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Much better source. "His lawyers say Afifi, who was born in the United States, was targeted because of his extensive ties to the Middle East — he travels there

by GHFigs 16y ago

Much better source. "His lawyers say Afifi, who was born in the United States, was targeted because of his extensive ties to the Middle East — he travels there frequently, helps support two brothers who live in Egypt, and his father was a well-known Islamic-American community leader who died last year in Egypt." This is part of the story that TechDirt left out in favor of the inflammatory but misleading man-persecuted-over-Reddit-comment angle.

ugh 16y ago
What’s the difference? Whether he was put under surveillance for traveling frequently to the middle east or because of a misinterpreted comment, that seems both to be about equally bad. There is of course always the caveat that the FBI might have had other credible evidence but if not that at least should be a civil rights violation. (Should be. I obviously know too little about the law to tell whether it actually is.)
- GHFigs 16y ago
  The difference is that investigating someone who fits a particular behavioral profile is something that a reasonably competent organization might do, while investigating someone over nothing but a Reddit comment that he didn't even write would be stupid. When even the subject of the story describes it as the former, reporting it as the latter is sloppy at best, fallacious pandering at worst. See, what bothers me about this is that instead of highlighting the actually interesting legal question of whether installing such GPS devices is a violation of civil liberties or should require a warrant--the things Afifi is actually suing over--TechDirt (among scores of others in the giant web echo chamber) just throws this into the "look at this fucking government" bin where it does little more than reaffirm, 2 minutes hate-style, whatever the reader already believed.
lurchpop 16y ago
That's not a misleading angle. During that encounter when he asked why he was being followed they cited the out-of-context Reddit conversation.
- GHFigs 16y ago
  Where I said "misleading" you seem to be interpreting me as saying "false". The comment is relevant, sure, but leaving out everything else changes the interpretation of the story significantly.
furyg3 16y ago
Replace the words with whatever country is 'scary' to you, and you've got probable cause! "His lawyers say Wing, who was born in the United States, was targeted because of his extensive ties to asia — he travels there frequently, helps support two brothers who live in China, and his father was a well-known Asian-American community leader who died last year in China." Ridiculous... racism is not probable cause.
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  > Ridiculous... racism is not probable cause. It is when ignorance is your knowledge base.
- pbhjpbhj 16y ago
  >"well-known Islamic-American community leader" This sort of comment I always assume is double-talk (government-ese maybe) for someone who they know has close ties to terrorists. I'm guessing one of the family has been undertaking some "terrorist" activities and that makes it look bad for Afifi as he's sending money home. Of course this is speculation and Afifi himself wouldn't likely know if it were true or not so I have no way of knowing either.
  - chalst 16y ago
    You've been reading too much Daniel Pipes.
    - pbhjpbhj 16y ago
      I'd never heard of him.
  - Confusion 16y ago
    Martin Luther King was a "well-known Christian-American community leader". That's how you should read it. That you think otherwise means they already managed to indoctrinate you that far, to accept the seeds of doubt and mistrust they try to plant. That way, however it turns out, they are always right.
Confusion 16y ago
I'd rather say they are being less inflammatory than possible. That a single Reddit comment triggered the placing of the device is silly in itself, but once you realize that only happened because he was already under surveillance for the unacceptable reason of having 'extensive ties to the Middle East', it just adds insult to injury.

by GHFigs 16y ago

ugh 16y ago

What’s the difference? Whether he was put under surveillance for traveling frequently to the middle east or because of a misinterpreted comment, that seems both to be about equally bad. There is of course always the caveat that the FBI might have had other credible evidence but if not that at least should be a civil rights violation. (Should be. I obviously know too little about the law to tell whether it actually is.)

GHFigs 16y ago
The difference is that investigating someone who fits a particular behavioral profile is something that a reasonably competent organization might do, while investigating someone over nothing but a Reddit comment that he didn't even write would be stupid. When even the subject of the story describes it as the former, reporting it as the latter is sloppy at best, fallacious pandering at worst. See, what bothers me about this is that instead of highlighting the actually interesting legal question of whether installing such GPS devices is a violation of civil liberties or should require a warrant--the things Afifi is actually suing over--TechDirt (among scores of others in the giant web echo chamber) just throws this into the "look at this fucking government" bin where it does little more than reaffirm, 2 minutes hate-style, whatever the reader already believed.

lurchpop 16y ago

That's not a misleading angle. During that encounter when he asked why he was being followed they cited the out-of-context Reddit conversation.

GHFigs 16y ago
Where I said "misleading" you seem to be interpreting me as saying "false". The comment is relevant, sure, but leaving out everything else changes the interpretation of the story significantly.

furyg3 16y ago

Replace the words with whatever country is 'scary' to you, and you've got probable cause! "His lawyers say Wing, who was born in the United States, was targeted because of his extensive ties to asia — he travels there frequently, helps support two brothers who live in China, and his father was a well-known Asian-American community leader who died last year in China." Ridiculous... racism is not probable cause.

electromagnetic 16y ago
> Ridiculous... racism is not probable cause. It is when ignorance is your knowledge base.
pbhjpbhj 16y ago
>"well-known Islamic-American community leader" This sort of comment I always assume is double-talk (government-ese maybe) for someone who they know has close ties to terrorists. I'm guessing one of the family has been undertaking some "terrorist" activities and that makes it look bad for Afifi as he's sending money home. Of course this is speculation and Afifi himself wouldn't likely know if it were true or not so I have no way of knowing either.
- chalst 16y ago
  You've been reading too much Daniel Pipes.
  - pbhjpbhj 16y ago
    I'd never heard of him.
- Confusion 16y ago
  Martin Luther King was a "well-known Christian-American community leader". That's how you should read it. That you think otherwise means they already managed to indoctrinate you that far, to accept the seeds of doubt and mistrust they try to plant. That way, however it turns out, they are always right.

Confusion 16y ago

I'd rather say they are being less inflammatory than possible. That a single Reddit comment triggered the placing of the device is silly in itself, but once you realize that only happened because he was already under surveillance for the unacceptable reason of having 'extensive ties to the Middle East', it just adds insult to injury.