IT'S DR EVIL!

Why is Kim Dotcom guilty until proven innocent and why is the New Zealand media acting as a cheerleader for the American authorities?

Despite the fact that the owners of the filesharing site MegaUpload have yet to appear in court to answer the many charges laid against them, the US authorities have still pulled down a site that receives around 50 million hits a day and accounts for four percent of all Internet traffic. If you are one of the many millions of users who have paid to use MegaUpload for legitimate purposes - well, thanks to the good old boys at the FBI, you can no longer access a service you have paid for. You have also lost access to all the files that you might have had stored on MegaUpload. What can you do about it? Nothing.

As well, with the obliging assistance of the New Zealand authorities - who even called out the armed offenders unit - we have seen the US authorities seize property and cash and freeze bank accounts.

All this has been dutifully recorded by our media. The mainstream media seems completely unconcerned that Kim Dotcom (Kim Schmitz). and co have yet to be found guilty of anything. It seems that the New Zealand authorities are quite happy to suspend the principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' and be the foot soldiers for the American entertainment industry.

Just to rub it in, a campaign of character assassination is underway. While many of us won't care for the opulent lifestyle of Dotcom, the fact that he lives in a mansion, throws lavish parties and is a rich git with a shady past isn't a crime. If that was the case the likes of Mark Hotchin would of been thrown in the clink years ago. The media though have gleefully reported all the comings and goings at Dotcom HQ as if it was more proof that Dotcom and his mates were up to no good.

Dotcom, thanks to our gormless media, has been transformed into Dr Evil bent on world domination.

No one seems interested that MegaUpload are saying that the charges against it are 'completely overblown'

Said a lawyer for the site: 'Our initial impression is that the allegations are without merit and MegaUpload is going to vigorously contest them. We have deep concerns over due process and assets being taken without the opportunity for a hearing."

And while the US authorities have denied it, the FBI raid on MegaUpload seems to have been specifically timed. It came just a day after the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act—that would, if enacted, vastly expand the control of the US government over the Internet - lost significant political support in the face of massive public opposition.

The raid on MegaUpload is a demonstration that the United States Government will continue to take action against websites despite the widespread opposition to attacks on internet freedom.