Kim Dotcom vs Corzine and Modern Day Letters of Marque

[MartinMouseBrave]

So the question is: what entity is giving out these letters of marque, and how do we discipline this entity in order to force it to alter its behavior?

[rich2rock]

Yes, we don't go into a Swiss bank and confiscate accounts because of what's in them. This is the same situation here.

[soflynnirl]

I love listening to smart people like you, very interesting.

[bullsnutsoz]

When we look behind the curtain we find the greasy hand of the Royals everwhere we look

[MrFatterson]

Just an illustration to where this inevitably leads:

Article on Techdirt: Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details

Law cap. Lack of due process. Arbitrary action. From the article:

"Even worse, about the only evidence that ICE had that these songs were infringing was the word of the “VP of Anti-Piracy Legal Affairs for the RIAA,” Carlos Linares, who was simply not in a position to know if the songs were infringing or authorized."

[MrFatterson]

What is the legal process that was used to seize his property, although this individual is not yet convicted of anything?

Has his property been seized temporarily? Why has his property been seized?

I really don't understand how this can happen in the free countries of the West?

Mustn't he be considered innocent until proved guilty by a court of law after the appropriate legal proceedings?

Confusing ... what happened here?

[wepollock]

@MrFattersonThere are two types of forfeiture cases, criminal and civil. Almost all forfeiture cases practiced today are civil. In civil forfeiture cases, the US Government sues the item of property, not the person; the owner is effectively a third party claimant. Once the government establishes probable cause that the property is subject to forfeiture, the owner must prove on a "preponderance of the evidence" that it is not. The owner need not be judged guilty of any crime. 

[MrFatterson]

@wepollock

thank you for your knowledgeable response:

so it's "probable cause" vs. "preponderance of the evidence"

sounds like: "lawless" and "law cap" vs. "not free" and "subject to random action"

[happionecom]

May I suggest that people watch you tube JeepersMedia regarding cnet and all the illegal down loads and more.

[xmenrus]

Very astute observations..The more things change in the western countries, for 500 years, the more they stay the same..by Davy Jones' locker!!! HAR HAR matey!!! 

[PepLacy]

Feds claim that Kim was seeking and paying for hot copies of pirated material to his site. Of coarse, he could have been set up by jealous/envy, enemy, or someone trying to save their own ass. He should have known better. Another Leona Helmsley saga. He should have known better, should been driving a plain Ford truck with hand crank windows ;)

[slobomotion]

Uprated.

[fullclipaudio]

It really all comes down to money. If I were really wealthy, I would live in a small town. I could afford to buy off a few officials and, get this, I could get away with murder. After all, a small town prosecuting attorney is gonna have a hard time with me given that I could drop more than his yearly budget. I can have a dozen lawyers running his entire office in circles.

That is why you do not see any rich people on death row. Very few in prison either.

[ClearSmashDrop]

The whole MF Global debacle got me interested in my own brokerage (stock). My account agreement states that only Margin Accts are subjet to rehypothecation and that retirement accounts are not. Do you think that stock brokerages will simply do it without permission?

[wepollock]

@ClearSmashDrop Who knows how a court will deal with your assets in a bankruptcy..

[deadman12078]

True. Poor bastard didn't know that to operate in the US you need to spend millions 'lobbying" in DC otherwise you'll be shut down.

Same is true of all of us.... Was in court for tinted windows and I was disgusted. Man was there for beating his girlfriend. Could afford bail so he had no time served. Court got $305, victim... nothing. No counseling for victim/attacker. Just a wife beating fee/tax. For the right price you rights can be expanded or iliminated

[STOPPUCKNOW]

the violence against womens act does the same thing based with no evidence only acusation they take everything you have

[huskerbird1]

Warren's a real smart guy, very connected, and very knowledgable. That said, he has no time for your loose and arrogant B.S. but you already know that. un sub and go back to your hole.

[sgone0]

Great illustration, thank you! You are really putting your ass on the line, readdressing our government and the current judicial system is a real eye opener.

[joel1923]

So, eventhough I left America almost six years ago, I can still have my assets seized without even so much as a trial? Even if I renounce my US citizenship and become a German, Irish, or Portuguese national, the US government can still seize my assets? 0_0

Best to have 90% of your assets in gold/silver and scatter it across the world in buried treasure chests in remote places.

[slobomotion]

@joel1923 I am an American expat and now French, too. I saw this sneaky kind of crap starting years ago, the US Dept of the Treasury wanting to know more and more about my bank accounts here, beyond just what I earn, which I do report honestly. I felt I should not do that because my spouse is fully French and our accts are joint and I have no right to disclose his info to a govt he is not a part of. Well, if I renounce it now costs me 450 USD!

[joel1923]

@slobomotion I file taxes every year, as required by law. Anything under 80,000$ is not taxed by the US gov't (depending on double-taxation agreements and time spent outside the US, etc). Even if you renounce US citizenship, you should still get benefits. Mexican nationals do...

