Mega fatcat Kim Dotcom in deportation drama over SPEEDING ticket Mega.co.nz kingpin Kim Dotcom may soon be booted out of New Zealand – because of a speeding ticket. The resilient and colorful entrepreneur is living on the Pacific island having gained residency rights in 2010. But he is also wanted by the US authorities for running the Megaupload file-sharing website, a service Dotcom …
Even if he is a big, fat, annoying mong, who looks much like 'Fat Bastard', it's abit bad by the government.
Deported for a minor speeding offence which occurred many years ago???
If that doesn't say 'New Zealand government dancing to the tune of the USA' then I don't know what does.
I'd be an unhappy Kiwi if my government was willing to go to such lengths to please the USA.
I read that as "Kim Kardashian" (Thanks to the Reg I know who that is now - thanks guys) and thought "isn't that just a bit harsh?".
But now I know who it is and what the circumstances are - I think perhaps Vladimir Vladimirovitch may actually have a point about when US power becomes overweening.
"He's a jerk, but...
It goes without saying that he's a total jerk, and most people in NZ wish he'd never bribed his way into... err, I mean, 'been granted' residency.
However, the US (and by association, the NZ) governments are out to destroy him any way they can."
Spot on!
He did lie on his application for citizenship, but I doubt many other people have had their past gone through with a fine tooth comb like they are doing with him. So on one hand, he broke the law, but on the other it could be fair to say he is being targeted because of his subsequent actions.
He could also have made an honest mistake. Given that he fessed up to the hacking stuff, it seems strange that he didn't mention the speeding ticket. It may just have been that he didn't appreciate the full meaning of the word 'convicted' in the situation of admitting guilt by letter and paying a fine.
Doing that kind of speed in a 30 zone was almost certainly highly dangerous even reckless driving.
BUT according to the article he was charged with a simple speeding offence, which appears likely to be the case as he pled guilty by post. (Only a complete and utter idiot would not appear in court for a dangerous driving charge - probably wouldn't have the option anyway.)
True, he was disqualified, but I don't know about the Shire and here in Blighty 30 mph over any limit is an automatic disqualification.
So, if he was only found guilty of a speding offence and not of dd surely it was not unreasonable to tick the no box.
Not defending anyone's actions - just saying.
It's a speeding infringement. You can't plead guilty by post for offences.
Having said that - more than 50km/h over the limit is supposed to be roadside disqualification, impoundment of the vehicle and no driving for 12 months - so it looks like the cops who booked him were cutting quite a bit of slack.
The application was handled by a lawyer. Unless KDC had a conviction for reckless or dangerous driving, any traffic charges would be discounted.
FOIA disclosures specifically targeting this kind of item will show that speeding offences are generally overlooked when reviewing applications.
HOWEVER - the stuff which _was_ disclosed was more than enough to decide KDC is not a 'person of good character ' and it was only the lubrication provided by large sums of money which greased the wheels. One rule for the rich, etc.
He wasn't convicted of dangerous driving, he was convicted of speeding. Those are different and separate things in law.
While I dislike the guy, I'm not sure he's done anything wrong here as the question was specifically about dangerous driving, something he was not convicted for. Nobody in their right mind says "yes" to being convicted for something they haven't been. Why should he?
This continues to look like a witch hunt, with the NZ government yet again trying to do anything they can to appease their US overlords.
I had sympathy for him up to that point.
I treat NSL roads as 'derestricted' and drive whatever speed I feel suits the conditions (even if that is below the limit - slush, lashing rain etc) but 30, 40, 50 mph limits? No, I won't break em, they are there for a reason.
Fuck 'im.
Steven 'reasonable levels of respect for the law' R
There are no 50Km roads up around his mansion that are safe to drive at the speed he was doing - none. Good riddance to him (from another NZer).
