[LINK] Fw: Fwd: [ PRIVACY Forum ] Brits' Failed Heavy Metal Censorship Attempt Disrupts Wikipedia Edits

Stilgherrian stil at stilgherrian.com
Mon Dec 8 21:56:38 AEDT 2008


OK, I'll bite.

On 08/12/2008, at 9:22 PM, David Goldstein wrote:
> As for those on this list who are horrified at the prospects, I'm  
> waiting for a plan on an alternative that can at least meet some of  
> what Conroy wants. Be realistic - if you just oppose everything in  
> toto, you'll be ignored.
>
> But if you come up with a plan that achieves a lot of what Conroy  
> wants, you may get somewhere.

You mean appeasement and fiddling with the edge details of the plan is  
the only option? Bah!

We have to be clear about what "Conroy wants" -- which is a problem  
because he;s being pretty slippery on this. Then I'd rather not  
blindly accept the assumption that a plan which "achieves a lot of  
what Conroy wants" is actually desirable. I'd prefer to roll back a  
step and point out that the function of government is not to produce  
"what Conroy wants" but what's best for the people of Australia -- in  
this case the children of Australia.

I suspect, at least when I'm feeling less paranoid, that "what Conroy  
wants" is something to shut up Senator Steve Fielding of Family First  
so he'll vote with the government on other issues. What all he needs  
there is for activity of some kind to continue until Fielding is no  
longer relevant. That's outside my knowledge zone -- but Conroy has  
highly-paid political numbers people to figure out something there.

If "what Conroy wants" is actually to reduce the harm of children,  
then the answer is easy: Take ALL the money which was allocated to  
internet filtering trials and hand it to the AFP to run investigations  
and prosecutions of criminals who traffic this nasty material, and to  
an education process which helps children and their parents identify  
and avoid potential dangers. Just restoring the $2.8M which was  
*removed* from the AFP to help fund NetAlert would be a start.

In my more paranoid moments I remember that Conroy is part of the  
authoritarian-right-Catholic end of the ALP and he genuinely believes  
that the filthy, filthy internet is causing the moral degradation of  
society. In which case, I for one do not want ANY of this neo-Puritan  
mythological bulldust anywhere near my nation, because it clouds  
rational judgement. The world is not a perverted evil place which  
needs saving but if populated, by and large, by well-balanced well- 
meaning people -- plus a few problematic weirdoes and trolls. Let's  
develop policy based more on a realistic representation of society and  
not some paranoid schizophrenic fantasy. We had enough of that under  
the previous bunch.


> The strategic thinking on this issue, and others, on this list is  
> appalling.

Yes, generalised attacks always help. [sigh]

Stil


-- 
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