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| Home Front: Politix | ||
| Obama refuses to surrender Blackberry | ||
| 2009-01-19 | ||
| Despite legal and security hurdles, president-elect Barack Obama says he has a plan to retain his beloved Blackberry once he moves into the White House next week. Legalities and security don't apply to me, as I am loved by all and have no need to worry about such things. Interviewed by CNN Friday, Obama said the smartphone was among the tools that he would use to stay in touch with real Americans and avoid becoming trapped inside the presidential "bubble." President Bubble Boy... "I think we're going to be able to hang on to one of these. My working assumption, and this is not new, is that anything I write on an email could end up being on CNN," he said. "So I make sure to think before I press 'send'," he said of his Blackberry, which was an ever-present fixture on his belt or in his hand on the campaign trail. Man, his Secret Service detail is just gonna love him... Obama did not divulge just how he will overcome legal constraints, given the requirement of the post-Watergate Presidential Records Act of 1978 to keep a record of every White House communication. Nor did he say how he would persuade his Secret Service protectors that the Blackberry does not pose a security risk, for instance if it is hacked over the air. My aura will protect me from hackers and evil doers... But Obama, who succeeds the unpopular George W. Bush on Tuesday, said the phone was a valuable part of a wider strategy to escape the White House fishbowl. And since I'm "popular", I'm sure no one would ever try to use this info against me or the country... "It's just one tool among a number of tools that I'm trying to use, to break out of the bubble, to make sure that people can still reach me," he said. "If I'm doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an email and say, 'What are you doing?' ...or Pyongyang. Or Moscow. Or Beijing. "I want to be able to have voices, other than the people who are immediately working for me, be able to reach out and send me a message about what's happening in America." ...and I know what's best. Hope. Change. Thank you. Good night! The mobile device dilemma may have inadvertently been solved on Friday, as Obama's Blackberry tumbled from his belt as he got out of his limousine and onto his plane in Washington. A Secret Service agent hurried to pick up the pieces, gathering the Blackberry and battery off the frigid tarmac Aw geez, Mr. Almost President. Looks like you're friggin screwed...
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| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #21 Obama's behaviour reminds me of Clinton's. He doesn't care about security. Problem is, Americans are going to pay for it. With their lives. |
| Posted by: Leroidavid 2009-01-19 23:43 |
| #20 My money says Candian Intel alreay has every email he's ever sent or received. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-01-19 22:17 |
| #19 When it falls out your pocket and crashes its called a dingleberry. Had the same concern as NS. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-01-19 20:48 |
| #18 Nothing like having an Hope the Secret Service is ready |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-01-19 19:24 |
| #17 Don't those things effectively broadcast your location? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-01-19 19:21 |
| #16 I suppose he thinks email is secure too. Didn't they make a big pile if stink over Sarah Palin having a Yahoo email account? Hey! Maybe he can use it to keep track of the NUCLEAR CODES! Thats the ticket! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-01-19 18:27 |
| #15 "Beloved Blackberry" > D *** NG IT, but only everyone has a Laptop, Blackberry, IPOD, etc. but me - WHY, MORIARITY, WHY!? Is it true, has my beloved PAUL SIMON/ORVILLE BOW TIE MEMBERSHIP CARD LIED AND BETRAYED ME??? * AL BUNDY > IS IT TRUE. GOD, WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT YOU - ARE YOU A BIG FAT WOMAN??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-01-19 18:15 |
| #14 Basically, he's living in a fools' paradise if he thinks anything he's doing on the thing is private. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-01-19 17:43 |
| #13 Only commies and his handlers (like Ayers, and Ralm) will have a private (and secret) pipeline into his head. How much money would (for instance) it cost 3dc to render said pipe line no longer private and secret? I'm guessing less than $ 5 k. I'm also guessing that foreign intelligence agencies already have similar setups, sufficiently productized that they appear to be (and for the most part are) laptops with antennas sticking out one of the USB ports. They probably don't even need to be Line-of-sight to the President-elect/President, just in the same general area. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-01-19 17:42 |
| #12 Infosec and crypto is so...right wing and yukky! After tomorrow we're all open and progressive and stuff. |
| Posted by: Cynicism Inc 2009-01-19 16:27 |
| #11 Once he is sworn in those communications are official documents. That is why Bush stopped using email for personal communications. This could get interesting. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-01-19 16:16 |
| #10 I think a big reason for this is that Bambi needs to have contact with certain folks without having that contact in the official records. Whether it's his preacher, or Ayers, or 50 other people we know nothing about today, he wants to talk with people without having the existence of those conversations, let alone their contents, known. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-01-19 15:59 |
| #9 Obama said the smartphone was among the tools that he would use to stay in touch with real Americans Why do I get the feeling that no 'real Americans' will have his number? Only commies and his handlers (like Ayers, and Ralm) will have a private (and secret) pipeline into his head. There is a simple solution. Just post his number on the front page of every newspaper in the US. I guarantee he will go so much spam, viruses, and marriage proposals from SF guys that his blackberry will be absolutely useless. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-01-19 15:42 |
| #8 I don't particularly mind the voices, except the bastids can't harmonize worth a dang. Srsly. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-01-19 14:17 |
| #7 "If I'm doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an email and say, 'What are you doing?' It would appear the United States Secret Service is already sending you the "stupid" message. Would you prefer it be sent from their Chicago field office? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-01-19 14:16 |
| #6 I want to be able to have voices, Some of us take medication to make the voices go away. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-01-19 14:11 |
| #5 N! U! |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-01-19 13:58 |
| #4 It is not only that people can read tyour traffic but also you have zero gurantees about who sent you a message: eg: From Norad: Russian missiles are heading for New York. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-01-19 13:53 |
| #3 somebody in Chicago can send me an email and say, 'What are you |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-01-19 13:41 |
| #2 Another opinion. With an interesting tidbit at the end... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-01-19 13:39 |
| #1 AFP reporter -- a news article is a who, what, when and where. Just couldn't resist the adjective "unpopular" before Bush's name, could you? |
| Posted by: Sherry 2009-01-19 13:32 |