2018 Assistance and Access Bill

This is a cross post from my less technical blog at https://abeath.blog

Passed the Senate last night, rushed through in a day by a bunch of politicians that probably haven't read any of the submissions or listened to anyone in IT about the impact on privacy these encryption changes will make. Man it makes my blood boil. There was an article on Business Insider about it quoting a software consultant in Melbourne Tom Sulston and he summed it up really well:

1. The bill is bad for security because encryption keeps us safe from criminals. This bill will make it easier for them to hack us.
2: The bill is bad for jobs because software companies will choose not to work in Australia, as this bill is fundamentally incompatible with GDPR.
3: The bill is bad for workers, as it opens up all sorts of penalties if we conscientiously object to being drafted into the security services.
4: The bill is bad for democracy as it will make it easier for a sitting government to access the private communications of journalists, opposition politicians, unions, businesses, et al.
5: The bill is bad for the economy because global consumers will choose digital services that come from countries that are not threatened by Australian legislation.
There are clearly plenty more reasons why the bill is terrible, but these are some big, big problems.
https://twitter.com/tomsulston - see his feed for more stuff

I read this and can't help but agree. If I'm a criminal I would be super happy about this decision. You can be damn sure those guys will find open source software that isn't screwed the Australian Government and lock their shit up tight while the rest of us have defective software and devices allowing all and sundry to mess with our stuff.
This is a sad day indeed for Australia and we are rightfully the laughing stock of the technical world. What is worse is that this Bill was passed in order to stop another Bill being defeated (and this Bill is to get kids of Nauru for medical treatment. I'm not going to comment on that - I'm cranky enough with this other thing). So stupid politics screws the pooch royally here and there's only the House left to amend it.
Saints preserve us (I sound like little old Southerner). I am so disappointed in this decision and despite having written to my local member (I missed out on a submission to the stupid Bill thing) on several occasions I am very unhappy with this result. I'm also pissed at the behaviour of our elected officials trivialising something like this into name calling and bullshit behaviour when it is so important. Telling the opposition leader he is a "a clear and present threat to the safety of Australians" while they are looking at the Bill in order to guilt it through is really not good enough. If the Bill and the reasons behind it are solid, then an ad hominem attack like this is unnecessary and paints those elected in a worse light.
And while I'm on the soap box law enforcement needs to take a good look at themselves too. They're proposing to weaken encryption for everyone in order to catch a few people. Guess what idiots? More people will be negatively affected by this than the positive outcomes. You're weakening my encryption, my wife's and my kids to catch criminals. How about investing in some good old fashioned police work and updating the way you pursue criminals rather than screwing up things for everyone? I wonder if they have even looked carefully out the outcomes of this legislation past the echo chamber they live in. It's very disappointing and once again I'm considering moving to the moon.
Update:
I have to add to this after reading some more stuff about the Bill online. There were 173 amendments put forward to this Bill hours before it passed. The Senate were asked to consider 173 different amendments. I can't highlight this enough. 173 is a shite load. Surely this is an example of how flawed the bill was? Here is one of the Senator's takes on it:

It's fine, they're only asking for 173 amendments to be moved together. 173. Amendments most of us only saw an hour or two ago. 173.
It's a complete shitshow #AAbill #encryption #Auspol
— Senator Jordon Steele-John (@Jordonsteele) December 6, 2018
Twitter....

Come on! Seriously! Further to this, I've looked at the Bill and I'm gravely concerned that the current accreditation we have to have to work with the Government departments might be incompatible with this Bill and I could go to gaol for denying the Government fucking up our security in order to have the accreditation to work with the same Government. Is that not completely stupid? Welcome to Australia....
Rant over.

Why I won't use MelbourneIT for domains any more

Recently I have had three new clients come to our company for IT support. Each one uses MelbourneIT's domain name services - MelbourneIT hosts the domain name, the registry of that name and the web sites. In all three cases I've needed to make changes to DNS records and have been unable to get usernames and passwords for the managed services from MelbourneIT, despite having the authorised users available and requesting the changes themselves. Emails with reset account details have never arrived and after an estimated 3.5 hours on the phone I've given up. We'll set the DNS records up somewhere else and migrate the domain to a new registrar.

