tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post7299849401880885859..comments2024-01-20T10:32:53.309+10:00Comments on CairnsBlog.net: Warren Entsch says no to compulsory internet censorshipMichael P Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02890121680113642715noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-42974194897881339572010-07-09T10:14:03.074+10:002010-07-09T10:14:03.074+10:00Syd, some form of censorship is already in place. ...Syd, some form of censorship is already in place. I had an intense and personal interest in the Iraq War because I had personal friends living in Baghdad (Iraqis.) During the years of the invasion 2003-2007, I was able to chat online with Iraqis in various cities...Baghdad, Mosul, Basrah, um Qasar. Sometime in 2007, I lost contact with all of these people. Some Sunnis I knew had fled for their lives, perhaps some others may have been killed. The death rate is extremely high in Iraq (to put it mildly). However, I have a friend in Sweden who is still maintaining contact with one mutual friend in Mosul. So...something has definitely happened. Who or what has imposed the blockage, we can only guess. <br />The Iraq War was however, the very first war of our time where huge numbers of people from all over the world were able to make regular personal contact with the population living inside a war zone, and to follow the events firsthand. (This was despite the biggest ever "entrenched" media contingent to be placed inside a military force.) I have no doubt that this huge, unprecedented personal contact contributed to Governments taking some form of action.Alison Allowaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-52584948000124351622010-07-07T15:50:47.476+10:002010-07-07T15:50:47.476+10:00Depressing news. Julia Gillard made a statement to...Depressing news. Julia Gillard made a statement today about Internet censorship. IMO it is appalling.<br /><br />She acknowledges widespread public concern - but <a href="http://sydwalker.info/blog/2010/07/07/internet-censorship-getting-real-about-whats-at-stake/" rel="nofollow">fails to offer any policy change or even a process for resolving these concerns in a rational and fair way</a>. That's an insult to the hundreds of thousands of people in this country who are concerned about this issue.<br /><br />Imagine if she'd said to the big mining companies: "I acknowledge your concerns about the new tax, but you'll just have to cop it sweet!"<br /><br />I hope Jim Turnour is reading this and I very much hope he gets on the phone to the PMs office and demands that mandatory Internet censorship is dropped forthwith from the ALP policy platform.<br /><br />Positive benefit to the government from its NBN policy is tainted by this unresolved row over mandatory Internet censorship.<br /><br />When Labor Parties go bad on civil liberties, they typically dive in popularity, <a href="http://sydwalker.info/blog/2010/07/07/last-call-for-julia-cut-the-crap-on-mandatory-internet-censorship/" rel="nofollow">as the British Labour Party discovered earlier this year</a>.<br /><br />It would be a real shame to have to campaign against Jim's re-election on this specific issue and I pray it won't be necessary.Syd Walkerhttp://sydwalker.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-53503362911538719712010-07-06T15:38:24.371+10:002010-07-06T15:38:24.371+10:00Email from Jim Turnour, MP for Leichhardt
Dear Sy...Email from Jim Turnour, MP for Leichhardt<br /><br />Dear Syd,<br /><br />Thank you for your email concerning cyber-safety and internet service provider (ISP) filtering. I appreciate your interest in this important issue.<br /><br />I understand that there is considerable community concern about the government’s plans for an internet filter and can assure you that I have taken an active interest in this issue. Some of the claims about censorship and the like are not correct and any proposal will be implemented in the best interests of the community.<br /><br />The Government recognises that the internet is an essential tool for all Australians through which they can exchange information, be entertained, socialise, do school work and research. The ability to use online tools effectively provides both a skill for life and the means to acquire new skills.<br /><br />Unfortunately the internet can also be used inappropriately. It has provided a powerful new medium which can be used to distribute material which is not acceptable to most Australians, particularly children.<br /><br />The complexity of the issue is why the Government has always maintained there is no silver bullet solution to cyber-safety. In developing our approach we have been informed by the Government’s pilot of ISP level filtering and extensive industry feedback about the most appropriate way to improve safety online. In particular our approach has been informed by the constructive input of Australia’s four largest ISPs, who came forward with a set of principles which the Government has taken into account.<br /><br />The Government’s approach involves a comprehensive suite of measures to address the range of issues and challenges faced by families when they are online. These measures build upon the Government’s existing cyber-safety plan which includes law enforcement, education and information, research and international co-operation. $125.8 million was allocated to this plan in the 2007-08 budget, which included funding for 91 Australian Federal Police officers to the Child Protection Operations Team.