Rebel News Podcast - March 27, 2019


“The most amazing case of censorship in the western world” is happening now in New Zealand


Episode Stats

Length

28 minutes

Words per Minute

173.55136

Word Count

4,861

Sentence Count

326

Misogynist Sentences

8

Hate Speech Sentences

11


Summary

New Zealand's Chief Censor has a lot of rules about what you can and can't do on the internet, and one of them is that you have to fill out a form if you want to read certain things and pay a price.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Well, today's podcast is a strange one.
00:00:02.080 I tell you about an officer in New Zealand
00:00:05.120 whose title is Chief Censor.
00:00:08.500 That's really his job.
00:00:10.440 It's a real job for the real government in New Zealand.
00:00:13.240 It's really on his business card.
00:00:14.560 He is the Chief Censor, and he's got a bunch of rules,
00:00:18.060 including you have to fill out a form
00:00:20.780 if you want to read certain things and pay a price.
00:00:24.980 I'll let you hear all the details in a moment,
00:00:26.920 but first, can I just invite you to take a second
00:00:29.480 and go to rebel.media slash shows,
00:00:31.460 and you can sign up to be a premium member.
00:00:34.460 It's $8 a month, and what that does
00:00:36.800 is it lets you listen to this podcast,
00:00:38.300 but watch it, too, in video form,
00:00:40.720 which I think is more interesting.
00:00:42.020 And even if you don't have time to watch it all the time,
00:00:44.440 frankly, we could use the $8 a month to help pay the freight.
00:00:46.760 So please go to rebel.media slash shows.
00:00:49.180 It's $8 a month. Be a sport.
00:00:50.920 All right, now, without further to do, here is the podcast.
00:00:54.500 You're listening to a Rebel Media podcast.
00:00:56.860 Tonight, I want to show you the most amazing case
00:01:00.200 of censorship in the Western world right now.
00:01:02.720 You really won't believe what I'm about to show you.
00:01:05.280 It's March 26, and this is The Ezra LeVant Show.
00:01:09.780 Why should others go to jail
00:01:11.320 when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
00:01:13.520 There's 8,500 customers here,
00:01:15.800 and you won't give them an answer.
00:01:17.600 The only thing I have to say to the government
00:01:19.500 about why I'm publishing it
00:01:21.320 is because it's my bloody right to do so.
00:01:23.440 About 10 days ago, there was a mass shooting in New Zealand.
00:01:32.440 I believe it meets the definition of terrorism.
00:01:34.800 A man named Brenton Tarrant
00:01:36.360 entered a mosque in the city of Christchurch.
00:01:39.160 I'm sure it was no coincidence
00:01:40.720 that he chose a place with that name.
00:01:42.760 And he shot as many people as he could.
00:01:44.740 He then drove to another mosque and did the same.
00:01:47.740 In about 20 minutes, he had murdered 50 people
00:01:49.660 and wounded as many.
00:01:50.660 And he did two things.
00:01:52.760 First, he live-streamed his actions on video on Facebook.
00:01:57.100 Then he filmed himself and broadcasted live.
00:01:59.300 And second, he uploaded a manifesto,
00:02:01.680 a half-crazy explanation of what he did
00:02:05.020 and a provocation for what he hoped
00:02:07.640 and expected the media would do in response.
00:02:11.060 As I mentioned last week,
00:02:12.840 that included his desire to sow maximum discord in the world,
00:02:18.080 especially in the United States, he said,
00:02:19.780 especially between different classes and different races, he said.
00:02:23.240 He said he specifically chose guns as opposed to other weapons
00:02:27.180 because he wanted to pour salt into that debating wound,
00:02:30.700 that social wound.
00:02:33.080 He was a media manipulator, or wanted to be,
00:02:35.280 and the media did indeed grant him his wish.
00:02:37.500 All around the world,
00:02:38.620 blaming people who had nothing to do with the murder
00:02:40.480 for political purposes,
00:02:41.880 just as the murderer had said he wanted them to do.
00:02:44.720 Now, as I mentioned last week,
00:02:45.800 the video was quickly banned in New Zealand.
00:02:48.360 I can understand the editorial discretion not to show the video.
00:02:51.200 It's a snuff film.
00:02:53.200 But that's editorial discretion for reasons of taste,
00:02:55.980 for other editorial reasons of choice.
00:02:59.100 But the government of New Zealand banned it,
00:03:00.700 not just banned it,
00:03:01.420 they said it was a crime to merely possess it,
00:03:04.160 punishable by 10 years in prison.
00:03:05.960 And if you shared it with someone,
00:03:07.260 that would be 14 years in prison.
00:03:09.060 I bet the murderer gets out in less time.
00:03:12.860 Why would they ban it?
00:03:14.820 Well, we've shown you images of ISIS mass murders.
00:03:17.900 I mean, we don't actually show their heads being cut off,
00:03:20.600 which is the ISIS style.
00:03:22.280 That's too obscene and shocking.
00:03:24.820 But that's a choice we make.
00:03:26.580 It's not actually illegal to show you those murders.
00:03:29.660 I suppose if we were making pro-ISIS propaganda videos
00:03:32.760 to promote terrorists and support terrorists and recruit terrorists,
00:03:36.240 that would be illegal, giving aid to a terrorist group.
00:03:39.000 But reporting the news,
