channels. However, the other party has unfortunately chosen to conduct themselves in an unprofessional way and have put us in a position where we have to respond publicly.

At TwoSet, we’ve always had the vision of spreading our love for classical music as our guiding star. Very early on, we realised that this could not be done without a solid team behind us and this vision. From the videos to apparel to touring – all of this is the hard work of our amazing staff members.

As we come from very humble beginnings, we are not perfect, and it’s not always easy – we’re not a massive media company. But we have always known the importance of having a long-term sustainable team that we can achieve our mission with.

That means sticking up for our staff. Sometimes, inevitably, we make incorrect hires who spread toxicity and negativity, gaslight and blame others, and end up causing much more burden and stress on others in the team. The OOP was one such person we had to let go after repeated incidents of them speaking in a very rude and disrespectful manner to another team member. It’s disappointing that this person is now going further by trying to tarnish TwoSet’s reputation, thus hurting the remaining team and putting at risk everything we have accomplished.

It is for them, our team, that we take this so seriously. In the past, we have taken unjust criticism and shrugged off the negativity, not because we have anything to fear or for lack of accountability, but because we understood that giving attention to negativity often just sparks more drama and room for misunderstanding. It becomes a situation where people are fighting for the sake of fighting, and nobody remembers why anymore.

In order to ground this conversation, let’s always keep in mind - why are we having this discussion? We believe at the end of the day, it’s about constructive criticism and accountability; how do we (Brett and Eddy) improve to make TwoSet an increasingly better place to work at for all members? Many of the claims have not come from an intention to instigate any real meaningful change, but instead have been an attempt to vilify us. We know we are public figures and that’s part of what it means to be on the internet these days, but please remember that if we do get cancelled, many of our amazing team members will also lose their jobs.

Now, we really appreciate the majority of TwoSet fans who understand that these things are private matters and should be dealt with internally. We don’t want this to devolve into a situation where everyone is just trying to get more receipts on each other, because at the end of the day, nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. But we also understand that in the public sphere, unlike in court, it isn’t always innocent until proven guilty, and we feel that we have to share our side of the story in order to protect the team at TwoSet.

A summary and response to claims made against us:

Only hiring from “third world (asian) countries”:

Over 50% of our staff are NOT from third world countries. Some of our core team members are from countries such as Singapore, Canada, and Australia.

Only hiring “girls”:

While the majority (not all) of our staff are currently women, this is not by any design. Our team consists of amazingly talented people selected for their individual merit and fit for the position, not any specific characteristic.

Being expected to respond at unreasonable hours:

Due to time zones, constant travelling, and the international nature of our team, messages are often sent outside of what may be considered reasonable work hours for the person receiving it. However, we have never expected or pressured anyone to respond immediately. While we will make more effort in the future to think ahead for individual time zones, sometimes it really just means we have to get a message out before we sleep on our side of the world so that it can be read when the other person gets up for work in the morning.

Underpaying or not paying staff:

In the beginning (Kickstarter days), we admittedly had to pay on the lower end as we simply did not earn enough from YouTube - something we always made clear. However, we have been continually trying to raise the compensation of team members as we grow. We also recently implemented a yearly official salary review process and determined that two staff members deserved a raise which we proactively offered.

In other cases where staff have come to us asking for raises, we always operate from a principle of fairness and remain open to negotiation, taking factors such as industry benchmarks, experience, working hours, and contribution into consideration. Most importantly, we have always paid what was agreed upon.

It has also been alleged that we underpay staff despite them voicing their concerns to us. We wish to reiterate that we have never disregarded a staff’s concern about payment. We always welcome open and transparent conversation, and do what we believe is fair and right. One poster who claimed to have been underpaid happily agreed to the amount offered with no indication of dissatisfaction with the remuneration. We will not share any screenshots due to legal confidentiality, but many of those joining the bandwagon have made emotionally charged and factually inaccurate claims that would not hold up in court.

As to the confusion of paid volunteers, we offered a small amount of compensation to subtitlers who volunteered their time to create subtitles for videos as a ‘thank you’ for their work, but it was never a formal position offered with our team. Having recognised the confusion this has caused, we have changed our policies and will no longer have any paid volunteer positions in the future.

Being asked to take on multiple responsibilities:

This is something we are working really hard to solve. Often in a small startup, things change at a rapid pace, especially as we love to innovate and try new projects all the time. We have always asked if a team member is willing to help through these periods of growth and change, whether that’s through covering for certain roles or taking on new responsibilities and opportunities for learning. In situations where they expressed that they do not wish to do so, we have respected it.

