“Can the 2016 election get any more rambunctious? To the delight of journalists—and the chagrin of Serious People everywhere — the answer is yes,” Rick Newman writes for Yahoo Finance. “Republican bomb-thrower Donald Trump has upped the ante on his insult-everybody campaign by calling for a boycott of Apple. That’s right, the world’s most valuable company, and a beloved one, besides. Trump—fresh off a spat with the Pope—apparently feels he can poke anybody or anything at this point, and emerge victorious.”
“The underlying issue is a serious one. Apple is embroiled in a dispute with the Justice Department over an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre of Dec. 2. The FBI is demanding that Apple develop technology to unlock the phone, so they can investigate information the shooter may have stored there,” Newman writes. “Apple CEO Tim Cook says that’s no easy task and doing so would set a precedent allowing hackers and crooks easier access to iPhones worldwide. Apple is contesting the FBI order in court, with an appeal set for Feb. 26. But further appeals could keep the matter in court for months.”
Newman writes, “Trump, with his genius for publicity, is playing the law-and-order card, in calling for Apple to do what the FBI wants.”
I use both iPhone & Samsung. If Apple doesn't give info to authorities on the terrorists I'll only be using Samsung until they give info.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2016
Newman writes, “Public opinion seems split on the issue of whether Apple should comply with the FBI, especially since nobody really cares about the privacy of a terrorist sympathetic to ISIS who murdered 14 civilians at an office party.”
MacDailyNews Take: And because Americans are, in general, so poorly educated – a third have never heard of the man often referred to as “the most influential justice of the last quarter-century” (and who would have been on Apple’s side, no doubt) – they likely think Orwell is a good boat rower.
These are the type of American morons who buy Samsung phones while complaining about the lack of U.S. jobs. Like Donald Trump.
“Here’s my prediction: Apple is going to cave, and find a way to unlock the San Bernardino phone so the FBI can have a look. Not because Trump said they should, but because public opinion is going to shift in favor of the FBI as the case gains more notoriety and more people realize what’s at stake,” Newman writes. “The company will also decide a long series of legal appeals are more trouble than they’re worth, especially if there’s a chance of losing in the end. Apple, after all, is a consumer products company, and it has edged away from hard-line policies before when consumers have edged it along. That’s one reason it tightened up the security of its phones in the first place.”
“Trump will undoubtedly claim credit if Apple accedes to the FBI. He won’t deserve it,” Newman writes. “But we should acknowledge his deft ability to sense where public opinion is heading before it actually gets there. Apple should, too.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We shall see. What do you think, will Tim Cook cave in the face of a woefully uneducated portion of the U.S. public — many of whom cannot understand the ramifications of their next Big Mac Attack, much less recognize their Constitutional rights being usurped right in front of their slightly crossed eyes — before exhausting all appeals up the the U.S. Supreme Court?
SEE ALSO:
Apple: Terrorist’s Apple ID password changed in government custody, blocking access – February 19, 2016
Petition asks Obama administration to stop demanding Apple create iPhone backdoor – February 19, 2016
Newspaper editorials back Apple over U.S. government 8 to 1 – February 19, 2016
Apple likely to invoke First Amendment free-speech rights in against U.S. government backdoor demands – February 19, 2016
Donald Trump calls for Apple boycott over San Bernardino terrorist iPhone encryption – February 19, 2016
Secret memo details U.S. government’s broader strategy to crack phones – February 19, 2016
DOJ escalates war against Apple, files new motion to compel company to break into iPhone – February 19, 2016
Apple is still fighting Big Brother – February 19, 2016
Apple co-founder Woz: Steve Jobs would have fought this U.S. government overreach, too – February 19, 2016
Mother who lost son in San Bernardino terrorist attack sides with Apple against U.S. government backdoor demands – February 19, 2016
iPhones don’t kill people, people kill people – February 19, 2016
I’d like to shove his iPhone down his throat and his Samsung up his ass. The problem would be figuring out which orifice was which.
Now that was extremely clever! Good one pal.
Trump will shove the iPhone up every pervert fudgepacker that stands in the way, including Ted Cuck. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN DONALD!
The Donald will be the next president of the United States period.
You can get ready for this by running around your house shouting “Jesus Christ” periodically during the day.
@grwisher,
Trump does not want the office of the president. There is too little power there. He is shooting for office of KING of the USA.
