Smirk bans publishing research from Iran, Libya,, Sudan, Cuba

[donsu]

http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/Dynapage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v427/n6976/full/427663a_fs.html

Publishers split over response to US trade embargo ruling

The US Department of the Treasury has ruled that editing or publishing scientific manuscripts from Iran, Libya, Sudan and Cuba violates the trade embargo on these countries. And US publishers and scientific societies are divided over how to respond.

At a meeting in Washington on 9 February, David Mills, the treasury official in charge of implementing the policy, told representatives of 30 publishers that anyone wanting to publish papers from Iran should seek a licence from the treasury department. He also suggested that US scientists collaborating with Iranians could be prosecuted.

-snip-

Questions about interactions with Iran first arose in 2001 when the IEEE tried to rent a conference room at a Tehran meeting, and was told that this would violate the US trade embargo. In ensuing conversations between the organization and the treasury department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, it emerged that publishing could also be restricted. According to a 30 September 2003 letter from the office, editing content from an author in a restricted country is "prohibited ... unless specifically licensed".
-snip-
------------------------------

aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhhh

[Seldona]

1. Take a page from the Cheney/Haliburton playbook.

Just register an address for a shill company in the Bahamas and go to town!

So simple really..

[Lisa]

2. which means, they could go after people like me ...

I met a couple of Iranian scientists at a conference last summer. We are all studying atmospheric pollution and human health, and they had just done a very interesting presentation about childhood asthma rates in Tehran. I noted that there is a similar rising trend for many North American areas, and we exchanged e-mail addresses regarding doing a potential project together.

I'm Canadian -- but there were plenty of American researchers in that same meeting who were also hoping to follow up on the results, and it really bothers me to think that they would not be allowed to collaborate with people in certain designated countries.

[bobbieinok]

3. isn't it past fime for US scientists to start YELLING about this?????

was married to a physicist for 20+ years

this action is UNBELIEVABLE