We now know that some people may not feel comfortable saying no and to fix this, we are in the process of clearly defining every process and role in relation to how we operate.

—

So far, we have only addressed the claims that the OOP made and briefly touched on why they were let go, but it should be noted that their actions have breached the terms of their NDA and can be constituted as defamation. What they have done risks the wellbeing and hard work of everyone else on the TwoSet team, not to mention every fan who has believed in and supported us on this journey.

Ultimately, we truly want the best outcome for us and everyone we have worked with. We will be the first to admit that, as two violinists with no formal education in business or management processes, it has been a huge learning curve. We are trying to be better, and are always open to constructive feedback.

It has become clear that the amount of negativity and misinformation has been affecting the mental wellbeing of our team and the community in the past few weeks. Therefore, we will be deleting any posts or comments that we come across that contain misinformation or hateful intentions. We will of course still welcome open discourse and constructive feedback.

Finally, we want to thank our fans again for your understanding and support. We have read many of your comments, and it is clear that the majority of you understand that these are just false allegations on the internet. We understand it takes an act of trust to follow and support anyone and we take this responsibility really seriously. Thank you for having our backs.

Brett & Eddy

#twosetviolin #twoset violin #tsv official #tsv reddit post

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justinspoliticalcorner · 27 days

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Jennifer Rankin at The Guardian:

French judicial authorities on Sunday extended the detention of the Russian-born founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, after his arrest at a Paris airport over alleged offences related to the messaging app. His arrest at the Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday was the latest extraordinary twist in the career of one of the world’s most influential tech icons. The detention of Durov, 39, was extended beyond Sunday night by the investigating magistrate who is handling the case, according to a source close to the investigation. This initial period of detention for questioning can last up to a maximum of 96 hours. When this phase of detention ends, the judge can decide to free him or press charges and remand in further custody. French investigators had issued a warrant for Durov’s arrest as part of an inquiry into allegations of fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, promotion of terrorism and cyberbullying.

Durov is accused of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform and was stopped after arriving in Paris from Baku on his private jet on Saturday night. “Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said one investigator who expressed surprise that Durov flew to Paris knowing he was a wanted man. In a statement on Sunday evening, Telegram said: “Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving.

[...] Durov lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He recently said he had tried to settle in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco before choosing Dubai, which he praised for its business environment and “neutrality”. In the UAE, Telegram faces little pressure to moderate its content, while western governments are trying to crack down on hate speech, disinformation, sharing of images of child abuse and other illegal content.

Telegram offers end-to-end encrypted messaging and allows users to create channels to disseminate information to followers. Especially popular in the former Soviet Union, the app is widely used by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his circle, as well as politicians throughout Ukraine, to release information about the war. It is also one of the few places where Russians can get unfiltered information about the conflict, after the Kremlin tightened media controls in the wake of the full-scale invasion. Its apparently unbreakable encryption has made Telegram a haven for extremists and conspiracy theorists. Investigative journalists at the central European news site VSquare said it had become the “‘go-to’ tool for Russian propagandists, both leftwing and rightwing radicals, American QAnon and conspiracy theorists,” concluding it was an “ecosystem for the radicalisation of opinion”. The app was also used widely by far-right agitators plotting anti-immigration rallies in England and Northern Ireland in the wake of the stabbing of three children at a Southport dance class last month. The anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate concluded that Telegram had become the “app of choice” for racists and violent extremists and “a cesspit of antisemitic content” with minimal moderation or effort from the app to curb extremist content.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France over the weekend based on an inquiry into allegations of fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, promotion of terrorism and cyberbullying, and child sex abuse material (aka child pornography) on the social media app.

Telegram is popular in Russia and most of the former Soviet countries, and in the west, a hub for far-right conspiracy theorists.

The arrest of Durov has ZERO to do with “free speech”, despite right-wing spin claiming otherwise.

See Also:

The Guardian: What is Telegram and why has its founder Pavel Durov been arrested?

