Peace protesters deflate NZ spy base dome
Posted
Punctured: The deflated dome at the Waihopai satellite monitoring facility (TVNZ)
Peace activists have attacked and deflated a large inflatable globe housing a satellite dish at a top secret New Zealand spy base in protest at United States military actions.
The group, calling itself ANZAC Ploughshares, said it cut through fences and razor wire and avoided electronic sensors before using a sickle to slash one of two 30-metre white globes at the Waihopai base near Blenheim at the top of the South Island.
The base is described as a satellite communications monitoring facility, but peace campaigners say it is part of a global signals interception network called Echelon.
"The Echelon spy network, including Waihopai, is an important part of the US government's global spy network and we have come in the name of the Prince of Peace to close it down," said Ploughshares in a statement.
It said the attackers built a shrine and prayed "to remember the people killed by United States military activity".
Three men, one of whom was a Dominican priest, were arrested at the site.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is also in charge of the security services, condemned the attack.
"It's a senseless act of vandalism, but it will now be dealt with by police," her spokeswoman said.
Ploughshares said Ms Clark and the New Zealand government were privately supporting the war in Iraq while publicly condemning it.
-Reuters
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Comments (42)
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CF Zero:
30 Apr 2008 11:20:43am
Idiots! Thats the interception network used to pick up terrorist communications. Locally, its how they picked up the Bali bombers communications. If it was running at the time it would have intercepted the French before they sunk the rainbow warrior.
Interferring with the system endangours both civilian and service peoples lives here,overseas and especially the middle east and Afghanistan.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Wolf:
30 Apr 2008 12:28:31pm
Actually unless the system is monitoring "friendlies" it wouldn't have done anything to stop the French. NZ wasn't at war or anything like that with a European democracy at the time of the Rainbow warrior.
And if it is monitoring so called friendly countries then there a lot more issues at stake than just terrorism.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Peregrine:
30 Apr 2008 12:59:19pm
Actually Wolf in the world of intelligence there is no such thing as friendlies, especially where the French are concerned.
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dananimal:
30 Apr 2008 12:38:43pm
@CF Zero: What evidence of effective intelligence gathering by the USA or it's allies can you possibly be pointing to?
The lies about WMD in Iraq?
If there had been communications intercepts of the Bali bombers by Australian government agencies, why was nothing done to mitigate casualties?
There is simply no evidence that any of this highly suspicious technology has done anything to keep any civilian populations safe.
PS - If there's one one thing the twentieth century ought to have taught us it is - The United States government lies, you can't believe a word the US government says.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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CF Zero:
30 Apr 2008 1:00:30pm
The intercepts of the bali bombers were made after the fact as detonating conventional weapons isnt a serious threat to established civilisations. They were then used as evidence to convict the perpetrators.
The evidence is that we are still going about our daily lives with minimal intrusion, we never hear about the successes of such operations, only the failures.
Unfortunately the civil liberties that we have become acustomed to are not suitable for our modern societies as to much potential destruction can be inflicted by an individual or a small group, we cannot negotiate with extremists as they have no responsible governemnt to negotiate with.
While some may argue that the US is also extremist in there activities, there way of life is similar to our own and they dont threaten the anhiliation of civilisations for not believing in any particular deity.
If populations were more educated as to the threats that exist around them, governments wouldnt need to lie as the population would understand why action needs to be taken.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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CJW:
30 Apr 2008 1:16:21pm
What a joke! If we are safe, then it is because surveillance keeps us safe, if not, then that only proves the need for more surveillance.
How about if governments didn't lie (AWB, children overboard, WMD, Haneef, extraordinary rendition) then people whom they are supposed to serve might trust them more.
If you are so against civil liberties, then I suggest you start by limiting your own freedom to expression, while you ponder why you would have us become what we are trying to resistReply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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CF Zero:
30 Apr 2008 1:28:13pm
What we say has no effect other than to encourage healthy debate and discussion, what an individual can do can now threaten the livelihood and well beings of entire cities or countries. As our society lets me believe in whatever I want, what I believe in and who I share my beliefs with must be monitored for the well being of others.
We know to the last gram how much uranium has been dug out of the ground and processed into other materials, we cannot account for it all though so if the monitoring fails, eventually we will discover what freedom of belief can inflict on a populationReply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Gareth Smith:
30 Apr 2008 1:17:40pm
The European Parliament ordered an investigation into Echelon (http://www.europarl.eu.int/tempcom/echelon/pdf/prechelon_en.pdf)
because it was spying on companies like Airbus Industries and passing on confidential information to Boeing so that it could undercut Airbus sales to China and other countries. Apart from industrial espionage and massive invasions of our fax, phone and internet privacy, bases like Waihopi and Australia's Pine Gap are essential tools of US military aggression against countries like Panama, Granada, Iraq and Afghanistan. Rudd doesn't have to send large numbers of troops to Afghanistan or Iraq because our hosting of Pine Gap probably equals the tactical contribution of 100,000 soldiers!Reply Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Seamus:
30 Apr 2008 1:30:37pm
Not idiots - very smart actually. If "its how they picked up the Bali bombers communications", then why didn't they stop the Bali bombers? These spy bases were also completely impotent on Sept 11 2001.
