Re: Should distros take steps to reduce russian access to Free Software?

[Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@meetinghouse.net>]

Aaron Wolf wrote:
> The recent podcast from Humane Tech folks grapples with the 
> complexities of this issue:
>
> https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/49-the-dark-side-of-decentralization
>
> Now, that does not really relate to powerful government entities like 
> the Russian military, but it does get into questions of danger and 
> risk as people access technology. We can probably all see that if 
> there were some software that would have the effect of a nuclear bomb, 
> making that free software and distributing it to the world would be 
> insane. There are some powers too dangerous to let exist and others 
> too dangerous to allow individuals to operate without a whole system 
> of checks-and-balances.

An awful lot of cyber-attack tools are out there, freely available. Also 
crypto stuff, like TOR (courtesy of the US Navy, by the way).
>
> This is an interesting debate about software freedom and whether there 
> are places we should consider limiting it.

Of course it's a little hard to do that, except for classified work, 
done in secure labs, by people who get thrown in Leavenworth if they 
release their work.  And even then...

Miles Fidelman

>
> Now, I don't agree with the tactic of the new ethical-source-license 
> ideas where all the code is available and they try to use Copyright 
> licenses to enforce ethical use. That can't solve these issues.
>
> But I think there's some challenging legitimate questions here, 
> despite Jacob's views being largely misunderstandings for the current 
> situation.
>
> -Aaron
>
> On 2022-03-11 21:27, Jean Louis wrote:
>> * Jacob Hrbek <kreyren@rixotstudio.cz> [2022-03-11 21:00]:
>>>> "Free software" does not mean "until you use it for immoral or illegal
>>> purposes."
>>>
>>> Freedom Software (Free Software) is based on the principles of Four 
>>> Freedoms
>>> of Franklin D. Roosevelt namely:
>>>
>>> 1. Freedom of speech
>>> 2. Freedom of worship/religion
>>> 3. Freedom of want
>>> 4. Freedom from fear
>>>
>>> Which is basically 1:1 copy of Four Freedoms of Free software with just
>>> changed wording to apply for computer science.
>>
>> Not that I am aware of it, as I have not read it in Richard Stallman's
>> Manifesto. Your statements are not related to free software.
>>
>> Freedom of speech if fundamental to US constitution and US in general,
>> though religion, "want" and "fear" are not related. How I know about
>> Dr. Stallman from his writings, religion has nothing to do with free
>> software.
>>
>> The GNU Manifesto - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation
>> https://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html
>>
>> Free software is not a perpertrator, it is useful resource for
>> people. How people use it is freedom zero, users may use it how they
>> wish.
>>
>> In every war on every side there are criminals who will use anything
>> for their evil intentions, maybe software, but maybe other tools, like
>> ropes, knives, timber, steel, poison, and so on. Please do not blame
>> manufacturers nor authors of resources to be perpetrators.
>>
>> Finally free software may be used on both sides by humanitarian
>> organizations, by hospitals, nurses, doctors, who save lives,
>> including lives of Ukrainians/Russians as prisoners.
>>
>> Please don't blame useful resource like software to be the
>> perpetrator, it is not.
>>
>> Best is to find other place to promote other political agenda than on
>> Libreplanet mailing list.
>>
>> Let us not discriminate on this mailing list against any Russian or
>> Ukrainian for reasons of their ethnicity, opinion or nationality.
>>
>> Let us stick to basics of Human Rights and adhere in our good behavior
>> towards any ethnicity on this mailing list.
>>
>> Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights | Stand up for 
>> human rights | UN Human Rights Office
>> https://standup4humanrights.org/en/article.html
>>
>> What we have is free software and that is what brings us together.
>>
>>
>> Jean
>>
>> Take action in Free Software Foundation campaigns:
>> https://www.fsf.org/campaigns
>>
>> In support of Richard M. Stallman
>> https://stallmansupport.org/
>>
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