Government in Austria gets Cell Phone Movement Data without asking

[MrCokeacola]

>2020 not cancelling your cell phone/line and internet.
I found out recently that most companies legally have to send you paper statements as an accessibility reason for free if a persons does not have internet access and or is computer illiterate.

It is getting more and more temping each day to switch to a dumb flip phone for just work and convert all my bills to paper. Plus, no internet bill.

 

[notimp]

Only if you read about a 10th of the articles.

The discussion is out in public, the last measure was time limited in the legal drafts, the opposition picked it up as problematic - and if you need the theoretical reasoning for it, its in the main Covid-19 thread.

I'm not saying that you have to agree with it (I don't) but if you understand the reasoning, there is less reason to fear it as well. That said - you have to be able to move it back (somewhat strong working democracy, and people caring).


In similar news, since Google and Apple have banded together to make contact tracing technologically possible - governments petitioned them to make data available centrally on their behalf, and they refused (arguably considering implications this would have in authoritarian countries).

Part of the reason I'm still talking about this stuff is, to show that the decisions here arent taken without consideration or pushback. People at least in our parts of the world seem to have gotten a sense of what they are dealing with - thats not the same as everything failing and getting worse from now..

That said, stern public sentiments of warning are always needed as well.

 

[notimp]

Bruce Schneier doing Contact Tracing App Math.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/05/me_on_covad-19_.html

Contact Tracing looses..

 

[notimp]

1/2 OT:

Everything thats wrong with this world:

Ibiza is long gone. Johann Gudenus is sitting in between the vines in a vineyard in Nussberg and is looking upon Vienna. He is wearing a babyblue mask covering mouth- and nose. The former FPÖ club chairman is now heavily active in the mask trade with russia and china. Businessideas are shooting through his head. Currently he is working on a gastronomy app. Yes and the man that featured everything in the past, that just was far enough right of center, now wants to plant trees en mass. The environmentalist in him was awakened. Contact with media outlets Gudenus tries to limit, he stays away from politics. Not even the fall of the viennese freedom party, which he formally lead to unexpected highs, with his fatherly friend from the fraternity days, Heinz-Christian Strache, the now 43 year old, former vice-mayor of Vienna, wants to comment on.

src: https://www.diepresse.com/5811249/was-aus-den-ibiza-hauptdarstellern-wurde (german)

This is how the world looks for idiots:

- Run, move, fight - to becomes something in life
- Trust in fucking, horrible networks to get somewhere, then be loyal (to the ingroup, not to society at large - to a fault and beyond ).
- Reap opportunity whenever it shows
- Be a scalper - whenever possible. Hawk masks. They now are a rare commodity.
- Currently have ideas on 'what you could do with gastronomy', because thats a field that currently gets disrupted. Solve it with an app. Because you are an idiot and dont know what an app is, just that its popular.
- See that 'planting trees' is now something the billionaire class is heavily into - because they want to reduce the footprint of people in the west, as they see - that societies are failing without growth. All of a sudden be for planting trees, to f*ck over people. 'Cause there is money in it! If you sell it to others as a lifegoal.
- Blame it on media
- Show a selective memory
- Forget things that didnt work, start new.


All of this is not specific to the austrian far right, but the only thing that gets 'featured' as opportunity in the entire western society at the moment. When I was in Alpach in the past, it was exactly the same. prop up some "culture" traps for people that wont get anywhere in life as well - so they put themselves out of the game, without bothering the rest. Say, that you do it because you love european culture so much. Apart from that its exactly the same.

This in todays world is success.

And if you know that solving "everything with apps" has the big US tech firms that we arent even allowed to regulate anymore (or sanctions) cut in on every business by at least 30 percent - you have understood all of it.


F*cking Accenture and the Red Cross propped up an 'app solution' that didnt work in the first place. Where google had to jump in to even make it technically feasible. Which none of them told their heigher ups, they just produced a broken piece of crap, cashing millions in financing. In the end the broken piece of crap had to be rewritten to include all the Google and Apple backend code, that they couldnt think of using in the first place (they dont had access on that level (service framework)). Which google and apple writing the entire technical implementation (framework), and those f*cking idiots, having spent millions on another PR portal - that then got heavily featured by the media. That to them is success - they know f*ck all, that none of that means, that they will ever become the next Google or Apple - because those avenues are under wrap.

If I told you about the amount of former friends from where I grew up and went to school, that wanted to ask me about opportunities in the distributed ledger space, and the amount of people, that tried to fuck over others by only working as 'influencers' trying to sell their networks out in an attempt to 'be early and foot a trend', youd be more cynical than me, thats for sure..

And then in the end, it turns out that smartphone orientation, and the specific bluetooth module used have a factor of magnitude impact on directional signal strength - making the entire project pretty much unfeasible in the first place. Never mind an issue of false possitives and negatives and the implications on what this will have on society ("app passes") at large. To this day, you hear people in the economic and financial sector talking those concepts up, because they are so god darn fascinated with opportunity in stuff they dont understand, and that they would make worse - everytime they touch it.

But dont think bad of it, if people believe in crap, it will have a positive effect on society at large. (Stores can open sooner, ..)

This is systemic. And if anyone has any idea on how to get over that, without just ignoring it, or becoming a deaf-mute (Salinger. "Everybody'd think I was just a poor deaf-mute bastard and they'd leave me alone"), please give me a heads up. I think i could benefit from it very much.

 

[Alexander1970]

Thank you.

- Forget things that didnt work, start new.

Is there really something to add ?

Yes - and please do not forget to on the People who helped you there....also forget them.

And if you know that solving "everything with apps" has the big US tech firms that we arent even allowed to regulate anymore (or sanctions) cut in on every business by at least 30 percent - you have understood all of it.

If anyone at all from the "Common People" (rabble) is interested...

That to them is success - they know f*ck all, that none of that means, that they will ever become the next Google or Apple - because those avenues are under wrap.

Same as one Line above:
If anyone at all from....bla bla bla.......

If I told you about the amount of former friends from where I grew up and went to school, that wanted to ask me about opportunities in the distributed ledger space, and the amount of people, that tried to fuck over others by only working as 'influencers' trying to sell their networks out in an attempt to 'be early and foot a trend', youd be more cynical than me, thats for sure..

Personally I am very happy,that there are People like you,my Freind.

To this day, you hear people in the economic and financial sector talking those concept up, because they are so god darn fascinated with opportunity in stuff they dont understand, and that they would make worse - everytime they touch it.

Very simple today, the "Society" is so easy to impress today if you let a simple "Fart" ....
Spoken symbolically.

"Everybody'd think I was just a poor deaf-mute bastard and they'd leave me alone"), please give me a heads up. I think i could benefit from it very much.

Do it please,nobody will be angry on you if it fails.....
even if it was done at our Expense (Taxpayers' Money).
You even get a Medal in the Hofburg for it.....
Presented by our "green" .... oh let's leave that......

Thank you.

 

[notimp]

Even without symbolism... (medal, shit, ..) thats really how society is run these days:
src: https://www.derstandard.at/story/20...abrik-wie-maechtig-ist-antonella-mei-pochtler (german)

When I read about the 'figures guy from the opus dei school - in our chancellors staff' i couldnt do much else but break out in laughter...

BERNHARD BONELLI: As a cabinet chief he was in charge ensuring that Kurz'plans would go into action. Formally with the Boston Consulting Group, Bonelli was known as a 'figures guy', neoliberal and deeply religious. He studied at the IESE, a business school run by the opus dei. He first showed initiative at the school council level.

Not even I want to know how those careers were made...

And courtesy of the derstandard comments section:

Bonelli himself was a founding member of the „Catholic Legislators Network“. Their website lists bizarre bible passages f.e. including the call to actively move against "grave violation against the natural order".

(Oh btw, Kurz' managed to both renew the conservative party of the country, by giving it a new color, and letting his cabinet chief be airdropped in from the opus dei. Funny how that works... (Oh, and nevermind Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Deloitte, or Bain, ...))

If I go meta - everything like this is just an expression of the human will to get somewhere in life. And ambition is the driver. And everything that seems to count really. Because weither you f*ck everything up royally in the end people at least will still remember that you tried..

Our former foreign minister now writes for RT...
src: https://www.diepresse.com/5811421/ex-aussenministerin-kneissl-schreibt-fur-kreml-propagandasender-rt (german)

The world is a joke.

 

[Alexander1970]

I do not remember I have voted for Pochtler.....

 

[notimp]

I do not remember I have voted for Pochtler.....

No, you did. You voted for a college dropout with a grandiosity complex, that took a liking to despotism, that grew up in party organizations doing some of their worst youth oriented marketing campaigns ever - if that sort of politician does a Merkel, and wants to run a country via polling and message control - you get Pochtler. Each and every time..

edit: If you were the average austrian. You dont have to out, who you voted for here.

