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Sklyarov Clarifies Circumstances of Release, Testimony 280

Posted by timothy from the build-a-bridge-out-of-'im dept.
*ZiggyP0P* writes: "We remember hearing how Dmitry was let off and released (so he can finally go home) but how he had to cooperate with the government in the prosecution of his employer as a plea bargain. Turns out that this was all a lie by the Justice Dept. Skylarov has released his own statements which explain what exactly happened. He has entered into no legal plea bargain and he is still employed by Elcomsoft (even though the justice dept called him his former employer)."
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Sklyarov Clarifies Circumstances of Release, Testimony More

Sklyarov Clarifies Circumstances of Release, Testimony

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  • What?! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Legion303 ( 97901 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:00PM (#2747963) Homepage
    The government lied? Stop the presses!

    I'm glad for the opportunity to see exactly where they lied, though. Thanks, Dmitry.

    -Legion

    • Re:What?! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by digitalunity ( 19107 ) <digitalunity @ y a h oo.com> on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:05PM (#2747980) Homepage
      Yes, the government often speaks out of the side of their mouths. However, this is blatant and obvious miscoduct.

      There should be some inquiry into this matter.

      • Re:What?! (Score:3, Funny)

        by Syberghost ( 10557 )
        Yes, the government often speaks out of the side of their mouths. However, this is blatant and obvious miscoduct.

        There should be some inquiry into this matter.

        Moderators: If you have to look up any of the terms I've used, don't moderate me. You're probably confused.

        So, if we don't know what "miscoduct" is, we can't moderate you? :-)
    • And this is the same government that wants to flaunt the constitution that gives it any sense of legitimacy?

      Give me one good reason why one should not take up arms against such a monstrous institution.

      Never mind... I can think of two:

      1) This was probably dreamed up by some power-hungry flunky and does not reflect on the government as a whole. As much as seeing myself write those words makes me want to retch, even the government deserves the benefit of the doubt.

      2) Taking the law into one's own hands is an act of vigilanteeism: never a good idea unless there is widespread support for one's position (and the mechanics and institutions of the supposed law corrupt).

      So, I exercise the restraint that all law abiding people do, but remain ever watchful. It is a painful lesson that one can't simultaneously love the principles of the constitution and the institution empowered to defend it.

      • So, I exercise the restraint that all law abiding people do, but remain ever watchful.

        I also exercize restraint. Part of that is because individual actions have a nasty way of hitting the wrong target (innocent bystanders tend to be the only people really hurt), Have a tendancy to mete out punishment greater than the crime, and in an environment where the government is primarily corrupt, they will simply spin the whole affair into more excuses to curtail citizen's rights.

        The fact is, this whole incident appears to be part of a pattern of abuses.If the system is incapable of preventing these abuses, and seems unwilling to discipline those responsable for them, then the system is itself corrupt.

        Note that by discipline, I do not mean some sort of meaningless document in a folder somewhere, I mean a criminal trial.

        Unfortunatly, the people ARE doing something about this, and their actions can only lead to violence. They are slowly but continually reducing their respect for the government, it's laws, and it's enforcement.

  • Backpedal! (Score:5, Funny)

    by chill ( 34294 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:01PM (#2747966) Journal
    Spin spin spin. It looks like the gov't is backpedaling fast and putting on spin in hopes it will all go away.

    "Cooperate" probably means he agreed to take their phone calls.

    Some junior D.A. probably wanted to make a career on a "big, bad, Russian hacker" and found out real life isn't like a Hollywood movie.

  • legal action (Score:4, Insightful)

    by blank_coil ( 543644 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:02PM (#2747968)
    Can he sue for being wrongfully imprisoned? I mean, he was jailed for 5 months, does he get some kind of reparation for his trouble?

    • No (Score:2)

      by autopr0n ( 534291 )
      He was in jail for a couple weeks. then they let him out on bail.
    • People have spent years on death row in this country and haven't been reimbursed one cent. Apparently when the justice system frames you, sends you to jail, ruins your life for ever they don't even owe you an apology.

      That's our society!

