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Australia’s technology sector has not yet felt the “whistleblowing wave” that has torn through Silicon Valley and the European Union, and a new guide is aiming to encourage more insiders to come forward and expose corporate wrongdoing. The past year has been marked by scandals at local technology companies, including WiseTech Global , Grok Academy and Metigy , with executives at each organisation resigning after alleged misconduct was revealed by whistleblowers who raised concerns. American Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Credit: AFR Other tech scandals this year include a secretive algorithm that was found to be determining the fate of Australia’s immigration detainees and revelations that photos of Australian children have been used to train AI tools without the knowledge or consent of the children or their families. As the federal government moves ahead with its aggressive plans to regulate Big Tech and reduce the harm caused by social media and artificial intelligence, there are concerns that the role of whistleblowers has been lost in the debate. Technology-Related Whistleblowing: A Practical Guide will be launched on Monday and is the work of The Human Rights Law Centre, Reset Tech Australia, Psst.org and Digital Rights Watch. It builds on equivalent resources in the US and the EU. Frances Haugen, the high-profile American whistleblower who leaked the so-called “Facebook Files” said Australia was, in many respects, a proving ground for many of the world’s incumbent tech giants and an incubator for the good, bad, and the unlawful. ‘Few people, if any at all, actively set out to be whistleblowers. It is a difficult and hazardous path.’ Haugen formerly served as a senior product manager at Facebook before quitting in May 2021 and leaking tens of thousands of internal documents that exposed how much the company knew about the harm it was causing, including knowingly promoting misinformation and hate speech, and pro-eating-disorder content to teenage girls. “Just in 2024, a wide variety of tech scandals came to light in Australia. These powerful investigations by top reporters detail a taste of what’s happening under the surface in data-powered digital companies. There are almost certainly more,” Haugen said. “Few people, if any at all, actively set out to be whistleblowers. It is a difficult and hazardous path, but sometimes it’s the only path we have to serve the public interest and even save lives.” Haugen said that she was first-hand proof that information can help transform companies and enact broader cultural and societal change. “The documents I collected and provided to the US Congress and the SEC, now known as the Facebook Files, have been instrumental in sparking global conversations about the impact of social media on society and continue to play a role in making a case for legislative reform around the world for digital platform companies,” she said. Human rights lawyer Kieran Pender says protections for whistleblowers are vital. The guide covers issues including what to think about before blowing the whistle – including employment risks, potential legal action and emotional risks – as well as the various protections that whistleblowers are afforded. Kieran Pender is an associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre and has worked with a number of whistleblowers in the technology sector, including several who have spoken to this masthead for major stories. While Pender works with whistleblowers in the local sector, he would like to see more. He said that under existing laws, public and private sector workers in Australia have a range of protected avenues for raising concerns. “While the tech whistleblowing wave hasn’t yet made its way to Australia, we hope this guide will empower workers who witness technology-related harms to exercise their legal rights and speak up about wrongdoing,” he said. “Regulators must also take technology-related whistleblowing more seriously, including by ensuring they can receive lawful and protected disclosures. At a time of rapid regulatory change in Australia, it is vital that whistleblowing and whistleblower protections are part of the accountability ecosystem.” Alice Dawkins is the executive director at Reset Tech Australia, a lobby group dedicated to countering misinformation. For Dawkins, 2024 represented a banner year for the reporting of misconduct at tech companies. Alice Dawkins believes further tech industry disclosures are only a matter of time. “We’ve heard a lot this year about the harmful conduct of tech-enabled companies, and there is undoubtedly more to come out,” she said. “We know it will take time to progress comprehensive protections for Australians for digital harms. It’s especially urgent to open up the gate for public accountability via whistleblowing.” Jennifer Gibson is the co-founder and legal director of Psst.org, a platform providing whistleblowers with support and advice. “If Australia is serious about holding tech accountable, then it’s imperative whistleblowers be empowered to speak up about tech-related harms. They are the key to seeing inside the ‘black box’,” she said. “This new resource will help those on the inside who have key public interest information understand what their options are and where they can find support.” The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning .
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MADRID (AP) — Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the victims of the catastrophic Valencia flash floods , and urged the country to remain calm while addressing hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability. In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain “must never forget the pain and sadness" the floods caused. The Oct. 29 floods killed more than 225 people in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other. In some towns, the heavy downpours that caused the floods dropped as much as a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. In early November, as Spaniards' shock at the wreckage turned into frustration, a political blame game began, directed especially at regional authorities who failed to send timely emergency alerts to cell phones on the day of the floods. The frustration of residents in hard-hit Paiporta near Valencia was on display when people tossed mud and shouted insults at the king and government officials in early November when they made their first visit to the town. “We have seen — and understood — the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination," Felipe said about how the disaster was managed. He also addressed the country's housing crunch and high rents, which have become a leading concern in the southern European country that is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. Fast-rising rents are especially acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Felipe urged that “all the actors involved reflect” and "listen to each other” so that they facilitate bringing access to housing under “affordable conditions.” Spain's immigration debate should keep in mind the country's European partners and immigrants' countries of origin, Felipe said, warning that “the way in which we are able to address immigration ... will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy.” Felipe said Spain needed to remain calm in the public sphere, even in the face of a “sometimes thunderous” contest in its politics.Jones, Mellott help Montana State run over Montana 34-11
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Jimmy Carter: A brief bioMONTREAL — Canada's largest union is denouncing a statement by Quebec's labour minister, who suggested he might try to bring in legislation to give the province more power to end labour disputes. The Canadian Union of Public Employees is describing Jean Boulet as "the Grinch trying to steal the right to strike." Boulet told CBC/Radio-Canada that he's mulling changing the province's labour code to allow the government to suspend a strike or lockout and impose arbitration. The legislation would be modeled on a similar law at the federal level that has been used to end strikes at Canada's ports, railways and at Canada Post. Boulet told the outlet he's also considering expanding the province's list of essential services, which could prevent workers in some sectors from striking. His office did not respond for a request for comment. CUPE says the right to strike is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and attempts to undermine it will be "inevitably" struck down in court. "The right to strike is a fundamental right, a cornerstone of our democracy," CUPE Quebec President Patrick Gloutney said in a news release. "Taking advantage of the holiday season to try to weaken it shows deep disdain for those who fight every day for fair working conditions." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024. The Canadian Press
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming “border czar” on Thursday, with the Democratic mayor expressing an enthusiasm to work with the incoming administration to pursue violent criminals in the city while Trump promises mass deportations. The mayor's meeting with Tom Homan, who will oversee the southern and northern borders and be responsible for deportation efforts in the Trump administration, came as Adams has welcomed parts of the president-elect's hardline immigration platform. Adams told reporters at a brief news conference that he and Homan agreed on pursuing people who commit violent crimes in the city but did not disclose additional details or future plans. “We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and longstanding New Yorkers," he said. “That was my conversation today with the border czar, to figure out how to go after those individuals who are repeatedly committing crimes in our city.” The meeting marked Adams' latest and most definitive step toward collaborating with the Trump administration, a development that has startled critics in one of the country's most liberal cities. In the weeks since Trump’s election win, Adams has mused about potentially scaling back the city’s so-called sanctuary policies and coordinating with the incoming Trump administration on immigration. He has also said migrants accused of crimes shouldn’t have due process rights under the Constitution, though he eventually walked back those comments. The mayor further stunned Democrats when he sidestepped questions last week on whether he would consider changing parties to become a Republican, telling journalists that he was part of the “American party.” Adams later clarified that he would remain a Democrat. For Adams, a centrist Democrat known for quarreling with the city's progressive left, the recent comments on immigration follow frustration with the Biden Administration over its immigration policies and a surge of international migrants in the city. He has maintained that his positions have not changed and argues he is trying to protect New Yorkers, pointing to the law-and-order platform he has staked out throughout his political career and during his successful campaign for mayor. At his news conference Thursday, Adams reiterated his commitment to New York’s generous social safety net. “We’re going to tell those