National's copyright infringement and Key backs down further on this narrative

I say (and Kim Dotcom says), EXTRADITE JOHN KEY!

Eminem Sues New Zealand Political Party Over Unauthorized Song Use

Rolling Stone,

16 September, 2014

Eminem doesn't usually involve himself with New Zealand politics, but the rapper and his publishing company have filed a copyright infringement suit against the National Party after current prime minister John Key used the rapper's "Lose Yourself" in a reelection campaign ad without permission. While the National Party has since stopped using the 8 Mile cut in its advertisements, Eminem is seeking unspecified damages, the Guardian reports.

Eminem was never approached about giving permission for the use of "Lose Yourself" in the ad. "It is both disappointing and sadly ironic that the political party responsible for championing the rights of music publishers in New Zealand by the introduction of the three strikes copyright reforms should itself have so little regard for copyright," Eminem's publishers said in a statement.

Prime Minister Key is also credited in the entertainment industry with helping to facilitate the arrest for copyright infringement of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, albeit through an "illegal spying" scandal that nearly derailed Key's time in office. The National Party said they did receive permission to use the song through an Australian production company and that, while they reached a compromise to stop using "Lose Yourself," a lawsuit was still filed with New Zealand's Ministry of Justice.

Using songs for political purposes without permission seems to be an international problem that creeps up every Election Day. In 2008, prior to the Presidential primaries, John Mellencamp demanded that potential Republican candidate John McCain stop using "Pink Houses" and "Our Country" at his campaign rallies. That same year, Jackson Browne filed a lawsuit against the McCain campaign for their repeated use of "Running On Empty."

John Key has changed his story many times, from "Kim Dotcom's little henchman' to now, Snowden 'may well be right'. Each time he expects people to believe him. Each time he has been lying.

John Key concedes Edward Snowden 'may well be right'

• Key concedes claim NZ data may be accessible through Xkeyscore

• Says NZ contributes some information to Five Eyes databases

• "But not mass, wholesale surveillance as people might say"

• No evidence of mass surveillance, says security chief 

• MORE: NZ 'spied on friends for US'

NZ Herald,

17 September, 2014

Prime Minister John Key acknowledged today that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's claim that New Zealanders' data is accessible through the controversial XKeyscore system "may well be right".

However, he maintained that information will not have been gathered under any Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) mass surveillance programme as the agency doesn't have that capability.

During Monday night's Kim Dotcom sponsored "Moment of Truth" Mr Snowden claimed that as an NSA (National Security Agency) analyst stationed in Hawaii some years ago, he regularly came across New Zealanders' data held in the agency's XKeyscore system.

Mr Snowden claimed at least some of that information was gathered via mass surveillance programmes the GCSB was involved with.

Speaking on Radio New Zealand this morning, Mr Key said there were a number of devices and programmes used by the GCSB but he would not go into details.

"However, what I can say in terms of those kinds of Five Eyes databases... yes New Zealand will contribute some information but not mass, wholesale surveillance as people might say."

Addressing Mr Snowden's claims, he said: "I think the point he was making was in that shared database he said 'I regularly came across information about New Zealanders' - that may well be right."

However, Snowden was mistaken in suggesting New Zealand agencies contributed large amounts of metadata about New Zealanders.

"That's not true, we're not collecting wholesale information... We don't have the capability for mass surveillance," Mr Key said.

Information about New Zealanders supplied by the GCSB to the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network was limited to that gathered under a warrant.

"You could not gather information about New Zealanders without a warrant," he said.

"But one thing I can say , we don't control what other agencies and other people collect... so it's true there will be New Zealanders there and Americans may have gathered information across a whole lot of reasons legitimately that they gather for hundreds and hundreds of countries.

"But what is absolutely also true is we can't circumvent our law, so we don't use a foreign agency to go and do something."

That meant New Zealand agencies could not access information about New Zealanders gathered by foreign agencies without a warrant.

Mr Key's comments came as Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn issued a statement regarding her ongoing review of whether the GCSB was acting within its restrictions.

"I can advise that I have not identified any indiscriminate interception of New Zealanders' data in my work to date," she said.

"I will continue to monitor these issues."

Screengrab of NSA materials on Speargun / The Intercept

But US journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has worked extensively with Snowden to expose alleged mass surveillance by the NSA, told the Herald today: "I don't know what she's seen or hasn't seen but she should take a look at the evidence we've produced as part of our reporting.

"That made very clear that the project that the NSA and GCSB were working on and proceeded to take steps to implement was a project of mass surveillance - was she aware of project Speargun?"

Greenwald said there was "a history around the world when we've done reporting of the people who are responsible for overseeing these agencies being kept in the dark".

"I don't disbelieve her that she's never seen it, but that just means she hasn't seen the evidence."

Snowden and Greenwald this week produced NSA documents they said showed the GCSB's project Speargun was a mass surveillance project that involved tapping New Zealand's Southern Cross international data cable.

Mr Key has said their information in incomplete and refers to a wide ranging cyber security project that was scaled back amid concerns it would be perceived as a mass surveillance tool.

Greenwald has said he will soon produce reports detailing GCSB surveillance of friendly countries on behalf of the United States. Mr Key this morning said New Zealand did gather foreign intelligence "but for good reasons and lawfully".

The reasons for doing so included ensuring the security of "sporting teams going to a particular location that might be at risk" and keeping tabs on "foreign fighters".

"Over successive governments I think I've got a pretty good sense of where and why that intelligence has been gathered and I'm comfortable that it's been directed in the right place."

Asked whether he was preparing for a backlash similar to that when it emerged last year that Australia had spied on Indonesian leaders, Mr Key said he wasn't.

"Most countries would expect that for a variety of reasons, intelligence is gathered."