Since when is running a database illegal?
That's all any tracker is. What, exactly, is illegal about "file sharing" per se?
IsoHunt, TBP, et al have never passed a single byte of copyrighted content across their servers. So where is this illegality you speak of?
Here, let me help...
Where it does exist (and you'll get no argument from me on that point) it exists on the machines of, and in the actions of, those who illegally share copyrighted material.

Hey, it's an election year and I need all the mileage I can get out of whatever "...protected the children..." headlines I can generate, you insensitive clod.

You should have a problem with this. Big time. A genuine DDOS attack will be motivation enough for the carriers and ISP's involved to act on their own. That's the beauty of the mythical "free market". No government involvement is required.
On the other hand, letting a single branch of the government pull the plug on "a web site", with no checks and balances has "abuse me" written all over it. No. Hell no.

You've obviously never driven/ridden a high performance racing vehicle. If you had, of course, you'd know that the physical demands of the sport are very real and the athlete's ability to deal with them, while performing at level required to be competitive, or even just safe, in a domain where the importance of awareness, reaction time, and finesse are is magnified because of the speeds involved, is absolutely a factor.
But no. You're probably one of the many who make the superficial (and markedly ignorant) view that motor racing is "...just a bunch of cars going 'round in a circle..."

It's not "extortion". That's such an ugly word. Clearly, there has been a misunderstanding. Yelp is merely offering "protection". You know, 'cause if youse don' have protection, t'ings coul' happen. You know, "t'ings". Maybe somebody trips and falls. Maybe a bun warmer overheats and there's a fire. Maybe people decide the food sucks and write about it. Like a whole lot'a people. You know?

There are, though I don't know if they'd qualify for nerdy. Like the "landfill engineer" says, "This ain't rocket surgery." The basics of running a landfill "properly" (as proper as the whole landfill thing can be, at least) were figured out decades ago, including steps to minimize the odor, of which, spraying the pile with hundreds of gallons of perfume isn't one. Of course, many of those steps cost money and require diligence on the part of the operators. So good luck to the downwinders.

Disclosure: I was one of the victims of this breach. Happily, my bank caught it and called to ask if it was really me who'd bought those gift cards at Wal-Mart.

mod parent + insightful, for truer words were never spoken. Seriously, someone should have gone to jail for being so negligent with sensitive information like that, and no, it almost certainly was not anyone whose job it was to see to such things. It was, most likely, someone with budget control over that department who "...didn't see the value in being so paranoid about security..." Look, TJX is still in business, so $41 million probably didn't hurt enough to make that a lesson that would be learned by other businesses. If the negligence had ruined TJX, and landed some VP asses in jail, things would be different. But it didn't, and they're still not.
Maybe there should be a "terms and conditions" document that business, hospitals, anyone who collects and stores sensitive information, should have to sign each time the collect such information, acknowledging their responsibility to safeguard it. Maybe "putting it in writing" every time they add to the database would at least make the legal department take notice.

Wrong. Categorically wrong. Lobbyists, by definition, represent "special interests". The stereotypical example is the industry influence-buyer, with his wad of cash, free private jets to "golfing" getaways, etc., but any group with enough money to make the exercise worthwhile can buy influence too. Trade unions are a good example of the other end of the "who buys government influence" list. But the important point is that none of these groups, nor the government officials they "buy", are beholden to the electorate anywhere near as much as they are beholden to the group who wrote the check and handed it over with a wink. The result? Corruption of the very foundation of representative democracy. Yes, that's an assertion that borders on hyperbole, but it is, alas, often all too true.

My government is using the Internet to spy on me? Who knew?