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Trump Organization handover plan slammed by ethics chief

by Rajdeep April 5, 2024

written by Rajdeep

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017

The director of the US Office of Government Ethics has criticised Donald Trump’s plan to hand control of his business empire to his sons before his inauguration on 20 January.

The plan does not match the “standards” of US presidents over the last 40 years, Walter Shaub said.

A Trump lawyer said earlier the new trust would face “severe restrictions” on new deals.

But Mr Shaub said the plan would not remove conflicts of interest.

“Every president in modern times has taken the strong medicine of divestiture,” he said, referring to a process whereby Mr Trump would sell off his corporate assets and put the profits into a blind trust run by an independent trustee.

At a news conference on Wednesday, lawyer Sherri Dillon said that management of the Trump Organization would be transferred to a trust controlled by Mr Trump’s sons Don and Eric and chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.

The Trump Organization is an umbrella company for Donald Trump’s hundreds of investments in real estate, brands and other businesses.

In other developments:

National intelligence director James Clapper said he had told Donald Trump that the intelligence community had not “made any judgment” that the information in a dossier alleging Russia had compromising material on the president-elect was reliable. He also told Mr Trump that he did not believe the intelligence community was the source of the leaked allegations
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said his country would “of course” not pay for the wall that Mr Trump on Wednesday again promised to build at its expense to block illegal immigrants
Secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson said it was “a fair assumption” that Russian president Vladimir Putin had been behind hacks of the US Democratic party during the election campaign. Mr Trump also said for the first time “I think it was Russia”

Outlining a structure designed by her and colleagues at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Ms Dillon said President-elect Trump wanted Americans to have no doubt that he was “completely isolating himself from his business interests”.

The trio in charge “will make decisions for the duration of the presidency without any involvement whatsoever by President-elect Trump”, she said.

No foreign deals will be made and domestic deals will be subject to “vigorous vetting”, she added.

Soon after, Mr Shaub said that the arrangement would not remove conflicts of interest for Mr Trump since, unlike in a blind trust, he would still see information about the businesses and deals being made in the newspapers and on television.

“His sons are still running the businesses and, of course, he knows what he owns,” he said at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington DC.

Describing Mr Trump’s plan as “wholly inadequate”, he said: “Nothing short of divestiture will resolve these conflicts.”

A whirlwind of condemnation: analysis by John Mervin, BBC News, New York

If Mr Trump and his lawyers thought this was going to satisfy the ethical and constitutional concerns that have been raised, they’ll need to think again.

“As I listened, my jaw dropped. Trump’s workaround is a totally fraudulent runaround,” tweeted Professor Laurence Tribe of Harvard University, one of the leading constitutional lawyers in the US.

“Trump’s announced structure is cleverly designed to dazzle and deceive, but it solves none of the serious ethical or legal issues. Trump’s lawyer would flunk constitutional law at any halfway decent law school. At least if the lawyer wasn’t just joking.”

The biggest objection arises from the so called emoluments clause of the US constitution. It expressly forbids anyone in government from receiving gifts or benefits (“emoluments”) from foreign powers. If Donald Trump still owns his companies, then even if he’s not managing them, the argument goes, he will still be the beneficiary of many of the Trump Organization’s foreign businesses.

Professor Richard Painter, who was President George W Bush’s chief ethics lawyer, stated frankly: “The plan we heard today does not comply with the law.”

Professor Norman Eisen, who did the same job for President Obama, agreed with that and also offered an ominous forecast for the president-elect.

“What Donald J Trump has done today is contrary to the most fundamental law of the United States of America,” he said. “The emoluments clause is no minor feature of the constitution… So these conflicts of interest are core. I do not believe that any of the branches of government will stand for it.”

The ethics agency director compared the Trump plan with what he characterised as secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson’s successful efforts to make a “clean break” from Exxon, where he was chairman and chief executive.

“He clearly recognises that public service sometimes comes at a cost,” Mr Shaub said of Mr Tillerson.

Although presidents are not subject to the same conflict of interest rules as other government employees, previous commanders-in-chief have placed their investments into a blind trust to prevent any question of corruption.

The Office of Government Ethics was set up in 1978 to monitor how the US executive and its agencies comply with rules on gifts, nepotism and conflicts of interest.

It is not responsible for enforcing those rules or handling complaints, but can refer matters to law-enforcement agencies – including the FBI – or to the justice department.

Mr Shaub said the OGE was waiting to assist Mr Trump if he decided to “adjust his plan”.

[Source:- BBC]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Education

University of St Andrews chief defends admissions policy

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

St Andrews University

The head of admissions at the University of St Andrews said it had a good “student diversity” policy without having to be a “charitable venture”.

Mike Johnson said the elite Fife institution had outreach programmes which connected with local communities.

Recent figures showed that the number of 18-year-olds from Scotland’s poorest areas going to university was down.

Mr Johnson said a good university needed “diversity of thought” from its “diversity of students”.

The admissions’ director was speaking to BBC radio presenter Bill Whiteford who was hosting Thursday’s Good Morning Scotland programme from St Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university.

Mr Johnson said: “We meet our funded places allocation with Scottish students, we cannot go above that cap but we always meet that number in terms of Scottish students.

“What we want to see is the diversity of the student, wherever that student comes from.

“It shouldn’t be seen as some charitable venture at universities – this is about the diversity of a student bringing diversity of thought, we want many world views.

“When students are in tutorials we want them to come from different backgrounds, this is good for universities, there is no doubt about that.”

The Scottish government has placed a major focus on cutting the attainment gap between rich and poor, and increasing the number of Scots from the worst-off communities making it to university.

However, some politicians and education experts believe the cap on funded university places needs to be lifted if the system is going to target poorer students without impacting on the wider student population.

Convenor of Universities Scotland, Andrea Nolan, told the programme it was important to give “as many opportunities as we can to people who we believe have the potential and the ability to succeed”.

She explained “In Scotland we have a fixed number of places for Scottish and EU domicile students and as we seek to widen access to people from communities that are underrepresented at universities that is going to put pressure in a fixed system.”

Wide choice

Ms Nolan said lifting the cap on places was one way of “expanding the system”.

She added: “There are other ways where we can work more efficiently with our colleagues in the college sector, but we are keen to have the opportunity available to those attending higher education, if that is the right pathway for them. So that may involve expanding places.”

Ms Nolan said universities were keen to talk with the Scottish government about ensuring that “everybody who has the potential and ability to succeed at university gets that opportunity”.

Education Secretary John Swinney said work was under way to improve access to education for those from the most deprived backgrounds.

He told the BBC: “We have to work collaboratively with the universities, with other players in the education system to make sure we strengthen the attainment of young people and ensure that young people are able to have a wide choice of what destination they want to pursue.”

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Grammar schools help poor claim is ‘tosh’ , says Ofsted chief Wilshaw

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Sir Michael Wilshaw

The idea that poor children will benefit from a return of grammar schools is “tosh” and “nonsense”, says the outgoing chief inspector of Ofsted.

Sir Michael Wilshaw said a return to selection at 11 years old would be a “profoundly retrograde step” that would lead to sliding standards.

He spoke out after reports that Prime Minister Theresa May favours changing the law so new grammars can open.

England’s Education Secretary Justine Greening is looking into the issue.

Supporters of grammar schools say that children from poor backgrounds are helped to make the most of their potential because entry to such schools is on the basis of raw ability.

But many argue that, in fact, the vast majority of those doing well in entrance tests are children whose parents have paid for them to be privately tutored outside school.

In a speech to London Councils’ education conference, Sir Michael praised the success of schools in the capital saying they had undergone an “amazing transformation” and lead the way in “narrowing the attainment gap between rich and poor”.

“It has maintained its status as the top performing region across all key stages when it comes to the performance of children eligible for free school meals,” he said.

The soaring success of London schools made “a mockery of the claim that opening up many grammar schools is the key to unlocking the potential of disadvantaged children and to boosting social mobility,” he said.

‘Pretty woeful’

“If grammar schools are the great answer, why aren’t there more in London?

“If they are such a good thing for poor children, then why are poor children here in the capital doing so much better than their counterparts in those parts of the country that operate selection?”

He said he appreciated that many grammar schools did a “fine job”, but added that their record of admitting children from non-middle class backgrounds was “pretty woeful”.

“The notion that the poor stand to benefit from the return of grammar schools strikes me as quite palpable tosh and nonsense – and is very clearly refuted by the London experience.”

He cited figures showing the under-representation of poor pupils in grammar schools.

