Political opportunists out in force over Sydney hostage crisis

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It hasn’t taken long for supporters of New Zealand’s so-called “anti-terror” legislation passed last week through parliament to try and justify it in the wake of the Sydney hostage crisis.

Before we even knew much about the gunman or hostage situation we had National MP Mark Mitchell, who chaired the select committee which rushed the legislation through parliament in a disgraceful and undemocratic manner, saying the legislation was 100% justified in light of what was happening in Australia.

“It becomes a lot more real for people when it’s three hours across the ditch,” says Mitchell.

Labour’s Andrew Little joined in saying the risks the new law dealt with “are real.”

Prime Minister John Key went further and has linked the hostage crisis to an “ISIS outreach programme”.

These comments are political opportunism to justify the unjustifiable.

The laws rushed through last week by National and Labour allow for 24 hour warrantless surveillance of New Zealanders by the Security Intelligence Service and for New Zealanders passports to be cancelled for up to three years.

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They add to the plethora of laws passed since 2001 which bring in the surveillance state with broad attacks on our civil liberties and the slow strangulation of our democracy.

It goes without saying that the Sydney siege was not prevented by similar laws in Australia and neither would this law make New Zealanders any safer from a similar incident.

In fact the greater danger New Zealand faces is from the behaviour of individuals such as Mark Mitchell who spent a decade in the Middle East supporting and profiting from the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq – classic blood parasite behaviour by a westerner of the sort which has stimulated retaliatory terrorist behaviour in countries outside the Middle East.

While I’m not advocating this step, New Zealand would be better protected from terrorism by withholding Mitchell’s passport than the laws passed last week to withhold the passports of others.

The best protection from terrorism for this country would be for New Zealand to unshackle itself from US global military and political objectives which are the drivers of 90% of worldwide terror attacks.

In the meantime the likes of Mitchell, Little and Key should show more respect for New Zealanders than promote political opportunism in the wake of the Sydney crisis.

29 COMMENTS

  1. These statements by Mitchell were in extremely poor taste so soon after the tragic loss of life in Sydney. They were also completely lacking in coherent logic. As John has pointed out, the legislation passed would not have prevented a similar incident in New Zealand.

    Programmes of community outreach to communicate with people who are in danger of committing such acts, proper funding of mental health programmes for those who have issues in that area, and a broad addressing of the underlying concerns that spur these activities would be much better than any civil liberty-smashing legislation that reduces the freedom of all New Zealanders.

  2. Well John …waddya expect?

    The guys a neo liberal thug looser. They do these sorts of things.

    Like dogs sniff each others butts.

    And the only way to stop em doin it to someone else’s pooch at the socializing club and embarrassing you is to either give em a quick slap across the snout or yank em in with your chain.

    Either that or a quick scolding (better) .

    And the Mitchell kyoodle wants to be the big alpha male that wants to piss on peoples legs and give em the old ‘trickle down effect’.

    Yep …sometimes you’ve just got to treat these mongrels like mutts . Pull em into line or they start thinking they are the boss and not you.

    So yeah..I understand completely , John how ya feel ….but sometimes these feral neo liberals need a good dose of discipline.

    Otherwise they run riot and you cant take em anywhere , you’ve got to muzzle em in public before they say something stupid and attack someone else.

    Bit like the ……………female…… mutt Bennet did a few years ago attacking her public masters ( 2 women as I recall ) and digging up private details on them . Dug up all the dirt all over them , mate !! Now that wasn’t being a good little sweetie pooch now , was it ?

    Then we had the chocolate Brownlee Labrador disobeying his public masters and sneaking around the back way at an airport …a bloody airport of all places !!…he definitely needed to be leashed in mate. Obviously his public masters hadn’t taught him to come when he’s called properly.

    And I dunno who was responsible for training that sheep dog cross breed who Double Dipped into his public masters Sunday roasts , – every bloody Sunday for a couple of years !!!

    Strewth , mate !! Bloody hell !! that mutt needed a good swift kick up the arse !! Apparently he was sired down South in a place around Dipton .

