With Chris Finlayson just announced as minister in charge of GCSB & SIS, I thought it appropriate to re-post something I published on The Standard back in July 2013: links 5 Eyes’ attorney generals, cyber-security, Dotcom, etc.
A quiet shift in a dodgy Key govt-SkyCity deal: TVNZ land, sold to SkyCity for its convention centre, is to be used for a new hotel. Plus: non-mandated deal between Auckland Transport Authority & a US corporate – intense surveillance of Aucklanders’ diverse activities.
Cameron Slater has capitulated and ended his case against various media organisations. He faces the prospect of a significant award of costs against him. There is now no restriction on the media using the Rawshark dumps the media have been apparently provided with. So far nothing has been published. Why the delay?
Action Station has a full page ad in today’s NZ Herald, asking to clean up dirty politics. Dirty Politics is not any isolated attack politics or criticism of those in power. It is a relentless two track strategy, an orchestrated smear machine, aimed at moving politics rightwards & disengaging (left wing) voters. Update: Hager comments on the election.
It will take a flax roots, bottom-up, community-based movement to rebuild democracy and a fair, caring and sustainable society.
If Team Key manage to stagger over the line it will be a government paralysed from the start by scandal and investigation – inward looking and defensive. A rather Pyrrhic “victory” at best. We need a Labour led government so that we can put this nightmare behind us. We need a clean start.
Key’s last fig leaf on GCSB surveillance is to plead ignorance. Unfortunately for him the evidence is compelling. If he does manage to lead the next government, these issues will continue to haunt him.
From “There’s no ambiguity. No middle ground. I’m right. He’s wrong”
to
“[Snowden] may well be right” in just 4 days. Impressive.
Herald columnist Wendyl Nissen on being the victim of the dirty politics attack machine. She has resigned from a slot on NewstalkZB rather than share a platform with Slater.
NZ Media has got the message, leading with coverage of the Greenwald / Snowden evidence of mass surveillance of New Zealanders, and the surprise revelation of two US “spy bases” in NZ. Best coverage by Andrea Vance. Updated with a link to video of last night’s event.
From Key we have changing stories, irrelevant distractions and refusal to comment. From Snowden we have compelling first person testimony and supporting documents (uncontested by any other Five Eyes leader). New Zealand is under mass surveillance.
Under pressure from Glenn Greenwald’s revelations, John Key, using various smoke screens, is starting to reveal his complicity in working with the GCSB & its 5 Eyes partners, to extend the scope of their spying. Could the Southern Cross Cable Network not have known their systems had been tapped? Update: Statement by Southern Cross Cables
An interesting article by lawyer Steven Price at Media Law Journal. Some extracts quoted, but well worth going and reading the full article.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald is standing firm in the face of Key’s attacks and denials. A fascinating interview with Steve Braunias yesterday contains a key claim.
The positioning re Kim Dotcom’s “Moment of Truth” has started this morning.
Nicky Hager has exposed the two track strategy of the Whale Oil, Kiwiblog, Nat smear machine. Why is it allowed to continue?
If we, the electorate, reward dirty politics by re-electing a National government, we will be validating the most vile tactics this country has seen since Muldoon.
Last year, there was a major hack, in which data from some GCSB staff, parliamentary staff, police, & others were copied & stored in various places globally. Surveillance technologies can be used by both state agencies and its critics. Update: Some 2013 history & Anonymous
Advocacy groups are calling for action. People are marching for action. The parties of the left are ready to take action. Only National stands in the way.
Jason Ede’s disappearance from public view suggests a cover up in response to Hager’s Dirty Politics. The book implicates Ede (past PM staffer) in a coordinated black ops smear machine working with blogs like Whale Oil. Key may need to come clean soon about some of Ede’s activities.
How long before “they” use control of the internet and media to bury adverse information, subvert democracy and vilify and silence those who disagree. “They” are doing it, NOW! A Government no longer has legitimacy, when they regard their own citizens as the enemy.
Cameron Slater is deleting posts from his Whaleoil blog. Down the memory hole. Anything he deletes is, of course, of interest in the current dirty climate. Most of it relates to Cathy Odgers / Cactus Kate, but there are exceptions (written by or paid for by others?).
The University of Otago had a symposium on Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics book now. The event has ended but video on youtube: Interviews with Hager, speakers, panel.
The stench of National’s dirty politics is reeking like decayed blubber. Today it appears that Anne Tolley appears to have used Cameron Slater to attack critics of their flawed education policies. The question is how much taxpayers funds did the ministers use on their vindictive support for the countries most despicable ‘blogger’?
Whaledump’s account on Twitter has been suspended.
Someone is trying to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Update: @Whaledump2 is providing more dumps and No Right Turn & lprent comment on it.
No. Not Pete George. Instead Andrew Geddis appears to be up to his neck in the mire of organising “Debating ‘Dirty Politics’: Media, Politics and Law”, at a ‘scholarly’ debate on Friday from 1pm-4pm. It is a long-winded scholarly debate inside work hours. But it will be streamed on youtube and hopefully not only live.
There was an interesting discussion between Dean Knight and Graeme Edgeler about the caretaker convention and elections. Dean highlighted the fact that Key had a perfect right to call for whatever sort of inquiry prior to an election. Edgeler disputed this, on the basis that the Prime Minister could not be said to enjoy the confidence of the House, because there wasn’t one.
There’s an excellent post at The Political Scientist I want to highlight, plus a few other of today’s Dirty Politics reads…
I know, let’s put on a production of Hamlet, but leave out the role of the Prince of Denmark.
Another day, and more evidence the National government is manipulating the OIA process. Judith Collins’ office processed an Official Information Act request in just two days. The problem here isn’t that someone got their response within two days – its that other people didn’t…
I have today sent an open letter to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to ask why Mr Key is not required to attend her inquiry and to give evidence under oath. The letter is attached.
All credit to Guyon Espiner for another hard-hitting interview with Key on Morning Report today. Espiner tries to get a straight answer from Key over his personal contacts with Slater. Tries and tries and tries, to no avail. It is clear that Key, personally and through his office, is up to his neck in dirty politics.
National’s dirty politics, for all its corrosive damage, also marks an opportunity for NZ. An opportunity to take stock, recognise such tactics for what they are, and reject them. An opportunity to clean up both politics and the media’s coverage of it.
The English faction is now calling the shots inside the National party.
Our PM is fond of telling us all what we think. In the wake of Dirty Politics he is working it overtime, telling us all that we believe his spin. Interesting then to get some actual data on what (extrapolating from a sample) most New Zealanders really do think. Many thanks to the Horizon polling people for putting this up on line.
