Ben Vidgen: WELCOME TO ABSURDISTAN…

– A Letter to the Nelson Mail on their silence over the Emirates human rights abuse during the America’s Cup as they promote a movie exposing Saudi Arabia role in murdering dissident journalist Jamal Kashoggi as must see.

by Ben Vidgen

I just picked up a copy of the Nelson Mail (13/3/21) and saw an article on page  18 Vote For Sanity Buy A ticket to this film Dissident. The film documenting showing how Jamal Kashoggi was murdered not just for his criticism of Saudi elite but because he exposed that Vision 2030 sold to the West as the King goal to modernise Saudi Arabia with a sustainable exit strategy from oil was in reality a blue print for making Vision 2030 leaders the world leading manufacture of smart weapons and it was to be tool to entrenched and fortify their repressive brand of totalitarianism.

On the back page is another article one for the America Cup.

An event first introduced to us by Michael Fay who also introduced us to Rocket Lab funded by Lockheed Martin as the initial seed funder now publicly listed as worth billons. Fay’s entry into the America’s Cup came prior to his fall from public grace following the the Wine Box Inquiry, which saw politician Winston Peters alleged Fay was involved in tax evasion. It concluded as Fay was shown to have not paid 128 million, a verdict white washed as ‘tax avoidance’ (not tax evasion) as rumour swirled around the transaction at the centre of the inquiry were related to a so called Russian guns for Middle Eastern oil for kiwi butter deal.

Today aside from backing Rocket Lab Fay is currently working with Murdoch Sky TV empire New Zealand and the UN to use sporting events to promote tech and investment company’s, Australia and New Zealand wish to do business with (offering raw material, cheap migrant work force and brain power of Australia NZ start ups) in the Pacific as part of SAMOA – Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action. It goals to use sporting events to promote ‘soft democracy’ to garner influence and promote the agenda of sustainability.

Back in the 1990’s the Guns for Butter rumours would led me to write a 1999 best seller State Secrets, promoted in your own paper in 1999. My book focused on New Zealand ties to arms trafficking and money laundering prior to NZ own role in the disgraced UN Iraq Food For Oil came to light in 2006.  

The 2006 second edition to State Secrets (State Secrets II) would focus on that event and TEAM Emirates links to those involved in similar arms deals.

Yet even with out knowing of the Emirates ties to NZ linked black market arms, sold to despots and terrorists, the photo on the back page of your paper showing the New Zealand boats prominently displaying the logo of their core sponsors, the logo of Emirates, seems an amazing hypocrisy. In terms of the glowing praise given for a film that exposes human rights abusers.

For Air Emirates is owned by Emirate sheik Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai – who is now being reported (it would seem by every paper around the world bar those printed in NZ) as having kidnapped his daughter (image above). Like Saudi Arabia the Emirates can be found to fuelling the brutal war in Yemen where organised rape and human rights abuse are used routinely as weapons of war.

The last paragraph of the article on Dissident in your paper notes “Kashoggi died becuase in country which 80% country have twitter. His following made him a threat to a ruling class who have all the money in the world and all the political influence they can buy. He was a victim of cynical, narcistic and megalomania people who feed that delusion popularity matters more than character. Buying a ticket to see this film is at least a vote for sanity even it wont change a thing.” 

All of which make the 2016 opening remarks at the Ministerial Conference on Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in Arab Countries sound heavily Machivillian.

The words were delivered by the patron of TEAM Emirates Patron Helen Clark as the UNDP Administrator;

“I am delighted to join you at this (Social Dimensions Cairo, Egypt Wednesday, 6 April 2016) “The Internet and social media platforms can be powerful tools for good, helping to connect and educate communities,” she said in an interview with the Emirates News Agency, WAM. However, there is a downside to social media; for example, those campaigns spreading fake news.”

