New Zealand admits illegally spying on Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom
worldnews.nbcnews.com
worldnews.nbcnews.com
Other western countries do what is asked of them when the US comes calling.
https://torrentfreak.com/new-zealand-prime-minister-apologiz...
Why should they fold to the US government who is basically being controlled by the media industry?
There is a process to get someone extradited it should be followed
Criminals winning cases on technicalities while still having committed the crime is not justice. Justice is getting punished for crimes actually committed. Justice is when innocent people are acquitted of crimes they did not commit.
Turning Dotcom into somekind of folk hero is ridiculous. He became very wealthy by facilitating theft. It isn't like he was donating the proceeds to build schools for girls in Afghanistan. If he broke a potentially unfair law as a statement and did it for something other than getting rich, maybe then we could consider him something other than what he is -- a self-serving criminal.
It is more like someone being _accused_ of robbing a video store and then it turned out the only evidence against them was acquired when the police broke into his home to steal his dairy.
A government's complete disregard for due process is a far greater crime than piracy.
The punishment for this crime is "[c]riminals winning cases on technicalities".
I disagree. The punishment is to find the person or persons responsible and, at a minimum, fire them. That should serve as a warning to others that you either do it right, or not at all.
The "[c]riminals winning cases on technicalities" is a side-effect of erroneous judgement.
Do it right or you lose the case. That's the deal.
Spying on citizens without a proper court order should be mandatory jail for all involved.
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Having just read the PM's statement[1], I can't see any signs of actual corruption in the procedure that was followed. It seems reasonably likely that this was just a mistake.
[1] http://beehive.govt.nz/release/inspector-general%E2%80%99s-r...
This may be because of your cultural heritage. In the English Common Law tradition, which New Zealand, and in he past the USA, is part of, the state isn't entitled to collect evidence in any way possible. People representing the state have to follow the law themselves. They can't torture confessions out of "guilty" people, they can't manufacture evidence, they have to use legal methods to obtain the evidence.
If the NZ Spy Agency broke New Zealand laws to get evidence, then that evidence is inadmissible in court, at least traditionally, under Common Law.
We give police, lawyers, and others in the criminal justice system great power over us - they're legally permitted to punish and physically restrain humans. That cases can be won on technicalities - when police, lawyers, etc break the rules that protect us from them - helps to keep them honest and trusted. That's how we watch the watchers.
The reason he is celebrated is because he is famous for bypassing a system many consider to be broken. He is famous for not being afraid to put his own system into place, a system he and many other liked better. He is famous because he did not try to hide. He is famous because he's fighting the system he and others wish to see replaced.
Is he a criminal? Yes. Does being a criminal mean you cannot also be a folk hero? If you say yes, I don't think you know what a folk hero really is. Quite often they are criminals. Look into Bonnie and Clyde, Robin Hood, Guy Fawkes, Che Guevara, Jesse James, Spartacus, etc.