Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Not the Only Firm Blocking IM Service To US Enemies
ericatcw writes "It was reported last week that Microsoft had cut access to its Windows Live Messenger instant messaging service to citizens of five countries with whom the US has trade embargoes. Now, it turns out that Google and, apparently, AOL have taken similar actions. According to a lawyer quoted by Computerworld, even free, downloaded apps are viewed as 'exports' by the US government — meaning totally in-the-cloud services such as e-mail may escape the rules. Either way, there appear to be a number of ways determined citizens of Syria, Iran, and Cuba can get around the ban."
Since when is internet divided into countries?
Do you guys in the USA still seriously believe that Cuba is going to invade and conquer you / subvert your citizens and turn them into communists / invite Putin to set up ICBMs pointing at you?
Across the water here in the UK it seems a bit daft. Really interested in some measured responses about why the USA still has a trade embargo against Cuba and treats them so coldly. I'm not trying to wind you up, but really curious and I don't understand. If the reason is because you believe Cuba has a poor human rights record, well that doesn't stop the USA trading with other countries where serious human rights abuses are commonplace. Is it because Cuba is nominally communist? I am pretty sure the USA trades with other countries that have communist/dictatorial leaderships.
Really curious - can any slashdotters enlighten me as to why the Cuba / USA situation continues? I would have thought it's all long gone cold war history and both countries would benefit from getting over it. Or has the Cuban leadership said something that the USA doesn't find acceptable and won't back down until they apologise?
cheers for any insights!
Anyway that will not impair Fidel Castro of browsing Google News through Chavez's personal proxy, right?
Or it will not stop Ahmenidjad of reading all those funny books on US rocket programs he already got from googling... Besides he already bookmarked all the stuff.
Anyway I think it will be more damaging the fact that information, on what people think of these countries, is being blocked to them...
Eeeee, stop... North Korea was taken out of terrorism support list a little before they started to mess around with missiles and nukes. Well, missiles and nukes, they already had isn't it? Yes, it could be possible that Kim just decided to google a little bit and found the reason for that litlte meany bug that was plaguing his rockets. But the man went really mad, he is blasting a rocket every day and scrapping every piece of paper he signed. He's cursing the whole world and threatening pure harakiri. Maybe because of such things as this?:
http://www.nkeconwatch.com/north-korea-uncovered-google-earth/
So long for secretive North Korea...
Only thanks to actions like this attempting to shut off methods of communication, the only information these people will get about the outside world will be what their government supplies them...
So as far as the people are concerned, it is not their heroic government that needs to change, it is the evil foreign governments who are picking on them.. And were it not for their heroic government fighting their corner, these people would be even more cut off from the world.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
"I always thought the Internet would make wars awfully awkward, since you could be in direct, person-to-person contact with the civilians on the other side."
Reminds me of a common thought in the beginning of the 20th century. When aeroplanes were invented, there was the opinion that since everthing would be scoutable from the air, there would be no secrets since every troopmovement would be detected very easily. There would be no secrets and war would be impossible. That hope was crushed very quick I would imagine since war didn't stop and even became more dangerous to civilians(city bombing).
In a real war between equals, internet contact(and all other contact for that matter) between those countries would be immediatly cut off as far as it can be cut off. Sure, you can use proxies and the sort but only a select few would be able to subvert the "firewall". Every time a new way of evading the firewall becomes popular, goverments will try to block it and it will be enough to stop 90%+ of the people coming in contact with people on the other side.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
Free world. I guess that's why the US keeps the torture prisons outside of that fairy-tale free world of yours (Cuba, Irak, and outsourcing all over the world) And you trade with dictators every time it is good for your economy. China, and the rest of Latinamerica durind the cold war comes to mind. Your ideology is never as good as the health of your economy. Cuba, you are only angry at them because they closed your casinos and whorehouses.
Mod parent up. Seriously, people in North Korea only go along with their dear leader because they think that they are in a good country. NK media pulls lots of tricks, like releasing footage of boxing day sales, then labels them "US consumers panic as famine hits". 1984 wouldn't work with IM.