It seems I’ve joined the lofty heights of fellow twitterati Malcolm Turnbull and Rick Astley.

@johnlacey: Number Of The Beast

I presume this will require some sort of sacrifice.

I quite like Twitter. I tweet relentlessly. (9,079 updates at the time of writing.) When I was gone recently for a whole two days, it felt like eons of time away from my beloved Twitterverse.

Therefore I have to wonder why I continue to perpetuate Twitter conspiracy theories upon this world.

You might remember when Australia Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) joined Twitter.

At the time I found it amusing that he had 666 followers.

Turns out that Rick Astley is never going to give Twitter up either.

His account (@RealRickAstley) is following… wait for it… how many?

What does it all mean?!

Leave a comment and let me know. Or, hell, follow me on twitter (if you’re into that kind of thing.)

Senator Stephen Conroy’s “Clean Feed” proposition is a vote of ‘no confidence’ in law enforcement agencies and courts – and a vote of ‘no interest’ in Australian internet-based businesses and the economy as a whole. What is ostensibly presented as a measure to protect children will do more to harm the general internet population than it will to aid in the protection of children. Already we are vastly disadvantaged by disappointing telecommunications infrastructure. Internet speeds in Australia pale in comparison with other developed nations.

I do not particularly understand why a Minister – indeed the Minister “For Broadband, Communications and The Digital Economy” – would want to take measures that would result in a poorer, more restricted internet service. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating famously remarked that, “Australia is the arse end of the world.” In a practical sense we have to appreciate we are geographically removed from much of the world. The internet is a perfect tool in overcoming the tyranny of distance our physical position in the world creates. If the Minister really is committed to enhancing opportunities within the Digital Economy for Australians, he should be working to improve services and infrastructure.

From No Clean Feed:

The Government is keeping its cards close to its chest on the plan. However, we know that ISP-level filtering has been ALP policy for some time and is still being zealously pursued by the Minister. What has been confirmed so far:

• Filtering will be mandatory in all homes and schools across the country.
  
• The clean feed will censor material that is “harmful and inappropriate” for children.
  
• The filter will require a massive expansion of the ACMA’s blacklist of prohibited content.
  
• The Government wants to use dynamic filters of questionable accuracy that slow the internet down by an average of 30%.
• The filtering will target legal as well as illegal material.
  $44m has been budgeted for the implementation of this scheme so far.
• The clean-feed for children will be opt-out, but a second filter will be mandatory for all Internet users.
• A live pilot deployment is going ahead in the near future.

We cannot afford to be complacent and hope the Government knows ‘what is right’ for us. I would encourage everyone to be mindful of China’s internet policies even in the wake of the Beijing olympics (including plans to photograph all internet cafe customers). I would encourage people to be mindful of Turkey’s ban of Blogger and Blogspot. The internet gives its users a voice in ways that traditional media have failed to replicate. However, it is still governed by the laws that govern the ‘offline world.’ The problems we experience – where they occur – are supply-side issues in nature. It makes more sense to target individuals and groups who are breaking laws rather than make all of Australia suffer with error-prone filters that impede the speed and effectiveness of this invaluable tool.

In the spirit of democracy, in the spirit of freedom of speech, it concerns me to learn of reports that suggest Senator Stephen Conroy attempted to silence Internode engineer Mark Newton for having an opinion and daring to express it.

Mark Newton offered the opinion as his own, and not necessarily as that of his employer. I put my full support behind Mark Newton both as an Internet user and as a customer of Internode.

What You Can Do…
Firstly, tell Senator Conroy about your concerns. (I find the comment on his webpage troubling: “If you prefer to email the Minister please include your postal address with your communication.” Does the Senator for Broadband know how to reply to email? Or is it ‘snail mail’ all the way?) You can use the form letter template from the No Clean Feed website as a starting point.

Contact your local representative. They are there to represent YOU.

Also you might like to contact Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the opposition. Fortunately, unlike the Senator For Broadband – he actually has a twitter account: @TurnbullMalcolm

Raise your voice – blog, vlog – tell the world! Demonstrate the power of the ability to express yourself while the capability still exists! Visit NoCleanFeed.com for more suggestions including petitions and banners you can use.

I thank you as an Australian and fellow Internet user. This is too important to the growth and prosperity of this country to get wrong.

Jesus Christ: The Prequel
Ever wonder about Jesus’ early life? We are constantly reminded of the birth of baby Jesus in a manger, his miracles as an adult and his crucifixion and resurrection. But what about his formative years? We know he didn’t own a Nintendo Wii (they hadn’t been created yet) but beyond that there isn’t much to work with.

Fortunately a documentary comes to our rescue. Titled, “Jesus: The Lost Years,” the documentary attempts to utilise oral histories and archeological evidence to fill in the blanks.

I was particularly amused to read Trinity Broadcasting Network chief of staff Paul Crouch liken the life of Jesus to a role made famous by Harrison Ford:

“It’s kind of like watching an ‘Indiana Jones’ movie or a great mystery unfolding or being solved. They didn’t solve everything, but I found it very fascinating.”

Interestingly author Paul Perry (whose book the documentary is based on) also took some time off to investigate Marian apparitions and ‘flashes of light’ above churches.

“I was horrified”: Secret Worshippers
You might be familiar with the concept of the mystery shopper; someone is hired to go into a store and rate the service they receive in order to provide feedback to the employer or head office. But did you know there were ‘secret worshippers’ being unleashed onto unsuspecting churches who go around rating everything from the cleanliness of the toilets to the quality of the sermon?

Alexandra Alter (what a great last name to be writing about religious topics!) writes:

Harrison belongs to a new breed of church consultants aiming to equip pastors with modern marketing practices. Pastors say mystery worshippers offer insight into how newcomers judge churches — critical at a time when mainline denominations continue to shed members and nearly half of American adults switch religious affiliations.

Presumably it was such an encounter with a mystery worshipper that led St. Matthew to conclude: Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Number of the Turnbull
Australian leader of the opposition, Malcolm Turnbull has joined the lofty heights of Twitter. You can follow him here: @TurnbullMalcolm

What intrigued me the most, though, was the number of people following Mr. Turnbull at the time of publishing.

Draw your own conclusions…

Happy Sunday everyone!