Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death • Hacker News Board

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#41

Post by venomsnake » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 6:54 PM UTC

mangeletti wrote: post #19

stoolpigeon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is Syria a legitimate threat to national security of the US? (not rhetorical)

Syria is a very much a threat to US interests, because it has a regime hostile to us, friendly to Russia and Iran, and it borders the Mediterranean Sea, giving competitors to the US that could be friendly to Turkey (read: Russia via Georgia) a trade and supply route to the Mediterranean. Because of this, the economics that are favorable to Turkey, in a situation where Syria "falls" to Russia, create interests that co…

Ex country. Syria is a territory now. The only ways it could resemble some form of country - lets say they are unacceptable from moral view. The winning faction - no matter which - will surely go on a rampage of power consolidation with ethnic and religious cleansing in the mix :( So we have two harrowing option - yet another autocrat committing atrocities and generating suffering. Or warring camps that will commit atrocities and generate suffering.

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#42

Post by vkou » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 6:57 PM UTC

jules wrote: post #38

pessimizer wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American allies in the Middle East are Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel. We don't care about human rights in the Middle East; we prop up horrible administrations there and shield them indefinitely. Why you think elite concerns like free speech and open source software should be a special case is beyond me.

Funny that you mention those three countries in one breath like that.

Israel is an violent apartheid state, Saudi Arabia is a brutal theocracy... And, well, I guess Egypt is the odd man out?

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#43

Post by venomsnake » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 6:58 PM UTC

jqm wrote: post #13

corndoge wrote: post #2

I hate feeling completely powerless in these kinds of situations. All I can do short of flying to Syria and taking up arms against such tyranny is upvoting this post. Absolutely pathetic. Update: The least we can do: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/syria...

"flying to Syria and taking up arms" meh... why not? everyone else seems to be doing it.

It does have that rusty 1914 smell to it ...

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#44

Post by mikeash » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 7:26 PM UTC

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #39

mikeash wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do I use that to stop this person's death? 1) Realize power of mind. 2) ???? 3) Stop execution.

We can try to stop deaths of this type.

Could you be a little more specific as to how?

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#45

Post by smm2000 » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 7:47 PM UTC

omarish wrote: post #6

corndoge wrote: post #2

I hate feeling completely powerless in these kinds of situations. All I can do short of flying to Syria and taking up arms against such tyranny is upvoting this post. Absolutely pathetic. Update: The least we can do: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/syria...

I'm probably going to get downvoted a lot for this, but this is probably the exact feeling people on the other side get that causes them to go to Syria and take up arms and join isil. Edit: To be 100% clear, I'm by no means sympathizing. Rather, I believe that understanding an adversary's motivations can help resolve a conflict.

Actually ISIL and a poster are on the same side - they are both fighting/want to fight Asad. At this time moderate opposition (if there was any) is gone and opponents of Asad are way worse than him.

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#46

Post by Lawtonfogle » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 7:51 PM UTC

lemevi wrote: post #21

omarish wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm probably going to get downvoted a lot for this, but this is probably the exact feeling people on the other side get that causes them to go to Syria and take up arms and join isil. Edit: To be 100% clear, I'm by no means sympathizing. Rather, I believe that understanding an adversary's motivations can help resolve a conflict.

How does that logic go? "I don't like tyranny so I'm going to join a group of murderers and rapists who are best known for their beheading videos". I know nothing about the complex situation in Syria and Iraq but I always guessed that ISIL in Syria was more about Iraqi post-Sunni Awakening fallout after being locked out of governing by al-Maliki. Like if you look at a map of ISIL in Iraq you see the area they have is…

>"I don't like tyranny so I'm going to join a group of murderers and rapists who are best known for their beheading videos".

Compared to those who are now known for bombing a hospital? You can easily paint any side as the total bad guy when you look at just how much abuse does happen. It doesn't much matter who is worst when everyone is so dirty that you can get enough dirt to validate any feelings one has.

For example, consider the problem with dancing boys in Afghanistan and how the Taliban fought against it while the US protected the practice. Defining the 'bad guy' becomes a bit more difficult, no?

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#47

Post by NoCulturalFit » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 8:03 PM UTC

omarish wrote: post #6

corndoge wrote: post #2

I hate feeling completely powerless in these kinds of situations. All I can do short of flying to Syria and taking up arms against such tyranny is upvoting this post. Absolutely pathetic. Update: The least we can do: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/syria...

