12 ms·

A pound of flesh: how Cisco's "unmitigated gall" derailed one man's life

467 points by diogenescynic 15y ago

Create 15y ago
Earnest urged a lawsuit and even raised the idea of criminal charges against Bosack. He e-mailed colleagues: "The fundamental problem is: how do you negotiate an equitable agreement with crooks?" "1985-88 Back at Stanford as associate chair of Computer Science and also involved in parallel processing research, I discovered that the founder of Cisco Systems, who I was supervising, was selling Stanford technology. I prepared for legal action and induced him to resign but later discovered that the Stanford administration avoids suing corporations whenever possible, thinking of them as potential donors. After a couple of years, during which Cisco illicitly made millions, Stanford gave them a sweetheart licensing deal. A few years later I ran across an endowed chair at Stanford in the name of the chief crook and funded by Cisco. There was additional dirt beneath the surface of these transactions but that story will have to wait till later." -- http://www.stanford.edu/~learnest/net.htm http://www.stanford.edu/~learnest/net.htm https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Hewlett-Packard_spying_scandal https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Hewlett-Packa...
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- jerf 15y ago
  That's an utterly nonsensical argument. People aren't allowed to do whatever they want either. Less sniping, more thinking, please.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - scarmig 15y ago
    People aren't allowed to do whatever they want. Unless the person is a corporation. In which case it becomes a cost-benefit analysis.
    - jerf 15y ago
      The message I was replying to wasn't saying that. It was taking a snipe at free marketers by [sarcastically] claiming it's OK for a corp to do whatever it wants, just like people. It was just straight up a stupid statement. Something like your statement I wouldn't have blinked at. A libertarian I may be, but I think I could stand to see some corporate veil-piercing over this. Corporations shouldn't have the power to destroy your personal life over what amounted to a business scuffle. (The little-l in my libertarianism is because I don't believe in laissez-faire capitalism, but in something more like curated or harnessed capitalism, regulations designed to maximize the good of the market while muting the bad. This may sound self-evident when I pitch it my way, but very little regulation is actually written that way; usually the real purpose of a given regulation, as demonstrated by actions, is something else.)
      - deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]
kwantam 15y ago
Unfortunately, there is nothing that will prevent Cisco from doing this again in the future. They didn't get the result they wanted, but in all likelihood they aren't going to see any further rebuke for this ridiculous perversion of justice. At the end of the day, someone at Cisco made the decision to try and completely ruin this guy's life. My sense of justice tells me that person should face criminal liability for his actions. My sense of cynicism tells me he'll get promoted instead.
- Dove 15y ago
  I like the old testament standard: (Deut 19:16-19) If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. I think that should be the normal response to malicious use of the legal system.
  - wnight 15y ago
    500 years, each, in prison for all who knew of it? Lovely. Unfortunately it wouldn't come with its own Kafkaesque implementation and thus wouldn't be half as frustrating as watching your company die while imprisoned half a world away from home, facing obvious yet insidious institutional corruption, and thus wouldn't match the distress they caused.
- khafra 15y ago
  The economic reason to be a nation of laws instead of powerful men is that the more predictable the system is, the less deadweight losses go into making sure you don't run afoul of it. I worry that as the judicial system becomes more and more capricious and exploitable by moneyed interests, new market entrants without the funds for a huge battery of lawyers will not be new market entrants for long.
- Duff 15y ago
  Cisco at least had a vested interest in getting a result. So the Cisco decision maker was unethical, but perhaps not committing a criminal act by normal standards. (Although I'm sure an aggressive prosecutor could find a charge.) I'm more disgusted by whomever at the US Department of Justice allowed this farce to go on. As a citizen, I think the my government should act in a certain way that reflects well on our nation. In this case, the Canadian judge found that the US government basically bamboozled the Canadian government, and did so by manipulating facts in way that can be fairly categorized as disingenuous. That's no way to treat a friend, neighbor and ally. That's just sad.
smhinsey 15y ago
This is part of a pretty disturbing general trend of large corporations using the criminal justice system as if it were an extension of themselves. I honestly don't see how anyone at Cisco who signed off on this sleeps at night.
- yardie 15y ago
  I'm sure whoever signed off on it probably assuages themself with money, hookers, and blow.
  - smhinsey 15y ago
    A winning long term strategy, to be sure.
- brazzy 15y ago
  It's not so much a "trend" as a "tradition". Wherever a formal system of justice exists, it is invariably used to some degree by those in power to do their bidding. After all, it decisions and actions are still those of fallible (and bribable) humans.
- buff-a 15y ago
