general internet news - 12 February

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

Hi all

On Feb 15 and 16 this weekend’s global protests against the
war will be the largest group of joint protests ever
co-ordinated in known history, so claim the organisers! So,
to see what is happening in your neck of the woods (area),
go to http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=725 for
a listing of the hundreds of international events). It’s
time to stand up for what we believe in and protest against
this awful want for war on behalf of Bush and also his
greatest supporter, the Australian prime minister... who is
just as revolting as Bush.

Happy marching all!!! And don't forget the real world cup
is on now... the cricket world cup, for those who don't
know, has just started in South Africa. But the year gets
better, because the best world cup, the rugny world cup, is
on later this year. Stay tuned for some real excitement!!!

Now here is the news...

Cheers
David

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Europe takes on cybercrime 
A rapid reaction force to act against attacks on computer
networks is to be set up by the European Commission.
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2130065,00.html

http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/758652p-5478671c.html

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/208|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=MEMO/03/28|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=

Can Europe block racist Web sites from its borders?
Based on a treaty that went into effect in January, Europe
is attempting to shut out racist and xenophobic "hate" Web
sites. Meanwhile, a new contact network "operating round
the clock and seven days a week," is being set up to
provide European police forces with immediate assistance
with their investigations.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/02/06/findlaw.analysis.ramasastry.cyberlaw/index.html

New Finnish industry coalition formed to fight internet
regulation
A number of Finnish telecom and media companies have formed
a coalition to fight against proposed government
legislation that they say would stifle freedom of
expression on the internet.
 http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=14833

OECD Measuring the Information Economy 2002
Are OECD countries embracing the information economy? What
is the size and growth of the ICT sector and its
contribution to economic performance? Do businesses and
individuals use new technologies, for what purpose, or why
they do not? What is the volume of electronic commerce and
what are the barriers to its take-off?

http://www.oecd.org/EN/document/0,,EN-document-13-nodirectorate-no-1-35663-13,00.html
 
Regimes copy China and Cuba to control internet
Authoritarian regimes, emulating China and Cuba, can and do
control their citizens' internet use, often to keep
themselves in power, a study has found. The study by
scholars at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
suggests that authoritarian and semi-authoritarian
governments keep a close grip on the internet by limiting
access or filtering content.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/10/1044725717836.html

Fighting Child Pornography
The combination of digital photography and high-speed home
Internet access has set off what the authorities say is an
explosion of homemade child pornography in recent years,
with growing numbers of victims.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/09/technology/09PORN.html

'I was groomed online'
It is the modern parent's nightmare - the new stranger
danger - your child lured to a meeting by an adult they
don't know over the internet.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2733989.stm

European Commission - The Daphne II Programme (2004-08) to
continue efforts to combat violence against women and
children
The Daphne II Programme (2004-08) to continue efforts to
combat violence against women and children
The Commission has today decided to transmit to Parliament
and the Council a draft Decision on the "Daphne II"
Programme (2004-08) aimed at preventing violence against
women and children and protecting victims and at-risk
groups. "Daphne II" will cover the period 2004-08 and
follows on from the Daphne Programme (2000-03) and an
initiative of the same name launched by the Commission in
1997.

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/181|0|RAPID&lg=EN

Computer Users, Please Stand Up
For all those moms who have ever shouted, "Go outside and
play!" at teens who sit for hours in dim rooms in front of
the computer or TV, here's some more ammunition: Blood
clots are afflicting chronic computer users who sit
immobile for too long.
 http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,57580,00.html

U.S. drafts attack rules for cyber-war 
President Bush has signed a secret directive ordering the
government to develop, for the first time, guidelines for
determining when and how the United States would launch
cyber-attacks against enemy computer networks.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0302070442feb07,1,6409561.story

Internet group to consumers: Think security
A coalition of technology companies and others doing
business on the Internet have released a list of nine steps
they believe consumers and remote workers should take to
protect themselves and keep their computers from being used
as weapons on the Internet.

http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php?taxid=620938001&id=1752919661&eid=-108

MPs call for anti-spam rethink
An anti-spam system designed to protect UK politicians from
porn e-mails is too general and should be changed, say MPs.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2737221.stm

Spam comprises nearly quarter of email
Nearly 25 percent of the email flowing along the pipes of
the internet is spam, if the mail sampling conducted by
MessageLabs in January is any indication.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044725778765.html

Tangled Up in Spam
I know what your in-box looks like, and it isn't pretty. It
looks like mine: a babble of come-ons and lies from
hucksters and con artists. To find your real e-mail, you
must wade through the torrent of fraud and obscenity known
politely as ''unsolicited bulk e-mail'' and colloquially as
spam. In a perverse tribute to the power of the online
revolution, we are all suddenly getting the same mail.
 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/09/magazine/09SPAM.html

Consumers in the Online Marketplace: the OECD Guidelines
Three Years Later
This new report by the Committee on Consumer Policy on the
"Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of
Electronic Commerce" summarises the results of
implementation activities in OECD countries.

http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2002doc.nsf/LinkTo/dsti-cp(2002)4-final


AOL's Jekyll and Hyde act
The world's biggest ISP is also the world's biggest media
company. As the entertainment industry cracks down on
Internet users who like to share music, will AOL take a
stand?

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/10/aol_file_sharing/index.html

I think they've said this before...
Internet access may soon be a power outlet away
Coming to a home or office near you could be an electric
Internet: high-speed Web access via ubiquitous power lines,
of all things, making every electrical outlet an always-on
Web connection.

http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/757525p-5471954c.html
 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,57605,00.html

When Hotmail isn't that hot
When Andrew Trousdale returned home from a party on
December 2 last year and found that his Hotmail account had
been hijacked, he did not realise the saga that would play
out until it would cease to bother him.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044725780199.html

IEEE flooded with short-range wireless proposals
The IEEE 802.15 High-Rate Task Group received 29 proposals
for the alternate physical layer standard it is developing,
significantly more than the eight or nine it expected to
receive when it requested proposals last November. As a
result, the group will be mired in over 30 hours of
presentations at its next meeting in Dallas in March.
 http://www.commsdesign.com/story/OEG20030206S0058

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=====
David Goldstein
 address: 2/4 Dundas Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
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