The FBI stole an Instapaper server in an unrelated raid

One of Instapaper’s five leased servers was hosted at DigitalOne, a Swiss hosting company leasing blade servers from a Virginia data centre. Early Tuesday morning, the FBI raided the data centre to seize servers used by another DigitalOne customer for fraudulent scareware distribution, according to the FBI’s press release, but they seemingly took a lot more servers that happened to be physically near the server(s) they were looking for — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Saudi execution prompts Indonesia maid travel ban

Indonesia is to stop allowing its citizens to work as domestic servants in Saudi Arabia after the execution of a maid for murder last week.

Officials said the moratorium would begin on 1 August and last until the countries could agree on a policy of fair treatment for migrant workers.

Ruyati binti Sapubi, 54, was beheaded on Saturday after confessing to killing her employer, saying he had abused her.

Saudi Arabia apologised for not telling Indonesia, Jakarta said — via redwolf.newsvine.com

My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

I decided then that I could never give anyone reason to doubt I was an American. I convinced myself that if I worked enough, if I achieved enough, I would be rewarded with citizenship. I felt I could earn it.

I’ve tried. Over the past 14 years, I’ve graduated from high school and college and built a career as a journalist, interviewing some of the most famous people in the country. On the surface, I’ve created a good life. I’ve lived the American dream.

But I am still an undocumented immigrant. And that means living a different kind of reality. It means going about my day in fear of being found out. It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I really am. It means keeping my family photos in a shoebox rather than displaying them on shelves in my home, so friends don’t ask about them. It means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things I know are wrong and unlawful. And it has meant relying on a sort of 21st-century underground railroad of supporters, people who took an interest in my future and took risks for me — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Straight Talk From Top Enlisted Marine on Don’t Ask Repeal

Sergeant Major Barrett also tackled questions on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military’s ban on gays serving openly in uniform. The Department of Defence is preparing to implement repeal, and Sergeant Major Barrett addressed that issue directly.

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple, he told a group of Marines at a base in South Korea. It says, ‘Raise an army’. It says absolutely nothing about race, colour, creed, sexual orientation.

You all joined for a reason: to serve, he continued. To protect our nation, right?

Yes, Sergeant Major, Marines replied.

How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honourable and noble? Sergeant Major Barrett continued, raising his voice just a notch. Right? — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The Internet is a Playground: David Thorne’s Book Released

He’s best known for a whimsical email exchange, offering to pay a $233 bill with a drawing of a spider. When that email was posted on his site in November 2008, traffic soared from several hundred visits a day to half a million, and the post became fodder for David Letterman’s show.

Though the spider email exchange may be real, it uses a stock photograph and a generic, untraceable name, Jane Gilles. But former colleagues from advertising agency Demasi Jones, whose real names and faces are used throughout Thorne’s website and new book, say they have been hounded by his fans, many of whom believe that every word is true — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Upending Anonymity, These Days the Web Unmasks Everyone

Not too long ago, theorists fretted that the Internet was a place where anonymity thrived.

Now, it seems, it is the place where anonymity dies.

A commuter in the New York area who verbally tangled with a conductor last Tuesday — and defended herself by asking Do you know what schools I’ve been to and how well-educated I am? — was publicly identified after a fellow rider posted a cellphone video of the encounter on YouTube. The woman, who had gone to NYU, was ridiculed by a cadre of bloggers, one of whom termed it the latest episode of Name and Shame on the Web — via joe-burd.newsvine.com

African jitters over blogs and social media

African governments are turning to more sophisticated techniques to block internet sites and bloggers who they perceive to be a threat.

That is the conclusion of The Committee for the Protection of Journalists, who together with the internet giant Google SA, have gathered African journalists together in Johannesburg’s financial hub Sandton to take stock in the wake of the North African uprising — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Strike action may close Australia’s borders

Proposed industrial action by staff at several Federal Government departments could shut down airports and seaports, and leave Australia’s borders unsecured.

The work agreements of about 150,000 Commonwealth public servants are due to expire on 30 June, but no replacement has been agreed on.

Enterprise bargaining negotiations with the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) have stalled, and staff at several agencies are a step closer to taking industrial action.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) will today apply to allow Immigration and Customs staff to take protected industrial action from 1 July — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Bullying claim at Woolworths

Allegations of bullying and intimidation by a senior executive at Woolworths have rocked its national headquarters, sparking an external investigation.

