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US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

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Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#41

Post by egberts1 »

endisneigh wrote: post #29
beebmam wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

North Korea actively threatens the use of nuclear weapons, offensively, against its neighbors and enemies. There should be no sympathy for this regime or anyone who collaborates with it.

Agreed. And once we finish with North Korea we should turn our eyes to the United States, the country that developed and currently only user of nuclear weapons in combat. No sympathy for users of nuclear weapons or any country who threatens its use!

… only user …?

Clearly, you are qualified to comment on world affair. /sarcasm

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#42

Post by xadhominemx »

orangepurple wrote: post #26
vmception wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the security conference was in a place sanctioned under the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act, then yes. He applied for a travel exemption, and was denied. He went anyway. He was charged with that, not the speech. That's how its enforced, for this specific reason. Regulate the intermediary to control the desired behavior. Don't regulate the individual with first amendment rights.

The USA junta will punish you if you go against them, constitution be damned, the judges are on their side.

Freedom of speech is meant to preserve democracy domestically, not be a free for all to aid enemies for profit. Any sane state, including free democracies, would prohibit residents from teaching rogue enemy nations how to avoid sanctions.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#43

Post by vmception »

orangepurple wrote: post #26
vmception wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the security conference was in a place sanctioned under the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act, then yes. He applied for a travel exemption, and was denied. He went anyway. He was charged with that, not the speech. That's how its enforced, for this specific reason. Regulate the intermediary to control the desired behavior. Don't regulate the individual with first amendment rights.

The USA junta will punish you if you go against them, constitution be damned, the judges are on their side.

Ermmmm not here. When you can afford to tango with them, they don't take surprising constitutional views actually. That part is in your favor. Its more about affording to get that far, in other cases. This case isn't one of those? He wasn't charged for the speech, he was charged for violating a travel and business sanction after explicitly asking for an exemption and being denied. He went out of his way to hop over barriers placed by the government, and got charged for hopping over after telling the government he was interested in hopping over. They watched him hop over, they didn't charge him for the speech he gave after hopping over. Hopping over isn't a constitutional right.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#44

Post by light_hue_1 »

ricochet11 wrote: post #18

This is so sad, how does locking him up for 5 years really helps anyone? or keep anyone safer? He did something stupid maybe, but his work was exploring how digital systems can help bring peace to the world, and he thought a good place for that to happen is NK, so who doesn't agree with that? None of the information he presented was secret, it was all publicly available. For comparison here is a company that actually…

> but his work was exploring how digital systems can help bring peace to the world, and he thought a good place for that to happen is NK

Except that North Korea uses that money to build nuclear weapons. Sanctions are the only reason North Korea doesn't have a nuclear arsenal with ICBMs that it can used to threaten the entire world. Giving North Korea access to more money is not good. It does not promote peace.

Locking him up does plenty of good. It means that someone who would help a ruthless dictator build up weapons that could end the world, is not out there doing it.

> For comparison here is a company that actually facilitated NK building Nuclear Weapons, 145 violations of the law , they got fined $15k more than Virgil and had no jail time.

Let's read the article. TD processed $300k. That's.. nothing. I'm sure Kim spends that much on wine every month.

This person was trying to give North Korea a roadmap by which it could evade sanctions with as much money as it wanted. That's far worse.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#45

Post by sofixa »

ricochet11 wrote: post #18

This is so sad, how does locking him up for 5 years really helps anyone? or keep anyone safer? He did something stupid maybe, but his work was exploring how digital systems can help bring peace to the world, and he thought a good place for that to happen is NK, so who doesn't agree with that? None of the information he presented was secret, it was all publicly available. For comparison here is a company that actually…

> but his work was exploring how digital systems can help bring peace to the world

Surely nobody is that naive? Wars and sanctions aren't a technical problem that can be "solved" with a "digital system".

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#46

Post by egberts1 »

spacemanmatt wrote: post #7
SkyBelow wrote: post #4

Could someone explain why this wouldn't fall under freedom of speech? Sounds like there were not government secrets nor did the expert have a security clearance that would have held him to a higher standard. If Tor researchers gave a presentation at a security conference on how to install Tor, knowing full well that some would use it to engage in the proliferation of CSAM, would that also not fall under free speech?

freedom of speech is not absolute. it's as simple as that. the guy violated a federal sanction.

except the charges is not on about freedom of speech, not at all, not even close.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#47

Post by vmception »

radicaldreamer wrote: post #34
flerchin wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have any links for those answers? I appreciate them.

He wasn't arrested at the airport when he returned, he was questioned and cooperated, then was arrested later with evidence partially being what he himself told investigators.

Thanks. I think they want links because they hadn't seen this case before even though the rest of us have been watching this slow motion trainwreck for some time.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#48

Post by chatmasta »

I met Virgil at an academic workshop back in 2014. We went out in Amsterdam. He was a weird guy, to say the least (he’d probably be the first to agree). He was generally quite affable and obviously highly intelligent.

He’s an idiot for this fiasco. But it’s also sad to see him in jail; I don’t see how this benefits society in any way. Five years in prison seems like a disproportionate punishment for an arguably victimless crime. None of us is safer today because Virgil is in prison.

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#49

Post by endisneigh »

egberts1 wrote: post #41
endisneigh wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. And once we finish with North Korea we should turn our eyes to the United States, the country that developed and currently only user of nuclear weapons in combat. No sympathy for users of nuclear weapons or any country who threatens its use!

… only user …? Clearly, you are qualified to comment on world affair. /sarcasm

What other countries have used nuclear weapons in combat?

Re: US sentences crypto expert to 5 years after North Korea blockchain presentation

#50

Post by erickj »

radicaldreamer wrote: post #34
flerchin wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have any links for those answers? I appreciate them.

He wasn't arrested at the airport when he returned, he was questioned and cooperated, then was arrested later with evidence partially being what he himself told investigators.

It's time for everyone's yearly reminder, "Don't talk to the police"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE

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