Kim Dotcom Launches Political Party In New Zealand 133
judgecorp (778838) writes "Fugitive entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has launched a political party in New Zealand although he himself cannot stand for election. Dotcom, founder of Megaupload is a German national, not a New Zealand citizen. He is also on bail pending extradition to the US over claims that his Megaupload site infringed copyright. The Internet Party manifesto promises net neutrality, privacy, and faster broadband. Meanwhile, his new venture Mega is now worth NZ$210 million (£108m) thanks to a reverse takeover. He has also had to assure the New Zealand media that owning a signed copy of Mein Kampf doesn't mean he is a Nazi."
What? (Score:1)
[Citation Required]
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http://www.3news.co.nz/Dotcom-... [3news.co.nz]
Re:What? (Score:4, Insightful)
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but ss helmets and mp44's don't make people into nazis any more than red star hats and ak's prove that people are communists. it's era collecting more likely(some news article said that he said he also has some staling memorabilia and churchill memorabilia).
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Wow, I guess that this Iron Cross with a swastika on it that I got out of my grandfather's stuff when we were cleaning out my grandmother's house after she passed meant she was a Nazi. And that I'm a Nazi too, since it's now in my possession.
Or, that my grandfather traded a pack of smokes (or whatever) for it in 1942 after the war was over, as well as a bunch of other crap he brought back as mementos from participating in the event that shaped the world for the next 70+ years.
That being said, I never pinne
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Theres a difference between your grandfather bringing home a war trophy and this man.
I don't know your grandfather, but since he came home and it sounds like he was honorably discharged, no one is going to hold a few war trophies over his head like he is evil because he isn't.
Kim on the other hand, had no involvement what so ever in WWII, any more than I did. If he inherited them, like you, thats one thing, but thats not the case. He seeks this stuff out. He takes advantage of any thing he can, legal or
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I don't really know anything about Kim's racial or political motivations. But I have copies of Machiaveli's "The Prince", Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", The Communist Manifesto, and have spent a good amount of time in Austria and a little in Germany (Vienna's beautiful.) And I work in the US supporting the DoD & DoE - My books hardly make me a traitor. And if Sun Tzu somehow miraculously signed my copy of "The Art of War", I'd think it was cool as hell. (Although it'd probably go to auction pretty quic
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"Or, that my grandfather traded a pack of smokes (or whatever) for it in 1942 after the war was over,"
You must be from an alternate universe. In this one WWII ended in 1945
Anyway I thought that Kim Dotcom must have been a Korean, like all the other Kims
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The Axis advance was stopped in '42 and things started to settle down (comparatively - It was still pretty nasty.) The Russians kicked their asses the next year and the surrender happened in '45. Troops were being rotated to the front lines from several countries in '42 (rotated NOT meaning sent to the line until dead.) And, the year in which the person in question rotated in/out or when the war was over "for him" is pretty much irrelevant unless you're preparing something for the History Channel.
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So all those all those old guys dressed in confederate regimental attire every July 3rd on a nearby hill (deeeeply North of the Mason/Dixon line)... I should suspect them as secessionist scum, rather than just the original LARP'ers?
For some reason, people really get into military history. And like it or not, Uncle Adolf ran the biggest game ever.
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Too late. The Nazi book has become the story. Dotcom's launch of a political party has become a side-story.
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My brother has a vast collection of Playboy. That doesn't make him a Bunny. :)
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LOL , those Kiwis! I guess my copy of The Art of War makes me Chinese and my copy of the Bible makes me Jewish. Confucius say OY! What a combination.
still (Score:2)
He has also had to assure the New Zealand media that owning a signed copy of Mein Kampf doesn't mean he is a Nazi."
Still, that is kind of weird. It doesn't mean he's a Nazi or even racist, but why exactly would someone want that? Of all the interesting artifacts I could buy if I were rich, that wouldn't be one of them.
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Because it makes him look interesting. Makes you curious about him. I am sure it is valuable too.
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Because it makes him look interesting.
That's a common human desire, to draw attention to yourself, but usually by the time people are adults they learn to do it in positive ways.
If he wants public attention, setting a bonfire of $100 bills would get more positive attention.
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The notes in New Zealand are made of plastic. No one wants to breathe in a cloud of toxic black smoke, even if it was once money.
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Also; defacing the image of the queen is, I believe, still illegal in New Zealand. Burning $100 notes would be a criminal offense. (Even if defacing the queen isn't illegal, burning bank notes quite emphatically is).
Don't give old John an out to claim "oh, he fails the good character test now. DEPORT!"
Re:still (Score:4, Insightful)
Because it makes him look interesting. Makes you curious about him. I am sure it is valuable too.