00:03:40.200 or even just consuming the news as an interested citizen,
00:03:43.080 it's not banned.
00:03:44.380 I mean, it's gross.
00:03:45.220 Don't do it for your own sake,
00:03:46.840 but it shouldn't be illegal.
00:03:48.180 In fact, it's probably good from time to time
00:03:50.460 that we'd be unsettled,
00:03:51.660 that we see the shocking horror of the world,
00:03:53.360 to know that evil is real,
00:03:55.020 and that not everything is climate-controlled,
00:03:57.180 perfectly comfortable,
00:03:58.120 where we're all just happy consumers
00:04:00.000 in a Disney-fied world of recreation
00:04:02.520 and endless amusement and clicking on our cell phones.
00:04:04.940 Maybe once in a while you have to see something horrific
00:04:07.660 just to remind you that we live in a world
00:04:09.800 that is red in tooth and claw,
00:04:11.760 that our comfort is not the natural state of things,
00:04:14.760 that it is not just good luck.
00:04:16.140 It's the result of thousands of years
00:04:17.720 of striving by our ancestors for safety,
00:04:20.240 for freedom, for the rule of law,
00:04:22.020 that none of these things came cheaply.
00:04:24.680 That's why I value going to the Holocaust Museum,
00:04:27.100 as I've done.
00:04:28.080 You can see the horrors to know with your eyes.
00:04:30.380 You don't want to obsess about them
00:04:32.300 or linger on them too long,
00:04:33.460 but you shouldn't forget them.
00:04:34.580 And that's why, speaking of the Holocaust,
00:04:36.180 we don't ban old movies about Hitler,
00:04:39.660 including his own propaganda films.
00:04:41.140 We don't ban his book, Mein Kampf,
00:04:42.780 at least we don't in the Free West,
00:04:44.560 because we must study it and learn from it.
00:04:46.700 And of course, when you ban something,
00:04:48.320 you attach a romance to it, a mystique.
00:04:50.260 It's the forbidden fruit now.
00:04:51.580 It's tempting now.
00:04:52.600 I mean, you don't have to be a 17-year-old boy
00:04:54.720 to want to see something or smoke something
00:04:56.860 or drink something that your parents told you not to.
00:04:59.520 It's human nature.
00:05:00.180 You want to see what is banned
00:05:01.920 because there's a condescension in banning
00:05:03.960 that someone else was mature enough
00:05:05.740 to see it or drink it or smoke it,
00:05:07.400 and they use their judgment to tell you
00:05:09.060 that you can't handle it, but they can.
00:05:11.780 Kids chafe against that,
00:05:12.980 but that's just kids chafing against being kids
00:05:15.900 and wanting to grow up too quickly.
00:05:17.400 But when adults tell you you can't handle something
00:05:20.240 and you're an adult,
00:05:21.740 not even a drug or an indulgence,
00:05:25.120 but an idea, a political idea,
00:05:27.500 something to read
00:05:28.200 when someone else condescends to you that way
00:05:30.860 and says, I've read it and I can handle myself,
00:05:34.960 but trust me, you can't.
00:05:36.280 Yeah, sure, you're an adult,
00:05:37.340 but you can't handle this.
00:05:39.820 Well, I don't know about you,
00:05:40.620 but that makes me want to read the thing
00:05:41.980 just out of defiance.
00:05:43.700 And so it is with this manifesto
00:05:45.220 of this murderer in New Zealand.
00:05:46.920 I've skimmed it.
00:05:48.100 I've not read it in its entirety.
00:05:49.700 I don't want to.
00:05:50.300 I showed you some of it last week.
00:05:52.360 It's a mishmash.
00:05:53.700 It's self-important.
00:05:55.000 It has obvious lies in it,
00:05:56.940 such as this fake praise
00:05:58.520 for a black Republican activist named Candace Owens.
00:06:01.420 Obviously, it's a sick joke, a smear,
00:06:03.980 a chance to knock down a successful black woman
00:06:06.580 by naming her.
00:06:07.220 And the media bought it.
00:06:09.120 Anyways, I want to bring you the news today.
00:06:11.100 I mentioned that they banned the video hard.
00:06:14.320 10 years in prison, 14 years in prison.
00:06:17.280 For what?
00:06:17.820 What do they think?
00:06:18.300 Do they really think of the population in New Zealand?
00:06:21.000 I haven't been there,
00:06:21.880 but I'm guessing it's a bit like Canada.
00:06:24.100 Same Commonwealth paternity.
00:06:26.260 And also like Canada,
00:06:27.160 it's a small country next to a bigger country.
00:06:30.000 You know, Australia,
00:06:30.700 the analogy being like us in the U.S.
00:06:32.200 It seems friendly there.
00:06:33.920 So they're saying that they believe
00:06:35.840 New Zealanders are so dangerous
00:06:37.860 and they're so close to blowing up
00:06:40.540 that just watching a video of a murder
00:06:42.680 would cause ordinary New Zealanders
00:06:44.840 to rise up and commit more murders?
00:06:47.920 Do they really have such a low opinion
00:06:49.420 of their own people
00:06:50.580 that they think they're so subject
00:06:52.460 to suggestion and corruption
00:06:54.420 and motivation to murder
00:06:55.760 that just by watching a video of it,
00:06:57.620 they would lose all their morality
00:06:58.880 and self-control
00:06:59.540 and suddenly become
00:07:00.260 raging homicidal maniacs too?
00:07:03.460 Is that the meaning of it?
00:07:04.840 Why else would they ban it?
00:07:05.820 And like I mentioned before,
00:07:06.760 if so,
00:07:07.460 why wouldn't they ban everything
00:07:08.620 from every killer?
