The on-line arm of Ben Vidgen: author, broadcaster, publisher and the world's only autistic and dsylexic consulting detective. Ben's site strives to offer non-partisan, non dogmatic, news on arts, music, cuisine, plus current affairs & independent public sourced investigative reporting on New Zealand (Aotearoa) & the wider world. Ben however warns if your at all squemish about seeing grand ma (grammar) bashed up then this is probably NOT!! the site for you. Diagnosed as both dyslexic and autistic Ben has worked as investigative journalist, researcher for a number of NZ/Australian publications, radio stations, as well as working for universities & NGOs for over thirty years in Australia and New Zealand. During which time he has written two New Zealand based best sellers (State Secrets 1 & 2), worked for corporate media (shudder) as a private researcher for some of the most toxiously obnoxious people on the planet before he went independent and began producing his own popular newspaper/magazines books under his DEADLINE label. Ben specialises in organised crime and national security reporting and general injustice. Ben holds a degree in history and political science (where he focused on counter terrorism and poltical violence). Ben is a former New Zealand Army reservist who served in the Royal Artillery and the Infantry with posting in signals, artillery intelligence, field and counter intelligence, reconnaissance. This is in addition to being a rifleman & unit grenadier. Ben asides from producing Fresh FM's top rating current affairs show 'The DEADLINE REPORT' and being a truely terrible driver works as a consulting investigator (Detective) for a UK based special geopolitical analyst firm who specialise in money laundering by organised crime involved in serious crimes such as financing terrorism, fraud and human trafficking, on behalf of media companies and insurance & banks in the UK. Ben's hobbies include collecting 'Sheldon Cooper' T-shirts, 'stand up tragedy' and talking to cats and dogs who he insist really do have far better common sense, good karma and conservational skills than your average human. Which is not hard Ben points out considering that the average human well watch in their life over 78,000 hours of TV and read less than 700 books in the same time frame and we all wonder why the planets so messed up.
The Yellow Brick Road – How Rocket Lab Success Was Built At The Expense of the Locals.
By reporting research Ben Vidgen – photography and production by ‘Jah’Son Smith.
2015 New Zealand’s Rocket Lab secured financial backing from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and the US Navy. Lockheed Martin a designer and manufacturer of missiles and fighter jets for the US military and chief player in the plans to mine the Pacific and New Zealand deep sea minerals. Rocket Lab yesterday announced Lockheed Martin is investing in the company to support the development of future aerospace and marine technologies. In fact many of the engineers of Electron rocket are ex-Team New Zealand (the brain child of investment banker Michael Fay) engineers. It specialises in small lift capabilities and hypersonic flight technology that lie at the heart if the ew nuclear arms race.
Steinlarger in association with Michael Fay and Lockheed Martin give you the Americas Cup sport of billionaires, Hypersonic missiles built for delivering nukes and a revised vision of what NZ nuclear free legacy was all about. And if you think TVNZ going to challenge that idea then you really have no idea of how marketing dollars and political lobbying works.
Rocket Lab built on the Eastern end of Mahi Peninsular not far from impoverished Wairoa and Fraser town ( Te Kopu) where the great non weapon bearing Waitaha waka Takatimu landed Tahongas Ruawharo (who gave the name Te Māhia to the peninsula) and Tupai, Tahonga who were experts in maritime arts and astronomy and are said to have built a “university” Tirotiro-kauikato dedicated to the higher knowledge of whales ocean and the stars. Today Rocket Lab and the government plan to capitalise on that heritage as it sends war toys into space in competition for mineral and power in the same region the East Cape where local populace are polarised by gangs, drugs and poverty. A second wave of neo liberal neo colonialism.
HOW THE OTHER SIDE LIVE
“I was in tears driving past million dollar homes owned by foreign influence, a local iwi scratching Their heads over THESE roads…. It’s a long story….This is Mahia#Rocketlab” JAH -SON SMITH
How the folk at Rocket Lab live as around the corner the locals lives in poverty and hard ship. “Were hurting a lot” he says, before yelling out…TYRANNY OPRESSION ELITISM” at the Sun Set bar before being led away gently but firmly by his wife, as locals wearing Rocket lab t-shirts sit with arms crossed studiously not seeking to engage the outsiders. Other locals spoken to admit Rocket Lab has polarised the community.
The curvy valley and foliage hides just how big Lockheed Martin owned Rocket Lab is and how quickly it is expanding.
First introduced to NZ by inside trader Michael Fay a key architect in the Pacific Reset Pacer program which seek to use sport and advertising sponsorship to hide how the Pacific cultures are to be assimilated and used as cheap migrant labour for the tech industry who seek to exploit their natural resources.
Rocket Labs located on land owned by one family who own Onenui station (no idea why the I in the nui does not show up in photo [lighting perhaps]. “We did not even know about it until we red it in the news” a local resident says on how they have being kept in the ‘loop’ and lied too at each step of the way as more than five hapu “slowly come together” on Rocket Lab. Having being repeatedly played off against each other with some getting nothing and others getting carrots (dangled in their face. Originally local workers did menial work at Rocket Lab but have now being shut out as the facility becomes increasingly militarised.
The publicly funned yellow road continues on to the privately owned land of Onenui as the front gates bear not just the signs for the controversial 1080 but the even deadly brodifacoum – The US published Journal of Military Medical Science states Brodifacoum is an ideal chemical weapon due to its “high potency and long duration of action” as it works its way into the food chain given time.
Note: this video appear to have online audio issue not much can do about that as fault not at our end but just placed to document our on the ground reporting and we went as far as we could go legally.
NEO LIBERAL — PROPAGANDA & ‘WERE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD’ “Much hui very little dooey”
Their have being many hui with Rocket lab among the various hapu but ultimately few promises have being keeped and little has being done for the locals with the bulk of the provincial fund in this lower social economic area with the bulk of the funds in this high suicide substance abuse and gang issue going directly into Rocket labs pocket with few promised jobs actually ever materialising.
BEN VIDGEN -- The Consulting 'Oartistic' Dsylexic Detective. 
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