Re: Guix website and CI is unavailable in Russia

[Jonathan McHugh]

***no coding but pertinent to this thread***

As somebody who recently experienced collateral effects (seemingly) as an 
indirect consequence of the ongoing war, I can attest that the conflict is 
multifaceted.
I consider the integrity of operating systems to be so significant that when 
confronted with an anomoly I had to risk my personal liberty in the face of 
liberal institutions (and all the latency that Western institutionalism 
creates) - to minimise any risk of harm to others.

Anybody wanting to understanding the ambiguities that contradict the dualism 
which is sweeping over the world may want to consider reading cold war authors 
such as Len Deighton (or at least this is my impression from childhood reading 
(there is nothing in the world more dangerous to the status quo than a child 
with a library card...)).

I recall an anecdote of a new Conservative MP entering the Palace of 
Westminster with an experienced colleague:
"I cant wait to get the chance to get at the enemy" he said, beckoning to the 
other party's benches.
"You are thoroughly mistaken," his mentor said, "the enemy is over there!", 
pointing to the backbench of their own party.


As a professional coder, my renumeration involves providing work as a public 
good. Uniquely, I have dscretion regarding which licence to choose.

As somebody who would try to position oneself as close to pacivism as possible 
(Im sure I have enough caveats, exceptions and contradictions that impede me 
reaching such an honourary status), I tried to identify something which would 
'turn swords into ploughshares' and limit the ability for my works to be used 
to censor, discriminate or be used against local or foreign populations.

Alas, such 'crayon licenses' seem to be too convoluted to practically work - 
rendering legal compatability as obtuse as my my coding, concepts and prose 
(indeed that cumbersome...), limiting any of my work inoperabile with non 
individual/atomic activity and practically unenforceable.

The logic of GNU's licensing was that like a pen and paper one should not to 
able to discriminate and its problematic to accurately and sustainably place 
contraints.

Now, it is arguable that the history of MIT funding with connection to American 
military funding may have encouraged such an *expedient/pragmatic* position but 
I am not positioned well enough to swim up such a fast moving currents.

As coders we have a responsibility to remember the words of Oscar Wilde:

"If you want a man to speak the truth give him a mask"

To those lacking a deeper awareness of the man's work it is perhaps worth 
understanding the context behind why he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol. As 
well as the reasons as to why it was written under the pseudonym C.3.3. . 

The ability to internalise such blemishes on liberal institutions and act upon 
them are in many respects my distinction between a "subject" and a "citizen".

To those with the luxury of freedom of conscience or the ambition for greater 
autonomy I have further appeal for level headness with regards to the war - 
watch out for bullshitters and knaves on your own benches, there is enough 
obfuscation within each invididual's nation state for us to counter to help 
resolve this conflict, as well as inhibit the drivers that promote our 
aggregate insecurity.

Id like to think these thoughts uncontentious. Id personally not like to 
further impede coding flow (I hope I have emboldened enough re the paramount 
importance of secure, private and accountable information archiecture). 
However...

I do have three distracting points to address:
* If you want to extinguish the fire of the Russian military complex (and other 
autocratic regimes) we need to heavily invest right now in insulation to 
decouple from these pernicious parashites. Do not complain about blood or plead 
the need to spaff money on destructive instruments - all political and economic 
attention should be made to turning off the taps at our end. Do you desire 
peace enough that you would insulate a stranger's home? Or merely bomb anothers?
* I do not prioritise the opinion of hawkish nation states with regards to 
their interaction to Putin. Its my bias to consider that Putin would flinch if 
he fully internalised why the existence of the Republic of Ireland is not an 
aberation but a natural equilibrium (everybody is entitled to consider (in a 
normative sense) its current boundaries to be a static or a dynamic point)
* If you think you can sneer at another nation based upon something which your 
nation was doing within living memory then you need to remember that societies 
dont have the lifespan of mayflies - they are a culmination of hundreds if not 
thousands of years of behaviour, please take a long view on where we need to 
all go.

Peace to all,

xxx

====================
Jonathan McHugh
indieterminacy@libre.brussels

March 7, 2022 2:57 AM, "Tobias Geerinckx-Rice" <me@tobias.gr> wrote:

> Mykola,
> 
> I hope this nightmare for all Ukranians ends as soon as possible.
> 
> However, I thought we'd made it clear that these lists are no place for 
> hatred.
> 
> Those unfortunate to live inside an authoritarian state deserve as much 
> freedom and compassion as
> its other victims. They certainly don't deserve to be punished for it.
> 
> By denying them the right to facts, privacy, and security you're not merely 
> punishing them: you're
> doing your enemy's job for free.
> 
> Anyway, back at the topic...
> 
> Others in a similar country have previously set up a 'Guix mirror' using 
> specialised software:
> <https://www.mail-archive.com/guix-devel@gnu.org/msg55848.html>. I guess it's 
> worth trying from
> within Russia?
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> T G-R
> 
> Sent on the go. Excuse or enjoy my brevity.