Our Response To The Latest Ridiculous Legal Threat Against Us: Milorad Trkulja Can Go Pound Sand
from the damn-it-feels-good-to-be-a... dept
As we’ve noted, we regularly get legal threats, some of which are more serious than others. Sometimes we ignore them entirely, and sometimes we feel the need to respond. Depending on the situation, sometimes we respond privately. Sometimes we respond publicly. The more ridiculous the threat, the more likely we are to respond publicly — and I think the latest holds up as one of the most ridiculous legal threats we’ve seen. It comes from Milorad Trkulja, who is also known as Michael Trkulja, and who lives in Australia. Trkulja made some news a few years back when he (somewhat surprisingly) successfully sued both Yahoo and Google for hundreds of thousands of dollars, because when people did image searches on a variety of phrases related to things like “Australian criminal underworld mafia” sometimes a picture of Trkulja would show up. Apparently, Trkulja was actually shot in the back a decade ago by an unknown gunman. And somehow, for whatever reasons, certain websites included pictures of him along with enough keywords that the search algorithms at both Google and Yahoo would return his photo in such searches. We wrote about his victory over Google back in November of 2012, pointing out how ridiculous it was that an Australian court said you could sue search engines because image search happens to pop up your image along with actual gangsters.
Anyway, after we wrote about the case, as happens on Techdirt, people commented on the story, including one anonymous comment from someone who, in a totally offhand way, claimed that “Trkulja’s a gangster, too.” The actual content of the comment, as you can see was actually to clarify some of the misconceptions — including who “Tony Mokbel” is (a well-known Australian gangster) and responding to the author of the post, Tim Geigner’s (admittedly weak) sarcastic joke that Australians fight with machetes, rather than guns.
Now, it appears that Trkulja just found out about this comment (more on how in a moment) and has sent off a fairly massive 54-page document to both myself and to Google with a series of increasingly hilarious demands — including that we respond by 4pm today (he does not designate in what time zone — not that it matters). The letter is, well, you kinda have to read it. It is full of misspellings, along with typographical and grammatical errors of all kinds. For someone who claims to have consulted a lawyer before sending the letter, you’d think he’d consult someone who could proofread his letter as well. No such luck, apparently.
It starts out by claiming that it’s “Not for publication” but that’s totally meaningless. You send it to us, we can absolutely publish it. Free speech means something here in the US.
Oh yes, speaking of Duffy, it felt… odd… to receive a legal threat from Australia so soon after discussing the Duffy decision — especially given that Duffy had not only just yelled at us online, but had also been going off on some bizarre rants and outright threats against some individuals who expressed an opinion suggesting that the ruling in favor of Duffy was troubling.
So, it didn’t come as a huge surprise that Trkulja then admits he only found out about our post and the comments… thanks to Duffy, who is apparently a “family friend” of his.
From there, he notes:
I complains is an article authored by you and posted to the “Techdirt” website situate at https://www.techdirt.com (“the website”)….
Well, I’m really not quite sure what to do with that information, because almost everything in it is wrong, but we’ll get there. From there, he mentions that he spoke to an Australian defamation lawyer, and suddenly shifts oddly from the first person to the third person — possibly copying what someone told him, though it’s not at all clear from the text of the letter. The key point: he claims that comment is defamatory and that Techdirt is liable for it. This is wrong on a variety of levels — but we’ll get there as well.
Then, we get to the “demands.” It starts with a demand for Google. They are apparently supposed to delist Techdirt entirely because of a single comment that Trkulja falsely believes is defamatory. Also, it could be read as to be asking Google to block me personally from Google’s website. Or something. Also, he wants Google to block some other websites. No reason or explanation is given.
Then there are a ton of screenshots that I assume are “exhibits” of some sort. They include my Twitter page for no clear reason. And also the Techdirt profile of the author of the original article, Tim Geigner, and, for reasons unknown, Tim’s Amazon author page. He also refers to Tim as “Darknight aka Timothy Geigner” while I think most of our regulars recognize that Tim is better known as “Dark Helmet” in our comments….
Okay, so that’s the situation. Now, the response: we’re not going to do any of the demanded things. For a whole variety of reasons. Let’s go through just a few, because this post is getting too long already and if I had to respond to all of the ways this letter is wrong, none of you would still be reading.
- First up, not that it really matters, but the statute of limitations is one year in Australia, as it mostly is in the US as well. Under some circumstances, it can apparently be extended to three years, but (oops) that comment was published on November 13, 2012. The statute of limitations is up. Sorry.
- The comment isn’t defamatory. The reference claiming you’re a “gangster” is totally innocuous. It’s a trivial throw away comment on a blog post that no one would notice. Trivial comments are not defamation in Australia (or the US for that matter).
- The other lines that you seem to complain about are opinions not statements of fact. The reference to the “gun” was a response to Geigner’s joke in the post about machetes, not to anything involving you. Opinions are not defamation. Things unrelated to you are not defamation of you.
- Also, we’re a US company with no presence in Australia, so your threats are pretty pointless.
- Even if you could convince an Australian court with some sort of wacky legal argument, we’re totally protected from such judgment thanks to the SPEECH Act.
- Free speech, dude.
- We have no “subscriber” named Anonymous Coward. That’s the designation given to anyone who comments without logging in.
- We didn’t publish the comment. An anonymous user did. We’re not liable for it. If you have any legitimate complaint at all (and you don’t), it’s with an anonymous user who posted a trivial comment three years ago, rather than us or Google.
- Even if none of the above is true: what the fuck? NO ONE is finding a comment buried deep below a blog post about your legal victory and suddenly saying “oh, well that proves that Trkulja was a gangster.”
- Wait, what’s so terrible about being called a “gangster” anyway? To many people it’s a compliment or something to brag about.
That’s enough of a response. There are tons of other possible responses, but in short: we’re not doing a damn thing in response to this ridiculous threat. You have no case whatsoever and complaining about this is ridiculous. It may be time to find a hobby or something, Mr. Trkulja, because poorly written and ridiculous legal threats to foreign entities aren’t doing you any good.
Filed Under: australia, comments, defamation, intermediary liability, janice duffy, liability, michael trkulja, milorad trkulja, secondary liability, section 230, speech act
Comments on “Our Response To The Latest Ridiculous Legal Threat Against Us: Milorad Trkulja Can Go Pound Sand”
I hope you fire that Darknight guy.
Re: Re:
Yeah, he’s a douche….
Re: Re:
He’s not the commenter TechDirt needs, but the commenter Michael Trkulja deserves.
Re: Re:
They should also fire & ban that Anonymous Coward guy – what an asshole!
That smackdown was so good, Dwayne Johnson wants you to give him some pointers.
Re: Re:
I dunno. Both Trkulja’s letter and Masnick’s response seem overly long and verbose compared to virtually the same conversation in Arkell v. Pressdram.
I’m betting he’s demanding that response by December 1st, 2012 so that he can try to claim that his letter was within the statute of limitations when he throws this example of incoherent rambling at a judge. That he took this long to go to court in response to your exceedingly late reply is just evidence of his saint-like patience.
Or it’s a typo because he uses the numpad while otherwise typing a letter instead of the number keys like a normal person. I think my interpretation is funnier.
Dear Milorad Trkulja,
..|.. O.O ..|..
That’s not so much a legal threat as a hissy fit.
Re: Re:
I’ve seen hissy fits that were more coherent.
Re: Re: Re:
I’ve seen gangsters that were more coherent.
Re: Re: Re: Re:
But have either of you seen a more coherent gangster’s hissy fit?
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
Fugget About It on [Adult Swim].
Re: Re: Re:
from a 2 year old
…refers to Tim as “Darknight…most of our regulars recognize that Tim is better known as “Dark Helmet” in our comments…
The proper response would be to ship this guy a case of that Dark Helmet beer that Mr. Geigner wrote about some time ago. With a message that this is more than he deserves.
(I looked for a link to that story but it appears to have wrapped out.)
To the Gangster Trkulja
Dear Milorad (Michael) Trkulja,
In order to stop being referred to as a gangster, it would help stop threatening people. Although as a Techdirt reader, I want you to keep it up, because I truly enjoy reading the articles and reading your sloppy and meaningless legal threats, it makes my day pass more enjoyably and give me a good laugh.
Thanks,
Another Anonymous Commenting Person
Re: You're out on a day pass?
Are you a gangster too? ;p
So
So I’m guessing this guy would not like it if someone posted something like “hey this asshole is probably a fucking terrorist”. Nope, he wouldn’t like it one bit, probably.
Dear Mrs/Ms/Mr Milord,
This is the subscriber Anonymous Coward, and I officiously take back my statement that Trkulja is a gangster. He is actually a petty and sensitive fraudster that likes to perform show tunes with various domesticated amphibians. That and dull sex acts.
It is these amphibians that are the actual gangsters who have, through the psychic medium of Dr Duffy, forced me to submit these facts to the world wide internets against my will. Google was witness to this and will back up my statements with a self driving car.
Please obliviate techdirt.com of any guilty associations with my infernal commentry and I will send you a 1/2 penny to cover your legal fees, you gansta you.
Sincerely and in perpetuity,
AC
Re: Re:
I’m no psychic but I predict that this legal threat isn’t going to end well …
Wait, machetes instead of guns? I thought Australians use machetes and sniper rifles…
Re: Re:
I clearly remember Australians use boomerangs and they sometimes cut off fingers when gangsters are showing off.
Re: Re: Re:
Get it right, you maggots, we use cane knives as the tool of choice.
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Cane knives?
nah.. thongs.. thongs are the tool of chose of any Bogan worth their vegemite!
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
Ya can’t hack a thing with thongs. Ya need something real manly to chop chop joe blakes, particularly any taipan in the chook yard.
DOA
Re: Re: Re:3 Re:
The red belly blackies hate thongs thrown at em..
And it’s easier than throwin a full (or half empty) stubby at em.. I mean the stubby might break and spill me grog!
Though the old Barbie tongs from K-Tel might work.. not sure on their balance, though the snag stabber on the side of em might scare the buggers off!
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
Thongs? Just because you can pull it on, doesn’t mean you can pull it off.
Re: Re: Re:3 Re:
Thongs are open shoes (well soles really – with a rubber webbing that goes between two toes) that you wear on your feet. In the USA I believe you lot weirdly call them ‘flip-flops’.
Re: Re: Re:4 Re:
No, a thong is a G-string and a flip-flop is a jandal.
Re: Re: Re:5 Re:
Only if you’re a Kiwi.
Re: Re: Re:
Wait… are we saying that Trkulja isn’t a gangster, but is in fact Crocodile Dundee?
Re: Re:
Sniping’s a good job, mate. It’s challenging work, out of doors… I guarantee you’ll not go hungry! Because at the end of the day, long as there’s two people left on the planet, someone’s gonna want someone dead.
What a Fucken dick
Mike Masnick is a gangster who fights with machetes!
There! How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine, eh Masnick?
You say you’re not the publisher for Techdirt comments? Well then… good luck suing yourself for this post!
Re: Re:
Suing yourself can pay off — William Gaddis, A Frolic of His Own
I hope the Goddess Streisand is pleased.
For once more Her Effect has awakened.
Dear Mrs/Ms/Mr Milord
I’m a Nigerian Prince who has a large inheritance coming my way . If by chance you can forward ten thousand dollars via western union to this web site I can immediately send you a check for one million dollars .
Please do not hesitate as I’m sure you would like the cash and if some one else sends the ten thousand dollars before you , they will get the one million dollars .So don’t delay send today
Thank you
Nigerian Prince
Re: Re:
So wait, you’re a Nigerian prince NAMED Nigerian Prince? You can’t get more official than that. I’m all in!
Are we sure this guy isn’t the beloved little troll who used to go by the name of darryl?
All the incoherent ranting, poor punctuation, bad cut & pastes and terrible spelling look awfully familiar to me.
You wish.
It means that this article follows right after the one titled “Judge In FBI Case Was Forced To Redact His Mocking Of FBI’s Ridiculous Arguments” which happens to be about the court case of Nicholas Merril who fought 11 years in the U.S. legal system in order to be allowed to publish a “NS letter” sent to him.
“Free speech means something here in the US.” is a Humpty Dumpty claim:
Now let Humpty Dumpty speak with the voice of the acting Attorney General and you get the drift.
Re: You wish.
The difference is that one is a legal action/document by a Court (if you can really refer to the FISA as an actual “Court”) that has the force of law. The other is a letter with an ignore-able request.
Re: Re: You wish.
Ah, you got the memo. The First Amendment is something for the peons to heed.
At some point of time, the Bill of Rights was actually intended to limit the powers of the government.
Re: Re: Re: You wish.
As a note aside: I wish that those autogenerated gravatars were at least generated from a hash of the Email address.
It becomes hard to figure out just which David is replying to which one if every posting gets a new gravatar.
That'll learn him
Taking his letter and throwing it in his face and dredging this whole thing back up is totally gangsta. Good on you mate.
Obligatory oz link to harden up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh6pZQX22CQ
Milorad Trkulja is a gangster, it’s a well believed fact. I know because someone told me. I also read about it from a respectable source.
You’d think someone willing to put this much effort into going after a 3 year old comment on a blog based on the other side of the world might take 10 seconds to see how they treated prior threat letters before sending one.
It’s called due diligence. Good way to avoid Streisanding yourself
Re: Re:
Actually it is called having an IQ higher than a brick. A comment by a poster on a blog that many will not even remember even if they remember the original post is not worth the effort.
A Hunting We Will Go
Machete, what a strange way to spell boomerang. Must be a Chicago thing.
Lawsuit vs Speech
If these sue happy people had just asked Techdirt to allow them to post a rebuttal article about what they felt was unfair instead of suing then I expect Techdirt would be more than happy to work with them. Instead, and sadly, they just want to hide things away instead of talk about them.
Let’s rhyme if I mat be blunt,
This Milorad Trkulja is totally a c**t!
Trying to get Techdirt plucked
but Milorad Trkulja is totally f***ed.
Well, just sharing my opinion here. A guy who makes these kinds of threats isn’t a gangster anyways. He’s just a pathetic moron. If he gets shot in the back again, no one would cry about it, I think.
Re: Re:
Well, the rhyming could have been better. Let’s make a contest of this, trying to see who can ridicule this guy the best with rhymes! 😀
Re: Re: Re:
We need that Redditor who makes poems of stories on the front page now and again.
Re: Re:
I tried to channel my inner tragic poet samurai but the best I could do was:
Milorad Trkulja / Michael Trkulja doesn’t know his own name and has a small, deformed penis.
Oh and he looks like one too.
I tried. Sorry.
perhaps we can have Trkulja's law
It’s better for a person to be potentially thought of as a gangster than for said person to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that said person is an idiot.
Reasonable Response
Your response was reasoned and informative. In other words, lame. Why bother to publish it if you are not going to mock somebody and entertain the masses?
Hey Mike, ever considered going through life not being a total douche?
Re: Re:
It’s being a “total douche” to stand up to a bullshit legal threat? How so?
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He’s just worried that his position as douchebag troll is being threatened.
Re: Re:
It’s so cute when you project that hard AC.
Regarding your comment “Then there’s a demand that we respond by December 1st, 2012”, I don’t see that in screenshots. There is a lot mention of November 13th, 2012 when the comment was made, but the last paragraph is the “deadline” of December 1st, 2015. I don’t see anything about a 2012 deadline. Or maybe I’m blind, who knows.
Re: Re:
Regarding your comment “Then there’s a demand that we respond by December 1st, 2012”, I don’t see that in screenshots. There is a lot mention of November 13th, 2012 when the comment was made, but the last paragraph is the “deadline” of December 1st, 2015. I don’t see anything about a 2012 deadline. Or maybe I’m blind, who knows.
Page 9 of the attached document.
Re: Re: Re:Page 9
Thanks for clarifying that, I noticed it but didn’t have time to read the filing yet. was curious if it was a typo given what was displayed in the post itself.
Re: Re: Surprised you missed Trkulja's latest little earner from Google
Trkulja’s at it again suing Google
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/VSC/2015/635.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=Trkulja
Surely this deserves a review
Re: Re: Re: Surprised you missed Trkulja's latest little earner from Google
ah…. now this to TD makes sense…
Thanks for putting this on my radar. Another idiot I have to keep tabs on… oh dear
Re: Re:
Actually, the Jan 1, 212 date is on the next page where he signs the letter, so it really is there. Completely off topic, is out of the blue a justice in the Australian court system? The decisions made by the Hon. Justice Blue seem to be as coherent as OOTB’s ramblings.
Re: Re: Re:
OOps, forgot it’s not USA, so date format is a bit different, 12/1/2012.
Milorad Trkulja is a gangster
Milorad Trkulja is most definitely a gangster. A childish one at that..
I is a gangster its true
Re: Re:
Know why i dont think that of?
what was is his email again?
we can register it to a hundred of porn sites and it will not be useful EVER
"family friend"
Just goes to show that inbreeding really does produce idiots.
Re: "family friend"
Apparently I’m the leader of a lynch mob or something for merely jerking my thumb at what she actually did and daring to opine on it.
Internet users, be sure to ACT and you’ll be fine:
A – Avail yourself of information on internet use, etc., from reputable websites like Techdirt
C – Conduct yourself in a manner that reflects the way you wish to be perceived online
T – Turn off the internet and find something else to do if you find you simply can’t resist lashing out at people you find annoying.
Re: Re: "family friend"
Yea, well Cockcroft is here sermonizing silly bitch
Re: Re: "family friend"
or should I say Cockcroft is here sermonizing, silly fat ugly bitch, after all, it is freedom of speech here – right?
Re: Re: Re: "family friend"
Right. All of the above is freedom of speech. Notice that I’m not rolling around banging my fists on the floor, squealing like a baby about those mean ol’ people saying nasty things about me on the internet.
Nor have I resorted to petty name-calling because I can’t make a cogent argument.
I’ll leave all that to you, dear.
Re: Re: Re:2 "family friend"
I think you have gone squealing to Techdirt asking comments about you to be blocked.
Re: Re: Re:3 "family friend"
ROFL!
The man is an idiot! I’d like to know the name of the lawyer that “helped” him write the travesty. Sounds like he’s run out of money and thinks this will top up his coffers. Tony Mokbel is a “Convicted Murderess” (bottom of page two in the pdf), so when did he have the operation? If any court takes the document seriously it will only prove that it is as big a cretin as Trkulja is.
Re: Re:
“Tony” is obviously short for Antonina. Although they usually spell their name “Toni”.
Milorad Trkulja is the biggest gangster in Melbourne and now he is extorting Google and using Techdirt
Milorad Trkulja's payday
Milorad Trkulja is the biggest gangster in Melbourne and now he is extorting Google again
My apologies to TechDirt Regulars for the following language, but it’s best to speak the native tongue when dealing with idiots down here…
Trkulja; Shut the f**k up ya f**king wanka, it’s f**king c**ts like you that make me f**king ASHAMED to be born Australian with family going back to the First f**king Fleet.
It’s f**king bad enough we’re getting shat on by ex-govo wanks like Hellstra, trying to live in the modern digital age (15 years let alone 30 years is too f**king old for a phone exchange for internet users, especially rural ones!), but f**king c**t wanks like you are f**king giving the c**twaffles in Canberra the fuel to f**k over our rights and freedoms both online and on the street.
F**k’s sake mate, every f**king time you pull c**p like this by trying to f**king hide your f**king past you just KEEP BRINGING THAT F**KING PAST BACK INTO THE F**KING SPOTLIGHT, ya f**king wank.
And to the c**t Duffy, the same goes to you, ya f**king c**t.
Re: Re:
What is actually heard:
Trkulja; Shut the beep up ya beeeeeep, it’s beeeeeeep like you that make me beep ASHAMED to be born Australian with family going back to the First beep Fleet.
It’s beeep bad enough we’re getting beep on by ex-govo beep like Hellstra, trying to live in the modern digital age (15 years let alone 30 years is too beep old for a phone exchange for internet users, especially rural ones!), but beeeeeeeeeep like you are beep giving the beep in Canberra the fuel to beep over our rights and freedoms both online and on the street.
beep sake mate, every beeep time you pull beep like this by trying to beep hide your beep past you just KEEP BRINGING THAT beep PAST BACK INTO THE beep SPOTLIGHT, ya beeeeeeep.
And to the beep Duffy, the same goes to you, ya beeeeeep.
Now say the above with a broad and course accent with the appropriate buzzer sounds added.
Re: Re:
STRAYA!
Re: Re:
Canberra…
Is that you Swan? 😀
Re: Re: Re:
Nah, I say “Canberra” when I mean the bulk of the populated ACT, and ACT when I mean the whole territory (such as when listing off the States/Territories).
Technically, I should say something like “Over near Civic”, but only those who’ve been to/lived around Canberra would really know what I mean without cracking open Google Maps or Wikipedia.
How the hell does Patrick Zarrelli keep getting work?
Suddenly I’m afraid to post as an Anonymous Coward because of this friggin’ idiot.
Oh no, it’s too late!!
You know mike
I wouldn’t have minded one bit if you were to go on for another 3-4 pages. Gives me more to laugh about at nonsensical legal “threats”.
By all means, read the 54-page document
I’m only partway through it and had to stop to refill my scotch twice already. It’s hysterical. There are Broadway plays that don’t contain this much pure comedy.
Trkulja was my bagman
Milorad Trkulja is a big Melbourne criminal I should know I am one too
Yea I heard that too that Trkulja really was in an Australian gang with Mokbel and that is why he got shot but they missed
better luck next time the criminals can take the other criminals off the streets and I can sit back and laugh
bet Google would prefer the next shot did the job to save them some grief and money
Looks like Milorad Trkulja is already going after Google
ya got to give the moron credit Trkulja has certainly found a way to extort Google
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/VSC/2015/635.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=Trkulja
Milord Trkulja s a dishonest gangster
This guy Milorad Trkulja is a real piece of work. He sues search engines and then rips off his lawyers by not paying them after they win the cases
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2014/76.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=trkulja
So Trkulja is a dishonest gangster, go figure
And now on: Natures great mysteries!
“Oh come and take a look at this! What beauuuutiful specimens. These are the species Moronis Idiotas, or in the common tongue: Gangster Wankers.
Look how they fall down and are now trying to take the food from the other animals who witnessed it.
It is a wonder we keep seeing these Idiotas, because as you see, they now dig holes so deep that they can’t get up again and they will eventually die of starvation.
One has to wonder how Wankers evolved into this, but one thing is for sure: being an idiot is in the Wankers nature.”
Okay you got me!
I am Anonymous Coward.
Re: Okay you got me!
you however are not that anonymous coward or That Anonymous Coward (cause if you are I have the wrong underwear on)…
Re: Re: Okay you got me!
Wait…we are supposed to be wearing underwear??!
Re: Re: Re: Okay you got me!
Do not mock the underoos…
Re: Re: Re:2 Okay you got me!
Under Roos?
are they like kangaroos that dwell in burrows?
I’m so confuzzled!
Re: Re: Re:3 Okay you got me!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underoos
Re: Re: Re:4 Okay you got me!
Well that just makes me more confuzzled..
though I’m sorta wanting a pair now
Re: Re: Re:5 Okay you got me!
they note they have licensed it out for adult sizes now…
Re: Re: Re:4 Okay you got me!
I always sported Garanimals over my Underoos. And it took 30 years and Wikipedia for me to realize that they’re Garanimals named for Garan Incorporated, and not Grrr!Animals. [/ridiculous-digression]
Re: Re: Okay you got me!
Hey guys, can I play? I’m almost anonymous…
Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
Why is comment 35 ‘flagged’? Does freedom of speech only extend to mere mortals, not the great Masnick?
Anonymous Coward, Dec 1st, 2015 @ 1:24pm
Hey Mike, ever considered going through life not being a total douche?
RE: “We’re not liable for it. If you have any legitimate complaint at all (and you don’t), it’s with an anonymous user who posted a trivial comment three years ago, rather than us or Google.”
Under Australian law Google is liable.