However, the one reservation I have is that if the US is going to chase him over MegaUpload then they also need to charge Google with the same crimes for YouTube and Vimeo needs to join the list and just about any other video service. There are so many illegal videos on all the video services that MegaUpload disappearing has not made any real difference. What they are taking MegaUpload to task for is not following through on takedown notices and providing a means to have multiple links to the same video and then only taking down any links that were notified, not the videos themselves. However, that is a hazy distinction that the US government is using to avoid having to take Google to task.
The law that requires you to take material down on request is the US DMCA, which stops at the US border. KDC should never have been persecuted like he has because the US courts simply have no power in NZ.
Unless you run a court in the US (like big media does), when there is no limit to your powers. Whatsover. Black choppers in the night, just SOP.
The law that requires you to take material down on request is the US DMCA, which stops at the US border.
You should be right, you really should, but you're not.
The US has this crazy idea that their laws extend beyond their lands, having conjoured up the wonderful concept of global reach. Simply conducting any transaction in USD or with a US connected person or entity is enough.
Stronger governments (arf arf) might consider whether they want to specifically overrule this concept on behalf of their own citizens - after all, we're the ones with the votes.
In 2012, NZ had 7.1 road deaths per 100,000 of population. In the same period the UK average was 2.8 road deaths per 100,000 of population.
Many Kiwis think of ourselves as behind-the-wheel heroes when we're anything but. And on the whole the roads are worse than in Europe or North America. Less traffic is about the only thing in our favour.
So yeah, it's not perfectly safe to speed. I, for one, hope the door doesn't hit Kim Dotcom in the backside on his way out.
What utter crap!
Jeez, I get utterly sick of people in New Zealand, including the government and Police making this kind of statement when it is just not true.
Exceeding the limit is NOT an accident waiting to happen - provided it is done judiciously. Travelling at the speed limit under all circumstances can be much more dangerous.
I have driven in most of Europe, a lot of North America and a fair few other countries as well, and our roads are up there with most of the others, and sometimes exceeding some of those countries you mention. (proviso .. some roads excepted - same as most countries as well)
Having returned in the last 3 years from an extended stay in the UK, I can tell you that what causes accidents is not speed, but crap driving and stupid police enforcement which is having the reverse effect to what they want. A tolerance of 4 kph over the holidays, which incidentally did not do anything for the road toll, as compared to last year. All the low tolerance does is cause drivers to spend more time watching their speedometer rather than the road as they should be doing. Not only that, it is dangerous as they have instilled the concept that you must NEVER under any circumstances exceed the speed limit, which is rather mixed messages, as if people attempt to overtake a slower driver while following the rule, they finish up taking an absolute age to complete the manoeuvre. When I was taught to drive the idea was that when overtaking you spent as little time as possible on the wrong side of the road, so you put your foot down to get past, then slowed back down.
When they are producing television adverts which show someone driving on a straight road with no other traffic on the road (apparently) doing 105 kph (just 5 kph over the legal limit - that is 3, yes just 3 mph) and then someone pulling out of a side road, causing an accident and then making out the guy doing 5 k over was in the wrong, (he states "I was over the limit, it's my fault!") I'm sorry that is just absolute rubbish. The cause of the accident was the idiot pulling out of the side road. The advert pulls in a lot of emotion as well, as the idiot pulling out says that he has his kid in the car (this discussion is held in a time paused moment just before the cars collide) and "I made a mistake". Yup, YOU made the mistake - not the guy on the road doing a mere 5 kph over. I defy ANYONE to be able to tell whether a car coming towards them is doing 5 kph over or under the limit.
Ditto the ridiculous ad showing a woman exceeding the urban speed limit by a small amount and then having her hit someone who (according to the ad) ran out in the road literally a cars length in front, without looking. With the scenario they show, even someone doing just under the speed limit would not have had a chance of stopping either.
How are they allowed to produce and show such blatant propaganda which doesn't even have the dubious merit of showing something accurately.
BTW we had some visitors from the UK over Christmas who travelled around a bit and were thoroughly impressed with our roads. Most of ours are far wider than B roads (and even some A roads) in the UK. They weren't that impressed with the general driving standards however.
There are two (three? four? n+?) sides to this fiasco.
I am appalled at the total waste of time and money that various governments have spent pursuing DC. Can't we all just drop this sh*t and get on with life? I am REALLY tired of hearing about these shenanigans.
I am reminded of the current "Security Theatre" crappage that is occupying everyone's attention.
There are many more important (to normal people) things happening in this day and time for these petty arguments to occupy headlines.
Hey, Copyright Assholes! Get over it, and come up with a better revenue plan! Quit wasting time, effort, and money!
You are obviously NOT a lawyer then.
They get paid whatever happens.
The Kim Dotcom legal gravytrain is working fine. The Lawyers keep on going because for every second they spend on the case they get paid.
If you dare tell a client that the case is not financially viable/worth continuing then there goes your chance of a partnership/corner office.
Don't show your stupidity too obviously. There is a request from the US Government for the extradition of an NZ permanent resident (he's not a citizen) on a series of charges that are subject to a binding extradition treaty. The NZ Government doesn't really have the liberty to ignore legal requests. KDC has been subject to a number of hearings at various levels in NZ courts to determine if he is indeed subject to extradition; that process has been extremely drawn out but all the appropriate legal rules have been followed; at this stage it isn't up to any Government action but the courts have to rule; unlike the USA NZ courts are not (easily) up for sale.
If KDC is found not eligible for extradition; that's it. If he is found eligible then the Government through a Minister (ie the government decides) if they will extradite. Given KDC's extremely public attempts to intervene in the NZ elections (with disastrous results, for him and his chosen vehicle) then it does seem unlikely that the Government will intervene to block the extradition.
If KDC is extradited he can expect a very long sentence in the USA for violating one of the really serious rules: He threatened the income of one of Obama's (and the Democrats) favourite crony capital donation sources. THAT, is almost a capital offense in today's big-money 1%er dominated democrat party that the Dept of Justice is particularly keen to support. The money laundering/racketeering charges are simply projection in this case, even though KDC may have in fact been involved in such activities.
Finally, this last episode, finding that KDC lied on his application for permanent residence, opens up the possibility that his status as a permanent residence my be revoked. If so he has fewer legal avenues available to avoid extradition. It is not entirely clear though that he couldn't travel to his home country (Germany) where he would be safe from extradition.
Also there is the minor issue that KDC is accused of a crime that isn't on the books in NZ. So can you be extradited for something that is not in fact illegal in NZ is somewhat significant.
Plus the usual bollocks regarding infringement of his rights as a resident, because the investigators decided to ignore/miss that.
Oh and fast tracked to get his assets seized, then delaying tactics from then on.
Technically they are trying to prosecute him for... I think it was conspiracy to commit something or other? Whatever it was *is* on the books, but is a shaky enough accusation it'll probably be dropped if he's ever actually extradited. The suspicion is the only reason it's been tagged on to there is there's a requirement in the extradition treaty that it needs to be a crime in both countries for extradition to happen
After seizing millions in assets from Fat boy, what is left? Putting him in jail? What's the point? Utorrent and other torrent sites still exist and no one is taking them to task. What has this bloke done that none of the others that still exist, are still doing? Not being run by a fat arrogant figurehead who thinks he's un-touchable but clearly, is not?
be careful what you wish for. I'm just gazing upon the power-conflict tea leaves here and one immediate conclusion that comes immediately to what resembles a mind is that you may be giving "The Hacker Underground" something of a "cause celebre" to rally around. If so, SPE will look like the efforts of an amateur.
Just saying.
It wouldn't be the first time he's had some problems with speeding. Many years ago (when he was pre Mr Dotcom) he took part in the Gumball Rally. However somewhere near Beaulieu where it was due to end he had a speed-related accident with another car that was not a fellow rally entrant. I recall that instead of helping the police with their enquiries he got out of the UK rather sharpish...
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