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In reply to the discussion: The Errors of Edward Snowden and His Global Hypocrisy Tour - Vanity Fair [View all]ProSense
(116,464 posts)74. I like this part:
The irony of someone purportedly dedicated to privacy and human rights aiding the Chinese government grew even starker while Snowden was in Hong Kong. Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a report condemning a massive surveillance campaign undertaken by the Chinese government in Tibetan villages, which results in political re-education of those who may question the Communist regime and the establishment of partisan security units. These tactics discriminate against those perceived as potentially disloyal, and restrict their freedom of religion and opinion, Human Rights Watch wrote.
But hey, thats just real life, not the Internet privacy that concerns Snowden. And, of course, the level of the Chinese governments surveillance and control of their citizens use of the Internet is almost an art form. Just six months ago, Chinas legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, adopted the Decision to Strengthen the Protection of Online Information. The new rules, which Human Rights Watch says threaten security and privacy of internet users, require telecommunications providers to collect reams of personal information about customers who sign up for Internet, landline, or cell-phone service. The law also requires for the providers to insure they have the ability to immediately identify the real names of people who post comments under pseudonyms. Guess why? In the days following the decision, Human Rights Watch reported, several well-known online activists found that their weibo micro-blogging accounts had been shut down.
As for Russia, the crackdown on public activism has intensified in recent months, which, again, has led to Human Rights Watch issuing a report just a few weeks before Snowden landed in Moscow. The crackdown is threatening civil society, said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The EU has spoken out strongly in recent months, but now is the time to directly call on Russias leadership to revise restrictive laws and stop the harassment of independent groups. Primarily, the Russians are going after hundreds of rights groups and related activist organizations as part of a massive campaign to force them to register as foreign agents. The authorities are seeking to define political so broadly as to make any involvement in public life that is not controlled by the government off-limits, Williamson said. They are also trying to tarnish groups with the foreign agents label, which in Russia can only mean spy.
And what about Ecuador? Why, just two weeks ago, this country that is apparently on Snowdens list of possible future homes passed new rules that impede free expression. The statute, called the Communications Law, prohibits anyone from disseminating information through the media that might undermine the prestige or credibility of a person or institution (you know, like revealing a government-sponsored surveillance program). The law also places burdens on journalists, making them subject to civil or criminal penalties for publishing information that serves to undermine the security of the state (you know, like revealing a government-sponsored surveillance program).
But hey, thats just real life, not the Internet privacy that concerns Snowden. And, of course, the level of the Chinese governments surveillance and control of their citizens use of the Internet is almost an art form. Just six months ago, Chinas legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, adopted the Decision to Strengthen the Protection of Online Information. The new rules, which Human Rights Watch says threaten security and privacy of internet users, require telecommunications providers to collect reams of personal information about customers who sign up for Internet, landline, or cell-phone service. The law also requires for the providers to insure they have the ability to immediately identify the real names of people who post comments under pseudonyms. Guess why? In the days following the decision, Human Rights Watch reported, several well-known online activists found that their weibo micro-blogging accounts had been shut down.
As for Russia, the crackdown on public activism has intensified in recent months, which, again, has led to Human Rights Watch issuing a report just a few weeks before Snowden landed in Moscow. The crackdown is threatening civil society, said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The EU has spoken out strongly in recent months, but now is the time to directly call on Russias leadership to revise restrictive laws and stop the harassment of independent groups. Primarily, the Russians are going after hundreds of rights groups and related activist organizations as part of a massive campaign to force them to register as foreign agents. The authorities are seeking to define political so broadly as to make any involvement in public life that is not controlled by the government off-limits, Williamson said. They are also trying to tarnish groups with the foreign agents label, which in Russia can only mean spy.
And what about Ecuador? Why, just two weeks ago, this country that is apparently on Snowdens list of possible future homes passed new rules that impede free expression. The statute, called the Communications Law, prohibits anyone from disseminating information through the media that might undermine the prestige or credibility of a person or institution (you know, like revealing a government-sponsored surveillance program). The law also places burdens on journalists, making them subject to civil or criminal penalties for publishing information that serves to undermine the security of the state (you know, like revealing a government-sponsored surveillance program).
It's fascinating to watch people cheering these countries because the "stuck it" to the U.S.
Ecuador Says Snowden Asylum Document Unauthorized
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023110603
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The Errors of Edward Snowden and His Global Hypocrisy Tour - Vanity Fair [View all]
flamingdem
Jun 2013
OP
LOL. China is bad. Therefore, we must allow our own government to spy on us. Gotcha.
PSPS
Jun 2013
#2
NSA not all bad, therefore we must let it do whatever is required, no matter how awful
MNBrewer
Jun 2013
#5
It's the popular new term at the "cool kids table" in the Jr. High School lunch room, I guess.
MNBrewer
Jun 2013
#11
No, I think the cool kids are the ones ragging on members in the Barack Obama Group.
KittyWampus
Jun 2013
#17
That's not the point. Snowden has shot himself in the foot by taking the focus off the information
pnwmom
Jun 2013
#40
hard to know-- maybe that was a game he was playing to get in with the right people
NoMoreWarNow
Jun 2013
#77
I'm not saying you should be happy IF NSA is doing what Greenwald/Snowden claim in the US.
pnwmom
Jun 2013
#55
Wouldn't it make some sense to have an intelligence edge to smooth things out?
flamingdem
Jun 2013
#6
Thank you for an excellent article full of the historical background and context
pnwmom
Jun 2013
#41
So, if US cyber-spying on China is OK because it is in the interest of the US,
JDPriestly
Jun 2013
#42
quote: If frylock can't debate without being a dick, he should be shown the door by MIRT.
flamingdem
Jun 2013
#79
ugh, these are the same sources which said Mark Zuckerberg was handsome and his Chinese American
JI7
Jun 2013
#96
yes, there do seem to be endless attempts to make the story about Snowden, not the spying
NoMoreWarNow
Jun 2013
#68
Pretty sure it has links. Vanity Fair always seems to run exposes on the financial or MIC corps
haele
Jun 2013
#75
apparantly they didn't know the specific IP addresses, given their glee at finding out
arely staircase
Jun 2013
#69