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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

#301

Post by user3939382 »

axlee wrote: post #275
rbanffy wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as a means of settling disputes As a means of forcing someone to unwillingly settle a dispute in your favor that is. I have no sympathy for North Korea, but sanctions are not an alternative to war. Sanctions are an alternative to bullets.

> As a means of forcing someone to unwillingly settle a dispute in your favor that is. what kind of strange take it is? What do you think war is ?

Someone recently explained their view, that sanctions are akin to siege warfare in days of old. Whether you agree with that analogy or not, there is an underlying valid point that not all warfare requires physical violence. We use the term cyber warfare as another example.

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

#302

Post by s1artibartfast »

formerly_proven wrote: post #238
s1artibartfast wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The whataboutism is strong because the hypocrisy and double think is so pervasive.

Many people believe in moral exceptionalism when it comes to USA foreign policy when the vast majority of the time it boils down to the same self-interested realpolitik as other countries.

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

#303

Post by racnid »

ipaddr wrote: post #279
tomatowurst wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no lawyer but I can only dream that they might find more stuff to throw the book at him but somehow i doubt this. How you go and help a country that your own country is at war with, starves women and children, sends a prisoner's entire family to prison camps for three generations where do all sorts of horrible things and spend only 5 years in prison. People have been sent to prison far longer just because they ha…

The santions are resposible for starving women/children. Should he be in prison for helping children eat?

With all due respect, that's the point of sanctions. You've brought it up as some sort of gotcha. It's not. They're a means to cripple the war-making ability of a nation without actually bombing them into submission or shooting them. As such they're not just placed on a nation for fun or random purposes.

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

#304

Post by gnulinux »

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…

What? North Korean government is the most totalitarian, brutal, ruthless state in the world today. You can't just play "there is no victim" card when you illegally help out an enemy government like that. Even if you're ideologically or for some other reason inclined to support NK, you need to understand that being a US citizen makes your actions extremely impactful on world stage. It seems like Virgil was truly in a position to help NK, which makes him responsible.

I think the punishment is not nearly enough. I believe the same thing should be done to people helping Russia evade sanctions too.

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

#307

Post by eldenwrong »

gnulinux wrote: post #304
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…

What? North Korean government is the most totalitarian, brutal, ruthless state in the world today. You can't just play "there is no victim" card when you illegally help out an enemy government like that. Even if you're ideologically or for some other reason inclined to support NK, you need to understand that being a US citizen makes your actions extremely impactful on world stage. It seems like Virgil was truly in a…

No post body was provided.

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

#308

Post by boomboomsubban »

kyleplum wrote: post #292
wspess wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While USA does not ban everyone from doing trade with Cuba, USA does ban everyone who trades with Cuba from doing trade with the US. You can clearly see how this creates insentives for not trading with Cuba and instead trading with the far larger market next to it.

If Cuba refused to trade with anyone who traded with the US, would you say that Cuba is violating the national autonomy of the US?

Yes, however the severity of the violation is dependent on the influence of the violator. Cuba's violation would be wrong but mostly meaningless compared to the US's.

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

#309

Post by timmytokyo »

tradertef wrote: post #294
pen2l wrote: post #20

Did his PhD at Caltech under Christof Koch in computation and neural systems, was a super talented mathematician... and then he gets involved in crypto. I remember conversations with friends only a few years ago in which we would lament how young brilliant minds were eventually going on to work on adtech, and we would sigh and hope that the tide would turn. Boy, we were not prepared for this tide. Anyway, the NYSD re…

US has terrible human rights track record as well (Guantanamo, Abu Gharib), .. so as other countries.

I don't understand this response. Are you arguing that it's therefore justifiable to do what Griffith did? If not, please try to justify it without resorting to whataboutism.

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

#310

Post by hxkabsnxksl »

polski-g wrote: post #291
colinmhayes wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are bullets and war different?

Sanctions are war.

Is this the vibe you are going with?

https://original.antiwar.com/daniel_larison/2021/05/03/sanct...

Edit: more sauce: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/what-are-sanctions-ra...

Is also a Putin line, so take as you will.

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