The U.K. government has said it wants to monitor all web and e-mail activity to combat terrorism and crime. Though thankfully it appears the Liberal Demecrats might fight the bill. Though I don't hold up too much hope, they've turned on every other promise so far. The Guardian talks about this much better than I can. It is indeed a delicate issue, my only strong opinions are with regard to the internet, which is a force for so much good that I wouldn't want that affected, especially when you consider how non-effective any policy will be in dealing with actual criminals, just pipe everything through a VPN and bam, no government snooping! This is made clear in a story this week from Al Jazeera. Anonymous has hacked several Chinese government websites, the defaced websites then explain how someone in China can circumvent the government's restrictions on internet usage.

The internet really seems to be under attack from all sides. ACTA could pass in 10 weeks, perhaps we should try and do something. Will WW3 be people against their governments? We also have the return of SOPA, though this time it is known as CISPA. Though I'm not sure if the same resistance will be mounted against it by the Internet communities like Wikipedia or reddit. When will the people in power learn?

The I.C.C. says they cannot investigate alleged Israeli crimes in Gaza and the West Bank. They say that because Palestine is not an officially recognised U.N. member state they have not ratified the Rome treaty and therefore these 'crimes' are outside the I.C.C.'s jurisdiction. There is the possibility of the U.N. security council stepping in and giving jurisdiction, but with the U.S. on the council that isn't going to happen. What a sorry state of affairs this all is. I should try and do a post about the whole Israel/Palestine thing sometime.

Some good news from Tunisia, who say they shall reject Sharia law in their new constitution. And some bad news from Tunisia, who jailed two people for drawing cartoons of Mohammed. Religion cannot exist above the law. Of course people should be allowed to practice whatever faith they want in private. The intricacies of such religion cannot be part of the moral fibre that binds us all together. The law needs to protect everyone, especially those that otherwise might find themselves oppressed. This includes people's speech.

Again we have someone decrying the war on drugs. It really is time that politicians realised this. Prohibition doesn't work, it just forces drugs into the black market. So what if someone wants to take drugs. Its their body, its their choice. Hopefully with more people in power taking more moderate stances with regards to drug laws we may some change soon.

And finally, an Irish priest accidentally flashed gay porn during a presentation to parents of children preparing for their first Holy communion.