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Syrian Protesters Roll Out New iPhone Apps

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-people's-app dept.

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."

12 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Wait for the media by future+assassin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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*
    1. Re:Wait for the media by Baloroth · · Score: 4, Informative

      Oh yeah. Because a crackdown that killed 3,500 people (according to TFA) is clearly the same as throwing away a few tents.

      You realize that the OWS movement will never be taken seriously by reasonable people if hyperbole like this seem to be the common view of the movement, right? Because it totally won't. And shouldn't. Not saying it is. What I'm saying is your comments, and comments like this (which I see all the time on /.) only hurt yourself and the movement you (implicitly seem to) support.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    2. Re:Wait for the media by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Do people have to die before you listen to them?

    3. Re:Wait for the media by Bucky24 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I consider myself to be a reasonable person, and I take it very seriously. Though there's really no way to convince you that I'm reasonable, just a there's no way to convince you that OWS is serious. There will always be a segment of the population that is threatened by the idea that the system might be able to change.

      --
      All the world's a CPU, and all the men and women merely AI agents
    4. Re:Wait for the media by ClioCJS · · Score: 4, Informative
      No, they weren't. If you ask anyone actually evicted by the police, the police did allow them to keep their property. They weren't abandoned, though maybe they were "abandoned". At this point, the law uses "words" that don't even have their common-sense "meaning" anymore, so maybe there is some legal status of "abandoned" that can be forced upon you even when you are not really abandoning your property.

      But by any common-sense interpretation of the English language, they were not abandoned. It was not voluntary. You are full of shit. And the bill of rights has a little something to do with every law in existence, for laws must take it into consideration in order to be legal. (Though there is always that awkward point after a law is passed, but before it is struck down. . .)

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  2. Steve Jobs was part Syrian by arcite · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Would be rather fitting if the iPhone helped along a revolution for freedom.

    1. Re:Steve Jobs was part Syrian by Nerdfest · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It would also be quite ironic given the nature of the platform.

  3. Why IPhone by horza · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

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    Property for sale in Nice, France
    1. Re:Why IPhone by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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.

      Wait. You think Apple would do that? You don't work at Apple. If they did Apple would be seen as a tool of bloodthirsty tyrants. I expect if the Syrian government even suggested Apple drop these apps you'd find an epidemic of "deaf ears" in Cupertino.

      Apple is all about saluting the Rebel in you, after all.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  4. Protesters or campers? by perpenso · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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?

  5. The Bill of Rights speaks of due process ... by perpenso · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

  6. Re:cool by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar