Anonymous ID: 967d6f Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition July 28, 2020, 2:49 a.m. No.10099681   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Welcome To Q Research AUSTRALIA

 

In anticipation of FISA DECLAS and SPYGATE revelations, a new thread for research and discussion of Australia's role in The Great Awakening.

 

Previous threads

>>9062489 Q Research AUSTRALIA #8

 

mirrored @ qanon.news

Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/7994433

Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/7355098

Q Research AUSTRALIA #5 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/6576586

Q Research AUSTRALIA #4 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/5945347

Q Research AUSTRALIA #3 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/5443913

Q Research AUSTRALIA #2 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/4899520

Q Research AUSTRALIA #1 - https://qanon.news/archives/x/4520

 

Q's Posts made on Q Research AUSTRALIA threads

Wednesday 11.20.19

>>7358352 ————————————–——– These people are stupid.

>>7358338 ————————————–——– All assets [F + D] being deployed.

>>7358318 ————————————–——– What happens when the PUBLIC discovers the TRUTH [magnitude] re: [D] party corruption?

 

Tuesday 11.19.19

>>7357790 ————————————–——– FISA goes both ways.

 

Saturday 11.16.2019

>>7356270 ————————————–——– There is no escaping God.

>>7356265 ————————————–——– The Harvest [crop] has been prepared and soon will be delivered to the public for consumption.

 

Friday 11.15.2019

>>7356017 ————————————–——– "Whistle Blower Traps" [Mar 4 2018] 'Trap' keyword select provided…..

 

Thursday 03.28.2019

>>5945210 ————————————–——– Sometimes our 'sniffer' picks and pulls w/o applying credit file

>>5945074 ————————————–——– We LOVE you!

>>5944970 ————————————–——– USA v. LifeLog?

>>5944908 ————————————–——– It is an embarrassment to our Nation!

>>5944859 ————————————–——– 'Knowingly'

 

Q's Posts referencing Australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=AUS

https://qanon.pub/?q=australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=koala

https://qanon.pub/?q=boomerang

https://qanon.pub/?q=45HarisonHarold

 

Q's Posts referencing Australian citizens

Malcolm Turnbull (X/AUS)

https://qanon.pub/?q=X%2FAUS

 

Alexander Downer

https://qanon.pub/?q=Downer

 

Cardinal George Pell

https://qanon.pub/?q=Dark%20to%20LIGHT

https://qanon.pub/?q=pecking

 

Julian Assange

https://qanon.pub/?q=assange

https://qanon.pub/?q=JA

https://qanon.pub/?q=Threat%20is%20real

 

Q's Posts referencing The Five Eyes intelligence alliance (FVEY)

https://qanon.pub/?q=FVEY

https://qanon.pub/?q=Five%20Eyes

 

"The Five Eyes, often abbreviated as FVEY, is an anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

 

''"Does AUS stand w/ the US or only select divisions within the US?"''

Q - 11/25/18.

https://www.qmap.pub/read/2501

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:51 a.m. No.10099686   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Notables

are not endorsements

 

#8 - Part 1

>>9062596 Child Abuse Royal Commission's key findings on Cardinal George Pell

>>9076396 Cardinal Pell pushes back on royal commission report

>>9076459 STATEMENT FROM CARDINAL GEORGE PELL

>>9076459 STATEMENT from Most Rev Peter A Comensoli, Archbishop of Melbourne

>>9076496 Cardinal George Pell: Victoria police to assess unredacted royal commission findings

>>9077042 Three children rescued in the Philippines after tip-off from Australian authorities

>>9077240 US Embassy Canberra Tweet: This week we pause to remember the Battle of #CoralSea, when U.S. and Australian forces fought together

>>9077240 US Embassy Canberra Tweet: Privileged to interview @Australian_Navy veteran Gordon Johnson (dec.) on his experience at the Battle of #CoralSea

>>9106746 Video: WWG1WGA at the Melbourne Freedom Rally

>>9106795 #QAnon trending on Twitter in Australia - 6:20 pm Sunday, 10 May 2020 (AEST)

 

>>9118857 #ObamaGate trending on Twitter in Australia - 3:00 pm, Monday, 11 May 2020 (AEST)

>>9119058 Ten arrested and police officer injured at protest against Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown laws

>>9120100 "The Pyramid" - public art works sculpture, Forbes, New South Wales - Naked Rabbitwoman and Dogman symbolism

>>9120100 Gillie and Marc - Australian collaborative artist couple, known for human-animal hybrid and abstract sculptures

>>9120100 Gillie and Marc sculptures - 'Deerman with coffee' and 'Deerman thought a pear a day would help him play'

>>9127356 #ObamaGate / #obamagate trending on Twitter in Australia - 6:20 am, Tuesday, 12 May 2020 (AEST)

>>9136594 Celebrity Chef Pete Evans Is Sharing QAnon Conspiracy Theory Posts On Instagram After Losing His Job

>>9137174 Clergy abuse survivor draws support for petition to defrock Pell

>>9137174 Defrock Cardinal George Pell - Paul Levey started this petition to Pope Francis, Arch Bishop Peter Comesoli and Bishop Paul Bird

>>9137335 Three men charged, four children removed from harm after AFP investigation into child exploitation network

 

>>9137427 Sydney man jailed for online exploitation and extortion of children

>>9137447 Statement from father of victim of online child exploitation

>>9152032 New powers for ASIO to question 14-year-olds and go after foreign spies

>>9152389 Video: Elon Musk’s prediction for the future of energy in Australia

>>9166350 More jail time means Gerald Ridsdale is 'likely to die in custody'

>>9181529 Alexander Downer may face scrutiny in US probe

>>9181688 Westpac failed to properly monitor 12 suspicious customers in AUSTRAC case

>>9197754 Five Eyes governments legal challenge to Facebook's 'dangerous' encryption of messages between terrorists, paedophiles and criminals

>>9198211 Multi-millionaire Sir Ron Brierley to plead on child porn charges, court hears

>>9198276 Catholic brother nicknamed 'The Rat' jailed for sex abuse of four Traralgon schoolboys

 

>>9198418 NICOLE KIDMAN "INJURED" AND WEARING A MCSTAIN-STYLE AIRCAST

>>9209294 Australian Federal Police tip-off leads to rescue of child sex slaves

>>9221671 Q Post #4277 - https://twitter.com/EYEDROPMEDIA/status/1262146618419183616 - WWG1WGA!!!

>>9221671 EYE DROP MEDIA Tweet - It's BIGGER than anyone can imagine!

>>9221671 June Lorraine Lee Tweet: They never thought that she would lose - Now they all LOSE

>>9235671 House Judiciary GOP Tweet: @Jim_Jordan & @RepMikeJohnson invite Bill Priestap and Joe Pientka to appear before the Judiciary Committee

>>9235831 Former soldier to prosecute cases of alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan

>>9235839 Top Sydney barrister to oversee war crimes probe against Ben Roberts-Smith

>>9235966 US Embassy Canberra Tweet: 78th anniversary of the Battle of the #CoralSea…shared history and values that drive our Unbreakable Alliance

>>9236096 Mark @awakeinaus_ Tweet: Katherine Keating has links to Epstein, Maxwell, Rachel Chandler, Balasz, Standard Hotel, Soros, Prince Andrew…

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:52 a.m. No.10099690   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 2

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Bun - Part 1

>>9076836 Turnbull delivers roasting on climate, calls COVID-19 an 'opportunity'

>>9076877 Australian Border Force warns against self-medication as shipments of Trump-touted virus 'cure' soar

>>9091409 US Shows Bipartisan Support to Australian Ally in Response to Chinese Embassy Threats

>>9091449 Letter from The Congress of the United States: Thank you for your hard work on behalf of the U.S.-Australia alliance

>>9099177 ‘Plandemic’: The concerning new coronavirus conspiracy movie going viral

>>9137700 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Pleased to speak with @MarisePayne...to discuss cooperation in combatting the #COVID19 pandemic

>>9137700 Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade Tweet: @MarisePayne had productive talks overnight with @SecPompeo as we work to overcome #COVID19

>>9152001 Online predators targeting kids spikes during COVID-19 pandemic

>>9152372 Coronavirus: China’s ‘bastard act’ against Australia after suspending meat imports

>>9197815 What is QAnon? How the coronavirus has given a voice to the bizarre, pro-Trump US fringe movement

 

>>9198243 Child abuse predator 'handbook' lists ways to target children during coronavirus lockdown

>>9209322 Coalition of 62 countries backs joint Australian, EU push for independent inquiry into coronavirus outbreak

>>9221834 Risk of coronavirus spreading in schools is 'extremely low' study finds

>>9221869 Video: Scientist says a coronavirus vaccine in just 12 months is 'fake news' | 60 Minutes Australia

>>9235470 President Donald Trump Tweet: We are with them! - https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1262392931962454020

>>9235470 SBS News Tweet: India, Japan, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, Russia, and 27 EU states back Australia's push for COVID-19 probe

>>9235470 Coalition of 116 countries back Australia's push for independent coronavirus inquiry

>>9235904 China slaps an 80 per cent tariff on drought-affected Australian exporters starting TODAY as brutal punishment for COVID-19 inquiry

>>9249013 Melbourne doctors to take anti-malaria drug touted by Donald Trump as COVID-19 shield

>>9261575 Video: Mike Pompeo attacks China and says 'we stand with Australia'

 

>>9261612 'We stand by Australia,' says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

>>9261868 US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds confirm commitment to alliance during COVID-19

>>9261868 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet #YourADF is ready to receive the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin for 2020

>>9286121 Australia Study Finds "Sign Of Human Intervention" In COVID-19

>>9307126 Video: Pompeo warns of 'disconnect' over Victoria's Belt and Road deal

>>9329255, >>9329263 How COVID-19 is driving a booming conspiracy industry - By Elise Thomas / Australian Strategic Policy Institute

>>9329348 Pompeo Blasted by Top Democrat for Thoughtless Threat to Cut off Australia From Intelligence Sharing

>>9329364 US biotech firm Novavax begins Covid-19 vaccine trials on Australian volunteers after getting $388mn from Bill Gates-backed fund

>>9338538 Victoria deepens engagement with Beijing's controversial Belt and Road initiative

>>9342629 Coronavirus: Senior US officials back Australia’s tough stance on ‘pernicious’ China

 

>>9356891 Video - Council of Australian Governments replaced by new system based success of COVID-19 National Cabinet

>>9358091, >>9358096 Anon's thoughts: Constitutional Separation of Powers - Coronavirus National Cabinet unlawful?

>>9359154 Questions raised over hydroxychloroquine study which caused WHO to halt trials for Covid-19

>>9374660 Spies kept busy by increase in suspicious internet activity during coronavirus lockdown

>>9408795 China coronavirus bioweapon conspiracy linked to QAnon and pro-Trump social media

>>9426405 Supply chains, critical tech on Five Eyes agenda

>>9426405 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: Five Eyes is an indispensable part of (Australia’s) international cooperation

>>9426600 Scott Morrison asks Washington embassy to investigate attack on Australian TV crew

>>9426600 Scott Thuman Tweet: SHOCKING: to see members of the media also taking direct, intentional punches and swings from police

>>9430152 White House Press Pool Readout - POTUS call with Australian PM Morrison

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:53 a.m. No.10099691   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 3

George Papadopoulos Tweet Bun - Part 1

>>9076710 Mifsud and Alexander Downer are the next to be exposed. It will be glorious

>>9076791 Downer, Mifsud, Turk, Halper....ALL probed me on ties to Israel. This is damning

>>9076791 The Obama administration was spying on me...they used foreign governments like Italy, U.K. Australia to do so

>>9090078 Some one should check on Alexander Downer and Stefan Halper’s health too to make sure they aren’t feeling depressed

>>9136896 Where is the Alexander Downer and Joseph Mifsud 302s?

>>9136896 Has anyone checked on Stefan Halper, Joseph Mifsud or Alexander Downer lately to make sure they aren’t feeling depressed?

>>9136896 Australia, the U.K., Italy and Ukraine are implicated in Obamagate. As of now, only Italy has been helpful

>>9166563 Alexander Downer and Joseph Mifsud are the next clowns to be exposed. It’s going to be glorious and a great day for America

>>9235620 Australia has a big role in the spying scandal, and the Australian people must learn the truth

>>9235671 Make sure you find out why Priestap was in London when the Australians were sent to spy on me. That should be good info!

 

>>9249073 I will be giving my first national interview to the great people of Australia this Saturday with @SkyNewsAust

>>9274242 The Australian government was recording my conversation with Alexander Downer and his handler, Erika Thompson

>>9274385 Kensington wine rooms meeting with Alexander Downer and his handler, Erika Thompson...key to unlocking the entire unmasking scandal

>>9285945 The chronology of (Mifsud's) overtures and when the Australians began to make contact is no coincidence

>>9294698 Video: George Papadopoulos on Sky News Australia - FBI, Obama White House trying to 'sabotage' Donald Trump

>>9296035 The Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer, and his bizarre handler, Erika Thompson, exposed Australia’s role in the spying scandal

>>9296102 Do not ever forget that the previous Australian leader was lying to the President during their call about Downer

>>9296102 Hey @AlexanderDowner...the crap you pulled might have worked against east Timor, but never worked against the United States of America

>>9296102 ‘Australia’s Watergate’ set for trial over East Timor spying claims (2018)

>>9307221 Alexander Downer Tweet: We’ve told President Trump we’ll give the Barr/Durham enquiry all the information they want.

 

>>9307221 An Australian “diplomat” and his handler, Erika Thompson, recording a conversation with an American...directing towards a fake conspiracy

>>9329431 This fake information was created by the Australians to sabotage the Trump campaign

>>9329461 My “meeting” with the Australian diplomat was so shocking that I ended up reporting him to the FBI

>>9342717 “George Papadopoulos was being targeted by foreign intelligence services like Australia, perhaps at Brennan’s behest..."

>>9374743 Why were Comey and Clapper meeting with Australian intel officials at a conference that Mifsud was supposed to speak at

>>9374743 Senator Lindsay Graham already has an open letter to the Australian government asking who directed the Australians to make contact

>>9391805 US spy boss James Robert Clapper Jr makes secretive visit to Australia - ABC News (2016)

>>9426640 The old Russia narrative...will be obliterated the moment the transcript comes out between myself and the “Australian diplomat.”

>>9449616 Get the recordings from the set up meeting with the Australian “diplomat”...and the entire case is blown open

>>9449616 If the foreign governments who interfered in the 2016 election...are not held accountable...history will forever be tainted

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:53 a.m. No.10099697   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 4

George Papadopoulos Tweet Bun - Part 2

>>9462271 Let’s just get the info out about the Australians recording my convos, who Mifsud was working for and the $10,000 set up

>>9504761 Questions about Italy/UK/Australia/Ukraine involvement critical

>>9571385 If Senator Graham doesn’t press on the Australian’s involvement...the senate will never understand the origins of the spying scandal

>>9583963 Bill Priestap, what were you doing in London on the same exact days Alexander Downer, and his handler, Erika Thompson

>>9583963 Witnesses the senate forgot about:...4) Alexander Downer...5) Erika Thompson (Downer’s handler)

>>9583963 Bizarre that the FBI and Democrats are sticking to the debunked Australia Downer “meeting” for “sparking” an investigation

>>9583963 Australia and the UK (two countries whose diplomats openly mocked him and privately to me in meetings) to keep “secrets.”

>>9595454 An Australian man, likely an agent, just walked up to my wife trying to barge into my home to “see George,”

>>9595454 Updates coming soon on this Australian agent who came and tried to enter my home today

>>9595454 This Australian agent was speaking to my wife “and texting me” showing her that it was “me” whom he was speaking to

 

>>9595454 This Australian agent came to my home with a bogus number and a fake story to try and enter my home and to do who knows what

>>9595463 Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos Tweet: Scary. I took a screenshot of the false conversation he was showing me...to give me access to the house

>>9595463 Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos Tweet: Here the screenshot - https://twitter.com/simonamangiante/status/1271621488378908672

>>9595463 Megan Slocum Tweet: Paid for a People search…name seems from a clown organization. Also interesting it was a landline listed number

>>9595463 Gets more strange by the minute. The Australian agent was texting with a “landline” number to try and enter my home while I was away

>>9601522 The Australian agent was texting with a “landline” number (with a digit separated from my real number) to try to lie to my wife

>>9619053 Alexander Downer accused of spying by US Republicans in Mueller probe | 7NEWS.com.au - 25 July 2019

>>9704824 This is why @MariaBartiromo has been the top journalist on television on this beat for a very long time now

>>9704824 US, UK. Italian, Australian and Israeli intel figures made “contact” with me leading up to the meeting with the Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer

>>9740123 Don’t forget the trips Comey/Clapper secretly took to Australia and Obama’s invite to the Italian prime minister at the height of the spying

 

>>9797225 The foreign governments (UK, Australia, Italy) used to spy on the campaign have had their diplomats and officials already interviewed by Durham

>>9891996 Keep focused on these two individuals: Alexander Downer (represents Australia’s spying on the campaign) and Stefan Halper

>>9903207 For people not aware, Durham has reportedly interviewed the CIA and foreign intelligence assets from the UK, Australia and Italy

>>9913256 The biggest mistake that the administration can do right now is to cover up the spying conducted by the U.K., Australia and Italy

>>9934427 Facts: I reported the Australian to the FBI and Congress for his bizarre behavior and spying

>>9945640 It’s the U.K. and Australia that are stonewalling the investigation now. There is more pushback about giving up Alexander Downer

>>9977080 I saw the conspiracy in real time...You could see it with the foreigners who involved themselves (Mifsud), (Downer), (Halper)

>>9985460 First Mifsud. Downer is next

>>10099146 I reported Alexander Downer to the FBI, Mueller and testified under oath to Congress about his bizarre behavior at our “meeting”

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:54 a.m. No.10099702   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 5

>>9248802 Buy Aussie made - Simplot, Edgell and Birdseye - Jobs for our kids, the future

>>9260980 Q Post #4299, quoting Q Post #1667 re: Five Eyes - What [central] AB[C] agency played quarterback?

>>9274144 Melbourne choirmaster jailed in Britain for child sex crimes

>>9274192 The conspiracy group infiltrating politics – but who are QAnon?

>>9274287 Watchdog Group Publishes The FBI Document That Got Crossfire Hurricane Started

>>9281107 Joseph Gregory Hallett - The Hidden King? … (Of Australia?)

>>9296035 FBI opened Russia probe on third-hand 'suggestion' of collusion, declassified memo shows

>>9296102 Australia’s Watergate’ set for trial over East Timor spying claims (2018)

>>9307294 The Flynn Frame-Up: Everything Was Done by the Book

>>9316120 WIKISTRAT, George Papadopoulos, the Hudson Institute and Alexander Downer - Anon notes coincidences

 

>>9316360, >>9316462, >>9316577 The Flynn Frame-up - Anon speculates on timeline - General Flynn in Q's Hyde Park picture?

>>9317685 Multiple contempt trials loom over reporting of Pell's conviction

>>9317856 General Angus Campbell Tweet: On #MemorialDay we pay respect to the brave men and women of the USA who made the ultimate sacrifice

>>9327485 change.org - Prevent the University of Queensland from silencing Drew Pavlou for fighting for justice

>>9328860 Q Post #4327 - https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/21/australian-researchers-see-virus-design-manipulati/

>>9328860, >>9328870 Washington Times article from Q Post #4327 - Australian researchers see virus design manipulation

>>9329305 Fellow soldiers say the SAS operative filmed shooting an unarmed man killed another civilian

>>9342717 FARRELL: Spygate Could Make Watergate Look Like A Third-Rate Burglary

>>9342901, >>9342907 New FBI document confirms the Trump campaign was investigated without justification

>>9358142 REMINDER: Always leave the name, email and subject lines blank. Never post personal information that is likely to identify you

 

>>9359061 Australian court orders release of Queen's letters over PM sacking

>>9374890, >>9374922 Witness K Trial - Anger simmers as East Timor bugging hearing goes ahead in secret

>>9380634 Q Post #4356 - https://twitter.com/MattFinnFNC/status/1266780532681199622 - Humanity at its finest.

>>9380634 Matt Finn Tweet - An ARMY of volunteers in Minneapolis helping neighbors clean up business damage.

>>9391732 Donald Trump says he wants Australia to join G7

>>9391805 US spy boss James Robert Clapper Jr makes secretive visit to Australia (2016)

>>9426782 Australia Concerned Over 'Maritime Militia' in South China Sea Ahead of Major Defence Pact With India

>>9426851 Video: US Marines arrive at RAAF Base Darwin as part of the ninth Marine Rotational Force

>>9427510 Notyouagain Tweet: The Great Awakening Downunder WRWY USA! WWG1WGA!

>>9449263 UK, Australian MPs call for HK human rights envoy as Lam says citizens 'have nothing to fear'

 

>>9449823 Deal for US to store weapons at Tindal was made years ago

>>9462372 Westpac blames tech and human error for money-laundering and child exploitation breaches

>>9462372 Press Release: Westpac releases findings into AUSTRAC Statement of Claim issues

>>9481987 WA man charged with allegedly accessing child abuse material on the dark web after UK tip-off

>>9482087 AFP dismantles Australian online network of alleged child sex offenders and helps young victims

>>9493322 The Chinese property billionaire eyeing Cromwell, the owner of sensitive Canberra assets

>>9558273 Greens candidate who ran against Prime Minister at 2019 election charged with child sex offences

>>9570883 Q Post #4450 - Do Anons understand what is about to be unleashed?

>>9583910 Senate Judiciary authorizes subpoenas for Obama officials amid Russia probe review

>>9584326 Hundreds more customers drawn into Westpac child exploitation scandal

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:54 a.m. No.10099704   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 6

Dassi Erlich / Yaakov Litzman / Malka Leifer Extradition Bun

>>9076520 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Despite Covid-19, decision day will still happen @ court this month! Court has moved from 21 to 26 May

>>9317721 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Is it decision day? Will Leifer be found fit to stand 4 extradition? Expectations sky high

>>9317721 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Court hearing is at 9pm Melb time - 2 pm in the Jerusalem district court

>>9320385 Alleged paedophile Malka Leifer mentally fit to be extradited to Australia, Israeli court rules

>>9320405 OMG!! JUDGE RULED LEIFER IS MENTALLY FIT TO STAND TRIAL!...Too many emotions to process!!! This is huge!

>>9320405 Press conference with Former Premier @TedBaillieu MP @joshburnsmp and @SouthwickMP 9am tomorrow outside Glen Eira town hall

>>9329017 Video: Israeli court finds alleged paedophile Malka Leifer fit to be extradited to Australia | ABC News

>>9329159 Video: 9 News Live Press Conference - Dassi Erlich, Josh Burns, David Southwick and Ted Baillieu in Melbourne

>>9329172 Candice Wyatt Tweet: Huge media pack and supporters here to listen to @dassi_erlich and her sisters speak

>>9329193 Nine News Melbourne Tweet: A breakthrough today in the battle to get a former school principal extradited from Israel to Melbourne

 

>>9329193 Nine News Melbourne Tweet: It's been a long journey for those involved in the Malka Leifer case

>>9896059 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Leifer’s lawyers lodged appeal in high court re district court's decision which found Leifer mentally fit

>>9896059 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Try follow this. Leifer’s lawyers lodged a civil action against prison system for negligance!!

>>9896059 Dassi Erlich Tweet: The prison defends their treatment in civil suit - they believe Leifer is unwell

>>9896086 Lawyers for alleged paedophile Malka Leifer launch appeal against court's finding of mental fitness

>>9913198 Dassi Erlich Tweet: The Supreme court has denied the request to postpone July 20. The extradtion trial will begin on July 20

>>9985145 Dassi Erlich Tweet New #courtdate68 - Unsurprised…very creative - #JusticeDelayedISJusticeDenied

>>9985145 Dassi Erlich Facebook Post: Unexpected #courtdate68 this Sunday before Monday's extradition hearing

>>10019476 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Appeal to hand over memos of our/Australian politician's meetings with Israeli politicions was heard today

 

>>10019522, >>10019525 After 6 years and 68 court dates, Malka Leifer extradition proceedings begin

>>10019556 Dassi Erlich Tweet: We have been waiting for this moment since 2011 when we signed our police statements

>>10019556 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Terrifying to know that details of our lives will be exposed in way that we can't control

>>10019556 Dassi Erlich Tweet: The defence has indicated they will argue that the abuse was consensual!?!? It's going to be a long difficult day

>>10030358 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Good news - Appeal re memos of our/Australian politician's meetings with Israeli politicians has been rejected!

>>10030358 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Extradition hearing #1 is over. Decision date- 21st of September. The amount of victim blaming was traumatising

>>10030358 Dassi Erlich Tweet: We didn’t expect that in the year of 2020, the issue of consent is discussed in relation to sexual abuse

>>10030358 Malka Leifer's lawyer claims prosecution 'failed to prove lack of consent' in extradition case

>>10030384, >>10030386, >>10030392 Defense at extradition hearing: Leifer’s students effectively consented to abuse

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:55 a.m. No.10099708   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 7

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Bun - Part 2

>>9449358 Trump supporters on Twitter spread Covid-19 rumors about China

>>9462455 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Great conversation with my Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, and UK counterparts

>>9462455 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Productive call with @MarisePayne... on our coordination on COVID-19

>>9481809 Scott Morrison reveals what he REALLY thinks of Donald Trump – and answers awkward question about the US president’s ‘PR stunt’

>>9481930 Don't write America off, says Australia's ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos

>>9504531 "There's evidence a growing number of Australians subscribe to a US conspiracy theory known as QAnon." - canberratimes.com.au

>>9531015 Five Eyes expanded to focus on co-ordinated strategic economic response to the COVID-19 crisis

>>9543946 COVID has made Australia 'less safe': ASIO boss

>>9544014 Spy chief calls on tech companies to co-operate with governments in the abolition of abhorrent content during the Covid 19 pandemic

>>9544217 Video: From 5G towers to Bill Gates: inside the COVID-19 conspiracy theories | 60 Minutes Australia

 

>>9544238 Video: Pete Evans unedited and uncensored interview with 60 minutes in full

>>9544262 AussieQne 369 Tweet: #PeteEvans interview on @60Mins discuss #Qanon #AussieQ #WeAreTheNewsNow

>>9558487 'They want world domination': Australia urged to join 'cold war' on China

>>9561486 Peter Dutton vows to hunt down ‘depraved’ pedophiles to combat child exploitation during the COVID-19 pandemic

>>9571744 Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton Tweet: We're catching more and more depraved individuals who access child abuse material online

>>9571762 Black Lives Matter protests 'completely unacceptable', Scott Morrison says in call for demonstrators to be charged

>>9584018 'This is not Trump's America': ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr hits back at PM's call to arrest protesters

>>9602333 Thousands protest against racism in Australia, defying govt pleas not to rally during Covid-19 outbreak

>>9618629 Why does Twitter think Tom Hanks is dead? Conspiracy started with Instagram post from Kirsten Dunst during COVID-19 lockdown

>>9642037 Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne calls out China over ‘false’ facts and ‘climate of fear’

 

>>9672657 UK Home Secretary Priti Patel chairs virtual ‘Five Eyes’ security summit

>>9672657 Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton Tweet: The global pandemic has highlighted the value of this vital intelligence and security partnership

>>9672700 Treasurer Josh Frydenberg Tweet: Today Australia hosted the first call with Finance Ministers of the "Five Eyes" nations to discuss COVID-19

>>9696519 Anti-Covid drug may be ready in Australia by the end of the year

>>9727197 Rudd warns of international after the COVID-19 pandemic - "crucial" for Democratic nominee Joe Biden to win the November election

>>9740253 Australian Defence Force to send 1,000 personnel to assist Victoria in coronavirus response

>>9796941 Victoria imposes 4-week lockdowns amid case spike, 10 Melbourne postcodes targeted in crackdown

>>9822546 Gilead donates Covid-19 drug remdesivir to Australia’s medical stockpile after US buys up supply

>>9822658 Tom Hanks Says ‘Don’t Be a P*ssy’: ‘Shame on You’ if You Don’t Wear a Mask

>>9838340 Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos raises conspiracy concern as 10,000 refuse coronavirus test

 

>>9882061 Video: Coronavirus Victoria: Stage three lockdown restrictions reimposed on metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire

>>9892138 Covid vaccine trials have started in Australia - Coronavirus vaccine trial patients to earn $2350

>>9892363 Atlantic Council Tweet: "How did it happen? How can we do things better in the future?" - Australian Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos

>>9913238 US Marine tests positive for coronavirus in the Northern Territory as part of US Marine Corps' Marine Rotational Force

>>9920231 Remdesivir: Australia's first COVID-19 treatment approved by Therapeutic Goods Administration

>>9956068 Mystery surrounds car with 'COVID 19' number plate parked at Adelaide Airport for months

>>9966696 Scott Morrison says Australia cannot shut down to contain second wave of Covid-19

>>9977180 Video: Brad Hazzard, New South Wales Minister for Health - "We've Got To Accept That This Is The New World Order"

>>9985200 Donald Trump 'very complimentary' on Australia's COVID-19 response, says PM

>>9994037 Islamic leaders fear spread of COVID-19 conspiracy

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:56 a.m. No.10099711   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 8

Virginia Roberts Giuffre / Prince Andrew / Jeffrey Epstein Bun

>>9166618 Virginia Roberts Giuffre warns Jeffrey Epstein's accomplices 'you took our freedom, now we're going to take yours'

>>9166618 Video: Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich | Official Trailer | Netflix

>>9221999 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I was a kid. I was a trafficked teen to billionaires & royalty. I am Virginia Roberts

>>9235767 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: This young girl kept in plain sight, cried into her pillow in the middle of every night

>>9358957 Virginia Roberts accepts Alan Dershowitz’s dare, tells doc they had sex

>>9358957 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: The amount of love and devotion poured into this case...is insurmountable

>>9358957 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Retweet: “I was with Alan Dershowitz multiple times...I was trafficked to Alan Dershowitz by Jeffrey Epstein”

>>9531040 Prince Andrew may be quizzed over Jeffrey Epstein in weeks as US officially demands Britain hand him over

>>9544051 U.S. prosecutors spar with Prince Andrew in Jeffrey Epstein inquiry

>>9584183 Former Jeffrey Epstein companion Ghislaine Maxwell seeks to keep court records under seal

 

>>9608613 Prince Andrew admits BBC Newsnight interview over Jeffrey Epstein is a ‘source of regret’

>>9727329 Virginia Roberts Giuffre says Epstein forced her to have sex with former Israeli PM Ehud Barak

>>9751972 Jeffrey Epstein victims eye $US630 million estate

>>9822719 Epstein ‘sex slave’ Virginia Giuffre, Alan Dershowitz both lose in new court ruling

>>9828140 Jeffrey Epstein investigation: Ghislaine Maxwell charged with helping billionaire groom, abuse victims

>>9837891 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Orange is the new black- #GhislaineMaxwellArrested Thank you to @FBI @SDNYnews and anyone involved

>>9837891 Q Post #4568 - Eb7QXABU8AAr1f8.jpg (Virginia Roberts with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell)

>>9847840, >>9847864 Tears of joy from Epstein’s Aussie victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre as FBI finally catches Maxwell

>>9861917 60 Minutes Australia Tweet: TONIGHT on #60Mins, finally there is relief for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring

>>9865742 Video: Inside the wicked saga of Jeffrey Epstein: the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell | 60 Minutes Australia

 

>>9881900 ‘Clock ticking’ for Prince Andrew as Ghislaine Maxwell heads to court

>>9891789 Video: What really happened on Jeffrey Epstein's private island? | 60 Minutes Australia

>>9920677, >>9920701, >>9920722, >>9920739 The Ghislaine Maxwell tapes: her combative interview with lawyers of ‘sex slave’ Virginia Roberts

>>9945679 Ghislaine Maxwell ‘no monster’, she was not at a party when Jeffrey Epstein met Prince Andrew: friend

>>9955612 Shills still pushing the Trump-Epstein fake shit huh? Virginia Roberts Giuffre Testimony re: Trump and Epstein refuting MSM smears

>>9966786 Jeffrey Epstein co-accused Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail after not guilty plea

>>9977124 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: How how the mighty fall so far, i am understandably smiling ear to ear

>>9977124 With Jeffrey Epstein gone, Ghislaine Maxwell's trial could change the conversation around sexual assault

>>9980436 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Holy S**T- Did @realDonaldTrump throw #PrinceAndrew under the bus?? Wow- speechless!!

>>9980436 Paj | BLM Tweet: Donald Trump Implicating prince Andrew five years ago

 

>>9985278 Ghislaine Maxwell is 'worse than Jeffrey Epstein' says key accuser

>>9985278 Video: Jeffrey Epstein was "a sick pedophile" but Ghislaine Maxwell "was the mastermind," accuser claims

>>9997181 Q Post #4589 - https://nypost.com/2020/07/16/epstein-was-pinocchio-and-ghislaine-was-gepetto-accuser/

>>9997181 Q Post #4565 - Possible Epstein was a puppet [not the main person(s) of interest]? Financed by who or what [F] entities?

>>9997181 Epstein was ‘Pinocchio’ with ‘Gepetto’ Ghislaine pulling the strings, accuser says

>>10052624 Secrets of Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex life could be released TODAY as ‘pimp’ waits in jail on child sex abuse charges

>>10062965 Epstein floodgates open as judge rules explosive docs detailing Ghislaine Maxwell's sex life can be UNSEALED

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:57 a.m. No.10099713   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 9

>>9505006 US police union disregards attack on Australian TV crew, says reporters were ‘INDISTINGUISHABLE’ from George Floyd protesters

>>9561541 Labor to back bill on minimum sentencing for child sex offenders

>>9571710 Mike Pompeo promises probe into beating of Australian journalists

>>9584367 Secretive arm of China’s Communist Party working to influence every aspect of Aussie life, from politics to business - ASPI report

>>9584446 AFP charges Sydney man for possession of extreme child abuse material

>>9595630 Hawkish, Gov’t Funded Think Tank Behind Twitter Decision to Delete Thousands of Chinese Accounts - Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)

>>9595656 Western Australian govt to rename King Leopold Ranges, named after ‘evil tyrant’ Belgian monarch

>>9602231 The Sacking of Gough Whitlam and the Royal Intention Behind the Five Eyes

>>9618265 Cardinal Pell talks of ordeal to students - Christianity “helped me to survive”

>>9618689 Disgraced former NSW Labor minister Milton Orkopoulos charged with 15 historic sexual assault offences

 

>>9629859 Bill for child-sex mandatory sentences passes Senate

>>9630136 Video: Adem Somyurek, the faceless man: Dark underbelly of Australian power exposed | 60 Minutes Australia

>>9630990 Westpac’s pursuit of profit “placed children directly at risk of harm”

>>9641761 'We need to guillotine it': AUSTRAC given deadline for new Westpac claims

>>9641790 Federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne cooperating with authorities on Somyurek investigation

>>9642090 Mysterious green glow seen shooting across Australian night sky in Port Hedland, Western Australia, was an asteroid, Scientists say

>>9668321 Prime Minister Scott Morrison reveals malicious 'state-based' cyber attack on governments, industry

>>9668352 US looks at digital economy trade deal with Australia

>>9668485 WA man accused of possessing child abuse videos

>>9668525, >>9668535 Queensland man charged for alleged online sexual abuse of up to 50 Philippines children

 

>>9678470 Mike Pompeo blasts China's 'coercion' of Australia as cyber-attack likened to Parliament House hack

>>9678697 Scott Morrison clear on China threat: John Bolton

>>9678907, >>9678914 The secret trial that could turn pear-shaped for the government

>>9679033 More than 7.4 million images of child abuse circulating in Victoria

>>9692709 Appeal for donations to publish Cardinal Pell's prison diary

>>9704875 High Court inquiry finds former justice Dyson Heydon sexually harassed associates

>>9712010 ABC and SBS top the list of most trusted news brands in Australia, according to @risj_oxford Digital News Report 2020

>>9727134 PM hires Trump cabinet secretary who led global campaign against Huawei to protect Australia against hacking attacks

>>9727177 Cooperating with Trump ‘unconstructive’, Iran tells Australia

>>9727242 Dyson Heydon: ACT chief prosecutor asks police to investigate sexual harassment allegations

 

>>9740062 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slams Huawei; praises Australia's Telstra

>>9751796 John Bolton says US alliances may not survive a second term of President Donald Trump

>>9751803 Video: John Bolton says US alliances may not survive a second term of Donald Trump | 7.30

>>9751869 NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane's Sydney home raided as ASIO probes China links

>>9751884 NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane staffer John Zhang raided in foreign interference probe

>>9752206 Northern Territory foster carers accused of abusing 12 Indigenous children over 16 years

>>9764286 ACT Supreme Court rules key parts of Bernard Collaery trial to be held in secret

>>9784216 Video: Soldier's heartbreaking journey for forgiveness after horror in Afghanistan | 60 Minutes Australia

>>9784216 One last mission: SAS Combat Medic Dusty Miller, the shooting of an unarmed Afghan farmer and an emotional journey of atonement

>>9784480 Fake-news fightback: Morrison government to inflict “reputational damage” on countries behind global disinformation campaigns

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:57 a.m. No.10099716   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 10

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Bun - Part 3

>>9994148 Scott Morrison cancels parliamentary sitting over 'significant' COVID-19 risk

>>10006372 Masks made mandatory, aged care visits limited as 363 cases announced

>>10006550 'I will not comply': MMA fighter defies Melbourne face mask rule

>>10006550 Vik Grujic Tweet: Fake plandemic is a hoax. An attempt from the Marxist text book to destroy our way of life

>>10007625 StellarQ_777 Tweet: Well here we are Melbourne, they are not even trying to hide it. "A scarf will do". This is not about a virus

>>10019861, >>10019867 Face masks: Daniel Andrews slams Aussie mask conspiracy

>>10024029 Australia’s Victoria back in the spotlight for going it alone on belt and road agreement with China

 

>>10062595 The coronavirus ‘hoax’: Conspiracy peddlers infecting Australians at alarming rate

>>10062658, >>10062663 Twitter moves against QAnon conspiracy theorists - By Elise Thomas / Australian Strategic Policy Institute

>>10062845, >>10062853 Coronavirus Melbourne: Conspiracy theorist Eve Black breaches police checkpoint

>>10073953 Melbourne Anons, know your rights - You can have a lawful excuse not to wear a mask and you do not have to provide a medical certificate

>>10077129 Morrison government ministers allowed to defy travel ban to fly to the US for annual talks with the US government

>>10078603 'I regret nothing': Conspiracy theorist Eve Black hits back over checkpoint stunt

>>10078768 Supreme Court grants prohibition order over Sydney Black Lives Matter protest

>>10098841, >>10098848 Why do conspiracy theorists film themselves refusing to wear face masks? - By Elise Thomas / Australian Strategic Policy Institute

>>10098963 Trump's national security aide contracts COVID-19 ahead of AUSMIN talks

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:58 a.m. No.10099718   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 11

>>9784531 Chinese state media accuses Australia of spying campaign, says agents were arrested in 2018

>>9797020 China steps up attacks on Australia, says spying allegations just 'the tip of the iceberg'

>>9797132 Australian journalist Amelia Brace testifies before US Congress about being struck by police during Black Lives Matter protest

>>9797183 Scott Morrison’s new cyber army to confront digital spy threat

>>9800438 NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Tweet: NASA, USSF, & RAAF will find & track near-Earth objects (NEOs)

>>9809169 Cardinal George Pell says jail offers lessons for how the Church should manage money

>>9809190 Video: Cardinal Pell: Church is not a business, but that's no reason for it to be inefficient or corrupt

>>9809205 Video: Cardinal Pell Endorses Global Institute of Church Management, discusses value of management education within the Church

>>9809374 Sydney man charged for possessing child abuse material and drugs

>>9809434 Australian-born former Worcestershire cricketer Alex Hepburn loses rape appeal

 

>>9809460 Australia to spend $270b building larger military to prepare for 'poorer, more dangerous' world and rise of China

>>9822517 Australia set to offer safe haven visas to Hong Kong residents as Chinese territory is consumed by another wave of protests

>>9822621, >>9822629 Mothers play an increasingly large and shocking role in South-East Asian child sexual abuse

>>9822802 Australian Federal Police make multiple arrests for child abuse material across the NSW Riverina region

>>9848189 Video: The Australian Newspaper - Review's Isolation Room #39: Marina Abramovic performs Look Into My Eyes, For One Minute

>>9862520 Truthseeker the storm is here Tweet: Gathered my #AussieQ crew to celebrate #July4th with our US #QAnon friends

>>9868176 Anon's Q Proof Mount Rushmore fireworks video - Brooks & Dunn, “Only in America”

>>9872324 Child sex offender Hamzeh Bahrami jailed over attack on young girl in Blair Athol toilet block

>>9881846 Australia proving 'resilient' to China's influence efforts, says Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies

>>9882313 Video: Riot Holiday - Incredible POV footage of rioting, looting and violence during Black Lives Matter protest, June 2020

 

>>9892266 Japan, U.S. and Australia express 'deep concern' over sweeping security law in Hong Kong

>>9892266 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: The United States stands firm with our staunch allies, Australia & Japan

>>9892266 Australia-Japan-United States Defense Ministers’ Meeting Joint Statement, July 7 2020

>>9902843 Queen Elizabeth's correspondence on her role in 1975 sacking of Australian PM Gough Whitlam will be released next week

>>9902843 Malcolm Fraser and the mystery of how he lost his trousers (and his dignity) in a seedy American hotel

>>9903233 China's fury over Australia's embrace of Hongkongers

>>9903251 'Emerging issue': AFP warns children being influenced by right-wing extremism

>>9913136 Cardinal Pell: ‘My Catholic faith sustained me’ during time in prison

>>9913171, >>9913176, >>9913180 MY TIME IN PRISON by George Cardinal Pell - August 2020

>>9913204 1 Year Delta - Q Post #3405 - Reality is hard to swallow. - [Planned Parenthood] - a year ago, 10 July 2019

 

>>9913205 Video: The B-2 at 30: Soaring with the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber

>>9913269 Witness K lawyer Bernard Collaery to appeal against secrecy in Timor-Leste bugging trial

>>9913612 Kind notes on cars baffle Yeppoon residents but appear to push far-right conspiracy theories - #TheGreatAwakening

>>9920416 ASIO boss denies expanded powers could be used to target Black Lives Matter protesters

>>9921977 NSW man charged for possessing and sharing child exploitation material

>>9933391, >>9933427 Rescuing Victims of Child Sexual Abuse - FBI Programs Support a Global Effort to Save Children from Harm

>>9933427 FBI Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP) identifying unknown individuals involved in the sexual abuse of children

>>9934813 AUSTRALIAN GREAT AWAKENING / Q MAP - Q_arah Tweet: This map was made for new AussieQ / those fairly new to Q and the drops

>>9934813 AUSTRALIAN GREAT AWAKENING / Q MAP - 1 Drop Of Q Tweet: Hopefully this will help a few people that are new to the Q movement

>>9945532, >>9945543 How misinformation about 5G is spreading within our government institutions – and who’s responsible

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:58 a.m. No.10099719   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 12

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition Bun

>>9166719 Assange’s extradition: September 7 set for resumption of delayed hearing, WikiLeaks says

>>9285860 'He could possibly die in prison!' Pamela Anderson claims WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is 'very sick' and says he should be 'let out'

>>9426336 Julian Assange misses court extradition hearing due to 'respiratory problems'

>>9618367 Julian Assange indictment fails to mention WikiLeaks video that exposed US 'war crimes' in Iraq

>>9696402 Julian Assange's secret lover lifts the lid on her romance with the WikiLeaks founder

>>9696428 Video: Julian Assange's hidden family revealed: top secrets inside the Embassy | 60 Minutes Australia

>>9740025 'Hacker not journalist': Assange faces fresh allegations in US

 

>>9796975 Julian Assange: Indictment 'surprised' lawyers for WikiLeaks founder, UK court hears

>>9881804 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti appointed as France's new justice minister

>>9976932 Hactivist Group Leaks New Files on the Case Between the U.S. Government and Julian Assange

>>9976932 AssangeLeaks - DDoSecrets Announcement About This Folder

>>10062474 DNC Leaks 'Were Not Hacked' They Were Downloaded and Provided to WikiLeaks, NSA Whistleblower Says

>>10078533 WikiLeaks published 75,000 classified US military documents on the Afghanistan War 10 years ago

>>10098692 US attorney general may be using Assange case for political ends, court told

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:59 a.m. No.10099722   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 13

>>9955901, >>9955905 'Palace letters' between Sir John Kerr, Queen released, revealing information about Gough Whitlam and 1975 constitutional crisis

>>9955905 >>9997288 The Kerr Palace Letters exchanged between Governor-General Sir John Kerr and Buckingham Palace during Kerr’s time in office

>>9955965 Witnesses say Australian SAS soldiers were involved in mass shooting of unarmed Afghan civilians

>>9956031 Designer of a popular children’s app is accused of living a secret double life as a Peeping Tom paedophile

>>9956045 Grandfather, 52, is jailed after buying a toy from Kmart and converting it into a child sex doll

>>9966573, >>9966578, >>9966587 The Forgotten Coup Against ‘The Most Loyal Ally’ - Gough Whitlam, the Dismissal and the secret CIA presence in Australia

>>9966632 Paedophile's 'manifestly inadequate' jail sentence for Adelaide toilet block attack to be appealed

>>9970244 ‘DEEPLY DISTURBING’ Lifelike child sex dolls based on girls & toddlers that boast they’re 100% anatomically correct are on sale in Australia

>>9976661 Collective Shout Tweet: Alibaba.com sells child Sex Dolls. This one described as 148cm 4ft9" Dividable Skeleton Small Breast Young Girl Loli

>>9976661 Collective Shout Tweet: This #AlibabaChildSexDoll is the size of a 3 or 4 year old child…a replica of a little girl. Description "3 holes for man sex."

 

>>9976661 Collective Shout Media Release: Alibaba exposed for trade in child and baby sex abuse dolls

>>9976722 Collective Shout Media Release: Alibaba Group: Stop selling child sex abuse dolls

>>9976767, >>9976772 Why child sex dolls will not prevent child sexual abuse

>>9977021 Paedophile deported from Australia 'used UK as hunting ground'

>>9980434 Video: THINK YOU’RE NOT LENDING MONEY TO INSOLVENT BANKS? THINK AGAIN. | John Adams

>>9985681 Corporate watchdog ASIC accuses Clive Palmer of $12.5m fraud

>>9993850 Five Eyes to the fore: Australia takes a seat at global big table

>>9996093 Video: Keeping your kids safe online - AFP Commander ACCCE, Child Protection Operations and Human Trafficking Operations Jamie Strauss talks to Sunrise

>>9996156 Video: Florida Police Capture Runaway Kangaroo found hopping down the street - NowThis News

>>9996408 Rainbow Fairy Tweet: #QAnon sprayed on a water tank in Queensland, Australia

 

>>9997181 Q Post #4589 - https://nypost.com/2020/07/16/epstein-was-pinocchio-and-ghislaine-was-gepetto-accuser/

>>9997181 Q Post #4565 - Possible Epstein was a puppet [not the main person(s) of interest]? Financed by who or what [F] entities?

>>9997181 Epstein was ‘Pinocchio’ with ‘Gepetto’ Ghislaine pulling the strings, accuser says

>>9997264 Q Post #4588 - Do not give up the citizen investigation. Public awareness important [bypass of controlled [approved] topics].

>>9997264 QAnon John Tweet: You will NEVER look at your childhood the same again… #DumpDisney #ThesePeopleAreSick #QAnon

>>10002856 - Q Post #4590 - "This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019." At what point does it become painfully obvious?

>>10002856 Kevin Spacey accuser dies by suicide day after actor posts 'kill them with kindness' video (2019)

>>10002856 Video: KTWK - Kevin Spacey, Published on 24 Dec 2019

>>10018713 Video: TREASURY-ISLAND What Includes Australia

>>10019403 Q Post #4603 - ren·e·gade, a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.

 

>>10019692 Paedophile priest Vincent Ryan to walk free from jail tomorrow after serving less than half of a three-year sentence

>>10019736 China accuses Australia of becoming a 'US puppet' and warns Scott Morrison will be 'shooting himself in the foot' if he bans TikTok

>>10030258 Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton's first move gives anti-terror boss wider role in crime fight

>>10030521 Brett Mason Tweet: Pointed remarks from US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr

>>10030521 Brett Mason Tweet: US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr confirms he'll join Foreign Minister and Defence Minister for #AUSMIN talks

>>10034434 Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group Drilling with Australian, Japanese Ships in Philippine Sea

>>10041810 'We're going to need the Australians': Pompeo lays out contest with China

>>10041958 Sydney Black Lives Matter protest organisers say rally will proceed despite PM and premier's condemnation

>>10042003 Twitter to suspend conspiracy theory group QAnon accounts

>>10042071 Facebook encryption is contributing to child torture: Australian Federal Police

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 2:59 a.m. No.10099723   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 14

Australian / Regional Resignations Bun

>>9166682 Former National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) president David Wyner resigns from board

>>9166682 Equestrian Australia in turmoil as Ricky MacMillan quits

>>9426748 Westpac loses another top exec as Lyn Cobley retires

>>9426748 Former One Nation stalwart Jim Savage fires parting shots in resignation letter

>>9618908 Victorian Labor minister Adem Somyurek resigns following explosive branch stacking allegations

>>9618908 I sacked ‘deplorable’ Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek, says Victorian premier Daniel Andrews

>>9630095 Labor MP Robin Scott quits Victorian ministry in wake of Adem Somyurek branch-stacking scandal

>>9630095 Adem Somyurek scandal: Marlene Kairouz becomes third Victorian Labor minister to quit

 

>>9716144 Doug Tynan resigns from VGI Partners after 12 years

>>9716144 Speaker of Northern Territory parliament Kezia Purick resigns following damning report by corruption watchdog

>>9809420 CFA boss Steve Warrington resigns ahead of controversial fire services merger

>>9809420 Wirecard ANZ boss Karl Mohan exits as Germany’s Wirecard files for insolvency

>>9862070 Finance Minister Mathias Cormann to quit politics at the end of the year

>>9903272 South Australian magistrate Bob Harrap resigns following corruption charges

>>10019790 University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Peter Rathjen, subject of ICAC probe, resigns “due to ill health”

>>10019790 ME Bank CEO Jamie McPhee exits amid loan redraw furore

>>10089054 South Australian Premier Steven Marshall axes four of his frontbench

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 3 a.m. No.10099726   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#8 - Part 15

>>10052552 Australia hits out at Chinese hackers, as Pompeo urges global coalition against China

>>10052656 Bernard Collaery and Witness K - Secret trials: our judges need to resist the government's pressure

>>10062495 Chinese diplomat accused of spying operation in US used to work in Australia

>>10062914 Child abuse victim bottled up crimes after headmaster failed to take action, court told

>>10063039 Facebook accounts for up to 60% of child abuse reports to AFP, data shows

>>10063278 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: The @DeptofDefense is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Australian forces

>>10067449 Pete EVANS Tweet: Australia has officially notified China and the UN that it rejects all of China's territorial claims in South China Sea

>>10071120 Morrison Government declares Beijing's South China Sea claims 'illegal' at United Nations

>>10071243, >>10071252 US and Australia set to launch campaign to counter disinformation

>>10077311 Victims of BoysTown launch new legal action in lifelong battle for justice

>>10078496 Australia unwisely boards US leaky boat to meddle in South China Sea - Source: GlobalTimes.cn

 

>>10088737 Joe Biden win to strengthen US-Australia ties: Democratic plan

>>10088866 US columnist urges Trump honour Morrison

>>10088887 Shared courage against China: Why Australia deserves a second state visit

>>10089131 Black Lives Matter rally planned for Sydney still illegal after NSW Supreme Court dismisses appeal

>>10089258, >>10089266 Despite the polls, wobbly Joe is not home and hosed yet - Alexander Downer

>>10089369 President Donald Trump Tweet: Nice! - Retweeting Akki @akkitwts video: This is the best thing you'll see today

>>10089369 (1997) Mark Philippoussis wins but 14-year-old ballgirl Amy Kavanagh steals the show

>>10090698 Anon rails against OUTSPOKEN DIMWITS RUINING THE MESSAGE - "You’re not doing the cause any favours."

>>10099270 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: Australia and the United States maintain an unbreakable alliance

>>10099270 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Thank you @EsperDoD for your welcome and our productive discussion

>>10099430 U.S. Department of State Tweet: The U.S.–Australia relationship is an admirable example of how two countries can work together

>>10099430 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: Thank you for the warm welcome @SecPompeo as we navigate significant strategic challenges

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 3:01 a.m. No.10099730   🗄️.is 🔗kun

PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED NOTABLES

Q Research AUSTRALIA #8

https://pastebin.com/hBYe3Rw5

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #7

https://pastebin.com/s0S4vp4V

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #6

https://pastebin.com/iLEFtwAA

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #5

https://pastebin.com/xjZwJ2Yz

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #4

https://pastebin.com/C4iL3ubL

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #3

https://pastebin.com/kUJFL7HP

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #2

https://pastebin.com/0BfaKkYm

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #1

https://pastebin.com/WiJa8rE0

 

THREAD ARCHIVES

Q Research AUSTRALIA #8

http://archive.vn/jbV2S

 

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http://archive.vn/YT76p

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #6

http://archive.ph/DGknZ

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #5

https://archive.ph/vlHWs

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #4

https://archive.is/B0Z4l

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #3

http://archive.fo/xznbY

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #2

http://archive.fo/hlJ0W

 

Q Research AUSTRALIA #1

http://archive.fo/vJ8oH

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 3:22 a.m. No.10099807   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2856 >>3329 >>4830

Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert transferred to ‘worst female prison in world’

 

University of Melbourne lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been suddenly transferred from the notorious Evin prison in Tehran to what is described as one of the worst female prisons in the world — Qarchak prison.

 

Reza Khandan, the husband of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh who is incarcerated in Evin prison for her human rights activism, posted to his social media account that Ms Moore-Gilbert was transferred to Qarchak for “punishment reasons” earlier this week.

 

The transfer is a serious setback for Ms Moore-Gilbert as coronavirus is rife through the Qarchak prison and there are only minute supplies of soap which are sold to the prisoners at inflated prices.

 

Like the Evin prison, Qarchak is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Intelligence Organization and last month the US Department of State listed Qarchak as an entity responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognised human rights.

 

Ms Moore-Gilbert has been in jail for nearly two years, having been sentenced to ten years jail for spying. In September 2018, she was arrested at Tehran airport as she was about to fly home to Melbourne following an academic tour of Iran.

 

Mr Khandan said Ms Moore-Gilbert was able to contact him to say of the new jail: “The conditions are very bad I cannot eat anything, I am very disappointed, I am so very depressed.’’

 

Ms Moore-Gilbert told Mr Khandan she had last spoken to her family about a month ago.

 

Qarchak prison is in the desert to the east of Tehran and holds more than 2000 female prisoners, but has only 600 beds. Political prisoners are held in the same area as those who have committed violent crimes.

 

The prison is seriously overcrowded with poor sanitation. Head lice is controlled by shaving the heads of prisoners and washing them with bleach.

 

Last month Ms Moore-Gilbert was reported to have been beaten by Evin guards because she had defied the authorities by humming. As well as the beatings she may have been drugged to make her more compliant.

 

Mr Khandan has been trying to monitor the health of various political prisoners after his wife was jailed for 38 years in 2019 for defending female prisoners.

 

He said earlier this year that Ms Moore-Gilbert’s situation “is absolutely unbearable and would destroy anyone’s soul and mind, and we don’t know what has happened to her in these past two years’’.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australian-academic-kylie-mooregilbert-transferred-to-worst-female-prison-in-world/news-story/1e37ec1882baa0522f80aea2c24d1a1a

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 11:08 a.m. No.10104103   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Foreign affairs and Defence Ministers meet US counterparts | 9 News Australia

 

Published on 28 Jul 2020

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia will not be swayed by America when it comes to protecting our national interests as crucial talks begin in Washington DC.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCacEwVbaPM

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 6:35 p.m. No.10109324   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0332 >>4919

Courtney Love Cobain Tweet

 

Hey . About my name in Epstein’s address book , it’s creepy as fuck that I’m in that thing I agree. I didn’t know him , never met him , didn’t know who he was. Apparently he collected celebrity phone numbers. The end . Hope he burns in Avici hell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Av%C4%ABci

 

https://twitter.com/Courtney/status/1287880759202570240

 

 

Sarah @dearsarah

 

Courtney Love says she hopes Epstein "burns in hell" after her name is found in his address book https://flip.it/2GCIG7 She denies knowing Epstein….but not Ghislaine (who, given how many of her Uni friends are in it, was the initial author of the black book).Why not be honest?

 

https://twitter.com/dearsarah/status/1288005026435043328

 

 

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

 

Hmmmm From what #Epstein told me its a completely different story. Everyone has there own narrative it seems. Just tell the truth- very important for survivors to have all the gaps fillled in so we can ALL seek the justice we deserve. @Courtney

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1288105162125398017

 

 

Courtney Love says she hopes Jeffrey Epstein “burns in hell” after her name is found in his address book

 

Courtney Love has said she hoped disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein “burned in hell” after she discovered that her name was found in his address book.

 

Epstein died at a Manhattan jail last year while awaiting trial on alleged sexual assault and trafficking charges of underage girls.

 

Taking to Twitter, Love wrote: “Hey. About my name in Epstein’s address book, it’s creepy as fuck that I’m in that thing I agree. I didn’t know him, never met him, didn’t know who he was. Apparently he collected celebrity phone numbers. The end. Hope he burns in Avici hell.”

 

A four part docu-series, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, was recently released on Netflix which detailed firsthand accounts of some of the women who spoke out against Epstein.

 

Describing the series, Netflix said: “Leading up to his 2019 arrest, mysterious tycoon Jeffrey Epstein was accused of abusing women and underage girls for decades, assembling a network of enablers to help carry out and cover up his crimes.

 

“Epstein came from humble beginnings yet managed to lie and manipulate his way to the top of the financial world. He eventually gained tremendous wealth and power while running an international sex trafficking ring.

 

“With their frightening firsthand accounts, Epstein’s accusers are the leading voices in director Lisa Bryant’s four-part docuseries Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.

 

“By revealing their emotional scars, some for the very first time, the sisterhood of survivors intend to stop predators — and the American justice system — from silencing the next generation.”

 

https://www.nme.com/news/music/courtney-love-says-she-hopes-jeffrey-epstein-burns-in-hell-after-her-name-is-found-in-his-address-book-2716557

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 7:45 p.m. No.10109918   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5258 >>4830

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet

 

Today’s #AUSMIN2020 meeting is underway with an ambitious agenda. @MarisePayne and I are looking forward to working with our American friends @EsperDoD @SecPompeo to ensure our Alliance is postured to respond to the challenges and opportunities in our region.

 

https://twitter.com/lindareynoldswa/status/1288101832661729280

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 7:52 p.m. No.10109998   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5695 >>4830

US praises Australia for not 'bowing' to China

 

China topped the agenda at AUSMIN with the US and Australian delegations discussing freedom of navigation, electronic warfare and hypersonic technology.

 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has praised Australia for standing up to China despite "coercive pressure from the Chinese Communist Party to bow to Beijing's wishes".

 

Mr Pompeo and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in Washington DC on Tuesday for the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations.

 

The US and Australia committed to pursue increased and regular "maritime cooperation" in the South China Sea and deepen defence science technology cooperation on hypersonic, electronic warfare and space-based capabilities.

 

"We started this morning by talking at length about the Chinese Communist Party's malign activity in the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed all around the world," Mr Pompeo said at a press conference.

 

"The United States commends the Morrison government for standing up for democratic values and the rule of law despite intense, continued coercive pressure from the Chinese Communist Party to bow to Beijing's wishes.

 

"It is unacceptable for Beijing to use exports, or student fees as a cudgel against Australia.

 

"We stand with our Australian friends."

 

The US and Australian delegations agreed to the potential expansion of US Marine rotational force joint training exercises in Darwin to include additional partners and allies.

 

The US and Australia also intend to strengthen supply chains by establishing a US-funded commercially operated strategic military fuel reserve in Darwin.

 

Ms Payne said Australia has no intention of injuring its relationship with China.

 

"We are very different countries, we are very different systems, and it's the points on which we disagree that we should be able to articulate in a mature and sensible way," Ms Payne said.

 

Ms Reynolds and Dr Esper signed a statement of principles on defence cooperation and force posture priorities in the Indo-Pacific to drive Australian-US shared interests for the next decade.

 

"This includes hypersonics, electronic warfare and space-based capabilities," Ms Reynolds said.

 

Ms Reynolds confirmed freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea was discussed and Australia's "long history of transiting through the region" will continue.

 

"Our approach remains consistent," Ms Reynolds said.

 

Dr Esper did not specifically answer when a journalist asked if the US and Australia discussed deploying additional US troops or intermediate range missiles on Australian soil.

 

"We had a very wide ranging discussion about the capabilities that the United States possesses and the capabilities Australia possesses, and our desire to advance them whether they are hypersonics or any other type of capability," he said.

 

"And I think it's important as we think forward about how do we deter bad behaviour in the Indo-Pacific and how we defend the international rules based order, in this case specifically with regard to China."

 

Ms Payne and Ms Reynolds will undergo 14 days of quarantine when they return to Australia in case they picked up COVID-19 during the AUSMIN trip.

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/us-praises-australia-for-not-bowing-to-china

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 7:56 p.m. No.10110039   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5695 >>4830

Australia backs US bid to rally democracies against China

 

The Morrison government has swung its support behind the Trump administration's push to forge a new alliance of democracies to counter China's muscular ambitions, saying it could be built on the close Australia-US relationship.

 

At the annual AUSMIN meeting in Washington, the quartet of Australian and US foreign and defence ministers also said they'd step up cooperation on developing new defence technologies in areas such as hypersonics, establish a US strategic military fuel reserve in Darwin, and create a joint taskforce to counter harmful disinformation.

 

"We will use the Australia-US alliance as the basis to deepen our friendship with others," Foreign Minister Marise Payne told the post-AUSMIN press conference on Wednesday morning (AEST).

 

"We will build new groupings, cementing friendships, improving our security through a network of nations that share our vision of an open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific."

 

Her comments came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week called for "a new grouping of like-minded nations … a new alliance of democracies" to "change communist China".

 

But she also used the press conference to underline the independence of Australian foreign policy, which is sometimes at odds with that of the increasingly belligerent and intractable Trump administration.

 

"We have a demonstrable track record of making decisions in our own national interest," she said. "We don't agree on everything - that's part of a respectful relationship."

 

Mr Pompeo showered praise on the Australian ministers for accepting the risk of coronavirus and the burden of quarantine to travel to Washington and hold the talks face to face.

 

"Not many partners would do that for us," he told the joint press conference as he lauded the "unbreakable alliance" and feted Australia's toughness in standing up to China's "intense and continued" political and economic intimidation.

 

Mr Pompeo said the four ministers' discussion on China had been "at length", and had particularly focused on the threat from Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and ZTE.

 

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Defence Secretary Mark Esper were pressed on whether the American side had urged the Australians to step up their activity in the South China Sea, or to host US offensive weaponry on Australian soil.

 

Both side-stepped the question, with Mr Esper vowing the pair would defend the international rules-based order and Senator Reynolds saying Australia would remain consistent in its pattern of law-abiding transits through the contested waters.

 

Deeper defence ties

 

Senator Reynolds said she and Mr Esper had signed a statement of principles "on alliance defence cooperation and on force posture priorities in the Indo-Pacific", which would "drive the next decade of our defence cooperation".

 

A US-funded, commercially operated strategic military fuel reserve would be set up in Darwin, and the two countries' defence science establishments would work more closely on hypersonics, electronic warfare and space-based capabilities.

 

"This will ensure the alliance maintains its capability edge in a rapidly modernising environment, … [and] strengthen our interoperability and also our shared resilience," Senator Reynolds said.

 

Senator Payne said the US State Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade would set up a joint working group to "monitor and respond to harmful disinformation".

 

She didn't offer any details about the kinds of disinformation, or which countries' information operations would be targeted.

 

Senator Payne was asked to comment on the growing strategic tension between US and China, and again sought to play up Australia's independent stance.

 

"The relationship that we have with China is important and we have no intention of injuring it," she said. "But nor do we intend to do things that are contrary to our interests."

 

She also offered a shout-out to the multilateral institutions that are regarded with deep suspicion by the Trump administration.

 

"The role of multilateral institutions is more important now than ever in supporting our values and strategic objectives as the world responds to the health and economic challenges of COVID-19," she said.

 

The ministers said they'd discussed strengthening health security in the Indo-Pacific, to help other countries detect, prevent and respond to infectious diseases, including getting access to vaccines.

 

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/australia-backs-us-bid-to-rally-democracies-against-china-20200729-p55gdp

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 8:03 p.m. No.10110133   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

AUSMIN a thrilling, unexpected triumph for White House

 

This AUSMIN meeting was a triumph for the Trump administration which was rightly thrilled and probably a little surprised that Australia agreed to the White House’s request to come to Washington.

 

At this volatile moment in history, Australia has become the model ally for which the US is looking when it comes to confronting a rising and increasingly belligerent China.

 

The face-to-face annual AUSMIN meeting and press conference between the respective foreign and defence ministers – Mike Pompeo, Mark Esper, Marise Payne and Linda Reynolds – gave the administration the chance to loudly tout what Australia has done on China and in doing so, send a message to other US allies to copy Canberra’s lead.

 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a series of recent speeches, has been pleading with more democratic allies to stand up to Beijing, even if it hurts them economically.

 

From Washington’s perspective, Australia has ticked all of these boxes and more.

 

It even led the US in banning Huawei and introducing foreign interference legislation several years ago.

 

More recently, the Morrison government has won plaudits in Washington for its call for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

 

In the face of persistent threats and intimidation from Beijing, the government this month boldly declared China’s absurd and hegemonic territorial claims in the South China Sea to be illegal.

 

It has also angered Beijing by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and offering citizenship options in Australia for residents of Hong Kong in response to China’s push to remove freedoms and human rights protections.

 

Each of these moves have led to threats of reprisals – sometimes implemented – from an increasingly angry Beijing. But they have been carefully watched and warmly welcomed by the US which views China through a dramatically different lens than it did just a few years ago.

 

During this US election China is under attack from both sides of politics in the US. It has no friends in Washington.

 

Donald Trump, who has waged a long and still unfinished trade war with Beijing, sees China as largely to blame for the coronavirus which has destroyed the US economy and severely harmed his chances of re-election.

 

His administration, led by Pompeo, has clashed with Beijing over Huawei, over its unfair trading practices and over its cyber warfare amongst numerous other issues.

 

It has tried to call China out over these many issues but has been frustrated by the sometimes tepid support it has received from many other allies, particularly in Europe.

 

Which is why Washington is so pleased that Australia has been willing to openly call Beijing out on some of these issues despite the obvious risk of economic reprisal.

 

Australia is not saying whether it will take the next step in challenging Beijing by joining the US Navy in freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.

 

For now that may be a step too far, especially as China policy in the US becomes increasingly politicised as the US election creeps closer.

 

But at the AUSMIN press conference, Pompeo and Esper’s comments contained more ‘thank you’s’ than a wedding speech as they rattled off the list of Australian efforts to hold China accountable for its behaviour.

 

This was an AUSMIN meeting that went beyond the usual platitudes because both countries are so deeply engaged right now with the question of China.

 

Among the thanks you’s was the fact that two Cabinet ministers, two department secretaries and the CDF amongst others now have two weeks quarantine to face upon their return.

 

So was it worth the trip? The Americans certainly think so.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/ausmin-a-thrilling-unexpected-triumph-for-donald-trump/news-story/c723387a88f0d25fafee6efeadd275ac

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 28, 2020, 8:36 p.m. No.10110632   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Sydney man accused of sexually exploiting a NZ girl

 

A 23-year-old Sydney man accused of sexually exploiting a young New Zealand girl he groomed through social media has been charged by Australian Federal Police (AFP) after an international tip-off.

 

The man is expected to face Parramatta Local Court today (29 July 2020) charged with using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person aged under 16, contrary to section 474.27A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

 

He faces a maximum seven years’ imprisonment if convicted.

 

The AFP’s NSW Child Protection Operations (CPO) team launched an investigation after New Zealand Police reported suspicions that a man in Sydney had posed as a child to send sexually explicit messages to a young girl in NZ and had coerced her into sending photographs to him.

 

Police identified the 23-year-old man as the suspected user of the social media account and a warrant was executed at his suburban Sydney home on Wednesday, 3 June (2020).

 

A computer and phone were seized which police allege contains child abuse material, including records of sexualised online conversations with young girls.

 

AFP Commander Kirsty Schofield, Investigations Eastern Command, said the arrest highlights the AFP’s close partnership with NZ Police.

 

“Australian and NZ Police stand together in protecting our young people from this abhorrent crime,” Commander Schofield said.

 

“It is disgusting that adults trawl online platforms to try to engage children in sexualised conversations or to send intimate images, and the distress and harm it causes children is irreparable.

 

“We work tirelessly with our partners to stamp out this behaviour and prosecute anyone who preys on children – whether that’s online or through physical contact.”

 

Commander Schofield hopes the allegations in this case will also be a reminder that cyber security is an important conversation for families to have.

 

“It is important that children feel comfortable talking to adults if they are worried about someone who has contacted them online and not share anything online that they would not tell anyone else about.”

 

Last year, the AFP's Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received almost 17,000 reports of child exploitation – that’s about 45 cases a day.

 

Between July 2019 and May 2020, the AFP has laid 1078 Commonwealth Child Exploitation charges against 144 people. It compares to 74 summons and arrests; and 372 charges laid in the previous financial year.

 

The average number of images seized when an offender is arrested has been steadily increasing. In the early-to-mid 2000s, a child sex predator had about 1000 images, now it’s between 10,000 to 80,000 images and videos.

 

The annual report of the Internet Watch Foundation stated that in 2019 it assessed a webpage every two minutes. And every four minutes that webpage showed a child being sexually abused.

 

“If it takes a village to raise a child, advances in technology now means it takes a country to keep them safe,” Commander Schofield said. “The AFP will never relinquish this duty.

 

“The AFP is working around-the-clock with our international and domestic partners to bring to justice those who seek to do harm to our children.”

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report

 

Editor’s note: Footage of the arrest is available here https://spaces.hightail.com/space/fqsoNTwqJ9

 

Note to media:

 

USE OF TERM 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL, NOT 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'

 

Use of the phrase "child pornography" benefits child sex abusers because it:

 

* indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

 

* conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

 

Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not "pornography".

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/sydney-man-accused-sexually-exploiting-nz-girl

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:05 a.m. No.10115695   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10109998

>>10110039

Repost from Q Research General #12945

 

>>10114785 (pb)

 

Didn't see this in notables. Thought someone might like watching. Australia + US = Allies vs CCP.

 

Secretary Pompeo Holds a Joint Press Availability

 

U.S. Department of State

 

Published on 28 Jul 2020

 

July 28, 2020 - Secretary Michael R. Pompeo holds a joint press availability with Secretary of Defense Esper, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, at the Department of State.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVhjI_d29Kk

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:04 p.m. No.10122402   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Melbourne earthquake felt by hundreds of people across the eastern suburbs

 

Residents across Melbourne's east have reported feeling shaking and a loud blast after a small earthquake was recorded in the area.

 

Geoscience Australia confirmed there was a Magnitude 2.2 tremor at 7:08pm near Pakenham, about 60 kilometres south-east of the CBD.

 

Hundreds of people across the eastern suburbs, from Nar Nar Goon to Croydon, reported feeling the tremor.

 

Olinda resident Suzie Leach said she was watching a TV series with her husband when she heard a "sonic boom" coming from the east.

 

"Although we did not feel reverberations, we heard them afterwards for quite a few seconds," she told the ABC.

 

"We went outside. It was unnaturally still and silent. We wondered if it was an earthquake, or if a truck had hit a tree."

 

Ben Beattie felt the earthquake from Boronia, about 35 kilometres from Pakenham.

 

"It sounded like a loud rumble rolling in from the distance, almost train like," he said.

 

"The windows started shaking and then the couch started to shake too."

 

Blasting noise likely rocks breaking below the earth's surface

 

In the locality of Kallista, near the Dandenong Ranges National Park, Linda Jones also reported feeling the earth shake.

 

"Heard a bang and rumble and the ground shook for a few seconds," she said.

 

Senior seismologist with Geoscience Australia Trevor Allen said hearing a boom or "blasting noise" during an earthquake was common.

 

"It may be a noise that's resulting from the rocks actually breaking beneath the surface, and that transmits to the surface of the earth as soundwaves," he said.

 

Dr Allen said it was difficult to know what exactly triggered the earthquake.

 

But he said tremors were not uncommon in the Pakenham area.

 

"On average we tend to get an earthquake of around about Magnitude 2 every year in the region, going back 20 years," he said.

 

He said Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley areas in the south-east of the state were among the active earthquake areas in Australia.

 

As of 8:30pm no damage from the earthquake had been reported, Victoria's State Emergency Service said.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-29/melbourne-earthquake-causes-shaking-sound-across-east/12505320

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:10 p.m. No.10122451   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Resignations in the news

 

Labor adviser Marcus Ganley ‘quit after sex claim’

 

A senior adviser working for Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong left his job after being accused by a female party member of serious misconduct.

 

Marcus Ganley, Senator Wong’s chief of staff, left his position in February after a formal complaint alleging sexual harassment was made to Anthony Albanese’s ­office earlier that month.

 

Mr Ganley, who now works in a senior position at the ACT’s Chief Minister Directorate, denied the allegations and said his reasons for leaving were “clear to the people who need to know”.

 

Multiple sources told The Australian that the alleged incident took place at a private Adelaide event in early February.

 

The Labor leader’s office intervened days after being notified of the complaint, sources with ­detailed knowledge of the discussions said.

 

Mr Ganley, a New Zealander, came to some prominence in 2017 after being outed as the Labor staffer who had informal discussions with New Zealand Labour MP Chris Hipkins about the section 44 constitutional crisis roiling the Turnbull government.

 

Mr Hipkins subsequently raised queries about Australian dual citizens during parliamentary questions, leading to a sharp rebuke from Julie Bishop.

 

“I would find it very hard to build trust with those involved in allegations designed to undermine the government of Australia,” Ms Bishop, the then foreign minister, said at the time.

 

Mr Ganley resigned from Senator Wong’s office in the sitting week starting February 10 after speaking to her and the Opposition Leader’s chief of staff, Tim Gartrell, sources familiar with the conversation said.

 

Senator Wong told Mr Ganley she had lost confidence in his ability to run her office.

 

Mr Ganley departed later that day, but told colleagues he was taking sick leave.

 

His exit was announced to Labor staff the following week.

 

The Australian is not suggesting the allegation is true, only that the complaint was made.

 

The Australian has chosen not to reveal the identity of the complainant to protect her privacy.

 

A spokesman for Mr Albanese said the complaint had been “resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant”. “We will not comment further on this matter out of respect for the privacy of the complainant,” he said.

 

There was no investigation and few in federal Labor circles are aware of the reason behind Mr Ganley’s sudden departure.

 

To complicate matters, Mr Ganley’s partner is employed as an adviser in Mr Albanese’s office.

 

One female Labor MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, praised Mr Albanese’s office for the handling of the complaint. She said the MeToo movement, which has embroiled the entertainment industry and the judiciary, had largely ignored political advisers in parliament.

 

Last year, two female Liberal staffers alleged they were sexually assaulted while working for senior politicians. One woman worked for a federal minister and said another parliamentary staffer pinned her down and ripped off her underpants during a sitting week in 2015.

 

The second was a former adviser in the office of the NSW Speaker, who said another Liberal Party member had come to her house and forced himself on her while masturbating.

 

Thomas Mooney took over as Senator Wong’s chief of staff in February, after serving as deputy for the previous year.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/labor-adviser-marcus-ganley-quit-after-sex-claim/news-story/f6b860491751dab740f9d808a691d33c

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:33 p.m. No.10122611   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2630 >>4892

Dassi Erlich Tweet

 

Head judge Yitzhak Amit told the defence, “Some of the things that happened with this case have never taken place in the history of the establishment of the state of Israel".

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1288436146674884608

 

 

Latest Malka Leifer appeal in Israel heard in secret

 

Accused paedophile Malka Leifer's appeal against an order for her to stand trial for extradition to Australia has been heard behind closed doors in Israel.

 

A panel of three judges in Israel's Supreme Court granted the request of the former Melbourne Orthodox school principal's defence team to hold the proceedings in a closed court, expelling members of the press and permitting only advocates of the three alleged victims and Ms Leifer's family, including two siblings and her son, to be present.

 

"When you're dealing with the medical issues of a person under the mental health act, that person is entitled to secrecy and therefore the hearings were held behind closed doors," defence lawyer Nick Kaufman said.

 

Despite protests from the prosecution, Ms Leifer, who had appeared on screen via video conference from prison with her head bowed for the start of the hearing, was also dismissed from the hearing when the court was closed.

 

The appeal takes place two months after a Jerusalem court decided that Ms Leifer, who is facing 74 charges of sexually assaulting female students at the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel school in Elsternwick, is mentally competent to stand trial for extradition to Australia.

 

Judge Yitzhak Amit told the defence that the number of appeals was unprecedented even among the most high-profile murder trials. Wednesday marked the case's 70th hearing.

 

"Some of the things that happened with this case have never taken place in the history of the establishment of the state of Israel," he said.

 

Yet the defence was optimistic that the Supreme Court had heard their arguments, with lawyer Yehuda Fried saying outside court that Israel's highest court authority had listened to their arguments and "understands that there is a problem here".

 

Leifer's defence claims the Jerusalem district court decision in May that she was faking illness to avoid extradition was "unreasonable", in light of the fact that she is receiving treatment from the Israeli prison service including daily taking anti-psychotic drugs.

 

Due to the secrecy of the hearing, the prosecution was unable to comment on what took place inside court, but lawyer Ayelet Rivner-Oron said they were hopeful the court would deny the appeal. "We hope we will be able to proceed with her extradition to Australia," she said.

 

The three sisters accusing Ms Leifer of child abuse, Eli Sapper, Nicole Myer and Dassi Erlich, released a statement on Facebook calling the trial a "never-ending quest for justice". Ms Erlich stated that the sisters "hope to see Leifer in Australia before the 80th court date".

 

In a statement to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald outside the court, Manny Waks, a prominent activist against child sexual abuse, said he believed Ms Leifer would be on a plane back to Australia very soon.

 

"The due process is part of it, but it is very clear what the decision is going to be," he said.

 

If Ms Leifer's appeals to the Supreme Court fail, her fate will be decided on September 21 in an extradition hearing at a Jerusalem court. According to her lawyers, the Supreme Court will give its decision on this "complex" appeal in a month's time.

 

Ms Leifer fled to Israel in 2008 after the allegations first emerged. The process to extradite her has stalled several times since charges were laid in 2013.

 

Premier Daniel Andrews met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018, telling him the only just outcome was for Ms Leifer to face a jury of her peers.

 

Adass Israel girls' school was ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in damages to Dassi Erlich in 2015.

 

In 2016, an Israeli judge found Ms Leifer mentally unfit to face extradition to Australia and she was set free. But she was arrested in February 2018 after a private investigation revealed that she was leading a "normal life" and going about normal daily activities in the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Emmanuel.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/latest-malka-leifer-appeal-in-israel-to-be-heard-in-secret-20200729-p55gqr.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:35 p.m. No.10122630   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4892

>>10122611

Dassi Erlich Tweets

 

#Courtdate70 came & went like it wasn't the 70th hearing in this neverending quest for justice.

 

Even head judge Yitzhak Amit told the defence that the number of appeals was unprecedented even among the most high-profile murder trials….

 

1/2

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1288460737363374082

 

 

“Some of the things that happened with this case have never taken place in the history of the establishment of the state of Israel,”

This statement from a Supreme court judge felt validating.

Expect a decision on this mental fitness appeal before extradition ruling Sept 21

2/2

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1288460739334684672

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:58 p.m. No.10122782   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2790 >>4997

QAnon: The online cult that is a danger in the real world

 

David Aaronovitch - Thursday, July 30, 2020

 

1/2

 

Earlier this month, General Michael Flynn, former director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency and national security adviser, took an al fresco oath of loyalty with family and friends and posted it on Twitter, using the hashtag TakeTheOath. At the end of the oath, they vowed, in a phrase that sounds like an overtranslation from The Three Musketeers: “Where we go one, we go all.”

 

Readers may not know what many of those reading, retweeting or “liking” the general’s video know: that the phrase and the hashtag indicate his support for an online conspiracy theory network that is becoming a cult. It’s known as QAnon. You’ll see its supporters at rallies for Donald Trump, and if you look for its #WWG1WGA abbreviation online you’ll find tens of thousands of references. YouTube offers a cornucopia of QAnon videos. A full range of QAnon merchandise featuring the letter Q and, often, a rabbit is available at all good Amazon sites near you. There are even QAnon candidates in US elections. The president of the United States retweets contributions from QAnon activists.

 

A decade ago I published a book about modern conspiracy theories. I had studied dozens of them, from the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion (guess who the infernal plotters were in that one), to “9/11 was an inside job”, via the hidden bloodline of Christ. On the way I looked at “the government is poisoning us” memes, baby sacrifice themes, beliefs in a secret world government, Manchurian candidates, Obama being an undercover Kenyan, accusations that the Clintons had taken to murdering their aides and that the Queen is actually running the world’s banks. All were absurd but some were actually demented. Now imagine one gigantic, compendium theory which puts all of these together – that’s QAnon.

 

It emerged in 2016 with the release via WikiLeaks of emails from the Democratic National Committee. References in the emails to “pizza” were taken by self-styled online researchers to mean child pornography. This led to a belief worthy of Labour’s former deputy leader Tom Watson that there was an establishment cover-up of violent and even murderous child abuse by prominent Democrats.

 

Not long afterwards people came across an online bulletin put out by someone calling themselves “Q”, which purported to be the account by a US intelligence insider of a battle between the deep state (baby slayers, kleptocratic bankers, election stealers, mainstream media shills, the Pope etc) and dissident forces. The battle had not yet been fully joined but the day of reckoning was coming. And soon, a comment by the newly elected Donald Trump that “maybe it’s the calm before the storm” was taken as a sign that he was to lead the dissidents against the forces of evil. “What’s the storm?” he was asked. “You’ll find out,” he replied.

 

Once a phenomenon on the fringes of the internet, the QAnon movement moved mainstream onto Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The latter was facilitated by the algorithm which recommended videos to users of the platform. So in the same way that I get Marianne Faithfull recommended if I’ve asked for The Dubliners, so people looking at Princess Diana videos might end up with QAnon, and down the rabbit hole they went. (Remember the rabbit?)

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 29, 2020, 11:58 p.m. No.10122790   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10122782

 

2/2

 

Within weeks of being established, some of the best-populated QAnon sites were pulling in several million visits per month. Millions more watched the YouTube videos. There was a Q App (it’s gone now). There are Facebook groups with tens of thousands of members, many of them outside the US, not a few from Britain. People share a camaraderie as evidenced by that slogan (which they love to repeat), reveal to each other that Michelle Obama is actually a man, praise each other for being part of the Great Awakening and predict “The Coming Storm”.

 

And this was even before the pandemic, which they call, of course, the Plandemic. This week President Trump retweeted something from the “Where we go one, we go all” brother of Michael Flynn, who was promoting as a “fearless warrior for the truth” a doctor who was in turn promoting the virtues of hydroxychloroquine and the uselessness of face masks. This doctor also believes that infertility is caused by demonic spirits.

 

Up till now people have described QAnon as a conspiracy theory but increasingly I’ve come to think that it’s something else. There are many reports of people of all ages effectively giving up family and friends to stay with their online community. Many are older and plenty of them are women (which is unusual). The commitment is to the group and to its beliefs. Anecdotally, in America at least, many of its adherents appear to be the kind of middle-class people who have lost out since the crash of 2008: subprime mortgage victims and the recently unemployed. People who feel powerless but need to believe that somewhere there’s some meaning to it all.

 

I think QAnon is our first online cult – a kind of cyber-Jonestown – without a leader, but with sufficient diffuse momentum to generate its own direction. This has been assisted by Facebook’s decision a couple of years ago to try to support “meaningful social interaction” in Facebook communities. After all, one girl’s meaningful social interaction is another boy’s Hitler Jugend. I think it entirely possible that such groups will be able to move beyond cyberspace.

 

The language of QAnon is of soldiers and warriors fighting battles against evil. It wouldn’t take much for some of those soldiers to think that this fight badly needs to be taken to the physical world. Indeed it would be astonishing if they didn’t. Already there have been several instances of armed QAnon supporters being arrested while carrying weapons. A murder in New York last year of a Mafia boss was carried out by a young man claiming that he was attacking the “deep state”. The FBI is worried that QAnon could yet supply its own Anders Breivik, the far-right mass murderer who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.

 

This being 2020, Twitter has recently taken action to remove 7,000 of the most egregious QAnon accounts, but there’s not much that can be done about the more sophisticated and fastest-mutating ones. YouTube has changed its algorithm and partly blocked the rabbit hole. Facebook is still working on its response.

 

But what is a poor platform to do when the people most effectively spreading this stuff are elected world leaders and three-star generals? The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our sites but in ourselves.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/qanon-the-online-cult-that-is-a-danger-in-the-real-world/news-story/254d61eb32ec728e6181e6a9d9e33ee6

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 12:12 a.m. No.10122856   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2876 >>6706 >>4830

>>10099807

Federal Government seeks access to jailed Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who's been moved to new prison in Iran

 

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says it is seeking access to jailed Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, after she was moved to a new prison in Iran.

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer at Melbourne University, has already served two years at Tehran's Evin prison after being convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

 

On Tuesday, a DFAT spokesperson said Iran had confirmed she had been moved from Evin to Qarchak prison, east of the capital.

 

The spokesperson said Australia held Iran responsible for Ms Moore-Gilbert's "safety and well-being" and was "urgently seeking access" to her.

 

"Dr Moore-Gilbert's case is one of the Australian Government's highest priorities, including for our embassy officials in Tehran," the spokesperson said.

 

The statement confirms previous claims from Iranian activist, Reza Khandan, who wrote on a Facebook post that Dr Moore-Gilbert had been transferred to Qarchak prison two days ago as punishment.

 

He also claimed to have spoken to Dr Moore-Gilbert over the phone.

 

He said she told him she "can't eat anything" and is "very depressed" and had last spoken to her family a month ago.

 

Mr Khandan said Qarchak prison only housed prisoners convicted of murder, drug trafficking and financial crimes.

 

DFAT said the ambassador to Iran recently visited Dr Moore-Gilbert in Evin prison, where she had telephone contact with her family and the ambassador over the past several months.

 

"I am not a spy"

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert is a Middle East expert at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute, specialising in the Arab Gulf states. She has also studied at the University of Cambridge in England.

 

Earlier this year, in extracts of multiple handwritten letters smuggled out of prison — published by The Guardian and Times of London — she said she had never been a spy and feared for her mental health.

 

"I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country. When I leave Iran, I want to be a free woman and live a free life, not under the shadow of extortion and threats," one of the letters said.

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert also wrote to her "case manager" in the letter, "please accept this letter as an official and definitive rejection of your offer to me to work with the intelligence branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps", the Guardian reported.

 

"Under no circumstances will I be persuaded to change my decision."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-28/dfat-seeks-access-to-kylie-moore-gilbert-jailed-in-iran/12500978

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 12:18 a.m. No.10122876   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10122856

Influential UK MP lashes ‘hostage takers’ over detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert

 

An influential British Conservative MP has lashed Iran for their “hostage-taking’’ of Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

 

Tom Tugendhat, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairman has made the first significant political criticism of Iran in relation to the incarceration of Dr Moore-Gilbert, who was sentenced to a ten years jail in 2018 on spying charges.

 

The Australian revealed on Monday that Dr Moore-Gilbert has been moved from solitary confinement in Evin prison to the desert jail hellhole of Qarchak, outside Tehran. She was able to make contact with Reza Khandan, the husband of fellow Evin detainee Nasrin Sotoudeh, to tell him of the transfer.

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert told him: “I can’t eat anything. I feel so very hopeless. I am so depressed.” She also spoke about being unable to make contact with her family in Australia because she is not allowed a phone card to make international calls.

 

Mr Tugendhat tweeted in response to a report about Dr Moore-Gilbert on Wednesday, saying: “Hostage taking has no place in diplomacy. The world needs to realise what the Iranian government is doing and who is covering up mass human rights violations.’’

 

But the intervention of Mr Tugendhat drew swift condemnation from Iran’s ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad, who accused him of a “level of hatred towards Tehran that was beyond imagination”.

 

Mr Baeidinejad insisted the former Army officer’s military record in Afghanistan and Iraq had resulted in a “deep misconception” of Iran.

 

“He never stops attacking Iran and has deep misconception regarding Iran’s regional policies, which possibly was generated from his earlier association in the Army in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Mr Baeidinejad said.

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert, who is in her early 30s, has dual Australian and British nationality. She grew up in Bathurst NSW and studied at Cambridge University before joining the University of Melbourne.

 

Her arrest came in September 2018 when she was about to board a flight from Tehran back to Melbourne after being invited on a study tour in Iran. She was accused of acting suspiciously by a person she had interviewed for her studies.

 

In a letter smuggled out of Evin prison last year, Dr Moore-Gilbert wrote: “I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country”.

 

The Australian government said diplomats have been trying to see her in her new jail and that they held Iran responsible for Dr Moore-Gilbert’s safety and wellbeing.

 

“Dr Moore-Gilbert’s case is one of the Australian Government’s highest priorities, including for our embassy officials in Tehran,’’ a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

 

Up until now the Australian government has taken a softly-softly approach to their negotiations with Iran regarding Dr Moore-Gilbert, but Mr Tugendhat’s outburst has marked a new strategy – at least from the British perspective.

 

Mr Tugendhat is influential in the Conservative party and has been instrumental in garnering significant backbencher support to force the Boris Johnson government to reverse their acceptance of Huawei in the 5G telecommunications network.

 

He has already queried why Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have not been included on Britain’s new independent sanctions program, which freezes the assets of human rights abusers in the UK and also restricts their ability to travel.

 

He said the failure to include senior members of the Revolutionary Guards was a “striking omission’’.

 

It is understood because Dr Moore-Gilbert entered Iran on an Australian passport, Australian diplomats have been taking the lead in negotiations with Iran.

 

Britain has been in lengthy talks with Iran about British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was jailed for five years in 2016.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/influential-uk-mp-lashes-hostage-takers-over-detained-academic-kylie-mooregilbert/news-story/34dc72d2f20fd29c4bc1dbeef781dc19

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 12:35 a.m. No.10122961   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

'FLIGHT RISK' What is the conspiracy theory about Tom Hanks being arrested in Australia?

 

A CONSPIRACY theory that Tom Hanks was arrested in Australia is making its rounds on social media.

 

Hanks has not been arrested and the rumors are unfounded.

 

Social media buzzed about his "arrest" after a meme emerged of Hanks walking around with what looked like an ankle bracelet.

 

Why do people think Tom Hanks was arrested in Australia?

 

Facebook users speculated that Hanks had been arrested in Australia after a meme surfaced of the actor walking around with a face covering and an "ankle monitor".

 

Conspiracy theorists alleged that Hanks was arrested as a part of wider elite-run child sex trafficking ring.

 

The claim appears to be related to the QAnon conspiracy theorist group who have also accused Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey of the same thing.

 

What is the meme of Tom Hanks allegedly wearing an ankle monitor?

 

A meme circulating on Facebook started the unfounded accusations against the actor.

 

The photos in the claim show Hanks in Los Angeles wearing a green bandana face covering on May 20, 2020.

 

The photo caption reads: “Look who has a new ankle bracelet! Tom Hanks. Some of you don’t know it but Mr. Hanks was arrested in Australia for pedophilia.

 

"He went on national TV to say he had COVID-19 and he was quarantine himself. Not true. He was in custody for a time then house arrest is in his hotel. Now, he’s a flight risk.”

 

While his pants appear to be ruffled, there is no ankle monitor visible.

 

"This is fake! Stop spreading lies before fact checking!" one user commented on the picture.

 

"Throwing around extreme accusations like is with no evidence is profoundly immoral. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," another agreed.

 

"100% been hearing about this for months. Finally," one instigator commented.

 

Numerous independent fact-checkers have debunked these claims.

 

Why was Tom Hanks in Australia?

 

Hanks was in Australia working on Baz Lurhmann's new Elvis Presley biopic.

 

How long did him and his wife have coronavirus for?

 

Tom and Rita both contracted coronavirus in early March.

 

The couple was hospitalized for several days in Australia before continuing their recovery in quarantine.

 

They returned home to LA after recovering and continued to self-isolate.

 

Tom and Rita were the first celebrities to confirm they tested positive for the virus amid the global pandemic crisis.

 

Speaking to The National Defense Radio Show he explained: "Rita went through a tougher time than I did. She had a much-higher fever and she had some other symptoms.

 

"She lost her sense of taste and smell. She got absolutely no joy from food for a better part of three weeks."

 

He added: "She was so nauseous, she had to crawl on the floor from the bed to the facilities. It lasted a while."

 

Tom, who "had some body aches and was very fatigued", revealed he was "wiped" after trying to do a 30-minute exercise routine.

 

He said: "Whoever it was, doctor, nurse, would come into our air pressurized room, our isolation rooms. She said, 'How are you feeling?' and I said, 'I just had the weirdest thing. I just tried to do basic stretches and exercises on the floor and I couldn’t even get halfway through."

 

"And she looked at me through her glasses like she was talking to the dumbest human being and she said, 'You have COVID-19.'"

 

Upon recovering and arriving back in the US, Tom, 63, and Rita, 63, immediately enrolled in a medical study to determine if their antibodies would be useful for scientists working on developing a vaccine.

 

Hanks has now revealed that they have now been approved to donate blood because they carry antibodies.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12260669/tom-hanks-conspiracy-pedophilia-qanon-facebook-meme/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 1:09 a.m. No.10123114   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

John Patrick Casey: Catholic priest’s sexual assault appeal fails in Supreme Court

 

A Catholic priest convicted of sexually abusing two young boys has had his appeal thrown out despite arguing he didn’t receive a fair trial.

 

WARNING: Graphic

 

A former Catholic priest and police chaplain’s appeal against his convictions of sexually abusing young boys in northern NSW has been denied despite arguing the Crown’s “sanitised version” of events deprived him of a fair trial.

 

John Patrick Casey was in charge of a church in the Lismore Diocese when he molested two boys at his parish house at Mallanganee Presbytery, west of Casino, in the mid 1980s.

 

Casey was in his 30s when he digitally penetrated a boy’s anus as he washed him in the shower and ejaculated towards the head of another boy.

 

Now 72, and serving a minimum three-year jail sentence, Casey was employed as a police chaplain up until the day of his arrest in July 2015 after his victims finally came forward.

 

At the second of two lengthy trials, a jury found him guilty in 2018 of two charges including sexual assault of a person under 16 without consent and indecent assault of a person under 16 without consent.

 

Casey was found not guilty of four additional charges and was sentenced to four years and ten months jail.

 

He appealed against his convictions in the Supreme Court on the grounds there had been a miscarriage of justice, claiming the judge had not properly explained that the jury could take into account reasonable doubt and the prosecution’s pursuit of him was an abuse of process.

 

Casey had previously been found not guilty of 16 charges, with a jury hung on another 11 counts, at his first trial in 2016.

 

It meant a significant portion of evidence heard in the first trial, which the jury found to be unreliable in parts, was unable to be used in the second.

 

During the appeal, his lawyer Philip Boulten, SC, complained that by the Crown “tendering a sanitised version of the complainants’ evidence, the jury was not provided with the complete picture”.

 

Mr Boulten also contended the tendency evidence of another alleged sexual assault was admitted into the trial by error and the jury returned an unreasonable verdict.

 

Police had originally charged Casey with 27 offences relating to 18 allegations of child sexual abuse to which he pleaded not guilty at the 2016 trial.

 

Ordained in 1974, Casey spent the majority of his time in the church working in the Lismore Diocese and was appointed as one of four regional vicars in the 1990s.

 

He briefly served in the parish of Ingham in Townsville in the late 1970s before returning to NSW.

 

He didn’t appear on screen at the Supreme Court on Wednesday when a panel of justices dismissed his appeal.

 

Casey will be eligible for parole in May 2021.

 

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/john-patrick-casey-catholic-priests-sexual-assault-appeal-fails-in-supreme-court/news-story/b86fa00345e57d67582cc6b01cfbd38a

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 1:20 a.m. No.10123153   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Australia must keep America 'fully engaged' in Indo-Pacific region

 

Sky News Australia

 

Published on 29 Jul 2020

 

Australia must work to keep America fully engaged in the Indo-Pacific region in order to stop China from dominating it, according to former foreign minister Alexander Downer.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpEN7WukZuU

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 1:37 a.m. No.10123223   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6761 >>4919

Ghislaine Maxwell loses late bid to block deposition's release, quickly appeals

 

New York: A US judge on Wednesday denied Ghislaine Maxwell's last-ditch effort to keep a potentially damaging deposition from becoming public, as the jailed British socialite defends herself against criminal charges that she aided the late financier Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of girls.

 

US District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan rejected Maxwell's argument that her arrest on July 2 and indictment were "compelling" reasons to continue sealing her April 2016 deposition, and a deposition by an unnamed Epstein accuser.

 

The depositions came from a now-closed civil defamation lawsuit against Maxwell by one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

 

Maxwell filed a notice of appeal less than an hour after Preska ruled.

 

She faces a Thursday, US time, deadline to appeal against Preska's July 23 order unsealing dozens of other documents, including flight logs from Epstein's private jets and police reports from Palm Beach, Florida, where Epstein had a home.

 

Maxwell, 58, pleaded not guilty on July 14 to helping Epstein recruit and eventually abuse three girls in the 1990s, and committing perjury by denying her involvement under oath.

 

The charges against Maxwell came nearly a year after Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail where he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. If convicted, she could face up to 35 years in prison.

 

In opposing the unsealing, Maxwell's lawyers had accused Giuffre and federal prosecutors of violating a protective order in the civil case designed to keep Maxwell's deposition confidential.

 

The lawyers have said the deposition included "intrusive" questions about Maxwell's sex life and could prove embarrassing.

 

They accused Giuffre, who now lives in Australia and is chief executive of Victims Refuse Silence, of leaking the deposition, and "in conjunction with the government" setting a "perjury trap" for their client.

 

But Preska said a criminal probe into Epstein's associates already "loomed large" when Maxwell opposed unsealing the deposition in June, and her arrest did not overcome the presumption that the public deserved access.

 

"This is plowed ground," Preska wrote.

 

Giuffre has said Epstein kept her as a "sex slave" with Maxwell's assistance.

 

Maxwell's criminal trial is scheduled for July next year. She is being held in a Brooklyn jail after the judge overseeing that case called her a flight risk.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/ghislaine-maxwell-loses-late-bid-to-block-deposition-s-release-quickly-appeals-20200730-p55gva.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 2:01 a.m. No.10123307   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweets

 

The #USSRonaldReagan carrier strike group, five Australian warships, and a Japanese destroyer conducted a trilateral naval exercise in the Philippine Sea last week. We and our allies will fly, sail, & operate wherever international law allows. #AUSMIN2020

 

https://twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1288523087764496384

 

 

Even in dark days, America will never lose the ability to dare greatly.

 

https://twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1288580119595044866

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 2:19 a.m. No.10123369   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7186 >>4830

Stop human trafficking happening in plain sight

 

Thursday, 30 July 2020, 12:47pm

 

On the United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons today, the AFP acknowledges that our first responders play a vital role in identifying, supporting and seeking justice for victims of human trafficking, and calls on the public not to turn a blind eye to signs.

 

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, we are more reliant than ever on law enforcement officers, social workers, healthcare professionals and non-government organisation staff to notice and report if someone may be a victim of this crime type. However it’s not just up to our first responders. Members of the community can help by knowing the signs and reporting what they see.

 

Human trafficking is the physical movement of people across or within borders by coercing, threatening or deceiving them for the purpose of ongoing exploitation once they reach their destination.

 

Often referred to as modern day slavery, AFP Assistant Commissioner Northern Command Lesa Gale said it is happening right here in Australia.

 

“People may think that human trafficking is something that only happens on the TV or in the movies. But it happens right here in our own backyard, and often it is in plain sight.

 

“While the Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the lead agency for investigating this crime type, everyone has a role to play in stopping it and we urge the public to be aware,” she said.

 

The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that for every victim found there are approximately four victims that remain undetected.

 

In the 2019-20 financial year, the AFP received 223 reports of human trafficking, including;

 

• 92 reports of forced marriage,

 

• 40 reports of sexual servitude and exploitation,

 

• 29 reports of forced labour,

 

• 28 reports of trafficking in persons,

 

• 20 reports of domestic servitude,

 

• six reports of deceptive recruiting,

 

• four of trafficking in children,

 

• three of debt bondage,

 

• One report of slavery.

 

Fifty one per cent of forced marriage reports were victims under the age of 18 years. 70 per cent related to offshore marriage and the most vulnerable victims of forced marriage were females between the ages of 15-19 years.

 

“Thankfully almost half of forced marriage reports we received in the last financial year, resulted in disruption or intervention strategies that stopped the offence from occurring,” Assistant Commissioner Gale said.

 

The AFP continues its work to raise awareness of human trafficking and forced marriage in Australia through Project Skywarp.

 

The AFP is also an active member of the Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery and Operational Working Groups. We work with international partners through the AFP’s international network, Department of Foreign Affairs and other organisations including the Santa Marta Group, to promote awareness for and combat modern slavery and human trafficking.

 

The general public has an important role to play in bringing these offences to light. Anyone can come across indicators of forced marriage.

 

Do you know someone who:

 

• has a family history of elder siblings leaving education or marrying early

 

• expresses concern regarding an upcoming family holiday

 

• exhibit signs of depression, self-harm, attempted suicide, social isolation or substance abuse

 

• has unreasonable restrictions from their family such as not being allowed out or always being accompanied

 

• made a sudden announcement they are engaged

 

• shows evidence of family disputes/conflict, domestic violence/abuse, running away from home or isolation from the community?

 

If you or someone you know could be a victim of this crime type, please report it by calling 131 AFP (237).

 

You can join the conversation online by using the hashtags #EndHumanTrafficking and #HumanTrafficking.

 

Editor’s note: Footage available on hightail - https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/RqbFmypia4

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/stop-human-trafficking-happening-plain-sight

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 2:38 a.m. No.10123418   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Border Force officers seizing large number of lifelike child sex dolls ordered online

 

Border Force has intercepted a worrying number of disgusting and illegal products favoured by paedophiles in parcels sent to Australia.

 

WARNING: Distressing

 

Australian Border Force officers have seized a large number of lifelike child sex dolls favoured by paedophiles, ordered online and sent via the post or through air cargo.

 

Data obtained by news.com.au shows the purchase of the sinister products by Australians continues, with 31 packages intercepted at in the first six months of 2020 alone, the majority in air cargo.

 

In the 12 months to June 30, a total of 86 childlike sex dolls were seized by ABF, it can be revealed.

 

“Child-like sex dolls and other child abuse material are symptomatic of the broader global threat posed by child sexual abuse, that’s why the ABF works with its law enforcement and intelligence partners to further investigate these imports,” a spokesman for the agency said.

 

“ABF officers at our air cargo and mail facilities are actively targeting these dolls, which are a prohibited import and are considered child abuse material.

 

“The ABF has a zero tolerance approach to child abuse material, including childlike sex dolls, and we use all powers available to us to protect Australians from anyone associated with these sickening activities.”

 

Earlier this month, news.com.au revealed that one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, Alibaba, contained a number of listings for replica child dolls, including infants and toddlers.

 

One of the sellers even provided a sickening video of an anatomically correct baby doll, demonstrating how it could be “used”.

 

Advocacy group Collective Shout conducted an investigation that exposed a number of listings, despite previous commitments from the company to ban the sale of the dolls.

 

“I’ve been an activist with Collective Shout for 10 years and this is the most disturbing content I’ve seen,” campaigner Melinda Liszewski said. “It is deeply distressing to view.”

 

The investigation found large numbers of replica child dolls marketed as “young girl”, “flat chest” and “sex dolls for men” sold on Alibaba by 18 different suppliers.

 

Some of the models were as small as 65cm, which is roughly the height of a six-month-old baby. The dolls discovered for sale ranged in price from $250 to $500.

 

Another listing was discovered for a vagina sex toy that “bleeds” during use – designed to simulate a broken hymen.

 

The items are far from harmless, the ABF spokesman told news.com.au.

 

“Recent research by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that the use of these dolls may lead to an escalation in child sex offences – from viewing online child abuse material to contact sexual offending.

 

“It is also found that there is no evidence that these dolls have a therapeutic benefit in preventing child sexual abuse.”

 

In September 2019, new legislation came into effect that made it an offence to possess a childlike sex doll, punishable with up to 15 years’ imprisonment.

 

“The reforms also amended the definition of ‘child abuse material’ in the Criminal Code to put beyond doubt that it is an offence to, for example, use a carriage service such as the internet to advertise or solicit, or use a postal service to send, a childlike sex doll,” the ABF spokesman said.

 

“An individual caught in possession of child abuse material, including a childlike sex doll, can be charged with importing Tier 2 goods. The maximum penalty (for attempted importation), if convicted, is up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or fines of up to $525,000.”

 

When the listings on Alibaba were revealed, the company took action to remove them and implement a number of “additional measures to prevent the items being relisted”, a spokesperson said.

 

“We maintain a robust product listing policy that prohibits the listing by third-party sellers of any items depicting or suggestive of sex involving minors, and third-party sellers in breach of the policy are subject to our disciplinary measures.”

 

ABF encourages anyone with information about individuals importing illicit material, including childlike sex dolls and child abuse material, to report it to Border Watch at australia.gov.au/borderwatch

 

Where to find help

 

If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or family violence contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732

 

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

 

Don't go it alone. Please reach out for help by contacting Lifeline on 13 11 14

 

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

 

Men who have anger, relationship or parenting issues, should contact the Men's Referral Service on 1300 766 491

 

https://www.ntv.org.au/

 

https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/border-force-officers-seizing-large-number-of-lifelike-child-sex-dolls-ordered-online/news-story/d9dd44c66b1f78ba6ea249a673ef9ddf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 30, 2020, 11:48 p.m. No.10135836   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Repost from Q Research General #12948

 

>>10116954 (pb)

 

China hits back at Australia-US statement on South China Sea, Hong Kong

 

The Chinese embassy has angrily reacted to a joint Australia-US statement criticising the regime’s actions in the South China Sea.

 

The Chinese embassy has angrily reacted to a joint Australia-US statement criticising the regime’s actions in the South China Sea and elsewhere, warning “any attempt to pressure China will never succeed”.

 

Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds are in Washington, DC for the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations, or AUSMIN, hosted by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

 

In the joint statement following the meetings, the two countries expressed “deep concern” over hot-button issues including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the “repression of Uyghurs” in Xinjiang and China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea, which are “not valid under international law”.

 

But the Chinese embassy in Australia swiftly hit back in a statement of its own.

 

“We firmly reject and oppose the unfounded accusations and attacks against China on issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea made in the recent Joint Statement of Australia-US Ministerial Consultations,” it said.

 

“Their assertions, in disregard of basic facts, violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs.

 

“We reiterate that the Chinese side is unwavering in upholding national sovereignty, security and its legitimate rights and interests. We are firmly committed to maintaining regional peace and stability. Any attempt to pressure China will never succeed.

 

“We urge Australia not to go further on the road of harming China-Australia relations, and truly proceeding from its own interests, do more things that are conducive to mutual trust and co-operation between the two countries.”

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/china-hits-back-at-australiaus-statement-on-south-china-sea-hong-kong/news-story/efb2925d910ea9f32af9385ec581a0d3

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 2:12 a.m. No.10136594   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

As US cases soar, Trump says Australia has 'tremendous problems'

 

Washington: US President Donald Trump has criticised Australia for its resurgence of coronavirus cases, using it as an example of a country that is now having "tremendous problems" dealing with the global pandemic.

 

As the number of confirmed cases in the US neared 4.5 million on Friday (AEST), Trump pointed to Australia as one of several nations where "they thought they'd really done great" only to have a serious spike in outbreaks.

 

"This resurgence in cases is occurring throughout large portions of our planet — in Japan, China, Australia, Belgium, Spain, France, Germany, Hong Kong — places where they thought they'd really done great," he said.

 

"It came back, and in a couple of cases came back very strongly. The virus was said to be under control but new cases have risen very significantly once again. So when you think somebody is doing well, sometimes you have to hold your decision on that. You have to hold your statements."

 

Trump's comments came despite America having the highest number of infections and deaths in the world, with successive polls showing widespread disapproval over his mishandling of the crisis.

 

More than 152,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 in the US, while hospitalisations continue to rise. More than 1400 coronavirus-related deaths were reported nationwide on Thursday, US time — roughly one fatality for every minute.

 

Florida alone, which has a population of about 22 million, set a single-day record for coronavirus-related deaths for a third day in a row on Thursday, recording 253 new deaths and just under 10,000 new cases. Statewide, 6585 residents have died after contracting the virus.

 

By comparison, Australia, with a population of almost 25 million, recorded 14 deaths and 747 new cases by Thursday night, driven mostly by Victoria's spike in infections. Friday's numbers were lower with 649 new cases in Victoria and eight deaths. Overall, 196 people in Australia have died from the virus.

 

The President's observations also came after it was announced that his friend, Herman Cain, who had sought the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, died weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.

 

It is not clear where the 74-year-old contracted the virus. However, Cain was one of several thousand people who attended a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa on June 20, in which most of the crowd did not wear masks.

 

Cain, who co-chaired Black Voices for Trump, was pictured at the event also not wearing a mask and breaching social restriction guidelines. At a briefing at the White House, Trump paid tribute to Cain as "wonderful man" and "a very special person".

 

"I got to know him very well, and unfortunately he passed away from a thing called the China virus," he said.

 

On Twitter, opponents of the President, including actress Mia Farrow - a frequent critic, accused him of "killing" Cain by holding the rally, encouraging people to attend and not requiring them to wear a mask.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/as-us-cases-soar-trump-says-australia-has-tremendous-problems-20200731-p55h8e.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 2:20 a.m. No.10136626   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Biden presidency could put Australia back in ‘naughty corner’ over lack of climate action

 

The Morrison government could soon find itself under immense pressure to dramatically improve its climate change policies, with the prospect of a Biden presidency in the United States that could usher in a new era of global climate change leadership that would banish Australia – once again – to the ‘naughty corner’.

 

Speaking to the Clean Energy Council’s Australian Clean Energy Summit Webinar Series, economist Ross Garnaut speculated that a potential change in the United States presidency could change the game for Australia’s climate and energy policy.

 

The election of Democratic nominee Joe Biden to the presidency could see a complete turnaround from one of Australia’s leading allies, ousting a Trump administration that has bulldozed US climate regulations, and replacing it with a Democratic president ready to embrace a multi-trillion dollar Green New Deal.

 

A future United States under a Biden presidency would bring the global superpower back into the fold on climate action and, according to Garnaut, this could see Australia castigated for its recent record as a spoiler in both local and international climate change policy development.

 

“I do know that current Australian policies would be seen as being an abnegation of the international public interest by a Biden government,” Garnaut told the Clean Energy Council summit.

 

“We would be in the naughty corner on an issue that will probably be the main issue, other than economic recovery after Covid. And that’s not a very comfortable position for an Australian government to be in.”

 

This week marked less than 100 days until the election day for the 2020 US presidential election and while that remains a long time in politics, Democratic nominee Joe Biden currently holds a significant lead in polling over incumbent US president Donald Trump.

 

“[Under Biden] the US is likely to move from being strongly resistant to action on climate change and trying to break up global cooperation on this matter, to being a very aggressive leader of action,” Garnaut added.

 

Trump has suffered a loss in approval amongst US votes, in reaction to his poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen the US lead the world in both Covid-19 cases and deaths, as well as ongoing violent clashes between Black Lives Matter protesters and enforcement authorities fuelled by Trump’s deployment of federal officers.

 

Garnaut suggested that a rare positive of the way that Trump has mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic was that it could deliver power to a new president who will embrace strong leadership on climate change.

 

“How has Covid affected the prospects for the Australian and the global energy transition? The way it has gone is actually highly favourable for the climate transition. That it undermines the legitimacy of the most important climate-denying government in the world, the government of President Trump.

 

“Nothing is certain in democratic politics, and it’s not certain he’ll be defeated in November, but it’s very likely that he will be.

 

“The Democratic Party in the US is more strongly committed to strong action on climate change than it’s predecessors in the Obama Administration,” Garnaut added.

 

While a Biden administration is likely to see the United States re-emerge as a global leader on climate change action, there are opportunities for Australia in a global economy that can flow from a global embrace of a low emission economy.

 

Biden has already committed to a $US2 trillion investment in clean energy for the United States and will pursue a target of 100 per cent renewables and zero net emissions no later than 2050. It is expected to reverse the withdrawal from the Paris climate treaty that is due to take place one day after the election is held.

 

Biden’s commitments represent a huge leap forward compared to the Morrison government, which has set no emissions reduction target beyond its weak commitments to 2030 and has no future targets for renewable energy adoption in Australia.

 

However, Australia holds a huge competitive advantage over other countries in terms of access to both renewable energy resources and the raw materials required to supply global manufacturing markets.

 

According to Garnaut, to take advantage of that competitive advantage will require advancements in emerging clean energy technologies, particularly green hydrogen, which will allow coal and gas to be displaced from a number of heavy industries.

 

(continued)

 

https://reneweconomy.com.au/biden-presidency-could-put-australia-back-in-naughty-corner-over-lack-of-climate-action-29135/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 2:37 a.m. No.10136706   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6846 >>4830

>>10122856

Kylie Moore-Gilbert granted meeting with Australian ambassador to Iran

 

Exclusive: British-Australian academic will meet diplomat for first time since sudden move to a new notorious prison

 

The imprisoned British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert is set to be granted a meeting with Australia’s ambassador to Iran as soon as Sunday.

 

Following reports in the Guardian that Dr Moore-Gilbert was seriously unwell in Qarchak prison and had been removed from quarantine because she was attempting to write to the ambassador for help, the state-run Mizan news agency reported she was in “perfect health”.

 

“Following publication of a claim … of Moore-Gilbert’s unfavourable physical condition, Mizan’s correspondent is informed that the prisoner is in perfect health,” reported the news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s judiciary.

 

“On a judicial order, it is planned that this person, convicted of espionage, will meet with the Australian ambassador on Sunday.”

 

Mizan also denied reports – originating from sources inside Qarchak to the Guardian and to the Human Rights Activists News Agency – of suicide attempts by prisoners held there.

 

A spokesman for DFAT, Australia’s department of foreign affairs, confirmed Moore-Gilbert would be allowed to meet with the ambassador, Lyndall Sachs.

 

“The Iranian government has confirmed that Dr Moore-Gilbert has been moved from Evin to Qarchak prison and has advised that our ambassador to Iran will be allowed to make a consular visit to her shortly.

 

“We hold Iran responsible for Dr Moore-Gilbert’s safety and wellbeing.”

 

The spokesman said the ambassador had previously visited Moore-Gilbert in Evin and that her case remained “one of the Australian government’s highest priorities”.

 

Moore-Gilbert has had telephone contact with her family and the ambassador over the last several months. She is serving a 10-year prison sentence after she was arrested at Tehran airport in September 2018 and convicted of espionage following a secret trial.

 

No evidence of Moore-Gilbert’s alleged crimes has ever been publicly presented. She has denied the allegations against her and the Australian government rejects them as baseless and politically motivated.

 

Cambridge-educated Moore-Gilbert, a lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Melbourne, was arrested after attending an academic conference, at which she was invited to speak, in Qom. Fellow conference delegates and an interview subject for her academic work flagged her as “suspicious” to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who arrested her at Tehran airport as she prepared to fly out of the country.

 

Concerns for Moore-Gilbert have grown after she was suddenly moved from Evin prison’s Ward 2A to the notorious Qarchak women’s prison, outside Tehran.

 

Isolated and overcrowded, Qarchak has a reputation as one of the most hostile prisons in Iran. Last month the US state department listed Qarchak as an entity responsible for “extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognised human rights”.

 

There are also serious concerns over hygiene, with access to soap and other basics limited, particularly given Iran’s significant Covid-19 outbreak, with more than 300,000 confirmed infections and 16,000 deaths.

 

The Guardian has heard a recording of Moore-Gilbert’s voice from Qarchak, where, speaking Persian, she says: “I can’t eat anything. I feel so very hopeless … I am so depressed.”

 

While Moore-Gilbert was initially placed in Qarchak’s quarantine section – a week-long Covid-19 precaution for all new inmates – she was moved after two days into the general prison population, sources say, to further cut off her access to the outside world.

 

“Before she was moved Kylie was trying to seek help from her cellmate to write a letter to Australian ambassador to Iran to visit her urgently,” a cellmate in the quarantine section said in a message smuggled out of the prison.

 

Moore-Gilbert was physically ill while she was held in the quarantine section.

 

“After one meal she became sick. Kylie was terrified of the officers … she left me in tears and anxious,” the source said.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/kylie-moore-gilbert-granted-meeting-with-australian-ambassador-to-iran

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 2:52 a.m. No.10136761   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6776 >>5477 >>4919

>>10123223

Ghislaine Maxwell had 'continuous' orgies with girls as young as 15 on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Caribbean island, newly-unsealed documents claim

 

1/2

 

Ghislaine Maxwell had 'continuous' orgies with girls as young as 15 on a Caribbean island owned by pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, newly unsealed court documents have revealed.

 

The shocking claim is contained within testimony that Epstein's primary accuser, Virginia Roberts, gave to investigators during a 2015 libel case against Maxwell.

 

The documents were put under lock and key after Maxwell agreed to settle the case out of court, but have now been unsealed under a judge's order after her arrest earlier this month on sex crimes charges.

 

In them, Roberts - now Giuffre - says Maxwell and Epstein participated in orgies all over Little St James Island with young women who were flown in by private jet.

 

Asked to describe women she personally saw Maxwell have sexual contact with, she responded: 'There's so many, I don't know where you want me to start.'

 

'There were blondes, there were brunettes, there were redheads. They were all beautiful girls. I would say the ages ranged between 15 and 21,' she added.

 

Maxwell participated in sex sessions with them by a pool, near the beachfront, in small huts and in Epstein's cabana, she alleged.

 

'One occasion stands out,' she said. 'Models were — I think they were models — were flown in. There were orgies held outside by the pool.'

 

The women - 'beautiful, tall, some were blonde, some were sandy brown' - did not speak English, and conversed in a European language that Roberts guessed was Russia or Czech.

 

Describing the sex session, she added: 'Ghislaine, myself, Jeffrey, another girl in this blue, outdoor — I don't know what you want to call it. Cabana, that … just a bed could fit in.'

 

Roberts also alleges that during the deposition that she was trafficked to Europe to have sex with powerful men, including Britain's Prince Andrew and attorney Alan Dershowitz.

 

She said Maxwell and Epstein constantly reminded her of how powerful their friends were, so that she wouldn't betray them.

 

'Jeffrey did a lot more of that than she did. But she definitely made it aware that we shouldn't cross boundaries with them,' she said.

 

Also included in the tranche of unsealed documents are flight logs from Epstein's private jets, police logs Palm Beach, Florida, where Epstein had a home, and email exchanges between Maxwell and Epstein himself.

 

In one such exchange, in January 2015, Maxwell asks Epstein if 'Shelley' - believed to be one of Epstein's accusers - could publicly state she was his girlfriend.

 

In response, Epstein writes: 'You have done nothing wrong and i woudl [sic] urge you to start acting like it.

 

'Go outside, head high, not as an esacping [sic] convict. go to parties. deal with it', he added.

 

The email exchange appears to confirm that Maxwell lied during a bail hearing, in which she claimed she hadn't spoken to Epstein in over a decade.

 

Days earlier, Epstein had emailed Maxwell what appeared to be a court statement proclaiming her innocence, which read as if it was written by her.

 

'Since JE was charged in 2007 for solicitation of a prostitute I have been the target of outright lies, innuendo, slander, defamation and salacious gossip and harrassment; headlines made up of quotes I have never given, statement I have never made,' it reads.

 

'I have never been a party in any criminal action pertaining to JE.'

 

The statement also claimed Maxwell had been in a 'very long-term committed relationship to another man' at the time of Epstein's conviction.

 

'Whilst I remained on friendly terms with him up until his plea, I have had limited contact since,' it continues.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 2:54 a.m. No.10136776   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10136761

 

2/2

 

Roberts gave the testimony to investigators after filing a lawsuit against Maxwell in 2015, accusing the British socialite of libel after she branded her a 'liar'.

 

Maxwell eventually settled the suit out of court for an undisclosed sum, though to be millions, and the documents were put under seal so they could not be made public.

 

But Judge Loretta Preska ordered swathes of the papers to be unsealed following Maxwell's arrest earlier this month on sex crimes charges.

 

She is also charged with perjury for allegedly lying under oath during a seven-hour deposition she made during the lawsuit.

 

On Thursday, Maxwell filed an emergency motion with the federal appeals court in Manhattan to block the release of that deposition, along with one other document.

 

Lawyers for Maxwell said making her deposition public could make it 'difficult if not impossible' to find an impartial jury for her criminal trial.

 

The two depositions, and materials that quote from or disclose information contained in them, were expected to remain sealed at least until Monday, depending on how the appeals court rules.

 

Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and eventually abuse three girls from 1994 to 1997, and committing perjury by denying her involvement under oath.

 

She was arrested on July 2, and has been housed in a Brooklyn jail after a judge called her a flight risk. Maxwell's trial is scheduled for next July.

 

Epstein was found hanged at age 66 last August in a Manhattan jail, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges for abusing women and girls in Manhattan and Florida from 2002 to 2005. He had also pleaded not guilty.

 

CLINTON, GORE, CAMPBELL, KLUM: EPSTEIN'S 'GUESTS' REVEALED

 

Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum were among high-profile guests that Jeffrey Epstein entertained, Virginia Roberts claims.

 

Clinton visited Little St James after his presidency ended because he 'owed Epstein a favor', Roberts told investigators in newly-unsealed testimony.

 

'He never told me what favors they were. I never knew. I didn't know if he was serious,' she said.

 

The former president stayed in Epstein's private villa where 'orgies were a constant thing,' she claims.

 

Vice President Gore was also a guest on Epstein's plane, the Lolita Express, as were models Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum, Roberts claimed.

 

Orgies also took place on the jet, she alleges.

 

'There would be sexual conduct, there would be foreplay, there was a bed in there, so we could basically reenact exactly what was happening in the house,' she said.

 

'It would start off with massaging or we would start off with foreplay, sometimes it would lead to, you know, orgies.'

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8579567/Ghislaine-Maxwell-sex-15-year-old-girls-court-docs-claim.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 3:07 a.m. No.10136821   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5326 >>4830

Google and Facebook to be forced to share revenue with media in Australia under draft code

 

Consumer watchdog unveils ‘hundreds of millions’ in potential fines under code drawn up after talks stalled between tech and news companies

 

Google, Facebook and other digital platforms could be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if they fail to comply with a news media bargaining code released by Australia’s competition regulator on Friday.

 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was asked to develop the mandatory code in April by the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, after negotiations between the digital platforms, the ACCC and media companies stalled, and media companies experienced a sharp fall in ad revenue due to Covid-19.

 

Dozens of newspapers have shut since the pandemic began, and hundreds of journalists have been furloughed or made redundant in what has been an acceleration of the crisis facing the news industry.

 

Frydenberg said on Friday it became apparent to the government that progress wasn’t being made in negotiations between the parties on payment for content.

 

He said the code wasn’t about protecting news media from competition or disruption, but creating a level playing field and ensuring a fair go.

 

“We want Google and Facebook to continue to provide these services to the Australia community … but we want it to be on our terms. We want it to be in accordance with our law and we want it to be fair.”

 

The treasurer will decide which companies will be required to comply with the code, but it will start with Google and Facebook. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) will determine the eligibility of media companies.

 

The definition in the draft code states they must predominantly create and publish news in Australia, serving an Australian audience, subject to professional editorial standards, and editorial independence from the subject of the news coverage, with revenue exceeding $150,000 per year.

 

The code would require the tech giants to negotiate in good faith to pay news media for use of their content, and media companies would be able to negotiate as a group with Facebook and Google.

 

Public broadcasters ABC and SBS are excluded from receiving payments through the code but would benefit from its non-remuneration aspects, Frydenberg said.

 

If an agreement on payments cannot be reached within three months of negotiation, it can go to arbitration, with a decision needing to be made in 45 days. If the parties do not agree on arbitrators, the arbitration panel appointed by Acma from a list overseen by the regulator will make decisions on payments based on submissions from each party.

 

The code also imposes a range of minimum obligations on digital platforms. These include providing news media businesses with information about news-related data, providing advance notice of at least 28 days of algorithm changes affecting news ranking – the display of news content and advertising with news content.

 

The code would also prohibit platforms from discriminating against Australian media outlets covered by the code.

 

The ACCC would be able to issue infringement notices for minor code breaches, but for larger breaches, there are fines of up to $10m per breach, three times the benefit obtained, or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is greater.

 

The chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims, told reporters on Friday that given Facebook and Google between them had billions in revenue in Australia the penalties could be “up to hundreds of millions”.

 

Sims said even if Google turned off Google News in Australia, as it did in Spain, it would still be caught by the code by virtue of the fact that it served news through search results, or on YouTube.

 

Google Australia said it is deeply disappointed by the code, calling it a “heavy-handed intervention” which will impede the digital economy.

 

The search giant said the code is not grounded in commercial reality and would benefit large publishers over smaller ones.

 

“Our hope was that the code would be forward thinking and the process would create incentives for both publishers and digital platforms to negotiate and innovate for a better future – so we are deeply disappointed and concerned the draft code does not achieve this,” the managing director for Australian and New Zealand Mel Silva said. “Instead, the government’s heavy handed intervention threatens to impede Australia’s digital economy and impacts the services we can deliver to Australians.”

 

“The code discounts the already significant value Google provides to news publishers across the board – including sending billions of clicks to Australian news publishers for free every year worth $218m.”

 

(continued)

 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jul/31/google-and-facebook-to-be-forced-to-share-revenue-with-media-in-australia-under-acccs-draft-code

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 6:04 a.m. No.10137641   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

Repost from Q Research General #12966

 

>>10131421 (pb)

 

Nine News Australia Tweet

 

Conspiracy theories involving a child sex-trafficking ring, a pizzeria and Hillary Clinton has gained momentum on social media, despite no evidence emerging to support the claims. #9News

 

https://twitter.com/9NewsAUS/status/1288798999542038529

 

 

A baseless US conspiracy theory found a foothold in Europe. New research shows how

 

A baseless claim about a child sex-trafficking ring, a Washington, D.C pizzeria, and Hillary Clinton has been passed around among conspiracy theorists for more than three years.

 

No evidence has emerged to support any part of the story.

 

But last month, British pop star Robbie Williams used his voice to argue that the claims deserved more attention.

 

"Yes there was no basement in the particular pizza place, that is not the debunking that I want as a civilian, as a human that is going: 'Hey, this bit, this bit is really f—king weird,'" he asked in a video clip, which has been viewed on Twitter more than half a million times.

 

Williams' representatives declined to comment to CNN.

 

The baseless PizzaGate claim emerged during the 2016 election.

 

Later that same year, a gunman showed up and fired an AR-15 inside the pizzeria, saying he was trying to rescue non-existent child sex slaves.

 

The claim lies at the heart of QAnon, a wild conspiracy theory that believes politicians, A-list celebrities, and a "deep state" of bureaucrats promote child sex abuse.

 

To QAnon adherents, US President Donald Trump is seen as a savior figure, secretly fighting to bring down this fictitious cabal of paedophiles.

 

Now a report by internet trust tool NewsGuard has found that the coronavirus pandemic is helping this distinctly US ideology gain a foothold in Europe.

 

In the report, NewsGuard notes an increase in QAnon social media groups and pages in April, as lockdowns sparked by the new virus left millions of people virtually confined to their homes.

 

Coronavirus conspiracies surged alongside the rise in infections.

 

The hoax theory that global elites were using 5G cellular networks to spread the virus gained traction around the world.

 

Celebrities including actor Woody Harrelson and singer M.I.A. shared it, and British mobile network operators linked the conspiracy to a string of attacks on UK cellphone towers.

 

Such claims acted as a "gateway drug" to QAnon, providing Europeans with the "perfect way into" the online cult, Chine Labbe, NewsGuard's Europe Managing Editor, told CNN.

 

Conspiracy's roots in USQAnon began as a single conspiracy with an anonymous cryptic post on the online forum 4chan in 2017.

 

The individual behind it - who followers would later call "Q" - made the false claim that Hillary Clinton was set to be arrested.

 

There was no such arrest.

 

But similar posts pushing other claims of arrests and "deep state" action kept appearing on 4chan. It's unclear who was behind the posts, or if the same person posted those that followed.

 

QAnon supporters have likened the initial posts, and subsequent ones, to Hansel and Gretel-like breadcrumbs, or "drops," as they refer to them.

 

QAnon followers, whose online behaviour has been likened by analysts to a virtual cult, disseminate the unfounded claims, amplifying them with doctored or out-of-context evidence posted on social media in an attempt to support the allegations.

 

Experts worry that the "dedication QAnon followers have to their beliefs also provides opportunity for foreign interference to use these narratives to their advantage," Aoife Gallagher, an analyst on the Institute for Strategic Dialogue's (ISD) Digital Research Unit, told CNN.

 

The movement has raised concerns about online harassment.

 

Twitter banned more than 7,000 accounts, citing its policy of taking action on accounts with "the potential to lead to offline harm."

 

But while QAnon has its roots in the US - supporting and disseminating baseless theories around mass shootings and elections - it has since turned into an amorphous ideology, appropriating conspiracies from other places that sit with its anti-elite message.

 

"It is such an easily translatable framework, because it is so meta," Labbe said. "It is about the world elites having a Machiavellian plan, and every country in the world has elites."

 

(continued)

 

https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-qanon-conspiracy-theory-pizza-hillary-clinton-child-sex-trafficking-robbie-williams-5g/90512d9a-de0f-4aa0-9583-dc02da81493f

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 6:27 a.m. No.10137789   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Coronavirus: Vaccine test clear for more volunteers

 

A COVID-19 vaccine that has been developed by Adelaide scientists has been shown to be safe in phase 1 trials, and has generated an immune response in human subjects.

 

The vaccine developed by Flinders University professor Nikolai Petrovsky is the first candidate to clear phase 1 trials in Australia, and one of only a handful that have progressed beyond the first phase of human trials in the world.

 

Forty volunteers were dosed with the vaccine, dubbed Covax-19, this month. While ­definitive study results are yet to be published, Professor Petrovsky said safety data from the phase 1 trial of the vaccine had been provided to the study’s ethics committee, which had approved further testing in more volunteers, including the elderly, children and cancer patients.

 

“We have confirmed that the Covax-19 vaccine can induce ­appropriate antibody responses in human subjects,” he said. “We now have preliminary safety data showing there were no significant systemic side-effects in any of the subjects.

 

“We also have permission to immunise subjects who have ­already had COVID-19 to see if we can further boost their immunity and prevent them getting reinfected.”

 

Professor Petrovsky, the founder of biotechnology firm Vaxine, is offering to dose aged-care residents at risk of contracting COVID-19 with his experimental vaccine.

 

“We’ve made the offer to Victoria,” he said. “Obviously our vaccine is still under testing, it would have to be done within a clinical trial but there’s no reason you couldn’t enrol people in Victorian nursing homes into the trial and give them the vaccine which would hopefully then protect them.

 

“We’re certainly very open to talking to the Victorian government about doing that, which would hopefully have a benefit even if it’s within the context of a clinical trial. We know it’s not going to hurt because we now know that the vaccine is completely safe.”

 

None of the 40 volunteers who were dosed with Covax-19 reported significant side-effects, and no one experienced a fever. This is in contrast to the phase 1 results of two other vaccines that have now progressed to phase 3 testing, from the University of Oxford and the US biotech company Moderna.

 

Phase 2 trials for Covax-19, set to involve between 400 and 500 volunteers, are slated to begin in September. Vaxine is also negotiating with other countries on plans for phase 3 trials, which would need to enrol up to 50,000 volunteers, predominantly in countries heavily affected by COVID-19.

 

There are more than 150 vaccines in development globally, with 21 undergoing human trials.

 

The University of Queensland also has a vaccine candidate, which this month began to be tested on human volunteers in phase 1 trials.

 

Vaxine has previously developed a vaccine for swine flu, as well as vaccines for two forms of bird flu. The company has a patented vaccine adjuvant known as Advax, which effectively boosts the immune response in human subjects.

 

Both Covax-19 and the University of Queensland candidate are protein sub-unit vaccines that ­inject small synthetised pieces of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into the body to induce an immune response. UQ has partnered with CSL to manufacture millions of doses of the university’s vaccine.

 

Recombinant protein vaccines work by inducing an immune ­response in the body to invasion by the spike proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

 

These protein spikes surround the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, forming part of the crown or “corona” that gives the virus its name.

 

In coronavirus infection, the SARS-CoV-2 spikes, called S1 proteins, bind to a receptor molecule on the body’s cells, called ACE2. The virus is then able to invade the cell and replicate extensively. SARS-CoV-2 has a high binding capacity for ACE2, making it highly infectious.

 

To make a recombinant protein-based vaccine, researchers insert the genetic sequence for the coronavirus’ distinctive spike protein into a cell. The cell then grows this protein. Researchers then purify the protein and turn it into a vaccine.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/coronavirus-vaccine-test-clear-for-more-volunteers/news-story/4630426c2aa64b32607581bed4c947cd

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 3:31 p.m. No.10142926   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Repost from Q Research General #12980

 

>>10141710 (pb)

 

Australia backs India over deadly border clashes with China

 

Australia has taken another subtle diplomatic swipe at China, this time over its long-running and deadly border dispute with India.

 

For decades, the world's two most populous nations have fought skirmishes along a stretch of land that divides the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet from India.

 

Last month, India said 20 of its soldiers had been killed in clashes with the People's Liberation Army at a disputed border site in the western Himalayas, in a major escalation of the standoff between the two nuclear powers.

 

An Indian army patrol had attempted to tear down temporary structures erected by the Chinese military on terrain claimed by New Delhi, setting off a brutal six-hour melee in sub-zero temperatures.

 

Now the ABC has learnt Barry O'Farrell, Australia's newly appointed High Commissioner to New Delhi, has indicated the Federal Government's support for India in the decades-long dispute.

 

"Australia urges restraint along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and supports continued moves towards de-escalation," Mr O'Farrell said in a statement issued by the High Commission this week.

 

"As I told the External Affairs Minister of India [on Thursday], Australia opposes any attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo, which only serve to increase tension and the risk of instability.

 

"It is important that the bilaterally agreed principles and norms that have helped prevent escalation or miscalculation in the border areas over many decades continue to be observed."

 

Foreign Minister urged negotiation

 

Since the 1960s Australia has not taken sides in the LAC dispute, but diplomatic sources said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) recently decided to clarify its public position.

 

When border clashes between Indian and Chinese troops turned deadly last month, Foreign Minister Marise Payne took a more cautious stance, urging both sides to "avoid confrontation".

 

"Clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley, and reports of loss of life, are concerning," she said in a statement issued on June 17.

 

"During a global pandemic, it is more important than ever that all countries minimise tensions and avoid confrontation in long-standing disputes."

 

At the time Senator Payne added that Australia was monitoring the situation, but stressed it was a "matter for India and China to resolve through negotiation".

 

So far, DFAT has declined to comment on what has prompted the clarification of its stance, or whether it has formally conveyed its latest position to Beijing.

 

The Government's newly stated position on the border dispute comes amid growing expectations that Australia could soon be invited to re-join the Malabar naval exercises involving the United States, Japan and India.

 

The Government has strengthened its opposition to Beijing's maritime claims in the disputed South China Sea through a formal letter to the United Nations.

 

The US and Australia also jointly reaffirmed their opposition to the Chinese military build-up in the disputed waters following annual AUSMIN talks in Washington.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-01/australia-backs-india-over-deadly-border-clashes-with-china/12513852

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 4:36 p.m. No.10143641   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6088 >>5070

Resignations in the news

 

James Murdoch resigns from News Corp board

 

James Murdoch has resigned from the News Corporation board of directors, citing disagreements about the company's editorial content.

 

In a resignation letter sent to the News Corp board dated July 31, Murdoch said his decision was effective immediately.

 

"My resignation is due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company's news outlets and certain other strategic decisions," he wrote.

 

News Corporation has confirmed Murdoch’s resignation in a report to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

"On July 31, 2020, News Corporation (the “Company”) received a letter from James R. Murdoch tendering his resignation from the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), effective immediately," it said.

 

"As a result of Mr. Murdoch’s resignation, the size of the Board was reduced to 10 Directors, effective upon such resignation."

 

James Murdoch, the son of News Corp founder and executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, earlier this year broke ranks over the family company's editorial direction and accused the global media empire of promoting climate denialism.

 

A spokesperson for Murdoch and his wife Kathryn told The Daily Beast website the couple was "particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary".

 

"Kathryn and James’ views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known," the spokesperson said.

 

Murdoch has been on the News Corp board of directors since 2013. He has continued serving as a News Corp board member since giving up his role as chief executive of 21st Century Fox, upon the 2019 sale of Fox entertainment holdings to Disney.

 

But he has played a less active role in the company than brother Lachlan, who is co-chairman of News Corp and became chief executive of the newly-formed Fox Corporation. Fox Corporation holds remaining assets not acquired by Disney, including Fox News.

 

Murdoch flagged he would make climate change-focused investments with his earnings from the Disney merger and step away from the family business.

 

In a statement following his resignation, Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch said: "We’re grateful to James for his many years of service to the company. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

 

Remaining News Corp board members include Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch as well as News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson, lead director Peter Barnes and director Natalie Bancroft.

 

They also include former US Senator Kelly Ayotte, former Spanish prime minister José María Aznar, and members Ana Paula Pessoa, Masroor Siddiqui and Joel Klein.

 

News Corp owns Australian newspapers including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun and The Courier Mail. It publishes The Wall Street Journal as well as UK outlets The Times, The Sun and The Sunday Times.

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/companies/james-murdoch-resigns-from-news-corp-board-20200801-p55hir.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 7:42 p.m. No.10145567   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10145477

Repost from Q Research General #12983

 

>>10144337 (pb)

 

>https://s9503.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/VIRGINIA-GIUFFRE-deposition.pdf

Interesting.

 

Her lawyer won't let her answer WHO gave her the records of her employment at Mar A Lago

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 8:57 p.m. No.10146088   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweets

 

“This was a UK-Australia spying operation, the Israelis helped too”—me in the Washington Post Magazine in 2019.

 

Always follow the insights from the people who lived the story, not the outsiders. They confuse things. This request by Senator Johnson to the CIA is (fire)

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1289351090610286594

 

 

My prediction on which countries had a heavy involvement in working with our intel, willfully or coerced, came true. Much more coming

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1289353238848901122

 

 

Catherine Herridge @CBS_Herridge

 

NEW: Senate investigators @SenRonJohnson @ChuckGrassley renew push for intel + law enforcement records related to 2016 FBI Russia probe after recently declassified docs generate new leads + reinforce importance of those still held by government agencies…

 

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1289345448155795457

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 9:18 p.m. No.10146197   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10145477

Alan Dershowitz calls Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre a 'serial liar' while once again denying he ever had sex with her

 

Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz is once again denying that he had sex with Virginia Giuffre, who for years has maintained that accused sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell directed her to sleep with him while she was 17 years old.

 

Dershowitz’s denial follows the release of another batch of court documents from a 2015 defamation suit between Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell, unsealed Thursday night.

 

Giuffre has publicly accused Epstein and Maxwell of sex-trafficking her starting in 2000. Maxwell has denied Giuffre’s claims, which sparked the lawsuit. She has claimed that she had sex with Dershowitz on multiple occasions.

 

Dershowitz and Giuffre are also suing each other for defamation – a legal battle that was sparked in 2019 when Dershowitz denied the allegations and called Giuffre a liar. That lawsuit has spawned several counter-suits between the two and their respective lawyers.

 

Both Giuffre and Dershowitz have fought to get the documents unsealed – but for different reasons.

 

Giuffre has fought to expose what she says was a wide-ranging sex trafficking ring run by Epstein and Maxwell, which implicates a number of powerful people. Dershowitz has said the documents prove Giuffre is dishonest.

 

“I am gratified that Judge Loretta Preska has ordered the unsealing of documents in the Maxwell case,” Dershowitz wrote in his statement. “I have been requesting the unsealing of all documents, because I have nothing to hide. I did absolutely nothing wrong, and the documents contain proof of my total innocence.”

 

A representative for Giuffre says the new documents change nothing.

 

“We have been to this rodeo before with Alan Dershowitz,” the representative said. “He has been recycling the same fantasies of his version of the truth for years.”

 

Dershowitz, who became a household name when he defended OJ Simpson in his murder trial, had been friends with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 200s. He was also part of Epstein’s legal team that brokered the lenient plea deal in 2008 that allowed the convicted sex offender to spend just 13 months in county jail while working from home for days.

 

Epstein died by suicide last August in a federal jail while awaiting trial on charges of sex-trafficking.

 

Giuffre and Dershowitz both claim the documents prove them right

 

Most of Giuffre’s allegations against powerful men, including Dershowitz, were known prior to the document dump on Thursday. Many of the details were unveiled in a 2,000-page document dump from the same case a year ago, which also led Dershowitz to reiterate his claim that Giuffre was dishonest.

 

Giuffre has said she was 17 when Maxwell picked her up from now-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago spa, where she worked at the time. She was hired as a masseuse for Epstein but has said she was groomed by Maxwell to have sex with him and others, including financier Glenn Dubin, model scout Jean Luc Brunel, and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

 

Dubin, Brunel, and Richardson have also denied the allegations.

 

Maxwell was arrested on July 2 on charges related to the procuring and sexual abuse of minors. Her attorneys had unsuccessfully fought to keep defamation documents sealed. Preska ordered them to be unsealed, in part, so that they could be used in the case between Giuffre and Dershowitz.

 

In his statement Friday, Dershowitz attempted to paint Giuffre as a liar out to get money from wealthy men

 

He accused her of saying she was younger than she was when she met Maxwell and Epstein, about meeting Al and Tipper Gore on Epstein’s private island, and about President Bill Clinton being flown to the island by Maxwell piloting a helicopter.

 

“She has roiled three continents with her accusations against politicians and other high profile individuals and yet the media has declined to conduct the kind of investigative reporting that it has rightfully done with regard to other accusers,” Dershowitz said. “I welcome the unsealing of more records and a thorough investigation of all the allegations, and I am confident they will prove what I already know for certainty: that Virginia Giuffre is a serial liar who has deliberately made up stories about me and others in the hopes of cashing in on millions of dollars.”

 

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/alan-dershowitz-calls-jeffrey-epstein-accuser-virginia-giuffre-liar-denial-2020-7

Anonymous ID: 967d6f July 31, 2020, 11:27 p.m. No.10146828   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7518 >>6905 >>4830

TikTok: President Trump announces US ban of popular video app

 

US President Trump has reportedly said he will sign an executive order to ban the immensely popular app which is owned by a Chinese firm.

 

US President Donald Trump has reportedly announced that popular app TikTok will banned.

 

The app, which allows users to record short videos, has become hugely popular internationally in recent years.

 

However, its popularity has caused some consternation around the world due to its Chinese ownership.

 

CNN has reported that Trump made the announcement on-board Air Force One on Friday, US time.

 

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

 

He said he could sign an executive order to bar the app or use other powers.

 

ByteDance, the Chinese firm behind TikTok, has insisted users data is safe and not shared with the Chinese Government.

 

It hasn’t assuaged some politicians however who are nervous at how quickly a Chinese firm which holds the personal data of users has been able to grow abroad particularly with younger people.

 

Some firms have ordered employees to delete TikTok from their phones.

 

It had earlier been reported that Trump would push ByteDance to sell TikTok due to national security concerns. Microsoft had been touted as a possible buyer.

 

“We’re looking at TikTok. We may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things,” Trump said on Friday, The Guardian reported.

 

However, later reports have suggested Trump is not in favour of TikTok being bought by a US company and would rather it be banned outright.

 

India banned the app in recent months after skirmishes with Chinese troops on the two nations’ disputed border in the Himalayas.

 

AUSTRALIA BAN MOOTED

 

In early June, an MP was quoted as saying that the Australian government was facing pressure to ban TikTok.

 

The app has been accused of hiding sinister (and for the most part unproven) links to the Chinese Communist Party behind a fun facade.

 

At the time, TikTok Australia’s director of public policy Brent Thomas told news.com.au the reports were “not credible”.

 

The company has said the data of international users is stored outside of China and is not accessible to Chinese authorities.

 

“Consumers love TikTok in Australia, precisely because we focus on providing an experience that is safe as well as fun,” Mr Thomas said.

 

“We already have multiple safety measures in place for consumers, and we are continuing to invest in making it even safer.”

 

TikTok has been downloaded two billion times this year alone.

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/tiktok-president-trump-announces-us-ban-of-popular-video-app/news-story/490354bd57ad8cf6fb9102fbaf62fc40

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 6:16 p.m. No.10155115   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5141 >>4836

The threads that don't connect: Covid gives Australian conspiracy theorists a common home

 

‘Sovereign citizens’, anti-vaxxers, mask refuseniks and far-right extremists see all their wildly disparate beliefs confirmed by coronavirus restrictions

 

1/3

 

In the remote border town of Texas in northern New South Wales last month, a police officer pulled over a truck driver after he allegedly crossed into Queensland without providing identification.

 

In footage posted online, the 33-year-old can be heard asking the officer whether he worked “for the corporation known as the Queensland police in all capital letters?”

 

He then asks: “Am I a man?”

 

The officer’s deadpan response – “It’s 2020 mate. What do you identify as?” – got him his own thread on Reddit, but the bizarre interaction is not unique.

 

Viral footage of people defying restrictions on borders, large gatherings and, in Victoria, the use of face masks, have increasingly peppered Australian news as the Covid-19 pandemic stretches into its eighth month.

 

This past week a woman who refused to wear a face mask in a Bunnings hardware store in Melbourne became the latest fodder for the news cycle after she described herself as “a living woman” to a bemused employee. A few days earlier, footage of a woman reading from a script as she asked an officer “have I disturbed the peace today?” while refusing to answer questions at a border stop in Victoria also made headlines.

 

Footage of these encounters and others like them share a similar characteristic: in them, the people challenging police appear to be reading from the same script, a pdf file that has been shared widely across various Facebook groups loosely affiliated with the so-called “sovereign citizen” conspiracy movement.

 

Described by the Southern Poverty Law Centre in the US as an extremist group, the sovereign citizen movement is a haphazard collection of pseudo-legal beliefs broadly coalesced around the notion that modern government is illegitimate.

 

“Sovereign citizens believe that they get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore, and they don’t think they should have to pay taxes,” the SPLC says.

 

In extreme cases, sovereign citizens in the US have been linked to violence. In 2010 a father and son linked to the movement shot to death two police officers in West Memphis, Arkansas, who had pulled them over in a routine traffic stop. The two men were later killed in a shootout with police.

 

The movement is rooted in racism and antisemitism, though, as the SPLC acknowledges, many followers are unaware of its origins. Acts of deadly violence have usually directed against government officials.

 

The Australian wing of the bizarre movement, transplanted here with a few tweaks, is not new. One of its most well-known proponents, a Western Australian, Wayne Glew, had his property and assets seized in 2018 after refusing to pay $300,000 in council rates and legal fees because of a belief local government was unconstitutional.

 

But in the time of Covid-19 its adherents have found themselves a niche. As governments impose unprecedented restrictions on civil liberties in an effort to control the spread of the virus, sovereign citizens appear to be attempting to take advantage of broad community uncertainty to push their confused agenda.

 

They are far from alone. Experts say the pandemic has offered an umbrella under which a bevy of fringe conspiracy groups and far-right actors have found common cause. Cam Smith, an independent researcher who focuses on conspiracy theorists and the far right, says links between previously discrete groups including the sovereign citizens, anti-vaxxers, QAnon and anti-5G groups have increasingly blurred during the pandemic.

 

“It’s a weird moment where all of these groups who usually have their own thing have come together with Covid,” he says. “It doesn’t even really seem to matter if they don’t necessarily meld – they find ways to smooth it over.”

 

‘Society is obsessed with conspiracy theorists’

 

The most visible expression of this trend occurred in May, when 10 people were arrested and one police officer was hospitalised after demonstrators gathered in Melbourne to protest against “self-isolating, social distancing, tracking apps [and] 5G being installed”.

 

The protest, which was promoted on various Facebook groups linked to fringe conspiracy groups including QAnon and various anti-vaxxers, included signs about 5G, China and the Murray-Darling River. Various speakers claimed Covid-19 was a conspiracy orchestrated by “globalists”, while one of the main organisers of the rally, Fanos Panayides, invoked the “mark of the beast”.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 6:17 p.m. No.10155141   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5156 >>4836

>>10155115

 

2/3

 

Prof Axel Bruns, a leading internet researcher from the Queensland University of Technology, has been researching misinformation related to the planned 5G network during the Covid-19 pandemic. He agrees that under the umbrella of the pandemic, the borders between different corners of internet conspiracy have begun to vanish.

 

“The example of 5G gives you all of these disparate things: that it’s a dangerous technology because it’s linked to some sort of electro-fog, or that it’s the trigger for some sort of biological weapon, or that it’s linked to the coming of the Antichrist,” he says.

 

“There can be these five or six totally different threads that don’t really connect, but what it seems to me is that everyone who had some sort of pre-existing conspiracy theory about health, or world government, or religion, they’ve all jumped on to the Covid bandwagon and found a way to connect what’s happening with the virus to their own existing worldview.

 

“So if you’re against 5G, Covid is either making it worse or is caused by 5G. If you’re concerned by world government taking over, the stay-at-home orders and masks are a sign of that. Everyone is retrofitting Covid into these existing conspiracy theories.”

 

For the most part these online groupings have negligible impact on the real word. But the new outbreak of a pushback against Covid-19 restrictions poses a new challenge for authorities grappling with the consequences of people indifferent to the potency of the virus.

 

As Victoria struggles to contain its second-wave outbreak, conspiracy groups continue to flout regulations. This week dozens of people linked to the sovereign citizens movement gathered in a Melbourne gym in violation of restrictions on gatherings.

 

“A great night together discussing the putrid conduct of the police, government and media lies,” one attendee wrote on social media after the event. “We are strong and won’t bow down to these oppressors.”

 

Similarly on Friday about 30 anti-mask protesters gathered at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance just before 7am and held a minute’s silence.

 

It also poses challenges for the social media companies providing the platform on which these communities of misinformation flourish, and the media outlets struggling to come to terms with how to cover such phenomena.

 

After Cam Smith posted footage of the woman refusing to wear a mask inside a Bunnings store to Twitter, it was quickly picked up by mainstream news networks. An analysis by the ABC found news articles about the incident were the top two stories on social media about coronavirus in Australia over the last week measured by engagements.

 

She was later featured on the Seven network burning a face mask, before appearing on Nine’s Today Show where she claimed, falsely, that Covid-19 case numbers “are not true” and that the virus was “biochemically engineered intentionally”. When the Today host Karl Stefanovic abruptly ended the interview, it prompted another round of stories about the confrontation.

 

The public health academic Prof Julie Leask from the University of Sydney is one of Australia’s leading experts on vaccination uptake. She says she has lost count of the number of interviews she’s done on the anti-vaxx movement, and is frustrated by what she see’s as the media’s outsized focus on its hardcore proponents.

 

“Even the fact you’re doing this story is part of the game,” she says. “It feels like society is obsessed with conspiracy theorists and I still haven’t figured out why. I almost wonder if we’re all attracted to these neat attributions for problems in the same way conspiracy theorists are. If you have a conspiracy theorist who doesn’t want to lock down or wear a mask, you don’t have to acknowledge more complex problems like gaps in our healthcare system.”

 

But Leask does concede there is a “dilemma” in whether or not media should cover these issues, pointing to polling showing a perhaps larger than expected number of Australians do believe conspiracy theories related to issues such as 5G.

 

“There is clearly something going on in this pandemic to see so many Australians believing those views,” she said. “The general explanation in my field is in times of uncertainty people will seek more solid, clear-cut explanations to give themselves some comfort. It’s worth noting that and it is kind of concerning.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 6:18 p.m. No.10155156   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

>>10155141

 

3/3

 

When fringe beliefs become destructive

 

The challenge for media organisation lies somewhere in the tipping point: that is, when fringe beliefs and their proponents begin to slip into the mainstream. In the US, opposition to face masks has found its way into mainstream discourse as an issue of individual freedom in some cases peddled by Republican figures including Donald Trump.

 

In Australia that rhetoric has so far been confined to the fringes of the debate, with some notable exceptions: when Victoria mandated face masks in public, the Herald Sun columnist, Sky News host and rightwing pundit Andrew Bolt labelled it “virus hysteria”.

 

There is now no firm data on attitudes towards wearing masks in Australia, though the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has praised the state’s compliance with the new mandate. A survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in late June found one in eight people nationally said the pandemic had prompted them to wear face masks.

 

While it’s hard to know the extent to which anti-mask sentiment has crept into Australia, Leask said the danger was when an issue became divided along “ideological gradients”.

 

“In the same way that climate change in the 1970s and 80s started to become an issue of, not just do we believe in global warming but ‘by the way this is a lefty idea so if you’re conservative you’re not going to agree with it’,” she said.

 

“You start to see those leading commentators influencing a larger group of people. If part of belonging to whichever tribe is to also believe ‘it is my right to not wear a mask’ then you might see a greater amount of non-compliance”.

 

There is no doubt however that online communities linked to conspiracy theories can impact on the real world without necessarily bleeding into the mainstream. In countries including New Zealand, for example, anti-5G activists have been linked to the destruction of phone towers during the pandemic.

 

In Australia the Guardian has seen leaked Telegram conversations between members of anti-5G Facebook group openly discussing plans to destroy towers.

 

“Yes I hope we can take action soon, we can definitely burn them,” one woman wrote in April.

 

“[T]his app isn’t secure enough if we’re going to talk about damaging 5G towers,” another replied.

 

“I think we should take any discussions regarding physically damaging the towers to an underground level. It’s frustrating going around in circles discussing the negative effects of 5G when we could be actively planning real activism.”

 

Cam Smith, who has been at the forefront of watching the evolution of various threads of the conspiracy movement, believes one of the most obvious reasons for its escalation during the pandemic could be true: “People are stuck at home and online a lot more.”

 

“It sounds trite but I’ve seen some of them saying, ‘You know, I was a sheep and then Covid happened and I had time to research,’” he says.

 

“I think most of them are primed for it, though. They might have had a conspiracy they believed in already and this whole thing has happened and just set them on a path.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/02/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-covid-19-australia-agenda-australian-theorists-groups-anti-vaxxers-antivax-vaccine-face-masks

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 6:53 p.m. No.10155779   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5789 >>4836

Hydroxychloroquine is a poor coronavirus treatment but a perfect parable for our times

 

1/2

 

The group had all the trappings of medical authority.

 

Wearing white coats as they stood with serious faces in front of the US Supreme Court earlier this week, they called themselves "America's Frontline Doctors".

 

In the video of their press conference, which was livestreamed on Facebook, the group promoted a familiar but controversial narrative: that the drug hydroxychloroquine could help treat COVID-19.

 

They made their claims despite large scientific studies showing the drug doesn't benefit people hospitalised with the disease.

 

The original clip was removed from Facebook but it lived on, with a retweet from US President Donald Trump and a boost on Instagram from celebrities like Madonna. After that, right-wing and conspiratorial online communities — including those in Australia — made a point of keeping the video available online.

 

Even a transcript of the press conference, on the website of transcription service Rev, has received more than 800,000 interactions on Facebook, according to data from social media monitoring firm Crowdtangle. It has been posted more than 500 times.

 

The video controversy is only the latest instalment in the saga of hydroxychloroquine's transformation, from relatively obscure anti-malarial drug to political football.

 

It first arrived in the spotlight thanks to widespread press coverage and now, in private Facebook groups and in YouTube comment feeds, hydroxychloroquine is no longer just an unlikely medicine for COVID-19.

 

To believe in its efficacy is often a way to indicate support for President Trump or an ideological scepticism of the medical establishment, entirely disconnected from the science.

 

"It's a tenet of faith," said Tom Sear, a fellow with UNSW Canberra Cyber at the Australian Defence Force Academy. "All the scientific evidence is doubtful — and there's Trump with certainty."

 

Where did the hype come from?

 

As coronavirus spread in early 2020, the world scrambled for a silver bullet and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine — or HCQ — emerged as an early candidate.

 

Also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, it had shown some promise when used against two previous coronaviruses, SARS and MERS.

 

"The hope was it might be somewhat useful," said Derek Lowe, a long-time drug discovery researcher and author of In the Pipeline, a long-running science blog on the Science Translational Medicine website.

 

"No-one expected great things out of hydroxychloroquine."

 

On Facebook, some of the first mentions of the drug as a potential COVID-19 treatment came in mid-February from Chinese media like Xinhua and China Daily but attracted relatively little engagement.

 

Outside the research community, however, the real attention came after the intervention of a media-savvy French microbiologist named Didier Raoult.

 

His study, published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Agents in March, tested a combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin on patients with COVID-19 and found that it helped.

 

But in the eyes of other scientists, the study was decidedly lacklustre. It was small and uncontrolled, which meant there was no group that did not receive the treatment to compare the results against.

 

But those caveats, and underwhelming results from other trials, ceased to hold much weight in the greater public consciousness after US President Donald Trump weighed in.

 

On March 19, Trump said the drug could be a "game changer" at a White House news conference with his coronavirus task force. A few days later, he tweeted a link to Dr Raoult's study. It was retweeted more than 300,000 times.

 

Since March 1, public posts containing the word "hydroxychloroquine" have received at least 55 million "interactions" on Facebook — a measure that includes reactions, shares or comments.

 

Other cable news characters emerged as willing soldiers in a burgeoning culture war, such as Dr Vladimir Zelenko, a doctor in upstate New York who claimed to have treated patients with a combination of hydroxychloroquine and other drugs.

 

And in the months since, President Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly returned to the hydroxychloroquine narrative despite the protests of White House medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci, who has repeatedly stated that all "valid" scientific data suggests hydroxychloroquine is not effective against COVID-19.

 

The drug has attracted the attention of populist politicians outside the United States as well.

 

It's been heavily promoted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and the drug even became a political instrument in Australia, when erstwhile MP Clive Palmer bought Facebook ads in March, as well as full-page newspaper ads, promoting his proposal to buy "1 million doses" of the drug to support the fight against COVID-19.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 6:54 p.m. No.10155789   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

>>10155779

 

2/2

 

Hydroxychloroquine was seized upon because it offered an appealing narrative, Mr Lowe suggested: a cheap, immediate cure. And if there were naysayers, those were just evil forces at work.

 

"There was an element of sticking it to the 'big evil' drug companies — 'we're going to use this cheap generic medicine that's been around forever'."

 

It is a political drug now

 

Of course, the attraction of a miracle cure is nothing new. But the media and social media platforms can amplify and convert this desire into an article of faith, often tied to politics and identity.

 

If it were effective, hydroxychloroquine might offer an immediate and individualistic solution that could appeal to those on the right, Mr Sear said, in opposition to more left-leaning values around social responsibility.

 

"[Hydroxychloroquine is] characterised as a quick fix, a magic cure for the 'problem' of the virus," he said of how the drug is often characterised online.

 

"It's not a social solution. It doesn't imply we have to work together — and with government — and address larger, more complex, and interrelated issues in society to battle the disease."

 

Throughout the pandemic, the spruiking of so-called coronavirus "treatments" has been widespread — grifters adapting to the current panic by offering unproven solutions such as colloidal silver.

 

But hydroxychloroquine is different, according to Elise Thomas, a misinformation researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

 

"The reality is, most of these people have no knowledge of what hydroxychloroquine is," she said.

 

"From that angle, it does become more of an article of faith, or more wrapped up into an ideological or political narrative as opposed to being an actual industry that ordinary people can participate in."

 

George Buchanan, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, has been observing online discussions about COVID-19 on platforms like YouTube and Twitter.

 

Like Ms Thomas, Dr Buchanan has seen hydroxychloroquine picked up by right-wing and pro-Trump circles on social media. He said it remains one of the most discussed potential treatments online.

 

"HCQ has been the dominant narrative up to this point."

 

The failure of hydroxychloroquine to emerge as a usable COVID-19 treatment so far can be seen as many things by such groups. It might be "evidence" of the pharmaceutical industry's backing of alternative drugs, for example, or an excuse by the "deep state" to eventually vaccinate everyone.

 

Ms Thomas described what she calls "conspiracy collapse", where social media platforms bring together many different kinds of sometimes contradictory conspiracies.

 

"It's a car crash. It's terrifically messy," she said.

 

"You look at it at the end, and you can't figure out what started where."

 

What the HCQ misinformation means for a vaccine

 

The online obsession with hydroxychloroquine seems unabated — not helped by the media's difficulty in reporting the uncertainty inherent in medical science and drug trials.

 

Just in the past seven days, Crowdtangle data shows Facebook posts on pages and in public groups mentioning the drug have received more than 12 million interactions. And posts from right-wing figures such as Dan Bongino and Rush Limbaugh about censorship of the treatment have been shared tens of thousands of times.

 

Thanks in part to social media networks and other online coverage, misinformation and conspiracy theories have periodically flowed from the US and Europe into Australia — at times an "information colony", as Mr Sear put it — and hydroxychloroquine is no exception.

 

Similar statements of belief in the drug and accusations of cover-ups have been shared widely here in recent days thanks to posts from Australian politicians, wellness influencers and anti-vaccination pages.

 

Whether or not hydroxychloroquine ever becomes a viable coronavirus drug, the evolution of its online narrative has created a template for how to muddy the narrative around potential treatments, and especially around any potential vaccine.

 

Mr Lowe predicted there is going to be "a lot of craziness" as the vaccine clinical data starts to emerge.

 

Ultimately, however, what frustrates him most about the hydroxychloroquine hype is the vast gulf between the appealing narrative it offers and the usual way that medical science advances.

 

Most of the drugs that scientists develop, Mr Lowe said, for everything from cancer to coronaviruses, simply do not work. They fail.

 

"There aren't very many miracle drugs."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-08-01/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-drug-now-right-wing-ideology/12510812

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 7:28 p.m. No.10156088   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10143641

Resignation of James Murdoch ‘does not absolve him of the blood on his hands’

 

The 47-year-old is known as the more liberal member of the Murdochs.

 

James Murdoch’s resignation from News Corporation is the latest example of the political divide in the famed media family.

 

The youngest son of News Corporation founder Rupert Murdoch resigned from the company’s board of directors on Friday, citing “disagreements over certain editorial content” published by the media empire’s news outlets.

 

While the nature of the disagreements and the news outlets in question were not disclosed, the resignation follows a number of similar moves in recent years.

 

In response to his decision Media Matters President and CEO Angelo Carusone said “At the center of Fox News and News Corp. is Murdoch control.

 

“Today, James Murdoch made it clear that he no longer wants to be associated with the damage that his family’s media properties continue to do to society. The blame going forward now rests squarely with Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch.

 

“If James Murdoch hadn’t already left Fox Corp. last year, you would have seen him quit Fox Corp. today too.

 

“It’s hard to blame him. In this year alone, Fox News has put the lives of Americans at risk spreading dangerous medical misinformation about the pandemic, prevented effective government action to save lives and the economy, stoked racial tensions by elevating and promoting white supremacists in the network, and served as a mouthpiece for Trump’s conspiracy theories and extremism.

 

“The Murdochs’ money comes from making America sicker, weaker, more divided, and less competitive around the world.

 

“While his action of resigning alone does not absolve him of the blood on his hands caused by decades of Murdoch deceit, it’s an important step to no longer being part of the problem.”

 

Mr Murdoch was thrust into the public limelight in 2011 when the then-Sky chairman fronted a Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee alongside his father over the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

 

The fallout from the scandal ultimately forced him to resign from the role in April 2012, with media watchdog Ofcom finding he “repeatedly fell short of the conduct to be expected of him as a chief executive officer and chairman”.

 

Despite being tainted by the events, Mr Murdoch eventually returned to the role four years later.

 

Lachlan

 

James Murdoch, who currently heads private investment firm Lupa Systems, is known as the more liberal member of the Murdoch family, while his more conservative older brother Lachlan is the heir apparent to the media empire.

 

Lachlan Murdoch is also the chief executive of Fox Corporation, the home of conservative US news network Fox News.

 

In 2016, when he was serving as chief executive of 21st Century Fox, James Murdoch championed the success of the network, saying there was “no desire to shift the position it has in the market”.

 

However following his exit from the company in 2019, he openly distanced himself from Fox News, telling The New Yorker: “There are views I really disagree with on Fox.”

 

That same year Mr Murdoch donated to Pete Buttigieg’s campaign to become the Democratic nominee for US president.

 

Mr Murdoch’s recent political actions have also stood in stark contrast to his father and brother.

 

In June, he donated 615,000 US dollars (£467,400) to presidential candidate Joe Biden’s victory fund.

 

Bill Clinton

 

His wife Kathryn, who previously worked for Bill Clinton’s environmental charity Clinton Climate Initiative, donated the same amount.

 

His opposition to the direction of News Corporation’s coverage came to a head in January, when he took direct issue with how the company had covered climate change and its impact on the bushfires in Australia.

 

A spokesperson for Mr Murdoch and his wife Kathryn told The Daily Beast: “Kathryn and James’ views on climate change are well established and their frustration with some of News Corp and Fox’s coverage of the topic is also well known.

 

“They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial of the role of climate change among the news outlets in Australia, given obvious evidence to the contrary.”

 

Mr Murdoch’s decision to sever his last formal link to the family business brings to an end what has been an extensive and turbulent career in the industry.

 

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/resignation-of-james-murdoch-does-not-absolve-him-blood-on-hands/01/08/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 7:42 p.m. No.10156246   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6261 >>4830

'The US enterprise is up for grabs': why the Trump-Biden race is so important for Australia

 

The choice: ‘America first’ or a renewed alliance. For once, the cliche about this being the most important election in living memory is actually true

 

1/3

 

As a career diplomat and former head of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Varghese has always had to choose his words carefully.

 

But having moved on from the public service, and free of the need for diplomatic niceties, he offers a stark assessment of the stakes for Australia – and the rest of the world – in the forthcoming US presidential election.

 

“I think the world can survive four years of Donald Trump; I would be much less confident that the world can survive eight years of Donald Trump,” he says in a Lowy Institute podcast.

 

Of course, Varghese doesn’t mean it literally – that a second term would spark some sort of mass extinction event. But for countries like Australia that depend on a stable rules-based order, effective global bodies to make its voice heard and open and predictable trading conditions, an extension of Trump’s abrasive “America first” approach poses significant risks.

 

The complexities for Australia in dealing with the Trump team were on full display last week, with senior ministers in Washington for security talks insisting that the alliance was in “great shape” while resisting pressure from their counterparts on at least two fronts. The American wish list included Australian freedom of navigation operations close to disputed features in the South China Sea and for Australia to extract its citizens from fighting zones in Syria.

 

While Scott Morrison and his government have now grown somewhat familiar with the vagaries of dealing with the Trump administration, officials are beginning to contemplate two distinct possibilities for the next four years, each with major consequences for Australia.

 

The election could result in either a second Trump term – with the president emboldened to persist with his isolationist and crash-through approach to world affairs – or the return to a more conventional Canberra-Washington relationship under Joe Biden. The polls currently heavily favour Barack Obama’s former right-hand man, but Australian officials are believed to be planning for either outcome.

 

‘Renewing’ the alliance under Biden

 

While Biden would have significant domestic problems in his in-tray – like getting on top of the coronavirus debacle and turning around the crisis-ridden economy – the former vice-president has also vowed to “renew” and “strengthen” US alliances with Australia and other partners. He talks about restoring American leadership while launching new diplomatic efforts to raise the level of ambition on tackling the climate crisis.

 

Varghese believes a Biden presidency would not simply pick up where the Obama administration left off. “Australia is less than comfortable” with some aspects of the Trump administration’s policy approaches, but a number of those “will probably continue to drive American policy”.

 

“But I think we will see a more multilateral United States administration under Biden – and for a country that can’t buy or bully its way in the world like Australia, that will be a plus,” Varghese, now chancellor of the University of Queensland, says in the podcast interview.

 

“I think we will see more sensible, considered alliance management under a Biden administration than we’ve seen under the Trump administration.

 

“While I don’t expect a Biden administration to be a great champion of trade liberalisation, I don’t think it will be quite as mercantilist in its trade policy as we’ve seen so far in the United States.”

 

Allan Behm, a former defence strategist who now heads the international and security affairs program of the Australia Institute, says the 3 November election “is of enormous significance to Australia”. An emboldened, re-elected Trump would further accelerate the divide between the US and China and see America “head far, far further into isolationism and exceptionalism”.

 

“It will be brutal in its dealings with friends and foes alike. It will simply screw everybody,” Behm tells the Guardian.

 

‘We don’t always agree’

 

The Australian government, first under Malcolm Turnbull and now Morrison, has tried to make the most of the relationship, even if there have been bruising moments (such as the phone call in which the former reality TV star berated Turnbull over the refugee resettlement deal, and the initial difficulties in securing exemptions to new US tariffs on steel and aluminium).

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 7:43 p.m. No.10156261   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6272 >>4830

>>10156246

 

2/3

 

For the most part, Australia has avoided the turbulence experienced by other US allies such as Japan, South Korea and Germany, which Trump has repeatedly accused of freeloading on defence and exploiting the US on trade.

 

But in Washington last week, Australian ministers were at pains to insist that Canberra set its own policy, particularly when it came to China. Australian officials believe the idea of sailing Royal Australian Navy vessels within 12 nautical miles of disputed features in the South China Sea would be needlessly provocative, particularly at a time of heightened tensions with China. Australia and the US agreed to deepen defence cooperation more broadly.

 

Australia would not be drawn into US electoral politics, Morrison insisted on Wednesday. “While we have the deepest and most lasting of friendships and alliances with the United States, that doesn’t mean we always share every view to its minute detail and there is often a difference in nuance or emphasis or timing and, on occasion, in substance,” the prime minister said.

 

China tensions spill over to Australia

 

One of the most important issues for Australia in the US election is how Washington manages its relationship with Beijing – because officials view that as “the principal driver of strategic dynamics in our region”.

 

The Trump administration has adopted an increasingly tough tone – no doubt influenced, in part, by electoral calculations – with the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, declaring in July that “the freedom-loving nations of the world must induce China to change” because the Chinese Communist party cannot be trusted.

 

It’s an approach that has alarmed some regional players, with Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, warning the US against the binary choice of either “colliding with China” or “deciding that you have no stake in the region and [leaving] us to our own defences”.

 

But many observers believe the hardening of America’s stance towards China is likely to continue regardless of who wins on 3 November, given that there is now broad political support in the US to take a firm line against an increasingly assertive Xi Jinping.

 

Biden may, however, try to take some of the heat out of the China relationship.

 

Antony Blinken, a senior foreign policy adviser for the Biden campaign and a former deputy US secretary of state during the Obama years, argues Trump has made strategic errors by failing to properly coordinate with allies and by withdrawing from international institutions – giving China an opening to fill.

 

“We need to rally our allies and partners instead of alienating them to deal with some of the challenges that China poses,” Blinken told a Hudson Institute event in early July. While taking steps to “deter aggression”, Biden would try to work with China on issues like climate change, dealing with health emergencies, and preventing the spread of dangerous weapons.

 

It’s an approach likely to be welcomed by Australian diplomats. After Morrison dabbled in Trump-style rhetoric last year by warning against “negative globalism” and unelected global bodies, the Australian government pivoted in the midst of the pandemic to emphasise the importance of multilateral organisations, saying if Australia retreated into isolationism the world order would be shaped by others. While sympathising with Trump’s criticism of the World Health Organization, Morrison has said Australia won’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater” by following the American move to disengage.

 

On the trade front, Australia has had to team up with the European Union, China and others to build a workaround for resolving disputes after the Trump administration blocked World Trade Organization appointments. Australia also fears collateral damage from an unorthodox trade deal between Trump and Xi that committed China to massively ramp up agricultural purchases from America.

 

Second Trump term could erode alliance support

 

Trump’s brash approach in dealing with America’s long-standing allies is not cost-free, according to the former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd. Rudd fears that a second Trump term – with a continuation of the America First mantra and therefore allies second – could “fray” support for the US alliance in Australia.

 

The Lowy Institute’s annual poll of Australian sentiment towards global issues lends some weight to this view. While it shows more than three-quarters of respondents value the American alliance, just 51% trust the US to act responsibly on the world stage – about 30 points lower than the Obama-induced high of a decade ago. And just 30% trust Trump to act responsibly on global issues. In the same poll in 2019, two in three respondents agreed that Trump had weakened the alliance with Australia.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 7:44 p.m. No.10156272   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10156261

 

3/3

 

Michael Fullilove, the executive director of the Lowy Institute, says that for once, the cliche about this being the most important election in living memory is actually true. “The reason for that is that Australian security depends on the United States, and the whole success of the US enterprise is up for grabs, and the US role in the world is to be decided,” he says.

 

Fullilove worries that in the event Trump is re-elected, more of the “adults” advising the president would leave the room, “the deep state would get shallower”, and the US would continue with a “semi-isolationist, anti-alliance, anti-free trade agenda” that was at odds with Australia’s interests.

 

“Scott Morrison has done a good job of managing President Trump, but the bottom line is President Trump doesn’t believe in alliances and his views on alliances and trade and democracy run counter to Australia’s views,” Fullilove says.

 

Fullilove says a Biden administration would be much more cognisant of allies, so there was unlikely to be a repeat of the turbulence experienced between Trump and Turnbull – but Biden’s team would also have higher expectations of allies.

 

Climate to ‘roar back as an issue’ under Biden

 

“It may be harder to say no to a Biden administration,” Fullilove says. “Climate will come roaring back as an issue in US foreign policy under a Biden administration. That would require more action by Australia.”

 

Biden has vowed to put the US on “an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions, economy-wide” by 2050, and to rally the rest of the world to meet the climate threat – indicating that he would “fully integrate climate change into [its] foreign policy and national security strategies, as well as [its] approach to trade”.

 

Amanda McKenzie, the chief executive of Australia’s Climate Council, believes Trump’s climate stance – including withdrawing from the Paris agreement – has emboldened some within the Australian political system who have sought to frustrate effective action for years. But she says the Black Summer of bushfires “was a big wakeup call for a lot of Australians”.

 

“I think Biden’s leadership, particularly that $2tn [climate] plan, which is an enormous investment, could have a revolutionary effect globally,” McKenzie says.

 

“To have the US fundamentally changing its stance and to be much more effective would have a transformative impact globally and countries around the globe would follow suit. It is a pivotal election from that perspective.”

 

The economist Ross Garnaut has also speculated that a Biden win could lead to Australia being placed “in the naughty corner” on climate policy.

 

Back to the Trans-Pacific Partnership?

 

Supporters of the alliance are also watching to see where Biden lands on trade.

 

John Berry, who served as the US ambassador to Australia from 2013 to 2016 and is now president of the American Australian Association, tells the Guardian he believes Biden would be “more likely to pursue multilateral approaches and solutions” on both trade and climate.

 

Berry credits Australia with playing a leadership role in advancing the Trans-Pacific Partnership – originally a 12-nation regional trade pact from which Trump withdrew – and he thinks “the reconsideration of TPP will be one of the possibilities actively considered for positive US economic engagement in the region”.

 

But other former government insiders say Australia may have difficulty pushing a trade liberalisation agenda, regardless of who wins.

 

“Since Australians like straight talk, I’ll be straight with you on politics: if Trump’s reelected you’re not going to do anything on trade because he’s a protectionist,” Robert Zoellick, a former president of the World Bank, said at a recent event hosted by the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre.

 

Zoellick, the US trade representative in the George W Bush administration when the US/Australia free trade agreement was reached 15 years ago, added that if Biden was elected he would “have a very full plate” so trade may slip down the list.

 

“He’s got the pandemic, he’s got economic recovery, he’s got racism and sense of inequality, he’s got global climate change, and frankly there’s only so much that a US president can take on,” Zoellick said.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/02/the-us-enterprise-is-up-for-grabs-why-the-trump-biden-race-is-so-important-for-australia

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 8:17 p.m. No.10156632   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6663 >>4919

Prince Andrew 'spent two days alone at Epstein ranch with the tycoon's sex slave'

 

EXCLUSIVE Court documents make a series of claims, with alleged victim Virginia Giuffre saying she was rewarded with “close to a thousand dollars” by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

 

1/2

 

Prince Andrew and a girl who claims she was a sex slave for Jeffrey Epstein spent two days alone at the tycoon’s huge ranch, court documents claim.

 

A manuscript written by Virginia Giuffre says the Duke had “a really good time” and that she gave him “numerous massages”.

 

Ms Giuffre – who was 17 or 18 at the time – says she was later rewarded with “close to a thousand dollars” by convicted paedophile Epstein.

 

The sensational claims emerged in a tranche of newly-released court papers which Epstein’s former lover Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, tried to block.

 

Describing her time with Andrew at Epstein’s 7,559-acre Zorro ranch near Sante Fe, New Mexico, Ms Giuffre writes: “My job was to entertain him endlessly, whether that meant having to bestow him my body during an erotic massage or simply take him horseback riding.

 

"The mansion was completely empty save a couple of maids who also cooked our dinners for us, and a couple of bodyguards that we hardly even saw at all.”

 

She claims Maxwell – a longtime pal of Andrew, 60 – arranged for her to go to the ranch, around 2001, but did not tell her who would be there.

 

“Ghislaine only told me that I was to meet someone there, not sure of whom that was. It wasn’t my place to ask,” Ms Giuffre claims.

 

When she arrived at the ranch she saw Andrew who, she says, greeted her with the “same old cheesy grin” she had seen when they met up previously in London and New York.

 

Unlike the Prince’s other visits to Epstein’s homes, the American financier and Maxwell were not present.

 

Ms Giuffre says after two days with Andrew, she was recalled to New York to debrief Epstein and Maxwell.

 

She says that during a conversation in the tycoon’s kitchen Maxwell asked: “So… how was the ranch with the Prince?”

 

Ms Giuffre, now 36 and a mum of three living in Australia, says she replied: “I think he had a really good time, he seemed relaxed and when we said goodbye he gave me a kiss.

 

“I took him horse-riding, just around the property, we went swimming in the pool and, of course, I gave him plenty of massages. He had a massage at least couple of times each day, really seeming to enjoy his time there.”

 

Describing the reaction of Epstein and his lover Maxwell, she adds: “Like proud parents, they looked over me with such content. ‘Good, you did really well,’ Jeffrey complimented me.”

 

She says Epstein gave her “close to a thousand dollars… more than what I thought anybody at my young age could make for a couple of days work”.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 8:19 p.m. No.10156663   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6766 >>4919

>>10156632

 

2/2

 

During the Prince’s interview with BBC Newsnight last November, he was at pains to suggest he was never alone while at Epstein’s properties in New York, Florida and the Caribbean.

 

But he was not asked about visiting Zorro.

 

A former ranch hand told the Sunday Mirror he saw Andrew a couple of times but never “without Jeffrey or Ghislaine”.

 

The new claims heap more pressure on the Metropolitan Police to release logs kept by royal protection officers.

 

One former royal bodyguard, Paul Page, has said notes would include times and dates of trips the Prince took. Logs are kept for 30 years.

 

Forty-seven court documents were unsealed by New York Judge Loretta Preska on Thursday.

 

They relate to a 2015 civil case between Maxwell and Ms Giuffre. A second wave of papers could be released – subject to an appeal scheduled for next month.

 

It was in a 2015 affidavit that Ms Giuffre – referred to as Jane Doe 3 – claimed she had sex with Andrew in Maxwell’s Belgravia home, Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and at an orgy on the tycoon’s Caribbean island.

 

Her claims were struck out of the civil case by Florida judge Kenneth Marra.

 

He ruled: “The factual details regarding with whom and where the Jane Does engaged in sexual activities are immaterial and impertinent to this central claim (i.e., that they were known victims of Mr Epstein and the Government owed them CVRA duties), especially considering that these details involve non-parties who are not related to the respondent Government. These unnecessary details shall be stricken.”

 

In other claims reported yesterday, Ms Giuffre alleges Andrew had “an orgy with numerous other under-aged girls” at Epstein’s Caribbean home – and Maxwell had “continuous” sex with girls and women.

 

Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire last month on suspicion of grooming and abusing three girls under the age of 18.

 

She is also accused of perjury and faces up to 35 years if convicted.

 

She has pleaded not guilty and is due for trial in New York in July 2021.

 

Andrew and his legal team have vehemently denied Ms Giuffre’s claims.

 

A picture shows them together but the Prince said in his Newsnight appearance that he does not recall ever meeting her.

 

Epstein, 66, killed himself in jail last year while awaiting sex-trafficking charges.

 

Andrew was pictured walking with the tycoon in New York’s Central Park in 2010, just months after the paedophile was released from prison for procuring a minor for prostitution.

 

Andrew told Newsnight: “I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.”

 

The Duke’s spokesperson declined to comment.

 

But the new claim was met with shock by his friends.

 

One said: “The Zorro account is a serious inconsistency. Ms Giuffre’s lawyers have always claimed three alleged encounters. And now this fourth allegation. How so? Why has this never been raised before?

 

“And where is the evidence? I’d suggest you put these questions to her lawyers, not to the Duke.”

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/prince-andrew-spent-two-days-22454560

 

 

Jeffrey Epstein Documents

 

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6250471-Epstein-Docs.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 8:25 p.m. No.10156766   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10156663

>The new claims heap more pressure on the Metropolitan Police to release logs kept by royal protection officers.

 

>One former royal bodyguard, Paul Page, has said notes would include times and dates of trips the Prince took. Logs are kept for 30 years.

 

Met Police destroyed records for the night Prince Andrew allegedly had sex with teenager in London, says former Royal protection officer

 

Police records that could make or break Prince Andrew’s alibi for the night he is alleged to have had sex with a sex-trafficked teenager have been destroyed.

 

Scotland Yard made the admission to a former Royal protection officer who told The Mail on Sunday he believed Andrew may have returned to Buckingham Palace in the early hours of March 11, 2001.

 

Virginia Roberts, then 17, claims she was coerced by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein into having sex with the Prince on the night of March 10 at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell. In his infamous Newsnight interview last November, the Duke of York insisted he had spent that night at Sunninghill Park, Berkshire, with his children, having earlier dropped off Princess Beatrice at a Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey, for a party.

 

Earlier this year the former Royal guard told this newspaper that he recalled making a complaint to his boss about allegedly abusive conduct by Andrew when he arrived at the Palace in a car driven by his personal protection officer.

 

To confirm his account, the ex-officer – who had a 23-year career with the police – asked for access to his shift roster at Buckingham Palace and other documents. Last week, 149 days after making the request, he finally received a reply from a caseworker at the Met’s Information Rights Unit in Sidcup, Kent. An email said: ‘I conducted a number of searches. However the Retention and Disposal Policy states that Duty Records and Annual Leave records are only held for 2 years. Therefore, there is no information the Commissioner is required to supply you.’

 

Last night, the former Royal guard said: ‘I am very disappointed. Why on earth did it take nearly five months to respond with such a non-informative answer? I’m also surprised to discover that any records regarding the Royal family and their police protection are destroyed, much less after just two years.’ The disclosure raises the possibility that other documents, including Royal protection officer logs, which would confirm where the Prince was at the times in question, have also been destroyed.

 

The Met declined to tell the MoS what searches had been conducted or the disposal policy for Royalty Protection department material. Prince Andrew’s representatives declined to comment.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8584291/Met-Police-destroyed-records-Prince-Andrews-Pizza-Express-alibi.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 9:21 p.m. No.10157429   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3011 >>4919

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Twitter Thread

 

Hey #GhislaneMaxwell just sitting outside, taking some time to de-stress after you & your lawyers shenanigans. Like the view? If you didn’t abuse 1000’s of minors you would not be staring at your toilet as a piece of artwork. #TimesUp #SpeakOut #WhoIsNext #KidsToo

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1289752460920143873

 

 

Frankie Coffeecake @frankiecoffeeck

 

What about Trump?

 

https://twitter.com/frankiecoffeeck/status/1289753731450298368

 

 

Virginia Giuffre Retweeted

 

LStarr13 @LStarr13

 

Trump never went to the island! And, it is under his administration that they all got caught isn't it?! Everyone knew about Epstein, and Weinstein, and Maxwell, but NOBODY did anything did they?

 

https://twitter.com/LStarr13/status/1289757971304468480

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 9:33 p.m. No.10157518   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6905 >>4830

>>10146828

Australian intelligence agencies investigate Chinese-owned TikTok over security concerns

 

TikTok is facing intensifying scrutiny in Canberra, with intelligence agencies putting the app under the microscope and some MPs pressing the Federal Government to ban it.

 

US President Donald Trump has also indicated he's on the brink of banning the video sharing app in the United States, which will likely to bolster calls for Australia to follow suit.

 

The video-sharing app is enormously popular with young people in their teens and 20s, with more than 1.5 million Australians downloading it to their phones.

 

But analysts say TikTok harvests huge amounts of data, and warn that the Chinese company which owns it — ByteDance — may be forced to share that information with the Chinese Government.

 

Last month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared the Federal Government was looking "very closely" at TikTok.

 

"If we consider there is a need to take further action than we are taking now, then I can tell you we won't be shy about it," he said.

 

The ABC has been told that the Federal Government is conducting two complementary investigations into the app.

 

The Prime Minister has directed intelligence agencies to investigate whether TikTok poses a security threat.

 

Simultaneously, the Department of Home Affairs is investigating what steps the Government can take to manage any privacy or data security risks it poses.

 

Home Affairs is also scrutinising the hugely popular Chinese social media app WeChat, which is used by more than 2 million Australians.

 

TikTok says it will not share data with Beijing

 

TikTok Australia stores user data in the US and Singapore, and the company insists TikTok users do not have to worry about their personal information being compromised.

 

In a statement, it said: "TikTok does not share information of our users in Australia with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government, and would not do so if asked."

 

But some Federal MPs say they are sceptical of that claim, pointing out that Chinese law specifically requires companies to hand over information to the authorities if it is requested.

 

The ABC has spoken to several parliamentarians who have been privately voicing concerns about TikTok.

 

Federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne, who is deputy chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security, has been advocating that TikTok be banned as a retaliatory action if the Chinese Government continues to engage in cyber attacks or economic coercion against Australia.

 

Other parliamentarians have hesitated about pressing for a ban but say TikTok needs to face greater scrutiny.

 

Australia will not automatically follow the lead of the United States if the Trump administration does decide to ban the app.

 

But a US ban would help build momentum for those pressing for drastic action.

 

The Indian Government's decision to ban TikTok there has also shifted the calculus in Canberra.

 

TikTok has been lobbying Federal MPs against a ban, suggesting it has been unfairly caught up in escalating geopolitical tensions between China and Western nations.

 

"We have no interest in being a political football when it comes to global geopolitical issues," the company said in a statement.

 

"We welcome ongoing discussions with government audiences as we work to remain a safe, fun and creative platform for people to express themselves."

 

Social media to front inquiry into interference

 

This month, representatives from TikTok Australia will also front a parliamentary committee that is investigating the threat of foreign interference through social media.

 

The committee is being chaired by Labor Senator Jenny McAllister, who said there were credible reports TikTok took more data than its users realised.

 

"I'd like TikTok to explain the way that they protect the privacy of users of their data, and I'd also like them to explain how it is that they moderate content," she told the ABC.

 

But she said it was premature to call for a ban on TikTok at this stage.

 

"I think the task of the committee is to try and describe the nature of the problem. If you've got a good handle on the problem, then you can develop solutions — but we're not there yet," she said.

 

"I think the most likely outcome is there is no one single solution … that's likely to provide a complete answer."

 

It's not just TikTok facing scrutiny: representatives from Google, Facebook, Twitter and WeChat have also been called to give evidence at the committee.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-02/tiktok-under-investigation-in-australia-over-privacy-concerns/12513466

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 10:18 p.m. No.10157800   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Daniel Andrews declares a STATE OF DISASTER and introduces an 8pm curfew for Melbourne from TONIGHT after 671 new Covid-19 cases with seven deaths - as panic buying begins across state

 

Victorians will not be allowed outside their homes after 8pm for almost any reason as a state of disaster is declared.

 

Premier Daniel Andrews brought in the escalated emergency level as the state's worsening crisis shows no signs ending.

 

Only 73 of the 671 new cases are linked to known and contained outbreaks or complex cases, with 598 under investigation.

 

Mr Andrews confirmed Melbourne will to go into strict Stage 4 lockdown from 6pm on Sunday after a week of speculation.

 

The curfew will be in effect between 8pm and 5am every day in Melbourne, and regional Victoria will go back into stage 3 lockdown.

 

The only reasons to leave home during these hours will be work, medical care and caregiving.

 

Only one person in a household can go shopping per day and exercise is limited to one hour a day - both must be within 5km from home.

 

All recreational activity is banned and no more than two people can be together outside, even if they are from the same family or household.

 

'All of those changes are about limiting the number of people we come into contact with,' Mr Andrews said.

 

'Daily exercise is just that. It's an opportunity to get some exercise. It's not an opportunity to live our lives as if this pandemic was not real and not here.'

 

Partners who don't live together will still be able to visit each other.

 

The new restrictions are in some ways even harsher than the lockdown imposed by New Zealand.

 

The looming harsher lockdown prompted thousands to flock to shops across Melbourne in a new round of panic buying.

 

Long lines and full trolleys were seen outside supermarkets as early as 7am - even though they would stay open under stage 4.

 

Cafes and restaurants will continue to provide takeaway services, but people will not be allowed to dine in.

 

Police will also step up their checks and increase patrols to stop potential breaches.

 

Licence-plate recognition technology will be used to identify non-essential travellers, the Herald Sun reported.

 

It is expected construction sites will remain open and tradies will be given special access to hardware stores.

 

Public transport will also be continue in a limited capacity, with masks compulsory, and outdoor exercise will be allowed.

 

The decision to move to Stage 4 restrictions and its announcement rests on the Victorian Government and Premier Daniel Andrews.

 

Victoria recorded 397 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Saturday.

 

Mr Andrews announced the latest figures with 37 linked to outbreaks and 360 currently under investigation.

 

Australia's COVID-19 death toll rose to 201 after Victoria on Saturday reported the deaths of a man and two women aged in their 80s and 90s.

 

The fatalities bring Victoria's death toll to 116. There are currently 5,919 active coronavirus cases in Victoria.

 

At least 1,008 active cases have been connected to outbreaks in aged care homes.

 

More than 100 cases have been referred to Victoria Police for breaching stay-at-home lockdown rules.

 

Experts have been working over the weekend to analyse infection data from the first half of Victoria's six-week lockdown and determine if harsher measures are necessary.

 

Mr Andrews admitted further restrictions, based on state and national modelling, could prove a 'circuit breaker' for rising COVID-19 cases.

 

'What we have at the moment are numbers that are too high of community transmission and that is a concern to us.

 

'It is not a tap you can just turn on or off.'

 

'They are not decisions that would be taken lightly because there are significant costs … even minor changes have a significant cost,' Mr Andrews said.

 

Mr Andrews said community transmission remained a top priority and cited 49 'mystery' cases.

 

'Those community transmission cases are of greatest concern to us.

 

'The challenge is that they are a mystery and this is all about trying to know as much as you possibly can, as much intelligence and evidence and data as you possibly can.'

 

Police Minister Lisa Neville said on Saturday more than 200,000 police checks had taken place across the state while more than 452,000 car checks were carried out.

 

She noted some Victorians were still breaking restrictions and labelled the behaviour as 'appalling'.

 

'The overwhelming majority of Victorians every day are doing the right thing,' she said.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8584801/Daniel-Andrews-declares-coronavirus-state-disaster-Victoria-8pm-curfew.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 10:50 p.m. No.10158011   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7186 >>4830

Modern slavery rife in NZ and Pacific Islands, charity claims

 

One in 150 people are living in "modern slavery" in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, according to a new report by a human rights charity.

 

The Walk Free report identifies cases of forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation of children, and forced marriage in the Pacific.

 

The report, Murky waters: A qualitative assessment of modern slavery in the Pacific region, said exploitation was fuelled by widespread poverty, migration, and the abuse of cultural practices.

 

Senior researcher Elise Gordon said they had conducted interviews with law enforcement officers, victim support workers, policy and advocacy stakeholders, and people in the education and training industry in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

 

"We have heard reports of signs of modern slavery among migrant workers in the construction industry, stemming from increasing foreign investment in Pacific Island communities," Gordon said.

 

"Also fishing, a major industry in the region, brings with it a poor track record as being notorious for forced labour and human trafficking for labour exploitation."

 

Modern slavery was likely to increase as climate change exacerbated poverty and migration, Gordon said.

 

The report was released in the same week the first person to be convicted of slavery in New Zealand was sent to jail.

 

It said only a third of 54 Commonwealth countries had criminalised forced marriage and 23 nations had failed to criminalise the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

 

New Zealand did not do enough to stop modern slavery through its supply chain, the report stated.

 

Walk Free director Grace Forrest said the introduction of a modern slavery Bill should be among the New Zealand government's top priorities after the election.

 

The Australian government passed a Modern Slavery Act last year.

 

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/422526/modern-slavery-rife-in-nz-and-pacific-islands-charity-claims

 

 

Murky Waters - A qualitative Assessment of Modern Slavery in the Pacific Region

 

Minderoo Foundation, 2020

 

While previous qualitative research has exposed select forms of modern slavery in the Pacific, this report provides a comprehensive assessment of modern slavery in the region.

 

The report draws on existing peer-reviewed and grey literature, Walk Free’s 2019 assessment of action taken by governments to address modern slavery, as well as information gathered through semi-structured interviews with anti-slavery stakeholders in eight countries in the region: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Interviews sought to capture local knowledge on the nature of modern slavery in these countries with regard to forms, victims, sectors at risk, vulnerabilities, key gaps, and practices that offer some hope of solutions.

 

http://www.respect.international/murky-waters-a-qualitative-assessment-of-modern-slavery-in-the-pacific-region/

 

http://www.respect.international/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Walk-Free-Foundation-Pacific-Report-03-2020.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 1, 2020, 11:23 p.m. No.10158200   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

U.S. Department of State Tweet

 

.@SecPompeo on the U.S.-Australia alliance: Our two great democracies face immediate crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and longer-term challenges like the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions. We are lucky to count Australia as a close partner through it all. #USwithAUS

 

https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1289283708952903680

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 1:37 a.m. No.10158806   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8815 >>4997

QAnon Has Gone Global

 

By Mack Lamoureux - July 29, 2020

 

1/4

 

The pandemic has led to explosive growth for the QAnon conspiracy, not just in the U.S., but internationally.

 

Shortly after Jarmo Ekman starts livestreaming his get-together, an older woman walks into view wearing something you wouldn't expect to see at a small Finnish hotel: a MAGA hat. She blows a kiss to the camera and shows off her hat like a model.

 

“What a beautiful hat,” Ekman says. “As you see there are a lot of Trump fans here, of course, as it is a Q meeting.”

 

It’s July 11 and around 50 people are meeting at a hotel in Dragsfjärd, a small community two hours west of Helsinki, for a weekend QAnon festival. While walking through the crowd, Ekman stops to speak to a man wearing a nametag made of duct tape with Bono written on it.

 

“This is the first Q weekend festival ever in this world,” says Bono. On his shirt are the words “QAnon Army Finland.”

 

“Armies” like this can be found in Germany, France, and the U.K., as well as in Canada, Japan, and Iran. All of them support QAnon, a vast conspiracy theory that Donald Trump is waging a war against the “deep state” made up of elite families, politicians, and celebrities, which also just happens to connected a massive child sex trafficking ring and is currently using COVID-19 to entrench its power.

 

It’s a conspiracy that’s been able to reach new heights during the pandemic as people around the world desperately search for community and any way to make sense of the chaos. The QAnon community is welcoming to anyone as long as they believe in at least one of the many tendrils that branch out from the theory’s heart—that the world is extremely screwed because of bogeymen behind the scenes, and only those smart enough to see through the veil can fight them. While the actual details of the conspiracy are hyper-focused on the U.S., the broad strokes can be applied to almost anywhere, which helps to explain the rapid growth of QAnon across borders.

 

Marc-André Argentino, a PhD candidate at Concordia University who studies QAnon and similar far-right movements, recently did a data sweep of QAnon groups on social media. Based on his most recent analysis (which was taken before the Twitter crackdown last week), QAnon has had a 71 percent increase in Twitter content and a 651 percent increase on Facebook since March.

 

On Facebook, his data showed there were 179 groups with more than 1.4 million members—up from 60 groups and less than a quarter a million members in the same period. During that time, QAnon pages on Facebook doubled, from 63 to 120 pages. Facebook removed a small number of QAnon pages in April but the conspiracy is still growing quickly on the platform.

 

“Most of (the new groups and pages) appear to be international,” said Argentino. “There aren't a lot of new U.S. groups; the big groups have just grown more. It's places like Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Israel.

 

“Germany recently had protesters asking for Trump to come and liberate them from the German deep state. That's fucked up,” he said.

 

Even Ekman’s Q meeting in Finland has grown. Ten months ago, he held another Q gathering in Helsinki where he was only able to get 19 people out.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 1:38 a.m. No.10158815   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8821 >>4997

>>10158806

 

2/4

 

Q and the ever-changing conspiracy

 

While it’s too complex to break down quickly, the broad strokes of QAnon follow that Trump can't explicitly state his plan to the public because he’ll obviously risk the mission. To remedy this an anonymous individual known as “Q,” who gets their name from the "Q-level" security clearance they claim to have, informs the public of the ongoings of the secret war against the deep state. This individual then posts cryptic messages on an online imageboard best known for its ties to neo-Nazis and child porn. Trump’s followers find these messages, known as Q-drops, and decode them.

 

The conspiracy started on 4chan, one of the more notorious imageboards, in 2017 and has grown mightily from there. The conspiracy has gained notoriety for not only its numbers but also for its elaborate and outlandish theories, including “mole children” being sex trafficked underground, and celebrities such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and actor Tom Hanks having been secretly executed and replaced with body doubles.

 

The movement is fluid and adaptable, so what's popular among the group today may very well be different months down the line. In the United States, 68 believers are running for Congress, some who even have a shot at winning. After coming in first in the primary, prospective Georgia GOP candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal QAnon supporter, is headed into a run-off vote. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Greene even offered to help her followers get acquainted with the confusing world of QAnon. The group and its unwavering beliefs have been described as cult-like by some experts, projecting Trump and Q as quasi-religious figures.

 

QAnon goes North

 

In Canada, QAnon recently gained the attention of the mainstream press after it was found that a heavily armed man who stormed the gates of Trudeau’s home had posted a QAnon meme. (He has been charged with uttering threats to kill or injure the prime minister; his motives have not yet been determined.)

 

Blain McElra runs the QAnon Canada page on Facebook as well as a few other Canadian-centric QAnon pages. McElra told VICE he went from 400 members to 2,800 members since the start of the pandemic.

 

He said he found QAnon shortly after one the first posts by Q in 2017 and helped "decode” it by telling the group the term “Can'' was shorthand for Canada. He's been hooked ever since. McElra said after he and his wife lost their 10-month-old baby, he felt compelled to do whatever he could to “help end the suffering, pedophilia, and trafficking of children.”

 

McElra views QAnon as a global movement whose first stop is the United States.

 

“I think of the U.S. as just the first domino and when Trump gets that squared away, the rest of the countries should see results—as the criminals, politicians, corporations, etc., are held to account—so it's just a matter of time,” McElra said.

 

McElra said he strives for the movement to be as peaceful as possible and is extra diligent when moderating posts. He said he reads and watches everything that is posted on the Facebook pages he moderates but admits it can be a struggle.

 

"I make a big effort to be a calming effect in my group and I have zero tolerance for anything violent or troublesome in that regard," McElra said. "The emotions are high, people are frustrated, and I feel it is very important to keep this all peaceful."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 1:39 a.m. No.10158821   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8830 >>4997

>>10158815

 

3/4

 

Many experts have warned that the pandemic has created a conspiracy boom of sorts. On every social media platform, conspiracy communities are growing. Even TikTok has reportedly been dealing with an explosion of young users spreading Pizzagate-style theories in the past few months. Anna Merlan, VICE News reporter and author of Republic of Lies, a book about modern day conspiracy culture, recently wrote that we're experiencing a "conspiracy singularity" that has allowed movements like QAnon, the UFO truthers, and the anti-vaxxers to coalesce.

 

“This pandemic has created an environment of uncertainty and powerlessness within many aspects of human life today,” says a Media Diversity Institute report from June. “Unfortunately, QAnon has successfully taken advantage of this atmosphere by expanding the scope of the conspiracy theory and using it to spread misinformation and fake news about an already complex and unsolved public health crisis.”

 

Travis View, co-host of the popular U.S. podcast QAnon Anonymous, said he’s been watching groups pop up all over the world during the pandemic and sees it as a result of people needing community. At the end of the day, that's what QAnon is: an online community.

 

“This is a function of fact that QAnon seems like a primarily U.S. conspiracy theory but is actually a big-tent conspiracy theory movement,” said View. “So whatever sort of conspiratorial beliefs that you happen to latch on to, you're going to find a home within QAnon."

 

“What people get attached to more than anything else is the online community of people who don't trust any kind of institutional knowledge,” he added.

 

'Domestic terror threat'

 

QAnon growth isn't benign. Followers have been linked to several deaths and crimes over the past three years, such as the killing of an underboss in the New York mob and of a woman who livestreamed her attempt to "take out" Joe Biden. Other believers have gotten into standoffs with police, derailed trains, and conspired to bomb places they believed to be satanic.

 

According to an intelligence bulletin by the FBI, the feds deemed "fringe conspiracy theories," which includes QAnon, as a domestic terrorism threat. “The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge, spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or violent acts,” reads the bulletin, first reported by Yahoo News.

 

The international QAnon groups aren’t siloed. They work together to produce content. Argentino said he's seen cases of international pages translating propaganda, like popular Q “documentaries,” to provide to other regions. For example, the Quebec QAnon community plays a role in translating propaganda to French and working with groups in France but the French propaganda is also translated for the Italian groups—as French is easier to translate to Italian than English. The German QAnon community helps translate and disseminate propaganda in Austria and Denmark. In each case the propaganda was adapted for its audience, with more socialist and secular propaganda in France than in the U.S., for example.

 

“These hub communities are starting to influence their own regions and we’re seeing large growth,” said Argentino. “It's creating different communities still based around this Trump movement.”

 

A QAnon film, Out of Shadows, was recently translated to other languages and has now been viewed hundreds of thousands more times. Other social media accounts or websites have been set up entirely to disseminate translated articles about QAnon, including one on Twitter whose bio explicitly states in French that it was created to “allow non-English-speaking Patriots to follow Q.” The account has accrued almost 10,000 followers in less than a year.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 1:41 a.m. No.10158830   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10158821

 

4/4

 

A recent report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a counter-extremism research group, found that while the hashtags are still predominantly posted in the U.S., their prevalence has dropped, which suggests “the conspiracy theory is spreading and taking hold internationally.” The ISD found the top four countries amplifying QAnon conspiracies were the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia, followed by Russia, Indonesia, and Germany. The Media Diversity Institute report found content posted in Dutch, French, German, Greek, and Hungarian, and an increase of support on social media in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Canada, Germany, Greece, and Hungary.

 

QAnon around the world

 

Some of the international followers of Q aren’t exactly the rubes that come to mind when discussing outlandish conspiracy theories.

 

In October 2019, the Guardian found that one of the friends of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was a well-known QAnon conspiracy theorist whose wife worked in the PM’s office. Earlier this year a psychologist was removed from Australia’s medical registrar for writing over 300 blog posts promoting Q theories about pedophilic sacrifices and an attempted coup on the U.S. by the Queen of England on his practice’s official blog.

 

In Germany, an investigation by the German outlet the Local showed that a popular German QAnon YouTube page had grown "exponentially" since March and a Telegram channel grew from 20,000 to 110,000 followers. Recently a German QAnon believer was spotted at a far-right anti-immigration rally organized on Hitler's birthday. Controversial German pop singer and influencer Xavier Naidoo was recently found to share Q theories.

 

In Iran, a political opposition group called Restart has connections to QAnon. QAnon followers have also popped up in Japan and South Korea.

 

Mike Rothchild, a U.S.-based journalist who covers QAnon and has written a book on the subject, said he’s seen QAnon hashtags from all over the world and in many languages. However, he is unsure if international followers understand the minutiae of the conspiracy or if they’re just gravitating towards a sentiment like the well-known QAnon slogan, “Where we go one, we go all.” Rothschild told VICE News that he feels international QAnon followers are taking the key QAnon concept—fighting back against the elites and globalists—and applying it to their situation.

 

“I never expected this to get any international reach,” said Rothschild. “What does some U.S. military intelligence role-playing game have to do with life in Japan or Finland where you have different problems and a much different Bogeyman? I think maybe what we're seeing is that the Bogeyman is always kind of the same for a certain online right-winger.”

 

Not everyone is surprised. Ekman said he’s not shocked he could get 50 people to a Finnish hotel to celebrate something whose true epicentre is over 7,000 kilometres away. Like many within the Q movement, he believes it's part of something bigger.

 

"I disagree that Q’s messages have been only centred around U.S. politics. There is great diversity on the covered topics," Ekman said. "There is a global spiritual awakening unfolding, of which Q and Trump are a major component."

 

Even though he says he was “awakened” to ideas like Q in 2014, he believes he's part of something that's only just begun.

 

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkym3k/qanon-conspiracy-has-gone-global

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 11:13 p.m. No.10167430   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Repost from Q Research General #13001

 

>>10160506 (pb)

 

AUSTRALIA

 

Julia Gillard (Former Prime Minister) and Clinton foundation

 

FBI Focuses on Millions of “Mishandled” $$$ Funneled from Australian Gov to Clinton Foundation

 

Oh, those skeletons in the Clinton’s closet aka “Pay to Play” continue tumbling out.

 

It turns out that between 2006 and 2014, Australia under Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard and fellow feminist funneled $88 million of Australian taxpayers fund to the Clinton Foundation and “associated entities.”

 

During Gillard’s tenure as prime minister, she also donated $300 million of Australia’s taxpayer money to the Clinton-affiliated Global Partnership for Education as exposed in the Podesta emails leaked by Wikileaks back in 2016.

 

Zero Hedge by Tyler Durden

 

The FBI has asked retired Australian policeman-turned investigative journalist, Michael Smith, to provide information he has gathered detailing multiple allegations of the Clinton Foundation receiving tens of millions of mishandled taxpayer funds, according to LifeZette.

 

“I have been asked to provide the FBI with further and better particulars about allegations regarding improper donations to the CF funded by Australian taxpayers,” Smith told LifeZette.

 

 

Smith names several key figures in his complaints of malfeasance, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and multiple Australian government officials – including senior diplomat Alexander Downer, whose conversation with Trump aide George Papadopoulos that Russia had ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton allegedly launched the Trump-Russia investigation (as opposed to the Fusion GPS dossier, of course)[…]

 

https://www.watcherofweasels.org/fbi-focuses-millions-mishandled-funneled-australian-gov-clinton-foundation/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 11:22 p.m. No.10167460   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7466 >>4830

Repost from Q Research General #13001

 

>>10160424 (pb)

 

1/2

 

Melbourne, Victoria - Daniel Andrews

 

Andrew's has significant ties to Chyna/CCP going back to 2013 prior to his election as premier in 2014.

 

Along the way lots of funds coming in from key Chinese nationals with strong ties to CCP.

 

Key notables:

Hong Lim – first details around 2013, then senior advisor to Andrews as the vice president from the ACPPRC.

Former Labor MP for Clayton and Clarinda.

Was a long-term adviser to the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China’s (ACPPR)honorary board…. which a parliamentary inquiry has been told is a Communist Party “United Front” body pushing pro-Beijing views in Australia.

 

Tian Di – Middle man to Crown Casino and China high rollers/investors (Owner of Nine Dragons Club)

Arrested by China for crack down on foreign casino issues circumventing strict regulations in China.

Generous ALP donor

 

Huang Xiangmo – (Former president of ACPPRC), President of Yuhu Group (development company)

Linked to Ming Chai and Tian Di, Tom Zhou.

Former prime minister Malcom Turnbull stated he was ‘an agent of a foreign country’.

According to documents first reported by the ABC, Huang has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Australia's two main political parties.

ASIO concern/warning of Xiangmo lead to Dastyari stepping down

In 2015, he donated $55,000 to have a "boardroom lunch" with Opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten.

A spokesman for Huang told the ABC the businessman had stopped making donations in 2016 and would not be commenting on the stories.

 

Mike Yang – (Andrews senior advisor on China when he was opposition leader), prior Vice-President of ACPPRC)

Close ties to Huang Xiangmo.

Strong CCP influence, believed to be the key connection between Andrews and Chinese govt.

 

Jean Dong – Chief Executive of Australia-China Belt and Road Initiative

First connected with Andrews via Mike Yang

Was MD of her company Spark Group which focused on Chinese investment in Australian agriculture and resources.

Attended a youth conference in China in 2014 with Mike Yang, both are well connected

Tasked with promoting BRI to Andrews, and her company provided consultation advice to and paid for by the Labor govt. Two tax-payer funded contracts for advising on China’s global commercial play in 2017-2018 worth $36,850.

Details of this contract detail leak, lead Andrews administration to say it was an admin error, and lead to the first engagements not being published in 2017-2018 annual report, this hidden.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 11:24 p.m. No.10167466   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10167460

 

2/2

 

Guo Jing Chen – CBD Development group

Significant donor to Andrews/Labor party – payments made through Feb, May, June of 2016 totalling $51,176

Previously given donations to Hong Lim. Sponsored a major fundraiser prior to the 2014 election in support of Hong Lim

Travelled with Andrews to China despite no official invite (Same trip as with Mike Yang)

Linked also to donations to Gladys Liu

Mr Guo Jing's appearance with Victoria's Labor leader also occurred a year after a told a Chinese television documentary 'Australia would not survive' without Chinese migrants

 

Marty Mei – Special Advisor to Andrews (joined Andrews after 2014 election win, previously worked for Hong Lim) – his appointment came at same time Huang Xiangmo was named honorary president of the Shenzehn association

“Special consultant” to the Shenzhen Association of Australia and Shenzhen business association of Australia, part of a network of Chinese Communist party's united front work department whilst in the role of Multicultural advisor to Andrews!

Later became Multicultural advisor and worked on belt and road deal secured significant $100,000 contribution from Jianping Fu in lead up to 2014 election (Isn’t the limit $50k??). No other donation was noted to the Liberal party.

Travelled with Andrews to China in 2017 and 2018 for the first and second signings of the belt and road initiative.

Jianping Fu and others, associated with Hunan Business Association who have significant ties to the CCP United Front Department

Hunan Business Association linked to Ryan Ouyang, a major property and infrastructure developer in Melbourne through the Ouson Group, he became president of the Hunan Business Association in 2017, praised by the Chinese Ministry of commerce for his advice in navigating the Australian market.

 

https://morningmail.org/chinas-man-daniel-andrews/

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5126419/Sam-Dastyari-denies-Chinese-phone-tap-tip-Xiangmo.html

 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/premier-s-belt-and-road-adviser-helped-land-labor-donation-20200529-p54xoz.html

 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victorian-government-blocks-opposition-calls-for-scrutiny-of-pandemic-response-20200423-p54mo6.html

 

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/chinese-businesswoman-jean-dong-was-a-key-figure-in-victorias-controversial-trade-deal-with-ccp/news-story/084a72e06f1a2355af1c855ed5c59218

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 2, 2020, 11:30 p.m. No.10167481   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Repost from Q Research General #12999

 

>>10158891 (pb)

 

Digging around looking for a Clinton/Daniel Andrews connection. Found this blog post that asks some interesting questions about Andrews. The date of the photo isn't included in the post but sometime during the last election cycle based on the button. There was no mention of Andrews in the DoS FOIA reading room which is unusual only in that if he had been on her schedule, it would have ordinarily shown up since T. Fitton and others have demanded release of her schedule and appt. books.

 

May 31, 2020

 

This photo was sent to us regarding Daniel Michael Andrews.

Daniel Michael Andrews is the current Premier of Victoria, Australian.

"Charles Blackman, is an Australian painter, noted for the Schoolgirl, Avonsleigh and Alice in Wonderland series of the 1950s."

Hillary Clinton is sometimes referred to as ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Why would Daniel Andrews be holding a badge “I'm ready for Hillary”?

Why is he standing in front of artwork “Into the beautiful garden (1956) by Charles Blackman” which is a series of Alice in Wonderland art?

 

What is more interesting is Australia mainstream media a few days ago, reported the following:

“The United States threatens to CUT OFF Australia after Victoria ignored security advice to join a controversial trade deal with China”

“The U.S. warns it will 'simply disconnect' from Australia if Victoria sucking up to China becomes a security risk.

Premier Daniel Andrews signed up to the controversial Belt and Road Initiative that provides loans and investment in infrastructure projects.

Victoria is the only Australian state to sign the agreement and has been widely criticised for doing so.

 

(Blog author's Blackman citation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Blackman

Blog link: https://operationdisclosure1.blogspot.com/2020/05/australias-mp-daniel-andrews-and.html

Archived: http://archive.vn/B5JCr

 

Went Back to original search and somethin' somethin' lead to a pic of Andrews w/Clinton on Twitter from 2018. Which led to reading comments which led to Australians being caught in US election interference

.

https://twitter.com/danielandrewsmp/status/995548360173015041?lang=en

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 12:02 a.m. No.10167571   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7576 >>4997

Under the influence: Peddling conspiracy in a pandemic

 

LYDIA KHALIL - 3 Aug 2020

 

1/2

 

Lifestyle and wellness personalities are lending conspiracy theorists a glossy sheen, and not without danger.

 

Celebrity sells – it always has. But in the digital age, the boundaries of celebrity have changed. Once it was the prerogative of movie, sports or music stars to front a fashion label or promote perfume. But nowadays the marketplace is saturated with any number of online lifestyle and wellness “influencers”, social media users who by virtue of their taste, niche expertise or marketing savvy develop audiences of thousands – sometimes millions – who seek to emulate their lifestyle.

 

And promoting products is only the beginning. Such influencers can have a profound effect in imparting attitudes and beliefs, too.

 

Most of the time, this is harmless, a new thread in the media milieu. Yet at a time of pandemic, where medical advice is heavily contested and conspiracy theories from the dark reaches of the internet have proliferated, some online lifestyle influencers are amplifying misinformation and disinformation.

 

In a new twist during the Covid-19 crisis, three formerly distinct online ecosystems – those occupied by lifestyle/wellness influencers, “QAnon” conspiracy believers, and violent extremists – have in some instances become intertwined, through shared conspiracy-related hashtags and wild claims about the dangers of vaccines, 5G and the evils of the “deep state”.

 

Numerous recent studies and news reports have shown that extremist groups are exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic in an attempt to justify their narratives, recruit followers or incite violence. Extremist narratives have always contained strong conspiratorial elements, and this time is no different. Coronavirus-related conspiracies are deftly interwoven through extremist narratives and mobilisation efforts.

 

But the connection with online lifestyle and wellness influencers marks a change. This crossover came about after some online lifestyle and wellness influencers became entrepreneurs of conspiracy theories, using them to boost their profiles and to promote and validate their views of wellness. One of the more dangerous conspiracies promoted by lifestyle/wellness influencers are QAnon conspiracies.

 

The QAnon movement has its origins in the so-called “pizzagate” conspiracy of 2016. In its current form, QAnon alleges that there is a US government insider with a “Q-level clearance” who is communicating cryptically with his followers online. QAnon followers believe there is a “deep state” within the US government that is controlled by a cabal of Democrats and liberal Hollywood celebrities who are also Satan-worshiping paedophiles. Through Q, President Donald Trump was manifested to expose and shut down these ritualistic paedophile rings. During the Covid-19 pandemic, QAnon conspiracy groups and posts have also promoted the idea that the pandemic was, alternately, another deep-state plot, a hoax, and a Chinese bio-weapon, among other health disinformation.

 

However, QAnon is not only a conspiracy movement. It has also been deemed a domestic terror threat by the FBI. A leaked FBI memo written in May 2019 assessed QAnon believers as “conspiracy-driven domestic extremists” and that QAnon and other crowd sourced conspiracies would “very likely motivate some domestic extremists to commit criminal and sometimes violent activity”.

 

The memo cited two violent incidents linked to QAnon, but there have been at least three other violent incidents since its publication, with researchers also examining its spread beyond the United States. What started as a US-based pro-Trump conspiracy movement has now gone global and includes a number of proponents in Australia, reportedly including a family friend of the Prime Minister with a substantial social media following.

 

A recent article by Insider magazine highlighted a number of lifestyle influencers who were posting QAnon conspiracies related to the pandemic. Outlets such as Buzzfeed, Mother Jones and Huffington Post have also revealed a string of other popular lifestyle, design and wellness influencers who have become vectors of Covid-19 and QAnon conspiracies. Some have latched onto the discredited “plandemic” film released in May or QAnon memes, variously claiming the coronavirus is fake, or that the deep state is responsible for spreading the virus, or that pandemic lockdown measures are a tool of oppression. Still others have encouraged followers to attend anti-lockdown protests which have included a number of far-right extremists in their midst.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 12:04 a.m. No.10167576   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10167571

 

2/2

 

Ironically, one of the most widely shared erroneous memes about the virus being spread by people in China eating bat soup, which was created and circulated by conspiracy theorists and extremists alike, was itself appropriated from a Chinese online influencer and celebrity vlogger, who said that a video of her eating a local delicacy of bat soup in Palau for her vlog was “hijacked by accounts fanning out malicious panic”.

 

The intersection between wellness and violent conspiracies seems unexpected, but the wellness movement has its origins in anti-establishment and anti-mainstream medical circles. Scholars such as Charlotte Ward and David Vaos have examined the confluence of new age wellness and conspiracy, which they termed “conspirituality”, an intersection between new age wellness, belief in the dangers of a “new world order” and big pharma, and a shared emphasis on “awakening” and revealing truths.

 

Until recently, the convergence of wellness and conspiracy in a drive for awakening and societal change emphasised the non-violent and the peaceful. However, the emergence of the QAnon movement has pushed things in a more troubling direction.

 

The online links between far right, QAnon conspiracy groups and some online wellness and lifestyle influencers have grown during the pandemic, the ensuing lockdown and response to restrictions. Online wellness and lifestyle influencers who peddle QAnon conspiracy theories about the pandemic can potentially drive traffic to online extremist groups through shared QAnon related hashtags such as #QAnon, #TheGreatAwakening, #Plandemic, #GermJihad, #MAGA, #whitegenocide #WWG1WGA or #coronavirushoax. This can also be done when influencers have used memes and iconography also appropriated by right-wing extremists – for example “red pill blue pill”, “falling down the rabbit hole”, or “where we go one we go all”.

 

More analysis is needed, but there is emerging evidence to suggest that online influencers’ posts related to QAnon are being cross-posted and referenced by extremists groups on online forums. And by promoting conspiracies or “alternative” information in the name of wellness and alternative lifestyles, the online influencers of today can serve, however unwittingly, as a gateway directing users to further, darker corners of the internet.

 

Social media lifestyle influencers posting about QAnon not only serve to normalise this fringe movement, but can potentially undermine efforts by internet companies to “de-platform” purveyors of disinformation, label misleading posts and weed out prohibited content (as identified in their terms of service). Internet companies such as Reddit have banned QAnon forums for inciting violence. Facebook has banned a number of QAnon pages for inauthentic behaviour ,and Apple has removed a QAnon app from its store. Twitter recently announced it is suspending thousands of QAnon accounts. But QAnon posts still flourish online.

 

Because lifestyle and wellness influencers generate substantial revenue, have helped build social media businesses, and have not generally intersected with extremist movements before, there is a danger that influencers will escape extremist content reporting and moderation. Furthermore, influencer posts are likely to reach a wider audience than extremist group posts as they are less scrutinised by social media mechanisms monitoring extremist content.

 

Lifestyle and wellness influencers are particularly challenging because, as numerous surveys have found, influencer marketing has exploded. More and more people are turning to influencers and online personalities for inspiration, recommendations and purchasing advise. Online influencers who’ve latched onto QAnon present conspiracies in an engaging, appealing and relatable manner, often interspersing posts promoting QAnon among stylised photos of fashion, workouts and recipes. The same skills that these influencers use for consumer brand marketing have helped turn an outlandish conspiracy theory into an “acceptable option in the market place of ideas”.

 

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/under-influence-peddling-conspiracy-pandemic

 

About The Interpreter

 

The Interpreter is published by the Lowy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan think tank based in Sydney. It publishes daily commentary and analysis on international events, and is edited by Daniel Flitton (Managing Editor) and Sam Hendricks (Deputy Editor), along with founding editor Sam Roggeveen (Director of Digital).

 

We seek a global audience, but our perspective is Australian. Like the Institute itself, The Interpreter has a strong commitment to analytic integrity. Its editorial stance is independent, non-partisan, and directed towards informing and deepening the debate about international policy.

 

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/about-interpreter

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 12:29 a.m. No.10167665   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Liberal MP’s ‘dangerous’ hydroxychloroquine claim asks if Vic premier should be jailed

 

Firebrand backbencher Craig Kelly has been slammed for sharing “dangerous” messages, asking if Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews could “face 25 years in jail” for not promoting hydroxychloroquine, a drug touted by US President Donald Trump as a coronavirus cure.

 

Australian authorities have warned hydroxychloroquine, long-used as a malaria treatment, poses “well-known serious risks” such as eye damage and heart attack if used incorrectly, while numerous global studies have returned mixed results.

 

Labor’s shadow health minister, Chris Bowen, derided Mr Kelly’s recent social media output – with 18 Facebook posts about hydroxychloroquine in the last two days – as a “Trumpian rant”.

 

Mr Trump has hailed hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure or treatment for coronavirus, but the drug is not being used in Australia for that purpose.

 

In March, the Therapeutic Goods Administration said it “strongly discourages” using the drug against coronavirus, outlining “limited evidence for effect against COVID-19, as well as the risk of significant adverse effects” like heart, eye and blood sugar issues.

 

In a May update, the TGA said “the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 is strongly discouraged”.

 

The TGA said Sanofi – a supplier of hydroxychloroquine products – told doctors that “hydroxychloroquine is not approved for use in Australia for treatment of COVID-19 outside the confines of a clinical trial”, citing “an increased number of reports of serious cardiac issues, including deaths, in patients treated with hydroxychloroquine.”

 

However, Mr Kelly – Liberal MP for the Sydney seat of Hughes –has been sharing vast quantities of news articles and studies on his Facebook page in recent days, calling for the drug to be made more widely available in Australia.

 

“There is a special place in hell awaiting those that have been part of the war on Hydroxychloroquine for poltical [sic] reasons. They have the blood of tens of thousands on their hands,” Mr Kelly posted on Monday morning.

 

“COULD THE VICTORIAN PREMIER (and others) FACE 25 YEARS IN JAIL FOR CONTINUING TO BAN HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE?” he wrote in another post, asking whether not making the drug available could constitute ‘workplace manslaughter’.

 

In another post, the backbencher said “Hydroxychloroquine is obviously not a panacea for severe cases of Covid-19”.

 

Mr Bowen slapped down Mr Kelly’s claims as did Labor leader Anthony Albanese.

 

“I was shocked by them, that any member of Parliament would be so irresponsible at a time where Victorians are doing it tough,” Mr Albanese said.

 

Speaking to The New Daily, Mr Kelly said he wanted to see doctors given the option of prescribing the drug, claiming that not prescribing the drug for COVID was “illogical”.

 

“Mr Bowen needs to do some homework and catch up with the latest medical science and opinions. It should be up to a doctor, and the patient themselves whether to prescribe the drug or not,” he said.

 

He accepted there was “mixed results” in various studies on the drug, including some that found it had no effect or even negative effects on patients.

 

“Well, federal authorities haven’t banned its use, they haven’t recommended it,” Mr Kelly replied, when asked about the TGA’s advice on the drug

 

“There’s a big difference between not recommending it and banning it.”

 

The drug is also in national political news for another reason on Monday, with mining magnate Clive Palmer’s court challenge to Western Australia’s border closure allegedly sparked by his hope to promote hydroxychloroquine in Perth.

 

In April, Mr Palmer said he had purchased almost 33 million doses of hydroxychloroquine.

 

“He wanted to come to Western Australia to promote hydroxychloroquine to the people of the state as some sort of cure for COVID,” WA Premier Mark McGowan said on Monday.

 

“All the evidence is not only is it not a cure, it’s actually dangerous.”

 

“Him coming to Western Australia to promote a dangerous drug, I don’t think was a good thing for our state and I’m pleased that (WA Police) rejected him.”

 

However, Australians are apparently not heeding warnings with the Border Force seizing thousands of hydroxychloroquine doses in recent months.

 

“ABF officers are screening medical supplies coming into Australia and have seen a significant spike in detections of the herbal medicine Ephedra and Hydroxychloroquine,” the service said on Monday.

 

“ABF officers have also seized more than 26,000 tablets of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine between 1 January 2020 and 21 June 2020. Unauthorised importations are referred to the TGA for assessment.”

 

(continued)

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/08/03/craig-kelly-hydroxychloroquine-claim/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 12:58 a.m. No.10167767   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

Labor condemns Craig Kelly’s suggestion Daniel Andrews could ‘face 25 years in jail’ for hydroxychloroquine ban

 

…..

 

On Monday the National party MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce also courted controversy by invoking the billionaire investor and bogeyman of the far rightGeorge Sorosin a comment on interest rates.

 

Joyce told Channel Seven’s Sunrise that Australia was borrowing from “overseas”, warning that with net public debt on target to reach $1tn “at some stage you’re going to pay it back”.

 

When the presenter David Koch noted that interest rates were at a historical low of 0.8%, Joyce replied: “Yeah, of course interest rates will go up – of course interest rates will go up.

 

“Well, did anyone who planned that this will be the lowest interest rates five years ago in history in the history of mankind? Did anybody plan about this 10 years ago?

 

“I remember when Telecom bonds were at 17%, you know it too. And you have to look at your short-term money rates. You have to look at whether George Soros knows what he’s doing it. He’s planning on interest rates going up.”

 

Soros is famous for making more than £1 billion by short-selling the British pound in 1992, and has become the target of antisemitic demonisation and far-right conspiracy theories in part because of his philanthropy for liberal and progressive causes.

 

Joyce told Guardian Australia he “could have referred to a number of people” trading in short-term money markets but had mentioned Soros because he had been the subject of a recent news article, which Joyce failed to identify.

 

“Interest rates are as low as they’ve ever been and that means the next movement is up. I don’t know about racial views or racial issues regarding Soros but, like him or not, he’s good at picking the market.”

 

The prime minister’s office has been contacted for comment.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/03/labor-condemns-craig-kellys-suggestion-daniel-andrews-could-face-25-years-in-jail-for-hydroxychloroquine-ban

 

 

Barnaby Joyce And Joel Fitzgibbon Discuss Paid Pandemic Leave

 

Federal MPs Barnaby Joyce and Joel Fitzgibbon joined Kochie and Nat to discuss Victoria's 'Stage 4' lockdown and calls for 'paid pandemic leave' to ensure vulnerable workers with coronavirus or waiting for test results can afford to stay at home.

 

https://www.facebook.com/Sunrise/videos/287596765681317/

 

 

QMAP.pub - Players in the Game

 

George Soros

 

Billionaire "philanthropist" and investor. Runs many international organizations worldwide. 1st pillar (+) of the global elites (cabal) power structure – controller of people organizations.

 

https://qmap.pub/players/read/4

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 1:10 a.m. No.10167809   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

President Donald Trump Tweet

 

Big China Virus breakouts all over the World, including nations which were thought to have done a great job. The Fake News doesn’t report this. USA will be stronger than ever before, and soon!

 

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1289887533250351110

 

 

Twitter Moments Australia @MomentsAU

 

A State of Disaster has been declared in Victoria over the COVID-19 outbreak and Melbourne residents face strict new restrictions including a nightly curfew and limits on movement outside of the home. Here are the details.

 

https://twitter.com/MomentsAU/status/1289804254215933954

 

 

Victoria declares a State of Disaster and Melbourne enters curfew over COVID-19 outbreak

 

Premier Daniel Andrews declared a State of Distaster in Victoria from 6:00 pm on Sunday. Melbourne residents will see stricter restrictions from Sunday evening, including a curfew between 8:00 pm - 5:00 am and staying within 5km of their home for shopping. The move comes as the state confirmed 671 new COVID-19 cases, and a total of 760 "mystery cases" which are cases where authorities have been unable to identify a source of infection.

 

https://twitter.com/i/events/1289780187668688896

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 1:34 a.m. No.10167879   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0774 >>4919

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

 

Let the awakened no longer be silent- let us be heard from every corner of earth. No child should be left behind. #KidsToo #DarkToLight #Epstein #Maxwell @KirbySommers @lisapodcasts @bobby_capucci @aplusk @taylorswift13 @RoArquette @THR The tsunami of awakening is happening NOW

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1289778254170087424

 

 

Mark @RealMarkW1

 

We are with you Virginia and we are many!

 

https://twitter.com/RealMarkW1/status/1289755599551504386

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 1:56 a.m. No.10167952   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

INVESTIGATION: Hotel quarantine security breach causes COVID-19 second wave | 60 Minutes Australia

 

Published on 2 Aug 2020

 

It’s been a hell of a year for everyone. But for Victorians, and in particular people living in Melbourne, the resurgence of COVID-19 and the return to lockdown has been especially tough. Up until a few weeks ago things had looked so different and there was even cautious optimism that the virus was being beaten. But by escaping containment it has now proved how devious it really is. What remains both galling and inexcusable though is how the state government of Victoria lost control of the disease. Sarah Abo reports on an appalling breach of security that’s causing a catastrophe.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi6C2ekvILE

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 11:40 p.m. No.10176837   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Resignations in the news

 

David Hutchinson resigns as Queensland LNP president

 

David Hutchinson will resign as Queensland LNP president less than two months after quitting his role as a consultant for rival politician Clive Palmer.

 

Mr Hutchinson came under fire in June for working for Mr Palmer, while also holding a volunteer position as president of the Liberal National Party.

 

LNP leader Deb Frecklington said on Saturday she respected Mr Hutchinson's decision to resign as president.

 

In June, damning polling on Ms Frecklington's popularity was leaked from LNP headquarters, throwing her leadership into question just months out from an election.

 

The finger was pointed at Mr Hutchinson and the so-called "backroom boys" of the party.

 

It raised the ire of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton who called for Mr Hutchinson to resign, saying his position was untenable.

 

Since January, members of the LNP's parliamentary team have expressed concern over Mr Hutchinson's dual roles.

 

Some had called for Mr Hutchinson to choose between his job with Mr Palmer and his volunteer role as president, saying they were incompatible.

 

In the weeks before last year's federal election Mr Hutchinson, then acting LNP president, struck an in-principle deal with Mr Palmer to put him second on the party's how-to-vote cards.

 

https://www.standard.net.au/story/6859700/hutchinson-resigns-as-qld-lnp-president/

 

 

SANFL CEO Jake Parkinson announces resignation

 

SANFL Chief Executive Officer Jake Parkinson has today announced he will be stepping down from his role at the end of the organisation’s financial year, October 31, 2020.

 

Mr Parkinson advised the South Australian Football Commission of his resignation from SANFL, which comes after six years in the role, to explore new career options.

 

“I am extremely proud of the achievements of my team and the organisation over the past six years,” Mr Parkinson said.

 

“However, I believe the time is now right for a future CEO to lead SANFL as it establishes the next phase of its strategic direction.

 

“Likewise, it is the right time for me personally to explore what the next chapter in my career might be.”

 

https://sanfl.com.au/league/news/sanfl-ceo-jake-parkinson-announces-resignation/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 3, 2020, 11:41 p.m. No.10176846   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10136706

Family of jailed Australian academic 'reassured' by ambassador's visit

 

The Australian ambassador to Iran has visited jailed academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert in her new prison, reporting she is well and has access to food and medicine.

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert's family released a statement through the Australian government saying it had been "reassured" by the consular visit on Sunday.

 

Friends and colleagues of the University of Melbourne lecturer have grown increasingly concerned about her welfare after she was moved to a notorious prison in the desert.

 

The Cambridge-educated academic, who has been sentenced to 10 years' jail for espionage, had been held in Evin Prison in Iran's capital for nearly two years before suddenly being moved to Qarchak women's prison a little over a week ago. Qarchak, in the desert east of Tehran, holds political prisoners, serious drug offenders and murderers and has been described as overcrowded.

 

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian ambassador to Iran, Lyndall Sachs, made a consular visit to Dr Moore-Gilbert on Sunday.

 

"Dr Moore-Gilbert is well and has access to food, medical facilities and books," the DFAT spokesman said. "We will continue to seek regular consular access to Dr Moore-Gilbert.

 

"We believe that the best chance of resolving Dr Moore-Gilbert's case lies through the diplomatic path and not through the media. Dr Moore-Gilbert and her family have requested privacy."

 

Friends and colleagues of Dr Moore-Gilbert, along with federal MPs from both major parties, have raised concerns about DFAT's handling of the case, suggesting there should be a more public campaign to raise the profile of her plight.

 

In a statement released through DFAT, Dr Moore-Gilbert's family said it was thankful Dr Moore-Gilbert had "many strong supporters and friends who love and care about her safe return", but it believed her best chance at release was through diplomatic avenues. It was in close contact with DFAT and the Australian government.

 

"We remain committed to getting our Kylie home as soon as possible and this is our top and only priority," the family said. "We ask that you continue to respect both Kylie's and our privacy while we concentrate on getting her home."

 

Dr Moore-Gilbert, who most recently worked as a lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Melbourne, was arrested in September 2018 while at an educational conference and later convicted of espionage. She has denied all charges against her.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/family-of-jailed-australian-academic-reassured-by-ambassador-visit-20200804-p55ifg.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 4, 2020, 12:14 a.m. No.10176973   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6982 >>4919

'I WAS THERE' Prince Andrew WAS at club with Jeffrey Epstein ‘sex slave’ Virginia Giuffre – not Pizza Express, new witness claims

 

1/2

 

A NEW witness claims she saw Prince Andrew with accuser Virginia Giuffre at a nightclub — contradicting his insistence he was not there.

 

Shukri Walker said: “I remember him dancing and chatting with the young girl.”

 

Teenage Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia says she was forced to have sex with Andrew after they left Tramp in Mayfair in March 2001.

 

Andrew denies it and claims he was not even in Tramp on that evening.

 

He says he remembers the date well because he took daughter Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey.

 

But Shukri has no doubts it was the Prince she saw dancing with teenage sex slave Virginia Giuffre at a nightclub — because she said sorry to him after standing on his foot.

 

Shukri said she turned to apologise after her mishap on the dance floor at Tramp and found herself face-to-face with the Prince.

 

She recalled: “He was smiling. He said, ‘No problem’.”

 

Shukri’s account is another blow to the beleaguered royal, who has come under intense scrutiny since 58-year-old Maxwell was arrested last month for conspiring with Epstein to sex traffick women.

 

Shukri today said she decided to speak out after watching Andrew’s denial during his now infamous Newsnight interview.

 

She contacted US lawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents a number of Epstein’s victims.

 

Ms Bloom passed the information on to the FBI.

 

Shukri said: “When I watched the BBC interview and saw Prince Andrew deny knowing Virginia, saying he has no recollection of that night I had to come forward.

 

“Because I was there and I do have a recollection of it.”

 

Shukri said that she and a male friend had been dancing in the club while Andrew was among a group sitting in a corner.

 

She added: “I can remember exactly where they were sitting.

 

“They had one of those coolers with ice and a bottle in. In fact probably two of those.

 

“You could tell they were getting special treatment.

 

“The man I was with went over there and started talking to them and then came back.

 

“Then at some point I was dancing with him and stood on the feet of one of the men sitting in the corner and I said, ‘I’m sorry’.

 

“And he was smiling. He said, ‘No problem’. My companion said that the man who I stood on was actually Prince Andrew.

 

“I’d never seen a Prince in my life before. I just stood and looked at this man, thinking, ‘Oh my goodness. It’s a real Prince.’

 

“He was smiling a lot, most of the night.

 

“He looked like he was having a great time. And he was with this young girl who was close to my own age, perhaps even a bit younger than me.

 

“They were not that alone. They were with the woman who has just been arrested, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein.

 

“I will never forget the night because I was told this is a real Prince.

 

"That’s the moment that stood out for me. I don’t think I would have remembered otherwise.”

 

Shukri recalled Virginia had an “awkward expression” on her face.

 

She added: “I do remember the little girl perhaps was a little bit drunk or just had a weird expression, an awkward expression.

 

“But she wasn’t smiling, it was the opposite of smiles.”

 

In Virginia’s account of the night of March 10, 2001, Andrew was “sweating profusely” as they danced.

 

Andrew told Newsnight that was impossible as he has a medical condition which means he does not sweat.

 

Shukri says she cannot be sure if Andrew was sweating — but claims she did see him wipe his face.

 

She said: “He was using the back of his hand. I don’t know with all honesty if he was wiping it because he was sweating or just touching it.

 

“But he wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand when he was dancing several times.

 

“I remember he was dancing with the young girl and chatting with her throughout the night.”

 

PUTTING PRESSURE ON PRINCE

 

Virginia, now 36, says she was forced to have sex with Andrew at Maxwell’s London house.

 

She says a picture of Andrew with his arm around her was taken there on the same night.

 

Andrew has said he has no recollection of meeting Virginia and suggested the photo may have been faked.

 

Maxwell is currently in jail in New York awaiting trial.

 

Billionaire financier Epstein, a friend of Andrew’s, killed himself in prison a year ago while facing similar charges.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 4, 2020, 12:16 a.m. No.10176982   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10176973

 

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Somalian Shukri said she was even more determined to come forward because she was a sex trafficking victim herself.

 

She was a teenage refugee from her war-torn homeland when she was trafficked from Kenya to Italy and then London.

 

Ms Bloom believes Shukri to be a credible witness.

 

The lawyer said: “All she wanted was to get her story to the FBI as a witness to help Virginia.

 

“So she wasn’t seeking any money from anyone. She wasn’t looking to bring a lawsuit.”

 

The FBI decided it did not need Shukri’s testimony.

 

Ms Bloom said: “They said, ‘We have the story, thank you. And we don’t need to bother her’.”

 

The lawyer said a second woman had been in touch claiming to have seen Andrew and Virginia together in the club on that evening.

 

She said she had several phone conversations with the witness, who was too frightened to go public.

 

Ms Bloom hopes Shukri’s story will put further pressure on Andrew to speak to US prosecutors. She said: “Absolutely they should investigate him.

 

“You know, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck and this duck spent a lot of time with Epstein,

 

“And Andrew’s story always seemed so shady to me.

 

“He has not released any documents, calendars or journals that would show where he was.”

 

Andrew was pictured in Tramp on March 13 — three days after it is claimed he was there with Virginia.

 

He was snapped chatting to Fiona Sangster, wife of racing tycoon Robert.

 

'SURVIVORS ARE TELLING THE TRUTH'

 

Virginia claims she was groomed by Epstein and Maxwell after being invited to apply for a masseuse job shortly after her 17th birthday.

 

She has alleged in court documents they made her have sex with Andrew in London, New York and the US Virgin Islands in 2001.

 

Last week more of her allegations were revealed during ongoing hearings related to the trafficking charges against Maxwell.

 

David Boies, Virginia’s lawyer, told The Sun last night: “The more the evidence comes out, the more confirmation there is that the Epstein survivors are telling the truth, and that the denials and attacks of the Epstein enablers and participants are a smokescreen.”

 

Buckingham Palace has previously described Virginia’s claims as “false and without any foundation”.

 

It added: “Any suggestion of impropriety with under-age minors” by the Duke of York was “categorically untrue”.

 

Andrew, 60, has not commented on Shukri’s claims.

 

But a friend said: “It’s interesting to see how many people have razor sharp recollections of events that took place some 20 years ago.

 

“It’s difficult to believe that these events can be remembered with such clarity at this distance.”

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12303489/prince-andrew-was-with-epstein-girl-claims-witness/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 4, 2020, 12:40 a.m. No.10177046   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

Heidi Klum 'Never' Traveled on Jeffrey Epstein's Private Jet, Says Her Lawyer: 'Totally False'

 

Virginia Roberts Giuffre claimed Heidi Klum was flying on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane in documents from a 2015 lawsuit

 

Heidi Klum is shutting down claims that she flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet.

 

On Friday, documents from a 2015 defamation case, filed by Virginia Roberts (now Virginia Giuffre) against Ghislaine Maxwell, were opened by a federal judge. In the documents, Giuffre alleged Klum was one of the many high-status celebrities to fly on Epstein's aircraft.

 

One of the released filings was from a 2011 deposition that Giuffre gave to an attorney in West Palm Beach. Asked at the time who traveled on Epstein's plane, Giuffre mentioned, "Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, Bill Clinton and Al Gore," according to WPEC.

 

A lawyer for Klum tells PEOPLE that Giuffre's claims are "totally false."

 

"Any reference to Heidi Klum in connection with Jeffrey Epstein is totally false. Heidi Klum’s name and initials were absent from all the flight logs which were released. Many high profile people are listed, but Ms. Klum is not one of them," the America’s Got Talent judge’s lawyer says, adding, "The explanation is simple. She has never been on any of Mr. Epstein’s planes. And that is because she did not know Mr. Epstein and was never on his island."

 

In a statement to PEOPLE, Klum, 47, says: "I have been watching the news and see that I have been mistakenly named as a passenger on one of Mr. Epstein’s flights. I did not know Mr. Epstein and therefore have never been on his planes, at his homes or his island. I am speaking up as I do not want to be falsely associated with Mr. Epstein and the horrific story surrounding him."

 

Klum continues: "I stand with the victims who have so bravely come forward and I too want the truth to come out and for justice to prevail."

 

The new details came one day after U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ruled to have the documents unsealed. The civil case, which was settled in 2017, involved Giuffre's claims that Epstein sexually abused her as a minor.

 

According to ABC News, contents of the now-unsealed case could contain hundreds of names of people who worked with or traveled with Epstein, who died in August 2019 almost a month after he was arrested for allegedly sex-trafficking girls.

 

Epstein has also been associated with Prince Andrew, whose connection with the disgraced financier (and disastrous BBC interview in November discussing his ties to Epstein) forced him to step down from royal duty in 2019.

 

In the BBC interview, Andrew discussed the sexual abuse allegations made by Giuffre against him, which the prince denies. Giuffre's allegations mention coercion to have sex with the royal three times between 1999 and 2002 in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein, starting when she was just 17 years old.

 

A representative for Klum, who has been photographed posing with Prince Andrew at a party in 2000, released a statement clarifying the supermodel’s association with the royal.

 

"Heidi Klum has met Prince Andrew on two occasions," the statement from her representative begins. "She was first introduced to him in the year 2000 at her first ever Halloween party where they were photographed. He attended that party among several hundred guests and the events team set up the photos with the two of them. Ghislaine Maxwell, who was Prince Andrew’s guest to the event, is in the background of one of the images. Heidi recalls seeing him again about three years ago at a party in Los Angeles."

 

Maxwell, 58, was arrested by the FBI in early July and pleaded not guilty to all charges after authorities said she allegedly helped longtime companion Epstein groom girls as young as age 14 for sexual abuse — incidents that she allegedly participated in herself.

 

Maxwell has been charged with six felonies, including conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts, and perjury. She is being held without bond, and prosecutors describe her as a flight risk.

 

Maxwell will appear in court again sometime this month. Her trial date has been set for July 2021.

 

https://people.com/style/heidi-klum-denies-traveling-on-jeffrey-epstein-private-jet/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 4, 2020, 12:51 a.m. No.10177085   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7149 >>0704 >>4830

Part-time Labor staffer John Zhang challenges investigation into possible foreign interference

 

The national security investigation targeting the possible foreign interference of NSW Labor backbencher Shaoquett Moselmane is being challenged in the High Court by his part-time staffer, John Zhang, whose home and office were raided as part of the inquiry.

 

Details of Mr Zhang’s legal challenge were made public in NSW Parliament on Tuesday as the upper house prepared to examine a claim of parliamentary privilege sought by Mr Moselmane over key documents sought by the Australian Federal Police.

 

The documents are understood to include speeches, petitions, questions on notice, committee papers and other material used in the drafting of these items that originated from Mr Moselmane’s office.

 

NSW Upper House president John Ajaka said that on July 31 the clerk was notified that Mr Zhang’s solicitor had commenced proceedings in the High Court of Australia challenging the legality of the search warrants executed on his home and office.

 

Mr Moselmane, who has denied being a suspect in the matter, is not party to the High Court proceedings.

 

“It is understood the proceedings will concern arguments as to the constitutional validity of the offence provisions underpinning the investigation,” Mr Ajaka said.

 

In late July The Australian revealed that AFP officers had spent two days in the NSW parliament reviewing documents and data originating from Mr Moselmane’s office. They are seeking the documents as part of their inquiry but have been prevented from accessing them due to their privileged status.

 

It was confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Moselmane, through his legal representative, had sought to narrow the scope of documents being sought, subject to parliamentary privilege.

 

The AFP investigation has been working in tandem with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which confirmed its role in the matter. The inquiry, which has been ongoing for an unspecified amount of time, culminated in June with the raids on the homes and offices of Mr Moselmane and Mr Zhang. It is understood to be focusing on potential interference by the Chinese Community Party.

 

The NSW parliament’s Privileges Committee was due to examine Mr Moselmane’s documents and make a ruling about whether they could be released, but due to the High Court challenge this has been postponed, Mr Ajaka said.

 

“Mr Zhang’s legal representative has indicated that, the matter now being before the High Court, the AFP will need to suspend all processing of material and data sought to the warrant until such time as the matter is heard by the court,” he said.

 

“In the meantime, the documents and other material over which privilege has been claimed will remain in the safe keeping of the clerk and deputy clerk as the agreed neutral third party.”

 

Mr Moselmane currently remains suspended from the Labor Party and is serving as an independent member of the crossbench.

 

In a letter addressed from Mr Moselmane to Mr Ajaka, dated June 29 and read out to the parliament on Tuesday, the Labor MP reiterated that he was not a suspect in the investigation. He also said that neither he nor his staff would seek to access his parliamentary computers or telephones while the investigation was ongoing.

 

“I’ve maintained and continued to protest my innocence as to any wrongdoing whatsoever,” Mr Moselmane wrote. “I seek leave of absence from the house to allow the orderly conduct of both the house and investigations, such that it is, to continue and to that end respect the rule of law and allow the house to conduct its affairs without the unnecessary distraction.”

 

In his only public statements relating to the raids, Mr Moselmane said his fascination with China began in high school. In addition to visiting the country numerous times over the past decade, he has been a founding member of the Australian Chinese Association and an honorary chairman of the Australian Shanghainese Association. Mr Zhang was also an honorary chairman of the ASA.

 

Both organisations, according to China analysts, are linked to Beijing’s network of foreign influence operations known as the United Front Work Department.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/parttime-labor-staffer-john-zhang-challenges-investigation-into-possible-foreign-interference/news-story/e7e39dec257b6b42037c67a31db0d7d2

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 4, 2020, 1:25 a.m. No.10177186   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10123369

>>10158011

Modern day slavery occurring in Australia

 

7NEWS Exclusive: A look at slavery in Australia and the disturbing pictures captured by Federal Police in our suburbs.

 

From children as young as 8 forced to marry to underpaid workers living in squalor for years it's happening at record rates in neighbourhoods across the country.

 

https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSsydney/videos/modern-day-slavery-occurring-in-australia/1386821954850459

 

 

AFP lift the lid on 'modern-day slavery' in Australia's suburbs

 

The Australian Federal Police say “modern-day slavery” is happening on our doorstep.

