LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Timothy Aslat <zaphod@oztek.net.au>
  To  : linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
  Date: Sat, 04 Sep 1999 12:07:30 +0930

Re: Australian Censorship

Brian Astill wrote:
> At 14:42 2/09/99 +0930, David Lloyd wrote:
> >This censorship is not aimed at protecting children. Children, once
> >again, serve as essentially defenceless hostages to hide the real
> >reason. I sincerely believe the real reason is to stop adults from
> >viewing X Rated material.

Actually, I personally think that it's setting a precedent that they can
do this to us at any time they choose.  This is only the first of what I
foresee as many "protection" schemes where the government decides what's
good for us.

> I think you understate the problem.

Understating this problem is very easy to do.  Understating what it will
lead to is very difficult.  It makes you wonder what's next on the
agenda for our "protection"...

> In totalitarian states they do five things:
> Remove private gun ownership,
> Eliminate intellectuals (imprisoned, killed, 'reorientated'),
> Subjugate scientists and technologists to state (political) needs,
> Enforce rigourous censorship (including isolating the population from
> 'sinful, revisionist' access to global information, and
> Use public media as propaganda machines (which among other things endorse
> the above actions).

Although this is all true, there's one little thing we all seem to have
overlooked.  Australia is pretty much an Apathetic society, basically we
separate ourselves from our elected governemt and let them run things to
suit themselves.  Now that the government has a "foot in the door" so to
speak, they will try and probably succeed to change whatever they feel
like and claim that it's for "the common good".  I seem to recall Hitler
said the same thing....

More specifically, The only reason the Americans haven't had this kind
of censorship or political "bossing around" is because they actually get
out and do something about it.  Lobby groups and action groups seem to
be able to bring enough pressure on their government that any attempt to
change anything which prohibits free speech, thinking, actions is
immediately stomped on.

Australia doesn't have anything like this in place, and even if we do,
it certainly isn't standing up to be counted.  We all like to complain
about the governement and practically anything else but I haven't seen a
lot of people actually doing it.

> Anyone noticed a trend of any kind in Australia?

There's an old saying, "ignorance is bliss" my guess would be that the
government is trying to make us blissful so we stay out of whatever it
is they want to do.

as per usual, this is just my $0.02 (+ GST)

Tim


-- 
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Timothy Aslat			
Technical Administrator		
Oztek Online PTY LTD		
Email:  tim@oztek.net.au
Phone: +61 8 83634950
Mobile: +61 416 113 610

Sleep is a poor substitute for caffeine.
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