[slobomotion]

@joel1923 Yup. US Soc Sec admits they owe me back disability benefits and a stipend, but they have lost my dossiers three times already. I cannot demand any French doctor to fill out a form in English and it is actually illegal for them to even talk to another French doctor or anyone else about my health. I wrote to Obama in 2010 and offered to cash out and renounce. No answer except for me to ask for another form! I did. No answer.

[PepLacy]

@slobomotion - Hire a lawyer.

[slobomotion]

@PepLacy Did that in two countries. Cost me a fortune. They just took my money and brushed me off.

[PepLacy]

@slobomotion - Hire a lawyer who will work for 30% of the pot, and nothing if he loses your case. It's the only way to go. 

[slobomotion]

@PepLacy The case goes back more than ten years and no one in the US will even take it on contingency, I have tried. They don't do contingency at all in France, I have to pay 150 euros for a face to face with my lawyer and she gives me a break, the normal rate is 200.

[PepLacy]

@slobomotion - Have you contacted an Advocacy center in your state? Also checkout an organization called legal-aid dotorg & read their "ourmission" page. Wish you well.

[slobomotion]

@PepLacy I am not in a State, I am in France. New York State, yes, that is where I contacted people and they kept telling me too much time has gone by and they won't touch it. xo

[slobomotion]

@PepLacy Contingency work is not legal here. We are not under Anglo-Saxon law.

[robran53]

The gov't needs to control the stealing, otherwise we'd all be stealing and there'd be nothing left to steal. Who better to share the stash with than your own friends. This is a universal. And it's why corzine has not only gotten off the hook on mf global but is now apparently looking for a new pirate ship to captain.

[RandallSteen]

Very well said. I've been think the same thing.

[MrEdwinauer]

Corporate financial system... Unlimited stealing permitted.

[orenofhowick]

I'm in Auckland, ashamed of my govt. They let him have residency for a shifty deal that included him buying $10 mil in NZ bonds (about US$80 mil). But that's not what I'm worried about, I'm worried that free stuff on the internet will no longer be free.

We need to reassess our values when it comes to "collective goods", seriously. Copywrite is a scam, pirates are heros.

Interestingly we had new piracy laws rammed down our throats last year due to US lobbyists and a proposed NZ-US FTA

[optionsupdate]

the flag of the unied states looks very similiar to the british east india company

[optionsupdate]

the elites worship satan

[mindprism]

Sir, I understand what you are saying, and the apparent unfairness of it all. But what we are looking at is a legal trap-door. Using 'federal' notes is a privilege, and they can attach any kind of terms and conditions on that usage at any time. Its an open ended contract.

Until we see that this is the real hidden reason to why 'we lose', this will keep continuing.

[hozayamz]

Madoff, MF Global, Barnhardt, Corzine, Kim Dot Com- ever notice how these hyped memes don't just smell like rats, the smell like the SAME rat. . . .? They all move the storyline along, "Made-off"supposedly goes to jail, "Barnhardt" the cattle woman gets famous, Fat Kim dutifully arrives for SOPA- ah, but it's a conspiracy theory. . .

[jimbobubbadj]

TPTB no longer want the hassle to "protect" their interests in court. Now they just want to issue decrees and have the agrieved party to have to prove their innocence.

[MattyS54]

thanks for the thoughts warren. MK's radio show was all about copyright this week very good discussion. Megaupload was legally compliant as possible (registered DMCA agent, swift takedown process) before the raid. legal case was pending with Universal for illegal abuse of takedown powers, removal of the megasong on youtube. odd the service was singled out, with many corporate users too. whole thing stinks and PTB can't win a battle against the internet, lots of dynamics in play...

[the11thone]

Warren what you are describing is the RICO statutes that has been used by the Federal Government for years. They sue the property, taking homes, airplanes, homes, boats, vehicles. They can't prove the owner committed a crime, but they can show that the property was used to commit a crime. In many cases it could be a property rented from someone else--doesn't matter whether the owner knew how the property was being used. The property is gone. Check out how RICO is being used or abused.

[SilverLadyBug999]

Good points & historic comparison. I did learn something form this video, thank you.

[TonyUnplugged]

The General Motors bond holders should have been first in line to be paid according to existing bankruptcy law. Why aren't they suing the crooks who ignored federal law ?

[wepollock]

@TonyUnplugged Or bankruptcy law changes in front of the housing bust, or bankruptcy law changes in front of defaulting student loans, or after the fact bankruptcy changes whereby 400 brokerage customers rule a process managed by the Security dealers vs the 50000 customers who are disenfranchised commodity customers (in process now).

[jleetxgirl]

Thank you for the history of the letter of mark. I knew some tiny smidge about it way back in my memory, but did not know they are still in effect today That sneaky Queen of England! Wonder where I can get one of them.

