Two Python Core Developers Remain in Ukraine (businessinsider.com) 72
Business Insider reports:
Serhiy Storchaka, a Ukrainian developer, is the second-most prolific recent contributor to Python and tenth-most prolific of all time, according to Lukasz Langa, the Python Software Foundation's developer in residence, based in Poznan, Poland... Storchaka faced an impossible choice as Russia invaded his country. Like many young male programmers in Ukraine, he decided to stay....
Storchaka lives outside of Konotop, a city in northeastern Ukraine which is occupied by Russian forces. He tweeted on February 26, "Russian tanks were on the road 2km from my house, and Russian armored vehicles were passing by my windows. Most likely, I will find myself in the occupied zone, where the law does not apply...."
Insider was unable to contact Storchaka, but spoke with Langa... [A]s the military crisis worsened on Friday and over the weekend, the Python developer community rallied to help Storchaka's younger family members. Communicating with Storchaka's family through Google Translate, Langa managed to secure temporary housing for Storchaka's niece and best friend, aged 11. They crossed the border to Poland via bus with their mother, and met Langa, who drove over 300km to Warsaw to pick up keys and secure basic necessities for the family.
"Two little 11-year-old girls (my niece and her best friend) are now safe thanks to @llanga," Storchaka tweeted last Monday, adding "My sister and I are immensely grateful." (He'd been especially worried because their town was near one of Ukraine's nuclear power plants, "a strategic target".)
Business Insider points out Storchaka is just one of many Python core developers from Ukraine, and one of many Ukrainians working in its tech sector. Andrew Svetlov, another influential Python developer who specializes in asynchronous networking support, also remains in Ukraine.... Svetlov is in Kyiv, where Russian troops have surrounded the city....
"Neither of them wanted to leave their country, even in the face of the great risk this poses for them," Langa told Insider.
Storchaka lives outside of Konotop, a city in northeastern Ukraine which is occupied by Russian forces. He tweeted on February 26, "Russian tanks were on the road 2km from my house, and Russian armored vehicles were passing by my windows. Most likely, I will find myself in the occupied zone, where the law does not apply...."
Insider was unable to contact Storchaka, but spoke with Langa... [A]s the military crisis worsened on Friday and over the weekend, the Python developer community rallied to help Storchaka's younger family members. Communicating with Storchaka's family through Google Translate, Langa managed to secure temporary housing for Storchaka's niece and best friend, aged 11. They crossed the border to Poland via bus with their mother, and met Langa, who drove over 300km to Warsaw to pick up keys and secure basic necessities for the family.
"Two little 11-year-old girls (my niece and her best friend) are now safe thanks to @llanga," Storchaka tweeted last Monday, adding "My sister and I are immensely grateful." (He'd been especially worried because their town was near one of Ukraine's nuclear power plants, "a strategic target".)
Business Insider points out Storchaka is just one of many Python core developers from Ukraine, and one of many Ukrainians working in its tech sector. Andrew Svetlov, another influential Python developer who specializes in asynchronous networking support, also remains in Ukraine.... Svetlov is in Kyiv, where Russian troops have surrounded the city....
"Neither of them wanted to leave their country, even in the face of the great risk this poses for them," Langa told Insider.
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Please be quiet, or go to your room and close the door--grownups are trying to have a conversation here.
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The corrupt parts of Ukraine are being shrunk, don't look back to the days of Yanukovich, look at the improvements that have been made. But corruption is irrelevant her - Russia, which is highly corrupt at the top level, is not invading to clean up corruption. Every country has corruption so you can never use that as an excuse for justifying the misery in others.
Nazis are not running Ukraine, that is pure Putin propaganda. Unless you are like Putin and define "nazi" to mean "not pro-Russia". The Ukraine
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"Lots of commits" doesn't even guarantee "lots of code", and "lots of code" doesn't guarantee "lots of function".
No, but lots of assuming tends to guarantee lots of assuming, and usually results in finding someone who likes to ASS-U-ME a lot.
Waiting until a top contributor is dead to find out how valuable they were? Not exactly a sound winning strategy. Or a reason anyone would want to work with you. You must be real hoot at parties and job reviews.
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"Lots of commits" doesn't even guarantee "lots of code", and "lots of code" doesn't guarantee "lots of function".
No, but lots of assuming tends to guarantee lots of assuming, and usually results in finding someone who likes to ASS-U-ME a lot.
Which is what the original highlighted, yes, thanks. But if it at least causes warm fuzzy feelings all 'round then it's okay.
Finding out after the fact that a top contributor isn't in fact worthless, doesn't create warm and fuzzy feelings except between others who are often wrong too. Reminds me of why American politics is so broken everywhere. And besides, this is simple; If someone is key, evaluate and mitigate the risk of loss. Don't sit here and wax poetic about how we subjectively define efficiencies. Hell, you're talking to the society that defines success with clicks and likes in an online world behind 17 filters. We
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...I've seen "most prolific committers" of large projects make a habit of peeing over everyone else's commits with at least one commit of their own, often merely cosmetic. Not saying these guys did that. But it makes the metric rather worthless.
