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Sydney-Ruxcon-Hacking, More Articles, Websites, Socialist Left and Gay Animals..
Yesterday's post to convert_me also ended up in my personal journal. Apologies to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angel80 for deleting it, because your comment was quite insightful!
This week has been dominated by going to Sydney withcaseopaya and attending Ruxcon. Sydney always strikes me as a slightly crazy place and the weekend proved to be no exception. As is my norm, the early morning was spent looking over the Opera House and the Habour Bridge, followed by a healthy stroll through The Rocks and an enormous pancake brunch. After booking ourselves at the very dodgy, but central and inexpensive CB Hotel, we took a long walk through Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens. The former also included a war memorial (which was a long list of countries Australia had invaded which we're supposed to feel proud of) and the latter the most incredible collection of bats. In the late afternoon we managed a visit to Newtown to visit the venerable Bob Gould's bookstore (where he wanted the low-down on ALP factional fights in Victoria) and evening was spent taking the ferry and having fish and chips near Manly beach. Not a bad tour of Sydney for a single day!
Ruxcon was quite extraordinary. Some three hundredhackersIT Security Professionals under the one roof. Fourteen presentations and another half-dozen "activities", all of excellent content, albeit assuming that you have at least a modicum of knowledge in assembler and file formats. A "hardcopy" of Phrack 62 (dubious cover) was released, apparently on the second edition to make that format. Some speakers obviously weren't too great at giving lectures, but you get that with scientists. There were half a dozen members of the Australian Federal Police were there as well (of course) one even giving a presentation on the basis of "community relations", and dutifully avoiding questions on their resources. I earned my kudos of winning the chilli eating competition, no easy feat among the hacker community believe me. Four and half cups of increasing potent chilli sauce. For my suffrance I won a copy of the excellent "Firewalls and Internet Security". Both the book and the conference confirm a basic theme - you can't have a network and be secure at the same time.
Stean has just noted that the book title was probably a pun. Firewalls? Haha..
On a related note, a Friendster rep apparently stated: "We Have a Policy that we are not being hacked". Oh, of course. Why didn't I think of that. Just write it into policy. Problem solved.
Meanwhile, a genuine call to arms. Together we can defeat spam in two years. And the French do something right. Incredibly, people still use IE. Really, you should stop it. It is not secure.
New Politics has finally published my review of Paul Strangio's Keeper of the Faith, a biography of Dr. Jim Cairns. I wonder if I'll get a review copy? Also, my review of Cyberactivism for New Community Quarterly has been accepted as well.
It seems that I'm picking up a number of little IT contracts. New Community Quarterly want me to patch up their website and find them a domain name and archive their back issues, my accountant wants a domain name and a website and a restaurant I ate at last night wants the same. Seeming that I charge a low-low-low rate for people who want a really basic site, this is clearly a good angle of business.
I've nominated for the Socialist Left executive. As part of the factional deal between the SL and nearly all the FEA Pledge representatives two years ago, I should be elevated as their assistant policy convenor. Mind you, the state branch of the Party also promised by job would be safe on my return from East Timor and we know what happened there. Still, the old comments by the former Pledge convenor, Frans, remain true: The SL needs a swift policy kick up the rear - and I'm probably just the person to ginger them up and get the creative juices flowing. Hmmmm... Seems that I am getting back into the political scene again.
A related brain breaker of the week goes to Senator John Cornyn who compares same-sex marriage to be the equivalent of marrying a man and box turtle getting into wedlock. As I mention in the thread, it reminds me of Peter Lewis' famous comments about
ducks in Macau. Someone better keep on eye on the gay Penguins. They're damn whores as well.
angel80 for deleting it, because your comment was quite insightful!This week has been dominated by going to Sydney with
caseopaya and attending Ruxcon. Sydney always strikes me as a slightly crazy place and the weekend proved to be no exception. As is my norm, the early morning was spent looking over the Opera House and the Habour Bridge, followed by a healthy stroll through The Rocks and an enormous pancake brunch. After booking ourselves at the very dodgy, but central and inexpensive CB Hotel, we took a long walk through Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens. The former also included a war memorial (which was a long list of countries Australia had invaded which we're supposed to feel proud of) and the latter the most incredible collection of bats. In the late afternoon we managed a visit to Newtown to visit the venerable Bob Gould's bookstore (where he wanted the low-down on ALP factional fights in Victoria) and evening was spent taking the ferry and having fish and chips near Manly beach. Not a bad tour of Sydney for a single day!Ruxcon was quite extraordinary. Some three hundred
Stean has just noted that the book title was probably a pun. Firewalls? Haha..
