Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Lies, Paper Tigers And Blogs, Oh My!

Did you know that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad has a blog (competition is coming from every angle now)? Well, he does and he’s apparently using it to spread not just information (propoganda?) but also a virus to anyone with an Israeli IP address that visits his blog. One more reason to nuke Iran! There has to be something in the newly ratified Cybercrime treaty that allows for that. If there is, Bush will find it and no doubt use it. At least that way, an attack on Iran would be based on law, more than can be said for our invasion of Iraq.

The only problem is that this story sounds a little too fishy to me. Much like the story the young woman (the daughter of Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US) peddled to Congress about Iraqi soldiers dumping babies out of incubators in the lead up to the Gulf War. That tipped the scales in favor of invading Iraq in 1991, too bad it wasn’t true. Another doozy was the recent story that claimed the Iranian parliament had passed a law requiring religious minorities to wear color-coded clothing? That one turned out to be untrue as well. Ahmadenijad playing cyber-terrorist doesn’t carry quite the same punch as the “incubator babies” or the “religious dress code” PR stunts, but the Bush administration seems to be building the case slowly that Iran is in the hands of a menace. This could just be part of the pile on (don't forget that Iran is responsible for Hezbollah), or it could be true, so hard to know these days. One thing I do know though, this Cybercrime treaty is bad news.

This is another in a long line of transgressions on personal freedoms in this country that we can thank this administration and our GOP Congress for. We know the Bush administration has and will continue to ignore our own constitution and laws when spying, investigation and locking up American citizens, but thanks to this treaty, they can now use other countries laws as a basis for doing so. Apparently, under this treaty if I violate Chinese law, our FBI can investigate me. I’m pretty sure I’ve done that at least a few times already. I guess I should watch my step.

Yes, we should work in concert with other countries to root out cybercrime and help in the prosecution of criminals, but at a time when we are losing personal freedoms at a rapid pace in this country, it’s difficult not to see the dark side of every single bill, law, treaty and policy of our GOP (corporate) controlled (police state) government. I keep wondering when enough will be enough, but there seems to be less outrage with each new infringement on our rights. It’s our job as citizens to question the implications of legislation, treaties and policies being pushed through Congress. If we don’t, who will?

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Iran is undoubtedly in the hands of a menace. Ahmadinejad is a raving nutbag. But I sure wouldn't put it past Bu$hCo to spread fake rumors to bolster their case.

6:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I concur with BC.
Just because Dubya is a wingnut doesn't mean that Iran and Hezbollah are not lunatic and lethal entities.

Sometimes that which looks, walks and quacks like a duck is a freakin' duck.

Ahmadinejad may also be a walking, talking updated Mein Kampf!

http://www.google.com/search?q=iran+and+hezbollah&hl=en&lr=&rls=WZPA,WZPA:2006-18,WZPA:en&start=0&sa=N

6:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure why the Bush administration would have to make up shit about why Iran is so awful when there are so many true stories.

Look, I despise the Bush administration, but it's sad if our disgust with them makes us apologists for such a despicable regimes as that off Ahmadinejad. I doubt that's what you meant to do, but that's how this post comes off to me. I mean, at least we don't stone women for adultery in America.

8:17 PM  
Blogger The (liberal)Girl Next Door said...

Betty Cracker--Yes, in the hands of a menace for sure, both the US and Iran.

Dale--Yes, Hezbollah and Ahmadinejad are lethal, I just have a hard time seeing how their "lethal" is different from our "lethal".

That Girl--I don't think we'll be out of the woods for a while.

Exelizabeth--My disgust with the Bush administration doesn't (rose)color my outlook on any other front. I'm certainly no apologist for Hezbollah or Ahmadinejad, but why must we view everything in moral equivalencies? Killing civilians is bad, whether it's Israel, the US, Hezbollah, or Iran lobbing the bombs. The subjugation of women, the supression of free speech, obscene concentration of wealth, are all horrible things no matter who the perpetrator.

It's naive to think that the Bush administration only exploits the innocent. In fact, if they exploit the "evil doers" like Hezbollah and Ahmadinejad, it's much easier to dupe the public. After all, who's going to risk even the perception that they're defending such men. Well, I guess I did, but look what it gets me.

And you're right, the public won't stone me if I commit adultery, but my husband might!

9:21 PM  
Blogger Aaron Silverberg said...

about why our citizens put up with Bushs' antics: violating the Constitution, revoking civil rights without law, spending great-grandchildrens inheritence, etc.

as an aging baby-boomer I can say this , people over 50 who are the most likely to foment civil unrest, aren't in shape for hard prison cells. Young people expecially men seem to be inured to violence (thank you video games, japans' revenge??)
and after being isolated and exploited by popular culture have little vision of why they should shoulder a revolutionary ethic, when the world is already sliding into the environmental toilet. how many young people come to Bruce Cockburn concerts and even know what the important issues of today? and young people don't pay the lions share of taxes which fund this whole mess.
Big money knows its won and its just a matter of time before Exxon and Disney and Wal-Mart foreclose on our souls.......

8:45 PM  

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