The Australian Government’s Classification board website has been hacked. The text:
Welcome to the Classification Website
“This site contains information about the boards that have the right to CONTROL YOUR FREEDOMZ. The Classification Board has the right to not just classify content (the name is an ELABORATE TRICK), but also the right to DECIDE WHAT IS AND ISNT APPROPRIATE and BAN CONTENT FROM THE PUBLIC. We are part of an ELABORATE DECEPTION from CHINA to CONTROL AND SHEEPIFY the NATION, to PROTECT THE CHILDREN. All opposers must HATE CHILDREN, and therefore must be KILLED WITH A LARGE MELONS during the PROSECUTION PARTIES IN SEPTEMBER. Come join our ALIEN SPACE PARTY.”
More at Somebody Think of the Children.
A bit juvenile? Nos. Not particularly helpful? Sure. Illegal? Yup.
But I can’t help but have a leetle soft spot lurking in my heart for humorous, non-destructive civil disobedience in the face of bulldozing authoritarianism. This is the government that assured us that they knew what they were doing, and that the ACMA blacklist could never leak; and that has sneered at the techies who have told them, over and over, that they were wrong wrongitty wrong about pretty much everything.
At some point, they’re going to have to suck it up and make a decision: start learning from folks who know more about the internet than they do, or keep on looking like bumbling, twentieth-century fools.
I’ve just finished watching tonight’s Q & A show on the ABC, with Minister Conroy one of the panellists. It started off somewhat pleasing in that Conroy was so obviously in the minority – only Andrew Bolt was on his side – but this devolved into really quite disturbing when I realised one thing: Our Government’s Minister for Communications, Broadband and the Digital Economy laughs mockingly every. single. time anyone mentions anything to do with “freedoms” or “freedom of speech”. It’s not just tonight – the pattern goes right back to his previous conversations with Senator Ludlam months ago.
Brrrrr.
I’m a little pissed off at the questions they selected (of thousands pose) to put to him; about half were ill thought out and pointless as direct questions to a Minister. And I’m also annoyed that they chose an Anonymous douchebag as one of the two video questions to display. We really don’t need to give those folks any media oxygen.
Hahahahaha. I too am rather fond of this form of civil disobedience — no one gets hurt, a point gets made, we get a laugh.
That’s scary about Conroy laughing so dismissively at the idea of freedom of speech, however.
The transcript of the Q&A show is now up here. Louise Adler was terrific, by the way. Excerpt:
When Bolt started ranting apropos of nothing about how “jihadist material” should be compulsorily censored, while sitting next to Susan Carland… cringe moment. He didn’t succeed in stirring her up, though.
It’s a tiny bit jarring the way the Q&A Panellists tab lists the three men first, then the two women, instead of putting them in the order they were on the panel. I hope that was random.
Next on the blacklist, health care information from “disapproved sources”. We wouldn’t want consumers making decisions based on facts now would we? Cesareans are safe and so are stints!
‘Caching error’ caused Henson blacklisting: