Starrylizard

1) US studios avoided Telstra battle and went after iiNet instead in copyright case

2) The death of anonymity online has users fuming

3) Cybercrime bill on fast-track

I just hate that we seem to be moving more and more towards no privacy or anonymity on the internet and I do not want some person checking up on everything I download or do and reporting on it. It gives me the willies. I'm sure anyone who needs this information can and will be able to access it, as they do now, with appropriate reasons (e.g. the police).

Has anyone been following all these developments? Are similar things occurring around the world or is Australia trying to lead the way again?

Sex scandal: defence lobby returns fire at minister over handling of cadet case

Have people been following this? It has me disgusted beyond belief. A woman had consensual sex. She did not give consent for the man involved to broadcast the sexual encounter via skype to 6 other men in a nearby room, who then spread screen caps of the footage to the rest of the academy. In my own mind it's akin to rape, possibly even worse than rape. She did not invite those other men into the bedroom, nor did she give permission for footage or photos. She no doubt now feels disgusted and violated. And she wasn't even given a chance to say "no".

The bit that makes this really disgusting, is that the defence force then treats her like the villain. They put her through an unrelated disciplinary hearing yesterday. Meanwhile it seems that the men involved are completely untouchable. Defence is not charging them or even kicking them out of the academy that is meant to be training them as future leaders (You want one of these guys to be in charge of your life?) and so far the advice given by police is that no crime was committed.

Ugh. I don't have the words for this. I can't believe it is still happening at ADFA (where new guidelines and massive changes to stop the culture that existed there went through many years ago) or even in my country.

How the heck did I forget to mention this!! I was reading the paper at work and I squeaked and got funny looks from my office buddy... It's now official!

MARTIN FREEMAN IS GOING TO PLAY BILBO BAGGINS IN THE HOBBIT!

Oh yes, that does indeed deserve allcaps if anything does!

And Just to prove (even without Conroy's input!) the Australian Government will continue to come up with fun ways to regulate Australian internet users... *facepalm*

'Secure your PC or lose the net' ~ The Age

Australians would be unable to access the internet without having anti-virus and firewall programs installed and a virus-free machine under a new plan put forward by a year-long parliamentary cyber-crime inquiry.

Well that's my parents off the web. And then...

"There is software available, which could be on end-user machines, that would allow my ISP, as I log in, to check that I have my firewall turned on, that I have an antivirus that [it] approves or recommends installed on my computer, and that my operating system and browser are patched. And if those things aren't met, then [my ISP would not] give me [access]," MacGibbon said.

Colin Jacobs, chairman of the online users' lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, complained that this would be the equivalent of installing "spyware" on users' computers.

You think? *facepalm*

I also hate to be so cynical, but I wonder how much a company would have to pay to be an "approved" antivirus or firewall provider?

Travellers to be Searched for Porn

This one is possibly even more impressive than the firewall.

Give it up Steven Conroy! What kind of moronic Communications Minister sits around taking away freedom of choice and trying to create a similar situation to the Great Firewall of China? Isn't that actually taking away communications? Freak! (I'm more ranty than eloquent today, so bite me.)

Government goes to war with Google over net censorship

On Sunday night Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes program aired a piece called ‘Poisoned’. As per their usual tabloid-style of reporting, they have misrepresented a lot of the facts and provided almost no scientific evidence.

While some of the complaints presented may well be valid, it was a pity there was no balanced reporting, simply their usual scare tactics. I watched the program, it was enough to make anybody shit-scared.

As I get annoyed at unbalanced reporting, I simply wanted to point out that there is a lot of information currently being put up on the APVMA website. ( more under the cut )

Anyway, this certainly isn't me pushing views on to anyone. It's a very sensitive issue. But I thought people out there who watched the program may be searching for some more information and this is the official regulator of these products in Australia, so a reliable source. Obviously they are attempting to allay fears with their responses, but at least the facts are there for the reading and it makes for a more balanced idea of what is really going on.

Oh and there is to be an interview tonight on the ABC's 7:30 report where they're talking about the questions that Choice and WWF have raised in regard to the regulatory system and the way it works. The whole system is to be overhauled soon, including the review process, so its a reasonably hot topic...well at least if you're a public servant, farmer or environmental activist.

Or not. Where did the interview go? Weird. I guess the debate took its place. :(

Sometimes I despair at our FREE country and certain people's crusades to take those freedoms away. There are some things that a few people want to regulate because they just seem genuinely scared of them. They obviously don't use them. Why are you trying to put up a firewall like China has for crying out loud. I can't believe your suggesting that Australia should follow China's example!

Google baulks at Conroy's call to censor YouTube

For that matter, even if you hit a big company like Youtube, there's plenty of other streaming video services to choose from. You gonna hit those too? *eyebrow* Ugh.

Internet Censorship Plan Gets the Green Light

Eeek.

I think I'm going to check out the discussion paper. It seems it may be too late for public input though. I'm annoyed this is the first I've heard of it. *wibble* Sounds like a stupid idea, especially when they're blocking more than just known child porn sites, which is what they are basing the need for this thing on.

There's not much info, but it seems Lubna al-Hussein has been released. A woman who was convicted at a trial for wearing pants -- clothing deemed indecent by Sudanese authorities -- was released from jail Tuesday after being imprisoned for a day, a United Nations spokesman said. - CNN

Good news! :)