 

In the last financial year alone, the AFP has received 201 reports including forced labour, domestic slavery, debt bondage and sexual servitude with victims as young as eight.

 

Of those, 70 reports were in New South Wales, 61 in Victoria, 31 in Queensland, 19 cases investigated in Western Australia, 15 in South Australia, and five in the Northern Territory.

 

But experts say it’s the tip of the iceberg with only one in four trafficking cases reported.

 

“Human trafficking and modern-day slavery is happening here in Australia,” AFP Human Trafficking Operations Det. Supt Paula Hudson told 7NEWS.

 

For ten years, a quarter of a room in a Sydney CBD unit was home for an Indonesian woman who worked all day for a family in their cafe and then came home to cook, and clean as their personal slave.

 

The self-appointed masters are now before the courts.

 

In a similar case, AFP officers raided a unit in the Sydney suburb of Eastlakes where a Malaysian woman in her 20s has been rescued from five years of forced, unpaid work.

 

Forced marriages

 

Hudson says forced marriages are the “number one report…we’ve had people as young as eight”.

 

In one case, a Sudanese family was stopped twice at the airport trying to take their underage daughter overseas to be married.

 

It’s a practice that is not unique to any one particular country or culture with 48 nationalities represented in reports here in Australia.

 

While the pandemic lockdown has dealt human traffickers their biggest blow in modern history, the AFP says they will be ready when restrictions ease.

 

https://7news.com.au/news/crime/afp-lift-the-lid-on-modern-day-slavery-in-australias-suburbs-c-1214179

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 4, 2020, 2:22 a.m. No.10177348   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9949 >>4830

Satan's Children (1989)

 

Teresa's daring escape from brutal satanic cult and bizarre rituals | 60 Minutes Australia

 

Published on 4 Aug 2020

 

Warning: This story contains graphic imagery and descriptions. Viewer discretion is advised. Story first aired in 1989.

 

Ian Leslie describes this as 'the most painful and disturbing story' he's had to report in 27 years of journalism. It's the horrifying account of a British girl who was trapped for 12 years in a brutal satanic cult, run by her grandmother. Teresa, now 15, went to live with her grandmother when she was two. She tells Leslie of the bizarre rituals and the systematic sexual abuse which became part of her everyday life.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2ioRBNriG8

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:01 a.m. No.10186848   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6858 >>4854

Morrison vows to tackle Chinese interference

 

1/2

 

Scott Morrison and national security chiefs have briefed state and territory leaders on the threat level of Chinese interference, ahead of a major address by the Prime Minister to a US strategic forum warning of the unprecedented militarisation of the Indo-Pacific, cyber attacks and an “assault” on liberal democracies.

 

Mr Morrison’s speech comes as the government moves to ramp up the nation’s cyber defences, offensive capability and protection of critical infrastructure through its Cyber Security Strategy, which is expected to be approved by cabinet this week.

 

In a virtual speech to the Aspen Security Forum in the US on Wednesday, Mr Morrison will say Australia will not be a “bystander” in the Indo-Pacific region and will put the nation at the centre of a global security and economic network of “like-minded” economies.

 

He will warn of the increasing level of foreign interference and proliferation of cyber attacks and the need to expand Australia’s trade relationships beyond its reliance on China.

 

“Today, the Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of strategic competition,” Mr Morrison will tell the US think tank led by former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

 

“Tensions over territorial claims are growing. The pace of regional military modernisation is unprecedented. Democratic nations face new threats from foreign interference. Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Disinformation is being used to manipulate free societies. The trade rules that have allowed us to prosper have not evolved to meet new challenges. And economic coercion is increasingly employed as a tool of statecraft.”

 

Mr Morrison will tell the forum that the “liberal rules and norms of the American Century are under assault” but will call on other democracies to step up and act more cohesively.

 

“A critical priority is to build a durable strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific,” he will say. “For more like-minded nations to act more cohesively, more consistently, more often. To align. I assure you that Australia is not being passive; we’re acting to shape that tomorrow right now.”

 

Mr Morrison will say Australia has “welcomed China’s rise as a major economic partner” but cautions that “with economic rise comes responsibility”.

 

“China has a role to enhance regional and global stability, commensurate with its new status,” he will say.

 

“Such a role is about the broader global and regional interest, rather than a narrow national interest or aspiration, because global expectations of China are now higher — as they always have been for the US.”

 

Mr Morrison says China and the US have a special responsibility to uphold the “common set of rules” that underpin international society.

 

“It means a commitment to rules-based economic interaction. Neither coercion nor abdication from international systems is the way forward,” he will say.

 

The Australian can reveal that national cabinet leaders were provided a rare national security briefing last Friday that focused heavily on China, as state and territory governments deal with the growing threat of cyber attacks and foreign interference. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who was preparing to move his state into a stage four COVID-19 lockdown, was the only national cabinet leader not to attend the high-level security hook-up.

 

The Prime Minister’s office would not be drawn on the briefing or the detail of what was discussed.

 

In June, Mr Morrison warned that Australian governments, critical infrastructure and companies were being targeted by a “sophisticated state-based cyber actor” but did not name China.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:02 a.m. No.10186858   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10186848

 

2/2

 

Amid calls to bolster Australia’s cyber defences, federal cabinet is expected to approve the government’s Cyber Security Strategy on Wednesday — two-weeks after receiving 60 key recommendations from the expert advisory panel led by Telstra chief executive Andy Penn.

 

Mr Morrison will use his speech to call on nations to take a “more pragmatic and rounded approach to our global and regional relationships”.

 

While not naming China — which has slapped tariffs on Australian barley and suspended meatworks exporters after Australia pushed for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus — the Prime Minister will say that unity can be undermined if “positive political and security relationships are accompanied by abrasive or confrontational trade relationships”.

 

He will stress that Australia is “not being a bystander” or “leaving it to others” in the Indo-Pacific region and describes international institutions as being most effective when they are “driven by, and responsive to, the society of states”.

 

“When global institutions and their bureaucracies become unaccountable, when they become vulnerable to manipulation, when they lose the confidence of their membership, they fail in their task to help sovereign nations agree ‘common sets of rules’ to guide their relationships,” he will say.

 

In addition to increasing Australia’s defence posture, the Morrison government will shift to funding and implementing its national cyber security strategy ahead of the October budget.

 

The Australian understands the strategy will focus on expanding Australia’s capacity to engage in offensive cyber warfare.

 

It will also address the need to consider tougher legislative powers around consumer data and enabling security agencies to more effectively support the private sector against cyber attacks.

 

Earlier this year Mr Morrison announced a $1.35bn decade-long funding increase for cyber security amid industrial-scale targeting of Australian interests.

 

The strategy will also examine the need to better define critical infrastructure. Mr Penn’s final cyber security strategy advisory panel report, which listed 25 high-priority recommendations, called on the government to review its classification of critical infrastructure to capture “all essential systems and functions in the public and private sectors and supply chains”.

 

Banking and finance, government, communications, energy, food and grocery, health, transport and water are currently listed as the nation’s eight critical infrastructure sectors.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/morrison-vows-to-tackle-chinese-interference/news-story/668ad96c85bcd467de9b427f424faf03

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:06 a.m. No.10186881   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Australian PM Scott Morrison urges US and China to respect international law, resolve disputes peacefully

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged the United States and China to respect international law and resolve their disputes peacefully, as tensions between the two great powers continue to escalate.

 

Beijing and Washington are enmeshed in an increasingly poisonous series of disputes over trade, espionage and China's military build-up in the South China Sea.

 

The Federal Government is worried about China's increasing belligerence towards Australia and has been steadily strengthening defence ties with the United States.

 

But it has also been unnerved by the Trump administration's withdrawal from a host of international organisations, and frustrated by the way it has used America's economic heft to bully other nations in trade disputes.

 

In a keynote address delivered via video link at the Aspen Security Forum in the US, Scott Morrison said both the US and China had a "special responsibility" to uphold rapidly fraying international rules.

 

"The liberal rules and norms of the American Century are under assault. 'The jungle is growing back', as [American historian] Robert Kagan has observed," the Prime Minister said.

 

"We need to tend to the gardening. That means respecting international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes. It means a commitment to rules-based economic interaction. Neither coercion nor abdication from international systems is the way forward."

 

Mr Morrison also took a veiled swipe at the Trump administration's mercantilism.

 

US President Donald Trump has railed against free trade agreements and has hit multiple US allies and partners with tariffs as he tries to rebuild America's industrial base.

 

Australia has escaped largely unscathed, winning an exemption from US steel and aluminium tariffs in 2018.

 

But last year, the Federal Government had to fight a rearguard action to preserve the exemption after senior US officials tried to kill it.

 

In the speech, the Prime Minister warned that "the sense of unity necessary among like-minded partners can be undermined if positive political and security relationships are accompanied by abrasive or confrontational trade relationships".

 

"We should avoid cases where we build closer strategic cooperation, only to see the cohesiveness of those relationships undermined by trade disputes," he said.

 

And he emphasised Australia's push to balance China by deepening defence and economic links with other major powers in Asia, including Indonesia, Japan and India.

 

"A critical priority is to build a durable strategic balance in the Indo-Pacific. For more like-minded nations to act more cohesively, more consistently, more often," he said.

 

Mr Morrison also revisited the controversy he roused last year when he warned against "negative globalism" in international bodies such as the United Nations.

 

Labor accused Mr Morrison of demonising the United Nations, and in June Foreign Minister Marise Payne used a major speech to emphasise that Australia would not abandon multilateral institutions.

 

The Prime Minister repeated some of his criticisms of UN bodies at the Aspen Security Forum.

 

"When global institutions and their bureaucracies become unaccountable, when they become vulnerable to manipulation, when they lose the confidence of their membership, they fail in their task," he said.

 

"In my Lowy Institute speech nearly a year ago, I described that trend as negative globalism. My view hasn't changed."

 

But the Prime Minister also emphasised that Australia would continue to press its case within international institutions, rather than stepping back from them.

 

"As I said then and repeat now, we believe in a positive globalism: where nations like Australia engage directly with others, as equals, in the pursuit of common objectives," he said.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-05/scott-morrison-urges-the-us-and-china-to-play-by-the-rules/12524448

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:12 a.m. No.10186905   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0145 >>4854

>>10146828

>>10157518

'Buyer beware': Prime Minister says there is no case to ban TikTok

 

Australia will not ban social media platform TikTok after security agencies found the Chinese company did not pose serious national security concerns.

 

The Australian government is still looking at ways to manage privacy and security risks posed by social media companies such as TikTok and WeChat, but has decided any kind of ban or country-wide restrictions on the applications are not warranted on national security grounds.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday morning the Australian government had had a "good look" at whether to ban apps such as TikTok and concluded there was "no reason for us to restrict those applications at this point".

 

But he warned there were still risks that personal data could be sent back to Beijing.

 

"Australians have to be very aware, and it's not just with TikTok and things like that," Mr Morrison said.

 

Microsoft is in discussions to buy TikTok in the United States - and possibly its operations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand - after US President Donald Trump gave Chinese company ByteDance 45 days to sell TikTok or face being banned.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed last month that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had ordered an investigation into the potential security threats posed by TikTok, as well as platforms used primarily by the Chinese diaspora such as WeChat.

 

The probe was ordered after India has already banned the social media platform and some Liberal MPs had been raising concern about the way in which TikTok collected users' data and whether the Chinese company will be required to share users' information with the Chinese government.

 

The Australian government will continue to look at ways to manage the privacy concerns posed by social media companies such as TikTok. The Australian Defence Force has already banned the use of TikTok on its devices, and other Commonwealth departments could follow.

 

Mr Morrison said there was "nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised or Australian citizens have been compromised because of what's happening with those applications".

 

"Now, it is true that with applications like TikTok, that data, that information, can be accessed at a sovereign state level. That is not the case in relation to the applications that are coming into the United States. But I think people should understand and there's a sort of a buyer beware process," Mr Morrison told the Aspen Security Forum via a video call on Wednesday morning.

 

"But people should know that the line connects right back to China and that they should exercise their own judgement about whether they should participate in those things or not," he said.

 

"There is a greater level of transparency, I would argue, about how applications like WhatsApp and things like that, you know, if you go on one of those, how data is used and managed, that's pretty upfront, relatively speaking compared to TikTok and things like that."

 

Mr Morrison said the government would "keep watching" the social media apps, but it was up to Australians to understand the "where the extension cord goes back to".

 

TikTok is the first Chinese tech giant to have a truly international user base.

 

The company is owned by ByteDance, which runs a separate China-only version called Douyin, that regularly censors content in accordance with regulations enforced by the Chinese Communist Party.

 

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is investigating if the millions of videos uploaded to TikTok daily could give the Chinese government access to a vast facial recognition database.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/buyer-beware-prime-minister-says-there-is-no-case-to-ban-tiktok-20200805-p55inl.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:28 a.m. No.10186977   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7001 >>4854

NSW man Justin Radford hit with 80 new child abuse charges

 

An accused child sex offender whose arrest led to the unravelling of a national pedophile network has been hit with 80 new charges.

 

Justin Radford, 29, from Wyong on the NSW Central Coast, was arrested in February after a tip-off from US authorities about the online distribution of child abuse material and initially faced nine charges.

 

Forensic analysis of electronic material seized from Mr Radford had a domino effect, leading to a series of arrests in an Australian Federal Police-led investigation known as Operation Arkstone.

 

Among those charged in connection to the network were two men from Kendall, NSW, where William Tyrrell vanished on a visit to his foster grandmother’s house almost six years ago.

 

Police allege members of the network were abusing children, recording their crimes and sharing the material with each other online.

 

Investigations have been ongoing and Mr Radford on Tuesday appeared in Wyong Local Court on 80 new charges.

 

He is accused of abusing a child and sharing footage of the abuse.

 

It is understood police will allege a silver ring worn by Mr Radford helped link him to offending in footage recovered by police.

 

Evidence was gathered from his electronic devices and cloud storage services.

 

Detective Sergeant Joel Wheeler from AFP child protection operations said investigators, digital forensic specialists and victim identification experts had combed through footage to identify victims and offenders.

 

“We are continuing to try to identify others who are involved in this disturbing network, and hunt them down and unmask them from the anonymity of the internet and put them before the courts,” he said.

 

Investigators expect to identify further child victims of the network.

 

The new federal and state charges against Mr Radford were: 26 counts of possessing, controlling or disseminating child abuse material; 12 of producing material; eight of using a child under 14 to produce material; one sexual act towards a child under 10; 10 sexual touching of a child under 10; one sexual act towards a child under 10; and 22 counts of disseminating child abuse material.

 

The investigation began after a tip from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to the AFP’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) earlier this year.

 

The ACCCE is spearheading a new, co-ordinated national approach to combating child sex offending.

 

Operation Arkstone is being supported by US Homeland Security Investigations and its Operation Predator – an international child protection initiative.

 

Police said in June that they had charged nine men in three states in connection to the network.

 

The arrests of two men from Kendall, who had never been interviewed over Tyrrell’s disappearance, raised hopes of a breakthrough in the long-running homicide investigation.

 

While raiding properties linked to the two men, police used high-tech x-ray equipment capable of detecting the presence of a body. The men lived in Kendall at the time three-year-old Tyrrell disappeared.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nsw-man-justin-radford-hit-with-80-new-child-abuse-charges/news-story/678f25b964de5864c2f2daa1e10e7f7d

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:33 a.m. No.10187001   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7014 >>4854

>>10186977

Operation Arkstone – Wyong man faces further 80 charges

 

1/2

 

Australian Federal Police have laid an additional 80 charges on a 29-year-old Wyong man, who was the first offender arrested under the child protection investigation known as Operation Arkstone.

 

Operation Arkstone is a national investigation, led by the AFP, which uncovered an Australian online network of alleged offenders accused of abusing and exploiting Australian children, and sharing the abuse online.

 

The investigation began in early 2020 after a tip-off from the United States' National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to the AFP's Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE).

 

The Wyong man was arrested in February 2020 for allegedly distributing and receiving child abuse material online, and initially charged with nine offences. Investigators followed the digital trail from seized electronic materials during the search warrant at his home, to uncover other alleged offenders across Australia and make further arrests, which became Operation Arkstone.

 

The man appeared before Wyong Local Court on Tuesday, 4 August, and was charged with 80 new offences relating to the abuse of a child known to him, and the sharing of this material online.

 

The charges were laid as a result of follow-up enquiries by members of the AFP's Eastern Command Child Protection Operations team, including the forensic examination of material seized during the February warrant at his home.

 

It will be alleged in court that material on the man's electronic devices and cloud storage services linked to him provided evidence he was abusing a child known to him, recording it and sharing images or footage online with other like-minded individuals.

 

The new charges against the Wyong man include:

 

  • 26 counts of commonwealth charge Section 474.22A(1) Criminal Code Act 1995 Cth),-Possess/control or disseminate Child Abuse Material (CAM) obtained or accessed using a carriage service

 

  • 12 counts of Section 91H(2) Crimes Act 190 (NSW) - Produce Child Abuse Material;

 

  • 8 count of Section 91G(1)(a) Crimes Act 190 (NSW) - Use child under 14 years for production of CAM;

 

  • One count of section 66DF(a) Crimes Act 190 (NSW) - Sexual Act towards child under 10 years for production of child abuse material;

 

  • 10 counts of Section 66DA(a) Crimes Act 190 (NSW) - Sexual Touching - victim under 10 years;

 

  • One count of Section 66DC(a) Crimes Act 190 (NSW) - Sexual Act towards child under 10 years;

 

  • 22 counts of Section 91H(1) Crimes Act 190 (NSW) - Disseminate CAM.

 

Operation Arkstone is still ongoing and it is likely further victims and offenders will be identified, and further arrests have not been ruled out.

 

AFP Eastern Command Child Protection Operations Detective Sergeant Joel Wheeler said this operation serves as a warning to online offenders – the internet does not provide an anonymous veil.

 

"Operation Arkstone has uncovered this network of alleged offenders thanks to the dedicated work of our investigators, digital forensics specialists and our Interpol-trained victim identification experts," Detective Sergeant Wheeler said.

 

"They had to comb hours of disturbing content looking for clues to find these people allegedly preying on Australian children, to bring them to justice. We are continuing to try to identify others who are involved in this disturbing network, and hunt them down and unmask them from the anonymity of the internet and put them before the courts."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:37 a.m. No.10187014   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10187001

 

2/2

 

This operation was conducted with the support of United States Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) under HSI's Operation Predator - an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

 

Adam Parks, the HSI Attaché to Australia, said the sexual abuse of children is a shameful, despicable practice.

 

"HSI is committed to working with our international partners to pursue justice on behalf of the victims of this heinous crime. Child predators are on notice that the relationship between the AFP and HSI is an unbreakable alliance. Together, we will relentlessly pursue those who would seek to harm the vulnerable."

 

The AFP's Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation – which is headquartered in Brisbane and is co-ordinating Operation Arkstone - is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse.

 

Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson of the ACCCE and AFP Child Protection Operation said investigators at the ACCCE use a range of technologies and methodologies across both the dark and clear net working tirelessly to de-anonymise people who choose to transmit, exchange and share child exploitation material.

 

"Our message to offenders is we will identify and arrest you," Detective Superintendent Hudson said.

 

The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button.

 

http://www.accce.gov.au/report

 

Access online safety information on the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation website.

 

https://www.accce.gov.au/resources

 

Notes to media:

 

Media are reminded of their obligations to protect the identity of child victims and victims of sexual assault under s15A of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) and s105 of the Children and Young Person (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW).

 

Editor's note: Arrest footage and images from the Wyong search warrant (previously unreleased) are available to download via hightail:

 

https://spaces.hightail.com/space/lBcrMtLFPA/files

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/operation-arkstone-%E2%80%93-wyong-man-faces-further-80-charges

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 12:43 a.m. No.10187041   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

Donald Trump: Jeffrey Epstein might have been killed

 

President Trump has said that Jeffrey Epstein’s death in prison may have been murder.

 

Mr Trump also repeated his message of good wishes to the paedophile’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in jail in Brooklyn awaiting trial on charges relating to child sex-trafficking.

 

“Her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out how did it happen,” Mr Trump said in an interview. “Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I’m not looking for anything bad for her. I’m not looking for anything bad for anybody.”

 

Epstein, 66, a financier and convicted child sex offender, was found dead on August 10 last year in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Centre, where he had been awaiting trial on new sex-trafficking charges. Conspiracy theories quickly emerged, driven by the idea that he could have revealed secrets about powerful friends.

 

New York’s chief medical examiner concluded that he had hanged himself, however. In November Bill Barr, the Attorney-General, said that he had reviewed CCTV video showing that no one entered the area where Epstein was held on the night that he died. He said that the FBI and the US Justice Department had uncovered “a perfect storm of screw-ups”. Two guards who were supposed to be checking on Epstein every half-hour have been charged with fraud for allegedly falsifying records to say they had made their rounds that night.

 

Ms Maxwell, 58, a British socialite, was arrested last month in New Hampshire. She denies the charges and faces trial next July. The first time Mr Trump wished her well was at a COVID-19 press conference last month where he was questioned about her arrest. Mr Trump, who had been photographed with her in Florida, said: “I have met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach. I wish her well.”

 

In a new interview with Jonathan Swan, of the political news site Axios, he was asked: “Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on charges of child sex-trafficking. Why would you wish such a person well?”

 

“Well, first of all, I don’t know that,” Mr Trump replied. “She has,” Mr Swan said. “She’s been arrested for that. I know that.” Mr Trump continued: “Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She’s in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I would wish you well. I would wish a lot of people well.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-might-have-been-killed/news-story/826a16eb1c79dcfa38d6123c5617fdf1

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 1:09 a.m. No.10187149   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0704 >>4854

>>10177085

Police ‘suspect Shaoquett Moselmane staffer John Zhang spied for China’

 

Police raided the home and office of MP Shaoquett Moselmane over a suspicion that his staffer was covertly working for the Chinese government to influence Australian politics and the policy positions of the NSW Labor Party.

 

Documents lodged by part-time staffer John Zhang’s legal team in a High Court challenge to the search warrants say police had narrowed their inquiries onto a “private social media chat group” in which Mr Zhang was thought to be advancing “the interests and policy goals of a foreign principal, being the Chinese government”.

 

Mr Moselmane has repeatedly denied any role in the national security investigation, which was brought to the public’s attention in June when extraordinary raids were executed on his home and parliamentary office. Mr Zhang’s home and office were also searched by Australian Federal Police agents under the auspices of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

 

According to documents, Mr Zhang and unnamed others are alleged to have either concealed or failed to disclose to Mr Moselmane that they were acting on behalf of “Chinese state and party apparatus”, which were named as the “Ministry of State Security and the United Front Work Department”.

 

The Ministry of State Security is China’s intelligence, security and secret police agency; it is responsible for counter-intelligence, foreign intelligence and political security. The United Front Work Department is responsible for China’s network of foreign influence operations.

 

Mr Moselmane and Mr Zhang have been honorary members of two organisations — the Australian Chinese Association and Australian Shanghainese Association — which have been linked by China analysts to UFWD operations.

 

According to a section of the documents titled “factual background”, Mr Zhang is listed as an Australian citizen who immigrated from the People’s Republic of China in 1989. It says he began working for Mr Moselmane as a part-time staff member from about October 5, 2018.

 

Mr Moselmane is not a party to the High Court proceedings.

 

The documents further reveal that the AFP has been investigating a series of conversations and interactions that took place between July 1 last year and June 25 this year involving Mr Zhang and others who have not been named. These conversations were said to have occurred in the private social media chat group and “other fora”.

 

Mr Zhang has claimed parliamentary privilege over this data and other documents sought by the AFP, including from his shared parliamentary computer and his parliamentary email account. Whether this privilege can be applied will be examined by a NSW upper-house committee.

 

The documents state Mr Zhang’s conversations occurred with Mr Moselmane and were conducted “to advance the interests and policy goals” of the Chinese government in Australia” by providing “support and encouragement to Mr Moselmane for the advocacy of ‘Chinese State Interests’.”

 

Mr Zhang’s challenge to the AFP’s warrants is based on the validity of indictable offence provisions in the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

 

Police will also allege Mr Zhang’s conduct would influence the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party’s policy positions and the “views of members of the NSW electorate on China”.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/police-suspect-shaoquett-moselmane-staffer-john-zhang-spied-for-china/news-story/9785f7cf33a19063a7fbb6baaa33d1df

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 1:20 a.m. No.10187191   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Promising antibody response in Australians given Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

 

An early-stage trial of a promising coronavirus vaccine found high levels of neutralising antibodies in Australians who volunteered to get the experimental injection.

 

The US Biotech company Novavax announced the results of the Phase 1 trial on Wednesday, flagging its intention to start large-scale Phase III trials as soon as September and manufacture up to two billion doses of the vaccine in 2021.

 

The data – published on a pre-print site and not yet peer-reviewed – appears promising, but the findings are too preliminary to draw firm conclusions about how effective it may be at protecting the public from the COVID-19 virus SARS-CoV-2 and curbing the pandemic.

 

The trial tested the Novavax vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373 in a trial of 130 heath volunteers in Melbourne and Brisbane who received varying doses of the vaccine or a placebo.

 

Participants who received two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart had neutralising antibody levels roughly four times higher than a group of 32 patients who had recovered from COVID-19.

 

"We are extremely excited," Novavax research chief Gregory Glenn said.

 

"At this point, it looks extremely promising … We have a technology that is extremely good at inducing functional immunity. [We found] very robust and very strong immune responses that we know will neutralise the virus," Dr Glenn said.

 

"This virus is extremely infectious so it's our view that it is going to need an extremely functional immune response," he said.

 

The vaccine uses synthesised pieces of the surface protein of the coronavirus created in the laboratory that enables the virus to invade human cells, triggering the body's immune response by way of the production of antibodies to fight off the infection.

 

Some participants were also given Novavax's Matrix-M adjuvant - a substance designed to boost the body's immune response, which it claimed enhanced the effect of the vaccine in the trial.

 

Participants were given 5 microgram and 25 microgram doses of the vaccine, with and without the adjuvant. Novavax said it would likely move forward with the lower dose.

 

Among participants given two doses of the vaccine, roughly 80 per cent had pain and tenderness at the site of the injection. Overall, just over 60 per cent of participants had other side effects, the majority mild to moderate and most commonly headache, fatigue and muscle pain.

 

Eight trial participants experienced adverse side effects after receiving a second vaccine that was deemed "severe". None required hospitalisations. All side effects resolved in a few days.

 

Overall the vaccine was extremely well tolerated and had a very good safety profile, Dr Gregory Glenn said.

 

Dr Glenn said he hoped further trials of the vaccine would secure regulatory approvals as early as December.

 

The Novavax vaccine is among the first of a handful of programs singled out for US funding under Operation Warp Speed, the White House program to accelerate access to vaccines and treatments that can fight the virus.

 

Novavax is yet to bring a vaccine to market but has advanced trials under way for vaccines to protect against Ebola, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus vaccines (the most common cause of respiratory and breathing infections in children).

 

Australian-based company Nucleus Network conducted the Phase 1 trial.

 

"The way we do that is not by exposing the volunteers to the virus in any way," said Nucleus Network Principal Investigator Dr Paul Griffin when the trial commenced in May.

 

"[Instead] we take blood tests from them and we test that in about half a dozen different ways, to show that this vaccine has hopefully provided the immune response that we need to protect people from COVID-19," Dr Griffin said.

 

The US government gave Novavax $US1.6 billion ($2.2b) to help cover costs related to testing and manufacturing the vaccine, with the aim of procuring 100 million doses by January 2021.

 

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations also tipped in $US388 million ($401m) to fund its development.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/promising-antibody-response-in-australians-given-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-20200805-p55ipl.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 5, 2020, 11:33 a.m. No.10191152   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Repost from Q Research General #13037

 

>>10187605 (pb)

 

NSW police officers charged with attempted rape, production of child abuse material

 

Two serving NSW police officers have been refused bail after being charged with attempted rape and the production of child abuse material.

Senior constables Angelo Franco Dellosa, 30, and James Delinicolis, 29, were on Wednesday morning arrested in western Sydney and taken to Hurstville Police Station.

In the video above, Rise in ICU admissions as NSW records new COVID cases

Dellosa was charged with aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault in company and the production of child abuse material.

Delinicolis was charged with attempted aggravated sexual assault in company, the production of child abuse material and misconduct in public office.

Both appeared at Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday and were refused bail by magistrate Joy Boulos to appear at Central Local Court on September 15.

Dellosa and Delinicolis have been suspended without pay.

The charges stem from incidents that occurred in or before June 2020.

NSW Police in a statement on Wednesday said the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission has been briefed on the investigation, which is continuing.

 

https://7news.com.au/news/crime/nsw-cops-charged-with-attempted-rape-c-1218715

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 12:34 a.m. No.10197616   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Australia takes paedophile hunt online with 100 cyber detectives

 

Australia will employ 100 new cyber detectives to hunt down paedophiles and other online criminals who operate on the dark web.

 

Australia will employ 100 cyber detectives dedicated to keeping kids safe online as part of a $1.67 billion boost to the nation’s cyber security.

 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new strategy would protect essential infrastructure and services, Australian businesses that operate online and families.

 

“We need to protect you and your family from the dark web and the trolls and those who would seek to take advantage of the most vulnerable in our community, the elderly and others,” he said.

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the detectives would specifically help fight online paedophiles who had become more active during the coronavirus lockdown.

 

“The fact is at the moment we have seen a massive spike in the number of paedophiles online during the COVID-19 period. They are targeting kids because they know kids are at home,” he said.

 

Mr Dutton said the dark web was the “sewer of the internet” and a hot spot for paedophiles and other criminal syndicates.

 

“The stories we hear from our investigators are quite overwhelming, and the attacks now that we're seeing on all sorts of businesses but families as well … what should be a safe environment is not for many families.”

 

The minister said the new cyber security strategy would help Australian authorities enforce the law online the same way they did in real life, with new powers allowing the Australian Federal Police to ask the Australian Signals Directorate for help in tracking servers used by international paedophile rings, terrorists and drug traffickers.

 

While there has been debate over the potential to exploit these new powers, Mr Dutton said only those committing crimes online should be concerned.

 

“If you’re a paedophile you should be worried about these powers … if you’re committing a serious offence in relation to trafficking of drugs, of ice, for example, that‘s being pedalled to children, you should be worried about these powers,” he said.

 

“If you’re part of the Australian community, the 99 per cent of people that aren’t involved in those activities, then I don’t think you have anything to concern yourself with.

 

“The reality is people are trying their best to groom kids online and terrorists are swapping information … people are trading gun parts on the dark web and it cannot be a lawless space.”

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/security/australia-takes-paedophile-hunt-online-with-100-cyber-detectives/news-story/1519246a3d346ae98157cf6ad93ed02f

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 12:38 a.m. No.10197633   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Peter Dutton confirms Australia could spy on its own citizens under cybersecurity plan

 

Australian Signals Directorate will for the first time be able to identify suspects on home soil

 

Peter Dutton has confirmed the government’s $1.6bn cyberstrategy will include capability for the Australian Signals Directorate to help law enforcement agencies identify and disrupt serious criminal activity – including in Australia.

 

By rendering support to the Australian federal police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the cybersecurity and intelligence agency would for the first time be able to target Australians, although Dutton maintains ASD won’t be able to do so directly.

 

Dutton said law enforcement agencies would target terrorists, paedophiles and drug traffickers operating in the dark web – promising proposed new powers will apply “to those people and those people only”.

 

Details of the new powers – which will require legislation – are not contained in the strategy, which says only that the government will “ensure law enforcement agencies have appropriate legislative powers and technical capabilities to deter, disrupt and defeat the criminal exploitation of anonymising technology and the dark web”.

 

ASD powers have been a source of controversy for the government, after the AFP raided News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst’s home in June 2019 over a news report suggesting the home affairs department was seeking power for ASD to spy on Australians. Dutton had claimed the story was nonsense despite publicly confirming its substance.

 

On Thursday, Dutton told reporters in Canberra ASD has “a very unique set of powers” and is “the very best in the business” in operations such as stopping terrorist attacks.

 

More recently ASD had disrupted scam attacks seeking passwords and other information targeting Australians financially during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

 

“We could have developed that capacity in the Australian federal police. The decision we took was that would be a duplication of that effort.

 

“It would take years to ramp up, and the threat from these cyber actors is here and now.

 

“What we’re proposing here is that the Australian federal police, with the ACIC, with a warrant from the court, knowing that somebody operating a server, whether it’s in Seattle or Sydney, if they’re targeting Australian citizens … [the agencies] would be able to target that paedophile network, regardless of where they are in the world.”

 

Dutton said target servers and syndicates were mostly offshore but it was “appropriate” for ASD to help protect Australians. Law enforcement agencies would be able to “tap into” ASD’s capabilities but “the power only applies to … the Australian federal police and ACIC, not the ASD,” he said.

 

The Australian has reported the ASD will be prevented from collecting information but will be able to provide tech­nical capability advice to assist police execute computer access warrants to identify suspects and disrupt criminal activity.

 

Dutton will also reportedly gain powers to direct the ASD to protect infrastructure from cyber attacks. The home affairs minister did not confirm or deny these aspects of the legislative package when asked on Thursday.

 

Dutton said the new capabilities would be exercised only in relation to people “alleged to be committing very serious offences”.

 

“If you’re a paedophile you should be worried about these powers, if you’re a terrorist … if you’re committing serious offence in relation to trafficking of drugs, of ice, for example, that’s being pedalled to children, you should be worried about these powers as well.

 

“The reality is people are trying their best to groom kids online and … people are trading gun parts on the dark web and it cannot be a lawless space. This law applies to those people and those people only.”

 

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, confirmed that the $1.6bn for the cyber strategy was mostly made up of the $1.3bn announced but not all allocated in June.

 

The package includes $470m to expand Australia’s cybersecurity workforce with 500 new jobs created within the ASD, and $125m to double the AFP’s cyber enforcement capacity by 100 officers and expand the remit of the ACIC.

 

On Thursday the shadow home affairs minister, Kristina Keneally, and shadow assistant cybersecurity minister, Tim Watts, said Labor would “consider the detail of the government’s strategy, including any legislative proposals” but chose to attack the Coalition’s track record rather than the policy.

 

“The Morrison government needs to get their own house in order, too – 70% of commonwealth agencies have failed to implement basic cybersecurity measures according to the auditor-general,” they said.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/06/peter-dutton-confirms-australia-could-spy-on-its-own-citizens-under-cybersecurity-plan

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 12:45 a.m. No.10197666   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweet

 

Something that Yates didn’t seem to understand. I reported the Australian “official” to US officials for his brazen spying and bizarre behavior at my “meeting” with him. This “official” and his handler were interviewed by Durham months ago. They messed with the wrong guy. Payback

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1291094586551668742

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 1:14 a.m. No.10197753   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7785 >>4854

We're waiting to take your call: PM to Xi

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put the onus on China's President Xi Jinping to pick up the phone and open dialogue amid the worsening bilateral tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

 

Mr Morrison also hit back at Chinese bureaucrats' and state media's constant carping Australia is beholden to Washington, saying Australia and the US had different relationships with China because of economics and geography.

 

"One of the errors that is made about analysing Australia's position and one of the criticisms that is made of Australia is it's somehow tied inextricably to precise rhetoric of what is done in the United States," he said. "That is simply not true," he told the Aspen Security Forum, a US think-tank.

 

"To look at it that way would be to misunderstand Australia and miss out on the opportunities of working with Australia in a more constructive way."

 

Mr Morrison also ruled out banning Chinese-owned social media application TikTok after Australian security agencies found no evidence people's private data had been misused.

 

Its Chinese owner ByteDance is in talks to sell the application to Microsoft after US President Donald Trump threatened to ban it on national security grounds, a call backed by some Australian MPs.

 

Mr Morrison said there was "nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised or Australian citizens have been compromised because of what's happening with those applications".

 

"But people should know that the line connects right back to China and that they should exercise their own judgment about whether they should participate in those things or not," he said.

 

Mr Morrison said he last spoke to Mr Xi more than a year ago and his last high-level contact with China's leadership was on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit with Premier Li Keqiang.

 

"There hasn't been the opportunity to do so but the welcome and the invitation for such a discussion is always there from our perspective," Mr Morrison said when asked about the absence of communication with Mr Xi.

 

"I don't get hung up on these things to be honest. The phone's there, it works.

 

"Those sorts of things are of less concern to me. What matters is the trading relationship, the economic relationship is able to be pursued. That is occurring. It has its frustrations from time-to-time."

 

Mr Morrison used his speech to urge like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific to create an alliance to build a strategic balance in the region as tensions intensify between the US and China.

 

His speech about the value of alliances came as he unveiled a significant deepening of economic and military ties with Papua New Guinea, including launching negotiations on a bilateral security treatment.

 

Mr Morrison upgraded the relationship to the level of Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership during a virtual summit with PNG counterpart James Marape.

 

As well as security, the partnership agreement covers trade and investment opportunities, and promoting economic growth, governance, people-to-people links, social and human development, and regional and multilateral co-operation.

 

The government will also commit to building a solar power plant in PNG, the first major project to be funded from the $2 billion Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.

 

Australia will also inject $45 million to expand technical and vocational training outside Port Moresby.

 

Negotiation of the security treaty comes as joint Australian-US plans to develop the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island runs into local resistance.

 

Mr Morrison confirmed the base had been discussed during the virtual summit. Australia and the US pushed for the base amid alarm over China's efforts to establish a military base in the Pacific.

 

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the sentiment behind Mr Morrison's speech on alliances was correct but he had demonstrated an absence of leadership on post-pandemic economic recovery and climate change in the region while cutting foreign aid.

 

"If he is serious about showing leadership in the region, he has to deliver more than words," Senator Wong told Sky News.

 

Australian Institute of International Affairs president Allan Gyngell said Mr Morrison's move to put the onus on China to reopen the lines of communication was "fair enough", saying the Morrison government had signalled it was anxious to talk.

 

"From the Chinese point of view, if they want to improve their relations with their neighbours you've got to talk to them," he said.

 

"One of the burdens that goes with being a large power is the requirement that you work effectively with a range of different countries."

 

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/we-re-waiting-to-take-your-call-pm-to-xi-20200805-p55ip9

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 1:24 a.m. No.10197785   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10197753

Global Times Tweet

 

The Chinese military will not fight near #Australia's coast, but the Australian military is following the #US, approaching #China's coasts. If you want peace, don't just talk the talk. Walk the walk: Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin #HuSays

 

https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1291051350860603398

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 1:36 a.m. No.10197814   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7817 >>4854

Trump administration's probe of the Russia investigation may be nearing conclusion

 

1/2

 

The prosecutor in charge, Connecticut U.S. Attorney Durham, has asked to interview ex-CIA Director John Brennan, says a person familiar with the request.

 

WASHINGTON — The investigation ordered by Attorney General William Barr into how the CIA and the FBI looked into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia's 2016 election interference operation may be nearing a conclusion, people familiar with it say.

 

One indication is that the prosecutor in charge, Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, has asked to interview former CIA Director John Brennan, according to a person familiar with the request. Brennan has agreed to be interviewed, and the details are being worked out, the person said.

 

Attorney General William Barr told Congress last month that he would not wait until after the election to present Durham's findings if they are finalized. Barr has made clear he believes Obama administration officials acted wrongfully when they opened a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign's dealings with Russians, but the Justice Department's inspector general found that the investigation was justified and untainted by political bias.

 

Democrats in Congress and elsewhere say the Barr-Durham investigation smacks of a politically motivated effort to help President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.

 

Brennan, a vocal critic of Trump and an NBC News analyst, has been the subject of intense scrutiny by Durham. Brennan was director of the CIA from 2013 until the day of Trump's inauguration. The New York Times reported in December that the prosecutor was reviewing Brennan's emails, call logs and other records, which was confirmed to NBC News by a person familiar with the matter.

 

Brennan declined to comment for this story, but has previously called the Durham probe "bizarre." The former CIA director questioned the legal basis for it, as have many other former Obama administration officials and Democratic lawmakers.

 

First described as a review, Durham's probe morphed in part into a criminal investigation, but it's unclear exactly what criminal allegations he is examining.

 

The Justice Department's inspector general made a criminal referral pertaining to the conduct of Kevin Clinesmith, an FBI lawyer whom the IG accused of making a misrepresentation to a secret court that approved national security surveillance warrants. Specifically, the IG said Clinesmith altered an email in a way that hid the fact that former Trump adviser Carter Page had been a CIA source — information that would have been relevant to the court in the context of Page's dealings with Russians.

 

Special counsel Robert Mueller ultimately concluded after a two-year investigation that he could not prove a conspiracy, though he found that the Trump campaign welcomed and made strategic use of Democratic emails stolen by Russian intelligence officers, and unwittingly amplified Russian propaganda on social media.

 

Trump has said repeatedly without evidence that President Barack Obama and officials working for him committed crimes, including "treason," in an attempt to frame Trump over his campaign's Russian contacts.

 

Barr's language has been more careful, but he has made clear he views the opening of the Russia investigation as an abuse of power.

 

In Congressional testimony last month, he said he vowed "to do everything I could to get to the bottom of the grave abuses involved in the bogus 'Russiagate' scandal…"

 

Bill Priestap, who was the FBI's counterintelligence chief, formally opened the investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane, on July 31, 2016. A report in December by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz concluded that Priestap's "exercise of discretion in opening the investigation was in compliance with Department and FBI policies, and we did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced his decision."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 1:37 a.m. No.10197817   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10197814

 

2/2

 

The Durham investigation appears be chiefly aimed at examining how and why the FBI decided to open its counterintelligence probe into Trump and his aides. Then-Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe added Trump’s name as a subject of the investigation in May 2017, and McCabe has said that Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, along with other behavior, promoted reasonable suspicion of an inappropriate relationship with Russia.

 

As part of his examination of the evidence, Durham has interviewed officials of foreign governments that became part of the Russia investigation, including Italy, Australia and Britain, NBC News has reported.

 

Durham and his investigators have also interviewed several current and former FBI officials, people familiar with the matter said. But Durham has not interviewed former directors Comey and McCabe, or former director of national intelligence James Clapper, according to two sources who are tracking the probe. A person close to Clapper said Clapper was informed by Durham’s office that he would not be interviewed as part of the investigation.

 

Durham has also questioned CIA officials involved in the creation of the formal assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to favor Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. That avenue of inquiry has deeply troubled current and former intelligence officials.

 

"It's unprecedented for a prosecutor to be looking at an analytic call under the microscope of a criminal investigation," said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer who worked on the assessment.

 

Andrea Kendall Taylor, a former analyst at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who worked on the assessment, said the judgments were the product of a small group of analysts who worked independently.

 

"To suggest that there was political interference in that process is ridiculous," she said.

 

In April, a bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee validated the January 2017 intelligence assessment, describing it as accurate, thorough, and untainted by political bias.

 

"In all the interviews of those who drafted and prepared the (assessment), the Committee heard consistently that analysts were under no politically motivated pressure to reach specific conclusions," the Senate report says. "All analysts … were free to debate, object to content, and assess confidence levels."

 

Barr has suggested Durham may indict people.

 

"He is looking to bring to justice people who are engaged in abuses if he can show that they were criminal violations, and that's what the focus is on," said Barr earlier this year on Fox News.

 

In June, he told Fox that "developments" in the Durham probe will likely emerge before summer is over.

 

The DOJ declined to comment.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-administration-s-probe-russia-investigation-may-be-nearing-conclusion-n1235904

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 1:54 a.m. No.10197874   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Resignations in the news

 

iCare review brought forward as CEO quits

 

The chief executive and managing director of beleaguered NSW government-owned insurer iCare has quit amid reports of poor financial management at the company.

 

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet confirmed on Monday night the resignation of John Nagle, who had held the top job since early 2018.

 

Mr Perrottet on Tuesday said that despite retaining faith in the iCare board, a statutory five-year review of the company's workers' compensation scheme would be brought forward and inquire into the board's conduct and culture.

 

The inquiry will be headed by former NSW Supreme Court judge Robert McDougall QC.

 

It comes after the NSW Labor opposition last week released a document stating iCare's workers' compensation scheme had reported a $2 billion net loss to March 31.

 

Its funding ratio - a key measure of financial sustainability - had fallen to 98 per cent, the undated document shows. The state-owned insurer aims to keep the scheme's funding ratio, or proportion of assets to liabilities, above 110 per cent.

 

The issue came to a head after ABC and Nine reported last week on poor performance and financial management of iCare, created out of the 2015 break-up of WorkCover.

 

The company last week insisted in a statement there was no risk of insolvency in its workers' compensation scheme and that conduct issues such as scheme agent incentives and so-called "doctor shopping" had already been addressed.

 

Mr Nagle said in a statement on Tuesday he was sad to leave.

 

A non-executive board director - incumbent NSW Labor president Mark Lennon - also resigned last week after being on iCare's board since inception.

 

But the Public Service Association on Tuesday said the entire iCare board should step down after a NSW parliamentary inquiry on Monday heard the company had sought to terminate compensation payments to some 17,000 workers.

 

It also heard Mr Nagle had been sanctioned by the iCare board last year for a conflict of interest involving his wife's position at the company.

 

https://thewest.com.au/business/icare-review-brought-forward-as-ceo-quits-ng-s-2023632

 

 

AMP Australia boss Alex Wade exits over 'internal matter'

 

Embattled wealth management group AMP has shocked the market with the departure of Alex Wade, the chief executive of its sprawling Australia division, in an immediate and unexplained resignation following an unidentified "internal matter".

 

The latest executive departure from AMP comes after The Australian Financial Review reported that the company had made Boe Pahari chief executive of its asset management division AMP Capital after penalising him $500,000 following a sexual harassment claim in 2017.

 

In a short statement filed early on Thursday, AMP said it had accepted Mr Wade’s resignation and confirmed he would leave the business “effective immediately”.

 

Chief executive Francesco De Ferrari welcomed interim replacement Blair Vernon but made no public statement on the reasons for Mr Wade’s departure or the former executive’s contribution to the business.

 

In an internal town hall meeting to introduce Mr Vernon on Thursday, Mr De Ferrari cited privacy concerns in response to staff questions about the circumstances of Mr Wade’s departure.

 

An AMP spokesman also declined to answer a detailed list of questions about Mr Wade’s conduct. Mr Wade did not respond to calls or texts.

 

Senior AMP staff told their employees on Thursday that Mr Wade was asked to address an “internal matter” and that he tendered his resignation.

 

Mr Wade had worked at Credit Suisse in Singapore with Mr De Ferrari, and as a private banking executive at Credit Suisse Australia, where current AMP chairman David Murray was an adviser and fellow AMP director John O’Sullivan was once chairman.

 

Mr Wade, who joined AMP in January last year, had only been promoted to head of AMP Australia in October 2019 following the merger of the company’s advice, banking and wealth management division and the departure of banking boss Sally Bruce.

 

The departure comes at a difficult time for AMP. During a virtual town hall meeting last month where staff expressed frustration at “AMP’s #MeToo moment”, AMP head of corporate affairs Helen Livesey said there were "many people who are in AMPA [AMP Australia] who would say that there is behaviour that needs to be addressed in the organisation" and that she was the "the most vocal member of GLT [global leadership team]" about what constitutes acceptable behaviour. There is no suggestion Mr Wade's departure is related to behaviour of that kind.

 

https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/amp-australia-boss-alex-wade-exits-amid-cultural-overhaul-20200806-p55j1r

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 6, 2020, 11:47 p.m. No.10208724   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0145 >>4854

Trump issues orders banning TikTok and WeChat from operating in 45 days if they are not sold by Chinese parent companies

 

President Donald Trump on Thursday issued executive orders that would ban the social media app TikTok and WeChat from operating in the US in 45 days if they are not sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies.

 

The orders, which use similar language, do not state that a certain amount of money from the sale needs to be sent to the US Treasury Department, which the President has been insisting on for several days.

 

The order regarding TikTok prohibits after 45 days "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd.," the Chinese company that owns the social media platform.

 

The move turns up the pressure on negotiations over the popular video app's future through a potential sale. The dramatic back and forth began when Trump said last Friday night that he would ban TikTok from operating in the United States using emergency economic powers or an executive order.

 

Microsoft said Sunday that it was pushing forward with talks to acquire the app following a conversation between CEO Satya Nadella and the President. On Monday, Trump set September 15 as the deadline for TikTok to find a US buyer. Failing to do so, he said, would lead him to shut down the app in the country. In an unusual declaration, Trump also said any deal would have to include a "substantial amount of money" coming to the US Treasury.

 

Thursday's order alleges that TikTok "automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users," such as location data and browsing and search histories, which "threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information – potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage."

 

Shortly after issuing the order regarding TikTok, Trump issued a similar order for WeChat, an group chat app owned by Tencent, a Chinese based company.

 

For WeChat, which allows its users to transfer funds to each other, the order states it will ban financial transactions with Tencent. The order states "any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. (a.k.a. Téngxùn Kònggu Youxiàn Gongsi), Shenzhen, China, or any subsidiary of that entity, as identified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) under section 1(c) of this order."

 

National security concerns have long fueled policymakers' reservations surrounding the apps. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters last week at the White House that the US government was conducting a national security review of TikTok and was preparing to make a policy recommendation to Trump.

 

Prior to Trump's threatened ban last Friday, people working on the issue within the Trump administration expected the President to sign an order to force ByteDance to sell the US operations of TikTok, according to a person familiar with the matter, in a move aimed at resolving policymakers' concerns that the foreign-owned TikTok may be a national security risk.

 

The order also claims that the platform censors or disseminates content in keeping with the Chinese Communist Party's agenda, citing "when TikTok videos spread debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus."

 

Many of TikTok's fans have panicked over the app's uncertain future. After Trump's threat last Friday, TikTok users across the US began livestreaming and posting videos in tribute to what they feared was the end of the app. Others were strategizing ways to get around a ban, including by trying to trick servers to make it look like they're browsing from a different country where TikTok is allowed to operate.

 

And TikTok has said it remains committed to its large American user base.

 

"TikTok is loved by 100 million Americans because it is a home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection," company spokesperson Josh Gartner said in a statement. "TikTok will be here for many years to come."

 

The President's threat to shut down the platform also comes a month after a stunt organized mainly through TikTok may have led to a sparsely-attended Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the days leading up to the June 20 rally, a coordinated effort was underway on TikTok encouraging people to register online for the free event and not show up.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/06/politics/trump-executive-order-tiktok/index.html

 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/

 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-wechat/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 12:02 a.m. No.10208842   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

'OUR LITTLE SECRET' British paedo monster carried out sick sex attack on Tinder date’s nine-year-old daughter in Australia

 

A DEPRAVED paedophile carried out a vile sex attack on a Tinder date's nine-year-old daughter.

 

Ben Hill was staying overnight at a woman's home in Geelong, Victoria for the first time when he twice entered the girl's bedroom and sexually assaulted her, according to reports.

 

Hill, then aged 30, reportedly told the young victim: "Don't tell anyone. It's our little secret."

 

The now 33-year-old was sentenced to 12 years and three months in custody, with a non-parole period of nine months, Geelong crown court heard today.

 

At a pre-sentencing hearing in July, the court heard that Hill was likely to be deported to Northern Ireland at the end of his sentence.

 

Alan Marshall, defending, said the prospect of deportation would make Hill's prison time more "onerous" as he held permanent residency and his mother and friends lived in Australia.

 

Crown prosecutor Andrew McKenry had called for lengthy sentence and argued crimes had caused an enduring and “grave” impact on the young victim.

 

Judge Mullaly said the crimes Hill had been found guilty of were “very serious” sexual offences.

 

He said the “very young” victim had been used and violated by Hill for his own “perverse sexual gratification”.

 

“You comprehensively shattered that sense of what is an integral part of normal domestic life and childhood,” the judge added.

 

“You were in a trusted position and you gravely abused that trust.”

 

The court heard that the victim's mother found her daughter to be withdrawn, distrusting of men and reportedly had frequent nightmares of the abuse.

 

“This sort of offending is a mother’s, a woman’s greatest fear,” he said.

 

The court heard that Hill had a difficult life after moving from Northern Ireland to Australia as a young boy, it's reported.

 

He struggled to fit in and was expelled from school in Year 10.

 

The judge said that Hill suffered from a borderline personality disorder and PTSD.

 

He noted that his prison sentence would be more difficult due to mental illness, the coronavirus pandemic and the near certain prospect of deportation.

 

Judge Mullaly said the sentence must act as a deterrence to anyone who may consider the “evil path of child abuse."

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12332674/british-paedo-sex-attack-tinder-nine-year-old-australia/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 12:27 a.m. No.10208990   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9217 >>4854

Change of command for Australia's special forces ahead of explosive war crimes report

 

Australian special forces will for the first time be led by an officer who has not been a member of the famed Special Air Services (SAS) Regiment, in what defence insiders consider an important "cultural shift" for elite soldiers.

 

The ABC can reveal Major General Paul Kenny, who is currently the acting head of the ADF's COVID-19 taskforce, will become the next Special Operations Commander for Australia (SOCAUST).

 

The Commando officer is taking over from Major General Adam Findlay, who has overseen Australia's special forces since 2017, as a long-running inquiry into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan nears completion.

 

Since 2003, the Special Operations Command has been responsible for the highly secretive SAS regiment and their colleagues in the Commando regiments, as well as other specialised support units.

 

Senior military figures said the appointment of Major General Kenny as SOCAUST came at a crucial time for special forces, as they undertake major cultural reforms prompted by incidents of bad behaviour, particularly by the SAS, during the Afghanistan war.

 

"He is not caught up in the echo chamber and conflicts of interest that came with being too close to the SAS Regiment in the past," one special forces member told the ABC, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

 

"[Major General] Kenny is in my view very professional and a great choice."

 

Since May 2016, New South Wales Justice Paul Brereton has been assisting the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) in examining the conduct of special forces personnel during the war in Afghanistan.

 

Justice Brereton's highly anticipated report is believed to be almost completed, with military insiders expecting his findings to be handed to the Chief of Defence in the coming weeks.

 

In a statement, Defence declined to say whether it had considered extending Major General Findlay's term until after the IGADF process is completed.

 

"Major General Findlay's tenure as Special Operations Commander of Australia concludes at the end of 2020," a defence spokesperson told the ABC.

 

"His departure from the SOCAUST role is reflective of the normal posting routine in the ADF.

 

"The IGADF inquiry process has not had bearing on the posting process associated with the SOCAUST position."

 

Major General Findlay has won praise for initiating cultural reforms within special forces, including delivering a blistering address to members of the SAS regiment earlier this year over "poor moral leadership".

 

Earlier this year, the IGADF revealed investigators were looking into 55 separate incidents of alleged breaches of the rules of war in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

 

Last month, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw warned that prosecutions of possible Australian war crimes could take up to a decade to complete.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-07/sas-new-commander-appointed-paul-kenny/12531944

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 1:09 a.m. No.10209217   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0950 >>5185 >>1722 >>2938 >>4854

>>10208990

War crimes report will make uncomfortable reading, says Linda Reynolds

 

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has warned the nation needs to prepare itself for the findings of an upcoming report on dozens of alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, saying it will make for “uncomfortable” reading.

 

Senator Reynolds said the inquiry led by NSW Supreme Court judge, Major General Paul Brereton, would soon be completed.

 

While she had not read Justice Brereton’s findings, she warned they would be confronting.

 

“I think that will make some very significant findings, ones that I am certain will make many Australians uncomfortable, and also dismayed at,” she said.

 

“So I think we do need to prepare ourselves for that.”

 

Her comments to an Australian Strategic Policy Institute webinar on Friday follow the appointment of a non-SAS commander to lead the nation‘s special forces for the first time.

 

Major General Paul Kenny, a Commando officer who is currently the acting head of the ADF‘s COVID-19 taskforce, will become the next Special Operations Commander for Australia, with a brief to continue wide-ranging cultural reforms.

 

He will take over from Major General Adam Findlay, who led Australia’s special forces since 2017, amid ongoing fallout over alleged breaches of the laws of war being examined by Justice Brereton.

 

Senator Reynolds said the army and its special forces regiments had already been doing “a significant amount of self reflection on how some of these reported circumstances could have happened, and what needs to happen structurally and culturally to make sure that these events do not happen again”.

 

“I would stress that I do not for a second think that those issues that will be reported on … (reflect) on our current serving men and women, both here and overseas, who are doing an extraordinary job for our nation.

 

“There clearly has been a problem and we wait now to see the outcome of Justice Brereton‘s report, and CDF will speak more publicly about that after the release of the report.”

 

The Special Operations Command has been responsible since 2003 for the secretive SAS regiment, based in Western Australia, and the Commando regiment, based in NSW.

 

Justice Brereton’s inquiry, conducted for the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, is examining at least 55 potential instances of unlawful conduct, the military watchdog has revealed in February.

 

In its annual report to parliament, the IGADF said 338 witnesses had been interviewed by the Brereton Inquiry up until July 2019.

 

It said the alleged breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict being examined were “predominantly unlawful killings of persons who were non-combatants or were no longer combatants, but also ‘cruel treatment’ of such persons”.

 

The inquiry was not focused on decisions made in the “heat of battle”, but on “the treatment of persons who were clearly non-combatants or who were no longer combatants”, the IGADF said.

 

Australia’s most decorated soldier, Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, is among those caught in the investigation.

 

He has been publicly accused of committing war crimes while serving with the SAS in ­Afghanistan — allegations he has denied, claiming his anonymous accusers were motivated by professional jealousy and personal vendettas.

 

He is suing Nine Entertainment over those allegations he says are false.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/war-crimes-report-will-make-uncomfortable-reading-says-linda-reynolds/news-story/d4fccaa8ed3d182f3dd50a56a3291589

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 1:25 a.m. No.10209323   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Australia pledges to share coronavirus vaccine: PM

 

Australia is gearing up to manufacture and supply coronavirus vaccines if they are developed, Scott Morrison says.

 

Speaking after a National Cabinet meeting on Friday, the Prime Minister has again called on any country that finds a vaccine to share it.

 

“Australia is positioning itself well to take advantage and be in a position to be able to manufacture and supply vaccines should they be developed,” he said.

 

“Any country that were to find this vaccine and not make it available around the world, without restraint, I think would be judged terribly by history and that’s certainly Australia’s view.”

 

Mr Morrison dismissed questions about specific countries, adding that every country’s leader should pledge their willingness to share.

 

Acting chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said the best minds in the world were concentrating on developing a vaccine, but there were no guarantees.

 

“We can’t promise that there will be a vaccine or when it may occur,” he said.

 

National Cabinet on Friday held its 25th meeting, which was dominated by the Victorian outbreak and its aged-care response.

 

Prof Kelly said the majority of cases were in young people, which highlighted the need to assess community engagement strategies.

 

He said while its mild illness in about 80 per cent of people, about 20 per cent of people face long-term effects including chronic fatigue, lung and vessel damage.

 

Mr Morrison said there was an ongoing audit of aged-care preparedness nationwide, including workforce management.

 

He said the hotel quarantine review also under way had already highlighted the need for states and territories to “stress test” their arrangements.

 

International travel bans on inbound arrivals to Australia will also be continued, and leaders agreed to a freight code that will put in place rules for truck drivers crossing state borders.

 

“We also agreed (on) the tasking of the National Cabinet subcommittee on skills and their program of work, which will go over the next two or month as they’re finalising those arrangements around the job trainer initiative,” Mr Morrison said.

 

The Federal Government has now committed more than $300 billion in coronavirus support measures.

 

State and territory governments have also contributed a combined investment of more than $40 billion.

 

Mr Morrison said his government’s broader plan for the economy would continue to be rolled out whether there was a vaccine or not.

 

“Perhaps it will be a treatment first as opposed to a vaccine that will mitigate the impact, and enable broader restrictions to be eased,” he said.

 

“I have been trying to keep the economy, even in Victoria, at a level of operation which will mean on the other side, when we come out the other side, we’re not making it harder on ourselves to see it re-emerge.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australia-pledges-to-share-coronavirus-vaccine-pm/news-story/c1e5f9dd7856db018b7c311918a52579

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 1:41 a.m. No.10209400   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Senior Westpac contingent pushes for bank to settle Austrac legal case

 

Internal momentum is building for Westpac to settle explosive legal action brought by Austrac, with a contingent of senior bank staff pushing for it to bite the bullet.

 

The reputation damage that continues to flow from the legal action, brought by the financial crimes regulator, and its ever-bulging case against Westpac is prompting a rethink of the view it shouldn’t agree to a bumper $1.5bn penalty.

 

The parties have been at loggerheads over the size of a penalty for the bank’s growing list of transgressions, with Westpac putting aside $900m for a settlement and Austrac said to be pushing for about $1.5bn.

 

But against the backdrop of Australia’s first recession in almost three decades and a renewed spike in COVID-19 cases clouding the outlook for credit losses, some senior parties in the Westpac corner believe accepting the higher settlement is the best way forward.

 

The damning claims, including that Westpac helped facilitate payments that funded child exploitation and pedophilia, continue to haunt the bank. The situation is exacerbated by Westpac last week disclosing it had not reported a further 175,000 transactions to Austrac and that about 360,000 reports that were made may have included “incomplete or inaccurate information”.

 

While Westpac admitted to the bulk of the initial 23 million breaches of the law — alleged by Austrac late last year — the parties continued to bicker over outstanding issues. Westpac, now led by chief executive Peter King and chairman John McFarlane, has previously expressed appetite for a financial settlement but the amount in question and issues over whether the bank had a compliance system in place have proven to be stumbling blocks.

 

This column understands mediation is yet to restart between Austrac and the bank. But if Westpac doesn’t settle, the court battle will be a protracted and costly one.

 

Just this week, the Federal Court granted Austrac an extension to lodge a revised statement of claim with Westpac by September 25, which would include a long list of further potential breaches of the law.

 

Initially the amended statement of claim was due to be filed with the court on August 14, and the next case management hearing had been scheduled for September. The next hearing is now slated for October 21.

 

Westpac has until mid-October to decide if it “consents or objects” to the amended statement of claim.

 

A Westpac board meeting is being held on Friday, where the Austrac battle and the outstanding issues will be part of a broader discussion. That comes ahead of the bank providing investors with a third-quarter earnings update in mid-August. It will include Westpac’s expectations around loan losses and the prospect of paying out a lower dividend under the banking regulator’s revised guidance for payments not to exceed 50 per cent of earnings.

 

After Westpac received a roasting last week from Attorney-General Christian Porter over its approach to the Austrac matter, settling the legal case in the current climate makes a lot of sense.

 

“Any assertion that only Westpac has all the facts relating to this matter demonstrates the sort of arrogance and lack of understanding that led to the alleged breaches arising,” Porter said.

 

A decision by the bank to agree to a record $1.5bn penalty would also, though, have to be carefully explained to irate shareholders.

 

Commonwealth Bank agreed to pay a $700m fine to ­Austrac in 2018 after it faced court proceedings for 53,750 breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/senior-westpac-contingent-pushes-for-bank-to-settle-austrac-legal-case/news-story/c77f329e42cbeead8f4a34e93602c72e

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 2:04 a.m. No.10209489   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

South Australian man charged with online child abuse offences after Canadian tip

 

A South Australian man has been charged with possessing child abuse material after Canadian authorities allegedly intercepted abhorrent images and sexualised chat between the 36-year-old and a person overseas.

 

The Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation launched an investigation after receiving a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) earlier this year.

 

The report alleged an Australian-based user of an online forum received 12 files containing child abuse material from a person located overseas and they had engaged in sexualised role play chat.

 

The AFP will allege the Australian involved is a 36-year-old man from a town in South Australia’s south-east.

 

The matter was referred to the South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) and a warrant was executed at the suspect’s home in May (26 May 2020).

 

SA JACET investigators, comprising AFP and South Australia Police officers, allegedly found a large amount of child sexual abuse material on electronic devices at the home and those devices were seized for further analysis.

 

The man was charged and granted police bail with strict conditions to face Millicent Magistrates Court today (7 August 2020) on:

 

  • One count of possession or control of child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • Two counts of aggravated possession of child exploitation material, contrary to section 63A of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA).

 

The offences carry maximum penalties between seven and 15 years imprisonment.

 

AFP acting Superintendent Gavin Stone said no child anywhere in the world should be victimised for the perverted desires of some people in our community.

 

“The AFP works tirelessly with South Australia Police and our international partners to keep children safe and bring to justice those who seek to do them harm,” acting Supt Stone said.

 

“Collaboration is key and we need parents to join us on the frontline by supervising their children’s internet use and talking to them about cyber safety.”

 

Acting Supt Stone said this crime type is getting worse and the average number of images seized when an offender is arrested has been steadily increasing.

 

In the early-to-mid 2000s, a child sex predator had about 1000 images. Now offenders are found with between 10,000 to 80,000 images and videos.

 

Detective Superintendent Mark Wieszyk, Officer in Charge of the Public Protection Branch of South Australia Police said, “SAPOL and AFP investigators work tirelessly together to halt the exploitation of children and will continue their efforts to keep children safe”.

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report

 

Note to media:

 

Use of term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

 

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

 

Use of the phrase "child pornography" is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

 

  • indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

 

  • conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

 

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/south-australian-man-charged-online-child-abuse-offences-after-canadian

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 2:22 a.m. No.10209606   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

International tip-off leads to arrest of Sydney man on child abuse charges

 

A 31-year-old Sydney man is due to appear in the Bankstown Local Court today following an Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation into alleged child abuse offences reported by an international law enforcement partner.

 

The AFP’s Eastern Command Child Protection Operations (CPO) team arrested the man yesterday (6 August 2020) during a search warrant executed at his Bankstown residence, where a number of electronic items were seized for evidentiary purposes and further examination.

 

About $12,000 in cash and 50 grams of a substance suspected to be cocaine were also seized.

 

The AFP investigation began following an international partner referral to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) on 1 July 2020. The law enforcement partner conducted their own preliminary investigation into a social media account allegedly involved in the transmission of child abuse material, before handing the matter over to Australian authorities.

 

The AFP’s Eastern Command CPO team was able to identify the man’s residence and obtain further evidence of alleged child abuse offences.

 

Following his arrest, the AFP conveyed the man to Bankstown Police Station where he was refused police bail and charged with the following offences:

 

  • 1 x use carriage service for child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • 1 x dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime, contrary to section 400.9 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • 1 x possess prohibited drug, contrary to section 10 of the Drugs Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW); and

 

  • 1 x supply prohibited drug, contrary to section 25 of the Drugs Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW).

 

The charges carry a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment.

 

AFP Detective Superintendent Ben McQuillan said “this investigation shows that the AFP stands shoulder to shoulder with our international counterparts in the fight against child abuse.

 

“It serves as a warning for people who use, share or create child abuse material – you are not anonymous and we are hunting you down.”

 

How to report child sexual abuse in Australia?

 

The ACCCE is committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse.

 

The Centre brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report

 

EDITORS NOTE: Media are reminded of their obligations under s15A of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) and s105 of the Children and Young Person (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW).

 

Note to media:

 

Use of term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

 

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

 

Use of the phrase "child pornography" is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

 

  • indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

 

  • conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

 

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

 

Editor’s note: arrest footage is available via Hightail - https://spaces.hightail.com/space/lqzsDpvNQN

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/international-tip-leads-arrest-sydney-man-child-abuse-charges

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 7, 2020, 9:51 p.m. No.10220297   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8399 >>1765 >>5070

‘Inappropriate photos’ behind sudden exit of AMP executive

 

The sudden exit of AMP’s Australia chief Alex Wade from the under-pressure wealth group this week was related to allegations of poor conduct, including lewd photos, presented to the company.

 

Multiple sources told The Weekend Australian that AMP received material that alleged Mr Wade had sent inappropriate photos to a woman.

 

The claims are understood to have been the final straw and triggered the end of Mr Wade’s tenure as a senior executive at AMP. The allegations added to other claims relating to Mr Wade’s conduct and performance that had already been raised with the board.

 

An AMP spokesman on Friday declined to comment on the circumstances of Mr Wade’s departure. He referred to Thursday’s ASX statement that said AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari had accepted Mr Wade’s resignation.

 

The statement said the departure was “effective immediately” and no explanation was given.

 

A spokesman for Mr Wade said on his behalf: “I arrived at my decision to resign from AMP in the interests of all parties.

 

“My focus now is on a period of personal reflection and the relationships that are most important to me.”

 

Mr Wade joined AMP as head of wealth in January last year.

 

His role was later expanded to cover wealth management and AMP’s bank division, including spearheading a shake-up of the financial advice model by slashing the amount the company would pay to buy back planning practices. The departure leaves a gaping hole on AMP’s front bench, even though Mr De Ferrari has appointed Blair Vernon, AMP’s New Zealand wealth management chief, as acting head of AMP Australia while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement.

 

Mr Wade and Mr De Ferrari worked closely together at Credit Suisse, where the latter was head of the Asia-Pacific private banking business.

 

AMP chairman and banking veteran David Murray also had a stint at Credit Suisse as a senior adviser, before the trio crossed paths again at the embattled wealth company.

 

Sources said Mr De Ferrari was “devastated” at the chain of events that led to Mr Wade’s departure from AMP.

 

The CEO’s judgment has been thrown into question in 2020 after a run of missteps as Mr De Ferrari and the board seek to fix AMP’s past issues and untangle a complex structure.

 

Sparked controversy

 

The exit of Mr Wade comes after AMP’s promotion of Boe Pahari to lead the AMP Capital division sparked controversy, given he had been financially penalised over a harassment incident several years earlier.

 

Mr Pahari — who has been repeatedly backed by Mr De Ferrari — took the AMP Capital reins from retiring Adam Tindall in July.

 

AMP was one of several companies ravaged by the Hayne royal commission in 2018, losing its then CEO Craig Meller and chairman Catherine Brenner.

 

They left amid revelations AMP misled the corporate regulator, while the company was also entangled in a series of scandals relating to its financial planning business.

 

Mr De Ferrari, who started in the top job at AMP in late 2018, is seeking to accelerate a three-year turnaround program outlined in 2019 after this year completing the $3bn sale of AMP’s life insurance unit to Sir Clive Cowdery’s Resolution Life.

 

But AMP is suffering from weaker earnings and structural changes in its wealth division.

 

Last week the group warned of a halving in underlying group profit to between $140m and $150m for the six months to June 30.

 

This compares to $309m at the same time last year.

 

AMP hands down its official half-year results on Thursday.

 

The earnings update showed AMP’s wealth management arm had trebled its outflows over the past two years to $4.4bn in the first half alone.

 

Operating earnings in the wealth unit are expected to print at $60m for AMP’s first half while the bank’s earnings are pegged at $50m. Those results are down from $103m for wealth and $71m for the bank in the same period last year.

 

The announcement of Mr Wade’s departure added to AMP’s woes after the corporate regulator signalled it expected to file a Federal Court action against the group by year’s end.

 

The company was subject to several referrals to regulators following the royal commission.

 

AMP was also hit with two class actions in recent weeks, one from aggrieved financial advisers over a decision to slash the amount the company would pay them for their businesses.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/lewd-photos-behind-sudden-exit-of-amps-australia-chief-alex-wade/news-story/44bdb59fe90c4227da259db149b9d4e8

 

 

AMP Australia leadership update

 

https://corporate.amp.com.au/newsroom/2020/august/AMP-Australia-leadership-update

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 8, 2020, 7:36 p.m. No.10228782   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8790 >>4854

South China Sea: Trump card Australia has over China

 

1/2

 

As tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea, the USA needs Australia for one key thing.

 

When US President Donald Trump was elected back in November 2016, it was already clear from his rhetoric that the relationship between China and the United States would never be the same again.

 

In the years that followed, the war of words between Beijing and Washington gradually continued to escalate, until in 2018 the still ongoing trade war erupted between the two nations.

 

COVID-19 only exacerbated this.

 

Since January, various mutual sanctions have been put in place by both nations, the US has revoked Hong Kong’s special administrative status and President Trump’s talk about the “China virus” has only served to further inflame existing tensions.

 

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently shared his concerns about the ongoing friction.

 

“The once unthinkable outcome – actual armed conflict between the United States and China – now appears possible for the first time since the end of the Korean War.

 

“In other words, we are confronting the prospect of not just a new Cold War, but a hot one as well,” he wrote in an article for the journal Foreign Affairs.

 

As the diplomatic relationship between Beijing and Washington continues to sour, trade arrangements and supply chains once taken for granted, are suddenly being rethought as the tectonic plates of the global geopolitical landscape continue to shift.

 

Amid the backdrop of rising military tensions across much of the Indo-Pacific, including the hotly contested South China Sea, arguably one of the most important trade arrangements under threat is the export of Chinese rare-earth minerals to the United States and other nations currently facing off with Beijing.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF RARE-EARTH MINERALS

 

They are a key element in the manufacturing of all manner of products and devices we take for granted in our daily lives, from the hard drive in your home computer to your smartphone.

 

But where rare earth minerals come into their own in terms of importance, is their application in the manufacturing of various pieces of sophisticated defence equipment such as the F-35 ‘Joint Strike Fighter’ and the Javelin antitank missile (both of which are also operated by the Australian Defence Forces).

 

In fact, in the production of a single F-35 fighter jet, more than 417kg (920lbs) of rare-earth minerals are consumed. For large naval vessels such as the Virginia class nuclear attack submarine, the requirements are even greater, with 4170kg (9200lbs) of rare-earth’s used during production.

 

CHINA DOMINATES RARE-EARTH PRODUCTION

 

In 2019, China was the number one producer of rare-earth minerals in the world by a significant margin, producing 62 per cent of all rare-earth minerals globally. Including 97 per cent of rare earth ore, 97 per cent of rare earth oxides, 89 per cent of rare earth alloys, 75 per cent of neodymium iron boron magnets (NdFeB) and 60 per cent of samarium cobalt magnets (SmCo).

 

For the United States, China’s near monopoly on certain rare earth minerals is extremely concerning. Approximately 80 per cent of all US rare earth mineral requirements are met by supplies from China, despite the United States possessing the second largest rare earth production capacity in the world.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 8, 2020, 7:37 p.m. No.10228790   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10228782

 

2/2

 

THREATS FROM BEIJING

 

Beijing has not pulled any punches in ramming home how much leverage it derives from its rare earth mineral exports to the United States. In May last year, the Global Times, a Chinese state-owned newspaper, ran an editorial stating that a ban on Chinese exports of rare-earths “is a powerful weapon if used in the China-US trade war”.

 

With the clear threat from Beijing that rare-earth mineral exports could be significantly impacted by the deteriorating relations between the United States and China, the US has taken to stockpiling months of supply of rare earth magnets which are key to the manufacturing of multiple key defence technologies.

 

THE AUSTRALIAN ALTERNATIVE

 

As American defence analysts increasingly examine the supply chain for the key rare earth minerals and their origins, it’s clear that there aren’t many US-friendly nations among the world’s largest rare-earth mineral producers, except for one, Australia.

 

With the Morrison government and the Trump administration currently acting to further solidify the decades-long alliance between the US and Australia, Australia represents an attractive alternative to continued reliance on imports from China.

 

In November last year, Canberra and Washington took a major step to making Australia a key part of the US strategy to reduce its reliance on Chinese exports.

 

A partnership was announced to safeguard their ability to develop “critical mineral assets”. The collaboration will consist of Australian and American scientists and companies determining what mineral reserves exist and where, in addition to modelling data on the industry to determine what minerals are in demand.

 

LOOKING AHEAD

 

In years gone by, reasonably priced and plentiful Chinese exports left Australia’s rare earth mining sector relatively undeveloped, especially when compared to its bulk commodity or precious metals rivals.

 

But as tensions continue to rise between China and the United States over trade, COVID-19 and the South China Sea, the ongoing co-operation between Washington and Canberra to develop an Australian alternative to Beijing’s dominance of the production of rare earths is taking on a new level of importance.

 

Expanding the Australian rare earth mining industry to the point where it can make a significant dent in Beijing’s dominance of the global market will be a long and drawn out process that will take years.

 

However, as the geopolitical sands continue to shift beneath our feet, the development of the Australian rare earth mining industry may no longer be seen as an unnecessarily expensive endeavour to produce resources that can be found elsewhere.

 

It may be viewed as a key project in the efforts to safeguard the resources and supply chains needed to ensure the defence of not only Australia, but also the United States and its allies.

 

https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/south-china-sea-trump-card-australia-has-over-china/news-story/59dad5617aea9b327f61499bf0eb8708

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 8, 2020, 8:20 p.m. No.10229176   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Report: Ex-CIA Chief Brennan Has Been Told He Is Not Target Of Durham Probe

 

Former CIA Director John Brennan is set to meet with the prosecutor investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, though the Obama-era spy chief has been told he is not a target of the probe, according to reports.

 

NBC News reported this week that John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, asked to interview Brennan as part of his investigation. A source familiar with the matter told NBC that Brennan agreed to be interviewed, and the two sides are working out a time to meet.

 

According to NPR, Brennan has been told that he is not a target of Durham’s investigation, which began in March 2019, as the special counsel’s probe was winding down.

 

Attorney General William Barr tapped Durham to conduct a sprawling review of the FBI, the CIA and other agencies’ investigative and intelligence-gathering activities related to the Trump campaign and Russia.

 

Durham’s work has overlapped with a Justice Department inspector general’s investigation, which found that the FBI misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in an effort to obtain spy warrants against Carter Page, a former Trump aide.

 

The IG said the FBI withheld information that undermined the credibility of the Steele dossier, which investigators used in applications to the FISC.

 

Durham is also reportedly investigating an Intelligence Community Assessment developed in late 2016 that said Russian President Vladimir Putin meddled in the 2016 election specifically to help Donald Trump win the presidency.

 

The New York Times reported on Dec. 19 that Durham had requested Brennan’s communications and other records as part of his inquiry into the CIA’s activities.

 

Durham has chased down other aspects of the Trump-Russia probe. He and Barr reportedly discussed Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud with Italian intelligence officials during a trip to Rome last year. According to George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser, Mifsud told him in April 2016 that the Russian government had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton that they might release before the election later that year.

 

The FBI opened its investigation of the Trump campaign on July 31, 2016 after an Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, handed over a memo he wrote after a meeting in May 2016 with Papadopoulos in London. Downer claimed that Papadopoulos said that Russia might try to help the Trump campaign. Papadopoulos has denied saying that to Downer.

 

Trump supporters had hoped that the Durham probe would lead to criminal charges against high-profile Obama administration figures, such as Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, or former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

 

So far, the only indication of an active criminal investigation is against Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI lawyer who also worked on the special counsel’s team. According to the IG report, an FBI attorney identified as Clinesmith altered an email to say that Page did not have a relationship with the CIA, when in fact he served as an “operational contact” for the spy agency for years.

 

https://dailycaller.com/2020/08/08/john-brennan-john-durham-cia-trump-russia-probe-target/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 8, 2020, 10 p.m. No.10229949   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4830

>>10177348

Satan's Children Part 2 - Servants of Satan (1989)

 

Published on 20 Feb 2015

 

Originally aired in 1989 as a follow up to the original story a week earlier by Australian 60 minutes journalist Ian Leslie.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVGw50hvyVY

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 7:27 p.m. No.10237675   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Kyle Daniels: Child to give evidence in swim coach sexual abuse trial

 

A young child who may have witnessed alleged Sydney pedophile Kyle Daniels sexually abuse girls at Mosman Swim Centre will be called to give evidence from overseas at the former swim teacher’s trial, a court has heard.

 

Mr Daniels – a former prefect at the prestigious Knox Grammar School – faces 26 charges of sexual assault against nine alleged victims, aged between six and 11, at Mosman Swim Centre on Sydney’s north shore.

 

The 21-year-old Sydney University student is accused of sexually assaulting the young girls when he worked as a coach at the swim centre from June 2018 to March 2019.

 

Mr Daniels’ charges include sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 years. He has pleaded not guilty to all 26 charges.

 

The prosecution on Monday said the Crown intended to call evidence from two witnesses outside of Australia in the lead-up to Mr Daniels’ trial next month. Mr Daniels will not be present when the pair give their evidence via audiovisual link later this month.

 

Judge Kara Shead heard that Mr Daniels had replaced his high-profile criminal barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC with barrister Leslie Nicholls, who told the court that Mr Daniels had recently “come back” after he initially provided advice in the matter last year.

 

He said Judge Shead should not harbour “any concerns” about the six-week trial from “going off track” because of Mr Daniels’ decision to hire new counsel.

 

Earlier this year, Mr Daniels alleged victims gave evidence in six prerecorded hearings, and due to the girls’ ages, counsel were instructed on how to cross-examine the children.

 

The court has previously heard that one victim had been given permission to hold a toy during cross-examination to help calm her down, while another was given a colouring book.

 

The alleged victims were prerecorded in a remote room with a support person and an intermediary person, while the Crown prosecutor and defence asked questions through an audiovisual link.

 

Mr Daniels and his parents – who have regularly appeared alongside their son throughout the lengthy court process – were not at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday during the brief callover hearing.

 

Mr Daniels was arrested in March last year and accused of touching two young girls – aged six and eight – before a further seven alleged victims came forward.

 

Mr Daniels was originally charged with 56 offences, including rape, indecent assault and sexually touching a child, but most of the charges were withdrawn and only 26 will be examined at trial.

 

Mr Daniels is on strict bail conditions, banned from swimming pools, beaches, video arcades, schools and playgrounds. He is also forbidden from engaging in water sports where children under the age of 16 may be present.

 

The matter will return to court on August 27.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/kyle-daniels-child-to-give-evidence-in-swim-coach-sexual-abuse-trial/news-story/e0419f360e781308e83c241120cee39a

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 8:10 p.m. No.10238057   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

NO HAPPY ENDING - Virginia Roberts brands Prince Andrew an abuser and ‘not the prince from the fairytales’

 

PRINCE Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts has branded him an abuser and “not the prince from the fairytales”.

 

She spoke out in documentary series Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, which started in the US last night.

 

She alleged the prince “participated in a sexual trafficking operation”.

 

Ms Roberts claimed: “With Prince Andrew, I am happy to talk about him because he abused me, he participated in a sexual trafficking operation with one of the most prolific sex trafficking operators in the world the entire time.

 

“Prince Andrew is not the prince from the fairytale stories you read, Andrew deserves to be outed, he deserves to be held accountable, he is an abuser.”

 

Ms Roberts, now 36, claims he had sex with her three times when she was 17.

 

Andrew, 60, vehemently denies it.

 

Ms Roberts also blasted billionaire paedophile Epstein, who was claimed to have trafficked her to several powerful men.

 

She said his behaviour continued unchecked for years.

 

Virginia said: “He literally ate, slept, f-. That’s all he did. Abuse.

 

"It was a revolving door of girls coming through.”

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12357699/virginia-roberts-prince-andrew-abuser-fairytale/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzkHrLFVZfg

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 8:24 p.m. No.10238194   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9411 >>1161 >>4854

Afghan prisoner swap likely to free Hekmatullah, rogue soldier who murdered three Australians

 

An Afghan soldier who murdered three Australian soldiers while serving as a sergeant in the Afghan National Army is likely to walk free in a prisoner swap deal.

 

Hekmatullah, as he's known, has spent seven years in jail after murdering Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate in August 2012.

 

The trio of Australians were playing cards at their base at Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province, when the rogue soldier turned on them — killing them, and injuring two other Australians.

 

Officials from the Department of Defence contacted the families of the three Australians on Friday, advising them it was likely Hekmatullah would be one of 5,000 prisoners released as part of peace negotiations between the Afghan Government and the Taliban.

 

Hekmatullah is one of 400 prisoners considered to be "extreme cases" that were still being considered by Afghanistan's Tribal Council, the Loya Jirga, for release.

 

"I will sign the release order of these 400 prisoners (Taliban prisoners) and release them," Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said after the meeting.

 

Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds have for several months raised the Australian Government's desire for Hekmatullah to remain behind bars, since it became clear he could be part of the prisoner swap deal.

 

Over the weekend, Senator Payne and Senator Reynolds were still lobbying for his ongoing detention.

 

"Hekmatullah was responsible for murdering three Australians, and our position is that he should never be released," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday.

 

"We do not believe that his release adds to peace in this region.

 

"I can't promise you the outcome we all want here, but it's certainly the outcome we'll continue to press for as hard as we can."

 

The peace negotiations are being steered by the United States, with the prisoner swap pact a key part of the talks.

 

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo conceded the release of the prisoners was "unpopular".

 

"But this difficult action will lead to an important result long sought by Afghans and Afghanistan's friends: reduction of violence and direct talks resulting in a peace agreement and an end to the war," he said.

 

"After 40 years of war and bloodshed and destruction, the parties are ready to embark on a political process to reach a negotiated settlement."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-10/diggers-murderer-hekmatullah-prisoner-swap-trump-afghanistan/12540238

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 8:38 p.m. No.10238328   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0040 >>4854

Foreign forces ‘spying on diaspora’, says ASIO

 

The nation’s top spy agency has warned foreign governments are targeting and exploiting diaspora communities, using threats of harm and intimidation against ­individuals and their families in Australia and overseas.

 

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has described the level of foreign interference in the country as ­“extensive”, with overseas governments seeking to influence ­diaspora communities “to control or quash opposition”.

 

ASIO, which does not name China in its submission to a Senate inquiry into issues facing diaspora communities, said interference in Australia involved “clandestine or deceptive activities” overseen by foreign powers.

 

“Australia is a multicultural society with a diverse range of ­diaspora groups,” ASIO said. “These diaspora groups are often the victims of foreign interference.

 

“Interference has included threats of harm to individuals and/or their families, both in Australia and abroad. In some cases, foreign governments will seek to use members of the diaspora community in Australia to monitor, direct and influence the ­activities of the same diaspora communities.

 

“These threats have come ­directly from foreign government representatives and also from other members of the diaspora communities themselves, acting at the direction of the foreign government.”

 

The national security agency, led by director-general of security Mike Burgess, is in contact with more than 100 ethnic and ­religious groups and was actively working with diaspora communities to “protect them from ­attempts at foreign interference”.

 

China has criticised Australia in recent years over moves by the Turnbull and Morrison governments to increase monitoring, ­detection and enforcement of ­foreign interference.

 

ASIO also warned of “communal violence”, described as “activities that promote violence between different groups of people in the community”.

 

“The impact of COVID-19 — including a potentially declining economy and increased public anxiety — could motivate disaffected demographics to violence. Groups or individuals promoting communal violence could exploit the pandemic to target specific ethnic communities,” it said.

 

“In the past six months, there have been no large-scale incidents of violence between groups in the Australian community. While community cohesion has been tested by COVID-19 and local reactions to recent overseas protest movements, we do not expect large-scale incidents of communal violence in Australia.”

 

With the national terrorism threat level remaining at “probable”, ASIO said Sunni Islamist extremism continued to be the “principal source of the terrorist threat”, linked to small groups or individuals.

 

In a separate submission, Australian Multicultural Council chair Sev Ozdowski said it was the responsibility of the government to “protect refugee communities from attacks on them by the agents of foreign governments”.

 

“The relationship between the countries of origin and refugee communities in Australia may be tense on occasions,” Dr Ozdowski said.

 

“It is important to allow refugee communities to challenge, within Australian law, the human rights abuse abroad and their actions to advance democratic institutions in their country of origin.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/foreign-forces-spying-on-diaspora-says-asio/news-story/57b6e76ad6ef7b4a382b19d1d3acc50e

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 9:43 p.m. No.10238835   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

AFP will bust cyber crims in their lairs

 

Australian Federal Police officers will be deployed to Africa, Europe and the US as authorities pursue previously out-of-reach cyber criminals including scammers, international sexual predators and intellectual property thieves.

 

Under the plan, officers will have the power to knock on doors, seize assets and arrest criminals from Nigeria and Eastern Europe to Brazil — a move described by AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw as an “offshore punch”.

 

Officers to be based in countries close to cybercrime hubs will work with international authorities to disrupt, arrest and charge individuals and groups targeting Australians through phishing and malware campaigns, siphoning superannuation accounts and ­romance fraud.

 

Cryptocurrency, used by cyber criminals to launder their ill-­gotten gains, is expected to be a target of the AFP crackdown.

 

Under new powers the Morrison government hopes to legislate before the end of the year, the AFP will receive technical support from Australia’s leading cyber experts attached to the Australian Signals Directorate and other ­security agencies.

 

Australians have reported losing more than $2.5bn to inter­national online scams between 2009 and 2019, according to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, a figure it describes as a low estimate.

 

The most significant cyber threats to Australia originate in Nigeria, Romania, China, Brazil, North Korea, Iran, Russia and former Soviet Union states.

 

Vietnam and Malaysia were in May also identified as emerging cybercrime hot spots by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

 

Mr Kershaw said the overseas deployment — boosted by 100 extra cyber police, technical specialists and intelligence analysts — would deliver “the offshore punch needed” to disrupt and dismantle international crime syndicates that were targeting Aus­tralians. “Just because predators and syndicates are offshore does not mean the long arm of the AFP cannot reach them,” he said.

 

“The criminal syndicates hiding behind keyboards are targeting the nest eggs of hardworking Australians, they are holding our businesses to ransom, robbing our universities of their intellectual property, and planning terrorist attacks,” Mr Kershaw said.

 

“And a tsunami of subhuman sexual predators are constantly targeting our children online. These are not victimless crimes and they are causing significant harm to our community. The AFP will respond to the cyber threat with renewed focus and enhanced capabilities to cause maximum damage to the criminal environment,” he said.

 

A new target development team will be established by the AFP — with the help of the Australian Cyber Security Centre — to deal with threat analysis, technical support and online discreet personas to limit the exposure of police officers.

 

ACCC chairman Rod Sims last month warned that several criminal cartels were targeting COVID-19 support schemes, ­including the early release of superannuation, and that there had been a dramatic spike in­ ­cybercrime during the ­pandemic.

 

In addition to romance fraud and malware attacks on business, an increasing threat to Australian companies is “business email compromise” (BEC) and the sale of Imminent Monitor Remote Access Tools (IM-RAT).

 

BEC involves the impersonation of a senior executive or company to send fake invoices to customers that require payment or instruct employees to transfer funds into accounts controlled by cyber criminals.

 

The AFP has already launched Operation Dolos to stop romance fraud victims becoming money mules for BEC cyber criminals.

 

On June 6, there were at least four attempted BECs against Australian customers of an X-ray machine and other hospital equipment manufacturers, with invoices linked to the ­romance fraud victim’s bank ­account.

 

IM-RAT allows a remote user to access and view documents, photographs and other files, record all keystrokes entered and activate the webcam and microphone on a victim’s computer.

 

The AFP launched Operation Cepheus following a tip from the FBI, and uncovered a network of individuals supporting the distribution and use of IM-RAT software across 124 countries, with sales records showing up to 14,500 purchasers.

 

AFP Cybercrime Operations shut down the software, resulting in the execution of 85 search warrants, with 434 items seized, and 13 arrests. The warrants revealed evidence of stolen passwords, private photographs and video footage.

 

The AFP’s overseas deployment comes one week after the government released a $1.67bn cybersecurity strategy that supported advice from an industry panel led by Telstra chief Andy Penn urging tougher enforcement of offshore cyber threats.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/afp-will-bust-cyber-crims-in-their-lairs/news-story/034d9dfc6ea40e09a6189434121d8828

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 9:56 p.m. No.10238919   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

The hidden fallout of the pandemic: Fears lockdown linked to jump in child abuse material arrests in WA

 

There are fears coronavirus lockdown measures could have played a role in a jump in arrests over child abuse material in Western Australia in recent months.

 

Figures from the Australian Federal Police obtained by WAtoday reveal there were 50 per cent more arrests for child exploitation material across the state at the height of the pandemic than in the entire previous financial year. And there are growing concerns over the age of offenders as well.

 

Prominent Perth criminal lawyer John Hammond said the number of clients accused of possessing child abuse material had soared, with people as young as 16 seeking legal representation.

 

"Lawyers are getting more and more clients telephoning them about the issue and the fact that they're being interviewed by police," he said.

 

"It seems to me that people who are involved in child exploitation are also becoming younger and younger. It's people that, while very young, they are very knowledgeable about the sex industry."

 

Mr Hammond said the hike in offending was coupled with growing mental health issues among clients, particularly in light of coronavirus lockdown measures.

 

Between early March and late June, at the height of pandemic restrictions, police arrested 15 people in relation to 40 child exploitation material offences, a 50 per cent hike compared to the 2018/19 financial year, which saw 10 people taken in custody over a 12-month period.

 

Nationwide, reports about child abuse material made to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation also more than doubled, with authorities combing through more than 21,600 claims in the past 12 months.

 

The figures follow several high-profile arrests in WA, including that of a 21-year man accused of photographing children while working as an IT contractor at several public schools in June.

 

Days after the man's arrest, a Gosnells teenager was charged with 208 child sex abuse offences after it was revealed he had allegedly sexually assaulted five boys and shared videos and photographs of the abuse online with others around the country.

 

Two weeks later, a 41-year-old woman from Aveley was arrested by police after officers uncovered child exploitation material at her home following a tip-off from South Australian authorities.

 

An AFP spokeswoman said a police crackdown on paedophiles travelling to foreign countries to exploit children had seen a rise in online abuse.

 

She said Facebook was at the heart of up to 60 per cent of child exploitation reports to law enforcement, raising concerns among police that plans to introduce end-to-end encryption on the platform could open the door for offenders to groom vulnerable children.

 

The spokeswoman said Australian law enforcement agencies already worked with state and territory governments, not-for-profits, banks, money-transfer services and internet providers to disrupt the trafficking of images and videos, but industry players like Facebook needed to do their part.

 

"Industry plays a critical role in preventing and disrupting the exploitation of children online," she said.

 

"The nature of online child sexual exploitation means it can be borderless and multi-jurisdictional so we need to be co-operative and flexible in order to get the best possible outcomes."

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved with child exploitation material are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/western-australia/the-hidden-fallout-of-the-pandemic-fears-lockdown-linked-to-jump-in-child-abuse-material-arrests-in-wa-20200703-p558qe.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 10:19 p.m. No.10239098   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Repost from Q Research General #13098

 

>>10234598 (pb)

 

City of Sydney councillor Robert Kok advising 'pro-Beijing' group linked to Chinese Communist Party

 

A Sydney senior councillor has declared he is advising an organisation with links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), once headed by exiled Chinese billionaire and political donor Huang Xiangmo.

 

Veteran City of Sydney councillor and former Deputy Mayor Robert Kok reported his involvement with the Australia Council for Promotion of Peaceful Reunification (ACPPRC) on his register of interests.

 

The organisation actively promotes the "reunification across the Taiwan Strait" and "peaceful development" across the Asia Pacific, which some academics labelled as quietly operating in the interests of Beijing.

 

The long-time member of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore's team declared his association with the organisation to the council in September.

 

But details only came to light last week after enquiries from ABC News over why council had not published its registers of interest, as per transparency regulations.

 

City of Sydney Council has since published all registers on its website.

 

The documents also revealed Councillor Kok's 2018 trip to Nanjing and Hangzhou which was partly sponsored by Chinese authorities.

 

The revelations come amid a crackdown on foreign influence in Australia and growing tensions between the two countries.

 

Links to 'pro-Beijing' organisation

 

An Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) hearing last year was told the ACPPRC was a "front" operating in Australia in the interests of the Chinese Government.

 

The organisation was recently headed by Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo, who was banned from Australia by the Home Affairs Department last year due to concerns among security agencies about his links to the CCP.

 

Clive Hamilton from Charles Sturt University (CSU) said his research suggested it was one of the most active "pro-Beijing" organisations outside of China.

 

"The Chinese Communist Party has the United Front Work Department whose precise task is to carry out overseas influence operations in the interests of the [party]," he said.

 

"It is a political organisation operating in Australia operating on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, it's as simple as that.

 

"This organisation is directly linked to it, is guided and at times directed by the central body in China."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-10/sydney-councillor-robert-kok-advised-pro-beijing-group/12537832

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 10:41 p.m. No.10239291   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Ivermectin treatment is a ‘real killer of coronavirus’: Professor

 

Sky News Australia

 

Published on 7 Aug 2020

 

Gastroenterologist Professor Thomas Borody says Ivermectin used in conjunction with two other drugs is making it look like “corona is very simple to kill”.

 

The drug is Federal Drug Agency and World Health Organisation approved; it is widely used for parasitic infections and is being cited and prescribed as treatment against the deadly coronavirus.

 

“It has very few side effects, and is a real killer of coronavirus,” Professor Borody told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6A6RFDprIs

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 10:58 p.m. No.10239411   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1161 >>4854

>>10238194

Scott Morrison’s plea to Donald Trump over Diggers’ killer Hekmatullah

 

Scott Morrison appealed directly to Donald Trump for his support in keeping the murderer of three Australian soldiers in Afghanistan behind bars.

 

As Afghanistan’s Ghani government prepares to release 400 insurgents, including the rogue Afghan National Army sergeant Hekmatullah, the Prime Minister said Australian government had persistently lobbied for the killer to be excluded from a US-brokered prisoner swap with the Taliban.

 

“It is a matter that I have written to the President about. It is a matter of keen interest to Australia and we have reminded them of that,” Mr Morrison said.

 

“Hekmatullah was responsible for murdering three Australians, and our position is that he should never be released.”

 

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani agreed overnight to release a final 400 Taliban prisoners after an Afghan grand assembly, known as the Loya Jirga, approved the move.

 

Hekmatullah is among the remaining prisoners sought for release by the Taliban under its peace deal with the United States.

 

The Australian revealed Defence warned the families of Private Robert Poate, Lance Corporal Stjepan “Rick” Milosevic and Sapper James Martin on Friday that their sons’ killer, Hekmatullah, is likely to be freed in the next few days.

 

In a joint statement, the families of the three men said: “The news passed to us from senior ­Defence officers on Friday evening has come as a crushing blow. There can never be complete closure for us now.”

 

Mr Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds conveyed Australia’s concern about Hekmatullah’s release to their US counterparts Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper at the recent AUSMIN meeting.

 

“We do not believe that his relief adds to peace in this region, and that is the position that we will continue to maintain and we will maintain it strongly,” the Prime Minister said.

 

“I can’t promise you the outcome we all want here. But it is certainly the outcome that we will continue to press for as hard as we can.”

 

The three-day Loya Jirga, a traditional Afghan meeting of tribal elders, announced on Sunday that it approved the release of the remaining prisoners sought by the Taliban under its peace deal with the US.

 

“In order to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed, and for the good of the public, the jirga approves the release of 400 prisoners as demanded by the Taliban,” Jirga member Atefa Tayeb announced.

 

Following the announcement, President Ghani: “Today, I will sign the release order of these 400 prisoners.”

 

The US has begun to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan after the peace deal with the Taliban in February that is tied to the release of 5000 prisoners by the Afghan government.

 

President Ghani had released 4600 insurgents but was yet to release the final 400 prisoners, held for the most serious crimes.

 

Hekmatullah, who like many Afghans is known by only one name, shot dead the three Australians and wounded two others as they played cards at a forward ­operating base north of Australia’s main base at Tarin Kowt on ­August 29, 2012.

 

The so-called “green-on-blue” killings sparked a six-month manhunt involving elite Australian spies, special forces operators, and cutting-edge technological capabilities. Hekmatullah was eventually found and arrested in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

 

He later confessed to the killings, and vowed he would do the same again. He avoided execution, despite being handed a death sentence by the Afghan Supreme Court in 2013.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/scott-morrisons-plea-to-donald-trump-over-diggers-killer-hekmatullah/news-story/0663a5e7af99e7366a73c3f7910cf035

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 9, 2020, 11:42 p.m. No.10239610   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Marines complete quarantine in the Northern Territory

 

More than 1000 US Marines have completed quarantine in the Northern Territory, with training now well underway as part of this year’s Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D).

 

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said the release of the last US Marines from quarantine marked a significant milestone for this year’s rotation.

 

“The discharge of the final group of personnel from quarantine demonstrates the effectiveness of the testing and monitoring regime established with the Northern Territory government,” Minister Reynolds said.

 

“With one positive result captured at initial entry and no further infections, the successful management of the arrival of the US Marines reflects the efforts and planning by the Australian Defence Force, the Northern Territory government and MRF-D.

 

“The US Marine who tested positive to COVID-19 remains in isolation at the Royal Darwin Hospital pending confirmation of a negative test result.

 

“The regime of screening, quarantine and testing underscores the priority placed on protecting the local community from COVID-19.”

 

MRF-D medical personnel will continue to monitor and oversee the health of the Marines for the duration of this year’s visit.

 

Commanding Officer, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin Colonel David Banning said MRF-D’s close coordination with Australian counterparts was key to the successful completion of the quarantine process.

 

“As we progress in our training, we will demonstrate our crisis response capability and continue to improve interoperability through our long-standing exercise, Koolendong,” Colonel Banning said.

 

“The strong relationship between MRF-D and the ADF enhances regional security.”

 

US Marines have been undertaking a modified training program at various Defence training facilities around the greater Darwin area, including Mount Bundey and Kangaroo Flats.

 

This year’s program will culminate with Exercise Koolendong, running from early to mid-September.

 

Minister Reynolds said this annual exercise would showcase US and Australian interoperability in a range of activities, from humanitarian assistance through to high-end warfighting activities, including large-scale live fire.

 

https://www.contactairlandandsea.com/2020/08/10/marines-complete-quarantine-in-the-northern-territory/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 12:25 a.m. No.10250589   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Ex-Bachelorette Ali Oetjen shares a false conspiracy theory that the coronavirus pandemic is a 'cover-up for widespread child sex trafficking'

 

Ali Oetjen has joined the ranks of Australian celebrities spreading misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic on social media.

 

The former Bachelorette, 34, shared a post to Instagram on Tuesday in which she falsely claimed that the COVID-19 crisis was a 'cover-up' for atrocities committed against children.

 

The yoga enthusiast began her post with a standard daily affirmation, before abruptly shifting gears and claiming that 'monsters' are being allowed to kidnap and abuse children while society looks the other way.

 

She began her rambling post: 'Attention! I am a love and light warrior and all the starseeds, warriors of light, empaths, loving souls, kind-hearted beings with a deep knowing their mission here is to spread love and light have joined forces.

 

'We're finding each other rapidly and recognising oneness in the collective and have awakened/awakening!'

 

She added: 'We all have our individual struggles, pain and suffering and they’re important, you are important! But we’re super strong and resilient.'

 

Ali then called on her 171,000 followers to spend some time 'researching' child sex abuse and trafficking.

 

'So today you may like to take some time to research into the incomprehensible plague of monsters trafficking, sexually abusing, torturing and murdering children and babies,' she wrote.

 

'Share, shine light upon and rid this plague. I'm healthy and I love my life,' she concluded, alongside a totally unrelated photo of herself in a swimsuit.

 

While child sex trafficking does exist, the figures are grossly inflated by conspiracy theorists and so-called 'child rescue organisations'.

 

It's likely that Ali simply read a post about the subject on social media and shared it with her followers without actually checking the facts.

 

The false claim that COVID-19 is a 'smoke-screen' to distract from widespread child abuse forms part of the broader QAnon conspiracy theory.

 

QAnon is a movement that supports the unfounded conspiracy theory that U.S. President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.

 

Facebook has recently uncovered thousands of groups and pages, with millions of members and followers, that support the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to internal company documents.

 

Meanwhile, several other reality stars have been spreading COVID-19 conspiracy theories on social media during the pandemic.

 

Married At First Sight's Amanda Micallef recently called for Melburnians to stop wearing face masks after they were made compulsory following a surge in cases.

 

Her co-star Hayley Vernon has falsely claimed that the deadly respiratory disease is spread through the 5G network.

 

As of Tuesday morning, there have been 21,397 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, with 313 deaths.

 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ali Oetjen for comment.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8613895/Bachelorette-Ali-Oetjen-shares-fake-QAnon-conspiracy-theory.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 12:44 a.m. No.10250659   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

PM seeks clarity after Trump cans G7 summit

 

Plans by Donald Trump to convene a Group of Seven leaders summit, including Scott Morrison as a special guest, appear over with the President saying the meeting should wait until after the US presidential election in November and then be held over the web.

 

A spokesman for Mr Morrison, who had pledged to fly to the US had the controversial meeting gone ahead, said the Prime Minister's office was seeking clarification from the US government.

 

"We are aware of reports out of the United States regarding the G7 summit,'' he said.

 

"We are continuing to discuss the issue with US officials."

 

On Tuesday, Mr Trump said he no longer thought the G7 should be held next month at the Camp David retreat, as he had intended.

 

"I'm much more inclined to do it after the election when there will be a "better, calmer atmosphere,'' he said.

 

Mr Trump indicated he would be open to holding the eventual meeting via teleconference, should he be re-elected.

 

"Some people have already accepted, but we're going to be doing it after the election…. I think it's just a better, calmer atmosphere to have a G7'' he said.

 

He reaffirmed he would "certainly invite" Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was "an important factor".

 

Last month, The Australian Financial Review reported the Prime Minister's attendance was less than certain, given growing doubts about the meeting going ahead.

 

The G7 members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US. Mr Trump invited the leaders of Australia, South Korea, India and Russia to attend the summit, which was been pencilled in for early September at the President's retreat in Maryland.

 

The proposed event has attracted considerable controversy, with European and Canadian leaders upset at what they believe were attempts by Mr Trump to use the event to have Russia readmitted to the group, formerly known as the G8.

 

Moreover, the invitation to Australia, South Korea and India gave the event a distinct anti-China flavour, all in the hotbed of the lead-up to the November US presidential election.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated her non-attendance, citing the coronavirus travel restrictions.

 

Mr Morrison had been prepared to quarantine himself for two weeks upon return, had he gone.

 

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pm-seeking-clarity-after-trump-cans-g7-summit-20200811-p55kl8

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 12:58 a.m. No.10250704   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5515 >>4854

>>10177085

>>10187149

'Put up or shut up' says Labor MP raided in Chinese influence investigation

 

The suspended NSW Labor MP whose office and home were raided as part of an investigation into a Chinese government interference plot says he has still not been questioned, and is demanding the federal police "come up with the evidence" or clear his name.

 

In his most detailed response yet to the extraordinary police raids of his home and office on June 26, Shaoquett Moselmane has savaged the "Morrison government's forty-plus Federal Police agents" who raided him for failing to produce "a single allegation" against him.

 

The comments were published on a blog just days after it was revealed that Mr Moselmane's part time staffer John Zhang had been raided on the same day because police believed he was collaborating with the Chinese government's leading spy agency to influence NSW politics.

 

Mr Moselmane wrote on the blog that he did not "know what the allegations are, other than that the Morrison government is searching for evidence of a foreign plot to advance the interests of China."

 

"Contrary to what one reads in the Australian media, no federal police officer has questioned me about that nor ever suggested I was a suspect."

 

Mr Moselmane complains that even though a month has passed "since that dreadful raid on my family home", he was still in the dark about why he had been subject to what he described as a "very public execution".

 

"To date neither I nor any of my staff have been charged. The Morrison government’s forty-plus Federal Police agents have not produced a single allegation," he wrote.

 

Mr Moselmane also alleges that the police investigation has been politicised, though he produces no evidence of this.

 

"I have no problem with the lawful use of investigative agencies to promote security. What I am critical of is the oppressive nature of this ministerial manoeuvring especially by Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison to use me and [Mr Zhang] as the scapegoat for their failing to promote a strategic, balanced and independent Australian own foreign policy."

 

Mr Moselmane also attacks the Labor party, which moved to suspend him on the day of the raids of his home, claiming that some "within my own political party" were seeking to aid the campaign to "smear" his name.

 

Mr Moselmane has not responded to repeated requests to conduct an interview with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald instead publishing his comments on a blog run by left-wing commentator and retired public servant John Menadue, whose website regularly critiques those considered too hawkish on China.

 

Documents filed in the High Court on August 3 revealed the basis for the raids on the home and business of Mr Zhang, a part-time staffer of Mr Moselmane's. The reasons include that Mr Zhang used a private social media chat group with Mr Moselmane to encourage the MP to advocate for Chinese state interests.

 

Mr Zhang is also accused of failing to disclose to Mr Moselmane that he was acting "on behalf of, or in collaboration with" the key apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party, "including the Ministry of State Security and the United Front Work Department". Mr Zhang is challenging the lawful basis of the raids on his home.

 

Official sources speaking anonymously because they are not authorised to comment have told The Age and Herald that police might take months to examine the material seized.

 

"The feds would not have done these raids lightly," one source said.

 

Despite Mr Moselmane's allegations that the Morrison government had improper involvement in the raids, the official sources said that ASIO and the AFP had tightly held the information about the raids to ensure that no credible allegation of politicisation could be made.

 

The police raids were approved after the AFP presented a confidential affidavit to a magistrate outlining the allegations of foreign interference involving Mr Moselmane's office. The police raids were triggered by an ASIO inquiry that was also operating under warrants approved by judicial officers.

 

"I will continue to do my work as an elected member of the NSW Parliament," Mr Moselmane said in his post on Mr Menadue's website.

 

"I will continue to be a friend of all, not least the Australian-Chinese, and the broader Asian communities, the subcontinent communities and others including the Australian-Arab communities."

 

"It’s time for the federal police to come up with the evidence for charges or drop the allegations against me and my name."

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/put-up-or-shut-up-says-labor-mp-raided-in-chinese-influence-investigation-20200811-p55kny.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 1:15 a.m. No.10250763   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Alexander Downer criticises Chinese diplomacy

 

FREED from the shackles of party politics former federal coalition foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer has delivered a clip to several targets during a frank speech at a grains industry event.

 

Speaking at the Australian Grains Industry Conference (AGIC) Mr Downer, who was also Australia's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018 said he felt China's heavy-handed foreign policy may backfire.

 

"A good ambassador tries to exercise influence over their host, the current heavy-handed and clunky Chinese version diplomacy is proving to be counterproductive," Mr Downer said.

 

"It seems to be having the effect of uniting the west against them in reaction to their assertive behaviour," he said.

 

"I would suggest their diplomacy is poorly judged, over confident and has over-reached in its aims."

 

Mr Downer said it was not just Australia who had been on the receiving end of China's hard line stance.

 

China has been extremely aggressive in dealing with Great Britain, with Japan and with the US, he said.

 

"The leadership styles may play a part, under Hu Jintao, whatever tensions emerged died down quickly, whereas Xi Jinping is much more nationalistic."

 

He said China was often belligerent in its messaging in regards to Hong Kong and its presence in the South China Sea.

 

He said he hoped to see China scale back its aggression, which has manifested itself in hard line trade manoeuvres and heavy handed responses to any.

 

"I hope they understand the collaboration with the west, Japan and the US is better than this high handed confrontational style," he said.

 

However, he said he did not expect tensions between the US and China to dissipate any time soon, even if there is a change in president in the US when that nation goes to the polls later this year.

 

"I dont think that tension is going to change with a change in government," he said.

 

Mr Downer said Australia needed to expect more obstacles in trade with the Asian superpower, similar to the onerous tariffs levied on Australian barley for alleged dumping.

 

"With imports like iron ore and coal that are essential they wont hit Australia, but we have to appreciate it wont be a smooth operation as it has been in the past," he said.

 

"We want to collaborate and cooperate with China, we dont want to contain them, like we attempted to with the Soviet Union, but we dont want to be subjected to Chinese hegemony."

 

Mr Downer said relations with China had altered dramatically as its economy grew.

 

"When I was first foreign minister in 1996 it was Australia's sixth largest trading partner, and it has grown very rapidly, it was the largest by the time I finished," he said.

 

"There has been a bonanza out of the growth and we certainly wont see the rates of growth weve seen in the past.

 

"We will have more difficulty with China when they link trade with diplomacy.

 

"I think it is very sensible that governments have built trade agreements with other lucrative economies."

 

Mr Downer also offered analysis of the current US political situation.

 

He said he was surprised the Democrats had not come out with a moderate, articulate option to Donald Trump.

 

He was not flattering in his assessment of 78 year old Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

 

"What we are seeing there is someone who is well and truly past his best," Mr Downer said in regards to Mr Biden, who, similar to his rival Mr Trump, has had some high profile gaffes in the media of late.

 

https://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/6874358/downer-criticises-chinese-diplomacy/?cs=7

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 1:41 a.m. No.10250857   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8436 >>8932 >>4919

Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell ask to halt release of sealed documents in civil case after learning of 'critical new information'

 

Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged accomplice of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, said in a court filing Monday that they've learned of "critical new information" that impacts her criminal case and a civil case where dozens of documents are expected to be unsealed.

 

Her attorneys have asked that the documents, including depositions, remain sealed for three weeks as they work with prosecutors to see if they can share information with the court.

 

The filing did not provide details about the new information, saying that Maxwell's attorneys aren't at liberty to disclose it because it's subject to a court protective order in the criminal case.

 

Maxwell's attorneys initiated conversations with the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York over the weekend with the intention of modifying the protective order so they could share the information, possibly under seal, to argue to stop the release of documents.

 

At a court proceeding last month, Maxwell pleaded not guilty to charges by New York federal prosecutors that she helped recruit, groom and ultimately sexually abuse minors as young as 14.

 

The former British socialite who was arrested in New Hampshire in July is being held in a New York jail after a federal judge denied her bail and ordered her held until trial, citing a number of reasons that she is a flight risk, including her financial resources, international ties, and "extraordinary capacity to avoid detection."

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/11/us/ghislaine-maxwell-critical-new-information/index.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 1:59 a.m. No.10250880   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0887 >>4854

U.S. Space Force unveils doctrine explaining its role in national security

 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force on Aug. 10 issued a new guiding document for the use of space in military operations.

 

The document titled “Spacepower” lays out a vision for what the space branch of the armed services will do, and explains why the United States considers space a domain of warfare.

 

“This is the Space Force capstone doctrine,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond said in an interview with SpaceNews.

 

The Army, Navy and Air Force have sets of principles for operations on land, at sea and in the air that define their identities. The Space Force is now developing its own theories and concepts, Raymond said.

 

The Space Force was established on Dec. 20, 2019, as a separate branch of the armed services under the Department of the Air Force. Up until now, the only doctrine for space operations existed in the Air Force.

 

“We felt as an independent service we needed to be able to articulate what we believe, and develop the doctrine of space power.,” said Raymond.

 

The 64-page capstone document, Raymond wrote in the introduction, “answers why spacepower is vital for our nation, how military spacepower is employed, who military space forces are, and what military space forces value.”

 

The Space Force doctrine says the United States must have military capabilities in space to protect national assets such as communications and GPS satellites, as well as offensive weapons to deter adversaries from hostile actions.

 

Raymond, who also serves as commander of U.S. Space Command, insists that the United States wants space to remain a peaceful environment. “Our goal is not to get into a conflict, we want to deter it,” he said. “But if deterrence were to fail, then we need to protect our ability to conduct the joint and coalition fight.”

 

Raymond described the capstone document as the “foundation of our professional body of knowledge as we forge an independent military service committed to space operations.”

 

He said the space doctrine was a grassroots effort written by a group of about 20 officers “from the rank of colonel down to tech sergeant,” Raymond said in the interview. “They got together on their own, and wrote this.”

 

The document will serve as a frame of reference for current leaders and for the development of training and education programs going forward.

 

Before its release, Spacepower was reviewed by the Defense Department and shared with leaders of allied nations, said Raymond.

 

“We’re not saying that it provides all the answers, but we think it’s a great start,” said Raymond. “And I think it will drive an intellectual conversation on space power in the years ahead,” he added. “Doctrine is not a stagnant thing, it continues to evolve.”

 

Space power is both civilian and military

 

The space doctrine is organized into five sections: Space Domain, National Spacepower, Military Spacepower, Employment of Space Forces and Military Space Forces.

 

A central theme across the document is that the success of the Space Force depends on its ability to coordinate strategy and operations with the other U.S. military services and international allies.

 

“Military spacepower achieves its greatest potential when integrated with other forms of military power,” the doctrine says.

 

The document also makes a point that access and control of space is not just a military concern but a national one due to the role of space in the global economy and the world’s increasing dependence on space for critical products and services.

 

“Space is simultaneously a source and conduit through which a nation can generate and apply diplomatic, informational, military and economic power,” the Space Force document says. “The United States must cultivate, develop and advance spacepower in order to ensure national prosperity and security.”

 

Military space forces, the document says, have a duty to “preserve that prosperity and security.”

 

Raymond said the notion that the military provides security to civilian space assets also is supported by U.S. Space Command’s Unified Command Plan.

 

The DoD, the U.S. military services, partner agencies and allies, the command plan says, have the responsibility of “protecting and defending U.S. and, as directed, allied, partner, and critical commercial space operational capabilities.”

 

https://spacenews.com/u-s-space-force-unveils-doctrine-explaining-its-role-in-national-security/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 2:04 a.m. No.10250887   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10250880

Space Force releases 1st doctrine, defines “spacepower” as distinct form of military power

 

Fewer than eight months after its creation, America’s newest military service published its first doctrine, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Capstone Publication, entitled Spacepower.

 

The SCP, which is the first articulation of spacepower as a separate and distinct form of military power, serves as a foundation upon which to build additional doctrine as expanding challenges are continually addressed in the changing space domain.

 

“One of the principles of an independent service is the creation of doctrine,” said Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of space operations, USSF. “The Space Capstone Publication explains why spacepower is a vital element of U.S. prosperity and security – now and in the future – and guides its employment in multidomain operations. As the USSF continues to grow and mature, we will continue to evolve our doctrine to stay on the cutting edge of defending our interests in space.”

 

The SCP embodies the Department of the Air Force’s continued commitment to establishing the Space Force in a manner that minimizes cost and bureaucracy and maximizes focus on space doctrine, training, and capability.

 

Covering a series of topics to include unique aspects of the space domain, the relationship between national and military spacepower, and the employment and development of space forces, this foundational doctrine serves as a key guidepost for the ethos and values of the nation’s newest armed service.

 

While existing joint and Service documents provide space-related doctrine, they were authored when space was still regarded as a benign domain. The new capstone publication is tailored to the present reality that our adversaries have made space a warfighting domain.

 

“Agility, innovation, and boldness have always been the cornerstone traits of military space forces,” Raymond said. “We must continue to harness these traits as we build our new service and a new professional body of knowledge.”

 

The work to write this doctrine began as a grass roots effort among a small team of people. “It was a coalition of the willing,” said Col. Casey Beard, commander, Space Delta 9. “We started work in August 2019 and met every two weeks—brainstorming, debating, building an outline, and assigning sections to draft.”

 

The team ranged in rank from Technical Sergeant to Colonel and also included a space professional from the U.S. Army.

 

In February, the USSF hosted a summit to develop the initial framework for Space Force doctrine. During the summit, representatives from all military services and exchange officers from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia offered additional recommendations on the scope and key ideas in the proposed publication.

 

Given the emerging state of spacepower, this doctrine will inevitably evolve over time as it is applied, evaluated, and refined.

 

As the USSF defends the nation’s interests in the space domain, it will leverage the strategic foundation of the Space Capstone Publication to support the development of operational and tactical USSF doctrine, intended to guide the development and employment of military space forces.

 

The Space Force Capstone Publication can be found here:

 

Space Force Capstone

 

https://www.spaceforce.mil/Portals/1/Space%20Capstone%20Publication_10%20Aug%202020.pdf

 

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/2306828/space-force-releases-1st-doctrine-defines-spacepower-as-distinct-form-of-milita

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 2:44 a.m. No.10250950   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0953 >>4854

>>10209217

Defence to probe special forces’ cultural and leadership flaws

 

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The Defence Force has asked an independent expert to examine cultural and leadership failings involving Australia’s special forces ahead of a war crimes report on dozens of alleged murders of prisoners and civilians by the elite units in Afghanistan.

 

The study will look at the ethical standards and command culture of the secretive Special Air Service and Commando regiments from 1999 to the present day, with a focus on their deployment to Afghanistan in the war against al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.

 

The Australian can reveal that Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell has commissioned former naval officer and Anglican bishop Tom Frame to undertake the study, to be released in mid-2022.

 

The move comes as the government prepares for the release of a report by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into at least 55 alleged breaches of the laws of war by Australian personnel during the nation’s 13-year on-the-ground commitment in Afghanistan.

 

The alleged crimes are expected to include the killing of unarmed men and children, and the mistreatment and execution of Taliban prisoners who posed no threat to their captors.

 

The IGADF report, by NSW Supreme Court judge Major General Paul Brereton, will rock the nation’s military establishment and tarnish community perceptions of the nation’s most revered warriors.

 

Professor Frame, a respected military historian with the University of NSW, will examine the wider context of the alleged crimes, including actions of senior ADF leaders and Australia’s military strategy in Afghanistan.

 

His study will be used as a basis for further reforms to the SAS and Commando regiments, and in planning military operations.

 

One former SAS officer spoken to by The Australian on condition of anonymity said by 2010, special forces operators on the ground in Afghanistan had lost faith in the strategy and “the whole thing was just starting to unravel”.

 

He said mentally ill soldiers were regularly sent on to the battlefield, and commanders allowed a culture where lower ranked soldiers became more influential than their officers. “You’ve got guys doing six or seven tours. Think about what that does — six or seven tours with heavy combat,” the officer said.

 

He said “wild swings in roles and strategy” also took their toll, along with the intensity of the fighting.

 

“All these things led to a culture and an environment where I think there was a degree of impunity,” he said.

 

“The only thing that was important to us was our own tribe. We didn’t trust anyone. We didn’t think necessarily we were being supported by some of the leadership.”

 

Another former SAS officer, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, said the Australian people needed an explanation of the war in Afghanistan that went beyond individual cases of wrongdoing.

 

“My hope is Professor Frame will be asking tough questions not only about our military institutions, leadership and strategy but also about human nature,” he said. “We need to ask ‘How do we find ourselves in this dark place?’ ”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 2:45 a.m. No.10250953   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

>>10250950

 

2/2

 

Defence told The Australian that Professor Frame would begin interviewing serving special forces personnel and veterans after the IGADF’s findings were handed down.

 

The study was independent of the IGADF inquiry and would not be a historical record, the department said.

 

“Professor Frame’s work will aim to provide an understanding of Australia’s special forces, including consideration of the ethical standards and command culture of Special Operations Command and its people on operations from 1999 until the present day, with a focus on service in Afghanistan,” Defence said.

 

“It is expected the publication will be used as an academic reference to guide our leaders in the years ahead and contribute to professional development of the ADF today and in the future.”

 

Former Nationals leader John Anderson, a personal friend of Professor Frame, said he believed the study would be a “deeply considered and very honest” assessment of what went wrong.

 

“He will quite clinically analyse the realities of what has happened, and he will do so in the context of somebody who has a very sharp understanding of right and wrong,” he said.

 

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds warned last week that the nation needed to prepare itself for the Brereton inquiry’s findings, saying the report would make for some “uncomfortable” reading.

 

“I think that will make some very significant findings, ones that I am certain will make many Australians uncomfortable, and also dismayed at,” she said.

 

In its annual report to parliament, the IGADF said 338 witnesses had been interviewed by the Brereton inquiry up until July 2019.

 

It said the alleged breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict being examined were “predominantly unlawful killings of persons who were non-combatants or were no longer combatants, but also ‘cruel treatment’ of such persons”.

 

The inquiry was not focused on decisions made in the “heat of battle” but on “the treatment of persons who were clearly non-combatants or … no longer combatants”, the IGADF said.

 

Australia’s most decorated soldier, Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, is among those caught in the investigation.

 

He has been publicly accused of committing war crimes while serving with the SAS in Afghanistan — allegations he has denied, claiming his anonymous accusers were motivated by professional jealousy and personal vendettas.

 

He is suing Nine Entertainment over those allegations he says are false.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/defence-to-probe-special-forces-cultural-and-leadership-flaws/news-story/19e46a7f170e487266bfe53db0521479

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 3:12 a.m. No.10251007   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1008 >>4919

Court ruling could lead to more Jeffrey Epstein secrets being spilled

 

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Washington: A federal judge on Monday ordered the unsealing and release of correspondences from lawyers for celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz and Victoria's Secret founder Leslie Wexner in a defamation case that is likely to reveal more about the secretive life of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

 

US District Judge Loretta Preska set an August 17 date for a hearing on whether the retail magnate Wexner can be forced to testify in a defamation case brought against him by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

 

Preska wrote that she saw "no reason for that correspondence to remain under seal" and told the parties to file their respective letters on the public docket, which happened on Monday afternoon.

 

The documents show that Dershowitz alleges that Giuffre is trying to extort money from him because of his relationship as a longtime friend to and lawyer for Epstein.

