Obama speaks out against cellphone and computer tracking of dissidents

[Ichingcarpenter]

Apr 23, 2012 7:28pm EDT
(Reuters) -


President Barack Obama imposed U.S. sanctions on Monday on those who help Syria and Iran track dissidents through cell phones and computers, serving notice on technology providers that they could be held responsible for those governments' human rights abuses.


Obama's announcement underscored how democracy activists have used social media tools in protest movements across the Middle East, but also the extent to which authoritarian governments have used cutting-edge technologies to crack down on dissent.

"These technologies should be in place to empower citizens, not to repress them," Obama said in a somber speech at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/us-usa-technology-rights-idUSBRE83M05Z20120423


Opsie..... sorry wrong country, wrong date, wrong just wrong.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. No shit.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. He sure is passionate about privacy rights...for Syrians and Iranians!

Now about those weapons he sent to Syria....

Damn...... He's pro gun too

Yippie!!!!

[panzerfaust]

18. "These technologies should be in place to empower citizens, not to repress them," Obama said

Voting for Obama was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made.

[roguevalley]

20. Bwahaha, I said. Amazing isn't it? Did his nose grow or what? How is it that those

guys get informational privacy concerns and we get the shaft? Apparently, someone needs a bit of self awareness. The bubble he lives in and the hypocrisy he hears from others as well is shaping his outlook so that he can't even hear himself anymore. Sad, sad, sad. For us.

[JaneyVee]

31. Really, that was one of the biggest mistakes you ever made?

So I guess you're tortured daily with your decision for not having voted for McCain and Romney?

[woo me with science]

44. Give it a rest. nt

[RainDog]

40. I think it's an utterly stupid statement

to claim that voting for Obama was one of the biggest mistakes you've made if you base this upon the reality that you would have gotten a lot worse if Republicans had gained office.

the reality is that you are voting for social issues when you vote for a party.

the larger issues, economic, military, nat'l sec, drug policy, etc... are decided without your consent by both parties - this is nothing new.

I'm all for talking about the systemic problems that exist within this society that neither party addresses.

I find this sort of complaint ridiculous on the face of it. I certainly would not want to have had McCain/Palin or Romney/Ryan in office instead of Obama and anyone who claims that voting for him was such a big mistake is, by default, supporting the election of people more further to the right than democrats.

[leveymg]

2. Shoot. Thought he might be reigning in the NSA and FBI.

Typical of him. Smart guy, but a totally wooden ear for irony.

[Supersedeas]

48. Classic doublespeak

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Spy On Everyone is like pot

It's bad for *other* people.

[Hydra]

5. *lmao*

And to think, he said that with full knowledge of what the NSA was doing.

Gotta give him points for irony.

[Arctic Dave]

6. I'm sure it was a pretty speech though.

Probably one of the best in the history of everything.


So he is able to speak with a forked tongue right to our faces. Nice to see we have that cleared up now.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. I wonder if he'll ask to legalize pot

in Holland?

[burnodo]

7. Is this The Onion???

Holy Cognitive Dissonance, Batman!

[Lenomsky]

9. LOL

[mazzarro]

10. I just cannot believe him saying this!

So it is a condemnable offense if other countries do it. But is just fine and dandy if the US and Britain do same? Woooow!

[treestar]

49. Maybe it is not the same thing?

And he can see the difference, where you can't or won't?

[mazzarro]

50. Pffffff, yeah right! -- n/t

[cantbeserious]

11. I Have Been Told That Much Of What Obama Does Domestically Is Part Of A N-Dimensional Chess Game

People like me are just incapable of seeing the rhyme or reason to his actions.

[GeorgeGist]

15. Leading from behind ...

means jumping on the bandwagon for the victory parade.

[cantbeserious]

16. Yes - You've Woken Up...Now What?

[roguevalley]

21. don't worry, honey. BOG people will be along with their tortured logic and tiny weeps any second now

[cantbeserious]

22. Damn - I Won't Be Able To Sleep Now For Fear Of The BOG People - Thanks For The Warning

eom

[PowerToThePeople]

12. .

[Fearless]

13. Do as we say not as we do.

[mick063]

14. I'm beyond laughing

Political art projects from Herman Cain are funny. Sarah Palin's view of Russia from across the Bering Strait is funny. Rick Perry's short term memory loss is funny.

This is not funny.

This is a Democratic President, in his typical eloquent way, competing with the above.

I'm not laughing.

[LittleBlue]

39. You know those officials

from autocratic states like North Korea/China/Russia saying how the West needs more democracy? Remember how Americans used to laugh at that stuff?

Not so funny when it's our president!

[totodeinhere]

17. Now we need the leader of some country to speak out against cellphone and computer tracking of

Americans.

[socialist_n_TN]

47. Vlad Putin?? Calling Vlad Putin....

[forestpath]

19. I wonder how he can stand his own hypocrisy.

[nashville_brook]

23. we should rescind tax breaks and incentives for companies spying on us...

just like with Syrian and Iran:

Obama rolled out new asset freezes and visa restrictions against Syrian and Iranian security agencies, telecommunications companies and individuals accused of helping security forces conduct surveillance to target the opposition for attack.

[RainDog]

24. authoritarian govts. using technology to stop dissent

is a human rights abuse by govt.

I agree.

No matter what nation is doing this.

[Ocelot]

25. Dick Cheney lies grinning in his sarcophagus, awaiting the sunset

The 2 parties are both under his control now. Thanks in large part to the current empty suit.

[geek tragedy]

26. Please provide a link showing that the NSA tracked the cell location of a dissident

and this aided in the persecution of said dissident resulting from that dissident's political views and protected first amendment activities.

Thanks in advance.

[mick063]

27. Ah yes, the link to classified information.

A refresher on the crop seeded with mistrust:

Speculation will run rampant with secrecy. Tidbits revealed by the demon named Snowden reveal a few thousand "mistakes" per year.

We don't need any links. The infrastructure is in place. The lack of trust is in place. The Senator from Oregon has declared "Tip of the iceberg". The minority leader of the House has declared the magnitude greater than realized. The former President has declared Democracy to be bankrupt. A former Presidential candidate says the NSA has gone too far. The President himself has called for a review. All of them, Democrats.


I find it rather absurd to demand a link, but your loyal, stalwart defense is admirable. It takes courage to stand up to a tsunami.

[geek tragedy]

29. So, there's nothing to support the allegation that Obama is doing

what he criticized Iran and Syria for.

As suspected from the "Who needs facts when you have convictions" crowd.

[JaneyVee]

33. And here I thought liberalism meant an attachment to reality.

Facts shmacts.

[Summer Hathaway]

34. Liberalism IS attached to reality.

DU, on the other hand, is not.

[RainDog]

42. The FBI monitored Occupy

http://privacysos.org/node/914

The reality is that left-leaning groups have been monitored by agencies of the U.S. govt. for decades. This is nothing new. This monitoring has taken place under both Democratic and Republican presidents.

Reason would indicate, based upon a pattern of action over decades, combined with the increased surveillance power and the increased fear of terrorist rather than state acts of violence within the U.S., that the U.S. govt. has, indeed, used their power to monitor dissent in this nation.

Reasoning requires someone to look at historical precedent when deciding whether or not something is more likely to be true than not, without actual documentation.

Reality includes operating within the bounds of what is more or less likely given information available.

Therefore, reality does support the idea that dissidents have been monitored during and after the time the statement in the OP was made.

[mick063]

43. Yep

The reality is founded on a lack of trust.

Perhaps from a few cumulative deeds.

I put the burden of proof on you to convince me that the NSA is benevolent toward American citizens.

link please.

If you cannot, I will reciprocate your "facts shmacts" line in advance.


Or is this still at the petty level of "proving" the President emulated Syria, in every detail?

[truth2power]

36. The entire American populace are considered dissidents..

Therefore...

[davidn3600]

32. Would we ever know?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

28. How many here installed Windows 8 and looked at the map app?

I did for a friend. It asked "Use your current location?" so I figured "Sure, why not?" assuming it would be the city.

It pinpointed the actual HOUSE.

All of the privacy settings are off by default. It's like you are standing there waving your arms and jumping up and down buck naked to the entire intertubes.

The Internet is a VERY hostile place.

Need proof?

I'm here.

[Coyotl]

30. At first, I though this was an Onion or Currant article

Had to do a double check!

[sibelian]

35. Oh, fuck this.

Just fuck it.

[NealK]

37. I'm speechless.

[LittleBlue]

38. lolololol

Did he say it with a straight face?

[woo me with science]

41. TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS FIVE.

We all live in Oceania now.


_______________________________

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_%2B_2_%3D_5

[MisterP]

45. this charming example of doublethink is a way to spread plausible deniability

that he's "really" a librul (viz. the Blue Link Brigade, when it's not hunting down designated "journoterrsts&quot Doing All That He CanTM

[awoke_in_2003]

46. I'm speechless. nt

[Scuba]

51. The President suffers from an irony deficiency.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

52. He's an excellent speaker, so they tell me.

[HoneychildMooseMoss]

53. He does seem to know the art of speechifying

[woo me with science]

54. kick