Meh. I'm a collector of books. My collection contains titles that would be considered "racist and controversial" by today's liberals, because they don't fit with their views of the world. And I'm sure that some of the books others either own or have read that were printed in the 19th century would also let them fall into that fine "racist" category anyway. Especially the works of Mark Twain, Stanley, and Jules Verne.
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Pretty sure Mein Kampf was considered "racist and controversial" by 1930s standards too, what with all the stuff about snuffing the 'weak' and wiping out the jews!
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Pretty sure Mein Kampf was considered "racist and controversial" by 1930s standards too, what with all the stuff about snuffing the 'weak' and wiping out the jews!
I'd agree, then again I'd also consider it a warning and a prohibitive roadmap that wasn't heeded despite the fact that it spelt out clearly, and sometimes not so clearly exactly what he wanted to do. It's important to learn from "histories greatest monsters" exactly what they wanted to do. If you want to be blind to it, fine. Just don't expect me to share your wallowing of ignorance.
I should probably add in, that in most muslim countries, that it's also the greatest seller on book lists as well. Which
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...it just means I got way too drunk last night.
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Just because I have a tattoo of a swastika on my forehead doesn't mean I'm a Nazi....
Correct. Teens Accused of Cutting Swastika into Classmate’s Head [time.com]
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Just because I have a tattoo of a swastika on my forehead doesn't mean I'm a Nazi....
perfectly true [vice.com], though unusual I'd say
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Indeed it doesn't, if you know the actual purpose of the Swastika. But I doubt you're one of those six people on the planet who know its actual origin instead of thinking its a nazi symbol.
If hitler usurped the Cross, or say ... some element on the periodic table as his symbol ... it would be no different.
Should probably check your ignorance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S... [wikipedia.org]
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The most important thing is that it is a very pivotal moment in history. Believe it or not, Nazi's actually inadvertently promoted existentialism by showing just how dangerous absolutes are. Besides, as much as I hate the Nazi's, I think some of the stuff they did was pretty neat, like that stealth jet they created. People today love the marvel of American military combat systems, not necessarily for what they do, but the technology behind them. The Nazi's were very good at that in their own way for their t
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However that said, I wouldn't mind having that particular copy of Mein Kampf. Not even for the purposes of selling it, just for having it because of its historical significance.
Try this: imagine you are rich. Now think of all the artifacts of interesting historical significance that you could buy, and order them by interest to you. Where exactly would Mein Kampf be on that list? Even if you are forced to limit yourself only to Nazi artifacts, how high is it on the list?
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Well I'm not really much of a collector to be honest, but different people have different priorities depending on their interests. For example, I'm a big fan of Penn and Teller, and I know that those guys like to collect historically significant magician memorabilia (for example, Teller owns one of Harry Houdini's straight jackets.)
Dotcom says he has an avid interest in WWII, and already owns several WWII artifacts, such as items once belonging to Churchill and Stalin, so even by your argument he already ha
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However your argument doesn't really apply in this case;
My argument is that he's weird. I don't think anyone denies that, even him.
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Well everybody is weird in their own way. For example I'm one of those weird guys that thinks tall amazonian chicks are hot.
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That's not that unusual - I got my Real Doll on Amazon and think she's gorgeous. (In a rubbery, plasticy, inanimate sort of way...) Any way - She creeps the kids out enough to make a decent babysitter.
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Weird or not I still choose death by snoo snoo.
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Re:still (Score:5, Insightful)
He has also had to assure the New Zealand media that owning a signed copy of Mein Kampf doesn't mean he is a Nazi."
Still, that is kind of weird. It doesn't mean he's a Nazi or even racist, but why exactly would someone want that? Of all the interesting artifacts I could buy if I were rich, that wouldn't be one of them.
No, it means nothing about him. Signed by Hitler? I'd like to have it myself just for it's "check this out" value.
~ and you wondered why the Libraries were fighting part of the Terrorist Act that required them to keep a list of books you have checked out or shown an interest in.
They lost, but gave it a good try.
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No, it means nothing about him.
Uh, you've gone too far there. Unless you buy things completely at random, what you buy definitely says things about you.
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Ima gonna steal this. A lot.
"Terrorist Act" is a lot better way to say it than "Patriot Act" or "P.A.T.R.I.O.T Act" or "so-called Patriot Act".
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*shrug* Want one? Find a copy of Mein Kampf, I'll sign it for you.
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Considering how many idiots are out there who're hunting for Nazi relics and are dumb as shit (I can't help but think one entails the other...) I'm pretty sure it will.
