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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

#231

Post by vkou »

tptacek wrote: post #225
vkou wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And here I thought that since march of this year, we're of the general impression that countries have the right to defend themselves, and to seek external allies when bullied by a bigger neighbour...

We didn't invade after the Cuban Missile Crisis; in fact, Cuba remained closely aligned with the USSR until the end of the USSR. If Russia merely sanctioned Ukraine, nobody would be discussing this. Your rebuttal is facile.

The invasion is one of the things that caused the CMC. Leaving that (as well as the CIA campaign of sabotage and terrorism against Cuba) out of the context is incredibly misleading.

If the US simply sat around on its hands and sanctioned Cuba, and left things at that, nobody would be discussing this. It went way, way, way beyond sanctions.

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

#232

Post by formerly_proven »

bhelkey wrote: post #143
tommek4077 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read it as a time reference. He got trialed after the conference.

I think the title implies a causal relationship between the two events. Edit: In this thread: > I wonder how the arrest went down, why he took a plea, what the details of his presentation were >What if he did the exact same presentation in youtube, and in NK they saw that presentation?

Well yes, the executive summary of the article obviously tries to make this look like the US is punishing a freedom researcher for saying things a ten-year old knows:

> The US sentenced a crypto researcher to five years in prison after he presented at a blockchain conference in North Korea.

> Prosecutors say Virgil Griffith, 39, undermined US sanctions imposed on North Korea.

> "The most important feature of blockchains is that they are open" Griffith said in his presentation, according to prosecutors.

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

#233

Post by nradov »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #174
marcinzm wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're assuming the goal is some sort of democratic revolution rather than keeping the economies of those countries constrained so they have less money to spend on weapons.

Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy.

Cuba can have their national autonomy, but other countries have no particular obligation to trade with them.

The primary "crime" which originally led to the imposition of sanctions on Cuba was that they nationalized assets owned by US entities without paying compensation. Now you could perhaps make a case that the Cuban government had a moral right to do that, but regardless of who was right of wrong it was certainly contrary to US interests. We don't want to set a precedent for allowing countries to get away with stealing US assets.

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

#234

Post by outworlder »

rat9988 wrote: post #200
outworlder wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No news sources are entirely unbiased, even when they make an effort to be. Regardless, we know a lot from NK from multiple sources. The main reason we don't know more is because of how closed that dictatorship is.

Or how closed we are to them? There is no media unbiased about them in the west. But I do know you can travel to NK and see for yourself. That said, it is easier to know things about Portugal than NK. They are definitely doing something to hide information. I'm just trying to say that any image based on the media from non friendly country is bound to be wrong. No matter how much different sources you have.

> But I do know you can travel to NK and see for yourself.

No you cannot. You'll be chaperoned everywhere and only shown things they want you to see.

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

#236

Post by tptacek »

vkou wrote: post #231
tptacek wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We didn't invade after the Cuban Missile Crisis; in fact, Cuba remained closely aligned with the USSR until the end of the USSR. If Russia merely sanctioned Ukraine, nobody would be discussing this. Your rebuttal is facile.

The invasion is one of the things that caused the CMC. Leaving that (as well as the CIA campaign of sabotage and terrorism against Cuba) out of the context is incredibly misleading. If the US simply sat around on its hands and sanctioned Cuba, and left things at that, nobody would be discussing this. It went way, way, way beyond sanctions.

What point are you trying to make? The invasion of Cuba was idiotic, I agree. It has nothing to do with our foreign policy afterwards, which is not subject to rules about fairness.

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

#237

Post by arghnoname »

tristor wrote: post #186
s1artibartfast wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy.

> Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy. I believe their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA, that is unfriendly to US interests, and at least once offered the USSR, a then enemy of the US, to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more eas…

> I believe their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA, that is unfriendly to US interests, and at least once offered the USSR, a then enemy of the US, to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more easily target Americans.

You do understand that if this is the bar under which nations can take drastic actions (up to and including fiascos like Bay of Pigs and assassination attempts), US criticism of the adventurism of others (e.g., Ukraine) has to be much more measured. For instance, it is fine to violate the sovereignty of nations, just maybe in a more limited way, etc.

How many countries on earth, do you think, had hostile foreign arms on their soil (e.g., the US) within the past 60 years that their neighbors might find threatening?

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

#238

Post by formerly_proven »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #217
tristor wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Interesting implications for the case of Cuba. If so, their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA. So much for arguments of respecting national autonomy. I believe their primary crime is being a country in close proximity to the USA, that is unfriendly to US interests, and at least once offered the USSR, a then enemy of the US, to host nuclear ICBMs on their territory so they could more eas…

It sounds like we basically agree. I just find it a timely discussion with respect to Ukraine and the fact that the US positions nuclear assets all over the world.

Since whataboutism is so hugely popular in threads involving Russia, let's talk about the nuclear SRBM dispenser formerly known as Kaliningrad Oblast located between Poland and Lithuania (that's in Central Europe). Kinda makes those American gravity nukes stationed in West Germany look old-fashioned.

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

#239

Post by zopa »

istjohn wrote: post #105
chatmasta wrote: post #48

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 victi…

Personally, I support imprisoning anyone who helps subvert sanctions against a despotic state pursuing nuclear weapons.

No issue with your main point, but "pursuing nuclear weapons" is such a strange and revealing phrase. North Korea has nuclear weapons. They've had nuclear weapons for at least 16 years (probably over 20). The last best chance to roll back their nuclear program was in the mid-aughts, and it didn't work.

Lots of good and useful steps we could pursue to reduce tensions and make an accidental nuclear war on the Korean peninsula less likely, even with a regime as awful as the one in Pyongyang. But being a superpower means never needing to admit we've lost at something, I guess.

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

#240

Post by siruncledrew »

The main lesson of the story is not that he was using crypto, but that he was conscientiously trying to enrich himself by conducting illegal activities with a sanctioned dictatorship.

Personally, if he’s being this blunt about his intentions, then it shouldn’t be a surprise that his actions landed him consequences.

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