Joe Hockey: "a nasty man"

From @Pollytics

Predictions for 2013

* Biggest under the radar problem for Federal Labor in 2013 - Robert John "Bob" Carr.

* Most troublesome MP for Federal Liberal Party in 2013 – Anthony John "Tony" Abbott.

* Most likely political scandals next year –

Abbott’s political plots

who knew of James Ashby's plans and who funded his court case

the relationship between past and present MPs or their advisers and mining companies operating in New South Wales

super trawlers in Australian waters

NSW Health performance

Cardinal George Pell if his congregation don't manage to gag him during the Federal Government royal commission into child sexual abuse

The Australian newspaper's rightwing shenanigans

the entire federal general election campaign from start to finish

Sortius seeks answers

 

Sortius is a Geek sent this email below to the Department of Parliamentary Services on 18 December 2012. The next day Sortius alleged his website was being blocked so that staff at Parliament House could not read his opinions concerning Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

 

The email:

 

Hi,

 

My name is Kieran Cummings & I write for Independent Australia (& my own blog) about technology & politics.

I recently wrote an article in regard to the press release offered by Tony Abbott’s office regarding James Ashby’s case against Peter Slipper. During my investigation I have uncovered quite a lot of information about the PDFs & when they were produced.

Yesterday I was contacted by journalists to advise that DPS had made a statement in regard to when the PDFs were produced. I feel this statement raises more questions than it answers & I would like to get some more information from DPS on this.

What are “technical staff” using to determine when the files were created/converted to PDF? Are you monitoring every computer on the network & all file creations/accesses?

How is it possible for APH’s computers/servers to run on a time zone outside AEST/AEDT? To my knowledge this will cause all sorts of problems with appointments, logs, etc.

The original press release does not use a “z date” format for time stamping, so I ask which file is DPS referring to? The one modified on 23/04/12 or the original that does not include the “z date” formatting? (I have included the original file that was emailed out before the press release that has passed on from a journalist to myself)

No other files around the time this was created exhibit the same symptoms, if APH does indeed use UTC on all the computers this would be easily replicated. Why is this not the case?

When DPS notes that this was a “technical problem”, where is it arising from?

Tony Abbott’s office advised on 13/12/12 that they were aware of the problem in April 2012, yet DPS does not seem to have known about the problem until 13/12/12. Can DPS please confirm that this has been a continual problem?

Your prompt responses would be appreciated.

 

Regards,

Kieran Cummings

 

	sortius @sortius
@colinfry666 yeh, they are actually investigating it. Apparently my blog has been blocked at APH.

 

The electorate still mocking Abbott

This time it’s @AshbySlipper who says “Since @TonyAbbottMHR hasn't had time to read the judgement, I thought I'd tweet it to him. One line at a time.”

The beginning of this Tweetathon in reverse order:

@AshbySlipper .@TonyAbbottMHR suggested that he was planning to use the record of his texts with Mr Slipper to empower others in a way that would affect
@AshbySlipper .@TonyAbbottMHR contemporaneous texts with his friends, of Mr Ashby feeling upset as a result of sexual harassment. Rather those texts
@AshbySlipper .@TonyAbbottMHR Ashby went to see Mark McArdle, a senior frontbencher in the then Queensland State LNP opposition. There was no hint, in
@AshbySlipper .@TonyAbbottMHR "closer", and hence sexual, relationship. Mr Ashby rebuffed whatever the proposed closer relationship was. The next day Mr
 @AshbySlipper .@TonyAbbottMHR text messages with Mr Slipper. That exchange could be read as conveying a proposal by Mr Slipper that the two have a
@AshbySlipper .@TonyAbbottMHR pages of Mr Ashby's text messages with Mr Slipper and many other people. On 1 February 2012, Mr Ashby had an exchange of

Once again, Clarence Valley Council fails to consult the community. This time it's CCTV

 


It would appear that there is no tier of Australian government that is not intent on recording as much as possible about the lives and activities of its constituents.

On this occasion it is Clarence Valley Council, intent on encouraging the installation of CCTV cameras in the predominately small business districts scattered along the length of the river, and being this particular council, once again not asking residents using these streets whether or not they wish to shop, pay their bills or have a coffee under the gaze of one or more 27/7 street spies.

