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U.S. Shuts Down Somalia Internet Access
BrianGa writes: "This
article reports that Somalia's only internet company and a key telecom company have been forced to close because the United States suspects them of terrorist links."
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taking a whole country offline. wow.
I'm sure the perspectives are different in a country where most people don't know where their next meal will be coming from, but from a geekish perspective, that's incredible.
not only does it show just how much the internet has moved away from the initial highly resistant setup, it also shows that technical dangers (including physical loss of connectivity due to the line ceasing to exist after a bombing) aren't the only ones you face.
the article also shows that we're not talking about a "mommy, I can't surf porn anymore" situation. the countries largest employer has been destroyed, money transfers that lots of ordinary people rely on are frozen, human aids groups have lost contact to the outside world.
I see exactly one country that engages in terrorist activities, and it ain't afghanistan or iraq.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
On September 11th and 12th, the United States saw many small planes and helicopters traveling from Afganistan (Talibana controlled areas) to Somolia.
D =876925.
Still think this is unjustified?
Take a look at the use of code words used by our (probable) attackers, as reported by the economist: http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_I
Now, imagine the damage a constantly changing table of what code words correspond to what real words on the internet somewhere. Hell, imagine knowing that the details for an attack are contianed in an encrypted message!
I am as much a proponent of civil liberties as the next (member of the ACLU) guy, but I am especially fond of the right to LIFE.
--Alex Fishman
"It is better to be feared than loved."
Machiavelli
And if necessary, that is what the US must be. We have tried "love" and it didn't stop September 11. Now we are working on fear. It will work much better.
It is, however, rather amusing to see the outrage in this discussion. Do they really imagine that internet access will *stay* away from Somalia? Another non-terrorist company will move in and buy the assets. The only thing that will stop this is if the Somali government is still in league with the terrorists, in which case the loss of internet is the least of worries people should have for the Somalis.
The only good weather is bad weather.
I for one would far rather that innocent people continue to die than for email and internet access to infringed upon.
This war, people. This is not an intellectual excercise. This is not a point-counterpoint trial where each person has time to prove their allegations in an organized manner. This is a war. We are the targets. Without quick thinking and quick action, we will all be dead. We are under a very real threat at this very moment.
I would like for you to have the continued freedom to question our capable military advisors, even though you don't know half of what they do. If you would like to have that continued freedom, then you better hope they do a good job beating the enemy. Winning a war somtimes takes drastic action.
I am in full support of this war effort, even if it means some internet access is taken down for a while.
How the FSCK is this a war???????
I'm sorry if I missed the news announcement when the US openly declared war on all third war countries.
THIS WAS A CRIME, NOT A WAR we just have taken this as a convenient excuse for the atrocities that we will commit back in return just cuz we're pissed.
I REPEAT, THERE IS NO WAR.
here's a good article about it
If God gave us curiosity
The media were reporting for a while that bin Laden
publically accepted command responsibility for for
the September 11th attacks. I can't find the State
of the Ummah video that supposedly substantiates
this report, however, and since the CIA manages CNNs
editorial policy, I'm not willing to accept the
report without direct, verifiable references.
If the report is accurate, then since bin Laden was
at the time the acting minister of defense of
Afghanistan, a declaration of war on Afghanistan is
just, as an act of self-defense. The September
11th attacks were, in this case, an act of undeclared
war.
However, the current campaign is in direct
violation of the Constitution and laws of the
United States. The Constitution requires an
act of Congress to enter into war. The Congress
of the United States declined to declare war
when the Bush administration requested it.
Therefore, the current bombing campaign is
just an act of mass-murder, and the president
of the United States is a mass-murderer,
arguably guilty of genocide, just like his
predecessor, William Jefferson Clinton.
-I like my women like I like my tea: green-
who cares about the innocent civilian lives, as long as they arent american right? Fuck you. The US are still bombing the cities that the taliban have allready deserted, that means all you are now doing is killing the afgan people and that makes you no better than they are.
Bow down.
if al qaida shut down all US international internet connections, most telephone lines and destroyed the main money transfer institutes - how long would it take until bush is on the air talking about a terrorist attack?
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
I really can't believe what is being said here.
The moderation is even worse.
First, we (the USA) are at war. When members of one nation attack another nation, that is an act of war. If you don't think that bin Laden is closely enough associated for us to be at war with the Taliban, then you haven't been reading the news.
Now, lawyers and judges don't run wars. Presidents and generals do. There is no "due process" or "burden of proof" involved. You get the best intell you can, and you make the best decisions you can based on that information. OTHERWISE YOU LOOSE WHILE WORRYING THAT YOU MIGHT MAKE A MISTAKE.
As for Somalia, if you think that the US is "taking away" their access because we don't like them, then perhaps you don't remember that WE SENT TROOPS THERE TO MAKE SURE THEY DIDN'T STARVE, and to try to get them to STOP KILLING EACH OTHER. People who hate Muslims don't sacrifice their own men to try to stop them from killing each other.
Finally, this was about MONEY not about internet access. Do you really think that the "common man" in Somalia has internet access?
To summarize: We are in a war. We are doing the things that must be done in a war. We only hate people who kill our people.
Oh, and on the red cross thing, you can't just paint a red cross (or star, or crescent moon and star) on all of your equipment/supplies/strongholds and then cry foul when someone bombs them. They were "rendering comfort to the enemy" which makes them the enemy by assosciation.
-Peter
You're a confused idiot, just remember that you, your kids and your grandkids have to live in the world you manage to construct. Self defense is entirely legal and legitimate, which rules out your definition. Americans aren't blocking out any bigger picture, but you have to be very selective with the information you choose to ingest to arrive at your warped position.
" I'm sorry, but the last time I checked, no United States citizen has killed one of these alleged "thousands of Iraqi children." Which one have I killed? "
All US citizens helped kill over a million iraquis including over 500,000 children. Sure you did not go out there and pulled the trigger but your govt did it and you are responsible for your govt. By your insane and utterly stupid reasoning we should not be bombing Afghanistan because "No afghani citizen killed americans" All those terrorists were from saudi arabia or pakistan. Jeez no wonder you posted anonymously that was the stupidest post I have ever seen here.
BTW try and justify nagasaki in your mind sometime. There was no reason to drop THAT bomb. We did it because we enjoy killing so much. We can't seem to go for more then a few years without killing some dark skinned people someplace.
War is necrophilia.