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

Tue, Dec 1st 2015 11:33am — Mike Masnick

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.

It then includes a recitation of some "facts" about certain Australian organized crime individuals, followed immediately by this:

I'm not an expert on Australian law, but I'm pretty sure that's totally false. I believe that he's either referring to his own earlier case, or (more likely!) the dreadful recent decision in a South Australia court, concerning one "Janice Duffy." Duffy, as we've discussed, sued Google after she became quite upset that a Ripoff Report post mocking her was a high result on her name (what is often left out of this discussion was that Duffy went to Ripoff Report first and posted fake posts to attack a psychic website where she felt she had been connected to a psychic who provided her with false information, and the supposedly "defamatory" content on the site was someone referring to Duffy as a "psychic stalker"). The ruling in that case did not say that Google is automatically liable for any defamatory content online, but rather, in this specific instance, Google could be found as the "publisher" of some defamatory content, based on the way that Google chose to display that content. I disagree strongly with the decision as is, but even if we accept it at face value, it does not say what Trkulja is claiming.

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.

If you can't read that, it notes that the "matter in paragraph 14" (which is the comment I mentioned above) "come to my attention when my family friend Dr Duffy from South Australia send me link that you have been defaming me as from 2012."

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 demands for me that include identifying the anonymous "subscriber," delete the comment, the post and anything ever mentioning Trkulja. Oh, and I should fork over a bunch of money:

These demands are then repeated again on the next page in slightly different language. And numbered instead of lettered. No idea why. Then there's a demand that we respond by December 1st, 2012. Yes, 2012. I'll assume that's a typo.

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.

Australia Take Down (PDF)Australia Take Down (Text)

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Filed Under: australia, comments, defamation, intermediary liability, janice duffy, liability, michael trkulja, milorad trkulja, secondary liability, section 230, speech act

162 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:41am

I hope you fire that Darknight guy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Dark Helmet (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:10pm
  
  Re:
  Yeah, he's a douche....
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Yakko Warner (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:19pm
  
  Re:
  He's not the commenter TechDirt needs, but the commenter Michael Trkulja deserves.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Nop (profile), 23 Dec 2015 @ 10:09pm
  
  Re:
  They should also fire & ban that Anonymous Coward guy - what an asshole!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
S. T. Stone (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:50am

That smackdown was so good, Dwayne Johnson wants you to give him some pointers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Roger Strong (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:13pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:50am

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.
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Baron von Robber, 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:51am

Dear Milorad Trkulja,

..|.. O.O ..|..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Roger Strong (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:59am

That's not so much a legal threat as a hissy fit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- S. T. Stone (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:01pm
  
  Re:
  I’ve seen hissy fits that were more coherent.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:19pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I've seen gangsters that were more coherent.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:15pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      But have either of you seen a more coherent gangster's hissy fit?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Monday (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 9:10am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Fugget About It on [Adult Swim].
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - madasahatter (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:50pm
    
    Re: Re:
    from a 2 year old
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:00pm

...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.)
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Another Anonymous Commenting Person, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:03pm

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
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- Aaron Walkhouse (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 2:05am
  
  You're out on a day pass?
  Are you a gangster too? ‌ ‌ ;p
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Roman, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:07pm

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:08pm

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
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:12pm
  
  Re:
  I'm no psychic but I predict that this legal threat isn't going to end well ...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mason Wheeler (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:08pm

Wait, machetes instead of guns? I thought Australians use machetes and sniper rifles...
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:44pm
  
  Re:
  I clearly remember Australians use boomerangs and they sometimes cut off fingers when gangsters are showing off.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Deeply Offended Australian, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:02pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Get it right, you maggots, we use cane knives as the tool of choice.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - G Thompson (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:50pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Cane knives?
      
      nah.. thongs.. thongs are the tool of chose of any Bogan worth their vegemite!
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Deeply Offended Australian, 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:04am
        
        Re: Re: Re: 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
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        G Thompson (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:26am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: 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!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2015 @ 4:00pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Thongs? Just because you can pull it on, doesn't mean you can pull it off.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        G Thompson (profile), 4 Dec 2015 @ 6:13pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: 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'.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2015 @ 8:12pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        No, a thong is a G-string and a flip-flop is a jandal.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Nop (profile), 23 Dec 2015 @ 10:12pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Only if you're a Kiwi.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 4:38pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Wait... are we saying that Trkulja isn't a gangster, but is in fact Crocodile Dundee?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 5:03pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:09pm

What a Fucken dick
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:12pm

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!
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:01pm
  
  Re:
  Suing yourself can pay off -- William Gaddis, A Frolic of His Own
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
sehlat (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:13pm

I hope the Goddess Streisand is pleased.
For once more Her Effect has awakened.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:15pm

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
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:22pm
  
  Re:
  So wait, you're a Nigerian prince NAMED Nigerian Prince? You can't get more official than that. I'm all in!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Gwiz (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:17pm

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.
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David, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:17pm

You wish.
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.

