Microsoft Complaints Help Russian Gov't Pursue Political Opposition Groups 249
asaz989 writes "The New York Times reports that Russia selectively pursues software piracy complaints from Microsoft in order to suppress the opposition — confiscating computers for evidence, searching offices, and the like. Microsoft lawyers usually back the authorities in such cases, even when cases such as that of the environmentalist group Baikal Waves, which went out of its way to buy licenses to prevent police harassment and nevertheless had its offices raided, and its computers confiscated. Microsoft participated in this legal process. Published alongside this story, under the same byline, is a related piece on the collusion of Microsoft lawyers with corrupt Russian police in extorting money from the targets of software piracy investigations. In a responding press release, the company states, 'Microsoft antipiracy efforts are designed to honor both [antipiracy concerns and human rights], but we are open to feedback on what we can do to improve in that regard.'"
If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Insightful)
to open source, this is a prime example. Sheesh!
How would switching to open source help when you are getting raided on the PRETENSE you are using pirated software? You could be using a lab full od Linux PCs and still get raided to ensure you are "in compliance".
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Why would you pay to use the products of an entity that is blackmailing you?
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I don't. Last MS product I bought was Office 97.
Anyway while individual business owners may have morals, corporations are not owned by anybody (except stockholders). They do not reflect a desire for morality, but Id esire to increase the monetary income and don't give a frak about human rights. As we see with how Microsoft and Apple* treat individual citizens.
*
*I'm thinking of the case where a British guy had his iPod start smoking and then blowup. Apple refused to replace it. Then they changed their m
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Bullshit, bullshit, and more bullshit.
Every decision is made by a human being. I am tired of "corporations" getting a pass for immoral decisions because they are not people, but imaginary entities. Every corporation is run by people who sit behind a desk and decide what to do.
Every clerk who kills someone by denying them medical coverage is committing an immoral act.
The Microsoft exec who decided he could make his quarterly numbers by assisting in mafia-style protection and harassment cons against Russian companies is committing an immoral act.
Never forget that. Don't let it slide. When evil is done, someone made the decision to do it.
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In addition, everyone should read Stanley Milgrim's research (the original and some of his newer work). All people are capable of doing good or evil in the right circumstances. If even a SINGLE person says 'no' it breaks the spell of obedience and many more people start saying 'no' as well. A single act has powerful repercussions even if it doesn't seem so at the time.
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"It only takes one man with a vision. Just one man to say no." - Captain Kirk to evil universe Spock.
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>>>Every decision is made by a human being. I am tired of "corporations" getting a pass for immoral decisions because they are not people, but imaginary entities
Me too.
That's why I think every "incorporation license" within the US should be revoked, and therefore every company will be owned by a sole person (or partnership) who is directly responsible for the crimes of his company, including jail time. - Example: Ford makes Pintos that blow up? And they are aware of the problem but refuse to f
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You are stretching the meaning of my post to make a point in your agenda.
I think most people understand what I was talking about.
Someone pays their premiums month after month, year after year. The day they get cancer the insurance company finds some technicality in their original application and cancels their insurance. That is wrong. That is immoral and daresay it evil.
If someone submits a claim for something they truly aren't covered for or stops paying their premiums, of course that is different. The ins
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How often does this happen? 1/10th of a percent? Let's not make a big deal about a problem that is actually quite small...
Note that somewhere between 500K-1M persons are diagnosed with cancer each year and that ~550,000 die each year from the disease, a conservative estimate of somewhere between 5 and 15 million people are currently diagnosed with and being treated for cancer. If we take your 0.1% as a figure of cancellation, this means that we would have somewhere from 5-15K people who fall under your sm
good question (Score:3, Insightful)
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Yet, if you didn't pay for any BSA backed piece of software, they wouldn't be able to raid your offices.
Yep, sometimes that is hard, fighting any kind of mafia isn't suposed to be easy. And the BSA won't even break your knees.
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:4, Informative)
>You could be using a lab full od Linux PCs
In fact three of the computers taken ran Linux.
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I remember Microsoft once said they were not interested in translating in a particular language (Chinese or Russian?) as they would only end-up selling only a single copy of the OS. I suppose they have since decided to publish in all languages and help foreign governments help themselves by issuing repetitive lawsuits. I'm wondering if this type of foreign influence is legal in the US.
