[free-sklyarov] courses of action

[tack]

Hey all,

I was thinking that convincing our congresspersons through letters,
protests and petitions may fall on deaf ears.  After all, DMCA wasn't
passed in our best interests, who's to say that they care at all.

So I was thinking of some other forms of action and some interesting
applications of the ones we've been using.  I would like to put them out
there for discussion, should others think they're good ideas.  More in the
food for thought category.

1.  If the man will not listen to us, we should become the man.  Many
congresspersons run for reelection unopposed in their districts.  They
pretty much get reelected by default.  If you happen to be so inclined and
are in a position to run for US Congress, I reccomend doing so.  I'm sure
we can all help each other out.  Seeing the amount of effort put into the
Free Dmitry movement, we may have the resources for a fair shot.  At least
it will get the word out.  Imagine this issue going on every ballot in
your district.  Perhaps, if not in his district, we could ask for advice
from Rep. Boucher?

2.  Lets target the persons in question (Hatch, Feinstein, Hollings) and
start a fundraiser...maybe a-la linuxfund credit cards to act as a
war-chest to fund opposing candidates who are more sympathetic to civil
liberties.  Maybe "Fair Use Fund" cards.  At the very least, campaign ads
are a great way to get our message accross, even if not in support for a
candidate but to point out flaws of another.

3.  A lot of us are content creators/copyright holders.  If a judge, law
enforcement person or lawyer uses our content in the discharge of their
duties, and such use violates DMCA/SSSCA, we should be filing criminal
and/or civil complaints where applicable.  I think that should get the
point across rather nicely...we should especially be doing this to
members of the senate and congress.  We can use their law against them.

4.  A letter writing campaign urging President Bush to veto the SSSCA
should it come to him for approval, before the bill even hits the senate
floor.  This should also emphasize the impact it will have on the tech
sector, and how much extra it would take out of the budget.  More cost is
NOT something he wants right now.

5.  Protests at Disney stores to counter SSSCA.  "Mommy, why are those
people shouting"?  I think it's a grave enough law to mandate just up and
having a sit in, sans permits if that's the only way, in front of the
entry to the store.  Most peole don't even know who Adobe is or even care,
but they sure know what Disney is, and care.  This would be a prime venue
to distribute Stallman's "Right to read".

In any case, I'm putting these up as food for thought.  Broad spectrum
petitions, letter writing and protests are definitely a good idea.  My
idea is to supplement those initiatives with direct political opposition
to congresspersons who attempt this nature of law by opposing them in
election with both political and media campaigns coupled with giving
Disney the treatment we gave Adobe.  Both at their stores, and large scale
protests at their parks (IE...sit in at their gates to DOS the park.
That ought to hit them squarely in the pocketbook).

I don't know about everybodies ability or inclination to take part in
these actions, but I thought I'd pit them out in the open for discussion
to see if we can add a bit of bite to our bark.

tack

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