Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Circumstance and coincidence

206 Responses

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  • Sara Bee, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    Yes! It was hilarious! I've been trying to understand what it means about the way he presents himself...

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 67 posts Report Reply

  • Euan Mason, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Stunning that Key has not sought advice on the legality of drone strikes, under the circumstances.

    Canterbury • Since Jul 2008 • 259 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell, in reply to Sara Bee,

    Yes! It was hilarious! I’ve been trying to understand what it means about the way he presents himself…

    Over on The Standard they're claiming it's his tell, how you can tell he's lying (I figure more likely it has something to do with his lips moving) - I guess you have to have seen him behave like more than once.

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Ajay Murthy,

    Small correction: Its Anand Satyanand not Adnan.

    Auckland • Since Oct 2011 • 5 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Michael Meyers,

    rehashing an old topic in a election year

    That alone is a very important function. All too often we have political stuffups and scandal in years one and two that are conveniently forgotten by the time it comes to choose the next government.

    Only tells lies in the first two years of his term is not really good enough.

    But personally I think this is a current story as Dotcom is still in the courts.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to MxDEJ,

    Random thought crossed with a genuine question: Was there some pressing reason to move Mateparae out of NZDF, even if it meant bouncing him in and out of the GCSB?

    I'm not sure if it quite amounts to that, but Mataparae was certainly under pressure over his responsibility for the handing over of Afghan prisoners to torturers. At the time Jon Stephenson's 'Eyes Wide Shut' Metro story was published in 2011, he had moved on as head of the Defence Force, via the GCSB and was GG designate. The question at that time was whether it reflected on his moral fitness to be Governor General.

    Steve has helpfully embedded the Media7 interview with did with the guy Mataparae replaced in both his last two jobs, Sir Bruce Ferguson.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Michael Meyers,

    forgive a misremembering or two from John Key since his memory appears to be pretty poor

    Seriously, if he has a bad memory then we don't want him running the country, surely it is one of the basic requirements for such a job.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • DexterX,

    FFS - John Key is really,really,really bad at his job. Hate to think what a thrid term will look like.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to DexterX,

    if he was actually in charge, that might be a problem.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to izogi,

    I don’t buy DPF’s complete dismissiveness as for me there are clearly questions here which need answering, but I agree with his comment about the spooky sinister music. When journos have something real, they shouldn’t need to decorate it with such artistic junk which is typically more about triggering an emotional conclusion from an audience instead of an objective one.

    Maybe something a bit peppier then?

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to MxDEJ,

    Random thought crossed with a genuine question: Was there some pressing reason to move Mateparae out of NZDF, even if it meant bouncing him in and out of the GCSB?

    No, he was a very able head of NZDF and well-respected.

    [edit: except by Jon Stephenson ;-) ]

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Sacha,

    His complete dismissiveness all but screams Campbell is onto something

    that and conveniently leaving out parts of the timeline that don’t suit Farrar’s spin.

    Farrar is very fond of saying "it's not official until it's been denied"

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to DexterX,

    FFS – John Key is really,really,really bad at his job. Hate to think what a thrid term will look like.

    +1. I have always thought this.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Seriously, if he has a bad memory then we don’t want him running the country, surely it is one of the basic requirements for such a job.

    Not at all. The most powerful defence to all things is plausible deniability, if you have the attention span of a mosquito and everybody knows it, then who will question the "brain fades", the MSM certainly finds it acceptable but we all know how dangerous mosquitoes are.
    All to do with perception. Take Jkey's short one word answers in the house, half the time you can't tell a yes from a no, just some hissing/grunting sound and its all over. People are so stunned by this that they blame themselves for not listening properly and generally just nod and move on, its an old trick.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,

    +1. I have always thought this.

    No you haven't.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie,

    Key has finally responded with his usual ridicule and a claim that John Campbell is some sort of "conspiracy theorist".

    "Trust me. There's nothing to see here folks... moving right along."

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10068990/Key-knocks-Campbell-conspiracy-theories

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Alfie,

    More credulous bollocks.

    "... over claims that Fletcher, who was shoulder-tapped by Key to head the bureau, was hired to help facilitate the FBI raid on Kim Dotcom's mansion"

    - but the programme never made any such "claim". You only have to actually watch it and be able to listen.

    That's beyond sloppy writing. It deserves no legal protection from corrective action. I hope someone formally complains to the editor and employer of this 'journalist'.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Alfie,

    Key has finally responded with his usual ridicule and a claim that John Campbell is some sort of “conspiracy theorist”.

    “Trust me. There’s nothing to see here folks… moving right along.”

    So, applying the Farrar factor, it's now confirmed ;-)


    Having watched the article, now, +1 on the silly music but what strikes me about Fletcher is that he can't articulate an answer to Campbell's mild questioning in the early interview. I didn't think about it at the time but that's not what you look for in a change agent. You go for someone who can think on his feet, deflect with a smile, has excellent presentation skills as well as organisational ability, because those are the very things you have to do. That Fletcher couldn't do that is odd, because there's nothing in his history that indicates a problem there. I wonder if it was a natural reluctance to lie that was tripping him up verbally.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • DexterX, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    Torture

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report Reply

  • Paul G. Buchanan, in reply to Russell Brown,

    You may be correct Russell with regards to the encryption (or lack thereof,) of Megaupload, but then again there may have been more to Dotcom's business practices than meets the eye when it comes to issues of international security. The hard fact is that it is extraordinary that US intel agencies--not just the FBI-- would get involved at such length in a copyright dispute (the money laundering charges are just an add-on based on the distribution of profits reaped from Dotcom's success). For the NSA to devote concerted and focused resources towards Dotcom intercepts, then convince its 5 eyes counterpart in NZ to continue them at the margins of the law (because the decision to illegally wiretap was made in NZ, not in the US), suggests that there was a bit more to the story than some Hollywood-DC political conspiracy.

    Lets put it this way since I was asked by Sean if the Dotcom case was about Hollywood money going to a Joe Biden campaign: Joe Biden would not have a clue as to what a "cloud" was other than what he sees in the sky, so the suggestion that his campaign was funded by Hollywood types hating on Dotcom seems far-fetched. Moreover, Biden was the second on a party ticket in 2008 and 2012, dates that do not coincide with the Dotcom timetable in NZ. Nor dos he have any previous discernible relationship with the movie making industry, which is not as monolithic as some might think .

    After all, unlike NZ where Hollywood people can get the government to change labour laws to suits their needs, the US is a big and varied place with more than one center of power (in fact, dozens). There are plenty of Republicans in Hollywood and pseudo-libertarians like Rand Paul who would jump at the opportunity to exploit some Obama/movie mogul cronyism for political gain. Yet none of that has happened.

    I remain of the opinion that there was more than copyright issues involved in this case, hence the weirdness.

    Here is a suggestion for you and other journalists now that I have put the thought of something else driving the Dotcom case into the public domain: why not ask Dotcom directly if he or his minions were ever approached by the US government with regard to installing backdoors on his servers?

    Singapore/NZ • Since Apr 2011 • 14 posts Report Reply

  • Chris Waugh,

    So Martyn Bradbury weighs in saying not terribly much, but holy shit what are those words somebody scribbled over the picture at the bottom of that post?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 2401 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Paul G. Buchanan,

    There are plenty of Republicans in Hollywood and pseudo-libertarians like Rand Paul who would jump at the opportunity to exploit some Obama/movie mogul cronyism for political gain. Yet none of that has happened.

    How about CPAC/movie mogul cronyism? Its all in the TPPA and how you hold your tongue.
    Movie Industry, In a Switch, Is Courting the GOP

    Last year, the MPAA replaced its longtime lead lobbying firm, considered to be close with Democrats, with a lobbyist with ties to key GOP lawmakers. Its political-action committee now gives more donations to Republicans than Democrats. And it has sent money to a GOP super PAC, a conservative antitax entity and a business lobby helping Republicans in the 2014 elections.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Paul G. Buchanan,

    ask Dotcom directly if he or his minions were ever approached by the US government with regard to installing backdoors on his servers?

    are you suggesting he said no, hence trouble thereafter?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • izogi, in reply to Russell Brown,

    I’m not sure if it quite amounts to that, but Mataparae was certainly under pressure over his responsibility for the handing over of Afghan prisoners to torturers.

    I may be going over the edge with conspiracy here, but now that he's been shunted into what's meant to be such a neutral position (Queen's representative n' all), has he become any less accessible to media for commenting on matters like the Defence Force and the spooks?

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    John Campbell has a track record of serious investigative journalism. Am I right in remembering him as the journalist who broke the Timberlands story about 15 years ago? And then there was Corngate.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

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