The U.S. satellite spy bases are an integral part of the targeting mechanism of the U.S. military. It could be argued that if the U.S. spy bases in Waihopai, NZ and Pine Gap, Australia had been disabled at the appropriate time, that hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians could have been spared. Cruise missiles and "precision guided" cluster bombs cannot be used without this type of satellite navigation.
Go people power! Evict the American spy bases from Australia and New Zealand.Reply Agree (1) Alert moderator
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DavidLastName:
30 Apr 2008 1:46:15pm
Good on them! I always like how New Zealanders can get things done. Pine Gap has always been so hard to attack. Look what happened to Gough when he wanted to reveal what was happenin there.
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WP:
30 Apr 2008 2:05:10pm
Are you sugesting that by turning of the equipment for targeting that lives would be saves?
I would suggest that many more lives would be lost as many more bombs would miss their targets hitting many more civilians.
Having chosen to fight in those countries, we cannot ask our forces to do it with hands tied behind their back and not drop bombs. The whole point of targeting is so you hit targets while doing the minimum amount of damage to those nearby.
Rember many of those fighting agenst our troops have a tend to hide amoung the populationReply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Reds Under The Bed:
30 Apr 2008 11:23:11am
They built a shrine and prayed to the Prince of Peace.
I'm pretty sure the insanity defence will get them off.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Ford:
30 Apr 2008 11:41:39am
Is "Prince Of Peace" a Jesus reference?
Sounds like a Playstation game I used to have...aah the memories.
I'm not sure that deflating the dome would actually make any difference to the performance of the satellite...though one does wonder why you'd build razor wire fences, electronic sentries et al....and then hide something in an inflatable, fabric dome.
And who on earth carries a sickle around?Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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RJ:
30 Apr 2008 11:56:32am
The grim reaper does!
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bob:
30 Apr 2008 12:26:09pm
I think you'll find that's a scythe.
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DaveM:
30 Apr 2008 12:53:18pm
"Prince of Persia" was a fantastic game - with fluid animation rarely seen in sprite-based PC games of that era.
The dome is essentially a counter-intelligence measure, so that observers cannot tell exactly where the dish is pointing at any given time. Since the site's controllers didn't deactivate the dish and leave it pointing straight up (or something similarly innocuous) prior to the media getting a photo, Id suggest that either the media were tipped off about the attack and had a camera nearby, or the dish was (and is) engaged in activity which wont alarm the Russians, Chinese or anybody else with the resources to calculate the whys and wherefores of which satellite the dish is focussed on. Which means it was probably engaged in non-state related activity, such as counter-terrorism. And engaging in counter-terrorism surveillance is evil and must be stopped, according to the Prince. Apparently.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Ron Walters:
30 Apr 2008 1:15:07pm
After having talked with some techs in the know, apparently those big radio telescope type antennas are usually pointing straight up whennot in use. That is their default configuration, as opposed to how the photo shows this particular dish.
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WP:
30 Apr 2008 1:38:14pm
Clearly it wasnt listening in on Ploughshares and the Prince of peace
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DaveM:
30 Apr 2008 1:38:31pm
My point exactly. So the photo was either taken within minutes of deflation (before those in charge could have repositioned the dishes to a neutral setting), or those in charge do not care who sees which way the dish is pointing because its activity is legit and above-board in the international arena.
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WP:
30 Apr 2008 1:57:00pm
I think you missed my point/joke.
If they had beenlistining to the Prince of Piece, then the police would have been waiting and cought them before damage was doneReply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Gavin:
30 Apr 2008 2:13:35pm
The other option is that their assessment found that moving it would cause more damage and expose more of the facility.
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Jon:
30 Apr 2008 11:24:35am
Interesting - the US has allowed the municipal law of New Zealand to apply. Why was Afghanistan municipal law not applied for similar acts undertaken by Afghani citiziens?
It's lucky the group weren't arrested by American troops, they'd be in Guantanamo for acts of terrorism by now.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Bertrand:
30 Apr 2008 11:24:40am
3:23 And Jesus said "if there are those among you whom you suspect of listening to the words of others, and you do not like it, and you think they are mean, then go to their property and do unto it with a sickle such as will annoy them momentarily, and make you look unreasonable and silly to the world."