00:07:10.200 From Che Guevara to Mao
00:07:11.520 to Karl Marx
00:07:12.800 or at least Vladimir Lenin.
00:07:14.720 Mein Kampf by Hitler, obviously.
00:07:16.540 Whatever.
00:07:17.000 My point is,
00:07:17.480 why are they doing it?
00:07:19.560 I think it's a control impulse.
00:07:21.740 They don't know what they can do
00:07:23.760 or should have done
00:07:24.760 to stop this mass murder.
00:07:26.860 So they're doing
00:07:27.340 what comes naturally to government.
00:07:29.060 They're controlling things.
00:07:30.220 They're controlling people.
00:07:31.220 When all you have is a hammer,
00:07:32.420 everything looks like a nail.
00:07:33.360 Ban it, ban it, ban it.
00:07:34.980 But I think they're using it
00:07:36.080 as an opportunistic crisis,
00:07:37.440 as an excuse to do
00:07:38.400 what they really wanted to do anyways.
00:07:40.020 Crack down on the internet.
00:07:42.140 I showed you a letter
00:07:43.020 that journalist Nick Monroe
00:07:44.320 got a copy of,
00:07:45.340 of the police literally
00:07:46.300 writing to an internet company
00:07:47.500 and asking for a list
00:07:48.620 of all the customers
00:07:49.300 who downloaded the document.
00:07:51.640 Just asking for it.
00:07:53.120 With the menacing authority
00:07:54.340 of police behind them.
00:07:56.580 Who knows?
00:07:57.240 They've probably followed up
00:07:58.300 with a court order by now
00:07:59.200 to get it.
00:07:59.880 But banning the manifesto,
00:08:01.140 forget the video.
00:08:02.740 Not the video,
00:08:03.360 but the piece of paper.
00:08:04.480 Or rather,
00:08:05.120 in this day and age,
00:08:05.780 the digital document.
00:08:06.600 How do you even ban that?
00:08:08.220 I mean,
00:08:08.460 it must be in countless places
00:08:10.120 by now.
00:08:10.720 I bet there's a,
00:08:11.580 I bet there's a hundred million
00:08:12.900 copies of it by now.
00:08:15.560 Including in other countries.
00:08:16.640 It took me less than 60 seconds.
00:08:19.360 Maybe 10 million copies.
00:08:20.920 It took me less than 60 seconds
00:08:22.360 on Google
00:08:22.820 to find this story
00:08:24.320 that linked
00:08:25.740 to the manifesto.
00:08:26.840 So you can find it.
00:08:27.600 I did it in one minute
00:08:28.440 of Google.
00:08:30.100 I don't know if those links
00:08:31.380 are blocked in New Zealand.
00:08:32.660 I'm not sure if it's possible
00:08:33.680 to constantly block
00:08:34.980 new sites
00:08:35.480 where it can be found.
00:08:36.220 Who knows?
00:08:37.380 China's Great Firewall of China
00:08:38.900 is the world leader
00:08:39.880 at blocking things.
00:08:41.040 Google is helping them
00:08:41.780 with that.
00:08:42.160 So they want to make a fortune.
00:08:43.860 They,
00:08:44.460 Google refuses to do business
00:08:45.700 with the U.S. military,
00:08:46.620 but they'll help
00:08:47.440 China's Communist Party
00:08:48.560 spy on their own people.
00:08:49.960 I bet Google is consulting
00:08:51.660 with New Zealand too.
00:08:53.160 As they can say,
00:08:54.100 they have world-class
00:08:54.880 censorship experience.
00:08:55.960 But look what I found
00:08:57.760 again from Nick Monroe.
00:08:58.760 Look at this.
00:09:00.620 This is a New Zealand
00:09:01.540 government website.
00:09:03.740 Christchurch attack publication,
00:09:06.240 The Great Replacement
00:09:07.260 classified objectionable.
00:09:09.760 That's the manifesto
00:09:10.740 I'm talking about.
00:09:11.460 Now I'd agree
00:09:11.960 it's objectionable,
00:09:13.160 but they mean that
00:09:14.060 in a special legal way.
00:09:15.880 That's their fancy way
00:09:17.000 of saying
00:09:17.400 they have made
00:09:18.360 that piece of paper,
00:09:19.480 that digital document,
00:09:20.600 illegal to possess
00:09:22.540 in New Zealand.
00:09:24.860 A publication
00:09:25.600 Let me read this.
00:09:27.400 A publication
00:09:27.940 reportedly written
00:09:28.740 by the terrorists
00:09:29.400 behind the fatal attacks
00:09:30.380 in Christchurch
00:09:30.980 has been officially
00:09:32.160 classified as objectionable.
00:09:34.480 Others have referred
00:09:35.160 to this publication
00:09:36.100 as a manifesto,
00:09:37.200 but I consider it
00:09:37.960 a crude booklet
00:09:38.700 that promotes murder
00:09:39.740 and terrorism.
00:09:40.760 It is objectionable
00:09:41.560 under New Zealand law,
00:09:42.820 says Chief Censor
00:09:44.400 David Shanks.
00:09:47.280 Stop for a moment.
00:09:48.160 That's his real title.
00:09:49.520 That's his official title.
00:09:50.960 Chief Censor.
00:09:52.140 Did you know
00:09:52.780 that New Zealand
00:09:53.380 has a chief censor?
00:09:55.140 I'll give them credit.
00:09:55.980 At least they don't try
00:09:56.900 and hide the fact
00:09:57.720 with fuzzy language.
00:09:59.340 Here in Canada,
00:10:00.300 we give them
00:10:01.360 more Orwellian names
00:10:02.240 like the chief
00:10:02.940 of the Canadian
00:10:04.060 Human Rights Commission.
00:10:05.200 That's our chief censor.
00:10:06.080 Or maybe even
00:10:06.540 some cabinet position
00:10:07.860 like the heritage minister
00:10:09.300 or the public safety minister
00:10:10.800 or something.
00:10:11.880 There, they're honest.
00:10:13.140 It's about censorship.
00:10:14.280 Yep, imagine having that
00:10:15.180 on your business card.
00:10:17.000 So let me read some more
00:10:17.860 from the chief censor.
00:10:18.660 It is recognized
00:10:20.860 that the publication
00:10:21.820 has been widely reported
00:10:22.880 on over the past week
00:10:23.740 with many media outlets
00:10:25.120 publishing commentary on it
00:10:26.360 and sometimes providing
00:10:27.400 links to it
00:10:28.000 or downloadable copies.
00:10:29.580 Many New Zealanders
00:10:30.360 may have read it,
00:10:31.480 possibly seeking answers
00:10:32.560 for why this dreadful
00:10:33.380 atrocity took place.
00:10:34.920 Most people reading
00:10:35.600 the publication
00:10:36.140 will not be harmed by it.
00:10:38.320 Most New Zealanders
00:10:39.180 who have read this
00:10:39.840 will simply find it repellent.
00:10:41.640 But most New Zealanders
00:10:42.720 are not the target audience.
00:10:44.040 It is aimed at a small group
00:10:45.100 who may be receptive
00:10:46.220 to its hateful,
00:10:47.220 racist, and violent ideology
00:10:48.500 and who may be inspired
00:10:49.820 to follow the example
00:10:50.620 set by its apparent author.
00:10:53.440 Well, look,
00:10:54.100 that was the most persuasive ad,
00:10:55.720 what that chief censor
00:10:56.640 just wrote.
00:10:57.400 That was the most persuasive ad
00:10:58.740 that could ever be written
00:10:59.780 to invite people
00:11:00.740 to find it and read it.
00:11:02.680 And if you are someone
00:11:03.880 who is so inclined,
00:11:05.640 it won't take you long.
00:11:07.880 The people who won't be harmed by it
00:11:09.420 are frankly the least likely
00:11:10.440 to hunt for it.
00:11:11.900 And this chief censor
00:11:13.080 who has never heard
00:11:14.000 about reverse psychology apparently
00:11:15.760 just made it the most interesting,
00:11:17.720 most desirable forbidden fruit
00:11:18.980 in the world.
00:11:20.260 You couldn't have made it
00:11:21.180 more interesting
00:11:21.760 had they literally mailed it
00:11:22.940 to every home in New Zealand.
00:11:25.320 Let me read some more.
00:11:27.020 It is an offense
00:11:28.080 to possess or distribute
00:11:29.240 an objectionable publication.
00:11:31.320 People who have downloaded
00:11:32.200 this document or printed it
00:11:33.440 should destroy any copies.
00:11:35.540 Those engaged in further reporting
00:11:36.820 on the Christchurch attack
00:11:37.700 may be tempted to consider
00:11:39.060 the use of quotes
00:11:39.980 from the publication
00:11:41.060 that have already been used
00:11:42.180 in other media reports.
00:11:43.060 That use of excerpts
00:11:44.160 in media reports
00:11:44.820 may not in itself
00:11:45.800 amount to a breach
00:11:46.580 of the FVPCA,
00:11:50.200 some law,
00:11:51.120 but ethical considerations
00:11:52.300 will certainly apply,
00:11:53.720 said Shanks.
00:11:55.080 Hey guys,
00:11:55.820 hey you reporters,
00:11:56.980 you might be tempted
00:11:57.880 to talk about this document
00:11:59.240 that is so interesting,
00:12:00.720 so dangerous,
00:12:01.320 so compelling,
00:12:02.120 so magical,
00:12:03.640 that it can magically turn
00:12:04.980 normal people
00:12:06.000 into murderers.
00:12:07.740 You might be tempted
00:12:08.520 to even just quote some words,
00:12:09.820 but don't you,
00:12:10.880 don't you,
00:12:11.500 or you risk prosecution,
00:12:12.880 or at least I will say
00:12:13.680 you're unethical,
00:12:14.760 says the chief censor.
00:12:17.440 But look at this,
00:12:18.260 if you really,
00:12:18.980 really,
00:12:19.380 really want it,
00:12:20.720 and if you're the right
00:12:22.380 sort of person,
00:12:24.360 you know,
00:12:24.780 the kind of guy
00:12:25.340 the chief censor might like,
00:12:27.260 would probably like him,
00:12:28.880 you can fill out
00:12:30.000 a government form,
00:12:32.040 and the government
00:12:32.960 will sell you
00:12:35.200 a copy of the manifesto.
00:12:37.000 I kid you not.
00:12:38.520 Let me read.
00:12:40.160 We also appreciate
00:12:40.940 that there will be
00:12:41.640 a range of people,
00:12:42.660 including reporters,
00:12:43.860 researchers,
00:12:44.360 and academics,
00:12:44.960 who will be in possession
00:12:46.020 of the publication
00:12:46.780 for a range of legitimate purposes,
00:12:48.800 including education,
00:12:50.220 analysis,
00:12:50.900 and in-depth reporting.
00:12:52.220 Those individuals
00:12:52.900 can apply for exemptions
00:12:54.340 so they can legitimately
00:12:55.740 access and hold a copy.
00:12:57.620 Whoa!
00:12:58.660 A license to read.
00:13:01.500 A license to read.
00:13:03.100 I was in the UK this month
00:13:04.680 and learned about their
00:13:05.420 Orwellian license
00:13:06.660 to be a journalist.
00:13:07.640 They're so proud of that
00:13:08.520 over there.
00:13:09.080 But I've never seen
00:13:10.020 a license to read before.
00:13:12.460 So if you click the link
00:13:13.660 on the chief censor's page,
00:13:15.320 it will download this form.
00:13:17.880 Look at the form.
00:13:18.700 Look at the questions
00:13:19.480 you have to answer
00:13:20.620 before you are allowed
00:13:21.360 to get a license
00:13:22.540 to read something.
00:13:24.920 Why are you seeking
00:13:25.840 an exemption?
00:13:27.480 How long do you want
00:13:28.360 the exemption for?
00:13:30.080 Who will have access
00:13:31.020 to the publication?
00:13:31.820 How will the document
00:13:33.600 be kept secure?