 

Dershowitz wants Wexner and his lawyer John Zeiger to testify that they had privately settled a similar claim threatened by Giuffre. Dershowitz is counter-suing Giuffre.

 

Dershowitz was instrumental in negotiating a non-prosecution agreement in Florida more than a decade ago that absolved Epstein, his close associates and unnamed others of potential federal charges of sex trafficking. Epstein served 13 months for procuring sex from a minor.

 

The deal blessed by then-US attorney for Southern Florida Alexander Acosta proved highly controversial.

 

Last year, the US attorney for Southern New York ignored the agreement as he filed sex trafficking charges against the multimillionaire. Epstein was found dead by hanging in his jail cell as he awaited trial, scuttling efforts by the feds to have him implicate other prominent men.

 

In a June 23 letter to the judge, attorneys for Dershowitz noted they had served subpoenas in June on Wexner and Zeiger, and asked Preska to compel them to provide for "the production of a small number of documents" relevant to the central allegation in this case that Giuffre "falsely accused Professor Dershowitz of sexual abuse as part of a scheme to extort Wexner."

 

Giuffre is the most prominent of the numerous women alleging sexual abuse while underage at the hands of Epstein.

 

She says she was lured to Epstein by British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested on July 2, and forced into sexual servitude over a four-year-period, coerced into sleeping with powerful men, including Britain's Prince Andrew and Dershowitz. Both men deny the claim.

 

In her response, Giuffre argued through a lawyer that Dershowitz has made the false allegation against her and for that reason she too wants to ask questions of Wexner.

 

"Defendant has put Leslie Wexner at the heart of his false and defamatory claims that Plaintiff and her counsel were engaged in an extortion plot to extract money from wealthy associates of Jeffrey Epstein by allegedly falsely naming the Defendant," Charles Cooper, lawyer with the firm Cooper & Kirk, which represents Giuffre in the defamation case, wrote in a July 28 letter to Preska.

 

Giuffre's lawyer zeroed in on the Dershowitz claim that Wexner was framed for financial reasons.

 

"For this reason, Plaintiff was likewise planning on seeking relevant documents and testimony from Mr Wexner and Mr Zeiger. Plaintiff, therefore, respectfully requests that the Court allow these depositions to proceed," he wrote.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 3:13 a.m. No.10251008   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10251007

 

2/2

 

Wexner, now 83 and largely out of public view, is fighting to stay out of this matter.

 

Epstein for a long stretch managed Wexner's personal finances and those of his family charities. At one point, Epstein had broad power-of-attorney over the finances of Wexner, who grew wealthy through groundbreaking retail brands, including The Limited and Victoria's Secret.

 

Dershowitz is asking Judge Preska to compel Wexner to provide information on any correspondence between Wexner or Zeiger with Giuffre and her lawyers, past and present.

 

Through his attorney Zeiger, Wexner said he has no relevant information that could be used in a trial. No correspondence from Zeiger was released by the judge, but Dershowitz's lawyers included a lengthy back-and-forth email chain that showed Wexner would cooperate only if compelled.

 

Lawyers for Dershowitz told the judge he was not worried about trial right now, just a legal stage called discovery, the pre-trial process where each side can seek obtain evidence that the other claims to have.

 

"Professor Dershowitz will address the admissibility of testimony obtained from Wexner at the appropriate time, upon a complete discovery record including being able to offer the Court Wexner's actual testimony, as opposed to his lawyer's self-serving characterisation of what it will be," Howard Cooper, a lawyer with Todd & Weld, which is representing Dershowitz, wrote in a July 31 letter to the judge unsealed Monday.

 

Preska ordered the parties to discuss what exactly they are seeking from each other and file briefs with her by Thursday, four days before she hears them in a telephonic hearing.

 

The judge is very much in the news of late. Late last month, she ordered a large batch of documents unsealed in a separate defamation case involving Giuffre and Maxwell that was settled in 2017.

 

Those documents began trickling out but Maxwell's deposition, the basis for which federal perjury charges were also brought against her after her July 2 arrest, was held back awaiting an appeals court hearing on August 20. Her attorneys say the unsealing of documents, part of a public-interest lawsuit brought by the Miami Herald, will prejudice her ability to defend herself in the federal criminal case.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/court-ruling-could-spill-more-jeffrey-epstein-secrets-20200811-p55kjn.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 4:13 a.m. No.10251170   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1173 >>4997

Reddit community QAnon Casualties share stories of conspiracy cult

 

Jack Gramenz - August 11, 2020

 

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Family members of people drawn into an online conspiracy theory world have spoken out about how their loved ones “lost their minds”.

 

Distraught, disillusioned and plain fed up people who have lost loved ones to the QAnon conspiracy cult are sharing their experiences online in the hope of helping others avoid the same fate.

 

Reddit community r/QAnoncasualties has close to 14,000 members who share stories about the people they’ve watched turn into tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists, and advice on how to try and drag them out of the wormhole.

 

A midwest US construction worker who described himself as a “former libertarian leaning Republican” said he feels himself being ostracised from the workplace where it feels like “everyone has lost their mind”.

 

“Even though I know my beliefs are the mainstream, I’m stuck in this awful demographic of humans who all get to point and laugh because I don’t think masks are an attempt to rig the election,” he wrote.

 

“I’m supposed to pretend that we can have a rational discussion at work about whether or not Obama was a secret Muslim terrorist, and I have to pretend that this is a totally reasonable thing to discuss.

 

“They think the only reason you wouldn’t believe these things is ‘left wing bias’.”

 

“I’m not here for sympathy or empathy,” another post begins.

 

“Just want to vent that I simply cannot talk to my father anymore. He is fully engulfed in the Qult and won’t listen to anybody’s point of view without going tin foil hat.”

 

WHAT IS QANON?

 

An FBI memo last year identified QAnon as an “anti-government extremist” group, referring to people who “attempt to explain events or circumstances as the result of a group of actors working in secret to benefit themselves at the expense of others”, and whose beliefs are “usually at odds with official or prevailing explanations of events”.

 

It’s been surging in popularity in recent years, spurred by the election of US President Donald Trump in 2016.

 

The general gist of the theory is that the “elites” have formed a “deep state” cabal made up of Satan-worshipping paedophiles, and that they are working against Mr Trump, who is going to bring them down.

 

From there it shoots off in different directions like an exploding fireworks factory.

 

The theory appears to have first gained momentum on 4chan in 2017, where an anonymous account that signed off their posts with the letter Q (after their so-called “Q clearance”, a top secret level of security clearance used by the US Department of Energy) began sharing supposedly “cryptic” messages.

 

The nature of 4chan’s allowance for anonymous posting also means that anyone could have pretended to be “Q”.

 

The ideas on 4chan soon started to spread to the mainstream through social media.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 4:14 a.m. No.10251173   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4003 >>5314 >>4997

>>10251170

 

2/2

 

HOW THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES SPREAD

 

Social media and message boards are a large part of the spread of QAnon for a number of reasons.

 

Firstly, the algorithms on these sites are largely geared towards feeding you the content you engage with, so the more you watch the more you see.

 

Secondly the sites allow for pretty much anyone to say pretty much anything, and unless it’s reported by users or the content explicitly triggers the machines that social media sites depend on to moderate the content their users post, it can stay up, unchallenged, for prolonged periods of time.

 

Facebook has made a number of attempts to control the spread of the theories on its platform.

 

Most recently, NBC News reported an internal Facebook audit suggested millions of people had consumed QAnon content through thousands of different groups on the site.

 

Last week the world’s biggest social media platform also removed the Official Q/Qanon group, which had close to 200,000 members.

 

There are plenty of other groups on the site but this one was “repeatedly posting content that violated our policies” according to a Facebook spokesperson.

 

Twitter has also taken action.

 

Griffith University PhD candidate Audrey Courty studies how right-wing and Islamist political movements use social media to spread their messages.

 

She argued in a piece for The Conversation that followers were already finding ways around the ban with cryptic codewords, which would require human moderation to recognise and enforce.

 

“It’s hard to say how much human resource Twitter is willing or able to devote to moderating this content,” she said.

 

Reddit itself has also taken steps to reduce the spread of QAnon conspiracies in the past by minimising their spread and deleting a 70,000 strong subreddit pushing the conspiracy.

 

FAMILY MEMBERS SPEAK OUT

 

In r/QAnoncasualties, people are despairing about what to do.

 

One woman explained how her boyfriend of five years disappeared into the wormhole.

 

“He was a veteran and had a PhD from an Ivy League school. He was smart, liberal, and we shared many of the same beliefs.”

 

“One day he got into 4chan, and the next thing I knew he had fallen off the deep end.”

 

She said she studied and searched for ways to get through to him but it was no use.

 

“He had lost all sense of reality, and I was in complete denial.

 

“I didn’t tell anyone in my life about his obsession with Q, and neither did he. I was the only one that knew how he spent his free time: staying up late reading insane nonsense online.”

 

Another poster celebrated the fact their father appeared to be on the mend, but had really gone another layer deep into the conspiracy.

 

“The good news is that my father officially no longer believes in QAnon,” the poster wrote.

 

“The bad news is that he still believes that the world is run by a deep state that eats babies and basically everything else that QAnon teaches.

 

“He says that almost everything Q says is correct, but that Q was created by the deep state as controlled opposition in order to make conspiracy theorists look stupid.”

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/reddit-community-qanon-casualties-share-stories-of-conspiracy-cult/news-story/8a48754da503954647a61f91d22b304b

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 5:48 p.m. No.10258181   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4854

Kamala Harris pick is safest road for Joe Biden and will hurt Donald Trump

 

Cameron Stewart - August 12, 2020

 

Joe Biden has taken the safest road in choosing Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential running mate and it will make Donald Trump’s task of winning the November election more difficult.

 

Of the roughly six females shortlisted for the job, the Californian Senator was by some distance the best qualified for the role.

 

Unlike the other VP contenders, Harris is a senator from a large state who has substantial legislative and law and order experience and who does not have obvious skeletons in her closet.

 

Although the 55-year-old Harris presents these days as a progressive, she is much more moderate than the populist lunatic fringe of the party as personified by Bernie Sanders.

 

Even so the Trump campaign has already launched a campaign ad portraying her as a member of the ‘radical left’ and phony.

 

However, many liberal Democrats are uncomfortable with Harris because of her “top cop” reputation as a former California Attorney-General where they thought she was too tough on law and order issues.

 

This tough-on-crime record will help rather than hurt the Democrat ticket in an election campaign where Trump has pledged to make law and order a central issue and has portrayed Democrats as soft on crime and anti-police.

 

Harris, the telegenic daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is also a former prosecutor and is a strong interrogator who is widely known on the national stage.

 

But she will need to be more disciplined than she was during her failed run for the Democratic ticket when her mixed message failed to break through and she dropped out early.

 

During that campaign she lost momentum after she embraced and then reversed her support for Medicare for All, leaving voters wondering what she really stood for.

 

The only time she briefly flew high was – ironically – when she rose in the polls after attacking Biden on the debate stage about his support for the policy of bussing black children to white schools.

 

The attack was such that Biden’s wife Jill called it a “punch to the gut” raising doubts about whether it might have cruelled her VP prospects.

 

But Harris gives Biden what he wants in that she is much younger, black and a woman at a time when Biden is seeking to tick the boxes of diversity that his party is looking for.

 

The Biden camp will hope that her appointment helps encourage a strong voter turnout among both blacks and women, two groups that Trump is struggling to attract.

 

But the appointment of a liberal black senator from California may not resonate as strongly among the white working class males in the swing states of the Midwest who abandoned the Democrats for Trump in 2016.

 

Harris, who is married to a Californian corporate lawyer and has two step-children, has avoided controversy or extreme positions during her professional life.

 

This no doubt gave her an advantage over some of the other candidates whom Biden was closely considering.

 

One of these was former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice, an African American with whom Biden worked at the White House. Although Biden is close to Rice, she had never run for office and would have given the Trump camp much ammunition over her sloppy statements about the Benghazi attacks.

 

Another contender Elizabeth Warren, at 71, did not provide a generational contrast to Biden and her staunch left wing anti-business mantra would have left her open to attack.

 

A fourth contender, California Congresswoman Karen Bass, an African American, had a strong legislative record but had several obvious skeletons such as her previous support for the Church of Scientology and the kind words she delivered for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro upon his death.

 

All up, Harris is a far better choice for a running mate than her rivals and one which Biden was wise to make.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/kamala-harris-pick-is-safest-road-for-joe-biden-and-will-hurt-donald-trump/news-story/3dde163b840a66d0119c17e47ed553f3

 

 

Joe Biden Tweet

 

Let’s go win this, @KamalaHarris.

 

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1293340421444124672

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 6:05 p.m. No.10258375   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13128

 

>>10258155 (pb)

 

U.S. Marines Tweet

 

The Sunlight Hurts My Eyes

 

Sgt. David Galindo, a field artillery section chief with @MrfDarwin, prepares to conduct live-fire training at Mount Bundey Training Area, Northern Territory, Australia. The Marines practiced direct & indirect fire missions to maintain their readiness.

 

https://twitter.com/USMC/status/1293336397408079873

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 6:12 p.m. No.10258436   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8932 >>4919

>>10250857

 

Repost from Q Research General #13128

 

>>10258068 (pb)

 

VIRGINIA GIUFFRE ATTORNEY TELLS TEAM PEDO CABAL MAXWELL TO POUND SAND. UNSEAL THE DOCS NOW

 

LETTER addressed to Judge Loretta A. Preska from Sigrid S. McCawley dated August 11, 2020 re: Response to Maxwell Request for Stay of Unsealing Process. Document filed by Virginia L. Giuffre..(McCawley, Sigrid) (Entered: 08/11/2020)

 

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/1101/giuffre-v-maxwell/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 8:34 p.m. No.10259898   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9910

Revealed: QAnon Facebook groups are growing at a rapid pace around the world

 

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Guardian investigation finds the Facebook communities are gaining followers as Twitter cracks down on QAnon content

 

Julia Carrie Wong - 11 Aug 2020

 

New and established QAnon groups on Facebook are growing at a rapid pace and helping to spread the baseless and dangerous conspiracy theory to new countries around the world, a Guardian investigation has found.

 

The Guardian has documented more than 170 QAnon groups, pages and accounts across Facebook and Instagram with more than 4.5 million aggregate followers. The Guardian has also documented dedicated communities for QAnon followers in at least 15 countries on Facebook.

 

The growth in the QAnon Facebook communities has come as rival social media platform Twitter undertook a broad crackdown on content and accounts dedicated to the conspiracy theory, citing the movement’s “clear and well-documented informational, physical, societal and psychological offline harm”.

 

At the time of Twitter’s crackdown, anonymous sources told the New York Times that Facebook was planning to take “similar steps” at some point this month. In the meantime, Facebook’s recommendation algorithm has continued to promote QAnon groups to users and some groups have experienced explosive growth.

 

QAnon is a baseless internet conspiracy theory whose followers believe that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a “deep state” cabal of Democrats and Hollywood celebrities engaging in pedophilia and sex trafficking. The theory evolved from the 2016 “pizzagate” conspiracy theory and has grown to have real-world political impact. Numerous QAnon adherents are running for elected office as Republicans; the FBI has identified QAnon as a potential domestic terrorism threat.

 

In late June, the Guardian reported that the QAnon community on Facebook included more than 100 Facebook pages, profiles, groups and Instagram accounts with at least 1,000 followers or members each. The largest of those groups had more than 150,000 followers or members, and overall the accounts, groups and pages counted more than 3 million aggregate followers or members.

 

As of Sunday 9 August, the aggregate following of those previously documented groups, pages and accounts had grown by 34% to over 4m. The largest groups have grown to include more than 200,000 members.

 

The Guardian also documented an additional 73 groups and pages dedicated to QAnon with at least 1,000 followers or members each. Many of those 73 groups are brand new – founded in May 2020 or later – and they have already amassed an aggregate following of more than 560,000 people.

 

These newer groups and pages also demonstrate the spread of QAnon around the world. They include groups dedicated to QAnon followers in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. The largest international QAnon groups documented by the Guardian were German, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Australian and British.

 

“Enforcing against QAnon on Facebook is not new: we consistently take action against accounts, Groups, and Pages tied to QAnon that break our rules,” a Facebook spokesperson who asked not to be identified by name due to safety concerns said in a statement. “Just last week, we removed a large Group with QAnon affiliations for violating our content policies, and removed a network of accounts for violating our policies against coordinated inauthentic behavior. We have teams assessing our policies against QAnon and are currently exploring additional actions we can take.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 11, 2020, 8:35 p.m. No.10259910   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10259898

 

2/2

 

The removed group had nearly 200,000 members and was banned for repeated violations of Facebook’s rules against bullying, harassment, hate speech and harmful misinformation. A spokesperson at the time confirmed that the removal was a “one-off” enforcement action and not part of any broader policy shift. The network removed for coordinated inauthentic behavior was relatively tiny, with just 1,600 followers on Facebook and 7,200 on Instagram.

 

An internal investigation by Facebook found thousands of QAnon groups and pages with more than 3 million aggregate followers, NBC News reported on Monday. Those figures were part of the preliminary results of an investigation into QAnon by Facebook employees obtained by NBC News. Facebook has been looking into QAnon “since at least June”, according to the report.

 

“The response from all social platforms to the harm and threat of QAnon has been slow and anemic,” said Travis View, a researcher and co-host of QAnon Anonymous, a podcast that documents and debunks QAnon. “But Facebook stands alone in how much it has enabled this conspiracy theory-driven extremist community.”

 

“Not content with merely hosting QAnon propaganda, Facebook continues to recommend QAnon groups to users, essentially providing free marketing for a movement that has already inspired people to commit terrorism, murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping,” View added.

 

Facebook is considering an approach to QAnon similar to its policies on anti-vaccine propaganda, according to NBC News. Such an approach would probably involve removing groups from search results and Facebook’s recommendation algorithms rather than banning them outright.

 

Brian Friedberg, a senior researcher at the Harvard Shorenstein Center’s Technology and Social Change Project, warned that Facebook needs to be incredibly careful about how it manages any crackdown on QAnon, especially with the election approaching. Since QAnon adherents already believe that the truth of secret pedophile cabals is being suppressed by the liberal media, a crackdown could serve to reinforce unfounded beliefs.

 

“We want to stop QAnon because it’s degrading trust in our institutions, spreading medical misinformation and potentially fostering violent extremism,” Friedberg said. “Without an explanation as to why QAnon content is being banned, this is not going to do anything to deter the beliefs of the communities.”

 

Friedberg said that effectively combating QAnon will probably require “factual interventions” from conservative media outlets and leaders who are trusted by those most likely to believe in QAnon – older, white, conservative evangelical Christians.

 

“As QAnon seems to be largely centered around support for Trumpian politics, there needs to be intervention from the conservative members of their trusted partners,” he said. “What if PragerU decided to do a two-week-long series debunking QAnon?

 

“The goal isn’t the suppression of speech,” he added. “The goal is rebuilding trust in our institutions and electoral politics.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/11/qanon-facebook-groups-growing-conspiracy-theory

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 3:33 a.m. No.10261695   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13132

 

>>10260976 (pb)

 

Anons better buckle THEEE fuck UUUPPP.

 

Events are speeding up. Much faster than 2016 ever even fever-dreamed of being while actively sucking down a pound of nose candy.

 

2.66 months left until 3.11.

VP Harris? This late in-game?

 

No debates?

…conventions?

 

Harris chosen late game because…?

Harris outspoken against Biden —primaries?

Harris literal titty-for-tat promotions?

Harris optics == Minority? Gender?

Optics = Attack Vectors (argument insurance)

…because I’m BLACK? …a WOMAN? (examples)

 

When in HISTORY OF U.S. have decisions like these happened?

Why are they making unprecedented decisions?

Why do they seem like they’re grasping for straws?

Completely debilitated? Mostly.

 

They know they’re beat. Joe might be a dementia posterboy, but his handlers are not.

 

Death Blossom “spraying and praying” —Don’t care about victims i.e. COVID.

 

A-Not Working

B-Not Working

C-Not Working

.

.

.

X, Y, Z…

 

Progressively worse events…XYZ.

MSM sells “progressively worse events” to public>>>COVID=elimination of word-of-mouth info spreading>>>MSM attempt to re-enslave. What step was COVID? A? F? X, Y, or Z?

 

X, Y, Z

Dramatically worse “events”…

2.66 (2 2/3) months left (short time)

POTUS and MIL are GOOD at their jobs however it is naive to think that shit doesn’t happen.

 

Joe and Harris are NOT (D) endgame.

Simple pawns in this game of chess.

 

Joe —removed (mental health, age…)

Harris — removed (w/Joe, titty-for-tat…)

 

XYZ - (last and thus EMERGENCY steps)

Emergency (D) Convention change of candidate?

Think who. Think WHO.

Why (really) has Bill Gates been propped up? COVID specialist he is NOT. Planting a seed?

 

RUSSIA? No.

 

“Wait, it’s ALL China?”

“…always has been.” Meme it.

 

D(China) v R(America)

Election is D v R…

Election = War

 

Beneficiary of (D) Win [(Gates/M.Obama POTUS/VP) speculation]:

China

China

China

 

Count the days until election.

Every day will seem progressively worse (MSM LOSING control but hasn’t lost ENTIRELY)

Reality is what you wake up to and LIVE day to day MSM “stories” are not REALITY

 

Notable:

Seattle>>

Portland>>

Civil Unrest is their CURRENT reality.

Will anger on-fence (Dems) —(R) switchers (boomerang)

 

If by what percentage would Anons educationally speculate of America is actually with POTUS and will VOTE (R)? 50+ approval rating + SILENT majority…60-65% is with POTUS?

 

What is a manifested destiny?

Can you manifest destiny?

Can destiny be manifested upon another entity?

Why is a Trump card a…TRUMP card?

Has POTUS actually used any cards (attacks) of his own since election?

Did he have to?

Define Trump (the word itself)

 

Does it feel like everything really has come to this moment? Why?

 

video: “This video will get Donald Trump elected”

 

.

.

 

The next 2 and 2/3rd months will be biblical.

POTUS win will ensure current enemies of US will be debilitated.

 

(CHINA) All in for Joe.

 

Cold vs Hot

i.e. War

“August is traditionally HOT…”

HOT codes? Explosions?

 

Too much to discuss.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 3:34 a.m. No.10261699   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13132

 

>>10261162 (pb)

 

Relationships are powerful.

 

“My good friend…”

“My sister…”

“Always had faith in you…”

“…Kamala”

 

When the dinner bell (VP announcement, kek) is rung, you’d be surprised how many swampmonsters come out of the woodwork.

 

Booker

Alex Soros

…swampmonster #3

…#4.

etc…

 

Using the last (almost) 4 years as examples…

 

How many times has POTUS forced their hands?

 

What is the benefit of forcing another player’s hand?

 

Forcing a Hand = Shining a Light

Dark —Light

 

When TRUTH is exposed…

 

Forced hands are doomed bets.

 

“These people are STUPID” = they simply can’t understand why they are not winning.

 

How has POTUS forced COVID’s (the narrative) hand?

 

[MSM]

Shining a light on COVID informs public —MSM took bait (politicization) —> took away precious candidate airtime (aka free DEM advertisement+OBEY) —> late-game bad decisions (VP pick, no debates, Loopy Biden unfit for…)

 

Shining a light (forcing the hand) of COVID…

…Forced the hand of (D) candidacy/party election

…set the stage for the election (dem destruct)

 

Result: Democrat (party) no longer exists. FOUR more years of TRUMP will ensure “and to the REPUBLIC, for which it stands…”

 

Who said

“…this experiment in Democracy…”

 

Experiments fail.

Fallback on Old Glory aka Freedom aka Flag

“American Flag stands for Freedom”

Constitutional Republic.

 

What is the true capability of the United States of America (non-specific)?

 

Do we excel at things we try and do?

…man on moon

…nuclear power

…human genome project

 

Why is health and medicine (usually) not on the list?

 

“Laws for me, not for thee”

.

aka

.

“Medicines for me, not for thee”

 

POTUS (1st Term)

Eliminated key swamp operatives

Prepared and implemented new and updated trade agreements with neighboring nations and abroad

Rebuilt Military —depleted on purpose 2008-2016

Q operation.

 

(2nd Term): A POTUS Unrestricted.

Healthcare complete re-engineering (cures)

New tech —military

…tee up for Eric, Don Jr?

 

It’s ALL happening.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 3:35 a.m. No.10261705   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13132

 

>>10260871 (pb)

 

>>10259994 (pb)

>>10260113 (pb)

>>10260118 (pb)

 

More Connections. More Questions.

 

Answers: More Information for the Information Battle(s).

 

-Why are the liberals and the MSM tripping over themselves speaking exuberantly regarding Kamala Harris?

-Why is Senator Booker so “excited” and why speak of her as his sister?

-Beside Biden needing protection by the echo-chamber who else needs protection?

-How will the info tech industry support KH?

-What information will rise and which will fall (re: shadowed)?

-What efforts were necessary for KH to be positioned for selection?

-What efforts were positioned and processed at the Kavanaugh hearings?

-How does KH provide a version of (re: support) the echo chamber?

-Why KH? Why CA?

-What role does DHS have in the election process?

-What is DHS currently embroiled in?

-What kind of opportunities do Senate Investigations create?

-How does Portland, Chicago, NY, Sac, Milwaukee, etc., correlate and connect? Think Rahm, Newsome, et.al. Think FF “necessary” via failures.

-When will all of the above become readily apparent (to some)?

 

Homework before [class] begins.

All cued up and ready to roll.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 3:38 a.m. No.10261728   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13132

 

>>10261002 (pb)

 

>>10260956 (pb)

>>10260977 (pb)

>>10260988 (pb)

 

More Info for Faithful Anons

>“Sisters” take care of what for who?

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 3:39 a.m. No.10261731   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13132

 

>>10261311 (pb)

 

Team:

 

-Our efforts here are time boxed.

-Countdown is now in hours.

-Night Shift crucial for AM push!

-Front lines must make laser-like, on target hits for secondary lines to be timely and effective.

-Countermove is a move.

-Totality of Board = (Counter)moves

-Follow by reframing the target.

-Trust (in) yourself.

-(You) Trusted Anons/Bakers proven in daily battles.

 

WWG1WGA

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 3:57 a.m. No.10261813   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9756 >>4880

>>10236191

>>10236191

>>10236191

 

Repost from Q Research General #13133

 

>>10261496 (pb)

 

SAVE THE CHILDREN.

I am a victim of child abuse. Never sexual, but violence and torture and all kinds of psych abuse and threats.

THIS IS PERSONAL FOR ME.

I can't even begin to imagine the kind of horrors visited upon the victims of child sex trafficking, but I think I get it on some fundamental level. I know what it's like to feel betrayed by the grown-ups. To feel like no matter what authority figure you went to, your teacher, the cops, your family-they'd just send you straight back to hell. To lose faith, at an early age, in the idea that people are even good at heart. To feel so horrible all the time that you actually dissociate and stop feeling like real life exists. To grow jealous of the kids who still had their innocence. To feel lied-to every time a story on TV had a happy ending. To be gaslit and made to feel that the abuse is your fault. To feel trapped in an inescapable nightmare. The absolute and primal terror of being physically overwhelmed by an adult and in mortal fear.

These kids must feel that way up to eleven. They have been let-down and betrayed on an indescribable level.

All across this country, every day, there is absolute horror occurring only feet away from where we live and dwell. Far worse than I ever experienced. The perpetrators of these horrific acts hide behind closed doors, behind courts and social services workers who shield them, behind their good public images, and behind each other.

THIS IS FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE.

That twisting rot in my eyes and the pit of my stomach, the kind that makes you lurch awake screaming. It's everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of children every year just here. Little hells hidden from prying eyes. Atrocities. The kind of acts that would drive you into homicidal rage if you saw them happening in-person. UNACCEPTABLE EVIL. THE KIND THAT HAS NO RIGHT TO EXIST. That should make you want to vomit.

To all of my fellow Anons, thank you for fighting so doggedly for this. It gives me tremendous hope in a place it was sorely missing to know that so many people give a crap.

But to any abusers in here? Any of our adversaries on the other side of this issue? Any pedovores or their goons? Be very fucking afraid. Live in mortal terror. Savor every heartbeat as though it could be your last. You have no idea how much we hate you or what sadistic thoughts pass through our minds when we picture your faces.

You have no idea how personal this is for some of us. There are mothers and fathers here who only need to picture their own children in order to lose all mercy towards you. Those same mothers and fathers in law enforcement and our military. For me, being here is a way of keeping a promise I made to myself almost 20 years ago, battered and beaten and whimpering in a puddle of my own piss. Threats and mockery won't work against something like that.

To every child out there who is being abused: We're coming. The cavalry is here and we're going to set things right again, we promise. But to enemy as well…

We're coming.And we are going to make such a loud statement and a terrible example with your downfall that people centuries from now will shudder to imitate you out of pure, primal, mortal fucking terror.

SAVE THE CHILDREN.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 6:29 p.m. No.10268932   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10250857

>>10258436

Judge Hands Ghislaine Maxwell Another Loss in Fight over Sealed Epstein Documents

 

A federal judge has handed accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell another loss in a protracted litigation over whether a cache of documents in a defamation suit will be unsealed and made public.

 

A first group of documents was made public on July 30. Unsealing of additional documents was postponed; Maxwell’s attorneys sought an appeals court order to stop the release of the information.

 

The documents were part of a defamation lawsuit filed Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, Prince Andrew, and Alan Dershowitz accuser.

 

The Senior U.S. District Court judge overseeing the unsealing in the Southern District of New York, Loretta A. Preska, rubbished a Maxwell attempt to see a three-week stay of the process of unsealing the additional records. Maxwell cited “the availability of ‘critical new information’ related both to this action and to the pending criminal case against her.”

 

“Ms. Maxwell’s request is denied,” Preska wrote. “Given that Ms. Maxwell is not at liberty to disclose this new information because it is subject to the protective order in the criminal action, the Court has no reasonable basis to impose a stay. And, as Ms. Maxwell knows, her ipse dixit does not provide compelling grounds for relief. Should the protective order in the criminal action be modified to permit disclosure of the relevant information to the Court, Ms. Maxwell may renew her request for a stay of the unsealing process.”

 

“Ipse dixit” is a Latin term which means “something asserted but not proved.”

 

Preska said she would address “at a later date” the “methods for streamlining the unsealing process, and . . . the next set of docket entries to be reviewed for potential unsealing.”

 

Preska’s order came after a letter from Sigrid S. McCawley, an attorney for Giuffre, indicated that Maxwell’s attorneys issued their “unsolicited” request to shut down the proceedings “without conferring with Plaintiff beforehand.” Thus, as McCawley argued on Giuffre’s behalf, the request had to be denied.

 

“Maxwell’s decision to request a stay based solely on vague allusions to ‘critical new information’ illustrates her disregard for the Court’s time, as well as her willingness to engage in dilatory conduct to thwart the unsealing process,” McCawley wrote to the judge. “Absent any description of what her “critical new information” is, the Court should deny Maxwell’s request without prejudice to renewal. Any renewed request for a stay should be accompanied by a coherent explanation of how any ‘new information’ she received via discovery in her criminal action justifies interfering with the unsealing process that the Second Circuit ordered over a year ago.”

 

Christine N. Walz, an attorney for the Miami Herald, similarly asked the judge to jettison this and other requests for delays:

 

Ms. Maxwell has made multiple efforts to stall this litigation and prevent the disclosure of documents to the public. Her August 10, 2020 letter is more of the same: It fails to offer a reasoned basis to support her request for a stay and instead says that the Court should trust her. This is wholly insufficient and the Court should deny Ms. Maxwell’s request.

 

In addition to asking for a three-week stay, Ms. Maxwell also seeks to institute a blanket one-week stay of every unsealing decision by this Court, without offering any justification for doing so. The decision to grant a stay requires a case-by-case analysis; stays should not be incorporated into the unsealing process as a matter of right.

 

Intervenors respectfully request that this Court deny Ms. Maxwell’s request for a three- week stay, as well as any other request by Ms. Maxwell to unnecessarily delay the unsealing of the records in this case.

 

The judge agreed.

 

The Miami Herald has been active in the fight to unseal the records; the paper has been widely praised by many parties — but not by Maxwell, obviously — for its groundbreaking reporting on the Epstein and Maxwell cases.

 

Read the documents filed Wednesday below:

 

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

 

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/judge-hands-ghislaine-maxwell-another-loss-in-fight-over-sealed-epstein-documents/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 6:53 p.m. No.10269155   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

What happens during a national cyber emergency?

 

Government wants to take over if things get out of hand.

 

The government wants to directly take over critical infrastructure and systems in the event of a major cyber threat to Australia’s “economy, security or sovereignty”, a new paper has outlined.

 

In a consultation paper for overhauling current critical infrastructure protections, the government said it “sees a role” for expanded emergency powers that would let government entities assist other operators with “technical action to defend and protect their networks and systems” in the event of a cyber emergency.

 

Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, said security was a “shared responsibility”.

 

“In an emergency, Australians expect the government to act, which is what we will do,” he said.

 

“By strengthening and better protecting critical infrastructure from threats, Australians can be assured that Government and industry are working together to do what is necessary to keep Australians safe and protect our economy.”

 

The government has also proposed creating a cyber alert system. This would be similar to the existing National Terrorism Threat Advisory System with its colour-coded advise on the likelihood of an imminent terrorist attack.

 

As for what will constitute a national cyber emergency, the government has not yet decided – though it did say it will consider factors like an attack’s potential consequences, how it spread across jurisdictions, and how imminent the threat is.

 

Under the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018, only resources (energy, water, gas) and maritime port assets are classed as ‘critical infrastructure’ – although the Home Affairs Minister has the power to add other assets to that classification.

 

The government wants to expand those definitions to include sectors across the whole economy such as banking, communications, data, defence, education, food, health, and transport.

 

Certain entities classed as ‘critical infrastructure’ will have to adhere to new cyber security obligations which the government seeks to create in reformed legislation.

 

That may include involvement with a proposed threat intelligence sharing system to give government “a near real-time threat picture” of cyberspace.

 

Assets classed as “systems of national significance” will have to give the government specific information about their networks as part of this intelligence sharing system.

 

Newly classed ‘critical infrastructure entities’ will also receive government directions or intervene through “direct action” in the case of an emergency.

 

Stakeholders have until 16 September to make a submission for the critical infrastructure discussion paper.

 

The process underlies a recent surge in government attention on cybersecurity following the Prime Minister’s warning that Australia was under cyber attack in June.

 

Since that surprise Friday morning press conference, the government has announced its $1.35 billion Cyber Enhanced Situational Awareness and Response (CESAR) package along with an updated Cyber Security Strategy.

 

Both developments promote a top-down approach to national cybersecurity through heavy investment in government agencies and law enforcement.

 

https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2020/what-happens-during-a-national-cyber-emergency-.html

 

 

Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance

 

The Australian Government is committed to protecting the essential services all Australians rely on by uplifting the security and resilience of critical infrastructure.

 

Critical infrastructure is increasingly interconnected and interdependent, delivering efficiencies and economic benefits to operations. However, connectivity without proper safeguards creates vulnerabilities that can deliberately or inadvertently cause disruption that could result in cascading consequences across our economy, security and sovereignty.

 

To ensure we continue to protect ourselves from such incidents, we are seeking your views on the details of Government’s agreed reforms, through the Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance Consultation Paper (1246KB PDF).

 

The reforms are a key initiative of Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020, announced on 6 August 2020.

 

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/reports-and-publications/submissions-and-discussion-papers/protecting-critical-infrastructure-systems

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 7:15 p.m. No.10269358   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

China warns of long-lasting feud with 'toxic' Australia

 

Chinese state media has issued a warning to Australia that the two nations could be embroiled in a lengthy feud if it continues to follow in the footsteps of the United States in “hyping-up of anti-China rhetoric”.

 

The Global Times, the state-run mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China which has been highly critical of Australia in recent months, published a lengthy opinion piece on Monday (local time) saying “anti-China hawks” had ramped up their agenda against Beijing.

 

“There is a growing trend in Australia that does not tolerate rational voices toward China,” it said.

 

Compiled following an interview with Yu Lei, a research fellow at the Australian Studies Centre at Beijing Foreign Studies University, the article accused Australia of “emulating” the US as it “continues to find fault with China”.

 

“The hyping-up of anti-China rhetoric in Australia has transmitted a dangerous message. It is very problematic for a society to squeeze out room for rational, neutral, and objective words and ideas,” it said.

 

“This is very risky.”

 

Relations have rapidly deteriorated since Prime Minister Scott Morrison led calls for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, angering Beijing who accused Canberra of politicising the pandemic.

 

In retaliation key members of the Chinese government threatened economic sanctions which appeared to materialise in the shape of tariffs slapped on agricultural imports, while the education and tourism sectors were spooked when China warned its nationals not to travel to Australia over a rise in racist attacks.

 

Concern is growing in Australia due to its heavy reliance on China when it comes to trade, with Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles lambasting the federal government last month over the strained relationship.

 

“Trade is the foundation of Australia's nationhood. If there is no international trade, Australia cannot survive,” The Global Times said.

 

“However, there is a ‘toxic climate’ in Australia, in which business attempts to bridge differences with China to safeguard Australia's interests will be labeled as pro-China.”

 

China aware of its own dependence

 

The Global Times said while Australia is wary of how much it depends economically on China, China itself must become more independent if a turbulent relationship is to continue.

 

“On the one hand, China needs to reduce its relatively high reliance on Australia in areas such as iron ore imports; while on the other, we need to be prepared for the reality that our relations with Canberra will probably be on a long-term bumpy trajectory,” it said.

 

Australia and China have clashed on a series of issues in recent months, including China’s operations in the South China Sea and the introduction of national security laws in Hong Kong.

 

On Monday (local time), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters a statement from Australia and its Five Eyes counterparts calling on China to not undermine the democratic process in Hong Kong and allow elections to go ahead is “deplored and “rejected”.

 

“It is typical double standards that the Five Eyes chose to interpret the Hong Kong SAR government's decision in a twisted political way,” he said.

 

“Hong Kong is China's special administrative region and its Legislative Council election is China's local election and purely Hong Kong's internal affair. No foreign government, organisation or individual has any right or reason to interfere.”

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/china-warns-long-lasting-feud-australia-trade-103832927.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 8:02 p.m. No.10269756   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9765 >>4997

>>10236191

>>10261813

QAnon followers are hijacking the #SaveTheChildren movement

 

By Kevin Roose, The New York Times, August 13, 2020

 

1/2

 

Recently, an acquaintance posted a photo on her Instagram story showing a map of the United States, filled with bright red dots.

 

"This is not a map of COVID," the caption read. "It is a map of human trafficking."

 

Under the photo was a hashtag: #SaveTheChildren.

 

A few days later, I saw the same hashtag trending on Twitter. This time, it was being posted by followers of QAnon, the sprawling pro-Trump conspiracy theory.

 

These people were also disturbed about human trafficking, but with a dark twist: Many of them believed that President Donald Trump was on the verge of exposing "Pizzagate" or "Pedogate," their terms for a global conspiracy involving a ring of Satan-worshipping, child-molesting criminals led by prominent Democrats.

 

My acquaintance is not a QAnon believer. And she certainly doesn't think, as some QAnon adherents do, that Hillary Clinton and her cronies are kidnapping and eating children (yes, eating them) in order to harvest a life-extending chemical from their blood.

 

But like many social media users in recent weeks, she had been drawn in by the latest QAnon outreach strategy.

 

QAnon first surfaced in 2017 with a series of anonymous posts on the internet forum 4chan claiming to reveal high-level government intelligence about crimes by top Democrats. It has since spawned one of the most disturbing and consequential conspiracy theory communities in modern history.

 

Its followers have committed serious crimes, and its online vigilantes have made a sport of harassing and doxxing their perceived enemies. The FBI has cited QAnon as a potential domestic terror threat, and social networks have begun trying to pull QAnon groups off their platforms.

 

Dozens of QAnon-affiliated candidates are running for office this year. One of them, Marjorie Taylor Greene, won a primary runoff on Tuesday for a House seat in Georgia, drawing a congratulatory tweet from Trump.

 

Like any movement, QAnon needs to win over new members. And its most recent growth strategy involves piggybacking on the anti-human-trafficking movement.

 

The idea, in a nutshell, is to create a groundswell of concern by flooding social media with posts about human trafficking, joining parenting Facebook groups and glomming onto hashtag campaigns like #SaveTheChildren, which began as a legitimate fundraising campaign for the Save the Children charity.

 

Then followers can shift the conversation to baseless theories about who they believe is doing the trafficking: a cabal of nefarious elites that includes Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey and Pope Francis.

 

Part of the strategy's perverse brilliance is that child sex trafficking is a real, horrible thing, and some politically connected people, including financier Jeffrey Epstein, have been credibly accused of exploiting underage girls. And speaking out against child exploitation, no matter your politics, is far from an objectionable stance.

 

"It's probably one of the key things that's attractive about QAnon," said Marc-André Argentino, a doctoral student at Concordia University who studies QAnon's social media presence.

 

"Everyone agrees that child trafficking is very bad, and the argument QAnon makes is, 'If you're against us talking about this, you're in favour of child trafficking.'"

 

Sometimes, QAnon followers spin factual information in a way that serves their aims. Last week, an Associated Press article about a $US35 million ($48 million) Trump administration grant to organisations that house trafficking survivors became one of the most shared stories on Facebook after QAnon groups picked it up and cited it as evidence that Trump's secret crusade against elite paedophiles was underway.

 

Other times, the strategy involves latching onto conspiracy theories and inserting QAnon talking points. Weeks ago, influences on TikTok and Instagram began speculating about baseless allegations that Wayfair, an online furniture site, was trafficking children under the guise of selling expensive cabinets.

 

The conspiracy theory went viral, and QAnon believers began sprinkling in their own supposedly incriminating details. They claimed, falsely, that a Wayfair employee had once been photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been charged with recruiting underage girls for Epstein.

 

These allegations merged in the popular imagination, and soon unsuspecting people were sharing wild conspiracy theories that came straight from QAnon orthodoxy.

 

"With Wayfair, both accounts on the left and right were amplifying the content," Argentino said. "A lot of the yoga moms and juice cleanse-type circles were sharing it."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 12, 2020, 8:03 p.m. No.10269765   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10269756

 

2/2

 

The strategy of seeding QAnon talking points with different audiences appears to be working. In recent weeks, Facebook engagement on human-trafficking-related content has surged, according to an analysis of data from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data platform.

 

(Interactions on posts with the #SaveTheChildren hashtag, for example, have grown more than 500 per cent since early July.)

 

Prominent "mommy bloggers" and Instagram fitness influencers have begun posting anti-trafficking memes to their millions of followers. Even the Trump campaign has begun sharing more anti-trafficking content to its millions of Facebook and Twitter followers.

 

The QAnon strategy of pushing some unobjectionable, often factual content about human trafficking in addition to wild conspiracy theories has blurred the lines between legitimate anti-trafficking activism and partisan conspiracy-mongering.

 

Recently, some activists have marched in cities around the country demanding an end to child exploitation. Among them were QAnon believers, toting signs with messages like "Hollywood Eats Babies."

 

For established anti-trafficking groups, the surge of support from internet conspiracy theorists has been a mixed blessing. Some activists, such as Tim Ballard, founder of the anti-trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad, see an opportunity to reach a new, hyperengaged online audience.

 

"Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes," Ballard said. "So now it's our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared."

 

Others worry that QAnon will divert valuable resources from legitimate groups trying to stop trafficking.

 

After the Wayfair incident, the Polaris Project, a nonprofit organisation that runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline, issued a news release saying its hotline had been overwhelmed with false reports. It later published a blog post warning that "unsubstantiated claims and accusations about child sex trafficking can spin out of control and mislead well-meaning people into doing more harm than good."

 

I spoke to a number of longtime anti-trafficking activists who were alarmed by QAnon's recent incursion onto their turf. They had worked for years to expose facts about child trafficking, only to see them distorted and misused by partisan opportunists. And they worried that in addition to clogging hotlines, QAnon believers could undermine the movement's bipartisan credibility.

 

Erin Williamson, the U.S. programs director for Love146, an anti-trafficking group, said that in the weeks after the Wayfair incident, the group's social media traffic had spiked by 30 per cent and that new donations had come in. But it had also been forced to spend time debunking online rumours and myths.

 

"It's great that we have an increase in donations," Williamson said. "But we don't want to exploit disinformation for fundraising purposes."

 

The truth about child sex trafficking, these experts told me, is much less salacious than QAnon would have you believe. Many victims are trafficked by relatives, teachers or other people they know. Trafficking usually doesn't involve kidnapping or physically forcing minors into sex.

 

"This is not happening in some secret cabal. It's happening in every single community," said Lori Cohen, executive director of ECPAT-USA, an anti-trafficking organisation. "But it's easier to focus on public figures than to think about the reality that trafficking is happening in our midst, among people we know, to children we know."

 

Mostly, anti-trafficking activists are just incredulous that QAnon has made their cause its own.

 

"When I talk to my friends in the anti-trafficking movement, we'll say, 'Oh, it's Pizzagate all over again,'" Williamson of Love146 said. "And this time, it's even worse."

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/qanon-followers-are-hijacking-the-savethechildren-movement-20200813-p55l6x.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 1:01 a.m. No.10282904   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2908

Bizarre, yes. Crazy, maybe. But the media ignores QAnon at our peril

 

Jack the Insider (Peter Hoysted) - AUGUST 14, 2020

 

1/2

 

Dan Andrews has been arrested. He is currently cooling his heels in Guantanamo Bay. The Victorian Premier has been replaced by a clone. The COVID-19 pandemic is bogus, political camouflage for the battle that rages between the deep state and Donald Trump.

 

The State of Victoria is in lockdown, not to reduce the infectious spread of the pandemic but because armed forces are secretly battling for control of the tunnels; an underground network used by the deep state to transport abducted children. Scott Morrison is with the deep state. Andrews was, too, before his arrest.

 

It is not yet safe to go to the tunnels. But be patient. The Great Awakening is upon us.

 

Welcome to the latest news from QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has millions of followers in the US and thousands in Australia.

 

It is a mistake to view QAnon through an ideological prism. Anyone who thinks QAnon has an ideological basis or sits somewhere on the political spectrum is missing the point. Donald Trump is their hero now, locked in a battle with the deep state, sometimes referred to as ‘The Cabal’ or with a nod to nostalgia, ‘The Illuminati.’ But Anons are shape and logic shifters who cherry pick facts as they unfold to suit their predictions.

 

It is not a political movement. It is a cult, an ersatz religious group and a dangerous one. The FBI has described QAnon as a “potential domestic terror group.”

 

Anons believe Trump is their saviour but here in Australia they regard our Prime Minister as the enemy. There are no heroes among our own political leadership. Australia’s political leaders are complicit, according to Anons, perhaps even engaged in the business of child trafficking themselves either as active paedophiles or profiting from the supply of adrenochrome, obtained by draining endocrinal fluids from tortured children and used as a party drug by political and celebrity elites.

 

The Anons believe up to 800,000 children a year are trafficked through tunnels around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic is merely cover for the intervention of the US military to take control of the tunnels. The local Anons say Melbourne’s Level 4 lockdown is one of the fiercer battlegrounds. They point to seismic activity they believe has been misreported as earthquakes when really, they say, it is the rumble of gun and artillery fire.

 

By the way, there has been no seismic activity, no lurch of the needle on the Richter scale in or around Melbourne in the last month. But when it comes to Anons, forget facts and evidence. They don’t need any. They lie easily and do so when it suits them.

 

If you think this is all harmless buffoonery, consider how some members within a group of people who believe their political institutions are controlled by Satan-worshipping child sex traffickers might react. It stands as a virtual call to arms. QAnon conspiracies have led to violent conflict with police by armed Anons who thought they were saving children only to find the truth the limit to their conspiracies.

 

Don’t expect to find the mainstream media paying much attention to Anons. The media is confused about QAnon and is not quite sure how to report on its phenomenal rise. The Anons regard the media as the enemy, trafficking in lies to enable the status quo.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 1:02 a.m. No.10282908   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10282904

 

2/2

 

Where once they scuttled about in the dark corners of the web on anonymous bulletin board sites like 4 and 8 Chan, Anons have emerged into mainstream social media – on Facebook, Instagram, and You Tube, all under the proprietorship of Mark Zuckerberg who goes through the motions of examining some of the more outrageous posts and sites and de-platforming one group every now and then.

 

But it is a game of social media whack-a-mole. By its own analysis published earlier this week, Facebook puts QAnon at one million members and three million followers active on its own site. The real numbers are almost certainly higher.

 

In our own backyard, the overlap between the sovereign citizen movement and Anons is almost total. The amorphous collective of conspiracy theories encourages people to ignore the advice of health professionals and governments alike. There has been and will continue to be conflict with law enforcement. Wearing a mask in a public place won’t save you from infection because you can’t catch a virus, or so they say. You certainly can’t catch a virus that doesn’t exist.

 

Anons are not just linked to the anti-vaccination movement. They embrace it and attach their own dismal conspiracies to it. 5G is state sponsored surveillance in the making. Vaccinations are a form of control. More than a quarter of Americans believe Bill Gates is using vaccines as a form of mind control.

 

When a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 is developed there is a strong likelihood that enough people will be discouraged from taking it, putting a vaccine sponsored herd immunity at risk around the world. Let’s just let that soak in for a little while.

 

Prior to the pandemic we could see the perils these people posed to our communities. It has come in the form of return of measles; an airborne, pernicious infectious disease that kills children had all but been wiped out. Now it’s back, here and in the US with terrible results.

 

So, what is to be done? Well, not very much can be done. Australia has a pretty poor history in dealing with cults. Our politicians could make it an offence to advocate against mandatory vaccination, but one gets the feeling that is what the Anons want – more conflict with the state, more dubious grounds for conspiracy theories.

 

The media needs to drop its aversion and play a role. It can’t bring those back who babble about tunnel incursions, adrenochrome and the torture of fictitious stolen children. The Anons are too far gone. But what the media can do is limit the pull of QAnon by not ignoring it and wherever possible shining a light on it.

 

The gravest mistake we can make is to see QAnon as embarrassingly bad views expressed by a tiny lunatic fringe. Their numbers are growing. As bizarre as their beliefs are, they continue to find support among people searching for easy answers to complex problems.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/bizarre-yes-crazy-maybe-but-the-media-ignores-qanon-at-our-peril/news-story/06608e77e53683fe8eff4543402f4302

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDWqn2-gQtE/

 

>PANIC.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 1:22 a.m. No.10282969   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4553 >>4880

'Lack of clarity': Laws to be changed to deploy the Australian Defence Force domestically

 

Australia's military would be given more powers while dealing with national emergencies such as bushfires and pandemics under new laws to be drawn up by the federal government.

 

The Morrison government plans to amend the Defence Act to hand the Prime Minister of the day the power to declare a national emergency or disaster and deploy the Australian Defence Force within Australia.

 

The legal and constitutional limits on deploying the armed forces domestically has this year come into sharp focus after there was confusion about the deployment of troops in NSW during the summer's bushfires and Victoria's Andrews government repeatedly declined to accept the offer of ADF support for its hotel quarantine program.

 

While states and territories would still need to make a request for ADF support, government sources with knowledge of the potential legislation say the changes will make it easier to deploy the military and clearly set out its roles and responsibilities. This would likely include giving defence personnel greater legal protections in the event they have to help police search a property or detain someone.

 

Currently there is nothing in the Defence Act allowing for the callout of ADF members in cases of natural disasters or public health emergencies. During the bushfires and coronavirus crisis, the government has been relying on the states to request its assistance under the Defence Assistance to the Civil Community arrangements, but there is no federal law laying out the roles and responsibilities of troops under these agreements.

 

Federal laws only allow the Commonwealth to deploy the ADF within Australia for incidents of "domestic violence" such as terrorist attacks.

 

Under the changes, the law would be amended so the military could be called out to "national emergencies and disasters", which would cover events such as bushfires, floods and pandemics.

 

The callout would occur only if the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Attorney-General agreed a state or territory was not able to protect the Commonwealth or itself against the threat.

 

Military law expert David Letts said the nation had been reliant on the use of the executive power in the Constitution - a broad, undefined power - to deploy the ADF during the bushfires and coronavirus crisis.

 

Associate Professor Letts, director of the Australian National University's Centre for Military and Security Law, said the Defence Act could be broadened to cover incidents such as natural disasters and public health emergencies.

 

"With COVID-19, you now have ADF members who are deployed, particularly in Victoria and along the state borders, with what seems to be a lack of clarity as to precisely what legal power they have over fellow Australian citizens, other than being present and wearing a uniform and asking for information from people."

 

"It's all fine as long as things go smoothly. My concern is what happens when you get to a situation where the military is present with law enforcement people and where someone has tried to do a runner? What are the ADF member's powers in that instance? Is there any legal obligation to assist the law enforcement officials?" he said.

 

The government wants to make the changes to the Defence Act ahead of this summer, but it will await the findings of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, which is due to hand down its report on October 28, before making the changes.

 

Other changes that will streamline the callout powers for ADF reserves will be put to Parliament earlier.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in January he had been "very conscious of testing the limits of constitutionally defined roles and responsibilities this bushfire season".

 

"I believe, however, there is now a clear community expectation that the Commonwealth should have the ability to respond in times of national emergencies and disasters, particularly through deployment of our defence forces in circumstances where the life and property of Australians have been assessed to be under threat," he said.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/lack-of-clarity-laws-to-be-changed-to-deploy-the-adf-domestically-20200813-p55lbm.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 1:40 a.m. No.10283011   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

>>10157429

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

 

Cheers to a new lease on a new life & victory over one of my predators on the front page of New York Post!! I’m not trying to come off anyway except grateful that my assailants are being taken down- as they should- one by one. @giuffre_robert @rickygervais

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1293856906306437124

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 3:03 a.m. No.10283199   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Matty Kelly Tweet

 

In a small country town in S/W Victoria Australia. #WWG1GWA #Qanon

 

https://twitter.com/MattyKelly12/status/1294109039761059840

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 6:04 p.m. No.10291603   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

Trump dodges QAnon conspiracy theory question

 

Associated Press - 14 Aug 2020

 

President Donald Trump dodged questions Friday about his thoughts on QAnon during a White House briefing. Trump was asked about his support for Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has embraced the baseless, far-right conspiracy theory. (Aug. 14)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oesJCQdkblQ

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 6:54 p.m. No.10292284   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange say '11th hour' decision by US government to lodge new charges against him is 'astonishing and potentially abusive'

 

Julian Assange's lawyers are to decide whether to seek a further delay to his extradition battle after the '11th hour' submission of further allegations by the US.

 

The US government made a fresh extradition request to have the WikiLeaks founder sent from the UK based on charges in a new superseding indictment.

 

Assange, 49, faces 17 charges under the US espionage act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

 

He is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

 

A hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court was today told the US sought to expand alleged conduct within the charges through a third version of the criminal indictment against him.

 

Prosecutor Claire Dobbin explained this included extending the group of people Assange is alleged to have conspired with beyond Ms Manning.

 

The WikiLeaks founder has yet to be arrested over the latest indictment, full details of which were not read out in court.

 

The extradition hearing, originally set for May, was postponed due to coronavirus lockdown measures and was rescheduled for September 7 at the Old Bailey.

 

Florence Iveson, representing Assange in court today, said US prosecutor Gordon Kromberg had submitting a 33-page additional affidavit explaining the second superseding indictment on August 12.

 

She said the '11th hour' submission of the document was 'astonishing and 'potentially abusive', claiming the US was 'seeking to add a considerable amount of conduct and seeking to extend the case significantly'.

 

Ms Iveson said lawyers had not been able to take full instructions from Assange over the third version of the indictment against him.

 

Assange, who spoke only to give his name, date of birth and to confirm he had heard the judge, attended the short hearing via video-link from Belmarsh prison.

 

His father John Shipton watched the proceedings from the public gallery, alongside other supporters.

 

Ms Iveson argued the new material should have been provided 'at a much earlier stage', adding it could affect the evidence of witnesses in September.

 

She called on district judge Vanessa Baraitser to 'exclude' the new alleged conduct within the charges, claiming it was the only way 'to achieve justice'.

 

Ms Dobbin said Mr Kromberg had explained how the US had continued to conduct investigations into alleged criminal conduct by Assange that had not been included in the earlier indictments.

 

She said: 'It's lawful and common for US prosecutors to continue investigating a defendant's criminal conduct after he's been arrested and charged.

 

'He's explaining how it is that in the American system there can be superseding indictments.'

 

Ms Dobbin said all of the alleged conduct in the first superseding indictment was also in the second, but it added 'further parties' to the conspiracy allegations, beyond Ms Manning.

 

She said the new indictment 'does not fundamentally alter the basis upon which extradition is sought'.

 

Judge Baraitser highlighted Assange 'has not yet even been arrested' in relation to the new extradition request and further delay to his case 'should be avoided'.

 

She told the court she did not have the case management powers to handle the defence's exclusion request.

 

She said it was up to Assange's legal team to decide whether to make an application to vacate the case to give them more time, despite the consequences being 'extremely unattractive'.

 

Ms Iveson said she and her colleagues would use 'best endeavours' to make their decision by August 19, but warned they may need until August 21.

 

Adjourning proceedings, Judge Baraitser told Assange that depending on his lawyers' actions this was the last administrative hearing for his case.

 

She said he is due to be physically present when his full extradition hearing takes place next month.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8628089/Julian-Assanges-lawyers-say-government-decision-lodge-new-charges-astonishing.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 14, 2020, 8:39 p.m. No.10293459   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Wayne Daniels Tweet

 

#WWG1WGA from the Gold Coast Australia ……. patriots rise up and spread the word it’s ubiquitous and can’t be stopped ……… so proud to be part of this awakening !!!! #SilentMajority #AussieQ #thegreatawakening @Q_GalacticFed @Krissy11Q11 @Belinda_0030425 @awakeinaus_

 

https://twitter.com/Redpillwayne/status/1294071133201788928

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 6:37 p.m. No.10302477   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2533 >>4877 >>4880

Christ’s Cross helped me avoid bitterness: Cardinal George Pell

 

1/3

 

The Truth, Justice and Healing Council set up by the Church in Australia at the beginning of the Royal Commission into institutional abuse in 2013 failed seriously to highlight the Church’s decisive record in combatting abuse in this country beginning a quarter of a century ago, Cardinal George Pell said this week.

 

His criticism came in a wide-ranging pre-recorded interview aired at a Catholic conference in the US on 16 August.

 

During the interview Cardinal Pell discussed his prayer life in prison and how he had been able to remain spiritually focused despite knowing his own innocence, the support he had received via correspondence from ordinary Catholics around the world, the Vatican’s financial situation and the associated problem of corruption within key institutions.

 

He also revealed his concerns over aspects of the Synod on the Amazon conducted last October and discussed signs of renewal in the Church – including new Church realities such as Opus Dei and the Neocatechumenal Way – and the importance of the Catholic Church in the US to the future of Catholicism around the world.

 

“The crooks” have largely been run out of Vatican financial institutions or denied access to them but vigilance is required to prevent corruption and inefficiencies that have been endemic in the past, he said.

 

Truth, Justice and Healing Council’s ‘significant error’

 

Regarding the Truth, Justice and Healing Commission, he said it had “made a significant error in not explaining to people – it might have been unpopular – that in fact the ‘old’ Church, from the middle nineties, had acted resolutely and effectively, to impede this plague, to prevent the offenses continuing,” he said in the 30-minute interview conducted in Sydney for a conference organised by the NAPA Institute, a California–based think tank focusing on the Catholic Church.

 

There was no denying the crimes that were committed, that they were infamous and had been poorly handled by Church authorities, he said, “but in Australia we broke the back of the offending in the middle 90s,” a fact that had even been acknowledged by counsel assisting the Royal Commission during its proceeding.

 

Catholics would be astonished to know how little offending had actually occurred in recent decades, he said.

 

“I heard of a public meeting where a friend of mine who actually knew what was going on asked the authorities in that diocese ‘how many offenses in that diocese have you had in Catholic institutions this century?’ And there were none or almost none. And the Catholic audience there was stupefied,” he told Catholic Weekly columnist Monica Doumit.

 

Dealing with jail

 

The major change to his spiritual life had been not being able to celebrate the Eucharist each day, he said. Unable to offer the Mass for the intentions of others as he ordinarily would, he instead prayed the Memorarae, a prayer seeking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as individual requests came to him.

 

“In jail you’ve got no excuse that you’re too busy to pray,” he said. “I had a regular prayer routine of the Breviary, meditation and I followed spiritual reading generally every day. And on Sunday I watched Mass For You At Home at the impossible hour of six o’clock in the morning.

 

“Then I watched the American evangelists Joseph Prince from California and Joel Osteen from Texas. And in my journal I’d make a theological critique of their efforts – but both of them are very fine preachers and they’ve got big followings.”

 

Support from around the world

 

He estimated he had received around 4,000 letters in jail but had almost-exclusively limited himself to responding – against legal advice – to fellow prisoners. He had done this because he felt it was his duty as a priest, he said.

 

People from all over the world and every background in life had written to him during his jail time, including two women in Texas. Their letters had been “very stimulating and beautiful, interesting, letters. They gave me something to ‘chew on’ theologically and spiritually,” he said.

 

He stayed abreast of world events through reading a Melbourne newspaper three times a week and watching SBS world news broadcast each evening.

 

“So I was pretty well abreast of things and people would send me cuttings. Friends sent me loads of articles,” he said.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 6:42 p.m. No.10302533   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2551 >>4880

>>10302477

 

2/3

 

The journal that almost wasn’t

 

He also focused on recording his daily thoughts but had come close to not doing this as he had initially assumed he would not be imprisoned for long.

 

“I kept myself occupied and I wrote my journal. I thought I would be in for three or so months so I wrote three pages a day, which I roughly estimated would give me a book of 250 pages. But I was there 13 months! I nearly considered not writing, but I’m glad I did. It was good therapy and [I thought] I might have something to say that can help people.”

 

The first volume of Cardinal Pell’s prison memoirs is due for publication by Ignatius Press in 2021.

 

Amazon Synod concerns

 

He admitted he had concerns over the Synod for the Amazon held at the Vatican last October but that not as much damage had been done as he had feared was possible.

 

“I wasn’t quite sure how that was going to turn out and in the end the results weren’t too bad,” he said.

 

“I felt that some of the people who were given leadership in the preparation of the Synod – one bishop who’d never converted a local resident in all his decades as a missionary – I found one or two of those things quite remarkable. But the end result was that, as far as I could see, there wasn’t too much damage done.”

 

Vatican financial problems

 

On the Vatican’s current financial state and the problem of corruption which has plagued it, he said the coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated an-already serious financial problem.

 

His successor at the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy had told him the Vatican was losing $A70 million a year before the pandemic had struck. Meanwhile, the Vatican Museums which have now been shut down since the pandemic struck Italy would normally bring in revenue of A$80-100 million a year .

 

“Now that’s almost completely gone,” he said, adding “it’s a little bit graphic to say that the Vatican’s going broke, because it isn’t. It does have … not a big patrimony … it would be less than some of the big American universities, considerably less as a patrimony. But you can’t keep losing money at the rate they are at the moment forever … That is the very fundamental reality.”

 

Meanwhile, he said, it is public knowledge that the Vatican has “a looming, very considerable deficit in the pension fund – and nearly every other country in Europe has that too – but that’s not much consolation.

 

“Now I’m well out if it, I’m two or three years behind what people are thinking, but at least in the public sense, I haven’t seen any suggestions that would really address what is a significant financial challenge,” he said.

 

Dealing with corruption and inneficiency

 

He said there is no doubt the Vatican has “been bedevilled over the years by inefficiency and corruption. The London property deal is probably an example of both, certainly an example of inefficiency at best.”

 

The deal he referred to is currently being investigated by Vatican authorities inquiring into how the Vatican’s Secretariat of State used approximately A$270 million to finance a property development project in London’s Chelsea district in 2014.

 

But “because the Church is not a business it doesn’t mean there’s any justification for it to be run inefficiently or not to be very strong and vigilant against corruption.”

 

He said he believed “most of the crooks are out of the system [although] you can never be quite sure. But of course you’ve got to be very vigilant. So I’ve got every confidence in my successor. They’re heading in the right direction, but that promise has got to be brought to fruit.

 

“They’ve just appointed a new Finance Council – half the appointees, almost, are highly-qualified women – so I’m optimistic that they will have a good look at the situation and take a very firm stand on what are the basic issues and not be distracted into theorising or short-term consolations. So I have a qualified optimism.”

 

Serious challenges – but signs of renewal

 

He said there is no doubt the Church throughout the western world faces a serious situation demographically and politically, but he remains optimistic and sees signs of renewal especially in new Church realities such as Opus Dei and the Neocatechumenal Way.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 6:44 p.m. No.10302551   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10302533

 

3/3

 

Opus Dei, founded in post-Spanish Civil War Spain by St Josemaria Esciva, focuses on helping youth and adults to discover and live sanctity via friendship with God. The Neocatechumenal Way, founded also in Spain in 1968, focuses on building small communities following a path of formation towards an adult faith, with a strong emphasis on coming to know the Word of God and its associated themes in Scripture.

 

“In many parts of the world – such as in Africa – the Church is going ahead,” Cardinal Pell said. But we’re under pressure in many places, especially in the western world. There is a steady erosion but if that’s the price we have to pay to maintain Gospel purity in our teachings then it’s the price we will pay.

 

The path to irrelevance

 

The path to irrelevance for the Church is already obvious, he said.

 

“The irony of it is – and its demonstrated in the liberal Protestant world, it’s demonstrated in the Catholic world, in Belgium, Holland, Quebec and to some extent in Switzerland and Austria – the more you adapt to the world the faster the Catholic Church goes out of business.”

 

However if the Church remains faithful to Christ, he said, there’s always the chance that new forces of renewal and leadership will arise.

 

“I think this happened already in the last century through Opus Dei, the Neocatechumenal Way, just as it did in the 16th Century with the Jesuits, in the 13th Century the Dominicans and the Franciscans, and earlier with the Benedictines. God is with us and God’s providence is at work and that’s much more likely to work if we’re struggling to do what he wants,” he said.

 

Suffering turned to higher goals

 

Reflecting on his experience of more than 400 days in prison for a crime he never committed, he said it was his Christian faith and formation that had prevented him from succumbing to bitterness.

 

“I was quite confident that my small sufferings – and they weren’t enormous – were something that could be offered, with Christ’s suffering, for the good of the Church.

 

He also received support from unexpected quarters. “I got a letter from a long-term prisoner who said that ‘the consensus amongst the career criminals is that you’ve been stitched up, that of course you’re innocent!’ And he said ‘isn’t it strange that the criminals can see this and the judges can’t?’ I understand that,” he said.

 

Asked what had kept him from becoming bitter at the injustice he suffered he said both his Christian faith and Christian teaching “and probably a recognition that even from a secular human point of view bitterness is corrosive and damaging.”

 

“Not being bitter is a little bit like faith,” he said. “It’s not something you can put in your pocket and its there forever. You have to continue to pray that your faith will remain strong and you have to pray and be vigilant that you don’t lapse into a self-centred bitterness and become hostile and very cross with this or that. But it was my Christian teaching above all that urged me in the right direction on these issues.”

 

US Church key to the future

 

He said he wanted to remind his US audience how important the Church in the US is for world Catholicism and western civilisation.

 

Despite the scandals in Church leadership, which had been “deeply wounding”, many parts of the Church in the US are offering a way forward in the present crisis. He nominated US bishops such as Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and former Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, Francis George OMI who passed away in 2015, as outstanding examples of Church leadership and vision in the present era.

 

Describing himself as a great friend and ally of the United State but not an uncritical observer he reminded his audience of the centrality and vitality of the Catholic Church in the US to the the western world.

 

“[US Catholicism] is vitally important for us in smaller countries, we rely on you for your scholarship, your leadership … the pastoral strategies that you implement and prove to be successful will be watched and imitated by us,” he said.

 

https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/christs-cross-helped-me-avoid-bitterness-cardinal-george-pell/

 

https://vimeo.com/448184369

 

https://vimeo.com/448184461

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 7:08 p.m. No.10302798   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2822 >>4997

How the QAnon Conspiracy Theory Went Global

 

By Masood Farivar - August 15, 2020

 

1/2

 

WASHINGTON - Until recently, the fringe conspiracy theory known as QAnon was largely an American phenomenon — a belief that U.S. President Donald Trump is secretly battling a “deep state” cabal of pedophiles that control the world.

 

The far-right theory has gained adherents throughout the United States as the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns heat up. Trump has repeatedly retweeted messages from accounts that promote QAnon while more than a dozen Republican candidates running for Congress have embraced some of its tenets.

 

All this has sparked concerns about conspiracy-theory-driven domestic extremists that the FBI has identified as a potential domestic terror threat. But QAnon is no longer exclusively focused on U.S. politics.

 

Fueled by worldwide anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic, the unsubstantiated conspiracy theory has gone global, with adherents popping up in at least 71 countries, according to QAnon researcher Marc-André Argentino.

 

“There has been massive growth,” said Argentino, a Ph.D. candidate at Canada’s Concordia University and an associate at the Global Network on Extremism & Technology.

 

Conspiracy theories thrive in times of crisis, experts say. With anxious people around the world trying to make sense of the killer pandemic as leaders struggle to deal with it, QAnon has found an enthusiastic audience with the promise of salvation from tyranny at the end of a struggle dubbed "The Storm."

 

Outside the U.S., Germany, though spared the worst of the pandemic, has become home to the largest number of QAnon followers overseas, according to Argentino. One German QAnon channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram boasts 120,000 members.

 

In the past month, the biggest growth in QAnon’s international followers has come from Brazil, a pandemic hotspot where the virus has killed more than 100,000 people.

 

Here is a primer on QAnon:

 

What does Q stand for?

 

“Q” is an online persona claiming to be a government insider with Q-level top security clearance and knowledge of the deep state's inner workings. The anonymous poster first appeared online in October 2017 when he went to the 4chan image board with a wild premonition: Former secretary of state and Trump Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested and riots would ensue.

 

The prediction, needless to say, proved false, as did many others that followed, including the forecast of mass indictments of other Democrats. But that did not stop Q from continuing to post about Trump’s “secret war” against a deep state cabal of pedophiles, with his cryptic online "drops" parsed and amplified by a growing ecosystem of believers.

 

Thus was born a new conspiracy theory movement, with Q taking off where earlier “anons” such as “FBIAnon” and “CIAAnon” had petered out. What made QAnon stick was that it came on the heels of Pizzagate, a 2016 conspiracy theory that claimed the Democrats were running a child sex trafficking ring out of the basement of a Washington pizza shop.

 

No such thing was ever uncovered. While Q's latest ramblings are focused on the deep state's efforts to thwart Trump's reelection, child abuse and sex trafficking remain a constant in its belief system.

 

In his last, long-winded "drop" on July 31, Q ranted that the coronavirus pandemic was partly designed to help "shelter" presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden from appearing in public and participating in debates and to "eliminate" or delay Trump rallies.

 

"At the core of the current interpretation of this ideology, QAnon believes President Trump is the person who will save the world from this network of bad actors and he will uncover the Deep State that exist in the United States and overseas," said Kevin Grisham, associate director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino.

 

QAnon promoters say the deep state is all real, and they reject the notion that they "worship" Trump or "Q."

 

“Qanon is a worldwide group of non-violent truthers/patriots dedicated to God, saving our children from trafficking, and removing the Satanic DS (Deep State),” prominent QAnon promoter Joe Stroh, who goes by "Obiwan Qenobi" on social media, recently tweeted.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 7:11 p.m. No.10302822   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10302798

 

2/2

 

Who exactly is Q?

 

Despite rampant speculation, no one has unraveled the mystery person behind Q. Outside QAnon circles, few take him as a real insider. Many experts believe more than one person may have been behind the Q account over the years.

 

Who are QAnon adherents?

 

While Q has hopped from one fringe imageboard to another, his followers have thrived on mainstream platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Telegram. On any given day, an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people post about QAnon on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram, according to Argentino, who says that it would be a mistake to dismiss them as “lunatics with tin foil hats living in their parents’ basement.”

 

Georgia businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who promotes the QAnon conspiracy theory, won a Republican primary race Tuesday for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is expected to win the seat in November in her heavily Republican congressional district.

 

Former national security advisor Michael Flynn appeared in a July 4 video reciting a popular QAnon slogan: "Where we go one, we go all." While Trump has not explicitly endorsed the movement, he enjoys broad support from QAnon followers who have attended his rallies wearing QAnon T-shirts.

 

A Trump campaign spokeswoman did not respond to a question about whether Trump welcomes their support.

 

How has the pandemic impacted QAnon?

 

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, QAnon following has rapidly climbed. The number of QAnon Facebook group members has jumped 800% to 1.7 million while Twitter accounts that post on QAnon related hashtags have increased 85% to 400,000, according to Argentino’s research.

 

In recent weeks, both Facebook and Twitter have taken down QAnon accounts for running afoul of their policies and standards. Further actions are expected.

 

But experts doubt the disciplinary measures will banish the movement. For one, the conspiracy theory is protected speech and social media companies can't simply label QAnon under their "dangerous group" category. Second, banning QAnon followers from Facebook and Twitter would only reinforce their belief that they’re engaged in an information war against media elites and others in the deep state, according to experts.

 

"The crackdown only plays into their conspiratorial beliefs," Grisham said.

 

How popular is QAnon overseas?

 

The vast majority of the recent growth in QAnon following has taken place overseas.

 

"You're starting to see these sort of groups popping up everywhere," Grisham said.

 

Among countries that have seen the largest increases in QAnon activity: Germany, Britain, Australia and Canada, followed by France, Italy and New Zealand.

 

"The fact that we're seeing it spread all around the world shows its significance for a global audience," Grisham said.

 

While in some locales QAnon followers see Trump as their savior, in others, adherents believe local leaders will emerge to destroy their own deep states, Argentino said.

 

https://www.voanews.com/usa/how-qanon-conspiracy-theory-went-global

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 8:15 p.m. No.10303421   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweets

 

The indictments of numerous Obamagate players coming will sway moderates to Trump. I go around the country and speak to crowds on the right, center and left. They all share one thing: don’t mess with our democracy, and if anyone did, hold them accountable. Boomerang!

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1294629796224413698

 

 

Prediction: Clinesmith flipped on Bill Priestap. He is important for two reasons. We know now that he has criminal exposure for intentionally lying to Congress about the Steele dossier. He was also involved with the Australian set up meeting in London with Alexander Downer.

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1294649694271012864

 

 

Priestap needed to cover himself as he was peddling the Steele dossier to spy on the campaign. He needed a useful idiot like Alexander Downer and the Australian government complicit to try and divert attention from Steele by using Downer to fabricate evidence against me. Scandal!

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1294652798215356421

 

 

This info makes clear that the Obama administration was illegally spying on my legitimate business ties to the energy sector in the Mediterranean and used it to make the bizarre allegation I was an “Israeli agent”. Downer, Mifsud, Halper, FBI, Mueller, DIA, CIA all probed that

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1294711280499122178

 

Catherine Herridge @CBS_Herridge

 

#Durham In Clinesmith docs page 1, Durham says FBI opened a “Foreign Agents Registration Act” case called “Crossfire Hurricane,” July 31, 2016. FARA is criminal. But when Comey disclosed the probe’s existence in 2017, he emphasized its “counter-intelligence” nature to gather info

 

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1294450817760661509

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 9:10 p.m. No.10303800   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Twitter Thread

 

1-Hello my dear friends, family, long lost buddies and those in general who have a passion for helping save as many kids as possible. I am holding an online fundraiser on August 22nd to raise awareness, educate the public and start a new movement #kidstoo.

 

 

You all of course our invited for the fundraiser and moment of silence for the child victims of sex slavery who didn't make it. We ask that you donate to http://victimsrefusesilence.org for a few obvious reasons. Firstly we are making care packages for victims in shelters, ie: clothes-

 

 

essential items and shoes. Secondly we are looking at buying our first property in Florida for a heath & wellness centre where survivors can receive physiological & holistic help, we hope this spreads worldwide but baby steps at first.

 

 

There is no amount too small or too large that can help us achieve these goals and YOU can make a difference- even if it's just to one persons life. Every cent matters and please visit http://victimsrefusesilence.org on August 22nd in the US between the hours of 9am- 9pm

 

 

or live q&a's, forums of which to speak with survivors, survivors helping survivors and general people who just want to be apart of the change. I have a meeting with Ashton Kutcher's management next week, and he is a giant advocate for human trafficking and child exploitation.

 

 

Each and every one of your cent counts and your generosity is so appreciated there are no words to even say thank you enough!! Bless you all and hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. Kindest Regards, Virginia Roberts Giuffre

 

 

In Australia it will be the 23rd late at night and into the early hours of the 24th.

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1294479330538434560

 

https://victimsrefusesilence.org

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 9:59 p.m. No.10304143   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Defence Department warns that 'highly active' spies pose 'extreme threat' to Australia's shipbuilding plan

 

Foreign agents are now "highly active" in plots to steal Australian military secrets, with Defence warning the threat to the nation's multi-billion-dollar shipbuilding projects is considered "extreme".

 

The alarming and blunt assessment is being cited as an official reason by the Department for blocking the public release of confidential briefing notes to the Morrison Government about current and future maritime projects.

 

In response to a freedom of information (FOI) application, the Defence Department has warned: "Foreign Intelligence Services are currently assessed as posing an extreme threat to Sovereign Capability and Commonwealth Strategic Interests.

 

"These adversaries are highly active in pursuing access to information relating to Australia's current and future maritime capabilities in order to advance their own interest and undermine Australian capabilities," the Department notes in a formal submission written this month.

 

"Release of this information may be used to directly, or indirectly, damage Australian interests."

 

Over recent years, Australian security officials have publicly alluded to the threat posed by foreign agents to Australia's large-scale military projects.

 

In February, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess warned that "hostile foreign intelligence services are being directed to target us" in part because "we are comprehensively retooling our defence force and the defence industrial base".

 

Independent senator Rex Patrick, who is pursuing the FOI request, says the language in Defence's latest statement appears unprecedented.

 

"It's an assessment that goes beyond anything that I've ever heard come from ASIO, Defence or Foreign Affairs," Senator Patrick said.

 

"It's clearly a serious national security issue and the Government must do whatever it needs to do to minimise and eliminate this threat."

 

Over the next few decades, Australia is spending $90 billion on a massive naval shipbuilding plan to design and construct dozens of cutting-edge warships and submarines, with much of the work to be done in South Australia.

 

Beijing privately identified as leading culprit

 

Defence has declined to nominate which foreign actors it believes are responsible for targeting Australia's naval shipbuilding industry but, privately, national security figures believe the Chinese Government is the main culprit.

 

The growing concerns about Chinese espionage are prompting politicians from across the political divide to call for the closure of the sizeable Chinese consulate in South Australia, or a reduction in the number of diplomats based there.

 

In 2016, Beijing opened a new Consulate-General office in the Adelaide suburb of Findon for around 10 staff, located on a site that also includes the headquarters for the Overseas Chinese Association.

 

"It hasn't escaped me that the consulate was stood up in the same year that a significant naval shipbuilding program was announced by the Coalition Government," Senator Patrick said.

 

His concerns about the large Chinese diplomatic presence in a state which hosts considerable defence industry and space research is shared by members of both the Federal Government and Opposition.

 

"It's clear that the numbers in the Adelaide consulate are overweight — they should be reduced, preferably by negotiation," South Australian Labor MP Nick Champion said.

 

Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells says ASIO records show similar tactics were used by Soviet spies during the Cold War to target military research in Australia.

 

"It comes as no surprise that Beijing has overcompensated the 'diplomatic' requirement to serve in Adelaide," Senator Fierravanti-Wells told the ABC.

 

"If ASIO and law enforcement agencies deem laws have been broken, then the 'diplomats' should be expelled."

 

In July, the United States ordered the closure of the Chinese Consulate in the American city of Houston over fears the diplomatic mission was being used to run an espionage network.

 

Last month, two operatives from China's Ministry of State Security were also indicted by US authorities for hacking into government and commercial computer systems in America and around the world, including an Australian defence company.

 

"As the indictment shows, the hackers targeted technology companies in countries with high-technology industries, including in Australia," US Assistant Attorney-General John C Demers announced on July 21.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-16/defence-warns-active-foreign-spies-threaten-shipbuilding-plans/12562536

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 15, 2020, 10:17 p.m. No.10304251   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Daniel Andrews says Victoria may never eliminate COVID-19

 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has conceded the state may never completely eliminate COVID-19 cases.

 

The state recorded 279 new COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths on Sunday. It is a drop from the 310 new cases announced on Saturday and lower than the record daily rise of 725 from last week.

 

But speaking on Sunday, Mr Andrews said it was “unlikely” the virus would ever be completely eliminated.

 

“Even when this second wave is over, we will still see cases, we will still see outbreaks, that is a function of this thing,” he said.

 

“The notion of completely extinguishing it and never seeing it again, I think that it would be an unlikely outcome.”

 

Mr Andrews also revealed he had “cautious optimism” stage-four lockdown measures in Melbourne would be eased from mid-September.

 

WHEN WILL RESTRICTIONS EASE?

 

Speaking at the coronavirus update, Mr Andrews was asked if he was confident restrictions would be eased at the end of the six-week period.

 

“I am always very cautious but there is, on my part at least, a cautious optimism and a sense of real hope that this strategy is working and that we are seeing numbers fall now,” he said.

 

Mr Andrews said the state was no longer seeing case numbers as high as 700 or more but warned no one could become “complacent”.

 

“Ultimately those rules are only as good as the many millions of individual choices and decisions that individuals and families make every single day,” he said.

 

“So not breaking those rules, not going out, not being out after curfew, not ignoring symptoms and waiting two to three days and then maybe getting a test or maybe not, all of those really personal choices, that is what makes the rules work, that is what makes the strategy work.

 

“Where will we be tomorrow? We will have to wait and see what tomorrow’s numbers are.”

 

Victoria’s state of emergency declaration has been extended three days to Sunday, September 13, in line with the end of the six-week lockdown.

 

Mr Andrews said Sunday’s numbers were positive but did not give anyone in Victoria the “luxury of backing off”.

 

“We have to stay the course on this and I’m confident Victorians are equal to that challenge and they will, in increasing numbers, follow the rules to make it much more likely that we can get to the other side of this,” he said.

 

Then, Mr Andrews said Victoria could begin the process of not only opening up but rebuilding.

 

CASES DROP AGAIN

 

Mr Andrews said among the 16 fatalities included: one woman and two men aged in their 70s, two women and four men aged in their 80s, and four women and three men aged in their 90s.

 

Eleven of the 16 deaths are linked to aged care outbreaks.

 

At least 662 Victorians are in hospital with the virus, 40 of whom are receiving intensive care and 29 are on a ventilator.

 

There are 7671 active coronavirus cases across the state. However the number of cases with an unknown source has risen by 75 since Saturday’s update to 3478 “mystery” cases.

 

A further 21,566 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

 

Mr Andrews sent his well-wishes to the 1164 health workers who have contracted the virus.

 

Speaking on outbreaks at aged care facilities, Mr Andrews said there were now about 2075 active cases in aged care.

 

“There are 451 in regional cases in stage three,” he said.

 

“The number of cases that are unknown is around 185.”

 

Mr Andrews said although cases in regional Victoria were stabilising, people in Geelong, Bendigo, and Ballarat should come forward to get tested if they had symptoms.

 

“We have 158 active cases in Geelong, 49 active cases in greater Bendigo, and 27 active cases in Ballarat,” he said.

 

“We have added extra staff, some of the opening hours have changed also to make it a little bit easier for people to come forward and get tested.

 

“That is the really important part of us keeping the numbers in regional Victoria, which are low, we want to keep them low and drive them down even further.”

 

Australia recorded a total of 23,035 confirmed coronavirus cases and 379 deaths as of Saturday.

 

Victorian chief medical officer Professor Brett Sutton on Saturday said it appeared there had been a “stabilisation” of the state’s numbers.

 

However, he did warn that some people were still going out after they developed symptoms.

 

https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/economy/will-melbourne-reopen-after-six-week-lockdown-ng-256130ebe38a76ed08754c3a32ac4c13

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 8:49 p.m. No.10314125   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Scott Morrison plans trip to meet Shinzo Abe in Japan

 

Talks are underway between Australia and Japan on a potential visit by Scott Morrison to Tokyo this year for a face-to-face summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as the region’s democracies ramp up co-operation to counter China.

 

The leaders met in a virtual summit last month, but both sides have committed to an in-person summit in Tokyo “in the nearest possible future”.

 

It’s understood senior officials from both countries have discussed how the visit could go ahead, despite the COVID-19 crisis, before the end of the year.

 

Government sources told The Australian it was too soon for the Prime Minister to commit to the visit, as it was unclear how the coronavirus second wave would play out.

 

If Mr Morrison made the trip it’s likely he would have to self-isolate for up to a fortnight on his return, as Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds did when they returned from AUSMIN talks in the US.

 

During their virtual summit in early July, Mr Morrison and Mr Abe hit out at “coercive and unilateral actions” in the East and South China Seas, and reaffirmed the importance of the “Quad” alliance between Australia, the US, Japan and India.

 

The leaders also expressed “grave concerns” over China’s new security law in Hong Kong, and urged Taiwan’s inclusion as an observer at the World Health Assembly.

 

In a statement on Saturday marking the 75th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, Japanese ambassador Reiichiro Takahashi said his country appreciated the “spirit of tolerance and friendship” that Australia had shown his country since the conflict ended.

 

“The positive, friendly post-war relationship that Japan and Australia share is vast in its scope, encompassing not only the economy, but also cultural exchanges, as well as political relationships and defence co-operation,” Mr Takahashi said.

 

“We have the great responsibility to take the lessons of history deeply into our hearts, to carve out a better future.”

 

The negotiations come amid suggestions by Defence Minister Taro Kono that Japan could become the sixth partner in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes Australia, the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand.

 

“These countries share the same values,” Mr Kono said in an interview with Nikkei Asian Review.

 

“Japan can get closer (to the alliance) even to the extent of it being called the ‘Six Eyes’.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/scott-morrison-plans-trip-to-meet-shinzo-abe-in-japan/news-story/e6843c2401b7d14d8d66ab32a5f11776

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 9:30 p.m. No.10314460   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Boris Johnson Tweet

 

75 years ago, brave men and women from many nations stood together in the Far East to bring an end to the Second World War. They fought for freedom, won the war and secured the peace.

 

Today, as every day, we will remember them.

 

#VJDay75

 

https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1294563228765155331

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 9:54 p.m. No.10314624   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Peter Dutton releases new accountability guidelines for ASIO

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has introduced sweeping guidelines for ASIO and its spies, making it clear that officers who use force against people during investigations must be appropriately trained but have an ­“inherent right” to self-defence.

 

The minister’s guidelines, which were quietly tabled out of session in federal parliament last week, also place responsibility on Australian Security Intelligence Organisation officers to be proactive in telling the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security when they have accessed data illegally.

 

The 22-page document replaces guidelines issued by former attorney-general Philip Ruddock in September 2007 and includes eight key changes.

 

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess endorsed the new guidelines because he wanted to ensure the agency “does not only do what is lawful, it does what is right”.

 

“The government’s actions should help reassure Australians that ASIO acts in a targeted, proportionate and ethical way,” Mr Burgess said.

 

“It is critically important that the guidelines are kept up to date to reflect the changes in legislation, technology and threat ­environment. ASIO has already updated its internal policies to ­reflect the new guidelines.”

 

Seeking to overcome the 13-year gap between guidelines, the minister’s rules will now be ­reviewed every three years. It will be up to the ASIO director-general to ensure the inspector-general, an independent body that reviews the agency’s activities, has “effective access” to information held by ASIO.

 

Provisions overseeing ASIO’s collection of information in a “lawful, timely and efficient way” have also been expanded, with ­officers to consider the likely ­impact more intrusive techniques will have on individuals.

 

They must also consider whether the person has consented to the use of the technique and the sensitivity and volume of ­information being collected.

 

New sections have been added stating the opposition leader will be kept informed on security matters and the director-general will “take all reasonable steps” to ensure ASIO employees authorised to use force against a person under a warrant are appropriately trained.

 

“(This) does not limit the ­inherent right of an ASIO ­employee or ASIO affiliate to self-defence,” the guidelines state.

 

The document also confirms that ASIO, which aims to protect Australia from security threats such as espionage, terrorism and foreign interference, can access telecommunications data when collecting intelligence.

 

John Blaxland, who has written two volumes of The Official History of ASIO, said the guidelines were important not just for ASIO’s internal procedures but its messaging to Australians about the limits it set for itself and the standards the community should expect its officers would uphold.

 

“When the Home Affairs construct was first announced, my fear was too much power was being concentrated in too few hands,” said Professor Blaxland, from the Australian National University’s Strategic and ­Defence Studies Centre.

 

“This I see is an attempt to mitigate the risks of that by articulating a set of guidelines to demonstrate to the Australian people, and for internal purposes, the limits of their authority, due process that has to be followed and the checks and balances that this is not an agency to which power is going to its head.”

 

While ASIO is a federal body, Professor Blaxland noted Mr Dutton had specified that it must co-operate with and assist other agencies and authorities — such as state police — to reduce the ­potential harm to Australia’s ­national interest.

 

Mr Dutton has introduced several contentious bills affecting ASIO’s powers that have concerned lawyers, Labor and other political parties, including legislation that allows the agency to question children as young as 14 if they are suspected of terrorism.

 

In a foreword to the guidelines, Mr Dutton says Australians ­expect ASIO to act in pursuit of the public good and exercise its powers and use its resources ­judiciously.

 

“We expect ASIO … will only collect and retain information related to or required for the proper performance of its statutory functions,” Mr Dutton says.

 

Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said it should not have taken the Coalition seven years to formulate new ASIO guidelines, which were “long overdue”.

 

Home Affairs has overseen ASIO since the department’s creation in 2017, with the attorney-general retaining responsibility for issuing warrants used by the agency.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/peter-dutton-releases-new-accountability-guidelines-for-asio/news-story/a153d2c9948cc3949ad702b1fb4ecf36

 

https://www.asio.gov.au/ministers-guidelines.html

 

https://www.asio.gov.au/sites/default/files/Minister's%20Guidelines%20to%20the%20Australian%20Security%20Intelligence%20Organisation.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 10:08 p.m. No.10314736   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweets

 

Now that we know that the scam known as “cross fire hurricane” opened as a “criminal investigation” regarding “foreign lobbying” we have to ask what was the Australian government actively doing trying to sabotage the campaign with fake info? Alexander Downer in the spot light

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1295119650607501323

 

 

The fact of the matter is that I reported the Australian “diplomat” to congress and American authorities. Mueller’s team made it clear that Downer was in on whatever operation they were pulling against the campaign. I am expecting new revelations on this matter very soon!

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1295127392369946630

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 11:19 p.m. No.10315185   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5193 >>1722 >>4880

>>10209217

Covert war crimes inquiry compromised by former AFP chief Mick Keelty

 

1/3

 

The Australian Federal Police's war crimes investigation into former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith was compromised after former AFP chief Mick Keelty was told secret details by serving police and then passed them on to Mr Roberts-Smith.

 

Mr Keelty passed on confidential information to Mr Roberts-Smith just days after the AFP had launched what were supposed to be covert inquiries into the Afghan veteran and Victoria Cross recipient in early June 2018. Mr Keelty's information confirmed to Mr Roberts-Smith that he was the subject of police interest according to official sources familiar with the matter speaking on the condition of anonymity.

 

The police watchdog, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, has confirmed Mr Keelty's actions have resulted in an inquiry into "a potential corruption issue relating to the alleged release of information by an unknown AFP member to Mr Ben Roberts-Smith about an investigation into Mr Roberts-Smith".

 

Sources with knowledge of the events say Mr Keelty's intervention allowed Mr Roberts-Smith to take precautions against police inquiries at a time when he should not have known he was under scrutiny. The disclosures meant the covert phase of a war crimes inquiry – one of the most sensitive probes in AFP history – was blown only days after it started.

 

In a written statement to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Keelty defended his actions, stressing he had only ever acted out of concern for Mr Roberts-Smith's welfare. Mr Keelty said he did not know the former soldier when he met him twice to give him welfare support in June 2018.

 

ACLEI said its inquiry "has not uncovered admissible evidence against any person within ACLEI's jurisdiction" but that it would examine any further information "that would support further action in relation to the allegation". Mr Keelty is not within the ACLEI's jurisdiction because he left the AFP in 2009 and ACLEI only has power to investigate allegations of corrupt conduct by serving AFP members. There is no suggestion Mr Keelty has engaged in corruption, only that his disclosures compromised a covert inquiry.

 

The ACLEI inquiry into serving police suspected of giving information to Mr Keelty led it to target former deputy commissioner Ramzi Jabbour who was suspended in March 2019 and then resigned months later over other alleged misconduct.

 

Mr Jabbour was charged over claims he misused his service weapon. He denies the claims and his court case will conclude in the ACT Magistrates Court next year. In late 2019, Mr Keelty appointed Mr Jabbour to a government integrity role, reporting to Mr Keelty in his capacity as Australia's water resources watchdog.

 

The inquiry into Mr Keelty's disclosures also meant he was under ACLEI scrutiny when he was appointed in December 2018 to a three-person panel by the federal government to advise it on whether ACLEI should be expanded into a new national integrity body with broader jurisdiction. Multiple sources close to Mr Keelty say he is furious at ACLEI and the AFP's handling of the disclosure issue.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 11:20 p.m. No.10315193   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5198 >>4880

>>10315185

 

2/3

 

Since leaving the AFP in 2009, Mr Keelty has worked as an adviser to companies, wealthy families, policing agencies and governments. In September 2018, he was appointed by the federal government as the Inspector-General of the Northern Basin water system, an integrity role that has since expanded to include the Murray-Darling Basin.

 

Mr Keelty told The Age and Herald he had offered the support to Mr Roberts-Smith after a request from a security industry contact who had worked alongside Mr Roberts-Smith for billionaire media mogul Kerry Stokes. Mr Stokes, the executive chairman of Seven Group Holdings, is Mr Roberts-Smith's employer. There is no suggestion Mr Stokes endorsed the actions of Mr Keelty.

 

The confidential information that Mr Keelty disclosed to Mr Roberts-Smith included the existence of three highly sensitive and confidential referrals to the AFP about Mr Roberts-Smith's alleged criminal conduct. These referrals are subject to Commonwealth secrecy provisions designed to ensure that suspects are unaware they are under investigation.

 

A series of inquiries

 

Two of the 2018 referrals to the AFP were made by the office of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force as part of its long-running inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by special forces in Afghanistan.

 

The Inspector-General made classified complaints to the federal police about late May 2018 alleging that SAS comrades of Mr Roberts-Smith had claimed that he had participated in the execution of prisoners in southern Afghanistan. Around the same time as these referrals, a female lawyer separately complained to the AFP that she had been allegedly punched in the face by Mr Roberts-Smith while she was conducting an affair with the married war hero.

 

In his written statement, Mr Keelty confirmed passing on information about police activity in June 2018. But he stressed that the only reason he had sought information from serving officers about the AFP's interest in Mr Roberts-Smith was to "de-conflict" with his former agency and avoid compromising any active inquiries.

 

Mr Keelty also said the information he gave Mr Roberts-Smith had been publicly reported at the time of the pair's June 2018 meetings. However, when pressed, he was unable to find any media reports. The earliest reports confirming police interest in Mr Roberts-Smith were published later in 2018, well after Mr Keelty's dealings with him.

 

Mr Keelty said in his statement that Mr Jabbour had told him via text message about June 15, 2018, that "something was on its way" relating to incoming referrals to the federal police about Mr Roberts-Smith. According to Mr Keelty, that text message arrived while he was at his first meeting with Mr Roberts-Smith.

 

Five days later, Mr Keelty again called Mr Jabbour, who told him to speak to AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan, the senior officer overseeing the referrals from the defence Inspector-General to the AFP.

 

"I rang Jabbour initially but he said that Gaughan would have the progress, if any, of the referral to the AFP," Mr Keelty said in his statement. "It was Gaughan who told me that three letters of complaint had been received" by the federal police about Mr Roberts-Smith.

 

However, Mr Gaughan disclosed the contact from Mr Keelty to the AFP's internal affairs unit, according to multiple sources. In a statement, the AFP declined to comment other than saying it had referred the disclosures to the corruption watchdog ACLEI in June 2018. Mr Jabbour declined to comment.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 11:21 p.m. No.10315198   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10315193

 

3/3

 

Mr Keelty said that prior to meeting Mr Roberts-Smith, he had told then-commissioner Andrew Colvin that, "I was asked to reach out to BRS [Ben Roberts-Smith] who was in 'a world of hurt' following public allegations that he was involved in potential improper conduct while deployed overseas."

 

Mr Keelty claimed that "Colvin agreed to the approach and made no reference to current investigations only to say there is 'stuff running around' and that he, Colvin was not in a position to approach BRS". Mr Colvin declined to comment other than stating the case had been referred to the corruption watchdog.

 

ACLEI confirmed in a statement that the AFP had notified it on June 21, 2018, of allegations that Mr Roberts-Smith had been told sensitive information about the federal police's interest in him. ACLEI said that a week later, on June 27 that year, former Integrity Commissioner Michael Griffin launched a joint covert investigation with the AFP into the alleged leak.

 

"An eminent Australian"

 

Asked why Mr Keelty gave welfare support to a person he didn't know and who might be under potential investigation by the policing agency he once led, Mr Keelty said: "You are viewing him [Roberts-Smith] as a [an alleged] war criminal. At the times we met, I was viewing him as an eminent Australian who had been publicly vilified. I was not concerning myself with anything other than welfare."

 

Referrals to police must be handled secretly to allow proper evidence collection and ensure the safety of complainants.

 

The AFP war crimes inquiries gathered evidence, including from eyewitnesses, that led to the AFP submitting a brief of evidence against Mr Roberts-Smith earlier this year. The brief alleges Mr Roberts-Smith is involved in the execution of prisoner Ali Jan in September 2012.

 

There is no suggestion Mr Roberts-Smith did anything wrong in meeting Mr Keelty. He has denied any involvement in war crimes or assaulting a woman and is suing this masthead for reporting the allegations. The Age and Herald are also not suggesting Mr Keelty acted with intent to compromise the AFP inquiry.

 

Mr Keelty said that he had advised Mr Roberts-Smith "about the AFP process that a referral is not a guarantee of an investigation". Mr Keelty said that while he was told by AFP officers of the three Roberts-Smith referrals, he was not told if they were still in the assessment phase or had progressed to full-blown inquiries.

 

"No one [from the AFP] ever confirmed to me at any time that the AFP converted those referrals to an investigation of BRS," Mr Keelty said.

 

"I considered it appropriate to contact the AFP about BRS to ensure that I was not crossing over any current operations by meeting with him. It was solely to de-conflict – it was never to advise BRS anything that you would not tell any person in a similar situation who was complaining that he was being prosecuted in the media but had not yet been spoken to by anyone from either Defence or the AFP."

 

Multiple sources said that Mr Keelty had fallen out with former commissioner Mr Colvin, ACLEI and serving senior AFP officers over the saga. In his statement, Mr Keelty said: "These matters could have been dealt with very easily at the start by someone [from the AFP] saying to me: 'I think you're going to be too busy to see BRS.' Nothing more needed to be said."

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/covert-war-crimes-inquiry-compromised-by-former-afp-chief-mick-keelty-20200812-p55kzj.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 11:28 p.m. No.10315234   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Australia could have a COVID-19 vaccine within six months

 

Australia could have access to a vaccine for COVID-19 within six months and negotiations are already under way to secure the jab, the Health Minister says.

 

Australians could have access to a vaccine against the deadly coronavirus within six months, Health Minister Greg Hunt says.

 

The Government is in negotiations with a number of companies to procure the University of Oxford’s vaccine candidate, which is still being tested but has shown promising results.

 

Mr Hunt called it a “ray of hope” that Australia could be able to vaccinate against the virus by early next year.

 

“I am now, on the basis of our best medical advice, more optimistic,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

 

“I think the world is moving closer to a vaccine … If anything occurs before then that would be an outstanding result, not just for Australia, but the world.

 

“For the first time, I feel cautiously but genuinely optimistic about the prospect of a vaccine.”

 

It is understood that one of the companies Australia is negotiating with is British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

 

It comes after researchers from Oxford University revealed positive results from trials on their vaccine last month.

 

Research published in the journal Lancet claims an experimental vaccine — labelled ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 — was tested on more than 1000 people and prompted a protective immune response in those aged 18 to 55.

 

“The vaccine was safe and tolerated,” researchers wrote.

 

“Preliminary results from a phase 1/2 trial involving 1077 healthy adults found that vaccine induced strong antibody & T cell immune responses up to day 56 of the ongoing trial,” the Lancet wrote when announcing the breakthrough on social media on Monday night.

 

“These responses may be even greater after a 2nd dose, according to a subgroup study of 10 participants.”

 

Oxford University’s Jenner Institute director Dr Adrian Hill, said the results were hugely promising.

 

“We are seeing good immune response in almost everybody,” Dr Hill told the Associated Press.

 

“What this vaccine does particularly well is trigger both arms of the immune system.”

 

He claimed the vaccine causes a reaction in the body’s T-cells which help to fight off the coronavirus and that a partnership was already underway with a drug manufacturer to produce millions of doses.

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/australia-could-have-a-covid19-vaccine-within-six-months/news-story/6e755868b561e800d90e60f224783037

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 11:36 p.m. No.10315280   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Federal police join global mafia assault

 

A co-ordinated global assault on the ’ndrangheta — the powerful Calabrian mafia clans linked to some of Australia’s biggest drug importations — is targeting their fugitives and finances.

 

International law enforcement agencies have in the past been criticised for failing to combine resources and knowledge to take on mafia families that have fanned out from southern Italy to the rest of the world.

 

But in June, police chiefs from 11 countries including Australia met for the first time and mapped out the cross-country flows of ­fugitives as part of a joint Interpol and Italian initiative to take on the ’ndrangheta.

 

Last month, six fugitives linked to the criminal clans were arrested in Argentina, Albania and Costa Rica.

 

Anna Sergi, who has carried out extensive research with Australian and international authorities, said the arrests were “symbolically important” for the fledgling initiative — and added that Australia was the perfect ­bolthole for others on the run.

 

“There are all the ingredients you need,” Dr Sergi, from the University of Essex, said. “There are relatives with established businesses, and varieties of jobs you can do and ways in which you can manipulate the visa system.

 

“And the important thing is that the ’ndrangheta in Australia has an extremely rooted presence — it’s not just about drugs, it’s about many other activities.”

 

Calabrian crime families, which operate independently like franchises, have been living and thriving in Australia for almost a century, arriving in the 1920s with waves of Italian migrants.

 

Also known in Australia as the Honoured Society, they carved out a reputation for ruthless violence, earning national infamy for ordering the killing of Griffith anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay in 1977.

 

Interpol secretary-general Jurgen Stock last month said the operation to arrest the fugitives was only the beginning of the ­effort to take on “one of the most extensive and powerful criminal organisations in the world”.

 

The Calabrian mafia is estimated to control up to 80 per cent of Europe’s cocaine trade via its relationships with South American and Mexican drug cartels.

 

The Australian Federal Police this month alleged the group was linked to a Victoria-based syndicate that tried to bring more than 600kg of cocaine into the country via Papua New Guinea.

 

The drugs in that case were ­allegedly taken into PNG from Peru on a private yacht by its ­Italian owner Carlo D’Attanasio.

 

A plane with an Australian pilot crashed on take off north of Port Moresby while attempting to bring the drugs to Queensland on July 26, weighed down by its heavy load of white powder.

 

The AFP has declined to detail the alleged ’ndrangheta links.

 

AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw spoke to other police chiefs via video link for the first meeting of the Interpol Co-­operation Against ’Ndrangheta project, which will also focus on ­financial crimes such as money-laundering and the links between businesses in different countries.

 

“Let’s say a restaurant in Melbourne is connected to an export business in Uruguay which is connected to a farm of lemons in ­Argentina,” Dr Sergi said.

 

“You need to see the bigger picture and how this supply chain will develop around the world.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/federal-police-join-global-mafia-assault/news-story/791bb83373c1a8c4cdc5942f1672e853

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 16, 2020, 11:49 p.m. No.10315326   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10136821

Google says draft ACCC news code will hurt search, YouTube functions

 

The chair of Australia’s consumer watchdog says an open letter from Google is loaded with “misinformation”, after the tech giant warned it would provide a “dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube” and that “the free services you use are at risk in Australia’, in response to upcoming mandatory news bargaining legislation.

 

The company has begun bombarding Australian Google users with a pop-up notification whenever they do a Google search, warning “the way Aussies use Google is at risk.”

 

ACCC chair Rod Sims hit back at the claims from Google that it would be required to charge Australians for the use of its services, and share their data with news companies, under the new laws.

 

He said it was up to Google whether it started charging for its services, including Google Search and YouTube.

 

“The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists’ work that is included on Google services. This will address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook,” Mr Sims told The Australian in a statement.

 

“A healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy.

 

“We will continue to consult on the draft code with interested parties, including Google.”

 

Monday’s letter, from Google managing director Mel Silva and addressed to all Australians, foreshadowed that news companies will make “enormous and unreasonable demands” that will put the future of Google Search and YouTube at risk.

 

“We need to let you know about new government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube,” Ms Silva wrote in the letter.

 

“You’ve always relied on Google Search and YouTube to show you what’s most relevant and helpful to you. We could no longer guarantee that under this law. The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses – news media businesses – over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business.

 

“News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result. We’ve always treated all website owners fairly when it comes to information we share about ranking.

 

“The proposed changes are not fair and they mean that Google Search results and YouTube will be worse for you.”

 

The statement includes several falsehoods, including that “news media businesses alone would be given information [to] artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else”, which isn’t true.

 

Under the draft mandatory code, announced last month, the tech giants will be forced to pay media outlets for news, and face fines of up to $10m if they fail to treat Australian media companies fairly.

 

The digital platforms will also be required to give media companies 28 days’ notice if algorithm changes will likely materially affect referral traffic to news, and publishers will also need to be kept informed of any substantial changes to the display and presentation of news.

 

Google Australia made $4.8 billion in revenue last year, including $4.3 billion in advertising.

 

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he wouldn’t be swayed by Google’s threats.

 

“The draft framework remains open for consultation providing an opportunity for media companies and digital platforms to provide feedback,” he said.

 

“The government remains committed to introducing this significant reform with a world leading mandatory code.”

 

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said, “It is important that we have a sustainable media sector in Australia. Part of that sustainability depends upon media companies being fairly remunerated for content used by the digital platforms which the media companies have incurred the costs of generating.”

 

Nine Entertainment, which owns commercial television network Nine and a handful of metropolitan newspapers, rejected Google’s claims, particularly that news media organisations will get access to data that isn’t available to other content providers.

 

“It is disappointing that the global digital platforms are highlighting selected elements of the draft Code and presenting them in a way which does not accurately reflect the framework in which the draft Code will operate,” a Nine spokesman said.

 

The spokesman reiterated that its journalism and content have a “clear monetary value which these platforms should remunerate us for”.

 

Nine chairman Peter Costello has said that revenue from the platforms could be worth $600m annually, while News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has said real estimates could be as high as $1bn.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/google-says-draft-accc-news-code-will-hurt-search-youtube-functions/news-story/c6d1a09986b550d416fb48ee4495b153

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 12:46 a.m. No.10315622   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0489 >>4997

Elise Thomas Tweet

 

Some QAnon conspiracists in Melbourne believe the US Army is helping to secretly excavate the tunnels full of abused children under the city.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1295142661989384192

 

Marc-André Argentino @_MAArgentino

 

In international QAnon communities, the relationship with the american conspiracy in fascinating. Here is an example of a user appropriating Q drops to rally the French community in this group " If the French people rise up, the American army will come and help you. Q"

 

https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1295134493335060487

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 1:51 a.m. No.10315902   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4697 >>4880

Information Warfare

 

Department of Defence Australia

 

Published on 16 Aug 2020

 

What do you know about Information Warfare? MAJGEN Marcus Thompson explains how our increasing reliance on digital technology makes us all vulnerable in the information environment, and what this means for the Australian Defence Force.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djoFjOhSRwg

 

>Information Warfare.

 

https://qanon.pub/?q=information%20warfare

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 6:48 p.m. No.10324877   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10302477

Interview with His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell

 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020

 

His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello

 

Interviewed by Marilyn Rodrigues, Journalist for The Catholic Weekly, Archdiocese of Sydney

 

https://vimeo.com/448185390

 

 

TENTH ANNUAL NAPA INSTITUTE CONFERENCE

 

We are excited to invite you to Napa Institute’s first Virtual Conference, “Finding Hope in the New America.” While we won’t be able to share conversation or a bottle of wine with you this year in person, we invite you to fill your glasses at home and toast the hope we have in the Napa Institute Family and in our Faith.

 

Join speakers such as Cardinal George Pell, Dr. Scott Hahn, Curtis Martin, George Weigel, Arthur Brooks, Fr. Michael Gaitley, Robby George, and many more as they address issues ranging from socialism to how to answer our call to evangelization in a hostile world. In these unprecedented times in our nation, we must view all the critical issues through a Catholic lens, with great hope in Christ.

 

Register today and stay tuned for information on building community and connection with Catholics across the country while we navigate these turbulent times, through watch parties and live speaker Q&A opportunities.

 

And don’t forget to pray for us. We are praying for you.

 

http://napa-institute.org/conference/2020summerconference/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 7:30 p.m. No.10325392   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5414 >>4880

The obscure graph that shows how Trump could steal the US election

 

Nick Whigham, Yahoo News Australia - 17 August 2020

 

1/2

 

It was a relatively obscure video posted on YouTube in February, but it could be seen as a rough moment in time which marked a turning point for US president Donald Trump and his campaign for re-election.

 

In the video Trump’s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany interviews a QAnon conspiracy theorist outside a rally.

 

“Last question, if you could say one thing to the president, what would you say?” she asks.

 

“Who is Q,” comes the response.

 

“Okay, I will pass all that along,” she says.

 

Once considered too toxic for Trump campaigners, the bizarre and cult-like conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon adherents online have continued to gain attention and push the group closer to the mainstream where it is being tacitly embraced by the Republican Party and a president staring down the barrel of an election defeat.

 

Its staunchest followers believe Donald Trump is battling a cabal of shady deep-state operatives who worship the devil and preside over a child sex trafficking ring.

 

They see Donald Trump as a Messiah who speaks to them in code about his plans to execute a military-style takeover of the state and bring about the mass arrests of supposedly paedophile Democrats.

 

QAnon swells during pandemic

 

Social media data collected by Storyful, a self-described social media intelligence agency, and shared with The Wall Street Journal showed the rise of QAnon account on Facebook and Instagram during the pandemic.

 

It analysed 10 large public QAnon groups on Facebook and found membership grew almost 600 per cent since March when a majority of states went into lockdown in the US. Meanwhile on Instagram a growing number of influencers have incorporated the group’s imagery and messaging to grow followers.

 

The group is not conventionally ideological, but given Donald Trump’s central role in the belief system, QAnon has a strong conservative hue to it, leading US historian and author Max Boot to declare last week that “Republicans are becoming the QAnon Party”.

 

Given the disparate and heavily online nature of the group, it is almost impossible to quantify what – if any – effect it could have on November’s election. But in the face of dwindling poll numbers, the US president is clearly willing to take a Hail Mary on his QAnon supporters.

 

Facebook mulling action against QAnon

 

According to an internal review by Facebook, which was leaked to NBC this month, the social media giant found more than one million followers among the top 10 QAnon groups on the platform (some of them private), with more than 3 million users among the total members of QAnon related groups and pages.

 

Facebook’s Groups feature which promotes groups to users based on their profile and online behaviour is seen as playing a considerable role in the growth of QAnon.

 

Facebook – which has famously allowed lies to be spread in paid political advertisements on the platform – has been slow to curb the group’s misinformation online, only removing fake accounts.

 

“We consistently take action against accounts, Groups, and Pages tied to QAnon that break our rules. We recently removed a large Group with QAnon affiliations for violating our content policies, and removed a network of accounts for violating our policies against coordinated inauthentic behaviour,” a spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.

 

“We have teams assessing our policies against QAnon and are currently exploring additional actions we can take.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 7:32 p.m. No.10325414   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10325392

 

2/2

 

Trump campaign ‘courting’ QAnon members

 

A report by the Washington Post this month detailed how the Trump campaign has gone about courting the group in hopes its burgeoning numbers could translate into electoral potency in key states in November.

 

As the Post noted, QAnon iconography has appeared in official campaign advertisements targeting battleground states, while the president’s director of press communications has even gone on a QAnon program and urged listeners to “sign up and attend a Trump Victory Leadership Initiative training.”

 

Mr Trump’s staff and family have posted QAnon imagery online while the president himself has begun routinely amplifying affiliated account espousing conspiracy theories pushed by the group.

 

Trump amplified another account that's promoted QAnon content, along with James Woods again, making it at least 7 QAnon-connected amplifications for the day.

 

The president’s endorsement of the conspiracy group has shocked even the most seasoned media observers.

 

“We’re seeing the Trump campaign tack closely to an almost explicitly QAnon narrative,” said Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Center for Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

“I don’t expect to hear the president talking about paedophilia or Satanism, but I expect to hear almost everything else,” he told The Washington Post.

 

New breed of Republican candidates ride QAnon wave

 

The radical conspiracy group could have an influence on the upcoming presidential election if recent political newcomers are any indication.

 

Republican congressional candidate in Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene, was mocked as a QAnon follower but coasted to victory last week in a Republican primary run-off election that should put her on an easy path to winning a seat in the US House of Representatives.

 

“If Republicans want to win in 2020, they need to listen to the message that I’m speaking,” she said in a victory speech last week.

 

Ms Green’s not the only candidate tied to QAnon marching toward Washington. Lauren Boebert, who has also expressed support for QAnon, recently upset a five-term congressman in a Republican primary in Colorado.

 

Meanwhile in May, Oregon QAnon supporter Jo Rae Perkins won her party’s nomination for a seat in the US senate in Oregon, crediting other followers for her victory.

 

Donald Trump enthusiastically endorsed Ms Greene, however others in the party have denounced this new fringe element of the party.

 

“QAnon has the same number of letters as Moron,” Virginia congressman Denver Riggleman tweeted this morning. “Truthers and QAnon are enemies to intelligence and common sense.

 

“The GOP is better than this.”

 

On Friday, during a White House press briefing, Mr Trump refused to answer questions about whether he believes in the QAnon conspiracy theories.

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/the-obscure-graph-that-shows-how-trump-could-win-2020-us-election-103807183.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 8:13 p.m. No.10325970   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6000 >>4997

Someone Made A New Bananapants 'Satanic Pedo Cabal' QAnon Pizza Map, Looks Legit

 

By Robyn Pennacchia - August 17, 2020

 

1/2

 

There are certain things we should never have to relive, things that should always, always, remain a super-embarrassing thing we did in the past and all collectively, silently agree to never do again. A preponderance of these things occurred in the 1980s. I'm not saying the '80s were entirely bad — from what I recall, there were many very good cartoons at that time — but mall bangs, stockbrokers being "cool," people not realizing the president was talking about movies like they were real life, the war on drugs, super rapey sex comedies? These things should remain in the past. Probably you were assuming that I would add shoulder pads to that list, but I would not. I have too much respect for Joan Crawford to do such a thing and honestly I think they were pretty badass.

 

One thing from the 1980s and 1990s that should have stayed there forever, that should have been stomped out permanently, was the Satanic Panic. That should have been snuffed out entirely after the 1996 premiere of Paradise Lost, the HBO documentary about the West Memphis Three, and also everyone realizing how stupid it was that parents were freaking out over Marilyn Manson.

 

Oh! Also the thing where the woman who wrote Satan's Underground turned out to be a pathological liar who also fraudulently claimed to be a Holocaust survivor.

 

It seemed like most regular people — outside of super-extreme religious kooks — figured out that only Christians believed in Satan and that there really weren't a bunch of Satanic cabals molesting and eating children because that was fucking ridiculous and the things they described happening would have been impossible without access to a TARDIS.

 

But here we are again, doing this whole stupid thing with the recovered memories and the baby-eating Satanists and the Satanic Ritual Abuse, except this time they're not even bothering to brainwash toddlers about being flown to Mexico and back in the private planes of daycare workers. There are no actual victims this time at all. Just hypothetical mole children and a few adults claiming to have "recovered memories" of Hollywood celebrities and politicians doing Satanic Ritual Abuse to them. It's all public figures now, probably because it's harder for those people to sue for libel.

 

ANYWAY. Someone with a lot of time on their hands made a new "Satanic Pedo Cabal" diagram, which helpfully connects a bunch of crazypants conspiracies with a bunch of people who claim to have recovered memories of Satanic Ritual Abuse and a whole bunch of shit that was debunked decades ago.

 

Since we had such a great time with that last QAnon map, let's take a look, shall we? Here's a link to the whole thing so you can follow along.

 

https://i.redd.it/af2uc6rgbgh51.jpg

 

A conspiracy map is never complete without a whole bunch of Freemasonry symbols, don't ya think?

 

The main thing I can tell you about this square is that Alisha Owen (pictured) claimed to be a victim of a child prostitution ring run by the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska — which regularly flew children to the East Coast to be molested by Republican politicians.

 

There was never any evidence found of this and all of the other supposed victims recanted. Owen was sent to prison for having lied to a grand jury.

 

Here they just throw in that all of the British royals are Satanic pedophiles who molest children and murder people for fun and also for the purpose of denying everyone "inner peace." Also all of the rich people are Satanic pedophiles, and of course the Illuminati.

 

They've also got Wonkette fave Sara Ruth Ashcraft, the chick who claims to have been Tom Hanks's brainwashed sex slave. According to her, her parents were the ones who did this to her, because of how they were very high up in a thousand-year-old cult called the Hivites that literally no one else has ever mentioned before.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 17, 2020, 8:16 p.m. No.10326000   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10325970

 

2/2

 

Oh hey look! It's one true thing! Jeffrey Epstein was, in fact, a fucking sex creep.

 

But with that are a whole bunch of other stupid things about the Clintons and George Soros and Pizzagate and the New World Order. Just the regular crap, really.

 

This lady, Fiona Barnett, claimed to have recovered memories of being Nicole Kidman's dad's sex slave. She claims to have been a part of MKDELTA and MKULTRA, which is super weird as she is from Australia and those were CIA programs. Also MKDELTA was not a child soldier program, it had to do with distributing information abroad.

 

Here we've got some Targeted Individual nonsense. Targeted individuals, basically, are randos who think the government is stalking and monitoring them for (usually) no apparent reason.

 

Apparently, these Targeted Individuals are attacked and secretly tortured with microwaves for getting into arguments with their neighbors. That definitely seems like a very real thing that happens and not at all like one of my mom's stories about people who used to come into the emergency room at Boston University Hospital in the 1970s. Also I am sorry for sending you into the super dumb internet rabbit hole you are inevitably going to fall into.

 

Oh and here are more of them. Plus Edward Snowden who is a real person who actually exposed some real shit — which they are of course relating to their Targeted Individual shit.

 

Plus gangstalking, QAnon and some anti-Semitism for good measure.

 

According to the guy who made the map, he recently updated it to include more about gang stalking, which he claims Millie Weaver's documentary Shadow Gate proves is real. Yes, that's the Infowars chick who was arrested for robbery and domestic violence over the weekend.

 

Guess it really is all connected!

 

https://www.wonkette.com/someone-made-a-totally-bananapants-satanic-pedo-cabal-network-map

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 1:18 a.m. No.10328330   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8335 >>4880

Repost from Q Research General #13214

 

>>10327100 (pb)

 

Found this gem of a Creepy Joe diss and Q nod from Aussie TV:

 

Biden accused of inappropriate touching | Nine News Australia

 

Published on 4 Apr 2019

 

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has pledged to be 'more mindful' of people's personal space following accusations of inappropriate behaviour from four women.

 

https://youtu.be/kCf2Nfd9iCc

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 6:34 p.m. No.10335997   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6010 >>7615 >>4880

Exhaustive Bipartisan Senate Investigation Finds ‘No Credible Evidence’ for Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory

 

WikiLeaks and Fox News stoked baseless theories about the murdered Democratic staffer

 

By ANDY KROLL - AUGUST 18, 2020

 

1/2

 

WASHINGTON — The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday released its most comprehensive report yet on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, revealing new details about Russia’s attempts to disrupt the campaign and help elect Donald Trump.

 

The new report goes the furthest of any U.S. government document in debunking the viral conspiracy theory that a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer named Seth Rich played a part in the 2016 hacking and leaking of internal DNC documents later published by WikiLeaks. This baseless theory about Rich was stoked by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during several interviews he gave in 2016. But the Senate intelligence committee’s new report found no evidence for this theory, describing Assange’s comments related to Rich as “disinformation” and a “conspiracy theory.”

 

The nearly thousand-page report is the result of years of work by a bipartisan team of Intelligence Committee staffers. Every Democratic and Republican senator who sits on the GOP-led committee — with the exception of Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho — endorsed the report, according to a spokeswoman for the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). (Risch explained his “no” vote but also concurred that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his underlings “conducted a calculated and despicable campaign to undermine the 2016 election for nefarious purposes.”)

 

As Rolling Stone recently reported, the baseless theories about Seth Rich became a global phenomenon thanks in large part to Fox News, which published an explosive story in May 2017 that claimed Rich — not Russian intelligence officers — was WikiLeaks’ source. Fox’s claims were repeatedly amplified by Sean Hannity, one of the most watched and influential cable news hosts in America, who said that if a “disgruntled” Democrat had leaked the DNC emails, it “could completely shatter the narrative that, in fact, WikiLeaks was working with the Russians,” and could also mean that Rich was murdered “under very suspicious circumstances.”

 

The Rich theories were also hyped on popular shows like Fox & Friends and by Fox talking heads such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who said on-air — without citing evidence — that Rich “apparently was assassinated at four in the morning, having given WikiLeaks something like 23,000 — I’m sorry — 53,000 emails and 17,000 attachments.”

 

But the veracity of Fox’s bombshell story immediately came into question, and a week later Fox News retracted it, saying the story “not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all of our reporting.” Subsequent findings by the Trump-era Justice Department and congressional investigations led by Democrats and Republicans reaffirmed the conclusion that Russia carried out the DNC hack-and-leak operation. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had made statements “designed to obscure” the source of the DNC leaks and of having “implied falsely” that Rich was his source.

 

The new Senate intelligence committee report — the fifth and final installment in the committee’s investigation into Russian interference — goes the furthest in debunking the unfounded theory that Rich had anything to do with the DNC hack-and-leak operation carried out, according to the U.S. government, by members of the GRU Russian intelligence agency.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 6:35 p.m. No.10336010   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7615 >>4880

>>10335997

 

2/2

 

In a section titled “WikiLeaks Promotes Alternative, False Theories About the Source of the GRU Materials,” the bipartisan Senate report notes that Assange alluded to Rich during an August 2016 interview in a way that suggested Rich might’ve been a source for WikiLeaks. But Assange did this, the report claims, to “obscure the source of the stolen emails.” The report continues, “Assange’s use of such disinformation suggests Assange possibly knew of and sought to hide Russian involvement.”

 

That disinformation, the report says, included Seth Rich:

 

One narrative from Assange involved a conspiracy theory that Seth Rich, a DNC staffer killed in a botched robbery, was the source of the DNC email leak and had been murdered in response. On August 9, Assange gave an interview on Dutch television implying that Rich was the source of the DNC emails, and that day WikiLeaks announced that it would be issuing a reward for information about Rich’s murder. In a subsequent interview, Assange commented about the WikiLeaks interest in the Rich case as concerning “someone who’s potentially connected to our publication.”

 

The bipartisan Senate report was unequivocal about the factual basis for this theory: “The Committee found that no credible evidence supports this narrative.”

 

As part of ongoing litigation involving Seth Rich’s family, Fox News, and other individuals who promoted the Rich theories, two federal judges have approved requests to seek testimony from Assange. If forced to testify, Assange, who is currently imprisoned in the United Kingdom, could finally be forced to explain why he invoked Seth Rich’s name.

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/senate-intelligence-russia-report-seth-rich-wikileaks-1046134/

 

 

Q Post #4016

 

Apr 30 2020 16:04:19 (EST)

 

Was the DNC was hacked by Russia?

CIA [BRENNAN] FORCE?

Seth Rich internal DL hand-to-hand pass USA?

Crowdstrike code insert?

If FBI [CHAIN OF COMMAND] was corrupt what other investigations were corrupted?

WHO DID THEY PROVIDE COVER FOR?

HOW FAR BACK DID IT GO?

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4016

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 6:42 p.m. No.10336102   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Scott Morrison expects a successful coronavirus vaccine would be mandatory in Australia

 

Australians are likely to face mandatory coronavirus vaccinations if Prime Minister Scott Morrison gets his wish.

 

The nation is a step closer to gaining access to a vaccine, with the Federal Government securing an international deal to produce a vaccine frontrunner locally if trials succeed.

 

If that happens, Mr Morrison expects Australians will have to undergo mandatory vaccination.

 

"I would expect it to be as mandatory as you could possibly make it," he told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

 

"There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds, but that should be the only basis.

 

"We are talking about a pandemic that has destroyed the global economy and taken the lives of hundreds of thousands all around the world, and over 430 Australians here."

 

The Government has signed an agreement with UK-based drug company AstraZeneca to secure the potential COVID-19 vaccine, being developed by Oxford University.

 

If the vaccine clears trials, the Federal Government would manufacture it and make it free for all Australians.

 

But that's unlikely to be until next year at the earliest, Mr Morrison said.

 

While the Prime Minister outlined his preference, he said the Government was yet to make a decision on making the vaccine mandatory.

 

He said the Government would take medical advice on the rollout, including on who would get access first, with medical workers and the nation's most vulnerable people likely to be a priority.

 

During a round of morning media, Mr Morrison repeatedly said he expected pushback from anti-vaccination campaigners.

 

But he repeatedly said he was the minister who introduced a "no jab, no play" rule, and his stance on vaccinations was clear and would not change.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-19/morrison-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-mandatory/12572992

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 7:26 p.m. No.10336656   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6680 >>4880

Innocent: Cardinal George Pell’s private prison journal to be released

 

High-ranking Catholic cardinal spent 404 days in jail — here’s what he wrote while there

 

SAN FRANCISCO — The first volume of Cardinal George Pell’s prison journal is set to be published as a book and an e-book by Ignatius Press in early 2021 and as digital installments starting on August 17, 2020. The unprecedented work, PRISON JOURNAL: THE CARDINAL MAKES HIS APPEAL, features the writings of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who was unjustly convicted of sex abuse until his appeal was unanimously overturned by the Australian High Court and encompasses his 404 days in solitary confinement.

 

Cardinal George Pell, as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, which had been newly created by Pope Francis to manage the finances of the Vatican, was accused of sexually assaulting choir boys in his former cathedral during the 1990s. So sure that the charges were false, the cardinal voluntarily left Rome for Australia to stand trial. The trial ended in a hung jury, but when the case was retried, Cardinal Pell was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison.

 

“PRISON JOURNAL is going to be a spiritual classic,” said Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., editor of Ignatius Press.

 

On April 7, 2020, after fifty-nine weeks in jail, the High Court in Australia overturned his conviction and Cardinal George Pell was finally free. PRISON JOURNAL contains his reflections not only on the pain of being falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned, but also on the meaning of suffering in the life of a Christian and the divine command to forgive one’s enemies.

 

“I hold no ill will to my accused, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough,” Cardinal Pell said in a statement after his acquittal.

 

Cardinal Pell was subject to immense vitriol during his trial as the State of Victoria sought to convict him with no corroborating evidence or witness testimony. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and during his prison time. Indeed, the High Court, when it overturned his conviction, said that there is “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof."

 

PRISON JOURNAL “is a testament to the capacity of God’s grace to inspire insight, magnanimity and goodness amidst wickedness, evil and injustice. That it was written so beautifully bears witness to the Christian character that divine grace formed in its author, George Cardinal Pell,” said George Weigel, author of “The Next Pope,” in his introduction.

 

Please visit www.PellPrisonJournal.com for more information about the book. Digital installments of PRISON JOURNAL will be available starting on August 17, 2020, for $5 per month.

 

https://religionnews.com/2020/08/18/innocent-cardinal-george-pells-private-prison-journal-to-be-released/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 7:29 p.m. No.10336680   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10336656

Cardinal George Pell's Prison Journal

 

Innocent!

 

That was the final verdict, but not before Cardinal George Pell endured a grueling five years of accusations, trials, conviction, humiliation, character assassination, and finally more than a year of imprisonment after being convicted by an Australian appellate court for a crime he didn’t commit.

 

Immediately led off to jail in handcuffs and with shackles binding his ankles following that trial on March 13, 2019, the Australian prelate began a six-year prison sentence for “historical sex abuse”. After enduring more than 13 months in prison, eight of those in solitary confinement, the original sentence was overturned when Cardinal Pell was vindicated by an unanimous 7-0 decision rendered by the Australian High Court. His victory over an extreme travesty of justice was not just personal, but one for the entire Catholic Church.

 

Bearing no ill will to his accuser, judges, prison workers, journalists, and those harboring and expressing hate for him, the cardinal used his time in prison as a kind of “extended retreat” and eloquently filled pages with, among other details, his daily activities, personal thoughts, love for his fellow man, and beautiful, moving prayers.

 

And now his extraordinary testimony to strength, perseverance, love, and grace is available for purchase.

 

Choose from two options to read this ground-breaking work.

 

Subscription to Weekly Digital Installments

 

Subscribe for $5 per month to receive digital access to new chapters as they become available. Pick your preferred format for eBooks using the links below and fill out the form to start your subscription.

 

Preorder the Book

 

Preorder your paperback copy of Volume 1 of Cardinal Pell's Prison Journal and we'll ship it to you when it is completed.

 

Donate to Support this Project

 

Thanks be to God, Cardinal Pell is now out of jail and back in action. But he has the ongoing challenge of meeting the many legal expenses which were necessary to right the terrible injustice done to him. One way of doing this is to publish his story.

 

With your help, we can proceed with this project and offer Cardinal Pell appropriate advances on these volumes, which he can then use to remove much of the worry he now has about his legal debts.

 

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation for this purpose.

 

https://www.pellprisonjournal.com/

 

>[Cardinal Pell]

>Dark to LIGHT.

 

https://qanon.pub/?q=Dark%20to%20LIGHT

https://qanon.pub/?q=pecking

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 7:46 p.m. No.10336885   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Paedophile would buy victim ice-cream before abuse

 

A Bendigo paedophile who would buy a 12-year-old boy ice-cream after raping and abusing him is awaiting sentence after finally being brought to justice after almost 50 years.

 

Peter Raymond Hartland, now 70, was 23 when he subjected the boy to a series of horrific sexual abuse acts in 1973-74.

 

The Victorian County Court heard Hartland would take the victim and other boys to the corner store for ice-cream.

 

The abuse began in Hartland’s car on the way to the store, when he put his hand down the victim’s pants and kissed his neck, telling him, “It’s good for you,” prosecutor Nicholas Batten said.

 

The prosecution said on multiple occasions Hartland abused the boy while driving — after forcing the victim to sit in his lap.

 

After several instances of abuse in his car Hartland took the victim to his house when no one was home and “told [the victim] he had made him an ice cream and to come inside,” where he raped the boy.

 

“On another occasion Hartland again took (the victim) to his family’s home,” Mr Batten said.

 

“[The victim] was fearful and got out of the car upon arrival and ran away and hid behind a car.

 

“Hartland grabbed him by the arm and told (the victim) he made him an ice cream. (The victim) said he didn’t want one. Hartland dragged him inside,” where he again raped the boy.

 

The court heard another rape occurred at a sleepover in another town with other adults and children while everyone was asleep.

 

Hartland held the boy down for five and ten minutes and caused him “one of the worst pains he had ever felt,” Mr Batten said.

 

Hartland then “pulled him close and kissed him on the back of his head and neck” and fell asleep while the victim “lay there too scared to sleep.”

 

The court heard the abuse stopped when the victim began running away and hiding whenever Hartland approached him.

 

The victim reported the horrific acts to police in 2018.

 

A year after this he called Hartland, while police were recording, to confront him about his rapes.

 

The court heard Hartland said, “sorry about that, I’ve owned up.”

 

“[The victim] asked him what he had said and Hartland repeated ‘I’m saying I’m sorry about that and I mean it’,” Mr Batten said.

 

Hartland pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent assault and five charges of buggery in February.

 

Judge Frank Gucciardo is considering his sentence.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/paedophile-would-buy-victim-icecream-before-abuse/news-story/cb55593136048cd9ce87e15bc822cb2b

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 8:08 p.m. No.10337102   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Too fat for jail: Paedophile teacher won't be locked up for sexually abusing six students - because he is morbidly obese

 

A paedophile teacher who is morbidly obese won't spend a single day in jail - because it would cost up to $40,000 to transport him interstate.

 

Peter John O'Neill, 61, is at home in Canberra while he awaits sentencing. He is in a wheelchair, requires a full-time carer and has been deemed unfit to travel by the court.

 

Chief Justice Alan Blow said in a previous hearing he was limited to handing down a suspended jail sentence as there was no point in placing O'Neill under home detention as he cannot leave anyway, according to The Mercury.

 

O'Neill pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault and one count of penetrative sexual abuse of a young person and is due to be sentenced on August 25.

 

Former students expressed their anger in a Facebook group called Old Dominic Scholars: 'I couldn’t care less how sick this filth is — his final days should be in jail,' one man said.

 

'Nothing will give back what he took, but he must pay in some way,' wrote another.

 

Defence barrister Greg Barns SC said a medical charter aircraft to transport his client would cost between $25,000 to $40,000 in a previous court hearing.

 

The 61-year-old cannot serve time interstate for Tasmanian crimes, has no money to pay a fine and cannot perform community service due to his medical conditions.

 

Rachel Grguervic, who left Dominic College in 1989 said: 'If he doesn’t go to jail and just dies quietly, he doesn’t deserve that. I don’t get why these bastards get bloody protected all the time.'

 

Ms Grguervic previously told The Mercury O’Neill wasn’t just a paedophile but a physical and emotional abuser.

 

'I was told that I was fat and dumb, that I’d never amount to anything, no-one would ever love me. If you weren’t concentrating he would hit your fingers with a ruler.'

 

Baden Daly had a history of abuse before he attended the school and said he was physically and emotionally traumatised by O'Neill, who would hit him and put him down.

 

'To end up with him as a teacher, for him to do it all over again when I thought I was safe, it was traumatic.

 

'I don’t think an apology really cuts it,' he said.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8637163/Paedophile-teacher-wont-locked-sexually-abusing-six-students-morbidly-obese.html

 

 

Paedophile Offenders: Peter John O’Neill

 

Morbidly Obese Paedophile Avoids Prison

 

Peter John O’Neill has pleaded guilty to abusing six boys from three schools where he taught in the 80’s.

 

O’Neill taught at Dominic College, Burnie High School and St Virgil’s in Tasmania throughout the 1980’s. So far we know of six boys who have been abused by this monster.

 

But justice won’t be served for Peter John O’Neill, who currently resides in Canberra. In spite of pleading guilty to destroying the innocence of six young boys, O’Neill’s significant body size means he is unable to walk or even leave his home. He is unsuitable for imprisonment as he is morbidly obese, wheelchair bound and housebound. He cannot work and is broke. He needs a full time carer to shower and go to the toilet. He feeds on junk food almost constantly while he is awake. It is estimated he weighs over 300 kilos. The services he requires are not available in prison.

 

He would normally be transferred to Risdon Prison in Hobart to serve out his sentence. However the Tasmanian government have refused to pay the substantial cost of medical transport from Canberra to Hobart, possibly as much as $40,000.

 

The question has to be asked, is it the responsibility of the Tasmanian taxpayer to transport O’Neill to Hobart, then pay for his daily care during his incarceration? Or should he be sent to Risdon Prison…forced onto a restricted diet and lose a substantial proportion of his massive frame?

 

The impact this will have on his victims is significant. After going through their own personal hell, these victims are now unable to see their abuser face justice in the penal system. Instead, O’Neill will serve out his sentence in his own home, with his full time carer, feasting all day on his favourite foods.

 

O’Neill’s sentence will be handed down on the 25th August. It is seems likely he will receive a suspended prison sentence as there is no other option.

 

https://kelsolawyers.com/au/paedophile-offenders/peter-john-oneill/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 8:59 p.m. No.10337615   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

>>10335997

>>10336010

George Papadopoulos Tweet

 

The Senate report on Russia was so debased from reality that I have never been more confident that if we did not have a professional like Durham investigating the traitors behind this massive scandal, that our own government and “allies” set up, the republic would not survive.

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1295841623033733127

 

 

Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election - Volume 5

 

https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/publications/report-select-committee-intelligence-united-states-senate-russian-active-measures

 

https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/report_volume5.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 9:38 p.m. No.10337972   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7978 >>4836

General pulls rank on Premier's quarantine claims

 

1/2

 

The commander of the Defence response to the pandemic has confirmed an ADF offer to make troops available to strengthen Victoria's hotel quarantine scheme was not taken up by the Andrews government.

 

Lieutenant-General John Frewen, the head of the Defence COVID-19 Taskforce, told a Senate inquiry the same support offered to NSW and Queensland to establish and maintain their hotel quarantine regimes was available to Victoria.

 

The general's testimony made clear that had Victoria sought ADF assistance on the same scale as NSW, hundreds of personnel could have been mobilised to bolster the state’s quarantine arrangements.

 

It prompted the Victorian opposition to renew its call for Premier Daniel Andrews to resign for misleading the public about a crucial element of the deadly hotel quarantine debacle.

 

Breakouts from two quarantine hotels in Melbourne were identified in scientific evidence presented to the Coate inquiry on Tuesday as the source of nearly all cases in Victoria’s COVID-19 second wave, now responsible for more than 300 deaths.

 

Dr Charles Alpren, an epidemiologist with Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services, told the hotel quarantine inquiry that 90 per cent of infections since late May could be traced to the Rydges on Swanston hotel.

 

Subsequent outbreaks at the Stamford Plaza hotel were responsible for the remainder of second-wave cases, Dr Alpren told the hearing.

 

General Frewen's testimony confirmed a timeline of events published last week by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald setting out the ADF's standing offer to help with hotel quarantine from March 27, the day the national cabinet agreed to back the mandatory quarantine program.

 

It contradicted what Mr Andrews said last week when he told a Victorian parliamentary hearing that "ADF support was not on offer" for hotel quarantine.

 

Mr Andrews told the hearing that it was "fundamentally incorrect to assert that there were hundreds of ADF staff on offer and somehow, someone said no".

 

Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said the Lieutenant General's account showed that the Premier had provided "false evidence" to the parliamentary hearing.

 

"A decorated officer has confirmed that the ADF did offer Victoria support, including for security in hotel quarantine," Mr O'Brien said.

 

"This proves that the Premier gave false evidence to the Parliament when he claimed this did not occur. A Premier willing to lie to Victorians can’t be trusted to lead us through this pandemic. It’s time for him to go."

 

Mr Andrews said he stood by his previous comments.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 9:39 p.m. No.10337978   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

>>10337972

 

2/2

 

General Frewen was questioned about the ADF's willingness to support Victoria's quarantine regime by Liberal senator James Paterson.

 

Senator Paterson: "To be very clear here, ADF assistance was available to Victoria on an equal basis as every other state throughout this crisis, was it not?"

 

Lieutenant General Frewen: "Yes Senator."

 

Senator Paterson: "And if the Victorian government did not take up that assistance in the same way that the NSW government did or the Queensland government did or indeed, the West Australian government did, that is a matter for the Victorian government, isn’t it?"

 

Lieutenant General Frewen: "Yes Senator."

 

The taskforce commander’s testimony also conflicts with a statement issued last week by Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp.

 

On the day of Mr Andrews’ appearance before the parliamentary committee, Mr Crisp said: "Representatives of the ADF participated in the Operation Soteria planning and co-ordination meetings on 27 and 28 March 2020. During these discussions I did not seek nor did representatives of the ADF offer assistance as part of the hotel quarantine program."

 

General Frewen told the Senate that on March 27, the ADF "stood to" 100 personnel (put them on standby) in Victoria to help establish the mandatory hotel quarantine regime announced that day by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

 

"In the PM’s offer, the ADF, it was made plain, would be available to all of the states and territories to help with whatever arrangements were put in place for quarantine and quarantine enforcement," the general said.

 

Mr Crisp referred The Age to his previous statement. "My position has not changed," he said.

 

General Frewen said the ADF offer for help was quickly taken up by the NSW and Queensland governments, with the ADF contingent in NSW swelling to 360 personnel within the first week of the hotel quarantine regime.

 

ADF personnel were also used in Western Australia’s quarantine hotels.

 

Premier Andrews told the parliamentary committee that ADF support in NSW was limited to transporting returned travellers from airports to quarantine hotels.

 

General Frewen said ADF personnel were used in transport and baggage handling, concierge work in hotel foyers, enforcement of quarantine rules for hotel guests and even room service.

 

He said there had been 14 requests by Victoria for ADF assistance since the COVID-19 crisis began. Of these, only one – a request for aerial surveillance – had been refused. A further two requests were withdrawn by Victoria and 11 had been approved.

 

General Frewen said one of the withdrawn requests was a June 24 request by Mr Crisp for 850 ADF personnel to help with hotel quarantine. He said the ADF was given no explanation for why Mr Crisp rescinded the request the next day.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/general-pulls-rank-on-premier-s-quarantine-claims-20200818-p55myl.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 18, 2020, 11:43 p.m. No.10338955   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

The Plot Against the President (Trailer) by Amanda Milius

 

Mike Cernovich

 

Published on 18 Aug 2020

 

Based on the best-selling book, The Plot Against the President movie is coming soon!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxpf1E2D5OU

 

 

Pro-Trump Russiagate Doc in the Works From Daughter of Hollywood Legend

 

Amanda Milius, whose father is ‘Apocalypse Now’ screenwriter John Milius, shot in secret ‘The Plot Against the President,’ with participants including Devin Nunes, Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone.

 

There’s a hush-hush Russiagate documentary on the horizon from a director who hails from Hollywood royalty. But this one makes the case for President Trump.

 

Amanda Milius, daughter of legendary screenwriter-director John Milius and a State Department alum, has directed The Plot Against the President, based on Lee Smith’s 2019 best seller of the same name.

 

Milius, who optioned the book in manuscript form last summer and stepped down in early March from her post as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Content in the State Department’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs, began working on the doc in secrecy shortly thereafter. Over the past three months, she interviewed Russiagate critics including Congressman Devin Nunes, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Mike Cernovich and Roger Stone as well as Gen. Michael Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell.

 

Milius’ father, the screenwriter of such classics as Apocalypse Now and Dirty Harry, is such a larger-than-life figure in Hollywood that he has inspired characters in at least two films: The Big Lebowski(played by John Goodman) and Zeroville (Seth Rogen). His politics have long deviated from the industry’s centrist Democratic leanings (he and Charlton Heston served on the board of the NRA at the same time). Amanda, who attended USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and worked in the film industry for a decade, also shares his pro-Trump sentiments.

 

"Weirdly, I’ve had random people in and out of L.A. claim my father somehow got me my job in politics when I began working for the administration, which is really odd,” she tells THR. “I never got accused of nepotism in Hollywood, which is where it lives, you'd think. But that's definitely not what happened. I walked into a campaign office and volunteered. My dad is not buddies with the president. He loves him. But they don't know each other. Though they would absolutely get along. Actually, my dad would make a great Defense Secretary. Full Dr. Strangelove energy."

 

The elder Milius wasn’t involved in Plot Against the President, but his daughter says he’s excited to see it and is “very obsessed with the story as it unfolds in the news.”

 

The film was financed by a handful of private investors that the Washington-based director declines to name. She produced alongside Jonathan Eisenman. The production companies are Wollman Prods. and 1AMDC Prods. The producers are currently in talks with a few distributors and are planning an Oct. 1 release in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. Milius says the film will offer several additional bombshells that weren’t included in the book, whose thesis is that a coup was engineered by the American establishment elite, including the media, and targeted the president as well as the democratic process. (The author is a Middle East correspondent for The Weekly Standard.)

 

The director, who also is the daughter of actress Celia Kaye, shot more than 70 hours of footage and is currently editing the film. She says Plot Against the President should appeal beyond conservatives and is significant to both Republicans and Democrats. In fact, a small but notable group of progressive commentators and academics including Glenn Greenwald and Stephen F. Cohen have expressed skepticism and outrage over Russiagate and the way the intelligence community conducted surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016.

 

“I definitely think this ought to be of extreme interest to all Americans because surveillance and law enforcement abuses are not a partisan issue,” says Milius, who also courted high-profile left-wing voices for the film. “This isn’t about the campaign. It's not even really about the president exactly. It's about people with power behaving badly and the destruction of democracy and American institutions.”

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pro-trump-russiagate-doc-in-the-works-from-daughter-of-hollywood-legend-exclusive

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 19, 2020, 11:32 p.m. No.10354697   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10315902

National science week - cyberspace warfare

 

Department of Defence Australia

 

Published on 19 Aug 2020

 

The Australian Air Force is investing heavily in professionalising the cyberspace warfare categories. We're recruiting, we're skilling and providing our people with the tools they need to fight the adversary in cyberspace.

 

462 Squadron are leading the fight against an invisible enemy and protecting the cyberspace domain for Air Force.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbhvQTJ0uEs

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 19, 2020, 11:54 p.m. No.10354951   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9816 >>4880

'What are you planning to say?' Pope quizzed whistleblower priest, book claims

 

A low-ranking parish priest who agreed to give evidence against an archbishop accused of concealing child sexual abuse was mysteriously summoned to the Vatican before he was due to testify and allegedly quizzed by the Pope about what he was planning to say in court.

 

As the priest emerged from the 2016 meeting, Cardinal George Pell was allegedly waiting outside. "Look what I have done for you," Cardinal Pell said, and lifted his hand for the priest to kiss his ring.

 

According to The Altar Boys by investigative reporter Suzanne Smith, there's no allegation Cardinal Pell intended to put pressure on Father Glen Walsh not to give evidence.

 

The explosive claim about the papal meeting, contained in The Altar Boys, indicates that the pressure brought to bear on priests who betray the brotherhood extends right up to the Vatican, and has prompted calls for a police investigation.

 

Father Walsh was a Crown witness in the case against Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson when he met with the pontiff on February 9, 2016. Archbishop Wilson was accused of failing to report to police the allegations of two former altar boys who claimed they had been abused by a priest in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese in the 1970s. At the time he was the highest-ranking Catholic ever to be charged with concealment offences.

 

Father Walsh later told confidants that the Pope asked him why he was involved in a court case against an archbishop, what he was planning to say in court, and who was walking with him on the journey. Father Walsh said he did not trust the interpreter and offered scant detail.

 

It was the pinnacle of what Father Walsh perceived as a sustained campaign by the priesthood to get him to toe the line on child sexual abuse. He was allegedly frozen out of the Maitland-Newcastle diocese after he defied the bishop to report a fellow priest for child sexual abuse in 2004 and was not welcomed back until early 2017.

 

But on October 24, 2017 – a little over two weeks before the archbishop's trial was set down – Newcastle-Maitland Bishop Bill Wright told Father Walsh he had no future in the diocese, according to an email Father Walsh sent to a friend. The email didn't say that this decision was because of his giving evidence.

 

"[Bishop Wright] will look overseas (Third World) where I can live out my days in the service to Christ and his poor, preferably as a contemplative to a leper colony," Father Walsh wrote.

 

Two weeks later, before he could give evidence, Father Walsh took his own life.

 

Archbishop Philip Wilson was found guilty of concealment charges in May 2018 on evidence that included statements by Father Walsh, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.

 

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge said the book's revelations showed the need for a police inquiry into Father Walsh's death that would consider the actions of the Catholic hierarchy, including Pope Francis.

 

"Pope Francis must explain why he recalled Father Glen [Walsh], one of more than 400,000 priests from across the world, to the Vatican to answer questions about what his evidence would be in the criminal prosecution of Archbishop Wilson," Mr Shoebridge said.

 

"Given the Pope's authority over Glen, these actions can clearly be seen as an effort to intimidate him in order to protect the church."

 

Bob O'Toole of the Clergy Abused Network, who wants a coronial inquiry into more than 70 alumni of Newcastle's Catholic high schools who have taken their lives, said Father Walsh had been treated appallingly in the lead-up to his death.

 

"It's entirely inappropriate for Glen to be instructed to take a trip to the Vatican to speak to the Pope about what his evidence will entail," Mr O'Toole said.

 

Cardinal George Pell and Bishop Bill Wright were approached for comment.

 

Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/what-are-you-planning-to-say-pope-quizzed-whistleblower-priest-book-claims-20200819-p55n45.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 12:44 a.m. No.10355349   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

‘People that love our country’: Donald Trump praises QAnon conspiracists

 

US President Donald Trump has praised the supporters of QAnon, a convoluted, pro-Trump conspiracy theory, saying its adherents “love our country”.

 

Mr Trump made the comments even as Facebook disabled the accounts of hundreds of groups that promoted its messaging.

 

At a news conference at the White House on Wednesday (local time), Mr Trump courted the support of those who give credence to the conspiracy theory, saying, “I heard that these are people that love our country.”

 

It was his first public comment on the subject.

 

“I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate.

 

In a reference to civil unrest seen in a number of cities across the US, Mr Trump described QAnon followers as “people that don’t like seeing what’s going on in places like Portland … Chicago and New York”.

 

QAnon has ricocheted around the darker corners of the internet since late 2017 but has crept into mainstream politics.

 

The baseless theory centres on an alleged anonymous, high-ranking government official known as “Q” who shares information about an anti-Trump “deep state” often tied to satanism and child sex trafficking.

 

Mr Trump insisted he had not heard much about the movement, “other than I understand they like me very much” and “it is gaining in popularity”.

 

Mr Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts and QAnon supporters flock to his rallies.

 

An FBI bulletin last May warned that conspiracy theory-driven extremists had become a domestic terrorism threat. The bulletin specifically mentioned QAnon.

 

Pressed on QAnon theories that Mr Trump is allegedly saving the nation from a satanic cult of child sex traffickers, Mr Trump claimed ignorance but asked “is that supposed to be a bad thing? If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it.”

 

The movement has been powered almost entirely by social media, amassing a large following and, more recently, a toehold in US politics.

 

Mr Trump’s comments came a week after he endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her GOP House primary in Georgia last week. Ms Greene called the QAnon conspiracy theory “something worth listening to and paying attention to” and called Q a “patriot”.

 

Mr Trump praised her as a “future Republican Star”.

 

A spokesman for Democrat Joe Biden, Mr Trump’s opponent in the November 3 election, said the Republican president was “again giving voice to violence”.

 

“After calling neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville ‘fine people’ and tear gassing peaceful protesters following the murder of George Floyd, Donald Trump just sought to legitimise a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat,” a Biden campaign spokesman said.

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/us-news/trump-news/2020/08/20/donald-trump-qanon/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 12:50 a.m. No.10355380   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5462 >>5759 >>6031 >>4919

Billionaire Aussie Trucking Magnate Hosted Ghislaine Maxwell & Jeffrey Epstein on Sydney Harbour

 

The family behind the Lindsay Fox trucking empire once hosted Ghislaine Maxwell and her then-beau Jeffrey Epstein during a visit to Australia, according to a report from the 1990s.

 

The couple was treated to a harbour cruise on the company’s 100ft yacht during the NSW leg of their December 1995 trip, according an article from The Sydney Morning Herald archive.

 

The newspaper observed the party was “one of the most coveted Christmas invitations in Sydney. This may have something to do with the guests of honour.”

 

Maxwell and Epstein had also stopped off in Melbourne to spend more time with patriarch Lindsay Fox and his family.

 

The article describes “millionaire” Epstein as: “a property developer, who is given to zipping around Manhattan in a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit.”

 

His then-girlfriend is “the beautiful, feisty daughter of the late disgraced media baron Robert Maxwell.”

 

We wonder if they crossed paths with Lindsay’s son, Peter? He is in the media for managing to get approval to move his family from Victoria to Queensland.

 

Mr Fox (junior) is the executive chairman of Linfox Logistics and his family is staying on the Gold Coast after persuading the Queensland government he drives trucks, which entitles him to an exemption from the state’s ban on Victorian visitors.

 

Now back to the 1995 trip to Australia, a source questioned taking Ghislaine on a boat cruise because her father was found drowned near his yacht The Lady Ghislaine.

 

“You can’t visit Sydney and not go out on the harbour – it’s like going to Paris and avoiding the Eiffel Tower,” a source told the newspaper.

 

The guest list included the disgraced financier Rodney Adler and billionaire James Packer.

 

Epstein survivor Maria Farmer had told us earlier this year the two alleged coconspirators had taken a trip to Australia in the mid-1990s. We just needed to find the details.

 

What was Epstein really doing there?

 

https://jeffreyepsteinpodcast.com/2020/08/15/billionaire-aussie-trucking-magnate-hosted-ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-on-sydney-harbour/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 1:05 a.m. No.10355462   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5759 >>6031 >>4919

>>10355380

Old Newspaper Clipping Claims Epstein and Maxwell Partied with Australian Billionaires

 

It describes the infamous couple at a private party on Sydney Harbour hosted by trucking magnate Lindsay Fox—who now denies the whole thing.

 

An archived newspaper clipping indicates that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were guests of honour on a Sydney Harbour Christmas cruise hosted by Australian billionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox in 1995—along with media mogul James Packer and musician Deni Hines.

 

The article, published in The Sydney Morning Herald on December 24 of that year, tells of how Ghislaine Maxwell—“the beautiful, feisty, 34-year-old daughter of the late disgraced media baron Robert Maxwell”—and her “millionaire American beau” Jeffrey Epstein—“a property developer who is given to zipping around Manhattan in a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit”—were hosted at an exclusive party on board Fox’s 100-foot yacht on the harbour.

 

Packer and his then-girlfriend Hines were also at the party, along with Rodney Adler, former director of FAI Insurances group, and his wife Lindy. Maxwell and Epstein had reportedly been spending time in Melbourne with the Fox family before travelling to Sydney for a “brief visit”.

 

The cruise was described in the SMH article as “one of the most coveted Christmas invitations in Sydney”.

 

Lindsay Fox, who founded logistics and supply company Linfox in 1956 and is now non-executive chairman, has remained one of Australia’s wealthiest people for more than 30 years. In 2019, Forbes ranked him the 10th richest person in Australia and The Australian Financial Review assessed his net worth at $3.31 billion AUD. He is one of only thirteen living individuals to have been listed on every Financial Review Rich List since the first in 1984.

 

In 1995, the top position on that list was held by Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer—broadly considered to be one of the most powerful Australian media proprietors of the twentieth century—whose son James was reportedly on the cruise with Maxwell and Epstein.

 

James, who would later go on to helm worldwide gambling empire Crown Resorts, has himself held the title of richest person in Australia at various points over the years. Following a number of poor investment decisions and financial losses—including a multi-million dollar settlement in his divorce with Mariah Carey—he currently sits at number nine, according to Forbes.

 

News that Fox hosted Maxwell and Epstein on Sydney Harbour started trending on Reddit after the newspaper clipping resurfaced, with a post referencing the newspaper article garnering close to 1,000 upvotes in a matter of days.

 

It was just five years prior to the events mentioned in the story that Epstein purchased a secluded mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, where he has since been accused of allegedly sexually abusing underage girls.

 

In July of this year, 12 months after Epstein was arrested and indicted on sex trafficking charges—and 11 months after he was found dead in his prison cell—Maxwell was accused of helping recruit and sexually abuse young girls on his behalf. She pleaded not guilty and her lawyers said she “vigorously denies the charges.”

 

VICE approached Lindsay Fox for comment on the article, and received the following response via text message from his senior executive Ari Suss:

 

“Despite the contents of the story (of 24/12/95), Lindsay has never met Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell—neither in Sydney, nor Melbourne. Indeed, at the time of the ‘harbour cruise’ in Sydney as suggested by the article, Lindsay’s diary records confirm that he was in Hawaii celebrating Christmas with family.”

 

When VICE contacted and questioned the reporter who wrote the article, Rosalind Reines, she replied via email stating: “Fox has now denied connecting with the couple in Sydney. But the article was never questioned by the Fox fam [sic] post print. If it had been untrue something would have been said.”

 

Reines went on to suggest that she has never been accused of fabricating stories or details, and has “never been sued for [defamation] in 18 years as a gossip columnist.” She also added that she “wasn’t on the boat” on the night in question, as she wasn’t invited.

 

Neither James Packer’s, Rodney Adler’s nor Deni Hynes’ representatives responded to a request for a comment by the time of publication.

 

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dzqnk/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-partied-australian-billionaires-lindsay-fox-james-packer-old-newspaper-claims

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 2:20 a.m. No.10355759   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6031 >>4919

>>10355380

>>10355462

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffery Epstein in Australia, 1995

 

HI RES SCANS

 

The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) • 24 Dec 1995, Sun • Page 85

 

Cap'n Bob's girl afloat

 

One of the most coveted Christmas invitations in Sydney was last night's proposed harbour cruise on a 100ft yacht organised by trucking magnate Lindsay Fox. This may have something to do with the guests of honour - Ghislaine Maxwell, the beautiful, feisty 34-year-old daughter of the late disgraced media baron Robert Maxwell, and her millionaire American beau, Jeffery Epstein, a property developer who is given to zipping around Manhattan in a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit.

 

The couple is on a fleeting visit to Sydney after stopping off in Melbourne and spending some time with he Fox family.

 

Among those invited on last night's cruise were FAI chief Rodney Adler and his wife, Lindy, as well as James Packer and new girlfriend Deni Hines.

 

Ghislaine, who has distanced herself from her two bankrupted brothers, Kevin and Ian, is said to be a loyal supporter of her late father, Cap'n Bob.

 

Robert's demise after he disappeared off the decks of his luxury yacht The Lady Ghislaine was not thought to be a hot topic of conversation during last night's cruise. There are those who think it was bad taste taking Ghislaine out on the harbour at all but as one of the guests pointed out, "you can't visit Sydney and NOT go out on the Harbour - it's like going to Paris and avoiding the Eiffel Tower".

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 2:39 a.m. No.10355825   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5829 >>4880

He was a professional Australian rules footballer with the world at his feet. But behind closed doors he was repeatedly raping his two stepdaughters. This is their 40-year fight for justice.

 

1/2

 

Two brave sisters have won a 40 year-long fight to bring their famous stepfather to justice after he repeatedly raped and abused them during family holidays around Australia throughout their childhoods.

 

Victor Ian Melville, 65, moved his family around as he played Australian rules football in South Australia and Western Australia for clubs including West Adelaide, Claremont and Subiaco during the late 70s and early 80s.

 

But behind closed doors the serial paedophile subjected his two young stepdaughters, Lisa and Julie Morgan, to repeated sexual assaults that are too sickening to publish, in a campaign of sexual terror that lasted for a decade.

 

Melville finally admitted his crimes in New South Wales last week, pleading guilty in the Sydney District Court to historical child sex charges, 15 years after being found guilty of 32 similar offences in Perth, suddenly reversing decades of denials.

 

On Thursday the Morgan sisters told Daily Mail Australia of their relief to find closure at last, but slammed a system they say took far too long to hold their stepfather accountable for his horrendous crimes and provide support for his victims.

 

They also expressed their outrage at the Sydney District Court's failure to seek revocation of Melville's bail, meaning he remains a free man living in the same Western Australian community as his victims while he awaits sentencing.

 

'The failures of the system have been shocking. If you look at how many years we've been fighting, it just shouldn’t be like that,' Julie said.

 

'I just want to highlight the problems for victims in the justice system. Victims shouldn't have to chase these things up.

 

'It would be nice to know there was support there, and for us, there was not.'

 

The abuse started for Lisa Morgan in 1979 when she was just 11, and then in 1984 Melville began to prey on 12-year-old Julie.

 

'For all that time it was a secret, he also abused us everywhere we travelled as a family - New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Hawaii,' Julie, now 49, said.

 

'I don't know how I got up every day but I finished Year 12 and I went to university. Seeking justice has given me that energy to know that I'm doing the right thing.'

 

Julie shared one of the only pictures taken of her with her stepfather at their grandmother's house on the mid-north NSW coast.

 

It was there that one of the sickening attacks took place, on the hill where the pair posed for the seemingly innocent snap.

 

She said: 'He walked me up the hill and I was assaulted. At this time he had already been abusing me for three years.'

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 2:41 a.m. No.10355829   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10355825

 

2/2

 

Lisa, now 53, was horrified when she learned her paedophile stepfather was also abusing her little sister, having spent years believing it was only happening to her.

 

But the sisters said the predator was able to 'mentally manipulate' them both as the family moved around the country for his football career.

 

Julie said: 'He said to me "go and tell your mother, you think she doesn't know what's going on" so there was a feeling of "gosh, does she?" so that we didn't get close to each other.

 

That was a lie, as their mother never knew what he was doing to the sisters.

 

In 2005, Melville was convicted of 32 child sex crimes in Western Australia, the details of each offence too shocking to publish.

 

He was jailed for six years but refused to admit he was guilty and he lodged an appeal which resulted in four years being added to his sentence.

 

But in an extraordinary turn of events he was released into the same community as his stepdaughters in 2013 and authorities failed to tell the two girls about his movements.

 

He went on to publish a blog detailing his own football career in 2015 titled: 'Perth Personality of the Month'.

 

On a separate website, which shows pictures of his artwork, he also posted a chilling message which read: 'We continue to entrust our future with men and women who promise us the most not those who will do what's right.'

 

But on Friday, the girls saw their 40-year fight for justice come to an end as Melville pleaded guilty via video link at Sydney District Court to six charges relating to sexual abuse they suffered during family holidays in Taree in the 1980s.

 

Lisa, who now works in real estate, told Daily Mail Australia that the plea gave the girls some closure.

 

'To get that guilty plea from someone who had the character of not accepting any responsibility - it's about being believed,' she said.

 

Melville is still out on bail and is living in Perth as he awaits sentencing, as the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions did not seek revocation of his conditional bail.

 

'He shouldn't have that luxury. He pleaded not guilty right until the last minute. I have no doubt he felt he did no wrong,' Julie said.

 

Julie, now an interior architect and married with four children, said her childhood experiences have given her the strength to tackle future challenges.

 

Melville's next court appearance for the NSW charges is October 13.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8638135/Paedophile-Victor-Ian-Melville-abused-stepdaughters-holidays-brave-women-jail.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 2:55 a.m. No.10355898   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

Former Australian Idol winner Natalie Gauci promotes a series of bizarre and baseless conspiracy theories centred around US President Donald Trump

 

When she's not singing, it seems former Australian Idol winner Natalie Gauci is peddling conspiracy theories.

 

The 38-year-old recently shared a series of bizarre conspiracy theories centred around US President Donald Trump on social media.

 

The baseless claims alleged that Trump was quietly fighting against powerful paedophile rings, which were being run by the world's elite.

 

It was originally put out by conspiracy group QAnon, and has been gaining traction in recent months, particularly amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Followers of the group believe Trump is leading the fight against these paedophiles and their supposed 'deep state' allies, which include governments, the media and businesses.

 

In a post on Facebook on July 9, Natalie claimed: 'Sugar coating is for Willy Wonka people's…'

 

She then went off on a long and baseless rant, alleging Prince Harry left the royal family after discovering they had killed his mother, Princess Diana, and were 'satan worshipping, child traffickers'.

 

Among other sensational claims, Natalie also alleged that 'Bill Gates is pushing vaccines and global depopulation'.

 

She also claimed the billionaire businessman 'owns 15% of the WHO (World Health Organisation)'.

 

Natalie also alleged that 'dozens of the world's most powerful CEOs have stood down', and asked, 'What are they running from???'

 

'It's a war between Trump, "The Alliance" and the elites, bankers and mainstream media,' she wrote.

 

The bizarre claims are completely baseless and unfounded.

 

After winning Australian Idol back in 2007, Natalie stepped away from the limelight, before reemerging on this year's season of The Voice.

 

'I wasn't prepared for the outside world and all that fame so quickly. I didn't know who I was anymore, so I turned to drugs and alcohol,' Natalie told The Voice.

 

She added: 'I lost my way.'

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8642307/Australian-Idol-winner-Natalie-Gauci-promotes-series-bizarre-baseless-conspiracy-theories.html

 

https://www.facebook.com/nataliergauci/posts/3107282916032805

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 3:10 a.m. No.10355957   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5963 >>4880

Sexual abuse redress scheme taking years to deliver compensation for victims who've already waited decades

 

1/2

 

Perched on the sofa in her modest Sydney home, snoring dogs by her side, Lyn Belsham's eyes lit up as she talked about her plans to hit the road once coronavirus eases.

 

"I want to hop in the motorhome, go and see the Twelve Apostles, then I want to visit someone in Perth," the 72-year-old said.

 

Optimism for the future is something she couldn't have imagined six decades earlier.

 

A childhood robbed by rape and inequality left her facing an uncertain outlook for most of her life.

 

The distress and trauma from the abuse meant she was unable to subject herself to intimate medical procedures, including pap smears.

 

With time, came the courage to seek justice for what had happened to her.

 

But as she bared her soul through the National Redress Scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse, she was knocked back and was told her recollection of abuse did not meet the benchmark required for any financial relief.

 

"I waited two years, and then I got a letter saying I was getting zilch, nothing," she said.

 

"I felt like I was worthless, and I felt that I wanted to end it."

 

It's been two years since the redress scheme began.

 

Around 7,500 applications have been made and more than 3,000 have got to the stage where payments have been offered to survivors.

 

An independent review is currently underway into the scheme, examining its successes and shortcomings as more claims continue to roll in.

 

The Federal Government concedes there were early failures with properly handling the deep trauma experienced by victims as they recounted their experiences, while survivors and their advocates have been left confused with the inconsistencies and delays in considering claims.

 

Abuse at home and in care

 

Abuse was a prominent feature of Lyn Belsham's childhood in Sydney in the 1950s.

 

One of five children, Lyn grew up in what she describes as a "shack" in Sylvania Heights. Her father was an abusive drunk who would take out his anger on his children.

 

"I was running away all the time … and so the welfare kept picking me up and locking me up," Lyn said.

 

She became pregnant at 13 and gave birth to her first son when she was 14.

 

"I was ashamed when I fell pregnant. Right up until I was in my late thirties, I felt that shame."

 

The abuse Lyn would endure wasn't restricted to the family home.

 

During her time at the Parramatta Girls Training School and stints at the Metropolitan Girls Shelter, Lyn was sexually abused by a paedophile doctor undertaking medical examinations of girls in the institutions.

 

She recalls four occasions when she was subjected to "internals", as she described them.

 

It was this abuse that would go on to become the subject of her redress battle.

 

"What good is this going to do me?"

 

When the National Redress Scheme began in July 2018 as a result of the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, it was billed as a way for survivors of abuse to seek some reparation for the horrors inflicted upon them.

 

While money would never heal the physical or mental scars, it was hoped it would provide people with a modicum of support.

 

Lyn Belsham applied for redress and contacted advocacy group Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) for help with her application.

 

The lengthy process requires applicants to detail the abuse they endured.

 

Few will argue there shouldn't be any process to verify or categorise claims made by abuse survivors, but many maintain reliving the graphic details of crimes committed against them is a terrible experience.

 

The National Redress Scheme made its ruling in the middle of 2020. Lyn Belsham wasn't eligible for any money.

 

It left her with suicidal thoughts.

 

"After two years, why do this to me?" she told the ABC.

 

"In the papers, they blamed my father [but] the Metropolitan Girls Shelter and the Parramatta Girls Home … they didn't blame them."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 3:11 a.m. No.10355963   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10355957

 

2/2

 

People who are knocked back have the opportunity to appeal the decision, which has been made by an unnamed redress staff member.

 

"I thought, what good is this going to do me, to put myself through this again, just to get some money?" Lyn asked.

 

The review process demanded Lyn reveal more detail about the abuse she endured, something she described as "traumatic".

 

A month later, the situation changed dramatically.

 

Her rejected claim was now deemed worthy of a six-figure payment.

 

"Because of the shame, I don't think I deserved it," she said.

 

"I'm about to kick the bucket myself, and I get this money and I can't enjoy it.

 

"I'm going to buy my funeral and buy my son's funeral, too."

 

Complex claims can drag for years

 

Robyn Kruk, the chair of Mental Health Australia and a former independent assessor for the Defence Abuse Taskforce, is overseeing an independent review of the scheme.

 

"There's no doubt that early on, particularly, there were quite significant problems with the scheme and over time, we've sought to remedy those problems," Social Services Minister Anne Ruston told the ABC.

 

Senator Ruston said changes had been made to the scheme to ensure survivors of abuse were supported through the traumatic experience of sharing their stories.

 

"I think the other thing that probably surprised us as much as anything was the level of complexity of the claims," Senator Ruston said.

 

"I think we, initially, probably believed that people, when they came forward, would probably only be naming one institution.

 

"In many, many cases they were naming more than one — and in some cases, they were naming multiple organisations."

 

A straightforward claim, according to the Minister, can be finalised within six months — after the application has been made, the details are verified with the institution involved, the institution is given a right of reply, and an offer for redress is made and considered.

 

Senator Ruston said more complicated claims could drag out.

 

"We absolutely recognise the horrific trauma that they suffered as children, and equally the trauma that they go through when they have to retell their stories," she said.

 

"Nobody is doubting the fact that the abuse took place, but we have to make sure we've got the right institution against which we're actually making this application."

 

Senator Ruston argues there's a willingness from the Federal Government to listen to any recommendation the Kruk review makes, in a bid to make the difficult process quicker and easier to navigate.

 

There are advocacy groups across the country which help survivors of abuse make their applications, and Lyn turned to CLAN.

 

Her experience of delays isn't isolated.

 

"We have elderly care leavers abused in Australia's orphanages, children's homes and foster care who are into their third year of waiting," CLAN chief executive Leonie Sheedy said.

 

"We were told that this was going to be a much quicker process than going down the civil path — well, that just makes a joke of those comments.

 

"In the two years that the redress scheme has been established, I've never heard of anybody getting their claims settled within six months — except for a dying man, who was 54 and they knew he was dying."

 

Lyn Belsham's message to fellow abuse survivors is clear.

 

"If you hang in there, and you don't stress out about it, you'll be successful in the end," she said.

 

"You'll get justice."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-20/redress-scheme-sexual-abuse-delays-compensation/12574186

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 3:29 a.m. No.10356031   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4894 >>4919

>>10355380

>>10355462

>>10355759

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

 

Replying to @PissoffSocks

 

He didn’t stay long- he told me it was too rainy and the only reason he went there was because Aussie Girls are pretty blue eyed blonde haired surfer looking and he wanted to see if it was true. He said it was not. Mementos of JE & I conversations. 01’

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1296319337536479232

 

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's 'tour Down Under': Untold story of infamous pair's trip to Australia - and how they partied with a 'who's who' of high society

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8641359/1995-newspaper-article-claims-Jeffrey-Epstein-Ghislaine-Maxwell-travelled-Australia.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 11:48 p.m. No.10368354   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8361 >>3178 >>5070

Crowdfund appeal launched for Assange

 

The partner of Julian Assange has launched an appeal to crowdfund his fight against the US government's bid to extradite him.

 

Stella Moris said it is a "monumental" legal case with "unthinkable" ramifications.

 

The WikiLeaks founder has been held at Belmarsh Prison in London for the past 16 months, ahead of the Australian's extradition hearing in September.

 

Launching the appeal to fund his defence via the Crowdjustice platform, Moris, the mother of their two young children, said: "Julian is being targeted by the United States administration for the crime of journalism.

 

"He helped expose war crimes and human rights abuses which the US would have preferred to keep hidden from public view. No one has been held responsible for the serious crimes Julian has exposed. This extradition aims to entomb and silence him forever.

 

"This is a monumental legal case which is an attack on everyone's right to know about scandals which politicians and governments want buried. If the US government is successful, the ramifications are unthinkable.

 

"It is a battle of David v Goliath and we can't do this alone. We are calling on people everywhere to join us in this fight."

 

She said Assange is confined to his cell at least 23 hours a day and has had no visitors since March.

 

Baltasar Garzon, who leads Assange's international defence, said: "This is an unprecedented legal battle and so much is at stake.

 

"Doing justice to Mr Assange's defence is a vast undertaking. The legal team is having to do this with Julian, the most able person to contribute, locked away in prison."

 

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6888894/crowdfund-appeal-launched-for-assange/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 20, 2020, 11:49 p.m. No.10368361   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3178 >>5070

>>10368354

Join my fight to free Julian Assange and stop US extradition

 

by Stella Moris

 

My partner, the journalist and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, is fighting extradition to the United States and faces 175 years in prison. I and many others are joined in that fight - against extradition and his continuing imprisonment. We are appealing for your help.

 

Julian's story

 

The charges Julian faces concern the WikiLeaks exposures ten years ago of US war crimes and human rights abuses. As a result, the detail then hidden is now known to the world.

 

From 2010 until 2017 the Obama administration decided he could not be prosecuted – otherwise every newspaper publishing the same data should be prosecuted too. However, the Trump administration, from the outset, targeted him and charged him under US laws which date back 100 years, during which time they have never been used to prosecute any publisher or journalist. The US legislation allows for no defence of public interest.

 

He has been in Belmarsh Prison for 16 months, confined to a cell throughout the Covid pandemic for at least 23 hours a day. He has no visitors. Neither I nor his sons can see him. It is very difficult for us as a family.

 

The chilling effect

 

Most important of all, though, is that his “crime” is to have reported on matters the US would rather have kept hidden from view. He helped expose war crimes and human rights abuses. He revealed the killing of unarmed civilians and the torture of innocent people. No-one has been held responsible for the serious crimes Julian has exposed. If he, an Australian citizen living in the UK can be successfully prosecuted, so too can journalists and publications everywhere.

 

The politics of the intention are clear; brought by an administration that refers to the press and whistleblowers as the “enemy” and news of importance as “fake”.

 

Why are we raising funds?

 

Our resources are very limited. The Wikileaks releases were all issued, in an enormous exercise over a period of more than a year, without receiving payment. Now it is a matter of David against Goliath.

 

In April last year, Julian was charged with 18 counts relating to receiving and publishing government documents, for which he faces a sentence of 175 years. A few weeks ago, just as his lawyers were consolidating preparation for a three-week hearing of defence evidence in September, the prosecution announced it was changing the indictment, hoping to double the reach of its claims, though the charges remained the same.

 

Despite the clear weakness of the core allegations, it triggers many important legal issues. Doing justice to Julians' case, that on its merits, factual and legal, ought without question to succeed, is a vast undertaking.

 

Investigating and understanding the detail, even before the threatened new indictment, is like climbing the Himalayas whilst the person most able to contribute is locked in a prison - and disabled, mentally and physically, from the level of engagement he wants and needs to give. Many witnesses need to be called, including experts from a range of disciplines - all essential to what is an unprecedented legal battle.

 

Everyone involved in the legal case is doing so at minimum remuneration or pro bono. Nevertheless, the sheer volume and range of work required, means that we need to continue to raise funds to cover the mounting costs.

 

Julian's extradition hearing

 

This CrowdJustice appeal is to raise funds to cover the legal costs of Julian’s extradition hearing in the Magistrates Court in England.

 

The full extradition hearing is due to begin on the 7th September 2020 at the Old Bailey which is being used as a Magistrates Court for this hearing. This is an unprecedented forum for an extradition case which acknowledges that the case has huge importance beyond Julian himself.

 

How can you help?

 

We all recognise the responsibility placed upon us, and what is at stake, and express our gratitude to anyone who feels able to contribute. Even small amounts, which might not feel like they make a difference, will collectively be of huge benefit - and will be gratefully received.

 

Please do share the link on this page with anyone who may think they might want to help.

 

Thank you for your support,

 

Stella Moris

 

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/julianassange/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 12:53 a.m. No.10368701   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3251 >>4997

Facebook’s latest purge of QAnon conspiracy theory pages unlikely to affect growing Australian following

 

Measures include removal from algorithm recommendations but experts say it may not affect boom in Australian supporters

 

Christopher Knaus - Fri 21 Aug 2020

 

Experts say Facebook’s latest purge of QAnon pages is unlikely to have a major impact on the growing Australian following of the conspiracy theory.

 

Facebook on Thursday announced it had taken down or restricted 790 groups, 1,500 ads and 100 pages tied to QAnon, and blocked more than 300 hashtags used by its followers on Facebook and Instagram.

 

It has identified and restricted a further 1,950 groups, 440 pages and more than 10,000 Instagram accounts linked to QAnon, which may later be removed.

 

Users will still be able to post content that supports QAnon. But Facebook will restrict their ability to organise by removing posts from recommendation algorithms, making them less prominent in newsfeed and search results, and stopping them from using fundraising and advertising.

 

QAnon is a sprawling and disjointed conspiracy that, though centred on the United States, has amassed a considerable following in Australia.

 

Its followers believe Donald Trump is fighting secretly against a cabal of Satanic deep-state actors and celebrities who are said to run the world while engaged in paedophilia and human trafficking.

 

QAnon has been linked to attempted acts of violence and identified as a potential domestic terrorism threat by the FBI.

 

Data collected from online forums by Marc-André Argentino, a researcher with Canada’s Concordia University who studies QAnon, suggests the Australian QAnon following is among the largest in the world.

 

That accords with a report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which found Australia was the fourth biggest country for discussion of QAnon on Twitter.

 

“We found that the US was consistently the largest QAnon content-producing country, followed by the UK, Canada and Australia,” the report said.

 

The institute’s analysis suggested Australian discussion of QAnon was growing considerably.

 

The report found Twitter discussion of QAnon had grown from 105,545 tweets between October 2017 and June 2018 to 191,210 tweets between November 2019 and June 2020.

 

The Guardian asked Facebook how many of the groups and pages it removed had Australian administrators and how many of the purged ads were being distributed in Australia. It said it couldn’t provide that data.

 

But Elise Thomas, a researcher with the ISD and Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Facebook crackdown was unlikely to have any major impact on QAnon in Australia.

 

Thomas, who studies extremism and conspiracy theories, checked Australian QAnon pages on Thursday and saw little to no change.

 

“I haven’t actually seen much action on the Australian front. All of the Q Australia groups that I follow are all still there. They don’t seem very perturbed,” she said.

 

“And to be honest Facebook has repeatedly announced they are going to crack down on QAnon, and it really hasn’t happened.”

 

Facebook has indicated it is still in the process of removing content.

 

Questions remain over whether Facebook’s purge will cause any change in the belief systems of QAnon followers.

 

Neil Levy, an expert on conspiracy theories with Macquarie University and Oxford University, said Facebook’s move was unlikely to deter hardcore believers, who would likely see it as additional evidence of their conspiracy.

 

“Some of the people more on the periphery may well fall away, though: they might require a pretty constant drip feed of new stories to remain interested,” Levy said. “When that becomes more intermittent, they might lose interest.”

 

Levy said if the groups migrate from Facebook to another platform, they would be unlikely to take their entire following with them. He said such a migration would cause attrition, due to a lack of motivation or forgetfulness.

 

Changes to the recommendation algorithm might also prove effective, he said.

 

“A more important effect might be that Facebook doesn’t act as a feeder for QAnon any more,” he said.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/21/facebooks-latest-purge-of-qanon-conspiracy-theory-pages-unlikely-to-affect-growing-australian-following

 

 

Marc-André Argentino Tweet

 

6/ next up is the Australian Q research board with 6 boards and 4000 posts. Fair ammount of anti-Semitism, but also a lerge focus on pedophilia in Australia and in the Catholic Church. Also some interesting takes on the current bushfires

 

https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1219011805785284610

 

 

The Genesis of a Conspiracy Theory

 

Key trends in QAnon activity since 2017

 

Institute for Strategic Dialogue - 24/07/2020

 

Authors: Aoife Gallagher, Jacob Davey, Mackenzie Hart

 

https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/the-genesis-of-a-conspiracy-theory/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 1:48 a.m. No.10368986   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

Qantas denies it's part of flying conspiracy after disturbing Freemason and new world order symbols are spotted on the engines of a national carrier plane

 

Qantas has been embroiled in a wild conspiracy theory after one of its airliners appeared on a news report brandishing the symbols of secret societies.

 

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted the symbols on one of its planes during a Channel 9 news report on Thursday covering the airline's economic pain.

 

The Illuminati and Freemason symbols had been crafted with yellow tape to black engine covers of an aircraft destined for the parking lot amid the COVID-19 crisis.

 

The vision quickly appeared on social media where bored Australians speculated it was anything from a doctored image to delusions the airline was part of an evil plot.

 

'Full blown Satanists,' one man posted under a video of the report posted on Facebook.

 

'It’s a message out that travel will be under strict draconian guidelines by special permit only. That’s how these scum operate,' another posted.

 

Some looked deeper for clues.

 

'Funny they are members of the Oneworld alliance. Coincidence?' one sleuth mused.

 

'Q vs SATAN = QANTAS think about it?' another genius chimed in.

 

While some pointed the finger at the national carrier, others were certain it was in fact the news broadcaster that was behind the conspiracy.

 

'It's not Qantas, it's Channel 9,' another wrote. 'They've edited their footage!'

 

'Fake or not wtf is channel 9 trying to do here? Something is going on? They want some sort of outrage from Us?' an angry keyboard commando stated. 'Let’s boycott them!'

 

Others called for an investigation before they went full blown public with the scandal.

 

'Is there anyone in this group that works there that can back this up. Are they real covers? Is it a set up from channel nine to make us look like idiots?' someone posted.

 

'Is there another channel with the similar footage.? Has the ground crew had some fun? (Yeah not funny) Is it real? It needs to be addressed before the news comes out and says they stitched us up.'

 

Some just thought a clever clogs had got crafty with the tape.

 

'You muppets will believe anything,' one person responded.

 

The Illuminati - or the enlightened - is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious.

 

These organisations have often been alleged to conspire to control world affairs, by masterminding events and planting agents in government and corporations, in order to gain political power and influence and to establish a New World Order.

 

The Freemasons are often feared for similar deed and goals.

 

In 2017, Bourke Street Killer Dimitrious Gargasoulas delivered a bizarre courtroom rant blaming his alleged offending on a secret society.

 

Gargasoulas killed six, including a baby, when he drove his car through down the footpath in the middle of Melbourne earlier that year.

 

'I’m very sad for everything that’s happened but it’s due to the Illuminati,' he said.

 

He further claimed that someone was trying to 'assassinate' him.

 

'It’s because I hold the key to Freemason treasure,' he said.

 

In reality, Qantas - which has been forced to stand down 6000 staff - has far greater issues on its hands than questions of its participation in a worldwide conspiracy.

 

And if it were in bed with the Illuminati, it might be asking for assistance right about now.

 

Qantas' profit has plunged more than 90 per cent as the airline's bottom line was smashed by COVID-19.

 

Revealing its financial results to shareholders on Thursday, the airline said its underlying profit before tax was just $124 million, down 91 per cent on the previous financial year.

 

Its statutory loss before tax had ballooned out to $2.7 billion.

 

A representative told Nine.com.au it was just staff being creative.

 

'Aircraft engine cover art is a thing,' he said. 'As you can see, the yellow tape can sometimes be used quite creatively. We’ve obviously got a few engineers who are fans of The Da Vinci Code, but we’ve asked them to stick to emojis and smiley faces.'

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8650037/Qantas-forced-respond-accusations-Illuminati-conspiracy.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 2:12 a.m. No.10369123   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Aussie tennis great Pat Cash promotes conspiracy theory coronavirus film

 

Aussie tennis great Pat Cash has sparked outrage on social media after tweeting his support for a controversial conspiracy theory documentary about coronavirus.

 

Cash posted the link to the ‘Plandemic: Indoctornation’ film on Wednesday, that has also been shared by celebrity chef Pete Evans on his Facebook page.

 

The film promotes a widely debunked theory about how the COVID-19 strain was created by an American doctor and the wealthy, and claims that masks are harmful and will activate the virus.

 

The doco promotes itself as the “most important documentary you will ever see”.

 

The film has been banned on major social media platforms, including Facebook, and Twitter users are given a warning that the link is potentially spammy or unsafe before sharing.

 

“It’s finally out, download here as well. Be informed – make up your own mind,” the former Wimbledon champion tweeted, before it was quickly deleted.

 

Evans also shared the film on his Facebook page on Wednesday and encouraged his followers to watch and share.

 

“Please step up and learn and share ASAP. This is serious,” he wrote.

 

Australian tennis great and six-time grand slam champion Rennae Stubbs took aim at Cash when she replied to another of his controversial tweets on Thursday morning comparing smoking and coronavirus deaths.

 

“Pat i live in NYC, u should delete this tweet,” she said, before Cash’s first tweet disappeared.

 

“I know too many people that didn’t ask for this virus and some even died. Little different when people are volunteering to put smoke in their own lungs.”

 

Nick Kyrgios’ brother Christos also slammed Cash’s tweet by replying “dangerous dangerous content”.

 

Biomedical scientist Dr Darren Saunders also joined the condemnation with his tweet: “Your headband is too tight champ, it’s cutting off circulation to your brain”.

 

Other speculated whether his account had been hacked.

 

Cash’s tweet seems to have since been deleted on Thursday morning with it removed from his profile after the uproar.

 

According to Forbes, the full-length Plandemic movie promotes a widely discredited conspiracy theory that claims Dr Anthony Fauci was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus strain that has caused a worldwide pandemic.

 

Dr Fauci is one of the top infectious diseases experts in the United States and a member of the White House coronavirus task force.

 

Forbes reported the film was based on the claims of discredited scientist and American activist Judy Mikovits, who said that doctors, including Dr Fauci, and the rich and powerful, were behind the spread of the virus.

 

Ms Mikovits also claims masks are harmful and would activate the virus and reinfect the wearer over and over.

 

The full-length film follows a 26-minute trailer that went viral in May and was viewed by more than 8 million people in about a week.

 

Official Victorian Department of Health and Human Services directives state masks help stop droplets spreading when someone speaks, laughs, coughs or sneezes, including someone who has tested positive to coronavirus.

 

The health department said face coverings were an additional protective physical barrier to protect people against the spread of the virus.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/aussie-tennis-great-pat-cash-promotes-conspiracy-theory-coronavirus-film/news-story/18c0ac0622989e34b0e28659e5bb34e6

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 2:50 a.m. No.10369282   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9405 >>4836

St Vincent’s Melbourne trials Trump-spruiked malaria drug hydroxychloroquine

 

A Melbourne hospital has begun recruiting for a clinical trial of a controversial drug promoted by Donald Trump as a possible treatment for coronavirus.

 

St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne is taking part in the trial that will look at whether the malaria medication hydroxychloroquine can protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus while caring for positive patients.

 

The study is going ahead, led by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, despite the official advice from the Australian Government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration “strongly discouraging” its use as a treatment for COVID-19.

 

It’s understood the trial will examine whether the drug can reduce the risk of coronavirus infection prior to exposure and not as a treatment option.

 

The TGA said patients could be treated with hydroxychloroquine if they were enrolled in a clinical trial with safety monitoring protocols and oversight by a human research ethics committee.

 

United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended the use of the malaria medication to ward off coronavirus, contradicting statements by the leading White House taskforce infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci and the US Food and Drug Administration that it was not effective.

 

The drug is also commonly used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

 

The Australian-led COVID Shield trial has aimed to recruit about 650 participants locally, with almost 40 already signed up from St Vincent’s only three weeks into recruitment.

 

St Vincent’s has been one of the hospitals most affected by coronavirus with many doctors, nurses and staff becoming infected or forced into isolation as a close contact.

 

Earlier this month at least 30 cases had been linked to an outbreak at the hospital.

 

More than 2500 Victorian healthcare workers have been infected by the virus so far with 753 cases active.

 

Associate Professor Mandana Nikpour, one of the trial’s lead principal researchers and a consultant rheumatologist at St Vincent’s, said during the pandemic hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers had been infected worldwide, which showed the need and urgency of a clinical trial focusing on prevention rather than cure.

 

“For every healthcare worker who is infected, quite a few then have to be tested or go into self-isolation for two weeks,” she said.

 

“This has had an impact on the physical and mental health of healthcare workers as well as an impact on the workforce we have available to undertake frontline duties.”

 

Half of the trial participants will be given hydroxychloroquine tablets and the other half placebo tablets. Results will be monitored over four months.

 

“In the test tube, hydroxychloroquine reduces the replication of SARS coronavirus 2, which is the COVID-19 virus, by about 90 per cent,” Dr Nikpour said.

 

“When you are very sick or ventilated in hospital you have a lot of inflammatory molecules causing collateral damage to organs, and it is not possible at that point to intervene with a drug like hydroxychloroquine.

 

“However, hydroxychloroquine could potentially reduce the risk of COVID-19 if taken prior to exposure to the virus, that is, as ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’.”

 

The trial principal investigator from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Professor Marc Pellegrini, said many drugs worked much better in preventing viral infection compared to treating people who become sick.

 

“It is very important that before we throw away a potentially useful drug, we test to see if it can prevent COVID-19. We have taken every step to make sure the drug will not cause harm to participants,” he said.

 

The Institute said the gold-standard trial had been reviewed by the Human Research Ethics Committee at Melbourne Health and multiple National Health and Medical Research Council accredited bodies.

 

Other sites running the trial, and with staff taking part, include Royal Melbourne, The Austin, The Alfred and Royal Children’s hospitals, Monash Health and Barwon Health Geelong, as well as Westmead, Royal North Shore and Liverpool hospitals in NSW.

 

Participants will report regularly during the trial via an electronic platform of any COVID-19 symptoms they may be experiencing and if they have been tested or diagnosed with the virus.

 

The trial is open to any healthcare worker in Australia who is at risk of contracting coronavirus.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/st-vincents-melbourne-trials-trump-spruiked-malaria-drug-hydroxychloroquine/news-story/a57f024cfc40ace7cd2d1ce220c33d64

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 3:13 a.m. No.10369382   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

U.S. Naval Institute Tweet

 

#OTD 1908, 500,000 Aussies turned out to welcome the arrival of the Great White Fleet to Sydney, The reception was so warm that hundreds of sailors went on unauthorized absence. USS Kansas stayed extra days to round up stragglers, offering a $10 bounty on every sailor returned.

 

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1296453327207751681

 

 

Great White Fleet

 

The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of United States President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was to make friendly courtesy visits to numerous countries while displaying new U.S. naval power to the world.

 

It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with various escorts. Roosevelt sought to demonstrate growing American military power and blue-water navy capability. Hoping to enforce treaties and protect overseas holdings, the United States Congress appropriated funds to build American naval power. Beginning in the 1880s with just 90 small ships, over one-third of them wooden and therefore obsolete, the navy quickly grew to include new steel fighting vessels. The hulls of these ships were painted a stark white, giving the armada the nickname "Great White Fleet".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Fleet

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 4:03 a.m. No.10369579   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9592 >>4880

ASIO has never acknowledged its chamber of secrets exists. Here's what's inside

 

1/3

 

It's one of the most heavily guarded buildings in Australia.

 

Though clad in glass, few ever get to see what happens within the Ben Chifley Building, an imposing structure overlooking Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin and the nation's Parliament.

 

Inside the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, (ASIO), the domestic spy agency established by Chifley in 1949, a major transformation is underway.

 

Director-General Mike Burgess is on a mission to bring ASIO out of the shadows — at least in part.

 

Flanked by security guards, he leads the ABC to the spy agency's basement, offering first-of-its-kind access to the workshops where devices are made in a bid to keep an eye on suspected terrorists and foreign spies.

 

It's a 250-metre corridor with colourful cabling running overhead. Within some of those cables lies top secret information.

 

The only light down here comes from bright fluorescent globes attached to the walls.

 

An imposingly tall figure, yet softly spoken, he reaches his destination, stopping outside a door known as ASIO's 'chamber of secrets' — a room ASIO has never publicly acknowledged exists.

 

It is officially known as the "anechoic chamber", used to test hyper-sensitive listening devices.

 

"This is an audio studio on steroids," he says.

 

"This room is actually floating inside the Ben Chifley building. It's physically isolated, so if the Ben Chifley Building was to vibrate, this building would not vibrate."

 

Piled next to the door are packets of slippers like those offered at fancy hotels.

 

Inside the chamber, high heels are banned because of the trampoline-like floor that's made of wires.

 

Below are large white panels designed to remove sound, making the chamber one of the quietest places on Earth. A place where a pin can literally be heard dropping into a glass on the other side of the room.

 

To test listening devices, audio is played within the room at a level below what the human ear can pick up.

 

But ASIO's purpose-built devices can hear it, loud and clear.

 

"Perfect stillness and quietness is important as we are testing our listening devices," Burgess says.

 

"This would be like a facility that any leading-edge audio company would use, we use it to take that technology to an extended purpose."

 

These walls can't talk, but they can listen

 

ASIO isn't just making devices to spy. It wants to catch out other spies, too.

 

There are now more foreign spies in Australia than at the height of the Cold War.

 

"We are poacher and gamekeeper," Burgess says.

 

"We know how to do this to others, we use that expertise to make sure it can't be done to us."

 

He turns on a device that resembles a metal detector used on beaches to find precious items lost in the sand.

 

But rather than finding lost jewellery, it can pick up microphones and transmitters hidden in hard surfaces like wood.

 

Burgess says the device is used by a team of ASIO officers that routinely visit buildings where top secret information is shared.

 

"This would be the Prime Minister's office, Parliament House briefing room, top secret facilities that Defence and the intelligence community operate in," he says.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 4:05 a.m. No.10369592   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9602 >>4880

>>10369579

 

2/3

 

How to smuggle a car into a building

 

Burgess refuses to divulge details about what the listening devices look like, but hints at where they are placed.

 

"They will go wherever we need to; buildings, offices, houses, cars, maybe other places that we don't like to talk about," he says.

 

"Let your imagination run free — wherever we can get close to our target of interest and listen, eavesdrop on them under warrant, that's what we will do."

 

Just as secretive as the devices themselves is how spies plant them.

 

In Hollywood, it looks as simple as dropping the device into a pot plant. Within seconds the bug is in place and the spy flees to listen at a distance.

 

But this isn't fiction.

 

"The time of the deployment actually depends on where we are doing it," Burgess says.

 

"If we are in the room, that's one thing.

 

"If we are outside the room trying to get the microphone in through some clever methods, which I won't talk about, it can take a long time."

 

Among the challenges ASIO officers face is planting a device in a car.

 

As part of their training, ASIO has asked its officers to pull a car apart, relocate it inside the Ben Chifley building, and then reassemble the pieces.

 

"This activity trains the operators on how they can pull a car apart and put it back together again without looking like it's been done," Burgess says

 

"It helps them understand where bugs might be hidden and also gives them a view of where we might be able to hide our bugs ourselves."

 

The ABC was shown a video of the exercise but ASIO declined a request for it to be made public, citing security reasons.

 

Darkrooms, disguises and master keys

 

Higher up in the building is a maze of wood-panelled corridors with no windows, just closed doors. Photos of Canberra and wildlife are strung up along the walls.

 

Security cards are swiped to open doors that lead into private workshops.

 

There is a photography lab, where photos taken by spies are printed.

 

There is a collection of glasses and wigs on another desk.

 

Another door leads into a room that resembles a locksmith, with hundreds of keys hanging from the wall.

 

And then there is a workshop where bags are being put together for those heading out on a job. Inside are phones, laptops, iPads and a tool kit no bigger than a large pencil case.

 

They will also carry a duress button and an earpiece smaller than the size of pea.

 

Laura, whose real name cannot be revealed for security reasons, leads the group responsible for ASIO's 'technical collection capability', which includes creating the gadgets used for spying.

 

"What would shock most people is we have such a range of specialist skill sets," she says.

 

"We are continually looking for people with an electronics engineering background.

 

"Surveillance officers have backgrounds from all walks of life: We have teachers, we have barristers, we have nurses but more on the technical speciality side, we have mathematical specialists, we have software engineers, network engineers, so a whole range of folk."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 4:08 a.m. No.10369602   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

>>10369592

 

3/3

 

Keeping watch

 

ASIO's intelligence response centre is so secretive it has never been shown to members of the general public.

 

It's a lofty two-storey space that can be watched from a viewing room, with large glass panels overlooking a group of officers who are intently watching TV screens.

 

Burgess explains this is where they keep a close eye on agents who are working in the community.

 

"This is 24/7, where we are watching the world, understanding what's going on [and are] prepared to respond," he says.

 

One large screen shows video footage from a camera that is positioned inside a car looking out on a suburban street.

 

Another has a map splattered with dots that represent ASIO officers.

 

Burgess says people are the spy agency's "best assets".

 

"We track them to make sure they are OK and doing what we have planned for the day, and the team are monitoring that," he says.

 

The final screen has a Twitter feed and a map that shows where 4G coverage is available.

 

"It's incredibly important for our officers to know where coverage is," he says.

 

"In some cases it can be literally a matter of life and death."

 

But the importance of a stable telecommunication network goes beyond ASIO spies needing to stay in contact.

 

Burgess says disruptions could have widespread problems for all Australians.

 

"We, with our colleagues at the Australian Signals Directorate, care very much about protection of critical infrastructure," he says.

 

"If the mobile phone [network] is not there, yes that's inconvenient for us normal people, especially our YouTube-loving kids.

 

"But critical infrastructure will rest on the 5G networks of the future and if it's not available that will impact society in grave ways.

 

"And that risk is very real."

 

Searching for Australia's very own Q

 

ASIO has never opened its doors like this before, which raises the question … why now?

 

The ABC suggested to Burgess that this tour was a deliberate show of strength and ingenuity on the part of the intelligence agency, calculated to warn terrorists and foreign spies how closely they're being watched; a suspicion Burgess openly confirms.

 

"There is no such thing as a casual conversation or media opportunity," he says.

 

There are also other reasons, like recruitment. The agency is currently searching for what's officially known as the 'First Assistant Director-General Digital and Physical Access Capability'.

 

It is, in simple terms, a role very similar to the famous character Q in the James Bond films — who builds clever and hidden gadgets for arguably the most famous Hollywood spy.

 

"This is about trying to find the best and the brightest … to inspire young Australians to think of ASIO as a place to work."

 

ASIO's decision to allow the ABC into its building came as the Federal Government pushes for laws that would give the agency greater powers to conduct spying operations and interviews.

 

ASIO argues the proposals are measured, but many have raised concerns.

 

But the Law Council argues lowering the age for compulsory interviews to 14 for suspected terrorists is "of real concern" and installing tracking devices in a car without a warrant is "disquieting."

 

Where the Parliament ultimately lands on the proposed laws remains unclear.

 

For his part, Burgess repeatedly stresses that ASIO does not conduct mass surveillance and its operations are targeted.

 

"I believe in transparency, it's important that the Australian public know why we exist and what we do and how we do it under the rule of law and the oversight."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-21/inside-asio-secure-building-chamber-of-secrets/12577352

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 4:38 a.m. No.10369713   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4880

Brisbane man charged with online child abuse offences after tip from the United States

 

A Brisbane man has been charged with possessing child abuse material after authorities in the United States allegedly intercepted images of child abuse being uploaded to Snapchat, Google and Yahoo social media platforms.

 

The Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) launched an investigation after receiving multiple reports from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

 

The AFP will allege the person involved is a 66-year-old man from Jamboree Heights.

 

The matter was referred to the Brisbane Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) and a warrant was executed at a home in Jamboree Heights yesterday, 20 August 2020.

 

JACET investigators seized a number of items for further analysis during a search of the home, including four mobile phones, three tablets and a laptop.

 

The man was charged and granted police bail with strict conditions to face Brisbane Magistrates Court on 4 September 2020 for the following offences:

 

  • One count of using a carriage service for child abuse material (access), contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code (Cth),

 

  • One count of using a carriage service for child abuse material (transmit), contrary to section 474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code (Cth) and;

 

  • Four counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth)

 

The offences carry maximum penalties of 15 years' imprisonment.

 

AFP Child Protection Operations Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson said no child anywhere in the world should be victimised because of the perverted desires of some people in our community.

 

"The AFP works tirelessly with our international partners to keep children safe and to investigate and prosecute those who seek to do them harm," Detective Superintendent Hudson said.

 

"The AFP will never relinquish our duty to protecting children online, and this is a reminder to those who harm children - we will find you."

 

Last year, the AFP's Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received almost 17,000 reports of child exploitation, around 45 cases a day.

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

You can also make a report online by alerting the ACCCE via the Report Abuse button.

 

https://www.accce.gov.au/report

 

Note to media:

 

Use of term 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL NOT 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'

 

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

 

Use of the phrase "child pornography" is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

 

  • indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

 

  • conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

 

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/brisbane-man-charged-online-child-abuse-offences-after-tip-united-states

 

https://www.missingkids.org/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 5:22 p.m. No.10377032   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7041 >>4880

The Trump Effect: What Trumpian Politics Mean for Australia

 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s style of politics has infected Australia’s Liberal Party.

 

By Grant Wyeth - August 21, 2020

 

1/2

 

The implications for Australia of the forthcoming presidential election in the United States are not restricted to foreign policy. Due to the nature of global information distribution, the way ideas have become borderless and boundless, and the cultural influence that the U.S. has in Australia, there are serious domestic concerns as well. The norms that President Donald Trump shifts as the core of the Republican Party — and those his party allows him to shift — are highly influential on the Liberal Party in Australia. This is creating pressures that could bring similar political instability from the United States into Australian politics.

 

One of Trump’s legacies will be the ideological shifts that he has inspired in conservative parties worldwide. While this will include the abandonment of both fusionism and neoconservatism as the driving ideologies of these parties’ domestic and foreign policies, most concerning is how his own instinctive suspicion of liberal democracy and his authoritarian impulses are also infecting these parties. Trump’s disdain for the rule of law, hostility toward the media, and his incessant self-servitude are establishing a model for other politicians to emulate. With each outrage he generates it makes the next outrage less outrageous. Were he to win a second term his behavior is likely to escalate, and his model of chaotic and hostile politics will become even more attractive to like-minded parties outside the United States.

 

The Republican Party itself, with its enabling of Trump, its move to embrace wild conspiracy theories, and its increasingly open flirtation with white nationalism, has now become an “anti-system party” — combative toward the country’s constitution and its system of government. This behavior marks the party as no longer a “conservative” party, but a radical one, and with its outsized influence on the Liberal Party this makes it more difficult for Australia to conserve its own liberal democracy.

 

However, it should be stressed that the Liberal Party is not in the same degraded state as the Republican Party. It still has a number of responsible actors in senior positions, and Australia’s democratic institutions place greater restraints on party behavior. Yet you can see the same flammable forces that have overwhelmed the Republican Party eating away at the Liberal Party. The dominance of negative identity politics — the politics of whom you are against — in public discourse, the creeping hostility toward expertise, and the hysterical flailing against the modern world are features some Liberal politicians exhibit. In addition is the incessant noise from media outlets that cheer for the party, who are desperate to try to pull the party into their chaotic world.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 5:23 p.m. No.10377041   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8757 >>4880

>>10377032

 

2/2

 

This approach to politics may have a successful model in Trump. However, unlike in the United States there is no path to electoral victory in Australia by rousing up a “base” and suppressing everyone else. The country’s compulsory voting nullifies this tactic. This makes the importing of political tactics from the United States that are reliant on the U.S. democratic model self-defeating. Yet what will be concerning for Australia is if the psychological satisfaction of Trumpian politics starts to outweigh electoral rewards. When a major party gives up on trying to engage with the broader public, and instead seeks to ferment distrust and unease with the democratic system, then the country has a serious problem.

 

There are signs that this is starting to occur in the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party. Part of Australia’s success in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic — bar a recent spike in cases — has been the non-partisan way that federal and state leaders have mostly worked together to address the issue as a public health crisis, not a partisan political game. Yet, it was reported recently in the Australian Financial Review that the Victorian Liberal Party is considering replacing its current leader because he isn’t feisty enough in his criticism of the Labor Party state premier on issues concerning the pandemic. The party took these agitated tactics to the last election in 2018 and experienced a resounding defeat. But it seems that the psychological rewards of these identity politics are now being deemed more important than winning elections.

 

Part of this psychological satisfaction may even come from losing elections. Driving much of Trump’s politics and that of other like minded movements is a sense that the world has left their supporters behind, that they no longer see themselves in the cultures they inhabit. Their belligerent politics is an expression of that anxiety. This is why these parties frequently behave like opposition parties even when they are in power, because they see cultural power as more consequential than political power. If they are unable to win elections it consolidates their sense of outsider solidarity.

 

Donald Trump has a unique personality that drives his destructive impulses, and it would be almost impossible to replicate his traits. But he can plant seeds of disturbance and confusion in Australia. His current attempts to undermine the voting system in the U.S. can sow suspicion toward Australia’s own independent electoral commission. The QAnon conspiracy theory, which is effectively a Trump cult, has its local adherents down under, creating a domestic terrorist threat in Australia.

 

These are not things that the Australian government should take lightly. If Trump wins a second term, the Liberal Party will need to make some serious decisions about whether it sees the norms Trump breaks and the culture he has created as opportunities to pursue or critical dilemmas to guard against.

 

https://thediplomat.com/2020/08/the-trump-effect-what-trumpian-politics-mean-for-australia/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 5:49 p.m. No.10377333   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6864 >>4903

California fighting 560 wildfires, requests help from Canada and Australia

 

Global News

 

Published on 21 Aug 2020

 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said that the state was now battling 560 fires, depleting firefighting forces and prompting calls for aid from not only 10 other states, but Canada and Australia as well.

 

The lightning-sparked wildfires more than doubled in size on Friday into some of the largest in the state's history, with one advancing to within a mile of the University of California Santa Cruz.

 

The state has been hit by its worst dry-lightning storms in nearly two decades, resulting in close to 12,000 strikes which sent fire racing through lands left parched due to record-breaking heat. About 175,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, largely in northern California.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NgNg-6QKfs

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 21, 2020, 6:03 p.m. No.10377484   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweet

 

Things to watch as a result of the Durham-Brennan interview:

 

1) Joseph Mifsud/Azra Turk identity and handlers

 

2) UK and Australian intelligence used against the campaign

 

3) Why Trump advisors were constantly invited to London to meet with agents

 

4) Brennan lying to Congress

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1296871297994174468

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 22, 2020, 8:11 p.m. No.10388481   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4919

Alan Dershowitz Tweet

 

Is Guiffre crediting Wexner?

Guiffre is now crediting Wexner. But she has claimed she had sex with Wexner multiple times and that he had her wear Victoria Secrets type lingerie. Wexner denies it. Does Guiffre now say he is telling truth. I challenge her to respond. She won’t!

 

https://twitter.com/AlanDersh/status/1297323888142176256

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 22, 2020, 8:37 p.m. No.10388708   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

‘This election is critical’: Meet the US citizens in Australia working to defeat Donald Trump

 

They are thousands of kilometres away from the action.

 

But that’s not stopping United States citizens who live in Australia from getting involved in the upcoming election.

 

For many of them, this is a pivotal moment in history – and they’ll stop at nothing to see the back of President Donald Trump.

 

Kent Getsinger is the chair of the Australian chapter of Democrats Abroad. Right now, his main concern is finding every one of the 100,000 US citizens who live in Australia and convincing them to vote for Joe Biden.

 

“We believe democracy happens from the ground up and voting is the start,” Mr Getsinger told The New Daily.

 

Normally, the group would go to university open days and host voter information events to get people engaged.

 

Now, most of their organising is online. Through online networks, they are finding citizens in Australia.

 

We’re trying to find all the citizens here. We’re really trying to reach out online to at least get the word out,” Mr Getsinger said.

 

“Obviously this election is a very critical one. We’re seeing our democracy undermined back in the US, the most recent example being the dismantling of the US postal service.”

 

Since the start of Mr Trump’s presidency the group has grown dramatically, and Mr Getsinger said they’re seeing more than double the amount of US citizens in Australia turn up to vote.

 

“When we had the global primary we saw a huge result, it was up 60 per cent on last year,” he said.

 

When the campaign is in full swing the group will hit the phones, calling up people back home to get them to vote for Mr Biden. For now, though, their main task is getting people registered.

 

And it’s not easy. It involves multiple trips to the post office and a lot of waiting to hear if you’re on the right register and have sent the right form before you even get the ballot.

 

Melbourne woman Merinda Violet is halfway through the complicated process.

 

A fierce social-democrat, Mr Biden wasn’t her first choice and she’s not excited about voting for him.

 

“It’s frustrating that the Democratic Party takes the progressives and the left for granted so much. This time it felt like a spit in the face.”

 

She says if the election were to be held tomorrow and she had to bet on who would win, she would put her money on Mr Trump.

 

“The Democrat party think Biden’s a safe choice but I don’t think they understand where the centre of America is – just in the same exact way in 2016 they got Trump so wrong, they couldn’t read him.”

 

She says she is annoyed at “centrist Democrats” who get upset when she critiques the choice of candidate.

 

“They go ’Oh your MAGA hat’s in the mail,’ but it’s okay to be critical of the party you support. I will vote. I will be encouraging people to vote.”

 

Ms Anderson represents those that want to revolutionise the Democratic Party and on the other side of the fence, are those who want to reform it.

 

Melbourne woman Laurie Staub loves Mr Biden. She met him four years ago, when he was vice-president and in Melbourne to open the city’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

 

“I was invited to be one of 30 people to go to the VIP opening, I had a long chat with him. His son, Beau, who I had also met, died of brain tumour, my sister died of bairn tumour.

 

“His security wanted to move him along and he says to me ‘what’s your mother’s number, I’ll call her’ and he did. That’s who he is.”

 

She’ll be joining the phone banking when it starts up and is waiting on her postal ballot. She called the selection of vice-presidential running mate Kamala Harris “a stroke of genius”.

 

“She’s smart, she’s got spark, she has energy,” she said.

 

Ms Staub doesn’t trust the polls and admits it is hard to know what will happen in three months, but it’s Mr Biden’s temperament she believes will get him over the line.

 

“He can steady the ship. That’s what the world needs.”

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2020/08/23/trump-biden-election-australia-democrats/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 22, 2020, 9 p.m. No.10388884   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6970 >>4836

60 Minutes Australia: Dr Fauci’s virus message for Australians

 

Dr Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious diseases expert, is set to share a critical message with Australians in an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes.

 

As Australia’s fight against the coronavirus rages on, Dr Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious diseases expert, has shared his message of hope in an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown.

 

In his only Australian interview, the internationally renowned doctor says he is confident the coronavirus pandemic and its ongoing devastation will come to an end.

 

“We’re going to get out of this, guaranteed,” Dr Fauci told Tara Brown in a preview released about the show.

 

“It’s gonna end in Australia. It’s gonna end all over the world. Because we have the capability of doing it, and it’s up to us.”

 

Dr Fauci’s message of hope comes as the United States grapples with a virus that is tearing apart the nation.

 

More than five million people have tested positive, and over 170,000 deaths have been recorded.

 

Leading public health expert Dr Fauci has served six US presidents, but that hasn’t stopped the White House from undermining its own top infectious disease expert lately.

 

As cracks began to appear between the President and Dr Fauci, White House officials spoke out anonymously to multiple US media publications, including The Washington Post and NBC News, and questioned the value of Dr Fauci’s advice, going so far as to distribute a list of the times he has been wrong.

 

Still, Dr Fauci remains a Senior Adviser on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus Task Force, saying it has been his life in recent months.

 

“I don’t take this lightly. I take this extremely seriously,” he told 60 Minutes.

 

“It’s completely dominated my entire existence over the last eight months.”

 

In an interview with Fox News in July, President Trump said Dr Fauci had “made some mistakes” and labelled the public health expert an “alarmist”.

 

But Dr Fauci tells 60 Minutes he just wants to get the job done.

 

“I would counter that by saying that I’m a realist,” he said.

 

While President Donald Trump has been hyping up the possibility of a pandemic-ending coronavirus vaccine being available before the end of this year, Dr Fauci is not quite as optimistic.

 

“You’ve got to think of the vaccine as a tool to be able to get the pandemic to no longer be a pandemic, but to be something that’s well controlled,” he said earlier this month.

 

Dr Fauci has previously said he worries about the “durability” of a coronavirus vaccine, saying if COVID-19 acts like other coronaviruses, it may not provide long-term protection.

 

Still, he remains “cautiously optimistic” of success, and says that “somewhere towards the end of the year, the beginning of 2021, we will know whether they have a safe and effective vaccine”.

 

Dr Anthony Fauci’s only Australian interview airs on 60 Minutes this Sunday, on Channel 9

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/60-minutes-australia-dr-faucis-virus-message-for-australians/news-story/00d4a2d3862087e8825e58fceb2d9a92

 

 

SUNDAY on #60Mins: Dr Anthony Fauci

 

SUNDAY on #60Mins, Dr Anthony Fauci’s message of hope: we will get through this. In his only Australian interview, the world famous doctor explains how we’re going to survive the coronavirus pandemic and his tumultuous relationship with President Donald Trump. Only on Channel 9.

 

https://www.facebook.com/60Minutes9/videos/vb.206832076052782/983893015392197/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 5:25 p.m. No.10396643   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6658 >>4997

Ariel Bogle Twitter Thread

 

I've debated whether to write about QAnon at all, but then I spoke to Australians whose friends and family are slipping further into it every day. They wanted to let other people going through this know they're not alone-and talk about how to get them back

 

https://twitter.com/arielbogle/status/1297670227916800000

 

How the QAnon conspiracy theory is tearing family and friends apart in Australia

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-08-24/how-the-qanon-conspiracy-theory-is-affecting-australian-families/12564566

 

 

What seems so dangerous is that QAnon is filtering through Australia's existing conspiratorial communities. In this turbulent time it's got something for everyone. As @tassiekaz said "a whole lot of the various conspiracy spot fires have all joined up into one massive fire front"

 

https://twitter.com/arielbogle/status/1297670229724520449

 

 

Thanks also to @Karen_Douglas and @STWorg for their work on how to talk to friends and family who are embracing conspiratorial thinking-not limited to QAnon: "Strategies like going in hard with hostile arguments or making fun of the person, ridiculing them is not going to help"

 

https://twitter.com/arielbogle/status/1297670231263862784

 

 

And I could have written endlessly about why conspiratorial thinking is so appealing and comforting (and why we all do it from time to time). QAnon's anti-Semitic tropes existed pre-internet, and they'll probably out last it. But never forget the grift.

 

https://twitter.com/arielbogle/status/1297676722926530560

 

How three conspiracy theorists took 'Q' and sparked Qanon

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-three-conspiracy-theorists-took-q-sparked-qanon-n900531

 

>All assets deployed.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 5:26 p.m. No.10396658   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6666 >>3251 >>4997

>>10396643

How the QAnon conspiracy theory is tearing family and friends apart in Australia

 

Ariel Bogle - 24 August 2020

 

1/3

 

Paul and Antony have known each other for more than a decade, when they first met serving together in the military.

 

But over the past six months during Victoria's various stages of lockdown, Paul has been receiving increasingly strange content from his friend over WhatsApp.

 

Antony, a former intelligence analyst, has been sending memes and YouTube videos all connected to a rapidly evolving conspiracy theory called QAnon.

 

"We'll get to a point where it will get ridiculous and we may not speak for a few days," Paul said. "There's that genuine concern and passion, even though he thinks I'm just a sheep."

 

"It's not ignorance or stupidity, but a[n] … esoteric fantasy that only them and a handful of others really know the truth."

 

What is QAnon?

 

QAnon's followers broadly believe that US President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against corrupt and child-abusing elites, including parts of government (dubbed the "deep state") and A-list celebrities.

 

One supporter, a newly nominated Republican candidate, is reported to have called the enemy in this war a "worldwide cabal of Satan-worshiping paedophiles".

 

And QAnon theorists follow an anonymous figure called "Q", who leaves cryptic clues in internet forums about Trump's next moves in the "war".

 

The internet-driven conspiracy theory is becoming harder to ignore amid the fear and economic disruption caused by the pandemic.

 

QAnon's reach extends beyond the US, with a growing number of Australians being pulled into QAnon's orbit — leaving friends and family wondering why their loved ones find this vision of the world so comforting and persuasive.

 

It's difficult to measure the strength of belief in QAnon in Australia. Analysis from misinformation tracking organisation First Draft suggests related Facebook groups, including one group with more than 12,000 members, have been active here since at least 2018.

 

But QAnon posts can be found seeded throughout a number of Australia's online conspiratorial communities, including large anti-lockdown Facebook groups as well as anti-vaccination pages.

 

Of course, social media offers Australians access to any one of hundreds of international QAnon accounts on Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

 

A recent Facebook investigation, reported by NBC, found that members and followers of top related groups and pages numbered more than 3 million, although there could be some overlap. And on the internet, a devotee and a mere gawker can be indistinguishable.

 

In recent weeks the company has banned around 900 QAnon pages and groups.

 

Many of us will engage with conspiratorial thinking at one time or other, but for people like Paul, this moment is different. Like so many others, he's left wondering if his friend will ever emerge from QAnon's elaborate and all-encompassing belief system.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 5:27 p.m. No.10396666   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6673 >>6675 >>4997

>>10396658

 

2/3

 

Why did QAnon make it to Australia?

 

At first glance, QAnon would seem to have little to do with Australia. Centred on Donald Trump — who has appeared to tacitly embrace the conspiracy theory — its anxiety about the reach of government has a deeply American flavour.

 

But the conspiracy is astonishingly malleable. All kinds of local networks, including anti-vaccination and sovereign citizen groups, have been quickly folded into its hierarchy.

 

Some of the most active Australian supporters of conspiracy theories, once ignored by all but a committed few, have opportunistically jumped on the QAnon trend, becoming stars off the back of Facebook Live broadcasts in which they assert COVID-19 is a hoax and pronounce their faith in a coming intervention by Mr Trump.

 

"A whole lot of the various conspiracy spot fires have all joined up into one massive fire front," said Kaz Ross, a lecturer in humanities at the University of Tasmania, who monitors online extremism.

 

That rings true for NSW Central Coast resident James* who noticed his mother's growing interest in QAnon around April this year, just as the COVID-19 lockdown went into effect.

 

Since then James says his mother and parts of his extended family have "gone down the rabbit hole," and this has driven a wedge between him and them, as well as putting strain on his own mental health.

 

His mother has had a long interest in alternative medicine and spiritual healing, as well as financial content on YouTube such as how to invest in cryptocurrencies.

 

James thinks the platform's algorithm may have led her to more extreme content.

 

"My mother is also the type of person who influences the people around her … which is why a lot of immediate family members share her beliefs," he said.

 

If someone believes in a conspiracy theory, they do tend to entertain more than one, according to Karen Douglas, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent.

 

"These sorts of beliefs can start to fit together," she said. "You probably feel like you're piecing together parts of a puzzle."

 

Marc-André Argentino, a QAnon researcher at Concordia University in Canada, said Australia could be considered part of a "five eyes" of QAnon — a reference to the intelligence sharing network between Australia, the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand.

 

All five countries are majority English-speaking, allowing messages to flow easily online. All share a similar political vocabulary, and all are experiencing the turmoil of a global pandemic.

 

And by its very nature, QAnon is participatory, Mr Argentino suggested, taking clues from pop culture and news clips of Mr Trump. Anyone can offer input and play the game, no matter where they're based or what language they speak.

 

Meanwhile, Paul believes the sheer spectacle of the US in Australia's news cycle plays a role.

 

"It's entertaining, it's theatrical. Can you imagine an Australian politician carrying on like Donald Trump? It's probably the only place you can see a show like that," he said.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 5:28 p.m. No.10396673   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10396666

 

3/3

 

Can people be talked out of QAnon?

 

James has discussed QAnon with his family but said he can't convince them to give it up. He's now hoping to move out of home.

 

"I can't refute them on anything as they usually claim anything I say that isn't from their conspiratorial sources, aka the "mainstream media," is false, and any peer-reviewed scientific documents are false," he said.

 

"I don't want to entrench their beliefs by trying to refute them."

 

Likewise, Paul doesn't want to lose his friend Antony and has turned to works by Mick West, a science writer who has written about how to debunk conspiracy theories, for clues about how to be there for his friend.

 

"To prioritise the relationship above all else and not end up in a squabble that is going to degenerate," he said. "You can't reason with fact. They'll take it personally as a challenge."

 

If someone is committed to a conspiracy theory and it becomes part of their identity, it can be very difficult to talk them out of it.

 

The role of evidence is completely altered, according to Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor of cognitive science at the University of Bristol.

 

It's a self-sealing belief system. Whatever evidence there is or isn't will be taken to confirm the theory.

 

"The absence of evidence is reinterpreted as evidence without batting an eyelid," he said.

 

Before attempting to talk to someone about their conspiratorial beliefs, Dr Lewandowsky said it's important to understand how far they've gone "into that tunnel".

 

"If they are all the way down, you're trying to deprogram someone who is in a cult. It's like deprogramming a terrorist," he said.

 

Establishing a rapport with the person is vital, as is showing empathy. Affirming the positive value of scepticism can also become a potential entry point for conversation.

 

You're dealing with someone who feels alienated and different from other people, Dr Douglas said.

 

"Strategies like going in hard with hostile arguments or making fun of the person, ridiculing them, is not going to help."

 

Dr Lewandowsky also cautioned that in general, the number of people who subscribe wholly to conspiratorial beliefs is small.

 

Conspiracy theorists often overestimate the number of fellow travellers, so we must be careful not to do the same.

 

And while the social media platforms have played a significant role in spreading QAnon regardless of national borders, Mr Argentino believes the spread of the theory into countries like Australia is ultimately a very human problem.

 

"It's a response to human insecurity," he said. "Regular sources of comfort and information aren't enough for these people, or they aren't available."

 

QAnon feeds off the internet, but at its core it is still patched together from ancient, often anti-Semitic tropes of scapegoats and saviours that inevitably flare up during times of disruption.

 

Perhaps it's comforting to believe that someone somewhere must be responsible for our pain.

 

To contain this, we must change the politics and give people back a "sense of stability", agreed Dr Lewandowsky.

 

"You've got have a better picture for the future, but that's where the challenge is."

 

* Names have been changed for privacy and safety.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-08-24/how-the-qanon-conspiracy-theory-is-affecting-australian-families/12564566

 

>PANIC.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 6:06 p.m. No.10396970   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6979 >>0995 >>4836

>>10388884

60 Minutes Australia: Dr Anthony Fauci reveals Australia is a ‘global leader’ in coronavirus fight

 

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The United States’ top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci has shared his thoughts on Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes.

 

As Australia’s fight rages on, Dr Fauci said when talking about countries that got their coronavirus response right, Australia remains a global leader.

 

“When we talk about who did it right, I mean, Australia always comes up as one of the countries that has done it right,” he said in his only Australian interview.

 

“I mean, you … suffered the way many of us have. But when you look, comparatively speaking, you‘ve done a really good job,” he said.

 

It comes on the day the country’s top nurse has said high testing rates need to continue in the country as 17 new deaths in Victoria take the death toll past 500.

 

The internationally renowned doctor said he is confident the coronavirus pandemic and its ongoing devastation will come to an end.

 

“We’re going to get out of this, guaranteed,” Dr Fauci said.

 

“It’s gonna end in Australia. It’s gonna end all over the world. Because we have the capability of doing it, and it’s up to us.”

 

Dr Fauci’s message of hope comes as the United States grapples with a virus that is tearing apart the nation.

 

More than five million people have tested positive, and over 170,000 deaths have been recorded.

 

Dr Fauci has served six US presidents, but that hasn’t stopped the White House from undermining its own top infectious disease expert lately.

 

In his interview with Tara Brown, Dr Fauci talked candidly about his difficult relationship with US President Donald Trump, saying the pair have a dynamic few understand.

 

He admitted it can seem tense between him and the President. He said despite the coronavirus crisis in the US he sometimes won’t see Mr Trump “for a while”. But he insisted their “personal relationship” was “good”.

 

“I know, I know you can see in the papers, there‘s this tension, but in reality, when you get in the same room and discuss things, then our relationship is fine. It’s, it’s a good relationship,” Dr Fauci said.

 

Earlier this year, Mr Trump sparked speculation that he intended to fire Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, after he retweeted a call to sack him.

 

Mr Trump later cooled the speculation and called Dr Fauci a “wonderful guy” at a press conference and said he wouldn’t be sacked.

 

When asked about the nature of the relationship, Dr Fauci laughed: “I would say it‘s complicated.”

 

“It‘s a situation where it isn’t all what it seems. The relationship itself is fine. I’m not just saying that. I mean, we have a relationship,” he said.

 

“Things happen, I think it was very unfortunate.

 

“One of the things you mentioned when, you know, a list was sent out to journalists about so called mistakes I made, which were really not mistakes, quite frankly that was a little bit, um, I don‘t know what the right word is.

 

“I think disturbing and unfortunate would be a good word — that should not have happened,” Dr Fauci said.

 

Asked if the slights from the Trump administration “hurt”, Dr Fauci said the attacks do “not influence the people that I care about”.

 

“The people that I don‘t care about, I don’t really care, so it doesn’t really make any difference to me.”

 

“My job, as a scientist, a physician, a public health official, is to protect the health and the welfare, not only of the American people, but of the entire world because we live in a global community.

 

“All that other stuff, quite frankly, is noise that I don‘t pay attention to.”

 

However Dr Fauci says the attacks have extended beyond people disagreeing with him, into violent threats against his wife and children.

 

“I‘ve had people during charged times disagree with me, and we’ve kinda settled it out. But now, to get death threats, to get my family harassed. My wife and my three children? I mean, that, to me, is absolutely preposterous,” he said.

 

“And there are some people that actually stoke that, encouraged that. I mean, if you look at some of the networks that I will not mention, that actually spend a lot of time literally stimulating that kind of behaviour, which is absolutely ridiculous that that goes on.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 6:07 p.m. No.10396979   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

>>10396970

 

2/2

 

Dr Fauci said it’s become difficult to deliver a public health message in the US, because the environment has become “intensively politicised”. He said his messages about public health are often interpreted as if “I‘m doing something directly against you deliberately to hurt you”.

 

When asked to characterise President Trump, Fauci refused.

 

“I don‘t do that,” he said. “He’s his own person.”

 

Dr Fauci says COVID-19 was the kind of disease that “kept him up at night” before it emerged and caused a global pandemic.

 

“We are living through a historic situation,” Dr Fauci told 60 Minutes. “Because I‘ve been asked over the decades, ever since I was a trainee, you know, ‘What‘s the, what’s the thing that keeps you up at night, Dr. Fauci?’ I got asked that question a hundred times, a thousand times.

 

“And the thing that keeps me up at night would be the perfect storm of a respiratory born illness that’s new, that’s a virus, that’s transmitted, one, very, very easily, and two, that has a degree of morbidity and mortality that’s serious and significant.

 

“That‘s the perfect storm, as far as I’m concerned. And … unfortunately, right now, we’re living through that perfect storm. We’ve never had that in the last 102 years.”

 

THREE VACCINES ARE GLOBAL LEADERS

 

Dr Fauci said there out of the six current vaccine candidates in Stage 3 trials in the US, he’s supporting three of them.

 

“Which means, the question is being asked directly, not only, ‘Is it safe,’ but, ‘Does it actually work? Is it effective?’,” Dr Fauci said. He said when it comes to the results of those trials, “the proof in the pudding”.

 

“But those kinds of inklings makes us have some aspirational hope that by the time we get to the end of the year, we‘ll have a vaccine,” he said.

 

Mr Fauci added that he considered the AstraZeneca vaccine candidate one of the three global leaders. Last week it was revealed the Australian government had secured doses of the vaccine for Australians if the it’s proved safe.

 

But Dr Fauci warned that if a vaccine is proven safe in clinical trials, it still won’t be immediately available.

 

“You’re not going to have immediately hundreds of millions of doses. That’s when you have to start making a prioritisation of who gets it.”

 

He said frontline workers and health workers could be first to receive doses of the vaccine as they’re exposed to infected patients and are the greatest risk.

 

He said even though the vaccine has been produced on an advances timeline, he insisted corners haven’t been cut. Dr Fauci added the key to community uptake of a vaccine was being transparent and accountable.

 

“Even though it looks like it‘s very, very fast, the speed of it is only because of the advances in technology,” he said.

 

“We‘ve learned that if you want a community to accept something that they have concern about, you’ve got to be extremely truthful and transparent about all of the data, which we will be.

 

“You know, when you hear things from the federal government, obviously there‘s always a concern, Dr Fauci said.

 

“Are they really giving us the straight scoop? So you’ve got to embrace and engage people at the community level.”

 

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/60-minutes-australia-dr-anthony-fauci-reveals-australia-is-a-global-leader-in-coronavirus-fight/news-story/501b847bd65d60354aed6378dc327035

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 7:40 p.m. No.10397835   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7841 >>4836

ASIO working to prevent foreign spies from stealing Australian coronavirus vaccine research

 

1/2

 

Scientists searching for a COVID-19 vaccine have received assistance from an unlikely source — Australia's top spies.

 

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has been working with medical institutions and scientific organisations to ensure their highly sought-after research is not stolen.

 

The threat comes at a time when the nation's defence and space sectors are already being targeted, and there are more foreign spies in Australia than ever before.

 

Medical research under attack

 

Intelligence agencies say there has been a noticeable increase in attempts by other countries to steal medical information relating to coronavirus.

 

Australia recently called out Russia after the United States, United Kingdom and Canada declared Russian hackers had targeted organisations involved in developing a COVID-19 vaccine.

 

In July, the United States Justice Department accused the Chinese Government of hacking firms developing vaccines.

 

The Australian Cyber Security Centre has publicly stated it has been working to prevent cyber-attacks related to COVID-19.

 

In an exclusive interview with the ABC, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess confirmed some of his officers were also assisting.

 

"There is great interest in medical breakthroughs … sometimes it can be done through covert means [and] that is on the rise," he said.

 

"We are very much attuned to that and we and others in the community have been active in helping the research institutions understand that's possible.

 

"Where we see things happening, together we are helping them deal with it."

 

Aside from talking to medical institutions and scientific organisations about the threat, Mr Burgess confirmed ASIO has carried out some "operational activity" but refused to provide details.

 

Spying and threats during a pandemic

 

COVID-19 has changed the way organisations across the world operate and Mr Burgess says ASIO is no different.

 

"We have managed to maintain a hold on priority targets but we have had to go back to some old fashioned tradecraft," he said.

 

Mr Burgess said ASIO officers had to change how they communicated and met up with people.

 

"We have gone back to old tradecraft — including perhaps not [leaving messages] under a rock — but how we might leave a message for one of our sources, it's gone back to the old-fashioned way, not technology."

 

He said spies and terrorists had used COVID-19 to their advantage, with extremist ideology spreading quickly because more people were online.

 

Traditionally, major gatherings have been a target for terrorists.

 

But most large events have been cancelled and shopping centre crowds are much smaller due to coronavirus restrictions.

 

Despite that, Mr Burgess said the threat was still real.

 

"The most likely attack in this country is car-borne or a knife attack," he said.

 

"Maybe shopping centres aren't busy but sadly hospitals are — so people who chose to do those things have other ways to cause harm."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 7:41 p.m. No.10397841   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10397835

 

2/2

 

Threat to defence and space sectors continues

 

Before the coronavirus pandemic, other nations had already been trying to get their hands on information about Australia's expanding military defence capabilities.

 

Mr Burgess said that threat had not gone away during the pandemic and he was "deeply concerned" Australia's efforts to build new defence equipment and technology was an "attractive target" for foreign governments and spies.

 

The ABC recently revealed Defence had raised concerns foreign spies posed an extreme threat to Australia's shipbuilding plan.

 

The situation is reminiscent of the Cold War era, when the Russians collected information about the Woomera missile project.

 

Mr Burgess said the level of foreign interest in Australia's defence sector now was the same as "at the height of the Cold War".

 

He also said high-tech industries such as the space sector were targets.

 

"Some countries have a rapacious appetite for intellectual property, they will go via covert means to steal that," he said.

 

"That is very much a problem and one we are focused on."

 

Who is targeting Australia?

 

Behind closed doors, members of the intelligence community have named Russia and China as countries of concern when it comes to foreign interference.

 

But Mr Burgess refused to say who was on ASIO's watchlist.

 

"There are many countries involved in espionage and I worry about more than two," he said.

 

But he did confirm ASIO was watching its allies.

 

"In the spying game, yes, sometimes you are both friends and sometimes we catch some of our friends out," Mr Burgess said.

 

With more spies in Australia now than ever before, Mr Burgess said the disguises many assumed allowed them to blend into the community.

 

"They might be here as a tradesman, a businessperson, even a journalist perhaps, a whole range of professions," he said.

 

"They are living their lives normally, but they also have another task that they don't declare."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-24/asio-preventing-theft-of-australian-coronavirus-vaccine-research/12584206

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 8:19 p.m. No.10398187   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8200 >>1837 >>6555 >>4903

Christchurch court hears graphic account of mosque killings on first day of Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant's sentencing hearing

 

1/2

 

The High Court in Christchurch has heard in chilling detail how the Australian terrorist who carried out attacks on two mosques in March 2019 deliberately and methodically killed 51 people and injured 40 more because he wanted to reduce New Zealand's immigration rates himself.

 

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 29, sat impassively in the dock as Crown Prosecutor Barnaby Hawes read a blow-by-blow account of the crime, describing how the gunman fired repeatedly and directly at men, women and children — including those already badly injured and crying out for help.

 

The court was told that immediately after the attacks, Tarrant told police his intention was "to kill as many people as he could" and burn each mosque to the ground.

 

"He intended to instil fear into those he described as invaders," Mr Hawes said.

 

By invaders, Mr Hawes said the gunman was referring to anyone in the Muslim population and non-Europeans.

 

"He said he wanted to directly reduce immigration rates by physically removing the invaders himself [and] create an atmosphere of fear and change," he said.

 

"He said he wanted to have shot more people than he did."

 

The court heard that after attacking two mosques — Al Noor and the Linwood Islamic Centre — the defendant was on his way to a third when he was intercepted and arrested.

 

Gunman fired at those attempting to flee and the injured

 

The court was taken through the killings in graphic detail, which began when the Australian fired on four men who were on their way into Al Noor mosque as the killer entered the front gate.

 

Time and again, the court was told, he not only fired several rounds at those attempting to flee, but would then approach his victims and fire into them as they lay injured in prone position.

 

By the time the defendant had walked down the corridor from the front entrance to the main prayer room, the court heard worshippers were piled in two corners near the only two exits from the room, desperately trying to get out.

 

Tarrant fired 32 shots in quick succession into one group before turning his head towards the other group.

 

At this moment, the court heard of an act of bravery by one of the worshippers, Naeem Rashid, who "ran at the defendant" as his head was turning.

 

Mr Rashid got within a metre of the gunman before he turned on him, firing four shots initially at the father-of-three, before shooting again at close range as his victim lay on his back "with his arms and knees up to his chest" in an attempt to protect himself.

 

Mr Hawes told the court "Mr Rashid's actions allowed a number of other worshippers to escape".

 

They included a 16-year-old boy, who managed to get out of the mosque, but was later shot dead by the gunman as he tried to hide from him.

 

Inside the mosque, the defendant — after retrieving more ammunition from his car — walked again to the piles of people, some of whom were already dead.

 

He took aim at those still moving, including "two precisely aimed shots" at a three-year-old boy who "was clinging to his father's leg".

 

The young boy died at the scene, the youngest of the terrorist's victims.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 8:20 p.m. No.10398200   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10398187

 

2/2

 

Tarrant laughed and commentated during attacks

 

After exiting Al Noor mosque, the gunman headed towards the site of the second attack — the Linwood Islamic Centre — taking aim at various people he assumed to be of Muslim faith on the way.

 

Mr Hawes said during this journey, "the defendant was talking and laughing about various aspects of what had happened in the form of commentary".

 

After arriving at the Linwood centre, the defendant's actions mirrored those at the Al Noor mosque.

 

He fired repeatedly at anyone who crossed his path, and then approached those already badly injured — including a cowering man who was "imploring him" not to shoot, and a woman lying prone on the ground.

 

There were also acts of bravery at Linwood, with one man running at him screaming and another picking up an abandoned weapon, which he threw at Tarrant's car as he drove off, shattering a window.

 

During the attacks, the defendant switched on a go-pro camera attached to a police-style helmet, which he would use to livestream the atrocity.

 

He also activated a strobe light on his helmet "to cause confusion" as he approached worshippers.

 

In addition to several high-velocity weapons, he carried four modified petrol containers, which the court heard were intended to be used to set the mosques on fire following the shootings.

 

It's not clear why Tarrant didn't follow through with that aspect of the plan, but the court heard in a police interview that he expressed regret at not having done so.

 

Gunman carried out 'reconnaissance' mission with drone months earlier

 

Mr Hawes told the court the defendant applied for a firearms licence in New Zealand in September, 2017.

 

Between then and the crime a year-and-a-half later, he began amassing weapons — modifying them to make them more deadly, honing his shooting skills and hatching his plan.

 

The court heard that in January 2019 — two months before the March 15 killings — Tarrant drove to Christchurch on a "reconnaissance" mission.

 

He parked directly across from Al Noor mosque and used a drone to scope out the building on Deans Avenue, including flying back over to specifically scope out the entry and exit doors.

 

Mr Hawes told the court the defendant at the time "made detailed notes" about the mosque "to ensure the maximum number of worshippers would be present" when he carried out the crime.

 

Then on March 15, 2019, Tarrant left the home he rented in Dunedin and drove to Christchurch, on what was to become, in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's words, one of New Zealand's "darkest days".

 

Ahead of the killings, the court heard Tarrant sent a manifesto he had written, entitled The Great Replacement, to the New Zealand parliamentary offices, to an extremist website, and to various media organisations.

 

The court also heard he communicated with his family, giving them suggestions on how to deal with police and media following the killings.

 

Victim tells gunman "we did not deserve your actions"

 

During the course of the four-day sentencing, the court will hear victim impact statements from more than 60 people, some of whom are directly addressing the defendant.

 

The Imam of Al Noor mosque, Gamal Fouda, 45 — who was the first to speak — told the court he would never forget seeing "the hatred of a brainwashed terrorist".

 

"I would like to say to the terrorist, you were misguided and misled," Mr Fouda said.

 

"We are a peaceful and loving community, we did not deserve your actions … if you have done anything you have brought the whole community closer with your evil actions."

 

The Imam also spoke directly to the gunman's Australian family, and Australia as a whole.

 

"I can say to the family of the terrorist that they have lost a son and we have lost many from within our community too, I respect them as they are suffering as we are," he said.

 

"Australia is our neighbour and we are all one against hate and racism."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-24/christchurch-court-hears-graphic-account-of-mosque-killings/12583410

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 8:42 p.m. No.10398399   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

>>10220297

Resignations in the news

 

AMP chairman David Murray resigns, top exec Boe Pahari stands down

 

AMP chairman David Murray has resigned and top executive Boe Pahari has stood down as AMP Capital chief executive after investors demanded accountability over the handling of the sexual harassment case at the troubled wealth giant.

 

AMP told the market on Monday morning Francesco De Ferrari would remain as chief executive and would replace Mr Pahari as AMP Capital chief executive on an interim basis. Mr Pahari will return to his previous role within AMP Capital's infrastructure equity business.

 

Non-executive director Debra Hazelton will replace Mr Murray as chair, effective immediately.

 

Former Treasury secretary John Fraser voluntarily resigned as non-executive director as a result of Mr Murray's decision to leave the company.

 

"These changes respond to feedback expressed by some major shareholders regarding the appointment of Mr Pahari as AMP Capital CEO on 1 July 2020," AMP said in a statement.

 

AMP promoted Mr Pahari to lead AMP Capital after penalising him $500,000 – or a quarter of his annual bonus – as part of the settlement of a sexual harassment complaint made by former colleague Julia Szlakowski in 2018.

 

Details of the complaint were made public last week causing major investors and federal politicians to call for accountability and transparency.

 

Mr Murray said AMP needed to continue its "transformation" under Mr De Ferrari with the support and confidence of investors, institutional clients, employees, partners and clients, "without distractions".

 

"The board has made it clear that it has always treated the complaint against Mr Pahari seriously. My view remains that it was dealt with appropriately in 2017 and Mr Pahari was penalised accordingly. However, it is clear to me that although there is considerable support for our strategy, some shareholders did not consider Mr Pahari’s promotion to AMP Capital CEO to be appropriate.

 

"Although the board’s decision on the appointment was unanimous, my decision to leave reflects my role and accountability as chairman of the board and the need to protect continuity of management, the strategy and, to the extent possible, the board," Mr Murray said.

 

New AMP chair Ms Hazelton acknowledged Mr Murray's leadership and thanked him for "professionalism, dedication and commitment" to AMP.

 

"Under my leadership, the board will focus on working with Francesco and his leadership team to deliver long-term value for our shareholders and clients by executing the transformation strategy.

 

"I am determined to restore the trust and confidence of our clients, shareholders and employees," she said.

 

Managing director of AMP's second-largest shareholder Allan Gray, Simon Mawhinney, said he was satisfied with the development after calling for transparency last week.

 

"I feel these are quite decisive moves on behalf of AMP," Mr Mawhinney said. "I think now is the time we need to give the company some space or latitude and freedom to carry out and execute their strategy and any necessary cultural change."

 

AMP last week announced it would release the investigation report into Mr Pahari's behaviour once it had the consent of Ms Szlakowski.

 

However, lawyers for Ms Szlakowski said she had not seen the report and would only be permitted to view it under strict supervision and limited legal representation. Maurice Blackburn principal Josh Bornstein said AMP's behaviour was unprecedented, and has requested additional documents, bringing the negotiations to a stalemate.

 

Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility executive director Brynn O'Brien welcomed the resignation of Mr Murray, claiming his appointment was always questioned by the investor community.

 

ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson said the resignations were an "important step" in addressing concerns raised by investors.

 

"Investors will be continuing to engage with AMP to understand how these decisions were made and how the company intends to strengthen company culture," Ms Davidson said. "Clearly AMP's initial response to community, staff, and shareholder concerns around the appointment of Pahari and the treatment of [allegations of] sexual harassment was inadequate.”

 

Labor Senator Deborah O'Neill criticised Mr Pahari's continuation at the company, calling it "window dressing for change".

 

"Mr Pahari’s continuing engagement at a senior level still speaks volumes to the problems at AMP," she said. "Again, it shows a lack of sensitivity to community expectations."

 

https://www.theage.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/amp-chairman-david-murray-resigns-top-exec-boe-pahari-stands-down-20200824-p55ol3.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 11:44 p.m. No.10399734   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9740 >>4903

Swapping Biden for Trump wouldn't make much difference to Australia

 

Alexander Downer - Aug 23, 2020

 

1/2

 

So the polls all suggest Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. It’s hard to know, and any prediction now is just a guess. There are still about 70 days to go and anything could happen in that time.

 

What is extraordinary is how little attention is paid by the Biden campaign as well as Donald Trump’s team to policy issues. Make no mistake. The messages are all poll-driven and their lack of focus on policy reflects the lack of interest there is in the US in policy issues. That is a sad reflection on the state of American democracy.

 

This election campaign is all about personality. The Biden people have spent their virtual convention focusing on their perceptions of the flaws in Trump’s personality. Trump himself never stops the ad hominem attacks on Sleepy Joe.

 

The personality of the president may be interesting but it’s his policies which matter to you and me. And to Australia. So is it really going to make a great difference to us if Biden becomes the next US president?

 

Let’s have a think about that.

 

First, Biden would reverse some of Trump’s more controversial policy decisions. He would rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change. In reality, that may be good diplomacy, but it’s not going to make much difference to the weather. But he does say he would get the world’s biggest polluters together and try to forge a new agreement among them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

 

Everyone has forgotten now that George W. Bush did precisely the same thing. His initiative foundered because leading CO2 emitters such the European Union and China wanted to give priority to the UN process rather than a US-led initiative focusing on the world’s major emitters.

 

Malcolm Turnbull as environment minister and I as foreign minister attended a conference chaired by Condoleezza Rice in Washington in 2007 which tried to forge an agreement to reduce CO2 emissions by those major emitters. We were up for it. It seemed a much better way to go than the laborious and diplomatically complex UN process. Nothing was achieved.

 

So Biden‘s attempt to revive this initiative would be welcome and a Democratic president may have more luck than a Republican in trying to make it work.

 

The world’s single most important geopolitical issue is the relationship between the US and China. Given the lack of specific policy pronouncements by the Biden campaign, it’s hard to know precisely what he would do as president. But there are signs that in reality his policies on China would be very similar to those of President Trump.

 

He would continue to try to leverage better trade outcomes with China. In doing that, he probably wouldn’t abandon the tariff increases Trump has imposed on Chinese exports to the US without striking a quid pro quo with China.

 

Biden would also be robust in resisting Chinese hegemony in the East and South China seas. And he would take precisely the same position as Trump on China’s decision to undermine the one country, two systems policy on Hong Kong.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 23, 2020, 11:45 p.m. No.10399740   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10399734

 

2/2

 

Indo-Pacific alliances are already strong

 

So, what would change? The answer is: nothing much. The Biden people will tell us that he would be better at building alliances in the Indo-Pacific region. That’s just an empty claim. Those alliances are already strong. Let’s take Australia. Whatever the individuals in our government may think of Trump, both Turnbull and Scott Morrison as prime ministers and their foreign and defence ministers have built a very successful relationship with the Trump administration.

 

Contrary to much of the rhetoric of the US media, Trump has been very successful in forging a strong relationship with Australia and Japan, America’s two most important allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

 

Will the Morrison government get on as well with a Biden administration as it has with Trump’s? I’m not sure. If somebody such as Jake Sullivan becomes the secretary of state, I imagine the relationship would be pretty smooth. But, generally speaking, Republican administrations have been more focused on relationships with specific allies such as Australia then have their Democratic counterparts. So we can’t be sure that Biden’s administration would be more effective as a geopolitical player in the Indo-Pacific region than the Trump administration.

 

But whatever the differences, there’s no cause for worry. A Biden administration would maintain America’s balancing-wheel role in the region, and that is vital to our security.

 

And then there’s trade. The George W. Bush administration was very bullish on free trade. We were, after all, able to forge a brilliant free trade agreement with the Americans under Bush. The Obama administration didn’t wind that back, and nor has the Trump administration done so. I don’t think Biden would either.

 

And on the upside, there are some indications that a Biden administration may try to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. That would be a really big improvement in America’s positioning in the Indo-Pacific region. But the Biden team's support for the CPTPP is lukewarm, and whether the right terms could be found for America’s participation is hard to know.

 

Overall, the Biden team has been no more free trade oriented than the Trump administration. It wants to inject into all trade agreements new initiatives on the environment and human rights. That sounds politically attractive, but it does make trade liberalisation a great deal more difficult to achieve than focusing on trading agreements that prioritise the liberalisation of trade in goods and services.

 

So, overall, I think a Biden administration would make little difference to the life of the average Australian, or weaken America’s role in our region.

 

Unless … the Biden policies on COVID-19 are in effect policies to delay economic recovery. All the signs are, that is their plan. That could cost us a lot.

 

But I have one other reservation about a Biden administration. I think the president himself would be particularly weak. He would not be a policy-focused president, nor would he be energetic. That means that policy would be left to people further down the line. And you know how it is.

 

If the boss doesn’t personally take a strong lead, the subordinates tend to fight among themselves. I would guess that a Biden administration would struggle to come up with clear policy responses to the ad hoc issues and crises that will inevitably arise during the next president’s term.

 

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/swapping-biden-for-trump-wouldn-t-make-much-difference-to-australia-20200820-p55nrz

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 24, 2020, 11:02 p.m. No.10410995   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

>>10396970

Dr Anthony Fauci's 2018 interview on flu dangers and future virus pandemic | 60 Minutes Australia

 

Published on 24 Aug 2020

 

In 2018, 60 Minutes interviewed the United States' top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci. The leading public health expert has served six presidents, guiding the United States' response to the AIDS crisis, SARS, MERS, Ebola and Swine Flu as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Before the coronavirus pandemic changed the world forever, Dr Fauci told 60 Minutes about the dangers of the seasonal influenza and made a dire prediction about the inevitability of another pandemic, much like the 1918 Spanish Flu.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4tMTX58pHA

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 24, 2020, 11:15 p.m. No.10411081   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

Repost from Q Research General #13322

 

>>10410293 (pb)

 

Mission impossible: Andrews' emergency power play looks doomed

 

Premier Daniel Andrews’ push for a 12-month extension of Victoria’s COVID-19 state of emergency looks doomed to fail, with nearly all the crossbench MPs in State Parliament’s upper house opposed to the move.

