Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

haaretz.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 55 posts

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#31

Post by noarchy »

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #30
namdnay wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Al-Assad family have been ruling Syria for the past 40 years, so I think it's fair to say that the government is not the most legitimate there is.

I'm sorry I can't find the source now as I heard this on the radio a few days ago, but there was a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power. In fact the poll was specific enough to indicate that this did not mean that these people were strong Assad supporters. But that they merely feared the instability that would arise if Assad the the government…

You've said elsewhere that you live in Canada. Then you should know that this is far from an apples-to-apples comparison. The Queen has little real power in Canada. Where I happen to live (Québec), she is quite unpopular, but at the same time, she is not the head of government, merely the head of state. The distinction is vital, and is why people rightly focus on the Prime Minister and the Parliament when talking about policy and governance in this country.

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#32

Post by pooriaazimi »

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #30
namdnay wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Al-Assad family have been ruling Syria for the past 40 years, so I think it's fair to say that the government is not the most legitimate there is.

I'm sorry I can't find the source now as I heard this on the radio a few days ago, but there was a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power. In fact the poll was specific enough to indicate that this did not mean that these people were strong Assad supporters. But that they merely feared the instability that would arise if Assad the the government…

> ...a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power.

My dear friend... When you're living in a country that the leaders use frickin' TANKS to kill the opposition, if someone called you at home and asked you whether you're in favor of the government, unless you're a very brave man who is ready for the consequences, you say 'Yes sir, I am' - not because you like the ruling regime, but you think that this might be a trap set by the government to catch more rebels.

I think you've had the luxury of living in a free country and can't imagine the fear that people feel under totalitarian regimes.

Please, understand the fact that things are different in free countries that what they are in Syria, North Korea and Iran (where I live). You can start by reading '1984', by George Orwell to get a feeling of how dictatorships work.

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#33

Post by pooriaazimi »

pooriaazimi wrote: post #32
mladenkovacevic wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry I can't find the source now as I heard this on the radio a few days ago, but there was a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power. In fact the poll was specific enough to indicate that this did not mean that these people were strong Assad supporters. But that they merely feared the instability that would arise if Assad the the government…

> ...a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power. My dear friend... When you're living in a country that the leaders use frickin' TANKS to kill the opposition, if someone called you at home and asked you whether you're in favor of the government, unless you're a very brave man who is ready for the consequences, you say 'Yes sir, I am' - not because…

Another point about your 'poll':

Did you know that Saddam Hussein received[1] a %99.96 approval in a referendum held in 1995?! That means only 3600 Iraqis did not approve of him! I think that gives you a better idea about how 'polls' work in other countries :-)

I doubt that even Steve Jobs (who turned Apple from a $1B company to a $400B one) would've received a 99.96% approval from Apple board...

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/16/world/threats-responses-su...

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#34

Post by mladenkovacevic »

pooriaazimi wrote: post #32
mladenkovacevic wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry I can't find the source now as I heard this on the radio a few days ago, but there was a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power. In fact the poll was specific enough to indicate that this did not mean that these people were strong Assad supporters. But that they merely feared the instability that would arise if Assad the the government…

> ...a recent independent poll where over 50% of the polled Syrian citizens were in favour of Assad remaining in power. My dear friend... When you're living in a country that the leaders use frickin' TANKS to kill the opposition, if someone called you at home and asked you whether you're in favor of the government, unless you're a very brave man who is ready for the consequences, you say 'Yes sir, I am' - not because…

You definitely have a point there. I haven't had to protest, fight with riot police, bang on pots and pans, walk for miles squeezed between 500,000 other protesters for over a decade now so I have become rather sheltered and philosophical here in Canada.

Sometimes nothing quite works like the sheer force of people united with a single cause and a thirst for freedom of mind and body. I hope for nothing but the best for your nation as well as Syria in the future. I have a lot of Persian friends here and I know how fun/awesome they are and how depressing it would be if they had to hold their true opinions secret.

I need to stop posting here or I will be down-voted into oblivion lol but just wanted to let you know that I hope we can all party someday in your city or mine without fear of anyone. Cheers.

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#35

Post by powertower »

pooriaazimi wrote: post #29
powertower wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look at what happened in Libya. Gaddafi spent the last 10 years working with the UN and the US, disarming his country, going on camera shaking hands and smiling with US, French and Italian delegates, ambassadors, and presidents. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=856HOHH5UJE Then he became a "despot" overnight that has been torturing and murdering everyone for the last 40 years... First a group of people attacked a milit…

yep... And it was I (with the help of NATO of course) who bombed Libyan cities. Poor Muammar, just like Caesar, he was surrounded by bad friends who killed him at the end... :( Some one's sworn enemy reporting something about him does not make their point invalid; Just like Gizmodo reporting bad stuff about iPhone 4's antenna doesn't mean iPhone 4's antenna design is flawless. By the way, it was the first time I've h…

Gaddafi was not on good terms with the Arab League or the states within it, I certainly wouldn't call him their "King".

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#36

Post by Karunamon »

mikecaron wrote: post #9
mseebach wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can also be prevented by not using passwords such as "12345".

Yeah, that's the kind of password people use on their luggage! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K95SXe3pZoY

Silly mikecaron, you know HN doesn't appreciate any kind of humor...

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#37

Post by pooriaazimi »

powertower wrote: post #35
pooriaazimi wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yep... And it was I (with the help of NATO of course) who bombed Libyan cities. Poor Muammar, just like Caesar, he was surrounded by bad friends who killed him at the end... :( Some one's sworn enemy reporting something about him does not make their point invalid; Just like Gizmodo reporting bad stuff about iPhone 4's antenna doesn't mean iPhone 4's antenna design is flawless. By the way, it was the first time I've h…

Gaddafi was not on good terms with the Arab League or the states within it, I certainly wouldn't call him their "King".

He called himself 'The Arab King' and 'King of Kings'...

They were not the best allies - but allies nonetheless; by no means were they sworn enemies. As an example, currently France and UK are not in good political terms, but they are not considered enemies, rather allies with different interests.

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#38

Post by kapitalx »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #6
Andrew_Quentin wrote: post #2

Where are the leaked e-mails, has someone translated them?

They're linked inside the article: * http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/images/galery/assad/mail2.pd... * http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/images/galery/assad/mail1.pd...

This is just the one email that the article was referencing. Not the entire set.

Re: Bashar Assad emails leaked by Anonymous

#40

Post by powertower »

pooriaazimi wrote: post #37
powertower wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gaddafi was not on good terms with the Arab League or the states within it, I certainly wouldn't call him their "King".

He called himself 'The Arab King' and 'King of Kings'... They were not the best allies - but allies nonetheless; by no means were they sworn enemies . As an example, currently France and UK are not in good political terms, but they are not considered enemies , rather allies with different interests .

So what is your point about Libya?
Post reply on HN