India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin • Hacker News Board

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#141

Post by rgovind » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:06 PM UTC

elwell wrote: post #116

MichaelGG wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the response there is just as lame: "The Home Minister today asked the state government to install CCTVs in all key places in the city." And they're going to ask restaurants to close at 1am on New Year's... As if that'd accomplish anything.

They might have specific intel on something. Just as possibility...

As an Indian citizen who lived in bangalore. I can tell you there are couple of more plausible reasons why police/politicians don't want late night hotels. 1) They can charge bribes from such clubs/hotels. This is single biggest reason. 2) Politicians can tell to conservatives that they are protecting Indian culture and get votes from them. Conservatives are more likely to vote than these club going crowd.

Specific intelligence might have been a reason but 1am drama happens very year in every South Indian city, so I am less likely to believe it.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#142

Post by iopq » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:07 PM UTC

jusben1369 wrote: post #46

DINKDINK wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they have any incentive to contact you? From their perspective the problem is solved -- the material offending statist is out of sight, out of mind. You're the one who wants a different situation to exist. Governments aren't in the customer service business.

"Governments aren't in the customer service business" - Errr actually that's exactly the business democratic governments are in. Not saying they don't fail regularly but when you are elected by the people for the people you'd better be prepared to provide customer service.

Except most people won't know about this or care. You get the government you deserve, which is to say, a shitty one.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#143

Post by iopq » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:08 PM UTC

code_duck wrote: post #130

DINKDINK wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they have any incentive to contact you? From their perspective the problem is solved -- the material offending statist is out of sight, out of mind. You're the one who wants a different situation to exist. Governments aren't in the customer service business.

Governments should be in the customer service business. Typically, they provide many services that, if they were provided by private companies, which they very well could be, would be customer service oriented. The concept that a government employees such as police are not working for the people is exactly what's wrong with the attitudes surrounding police in the United States. They are providing a service that we pa…

You're not a customer because you're being forced to pay. You have no choice in the matter. If they provide really really bad service you still have to pay.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#144

Post by seanp2k2 » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:10 PM UTC

anExcitedBeast wrote: post #111

Why stop at the domain level? India should block all *.com traffic until Verisign takes down all objectionable content.

You joke now, but e.g. https://pracops.com/wiki/index.php/Jon_Postel#DNS_Root_Autho...

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#145

Post by Houshalter » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:20 PM UTC

mullingitover wrote: post #82

milesskorpen wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By that definition, ANY fighting would be terrorism. Was the Vietnam war terrorism? We definitely terrified some members of the local population. Were the actions by Japan or Germany in WWII terrorism? By some definitions of terrorism, all of the above would count as terrorism. At that point, the term seems to be pretty useless.

Germany, Japan, the UK and the US (among others) all did things in WWII that count as terrorism, and no, the term isn't useless. The textbook definition, "the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims" is exactly what was happening in the war, although I would add the caveat that it's violence and intimidation against civilians. Using violence and intimidation against enemy troops is just regu…

When most people say "terrorism", they are referring to a very specific thing, not "warfare and violence in general". You've made the word useless, just so that you can use it's connotations where they don't belong. Connotations which wouldn't exist if it was really defined that way.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#146

Post by jeremyjh » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:27 PM UTC

seanp2k2 wrote: post #135

nicksergeant wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually don't care at all, but sucks for developers in India who 1) want to use Snipt or 2) have already paid for it. Edit: on item 2, I'll happily refund any Indian developers who've already paid for Snipt and want their money back, but my point is valid.

And of course, apathy is the other big problem with US attitudes about government.

You do realize that it's the Indian government at issue here, right?

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#147

Post by musesum » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:32 PM UTC

Have offshored some dev in India, in the past. We depend on Github. VPNs aside, idiotic IT policy by India nudges us towards South America. Same goes (I think) for China in blocking Google Apps.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#148

Post by Pxtl » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:38 PM UTC

tormeh wrote: post #58

happyscrappy wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As crazy as it sounds some HN users defend ISIS. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8808630

He has a point, you know. His claims are: 1) IS is not a terrorist organization, it is an army. 2) IS is better, or at least not worse, than existing middle east governments. 1 seems pretty obvious to me. Sure, they are terrorizing the local population, but lots of governments do that without being labeled terrorists. 2 is more difficult to swallow. Many ME governments are pure garbage, but IS looks a lot worse.

Reports from experts in the region indicate that, as crazy as it sounds, (2) is correct.

ISIS has built up an excellent reputation for stamping out corruption and running efficient social services and police forces within poor communities. Their horrifying acts of murder and collective punishment are often unrelated to the simple business of day-to-day-life.

Think about living in a poor town with ongoing struggles with organized crime and local tribal warlords. Assume you're already Muslim like everyone else you know. A new military comes in, swiftly takes power, and cleans out the criminals, ousts the corrupt autocracy, efficiently runs services and healthcare, vaccinates your kids... suddenly life gets better for everyone you know and care about.

Sure, if you look under the carpet you find all the dead bodies, but if you plug your ears and look at the modest improvement in your crappy life? ISIS looks pretty good.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#149

Post by vegabook » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:43 PM UTC

There is a case to be made for the idea that America-hosted, America-doctrine birthed, websites, do not jive with everybody on the planet. The idea that Github is beyond reproach and blocking it makes no sense is superficially tempting, until you realise that the vast, vast majority of projects on it are America-led. Why is it so surprising to block a culture which is permeating the planet, to the detriment of other cultures? And of course many non-Americans will object to this idea, but that is because they tend to me the top of their local game and looking to be hired into (or otherwise benefit from) the America-led capital-driven, individual first at the expense of the community, ideology.

There is a tendency to knee-jerk condemn these blockages, including those in China, or indeed in Europe. It is not obvious to me that some kind of barrier to the Americanisation of the planet, including via its dominant websites, is such a bad thing.

Re: India Orders 32 Websites Blocked, Including GitHub, Archive.Org, Pastebin

#150

Post by hangonhn » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 9:48 PM UTC

adventured wrote: post #123

jaekwon wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the threat of a nuclear bomb? Not just NK but Fat Man too.

By that definition Russia is a giant terrorist organization, seeing as they're pointing nuclear missiles at a lot of cities in North America and Europe.

Well I won't rule on the general statement about Russia but their nuclear arsenal isn't being used to change any of our stated policies. They're not saying "stop doing X or we will use nuclear weapons". What most or all current nuclear armed nations have done is basically used their nukes to maintain the status quo -- a Nash equilibrium of non-usage.