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

[Aaron Wolf]

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.

This is an interesting debate about software freedom and whether there 
are places we should consider limiting it.

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/
>
> _______________________________________________
> libreplanet-discuss mailing list
> libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org
> https://lists.libreplanet.org/mailman/listinfo/libreplanet-discuss