[ale] DMCA Protests

[Jonathan Rickman]

Note: This is not a smart-ass grammar critique. I'm just pointing out a
potential source of confusion/embarassment.

Please note that Zell Miller is a Senator and should be addressed as such if
this sample letter is used. Politicians tend to be kinda picky about that sort
of thing, behind closed doors.

That being said...this is an off topic rant.

This is the kind of thing that is never taken seriously enough. If we dont start
standing up for our rights and "educating" our representatives it will be too
late. Big business shows up in Washington and starts spouting off
sensational techno speak that turns our representatives into a bunch of drooling
idiots. It's not long before they begin swelling from all the smoke the
lobbyists blow up their tailpipes and they feel like they'll burst if they dont
do something to protect the citizens of this country from those dastardly eBook
crackers determined to take over the world.


First they came for the guy on the corner, and we said nothing.

Then they came for my neighbor, and we said nothing.

Then they came for my brother, and we said nothing.

Then they came for me...and there was noone left to say anything.

-- 
Jonathan Rickman
X Corps Security
http://www.xcorps.net

On Mon, 23 Jul 2001, Chris Woodruff wrote:

> I thought I would send this out to the ALE population.  There is a community
> declaration concerning the DMCA. Sign your name up and let the people in
> power know how you feel.  http://www.dibona.com/dmca/index.shtml
>
> I also wanted to send out the names and addresses of the people that
> represent us in Georgia.  I would strongly urge that we all write them each
> a snail mail letter (they do not really take email that seriously) and let
> our people in Washington know that the DMCA is not the solution to protect
> copyright holders.
>
> Here's the President's address:
>
> President George W. Bush
> The White House
> 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
> Washington, DC 20500-0001
>
> Your representative? The House maintains a site here where it will tell you
> who your rep is after you tell them what your state and ZIP code are. Don't
> know your ZIP+4 code is? Go to the USPS site and put your address in here to
> find out. After you find out who it is, their address is on their website.
>
> http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.htm
>
> Senators? The Senate's web site maintains a list of the addresses (and phone
> numbers) of all current Senators organized by state here
>
> http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm
>
> I have saved us Georgians some work and listed the names and addresses of
> our Senators below:
>
> Cleland, Max  (D - GA)
> 461 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
> WASHINGTON DC 20510
>
> Miller, Zell  (D - GA)
> 257 Dirksen Senate Office Building
> Washington DC 20510
>
>
>
> Below is a stock letter that can be used or modified as you choose.
>
> July 21, 2001
>
> The Honorable Zell Miller
> 257 Dirksen Senate Office Building
> Washington DC 20510
>
> Dear Congressman Miller,
>
> I am attempting to convey to you my concern about the Digital Millennium
> Copyright Act (DMCA). Recent events have deepened my concern, and as one of
> your voting constituents, I ask you to work towards the repeal of the DMCA.
>
> While I am fully in favor of creators retaining control over distribution of
> their works, the DMCA goes several steps further. The "anti-circumvention"
> provision restricts time-honored Fair Use rights of consumers, and
> essentially also destroys the First Sale doctrine. These, in and of
> themselves, could be considered a reason to work towards its repeal.
> However, the actual situation is much worse.
>
> (Any references given in this letter are World Wide Web links, I don't have
> access to the necessary hard copy.)
>
> The DMCA has had a chilling effect on academic research. Professor Edward
> Felten, a distinguished professor, who was also one of the lead witnesses
> for the Department of Justice in the Microsoft anti-trust trial, was
> recently prevented from delivering an academic paper on information hiding
> and watermarks (see http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/Felten_v_RIAA). This sort
> of chilling effect is precisely what the First Amendment is designed to
> prevent.
>
> Again, that would be sufficient to work towards overturning. Even worse,
> however, the criminal provisions of the DMCA have been invoked against a
> Russian national, Dmitry Sklyarov, who performed "anti-circumvention" work
> in Russia for his employer, where he broke no Russian law. He came to the US
> to deliver a speech about his work, and was arrested subsequent to that
> speech. This sets a dangerous precedent. What would the US government do, if
> a US citizen was arrested for violating foreign law, while the act was
> performed in the US where it was perfectly legal? Needless to say, the irony
> of this occurring to a Russian citizen is immense, and embarrassing to the
> United States.
>
> Here are some references to the Sklyarov case:
>
> http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45298,00 .html (Wired)
>
> http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2001/jul/18/512096646.htm
> l (Las Vegas Sun)
>
> http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010718/n17166094_2.html (Reuters)
>
> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nyt/20010718/tc/u_s_arrests_russian_cryptograph
> er_as_copyright_violator_1.html (New York Times)
>
> Congressman Miller, please help ordinary people by working to repeal this
> draconian law.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
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