[free-sklyarov] Wretched article at inside.com

[Paul Callahan]

--- "Richard M. Smith" <rms at privacyfoundation.org>
wrote:
[assumptions presented as facts]
 
>    - "Nor should Sklyarov's July 16 arrest have come
> as a surprise 
>      to either ElcomSoft or Sklyarov, unless
> ElcomSoft was cruelly 
>      keeping Sklyarov in the dark about Adobe's
> dissatisfaction with 
>      ElcomSoft's business operations."

Unless Sklyarov wanted to become the Gandhi of
the anti-DMCA movement, you *bet* he was surprised!

Does Parloff seriously believe that Sklyarov flew to
the US expecting to wind up in federal custody?
He's either being disingenuous, not thinking (my
vote), or imagines that Sklyarov was trying to
make a martyr of himself (highly unlikely).

However, this article contradicts a point I made in
a slashdot reply I posted (below).  If the advocates 
of DMCA are bothering to respond, this is a good 
sign. It means Sklyarov supporters are being taken
seriously.

Here's what I wrote earlier:

 But isn't it interesting that we aren't seeing a lot
of editorials explaining in detail why a non-dangerous
alleged offender of a disputed law *should* be held
without bail? I mean, if someone can point me to an
article that says "Yes, for the good of society,
Sklyarov should be under lock and key and here's why."
then I'd be very interested in reading it. But it took
just a feather's touch of pressure to get Adobe to
back down from that position. It's untenable under any
reasonable standard of the legitimate use of force.

Finally, there's no PR campaign from the pro-DMCA,
pro-arrest camp. Why? Well, because there's no way to
*put* a positive spin on using excessive force against
a relatively powerless individual to settle a
corporate dispute. So in this case, the best spin, the
best PR, is simply no publicity at all. The average
American who has heard the story at all simply
believes that a "Russian hacker" has been apprehended
by the FBI. This vaguely suggests that there must have
been some sort of national security threat. The
supporters of DMCA would like it for things to stay
this way.

Here's the sad truth of the matter: power doesn't need
reason or persuasion to justify itself. That's why
those in favor of Sklyarov's arrest have been eerily
silent.

--Paul 



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