The Daily Examiner 19 December 2012:

An innovative program funded by Clarence Valley Council will provide local businesses with financial support to install CCTV.
The program is focused on addressing crimes, including vandalism, graffiti and break and enter, throughout the Valley.
"While we must keep in mind that our levels of these crimes are relatively low in comparison with other areas, there are some concerning incidents of crime happening locally which the business community and council are rightly concerned about." said the Mayor, Richie Williamson.
"This program will work hand in hand with other council and community strategies that target crime."
The program was developed after a series of consultations with NSW Police and the local business community…

So with Clarence Valley Council intent on encouraging private business to intrude on our everyday lives, is there likely to be any real and lasting benefit from the Big Brother effect?

Apparently not:

Though billions of dollars are being spent world wide on CCTV systems, there is actually little evidence as yet of the success of CCTV to combat or deter crime or its cost effectiveness in doing so..

The evidence that the benefits of CCTV will fade after a period of time are backed up by a number of studies. [Townsville City Council paper 2001]

 

CCTV was found to have no significant impact on total offences, total offences against property (including other theft (excluding unlawful

entry), unlawful entry, other property damage, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and handling stolen goods) and total other offences (including drug offences, liquor (excluding drunkenness)) occurring in Surfers Paradise. Findings from Broadbeach indicated that CCTV had no impact on total offences or total offences against property (including other theft (excluding unlawful entry) and other property damage). [Bond University Humanities & Social Sciences papers 2006]

 

The American studies that met the criteria for the meta-analysis generally showed worse outcomes that those in the UK, showing an undesirable or null effect on crime….

Regarding violent crime, there appeared to be no statistically significant change in the level of crime anywhere in the 500 foot range around the cameras. [American Civil Liberties Union]

 

But before we rush to put all of Melbourne under surveillance, we should heed the example of Britain, which, in the past 20 years has spent billions of dollars on more than a million CCTV cameras across its cities, yet still has one of the highest crime rates in Europe.

Indeed, four years ago the policeman in charge of monitoring London's massive CCTV network described it as "an utter fiasco" that was responsible for solving only 3 per cent of crimes.

Detective Chief Insp Mick Neville said that police often avoided trawling through CCTV images "because it's hard work" and he believed criminals had no fear of CCTV.

The marginal effectiveness of CCTV in preventing crime has been well known for at least a decade. In 2002 a British Home Office review of studies into the effectiveness of CCTV in preventing crime found the overall reduction in crime in areas with CCTV was only 4 per cent. Half the studies examined showed CCTV had no effect on crime at all, and all showed it had no effect on violent crime. [The Herald Sun 28 September 2012]

 

The deputy director of the Sydney Institute of Criminology, Garner Clancey, says it is ''absolutely'' possible to move around the city without being caught on camera but most trips will be captured dozens if not hundreds of times.

However, there are questions over whether the huge costs to councils and the impositions on citizens' privacy are justified in an era when crime rates are falling.

''Crimes like motor vehicle theft and burglaries are falling,'' he said. ''Do we then say there's a point where cameras aren't cost-effective so we turn them off?

''Some of the crimes that have been increasing are around domestic violence where technologies like this will never have any impact so it's a difficult balancing act.'' [The Sydney Morning Herald 26 October 2012]

 

* Photograph found at Google Images

Quote of the Week

“if life is a game of cricket, there is some doubt over whether Mal Brough should even be allowed to carry the drinks”

{Malcolm Farr on 17^th December 2012 in The Punch}

Which Ian Causley would that be?

As always, we at NCV are willing to take advice about matters we don't get right.

Whilst travelling away from the local area one of the lads from the table of knowledge has informed me that yesterday a letter to the editor of the local paper (The Daily Examiner) appeared above the name of an 'Ian Causley', but no address appeared. Now, how could that have happened?

Is the letter writer a local, a legend in his own lunch time, or a visitor from who-knows-where?

Unhappy at coverage

I am very disappointed with the reporting by The Daily Examiner in regard to ,,,

Ian Causley