internet

Categories under internet

From slum-house to mega-man: Mana-TIP connections

Written By: - Date published: 1:17 pm, April 12th, 2014 - 405 comments

There’s a lot of media attention on the negotiations between Mana & The Internet Party (TIP).  Mana aims to link with some other parties. Some high profile people are scheduled to speak to Mana.  Is Dotcom’s focus on his poor childhood genuine or a PR strategy? [Update#2: Sunday, NZ Herald – green light for negotiations]

NRT: One way of fixing it

Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, March 22nd, 2014 - 3 comments

No Right Turn looks at one reason why Yahoo moved from the UK to Dublin. Escaping the ubiquitous and ever increasing surveillance requirements of paranoid security agencies who appear to only be interested in protecting elites rather than citizens. As it is, it is preferable to site site servers offshore away from silly unenforceable laws. They’ll just go to locations that offer the best server security.

Union communicators and RSS – please join the 21st century

Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, March 11th, 2014 - 27 comments

Just at present I’m particularly interested in adding union sites with RSS feeds to our feeds. But it is somewhat irritating. Many of the sites don’t have a RSS feed. They should have one. Unions are an inherent part of the labour movement that we like to think that we’re helping and a part of.  It’d be nice if they did their bit to help us help them.

 

Tricky Patrick Gower in NZHouse of Cards

Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, March 6th, 2014 - 133 comments

In need of public service media. TV3 News is a neoliberal propaganda vehicle.  I’ve stopped watching it.  However, today Martyn Bradbury posted a transcription of last night’s highly distorted report by Patrick Gower, with a critical analysis of just how much the report misrepresents.

Silver linings

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, March 4th, 2014 - 124 comments

When I first heard a Labour staffer had accidentally sent Amy Adams’ office a document on ICT my first thought was “here we go again.”

But then I heard Adams’ weird and defensive interview on Checkpoint. So I took a look at the actual paper and realised just why she was so awkward and nervous on what should have been an easy political hit.

The surveillance state online

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, February 25th, 2014 - 9 comments

The leaks by Edward Snowden show many ways state surveillance agencies can workaround the legal requirements placed on them.  Selwyn Manning explained about the “Two Hop” surveillance of online targets.  On Intercept Glenn Greenwald explains the information about the use of “online covert operations”. [Update Andrea Vance on NZ spy tactics]

Politicheck New Zealand factcheck website

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, February 22nd, 2014 - 69 comments

New Zealand is getting its very own fact check website.

Snowden performed a public service

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, January 4th, 2014 - 99 comments

The New York Times has an editorial stating that Edward Snowden should be regarded as a whistleblower who has done the public there and elsewhere a service by revealing the illegal extent of the NSA’s surveillance. What is most interesting in the extremely well linked editorial is that there is this curious hole in the US whistle blower laws that many including Barack Obama have said he could have used. They don’t cover contractors….

GCSB: They do listen

Written By: - Date published: 5:40 am, January 4th, 2014 - 36 comments

It has been a surprise at just how far the revelations about the GCSB governance have made into the collective conciousness of NZ. Bearing in mind the continuing outpouring from Snowden and other whistleblowers about the US and their allies surveillance efforts on citizens and friendly states, it isn’t going to be a surprise if this winds up being an issue in the election.

Please! Kill bing

Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, December 28th, 2013 - 34 comments

Matthew Yglesias at Slate is speculating that Microsoft may kill the bing search engine. His logic is compelling. As the person responsible for running the operations of this site, all I can say is to kill it. It isn’t like anyone uses bing anyway – in fact they appear to actively shut it down even on Internet Explorer. Most importantly for a system operator, you can only describe bing’s search spiders as net vermin (that appear to be modelled on spambots).

I think Judge Blackie got it right.

Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, December 3rd, 2013 - 77 comments

Cameron Slater simply isn’t a journalists arsewipe. For him to claim the legal privileges, protections and authority that the journalistic profession is just stupid. In the Blackie decision I think that the judge got it right, because one thing that the blogging community should not support is undeclared paid-for advertorial prosecution of individuals by blog operators. I suspect that is what the judge saw.

Nat government treachery destroys public broadcasting

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, November 21st, 2013 - 30 comments

Key’s government has destroyed the weak attempts by Labour to enable some public service broadcasting on Freeview.  The NActs have employed ideologically-driven, irrational, bad faith, underhand, agreement-breaking moves to protect commercial monopoly. The CBB is campaigning for non-commercial TV channels.

NSA: ‘full spectrum dominance’

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, October 28th, 2013 - 23 comments

Latest revelations about the NSA’s international surveillance show it is about “full spectrum dominance” of military, economic, business and political activities. The TICS Bill is the latest part of Key’s changes to NZ’s surveillance agencies, further enabling the US government dominance via NSA, especially in business & politics.