    Always blame the trainers , I always say. Even a mongrel can be trained properly if you do it right.

    Fact is though , – he still hasn’t learnt to be an honest pooch. Just as soon as you think he’s learnt his lesson …he’s at it again. No sooner than you think you’ve got him all trained up to be reliable ?, – hes off chasing rabbits down the back – and stealin’ bloody Sunday roasts again . Bloody useless , mate.

    But the worst one of em all …is that new bloody Keyshund show dog they brought in from overseas a few years back. Flighty bloody thing it is , – too skittish and you just cant trust it. Thinks its the leader of the pack , – including you , if you don’t watch it.
    Got a bad habit of nipping at you when you’ve told him off. And don’t trust that doggy grin either, or put your hand too close. That’s another one that needs a good swift kick up the arse.

    As it turns out , you just cant trust it…keeps worrying the stock. Bad for the economy. So yep ,…if your tryin to run the farm or a pet for the kids …these are just a few of the breeds your better off just replacing. Some of em are just a drain on your business and your better off getting rid of them.

    Too viscous for pets, and too useless for the farm.

  3. Good point John, the new legislation wouldn’t have stopped this.
    The best thing to do is stop any more Muslims being allowed to settle in NZ.
    Why take the risk , New Zealanders safety needs to come first.
    All we have to do is look to Europe to see the muslim immigrants do not want to take on there new countries values or lifestyle so no benefit to anyone really.

    • Well, H, first thing we can do is knock racist attitudes like yours on the head.

      After all, why take the risk at inciting more hatred with phobic comments like yours?

      By the way, if we’re going to address terrorism by using migration as a tool, we can start with the French (Rainbow Warrior bombing) and English-speaking pakeha (the alienation of Maori land, Parihaka, etc).

      If that sounds ridiculous, you’d be right. And it puts your remark into proper context.

      • Why do people insist that to speak out against Islam is racist? Islam is not a race. It’s not even a religion. Its a political ideology and it’s one that does not mesh at all with our western values. You can have all the Muslim friends you like but the Koran and associated texts say that by being your friend they are either lying to you or they are not following the teachings and are effectively apostates.

        I would like to think that Muslims are trying to live peaceful lives for the most part but while the koran teachings proclaim the intention for Islam to be the worlds only religion, it’s hard to see why we should try and integrate them into our society.

        Sadly they are not compatible with us. As the concentration of Muslim immigrants increases watch for the requests for concessions start.

        Not preaching hate just saying we should be careful.

        • Perhaps people often refer to many anti-Islamic sentiments expressed as racist because of the prevalence of such opinions coming from those with racist and prejudicial values, far-right and neo-Nazi movements among many for example. Also security screening focussing on those of “Middle-Eastern appearance” or those with coloured skin since all this “War of on Terror” hysteria started.

          As for the claim of Islam “not even a religion”, using your logic how would any of the other Abrahamic religions, as well as many other religions, and the further multitude of interpretations differ?

          Do please cite any supporting evidence that suggests there is mass migration of Muslims to this country.

          Considering the situation in Europe, ever spared a thought about the rise of extremely intolerant far-right and neo-Nazi movements? Western interventions into the mid-East and North Africa which lead to an exodus of refugees to Europe? Changing economic conditions and the detrimental effects on many, particularly minorities? And above all, Europe is definitely not a continent with a history renowned for ethnic and religious tolerance, just turn the clock back a few decades to the world’s largest conflict with mass ethnic, racial, and religious genocide. Many first generation migrants may hold on tightly to the traditions of their homeland. Subsequent generations blend more into those of the land of their birth. If you treat someone because of their differences as an outsider it’s rather likely they will remain an outsider along with all the accompanying difficulties that can drive a potentially decent person to extremes.

          That’s the trouble with prejudicial attitudes, lazily use a simple little tidy model to explain an otherwise complex, vast and untidy world, a lot easier and comforting to get an emotional high rather than expend the effort in contemplation and understanding. Be it a “religious” extremist or privileged ethnic class worried about their declining hegemony, they all share a common abysmally small mindset revolving around fear of the beyond. Pathetic people.

