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In just a few days men around the world will start growing all manner of upper lip hair the like of which has not been seen since 1985. Why? To raise money for men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer research.

Six of the Amnesty International Australia dudes will be attempting (except Steve who will succeed) to grow moustaches and I, as one of the less hirsute ones, will be not only joining them but attempting to get regular photographic evidence of their progress.

Get involved at the Movember site or to sponsor me just click on the Movember badge top right (on the index page).

Hooray for Joe Hockey giving us something to giggle about on an otherwise slow few campaigning days. “Our fear campaign is based on fact”, he told reporters.

Good on ya Joe!

It is fashionable to knock facebook (or facebollox as it is known in these parts) as the last big thing. Just because something is fashionable doesn’t make it wrong. Now that a tiny fraction of its equity is in the hands of Microsoft does it go the way of Hotmail (I can’t believe how many people still use that rubbish) as something one ought to be publicly embarrassed about using?

I was nearly going to let this go but the threat of up to five years in jail for not telling some cloth-head one’s password is almost amusing. In the UK it is now required that encryption keys be divulged to ‘the authorities’ upon request. Telling anyone that such a request has been made is also an offence.

I had a bit of a whinge to some colleagues about EU human rights and the notional right to privacy, not to mention article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However the real point is that once again a useless piece of legislation has come about because of a serious misunderstanding of technology. Once again, ‘those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear’ will be rolled out and once again they will be wrong because those with something to hide will be able to do so and the stupid and inept will be rolled up.

Being on the other side of the globe in the sunny antipodes (currently being rained on) does this matter? Of course it matters because whatever what the result of the forthcoming election the government will have no technical nous and will want to do the same thing. Be alert and alarmed.

And no I will not divulge my encryption keys; though I may just make them stronger and use them more. I also encourage all of you back in the UK to dust off your GPG keys, harden them and start encrypting everything just to annoy.

Oh, and before there is mention of terrorists please be aware that refusing to decrypt your stuff can lead you to spending 2 years in the slammer even if it is just the stock of bit-torrented porn you don’t want your mum to know about.

Well a federal election campaign is happening and once again we see a leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) deciding that the current PM has all the best ideas and is playing ‘me too - but not as much’. Now I am not a political pundit by any means but didn’t FatBoy Kim and the crazy one both lose previous elections by being weak-tea johns?

The response to the Liberal (that is the conservative or right of centre party for those in parts of the world who know what liberal means) bribe was predictable and stupid. What really got up my nose though was Mr Rudd’s position on the death penalty and the imminent execution of the Bali Bombers.

The ALP has a principalled and solid position: it is against the death penalty. End of. So why does their leader go around making exceptions (apart from the fact that it works with the Murdoch press)? Shame Kev, shame!

Just for that you deserve to lose. Though that would mean another 3 years of Howard and that would be worse.

Don’t forget (if you are able to vote in the Australian election) - vote below the line in the Senate.

Maybe we do get the politicians we deserve after all. Lazy, unprincipalled, conniving, greedy and not terribly bright, just like the rest of the population.