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Chinese Firm Helps Iran Spy On Citizens
New submitter politkal excerpts from a report at Reuters: "A Chinese telecommunications equipment company has sold Iran's largest telecom firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and internet communications, interviews and contract documents show. The system was part of a 98.6 million euro ($130.6 million) contract for networking equipment supplied by Shenzhen, China-based ZTE Corp to the Telecommunication Co of Iran (TCI), according to the documents. Government-controlled TCI has a near monopoly on Iran's landline telephone services and much of Iran's internet traffic is required to flow through its network. ... Human rights groups say they have documented numerous cases in which the Iranian government tracked down and arrested critics by monitoring their telephone calls or internet activities. Iran this month set up a Supreme Council of Cyberspace, headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said it would protect 'against internet evils,' according to Iranian state television."
That's terrible they're taking marketshare from Cisco, Bluecoat and gang!
And before that the US and UK Gov helped overthrow Iran's government and install the Shah. I won't be surprised if most Iranians are still aware of that event in their history.
The Chinese are just selling to whoever wants to buy from them. If the Iranian people don't want their current government that's a different issue. The Chinese never claimed to be the good guys, nor do they go around telling others how to run their countries.
Not long ago the Palestinians democratically elected their government. The US Gov didn't like the election results and promptly said so in public.
So to me the USA has little credibility whenever they talk about what government the Iranians (or others) should have, and what the Iranians actually want. The USA has been overthrowing democracies for a long time.
That's cute except its not true. You only THINK you have more influence in America but in reality you're just as fucked as them.
What is/was your influence on SOPA? TSA? Patent laws? Weed? Death penalty? Stem cells? I see lots of talking and controversies with very little "deciding" and a lot of "here is what we have decided". Just because people didn't protest as much as they should about these issues doesn't mean its not worth protesting for.
How dare the Iranian gov't of the 1950s try and nationalize the oil under their land that rightfully belonged to British Petroleum! Those evil people weren't respecting the rule of law, the same way Chinese people refused to respect the British right to sell them opium!
Furthermore, we all know the great democracies of the USA and Britain never stole any land or resources from any other people (remember how the Cherokee left Georgia because they new the African slave volunteers needed a new home?), which of course grants them the right to intervene in other, inferior democracies.
Thank god we have people like you to clarify our rights.