  It is an extension of themselves. Any process that involves elections in the US is now basically corrupt and open to the highest bidder. They sleep by telling themselves that the "enemy" is doing it too, and how they wish the world wasn't this way, but being a pussy about it isn't realistic and so why shouldn't I make a living. Same logic that says if I don't shove this Jew on the train, they might be shoving me on it.
absconditus 15y ago
This and the News Corp. situation seem like real-life examples of what goes on in the show Damages.
t413 15y ago
Human depravity at its best.
Shenglong 15y ago
It seems to me Ronald McKinnon was one of the only sensible authorities in this entire ordeal. I can't believe someone didn't hit the reality check button earlier. With that being said, I'm not defending him breaking into Cisco's system, and I think the entire act of doing so should lead to actions against him (but not so extreme). Rather than criminal action, I would've thought an injunction, or something to that effect, would've been more appropriate.
- ChuckMcM 15y ago
  Yes, and while the behavior of Cisco was reprehensible there is also a requirement that the judiciary be a bit more skeptical when the government is so imprecise in their claims. It would be a good thing if Canada imposed stricter evidentiary standards to extradition as a result of this.
meow 15y ago
Now any future litigant will think twice before tackling Cisco. I'm sure they consider that part a win, even if they had to finally settle.
- poutine 15y ago
  Perhaps we should be thinking twice about buying Cisco products and rewarding such an apparently unethical company.
  - rbanffy 15y ago
    Sadly, people usually buy not from the most ethical manufacturer, but from the cheapest.
    - ScottBurson 15y ago
      Linksys, which is the Cisco consumer/small-business brand, is rarely if ever the cheapest. So in this case, ethics and self-interest may coincide. -- At least, as long as we know nothing about the other manufacturers.
    - riobard 15y ago
      Cisco is hardly the cheapest manufacture, right?
      - rbanffy 15y ago
        It's not only sticker price that counts. Maintenance, expected lifespan, expandability, training, financing, familiarity of your sysadmins... Actually, I was quite naïve in my OP. Networking equipment and software selection is rarely conducted by people who can understand what they are doing. The person who makes the sale usually ends up being the one who wined and dined the most high-ranking exec in the client.
_delirium 15y ago
It might be worth contacting members of Cisco's board of directors to inquire whether they plan to do something to avoid this kind of illicit behavior in the future. A board of directors doesn't manage day-to-day affairs, but is ultimately responsible for high-level oversight. The Cisco board of directors includes a number of people with generally solid reputations (including the president of Stanford University) who ought to be shocked if a company under their watch has engaged in this sort of behavior. Here is a list, though you'll have to search elsewhere for contact information: http://investor.cisco.com/directors.cfm http://investor.cisco.com/directors.cfm Alternatively/additionally, many of us have occasion to do business with Cisco now and then, and if you currently do, you might mention a concern to your local Cisco office/representative.
- jswinghammer 15y ago
  These days they'd be more concerned if people on this site refused to work for them and passed this story around to friends who would avoid it as well.
- jseliger 15y ago
  Around the time I wrote this post on the death of Flip: http://jseliger.com/2011/05/08/will-we-ever-find-out-what-happened-to-flip-video/ http://jseliger.com/2011/05/08/will-we-ever-find-out-what-ha... , I post John Chambers' business address on the Save Flip Facebook Group's wall. If you'd like it for more serious purposes now: John Chambers Building 10 300 E Tasman Drive San Jose, California 95134
RegEx 15y ago
I always assumed that court rulings were cryptic and overloaded with legal jargon, so I never attempted to read them. However, the ruling provided was very easy to read and just as informative as the article. (Link to the ruling: http://www.multiven.com/media/news/pdfs/USAvsAdekeye-BC_Canada_Supreme_Court_Ruling-May_31_2011.pdf http://www.multiven.com/media/news/pdfs/USAvsAdekeye-BC_Cana...)
- afterburner 15y ago
  Thanks! Some nice gems in there: "This seems to be the start of a series of misadventures that could only be the subject of a Joseph Heller novel" and "I accept, as well, that not only was the issuing judge and the bail judge misled, but Canada as well"
evilswan 15y ago
I've never really followed Cisco before, but this story has really tainted my view of them. I'll think twice next time I see the Cisco logo on something.
kenjackson 15y ago
I was just thinking of buying some Cisco routers (low-end for them -- I'm sure it's a drop in the bucket for them), but I'm definitely not going to now. This image of Cisco will be hard for me shake.
sutro 15y ago
Well done, Ars Technica - the best tech journalism in the business.
anigbrowl 15y ago
You might want to read the filings in the civil case (http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2008cv05391/209307/ http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2008cv0...) and poke around Mr Adekeye's websites before taking everything in this story at face value. There's a lot left out, and the reporter's backgrounder on page 2 is simply cut'n'pasted from Adekeye's own bio at http://www.multiven.com/about http://www.multiven.com/about The Vancouver Sun, whose reporter wrote this story for Ars, strikes me as a rather sensationalist paper. YMMV.
- abcd_f 15y ago
  FWIW The Vancouver Sun is a reputable newspaper by reasonable ethical and reporting standards. They do lack an interesting material to write about now and then, but then which newspaper does not.