On a related note, a Friendster rep apparently stated: "We Have a Policy that we are not being hacked". Oh, of course. Why didn't I think of that. Just write it into policy. Problem solved.
Meanwhile, a genuine call to arms. Together we can defeat spam in two years. And the French do something right. Incredibly, people still use IE. Really, you should stop it. It is not secure.
New Politics has finally published my review of Paul Strangio's Keeper of the Faith, a biography of Dr. Jim Cairns. I wonder if I'll get a review copy? Also, my review of Cyberactivism for New Community Quarterly has been accepted as well.
It seems that I'm picking up a number of little IT contracts. New Community Quarterly want me to patch up their website and find them a domain name and archive their back issues, my accountant wants a domain name and a website and a restaurant I ate at last night wants the same. Seeming that I charge a low-low-low rate for people who want a really basic site, this is clearly a good angle of business.
I've nominated for the Socialist Left executive. As part of the factional deal between the SL and nearly all the FEA Pledge representatives two years ago, I should be elevated as their assistant policy convenor. Mind you, the state branch of the Party also promised by job would be safe on my return from East Timor and we know what happened there. Still, the old comments by the former Pledge convenor, Frans, remain true: The SL needs a swift policy kick up the rear - and I'm probably just the person to ginger them up and get the creative juices flowing. Hmmmm... Seems that I am getting back into the political scene again.
A related brain breaker of the week goes to Senator John Cornyn who compares same-sex marriage to be the equivalent of marrying a man and box turtle getting into wedlock. As I mention in the thread, it reminds me of Peter Lewis' famous comments about
ducks in Macau. Someone better keep on eye on the gay Penguins. They're damn whores as well.
Howard doesn't love the refugees :/
Some key points are:
1. All existing legislation regarding TPV holders will remain.
2. The major change is that all TPV and THV holders will be given access to a range of non-humanitarian onshore visas. THV is a Temporary Humanitarian Visas. They were given to those recently released fron Nauru. Non-humanitarian onshore visas are those given to people seeking to migrate to Australia eg under skills category or business category or spouse category. TPV and THV holders were previously barred from making application for any visa other than a further protection visa. It is not intended that all TPVs and THVs will be successful in obtaining a non-humanitarian onshore visa.
In my view, asylum seekers granted refugee status should be given permanent protection and not be forced to seek permanency under a migration category. This decision is clearly aimed to satisfy Coalition backbenchers who are impressed with TPVs as a labor force in rural Australia but at the same time the governfment is determined not to weaken the draconian legislation introduced to stop the arrival of boat people. Through the introduction of a migration outcome for some TPV holders, the government have got over the problem of what to do with people who have settled in successfully in rural electorates It has nothing to do with recognising the rights of refugees to permanent protection.
3. TPV holders will continue to have their refugee status assessed under the current legislation. This occurs every three to five years. Those TPV holders who think they may gain permanency under their new right to a non-humanitarian onshore visa will fiind themselves involved in two applications. Details concerning categories for non-humanitarian onshore visas will be announced in six weeks or more. There will be a regional bias.
4. There is a tantalising sentence in the government document which suggests that TPV holders granted protection under the current legislation may be granted a permanent visa. This would be very important for those TPV holders who arrived after the September 2001 legislation which determined that some TPV holders could never be given a permanent visa. The sentence reads as follows: ' If found to still be in need of protection, they will receive a protection visa. In many cases, this will be a permanent one.' If this occurs then it would be an important gain for that group. According to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, however, almost all Iraqi and Afghan asylum seekers were going to get permanent residency regardless of this change as the RRT has been approving approximately 90% of all Afghan claims and there is no reason to think the same will not happen for Iraqi TPV holders.
5. There are two other changes announced yesterday. Neither is critically important to the parlous state of TPVs in this country. The first is a Reintegration Package. This package includes a cash grant of $2000 per eligible person,up to a maximum fo $10,000 plus costs of airfares and accommodation en route to country of destination. This package will be ofered to current and former TPV and THV holders who volunteer ato return to their country of origin. This is a simple bribe to get people to give up and go home.
The second change is the New 'Return Pending' Visa. This will be given to TPV and THV holders whose application for further protection is refused. Instead of the previous 28 days which people were given to leave Australia they will be now given 18 months. They will have access to the same suite of Commonwealth services as they had while being protected. This saves the Government from an embarrassing fight with refugee advocates and others who want to ensure their friends stay in Australia. That is the last thing the government wants during a Federal election.
Kevin Peoples
Secretary
Labor For Refugees (Victoria)