Totalitarianism Watch (Not jack-booted thugs but...)

[benji]

I'm bored, it's 2008, let's have a fun, yet depressing thread.

First, from Aussieland...(editoral emphasis mine)

Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy says new measures are being put in place to provide greater protection to children from online pornography and violent websites.

Senator Conroy says it will be mandatory for all internet service providers to provide clean feeds, or ISP filtering, to houses and schools that are free of pornography and inappropriate material.
...
"Labor makes no apologies to those that argue that any regulation of the internet is like going down the Chinese road," he said.

"If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labor Government is going to disagree."

Senator Conroy says anyone wanting uncensored access to the internet will have to opt out of the service.

Conroy announces mandatory internet filters to protect children

[Laxation]

WTF...

Does this mean that ISPs in Australia will be banning all porn, unless you opt out of that policy?

[JT_55]

The governments are starting to become more and more restrictive, and all people can care about is porn?

[Andrew]

I'm interested to see how the government intends to achieve this and how it's going to work out for the smaller, local providers (such as the one I work for), since we certainly don't have the time or resources to monitor the activities of a few thousand customers on a daily basis.

It seems to me that a better idea would be developing the means of filtering Internet content through ISPs and then making that the optional service since at the end of the day, everyone is responsible for their own actions.

[benji]

I'm interested to see how the government intends to achieve this and how it's going to work out for the smaller, local providers (such as the one I work for), since we certainly don't have the time or resources to monitor the activities of a few thousand customers on a daily basis.

I would assume it would be much like the government, where they would just mandate it, and it's your companies job to implement it and figure out how. You smut peddlers.

since at the end of the day, everyone is responsible for their own actions.

Except, that is not what these people believe, they believe someone else is always to blame. Be it racism, smut peddling websites, violent video games, etc. And we are powerless against them, that's why we need those who know "better" to take care of us.

[Ty-Land]

I just want them to get the trains to run on time in Melbourne...

[shadowgrin]

They can't, because all the conductors are busy viewing porn from the internet.
Simply put, you can only choose one Ty-Land:
Porn on your internet or trains that are on-schedule?
You decide.

[benji]

Switzerland:

Skiers and snowboarders who love the unrestricted thrill of hurtling down alpine pistes on a sunny winter’s day are about to be stopped in their tracks.

Switzerland is introducing speed cameras on the slopes to try to reduce the increasing number of accidents. The first such nationwide controls will treat skiers like cars on the motorway. Speeders will be caught with hand-held radar devices carried by hidden personnel.

Persistent offenders could be fined or have ski passes confiscated.
...
Angela Zobrist, a spokeswoman, said: “This is not another fun-spoiling campaign of the health and safety brigade and we don’t intend to raise a warning finger to all snow sport lovers. It is a genuine safety concern. You do not realise how fast you go, which can prove to be really dangerous if you impact with another skier or have any other incident.”
...
Authorities are exploring the legal options of punishing speeding skiers, although it is complicated because Switzerland’s cantons have different laws. Punishments are likely to vary from resort to resort.

Speed demons will meet their match on the piste

[JT_55]

Hey, now! Don't run too fast. That's also dangerous. On second thought, everyone should have radars on your keyboards, typing too fast may cause stress on your fingers and lead to serious injury.

[Andrew]

It looks as though the ISP filtering initiative has already been written off as a lost cause:

THE "clean feed" filtering system Communications Minister Stephen Conroy hopes will halt internet porn has already been defeated by British researchers.

Richard Clayton, of the University of Cambridge's Computer Laboratory, said the innovative blocking system CleanFeed, devised by British internet service provider BT, could be circumvented in a number of ways.

"At first sight, it's an effective and precise method of blocking unacceptable content," Mr Clayton said. "But there are a number of issues to address as soon as one assumes that content providers or consumers might make serious attempts to get around it."

The report is more bad news for those hoping to block violence and pornography from their internet. Although filter salesmen talk up their wares, the reality has never quite matched the industry hype.

Former communications minister Helen Coonan moved away from insisting internet service providers offer filtering after a 2006 NetAlert study showed the filters were expensive, difficult to set up, frequently inaccurate and drastically slowed the network performance.

Six filters were tested under optimised conditions, but the best responder resulted in an 18 per cent reduction in relative performance, while the worst cut performance by 78 per cent.

"The better-performing filters can process data at between 30-80Mbps, which would still provide sufficient performance for a small ISP," the report said.

"However, for larger ISPs with faster upstream connections, the use of such filters would severely reduce their performance levels."

