No ! The IETF and its members must stay focussed on what the IETF is for and what it's goals are. warm regards Saifi. > -------Original Message------- > From: Dave Burstein <daveb@xxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: ietf@xxxxxxxx > Subject: If Muslims are blocked by the U.S., should the IETF respond? > Sent: Jan 28 '17 01:00 > > Folks > > The IETF has generally steered clear of political entanglements, which > I think wise. Nonetheless, I raise the question of whether we should > respond to the proposed U.S. ban on nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, > Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen. > > Scott Aaronson reports one of his MIT students will probably have to > leave if he can't get his visa removed. We all know how many Iranians > are world-class technologists, including in computer science and > electrical engineering. > > I hope many from outside the United States speak up. The issues around > Trump make it hard to be objective here. > > Should we take a stand? > > If so, should it be symbolic or substantive? > > Symbolic actions could include: > > * A resolution > > * Establishing remote hubs for our meetings in Iran and one of the > Arabic speaking countries. ISOC has funded remote hubs. > * Outreach in Farsi and Arabic to show that whatever actions the > government takes, the IETF welcomes participation. This could be as > simple as Jari Arkko writing a letter to the editor of the leading > newspapers with an invitation for all to join our work. > > Some might also think that we should move the July 2018 meeting from > San Francisco to a location accessible to more of our members, perhaps > to Mexico or Canada. > ------------ > > As we discuss this, I urge everyone to avoid distracting comments > about U.S. politics. We're not going to change many minds here pro or > con the new U.S. President. > > Instead, let's keep the discussion here to how we should respond to a > major nation refusing visas to so many of our members. > > Dave Burstein > > -- > > Editor, Fast Net News, 5GW News, Net Policy News and DSL Prime > Author with Jennie Bourne DSL (Wiley) and Web Video: Making It Great, > Getting It Noticed (Peachpit)