  • saving face (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ryusen ( 245792 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:05PM (#2747977) Homepage
    sounds to me like the gov't is just trying to cover what they finaly realised to be a big mistake on their part... now they need to make it look like they are going easy on him out of sympathy or his "cooperation."

    i also remember in another article (can't remember where), his employer even offered to stand trial in his stead if they released dimitry... i found that to be quite admirable myself

  • Defamation Charges (Score:5, Interesting)

    by bstadil ( 7110 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:05PM (#2747979) Homepage
    If the statement by Skylarov is indeed the "Fact" then he should have a very good case for Defamation charges against the US government. Hope they file this is a Russian court so any claims agains the company will have a local offset. The DOJ made a mistake but they can't admit to that. Anyone found it poetic Justice that Adobe was barred from selling InSIde due to Patent Infringements.

  • The Best Part.... (Score:4, Offtopic)

    by spongebob ( 227503 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:06PM (#2747982)
    Is how they are trying to use this crap to "teach" a lesson. Know your rights!!!!

    I think that Neo said it best:
    "How bout I give you the finger and you give me my phone call."

    I still think the biggest punk in the whole process is Adobe...they backed out of the process in order to save some face on thier own knowing full well it was too late to stop the prosecution. grrr....
  • Lying and withholding the truth are separated by a thin line - so what if the government lied? big deal and theres no Santa Claus - wait ask the govt. if theres one - maybe JD is holding him ? You never know ha? ~Atari2600
  • In a recent article in an English magazine 'Linux Format', it had a sort of guide to the dmca, what it meant etc, some of the things it went on about was that if Sklyarov was released, it could mean that the DMCA could be removed from US law, also being an infingement of the US's first amendment (freedom of speech)

    Mostly though, i think most people should be thinking, 'WHAT HAPPENS NOW'.

    What is the next direction for the goverment, and the anti-DMCA people (people with common sense) and where will this put the SSSCA.

  • Adobe's Strategy Backfires? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by GGardner ( 97375 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:07PM (#2747987)
    Before Dmitry was detained, who had heard of Elcomsoft? Apparently, they had sold very few copies of their software. Not that they'd asked for it, but now they've got more publicity than they could have paid for. I wonder if sales are picking up too? Could it be that Adobe's strategy has completely backfired?
    • Just because you had never heard of Elcomsoft does not mean that no one else had. They have been making very quality software for a long period of time now. Their Advanced Disk Catalog is well known by many people. Just because you had never heard of them does not mean that they were discovered the day that Dmitry was arrested.
    • That's interesting, I wasn't aware Adobe was pressing any charges. Seems I recall them withdrawing from the case, and it's not the DoJ's game.

      • Re:Adobe's Strategy Backfires? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by markj02 ( 544487 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @04:34PM (#2748162)
        The legal proceedings were started by the AG. What Adobe did is throw their weight around to get the AG to file charges against Sklyarov. Nor did Adobe "withdraw" or change their mind--they merely sent out a nice-sounding press release after the damage was done and there was nothing else for them to do. And Adobe's press release restates their position on copyright and the DMCA. Adobe hasn't gotten any nicer.
  • Is Russia an extridition treaty country (IANAL)?

    I was just wondering, when he goes back to Russia, and Dmitry and his employer decide that the USA has no legal authority over them, and the Russian government agrees, would he still come back to the USA for a trial?

    Seems like a viable option to me, if possible.

    Any ideas?

  • All a lie? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by anthony_dipierro ( 543308 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:08PM (#2747992) Journal

    Turns out that this was all a lie by the Justice Dept.

    What exactly was a lie? He did enter into an agreement. The government never said that he admitted guilt. Sure, they screwed up the employment status, but that is likely a minor oversight, not a lie. Much more minor than slashdot's "lie", saying that he agreed to testify against Elcomsoft.

    • The way the press release was phrased, though, implied some sort of capitulation by Skylarov, which is probably how a /. editor concluded that Skylarov agreed to testify against Elcomsoft.
      • Well they shouldn't have. Slashdot isn't run from some guy's bedroom anymore, if they want to consider themselves a serious news source they have to exercise some more scrutiny on the stories they post.
        • If you don't consider /. to be a serious news source, you can either a) take it at face value and enjoy it for what it gives you or b) watch Fox news like everyone else.