grellas 15y ago
The win-at-any-cost mindset of modern litigating is here on display at its very worst: 1. Disregard truth when it gets in the way of the advantage you seek to attain with the aid of law. 2. Say whatever it takes to get judges to go your way, even if you not only omit important facts in making your petition but also affirmatively misstate whatever inconvenient fact gets in your way. 3. Disregard your duty as a prosecutor - which ultimately is to ensure that justice is done even as you pursue alleged criminal wrongdoing - and place the formidable powers of your office at the disposal of a private civil litigant with whom you want to cozy up. 4. Don't give a second thought to wasting the legal and judicial resources of two governments to help put on a charade that is wholly unnecessary to any legitimate goal of the legal system but that serves the interest of a private litigant only. 5. And, perhaps worst of all, don't hesitate to misuse the law to try to ruin the life of an innocent man in order to protect the market dominance you once had but now see as slipping to the point where it can be upheld only by resort to vicious legal tactics aimed at crushing potential competitors. One recoils at the thought of it and can only wonder who within Cisco would have countenanced it all.
- jbert 15y ago
  > One recoils at the thought of it and can only wonder who within Cisco would have countenanced it all. That's the thing. "Cisco" would be hard to hold accountable. But people made those decisions. Was the law broken (false testimony == perjury? barratry?) If so, it was broken by people. Hold people accountable and you'll see less abuse.
  - Create 15y ago
    The documentary shows the development of the contemporary business corporation, from a legal entity that originated as a government-chartered institution meant to effect specific public functions, to the rise of the modern commercial institution entitled to most of the legal rights of a person. One theme is its assessment as a "personality", as a result of an 1886 case in the United States Supreme Court in which a statement by Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite[nb 1] led to corporations as "persons" having the same rights as human beings, based on the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The film's assessment is effected via the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV; Robert Hare, a University of British Columbia psychology professor and a consultant to the FBI, compares the profile of the contemporary profitable business corporation to that of a clinically-diagnosed psychopath. The documentary concentrates mostly upon North American corporations, especially those of the United States. The film is in vignettes examining and criticizing corporate business practices. It establishes parallels between the way corporations are systematically compelled to behave and the DSM-IV's symptoms of psychopathy, i.e. callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain human relationships, reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness (continual lying to deceive for profit), the incapacity to experience guilt, and the failure to conform to social norms and respect for the law. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Corporation https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Corporati...
davidjhall 15y ago
Cisco has proven itself an evil company. In other recent news, Cisco promised to create jobs for a "tax holiday" and instead, is laying off employees: http://www.googlemonopoly.eu/index.php/2011/07/19/cisco-wants-tax-repatriation-holiday-will-create-jobs-but-now-massive-laying-off-employees/ http://www.googlemonopoly.eu/index.php/2011/07/19/cisco-want...
sliverstorm 15y ago
You can be arrested in the middle of a court testimony? That just doesn't make sense.
- Symmetry 15y ago
  Canadian police aren't required to respect non-Canadian judicial proceedings in Canada - though they really ought to have in this case.
forgotAgain 15y ago
As a US citizen I've found it hard to accept the idea that the US justice system is a thing of the past. At the end of the day though an endless string of examples is proving the fact to be undeniable.
hariis 15y ago
I was told by my financial advisor to buy CSCO because of its sound fundamentals, BUT after this, I will stay away from them, it is the least I can do.
roschdal 15y ago
Boycotting Cisco.
buff-a 15y ago
In no way am I excusing what was done to this guy, but when will people learn that accessing a computer without permission has anything other than serious consequences. As far as the law is concerned, he might as well have raped the CEO's wife. No - the damage done is not remotely equivalent, and yet the criminal penalties are the same.
- anonymousDan 15y ago
  But he had an employee's permission.
twilsndfdf 15y ago
This guy has the most ridiculous set of balls. The audacity is just out of this world. To suggest that Cisco "derailed one man's life" is not doing him justice at all. Rather the opposite - one man derailed a massive company's plans for dominating its industry. The really amazing thing is that he is alive at all, given the amount of money Cisco isn't going to have going forward.
naeem 15y ago
Peg me down as sickened to the core. I've given up complaining about corporate influence. I don't even know why they bother putting up a farse anymore, they may as well just cut the crap and come out and say: we will destroy you if it stretches our margins in any way.
losethos 15y ago
God says, "are_you_deaf do_you_want_another on_the_otherhand off_the_record SupremerCourt Bam basket_case Mom glam imports how_about_a_comic atrocious liberal no_way_dude resume crazy joke joyful qed merry_christmas look_buddy Jesus crazy "

