Censorship and Arrests in Wake of Christchurch Attack

from OffGuardian

No matter the source of the violence, no matter the politics or casualties or the location, it seems the reaction of governments in the face of “terrorism” is virtually always the same – clamp down, hard, on individual rights.

This grand tradition goes back hundreds of years, from James I’s crackdown on Catholics after the Gunpowder Plot, through to the despot’s charter that is the Patriot Act, passed within six weeks of 9/11. Just last year, famously, gab.com was heavily targeted in the wake of the “Magabomber” (fake) bombings. (Our article predicted that further purges were on the horizon).

The pattern is established: The state will always – ALWAYS – use a crisis, real or invented, to enhance their power. Most of the time this is done at the cost of individual liberty.

The Christchurch mosque shootings are proving no exception to this rule. NZ police are currently threatening people with 10 years in prison for sharing the live-streamed footage, and other punishments just for owning a copy of the recording.
This crackdown is, simply put, crazy. You can’t charge people for owning a copy of a video that was live-streamed over the internet to millions of people, and you certainly can’t make it illegal to even watch the video. (Further, we as a people, must strongly resist the idea that being “objectionable” could ever be considered a crime. That is insane.)

In 2014 the Metropolitan police suggested the same thing of the ISIS video where James Foley is apparently beheaded. (That was dismissed as ridiculous by a lawyer in this article).

(NOTE: Why some violent videos are deemed “criminal” to even watch, and others aren’t, is an interesting question. Is it just control for control’s sake? Or something more sinister?)

Of course not a shooting goes by in the US that doesn’t result in an outraged chorus of people railing against the 2nd amendment, demanding their government take the dramatic step of removing civilian ownership of guns. (This is somewhat quieter under Trump, because not even the liberal establishment can seriously insist Trump is a fascist on the one-hand, and then insist he take away civilian guns with the other. They do their best though.)

New Zealand are already “tightening” their gun ownership laws.

But New Zealand are going further even than that – blocking sites and services that have literally no connection to the video – they are just alternative.

8chan is where the alleged gunman made his “announcement”, but 4chan was not involved. Both are banned in both Australia and New Zealand. Alternative video hosting sites Liveleak and BitChute have both been blocked, despite neither hosting the video. LiveLeak even released a statement saying they refused to host it. Dissenters, gab’s discussion platform, was also blocked. They have no connection to the arrested man, or the crime itself.

Even ZeroHedge are apparently blocked – their crime? Posting excerpts from the shooter’s “manifesto”...


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