3:24 And then Jesus did say "Wait a minute, this is silly, and since when did anyone ever think Dominicans were a particuarly good order anyway?"Reply Agree (1) Alert moderator
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dragon:
30 Apr 2008 11:28:11am
Yeah !
That'll show 'em !
(insert rolling eyes here)Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Joel B1:
30 Apr 2008 12:17:05pm
They might be a bit different, but from what (little) I've read they don't seem particularly bonkers.
"...Waihopai, is an important part of the US government's global spy network and we have come in the name of the Prince of Peace to close it down," said Ploughshares.
OK, so the "prince of peace" bit is a little off-centre. But the rest seems to reflect reality.
Indeed, the last statement rings especially true, given NZ previous attitudes to the USA.
"the New Zealand government [is] privately supporting the war in Iraq while publicly condemning it"
Disclaimer: I don't support these actions. I don't disagree with previous comments, even the "Prince of Persia" allusion.Reply Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Bryan law:
30 Apr 2008 12:42:03pm
I support the ANZAC Ploughshares wholeheartedly and applaud them for their courage and clarity in acting as they have done.
The US militarisation of space, including the Echelon surveillance system, threatens world peace in alarming ways. The US Strategic Command is presently developing what it calls "prompt global strike" - the capacity to hit any point on the earth's surface with a conventional or buclear missile within 60 minutes of decision by the President or Secretary of Defence.
It's good to see this insanity exposed and opposed by committed Christians, and a tonic to the Australian ANZAC Day commemmorations which were used to glorify and support war.
The original ANZACs told us war was brutal, futile and to be avoided. The ANZAC Ploughshares are true to that message.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Joel B1:
30 Apr 2008 12:56:44pm
It was a peaceful, yet decisive action.
For the NZ PM to say "It's a senseless act of vandalism" shows how much NZ has changed in the past decade or so.
By way of example, NZ has just signed a free trade agreement with China, beating all(?) other countries to it.Reply Agree (1) Alert moderator
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Bertrand:
30 Apr 2008 1:00:59pm
The anzac spirit is that war is brutal and preferrable to a whole range of things, such as military expansionism, communism, fascism and religous extremism. Anyone who tries to see the US as equavalent to any of these things, when they have intervened on our behalf against fascism, expansionism and arguably communism is delusional.
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soldier veteran:
30 Apr 2008 1:38:31pm
Mr Law,
Your above statement is the most ridiculous thing that I've read for a while now. Obviously you have never visited the Australian War Memorial, attended a Dawn Service, spoken to a returned servicemen about their experiences or taken much notice of world history over the last one hundred and twenty (or so) years. Alternatively, you may just be "taking the piss"; which, with the above statement shows your poor sense of humour and highlights your lack of any sort of moral compass.
If you possessed an ounce of the courage and sense of patriotism that those who served our nation within the Australian Defence Forces did, you would understand how ridiculous your comments about ANZAC day are. April the 25th is a sacred day for Australia and New Zealand to pay respect and remember the sacrifice that our forbearers made for us. ANZAC Day does not "glorify and support" war, it serves to remind us of the tragedy and suffering associated with military conflict so that we may never forget the sacrifice so few made for the sake of both our nation's freedom.
The name "ANZAC Ploughshares" is an insult to our ancestors and an indication of the type of idiot these people are.
Finally, here's something for you to think about...
...IF YOU ARE READING THIS MESSAGE-THANK A TEACHER
....IF YOU ARE READING THIS MESSAGE IN ENGLISH- THANK A SOLDIER/SAILOR/AIRMAN.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Joel B1:
30 Apr 2008 1:49:57pm
Yeah well Vet,
If you recall your gallipoli stuff, it was a complete debacle. Nothing to be proud of except the way ANZACS died.
Maybe if someone had stood up to the Brit Officers and said this is madness fewer would have died.
It's not cowardice to question...
ps I've done a dawn service, in my greens and slouch hat and SLR.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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CF Zero:
30 Apr 2008 2:13:55pm
There probably wouldnt have been a 2nd world war if the Turks had been able to reinforce the Germans along the western front. We would all be speaking German or Japanese now of course, there would be no conflict in Gaza as Israel wouldnt exist and nor would the Jewish religion.
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Id:
30 Apr 2008 2:14:12pm
I don't recall anybody like Anzac Ploughshares going over to Germany in 1941 to tell Hitler to stop murdering Jews.
It's all very well to say"Tell the Brit officers to stop it."
What should our boys have said to the Belgians and French?
"Sorry chaps. We're too busy playing football this Saturday".
About time generation Y learned about life.
You aren't automatically entitled to a McMansion with a house full of My Home furniture and a Porsche.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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666advocate:
30 Apr 2008 12:42:04pm
Ha ha ha.