Re:'cause it's all about money (Score:4, Insightful)
Microsoft is playing a win-win game in Russia (pun intended). First, pirated software invades the market and secures 99% of desktop OS and Office applications markets for them. Then, pressure is being put on government as piracy is cited as one of the top reasons which prevent Russia to join the WTO. Note that it is mostly US government which does the pressure there, not Microsoft. The company is just milking the market while getting rid of pirates which brought them the market in the first place.
The best thing is — little to no MS involvement is needed: pirates will win the market as people would choose something that should cost money over something that shouldn't if both items cost the same. US will put a pressure on Russia anyway (and software sales are good exports too). The government in Russia will eagerly use piracy claims against opposition which they view as Western shills (for them it is using enemy's weapons against the enemy). Last but not least — companies and people will buy MS products as everybody is using them and government is after those who don't buy licensed copies. The business is being done for Microsoft, they just have sit back and collect the money.
Re:'cause it's all about money (Score:5, Insightful)
I know..... but that's why i think people should stop and think about what they are doing once in a while, instead of using Windows because everyone uses Windows even though it is crap.
People rag on about how weird Richard Stallman is, but he has been correct about pretty much everything.
This shows us exactly why we should NEVER be using software that locks us in and can be used to harm us.
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Russian authorities often (but luckily not always) decide that if you're using Linux, you have something to hide. After all, the interface is completely different so this must be an evasive move to prevent authorities from searching for incriminating stuff with Windows Explorer's Search function. Automated tools for extracting web history, chat logs and email cannot be launched on a Linux machine. Also, the OS can be modified to hide stuff or do some nasty hacking shit. And no, I'm not joking.
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Interesting)
That sounds like the same crap we get from law enforcement here in the UK. If a police officer sees a PC that does not run windows, they usually assume you are hiding something from them. I've actually heard them refer to it as "that hacker system". Seems that unless you are running Microsoft software (or a Mac running OSX), they will generally suspect you of something. Primarily because they seem to think that if you are not using Windows, it's a deliberate ploy to prevent their "forensic tools" and "experts" from prying, and that you are using it for "non-legal" purposes.
God forbid they ever look at my laptop, in addition to it not being windows, it starts up in command line mode, and has encrypted partitions and files all over the place. I would not like to find out what explaining that to them would be like (let alone what would happen if they don't believe me).
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I would not like to find out what explaining that to them would be like (let alone what would happen if they don't believe me).
My money's on the $5 wrench. [xkcd.com] :)
No need for that in the UK! (Score:4, Insightful)
> My money's on the $5 wrench. [xkcd.com]
Refusal (and therefore, I suppose, inability) to surrender your encryption keys in the UK is a crime. I suppose trying to use some system with deniability might be of use, but given the spirit of that law, I don't see it as an impossibility that the court would merely presume (based on other "evidence") that you have used the deniability features of whatever encryption system is installed, and jail you for not surrendering the (presumed) keys (even if you haven't used those features).
Re:No need for that in the UK! (Score:4, Interesting)
Indeed, a really messed up law, although really convenient if you want to put someone away for a limited time.
Assuming you have some access to their computer, All you have to do is place some files full of random data with an extension of "gpg" then anonymously tip off the cops that you saw your target viewing CP on their laptop. They arrest the guy, confiscate the laptop, find the files (which look like encrypted containers) and demand an encryption key that doesn't exist. Unless the guy somehow can convince them otherwise, he can get a 3 year stint in prison, even if he is totally innocent of the charges levied against him.
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Interesting)
>>>That sounds like the same crap we get from law enforcement here in the [A$]. If a police officer sees a PC that does not run windows, they usually assume you are hiding something
>>>
where A$ == EU, US, Canada, Australia, and so on. I don't think this is necessarily government poliy, but merely the innate instinct of human being to distrust things that are strange or unfamiliar to them.
.
>>>I would not like to find out what explaining that to them would be like
Good grief... NEVER TALK TO POLICE. Exercise your inalienable right to speak freely AND exercise your inalienable right to not speak/ remain silent. See this video. Part 1 is the law professor, and Part 2 is the cop whose job is to entrap you into admitting guilt, even if you are completely innocent - http://youtu.be/i8z7NC5sgik [youtu.be]
.
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I don't intend to talk to them, but I've been stopped and questioned by them many times in my life. Here in the UK they have targets to fill for persons arrested, so they care little if you are guilty or not, they are just trying to inflate their numbers, so will try to arrest you for any little detail.
Thankfully I've not been arrested yet, but so far I've never been stopped with my laptop in my possession. If they demanded to look at it I don't know how I could explain to them what's going on without them
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>>>Thankfully I've not been arrested yet, but so far I've never been stopped with my laptop in my possession. If they demanded to look at it I don't know how I could explain to them what's going on without them arresting me. That is what I'm getting a
Unfortunately the UK doesn't have a "Supreme Law" that protects its citizens. Parliament can overrule your individual rights anytime it feels like it. Perhaps you could invoke your EU Charter of Rights, since they are technically superior to Englis
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>>>cite a reasonable number of instances where random people in the West have been stopped and their laptops inspected.
Youtube has dozens of videos where people were asked to do exactly that. Frankly it amazes me that you (and many others) have never seen these vids. They are right there within easy access. There are also videos of cops dragging citizens out of their cars and beating them, even though said citizen had done nothing wrong (except refuse to consent to a search w/o warrant).
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Russian authorities often (but luckily not always) decide that if you're using Linux, you have something to hide. After all, the interface is completely different
Bullshit. The biggest difference between KDE and Windows 7 is it's prettier and easier to use. [slashdot.org]
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To be fair — anything other than Windows XP with default theme is enough to confuse a police officer.
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Citation needed if you are not joking. Also, I am unaware of Russian authorities using some kind of Bundestrojaner. They are usually much less sophisticated than that.
Re:If ever there was a perfect reason to switch.. (Score:5, Insightful)
You have to buy something with a shiny hologram for it to be legit, even be it merely a Linux dist burnt onto a CD-R.
To be legit in Russia, you have to pay the correct bribes, and follow the correct political line. After all, holograms can be faked, but groveling cannot.
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After all, holograms can be faked, but groveling cannot.
Also, according to the article, holograms can be easily peeled off by the police when they raid you.
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AC is right though. There is business of selling shiny licenses for Linux' distributions, even Mandriva does that in Russia. Shiny papers are usually enough to shake off the raids. If the government want to disrupt your business badly however, no amount of licenses will help.
Troll story? (Score:2, Insightful)
You know, while I know it's popular opinion to hate on Microsoft on slashdot, doesn't it seem to me that it's the Russian government abusing their own laws in order to screw the opposition, rather than Microsoft sitting there plotting how to hurt people? If it wasn't this, it would be something else.
Just sayin'..
Re:Troll story? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, but Microsoft is apparently in collusion to help the police in these cases. That's disgusting. Absolutely disgusting and it would be so no matter if it was Apple, Google, or some other software vendor.
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Yeah, but if it had been Apple or Google only the corrupt lawyers would've been blamed and not the whole organization.
Re:Troll story? (Score:5, Insightful)
Only because Apple and Google don't have a history of being corrupt as a whole.
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I doubt you could find much on Microsoft that a simple Google search wouldn't turn on Apple as well. Other than being declared a monopoly of course, but that's only because Apple sucks at selling computers, not because they're not evil.
Still, even if you're correct that doesn't mean Microsoft did all of this themselves rather than having a bunch of their russian lawyers bribed by the government, and without evidence either way I'd say the latter is far more likely.
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Google can't even do business in China without being accused of being "evil", so I can't really fathom what you're trying to say. What Microsoft is doing here is a lot worse than censoring search results, and yet you're saying Google gets free passes in the press?
I think you may want to examine you biases.
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The Google case was different as there was enough evidence to determine it was a result of specific corporate policy put in place, so any blame should've rested on the company as a whole rather than a subset of it.
If you want a clearer parallel I'd direct you to the Foxconn suicides of a while back, where Slashdot as a whole fell on the side of "Apple is blameless for Foxconn's treatment of their employees" since there wasn't anything evidencing Apple's knowledge of the situation at Foxconn before the story
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Well, honestly, Google can't really do business in China without being evil. They discovered it the hard way.
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>>>Yeah, but if it had been Apple or Google only the corrupt lawyers would've been blamed and not the whole organization.
Clearly he don't me very well, do he Doc?
- C64love (hater of all megacorps) ;-)
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In what way does Apple not follow the same software model?
Apple sells both software and hardware as a package. Apple does sell software upgrades but their primary concern is the whole package. MS only sells software. If Apple misses some sales because some people buy one upgrade copy instead of a copy for every computer, Apple does not miss much in sales. Google does not sell any software; they sell advertising in using their services.
Where do I download my copy of MacOS 10? Is it an Apple server, or just an Apple-sponsored server?
How is this remotely relevant? And it is "OS X"
I will face no legal challenge if I go to the the downtown and hand out burned DVDs of Apple's entire suite of MacOS applications for free to the students, repeatedly? I might even throw in a nice printed copy of instructions of how to install it on a Hacintosh.
Of course Apple cares if you pirate their software; they are not all that conce
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lol
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I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar. I'll have to look that up after church.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollerith [wikipedia.org]
He founded what became IBM, and invented a punch card computer.
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Yes, it does look to me like they're abusing Microsoft. I still think the whole business of a software company being able to send out goon squads to raid offices needs to end, though. See BSA abuse - rat on your ex-employer when fired and they're in a world of hurt whether their software is legal or not.
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Published alongside this story, under the same byline, is a related piece on the collusion of Microsoft lawyers with corrupt Russian police in extorting money from the targets of software piracy investigations
you missed that bit from the summary, let alone TFA.
All I know is that when MS decided to check on us if we had enough licences (we didn't, of course, their convoluted licence agreements saw to that) they made us hire an audit company to come in and check us out - so they made us pay to audit ourselves
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I once convinced a client to go with a non-MS solution by calling MS and asking how many of what license would be required. Everyone on both sides of the conversation ended up confused and no once and for all answer emerged. No assurances were offered that the setup would be considered license compliant.
If THEY don't know what is necessary to be compliant on any given day, how is anyone else to know? If you can't know, how can you comply?
I agree that if a company is going to use MS products it should attemp
Re:Troll story? (Score:5, Interesting)
You know, while I know it's popular opinion to hate on Microsoft on slashdot, doesn't it seem to me that it's the Russian government abusing their own laws in order to screw the opposition, rather than Microsoft sitting there plotting how to hurt people? If it wasn't this, it would be something else.
Just sayin'..
Well, modern Russia is known for extreme corruption, literally from the level of local police up to the top. They will use any method possible, regardless as to Microsoft's involvement.
I was watching Fareed Zakaria GPS about 2 weeks ago, and he had a guy on whose business was literally stolen by local police. They raided the offices, took a set of papers required to own the business as part of the raid, transferred it to an inmate's name, who was serving a long sentence, then had a shell corporation sue the business. The judge entered a billion-dollar judgment within a day. Then, the lawyer who discovered all of this testified against the cops. He got thrown in jail for 6 months, where his water purifier was stolen while he was moved around a whole bunch of times in the prison, and eventually died there.
William Browder was the man running Hermitage in Russia before this whole thing happened.
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Modern Russia? You must have Russia confused with a country that has ever been free. The went from the Czars to the Bolsheviks, and have since been lead by a string of oil barons and former KGB officers nostalgic for the old days. I mean, really... has that country ever had anything approaching freedom since the original Viking settlers headed out there in the middle ages?
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Anarchy and overall decay which ensued in the 90-s are often seen from the outside as "freedom". It is actually little wonder that the pendulum made its way back. Liberal democracy is being associated with chaos in Russia so these ideas will not be popular for years to come.
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I think both parties would be much happier that way. The Bush administration wanted me to believe that it was perfectly OK for them to slap people in jail for an arbitrary length of time without any evidence beyond the wrong skin color or having happened to be on the wrong road at the wrong time.
And the Obama administration has done little to reverse this while also telling me that being fined for not having health insurance is the way to save the health care system in this country.
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has that country ever had anything approaching freedom since the original Viking settlers headed out there in the middle ages?
It did. It lasted for about 13 hours, while the Constituent Assembly [wikipedia.org] - the first body in Russia ever formed in a truly democratic elections, and representing all people of the country, was operating.
If you look back long enough, well, there was also the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (which was culturally half-East Slavic, consisted in large parts from the lands previously belonging to Kievan Rus; and chunks of which remain today in modern Russia), and also Novgorod and Pskov veche [wikipedia.org] republics. But how much politic
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That doesn't clean their hands. That's the point. Frankly, I don't think western businesses should set up shop in places that abuse their people. Forty years of capitalism in China has done little for human rights. Tienanmen Square was did little more than make the world go, "Bad, bad China!" Which is how the world generally deals with civil rights abuses. Start pulling business out of these places and be done with them. Isolate them like North Korea. How doe
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Start pulling business out of these places and be done with them. Isolate them like North Korea.
North Korea has a population of around 22 million. The People's Republic of China has a population of 1.3 *billion* people. That's over four times the size of the United States.
Now, I'm not defending amoral businesses investing in China without giving a toss about anything beyond the bottom line. Frankly, I don't have an easy answer or solution to what we should do. But suggesting that we should simply "isolate them like North Korea" is much easier said than done.
You know how much trouble a small countr
Re:Troll story? (Score:4, Insightful)
Abusing its own laws? They're the government, for crying out loud. Laws are their toys. They own them. They can do what they want. This notion the the laws are somehow sacrosanct is a decadent Western invention.
Re:Troll story? (Score:5, Informative)
In as much as Microsoft isn't stepping up to clear the names of groups (like Baikal Wave) that have legitimate copies of their software, but are apparently helping the police bully groups that don't, I think you're missing the point. Microsoft isn't just a pawn in this, they're actively helping the state and not helping innocent victims. They're making definite choices who to assist and it's not a purely business decision. (Clearing the your customers of stealing from you is good business.)
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Let's reword your sentence a little bit, and see if you still share the same opinion: "You know, while I know it's popular opinion to hate on [RIAA and MPAA] on slashdot, doesn't it seem to me that it's the Russian government abusing their own laws in order to screw the opposition, rather than [RIAA and MPAA] sitting there plotting how to hurt people?"
Oh and the answer to your question is:
Yes the government is to blame, but so too are Microsoft, RIAA, MPAA, and their crush the individual citizen policies (
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Russia's government wants to join the WTO badly. Software piracy is cited as one of the major obstacle for them. So they need to conduct anti-piracy raids. And while they're at it, why not smash some anti-government groups in the process?
For Microsoft it is business as usual — they get their share of "buy licenses" PR without risking backlash from the government (which will happen if they sue wrong people).
The priorities are somehow wrong in TFA and in popular opinion on /. IMO. Opposition groups are
Easy solution! (Score:5, Funny)
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Clippsky, I notice a recent install; can I help you connect to the Internet?
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In Soviet Russia, animated paperclip watches YOU.
Welcome to the third world (Score:3, Insightful)
Third world countries tend to be run by juntas, warlords, oligarchs and strongmen. They're like having the Mafia, except as your official government.
If you want to get anything done in these countries, you make nice with them. Either that, or you have to overthrow them.
This is why the CIA is routinely in bed with horrible people -- these horrible people run the horrible countries where they need to get things done.
Western businesses have taken a massive beating in Russia because everything is corrupt (Russia, as a country with minimal rule of law and an average IQ of 96, qualifies as third-world). They've started to play ball because short of that invasion, it's the only option.
In this case, while Microsoft is doing evil, it's also a necessary evil if they want to do business in Russia.
Re:Welcome to the third world (Score:4, Insightful)
The fact that you call Russia of all things a "third world" country shows you couldn't find your way out of your ass with a flashlight and a map.
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Learn2history. Russia is by definition the second world (as is the rest of former Soviet as well as China, and some other Asian countries). The third world is countries that were neutral in the cold war, whereas the first world is America and it's cold war allies (NATO, Australia and some others).
Re:Welcome to the third world (Score:4, Insightful)
Russia by definition can't be a third world country as they define the second world, now even if they didn't how the fuck can you put Russia in the same category as Nigeria? Do you have any sense of proportion whatsoever?
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There is no such thing as the third World. It is a myth. There is a continuum of social and economic development. go to www.gapminder.org and see the world how it is.
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It's not a myth, it's an abstraction. Calling the third world a myth is like calling the colour red a myth.
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I'd say he just doesn't know what "3rd world" means but thinks he does.
Re:Welcome to the third world (Score:5, Informative)
Russia by definition can't be a third world country as they define the second world
Soviet Union defined the "second world". That country is no more.
how the fuck can you put Russia in the same category as Nigeria?
