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New Zealand PM apologizes to Kim Dotcom (video)

105 points by jklp 14y ago

junto 14y ago
A straight talking Prime Minister who is not trying to talk his way out of blame. Awesome.
- doesnt_know 14y ago
  If you've been following the story you would know this clip is a complete farce. When pressed for any real information he falls back on the tried and true "I don't recall". It's still up for debate whether he has been lying this entire time and knew about the entire thing. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10839932 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&obj...
- Troll_Fat 14y ago
  The PM tried saying it was a matter of mistake and not conspiracy. BS. They were clearly conspiring with U.S. elements to take him down.
- uvTwitch 14y ago
  John Key is absolutely nowhere close to a straight talking PM
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
patrickgzill 14y ago
Apologies are nice; now, who is going to jail for what happened?
- ultramundane8 14y ago
  Yes. A public apology in this case is just more insulting. It would be an open acknowledgement of the fact that a government can do whatever it wants without any consequences.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- ihsw 14y ago
  Excerpt: "Do you take any responsibility for what's taken place, as Prime Minister?" "Well ultimately of course I'm accountable for GCSB and I won't walk away from my responsibilities there, but I would simply say this is an operational matter, it was at a pretty basic level, and it's been the system in place for a very long time. It wasn't overly complex, it didn't come about because we changed something. The day I found out about it was the day I issued a full inquiry and I've been very upfront and honest about what's now gone wrong." GCSB: Government Security Communications Bureau
  - lostlogin 14y ago
    Upfront and honest? He has been caught out lying about key dates when he found out about Dotcom spying, and according to today's paper his revised story is a lie too, as there may be a tape recording of him mentioning something about it considerably earlier. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10839932 http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objec...
    - veb 14y ago
      I give him props for ordering the review, saying something might be fishy and then the eventual apology so quickly though.
accarrino 14y ago
what a mess
lutusp 14y ago
No text! I suggest that people who post a video with no accompanying text, include a warning flag "[Video Only]", in the fashion of "[PDF]", so people will be warned that they won't be able to (a) absorb the content very quickly compared to watching a video, or (b) copy/paste relevant sections for the purpose of editorial comment.
- pav3l 14y ago
  "Of course I apologize to Mr. Dotcom. I appologize to New Zealanders, because every New Zealander that sits within a category of holding a permanent residency, or New Zealand citizen, is entitled to be protected from the law, when it comes to GCSB, um.. we failed to provide appropriate protection to him."
grecy 14y ago
So now the PM has apologized, what ramifications does that have for Dotcom, Megaupload and the ongoing legal stuff? Does Megaupload get all it's servers and data back, immeidately? Are all the charges against Dotcom and Megaupload dropped? It is now clear the American authorities broke the law, and Dotcom can pursue them?

105 points by jklp 14y ago

junto 14y ago

A straight talking Prime Minister who is not trying to talk his way out of blame. Awesome.

doesnt_know 14y ago
If you've been following the story you would know this clip is a complete farce. When pressed for any real information he falls back on the tried and true "I don't recall". It's still up for debate whether he has been lying this entire time and knew about the entire thing. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10839932 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&obj...
Troll_Fat 14y ago
The PM tried saying it was a matter of mistake and not conspiracy. BS. They were clearly conspiring with U.S. elements to take him down.
uvTwitch 14y ago
John Key is absolutely nowhere close to a straight talking PM
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

patrickgzill 14y ago

Apologies are nice; now, who is going to jail for what happened?

ultramundane8 14y ago
Yes. A public apology in this case is just more insulting. It would be an open acknowledgement of the fact that a government can do whatever it wants without any consequences.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
ihsw 14y ago
Excerpt: "Do you take any responsibility for what's taken place, as Prime Minister?" "Well ultimately of course I'm accountable for GCSB and I won't walk away from my responsibilities there, but I would simply say this is an operational matter, it was at a pretty basic level, and it's been the system in place for a very long time. It wasn't overly complex, it didn't come about because we changed something. The day I found out about it was the day I issued a full inquiry and I've been very upfront and honest about what's now gone wrong." GCSB: Government Security Communications Bureau
- lostlogin 14y ago
  Upfront and honest? He has been caught out lying about key dates when he found out about Dotcom spying, and according to today's paper his revised story is a lie too, as there may be a tape recording of him mentioning something about it considerably earlier. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10839932 http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objec...
  - veb 14y ago
    I give him props for ordering the review, saying something might be fishy and then the eventual apology so quickly though.

accarrino 14y ago

what a mess

lutusp 14y ago

No text! I suggest that people who post a video with no accompanying text, include a warning flag "[Video Only]", in the fashion of "[PDF]", so people will be warned that they won't be able to (a) absorb the content very quickly compared to watching a video, or (b) copy/paste relevant sections for the purpose of editorial comment.

pav3l 14y ago
"Of course I apologize to Mr. Dotcom. I appologize to New Zealanders, because every New Zealander that sits within a category of holding a permanent residency, or New Zealand citizen, is entitled to be protected from the law, when it comes to GCSB, um.. we failed to provide appropriate protection to him."

grecy 14y ago

So now the PM has apologized, what ramifications does that have for Dotcom, Megaupload and the ongoing legal stuff? Does Megaupload get all it's servers and data back, immeidately? Are all the charges against Dotcom and Megaupload dropped? It is now clear the American authorities broke the law, and Dotcom can pursue them?