<br /><br />The Government has also announced three new measures to enhance its existing cyber-safety program, all from within the existing funding:<br />* Introduction of mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused<br />Classification (RC) content in order to reduce the risk of inadvertent exposure. RC material includes child sexual abuse imagery, bestiality, sexual violence, detailed instruction in crime, violence or drug use and/or material that advocates the doing of a terrorist act.<br />* A grants program to encourage ISPs to offer additional filtering services to households on a commercial basis and optional basis.<br />* Funding of $17 million over five years for a range of education, awareness and counselling services based on recommendations from the Government’s 300 strong Youth Advisory Group, and advice from its Consultative Working Group on Cyber-safety.<br /><br />These measures tackle the issue of cyber-safety from a number of<br />directions and provide parents and carers with the necessary information to assist with this task.<br /><br />Information on both the existing and new cyber-safety measures is<br />available at http://www.dbcde.gov.au/cybersafetyplan .<br /><br />Thank you for your interest in this matter. I trust this information will be of assistance.<br /><br />Regards,<br />Jim<br /><br />PS I have forwarded your letter to the PM as requested.Jim Turnour, MP for Leichhardtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-10615753131132877262010-07-06T15:26:31.680+10:002010-07-06T15:26:31.680+10:00Some great points by JDNSW and Cairns IT Guy.
So...Some great points by JDNSW and Cairns IT Guy. <br /><br />Someone's come up with a sticker for bumpers, fridges, walls - anything really.<br /><br />http://sydwalker.info/blog/2010/07/06/lest-she-forget/<br /><br />I did receive an email today from Jim Turnour (thanks Jim). But as far as I can tell, it simply reiterates the previous policy. See http://sydwalker.info/blog/2010/06/30/open-letter-to-julia-gillard-re-compulsory-internet-censorship/#comments<br /><br />That's the flawed policy that needs to change - and fast.Syd Walkerhttp://sydwalker.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-77719141175998907482010-07-06T14:17:34.120+10:002010-07-06T14:17:34.120+10:00I most strongly object to the statement jim t does...I most strongly object to the statement jim t does not have an opinion of his own.<br />He certainly has but it has not been sent up to him yet you dill hhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa <br />****E** ****leucos matenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-18963210458965655332010-07-06T13:07:18.024+10:002010-07-06T13:07:18.024+10:00Cairns IT Guy here.
A few friends and I emailed J...Cairns IT Guy here.<br /><br />A few friends and I emailed Jim T and only got the Labor form letter about the censorship, I.E couldn't even give his own opinion about it.<br /><br />If politicians think they can work this way, which most of them currently are, they got another thing comming.<br /><br />The internet is bringing vast amounts of political information to the eyes of anyone willing to search, policies will be closely followed and tracking of how politicians react to certain policies. Eg. we can see Gillard rejected the same immigration policy she is now pushing, IN MARCH THIS YEAR, thanks to google.<br /><br />Its certainly obvious, with a secret blacklist controlling the censorship, the policy would really only be good for one thing, POLITICAL CENSORSHIP, as discussed everywhere, the censorship is not going to stop anything else.<br /><br />I'm glad there is more people in cairns taking notice of this ridiculous proposal.<br /><br />By the way to "a Real liberal" .. you say you are a parent, and you want something done? are you aware that the government was giving away filtering software? or that you could sign up to webshield and have "morally" sanitised internet right to your home TODAY?<br /><br />I'm assuming you must already have one or the other right?? if not, i don't think you really cared until you heard the government could force it on everyone else.Cairns IT Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-5912693775915731652010-07-06T07:19:02.454+10:002010-07-06T07:19:02.454+10:00For A Real Liberal. There are four questions all o...For A Real Liberal. There are four questions all of which need to be answered "yes" to approve the government's internet filter.<br /><br />1. Should we censor the internet? You will never get an agreed answer to this, as it is a matter of opinion. But when thinking about it, remember that the internet is a carriage service, not a "medium", and is more similar to Australia Post or the telephone system, not only in its function but in its legal status.<br /><br />2. Can the internet be effectively censored? The answer to this is almost certainly No, and probably always will be. The reason for this is that it is a dynamic carriage service, not a medium like film or print. It changes faster than any censorship can possibly keep up, and the number of URLs (which is the unit the plan is censoring) is in excess of one trillion two years ago, increasing at over a billion a day. If China cannot censor the internet, why does Conroy think Australia can?<br /><br />3. Will the ALP's plan work? Certainly, the answer to this is NO. For a start, there has never been a clear answer as to what it is proposed to accomplish. A blacklist of less than 10,000 out of over a trillion? Has anyone in the ALP elementary arithmetic skills? Either the problem is trivial or the solution virtually useless. As Conroy admits, it will not work for high traffic IP addresses, and there is no possible solution to this. Conroy's solution of asking Youtube to censor for Australians material that is legal everywhere else has been roundly rejected by them. The simple fact that the list needs to be kept secret is an admission that it will not work. If it works, why does it need to be secret, unlike all other censorship?<br /><br />4. Will the plan's drawbacks outweigh its advantages? Obviously YES, since the plan will not work (see 3). But there are serious drawbacks - It has been demonstrated by all of history (and current leaked internet censorship lists from other countries) that secret censorship is inevitably used for political purposes. It will decrease the reliability of the whole internet for Australians. With the NBN touting 100mbps, the filter trials tested it at only 8mbps! And there seems to be a possibility that those involved in these trials are liable to criminal prosecution under the TIA - clearly showing that amendment of this act will be needed to introduce this censorship, which should be ringing alarm bells everywhere!JDNSWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-75485507817159855202010-07-05T22:20:08.923+10:002010-07-05T22:20:08.923+10:00You don't know very much about 911 do you &quo...You don't know very much about 911 do you "Real Liberal". Do a bit of simple research, maybe starting with the word "Thermite".PaulBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-63684258387807139782010-07-05T18:49:01.824+10:002010-07-05T18:49:01.824+10:00@ A Real Liberal
If you think the internet is ful...@ A Real Liberal<br /><br />If you think the internet is full of "horrible stuff" then be a good parent and supervise your children's internet usage.<br /><br />If that's not possible then set the <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms711320%28VS.85%29.aspx" rel="nofollow">Parental Controls</a> that come with your computer. Free and easy to use.<br /><br />If that's too hard then use something like <a href="http://www.opendns.com/familyshield/" rel="nofollow">OpenDNS FamilyShield</a>. Also free and easy.<br /><br />If that's too tricky then you really should be taking some lessons in parental responsibility because I don't see why my internet usage should be controlled by some faceless bureaucrats in Canberra working to the agenda of a religious extremist group to make up for your lack of family skills.OpenInternetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-65740786894821530422010-07-05T18:38:18.380+10:002010-07-05T18:38:18.380+10:00Gee Syd, you got me there!
No, I don't have ...Gee Syd, you got me there! <br /><br />No, I don't have a comprehensive plan for internet censorship - that's outside my "skill set" - but I'm in favour of our federal government having a role in determining what's not acceptable on the net.<br /><br />You, on the other hand, apparently cleave to the philosophically pure, if simplistic, notion that adults ought to be able to look at(and presumably, post) whatever they like.<br /><br />Nice in theory, but I live in the real world.A Real Liberalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-37983446599401261982010-07-05T17:40:26.421+10:002010-07-05T17:40:26.421+10:00@ a Real Liberal
You write: "Surely you'...@ a Real Liberal<br /><br />You write: "Surely you'd agree that some things ought to be banned outright? If so, the argument is about the level of censorship, and the mechanism, not the principle itself."<br /><br />You might like to re-read John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty', just to refresh your memory about what 'real liberalism' means in a historical sense.<br /><br />Anyhow, do you have a workable plan for making rational decisions about which of the world's 55.61 billion (and counting) webpages should be censored for all Australians, how to ensure mistakes aren't made (overblocking or underblocking) - and most important of all how to guarantee that the people operating in secrecy who will control this continent's Internet censorship will never abuse that power?<br /><br />If so, I suggest you tell Stephen Conroy. He hasn't been able to come up anything that makes sense to his critics in three years. <br /><br />Maybe you can?Syd Walkerhttp://sydwalker.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-45719840431381898972010-07-05T17:15:52.561+10:002010-07-05T17:15:52.561+10:00Sorry Syd, I don't mean to be unkind, but you ...Sorry Syd, I don't mean to be unkind, but you are irresistable. After reading your blog for a few months I can only say that you have a knack for seeming rational.