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:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

Now let Humpty Dumpty speak with the voice of the acting Attorney General and you get the drift.
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- David, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:35pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - David, 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:46pm
    
    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.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - David, 2 Dec 2015 @ 2:41am
      
      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.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
hij (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:18pm

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
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:28pm

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Grey (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:29pm

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
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- madasahatter (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:54pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:36pm

A Hunting We Will Go
Machete, what a strange way to spell boomerang. Must be a Chicago thing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Boojum (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:42pm

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Lisa Westveld (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:44pm

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Lisa Westveld (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 12:47pm
  
  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! :D
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:25pm
    
    Re: Re:
    We need that Redditor who makes poems of stories on the front page now and again.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Klaus, 3 Dec 2015 @ 4:30am
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
mcinsand, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:00pm

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:11pm

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?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:24pm

Hey Mike, ever considered going through life not being a total douche?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:38pm
  
  Re:
  It's being a "total douche" to stand up to a bullshit legal threat? How so?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 5:04pm
    
    Re: Re:
    He's just worried that his position as douchebag troll is being threatened.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:34pm
  
  Re:
  It's so cute when you project that hard AC.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:42pm

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Mike Masnick (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:55pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Grey (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:11pm
    
    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.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Masnick's lawyer, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:53pm
    
    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
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - G Thompson (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:56pm
      
      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
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:24pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:26pm
    
    Re: Re:
    OOps, forgot it's not USA, so date format is a bit different, 12/1/2012.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:49pm

Milorad Trkulja is a gangster
Milorad Trkulja is most definitely a gangster. A childish one at that..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Milorad Trkulja, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:51pm

I is a gangster its true
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Michael Trkulja, 1 Dec 2015 @ 4:41pm
  
  Re:
  Know why i dont think that of?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:57pm

what was is his email again?
we can register it to a hundred of porn sites and it will not be useful EVER
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 1:57pm

"family friend"
Just goes to show that inbreeding really does produce idiots.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Wendy Cockcroft, 4 Dec 2015 @ 2:55am
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2015 @ 5:41am
    
    Re: Re: "family friend"
    Yea, well Cockcroft is here sermonizing silly bitch
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2015 @ 5:52am
    
    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?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Wendy Cockcroft, 4 Dec 2015 @ 7:19am
      
      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.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Hypocritical, 4 Dec 2015 @ 11:06am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: "family friend"
        I think you have gone squealing to Techdirt asking comments about you to be blocked.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Wendy Cockcroft, 7 Dec 2015 @ 3:00am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: "family friend"
        ROFL!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Kronomex, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:00pm

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.
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 4:43pm
  
  Re:
  "Tony" is obviously short for Antonina. Although they usually spell their name "Toni".
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:11pm

Milorad Trkulja is the biggest gangster in Melbourne and now he is extorting Google and using Techdirt
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Milorad Trkulja's gangster friend, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:14pm

Milorad Trkulja's payday
Milorad Trkulja is the biggest gangster in Melbourne and now he is extorting Google again
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Aussie Anon, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:18pm

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.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:18pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- G Thompson (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:59pm
  
  Re:
  STRAYA!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Monday (profile), 4 Dec 2015 @ 7:56am
  
  Re:
  Canberra...
  
  Is that you Swan? :D
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Aussie Anon, 4 Dec 2015 @ 10:44am
    
    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.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:29pm

How the hell does Patrick Zarrelli keep getting work?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:30pm

Suddenly I'm afraid to post as an Anonymous Coward because of this friggin' idiot.