The issue is - that as pretty much every politician in the world now tries to emulate Merkel (not because of Merkels sake, but because there is no political ideology anyone would believe in anymore (arab spring was fun - "we have the organizing tools" "but no ideology" "shit, the muslim broderhood was the only one with a vision", "please military, could you arrest them, now that they got voted into power?"), they kind of all have their 'Pochtlers'.

Whats kind of new though is, that they dont want ministerial jobs (another private adviser to Kurz, thats only that in his day job, a private adviser to Kurz) these days, because they see it as uncool (and much too risky for no/little gain), and kind of dont come out of party organizations anymore, but from any business consultancy that took them as an intern. Or any political campaign worldwide, that was somewhat successful.

But there as well - I have no idea how you would solve that - and no one wants to anyhow (certainly not in austria), so meh.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

IESE are also lecturing in Alpbach, when appropriate, and are slinging that bullshit:
https://sciencev2.orf.at/stories/1658085/index.html (german)

(Keep society afloat, by selling feelgood concepts that serve no other purpose but to function as PR (stabilizing society, by minimizing dissent).)

 

[notimp]

That then leads to those sort of fun gatherings:
https://pt-br.facebook.com/notes/eu...owth-inclusive-prosperity-f/1701756886504065/ (english, facebook )

Oh so many social engineers. Yay!

As we redefine our perception of the division of labour, what role will be played by the managers of the future?

Yeah, those are the questions that keep me awake at night.. *sarcasm*

edit: I like Mariana Mazzucato though. But those people only get invited to then say, look, we've had them on our roster - imho. Not 'networked enough' to move anything politically.

 

[notimp]

In china everything is a little bit bigger..

In China, plans for a new health app after the coronavirus crisis are causing a stir. The app, which was developed in the economic metropolis of Hangzhou in eastern China, is said to monitor users' smoking and drinking habits, sporting activities and sleep patterns, according to the authorities. On the basis of the data, the health of users will be assessed on a hundred point scale.

src: https://orf.at/stories/3167230/ (german)

But dont worry, Apples next earphones will do the same.. (Only half joking.)

 

[notimp]

And then in the end, it turns out that smartphone orientation, and the specific bluetooth module used have a factor of magnitude impact on directional signal strength - making the entire project pretty much unfeasible

German Corona App doesnt work "as intended" on iPhones:
https://www.derstandard.at/story/20...na-app-funktioniert-auf-iphones-nicht-richtig (german)

Basically - firmware issues, Apple not fixing that on older devices. Prior to that - googles android "fix" to allow contact tracing via Bluetooth at all wasnt working on Samsung and Huawei devices (and I'm sure a crapton of others.. ). Samsung also didnt 'fix' this for all of their phones.

Also directional signal strength.

But the most important part is, that SAP and the Austrian Uniqa invest several million Euros in App development up front, as a marketing gag.
Because to a millenial every problem needs to be solved with an app, and thats about the highest complexity level they can get across in 'tech talk' to people that still run society.

(Also most of them think about paying the 30% google and Apple tax on their apps as an 'honor' only appropriate for delivering to them a potential billion users, (gated by 'shelf space' on the front page of the App store.. ) Just as much as it is an honor to get your App cloned by either one of them and integrated 'as an OS feature' - whenever they run out of ideas.. )

Now - who said that this was predictable? And was it societally acceptable to say, that this was predictable?

Der Standard (austrian left wing newspaper), exclusively featured articles that told you that App was the best thing since sliced bread, and how moral it was to install app, for three months straight. And that you should have been excited, that the austrian app was first (didnt work, but was first!). Turns out - all idiots, in that regard. But predictably so. Center right newspapers in country told you the same (Uniqa is an offshoot of Raiffeisen.. ), of course.

This is an experience 'every' "expert in a field" usually has at one point, with media reporting on their field. (Complexity reduction, social acceptedness factor (self censoring), ...)

This is not media lying to you - this is just media being really dumb - and in this case, unrectifiably upbeat for no reason (thats usually rare. ).

The German app btw? One of the better ones that was constructed (in terms of theoretical appliance to data safety standards). 'Well engineered' so to speak.

 

[notimp]

Apparently the iPhone story is based on ARD research:
https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/corona-warn-app-113.html (german)