          • I like slashdot, and I think it would make it an excellent alternative news source, if they'd just put a little effort into it. Of course they're still head and shoulders above the Fox "News" channel.

          • b) watch Fox news like everyone else.

            It is a sad commentary of our society that Fox New is considered a serious news source. Fox News is nothing more than a PR firm for the Republican party. Further, they don't even try to hide their bias, they are openly condescending to anyone who does not agree with them.

      • There was some sort of capitulation by Sklyarov. He agreed to travel thousands of miles to appear at the trial. He agreed to regularly report by telephone to the U.S. govt. He acknowledged several key facts in the case against Elcomsoft.

        The press release was not misleading to those who read it through and did not have any preconceived notions. This is why several people corrected the slashdot article when it was first published.

        To say that he is going to testify "against" his employer seems to be a bit much. The various articles say that he will testify and that it is unsure which side will call him first. - tycun (Score 5)

    • Re:All a lie? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by edinho ( 145769 )

      Well, the guv'mint did say that Dmitry was a former employee of Elcomsoft, when Dmitry has been and still is employee by Elcomsoft. So they did lie in that aspect.

      However, the more important damage is done by spin doctoring. This is to create a "negative" image of Elcomsoft, by insinuating (inaccurately) that Dmitry has distanced himself from Elcomsoft and "cooperating" with the guv'mint.

      The rest of guv'mint press release is pretty much a spin, really saying nothing. Dmitry has always cooperated with the guv'mint, just by telling the truth. E.g., "Acknowledge his conduct in the offense". That's a spin. If a guy is apprehended for a crime. He is _not_ a criminal until proven to be so. Dmitry has _not_ been proven guilty in court. In fact, for this case, even the "offense" (crime) has not been proven in court. Nothing has been proven in court. In fact, the guv'mint dropped the case against Dmitry. Now, what does that say about the guv'mint's case? Perhas it's bunk?

      Dood, you got to recognize spin when you see one. It is really easy. Spin is everywhere. No, it is not conspiracy, spin is what people do when they want to protect themelves, gain an advantage, etc.


      e.

  • Link to FULL TEXT of Skylarov document (Score:5, Informative)

    by Seth Finkelstein ( 90154 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:14PM (#2748007) Homepage Journal
    It would be helpful for the discussion to be informed by

    The FULL TEXT of the document regarding Skylarov [usdoj.gov]

    Further, deponent sayeth not (at least in this message ...)

    Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org) [sethf.com]

    • Maybe missing the point (Score:3, Insightful)

      by bstadil ( 7110 )
      Maybe I am putting words in your mouth that you never meant but it seems to me that going back to the "Source" is not quite valid. The issue at hand is the perception that he had admitted "wrongdoing" that is perpetrated by the DOJ / Press release. We have seen again and again the government's refusal to protect its citizen, let alone a foreigner, from its own misconduct. This got to stop.
      • Maybe I am putting words in your mouth that you never meant but it seems to me that going back to the "Source" is not quite valid.
        On the contrary, I would argue that the primary source material [usdoj.gov] is the most valid and important document to examine. Otherwise, we are proceeding here from a reporter's excerpting and intepretation of press releases.

        Statements and press releases aren't legally binding. But the "Pretrial Diversion Agreement" (to give it the formal name) is a formal court document, binding on both parties.

        The issue at hand is the perception that he had admitted "wrongdoing" that is perpetrated by the DOJ / Press release.
        This is where things get slippery. The word "wrongdoing" does not appear in the DOJ press release [usdoj.gov]. Nor "misconduct". They talk about admitted his conduct and his conduct in the offense. I'm not a lawyer, so I don't want to get into this too much. But it seems the argument revolves around exactly what this signifies. But the above document at least lets us know exactly what was admitted and agreed on all sides.

        Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org) [sethf.com]

        • Statements and press releases aren't legally binding

          That was the point I was trying to make.
          Is there any doubt in your mind that the "impression" left with the public at large is that he did something wrong, repented his errors (Just using the word Conduct is enough for most people to consciously or sub-consciously adding "mis- " in front) , and now is ready to testify against the bigger evil name ElbrusSoft that was trying to "profit" from a crime.

