Archive for January, 2009

Something the current Australian Government should not be proud of proposing is the Clean Feed (read more about it here and here) which seems to be an inspiration to the German Government who appears to be thinking of having one too!

“Germany’s Minister for Families has announced a legislative initiative to force ISPs to implement a government-mandated block list (in English), which will be updated daily. The BKA (Germany’s equivalent of the FBI) will be in charge of generating and maintaining the list. As usual, this is being brought in under the ‘fight child porn’ guise. The minister is quoted as saying: ‘We must not water down the problem’ in reply to being challenged that this law and technology could be used to censor other content. She then went on to say: ‘I can’t know what wishes and plans future governments will develop.’ She has agreed the principle of the legislation with the interior minister and the technology minister, which in German coalition government terms means it’s pretty much a done deal.”

A cute story from CBS News in the states shows what we could learn from the Animal Kingdom about acceptance and diversity.

When elephants retire, many head for the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn. They arrive one by one, but they tend to live out their lives two-by-two.

“Every elephant that comes here searches out someone that she then spends most all of her time with,” says sanctuary co-founder Carol Buckley.

It’s like having a best girlfriend, Buckley says – “Somebody they can relate to, they have something in common with.” Debbie has Ronnie. Misty can’t live without Dulary.

Those are pachyderm-pachyderm pairs. But perhaps the closest friends of all are Tarra and Bella. That would be Tarra the 8,700 pound Asian elephant. And Bella. The dog.

“This is her friend,” Buckley says, scratching Bella’s tummy. “Her friend just happens to be a dog and not an elephant.” “Bella knows she’s not an elephant. Tarra knows she’s not a dog,” Buckley adds. “But that’s not a problem for them.”

Bella is one of more than a dozen stray dogs that have found a home at the sanctuary. Most want nothing to do with the elephants and vice versa. But not this odd couple. “When it’s time to eat they both eat together. They drink together. They sleep together. They play together,” Buckley says.

Tarra and Bella have been close for years — but no one really knew how close they were until recently. A few months ago Bella suffered a spinal cord injury. She couldn’t move her legs, couldn’t even wag her tail. For three weeks the dog lay motionless up in the sanctuary office.

And for three weeks the elephant held vigil: 2,700 acres to roam free, and Tarra just stood in the corner, beside a gate, right outside that sanctuary office. “She just stood outside the balcony – just stood there and waited,” says Buckley. “She was concerned about her friend.”

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