A.C. Flory's Blog, page 134
December 1, 2015
November 27, 2015
#NSA loses bulk #metadata as Asio gains it? -rolls eyes-
We Aussies used to joke that being behind the rest of the world was a good thing because it allowed us to avoid the mistakes made by other countries. Sadly, that comforting myth has now been blown out of the water. We are not learning from others’ mistakes; it’s just taking us longer to make the same ones.
As reported by Venturebeat, the US passed a law to stop the NSA from sucking up bulk metadata six months ago. That law is now coming into effect. From here on in, the NSA will have to seek permission to access the metadata of individuals and groups – i.e. it will now have ‘oversight’ instead of being a loose cannon. Thank you Edward Snowden.
You can read the complete article here: https://wordpress.com/read/post/feed/26908997/874653569
Now if only Australia had a government with vision instead of one that runs around like Chicken Little screaming ‘the sky is falling! the sky is falling!’
For far too long, this country has been governed by men who cling to power by making us afraid.
They began by demonizing refugees [John Howard],
then they scared us about the economy [Joe Hockey]
and ISIL – ‘They’re coming to get us’ [Tony Abbott].
Now they want us to accept constant, unsupervised surveillance in the name of ‘safety’. This despite knowing that the covert surveillance of metadata carried out by the NSA did not work.
But we shouldn’t be surprised because the sky was never really falling. Or at least not where our leaders want us to look. It’s falling in the areas they don’t want to touch – like dirty coal and climate change.
Wake up Australia. We’re being conned, and it isn’t even as if we don’t know it. We are turning a blind eye to all that’s genuinely wrong with the world because it suits the government to keep us afraid. Fear makes us malleable and easily led.
Not quite the brave, up-yours, larrikin attitude of the Aussie, is it?
We can do better, Australia, a lot better.
Meeks
Filed under: My soap box Tagged: Abbot, Asio, Australia, Chicken-Little, Hockey, Howard, ISIL, metadata, NSA, refugees, terror
Shame, Aussie, shame!
This is not my Australia!
If the Queensland State Labor government allows native title to be extinguished in order to give freehold title to an international mining company [Adani], then all the gains made since Mabo will be wiped out in one hit, and our national integrity will never recover.
Does the saying ‘Indian giver’ ring any bells? Or how about ‘shafted’?
At a more personal level, if Federal Labor doesn’t put pressure on the Queensland government to stop this madness, I certainly won’t be voting for them. What’s the point of Shorten making grand claims about Climate Change when this shameful business is happening right now, in our own backyard?
But before you think I’ll be voting for the Liberals, think again. It was the Liberal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, who made sure the Adani owned Carmichael Mine was re-approved just two months after the Federal Court set aside the original approval. And oddly enough, he made sure that the environmental protections written into the new approvals would actually be softer than the original ones.
So, is Greg Hunt a weak, easily swayed minister who was shafted by the pie-in-the-sky promise of 10,000 jobs [in reality 1500 only]? Or is he the lying, underhand minister intent on shafting us?
I don’t know, but it seems that both sides of government are determined to ride rough shod over all of us. Well, guess what? We don’t have to vote for either of them!
I’m not advocating that everyone vote for the Greens, but I am suggesting that we should all vote for Independents. Anyone but the Libs or Labor. They’ve all let us down and I’m furious.
Meeks
Filed under: My soap box Tagged: Adani, Bill-Shorten, Carmichael-mine, coal, extinguished, Labor, Liberals, native-title, Queensland
November 24, 2015
THE EVIL THINGS PEOPLE DO IN THE NAME OF GOD!!!!
Have a good, long look at the cartoon. Then read the caption. The look at the cartoon again. Brilliant. Simply brilliant!
Photo post by @LK_KUNTUOASARE.
Source: Filed under: Uncategorized 
November 21, 2015
#FFXIV – why I can’t leave
I’ve written some pretty unhappy posts about Final Fantasy XIV over the last few months, but no matter how angry I get, one thing keeps me playing. And this is it. My house in Mist:
From the outside
The front door
Warmth and books
And a place to cook :)
Going downstairs…
…into…
…the bedroom!
with its own oriental ensuite!
And finally the best feature of all – the view.
Dawn breaks in Mist
Yet as pretty as this scene is, it still doesn’t convey the eerie sense of reality I get when I sit here, staring down at the beach and watching the waves come in. Yes, there are waves and breakers and they move, seemingly at random.
But the waves are not the only things that move. Birds fly overhead, casting a shadow, or the quality of the light changes due to time of day or weather, or off on the horizon you see the dim outline of a ship with massive sails, majestically sailing out of sight…
No prizes for guessing where a lot of my ideas for Innerscape came from.
Have a lovely Sunday,
Meeks
p.s. most of the furnishings are crafted. If anyone is interested, I can tell you what each piece is, which craft makes it and what level recipe it is. Let me know in comments.
Filed under: Games for big kids Tagged: ffxiv, Final-Fantasy-XIV, furnishings, La Noscea, Mist, player-housing, private-house
November 17, 2015
Atmotube tells you if the air you’re breathing is toxic
I believe the attitudes of society change one individual at a time. That is why we should ALL buy one of these. We need to see – in real time – what we’re doing to the world…and ourselves. Read on:
Like you, I assume that the environment I am sitting in right now is pretty safe. I mean, I don’t see anything dangerous, feel uncomfortable, or smell anything that I should be worried about. Yet I may be filling my lungs with harmful elements that my cognitive sensory abilities are incapable of noticing.
Source: Atmotube tells you if the air you’re breathing is toxic
Filed under: Climate Change, Community Service Tagged: air, app, attitudes, change, climate-change, pollution, quality, toxic
November 15, 2015
Life in the middle of death
I’ve been reading accounts of the Paris attack all morning. And then a link in my Reader led me to this:
I’m going to go have a little cry and make a coffee, in that order.
Meeks
Filed under: Community Service Tagged: fireman, kitten, rescue
November 13, 2015
At least 30 people are dead and about 100 reportedly taken hostage in Paris after multiple attacks
Paris under attack. 3 separate incidents, including 60 – 100 people taken hostage at a theatre/concert. This is happening live. No group has claimed responsibility yet but the 3 attacks seem to be a concerted effort. Or one truly horrible coincidence. :(
Quartz seems to have a lot of live coverage:
https://wordpress.com/read/post/feed/4734485/862704829
Source: At least 30 people are dead and about 100 reportedly taken hostage in Paris after multiple attacks
Filed under: Uncategorized
November 12, 2015
November 11, 2015
#Facebook #groups – looking for suggestions
I know this sounds odd, but are there any good Facebook groups dedicated to:
gardening
cooking
games
technology
other?
And if so, what’s the easiest way of finding them?
The reason I ask is because I have to teach a class on social media soon, and for the moment at least, Facebook is synonymous with social media for most people. Except me. I do have a Facebook account and an author page, and I can teach my students how to create their own accounts and use them, but I can’t honestly give them reasons for why they might want to. I’ve heard that Facebook has groups so I thought this might be something my students could enjoy.
Any suggestions? Anything that works for you? I’m all ears. :)
Meeks
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: cooking, Facebook, games, gardening, groups, help, technology
