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EA Blocks 'Origin' Access In Six Countries, Citing US Embargoes (pcgamer.com)
An anonymous reader writes: "In compliance with US embargoes and sanctions laws, Origin is not available in Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine (Crimea region)," a community manager from EA posted in September. Engadget calls it "a reminder of the risks you take when buying copy-protected game downloads... Even if you started your account elsewhere, you aren't allowed to either visit the Origin store or use any of your purchased games."
Sunday an employee at EA's Origin game store commented "This isn't an EA-specific issue -- it's an issue that impacts all companies offering services that are covered by trade embargoes." But since the U.S. lifted sanctions on Myanmar in September, EA "is internally reviewing the situation... It's unclear to me whether we can do anything for residents of other countries that are still similarly embargoed, but I'll bring the topic up for discussion internally."
Sunday an employee at EA's Origin game store commented "This isn't an EA-specific issue -- it's an issue that impacts all companies offering services that are covered by trade embargoes." But since the U.S. lifted sanctions on Myanmar in September, EA "is internally reviewing the situation... It's unclear to me whether we can do anything for residents of other countries that are still similarly embargoed, but I'll bring the topic up for discussion internally."
EA's game servers were down several hours yesterday, affecting dozens of games (I play Simpsons Tapped Out lol). I wonder if this was a DDOS response attack against EA, or if they totally screwed up their access block and ended up blocking everyone?
https://twitter.com/AskEASuppo...
Better known as 318230.
If you're not in a first world country. Pirate all your games just in case.
Actually that's true for first world countries too. Never know when ea will fuck you.
EA GAMES - we fuckup everything
Last year, UMass had suddenly cited compliance to refuse graduate students form Iran. http://college.usatoday.com/20... It's bizarre when civic and corporate entities enforce laws that even the government doesn't ask them too
US law says they shouldn't have SOLD them a copy of the game in the first place. Taking their money is not legal. Cutting them off (especially when sanctions and embargos have been lifted against some countries on the list) doubly so.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
A sad reminder of how the first sale doctrine is now a long forgotten memory.
Are users even getting a refund?
.. with foreign elections, ..
Whatever one has a problem with that is up to each and everyone I guess. I have absolutely nothing against American citizens or the American life-style but it's food for thought it the situation was the other way around:
* Sanctions against the USA.
* Pakistan and Afghans drones which bombed in the other direction (you see, I can't even write the sentence as it should be written because if I did I'm sure some US filter would catch that and flag me as suspicious and super-dangerous.)
* Got invaded to have the ruling government replaced by something else, possibly nothing.
* Other nations trying to influence the election outcome (we really have a bit of that with Russia and Trump, how much does Russia care beyond just being somewhat amused? I don't know!
Is the purpose that the citizens in those nations will wake up and riot and demand a change of their leaders? How likely is that result? Has it been the result anywhere so far?
Of course here in Sweden I would just be happy if someone helped us remove our ruling elite but in most scenarios I can understand if people get pissed.
You probably weren't alive during the Cuban revolution, but the reason the US enacted an embargo against Cuba was not for ideological reasons, but for economic reasons. The revolution seized *billions* of US capital and have claimed it as state property ever since. As proof the embargo is not ideological, reference US relations with Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, Qatar, and any number of *highly* oppressive regimes.
The US doesn't care about the human condition -- it cares about money, and that's why the embargo is being lifted.
EA took these people's money. When they did that EA violated the US embargo. So that ship has sailed. EA broke US sanctions.
Now EA has removed access to the games people in these countries bought and won't refund them. That doesn't undo EA's sanction breaking, it just heaps upon it the act of fleecing the customers from these countries who paid money for the games in good faith. EA is punishing innocent people for an illegal act by EA.
EA needs to refund these people's money and talk to the US government about what fines EA will have to pay for THEIR misdeeds.
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
Historically it wasn't part of Russia until the last time they aggressively took it over. It was also made part of Ukraine (by the Soviets) before most people in Crimea were born because "the commonality of the economy, the proximity, and close economic and cultural relations between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR".
The embargo remains in place, only congress can end it and the republican party at least has no intention of doing so. Obama has stretched the rules about as much as presidential discretion allows.
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Do you really think Afghanistan wouldn't have been happier if the Russian occupation in the early 80s had been unopposed by the USA and had successfully prevented their government from collapsing?
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The embargo remains in place, only congress can end it and the republican party at least has no intention of doing so.
Of course not. Cuban exiles and their families are pretty much the only Latino support the Republicans draw.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil