The Megaupload Indictment: A Discussion

My stand against SOPA and PIPA has little connection to my thoughts on the Megaupload indictment and arrests currently in the news. I mean let's not pretend that these people believe information should be free or have some other admirable agenda because this is clearly not the case.

Kim Dotcom, or whatever he calls himself today, had a mansion with heavy security and a Rolls Royce to start with here. I, on the other hand, have an old vehicle in disrepair and exist in a small apartment. I literally have nothing much. Meanwhile, Kim and his cohorts had links for free uploads of my Blueprint books on their megasite where they sold subscriptions and advertising and lived extremely high. Not just high living, but to extremes – make sure to note that. In every sense of the word, these people were greedy pigs, worse than any of the Occupy targets.

So why does Anonymous run to their defense by knocking down various government websites and threatening more havoc? Please feel free to explain if you have a clue.

This post is prompted by an article that I just read: Megaupload site wants assets back, to fight charges

Newsflash to Kim whatshisname: We have forfeiture laws in the US and that ain't happenin'. The money you made selling the property of hard-working, and often poor, people was never yours to begin with and you won't be getting it back.

Once the DOJ gets its hooks in your banks accounts and starts scouting for assets, you'll have nothing much at all – just like me. Usually that also translates to all defendants ending-up with attorneys from the Federal Public Defenders Office, so expect to fight like the rest of the people dude. There won't be $millions to hand to top-notch attorneys and buy your way out; it doesn't work like that at all. Your days as a greedy jerk with a license to steal are over.

Sure, there's the argument that many of the freeloaders that downloaded movies, books, and music from Megaupload would not have purchased any of the products anyway, but if even one out of 100 did, then people like me could possibly survive and continue to produce content. No doubt in my mind that independent musicians and authors have suffered the most by the actions of this greedy gang and the others still out there.

Having stated all of that, I do not advocate life imprisonment (or any prison) for any criminal activity that doesn't involve violence or the serious and actual threat of violence. I don't want to see these greedy thieves go to prison at all. I would rather that each learned how so many of their victims have to live – firsthand.