CNN: A Russian Elon Musk with 100 biological children: Meet Pavel Durov

NBC News: Telegram founder Durov's arrest is part of a larger investigation into alleged 'complicity' in child exploitation and drug trafficking

#Pavel Durov #Telegram #Social Media #VKontakte #Child Sex Abuse #Crime #World News #France #Content Moderation

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compacflt · 1 year

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you're a legend for referencing lauren berlant and michael warner in relation to your top gun fic and I'd like to think that they would say the same!! the stories that you've created are beautiful explorations of some of the biggest questions posed in queer theory: who are we in public? who are we in private? where is the line that separates the two (spoiler: there is no way to actually separate the two, no binary) and what are the structural forces bearing down upon all of that bullshit! I for one would love to see your questions about privacy and respectability explored with rooster and ice and mav. especially considering the generational cliff between them, with the aids crisis in the background of rooster's childhood when they were all the closest, in your world. anyway! you are an incredible writer and it's been a privilege to read you work :)

thank you so much for this ask!! yes i have spent so much time thinking about this. In March i started working on a new-yorker-style interview that tried to address a bunch of these questions. Since I didn’t do wip wednesday yesterday (sorry) here’s some relevant sections of that wip related to your ask. I don’t think it’s spoilers since I’m not sure id ever post this anywhere—you can see for yourself how entertaining the writing is and it’s overly political and didactic. Just a lame hegelian dialectic where im interrogating my own characters (at least, my own interpretations of them) on their politics. And I’m not an expert on any of this stuff (currently on the slow uphill climb out of the valley of the dunning-kruger graph—trying to learn). Nor am I fact-checking it & that feels irresponsible to post For Real. so just take this post as a fun (for me) exploration of what i (20y.o., ignorant, no editorial oversight, smooth-brained) think Might be some political implications of my fics, trying to write from a lib-moderate pov (tough!)

talking points I wanted to address:

The politics of ice’s career, both internationally & domestically (some wild navy scandals happened under his “tenure” [fat Leonard most pressingly—would LOVE to know how actual TGM’s ice & mav felt about that bc it was SO FUCKING CRAZY, navy officers & admirals having wild sex parties paid for by a singapore defense contractor (the details are so fucking crazy i can’t even say them here—one anecdote involves 7th fleet officers using WWII/Korean war general macarthurs historical memorabilia during sex acts—go read about it) a couple PACFLT RDMLs were charged with actual crimes, 60 admirals (of the navys total 160 admirals) were under investigation & both my and TGM’s ice & cyclone would probably have been two of them, basically if you were a pacflt officer in the mid-2000s-2010s you were under investigation it was so fucking wild]) —and another geopolitical look at the implications of both top gun movies (reagan weighs in from beyond the grave)

Ice and mav who can’t win—they want their relationship to Not Be A Big Deal. leave us alone. We’re Normal. we’re not Weird or anything. —but can’t understand WHY their relationship is so sensational/political—yes, boys, it is a big deal, sorry!! mavericks probably the last Ace the world will ever see & ice is the secretary of the navy and they’re married, fuck yes that’s newsworthy!!!

my version of Ice acceding to SECNAV at the intersection of a couple crucial contextual moments for the navy/military as a whole: 1. Recruitment is currently fucked. This interview takes place in 2020/early 2021, and things were bad then, but the numbers just came out for the Navy this year, and hoooooly shit they are so bad. And blame is falling along partisan lines like always: Ds blame low recruitment numbers on lack of benefits etc, Rs literally i am not shitting you are mostly blaming low recruitment numbers on the military going Woke. The USN has long been seen as the most obnoxiously woke/gay (derogatory) service to conservatives & there’s a lot of political baggage that comes with having a SECNAV who, while not openly identifying as gay, is openly married to another man. especially with a recruiting crisis like this one. 2. Withdrawal from afghanistan obviously. kind of a shit way for ice to end his career ngl. It Did Not Go Super Well. 3. rising tensions in eastern europe pre RU-UA invasion in 2022, what that means for the MIC and procurement, etc. 4. The joint chiefs openly declaring they (& by extension the military as a whole) would not support trump’s coup attempt post-J6—the end of that extremely politically polarized presidency—what does it mean for the following Dem president to then have a gay secnav after that? It’s HUGE. SO no matter what, Ice as SECNAV is going to go down in history. He just wants it to be for his actions, not the fact that he’s gay.

Icemav’s relationship with their identities. We really really don’t want to be known for being gay. “Ask me what my proudest achievement is, I’ll tell you without a second of hesitation—my family. Without a doubt. But does any military man really want to be best-known for his marriage?” We want to be known for being the BEST at our jobs, which we are. We’ve earned that title! There’s so much more interesting stuff about us than who we got married to.

