Comment by jiggawatts | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jiggawatts | Hacker News Reader

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I didn't say "western"!

Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, the world has been split in two:

Russia, China, Iran, North Korea... and everybody else.

I can deploy an Azure or AWS cloud server right now in any one of several dozen nations, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Qatar, Israel, and Mexico.

I can't deploy VMs in Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea.

Not just because of sanctions, but because they don't allow me to. It's illegal for me -- I don't even need to specify which country I am in, it doesn't matter -- to deploy pretty much anything in those nations, by their own laws. (Similarly, I can't buy property, start a business, buy shares directly, etc, etc...)

Have a look at the requirements to deploy something into China: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/china/overview-check... and https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/china/overview-sover...

Nothing like this is needed for any other cloud region. I can just pick "the rest of the planet" from a drop-down list at will.

So why should we let "the other side" of the planet gain benefits from our collective works, if they slam the door in our face in response?

> Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, the world has been split in two

Someone who is so dependent on media images that he declares them unquestionable truths in advance is probably unqualified to reason about propaganda.

It is self evident, though? Russia, NK and Iran at least.. I wouldn't necessarily say that China is technically on Russia's side. Not to such a degree that most Western countries are on Ukraine's side.

They even comply with some sanctions and AFAIK aren't actually sending weapons to Russia.

O swallowers of voids, Newspaper-reading ones!

https://ruverses.com/marina-tsvetaeva/readers-of-newspapers/...

https://ruverses.com/marina-tsvetaeva/readers-of-newspapers/...

> Not just because of sanctions, but because they don't allow me to. It's illegal for me

No it's because aws/azure failed to follow local Russian laws + sanctions imposed by US. If you need Russian vps, you can contact Russian providers.

Microsoft seems to have no trouble “following local laws” in every other country they’re present in.

What’s different about the local laws in Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea?

Sanctions. Complying with local law or operating in those countries might break sanctions.

China is not sanctioned.

Yes but the cost of doing business in China can outweigh most potential gains (e.g. Google).

> Microsoft seems to have no trouble “following local laws” in every other country they’re present in.

Except in EU when it comes to GDPR and data processing laws. But they pay well. /s

> Russia, China, Iran, North Korea... and everybody else.

Something is happening in Kazan as we speak. In attendance are many among your "everybody else", many of whom have no great love for any of these four. It is worth asking why this might be.

> Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, the world has been split in two: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea... and everybody else.

Maybe you should ask the rest of the world before making such a statement.

>Russia, China, Iran, North Korea... and everybody else.

BRICS meeting is currently happening in Russia and the leaders who gathered there represent more than a half of world's population: "Putin returns to world stage hosting 36 leaders at Brics summit in Russia"[0].

>I can't deploy VMs in Russia

Really? You are welcome to click "Start your trial period" at Yandex Cloud. [1]

>Similarly, I can't buy property, start a business, buy shares directly

Of course you can.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/22/putin-brics...

[1] https://yandex.cloud/en/

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