Will COVID Become Australia's 9/11?

from the trading-away-the-liberties-of-others-for-temporary-safety dept

Civil liberties in Australia are on the verge of extinction, thanks to the government's response to the COVID crisis. What has been heralded as a triumph of science and quick responses has drifted towards something far more totalitarian that imposes its will on the country's citizens, restricting them from living their lives, much less enjoying supposedly guaranteed liberties.

Change has been a constant in response to this pandemic. But in countries considered to be part of the "free world," some balancing has been put in place to contain the spread of the virus while preventing citizens from being subjected to extreme measures usually only deployed by dictators.

Australia has proven particularly resilient. But while people here in the US have entertained thoughts of kidnapping governors in response to minimal restrictions on social interactions and shopping, the residents of Australia have endured severe restrictions that seemingly only get more severe as time goes on.

This is the exchange of liberty for safety -- an exchange that's been made involuntary by government officials. The arrival of the Delta variant has again complicated matters. And already severe restrictions are becoming draconian, thanks to the government of Australia believing there's no involuntary sacrifice residents won't make to keep COVID infections to a minimum

Conor Friedersdorf has compiled a compendium of Australia's latest COVID prevention efforts -- many of which haven't been seen in countries that aren't being run by Supreme Leaders or Presidents-for-life.

“Australia’s borders are currently closed and international travel from Australia remains strictly controlled to help prevent the spread of COVID-19,” a government website declares. “International travel from Australia is only available if you are exempt or you have been granted an individual exemption.” The rule is enforced despite assurances on another government website, dedicated to setting forth Australia’s human-rights-treaty obligations, that the freedom to leave a country “cannot be made dependent on establishing a purpose or reason for leaving.”

Australian courts have, so far, sided with the government and its increasing encroachment on civil liberties and personal freedoms. They have found that the government's needs outweigh the complaints of the governed in these COVID times, under the assumption these extreme measures are not only justified, but temporary.

But it's not just travel in and out of Australia that has been restricted. Travel within the country has been affected by COVID policies, turning a cohesive nation of states into separate territories whose boundaries are enforced with "papers, please" demands from people trying to do nothing more than move freely within the borders of their homeland.

Moving around one's own city or town is being restricted as well, enforced by a government-owned-and-operated app.

[T]he government of South Australia, one of the country’s six states, developed and is now testing an app as Orwellian as any in the free world to enforce its quarantine rules. Returning travelers quarantining at home will be forced to download an app that combines facial recognition and geolocation. The state will text them at random times, and thereafter they will have 15 minutes to take a picture of their face in the location where they are supposed to be. Should they fail, the local police department will be sent to follow up in person.

While not technically a crime, the involvement of law enforcement makes existing within the confines of a single town -- but not abiding by quarantine requirements -- something indistinguishable from criminal activity. It's not just law enforcement in the mix in Australia, though. It's also the military, which has been sent to places the government feels contains too many citizens unwilling to stay under the government's thumb.

Australia has deployed hundreds of soldiers to Sydney to help enforce a Covid lockdown.

A Delta outbreak which began in June has produced nearly 3,000 infections and led to nine deaths.

Australian Defence Force soldiers will undergo training on the weekend before beginning unarmed patrols on Monday.

In COVID-era Australia, those who refuse to respect the constantly shifting, tending-towards-totalitarianism policies will be greeted with a show of (possibly unarmed) force by local cops and the government's military.

Soldiers will join police in virus hotspots to ensure people are following the rules, which include a 10km (6.2 miles) travel limit.

State Police Minister David Elliott said it would help because a small minority of Sydneysiders thought "the rules didn't apply to them".

All of this is already concerning. But beneath the policies imposed out of supposed concern for the public's safety runs an unhealthy undercurrent. Once countries put drastic measures in place in response to unexpected threats to public wellbeing, they're rarely eager to roll them back once the crisis has passed, or even lessened.

What remains to be seen is whether Australia can maintain that performance without permanently ending core attributes of life in a liberal democracy, including freedom of movement, peaceable assembly, and basic privacy.

If the government likes its new powers, and its ability to keep its citizens contained, it may decide the crisis has no definite end in sight. And with the virus continuing to mutate (as all viruses do), these severe, but temporary, precautions and restrictions may become permanent -- allies in the government's never-ending War on COVID.

Filed Under: australia, civil liberties, covid, quarantine, surveillance

Tales From The Quarantine: 'Queer Eye' Guy Now Offering Support And Advice On Your Video Game Home Furnishings

from the for-the-wii-guy dept

The COVID-19 crises has changed most of our lives. Working from home is now the norm for many, rather than a perk. Sports is mostly gone, replaced by esports simulacrums. Schools are shut down, as are most non-essential businesses.

