Key uses tragedy for propaganda

As Australians and Kiwis are learning about the tragic events that have resulted in the deaths of three people, the Prime Minister of New Zealand has taken it upon himself to use the situation to promote a complete untruth.

Today, Radio NZ reported:

John Key said it was clear from what unfolded across the Tasman that ISIS was running an outreach campaign which was trying to tap into the disenfranchised.

The Prime Minister said the holding up of an Islamic flag in the Lindt cafe in Sydney made it feel like ISIS was the driving force behind what happened.

The problem for Key is that he's entirely wrong! Today, Radio NZ also reported:

Deadly end to Sydney siege

Earlier, police confirmed to Radio New Zealand the man behind the siege was Man Haron Monis, who had been on bail for a charge of accessory to murder.

The Iranian man, also known as Sheikh Haron, was convicted last year over offensive letters he sent to family members of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009.

Man Haron Monis was an Iranian and Iran has been fighting ISIL for a long time now. The failure of John Key, who just so happens to be the Minister in charge of "Intelligence" Services, to provide any evidence to support his claims is profound.

So desperate is the Prime Minister of New Zealand for an excuse to send more troops off to war and justify the implementation of further domestic spying legislation that he's willing to blatantly lie about Man Haron Monis' affiliation with ISIL.

In my opinion this shows complete disrespect for the people caught up in the tragedy…especially the hostages who lost their lives and their grieving families.

It also shows that our leaders and the mainstream media are willing to use such tragedies in order to promote a war that the good people of Australia and New Zealand clearly don't support.

When will the PM take responsibility?

It often bemuses me as to why people would vote for a dishonest political party that has spent the last two terms in government undermining our once great democracy. Why on earth would voters support a scoundrel like John Key, a man who has been shown on numerous occasions to be a complete fraudster?

The list of Key’s lies is extensive and is being added to on a daily basis. Albeit in a biased manner, his dishonesty is being reported on. So why aren’t the media en masse and the public they influence demanding a change in government or in the very least the Prime Minister’s resignation? Are we to believe that there's simply no accountability in New Zealand's political system anymore?

Surely the use of a state-spying agency to undermine a political opponent is a serious enough incident to require a new leader. Key is after all the Minister in charge of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and therefore cannot simply pass the buck. Only a naive fool would believe that the NZSIS simply made mistakes and that there was no political motive in releasing inaccurate information that was used to damage an opposition leader’s credibility.

The head of the SIS wouldn’t under normal circumstances give preferential treatment to a National party attack blogger, Cameron Slater, unless he was instructed to do so. Even when the misinformation they published was highlighted, the SIS did nothing to restore political neutrality. In fact they went out of their way to continue to perpetuate the dishonesty. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand whom this benefited and therefore why it was done.

In my opinion there should be no differentiation between the PM and his office or the portfolios he administers. Only a leader that’s entirely inept would be unaware of the numerous underhanded dealings going on right under his nose. If Key is truly that incompetent then he should resign! However, Key knew full well about the smear campaigning, and for that he should also resign!

If the Prime Minister isn’t willing to take responsibility for the irrefutable misconduct that has been documented throughout Nicky Hager's excellent book, Dirty Politics, then he’s bringing the entire political system into disrepute. John Key is in effect making a mockery of his position as the Prime Minister of New Zealand…He’s making a mockery of parliament and all it stands for as well.

Police turn over Hager's home

We all should be aware that in New Zealand there's a certain group of wealthy people who believe themselves to be above the law. Sometimes this includes the Police themselves, who have on numerous occasions abused their positions of power.

That's what appears to have occurred when the Police, clearly on the orders of those implicated in the Dirty Politics scandal, searched Nicky Hager's house for clues as to the identity of the Dirty Politics hacker known as Rawshark.

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Dirty Politics author Nicky Hager has had his home raided by police searching for the hacker Rawshark.

In a 10-hour search of his house, Hager said computers and papers were seized in what appeared to be an attempt to discover the identity of the person who provided information used in the Dirty Politics book.

The book was an election bombshell based on hacked email and social media material belonging to WhaleOil blogger Cameron Slater.

The person contacted the Herald and Fairfax using the identity Rawshark while using the Twitter handle @whaledump to release information publicly.

Hager said five officers came to his Wellington home last Thursday with a search warrant.

He was in Auckland at the time the police arrived giving lectures at the University of Auckland.

What I would like to know is since when do the Police have the power to enter into Nicky Hager's house without his permission and take property because somebody else hacked Cameron Slater's computers?

Hager clearly isn't the hacker. He has in fact done no crime by using information provided to him in good faith, especially because it's of great public interest.

"Soon after the police arrived, the lead detective stated that I was not a suspect in their case, merely a witness." Hager said he told the detective there was nothing in his house which held information that would uncover the source.

"Nonetheless, he and his four colleagues seized a large collection of papers and electronic equipment belonging to my family, including computers, drives, phones, CDs, an IPOD and a camera."

Hager said the search and seizure of the material was a "fishing expedition" carried out by officers who had no idea who they were looking for, hoping for a lucky break.

"I am confident that the police took nothing that will help them with their investigation."

Hager said he would not cooperate with police in any way to reveal the Dirty Politics source - or any other source. "I believe the police actions are dangerous for journalism in New Zealand.

"It matters to all people working in the media who could similarly have their property searched and seized to look for sources. People are less likely to help the media if the police act in this way.

"The police want people to respect their role in society; they should in turn respect other people's roles in society."

He said he was speaking to his lawyers about challenging the police action.

You've also got to wonder why a judge would disregard the law and allow such a raid?

The only reason for Rawshark's identity to be made known would be to give the corrupt people named in Hager's book a target to attack. Therefore the safety of this individual is more important than any public interest there might be in making their identity known.

That makes the Police raid and the judge's decision to allow such an action highly questionable, especially because there is no evidence of Nicky Hager himself breaking any law whatsoever. In fact I would say that such reasoning behind a clear abuse of Police power is flawed, which would make the raid itself illegal.

This wouldn't be the first time the powers that be have used the Police to try and shut down the truth from being reported on. Remember what happened with the teapot tape and the news agencies that were provided a copy of what John Banks and Key had said?

This is clearly pointing to a more totalitarian regime that will abuse their power in an attempt to intimidate and stop the truth about their corrupt regime from getting out. So let's name their behaviour for what it really is...fascism!

Will Obama's Bombs Stop Beheadings?

Russell Brand The Trews (E146).

Reaction to President Barack Obama's 'destroy and degrade' strategy address for fighting the Islamic State.

The problem with warmongers

The problem with warmongers is they appear to have no empathy for their fellow human beings. That's because war, and the industrial complex behind it, is invariably built upon people's prejudices.

History is littered with examples of prejudice being used as a reason for atrocities…a prime example being the holocaust. Although there were a myriad of other unjustifiable reasons, it was people's prejudices that were ultimately used as an excuse for the worst genocide in living memory.

We see the same thing with Israel’s illegal war on Palestine. How can they indiscriminately bomb women and children you might ask? Well the simple answer is they’ve been conditioned to hate from a very early age.

That's also the case with the United States' wars for oil in the Middle East. Although people being stigmatized for what they believe in or the colour of their skin is nothing new, the ability to turn prejudices into actions has become a lot easier with the advent of radio, television and the Internet. The warmonger's have utilized these tools to convince entire nations that there's a reason to tear themselves apart or go to war. In fact their propaganda is now used worldwide to the great detriment of all mankind.

Here’s one small example of the damage to society from the warmongers propaganda, with the Mail Online reporting yesterday:

Woman's head is battered against train carriage by female attacker who shouted racist abuse

A Melbourne woman was left 'emotionally distraught' after being verbally and physically assaulted during a racial tirade by a fellow train passenger.

The 26-year-old victim was standing by the doors of the train as it approached Batman Railway Station in Northern Melbourne on Thursday evening, when she was approached by another woman who began hurling abuse at her.

Media reports allege the victim was a Muslim woman.

These aren't just random attacks...they’re events that have been actively encouraged by governments through a compliant and corrupted media banging on about Muslim extremists. Such propaganda has encouraged prejudice within the general public, with people's differences once again being exploited as an excuse to go to war.

Last week, the Courier Mail reported on Brisbane Muslim community leader Ali Kadri saying:

“This is how extremism starts. It starts in the mind, it comes out the mouth and ends up in violence ... we must all sit down and come up with some solutions.’’

The problem here is it's the state creating and promoting people's fears and prejudices. This clearly indicates that they've learnt nothing at all from history, because if they'd actually listened to those who went through a real war, they wouldn't be trying to cause another one.

So fickle is their understanding about the realities of war that only a generation after world war two, so-called Western "democracies" seem ready to utterly disregard our forebears' sacrifice. This shows that the real problem with warmongers isn't just that they actively promote people's prejudices, but that they haven't learnt from their mistakes and are therefore fated to repeat them.