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Yes, because the world JUST HAS TO BE LIKE YOU, or there's something wrong or devious with it.
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Re:still (Score:4, Insightful)
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No, that's his kind of weird because he's an attention whore, that's all.
Mein Kampf is not illegal in Germany. In fact, a turkish-born comedian toured Germany a few years ago reading from it in his show. No, he wasn't a Nazi, he thought that actually reading people the crap opens their eyes. In fact, I agree, because it usually has that effect in all areas of ideology. In the words of Pen from Pen & Teller: Read the bible, we need more atheists. Same with Mein Kampf, reading it will very likely eradicat
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Mein Kampf is not illegal in Germany. In fact, a turkish-born comedian toured Germany a few years ago reading from it in his show.
I could see that being completely hilarious. I'll bet Hitler said some really dumb things.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
There's a lot more from him on YouTube. This here summons up some of it, including the copyright situation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
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https://ankiweb.net/shared/dec... [ankiweb.net]
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No, but if you complain about not being able to understand german, that's something that can be changed, you know? Maybe too late for this argument, but then you can do it next time.
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Maybe some are, most probably aren't. I have two friends from Russia who didn't speak a word of german when they moved here. One of them has been in Germany for five years now (I've known her for three) and her german is flawless with just a tiny hint of accent when she's agitated, and I'm very proud of her and enjoyed helping her a little early on when she occasionally didn't know a word or mixed up some of the more uncommon grammar rules. The other has been here for half a year, and I'm currently helping
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He explained that he was a collector, and also owned items that had belonged to Churchill and Stalin.
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why not? it's the easiest hitler collectible and at the same time part of what made hitler initially famous.
if you want something of all the ww2 era leaders then mein kampf for hitler is easy choice. much easier than getting a leather jacket worn by hitler anyways(and its a historically significant item.. but there's many of the signed mein kampfs around).
on other news, I could go to the local tshirt shop and buy swastika t-shirts from right next to the america symbol tshirts which are right next to the ris
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but why exactly would someone want that?
. . . for the same reason that one of Germany's news magazines fell for the Hitler Diaries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H... [wikipedia.org]
There's a hilarious film about the scandal called "Schtonk!" : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01... [imdb.com]
It's a beautiful parody on how the news media gets wrapped up in a story and loses touch with reality.
Name? (Score:3)
Given the type of parties I've heard he throws, I figure he might call it the "Coke and Sex Party"
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You really need a name that will accentuate the differences with the other political parties, common denominators will garner you no votes.
Nazi? Maybe not. (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think that he is a Nazi, or sympathetic, that's really hard to prove with out direct statements. Given his involvement lately with authority figures,
However, I do think he's pretty fuckin' tone deaf, and an asshole to boot. Arms dealing, legal and legitimate arms dealing, is an incredibly profitable business. Still not something I'd suggest to any of my friends nor do my self out of a sense of ethics.
If he can't figure out the taboo behind why that book is socially unacceptable and why he shouldn't have invested in it in the first place, then he's a fucking asshole. Plain and simple.
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It's a historically significant book, regardless of the stigma associated with possessing it. Several universities have autographed copies of Mein Kampf in their libraries' rare book collections, but you don't see people accusing them of supporting the Nazis.
Re: Nazi? Maybe not. (Score:2)
He is a collector of Nazi artifacts. He is fascinated by this part of history.
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Self promoting douche buys item that causes other people to talk about him. Looks like it worked. Any press is good press for some people.
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I'm pretty sure he knows why some people say he shouldn't own it, but he doesn't care, nor should he. It's WWII memorabilia to him, nothing more.
You telling him to not own a copy of Mein Kampf is every bit as absurd as Pat Robertson telling Richard Simmons the error of his ways. Richard Simmons might be a bit fruity and annoying, but he isn't about to start the gay version of the third Reich, and in fact is rather harmless.
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This smacks of moral relativism. You could take the same scenario, and if it were the type of person (ethical or not) who CNN would interview, it's completely ethical. By the same token, something completely ethical (kinda) like starting a political party will look like an evil thing when coming from a guy who society deems "bad." It's unfortunate no one things for themselves anymore... or maybe it's not.
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What's wrong with arms dealing?
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Typically arms dealers aren't selling to the type of people who are sportsmen or gun enthusiasts. They're typically selling to militaries.
Makes sense to me (Score:4, Insightful)
If the system is out to get you, become part of the system.
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Worked for Hitler.
Hey, the thread was Godwin'd from the start!
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Not really.
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Is that you, Silvio Berlusconi?
