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Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

torrentfreak.com

51–60 of 98 posts

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#51
post #48

There's something I don't quite understand. If you're accused of a crime in the US how can all your assets be frozen by the government and your website taken offline? Aren't you innocent until proved guilty? If the answer is that it's suspected that all the money comes from illegal activity and therefore frozen until a judge rules on whether this is the case or not what would stop the US government from prosecuting,…

The Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984 allows it and US v. Monsanto upheld it. Since this is being prosecuted under RICO, it's lawful and Constitutional. Let's not forget that the US is only one of at least five countries involved in this case. No one has accused or has evidence that Larry Page has done anything illegal. But if there was evidence that page is violating RICO, then try can take his stuff until trial as well. As far as innocent until proven guilty, that actually isn't in the Constitution, it's based in English Common Law -- Dotcom's right aren't being violated as he is getting due process. Of course, te current situation of extradition requires a much lower standard of proof, the standard here is whether or not there is evidence that warrants a trial; effectively like a grand jury deliberation.

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#52
post #9

So the US's Government's tactic is to delay the extradition trial until he's left with no money to defend himself...and then win by default. Is that what they call "justice"?

Does anyone on HN actually read about this case from credible sources or just parrot the biased reporting from Torrentfreak that Dotcom is a hero because he gave you free movies?

Dotcoms laywers agreed to delaying his extradition hearing until next year because it is not possible for it to take place next month due to all of the still outstanding issues related to his mansion raid possibly being illegal. It has nothing at all to do with the DOJ trying to screw him by delaying the trial.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&obj...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/megaupload-founder-ki...

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a US citizen, this case makes me sick to my stomach. MU was the hub of piracy on the net. And from the figures posted, netted 400 million dollars from it. It's not something that was going to be ignored, even with a legitimate upload service being offered, because the primary monetary driver for that company was tricking and/or getting people to sign-up when visiting a page to d/l pirated content. All the US gov…

>MU was the hub of piracy on the net I'd like a source for that. I believe TPB is and was in that position. I also believe that rapidshare and all those other sites had a similar amount of pirated content. In general you'd have a mirror of a given file across 3 or so sites which would indicate MU wasn't that far different from those commonly used as mirrors. >statistical sample of 10,000 random accounts, and correlat…

You really want a source for the fact that his site was a piracy haven? Are you that naïve? The man has a history of criminality, including embezzlement plus the people that are defending him are the same people who complain about Hollywood and the RIAA. If he wasn't facilitating global piracy then Hollywood and the RiAA are irrelevant in any arguments about this case. If he's innocent, he'll have his day in court.

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#54

Look at his options: 1. Get bled until nobody will offer legal services to him because they know he can't pay. Get extradited with a public defendant (if he's lucky). Have a trial with a lawyer being provided by the DoJ (who happens to be the ones putting him on trial). 2. Get extradited with a team of really good lawyers who truly represent him. There really aren't any options that don't end with him extradited. Why…

> As a US citizen, this case makes me sick to my stomach. MU was the hub of piracy on the net. And from the figures posted, netted 400 million dollars from it. It's not something that was going to be ignored, even with a legitimate upload service being offered, because the primary monetary driver for that company was tricking and/or getting people to sign-up when visiting a page to d/l pirated content. All the US gov…

He may in reality be guilty as hell (legally of course he is not yet...) but that doesn't mean the law can take shortcuts. What is up with the illegal search warrants?

That is the sort of stuff that people should be concerned about. If they were going about this in a reasonable fashion I'm sure the vast majority of us would not be concerned. Do it properly, and if he is found guilty then so be it, and if he is innocence then so be it. Just do it properly.

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#55
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given how much of the world's money flows through US banks, New Zealand could give everything back it wants to and still leave Dotcom broke (especially after legal fees) and without a company. New Zealand is awesome. It is on my list of most desirable countries to live in. But if the US doesn't release the holds they have, I question whether Dotcom will really get anything back. Remember, he is renting his house in N…

New Zealand is a global corporate tax haven. They have leverage.

Why would new Zealand even bother? What's in it for them?

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#56
post #16

Look at his options: 1. Get bled until nobody will offer legal services to him because they know he can't pay. Get extradited with a public defendant (if he's lucky). Have a trial with a lawyer being provided by the DoJ (who happens to be the ones putting him on trial). 2. Get extradited with a team of really good lawyers who truly represent him. There really aren't any options that don't end with him extradited. Why…

As a US citizen, this case makes me sick to my stomach. It reeks of America strong-arming other countries to pursue an agenda that is in only its best interests. It is made worse by the high-level collusion between the government and Hollywood. Best interest of the United States? What do the US gain from this other than getting votes for those elected in office and pleasing an insignificant and corrupt industry we ca…

You can blame Joe Biden and Chris Dodd. We all know who Hollywood gives the majority of their money to, and the people that receive it do their bidding. Hollywood isn't the problem any more than Google or Facebook's lobbies are the problem. Follow the money and vote the opposite. Their contributions aren't secret. We the people have access to the contribution records, yet people continue to vote for the people getting the money.

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#57
post #9

So the US's Government's tactic is to delay the extradition trial until he's left with no money to defend himself...and then win by default. Is that what they call "justice"?

Snake house. If they (US gov) cannot win, they will delay as much as possible just to warn others: even if we are completely wrong and fucked up, we still can messed up your life for X months or years!!

Dotcom's people are the ones doing the delaying.

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#58
post #49
post #17

He is willing to face trial if they give him money first? That's not how Justice works in any modern country. His lawyers presumably told him as much, so this is just another bizarre plea for attention.

The FBI wanted him extradited. He didn't want to be extradited. So there was going to be a hearing about whether the FBI got what they wanted, or Dotcom got what he wanted (or some court-mediated compromise, but that seems unlikely in this case). Kim negotiated with the FBI so they no longer disagree about whether he will be extradited, so the hearing is no longer required.

The FBI along with the Dutch, the British, the Germans and the Canadians. Let's not make this into an entirely US thing.

Re: Kim Dotcom Will Go to the US in Exchange for Legal Funds

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>MU was the hub of piracy on the net I'd like a source for that. I believe TPB is and was in that position. I also believe that rapidshare and all those other sites had a similar amount of pirated content. In general you'd have a mirror of a given file across 3 or so sites which would indicate MU wasn't that far different from those commonly used as mirrors. >statistical sample of 10,000 random accounts, and correlat…

You really want a source for the fact that his site was a piracy haven? Are you that naïve? The man has a history of criminality, including embezzlement plus the people that are defending him are the same people who complain about Hollywood and the RIAA. If he wasn't facilitating global piracy then Hollywood and the RiAA are irrelevant in any arguments about this case. If he's innocent, he'll have his day in court.

> If he's innocent, he'll have his day in court.

Are you really that naive? I don't want to be dramatic, but take current events into account (Julian Assange, the NDAA, Guantanamo). There is plenty of abuse.

The question is not whether people used Mega Upload for piracy, its whether or not their service complied with the law (DMCA). For example: if I mail narcotics, is the Post Office breaking the law? If I Drop Box a pirated movie to a friend, is Drop Box breaking the law? Plenty of people email files around, do you think Google checks for/blocks any pirated attachments? Youtube? Come on, what song can't you find on youtube uploaded by some random person who added the lyrics. I'd be willing to bet that much more "pirated content" is streamed through youtube than ever was through MU.

What would you think if China extradited Sergey because people are uploading Chinese artists' music to youtube?

The fact that so many used it for pirated content is only a testament to how easy and scalable his file sharing/transferring service was and their effort to protect their user's privacy. Privacy means a lot to quite a bit of people, me included.

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