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Australia Spied On Indonesian President

Posted by timothy on from the hey-neighbor dept.

mask.of.sanity writes "Australia tracked calls by Indonesia's president, documents leaked by defence contractor Edward Snowden reveal. The nation's top spy agency the Australian Signals Directorate tracked phone calls made and received on the mobile phone of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for 15 days in August 2009, and also tracked his wife and inner political circle. Indonesia was Australia's nearest and most important regional neighbour."

6 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Who's on first? by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "I didn't spy, YOU did!"

    "No I didn't, YOU did!"

    "Well, okay, but I didn't spy on Bob."

    Bob: "Oh yes you did!"

    "Shit. Okay. we all fucking spied."

    "yip"

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Who's on first? by Joining+Yet+Again · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In case you didn't remember what that whole American Revolution was about, the US was supposed to be better. It was supposed to be about not having a bunch of unaccountable rulers and their lackeys monitoring and controlling society.

      Snowden's revelations confirm that the Old World is as bad as expected, and that the New World is just as bad as the Old.

  2. Are we surprised? by Harlequin80 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would be far more surprised if Australia wasn't doing this. What's more there would be a real problem if they weren't.

    In terms of potential conflict with another sovereign state Indonesia simply has to rank highly for Australia. It is close by, has a large military, and has a history of conflicts with Australia. The risk may be very very low, but like house insurance, the risks of your house burning to the ground are low but you still take out insurance.

  3. Re:Mod this troll too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You guys just don't get it. You're the very thing you claim to despise: The government comes and squishes free speech because it's unpopular... but then here you are, doing the same damn thing. The government isn't suppressing us: WE are suppressing us. We're plugging our ears and singing "Glory Glory Hallelujah."

    You have the right to free speech, you don't have the right to force anyone to listen to it. You got downmoded, this isn't jackbooted thugs stepping on your throat. This is the collective public saying they think you're a moron and have no interest in listening to the drivel coming out of you. The paranoid schizophrenic hobo shouting on the street corner about the CIA using woodpeckers to control the russians has the right to say his nonsense. That doesn't mean I have to listen to it.

  4. Re:Please shoot this man. by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Enlighten me: exactly what demands did Snowden make? The man is an idealist - nobody will disagree - but it is ridiculous to label him a terrorist for whistle-blowing things the government is doing. If what your government is doing terrifies you, I'd argue the problem is with your government, not the whistle-blower.

    --
    Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
    altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
  5. Wrong reaction. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While the most frequent reaction here is "Well, duh!" (and I must admit it was my first reaction too) that's not the point.

    The point is that my government is doing that, and I strongly disapprove of it. Your government is doing that and you (perhaps) strongly disapprove of it. If we have the luck to live in democracies, it's our fucking duty to do something about it.