          Don't think for one second the addition of Former Employee was a harmless mistake. It was done very deliberately and might I add very cleverly. These guys have lots of practice.

          As others have pointed out the DOJ realized that they had a good chance of blowing the DMCA on this one so they dropped the legal ball against Skylarov while using the subterfuge of a dishonest press release to keep the public opinion misinformed. I posted a comment about possible Defamation charges [slashdot.org] against DOJ, and I think that somewhat was on my mind when I commented on your posting. I am not arguing that you are wrong per se, just that the picture is a bit broader.
          • I'm interested in trying to figure out what this all means, rather than who is winning the PR battle of perception. The DOJ is presenting it one way. The defense, understandably, is presenting it another way. The import of the agreement seems to me something which is just too complex to sum up in a simple sound-bite. It's not formally a plea-bargain, as he didn't agree he was guilty. But the charges weren't dropped either, he could still go to trial if he was later ruled not to be in compliance with the arrangement (unlikely, perhaps, but conceivable).

            There so much politics and spin involved, it is very difficult to determine the truth. I got slightly burned somewhere else in being misperceived as critical of Dmitry, because I didn't think this was nearly as big a legal concession as many people seem to believe. I wish there were some commentary and analysis from independent criminal lawyers.

            As others have pointed out the DOJ realized that they had a good chance of blowing the DMCA ...
            I don't see this. I don't see it at all.

            Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org) [sethf.com]

  • Kudos to Elcomsoft (Score:5, Insightful)

    by r_j_prahad ( 309298 ) <r_j_prahad@NOSpAM.hotmail.com> on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:17PM (#2748014)
    Everytime I read yet another update to this semingly never-ending ordeal, one thing that remains constant is what a wonderful employer Elcomsoft must be to work for. They've stood by Dmitry's side beginning with day one, they're still hanging in there fighting for him, and their CEO even offered himself up in a bizarre "hostage exchange" scenario.

    I hope all of the employees of Adobe are truly embarrassed about this.
    • It would seem to make sense that the company that makes the illegal product would stand up for it--it's their revenue stream, Dmitri isn't the only one who has something to lose in this case.

      Scott
      • What illegal product? In most of the world it is not illegal, and it has yet to be found illegal even in the unilted states.

        /Janne

      • Re:Kudos to Elcomsoft (Score:4, Insightful)

        by arkanes ( 521690 ) <(arkanes) (at) (gmail.com)> on Monday December 24, 2001 @04:12PM (#2748115) Homepage
        You'd think someone who reads slashdot would know more about it, but lets make it perfectly clear - the product is not illegal in Russia. And having a CEO offer to take personal responsibilty for something when a subordinate has been blamed is pretty fucking unheard of ANYWHERE.

    • Shame on us (Score:5, Insightful)

      by volpe ( 58112 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @04:25PM (#2748135)

      I hope all of the employees of Adobe are truly embarrassed about this.


      I'm embarassed about this, because my government is making our country look like an ass.

    • I agree... it's good of Elcomsoft to step in. However, did Dmitry break US law by writing the code in question, or did Elcomsoft break US law by distributing the code?

      <ianal>

      The claim is presumably concerned with the distribution of a circumvention device, by the hosting of the application on a US server. If Dmitry merely wrote the application on his employer's equipment in Russia, then I can't see any way he could be guilty under US law.

      I can see a way that he could be seen to violate the license terms he must have accepted to be able to reverse engineer the format, but that's a civil charge.

      I'd say the alleged crime was to upload that program to the US server, thereby distributing a circumvention device in DMCA jurisdiction -- something his employer did. In which case, Elcomsoft are definitely responsible.

      [Okay, if Elcomsoft is a small company, it was probably him doing the uploading!]

      </ianal>

  • Challenge to DMCA (Score:3, Interesting)

    by sabinm ( 447146 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:30PM (#2748041) Homepage Journal
    This actually means two things

    1.Dimitry will not face any charges, nor will have a felony record.

    2.Since this is not a case of testifying against Elmsoft, this means that a challenge to the DMCA is still possible, with a legitimate corporation with relatively large coffers defending itself.

