Identical story to the Demonoid bust:

The nightmare week for Demonoid has just reached a huge crescendo, with news coming out of Ukraine that following a massive DDoS attack the site has now been busted by local authorities. Those looking for a U.S. connection to the raid won’t be disappointed – a source in the country’s Interior Ministry says that the action was scheduled to coincide with Deputy Prime Minister Valery Khoroshkovsky’s trip to the United States.

Why are these countries offering up sacrifices to the U.S.?

They are used as bargaining chips in the negotiation of trade and military agreements.

Looks like my claim[0] wasn't quite as far-fetched as most HNers thought it was.

0: http://hackerne.ws/item?id=4464102

A serious question here: why does this matter to most readers of Hacker News? What is the connection to the concerns of people who are developing new technologies, possibly to use those technologies in software-as-a-service businesses based on the World Wide Web?

To the extent that business models are highly responsive to the legal environment, events that signal broader trends in the way laws are (or aren't) being enforced seem entierly relevant to those operating under them.

It doesn't. It's just a consequence of the Reddification of HN.

> why does this matter to most readers of Hacker News?

It doesn't as is accurately reflected by the 15 points it has. On the other hand, privatization of the law enforcement in this manner is a little disturbing.

interesting.... since when did Cambodia start caring about intellectual property issues

They are probably just interested in the "American aid". No wonder the US Government doesn't want to cut the aid to other countries. It's not about "not helping the poor there anymore". It's about being able to bribe the Governments there to do their will.

The peak aid to Cambodia seems to have been in fiscal year 2007, at about $57 million. I'd say that dangling the carrot of trade agreements is more effective than threatening to cut off aid.