California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bid by Australian mining giant BHP Billiton to build a permanent natural gas terminal off the state’s coastline. In a letter to the US Maritime Administration, Mr Schwarzenegger agreed with earlier rejections of the proposal by the state Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission. Under the proposal, BHP would have moored a massive floating terminal 22 kilometres off the coast of Malibu, west of Los Angeles, in order to unload liquefied natural gas and process it before pumping it ashore. But the plan met with furious opposition from environmentalists
At least 25 countries around the world block Web sites for political, social, or other reasons as governments seek to assert authority over a network meant to be borderless
Estonia says the country’s web sites have been under heavy attack for the past three weeks, blaming Russia for playing a part in the cyber warfare. Many of the attacks have come from Russia and are being hosted by Russian state computer servers, Tallinn says. Moscow denies any involvement
Mobile phone calls in Sydney’s CBD will be blocked by a sophisticated counter-terrorism measure to prevent bomb attacks during US President George Bush’s September APEC visit. The president’s motorcade will be shadowed by a helicopter equipped with signal-jamming equipment
The US house of representatives today passed a bill outlawing illegal domestic wiretapping by the government. Now government agencies are only allowed to access your private communications under terms of FISA. The Bill ends plans by the Bush Administration that would give the NSA the freedom to pry into the lives of ordinary Americans. The ACLU noted that, despite many recent hearings about modernisation
and technology neutrality
, the administration has not publicly provided Congress with a single example of how current FISA standards have either prevented the intelligence community from using new technologies, or proven unworkable for the agents tasked with following them
German researchers at the Frauenhofer Institute said Wednesday that they were launching an attempt to reassemble millions of shredded East German secret police files using complicated computerised algorithms. The files were shredded as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and it became clear that the East German regime was finished. Panicking officials of the Stasi secret police attempted to destroy the vast volumes of material they had kept on everyone from their own citizens to foreign leaders — via Slashdot
The Auckland City Council — frustrated at the lack of action by the private sector — is planning a 100km fibre network to provide faster and cheaper broadband across the city. All going to plan, the citywide network could be providing high-speed broadband to thousands of businesses and most residents by 2010, including a wireless network in the central city. The network would be available to customers within 200m of the proposed route, designed to be close to businesses, government departments, libraries, emergency services, schools and universities
Free internet access will be available throughout all 17 Auckland City Libraries from Thursday 26 April. The service will be funded as part of $25 million being spent by Auckland City Council over the next decade to enhance community facilities. Auckland City Council said providing free internet access will meet the expectation that everyone should be able to access information from any source, using computers, at their local library
Within a few weeks, Australia may introduce new laws to censor films and literature deemed by the government to be supportive of terrorism. This is not the first time material has been censored in Australia, which has previously censored films and banned publications, including one titled Defence of the Muslim Lands (censored in mid 2006 by Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock). The proposed laws are aimed to target material such as a DVD by Feiz Mohammad containing some of his past controversial sermons calling for jihad and comparing Jews with pigs. The Office of Film and Literature Classification previously classified this DVD as PG
, suitable for viewing by anyone under 15 years of age with parental guidance
The Canadian government is reportedly ready to introduce copyright reform legislation this spring, provided that no election is called. The new bill would move Canada far closer to the US on copyright, with DMCA-style anti-circumvention legislation that prohibits circumvention of DRM systems and bans software and mod chips that can be used to circumvent such systems
It was just a bit of text advocating open data formats that was slipped into a Florida State Senate bill at the last minute with no fanfare, but within 24 hours three Microsoft-paid lobbyists, all wearing black suits, were pressuring members of the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations (COGO) to remove the words they didn’t like
The smoking ban in Ireland has cut air pollution in pubs and improved bar-workers’ health, a study has found. Researchers said the ban, which came in at the end of March 2004, had led to an 83% reduction in air pollution and an 80% cut in cancer-causing agents. Smoking bans are already in place in Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland will follow suit on 30 April, with England’s ban coming into force on 1 July
The Tamil Tigers Liberation Front a separatist group in Sri Lanka, which has been classified as a terrorist group in 32 countries has moved up from routine sea piracy to a space-based one. They have been accused of illegally using Intelsat satellites to beam radio and television broadcasts internationally. Intelsat says that they will end the transmissions within days
. Intelsat has been accused of having business links with Hezbollah before, but claim that they are blameless this time and LTTE was using an empty transponder
The Chinese government is requiring game houses to modify MMOG’s to restrict under 18 users to three hours productive
gameplay per day. This anti-addiction
software must be in place within four months, with games not compliant by 15 July liable to be shut down in China. Net9, Shanda and NetEase will be moving to comply with the government regulations. Users will have to register with their real names and Chinese identity card numbers to be allowed access to the games
The military-appointed government of Thailand has blocked access to YouTube and several other Internet sites in a crackdown on material seen as denigrating the country’s monarch. We have blocked YouTube because it contains a video insulting to our king,
Winai Yoosabai, head of the censorship unit at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said
A ban on smoking in enclosed public places has begun across Wales. Pubs, restaurants, offices and public transport are all covered by the ban, which came into force at 0600 BST. Those found smoking can face on-the-spot fines of £50, while those in charge of premises could also be fined for allowing smoking. A similar ban is already in force in Scotland. Northern Ireland will follow suit on 30 April, and England will follow on 1 July
Pulp mill protesters have waved placards and screamed no pulp mill
at a rally in Launceston’s Albert Hall. Police say about 3,000 people attended the rally. The protesters called on federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reject Gunns Limited’s plans for a pulp mill at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to become the first US city to ban plastic bags from large supermarkets to help promote recycling. Under the legislation, beginning in six months large supermarkets and drugstores will not be allowed to offer plastic bags made from petroleum products — via Darren Barefoot
The government is heading back to the drawing board after a senate committee found its proposed new smartcard was likely to become an identity card. The Access Card was intended to replace the Medicare card and other benefits cards, streamlining access to a wide range of government health and welfare services. The government had explicitly ruled out its use as a national ID card amid widespread concerns that was what it would become. But in its report released last night, the standing committee on finance and public administration said the card was likely to become in effect an identity card, despite measures aimed at limiting its use
A human rights legal group says Australia is breaching its international obligations by sending a group of asylum seekers to Nauru for processing. The Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, today announced the transfer of more than 80 Sri Lankan men currently being held on Christmas Island. Mr Andrews says the move will deter people smugglers and potential asylum seekers from trying to reach Australia. The spokeswoman from the group Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, Eve Lester, says the Government’s policy is contrary to the United Nations convention on refugees
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