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Murdochrissy spreads through the mainstream media?

Both of today's daily newspapers are carrying reports that suspected Israeli spies were killed in the Christchurch earthquake.

That's not so surprising -- there are probably intelligence gathering agents from many different nations operating on a day-to-day basis here in NZ. What was most interesting in these MSM reports was the suggestion that these Mossad agents might have accessed the Police national computer system without authorisation.

If that's the case, we should be worried, very worried and either the MSM is scaremongering or we really need to have a very serious rethink about the way the Police computer system is protected from such access.

I also have concerns about the MSM quote that "An unnamed SIS officer told the newspaper there were fears a group of Israelis had accessed the police national computer database..."

What's going on here?

Why would an "unnamed SIS officer" be divulging this information to the mainstream press in an anonymous capacity?

Surely, if it were an official information release, a PR person (with a name) would be given the task of disclosing it -- not some state spy operating under the cover of anonymity.

Or has our local media adopted the practices of Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire and started infiltrating the state sector to get inside information for juicy stories?

Apparently, according to that unnamed officer, a review of the Police system's logs showed no indication of hacking or unauthorised access -- but that ought not to be a surprise. It's most unlikely that the computer was compromised and even if it was, I think that anyone with the skills to do so would also have the skills to cover their trail.

On NatRad (MP3) this morning the editor of the Southland Times, Fred Tulett was interviewed about the information he'd received in respect to this story and I suggest you listen to that interview because I'm using some quotes from it in what follows...

I can't help but get the feeling this is a huge storm in a teacup.

The surviving Israelis took photos of the van in which their associate died... is that really so unusual? How many other people took pictures of the disaster that unfolded around them on that day?

The man killed in the van was apparently carrying five passports... might they have been the passports belonging to the associates that were traveling with him? Could he not have been simply carrying the bag in which all their passports were kept?

The Israelis sent urban search and rescue teams to NZ... didn't several other countries, some of who didn't even lose any of their nationals in the quake?

And "the SIS became suspicious that they *could* have had the opportunity to access the Police national computer". Well excuse me but *anyone* who visits NZ could be said to have had the opportunity to access the Police national computer. Is there actually any evidence to suggest that they *did* access that computer? It would appear (after the audit) that there is not.

It strikes me that some very long bows are being drawn here.

Sure, we've had at least one well publicised incident in the past where Israeli operatives were found to be operating inside NZ but I'm wondering exactly what the motives are for this latest revelation in respect to these Israelis caught in the Christchurch quake. It has been suggested that they, like the last bunch caught red-handed, were seeking to steal NZers identities but again, there is no proof.

"It's suspicion rather than certainty" -- I think that sums the situation up perfectly.

Are the Southland Times and other MSM dailies in NZ seeking to fill the tabloid void that Murdoch's collapsing empire has created? If so, they're doing a damned fine job.

"There is some really seriously dangerous malware now being inserted into American military computers and the Americans have been trying for three years to destroy it". This almost certainly refers to the agent.btz malware which hit US military systems back in 2008. It is suspected that this bit of malware was of Russian origin but do we really believe that the NZ Police computer is so filled with tasty bits of intelligence that Israel would build their own malware specifically to mine it for useful data?

I don't for one minute think that the Israelis are as pure as the driven snow -- they've proven their willingness to flout the laws of NZ in order to achieve their goals, just as the French Government did with the Rainbow Warrior bombing.

But is this story perhaps a case of blatant Murdochrissy on the part of our media?

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