00:13:35.280 Can you imagine?
00:13:37.220 I showed you a moment ago.
00:13:38.420 It took me less than a minute
00:13:40.100 to find it online.
00:13:42.480 How will you keep it secure?
00:13:44.700 From what?
00:13:46.360 Why do you want to read this?
00:13:47.540 For how long?
00:13:48.780 Before you were allowed
00:13:49.800 to read something.
00:13:51.140 The chief censor
00:13:52.120 is allowed to read it, though.
00:13:53.660 And his staff, too.
00:13:55.040 And police, too.
00:13:56.020 And politicians, too.
00:13:57.240 They can handle themselves, though.
00:13:59.420 But you little old you.
00:14:01.440 Well, you've got to
00:14:03.300 prove yourself to them.
00:14:04.120 You better answer
00:14:04.820 those questions, right?
00:14:05.960 They don't have to
00:14:06.480 prove themselves to you, though.
00:14:08.560 I mean, really, though.
00:14:09.340 Who checked to make sure
00:14:10.500 the chief censor
00:14:11.400 was able to handle it?
00:14:12.860 How do we know
00:14:13.360 that he wasn't going to go,
00:14:14.260 beep, boop, beep?
00:14:14.960 I'm now a crazy
00:14:15.800 killing machine.
00:14:16.780 Are we just taking
00:14:17.580 his word for it?
00:14:18.520 Maybe he's already
00:14:19.340 lost his balance
00:14:21.340 and he's going to go
00:14:21.860 in a murdering street.
00:14:23.220 Why does he get
00:14:24.520 a license to read?
00:14:26.520 Who gave him
00:14:27.780 the license to read?
00:14:29.980 And that guy
00:14:30.540 who gave the chief censor
00:14:31.640 the license to read?
00:14:32.080 Who gave that guy
00:14:33.300 the license
00:14:34.820 to give to the guy
00:14:35.940 who's the chief censor?
00:14:39.200 Oh, and this is
00:14:40.060 my favorite part here.
00:14:41.160 And please send in
00:14:42.260 $102.
00:14:44.440 Oh, my God!
00:14:47.200 So that's New Zealand.
00:14:50.360 I guess the terrorists
00:14:51.760 really are winning.
00:14:53.700 That murderer said
00:14:54.980 he'd create social strife.
00:14:56.940 He said he'd
00:14:57.680 royal of the world.
00:14:58.660 He said he'd cause chaos.
00:15:00.920 He said he'd make politicians
00:15:02.600 and journalists jump.
00:15:04.660 And wouldn't you know it?
00:15:05.820 He is.
00:15:06.900 I don't know
00:15:07.540 what his goals were.
00:15:08.440 He said chaos.
00:15:10.640 He achieved that
00:15:11.420 on his own that day.
00:15:14.420 Now the New Zealand government
00:15:15.800 is doing the rest.
00:15:18.700 Say, how long before
00:15:20.120 this madness reaches Canada?
00:15:23.580 Or do you think
00:15:24.380 it's already here?
00:15:25.260 Stay with us for more.
00:15:42.120 Today, we announce
00:15:43.540 criminal extortion charges
00:15:45.200 against Michael Avenatti.
00:15:47.040 The charges
00:15:48.600 are based on
00:15:49.560 Avenatti's scheme
00:15:50.380 to extract
00:15:51.100 more than $20 million
00:15:52.260 in payments
00:15:53.340 from a public company
00:15:54.780 by threatening
00:15:55.840 to use his ability
00:15:56.820 to garner publicity
00:15:57.920 to inflict financial
00:15:59.660 and reputational harm
00:16:01.220 on the company.
00:16:03.100 Avenatti's conduct
00:16:03.860 had nothing to do
00:16:05.080 with zealous advocacy
00:16:06.520 for a client
00:16:07.620 or any other kind
00:16:08.620 of legitimate
00:16:09.260 legal work.
00:16:10.480 That was an announcement
00:16:12.320 today that Michael Avenatti,
00:16:14.460 CNN's most popular
00:16:16.580 lawyer commentator,
00:16:19.080 is being charged
00:16:20.300 simultaneously
00:16:21.420 with two crimes.
00:16:23.320 One of them,
00:16:23.700 as you heard there,
00:16:24.680 is shaking down
00:16:25.900 the apparel manufacturer
00:16:27.700 Nike
00:16:28.380 for more than
00:16:30.080 $20 million,
00:16:31.780 basically extorting them
00:16:33.720 in an 11-page complaint.
00:16:36.340 Police detailed
00:16:37.060 and actually transcribed
00:16:38.200 conversations
00:16:38.860 in which Avenatti said
00:16:40.560 that if Nike
00:16:41.420 wanted the whole thing
00:16:42.320 to go away,
00:16:43.340 they'd have to hire him
00:16:44.680 for tens of millions
00:16:46.140 of dollars
00:16:46.660 to investigate claims
00:16:48.960 that they were
00:16:49.500 breaking some rules.
00:16:51.060 At the same time,
00:16:52.300 authorities in New York
00:16:53.900 announced charges
00:16:54.960 against him
00:16:55.520 for embezzling funds,
00:16:57.860 including from
00:16:58.560 his own clients.
00:16:59.420 Avenatti, recall,
00:17:00.600 was made famous
00:17:01.920 by his representation
00:17:02.780 of a porn star
00:17:04.220 named Stormy Daniels
00:17:05.780 who made various
00:17:06.460 allegations
00:17:07.040 against Donald Trump.
00:17:08.520 Joining us now
00:17:09.300 via Skype
00:17:10.000 from Washington, D.C.
00:17:11.220 is our friend
00:17:12.140 Pardes Saleh
00:17:12.840 with MediaEyte
00:17:13.720 to talk about
00:17:14.720 this media story.
00:17:15.800 Pardes, great to see you again.
00:17:17.780 You too.
00:17:18.520 Thanks for having me on.
00:17:19.720 Well, it's a pleasure.
00:17:20.960 Now, those videos
00:17:21.680 were yesterday,
00:17:23.480 Monday,
00:17:24.360 which was also
00:17:25.120 another great day
00:17:26.640 for Donald Trump.
00:17:27.740 I say that
00:17:28.400 because Avenatti
00:17:29.100 has become,
00:17:30.440 for a while there,
00:17:31.300 I mean,
