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How Spyware Reaches Oppressive Governments
New submitter blando writes "Between February and March of 2011, at the height of Egypt's tumultuous revolution, protesters stormed the offices of their feared State Security Investigations Service in Alexandria and Sixth of October city, on the edge of Cairo. It was there, amongst evidence of detentions, torture and surveillance at SSIS's headquarters, that information first came to light regarding a sales pitch by UK-based Gamma Group to Egypt's security agency for their FinFisher spyware."
I dunno if Stalin did said the following or not, nevertheless, it does sound valid for this case
Stalin once said: " A Capitalist will sell you the rope to hang him with. "
The creation of spyware and the selling that spyware to governments will only end up with all people in all countries being denied their basic human rights - including England, where the maker of the spyware, the Gamma Group, originated from
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
Nah, they've had it already. One election and done. MB in charge, with no further need for those pesky campaigns or democracy. Just pure Islamic jurisprudence from now on. They're already replacing America with China is the main foreign sponsor as they don't like the strings that come with American foreign aid (i.e. "bribes"). Whatayagonna do? The people apparently genuinely support the MB.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
the fruits of your labors are made possible by, and are protected by, a certain set of ideals
it should not be legal that you be engaged in a business which actively undermines those ideals
you should have your business punished, fined, shut down, or, at best, you, asshole, should have to relocate your business to the kind of country that would use your products against you. if they don't like that idea, maybe they shouldn't be pedaling their products to tyrants
there is a line, that any company will face, when engaging in business in foreign lands with bad attitudes about fundamental human freedoms
if you cross that line, i, and others in your home country, will not forget it, and will not let you get off the hook for your championing of profits over principles that made your riches possible in the first place
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
This has been going on for decades.
IBM assisted the Nazi Holocaust by providing the card reading/sorting technology which Nazi Germany used to locate and kill the ethnicities that the Germans wanted wiped out. (Jews, Gypsies, Catholics, etc.) "IBM's German subsidiary (was) known as Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen Gesellschaft"
The actual punch card code for each concentration camp were:
Auschwitz — 001; Buchenwald — 002; Dachau — 003; Flossenbürg — 004; Gross-Rosen — 005; Herzogenbusch — 006; Mauthausen — 007; Natzweiler — 008; Neuengamme — 009; Ravensbrück — 010; Sachsenhausen — 011; and Stutthoff — 012.
It's a depressing fact that oppressed people rise up against their oppressors, only to show that what they really wanted was just what the former rulers wanted: to oppress others.
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
Except no one really believes the MB is in charge.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
The rich took over the govn't, and then voted to quit taxing themselves and their interests. They even voted to bail out their companies on the backs of middle class citizens. Is that what you are referring to?
Because it sounds to me like you are implying social programs are bleeding us dry, which is a joke. Drop in the bucket.
So which "home country" should a multinational corporation be beholden to?
the proper question in today's world is what multinational corporation should your home country be beholden to?
i say this with sadness, not snark
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Anyone whose used IBM kit knows that actually they were trying to HINDER Nazi Germany by slowing down the efficient Germans with business speak and Business Process Gurus.
They almost succeeded too, if only they'd held that last six sigma analysis pre-meeting agenda discussion review, they'd have made it through the war!
Have you ever heard of any project IBM has been involved in, that actually HELPED the customer???? ...QED.
The idea of such sanctions is technically the bleed the populance dry to the point where they uprise against the regime, we see how well that worked in North Korea.
So what you're saying is that companies should adopt the same ethics as the reading audience ...
How about we individuals adopt the same valueless ethics in our dealings with them for as long as it takes us to take them down? We can then go back to treating other individuals with the respect they deserve. Whatever works? It's basic game theory. I'll treat you like !@#$ until you stop treating me like !@#$, ...
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit
That's pretty much how history works. Anytime that doesn't happen is special and different.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Don't want to be obnoxious or flaming, but isn't "putting profit over all else" the very foundation of the free market capitalism? Why this behavior surprises anyone is beyond me...
Yes, "profit over all else" is one of the cornerstones of free market capitalism, but you have to remember that capitalism is neither good nor evil.
For the situation at hand, it would appear that, at the time Gamma Group made the sales pitch:
1) There was a possibility of short-term profit
2) There was a fair likelihood that the sale would not be discovered
3) If discovered, there was a fair likelihood that it would be so far in the future that the persons responsible would be unaccountable
4) Well-connected companies tend to get lenient, slap-on-the-wrist penalties anyway
It is not capitalism per-se which is the problem here, it is items 2 through 4 which allows capitalism to be used for immoral ends. If we really value morality over profit, then we should strongly discourage immoral acts which use capitalism as a tool.
We don't. Blaming capitalism is avoiding the real issue, which is that morality is more important than capitalism (or rather, it should be).
It's like the old adage - any technology can be used for both good or evil.
It's a depressing fact that oppressed people rise up against their oppressors, only to show that what they really wanted was just what the former rulers wanted: to oppress others.
When I heard news on the radio about the Egyptian elections, I was utterly baffled why they had elected Morrissey as their new President; I thought they must have taken a turn from oppression to depression.
Then I saw the headlines -- "Oh, Morsi , not Morrissey. Muslim Brotherhood, not Emo. That makes more sense."
:-P
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
The "I'll treat you like !@#$ until you stop treating me like !@#$" theory of life simply results in a whole lot more !@#$, most of it heaped on those who weren't offenders but are presumed guilty due to being part of the same group (i.e. companies or corporations), who in turn are jaded into heaving more !@#$ back at everyone.
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What the fuck is !@#$?
Anything the !@#$ that you want it to be.
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit