alt Hacker NewsA friend of mine works at SAP, the major German software company. Because they do business with American firms, he had to complete required corporate training on U.S. government restrictions regarding certain countries. The restrictions had different tiers, with only two nations placed in the most severe category: Iran and the peaceful island of Cuba.
Your "friend" wasn't paying much attention because there are more than those two countries on the list, and you should ask the residents of Cuba exactly how peaceful their government is.