[sklyarov-chicago] from Adobe

[Nate Riffe]

On Wed, 25 Jul 2001, Michael Cannon wrote:

> Again, you're the boss...but don't you think we should
> strike while the iron is hot?

Because Adobe is a very small corner of a very large iron.  There are many
DMCA supports, and now that Adobe has backed away from Sklyarov, that is
all Adobe is... a DMCA supporter.

> 
> Considering the attention-span of the average
> 'sheeple' in the American public, we won't GET a
> better chance...additionally, the talk is moving to
> 'amending' and away from REPEALING the DMCA...finally,

I think we should stick to repealing, because when it comes time to
bargain with the pro-DMCA side, we'd better be in a position to make
concessions.

> 
> -EULA - contracts that are illegal in any other
> context
> -UCITA - protections provided to no other industry
> segment (and certain provisions re-inforce the DMCA
> and further criminalize Fair Use)
> -DMCA - THE monster - not only civil penalties, but
> criminal ones...we go to jail, deprived of our freedom

And the civil ones... we go to the soup kitchen, deprived of our
socioeconomic power.

> 
> You don't see these folks as evil. 

Yes, I do see them as evil.  I also see you as hasty and
irrational.  Until we are properly prepared to move forward, I think we
should stick with our existing strategy, which so far has been to
publicize what has happened with OUR spin, rather than the corporate spin.

> I do.  They are
> going to try to get away with anything they can.  They
> are spreading this poison to other countries, via WIPO
> and corporate influences. 

We'll add WIPO to the Survivor game, then.

> Just because something is a
> treaty, doesn't mean we have to ratify it (START, ABM,
> the BioWar Protocols, Kyoto).
> 
> The government and the Korps are laughing at us, or
> can't you hear them?  the EFF is using this to recruit
> members.  Adobe is using us, too.  Look at their stock
> price.  There IS no such thing as bad publicity.
> 
> You are an organizer - THE organizer, IIRC - and I am
> simply and civilly disagreeing.  Without escaltion and
> noise, we will be ignored and this crap wil continue
> to spread.

Please read the Art of War, if you have not already.  And if you have,
please read it again.

We need preparation more than anything else right now.  We need:

- An authoritative source stating the original purpose of the DMCA (for
comparison to it actual effect)
- An authoritative source stating the original intent of Article I,
Section 8, paragraph 8 of the Constitution ("To promote the progress of
science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and
inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and
discoveries")
- An authoritative source stating contemporary jurisprudence surrounding
Const. I,8,8.
- A comprehensive list of ludicrous statements made in support of the DMCA
- A comprehensive list of ludicrous statements we should avoid making
against the DMCA
- A refutation of every pro-DMCA argument that has been made
- Solid research backing every anti-DMCA point that we make
- An exhaustive list of the incidents in which the pro-DMCA camp has
abused the DMCA (executed powers under the DMCA in a manner harmful to the
common good)
- A comparison of rights under pre-DMCA copyright law and current law
- Form letters ready to send to Congress WRT reconsidering the DMCA
- A list of internationally recognized rights which have been violated
over the course of Sklyarov's visit to the United States
- A list of traditional rememedies for violation of those rights
- Several solidly researched arguments in favor of Sklyarov's release
- Examples of abuse of power by Mueller
- Several solidly researched arguments against Mueller's nomination
- Form letters ready to send to Congress WRT Mueller's nomination hearings

If possible someone should draft a bill that would repeal or neuter the
DMCA and send it out for peer review over the next several weeks, and then
to Congressman Rick Boucher for submission to the Congressional dockett.

> 
> Adobe, the MPAA, the BSA...all of them are the
> problems.  We are the only solution.  We have the
> attention of the media and the masses.  It's time to
> act!

Knee-jerk.  Too soon.  We must attack when we are strongest.  It is better
to fight a defensive battle than a offensive battle, for it leads your
opponent out of his fortifications.

Translation, we need to observse the response to our protests and then
thoroughly refute it on Monday.  If there is no observable response from
our opposition, we should simply replay the first protest while we dig in
for the third.

Go read Sun Tsu now!

> 
> I will be patient and follow orders/dirctives...but
> you need to think about where we take this, Peter, and
> how far you are willing to go. THAT is the
> responsibility of a leader.

See above.

> 
> BTW, I destroyed ALL Adobe SW on my corporate and
> personal computers at my business and here at home (I
> own the business and the computers and software - I am
> not advocating damage to others' property!).  My
> offices are now declared 'Adobe Free' areas.  No
> Acrobat or .pdf files are allowed. 

We should be sure to publicize this at the right moment, and not in haste.

> HTML only.  I am
> also divesting.  My accountant estimates this will
> cost me in excess of $15000 in lost business and
> additional work next month.  The divestiture's damage
> will be a bit more.  
> 
> For those that are interested, the link to all the
> Adobe companies is:
> 
> http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/adobeventures/portfolio.html
> 
> Please notice the presence of SendMail (that includes
> the 'Free' version...they are the primary developers)
> and Aldus.
> 
> Finally, has anyone gotten in touch with media, either
> PBS, indymedia Chicago, or the TV stations and
> newspapers?

The Reader.  Pete, you've got all the fax numbers.  My guy at the Reader
will take in as many press releases as we can produce.

> 
> 
> Mike
> --- "Peter A. Peterson II" <pedro@tastytronic.net>
> wrote:
> > Quoting Michael Cannon:
> > > Tough.  They brought this on themselves, when they
> > > pressured Mueller.  Their stock price is
> > intimately
> > > tied to .pdf and Acrobat.
> > 
> > I acknowledge that. But I think a protest that is
> > focusing on a small
> > number of unified goals is better than a group that
> > shouts 5 different
> > things that to the uninitiated may seem unrelated.
> > Also, boycotting
> > Adobe right now does not help us meet our immediate
> > goals.
> > 
> > > Continue the boycott and expand it to the members
> > of
> > > the BSA, the RIAA, the AAP, and the MPAA.  Call
> > for
> > > civil disobedience...and don't just target the
> > > DMCA...lets go after the whole troika (DMCA, EULA,
> > > UCITA).
> > 
> > I'm not going to call for civil disobedience, and
> > I'm not going to be a
> > part of a protest that does -- at least not until
> > there is no other way.
> > We need to stay focused and stay civil -- getting
> > too carried away is
> > not going to help matters.
> > 
> > pedro
> 
> 
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> 
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------------------------------------------------((\))<----------------------
Nate Riffe			Help Dmitry Sklyarov find freedom in the so-
inkblot@geocities.com		called "Land of the Free."
                  http://www.eff.org/alerts/20010719_eff_sklyarov_alert.html