Subj : Re: How much should I charge for fixed-price software contract? To : comp.programming From : Randy Howard Date : Sun Aug 21 2005 11:34 pm Richard Heathfield wrote (in article ): >> It seems that you really, really, really, really, really, really >> take this seriously. > > Oh yes. If anyone were thinking of traveling to the USA, I'd advise them > against it, on the grounds that they might - just might - get arrested. Millions visit each year. You can name /one/ example of someone having this problem. I think the risk is lower than the risk of having the airplane crash into a tall building while making the journey, by several orders of magnitude. However, flail away at tilting those windmills, they do so enjoy the attention. >> I don't see grain sanctions against russia or any other >> country for someone being arrested (even falsely) for >> potentially breaking a law. > > Ah, you still don't understand. No law was broken. Not even the silly DMCA > law. I know you understand, but fail to make it clear in your comments, that people are arrested on suspicion of breaking the law. They are convicted AFTER the arrest in civilized countries if they are guilty and released otherwise. > But even if it had been (which it wasn't), it's stupid to consider it > a jailing matter. When the police suspect you in the commission of a crime, you get arrested. That's the way it works. You may or may not make bail, but you will be arrested. The DA then may attempt to obtain an indictment, then decides whether or not to take you to trial, or arranges a plea bargain, etc. It is not up to the police to decide the punishment. >> More importantly, nobody in the US >> would know about it in the first place, since Russia would have >> made sure nobody talked about it, free speech not being such a >> common entity around the globe as one might hope. > > So your relatives wouldn't notice you were missing, then? :-) They might report me missing, unless I had planned to stay abroad for a long time period (and I wouldn't expect to be in communication very often in Russia anyway). How they could address it is an open question. I don't suppose they would know where to begin, and the US state department has a lot bigger things to worry about these days than a missing programmer somewhere in Russia. >>> The Navy is on full alert, >>> and the Pentagon is watching developments with care." >> >> Even less likely. They wouldn't go to war unless Russia >> kidnapped the blonde-headed braindead daughter of some >> trailer-park queenie and shipped her in a box to Aruba. Nothing >> but children is important to the US anymore. Luckily, there are >> more than enough of them to occupy their attention. > > I think you do your country a disservice. I suspect that they would be > quick, at the very least, to lodge a complaint and expect your imminent > release. The government would probably do so if they knew what had happened. The general population cares almost nothing about foreign news, unless it involves a female, preferably a female minor. I know this because we get almost zero reporting on international events that do not involve dead soldiers in Iraq, oil prices, or missing girls. >>> But because it's >>> Americans doing it, it seems to be okay to some Americans. That's called >>> "special pleading". >> >> No, we simply understand that mistakes are made. The mistake >> you are upset about was corrected, perhaps too slowly in your >> opinion, but it was. > > Was it? Was Elcomsoft compensated for their lost time? Here's a little hint from your uncle Randy, if you are arrested for suspicion of a crime, and found not guilty, you (and your employer) are /not/ compensated for lost time. The good news is that it is possible to be found not guilty after being arrested, a luxury not afforded in many countries even today. >> I would expect the British people understand that pretty well >> after shooting an innocent person quite famously just recently. >> I would claim that was a more egregious example than yours, or >> the actual event with DS. > > The British people didn't shoot anyone, any more than the US people > imprisoned Dmitri Sklyarov. Semantics aside (it is government for and by the people, at least over here), you know what I mean. > One police officer murdered an innocent man on > a Tube train while others assisted by holding the guy down. It would appear so, but we get so little real news reporting anymore, I don't pretend to possess even 5% of the true facts in the matter. > a full independent public inquiry into the incident should be conducted. To accomplish what worthy goal? Such "independent inquiries" are just feel-good politics to smooth over the mob. > I also hope the guy who arrested Sklyarov is punished, and that Sklyarov and > Elcomsoft receive full compensation for their inconvenience, expense, and > loss of liberty. Keep holding your breath. >>> Yep. Like the frog who can't tell that he's being boiled alive, provided >>> you raise the temperature slowly enough. >> >> I almost mentioned that originally, but wasn't sure if it was in >> general use world-wide, or just something that I had heard >> somewhere that was only heard of in parts of the US. > > It may, or may not, be an urban myth. Perhaps Snopes will know. But whether > it is or not, it remains a graphic analogy for what's happening in the > "free" world at present. It is often used as an analogy for how the US population is more than willing to let government power grow for all intents and purposes in an unbounded fashion, as long as the slope of the growth stays below some mystical threshold. It's probably true everywhere. Governments get overthrown when they try to steal power (and usually money) too rapidly, but when they do it methodically, it usually continues unabated until the economy collapses. I suspect that is where the US, and perhaps the EU as well is currently headed. -- Randy Howard (2reply remove FOOBAR) .