RE: “Even if none of the above is true: what the fuck? NO ONE is finding a comment buried deep below a blog post about your legal victory and suddenly saying “oh, well that proves that Trkulja was a gangster.”
Well if the comment on the 2012 post wasn’t actionable this post and the comments most certainly are. Of course, it won’t cost Techdirt anything. Trkulja will just sue Google. That is a real responsible way to put a case for free speech-not!
Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
To AO
Cause, those who flagged don’t want to listen to the ravings. That is their freedom of speech. Has nothin to do with TechDirt. You can still read the post as it is just been hidden not removed.
JAAO
Re: Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
To JAAO: Only problem with that theory is I posted the same comment and it was held for moderation – we will see if Masnick posts it
Re: Re: Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
So you admit to spamming with multiple accounts and wonder why it gets held for moderation?
Re: Re: Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
Occasionally, mine get held for moderation too, but they always appear and always unedited. The funny thing is that I might have a couple of responses to an article and all but one goes through immediately.
JAAO
Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
“Under Australian law Google is liable.”
[citation needed]
Free speech?
That’s interesting the comment I posted saying something unflattering about the author is being held for moderation…I must send this to Mr Trkulja
LMAOROTF
and any other letters that may be laughing at that jacknut.
1 – Do we understand why I call them odd little upside down people now? While there are exceptions, OHAI G!, there appear to be more nutters there.
2 – Mike tweeted about a threat, I jokingly replied but managed to foresee this coming from Oz. Imagine my shock she wasn’t the source but somehow still involved.
3 – Anyone else shocked to see Duffys name attached? IIRC there was talk about her working with someone offering reputation management services one might think that she is using her “win” to drum up more people to hop on the bandwagon and publicize any “results” as evidence she is vindicated once again and you can be to for a fee.
We are going to end up seeing more and more of this type of stupid. RTBF is gaining traction because people only want the world to have a carefully curated view of them, altering reality to make that happen. With everyone “googlestalking” everyone else for jobs, relationships, etc. there is this cottage industry in trying to get things removed about past “indiscretions” ignoring that it would be far more useful to do good moving forward and not keep highlighting that past issue over & over & over. In obsessing over that, they do new things that get reported on and focus more views on the past they fighter harder to hide, drawing more attention to the past, so they fight harder to hide, drawing more attention…
I’m not proud of everything in my past, but I don’t spend my time trying to make reality blackhole it. I do however judge people who find a bad event on my timeline to obsess over it while ignoring everything else. Judge me on my worst day, you’re not worth my time… and it is your loss to pass me over, because I am so much more. Shame these people seem to let 1 event define them & refuse to move on.
Re: Re:
hmmmmmm…. so glad you made an exception.. Though I must admit, I do enjoy the insanity immensely!
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why does it appear that many of your countrymen go out in the midday sun without adequate sun protection? With all of these examples of the bad that sunstroke can cause…
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It’s a rare event for sunstroke. We tough, we take skin cancer as an Aussie right.
Re: Re: Re:2 Re:
SLIP SLOP SLAP!!!
🙂
Re: Re: Re:3 Re:
And during the 90’s the became “Slip, Slop, Slap & Wrap” when they added sunnies to the list! XD
In the immortal words of Too Short, “So you DON’T want to be a gangster?”
Great story, but a couple of points:
The lack of a “presence” in Australia isn’t exactly a defense. As your website is made available to Australian people, there is always a chance that a court will still find that you can fall under their laws in certain circumstances. This argument could be strengthened if it could be shown that your gear shop sold t-shirts or access to Australians (ie, you did business with Australians in Australia).
Also, the argument about who published the comment would be on your side if you are in the US (because of Safe Harbour) but may not hold legal water outside of the US.
I don’t think this guy has a legal chance in hell, but then again, how many people have won against Google?
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So to you, the reason why this guy’s case isn’t going to succeed isn’t because of how legally abysmal it is, but because he’s going up against Google? Really?
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You’re ignoring the part about the SPEECH Act. It doesn’t matter what an Australian court decides it has jurisdiction over.
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Is that the same for Yankee Courts that believe they have jurisdiction over the rest of the world?
Re: Judgement
Re: Re: Judgement
Yes, but when it comes to the internet, international law is still in it’s formative years. While I think Techdirt is correct to tell him to pound sad, some of the defensive points raised may not hold water on a site that markets and sells access and gear to Australians.
I don’t think it would happen, but smugly standing behind US laws isn’t the safest bet. Being right and being able to prove it would be better. Since the Australian courts have already sided with this guy once against one of the biggest companies in the world, he may in fact have enough of a case to work it.
Re: Re: Re: Judgement
Re: Re: Re:2 Judgement
The speech act isn’t total protection. For instance it doesn’t protect decisions made under foreign laws that offer similar protections to the first amendment, so it more than likely wouldn’t protect against an Australian decision.