    So really, the tech-culture gets its day in court without any criminal reprecussions and we get a constitutional challenge to a very unconstitutional law.

    Way to go, DOJ, I knew you were on our side!
    • Dimitry will not face any charges, nor will have a felony record.

      Unfortunately, this isn't what this means. What the government has said they're doing is defering prosecution until a later date.

      They've said they'll considering dropping charges after a year or after ElcomSoft is tried, whichever comes later, only if he has met his "obligations". If he hasn't, they'll just place him back on trial in a year or whenever the ElcomSoft trial is finished, whichever is later. The wording of the government agreement seems vague enough that they could simply change their minds at that point, making up some "obligation" he didn't meet.

      The challenge to the DMCA is still possible but may not be able to go very far considering the fact that ElcomSoft is not a U.S. corporation. (At least I'm pretty sure they're not. Does anyone here know for sure?)

      There is still plenty of chance of criminal repercussions from all this. There will still be a trial against ElcomSoft and there could still be one against Dmitry as well with possible convictions coming from both.

  • Song for Skylarov (reprise) (Score:5, Funny)

    by kitts ( 545683 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @03:41PM (#2748058) Homepage
    Young man,
    there's no need to feel down
    Because your plane
    back home can't get off the ground
    I said young man,
    Get comfy in your new town
    There's no need to be unhappy.

    Young man,
    There's no place you can go
    I said young man,
    Until you cough up some dough
    You will stay here
    until you've served all your time
    For your insignificant crime.

    It's fun to stay in the U S of A,
    Because of that old grand D M C A
    For cracking DVD's,
    Or an e-book or three,
    You'll get jailed for eterniteeeee...

    It's fun to stay in the U S of A
    Because of that old grand D M C A
    For proving to the world
    That our encryption's a toy
    You'll get jailed with all the boyyyyyyys...
  • They might have let him go free, but did they zip his mouth and implant a tracker bug through his navel?

  • Another reason for civil disobedience (Score:4, Informative)

    by argoff ( 142580 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @04:13PM (#2748116)
    This proves two things:

    1) It must be obvious to everyone that the DMCA is unconstitutional

    2) DMCA type laws are never going to go away till we attack the root of the problem, copyrights

    Unless you think that we're going to conjure up a propaganda machine the size of the movie industry, or that the government will suddenly start protecting liberties again, civil disobedience is the only way to go.
  • I just think the media has their heads up their asses. There was some developement in the Skylarov case on the news the other day, and the reporter's referred to him as a "Bay Area man"! I guess he sort of his, seeing as how he's been living in California for a few months, but wouldn't it be more accurate to call him Russian?

  • wordsmithing (Score:3, Interesting)

    by nhavar ( 115351 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @05:09PM (#2748233) Homepage
    Notice that the original state statement mentions that he admitted to his "conduct" not "misconduct". Meaning that basically he admitted that he wrote a program that cracked the adobe file, not admitted that what he did was wrong. The second point is that he agreed to aid in the prosecution, well maybe he agreed to testify and the prosecution wants to use that testimony but that doesn't equate to him actually agreeing to "help/aid" the prosecution.

    personally I think that the government is going to jerk around until enough people forget about this. I think in hind sight they do not want this very high profile case to go to court, likewise none of the media companies want it there either. They want this law to sit on the books for awhile and become "accepted" before anyone tries to test it. I'm sure another year from now we'll here some snippet blurb saying that the govt and elcomsoft entered into a "Plea" agreement where elcomsoft agree's not to sell the product in the US in exchange for the small slap on the wrist or "deferred" sentencing. What a joke!

  • If absurd US laws are applicable in Russia... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by evilpaul13 ( 181626 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @05:15PM (#2748252)
    Why was Dmitry arrested? "His" program was under US Copyright Law a "work for hire", and therefore he never owned it in the first place.
  • Joe Burton says that the DOJ statement "is a cleverly crafted statement that promotes the notion that Dmitry admits wrongful conduct and has entered into a Plea Agreement with the U.S. Government."

    But the DOJ statement never uses the term "Plea Agreement", nor does it claim that Dmitri admitted to "wrongful" conduct.

    Dmitri claims that he is not cooperating with the government.