So does assuming everyone measured by said metric, is guilty of abusing it. The person who's very life is at risk is reportedly the tenth most prolific contributor of all time. If one can sustain that kind of title for years based on the utter bullshit you're worried about, then get rid of the fucking pointless metric. It's more of a joke than a Nobel "Peace" Prize on Planet Earth.
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outrageous hyperbole incoming...
> No, but lots of assuming tends to guarantee lots of assuming, and usually results in finding someone who likes to ASS-U-ME a lot.
What? You blow goats? Why?
Things I'm no longer assuming:
> You're writing English, rather than a language that appears orthographically similar but with a different meaning
> You don't blow goats
Everyone makes a ton of assumptions, it's necessary because you can't question everything all the time. When people say you shouldn't assume what t
Decided to stay? (Score:3)
I doubt it. Had to stay due to general conscription. Adult males are not allowed to leave the country.
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People do lots of things they're not allowed to do, and a programmer can be assumed to be smart enough to understand that conscription will produce a lost generation.
Besides which, the invasion has been expected for several months. Conscription is a relatively new addition. You can't blame poor planning on the laws.
There are many things you can blame on the laws, and there will be some men who are now trapped who couldn't leave because of those laws. The British government seems to have a fondness for doing
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One: why does slavery still exist today? And why are we sending the message that this is OK? Two: why is this slavery limited to men? Why does your gender identification matter?
Idiotic comment.
Re: Decided to stay? (Score:2)
Conscription is not slavery. It's a civic duty that most every nation has legalized in some form given the necessity of such a draft. More so they still maintain all other democratic privileges, such as voting. Finally, they will be released from their obligation given enough time.
As for why not women there can be multiple reasons. The simplest is procreation. Even if you lost half your male population in a war but kept alive most the females, re-populating can be achieved and in the extreme a male could pr
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Many US citizens would disagree, especially the draft dodgers during the Vietnam War who considered it their civic duty to refuse service. And no, they don't automatically maintain "all other democratic privileges". Privacy rights and property rights are deeply reduced if not lost during conscription.
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Many US citizens would disagree, especially the draft dodgers during the Vietnam War who considered it their civic duty to refuse service.
A draft to fight halfway around the world in another country where most of its citizens don't even want you there is awfully different then a draft to defend ones own country from direct and immediate invasion from outside sources. That's a bad comparison.
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And both drafts are morally wrong.
"I will fight to protect my country" is noble and heroic. "YOU MUST fight to protect my country" is the opposite of freedom.
"My country is worth fighting for" should be the reason why people take jobs in the military. "You are mine to exploit in times of war" is an authoritarian attitude, and governments that take it do not deserve to govern.
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None of that makes your prior comparison a good one.
After that when it comes to a defensive war like WW2 I see no moral problems with a draft. We all need to pay taxes or our country doesnt work. We are all therefore forced to pay taxes. Likewise if we are attacked we all need to defend our home or we might not have one.
Re: Decided to stay? (Score:2)
"You are mine to exploit in times of war" is an authoritarian attitude, and governments that take it do not deserve to govern.
We even used conscripts during the American revolution. Ok, that doesn't make it right by itself. Sure, times change, but I'm pretty sure the nature of war hasn't.
Your philosophy is interesting, but it's as useful as saying war is immoral, and killing people is immoral. Eating while someone starves is immoral. Taxes are immoral. So on. Easy to nod to, and we should certainly be biased against these things, and if that's the purpose of labeling these things immoral, then great. Whether they're actuall
Re: Decided to stay? (Score:2)
Many US citizens would disagree, especially the draft dodgers during the Vietnam War who considered it their civic duty to refuse service. And no, they don't automatically maintain "all other democratic privileges". Privacy rights and property rights are deeply reduced if not lost during conscription.
I think we are all 100% on the same page; any service member in Ukraine right now should in fact consider it their civic duty to refuse to fight a pointless war in a foreign land.
Take your time figuring that one out, smooth brain.
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Conscription is not slavery. It's a civic duty
That sounds to me like marketing spin. Conscription involves forcing people to perform grueling and terrible labor that is likely to leave them with lifelong physical and mental injuries or get them killed. It is more similar to slavery than different.
And I consider it morally wrong. A government should earn its civilian's loyalty, not force it. "The triumph of persuasion over force is the sign of a civilized society." -- Mark Skousen. Any government that m
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What something sounds like is highly biased. I could say it sounds like you are defending Russia by painting Ukraine in a negative light. Now being reasonable. I don't think this.