467 points by diogenescynic 15y ago

Earnest urged a lawsuit and even raised the idea of criminal charges against Bosack. He e-mailed colleagues: "The fundamental problem is: how do you negotiate an equitable agreement with crooks?" "1985-88 Back at Stanford as associate chair of Computer Science and also involved in parallel processing research, I discovered that the founder of Cisco Systems, who I was supervising, was selling Stanford technology. I prepared for legal action and induced him to resign but later discovered that the Stanford administration avoids suing corporations whenever possible, thinking of them as potential donors. After a couple of years, during which Cisco illicitly made millions, Stanford gave them a sweetheart licensing deal. A few years later I ran across an endowed chair at Stanford in the name of the chief crook and funded by Cisco. There was additional dirt beneath the surface of these transactions but that story will have to wait till later." -- http://www.stanford.edu/~learnest/net.htm http://www.stanford.edu/~learnest/net.htm https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Hewlett-Packard_spying_scandal https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Hewlett-Packa...

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

jerf 15y ago
That's an utterly nonsensical argument. People aren't allowed to do whatever they want either. Less sniping, more thinking, please.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- scarmig 15y ago
  People aren't allowed to do whatever they want. Unless the person is a corporation. In which case it becomes a cost-benefit analysis.
  - jerf 15y ago
    The message I was replying to wasn't saying that. It was taking a snipe at free marketers by [sarcastically] claiming it's OK for a corp to do whatever it wants, just like people. It was just straight up a stupid statement. Something like your statement I wouldn't have blinked at. A libertarian I may be, but I think I could stand to see some corporate veil-piercing over this. Corporations shouldn't have the power to destroy your personal life over what amounted to a business scuffle. (The little-l in my libertarianism is because I don't believe in laissez-faire capitalism, but in something more like curated or harnessed capitalism, regulations designed to maximize the good of the market while muting the bad. This may sound self-evident when I pitch it my way, but very little regulation is actually written that way; usually the real purpose of a given regulation, as demonstrated by actions, is something else.)
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]

kwantam 15y ago

Unfortunately, there is nothing that will prevent Cisco from doing this again in the future. They didn't get the result they wanted, but in all likelihood they aren't going to see any further rebuke for this ridiculous perversion of justice. At the end of the day, someone at Cisco made the decision to try and completely ruin this guy's life. My sense of justice tells me that person should face criminal liability for his actions. My sense of cynicism tells me he'll get promoted instead.

