Wikileaks Pages Added To Australian Internet Blacklist

cpudney writes "The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has added several Wikileaks pages to its controversial blacklist. The blacklisted pages contain Denmark's list of banned websites. Simply linking to addresses in ACMA's blacklist attracts an $11,000 per-day fine as the hosts of the popular Australian broadband forum, Whirlpool, discovered last week when they published a forum post that linked to an anti-abortion web-site recently added to ACMA's blacklist. The blacklist is secret, immune to FOI requests and forms the basis of the Australian government's proposed mandatory ISP-level Internet censorship legislation. Wikileaks' response to notification of the blacklisting states: 'The first rule of censorship is that you cannot talk about censorship.'" So Australians aren't allowed to see what it is that the Danes aren't allowed to see?

Comments

History

[kenp2002]

This is why history education in schools is an abomination. They school books have been censored so bad and tailored to political agendas that people with a proper education find none of this suprising.

Go to a rural public library and find some history books published pre-1960s. Look at the fall of Rome, the French Revolution, War of American Independance, the Civil War, and for those that were around the fall of the Russian Empire, Rise of the Soviets, and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Every government, from my recollection, as it falls goings through several key phases.

--------------- Begin

A monetary collapse brought about by both goverment beuacracy exceeding its income. CHECK (US 1960s New Deal borrowing endlessly from the generation yet to come spending more then it made.)

Government cultivates dependency on the government over time (CHECK, a constant in governments)

Government increasingly taxes those that have to continue to subsidize those that don't (CHECK, primary foundation of the New Deal. No incentive to work if your expectations are low.)

Initial temor of panic and small exodus of population from one location to another (CHECK, 1980s the Great White Exodus of middle class america (mostly white) from inner city and urban environments to the suburbs.)

Economic fundamentals discarded as socialist policies attempt to "Float the Boat" (CHECK, 1930s, 2000s, mass cost cutting attempts via outsourcing, additional social services indicate failures in the private sector to provide those services)

Fraud increases in all aspects of society as people make personal power grabs to secure resources for self and others in close circles (CHECK, not only on the personal level but within social circles, e.g. society begins to function like the Mafia, The Bakers, The Butchers, the Candlestick Makers)

Goverment attempts to regulate further to slow the corruption, only increasing the pressure and accelerating the fraud (CHECK, 1990s, medical bribes up, growing disparity of healthcare options)

After successfully securing resources exodus of wealthy to better locations (CHECK, the modern aristocracy mostly lives abroad.)

With the loss of large amounts of tax revenue and the betrayal of the aristocracy the government begins to fold, services are cut. (PENDING, many 25+ million a year are increasingly living outside the US. Many corporations are rebasing outside the US to avoid taxes.)

Those dependant on the government services suffer first demanding what they have been educated they are entitled to. Middle class and few remaining wealthy start becoming protectionist with resources (money). Acellrating the decline. Corruption worsens still with tax fraud and evasion growing. Bartering returns (PENDING, Craigslist number of SWAP versus BUY listing drastically increasing in certain areas. Donations down. Growing disconnect between haves and have nots.)

Education slips and population becomes nieve as a whole. Critial thinking, personal responsibility, and sense of cultural unity vanishes(CHECK, no longer the melting pot we have become the salad bar. As Obama blundered: "We are a nation of immigrants, jews, whites, blacks, muslims, etc.." where ideally we would be a "nation of immigrants brought together as Americans with common goals and interests" Segragation and catagorizing people e.g. the Diversity Movement has done more harm then good, separating people rather then bringing them together.)

Violent Outbreaks between factions begin as societies become tribalized (gangs, city states) along social, political, and ethnic lines. If the government can't take care of us they we'l take care of "our own" (whom ever that may be; e.g. Families, Neighborhood, etc. Rival gangs, and even rival towns. More and more Mafia like behavior then before. Loyalty becomes a commidity.)

Government can no longer contain or control the various factions. A power vaccume develops. Tribes band together. (PENDING)

Some political or social flash goes off. Vi

Re:Australia going fascist?!

[HiThere]

You've got one point. He wasn't especially given to censorship.

OTOH, I won't be "over it" until after he's been convicted of his crimes and is in jail serving several consecutive life sentences.