The GPL Does Not Prohibit Use of Code for Death
THIS morning we wrote about ICBMs and Linux. It was also discussed in IRC. It's hard to know what powers the most modern generation of ICBMs, but we know that the US abandoned Windows for drones. It uses Linux instead. Over a decade ago there was a lot of discussion (we too covered that several times) about ethical implications. Some LWN comments about it can still be found which speak of the GPL/copyleft aspects.
There are many wars at the moment (over 20 war fronts worldwide right now) and many involve drones or pilot-less aircrafts (or helicopters or sorts). It's not convenient to think that a lot of these wars are basically "Linux wars" (battles of tech, a Linux 'cockfight' of sorts). Many of these weapons run Linux and even some of today's more advanced firearms (rifles, cannons etc.) run Linux.
That's just part of "going mainstream".
Windows kills even more people, but in other ways. █