Clark stated these words ahead of her participation in another conference Reaching the Last Mile, RLM, Forum, which took place on the same week at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Last Mile like Social Dimensions dealt with similar topics of internet censorship was funded by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2008 Clark, who was seeking a seat at the UN, met with NZ tech funders and Tony Texeria the Emirates front person for the A1 Formula Race held in Hamilton. Texeria the inspiration for Blood Diamonds was named an UK parliament as an arms dealer who used encrypted technology to thawt UN arms investigators.

The meeting took place ahead of two 2008 Russian aircraft, identified previously as used to do high tech arms smuggling via Shannon Airport Ireland in 2006, as delivering TEAM EMIRATES boats from NZ to Valencia Spain (where Texeria lives) stopped in Saudi.

Notably the TEAM EMIRATES yachts’ cargo include Tait electronic encrypted technology which NZ exports not just to Saudi Arabia but to the right wing government of Brazil. The nation currently being slammed for its stance against vaccines and human rights abuse. Brazil like Saudi Arabia also uses internet censorship setting up in 2018 a specially formed group to combat “false news” to “identify and punish the authors of ‘fake news’.

Fake news in this case being news which made the ruling President Jair Bolsonaro look unflattering.

The encrypted technology used by Team Emirates boats, manufactured by Tait Electronic called a TP9400 , is similar to NZ made encrypted arms technology which has being named as being used by War criminal Charles Taylor (one of Texeria’s clients) the Saudi backed despot in the Hague war crime court transcripts and in Wiki Leaks documents (republished in the Washington Times but not New Zealand papers) which identified NZ based Radiola (beneficiary of NZDF award) of supplying Saudi backed Sudan Warlords with encrypted technology used to smuggle in weapons and coordinate genocide and mass rape as a weapon.*

* Original Wikileaks/Washington Post reports referred to encrypted technology. Later online report now edited to simply refer to abuse by the NZ UN contractor. But online material does confirm Radiola dealing in encrypted tech

While in Africa, arms protesters have accused Jamal’s uncle Adnan Khashoggi of ‘engineering’ dispute, as part of his campaign to gain control of natural resources, including diamonds, oil, and timber, in countries such as Sierra Leone, using the likes of Bout and the Liberian dictator, Charles Taylor, to pour fuel on the fire.

Following such allegations, it is worthwhile noting that U82008 (The same Russian Aircraft contracted to ship NZ troops to Afghanistan) cited in Oxfam arms watch dog papers cite the aircraft owner Ukrainian mobster Leonid Minin as someone who provided Taylor with an extensive and sophisticated means of obtaining secure communications. An interesting point in that the documents relating to Taylor’s battle for control of a GSM communication company, cite, “the same New Zealand company called Libercell…Also used in Afghanistan”. Libercell, coincidentally, is the only N.Z. firm to have secured ‘rebuilding’ contracts in Iraq since the U.S. invasion.

Further Wikileak documents (that were published in NZ papers) confirm “Cabinet decisions in which Helen Clark’s government did an about turn on sending troops to Iraq because of fears Fonterra would miss out on lucrative Oil for Food contracts”;

“Senior MOD officials (strictly protect) tell us it was not until Finance Minister Michael Cullen pointed out in a subsequent Cabinet meeting that New Zealand’s absence from Iraq might cost NZ dairy conglomerate Fonterra the lucrative dairy supply contract it enjoyed under the United Nations Oil for Food program, that the prime minister found a face-saving compromise and sent combat engineers in a non-combat role to Basra, where they were embedded with British forces”.

Similar policy shaped NZ decision to send troop to Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan has cost the New Zealand taxpayer about $300 and has being named in relation to abuse against civilian (Nicky Hager Hit & Run Operation Burham) and was begun by the fake New campaign of our current Prime Minister when she was working as a spin doctor for Tony Blair under the tutelage at one point of Sir Ronnie Flanagan widely regarded as Blair government director of damage control during the subsequent and white washed Chilcott inquiry.

