This originally appeared on my political blog at https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2021/10/digital-dumbness-still-active-evil-of.html.
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Our national neolib nitwits have consistently shown their limited understanding of digital risks. Two media articles emphasise that:
- "The government wants to expand the ‘digital identity’ system that lets Australians access services. There are many potential pitfalls" ("this goes against all the standard advice about not linking all of your personal information");
- "‘Huge privacy risks’ in social media age verification plan".
On the other hand, this suggests we're inching towards a much-needed and long overdue European-style protection of privacy.
The problem is not as simple as "the tech decisions are being made by old white dudes who don't understand", although that is certainly an element (e.g., from my coming weekly news post [on my main blog]: "a current reminder of old incompetence, overreaction, and refusal to admit error, and everlasting public stupidity in the "war on the unexpected" - aka security theatre"). Unfortunately, my experience of the sort of problem personalities we're seeing in the national neolib nitwits is that they won't accept or implement anything unless it results in them getting praise.
I worked for an abusive bigot decades ago who insisted that the pathway detailing around a treatment plant be done in a certain way. However, I had experience from tropical downpours in Queensland that it could be done in a simpler, less expensive way. That was ignored by Mr Inflexible, who, when I finally gave in and started parroting back to him what he was advocating for, stupidly said "now you're getting it". It took everything I had to not say "No, I'm just doing it your way. Let's just get it over and done with so I can go home" . . . actually, I didn't. (Incidentally the IPOC had insisted the work be done during a public holiday at his home.)
THAT is the sort of character flaw that is destroying this planet and allowing the pandemic to run rampant through half-hearted pretend measures.
THAT is the sort of character defect that should be prevented or addressed when it does occur - not overlooked as "cute" / a "chip off the old block" or facilitated/enabled by the schools of the elite that have been actively performing social engineering for centuries.
THAT is the sort of character defect that voters should cringe away from and put last on their voter forms - even if right wing media say otherwise.
Those people are a plague on this planet, and it is up to us - parents, teachers, work colleagues, etc - to be aware of and resist their evil.
If we don't, we're complicit.
On that, it is clear that white supremacism aka nazism (let's forget about the BS that it is "neo"nazism - it still nazism [or, at the very least, fascism]. Any IPOC who thinks otherwise should contemplate the FACT that had hitler been killed after stealing power, the nazis would have continued) are still active threats.
From my coming weekly news post (on my main blog):
- as the victims of neo-nazi violence in Australia give evidence of their experiences, neo-nazis in the USA are being successfully fought using legal action - by the costs being imposed;
Again, we need to actively resist this, or we are complicit.
And on fighting evil, now that IPOCs have successfully sabotaged all the good work (including R2P and W2I) done after World War (part) Two (incidentally, I include Bill Clinton in that bad bunch), it appears that the way to successfully fight the evil IPOCs who commit human rights abuses is to take away the toys and trinkets they cherish - such as being able to shop, get good health care/education for themselves or their family, and so on.
And that is where the various Magnitsky Acts come in to play.
I've been re-reading Geoffrey Robertson's book on this, "Bad People – and How to Be Rid of Them: A Plan B for Human Rights", and am pleased that we are inching (sorry, I should be using metric: millimetreing) our way towards a potentially good version of that (see here, here, and here), but, given Scott's penchant for stuffing up things, we need to avoid being complicit by actively advocating for the BEST version of this that we can.
For those in Australia, write to your Commonwealth MPs - please.
