The Federal Opposition says students will be left stranded because the Federal Government has withheld TAFE funding for state and terrorities
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
Responding to an outcry by publishers, Google has temporarily scaled back plans to make the full text of copyrighted books searchable online. For three months, Google will stop scanning copyrighted books to allow copyright holders to inform the company of objections
Mug etiquette should be a subject that one is forced to study before entering the work force. One would think that things such as not taking somone elses big purple mug with black cats on it, is commonly understood by all office workers. But no.
I have thusly compiled some rules for the uninformed, or just plain stupid:
- Thou shalt not use other peoples mugs. If you have not brought in your own mug, there’s normally the (scummy) office set specifically bought for the likes of thee.
- Thou shalt not use other peoples mugs, and then keep them on their desk. This is stealing*.
- Don’t lick stirring spoons. Have you seen who you work with? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
- Don’t steal other people’s coffee and/or tea. Yeah I know your office is cheap and will only spring for some freeze dried grit, but don’t take other people’s decent stash. It’s not nice, and it’s stealing*.
*If your personal hygiene is of a low to troll standard, this technique might help you get a mug/coffee/tea of your choosing for free, as the rightful owner may feel that it is best to cut one’s losses and keep their health.
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
US firm, Prolacta Bioscience, is looking to commercialise breast milk by selling it to hospitals for the treatment of sick babies. They also wants to carry out research to develop breast milk-based therapies. Breast milk, with its minerals, digestive enzymes and antibodies, has long been credited with keeping babies healthy and boosting intelligence
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
From now on, customers looking to get the latest add-ons to Windows will have to verify that their copy of the operating system is legit. The piracy check will be mandatory for all customers worldwide who want to download add-ons for Windows XP. The only exception is for security-related patches. It looks like mandatory validation of your Windows XP license is now voluntary again. A simple hack has been found that disables the check
A study by digital music research firm The Leading Question, found that people who download music from peer to peer networks paid for four and a half times more music than regular music fans. Also that most of these people are extremely enthusiastic about paid-for services, as long as they are suitably compelling
. What is nice is that the BPI welcomed the findings that not all file sharers are actually evil… they still pledged to carry on the carrot and stick
approach though
The Telecommunications Workers’ Union of Canada has been locked out by Telus, a large phone company and ISP. Two of TWU’s sites (including Voices for Change, a message board where union members can discuss issues such as being without a contract for 1666 days and last having received a general wage increase 2031 days ago). Telus is playing very dirty — they’re blocking access to the union’s web site so that their workers and the general public are cut off from legitimate debate about this action. This is inexcusable: imagine if this phone company chose to block all calls into union headquarters. OpenNet Initiative has done a report on the incident showing that by blocking the Union’s IP address Telus not only blocked access to the union’s sites, but also to an engineering company; a breast cancer fundraising site; an alternative medicine site based in Australia; and a Colorado based electronic recycling company
, as well as more than 760 other domains — via BoingBoing
Roman Polanski, the Oscar-winning film director, has won £50,000 libel damage over a magazine article that accused him of seducing a model while on the way to the funeral of his murdered wife, the actress Sharon Tate
An Active Denial System
weapon that fires a 95GHz microwave beam at rioters to cause heating and intolerable pain in less than five seconds
is scheduled for service in Iraq in 2006. It was recently tested on people playing the part of rioters at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico where they asked the subjects to remove glass and contact lenses to protect their eyes. Hopefully real rioters will get the same courtesy. Police and the Marines are working on portable versions. Sandia Labs also has a writeup on this system with pictures of smaller versions of the weapon
A new rock group featuring former members of The Clash and Generation X has taken a novel approach to the issue of piracy by urging their fans to copy their music. Carbon Silicon make all their recordings freely available online, and actively encourage bootlegging or filming of their gigs
Major record labels in Australia have finally won a legal battle against a Queensland man and his ISP for alleged music piracy
Thousands of United States military personnel based in Britain have been banned from visiting London until further notice after last week’s bombings. A US Air Force spokeswoman says military members are forbidden from going inside the M25 ring road around London. Thanks to some serious criticism from police, politicians and tourism officials the ban has been lifted — via Paul Mellen
Reuters reports that a Russian astrologer is suing NASA for $300 million because Deep Impact’s impact will make it difficult for her to do her job — voa BoingBoing
One of America’s most prominent journalists was jailed last night after she refused to testify about her confidential government sources. In a sensational climax to the nation’s biggest press freedom case in a generation, Judith Miller of the New York Times now faces imprisonment until a grand jury concludes its investigation in October into the leaking to the media in July 2003 of the identity of an undercover CIA agent
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 United Church of Christ became the first mainline Christian denomination to support same-sex marriage officially when its general synod passed a resolution on Monday affirming equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender
. The resolution was adopted in the face of efforts to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. It was both a theological statement and a protest against discrimination, said the Rev John H Thomas, the president and general minister of the denomination, which has 6,000 congregations and 1.3 million members
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
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