No OLPCs for Cuba, Ever

An anonymous reader writes "In a move going largely unnoticed by developers, the OLPC project now requires all submissions to be hosted in the RedHat Fedora project. While this may not seem like a big deal, the implications are interesting. First, contributors have to sign the Fedora Project Individual Contributor License Agreement. By being forced to submit contributions to the Fedora repository they automatically fall under the provisions of US export law. So, no OLPC for Cuba, Syria and the like. Ever."

Comments

for always and eternity

[stoolpigeon]

because US laws and export restrictions never change. ever.

Re:for always and eternity

[bloobloo]

It's the US that has the draconian embargoes. In the civilized world we can visit Cuba etc.

Re:for always and eternity

[speaker of the truth]

If Cuba wants the embargo lifted they need to provide cheap labor like China does. After all, China commits terrible atrocities and yet we continue to trade with them for our cheap electronics. Cuba on the other hand, not so bad in recent times, but they only give us cigars so we keep the embargo.

Re:for always and eternity

[ShieldW0lf]

As a Canadian, I like the trade embargo.

It means there's a nice warm international vacation destination with no Americans.

Now, that's something that money just can't buy.

Re:for always and eternity

[Grishnakh]

China has nukes pointed at us. China also kills and imprisons people for trying to exercise free speech. Yet China is our most favored nation trading partner.

Not too smart, are you?

A bit misleading

[The Breeze]

I wouldn't say "ever"...both Cuba and Syria have made steps towards getting removed from the US ban list, and with Fidel teetering on death's edge, who knows what the future will bring.

Re:A bit misleading

[NMerriam]

I guess the rest of the world hasn't had Cuban missile bases a few km off their coast and those missiles pointed at them. It tends to lead to grudges being held, you see.

Most of the world has real borders with their enemies, with tanks and missiles and bombers able to cross at any time, and has learned to deal with it. We live in a little bubble protected by two vast oceans and think that anyone saying "boo" from a thousand miles away is a mortal threat.

Our embargo against Cuba is just a pointless grudge that serves one domestic political group and does a disservice to the people of both nations overall.

This is News How?

[eldavojohn]

While this may not seem like a big deal, the implications are interesting. It's not a big deal. Everything made in America falls under these laws. Whether it be the corn we grow or the software written (in any part) or served within the United States. Even Windows (bullet 7) falls under these restrictions.

Yet, not too surprisingly, Windows has found its way into Cuba and I'm certain the OLPC will also be found there in mass quantities if it is indeed useful/popular. Physical devices may be harder to find there than software but you'll find them there.

This isn't news. The U.S. trade embargos have been in place on Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan and Syria for a while now. Furthermore, if the laptops are made and assembled outside the U.S.

So let's get creative here, you make and manufacture the hardware outside the United States. Then you ship them to restricted countries (I think the parts are going to come from China anyway). You leave it up to people inside Cuba or where ever to install the OLPC image. Who has violated the TOS? The citizens of the country who really don't give a damn what U.S. export laws they're breaking.

And if these laws are broken, who's going to enforce them? Redhat/Fedora? The U.S. government is going to show up and stop laptops from going to children? The U.S. government is going to shutdown a free open source software hosting site? I highly doubt it.

That'd teach those kids...

[Anonymous Coward]

That'd teach those kids for living in the wrong countries.

Re:Good.

[mujo]

"They don't really give a shit about their people anyway."

unlike the us government who gives much shit about their people, plunging 400 billions of dollars in a war for the oil industry, refuse to give health insurance to sick americans to cater for private insurance business, wiretap their citizens, ...

land of the free!

Re:Good.

[butlerdi]

Why ? Have you been there ? They have a much better society than they would have had the American Mafia continued running it. They have good education, reasonable health care and while not so much stuff, they do not have foreclosures and bankruptcies the likes that you have been experiencing. Not to mention the next round coming on about now. Even after all these years of embargo by their ever so caring neighbors to the North, they still smile much more than anywhere I have ever seen in the US. I think sir it is you who ought to read a book.