Dove 15y ago
I like the old testament standard: (Deut 19:16-19) If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. I think that should be the normal response to malicious use of the legal system.
- wnight 15y ago
  500 years, each, in prison for all who knew of it? Lovely. Unfortunately it wouldn't come with its own Kafkaesque implementation and thus wouldn't be half as frustrating as watching your company die while imprisoned half a world away from home, facing obvious yet insidious institutional corruption, and thus wouldn't match the distress they caused.
khafra 15y ago
The economic reason to be a nation of laws instead of powerful men is that the more predictable the system is, the less deadweight losses go into making sure you don't run afoul of it. I worry that as the judicial system becomes more and more capricious and exploitable by moneyed interests, new market entrants without the funds for a huge battery of lawyers will not be new market entrants for long.
Duff 15y ago
Cisco at least had a vested interest in getting a result. So the Cisco decision maker was unethical, but perhaps not committing a criminal act by normal standards. (Although I'm sure an aggressive prosecutor could find a charge.) I'm more disgusted by whomever at the US Department of Justice allowed this farce to go on. As a citizen, I think the my government should act in a certain way that reflects well on our nation. In this case, the Canadian judge found that the US government basically bamboozled the Canadian government, and did so by manipulating facts in way that can be fairly categorized as disingenuous. That's no way to treat a friend, neighbor and ally. That's just sad.

smhinsey 15y ago

This is part of a pretty disturbing general trend of large corporations using the criminal justice system as if it were an extension of themselves. I honestly don't see how anyone at Cisco who signed off on this sleeps at night.

yardie 15y ago
I'm sure whoever signed off on it probably assuages themself with money, hookers, and blow.
- smhinsey 15y ago
  A winning long term strategy, to be sure.
brazzy 15y ago
It's not so much a "trend" as a "tradition". Wherever a formal system of justice exists, it is invariably used to some degree by those in power to do their bidding. After all, it decisions and actions are still those of fallible (and bribable) humans.
buff-a 15y ago
It is an extension of themselves. Any process that involves elections in the US is now basically corrupt and open to the highest bidder. They sleep by telling themselves that the "enemy" is doing it too, and how they wish the world wasn't this way, but being a pussy about it isn't realistic and so why shouldn't I make a living. Same logic that says if I don't shove this Jew on the train, they might be shoving me on it.

absconditus 15y ago

This and the News Corp. situation seem like real-life examples of what goes on in the show Damages.

t413 15y ago

Human depravity at its best.

Shenglong 15y ago

It seems to me Ronald McKinnon was one of the only sensible authorities in this entire ordeal. I can't believe someone didn't hit the reality check button earlier. With that being said, I'm not defending him breaking into Cisco's system, and I think the entire act of doing so should lead to actions against him (but not so extreme). Rather than criminal action, I would've thought an injunction, or something to that effect, would've been more appropriate.

ChuckMcM 15y ago
Yes, and while the behavior of Cisco was reprehensible there is also a requirement that the judiciary be a bit more skeptical when the government is so imprecise in their claims. It would be a good thing if Canada imposed stricter evidentiary standards to extradition as a result of this.

meow 15y ago

Now any future litigant will think twice before tackling Cisco. I'm sure they consider that part a win, even if they had to finally settle.

poutine 15y ago
Perhaps we should be thinking twice about buying Cisco products and rewarding such an apparently unethical company.
- rbanffy 15y ago
  Sadly, people usually buy not from the most ethical manufacturer, but from the cheapest.
  - ScottBurson 15y ago
    Linksys, which is the Cisco consumer/small-business brand, is rarely if ever the cheapest. So in this case, ethics and self-interest may coincide. -- At least, as long as we know nothing about the other manufacturers.
  - riobard 15y ago
    Cisco is hardly the cheapest manufacture, right?
    - rbanffy 15y ago
      It's not only sticker price that counts. Maintenance, expected lifespan, expandability, training, financing, familiarity of your sysadmins... Actually, I was quite naïve in my OP. Networking equipment and software selection is rarely conducted by people who can understand what they are doing. The person who makes the sale usually ends up being the one who wined and dined the most high-ranking exec in the client.