    But in the Diversion Agreement he agrees to testify if requested by the government in the case of United States v. Elcom Ltd., agrees that any statements he makes may be used against him in a prosecution for obstruction of justice or perjury, and waives most of his constitutional rights in exchange for a promise that he will not be prosecuted if he lives up to his end of the Agreement. Not cooperation?

    And ElcomSoft says that Dmitri's testimony can only be supportive to their case and they only want Dmitri to tell the truth.

    But of course, ElcomSoft is still a defendant facing criminal prosecution in this case, and criminal defendants always claim that when the true facts come out, they will be shown to be innocent.

    So once you cut through the spin that Dmitri, ElcomSoft and the EFF (none of whom are neutral, disinterested parties in this case) put on it, the only real undisputed inaccuracy in the DOJ statement is the bit about the "former" employer. Which is probably a misreading of Dmitri's statement in the Diversion Agreement that "continuing through July 15, 2001, [he] was employed by" ElcomSoft.

    Remember that PR works for both sides, folks.

    • Re:Who's spinning who? (Score:2, Informative)

      by edinho ( 145769 )

      Context: The U.S. Attorney came up with a spin that is making Dmitry look like a guilty person that is being let go in exchange of incriminating evidence against Elcomsoft.

      It is true that DOJ never uses the term Plea Agreement--that would be outright lie, and not a "mistake" like the "former employee" incident. What they did was to make it _sounds_ like ("promotes the notion") a plea agreement. And I totally agree with Burton on that one. What Joe Burton said was to counter that spin: that there was _no_ plea agreement, that it only sounded like a plea agreement. I don't see it as a spin, it was rather to counter what people (very likely) might conclude in a careless reading of the US Attorney press release.

      If you consider the counter as a spin, well, pretty much everything is a spin, maybe except for math.

      As for the "mistake" of "former employee", if the US Attorney can misread "continuing through July 15, [he] was employed by . . . Elcomsoft" as Dimtry is no longer an employee, well, the lawyer that wrote that press release must not be paying attention. Just imagine, a US Attorney lawyer persecuting such a high profile case, and don't even know if Dimitry still works for Elcomsoft. They must be either stupid, careless, or purposefully misleading.

      Also, Dimitry's statement of "not cooperating with the government" should be taken in two context:

      • To counter the misconception that the implication of "cooperation" means to say things in favor of US Attorney that will make Elcomsoft look bad. I.e., to spin against Elcomsoft.
      • The very next line he says that he will only tell the truth, and I would gather that that's is what he meant by "cooperating" with the US govt., and he did sign the agreement saying that he _will_ cooperate with the government.

      From my reading of the various press releases, and the history of the case as recorded in places like slashdot (the paragon of unerring reporting :-), the aggression and the spin is being done by Adobe/govt. The defendents has been behaving in a very honorable manner: no ratting, no firing, no disavowal. If the press releases from the defendents are considered as spin, then there is not much under the sun that cannot be classified as spin.

      Cheers,
      e.

    • and waives most of his constitutional rights in exchange for a promise

      And this is the argument *for* the former democracy USA? If I was scared sh*tless in a foreign country I would sign anything.

      Phillip.
  • Well, I hate to pay myself on the back but I called this one THREE MONTHS ago.

    I predicted that he would be let go without a trial, and here is my original comment from the September slashdot thread:

    http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=22120&cid=2371 611

    (there's not supposed to be a space between the 1 and the 6)

    Saw it coming.

    Rich...

  • I'm sick of this! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Sj0 ( 472011 ) on Monday December 24, 2001 @11:50PM (#2748780) Journal
    You americans should be sick of your governments behaviour. Lying? Urging the people not to question their government? Regular people being harrased for just that thing by the Secret Service and FBI? You my freinds are living in a totalinarian police state. Enjoy living in 1984 for the rest of your life. Personally, I never cared for being forced by the government to think their way and being threatened by a federal agency to do so or "you are in line with the terrorists", but I'm in a country which is still required by law to allow it's people to question government. I'm in a country where satire against the government(and corporations) is still allowed. I'm in a country where the person who gets the most votes in an election is the winner. In short, I don't live in the USA.

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