AND how that is a liberal-moderate-conservative median-50% meritocratic WET DREAM of an ideology. an interview like this one is a straight fluff piece pre-ice’s confirmation to secnav—it lets him prove to the moderate liberals that he’s left-leaning enough to protect social justice interests in the USN, AND prove to conservatives that he’s right-leaning enough to not let identity politics/“woke bs” get in the way of the navy’s mission of providing a lethal maritime fighting force. the merits of this ideology are up for debate.

maybe helping the conservative viewpoint of that ideology: The fact that the Kazansky-Mitchell-Bradshaw-seresin family is so not-stereotypically gay. Like, look at these four guys. 9-to-11 combat kills between them (11 in my universe where ice gets an extra 2, 9 canon confirmed) in a period of history/modern warfare when ANY air-to-air kill is/was massively historically significant. Extremely macho & tough. They present themselves about as traditionally and toxically masculine as you could possibly get. Theyve KILLED PEOPLE. They’re not “soft” by any stretch of the imagination. Physically & emotionally they ARE extremely conservative, and there’s something to be said about the politics of that too—molding yourself into the shape of what you think a man should look like, just to avoid persecution, and then performing masculinity BETTER than even the men who would want to persecute you…!

Related to your ask: the modern/young ppl inclination to make sexuality SO political and public. When asked how he could reckon with joining a DADT-ruled navy, rooster answers: “hope I could do something to destroy it before it could destroy me.” When asked why he DIDNT use any of his considerable power to influence the repeal of DADT, ice answers: “it was better than the blanket ban that came before it. And maybe I’ve always wanted neither to tell nor to be asked.” the conservative respectable opinion that your intimate relationships ought to be PRIVATE, doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight—just do your job, and preferably do it well. yeah, don’t ask and don’t tell. It’s not anyone’s business. ice doesn’t have a philosophical problem with DADT, because he agrees sexuality should be private & secret. —is it anyone’s business? whose business is it? How much of your personal life do you owe the public if you’re a public-facing individual like the COMPACFLT or SECNAV? all good questions!!!!

#& unanswerable!#sooo fun to ignore the big ‘is the military bad’ questions in favor of the nitty gritty of policy #yes it’s bad. next!#poor ice and mav honestly. if it wasn’t such a big deal theydve been married in the 90s #its all external influencing the internal #impossible to not be products of their time #‘marshallian system’ as very niche military officer succession strategy #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #icemav #top gun #top gun maverick #edts notes #top gun fanfiction #sorry i probably won’t be posting as much for the next couple weeks. finals season and i am so deep in the trenches its actually not funny.#i think there’s a grammatical typo in excerpt 2. their*#and in excerpt 1 too. not really proofreading these. shrug.

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mariacallous · 2 years

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TikTok is spelling out to its European users that their data can be accessed by employees outside the continent, including in China, amid political and regulatory concerns about Chinese access to user information on the platform.

The Chinese-owned social video app is updating its privacy policy to confirm that staff in countries, including China, are allowed to access user data to ensure their experience of the platform is “consistent, enjoyable and safe”.

The other countries where European user data could be accessed by TikTok staff include Brazil, Canada and Israel as well as the US and Singapore, where European user data is stored currently.

TikTok’s head of privacy in Europe, Elaine Fox, said: “Based on a demonstrated need to do their job, subject to a series of robust security controls and approval protocols, and by way of methods that are recognised under the GDPR [the EU’s general data protection regulation], we allow certain employees within our corporate group located in Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States, remote access to TikTok European user data.”

Data could be used to conduct checks on aspects of the platform, including the performance of its algorithms, which recommend content to users, and detect vexatious automated accounts. TikTok has previously acknowledged that some user data is accessed by employees of the company’s parent, ByteDance, in China.

In a letter to Republican senators disclosed in July, TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, said a “narrow set of non-sensitive” US user data could be viewed by foreign employees if approved by a US-based TikTok security team. He added that none of the data were shared with Chinese government officials.

The privacy policy update, which applies to the UK, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, and which goes live on 2 December, takes place against a backdrop of political and regulatory pressure over use of data generated by the app, which has more than a billion users worldwide.

The US President, Joe Biden, has scrapped executive orders from his predecessor, Donald Trump, ordering the sale of TikTok’s US business, but in their place he has asked the US commerce department to produce recommendations to protect the data of people in the US from “foreign adversaries”. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which scrutinises business deals with non-US companies, is also conducting a security review of TikTok.

Ireland’s data watchdog, which has jurisdiction over TikTok across the EU, has also launched an investigation into “transfers by TikTok of personal data to China”.

