"When Foreign Minister Phil Goff ranks friendship with North Korea--a bloodthirsty totalitarian dictatorship--above contributing to the collective defence of the region, I think some answers are in order," says Libertarianz leader Peter Cresswell. "I expect our long-standing allies such as Australia and the United States might have a few questions of their own," he suggests, but offers a few of his own in any case:

"First, are you aware that in its 53 year history, the North Korean government has murdered or left to die over 1.6 million of its citizens for political crimes?" asks Cresswell. "Are you also aware they run prison camps, ruthlessly using torture, wherein men, women and children are forced to work from 5.30am until midnight every day."

"Why--when yourself and the Prime Minister were once rightfully vitriolic about the barbaric apartheid regime of white South Africa," asks Cresswell, "do you now accept relations, trade and friendly contact with one of the most ruthless, totalitarian, murderous regimes in the world?"

"If it is just that you like uniforms," he asks, "then why don't you support our own deteriorating defence forces? Can you explain to taxpayers why their money goes to give aid to this disturbing Orwellian horror story , but not to our Air Force?"

"Helen Clark runs her own regime of bullying those who disagrees with her, publicly defaming business people, and cosying up to unions sympathetic to regimes such as North Korea," notes Cresswell. "All these things will no doubt warm her to the monstrous Kim Jong Il. The Deputy Prime Minister's chief advisor Tony Simpson warned one political opponent recently that he was 'lucky he lived in a free country.' Is the Clark regime, I wonder, working on making that point moot?"

ENDS

For further information please contact: Peter Cresswell LEADER, LIBERTARIANZ PARTY (09) 631 0034, organon@ihug.co.nz

* LIBERTARIANZ * More Freedom * Less Government *

www.libertarianz.org.nz www.freeradical.co.nz

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>