Freeview, SkyTV & IT

Written By: - Date published: 11:41 am, October 9th, 2013 - 88 comments

NZ’s broadcasting and digital communications policies, provisions and regulations do not provide the capability for widespread democratic engagement. Cunliffe has twigged that broadcasting and digital communications policies need to be inter-linked in the 21st century context.  NZ’s policies, provisions & regulations on both need major restructuring.

Kris Faafoi on Broadcasting

Written By: - Date published: 10:38 am, September 30th, 2013 - 16 comments

On The Nation Kris Faafoi laid out the bare bones of Labour’s policy on public broadcasting: strengthening public broadcasting across a range of platforms; continuing funding for NZOnAir to commercial broadcasters; balancing commercial & public service broadcasting; a new youth oriented public radio station. [Update: boycotting RNZ – you know why]

John Key’s anti-democratic government

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, September 17th, 2013 - 48 comments

John Key tries to smear the winner of Labour’s democratic leadership contest as “far left”, while his government continues in its anti-democratic, plutocratic ways: sale of Meridian to avoid referendum; Joyce’s Broadband pricing “arm twisting”.

Wrap of the Week

Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, September 6th, 2013 - 3 comments

Things I didn’t get to this week, from Christchurch earthquake anniversary to Kim Dotcom.

Breaking: Citizen’s Initiated Referendum Is On

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, September 2nd, 2013 - 99 comments

Russel Norman’s let the cat out of the bag with a series of tweets: “We’ve done it!! Citizen initated referendum on asset sales is on! #fb” and “OOps, there was an embargo on the CIR result until 1pm which I didn’t realise until after I tweeted. Apologies to Clerk of the House”

GCSB & TICS

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, August 23rd, 2013 - 52 comments

There will be plenty of coverage of the Labour leadership process here on The Standard, I don’t feel any need to contribute. There are too many other important matters that mustn’t fall under the radar. You thought the GCSB spying Bill was bad? The TICS bill is worse.

GCSB- Questions?

Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, August 20th, 2013 - 58 comments

John Key has been twisting himself out of shape answering questions about spying on New Zelanders by the GCSB under the GCSB amendment Bill that is currently before the House. [Update] Video Qu One & Three [Update] Qu 1 transcript.

Plans to “wiretap” the net

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, August 19th, 2013 - 17 comments

The second of the weekend’s must-read pieces.  This one is by Vikram Kumar (CEO of Mega) published in the NBR, on plans to require internet service providers to install a “backdoor for the government”.

Idiot tweet of the day – Collins

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, July 30th, 2013 - 44 comments

idiot-collins

Anonymous NZ hacks National websites

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, July 30th, 2013 - 73 comments

Anonymous NZ protests John Key’s spying Bill by hacking various National MP websites.

GCSB Bill opposition heats up

Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, July 26th, 2013 - 123 comments

GCSB KeyThe stop the GCSB Bill meeting in Auckland last night was well attended and had a series of high quality presentations made.  A series of protests are planned for this weekend.  Momentum is building …

Turing – so much more …

Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, July 23rd, 2013 - 52 comments

Alan Turing may get a pardon from the UK government.  Turing made major contributions to the development of computing and maths, but was also subjected to damaging surveillance, suspicion and dehumanisation because of his sexuality.  Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?  How to promote digital democracy?

GCSB law changes are a Dunne deal

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 23rd, 2013 - 90 comments

peter dunneI was hoping that Peter Dunne was going to make a stand on Kiwi’s rights of privacy.  Looks like I was wrong …

Parata and the media

Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, July 17th, 2013 - 19 comments

wickliffe2

Keeping it in the Family Commission

Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, July 16th, 2013 - 85 comments

nepotism

Brooking vs Clarke43

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 pm, July 12th, 2013 - 20 comments

The dispute over Judith Collins’ Wikipedia page has made it into an NZ Herald article, with both Brooking & Clarke43 accused of political bias.  Team Collins claim they just edited out defamatory entries.  The Herald is looking for Clarke43, who surely does poor PR – praising Collins’ twitter performance.

GCSB – independent inquiry needed

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, July 10th, 2013 - 32 comments

A full, independent inquiry of the GCSB is needed , as argued by the Green & Labour Parties, and politics lecturer Damien Rogers.  NZ First & Dunne – don’t support Key’s dodgy law changes! Key is masking political motives with spin and secrecy. [update]  Campbell Live tonight – must see viewing.

Collins sanitising wikipedia

Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, July 8th, 2013 - 174 comments

Wellington alcohol and drug counsellor Roger Brooking has revealed a campaign by Judith Collins’ staff to sanitise her Wikipedia page and the pages on various issues related to New Zealand justice issues. References to facts that National doesn’t want to acknowledge – such as its links to the Sensible Sentencing Trust – have been purged by Collins’ team.

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.