I agree such conscription is more like how the Russians conscripted the contested regions. However, Ukrainian conscripts is more like "you were here when this started, so now you cannot leave".
Morality has little place in war. It has a place outside of war but war is hell. The idea of ethics in war is like the idea of ethics in bus
Men and women are different (Score:2)
One: why does slavery still exist today?
Probably because the woke crowd is more interested in attacking U.S. traditional values than speaking for the actual dispossessed. Real slavery - including slave auctions - happen in this modern age in some Islamic countries. Because Muslims are not traditional US they not only get a pass... they are protected! Another good example would be LGBT: strong support from the woke crowd, but if you're Muslim you can hate, and sometimes brutally murder, with no outrage from the woke crowd. Straight, white, Christi
Re: Decided to stay? (Score:2)
They're defending their country in the most literal sense possible, and you have parts of today's lunch in your beard.
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Your words are an insult to the thousands of volunteers who are defending their very freedom and who will likely die rather than submit to a dictator--the same dictator who is rounding up his own citizens for daring to protest war. This is the love of freedom that used to ring in America and other western countries. This is a huge wake-up call to all of us that our freedoms are not to be taken for granted, and to put our petty differences into perspective. I am in awe of these two programmers, and the ma
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I doubt it. Had to stay due to general conscription. Adult males are not allowed to leave the country.
Completely wrong.
1) If an adult male really wants to leave they can get out. There's lots of fighting aged males among the refugees.
2) Ukraine is trying to restrict citizens from leaving. His city is occupied by the Russians who would be thrilled if potential insurgents fled elsewhere. Though I don't know if his city is a "your're allowed to evacuate to Russia" city or a "you'll get shot if you try to leave" city.
3) The ban stops them from leaving the country, NOT from leaving their particular city. I know
bus factor (Score:1)
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There is apparently ~475USD billion in currency reserve's from the Russian central bank abroad. This is currently frozen. That's a lot of rebuilding in Ukraine when they are used to pay reparations.
Re:bus factor (Score:5, Insightful)
Russia has a history of invading their neighbors -- especially those in Eastern Europe. It wasn't that long ago Russian tanks were rolling in to Hungary and Czechoslovakia. And, of course, miles and miles of fences, mine fields, and walls all manned with guards with orders to murder their own people who had the audacity of trying to escape the Russian-created hellhole.
It helps explain why all those countries want a defensive agreement to protect them from exactly what Russia is doing to Ukraine now.
Russia has no right to demand their neighbors are defenseless. Unless you're saying they're such simpering cowards they shit their pants at the very thought of someone able to stand up to them?
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What a retarded comment.
Proxy wars were fought throughout the Cold War. However, this situation is different.
Have Mexico or Canada ever asked for Russia to supply them with troops and weapons? Have they signed a coop defense agreement with Russia?
Russia attacked a sovereign country, period. There is no way you could spin that into a new narrative, no matter how much you'd try.
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The concept of "war for peace" is itself retarded and is popular only with extremists (such as Putin).
Ukraine was invaded precisely because Putin believes in waging wars of aggression for his notion of peace. Just as Iraq was invaded by Bush, not because Iraq posed a threat (he was well aware it had neither WMDs nor Al Qaeda terrorists) but because he believed in waging wars of aggression for his notion of peace. (Plus a massive boost to popularity. Bombing other people's children is very popular with certa
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Oh, I see what you did there. You looked at my nickname and thought you knew everything. :) - however, I also realize there are shades of gray in most conflicts. The war in Ukraine, however, is not a gray area.
It's a tongue-in-cheek gaming handle I use pretty much in all games I play, as well as on various forums.
And yes, I agree with you
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The difference is that the US is not already hostile with Canada and Mexico. Russia has proven that it's an enemy to the region; with recent invasions in Georgia and it's violation of that ceasefire; it's invasion of Ukraine to take Crimea, and the subsequent sending of its own troops to help the tiny insurgents in Donbas; and Russian support in the Transnistria breakaway region in Moldova. It is disingenuous to assume that Russia is the good guy here and is shocked that someone would want to defend thems
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You have to include the fact that NATO did agree not to take on those new members.
This does NOT mean Putin would not have invaded, we can't know what Putin would have done on a different timeline since we don't yet have a functioning TARDIS.
You also have to include the fact that the US violated the ABM treaty and then parked ABMs on former Soviet territory, with the full intent of breaking MAD.
You ALSO have to include the fact that the US has invaded two sovereign countries (Iraq and Libya) in violation of
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Don't forget agreements and treaties and ceasefires that Russia also violated while being led by Putin.
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Oh, I'm not forgetting. Absolutely no nation has come out of this honourably. Russia is probably the worst offender, with the US next, but ultimately every nation has taken to playing this game and no nation gets to be excused because others were worse.