Re: Re: Re:3 Judgement
Here read this article by an eminent Australian QC on why Australian defamation laws are absolutely not going to be allowed under your Speech Act because there are NON, NADA, ZIP protections for publishers in any way shape or form in this regard. No s230 counterpart or anything..
Trkulja is in the Aussie vernacular.. ‘pissing up a rope’
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As your website is made available to Australian people,
Really? How so? Is he using special packets or an .au domain?
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It’s called the internet. The website is not specifically blocked in Australia, thus it is available to Australian people.
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It’s not made available for them now, is it?
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I admit it all
My name is Milorad Trkulja and I am a Melbourne gangster and criminal who likes to extort money by suing search engines for defamation.
I also like to con lawyers out of money by not paying them legal fees which I get from the search engines and pocket myself.
I will sue anyone who has money so don’t say anything nasty about me unless you are poor. I might even sue you anyway and take your house or car or your first born daughter if she is pretty and can earn a few dollars for me (he he he).
Aussie Fighting
Tim was correct. Humour or not, us Aussies really do fight with machetes.
… But that’s because we have decent gun laws, no Second Amendment and no NRA to bribe our government.
“Leave the gun, Take the Tim Tams” -Milorad Trkulja
Will the real Out Of The Blue please stand up. It’s getting so you can’t tell one lunatic from another around here.
$$$$s
you lot have just made Trkulja the gangster criminal another $200K
the cap on damages here is 250K plus interest so ballpark $330.00 this year so keep going because I am sure that you can maybe even double those damages by tomorrow
Nope, speech act doesn't apply
maybe to Techdirt but not if a corporation does business in Australia like Google
besides, they paid him once if the media is correct
I’m no lawyer but I think that is why Google didn’t file a notice of acting in his latest court case but unless they file he is entitled to a summary judgment and if they don’t pay and the media get a hold of it Google will look very bad especially since they don’t pay their fair share of tax here
safe to say you lot have fixed the problems of time limitation and one little comment in the above because this is now on the front page of a search for his name
well done
Re: Nope, speech act doesn't apply
safe to say you lot have fixed the problems of time limitation and one little comment in the above because this is now on the front page of a search for his name
If they didn’t want the matter to be front and center all over again, then they shouldn’t have sent laughable legal threats/demands to a site known for making legal threats against them public. Five minutes of research could have saved them from shooting their own foot, but as it stands they get to enjoy the crowd, and they have no-one to blame but themself.
Lets all jump on this bandwagon
Milorad Trkulja – How do you even pronounce this name, but that aside, I think we should all say Milorad Trkulja as much as possible in relation to this article because Milorad Trkulja is an asshat. Let’s totally screw up google’s search and totally go full Streisand effect on Milorad Trkulja and possible some other words in the same post and comments. Milorad Trkulja obviously does not know (at least US) law and the ridiculousness of Milorad Trkulja tops some of the claims by our own Govt officials.
However, Milorad Trkulja. Just because I Milorad Trkulja is just a weird name and should be at the top of ANY google search result.
Whatever he/she said
Re: Whatever he/she said
Whatever raises good points. It is never a good strategy for a pawn to put the King in danger because that has a way of coming back to bite.
The blog post and comment that is the subject of this article may not succeed in a defamation court but this one certainly will. Since it is on page 1 of Google and read by Australians Trkulja arguably has a good case and is probably printing it all out as each comment is posted with one hand and using a calculator to add up damages with the other.
Australia has a cap on defamation damages but the legal costs from Trkulja’s recent win and that of the other recent Australian case must be into 7 figures.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/VSC/2015/635.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=Trkulja
Then of course there is the ‘saving face’ and ‘plugging the leak’ issue for Google in not only Australia but in the rest of the common law countries.
Techdirt may think in can afford not to care because of the communications decency and the libel tourism acts but a recent US decision in a case against that infamous website RipoffReport.com found against the website due to the way that it solicits content.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2428558/vision-security-v-xcentric-ventures.pdf
The castle is no longer so secure.
It is not smart to be a pawn that opens the castle gates to an enemy for its own amusement and compromises the King’s position.
Re: Whatever he/she said
The blog post and comment that is the subject of this article may not succeed in a defamation court but this one certainly will.
What, pray tell, in the blog post is defamatory?
Thanks.
Re: Re: Whatever he/she said
Re: Re: Whatever he/she said
Mike Masnick is a douche
So, it didn’t come as a huge surprise that Trkulja then admits he only found out about our post and the comments… thanks to Duffy, who is apparently a “family friend” of his.
So, does this mean that… Duffy is a gangster too?
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This is an interesting statement on his behalf, and leads one to make interesting hypothesis about collusion between two separate parties that absolutely have axes to grind towards Google et.al.
I wonder what Ms Duffy’s response to this factoid is.
Note: it could be totally Bullshit and/or quite innocent. But hey if it looks like a duck etc.. etc.. (it’s probably made of wood)
Thug life.
