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Category Archives: Politics
Leaked DHS internet watchlist mistakes
Um. Yeah. So I’m going to be charitable here and presume that whoever compiled that internet monitoring watchlist at the Department of Homeland Security thought that “Miss Thirteen”, at www.msthirteen.com, was a site about the ultraviolent Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang, which originated in El Salvador and now operates in a number of US cities… Continue reading
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North Carolina Sets $50K Compensation for Victims of Eugenics Program
A task force assigned to the grim undertaking of deciding how much to compensate as many as 2,000 living victims of a decades-long North Carolina sterilisation program finally settled on a number on Tuesday… Continue reading
Posted in Health, Politics, Rights
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Israeli bill would prohibit Nazi comparisons
Draft legislation in Israel would make it a crime in the country to use the word “Nazi” or symbols of the Holocaust for purposes other than teaching… Continue reading
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The Greek parents ‘too poor’ to care for their children
Greece’s financial crisis has made some families so desperate they are giving up the most precious thing of all — their children…
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Palestinian Sesame Street falls victim to US Congress
With its colourful band of Muppets preaching tolerance and neighbourly love, the Palestinian version of the children’s television programme Sesame Street had become a beacon of hope for children in a region ravaged by decades of unrest… Continue reading
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Brown slams surveillance of green activists
Greens leader Bob Brown has accused Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson of turning Australia into a police state, after reports he pushed for increased surveillance of environmental activists… Continue reading
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US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law
In a leaked letter sent to Spain’s outgoing President, the US ambassador to the country warned that as punishment for not passing a SOPA-style file-sharing site blocking law, Spain risked being put on a United States trade blacklist… Continue reading
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Japan tests $2.28m cyber-defence virus
The Japanese government is testing a self-defence virus that has the objective of tracking down the source of cyber attacks and removing the threat… Continue reading
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Belarus Bans Browsing of All Foreign Websites
As citizens of the United States worry over the implications of the pending SOPA legislation, a small land-locked country on the fringes of Europe is showing how bad things can really get… Continue reading
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Is GoDaddy Blocking Domain Transfers After the SOPA Boycott?
A few days ago thousands of customers turned against domain registrar GoDaddy for their support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)… Continue reading
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Mexican authorities disband Veracruz police force in bid to stem corruption
The entire police force in the Mexican port of Veracruz was dissolved on Wednesday in an effort to root out corruption, and armed marines were sent in to patrol… Continue reading
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Websites allow Kenyans to report bribes and battle corruption
Ask a Nairobi resident to name the most frustrating part of living in Nairobi, and they’re likely to answer: bribing a cop… Continue reading
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Republic, Lost / Larry Lessig
Larry Lessig has a new book called Republic, Lost which discusses the corrupting influence of money on politics. I would highly recommend the book, because it gets to the heart of why things so many things in Washington, DC seem … Continue reading
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Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader, dies
Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s “dear leader”, has died aged 69, state television announced this morning… Continue reading
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Serco To Run Youth Prison
Serco recently won a West Australian government contract to manage a new, one-of-a-kind youth prison that will house 18 to 24-year-old male offenders from mid-2012… Continue reading
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Punk ‘Re-Education’ Not A Good Look For Aceh
Indonesian media reported that police under the supervision of the Banda Aceh administration arrested on the weekend 64 punk youth who were gathering at a charity music concert for orphans… Continue reading
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Gentlemen, We Shot a Judge
Every time a Blackwater centurion discharged his weapon in Iraq, the company filed a written report with the US State Department… Continue reading
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Sniffer dogs get it wrong four out of five times
A record 80 per cent of sniffer dog searches for drugs resulted in “false positives” this year, figures show… Continue reading
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Swiss Government: Downloading Movies and Music Will Stay Legal
One in three people in Switzerland download unauthorised music, movies and games from the Internet and since last year the government has been wondering what to do about it. This week their response was published and it was crystal clear… Continue reading
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Farmers unleash cobras on Indian taxmen
Two angry farmers have let loose dozens of snakes, including deadly cobras, in a government office in northern India… Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Rights, Wildlife
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Organ donation overhaul pushed for NSW
The New South Wales Government has proposed a radical overhaul of organ donation rules to stop families overruling their relatives’ wishes… Continue reading
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Inside the shadow world of commercialised spook spyware
Western and Chinese high-tech companies are competing aggressively to sell, install and manage intrusive and dangerous internet surveillance and communications control equipment for the world’s most brutal regimes, a six-month investigation ha… Continue reading
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Anti-Gay Russian Lawmaker: ‘The Issue Of Same-Sex Love Is Somewhat Like The Jewish Problem’
Elena Babich, a deputy of St Petersburg’s Legislative Assembly and a supporter of the city’s proposed anti-gay propaganda law, has suggested that rainbow flags and homosexuality will lead to national extinction… Continue reading
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Killer Mould Too Risky In US War On Drugs: Report
Using fungi to kill coca and other illegal drug crops would be a risky tactic, as there is not enough data about how to control these killer moulds and what effect they could have on people and the environment, according to a US study released Wednesda… Continue reading
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Egypt imports 21 tons of tear gas from the US, port staff refuses to sign for it
The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackdown on Egyptian protesters… Continue reading
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Immunise or lose benefits, parents told
Parents who do not have their children fully immunised will be stripped of family tax benefits under a scheme announced by the Federal Government… Continue reading
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BNP threatens protest at headteacher’s home over sex education proposals
British National party activists have warned a primary school’s headteacher and chair of governors that they will face demonstrations outside their homes if they do not drop plans to extend sex education lessons to children aged four… Continue reading
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North Korean prison camp survivor speaks out
A North Korean prison camp survivor has given a rare testimony exposing public executions and starvation at the detention centre where she was held for 28 years… Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics, Rights
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South Africa’s assembly passes ‘secrecy bill,’ stirring journalists’ fears
South Africa’s National Assembly passed a bill on Tuesday that would “protect” state information and potentially impose 25-year criminal sentences on journalists who publish or possess state documents that the South African government deems to be secret… Continue reading
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Twitter, Facebook to be in government phone book?
