Save the Internet

Posted by Nexus – 26/11/2011

Right now, the US Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world’s Internet — creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even groups like Avaaz!

To all Members of the US Congress:

As concerned global citizens, we call on you to stand for a free and open Internet and vote against both the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act. The Internet is a crucial tool for people around the world to exchange ideas and work collectively to build the world we all want. We urge you to show true global leadership and do all you can to protect this basic pillar of our democracies worldwide.

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Downtime and comments

Posted by Nexus – 26/11/2011

Apologies for the recent downtime – I’ve transferred web-hosts and WordPress had a hissy fit and died during the migration. Fixed now.

I’ve also had to disable comments, due to amazing amounts of spam. You can comment, but only if you have an account. I’m not wading through tons of crap only to find that the vaguely genuine comments are just flogging websites and shoes.

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Screams as police mace captive women, Occupy Wall St. Day 8

Posted by Nexus – 24/09/2011

[via examiner.com]

Women’s screams and cries as police mace them in captivity

Along the loud but peaceful march to Union Square in downtown Manhattan on Saturday, Day 8 of the Occupy Wall Street rights demonstration, police penned behind orange mesh barricade a number of female protesters and then maced the captive women as they peacefully stood in the pen. The women’s screams and cries can be heard in videos of the incident showing some of them dropping to the ground in pain after which police began constructing a net pen around all protesters in the square according to alerts on Twitter.
“The women were peaceful and unarmed. They were secured by barricade with an overwhelming police presence. And they were then sprayed directly in the face with pressurized mace,” the WeAre99Percent reporter stated.

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High court forces BT to block file-sharing website

Posted by Nexus – 28/07/2011

[via guardian.co.uk. See similar stories at telegraph.co.uk and bbc.co.uk]

Warner Bros studios in Hollywood. Film studios have won a landmark UK high court ruling that forces BT to block access to file-sharing website Newzbin2. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Hollywood film studios won a landmark UK high court ruling on Thursday forcing BT to block access to an illegal file-sharing website accused of operating “on a grand scale”.

The Motion Picture Association, the trade body whose members include Warner Bros, Fox, Disney and Paramount Pictures, has been granted an order requiring BT — the UK’s biggest internet service provider — to block its customers’ access to the website Newzbin2.

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Dear government

Posted by Nexus – 21/07/2011

LulzSec reply to FBI allegations

Copy/pasted from http://pastebin.com/RA15ix7S

Hello thar FBI and international law authorities,

We recently stumbled across the following article with amazement and a certain amount of amusement:

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/20/138555799/fbi-arrests-alleged-anonymous-hackers

The statements made by deputy assistant FBI director Steve Chabinsky in this
article clearly seem to be directed at Anonymous and Lulz Security, and we are
happy to provide you with a response.

You state:

“We want to send a message that chaos on the Internet is unacceptable,
[even if] hackers can be believed to have social causes, it’s entirely
unacceptable to break into websites and commit unlawful acts.”

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UK media are trying to set up a copyright firewall

Posted by Nexus – 22/06/2011

[via theinquirer.net, originally written by Dean Wilson]

UK media cartels are trying to set up a great firewall of Britain against copyright infringement, according to a confidential document seen by Slightly Right of Centre (SROC).

The eight-page document, entitled “The Potential for a Voluntary Code”, reveals that the Premier League, the Publishers Association, the British Phonographic Institute, the Motion Picture Association and a number of other groups have formed a coalition to lobby minister for communications Ed Vaizey for changes to the UK’s copyright enforcement policies.

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No tar sands in Europe

Posted by Nexus – 21/06/2011

Right now, EU law makers are introducing an important bill which would impose strict pollution standards on car and lorry fuels and would effectively ban tar sands fuel, the world’s most filthy and environmentally destructive transport oil. But shockingly, the UK is opposing it.

Our government is bending under pressure from the oil industry and the Canadian government, who stand to make billions if they can get an ally to water down the law and remove the clause that bans tar sands. We can expose these dirty dealings, and demand the government support the law and protect the climate.

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Prequel to A Good Man Goes To War (Doctor Who)

Posted by Nexus – 02/06/2011

Aww yiss

Dislikers of awesome television might want to look away now.

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As food prices spike again, aid agency warns cost of staples will double in 20 years

Posted by Nexus – 31/05/2011

[via yahoo.com]

As food costs spike for the second time in three years, an international aid agency predicts the price of some staples such as corn will double in the next 20 years amid a permanent crisis caused by rising demand, flat crop yields and climate change.

The report by Oxfam released Tuesday said the demand for food will grow 70 to 90 per cent by 2030, without factoring in the impact of climate change. Increasingly frequent droughts, floods and changes in agricultural patterns from global warming will add pressure to what the agency calls an already broken system.

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72 hours to End the War on Drugs

Posted by Nexus – 31/05/2011

In 72 hours, we could finally see the beginning of the end of the ‘war on drugs’. This expensive war has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.

Experts all agree that the most sensible policy is to regulate, but politicians are afraid to touch the issue. In days, a global commission including former heads of state and foreign policy chiefs of the UN, EU, US, Brazil, Mexico and more will break the taboo and publicly call for new approaches including decriminalization and regulation of drugs.

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