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Strange, I was actually watching news broadcasts (BBC, before you ask) from the time. You know, stuff that was contemporary to when it happened. I don't listen to Russia, they have nothing worth saying. And frankly, neither do you if you think you can divine by Tarot what news sources I use, or believe the BBC parrot Russian news broadcasts decades before the Russians broadcast it.
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I'm not the least bit interested in what patch of pollluted, rat-infested slum you call home. Geography and nationality do not decide character, that is a choice by the person. And you chose to go down Ayn Rand's path of schizoid xenophobia.
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I'm trying to think of any military solution that won't eventually end up with Russia pulling a Dresden (carpet bombing and firestorming civilians) or a Hiroshima (dropping a nuke) on the major cities in Ukraine.
You can remove the reason for Putin to invade, which I have a good hunch would be NATO filling the countries around Russia's borders with troops and weapons, eager to "finally finish off Russia and China". But it's much easier to believe the fallacy that the US are the "good guys" and continue childishly "cancelling" the Russians until they decide enough is enough and hit the nuclear button.
For clarity, Putin's current demands for ending hostilities are:
1) Formally cede Crimea (which Russia invaded and annexed).
2) Formally cede the breakaway republics (which Russia invaded and declared).
3) Change the constitution to declare neutrality.
4) Change the constitution to demilitarize.
Now, 1&2 are supremely unjust, but they're acknowledgements of the current reality, so that's something I could actually imagine.
Number 3 should strike you as a bit odd since Putin's 'victory speech' included Ukraine [scotsman.com]
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I'm trying to think of any military solution that won't eventually end up with Russia pulling a Dresden (carpet bombing and firestorming civilians) or a Hiroshima (dropping a nuke) on the major cities in Ukraine.
...meanwhile I struggle to find a reason why they would use any such measures. There are a lot of important countries sitting on the fence right now like India or Israel. If the Russians start getting too careless with civilian casualties democracies like these are going to have an increasingly hard time not implementing Western style sanctions on Russia.
The only scenario I can see Russia ever using a nuke in is if NATO is dumb enough to directly engage. Outside of that there's just no way.
Besides, conventi
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The reasons they would are the same reasons that they have for invading as well as escalating into attacks against civilian targets. Putin has clearly said that the war will be over only when Ukraine accepts his demands and halts resistance. It's a bit unclear what the demands or conditions are, but it's mostly demilitarizing; or in other words Ukraine must surrender. In there is likely an implicit assumption of being dominated by Russia, subject to Russian military rule or a puppet government, and remov
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You're essentially making a slippery slope argument which is a logical fallacy. "Putin has done some things I'd call irrational so now he'll do this other thing that is even more so". One does not automatically lead to the other at all.
Putin has said that he is not opposed to tactical nukes, and a stated policy of "de-escalation through escalation" which seems to imply that a tactical nuke would make the opponent give up (ie, de-escalation to him means the other side backs down). Fallout blows to the west, witness Chernobyl which was a bigger problem for western and central Europe than for Russia.
Putin also said he absolutely would not invade Ukraine and here we are. All Putin's doing with his nuclear saber rattling is making sure NATO stays out.
Nothing about this war is rational. Why assume that there might be a sudden outbreak of logic and rationality?
I'd only agree with that in the context of the sentiment of "all war is irrational", otherwise I couldnt disagree more. Puti
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Well if Putin has put his fut down and said he wont back down until Ukraine demilitarizes, then what options are there other than total submission by force? Ukraine will not voluntarily surrender their freedom, and Putin won't lose face by withdrawing. Despite being cold and calculating, withdrawing is the best bet for Putin and the best move for his country, but his emotions won't allow this. So, war continues, and cities will be destroyed, I can't see how this could be averted without something happeni
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I think it seems pretty clear that Russia will take Ukraine which will then result in a Ukrainian insurgency, even if NATO doesnt support it Eastern European nations almost certainly will. Much like in Afghanistan for both Russia and the US this insurgency will eventually make holding Ukraine not worthwhile and they'll leave. I mean our economy was quite healthy when we pulled out of Afghanistan and earlier Vietnam and we were still worn down. With Russia's economy crumbling they'll be out in less than a de
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The worrying bit is that Putin can be brutal. He proved this in Grozny. Will he treat Ukraine the same we he treated Chechnya? Remember, Chechnya was technically a part of Russia whereas Ukraine is not.
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Oh this will be a complete and utter shit show for the Ukrainians. I just don't think Russia will use nukes, I don't think that because I think they want to be kind to the Ukrainians though. I think that because nukes don't make sense for them to use as there are a lot of "costs" for Russia in using one but very few benefits versus more conventional weapons.
Oh man, Where to find a core Python Developer? (Score:2)
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This is another warning we should not outsource work on our core infrastructure to cheapest countries.
You do understand that Python is an open-source project and how open-source development works?