Poor customer service like this is not unusual in the IT world. Often a client will ask who to use for the domain names, where to host their DNS etc. I've always had very good experiences with Westnet and now with iiNET, reasonable experiences with Telstra on the Business Broadband and associated services and good experiences with Netregistry. While my company is a Telstra Fixed and Data dealer, I'm not personally involved in that part of the business and we don't resell any of the other companies services. I've used Netregistry personally for some years now, and I have my DNS hosted with Westnet still. Both organisations have been great to work with and I'm very pleased with the experiences I've had. I recommend them both to people I have as clients and friends. Contrast that with MelbourneIT's apparently poor customer service and I won't recommend them to anyone - not until I see a real improvement there.

I don't quite understand why so many companies - some with great products - skimp on customer service. Most of the time, the client is buying the sales chap or the customer service rep as much or more than the product in question. I always keep this in mind with my own clients - great customer service makes for sticky clients - they won't leave. Admitting mistakes can be seen as very detrimental, but I've always found that the admission, an apology and a plan for reparation have always been very positive. I've read too that in medical circles, some hospitals and doctors are apologising if things go wrong and people forgive them enough to drop law suits. That's a bit off topic, so I'll drag it back. The technical support staff I spoke to at MelbourneIT offered support but have failed to follow through and this is something that is now impacting on my relationship with the clients - they've started seeking a scapegoat for the things that aren't happening in a timely manner and unfortunately we IT people all get tarred with the same brush to a greater or lesser degree. It's been frustrating enough I'll take my business elsewhere and my clients too. Unfortunate for MelbourneIT but good for others.

Volunteering and the youth of today

Recently I've been involved in a project where significant amounts of volunteer work is required to make it a success. Although the level of help has been enormous, the cross section of ages of people involved has been very interesting. Almost all of the volunteers have been the parents of kids involved in the project and none of the kids themselves. By kids I refer to those with the age group of 30 and under. Many of these people are heavily involved in the sport in question, but very few have turned up to help out - their mothers and father have though. I find this very disappointing - after all, these kids are the ones who demand the best facilities and complained the loudest when the previous facilities were falling into aged disrepute.

I'm not sure if this is endemic across all volunteer efforts, but the ones I'm involved in it certainly seems to be. It's as if the altruism our parents demonstrate, the generosity of their time and effort have not been passed on to their overly spoilt and wilful children. I'm not sure how to combat this, after from charging those who don't help out more than those who do help out. Recognition of the effort being made by these volunteers is important - but they don't help for that reason. As a wise man once said, it's amazing how much can be accomplished when the people involved aren't asking for anything.

Personally I've spent several long hard days helping out and I'm exhausted, but I'm also disappointed and a bit unhappy about the lack of help from people my age. Lazy bastards I think while I'm out there working - a few more young folk and the work would go much easier. Instead older men and women are expending their efforts for something they'll only enjoy peripherally at best. Here is my message then, to you young folk - get off your arses and go and help out. Only a couple of hours of your time makes a big difference - you're not just helping yourself, but many others too. I actually feel ashamed of my age group. I'm appalled at the younger people and I don't know where this has gone wrong - maybe those self same parents making the effort now failed to teach those altruistic skills onto their progeny? At any rate, I've got work to do, and sitting here bitching isn't getting it done.

Appalling Palin

What was McCain thinking with Palin? And what the hell are Americans thinking with Palin? I know that here in the US we have idiots like Julia Gillard, but at least she has spent time in the political system at the top end, not just in state politics or even worse, as a mayor of a city and claiming that to be a justified credential for the top job. This Palin person seems to be uneducated and completely unaware of any broader issues. I mean honestly, if you can *see* a place you are not an expert on it. I can *see* the airport - does this mean I'm qualified to be an air traffic controller? But enough of such easy attacking.

I read a fair bit of stuff on the net and I see other women reacting to Palin very positively. Have they taken leave of their senses? They do not seem to be questioning her credentials for the position she hopes to assume, i.e. Vice President of the US. Sure Dick Cheney is a meglomaniac and all, but he at least has the ability to make his crazy ideas work. Palin doesn't seem to have any ideas and appears to be there to attack Obama. When Australian news anchors said that she did well in the debate against Joe Biden, Obama's VP candidate I laughed out loud. I saw the debate and frequently buried my head in my hands with embarrasment for Palin. She just doesn't have a clue - and what's worse is, no-one else wants to point it out! I guess it's like Al Gore. He was too smart for them. Sarah Palin is about the same intelligence as the mob and as such, they are comfortable with that. Let's have the country run by someone who isn't much brighter than we are! It's not as if her job is bigger, or has more responsibility than "Joe Six-pack" does. 