Michael Veale, an associate professor in digital rights at University College London, said that under a recent EU ruling data transfers between the bloc and China would have to be vetted for security. “It is extraordinarily difficult to routinely send EU user data to China because contracts between a Chinese and a European company can’t prevent state access.”

Under an European Court of Justice ruling dubbed Schrems II, certain data transfers outside the EU must take account of “the level of protection”, with particular focus on access by state authorities, afforded to the user’s data at the other end.

Veale said China’s data laws could lead to questions being raised over the security of even limited data transfers. However he added: “I’m not convinced that the Chinese government’s focus is currently on spying on individuals’ TikTok data. They have other means to obtain private information. Growing and deepening an influential platform is itself a powerful goal.”

In a blog post last year TikTok said it was “aligned” with the regulatory direction set out by the Schrems II ruling.

In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the country’s data watchdog, is consulting on new guidance for data transfers post-Brexit. However, the government has paused a new data reform bill.

In October, TikTok denied a report in the business publication Forbes that it was used to “target” US citizens. Forbes had reported that it planned to track the location of at least two people via the video-sharing app.

In the privacy policy update Fox said TikTok did not collect “precise location information” from users in Europe, whether based on GPS technology or otherwise. In its current iteration the privacy policy states: “With your permission, we may also collect precise location information (such as GPS).”

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kokusai-catchcheatingspouse · 6 months

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whattheabcxyz · 4 days

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2024-09-17

Singapore

"Tourist" from China refuses to pay for $3.60 meal from 菜饭 stall - how is this pond scum entering our country?! 😤😤😤

Police investigating video of secondary school bullying incident after it goes viral

More 3-room resale flats sold at $800K or higher so far this year

Vestments used by Pope Francis to be archived by Catholic Archdiocese

New private home sales sunk to 16-year low last month

SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye paid $7.57m in FY2024 - why would anyone need to receive that much?!

MOM data shows foreign-owned firms employ 60% of high-earning people here

$28K lost through phishing scam involving fake OneMotoring website - 8 people fell for it

Sports

Singapore: Live screening of F1 Singapore Grand Prix at 5 community hubs

Health

Singapore: National mental health helpline & textline to be ready by mid-2025

Business

Times Bookstores to exit Singapore market completely on 22 Sep

Travel

^ Spotlight on Ireland's beauty

Singapore: Tanjong Beach Club on Sentosa to close for revamp from 21 Oct & reopen in Q1 2025

Gossip

Jet Li spotted at Buddhist event & stage play in Singapore

#singapore #sports #health #business #travel #gossip

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palmoilnews · 13 days

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GRAINS-Soybeans ease on better-than-expected US crop condition SINGAPORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures slid on Tuesday, giving up some of the previous session's gains as a U.S. weekly report showed steady condition of the crop despite dry weather last week. Corn and wheat eased after closing higher in the last session. FUNDAMENTALS The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 fell 0.3% to $10.15-1/2 a bushel, as of 0011 GMT, having gained 1.3% on Monday. Corn Cv1 fell 0.4% to $4.05-3/4 a bushel and wheat Wv1 gave up 0.4% to $5.66-1/2 a bushel. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) left condition ratings for the U.S. soybean crop unchanged after the CBOT closed on Monday, pegging 65% of the crop as good to excellent despite trade expectations for a decline. Dry weather has persisted in much of the U.S. crop belt, potentially stressing late-planted soybeans. On Monday, soybeans gained on demand for U.S. supplies and worries about a slow start to planting in Brazil, the world's top exporter. Brazil's soybean planting for the 2024/25 season has not yet started due to low soil moisture and dry and hot weather, consultancy AgRural said on Monday. Brazilian farmers in the country's key centre-south region had planted 15% of the expected area for the 2024/25 first corn crop as of last Thursday, up from 8% a week earlier but short of the previous season's 17%. Meanwhile, the USDA confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, the latest in a string of exports to the world's biggest soy buyer. The agency reported the U.S. corn harvest as 5% complete, ahead of the five-year average of 3%. The government expects to report its first soybean harvest progress figure in next week's report. China announced on Monday the start of a one-year anti-dumping investigation into imports of rapeseed from Canada, just weeks before Ottawa's 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and other products come into force. Russian wheat export prices were little changed last week amid weak demand as unfavourable weather conditions force analysts to lower their crop forecasts. Consultancy IKAR has cut its forecast for Russia's wheat crop to 82.2 million metric tons from 83.8 million tons and wheat exports to 44 million metric tons from 44.5 million tons citing "very adverse weather in Volga, Urals, and Siberia". Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, soyoil, corn, wheat and soymeal futures contracts on Monday, traders said. MARKET NEWS U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Monday and the dollar strengthened as markets awaited key data and actions from central banks.