The Paul Volkner report into the compromised United Nation program (in which bribes paid were used to buy weapons by Dictator Saddam Hussein) whose payments were over senn by New Zelander David Mace a former accountant for Ernst & Young Hong Kong identified 22 firms subsidiary of Saudi financier of Islamic Terrorism HSA Yemen (a firm id in un terror watch alert) as delivering NZ dairy goods. Official Information documents secured from MFAT show 80% of the dairy good shipped to Iraq as part of the post war now disgraced UN Food For Oil program (following exposure the program was riddled with corruption and graft) came from NZ. The subsequent investigation by Transparency International (which slammed our Minister of Foreign Affair Winston Peters for New Zealand own lacklustre ‘probe’ into UN corruption as a non investigation revealed (and can be confirmed in MFAT’s own documents) that much of the NZ diary products was sold to UN tender via third parties.

Non NZ firms whose sole purpose seemed to be shielding our involvement (and finally answer the mystery of Powder Gate the 2004 inquiry into the mislabelling of diary product exported from NZ). It would include Saudi New Zealand Milk Products and Vietnam Vina Milk who were assisted in this task by the MFAT civilian liaison Vostok Immigration Ian Robertson a former nZ Dairy board executive who deal in nz ice-cream, oil and butter. 

Robertson was, along with former arms dealer, Winston Peter’s key man in collecting donation and anti corruption inquiry into allegation of corruption in the fishing industry, Ross Meurant. a director in Prok bank. Meurant is the author on the fictional book ‘The Syrian Connection which deals with a scenario of plucky kiwi who with his ex Russian KGB mates by pass UN embargo to ship NZ goods)

Prok was a Russian Tax Haven in Vanuatu whose other directors included former KGB officers Victor and Larissha Shumilov. It was similar to GT Group (linked to European Bank found to deal in Russian oil and weapons) the firm identified as behind 1000’s of front companies set up Michael Fay style Wine Box style for money laundering and tax evasion.

An event uncovered following the discovery of Russian Antonov registered to a NZ front firm loaned with arms North Korea heading for an unnamed Middle Eastern nation.

The article in your paper on the sanity of watching the documentary on Kashoggi murder has a point. For when I see zero reporting from our media and politicians about the ethics of permitting our national sporting evets, technology and causes be it vaccination, internet censorship, or climate change being hijacked it seems the article right nothing will change..

Even when its exposed how these issues have being abducted like Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s daughters, Stolen by those more interested in trade power and generating influence than having a genuine concern for the planet, human rights and democracy.

The paradox of your two articles would be funny if the silence over the inappropriateness of Emirates being a sponsor of the America’s cu and the paradoxical promotion of the movie Dissident was not so hypocritically absurd.

It seems to me that the true push for internet censorship is not to stop horrible tragedies like the Christchurch shooting from occurring, But rather they are being promoted to silence those who would use the internet, such as Jamal Kashoggi did, to expose their own crooked and self serving back room deals

Published by BENS WORLD – an interesting read with your coffee.

Ben has worked as investigative journalist, researcher and writers for a number of NZ/Australian publications, radio stations, as well as working for universities, NGO and commercial clients, as well as being a best selling author (State Secrets 1 & II [Return Fire]) specialising in organised crime and national security issues. With a degree in history and political science specialising in political violence and counter terrorism Ben spent six year in New Zealand Army territorial (reserves) serving in the Royal Artillery and the infantry with posting in signals, artillery intelligence, field and counter intelligence, reconnaissance and as a rifleman & platoon grenadier. Ben also has decades of experience in all aspect of the hospitality and tourism industry (from kitchen hand to marketing and promotions) through out Australasia as well a having strong root in the arts community of New Zealand’s South Island his beloved home and were he prints his own cafe publications and books . View all posts by BENS WORLD – an interesting read with your coffee.

Martin comments: I also was somewhat irritated by the China Sports Council logo prominently displayed on Team NZ’s sail: The CCP being another example of “more interested in trade power and generating influence than having a genuine concern for the planet, human rights and democracy.” as Ben so eloquently put it.

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