It is understood staff members have complained about the behaviour of the manager, prompting Woolworths to call in an external company, Deloittes, to examine the claims — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Jewish push for marriage

A new group is hoping to energise Jewish support for same-sex marriage following a statement supporting marriage equality by Progressive rabbis.

We, the members of the Moetzah, the Rabbinic Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, Asia and New Zealand, support marriage equality under Australian law, the Council wrote in May, writing that Progressive Judaism believes all people are created in God’s image and are therefore entitled to full equality — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Victoria reinstates religious right to discriminate

The Baillieu Government’s controversial Equal Opportunity Amendment Bill has been passed through the Upper House.

The bill passed early this morning, with 19 votes to 17.

The legislation will reverse changes made by the former Brumby Government — due to come into effect in August — which tightened the ability of religious organisations to discriminate against GLBT people — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Chinese Spying Devices Installed on Hong Kong Cars

For years now Chinese authorities have been installing spying devices on all dual-plate Chinese-Hong Kong vehicles, enabling a vast network of eavesdropping across the archipelago, according to a Hong Kong newspaper.

The report in Apple Daily states that the recording devices began being installed as inspection and quarantine cards in July 2007. They were installed without charge by the Shenzhen Inspection and Quarantine Bureau on thousands of vehicles — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Righthaven Copyright Troll Lawsuit Dismissed as Sham

In a decision with likely wide-ranging impact, a judge in Las Vegas today dismissed as a sham an infringement case filed by copyright troll Righthaven LLC. The judge ruled that Righthaven did not have the legal authorization to bring a copyright lawsuit against the political forum Democratic Underground, because it had never owned the copyright in the first place. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fenwick & West LLP, and Las Vegas attorney Chad Bowers are defending Democratic Underground — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The myth of temporary protection visas

In the ongoing debate about asylum seekers, it’s not unusual for misinformation to be spouted as if it is fact.

The recent publicity about how Malaysia treats non-citizens, confirmed by UNHCR officials, at least puts paid to the nonsense that asylum seekers moved on from that country where they had the option of living in safety. Not possible without work rights, without access to education for children and in a country where caning is normal practice for people without visas.

But the misinformation around the asylum seeker issue abounds. In particular, it intrigues me that there continues to be calls for Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) to be reintroduced as a deterrent to asylum seekers when all the evidence points to them being a factor in increasing the number of boat arrivals — via redwolf.newsvine.com

From breed to behavior: Cleveland City Council revises vicious dog ordinance

Cleveland City Council voted to amend part of the City’s vicious dog ordinance (Ord. 712-11) during its Monday night meeting. Major changes to the law include two classifications for threat dogs: Level I – Dangerous & Level II – Vicious. Emphasis on the classification is based upon evidence of behaviour of the dog, not the breed. The pit bull breed will no longer be considered vicious. — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Rapist’s flood hero award revoked

The Queensland Government has revoked an award given to a flood volunteer because the man is a convicted rapist and armed robber.

Bob Riddler was nominated for a local hero award after helping the Shiloh Christian Church at Goodna, west of Brisbane, during the January floods.

He removed rubbish and cleaned houses in the Ipswich suburb.

He had previously served 12 years in jail and had only been released in September last year — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Judge furious at inexcusable P2P lawyering, nukes subpoenas

There are three quick steps to angering a federal judge: first, launch the country’s largest file-sharing lawsuit against 23,322 anonymous defendants, even though most of them don’t live where you filed the suit. Second, request expedited discovery in the case, allowing you to quickly secure the subpoenas necessary to go to Internet access providers and turn those 23,322 IP addresses into real names. Third, don’t even bother to serve the subpoenas you just told the court were so essential to your case.

Federal Judge Robert Wilkins of Washington, DC this week blasted the conduct of Dunlap, Grubb, and Weaver, the attorneys behind the lawsuit, calling it inexcusable. Dunlap, Grubb, and Weaver helped kickstart the current frenzy of P2P lawsuits last year after filing cases under the name US Copyright Group. The 23,322-person case, their largest to date, involves the film The Expendables — via redwolf.newsvine.com