This is a rant and it's a rant at stupidity which I cannot abide. Every time I find myself being stupid about something it's makes me very unhappy indeed. It's an interesting juxtaposition though, Obama vs McCain, Biden vs Palin, New Ideas (including *gasp* diplomacy) vs Entrenched Old Ideas (mostly about using force to negotiate). New vs Old energy. Although Palin is young, she has an old mindset. A "we're the most powerful country on earth, let's blow some shit up! Hoo UH!"

Personally I think a vote for McCain/Palin is a vote for the past and for the ways things are currently run (i.e. Bush/Cheney) and a vote for Obama/Biden is a vote for the future and for the chance at something better.

It reminds me of this old adage: Insanity is defined as continuing to act in the old way and expecting something different to happen (or words to that effect).

*Update*

It now appears that the initial positive upswing of support for Palin is failing miserably as people realise she is unqualified for the job. More people are looking at McCain and saying: "He's pretty old, and he's had cancer - do we really want Palin as the President?" A damned interesting question I think.

Financial Bail out

For anyone in the money markets the last month or so has been a devastating one. I've been reading a bit about the way this whole thing started, with the bad debts in the USA and how this is now flowing on to the rest of the world. The biggest thing that irks me is the lack of responsibility being taken by people.

Take the people at the bottom line of things - those people who took out mortgages for homes that they could never effectively repay. Yes, during the first 6 or 12 months when they were paying 1% interest back they could afford it. When the honeymoon was over and their mortgage repayments became what they should be - well then they were screwed and many choose to walk away on their bad debts. Accordingly, the over-priced homes they had bought were then sold for less than the purchase price, so the debt wasn't covered by it and the lenders had to take a write off. Consider the massive inflation in home prices that was caused by all these cheap mortgages and people paying far more than a home was worth. It turns out this is a widespread thing, and it's happening in Australia too.

Deregulation of the financial sector is probably partly to blame, but the greed of these people in the financial sector is more to blame. It's not about responsible stewardship of people's money - it's about how much they can make and how fast they can do it. The major banks here in Australia are posting record profits. The executives are getting massive bonuses. If the market falls here like it has in the US and the Australian government bails them out that is the worst kind of financial mismanagement that there is. The record profits and bonuses should go back into the banks to keep them solvent. The people's money should be protected - both people with money in the banks and the taxpayers who are being asked to foot the bill (and by and large they're the same people).

In the US no-one is taking responsibility for the fall. Bailing them out only serves to indicate that you can do this sort of thing and get away with it. What a load of shit! It's like murdering someone and walking away with the smoking gun in your hand and a nation of witnesses. The US government should be ashamed of themselves. A cleansing needs to happen - all the bad debt, all the bad operators and all the bad investment groups need to be shutdown. That's the point of letting them crumble. Yes there will be some financial hardship for the people with their money tied up in this but it will pass. The cycle will continue and hopefully, the next loop around will be a better one that before. I've always refused to put money in the stock market. I can't see the pay-back on betting on confidence in companies and really, that's what it is. A company can still make products to a high standard but their share price won't reflect that - it'll go up and down based on the most absurd premises - the company's CEO shagged someone else's missus or something ridiculous. I wish I were joking. 

The worst thing that could have been done was to provide a safety net for the people who have caused the financial melt down in it's current state. They are not being held accountable for their actions and I read recently that in the US they are not even being prosecuted! What the fuck!? Let's just allow them to get off without responsibility. I suppose that's the Bush way. I wonder if it will be the Rudd way as well?

Back pain - not cool

Over the last few days I've experienced a fair bit of back pain. A dull ache that spirals up to a sharp pain in the area between my waist line and shoulder blades. Not a lot of fun to cope with. Between the 2 hours of sleep a night and the rush, bustle and general unpleasantness of the holiday season, I'm starting to get a bit cranky. I think it's more the stress of this time of year than an actual injury of any type - although I do have to stoop over or bend when I do a lot of household stuff (which I've actually been doing). Coming back to the stress of Christmas though... I've been downtown a bit and the behaviour of people at this time of year is appalling. Of course, we all hear the wonderful Christmas stories from the media - marking this the one time of year they'll actual cover something good, but we don't get the unpleasant underbelly of Christmas coming to the fore.

For example, as everyone rushes to get stuff for people, their driving habits worsen. I've been cut off about 5 times more often in the last week than all year. And people do the most discourteous things in addition - failing to indicate, tail gating etc. I've taken to keeping away from the major roads in town - the other routes are far more scenic and less stressful.

