Which is why, of course, the current Prime Minister and the majority of the caucus are Anglican.

No, it's not a replacement for anything. this was a pre-election promise that is now a policy. The 9-12 "bracket" was what was decided by the Government. It may actually be 10-12, bot 100%. Either way the summary is incorrect and giving laptops to 12 year olds would be ridiculous.

No, the government never ruled out Microsoft. A third-party report stated that Linux would be the cheapest option and MS too expensive.

The reason is that the government needs to consider all reasonable options and can't simply dismiss the biggest software provider in the world without potentially opening itself up to claims that the tender process was prohibitive.

It's almost like you didn't even read the article...

No, the policy is to give upper high school children in years 9-12 a laptop not "every school-aged child".

Like others have said, this is definitely not true. Especially in Australia.

Here's an idea - Can the thousands of people who are reading Slashdot sign the petition? Sure you're not Aussies, but Australia is not the first country to try something like and it won't be the last. Plus, the internet being what it is (without borders) there's a strong case for international involvement and international uproar to this filter.

No, I'm saying "economic indicators" are not the only one. Why don't we care Germany's prices to Polands? Polands to Russia's? Russia's to Chinas? Frances to England's? England's to Ireland's? You think method of production is the only variable? Silly.

Sigh, one simple economic indicator with thousands of variables. Fail.

And why exactly are you comparing two, outdated technologies when you really should be comparing them to solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, hydro, tidal and geothermal?

It's because rusted on nuclear proponents are still living in the 70's and honestly believing that nuclear is so good compared to coal, but they can never win the debate against renewables.

No, it's because they didn't pass on the complaints to customers and because they're tiny.

For some reason every story about iiNet on Slashdot mentions that it's the "Second largest ISP in Australia". That's just plain wrong. By customer base and by infrastructure it's at least the fourth if not the fifth. And when you considering that the number one ISP, Telstra, has something like 70% market share coming fifth isn't that a big a deal.

And that's the reason they're being targeted. Telstra doesn't pass on the infringement notices either. But they are an ex-government monopoly with immense resources, a lot of customers and a huge profile. iiNet is a minor player and an easy target for the "rights holders".

Internet Explorer... even though it's not running! Hah, take that Microsoft!

Calling the ideology of the Soviet Union "communism" is akin to calling Hitler's Germany "socialism" (which is what kicked off this debate, funnily enough).

No, Communism doesn't equal authoritarianism, especially in the same sense as fascism. How could an ideology seeking to take power away from the rich minority and give it the majority, as well as calling for the dissolution of the State itself be considered "authoritarian"?

"Socialism" could be authoritarian or not, depending on the flavour. There are literally dozens of different types of socialism. Some anarchic, some authoritarian. And some in the middle.