China's cyberdoor kicked down by Google

Snapshot of the Chinese version of Google on 15th January 2010

Sometime in the last three days Google flung China's door to the global Internet wide open.

This is the YouTube link on www.google.com.cn to videos showing the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Amnesty International commentary on the student protests is also able to be viewed, including this photo:

A China Daily article on Google's stand against China's Internet policy and recent hacking attempts is also intermittently available, although there have been reports that Baidu (dominant search engine backed by Chinese Government) is blocking access to Google's official blog post but not to links mentioning it.

How green is the Internet?

How green is the Internet? Not green at all would have to be the answer to that question.

Information and communication technology is said to directly contribute a whopping 2% of global carbon emissions according to Bell Labs research and the average network user consumes an estimated 25 watts of energy.

This means that worldwide the use of landlines, mobile phones, blackberries, personal computers etc. result in more greenhouse gas emissions in a year than total annual emission levels from entire countries like Australia and, the industry's carbon levels are expected to more than double over the next decade if communication technology is allowed to continue as usual.

In an effort to reduce this dismal state of affairs a consortium (which includes the University of Melbourne's Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society) has formed under the banner Green Touch to work towards an energy efficiency level, via changes in coding techniques which might eventually see the world's communications networks run for three years on the energy it currently takes to collectively power these networks for a day.

ITNews reports that the Australian Government already spent $1.411 million over three consecutive financial years on investigations used to create the nucleus of the URL blacklist it intends to use to censor the Internet from mid-2011, but what will the cost be in carbon terms once ISPs operating in this country have to run a mandatory filtering program against the online activity of every Australian user?

Google Gives China A Minties Moment

Google Inc. deserves a slap on the back and a free beer......
Here's what it posted on its blog on 12th January 2010 about the current situation in one of the few countries imposing mandatory Internet censorship:
"Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something quite different.
First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.
Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.
Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers............
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China...."
Taking all that in Stevo? Still don't see the yawning slippery slope you are setting Australia on with your daft plan to nationally censor the Internet?
Let's hope that Google does stand up to China and takes whatever economic hit comes its way, so that "do no evil" begins to mean something again across the more than 150 international Internet domains this company holds.

# OpenNet Initiative maps showing known levels of online social, national security, political & IT technology information censorship around the globe.

Is this going to be the year of takedown notice?

It was only the eleventh day of the year when I took a look at the Chilling Effects database to see if there had been any movement on its Cease & Desist list.
I was rather surprised to find that there had been 29 takedown requests since 1 January 2010 - the majority alleging copyright infringement.

Seems the music and film industries are starting the year off as they mean to continue. Even hustler.com was yelling about copyright protection - something it has been doing since November 2009.

The blogger Patrick Frey from Patterico's Pontifications also started the year with a takedown request from a photographer, which was publicly refused on 9 January 2010 in a post on that blog.

Cryptome (an American whistleblower site) had one of its hosted webpages deleted at the beginning of the year, in response to Microsoft's November 2009 request which alleged unlawful sale of its product. The emails exchanged are here.

Cryptome held firm on another takedown demand in late 2009, this time by Yahoo! which objected to Internet users knowing how much it was charging the U.S. Government to supply information about their accounts and, a very interesting series of ISP spying price list links can be found below that email exchange.

As I write, the Chilling Effects C&D file now contains over 3,000 entries and rather surprisingly only about eleven of these involving allegation of defamation.

Thankfully Wikipedia does not feature yet this year, as this October 2009 letter indicated that it had entered deep water with one of its posts and the wiki team probably would like a quiet 2010.

The international whistleblower site Wikileaks hasn't woken up for the year yet, so I don't know how it is faring.

FARK!! It looks like being hot and steamy across the Northern Rivers for the rest of summer

According to the Oz Bureau of Meteorology on 6th January this year:

Pacific Ocean warming near its peak
"Central Pacific Ocean temperatures remain well above El Niño thresholds. Trade wind strength returned to near normal over the past fortnight, slightly reducing the excessive warmth of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. However, significant areas remain more than 2°C above average at the surface, and over 4°C warmer than normal at depth. Climate models suggest that tropical Pacific temperatures may have peaked for this event, though are likely to remain above El Niño thresholds until the southern autumn. Despite a rise in recent days, the Southern Oscillation Index has generally remained at levels typical of an El Niño event over the past fortnight. Similarly, cloudiness and rainfall near the equator have remained enhanced, typical of a mature El Niño event. The influence of El Niño events on Australian rainfall typically declines by mid to late summer. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) has a reduced impact upon Australia over the summer months."

