Media Links: The Sydney Hostage Crisis.

Amid the flurry of media interviews I did as a result of the Sydney hostage crisis, this one may not have received the attention other outlets have received.

The RNZ interview is here. The TVNZ interview is here.

4 thoughts on “Media Links: The Sydney Hostage Crisis.

  1. Yes it is true as you assert that no amount of legislation, can predict or prevent individual terrorism. To say this was not an act of terrorism Paul, because it is isolated and individual ; is wrong..
    You know what we think : Gosh, surprise, and surprise and surprise; This guy was Iranian, Islamic, and a refugee. There is an answer .
    No Islam need apply for refugee status. No Islam, nil. Take your terrorism back to the middle east and die there.
    No Islam. Its too late to pretend this is not terrorism. We saw it for ourselves Pablo .

  2. Three good interviews Pablo. But:

    1: Who was that TVNZ clown? I just wanted to yell at him to shut up. How does he not understand that his job is to ask questions with a view to eliciting information, perhaps even enlightenment? If it’s a soapbox he wants he could always ask Winston Peters if he’s in need of a speech writer.

    2: Good point on Radio NZ about how different the response would’ve been had it been a fundamentalist Christian gunman.

    3: Newstalk ZB, paraphrasing a question from memory: “Can we blame the media?” YES! How hard is it to just do your job? Keep a cool head, stay calm, report the facts, beware of rumour and speculation, stick to what is known and think carefully. As you pointed out: What makes sense about an Iranian who is most likely Shi’a aligning himself with a Sunni group? Especially considering that particular group is part of an extremist movement within Sunni Islam that considers Shi’a to be infidels.

  3. One aspect of this affair that seems to have escaped media attention is John Howard’s refusal to grant Iran’s request for the extradition of Haron Monis back in 1999.
    Perhaps Sheriff Bush should have explained to his Deputy that the “Axis of Evil” stuff was meant only for the consumers, not acted upon.

  4. Chris:

    The Breakfast co-host is Rawdon Christie. I met him when he was “just” a TVNZ journo, and he has moved up the ranks. The good news is that I got his producers to place the emphasis of the questions on the gunman’s mental issues rather than the supposed terrorist links. Unfortunately they still wanted to link it to a similar event happening in NZ

    As it turns out, Monis declared his allegiance to IS in a Facebook rant a month ago and renounced his Shiia allegiance in favour of Sunni Islam. That explains the flag. But even this does not mean that he was part of the IS “outreach” program that the PM claimed he was. He was a deluded head case who wrapped himself in an ideological cloak, as many such people do.

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