Tuesday 16th of April 2024

context of nuances...

 

nuances...

Classified and sensitive information is designed to be secret. When it is made public, it is always for a political purpose. That purpose may be to promote a particular political agenda or to build public support for a certain policy position.

It may even be for partisan political gain, but it will always affect the political narrative. Because intelligence disclosures are so sensational, they are a very effective method of drawing attention to certain issues while distracting from others.

Intelligence that is deliberately released to the media for political purposes is known as “public intelligence”. When secret intelligence becomes public intelligence, it becomes a powerful tool of political influence.

Intelligence has an authority and influence that may not reflect its content. This is because of the psychological impact of intelligence.

Intelligence is usually classified, which makes it appear valuable. It is often collected covertly, so the public expects it to reveal hidden secrets. The result is that information from intelligence sources is treated with an unusually high degree of reverence and respect.

Intelligence also has a voyeuristic, illicit appeal. When intelligence stories feature in the news, readers are given a glimpse of a world that is normally off-limits. This is especially true for a generation raised on Bond movies, whose primary understanding of intelligence activities stems from popular culture.

Stories that feature intelligence exposes can therefore expect to have a broad audience, reaching beyond the typical consumer of political news.

Andrew Robb's secret China contract: money for nothing.https://t.co/foePWFZcvx
One could almost be forgiven for thinking it was payment for services rendered. pic.twitter.com/xlY1l0nyxN

— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) December 6, 2017Public intelligence has limitations

Despite its appeal, public intelligence has several significant limitations.

First, it is important to remember that public intelligence is incomplete. It is only a small section of a greater picture and usually offered without context or nuance.

 

read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/article-display/in-whose-interests-sam-...

 

the libs, digging for the next craig thomson...

Please visit:

http://wixxyleaks.com/hsujacksonville-resource-page/

 

And please remember the shockingly fake "intelligence" on Saddam as promoted by Turdy, Trumble, Howard and Lord Downer...

meanwhile, damaging the brand, at ambushville...

A Melbourne court has ordered a far-right activist to return his uniform to his former employer, transport company Toll, which claims he is costing them business.

Neil Erikson was sacked by the company two years ago, and again earlier this year, but has been captured on video wearing the Toll uniform during controversial incidents, including when he ambushed senator Sam Dastyari in a Melbourne pub.

Lawyers for Toll lodged an urgent injunction in the Federal Circuit Court to force Mr Erikson to return the uniform and stop damaging the company's image.

The court heard on Thursday the company had sent Mr Erikson a letter last month demanding he return the uniform after the incident involving Senator Dastyari.

Barrister Martin Garrett told the hearing that despite assurances he would return it, he had instead begun lending it to a friend and fellow far-right activist, Ricky Turner...

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-08/toll-holdings-neil-erikson-legal-a...

ambushville, USA...

According to sources, the Dastyari leaks are suspected to have involved United States collusion. Senior Labor Party figures believe the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) leaked the audio of Sam Dastyari’s 2016 press conference in front of Chinese media, but possibly did so following pressure from a disgruntled US. “It’s a credible assumption,” one source said, “and everyone’s thinking it.”

A senior source said there was a precedent for the US embassy leaking against the Australian government during the sale of Darwin Port to a Chinese company in 2015. The sale was opposed by the Obama administration.

The view is that the US embassy regards the Labor Party with suspicion because of its closeness to China and its willingness to co-operate with the power.

Further sources said they believed American operatives were responsible for another damaging leak on Dastyari, which revealed that just weeks after the senator’s demotion from the frontbench over his proximity to Chinese businessman Huang Xiangmo, a man ASIO had previously warned the major parties was a likely agent for the Chinese Communist Party, Dastyari visited Huang at his home and suggested to him that his phone may be tapped, or its microphone remotely activated. The revelations contradicted a number of Dastyari’s versions of events, and have caused shock, anger and disappointment among his allies and provided his foes another stick with which to beat him.