_delirium 15y ago

It might be worth contacting members of Cisco's board of directors to inquire whether they plan to do something to avoid this kind of illicit behavior in the future. A board of directors doesn't manage day-to-day affairs, but is ultimately responsible for high-level oversight. The Cisco board of directors includes a number of people with generally solid reputations (including the president of Stanford University) who ought to be shocked if a company under their watch has engaged in this sort of behavior. Here is a list, though you'll have to search elsewhere for contact information: http://investor.cisco.com/directors.cfm http://investor.cisco.com/directors.cfm Alternatively/additionally, many of us have occasion to do business with Cisco now and then, and if you currently do, you might mention a concern to your local Cisco office/representative.

jswinghammer 15y ago
These days they'd be more concerned if people on this site refused to work for them and passed this story around to friends who would avoid it as well.
jseliger 15y ago
Around the time I wrote this post on the death of Flip: http://jseliger.com/2011/05/08/will-we-ever-find-out-what-happened-to-flip-video/ http://jseliger.com/2011/05/08/will-we-ever-find-out-what-ha... , I post John Chambers' business address on the Save Flip Facebook Group's wall. If you'd like it for more serious purposes now: John Chambers Building 10 300 E Tasman Drive San Jose, California 95134

RegEx 15y ago

I always assumed that court rulings were cryptic and overloaded with legal jargon, so I never attempted to read them. However, the ruling provided was very easy to read and just as informative as the article. (Link to the ruling: http://www.multiven.com/media/news/pdfs/USAvsAdekeye-BC_Canada_Supreme_Court_Ruling-May_31_2011.pdf http://www.multiven.com/media/news/pdfs/USAvsAdekeye-BC_Cana...)

afterburner 15y ago
Thanks! Some nice gems in there: "This seems to be the start of a series of misadventures that could only be the subject of a Joseph Heller novel" and "I accept, as well, that not only was the issuing judge and the bail judge misled, but Canada as well"

evilswan 15y ago

I've never really followed Cisco before, but this story has really tainted my view of them. I'll think twice next time I see the Cisco logo on something.

kenjackson 15y ago

I was just thinking of buying some Cisco routers (low-end for them -- I'm sure it's a drop in the bucket for them), but I'm definitely not going to now. This image of Cisco will be hard for me shake.

sutro 15y ago

Well done, Ars Technica - the best tech journalism in the business.

anigbrowl 15y ago

You might want to read the filings in the civil case (http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2008cv05391/209307/ http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2008cv0...) and poke around Mr Adekeye's websites before taking everything in this story at face value. There's a lot left out, and the reporter's backgrounder on page 2 is simply cut'n'pasted from Adekeye's own bio at http://www.multiven.com/about http://www.multiven.com/about The Vancouver Sun, whose reporter wrote this story for Ars, strikes me as a rather sensationalist paper. YMMV.

abcd_f 15y ago
FWIW The Vancouver Sun is a reputable newspaper by reasonable ethical and reporting standards. They do lack an interesting material to write about now and then, but then which newspaper does not.

