Removal of Russian coders spurs debate about Linux kernel’s politics
“Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements. They can come back in the future if sufficient documentation is provided.”
That two-line comment, submitted by major Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, accompanied a patch that removed about a dozen names from the kernle’s MAINTAINERS file. “Some entries” notably had either Russian names or .ru email addresses. “Various compliance requirements” was, in this case, sanctions against Russia and Russian companies, stemming from that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
This merge did not go unnoticed. Replies on the kernel mailing list asked about this “very vague” patch. Kernel developer James Bottomley wrote that “we” (seemingly speaking for Linux maintainers) had “actual advice” from Linux Foundation counsel. Employees of companies on the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (OFAC SDN), or connected to them, will have their collaborations “subject to restrictions,” and “cannot be in the MAINTAINERS file.” “Sufficient documentation” would mean evidence that someone does not work for an OFAC SDN entity, Bottomley wrote.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”