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I'm thinking that Kim wants to use his political party to somehow avoid extradition . . . political immunity or asylum, or something like that. If NZ decides to hand him over to the US, he will try to get his case heard in The Hague, or something like that.
If that fails, he will end up rooming with Snowden in Russia. Just so that Putin can stick another weed up Obama's ass.
Just sit back and enjoy the show (Score:5, Interesting)
I really enjoyed this [nzherald.co.nz] commentary. An extract:
"Eighteen months ago, after the slap-stick bumbling and embarrassing forelock pulling by New Zealand authorities to their United States counterparts was revealed, I was moved to wonder if Dotcom was in fact a computer virus, slowly infecting our senior politicians and agencies of state, and transforming them into figures of fun.
Whether he is a virus, or a puckish imp, sent by the gods to mock those who would rule over us, Dotcom continues his uncanny facility to bring out the ridiculous in them."
Wherever you stand on his legal issues, business ventures and politics, he is great entertainment.
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I find Kimmy kinda funny, too (a bit like the North Korean Kim in a twisted sort of way) but I think that would give him far too much credit. Our politicians are quite capable of making complete tools out of themselves without the need of any aid.
I have that much faith in our representatives, yes.
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I find his antics amusing too, but after all the buses I get stuck behind in traffic with his ugly mug on the back of them, I'm kind of hoping they extradite him now, as long as they take the bus ads with him.
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Seriously. He's got his face on the back of, what, 80% of the NZ Bus fleet?
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Oh and he has been the victim of investigations since the 90s. First for telephone fraud, then for (you guessed it) copyright violation by running a BBS to distribute "warez" and he promptly ratted on everyone in the scene just to get a better deal for himself.
Then he went on to swindle the German "TÜV" out of money by selling them a company he had "built" which turned out to be a complete lemon.
Then he was found guilty for fraud and insider trading concerning "letsbuyit.com".
He has a long history of d
Signed copy of Mein Kampf? (Score:1)
Something else he should promise... (Score:4, Insightful)
He should promise to get the influence of the United States of America and the big US media companies OUT of NZ politics.
I don't know what its like in NZ but there are plenty here in Oz that dont like the influence of the USA in this part of the world (myself included) and I would certainly vote for a politician who promised to do what I suggested above.
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It's for exactly that reason that he gets any traction in public opinion in NZ. The first time he came to the attention of most Kiwis at all was when the NZ police raided his house with swat teams, helicopters and the works at the behest of US law enforcement. For ... copyright infringement.
Then it turned out that our intelligence services had been spying on him illegally [tvnz.co.nz], (along with 80 or so other foreign-born NZ residents) Some of our politicians had been taking political donations from him and later de [radionz.co.nz]
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Oh, and the Mein Kampf thing is a desperate attempt by incumbent political parties to discredit him - so he doesn't get in a position to be kingmaker.
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Yea, because he wasn't already a laughing stock ...
Discredit him HOW? VERY VERY few people are so ignorant as to think he's not a douche, and the only people that do are ones that think there should be no copyright or privacy at all and they should get anything they want ... much like him.
Could do well (Score:1, Interesting)
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If I lived in New Zealand, I would be voting for his party.
Too bad I dont live in New Zealand and have to put up with Tony Abbot (who is just as friendly to big US corporations as John Key is, if not more so and unfortunately likely to be much harder to vote out)
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If I lived in New Zealand, I would be voting for his party.
In general, its not the best of ideas to announce to the world that you're a bumbling idiot, which is what you did with those statements.
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I don't think Abbot will be harder to vote out than Key, personally. Labour is doing an exceptional job of providing no credible opposition to National at every election, so the chances of a non-National government this election or next are pretty much nil.
Now Australia, I dunno. Can't see Abbot getting re-elected after the Qantas thing.
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Doesn't matter. The US has us with the TPPA. Australia is already screwed with its existing "free trade" agreements.
Oh please... (Score:1)
Give me a break. I'm Jewish and I own a copy of Mein Kampf.
mega.co.nz isn't worth shit (Score:2)
It requires to download a lot of javascript shit just to try to initiate a file download which then fails because "my browser isn't supported".
Why the fuck is it so difficult to just link to a fucking file on the server? What the hell is wrong with mega.co.nz?
Every time you link to a file on that website, be aware that a shitload of users will NOT be able to download it.
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It's because the file has to be decrypted on the client. Because the server doesn't know (nor does it want to know) the encryption or decryption keys (because then they'd be able to decrypt it, which they do NOT want). Use Firefox or Chrome and it will work just fine as they can handle the client side decryption and streaming the file down.
two words (Score:1)
Attention whore.
That's really all you need to know about Kimble, it explains everything about him.