My significant other works part time in retail and she comes home cranky after every shift. Why? Because people are arseholes and Christmas is their time to shine. Commercialism overrides common sense (what little those dumb fuckers have anyway), manners are ignored and common courtesy is completely disregarded. It's clearly at times like this that I think humanity should be drowned in a bucket. Personally, I blame the commercialisation of Christmas. I've read a couple of bits and pieces today on the net regarding diamonds and the advertising of them as a way of purchasing your way to a woman's heart. Why would you use those common old rocks, sold at a premium? At any rate, it brings out the worst in people.

I remember when we were kids and there wasn't a lot under the tree. There was always some sporting stuff (we played cricket, hockey, tennis, golf, soccer, AFL and loads of others) or a replacement bike every few years as we outgrew/destroyed the ones we had. There were a minimum of computer games and the like, being that it was before the great wussification of children began and very few plastic toys. Nowadays kids seem to get plastic crap that lasts all of 10 minutes, and an arseload of games and things designed to keep them inside. I see kids these days at school that have the physical co-ordination of a drunk monkey. It's appalling!

So who is to blame for all of this? The parent? They are besieged by advertising regarding junk for kids, they are hammered by the kids wanting said junk and they are exhausted because they work long and hard to try to get the money to pay for it all. So is it the advertisers? Nope, they're just doing their job and they do good at it. It weakens, belittles and undermines us all, but hey, that's their job and they work hard at it.

It comes back to a common theme for me - the big corporations are at (and I do realise that free will and the right to choose are not to be dis-regarded here) fault. Those big, faceless, accountable only to their greedy shareholders entities that seem to rule the world. Of course, the shareholders are average people, but they don't give a shit. They want a return on their stocks, and they want it NOW! Damn the impact of the activities of those corporations on the people and the planet - we want our fucking money and we want it to increase every year damn it! It's bloody appalling and I am continuously shocked and appalled by the people who piss and moan about how bad things are, but own stocks in these organisations - and therefore have a say in the governance of that organisation. Do something about it you spineless cretins!

Unfortunately the lure of riches, glamour and stuff is too great and the corporations who have poisoned our minds and are currently destroying our world use these things to blind us to what is happening. The power of the people is undermined in a calculated and heartless manner through the manipulation of those lying pussbag politicians and so we all suffer.

Try not to buy *too* much useless shit this Christmas!

Disgraceful Politicians

Each day I read quite a few articles on the net about various things. This one here: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/12/16/telecoms/index.html is referring to the eavesdropping the US government perpetrates on it's citizens and the desire of many of the piss weak pollies to allow the corporations, and by extension themselves, off without even a slap on the wrist. How the fuck does this support the people they are supposed to represent?

In Australia the new Labour government are starting to bring in rules to prohibit various types of lobbying that involve an exchange of funds of any type. Why does the Government not take away the requirement to have any need for outside money in the race for the top spot? I'd love to see this happen in the US, where it appears the more money you have, the more likely you are to reach the Presidency. Now I'm not a fan of Kevin Rudd, the current Australian PM, but I'll give him a chance. I thought John Howard did alright - although I naturally disagreed with things that happened during his tenure as PM.

My point (if there is one) is that politicians seem to excise any type of honour, or integrity once they decide to enter politics. They'll say anything to get in, make any promise, kiss any handy arse. They'll support the big corporations that are designed for one thing - to make money off of everyone else, regardless of the cost to society or the environment. That's a rant for another time I think - corporations and specifically the people running them should be accountable for *everything* that the corporation does. But to get back on topic....

When you promise the world, naturally you're lying. It takes a lot of effort to change things and people seem to not realise this. You don't click your fingers and say - there we go, problem xyz is fixed. Why not at least promise what you can deliver? I'm the President of a local sporting association and I don't make promises. I tell people what is achievable, what I'm working on and work like hell to make it all pay off. But I don't lie, or compromise my integrity. I aim to provide the best I can for all the people I represent. This bullshit in the US about the wiretapping protects the lying fucks of George Bush (pick one) and his cabinet and the spineless cretins that allowed it to be implemented. You can bet *they* aren't being watched. To say I feel disillusioned by the democratic process is a lot like saying the sun is only "warm". Frankly, I think that if Kevin Rudd can pull us out of our regrettable entanglement with the United States we'll be a lot better off. Those fat, useless, fear ridden cretins in the US should be allowed to sink alone and not be able to drag our sorry arses down with them.