      • We’re not talking about a race Frank we are talking about a religion.
        if NZ had a referendum on it your views would be in the minority.
        All I’m saying is why take the risk.
        As for bringing Pakeha into it, that ship has sailed so get over it.

    • What a ridiculous comment, ‘stop any Muslims being allowd to settle in NZ’. We could learn good things from other people’s cultures, European values are not the be all and end all of society, in fact if you look at all the places they plundered and ruined and took venereal diseases to you would really have to wonder. Perhaps we should stop all other europeans from coming to this land, which we of European stock plundered and ruined for the tangata whenua.

      • I’m talking about what’s happening right now Michael not what happened 100 years ago.
        I’m not saying European values are what we should be copying, I’m saying there’s countries in Europe that are fucked from open slather Muslim immigration & NZ needs to be looking closely at these countries so as not to make the same mistakes.
        I haven’t seen any of these moderate Muslims marching in protest of Isis either,though look out if someone draws an offensive cartoon of Mohamed.

    • There are home-grown Muslims. The Others are already Within. Oooooo. And people do convert…

      I wish more would. Fewer drunks on the road and no usury. :-))

      Can we also stop quirky Christians at the border? Some of their views are abhorent, too.

      They weren’t ‘Muslims’ in Vietnam, heading out after hearing the Good Word from the chaplain to conduct Phoenix, or My Lai.

      Nor those twerps at Britomart the other weekend.

      And the apocalyptic, apoplexic phobic rants now pouring like the waters of Babble-on from God-fearing whatevers? – calm down and don’t carry on. Please.

  4. Hear Hear John. As usual, well said.

    However, it’s hardly surprising the likes of Key, Mitchell and friends are mouthing off, attempting to justify the passing of their fascist law, disguised as ‘anti terrorism’ legislation. Using a tragic event such as that in Sydney to make a point, only goes to confirm the fact we are governed by the lowest of low lives! What that legislation is aimed to do, is to attack perceived dissidents, non conformists, activists and challengers to government. I’d say most of the contributors and posters to TDB and like blog sites will be on the “to be watched” list!

    Call me an old cynic, but no doubt WhaleOil and the thumbs down right wing visitors to this site, will be dutifully reporting back information to Dear Leader and his henchmen!

    After the Britomart fiasco on Saturday night, where police and security were unable to control the chaos which broke out at the railway station, can you imagine how our law enforcers would cope with a serious terrorist threat, when brawling locals could not be controlled? Be interesting to see how the gutless Natsies’ terrorism legislation pays off then!

    • Well,truth be told…security cannot arrest unless deputized by the police…in which case its safety first. We can detain…and trespass.And affect citizens arrest under certain circumstances, as can all citizenry.

      In that instance (Britomart ) security could not push one group backwards because they ran the risk of the trains hitting some on the tracks…so the only viable and safe method was to separate the factions.

      Which they effectively did, until Police arrived. These were children…young adults…fueled by bodies too big to match their age, group acceptance,…and fiery demonstrations of their prowess….

      Also ..we are talking concentrated numbers in a small vicinity at Britomart…terrorists do not operate that way. They are highly mobile, and do not advertise their movements in advance. They do not operate in ‘ mobs’.

      Unlike the 20 somethings that swell the ranks of the grown up children of ISIS and Al Queda who have had whole families murdered by sophisticated, hardened combat troops from another land with massive resources to oppose them.

      These people have had time to grow hardened in resolve. They mean business. For them the stakes are high. Their families, their honour and their sense of nationhood and total identity is hinging on resistance.

      They will not stoop to anything as obvious as a ‘mob’.

      They fight as guerrillas…loosely centralized but at the same time disparate groups. Western military and technology is designed primarily to fight an opposing standing army. Not guerrillas.

      But here is the good news for the Left. As the saying always is ‘boots on the ground’….the translation of that is this : no matter how much ‘security’ you think you have by ‘surveillance ‘…

      None of that can equal tried and true traditional methods of Police apprehension.