The Federal Government’s phone book of all Australian telephone numbers could include users’ social networking details in the future, depending on the outcome of a review of the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND)… Continue reading
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Médecins sans Frontières book reveals aid agencies’ ugly compromises
A controversial new book produced by one of the world’s best-known aid agencies, Médecins sans Frontières, lifts the lid on the often deeply uncomfortable compromises aid organisations are forced to make while working in conflicts… Continue reading
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Copyright isn’t working, says European Commission
People have come to see copyright as a tool of punishment, Europe’s technology chief has said in her strongest-yet attack on the current copyright system… Continue reading
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Pakistan telecoms authority to block ‘obscene’ texts
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has told mobile phone companies to begin blocking text messages containing “obscene” words… Continue reading
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Sopa condemned by web giants as ‘internet blacklist bill’
Internet giants went on the attack on Wednesday, claiming legislation aimed at tackling online piracy would create an “internet blacklist bill” that would encourage censorship, kill jobs and give US authorities unrivalled powers over the world’s websi… Continue reading
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Seattle City Council passes resolution in support of Occupy movement
Seattle City Council today adopted Resolution 31337 in support of the Occupy movement… Continue reading
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Greyhounds to ditch the muzzle
Pet greyhounds are set for a new look and a new name. The animals – many of whom are former racing dogs – were required by law to wear muzzles in public until 25 October… Continue reading
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Email spam ‘Block 25′ crackdown readied in South Korea
South Korea is lobbying its internet service providers to sign up to a national plan to tackle spam… Continue reading
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The Internet Revolts Against Anti-Piracy Censorship
In response to the pending SOPA (“Stop Online Piracy Act”), leading civil liberties and tech policy organisations are calling for a Internet-wide day of protest against censorship… Continue reading
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Fix the economy, destroy the polity: Australia since 1983
Many significant economic changes were effected in Australia after the election of the Hawke-Keating government in 1983. Both Labor and the Coalition thereafter supported a wide ranging program of economic reform… Continue reading
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Camels ‘left to rot’ after mass cull
The owner of a Central Australian cattle station is angry that camel carcasses have been left to rot after recent culls… Continue reading
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Our Contract With Serco
New Matilda has gained exclusive access to the first publicly available version of the 2009 Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) contract with British multinational Serco… Continue reading
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Michigan Senate Legalises Anti-Gay Bullying
In their infinite desire to protect the rights of their hate-filled children to spew anti-gay nonsense, bully other children, and drive gay kids to suicide (or at least a childhood of self-loathing), Republicans added language to the bill that allows … Continue reading
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Rob Ford denies calling 911 dispatcher names
Ford’s comments concern 911 calls he made Monday after Mary Walsh, part of the CBC-TV comedy show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, ambushed him in his driveway as the character Marg Delahunty, with cameras rolling… Continue reading
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US wants to give pharma more power over our medicines policy
Leaked documents from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement negotiations currently underway in Peru show the US is seeking to use the agreement to increase the monopoly rights of pharmaceutical companies and undermine the effectiveness of p… Continue reading
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Fundamentalist Christian warning
Former NSW Christian Democrat MLC and Family First NSW leader Dr Gordon Moyes has warned that Christian fundamentalists who want to impose religious laws on society are operating in Australia… Continue reading
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Brisbane council rolls out free public Wi-Fi
There may not be a wave in sight, but residents can now surf in Brisbane’s parks after the roll-out of wireless internet in public areas… Continue reading
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Alarm at private police operating beyond the law
Hundreds of privately contracted police officers are working for forces across the country despite being unaccountable to the watchdog responsible for investigating deaths in custody, public complaints and allegations of wrongdoing, an investigation b… Continue reading
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Liberal MP spruiks Coalition on Australian Tea Party page
Liberal MP Andrew Laming has used the right-wing Australian Tea Party’s Facebook page, which features comments encouraging violence against US President Barack Obama during his tour next month, to gather feedback and promote the Coalition… Continue reading
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