who are here, who are law-abiding, to continue to utilize the services that are open to the city, the services that they have a right to utilize, educating their children, health care, public protection,” he said. “But we will not be the safe haven for those who commit violent acts.” While the education of all children present in the U.S. is already guaranteed by a Supreme Court ruling, New York also offers social services like healthcare and emergency shelter to low-income residents, including those in the country illegally. City and state grants also provide significant access to lawyers, which is not guaranteed in the immigration court as they are in the criminal court. Still, Adams’ recent rhetoric has been seen by some critics as an attempt to cozy up to Trump, who could potentially offer a presidential pardon in his federal corruption case. Adams has been charged with accepting luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence. He has pleaded not guilty. Homan, who was Trump’s former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, also met this week with Republicans in Illinois, where he called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, to start negotiations over how Trump's mass deportation plans, according to local media. Separately, New York City officials this week announced continued efforts to shrink a huge emergency shelter system for migrants because of a steady decline in new arrivals. Among the planned shelter closures is a massive tent complex built on a federally owned former airport in Brooklyn, which advocates have warned could be a prime target for Trump's mass deportation plan. Elsewhere, Republican governors and lawmakers in some states are already rolling out proposals that could help him carry out his pledge to deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. Izaguirre reported from Albany, N.Y. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Our reactivity is an automated defence to protect us from feeling the pain of our negative core beliefs (NCB). Normally, we do not recognise that an old and painful memory has been stirred up; we simply feel overwhelmed and automatically react in defence. We can either shut down what we are feeling by underreacting, overreact with emotions out of proportion to the situation, or we can act out. The person who underreacts unconsciously shuts down her emotions to either reduce their intensity or completely hide them. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for The person who overreacts is unconsciously fighting against the situation. This is in the hope of changing it and releasing herself from uncomfortable feelings. The person who acts out unconsciously does so to purge anxious feelings. When we are being reactive, we are completely self-absorbed, which comes from the child-like mindset stored in repressed or denied memories. Often when we become reactive, we can act self- righteous, grandiose, contemptuous, critical, blaming, arrogant, controlling or tyrannical. In learning to live more fully in the present moment, we begin to recognise that we can respond to situations instead of blindly reacting to them. We can't always help it if someone hits an insecurity we have and invokes anger, sadness or some other feeling. But we do have the opportunity to control how we respond.
MITCHELL, S.D. — The University of Jamestown men’s basketball team could not find a way back in a 78-69 loss to Dakota Wesleyan University on Sunday, Dec. 29, at the Tigers’ World’s Only Corn Palace. Midway through the first half, the Tigers (11-3) took an 18-9 lead and they were able to keep their lead to between seven points and 10 points for the remainder of the opening half taking a 40-30 lead into the half. ADVERTISEMENT The Jimmies (5-7) started the second half on fire trimming the deficit to three points at 57-54 with 9:10 to go before a quick 5-0 run stretched the lead out again. The Jmmies kept it up bringing it even closer at 71-69 with just over two minutes to go but the Tigers were able to salt the game away at the free throw line on their way to a nine point win. The Jimmies are back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 3, when they go to Valley City State University.From peanut farmer to US President: Jimmy Carter dies at 100, sets a stunning record in US historyHOUSTON (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 27 points before being one of six people ejected after a fight in the final minute of the Miami Heat’s 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Herro was thrown to the ground by the Rockets’ Amen Thompson with 35 seconds left and the Heat leading 99-94. Players and coaches from both benches then came onto the court. Both players were thrown out along with Rockets guard Jalen Green, coach Ime Udoka and assistant coach Ben Sullivan. Terry Rozier was also ejected for Miami. Houston led 92-85 after Fred VanVleet’s layup with 8:10 to play, but the Rockets missed their next 11 shots, allowing Miami to tie the game when Herro found Haywood Highsmith for a 3-pointer with 4:47 to play. Herro’s jumper with 1:56 to play put the Heat on top for good. Takeaways Heat: Playing the second night of a back-to-back and missing Jimmy Butler for a fifth straight game, Nikola Jovic finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for the Heat. Highsmith added 15 points. Rockets: After blowing a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead against the Wolves, Houston struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, shooting just 6 for 24 from the field. Dillon Brooks scored 22 points after missing the last three games with a right ankle effusion. Key moment Jovic’s 3 with 47 seconds left put Miami up 98-94. Key Stat Miami outscored Houston, the NBA’s best offensive rebounding team, 15-9 in second-chance points. Up Next The Rockets host Dallas on Wednesday and the Heat host New Orleans on Wednesday.
One thing nearly all former presidents have in common is a love of sports. For Donald Trump, the game was golf. For Barack Obama, the sport was basketball. President George W. Bush owned Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. For Jimmy Carter, the sport was tennis. At the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park is a clay tennis court. The tennis court was installed during Carter’s childhood on the family farm. The farm and his childhood home later became the location for the park in Plains, Georgia. In his 1975 book “Why Not the Best?” Carter described how he would play against his father as a teenager. “My father ... was an excellent tennis player,” Carter wrote. “I could never beat my father. He had a wicked sliced ball which barely bounded at all on the relatively soft dirt court.” RELATED STORY | Former President Jimmy Carter dies at age 100 Carter was able to upgrade his court when he entered the White House in 1977. The complex had a court installed during President Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure. But during his time in the White House, the use of the tennis courts became political fodder. Staffer James Fallows wrote in The Atlantic that Carter would personally sign off on when the White House tennis court could be used, and by which staffers. “The in-house tennis enthusiasts, of whom I was perhaps the most shameless, dispatched brief notes through his secretary asking to use the court on Tuesday afternoons while he was at a congressional briefing, or a Saturday morning, while he was away,” Fallows wrote. “I always provided spaces where he could check Yes or No; Carter would make his decision and send the note back, initialed J.” Carter was asked by Bill Moyers about whether he personally signed off on the tennis court’s use. Carter told Moyers he delegated the task to a secretary. Carter’s love of tennis came home to Plains in 1977 during his first year in the White House. World Team Tennis staged a match in the small Georgia town, which was attended by Carter’s mother Lillian. The competition was between a team of Soviet Union stars against top Americans playing on the Phoenix Racquets.
“He said: ‘I’ve known you for a long time,’” the lawyer, professor and political analyst stressed December 24, 2024 - 4:49 PM The name of the renowned lawyer, professor and political analyst, Carlos Díaz Olivo , sounded louder a few days ago when he appeared before Superior Judge Anthony Cuevas Ramos of the San Juan Court, to represent the reggaeton musician Daddy Yankee in the lawsuit he filed against his wife Mireddys González and his sister-in-law Ayeicha González. Daddy Yankee and his wife Mireddys González reach a settlement agreement Daddy Yankee’s divorce: “contentious process” on the way? Daddy Yankee’s emotional message about his reconciliation with son Jeremy AyalaNVIDIA NVDA has outperformed the market over the past 15 years by 34.46% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 46.28%. Currently, NVIDIA has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion. Buying $1000 In NVDA: If an investor had bought $1000 of NVDA stock 15 years ago, it would be worth $311,254.16 today based on a price of $139.78 for NVDA at the time of writing. NVIDIA's Performance Over Last 15 Years Finally -- what's the point of all this? The key insight to take from this article is to note how much of a difference compounded returns can make in your cash growth over a period of time. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Lowe scores career-high 22, leads Pitt over LSU 74-63 in Greenbrier Tip-OffAP Business SummaryBrief at 6:26 p.m. EST