In July there was pressure on Facebook to install a Panic Button following the rape and murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a 33-year-old convicted sex offender, posing as a teenage boy, who she met on the social networking site.

Back then Facebook dragged its heels, saying their report function was sufficient. Well it wasn’t and it isn’t.

A twelve year old Sydney girl, her friends and her mother have been harassed by a Facebook stalker for two weeks and the mother of three says the site is doing nothing about it.

The girl, who remains nameless due to an ongoing investigation, had her account “hacked” last month.

Since then, the stalker used the account to chat to her friends and gather information about themselves and her. He even used the account to post vile messages on the distraught mothers page. He has even sent pornographic images.

The terrified girls mother tried in vain to get something done by Facebook.

“We tried reporting on Facebook. We got all her friends to report it on Facebook. Facebook won’t reply. They don’t want to contact us. They don’t want to know about it, basically. You cannot ring Facebook.”

The popular social networking site does not have a Sydney office, but a PR firm working for the company simply pointed to the terms of service and said users must be 13 years or older.

“Facebook co-operates with Australian law-enforcement agencies to help ensure that Facebook remains a safe place for our users to connect with friends and family.

“We have a dedicated resource for the Australian [Attorney-General's Deparment] and AFP [Australian Federal Police] to contact, as well as a 24-hour hotline to enable them to reach the company directly for help in cases of emergency, as well as for assistance in investigations and prosecutions,” it said to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Nothing is more important to Facebook than the safety of the people who use our site. On Facebook there are a variety of measures people can use to protect themselves from unwanted contact and we strongly encourage their use.”

The mother says she tried shutting down the account, but when it failed, she went to police. “They said Facebook won’t co-operate with the police,” she said.

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Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

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Aussie Ninjas save mugging victim

A German exchange student in Sydney who was being mugged had some awesome help, the BBC reports.

Three muggers who attacked the student hadn’t taken the fact they were beside a Ninja school into consideration.

The men were committing the crime when they turned to see five warriors in full uniform racing towards them.

“We just ran outside and started running at them, yelling and everything,” said ninja master Kaylan Soto who instructed his students to take action.

“These guys have turned around and seen five ninjas in black ninja uniforms running towards them. They just bolted.”

Two men were later arrested and police are still searching for the third criminal. He is presumed dead and full of shurikens.

Hi, we’re from Customs. Got Porn?

Australian Customs Officials now have an “unfettered right” to search peoples electronic technology in the search for dirty things.

Passengers on flights are beginning to notice a new option on the Incoming Passenger Cards handed out on flights that asks if they have pornography.

“Is it fair that customs officers rummage through someone’s luggage and pull out a legal men’s magazine or a lesbian journal in front of their children or their mother-in-law?” she said.

“If you and your partner have filmed or photographed yourselves making love in an exotic destination or even taking a bath, you will have to answer ‘Yes’ to the question or you will be breaking the law.”

SMH.com

The chairman of the lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, Colin Jacobs, said the changes to the law have been sneaked in by the government and the public received no notice of the changes.

Australia already has a weird record of censorship, including the recent move to ban R Rated films featuring actresses with small breasts.

Wikileaks founder feels Australia’s wrath…sort of.

What do you do when secrets leak onto the web and you’re in government?

A) Deny Deny DENY!

B) Discredit your accuser.

C) Get Orwellian with leak sites founder.

Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, had passport taken from him by officials on arrival to Melbourne.

The only reason for stopping him was because the document was “looking worn”. Passports may be taken from travellers for short periods by immigration officials if they appear to be damaged.

They then returned the passport about 15 minutes later, when, Assange says, he was told that it was going to be or was already cancelled.

The Register

Later, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) approached him, searched his bags and questioned him about a non-related hacking offence from 1991.

Communication Minister,Steven Conroy, has, according to Assange, sent him a letter saying he’s under investigation for the leaks.

Was it something sinister? Or just a normal misunderstanding or regular check? Probably regular check. But its more fun to think that the Australian government is pissed off and being childish.

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News from RRW, Twitter has a new phishing scam.

For those of you that travel the web alot, you’ll recognise the message.

“Lol, is this you?! www.somedodgeysite.com “

For the love of god, don’t click it if you’ve no idea what this is.

Once they get your log-in details, they’ll send the same message to all your friends.

More and more im seeing this on MSN. Bebo was/is ridiculously rife with these scams.

DONT CLICK THE LINK, AND ESPECIALLY, DONT ENTER YOUR LOGIN DETAILS ON THESE SITES!

The only way to stop these scams are :

1) If your details are already taken : IMMEDIATELY change your password.

2) If you haven’t suffered this scam : DONT be stupid and click these things. Really. The more people clued up on these scams, the better off we all are, because we wont have to suffer these silly messages.

Here be Monsters…

Two denizens of the deep that may kill us all this week…

Number One, Giant Squid:

Yes, a giant squid was caught off the Gulf of Mexico.

The beastie, measuring 5.9 meters and weighing 46.7 kg, is a rare insight into what may be lurking beneath the waves.

Keep an eye HERE for more news on Mr.Squidly…

Number Two, Ghost Shark:

Over on Wired we have something,that in my opinion, looks way cooler.

The creature was discovered off California. Its got a club on its head that scientists believe may be used for mating…

Its Walken Wednesday!

For a while now, Nerin has celebrated Wednesday (or Hump Day as its now becoming more commonly known) in a different way.

Yes, Wednesdays are dedicated to random outbursts in the voice of Chris-ta-fer Wawwlken, or simply a celebration of the man himself.

Now that Mr.Fonnen and Nerin share a house, it was always going to get much worse.

So, for Walken Wednesday, we humbly present to you:

Cooking with Christopher Walken…

Ya know what? To hell with the Beatles!

For a while now, here on the site, we’ve noticed the ridiculous Beatles mania rearing its head again.

Yes, they were successful. Yes, they had some catchy songs. But this is stupid. Beatles worship my ass.

Theyre selling all their CDs for a couple of hundred euros! Come on!

Mr Fonnens one word review? “Pointless.”

Well, anyway, we here on the site arent afraid to say we dont like this Beatles Mania crap. And neither is this guy :

(That was a fairly decent intro )

Australia attacked by Vampire God of Doom…

According to the Sydney Morning Herald , Sydney has been covered in a strange red blanket.

The eerie pictures are all in the above link, check them out.

Meteorologists say it could be the suns rays bouncing against a red dust cloud.

Nothing like this has been seen before.

Sydneysiders have woken to a red haze unlike anything seen before by residents or weather experts, as the sun struggles to pierce a thick blanket of dust cloaking the city this morning.

Callers flooded talkback radio, others hit social networking sites and scores of emails were received from smh.com.au readers as Sydney residents expressed their amazement at this morning’s conditions.

“It’s just red, red, red as far as you can see,” one caller at the Anzac Bridge told 2GB.

Officials think that there will be chaos, since the dust is causing all sorts of problems, including setting off fire alarms.

One mans theory: “It happened because marsupials are against God. Pouches are unnatural! And IMMORAL!!!” Mr.Fonnen.