Tag: nsa
The Bugged Meeting Room
On Saturday morning it was reported that the All Blacks had discovered they'd been bugged. But the real story started well before then.
As it stands right now – the matter has been referred on to NSW Police.
It's clear that this had been done well before the media ran the story, but the media likely knew of the situation well before Saturday when the story broke.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said that information wasn't passed onto police until Steve Tew, NZ Rugby CEO, had arrived in Sydney.
Since then there has been a whole lot of speculation as to who planted the device, and what the motive behind it was. We may never know the answer to this. The most likely scenario was that the device was planted on behalf of a sports betting agency. Continue reading The Bugged Meeting Room
Posted on August 22, 2016 Categories UncategorizedTags all blacks, Bugged Hotel Room, Media, Michael Pulman, nsa, NSW Police, opinion, rugby union, Spying, steve hansen, wallabies rugbyLeave a comment on The Bugged Meeting Room
David Bennett: Dirty Politics and Spy Accusations will not impact National in Saturdays election
David Bennett, Hamilton East MP for the National Party believes that the 2014 campaign getting tight is to be expected as Saturdays general election draws near.
Following last nights final leaders debate, Bennett has backed up most public opinion by agreeing that it was a very scrappy affair. Bennett believes that having a debate restricted to only half an hour is not enough time to make any meaningful type of ground.
"Both of them were probably a bit at each other."
National see their economic policy being the big factor should they win the election on Saturday.
National cannot do anything in the social sphere unless they have strong economics, with no rash spending promises, coupled with New Zealand being one of the best in the western world in terms of growth rate.
National promise that they will have a budget surplus, and have said that the economy is New Zealand's biggest issue.
According to Bennett, as Hamilton East MP, economic growth is the big pressing issue for the city.
"The link with Auckland is crucial and that is the Waikato Expressway. That is a $2.4 billion project, of which $1.1 billion is to be spent next year on the Hamilton and Huntly bypasses. The Greens have said they won't do that, New Zealand First won't do it either, and Labour sort of said a reluctant yes to so effectively under an opposition you will not have that project happen."
Bennett believes that without this growth under an opposition led government, the result would be a catastrophe for the city of Hamilton.
With all the talk about foreign investment that has taken place during this election, David Bennett said that it isn't so much about economic growth but more efficiency. Bennett believes that in terms of structure, foreign investment will have a big impact on the economy.
"In the end we are a trading company, and we are not going to be competitive by raising the minimum wage to levels we cannot support. The minimum wage is going up each year, it is possible to reach the $16 mark but it will be staged."
A big point that this blog was keen to ask Bennett about during our interview was Kim Dotcom and the recent allegations of NSA spy bases and mass surveillance of New Zealanders.
Bennett, like the majority of the National Party, was quick to say that both Dirty Politics and this weeks claims of mass surveillance have been overblown and have no relevancy on most New Zealanders.
Bennett believes that Kim Dotcom has had a negative impact on New Zealand politics.
"I think he has upset a lot of ordinary New Zealanders. They don't like his style, they don't like what he stands for, they don't like the fact that he is trying to influence New Zealand politics. The same with Dirty Politics, that book would have done nothing for your life, the thing is that the choice between Labour or National will have an effect on your daily life. Not Dirty Politics."
When asked about Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden, and allegations of mass surveillance in New Zealand.
"It is not relevant to anyones life. They are making a lot of assumptions, accusations, and comments but that can happen at any time. We have spy agencies, countries do, if you didn't you would be silly, but they don't have mass surveillance of New Zealanders. These guys are trying to make something out of nothing, where as a government will have to protect its people, and they are trying to join two points together that cannot be joined."
Bennett believes that these accusations will not effect Nationals chances in Saturdays election.
Posted on September 18, 2014 Categories UncategorizedTags david bennett, john key, kim dotcom, labour party, mass surveillance, national party, nsa, nz general elections, PoliticsLeave a comment on David Bennett: Dirty Politics and Spy Accusations will not impact National in Saturdays election
"Project Speargun tapped into New Zealand internet cables" – Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald has called New Zealand prime minister John Key a liar as the election week drama continues for National.
The NSA Bases and surveillance situation has become a problem for the National Party, and Key today was quoted as saying that Edward Snowden "may well be right" after yesterday strongly denying any of the claims made by the American journalist that New Zealanders data is accessible through a system called XKeyscore.
Snowden also claimed that there are two NSA bases in the country.
In an interview with Duncan Garner this afternoon, friend of Snowden and fellow journalist Glenn Greenwald has called John Key a liar and has accused the Prime Minister of knowingly lying to the NZ Public.
Greenwald claims that the first phase of mass surveillance with the GCSB and NSA has already happened.
The first phase included tapping into New Zealand internet cables. Phase 2 was going to implement metadata probes. It was given a name called "Project Speargun", and it taps into data and communication.
During the interview, Garner asked Greenwald if Project Speargun was only meant to hone in on New Zealanders who were under focus for criminal activity, Greenwald responded by saying every human being has something to hide.
Greenwald went on to say that the quantity of data collected was in the billions.
"I am not going to say that every single email is stored in XKeystore data."
Posted on September 17, 2014 Categories UncategorizedTags edward snowden, gcsb, glenn greenwald, john key, kim dotcom, nsa, nz general election2 Comments on "Project Speargun tapped into New Zealand internet cables" – Glenn Greenwald
John Key comes out defiant over NSA claims
Prime Minister Key has once again heavily denied speculation that New Zealanders are under mass surveillance, but Edward Snowden's claims haven't helped National's image as the election draws nearer.
John Key came out fighting in the media this morning, saying the claims that Kiwi's living in New Zealand are under mass surveillance are purely "rhetoric", and talk of NSA bases in New Zealand was strongly and actively denied by our countries Prime Minister.
According to Key, neither Edward Snowden nor Glenn Greenwald have offered any evidence to their claims.
According to the National Party, the controversial GCSB does not allow for mass surveillance in New Zealand, but Key has already said that there are databases in New Zealand that intelligence agencies have access to. The government say that information can only be accessed if there is a "person of interest", like rebel fighters or criminals carrying out activity on these shores.
Over 50% of the nation who voted on the NZ Herald website today said they didn't believe that they were under mass surveillance.
Kim Dotcom has already called John Key a liar, the Labour Leader and main opposition to the Prime Minister says there is evidence of this in an email.
Unfortunately for Key, many people are already saying they don't believe his claims over either Dotcom or any of his statements surrounding the GCSB that go back over a year now.
Another thing to keep in mind is that despite what Key has said today, and despite what Snowden is claiming, in 2014 we live in an age of terrorism and increasing criminal activity which is being fed on an ever increasing platform through online means.
If there are NSA bases in New Zealand and surveillance is indeed taking place, can it be argued that it is simply only for the protection for everybody? Probably not, and that is a topic for another day, but Key's claims are certainly hard to believe for a lot of reasons.
This has been a blunder filled campaign for Key and his national party, and it isn't getting better.
Posted on September 16, 2014 Categories UncategorizedTags election 2014, gcsb bill, john key, kim dotcom, labour party, national party, nsaLeave a comment on John Key comes out defiant over NSA claims