Oh no, it's too late!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Blackfiredragon13 (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:32pm

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".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:34pm

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.
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Tony Mokbel, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:36pm

Trkulja was my bagman
Milorad Trkulja is a big Melbourne criminal I should know I am one too
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:46pm

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
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Trkulja's banker, 1 Dec 2015 @ 2:56pm

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
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Australian legal, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:03pm

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
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:07pm

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."
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:12pm

Okay you got me!
I am Anonymous Coward.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- That Anonymous Coward (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:47pm
  
  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)...
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:28pm
    
    Re: Re: Okay you got me!
    Wait...we are supposed to be wearing underwear??!
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - That Anonymous Coward (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:36pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Okay you got me!
      Do not mock the underoos...
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - G Thompson (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:01pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay you got me!
        Under Roos?
        
        are they like kangaroos that dwell in burrows?
        
        I'm so confuzzled!
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        That Anonymous Coward (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:45pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay you got me!
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underoos
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        G Thompson (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 12:17am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay you got me!
        Well that just makes me more confuzzled..
        
        though I'm sorta wanting a pair now
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        That Anonymous Coward (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 2:59pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Okay you got me!
        they note they have licensed it out for adult sizes now...
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2015 @ 12:10pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 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]
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Almost Anonymous (profile), 3 Dec 2015 @ 1:35pm
    
    Re: Re: Okay you got me!
    Hey guys, can I play? I'm almost anonymous...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Australian observer, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:31pm

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!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Just Another Australian Observer, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:44pm
  
  Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
  To AO
  Why is comment 35 'flagged'? Does freedom of speech only extend to mere mortals, not the great Masnick?
  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
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Australian Observer, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:49pm
    
    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
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:42pm
      
      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?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Just Another Australian Observer, 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:10am
      
      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
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2015 @ 9:03am
  
  Re: Techdirt is lining Trkulja's pockets
  "Under Australian law Google is liable."
  
  [citation needed]
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:41pm

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
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:43pm

LMAOROTF
and any other letters that may be laughing at that jacknut.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:45pm

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.
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- G Thompson (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:04pm
  
  Re:
  hmmmmmm.... so glad you made an exception.. Though I must admit, I do enjoy the insanity immensely!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - That Anonymous Coward (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 11:46pm
    
    Re: Re:
    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...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Just Another Australian Observer, 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:12am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      It's a rare event for sunstroke. We tough, we take skin cancer as an Aussie right.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - G Thompson (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:27am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        SLIP SLOP SLAP!!!
        
        :)
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Aussie Anon, 2 Dec 2015 @ 3:10am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        And during the 90's the became "Slip, Slop, Slap & Wrap" when they added sunnies to the list! XD
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jef Oliver (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 3:57pm

In the immortal words of Too Short, "So you DON'T want to be a gangster?"
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Whatever (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 4:14pm

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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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 5:09pm
  
  Re:
  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?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:46pm
  
  Re:
  You're ignoring the part about the SPEECH Act. It doesn't matter what an Australian court decides it has jurisdiction over.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Just Another Australian Observer, 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:14am
    
    Re: Re:
    Is that the same for Yankee Courts that believe they have jurisdiction over the rest of the world?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- btr1701 (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 8:19pm
  
  Re: Judgement
  > there is always a chance that a court will still find that you can fall under their
  > laws in certain circumstances
  
  That's why Masnick cited the SPEECH Act. Our Congress passed a law protecting us from judgements in foreign courts for speech that would be protected by the 1st Amendment if "spoken" here in the US.
  
  So yes, an Australian court might find in favor of this Trkulja idiot and award him damages, but that judgement would have no legal effect in the US and he would never be able to collect it.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Whatever (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 9:00pm
    
    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.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - btr1701 (profile), 3 Dec 2015 @ 1:10pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Judgement
      > but smugly standing behind US laws isn't the safest bet.
      
      Again, I will point out that even if he prevails in Australia and obtains a judgement, that's only half the battle. A foreign judgement must be submitted to a US court for enforcement and collection. In this case, if he submits his foreign judgement, the US court will rule it's unenforceable per the SPEECH Act and he will be left with no way to legally collect his money from the US resident/citizen.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 3 Dec 2015 @ 1:16pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: 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.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        G Thompson (profile), 3 Dec 2015 @ 11:11pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: 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'
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- techflaws (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 9:52pm
  
  Re:
  As your website is made available to Australian people,
  
  Really? How so? Is he using special packets or an .au domain?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Whatever (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 8:24am
    
    Re: Re:
    It's called the internet. The website is not specifically blocked in Australia, thus it is available to Australian people.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2015 @ 10:59am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      It's not _made available_ for them now, is it?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - btr1701 (profile), 3 Dec 2015 @ 1:14pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      > It's called the internet. The website is not specifically blocked in Australia,
      > thus it is available to Australian people.
      