<br /><br />And I'm not terrified - this is not Parliament, nor is it a peer-reviewed journal - it's a blog, and it's meant to be fun, and irreverent. Perhaps you should stop taking yourself so seriously.<br /><br />As for the issue of mandatory internet censorship - I don't like censorship either, but as a parent I want something done about the horrible stuff that infests the internet. <br /><br />Would you support any level of censorship? Surely you'd agree that some things ought to be banned outright? If so, the argument is about the level of censorship, and the mechanism, not the principle itself.A Real Liberalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-4688343291237563132010-07-05T16:21:59.932+10:002010-07-05T16:21:59.932+10:00No miles off but the amount of letters are correct...No miles off but the amount of letters are correct.I knownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-82297801758306537512010-07-05T16:09:04.887+10:002010-07-05T16:09:04.887+10:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Cairns Residentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-12637732659055564002010-07-05T16:04:35.154+10:002010-07-05T16:04:35.154+10:00@ A Real Liberal (who's apparently too terrifi...@ A Real Liberal (who's apparently too terrified to give his/her real name)<br /><br />I approached Warren Entsch - not the other way round.<br /><br />I also approached Jim Turnour shortly before that, on the same issue.<br /><br />Both approaches were by email. <br /><br />Vilify, parody and misrepresent my views as you wish... that's your business. I notice you don't care to discuss any of the real issues.<br /><br />@ Entsch Smentsch - your comprehension level appears to be so low you haven't even understood that I'm not a candidate - merely a voter expressing a view. Yet you bandy around the most revolting insinuations. Pathetic.Syd Walkerhttp://sydwalker.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-3285600941687588962010-07-05T15:47:20.374+10:002010-07-05T15:47:20.374+10:00Warren Entsch courting Syd Walker for his support!...Warren Entsch courting Syd Walker for his support! Big W must be even more unscrupulous than we thought. <br /><br />Syd hates Israel, claims that the 9/11 atrocity was not the work of Islamists, and now attacks Julia Gillard's partner for working for a jewish bloke!<br /><br />Hopefully, Syd's support of Warren will ensure the big fella's defeat.A Real Liberalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-47318987222460251912010-07-05T15:16:04.001+10:002010-07-05T15:16:04.001+10:00By crikey, I know, you've got me on the edge o...By crikey, I know, you've got me on the edge of my seat - so it's 6 letters followed by 4 - now who could that be? How about W***** P***? <br />Obviously, you reactionary dinosaurs can't come up with anyone to replace Jim who isn't already over the hill - even in your own fevered imagination.<br />Well, am I right?Leuco Gasternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-12849405807858753742010-07-05T14:51:05.831+10:002010-07-05T14:51:05.831+10:00Jims ahead by a country mile ,nice try but you kn...Jims ahead by a country mile ,nice try but you know and I know you are lying your arse off ,when the name of the person is revealed jim will shit himself .Even his own party deserted him now they are stuck with him watch all the labor tools pour up on the planes to convince us he is here for us . cannot wait to see him debate entsch bbbbbbbblllllloooddddyyyyy hheeelllll .I know toonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-38933816795010123132010-07-05T14:31:18.201+10:002010-07-05T14:31:18.201+10:00Anyone that thinks the internet filter is about pa...Anyone that thinks the internet filter is about paedophiles shows a serious lack of understanding in the subject. It's censorship, pure and simple, as the leaked blacklist proved. Not only that it will be totally ineffective and therefore a waste of money.<br /><br />For the first time in my life I won't be voting Labor.OpenInternetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-60145523091652491682010-07-05T13:55:09.141+10:002010-07-05T13:55:09.141+10:00Well at least the paedophiles will be voting for y...Well at least the paedophiles will be voting for you Syd.<br /><br />Be sure to make it clear your preferences are going to Entsch, so we can avoid you both.Entsch Smentschnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-87012074924463724402010-07-05T13:50:09.220+10:002010-07-05T13:50:09.220+10:00these National Party relics trying to suggest they...these National Party relics trying to suggest they are "in the know" in Cairns ALP.... please save us all the trouble with all this ALP wanted someone else but Jim sh.t we've stuck by him (well those of us who matter have) and the polls show why. With Jim ahead 54-46 the Stentch doesn't have a chance. As for Syd Walker, anyone who knows him would vote OPPOSITE to whatever he suggested.Jims ahead by a country milenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878592054777492431.post-63192279985228228052010-07-05T13:31:27.600+10:002010-07-05T13:31:27.600+10:00I am not voting for jim turnour even his own party...I am not voting for jim turnour even his own party don't think he can win that is why they asked ****** **** to replace him but he would not stand down hey jim?I knownoreply@blogger.com