On a positive note: Pope Francis urges greater acceptance of homosexuals, non-traditional families http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/08/europe/vatican-pope-family/index.html?adkey=bn Thanks, Nalini Elkins Inside Products, Inc. www.insidethestack.com (831) 659-8360 ________________________________ From: Dhruv Dhody <dhruv.ietf@xxxxxxxxx> To: Leif Johansson <leifj@xxxxxx> Cc: "ietf@xxxxxxxx Discussion" <ietf@xxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, April 7, 2016 12:41 PM Subject: Re: Concerns about Singapore Hi Leif, On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 4:12 PM, Leif Johansson <leifj@xxxxxx> wrote: On 2016-04-07 20:30, Dhruv Dhody wrote: >> +1 >> >> I am happy to see that LGBT inclusiveness taken seriously by the IETF. >> But looking at the law on the books in black and white, would be doing a >> disservice to a large region of the world (with a large number of >> Internet users). > >I don't parse that actually. > Sorry if I was not clear. >How is reading the law of Singapore "doing disservice to a large region >of the world?" > No, I meant that IETF would be doing a disservice to a large part of the world (that has on its books these laws). We need to have a nuanced approach and this being another factor in a multitude of factors. Having a blanket rule that the IETF will not go to any such place is something I disagree with. >I don't think "yes but many who live in Singapore are nice people" >nor "yes but those laws are hardly ever applied" are useful arguments >in this discussion but maybe thats just me... > >I am pretty sure that Ted (to pick a random example) would be able to >travel to Singapore for an IETF and be /personally/ quite safe because >as you say the laws of the land would be selectively applied. > >That is always the problem of selectively applied laws: they are used >when it is convenient... and are often used to intimidate. That is why >censorship is often self-administered in countries where there are >censorship laws "on the books". > I agree with you. I understand this well, as an openly gay person, living in a country with such laws on the book. I hope these laws go away but till then, having a blanket rule against taking IETF to a big part of the world is something I find wrong. Thanks! Dhruv > Cheers Leif > >