Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thelma and Louise
Last night neither Tash or I could focus on school assignments so I went over to her house to watch the 1990's film "Thelma and Louise". I had not seen it before, I thought it was really good, though I already knew the ending.
Friday, May 29, 2009
What I wore today
The dress is vintage from a thrift store in the valley. I really liked the pattern and the collar.
Censored
I know that politics is not something I usually discuss on my blog, but this is an issue that I feel really strongly about. This is an exert from an essay I wrote earlier this year on my concern about the Australian government trying to implement internet censorship.
In late 2007 the Australian Federal Government put forward a proposal that would have ISP level internet filtering mandatory in all Australian homes, schools, businesses and public computers. This radical scheme of censoring one of the biggest and fastest growing information services that we have access to is supposed to keep children safe from inappropriate content and decrease online crime. However this proposal was met with a high amount of anger from many groups of people in society who believe that it breaches people’s right to freedom of speech, does not consider technological difficulties and will simply not do what it is meant to do anyway.
The filter would target illegal material, including child pornography and online crime, but would also block content that is rated M15 or R that is ‘unsuitable for minors’. This includes content such as violent content or legal pornography. The filter that blocks out legal content such as violence or sexual content is able to be ‘opted-out’ of by adults by contacting their ISP. There is concern however about the fact that the government is rather tight lipped about what exactly will be blocked and who will be deciding what is ‘appropriate’ to block. It is unknown whether content such as information about abortion and contraception, homosexuality, euthanasia or even political content could be targeted now or by the government in the future.
The main reason that the governments wants to filter the internet is to protect children. Telecommunications minister Stephen Conroy said that the government’s plan will make children safer and get rid of illegal content such as child pornography. He insists that it is not a freedom of speech issue and said that “If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labour Government is going to disagree” [www.abc.net.au/news].
However, the opposition has other ideas about what is the real aim of the government’s internet filtering plan is. A spokes person for the Liberal party, Nick Minchin has written off the governments plan and says that it is just an “attempt to sort of outmanoeuvre us for the conservative vote” [www.abc.net.au/lateline]
However, the key issue about this proposal is not whether the government or the opposition agrees with it. It is whether the people of Australia agree with it, and it appears that the majority do not. In a survey done by telecommunications monitor Whirlpool showed that around three quarters of Australians are opposed to internet censorship and only around 13% agree with it. [www.whirlpool.net.au].
One reason that many people do not agree with it is that that they believe the government does not have a right to monitor what we read, see or write on the internet and it is in effect breaching our freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is something that many people believe to be important, it is the ability to say or write about what they choose even if it contradicts others beliefs of morals. Many people believe that we have freedom of speech written in our constitution, but this is not the case. No Australian government has even passed any law that gives Australians the right to freedom of speech, so therefore the government is able to make laws that hinder freedom of speech.
However, in 1948 Australia signed the United Nation’s ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ (UDHR). Article 19 of the UDHR says that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” [www.un.org]
This means that Australia would be breaching international human rights laws by implementing a system that prevents its citizens from accessing information about what they wish.
The government is quick to point out that other countries have successfully implemented internet censorship schemes. However, currently there are no comparable ISP controlled filtering systems in a democratic country. It is true that there are filtering systems in European countries such as the UK and Sweden, but these are usually to prevent accidental access to illegal content, not block all access to legal content. For example in Sweden there is a law that forces ISP service providers that store information to remove content that is clearly illegal. This means that if something is in a grey area, or not illegal the ISP providers have no obligation to remove the content.
In fact the proposed internet censorship plan is more similar to the plans in action in countries under dictatorships or oppressive governments. Saudi Arabia, a country that has no elected political institutions, also has a focus on censoring content that is seen to be by some as ‘immoral’. This includes content such as pornography and information about contraception, homosexuality and drug use.
Even if the censorship proposal is legally able to be implemented many experts on the internet say that the plan is not technologically feasible.
