Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown • Hacker News Board

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#21

Post by patdennis » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:40 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #15

shin_lao wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not corruption if he didn't personally benefited from it. The problem is that if your only source of information is biased, you take the wrong decisions.

I'm sure the MPAA members are generously contributing to the Obama/Biden re-election funds.

I don't understand why you're sure of that, considering how pissed MPAA members are with the Obama administration over SOPA. But I guess deciding something is true is easier than Googling it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/obama-sopa-chris-do...

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#22

Post by tikhonj » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:40 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #14

chmike wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends what is considered a benefit. There is something like elections in the next months...

Generally, I want politicians to do things that will make me vote for them!

Voting is one thing. Financial contribution to the campaign is a different thing. I imagine it's the latter that's at issue here.

So yes, you want politicians to do things that will get people to vote for them. But you do not necessarily want politicians to do things to get companies to pay for their campaigns.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#23

Post by droithomme » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:45 PM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #2

MPAA "lobbying" the VP of US, and then the VP ordering the shutdown of a company from another country on behalf of MPAA (illegally it seems, from recent news). I think this would be called "corruption" in any other country but US.

"I think this would be called "corruption" in any other country"

Boys, looks like we got us a terrorist right here. Better shut down his terror website.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#24

Post by droithomme » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:47 PM UTC

incongruity wrote: post #6

On first glance at the headline, I really thought Kim Dotcom had gone off the deep end, but the evidence really does make it sound plausible. Sigh. We definitely have the best politicians money can buy...

Yeah, the evidence is pretty damning. No doubt those visitors logs will soon be pulled from public access due to national security reasons for protection from terrorists who run file locker services.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#25

Post by epoxyhockey » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:51 PM UTC

patdennis wrote: post #20

epoxyhockey wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: Noteworthy is also the MPAA's lobbying disclosure statement of last year which includes money spent on lobbying the office of Vice President Joe Biden.

Spending money on lobbying essentially means paying a lobbyist to have a meeting with important people. It's not like they're handing over briefcases of money.

To be fair, we don't know that to be the case, yet.

I do have to say that implicating Biden in a corruption-feeling scandal during an election year is a great legal strategy.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#26

Post by brandall10 » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:53 PM UTC

patdennis wrote: post #20

epoxyhockey wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: Noteworthy is also the MPAA's lobbying disclosure statement of last year which includes money spent on lobbying the office of Vice President Joe Biden.

Spending money on lobbying essentially means paying a lobbyist to have a meeting with important people. It's not like they're handing over briefcases of money.

No... they just spend $10k+ for a dinner plate at a political fundraiser so they can have their side 'heard'.

Come on. It's legalized corruption with one degree of separation from outright "handing over briefcases of money".

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#27

Post by cjensen » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 9:59 PM UTC

The Democrats have long been best friends with the Entertainment Industry, but so what? The Vice-President simply has no power to order anything more complex than pizza. He can suggest, plead, and implore, but someone else has to actually take the responsibility for the action and order something to occur.

This is a discussion, not a Court of Law, so let me state my view clearly: Kim Dotcom created an extensive enterprise aimed specifically at violating copyrights while attempting to shield the enterprise with the minimum amount of "compliance" they could get away with. It's entirely possibly that his corporation broke no laws. Regardless of his possible legal innocence, the speculations of a sleezy businessman like Dotcom regarding the integrity of the Vice President is unworthy of consideration.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#28

Post by Karunamon » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 10:08 PM UTC

cjensen wrote: post #27

The Democrats have long been best friends with the Entertainment Industry, but so what? The Vice-President simply has no power to order anything more complex than pizza. He can suggest, plead, and implore, but someone else has to actually take the responsibility for the action and order something to occur. This is a discussion, not a Court of Law, so let me state my view clearly: Kim Dotcom created an extensive enter…

> the speculations of a sleezy businessman like Dotcom regarding the integrity of the Vice President is unworthy of consideration.

Textbook ad hominem. His business practices are completely irrelevant to the questions of impropriety raised and the illegal conduct of the authorities involved.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#29

Post by mattmanser » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 10:12 PM UTC

cjensen wrote: post #27

The Democrats have long been best friends with the Entertainment Industry, but so what? The Vice-President simply has no power to order anything more complex than pizza. He can suggest, plead, and implore, but someone else has to actually take the responsibility for the action and order something to occur. This is a discussion, not a Court of Law, so let me state my view clearly: Kim Dotcom created an extensive enter…

While I'm all for decrying corrupt business practices there are far more worthwhile targets out there like Goldman Sachs but they've bought political immunity and worse still this case clearly shows the ugly side of insidious corruption in American politics regardless of your views on Kim Dotcom.

His worse crime seems to have been not paying off the politicians.

And cheering that on from the sidelines seems an odd choice for a rallying call against legalized corruption.

Re: Kim Dotcom: Joe Biden Ordered the Megaupload Shutdown

#30

Post by guelo » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 10:14 PM UTC

The striking thing to me about the MU shutdown was the timing right after the defeat of SOPA. It was like the government wanted to teach "the people" a lesson for getting too uppity. Like "Oh, you think we can't shut down your websites just because we don't have this little law that you rose up against? Well watch this."

With all the political uproar that was going on that week it would be surprising if the FBI had not gone to the White House before pulling the trigger on the raid.