SA attempts to force people commenting on politics online to give up anonymity

[rossmum]

I hate to self-plug, but I wrote a bit on this over here (http://shuntyard.blogspot.com) and can't be bothered to copy and paste it or rewrite it.

Basically, Michael Atkinson (dude who is the sole reason we lack an R18+ rating for games, so basically a huge fuckhead) decided that he would try and force through a state law that all SA residents discussing politics online have to provide their full name and postcode (read: everything someone who violently disagrees needs to, well, violently disagree). I'm not sure if it actually got put into place or not, but the fact he even considered it is setting off literally every alarm bell my brain has.

I can't believe this lunatic is still in office.

[Phobias]

Australian politicians at their finest. Get this fucker out of office and fast.

[paladin]

To bad your not in America.... 1st Amendment with anonymity

[Kornman00]

yeah, come to America ross

we have cookies :ohboy:

[p0lar_bear]

Atkinson sucks.

Also I totally live in SA. Come and get me.

e: There should be a mass invasion of all Australian politics sites by foreigners who comment as they please and don't have to post their address. What then, Atkinson?

(HINT: The answer is ragequit office.)

[sleepy1212]

To bad your not in America.... 1st Amendment with anonymity

Whoops! guess who created a special task force to monitor Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter?

[Reaper Man]

Australia is beginning to sound more and more totalitarian every year >_>

They're gunna hunt down and kill those who speak out against them, that's why they want your full name and postcode, hth.

[Cojafoji]

Whoops! guess who created a special task force to monitor Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter?
Uh, what?

[sleepy1212]

Uh, what?

NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/opinion/13sun2.html)


The government is increasingly monitoring Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites for tax delinquents, copyright infringers and political protesters.

More Search Results (http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=obama+monitoring+facebook&aq=0&aqi=g3&oq=obama+monit&fp=a7d7ab29d0c8bbb9)

[Cojafoji]

There is no special task force. This seems to be on a case to case basis. There's no "active" monitoring of social networking sites. Now, while I don't necessarily agree with what is happening, it's definitely not as bad as you make it out to be. Hopefully, the EFF will net something with the lawsuit they filed. The last FOIA suit they filed took about six months to work its way out, so I wouldn't count on seeing anything until about May or June. After those documents are released though, then begins the arduous task of setting up lawsuits and hopefully setting precedent for broader privacy involving online activity.

edit: this was off topic, and I apologize ross.

[sleepy1212]

There's no "active" monitoring of social networking sites.

This is one of those things that, when you catch wind of it, it means there's really a storm going on. The FBI just got caught with thousands of illegally obtained phone records. Why would law enforcement stop at the internet? Denying that is like pretending the Patriot Act doesn't exist.

or maybe it's the :tinfoil: inside of me.


edit: this was off topic, and I apologize ross.

this was in reply to paladin's post about ross moving to america. I'm suggesting it's not much better here and that it's getting worse.

In fact, stories like Ross's seem to be a world-wide trend.

[Dwood]

I'm increasingly afraid as people get better and more sophisticated gadgets, their understanding of the technology diminishes.

E: IMHO programming should be a requirement in Highschool.

[Dwood]

If they can't speak their own language correctly how the fuck can they be expected to use one that always has to be perfect.

Because programming is different than talking?

[n00b1n8R]

This shit is not going to fly. It's uninforcible and absolutely counter freedom of speech.
Fucking get this cunt out of office you SA-fags, you're embarrasing us infront of the rest of the world. :ohdear:

[Con]

At first I thought this thread was about SomethingAwful.

[paladin]

At first I thought this thread was about SomethingAwful.

inorite?:realsmug:

[Heathen]

Dude, Aussies need to raise some serious shit about your shitty censorship thing and now this.

[Bodzilla]

This shit is not going to fly. It's uninforcible and absolutely counter freedom of speech.
Fucking get this cunt out of office you SA-fags, you're embarrasing us infront of the rest of the world. :ohdear:
we dont have freedom of speech in australia.

they havnt got around to drafting up the bill.

[Con]

convenient

[Bodzilla]

only been like a hundred years.

give them some slack GOD

[English Mobster]

Wait.
This isn't about SomethingAwful?
Excuse my ignorance, but what, exactly, are we talking about, then?

[ICEE]

He's like Jack Thompson but with power. Sucks to be you guys.

But really, good luck trying to enforce this law. Faschism and internet don't mix.

[Heathen]

only been like a hundred years.

give them some slack GOD

Its because you guys used to be a penal colony.

[sdavis117]

Wait.
This isn't about SomethingAwful?
Excuse my ignorance, but what, exactly, are we talking about, then?
Free speech in South Australia.

[Heathen]

Yeah, I don't think it was ever stated in this thread, but I figured SA meant South Australia.

[Con]

I had to go to ross' angry blog site to find out.

[n00b1n8R]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Australia_locator-MJC_coloured_%28labelled%29.png

[Bodzilla]

:wisdom:

[rossmum]

Dude, Aussies need to raise some serious shit about your shitty censorship thing and now this.
Unfortunately, not many seem to realise, and fewer yet seem to care enough to do anything about it. As far as I can tell the majority of the population have been completely fucking swindled with the 'for the children' bullshit. Any kind of emotional appeal like that should be absolutely forbidden in politics, but alas, we live in a world run by morons.


we dont have freedom of speech in australia.

they havnt got around to drafting up the bill.
http://sa.tweek.us/emots/images/emot-australia.gif

[Bodzilla]

the problem is the emphasis or lack of importance for politics in australia by the general public.
It's a choice between a giant douche and a turd sandwich.
90% of people dont care because it's never been important enough for them socially to do anything about it. we sit in a perpetual state of "dont give a fuck" when it comes to politics so that when something happens, when something is important enough that we should do something, we quite frankly dont know how.

australia just needs to spend about a year in a place of the world where politics are all consuming and riots are daily occurrences.
we just dont know what to do.

take all the completely outraged people in australia with the internet filter and you ask them, just how many of them have actually bothered to be in a protest, to write to their politicians....

it's a very very small percent.

[paladin]

Sheep

[rossmum]

This thread isn't about New Zealand duder

[p0lar_bear]

Maybe not, but if you guys get any more [political] sheep in the general population you might as well be.

[=sw=warlord]

Maybe not, but if you guys get any more [political] sheep in the general population you might as well be.
Yeah and by that time politics won't be their only issue, they'll have the welsh showing up asking where all the sheep are.:ohdear:

[rossmum]

Hey we already have the Kiwis to fend off buddy,

[Timo]

"When Kiwis move across the ditch to Australia the IQ of both countries increases". That's a terrible idea, how does that guy still hold any power.