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GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

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Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#221

Post by odiroot »

PunchTornado wrote: post #40
majia wrote: post #26

If Crimea was unwillingly annexed by Russia, then the sanction is punishing the victim instead of the criminal. If Crimea people genuinely supported the unification with Russia and received sanction for that, then it is a blatant attack on Crimean people's freedom.

pff, ridiculous comment. a region doesn't have the right to attach itself to another state. think about it. a bunch of russians move to somewhere near grand canion, do a referendum and then proclaim it russian territory.

This was basically Kosovo, Transnistria and probably a few more.

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#222

Post by csomar »

dijit wrote: post #2

Same as Gitlab then[0]. US Sanctions should not affect internet services (so long as they are provided for free)[1], but political pressure appears to be very strong. Personally I find it quite abhorrent, and would cite this as a reason not to use US based companies in future. [0]: https://about.gitlab.com/2018/07/19/gcp-move-update/ [1]: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/...

I think non-US companies have to comply with the sanctions too. Your alternative will be the pool of sanctioned countries and friends. Which don’t have the infrastructure most people need.

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#223

Post by markvdb »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #119
cdmckay wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You realize that sanctions also kill people through lack of supplies like medicine being available, people being unable to economically support themselves, and, if the sanctions cause the government to collapse, all the death that results from that. So let’s not pretend sanctions are somehow nonviolent.

These countries are run by some of the most violent and oppressive regimes in the world. Let’s not pretend that the US is responsible for the quality of life of the people living there. These sanctions are entirely non-violent. The actual word you’re looking for is harmful. They’re designed to be harmful, economically. Responding to regimes like this with economic pressure is most certainly preferable to actual viole…

"These sanctions are entirely non-violent." Their effect on the rich in these countries mostly is. What about children dying because of a lack of medication?

One could avoid a lot of collateral damage by targeting sanctions at specific powerful individuals. Think of the way some Russian oligarchs from Putin's inner circle got restricted by western sanctions.

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#224

Post by cuillevel3 »

dijit wrote: post #14
marcthe12 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing I am woried is that harfbuzz is developed by Iranian developer. It is an integral part of Linux font stack.

I would have said "move to git.kernel.org" but that's also hosted by a US based provider: organisation: ORG-PHI3-RIPE org-name: Packet Host Inc org-type: OTHER address: 30 Vesey Street, Suite 900, New York, NY 10007 US And, obviously GNOME git servers are US based, since they're owned by RedHat/IBM.

If your company operates in the US and uses a provider, who does not implement sanctions, does it have to enforce them on its own?

I mean, something like selling a product, maybe based on open source tech in the US and cooperating with devs in sanctioned countries via a workaround provider..

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#225

Post by gtirloni »

r3bl wrote: post #52
gtirloni wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, for a well-known project, they won't miss GitHub visibility benefits. They can host the git repository anywhere. Self-host an issue tracking system or find a non-US company that does that (and is not required to follow US sanctions due to trade agreements, that'll be hard). It's an annoyance, for sure.

The problem is that they'd require a payment method to rent the server somewhere else or to use a non-US company that doesn't offer a generous free plan. The most prominent payment providers (Visa, MasterCard, PayPal) are all US-based. > (and is not required to follow US sanctions due to trade agreements, that'll be hard). I really don't know much about sanctions against Syria and Crimea, but Iranian developers could…

These are very good points. Especially the one about the major payment providers.

Re: countries that have withdrawn from the Iran deal. Even those who haven't (AFAIK, Brazil) are still in grey waters because local companies with business in the US are afraid to do business with Iranian companies. For example, two ships weren't allowed to be refilled in Brazil for 50 days while a legal battle at the supreme court was ongoing to decide if the Brazilian oil company could even refill them, because it was afraid to be sanctioned by the US govt (while doing business in the US or with US companies in the future).

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#226

Post by fit2rule »

tandem_bike wrote: post #190
fit2rule wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

.. thus demonstrating that the US has been a far more negative influence on the world than most Americans have the courage to admit.

People who suffered at the hands of Saddam's regime would disagree. There was jubilation in the streets of Iraq when Saddam was driven out of power.

And what has replaced all that jubilation in Iraq today?

Short-lived minor PR victories are insignificant compared to the long term loss of human life. Was it worth murdering 500,000 human beings for that gain?

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#227

Post by dingo_bat »

slenk wrote: post #212
not_a_cop75 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's unfortunately hard to separate good and honest foreigners from those that would prefer to destroy other nation states.

Yeah but I would argue that the US is actually destroying other nation-states

Other nation states are equally free to punish US for that.

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#228

Post by StaticRedux »

meitham wrote: post #142
AmericanChopper wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These countries are run by some of the most violent and oppressive regimes in the world. Let’s not pretend that the US is responsible for the quality of life of the people living there. These sanctions are entirely non-violent. The actual word you’re looking for is harmful. They’re designed to be harmful, economically. Responding to regimes like this with economic pressure is most certainly preferable to actual viole…

In all fairness, the Iranian government is more popular in Iran than the US govenment in the US. The US sanctions wasn't enacted to help the Iranian people, but to weaken a country that the US perceives as an adversary.

Are they? Or are the Iranian people too afraid of the Revolutionary Guard to say different? If you want to go that route, North Korea has the most popular government and leader on Earth. I don't think you can make claims about popularity of a government that can and does make people disappear who say otherwise.

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#229

Post by hkai »

cardigan wrote: post #208

Posting Nat Friedman's tweets here so they're easier to read - they're doing more than most companies about the whole thing, not sure where the vitriol in these comments is coming from: It is painful for me to hear how trade restrictions have hurt people. We have gone to great lengths to do no more than what is required by the law, but of course people are still affected. GitHub is subject to US trade law, just like…

It's crazy how Trump imposed these restrictions against innocent people and got away with it.

Re: GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea

#230

Post by jdbernard »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #88
r3bl wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that they'd require a payment method to rent the server somewhere else or to use a non-US company that doesn't offer a generous free plan. The most prominent payment providers (Visa, MasterCard, PayPal) are all US-based. > (and is not required to follow US sanctions due to trade agreements, that'll be hard). I really don't know much about sanctions against Syria and Crimea, but Iranian developers could…

Enter... crypto

Between the speculative get-rich-quick rollercoaster of Bitcoin and the fraud of other crypto currencies it feels like the promise of decentralization has been forgotten.
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