grellas 15y ago

The win-at-any-cost mindset of modern litigating is here on display at its very worst: 1. Disregard truth when it gets in the way of the advantage you seek to attain with the aid of law. 2. Say whatever it takes to get judges to go your way, even if you not only omit important facts in making your petition but also affirmatively misstate whatever inconvenient fact gets in your way. 3. Disregard your duty as a prosecutor - which ultimately is to ensure that justice is done even as you pursue alleged criminal wrongdoing - and place the formidable powers of your office at the disposal of a private civil litigant with whom you want to cozy up. 4. Don't give a second thought to wasting the legal and judicial resources of two governments to help put on a charade that is wholly unnecessary to any legitimate goal of the legal system but that serves the interest of a private litigant only. 5. And, perhaps worst of all, don't hesitate to misuse the law to try to ruin the life of an innocent man in order to protect the market dominance you once had but now see as slipping to the point where it can be upheld only by resort to vicious legal tactics aimed at crushing potential competitors. One recoils at the thought of it and can only wonder who within Cisco would have countenanced it all.

jbert 15y ago
> One recoils at the thought of it and can only wonder who within Cisco would have countenanced it all. That's the thing. "Cisco" would be hard to hold accountable. But people made those decisions. Was the law broken (false testimony == perjury? barratry?) If so, it was broken by people. Hold people accountable and you'll see less abuse.
- Create 15y ago
  The documentary shows the development of the contemporary business corporation, from a legal entity that originated as a government-chartered institution meant to effect specific public functions, to the rise of the modern commercial institution entitled to most of the legal rights of a person. One theme is its assessment as a "personality", as a result of an 1886 case in the United States Supreme Court in which a statement by Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite[nb 1] led to corporations as "persons" having the same rights as human beings, based on the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The film's assessment is effected via the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV; Robert Hare, a University of British Columbia psychology professor and a consultant to the FBI, compares the profile of the contemporary profitable business corporation to that of a clinically-diagnosed psychopath. The documentary concentrates mostly upon North American corporations, especially those of the United States. The film is in vignettes examining and criticizing corporate business practices. It establishes parallels between the way corporations are systematically compelled to behave and the DSM-IV's symptoms of psychopathy, i.e. callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain human relationships, reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness (continual lying to deceive for profit), the incapacity to experience guilt, and the failure to conform to social norms and respect for the law. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Corporation https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Corporati...

davidjhall 15y ago

Cisco has proven itself an evil company. In other recent news, Cisco promised to create jobs for a "tax holiday" and instead, is laying off employees: http://www.googlemonopoly.eu/index.php/2011/07/19/cisco-wants-tax-repatriation-holiday-will-create-jobs-but-now-massive-laying-off-employees/ http://www.googlemonopoly.eu/index.php/2011/07/19/cisco-want...

sliverstorm 15y ago

You can be arrested in the middle of a court testimony? That just doesn't make sense.

Symmetry 15y ago
Canadian police aren't required to respect non-Canadian judicial proceedings in Canada - though they really ought to have in this case.

forgotAgain 15y ago

As a US citizen I've found it hard to accept the idea that the US justice system is a thing of the past. At the end of the day though an endless string of examples is proving the fact to be undeniable.

hariis 15y ago

I was told by my financial advisor to buy CSCO because of its sound fundamentals, BUT after this, I will stay away from them, it is the least I can do.

roschdal 15y ago

Boycotting Cisco.

buff-a 15y ago

In no way am I excusing what was done to this guy, but when will people learn that accessing a computer without permission has anything other than serious consequences. As far as the law is concerned, he might as well have raped the CEO's wife. No - the damage done is not remotely equivalent, and yet the criminal penalties are the same.

anonymousDan 15y ago
But he had an employee's permission.

twilsndfdf 15y ago

This guy has the most ridiculous set of balls. The audacity is just out of this world. To suggest that Cisco "derailed one man's life" is not doing him justice at all. Rather the opposite - one man derailed a massive company's plans for dominating its industry. The really amazing thing is that he is alive at all, given the amount of money Cisco isn't going to have going forward.

naeem 15y ago

Peg me down as sickened to the core. I've given up complaining about corporate influence. I don't even know why they bother putting up a farse anymore, they may as well just cut the crap and come out and say: we will destroy you if it stretches our margins in any way.

losethos 15y ago

God says, "are_you_deaf do_you_want_another on_the_otherhand off_the_record SupremerCourt Bam basket_case Mom glam imports how_about_a_comic atrocious liberal no_way_dude resume crazy joke joyful qed merry_christmas look_buddy Jesus crazy "