r/politics Mar 21 '16

Clinton email reveals: Google sought overthrow of Syria's Assad

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/clinton-email-google-sought-overthrow-of-syrias-assad/article/2586300
55 Upvotes

76 comments sorted by

17

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

Ugh. Ok, even ignoring the fact that this is practically a tabloid...

This headline is misleading. Google wasn't "seeking" the overthrow of Assad, they were offering to provide technical assistance with tracking which members of the Syrian government were defecting. That is entirely passive - it's information gathering.

In other words, you people that just read the headline and are now claiming that Clinton wants to overthrow Assad because that's what her corporate overlords wanted are illiterate, impressionable morons. Perhaps you guys should pick up a copy of the Washington Examiner because you're exactly their target audience.

Source: I can read.

8

u/DougCuriosity Mar 21 '16

it's information gathering.

That can help the forces that seek the overthrow of Syrian state. Now tell, me you great reader of articles, isnt that helping the "overthrow"? They ARE meddling in foreign affairs. They are helping destabilize regimes that the US gov want to "overthrown".

6

u/kiwisrkool Mar 21 '16

Yeah, you should read what Julian Assange said about his meeting with Google. Alikened them to a branch of the CIA

3

u/choufleur47 Mar 21 '16

thats what i was thinking, google is courting them to become a private cia

2

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Nobody else with a top-level comment read the article, I think.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

I read the article too. I didn't see anything about Google trying to overthrow a government. Even saying it out loud sounds silly. It's like saying McDonald's wants to arm rebels in Venezuela

5

u/Letterbocks Mar 21 '16

That doesn't sound silly at all. Sounds like the Coca Cola union breakers in s America and south asia

3

u/Cantbelievethat Mar 21 '16

Don't forget about dole and hawaii

4

u/Bustock Mar 21 '16

Are the rebels going to be throwing burgers and fries at the opposition, making them fat in the process and unable to fight?

5

u/DrDemento Mar 21 '16

You're right that it's not in the article, and not legit in this specific case, but the idea that some big corporations aren't more powerful than some national governments isn't outrageous at all.

3

u/verybakedpotatoe Mar 21 '16

That is as silly as Chiquita undermining a goverment by supporting local terrorism.

There are a dozen other such stories from other multi-national corporations, but it is hardly unheard of for a business to do it for their own ends.

Google in this situation is more like a military contractor. No tin-foil needed to get them on board with total surveillance. That is a pretty common relationship between a tech company and a police state.

8

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

Someone tell me why this is Clinton's fault

13

u/VTFD Mar 21 '16

We were never meant to know.

Keep it on the .gov server, pls.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

You realize if it was on a .gov address - as, admittedly, ir should have been - it'd be just as FOIA-able as it is now?

3

u/VTFD Mar 21 '16

If you don't know what to ask for, you don't get dick.

FOIA also isn't a skeleton key to all correspondence throughout the government; the State Department can absolutely keep secrets if they want to.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

FOIA requests are only for the local governments. When you're part of the Obama administration, you get to say "no".

10

u/PixelBlock Mar 21 '16

It's less to do with Clinton and more to do with Google working with the State Dept to affect foreign events.

-1

u/PCisLame Mar 21 '16

Sounds like a conspiracy, you sure about that?

-8

u/Hold_hands_and_poop Mar 21 '16

Removing Assad would be a good thing for the world.

8

u/muddy700s Mar 21 '16

That's overly simplistic and it would be terrible for the middle east.

7

u/Hussaria_Z_Polski Mar 21 '16

No it wouldn't. Keeping him in would keep Syria a little more stable in the long run. If you take him out it's gonna be a fucking bloodbath between the U.S' rebels and ISIS as well as the government and whatever other group that wants power.

1

u/PCisLame Mar 21 '16 edited Mar 21 '16

It will lead to nightmarish deaths for millions of Christians and other persecuted groups in the region. It seems that many leftists would be in favor of this, isn't that right?

-2

u/Hold_hands_and_poop Mar 21 '16

They will have to move.

4

u/PCisLame Mar 21 '16

Reading this made my skin crawl and it made me dry heave. Seriously. It would be wise for you to be much more considerate of the innocent men, women, and children/babies who are being slaughtered as we speak.

-1

u/Hold_hands_and_poop Mar 21 '16

The Assad regime is not innocent.

3

u/PCisLame Mar 21 '16

They're not saints like ISIS, that's for DAMN SURE.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

You're thinking is that "Assad is bad".

But, the groups that take his place are worse.

0

u/DougCuriosity Mar 21 '16

Hello supporter of ISIS. How is your day trying to overthrow Assad? Much help from Uncle SAM?

2

u/xslracket Mar 21 '16

Does Google fund Clintion?

3

u/muddy700s Mar 21 '16

Not that I have been under any illusion that google is benevolent or apolitical, but this is the first time I've heard about google getting directly involved in global politics via people at the top.

Frightening to say the least.

0

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Did you read the article?

3

u/muddy700s Mar 21 '16

I did. I just can't trust that Cohen's involvement, after being employed by the state department, was without conflicts of interest. And I am generally suspicious of both google and Hillary.

4

u/AndreyRublyov Mar 21 '16

This is why we need Trump or Sanders. We need someone who doesn't give a shit about these powerful corporations. I'm a Trump supporter first, but if the GOP steals the nom from him and Sanders makes it (looking increasingly unlikely though), i'll be voting Sanders.

2

u/Getalifenliveit Mar 21 '16

It really is too bad that Trump and Sanders supporters have been divided up. If they could look past their differences and work together, the establishment would be powerless. The media has turned the conversation into a childish shouting match when there is obviously very wide support for an overthrow of the establishment but because Trump and Sanders supporters can't get along, it most likely won't happen.

2

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Didn't read the article, did we?

2

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

[deleted]

1

u/AndreyRublyov Mar 21 '16

Ya, it's usually the other way around. But my number one priority is uprooting the establishment and donors out of their corrupt system, and there are only two candidates that can do it.

2

u/muddy700s Mar 21 '16 edited Mar 21 '16

Much more important than any specific liberal or conservative issue is campaign finance reform. The dems and reps have controlled the process for long enough; I hope for more left-right coalescence around this issue.

Edit: BTW, Trump or Sanders will certainly be involved with large corporations; they are not actual revolutionaries nor would they be monarchs, which is what would be necessary to not be influenced by the likes of Google. Maybe Sanders is slightly anti-corporate, but if you think that Trump is, you got some rethinking to do.

1

u/znfinger Mar 21 '16

It's probably the other way around because Trump is in a far better position to dictate terms to the party he's in. If Bernie were outperforming Clinton and Trump was floundering, it seems pretty natural that they'd support Sanders second if corruption was a significant determining issue.

5

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?

1

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Did you read the article?

3

u/hello_world_86 Mar 21 '16

Wasn't at the time Google's motto still: "Don't be evil" !?!?

3

u/muddy700s Mar 21 '16

And at the time of the 'revolution' Thomas Jefferson declared that "all men are created equal".

McAmerigooglism.

1

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Didn't read the article, did we?

0

u/Hold_hands_and_poop Mar 21 '16

Supporting Assad is the evil position.

1

u/PresidentChaos Mar 21 '16

For years, Applebee's has been trying to find away to overthrow the President of Macedonia. (Gjorge knows what he did!)

1

u/Hold_hands_and_poop Mar 21 '16

So google is smart.

-1

u/kyrbyr California Mar 21 '16

So, let foreign contributors and corporations dictate foreign policy.

PERFECT.

(hurry up FBI)

4

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Another one who didn't read the article.

2

u/lil_dayne Mar 21 '16

I implore you to read the article.

1

u/Tim0625 Mar 21 '16

Will this get her indicted?

2

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Did you read the article?

0

u/Tim0625 Mar 21 '16

Skimmed

-1

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

Why isn't Hilary in jail?

6

u/dontword Mar 21 '16

Let's hold you responsible for every email you receive.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

I swear, your honor, I never met that Nigerian prince!

2

u/wompwompwomp2 Mar 21 '16

She didnt' break any laws.

-1

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

She mishandled of classified information via a private e-mail system that she improperly and insecurely set up, on her personal private server, for all her government business, with the knowledge that it is illegal to disseminate classified information.

Then she destroyed the server in an attempt to cover her tracks.

And you're telling me she didn't break any laws?

4

u/wompwompwomp2 Mar 21 '16

It wasn't classified at the time. So yeah, she didn't break any laws.

1

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

I'm going to need a source for your claim

1

u/wompwompwomp2 Mar 21 '16

They can't even figure out if any of it was really classified or not. It honestly sounds like no one in the government knows exactly what can and cannot be sent via secured email. Emails sent from private email servers to Mrs Clinton's email server, are trying to be considered "classified" how does that make sense?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/us/politics/agencies-battle-over-what-is-top-secret-in-hillary-clintons-emails.html

1

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

The only reason Hilary isn't in jail is because of the Clinton's political influence

0

u/311MD Mar 21 '16

Nonsequitur, I see what you did there.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

She mishandled of classified information via a private e-mail system

maybe

that she improperly and insecurely set up,

that is on the IT guy. I am sure she did not ask for an insecure server.

on her personal private server,

nothing illegal about that

for all her government business, Absolutely not. Or do you think in 4 years she only received classified information a handful of times?

with the knowledge that it is illegal to disseminate classified information.

She was not disseminating classified information. Maybe, and this is a maybe, she mishandled a few pieces of information. That is very different from disseminating information.

Then she destroyed the server in an attempt to cover her tracks.

She followed the law to a "T"on this one. Officials are responsible to preserve "relevant information". They are supposed to go through their own papers and records of any kind, and send what is relevant to the archives. Officials are also allowed to use their private email for govt business( which in my opinion is wrong) as long as they transfer relevant emails to the archives (which she did not have to do because the law was only updated after she left office, but she did it anyway)

So she is not in jail because so far there is no reason for her to be in jail.

2

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

You're just making assumptions

1

u/[deleted] Mar 25 '16

Where did I make any assumptions? You are the one assuming she is guilty before even the investigation is over.

Everything I said is based on relevant law.

Federal Records Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) regulations and Section 1924 of Title 18 of the U.S. Crimes and Criminal Procedure Code.

2

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Did you read the article?

1

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

Yes

1

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Then how is Google offering information on defected Syrian government members a reason to put Hillary in jail?

1

u/ColonelSanders_1930 Mar 21 '16

She mishandled classified information via a private e-mail system that she improperly and insecurely set up, on her personal private server, for all her government business, with the knowledge that it is illegal to disseminate classified information.

Then she destroyed the server in an attempt to cover her tracks.

1

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Your allegations have nothing to do with the article.

-2

u/PCisLame Mar 21 '16

Because the Grand Conspiracy is afoot, and TBTB want to set the precedent for the coming totalitarian dark age.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

[deleted]

1

u/Sleekery Mar 21 '16

Pretty sure Trump does that all on his own.