      Putting a website up on the internet does not make me subject to the laws of every nation from which it can be viewed.
      
      If it did, I could be prosecuted by Germany for putting a swastika on a web page; I could be prosecuted by Saudi Arabia for blasphemy if I say Islam isn't the one true religion; I could be prosecuted by the UK for "being racially offensive" for cracking an off-color joke.
      
      I don't lose the my right to free speech in *this* country merely because I conduct my speech on the internet.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Milorad Trkulja, 1 Dec 2015 @ 5:07pm

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).
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:13pm

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.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:17pm

"Leave the gun, Take the Tim Tams" -Milorad Trkulja
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:32pm

Will the real Out Of The Blue please stand up. It's getting so you can't tell one lunatic from another around here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Kaching, 1 Dec 2015 @ 6:39pm

$$$$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
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Speech Act doesn't apply, 1 Dec 2015 @ 7:06pm

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
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- That One Guy (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:32pm
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ryunosuke, 1 Dec 2015 @ 7:17pm

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.
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Roaming Aussie, 1 Dec 2015 @ 9:32pm

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&synonym s=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

Th e 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.
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 12:01am
  
  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.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - G Thompson (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 12:29am
    
    Re: Re: Whatever he/she said
    >>>What, pray tell, in the blog post is defamatory?
    
    As far as I can tell, nothing at all..
    
    Though the Victorian Supreme Court in regards to Defamation cases could read (and normally do) totally different.
    
    Though as your learned counsel would no doubt explain to you (waves at Marc) this whole post is actually nice, succinct and could probably do with more snark. :)
    
    Not unlike the defense pleading in this recent Queensland (another state of Australia) case of defamation where the plaintiff lost.. [ here's the article] [here's the hilarious defense pleading(pdf).. I lost it at "BS reality" in headings]
    
    Though this from the judgement shows that the Streisand Effect is also alive and well in Oz too ;)
    "The plaintiff also seeks vindication through an award of damages for the so called “grapevine effect” which concerns the natural and probable result of the original publication... The plaintiff points to the fact that after he filed his claim the matter was referred to in newspaper reports, professional journals and on a website that has a received more than 4000 hits. He says he is devastated and humiliated by these developments. In this case the “grapevine effect” is limited because, as noted earlier, the circumstances of the original publication were such that the natural and probable result was that it would be confined to the plaintiff, Sally and Jarrad.
    
    It was the plaintiff who, by making the claim, called in an airstrike on his own position.[emphasis added]"
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  - Anonymous Coward, 10 Dec 2015 @ 8:43am
    
    Re: Re: Whatever he/she said
    Mike Masnick is a douche
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techflaws (profile), 1 Dec 2015 @ 9:51pm

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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- G Thompson (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 12:33am
  
  Re:
  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)
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Mark Wing, 1 Dec 2015 @ 10:12pm

Thug life.
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G Thompson (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:18am

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:
Defamation judgments from Australian courts are unenforceable in almost all circumstances in the United States.

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 ;)
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2015 @ 2:21am

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
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Donald Trump, 2 Dec 2015 @ 5:08am

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.
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- Ye gods, 2 Dec 2015 @ 6:41am
  
  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?
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JustMe (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 5:28am

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.
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Monday (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 9:02am

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? :D
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Monday (profile), 2 Dec 2015 @ 9:14am

"Anonymous Coward"
Is it just me, but Anonymous Coward owns this thread, even responding to it's(?) own comments.

Who is this Anonymous Coward?
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David M, 2 Dec 2015 @ 1:48pm

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.
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- oh god not you too, 2 Dec 2015 @ 9:43pm
  
  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.
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Wendy Cockcraft, 4 Dec 2015 @ 4:17pm

Yes I am fat and ugly
I am
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- Wendy Cockcroft, 7 Dec 2015 @ 3:01am
  
  Re: Yes I am fat and ugly
  Butthurt is funny.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 7 Dec 2015 @ 9:50pm
    
    Re: Re: Yes I am fat and ugly
    Wendy Cockcroft is a butthurt coward
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Dec 2015 @ 1:16am

Duffy, is that you?
does anyone want to bet how many of the latest comments are Duffy's sockpuppets?
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Darren M. Meade, 14 Mar 2017 @ 3:29am

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/201 2/01/20/google-cide-online-reputation-managers-can-wipe-from-web.html
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