And the folks from Queer Eye are now advising on and critiquing your digital homes rather than your IRL abodes.

Queer Eye interior designer Bobby Berk, without any actual homes to visit and makeover right now, is keeping busy by offering his assistance at turning your Animal Crossing trashpit into something easier on the eye.

Or at least that was the intent with this Tweet, which was phrased as a means of getting some “some special hiptips”.

The responses to that tweet were swift and plentiful, as any veteran of the internet would have expected. Still, the entire thing turned into something of a combination affirmation project of fun, with Animal Crossing players posting pics of well-maintained digital homes for Berk to lavish with praise, or those with messes of digital homes to which Berk gave suggestions akin to what he does on television. And, on occasion, Berk got to do something a little closer to his day job.

It's both strange and interesting to see how we all adjust and adapt during these deeply weird times. Whatever the combination of video game escapism and internet fun this is, it's something close to what many of us need at the moment. And, for a little Techdirt angle on it all, it's a version of connecting with fans. One hopes this type of fan engagement will be remembered when this nightmare ends.

Filed Under: animal crossing, bobby berk, lockdown, quarantine, queer eye, social distancing

After Years Of Being Blamed For Everything, The World Turns To Video Games To Escape During Coronavirus Shut-In

from the the-hand-that-entertains-you dept

For years and years and years, video games have suffered the brunt of blame for all manner of the world's ills. Real world violence? Video games. Mass shootings? Video games. Soccer team not performing well? Video games! Kids getting into hacking? Bruh, video games! Men not finding women attractive enough to keep the human race going? Video games did that, too!

Which makes it kind of fun to now see media outlets suggesting, nay, pushing those impacted one way or the other by the coronavirus outbreak to go jump into those same dastardly video games.

Think of gaming as a personal stimulus plan for a nation of unexpected shut-ins: It’s not a long-term solution, it won’t work for everyone, and it won’t solve the underlying problems — but it can provide limited, temporary relief for some.

Video games take many forms, but they are all essentially simulations. And when the real world is temporarily unavailable, a simulated version might be what we need.

Those of us who evangelize gaming, of course, have shouted this same line for years. Still, the point is only partially right. Yes, video games are something of a simulation... but typically a fantastical one. Which is the entire point, of course. During times of high stress, and being forced to be shut-ins by some invisible enemy that we may already have inside of us certainly qualifies, a little escapism through entertainment is nearly medicine. And certain games, frankly, are particularly well-suited to this situation.

Stuck inside a small house or apartment because your state is in lockdown? Fire up that big screen TV and Skyrim and just walk the wilds for a while. Miss being able to get out into your big city and enjoy a little freedom? GTA will at least give you a simulation of that, albeit an over the top ridiculous one. Just need to turn your brain off for an hour because you lost your job and need to relax? I'll be damned if Stardew Valley won't set you at ease.

That makes games useful in another way. Some of us are shut in alone. But especially in cities, many are now effectively trapped inside modest apartments with family or roommates, and little private space. Games offer a form of personal escape, a way to simulate being elsewhere from the confines of your couch.

And for those who are alone, games can also serve as social spaces, virtual fields of play for cooperative adventures or competitive contests. Many of today’s most popular games are online experiences that allow players to engage with friends as well as strangers, to forge digital versions of the same sort of bonds with teammates that can develop in the real world.

As the post notes, these are not long-term solutions, but they are therapy of a kind. All I'll say is that we should be damned glad our PCs and consoles aren't vengeful, or they'd refuse to help us in our time of need with all of the abuse we've heaped on them.

Filed Under: coronavirus, covid-19, isolation, quarantine, video games

Kaspersky Decides Windows Explorer Is A Virus

from the not-everyone-would-disagree dept

You can already hear the Apple and Linux fans snickering about this one, but security software firm Kaspersky accidentally classified Windows Explorer as a virus to be quarantined earlier this week. Explorer.exe, of course, is pretty crucial for doing just about anything in Windows, so it probably didn't go over so well with the folks impacted by it. Amusingly, as the article notes, Kaspersky made fun of Microsoft earlier this year when Microsoft's own anti-virus offering quarantined or deleted Microsoft Outlook files. And, of course, last year we also had a story about how Kaspersky's software flagged Microsoft's own anti-virus software as a virus as well. In other words... these anti-virus programs still have some kinks to work out.

Filed Under: quarantine, security, viruses, windows explorer
Companies: kaspersky, microsoft