Bam! Precedent.

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

FBI Drops iPhone Case Against Apple After Outside Hack Succeeds

"A mysterious method suggested by a third party appears to have allowed the FBI to hack into the iPhone belonging to Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the attackers in last year’s shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., prompting the agency to withdraw its legal case against Apple."

LOL. Witnessing the whole debate unravel about how they "broke in", I couldn't help but smirk. Makes you wonder how come some of the biggest smartheads in the industry could've missed the whole point of this exercise.

( Do bear with me, as I delve into this conspiracy! )

Wait, what?

[dreamville-bg.livejournal.com]

"Turkey summoned Germany's ambassador to protest a two-minute song lampooning President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was broadcast on German television, a diplomatic source told AFP on Tuesday. "We summoned the ambassador last week to communicate our protest about the broadcast that we condemned," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We demanded that the broadcast is removed from the air." Source.

Waiddaminnit. Is this newspaper a Turkish one, stationed in Turkey and running by the Turkish laws? We're talking about noble Turkey here, right? You know, that place where Sultan Recep I is calling the shots in all spheres of life, where politicians end up in jail for the mere fact of being the opposition, where journalists are detained and beaten up for criticizing Dear Leader, and where entire newspapers get nationalized on charges of subversive activity and support of terrorism for having an anti-government stance?

You're mistaken, mein Herr. You're in no position to dictate the affairs of free speech in Germany, Europe, or anywhere else. Yet. You can twist arms by blackmailing people and threatening to unleash hordes of refugees upon Europe if Europe doesn't give you whatever cash you demand - but you cannot do THIS. You cannot tell a foreign newspaper to shut up because you didn't like a joke they made about you.

Or can't you? Perhaps, once Turkey gets accepted in the EU and you start calling the shots, you'd be in such a position. I'm sure some folks would rejoice.

I'd like to hear from those folks who never ceased lamenting on Turkey's pariah status and Europe's double standard regarding the Neo Ottoman Empire, and the rejection of its aspirations to be perceived as "European enough" now. Perhaps those folks would be able to explain to me how this behavior on Erdogan's part fits into that narrative. I'm all ears.

Btw, if you thought Erdogan didn't like anything German, you were mistaken. There's one thing he seems to like about Germany: Hitler's form of government. Need I say more?