As of 2008:
Population
Russia: 142 021 thousand
Nigeria: 140 003 thousand
Gini coefficient
Russia: 40.5
Nigeria: 43.7
Corruption index
Russia: 143rd place
Nigeria: 147th place
Average male life expectance
Russia: 58 years
Nigeria: 52 years
Mortality rate
Russia: 16,04 deaths per 1000 people
Nigeria: 16,68 deaths per 1000 people
Property right protection index
Russia: 63rd out of 70
Nigeria: 64th out of 70
Number of citizens in favor of democracy
Russia: 47.8%
Nigeria: 44.2%
Number of citizens claiming that stability is more important than freedom of speech
Russia: 47%
Nigeria: 43%
Press freedom index ("Reporters without borders")
Russia: 144th out of 169
Nigeria: 131st out of 169
Ease of doing business index (World Bank)
Russia: 106th out of 178
Nigeria: 108th out of 178
Economic freedom index (WSJ / Heritage Foundation)
Russia: 120th out of 171
Nigeria: 131st out of 171
Global peace index (IEP)
Russia: 118th out of 121
Nigeria: 117th out of 121
The economies of both countries rely mostly on export of natural resources, primarily oil and gas.
If you thought that Brin was joking when he said that "Russia is Nigeria with snow", then you were wrong. He actually meant precisely what he said, and numbers back it up.
Oh, and in case someone might want to attack me as an "ignorant American clueless of other countries", I'm Russian.
Re:Welcome to the First world (Score:2)
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Isn't the base of 100 IQ points derived from the average population?
How can your average be below average? Where do they create the baseline from if not from the populace?
I've not really looked into them that much. I took one and got a high score, but I'm just as prone to making stupid mistakes as anyone else. And I know some "dumb" people who have put great care into doing things correctly. Intelligence is worthless if not applied.
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Russian hackers aren't a demonstration of what you think. We could have that as well, it's just that in the US there's penalties involved for that sort of behavior and it's more likely that they'll have better options.
Confirmation bias is a bitch.
NGOs should use Free Software (Score:4, Insightful)
There isn't one reason for NGOs continue to use microsoft software, in fact there are lots of reasons to not use it!
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There isn't one reason for NGOs continue to use microsoft software, in fact there are lots of reasons to not use it!
Quite the same reasons enterprises have to use it. Mainly market/user knowledge share and product integration. Or do you think bussiness use Microsoft for a sentimental reason?
Uh (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, such feedback might make you a target but hey...
Microsoft is inherently evil. Like kicking puppies.
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Then near the end of 90's, with
in soviet russia (Score:2, Funny)
In Soviet Russia, Microsoft Helps you!
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Clippski has backup.
What is tested over Russia ... (Score:3)
The trick could be to have a software license issue appear as a "debtor" issue to a local US court.
Stop using MS products and you can escape the phone home license, summons for the user to appear in court, warrant for arrest cycle.
The idea to show a US trade group that pirated software is a serious issue and suppress the opposition is rather creative.
But like with Nokia Siemens, the truth can surface.
This happens all the time in the US anyway (Score:2)
Replace "corrupt police" with "disgruntled employee", "sneaky competitor","greedy bastard" , its just in Russia sneaky competitor and government
are one and the same.
From TFA (Score:3, Informative)
Microsoft executives in Moscow and at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash., asserted that they did not initiate the inquiries and that they took part in them only because they were required to do so under Russian law. After The New York Times presented its reporting to senior Microsoft officials, the company responded that it planned to tighten its oversight of its legal affairs in Russia. Human rights organizations in Russia have been pressing Microsoft to do so for months. The Moscow Helsinki Group sent a letter to Microsoft this year saying that the company was complicit in “the persecution of civil society activists.”
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What piracy really is (Score:4, Informative)
"Copyright as censorship" is not a new idea. In fact, it's what copyright was originally meant to be when it was first devised, and now it's simply returning to its roots. With the far-reaching scope of intellectual "property" today, pretty much anyone can be accused of piracy, and oppressive governments can just pick who they want to target and point their finger.
Companies like Microsoft are just being opportunists (read: "free-market capitalists") -- they know that if they are copyright holders, they have the power to negotiate with governments who are inclined to use copyright as censorship. Who knows what rewards Microsoft will get from the Russian government? Perhaps this is how that official Russian Linux distro was discontinued.
And don't think the Russian government is the only one to do this sort of thing. Hardly! They are guilty of not being subtle about it, but the US government is just as bad. There's even a "Department of Homeland Security" conducting raids in the name of copyright, so yes I'd say we have a serious problem.
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Are you saying that people did install Windows or Office with cracked versions or generated keys without realizing it? And they were the innocent victims because of that?
Everyone has his/her points of view and you are free to push your agenda, but if you are going to ignore facts and try to fool us, please try a litt
This is a tough one (Score:5, Insightful)
On one hand, Microsoft has a right to complain about copyright infringement. Even I will not deny them that. On the other, Microsoft is probably aware of the selective nature of how Russian officials investigate and act on those claims. Should Microsoft, imagining for a moment that they have any sort of conscience, contribute to the oppression of human rights by issuing complaints?
As another pointed out, running Linux and free software on every machine will not quite end the problem. After all, Microsoft has long since campaigned against "naked PCs" and that they are likely to be software pirates unless they were sold with OEM Windows and OEM Office. Their complaints may well be in the form of "they are running PCs but we show no indication that they have licensed any software from us!" That would be reason enough, I suspect, to raid a location or two.
So, I have decided that Microsoft is a willing and complicit tool in this case. They can't not be aware of how their complaints are being used given their selective enforcement nature. And as far as Russian government officials are concerned, we are generally aware of the levels of government corruption within ex-Soviet countries. (I'll grant that the impression of government corruption in Russia is rather "cartoonish" in our understanding which is essentially belief without first-hand knowledge or evidence.) Microsoft should be more careful about issuing complaints. They aren't making examples of software pirates, in these cases, they are just being used as a weapon to "legitimately" attack political opponents.
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No mod points available, so you'll just have to get a "Good job!" instead.
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Russians government's motivation is actually very clear — rampant computer piracy is often cited as a major obstacle which prevents Russia from joining the WTO. So there will be anti-piracy raids anyway. That anti-government groups will be smashed in a process is just a welcome side effect.
As for Microsoft — business as usual for them. They even made some bad blood with the government lately suing people left and right including a school's director for using pirated software which came with PC's
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Re:This is a tough one (Score:4, Interesting)
Title is inaccurate and unfair (Score:2)
The /. title says that Microsoft is making the complaints and this is not true. These are government complaints. Assuming Microsoft intends to do business in Russia legally and assuming they intend to defend their intellectual property rights there they have to cooperate with the government when presented with a complaint.
Nothing in the article that I saw indicated that Microsoft is initiating or exacerbating any of this.
More Russia's fault than MSFT (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia... (Score:2)
Intellectual Property infringes you?
No wait, that's the way it works everywhere else too.
Nothing about Microsoft (Score:2)
I am astonished by so many people focusing in MS, maybe it is not a favorite here but the main lesson to be learnt from the story is, from my POV:
IF YOU ARE GOING TO FIGHT THE POWERS THAT ARE, DON'T BE STUPID.
Stay inside the law, do not pirate software, do not make anything that could be/look like rape... Think before acting that your acts will be reviewed in the worst ligth possible, and that you'll be punished by things nobody else is punished.
Even acting this way don't keep you out of trouble, but at l
doesn't Microsoft's license state you accept this (Score:3, Interesting)
As for the US schools, Microsoft only stopped doing that once a few of them threw away all their Microsoft software and went with GNU/Linux and open source software and then started spreading the word how much money they were saving doing that. Word was spreading, or was it fear, of what Microsoft was doing so lots of education systems were getting interested in GNU/Linux until Microsoft agreed to stop the audits.
LoB
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After spending three days trying to teach someone whose Windows XP machine barfed to use Windows 7 and Windows Live Mail all I can say is "Bullshit!" to the learning curve argument. I wager at the end of the day she (and I) would have been further ahead to have thrown Kubuntu on their and used Thunderbird for the mail client.
The best part about Windows Live Mail was when she tried to open some PowerPoint files, and it refused to open them, and I had to go into the registry to alter the class settings to tu
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The Baikal environmentalists are confronting not the interests of the government, but interests of the enterprise owner, a person in the top 100 Forbes list.
And the difference is?.. the present-day Russian government is the government of people inhabiting the top 100 of the Forbes list.