Classic
signs of a trap in the making
Is
a noose slowly being tightened around the Prime Minister's neck?
4
July, 2013
Kim
Dotcom may have wasted the first 14 of his allotted 15 minutes in
front of Parliament's intelligence and security committee reading out
a worthy but turgid statement outlining the failings of legislation
clarifying the functions of the Government Communications Security
Bureau - the agency that illegally spied on the Megaupload founder.
But then came the sting.
As
a modern-day soothsayer warning of the pending "Dark Ages of
Spying", he was suitably attired in his trademark black, barring
a thin red line running along his trainers. His only concession to
the committee was to remove his baseball cap - black, of course.
His
treatise, however, failed to excite Winston Peters, who was fighting
a losing battle with his drooping eyelids. But Peters knew what was
coming after John Key, who is chairing the hearings on the bill,
generously agreed to a request from the Greens' Russel Norman for an
extension of time for Dotcom.
On
Tuesday, Peters had posed a series of questions asking Key whether he
had been telling the truth about what he knew and when about the
January 2012 police raid on the Dotcom mansion at Coatesville.
Key
replied with an unequivocal "yes".
With
Dotcom due to turn up the next day, Key ought to have smelled an
extremely large rodent.
By
this stage Peters was wide awake with his devilish smile flashing
across his face as Labour's David Shearer asked Dotcom if he thought
Key was aware of him and his activities long before the Prime
Minister has consistently said he knew. "He knew about me before
the raid ... You know I know," Dotcom replied, staring at Key.
Peters' smile just kept on broadening.
Outside
the hearing, Dotcom accused Key of lying to all New Zealanders when
he had said he did not know about him. Proof of that would be
presented at Dotcom's extradition hearing. If it stands up, Key's
resignation might well be in order. It is as simple as that.
Then
Dotcom was off. He had arrived at Parliament about an hour earlier,
having flown from Auckland to Wellington by helicopter. So what had
the helicopter flight been like? "Very bumpy," was the curt
response.
He
might have used the same description for his 22-minute appearance in
front of the committee.
More
cover from Russian TV than from NZ media!!
‘Dark
ages of spying’: Kim Dotcom lashes out at NZealand surveillance
bill
Megaupload
founder Kim Dotcom speaks as he comes face to face for the first time
with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key as lawmakers examine a
controversial proposal allowing intelligence agencies to spy on local
residents at Bowen House in Wellington on July 03, 2013.
RT,
3
July, 2013
Tensions
between Kim Dotcom and Prime Minister John Key were raised as the
pair sparred at a parliamentary committee hearing on the government’s
proposed surveillance law, with Dotcom voicing his opposition to the
controversial legislation.
The
New Zealand government has proposed a change in the law to allow the
Government Communications Security Bureau (GCJB) to provide support
to the New Zealand Police, Defense Force and the Security
Intelligence Service.
Dotcom was voicing his opposition to the law
and was the star of the show on the second day of hearings of the
secretive Security and Intelligence Committee.
“We
should avoid blindly following the US into the dark ages of spying.
In the end, the GCSB is just a subsidiary of the (US) National
Security Agency and the US government calls all the shots,”
he told the committee.
Dotcom
went on to urge New Zealanders to repeat their “heroic stance” of
the 1980’s when they declared New Zealand nuclear free, by
rejecting the proposed bill.
“There
has never been a greater need for New Zealanders to once again step
forward and declare their values shall not be abandoned or suspended
under pressure from the United States,”
he said.
He
also pointed out that the proposed extension of spying powers was
“poorly timed considering the scandalous leaks concerning
US mass surveillance of the world’s population, including US
allies.”
This
is the first time the committee, which is being chaired by John Key
the New Zealand Prime Minister, has opened its doors to the public.
Other
concerns
Dr.
Rodney Harrison QC, a senior barrister, told the committee that
further details on the extent of the proposed legislation were needed
before it was made law.
“The
first and most critical question is, precisely what activities are to
be engaged in by the GCSB. We don’t even know the answer to this
question,” he said.
The
government needs 61 votes in order to pass the bill but is currently
one vote short.
Mr
Key needs Peter Dunne, an independent MP, to vote for it if it is to
pass, as the Maori Party, the governments other support partner is
unlikely to give its backing.
Megaupload
founder Kim Dotcom (L) speaks as he comes face to face for the first
time with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key (R) as lawmakers
examine a controversial proposal allowing intelligence agencies to spy on local residents at Bowen House in Wellington on July 3, 2013.
(AFP Photo)
If
Dunne’s vote is not forth coming, Key will have to go to the New
Zealand Frist party for support; a small, populist, cross-bench
party.
New
Zealand’s GCSB is a partner in the so-called “five-eyes”
group, a technical and information sharing partnership, which is
officially called The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) and
includes the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and which
is led by America’s National Security Agency.
Dotcom’s
spying claims
Dotcom
is being sought by the US on charges of copyright infringement and
money laundering, in connection with his file sharing site
Megaupload.
Dotcom
is claiming he has evidence that Key, contrary to repeated public
assurances, had been aware of his activities before a dramatic raid
on Kim Dotcom’s mansion north of Auckland last year.
Kim
Dotcom’s status as a permanent resident of New Zealand meant the
GCSB was not allowed to spy on him. The Prime Minster later issued a
public apology over the incident.
“Abuse
of spying powers is not limited to national security matters. The
GCSB was involved in the raid on my home to support an alleged breach
of copyright, it has nothing to do with terrorism or national
security,” he said.
“Oh
he knew about me before the raid, I know about that. You know I
know,” said dotcom staring straight at Key.
“I
know you don’t know. I know you don’t know,”
the Prime Minster replied.
“Why
are you turning red, Prime Minister?”
Kim quipped back.
“I’m
not. Why are you sweating?”
said Key.
“It’s
hot. I have a scarf,” said
Kim.
After
the hearing Kim told the New Zealand TV3 Campbell live program, while
grinning at the camera, “I do not know Edward Snowdon
personally, that’s all I want to say about this.”
Key
later told reporters that Kim was “a well-known
conspiracy theorist. He’s utterly wrong.”
Kim
Dotcom talks to Campbell Live after GCSB hearing
3
July, 2013
Kim
Dotcom was spied on illegally by the GCSB. The High Court determined
that. The Prime Minister agreed the High Court was right and
apologised to Dotcom.
As
a result of all that, we know a whole lot more stuff about what the
GCSB gets up to than anyone ever thought we would know
That
came to a head today when Dotcom appeared before the select committee
looking at extending the GCSB's powers.
The
Prime Minister is the minister in charge of the GCSB, so he was the
head of the select committee.
Dotcom
was there to give evidence and argue against the extension of the
GCSB's powers.
Dotcom
spoke to John Campbell after the hearing tonight.
"I
wanted to talk about the intrusions into privacy and the dangers for
New Zealanders, losing their basic human right to privacy," says
Dotcom.
Dotcom
says the recent leaks by Edward Snowden about the US NSA's PRISM
programme highlight the need for privacy in the digital age.
"It's
highly likely the GCSB is also involved in this kind of mass
surveillance," he says. "Recently when the Prime Minister
was asked in Parliament if the GCSB is splicing into the submarine
cable and copying everything that is passing through there, he
wouldn't answer that question.
"He
would say it's not in the national interest to talk about it. For me
that answer indicates very clearly that that's what's going on."
Hear
the full interview HERE
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