
Apple approves and then promptly removes app that tracks US drone strikes - mikenew
https://theintercept.com/2017/03/28/after-12-rejections-apple-accepts-app-that-tracks-u-s-drone-strikes/
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credo
It is sad to see some HNers flag this report.

This was submitted 46 minutes ago and it is ranked #45 with 5 votes.

Meanwhile, at #39 is "Japanese researche firms part of global effort to
develop spray-on solar panels" with just 3 votes (and submitted more than two
hours ago). Btw I'm referencing #39 for ranking comparison purposes, I have
nothing against that item.

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pjc50
HN ranking is very strange. But in some ways this is "old news"; Apple
consistently refuse to allow what they deem to be "political" content on their
App Store. Personally I strongly disagree with this kind of Maoism, but they
have absolutely no intention of changing it, the public aren't going to
boycott them for it, and the US government aren't going to force them to
change it.

~~~
choko
Out of curiosity, why should the government force them to change that policy?

~~~
pjc50
It's hard to construct an argument that they should, other than reaching for
"common carrier" status or some kind of anti-trust. To the extent that they're
acting as a "publisher" they can publish what they like.

But it's still strange that Microsoft is forced to put in browser choice (and
in some jurisdictions media player choice, I think), while Apple get to be a
platform-monopolist. The usual argument against this is the non-dominance of
the iPhone; so long as Android is the most popular OS _and_ allows some choice
of stores, I don't think anyone's successfully going to make a case against
Apple.

~~~
kalleboo
Both the browser choice, and the "N editions" (without media player) were in
the EU/EEA
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp_v_Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp_v_Commission)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu)

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singularity2001
I didn't know the US is killing people in Yemen. When did you declare war
against Yemen?

~~~
tzs
Generally it is not necessary to declare war against a country to conduct
military operations in that country when those operations are done with the
permission of and in cooperation with the government of that country.

The intended US targets in Yemen are generally people that the government of
Yemen also wants to get rid of.

~~~
ConfuciusSay02
There's currently a civil/proxy war going on, therefore depending on where you
are, the "government of Yemen" will be a different group. The US and Saudi
Arabia supports one of those two side, Iran supports the other.

The rationale for not getting congressional approval for operations in Yemen
is because it's part of the "war on terror".

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jaimex2
Android versions seems untouched with an average rating of 4.7

Would someone flagging the app on the app store cause it to be pulled?

~~~
kmbd
if anybody wonders, the link:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joshbegley...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joshbegley.dronestream)