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royal-premier-pac · 18 days

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Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Right Audit Firm in Singapore

In today's dynamic business environment, auditing plays a pivotal role in maintaining financial transparency, accuracy, and regulatory compliance. Companies in Singapore, a leading global financial hub, are required to adhere to strict financial standards. Hence, choosing the right audit firm is crucial for the long-term success of any business. This blog will explore the importance of auditing, what to look for in an audit firm, and how audit firms in Singapore, such as Royal Premier PAC, ensure that companies meet all their regulatory obligations.

Importance of Auditing in Singapore

Auditing ensures that a company's financial statements are fair, accurate, and compliant with the regulatory framework. Here’s why auditing is indispensable:

1. Financial Transparency

Audits help verify the accuracy of financial reports, providing stakeholders with confidence in the company’s financial health. Investors, lenders, and shareholders rely on audited financial statements to make informed decisions.

2. Regulatory Compliance

Singapore has stringent laws regarding corporate governance and financial reporting. The Companies Act mandates that companies meet specific auditing requirements based on their size and structure. Regular audits ensure adherence to these regulations, helping businesses avoid legal penalties.

3. Fraud Prevention

An external audit is an essential mechanism to detect and prevent financial mismanagement and fraud. By identifying discrepancies, audit firms help businesses protect their assets and maintain credibility.

4. Tax Reporting

A thorough audit ensures that businesses comply with tax regulations, reducing the risk of inaccurate tax reporting or underpayment. This also helps identify any potential tax-saving opportunities.

Types of Audits Conducted by Firms in Singapore

There are different types of audits that a company might require, depending on its industry and size. Here are the most common ones:

1. Statutory Audits

A statutory audit is legally required for most companies registered in Singapore. This audit involves examining financial statements to ensure they provide a fair and accurate view of the company’s financial standing. Small exempt private companies (EPCs) may be exempt from statutory audits if their annual revenue is below SGD 5 million.

2. Internal Audits

Internal audits focus on a company’s internal controls and governance procedures. These audits are often commissioned by management to assess the company’s operations, risk management processes, and compliance with internal policies. The goal is to improve operational efficiency and reduce risks.

3. Tax Audits

Tax audits help businesses ensure their tax returns are accurate and comply with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) regulations. It identifies potential areas where companies can improve their tax strategy and avoid penalties for incorrect filings.

4. Forensic Audits

Forensic audits are conducted when there’s suspicion of fraud or financial misconduct. This type of audit requires specialized skills to investigate financial irregularities and support legal proceedings if necessary.

5. Compliance Audits

Compliance audits assess whether a company is adhering to regulatory standards in areas such as labor laws, environmental regulations, and industry-specific guidelines. This is essential for companies in highly regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing an Audit Firm in Singapore

Selecting the right audit firm can be a complex decision. Here are essential factors to consider:

1. Reputation and Experience

The audit firm’s reputation in the market is crucial. Look for firms with a proven track record and strong experience in your industry. Well-established firms, such as Royal Premier PAC, offer expertise across various sectors and can handle complex auditing needs efficiently.

2. Qualification and Licensing

Ensure the audit firm is licensed and registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in Singapore. ACRA monitors auditors' performance and ensures they comply with professional standards. Only licensed firms are authorized to conduct statutory audits.

3. Industry Specialization

Every industry has unique auditing requirements. Choosing an audit firm with experience in your specific sector ensures they understand the nuances of your business. For instance, companies in the tech, manufacturing, or financial sectors will benefit from audit firms that specialize in those industries.

4. Range of Services

A comprehensive audit firm should offer more than just statutory audits. Look for firms that provide internal audits, tax audits, forensic audits, and risk management services. This allows you to work with a single firm for all your auditing needs, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

5. Use of Technology

Modern auditing requires the use of advanced technology and tools to analyze large data sets efficiently. Audit firms that invest in data analytics, automation, and cloud-based solutions provide faster, more accurate results. Technology also helps in detecting potential fraud or risks earlier in the audit process.

6. Fee Structure

Cost is always a consideration, but it’s essential not to compromise quality for price. While some audit firms may offer lower fees, they may not provide the level of detail and expertise your company needs. It’s crucial to find a firm that balances cost with quality services.

