Ryan Hamlin, head of Microsoft’s Technology Care and Safety Group spoke out against New Zealand’s proposed anti-spam legislation, warning that it could impinge on the amazing vehicle of e-mail marketing
. He also suggests that CAN-SPAM has been effective in deterring spammers. Though often criticised as too meek, US anti-spam legislation — which relies on people opting out of spam — has proved effective in supporting prosecutions and deterring spammers
The Federal Opposition says students will be left stranded because the Federal Government has withheld TAFE funding for state and terrorities
Christopher Walken for President 2008. Make of that what you will — via Warren Ellis
Out of 168 nations in a Harvard study, how many do you think had some form of paid maternity leave? The answer may surprise you. 163 out of 168. That’s how many countries think that new mothers shouldn’t be subjected to discrimination, and that believe women shouldn’t take a career hit because they choose to become a mother. Only two developed nations don’t have paid maternity leave: The United States and Australia — via morons.org
Education Minister Brendan Nelson — a man whose sole purpose in life appears to be destroying the education system — supports the teaching of creationism [BugMeNot]. Sure, he weaselled out of throwing his full support behind it, but it still stands as proof that he is unfit to serve as Education Minister and that John Howard has surrounded himself with loony fundie toadies — via Terry Frost
King George II, living proof that man descended from apes and some haven’t quite managed to quite stand upright yet, has started a national debate in the US over the teaching of evolution in school. The retarded monkey boy has suggested that a theory known as intelligent design
— the current PC term for creationism — should be taught in the classroom. His championing of intelligent design will be interpreted as further evidence of the growing influence of the religious right
The EFF is reporting that the Federal Communications Commission issued a release [pdf] announcing its new rule expanding the reach of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Practically, what this means is that the government will be asking broadband providers — as well as companies that manufacture devices used for broadband communications — to build insecure backdoors into their networks, imperiling the privacy and security of citizens on the Internet. It also hobbles technical innovation by forcing companies involved in broadband to redesign their products to meet government requirements
Leaked e-mails from two former prosecutors claim the military commissions set up to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay are rigged, fraudulent, and thin on evidence against the accused. Two e-mails, which have been obtained by the ABC, were sent to supervisors in the Office of Military Commissions in March of last year — three months before Australian detainee David Hicks was charged and five months before his trial began. The head of the military bar at the Australian Defence Legal Service, Captain Paul Willee QC, says if the emails are correct, he has serious misgivings about whether the detainees can get a fair trial
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr has announced his resignation from politics, effective from next Wednesday
Little Johnny Coward has lied about any link between the London bombings and the Iraq war as he visited two Australian victims of the attack during a trip to London and got cornered on camera
EU lawmakers overwhelmingly voted down a controversial bill on software patents Wednesday, ending what had become one of the biggest legislative battles in the EU for years
The Spanish Parliament has given final approval to a law legalising gay marriage, overriding fierce opposition from the Catholic Church. Spain becomes only the fourth country after Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands to permit same-sex marriage. Applause broke out in the crowded public gallery as legislators voted to push through the law despite its rejection by the upper house, the Senate
Australia will not introduce a national identification card because of the fear of identity theft by criminals
The Liberals’ controversial same-sex marriage legislation has passed final reading in the House of Commons, sailing through with a vote of 158 for and 133 against. Supported by most members of the Liberals, the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP, the legislation passed easily, making Canada only the third country in the world, after the Netherlands and Belgium, to officially recognise same-sex unions — via Moonbeam
Brazil’s Ministry of Health has demanded that Abbott Laboratories cut the price of its AIDS drug Kaletra by 42%, threatening to break the company’s patent and produce generic versions of the drug if it does not comply. The Abbott Park, Illinois-based company has 10 days from the time it received Friday’s ruling to agree to reduce Kaletra’s price to $0.68 per pill from $1.17. If Brazil follows through on its threat, the move would mark the first time the country has adopted compulsory licensing — via BoingBoing
Japan has failed in its bid to resume commercial whaling during a vote at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Uslan, South Korea. Twenty-nine countries voted against, with 23 supporting the plan
Little Johnny Coward had been forced to review his barbaric immigration detention policy that has seen families locked up for years without hope of release. These minor changes have only come about since the government got outed for illegally incarcerating and deporting Australia citizens. The changes don’t go far enough, the entire system needs to be dismantled and the facilities turned over to a more suitable use; like locking up useless, rascist, xenophobic, hate-mongering politicians
As the Downing Street memo confirms, they had so little evidence of real threats that they knew from the start that they were going to have manufacture excuses to go to war. What’s more damning still is that they effectively began this war even before the congressional vote
The G8 plan to save Africa comes with conditions that make it little more than an extortion racket. Twenty-five countries have so far ratified the UN convention against corruption, but none is a member of the G8. Why? Because our own corporations do very nicely out of it
On 5 May 2005, the Colorado Wildlife Commission agreed to accept the Colorado Wolf Management Working Group’s (CWMWG) policy allowing migrating wolves from Yellowstone National Park and the Arizona-New Mexico borders to roam freely in Colorado. This decision came after a public comment period earlier this year and with a unanimous vote by all 14 members of the CWMWG
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