[free-sklyarov] Continuing the fight

Mon Dec 17 12:34:12 PST 2001

Good Post

A) We should rename the mailing list or move it fairuse at mrbrklyn.com
if we agree that the fight is over the DMCA and upcoming focus on
a legistlative agenda.

B) Focus on Congressman Weiner, since we've opened a crack here.  He can 
potentially help lead the charge to protect fair use.  We've already 
canvassed a good part of his district.

C) We need to cordinate letter writing to committees better.

D) We need to BE in Washington DC.

BTW - We canvassed the streets in Brooklyn RIGHT THROUGH  September with 
good results, within eyes view of the destruction of the WTC.

Ruben

On 2001.12.17 13:32:08 -0500 C. Scott Ananian wrote:
>> Wow, what a flame-fest!
>> 
>> Not to appear *too* sane, here, but:
>> 
>> 1) as someone who *has* spent time in jail over free speech issues and
>> whose charges *were* (eventually) dropped and who *did* none-the-less
>> spend 8 days in Philadelphia's finest maximum security prison (CFCF), 
>> and
>> 2) as a street organizer who spent many many hours on corners around
>> Boston agitating for copyright reform, and thus is (I think) well-placed
>> to say when (grassroots) "momentum is high" and when it is not, and
>> 3) as a participating citizen of a democracy who writes real paper
>> letters
>> to his elected officials and gets back meaningful responses, and so
>> somewhat knows what *their* stances and perspectives are (this statement
>> only relavant for the Cambridge, MA area and its elected
>> representatives),
>> and
>> 4) as an academic participant in discussions with undergraduates,
>> librarians, *and* music industry types (most recently
>>  http://www.asis.org/Chapters/neasis/pc/programs/20011211.html
>> and thanks to Jonah Jenkins here at MIT for both setting up this
>> wonderful
>> event and inviting me to be a panel participant), and so possessing
>> slightly better information about the current state of copyright
>> legislation and the various lobbyists than the average
>> man-on-the-street,
>> I see that
>> a) Dmitry Sklyarov's release is in all ways a good thing.  No man
>> deserves
>> to be imprisoned unjustly, and every release --- for whatever rationale
>> --- makes our world a better place.  No one who cares for individual
>> human beings can disagree here.
>> b) Sklyarov's case pales in importance compared to the 2600 and Felten
>> cases.  This is from talking to actual industry lawyers and lobbyists 
>> who
>> are sensitive to how these precedents will be read.  2600 *magazine* was
>> forbidden from even *linking* to software *they didn't even write*.  
>> From
>> a freedom-of-speech perspective, this sets all sorts of undesirable
>> precedents for publishers, the structure of the web, and the "viral
>> nature
>> of the internet" (to use the words of the decision).  If you want to set
>> good precedents, these are the battles you want to fight.  No one is
>> interested in the Sklyarov case for precedent because most of the
>> interesting legal issues are over jurisdiction and such: it's not going
>> to
>> be used as a DMCA example case in the literature.  And the DOJ was
>> blatently attempting scare tactics: they weren't after precedent either.
>> *Furthermore* the amount of disinformation I'm hearing *even from our
>> friends* on this case is staggering.  I wish people would stop carping 
>> on
>> the Sklyarov case being the "first criminal use of the DMCA" (in
>> particular) because it's *not*.
>> c) Street fighting momentum *is* gone.  It evaporated after September 11
>> and has not recovered.  The mood of the country has changed.  That's not
>> to say that it is or is not appropriate/useful/etc, but simply noting 
>> the
>> different atmosphere.  Blindly reverting to tactics which were not even
>> appropriate *before* Sklyarov's release (I'm referring particularly to 
>> an
>> Adobe boycott) is a mistake.  We need to re-trench and re-think.
>> And on this note:
>> d) Copyright issues will appear before the legislature in *February* in 
>> a
>> big way.  The next Sklyarov court date wasn't to be until April, and I
>> think the recent agreement will not bring this any closer.  The thing
>> that
>> should occupy our attention *now* and for the next few months is the
>> *SSSCA* and the *MOCA* bill.  (This means *DISNEY* and not Adobe should
>> be
>> the corporate target).  These are the bills which will next attempt to
>> abridge your freedom.  These are the bills we need to fight.  We have
>> librarians on our side, and we even have composers and musicians on our
>> side (it's a bit schizophrenic talking to ASCAP (for example), which
>> represents both artists *and* publishers, but the sane half of ASCAP is
>> with us).  We need to write our congress-critters, visit them in person,
>> do what is necessary to keep "digital rights management" out of our
>> toasters.  rms, I heard serious suggestions at the last conference I was
>> at, to the effect that "the age of the general purpose computer is 
>> over".
>> Single-purpose devices are seen as easier to "secure" for the new age of
>> rights-management.  Let's keep Alan Turning's soul at rest by keeping
>> Turning-complete machines legal!
>> 
>> I think the old "walk a mile in a man's shoes" proverb should be invoked
>> here.  I don't see *any* of the flame-festing and name-calling that has
>> erupted on these lists as being a constructive means to our end.  May I
>> humbly suggest that loyalty-oaths be left buried with McCarthy's age and
>> that we concentrate on what *we* can do to ensure our voices are heard
>> when our elected *representatives* meet in February to discuss the 
>> future
>> of copyright?
>> 
>> And a final helpful suggestion from the ASCAP lobbyists:  most hearings
>> are public to some degree or another.  That means that if you can afford
>> to show up, you will often be heard.  And that any comments you write 
>> are
>> often *legally required* to be published and recorded.  [The Microsoft
>> antitrust settlement has a similar legally-required public comments
>> period, while I'm on the topic.]  You'd be *amazed* at how *few* public
>> comments are actually recorded at any of these hearings.  Say, 50-60
>> *tops*.   Only *30* comments were recorded on the DMCA
>> [http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/reports/studies/dmca/dmca_study.html]
>> and I'm sad to say I didn't author any of them.  I don't intend to 
>> repeat
>> that mistake.  Your active effort *will* (*really*!) make a difference.
>> Who will speak on copyright issues, if not us?
>>  --scott
>> 
>> justice early warning genetic LA global action network blowfish United
>> Nations
>> Saddam Hussein cracking IDEA arrangements Philadelphia North Korea
>>              ( http://lesser-magoo.lcs.mit.edu/~cananian )
>> --
>> "These students are going to have to find out what law and order is
>> all about."  -- Brig. General Robert Canterbury, Noon, May 4, 1970,
>> minutes before his troops shot 13 unarmed Kent State students, killing
>> 4.
>> --
>>            [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Gallery/]
>> #!/usr/bin/perl -w
>> # 526-byte qrpff, Keith Winstein and Marc Horowitz 
>> <sipb-iap-dvd at mit.edu>
>> # MPEG 2 PS VOB file on stdin -> descrambled output on stdout
>> # arguments: title key bytes in least to most-significant order
>> $_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$c=142;if((@a=unx"C*",$_)[20]&48){$h=5;
>> $_=unxb24,join"", at b=map{xB8,unxb8,chr($_^$a[--$h+84])}@ARGV;s/...$/1$&/;$d=
>> unxV,xb25,$_;$b=73;$e=256|(ord$b[4])<<9|ord$b[3];$d=$d>>8^($f=($t=255)&($d
>>>> 12^$d>>4^$d^$d/8))<<17,$e=$e>>8^($t&($g=($q=$e>>14&7^$e)^$q*8^$q<<6))<<9
>> ,$_=(map{$_%16or$t^=$c^=($m=(11,10,116,100,11,122,20,100)[$_/16%8])&110;$t
>> ^=(72, at z=(64,72,$a^=12*($_%16-2?0:$m&17)),$b^=$_%64?12:0, at z)[$_%8]}(16..271))
>> [$_]^(($h>>=8)+=$f+(~$g&$t))for at a[128..$#a]}print+x"C*", at a}';s/x/pack+/g;eval
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> free-sklyarov mailing list
>> free-sklyarov at zork.net
>> http://zork.net/mailman/listinfo/free-sklyarov
>> 
-- 
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