It seems that Mr Trjulja went and saw “The Senior Australian Defamation QC” (what ever the flying fuck that is) who advised him that [at 17] “the posting is of and concerning to my reputation” (sidenote: any SC/QC who is advising a client, especially considering the barrister/solicitor structure, of this specificity needs to be instantly slapped with an ethics violation and/or struck off)
Maybe he should of seen a real one first. I don’t know maybe one who is actually a QC, a member of the Victorian Bar, a Senior Fellow of the Melbourne Law School. Who is also the esteemed author of three editions of The Law of Defamation and the Internet (2001, 2005 and 2010) and of Collins on Defamation (2014) which are tomes used by all Australian solicitors, law schools, and barristers.
Maybe the same one who just recently (27th November 2015) wrote this article about ‘Paddling in the backwater: Australian courts and online defamation ‘
Personally I love this line:
Maybe Mr Trkulja should take that advise and not be thought of absolutely as a complete and blithering moronic egotist who has a few kangaroos loose in his top paddock by all and sundry WORLDWIDE now.
Oh and Milorad, or Michael, or as I now will call you “Wanna be yobbo”… I’m Aussie.. bring it on 😉
After reading and reading and reading...
I read all the supporting links on Duffy tried to follow along, but by 4:18am, my opinion is that I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. -Professor Hubert Farnsworth
Some say..
Some say Milorad Trkulja has a goat sex fetish. That kind of perv should be on a watch list. Last thing anyone needs to see is ‘thousands and thousands’ of goat faced babies.
Re: Some say..Goat sex
Ye Gods man!
Mr Trump you must be clear
Are you saying Milorad Trkulja like goat sex as in baking cupcakes or goat sex as is copulating with goats?
I complains!
“Hat you will forthwith” continue “Posting Permanently” these amusing pieces! I would have actually enjoyed reading a full and lengthy response, but I had fun with this one.
Re: Comment 35. It was flagged by the community, not by Mike or his team, because it adds nothing to the discussion. Insult Mike all you want but don’t complain when people downmod the comment.
WTF indeed.
“what the fuck?” indeed.
David Bowie wrote as Tin Machine something something about shit… oh yeah, I can’t read shit anymore, and well, I couldn’t. I couldn’t get through #4 because this thug can’t FUCKING SPELL let alone check his grammar.
I also think that if Anonymous Coward is going to ruin it for everyone else, you should ban this member, give the aforementioned member the door prize and hand Him (the Royal sense) over to the Gangster because the thug is really s̶e̶r̶i̶a̶l̶, I mean really serious and knows the law really really awesomely – I got all tingly like just reading his first veiled threats….
I wouldn’t want to be in TechDirt‘s shoes right now, ‘cuz that’s like one of the more serious takedowns threats I’ve seen posted here.
So, what is TechDirt going to do about this Gangster and his threats? Do you think he means to cause physical harm? 😀
"Anonymous Coward"
Is it just me, but Anonymous Coward owns this thread, even responding to it’s(?) own comments.
Who is this Anonymous Coward?
Oh god not THIS guy!!
He tried to sue me and my message forum a few years ago when someone was talking about him. The guy said that just calling someone something does not make it true and then called this asshat a “free-ranged chicken” because obviously that made it true.
He then tried to sue us for calling him a free ranged chicken.
I told him to pound sand and have never heard from him again.
Re: Oh god not THIS guy!!
“He tried to sue me and my message forum a few years ago when someone was talking about him. The guy said that just calling someone something does not make it true and then called this asshat a “free-ranged chicken” because obviously that made it true”.
Yes, he tried the same thing with me – trying to sue because of something I said that wasn’t even directed at him.
So since Techdirt will protect me let me say what I really think!
Milorad Trkulja is lower than a snakes asshole and makes up defamation cases, doesn’t pay his lawyers, and then tries to deny that he is a criminal. Well extortion is criminal and that is what he does – extorts money out of unsuspecting and innocent people.
I bet his pal Duffy is not much better and is trying to extort Google.
The both should be locked up for their crimes.
Yes I am fat and ugly
I am
Re: Yes I am fat and ugly
Butthurt is funny.
Re: Re: Yes I am fat and ugly
Wendy Cockcroft is a butthurt coward
Duffy, is that you?
does anyone want to bet how many of the latest comments are Duffy’s sockpuppets?
DUFFY DID ATTEMPT TO EXTORT GOOGLE WITH HER BUSINESS PARTNER MICHAEL ROBERTS
To be clear this is nothing personal against Janice Duffy There’s no hate, no call for violence Nothing of the sort It is simply the calling out of a painfully misguided woman whose vision of the internet, hacking & free speech—at best—insane. And—at worst—dangerous, although she really needs to go on a diet.
Here is a link to when her business partner DBA Page1me, Badforpeople, Ripoff Report Victims, Rexxfield , Authorized Statement
Attempted to get Google to pay them for an SQL hack.
https://www.slideshare.net/darrenmeade1/google-tip-off-offer-deadline
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/01/20/google-cide-online-reputation-managers-can-wipe-from-web.html