Slashdot Mirror
Syrian Protesters Roll Out New iPhone Apps
An anonymous reader writes "Protesters in Syria, dealing with a strict media blackout, have rolled out new iPhone and iPad apps to share news, stories, and even jokes. Amid a brutal crackdown, rebels are fighting back on their iPhones. The Arab Spring's newest weapon keeps the opposition informed—and the regime in check."
praises of brave souls trying to bring democracy into their lives in 3,2,1 while at the same time making fun of the occupy protests in "free" countries.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Depending on how you want to define the term [WMD], the free and unfiltered exchange of ideas and information could well be described in such a fashion.
I mention this, because of some of the verbage in the appstore agreement.
When the pen is mightier than the sword, for those wishing to uphold the status quo, both must be controlled. The former moreso than the latter.
Given apple's philosophy about openness, (or lack thereof), I wouldn't doubt that they would remove the app from the appstore for "inciting violence" or some other absurd infraction.
Knowledge is power.
It will be interesting to see how many posters here will back Al-assad claiming that he is the rightful ruler of Syria.
No ruler has a greater right to life than any of the people he governs. He's past the tipping point already. Start killing people and cooking up preposterous storys to back up your claim and you might as well leave now, rather than gunned down by a rebel soldier after escaping from your flamin motorcade.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Would be rather fitting if the iPhone helped along a revolution for freedom.
So the dissident first has to jailbreak out of his cell, only to have to jailbreak his cell? Why would they want to rely on an app that can be remote wiped by Apple at a moments notice? Not only are the Android phones more free, the faster processors will speed up encryption/decryption. Poor choice of phone.
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
praises of brave souls trying to bring democracy into their lives in 3,2,1 while at the same time making fun of the occupy protests in "free" countries.
Very few people are making fun of "occupy" protesters. Its "occupy" campers that are being made fun of to some degree, even by supporters of the "occupy" protesters and the occupy movement in general.
Camping in a public park despite regulations to the contrary is something quite separate and different from showing up on wall street carrying signs and speaking up about abusive practices. Get a room? Stay with a friend who lives in the city? Stay with a supporter who lives in the city? Camp in a *real* campsite outside the city and take a bus into the city? People I've spoken with who attended big protests in the 60s did these sort of things. Is there a lack or organization and planning today compared to the 60s, or is there a lack of supporters offering their couch or living room floor?
So you're saying it's okay to destroy property, but not lives. Funny -- the bill of rights seems to disagree with that.
The Bill of Rights speaks of due process. Setting up a camp in a public park against regulations, being *notified* to remove your property, being *warned* that property left in the park will be thrown out, might be considered a constitutionally acceptable due process. Requiring a permit to camp may also be considered a constitutionally acceptable practice.
To be fair everyone was given notice that the park had to be cleared for cleanup. If a person chooses to leave their stuff there despite such announcements and warning there is an argument that the property was abandoned in a legal sense. It is a public park where camping is not allowed, is there not an inherent risk in setting up a tent? Personally I suspect may of those tents were left there in the hope they would get tossed, they were more valuable as PR tools than shelter. The cold weather is going to shut this thing down real soon and the tents will not be needed much longer.
Police throwing 5,000 donated books into a dumpster is not a visage of democracy.
The Mayor's office is reporting that Sanitation workers, not police, cleaned up things and that they handled books separately from trash. Books are being held at a city garage and may be picked up.
Be sure to run such arguments through the Abraham Lincoln test. Quite a few Americans were killed in defense of his "regime."
Not in the same ballpark, not in the same league, not even in the same sport.
Syrian "Arab Spring" revolt isn't about secession and landholders right to keep slaves, it's about people tired of a leader who, though elected, they have no real say in his election. His father was leader for 29 years. Don' t think that fits Abe or the conferacy even tangentially.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I agree, but the rationale in your second post is much better than in the first. It's easy to get lazy and assume any leader who draws protest or revolt is illegitimate and must go. I suppose the real test is whether a leader will allow fair elections, and abide by them. Of course there are many shades of gray in election fraud.
At a GDP per capita of just over 5000 USD, Syrians owning iPhones is the equivalent of Americans owning a 5000 USD device and using that to bring the government down. Or requires the American equivalent of earning 500.000 per year to make the cost of the iPhone for these Syrians comparable to their income. Like, the masses, right? Clearly, not quite. Syrians owning iPhones are a tiny and rich minority. Claiming these people are rebels is like saying the 1% are, really, rebels.
I was wondering that too. What's the app called? Is it too much to ask for a link to the App store from the original story? Vapourware perhaps?
I used to have a better sig than this, but I got tired of it
That's because the USA and their allied dictators saw any moderate leftist social democrat as sons of Fidel Castro and Stalin born in hell, and the ones not allied to the USA applied the same methods; any natural leader except for the religious leaders was killed by the secret services of arab dictators, so they don't have union leaders, members of professional associations or a free press that could be pool of new moderate leaders.
Mexico: 100% conservative's America now!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id455117843?mt=8