7. Communication and Client Service

Effective communication is key to a successful audit. The audit firm should maintain transparency and keep you informed throughout the process. They should be accessible, approachable, and able to explain complex financial concepts clearly. High-quality client service ensures that your concerns and questions are addressed promptly.

8. Global Reach

If your company operates internationally, you may need an audit firm with a global network. Firms with international affiliations can offer advice on cross-border regulations and ensure your business complies with foreign financial laws.

Why Businesses in Singapore Choose Royal Premier PAC

Royal Premier PAC is one of the leading audit firms in Singapore, trusted by businesses across industries. Here’s why they are a top choice for auditing services:

1. Extensive Experience

Royal Premier PAC has years of experience working with businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large multinational corporations. Their auditors are skilled in providing accurate and detailed audits, ensuring financial transparency.

2. Industry Expertise

Royal Premier PAC specializes in various industries, including finance, healthcare, retail, and technology. This means they understand the specific challenges and regulations relevant to your business.

3. Comprehensive Services

In addition to statutory audits, Royal Premier PAC offers internal audits, risk management, tax audits, and compliance services. Their wide range of services allows businesses to consolidate their auditing needs under one roof, saving time and resources.

4. Innovative Technology

Royal Premier PAC utilizes the latest auditing software and data analytics tools. This technology enables them to conduct audits more efficiently, with higher accuracy and faster turnaround times.

5. Commitment to Compliance

Royal Premier PAC ensures that every audit is conducted in strict accordance with Singapore’s regulatory framework. Their team of auditors stays updated on the latest legal requirements, ensuring your business remains compliant with all relevant laws.

6. Competitive Pricing

While providing top-tier auditing services, Royal Premier PAC offers competitive pricing packages. They understand that businesses have budgets to manage, and they work to provide cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality.

Benefits of Partnering with a Reliable Audit Firm in Singapore

Partnering with a reputable audit firm like Royal Premier PAC offers numerous benefits:

1. Improved Financial Accuracy

By working with skilled auditors, businesses can improve the accuracy of their financial reports, which builds trust with investors and stakeholders.

2. Risk Mitigation

Audits help identify potential risks, including operational inefficiencies and compliance gaps. Addressing these risks early on prevents them from escalating into larger issues.

3. Enhanced Corporate Governance

Regular audits encourage companies to maintain strong internal controls and governance practices, promoting accountability and transparency.

4. Better Decision Making

Audited financial statements provide reliable data, enabling management to make informed decisions on financial strategy, expansion, and risk management.

5. Long-Term Sustainability

A commitment to regular audits demonstrates a company’s dedication to sustainability, ethical practices, and regulatory compliance, ensuring long-term success.

Conclusion

Choosing the right audit firm in Singapore is critical for maintaining financial integrity and compliance with the law. With a firm like Royal Premier PAC, businesses can trust they are receiving accurate, reliable, and comprehensive auditing services tailored to their specific needs. From statutory audits to complex forensic investigations, a reputable audit firm ensures your business remains compliant and positioned for long-term success.

As you evaluate audit firms, consider their experience, reputation, and range of services to ensure you partner with a firm that aligns with your business goals. Whether you’re a small business or a multinational corporation, the right audit firm will play a pivotal role in your financial well-being.

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indiatimes-news · 1 year

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Modus operandi unraveled: How over Rs 600 crore were siphoned out of country

The outward remittances were done illegally in the garb of third party payments against import of garments from Bangladesh.

Delhi Police's Special Cell registered an FIR in October 2021 regarding a syndicate that channeled money obtained through various criminal activities out of the country. This included Proceeds of Crime ( POC) obtained through illegal Chinese loan apps, illegal online gamings and also illegal bettings.

The wide network of this syndicate can be gauged from the fact that the case was first taken over by Delhi Police in October 2021. It was later transferred to the Enforcement Directorate ( ED) that is probing the matter and recently made an arrest on July 13.

From the documents that have been accessed by Republic Digital, it is mentioned categorically how accused persons, the fraudulent companies created by them on the pretext of forged documents were involved in opening of bank accounts both within and outside country and have taken out funds to the tune of Rs 338 crore.

To begin with, fake identities like Aadhaar, PAN cards and Voter ID cards were used for creating shell firms and opening multiple bank accounts.

