Another Black day for internet freedom
If piracy is the seizure of things in transit that belong to someone else then the American government and the corporations for which they work are more piratical than some geeks making money from the internet without giving enough of a cut to the big boys. The State proxies of the Hollywood system seizing people for crimes against their commercial model they are attempting to impose on the world is the true conspiracy here.
A day after the SOPA/PIPA black-outs in protest at the US law restricting and making liable search engines who host copyrighted content the long arm of the American corporates reaches out into our domain and the NZ authorities, like the UK in the Richard O'Dwyer case are rolling over.
NZ Herald: An internet millionaire with New Zealand residency who founded one of the world's largest internet file-sharing sites has been arrested in Auckland.
Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and three others were arrested in New Zealand at the request of US officials.
A US indictment accuses Mr Dotcom's Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart online piracy.
[...]
New Zealand police said the four people were arrested at addresses in Coatsville and Orakei this morning. A total of 10 search warrants were executed at residential and business addresses across Auckland.
All will appear in the North Shore District Court this afternoon.
The arrests were carried out by Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (OFCANZ) and police, following a mutual legal assistance request from the United States to arrest of individuals for the purpose of extradition.
Detective Inspector Grant Wormald of OFCANZ said the arrests were the result of several months coordination with the FBI and US Department of Justice.
Hand in glove with the FBI.
The Labour government gave Hollywood what they wanted when they passed copyright laws restricting parallel imports and criminalising what is essentially civil, commercial infringements - then the National government gave Hollywood the labour laws they wanted after Warner Bros sent some suits around to John Key's house and demanded it. Is it any wonder they will extradite at their behest? This is a culmination of these types of laws and a strong indication of where they are heading. It will not be long - at this rate - before a NZ citizen is extradited for a copyright offence. The O'Dwyer case is instructive of what to expect:
A judge ruled on Friday that a 23-year-old student can be extradited to the United States for running a website posting links to pirated TV shows and films, despite significant doubts over whether such sites break any UK laws.
[...]
Richard O'Dwyer, a computing student at Sheffield Hallam University, faces a potential 10-year term in a US jail despite never having been to America or using web servers based in the country. When still a teenager O'Dwyer set up a website, TVShack, which posted links to pirated material. It did not directly host any files, which meant, according to the student's lawyers, that it acted as little more than a Google-type search engine and did not breach copyright.
As for the details of the crimes in the "Mega Conspiracy", ironically they are most easily accessable via the type of file sharing site they are trying to thwart: "Mega Conspiracy". It's a very clear document and after reading the start of it I can understand why the corporates moved - Megaupload was one of the most popular websites of all time and they have definitely lost potential revenue even if the majority of people using it would not have otherwise paid for the content. Now it is returning a blank.
posted by Tim Selwyn @ 12:27 pm
6 comments
6 Comments:
While I have reservations about the moral vacuum that is pirated film and music from the net ...
I never knew this ... ! ?
So , like , any UK or NZ citizen and member of the British Commonwealth , we can be extradited to a lunatic asylum of neo con psychopaths AKA Hollywood , USA and there's nothing we can do ? And jonkey-stien sold us out to Warners Bro's for a Hobbit ? Hahahahahahahah ! ! ! To the U.S.A ! ? Where they have a State in the Union who's populace elected Arnold Schwartzenegger as Governor ! Muscle bound , hormone soaked , Austrian Uber -Dick ... the fucking Terminator ! Hahahahahahhahahah ! ! ! ! Oh My Ghod !
Have I died and gone to Hell ? Pinch me , someone ! Anyone ! Pinch me ! Tell me I'm fucking dreaming ! This is far Tumeke ! What must aliens think of us ! ? Really , we must be the laughing stock of the known Universe ! How embarrassing ! God almighty !
I disagree Tim. The Megaupload arrests are another pleasing sign by the Government to facilitate US/UK style fascism in NZ. The media reports focus on the blatant wealth & insalubrious appearance of the culprits in order to divert the uninformed masses from thinking about the real issue of USA corporate influence on National politicians. They employed similar diversionary tactics when the Peter Jackson/Warner Brothers partnership displayed an eerie ability to change labour laws in order to promote their productive business strategies and were successful. Thank God the media didn’t give a thought to John Keys’ mansions, cars & millions during the election or the results may well have been different. More progress on the march towards the fashionable fascist state – remember when it was called compassionate conservatism? Just a few more thoughts to advance the cause- with the UK removing Iranian TV, could we not consider ridding ourselves of the RT channel as we have done with Stratos? I hear thru my sister’s daughter on the benefit, that RT is becoming popular amongst that ilk. Could we also think of making FOX News compulsory viewing for small, impressionable children especially the bits about enemies & wars? The viewing of such could easily be tied to ECE funding.
How long before we just outsource policing to some US agency? It would save time. Might as well have our cases heard by their judges too, so they don't have to bother that nice Mr Key every time they want something.
anyone who'd pay to use megaupload or the like would heve to be a moron anyway, doesnt everyone know you can download whatever you want on the internet for free?. still i agree another black day for internet freedom
@ Beverley from Birkenhead . Great post . While I like the idea of freedom as much as any idealistic down on the farm , Golly Gee , windowsill cooled apple pie, South Carolina-inian style, porch sitting , banjo playing , goat marrying , gee gaw , I think pinching music and film off the Net is ... well , wrong . Mr Flash 'n' Plump ...got caught red handed did he not ? Da Megaupload inna house , classy , gentleman douche bag of distinction and a high rollin'' German national that jonkey-stein has come out of the closet to support is a crook if TVNZ can be relied upon to deliver the truth . ( Oh , wait a minute . What have I just said ! ? )
Is it not this simple ? Really ? @ kiwikenz , you mention morons . If one were to go into a music and / or Dvd store and ' steal ' a cd and / or a dvd and you get caught , what happens usually ? Yes ... that's right ! You may get nicked by the biggest gang in NZ ! What morons don't think about is the future ramifications of their actions . Here's a scenario more closely based on truth than you might think . A thieving moron goes into a nice , family run , country style store and scans about the place . He / or she sees the nice old lady /man store keeper is washing his/her socks in the kitchen sink out the back and so leaving the store unattended . Thieving moron helps him / her self . Later , thieving moron returns to the store and discovers many cameras , mesh over the counter and an evil looking dude standing on high alert and watching with the eye of the highly trained assassin . Old-School country store gone . Forever ! Raped of its trust . New-School , soulless, urban , nightmare shop of paranoid horrors arrives . Forever ! To all you freeloaders out there that plainly steal artists work off the Net simply because it's an easy target deserve to be targeted by fascists . Neo Liberal horrible intentions and secret agendas will be used to control all of us who use the Net and justified by your actions ! Fucking idiots who break basic moral codes of ethics are handing that opportunity to neo liberals on a platter ! Go and fucking buy the CD or the DVD ! If you can't afford to buy it then borrow it off a mate who bought it ! Stop dragging us further into the complex , sociopathic nightmare that is neo liberalism . Petty thieves , burglars, pickpockets , panhandlers , ( Thanks 'Grandmaster Flash' ! ) carpet baggers , con artists , illegal down loaders but perhaps worst of all , the fuckers who pinch money from road side ' honesty ' boxes ! You're the mold on the thinning fabric of our society . You're the justification for fascist and draconian agendas such as we're witnessing . You're the lost souls the Satanic insurance industry scum profit off ... Or I may be just having a hissy fit because I'm fucking over this weather !
Nice analogy countryboy but washing socks in the sink man, i hope the weather gets better for you
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