00:17:31.580 between March
00:17:32.640 and May
00:17:33.240 of last year,
00:17:34.420 he was on CNN
00:17:35.920 and MSNBC
00:17:36.920 108 times
00:17:40.020 attacking Donald Trump
00:17:42.000 and now he's the one
00:17:43.320 being prosecuted.
00:17:45.400 Quite a turn of events.
00:17:47.020 What do you make of it all?
00:17:49.280 I think it's crazy.
00:17:50.780 I mean,
00:17:51.000 first of all,
00:17:51.540 so many wins
00:17:53.120 for Trump
00:17:53.800 and won over,
00:17:54.920 you know,
00:17:55.540 just the span
00:17:56.460 of 24 hours
00:17:57.340 and then also
00:17:58.240 the whole irony
00:17:58.960 of it all.
00:17:59.620 Just last year,
00:18:00.900 Mueller was predicting
00:18:01.900 that Donald Trump Jr.
00:18:02.980 will be indicted
00:18:03.660 by the end of December.
00:18:06.000 I think Avenatti
00:18:07.040 was predicting,
00:18:07.760 you said Mueller there,
00:18:08.680 but yeah,
00:18:09.200 Avenatti tweeted
00:18:10.120 that he said
00:18:11.320 Donald Trump Jr.
00:18:12.420 will be in prison.
00:18:13.340 That's the turn of events.
00:18:14.360 Sorry I interrupted you.
00:18:15.300 Keep going.
00:18:17.080 Yeah, that's all.
00:18:17.980 I mean,
00:18:18.300 it's a whole,
00:18:19.600 it's a whole irony
00:18:20.680 and it's almost like
00:18:22.000 someone orchestrated
00:18:23.300 the whole story
00:18:24.200 to kick Avenatti
00:18:26.640 in the ass,
00:18:27.480 you know,
00:18:27.900 and it all happened
00:18:29.140 around the same time,
00:18:30.860 you know,
00:18:31.080 like right after Trump
00:18:32.140 got vindicated
00:18:33.280 from the Russia probe
00:18:35.360 and the Avenatti thing
00:18:37.860 and then following that
00:18:39.040 there was,
00:18:40.480 you know,
00:18:40.820 we found out about
00:18:41.920 his co-conspirator.
00:18:44.340 So.
00:18:45.300 Well,
00:18:46.040 you know,
00:18:46.280 you say it looks
00:18:47.300 like suspicious timing,
00:18:49.540 but if you read
00:18:50.140 the complaint
00:18:51.340 against him
00:18:52.160 filed in Los Angeles,
00:18:56.820 it all happened
00:18:58.280 in the last few days
00:18:59.740 and in fact,
00:19:02.400 Avenatti was planning
00:19:03.340 to have a press conference
00:19:04.500 where he was going
00:19:05.100 to shake down Nike
00:19:06.240 tomorrow.
00:19:07.420 So I think the timing,
00:19:08.640 it is coincidental
00:19:10.240 that it was a,
00:19:11.260 that it just is another
00:19:12.400 winning streak
00:19:13.060 for Donald Trump.
00:19:14.020 But if you look
00:19:14.760 at the timing
00:19:15.380 of when Avenatti
00:19:16.260 was shaking down Nike,
00:19:18.580 it only happened
00:19:19.340 in the last week or so.
00:19:20.700 And I think police
00:19:22.180 and prosecutors
00:19:22.720 were moving quickly
00:19:23.600 because Avenatti
00:19:24.740 was moving quickly
00:19:25.560 and he was actually
00:19:26.320 going to announce
00:19:26.880 his extortion tomorrow.
00:19:29.200 So I think Avenatti
00:19:30.080 was the source
00:19:31.940 of the timing
00:19:32.540 on that one.
00:19:32.980 That's my view.
00:19:34.500 Yeah, no,
00:19:35.000 that's, I mean,
00:19:35.700 that makes a lot of sense
00:19:36.380 because also it was,
00:19:38.340 the whole,
00:19:38.920 the story broke
00:19:39.660 47 minutes
00:19:40.840 after he announced
00:19:42.160 on Twitter
00:19:42.540 that he was going
00:19:43.160 to come out
00:19:43.980 with his press briefing.
00:19:46.960 So it makes a lot
00:19:48.740 of sense that he,
00:19:49.680 he was leading
00:19:50.800 the story on it.
00:19:52.100 He was planning
00:19:52.640 to come out
00:19:53.200 ahead of it.
00:19:53.720 You know,
00:19:54.960 you mentioned
00:19:55.460 Garagos.
00:19:56.480 I mean,
00:19:56.660 he is a familiar
00:19:57.600 person even up
00:19:58.980 here in Canada
00:19:59.600 because he's on TV
00:20:00.680 as the celebrity lawyer.
00:20:03.540 I think what happened
00:20:04.620 here is these celebrity
00:20:05.440 lawyers,
00:20:05.860 they have such a big
00:20:06.620 brand in PR.
00:20:09.420 They're maybe not
00:20:10.060 the best lawyers
00:20:10.880 in the world,
00:20:11.360 but they have
00:20:11.940 huge, huge profile.
00:20:13.940 And I think that's
00:20:14.580 what Avenatti was
00:20:15.420 really threatening
00:20:16.640 Nike with.
00:20:17.380 He was basically saying,
00:20:18.760 if you don't pay me
00:20:19.340 $20 million
00:20:19.840 to investigate
00:20:21.060 this claim against you,
00:20:22.340 I'm going to embarrass
00:20:23.600 you with my friends
00:20:24.820 at CNN and MSNBC
00:20:26.200 and pay me $20 million
00:20:28.060 to make that threat
00:20:29.200 go away.
00:20:30.080 I think that's really
00:20:31.780 the value of these
00:20:32.680 lawyers.
00:20:33.060 They're not the best
00:20:33.720 lawyers in the world.
00:20:34.740 They're the best
00:20:35.380 schmoozers and hucksters
00:20:36.860 and smears in the world
00:20:38.600 and they tried to
00:20:39.180 monetize that.
00:20:41.280 Yeah, and it also
00:20:42.220 seems like,
00:20:43.120 I mean,
00:20:43.740 it may actually work
00:20:45.320 for them in other
00:20:45.960 cases.
00:20:46.540 It seems like the
00:20:47.580 media in a lot of
00:20:48.700 cases has more power
00:20:50.000 than even the rule
00:20:51.540 of law,
00:20:52.060 which sounds crazy,
00:20:53.200 but the media
00:20:54.340 has power to stir
00:20:55.580 things in whatever