In continuation to this, shell firms were also opened in Hong Kong, China, UAE, Singapore and Malaysia. The money that was deposited in Indian bank accounts was then successfully routed through RTGS/ NEFT.

The probe in this case by the agencies led them to get hold of Ashish Kumar Verma. It was found that Ashish along with the accomplices were able to create 18 shell firms and multiple accounts not only in private but also public banks.

Investigations have also revealed that Ashish is one among many in this huge syndicate that was successfully taking out hundreds of crores from the country.

As per law enforcement officials the other major characters involved in this crime of money laundering included Praveen Kumar based in Dubai who was involved in creating fake firms abroad, and Vipin Batra who used to be in touch with Ashish and gave him directions on how the modus operandi had to be implemented. Vipin Batra was recently arrested by the ED on July 13. He is being interrogated.

The mastermind of this syndicate is said to be Pawan Thakur, a Dubai-based bookie and an international Hawala operator. As per law enforcement officials, he is the mastermind in incorporating entities within India as well in foreign countries for remitting funds from India and receiving such funds in foreign bank accounts.

Thakur used to provide forged documents to Vipin Batra who in turn used to send these documents to Ashish Kumar Verma for executing outward remittances. Thakur used to incorporate entities in foreign countries on the backing of passports of several Indian individuals.

The modus operandi proved to be so successful that the syndicate acquired foreign exchange to the tune of Rs 271 crore and successfully sent this amount to the foreign bank account of shell companies abroad in the garb of purported imports of services giving false declarations in turn to banks.

In this, 90 percent of the amount was sent to Dubai while 10 percent was sent to Singapore.

It did not just end here. During the investigations, it was further found that Pawan Thakur was working on a similar modus operandi and in connivance with people that have been identified as Rohit Sharma, Jatin Chopra, Anmol Srivastava, Deepak Kaushal and others for illegal outward remittances.

The outward remittances were done illegally in the garb of third party payments against import of garments from Bangladesh.

From this, funds to the tune of Rs 338 crore were channeled out to Hong Kong and Singapore. Some of the fake firms that were created are Perfect Solutions, Omega Technologies, RP investment and consultancy, Flappose Trade PVT ltd, Uniwide innovations.

Fake directors of these firms were created. Bank accounts of office boys were created by giving them Rs 15,000. On their names, SIM cards used to be bought from where banking transactions used to be done.

With some arrests made in this case so far, investigations are still on to get hold of major masterminds in this Hawala racket that has resulted in more than Rs 608 crore being siphoned off the country.

#news #india news #scam #scam alert #scam warning #latest news #innews #india times news

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head-post · 28 days

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Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested at France’s airport

Pavel Durov, billionaire, co-founder and CEO of messenger Telegram, faced arrest at Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday night.

The 39-year-old entrepreneur, born in Russia, resides in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates, reportedly arrested on the warrant for offences related to the popular messaging app. He will appear in court on Sunday. France’s interior ministry and police had no comment.

Durov was flying aboard his private jet from Azerbaijan, TV channel TF1 said on its website, adding that he was arrested in France at 6:00 p.m. on a warrant as part of a preliminary police investigation.

TF1 and BFM believe the investigation centred on a shortage of moderators on Telegram. Police suppose that this situation allowed criminal activity to continue unhindered on the messaging app, as the use of the social network led to the messenger being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and the distribution of paedophilic content.

France’s Justice Ministry (OFMIN), the agency tasked with preventing violence against minors, in turn issued the arrest warrant for Durov as part of a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime and terrorist propaganda, a source close to the case said. “Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said one of the investigators.

Telegram is considered one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat and has about a billion users, particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. However, Telegram’s growing popularity around the world has drawn scrutiny from several countries in Europe, including France, due to security concerns and data leaks.

Russia’s representative to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, and several other Russian politicians on Sunday accused France of restricting freedom of speech. This contrasts particularly with the stance of the European Union, which regularly criticises free speech bans in other countries. The Russian Embassy in France is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported.

Elon Musk, US tech entrepreneur and owner of X, reacted to Durov’s detention by posting a message on his official account, also questioning freedom of speech in the European Union: “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”

Pavel Durov himself has repeatedly said that some governments have tried to pressure him, but the app should remain a ‘neutral platform’ and not a ‘player in geopolitics’.

“I would rather be free than to take orders from anyone,” Durov told US journalist Tucker Carlson in April about his exit from Russia and search for a home for his company which included stints in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco. Forbes estimates the entrepreneur’s fortune at $15.5 billion.