Tag: law

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Talking civil use of metadata on ABC 105.7 Darwin

ABC logoWhen mandatory telecommunications data retention legislation was first introduced — the so-called “metadata” retention laws — Australia’s favourite Attorney-General Senator George Brandis QC stressed that it wouldn’t be used for civil proceedings. Guess what just happened?

On Tuesday, Brandis’ office announced a review of the laws to see whether retained metadata could be used — wait for it — in civil proceedings.

On Wednesday I wrote about this in a ZDNet column titled Brandis rushes to release telco metadata for civil proceedings.

And on Wednesday afternoon I spoke about it with Kate O’Toole on ABC 105.7 Darwin. Here’s that conversation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

This audio is ©2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading

Pauline Hanson

It’s now 20 years since Pauline Hanson first entered the Australian parliament with her controversial views. Well now she’s back. At last Saturday’s federal election, Queensland voters propelled her into the Senate.

Hanson isn’t worried about just Asians these days. She’s targeting the supposed threat of Islam. And there’s more — much more — in the policy agenda of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. It’s time to take a closer look.

In this special episode of the Edict, we go inside the mind of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, as Stilgherrian reads their entire policy agenda — live. Every single word. You’ll also hear some of Pauline Hanson’s political wisdom in her own words.

Continue reading “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading”
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Announcing “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading”

[This literary tour de force will be streamed live from stilgherrian.com/edict/live4/, at Spreaker, and via Spreaker apps.]

Pauline Hanson on Channel Nine's Today, 3 July 2016

On Saturday night, I’m recording and streaming live a special edition of The 9pm Edict podcast the likes of which you’ve never heard before. The voters of Australia are to blame. I need your help to undo some of the damage.

The 9pm Edict cover art version 2, 150 pixels

The results of Australia’s federal election held last Saturday are not yet clear. One of the few certainties, however, is that Queensland’s voters have propelled the red-headed figurehead of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation into the Senate.

Senator Pauline Hanson. Get used to it, Australia.

One Nation’s full policy agenda isn’t just racist and anti-Islamic. Sure, it includes banning the burqa and niquab in public, banning halal certification, and a Royal Commission into Islam, but there’s much more.

How about scrapping all international treaties? Introducing Citizens Initiated Referenda, compensation for wind turbine syndrome, and euthanasia? Re-introducing trade tariffs? The list goes on.

Hanson is assertive. Treating her as just an amusing sideshow would be a mistake. She’ll push her party’s agenda in the Senate, so we’ll need to push back.

We need to understand.

We need to take a closer look.

We need to go inside the mind or Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.3MB)

One Nation’s Policies Presented As They Should Be

This Saturday 9 July at 2000 AEST, I will start drinking Queensland’s own Bundaberg Rum and read to you, verbatim, the entire One Nation policy agenda. Every word.

This literary tour de force will be streamed live from stilgherrian.com/edict/live4/, and via Spreaker.

Continue reading “Announcing “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading””
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Weekly Wrap 312: How can this possibly be right?

Sydney Harbour Bridge from 35 Clarence Street: click to embiggenMonday 16 to Sunday 22 May 2016 was another week that went pretty much to plan. That’s two in a row!

I won’t jinx it by saying anything else.

Articles

Podcasts

None, but I’ve started work on the next episode of The 9pm Edict.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Tuesday, I went to the Sydney media launch for Huawei’s Mate 8 smartphone. Drinks and canapés were served, and I now have a loaner review unit of said phone. I’ll post my comments in due course.
  • On Wednesday, I went to a lunchtime briefing by SimpliVity at GPO Prime Steak Restaurant, where the food and wine was as stunning as ever. We also received a goodie bag containing SimpliVity-branded Google Cardboard VR viewer, Chipolo Bluetooth tracker tag, and pen.

The Week Ahead

Monday morning begins with sorting out a billion loose ends. Well half a billion. Then I’ll finish that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast.

On Tuesday, I’ll take the train to Sydney to deal with a few errands, and then at 1510 catch VA527 SYD-OOL. From Tuesday evening through to Friday afternoon, I’ll be covering the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference on the Gold Coast. Apart from my usual conference coverage, once more I’ll be on the panel for the event’s closing Speed Debate. And then at 1705 I’ll be heading back south on VA536 OOL-SYD.

I’ll then be staying in Sydney overnight, and probably for the weekend, but that latter part has yet to be confirmed.

Further Ahead

On the afternoon of Saturday 4 June, I hope to be recording The 9pm Edict Public House Forum 3 at a location to be announced. If nothing else, it’s half-way through Australia’s interminable election campaign, so I suspect that may be one of the topics for discussion. I have left the organisation a bit late, however, so I may have to drop it back to an ordinary episode.

Another episode will appear some time around Monday 20 June.

[Photo: Sydney Harbour Bridge from 35 Clarence Street. Photograph taken in the late afternoon of 17 May 2016 from the rooftop bar at 35 Clarence Street, Sydney.]

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Talking Apple vs FBI and more on ABC 774 Melbourne

ABC logoI seem to have settled into semi-regular radio spots on ABC 774 Melbourne, talking about technology news roughly once a month. I did one of these on Thursday.

The main item was the legal battle between Apple and the FBI over an iPhone that belonged to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino shootings of December 2015. While there’s plenty of coverage of this case, I will mention that the FBI’s hack may never reach Apple, and the only winners are the shareholders of cybersecurity companies, because more people will see security as important.

The other item was the announcement on Thursday of the IOT Group’s new product, the ROAM-e drone for taking flying selfies. Yes, that’s what I said.

Heres the full 22-minute conversation with presenter Casey Bennetto, who was filling in for Lindy Burns.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.3MB)

This audio is ©2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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Weekly Wrap 302: Rain, rest, and the equinox

Old Target: click to embiggen My week of Monday 14 to Sunday 20 March 2016 was pretty much as planned, though slightly more tiring than I’d hoped.

Right now I’m more in the mood to listen to the rain outside than write, so I’ll leave it there.

Articles

Podcasts

None. But scroll down for details of a new episode of The 9pm Edict in just a few days.

Media Appearances

None.

Corporate Largesse

  • On Monday morning, I dropped into Tech Leaders Forum, and had a coffee on their tab. Nothing newsworthy was said, however.

The Week Ahead

I’m spending the short work week before Easter in Lilyfield, in Sydney’s inner west, as well as Easter itself. I’ll be working steadily through three geek-for-hire projects, catching up a big chunk of that bookkeeping for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and writing a ZDNet column.

On Wednesday night, I’m finally recording and streaming that episode of The 9pm Edict podcast. That’s at 2100 AEDT on this website. Details will be posted on Monday.

That much-delayed episode of The 9pm Edict podcast will be produced and posted over the weekend. The recording won’t be streamed live, for a number of reasons, though I might stream the finished podcast at a specific time so you can enjoy it together.

Further Ahead

The short week after Easter will be an extension of the plan just described. So will the following week, at least at this stage.

After that, I should be in Canberra on 12-14 April for the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Conference. A plan is slowly evolving.

I’ll definitely be on the Gold Coast on 24-27 May for the AusCERT Cyber Security Conference.

Update 23 March 2016: Edited to reflect changed plans.

[Photo: Old Target. Today I found one of the National Rifle Association regulation practice targets that I used when I went to American Shooters, a firearms range in Las Vegas, in 2011. I think I need some more practice.]