Trump would never stoop to dealing with the Congress.
sometimes when i think of this american system of checks and balances government and the world context in which it was created, i’m so amazed at this exquisite creation. i’m even more amazed there can be so many in today’s america who aren’t able to grasp it and who are willing to abandon it and the reasoning for its principles. how is it so many can come out of america’s public schools and not understand how it defines this amazing nation where even the lowliest citizen can appeal to the highest court.
“How is it so many can come out of america’s public schools and not understand?”
The students are not the primary concern of teachers’ unions in America.
Democrats are in bed with the teachers’ unions. GOP wants vouchers to increase competition and provide better education to every student as a result. Supporting Democrats means supporting the continuance of bad teachers and bad schools that have no real impetus to improve.
How can you put down teachers when they are paid so poorly that the profession does not attract good people anymore? The union busting mentality has pushed the middle class in the US of A down to the poverty line and no one has any job security. How do you expect that US students will be served by people who have to take a second job to be able to afford to be a teacher.
This issue of dumb ignorant US children is not tied to any political party anymore. The Republicans strive to push any form of organization down and the Democrats sit idly by and watch the ruination of the youth while the Republicans keep eating away at a standard that befits a first world population.
Mist teachers are NOT underpaid these days.
Then you undervalue the price of a good teacher. I would LOVE to be a teacher. Unfortunately, I also like to make money that is inline with my intelligence and skill level.
It’s not the fault of the schools that kids don’t come out with a sophisticated knowledge of civics and social studies and govt.
Our culture does not value learning nearly enough. Look at the popular TV shows, look at the tabloids, look at what dominates our discussions. Most of it is junk. Most people don’t want to think very hard about govt, rights,the courts, etc.
Don’t blame the schools for this one; teachers try to teach, but most of the kids don’t value learning about govt. In all fairness, it’s always been this way.
“FactChecker,” you are a hyper-partisan moron attempting to satisfy your unquenchable urge to vomit bullshit. Both political parties have messed up the U.S. Education system. Bush and his “No Child Left Behind” plan is a classic example of the GOP putting forth a highly flawed plan to “improve” education. And the GOP retro activists are becoming infamous for their efforts to edit science textbooks to include fantasy as equivalent to real science theories and data. Texas is the asshole of pseudo-science in this nation, and its textbook-editing antics influence textbooks across the nation.
We have put our teachers in a box in which their is little room for individuality and creativity. As a nation, we have taken many professions which were once highly respected and turned them into targets of ridicule. Kids used to dream of becoming teachers and police officers. These are the people who help to shape our children and our society as a whole, and we are driving the good ones away for so many reasons.
And, yes, I know it is supposed to be “there,” not “their”…typo plus spell check yields grammatical error.
Never bedded down with the unions but often with a bag of school work preparing for the next day of school . What a blanket inaccurate statement you make !
Wondering how many teachers’ shoes you have walked in as you spew out such lofty knowledge .
Public Opinion is not split. The entire left, center, independent and libertarian right is united on this one.
Donny, you are out of your depth… go read 1984
I still have faith that the American voter will wake up and dump this moron. He is a megalomaniac and quite the loudmouth. With regard to Apple, I hope they hang in there and battle this overt Government attempt to steal yet one more bit of our liberty.
The writer is incorrect. Consumers will not boycott Apple because of what Trump blathers. If anything, the consumers should boycott anything that has Trump’s name on it. Fight Tim, never quit.
Mr. Trump will not be President. He only has 30% of the Republican vote.. think about that. Even if it grows to 50%… he won’t be elected. As messed up as it is.. (and it is).. Hillary Clinton will be President after dodging her sad history of lying almost continuously about emails and a host of other issues. It won’t be Kasich, Rubio, Bush, or any other Republican. Gas prices are low, jobs are plentiful, and people are more angry with Congress than the President. Sanders won’t make it because he’s too old and focused on basically one issue.. Wall Street greed and power. He’s right of course but being a one issue candidate and 74 years old means he would be 79 when he reaches the end of his first term. Not gonna happen. So.. don’t worry about Trump. DO worry about Clinton.. and keep your powder dry.
“Hillary Clinton will be President.”
Care to bet on that?
Many interesting things can happen between now and election day. For example.