      Inasmuch as terror surveillance laws means Jack shit .What matters is whether the Police do what they’ve always done. They don’t need all these draconian , cumbersome new laws at all !!!! They simply need to use the time honored methods they’ve always used !!!

      It works!!!

      You can have all the surveillance and laws in the world but if you still get your head blown off – all that proves was that those measures were bogus in the first place !!!

      And a needless breach of civil liberties !!!

      In other words….much of this new ‘surveillance ‘ kick John xKEYscore is on is a lie.

      The truth of the matter is NO security is 100% . And that being the case , means that all these new surveillance measures are NOT there for terrorism…..

      But for something else.

      Something really not healthy. And certainly not democratic.

      I would suggest it has more to do with George Bush seniors ” thousand points of light ” (masonic /skull and bones society occultic meaning – occultic Latin for hidden )…and that ”No one will oppose our New World Order”….part of the great seal on the American dollar.

      ( e pluribus unum ,Annuit coeptis , Novus ordo seclorum )

      Translated : ‘ One out of many , He approves of the undertakings ,New Order of the Ages ‘

      In 1956 , Congress passed an act that adopted ‘In God we trust ‘ instead….there has been an unseen war ever since…over who runs America.

      You are right however…in that we DO NOT NEED these anti democratic laws. And as a country we SHOULD oppose this Key character. He is a very , very evil little man.

      • Wild Katipo – good post again.

        Re your comments about John Key.

        As far as Key is concerned, despite his failure in many respects to serve the people of NZ as is expected of a credible, worthy PM, I doubt we will be able to have him removed from office without a fight!

        Something/someone is watching Key’s back at every turn he makes. Why else is Key so confident to continue to lie to and deceive the nation without batting an eyelid? He’s been doing it for six years now, so he’s well practiced in the dark arts of subterfuge and deception! He knows he is protected, so is able to get away with betraying Kiwis! Who or whatever it is, I have an idea this “protection squad” (not the DPS) could well be the faceless forces that are powerfully influencing NZ politics at the moment! To try and bring Key down, will require doing battle with these monsters!

        I feel the only way we are to rid ourselves of this toxic, horrid man and everything clinging to him, is if the fragile WhaleOil has a complete meltdown and exposes everything he has on Key! Maybe, just maybe, Slater might be the “removal man” we need, without realizing he’s doing us all a great favour!

  5. By blowing the dog whistle these fellows have exposed their agenda and the incompetence that has given rise to it.

    The perp, Man Haron Monis, had an impressive record of both crime and instability including the alleged murder of his wife. He was Shiite, a branch of Islam considered heretical by ISIS. The Australian Government was warned by Iran that the guy was a loose unit:
    http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/breaking-news/iran-raised-concerns-about-sydney-gunman/story-fnn9c0gv-1227158578164
    These facts were available to Mitchell and Key (if we accept their assurances that our intelligence services are even minimally competent). They indicate that this incident has very little to do with the (in my opinion spurious) rationale behind their “Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill” yet here they are claiming the opposite.

    The “War on Terror” is an excretion of the same chauvinistic, imperialist ideology that has plagued humanity for millennia Its current resurgence can be sheeted home to the capture of the media and Democratic processes by groups made powerful by decades of neo-liberalism.

    We were warned.

    “Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war? But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy. The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. All you have to do is tell them they’re being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism. It works the same way in any country.”
    – Herman Goering.
    http://www.democracynow.org/2006/11/24/howard_zinn_on_the_uses_of

  6. Lots of conspiracy theories coming out already too, including one pointing out that the very same cafe was used for anti-terrorist training one year ago. I don’t necessarily believe the conspiracy theories but you don’t really need to anyway. Who would trust a PM with greater survelliance powers when he’s already used the SIS for his own political purposes.