To begin with it is possible for internet filters to be bypassed quite easily. One such way to legally access blocked content is to use a proxy. Originally designed as a privacy tool, a web proxy will enable people to bypass the ISP filtering because it accesses the blocked site for the user. Most PC based filters also block out proxy sites however it would be unreasonable for the government to do the same as proxies are important to many users such as business people to ensure that they are secure on the internet. Another option is to purchase Virtual Private Network (VPN) access from the US or another country with unfiltered internet access. These are encrypted networks which let the user access the internet as if they were in the other country. People in countries such as china are already using these to get around internet censorship. It should also be noted that the proposed filtering system does not filter out files obtained via peer-to-peer file sharing networks, so illegal content and content not suitable for children would still be able to be accessed via that.
Another issue related to censorship is the fact that it would have a noticeable effect on the speed of the internet. In 2008 the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a report from a test of ISP level content filtering. The test assessed whether the filter blocked out content it should, did not block out content it should not and the loss of speed when in use. The filters that were effective in blocking the right content were the filters that caused the most loss of speed. [www.acma.gov.au] Other government tests have shown that currently available filters would slow down the internet speed by up to 86% [www.theage.com.au]
There would also be a substantial cost associated with filtering the internet in a country where 74.3% of the population use the internet [www.internetworldstats.com]. The federal government has budgeted $44.2 million for four years, [www.libertus.net] however this is only intended to subsidise the initial installation costs. The ISP providers will be responsible for paying for maintenance and technology updates. And it is hard to imagine the ISP providers not passing on this cost to their customers.
There is no doubt that protecting children and stopping online crime is very important. However censoring the internet is not the right way to go about it. Parents should be able to take responsibility and care for their children themselves, not expect the government to do it for them. PC filtering is a more technically feasible and less expensive alternative to ISP filtering and it is also a good idea for parents to supervise their children while they use the internet. The government, instead of spending millions of dollars on internet censorship should instead invest money on the police system and technology to better track down the people who are responsible for illegal content on the internet.
The internet is our media. It is where the people of the world are able to access and share information about what they choose. It should not be up to the government to decide what we can or cannot share.
In late 2007 the Australian Federal Government put forward a proposal that would have ISP level internet filtering mandatory in all Australian homes, schools, businesses and public computers. This radical scheme of censoring one of the biggest and fastest growing information services that we have access to is supposed to keep children safe from inappropriate content and decrease online crime. However this proposal was met with a high amount of anger from many groups of people in society who believe that it breaches people’s right to freedom of speech, does not consider technological difficulties and will simply not do what it is meant to do anyway.
The filter would target illegal material, including child pornography and online crime, but would also block content that is rated M15 or R that is ‘unsuitable for minors’. This includes content such as violent content or legal pornography. The filter that blocks out legal content such as violence or sexual content is able to be ‘opted-out’ of by adults by contacting their ISP. There is concern however about the fact that the government is rather tight lipped about what exactly will be blocked and who will be deciding what is ‘appropriate’ to block. It is unknown whether content such as information about abortion and contraception, homosexuality, euthanasia or even political content could be targeted now or by the government in the future.
The main reason that the governments wants to filter the internet is to protect children. Telecommunications minister Stephen Conroy said that the government’s plan will make children safer and get rid of illegal content such as child pornography. He insists that it is not a freedom of speech issue and said that “If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labour Government is going to disagree” [www.abc.net.au/news].
However, the opposition has other ideas about what is the real aim of the government’s internet filtering plan is. A spokes person for the Liberal party, Nick Minchin has written off the governments plan and says that it is just an “attempt to sort of outmanoeuvre us for the conservative vote” [www.abc.net.au/lateline]
However, the key issue about this proposal is not whether the government or the opposition agrees with it. It is whether the people of Australia agree with it, and it appears that the majority do not. In a survey done by telecommunications monitor Whirlpool showed that around three quarters of Australians are opposed to internet censorship and only around 13% agree with it. [www.whirlpool.net.au].
One reason that many people do not agree with it is that that they believe the government does not have a right to monitor what we read, see or write on the internet and it is in effect breaching our freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is something that many people believe to be important, it is the ability to say or write about what they choose even if it contradicts others beliefs of morals. Many people believe that we have freedom of speech written in our constitution, but this is not the case. No Australian government has even passed any law that gives Australians the right to freedom of speech, so therefore the government is able to make laws that hinder freedom of speech.
However, in 1948 Australia signed the United Nation’s ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ (UDHR). Article 19 of the UDHR says that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” [www.un.org]
This means that Australia would be breaching international human rights laws by implementing a system that prevents its citizens from accessing information about what they wish.
The government is quick to point out that other countries have successfully implemented internet censorship schemes. However, currently there are no comparable ISP controlled filtering systems in a democratic country. It is true that there are filtering systems in European countries such as the UK and Sweden, but these are usually to prevent accidental access to illegal content, not block all access to legal content. For example in Sweden there is a law that forces ISP service providers that store information to remove content that is clearly illegal. This means that if something is in a grey area, or not illegal the ISP providers have no obligation to remove the content.
In fact the proposed internet censorship plan is more similar to the plans in action in countries under dictatorships or oppressive governments. Saudi Arabia, a country that has no elected political institutions, also has a focus on censoring content that is seen to be by some as ‘immoral’. This includes content such as pornography and information about contraception, homosexuality and drug use.
Even if the censorship proposal is legally able to be implemented many experts on the internet say that the plan is not technologically feasible.
To begin with it is possible for internet filters to be bypassed quite easily. One such way to legally access blocked content is to use a proxy. Originally designed as a privacy tool, a web proxy will enable people to bypass the ISP filtering because it accesses the blocked site for the user. Most PC based filters also block out proxy sites however it would be unreasonable for the government to do the same as proxies are important to many users such as business people to ensure that they are secure on the internet. Another option is to purchase Virtual Private Network (VPN) access from the US or another country with unfiltered internet access. These are encrypted networks which let the user access the internet as if they were in the other country. People in countries such as china are already using these to get around internet censorship. It should also be noted that the proposed filtering system does not filter out files obtained via peer-to-peer file sharing networks, so illegal content and content not suitable for children would still be able to be accessed via that.
Another issue related to censorship is the fact that it would have a noticeable effect on the speed of the internet. In 2008 the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a report from a test of ISP level content filtering. The test assessed whether the filter blocked out content it should, did not block out content it should not and the loss of speed when in use. The filters that were effective in blocking the right content were the filters that caused the most loss of speed. [www.acma.gov.au] Other government tests have shown that currently available filters would slow down the internet speed by up to 86% [www.theage.com.au]
There would also be a substantial cost associated with filtering the internet in a country where 74.3% of the population use the internet [www.internetworldstats.com]. The federal government has budgeted $44.2 million for four years, [www.libertus.net] however this is only intended to subsidise the initial installation costs. The ISP providers will be responsible for paying for maintenance and technology updates. And it is hard to imagine the ISP providers not passing on this cost to their customers.
There is no doubt that protecting children and stopping online crime is very important. However censoring the internet is not the right way to go about it. Parents should be able to take responsibility and care for their children themselves, not expect the government to do it for them. PC filtering is a more technically feasible and less expensive alternative to ISP filtering and it is also a good idea for parents to supervise their children while they use the internet. The government, instead of spending millions of dollars on internet censorship should instead invest money on the police system and technology to better track down the people who are responsible for illegal content on the internet.
The internet is our media. It is where the people of the world are able to access and share information about what they choose. It should not be up to the government to decide what we can or cannot share.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Chivalry... not dead?
As completely un-feminist as this sounds, I miss chivalry. I do not mean to say that I would like to become a housewife, and that my greatest desire is to spend my days cooking and cleaning while my husband goes out and makes money. I am as feminist as the next girl (unless that next girl in question is a radical separatist) but I think it would be nice for a man to pull my chair out for me at a restaurant.
Clearly listening to too much Billie Holiday makes me nostalgic for a time I have never known.
Photo from Deviant art. Click for artists link.
Clearly listening to too much Billie Holiday makes me nostalgic for a time I have never known.
Photo from Deviant art. Click for artists link.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Weekend of wonders
This is a bit of a late post on account of the fact that I have had a rather busy weekend. Friday night went I to a B grade movie night with Jenna and Tash, then went to this very cute 1950's diner. Tasha got serenaded by an Elvis impersonator.
Yesterday I went into Brisbane and got my hair done and went to The Hive. I got lost on the way to the hairdressers, Google earth is a lying whore. But on the way while getting lost I came across this graffiti art in South Brisbane.