And of course, I once again wonder why someone doesn't go on a shooting rampage at Capitol Hill and try to winnow out a few of those useless bastards in the US Senate and Congress. I regret that my language is insufficient to suitably portray my feelings with regards to those.... humans (and even admitting I'm of the same species is a big stretch). At the end of the day, I'd like to see people who've had real jobs, who've had to work hard for what they've got and who have an ounce of integrity in those politicians' seats. They certainly cannot do any worse than the motherfuckers there at the moment.

Rant: eBay and stupidity

I've only recently started playing with eBay. I'd known all about it, but never used, knowing my proclivity for spending. But I have started using it. I thought it would be nice to get my girl a new mobile phone. I thought one of those Nokia N93's would be cool so I tracked one down. And then the stupidity commenced.

Picture on item: matches phone.
Description: mostly matches phone.
Actual item: a CD with crap on it for this type of phone.
Bid: $8.33

Shit. Wrong item. The images on the page, the general thread of the description mention in an obtuse way that this is for a CD not a phone. I didn't read it carefully enough and *bang* bid on a piece of crap I'll probably never use.

I congratulate the seller - the ad was well crafted and hit the right notes to make it seem like it was a phone I was bidding on. I especially like that in the eBay categories the CD is in the "Mobile Phone" section. Very nice. I'll remember this for the future. I'm just glad it wasn't a more expensive bungle and at the end of the day, I have to take responsibility for my poor decision. Ah well, c'est la vie.

A ramble about stuff that irritates me

The internet seems to be a very US centric medium. Most of the news collected appears to be US related. We all know the US is the centre of the known universe (according to them) and I watch with no small sense of amusement as their political system collapses under the weight of incompetence, greed, malice and well, sheer stupidity. There are a lot of calls for impeachment, but while the Senate or Congress or whatever it is stalls and hums and harrs about things, it won't happen. That idiot Pelosi should be enacting the will of the people and making it happen and instead she is saying it's too hard. WTF? As I understand democracy if the people want something to happen, and they have a majority - why isn't something being done about it? In Australia we have a smaller population and while I'm not suggesting our politicians are any brighter than the US ones, at least we lack the resources to bring war to another nation. We just get dragged along by one of our trading partners who is probably ripping us off.

It's time for people to change their perspective about how to deal with other nations. Why not trade with them instead of trying to dominate them? I realise of course, that by trading one might have to pay for oil instead of just stealing it and how abhorrent this must be for certain greed driven folks. It seems to me that religion has a new contender for the cause of most deaths - GREED. Let's take control of oil - we can make a lot of money and it secures our national interest (which is making money). Why not say - keep your stinking oil and find another source of, say renewable energy that takes the power away from the oil providing nations. In 20 years, when there is no oil in the Middle East is anyone going to give a damn what is happening there? If we use sun, or wind, or tide, or nuclear power (which isn't quite renewable but works for a long time) then there is no country or people with a lot of power that can manipulate everyone else. What will this do to the Muslim extremists who are causing such grief to the United Nations Council for Human Rights? Guess what - women are equal to men. Let's move out of the Dark Ages and into the modern times where women are equally recognised for their intelligence, skills and knowledge. Let's take away such stupidity as head coverings, segregated buses and other such stupidity.

I don't want to get into a rant about religion - any religion, but it strikes me that perhaps if people could just take a bit of a step back and think or question what they are being told, we might see some changes take place. Then again, I've read a quote saying that religion takes away the responsibility to have to think. "My religion says this so that's what I'm going to do!" It brings me back to the ramble about the US that I started on. I think it's appalling to see religion getting in the way of day to day politics and decision making. Hearing about an archbishop saying that someone who votes for stem cell research can't take communion is nothing but blackmail pure and simple. Yet we allow it to happen. What's happening in the US is worse with religious figures becoming actively involved in subverting the political process.

And just while I'm on it - Intelligent Design is the biggest load of crap in the world. Anyone who believes in that shit and says that evolution is wrong needs to have their genes removed from the pool. Guess what - we're not descended from monkeys. If we were, there wouldn't be any monkeys. Descent implies they would be us now. We might have a common ancestor (divergent evolution - look it up) but we are not descended from monkeys.

It's unfortunate that the course of natural selection is diverted now - there are a lot of idiots that make the gene pool very shallow.