Slashdot Mirror
Syria Bans iPhone, Protest App
Hugh Pickens writes "BBC reports that with 4,000 people killed in Syria since March, the government has banned the iPhone and threatened confiscation and prosecution for anyone found with an iPhone as the government tries to control information getting out of the country. Most international media have been banned from Syria since the uprising began, so footage of the violent crackdown has primarily come from activists filming material themselves and posting it on the internet. A mobile app for the iPhone called Souria Wa Bas (which roughly translates as 'Syria and That's All') covers the actions of opposition groups, including the Local Coordination Committees which claim to have members across the country and includes links for news, videos, and a map of opposition hot spots. The app's creators say they produced Souria Wa Bas to counter regime accounts of the opposition's activities. 'Under the fast-moving events in Syria and the deliberate attempts to distort the facts by some. We have compiled the most important Syrian news sources available,' say creators of the app at the Apple store."
Ironically creator of iPhone had Syrian blood.
"..when do we send some freedom their way?"
When they find some incredibly large oil deposits.
Steve Jobs' biological father, Abdulfattah John Jandali, is a native of Syria. He recently expressed his support for the pro-democracy protesters
This is logical conclusion of any government - complete take over all powers and destruction of all liberties. Not that there were huge number of liberties in Syria to begin with, but it's the same trend with all governments.
You can't handle the truth.
If France had taken that attitude in 1776 Americans would be speaking English now.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
When we discover a valuable mineral deposit we can't get from a less war-torn nation. Why don't we send some freedom to the FARC occupied territories of northern Columbia, ending the cocaine trade forever? Because it would cost $100 billion and 100,000 US Soldier lives.
Freedom is really damn expensive, as it turns out. Ask the British, WWII nearly bankrupted their country, and we still had to write off most of the debt we loaned them.
Freedom used to be a lot cheaper. You can grow a full replacement army of humans every 15-20 years, but Tanks, Jets, Bombers, Aircraft Carriers etc have to be purchased with Gold and Gold Equivalents. When they break you can't just send them to the hospital for a few weeks before going back to the front lines. Machines need a whole additional set of parts, logistics and mechanics that you have to pay for.
moox. for a new generation.
We wrote off the $31 billion (half a trillion dollars in today's money) we loaned to you during WW2, then loaned you some more money.
To clarify:
What we wrote off: The $31 Billion freebie
What you guys actually paid back:The $4.33 Billion Loan
moox. for a new generation.
Actually, Syria does have large oil deposits, and is an exporter of oil to Europe. Granted, it doesn't seem that way when compared to giants like Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Iran, et al, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Thanks to Syria's low population of 22 million, there's not much demand for that oil, so they can export it, just like other Arab countries.
Also, the reason there is no Western intervention in Syria like there was in Libya was that Russia & China have openly opposed it, and made it clear that they're not going to stand for it. Neither of them were happy about the way the Libyan civil war ended - with an enhanced influence for NATO, so they sent the signals early that they won't tolerate Western intervention here. As it is, Syria is currently a proxy battleground between Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Qatar on the rebel side, and Iran, Iraq & Hizbullah on the Assad regime's side.
In any case, sending freedom their way is a bad idea, as it has been in Egypt, Libya & Tunisia. It's not going to result in democratic pluralism, but just a way for Islamic parties to take over in an election, just like they have won in Egypt, Tunisia & Morocco, and become Islamic theocracies, almost like Iran, except that they'd be Sunnite instead of Shiite as in Iran or Lebanon.
Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco have not 'become Islamic theocracies'. Egypt RIGHT NOW is having mass demonstrations where the MILITARY is beating the shit out of protestors and killing people. OUR ALLY IN THE WAR ON TERROR EGYPTIAN MILITARY.
besides, what the fuck do you think democracy is? its voting. if they want to vote in a bunch of theocratic illiterates, why shouldn't they be able to? thats what we in the US did in 2000 and 2004.
The Justice and Development party is not pushing for a theocracy, they're less extreme than the Republican party in the US. Yes, they'd like their new democracies to reflect Islamic values, just as most Americans want the US to reflect Christian values. Heck, Tunisia's new electoral winners, the Ennahda party, won't even ban alcohol. You're falling for the FUD.