Joe Hockey in Cairns

After a huge breakfast and a nap I thought a stroll along the Cairns boardwalk would be nice. An interesting stream full of crabs and mud skippers caught my eye. Generally, no one is much interested in mud skippers but for some reason a mess of activity broke out behind me. I thought to myself: 'Finally, the importance of the mud skipper is coming to light.' Then I heard from behind: 'I'm Joe Hockey.'

Swoosh! I'm on my feet. Heart in my throat. I wait for him to finish with his small talk with a tourist couple from UK. I think he knows I have a question.

Hand thrust forward to meet mine he introduces himself. No niceties from me. I only want to know one thing, so I ask: 'What is the Liberal Party's policy on net filtering?'

I know that Mr Hockey is personally against it but I want to know how the party will force him to vote, not his personal opinion. He says he's always been against it. Heart still pounding I cut him off and insist that he tell me what the Liberal Party's policy on is on net filtering.

Mr Hockey stated:
. The Liberal Party is against Labor's net filtering plan
. that PC based filtering software is the effective means of keeping kids away from adult material
. that Labor's net filter wont stop the spread of child abuse material.

This is not Mr Hockey's private musings, this is Liberal policy. How they have managed to reign in Mr Abbott's overt Christianity and cosiness with the ACL? I don't know. But, there it is. Hopefully they will campaign on it to give the anti-filter lobby some credibility.

Anyway. The camera crews seemed very interested in this discussion. I am hoping that it might make the news. There were channel 7 crews there along with some other camera crews.

ABC The Drum - Free speech reserved for the chosen ones

ABC The Drum - Free speech reserved for the chosen ones

Nationals propose $1b regional education fund - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Nationals propose $1b regional education fund - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

That's it. I'm in Truss' seat. If he goes to the election with that policy he has my vote. It's that simple. This is the first time in my life that I have ever even considered voting National.

I have emailed Mr Truss about the net filter and discussed it at length with my state LNP representative. I'm not sure if the LNP party members attended the National Party's national conference.

This is what I've done to try to stop the net filter. I don't know how much my efforts contributed to this National Party decision. It's only a little bit but I can only save my bit of the world. Everyone else has to contribute by saving their bit.

Spam and Scamberer

From: http://twitpic.com/1xsqd7

Conroy and Rudd are both creationists who will be addressing churches via a private broadcast run by the Australian Christian Lobby. They probably don't believe in evolution.

http://webcast.australiavotes.org/

Despite it's name, Australia Votes, this is not about democracy. This groups is about a small minority trying to force their bronze age ideas onto the rest of society.

Make it Count | Rudd & Abbott address Christian Voters ::

Make it Count | Rudd and Abbott address Christian Voters ::

ACL. The puppet masters for the Liberal and Labor parties.

Kogen internet filter - keeping our portals safe from spams

Web snooping policy shrouded in secrecy

Web snooping policy shrouded in secrecy:

"The federal government is hiding controversial plans to force ISPs to store internet activity of all Australian internet users - regardless of whether they have been suspected of wrongdoing - for law-enforcement agencies to access."

Didn't we just get an earful of Conroy denouncing collection of wireless data by Google a few days ago only to discover that they are going to do something a million times worse? WTF?!

A return to wowserism in the name of politics

Quite unannounced, the Rudd Government has imposed fines totalling thousands of dollars as a result of raids on adult shops, forcing some out of business and sending the proprietor of a retailer in Sydney's Oxford Street to prison for three months.

The sentence was imposed by a Sydney Magistrate for selling blue movies and confirmed on appeal. The proprietor Daryl Cohen began his sentence last month.

He is, as far as can be established, the first person to go to prison for the victimless crime of pornography for more than 60 years.


Link: ABC's The Drum

safer internet group - Home

safer internet group - Home

Safer internet Group:

We have a practical plan for making the internet safer for our kids through comprehensive policing of the Internet, better education of internet users and by the use of tools and technology that really work.

In December 2009, the Federal Government announced the...

Practical solutions for keeping kids safe online.

Australia: “Filter Conroy” Targets Government Internet Censorship | The Global Herald

Australia: “Filter Conroy” Targets Government Internet Censorship | The Global Herald

The 'Filter Conroy' site makes UK papers.

Draw Mohammed Day causes net filtering creep in Pakistan

So their net filter was probably to protect children now it is used to filter things that their theocracy simply doesn't like.

Porn: Good for us? - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences

Porn: Good for us? - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences: "Scientific examination of the subject has found that as the use of porn increases, the rate of sex crimes goes down."

iTWire - AFP, Microsoft and Federal Government announce ThinkUKnow program to protect kids online

iTWire - AFP, Microsoft and Federal Government announce ThinkUKnow program to protect kids online:

"“Through ThinkUKnow, we’re advising parents, carers and teachers to take an active role in their children’s inline lives, just as they would in real life.

“Doing simple things, like having the family computer in the living room instead of in a child’s bedroom, will go a long way in helping create a safe experience.”"

Suddenly, someone from the federal government thought: "What could we do to make kids safe online?" instead of pandering to the fun police under the guise of protecting kids from net nasties.

Conroy's Shiny Red Button

Conroy's shiny, candy-like button!


History Eraser Button

emski* [AVS/MFL] | MySpace Video

ITWire article:

One can only be happy that the big-red-button will be both free and optional (unlike the Filter); however just like the Filter it will be entirely pointless. This appears to be yet another attempt by the Federal Government to absolve parents of their responsibilities.

From: http://www.itwire.com/it-policy-news/government-tech-policy/39649-sen-conroys-big-red-button-for-internet-kids

Spare video: slower to load so please be patient.

So That’s What Spams And Scams Look Like Coming Through The Portal | Gizmodo Australia

So That’s What Spams And Scams Look Like Coming Through The Portal | Gizmodo Australia

Senator Conroy = NFI

This makes it very clear to me. This guy has NFI!


But he owes everything he knows to Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).



Thanks to Gizmodo:

Less for schools, more for pubs, roll on March

From the Letter page of SMH

God only knows ethical answer

We read that the Anglican Church is trying to stack P&Cs against the new ethics program because, it says, the debate so far has been ''one-sided'' (''Anglicans take ethics course battle to P&Cs'', June 9). Does it not occur to it that the reason most voices have not been against the ethics program is that most people (with and without religion) are in favour of it?

The desperate attempts of Anglican Church leaders to manipulate and meddle are no longer surprising, but they are putting their grubby side on show while (without a hint of irony) insisting ethics cannot be taught outside religion. This would be funny in a Monty Python film, but in reality it is dreadful.

Catherine Suttle Randwick

It is a bit rich for the Greens MP John Kaye to describe the Anglicans' call for its people to get involved in their local P&C regarding school ethics classes as ''branch stacking''. Getting interested in what your children's public school is doing should interest parents with all sorts of ideological views - even Christians. There is a world of difference between branch stacking and democratic advocacy. I am surprised Mr Kaye doesn't seem to recognise it.

Reverend Michael Deal Wingham

If the Anglican Church believes in stacking P&Cs with hitherto uninterested parents to pursue the church's objectives, rather than to support the school, I suggest the church's leaders and supporters need to enrol in the ethics classes.

Marcia Moseley Wyong

They're at it again. Nathan Lee (Letters, June 9) suggests children who do not take scripture may have to go ''back to wasting time in the library''. Being in a library with my nose in a book - whether contemplating the divine or puzzling over an ethical dilemma - sounds like heaven to me.

Adrienne Tunnicliffe Roseville

Filming against the shifting tide of Iranian regulations

Filming against the shifting tide of Iranian regulations:

"Filmmakers must get their concept and script approved and all films need a screening permit. ''In itself, that is not so dreadful - we have a classification system - but it is how you implement this.''"

