Adobe's Teeth. (Was: Re: [free-sklyarov] Re: Rallies on Monday)

[Black Unicorn]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Subcommander Bob" <bob at black.org>
To: <cypherpunks at cyberpass.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2001 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: [free-sklyarov] Re: Rallies on Monday

Black Unicorn Scribed:

> >> > > Adobe- owing to the kidnapping of its big wig some time ago- is
> >> > >very  paranoid.
> >> > >
> >> > > Please be aware and be cautious as they may be prone to overreact
> >> > > to taunting.
> >> > >
> >> > > (Do not taunt happy-fun-acrobat).

Someone answered:

> >> > This looks like a joke.  If so, it is really hilarious, but
> >> > otherwise sorry.

I replied:

> >> Unfortunately it's not.

> At 10:03 AM 7/21/01 -0700, Morlock Elloi replied:

> >So Adobe thugs will pour out of the building sprayng crowd with
> >machine-gun fire ? Corporate commandos will make arrests and
> >cart them to software sweatshops ?
> >
> >What exactly peaceful banner-carrying demonstrators on the public
> >grounds should be afraid of ?

Quite a lot actually.

This is why I like most cypherpunks.  They have the most charming naiveté
about the real world.  It's quaint.  I see it most often in their
propensity to argue to most obscure technical-legal points with the full
expectation that a judge isn't just going to say "that's specious
counselor, have any real arguments?"  I love hearing things like: "Well if
I just have the micromint transfer all its money to itself first then
that's legally a transaction, right?" or "I'm not transferring the e-gold
to the user, I'm transferring it to his key, so there are no taxes!" or
"Sorry your honor, I used key splitting to put the key in 4 jurisdictions
so I can't recover the critical financial data under subpoena.  Now you
have to send me home.  Hee hee!"

The second most frequent expression of this kind of sheltered thinking is
in the political-societal belief that there is no such thing as "street
justice" in the United States and that officers aren't prone to poke the
odd protestor with a nightstick in any country except Mexico or India or
the Middle East or some other far away and out of sight place.  "But this
is AMERICA!" or "But I'm an AMERICAN!"  Good morning.  How was your sleep?

I would be amused to see one of these cloistered techies in a real
encounter with police, who recognize that the best legal argument they have
on the street is a good whack to opposing counsel's head and that about the
most serious ramifications of this might be that the protestor gets off
scott free after 48 hours in holding with the gang bangers.

It's pretty easy to get arrested in a protest situation.  Life is
manifestly unfair to arrestees.  You decide what you want to do about it.

Adobe is a large and influential company in the Valley.  It may very well
be responsible for getting the Commissioner of Labor in California removed
from office simply because they disagreed with his ruling on forced
vacations for their employees.

Adobe's co-founder is easily spooked and Adobe has had it's run-ins with
violence before.  This event is well publicized and Adobe knows its coming.
Draw your own conclusions about how Adobe might prepare.  What would you do
in Adobe's place?  (I know you are suddenly tempted to come up with a witty
reply.  It's a rhetorical question, smartass).

Here is an article on the kidnapping of Adobe co-founder Chuck Geschke:

http://www.losaltosonline.com/latc/arch/9742/Exclusiv/1adobe/1adobe.html

An excerpt:
It was supposed to be a normal day at the office for Adobe Systems
president Charles "Chuck" Geschke when he pulled into the parking lot of
his Mountain View headquarters on May 26, 1992. Instead, his kidnapping at
gunpoint by two Arabic men began a five-day nightmare in which Geschke was
blindfolded and unaware of his location. His frantic family, in the
meantime, enlisted the help of the FBI in a search that was the biggest of
its kind since the kidnapping of Patti Hearst. Chuck's rescue was triggered
by daughter Kathy's drop-off of ransom money and her negotiations with the
captors. The news of the kidnapping made headlines all over the world. The
family, still, has not fully recovered from the emotional harm.

[...]

To this day, [Chuck] still has flashbacks when he drives into a parking lot
void of cars or people. And he has replayed his capture dozens of times,
both during and after captivity, questioning his decision to obey the armed
stranger.

The nightmares, which continue to this day, were just the start of a whole
new deck of fears the family had to deal with once they returned to Los
Altos after their month retreat. Chuck's insecurities about his safety
invaded all aspects of his life. The 6-foot, 1-inch, 220-pound Chuck now
scares easily.

"I see someone walking or parking in front of the house and I try to notice
if there is anything suspicious about it. I never, never had that feeling
ever in my life before. I've always been a very open person, never felt any
physical fear of any kind," he said.

end excerpt.

Following the kidnapping Adobe made such substantial changes to security
that employees jokingly, and not so jokingly, refer to it as "Fortress
Adobe" now.

I think you're going to have to decide if it's a wise idea to provoke these
people.  Peaceful protest is a good thing.  Still, be careful.  Mr. Geschke
and the FBI are awfully tight now.

> M.E. is too conservative.  Our psych-history-simulations reveal that
> you'will make a point by using the specific term "kidnapping", as in,
> Adobe Kidnapped Dmitri or Adobe Kidnaps Fair Use.

A clever and subtle tactic.  Exactly what I would expect from the more
clever cypherpunks.  (Even more clever to suggest its use to others, rather
than using it yourself).  Please use it carefully.  It might send entirely
the WRONG message.

Exercise your right to free speech.  Do it carefully.