“Care to bet on that?”
Hmmm… You loudly predicted in 2008 for that McCain would beat Obama… Wrong! Then you loudly predicted in 2012 that Romney would beat Obama… Wrong! Care to play again? I’ll take that bet!
Hillary Clinton cannot even speak for 5 minutes without launching into a spasmodic 10-minute coughing fit. She’s choking on her own lies, not to mention not healthy enough for the rigors of the U.S. Presidency.
Hey Mr. “First 2014, Then 2016”,
You’re track record in predicting the outcome of US Presidential elections over the last eight years isn’t too stellar, but you seem VERY sure of yourself this time. So, let’s make this agreement for all of MDN to witness:
If Hillary or Bernie are elected come November, you will forevermore post to MDN as “Strike Three and I’m Out!”.
What do you say? Sounds reasonable?
I Dare YOU “first”…
Is thatbthe best you can do???
You are so pathetic.
Trump is an idiot and Tim Cook is way smarter then him. Apple will stick to its guns all the way to the Supreme court. Just like it has with the DOJ and the book case. This is about everyone’s privacy, not just one person. They have millions of customers to protect.
one less vote for Trump here…
The last time public opinion influenced an Apple decision will be the first time.
This is a common sense issue. If someone uses their iPhone to commit a crime, there should be a way for law enforcement to get that information. That is not an invasion of privacy, it is protection of a criminal act. What if your family or loved ones were a victim of a terrorist act or a murder and valuable information was contained in the phone?
If was my family, I would want them to kick down doors without a warrant, round up the usual suspects without probable cause, torture possible accomplices to obtain information, and hang the accused without a trial.
That is why civilized states have trained police and impartial magistrates to make those decisions in accordance with due process, instead of leaving it up to the victims’ families and the rules of vendetta. Due process protects all of us, since we are all just one false accusation from becoming a criminal suspect.
The National Security Police State Apparatus of the United of America has a nearly unlimited budget at its disposal to temporarily sway public opinion to permanently weaken their 4th Amendment rights. Most recently, this has occurred with the passage of the US Patriot Act which degraded everybody’s rights for all time.
If Apple caves, I want to run the over-under on how long before some “trusted government agent” uses the tool on his/her ex-spouse’s iPhone.
FUCK TRUMP! I am so sick of that asshole. I don’t think that Apple will cave, and I hope they go on the offensive rather than play defense. The people who want Apple to cave are totalitarian loving morons who don’t give a damn about individual liberty. The government has absolutely no right to the contents of our phones, our computers, or anything that belongs to us. Instead of whining about the iPhone’s security features, maybe the FBI should use all of those billions of dollars that they spend every year to figure out how to hack into the iPhone all by themselves. Trump is not worthy of being president. I have never given in to his populist name calling bullshit. I’m a proud Ted Cruz supporter. And all of you who are Trump supporters can flame me all you want. Do your worst. You won’t make me cower in fear and you won’t make me shut up.
I think that everyone underestimates Donald Trump’s intelligence because they take his statements as literal and at face value. Given that the business school he attended the minimum IQ to attend is estimated to be 150+. He is a charismatic sociopath who is very skilled at manipulating things to suit his interests. I am a Voluntaryist and so I am not in support of government or Donald Trump at all. I just think we underestimate his popularity and drive to win at our own peril. He will become the GOP candidate and it will be a tough battle between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to face off with him. I think Bernie Sanders is a better candidate and will do better in debates with him due to his extensive experience in politics. https://www.freedomainradio.com
Government interest should be limited to communication meta-data to enable tracking others connected with crimes. Thus all mobile phones should protect everything but phone number/date-time used and text/email address use and times. All other data is personal and requires absolute protection.
Just so I can better understand what the Court Order is demanding Apple do… Does Apple already have the technology to comply with this court order, or would they have to invent it to comply?
Apple has to invent the technology to open the phone now. But this incident is bringing to light the broader issue that actors like Trump and his supporters want to moot any remaining freedom we have left as a people by either weakening encryption or by creating a backdoor into our families, our thoughts and our privacy. What these deniers of Liberty are proposing would allow anybody with hacking skills to gain access into the device. This means perpetrators would have access to notes, pictures, books, associates, text messages, apps, bookmarks, the camera, the microphone, etc.