[wepollock]

@jleetxgirl Re modern day "Letter of Marque's" I am talking illustrativly-figuratively. In terms of Empire the key dates are 1601 (solidification of Limited Liability Corporations from earlier English Laws in the 1500's Under Queen Elizabeth) and 1805 Were England became the master of the great sea empire (that the US now controls)...

[jleetxgirl]

@wepollock ~ I am glad I subbed you after the Max Keiser video you did. You have a lot of info, and I want to absorb as much as you put out there. Thanks, I was kidding about getting one...sort of. lol ;) I am reading The Red Amendment, (about the 14th Amendment) finding out how we have been hornswoggled so long ago.

[YouSayYouWantA]

@jleetxgirl Welcome!! Warren is a diamond in the rough.

[macpduff]

Yes

They have seized his money so he has no funds to defend himself

He had huge liquid assets - which made him a target

[macpduff]

This is weird Warren

Exactly the thoughts that ran through my mind recently.

We don't know who they are, but there are certain people who have permission to steal

It answers quite a few questions.

[kroovyandcal]

Why is South Korea strengthening ties with China, too?

[jackieochannel]

excellent reporting once again, thank you Warren

[duffland09]

I'm glad I found you mate... cheers from a new regular in Australia.

[Ape65]

Great vlog! I guess the dotcoms and their IPO banskter backers will have to compete with Hollywood in buying off Congress. Who do you think has the deepest pockets (or who can give congressmen the juiciest stock options)?

[buddyoke]

You are way off-base. This is not about right of privacy; megaupload was not a "storage locker." Kim Dotcom is an embarrassment to the technological community, who made no secret of his disregard for the law. The government's action was no less justified than your claim that property rights are now nonexistent and that our future freedom is somehow in jeopardy because this criminal has been arrested. I'm sorry, but the irresponsibility of your claims means that I have to unsubscribe from you.

[wepollock]

@buddyoke Ok.. this is an actual case.. In South Carolina a man was stopped by the police for speeding and they searched him at which point they found $3,200. Because that was a large stash of cash they confiscated his car without due trial. In court, He had to prove that the money was "not guilty" by showing the court where it came from! Its not only about privacy; its about state sponsored piracy, and its also about the selective application of law and due process.

[kileer7]

@wepollock Filesonic and Fileserve, both websites are cyberlockers, are changing their behavior in response to the draconian crackdown on Kim dotcom.

[CodenameOnyx]

@buddyoke you my friend are so ignorant that you don't know that you don't even deserve an insult. you have a nice day. Read more my friend, because you need help.

[huskerbird1]

@CodenameOnyx Add to that arrogant. dumb and opinionate. typical koolaid/punch drunk american.

[jimbobubbadj]

@buddyoke Cannot anything be taken too far?

[a10fjet]

youre probly one of my top 3 subscriptions. always informative

[Eraser7622]

Great juxtaposition Warren! My circle of influence will hear about this video.  Thank you

[opensala]

and how much longer will evil rein ?

[stonethugmusic]

" NICE LITTLE SHOW BIG BOY " BUT THAT'S LIFE IN THE BIG NEW CITY " THIS IS HOW THE BIG BIG BOYS PLAY " ALL THE WAY BACK TO JESUS CHRIST DAYS REMEMBER ? " WHAT IS JUST ? "

[CTOL1]

What a great correlation

[cori800888]

Very interesting and valuable in what aspects a person lives, as a producer of goods and valuable supportive services or as a not producer, govt agent, tax man or burocrat with a 200k pension... the collapse is not going to be funny,

[dustofseven]

You are always honest and very informative. I thank you.

[kbbacon]

Hear, Hear!

[reachwest]

Excellent way to contrast these two fiascos. Thank-you.

[1x93cm]

so nothing is really new

we still have privateers and sea dogs working for the crown

[jbearden]

Arrrggg!!! HAHAHHA! *Clink!*

[cmsingerbill]

just reading a book called The Law by Frederick Bastiat. goes very much with your video legal plunder is what he calls it ! 

[zalida100]

@cmsingerbill Bastiat was a very elegant writer. Ah, if only more people would read his stuff - haha. Hopefully you'll enjoy the book and read some more of his stuff :)

[kileer7]

Good video. As much as people like to think they can be self sufficient during or after a collapse, when the shit hits the fan they'll know otherwise.

[JanRichardus]

Maritime Admiralty Law. Captain is judge, executioner and the trustee.

[JanRichardus]

Rule number one,..there are no rules. So the looting continues.

[tcorourke2007]

Good stuff, Warren.

[idahosilverspelunker]

I apprieciate your work and listen to them as soon as they come out.

[wepollock]

@idahosilverspelunker thanks.. the key is to spread them around via Facebook, email, twitter and to friends and family.