Full story

[shadowgrin]

Katy Laffan, 27, an experienced skier from London, said: “To be honest, I do not know how fast I usually go. It could be a good idea to monitor the speed on the piste, but I would say that it’s not the fast skiers who cause accidents but the ones who are out of control, such as beginners on steep slopes or drunk people.”

Just like driving.
Speed doesn't kill or cause accidents to people.
People kill people.

[benji]

Canada:

An Islamic group's demand that a Canadian magazine publish its response to an article that said Muslims were set to swamp the West has sparked warnings of government-imposed restrictions on freedom of expression.

The Canadian Islamic Congress, one of Canada's largest Muslim groups, says Maclean's, a popular Canadian weekly news magazine, subjected Muslims to hate speech with an article in October 2006 by best-selling author Mark Steyn that said a high Muslim birthrate, combined with Muslims "hot for jihad," could conquer a West that is unwilling to stand up for its civilization.

The Islamic group has asked a government body to step in to guarantee it the right to an equal-length rebuttal to the article, which was an excerpt from Steyn's September 2006 book "America Alone."
...
Maclean's says it has already run 27 letters from readers, many opposed to Steyn's piece, and is ready to consider a further response. But it said the CIC wanted to direct the art work for the rebuttal and to run it on the cover.

Publisher Kenneth Whyte said he would rather go bankrupt than have the CIC set the terms for what the magazine publishes.
...
"We need to make sure that folks are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of who it is , whether it's Maclean's or anybody," said the [Ontario Federation of Labour]'s executive vice president, Terry Downey, formerly a human rights investigator.

"People have a right to freedom of expression but that has some restrictions on it. You just can't offend people based on their religion or color or things like that."

The Canadian commission could order the two sides to reconciliation, or forward the case to a tribunal that would have the power to order Maclean's to publish the group's response, or face legal sanctions.

Muslims test press freedom limits in Canadian case

Steyn, relates the words of the lead "anti-hate" investigator of the Commission from an earlier hearing:

MS KULASZKA: Mr. Steacy, you were talking before about context and how important it is when you do your investigation. What value do you give freedom of speech when you investigate one of these complaints?

MR. STEACY: Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value.

[benji]

United States, California:

Every new home and every change to existing homes' central heating and air conditioning systems will required to be fitted with a PCT beginning next year following the issuance of the revision. Each PCT will be fitted with a "non-removable " FM receiver that will allow the power authorities to increase your air conditioning temperature setpoint or decrease your heater temperature setpoint to any value they chose.

Who Will Control Your Thermostat?

[shadowgrin]

Just a thermostat. Wow.

Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value.

Hail Canada!

In using quasi-judicial coercion to squash debate, they make one of the central points of my argument -- that a proportion of Islam is inimical to Western traditions of freedom -- more eloquently than I ever could

CIC just got zinged.

[benji]

United States, Colorado

A tactical law enforcement team broke into Tom Shiflett's home and took his 11-year-old son to hospital for court-ordered medical treatment for a minor head injury.

Garfield County's All Hazards Response Team raided the home Friday night, a day after Jon Shiflett fell after grabbing the handle of a moving car. The child was returned to the family at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, hours after the raid.
...
In the end, the injury wasn't as severe as caseworkers from the Garfield County Department of Social Services thought when they went before a judge seeking a search warrant and order for medical treatment.

The doctor recommended fluids, Tylenol and ice to treat the bruises, according to a copy of Jon's patient aftercare instructions.

Tom Shiflett, 62, who said he served as a medic in Vietnam, had told authorities that he had the skill to treat his son.

[Ty-Land]

United States, Colorado

A tactical law enforcement team broke into Tom Shiflett's home and took his 11-year-old son to hospital for court-ordered medical treatment for a minor head injury.

Garfield County's All Hazards Response Team raided the home Friday night, a day after Jon Shiflett fell after grabbing the handle of a moving car. The child was returned to the family at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, hours after the raid.
...
In the end, the injury wasn't as severe as caseworkers from the Garfield County Department of Social Services thought when they went before a judge seeking a search warrant and order for medical treatment.

The doctor recommended fluids, Tylenol and ice to treat the bruises, according to a copy of Jon's patient aftercare instructions.

Tom Shiflett, 62, who said he served as a medic in Vietnam, had told authorities that he had the skill to treat his son.

Wow. Nice waste of tax-payers money. And talk about an over-reaction. In most cases wouldn't you think that the Courts would prefer to side with the parents? I can understand in some circumstances, albeit extreme, where these mechanisms could be useful (i.e. to take a victim of child abuse to get treatment), but in most cases you would think the parents would be making the right decision by their children.

[JT_55]

Not to mention his father was a medic years ago. What, you don't trust your docs cause they're almost over the hill?

[benji]

United States, Boston

Mayor Thomas M. Menino embarked on a highly public campaign yesterday to block CVS Corp. and other retailers from opening medical clinics inside their stores, an effort that exposed a rift between Menino and the state's public health commissioner, a longtime ally.

Menino blasted state regulators for paving the way Wednesday for the in-store clinics, which are designed to provide treatment for sore throats, poison ivy, and other minor illnesses.

The decision by the state Public Health Council, "jeopardizes patient safety," Menino said in a written statement. "Limited service medical clinics run by merchants in for-profit corporations will seriously compromise quality of care and hygiene. Allowing retailers to make money off of sick people is wrong."
...
By issuing a broadside against the clinics and the state's approval of them, Menino placed himself squarely in opposition to a former longtime deputy, John Auerbach. Before becoming the state's public health commissioner last year, Auerbach spent nine years as executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

Auerbach's state agency yesterday released a statement defending its decision on the clincs: "The members of the Public Health Council were deliberative and thoughtful in their review of the limited service clinic regulation. We believe these types of clinics, operated either as part of a retail operation or in a nonprofit setting, can provide the public access to safe, convenient, and quality care for minor health issues."

The clinics are not designed to treat chronic diseases such as cancer or diabetes or serious emergencies. The facilities will be staffed with nurse-practitioners who are trained to spot patients with more severe illnesses or in need of specialized care and send them to a doctor or an emergency room.

Menino decries clinics in retailers

[benji]

Netherlands

The Dutch government is bracing itself for violent protests following the scheduled broadcast this week of a provocative anti-Muslim film by a radical right-wing politician who has threatened to broadcast images of the Koran being torn up and otherwise desecrated.

Cabinet ministers and officials, fearing a repetition of the crisis sparked by the publication of cartoons of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper two years ago, have held a series of crisis meetings and ordered counter-terrorist services to draw up security plans. Dutch nationals overseas have been asked to register with their embassies and local mayors in the Netherlands have been put on standby.

Geert Wilders, one of nine members of the extremist VVD (Freedom) party in the 150-seat Dutch lower house, has promised that his film will be broadcast - on television or on the internet - whatever the pressure may be. It will, he claims, reveal the Koran as 'source of inspiration for intolerance, murder and terror'.

Dutch diplomats are already trying to pre-empt international reaction. 'It is difficult to anticipate the content of the film, but freedom of expression doesn't mean the right to offend,' said Maxime Verhagen, the Foreign Minister, who was in Madrid to attend the Alliance of Civilisations, an international forum aimed at reducing tensions between the Islamic world and the West.

Violence fear over Islam film

but freedom of expression doesn't mean the right to offend

[Jackal]

This is going to be a fun week.

[benji]

United States, Mississippi

Mississippi legislators this week introduced a bill that would make it illegal for state-licensed restaurants to serve obese patrons. Bill No. 282, a copy of which you'll find below, is the brainchild of three members of the state's House of Representatives, Republicans W. T. Mayhall, Jr. and John Read, and Democrat Bobby Shows. The bill, which is likely dead on arrival, proposes that the state's Department of Health establish weight criteria after consultation with Mississippi's Council on Obesity. It does not detail what penalties an eatery would face if its grub was served to someone with an excessive body mass index.

Mississippi Pols Seek To Ban Fats

The bill, which is likely dead on arrival

Whew.

[Andrew]

"The fingers you have used to dial...are too fat."

It's good to know politicians are concerning themselves with such important causes as banning obese patrons from restaurants. Supermarkets and mandatory gym memberships can't be far away.

[benji]

United States, Kentucky

Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal.

The bill would require anyone who contributes to a website to register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site.

Their full name would be used anytime a comment is posted.

If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that.

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

[Andrew]

So correct me if I'm wrong, but that also means website administrators would also be fined if someone supplied them with false data? I guess no one is responsible for their own actions anymore.

I guess it would cut down on the online bullying though. Mainly because if someone's complete personal details are made available, the bullying and stalking can take place away from the computer and in the real world. Much better.

[benji]

They'd have to go after the website owners, because well, the anonymous person is anonymous.

People aren't responsible for their own actions, everything can be blamed on someone else. And when someone else is doing it, that means the government needs to step in and "solve" things. When someone hurts, government has to move.

At least that's the argument they make. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, indeed.