Today I was meant to do my math assignment and Tom helped me. But the problem was that I was missing information and not even Tom the brain could work it out. We went in to Caloundra and got hot chips instead. I still have not done my math assignment.
Yesterday I went into Brisbane and got my hair done and went to The Hive. I got lost on the way to the hairdressers, Google earth is a lying whore. But on the way while getting lost I came across this graffiti art in South Brisbane.
Today I was meant to do my math assignment and Tom helped me. But the problem was that I was missing information and not even Tom the brain could work it out. We went in to Caloundra and got hot chips instead. I still have not done my math assignment.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday Night
Last night Tash had a small get together. It was a very fun night.
I drank too much cheap red wine. When I got home I walked into a wall in my kitchen and then raided the cupboard for rice crackers. It was a fun night.
I drank too much cheap red wine. When I got home I walked into a wall in my kitchen and then raided the cupboard for rice crackers. It was a fun night.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Mini me
This is my cousin chloe, she is in Prep. She looks exactly like I did when I was five.
We had fun this morning with the camera, turns out she is even more of a poser than I am.
I am going into Brisbane again today, going to go to the markets and look for some records.
We had fun this morning with the camera, turns out she is even more of a poser than I am.
I am going into Brisbane again today, going to go to the markets and look for some records.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Men in coats.
I have a good friend named Ryan, he likes to use big words and steam roll people. This post is especially for him because he is going to Sydney soon for an internship. Unlike Queensland, Sydney is effing cold.
Anyway, these are some of my favorite mens looks for winter. The photos are from this Russian fashion blog called lookatme.ru
Enjoy.
Anyway, these are some of my favorite mens looks for winter. The photos are from this Russian fashion blog called lookatme.ru
Enjoy.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
On a note completely un-related to fashion
This is a picture I found of Conor Oberst and it is rather lovely so I decided to post it here. He really is absolutely perfect.
Since I was around 12 years old I have had a massive crush on this man, even though at the time when I was 12 he would have been around 24. Anyway, he is my boyfriend and we are very much in love, he just does not know it. It is probably a good thing that I do not live in America, or he might have a restraining order against me by now.
And thanks to where ever the photo came from, I forgot to make note of where I got it from.
Since I was around 12 years old I have had a massive crush on this man, even though at the time when I was 12 he would have been around 24. Anyway, he is my boyfriend and we are very much in love, he just does not know it. It is probably a good thing that I do not live in America, or he might have a restraining order against me by now.
And thanks to where ever the photo came from, I forgot to make note of where I got it from.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Formal dress
My formal is coming up in November. So I am beginning my hunt for the perfect dress. What I have in mind is a 1950's style prom dress. Like this one I found on Etsy.
The one problem is that they are all tiny. I am thinking of buying a vintage pattern and getting it made. Or living on lettuce until November!
The one problem is that they are all tiny. I am thinking of buying a vintage pattern and getting it made. Or living on lettuce until November!
Monday, May 11, 2009
You are my one desire
Today I found Don's old record player and set it up in my living room.
So now I am listening to Buddy Holly and drinking sparkling grape juice.
So now I am listening to Buddy Holly and drinking sparkling grape juice.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Title title title...
And you thought the last post was me procrastinating. Hold onto your seats because you are about to witness a whole new level of dalliance.
Dress by Eillim from The Valley Markets, op shop Docs, necklace from the Valley Markets
Dress from Valley Markets
Dress (as top) from Valley Markets, op shop skirt.
Forever New Cape, op shop skirt, chain store beret.
Dress by Eillim from The Valley Markets, op shop Docs, necklace from the Valley Markets
Dress from Valley Markets
Dress (as top) from Valley Markets, op shop skirt.
Forever New Cape, op shop skirt, chain store beret.
Blogging Binger
Today Mummsy gets back from New Zealand. I am looking forward to ridiculous novelty souvenirs.
Today I was meant to study. But hense the blog post I am a little bit distracted. So instead I am going to go and read Nylon.
These are photos from last night. We played dress ups. I look like I belong in 1986. And no, I am not too old for playing dress ups.
