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What are your opinions on these charges?Quote:
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LOS ANGELES -- Federal prosecutors have charged a Web designer with intercepting e-mail and content from Arab TV station Al-Jazeera's Internet site and rerouting it to a "Let Freedom Ring" patriotic page he devised.
Were they justified?
Is "the law still the law" or are these different circumstances?
Do I sound like a High School worksheet?
I think he really did do wrong, and should get some punishment for doing a crime. I honestly don't think he will get that bad of a wrap since people might take pitty on him seeing as it sounds like he was trying to be patriotic. That is unless the FBI or someone was using the Al-Jazeera's Internet site to watch communication between our enemies.
But my real question is why was he doing this so openly it sounds like?
Just a thought...
~AciD
my idea is... law is law. if i murder a murderer, i go to jail. vigilante-ism is frowned upon in america on the whole. whether or not he was being "patriotic" he had no right to do what he did. if someone did that to american websites, we would want his head on a silver platter. intention really means nothing in law. if we went on intention a lot of people would have gone free because they intended something different then happened or because they could argue that they were pre emptively killing the next hitler or intended to. you can't start making exceptions to the rule because then everything gets sloppy. i do think that he will have popular support due to his intention, but i still think he should be charged and convicted like anyone else.
I couldn't agree with darkside more. You do the crime, you do the time.
There is no room for that type of "patriotism" in the U.S. If this guy walks he'll set a precedent that would allow anyone to do just about anything in the name of patriotism... We already have enough people using religion as an excuse for their horrible behavior, we don't need more of this type of crap going around. Isn't anybody else getting sick of this?
IMHO.
I agree with both darkside and Korpdeath.
It is amazing to me the things people do and claim "It was for the country"
Using this excuse makes them no better than the terrorists themselves.
Americans hacking for "America" is just like Al-Qaeda Killing people for "Allah."
The Muslim religion is all about acceptance and non-violence. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity and acceptance. Both these groups (patriotic American hackers and Al-Qaeda terrorists) go directly against what they claim their motives are.
I tried to stay neutral in my initial post to see what others thought, but I feel that the FBI absolutely did the right thing by bringing up these charges.
How many airplanes did he hijack?
I say F**K Al jazeera! It should be declared a wargames site.
:cool:
Tut, tut. How uncharitable of you O Wise One, You'll be asking me to stop watching Kurdistan TV next. BTW I like the web site, it's nice to see a deep rooted sense of humour, perchance a hint of cyniscismQuote:
Originally posted here by rcgreen
How many airplanes did he hijack?
I say F**K Al jazeera! It should be declared a wargames site.
:cool:
What he did was simply wrong.
We're essentially sending a message to many other countries by doing this; and that message is:
We intercept your email, so go ahead and do it to us.
I hope the guy that did this is punished.
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemöller
^ that is why the legal system does not consider intent outside of self-defense, defense of another in immediate danger, or defense of property. 1984 is a possibility if this is allowed.
Additionally, www.aljazeera.com is an arab news site, whose greatest offense to the US (that I've seen) is complete reporting of events in Iraq (showing the americans being tortured for example). Freedom of the press is one of the most valued freedoms in America, and yet there is instant outcry at a foreign news agency excercising that? Morally, many are opposed to what was shown, or that they showed it at all. But think about this: how much MORE strength did that add to the American cause (however you view it) by showing the depths to which Saddam would sink to? There is NO justification for ANY such actions against them. Also, as far as I've seen there is no link between Al-Jazeera and the terrorist hijackings.