Comment Re:Keeping up with the Joneses (Score 4, Interesting) 148
It is actually the American standard... The NSA is likely subsidising the GCSB
Submission + - New Zealand Parliament Votes To Extend Spying Powers (nzherald.co.nz)
pinkstuff writes: Amid protests and much opposition New Zealand parliament has just passed a bill which allows the The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) greater spying powers.
Submission + - New Zealand Passes Law Allowing Domestic Spying (securityweek.com)
wiredmikey writes: New Zealand passed legislation Wednesday allowing its main intelligence agency to spy on residents and citizens. The bill to expand the power of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) passed by 61 votes to 59 after impassioned debate, with Prime Minister John Key acknowledging the move had left some people "agitated and alarmed".
"This is not, and never will be, about wholesale spying on New Zealanders," Key told parliament, adding "there are threats our government needs to protect New Zealanders from, those threats are real and ever-present and we underestimate them at our peril."
The push to change the law came after it emerged last year that the GCSB illegally spied on MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom before armed police raided his Auckland mansion as part of a US-led probe into online piracy.
Critics have questioned Key's commitment to privacy, pointing out that when a report on GCSB spying was leaked to a journalist earlier this year, he ordered an investigation which tracked the reporter's movements and seized her emails and telephone records without her permission.
In June, Anonymous attacked Prime Minister Key's website in protest of the plans to allow the country's intelligence agency to spy on local residents.
"This is not, and never will be, about wholesale spying on New Zealanders," Key told parliament, adding "there are threats our government needs to protect New Zealanders from, those threats are real and ever-present and we underestimate them at our peril."
The push to change the law came after it emerged last year that the GCSB illegally spied on MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom before armed police raided his Auckland mansion as part of a US-led probe into online piracy.
Critics have questioned Key's commitment to privacy, pointing out that when a report on GCSB spying was leaked to a journalist earlier this year, he ordered an investigation which tracked the reporter's movements and seized her emails and telephone records without her permission.
In June, Anonymous attacked Prime Minister Key's website in protest of the plans to allow the country's intelligence agency to spy on local residents.
Comment Re:so basically, what we knew (Score 1) 312
I wish I could mod you up. The world is run by corporations and money, not democratic governments. You are right, it wouldn't matter who is in power, they are just puppets.
The question remains, how do we realistically change this?
Comment Re:so basically, what we knew (Score 1) 312
The question left is, what are we(the people) going to do about it?
It is a very serious question. At what point do westerners say enough is enough and overthrow governments, or at the very least hold people accountable and arrest them?
Submission + - Ubuntu Forum Security Breach
pinkstuff writes: There has been a major security breach of the Ubuntu Forums database. Every users email address and salted password has been taken. From the forum home page:
- Unfortunately the attackers have gotten every user's local username, password, and email address from the Ubuntu Forums database.
The passwords are not stored in plain text, they are stored as salted hashes. However, if you were using the same password as your Ubuntu Forums one on another service (such as email), you are strongly encouraged to change the password on the other service ASAP.
- Ubuntu One, Launchpad and other Ubuntu/Canonical services are NOT affected by the breach.
Comment Re:This slowly drives me nuts (Score 2) 138
There are millions speaking English, Spanish, etc., but not that many of them churn out bestsellers, or even mundane but usable prose
Yes, but without knowing how to write, those chances are 0...
Programming is a subset of computer science, and a useful starting point for getting people interested in the field
Comment Re:Keep if simple, stupid. (Score 3, Interesting) 112
The Hobbit films being filmed in NZ was not a foregone conclusion
Sure, that was the threat they made - but I can't help but think it was just a bluff our PM fell for.
Comment Re:MATE or Cinnamon (Score 1) 169
I'm not sure why there seems to be this groupthink hating on Unity, I suspect a lot of haters haven't even tried it, or given it a fair go. I happen to really like it (also as a power user).
I don't have mod points or I would mod you up...
Comment Re:Prosperity + social democracy (Score 1) 999
I don't think it's all that hard so long as you are a 'Skilled Migrant':
From the New Zealand immigration website:
To be eligible for residence under SMC you must: be 55 or under be healthy be of good character speak English.
I think most slashdotters would qualify, but there is a calculator you can use to check if you would you could get a visa under this category.
Disclaimer: I am a proud Kiwi/New Zealander who would welcome more geeks.
Submission + - FBI sent cloned Kim Dotcom files despite judge's call (nzherald.co.nz) 1
pinkstuff writes:
Kim Dotcom's lawyers have accused the FBI of an "illegal act'' after it emerged agents had left the country with cloned copies of computers seized during raids.
It looks like the FBI have taken a clone of Kim Dotcoms hard drives without permission from the courts. In their defense it's apparently OK because they didn't actually take the physical computers, only a clone of them...
Submission + - Motorola wins Xbox and Windows 7 ban in Germany (bbc.co.uk)
pinkstuff writes:
Motorola Mobility has been granted an injunction against the distribution of key Microsoft products in Germany. The sales ban covers the Xbox 360 games console, Windows 7 system software, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.
Comment Re:Swordfish (Score 2) 93
This is what me and my friends refer to as "HOS", Hollywood Operating System
Comment Re:Good! (Score 1) 507
This was blown out of all proportions by skeptics. the guts of it is based around swapping reading from tree rings to instrumental data:
"If you were to go solely by these tree rings — and if you were looking at just ring density and width — you'd erroneously conclude that temperatures were falling when, in fact, they were rising. That's why scientists sometimes omit tree-ring data from recent decades in favor of the more accurate instrumental data."
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2009/1215/Climategate-global-warming-and-the-tree-rings-divergence-problem
"If you were to go solely by these tree rings — and if you were looking at just ring density and width — you'd erroneously conclude that temperatures were falling when, in fact, they were rising. That's why scientists sometimes omit tree-ring data from recent decades in favor of the more accurate instrumental data."
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2009/1215/Climategate-global-warming-and-the-tree-rings-divergence-problem
Submission + - Copyright laws: British court opens the floodgates (blorge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A British court has ordered a leading internet service provider to block access to a website that hosts no illegal content. It’s the first time such an order has been made, and it sets an incredibly dangerous precedent.
