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New Zealand High Court Rules Operation Against Kim Dotcom Was Illegal (torrentfreak.com)
Mashiki writes: The New Zealand High Court ruled that spying against Kim Dotcom was illegal and that the GCSB spy agency violated the law, including the observation of citizens and residents within the country. It was also determined by the courts that the operation had gone on longer than was stated by both the police and GCSB. This may leave the extradition case up in the air since the methods used to gain the information have been ruled illegal. In turn, this makes the arrest illegal, along with the seizure of his equipment illegal. "The GCSB has now admitted that the unlawfulness was not just dependent upon residency issues, it went further," reports NZ Herald. The reason it went further was because it didn't have authorization to carry out the kind of surveillance that it was carrying out under the legislation as it was at that relevant time. The GCSB has said that it was impossible to plead the case as it would jeopardize national security.
The GCSB has said that it was impossible to plead the case as it would jeopardize national security.
Should that be understood as: "GCSB - and possibly the government of New Zealand - is controlled by a non-public foreign governance."?
I find it very interesting that not disclosing this information was more important to this entity than getting Kim to the USA for (false claims of) copyright infringements.
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I know you're going for a laugh, but this shit shouldn't be joked about. Yes Kim Dotcom is a bit of a twat, but his rights still need to be respected and enforced. To paraphrase a wise man - rights must apply equally to everyone or they mean nothing.
The GCSB has said that it was impossible to plead the case as it would jeopardize national security.
Should that be understood as: "GCSB - and possibly the government of New Zealand - is controlled by a non-public foreign governance."?
I find it very interesting that not disclosing this information was more important to this entity than getting Kim to the USA for (false claims of) copyright infringements.
What struck me is the potential trouble that will happen if the state tries to return his assets.
I was under the impression that the State seized his domain and didn't renew it, so that other parties scooped it up. Also, are they going to give back the seized data intact?
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"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all."
H. L. Mencken
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The translation for this is usually "Someone important would be unambiguously be outed as being a criminal if this gets out".
So who is the crook?
It feels kinda weird that it's a story about Kimmie and he's NOT the biggest asshole involved...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Do you have evidence of something he did that can compare with what was done to him and his family? Something that can compare to an armed raiding party invading the Dotcom family house at the behest of the US Government and the MPAA, and being lied about?
My suspicion is rooted in how flippant the mainstream media have been throughout this case and how ready the public is to believe what the mainstream media (repeating US Government lies) tell them without following up on the details. I've seen allegations (perhaps charges by now) of Kim Dotcom owning child pornography and an allegation of something to do with "terrorism propaganda" that have yet to be backed up by the prosecutors. After the raid, Kim Dotcom was said to be found holed up in his family house with a loaded gun in a locked "safe room", but the police later admitted he was actually found unarmed in an unlocked safe room. The raid was ostensibly justified because Kim Dotcom might set off some kind of "doomsday device that was in the [Dotcom] mansion somewhere that would, if activated, would destroy evidence of wrongdoing anywhere in the world" (David Fisher, around 57m into the documentary) according to yet there's no evidence such a device exists. Then there's the GCSB (New Zealand's NSA equivalent) illegally spying on Dotcom and Prime Minister Key alleging such illicit spying on New Zealanders is "this is really a matter of mistake and human error not one of conspiracy" (around 1h9m). These are a few examples from the "Kim Dotcom: Caught In The Web" documentary which shows the paperwork, names the names of who is involved (including members of the FBI and CIA which were apparently in on this case from the outset) and now we're seeing "The whole New Zealand-based spying operation against Kim Dotcom and his Megaupload co-defendants was illegal, the High Court has ruled". Given that background I see your post which (sans evidence to back up your strong claim of being surprised that "he's NOT the biggest asshole involved") reads more like character assassination or trying to graft an vaguely unpleasant feeling onto his very serious case which Americans ought to be far more concerned about.
Digital Citizen
So let me get this straight... the courts have ruled that the GCSB broke the law (and thus committed a crime). Now for that to happen, some PERSON or PERSONS within the GCSB must have given the order to commit this crime and therefore they must surely be culpable and punished for their law-breaking.
Of course we know that those who are responsible for this crime will never be truly held to account for their actions or punished for their criminal activities -- because they are part of the clique that makes those laws (government).
Oh the hypocrisy... thou shalt not break the law -- if you're just a regular peasant. If you're a government employee then do whatever the hell you like because there will be no penalty associated with your criminal activity.
So explain to me again why those responsible (who receive no censure) would be inclined not to break the law again? Laws without enforcement and penalty are a waste of time.
And here we have Kim... who (unlike the GCSB) has *NOT* been found guilty of a damned thing -- having his assets, his livelihood and his life taken from him on "suspicion", while the true criminals ruled by a court to be guilty of a very serious breach of human rights) suffer no penalty whatsoever.
Tell me this isn't corrupt practice!
Why the hell do we stand for this?