"to remember the people killed by United States military activity" is as good a reason as any...
may the prince of peace rule supreme- if only deflating the party balloons would seal the deal.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Bard:
30 Apr 2008 1:18:58pm
"The people killed by US military activity"?????
You mean they are remembering all those psychopathic NAZIS killed in the liberation of Europe and murderous Japanese killed in the liberation of the Pacific in WW2?
Maybe they should be remembering the people saved by US military activity? The scales would be likely be weighed heavier on this side?Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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C:
30 Apr 2008 12:47:49pm
Makes nice piece of art...
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Wortho:
30 Apr 2008 1:08:19pm
Eat your heart out Christo! That was a quick wrap.
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Seamus:
30 Apr 2008 1:07:44pm
Excellent work ANZAC Ploughshares.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9)
"They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." Isaiah 2:4 & Micah 4:3
This was a prophecy of Isaiah in which he predicts the coming of the Messiah, Jesus and the actions of his followers, the Christians.
Swords to ploughshares is a concept in which military weapons or technologies are converted for peaceful civilian applications. The plowshare is often used to symbolize creative tools that benefit mankind, as opposed to destructive tools of war, symbolized by the sword, a similar sharp metal tool with an arguably opposite use. The common expression "beat swords into ploughshares" has been used by numerous social, religous and political groups to highlight the evils of war.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Will:
30 Apr 2008 1:39:06pm
Or you could just use the sword for pruning the garden.
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seajae:
30 Apr 2008 1:12:13pm
Unfortunately there will always be pacifists that think screwing with this type of technology is the way to go but to use the term anzac in their name is just lack of respect for what the name represents, soldiers that fought for their country, not someones pacifist views. These so called spy set ups actually do work and gather information, maybe it is not to everyones liking but it can and does save lives, this cannot be denied. To me these people that do this type of damage are not helping anyone but just pushing their own agendas and do not care who agrees with them. Once they actually do damage they are no better than common criminals and desrve no sympathy. We have soldiers working overseas, these centres are able to help keep them alive, no matter what we think of the US we still need them to continue monitoring any possible attack from terrorists, it just may save the lives of aussies & kiwis at home and abroad.
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Seamus:
30 Apr 2008 1:51:35pm
<<Unfortunately there will always be pacifists that think screwing with this type of technology is the way to go>>
Yes, they are in the good company people like Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Steve Biko, St. Francis, Tolstoy and Einstein
<<but to use the term anzac in their name is just lack of respect for what the name represents, soldiers that fought for their country, not someones pacifist views.>>
Actually most of the ANZAC diggers who I have met or read about all condemned war and urged people to oppose participation in war (ie pacifism).
<<These so called spy set ups actually do work and gather information, maybe it is not to everyones liking but it can and does save lives, this cannot be denied.>>
Does that include the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan murdered by bombs and missiles which depend on theses spy bases for navigation?
<<To me these people that do this type of damage are not helping anyone but just pushing their own agendas and do not care who agrees with them.>>
So what do you call the massive destruction of civil infrastructure and loss of human life which George Bush and John Howard caused when they lied to the public about Iraq's imaginary WMDs in order to steal that countries oil reserves? Is that their own agenda or perhaps an agenda of their oil company friends?
<<Once they actually do damage they are no better than common criminals and desrve no sympathy.>>
See above.
<<We have soldiers working overseas, these centres are able to help keep them alive, no matter what we think of the US we still need them to continue monitoring any possible attack from terrorists, it just may save the lives of aussies & kiwis at home and abroad.>>
Illusions of the imagination. What good did these spy and targeting bases do to prevent the Bali bombings, Sept 11, the USS Cole or the London Bombings? Make no mistake, these bases are all about taking life, not protecting it.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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davo:
30 Apr 2008 1:44:58pm
The actions of the protesters are largely symbolic, because the inflated condom over the installation is non functional. Its only purpose is to hide the antenna from the prying eyes of others who may want to steal the technology (not that the americans would do that given half a chance).
The deflation of the cover would not disable the effectiveness of the installation, it would just be a minor inconvenience.Reply Agree (0) Alert moderator
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NameWithheld:
30 Apr 2008 2:04:41pm
ECHELON is only a portion of what the GCSB site at Waihopai is part of. The FBI's DCSNet and the CIA FRONTIER system also tap into what appears to be a AUSCANNZUKUS military only network. The good ole' Ploughshares or Clodhoppers or whatever they were don't know the half of it.
Of course Australia's participation is via the Defence Signals Directorate in Canberra and the 13 other listening posts around Australia and it's territories - most of which you wouldnt even know they were there.
Without these vital intelligence sharing arrangements that have been in existence for over 60 years the world as we know it what have been far less safeReply Agree (0) Alert moderator