In practical terms this means the NSW North Coast has a fair chance of baking for the rest of summer.

BOM maps can be found here and here.

Vehicles and beaches are not a good mix

The Daily Examiner on 11 January 2010
Click on image to enlarge

It's the height of summer once more and families with children are flocking to North Coast beaches for a day of sun and surf. Older residents are also seeking a little relief from the heat with a beach walk at the end of the day.

As usual the issue of vehicles driving onto and along the beach surfaces at this time of year, as is shown by the above opinion piece.

It always amazes me to see obviously healthy and otherwise active men take a four-wheel drive onto the beach, just so that they don't have to walk a mere quarter mile to set up their rods and reels for a little beach fishing.

However, what actually offends me is the sight of a carload of young adults, too lazy to use their legs, pelting down the beach on a bit of a sightseeing spree.

Old people, children and in leash-free areas the family pet (as well as the unwary tourist) are all expected to quickly move out of the way of these driving bullies.

At Minnie Water the curiously legless folk have even taken to using the beach as a carpark before they enter the surf.

Like the regular users of Pippi Beach at Yamba, I also get tired of the broken glass and dangerous mess (left behind after night time beach parties) which I am sometimes forced to skirt around on an early morning walk along local beaches.

It's no wonder that residents are becoming wary of going onto certain Clarence Valley beaches and permanently banning vehicles is being quietly discussed around more than a few dinner tables.

Update:

The Daily Examiner online comment gives Clarence Valley Council a hint.

Posted by yambaman from Yamba, New South Wales
12 January 2010 7:26 a.m.
Can't understand why Stafford Sheldon thinks he'll be unpopular for suggesting Pippi Beach be closed to 4 wheel drive vehicles, most of Yamba would agree - who wants the drunken yobbos driving on our beaches and leaving a mess behind, if they had to walk they'd drink at the pub!
Posted by janelle from Yamba, New South Wales
12 January 2010 11:37 a.m.
I absolutely agree with Stafford Sheldon and the comment above. I don't see why they have to drive onto the beach at all, ever. We apparently have an obesity problem so make them walk!!! And as far as leaving behind all that rubbish, well how hard is it to clean up after yourself. Shouldn't be allowed thru the tick gate I say.....
Posted by cherylmcc from Yamba, New South Wales
12 January 2010 7:23 p.m.
The 4 wheel drives are hazardous to people enjoying that part of Pippie Beach when they are gather speed for the climb back off the beach. A lot of families now use that part of the beach especially with the holiday units just across the road, maybe when it was decided to allow access to these vehicles at this part of the beach it was not used as much then. There should be a review of who uses the beach by the council before someone is hurt . Plus it is not a very very long beach that they have access to so what is the point of them going down there.
Posted by Popeye from Yamba, New South Wales
12 January 2010 7:30 p.m.
I hate it when people leave rubbish behind. I'm always picking it up when I walk around so that Yamba doesn't get like the Gold Coast. Have a look at the mess left on Hickey Is at the far end of Whiting Beach where people appear to have been camping and drinking heavily.

It's conspiracy theories and dubious 'facts' galore over at Agmates, as it falls under the spell of an articulate fantasist

But surely part of Mr Spencer's problem is the land he owns.
It's hilly, rocky marginal land that would be of little use for anything outside a few goats and rampant bushfires.
Bigpond News on 11 January 2010

When members of the Spencer family went public on 8 & 9 JJanuary 2010, with their concerns that the media, certain websites and fora had lost the plot when discussing Peter Spencer's hungerstrike protest, I wondered how one of the principal offenders Agmates Community Site would react.

On January 8 contributors at this site did indeed begin to react - just not to the criticism of the part they are playing in the silly little drama being played out at "Saarhanlee".

At one thread the Spencer family is attacked for going public, but the issue of the accuracy of what Agmates itself was publishing is not addressed.

For good measure one contributor also suggested that the police are monitoring Agmates - though why and what for is never fully revealed.

A call to blockade local government administrative centres across the country brought a smile to my face, as did the claim that the Peter Spencer issue will bring the Rudd Government down.

