New Zealand Spy Agency Deleted Evidence About Its Illegal Spying On Kim Dotcom 222
An anonymous reader writes "The latest news in this: GCSB appears to have deleted key evidence in the case in a ham-fisted attempt to cover up its illegal activities. Even more ridiculous, GCSB is trying to cover this up by claiming that the material had 'aged off' — implying that it was deleted automatically. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key claims that they had to delete the information under the law. Of course, there are a few problems with that. The first is that under New Zealand law, like most countries these days, parties have an obligation to preserve documents likely to be necessary in a legal case. But, even more damning is that there's video of John Key in the New Zealand Parliament trying to defend against an earlier claim that GCSB had deleted some evidence by insisting that GCSB does not delete anything ever:"
Re:Oh NZ, I had such hopes for you (Score:5, Interesting)
Sometimes I get the feeling that NZ is deliberately messing this up.
That the US might have pushed them to get Kim and this is just NZ's way of protesting it.
The amount of mistakes made in this case is approaching comedic levels.
I couldn't comment on Beta in the proper link (Score:5, Interesting)
It starts to be amusing in a sad kind of way. (Score:5, Interesting)
This site is probably the reason I didn't finish my university degree in 2000.
I have spent ages here, and took part in some very intelligent discussions.
Slashdot has always been about the highly educated user base, you could always count one at least one knowlegable person in the comments getting to the heart of TFA.
It has been in decline the last few years, maybe because new users find reddit first (and then they are reduced to drooling zombie basement dwellers) or maybe because the editors are worse (though complaining about the editors is nearly as old als /. itself), I don't know.
But this site redesign will be the end of it once and for all. The main selling point of slashdot is it's userbase. Scare them away and all you're left if is a generic 'news' rehashing site.
But the stubborn pushing of this disastrous beta (office politics? nobody wants to be mean to the nice new designer?) makes shure it will at least go out with a bang and not slowly fade away.
I watch with a sad sort of amusement as if my old college dorm where I spend so many good parts of my life is burning to the ground because the homeowner thought it would be a good idea to replace all woodwork with cardboard.
Not really topical, but... (Score:4, Interesting)
If you want to hear from us on the beta, why does mail to the given email address bounce? Maybe fix your stuff.
Re:FUCK BETA (Score:5, Interesting)
I expect what's more likely to happen is that people will spam FUCK BETA and make similar posts in the comments sections of all stories. Comments are what keep people around Slashdot these days and if the comment sections falls apart, the site will follow.
It's much more likely than a boycott and since the idea of doing so seems to have spread rather quickly across Slashdot, people like feeling like they're part of a group of protesters who might actually be able to make the change they're after.
Re:They should make a story about the beta (Score:2, Interesting)
Googling "Fuck Beta" brings up Slashdot as the 10th search. It will be racing to number 1 in no time.
Have you noticed how much weight Google gives to Slashdot in its searches, Dice? Maybe find a way to monetize that instead of pissing the whole user-base down the drain with a "Let's do something!!!" idea.
Did you know that Google is easily the world's most profitable web service, Dice? What is most remarkable about their design? Ah yes, the CLEAR UNCLUTTERED INTERFACE.
Re:FUCK BETA (Score:5, Interesting)
I think the readability of comments suffers greatly from the beta design.
Re: Maximum penalty... (Score:2, Interesting)
Yes, we do but its not like the one in the US, ours is a collection of documents see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_New_Zealand
I am from NZ and I seer this from the inside, the problem is the Govt has been caught doing something illegal so now its face-saving time, I very much doubt that the documents have been "lost" or "Aged off" Simply because the documents are not that old (your supposed to keep your Tax receipts for 7 years) I doubt that any information was deleted with no other sources.
The Govt is getting increasing pressure from the US to extradite him so they can lock him up (after a wonderful show trial, prob televised) The US can and does influence NZ quite a-lot, we have been forced (and I do mean forced, though threat of embargo) To approve of quite a few US policies, Hell we are still made to buy surplus US military equipment. The US is a major trade partner for us the loss of their Custom would cost us dearly.
On the other side of the Coin, Most NZ'ers are outraged that Kim has been target (esp by the US) and are doing Our best to try and stop him being deported, but sadly there is little we can do apart from try and drag this out in the open and slow down the court system. We will most likely lose, he has done nothing wrong by NZ law but with billions of dollars in trade at stake we have little say, In the end it comes down to money.
We have hope though, if we can stall long enough till november (ish) our next set of elections roll around and with any luck the dominant party will change to labour, if this happens they will most likely stop the cases and allow him to say as a political "we're better than you stun in national face"
Signed,
An Angry Kiwi
Re:They should make a story about the beta (Score:4, Interesting)
Now that would be an interesting story. Hear it from their side, and gain some insights into why deathmarches like Unity, Metro, and Slashdot Beta continue on into production despite overwhelming negative feedback.
It's like nobody in IT understands the sunk cost fallacy: when you're in a hole, stop digging. Managers think they can resolve the waste of dollars in the past by digging up, and in so doing, throw away good money after bad.