Obviously, those in power would love to have the upper hand over their opponents, and through questionable means are appealing to the public to grant them total and absolute control.
In the things I wish were true category: Apple would tweet that everyone should boycott Trump–but only until after the presidential elections.
So I’m going to take technology buying advice from a guy who rubs Cheetos on his head?
👍👍👍👍👍
Trump is the one that will cave and keep using his iPhone.
Whoa…let’s take on this notion that Justice Scalia would have sided with Apple. Scalia was horrible on privacy rights.
Here’s an exchange with Chris Wallace of Fox News:
WALLACE: What about the right to privacy that the court found in known 1965?
SCALIA: There is no right to privacy. No generalized right to privacy.
WALLACE: Well, in the Griswold case, the court said there was.
SCALIA: Indeed it did, and that was – that was wrong.
Let it be known that the Griswold case was the one that upheld a person’s right to use contraception. That’s right…Scalia would have ruled that a govt has the right to limit a couple’s right to contraception.
Beyond that he was against abortion rights and gay rights. This man wanted to intrude into the most private domains of people’s lives.
More Scalia being against privacy: in Capper v Amnesty International, Scalia voted with the majority in finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge NSA survellance because they couldn’t know they were subjected to it.
Now the so called liberal justices voted the other way. In fact it has been the liberal justices who have voted the most for privacy rights protections. Here’s Justice Sotomayor:
“It may be necessary to reconsider the premise that an individual has no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily exposed to third parties. This approach is ill suited to the digital age.”
Amusing, isn’t it, to hear the propaganda that Judge Scalia was a ‘strict Constitutional traditionalist’. NO HE WASN’T. He was a political pundit who pushed HIS personal interpretation (aka MIS-interpretation) of the US Constitution, as is illustrated above by wade. He was, in fact, a profound hypocrite.
IOW: Scalia was a full of shite as any other poliTard. What a sad character. What damage he did and attempted to do. What liars are the Neo-Cons. These ‘crazies’ (Ronald Reagan’s term for them) have ruined the Republican party.
An no kiddies. Never shove me into the ‘Liberal’ box. I don’t fit. Imagine that. Oh you can’t? Your problem. Try 3-D thinking for a change.
Nope and Nope. Bad prediction Rick Newman writes for Yahoo Finance. Looks like click-bait to me.
I love this quote. Check out who stated it!
“The government’s going to have to get over it,” said Ken Silva, former technical director of the National Security Agency and currently a vice president at Ionic Security Inc., an Atlanta-based data security company. “We had this fight 20 years ago. While I respect the job they have to do and I know how hard the job is, the privacy of that information is very important to people.”
From:
Secret Memo Details U.S.’s Broader Strategy to Crack Phones
What of course is fascinating in all this is the ability of us all to separate the QUISLINGS from those who value freedom and privacy as designated in the US Constitution.
No folks, you’re NOT going to like totalitarianism.
And Trump, Cruz and Rubio are Angels of Truth, bringing us all a new Golden Age of Honesty, Integrity, Dignity and intelligence? Grow up!
It’s Republican Senators who have called for laws to penalize companies like Apple that try to protect device security.
And the GOP is the pro torture party; if they sanction torture in the name of security, they surely sanction breaking into a phone. The GOP is a nationalist party, not a limited govt party. Once you understand that it all become much more clear.
One more thing about Trump and those who would bash him but support the GOP: Trump just embodies the current GOP better than the other candidates. The other candidates are just as bad on policy, but don’t express it as well as Trump
So let’s not kid ourselves: every Republican candidate for President is for trampling over privacy rights and human rights in the name of security. And you can bet if they name a judge to the Supreme Court that the judge will side with the security state every time.
Trump’s ideas on prioritizing security and social tradition over individual rights may parallel other Republican candidates, but his overall support for an activist state far exceeds even the Democrats. The iPhone thing is entirely consistent with Trump’s authoritarian bias.
Exit polls in South Carolina showed that 70% of his votes came from people whose top issue is economic. These are disaffected workers who are, at best, underemployed and blame their situation on elites and minorities. They take Trump at his word when he promises to direct vigorous Federal action against big business (other than his), competing workers, and the free market in order to force jobs home again.
That statist philosophy seems to have captured my Republican Party.
If Apple loses this case, it means The American people have become a nation ruled by politician.