AGENDA Security laws may collect metadata, in which Brandis demonstrates either a) he has absolutely no concept how the internet works; b) he's lying through his teeth; or c) both.
Brandis' leaked anti-piracy proposal is unrealistic: The problem is that this move is not likely to make things better. Similar schemes have been tried around the world, but there is little evidence they actually work to reduce copyright infringement. This draft proposal does nothing to address the basic issue that Australians are not being fairly treated by the copyright industries. Compared to consumers in the United States, Australians pay more for digital downloads, have less choice in how they can access film and television, face large delays before content is released, and much foreign content is still not available at all in Australia.
Unprepared - Matt Gemmell: We’re all pretending, all the time. Putting on our suits, picking up our car keys, and going forth into the world.
William Gibson and Neuromancer: the man who saw tomorrow | Books | The Guardian: "Neuromancer," says novelist and blogger Cory Doctorow, "remains a vividly imagined allegory for the world of the 1980s, when the first seeds of massive, globalised wealth-disparity were planted, and when the inchoate rumblings of technological rebellion were first felt. A generation later, we're living in a future that is both nothing like the Gibson future and instantly recognisable as its less stylish, less romantic cousin. Instead of zaibatsus [large conglomerates] run by faceless salarymen, we have doctrinaire thrusting young neocons and neoliberals who want to treat everything from schools to hospitals as businesses."
War snaps Tony Abbott’s Ukraine plan back to reality: What should perhaps always have been obvious is now clear. The site is in the middle of a war zone and getting access to it will be difficult and unpredictable. The small team that visited on Thursday took six hours to get there and reporters say there were explosions in the vicinity. None of this is Abbott’s fault but he now looks to have over-promised when he said he would be “very, very surprised” if the mission took more than two or three weeks. ...
Questions are being asked about Abbott’s diplomatic tactics as well. He announced the mission the morning after a late-night phone call with Putin. It has been noticeable that Abbott has taken a much less confrontational tone towards the Russian strong man since.
