More tales of incompetent filtering

So, the NSW Education Department put internet filters on school computers. The outcome? Students may access porn sites, but not educational or government sites.

Lesson #1: anything administered automatically can be mistyped...

Meanwhile, gay groups are waiting to see if their [legal] sites are going to be barred. They have every right to be concerned.

Lesson # 2: If bureaucrats are the ones who choose what the people may see or do, they will blindly follow badly written guidelines.

As you were...

Censordyne for a clean internet

GetUp has an amusing and pointed "ad" here. Go see it. Contribute also,

Rudd to lobby Dalai Lama

In news to hand, the Prime Minster, Kevin Rudd, is dropping in on the Dalai Lama to lobby for the next Panchen Lama to be an Australian. He's also visiting London to ensure that the next Archbishop of Canterbury comes from Sydney.

Paul Syvret nails it

At The Courier Mail no less:

It's idiocy. Offer, and that means offer not impose, filtering for children's net use by all means but let adults decide for themselves what they want to watch, play and talk about, or buy online.

When even a News Unlimited paper can say it, it's freaking obvious, right? Nah. Labor will continue as before, you watch.

How to tell if your country is illiberal

When the People's Republic of China is less censorial censorious than your own country, you might be living in an unfree country.

The PRC has bowed to demands by its own users and not put the Green Dam Youth Escort internet filtering software mandatorily on every computer sold in its borders.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the Great Wall of Australia will filter out adult games, including Second Life. Even the Christians recognise this is more draconian than censorship in China. These games aren't illegal, mind, just unclassified, because there is no adult classification category in the Censorship Board scheme, and the filter will block all RC (refused classification) games irrespective of why. This includes accessing Second Life domains, as well as downloading the game, which can still legally be bought in person.

Have we had enough of teh stoopid yet?