Thank you for the info and the rant Doc. 

Hmmph, we got a twat here in Oz by the name of Abbott who wants to behave like your NSA/security agencies to throw his weight around. However, instead of increasing security/improving our safety, his actions will bring more trouble to our shores than they prevent.

Many of the world's conflicts began/escalated when uninvited nations stuck their noses of the affairs/issues of others.... and this imbecile recently signed us up for a conflict we can ill-afford to be involved in. 

We've had our noses in EVERY 'conflict' since Federation....and MOST of them long before the US got involved too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Nepean 

....and, if you like....also before the UK in the 2 biggest.

We're over there now because there are 40 misguided twits whose Aussie passports have been 'cancelled' over there on the WRONG end of the stick.

Abbott is a fuck-wit, yes...no dispute....only the rest of it....

Actually it probably uses part of the regular air force portion of the Oz defense budget. Good training for erasing scum.

You probably don't need an app for that, nor the NSA.  Sony was already caught engineering a rootkit virus that would stealthily auto-install anytime you played an audio CD or DVD from Sony on a PC, and there was the pre-release Xbox One from Microsoft.  Chances are slim that Apple and other device managers don't spy on you themselves.  You plunk money down for closed-source, proprietary hardware or software, you may well have paid a corporation to spy on you.  I cannot think of any reason corporations spying on you as being any less draconian than the government.

Indeed, Chibiabos...what spurred me to write this was Uvah's link (the second in sources). I'm just tired of the "Animal Farm" mentality that all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

It's necessary to watch communications, and I understand that. It's not ok to have the FISA Court rubber stamping subpoenas for data. They should be rigorous with the requesters.

How many times have we learned about how agencies have exceeded their mandate and collected metadata not allowed? There's got to be very significant control of this to guard our freedoms. I do not live in a faerie world where everyone hugs trees. There are evil people out there who intend us harm. I just don't want people to be needlessly harmed while trying to protect the. Emphasis on NEEDLESSLY. Sometimes there are no good choices, but the better choice might be debated more.

Just because a bunch of twats go to the Middle East to do the wrong thing by fighting with terrorist organisations, shouldn't mean another bunch of innocent Aussies be placed in harms way.  The simpler solution is to completely disown them, to revoke their Aussie citizenship and cancel their passports, thus making them stateless and unable to return...ever... regardless of country of origin/born here or not.

With a bit of luck somebody kills the fucks and then they're nobody's problem, but our men and women do NOT belong there to somehow balance the books.  If Abbott and his cronies want to send someone as cannon fodder/targets for terrorist, then let he and his government go in as combatants. 

In fact, it should be mandatory that every nation engaging in war has to send a couple hundred of its top politicians, its leaders included, to the battlefields to dodge bullets.  We may then see peace in our lifetimes.

Tis easier to thread a camel through the eye of a needle....

[camel reference sorta fits].

If I was in charge I would have sent in a couple of SAS to 'remove' them.   Much less paperwork than revoking passports...

Only sensible decision. If they wish to fight with the terrorists then they should be prepared to die like them. Here or there.

Remember that you said that when you're in that second group...

Oh wait...seems to me that a few of those wonderful people have been arrested in Australia after getting orders to shorten Australians by a head.

All of which really doesn't relate to the topic of the OP.

Thing is, Doc, Abbott jumped in boots n' all to get Australia involved in another overseas conflict, and in doing so he increased the potential for terrorist attacks on home soil, in retaliation.  Now I do not have a problem with appropriate actions to deal with terrorists on home soil, but I do object to our young men and woment being sent into conflicts that are none of our business.

As for twats wanting to go fight with terrorists, have them summarily executed at the airport/exit point.... saves all that other crap and fighting stocks will dwindle.   Other than that, Oz should stay out of it.

ALL conflicts Australians have died in have been equally 'none of our business'....the ONLY difference more recently is we are now autonomous and are not simply despensible cannon fodder for the British.

Remember, unlike almost every other country on the planet....Australia has NOT had its own civil war where people die 'internally'.

We have NEVER shirked our responsibilities towards others less fortunate/safe/whatever....nor will we.

Australians aren't fervent flag-wavers [unless it's some dopey football team].... we just do what's right....because it's right.

Re Australians dying in 'terrorist attacks'.... you name the place/event....and Aussies died, be it 9/11 ....Bali....Malaysian flight MH17 .... London bombing -2005......et al.

And that's why it needs to stop....if the US, Britain want to go sticking their noses into other peoples business, let them, but leave us out of it. 

We are not the world's policemen.

We have enough internal issues of our own for fuck sake... an increasing crime rate; increasing drug use/addiction; increasing poverty; etc, etc, etc, and we're not doing such a great job combatting any of that, so I say we clean up our own backyard before we go digging out weeds in others.

And the rest of the free world should be grateful for that fact.

@ starkers. In a conflict free world, that sort of idealism would work. In the real world, free people come to the aid of their fellow man.  Living on an island can be a bit reckless unless you have a Navy larger than any other world power. and having some friends with some big farking gunboats won't hurt either. (The point being, someday, others may be called to your country to help fight a battle that is not theirs. We yanks can and will fight and die alongside you Aussies.) That isolationist crap about kicked our ass in WWII, we Americans know better now.

Well, most of us anyway.