Australian Internet Censorship Still a Hot Button Topic
I hope everyone had a Happy Australia Day, unless of course you are one of the millions of Aussies who are protesting the upcoming "Great Australian Firewall", thanks to Senator Stephen Conroy's brainchild aka "Internet Blacklist" and his campaign for Internet censorship in Australia.
Mr Conroy's thoughts and policies go directly against the vein of Hilary Clinton and they are also on the other side of the fence to recent remarks from current U.S President, Barack Obama.
This all happens as rumors stir that there will be some riots on Australian soil (you should see the police presence at Bondi Beach today). In addition, it come after a week of Internet giant Google Inc threatening to completely pull out of China, in response to a cyber attack on them and China's ongoing censorship and internet censorship policy.
Thanks a bloody lot Sen Conroy. You are making Australia look like royal goose, the likes of which not even the Queen Of England would care much for.
What's the "blacklist all about"? Gambling, sex / porn, pro religion / anti religion and everyones favorite ("protecting the children"). Folks, straight talk time... the blacklist is about Control, something Governments of the world have tried their best to enforce since monarchies / governments existed in society.
For the record Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd isn't much of a punter... he hates pokies and porn and is seen as quite the bible basher, in a moderate sort of way.
Let's take a look at what's been said in global political circles...
Hilary Clinton: "Now, all societies recognize that free expression has its limits. The U.S. not tolerate those who incite others to violence. Those who use the internet to recruit terrorists or distribute stolen intellectual property cannot divorce their online actions from their real world identities. But these challenges must not become an excuse for governments to systematically violate the rights and privacy of those who use the internet for peaceful political purposes".
Senator Conroy: "Australians have always recognised that there is some content which is not acceptable in any civilised society. In Australia the National Classification Board (NCB) determines the National Classification Scheme's Guidelines, at arms length from Government, which defines Refused Classification content. The NCB reviews those Guidelines periodically to ensure they reflect community standards. RC-rated material includes child sex abuse content, bestiality, sexual violence including rape and the detailed instruction of crime or drug use. It does not include political content or discussion. It is already illegal in Australia to distribute, sell or make available for hire RC-rated films, computer games and publications."
They say timing is everything, and if that is the case the global internet censorship debate couldn't come at a worse time for our friend Conroy.
Adopting The Art Of War approach from the late military general and strategist, Sun Tzu, Media Man has today launched www.mediamanaustralia.com in protest and fierce rebellion to the Australian Government's approach to the upcoming censorship of our internet. The Media Man Australia website is currently hosted in the United States (but the host can be changed at "the press of a few buttons". Whilst sporting a .com domain name, the website is showcasing The Great Australian Internet Blackout protest banner and links and will be driving the message in a most pro active fashion for the entire week. For the record Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. Coverage on igaming, games, poker and racing is just part of the firms coverage which goes across approximately a dozen different business sectors. Something tells us that Sen Conroy would prefer it if Media Man didn't cover gaming, igaming and racing, not to mention the media and political commentary making the rounds all the way up to the U.S, Canada, China, EU, Russia and beyond.
The final word... public message for Sen Stephen Conroy... no one owns the internet. Real criminals don't conduct activities over a regular internet connection. Censorship is a form of thought control and behavior control and the majority of Australians don't want their thoughts or actions controlled by you or your jackass policy. When things become illegal they usually go underground, and often flourish and become more profitable and dangerous. Crikey, a bush tucker bag of police just emerged at Bondi Beach. Happy Australia Day me maties. Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.
---
Greg Tingle, Gambling911.com
*The writer is the founder and director of Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com
*The writer is a special contributor for Gambling911 http://www.gambling911.com
