Salon.com > New Zealand

Megaupload: U.S. government lied to get search warrants

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:25:00 +0000

Shuttered file-sharing site Megaupload is attempting to have search warrants executed by the U.S. government deemed invalid. According to Bloomberg News, Megaupload have filed a complaint alleging that the government lied to a court to get warrants to search computer servers in Virginia that belonged to Megaupload.

TorrentFreak detailed the substance of Megaupload's complaint:

When the U.S. Government applied for the search warrants against Megaupload last year, it told the court that they had warned Megaupload in 2010 that it was hosting infringing files.

Through its hosting company, Megaupload was informed about a criminal search warrant in an unrelated case where the Government requested information on 39 infringing files stored by the file-hosting service.

At the time Megaupload cooperated with this request and handed over details on the uploaders. The files were kept online as Megaupload was instructed not to touch any of the evidence. However, a year later this inaction is being used by the U.S. Government to claim that Megaupload was negligent, leaving out much of the context.

Hobbits, superheroes power NZ film industry

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 05:45:00 +0000

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A crate full of sushi arrives. Workers wearing wetsuit shirts or in bare feet bustle past with slim laptops. With days to go, a buzzing intensity fills the once-dilapidated warehouses where Peter Jackson's visual-effects studio is rushing to finish the opening film in "The Hobbit" trilogy.

The fevered pace at the Weta Digital studio near Wellington will last nearly until the actors walk the red carpet Nov. 28 for the world premiere. But after "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hits theaters, there's more work to be done.

Weta Digital is the centerpiece of a filmmaking empire that Jackson and close collaborators have built in his New Zealand hometown, realizing his dream of bringing a slice of Hollywood to Wellington. It's a one-stop shop for making major movies — not only his own, but other blockbusters like "Avatar" and "The Avengers" and hoped-for blockbusters like next year's "Man of Steel."

Along the way, Jackson has become revered here, even receiving a knighthood. His humble demeanor and crumpled appearance appeal to distinctly New Zealand values, yet his modesty belies his influence. He's also attracted criticism along the way.

Stephen Colbert to appear in “The Hobbit”

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:06:00 +0000

Book fan and comedian Stephen Colbert will have a cameo in at least one of Peter Jackson's three upcoming "Hobbit" films, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Colbert hinted at the possibility of an appearance in a candid interview with Playboy, during which he admits he is "a little obsessed" with Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings":

New Zealand issues Hobbit coins as legal tender

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:36:00 +0000

New Zealand, the backdrop of sweeping cinematic scenes from "The Lord of the Rings" and the upcoming trilogy "The Hobbit," is issuing a series of Hobbit coins. The coins are a sort of genius marketing move meant to generate "strong international interest in the build up to the premiere" of the "Hobbit" premiere on Nov. 28. (Is "The Flight of the Conchord's" band manager Murray Hewitt behind the idea?)

Plans for giant Antarctic marine sanctuary falter

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 06:30:00 +0000

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Antarctica's Ross Sea is often described as the most isolated and pristine ocean on Earth, a place where seals and penguins still rule the waves and humans are about as far away as they could be. But even there it has proven difficult, and maybe impossible, for nations to agree on how strongly to protect the environment.

The United States and New Zealand have spent two years trying to agree on an Alaska-sized marine sanctuary where fishing would be banned and scientists could study climate change. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took a strong interest in the outcome, regularly prodding diplomats, and New Zealand recently sent a delegation to Washington to hash out a tentative deal.

That compromise, over a region that accounts for less than 2 percent of New Zealand's fishing industry, turned into a flop this month when senior New Zealand politicians rejected it behind closed doors.

The U.S. and New Zealand have now sent competing plans to the 25 countries that meet annually each October to decide the fate of Antarctica's waters. Their inability to agree greatly increases the chances that nothing will get done.