Media International Australia - Contents - 135 May 2010

Media International Australia - Contents - 135 May 2010: "Children, young people, sexuality and the media
Kath Albury and Catharine Lumby
Since the 2008 Australian Senate Inquiry into the Sexualisation of Children in the Contemporary Media Environment, both the British and Scottish governments have conducted their own inquiries into the role that mediated representations of sex and/or sexuality play in the lives of children and young people. At the same time, scholars, commentators, activists and educators have continued to debate the boundaries between ‘art’ and ‘pornography’ in representations of children and young people; and the boundaries between ‘appropriate’ and ‘inappropriate’ content in popular and educational material for children and young people. This article introduces the multidisciplinary approach taken in this special issue of Media International Australia , which the editors hope will promote positive strategic approaches to promoting safety, agency and well-being for children and young people."

Please Use Porn Responsibly / Violet Blue's concerns about the new anti-porn feminist agenda

Please Use Porn Responsibly / Violet Blue's concerns about the new anti-porn feminist agenda

Violet Blue unpacks the anti-porn feminist group 'Stop Porn Culture'
To read more about the campaign against wowserism, go to: OurSelvesOurPorn

Our Porn, Ourselves is a resource that aims to create an alternative and constructive conversation on the use of pornography by women, and in turn offer balance to the anti-porn feminist agenda.

The Rudd government assumes that they are speaking for everybody and that they know that porn is terribly harmful. I disagree with both of these ideas. They do not speak for everyone. Some people just like porn. Get over it. Propagating the porn harm/porn addiction models is good for political posturing and whipping up religious fervor but that doesn't make it true... no matter how many times you say it.

Stop Internet Censorship - No Mandatory Internet Filter for Australia

Stop Internet Censorship - No Mandatory Internet Filter for Australia: "Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) have today announced their brand new initiative in the fight against the draconian Internet filter. “Time to Tell Mum” is all about encouraging Australians to tell their Mum (and Dad, and other family and friends) about the Internet filter and, more importantly, why the filter will not protect Australian children."

Conroy pledges not to broaden filter scope - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Conroy pledges not to broaden filter scope - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has given a pre-election undertaking not to broaden the Government's proposed level of internet censorship.

Senator Conroy says the scope of the content covered by the Government's proposed mandatory filter will not be widened by a future Labor government.

'We're making it very clear, this is our policy: refused classification only,' Mr Conroy told the ABC's Four Corners program."

K. Rudd: Internet filter not perfect, but we’re ploughing ahead - prime minister, kevin rudd, internet filtering scheme - ARN

K. Rudd: Internet filter not perfect, but we’re ploughing ahead - prime minister, kevin rudd, internet filtering scheme - ARN: "The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has conceded the proposed mandatory Internet filtering scheme is not perfect but is adamant about its role to reduce inappropriate content in cyberspace.

A viewer on Seven Networks’ Sunrise program asked the Prime Minister why the Government insisted on implementing “a policy which will simply fail in its objective to protect the children?”.

The ISP-level filtering is intended to weed out refused classification material including content depicting acts of child abuse, acts of sexual abuse against children.

“We have a very hard-line approach on this,” Rudd said. “Is any system perfect in dealing with [inappropriate material]? No, but is it our challenge to reduce it to the absolute extent possible? Yes.”"

It can't do what we say it can do but we're gonna do it anyway. WTF?!

AU Gov't Mandatory ISP Filtering / Censorship Plan

On 15 December 2009, the Australian Federal Labor Government announced the third version of their mandatory ISP-level blocking policy/plan, which bears zero resemblance to Labor's November 2007 election policy. The Government plans to mandate that ISPs block adults' access to content on a secret blacklist, compiled by a government agency, that the Government deems unsuitable for adults. However, ISPs will not be required to even offer to block any adults-only material, i.e. X18+ pornography or R18+. Hence, the mandatory ISP blocking system will be utterly useless for a purpose of protecting children online.

Link: Libertus.net

A shorter version of the above: