4 ms·

Trying to legally define what is and is not a valid financial transaction coming in and out of Iran is a fool's errand. There's these things called commodity ma

Trying to legally define what is and is not a valid financial transaction coming in and out of Iran is a fool's errand. There's these things called commodity markets, and most everything is a commodity (more or less liquid) that can be bought and sold. Including WoW accounts, WoW gold, etc. If you wanted to launder, say, oil revenues into completely respectable US financial holdings.... And just think: due to these new restrictions, many Iranian players could get into a whole new world of encryption, non-Iranian VPNs, non-Iranian bank accounts, etc., etc. Which could have very positive political ramifications for the US down the line. Say what you will about America or Germany or whomever in the western world, but I can still write here "Obama is an idiot" or "Merkel is a crook" or "The American Government should be destroyed, the Constitution should be abolished, and the ancient Corinthian Oligarchy should be enacted in its stead" or whatever and still sleep like a babe without any fear of repercussions. It's far from a perfect freedom, but it's better than the alternative.

derrida 14y ago
On your sleep: good for you because I can't --> http://www.animalnewyork.com/2012/the-department-of-homeland-security-is-searching-your-facebook-and-twitter-for-these-words/ http://www.animalnewyork.com/2012/the-department-of-homeland... There are reports the TSA stopped UK citizens because of tweets mentioning some phrases you did just then. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/british_tourist.html http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/british_touris... Sorry about any possible disturbed sleep.
- eupharis 14y ago
  Over 24 hours and haven't been arrested yet. Muhahaha. No one ever expects the Corinthians. The UK tweet thing was a crazy overreaction, yes. In all honesty though... wouldn't you be kinda surprised if law enforcement wasn't monitoring social media? Not looking for the super secret terrorist cell mind you, who probably would refrain from tweeting before their grand operation. But looking for the bat-shit loon who decides to use whatever hater theory is au courant as pretext for their batshit loontastic ideas. E.g., shoebombers. What citizens/journalists should be vigorously investigating is not whether the social media monitoring is happening (cause it is), but whether those Personally Identifiable Information rules are reasonable, whether they are being followed, and just how many people are on the terrorist/drug (i.e., the "perpetual wars" (/eyeroll) we are fighting) lists, how reasonable are the names on those lists, etc., etc.
  - derrida 14y ago
    > how reasonable are the names on those lists Moxie Marlinspike & Jake Appelbaum used to get the 'special treatment' at airports that often involves detainment and interviews with more than just TSA officers. As far as I can discern, their crime was writing software and knowing a bit about cryptography. Obviously Law Enforcement always monitors things to enforce the law. However, the volume of information that is kept and retained is what the worry is. I can't think of a historical example of a country with very extensive domestic surveillance that has not trampled on peoples rights. If you can, I'd like to know.

derrida 14y ago

On your sleep: good for you because I can't --> http://www.animalnewyork.com/2012/the-department-of-homeland-security-is-searching-your-facebook-and-twitter-for-these-words/ http://www.animalnewyork.com/2012/the-department-of-homeland... There are reports the TSA stopped UK citizens because of tweets mentioning some phrases you did just then. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/british_tourist.html http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/01/british_touris... Sorry about any possible disturbed sleep.

eupharis 14y ago
Over 24 hours and haven't been arrested yet. Muhahaha. No one ever expects the Corinthians. The UK tweet thing was a crazy overreaction, yes. In all honesty though... wouldn't you be kinda surprised if law enforcement wasn't monitoring social media? Not looking for the super secret terrorist cell mind you, who probably would refrain from tweeting before their grand operation. But looking for the bat-shit loon who decides to use whatever hater theory is au courant as pretext for their batshit loontastic ideas. E.g., shoebombers. What citizens/journalists should be vigorously investigating is not whether the social media monitoring is happening (cause it is), but whether those Personally Identifiable Information rules are reasonable, whether they are being followed, and just how many people are on the terrorist/drug (i.e., the "perpetual wars" (/eyeroll) we are fighting) lists, how reasonable are the names on those lists, etc., etc.
- derrida 14y ago
  > how reasonable are the names on those lists Moxie Marlinspike & Jake Appelbaum used to get the 'special treatment' at airports that often involves detainment and interviews with more than just TSA officers. As far as I can discern, their crime was writing software and knowing a bit about cryptography. Obviously Law Enforcement always monitors things to enforce the law. However, the volume of information that is kept and retained is what the worry is. I can't think of a historical example of a country with very extensive domestic surveillance that has not trampled on peoples rights. If you can, I'd like to know.