I don’t disagree with this, but it would be better to have a stack that’s not controlled by any government but is based on technical standards - not governmental dictates or corporate control.
I would also note that in your country the US agencies have no authority. However your own government can use that information to imprison you or otherwise exert its jurisdictional control. I think that’s generally what people worry about. It’s hard to imagine a reason the US government would care about you as a citizen of X country, whereas there are lots of governments who oppress their citizens for being themselves and for who they associate with.
> it would be better to have a stack that’s not controlled by any government but is based on technical standards
That era of globalization is slowly passing away.
> I would also note that in your country the US agencies have no authority.
No it plenty does. Not well-known on the west side of the internet, but the US can and did easily order to our governments the individuals (which she saw to be influential in the directions she didn't want) to be imprisoned, tortured and executed. And this is just cost-effective side of the coin. Three letter agencies can make anyone disappear. I just searched for almost 25 mins for an article documenting such a case. I was able to find it several times in the past with increasing difficulty. It's not even on the webarchive now. I think the article is finally nuked by some agency.
> there are lots of governments who oppress their citizens for being themselves and for who they associate with.
Not everyone agrees with the idea that individual freedom extremism is good, or that everyone should be allowed to do or say anything as long as it doesn't adversely affect others. In fact in this side of the world we think that's a silly and naive standpoint.
It’s only passing away if people let it. However, I’d note that it’s only passing away in a small number of authoritarian regimes, and technical standards dominate the stack for the parts of the world who value openness. I don’t think this is a “west vs east” thing, but a valuing of open societies.
I think people in many parts of the world would like to see the “others” oppressed - until tides change and they find themselves the “others.”
Once you allow someone to decide some thoughts are a crime because they agree with your views, it’s just a matter of time before that prison is open to your way of thinking.
On the CIA and extraordinary rendition and other things, yes I know it exists. My point isn’t that. My point is that your government does it a lot more and the likelihood of being snatched up by your government (wherever you are) is absurdly higher than the US breaking into your home and extracting you. That it happens is unacceptable but it’s also structurally rare to the point it’s news worthy.
I for one feel sorry for people who are imprisoned for no other reason for the people they love, the ideas they have, the way they view the world. I will welcome them to my side of the world with open arms and wish them peace, and mourn the loss of their home to people who feel they must hurt people for being alive.
Edit: I literally found the article from my childhood project of replicating the website of the article, sitting in Google Drive trash, awaiting the 30days deletion. I searched for the exact title and indeed the article is nuked from the entire internet including webarchive except mere links on FB and Twitter. Three letter guys caught red handed. Here's the data of the article: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wjPH5hN-uyATlO7K3Ynz...
Open the metin.txt for article. veri.json is metadata, 'baslik' means title. I hope my google account will not be burned over this.
I agree, this is egregious. At least I’m allowed to say that and advocate strongly against such stuff without fear of reprisal. In many parts of the world I wouldn’t be allowed to criticize the government. (In fact I’m vacationing in one right now)
Edit: I think the fact that typing his name into a browser provided me not just Wikipedia but hundreds of websites advocating on his behalf, but you couldn’t find an article after 25 minutes of searching and fear you’ll be in some sort of trouble for having it in your Google drive exemplifies my point. An open internet isn’t just a tool for evil by the deranged. It’s how the good and the just know the truth.
Edit 2: by the way, thank you for the respectful discussion here, we don’t all have to agree on things but it’s wonderful to discuss with folks that aren’t part of the echo chamber.
Yeah, the case is on wikipedia but the original article from muslimskeptic.com is gone. I found the article last time from webarchive, the article is gone from there too. I appreciate you as well.
I would also note that in your country the US agencies have no authority. However your own government can use that information to imprison you or otherwise exert its jurisdictional control. I think that’s generally what people worry about. It’s hard to imagine a reason the US government would care about you as a citizen of X country, whereas there are lots of governments who oppress their citizens for being themselves and for who they associate with.