In Bexley, he said grammar schools had 9% of pupils on free school meals, compared to 28% in non-selective schools.

In Sutton, where five out of 14 schools are grammars, the proportion is about 7% in grammar schools and 25% in non-selective schools.

In a BBC interview this weekend, Mrs May did not answer directly a question about whether she planned to bring back grammar schools.

But she said Ms Greening was looking at the issue of new grammar schools as well as other areas of education policy.

Labour banned new grammars in 1998 amid concerns they were dominated by middle-class pupils whose parents gave them a head-start with private tutoring.

England’s first “new” grammar for 50 years in Sevenoaks, Kent, was only approved last year as an “annexe” to an existing school using a loophole in the law.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner described Sir Michael’s comments as “an embarrassing rebuke” for the Conservatives.

“The Tories should be concentrating instead on raising standards in all schools and improving education for all our children, regardless of their backgrounds.

“They are failing to do so. But they want to return to a system in which children were branded as failures at the age of 11 and which only increased division in our society.

[Source:- BBC]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Internet

Yahoo Communications Chief Leaves in Advance of Verizon Takeover

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Yahoo Communications Chief Leaves in Advance of Verizon Takeover

Anne Espiritu, Yahoo Inc.’s vice president of global public relations and communications, is leaving after four years at the company that’s now selling its core assets to Verizon Communications.

Espiritu was the first person hired from Google after Marissa Mayer left the search giant to take the job as Yahoo’s chief executive officer in 2012. Espiritu and Mayer had been discussing for some time when Espiritu might leave Yahoo, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“We are incredibly grateful for her hard work, dedication and unwavering support over the past four years,” Yahoo said in a statement. “We wish her luck in her next adventure.”

Sheila Tran is being promoted to become Yahoo’s head of global public relations, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the appointment hasn’t been made public.

Espiritu’s departure follows Verizon’s announcement July 25 that it will acquire Yahoo’s Internet assets for $4.8 billion, bringing the web portal together with longtime rival AOL. The telecommunications company will add Yahoo web services that still draw 1 billion monthly users, including mail, news and sports content and financial tools.

Espiritu was a key figure in helping shape and manage the communications at Yahoo during Mayer’s tenure as CEO, which included heightened criticism on Wall Street and in the press as sales growth sputtered over time amid market share losses.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Academy chief accuses Government of ‘bottling’ forced academisation

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

Nicky Morgan

The Government is facing a backlash after abandoning plans to force all schools in England to become academies.

Chancellor George Osborne used his budget in March to announce thatall schools would either have to convert by 2020 or be committed to doing so by 2022.

But yesterday Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, announced a climb-down after Conservative MPs threatened to defeat the policy.

Ministers now say the plan to make every school an academy is an ‘aspiration’, not a compulsory policy.

Paul Luxmoore, Executive Headteacher of the Coastal Academies Trust, told the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 the Government had ‘bottled it’.

“I’m dismayed,” he said.

“The Government’s policy has been for a long time to develop a school-led self-sustaining education system by devolving decision making and money directly to schools.

“That’s been done by the academisation programme and developing multi-academy trusts.”

Mr Luxmoore, whose multi academy trust oversees five academies in Kent, said the Government’s u-turn was motivated by political reasons and had little to do with education.

“Across the UK we’ve reached a tipping point where local authorities, who have been delivering school improvement until now, no longer have the money or capacity to do that effectively,” he said.

“The Government’s policy to make all schools academies over the next few years was entirely predictable and entirely sensible, but they’ve lost their courage to go ahead with it.”

Despite abandoning the main policy of forcing all schools to become academies, the new legislation will give the Government the power to force schools to convert when local authorities show consistently poor results.

Mr Luxmoore said this provision lacked necessary clarity.

“Does this mean the point at which the Government will step in is when schools are in special measures,” he asked.

“By that stage it will be too late.”

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Hull College chief accused of ‘bullying’ local MP over staff strike

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

A Hull College chief executive has been accused of using “bullying” tactics towards its staff and local MP, following an on-going row over staff pay at the institute.

Shadow Attorney General Karl Turner criticised Chief Executive, Gary Warke, for sending him a letter of complaint regarding his support of striking staff members.

The dispute came into place after Mr Turner, who represents the Kingston upon Hull East constituency, addressed members of the University and College Union (UCU) during their one-day walkout over pay and lesson observations on Tuesday.

In a personal letter sent to the MP, Mr Warke expressed “sincere disappointment” at Mr Turner’s decision to support the strike and said it was “inappropriate and disrespectful” that he had not informed management of his intentions to appear at the demonstration.

Mr Turner published the letters of correspondence in a blog postand said: “Imagine my surprise to have received a veiled threat from Hull College Chief Executive, Gary Warke, who took it upon himself to accuse me of making political capital out of an issue which matters a lot to my constituents”.

“Whilst Mr Warke may feel that he can bully and intimidate his staff at Hull City College, he cannot do it to me, an elected Member of Parliament”.

The MP has also written to the college’s board of governors to ask them to investigate the chief executive’s conduct.

Tuesday’s strike rally was organised by the UCU with staff members of Hull College, in protest over pay rates and a “controversial” lesson observation system implemented by the college.

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Tech Update

EU’s Antitrust Chief Looking Closely at Google’s Android

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

The European Union antitrust chief, who has already charged Google with favoring its own shopping service in internet searches, said on Monday that she was now examining its deals with phone makers and operators.

The comments by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager follow a year-long investigation into Android, the world’s most popular operating system for smartphones, triggered by two complaints.

A decision on the shopping service could come this year. Like the Android case, it could lead to a fine of up to $7.4 billion or 10 percent of Google’s 2015 revenue, and force it to change its business practices.

Vestager said big companies should not try to protect themselves by holding back innovation.

“That’s why we’re looking closely at Google’s contracts with phone makers and operators which use the Android operating system,” she said at a conference organized by the Dutch competition authority.

“Our concern is that, by requiring phone makers and operators to pre-load a set of Google apps, rather than letting them decide for themselves which apps to load, Google might have cut off one of the main ways that new apps can reach customers.”

The Commission said last year that it was also investigating whether Google had prevented smartphone and tablet manufacturers from developing and marketing modified and potentially competing versions of Android.

Another area of concern was whether Google had illegally hindered the development and market access of rival applications and services by bundling some of its applications and services distributed on Android devices with other Google products.

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Education

Stuart Ferguson Joins Education Northwest as Chief Financial Officer

by Loknath Das January 17, 2022

written by Loknath Das

Stuart Ferguson

Education Northwest is pleased to announce the hiring of Stuart Ferguson as Chief Financial Officer. Ferguson brings more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership within the educational professional services industry. He most recently served as the Assistant Controller for the American Institutes for Research in Austin, Texas. Prior to that he served as CFO at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, during their operation of the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest and the Texas and Southeast Comprehensive Centers.

“Stuart is going to have a big impact at Education Northwest,” says Chief Executive Officer Patty Wood. “He has a very strong background in the kind of program services we provide, including experience in the Regional Educational Laboratory system and education nonprofits. He’s a perfect fit for where we’re at as an organization and where we want to go.”

Ferguson was drawn to Education Northwest as a regional organization looking to expand nationally. “To be part of an organization that is growing—that is actively committing the resources necessary to do that—is very appealing,” says Ferguson. “Education Northwest has a very good reputation in the field. It’s an organization with a strong mission and a deep commitment to equity. It’s an up-and-coming, exciting place to be in an industry that’s experiencing a lot of growth.”

Ferguson holds a master’s degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant. His experience in the education nonprofit sphere has given him a keen sense of accountability. “I think finance has an important role to play in ensuring that Education Northwest is a good steward of public and philanthropic funds,” says Ferguson. “It’s very important that we demonstrate—not only to the government or a given funder but also to the public at large—that we can be trusted to use those resources to meet the mission.”

Finance is an essential part of that mission, says Ferguson. “We want to provide the board and the leadership team with the most accurate information possible to inform their decision making. That allows them to focus our resources on where we can have the greatest impact and do the most good.”

Ferguson brings high expectations to his new role. “My goal is that the finance office will be seen as a strength of the organization,” he says, “and ultimately as a model or best-in-class organization within our industry and as an example for other nonprofits as to how an organization should be run financially and how to support sustainable growth.”

[“source=educationnorthwest”]

January 17, 2022 0 comment

Tech Update

DHS Cyber Chief is Ready to Update Federal Tech Hiring

by Loknath Das April 5, 2019

written by Loknath Das

The U.S. is facing a severe shortage of cybersecurity expertise, and agencies need to rethink their hiring methods if they want to keep up their digital defenses, according to the Homeland Security Department’s cyber chief.

“There’s not enough capability to go around,” said Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. ”There’s no question there’s a security consolidation happening—particularly with some of the big tech companies, the rich are getting richer.”

As cyber talent gravitates toward higher paying, more flexible jobs in the private sector, the government must look beyond its traditional employee pools, Krebs said Thursday at the Forcepoint Cybersecurity Leadership Forum. And his agency is already broadening its sights.

In a field like cybersecurity, real-world experience could be just as valuable as any degree or credential, but the government’s current hiring process may overlook those with less traditional backgrounds, he said. The current schedule system also lumps together every cyber specialist into a single job code, which “doesn’t work” when building a workforce with such a wide array of specialities, he added.

A personnel system set to launch later this year could help Krebs and other federal tech leaders bring on specialists who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

The Cybersecurity Talent Management System, first announced in the White House’s 2018 reorganization plan, would allow Homeland Security to speed up the hiring process, offer more competitive salaries and attract more people from nontraditional educational background. According to its most recent budget request, the department plans to use the additional authorities to hire at least 150 people by the end of fiscal 2020.

Once the department works out the kinks in the new system, it will work with the Office of Management and Budget to roll it out at agencies across government.

The system “gives me those capabilities to hire people based on their skill sets, not what’s on a piece of paper,” Krebs said. “I need a different set of hiring authorities and that’s part of what we’re doing.”

The new system will also make it easier for the department to hire cyber specialists on a continuous basis, he said, mirroring the approach taken by the intelligence community. People may drop out midway through the hiring process, “so we’re trying to figure out how we keep … that pipeline established and just keep running people through,” Krebs said.

“I would love to be in a situation where I don’t have enough seats to put somebody,” he added. “If I’m there, that means we’ve done something right. [We’re doing] something wrong in the meantime.”

[“source=nextgov”]

April 5, 2019 0 comment

Gadgets News

Apple Services Chief Eddy Cue to Be Deposed in Qualcomm Patent Battle

by Loknath Das May 5, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Apple Services Chief Eddy Cue to Be Deposed in Qualcomm Patent Battle

Qualcomm can depose Apple’s services chief Eddy Cuein addition to Chief Executive Tim Cook, a magistrate judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of California ruled on Friday, a part of the chipmaker’s effort to determine whether Apple worked with Samsung to focus regulatory scrutiny on Qualcomm.

The access to Cue is important because Qualcomm alleges talks between executives at Apple and its rival Samsung Electronics were central to its decision to cut off Apple from a stream of nearly $1 billion (approximately Rs. 6,682 crores) in licensing rebate payments.

Apple sued Qualcomm early last year, contesting the San Diego-based chipmaker’s licensing practices and asking for those rebate payments back. Qualcomm then sued Apple for patent infringement in several countries. As part of the disputes, Qualcomm is also seeking to ban the import of some iPhones it believes are violating its patents.

In the lawsuit in Southern California filed by Apple, Qualcomm has alleged that at a conference in Idaho in 2015, a top Apple executive encouraged Samsung to “get aggressive” in asking South Korean antitrust regulators to pursue action against the chipmaker.

Cook and Cue are regular attendees of a media mogul conference held each year in Sun Valley, Idaho. The Apple executive in question, Qualcomm alleged, explained that a regulatory ruling on Samsung’s home turf would be Samsung’s “best chance” to force Qualcomm to change its licensing practices.

Qualcomm did not name the Apple executive cited in its filings. However, the conversation between Apple and Samsung is important because Qualcomm alleges it amounted to Apple “wrongfully inducing” a regulatory action against Qualcomm.

Qualcomm said such a move violated a cooperation agreement it had with Apple and that it stopped sending rebate payments to Apple because of that and other violations of the agreement.

Apple has argued in court filings that it cooperated with requests from regulators and that Qualcomm improperly retaliated against it for doing so.

Though Qualcomm is known as a chipmaker, its profit has been driven by a patent licensing business. Some of Qualcomm’s practices caused conflicts with customers such as Apple and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, as well as with regulators in China, Korea and the United States. Qualcomm has begun changing some of those practices to become more “regulator friendly,” its executives have said.

Apple declined to comment, and Samsung and Qualcomm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

May 5, 2018 0 comment