The third claim involves a separate leak against Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, made just days after the Dastyari tape was made public, in which it was reported the Labor leader visited Huang prior to the federal election – months after an ASIO warning – for a campaign donation. A senior source believes the leak originated from the NSW Right as a warning to Shorten to acquiesce with the pro-China faction.

The claims and counterclaims illuminate both generational and factional disputes within the Labor Party. Another well-placed source disputed the source of the leak against Shorten, for instance, believing it flowed from people close to Huang. The source said that while those in the party were discussing ASIO and US involvement, it was speculative and far from a universal belief.

Read more:

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/12/09/us-link-sam...

speaking mandarin to stand up...

 

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has struck out at Beijing, speaking Mandarin to declare he will "stand up" for Australians with his tougher foreign interference laws.

Key points:
  • PM says "there has been foreign interference in Australian politics"
  • Beijing says Mr Turnbull's remarks on China's influence have "poisoned" relations
  • Defence analyst says Beijing is trying to intimidate Australia

 

The Prime Minister used unusually sharp language to reject China's complaint against him, after he raised concerns this week about Communist Party influence in domestic politics.

"Modern China was founded in 1949 with these words, The Chinese people have stood up'. It was an assertion of sovereignty, it was an assertion of pride," he said, switching between speaking Mandarin and English.

"And we stand up and so we say, the Australian people stand up.

"There has been foreign interference in Australian politics."

When announcing new espionage legislation on Tuesday, Mr Turnbull mentioned his concerns aboutChinese influence in domestic politics, but insisted the laws were not focused on any one country alone.

Beijing took that personally and fired a diplomatic warning shot, arguing the remarks had "poisoned" the atmosphere of China-Australia relations.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was shocked Mr Turnbull cited media reports about Communist Party interference.

"We are astounded by the relevant remarks of the Australian leader. Such remarks simply cater to the irresponsible reports by some Australian media that are without principle and full of bias against China," Mr Geng said at a regularly scheduled briefing.

Mr Turnbull said he was right to be worried about the role foreigners play in domestic politics, especially after Labor senator Sam Dastyari let a Chinese donor pay a legal bill for him.

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-09/malcolm-turnbull-says-he-will-stan...

 

Read from top...

 

was "within the rules but it was wrong"...

Labor senator Sam Dastyari has said he will not return to the Senate next year, amid questions over his links to China.

Key points:
  • Sam Dastyari has been under sustained pressure from Government and within Labor to resign
  • Allegations of links to Chinese Government have piled up over the last year
  • He says his "ongoing presence detracts from the pursuit of Labor's mission" so will not return

 

"Today, after much reflection, I've decided that the best service I can render to the federal parliamentary Labor Party is to not return to the Senate in 2018," he told reporters at a media conference in Sydney today.

"I've been guided by my Labor values, which tell me that I should leave if my ongoing presence detracts from the pursuit of Labor's mission.

"It is evident to me we are at that point, so I will spare the party any further distraction."

Senator Dastyari has been under pressure to resign since allegations of misconduct first surfaced more than a year ago, when it was revealed he allowed a company owned by Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo to pay a legal bill for his office.

He stepped down from Labor's frontbench over those revelations, saying accepting the donation was "within the rules but it was wrong", but further links were exposed this year.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-12/sam-dastyari-resigns-from-parliame...

turdy and the opaque chinese donations...

Tony Abbott’s office helped a billionaire labelled an “agent of a foreign country” to donate to the Liberal Party, even though Mr Abbott had earlier been warned by ASIO about the donor's links to the Chinese Communist Party.

In mid 2016, Mr Abbott’s office played a role in encouraging Australian-based Chinese property developer Huang Xiangmo to give thousands of dollars to at least one Liberal candidate in the lead up to the election.

The previous year, while Mr Abbott was prime minister, he had received specific warnings from ASIO about Mr Huang’s opaque connections to the Chinese Communist Party and how this may be linked to his donation activity.

Read more:

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/abbott-s-office-involved-in-chin...