Apparently the ALP now wants to censor your internet according to these stories.
It won’t even be an opt-in system, you’ll get it because it’s good for you, and you’ll need to contact your ISP to opt-out. Of course, there’s a big disincentive there if you object to censorship on principle because you’ll fear that they will make assumptions about why you want to opt out..
This BBC report says that a Kabul court is trying a man for converting from Islam to Christianity and the prosecution want him to be executed for it.
Now I’m not a religious person, but I feel people should be free to think freely, and that includes changing their religion without being punished for it, and it would appear that I’m not alone as the United Nations “Declaration of Human Rights” (1948) says:
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
From ABC News – South Korea gets rare yellow snowfall.
Leon is awake, is responding to voice command (can you squeeze my hand, can you look at me), and is opening and using his right eye to locate people! He is even smiling on demand, and kissed Lucy back when she kissed him.
Another update from the PLUG list:
Leon was taken off the sedation on Saturday and has been waking up slowly since then. As you can imagine, this is a slow process because of the nature of the injuries and the level of morphine he is on. He was put in a chair/bed for a while today so he could be in a different position. He required support, but opened one eye slightly and was able to look at Lucy and move his head to see. He was responding to pain stimulus on his hands and feet yesterday, but today he has improved to respond to a more gentle touch on his feet, and squeezed people’s hands with his when requested (after a few seconds pause). He still has a tube down his throat, but the assisted breathing has been turned off – he is now breathing on his own!
Update from PLUG:
Author: Alex Polglaze
Date: 2006-02-28 13:09 +1100
Subject: [plug] LEON BROOKS UPDATEThis is an update of Leon Brooks’s current situation.
Leon is in Royal Perth Hospital in a medically induced coma. He currently has a chest infection and the doctors are fighting that. They expect that it will be another 4-5 days before they can reduce the sedation sufficiently and assess the brain and spinal damage.
He is expected to be in Intensive Care for another 4-5 weeks and therefore cannot receive any flowers during this time. Also Lucy is not at home much, so please hold the flowers.
Currently, babysitting, transport and meal preparation and supply are under control.
[…]
Lucy thanks everybody for the well wishes and support and is mentioning everybody as she talks to Leon.
So keep thinking of him and hopefully he will recover.
Alex Polglaze
Here is a probably related ABC news item from Sunday.
Hang in there Leon…
Bad news reported in a message to the PLUG list:
Date: 2006-02-27 13:54 +1100
To: plug
Subject: [plug] leon brooksIt is my sad duty to inform you all that Leon Brooks had a car accident on Saturday night and has severe head injuries and is currently in ICU.
Further details are sketchy at this stage.
🙁
Leon, I hope you make a speedy and thorough recovery. Get well soon.
Via Linux Australia
Category: News article
Company: BBC
Year created: 2006
The BBC has this interesting story on how closures of UK nuclear and coal fired power stations, coupled with growing demand for energy, could leave the UK with a 20% shortfall in electricity supply by 2012, and still end up not meeting its Kyoto targets.
The survey polled 140 experts from industry, government, academia and environmental groups on their attitudes towards energy issues.
[…]
Nuclear power supplies about 20% of the nation’s electricity; but by 2012, nine of the 12 stations still operating will have closed.
A significant number of the existing coal-fired stations may have closed too under the European Union’s Large Combustion Plants Directive.
Tags: UK electricity blackouts
Category: News article
Topic: Current Affairs
Author: Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Company: BBC
Year created: 2006
This is a good report on the sheer scale of China’s insatiable hunger for electrical power, mostly fueled by coal, and the devastating effects it is having both on China’s environment and its people.
This is from the BBC’s excellent radio series From Our Own Correspondent (podcast freely available, see the article itself for details) where they various BBC reporters around the world do a 5 or so minute report on something that has affected them in their country. These can range from the profound to the comical, and all stops in between.
To give you a feel for how much power China needs they are currently, on average, bringing on one new power station a week.! The article goes on to say:
"This year China will install about 80 gigawatts of new electricity generating capacity" he said, "most of it coal."
“I’m afraid that means nothing to me” I said.
“Well”, he replied “here’s a comparison, if you add up the electricity from all the power stations in Britain, all the coal, gas, nuclear, wind, everything – that comes to about 80 gigawatts. And that’s how much China will add this year
Tags: china coal electricity environment
So the earlier report of a suspected case of H5N1 in France has now been confirmed, according to the BBC, and they also say that tests are ongoing on two other dead ducks found, this time around the Somme.
The report also says that India has confirmed its first case of H5N1 at a poultry farm where 50,000 chickens died.