Same Sex Marriage Laws in Australia

On the eve of Mardi Gras, Cunningham MP Michael Organ has declared he will introduce a Private Member’s Bill recognising same sex marriage within the next 3 weeks of Federal Parliament. Legal recognition for same sex marriage is long overdue. For our legal system to have any credibility, people must be treated equally, regardless of sexuality or anything else, Michael Organ said

Terror Bill Gives Ruddock Dangerous New Powers

The Criminal Code Amendment (Terrorist Organisations) Bill 2003 passed the Senate today, backed by Labor, hands the Attorney-General an unnecessary and dangerous new power to ban organisations in Australia. For the first time in Australian history people and organisations can be criminalised by the Attorney-General labelling them terrorists

Gay Couples Married by NY Mayor

Twenty-one gay couples exchanged wedding vows on the steps of village hall Friday in a spirited ceremony that opened another front on the growing national debate over gay marriage. Mayor Jason West, 26, elected on the Green Party ticket last year in this village north of New York City, joined Gavin Newsom of San Francisco as the country’s only mayors to marry same-sex couples

Australian Bill of Rights

Cunningham MP Michael Organ has released an exposure draft of a Bill of Rights [PDF] which will be introduced as a Private Member’s Bill in the Federal Parliament this year. The Bill aims to confer certain rights and responsibilities on the people and Parliament of Australia. It entrenches within the law the basic rights and freedoms we all hold dear; rights including freedom of speech, public assembly, freedom of religion and legal rights such as the presumption of innocence and equality under the law

Total Information Awareness, Disguised and Alive

Aspects of the controversial Total Information Awareness DARPA program, officially shut down by the US Congress in September 2003 after a public outcry, seem to have survived. Some projects from Poindexter’s TIA effort were transferred to US intelligence offices, congressional, federal and research officials. In addition, Congress left undisturbed a separate but similar $64 million research program run by a little-known office called the Advanced Research and Development Activity, or ARDA, that has used some of the same researchers as Poindexter’s program

Government to Make Interception Easier

The federal Government has moved to give greater powers to spy agencies to intercept people’s e-mails. The Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Bill 2004 also allows warrants to be sought in connection with the investigation of a wider range of serious offences, including terrorism. The bill, if passed by parliament, will allow recording of calls to ASIO public lines

Gay Couples Are Married in San Francisco

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had urged the county clerk’s office this week to begin issuing marriage certificates for same-sex partners [BugMeNot], asserting that the state Constitution prohibits discrimination in such matters. The office has been inundated with happy couples wanting to tie the knot. Seth Schoen took a walk down to the San Francisco city hall and watched the hundreds of lesbian and gay couple in various states of marriage

Minister Rails Against Software Monopoly

NSW Commerce Minister John Della Bosca says the state wanted to dismantle its reliance on a near monopoly software by pursuing an open source strategy. Mr Della Bosca conceded the decision was controversial, but said an open source strategy would ultimately provide greater business opportunities to local SMEs

Bush and Blair Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The retarded monkey boy and Prime Minister Tony Blair are among nominees for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize before a Sunday deadline for nominations despite failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Nobel watchers say Bush or Blair’s chances of winning are close to nil. The 2002 prize went to ex-US President Jimmy Carter, who argued against war. The head of the Nobel committee called the choice a kick in the legs to Bush on Iraq