Civil liberties

Why internet censorship is wrong

Submitted by Resistance on Sat, 20/02/2010 - 11:04pm

Civil liberties

Stop the Internet Filter!

The internet protest group Anonymous launched a cyber-attack to protest the Australian government's proposed “clean-feed” internet filter on February 10. A number of government websites temporarily became host to pornographic images.

The government was unable to prevent access to the websites for the Parliament and the Department of Broadband, Communication and Digital Economy. In a statement Anonymous said they took the action because “no government should have the right to refuse its citizens access to information solely because they perceive it to be 'unwanted'”. One of the aspects of the proposed internet filter is to ban pornography containing small-breasted women and female ejaculation.

Unfortunately, Anonymous’s demand that the government not “mess with our porn” suggests they are blind to the sexism that underpins the porn industry — it turns women into objects of male pleasure that must live up to a mass-marketed beauty ideal to be considered attractive.

But the Rudd government’s internet censorship agenda is hardly designed to counter sexism either. And no filter software can be trusted to distinguish between pornography and health advice.

Graffiti: legalise the ‘art of the underclass’

Submitted by Resistance on Mon, 30/11/2009 - 1:36pm

Civil liberties

Graffiti: Legalise the ‘Art of the Underclass’

The ALP New South Wales government has tabled new anti-graffiti laws. The proposed laws will punish children caught with spray-paint cans without a “legitimate reason” with up to six months jail. But rarely do politicians mention legal graffiti walls. A Google search reveals that the greater Hunter region is home to about 20 art galleries. However, the region is home to only two legal graffiti walls: the south Newcastle beach wall and a small wall at Wallsend in the city’s west.

Sydney, which is home to roughly 10 times the population of Newcastle, has a similar ratio: a Google search reveals about 100 art galleries in the greater Sydney area. Yet the city is home to just ten legal graffiti walls. Graffiti is such a popular art form that its “epidemic” scale supposedly warrants new police powers and Orwellian surveillance networks. However, designating certain walls as legal spaces for artists to practice their art free from fear of jail and huge fines is off the menu. Why? Is there a shortage of walls? Paintings which come in frames, abstract art and sculpture apparently all warrant the presence of galleries; soccer, netball and cricket players are provided with designated spaces for their sport; so why is graffiti, an art form so popular it can be seen on walls in any big city on the planet, not worthy of legal walls?

Lethal weapons: Ban Tasers now!

Submitted by Resistance on Wed, 24/06/2009 - 11:26am

Civil liberties

“Tasers are not the ’non-lethal’ weapons the QPS [Queensland Police Service] leadership claims”, former state MP and former police officer Peter Pyke told the media in April. He predicted a Queenslander would die in 2009 from a Taser.

Solidarity with the Pakistani people

Submitted by Resistance on Thu, 15/11/2007 - 11:04am

Civil liberties

Solidarity with the Pakistani people Resistance stands in solidarity with the Pakistani people fighting for democracy and the removal of the Musharraf regime. Thousands of people have defied the ban on demonstrations to protest against “emergency rule” and the dictatorial regime.

Stop the crackdown on G20 protesters!

Submitted by Webteam on Wed, 10/01/2007 - 11:39pm

Civil liberties

Statement from Resistance, socialist youth organisation In the aftermath of the overwhelmingly peaceful protests against G20 meeting, called to protest the policies of war and corporate globalisation, the Victorian Police Force has launched a crackdown of activists involved in the protest that amounts to a serious violation of civil liberties.