However, what I enjoyed most was watching the idea form amid the chatter that the somewhat anti-Labor newspaper, The Australian, was either slanting its coverage at the request of the Rudd Government or because it had been threatened by that same government.
I'm sure that the newspaper would be rather puzzled as to why some thought this might actually have happened in this instance and, perhaps even been a mite indignant that it was also thought to have completely ignored reporting on Peter Spencer for 47 days straight until the family spoke out.
It seems that the Agmates family never let facts get in the way of a good story, so casually brushed aside The Australian's articles published on 18 December 2009 and 5 January 2010.

Less amusing was the assertion that Kevin Rudd's "dirt squad put them [Spencer family] up to it" and the very strange X Files-style whisper that there is something extremely valuable on or under Peter Spencer's land which the government seeks to obtain by actively forcing him off it.

There was only one thread which advised caution when it came to some conspiracy theories, however this warning was from a representative of a lobby group/website which freely indulges in these theories itself at times. To its credit, as of 13 January this particular group continues (on another thread) to advise Agmates against going down the weird road.

Yet another Agmates thread has this audio statement by Peter Spencer. If you listen, particularly enjoy the fact that near the end he attempts to draw the Petrov Affair into the 1970 gun incident and, the crew on this particular discussion thread did not bat an eyelid when he implied this 1954 event actually occurred close to the time he threatened to self-harm.

On 12 January 2010 Agmates congratulated itself on the number of visitors to these discussion threads - I of course was one of these and I have to say that, although my jaw dropped on occasion and I laughed aloud at other times, little that was posted on this website was of any real value in looking at the issue of compensation for farmers who may be negatively affected by native vegetation legislation. As a lobbying effort it was going nowhere fast and, following Mr. Spencer's directions meant credibility became hopelessly lost somewhere in the back paddock many days ago.

Perhaps the final word should go to Geoff Cockfield quoted in The Australian yesterday:

SUPPORTERS of hunger-striking farmer Peter Spencer risk derailing debate on vital issues of property rights with their fringe views, a leading agri-politics expert has warned.
Heated online debate over Mr Spencer's 50-day protest atop a tower is continuing, often lurching into conspiracy theories.
Geoff Cockfield, a specialist in agri-environment policy from the University of Southern Queensland, said it was not helping the NSW farmer's cause that he should be compensated for not being allowed to clear his land near Cooma.
"You always have fringe populists in rural areas thriving around particular issues, whatever they might be," he said.
"They start plausibly enough, just picking on minor irritations people have about governments, but as you get more information we start to get into the worldwide conspiracy.
"There's quite a few mainstream agri-politicians and economists and public policy people who would be sympathetic to the argument that if we are actually preventing full use of property rights in the interests of some sort of supra-national agreement on carbon sequestration, then what's the case for everyone bearing the cost of that?
"I think it's a strong case," he said, "but it creates a problem for the various farm organisations who have been working away on the issue.
"Who do you associate with?"

UPDATE:
Peter Spencer reportedly ended his hungerstrike on 13 January 2010.

NSW North Coast Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid Training Course, South Grafton 22 & 23 February 2010

North Coast Area Health Service is offering the following training course, co-ordinated by The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health.

Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid Training Course

When: Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 8.30am – 4.30pm (both days)

Where: South Grafton Services Club, Wharf Street, South Grafton NSW

Cost: Free

Refreshments: Morning Tea, Lunch and Afternoon tea are provided at no cost for both days.

Enrolments Close: Friday 19 February, 2010

Course Applications: Contact Georgia-Lee Pollard
Drought Mental Health Assistance Package Project Officer
Centre for Rural & Remote Mental Health
Locked Bag 6005
Orange, NSW 2800
Phone: (02) 6363 8426 Mob: 0429994025
Fax: (02) 6361 2457
Email:
georgia.pollard9@gwahs.health.nsw.gov.au
For venue details or any last minute issues call Andrew Little on 0488 229 699

Course Outline:
The course covers helping people in mental health crisis situations and/or in the early stages of mental health problems.
Participants will learn the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems, where and how to get help and what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective.
Presenters:
William Warner and Leanne Scholes-Asper
What to bring to the course?
All necessary resources are provided although participants are free to take a pen and paper for note taking if they wish.

Lower Clarence Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid Training Course 8 & 9 February - venue to be announced.