Today I was meant to study. But hense the blog post I am a little bit distracted. So instead I am going to go and read Nylon.
These are photos from last night. We played dress ups. I look like I belong in 1986. And no, I am not too old for playing dress ups.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Today was a lovely day in the city
When I got home yesterday waiting for me was a big box of modcloth goodies that I brought, I was very excited.
Today I went to Brisbane, it was rather nice. I had New York Slice for lunch.
I am wearing a Modcloth dress and bag, Glasses from Paddington Markets Sydney, Myer stockings, chain store beret and Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes.
Oh and these are two girls I saw in Brisbane today, I thought they looked lovely.
Now I am waiting for Jenna and Tash to come over and watch movies and listen to The Kinks. Tomorrow I have to study. Assignments have crept up on me.
Today I went to Brisbane, it was rather nice. I had New York Slice for lunch.
I am wearing a Modcloth dress and bag, Glasses from Paddington Markets Sydney, Myer stockings, chain store beret and Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes.
Oh and these are two girls I saw in Brisbane today, I thought they looked lovely.
Now I am waiting for Jenna and Tash to come over and watch movies and listen to The Kinks. Tomorrow I have to study. Assignments have crept up on me.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Nice places to spend money
It has been a while since my last post. Being back at school has left me rather uncreative. The weekend just been was a long weekend. Friday night I went to Tash's boyfriend's surprise birthday party. I wore my vintage skirt, a grungy looking shirt from a store at Maroochydore and orange stockings. I stole the photograph below from Tash's blog Wooden Walrus
On Saturday I went into Brisbane and went to the markets with my friend Ruby. We had a lovely time.
Anyway, this is a list of my favorite stores in Brisbane. It does not include Op shops or online stores, I will discuss them at a later date.
- Metro Retro, Latrobe terrace Paddington.
I honestly believe it is the best vintage and retro store in Brisbane. The older store with the garage door (pictured) is full of reasonably priced pretty vintage things to buy. The new store which is near by has a lovely range of dresses that would be just perfect for my upcoming graduation (Well, November, never too early to start planning) and has possibly the nicest sales assistant I have ever met.
- Violent Green, Shop 9 Elizabeth Arcade, Elizabeth Street.
This is where I got my wonderful Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes. It has a great collection of street wear from designers like Karen Walker and Lover.
- Hopscotch, Elizabeth Arcade, Elizabeth Street.
There is also another one of these stores in the valley, though I like the Elizabeth street one better. It has very cute things. On Sunday I brought a handbag from there shaped like an old radio.
- Borders Elizabeth St, Because it is a three story book store that sells all my favorite magazines.
- JB High Fi. Because my favorite English comedies and cartoons are difficult to find anywhere else.
- Forever New. Really the only chain store around that is good to go to for something other than basics.
- Myer, simply because they have lovely underwear and stockings.
On Saturday I went into Brisbane and went to the markets with my friend Ruby. We had a lovely time.
Anyway, this is a list of my favorite stores in Brisbane. It does not include Op shops or online stores, I will discuss them at a later date.
- Metro Retro, Latrobe terrace Paddington.
I honestly believe it is the best vintage and retro store in Brisbane. The older store with the garage door (pictured) is full of reasonably priced pretty vintage things to buy. The new store which is near by has a lovely range of dresses that would be just perfect for my upcoming graduation (Well, November, never too early to start planning) and has possibly the nicest sales assistant I have ever met.
- Violent Green, Shop 9 Elizabeth Arcade, Elizabeth Street.
This is where I got my wonderful Vivienne Westwood/Melissa shoes. It has a great collection of street wear from designers like Karen Walker and Lover.
- Hopscotch, Elizabeth Arcade, Elizabeth Street.
There is also another one of these stores in the valley, though I like the Elizabeth street one better. It has very cute things. On Sunday I brought a handbag from there shaped like an old radio.
- Borders Elizabeth St, Because it is a three story book store that sells all my favorite magazines.
- JB High Fi. Because my favorite English comedies and cartoons are difficult to find anywhere else.
- Forever New. Really the only chain store around that is good to go to for something other than basics.
- Myer, simply because they have lovely underwear and stockings.
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