Newsletter Volume 29 Issue 9, Sep 2017
From The Editor
British economist John Maynard Keynes predicted in an essay, Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930), that by 2030 our grandchildren would be working a 15 hour week, due to the power of compound interest and to technological advances. This still looked feasible in the 1960s but in the 1970s came ‘stagflation’ and the OPEC oil price shock, causing a macroeconomic rethink. From the late 1970s, various Governments, including the US, UK and Australia, used monetary policy to combat rising inflation but the harsh social impact caused lasting public and political backlash. Some economists see this as the key reason for the current populist revolt, including Trump and Brexit. So, at this point is there any chance of a 15 hour week by 2030? See below, Democracy and the 15 Hour Week
“Researchers have demonstrated that security cameras infected with malware can receive covert signals and leak sensitive information from the very same surveillance devices used to protect facilities”
The above quote is from an September 19, 2017 ScienceDaily article from American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The article notes that “The method, according to researchers, will work on both professional and home security cameras, and even LED doorbells, which can detect infrared light (IR), not visible to the human eye.” See below, Security cameras vulnerable to attacks using infrared light.
“Lakeman’s banking documents were found in a gutter in Victoria three years ago. Today, an officer from the Commonwealth Bank called him and suggested he or his wife Karen had taken the documents to Victoria themselves; that they’d lost them.”
The above quote is from a September 4, 2017 article in The Conversation. The article is is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative between The Conversation and the Sydney Democracy Network. See below, Another day, another scandal: CBA blames customers for identity theft.
And if our security cameras and stolen identities didn’t give us enough to worry about, it now appears that we can add Australian government password rules to the list. A 07.09.2017 article by John Quiggin in The Mandarin notes that “The agencies dedicated to “protecting our secrets” are insisting on a password security method that even the Daily Mail knows is nonsense.” See below, Australian government password rules are insecure nonsense.
Current Issue
Articles in the current Issue cover:
Democracy and the 15 Hour Week
“What is transpiring now is quite bizarre: a sudden and apparently sustained collapse in workers’ share from a historically low starting point — just 48.6% — and with no problems whatsoever with the global economy.”
Security cameras vulnerable to attacks using infrared light
“ Theoretically, you can send an infrared command to tell a high-security system to simply unlock the gate or front door to your house “
Another day, another scandal: CBA blames customers for identity theft
“There are credit cards and so on, identities for sale on the dark web and we know people were quietly sacked from BankWest (owned by CBA) in 2014 for selling documents.”
Australian government password rules are insecure nonsense
“ You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to know that this is nonsense. Comics like XKCD have been mocking special character passwords for years.”
QESP Blog
Our August Blog, 23 Vintage Ads That Would Be Banned Today, gave startling examples of politically incorrect adverts from yesteryear. This month we look at the Jennifer Harrison @GeneticJen Sep 9 2017 tweet of a cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning Joel Pett, This cartoon was printed in USA Today just before the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009. As Jennifer says “I see hundreds of great comics, images, memes etc about climate change every year and still nothing has surpassed this. It’s perfect” see Climate Change Meme
Events
The World’s Most Successful Awards Program
Consensus (www.consensus.com.au) runs a series of Awards Programs that identify the most innovative technology designed and developed in Australia (and some in New Zealand). Over 450 evaluations of innovation have been conducted by the 130 independent Judges since the Awards were started in 2000. Recent independent analysis of the Winners of the Awards (approx 150) shows that 9 out of 10 (90%) of the Winners of Consensus Awards have gone on to perform exceptionally well internationally. The same research showed that across the board, the companies have enjoyed over 1300% increase in sales or value since they have won Awards.
Based upon these achievements, Consensus can truly claim to be the World’s Most Successful Awards Program. The Hon Craig Laundy MP, Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science will present the 2017 Consensus Awards at a Gala Dinner on the evening of Friday 20th October. See The World’s Most Successful Awards Program.
Quotes
Quote of the Day
I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact. – Elon Musk
Quote from Yesteryear
The world is really made up of three types of people – the people who make things happen, the people who watch things happen and the people who ask “What happened?” – Ron Barassi
Ted Smillie
QESP Chair