  7. nothing wrong with being an event sceptic
    its true they did training in the same location for the same situation a year
    ago , thats a fact! , I dont buy this story 1 bit, its Sydneys own Sandy Hoax / Boston Hoaxathon ,look them up
    also governments spend millions (if not more) to convince
    a compliant populace on how to think, its not so far fetched.
    the guy was mossad. he ‘died’ in the cafe & the other two died
    on the way to hospital of ‘heart attacks’. he did’nt bring his own flag
    the cops conveniently had 1 on standby to give in exchange for a hostage.
    how hard would it have been to get a tony abbot voice impersonator?

  8. From all I’ve read Pakistan’s ISI is up there with greats of intelligence gathering. With funding and training from the US.

    And 131 kids at a school for the children of military people in that country died.

    As just the latest atrocity there.

    Ponder this: making sense of the intelligence gathered requires there to be people who actually know what to look for.

    If the instruction is to be looking for troublesome political adversaries, or commercial secrets – just who will be looking for ‘terrorists’?

    So many times what should be looked for is right out in the open – and there is no one to either see or hear – or take useful preventive action.

    We are no ‘safer’ for this clumsy legislation. When concerned citizens approach authorities – there is no one listening. Happened in Australia. Has happened and can happen again here, too.

  9. Great article.

    How many civilians killed again in the Middle East with this obsession with Terrorism – millions? The war has already been going on 13 years with no let up, and now it is not just the Taliban terrorist group, it has created ISIS and more.

    The difference between terrorism and world wars is that terrorism is committed by a few people. Unfortunately going into countries all guns blazing and killing and torturing people on mass, creates more terrorists and does not actually solve the problem. It seems to increase it.

    And the people that fight in these wars are often mercenaries like our very own Dirty Politics Mark Mitchell.

    However if you are just a mere government troop like Robert O’Neill who helped kill Bin Laden – he receives no pension or medical care for his troubles.

    And NZ should be getting out of the mass surveillance game. – surprisingly people like to justify their budget and justify their existance on why they are so important. SIS, GCSB and defense contractors are creating busywork. They are so politically compromised as to be useless and continuing the terror talk and in many cases increasing the risks. Or worse like Saddam Husain and Khmer Rouge, government surveillance on it’s own population for control.

    INTEL can’t even advise the PM that the ‘terror’ attack on Sydney was a lone wolf criminal who is implicated in murdering his wife and sexually attacking others so not sure on their amazing INTEL more like SPIN.

    NZ needs to put more money into tightening up Bail and sexual violence in this country to stop another Monis Attack from happening here.

    Spying on every kiwi without a warrant – in my mind that is going too far down the road to – what was the term – Nanny State. So we can all be on John Key’s Nanny Cam making sure we are good little kiwis are working hard on zero hour contracts and being a cog in the wheel of their slogan Working for New Zealand.

    Soon to be Dying for New Zealand or maybe Torturing for New Zealand. While our politicians txt to far right hater Slater, play at dirty politics and joke about chit chat as the pretense of democracy in this country.

  10. Well well well.

    Iran says it requested 14 years ago the extradition of Man Haron Monis – the gunman behind the Sydney siege – but Australia refused to hand him over.

    The head of Iran’s police, Gen Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, told reporters that Monis was wanted for fraud at the time.

    He said Monis had fled to Australia via Malaysia in the late 1990s.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30502094

    • Can’t get this off my mind. Iran is the ultimate target for which the “War on Terror” has been manufactured – the big item on AIPAC’s shopping list. The propaganda machine has been hugely successful.
      Obviously the Australian Government has bought into it. They refused Iran’s request for extradition, most likely on the basis of “the enemy of my enemy must be my friend” or because they believe the nonsense about Iran being a torturing murderous State..??

      I know how I would feel were it my family member killed as a direct result of government’s stupidity.

      Incidentally, watch how the spin will put the blame on “the mad Mullahs”. Kiwiblog already has a few “Bomb Iran” comments.

    • Just traced the timeline. Iran was refused extradition by the …..you guessed it, Howard government.

      This looks like a case where Bush’s deputy allowed the “Axis of Evil” propaganda to persuade him that, if the “Mad Mullahs” wanted him, Monis must be an OK guy.

      There is a big story here but you won’t see mention of it in the press. Not sure what the moral is. Stupidity kills maybe.

  11. An object lesson of how right-wing governments make political capital out of another nation’s tragedy. Labour (yes, it’s a right-wing party) did it in September 2001; and Now National attempting to justify the justifiable. ‘Three hours across the ditch’ is still a thousand miles away. Judging by the hoops and mazes you have to negotiate at airports, the air travel denoted by ‘three hours across the ditch’, doesn’t bring the threat any closer. After all, London is less than 24 hours away across the pond….

    I have good reason to call the type of governance this represents by the name of Neo-Feudalism. Apart from the re-emergence of a parasitic rentier class, we have rule by protection racket. Feudalism was never anything more than a protection racket; bastard feudalism extended the take to avoidance of service; and now we have bloody bastard feudalism, in which taxpayers pay for pointless wars waged by its government, for having themselves implicated in war crimes committed or connived at by their government, and for having their own freedoms eroded and stolen by said government.

    If New Zealand soldiers and mercenaries have handed over prisoners and detainees to the tender mercies of the United States, Iraqi or Afghan government agencies, then they are as guilty of crimes against humanity as those agencies. John Key and his government stand equally charged as war criminals.

  12. ” Mark Mitchell who spent a decade in the Middle East supporting and profiting from the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq – classic blood parasite behaviour by a westerner of the sort which has stimulated retaliatory terrorist behaviour in countries outside the Middle East.”

    I’m with John on this.

    Before people like Mark Mitchell arrived Iraq was a advanced developed stable country.

    After “security experts” like Mark Mitchell were through with the place the country was destroyed and groups like ISIS are now at war there.

    Mitchell is part of the whale oil dirty politics brand of misfits …….. and just like whale oil regularly does Mitchell is abusing the dead ( in Sydney ), for his own twisted nasty purposes.

  13. Mark Mitchell comes out as a nasty piece of work in Nicky Hagers ‘Dirty Politics’ book ……………..

    “He was one of a rush of former police and military personnel who took lucrative private security jobs helping to protect the ill-fated occupation forces in Iraq.”

    When Slater and Lusk started working for/with Mitchell in a facebook or e-mail conversation Lusk is quoted about Mitchell using his police dog to bite people ……..

    ” Mark said when they start screaming you know the fight will go out of them”

    and …. ” broke a guys elbow”.

    Mitchells use of his police dog got me thinking of Abu Ghraid where they used to put the guard dogs onto the prisoners …… they also raped children in front of their mothers, tortured people sometimes to death and others things in the name of freedom and democracy.

    The brutal Iraqi police and security forces who also tortured and raped were re-hired after the invasion and Mitchell probably worked with these people.

    Ex cops who boast of putting attack dogs onto people until they are screaming are possibly sadistic and not the sort of people I would be granting more powers too.

    Mitchell looks like he’s picking up the work load that contaminated crusher collins can no longer do …… In the dirty politics brand of misfits.

  14. Mark Mitchell comes out as a nasty piece of work in Nicky Hagers ‘Dirty Politics’ book ……………..

    “He was one of a rush of former police and military personnel who took lucrative private security jobs helping to protect the ill-fated occupation forces in Iraq.”

    When Slater and Lusk started working for/with Mitchell in a facebook or e-mail conversation Lusk is quoted about Mitchell using his police dog to bite people ……..

    ” Mark said when they start screaming you know the fight will go out of them”

    and …. ” broke a guys elbow”.

    Mitchells use of his police dog got me thinking of Abu Ghraid where they used to put the guard dogs onto the prisoners …… they also raped children in front of their mothers, tortured people sometimes to death and others things in the name of freedom and democracy.

    http://www.salon.com/2004/07/15/hersh_7/ : trigger warning

    The brutal Iraqi police and security forces who also tortured and raped were re-hired after the invasion and Mitchell probably worked with these people.

    Ex cops who boast of putting attack dogs onto people until they are screaming are possibly sadistic and not the sort of people I would be granting more powers too.

    Mitchell looks like he’s picking up the work load that contaminated crusher collins can no longer do …… In the dirty politics brand of misfits.

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