00:20:56.960 direction they want
00:20:57.660 them to.
00:20:57.920 So maybe Avenatti
00:20:59.480 overplayed his,
00:21:01.580 you know,
00:21:01.920 whatever he thought,
00:21:03.420 however much power
00:21:04.460 he thought he had
00:21:05.160 at the media,
00:21:05.960 he may have overplayed
00:21:07.180 that card and gotten
00:21:08.520 himself to where
00:21:09.180 he is now.
00:21:10.580 Well, I think that,
00:21:11.780 I mean,
00:21:12.080 he has,
00:21:12.960 I mean,
00:21:13.960 he has mixed the media
00:21:15.320 and his legal work.
00:21:17.120 In the past,
00:21:17.780 I mentioned he
00:21:18.640 represented Stormy
00:21:19.580 Daniels,
00:21:20.040 which is why
00:21:20.580 he came to fame
00:21:22.080 on CNN and MSNBC.
00:21:23.700 But after that was
00:21:24.780 done,
00:21:25.080 Stormy Daniels,
00:21:25.820 who is not exactly
00:21:26.640 the most sympathetic
00:21:28.160 person in the world
00:21:28.900 in my view,
00:21:29.740 she revealed that
00:21:30.800 she was taken
00:21:31.680 advantage of
00:21:32.400 in several ways
00:21:33.900 by Avenatti.
00:21:34.980 She put out a
00:21:35.560 statement today,
00:21:36.020 let me read it
00:21:36.500 quickly.
00:21:37.500 She said,
00:21:37.860 I think Stormy
00:22:02.760 Daniels was used
00:22:03.640 by Avenatti.
00:22:04.460 I think they had
00:22:04.940 a personal
00:22:05.460 relationship,
00:22:06.100 neither of them
00:22:06.440 denied that
00:22:06.980 when asked.
00:22:07.940 But also,
00:22:09.020 she was a weapon
00:22:10.240 to get Trump.
00:22:11.800 She sued Trump
00:22:12.760 for defamation,
00:22:13.580 she lost,
00:22:14.180 and she wound up
00:22:15.140 having to pay
00:22:15.800 Trump's legal fees.
00:22:17.940 I think Michael
00:22:18.600 Avenatti is a serial
00:22:19.860 user of anyone
00:22:21.880 who crosses his path
00:22:22.800 and finally just
00:22:23.300 caught up with him.
00:22:23.900 Yeah,
00:22:26.060 a serial user
00:22:27.060 and also very
00:22:28.040 arrogant.
00:22:28.900 I mean,
00:22:29.140 he just comes off
00:22:30.000 as very,
00:22:31.200 you know,
00:22:32.640 he comes off
00:22:33.240 as very pompous.
00:22:34.380 He thinks that
00:22:36.120 he's a lot more
00:22:37.560 capable than
00:22:38.800 perhaps he's,
00:22:39.840 he thinks he's a
00:22:40.500 lot more prepared
00:22:41.300 than he is
00:22:42.440 and a lot more,
00:22:43.920 he thinks he's
00:22:44.480 more powerful maybe
00:22:45.360 than he actually
00:22:46.100 is.
00:22:47.220 So,
00:22:48.060 all these things
00:22:49.040 are working
00:22:49.680 against him,
00:22:50.920 especially now
00:22:52.300 that it's like
00:22:53.240 I mean,
00:22:55.620 it has been
00:22:56.780 actually happening
00:22:57.940 over the span
00:22:59.120 of months
00:22:59.840 at this point.
00:23:01.380 You know,
00:23:02.620 Avenatti was a
00:23:04.280 fixture on TV.
00:23:06.000 I mentioned
00:23:06.360 the 108,
00:23:07.940 I think it was,
00:23:08.700 appearances in just
00:23:09.520 two months on MSN.
00:23:10.740 I mean,
00:23:11.280 the Free Beacon
00:23:12.400 tried to estimate
00:23:14.560 the PR value
00:23:16.060 of those
00:23:17.420 100 plus
00:23:18.580 appearances
00:23:19.020 and they came up
00:23:19.680 with a number
00:23:20.140 more than
00:23:20.640 100 million dollars.
00:23:22.640 Wow.
00:23:23.240 And when you've
00:23:24.620 got that much
00:23:25.160 free advertising,
00:23:27.300 I mean,
00:23:27.500 he's not worth
00:23:28.620 100 million dollars
00:23:29.520 as a lawyer.
00:23:30.320 No one would say
00:23:30.900 who's the best
00:23:31.480 lawyer in Michael
00:23:32.380 Avenatti,
00:23:33.220 but he was musing
00:23:34.360 about running
00:23:34.940 for president,
00:23:35.640 which was laughable.
00:23:36.920 I think he was
00:23:37.680 looking around
00:23:38.040 and saying,
00:23:38.300 I've got all
00:23:38.700 this power,
00:23:39.780 how can I
00:23:40.400 wring money
00:23:41.040 out of it?
00:23:41.620 But really,
00:23:42.140 that's no different
00:23:42.860 than John Brennan,
00:23:45.020 the former CIA boss,
00:23:46.500 or a lot of the
00:23:47.500 deep state people
00:23:48.480 who go on CNN
00:23:49.540 and MSNBC.
00:23:50.360 They have this
00:23:51.440 big platform.
00:23:53.140 They're not
00:23:53.380 particularly in the
00:23:54.360 know,
00:23:54.740 but they just
00:23:55.320 wring it out
00:23:56.180 if it's a
00:23:57.360 political win
00:23:58.140 or for cash.
00:23:59.580 I don't know,
00:23:59.800 I think there's
00:24:00.160 something wrong
00:24:00.780 with U.S.
00:24:01.460 cable news,
00:24:02.280 and I think
00:24:02.720 the Mueller
00:24:03.200 lack of indictments,
00:24:04.540 the Mueller
00:24:04.840 exoneration
00:24:05.540 sort of proves it.
00:24:06.760 Do you think
00:24:07.220 these are connected
00:24:08.060 in any way?
00:24:08.980 I just think
00:24:09.480 it goes to
00:24:09.960 the out-of-control
00:24:10.760 nature of
00:24:12.100 these anti-Trump
00:24:13.220 maniacs on
00:24:14.040 cable news.
00:24:14.620 Yeah,
00:24:16.500 I think,
00:24:16.960 I mean,
00:24:17.300 I think,
00:24:18.600 you know,
00:24:19.280 something that
00:24:20.440 I realized
00:24:21.960 just in general
00:24:22.700 from the way
00:24:24.160 that the direction
00:24:25.000 that cable news
00:24:25.720 is going,
00:24:26.720 people watch,
00:24:27.540 people are watching