I'm probably going to get downvoted a lot for this, but this is probably the exact feeling people on the other side get that causes them to go to Syria and take up arms and join isil. Edit: To be 100% clear, I'm by no means sympathizing. Rather, I believe that understanding an adversary's motivations can help resolve a conflict.

What conflict made ISIS take 7000 Yazidi sex slaves and torture them. What conflict made 6 year old non Muslim worth $125 for "temporary marriage"

You're confusing conflict with something else.

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#48

Post by pdabbadabba » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 8:07 PM UTC

Lawtonfogle wrote: post #46

lemevi wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does that logic go? "I don't like tyranny so I'm going to join a group of murderers and rapists who are best known for their beheading videos". I know nothing about the complex situation in Syria and Iraq but I always guessed that ISIL in Syria was more about Iraqi post-Sunni Awakening fallout after being locked out of governing by al-Maliki. Like if you look at a map of ISIL in Iraq you see the area they have is…

>"I don't like tyranny so I'm going to join a group of murderers and rapists who are best known for their beheading videos". Compared to those who are now known for bombing a hospital? You can easily paint any side as the total bad guy when you look at just how much abuse does happen. It doesn't much matter who is worst when everyone is so dirty that you can get enough dirt to validate any feelings one has. For examp…

Does ISIS have a lot of redeeming qualities that we're overlooking? If not, I'm not sure I can agree with the suggestion that its just a matter of framing whether ISIS is the villian or the United States. Say what you will about the U.S., but one would be hard pressed to say that it does no good around the world and only does things like bomb hospitals. But I'm not sure the same can be said of ISIS, unfortunately.

That said, I agree with omarish in this respect: my own feeling of helplessness upon reading this article is probably akin in some ways to the feeling that drives people to take up arms with ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The important distinction, though, is that the source of the outrage that drives ISIS fighters to act is precisely the opposite of what one ought to be outraged about. (Or, at any rate, pretty much the opposite of what actually outrages me.)

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#49

Post by trhway » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 8:20 PM UTC

pdabbadabba wrote: post #48

Lawtonfogle wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"I don't like tyranny so I'm going to join a group of murderers and rapists who are best known for their beheading videos". Compared to those who are now known for bombing a hospital? You can easily paint any side as the total bad guy when you look at just how much abuse does happen. It doesn't much matter who is worst when everyone is so dirty that you can get enough dirt to validate any feelings one has. For examp…

Does ISIS have a lot of redeeming qualities that we're overlooking? If not, I'm not sure I can agree with the suggestion that its just a matter of framing whether ISIS is the villian or the United States. Say what you will about the U.S., but one would be hard pressed to say that it does no good around the world and only does things like bomb hospitals. But I'm not sure the same can be said of ISIS, unfortunately. Th…

>Does ISIS have a lot of redeeming qualities

they do have. A lot. For Islamic true believers. The same way like Inquisition, with all the tortures and burning at stake, was for Christians. Blind devotion to religion may do that to you.

>that we're overlooking?

of course we don't see these redeeming qualities. Or more precisely - we do see these qualities, only we see them as condemning where is they see exactly the same qualities as redeeming.

Re: Reports that Bassel Khartabil has been sentenced to death

#50

Post by Lawtonfogle » Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 8:48 PM UTC

pdabbadabba wrote: post #48

Lawtonfogle wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"I don't like tyranny so I'm going to join a group of murderers and rapists who are best known for their beheading videos". Compared to those who are now known for bombing a hospital? You can easily paint any side as the total bad guy when you look at just how much abuse does happen. It doesn't much matter who is worst when everyone is so dirty that you can get enough dirt to validate any feelings one has. For examp…

Does ISIS have a lot of redeeming qualities that we're overlooking? If not, I'm not sure I can agree with the suggestion that its just a matter of framing whether ISIS is the villian or the United States. Say what you will about the U.S., but one would be hard pressed to say that it does no good around the world and only does things like bomb hospitals. But I'm not sure the same can be said of ISIS, unfortunately. Th…

>Does ISIS have a lot of redeeming qualities that we're overlooking?

We likely won't know without talking to the people who make the choice to join them. For the Taliban case, I only learned of this recently because it was so largely ignored. In a few decades who knows what we may know about ISIS that we don't currently know.

What I do know is so often pictures have been painted as black and white which are in reality many shades of grade and that due to this I am hesitant to believe this case really in black and white.