00:24:28.400 cable news less,
00:24:30.000 and it's a fact.
00:24:32.000 And so,
00:24:32.720 all these companies
00:24:34.160 are,
00:24:35.100 they're scrambling
00:24:36.080 to find,
00:24:36.840 like,
00:24:36.920 a different way
00:24:37.600 to bring in the money,
00:24:38.640 and for them
00:24:41.280 at this point,
00:24:42.060 it's like PR,
00:24:43.780 basically doing
00:24:45.220 free PR work
00:24:46.200 for certain people
00:24:47.020 and using
00:24:48.560 the political route
00:24:49.580 and being activists
00:24:51.060 instead of reporters.
00:24:52.400 Because at this point,
00:24:53.220 if anyone wants
00:24:53.980 their news,
00:24:54.780 they're going to go
00:24:55.300 over to,
00:24:55.840 like,
00:24:57.260 social media
00:24:58.100 and they're not
00:24:59.000 necessarily going
00:24:59.720 to watch TV.
00:25:00.540 So at this point,
00:25:01.500 all these cable companies
00:25:02.820 are just really
00:25:03.760 activist networks
00:25:04.780 for people
00:25:06.860 who are partisans
00:25:07.620 and all these people
00:25:08.280 who are going on TV
00:25:09.260 are trying to get
00:25:10.500 free PR.
00:25:11.280 And actually,
00:25:12.040 some people
00:25:12.560 are even paying money
00:25:13.900 in order to get
00:25:14.900 on these TV shows.
00:25:16.320 Like,
00:25:16.580 I mean,
00:25:17.420 I was a producer
00:25:18.480 at Fox,
00:25:20.280 and, like,
00:25:20.600 we never,
00:25:21.680 we rarely,
00:25:22.560 like,
00:25:23.460 paid people,
00:25:24.360 but sometimes,
00:25:25.480 sometimes we pay people,
00:25:27.440 but other times,
00:25:29.160 other outside bookers
00:25:31.100 would get paid
00:25:32.620 by their clients
00:25:34.580 in order to come
00:25:35.460 on the shows.
00:25:36.720 So,
00:25:37.520 it's like
00:25:38.180 a whole business
00:25:38.920 that wasn't there
00:25:39.760 before.
00:25:41.080 Yeah,
00:25:41.400 I think you're right.
00:25:42.320 Well,
00:25:42.740 I think that the
00:25:43.620 reputation of the media
00:25:45.200 party in the United States
00:25:46.200 is at an all-time low,
00:25:47.760 and I think it's just
00:25:48.600 going to keep falling.
00:25:49.320 I don't think anyone
00:25:49.900 learned their lesson
00:25:50.560 from what they got wrong
00:25:51.920 in the 2016
00:25:52.780 presidential election.
00:25:54.100 I think the Mueller thing
00:25:54.840 was a pure repeat of that,
00:25:56.060 and I'm sure there'll be
00:25:56.720 another fake news
00:25:58.420 manufactured scandal
00:26:00.340 in the weeks ahead.
00:26:01.540 In the meantime,
00:26:02.280 Avenatti has a real scandal
00:26:03.920 on his hands,
00:26:04.560 and I think he's going
00:26:05.240 to prison.
00:26:05.980 Pardez,
00:26:06.180 great to see you again.
00:26:06.840 Thanks for taking the time
00:26:07.660 with us today.
00:26:08.880 You too.
00:26:09.300 Thank you.
00:26:09.820 All right.
00:26:10.200 There's Pardez Salah.
00:26:11.360 She's a reporter
00:26:12.100 with Mediaite.com.
00:26:14.280 Stay with us.
00:26:14.860 More ahead on The Rebel.
00:26:15.560 Hey, welcome back.
00:26:27.780 What did you think
00:26:28.320 about that story
00:26:28.880 from New Zealand?
00:26:30.420 When I heard they had
00:26:31.240 a chief censor,
00:26:31.980 I thought,
00:26:32.280 that sounds a little,
00:26:33.480 that sounds a little bit
00:26:34.760 over the top,
00:26:35.240 but indeed his name
00:26:36.000 is the chief censor.
00:26:37.020 Imagine having a business card
00:26:38.840 that says chief censor on it.
00:26:42.160 Who would want to be your friend?
00:26:44.320 Well, the answer is
00:26:46.640 all the wrong people,
00:26:47.640 all the people trying
00:26:48.360 to suck up to power,
00:26:49.860 all the people trying
00:26:50.560 to ingratiate themselves,
00:26:51.920 all the people who want
00:26:53.220 to be a censor too.
00:26:54.380 It would attract all the bullies.
00:26:56.680 It would attract
00:26:57.180 all the sociopaths.
00:26:58.480 If you're in an authoritarian regime,
00:27:00.840 that is terrible
00:27:02.400 for normal people,
00:27:03.540 but it is a playground
00:27:05.300 for bullies and sociopaths
00:27:07.660 and control freaks
00:27:08.820 and authoritarians
00:27:09.780 and people who game
00:27:11.120 the system to figure it out,
00:27:13.220 how to use the system
00:27:14.520 to their own hands.
00:27:15.420 Imagine being a chief censor.
00:27:18.780 Imagine having to have
00:27:19.820 a license to read.
00:27:21.280 Imagine complying with it.
00:27:24.500 Imagine being the kind
00:27:25.680 of person who says,
00:27:27.300 I will actually pay $102
00:27:29.600 and forget about the money
00:27:31.860 and I will submit
00:27:33.120 to the chief censor.
00:27:34.680 I will answer his questions
00:27:35.980 and try to win his approval
00:27:37.740 before I'm allowed
00:27:38.920 to read this document
00:27:40.140 that is in 10 million places
00:27:42.040 in the world.
00:27:42.900 That is New Zealand.
00:27:44.420 New Zealand is our cousin
00:27:46.420 here in Canada
00:27:47.260 and that will infect us too,
00:27:50.080 I promise you.
00:27:51.780 All right, folks,
00:27:52.320 that's our show for today.
00:27:53.280 Until tomorrow,
00:27:54.240 on behalf of all of us
00:27:55.240 here at Rebel World Headquarters
00:27:56.340 to you at home,
00:27:57.380 good night
00:27:57.760 and keep fighting for freedom.
00:27:59.420 you