 

All but one of the crossbenchers who spoke to The Age on Tuesday morning said they were opposed to the government’s proposal and would vote with the Liberals and Nationals to defeat the move when Labor brings Parliament back next week to try to legislate its changes.

 

Andy Meddick of the Animal Justice Party remains undecided, while disgraced former Labor minister Adem Somyurek, who remains in Parliament as an independent, could not be contacted.

 

But in the likely absence of Mr Somyurek and with the Greens' leader Samantha Ratnam on leave, Labor with its 17 upper house members now faces a bloc of 20 votes – 11 Coalition and nine crossbench – who oppose the extension.

 

But there is enough support on the crossbench for three or even six more months of emergency powers to suggest that a compromise deal is possible.

 

Labor’s parliamentary challenge is further complicated by the advice of Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton that regional and rural MPs should stay out of Melbourne and not attend Parliament, depriving the government of the votes of ministers Jaala Pulford and Jaclyn Symes.

 

Coalition MPs from outside Melbourne as well as non-metro crossbenchers were prepared to defy Professor Sutton’s advice and turn up to Parliament in early August but it is unlikely government ministers would act against the health advice.

 

Mr Andrews is facing a broad-based backlash against the 12-month proposal with human rights advocates joining the Premier’s political rivals in criticising the move.

 

The Premier took to Facebook to stress the state of emergency extension was not the same as the state of disaster and that he was not proposing stage four lockdown measures such as Melbourne's 8pm curfew be extended.

 

Mr Andrews said the extended state of emergency would prolong "commonsense" rules on face masks and social distancing, which he said had driven down transmission of the virus.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/mission-impossible-andrews-emergency-power-play-looks-doomed-20200825-p55p2q.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 24, 2020, 11:41 p.m. No.10411182   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1189 >>4997

Why QAnon is attracting so many followers in Australia — and how it can be countered

 

Kaz Ross - August 25, 2020

 

1/2

 

On September 5, a coalition of online groups are planning an Australia-wide action called the “Day of Freedom”. The organisers claim hundreds of thousands will join them on the streets in defiance of restrictions on group gatherings and mask-wearing mandates.

 

Some online supporters believe Stage 5 lockdown will be introduced in Melbourne the following week and the “Day of Freedom” is the last chance for Australians to stand up to an increasingly tyrannical government.

 

The action is the latest in a series of protests in Australia against the government’s COVID-19 restrictions. The main issues brought up during these protests centre around 5G, government surveillance, freedom of movement and, of course, vaccinations.

 

And one general conspiracy theory now unites these disparate groups — QAnon.

 

Why QAnon has exploded in popularity globally

 

Since its inception in the US in late 2017, QAnon has morphed beyond a specific, unfounded claim about President Donald Trump working with special counsel Robert Mueller to expose a paedophile ring supposedly run by Bill and Hillary Clinton and the “deep state”. Now, it is an all-encompassing world of conspiracies.

 

QAnon conspiracy theories now include such wild claims as Microsoft founder Bill Gates using coronavirus as a cover to implant microchips in people, to governments erecting 5G towers during lockdown to surveil the population.

 

Last week, Facebook deleted over 790 groups, 100 pages and 1,500 ads tied to QAnon and restricted the accounts of hundreds of other Facebook groups and thousands of Instagram accounts. QAnon-related newsfeed rankings and search results were also downgraded.

 

Facebook is aiming to reduce the organising ability of the QAnon community, but so far such crackdowns seem to have had little effect on the spread of misinformation.

 

In July, Twitter removed 7,000 accounts, but the QAnon conspiracy has become even more widespread since then. A series of global “save the children” protests in the last few weeks is proof of how resilient and adaptable the community is.

 

Why Australians are turning to QAnon in large numbers

 

QAnon encourages people to look for evidence of conspiracies in the media and in government actions. Looking back over the last several years, we can see a range of events or conspiracy theories that have helped QAnon appeal to increasing numbers of followers in Australia.

 

1) Conspiracies about global governance

 

In 2015, Senator Malcolm Roberts claimed the UN’s 1992 “Agenda 21” plan for sustainable development as a foreign global plan aimed at depriving nations of their sovereignty and citizens of their property rights.

 

The belief that “Agenda 21” is a blueprint for corrupt global governance has become a core tenet of QAnon in Australia.

 

Any talk of “global bankers and cabals” directly taps into longstanding anti-Semitic conspiracies about supposed Jewish world domination often centred on the figure of billionaire George Soros. The pandemic and QAnon have also proven to be fertile ground for neo-Nazis in Australia.

 

2) Impact of the far-right social media

 

QAnon has its roots on the far-right bulletin boards of the websites 4Chan and 8Chan. Other campaigns from the same sources, such as the “It’s OK to be White” motion led by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in the Senate, have been remarkably successful in Australia, showing our susceptibility to viral trolling efforts.

 

3) Perceived paedophiles in power

 

During the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse, Senator Bill Heffernan tried unsuccessfully to submit the names of 28 prominent Australians which he alleged were paedophiles.

 

His failure is widely shared in QAnon circles as proof of a cover-up of child abuse at all levels of Australian government. The belief the country is run by a corrupt paedophile cabal is the most fundamental plank of the QAnon platform.

 

4) Increasingly ‘unaccountable and incompetent’ governments

 

A number of recent events have eroded public trust in government — from the “sports rorts affair” to the Witness K case — and all serve to further fuel the QAnon suspicion of authority figures.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 24, 2020, 11:42 p.m. No.10411189   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10411182

 

2/2

 

5) Longstanding alternative health lobbies

 

Australia’s sizeable anti-vax movement has found great support in the QAnon community. Fear about mandatory vaccinations is widespread, as is a distrust of “big pharma”.

 

Also, the continuing roll-out of 5G technology throughout the pandemic has confirmed the belief among QAnon followers that there are ulterior motives for the lockdown. Wellness influencers such as celebrity chef Pete Evans have amplified these messages to their millions of followers.

 

6) The ‘plandemic’ and weaponising of COVID-19

 

In the QAnon world, debates about the origin of the coronavirus, death rates, definition of cases, testing protocols and possible treatments are underpinned by a belief that governments are covering up the truth. Many believe the virus isn’t real or deadly, or it was deliberately introduced to hasten government control of populations.

 

Understanding QAnon followers

 

Understanding why people become part of these movements is the key to stopping the spread of the QAnon virus. Research into extremist groups shows four elements are important:

 

1) Real or perceived personal and collective grievances

 

This year, some of these grievances have been linked directly to the pandemic: government lockdown restrictions, a loss of income, fear about the future and disruption of plans such as travel.

 

2) Networks and personal ties

 

Social media has given people the ability to find others with similar grievances or beliefs, to share doubts and concerns and to learn about connecting theories and explanations for what may be troubling them.

 

3) Political and religious ideologies

 

QAnon is very hierarchically structured, similar to evangelical Christianity. QAnon followers join a select group of truth seekers who are following the “light” and have a duty to wake up the “sheeple”. Like some religions, the QAnon world is welcoming to all and provides a strong sense of community united by a noble purpose and hope for a better future.

 

4) Enabling environments and support structures

 

In the QAnon world, spending many hours on social media is valued as doing “research” and seen as an antidote to the so-called fake news of the mainstream media.

 

Social isolation, a barrage of changing and confusing pandemic news and obliging social media platforms have been a boon for QAnon groups. However, simply banning or deleting groups runs the danger of confirming the beliefs of QAnon followers.

 

So what can be done?

 

Governments need to be more sensitive in their messaging and avoid triggering panic around sensitive issues such as mandatory or forced vaccinations. Transparency about government actions, policies and mistakes all help to build trust.

 

Governments also need to ensure they are providing enough resources to support people during this challenging time, particularly when it comes to mental and emotional well-being. Resourcing community-building to counter isolation is vital.

 

For families and friends, losing a loved one “down the Q rabbit hole” is distressing. Research shows that arguing over facts and myths doesn’t work.

 

Like many conspiracy theories, there are elements of truth in QAnon. Empathy and compassion, rather than ridicule and ostracism, are the keys to remaining connected to the Q follower in your life. Hopefully, with time, they’ll come back.

 

https://theconversation.com/why-qanon-is-attracting-so-many-followers-in-australia-and-how-it-can-be-countered-144865

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 12:33 a.m. No.10411371   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1386 >>1405 >>4903

Religious leaders question ethics of Oxford University developing coronavirus vaccine using cell lines from aborted foetus

 

1/2

 

One of Australia's most senior religious leaders says he would likely boycott the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University, on ethical grounds.

 

The Federal Government has signed an international deal that would provide all Australians free access to the UK vaccine, being worked on by Oxford scientists and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, if it is approved for use.

 

But Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies said there were ethical questions about the potential vaccine, because scientists have used cell lines from an electively aborted foetus.

 

"To use that tissue for science is reprehensible," Dr Davies told AM.

 

His concerns are shared by Catholic and Greek Orthodox leaders, who have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

 

Dr Davies said he would "have to think very seriously" about whether he would get the COVID-19 vaccine if it came from Oxford University.

 

"It would depend upon the nature of the development of other vaccines," he said.

 

"From what I've understood, there are so many places around the world on the hunt for this vaccine, which I'm certainly hopeful that there will be pressure on those countries to make it widely available.

 

"So I'm not putting Hobson's choice [take it or leave it] at this stage."

 

However, he made his position clear when pushed by AM on whether he would wait for a second vaccine if the first was from Oxford University.

 

"I probably would, but that would be a personal decision of mine and not a decision that I would bind anyone's conscience with," he said.

 

The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, declined an interview but he told the Catholic Weekly newspaper that he didn't believe it would be unethical to get the Oxford vaccine if it was the only option.

 

"But I am deeply troubled by it," he said.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 12:38 a.m. No.10411386   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10411371

 

2/2

 

Transparency and options

 

For decades, scientists have used human cells that come from elective abortions to make vaccines such as rubella and chicken pox.

 

The information is publicly available and the Archbishop was questioned why he had not raised concerns about other inoculations.

 

"To be perfectly honest I didn't know that until this week," he said.

 

"Once I know something that is morally compromised, then it is my job to speak out about it.

 

"If I had known previously about those vaccines which you speak, then I would have done so."

 

Dr Davies said he and his counterparts at other churches wanted the Prime Minister to be more transparent about the Oxford University vaccine and to look for other options.

 

"For me, the right thing would be to make sure that if the vaccine becomes available first from Oxford that everyone knows its genesis and [that the Government] continue [s] to pursue other vaccine developments so that those vaccine developments which are not morally compromised could become more readily available for our population."

 

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth backed the UK researchers.

 

"There are strong ethical regulations surrounding the use of any human cell, particularly foetal human cells," Dr Coatsworth said.

 

Despite the aborted foetus being decades old, Dr Davies argued no life was worth more than another.

 

"I still want to protect the life of the unborn and I don't want to take advantage of the involuntary death of an unborn child," he said.

 

"Therefore, that for me is a higher virtue than my own personal vaccination."

 

Government pushes ahead and medical networks back Oxford

 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Morrison respected the views of religious communities and understands the issues being raised.

 

"The Government is investing in research and technology that we hope will produce a range of vaccines that will be suitable for as many Australians as possible," the statement said.

 

"Many vaccines in development do not contain these cell lines, including the UQ vaccine candidate which the Government is already supporting with $5 million."

 

Mr Morrison is yet to formally respond to the letter from religious leaders and a spokesperson for the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Australia said His Eminence Makarios Griniezakis would not talk before he had received a response.

 

A spokesman for Catholic Health Australia, which operates 75 hospitals and 550 residential and community aged care services, said it did not share the concerns outlined in the letter.

 

"The most pressing issue for Catholic health providers is whether any proven vaccine can be distributed fairly and equitably," the statement said.

 

"We must ensure that the marginalised in society are not left to the back of the queue and that, whichever vaccine prevails, it reaches those most at risk."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-25/sydney-archbishop-questions-ethics-of-potential-covid-vaccine/12591286

 

 

Joint letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison

 

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7042933-LETTER-COVID-19.html

 

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7042933/LETTER-COVID-19.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 12:43 a.m. No.10411405   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10411371

Archbishop Fisher OP: Let’s not create an ethical dilemma

 

Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP responds to concerns from the faithful about a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Most religious believers are not anti-vaxers. In fact most of us are praying for a vaccine against COVID-19. So the Australian Government’s announcement that it has signed a letter of intent to manufacture the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine (if successful in clinical trials) sounds like great news.

 

Until you read the fine-print on the ampule. Turns out that this vaccine makes use of a cell-line (HEK-293) cultured from an electively aborted human foetus. Of 167 candidate vaccines for COVID-19 identified by the World Health Organisation, 29 of which are already in clinical evaluation, the Commonwealth has thrown its lot in with one that some ordinary Australians will find morally problematical.

 

It has also been reported that if the vaccine is adopted for use in Australia, it will be ‘as near to mandatory as possible’. At the very least it can be expected that It is likely there will be enormous social and political pressure upon people to use it. ‘No jab, no play’ they’ll say. No child care. No aged care. No job for you.

 

Of course, many people will have no ethical problem with using tissue from electively aborted foetuses for medical purposes.

 

Others may regard the use of a cell-line derived from an abortion performed back in the 1970s as now sufficiently removed from the abortion itself to be excusable.

 

But others again will draw a straight line from the ending of a human life in abortion, through the cultivation of the cell-line, to the manufacture of this vaccine. They won’t want to be associated with or benefit in any way from the death of the baby girl whose cells were taken and cultivated, nor to be thought to be trivialising that death, nor to be encouraging the foetal tissue industry.

 

I, for one, don’t think it would be unethical to use this vaccine if there is no alternative available. To do so would not be to co-operate in any abortion occurring in the past or the future. But I am deeply troubled by it.

 

Those who are troubled by it will either have to either acquiesce to the social pressure to use the vaccine on themselves and their dependents, or conscientiously object to it. If they resist they will suffer various disadvantages and their abstention may undermine the goal of ‘herd immunity’. Some will feel deeply conflicted whichever way they go. And it will be socially divisive.

 

Unnecessarily so. If the Government pursues an ethically uncontroversial vaccine this won’t be a problem. If it assures people that no one will be pressured to use such a vaccine or disadvantaged for failing to do so, it won’t be a problem. If it makes available an ethically-uncontroversial alternative vaccine if one is achieved found, those who are troubled in conscience will be relieved. The key, then, is seeking solutions that protect the community’s physical health while also respecting its moral health and offering people choices.

 

I’m a strong advocate of vaccinations – and not just for COVID-19 – as long as they are safe and ethically obtained. I commend the efforts of our Commonwealth and State governments to keep us safe. I won’t be wagging my finger at anyone who uses the vaccine.

 

What people need right now is some hope that life can return to relative normalcy. But we do not want this at the price of many good people’s consciences and the creation of new social tensions. There are ethically untainted alternatives: let’s pursue those.

 

https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/archbishop-fisher-op-lets-not-create-an-ethical-dilemma/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 1:15 a.m. No.10411490   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1522 >>3498 >>6621 >>0093 >>7947 >>0585 >>4903

ASIO issues alert to universities over China links

 

1/2

 

Australia’s spy agency has warned universities about the risk to ­national security from Chinese government recruitment programs, including the Thousand Talents Plan, and has alerted them as recently as May to the ­potential for collaboration to turn into espionage.

 

ASIO gave private briefings to universities urging them to strengthen their disclosure ­regimes and making them aware of the risks of foreign talent recruitment programs including technology transfer, security sources said.

 

The revelations come as the deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Labor MP Anthony Byrne, supported a demand by his Liberal colleague and committee chairman Andrew Hastie for an “urgent” inquiry into the Thousand Talents Plan.

 

Mr Byrne said the inquiry should take place through the parliamentary committee in order to obtain classified briefings from Australian and US agencies.

 

An investigation by The Australian revealed dozens of researchers at universities across the country had been recruited by the Thousand Talents Plan, which in some cases pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to academics and provides other lucrative perks. In exchange, academics are bound by contract terms that can include a requirement to assign intellectual property to Chinese universities.

 

Mr Byrne said: “The report in The Australian would alarm any Australian concerned about our national sovereignty.

 

“It would appear that Australian universities have turned a blind eye to (their) own academics selling their knowledge to a foreign power through a program that the FBI have identified as a national security and economic espionage threat. This is totally unacceptable.”

 

As a result of The Australian’s investigation, Education Minister Dan Tehan revealed on Monday night that his department would in coming weeks brief two ­powerful parliamentary committees on the issue.

 

“I am working to ensure Australia’s higher education sector has strong protections against foreign interference,” Mr Tehan said.

 

“In the coming weeks, the Department of Education, Skills and Employment will be providing in camera briefings on the government’s work to strengthen protections against foreign interference to the Senate Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade … and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.”

 

The Australian has learned that ASIO briefed universities on warning signs relating to academics who had been recruited by the Chinese government and also expressed concerns about some specific academics.

 

ASIO confirmed the briefings on the Thousand Talents Plan and similar programs in a rare statement.

 

“ASIO regularly engages with Australian universities, tertiary institutions and academia on national security issues,” a spokesperson said. “The details of those discussions are sensitive and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

 

“As is longstanding practice, ASIO does not comment on the specific details of intelligence matters, or individuals.” Pressure is mounting on the Morrison government to hold an inquiry into foreign interference. Mr Tehan and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton both declined to comment on whether they supported the push.

 

Politicians who lent their support to calls for an inquiry ­included Dave Sharma, Tim ­Wilson, Jim Wilson, Sarah ­Henderson, Claire Chandler, Amanda Stoker, Alex Antic, Eric Abetz, George Christensen, ­Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Bob Katter and Labor’s Kimerbley Kitching, who chairs the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

 

Some politicians, including Mr Christensen, have raised the matter directly with Scott Morrison and Mr Tehan.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 1:23 a.m. No.10411522   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10411490

 

2/2

 

Higher education sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the discussions, said ASIO had twice provided high-level briefings about foreign influence in the sector, including Thousand Talents and similar programs. The agency had also provided specific briefings to universities when it had particular concerns about a researcher, said sources involved in these discussions.

 

But those in the sector said the briefings noted that Thousand Talents and similar programs were not necessarily problematic as long as academics were made to disclose conflicts of interest.

 

Universities already have disclosure registers for secondary employment and other conflicts of interest, but all contacted by The Australian during its investigation of the Thousand Talents Plan declined to make these available.

 

A security source said universities needed to be careful international collaboration did not become more serious and that they needed to be aware “there may be an espionage element”.

 

“The starting point is research collaboration is overwhelmingly a good thing,” a senior security source said.

 

“There are risks and these programs are sometimes used as a way of IP or technology transfer.”

 

While the FBI is investigating more than 1000 cases in the US involving real or attempted theft of intellectual property, with many involving the Thousand Talents plan, in Australia, there is no agency that combines intelligence and law-enforcement.

 

The Thousand Talents Plan does not fall directly into ASIO’s remit and it also involves IP theft in exchange for money. This is not currently illegal in Australia, although it is open to police to make a case for fraud, if one exists.

 

There is also the question of Australian Research Council grant funding going offshore. There are no checks and balances to ensure this does not happen.

 

Official regulation of the sector is patchy, with universities themselves left to police questions of foreign interference.

 

Mr Sharma said the revelations about the Thousand Talents program were deeply worrying.

 

“If you’re employing an academic, you have a right to assume they are loyal to you … some of these academics seem to have been serving two masters, without the knowledge of their Australian university employer,” the Liberal MP said.

 

Mr Wilson said: “It’s essential to be vigilant against the Chinese Communist Party’s tentacles.

 

Senator Kitching said Australia was “playing catch-up with other jurisdictions” when it came to combating this problem.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/asio-alert-to-universities-over-china-links/news-story/1abe37d2a077a8f4875f8c84825934d7

 

 

UNITED STATES SENATE - PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS

 

CHINA’S TALENT RECRUITMENT PLAN CONTRACTS

 

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2019-11-18%20PSI%20Staff%20Report%20-%20Appendix%20A%20-%20China's%20Talent%20Recruitment%20Plans.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 1:56 a.m. No.10411667   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Prince Andrew's sex accuser Virginia Roberts says duke played a 'guessing game' with Ghislaine Maxwell about her age when she was 17-years-old before comparing her to his daughters

 

Prince Andrew's sex accuser Virginia Roberts has claimed the Duke of York played a 'guessing game,' with Ghislaine Maxwell about her age when she was 17-years-old before comparing her to his daughters.

 

Now known as Virginia Giuffre, the accuser has spoken out in a documentary series, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, claiming she met the Queen's second son in London, describing him as an 'abuser,' and 'not the prince from the fairy tale stories you read'.

 

Ms Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by paedophile financier Epstein, alleges the duke had sex with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17, still a minor under US law.

 

Andrew has categorically denied he has had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.

 

The duke's friend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is awaiting trial in the US after being charged with procuring teenage girls for Epstein to abuse.

 

She denies the charges.

 

In a clip released ahead of the programme, Ms Giuffre said of Andrew, who is the father of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie: 'Before he abused me, when we just met, Ghislaine does this guessing game and he guessed right, I was 17 and he compared me to his daughters, saying, 'Oh, my daughters are a few years younger than you'.'

 

She added: 'Prince Andrew is not the prince from the fairy tale stories you read.

 

'Andrew deserves to be outed. He deserves to be held accountable. He's an abuser.'

 

Lady Victoria Hervey, formerly friends with Andrew and Maxwell, told the programme that friendship with Epstein offered the duke a form of escapism.

 

She said: 'Jeffrey definitely enjoyed the idea of being friends with the Queen's son and Prince Andrew had just gone through a divorce.

 

'There's this American billionaire that wants to fly him around the world and introduce him to people, and it was probably an escapism, really, for him.'

 

Christopher Mason, a journalist and also a former friend of Maxwell, said he once bumped into Andrew and Maxwell while walking in Madison Avenue in New York.

 

Mr Mason said: 'He told me that he was staying at Jeffrey's townhouse. That kind of fascinated me. It just seemed like a kind of perfect instance of the kind of people that Jeffrey was hanging out with.'

 

Andrew stepped down from royal public life in November following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, which had led to criticism of a lack of empathy for Epstein's victims and a lack of remorse over his friendship with the convicted sex offender.

 

Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and eventually abuse three girls, who prosecutors did not publicly name, from 1994 to 1997, and to committing perjury by denying her involvement under oath.

 

She was arrested on July 2 in New Hampshire, where prosecutors said she was trying to evade capture, and is being held in a Brooklyn jail after a judge called her a flight risk.

 

In total Maxwell is facing six counts - four relating to child sex trafficking, and two of perjury for lying under oath about the trafficking during a previous lawsuit.

 

If convicted on all charges, she is facing up to 35 years behind bars.

 

Maxwell's trial is scheduled for next July.

 

Epstein was found hanged at age 66 last August in a Manhattan jail, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges for abusing women and girls in Manhattan and Florida from 2002 to 2005. He had also pleaded not guilty.

 

During her pre-trial incarceration, Maxwell is being watched by a team of prison psychiatrists who are compiling a secret file on her mental health, her lawyers have claimed.

 

In a letter protesting about the 'uniquely onerous conditions of her confinement' in a Brooklyn jail, her legal team claim she has been kept under constant surveillance without her consent.

 

Maxwell is asking the judge in her case to order that her lockup conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center be modified to be the same as other inmates.

 

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein will be screened on the Crime+Investigation channel with a double episode on August 25 at 9pm, followed by parts three and four the following evening on August 26 at 9pm.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8658633/Prince-Andrews-sex-accuser-Virginia-Roberts-says-duke-played-guessing-game-age.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 2:07 a.m. No.10411717   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein: Virginia Giuffre Tells Her Story

 

Published on 19 Aug 2020

 

Virginia Giuffre recounts her traumatic experience working for Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in this clip from Season 1, Episode 1, "Lured." #SurvivingJeffreyEpstein

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1xEv8ZXFU

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 2:11 a.m. No.10411734   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3611 >>4930

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

 

Unfuckingbelievable!!!! A major honour for a major participant in a sex trafficking op! I can’t believe the man that abused me 3X is being rewarded. What a world we live in. How are we ever going to evolve into a better society if we’re rewarding bad ppl? @bobby_capucci @bsfllp

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1298057275127394304

 

 

Kacey Oreo @KaceyOreo

 

Think we should organise a protest this is fucking disgusting

@VRSVirginia @shaunattwood

Prince Andrew to Receive a Major Royal Honor After Epstein Scandal

uk.news.yahoo.com/prince-andrew-…via @yahooNewsUK

 

https://twitter.com/KaceyOreo/status/1297090454014636032

 

 

Replying to @KaceyOreo, @shaunattwood and @YahooNewsUK

 

Yes please!If I could get out of Australia I would show up at his ceremony and ask the audience why, why would you celebrate this man? Why would you stand up and clap for a man who’s a known participant in a sex trafficking ring? Bloody coronavirus- I hope my friends in the uk do

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1298060883382296578

 

 

Prince Andrew to Receive a Major Royal Honor After Epstein Scandal

 

The bells at London's Westminster Abbey will still ring for Prince Andrew's birthday on February 19, 2021, despite Andrew's November announcement that he would "step back" from his royal duties following public outcry over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew withdrew from the public eye after participating in a heavily criticized BBC interview, in which he denied Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre's allegations that she was forced to have sex with him, but said he did not regret his friendship with Epstein.

 

As People reports, the bells at Westminster Abbey ring for the birthdays of 11 other royals: the Queen and Prince Philip; Princes Charles and Edward; Charles' wife Camilla Parker Bowles; Kate Middleton and Prince William; and Kate and William's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis (Meghan Markle and Prince Harry did not receive the bell ringing honor, even before they stepped down as senior royals.)

 

Government buildings also fly the Union Jack on senior royals' birthdays—but Andrew did not receive this honor last February, with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announcing in a statement, "Following the decision by the Duke of York to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, there is no longer a requirement for UK government buildings to fly the Union flag on Wednesday February 19."

 

Prince Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein came under renewed scrutiny in September 2019, after Virginia Roberts Giuffre said she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17. Andrew said he "emphatically denied" the allegation. In a November BBC interview widely considered disastrous for the royal, he claimed he had "no recollection" of meeting Giuffre, provoking outcry when he said he didn't regret his friendship with Epstein because of "useful" opportunities it provided him.

 

After the interview, Andrew announced that he would "step back from public duties for the foreseeable future," stating that his "former association with Jeffrey Epstein [had] become a major disruption to [his] family’s work."

 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/prince-andrew-receive-major-royal-114200198.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 2:41 a.m. No.10411837   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1842 >>6555 >>4903

>>10398187

Mosque victims urge life without parole for Brenton Tarrant

 

1/2

 

Wellington: Families of victims gunned down at two New Zealand mosques last year urged a judge to impose the toughest possible sentence — life without parole — on the gunman as he showed no remorse and appeared to smirk at one survivor during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

 

Mirwais Waziri, who was wounded during the attack at Christchurch's Al Noor mosque, put aside his prepared court statement and addressed white supremacist Brenton Tarrant directly, after seeing that he did not have "any regrets, any shame in his eyes".

 

"He does not regret anything," said Waziri in the High Court in Christchurch on the second day of the sentencing hearing.

 

"Today you are called terrorist and you proved to the world that us Muslims are not terrorists. I say to the people of New Zealand that terrorists do not have religion, race and colour," Waziri said, his words drawing applause from the public gallery.

 

Nathan Smith, originally from Britain and a survivor of the Al Noor mosque shooting, also spoke directly to Tarrant who sat in grey prison clothes cornered by guards.

 

"When you get a free minute, which you will have plenty of. Funny, eh? Very funny. Maybe you should try to read the Koran. It's beautiful," he said, reacting to Tarrant's apparent smirk.

 

The daughter of 65-year-old Linda Armstrong, who was killed in the shootings, challenged Tarrant to use his life in prison to consider the beauty of the diversity and freedom he sought to destroy.

 

Angela Armstrong sobbed as she addressed the court. "You robbed me of my mother, of her love and strength. Likely you will also never again feel the love and warmth of your mother's hug either. While I have pity for your mum, I have no emotion for you. You are nothing," she said.

 

"While he will remain trapped in a cage, my mum is free. I therefore challenge Tarrant to use his remaining lifetime to consider the beauty and life to be found in diversity and freedom that he sought to distort and destroy."

 

Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, is scheduled to be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and one charge of committing a terrorist act during the shooting rampage which he live-streamed on Facebook.

 

A murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The judge can impose a life term without parole, a sentence that has never been used in New Zealand.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 2:42 a.m. No.10411842   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10411837

 

2/2

 

The second day of a multi-day sentencing hearing was dedicated to allowing survivors and family members of victims to address the court, in person and via video.

 

Kyron Gosse, nephew of Linda Armstrong, said the shooter had come to New Zealand as a guest, and used that privilege to destroy a family that had lived here for seven generations.

 

"Filled with his own racist agenda this coward hid behind his big powerful guns and shot little old Linda from afar," Gosse said.

 

Tarrant "stole our nation's innocence", he said. The country had been relatively free from major gun violence.

 

Ibrahim Mohamed Abdelhalim, imam of Lindwood Islamic Centre - the second mosque targeted by Tarrant, told the court "the actions of the defendant have affected not only our community, but all of New Zealand".

 

"I feel the actions of the defendant are a terrorist act and a racist act. I believe he has acted as the far right, or extreme right, which I am totally against.

 

"New Zealand gave my family a home 24 years ago. I do not accept the defendant's actions against people he did not know. Fighting and killing people does not achieve anything and is not in Islamic thinking. We will need to talk, understand and ask questions to remove confusion."

 

Ambreen Naeem, wife of Naeem Rashid who was killed at Al Noor mosque trying to stop Tarrant's rampage, also lost her son Talha Naeem.

 

"Naeem died trying to save others and his act of bravery is something his sons will always feel proud for. His death was a reflection of his life," she told the court.

 

"Since my husband and son passed away I have never had a proper normal sleep. I don't think I ever will. That is why [Tarrant's] punishment should continue forever. No one ever stopped him from going to the mosque. He was greeted with 'hello brother' when he entered the mosque."

 

On Monday, prosecutors told the court Tarrant had carefully planned the attacks to cause maximum carnage by accumulating high-powered firearms and ammunition, training at rifle clubs and studying mosque layouts.

 

While most of Tarrant's victims were at Al Noor mosque, he killed seven people at the Linwood mosque, including Linda Armstrong, before being detained en route to a third.

 

Tarrant, who is representing himself, will be allowed to speak at some point during the hearings, although Justice Cameron Mander has powers to ensure the High Court is not used as a platform for extremist ideology.

 

Live reporting from the courtroom was banned, and other restrictions were put in place on what the media could report.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/you-are-nothing-mosque-victim-s-daughter-tells-gunman-20200825-p55p2r.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 10:54 p.m. No.10422558   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3279 >>6714 >>4892 >>4903

Repost from Q Research General #13334

 

>>10419226 (pb)

 

#LetUsSpeak: Victoria blocks sexual assault victims from using real names

 

Victoria has gone backwards and introduced a law that will see criminals fist pumping in their cells and sexual assault survivors having to hide their faces.

 

Tens of thousands of sexual assault survivors in Victoria have been stripped of their legal right to tell their stories using their real names.

 

The changes to the Judicial Proceedings Reports Act – which were quietly introduced in February – silence all sexual assault victims whose offenders have been found guilty, by banning them from ever speaking out under their real identities.

 

The new ‘gag laws’ have been described as a “major victory” for convicted paedophiles and rapists, as their victims are now “muzzled” and prohibited from self-identifying in publications – including media and autobiographies – regardless of their consent.

 

The laws also apply irrespective of when the crime occurred or when the offender was found guilty, meaning that many Victorian survivors who have lawfully been able to tell their stories in the past are now censored.

 

This includes scores of high profile survivor advocates – including several clergy abuse victims from Ballarat – some of whom have been speaking out for decades.

 

These individuals will now potentially face jail time if they continue their advocacy work under their real names.

 

Any sexual assault victim found guilty of breaking the new laws could face up to four months jail and fines in excess of $3000. Media outlets could also face potential prosecution and fines of over $8000.

 

The only way for a survivor to reclaim the right to self-identify in public, is to take the matter to court and obtain a court order – a process which could cost each victim in excess $10,000.

 

“There is no way that I would just have ten thousand dollars sitting around to pay to do this. (I’d) be taking money away from (my) family” says Maggie*, an adult survivor of child rape who wishes to be named but is prohibited from doing so.

 

More

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/letusspeak-victoria-blocks-sexual-assault-victims-from-using-real-names/news-story/821647419aee0cdbba5f89678c5a6a14

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 25, 2020, 10:58 p.m. No.10422586   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

Repost from Q Research General #13334

 

>>10419176 (pb)

 

Mystery seeds arrive in Australia from Asia sparking scary warning

 

Scores of mysterious packages have arrived at Aussie addresses, prompting authorities to warn of a possible biosecurity threat.

 

A bizarre trend has now reached Australian shores, with dozens of unsuspecting households finding packets of mysterious seeds in their mailboxes.

 

The packages have been finding their way across the globe in recent months, with similar cases reported in the UK, US, Europe and Canada.

 

While their exact origins are unknown, it is widely believed the seeds were sent from Asia.

 

Australian authorities and agriculture groups have warned the items could pose a serious biosecurity threat.

 

According to the ABC, 36 seed packages had landed at addresses across the country over the past five weeks, with most sent from China, Malaysia and Taiwan.

 

Australian Seed Federation (ASF) CEO Osman Mewett has urged all Australians who receive an unsolicited package to report it to the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment immediately.

 

https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/mystery-seeds-arrive-in-australia-from-asia-sparking-scary-warning/news-story/1596427a1138a645f8684c00460da3a9

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 12:21 a.m. No.10423178   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

>>10368354

>>10368361

Partner says Assange 'in a lot of pain'

 

Julian Assange's partner has visited him in prison for the first time in almost six months, saying he looks much thinner than last time she saw him.

 

Stella Moris took the couple's two young children to meet their father, who is being held in Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, awaiting an extradition hearing on behalf of the United States government.

 

Moris and the WikiLeaks founder had to wear face masks and visors for the 20-minute meeting and were not allowed to touch each other.

 

She told the PA news agency it was "incredibly stressful" but expressed relief at being able to visit him for the first time since March 22.

 

"We had to keep social distancing and Julian was told he would have to self-isolate for two weeks if he touched the children.

 

"Julian said it was the first time he had been given a mask because things are very different behind the doors.

 

"I could not see him very clearly because of the visors, but he looked a lot thinner.

 

"He was wearing a yellow armband to indicate his level of prisoner status, and you could see how thin his arms were.

 

"At least he got to see the children, even though he couldn't touch them. The children were both calm - we all remained seated the whole time."

 

Gabriel, aged three, showed Assange how he could recite the alphabet and count, said his mother.

 

Moris said her partner is still suffering from a frozen shoulder, and had recently sprained his ankle.

 

"He is in a lot of pain," she added.

 

The couple, whose other son, Max, is aged one, met when Assange was living inside Ecuador's embassy in London as he fought being extradited to the US over the activities of WikiLeaks.

 

The extradition hearing is due to start at the Old Bailey on September 7 and could last three or four weeks.

 

Moris has launched a crowdfunding appeal to try to raise 600,000 pounds ($A1.1 million) towards the cost of fighting extradition.

 

Around 47,000 pounds has been raised so far.

 

Moris expressed concern about coronavirus-related health measures as Assange is transported to and from the court every day.

 

She added that he has not had a face-to-face meeting with his legal team since lockdown began in March and only has limited access to the huge amount of paperwork generated by the case.

 

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6895747/partner-says-assange-in-a-lot-of-pain/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 12:45 a.m. No.10423279   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6289 >>6714 >>4892

>>10422558

Dassi Erlich Tweets

 

I am aghast and bewildered. We will definitely be speaking up about this. How was this allowed to happen in Victoria??

This is the opposite of empowering survivors!

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298443676683649024

 

#LetUsSpeak: Victoria blocks sexual assault victims from using real names

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/letusspeak-victoria-blocks-sexual-assault-victims-from-using-real-names/news-story/821647419aee0cdbba5f89678c5a6a14

 

 

It has come to our attention that new laws were quietly passed in February regarding a victim's right to identify themselves and their story.

 

Our lawyers tell us this could impact us too from this point forward.

 

#letuspeak

 

@EllySapper

 

@NicoleM04999749

 

1/3

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298464577835827200

 

 

It appears it's now a culpable offence for a survivor to speak up at various points in the legal process.

If indeed this is true, this would completely contradict a progressive approach to empowering victims.

 

2/3

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298464579375128578

 

 

This is a bizarre discovery and we hope that this is just a legislative error. We trust it can be quickly amended.

 

We stand with all survivors and their right to tell their story without fear of sanction!

 

We will continue to voice our support for the rights of survivors!

 

3/3

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298464580981514240

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 1:17 a.m. No.10423422   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

US Congress introduces resolution to condemn QAnon conspiracy theory

 

Washington: Amid rising concern about the QAnon conspiracy theory, a bipartisan pair of US congressmen on Tuesday introduced a resolution condemning the fringe movement and calling on law enforcement to block criminal activity by its adherents.

 

The resolution, introduced by Republican Representative Denver Riggleman and Democratic Representative Tom Malinowski, describes QAnon as one of the "fringe political conspiracy theories" that authorities say are likely to encourage violent actions by domestic extremists.

 

It was not immediately clear whether congressional leaders would bring the new resolution to a vote.

 

The measure comes at a time when QAnon looks poised to gain a toehold in the US House of Representatives, with at least two Republican candidates who espouse QAnon beliefs on track to win their November elections.

 

Political newcomer Marjorie Taylor Green, a businesswoman from northern Georgia, coasted to a victory in a Republican primary this month.

 

QAnon followers espouse a series of beliefs spread online that view President Donald Trump as a hero waging battle against a cabal of child-sex predators including prominent Democrats.

 

Tuesday's resolution urges the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies to strengthen their focus on preventing "violence, threats, harassment, and other criminal activity" carried out by conspiracy theory adherents.

 

As an ideology that has grown to embrace a range of popular conspiracy theories on topics from alien landings to vaccine safety, they warned that QAnon could have the potential to radicalise violent individuals at an alarming pace. The FBI last year included it in a warning about "conspiracy-theory-driven domestic extremists."

 

Russian government-supported organisations are believed to be playing a small but increasing role amplifying conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon, raising concerns of new election interference.

 

Facebook has removed nearly 800 QAnon conspiracy groups for posts celebrating violence, showing intent to use weapons or attracting followers with patterns of violent behaviour.

 

Trump recently told reporters that he knows nothing about the QAnon movement except that its followers like him.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/us-congress-introduces-measure-to-condemn-qanon-conspiracy-theory-20200826-p55pbe.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 1:25 a.m. No.10423457   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3468 >>4997

QAnon looms behind child trafficking protests and viral #SaveOurChildren hashtags

 

Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins - 25/08/2020

 

1/2

 

On the second Saturday of August, about 100 protestors marched through the streets of Washington in the US, chanting “save the children.”

 

It was ostensibly an effort “to raise awareness and start a conversation” about child trafficking, according to a local television reporter at the scene.

 

Many of the marchers held signs that would be expected at such a rally: “Save our kids,” “Your silence is deafening,” and “Wake up 4 our children,” to name a few.

 

But other signs were less clear and suggested that something darker was going on during an event that otherwise seemed organic and sympathetic.

 

“Symbolism will be their downfall,” one sign read.

 

Another featured the hashtag “#Pedowood.”

 

Yet another was a strange acronym: “WWG1WGA,” short for “Where we go one, we go all.”

 

These signs, similar to those found at many such rallies now taking place around the US and in other cities around the world - including in Australia - are references to QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has surged in popularity in recent months.

 

It turned out that the rally had nothing to do with the century-old humanitarian charitable group Save the Children.

 

Conspiracy theory

 

QAnon is a sprawling and baseless conspiracy theory alleging that President Donald Trump is engaged in a secret war against a cabal of Satanist child abusers in government, entertainment and the media.

 

The conspiracy — which has spread to millions of users in Facebooks groups during the coronavirus pandemic — has been linked to several violent crimes and was last year labelled a potential domestic terror threat by the FBI.

 

The scene in Washington was just one of many rallies planned on Facebook by QAnon supporters or sympathisers that have brought the conspiracy theory offline and into the streets in recent weeks.

 

The events themselves tend to follow a familiar pattern.

 

People march along the main streets and chant, usually sticking to the broader topics of child abuse and human trafficking.

 

When talking with local reporters, marchers rarely mention QAnon or wider conspiracy theories, sticking instead to demands like stricter laws against pedophilia and greater media attention on sex trafficking.

 

The marches are neighbourly and peaceful.

 

Often young children are marching, too, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with bloody handprints and carrying tiny signs with messages like “I am not for sale.”

 

Fringe beginnings

 

QAnon spent years on the fringes of the internet, with the theory evolving and often growing less specific.

 

What was originally a conspiracy theory that centred on an anonymous internet poster has now become something of a catchall for a variety of beliefs about a hidden group of child abusers in positions of power.

 

That’s helped create a palatable entry point for many people who might not spend much time in dark parts of the internet but are active on Facebook.

 

It’s a strategy that has led to significant growth in people who might not necessarily be among the most ardent QAnon die-hards but are beginning to warm to some of its ideas.

 

“This is not about pedophilia,” said Whitney Phillips, an assistant professor of communication and rhetorical studies at Syracuse University.

 

“This is not about child protection. This is about a conspiracy theory that’s trying to couch itself in other terms to get more people involved and sympathetic.”

 

And those sympathetic people are showing up at rallies and trying to take action.

 

People who have spent years working for organisations that fight human trafficking and child abuse say that they have been flooded by bizarre claims and tips, as well as criticism and sometimes threats.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 1:27 a.m. No.10423468   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10423457

 

2/2

 

Hashtag floods internet

 

In early August, the hashtag #SaveTheChildren seemed to be everywhere.

 

As it spiked, Facebook briefly disabled the hashtag, with a warning that it went against community standards.

 

That action poured gasoline on the QAnon community, which rallied to circumvent what they claimed in groups was “censorship.”

 

The hashtag was reinstated and continued to take off but lost steam when QAnon believers moved to #SaveOurchildren after realizing Save the Children, the humanitarian organisation founded in 1919, was funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill Gates has been a constant target of unfounded conspiracy theories spread by QAnon groups since the coronavirus pandemic began.

 

The nonprofit organization Save the Children did not respond to a request for comment.

 

While 3.5 million users across thousands of groups were “talking about” #SaveTheChildren and #SaveOurchildren by Friday, according to Facebook data, the most engaging conversations were happening in Facebook groups and on Instagram accounts related to QAnon.

 

That’s according to an analysis by First Draft, a nonprofit that tracks misinformation online and provides research and training for journalists.

 

QAnon groups make up only 18 per cent of those posting about #SaveOurChildren.

 

But they accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the total interactions on the hashtag in August, according to First Draft.

 

On Instagram, QAnon-related accounts posting about #SaveOurChildren accounted for 75 per cent of the interactions.

 

Most of the top hashtags from #SaveOurChildren posts in August are QAnon-specific.

 

Facebook cracks down

 

Facebook cracked down on QAnon last week, removing or restricting more than 13,000 groups, pages and Instagram accounts that pushed QAnon content and “discussed potential violence.”

 

While many of the Save the Children events do not openly espouse QAnon beliefs, the group’s connection is never far away.

 

On their personal social media pages and in their mostly private Facebook groups, organizers of the largest upcoming rallies openly embrace QAnon ideology and push its content.

 

Facebook pages for the events are often swarmed with conspiracy theories involving vast child trafficking rings and baseless accusations about the involvement of Hollywood actors and politicians.

 

People who have spent much of their lives fighting human trafficking and child abuse have borne the brunt of the surge in popularity from the “Save the Children” movement.

 

Rochelle Keyhan, the CEO of the anti-trafficking nonprofit Collective Liberty, has been bombarded in the last few months with text messages, Facebook messages and LinkedIn requests, all pointing her to conspiracy theories and YouTube videos about Satanic cabals.

 

She mostly gets sent a 10-part YouTube video about how Trump is secretly rounding up all of the Satanists and in turn stopping child trafficking.

 

“They’re like: ‘Have you seen this? What are you doing about this?’” she said. “All day, every day, we’re doing a lot about this.”

 

Keyhan said these conspiracy theories often wildly misrepresent what trafficking most frequently looks like, which can make it harder for real victims to get help.

 

“Their kid’s friend could have all the warning signs of those same girls that Epstein victimised,” Keyhan said, referring to Jeffrey Epstein, the millionaire financier who was accused of sex trafficking.

 

“If we’re not paying attention to that, then we’re leaving those kids behind, and letting them fall into the hands of predators.”

 

https://7news.com.au/news/social/qanon-looms-behind-child-trafficking-protests-and-viral-savethechildren-hashtags-c-1265089

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 1:34 a.m. No.10423498   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10411490

Thousand Talents ‘spreads sunshine’ on China ties, Deputy ambassador Wang Xining claims

 

China’s number two diplomat in Australia has played down national security concerns over Beijing’s Thousand Talents Plan, saying Australian scientists recruited under the scheme are trying to “spread sunshine” on the bilateral relationship.

 

Deputy ambassador Wang Xining also said there was no evidence that COVID-19 had originated in China, and claimed Western democracy had proven to be inadequate compared to Chinese socialism in responding to the coronavirus.

 

Days after conspiracy charges were laid against a Texas scientist for hiding his affiliation with the Thousand Talents Plan, Mr Wang claimed the program complied with Australian law.

 

“The scientists are trying very hard to spread sunshine over our relationship,” he said on Wednesday at the National Press Club in Canberra, branding criticism of the scheme as “absurd” and “based on hearsay”.

 

He failed to answer direct questions about espionage concerns related to the scheme.

 

Instead, he sought to compare the controversial scheme, which requires scientists to keep their participation secret, to Australia’s efforts to recruit skilled migrants.

 

“I know there is a (program called) Australia’s Global Talent Independent Program, which is hosted by Home Affairs, I believe. And they have offices in Shanghai, recruiting Chinese scholars for research in Australia.

 

“It’s up to the scientists to decide where to work, who to collaborate (with), and who to marketise their future results (with).”

 

The Australian this week identified more than 30 academics who have been recruited to the Thousand Talents Plan or other Chinese government recruitment programs, or have had their intellectual property registered in China.

 

Australian scientists recruited to the program can access lucrative salaries and perks but must patent their inventions in China and are prohibited under their contracts from disclosing their participation in the scheme.

 

Mr Wang said scientific co-operation was “integral” to the bilateral relationship and “for the benefit of mankind”.

 

“I’d rather see the sunny side of our co-operation in technology and science,” he said.

 

“It has brought, and it will bring, enormous good to our business, to our society and to our people.”

 

Mr Wang sought to blame Australia for the increasingly tense relationship between the two countries, saying China’s people had rejected Australia’s “shocking proposal” for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, because it assumed COVID-19 originated in China.

 

“It is up to the scientists to find out the origin, and also how it has been dealt with by different governments,” he said.

 

Mr Wang referred to recent comments by a senior WHO official who said “patient zero” was not necessarily among the initial cluster of cases to emerge in Wuhan.

 

He said his country had tackled the virus with “Chinese discipline”, while in Western democracies “people suffered, people died”.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/thousand-talents-spreads-sunshine-on-china-ties-deputy-ambassador-wang-xining-claims/news-story/8435dcc5192dd48d8990acd724eff7f8

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 2:02 a.m. No.10423611   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

>>10411734

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

 

I am his victim & survivor & I have a vendetta for those with power whom could use their positions for good but instead take advantage of vulnerable girls and lie poorly about it. Everyone who has ever felt anger like I do should also sign. http://chng.it/YdXbg4kX via @ChangeAUS

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1298535634550702080

 

Do not award a new honor to Prince Andrew

 

Prince Andrew has been credibly identified by several survivors as having had sex with trafficked girls; legally, this is rape.

 

We believe survivors 100%

 

Not only should the planned 'New Honor' which is going to be awarded to him be rescinded, but he should forthwith co-operate with the FBI over the current investigation into child trafficking in the US (Epstein related)

 

https://www.change.org/p/the-uk-royal-family-do-not-award-a-new-honor-to-prince-andrew

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 2:14 a.m. No.10423660   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Ghislaine Maxwell's request to be moved to the general prison population denied by judge

 

A federal judge in the US has denied Ghislaine Maxwell's request to be moved to the general prison population, saying changes to her confinement are unnecessary at this time.

 

Lawyers for Ms Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, who faces charges of recruiting, grooming and abusing minor girls as young as 14-years-old, asked the judge to transfer her out of a high-security cell in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, to allow her to better prepare for her defence.

 

In denying the request, US District Court Judge Alison Nathan noted that the Bureau of Prisons has allowed Ms Maxwell access to materials 13 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

"Should facts on the ground change such that the Defendant is not being provided sufficient access to her legal materials, defence counsel may seek intervention by the Court," the judge wrote.

 

The judge also rejected Ms Maxwell's earlier request to modify prison surveillance, which she claimed involved being secretly watched by prison psychologists for several hours every day.

 

In denying that request, the judge said that Ms Maxwell "has provided the Court with no evidence, and no reason to believe, that the surveillance measures are motivated by improper purposes".

 

Prosecutors are required to provide written updates every 90 days about any significant changes to Ms Maxwell's confinement, according to the order.

 

Ms Maxwell, 58, was arrested on July 2 and charged with recruiting, grooming and ultimately abusing three alleged victims. Ms Maxwell pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been detained until her trial, which is set for July 2021.

 

The stepped-up security follows Epstein's death last summer while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges at a different federal facility, Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Centre. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner said Epstein died by suicide. Two guards were napping and online shopping while they were supposed to be observing Epstein, according to prosecutors, who charged them with filing false records. The guards have pleaded not guilty.

 

Ms Maxwell's lawyers have argued that she has never been diagnosed as suicidal and the current conditions treat her unfairly.

 

Prosecutors told the judge that the Bureau of Prisons decided against moving Ms Maxwell for "reasons including safety, security, and the orderly functioning of the facility".

 

At the time, prosecutors said Ms Maxwell would be moved into the general population "if and when (the Bureau of Prisons) is assured that such placement would not pose a threat to the orderly operation of the institution".

 

The judge also rejected Ms Maxwell's request to learn the identity of the three accusers in the indictment, saying it was premature.

 

https://www.9news.com.au/world/ghislaine-maxwell-denied-request-to-be-moved-into-general-prison-population/8ae897b7-0f98-451a-a284-98003de35461

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 26, 2020, 11:52 a.m. No.10428059   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5623 >>4903

Q Post #4627

 

Aug 26 2020 12:23:33 (EST) NEW

 

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1297521970813317121

One party discusses God.

One party discusses Darkness.

One party promotes God.

One party eliminates God.

Symbolism will be their downfall.

The Great Deceiver(s).

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader being Patriotic [exhibiting National Pride (love of Country)]?

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader 'speak out against' the riots [violence in the streets]?

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader support those who took an oath to protect and defend?

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader support and call for UNITY across our Nation?

ALL ASSETS DEPLOYED.

INFORMATION WARFARE.

INFILTRATION.

DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA.

Have Faith in Humanity.

Have Faith in Yourself.

UNITED WE STAND.

GOD WINS.

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4627

 

 

President Donald Trump Tweet

 

Two Democrat Caucus Meetings removed “UNDER GOD” from the Pledge of Allegiance. It sounded not only strange, but terrible. That’s where they’re coming from!

 

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1297521970813317121

 

 

Magnanimous Tweet

 

Watching the DNC last night, I noticed their logo…. now, where have I seen that uneven star before? HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT….

 

https://twitter.com/magnanimous_17/status/1296466564917669888

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 12:33 a.m. No.10436289   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9920 >>4892

>>10423279

Dassi Erlich Tweets

 

We have been silenced.

 

We are no longer able to use our voices to speak up.

 

We hope this is fixed quickly.

 

@JillHennessyMP

 

Louise Milligan Facebook Post

 

Update on legislation requiring survivors of sexual assault to get court order to speak out: This was drafting problem. @JillHennessyMP sought urgent advice from department to ensure unintended problems fixed. She has in past been strong advocate for victims - she even cried about them in parliament. Let’s hope this is cleared up ASAP. My tip is it will be.

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=933114713766459&id=100012038172584

 

 

Yesterday was a very unsettling day for us and for many survivors.

 

We can no longer comment on our case.

 

Last night, @DanielAndrewsMP called and reassured us our voice is important.

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298812148940853249

 

 

This morning, we spoke to Attorney-General @JillHennessyMP and she acknowledged that this law creates an unintended barrier and the process to change has begun.

 

Survivors have so little choice, when and how to tell their story should be completely in their hands!

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298812151881011200

 

 

We have a supportive team of people, including @SouthwickMP and @joshburnsmp working to unsure that we will not be silenced on Sept 21st.

 

Our lawyer Nick Mazzeo has commenced the application process to lift this gag.

Enforced silence is the ultimate disempowerment.

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298812153705590786

 

 

@EllySapper

@NicoleM04999749

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298812156847116290

 

 

LET US SPEAK

 

#LetUsSpeak

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1298813488828051462

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 12:47 a.m. No.10436350   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

The Global QAnon Conspiracy Theory

 

Until recently, the conspiracy theory known as QAnon was mostly known only in America.

 

QAnon is the belief that U.S. President Donald Trump is fighting a “deep state” plot of sex traffickers against him. The term “deep state” means a group of government employees who secretly work against the president.

 

The extreme-right idea has gained believers throughout the United States. Trump has often retweeted messages from QAnon. It is estimated that more than 12 Republican candidates running for Congress have accepted some of its ideas.

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is worried about QAnon believers. It has identified conspiracy theories as a possible terror threat.

 

However, QAnon believers appear to no longer live only in the United States. Believers are thought to be in at least 71 countries. That information comes from QAnon researcher Marc-Andre Argentino.

 

“There has been massive growth,” said Argentino. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Canada’s Concordia University.

 

Outside the U.S., Germany has become home to the largest number of QAnon followers, Argentino said. One German QAnon channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram has 120,000 members.

 

In the past month, the biggest growth in QAnon’s international followers has taken place in Brazil. The country has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and more than 114,000 people have died there.

 

What does Q stand for?

 

“Q” is an online writer who claims to be a government employee at a top secret level and with knowledge of the deep state's systems.

 

But few experts believe he is a government insider. And many suspect more than one person may have been behind the Q writings over the years.

 

Q first appeared online in October 2017. The writer made an unusual prediction: Former Democratic party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would soon be arrested. Her arrest would be followed by nationwide riots, the prediction said.

 

The prediction proved false. Q made many more untrue predictions. One stated that large numbers of Democratic Party members would be arrested.

 

Q has continued to write about Trump’s “secret war” against sex traffickers and others have passed the writings along and repeated them.

 

Q last wrote publicly on July 31. The writer said the coronavirus health crisis was created to help keep then-likely Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden from appearing in public before the election. It was also created to force Trump to stop having his large gatherings, Q wrote.

 

"QAnon believes President Trump is the person who will save the world from this network of bad actors and he will uncover the Deep State that exist[s] in the United States and overseas," said Kevin Grisham. He is the associate director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino.

 

Who are QAnon believers?

 

Georgia businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is a believer. She just won the Republican Party nomination Tuesday for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is expected to win the seat in November.

 

Q’s followers have grown on social media: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Telegram. Argentino said about 300,000 to 400,000 people write about QAnon on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram each day.

 

Since the start of the spread of the new coronavirus around the world, QAnon support has grown a lot. The number of QAnon Facebook group members has jumped 800 percent to 1.7 million. Argentino added that pro-QAnon Twitter accounts have increased 85 percent – to 400,000. In recent weeks, both Facebook and Twitter have removed writings by QAnon.

 

How popular is QAnon overseas?

 

Most of the recent growth in QAnon following has taken place in countries other than the U.S. "You're starting to see these sort of groups popping up everywhere," Grisham said.

 

Germany, Britain, Australia and Canada are among the countries where supporters appear to be growing. Also, observers are watching what Russian- supported media are saying.

 

Experts who study QAnon said there were no signs Russia had a hand in creating it. However, Russian media has increased its coverage of the movement.

 

Cindy Otis is a former CIA employee and a disinformation expert. Reuters reports that she said Russian-backed news organizations have been writing more about QAnon because it shows division in the United States.

 

Listen online

 

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/pp/5559288/ppt0.html

 

MP3 Download

 

https://av.voanews.com/clips/VLE/2020/08/26/1f892326-2dda-4910-a511-b3741c7c9c53_hq.mp3?download=1

 

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-global-qanon-conspiracy-theory/5557261.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 12:51 a.m. No.10436368   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

Liberal senator launches grenades at super

 

A Liberal senator has launched an explosive attack on superannuation, accusing the federal opposition of being communists following the "Big Brother" of industry funds.

 

A bitter fight broke out in the upper house on Thursday when Liberals agitating for major retirement savings reforms locked horns with Labor.

 

In a wide-ranging spray, Queensland LNP senator Gerard Rennick invoked American revolutionary Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death" declaration.

 

He said the revolutionary spirit continued in the fight against Marxism and communism.

 

"Many of those forces sit opposite us today," he told senators.

 

"All with their little red books, bobbling their heads to every command issued by their Big Brother - industry super funds, run by unions."

 

Senator Rennick said Labor believed in repression of free will and the complete destruction of everything that makes Australia great.

 

He criticised $40 billion in superannuation management fees and a similar amount in tax concessions.

 

"Most of these fees go to white collar blowhards in Sydney and Melbourne. Every week rivers of gold flow out of regional communities."

 

Senator Rennick hinted at a High Court challenge of whether super was constitutional if it didn't return the initial capital.

 

He questioned if the system breached the same section of the constitution used in the classic Australian movie The Castle relating to the acquisition of property "on just terms".

 

He also branded industry super fund-owned news website The New Daily a "communist propaganda tool used to peddle Marxist ideology".

 

Labor senator Tim Ayres described sitting through the speech as an out of body experience.

 

"When you listen to a sort of stream of consciousness word salad about little red books, big brother, bankers, Marxists, command and control - it feels like I'm sort of at a Qanon cell meeting," he told parliament.

 

"Not the Australian Senate, not where the adults engage in this stuff."

 

Tensions ran high when Senator Ayres rebuffed claims industry super would become the biggest political donor in Australia.

 

He compared the $25,000 in total contributions to Clive Palmer's massive spend at the last election and Senator Rennick's donation to the LNP "immediately prior to his preselection".

 

"That is a personal slur that indicated corruption and I totally reject that. I want that remark withdrawn now," Senator Rennick angrily replied.

 

Senator Ayres refused to withdraw, saying the imputation against Senator Rennick existed only in the heads of Liberal senators.

 

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6898384/liberal-senator-launches-grenades-at-super/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 1:10 a.m. No.10436448   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

Celebrity chef Pete Evans makes wild claims that Australia 'is run by paedophiles' as he reiterates a QAnon conspiracy theory

 

Pete Evans has made yet another bizarre and baseless claim in a post on Instagram Stories on Wednesday.

 

The 47-year-old celebrity chef shared a post claiming Australia 'is run by pedos [paedophiles]'.

 

The post was originally shared by a fellow conspiracy theorist, with Pete also including a link back to the original.

 

It included a screenshot of a Daily Mail Australia report on Wednesday that Victorian sexual assault survivors could face prison time just for telling their stories.

 

Pete reposted a screenshot of the story, along with the caption: 'It only makes sense when you realise this country is run by pedos'.

 

'When a country is run by pedos, they will silence those who can name them, and pass laws to take your kids under the guise of COVID health care directives,' read the caption on the original post.

 

'You better hurry up and wake up Australia… Most won't realise until their kids are taken to a camp by these creeps.'

 

The bizarre claim is in line with an unfounded conspiracy theory put out by the extremist QAnon movement.

 

Followers of QAnon believe that US President Donald Trump is leading the fight against paedophiles and their supposed 'deep state' allies, which include governments, the media and businesses.

 

While the conspiracy theory has been making the rounds on the internet for years, it gained traction earlier this month, fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Adding to its momentum is the fact Trump has so far refused to discredit it, giving followers more ammunition.

 

According to legend, there's a person behind the extremist conspiracy theory, known simply as 'Q', who supposedly works as a US government insider with top security clearance.

 

Followers of QAnon have also downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, with Pete repeating these claims on his own social media accounts.

 

They have also been responsible for the spread of medical disinformation and originating several hoaxes.

 

The former My Kitchen Rules judge was fined $25,200 back in April after he falsely claimed his $15,000 BioCharger lamp could potentially cure coronavirus.

 

He's since made several other damaging claims about the pandemic, which has so far led to over 820,000 deaths globally.

 

Last month, Pete urged people in Victoria not to wear face masks, after it was made mandatory by the state government.

 

He also claimed that COVID-19 was a 'f**king hoax' and said that the pandemic 'doesn't compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale'.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8665161/Disgraced-celebrity-chef-Pete-Evans-makes-baseless-claims-Australia-run-paedophiles.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 1:35 a.m. No.10436555   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6562 >>0014 >>8564 >>4903

>>10398187

>>10411837

Christchurch shooting: Mosque attack gunman Brenton Tarrant jailed for life without parole

 

1/2

 

The Australian terrorist who carried out the March 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks has been sentenced to life without parole, the first time a whole life term has been handed down in New Zealand.

 

Brenton Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of terrorism in March this year.

 

Handing down the sentence in the Christchurch High Court today, Justice Cameron Mander said Tarrant had shown cruelty and callous indifference in carrying out his ideologically driven crimes.

 

WARNING: This story contains graphic details which may disturb some readers.

 

He said the crimes were cowardly and cold-blooded and driven by a "warped and malignant ideology", which he said was "rooted in religious and ethnic antipathy and intolerance".

 

Justice Mander again read a summary of the crimes carried out on 15 March, 2019, which occurred during Friday prayers at Al-Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre.

 

He described how the gunman systematically and methodically shot his victims, including those who were already injured and crying out for help.

 

"You slaughtered unarmed and defenceless people," he said.

 

"You maimed wounded and crippled many others, your victims included the young and the old, men women and children.

 

"Your actions were inhumane."

 

Justice Mander said the killing of a 3-year-old was just "one instance of the pitiless cruelty" he had displayed throughout.

 

In a lengthy and moving part of the sentencing hearing, Justice Mander summarised many of the more than 200 victim impact statements he had received, dozens of which were read to the court over the past three days.

 

He said the family of the gunman's youngest victim described him "as the happiness of the household".

 

"No family can recover from the murder of such a small child," Justice Mander said.

 

Judge says gunman came to New Zealand "to murder"

 

Justice Mander said Tarrant's victims had shown "extraordinary resilience," but that did not detract from the fact that they suffered traumatic, life-altering injuries and loss.

 

"The human cost for the extraordinary harm you have done to the victims, their families, and the whole community is beyond measure," he said.

 

The judge said the 51 murder charges and 40 of attempted murder were the "most salient aspects" of the crime, but he said he must consider other aspects, including the "long and extensive" planning and preparation the offender undertook.

 

This included obtaining a firearms licence and amassing and adapting high-velocity weapons, the court heard.

 

The gunman also undertook a reconnaissance mission to Al-Noor mosque two months before the attacks, flying a drone over the mosque to establish entry and exit points.

 

"The sole purpose of this preparation was to kill as many people at each mosque as efficiently and systematically as you could," Justice Mander said.

 

He also said there was little doubt that the Australian had relocated to New Zealand in 2017 to target the Muslim community.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 1:37 a.m. No.10436562   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10436555

 

2/2

 

"You came to this country to murder," he said.

 

Details of Tarrant's psychiatric assessments were also revealed publicly for the first time during the sentencing hearing.

 

Justice Mander said no apparent mental disorders, clinical psychological conditions or cognitive impairment had been diagnosed.

 

The psychiatric reports stated that while in prison, the 29-year-old expressed remorse and claimed to have felt in a "poisoned emotional state" before the massacre.

 

But the judge rejected that explanation entirely, saying it was at odds with the admissions he made to police when he was arrested.

 

"The reliability of your changing views has been described by [psychiatric] assessors as questionable," the judge said.

 

Tarrant waived his right to make any sentencing submissions but instructed a standby lawyer to tell the court that he did not oppose a sentence of life without parole.

 

He showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.

 

"No punishment will bring our loved ones back"

 

Gamal Fouda, the imam of the Al-Noor mosque, welcomed the sentence handed down to the man who killed 44 of his worshippers.

 

"No punishment will bring our loved ones back. We respect our justice system," he said outside the Christchurch High Court.

 

"We represent love [and] compassion. Muslim and non-Muslim, people of faith and people of no faith, there is only us as New Zealanders."

 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who at the time described the attack as one of New Zealand's "darkest days", said she was relieved that "that person will never see the light of day".

 

"The trauma of March 15 is not easily healed but today I hope is the last where we have any cause to hear or utter the name of the terrorist behind it," she said.

 

"His deserves to be a lifetime of complete and utter silence."

 

She also praised survivors as well as the relatives of victims who addressed the hearing, saying she wanted to "acknowledge the strength of our Muslim community who shared their words in court over the past few days".

 

"You relived the horrific events of March 15 to chronicle what happened that day and the pain it has left behind," she said.

 

"Nothing will take the pain away but I hope you felt the arms of New Zealand around you through this whole process, and I hope you continue to feel that through all the days that follow."

 

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he spoke Ms Ardern after the sentence was handed down.

 

"New Zealand is family to us. Today, we send our love across 'the ditch' and I had the opportunity to pass on those wishes earlier today to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern," he wrote on Facebook.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-27/brenton-tarrant-christchurch-shooting-mosque-gunman-gets-life/12598398

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 1:48 a.m. No.10436621   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0093 >>4903

>>10411490

Coalition to pursue power to block deals such as Victoria's belt and road agreement with China

 

Coalition to introduce laws to prevent Australian governments and universities making ‘detrimental’ deals with foreign powers

 

The Morrison government will pursue new powers to stop state, territory and local governments and universities entering agreements with foreign governments that it considers detrimental to Australia’s foreign policy objectives.

 

The government will introduce legislation next week empowering the foreign affairs minister to review and cancel agreements – such as Victoria’s decision to sign up to China’s belt and road initiative – if the commonwealth judges the arrangement adversely affects Australia’s foreign relations.

 

A planned stocktake of existing agreements will be broader than Victoria’s politically controversial belt and road agreement, but that deal has been viewed with concern by Australia’s national security establishment and it has also attracted criticism from the United States.

 

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, used an interview in May to leave open the possibility of suspending some forms of information sharing with Australia if the Victorian deal resulted in projects that affected the safety of security networks.

 

Within hours the US ambassador to Australia, Arthur Culvahouse Jr, clarified that the US had “absolute confidence in the Australian government’s ability to protect the security of its telecommunications networks and those of its Five Eyes partners” and Pompeo was simply answering questions about “very remote” hypotheticals.

 

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, reiterated at the time of Pompeo’s intervention that the federal government had never supported Victoria’s belt and road involvement and Australian states should “respect and recognise the role of the federal government in setting foreign policy”.

 

Officials say Morrison flagged the government’s intentions to the premiers and chief ministers during a recent national security briefing for the national cabinet.

 

The new law the government is proposing would cover state or territory entities, including departments, agencies, local governments and universities established under state or territory law.

 

If the bill passes the parliament, within six months of the legislation taking effect governments and public universities will have to notify the commonwealth of their existing agreements with foreign governments.

 

Under the new procedures, state governments will have to notify the commonwealth of their intention to pursue an agreement with a foreign government. The foreign affairs minister will either approve or reject the proposal.

 

Even if the arrangement is approved initially, the foreign affairs minister will retain the power to revoke that approval subsequently. According to government briefing materials, the legislation will give the commonwealth power to terminate any private contracts and other agreements flowing from the main agreement.

 

Universities will not be required to seek approval before negotiating or entering into arrangements. But according to the federal government, they will need to notify the foreign affairs minister before entering into an arrangement with foreign governmental entities and Canberra will be able to cancel agreements it finds objectionable.

 

Australian universities have entered into a range of innovation and technology sharing agreements potentially caught by the new law, predominantly with China, but also with India, Iran and Afghanistan.

 

In a statement issued by his office ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Morrison said the federal government needed to be able to protect Australia’s national interest, and “that is why I recently arranged for all premiers and chief ministers to receive a comprehensive national security briefing”.

 

“It is vital that when it comes to Australia’s dealings with the rest of the world we speak with one voice and work to one plan,” he said. “Australians rightly expect the federal government they elect to set foreign policy.”

 

The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, said there was currently no legislative requirement or “clear understanding that states and territories consult properly with the commonwealth on arrangements with foreign governments”.

 

“These changes will provide governments, institutions and the Australian people with confidence that due diligence is given to international arrangements to ensure they are consistent with our national interest and our values,” Payne said.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/26/coalition-to-pursue-power-to-block-deals-such-as-victorias-belt-and-road-agreement-with-china

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 2:08 a.m. No.10436714   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0332 >>4930

>>10422558

>>10423279

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

 

Victoria's New 'Gag-Law' Protects Pedophiles And Rapists - My fellow Aussie’s we cannot allow this to happen. However we go about it, we have to be vocal & loud! This is the most outrageous new law Oz has ever put in & then you have to ask why? #corrupt

https://marieclaire.com.au/victoria-gag-l…

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1298755085095165952

 

Victoria's 'Gag Law' Means Sexual Assault Survivors Have Lost The Legal Right To Tell Their Stories

 

https://www.marieclaire.com.au/victoria-gag-law-explained

 

 

I 1000% back #LetUsSpeak campaign and so should every other Aussie who knows what this means.They are bringing in so many new laws to protect pedophiles- why? Who are they protecting? RT We must unite across the country and let the powers at be that we fight back. @colling_steve

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1298757434907844608

 

Derecho Black @BlackDerecho

 

It's thanks to survivors like you Virginia that people have both the voice & courage to speak

 

Speaking Out Empowers Rape Survivors

Silence Erases Us

 

#LetUsSpeak campaign Victoria Australia to repeal new law prohibiting victims speaking

news.com.au/lifestyle/real… via @newscomauHQ

 

https://twitter.com/BlackDerecho/status/1298741936518553600

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 2:53 a.m. No.10436864   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0272 >>4836 >>4903

>>10377333

Australia to send 55 firefighters to the US to battle wildfires amid the pandemic

 

In response to the raging wildfires scorching California, 55 of our own firefighters will depart Australia to help battle hundreds of blazes burning across the US state.

 

The team will consist of seasoned firefighting personnel ready to fill management and aviation roles, as well as field supervision positions.

 

The decision to send our firies was made tougher this year by the threat of COVID-19.

 

Inspector Ben Shepherd at the NSW Rural Fire Service said comprehensive discussions took place when considering their response.

 

"We need to ensure the safety and well-being of all those people deployed and obviously, we need to put in place additional in-country health care support," Mr Shepherd told 9News.

 

A number of changes to accommodation and equipment will be made to ensure the safety of our firefighters is maintained.

 

And rather than the usual bunker-style sleeping arrangements, each person will stay in their own hotel room or single-person tent.

 

There will also be extra protective equipment such as face masks on hand.

 

"We're obviously working through protocols and policies and will have a plan because it'll ultimately depend on if unfortunately, someone was to contract COVID, what their reaction to catching the virus might be and whether or not they have to be removed," Mr Shepherd said.

 

Even in the face of the pandemic, volunteers are not scarce.

 

"We've never been short of people wanting to go over and assist," he said.

 

"There is an immense amount of pride in wearing an Australian badge on their shoulder when they do go over."

 

The firefighter exchange with the US has been occurring for more than 20 years.

 

Australia was fortunate enough to be assisted by 20 California firefighters during our recent bushfire season.

 

"The vegetation and the types of fires are quite similar, and that's why they quite often lean on Australia to provide that critical assistance," Mr Shepherd said.

 

Departing Sunday, September 6, the Australian firefighters are expected to stay in the US for 30 days.

 

Currently more than 650 wildfires have burned about 50 thousand hectares in California since August 15. The death toll sits at seven and more than 1,400 buildings have been destroyed.

 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/california-wildfires-australian-firefighters-head-to-us-to-help-battle-hundreds-of-fires/a5b6eddc-0526-4019-b9f4-605526b69af9

 

 

NSW Rural Fire Service Tweet

 

We're returning the favour. After helping us last fire season, 55 Australian firefighters will travel to the #USA to assist with fires burning on the west coast. These firefighters will undertake specialist incident management, aviation & field supervision roles. #NSWRFS

 

https://twitter.com/NSWRFS/status/1298805242042040323

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 27, 2020, 11:01 p.m. No.10449351   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

Catching a monster: Australia’s worst paedophile | 60 Minutes Australia

 

Published on 27 Aug 2020

 

He’s considered Australia’s worst paedophile, and for four years Peter Scully was on the run. He thought by hiding out in a remote corner of the Philippines he was beyond the reach of the law. But Scully was wrong. In this Walkley award winning, exclusive report, 60 Minutes has been given unprecedented access to the international investigation for this terrifying criminal. Joining the Australian Federal Police and special agents in the Philippines on their global manhunt, our cameras were there when Scully was finally caught. Now, behind bars, and facing multiple charges, Tara Brown comes face to face with our country’s most depraved predator. What he has to say for himself will leave you stunned.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEiC7PrS0jg

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 12:21 a.m. No.10449816   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10354951

Vatican told whistleblower priest to be a hostile witness: friend

 

Whistleblower priest Father Glen Walsh told his next-door neighbour that the Vatican had instructed him to be a hostile witness when he was called to testify against an Archbishop accused of concealing crimes of sexual abuse.

 

Neighbour Jamie Hay said he chatted to Father Walsh in October 2017, about 10 days before he took his life and three weeks before the Archbishop's trial was due to begin. Father Walsh was expecting a visit from a senior member of the clergy, who he planned to take to task over the number of paedophile priests being housed by the Catholic Church.

 

The conversation turned to his disillusionment with the church over its handling of sexual abuse claims and Father Walsh told Mr Hay that he had met with the Pope about the upcoming trial of Archbishop Philip Wilson, in which he was due to testify for the prosecution.

 

"He didn't name anyone in particular, but he said the expectation from Rome was, they didn't ask him but they said, 'You will be a hostile witness'," Mr Hay said. "He was a really devoted servant of the Catholic Church and it was heartbreaking."

 

There are mounting calls for an investigation into Father Walsh's death. Father Walsh was told shortly before his death that the diocese clergy would never accept him after the way he had exposed them, and he could be found a new post somewhere in the third world, according to a new book The Altar Boys.

 

Archbishop Wilson was found guilty at the trial but cleared on appeal. There is no suggestion he made any attempt to apply pressure on Father Walsh ahead of the trial.

 

The book's author Suzanne Smith said the circumstances surrounding Father Walsh's death should be referred to police. "There are so many questions about the last two years of Father Glen Walsh's life when he was a crown prosecution witness and it does demand a police investigation," Smith said.

 

Greens MP David Shoebridge has written to Attorney-General Mark Speakman and the NSW Coroner seeking an inquest into 71 deaths of men educated at Catholic institutions in the Hunter-Maitland diocese.

 

The list, which was compiled by the Clergy Abused Network, included the names of men who died of suicide, drug overdoses or misadventure and there was compelling evidence that they had been abused. Mr Shoebridge said special consideration should be given to the case of Father Walsh.

 

"This pattern of conduct directed against Father Walsh is distressing and, seen together, highly disturbing," Mr Shoebridge’s letter said. "There is a very real likelihood that taken together it had a material impact on Father Walsh’s decision to take his life."

 

Father Walsh came under intense pressure from the church after reporting to police that two boys in his parish had been sexually abused by a fellow priest, rather than informing the bishop.

 

He told Mr Hay that after he made the report, the church changed the locks on his house and he had to sleep in his car. "They were basically punishing him for going to the police and not going through the proper channels," Mr Hay said. "He said, 'You put your hands together when you become a priest and they [the bishops] put theirs over you forever'."

 

Father Walsh also told Mr Hay that more recently two priests had walked past his house on their way to visit a friend in the neighbourhood, and seeing him on the porch one had said to the other: "Wouldn't you like to have a loaded rifle about now?"

 

Mr Hay's description of antipathy directed at Father Walsh by the clergy is supported by an email Father Walsh wrote to Cardinal George Pell years earlier in 2011, which expressed disappointment about the way he had been treated by fellow priests including the cardinal.

 

According to the letter, which was obtained by Smith but not published in the book, the last time Cardinal Pell had met Father Walsh he had said: "Glen, you were a disaster at Rockdale and you were an accident waiting to happen at Caringbah!"

 

Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/vatican-told-whistleblower-priest-to-be-a-hostile-witness-friend-20200826-p55pin.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 12:43 a.m. No.10449920   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6757 >>1267 >>4892

>>10436289

Dassi Erlich Tweets

 

Update on our application to lift our enforced silence:

 

Today, we spent time working with our lawyer Nick Mazzeo and barrister Adrian Struach. Both are working pro-bono to prepare an Affidavit which details why we shouldn't be silenced.

 

It is weird and unnerving.

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1299210739949826048

 

 

We need to gain a courts permission to share our truth.

 

Even more weird is the simple fact that our story is already in the public sphere.

 

We have been assured us that this will be a straightforward process. It shouldn't be needed to begin with.

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1299210741950496773

 

 

Not every survivor will be in the same position as us who are fortunate enough to be helped. The laws will be changed for the better, but it will take time.

If there is anyone who needs an urgent application to the courts, please contact us so we can try help you.

#LetUsSpeak

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1299210743984787458

 

 

@NicoleYMeyer

@EllySapper

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1299210745981198336

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 1:12 a.m. No.10450014   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10436555

Peter Dutton to consider any request for deportation of Brenton Tarrant

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the government will “work closely” with New Zealand and will consider any request for the mass murderer behind the Christchurch massacre to serve his life sentence in Australia.

 

Mr Dutton told Nine News on Friday he had not yet received any formal request from New Zealand about the deportation of Brenton Tarrant, who on Thursday was sentenced to life, without the possibility of parole — for the murder of 51 people, the attempted murder of 40 others.

 

Tarrant, who was raised in NSW and is an Australian citizen, has been in custody in New Zealand since his murderous shooting rampage through the Al Noor and Linwood mosques during Friday prayers on March 15, last year.

 

Mr Dutton said the “first priority” was to ensure Tarrant remained behind bars for the rest of his life, but flagged that if the killer was to return to Australia he would likely serve out his sentence in the NSW prison system.

 

“We will have to look at what happens to parole and the way our legal system works here,” Mr Dutton said. “The first priority is to keep him in jail for the rest of his life and we will work closely with New Zealand on any requests they provide.”

 

He said there were “legal complications” due to a lack of consistency across the states and territories when it comes to laws on sentencing.

 

“I think NSW might be the only state to have life without parole, so it would have to be in NSW,” Mr Dutton said.

 

Also appearing on Today was New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who asked Australia to “step up” over the matter.

 

“It seems to me that given this unprecedented circumstance and all the regard to the cost to looking after the victims in our country who survived and their families, and also the 50 million plus downstream in real terms of providing safety for this terrorist then the sound, reasonable, logical thing to do would be to ask Australia to step up,” he said.

 

Mr Peters, who is leading the charge for Tarrant’s deportation, said he was “pleased” to hear Mr Dutton was willing to work with New Zealand to resolve the issue.

 

Scott Morrison told Today he wanted to do the “right thing” by families who lost loved ones in the mosque shooting.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/peter-dutton-to-consider-any-request-for-deportation-of-brenton-tarrant/news-story/80b945d2ac74887c1ccca6057ed35187

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 1:22 a.m. No.10450040   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10238328

Minister accuses foreign governments of exploiting 'proud Australians'

 

Foreign governments are meddling in multicultural communities, harassing and exploiting "proud Australians" to further their own causes, according to Australia's Immigration Minister.

 

Alan Tudge used his speech to the National Press Club today to raise his concern about the reach of foreign governments in Australia.

 

"Members of our diverse communities have been both victims of interference and used as vectors to engage in foreign interference," he said.

 

"Despite now being proud Australians, some communities are still seen by their former home countries as 'their diaspora' — to be harassed or exploited to further the national cause."

 

The Minister did not name the countries responsible for this harassment.

 

But the ABC has been told that the Federal Government is increasingly concerned about the way the Chinese Government has been trying to consolidate its political influence in the Chinese-Australian community.

 

Australian security officials have also observed the way the Chinese Government has intensified monitoring and intimidation of some Chinese students and political dissidents.

 

They remain concerned about the hold the Chinese Communist Party has on many Chinese-language media outlets in Australia.

 

It is not just China, with officials also monitoring political intimidation and harassment in the Cambodian-Australian community, among others.

 

Mr Tudge also accused some political regimes overseas of targeting the family members of Australians.

 

"Some who criticise their former country are silenced through threats and intimidation, including to family members back in their country of heritage," he said.

 

"Others are persuaded or forced to monitor or harass members of their own community who may hold views contrary to those of the governing regimes in their former countries."

 

The speech comes as the Government moves to tighten foreign investment laws and crack down on foreign interference.

 

This week it announced new legislation that would allow the Commonwealth to tear up state agreements with foreign governments if they're deemed to be against the national interest.

 

Mr Tudge, who has been acting as Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Minister since David Coleman took leave last year, said Australians with poor English were particularly vulnerable to foreign influence.

 

"Malign information or propaganda can be spread through multicultural media, including foreign language media controlled or funded by state players," he said.

 

"This can be particularly influential if local residents' English is poor and hence they are more reliant on foreign language sources."

 

Changes to $1 billion language program and citizenship tests

 

To improve those English skills, the Government is also overhauling its $1 billion Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) in a major policy change.

 

Mr Tudge said the coronavirus pandemic showed it had been difficult to communicate with multicultural Australians through mainstream channels.

 

"Whilst we have produced over 4,600 materials translated into 63 languages to accommodate this, the challenge in engaging with all Australians remains," he said.

 

Challenges have included some bungled COVID-19 public health translations being distributed to multicultural communities and warnings the Government had failed to properly engage migrant communities earlier on in the pandemic.

 

Mr Tudge argued that without English language skills, migrants were less likely to integrate, participate in Australia's democracy or get a job.

 

"This is not to blame anyone whose English language proficiency is poor, but clearly full participation in the community is difficult when there are language barriers," he said.

 

Currently, migrants can get 510 hours of free English language training and have to complete that within five years.

 

But under the changes, there will be no cap on hours or time limits.

 

It means any permanent resident or citizen will be able to attend English classes free of charge until they have "functional English", which the government defines as having basic skills to participate in society.

 

There will also be changes to the citizenship tests to include new questions "on Australian values".

 

But exactly what those changes will involve is unclear at this stage.

 

"The stronger focus on Australian values in citizenship testing will be an important part of helping protect our social cohesion into the future," Mr Tudge said.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-28/minister-accuses-foreign-governments-exploiting-proud-australian/12604588

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 1:40 a.m. No.10450093   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0096 >>4903

>>10411490

>>10436621

Daniel Andrews’ eyes wide shut on Chinese spy threat

 

1/2

 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews failed to take up multiple offers from the country’s highest-ranking intelligence and security officials to provide classified briefings on Chinese interference, including general concerns about Belt and Road deals with Beijing.

 

Despite Mr Andrews claiming the first he heard of a proposed Morrison government crackdown on state government and university deals with foreign powers was on Wednesday night, it emerged that Scott Morrison and national security chiefs made several unsuccessful attempts to brief him over the past month on China concerns.

 

Mr Andrews was warned by the Prime Minister about the federal government’s concerns with the Labor Premier’s BRI deal in a letter sent in June. The Victorian Labor leader was unable to attend a classified briefing to the premiers and chief ministers from security chiefs and the Prime Minister on July 31.

 

Pushing back against Mr Morrison’s move to use external affairs powers stop deals deemed to work against national interests, Mr Andrews claimed the first he heard of the proposed legislation was late on Wednesday. “I got a letter last night,” he said.

 

The federal government revealed Australian Security Intelligence Organisation head Mike Burgess, Australian Signals Directorate chief Rachel Noble and Office of National Intelligence director Nick Warner made several offers through official channels to the Andrews government over the past four weeks.

 

The briefings to premiers and chief ministers last month are believed to have covered the agencies’ threat assessments on the broader strategic picture relating to China, espionage and foreign interference as well as the cyber threat. They also are also believed to have included general security assessments of BRI agreements but not believed to have related specifically to the Victorian deal.

 

Mr Andrews has been offered the briefing several times since July but has yet to take it up, undermining his claims he was left unaware of concerns until this week.

 

The Premier, who has clashed with the federal government in recent weeks over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis in Victoria, questioned Mr Morrison’s focus during the pandemic and declared he was “exclusively focused on fighting” COVID-19.

 

“If the Prime Minister’s got time to be doing those things, then that’s fine for him. I don’t,” Mr Andrews said.

 

“I am exclusively focused on fighting this virus and then making sure that we have got the strongest economy that we can possibly have on the other side of this.”

 

On Thursday, Beijing denounced the proposed Foreign Relations Bill allowing the Morrison government to rescind Victoria’s BRI agreement, and accused Australia of “putting bacteria” into the relationship. “China’s co-operation with the Victorian state under the BRI has enhanced the benefits for people on both sides of the deal,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

 

“We hope Australia will view such co-operation objectively and reasonably, and stop putting bacteria into this relationship and do more to improve our mutual benefits.”

 

Mr Morrison, who wrote to Mr Andrews in June about Victoria’s BRI agreement, said he arranged a special briefing for state and territory leaders “to know what I know” about threats to Australia’s interests and national security.

 

“That was a useful briefing we held some weeks ago and I think what we’ve announced … is therefore not unsurprising or unexpected on their part,” the Prime Minister said. “We need to all work together to protect Australia’s national interests and I think this bill, these laws, will aid us in doing that.”

 

Mr Andrews called on Mr Morrison to provide a list of new foreign markets with “just as much demand” as China and defended his deal with Beijing, saying Victoria relied heavily on international students due to its lack of natural resources.

 

“I dare say that, given the announcements the Prime Minister’s made … he’ll no doubt very soon be able to list a full range of other free trade agreements and other markets that we’ll be sending Victorian products to — I look forward to that,” he said.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 1:41 a.m. No.10450096   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10450093

 

2/2

 

Mr Andrews last year signed-up to President Xi Jinping’s BRI program, which is used as a vehicle by the Chinese Communist Party to expand Beijing’s soft power reach in the region. The BRI deals have raised alarm bells in intelligence and security agencies amid heightening levels of Chinese espionage and coercive influence.

 

Victoria’s BRI framework — deepening co-operation on infrastructure, innovation and trade development — is expected to be one of the first major agreements to fall under Mr Morrison’s Foreign Relations Bill, which will be tabled to parliament next week.

 

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan accepted that foreign affairs was the responsibility of the commonwealth and said his government had conducted an initial audit of agreements that had identified a 2011 memorandum of understanding with Beijing signed by Colin Barnett.

 

Mr McGowan said WA — Australia’s resources powerhouse — must be allowed to pursue economic arrangements with key trading partners. Mr Barnett, the former Liberal WA premier who signed the agreement with China’s powerful National Development Reform Commission in 2011, described the government’s proposed laws as “very poor policy” and “divisive”.

 

“The agreements that Western Australia has had (with China) have always been centred around economic development and goodwill,” Mr Barnett said.

 

“If it becomes in place, it will set a whole new layer of bureaucracy in economic development. It’s a real threat to the resources industry. The commonwealth has not handled the relationship with China well over the last decade. It’s a very poor approach.”

 

Warwick Smith, the nation’s leading business broker on China, backed the government’s initiative and described it as “common sense” given the “plethora” of agreements in place between Australia and China.

 

“To have some standards … and accountability for all of those things — they won’t just be with China — would be really beneficial to enable us to be much more directed as a nation in maximising soft diplomacy benefits which assist our long terms agendas and our trade diversity which is a continuing objective,” Mr Smith said.

 

Anthony Albanese recommitted federal Labor not to signing up to China’s BRI and said the opposition would examine the government’s legislation next week.

 

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus labelled Mr Morrison’s push to veto foreign deals with state governments as “Trumpian” and a distraction from the government’s role in the sale of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese interests.

 

Liberal state leaders — including South Australian Premier Steven Marshall and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein — flagged support for the federal government audit into deals with foreign powers.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/daniel-andrews-eyes-wide-shut-on-chinese-spy-threat/news-story/9e5f741b8a47c25555eecc4fa2d8bf13

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 2:01 a.m. No.10450145   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10208724

>>10186905

Australian Vanessa Pappas takes the top job at TikTok

 

Australian internet executive Vanessa Pappas has been appointed to the top job at controversial viral platform TikTok on an interim basis after its current boss abruptly quit on Thursday.

 

Ms Pappas, a former YouTube executive and previously TikTok's US general manager will take the reins as the Chinese-owned platform contends with competing multi-billion dollar takeover offers from tech giants Microsoft and Oracle and a looming ban introduced by US President Donald Trump.

 

Her appointment as interim CEO on Friday followed the shock resignation of Kevin Mayer from the chief executive role which he only started in on June 1.

 

Mr Trump signed an executive order to ban the app which is owned by Chinese company Byte Dance in August.

 

Mr Mayer cited the political environment in a memo to TikTok employees which he said had "sharply changed" and meant he left with "a heavy heart".

 

Ms Pappas said the TikTok team had worked tirelessly on the platform and it was only just getting started.

 

"Our global community is strong, authentic, and vibrant, and the creativity I see every day inspires me," she said in a statement. "It's incredible to look back on our last couple years and see how much we’ve accomplished, and I'm even more excited for what we'll continue to bring to our community going forward. The future for TikTok is bright."

 

Ms Pappas studied at the University of Queensland and lived in Australia until she was 20 when she moved to London.

 

Mr Trump's executive order to ban TikTok is set to take effect in September.

 

The US President has said TikTok could be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the Chinese Communist Party and that the United States must take aggressive action against the owners of the platform protect its national security.

 

Both Microsoft and Oracle are in discussions to buy TikTok with retail giant Walmart on Friday entering a strategic partnership with Microsoft to bolster its acquisition bid.

 

The video platform also faces challenges from its competitors with Instagram launching Reels earlier this month which includes many of the features beloved by TikTok's users leading it to be described as a "TikTok clone".

 

https://www.smh.com.au/technology/australian-vanessa-pappas-takes-the-top-job-at-tiktok-20200828-p55qcs.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 3:02 a.m. No.10450272   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10436864

US Embassy Canberra Tweet

 

The welcome extended to (United States) firefighters in Australia this past summer is something we will always remember. Thank you, @NSWRFS, for returning the favor in our time of need. #USwithAUS

 

https://twitter.com/USAembassyinOZ/status/1298864553585909760

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 3:28 a.m. No.10450332   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7668 >>4930

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

 

>>10109324

 

Virginia Giuffre Retweeted

 

Preciosa17 @Preciosa172

 

@SoniaPoulton @VRSVirginia @dnajlion7 @shaunattwood @99freemind

 

https://twitter.com/Preciosa172/status/1299245053441908736

 

 

>>10436714

 

Baffling law is passed that could see rape victims thrown into JAIL just for telling their stories- @ScottMorrisonMP @ParliamentHouse You together can give victims their voices back and just do the right thing. This has to end NOW! #Help

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1299265473402478592

 

'Major victory' for paedophiles as baffling law is passed that could see rape and sexual assault victims thrown into JAIL just for telling their stories

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8664033/Baffling-law-passed-rape-victims-thrown-JAIL-just-telling-stories.html

 

 

“They” are coming at us from all directions- you know what that means? We’re rattling some nerves. Keep up the rant- the more we continue to speak out, the louder we get the more we back “them” into a corner. We will succeed- United- we will succeed!! #SAVEOURCHILDEN #Kidstoo

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1299273242562056197

 

Janet @Janet76199336

 

Seriously they are trying to silence the save the children movement. I find it disgusting.

 

https://twitter.com/Janet76199336/status/1299263163381231617

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 4:26 a.m. No.10450489   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

>>10315622

Elise Thomas Tweet

 

Through tempest, storm and darkest night, QAnon followers will…. sit inside their houses making memes. Thus making the tempest and storm and dark bit irrelevant. I know that isn't the biggest logical issue at play here but I'm hung up on it.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1299122598995922944

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 5:07 p.m. No.10456757   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1267 >>4892

>>10449920

Lawyers Movement Australia Tweet

 

Urgent Changes To Ensure Victim-Survivors Can Speak Up | Premier of Victoria - thank you Dassi. The courage of you and your family changes the world.

@dassi_erlich

 

https://twitter.com/LSAAustralia/status/1299267897018052610

 

Urgent Changes To Ensure Victim-Survivors Can Speak Up

 

28 August 2020

 

The Victorian Government will move urgently to respond to victim-survivors who have raised concerns about their ability to share their stories.

 

Attorney-General Jill Hennessy announced today that reforms will be fast-tracked to streamline processes for victim-survivors who wish to speak out.

 

This change will mean the majority of victims will no longer require a court order to tell their stories if they have given informed consent to being identified.

 

The Government is developing urgent amendments to be introduced to Parliament this year. The changes will be progressed in close consultation with victim-survivors and those who work with them.

 

The Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) recently recommended a raft of changes to the Judicial Proceedings Reports Act, including changes to clarify and simplify the circumstances in which identifying information about a victim can be lawfully disclosed.

 

To ensure that the rights and needs of victim-survivors remain at the heart of these reforms, Department of Justice and Community Safety will convene a series of roundtables with victims in September to discuss the proposed reforms and seek victim input.

 

The government asked the VLRC to review contempt of court laws in response to recommendations made by former Court of Appeal Judge Frank Vincent AO QC in his independent review of the Open Courts Act 2013.

 

Quotes attributable to Attorney-General Jill Hennessy

 

“I have immense respect for victim-survivors who have the courage to speak out about their experiences and advocate for positive change. We hear you and we will take action.”

 

“These laws provide an important protection to maintain the privacy of sexual offence victims and help ensure they are not exposed to additional distress – they were never intended to inhibit willing victim-survivors being able to speak out and share their stories.”

 

“The voices of victim-survivors are a powerful and important part of the justice system. Their expertise will be invaluable as we make these urgent changes.”

 

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/node/22204

 

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-08/200828%20-%20Urgent%20Changes%20To%20Ensure%20Victim-Survivors%20Can%20Speak%20Up.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 5:32 p.m. No.10456998   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7018 >>4997

Australian MP takes on conspiracy theorist in court but experts don't know where to begin with online battle

 

A recent report found QAnon’s following was growing considerably in Australia with only the US, UK and Canada producing more conspiracy content

 

Michael McGowan - 29 Aug 2020

 

1/3

 

In May, Anne Webster, a first-term Nationals MP from Mildura in regional Victoria, quietly launched a defamation action in the federal court over a series of posts and videos about her on social media site Facebook.

 

According to a statement of claim seen by Guardian Australia, posts made about the federal MP in April claimed, without any factual basis, that she was “a member of a secretive pedophile network” who had been “parachuted into parliament to protect a past generation of pedophiles”.

 

Within weeks of the case being filed, Justice Michael Wheelahan made urgent orders for the defendant to remove the posts, labelling them “vile” and describing the legal action as “one of those exceptional cases” where the court could order the removal of the allegedly defamatory material before a trial.

 

“Given the potency of the allegations [in the] online posts, the scandal created may well reach quarters that cannot be known … this is one of those rare cases where damages may not be an adequate remedy,” Wheelahan said.

 

Webster’s case was filed against a woman named Karen Brewer, an Australian who the court believes may now live in New Zealand. Though she is basically unknown outside of the online communities in which she spends much of her time, Brewer – which may not be her real name – is one of Australia’s leading conspiracy agitators.

 

Brewer’s personal Facebook page, which has thousands of followers, is a petri dish of beguiling theories and vicious abuse. In the steady stream of live videos and posts she feeds to her thousands of followers each day, Brewer rails against vaccinations, fluoride, and the cabal of Freemasons she believes controls Australia’s parliament, judiciary, media and bureaucracy as part of an extensive paedophile protection racket.

 

Though Webster declined to speak to the Guardian this week, her defamation case marks an important flashpoint in the burgeoning world of conspiracy theorists in Australia.

 

This week, Brewer spent much of her time spurring her followers to attend the so-called “Day of Freedom” protests scheduled for 5 September. The event, which has been repeatedly removed and reposted to Facebook, has, at various stages, had more than 10,000 people mark their intention to attend.

 

Dreamed up by a coalition of online groups broadly linked around a mish-mash of conspiracy theories, the organisers plan to march in cities across Australia in defiance of lockdown restrictions, mandates on mask-wearing in Victoria, 5G, vaccinations, and “child trafficking and pedophilia”.

 

“There is no excuse for non-participation,” Brewer said of the planned demonstration.

 

She is far from alone, of course. On encrypted messaging apps this week, members of the 99%, the loosely defined conspiracy group responsible for organising an anti-lockdown protest that led to 10 arrests in Melbourne earlier this year, made their own plans for the demonstration.

 

“Does anyone have laser pointers?” someone using the handle M4551m0 asked on Wednesday. “They will come in handy on the 5th.”

 

Another, who went by the name Germ, mentioned they’d ordered “shields” online in preparation.

 

“Full body size shields. I’ve seen how the police cannot deal with them when protestors have them.”

 

As conspiracy theorists feed on the impact of Covid-19 on our day-to-day lives, governments and tech companies are struggling to keep up. Both Webster’s defamation case and the planned rally highlight how the implications of life in the age of misinformation are increasingly spilling into the real world.

 

With that realisation comes the question of whether, and how, governments should respond, something the University of Tasmania academic Kaz Ross says has confounded legislators to date.

 

“What can governments do? I honestly don’t know the answer. I do know that what they’re doing now isn’t helping,” Ross told Guardian Australia this week.

 

Though Australia’s conspiracy landscape is complex, increasingly the thread that unites these groups is a messy Antipodean adaption of QAnon, a sprawling and baseless internet conspiracy theory born in the online messaging board 4chan in 2017.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 5:34 p.m. No.10457018   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7026

>>10456998

 

2/3

 

Wide-ranging and preternaturally bewildering, QAnon adherents are loosely tied to the belief that, as the Guardian put it this week, “a cabal of Satan-worshipping Democrats, Hollywood celebrities and billionaires run the world while engaging in pedophilia, human trafficking and the harvesting of a supposedly life-extending chemical from the blood of abused children”.

 

Evangelical in its zeal, adherents believe a multitude of spin-off theories, including that Bill Gates is using Covid-19 to implant microchips in people and that the ongoing lockdown in Victoria is a cover for the premier, Daniel Andrews, to install 5G technology throughout the state.

 

Though Brewer is not outwardly affiliated with QAnon, many of her beliefs line up with the conspiracy. Webster’s defamation claim, which also includes her husband and a not-for-profit women’s organisation called Zoe Support Australia that they founded together in Mildura, alleges the posts falsely accused the couple of founding the women’s organisation to “access young children on behalf of a secretive pedophilia network”.

 

‘Like that game of whack-a-mole’

 

To date, social media companies have had little success controlling the growth of QAnon on their platforms.

 

Last week, Facebook announced it had taken down or restricted 790 groups, 1,500 ads and 100 pages tied to QAnon, and blocked more than 300 hashtags used by its followers on Facebook and Instagram. It followed Twitter’s announcement of a broad crackdown on about 150,000 accounts linked to the conspiracy in July.

 

But those steps have had little effect. On Twitter, QAnon followers successfully hijacked a save the children hashtag after the purge and in Australia the Guardian noticed little if any impact on local QAnon groups after Facebook’s crackdown.

 

In fact, a recent report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found QAnon’s following was growing considerably in Australia.

 

“We found that the US was consistently the largest QAnon content-producing country, followed by the UK, Canada and Australia,” the report stated.

 

Though most of QAnon’s lore is specifically catered to a US audience (QAnon’s followers believe the US president, Donald Trump, is secretly working to thwart the network of paedophiles and their “deep state” collaborators), its inherent adaptability means it’s capable of hoovering up pre-existing conspiracy theories into its swirling illogic.

 

In Australia, its adherents have had no trouble retrofitting the theory to suit our politics. When news came out this week that the former prime minister John Howard had been hospitalised after surgery for appendicitis it sparked a flurry of messages on social media in groups linked to the QAnon conspiracy movement in Australia.

 

The timing of the 81-year-old’s hospitalisation, the general consensus seemed to be, was suspicious. Exactly why wasn’t immediately clear, even, it seemed, to those suggesting it, but many assumed the former PM was “finally facing justice”.

 

Howard, one person said incorrectly, was “the Port Arthur murderer”. Another called him a “traitor and clintons bestie” who “took our guns” and, they falsely claimed, “brought in a 90 yr supression (sic) order for all his pedo mates”.

 

“Covid = death,” a third person reasoned. “No cover-up needed if executed under covid.”

 

Part of the challenge in reaching QAnon adherents is that one of the basic tenets of the belief system is the notion that institutions – including the media, government and judiciary – are inherently corrupt. It means that, as with many conspiracy theories, government institutions have little success in combating misinformation simply by seeking to correct it.

 

In October last year, Karen Brewer’s name popped up in a Senate estimates hearing when the Australian Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, expressed his frustration at a “no candidate to match my will” misinformation campaign she orchestrated.

 

The campaign encouraged people to vote informally during the federal election, based on the incorrect belief that if enough people did it the parliament would be sacked.

 

“That video became like that game of whack-a-mole when you were a kid – as soon as it was dealt with, it popped up again,” a clearly exasperated Rogers said.

 

“We were asked questions about this. We were very explicit about the fact that it is complete and utter nonsense [but] the more we said it was complete and utter nonsense, the particular demographic that want to believe that believed it even more.

 

“I personally did see votes like that that had been so marked. So for anyone listening: it’s complete and utter nonsense. An intelligent person would not believe it; I don’t know why they do.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 5:35 p.m. No.10457026   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10457018

 

3/3

 

‘Humour is a really excellent way to counter this’

 

That capacity to inflame conspiratorial thinking was evident when the prime minister, Scott Morrison, indicated last week that a Covid-19 vaccine could be “mandatory”. Though he quickly walked it back, the comment sparked an outpouring of anger not just among anti-vaxxers but a broader population of people who believe governments are using the virus to impose greater control over citizens.

 

So too did Andrews’ decision to extend Victoria’s state of emergency for another 12 months.

 

“Messaging is important, and those things just inflame these people,” University of Tasmania’s Ross said.

 

But it is perhaps QAnon’s ability to adapt and grow organically through social networks that makes it so difficult for governments to combat. In June, the Morrison government announced a new taskforce to counter online disinformation under the control of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

 

But the taskforce was specifically aimed at deliberate misinformation campaigns by state actors, something the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, referred to in a recent speech as an “infodemic” of online misinformation pushed by countries “using the pandemic to undermine liberal democracy and promote their own, more authoritarian models”.

 

That, says Clare Murphy, a national security policy researcher, fails to consider the impact of more “grassroots” forms of misinformation online.

 

“The federal government’s efforts tend to concentrate on the state-sponsored level, but so much of the danger is in disinformation that is spread locally,” she said.

 

Murphy, whose expertise is in online Islamic radicalisation, said measures taken to counter extremism were not easily transplanted across communities. “There’s no silver bullet,” she said.

 

The researcher pointed to a recent advertising campaign by telecommunications company Telstra, which hired the ABC comedian Mark Humphries to help debunk misinformation around 5G technology, as an example of potentially effective ways to reach unwilling audiences.

 

“Humour is a really excellent way to counter this sort of thing because it relaxes people and makes them more willing to engage with you,” she said. “I actually commend Telstra for just trying something.”

 

Ross, a humanities lecturer who has devoted much of her research to understanding online communities including the far right in Australia, says much of QAnon’s appeal comes from its welcoming and evangelical nature.

 

“It gives people an explanatory framework for what’s going on in the world, but more importantly it gives them hope,” she said.

 

“The idea of the great awakening in QAnon is the same as the evangelical thing of good versus evil, and that they’re in this fight to save the children. It’s different from the alt-right in that they embrace not knowing everything. The neo-Nazi types pride themselves on this encyclopaedic knowledge of having read all the right books and if you haven’t then you aren’t one of them.”

 

QAnon types, on the other hand, believe you have to do your research but “we don’t know everything and that’s OK”. They have a plan and support each other, Ross explains. “They welcome each other. You see them talking about their friends and family not understanding them or thinking they’re crazy and the response is ‘It’s OK, we get you’.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/29/australian-mp-takes-on-conspiracy-theorist-in-court-but-experts-dont-know-where-to-begin-with-online-battle

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 6 p.m. No.10457266   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997

COVID conspiracy theorists declare 'digital warfare' on media

 

COVID-19 conspiracy theorists have launched an orchestrated online attack, dubbed “digital warfare”, aimed at shutting down aspects of the mainstream media's reporting of the coronavirus crisis.

 

A co-ordinated spam attack on The Age’s Facebook page on Thursday forced the removal of an article, about suicide rates during the pandemic, after the page was flooded with thousands of comments including threats, abuse, defamation and conspiracy theory material.

 

The article reported on information from the Victorian Coroner that showed there had been no increase in suicides in 2020 compared with the previous year, despite the mental health challenges of the pandemic.

 

The attacks prompted a senior editor at Nine, owner of The Age, to accuse Facebook of "providing a safe space for nutters".

 

Participants in the campaigns, who describe themselves as "digital soldiers", are also targeting politicians with one online activist encouraging followers to spam the social media pages of Premier Daniel Andrews in an attempt to shut down his "propaganda".

 

One of the key players behind the group Millions Rise for Australia, the platform from which the attack on The Age was launched, encourages his followers to refrain from swearing and using threats.

 

But police had to be called on Thursday night after death threats appeared on The Age’s Facebook page.

 

Many conspiracy theorists involved in the online campaign believe the severity of the coronavirus is exaggerated, or in some cases that the illness is not real, and is a ploy to allow governments to assert more control over the lives of citizens.

 

Attacks on media organisations and politicians are also attracting adherents of the notorious QAnon, a far right group that alleges US President Donald Trump is engaged in a secret battle against a powerful network of Satan-worshiping paedophiles running a global child sex-trafficking ring.

 

In an Instagram post from mid-August, Melbourne photographer Matt Lawson and a woman known online as Mel Ann plan a spam attack against mainstream media organisations. Mel Ann boasts that the campaign had already forced changes to Channel 9’s online presence.

 

“Nine News have had to take down some posts,” Mel Ann says on the video.

 

“If they take down posts, then that’s happy days, like if Dan [Andrews] takes down his propaganda, then I’m more than happy with that.”

 

Mel Ann rejected the notion that members of the group were "whack jobs", and insisted they were representing a broad-based movement with mass support.

 

In the same Instagram video, Mr Lawson speaks of setting up the Millions Rise for Australia group, the platform from which Thursday night's attacks on The Age were launched. Mel Ann is an administrator of the group.

 

Mr Lawson tells his followers on the video that co-ordinating the attacks, so that thousands of comments appear online in a short period of time, is the key to shutting down the news coverage.

 

“We’ll co-ordinate, so we’re really pumping it into these guys,” the freelance photographer tells the online audience.

 

“If there's three or four thousand people doing it at once, and each of you doing five to 10 comments on every post, that's … 50,000 comments this page is going to get hit by within five minutes. They're gonna be having to take pages down."

 

Mr Lawson did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

 

Ms Ann declined to comment further on the actions of the group but provided a short statement.

 

"I have serious concerns about the integrity of The Age, and will not be participating in any form of discussion, providing you with an opportunity to take my statement out of context."

 

James Chessell, executive editor of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, said Facebook had a responsibility to limit the spread of conspiracy theories and fake news.

 

"If Facebook was even vaguely interested in preventing the spread of fake news and conspiracy theories at a time when a measured, evidence-based discussion about public health issues was critical, it would allow media companies to turn off comments on certain stories.

 

"But Facebook has made it very clear that the profits it generates by providing a safe space for nutters and extremists overrides all other considerations."

 

Facebook has been contacted for comment.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/covid-conspiracy-theorists-declare-digital-warfare-on-media-20200828-p55qea.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 6:29 p.m. No.10457517   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3216 >>4930

MAX DELAY Ghislaine Maxwell docs may not be released for years after judge lets dozens of her ‘abuser’ pals to appeal one by one

 

SORDID secrets about Jeffrey Epstein's sex ring may not be revealed for years after a judge ruled abusers and accusers can now object to the release of future court documents.

 

Judge for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Loretta Preska revealed the shock move in a five-page legal order released late on Thursday afternoon.

 

The complex saga focuses on the unsealing of legal documents relating to Epstein, his alleged "pimp" Ghislaine Maxwell and the alleged trafficking of dozens of underage girls.

 

Judge Preska has now ruled those allowed to object to documents being revealed include those who “allegedly engaged in sexual acts” with Virginia Roberts or “other alleged victims."

 

Also on the list are people “whose intimate, sexual, or private conduct” is in the sealed records as well as other alleged Epstein and Maxwell victims.

 

The names are being sourced from previous filings made by the legal teams for both Roberts and Maxwell, reports Forbes.

 

Each side expects that the people on their respective lists are likely to suffer “privacy, reputational or other” damage when and if their names are revealed.

 

The order notes: “For example, for Doe #1, the Court would review each Sealed Item that mentions Doe #1, and would do the same for Does #2, #3, etc.

 

"This will allow the Court more easily to manage and review any objections from Non-Parties.”

 

Roberts and Maxwell will be alerted via judicial minute order notifications that any given person stands to have their name revealed in any given set of documents.

 

Both sets of attorneys will then be tasked with confidentially alerting each of the people named in the materials.

 

Observers fear the inevitable legal blocks to stop the release of the top secret documents on a one-by-one basis could stop them being made public for years.

 

The case relates to a settled defamation suit between Maxwell and Epstein accuser Roberts and documents used in the case have been unsealed twice in the past year, with more possibly to come.

 

On July 23, Judge Preska ordered the release of large sections of over 80 documents from the 2015 civil defamation lawsuit.

 

Maxwell, 58, is accused of helping Epstein recruit and abuse three girls between 1994 and 1997, as well as committing perjury by denying her involvement under oath.

 

She has denied the charges.

 

Within the documents unsealed earlier, Roberts alleged Maxwell had sexual contact with females as young as 15.

 

In a May 2016 deposition, documents show Roberts was asked to describe any females she saw Maxwell have "sexual contact with" her "own two eyes."

 

According to the documents, she replied, "There's so many, I don't know where you want me to start," and was then asked to describe the girls.

 

Roberts responded, "There were blondes, there were brunettes, there were redheads," documents show. "They were all beautiful girls. I would say the ages range from 15 to 21."

 

Maxwell had earlier filed an emergency motion with the federal appeals court in Manhattan, looking to block the release of two additional documents.

 

Those documents included an April 2016 deposition relating to her sex life and a deposition by an unnamed Epstein accuser.

 

Making the deposition public, Maxwell's lawyers had argued, would make it "difficult if not impossible" to find an impartial jury for her trial.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12526049/ghislaine-maxwell-docs-may-not-be-released-for-years/

 

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1108.0.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 6:47 p.m. No.10457668   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

>>10450332

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

 

Hallelujah!! Follow the money & read the flight logs and notebooks!!

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1299492788329828352

 

Spinky @Spinky363

 

Replying to @VRSVirginia

 

I am going to start bugging all the Q people on twitter. We know who is on the flight logs. Why aren't ppl already at these people's homes, raising a stink? We need to go there and embarass the hell out of them. and KEEP DOING IT. Until there is JUSTICE.

 

https://twitter.com/Spinky363/status/1299491521285160967

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 7:21 p.m. No.10457947   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7964 >>4903

>>10411490

Chinese military links inside University of Technology Sydney

 

1/2

 

A scientist feted at a Chinese ­university designated “high-risk” for its level of defence research and secret-level security credentials is a senior academic at one of Australia’s top universities.

 

And another senior UTS figure, Leo Mian Liu — vice-president of global partnerships and deputy vice-chancellor of UTS International — was previously a senior official at the Chinese consulate in Sydney. He was vice-consul for protocol, and had previously worked at China’s Ministry of Foreign ­Affairs.

 

The Weekend Australian can reveal the founding director of the UTS’s Global Big Data Technologies Centre, Jay Guo, has had a long and ongoing affiliation with Xidian University, which Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Alex Joske says has partnered with the People’s Liberation Army’s signal intelligence organisation and “appears to be an important training ground for Chinese military hackers”.

 

The University of Technology Sydney said Professor Guo was not on salary at Xidian but it paid his travel costs when he attended a workshop there last year — on the same weekend it named a ­laboratory after him. Professor Guo currently ­supervises three dual-degree PhD students from Xidian ­enrolled at UTS.

 

During an investigation by The Weekend Australian into foreign interference in Australian universities, concerns were ­repeatedly raised about ties to the Chinese Communist Party ­involving UTS academics, ­although there is no suggestion Professor Guo or Mr Liu has ­engaged in wrongdoing or misused their positions.

 

The Weekend Australian has revealed several universities are effectively turning a blind eye to employees’ secondary employment at Chinese institutions, ­including when research and ­inventions are patented or used in China, where there is the potential for them to be misused for ­defence purposes under President Xi Jinping’s civil-military ­fusion.

 

Spy agency ASIO has repeatedly warned universities about potential risks associated with ­academics’ links to foreign organisations, and the need for disclosure, while US authorities have arrested several China-linked ­researchers accused of failing to disclose their affiliations.

 

At UTS Mr Liu created the Australia-China Relations ­Institute, which was funded in partnership with the Yuhu Group, founded by exiled ­billionaire Huang Xiangmo, a property developer whose ­permanent residency was ­revoked by the Australian government in 2019. In interviews, Mr Liu has said the “ultimate goal of professional learning should be to focus on the needs of the motherland”.

 

Professor Guo’s public profile on the UTS website outlines his extensive academic record in Australia.

 

In May last year, Xidian University named a laboratory after its alumnus and there was a formal unveiling ceremony for the lab, which is understood to specialise in electromagnetic space sensing technology.

 

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s China Defence University Tracker, run by Mr Joske, has classified Xidian University as “very high risk for its high level of defence research and close relationship with China’s defence industry and military”.

 

Mr Joske’s site states Xidian has five major defence laboratories and 11 designated defence research areas”.

 

“The university is closely tied to China’s defence industry and the PLA,” the tracker states.

 

“It partners with the PLA’s signals intelligence organisation. Xidian appears to be an important training ground for Chinese military hackers. According to Xidian’s party secretary, the university has had an ‘unbreakable bond with secret intelligence work since its beginning’. It also holds secret-level security credentials that allow it to work on classified weapons projects.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 28, 2020, 7:23 p.m. No.10457964   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10457947

 

2/2

 

A formal report about the laboratory named after Professor Guo on the Shaanxi Provincial Education Department website quotes Xidian University’s CCP secretary, Cha Xianyou, as saying it hopes Professor Guo will “give more guidance to Xidian in the reform of talent training programs, innovation in teaching methods etc and play a leading role in the construction of large projects, the output of large achievements and the introduction and agglomeration of high-level talents”.

 

The report states that in Professor Guo’s reply speech, he said: “He hopes to use the platform of the academician studio to revive this glory and continue this brilliance.

 

“He expressed that he will do his best to do the work of the academician studio and make his own contribution to the realisation of the Chinese dream and the Xidian dream.”

 

A UTS spokesman said Xidian had, “in keeping with their practice of naming facilities after successful alumni”, invited Professor Guo, a British and Australian citizen, to visit the university for the laboratory’s naming.

 

“This was purely an honorary initiative,” the spokesman said. “It is not his lab. He has no ­office there, or staff. He does not travel to Xidian to work or ­research.

 

“They do not pay him a salary or any other entitlement. He does not receive any research funding from Xidian University.

 

“He does not hold an academic title at Xidian University … Professor Guo conducts his academic activities with full transparency. The ­majority of the activities described do not require special disclosure. Where they do, Professor Guo has made such disclosure.”

 

Professor Guo is one of the three presidents of the Xidian University Alumni Association of Australia and New Zealand. One of the other presidents is Yang Yintang, who is a vice-president of Xidian University. Professor Yang has also served as deputy head of the ­Experts Group on Electronic Components used by the General Armaments ­Department of the PLA. There is no suggestion Professor Yang engaged in any wrongdoing.

 

According to a report on Xidian University’s website about the Xidian University Military Training School 2019, Professor Yang is the “leader of the military training group”.

 

In another senior position at UTS is Mr Liu, who has forged relationships with the Beijing Institute of Technology, designated high-risk by ASPI for its defence research. Chen Yonglin, a Chinese diplomat who defected to Australia in 2005, said he remembered working alongside Mr Liu at the consulate-general.

 

“He worked at the translators and interpreters office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before posting at the Chinese consulate-general in Sydney as consul for protocol affairs,” Mr Chen said.

 

Mr Chen said Mr Liu established the PR United Front group, Beijing Foreign Studies Univer­sity Alumni Association of Australia, and was appointed its president in April 2017.

 

Clive Hamilton, in his book ­Silent Invasion, writes that “Liu has maintained deep links with the PRC and United Front organisations in Australia, not least as an adviser” to the United Front group of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China.

 

Mr Liu did not respond to a request for comment.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/chinese-military-links-inside-university-of-technology-sydney/news-story/c61f4e90400d6a8d8c0966f2b2878c32

 

https://www.uts.edu.au/staff/jay.guo

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 29, 2020, 4:32 p.m. No.10466141   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6217 >>4997

EXCLUSIVE: Despite Reports, FBI Does Not Label QAnon Group a ‘Terrorist Threat’

 

Marisa Sullivan - August 26, 2020

 

1/2

 

After Joe Biden’s spokesperson Andrew Bates claimed the FBI identified the QAnon movement as a “domestic terrorism threat,” nearly every news outlet ran wild and scrambled to post headlines such as “Trump praised QAnon, which FBI says is a terror threat,” but unlike the rest of the media, CELEB actually contacted the FBI to see what they had to say about the Biden campaign’s statement.

 

When specifically asked if QAnon was indeed a terrorist threat, FBI’s National Press Office shared this statement with CELEB:

 

The FBI does not and cannot designate domestic terrorist groups. The FBI can never initiate an investigation based solely on an individual’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or the exercise of First Amendment rights. When it comes to domestic terrorism, our investigations focus solely on the criminal activity of individuals—regardless of group membership—that appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or influence the policy of the government by intimidation or coercion. It’s important to note that membership in groups which espouse domestic extremist ideology is not illegal in and of itself—no matter how offensive their views might be to the majority of society. Membership in a group is not a sufficient basis for an investigation.

 

Bates had said that President Trump “just sought to legitimize a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat” after Trump acknowledged and praised the group during a press conference at the White House last week.

 

“I’ve heard these are people that love our country,” Trump said. “So I don’t know really anything about it other than they do supposedly like me.” When a reporter brought up how the Q followers believe that he is trying to stop a satanic cult of pedophiles, Trump replied: “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”

 

Since then, QAnon has dominated the mainstream media headlines.

 

In an exclusive interview yesterday with one of the movement’s top supporters, Liz Crokin explained that “Q is a military intelligence operation. The goal of Q is to wake the public up to the criminal activity that the cabal is involved in.”

 

The “conspiracy” is often mocked in the media even though Q posts intel such as alluding to Jeffrey Epstein’s arrest before it happened.

 

“At the end of the day, for argument’s sake, how is Q a bad thing. Q encourages people to do their own research and think for themselves,” Crokin said. “Q is exposing some of the biggest traffickers on the planet, so even if Q is fake or doesn’t turn out to be Trump or military intelligence, how is it bad? It’s uniting people to stand up and speak out against child predators. That’s not a bad thing!”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 29, 2020, 4:43 p.m. No.10466217   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4997 >>5018

>>10466141

 

2/2

 

Department of Homeland Security’s acting secretary Chad Wolf told CNN on Sunday that QAnon was not a significant threat. “I look at all the threats facing the homeland, this is not one that rises to a significant level,” he said, although later condemned the Q community.

 

When CNN anchor Jake Tapper brought up the FBI’s so-called labeling of the group as a domestic terrorist threat (before he got our memo), Wolf replied, “I don’t have any reason to believe anything different from the FBI,” he said.

 

Wrong.

 

In fact, very few articles actually citied any kind of proof, but the Chicago Tribune linked to a Yahoo News! article upload of a May 2019 FBI bulletin from the bureau’s Phoenix field office, which mainly mentions specific individuals who have been a threat. Obviously, the bulletin was greatly exaggerated and that’s basically how the fake news started.

 

After a follow-up email to the FBI requesting the legitimacy of last year’s bulletin at the local Phoenix office, the FBI shared another statement with CELEB basically saying that local FBI field offices sometimes share information, but no mention of confirming a threat:

 

“While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, FBI field offices routinely share information with their local law enforcement partners to assist in protecting the communities they serve. These products are intended to be informative in nature, and as such, they contain appropriate caveats to describe the confidence in the sourcing of information and the likelihood of the assessment. Additionally, when written at a local level, these products will note that the perspective offered may be limited to the field office’s area of responsibility.

 

We’re not sure why the rest of the media didn’t confirm the Team Biden statements with the FBI but hey, we’re just doing our job.

 

https://celebmagazine.com/qanon-fbi-terrorist-threat/

 

 

Exclusive: FBI document warns conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat (2019)

 

https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-documents-conspiracy-theories-terrorism-160000507.html

 

https://www.scribd.com/document/420379775/FBI-Conspiracy-Theory-Redacted

 

Trump praised the supporters of QAnon, a conspiracy theory the FBI says is a domestic terrorism threat (2020)

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-trump-qanon-conspiracy-theory-20200820-m6oeff7wojf77dyeupvl7u6xbu-story.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 29, 2020, 8:17 p.m. No.10468277   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

WA Police arrest 18 alleged members of ‘paedophile ring’

 

WA Police have arrested 18 men across Perth over an alleged sickening paedophile ring targeting young girls online.

 

The alleged predator ring is accused of attempting to groom up to 140 teenage girls, some as young as 13, through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

 

It was uncovered through months of covert surveillance from detectives attached to a task force dubbed Operation Timing Belt, which began in April.

 

Police have charged the 18 men – aged 18 to 41 – with 214 offences and will allege 23 of their victims were subjected to sexual abuse.

 

Four of the men arrested had previous convictions for child sex offences.

 

The charges include 79 sexual offences, and a series of drug, trespass and animal cruelty allegations.

 

Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Matt Daly said the men allegedly contacted the girls with the goal to “ultimately engage in sexual contact with them”.

 

“The majority of offences are non-physical communication via popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and via mobile phones,” he said.

 

Assistant Commissioner Brad Royce said the arrests should act as a warning for parents and for offenders.

 

“These are adult men, for the most part, that aren’t much older (than the girls),” he said.

 

“But they’re old enough to know better.”

 

Police believe some of the members work together to groom children, Asst Comm Royce said.

 

“The grooming is usually planned, careful and it takes some time,” he said.

 

Investigations under Operation Timing Belt continue.

 

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers, 1800 333 000.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/wa-police-arrest-18-alleged-members-of-paedophile-ring/news-story/cb54a13414a5c35fa4ace4485def20e9

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 29, 2020, 8:48 p.m. No.10468564   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10436555

'More organised, sophisticated and security conscious than before': Right-wing extremist threat growing

 

Australian security agencies are on alert for extremists who could have been inspired by the Christchurch mosque killer and other massacres overseas, as small far-right cells across the country are becoming more organised and sophisticated than ever before.

 

The concern is being heightened by extreme right-wing groups increasingly attracting people from a military background who know how to use weapons, as well as a younger membership who aren't displaying obvious signs of their extremism - making them harder to detect.

 

Brenton Tarrant, 29, was sentenced last week to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to slaughtering 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques.

 

The Morrison government has opened the door to the Australian-born white supremacist serving out his sentence in Australia.

 

The Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation has been increasingly focused on right-wing extremism for a number of years, including the possibility of extremists being inspired by killers such as the Christchurch gunman.

 

The problem is being fuelled by online forums allowing people on the far-right to make quick and easy connections with like-minded individuals around the world, which ASIO believes has created a toxic peer environment in which acts of violence based on extreme right-wing ideologies are "encouraged, glorified and promoted".

 

But the Christchurch terrorist has also fractured the extreme right-wing community in Australia, with some idolising him as a saint but others believing he has damaged their cause.

 

ASIO has redoubled its efforts to focus on right-wing extremism in recent years after an acknowledgement that it hadn't been on its radar to the same extent as Islamic terrorism - with not as many links into the community and deradicalisation programs in place.

 

The security agency confirmed the terrorist threat in Australia remained "PROBABLE".

 

While the threat of violence inspired by Islamic extremism remained the domestic security agency's greatest concern, a spokesperson for ASIO said "extreme right wing groups and individuals represent a serious, increasing and evolving threat to security" and Christchurch was a "stark example of this".

 

"The extreme and violent right wing has been in ASIO’s sights for many decades and we have maintained continuous and dedicated resources to this area," the ASIO spokesperson said.

 

"Unfortunately, extreme right wing groups are more organised, sophisticated and security conscious than before.

 

"These groups are becoming increasingly ideological; more aware of and committed to specific dogmas, philosophies and views, many of which support or glorify violence. They draw from a diverse variety of ideas and they are attracting a younger membership who display few overt signs of their extremist ideology."

 

Kristy Campion, a lecturer in terrorism studies at Charles Sturt University, said the Christchurch gunman had already inspired others in the international extreme right-wing community, along with other attacks last year such as the shooting in El Paso, Texas, and the Halle synagogue shooting in Germany.

 

But she said there were fractures in the extreme-right community over the Christchurch attacker.

 

"A large number celebrate and deify him as a saint, others disagree with what he did - not out of sympathy for the victims, but rather, they disagree on the strategic logic, the means rather than the end," she said.

 

An Australian man earlier this year was stopped from leaving the country to fight with an extreme right-wing group on a foreign battlefield after authorities received a tip-off from ASIO.

 

In March, two men on the NSW South Coast were charged with terrorism offences for allegedly destroying an electrical substation with an improvised explosive device, after authorities were alerted by a series of online posts containing extreme right-wing views.

 

In his annual threat assessment in February, ASIO boss Mike Burgess said the threat of right-wing extremism was “real and growing”, revealing small cells were regularly meeting in suburbs across Australia to salute Nazi flags, inspect weapons and train in combat.

 

A spokeswoman for the Department of Home Affairs said Australia's deradicalisation programs were designed to apply irrespective of religious, ideological or political motives.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/more-organised-sophisticated-and-security-conscious-than-before-right-wing-extremist-threat-growing-20200829-p55q6a.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 12:28 a.m. No.10480585   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0589 >>4903

>>10411490

Morrison government to hold inquiry into secretive uni deals with China

 

1/2

 

The Morrison government will launch an inquiry into foreign ­interference in Australian universities and how Beijing has recruited academics to a secretive program that paid ­lucrative salaries and allowed research to be patented in China.

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Sunday outlined the terms of reference for a broad-­ranging inquiry into foreign interference in the university sector in a letter to the chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, Andrew Hastie.

 

The move for an inquiry comes less than a week after Scott Morrison announced unprecedented national security laws giving the commonwealth the power to tear up agreements struck by state governments and councils with foreign powers, such as China, that may threaten Australian’s national sovereignty.

 

The inquiry will examine not only universities but all publicly funded research and grants and whether knowledge and technology were being transferred to foreign powers against Australian’s national interest.

 

The PJCIS inquiry was launched after The Australian’s revelations last week that the Chinese government was actively recruiting scientists to take part in a secretive program that required intellectual property to be patented in China.

 

An investigation by The Australian named 30 Australian academics who had participated in the Thousand Talents plan, or another similar Chinese government recruitment program.

 

It also revealed that some universities were unaware their academics had been named in multiple patents assigned to Chinese universities or institutions. In his letter, Mr Dutton asked the PJCIS to examine “the nature and extent to which foreign actors are interfering in Australian universities, including staff and student bodies, publicly funded research agencies and competitive research grant agencies”.

 

The inquiry, which will examine how other countries such as the US are dealing with the threat of foreign interference, is expected to hear testimony from senior figures in the FBI, ASIO, security analysts and high-profile figures who have fallen victim to China’s interference in the university sector such as University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou and UNSW academic Elaine Pearson.

 

It will delve into issues involving whether foreign actors are threatening freedom of speech at universities.

 

Mr Dutton, in his letter to Mr Hastie, said: “I wish to refer to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security the matter of potential interference conducted by, or on behalf of, foreign actors, in Australian universities, publicly funded research agencies and competitive research grants agencies.

 

“Special focus should be given to options that reduce technological and knowledge transfer from Australia that may be detrimental to our national interests, while not undermining international productive research collaboration.”

 

The terms of reference include mention of the role of “publicly funded research agencies” after concerns have been raised that grants from the Australian Research Council may be funding research that could be misused under President Xi Jinping’s civil-military fusion to advance China’s military modernisation.

 

The Morrison government has already launched an investigation into some cases exposed by The Australian, with Education Minister Dan Tehan saying the matters were now operational.

 

ASIO has repeatedly briefed universities about the potential risk of programs like the Thousand Talents plan this year.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 12:28 a.m. No.10480589   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10480585

 

2/2

 

Following publication, the chair of the intelligence committee, Mr Hastie wrote to the Prime Minister requesting an inquiry into foreign interference in universities. His call was then supported by the deputy chair of the committee, Labor’s Anthony Byrne, who said “the report in The Australian would alarm any Australian concerned about our ­national sovereignty.”

 

“It would appear that Australian universities have turned a blind eye to their own academics selling their knowledge to a foreign power through a program that the FBI have identified as a national and economic espionage threat,” he said.

 

Mr Hastie said there were concerns about “the lack of transparency with Australian research” and that there was “potentially collaboration with foreign governments” that was contrary to the national interest.

 

“Many colleagues and I have had concerns for sometime now about the Thousand Talents program and the level of involvement with Australian researchers. The story last week demonstrated a case for greater transparency in this sector so we as a parliament will scrutinise these matters — that’s what our job is,” he said.

 

Mr Hastie said Australia needed to make sure that research that was developed and funded by taxpayer dollars remained in Australia and benefited our economy and national interests. “We need to make sure the national interest is being served through our ­research grants and that intellectual property is also being protected,” he said.

 

“We also need to ensure campus culture is not being shaped by foreign actors seeking to undermine the freedoms that make our universities places of learning and inquiry.”

 

The terms of reference also ask the committee to consider “the ­effectiveness of the response of Australian universities, publicly funded research agencies and competitive grant agencies to the threat of foreign interference”.

 

The committee will also “examine whether the current oversight and reporting requirements in response to these issues are appropriate.”

 

In the US, the FBI has launched more than 1000 investigations into the actual or attempted theft of American technology by foreign powers. Recent cases involved a scientist with access to NASA’s secrets who was a participant in China’s Talent programs.

 

Since the federal election in May last year, Mr Morrison has taken an emboldened position in protecting Australia’s sovereignty against foreign interference.

 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, China has escalated its aggression and, security analysts say, has tried to take strategic advantage of the pandemic in the Asia Pacific region and South China Sea.

 

Mr Morrison has been responding to concerns about China’s increased assertiveness, but the national security legislation announced last week had been in the works prior to the corona­virus outbreak.

 

Independent MP Bob Katter had been intending to move a motion to launch an inquiry into foreign interference in the university sector on Monday in parliament.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/morrison-government-to-hold-inquiry-into-secretive-uni-deals-with-china/news-story/b6cbf3a159ab45eb2d65f3ba406d6215

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 1:05 a.m. No.10480773   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

Adelaide man allegedly caught with child abuse material after suspicious transactions

 

A 62-year-old man allegedly caught with images and videos of children being sexually abused is expected to face Elizabeth Magistrates Court today (31 August).

 

The South Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET) charged the man after an investigation sparked by information from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

 

AUSTRAC financial intelligence identified people in Australia allegedly sending suspicious payments to known facilitators of child abuse material (CAM) in the Philippines.

 

The 62-year-old was allegedly one of those customers and is suspected of transferring approximately $65,000 to various beneficiaries in the Philippines since 2006.

 

SA JACET, which comprises Australian Federal Police and South Australia Police executed a search warrant at the man’s home on 16 July 2020.

 

Police seized a laptop, USB, several DVDs and CDs, a dozen Western Union money transfer forms and a number of external hard drives for further examination.

 

Investigators allegedly found child abuse material and extensive communication with suspected Philippines’ residents when they did a preliminary examination of the data storage devices.

 

The man has been charged with

 

• Possession or control of child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

• Using a carriage service to access child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); Police will allege this offence was committed before legislation was amended in September 2019.

 

The maximum penalty for these offences is 15 years’ imprisonment.

 

Analysis of seized items is ongoing and further charges may be laid.

 

Information has been provided to Philippines authorities to try to identify any victims and perpetrators.

 

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Gavin Stone said children are being forced into the most appalling violence on camera for money and anyone who views this material online is just as complicit in the abuse as those who physically harm a child.

 

“No child anywhere in the world should have to be victimised for the perverted desires of some people in our community,”

 

“The AFP and South Australia Police are working around-the-clock with our partners to bring to justice those who seek to do harm to our children.” Detective Acting Superintendent Stone said.

 

South Australia Police Detective Superintendent Mark Wieszyk said the JACET partnership between the South Australia Police and the AFP has been in operation since 2015.

 

“Since this time we have worked tirelessly at apprehending persons that prey on children as well as identifying victims wherever possible so that they can be rescued from abuse. Although demanding, our work is performed diligently knowing that the goal is to rescue as many children from harm as possible,” Detective Superintendent Wieszyk said.

 

Bradley Brown, National Manager, Intelligence Partnerships at AUSTRAC said: “one of the most effective ways of tracking down individuals committing these abhorrent offences is to monitor the transactions they use to pay for these child abuse materials online.”

 

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

You can also make a report online by alerting the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report

 

Note to media:

 

Use of term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

 

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

 

Use of the phrase "child pornography" is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

 

• indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

 

• conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

 

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/adelaide-man-allegedly-caught-child-abuse-material-after-suspicious

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 1:28 a.m. No.10480915   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4836

Black market cat drugs being studied as COVID-19 treatment

 

Two experimental cat drugs that Australian pet owners have been paying thousands of dollars for on the black market are now being studied as potential COVID-19 treatments.

 

The drugs – named GS-441524 and GC376 – have been used by scientists in early studies to treat feline infectious peritonitis, a disease caused by a cat coronavirus which without the drugs is 100 per cent fatal.

 

The drugs are not approved for human or animal use in Australia and on Monday the Therapeutic Goods Administration issued a firm warning about buying them online.

 

People who import them risk buying low-quality or counterfeit drugs which could harm them or their pet, the administration warned. The Australian Veterinary Association has also urged people to not try to buy the drugs.

 

Researchers reported in Nature Communications last week that GC376 inhibited the growth of the virus that causes COVID-19.

 

GS-441524 is also in the early stages of COVID-19 research, and has been tested on at least one patient.

 

But it is remdesivir, an enhanced version of GS-441524 made by US pharmaceutical company Gilead, that has enjoyed the most success.

 

In early studies, remdesivir seems to shorten the length of time patients have COVID-19 and reduces the mortality rate. It became Australia’s first approved COVID-19 treatment in July.

 

Experts say that because the manufacturers have been focussing on the drugs' use in treating people they have not commercialised them for cats – and that has led to a thriving black market trade as desperate pet owners buy the drugs from China.

 

A wonder-drug – for cats

 

Dr Andrew Spanner, owner of the Walkerville Vet clinic in Adelaide, said GS-441524's effect on sick cats could be extraordinary.

 

“The early work in cats was the harbinger of what these drugs are capable of. I know people who … saw the results in cats and went ‘wow these drugs are amazing’. And they are amazing, quite frankly.”

 

The University of Sydney’s professor of veterinary microbiology and infectious diseases Jacqueline Norris said she was aware of many Australian pet owners illegally importing GS-441524.

 

“Everyone can see in the literature this is going to be a fantastic drug for a disease that is untreatable,” she said.

 

“I tell people about the papers, I tell them there is an ability to get the drug but it’s not legal. ”

 

The two drugs were tested on cats in 2018 and 2019 by Professor Niels Pedersen, a scientist based at the University of California, Davis, who was searching for a treatment for feline infectious peritonitis.

 

In one study done on GS-441524 in 2019, 31 cats were dosed with one of the drugs; 25 survived and recovered. GC376 was also effective but substantially less so.

 

Human studies, while cats miss out

 

Because the human drug market is much more lucrative than the cat market, the companies have focussed on that avenue rather than making a commercial drug for cats.

 

That has left desperate cat owners to seek other ways of getting the drugs.

 

After the chemical formulas were published online, Chinese companies started manufacturing and selling the drugs to distressed pet owners.

 

“The human market is so much larger [and] that creates this black market,” said Dr Spanner.

 

"We have desperate cat owners on one hand, willing manufacturers on the other, and the internet joins them together."

 

“I can’t criticise owners," said Dr Spanner. "Because these cats mostly do very well on the treatment with minimal side effects and these are cats that would have mostly died before from the disease.”

 

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald have viewed several social media posts and GoFundMe campaigns from Australians soliciting funds to buy the drugs via the black market.

 

One company, apparently headquartered in the US, sells that drug as “superior to remdesivir against COVID-19”.

 

The drugs are extremely expensive – between $3000 and $5000 for a course of injections, said Dr Spanner.

 

“I want to stress, I don’t want them to be stopped because there is no harm being done at the moment,” he said.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/black-market-cat-drugs-being-studied-as-covid-19-treatment-20200831-p55qv5.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 2:05 a.m. No.10481133   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1142 >>4903

Christopher Pyne: The world needs Biden to defeat the cult of Trump

 

After watching four days of “hyperbolic hate speech” directed at Democrats, former senior federal minister Christopher Pyne says the world should be hoping for a decisive Biden victory.

 

Christopher Pyne - August 30, 2020

 

1/2

 

The United States presidential election is on November 3 this year. It is Joe Biden’s to lose.

 

After the Democratic and Republican parties’ national conventions in the past fortnight, it is even more obvious that the world needs Biden to win.

 

The Republican Party establishment has been demolished. The party of Rockefeller, Reagan, Nixon, Eisenhower and Bush is in hiding. What has replaced it is a cult of Trump.

 

Let’s hope that after Trump loses in November, if he loses, the centre right of American politics will reclaim their political vehicle and chase the fraudsters, opportunists and whackos out of the Republican temple.

 

The world needs presidents of the free world we can look up to and be proud of. Not ones that make us cringe with embarrassment and are laughed at by other world leaders who might not have our best interests at heart.

 

The speakers at the Republican Convention discarded any pretence of truth telling. Instead they engaged in hyperbolic hate speech directed at Biden and their Democrat opponents.

 

Trump has spent more than four years dividing the most powerful and important country on earth, and neither he nor his acolytes have the slightest intention of altering their playbook.

 

It is such a shame. I am more naturally a Republican than a Democrat – although there are aspects of the Democrats that I approve of – yet the Republican Party that I would recognise is not on display in these troubled times.

 

When the world needs America to lead, especially on growth, geopolitical stability and the response to the coronavirus pandemic, instead we get polemical speeches from the Trump family and others that engender fear and loathing of anyone not signed on to the ‘Trump the Great” mantra.

 

Where is it all going to end? Hopefully with the election of a new president on November 3. If it doesn’t, we are all going to be sorry.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 2:06 a.m. No.10481142   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

>>10481133

 

2/2

 

On the current opinion polls, Biden can’t lose. But wait, that’s what we thought about Hillary Clinton in 2016! But Biden is no Clinton. He may not be that articulate, but he is safe.

 

He has been in the US Congress, the Senate and is a former vice-president. He has been around politics for decades.

 

That’s not to say he is universally liked or admired. He has stumbled many times in those decades. But he has survived.

 

Clinton was deeply divisive and unpopular. Whether it was fair or not doesn’t matter. The voters, especially in the states she needed to win, just didn’t warm to her.

 

Four years ago, to enough Americans, Trump seemed like a reasonable alternative. The polls say they don’t think so anymore, and by a wide margin.

 

Biden looks to be on track to win important swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and even Florida. Most analysts believe he will win big in the Electoral College and in the popular vote.

 

Biden has either united the Democrats or at least papered over the cracks. He is not naturally of the left. He has spent a career as a centrist, a moderate. Without a real challenger after Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race for the Democrat nomination for president, Biden has been able to be his true self, rather than move to the left to beat anyone.

 

How long the Democrats remain united after November remains to be seen, but in the short term they appear to want to do nothing that might jeopardise their chances of removing Trump.

 

Before the coronavirus, Trump looked more likely to win. By the November election, it is expected almost 250,000 Americans will have died from COVID-19. In February, Trump downplayed its impact!

 

The economy was strong in America at the beginning of this year. It is the most important issue in a US election, as it is in Australia. But that is no longer the case. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the US economy, just as it has across the world, and there is not much Trump can do about it in the short term.

 

After watching some of the Republican Convention last week, it seemed that the message from Trump’s supporters was directed at a very narrow band of voters. It sounded like they were talking to themselves and convincing each other of the rightness of their positions, rather than trying to convince swinging voters to back Trump.

 

Of course, voting in US elections is voluntary. They need to get their voters out to vote rather than pitch to the centre. But how far from the centre can a politician get before they fall off the edge? The Trump Republicans are going to test those boundaries and we will all find out in two months.

 

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/christopher-pyne-the-world-needs-biden-to-defeat-the-cult-of-trump/news-story/4e9c3e4cd56593dc4e853960d0079d65

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 2:57 a.m. No.10481398   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1410 >>5018

QAnon: Conspiracy theory takes hold in Cairns

 

Pete Martinelli - August 28, 2020

 

1/3

 

THE professor has retired to the Far North, keeping his distance from the coming storm he is convinced will erupt in the next three months.

 

Sitting in a Cairns cafe, his blue eyes bore in as he describes the elite “cabal” of satanic paedophiles farming children for their blood, underground military bases and the so called ‘deep state’.

 

“I am an escape artist, on the edges of things,” the former university lecturer on political science said.

 

He is a believer in QAnon, a far right conspiracy theory that has taken hold in the US and jumped borders during the pandemic to seed itself among Far Northern residents and business owners.

 

“Are you aware of the extent of baby trafficking, of adrenochrome?” he asked.

 

“This is the basis of Q; a group of elites have taken over world affairs; there is a genuine conspiracy … the techno giants who own Amazon etc are sociopaths.

 

“Yes (I believe it) absolutely. They manufacture adrenochrome from (children’s) blood which is a way to keep themselves looking more youthful.”

 

He name-dropped a prominent former Australian politician as one of the cabal, which Q adherents believe is lead by none other than Hillary Clinton and a dark society of devil-worshipping child-eating Democrats.

 

A now debunked but still circulated 2016 conspiracy theory posited that Ms Clinton ran a paedophile ring from a Washington DC pizza shop.

 

The affair is known among Q believers as #pizzagate.

 

“Things will come out quite violently in the next three months,” the professor said.

 

The Q faithful believe a system of Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBS, seriously) are holding these children, including in Australia.

 

Adrenochrome is actually synthesised by the oxidation of adrenaline and a quick online search will reveal 44 companies globally can supply the chemical, which is mainly used to slow blood clotting.

 

Hunter S Thompson’s seminal work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas may have kicked off the idea that adrenochrome was a drug of the elite when the character Dr Gonzo cites a living human adrenal gland as the only source of the substance.

 

QAnon is insidious in that it has spread across a range of demographics and belief systems that would normally not be caught dead side-by-side; far right conservatives and Green environmental activists are often oblivious bedfellows.

 

“People are searching for meaning,” Cairns psychologist Suzanne Scarrow said.

 

“If they are fear based then they find more evidence of that fear.

 

“There is certainly a lot more paranoia than there was pre COVID-19.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 3 a.m. No.10481410   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1424 >>5018

>>10481398

 

2/3

 

Q followers often share a habit of spending hours on social media ‘researching’ links to support theories, sharing dizzying maps of the ‘Deep State’ and questionable ‘scientific’ findings.

 

One notorious example is the widely circulated video by a group calling themselves America’s Frontline Doctors, who claimed hydroxychloroquine was the coronavirus cure.

 

“We don’t need masks. There is a cure!” said Dr. Stella Immanuel from the steps of the Washington DC Supreme Court.

 

Dr Immanuel, a Christian pastor and founder of a church in Houston, has also preached that infertility issues and endometriosis is the fault of women who sleep with demons.

 

The press conference was hosted and funded by the far right Tea Party Patriots.

 

In Cairns, the professor cited a ‘fact’ that 6000 German doctors backed hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID.

 

A similar claim was circulated by the science Times, a website debunked for failed fact checks and poor transparency by the amateur media watchdog mediabiasfactcheck.com

 

In the Far North, vocal Q ‘researchers’ are hard to spot; they are unlikely to be wearing Q Anon or #WWG1WGA (Where We Go One We Go All, a common Q Anon slogan) t shirts in public.

 

Instead, they mostly share their ‘research’ and theories on social media.

 

Often, the hashtags appropriated by Q Anon seem outwardly noble.

 

One, #savethechildren has had a resounding success blurring the lines between paranoid delusion and the legitimate charity Save The Children, to which it has zero connection.

 

Those sharing the hashtag, in many cases, are not aware of its association to QAnon.

 

In its extensive coverage of the Q phenomenon, the New York Times has reported on the movement co opting legitimate concern over human trafficking in order to gain followers.

 

The kicker is, no one actually knows who is behind QAnon.

 

Followers have their own theory.

 

“It is extremely likely it is US military intelligence,” the professor said.

 

The anonymity fostered by the QAnon’s origins has added to its allure.

 

“The theory started a few years ago based on the online postings of an individual going by the name of “Q” who claimed to have access to top-secret information supporting a wide variety of conspiratorial claims including those implicating the Democrats, the Clintons, and the likes of the FBI in orchestrating a coup against President Trump as well as running an international child sex trafficking ring,” Joseph M. Pierre, M.D, wrote in a 2019 article in Psychology Today.

 

So called ‘Q drops’, anonymous cryptic messages by ‘Q’ to followers, regularly appeared on 8kun, an image board website owned by businessman Jim Watkins, who, according to the US Federal Electoral Commission, also runs the Super PAC (political action committee, a campaign group to fund election candidates) ‘Disarm the Deep State.’

 

The Super PAC’s website is littered with QAnon terminology and although it purports itself to be independent, supports mainly Republican candidates, most of whom are openly “members of WWG1WGA.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 3:02 a.m. No.10481424   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10481410

 

3/3

 

Twitter, Reddit and Facebook have actively deleted many Q-related accounts and posts as misinformation, but this has also fuelled paranoia about the role of ‘technogiants’ in the ‘deep state’ and pushed many followers to far right platform Parler.

 

In 2019, Twitter deleted 418 Russian accounts connected to the Kremlin-backed internet Research Agency, a state-backed ‘troll farm’.

 

NBC reported that the second most tweeted topic from these accounts was #Qanon.

 

One such account @CovfefeNationUS, actively pushed the first ‘Q-drop’ less than two weeks after it was posted.

 

Millions of troll tweets followed, adding fuel to the paranoid fire.

 

In May of that year, a leaked FBI memo revealed that QAnon was considered a domestic terror threat in the US, adding fuel to the Q conspiracy idea that ‘three letter agencies’ are out to depose President Donald Trump.

 

In its first annual threat assessment in February, Australian agency ASIO echoed the FBI’s concerns.

 

So, how did a fringe conspiracy theory on par with the posits of UK former footballer David Icke hop into the mainstream and make its way Far North?

 

Cape York clinical psychologist Dr Tim White, who has spotted pro Q graffiti near Mt Carbine, said the coronavirus pandemic had much to do with the theory’s spread.

 

“The time is ripe for it,” Dr White said.

 

"There is no evidence to support Q; you try to put it together but there is no glue between the jigsaw pieces."

 

“There is a psychological phenomenon around mass hysteria; it becomes exponential as a collective group think.”

 

The damage that Q has wrought is growing anecdotally; a Reddit thread called QAnon casualties is home to a growing community of refugees from broken homes and relationships torn apart by the cult-like belief in the fringe theory.

 

“The belief comes down to trauma and complete dissatisfaction and fear of the government; they will isolate between conspiracies, bouncing out of one and into another,” Dr White said.

 

He said Q-Anon’s shelf life was finite.

 

“You’ll find that most people will get bored with it,” Dr White said.

 

“Separate them from the stimulation, from their devices.”

 

“Education is also another factor, but it has to be gentle; it is counter intuitive because their first reaction is ‘that’s what a non believer would say.”

 

Ironically, the influx of post-COVID Q supporters has inflamed paranoia within the sprawling phenomenon.

 

Participants of Global Save Our Children marches against ‘the cabal’ have been branded as agents of the Deep State by old guard Q ‘researchers,’ who are losing control of the original pro Trump dialogue.

 

Meanwhile, the former professor was still confident in his predictions.

 

But his former employer was frank in its denunciation of Q.

 

“It is sheer lunacy,” the current chairman of the university’s political science department said.

 

“It’s a ‘crisis cult,’ as some have called it, and is laughable were it not for the potentially serious political ramifications of this particular manifestation of magical thinking, exacerbated by the social media.

 

“While we take movements such as QAnon seriously as objects of political analysis, we are appalled by the spread of these delusional and dangerous ‘theories.’”

 

SPEAKING WITH CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

 

  • Be respectful

  • Talk or message them in private

  • Test the waters first

  • Build trust

  • Get them away from phones or their source of stimulation and disinformation

  • Go outside in the fresh air

 

If you have experiences with QAnon email editorial@cairnspost.news.com.au

 

https://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/special-features/in-depth/qanon-conspiracy-theory-takes-hold-in-cairns/news-story/842e1120b21403b31e997c8a90a7a1e3

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 3:38 a.m. No.10481572   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4903

MP Anne Webster weeps in court over conspiracy theorist’s ‘evil’ pedophile posts

 

A federal MP who has been repeatedly accused of protecting a “secret pedophile network” by a conspiracy theorist has tearfully described the impact the woman’s “evil” posts have had on her character and reputation to a Sydney court.

 

Nationals MP Anne Webster, from the regional Victorian town of Mildura, is suing Karen Brewer over a series of posts and videos about her on Facebook that claim she was “parachuted into parliament to protect a generation of pedophiles”.

 

The Federal Court heard on Monday that Ms Brewer, who is Australian but is believed to be living in New Zealand, executed a “sustained” attack on Ms Webster, her GP husband, Philip, and their charity for vulnerable teenage mothers, Zoe Support Australia, over a period of three weeks in April and early May.

 

Ms Brewer claimed on ­Facebook that the member for Mallee and her husband were “filthy ­spiders” who protected pedophiles, engaged in money ­laundering and used their charity to procure young women and their children for sex trafficking.

 

“To have someone discredit you, tear you apart from limb to limb, call you a liar and worse … even if they are deranged, it still hurts. She can share at liberty these shocking lies,” Ms Webster told the court.

 

“I’m lost for words to describe the kind of behaviour … thrown at us. I’m lost for words, other than to say it’s absolutely evil.”

 

Ms Brewer is accused of writing three defamatory posts on Facebook and sharing four videos designed to “shred and trash” Ms Webster’s reputation.

 

In May, judge Michael Wheelahan departed from legal convention to order removal of the material before trial because of the “exceptional” circumstances of the case. While Facebook has removed Ms Brewer’s videos, the conspiracy theorist has continued to post detailed diatribes against Ms Webster and her charity.

 

Ms Brewer’s Facebook page is replete with a laundry list of conspiracy theories, including that Freemasons control Australia’s parliament, judiciary, media and bureaucracy as part of an extensive pedophile protection racket.

 

“Someone in the past would have a megaphone and would yell at people walking by,” Ms Webster told the court. “It starts and stops there, but when you’re talking about social media, the ramifications are just unknown.”

 

The Websters’ barrister said it was possible that up to a third of Mildura’s population — as many as 10,000 people — may have viewed Ms Brewer’s posts because some of the material was shared on the region’s buy, swap, sell Facebook page.

 

Philip Webster, who is also suing Ms Brewer, told the court he had installed security cameras at the couple’s home: “I have a genuine fear that some of those who follow her may choose to do things that are not just defamatory but violent.”

 

The matter will return to court next month. Ms Brewer was contacted for comment.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/mp-anne-webster-weeps-in-court-over-conspiracy-theorists-evil-personal-posts/news-story/50e3079d34abb951bfbae390beaf4556

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 3:58 a.m. No.10481665   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1669 >>8529 >>8841 >>5018

QAnon Australia: Explaining The Absurd And Dangerous Conspiracy Theory Down Under

 

Cam Wilson - August 31, 2020

 

1/2

 

Tens of thousands of people are members or followers of online communities and figures promoting the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory in Australia. But given its focus on US politics, why are more Australians buying into this ridiculous theory?

 

Despite being completely unfounded and detached from reality, QAnon is well and truly mainstream. Devotees of the theory are running in-person protests, amassing enormous social media followings and will soon be in U.S. Congress.

 

It’s also been listed as a domestic terrorism threat by the FBI, and is linked to real world violence including alleged murder.

 

While it is largely U.S.-centric, there are likely thousands of believers in Australia who have incorporated existing domestic conspiracy theories as part of their beliefs.

 

OK, I guess I’ll bite: what is QAnon?

 

QAnon is a sprawling conspiracy theory incorporating many different other conspiracies.

 

At its core, believers think that U.S. President Donald Trump is secretly investigating an elite cabal of Satanic pedophiles who are in positions of power. This theory has its roots in older, antisemitic conspiracy theories.

 

The conspiracy was born from an anonymous imageboard account which in 2017 began posting claiming to have a “Q” clearance — the top available security clearance in the U.S. — which gave the theory its name.

 

This account has posted hundreds of cryptic clues over the years alluding to important dates and events that rarely ever bear out.

 

Needless to say, there is no evidence that Donald Trump is conducting a secret investigation of any sort — however Trump has refused to disavow the theory and has repeatedly amplified QAnon content.

 

And while the posts are on imageboards, QAnon content has found a large audience through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. An internal Facebook report found that the 10 biggest Facebook groups had more than 3 million members, NBC News reported.

 

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok have taken some action to limit the proliferation of the conspiracy theory on the platform, however all still allow it in some form.

 

Proponents of the theory have begun to hijack other human trafficking-related campaigns like #SaveTheChildren to bring in new audiences.

 

How big is QAnon in Australia?

 

It’s difficult to figure out just how many Australians are engaging with QAnon content for a couple of reasons.

 

QAnon is international and many online groups are non-region specific. So this means that some Australians believers won’t be included in Australia-specific QAnon communities and accounts.

 

Additionally, recent crackdowns by social media companies have eliminated some of the bigger QAnon communities, including Australia’s biggest Facebook group. In response, some QAnon groups have taken steps to evade bans by changing their names or other efforts.

 

Concordia University Ph.D candidate specialising in online extremism Marc-André Argentino said that Australia is in the top 5 countries in both size and activity for QAnon.

 

A Gizmodo investigation found several obvious Australian Facebook groups and pages with thousands of members, dozens of Instagram accounts with hundreds of followers, and several Twitter accounts with tens of thousands of followers. All up, these Australian accounts, pages and groups have more than 70,000 followers in total.

 

As well, search trend data suggests that more Australians are searching for QAnon — although this does not distinguish between people who believe it and those who don’t.

 

Compared to the U.S., Australia doesn’t have many public figures who’ve publicly shared QAnon content.

 

However, former television host and celebrity chef Pete Evans has repeatedly shared QAnon content with his 1.75 million followers across Facebook and Instagram. And at least one QAnon believer has run for federal parliament.

 

And there are some believers with close links to power: in 2019, the Guardian reported that a family friend of the Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a QAnon believer.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 3:59 a.m. No.10481669   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10481665

 

2/2

 

How is QAnon different in Australia?

 

While the majority of QAnon remains imported from the U.S. — it is a theory that is centred on the U.S. president, after all — there are some notable differences.

 

According to online conspiracy researcher Cam Smith, there’s a different demographic of QAnon supporters in Australia than in the U.S..

 

“It does seem like there’s a younger contingent getting into it than the U.S., where it’s all these baby boomers who’ve been radicalised,” he said.

 

He points out that there’s no Trump-substitute in Australia. Instead, he claims, QAnon believers in Australia tend to have a bipartisan distrust rather than mostly towards progressive politics, like it is with Democrats in the U.S..

 

University of Tasmania lecturer and online researcher Kaz Ross agrees there’s a younger demographic in Australia. She also says other cultural factors affect it too.

 

“In America, there’s a more evangelical overtone. As well, with more things like multi-level marketing scams there, it’s primed certain parts of the population for this,” she said.

 

On top of the U.S. mythos, local proponents have incorporated or created other domestic conspiracy theories into the lore, including:

 

  • In 2015, Senator Bill Heffernan claimed to have received a police document of 28 prominent Australians including “a former Prime Minister” that came out of royal commission into police corruption but was ignored. There is no evidence to suggest the allegations were correct. The former royal commissioner denied that any referrals had been ignored. Senator George Brandis responded to Heffernan’s statement saying “just because someone’s name appears on a list doesn’t make them guilty”. Despite the lack of evidence, QAnon supporters have latched onto this as ‘proof’, also claiming without proof that there is a suppression order on the list.

 

  • Conspiracy theories about Chinese planes flying in Australia bringing 5G towers, Chinese soldiers, or, in some versions of the theory, reinforcements on behalf of Donald Trump.

 

  • Some believers have accused Melbourne’s COVID-19 testing centres and the city’s tunnels of being used by child trafficking organisations without evidence.

 

Smith said QAnon believers will often just transplant a U.S.-specific belief straight into Australia. He gave the example of the debunked theory in California’s 2019 bushfires that the fires were intentionally lit to clear the way for high speed rail. The same theory was then repeated in Australia during its 2020 bushfire season.

 

“The bushfires theory, that was a copy-paste of a California conspiracy. You see American conspiracy theorists say ‘wow, they’re doing it in Australia too’. Actually no, we’re just really lame and can’t think of our own,” he said.

 

Why does it matter that people believe in QAnon?

 

On top of the violence and corrosive impact on democracy from a group being detached from reality, there’s also damage to friendships and families as people become enveloped in a conspiracy theory.

 

The subreddit r/QAnonCasualties features hundreds of posts from people who’ve lost their friends to the conspiracy theory.

 

One user from Melbourne shared a story about how her two best friends of ten years became consumed with QAnon and other conspiracy beliefs during the pandemic lockdown. With a baby due in just a few weeks and being in the high-risk category for COVID-19, she reached out to them to try engage and challenge them on their beliefs.

 

She never heard back from them.

 

“I want this to be a happy time but instead I’m utterly consumed with trying to work out what happened to my two best friends,” she wrote.

 

And then there’s the impact of having an online, engaged community who are spending their time sharing misinformation and falsehoods.

 

In the U.S., QAnon believers overwhelmed anti-human trafficking charities’ tiplines with fake tips, making it impossible to chase up real cases of abuse.

 

Charities in Australia haven’t seen the same flood of conspiracy content. But Hetty Johnston, founder of the Australian child protection organisation Bravehearts, warned that spending time chasing conspiracy theories is counterproductive.

 

“There’s no doubt there’s pedophiles in every country around the world. They’re across every industry and they wield power and authority and no one can argue that,” she said.

 

“But the rest of it, you can’t have a committed view on. Unless you’ve experienced it, you need to prove it. You need to go to the police,” she said.

 

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/08/qanon-australia-explaining-the-absurd-and-dangerous-conspiracy-theory-down-under/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 11:14 p.m. No.10491101   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1577 >>4903

Repost from Q Research General #13424

 

>>10489101 (pb)

 

Facebook says will stop news sharing in Australia if new regulations become law

 

Facebook Inc said it would block news publishers and people in Australia from sharing news on Facebook and Instagram if a proposal to force the U.S. tech giant to pay local media outlets for content becomes law. The Australian government said in July it would require tech giants Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay for news provided by media companies under a royalty-style system that is scheduled to become law this year. “This is not our first choice – it is our last. But it is the only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long-term vibrancy of Australia’s news and media sector,” Facebook Australia managing director Will Easton said in a statement published on Tuesday.

 

Following an inquiry into the state of the media market and the power of the U.S. platforms, the Australian government late last year told Facebook and Google to negotiate a voluntary deal with media companies to use their content. After those negotiations failed, Australia’s competition regulator drafted laws that it said would allow news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists’ work. Easton said the proposed legislation misunderstands the dynamic of the internet and will damage news organisations. Australia’s Ministry for Communications did not immediately respond to questions on Tuesday.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-media-facebook/facebook-says-will-stop-news-sharing-in-australia-if-new-regulations-become-law-idUSKBN25S36J?il=0

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 11:19 p.m. No.10491128   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1182 >>1333 >>4454 >>4903

Repost from Q Research General #13426

 

>>10490603 (pb)

 

Australian Signals Directorate: ASD chief’s terrorism warning

 

The boss of Australia’s top foreign spy agency has given a rare public speech, including a grim warning for all Aussies.

 

The boss of Australia’s top foreign spy agency has warned she leads an “impossible game” fighting terrorists and cyber criminals and declared “not all Australians are the good guys”.

 

In a rare speech, the Australian Signals Directorate’s new chief Rachel Noble insists the agency has never and will never be involved in the “mass surveillance” of Australia’s own citizens, as the Morrison Government mounts the case for expanded powers.

 

But the nation’s first female intelligence agency director – who also reveals in the speech she rose through the ranks to the organisation after her early role as a codebreaker – will argue Australians need to be clear-headed about the threat.

 

“I’m sorry if this is news to you, but not all Australians are the good guys,’’ Ms Noble said.

 

“Some Australians are agents of a foreign power. Some Australians are terrorists. Some Australians take up weapons and level them at us. Some Australians are spies who are cultivated by international powers and are not on our side.”

 

The secretive spy agency she leads is tasked with intercepting foreign signals intelligence and fighting cyber attacks under its motto “reveal their secrets, protect our own”,

 

But there are growing calls for its powers to be expanded at home.

 

Speaking at the Australian National University (ANU) National Security College on Tuesday, Ms Noble’s address is titled: Long Histories – Short Memories: the Transparently Secret ASD in 2020.

 

In it, she revealed that one of the spy agency’s top cyber operatives in Australia was a former hairdresser.

 

“One of our most extraordinary cyber offensive operators didn’t finish year 12 and was a hairdresser,’’ she said.

 

“I think there’s a little hint in there that being really clever in those sort of operations is in understanding how people think and being interested in people, and hairdressers are wonderful at that. They’re wonderful at making conversation with anyone who sits in the chair. You do feel like you can trust them.

 

“We are open to every kind of person with any background and it’s the imagination that makes the difference.”

 

Ms Noble also revealed she was not a fan of her early experiences as a codebreaker with the organisation she now leads.

 

“I didn’t like that job at all. I’ll tell you about that in a different speech, and about what we hope we’ve learned from how we have historically failed to engage women,” she said.

 

“Here’s my spoiler alert — don’t starve them of human contact and make them sit alone with a computer all day.”

 

Ms Noble said some of the ASD’s capabilities were unique in the world, and “expensive and precious”.

 

“They give us insight into the threats posed to our great country and that of our close allies,’’ she said.

 

“As our Defence Minister recently warned, nations are increasingly employing coercive tactics that fall below the threshold of armed conflict.

 

“Cyber attacks, foreign interference and economic pressure seek to exploit the grey area between peace and war. In the grey zone, when the screws are tightened, influence becomes interference, economic co-operation becomes coercion, and investment becomes entrapment.”

 

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/australian-signals-directorate-asd-chiefs-terrorism-warning/news-story/adfa38c40d4d43e9dcea83bc8d102c37

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 11:28 p.m. No.10491182   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4454 >>4903

>>10491128

Long histories - short memories: the Transparently Secret ASD in 2020

 

ANU TV

 

Published on 1 September 2020

 

For a decade the National Security College at The Australian National University has been engaging minds for a secure Australia.

 

Our mission is now more pressing than ever.

 

In the era we are living through, securing the nation — and its people — involves a new suite of challenges. And it is set to get harder.

 

To mark the College’s 10th anniversary, we are hosting an online event series to explore ideas and insights from Australian leaders in national security and beyond — illuminating the difficult policy choices ahead.

 

In the second event on Tuesday 1 September, Rachel Noble PSM, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) will deliver her inaugural speech to the National Security College (NSC).

 

Rachel will talk about ASD's history, its growing security role and the importance of being transparent about what it does while keeping how it does its mission a secret.

 

Rachel will also share never before seen photos of ASD's people and their work from its archives.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZQwTJ1N030

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 11:40 p.m. No.10491267   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1251 >>4892

>>10449920

>>10456757

Dassi Erlich Tweet

 

Spent weekend writing Affidavits.

Applications to speak our truth (again)filed in Magistrate's court Mon.

Court confirmed our Applications will be heard Wed, 2nd Sept @ 11:30am before Magistrate Metcalf.

Online hearing, media credentials can log in and observe.

#LetUsSpeak

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1300589450854977536

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 11:57 p.m. No.10491351   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1362 >>2556 >>5018

Victorian MPs hit with tsunami of vile anti-lockdown abuse from conspiracy theorists

 

1/2

 

A dozen Victorian politicians are at the centre of an “unprecedented” social media pile-on, each being flooded with thousands of abusive emails, calls and messages from anti-lockdown conspiracy theorists opposed to the state government’s COVID response.

 

Violent and aggressive messages have been referred to police, as the state parliament votes on Tuesday on the extension of Victoria’s state of emergency.

 

“We’ve seen big email campaigns before, but I’ve never seen such viciousness or aggression in the messages,” Legislative Council member Fiona Patten told The New Daily.

 

“This is really something new. The vitriol, the threatening language is something I haven’t seen.”

 

Ms Patten and 11 other crossbench politicians in Victoria’s Parliament have had their private phone numbers and emails exposed in countless posts on anti-lockdown Facebook groups this week.

 

The reason?

 

The groups, opposed to Premier Daniel Andrews’ plan to extend Victoria’s state of emergency arrangements for 12 months, were trying to get the crossbench MPs to vote against the legislation.

 

The New Daily has seen an Excel spreadsheet list of crossbench MPs, with their personal phone numbers and email addresses, plastered in many Facebook groups for anti-vaxxers, critics of 5G technology and Australian followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory.

 

The messages appear to be spreading in a decentralised way, posted by numerous individuals rather than a single person.

 

However, the colour-coded list is common across all posts, appearing to be copied and pasted around the internet.

 

Some group administrators instruct their fellow members to spam the politicians, many falsely claiming the extension of the state of emergency would automatically extend the lockdowns – something Premier Daniel Andrews has said is not true.

 

“SHARE THE CRAP OUT OF THE EMAIL,” said one post in a notorious Australian conspiracy theory group with more than 120,000 followers, alongside a template letter that members were asked to send to politicians.

 

Such concerted public campaigns to pressure politicians are not new.

 

However, the targeted politicians say they’ve never before experienced such vicious personal attacks, with some callers linking the politicians to unfounded conspiracy theories about secret pedophile networks and Satanic worship – core planks of the baseless QAnon belief system.

 

Late on Monday, it was confirmed that Mr Andrews would seek a six-month extension instead of 12, agreeing to give month-by-month updates in an attempt to get the required parliamentary support.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Aug. 31, 2020, 11:59 p.m. No.10491362   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10491351

 

2/2

 

Ms Patten, leader of the Reason Party, said her office had been swamped with at least 5000 emails in recent days alone, with countless phone calls and social media messages.

 

She had to instruct her staff to stop answering office phones, such was the level of abuse. She has now referred some of the more violent communications to police.

 

“In other campaigns which are organised by groups like this, they all had a target and a specific message to give us,” Ms Patten said.

 

“In this one, the messages are just all over the place, and many of them are conspiracy theorists who have the facts just plain wrong.

 

“Ordinary people are ringing my office at their wit’s end, unemployed, needing to know how to access services.

 

“But when our phones are just bombarded by people who want to yell, they’re blocking calls from people who actually need help. It’s wearing my staff down and upsetting them.”

 

In some messages received by Ms Patten, seen by The New Daily, critics call her a “f—ing corrupt c–t”, accuse her of “treason”, and being “evil”.

 

“May you rot in hell,” one message said.

 

“You’ve got blood on your hands,” read another.

 

“Stop supporting pedos.”

 

Many messages cite discredited and baseless claims including that the coronavirus is a hoax, while others say they plan to protest at large anti-lockdown demonstrations this weekend.

 

“Please do what you can to get this bill defeated,” one person wrote next to the list of MPs in one large Facebook group.

 

“Let them know your view on this State of Emergency matter,” read another such post.

 

“You can thank her for the extension,” said another post, alongside contact details for Ms Patten.

 

The New Daily has spoken to several of the other MPs on the list, some of whom asked not to be named, who also confirmed they had been flooded with thousands of calls and emails.

 

A spokesperson for Stuart Grimley, of Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party, said the office had received at least 5000 “vile, really awful” messages across social media, including some who had promised to “riot in the streets” if the state of emergency was extended.

 

Mr Grimley’s staff said they had been trying to reply to all messages, but that some were “crazy”. They too had never seen such a bombardment of messages from the public.

 

Animal Justice Party member Andy Meddick has received messages targeting his wife and children, and blaming him personally for Victorians committing suicide.

 

His office said it was receiving a call every three minutes from people spouting abuse.

 

Independent MP Catherine Cumming’s Facebook page has been swamped with thousands of negative comments from anti-lockdown groups, with floods of messages being posted on many of her recent photos and videos.

 

Even Greens MP Samantha Ratnam, currently on maternity leave, has not been spared. A post in one of Australia’s largest anti-lockdown groups told supports to “beg her to turn up to Parliament”.

 

“This is not healthy for our society,” Ms Patten said of the onslaught.

 

“What we need now is unity, calmness, and a level of compassion and kindness.

 

“We should be working together, but they are creating an ‘us and them’ now.”

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/09/01/victorian-mps-vile-abuse/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 12:12 a.m. No.10491426   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1438 >>4836

Melbourne anti-lockdown protest organiser calls coronavirus a ‘scam’

 

An organiser of Melbourne’s anti-lockdown protests is pushing for a fresh rally to go ahead this weekend, labelling the virus as a “scam”.

 

A Victorian man who was arrested after planning a Melbourne anti-lockdown rally has said he hopes “tens of thousands” will attend a new protest this Saturday.

 

According to A Current Affair, Windsor resident Solihin Millin was charged with inciting others to breach the chief health officer’s directions last week.

 

The 76-year-old has remained defiant despite his arrest, telling the program the September 5 demonstrations, set to take place across Australia’s capital cities and dubbed “Freedom Day” by supporters, will continue – although if he attends, it will be a breach of his bail conditions.

 

Mr Millin, whose social media profiles are littered with coronavirus conspiracy theory material, labelled the coronavirus pandemic a “scam” and said the planned protest posed no threat to the public.

 

“If they are peaceful, it’s not dangerous,” Mr Millin said.

 

Mr Millin is due to face the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in February next year and could be slapped with a fine of up to $20,000.

 

But Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius had a blunt message for those planning to attend, labelling anti-lockdown activists “utterly selfish” and members of the “tinfoil hat-wearing brigade”.

 

“It’s just crazy, it’s just bats**t crazy nonsense,” he said, warning protesters that their feet “won’t touch the ground”.

 

His comments come as regular protests continue to be held in Dandenong each night, with participants fed up with stage 4 restrictions taking to the streets under the guise of “exercise”.

 

Last week, one of the organisers of those ongoing demonstrations appeared to film his own arrest on Facebook Live.

 

In the clip, Jemal Abazi can be seen walking through the suburb without a mask.

 

“We’re going to the local park – and doing our exercises – and we have a lot of police there waiting for us,” he said in the video.

 

“Why they’re wasting the taxpayers’ money is beyond any recognition whatsoever.

 

“People need to wake up. Please share, and let’s see what happens.”

 

He is then approached by police officers, who tell him he is being charged with incitement.

 

Meanwhile, there is a growing push for the NSW Government to make face masks mandatory on public transport after the first known spread of coronavirus on a bus emerged.

 

“After 200 days (of the pandemic), now potentially we’ve got our first example of community transmission on public transport,” Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.

 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said people should not be catching a bus or a train “if you’re not wearing a mask”, adding that it “doesn’t get more simple than that”.

 

https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/melbourne-antilockdown-protest-organiser-calls-coronavirus-a-scam/news-story/f82f8d59bbda8abf928fc4cab9ed8ff5

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 12:15 a.m. No.10491438   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10491426

Anti-lockdown ringleader calls coronavirus a "scam" | A Current Affair

 

Published on 31 Aug 2020

 

Solihin Millin, 76, was charged last week, accused of inciting others to breach the Chief Health Officer's directions in Victoria. He believes an anti-lockdown rally planned for Melbourne this weekend will go ahead despite his arrest.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KPm-YdSvQM

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 12:52 a.m. No.10491577   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

>>10491101

'We don't respond to coercion': Frydenberg rejects Facebook news boycott threat

 

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has angrily dismissed a threat by social media giant Facebook to ban news from its platform in Australia, warning the government will not respond to coercion.

 

Facebook on Tuesday said it was prepared to ban news from being shared on its main app and Instagram in Australia in response to a new regulatory code that would force it and Google to pay publishers for content. Google has also pushed back against the code.

 

"Australia makes laws that advance our national interest. We don’t respond to coercion or heavy handed threats wherever they come from" Mr Frydenberg said. "Our reforms to digital platforms are world leading and following a ground breaking 18 month inquiry by the ACCC. These reforms will help to create a more sustainable media landscape and see payment for original content."

 

Australian Competition and Consumer chair Rod Sims said the threat by Facebook's public efforts was poorly timed.

 

"Facebook’s threat today to prevent any sharing of news on its services in Australia is ill-timed and misconceived," Mr Sims said. "Facebook already pays some media for news content. The code simply aims to bring fairness and transparency to Facebook and Google’s relationships with Australian news media businesses."

 

Mr Frydenberg announced plans to introduce a compulsory code to regulate the platforms in April. The first version of the code, announced by the ACCC in July, gives Google and Facebook three months to negotiate revenue-sharing deals with media companies before an independent arbitrator is called in to impose a compulsory arrangement. The code also asks the tech giants to give advance notice of algorithm changes and information on how and when Google and Facebook make data available for publisher.

 

Facebook slammed the new code on Tuesday morning, threatening to block news content on its site in Australia. Local managing director Will Easton said the choice was either removing news entirely or letting publishers charge large amounts of money for content. The response by Facebook was similarly to a public outcry by Google made a few weeks ago.

 

"Assuming this draft code becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram. This is not our first choice – it is our last," Mr Easton said.

 

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the "heavy handed threats" would not distract from the public policy process.

 

"As today’s announcement reminds us, the tech giants have a history of making heavy handed threats," Mr Fletcher said. "But this will not distract us from our careful, thorough, fact-based public policy process. "The Government remains committed to the introduction of a mandatory code to address bargaining power imbalances between digital platforms and news media businesses."

 

Facebook's attack was also slammed by Nine Entertainment Co (owner of this masthead) and the industry body for television, Free TV.

 

"We find it a strange response as it is a demonstration of Facebook’s use of its monopoly power while failing to recognise the importance of reliable news content to balance the fake news that proliferates on their platform," a Nine spokesperson said. "We are ready to engage and hope to come to a constructive outcome with Facebook which will work for both of us and importantly the Australian community."

 

Free TV chief executive Bridger Fair said Facebook users were being held to ransom as part of an effort to intimidate the government.

 

"This type of bullying behaviour is exactly the reason that the ACCC concluded that the Mandatory Code was the only reasonable way to even up the bargaining power between Facebook, Google and Australian news media businesses," Ms Fair said.

 

"Facebook is already awash with fake news and conspiracy theories. Removing trusted Australian news from their platform will only serve to allow misinformation to be further spread unchecked and unchallenged. Unfortunately Australian consumers will be the collateral damage in Facebook’s campaign to hold onto monopoly profits."

 

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-don-t-respond-to-coercion-frydenberg-rejects-tech-giant-boycott-on-australian-users-20200901-p55rb8.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 1:21 a.m. No.10491684   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1693 >>4698 >>3843 >>4939

Prominent Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei detained in China 'without charge'

 

China has detained an Australian news anchor working for its state-run English-language television network CGTN.

 

High-profile Australian journalist Cheng Lei has been detained in China, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.

 

Cheng Lei has been in custody for more than two weeks, the Australian government revealed overnight.

 

"Australian officials had an initial consular visit with Cheng at a detention facility via video link on (Thursday) and will continue to provide assistance and support to her and her family," Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

 

No reason has been provided for her detainment.

 

"Formal notification was received on 14 August 2020 from Chinese authorities of her detention."

 

China-based Australian journalist Stephen McDonnell, who works for the BBC, tweeted that Cheng was being held in a secret location without charge.

 

The CGTN website page which described Cheng as an anchor on the network's Global Business programme was no longer available after news of her detention emerged.

 

The ABC said Cheng was being held under "residential surveillance at a designated location", a form of detention that allows investigators to hold and question a suspect for up to six months without them being formally arrested.

 

In an online video for the Australia Global Alumni posted two years ago, Cheng described herself as an "anchor for the global business show on CGTN, the China Global Television Network".

 

Born in China, she studied commerce at the University of Queensland before working for Cadbury Schweppes and ExxonMobil in Australia.

 

"The beauty of an Australian education is not about what is taught but more about what it doesn't teach. It doesn't teach you to just follow orders, it allows you the freedom to think for yourself, to question … to judge for yourself," she said.

 

After moving to China, Cheng worked for the Chinese state broadcaster, the country's biggest TV network.

 

"China is one of those subjects that can be talked up or down any of a number of notches depending on the person's knowledge and experience."

 

The ABC reported that Cheng's two young children are in Melbourne.

 

Her family issued a brief statement.

 

"In China, due process will be observed and we look forward to a satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter," they told the ABC.

 

Cheng's detainment follows the detention of Australian man and academic Yang Hengjun.

 

Senator Payne has previously called for the immediate release of Dr Yang who could face the death penalty if found guilty of spying charges.

 

The Chinese diplomat went on to become a pro-democracy campaigner and was made an Australian citizen in 2002.

 

He was detained in January 2019 and has been held since with limited consular contact.

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/prominent-australian-tv-anchor-cheng-lei-detained-in-china-without-charge

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 1:25 a.m. No.10491693   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843 >>4939

>>10491684

Detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei authored Facebook posts about Wuhan coronavirus cover-up

 

An Australian journalist currently detained in Beijing was known as a good thinker and a bridge between the two countries before her arrest more than two weeks ago, experts say.

 

An Australian journalist shared social media posts about the Chinese government’s coronavirus response in Wuhan months before she was detained in Beijing.

 

Cheng Lei has been detained by Chinese authorities for more than two weeks, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement on Monday. No reason was provided for her arrest.

 

A high-profile television anchor, Ms Cheng hosted a business program for China’s government-run English language broadcaster CGTN.

 

In March, she wrote a Facebook status describing a censored, viral magazine profile of a doctor at Wuhan’s Central Hospital, who said she was reprimanded for raising the alarm about coronavirus.

 

“The article lived for a few hours, and then the purge started,” she wrote.

 

Weeks earlier, on 27 February, she shared another status referring to “the most circulated posts of the day”, which were investigative articles detailing cover-ups by local government authorities in Wuhan.

 

A number of citizen journalists in China were arrested earlier this year, and some are still missing, after publishing details of the coronavirus crisis in Wuhan.

 

Delia Lin, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at Melbourne University, said it is unlikely the Facebook posts were the catalyst for her detainment, given how much time has passed since they were published.

 

“Why her, why now? She hasn’t really done anything extraordinary. She’s not overly outspoken about the political situation in China,” Dr Lin, who is originally from Wuhan, told SBS News.

 

“She’s also known for reporting things that are favourable to Beijing, because she works for this TV station which requires her to be favourable in many of her reports and she’s done that genuinely without compromising her professional integrity.

 

“She certainly knows her boundaries very well, extremely well, and she’s never really crossed those boundaries as far as I can see.”

 

In her most recent Tweet on 12 August, two days before the Australian government was notified of her arrest, Ms Cheng shared a celebratory video of a new Shake Shack store opening in Beijing.

 

The targeting of Ms Cheng sent a “chilling message” for other Australians working in China that they too could face repercussions, even if they are not outspoken about their views, Dr Lin said.

 

‘A really great bridge between China and Australia’

 

Ms Cheng had worked at CGTN for eight years before her arrest, following stints at CNBC Asia in Singapore and China and at CGTN’s predecessor CCTV News.

 

Her journalism profile on CGTN has since been removed from their website.

 

“She is known to be a really great bridge between China and Australia,” Dr Lin said. “And is certainly someone who values her experience in Australia and tries to help both nations, and both peoples, to understand one another.”

 

Dr Lin said the arrest could be a message to the Australian government, which has been facing strained relations with China over recent months. “It does make people wonder, because it’s very unusual that it could be her,” she said.

 

Fergus Hanson, director of the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said on Tuesday that Ms Cheng’s arrest could fit into a pattern China attempting to use “arbitrary arrests, arbitrary executions, as a means to coerce states into changing their behaviour.”

 

“Is it a very effective strategy? No I don’t think so but it is a really brutal one,” he said, adding that more details were needed before the motivations behind the detention could be determined.

 

Speaking to ABC News on Tuesday, Education Minister Simon Birmingham said there were “clearly a number of issues” with the Chinese-Australian relationship, but did not elaborate on the reasons for Ms Cheng’s detention.

 

“We're working through details in terms of the consular assistance that we can provide, and we will give all assistance that we can,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, opposition treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers described the arrest as “concerning” and said Labor was “as one with the government” in trying to resolve it.

 

It is understood Ms Cheng has not been formally charged and was being held under “residential surveillance”, a form of detention that allows authorities to hold a suspect for up to six months without formal arrest, ABC News reported.

 

Ms Cheng’s family have declined to speak to the media but released a statement which said they were aware of the arrest.

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/detained-australian-journalist-cheng-lei-authored-facebook-posts-about-wuhan-coronavirus-cover-up

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 1:37 a.m. No.10491722   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2938 >>4939

>>10315185

>>10209217

AFP consider Ben Roberts-Smith a suspect in war crimes, court told

 

Australian Federal Police have confirmed that they obtained eyewitness accounts implicating Ben Roberts-Smith in war crimes while he was an Australian soldier serving in Afghanistan, the Federal Court has heard.

 

Extensive media reporting has linked Mr Roberts-Smith to allegations he was directly involved in the death of farmer Ali Jan, an Afghan man who was allegedly kicked off a cliff while handcuffed and then shot dead in the village of Darwan in September 2012.

 

But barrister Sandy Dawson, SC, representing the news outlets being sued for defamation by Mr Roberts-Smith, on Tuesday revealed for the first time that the AFP had independently obtained witness statements from past and current Australian Defence Force members who contradicted the Victoria Cross recipient's position that Mr Jan's death was a legitimate act in war.

 

The AFP wrote to Mr Roberts-Smith through his lawyers last December telling him that it had obtained "contemporaneous" reporting from the ADF and had also conducted its own inquiries. The police investigation began in mid-2018 following a referral from the then chief of defence force Mark Binskin, Mr Dawson said.

 

He said the AFP considers Mr Roberts-Smith a suspect in the war crimes offences of cruel treatment and murder.

 

Mr Dawson said Mr Roberts-Smith "is a suspect in that investigation into war crimes", and the AFP had interviewed Mr Roberts-Smith about Mr Jan's death.

 

The revelations came during calls for the release of confidential documents that outline the extent of Mr Roberts-Smith's participation in an inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into claims of misconduct by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

 

Mr Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service soldier, is suing The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald over reports he allegedly committed murder on deployments to Afghanistan. He denies the allegations and says the reports are defamatory because they portray him as a war criminal.

 

The media outlets are defending the claim. They allege Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in six unlawful deaths as an Australian soldier on deployments to Afghanistan. Besides Mr Jan's death, the newspapers also allege Mr Roberts-Smith ordered junior soldiers in his command to kill unarmed and detained Afghan men.

 

The defamation trial is set to be held next year.

 

Lawyers for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have called for the release of documents including a notice from the IGADF to Mr Roberts-Smith that he is a "potentially affected person (PAP)". A PAP notice allows a recipient to respond to the Inspector-General's findings before they are released.

 

But lawyers for the ADF are resisting those calls and argue they are immune from public interest. Mr Roberts-Smith's lawyers also oppose the release of the documents to the news outlets.

 

Barrister Anna Mitchelmore, SC, acting for the Commonwealth, said the release of the documents would potentially undermine the integrity of the inquiry led by Major-General Paul Brereton, who since 2016 has been investigating allegations of misconduct by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

 

The inquiry was still gathering information and evidence, Ms Mitchelmore said, and the release of confidential documents had the potential to dissuade people from co-operating.

 

Major-General Brereton's inquiry was held in private and evidence kept confidential so participants could be confident in telling the truth, she said, and so they could speak "with frankness and candour" about incidents "that they may have otherwise kept to themselves".

 

Lawyers for the news outlets do not know if Mr Roberts-Smith has been issued with a PAP notice, and Ms Mitchelmore said she would neither confirm nor deny whether one had been issued to the former soldier. Mr Dawson said it would be surprising if Mr Roberts-Smith had not been served with one.

 

Mr Dawson said his clients did not want to imperil Major-General Brereton's inquiry given it had involved hundreds of witnesses and uncovered matters of significance that would warrant the action of law-enforcement agencies.

 

The documents were sought, he said, so the newspapers could fairly defend themselves during the defamation trial as there was a "legitimate forensic purpose" in having them handed over. If disclosed, the documents were not to be published and would be restricted only to lawyers for the news outlets and the two journalists who wrote the stories.

 

The court heard that although Major-General Brereton's inquiry was being conducted in private, it was expected the findings would be made public.

 

Justice Craig Colvin reserved his decision on the release of the documents.

 

https://www.theage.com.au/national/afp-consider-ben-roberts-smith-a-suspect-in-war-crimes-court-told-20200901-p55rdk.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 1:52 a.m. No.10491765   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

>>10220297

Resignations in the news

 

QBE CEO Pat Regan to depart following probe

 

Insurer QBE’s chief executive Pat Regan is to exit the company following an external investigation that found he exercised “poor judgment” and failed to meet the group’s code of ethics.

 

In a statement to the ASX on Tuesday, QBE said the investigation had determined that Mr Regan had not met the standards set out in the company’s code of ethics and conduct.

 

“We are committed to having a respectful and inclusive environment for everyone at QBE,” chairman Mike Wilkins said.

 

“The board concluded that he had exercised poor judgment in this regard.”

 

QBE did not provide details of the conduct that triggered Mr Regan’s departure.

 

The Australian understands the exit of Mr Regan is linked to a scan of management and staff emails - relating to a complaint - which found inappropriate material that led to the CEO being axed. There were numerous instances of inappropriate communications made by Mr Regan to a US-based female employee, sources said.

 

The QBE staff member was said to have lobbed a complaint with QBE about ten days ago, a development which spurred the insurer to bring in an external legal firm to scour communications.

 

Law firm MinterEllison is understood to have conducted the review for QBE of the emails and communications, and presented the findings of the report to the board. MinterEllison presented its report on Monday night, prompting a decision by the board regarding Mr Regan. The decision was unanimous.

 

Sources said the female employee has tendered her resignation to QBE. The company is still working out Mr Regan’s exit pay, and details were not provided on Tuesday.

 

Mr Wilkins made it clear on Tuesday that all QBE employees had to meet the same standards required by the company.

 

“While these are challenging circumstances the board recognises and thanks Mr Regan for his hard work and contribution to strengthening QBE.

 

“However, all employees must be held to the same standards.”

 

Mr Wilkins is speaking to large shareholders on Tuesday to explain the situation, while staff received a memo from the board.

 

Fund manager Paul Xiradis, whose Ausbil Investment Management is a top 20 shareholder in QBE, said he was surprised when he heard Mr Regan had behaved inappropriately, labelling it “totally out of character” for the Englishman.

 

“It was totally unexpected. Equally, the board taking very decisive action quickly, I think, is a credit to the organisation. The CEO was very well regarded and I think the board should be commended for (removing him).”

 

One major shareholder was told the material wasn’t as bad as the explicit pictures former AMP Australia CEO Alex Wade sent to female colleagues.

 

“It was described to me as much less than the AMP scenario. I don’t know whether that’s text messages or emails or what, but it was obviously something they could track,” the shareholder, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Australian.

 

Another major shareholder, who also asked not to be named, voiced his disappointment at the news of inappropriate behaviour from Mr Regan.

 

“He’s f*cked up. It’s disappointing but it shouldn’t really have a big impact on the business. He’s been a good leader and done a good job as CEO. And he’s got a good team in place.

 

“And then you just go, ‘you idiot’. You get to this top position and you’ve just got to be more careful. Just don’t do it.”

 

AustralianSuper, QBE’s fifth largest shareholder, spoke to Mr Wilkins on Tuesday and is understood to be pleased the board took swift, decisive action.

 

QBE’s shares slumped 6.3 per cent to close at $9.94 on Tuesday.

 

Mr Wilkins will take on the role of executive chairman while the company searches for a new CEO, signalling there wasn’t a firm succession plan in place for Mr Regan.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial-services/qbe-ceo-pat-regan-to-depart-following-probe/news-story/86b57ef699e30c259a8a355675d344de

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 11:51 a.m. No.10495009   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5776 >>4939

Australia risks backsliding into a poor country in Asia Pacific

 

By Yu Lei - 2020/8/31

 

There are few signs that Australia intends to stop provoking China, or to attempt to ease escalating tensions. Instead, its insistence on continuing along the US' lose-lose path toward decoupling will undoubtedly cause huge damage to its already severely injured economy.

 

In its latest move, legislation endorsed by the Morrison government will reportedly put the state of Victoria's Belt and Road Initiative agreement at great risk. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's "not aimed at China" clarification seems more like a "nothing up my sleeve" approach.

 

After a noticeable downturn in China-Australia relations since 2017, bilateral ties have deteriorated even further this year. The Australian side has made several unprovoked attacks in normal economic exchanges with China, and even against Chinese students. The momentum of trade liberalization, investment facilitation, economic complementarity and normalization of cultural exchanges has come to an abrupt end.

 

The reason that China-Australia ties have experienced rapid development in the past few decades has not been because China intended to "control Australia," but because there are too many people that wish to do business with each other on both sides. Similarly, the rapid increase in bilateral investments is not because China wanted to "occupy" Australia, but because many businesspeople see vast potential for cooperation.

 

Under the dual injuries of trade protectionism and the COVID-19 pandemic, China has nevertheless taken the lead in the fight against the virus and post-pandemic economic recovery. This speaks to China's determination to deepen reform, expand opening-up and promote new technology applications such as 5G and digital currency. Especially through acceleration of the development of Hainan's free trade port and the Greater Bay Area and Yangtze River Delta.

 

China's approach has effectively contained the virus' impacts on China's economy, which may make China the only major economy that can achieve positive growth this year. International economic institutions like the IMF and the World Bank have predicted that China will achieve about 8 percent growth in 2021.

 

Facts speak louder than words. Some Australian politicians' intent to decouple from China economically - to use the Chinese market but reject all Chinese products and investments in a bid to contain China's economic development - is absurd. This will only hurt Australia's national interests and people's wellbeing.

 

If decoupled from Australia, it won't be difficult for Chinese products and investments to find new markets and investment destinations. However, it won't be so easy for Australia to find a comparably large export market, or a supply of high-quality and cheap imported goods, or a strong group of investors to replace China's.

 

As Australia suffers soaring unemployment, an old and worn-out railway system, a network speed far slower than other Asian countries' and halted development plans, the Australian people may start to recall former Prime Minister John Howard's encouragement of Western leaders to "welcome rise of China."

 

Indeed, further decoupling with China will not send China back to poverty, but will only make former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's famous statement more likely to come true: that if Australia doesn't open up its economy and reduce unemployment, it risks becoming the "poor white trash of Asia."

 

If Canberra really wants to make its China policy in line with "Australia's national interests," it must take a long-term view, truly abandon the Cold War mentality, and conform to the spirit of world peace, co-development, and win-win.

 

The author is a chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries, Liaocheng University, and a research fellow at the Australian Studies Center at Beijing Foreign Studies University. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn

 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1199471.shtml

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 1, 2020, 11:54 p.m. No.10501251   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2571 >>4892

>>10491267

Dassi Erlich Tweets

 

Court today 11.30am.

 

Finalising a process that should have never began, but we hope will pave the way for others cases like this.

 

Every survivor deserves the right to speak!

 

#LetUsSpeak

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1300937820010196992

 

Three high-profile abuse survivors in Victoria are fighting to keep advocating under real names

 

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/three-highprofile-abuse-survivors-in-victoria-are-fighting-to-keep-advocating-under-real-names/news-story/19d3ed23964c684994bcd73edf5dc21b

 

 

Our choice to speak has been restored!

Judge Metclaf heard us. We have our voice back!

An instrumental decision that will set a precedent & hopefully pave the way for other survivors to own & share their story

There should not be any burden on a survivor other than their choice

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1300994666263797760

 

 

Hugely relieved and empowered to continue advocating for the rights of all sexual abuse survivors!

 

Thank you Mazzeo Lawyers and Adrian Struach for your brilliant work.

#LetUsSpeak

#bringleiferback

 

@EllySapper

@NicoleYMeyer

@ninafunnell

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1300994667677319168

 

 

Brave survivors of alleged predator principal win right to be heard

 

Three sisters allegedly suffered traumatic abuse at the hands of their ultra-orthodox Jewish school principal – but a Victorian law tried to gag them.

 

Three alleged child abuse victims of an ultra-orthodox Jewish school principal have won the right to speak about their experiences.

 

Dassi Erlich, Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer on Wednesday won a fight to tell the world what they allegedly suffered at the hands of their former school principal Malka Leifer at Melbourne’s Adass Israel Girls School in the 2000s.

 

Mrs Leifer is facing 74 charges of sexual abuse against the three former students, but she travelled to Israel before her case could be heard in court.

 

An extradition attempt to bring her back to Australia, so she can answer for her alleged abuse, has dragged on for six years.

 

Sisters Erlich, Sapper and Meyer have previously talked about what allegedly happened to them at the hands of Mrs Leifer – but they suddenly were gagged when Victoria brought in new laws in February this year.

 

The laws prohibit victims of a sexual assault being identified – even with the victim’s consent – unless they take the time and expense of obtaining a specific court order.

 

In the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday the lawyer acting for the three sisters, Adrian Strauch, slammed the law.

 

He said the victims of any other crime in Victoria were able to be heard if they chose.

 

He said the unique law added to the “taboo” around being a victim of sexual assault.

 

“Had my clients been the victims, or alleged victims, of any other offence on the statute book … there would be no impediment on them identifying themselves as the alleged victim,” he said.

 

“(It is) counter-productive to victim-survivors who have had the courage to speak out about their experience.

 

“The only appropriate threshold for the court ought to be choice. That is, a victim or an alleged victim’s choice. To require any further burden would create further grief, trauma, (and) stigmatisation.”

 

He said it was “crucial” that victims of sexual assault should not be identified without their permission – but that was not what was being talked about.

 

“It’s not related to any accused’s right to a fair trial … it is about the choice for one to identify themselves publicly rather than through pseudonym or pixelation,” he said.

 

The application for the three sisters to identify themselves, which was successful, was the first heard in Victorian courts since the law came into effect.

 

Magistrate Johanna Metcalf’s reasons will be published at a later date.

 

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/brave-survivors-of-alleged-predator-principal-win-right-to-be-heard/news-story/f74b2df82d761bceabfc884531af37ca

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 12:20 a.m. No.10501359   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1361 >>5018

Donald Trump, QAnon and the limit of Twitter's crackdown on conspiracies

 

Ted O'Connor - 2 September 2020

 

1/3

 

As the QAnon conspiracy theory and its followers emerge from the darkest corners of the internet, some even charting their way to US Congress, there is growing pressure on social media companies to respond.

 

In late July, Twitter announced measures to stifle related groups, and Facebook and TikTok quickly followed with similar action.

 

Twitter said it was taking a stand and promised "strong enforcement" against "evolving threats".

 

But what does this crackdown, as most of the headlines described it, actually look like?

 

As someone fascinated by the dark sprawling conspiracy movement that is "Q", I was keen to find out.

 

So I devised a test that took me tumbling into the world of conspiracies and the "deep state", and discovered there are limits to how far Twitter can, and is willing, to go.

 

How the test worked

 

For the uninitiated, the QAnon conspiracy theory is centred on the baseless belief that US President Donald Trump is waging a secret campaign against a "deep state" network of government, media and celebrity elites involved in child abuse and satanic plots.

 

It's a relatively new phenomenon that started online in 2017. But experts say QAnon's reach has grown because it can encompass a range of hardcore conspiracies, from unfounded coronavirus fears and vaccination myths to debunked 5G mind control.

 

My test worked like this: I pretended I was Q-curious.

 

I was someone who felt the mainstream media was lying to them and had heard of a mysterious figure called Q who knew the truth and was leaving clues around the web to help people like me "do their own research".

 

I started simply, by searching the term "QAnon" on Twitter, where my results were dominated by articles from reputable news outlets that generally described it as a dangerous conspiracy.

 

One news report showed the FBI had even highlighted it as a domestic terrorism threat.

 

So far, this seemed in line with Twitter's intention.

 

But within minutes I penetrated deeper, using the QAnon hashtag, and soon found numerous QAnon-related accounts.

 

I chose three to follow that had more than 700,000 followers between them.

 

Two of them are linked to YouTube channels and personal websites where QAnon-related merchandise (mugs and t-shirts, mainly) are sold.

 

The man behind one account had recently interviewed QAnon sympathiser and celebrity chef Pete Evans, who talked at length about his fear of vaccines.

 

Posts from these accounts soon appeared with almost every scroll of my feed, but were amplified on days when Mr Trump was tweeting a lot.

 

These accounts often liked and retweeted his content.

 

Twitter then began suggesting more QAnon-supporting accounts for me to follow.

 

Every day, new strands of the conspiracy were served up to me, often presenting a darkly twisted alternative take on the US political news of the moment.

 

To give some meaningful context to my personal experiment, I reached out to some of Australia's best minds in social media who have taken a keen interest in QAnon.

 

I also handed over the keys to my Twitter account to one analyst so he could see what I had seen.

 

Their response was blunt and unified: what I saw was to be expected, despite Twitter's action.

 

And here's why.

 

Welcome to Q country

 

Firstly, I had "embedded myself in the QAnon community", according to Axel Bruns from the Queensland University of Technology, who researches the spread of conspiracies online.

 

He said once I made the deliberate choice to follow QAnon sympathisers, Twitter could do little to stop me going down that rabbit hole.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 12:22 a.m. No.10501361   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1370 >>5018

>>10501359

 

2/3

 

In fact, Professor Bruns said that wasn't even Twitter's intention.

 

Rather, it was simply trying to ringfence QAnon to stop it spreading beyond its ardent followers.

 

"For me, the key question isn't how much QAnon is out there, but how far does it reach," Professor Bruns said.

 

"If I was genuinely a QAnon fan, for me to see QAnon content doesn't make a difference because I'm already converted.

 

"The real danger is if it spreads widely to people who aren't infected.

 

"It's all about disconnecting these malignant communities from the wider community."

 

On this front, Twitter expects its action to "impact approximately 150,000 accounts globally in terms of reduced visibility".

 

So why then, at the time of publication, aren't the three QAnon accounts I follow among the more than 7,000 that have been removed?

 

Escaping Twitter's purge

 

While there is no doubt these particular accounts support QAnon, a range of tactics can be employed to evade detection.

 

For example, in recent months the man behind one account stopped explicitly using the terms "QAnon" and "Q" in his Twitter posts, instead keeping the overt Q spruiking to his associated website and YouTube channel.

 

According to experts, this tacit support for the conspiracy helped ensure many supporters flourished without raising red flags.

 

Timothy Baldwin, a Melbourne Laureate Professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems, analysed my Twitter feed and said there was a blurry line between what was overtly QAnon and what was a subtle supportive nod to Q.

 

"It's really hard to distinguish between what's QAnon-related, what's QAnon-affiliated, or even what's just one-eyed Trump," he said.

 

"Twitter would be looking at individual accounts, but there is a long tail of others who post related content."

 

So where does Twitter draw the line?

 

Audrey Courty researches the far right's use of social media, and has written about why she believes QAnon followers will likely outlast and outsmart Twitter's ban.

 

She says the platform's crackdown comes with caveats, and Twitter's focus is more on Q accounts trying to escape previous bans, or on those which could cause offline harm, rather than users simply spreading misinformation.

 

She said its announcement, made on the platform, was also vague.

 

"Basically, they're trying to remove stuff that would have a harmful impact, but it's really hard to determine these things," she said.

 

"If you removed posts that are verifiably untrue, you'd be removing a lot of stuff. That's where it's [tricky in practice]."

 

Professor Bruns puts it another way: Twitter is basically playing a "big game of whack-a-mole".

 

"People who are banned will go on another platform and say, 'Hey, I got banned. Here's my new handle,' and then they're back up," he said.

 

But why the promotion?

 

At first, Professor Baldwin was surprised to see I was getting recommendations for other QAnon-related accounts to follow on Twitter.

 

But he then wondered if it was because the platform didn't consider me a high-risk user.

 

As a journalist, I typically follow mainstream news outlets and reporters, as well as the odd friend from my university days.

 

"In your case, you're not a hardcore Trump or QAnon follower … you're just searching and following these accounts as part of an academic curiosity," Professor Baldwin said.

 

"But when you've got someone who is only following QAnon from an account similar to those being shut down, perhaps Twitter would be more aggressive as to what those sort of people can see."

 

Except, enforcement is no easy task, says Ms Courty.

 

She said the people at Twitter still needed to know exactly what its algorithms should stop from being brought to the surface.

 

"When Twitter tries to prevent QAnon content from appearing in its trending topics, recommendation lists and search feature, it's contingent on Twitter having already identified the QAnon content that's circulating at any given time," she said.

 

In other words, an algorithm is only as good as the person who designed it.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 12:24 a.m. No.10501370   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10501361

 

3/3

 

Still, Professor Bruns said there was scope for Twitter to go further.

 

"By going through this experiment, it's obvious Twitter could do more to make it less visible even if you're following QAnon accounts," he said.

 

"But it's limited in what it can do, and what it wants to do, without compromising its business model, which is connecting communities and letting people with shared interests follow each other.

 

"However, in the long term, there is a need to confront these communities themselves and prevent them from organising."

 

The problem is political

 

The danger and paranoia surrounding QAnon has been extensively reported — even its reach to Australia.

 

Anyone can join and no-one is vetted. And there's money in the merchandise.

 

Donald Trump has even said QAnon believers like him, and "love our country".

 

But while most agree Twitter should act, the experts stress that the right to free speech, enshrined in the US constitution, means the social media platform can only go so far.

 

And this is further complicated by the fact that at least one Trump-endorsed Republican QAnon supporter, Marjorie Greene, is all but assured a place in Congress.

 

Professor Bruns said while Twitter could justifiably target someone like Ms Greene, who has a history of making racist statements, it most likely wouldn't.

 

"Now you have a mainstream candidate openly embracing the ideology, rhetoric and conspiracy, which means it's no longer a fringe group," he said.

 

"Twitter removing that sort of content means they would influence an election.

 

"Regardless of how dangerous the content is, they could violate US law around free speech."

 

Or, as Professor Baldwin puts it: "They're between a rock and hard place. It really is a debate around freedom of online consumption."

 

Factor in the sprawling and unfettered nature of QAnon, says Ms Courty, and it becomes very difficult for Twitter to define what parts of the movement it should be targeting.

 

"It's gone from a series of conspiracy theories to a movement constantly co-opting new people and ideas," she said.

 

"It can really be about anything as long you put a QAnon shirt on it.

 

"And now you have the US President retweeting content from QAnon. It's really hard to crack down without censoring political candidates."

 

Who needs to take responsibility?

 

After spending countless hours poring over far-right online content, Ms Courty says there's only so much social media platforms can do.

 

In the end, people need to educate themselves.

 

"There's this idea that smart computer whizzes behind the scenes at Twitter will handle it all … [but] just stop and think about that for a second," she said.

 

"No matter how good the algorithm, or the AI tools, there's always human input.

 

"The keywords are all sourced by humans, but if [QAnon supporters] are changing the keywords or using codewords, how does Twitter tell one of their AI machines what is QAnon content?

 

"And as for Trump, we have to take a level of responsibility and say we elected this guy. We say we don't want the spread of misinformation, but he was spreading misinformation before he was elected."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-02/qanon-twitter-donald-trump-and-the-problem-with-crackdowns/12596900

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 1:48 a.m. No.10501605   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1610 >>1615 >>4843

'Health dictatorship': Tony Abbott rails against Victoria's coronavirus response

 

Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has accused leaders of failing to ask "uncomfortable questions" about the number of coronavirus we should be comfortable living with to avoid economic catastrophe.

 

Tony Abbott has railed against lengthy coronavirus lockdowns, describing Victoria's response as a "health dictatorship", and suggested more politicians should have considered whether the economic toll of the pandemic was worth saving lives.

 

In a keynote speech at London's Policy Exchange think tank late on Tuesday, the former Australian Prime Minister, who is tipped to become joint president of Britain's relaunched Board of Trade, accused leaders of being unable to ask uncomfortable questions about "the level of deaths we might have to live with".

 

"Governments have approached the pandemic like trauma doctors instead of thinking like health economists," he said.

 

“In this climate of fear, it was hard for governments to ask ‘how much is a life worth?’ because every life is precious, and every death is sad, but that has never stopped families sometimes electing to make elderly relatives as comfortable as possible while nature takes its course.”

 

The phrase "health dictatorship", which Mr Abbott used to describe Melbourne's Stage 4 lockdown restrictions, is often seen at right-wing rallies against social distancing restrictions and is used by "QAnon" conspiracy theorists.

 

"Because this is what happens when, for much more than a mere moment, we let fear of falling sick stop us from being fully alive," he continued.

 

"Now that each one of us has had six months to consider this pandemic and to make our own judgments about it, surely it is time to relax the rules so that individuals can take more personal responsibility and make more of their own decisions about the risks that they are prepared to run?"

 

He also warned that lockdown measures could be kept up "indefinitely" in the absence of a vaccine - and said they can produce not just a "stop-start economy, but a stop-start life".

 

Mr Abbott declined to comment on reports that he has been appointed joint president of Britain's relaunched Board of Trade. "Obviously I can't comment on any position which is not yet official," he said.

 

"But certainly I think that it's in Britain's interest and it's in Australia's interests that this particular free trade deal be done as quickly as possible."

 

British Government officials have said that no decisions have yet been made.

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/health-dictatorship-tony-abbott-rails-against-victoria-s-coronavirus-response

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 1:49 a.m. No.10501610   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10501605

Australia and the Coronavirus Crisis

 

PolicyExchangeUK

 

Published on 1 September 2020

 

With Hon Tony Abbott AC, Former Prime Minister of Australia

 

Chaired by Katy Balls, Deputy Political Editor at The Spectator

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCWxGZLGByA

 

Health dictatorship reference @ 8:35

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 1:51 a.m. No.10501615   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1618 >>4843

>>10501605

'Unaccountable experts': Tony Abbott calls for end to lockdowns, travel bans

 

1/2

 

London: Lockdowns and travel bans to combat the spread of the coronavirus should be ended, Tony Abbott has said, as he called on governments to give individuals more choice over their personal decisions.

 

The former prime minister, speaking at the Policy Exchange think tank in central London on Tuesday, also accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of conducting a "health dictatorship" by putting 5 million Melburnians under "house arrest".

 

Abbott said it was not clear that draconian measures were effective in health terms and were destroying the economy and people's wellbeing under one-size-fits-all orders from "unaccountable experts".

 

He said the most alarmist opinions had guided calls for lockdowns, even though jurisdictions such as NSW, which had effective track-and-trace and quarantining systems, had shown those measures were the superior response.

 

"Now that each one of us has had six months to consider this pandemic and to make our own judgments about it, surely it’s time to relax the rules so that individuals can take more personal responsibility and make more of their own decisions about the risks they’re prepared to run," he told the audience.

 

He said that the goal in the responses to coronavirus had shifted from flattening the curve, so as not to overwhelm hospitals, to one of complete eradication, which he said was impossible.

 

"Governments have justified it as following the expert advice as if this has always been clear or as if we should be ruled rather than merely guided by unaccountable experts," he said.

 

"It's amongst us, we can't get rid of it … realistically the only way to entirely eliminate the virus is to lock yourself off from the world indefinitely and I just don't think that is realistic."

 

He blamed governments for panicking and then becoming trapped in "crisis mode" for longer than necessary, "especially if the crisis adds to their authority or boosts their standing".

 

"Much of the media has indulged virus-hysteria with the occasional virus-linked death of a younger person highlighted to show that deadly threat isn’t confined to the very old or the already-very-sick or those exposed to massive viral loads," he said.

 

Abbott said the curfews in Victoria and the ban on people from travelling more than five kilometres from their homes was the most severe lockdown tried anywhere in the world outside Wuhan. In fact, restrictions in France at the beginning of the pandemic required residents to not stray out further than one kilometre from their homes without an essential reason, and even then were required to carry a signed form detailing where they were headed and why.

 

The Victorian government won a six-month extension of its powers to declare the coronavirus pandemic an ongoing state of emergency, following a marathon debate in State Parliament on Wednesday night.

 

The extension of the powers allows the government to declare a state of emergency in rolling four-week blocks.

 

Victoria's surge in cases in July and August forced Andrews to pursue a suppression strategy, which, like an elimination strategy calls for drastic measures to limit the spread of the disease. Andrews has ruled out pursuing elimination.

 

Abbott said when he was federal health minister he prepared for pandemics and shutting down parts of the economy was always in the mix of policy responses. But he said he never contemplated ordering people to stay home.

 

"In any serious pandemic, people would naturally avoid going out unnecessarily," he said.

 

"And where they did, it would be for some vital reason: work that couldn’t be done from home, essential supplies, and compassionate visits."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 1:52 a.m. No.10501618   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1635 >>4843 >>5018

>>10501615

 

2/2

 

Appearing later before the Commons' Foreign Affairs committee, Stewart McDonald, an MP with the Scottish National Party questioned Abbott about his use of the phrase "health dictatorship", a term also used by the QAnon, far-right online conspiracy group.

 

Abbott said he was not aware of QAnon and used the reference to describe the "very draconian restrictions" imposed in Victoria.

 

"To save lives presumably?" McDonald said. "For our own good in the judgement of Victorian premier and the Victorian government."

 

The Conservative chair of the committee then shut down McDonald's questions saying they were irrelevant to the work of the committee.

 

Abbott, who successfully sought an exemption from the ban on Australians leaving the country to travel to the UK, raised the possibility of the international border being reopened around Christmas — the same time Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he believed state border closures would be removed.

 

Andrews has promised to outline separate road maps for lifting regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne out of their respective stage three and four lockdowns on Sunday.

 

He has said he hopes the state border closures are relaxed in time for Christmas.

 

"We have to stay the course on this so we'll have as close to normal a Christmas Day as possible. All the sacrifice, the hard work that we have done, that has to count for something," Andrews said. He has previously said the lockdown imposed was not an easy decision to make but a necessary one.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/unaccountable-experts-tony-abbott-calls-for-end-to-lockdowns-travel-bans-20200901-p55rh9.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 1:59 a.m. No.10501635   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843 >>5018

>>10501618

Are you familiar with Qanon, Mister Abbott?

 

Look, I'm afraid I'm not. But I'm sure you'll enlighten me.

 

 

Foreign Affairs Committee

 

Commons Select Committee

 

The Foreign Affairs Committee examines the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and other bodies associated with the Foreign Office and within the Committee's remit, including the British Council.

 

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/78/foreign-affairs-committee/events/

 

 

Formal meeting (oral evidence session): The UK’s role in strengthening multilateral organisations

 

Tuesday 1 September 2020

 

At 3.00pm: Oral evidence

 

Inquiry - The UK’s role in strengthening multilateral organisations

 

Hon Tony Abbott AC - 28th Prime Minister of Australia

 

https://committees.parliament.uk/event/1472/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/

 

 

Parliamentlive.tv

 

Foreign Affairs Committee

 

Tuesday 1 September 2020 - Meeting started at 2.09pm, ended 4.04pm

 

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/5b75d2d0-6922-4d87-b88f-dcf6f0cffe4e

 

Qanon question @ 15:17:33

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 2:14 a.m. No.10501671   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1674 >>5656 >>4843

Pregnant woman arrested in Ballarat for creating anti-lockdown protest event on Facebook

 

Zoe Buhler the fourth person charged with incitement in Victoria in recent days as police take hardline approach to ‘Freedom Day’ protests

 

1/2

 

Police in Victoria have arrested a pregnant 28-year-old woman in front of her partner and two children for planning an anti-lockdown protest in regional Victoria this weekend.

 

Police arrested the woman, Zoe Buhler, at her home in Miners Rest near Ballarat on Wednesday after she created a “freedom day” event on Facebook calling for people to protest against the Victorian government’s lockdown measures.

 

“As some of you may have seen the government has gone to extreme measures and are using scare tactics through the media to prevent the Melbourne protest,” the now-deleted event description read.

 

“Here in Ballarat we can be a voice for those in stage four lockdowns. We can be seen and heard and hopefully make a difference!”

 

Video of the arrest shared on social media on Wednesday shows a group of officers handcuffing Buhler in front her partner and children. In the video, Buhler becomes increasingly distressed as she tells officers she is pregnant.

 

“I have no idea why you guys are doing this,” she tells officers in the video.

 

“My two kids are here. I have an ultrasound in an hour. I’m happy to delete the post.

 

“I don’t really understand what I’ve done wrong. This is ridiculous. I didn’t realise I was doing anything wrong.”

 

On Facebook, the controversial Liberal party backbench MP Craig Kelly, who has been a vocal opponent of lockdown laws, shared the video, saying it was “what you’d expect to see in Nazi Germany”.

 

“Every politician that voted for laws that allows a pregnant mother to be handcuffed for a Facebook post (that criticises government policy) stands condemned for eternity,” he wrote.

 

In a statement, Victoria police said “any gathering of this nature is in blatant breach of the chief health officer’s directions and puts Victorian lives at risk”.

 

“Victoria police has already taken action as part of an ongoing investigation into the planning and encouragement of protest activity in Ballarat,” police said in a statement.

 

“Those still thinking of attending the protest in Ballarat on Saturday can expect a swift and firm response from police.”

 

Buhler is the fourth person to be arrested and charged with incitement in Victoria in recent days as police in Victoria take a hardline approach to the so-called “freedom day” protests.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 2:16 a.m. No.10501674   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10501671

 

2/2

 

Earlier, Guardian Australia reported that Fanos Panayides, once a contestant on the Nine Network reality show Family Food Fight, was one of two men charged with incitement on Tuesday over the protests.

 

The two men were charged with incitement and bailed to appear in the Melbourne magistrates court in February. It followed the arrest of 76-year-old Windsor man Solihin Millin on Friday.

 

It is the second time Panayides has been arrested in relation to protests against Covid-19 restrictions.

 

The 38-year-old from Epping was one of the key orchestrators of a similar anti-lockdown protest held in Melbourne in May described as a demonstration against “self-isolating, social distancing, tracking apps [and] 5G being installed”. He was one of 10 people arrested at the protest, detained by police as he tried to find a verse from the Book of Revelations on his mobile phone.

 

“Yeah, it was pretty interesting when I was trying to say that part out of Revelations about the microchip is when they came and grabbed me,” he told his followers on Facebook after the arrest.

 

The day of freedom protests have been orchestrated by a loosely organised coalition of online groups broadly linked by an entangled web of conspiracy theories. It is perhaps the clearest example yet in Australia of what experts say is the melding of a bevy of fringe conspiracy groups including QAnon under the umbrella of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The organisers plan to march in cities across Australia in defiance of lockdown restrictions and mandates on mask-wearing in Victoria, and in opposition to 5G, vaccinations and “child trafficking and paedophilia”.

 

Predicting the turnout to the protest is difficult.

 

At various times events linked to the protest have reached more than 10,000 people, but Facebook has continued to delete groups and pages associated with the event citing “misinformation that could lead to imminent physical harm”.

 

But, perhaps predictably, the lead up to the protest has been plagued by internal division.

 

Panayides, who, other than writing “I’m out” after being granted bail, has been silent on social media since his arrest on Tuesday and has had to address suspicions within the conspiracy community that he is a government plant.

 

“I am nothing but some bloke from Epping who decided to speak up … I’m not a saviour, I’m not a messiah, but if I’m going to be seen as a leader I’m going to lead,” he said in an emotional Facebook Live video on Sunday.

 

Organisers have been further disrupted by Facebook’s decision to delete the largest group associated with the protest. The group, which had more than 100,000 members, was scrubbed from the social media site on Monday night.

 

The group has since migrated to an encrypted messaging service, where about 4,400 people had joined by midday on Wednesday. In the chaotic swirl of that community, many appear to be questioning whether the protest should go ahead after the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced this week that he would release a timetable for the state to exit stage four lockdown restrictions on Sunday.

 

Police in Victoria have taken a hardline approach to the protesters in the lead up to the event. Besides the three arrests, Victoria police said on Tuesday that officers were “continuing to actively investigate the coordination and encouragement of this activity, and are committed to putting a stop to this”.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/02/three-men-arrested-ahead-of-planned-anti-lockdown-protest-in-victoria

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 2:44 a.m. No.10501740   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

José Ramos-Horta urges Australia to drop Witness K and Bernard Collaery prosecution

 

The former Timor-Leste president José Ramos-Horta has urged Australia to show wisdom, honesty and compassion by stopping the unfair prosecution of Witness K and Bernard Collaery, a case he described as “political” and one that had “profoundly shocked” the Timorese people.

 

Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize winner, said the pair should be allowed to live out the rest of their lives in normality and that Australia and Timor-Leste should put the bugging scandal – a “dark cloud” on an otherwise positive bilateral relationship – behind them.

 

“We should put all of this behind [us] and please show wisdom, show honesty, compassion, if you wish, to let Witness K live his life as an honourable patriot of Australia,” Ramos-Horta told an event organised by the Australia Institute.

 

Witness K, a former intelligence officer, and his lawyer Collaery, a former ACT attorney general, are facing potential jail time for communicating information about a 2004 bugging operation conducted by the Australian Secret Intelligence Service on Timor-Leste government offices during sensitive bilateral negotiations concerning the carve up of oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea.

 

The listening devices gave Australia an advantage in negotiations about lucrative resources critical to the future of Timor-Leste, one of the world’s youngest and most impoverished countries.

 

Revelations about the operation’s existence led Timor-Leste to take Australia to the international courts and, ultimately, renegotiate a treaty in much fairer terms. The prosecution of Witness K and Collaery began soon after the new treaty was signed.

 

Ramos-Horta said news of the prosecution had “profoundly shocked” the Timorese people. He said he could see no point to it.

 

“Obviously in Timor-Leste, everyone who follows this aberration and this situation, the very unfair treatment of Bernard Collaery and Witness K, we are profoundly shocked because we were supposed to have reached a way forward in the relationship overall,” Ramos-Horta said.

 

“Through the UN-mediated conclusion of the Timor Sea treaty, everything that happened before and leading to the agreement on the treaty should be put aside, but instead the government continued to pursue a trial in secret of Witness K and Bernard Collaery.”

 

He said he understood the need for secrecy around intelligence operations but the spying operation against Timor-Leste was different, he said.

 

“If Australia wants to spy on North Korea, China or Russia, you can understand,” he said.

 

“But to spy on Timor-Leste on behalf of Woodside, on behalf of ConocoPhillips, on behalf of oil companies, you know, it’s a bit like you have a poor old lady somewhere in an Australian neighbourhood, 80 years old, poor, living on a meagre pension, and then Australia tries to extract money from that old lady.

 

“Well, Timor-Leste was on our knees, and we needed a very fair arrangement.”

 

Aspects of Collaery’s trial are expected to be held in secret.

 

Ramos-Horta said he was shocked that a nation like Australia would allow court proceedings to be obscured in such a way.

 

“I am not surprised when secret trials happen in North Korea, but in Australia that is really mind-boggling,” he said. “[The prosecution] is a waste of Australia’s resources, Australia’s goodwill, goodwill towards Australia … to persist in this very unjust case against Bernard Collaery and Witness K.

 

“Please just drop it. It’s a political decision to be made by the prime minister and attorney general. They know they can do it.”

 

Related: Witness K lawyer Bernard Collaery to appeal against secrecy in Timor-Leste bugging trial

 

Collaery also spoke at the event but was limited in his ability to speak about the case directly.

 

He said the bugging operation was symbolic of Australia’s complete failure in the region.

 

“We can’t ever do anything but try and develop a diplomatic service in our region that is devoted to promoting Australia’s best interests,” he said.

 

Collaery said that if Australia had a proper accountability and integrity regime, others may be facing court for the scandal.

 

Ramos-Horta said he had “no idea” what the government gains from the prosecution.

 

“It’s political, what they gain from it, I have no idea,” he said.

 

“Only bad feeling among many people in Australia and they could raise doubt in Timor-Leste. Why? We were the ones who were victims.”

 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/jos%C3%A9-ramos-horta-urges-australia-to-drop-witness-k-and-bernard-collaery-prosecution/ar-BB18Cj4a

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 3:02 a.m. No.10501793   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1813 >>4939

Australia in the US Tweet

 

#OTD in 1951, (Australia, New Zealand and the United States) signed the #ANZUS mutual defense treaty. More than 60 years later, the Treaty remains the foundation of our security relationship with the US & we remain strong allies & partners in global efforts to counter terrorism & violent extremism. #USwithAus #mateship

 

https://twitter.com/AusintheUS/status/1300868407663955968

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 3:11 a.m. No.10501813   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

>>10501793

Pacific Marines Tweet

 

After fighting together in World War II, the U.S. remains committed to our mutual defense treaty with #Australia and to enhancing interoperability and capability between the @USMC and the @DeptDefence, contributing to stability in the Indo-Pacific region #WWII75

 

https://twitter.com/PacificMarines/status/1300610175758249984

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 2, 2020, 11:50 a.m. No.10506023   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Q Post #4629

 

Sep 2 2020 10:46:30 (EST) NEW

 

CORRUPT.

CONTROLLED.

ENEMIES OF THE REPUBLIC.

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4629

 

 

Q Post #4634

 

Sep 2 2020 11:57:19 (EST) NEW

 

Why did it take a political outsider to [finally] confront China?

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4634

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 12:11 a.m. No.10512571   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4892

>>10501251

Dassi Erlich Twitter Thread

 

BREAKING NEWS FROM ISRAEL:

 

The Supreme court has rejected the appeal on Malka Leifer’s mental fitness to stand trial!

 

Bring on Sept 21!

 

#bringleiferback

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1301100644107837443

 

 

The order to let us speak came just in time!

 

Imagine if we couldn't share this huge step forward.

 

#letusspeak

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1301101223941009408

 

 

Israel's Top Court Clears Way to Extradite Accused Pedophile Malka Leifer to Australia

 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-s-top-court-clears-way-to-extradite-accused-pedophile-leifer-to-australia-1.9122368

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1301102524255014912

 

 

6 years and 70 court hearings regarding Leifer's mental fitness! We are exhilarated, finally an end in sight!

 

During this tumultuous journey there were moments that this did not seem possible!

 

Bring on Sept 21 and an extradition decision!

 

Beyond excited!

 

#bringleiferback

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1301108046395916288

 

 

Israel's Top Court Clears Way to Extradite Accused Pedophile Malka Leifer to Australia

 

Judges reject Leifer's appeal and rule she is fit to stand trial on 74 counts of rape and sexual assault of her students in Australia

 

Israel's top court rejected an appeal by accused pedophile Malka Leifer against her extradition to Australia, ruling that she is fit to stand trial and removing the final legal hurdles blocking her extradition process, after years of stalled proceedings.

 

Israeli authorities can now follow through with Leifer's extradition process.

 

Leifer fled to Israel in 2008 after being indicted in Australia for 74 counts of rape and sexual assault in the sexual abuse of three sisters who were her students while she served as the headmistress of a Jewish school in Australia.

 

She was located by the Israel Police in 2014 and has since claimed that she is mentally unfit to stand trial, and in doing so, halted her extradition process.

 

An expert panel that advised the Supreme Court in Leifer's case said that she was "clearly an imposter." The judges said in their ruling that proceedings have dragged out "much beyond what is reasonable."

 

She is currently in Israeli custody amid an ongoing extradition battle that has strained relations between the two countries.

 

In a July hearing, Leifer's attorney Nick Kaufman claimed there are a number of reasons as to why Leifer should not be extradited, including that she will not receive a fair trial in Australia if she is. “After the court in Israel ruled that she was pretending [to be mentally unfit to stand trial], this will influence the jury in Australia,” he said. “In light of the widespread reports in the global media, she will not receive a fair trial in Australia.”

 

In 2008, Leifer fled Australia after accusations surfaced that she had abused students at Melbourne’s ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School for girls. Leifer, who has Israeli citizenship, secretly relocated to a remote religious settlement in the West Bank.

 

She resided there until Israeli police located and arrested her in 2014, following an official extradition request from the Australian authorities.

 

During the lengthy legal process in which Leifer's lawyers argued that she was unfit to stand trial, which according to Israeli law prevents her from being extradited, she was deemed mentally unwell for some time and released from custody.

 

But then the police rearrested her after being tipped off by private investigators for Jewish Community Watch, an advocacy group for Jewish survivors of child sexual assault, who caught her on videotape appearing stable and interacting normally with neighbors and shopkeepers.

 

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-s-top-court-clears-way-to-extradite-accused-pedophile-leifer-to-australia-1.9122368

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 12:29 a.m. No.10512673   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2678 >>5018

'Stop the cabal': What is the conspiracy movement QAnon?

 

The ideas of an online movement called QAnon have added impetus to protests over lockdown restrictions, 5G and vaccinations. So what exactly is QAnon? How did it gain traction and why?

 

By John Buckley with Simone Fox Koob - SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

 

1/4

 

Once a fringe phenomenon, the movement known as QAnon has made its way from the "dark web" into the mainstream. As well as "deep state" conspiracy theories, the movement has variously espoused anti-vaccine rhetoric, the idea that 5G is state-sponsored surveillance and the belief that wearing a mask in a public space won't save you from infection with COVID-19 because "you can't catch a virus that doesn't exist".

 

QAnon is one of the factors behind a swelling movement of people refusing to wear masks around Australia, particularly in defiance of public health regulations in Victoria. Some of its adherents were among groups behind an "anti-lockdown" rally outside Victoria's Parliament House in May, with another protest planned to go ahead on September 5.

 

As the movement has morphed from espousing a singular conspiracy about supposed paedophile activity to including a grab bag of conspiracy theories, the demographic of its followers has evolved too. People actively supporting, or those just influenced by, QAnon ideas come from a wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds and cross generational, income group and gender lines.

 

They might harbour a nebulous mistrust of government or be seeking an overarching plan that helps make sense of their concerns about the world. They might be attracted to one or two of ideas associated with QAnon without being aware of others or they might not know that QAnon exists at all – its ideas can be presented obliquely.

 

In the United States, the FBI has labelled QAnon "a potential domestic terror threat", while US President Donald Trump has described its followers as people who merely "love their country".

 

So what exactly is QAnon? How did it gain traction and why? And where is it headed?

 

Where did QAnon start?

 

QAnon's origins centre around a "user", or participant, of the controversial forum websites 4chan, 8chan and 8kun. In its earliest iterations, 4chan hosted anonymous user ("anon") discussions of fairly innocuous topics such as anime and other internet subcultures. But the site grew steadily politicised, dominated by political and activist groups such as the alt-right, the hacking group "Anonymous" and, eventually, QAnon.

 

A user named "Q Clearance Patriot", nicknamed Q, amassed a following on the site, claiming to be a high-ranking government insider exposing a secret international bureaucracy plotting iniquitous schemes against the Trump administration and its supporters.

 

Some followers of QAnon believe that Q is who they say they are, others believe the user to be a group of people or that Q’s identity has been made up of a range of different internet personas over time.

 

After 4chan blocked discussion of contentious conspiracy theories, Q's readership – along with other fans of 4chan's former "anything goes" approach – found a new site to facilitate their discussions: 8chan. This was the site on which the man responsible for the Christchurch massacre in 2019 wrote of the upcoming attack. Once Q began posting on 8chan, Q's theories could be found duplicating across other sites. One such site, the more mainstream Reddit, was quick to ban discussion of QAnon. But speculation surrounding Q’s identity and the credibility of Q’s intel was beginning to spread – the horse had bolted.

 

How did it go mainstream?

 

Q’s posts on 4chan came to follow a clandestine format known as "drops", or "Q drops", which would appear in coded segments. Some drops would be preceded by a teaser, which might include coded references to any number of people deemed to be members of the deep state. For example, "BC" for former US president Bill Clinton.

 

Soon these posts would become referenced on other online forums. As Q kept posting, followers made the transition from being anonymous "anons" to posting under their real names on mainstream social media platforms.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 12:30 a.m. No.10512678   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2685 >>5018

>>10512673

 

2/4

 

Efforts from these platforms to thwart the spread of misinformation from QAnon supporters have so far resulted in Facebook and Twitter limiting more than 250,000 user accounts. YouTube has said that it, too, is taking steps to remove QAnon content and to promote credible news, particularly regarding public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, to the top of its suggested lists.

 

But millions of people interested in QAnon are still believed to be active, particularly as locked down populations spend more time online than ever.

 

One NBC News report found thousands of QAnon Facebook groups with millions of members. A recent analysis by social media research firm Storyful found that membership among the 10 largest QAnon Facebook groups rose 600 per cent between March and July, to about 40,000 users.

 

What do followers of QAnon believe?

 

The core of QAnon lore is that the world is owned and operated by a "deep state" comprising a range of Democratic politicians and Hollywood elite. Early on, conspiracy theorists claimed the deep state included everyone from the Obamas and the Clintons, to talk show hosts Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres. In Australia, groups now claim the "deep state’s" membership has extended to local politicians.

 

Often referred to as "the cabal", the mythological deep state is said – by QAnon followers – to be operating a global child sex-trafficking ring while controlling all corners of government as well as the mainstream media. The story goes that Trump was enlisted by senior military officials to run for the US presidency in 2016 to combat the deep state and has been entrusted to wage a war on them and ensure that each of its leaders sees justice.

 

Q's earlier posts purported to show how that "war" might take shape, and even gave it a name: The Storm. The phrase originates from a line delivered by Trump in October 2017, when he appeared for a photo alongside senior military staff and said, "You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm."

 

When asked by one reporter what he was referring to, Trump repeated: "Could be the calm before the storm." The President evaded further follow-up questions from other reporters in the room.

 

According to Q and their followers, Trump’s words that day would form one of many coded messages related to his war on "the cabal".

 

Existing conspiracy theories and concerns have been folded into QAnon communities around the world, in part, because the movement has been able to thread the needle of its core tenets through the local circumstances of any given country.

 

"It's melded in with the anti-5G, anti-vax and even some anti-China stuff," says Dr Kaz Ross, a lecturer in humanities at the University of Tasmania. "They've all become glued together by this 'Q' framework: that there's a plan, that Donald Trump is following a plan, and that there is hope because in the end, it's all determined in the plan."

 

What does the movement look like in Australia?

 

QAnon’s followers in Australia don’t align with any single political figure or ideology. Other people may not even align with QAnon but might be influenced by it, knowingly or not. Social media posts are not necessarily labelled "QAnon" but contain signature hashtags such as #thegreatawakening.

 

Unlike QAnon mythology in the US, Australia's national leader, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, is believed by some adherents to be a member of the deep state rather than Australia's saviour from it – as are most, if not all, politicians across all levels of government.

 

After Melbourne’s stage four lockdown restrictions came into effect, QAnon followers in Australia flooded social media platforms with conspiracy theories, claiming variously that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews had been arrested, that the pandemic was planned (a “Plandemic”) and that Victoria was not in lockdown to contain the virus but because armed forces were secretly battling for control of the state's tunnels, which QAnon-ers believe are an underground network used by the deep state to transport victims of child sex trafficking.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 12:31 a.m. No.10512685   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2692 >>5018

>>10512678

 

3/4

 

QAnon has emerged not only as a platform to further existing anti-vaccine rhetoric but also as an entry point for those who might only have one foot in. Followers of the anti-vaccine movement, for example, as with followers of other QAnon-adjacent conspiracies – such as those who believe that 5G is being used as a state surveillance tool – have found a home in QAnon, which also offers a distinctive end goal.

 

It's that end goal – the "fall of the cabal" or the defeat of the deep state – that is thought to differentiate QAnon from any conspiracy that precedes it.

 

"Say, if you look at something like the 'September 11 was a false flag' conspiracy or the 'Port Arthur was a false flag so John Howard could control guns in Australia' conspiracy," Ross says, "they don’t really have an end date.

 

"Whereas this Q stuff offers a very satisfying, comforting framework. 'The plan' has been put into place. Don't worry that you don't know everything. There are evil forces but they're being dealt with. Don't worry."

 

On social media, celebrities including chef Pete Evans and mixed martial artist Vik Grujic have each expressed support for ideas associated with QAnon.

 

But it is the movement's "admins" (administrators) and "mods" (moderators) – those able to offer, deny or block access to QAnon Facebook groups as well as moderate what’s discussed within them – who have assumed leadership roles in their respective groups. Among these is the Conscious Truth Network, a Facebook group moderated by James Bartolo, a former Australian soldier, whose photo appears in the group banner beside the words "How do we stop the cabal? Simple / Stop acquiescing!"

 

In August, groups aligned with QAnon organised a digital protest that saw hundreds of QAnon followers in Australia flood the social media accounts of mainstream media outlets – networks Seven, Nine, and Ten and the Daily Mail – with scheduled comments reading “#defundthemedia”. Nine, which owns this masthead, disabled user comments.

 

On the same night, they also flooded the social media accounts of Scott Morrison and Daniel Andrews with calls for both to be sacked.

 

Efforts from a group called the Millions Rise for Australia resulted in a separate spam attack on The Age’s Facebook page.

 

According to data collected by Marc-André Argentino, a researcher who studies QAnon at Concordia University in Canada, Australia’s QAnon following is among the world’s largest. Argentino’s assertion is echoed in a recent report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which found Australia ranked fourth for discussion of QAnon on Twitter, behind the US, the UK and Canada.

 

"Since mid-March, we have seen an enormous explosion in conspiracy-related activity," says Elise Thomas, a researcher of extremist dialogue and conspiracy extremism at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

 

While Facebook and other social media platforms have made efforts to manage its spread, Thomas warns that it could prove a "double-edged sword".

 

"When they crack down and these people move to code words, thinly veiled code words, you will lose some of the membership, and some won’t find it again," she says. "But those who find it again are the people who are more committed.

 

"You end up with an increasingly small but more radicalised group."

 

What impact has QAnon had in the real world in the US?

 

In the US, a 24-year-old QAnon follower, Anthony Comello, was charged with the murder of Francesco (Franky Boy) Cali, a New York mafia boss. In court documents filed in July 2019, it was revealed that Camello’s lawyer, Robert C. Gottlieb, believed Camello was so deeply deluded and obsessed with QAnon he thought he could perform a citizen’s arrest on Cali and hand him over to the military.

 

On April 29 this year, another QAnon devotee, 37-year-old Jessica Prim, was arrested with more than a dozen illegal knives after live streaming a trip from Illinois to New York to "take out" Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 12:33 a.m. No.10512692   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10512685

 

4/4

 

Despite Trump being the movement’s only exception to a generally anti-government line, some grass-roots Republican politicians have identified QAnon as an electoral force.

 

In August, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a sworn supporter of the movement from the southern state of Georgia, won a Republican primary, all but clearing her path to Congress in November. Greene’s win is the first to demonstrate the political pull pro-QAnon candidates have among Republican voters in the US.

 

In late August, following a report in The New York Times that linked the Texas Republican Party's new slogan – We Are the Storm – to QAnon, the party posted a statement to its website denying the connection, citing the catchphrase's origins as Psalm 29 of the Bible.

 

So far, Trump has retweeted the posts of QAnon followers more than 200 times while declining to answer questions about it until late August, when, at a White House news conference, he described followers of QAnon as "people who love our country".

 

Some Republicans rushed to condemn the President's comments, others remain horrified in private, the The New York Times reported. "We once had Republican leaders that would work to keep extremists from the levers of power. Now they embrace them and their crazy and dangerous ideas," said Rudy Oeftering from Texas.

 

"The lunatics," he told the Times, "are truly running the asylum."

 

What’s next?

 

In Australia, QAnon’s presence online continues to grow as exponents work around Facebook’s crackdown on content associated with the movement by avoiding identifiable keywords and catchphrases.

 

Plans for digital protests continue almost weekly and the largest physical rally to date likely to involve some QAnon supporters set for September 5 in Melbourne. QAnon protesters say they plan to "overthrow the Andrews government" under the guise of a supposed "freedom day". Arrests have been made in connection with inciting and co-ordinating the anti-lockdown protest in breach of the Chief Health Officer's directions.

 

In the US, the phenomenon continues to swell as "Q" continues to post, albeit on a new platform, and Q's followers plan to influence the presidential election in November.

 

"We need memes that are funny and mocking of the Democrat candidates, but also that are informative and revealing about their policies that are WRONG for the United States of America and the American people," wrote a poster in a thread titled "Meme War 2020" on 8kun in November 2019.

 

"We also need memes that are PRO-TRUMP, that explain how his policies are RIGHT for the United States of America and the American people, and that can debunk the smears and attacks that are no doubt going to come at POTUS [President of the United States] … again, and again."

 

More than a dozen Republican candidates who have expressed support for QAnon are running for Congress in 2020, although many are expected to lose.

 

In Australia, federal politicians are yet to mention QAnon, and a federal government response could be a way off, too, as "anything they do makes it worse," says Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Thomas.

 

"People have a tendency to think [of this] as an information literacy problem," she says. "This idea that, if you get people better information, that will fix the problem. That’s really not the case."

 

"It spiked during this period; literacy was not getting worse, social isolation is worse, mental health is worse," she says. "The solution, in some ways, is very unsatisfying – but it’s about solving social problems which are the root cause. A silver bullet won't make it go away until things improve for people."

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/stop-the-cabal-what-is-the-conspiracy-movement-qanon-20200903-p55s2m.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 1:10 a.m. No.10512833   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5548 >>4939

Alleged Adelaide paedophile Jadd William Brooker intends to infect children and adults with HIV, court told

 

A HIV-positive alleged paedophile who lives in Adelaide is seeking bail – but a court has heard police have evidence he intends to deliberately infect children and adults with the virus that causes AIDS.

 

An Adelaide man arrested for online paedophilia offences must not be released on bail because he is HIV+ and intends to “infect both children and adults” with the virus, court documents allege.

 

SA Police have further alleged Jadd William Brooker has maintained ongoing, unlawful sexual relationships with two underage teenage boys – one of whom has since died by suicide.

 

On Thursday, Brooker became visibly emotional as police urged the Mount Barker Magistrates Court to reject his bid for home detention bail.

 

They said he had already been charged with eight offences, and that they expected to arrest up to 40 more people by investigating his digital activities.

 

Brooker’s reaction drew a stern warning from Magistrate Rodney Oates.

 

“Stop sitting there shaking your head – just listen to what’s being said,” he told him.

 

Brooker, 38, of Glenelg East, is the project manager for DSV Air & Sea, a global logistics and transport company.

 

He has yet to plead to three counts of disseminating, and four counts of possessing, child exploitation material.

 

Three of those counts are considered aggravated offences, meaning the children allegedly depicted in the material were under the age of 14.

 

Brooker has been further charged with one count of producing, or taking steps to produce, child exploitation material.

 

The offences are alleged to have occurred at Glenelg East between December 31, 2015 and August 24 this year.

 

In police documents, released to The Advertiser by the court, investigators allege Brooker was interviewed following his arrest in order to seek release on bail.

 

“He stated he previously smoked methylamphetamine for three years but has not used for at least six months,” the documents assert.

 

“He is HIV+ and, during the course of initial investigations, evidence has been obtained showing the accused’s intention to infect both children and adults with HIV.

 

“These serious offences, coupled with the allegation of an intention to harm others, has influenced (police) to refuse bail.”

 

On Thursday, the court heard a bail assessment report had found Brooker’s residence unsuitable for home detention.

 

Counsel for Brooker said their client’s grandmother was prepared to have him reside with her instead.

 

Police opposed that course.

 

“Further to the current charges, police have identified additional offending that will likely lead to further charges being laid,” they said.

 

“These will be charges of having maintained an unlawful sexual relationship with a child.”

 

They said investigators had “become aware” Brooker had pursued a boy, 15, for sex during the period of the alleged online offending.

 

“There is photographic evidence and suggestive messages showing there was a sexual relationship,” they said.

 

“This child committed suicide when he was just 17.

 

“There will likely be a further charge of the same offence relating to another child, who was 13 when the relationship began … Brooker travelled to engage in intercourse with that child.”

 

Police said they feared Brooker would interfere in their investigation if released.

 

“There are approximately 40 other people being investigated at this time,” they said.

 

“Police have seized a number of electronic devices (from Brooker, but) there are a number of online apps from which material is yet to be taken.

 

“If Brooker is released, there is potential that he will make contact with other potential offenders and may delete material that is online.”

 

Mr Oates said he understood those concerns, but felt it appropriate to first assess whether the home of Brooker’s grandmother was a suitable bail address.

 

He remanded him in custody to a further hearing next week.

 

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/south-australia/alleged-adelaide-paedophile-jadd-william-brooker-intends-to-infect-children-and-adults-with-hiv-court-told/news-story/f73adfa8a688a01e849b037509efa448

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 1:40 a.m. No.10512938   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2953 >>4939

>>10209217

>>10491722

Australian special forces Instagram account mocks war crime allegations, calls to 'Make Diggers Violent Again'

 

1/3

 

Current and former Australian special forces soldiers are operating an Instagram account mocking allegations of war crimes allegedly committed by their comrades in Afghanistan.

 

The public Instagram account, titled State Sanctioned Violence, is also selling merchandise, including bumper stickers reading "Make Diggers Violent Again" and "Taliban Tears", and T-shirts with "High Velocity Atrocities" emblazoned on them.

 

The account, which has amassed thousands of followers, is littered with crude memes and jokes that make light of killings that occurred during combat.

 

The ABC has been told that the account is operated mainly by one former and one serving special forces soldier. Those men have not responded to questions from ABC Investigations. Other content, such as photographs, is supplied by former and serving special forces.

 

The account states it is operated by: "A group of current & former Aussie Soldiers keeping the legacy of the boys we lost alive."

 

One video, which includes a mock advisory warning normally used on ABC broadcasts, features a mash-up of aerial footage of people being killed by missiles, gun fire and drone strikes, while rap music plays in the background.

 

Another photo features text reading: "I've got two command priorities this year: proxy wars and smashing whores."

 

Some posts trivialise an ABC Four Corners story from earlier this year, which showed footage of an Australian SAS trooper allegedly murdering an unarmed Afghan in a field, while others joke about killing Afghan children, making lampshades out of the skins of dead Taliban and hacking off the ears of village elders.

 

Another video compilation of footage apparently taken from an Australian special forces soldier's helmet cam is captioned: "Three people can keep a secret but only when two of them are dead."

 

Merchandise from the State Sanctioned Violence page is sold through a separate online shop, which requires a password for entry.

 

The account has posted photos of the 'Make Diggers Violent Again' stickers seemingly taken at Canberra's Royal Military College in Duntroon, as well as next to a handgun and bullets and Donald Trump paraphernalia.

 

The admins of the State Sanctioned Violence account have also hinted at a forthcoming podcast.

 

Account mocks MP Hastie

 

The ABC has been told that the Instagram account, which has been pulled down and put back up a number of times, has caused significant concern within the upper echelons of the Australian Defence Force because of its tone and content.

 

The account has laid bare a growing rift between the rank and file of Australia's special forces and the chain of command, ahead of an inquiry report into alleged war crimes committed by Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan.

 

In a statement, Defence initially said it knew about the State Sanctioned Violence account but said it was "not aware of any connection" between serving Australian Defence Force personnel and the content being posted on the account.

 

When the ABC provided the name of the serving soldier allegedly linked to the account, Defence responded:

 

"If Defence personnel are identified as having posted inappropriate material, they will be investigated and held accountable for contravening Defence policy."

 

The Instagram account largely comprises biographies of dead and living Australian servicemen who served overseas in various wars, but predominantly special forces personnel who served in Afghanistan. The biographies are laced with twisted humour and jokes about killing Afghans.

 

One post pokes fun at an incident in which an SAS trooper severed the hands of dead Taliban in order to take them back to base for identification. The post mocks federal Liberal MP and former SAS officer Andrew Hastie, who was in command when the incident occurred and immediately reported it up the chain of command.

 

"'Many hands make light work' — Andrew Hastie MP," the post reads.

 

Another post mocks former Army Major General John Cantwell, who has spoken openly about his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and his horror at witnessing Coalition troops burying Iraqi soldiers alive when he was on exchange with the British Army in the first Gulf War.

 

The account gives a "shout out" to a supposed mole who is feeding its creators information from within the ADF's "social media incident team".

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 1:43 a.m. No.10512953   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2966 >>4939

>>10512938

 

2/3

 

Tension in special forces at boiling point

 

It has become clear to current and former special forces troops over the last few months that the inquiry conducted by Justice Paul Brereton has turned up significant evidence pointing to alleged war crimes.

 

There is growing concern among the rank-and-file ADF members that lower-ranked diggers will be held accountable for the alleged crimes and officers and the chain of command will escape scrutiny.

 

A threat was allegedly made earlier this year against the family of Justice Brereton, the NSW Supreme Court judge and Army Reserve Major General, who is conducting the long-running inquiry on behalf of the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force.

 

Australian Defence Force investigators and police conducted raids earlier this year and are still carrying out investigations in relation to the alleged threat and other materials found during the raids.

 

Defence said it was not appropriate to discuss whether the State Sanctioned Violence account was linked to the alleged threat made against Justice Brereton's family, as New South Wales police are still investigating the incident.

 

The people running the Instagram account have reflected these fears, posting last month: "If a member is convicted of a war crime, their [officer commanding] and [commanding officer] at the time of the incident should be stripped of any medals obtained on that deployment and reduced in rank. Then we would see less officers saying 'I support the investigation/people need to be held accountable.'"

 

The operators of the account also allude to the concerns within the Defence hierarchy about the account and appear to threaten retribution if the ADF brass allow low-level diggers to bear the brunt of any consequences from the current inquiry.

 

Associate Professor Ben Wadham, a military criminologist from Flinders University, told the ABC that the account reflected well-founded fears about low-ranked diggers being held to account while officers walked free.

 

"There's a sense there that that when an investigation happens, when civil society and military clash or civil society, state and military clash, that it's the diggers that wear the brunt. It's a fair assessment," Dr Wadham said.

 

"When I look at the other issues around misconduct in the ADF over the last 30 years, it's always blamed on the bad apple, or the bad orchard, the bad pocket of soldiers.

 

"We never hear about command taking accountability."

 

Dr Wadham said the account was a stark pointer to the disconnect that some members of Australia's special forces feel from civil society.

 

"It doesn't justify or excuse anything, of course, but it's a story that tells us that soldiers see themselves as not being particularly understood by the rest of Australia. It's a job that is unforgiving and that they have to make the rules up as they go to survive," Dr Wadham said.

 

Meanwhile, a video understood to be circulating on military social media pages uses an edited version of the recently released trailer for the upcoming Batman film to convey a similar message. A logo for "Australian Defence Force Investigative Service" is repeatedly punched in the face by Robert Pattinson's Batman, before a graphic reading "Listen To Your Troops" appears. The video references memes used on accounts associated with the State Sanctioned Violence page.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 1:47 a.m. No.10512966   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3080 >>4939

>>10512953

 

3/3

 

Page littered with memes, jokes and killings

 

A separate, personal profile from a former special forces soldier who the ABC understands to be behind the State Sanctioned Violence account features similarly provocative and at times graphic content. The ABC has chosen not to name the solider.

 

A recent post on the public account features a photo of a crass message scribbled on a rocket followed by a second photo of a bloodied and seemingly headless corpse.

 

One post splices a film clip by rapper Drake with video of the soldier, seemingly on duty, mimicking the singer, walking alongside a driverless military vehicle while toting his service weapon. Other posts include hashtags like #slaycation and photos of captured ISIS paraphernalia alongside comments such as "'Sometimes you gotta let the wolves hunt' — Mr Tony Abbott, 2014."

 

Both the soldier's profile and the State Sanctioned Violence account have several thousand followers and attract regular approving and admiring comments from Australian and international users, many of whom appear to also be involved in the armed forces.

 

While the accounts seem aimed at reinforcing and celebrating a particular culture within special forces, the tenor of the posts is at times reminiscent of the sort of content spread throughout alt-right online communities.

 

John Coyne from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has for decades investigated links between the military and far-right groups.

 

He said the "disturbing" posts were not necessarily reflective of genuine extremist far-right tendencies, but they nonetheless represented a "vulnerability" for the Australian Defence Force.

 

"The ADF and Defence would be worried about this, and should be worried about it, because it's a spark in a tinderbox," said Dr Coyne, who heads up ASPI's Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Program and is a former serving soldier himself.

 

"You've got some allegedly ex-members of the ADF saying some pretty horrendous things about violence etc, and you would argue that those people are susceptible to being radicalised themselves, if they haven't already been so, to a more right-wing extremist perspective.

 

"I think that is a concern both for Defence and for the wider public."

 

In a statement, Defence said its personnel would be held "accountable" if they contravened its policies.

 

"Furthermore, Defence personnel found to be associated with extremist ideologies will be investigated and may face administrative sanctions. Sanctions range from counselling through to termination of employment."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-03/instagram-account-from-australian-special-forces-mocks-killings/12595062

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 3, 2020, 3:06 a.m. No.10513223   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3759 >>4939

Pacific Air Forces Tweet

 

BREAKING: US & Australian militaries demonstrate rapid long-distance air strike capabilities

 

#B2 Spirits & #B1 Lancers participated in a combined US-Australia exercise in the Northern Territory w/@MrfDarwin & Australian Defence Force

#FreeandOpenIndoPacific #USwithAUS

 

https://twitter.com/PACAF/status/1301415089728229376

 

>https://qanon.pub/?q=B2

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 12:05 a.m. No.10523738   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3747 >>4843

The bodybuilder conspiracy theorist behind a group pushing COVID-19 checkpoint breaches

 

A former soldier and bodybuilder, arrested by police while on the toilet today, is urging Aussies to fight back against coronavirus measures.

 

1/2

 

A man arrested in Melbourne this morning for his alleged role in planning a major anti-coronavirus protest is a former soldier turned bodybuilder who leads a bizarre conspiracy theory group.

 

James Bartolo claimed he “was on the toilet” when police arrived at his home armed with a search warrant on Friday morning.

 

He refused to open the door and let them inside, so police smashed it open and tackled him to the ground to restrain him.

 

Mr Bartolo, who runs a conspiracy website called The Conscious Truth Network, is the latest to be arrested over allegedly inciting an illegal anti-lockdown protest planned for Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday.

 

Mr Bartolo runs the organisation The Conscious Truth Network, which is encouraging Victorians in lockdown to deliberately breach COVID-19 public health orders, including by passing lockdown checkpoints illegally and attending mass gatherings.

 

The group Facebook page encourages followers to “unplug from the matrix” and free themselves from an apparent global conspiracy waged by corporations to enslave populations.

 

Eve Black, the Melbourne woman who sparked outrage after she filmed herself refusing to comply with police direction and driving through a checkpoint, is part of the group.

 

Mr Bartolo believes a “treasonous and corrupt network of filth” is behind a conspiracy to use the COVID-19 pandemic to strip rights away from people.

 

n July, he too shared vision of himself refusing to co-operate with authorities at a road checkpoint, arguing with a police officer for 20 minutes that his actions were unlawful.

 

Mr Bartolo said: “What’s the crime I’ve committed? If I haven’t committed a crime, then I’m going to go.”

 

Eventually, in apparent frustration, the officer permitted him to pass – a similar end result to that captured in Ms Black’s video.

 

She used similar language and was reading from a script on a piece of paper. The Conscious Truth Network is providing tips to its followers on how to challenge police at checkpoints.

 

Victoria has been battling a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections.

 

Greater Melbourne remains in stage 4 lockdown, while the rest of Victoria is subject to stage 3 restrictions, and Mr Bartolo is one of an emerging group of figures to resist public health measures.

 

His Facebook page has been promoting tomorrow's planned anti-lockdown protest at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, which thousands have indicated they will attend.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 12:07 a.m. No.10523747   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10523738

 

2/2

 

Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said on Thursday police had so far charged four people with incitement over Saturday’s planned protest, including pregnant Miners Rest woman Zoe Buhler, reality TV contestant turned conspiracist Fanos Panayides and 76-year-old Windsor man Solihin Millin twice.

 

Mr Cornelius said anyone who left home to protest would be fined and arrested if they failed to comply with police directions.

 

Those charged with incitement face court-imposed fines of up to $20,000.

 

Mr Bartolo started his group in May to coincide with an anti-lockdown rally held in Melbourne.

 

He is a former soldier in the Australian Army and a competitive bodybuilder who describes himself as a “truth seeker” and “freedom fighter”.

 

“I have always known there was something terribly wrong with the world and from a very young age was certain I would have an impact in fixing this broken planet,” Mr Bartolo writes on his website.

 

“My personal mission is to help wake people up and the together we can serve justice to the corrupt, twisted and sick individuals, corporations and entities who have caused such massive harm to the people of this world.

 

“After justice has been delivered, then we can focus on creating the world we are all happy to live in peacefully together.”

 

Content he shares covers everything from 5G conspiracies to his belief that the moon landing was faked and that COVID-19 is a “relabeled flu” that isn’t contagious or deadly.

 

In a June 7 video, an angry and ranting Mr Bartolo took aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison for instituting tough coronavirus restrictions “without consent of the population”.

 

He described Mr Morrison’s leadership as “a dictatorship” and accused the media of “deliberately manipulating the masses to spread and entice fear”.

 

“Forcing someone to do something they don’t want is raping their freedom,” Mr Bartolo said of the PM. “He is the furthest thing from a true leader.”

 

Of coronavirus, he said: “It has also been proven that this virus is not contagious. If it was, then by God there would be an extraordinarily higher amount of cases.”

 

To date, 26.2 million people globally have been infected with COVID-19 and some 867,000 have died.

 

But Mr Bartolo believes people have been “tricked and brainwashed” and urges his followers to follow their “gut” that the pandemic is a hoax.

 

In another video posted on June 4, he interviewed a man called Sheriff Jupie, who he identified as an 18-year-old electrician, “about he’s (sic) views on the pharmaceutical industry and their side effect ridden drugs”.

 

He has also boasted about repeatedly breaching lockdown restrictions in the first wave of infections by going out in public to attend rallies and interview people about coronavirus.

 

Other clips focus on 5G technology, “which apparently is only meant to speed up internet speeds … oh how I wish that was true”, claiming it can instead “create ongoing pandemics”.

 

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/the-bodybuilder-conspiracy-theorist-behind-a-group-pushing-covid19-checkpoint-breaches/news-story/b72355e0b73ed6d176eb92be203fe0c4#

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 2:41 a.m. No.10524154   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Cyber attacks on Australia blurring the lines between peace and war, Defence Minister says

 

Foreign government cyber-attacks on Australia have increased further since June, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed Australian organisations were under sustained digital assault.

 

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says the alarming "new normal" of persistent cyber-attacks on Australia is blurring the difference between "peace and war".

 

"We're now facing an environment where cyber-enabled activities have the potential to drive disinformation, and also directly support interference in our economy, interference in our political system, and also in what we see as critical infrastructure," Senator Reynolds said.

 

"This type of activity really does blur what we previously understood to be peace and war, which is what we call that grey zone in between."

 

The Minister made the comments ahead of the release of the Australian Cyber Security Centre's (ACSC) first annual cyber security threat report.

 

It is understood the Government wants to introduce a regime that would make it mandatory for operators of critical infrastructure to report cyber-attacks. This would likely include banks, telecommunications and utility operators.

 

The ACSC, a subsidiary of the Australian Signals Directorate tasked with strengthening Australia's cyber security, responded to 2,266 incidents and received 59,806 cybercrime reports in the 12 months to June 30.

 

In that period, there were two notable "spikes", the threat report says.

 

One was in October 2019 in the form of a widespread malware called Emotet that targeted sensitive personal and financial information, peaking at 4,500 unsolicited and malicious emails in one day.

 

The second spike was in April and is described by the ACSC as "COVID-19 themed cybercrime".

 

"At one end of the spectrum there are opportunistic cyber criminals who target Australia and Australian companies for financial gain," Senator Reynolds said.

 

"And at the other end of the same spectrum, there are sophisticated and very well-resourced state based actors who are seeking to interfere in our nation."

 

On June 19, the Defence Minister and the PM called a press conference to reveal that Australian organisations were "currently being targeted by a sophisticated state-based cyber actor".

 

The broad attack was across "all levels of government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure", Mr Morrison said.

 

Federal Government officials believe China was behind this attack.

 

The Defence Minister said that in the two-and-a-half months since, attacks on Australian systems have not abated.

 

"I can assure you all today that that threat has not diminished since then — in fact, it has increased," she said.

 

"We can observe, we can gain intelligence, we can analyse it, and we do very much share that information. But ultimately, it is up to every single Australian and all companies to make sure that they take the best possible protections."

 

She also said the Government was making a deliberate effort to bring cyber agencies "out of the shadows" in order to raise public awareness of cyber security and the role of intelligence agencies.

 

This week, the head of the Australian Signals Directorate Rachel Noble gave a rare speech laying out the agency's role and declaring it faced a "near impossible" task fighting crime and espionage.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-04/cyber-attacks-on-australia-peace-war-defence-minister/12626396

 

 

New ACSC report details cyber threats across Australia

 

The inaugural ACSC Annual Cyber Threat Report: July 2019 to June 2020 has been developed with our law enforcement partners, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, to provide important information about emerging cyber security and cybercrime threats impacting different sectors of the Australian economy.

 

It also includes best-practice mitigation advice for implementation by individuals and organisations, so they can reduce the likelihood and impact of malicious cyber activity.

 

https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/news/new-acsc-report-details-cyber-threats-across-australia

 

https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/ACSC-Annual-Cyber-Threat-Report-2019-20.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 5:10 a.m. No.10524698   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3843 >>4939

>>10491684

'I will fight to the end’: Australian writer Yang Hengjun's message from behind bars in China

 

In messages delivered this week and confirmed by sources close to Dr Yang's family, he said: "I want to go to court, I will never confess to something I haven’t done."

 

Australian writer Yang Hengjun has sent a defiant message to his family, friends and supporters that he will keeping fighting to clear his name of espionage accusations that have been made against him by Chinese authorities.

 

In messages delivered this week and confirmed by sources close to Dr Yang's family, he said: "I want to go to court, I will never confess to something I haven’t done".

 

"I did not confess to anything criminal.

 

"Being held for 19 months is unfair. I am innocent. They can abuse me. This is political persecution."

 

Speaking from Shanghai, China, Dr Yang's wife Yuan Ruijuan told SBS News that her husband rejects the assertions of Chinese authorities that he had confessed.

 

"Yang wanted to make clear this isn't true, he has not confessed and he always maintains his innocence," she said.

 

"The hardest part is hearing that he feels so alone, completed isolated from everyone and everyone for 19 months now."

 

Dr Yang, a former Chinese diplomat who went on to become a pro-democracy campaigner, could face the death penalty if the spying charges against him stand.

 

The 55-year-old was detained at Guangzhou airport in January 2019 and initially held under a system known as “residential surveillance at a designated location”, a type of secret detention for seven months.

 

In March, Beijing referred his case to the Chinese Public Prosecutor's Office for charge.

 

Access to Lawyer

 

In a breakthrough for Dr Yang’s case, Ms Yuan confirmed that his lawyer Mo Shaoping had his first meeting with the Australian writer on Thursday.

 

"I had not heard from him for so long, I wondered whether he was still with us. The lawyer's confirmation of the meeting has given me some comfort but the situation is not good, I do not know a lot, there is a lot the lawyers are not permitted to tell me."

 

The meeting was face-to-face with a glass panel separating the two of them and lasted about one hour. Mr Mo has applied for another visit to see his client.

 

Ms Yuan said she is very concerned about Dr Yang's mental state and fears the long period of time he has spent incarcerated and the interrogations he has been subjected has taken a toll.

 

Professor Feng Chongyi, who is a close friend of Dr Yang, believes lawyers were finally given access to Dr Yang because Chinese authorities may be getting ready for a trial to take place soon.

 

“Chinese legal system relies very much on the confession to establish a case."

 

Professor Feng says Dr Yang has been subject to over 300 hours of interrogations since he was detained 19 months ago, sometimes for five hours at a time.

 

"It is a legal system that is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, there is no such thing in China or an independent trial."

 

Professor Feng, who was also previously detained in China, says he does not believe Dr Yang will be given a fair trial.

 

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed Australian consular staff visited the activist on 31 August via video link.

 

SBS News understands this was the first visit since December 2019 because they had been denied access due to COVID-19 concerns.

 

In a statement, the department said it will "continue to provide assistance and support to Dr Yang and his family during this difficult time."

 

Dr Yang’s long-running detention continues during a backdrop of increasingly frayed ties between Canberra and Beijing.

 

On Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the detention of Australian Cheng Lei, a television presenter for China's state media.

 

In the past, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly warned Australia not to interfere in his case. The Chinese Embassy in Australia was contacted for comment.

 

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has previously called for the immediate release of Dr Yang and has said there was “no basis” for any allegation he was a spy.

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/i-will-fight-to-the-end-australian-writer-yang-hengjun-s-message-from-behind-bars-in-china

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 5:19 a.m. No.10524749   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Ambassador Culvahouse Commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II

 

US Embassy Canberra

 

Published on 3 Sep 2020

 

On September 2, Ambassador Culvahouse laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial to mark 75 years since the end of World War II, and honour the women and men who fought and died for their countries, and for the dream of a better world.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWYK02E7xd0

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 7:29 p.m. No.10532456   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

Joe Biden has a suggestion for QAnon supporters

 

Yahoo News

 

Published on 4 Sep 2020

 

When asked about the QAnon conspiracy theory, Joe Biden said, “I’ve been a big supporter of mental health. I’d recommend that people who believe maybe should take advantage while it still exists in the Affordable Care Act…Have you guys found that plane load of people in uniforms and weapons and flying around?”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYwbmcbtibA

 

 

Biden tells QAnon followers to seek mental health counseling before the Affordable Care Act is repealed

 

Joe Biden offered some advice to the followers of QAnon, the loose-knit band of believers in the conspiracy theory that holds that the so-called “deep state” is out to get President Trump: Get help.

 

At a press conference in Wilmington, Del., where Biden, in unusually forceful and emotional terms, denounced Trump over his reported disparagement of U.S. service members killed in combat as “losers,” the former vice president was asked about Trump’s relationship to QAnon followers.

 

“I’ve been a big supporter of mental health. I’d recommend people who believe it should take advantage of it while it still exists under the Affordable Care Act,” Biden said drily. “It’s bizarre, totally bizarre.”

 

QAnon embraces the idea that a worldwide cabal of elites has engaged for years in trafficking children for sex and cannibalism, and that Trump is trying to expose them.

 

Trump has at times retweeted posts by QAnon followers. He has endorsed at least one Republican congressional candidate who is publicly aligned with the movement, and when asked directly about the group said he appreciates their support of him.

 

“This can’t go on,” Biden said about QAnon. “It’s a deconstruction of a democratic system. They know it. … The words of a president matter, even a lousy president. It gives succor, it gives encouragement to people who are spouting irrational views that no one has come even close to ever presuming or showing even existed.”

 

Trump has not been specifically asked, or expressed a view, on whether the supposed conspiracy of pedophiles and cannibals actually exists, and as far as is known his administration has not launched any investigations or made any arrests in connection with it.

 

But he has dabbled in conspiracy theories himself, as recently as Monday, in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, when he opined that “people that you’ve never heard of” are controlling Biden. “People that are in the dark shadows.”

 

“What does that mean?” Ingraham asked. “That sounds like conspiracy theory.”

 

“No,” Trump responded. “People that you haven’t heard of. They’re people that are on the streets. They’re people that are controlling the streets. We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear and this and that. They’re on a plane.”

 

Biden referenced those comments Friday.

 

“Have you guys found that planeload of people in uniforms and weapons flying around? Have you found them yet? … What in God’s name are we doing?

 

“Look at how it makes us look around the world. It’s mortifying. It’s embarrassing and it’s dangerous. It’s dangerous. If the president doesn’t know better, which he has to know better, then, my Lord, we’re in much more trouble than I ever thought we were. It’s bizarre.”

 

Friday’s press conference marked the third straight day that Biden went on the attack against Trump while campaigning. During a visit to Kenosha, Wis., on Thursday, he said Trump’s rhetoric “legitimizes the dark side of human nature.” He turned up the volume on his attacks on Trump in Wilmington, specifically in reference to a claim made in the Atlantic magazine that Trump had referred to fallen U.S. soldiers as “losers” and “suckers.”

 

“When my son was an assistant U.S. attorney and he volunteered to go to Kosovo while the war was going on, as a civilian, he wasn’t a sucker. When my son volunteered and joined the United States military as the attorney general [of Delaware] and went to Iraq for a year, won the Bronze Star and other commendations, he wasn’t a sucker.”

 

Trump has vehemently denied the claims in the Atlantic article.

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/biden-tells-q-anon-followers-to-seek-mental-health-counseling-before-the-affordable-care-act-is-repealed-185947737.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 8:03 p.m. No.10532738   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2745 >>2556 >>5018

The other virus: distrust rides high on the back of COVID-19

 

1/3

 

As someone who has spent decades defending the sex industry, Fiona Patten is no stranger to what she calls the “rough and tumble”. “It’s not like I am a snowflake,” the libertarian and social reformer says.

 

But Patten, now a Victorian Legislative Council member and leader of the Reason Party, says she has never experienced abuse like this. For days her office has been bombarded with vituperative phone calls, emails and outlandish conspiracy theories.

 

Patten has been told the coronavirus isn’t real, it’s a World Bank conspiracy, people would have died anyway and there are cures for COVID-19 that are being hidden.

 

“This fake pandemic was designed to usher in the Evil New World Order and to enslave all people on Earth into a Communist Dictatorship, which also includes very significant and well-planned depopulation by 2025,” someone wrote on her Facebook page.

 

Last week Patten brokered a compromise deal which gave the Victorian government a six-month extension of its powers to declare the pandemic an ongoing state of emergency.

 

It was a far cry from the permanent 12-month legislative change the government had initially sought. But in the eyes of some, who are aggrieved about the harsh lockdown restrictions in Victoria, Patten is a traitor.

 

“I’ve been piled on before, but I’ve never seen this level of aggression and threats of violence. There’s an incredible anger, which frankly has been quite frightening.”

 

Patten says some of the conspiracy theories have been “completely crazy”. But what troubles her more is the lack of trust in government and public institutions.

 

Patten’s office was repeatedly told the State Coroner was “lying” when he released data showing there had been no increase in the number of people dying by suicide during the pandemic.

 

When Patten pointed out the Australian Medical Association had supported the six-month state of emergency extension, she was asked “Why would you trust the AMA?”.

 

“It’s that level of distrust,” Patten says.

 

She says fringe groups such as anti-vaxxers and men’s rights groups - who already distrust government - are coalescing around COVID-19 conspiracy theories. “I honestly don’t know how to address this,” she adds.

 

Disease and disasters have long been fertile ground for conspiracy theories.

 

When the bubonic plague - spread by fleas - killed about a third of Europe’s population in the 1300s, Christians accused Jews of poisoning their wells.

 

More recently the 9/11 terror attacks spawned widespread conspiracy theories, including that the US government had been involved and there had been advance warning.

 

“Whenever there’s any kind of major crisis there is an information vacuum - particularly at the start - when government agencies don’t necessarily have all the answers,” says Professor Axel Bruns from the Queensland University of Technology.

 

This is compounded by the erosion of public trust in governments and mainstream media across the world.

 

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that none of the four societal institutions that the study measures - government, business, NGOs and the media - is trusted.

 

“This pandemic comes at a particularly vulnerable time in many countries because there is so little trust,” Bruns says. “If people don’t feel they are getting the full picture from officials, they look to alternative sources of information.”

 

An Essential poll of more than 1000 Australians in May found one in five believed the number of COVID-19 deaths had been exaggerated by the media and governments to scare the population.

 

Twelve per cent believed it was definitely or probably true that the 5G wireless network was being used to spread the COVID-19 virus.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 8:04 p.m. No.10532745   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2756 >>5018

>>10532738

 

2/3

 

Bruns was among a group of researchers who looked at conspiracy theories on Facebook that the virus was caused or exacerbated by 5G technology.

 

This had already led to mobile phone towers being attacked in Britain and the Netherlands in April.

 

The researchers found pre-existing conspiracy groups argued the coronavirus justified and proved their claims.

 

Anti-5G groups, for example, linked COVID-19 to the installation of the technology because Wuhan was one of several Chinese cities where early 5G trials took place.

 

Anti-vaccination groups claimed the pandemic was staged to introduce a mass vaccination program to bring the world population under control.

 

“These sort of people are already saying vaccines are population control instruments containing microchips,” Bruns says. “The virus created a perfect storm for conspiracy theories.”

 

The researchers found celebrities and social media fanned misinformation beyond established conspiracist communities.

 

Actor Woody Harrelson posted an article on Instagram - later deleted - that drew links between the virus outbreak in Wuhan and 5G installation there.

 

In Australia, former celebrity chef Pete Evans was fined $25,000 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration after he claimed a device known as a BioCharger, which claimed to replicate light, frequencies, harmonics, pulsed electromagnetic fields and voltage found in nature, could be used in relation to “Wuhan Coronavirus”.

 

The TGA said this claim had no apparent foundation.

 

Conspiracy theorists also widely circulated Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly’s claims that "groupthink" and the "complete abandonment of reason" were driving a "war" on hydroxychloroquine, a controversial treatment for COVID-19.

 

Last month acting chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said hydroxychloroquine had been used early in the pandemic and it showed promise as a potential preventative or curative medicine.

 

"It’s now undergone multiple trials around the world, and everyone has agreed that it … has not lived up to that promise … So the medical advice is it is not useful as a medicine," Kelly added.

 

University of Sydney researchers found men and people aged 18 to 25 were more likely to believe COVID-19 myths.

 

Behavioural scientist Dr Carissa Bonner says their initial survey showed younger people and men were more likely to think the benefit of herd immunity was covered up and the threat of COVID-19 was exaggerated.

 

Younger people were more likely to believe cure myths, such as vitamin C and hydroxychloroquine being effective treatments. Those with lower education and more social disadvantage were more likely to believe 5G was being used to spread the virus.

 

However Bonner says the prevalence of the 5G conspiracy theory is very low, with less than 1 per cent of those surveyed holding this belief. The researchers say there is a need for more targeted research with young Australians and men in particular about why some of them believe these myths and what might change their mind.

 

Leading up to Saturday, online activists organised an Australia-wide action known as the “Day of Freedom” - the latest in a series of protests against COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the government.

 

Dr Kaz Ross, a researcher on online communities from the University of Tasmania, says issues raised at these protests often include 5G, government surveillance and vaccinations.

 

She says one general conspiracy theory - QAnon - now unites these disparate groups.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 8:05 p.m. No.10532756   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10532745

 

3/3

 

QAnon, which started on the anonymous message board 4chan in 2017, is centred on the baseless allegation that US President Donald Trump is working to expose a ring of pedophiles run by figures including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and the “deep state”. (The term deep state generally refers to a shadow or parallel system of government.)

 

QAnon has grown to encompass other hardcore conspiracies. Trump has shared posts from QAnon followers on his social media accounts and said of the movement: “I’ve heard these are people that love our country.”

 

Republican Marjorie Taylor, a QAnon supporter, is almost certain to be elected to Congress in November.

 

The QAnon movement is also growing in popularity in Australia.

 

An Institute for Strategic Dialogue report in July found the top four countries driving discussion of QAnon on Twitter were the US, Britain, Canada and Australia.

 

“If you had surveyed Australians before the pandemic, very few people would have heard of QAnon,” Ross says.

 

But she says that since March, people have been increasingly posting QAnon conspiracy theories on social media. These theories include the existence paedophile cabals, children held in tunnels under Melbourne and 5G being rolled out during lockdown so people can be microchipped when the vaccine comes.

 

Ross believes QAnon is attracting followers in Australia because it provides an opportunity for people to share unconventional ideas and concerns without being mocked.

 

“It provides an overall framework that is quite familiar to us - a quite comforting narrative of good versus evil and a reassurance that there is a plan,” she says.

 

“This year does feel very biblical. We have had a summer of fire and brimstone and now we are onto the plague. People are troubled and looking for explanations.”

 

On August 19 Facebook announced it was taking action against Facebook pages and groups and Instagram accounts tied to offline anarchist groups that support violent acts amidst protests, US-based militia organisations and QAnon.

 

“We have seen growing movements that, while not directly organising violence, have celebrated violent acts, shown that they have weapons and suggest they will use them, or have individual followers with patterns of violent behaviour,” Facebook said in a statement.

 

More than 790 groups, 100 pages and 1500 ads tied to QAnon were deleted from Facebook. The previous month Twitter had also cracked down on QAnon accounts, although followers quickly circumvented the ban by introducing new hashtags such as #savethechildren.

 

In one sense of course, banning and removing groups confirms the views of QAnon followers that the deep state is out to get them and suppress the truth.

 

However Bruns, from the Queensland University of Technology, believes the bans have a role to play. “They keep ordinary users from being drawn into hardcore and ultimately dangerous conspiracy theories.”

 

Ross, from the University of Tasmania, also points to the need for governments and institutions to build trust by being transparent about the reasons for their actions and avoid triggering panic around sensitive issues such as compulsory vaccinations.

 

(Prime Minister Scott Morrison sparked alarm when he spoke of a mandatory vaccine, although he later clarified it was not going to be compulsory.)

 

Cam Smith produces a podcast called The Hypothetical Institute, which examines conspiracies and their theorists.

 

He believes the simplest - although he admits not very conspiratorial - explanation for why conspiracy theories are gaining traction in the pandemic is that people have a lot more time to disappear down rabbit holes on the internet.

 

Smith says people are coming across websites talking about child abuse in tunnels under Melbourne and some believe they are more legitimate than what they are hearing from official sources.

 

“We need to look at media literacy and why people are so mistrustful of institutions,” Smith says. “You can’t just solve this by flicking a switch.”

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-other-virus-distrust-rides-high-on-the-back-of-covid-19-20200904-p55sc6.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 9:06 p.m. No.10533251   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3267 >>5018

>>10396658

>>10368701

QAnon is here to stay. Is it the future of our politics?

 

Some of the anti-lockdown mob won't even know what QAnon is, but will still recite its talking points. A global cabal. Fear of satanic elites. The world on the brink of a 'great awakening'.

 

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN - SEP 04, 2020

 

1/2

 

On Saturday the crazies may well be out in force. A loose coalition of lockdown opponents and COVID-19 truthers are set to rally around the country to mark “freedom day,” despite a police crackdown and a number of pre-emptive arrests.

 

Some will claim COVID-19 is a hoax, no worse than the flu. Others will be worried about 5G towers. There’ll be plenty of garden-variety anti-vaxxers and crunchy Byron Bay New Age types. And some will believe that US President Donald Trump is a messiah fighting to liberate the world from a Satanic cabal of paedophiles and child sex traffickers.

 

What began with an anonymous internet poster claiming to have top level US government “Q Clearance” dropping cryptic breadcrumbs on 4Chan has mushroomed into a sprawling conspiracy theory and millenarian doomsday cult. It’s been classified as a potential domestic terror threat by the FBI. It’s followers have committed murder.

 

In the world of QAnon, everyone from Hillary Clinton to Ellen deGeneres and Daniel Andrews are part of the satanic cabal. They’re trafficking children and drinking their blood. Accelerated by social media, QAnon has expanded across the world. It’s become a kind of mothership, the “big tent” conspiracy theory to which all others return.

 

Spend time around any of the anti-lockdown protests that have been sputtering across the country since March, and the QAnon talking points can’t be missed. See #SaveTheChildren? That’s QAnon. Paedophiles? QAnon. The “Great Awakening”? Also Q. Six months ago most Australians, outside the extremely online, would never have heard of QAnon. Now it’s the tie that binds together a disparate constellation of anti-lockdown conspiracies.

 

And thanks to the pandemic, it may have broken into our politics for good.

 

QAnon with an Australian accent

 

Even before the pandemic, QAnon had been bubbling away just outside the political fringes, slowly closing in. As Crikey reported last year, one of Scott Morrison’s closest family friends is a Q believer. At the recent Eden-Monaro byelection, an independent candidate with a QAnon-influenced social media history ran unsuccessfully.

 

It’s started to pull in anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists — most prominently NRL WAG turned anti-vax influencer Taylor Winterstein and celebrity chef Pete Evans. But it’s the pandemic that has truly turned it into the mothership.

 

“Look at any conspiracy theorist’s Facebook, and you’ll almost universally see that they’ve been ‘Q-pilled’ since March,” University of Tasmania lecturer and online disinformation researcher Kaz Ross tells Crikey.

 

Some of the anti-lockdown mob won’t even know what QAnon is, but will still recite its talking points — a global cabal, fear of paedophilic, satanic elites, the world on the brink of a “great awakening”.

 

How did QAnon come to dominate Australia’s conspiracy theory landscape so quickly? Ross says firstly, much like evangelical Christianity, QAnon tries to offer sense and cohesion during a seemingly apocalyptic time.

 

“We know that there’s a turn to religion and to try and make meaning of distressing events. We’ve been through the horrendous bushfires, then on the back of that, we get the pandemic. It’s all a bit Biblical.”

 

QAnon has considerable overlap with centuries-old anti-Semitic conspiracies like the blood libel, which have been aggressively pushed out of the internet sewers by the alt-right in recent years.

 

And finally, there’s the anti-vaxxer wellness types, who are highly Instagram literate, and adept at spreading junk science through social media. Once they started speaking the language of QAnon, those verbal queues — references to the “Great Awakening” and a “gathering storm” seeped into the anti-lockdown lexicon.

 

What’s interesting is the way QAnon has flourished in Australia in the absence of a charismatic Trump-like figure, drawing in hippyish sorts who might’ve once ostensibly been on the political left.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 9:08 p.m. No.10533267   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10533251

 

2/2

 

But outside of the core beliefs, QAnon’s great strength is it’s ability to quickly subsume other strands of conspiratorial thinking, to latch onto new contexts and acquire a distinctly local flavour. QAnon effortlessly incorporated fears about 5G and vaccines through the pandemic.

 

Concordia University online disinformation researcher Marc-Andre Argentino has described Australia as among the “five eyes” of QAnon — it has one of the largest followings in the world here.

 

Looking back at Australian QAnon posts in January, Argentino pointed to a uniquely Australian focus on bushfires and the Catholic Church.

 

Politicians under attack

 

In August, three years after QAnon started popping up, reporters finally confronted Trump about it. The President nudged and winked and didn’t condemn QAnon. Who was he to disavow people who “love our country” and “like me very much”, Trump said.

 

In August, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a pro-QAnon businesswoman, won the GOP primary for a safe congressional seat in Florida. A future Republican star, Trump called her. Come November, there will be several QAnon-supporters in Congress.

 

In Australia, QAnon has started poking its head out of the political shadows in the last few months. Last week, Nationals MP Anne Webster was in court fighting a defamation battle against Karen Brewer, a conspiracy theorist who’d accused her of being part of a paedophile network.

 

As Victoria’s crossbench prepared to vote on extending the state’s emergency laws this week, dozens of MPs were bombarded with abusive messages, many from QAnon supporters, after their phone numbers were shared in anti-lockdown groups.

 

Dan Andrews is public enemy number one for QAnon Australia right now, Ross says. He’s accused, falsely, of being a paedophile. Believers have showed up at his electorate office, and he’s one of many politicians copping a stream of abuse.

 

The future of politics?

 

Australia’s politics has, by and large, always been a little more sober than that of the United States. It’s harder for Q-infused crazies to jump from the fringes into the political mainstream. But QAnon believers don’t need to be in parliament to influence our elections for the worse.

 

A now largely forgotten footnote to Labor’s 2019 electoral choke was the death tax scare, a Facebook misinformation campaign with no basis in the party’s platform. Labor candidates felt the ground beneath them shift, like they were fighting an impossible battle against a viral lie that wouldn’t go away.

 

Since 2016, sensible, normie technocrats like Bill Shorten have struggled to find an answer to the turbo-charged politics of fake. All QAnon followers need to do is clutter newsfeeds with enough white noise, and a tight election could start to shift. If Facebook carries through with its threat to block news content in Australia, that could become even easier.

 

In the US, and to an extent in Australia, right-wing disinformation is destroying the competition in the battle for eyeballs on Facebook. The Trump team knows that those same very fine people, radicalised by Facebook, are central to his re-election chances.

 

It’s not implausible that an Australian candidate could, like Trump, start really tapping into that misinformation, winking at a growing chorus of revved up Q believers.

 

And no matter what happens to Trump in November, those believers will grow. Because Q offers what regular life doesn’t. It’s a really good story. It has heroes and villains. It helps people make sense of a world that is surreal, nonsensical and often increasingly grim. It’s no surprise that The Atlantic’s Adrienne LaFrance, in one of the seminal pieces of writing on QAnon, calls it a new American religion.

 

When adherents fall down the QAnon rabbithole, they’re often so feverishly drawn into that parallel universe they let their offline relationships wither and die. Q gives them all the purpose and hope they need. They’re patriots, citizen journalists, internet sleuths piecing together the fragments of a great, terrible secret, helping to save the world from a terrible evil.

 

Mainstream politics, the media, institutions that are meant to give people hope, meaning, clarity and solace, have failed to do that. Their message is far less compelling. And as long as that continues to be true, QAnon will be here to stay.

 

https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/09/04/qanon-conspiracy-theory-future-of-politics/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 9:13 p.m. No.10533310   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

Pandemic linked to rise of conspiracy theories

 

Riccardo Bosi doesn't trust many people. But he has faith in his belief the government has over-reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic, that masks don't stop the spread of the coronavirus, the 5G mobile network is a surveillance tool of the Chinese government, and vaccines can be ineffective.

 

Much of this is untrue of course. But these conspiracy theories are increasingly common on the social media feeds of many like-minded Australians. Many are aligned to the QAnon movement, which has made its way from the "dark web" and into Facebook and Instagram. It is just one strand in a growing web of disinformation and fake news flourishing during the pandemic.

 

A spokesperson for ASIO said it was aware of extremists seeking to exploit the circumstances and uncertainties of the COVID-19 environment. The spokesperson said some other extreme right-wing groups and individuals willing to engage in acts of violence to achieve political objectives represented "a serious, increasing and evolving threat to security".

 

Mr Bosi says he does not align himself with QAnon even though he shares some of the movement's views. "I align myself with me," he said.

 

The 60-year-old son of Italian migrants, born and raised in Sydney, is a motivational speaker and a former Australian Army lieutenant. He is starting his own political party called AustraliaOne after two tilts at Parliament running as an independent in the Eden-Monaro byelection and a NSW Senate candidate in Senator Cory Bernardi's de-registered party. He says he has thousands of prospective members.

 

"The reason we started the party was because I didn't trust anybody, literally. The only person I trust is me myself, my wife and a small team around me," Mr Bosi said.

 

Australian security experts including Lydia Khalil and Joshua Roose from Deakin University have warned that extreme conspiracy groups including QAnon have promoted false theories that the pandemic was either a deep-state plot, a hoax, or a Chinese bio-weapon. They said the management of disaster and emergency response needs to recognise how the pandemic and the summer bushfires have been exploited to promote social division.

 

Dr Roose said an increasing number of socio-economically marginalised people felt disempowered by politicians and were angry about the way the pandemic was being handled.

 

"The government needs to do more to communicate with people in the suburbs and to make them feel more empowered and valued," Dr Roose said.

 

"There is a lot of anger in the community and there are a lot of quite reasonable people who have lost it and ranting on Facebook about conspiracies. I think it is the impact of having been in some form of lockdown for the best part of six months."

 

Mr Bosi's views include a belief that Australia's response to COVID-19 was "completely overblown" as was the reporting of the number of deaths attributed to the virus. He said masks were "ineffective", "symbolic" and "another way of controlling" citizens. He said people "should not be forced to vaccinate" and some vaccinations carried health risks, including the disputed link to autism.

 

"The entire country should end the COVID lockdown immediately and get back to work before we destroy more lives," he said. "Coronavirus is a more virulent form of a flu. We don't stop the world for a flu outbreak."

 

The federal government has reported more than 26,000 cases of COVID-19 and 737 deaths.

 

Mr Bosi dismissed concerns right wing extremists and supporters of conspiracy theories were exploiting coronavirus fears as a "joke" and believes "agent provocateurs" will be in place at the rallies to provoke fights.

 

"The people aren't being stirred up by the right, the politicians' actions are stirring up the people and they've had enough," he said.

 

Asked about QAnon allegations about a global network of Satan-worshiping paedophiles including a cabal of Democrats and Hollywood celebrities who allegedly control a "deep state" within the US government, Mr Bosi said he had no evidence. But he believes unproven allegations raised by former Senator Bill Heffernan in 2015 about a list of 28 alleged paedophiles including a former prime minister needs to be investigated.

 

Mr Bosi's views about the dangers of some vaccinations and the security risk posed by the 5G network which he believes is a surveillance tool of the Chinese government have earned him the growing support of conspiracy theorists. While he and his wife Rhiannon Bosi, who works as his chief of staff, do not identify as part of the QAnon movement, Mr Bosi says he "likes the idea of Q" as a cute meme.

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/pandemic-linked-to-rise-of-conspiracy-theories-20200904-p55sf6.html

 

>Be careful who you follow.

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 10:22 p.m. No.10533827   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Federal liberal MPs push for investigation into South Australian MP Jing Lee over alleged China links

 

Federal Liberal MPs are demanding an urgent and independent investigation into the pro-Beijing links of one of their own MPs, SA Liberal Jing Lee, citing an exclusive investigation by The Australian into her conduct as a national security concern.

 

Their call is being backed by SA’s persecuted Uighur community which is demanding action over the conduct of the SA Xinjiang Association which they and security experts believe is part of the Chinese Community Party’s international propaganda arm, the United Front Work Department.

 

The Australian revealed last week that Ms Lee is a strong backer of the Xinjiang Association which has appropriated Uighur dress, dance and songs to perform at events in Adelaide in conjunction with the city’s Chinese consulate, and which denies the existence of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang province.

 

Ms Lee also spoke at a Chinese consulate function urging SA to sign on to Beijing’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure program – a position she recanted last week – and has warned her fellow MPs about meeting with the banned spiritual group Falun Gong for fear of offending China.

 

The revelations stunned some of her colleagues and have prompted three federal MPs to write to the party’s SA office urging state director Sascha Meldrum and national Liberal president former SA Premier John Olsen to order an independent inquiry into The Australian’s revelations.

 

In a joint letter to party office, Member for Boothby Nicolle Flint, member for Barker Tony Pasin and Senator Alex Antic said they had “grave concerns about the report in The Australian claiming links between the Hon Jing Lee MLC, the Chinese Communist Party and the United Front Work Department”.

 

“Given the federal government’s strong position on foreign interference, we consider any Liberal member who is reported to have links to the Chinese Communist Party and the United Front Work Department, is operating contrary to fundamentally important Liberal Party policy and Party principles,” the letter states.

 

“Of particular concern is The Australian’s reporting that “Ms Lee has emerged as a major supporter of Beijing within the SA parliament, warning fellow Liberal MPs against meeting with the banned group Falun Gong for fear of offending China and also speaking at a consulate-general function in Adelaide in 2017 promoting China’s Belt and Road Initiative, where she urged SA to do as Victoria has done and sign on to the controversial infrastructure program”.

 

“For these reasons we consider these links must be independently investigated, as a matter of urgency, by the Liberal Party of Australia (SA Division) to ensure the integrity of our Party and our Party organisation, and we call on State Executive to ensure this occurs.”

 

Ms Lee has made no comment on the push for an investigation but last week defended her conduct.

 

“I am a proud Australian citizen focused on building relationships with people from all multicultural communities that are represented in South Australia,” she said.

 

“I have attended hundreds of multicultural functions as a parliamentarian and to suggest that I share the political views of the people who make up all those organisations is absurd.”

 

Some Liberal MPs are rubbishing their letter, saying all three are party conservatives and that the attack on Jing Lee, a moderate who this week was elected Upper House president, is factionally driven.

 

But Adelaide’s Uighur community leaders are cheering the federal MPs on, saying they are worried about the closeness of the SA Government to Beijing and “fed up” with no-one taking their concerns seriously.

 

“The Australian’s report was very important because it outlined the manner in which these United Front organisations operate be it in London, Paris or even Adelaide,” Australian East Turkistan Association Nurmuhammad Majid told The Weekend Australian.

 

“When any dissidents can be found in any city Beijing will try to identify and silence them through these United Front organisations. The Xinjiang Association works hand-in-hand with the Adelaide consulate and it should worry everyone in Australia, not just Uighurs, that we have a member of an Australian parliament who is helping them.”

 

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham and fellow moderate sprang to Ms Lee’s defence.

 

“Jing is one of the hardest-working, community-oriented MPs that I’ve ever known, who has consistently demonstrated her love for our state and country,” Senator Birmingham said.

 

“She in no way deserves to be the target of destructive behaviour.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/federal-liberal-mps-push-for-investigation-into-south-australian-mp-jing-lee-over-alleged-china-links/news-story/7dd7a582eebe4fe4435bbd513e68a4dd

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 4, 2020, 10:59 p.m. No.10534097   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5235 >>4843

Coronavirus Australia live news: Anti-lockdown protesters gather across Australia, arrests made in Melbourne and Sydney

 

Police have made multiple arrests in Melbourne, where around 300 anti-lockdown protesters have marched from the Shrine of Remembrance to Albert Park Lake.

 

Protesters are also gathering in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

 

Live updates

 

More from the protests happening in Perth

 

Kenneth and Charmaine were at the rally in Perth.

 

"We're here just to share our solidarity with our fellow human beings in Victoria, that are locked down at the moment," they said.

 

"They can't go about their own business, what they want to do, and we're concerned about that.

 

"Our economy is going to crash because if we don't start opening up borders and letting people have freedom of choice to do what they want to do, how are we going to exist?

 

"We're going to have homelessness, we're going to have people without jobs because of all of this, so we need to have the freedom to decide what we want with our bodies and our time."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-05/coronavirus-australia-live-news-victoria-nsw-border-permit/12632184

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 2:02 a.m. No.10535023   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Sharon McGowan Tweet

 

Anti-lockdown protesters are now walking down Albert Park towards St Kilda. Cars driving by are beeping in support

@theheraldsun

 

https://twitter.com/Sharon_McGowan_/status/1302068771104763905

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 2:04 a.m. No.10535035   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Wake up Australia Tweet

 

The crowd is kind of shy

Beautiful

Full of hope and joy

Chanted

Free Victoria

With all our Hearts

So proud to be Australian right

Now

Love ya Brisbane!!!

 

https://twitter.com/AustraliaWake/status/1302091905828712449

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 2:06 a.m. No.10535045   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Morgans Tweet

 

Replying to @AustraliaWake

 

Freedom Day Byron Bay wwg1wga

 

https://twitter.com/Morgans42267945/status/1302095328787664896

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 2:09 a.m. No.10535053   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

JayTeePee Tweet

 

Almost 10,000 West Australians stood together at Parliament House for FREEDOM DAY to stand against McGowan and fight for our borders, our constitution and for West Aussie businesses suffering and many still stranded in distress overseas.

@oliverpeterson @G_Parker @GemmaTognini

 

https://twitter.com/jay_tee_pee/status/1302130739673051136

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 2:13 a.m. No.10535070   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5082 >>4843

WeareMaximus Tweets

 

Brisbane

 

https://twitter.com/meridius1776/status/1302080386210516992

 

 

Chant of the day… Free Victoria

 

https://twitter.com/meridius1776/status/1302091892251791361

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 2:46 a.m. No.10535235   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5335 >>4843

>>10534097

No arrests as hundreds protest in Brisbane

 

A number of protesters are at Brisbane's botanical gardens for Saturday afternoon's Freedom Day Protest.

 

A police spokesman said no arrests had been made and that hundreds of people are at the site.

 

Authorities are monitoring the scene.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-05/coronavirus-australia-live-news-victoria-nsw-border-permit/12632184

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 3:18 a.m. No.10535408   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

Marc-André Argentino Tweets

 

1/ Tonight I want to share some of the research I have been doing on what I am calling "Pastel QAnon". I have been spending some time researching Women QAnon believers on Instagram. Many are lifestyle influencers, mommy pages, fitness pages, diet pages, and alternative healing

 

https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1300974361491406849

 

 

8kun QAnon worries me less than Pastel QAnon.

 

https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1302046631047630848

 

 

Elise Thomas Tweets

 

I think they're different kinds of risk, because of the different demographics. Chan boards are full of people who are bad at long-term planning or large-scale cooperation, but are risks for lone-wolf extremist actions. Facebook yoga and scented candle groups are full of people..

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1302110018624315393

 

 

… who are probably not extremist violence risks but are great at organising and promoting and cooperating. For extremist violence, 8kun is more of a worry; for social movements, holistic light-worker crystal healing QAnon is more of a concern.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1302110023032561664

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 3:54 a.m. No.10535606   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5284 >>4843

Tommyblues Tweet

 

Replying to @1Naasty

 

Small one in Cairns but good to see numbers none the less

 

https://twitter.com/tommytropic/status/1302158803400421378

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 4:24 a.m. No.10535729   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

6% Jo Tweet

 

Replying to @WorldInAGirl1 @OccupyMyGov and 2 others

 

It was excellent. Brisbane protested with them.

 

https://twitter.com/Jo_bt_Light/status/1302175310117392384

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 4:42 a.m. No.10535808   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

N.Marsters Tweet

 

Oh Yes, we here in Brisbane, Australia.

 

#freevictoria #FreedomDay

 

https://twitter.com/realYodHeVaHe/status/1302129754292719616

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 8:22 p.m. No.10542765   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

'Julian will be put on a show trial - then they'll bury him': Mother of Assange's two children tearfully warns of the WikiLeaks founder's fate as the US begins its Old Bailey extradition bid

 

The gaunt, other-worldly figure of Julian Assange will loom from behind a perspex screen at the start of a four-week Old Bailey hearing tomorrow that is likely to determine his fate.

 

Two courtrooms have been set aside for the proceedings. Much about the Assange case is oversized, not least the cost – put at tens of millions of pounds – and the sentence he faces of 175 years, should a district judge grant his extradition to the United States. Outside the court, supporters are expected to gather to deliver impassioned speeches, raise their fists in solidarity and cry: ‘Free Assange.’

 

One woman, Stella Morris, has been the most vocal supporter of the WikiLeaks founder, who faces 18 charges in America. These include conspiring to hack government computers and violating espionage law after he published a series of leaks in 2010 from former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning that Washington claims endangered the lives of US agents.

 

The Mail on Sunday revealed in April that Ms Morris, 37, is the mother of two children fathered by Assange while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. She believes he will face a show trial in the US if he is extradited.

 

‘It is heartbreaking to think that if Julian is extradited and put in a US supermax prison, the boys will never get to know their father and he will never see them grow up,’ she said. ‘It’s not Julian in the prison. It’s the kids that are being deprived of their father. It’s me that’s being deprived.’

 

Even those with a passing knowledge of the Assange case have a view. Many consider the 49-year-old to be a hero who exposed state wrongdoing, but others see a creepy megalomaniac who betrayed secrets, put lives at risk, outstayed his embassy welcome and deserves everything he gets.

 

They will perhaps have little sympathy for Ms Morris, but she asks them to consider ‘bigger issues’, saying: ‘Julian’s case has huge repercussions for freedom of expression and freedom of the press. This is an attack on journalism … If he is extradited to the US for publishing inconvenient truths about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, then it will set a precedent and any British journalist or publisher could also be extradited in the future.’ Assange’s lawyers believe that by charging him under the century-old Espionage Act, the Trump administration has set a dangerous precedent.

 

The law bans the publication of government secrets and offers no protections to the press under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech.

 

In other words, says his defence team, US criminal laws apply abroad but its constitutional protections do not – meaning journalists anywhere in the world risk US prosecution if they publish something the US government considers to be in violation of its laws.

 

The Obama administration debated using the Espionage Act against Assange but ultimately decided against it.

 

President Trump, however, has long fought a war against the press – which he considers the ‘enemy of the people’ – and has no such qualms. His Justice Department believes the hacked material was published without regard for the safety of people named in the documents and so Assange does not fit the definition of a journalist.

 

Ms Morris said: ‘There have been so many abuses of the legal process throughout the case, including spurious new charges being introduced at the last minute, even though the hearing began in February, and it should be thrown out for that reason alone.

 

‘But there are also fundamental legal reasons why the extradition should be blocked. This is a political act by the Trump government and Julian is accused of a political offence, which is outside the terms of the UK-US extradition treaty.

 

‘Anyone who cares about freedom of expression and freedom of the press should support Julian’s fight against extradition.’

 

Others believe the case brings into sharp relief the problems of our relationship with the US. The extradition treaty says the Home Secretary ‘must’ process the request but US prosecutors have no requirement to prove their case beyond stating ‘reasonable suspicion’.

 

Last night, Assange’s father, John Shipton, said: ‘The UK judiciary’s authority has been usurped by the US Justice Department.’

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8701507/Mother-Julian-Assanges-two-children-warns-WikiLeaks-founders-fate.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 8:30 p.m. No.10542825   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Chanting for 'freedom' and shouting of Fascism, a city's fringe erupts in anger

 

It was a mix of Melbourne's conspiracist fringe: several hundred of them, many waving placards or Australian flags, chanting for "freedom" and shouting about Fascism.

 

The young and old and even elderly, one of whom held court with an impassioned speech about a "COVID-19 scam", came out to demand an end to the city's stage four lockdown.

 

Both sexes were represented, but Saturday's protest – beginning at the Shrine of Remembrance in a symbolic appropriation of the diggers – was driven by angry young and middle-aged men.

 

They were "the people", or so they shouted, although just a fraction of the tens of thousands the quasi-organisers had hoped to summon.

 

They hurled abuse at police and accused them of doing the evil bidding of "dictator Dan". One young man landed blows on an officer trying to arrest another demonstrator. He was marched away, clothes in tatters. There were few masks, and most were tucked underneath chins.

 

Some declared we had to "save the children", the battle cry of conspiracy group QAnon, which holds that the rich and powerful, in cahoots with mainstream media and police, are running a global paedophile ring of industrial scale.

 

Before it was a roiling mass of anger, it was a trickle. And from the outset of the protests, about 10.30am, the orders from Victoria's top brass were clear: zero tolerance.

 

The first man to argue too long about not wearing his mask was handcuffed and led away.

 

Within minutes it was 10, then dozens. Official statistics from police stated there were 160 fines issues and 17 arrests. The Sunday Age saw at least 30 people apprehended or tackled to the ground in two hours of protest.

 

One woman at the Shrine yelled at a pile of uniforms struggling with something moving underneath: "That's my son!"

 

Another, on the cusp of arrest, shouted into her phone: "I'm in fear of my life. I am surrounded by police."

 

By 11.30am, at least 100 police were facing off with hundreds of protesters. They who were driven from the main square of the Shrine as officers shouted in deep unison, "move".

 

A small group, including a tiny dog yapping at officers' ankles and horses' hooves, attempted to link arms and hold their ground. The mounted unit bulldozed them away.

 

Someone suggested they march to Albert Park Lake and the call moved through the crowd. Police let them move unaccompanied along the path as they blared a freedom-themed playlist (John Farnham's Reasons, Pink Floyds Another Brick in the Wall) and chanted "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!"

 

They turned left toward the city, only to be met by a wall of police on St Kilda Road. The group marched back to the lake. One man stripped to his underwear and jumped into the water.

 

Police had seen enough. A convoy of at least 30 vehicles including heavily armoured members of the riot squad followed the demonstrators to a grassy area beside the lake.

 

Some became surrounded. Most fled through the heavy traffic of Lakeside Drive. Police, now in the hundreds, exploded from the park by the lake in waves, forcing protesters back in all directions until they were dispersed shortly after 1pm.

 

By mid afternoon, Melbourne's streets were quiet again.

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/chanting-for-freedom-and-shouting-of-fascism-a-city-s-fringe-erupts-in-anger-20200905-p55sq1.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 8:48 p.m. No.10542962   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweet

 

Can’t wait for it to be revealed that the meeting with the Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer, was recorded and a set up. Will make the Halper meetings look like small potatoes.

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1302273125351149574

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 5, 2020, 10:12 p.m. No.10543689   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet

 

#Marines and #YourADF are able to work together in any environment, day or night. #freeandopenindopacific #USwithAUS

 

https://twitter.com/MrfDarwin/status/1302154502242361344

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 6, 2020, 11:20 p.m. No.10553714   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3730 >>5018

Australia's conspiracy theorists are increasingly energised, but police crackdowns may be counterproductive

 

QAnon is dangerous but some action taken to stem its influence may further embolden its followers

 

Elliott Brennan - 7 Sep 2020

 

1/2

 

Saturday, 5 September was supposed to be the day Australian history was irreconcilably changed. It was to be “Freedom Day”, the day when “real” Aussies took back control of the streets, their airways and their collective destiny.

 

Rather than changing it, the protests amounted to what might constitute a footnote in an awfully specific history of Australia. Disparate groups gathered in separate events around the country. Dozens of protesters were arrested, dozens more were fined with breaching Covid-19 restrictions, one protester jumped into Melbourne’s Albert Park Lake and all of it was livestreamed.

 

Despite the fizzle, Saturday’s “Freedom Day” remains concerning evidence of a growing and increasingly energised community of conspiracy theorists in Australia. A discernible presence among the protests and littered throughout the social media of their organisers is evidence of a malleable conspiracy theory called QAnon.

 

QAnon is not one coherent conspiracy theory, but thousands developing semi-independently in different online fora that all bend and twist truth around that central figure, “Q”.

 

QAnon’s inception dates back to October 2017 when a self-alleged American intelligence insider codenamed “Q” began posting “drops” of information in online forums. These drops cryptically outlined an alleged deep state, a pseudo-religious geopolitical reckoning, a cabal of cannibal paedophiles run by Washington, Hollywood and Silicon Valley’s elite. According to QAnon canon, it is the direct intent of Donald Trump to blow this cabal apart.

 

It’s easy to scoff at these claims as outlandish and distinctly American. Despite the US origin of the theory, with children at the centre, it has always been global in scope. And followers don’t take up the whole conspiracy theory instantly. In fact, they may not even know about Q for some time.

 

Increasingly, QAnon is becoming a prevalent feature among parenting blogs and the content of wellness influencers. For their followers, these influencers offer a soft entry to conspiracy theories that can mark the start of a dangerous journey down the internet’s “rabbit hole”.

 

The broad nature of QAnon has allowed it to subsume other prominent conspiracy theory movements like the anti-vax and anti-5G movements, drawing red strings between them and all then back to elites and child sex trafficking. If the current global conspiracy theory landscape were like a bath, QAnon would be the drain around which the entire body of water is spiralling.

 

The thing is, child sex trafficking is real. But these conspiracy theories take abject realities as foundations and build superstructures of falsehood around them, often for profit.

 

And there is a litany of buyers. Globally, internet use has soared in companion with historic levels of isolation, a devastating combination for online radicalisation.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 6, 2020, 11:22 p.m. No.10553730   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

>>10553714

 

2/2

 

A sense of helplessness in the face of external forces may continue to rise in Australia. Victoria faces at least two more weeks of stage 4 lockdowns, Western Australia is cut off from the east, Australians are cut off from overseas family, and the first recession in almost three decades is starting to perforate declining jobseeker and jobkeeper payments.

 

QAnon and associated and linked conspiracy theories offer internet users entry to a global community of “doers”, taking “real action” at a deeply uncertain time.

 

Viral livestreams of troubling arrests for incitement, and the mass action of social media sites to shut down associated forums provide “confirmation” that the community are locked in a David versus Goliath struggle against global forces.

 

This is a wicked problem. QAnon is dangerous. Globally, it already has a body count and rap sheet and it could turn a significant portion of Australians against any potential Covid-19 vaccine. So, action must be taken.

 

But when that action can embolden followers it needs to be measured against the social cost of QAnon: the degree to which it encourages individuals to trust no one outside the tent, how it prepares them to be challenged by the people they love for what they have been coaxed into believing and how it rewards those who face off such conjecture. This all-encompassing mindset can devastate families and relationships.

 

These are intractable problems. But there are some steps that can be taken.

 

Since the dawn of home internet, e-safety campaigns have stressed the importance of educating children, essentially digitising the 1960s message about “stranger danger”. Then as now, however, danger often comes from trusted sources – in this case influencers – and QAnon has broad appeal encompassing older generations less well-versed in detecting false and misleading information. As tech giants have profited immensely from mass-internet and even from hosting and promoting conspiracy theories, they have a role to play in education. They need to take further steps to outline disinformation where it occurs, to take down dangerous forums, and importantly, outline clearly why they did.

 

Despite the sound legal basis in a pandemic context, cracking down on protest organisers for incitement is counterintuitive and at odds with the popular conception of the right to protest in Australia. Continuing to raid and arrest high-profile organisers will convince their followers of the urgency of their beliefs.

 

Finally, as Australia’s largely successful lockdown approach affirms, prevention is the best cure. Institutions need to earn trust with transparency and Australia needs to take seriously the way it approaches the public mental health implications of this turbulent year. To treat the emergence of these conspiracy theories as comical, absurd, uniquely American, and transient forces would be a dangerous lapse in judgement at a critical phase in their development.

 

Elliott Brennan is a research associate at the United States Studies Centre and the author of Coronavirus and protest: How Covid-19 has changed the face of American activism

 

https://www.ussc.edu.au/analysis/coronavirus-protest-how-covid-19-has-changed-the-face-of-american-activism

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2020/sep/07/australias-conspiracy-theorists-are-increasingly-energised-but-police-crackdowns-may-be-counterproductive

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 6, 2020, 11:30 p.m. No.10553790   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Protesters Clash with Police While Rallying Against Australia’s COVID Restrictions

 

Many were there to challenge Victoria's lockdown restrictions, which are currently some of the strictest in the world.

 

''By Gavin Butler - 07 September 2020"

 

Hundreds of Australian protesters took to the streets over the weekend in defiance of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and mandatory mask laws.

 

The protests, organised by a varied coalition of fringe online groups, saw at least 200 demonstrators breaching Melbourne’s stage-four lockdowns to rally in the city’s CBD on Saturday, despite warnings from health experts. A handful of smaller rallies also took place in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Byron Bay.

 

Victoria Police officers arrested 17 people at the Melbourne rallies and issued more than 160 infringement notices for breaches of the Chief Health Officer's stay-at-home directions.

 

The state is currently facing some of the strictest lockdown measures in the world, including restrictions on movement, nightly curfews and legal requirements for citizens to wear a face mask any time they leave their place of residence.

 

Hundreds of people attended the Melbourne protests on Saturday—many of them without masks—to express their opposition to these restrictions, accusing the Victorian Government of contravening individual freedoms and impinging on civil rights in the exercise of their state of emergency powers.

 

Protesters chanted "freedom" and "human rights matter" in the face of a large contingent of riot police and mounted officers, while a number of demonstrators also seized the opportunity to rally against 5G, vaccinations, and “child trafficking and pedophilia”. Some brandished QAnon signs.

 

The protests turned violent at multiple points as police clashed with protesters in intermittent melees. One man was arrested for punching a police officer—authorities placing him in handcuffs and fitting him with a mask—while more than a dozen others were taken into custody throughout the course of the day.

 

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that the rallies finally dispersed, after more than 160 people were hit with fines.

 

“Despite all the warnings, it was disappointing to see individuals turn out to protest in the city today, putting the lives of Victorians at risk,” Victoria Police said in a statement. "As a result of the protest, a police officer received lacerations to the head after being assaulted by an individual who was in attendance.

 

“Our investigations into this protest will continue, and we expect to issue further fines once the identity of individuals has been confirmed."

 

Three people were also arrested in Sydney, at one of several protests around Australia that were held in solidarity with those in Victoria.

 

The Victorian Government extended the state’s stage four restrictions—which were initially due to last six weeks and end on September 13th—by an extra fortnight on Sunday, announcing a “slow and steady” roadmap out of lockdown. As per that plan, curfews, strict limits on social interactions and restrictions on movement will remain in place in Melbourne until at least October—subject to a sustained drop in daily cases.

 

Many have criticised the measures as being gratuitous, heavy-handed and frustratingly slow, with a number of experts demanding more clarity on the data that informed the government’s decision.

 

Catherine Bennett, chair in epidemiology at Deakin University, told the ABC there was a risk people would disengage with the restrictions if they were stuck in stage four longer, especially if the Government could not give data-driven explanations for enforcing such stringent measures.

 

“Our data showed us that we started not only flattening the curve but started to push it down with stage three [restrictions] plus masks before we even saw the effects of stage four," she said. “I think we only had to go through stage four this time because people weren't fully engaged with stage three … [and] it worries me that stage four will start to look like stage three again in terms of the effectiveness of it.”

 

https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/akz9nk/protesters-clash-with-police-while-rallying-against-australias-covid-restrictions

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 6, 2020, 11:47 p.m. No.10553877   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

ACCC stand against Facebook and Google backed by international media

 

International groups representing publications across the US and the UK have thrown their support behind Australia‘s “big tech” bargaining code, calling on the federal government to hold firm and declaring that if successful, a similar mechanism should be implemented in their jurisdictions.

 

The overseas push comes after Facebook last week threatened to stop Australians sharing news articles on its platform if the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s draft bargaining code becomes law.

 

The world-first news code would allow media companies to negotiate with Google and Facebook over payment for news content on its platforms.

 

The boss of international trade association Digital Content Next, which represents publishers including NPR, CBS Interactive, Condé Nast, The New York Times, The Guardian and News Corp, told The Australian that Facebook and Google had attempted to paint Australia as an “outlier” on tech regulation.

 

“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” DCN chief executive Jason Kint said.

 

“What is happening in Australia after a robust multi-year investigation of the digital advertising market is a sign of things to come, as the rest of the world across oceans and political ideologies attempt to unlock competition and innovation again to breathe oxygen into dependent businesses and information markets whether small or large.

 

“The free ride for platforms is ending, with many countries recognising that independent journalism and original content is valuable to society.”

 

News Media Alliance chairman and chief executive David Chavern said that for a company with a huge misinformation problem, it was deeply misguided for Facebook to threaten to cut off access to quality journalism. The News Media Alliance represents about 2000 newspapers in the US.

 

“They appear comfortable with the idea that in Australia they can limit themselves to rumours, hate speech and crazy conspiracy theories,” he said.

 

“It really tells you everything you need to know about what they want to deliver to their users.

 

“It is also a very clear example of an attempted exercise of massive market power. They absolutely don‘t care about the views of the government, the news publishers, the public or anyone else.

 

“If they wanted to be a responsible player in Australia, they would come to grips with the fact that real reporting is expensive, and more value needs to be returned to the people who produce it. They could actually be a source for quality news and information instead of a destructive font of misinformation.”

 

Deputy chief executive of the UK-based News Media Association, Lynne Anderson, said: “Facebook’s threat to restrict the Australian public’s access to trusted and verifiable information during a worldwide pandemic shows exactly why robust intervention to curb the power of the tech giants is urgently needed.

 

“If Facebook removed trusted news from its platforms, misinformation and bad actors would flourish, and the harm to consumers would increase exponentially.

 

“We support the Australian authorities’ efforts to protect the public and news media sector from the tech giants’ harmful business practices and urge the UK government to follow their lead.”

 

Facebook has unveiled plans to pay publishers for their content in six countries including the US and the UK but Australia is a notable exception.

 

The company said it was in the “very early stages” of negotiating with publishers in the UK, Germany, France, India and Brazil for its Facebook News product, which has already been released in the US.

 

“We aim to launch Facebook News in multiple countries within the next six months to a year and are considering the UK, Germany, France, India and Brazil,” the company’s vice-president of global news Campbell Brown said.

 

“In each country, we’ll pay news publishers to ensure their content is available in the new product.

 

“Consumer habits and news inventory vary by country, so we’ll work closely with news partners in each country to tailor the experience and test ways to deliver a valuable experience for people while also honouring publishers’ business models.”

 

A Facebook spokeswoman told The Australian: “Facebook has long been investing into the Australian news industry. We launched the Facebook Journalism Project in 2017 and, to date, we have invested millions in Australia through video revenue opportunities, million-dollar content deals, reader revenue programs and relief grants. This is in addition to our publisher products, including subscription tools, that we’ve developed to help publishers reach new audiences and monetise their content.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/accc-stand-against-facebook-and-google-backed-by-international-media/news-story/02e5dc5bce8798abf51e4733635631e9

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 7, 2020, 1:33 a.m. No.10554450   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet

 

I’ve arrived in the Northern Territory ahead of a busy week looking at @DeptDefence ops in our strategically important north. Looking forward to meeting personnel from #YourADF and @USMC with US Ambassador to Australia, Arthur Culvahouse Jr.

 

https://twitter.com/lindareynoldswa/status/1302729697747300353

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 7, 2020, 11:27 p.m. No.10563323   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3337 >>4893 >>4945 >>4939

Parents warned about shocking suicide video on TikTok that may be hidden in other content

 

Parents have been warned to keep children away from the popular platform after a shocking video was uploaded and may be hidden in innocent looking content.

 

1/2

 

Parents have been warned to keep their children off TikTok today after a shocking video purporting to show a man taking his own life was uploaded.

 

Cybersecurity expert and child safety advocate Susan McLean posted a warning on Facebook about the horrifying video, advising parents the clip can also be hidden in innocent looking content such as cat videos.

 

“Please ensure you do not allow your older teens on the app today if they have it,” Mrs McLean wrote on Facebook.

 

“It is apparently now on Instagram but they are at least removing accounts posting it.

 

“Check in with your kids today, they most likely will know about it.

 

The man is reportedly Mississippi man Ronnie McNutt, whose church confirmed his death on its own Facebook page, describing him as “very caring, committed, loyal, dependable, and eccentric”.

 

“He served his church faithfully and was loved by many,” the Celebration Church Tupelo added.

 

It appears the video was first streamed live on Facebook on August 31, but now recordings have surfaced on Instagram and TikTok, and the platforms are struggling to keep it off.

 

“Our systems have been automatically detecting and flagging these clips for violating our policies against content that displays, praises, glorifies, or promotes suicide,” a statement from TikTok said.

 

“We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who’ve reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family.”

 

TikTok’s statement added that it provides access to support hotlines from inside the app.

 

A Facebook spokesperson told news.com.au the company "removed the original video from Facebook last month on the day it was streamed and have used automation technology to remove copies and uploads since that time," adding its "thoughts remain with Ronnie's family and friends during this difficult time."

 

This is not the first time Facebook's live streaming platform has been used in horrific ways that violate its policies, including by people broadcasting themselves ending their own lives, but the company didn't answer when asked whether Facebook has considered updating those policies in light of this.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 7, 2020, 11:28 p.m. No.10563337   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

>>10563323

 

2/2

 

Mrs McLean was in the middle of talking to a 200-plus strong cohort of year five and six students when contacted about the video.

 

“A large number of them were really upset when I said they’re legally not allowed to be on TikTok because they’re not 13,” Mrs McLean told news.com.au when she called back.

 

She reported some of the children claimed their “mum said it was fine”.

 

“If you don’t have parents who are actively parenting their children you’re going to have these issues,” Mrs McLean said.

 

She added the internet is really an adult world and children need to be introduced to it gradually with rules and restrictions, the same way they are to the real world.

 

“We have to understand that these sorts of things are going to happen, we need to do more to make sure people don’t misbehave online, and we need platforms to do more.”

 

“They’ve made massive improvements in seeing stuff before it happens but the point of live [streaming] is you’re doing it live, so you don’t get forewarning of what it is.”

 

Mrs McLean said the biggest problem were the “really abhorrent people” who record and share such horrific content.

 

“They’re 99 per cent of the problem … if everyone was respectful and didn’t misuse technology we wouldn’t be having this conversation”.

 

Stephen Beckett from Child advocacy group Act for Kids encouraged parents to talk to their kids to find out if they’ve seen the footage, and limit their social media use until the platforms have enough time to get on top of the problem.

 

“It’s vital parents take the necessary steps to protect their kids online,” Mr Beckett said.

 

“Secure household devices by setting passcodes and restrictions on all devices, supervise children online and monitor the material they are accessing, and sit down and have an open conversation with your child about the material they may see online.”

 

Unfortunately the warning has come too late for many.

 

"Too late, my 13-year-old saw it last night and is still traumatised!" One woman wrote on news.com.au's Facebook page.

 

"My 14-year-old already watched this," said another mother. "If you are in a bad place you don’t have to wreck others. How traumatising."

 

Other commenters reiterated Mrs McLean's advice for parents to keenly monitor their children's social media use and engage with them on the dangers of the internet.

 

The video shows a bearded man wearing glasses sitting at a desk before the disturbing footage.

 

While it has appeared on other social media platforms, TikTok’s For You algorithm that recommends videos to users means more people are seeing it on TikTok than on somewhere like Instagram, where content in your feed is primarily from people you follow (or was until a recent change that surfaces video from other users when you scroll to the end of your feed).

 

Warnings have been flowing for children and adults alike, with many taking to Twitter to warn others about the videos.

 

Some have recommended just staying off social media for a bit as the disturbing video is frequently hiding inside ostensibly harmless content.

 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/parents-warned-about-shocking-suicide-video-on-tiktok-that-may-be-hidden-in-other-content/news-story/c135157c5a009fdcaaa7f9d54b146f7a

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 12:40 a.m. No.10563657   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3697 >>5070

Julian Assange's new friend Bob Carr fights his US extradition

 

Former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr says the federal government will set a precedent that could allow any Australian living abroad to be delivered into the clutches of third countries if it allows the United States to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

 

Mr Carr, who as foreign minister said it "wouldn't be a matter of concern to Australia" to make a case on Mr Assange's behalf, made his comments as Amnesty International Australia handed a petition of 400,000 signatures to the US consulate asking for the charges against Mr Assange to be dropped.

 

A British court is being asked to consider whether Mr Assange, 49, should be extradited to the US to face trial over 18 espionage and computer misuse charges related to WikiLeaks' publication of secret US military and diplomatic documents in 2010.

 

Mr Carr said the extradition of Mr Assange would mean the prospect of a 175-year jail term – effectively a death sentence – and the Australian government should ask for the proceedings to be dropped.

 

"Anyone can see he's not a spy, he hasn't been committing espionage," Mr Carr said.

 

"If I was foreign minister I would be unabashed about saying to Mike Pompeo, 'Julian Assange is an Australian citizen and we're a good ally, we think you should quietly drop these extradition proceedings'.

 

"If America can get away with this — that is digging up an Australian in London and putting him on trial for breaching their laws — why can't another government do the same thing? For example, an Australian campaigning for human rights in Myanmar, that Australian in theory could be sought by the government of Myanmar and brought back to Myanmar from London and put on trial there for breach of their national security laws."

 

He also said Australia needed to examine whether it wished to continue bilateral ties with China following the expulsion from that country of two Australian journalists.

 

US President Donald Trump became one of Mr Assange's biggest cheerleaders after WikiLeaks published emails stolen from the Democrats in 2016 and allegedly offered Mr Assange a presidential pardon if he agreed to say that Russia was not involved in leaking the emails.

 

But last year his administration expanded the indictment brought by the Obama administration to include crimes under the Espionage Act. The current indictment against Mr Assange is unrelated to the Russian email hack, but has to do with his role in publishing military cables obtained by former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

 

These included evidence of US military helicopters firing on civilians during the Iraq war, information about Guantanamo Bay detainees held without trial and civilian casualty figures. It also included the names of people who had provided information to the US government.

 

The Obama administration reportedly considered espionage charges but abandoned the notion due to the implications it might have for the right to free speech, which is protected under the First Amendment of the US constitution.

 

In 2013, Mr Carr was asked in budget estimates whether Australia had expressed a diplomatic view that Mr Assange was entitled to protection under the First Amendment. He replied: "It would not be a matter of concern to Australia to make a case for him, no. Why would we do that?"

 

But he said on Tuesday these comments were made at a time that the extradition of Mr Assange was not under active consideration.

 

Chamira Gamage from Amnesty International Australia said the petition was among Amnesty's biggest petitions of all time.

 

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has been approached for comment.

 

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/julian-assange-s-new-friend-bob-carr-fights-his-us-extradition-20200908-p55tiv.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 12:51 a.m. No.10563697   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3701 >>5174 >>5070

>>10563657

Julian Assange ‘a suicide risk’, says defence

 

1/2

 

Julian Assange’s legal team has told the Old Bailey that the United States extradition request should be denied because of Assange’s “mental conditions and the high risk of suicide’’ and that President Donald Trump had decided to make an example of him.

 

The court has heard that the proceedings are an abuse of process because the extradition is a “classic political offence’’ which is prohibited by the Anglo-US extradition treaty.

 

Assange’s lawyers have also argued extradition would expose him to a denial of a right to a fair trial, is a flagrant denial of his rights to freedom of expression and would expose him to inhumane and degrading treatment in a US prison.

 

But the US counsel says Mr Trump is not responsible for the extradition request as “extradition relations are with a state, not its president” and not related to the upcoming election. The US lawyers also told the court that Assange’s health problems are not relevant to the extradition request because “neither mental health problems, nor Asperger syndrome prevented Assange’s solicitation of, and orchestration of, the leaking of materials from the highest levels of government and state agencies”.

 

In a fresh document presented to the court on Monday, Assange’s lawyers said: “He (Assange) was an obvious symbol of all that Trump condemned, having brought American war crimes to the attention of the world. They targeted him because of his exposure of American war crimes and because of the threat that his revelations and continuing work posed to their geo-political agenda.’’

 

The first witness for Assange, media professor Mark Feldstein, submitted in written evidence that President Trump’s ‘‘use of government power to punish his media critics’’ is further identified as a “deliberate attempt to ‘stifle the exercise of the constitutional protections of free speech and the free press’’’.

 

Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused a request by Assange’s legal team to excise new parts of the extraction request that were included in a superseding indictment issued six weeks ago. She also refused an adjournment application that would have delayed the case into the new year.

 

Assange lawyers claim the Americans are linking Assange with another famed US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

 

“Insofar as it adds significant materials, these are designed to depict Julian Assange as a continuing threat to the US and to link him to Edward Snowden,’’ the court was told.

 

Snowden, a former CIA employee, leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 and fled to Hong Kong before seeking asylum in Russia.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 12:52 a.m. No.10563701   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

>>10563697

 

2/2

 

While Assange is accused of conspiring with Manning, the former military intelligence analyst, to unlawfully obtain highly classified material and then disclose unredacted names of sources in publishing the material, he is accused of assisting Snowden to try and evade arrest in Hong Kong in June 2013.

 

The superseding indictment also accuses Assange of recruiting hackers at conferences in Europe and Asia, and of conspiring with members of hacking groups known as LulzSec and Anonymous and of intruding into a bank computer in Iceland.

 

“Assisting a whistleblower in Hong Kong; attempting to evade arrest. How that is said to be criminal activity is anybody’s guess,” Mark Summers, QC, for Assange, said.

 

Mr Summers said the new indictment, coming 18 months after legal proceedings had started and without any warning had brought about a “period of confusion’’ and it had since become clear that the charges weren’t just the same.

 

He said the Americans were trying to introduce dual criminality –whereby the charges would be an offence in both the UK and the US, thus bolstering the extradition request.

 

“It is no exaggeration to say this is a resounding and important new development,’’ Mr Summers said.

 

Meanwhile the judge has banned members of the public and other parties such as Amnesty International and other human rights organisations from watching the Old Bailey proceedings by a remote cloud server, despite them being sent a link to take part.

 

Judge Baraitser has also ruled that the witnesses called by Mr Assange are restricted to summarising their written evidence, to 30 minutes each.

 

The extradition trial, delayed because of coronavirus, is expected to last until October.

 

Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the court that this was the first time he was able to see and speak to his client since the case was adjourned in late February. The judge allowed him an hour to confer privately with Assange.

 

Assange wore a suit and tie and clutched a wad of documents in the dock. He replied to a question if he consented to being extradited to the United States, with a firm “no’’.

 

The US Department of Justice has indicted Assange on 17 counts under the US Espionage Act and another of helping Manning access information under an anonymous name, which could result in 175 years in prison.

 

The trial continues.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/julian-assange-to-argue-against-us-rights/news-story/2583d4d3cb115efe2d83a548431fa04d

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 1:06 a.m. No.10563752   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3761 >>4939

Scott Morrison is yearning for a Donald Trump victory

 

The PM will be praying for a Republican win in the US to back up his inaction on climate and the Paris Agreement.

 

OPINION: Kevin Rudd, Former Australian prime minister - September 8, 2020

 

1/2

 

A year out from Barack Obama's election in 2008, John Howard made a stunning admission that he thought Americans should be praying for a Republican victory. Ideologically this was unremarkable. But the fact Howard said so publicly was because he knew just how uncomfortable an Obama victory would be for him given his refusal to withdraw our troops from Iraq.

 

Fast forward more than a decade, and Scott Morrison – even in the era of Donald Trump – will also be yearning desperately for a Republican victory come November. But this time it is the conservative recalcitrance on a very different issue that risks Australia being isolated on the world stage: climate change.

 

And as the next summer approaches, Australians will be reminded afresh of how climate change, and its impact on our country and economy, has not gone away.

 

Former vice-president Joe Biden has put at the centre of his campaign a historic plan to fight climate change both at home and abroad. On his first day in office, he has promised to return the US to the Paris Agreement. And he recently unveiled an unprecedented $2 trillion green investment plan, including the complete decarbonisation of the domestic electricity system by 2035.

 

By contrast, Morrison remains hell-bent on Australia doing its best to disrupt global momentum to tackle the climate crisis and burying our head in the sand when it comes to embracing the new economic opportunities that come with effective climate change action.

 

As a result, if Biden is elected this November, we will be on track for a collision course with our American ally in a number of areas.

 

First, Morrison remains recklessly determined on being able to carry over so-called "credits" from the overachievement of our 2020 Kyoto target to help it meet its already lacklustre 2030 target under the new Paris regime.

 

No other government in the world is digging their heels in like this. None. It is nothing more than an accounting trick to allow Australia to do less. Perhaps the greatest irony is that this "overachievement" was also in large part because of the mitigation actions of our government.

 

That aside, these carbon credits also do nothing for the atmosphere. At worst, using them beyond 2020 could be considered illegal and only opens the back door for other countries to also do less by following Morrison's lead.

 

This will come to a head at the next UN climate talks in Glasgow next year. While Australia has thus far been able to dig in against objections by most of the rest of the world, a Biden victory would only strengthen the hand of the UK hosts to simply ride over the top of any further Australian intransigence. Morrison would be foolhardy to believe that Boris Johnson's government will burn its political capital at home and abroad to defend the indefensible Australian position.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 1:07 a.m. No.10563761   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

>>10563752

 

2/2

 

Second, unlike 114 countries around the world, Morrison remains hell-bent on ignoring the central promise of Paris: that all governments increase their 2030 targets by the time they get to Glasgow. That's because even if all those commitments were fully implemented, it would only give the planet one-third of what is necessary to keep average temperature increases within 1.5 degrees by 2100, as the Paris Agreement requires. This is why governments agreed to increase their ambition every five years as technologies improved, costs lowered and political momentum built.

 

In 2014, the Liberal government explained our existing Paris target on the basis that it was the same as what the Americans were doing. In reality, the Obama administration planned to achieve the same cut of 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 emissions by 2025 – not 2030 as we pledged and sought to disguise.

 

So based on the logic that what America does is this government's benchmark for its global climate change commitments, if the US is prepared to increase it's Paris target (as it will under Biden), so too should we. Biden himself has not just committed the US to the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, but has undertaken to embed it in legislation as countries such as Britain and New Zealand have done, and rally others to do the same.

 

Unsurprisingly, despite the decisions of 121 countries around the world, Morrison also refuses to even identify a timeline for achieving the Paris Agreement's long-term goal to reach net zero emissions. As the science tells us, this needs to be by 2050 to have any shot of protecting the world's most vulnerable populations – including in the Pacific – and saving Australia from a rolling apocalypse of weather-related disasters that will wreak havoc on our economy.

 

For our part, the government insists that it won't "set a target without a plan". But governments exist to do the hard work. And politically, it goes against the myriad of support domestically for a net zero by 2050 goal, including from the peak business, industry and union groups, the top bodies for energy and agriculture (two sectors that together account for almost half of our emissions), as well as our national airline, two largest mining companies, every state and territory government, and even a majority of conservative voters.

 

As Tuvalu's recent prime minister Enele Sopoaga reminded us recently, the fact that Morrison himself looked Pacific island leaders in the eye last year and promised to develop such a long-term plan – a promise he reiterated at the G20 – also shows we risk being a country that does not do what we say. For those in the Pacific, this just rubs salt into the wound of Morrison's decision to blindly follow Trump's lead in halting payments to the Green Climate Fund (something Biden would also reverse), requiring them to navigate a bureaucratic maze of individual aid programs as a result.

 

Finally, Biden has undertaken to also align trade and climate policy by imposing carbon tariffs against those countries that fail to do their fair share in global greenhouse gas reductions. The EU is in the process of embracing the same approach. So if Morrison doesn't act, he's going to put our entire export sector at risk of punitive tariffs because the Liberals have so consistently failed to take climate change seriously.

 

Under Trump, Morrison has been able to get one giant leave pass for doing nothing on climate. But under Biden, he'll be seen as nothing more than the climate change free-loader that he is. As he will by the rest of the world. And our economy will be punished as a result.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/scott-morrison-is-yearning-for-a-donald-trump-victory-20200906-p55sxe.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 1:29 a.m. No.10563843   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3846 >>5515 >>7215 >>4939

>>10491684

>>10524698

Australian correspondents Bill Birtles and Mike Smith pulled out of China after five-day diplomatic standoff over national security case

 

1/3

 

The ABC's China correspondent says he felt like a "pawn in a diplomatic tussle" after being barred, along with another Australian journalist, from leaving the country unless they consented to be interviewed by police about a national security case they were not involved with.

 

Bill Birtles, the ABC's correspondent based in Beijing, and Mike Smith, the AFR's correspondent based in Shanghai, boarded a flight to Sydney last night after the pair were questioned separately by China's Ministry of State Security.

 

Birtles had spent four days sheltering in Australia's embassy in Beijing, while Smith took refuge in Australia's Shanghai consulate as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them to safely leave the country.

 

The saga began early last week, when Australian diplomats in Beijing cautioned Birtles that he should leave China, with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade giving the same advice to ABC's managing director David Anderson in Sydney.

 

Subsequent advice prompted the ABC to organise flights back to Australia for Birtles. He was due to depart last Thursday morning.

 

But the threatening behaviour from Chinese officials peaked before he could leave, when seven police officers arrived at Birtles' apartment at midnight last Wednesday as he was holding farewell drinks with friends and colleagues.

 

They told him he was banned from leaving the country, and that he would be contacted the next day to organise a time to be questioned over a "national security case".

 

Birtles described the late-night visit as "extraordinary and unprecedented".

 

"On one hand, this is urgent enough for them to rock up to my front door at midnight, with a total of seven people to tell me I'm involved in a state security case, on the other hand they say, 'Hey, we'll ring you tomorrow afternoon to organise a chat,'" Birtles said.

 

"It posed more questions than answers."

 

Birtles called the Australian embassy and arranged to be collected from his apartment. He stayed in the Beijing diplomatic compound for the next few days, where he was contacted by Chinese officials demanding an interview.

 

He initially refused to speak with them, citing fears for his personal safety.

 

Birtles was interviewed by Chinese authorities on Sunday after an agreement was reached between Australian and Chinese officials that his travel ban would be lifted if he spoke to them.

 

"I felt like I suddenly, unintentionally had become a pawn in some sort of diplomatic tussle," he said.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 1:30 a.m. No.10563846   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3852 >>4939

>>10563843

 

2/3

 

"It felt very, very political"

 

During the meeting, no questions were asked about his reporting or conduct in China.

 

Instead, Birtles said he was interviewed about Australian TV presenter Cheng Lei, who was detained last month.

 

"I know Cheng Lei, but not especially well and Mike Smith in Shanghai had only met her once in his life," he said.

 

"We didn't seem like the two most logical people you would talk to, if you really wanted to talk about her situation.

 

"It felt very, very political. It felt like a diplomatic tussle in a broader Australian-China relationship more than anything specific related to that case.

 

"I believe the episode was more one of harassment of the remaining Australian journalists, rather than a genuine effort to try and get anything useful for that case."

 

Birtles was told by embassy officials after the interview that his travel ban had been rescinded. He was joined by consular staff on a flight from Beijing to Shanghai early on Monday, where he waited for his flight to Sydney.

 

AFR correspondent Smith was subjected to questioning on Monday evening, after sheltering in the Australian consulate in Shanghai. The AFR made similar arrangements to get him out of the country.

 

After touching down in Sydney, Birtles said the experience had been a "whirlwind".

 

"It's very disappointing to have to leave under those circumstances, and it's a relief to be back in a country with a genuine rule of law," he said.

 

"This was a whirlwind, and it's not a particularly good experience.

 

"It's just good to be home."

 

The drama came only days after China's Government publicly confirmed the arrest of an Australian journalist working for China's state media, Cheng Lei.

 

Tense relationship between China and Australia

 

The unprecedented standoff marks another deterioration in the Australia-China relationship, already buffeted by tensions over trade, espionage, Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic.

 

In July, the Australian Government changed its travel advice for China, warning Australian citizens faced "arbitrary detention" on the mainland.

 

Mr Anderson has been in contact with DFAT and Foreign Minister Marise Payne's office since the initial warning was issued last week.

 

ABC News director Gaven Morris said Birtles was being brought home following advice from the Australian Government.

 

"Understanding China, the relationship between our two countries is probably the biggest story of our time and having our people on the ground working with our local team is absolutely critical for the ABC," he said.

 

He also expressed concern for ABC staff still working in China in other roles.

 

"We don't have any information that they're in any way under threat or anything like that. But we are talking to them constantly making sure they're well supported," he said.

 

AFR editor-in-chief Michael Stutchbury and editor Paul Bailey issued a statement welcoming the duo's safe return.

 

"We are glad Mike Smith, our correspondent who has been based in Shanghai for two and a half years, and Bill Birtles from the ABC, have made a safe return to Australia this morning," they said.

 

"This incident targeting two journalists, who were going about their normal reporting duties, is both regrettable and disturbing and is not in the interests of a cooperative relationship between Australia and China.

 

"Thank you to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Consular officials who assisted in their safe return."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 1:32 a.m. No.10563852   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

>>10563846

 

3/3

 

"Disappointing series of events", Foreign Minister says

 

Speaking to radio station 2GB, Senator Payne described the situation as a "disappointing series of events".

 

"I am also very disappointed that we of course don't have, the major media organisations are currently … disrupted in their ability to report from China," she said.

 

"As many of us who've travelled to China in recent years can attest, Australian journalists in China don't cut their political representatives any slack.

 

"They always ask us the hard questions as well and that's part of their job."

 

She said Australian diplomats would continue to work with China "guided by our national interest" and deal with individual issues as they arose.

 

In an earlier statement, Senator Payne said Australian diplomats had engaged with Chinese authorities as the standoff unfolded.

 

"The Australian Government has provided consular support to two Australian journalists in China to assist their return to Australia," she said in a statement

 

"Our embassy in Beijing and Consulate-General in Shanghai engaged with Chinese Government authorities to ensure their wellbeing and return to Australia.

 

"The Australian Government continues to provide consular support to Australian citizens detained in China, including Ms Cheng Lei."

 

The Foreign Minister also said Australia's travel warnings for China remained unchanged.

 

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the news was "very disturbing".

 

"I would just make a point that it is regrettable that news organisations, including the ABC, have had to make this decision," she told ABC Radio Adelaide.

 

"The reports are deeply concerning, particularly some of the suggestions about what occurred prior to Mr Birtles leaving and Mr Smith leaving."

 

Former foreign minister and NSW premier Bob Carr said the affair should force the Government to reconsider whether it wanted a bilateral relationship with China.

 

"I think it's tragic. I think to use journalists as a pawn in a bilateral dispute is a real measure of how bad the relationship has got," he said.

 

"We ought to take a bit of time to consider where we stand with this relationship with China and work out whether we really want it or whether we want to sustain the damage to ourselves."

 

Move leaves no Australian media in China

 

The evacuation means for the first time since the mid-1970s there are no accredited Australian media journalists in China, with correspondent for The Australian Will Glasgow also out of the country.

 

China has not issued new visas for journalists from the ABC and Nine Newspapers.

 

The move against Birtles and Smith comes in the wake of a broader crackdown on Western journalists in China.

 

In March, Beijing expelled 14 American journalists working at the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post in retaliation for the Trump Administration's decision to restrict staff at Chinese state media outlets in the United States.

 

The ABC's Beijing bureau opened in 1973, shortly after Australia normalised relations with China under prime minister Gough Whitlam.

 

ABC correspondents have been witnesses to a variety of major international stories from the bureau, including the Tiananmen Square massacre, the 2008 Olympics, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the coronavirus outbreak.

 

Run-ins with Chinese authorities have been regular and frequent, with a number of correspondents being questioned by authorities while pursuing stories.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/bill-birtles-mike-smith-evacuated-china-safety-concerns/12638786

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 2:25 a.m. No.10564023   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4036 >>4868

George Papadopoulos Tweets

 

The fraudulent and baseless “investigation” was launched as a FARA case, not CI. We know this now based on the Clinesmith plea. It explains why Downer, as I detail in my book, was probing me in a bizarre manner about Israel and my ties to the energy sector there. Was a set up mtg

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1303230664129613825

 

 

Downer had connections to wood side and halykut and provided the perfect cover to go in and try and set me up as part of what was an on going illicit probe into me much earlier than crossfire. This is what I predict is coming out

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1303231298400587776

 

 

Storm Montpelier @StormMontpelier

 

The Spectator based on leaked stories in the British Press, all the way back in May 2018 talks about Brennans group at Langley and says it started in April 2016

 

https://twitter.com/StormMontpelier/status/1303235333279096832

 

John Brennan’s ‘Exceptionally Sensitive’ Issue

 

https://spectator.org/john-brennans-exceptionally-sensitive-issue/

 

 

The same month I met “Putin’s niece,” Joseph Mifsud and a bunch of odd Australian and UK “diplomats” who I later reported to US authorities

 

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1303242354380484608

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 2:29 a.m. No.10564036   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4040 >>4868

>>10564023

John Brennan’s ‘Exceptionally Sensitive’ Issue

 

GEORGE NEUMAYR - May 16, 2018

 

1/2

 

Under John Brennan, the CIA operated as an opposition research outfit for the Hillary Clinton campaign. It appears from leaked news stories in the British press that Brennan’s oafish spying on Trump began around April 2016, right after Trump’s biggest primary victories. As it became urgently clear to Brennan that Trump was going to face off against Hillary, Brennan turned to “intelligence partners” in Europe for dirt on Trump. But they didn’t have any, save some pretty skimpy material on “contacts” between Trump campaign officials and Russians.

 

Whatever Brennan collected was so insubstantial that Robert Mueller hasn’t even interviewed him about it. Consider that for a second: Mueller was supposedly appointed to complete the counterintelligence probe into Trumpworld, and he hasn’t felt the need to talk to the father of it. Brennan has tried to explain this astonishing discrepancy away by vaguely saying that whatever Mueller needs he could find in “CIA files.”

 

Those files are no doubt as elliptical as the formal document starting the probe. It appears that Brennan’s alleged “tips” were too flaky and unofficial for the Obama administration to commit to print. Brennan had his own partisan hunches, fueled by his feverish hatred of Trump and perhaps a few spit-balling conversations with other Trump-hating spy chiefs abroad (the “special relationship” had turned sinister against Trump, as evident from Britain’s sorry role in this mess), but he had no evidence to meet any reasonable threshold for a counterintelligence probe of a presidential campaign, especially one undertaken by an administration supporting that candidate’s opponent. Brennan’s espionage against Trump was as audacious as a paranoid LBJ wiretapping Nixon’s campaign plane in the thick of a race against LBJ’s vice president, Hubert Humphrey.

 

In his own clumsy way, Brennan knew that he was treading on a political minefield. He referred to the FBI/CIA’s spying on the Trump campaign as an “exceptionally, exceptionally sensitive issue.” That helpful crumb comes from Russian Roulette, the book by David Corn and Michael Isikoff.

 

Brennan dimly understood that there would be hell to pay if it came out that Hillary partisans in the U.S. government were spying on her opponent’s campaign, making use of opposition research that she had purchased. But Brennan, who was auditioning to be Hillary’s CIA director and choking on his anger at the thought of Trump as president, couldn’t help himself apparently. From April 2016 to July 2016, according to leaked stories in the British press, he assembled a multi-agency taskforce that served as the beginnings of a counterintelligence probe into the Trump campaign. During these months, he was “personally briefing” Obama on “Russian interference” — Brennan’s euphemism for spying on the Trump campaign — and was practically camped out at the White House. So in all likelihood Obama knew about and had given his blessing to Brennan’s dirt-digging.

 

The FBI’s liaison to Brennan was Peter Strzok, whose hatred for Trump equaled Brennan’s. But even Strzok knew that Brennan was blowing smoke about Trump-Russian collusion. Strzok would later tell his mistress that he sensed the probe would prove a crock — that “there’s no big there there.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 2:31 a.m. No.10564040   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4868

>>10564036

 

2/2

 

What’s valuable about the Corn/Isikoff account is that it inadvertently provides a picture of Brennan running an anti-Trump spying operation right out of Langley. Even after the FBI probe formally began in July 2016, Brennan was bringing CIA agents, FBI officials, and NSA officials into the same room at CIA headquarters to pool their anti-Trump hunches. To give these outrageous meetings a patina of respectability, Brennan invoked the post-9/11 rationale of interagency cooperation. Corn and Isikoff, obviously supportive of Brennan’s operation, use absurdly sanitized language to describe these meetings, but the shocking political import of them is still unmistakable:

 

Brennan spoke with FBI Director James Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers, the head of the NSA, and asked them to dispatch to the CIA their experts to form a working group at Langley that would review the intelligence and figure out the full scope and nature of the Russian operation. Brennan was thinking about the lessons of the 9/11 attack. Al Qaeda had been able to pull off that operation partly because US intelligence agencies — several of which had collected bits of intelligence regarding the plotters before the attack — had not shared the material within the intelligence community. Brennan wanted a process in which NSA, FBI, and CIA experts could freely share with each other the information each agency had on the Russian operation — even the most sensitive information that tended not to be disseminated throughout the full intelligence community.

 

Brennan realized this was what he would later call “an exceptionally, exceptionally sensitive issue.” Here was an active counterintelligence case — already begun by the FBI — aiming at uncovering and stopping Russian covert activity in the middle of a US presidential campaign. And it included digging into whether it involved Americans in contact with Russia.

 

So until election day, the “working group at Langley” was trying to dig up dirt on the Trump campaign and wasn’t coming up with any. But Brennan didn’t want his efforts to go to waste, so he leaked to Senator Harry Reid the existence of the counterintelligence probe into the Trump campaign. He couldn’t leak any damning findings from that probe because there weren’t any. But he could inflict political damage by getting Reid to tell the press darkly of the probe’s existence. He also got Reid to write a public letter to Comey about the probe, which was designed to deepen the FBI’s reliance on Hillary’s paid dirt-digger, Christopher Steele. Reid, as a reliable Democratic hack in the tank for Hillary, went along with Brennan’s scheme, but he felt manipulated enough by Brennan that he complained to Corn and Isikoff about Brennan’s odd intensity — an “ulterior motive” that Reid sensed in Brennan.

 

The scope of that ulterior motive encompassed several elements: a hysterical hatred of Trump (now on display in Brennan’s unhinged tweets), a desire to continue as CIA director under Hillary, and a special animus toward Michael Flynn, whose determination to rip up Obama’s “re-set” with the Islamic world, a matter near and dear to Brennan’s heart, sent him into red-faced rages. Brennan, notorious for his Islamophilia, had refused to take his oath as CIA director on the Bible, regarding that practice as the disgusting relic of a once-Christian America. He had played a leading role in Obama’s outreach to the Islamic world and saw Flynn as an odious threat to that work. What Brennan’s “working group at Langley” couldn’t achieve in nailing Flynn was accomplished later by Sally Yates and Comey through entrapment and Mueller’s leveraged prosecution in which he got Flynn to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.

 

Many questions in all of this remain unanswered, but this much is clear: John Brennan’s transformation of the CIA into a branch office of the Hillary campaign will go down as one of the grossest abuses in the agency’s history.

 

https://spectator.org/john-brennans-exceptionally-sensitive-issue/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 3:19 a.m. No.10564187   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet

 

Low light live fires train #Marines to be #ready to execute, even in the dark. #MRFD #freeandopenindopacific

 

https://twitter.com/MrfDarwin/status/1303241663788150784

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 11:51 a.m. No.10567685   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Queensland passes law to jail priests for not reporting confessions of child sexual abuse

 

Priests in Queensland will now be compelled to break the seal of confession to report child sexual abuse or face three years in jail.

 

New laws passed through Queensland Parliament will force members of the clergy to report known or suspected cases of abuse to police.

 

The legislation means religious institutions and their members are no longer able to use the sanctity of confessional as a defence or excuse in child sex abuse matters.

 

Police Minister Mark Ryan said the laws would ensure better protection for vulnerable children.

 

"The requirement and quite frankly the moral obligation to report concerning behaviours towards children applies to everyone everyone in this community," he said.

 

"No one group or occupation is being singled out.

 

"Child protection is everyone's responsibility."

 

The laws apply to information received from now, even if it relates to abuse that occurred in the past.

 

The law was supported by the Opposition.

 

'They will go to jail before obeying'

 

But One Nation MP Stephen Andrew said it set a dangerous precedent for religious leaders.

 

"The bill poses a real danger for public trust and cohesion in our community," Mr Andrew said.

 

"Many priests and bishops have publicly stated that they will go to jail before obeying these laws.

 

"How confident can the people of Queensland be that they live in a free and open democracy governed by the rule of law, where the state jails its bishops?"

 

Members of the Catholic Church in Queensland have previously voiced their opposition to the laws.

 

Earlier this year, Brisbane Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge told the ABC he believed breaking the confessional seal would "not make a difference to the safety of young people".

 

'It's about morality'

 

Hetty Johnston from the child protection group Bravehearts expressed her support for the new laws.

 

"I don't think there is enough jail time in the world that would replace a child's innocence … what sort of punishment is suitable for someone who would allow that to happen?

 

"So I don't know that it's about time, it's about morality."

 

The laws enact recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

 

The passing of the law also coincides with Queensland child protection week.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/queensland-law-jail-priests-not-reporting-child-sex-confessions/12642144

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 11:42 p.m. No.10574893   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4945 >>4939

>>10563323

Scott Morrison issues stark warning to TikTok over suicide video

 

Scott Morrison has issued a stark warning to social media companies to clean up their sites after a “disgraceful” TikTok video showing a man taking his own life started circulating among Australian school students.

 

Schools across the nation contacted parents this week warning them to keep their children off TikTok to stop them stumbling across the graphic vision, which has also been embedded in videos of cats and puppies.

 

In a new video released on Facebook on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the government would act if social media giants did not remove the video.

 

“Social media has become, like it or no, part of our modern life,’’ he said on Wednesday. “It gives us a bit of a laugh, people doing silly dances. Sometimes, they are taking the mickey out of me.

 

“But there is a serious concern and a serious side with what happens with social media and we saw that with that disgraceful video that was uploaded onto TikTok.”

 

Mr Morrison has urged TikTok to remove the suicide clip of American man Ronnie McNutt as soon as possible.

 

The video, which features gun violence, was originally live-streamed on Facebook on August 31, and from there spread quickly to other platforms including TikTok.

 

He warned social media users they would be held to the same standards that apply in the “real world”.

 

“The rules in the real world, how you behave in the real world, how you talk to each other, the sort of personal actions that you put in place in the real world have to be the same in the social media world,” Mr Morrison said. “There’s not a special set of rules, you don’t get to misbehave and, and be horrible to people and, and and do things in that world that you would never put up with in the real world.”

 

“It’s a big job for governments to make sure that these social media companies do the right thing.”

 

Facebook was roundly criticised last year when it allowed Brenton Tarrant to livestream the Christchurch mosque terrorist attack to its platform.

 

Facebook had to remove 1.5 million copies of the video, and following the attacks the company said it would implement a ‘one-strike policy’ for those who ban Facebook Live rules.

 

Mr Morrison said it was a “big job” policing social media platforms but he would continue to hold these companies accountable for their content.

 

“Whether it’s making sure that the social media platforms don’t become a weapon in the hands of terrorists, but also through carelessness, and a failure to make sure that their algorithms and their other processes don’t weed out…

 

“You (social media giants) need to be accountable and you need to be responsible for making sure that your product does not harm Australians and my government will be making sure that we do everything to hold you account for that.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-issues-stark-warning-to-tiktok-over-suicide-video/news-story/ca996afd6d27b06f0d0138be42f46f04

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 8, 2020, 11:50 p.m. No.10574945   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

>>10563323

>>10574893

Prime Minister Scott Morrison Facebook Post

 

Keeping kids safe online

 

The laws and standards of behaviour from the real world must also apply online.

 

No child should be exposed to horrifying content like the video which has been circulating on TikTok. Social media companies need to put in more resources to detect and tear down this sort of harmful content. That is their responsibility.

 

Our Government introduced world-leading reforms including an eSafety Commissioner with the power to help keep Australian kids safe online. We’re investing more than $100 million to help keep Australian kids safe online and to educate parents and teachers about what they can do to help.

 

If you see the video circulating on any social media platform, please report it. And don't forget to check out esafety.gov.au for tips to keep you and your family safe online.

 

And if you are feeling overwhelmed, please reach out. There is help available.

 

Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service

1800 512 348 | coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au

 

https://www.facebook.com/scottmorrison4cook/videos/vb.101546263223119/416942619285151

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 12:18 a.m. No.10575094   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Repost from Q Research General #13529

 

>>10573143 (pb)

 

‘END THE CURFEW NOW’: Andrews under fire after bombshell revelation

 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is facing calls to end the state’s curfew immediately, after it was revealed that the unprecedented restriction was not based on medical advice.

 

Coronavirus Victoria: Brett Sutton says he did not recommend Melbourne curfew

 

Daniel Andrews is facing calls to end the Melbourne’s curfew after he was thrown under the bus by his chief health officer in a shock interview.

 

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is facing calls to end the state’s night-time curfew immediately, after it was revealed that the unprecedented restriction was not based on medical advice.

 

Chief health officer Brett Sutton dramatically threw Mr Andrews under the bus yesterday, making the explosive claim in an interview with 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

 

Mitchell teed up Professor Sutton by asking if the Victorian Government had ever “introduced something without your advice, or against your advice”.

 

“No not against my advice, you know, the curfew came in as part of the state of disaster, for example, it wasn’t a state of emergency requirement,” Prof Sutton replied.

 

“So you know, that was something that was introduced, but it wasn’t something I was against from a public health perspective.”

 

At his daily press conference on Tuesday, Mr Andrews admitted that the curfew makes “the job of the Victoria Police much easier”.

 

He was grilled again on Wednesday, asked whose idea the curfew was.

 

“I can’t pinpoint the individual and the day, I can’t give you a specific person,” he said, again adding “it makes the job of police much easier”.

 

He added, “If you want to go out and be unlawful now police have got the easiest set of arrangements they have ever had to catch you and fine you. That’s what a curfew delivers.”

 

Hundreds of Victorians have been fined for curfew breaches since last month.

 

More

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-victoria-brett-sutton-says-he-did-not-recommend-curfew/news-story/43e246ebaf7e5a63286084209d0f0291

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 12:36 a.m. No.10575174   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9059 >>5070

>>10563697

'This is nonsense': Julian Assange interjections earn stern warning

 

London: The British judge hearing Julian Assange's extradition case has warned the WikiLeaks founder that he could be kicked out of his own court hearing if he continues to interrupt witnesses while they are giving evidence.

 

Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Assange on Tuesday that she did not want to hear his case in his absence but that she would be left with no choice if he continued to shout from the dock.

 

Assange shouted "this is nonsense" as James Lewis QC, the lawyer for the US government, told the Old Bailey that the 49-year-old was not facing charges for the blanket publication of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents by WikiLeaks.

 

Lewis said Assange instead faced 18 counts related to computer hacking and conspiring to penetrate US systems in violation of the Espionage Act.

 

He said the US government was criminally prosecuting Assange only for publishing documents that included the names of Afghan and other informants who had risked their lives for the US and its allies and had their identities outed by WikiLeaks. The charges did not relate to the more than half a million diplomatic cables the WikiLeaks founder dumped on the internet a decade ago.

 

Lewis said no media publication that had published information stemming from the WikiLeaks cables was being prosecuted.

 

Lewis made the points during his cross-examination of a witness appearing for Assange — British-based American human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith who sued the US government for access to detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

 

Stafford Smith said the WikiLeaks publications helped expose wrongdoing, including torture and murder at Guantanamo, as well as the use of drone strikes in Pakistan.

 

"I say this more in sadness than in anger, but I've got to say as of 2011, I would never have believed that my government would do it what did, we're talking about criminal offences of torture, kidnapping, rendition, holding people," he said.

 

It was during Stafford Smith's cross-examination that Assange, who was seated behind a glass pane in the dock, began interjecting.

 

"This is nonsense," the Australian exclaimed. The rest of his protestations, which included a reference to a "proxy" were inaudible to journalists watching proceedings via video link due to social distancing measures as the judge drowned out his voice.

 

Baraitser adjourned the hearing for 10 minutes and urged Assange to consult his lawyers. Resuming, she directly addressed Assange warning that repeat behaviour would see him expelled from the courtroom.

 

"You will hear things, no doubt many things, you disagree with during these proceedings," she said.

 

"If you interrupt proceedings it is open to me to proceed in your absence.

 

"This is obviously not something I wish to do. I am, therefore, giving you a clear warning," the judge said.

 

Assange remained silent for the rest of the day's proceedings.

 

The US government wants Assange extradited to face the 18 counts, including conspiring with Chelsea Manning to hack into the Pentagon's systems by using a password hash or code that would allow access to documents but not identify Manning as the user.

 

Journalism historian and professor Mark Feldstein at the University of Maryland told the court these were regular journalistic methods.

 

He said Assange's requests for a password that was untraceable to Manning was the same as a journalist using an encrypted messaging service to conceal their source.

 

However, under cross-examination, Feldstein said a responsible journalist would not have published the names of informants. "They should not have been published," he said.

 

Assange faces up to 175 years in jail if convicted in the United States. He is fighting his extradition, claiming he is being persecuted for exposing war conduct that was embarrassing to the US government.

 

His supporters claim he will not survive if he is deported to the US. The hearing is expected to continue until October.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/this-is-nonsense-julian-assange-interjections-earn-stern-warning-20200909-p55tpj.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 12:46 a.m. No.10575201   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5018

New Zealand election TV debate: fears inclusion of fringe party may 'legitimise conspiracy theories'

 

Advance NZ could use the event on 8 October to promote misinformation about Covid-19, analysts fear

 

Charlotte Graham-McLay - 9 Sep 2020

 

A fringe political party in New Zealand that has not featured in pre-election polling, and whose co-leader has been decried for spreading conspiracy theories about Covid-19, has been included in the roster for a televised debate on TVNZ, a state-owned broadcaster.

 

The invitation to Advance NZ has prompted concerns the debate could legitimise conspiracy theories in a country where online misinformation has not gained the same traction as overseas.

 

“It normalises questions that are not really questions, or ideas that have no traction,” said Kate Hannah, a cultural historian and research fellow in the physics department at the University of Auckland.

 

Advance NZ was invited because one of its co-leaders, Jami-Lee Ross, is a current MP – one of TVNZ’s criteria for the event. Ross, who entered parliament as a lawmaker for the centre-right National party, one of the two major parties, has been an independent since a bitter split with National in 2018.

 

He joined forces with a new fringe group, the New Zealand Public party – led by Billy Te Kahika, a businessman and blues musician – to form Advance NZ in July. The group has become known for Te Kahika’s views on Covid-19, 5G, the United Nations, and conspiracy theories about New Zealand and global leadership.

 

New Zealand’s electoral system means the party would either have to win at least 5% of the vote, or a constituency seat, to be represented in parliament. Analysts told the Guardian that neither outcome was likely.

 

“Their political prospects are terrible,” said David Cormack, the co-founder of a public relations firm and a former head of policy and communications for the left-leaning Green party. “I don’t think they have any chance of getting in, debate or not.”

 

But concerns went beyond politics. The inclusion of Advance NZ and its conspiracy theory-driven views in the debate “creates this idea that if the media’s talking about it, they probably know more about it than I do, therefore it’s real”, said Hannah.

 

In New Zealand, conspiracy theorist views such as so-called QAnon beliefs have not gained the traction that they have in countries such as Australia where researchers recently found such views had a growing following.

 

It was not known how many people held such views in New Zealand, said M Dentith, a teaching fellow at the University of Waikato who studies conspiracy theories. “But it’s never really emerged into our political scene until very recently,” they said.

 

“It might be the case that these conspiracy theories aren’t a big threat,” they added, referring to Te Kahika’s views on Covid-19. “Except that if only a few people believe them, there are quite drastic health consequences.”

 

Research conducted by Hannah, Dentith and their colleagues, published this month, found that social media mentions of conspiracy theories had not increased since the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in New Zealand. But mentions of conspiracies in the mainstream media had grown, Hannah said, giving the impression that the views were more widespread than they are.

 

The “framing” of the TVNZ debate, she added, “has to be really, really profoundly careful to acknowledge those things”.

 

Commentators said it would set a poor precedent to exclude the leaders of sitting political parties from debates based on their views. Cormack, the political analyst, said the country’s political debate had been “small-c conservative” and “extremist” parties had not gained political footholds as One Nation has done in Australia.

 

While Advance NZ has not featured in pre-election polls, it has an online following; the party’s Facebook page has 30,000 likes. Te Kahika makes regular, at times rambling, video updates on the platform; with his mild manner, reference to te ao Maori – the worldview of New Zealand’s Indigenous people – and anti-colonial views, the party has a distinctly New Zealand flavour.

 

In June, David Icke, the British conspiracy theorist, praised Te Kahika and his party on his Twitter account and website.

 

A video the party posted on Facebook in July in which it falsely claimed that the military would enter homes to enforce New Zealand’s Covid-19 rules was shared more than 1,000 times.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/09/new-zealand-election-tv-debate-fears-inclusion-of-fringe-party-advance-nz-may-legitimise-conspiracy-theories

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 1:29 a.m. No.10575345   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5371 >>5047

The ‘highly sophisticated’ religious movement trying to brainwash Australians

 

Cait Kelly - Sep 9, 2020

 

1/2

 

As tensions heat up between Beijing and Canberra, an overseas religious organisation with a vested interest in the conflict is using social media to influence Australians, a groundbreaking report has found.

 

Facebook pages run by supporters of Falun Gong, the Asian-based religious movement, are running a highly sophisticated and co-ordinated campaign to target and influence Australian opinions on China, the ABC and the leadership of Victoria.

 

The pages use different methods to spread misinformation, including paying for ads that are critical of the Victorian government’s handling of COVID-19 as well as the ABC, which ran an investigation in July into alleged harmful practices associated with Falun Gong.

 

It appears the pages are boosted by fake accounts which ‘like’ and ‘share’ the content – which is largely “fake news”.

 

Falun Gong is a quasi-religious movement that originated in China in the late 1980s.

 

Followers are meant to practise truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, but have also been linked to powerful conspiracy campaigns in American’s conservative circles.

 

Followers are persecuted within mainland China and are backed by huge international media outlets The Epoch Times, which campaigns against the Chinese Communist Party.

 

Comparing two different pages, one operated from within Australia and the other from Vietnam, the reports found a sophisticated campaign to infiltrate Australian communities and spread misinformation.

 

“These pages are using different strategies, including paid advertisements, systematically sharing content into Australian Facebook groups (including fringe and conspiracy groups), and attempting to drive traffic to Epoch Times and Falun Gong-affiliated sites,” the report said.

 

“Falun Gong and its supporters in Australia are entitled to participate in the national conversation … However, the use of covert tactics and inauthentic social media activity in an effort to conceal who is behind those efforts isn’t acceptable in democratic societies.”

 

Social media is increasingly being used by foreign actors to spread misinformation and confuse public debate on contentious issues in Australia, but this is the first time non-state actors have been caught.

 

Last year, Facebook removed hundreds of accounts with ties to Epoch Media Group that were targeting American users.

 

The network of accounts and pages, which was known as “The Beauty of Life” (or “TheBL”), used fake photos generated by artificial intelligence to spread pro-Trump, anti-communism messages in localised groups.

 

“Our investigation linked this activity to Epoch Media Group, a US-based media organisation, and individuals in Vietnam working on its behalf,” Facebook said in a statement. “The BL is now banned from Facebook.”

 

At the time, Facebook said Epoch Media Group spent $9.5 million on advertisements spreading content through the pages and accounts that were taken down.

 

A separate report into the accounts found a desire to influence the upcoming 2020 election.

 

In a statement, Epoch publisher Stephen Gregory denied Facebook’s accusations.

 

“The Epoch Media Group has no connection with the website BL,” Mr Gregory said.

 

“The Epoch Times and The BL media companies are unaffiliated. The BL was founded by a former employee, and employs some of our former employees.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 1:38 a.m. No.10575371   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

>>10575345

 

2/2

 

A major concern for researchers in Australia is that the pages are targeting QAnon and anti-vax communities.

 

Author of the ASPI report Elise Thomas said both pages had been sharing into popular conspiracy groups in Australia where people were likely to believe them.

 

“The worrying thing about this is the conspiracy pro-Trump side of Falun Gong feeds into QAnon and its rejection of modern medicine feeds into anti-vaxxer groups,” Ms Thomas said.

 

“Like how we’ve seen anti-vaxxers infiltrate mothers groups – these small communities, they are relatively tight and that means it’s quite easy to spread misguided beliefs.”

 

She said targeting localised groups meant these pages could use the network to gain trust and influence people’s opinions.

 

“That’s why they’re dangerous.”

 

The groups were using the geo-political tension with China to drum up anti-Chinese sentiment – and interestingly, were far more sophisticated than pro-Chinese actors on Facebook.

 

“They’re so much better than Chinese state actors,” she said.

 

“They have a better understanding of Facebook. They know what narratives travel through social bloodlines.”

 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/09/09/facebook-falun-gong-influence/

 

 

Twisting the truth: ongoing inauthentic activity promoting Falun Gong, the Epoch Times and Truth Media targets Australians on Facebook

 

Elise Thomas - 09 Sept 2020

 

This ASPI ICPC report investigates two Facebook pages which appear to be using coordinated, inauthentic tactics to target Australian users with content linked to Falun Gong, The Epoch Times and other Falun Gong-associated media groups. This includes running paid advertisements, as well as systematically seeding content into Australian Facebook groups for minority communities, hobbyists and conspiracy theories. Falun Gong and its supporters are entitled to participate freely in Australia's national debate, however inauthentic and covert efforts to shape political opinions have no place in an open democratic society.

 

https://www.aspi.org.au/report/covid-19-disinformation

 

https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ad-aspi/2020-09/Twisting%20the%20truth.pdf?6iEKkEkvUYr7rHVYhoxSHU4kLPEgpfb9

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 1:49 a.m. No.10575404   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Coronavirus vaccine setback a headache for Trump

 

Washington: A day after US President Donald Trump said a coronavirus vaccine could be ready within weeks and possibly before the presidential election, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced its clinical trials would be temporarily suspended, adding to fears the process was being rushed.

 

The drug company is one of several Trump is relying on to find a vaccine ahead of the November 3 poll.

 

Its trial is being done conjunction with University of Oxford. Australian biotech firm CSL has committed to manufacturing the vaccine along with another being trialled by the University of Queensland. Both ventures have committed to making millions of doses in Australia, should the products pass regulatory approval.

 

AstraZeneca is one several companies the Trump administration enlisted as part of Operation Warp Speed – a multibillion-dollar project that aims to deliver 300 million doses of "safe and effective vaccines"by January. However, on Wednesday morning (AEST) AstraZeneca said human trials had been halted due to a "potentially unexplained illness".

 

"Our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee,” the company said in a statement. "This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials."

 

The nature of the illness was unclear, but it is believed to have been detected in a UK participant who is expected to recover.

 

While clinical setbacks are not uncommon, the issue is likely to spark ongoing tensions in the US, where a race for the vaccine – and the White House – is intensifying.

 

As coronavirus has ravaged the country, with 190,000 deaths so far, Trump has been urging health authorities to speed up the timeline for a vaccine for months.

 

In recent days, the President has been particularly positive, telling reporters it could be announced within weeks — possibly even in October.

 

This has led to a stoush between Republicans and Democrats, with both sides accusing the other of trying to further politicise the pandemic.

 

On Monday, Trump told reporters that "contrary to any lies… the vaccine will be very safe, and will be very effective, and delivered very soon". He has previously suggested that if it was not ready soon, it was because of a "deep state" conspiracy against him.

 

However, his rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would want to hear from experts and see the scientific data before taking a vaccine.

 

The Biden campaign worked to sow doubt about the administration's ability to keep politics out of a vaccine rollout, saying the President routinely overstated progress and liked to punish those who disagreed with his plans.

 

"The concern they have is that Donald Trump could end up moving this process in a way that undermines the credibility of the vaccine and that will set our country back," Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser to the campaign, Bloomberg reported.

 

Biden advisers demanded the government release the criteria that will be used to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine meets the scientific standard of safety and efficacy, the name of the person who will ensure that decisions are driven by science and not politics, and the plan to allocate and distribute the vaccine "cost-free, safely, equitably and without politics".

 

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Tuesday that it was "unlikely" a vaccine would be available to the public by November 3.

 

The top US official in charge of Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, said it was "conducting an in-depth review of the [AstraZeneca]'s vaccine candidate which is standard procedure when an adverse event occurs", Bloomberg reported.

 

In North Carolina for a rally after the news broke, Trump said his coronavirus policies had "saved millions of lives". He also said a vaccine could still be ready in a matter "weeks".

 

Concerns about politicisation prior to the setback announcement resulted in the heads of nine American biopharmaceutical companies promising to fully vet their vaccines candidates before asking for federal approval to take them to market.

 

The signatories include AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax and Pfiezer, Sanofi and BioNTech.

 

"We, the undersigned biopharmaceutical companies, want to make clear our ongoing commitment to developing and testing potential vaccines for COVID-19 in accordance with high ethical standards and sound scientific principles,” the statement said.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/coronavirus-vaccine-setback-a-headache-for-trump-20200909-p55twf.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 2:06 a.m. No.10575446   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4939

Man in custody after incident near ASIO building

 

A man has been taken into custody and is assisting police with inquiries following an incident near the ASIO headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Police said they responded to an incident at a building on Constitution Avenue in Campbell shortly after midday.

 

Access to Constitution Avenue between Anzac Parade and Russell Offices was blocked for a number of hours as police cordoned off the area.

 

Nearby businesses and some residents along Constitution Avenue were evacuated about 12.20pm as police patrolled the area near the ASIO buildings.

 

Onlookers were ordered away from the scene. One witness said a nearby resident was ordered off their balcony as a police operation was under way.

 

A person who was evacuated from a nearby business in the Campbell 5 precinct told The Canberra Times police did not give them a reason for why they had to evacuate.

 

Another was blocked when they tried to leave.

 

ACT Ambulance Service vehicles also attended the scene.

 

An ACT Policing spokesperson confirmed police had responded to an incident at a building on Constitution Avenue about 12.10pm on Wednesday.

 

Nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution, the spokesperson said.

 

While the public was ordered to stay away from the area, police said members of the public were not at risk.

 

"There is no threat to the wider community," an ACT policing spokesperson said.

 

At 3pm, the spokesperson said the incident had been "finalised".

 

ASIO was asked about the incident but would not comment. Instead, the organisation directed inquiries to ACT Policing.

 

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6917420/man-in-custody-after-incident-near-asio-building/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 2:24 a.m. No.10575494   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9383 >>4939

Paedophile crackdown will see sick perverts jailed for 20 YEARS for owning a child sex doll

 

Paedophiles will face up to 20 years jail for owning a child sex doll under tough new laws passed in Queensland.

 

The new laws, which came into effect on Tuesday, will target suppliers, producers and possessors of child sex dolls.

 

The move is part of a series of measures introduced following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

 

Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D'Ath said the new laws were designed to send 'a clear message that child sexual abuse(was) never OK'.

 

'These tough laws herald a new era of delivering justice to victims,' she said in a statement.

 

'They create a new offence of failing to report and failing to protect a child from institutional child sexual abuse.

 

'The new laws also clarify that priests will not be able to rely on the seal of confession to avoid the reporting of abuse.'

 

The new laws are the result of extensive public consultation that saw more than 50 submissions received from a number of organisations, stakeholders and individuals.

 

The Bill follows Australian Border Force officers seizing a number of lifelike child sex dolls in July, after the items were ordered online and sent via post or air cargo.

 

Thirty-one packages were intercepted in the first half of 2020, and 86 childlike sex dolls were seized in the 12 months to June 30, news.com.au reported.

 

'ABF officers at our air cargo and mail facilities are actively targeting these dolls, which are a prohibited import and are considered child abuse material,' an ABF spokesman said.

 

'The ABF has a zero tolerance approach to child abuse material, including childlike sex dolls, and we use all powers available to us to protect Australians from anyone associated with these sickening activities.

 

'Child-like sex dolls and other child abuse material are symptomatic of the broader global threat posed by child sexual abuse, that's why the ABF works with its law enforcement and intelligence partners to further investigate these imports.'

 

The ABF operation resulted in three men in New South Wales facing the prospect of 15 years in jail after they allegedly bought child-like sex dolls.

 

The men were arrested in Grafton, northern NSW, and the northern Sydney suburb of Turramurra over two days in May.

 

They were arrested after the ABF allegedly intercepted sex dolls being imported into the country in March and April.

 

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Lesa Gale said at the time the 'child-like sex dolls' could desensitise people who used them to 'the physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by sexual abuse.'

 

'These dolls sexualise children, they are not harmless and do not prevent people from offending in the future,' she said.

 

'Research by the Australian Institute of Criminology suggests that use of the dolls may lead to an escalation in child sex offences – from viewing online child abuse material to contact sexual offending.'

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8708549/Queensland-paedophile-crackdown-sick-perverts-jailed-owning-child-sex-doll.html

 

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/90692

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 2:34 a.m. No.10575515   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6638 >>7215 >>5056

>>10250704

>>10563843

ASIO questioned Chinese journalist in Australia

 

Counterespionage agency ASIO questioned at least one Chinese journalist in Australia in connection to an investigation involving a staffer of suspended NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane.

 

ABC journalist Bill Birtles and Australian Financial Review reporter Mike Smith were forced to leave China on Monday. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has publicly claimed the reason for their questioning of Birtles and Smith was due to their involvement in the case of Australian-TV anchor Cheng Lei, who is being detained under national security laws in Beijing.

 

But both journalists claim they have had little to no contact with the CGTN anchor and questioning about the case by Chinese authorities was superficial.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age can reveal that Chinese journalists were part of a WeChat group connected to Mr Moselmane's part-time staffer John Zhang.

 

ASIO briefly interviewed at least one of the Chinese journalists on June 26 in connection to the probe looking at Mr Moselmane's office, according to senior Australian security sources.

 

The questioning took place on the same day that Mr Moselmane was questioned by Australian Federal Police and ASIO.

 

Mr Moselmane's home was also searched over allegations Chinese government agents had infiltrated his office to influence Australian politics.

 

The raid was the first connected to Australia's foreign interference laws legislated by the Turnbull government in 2018, which criminalised covert influence operations after rising concerns over Chinese Communist Party influence following multiple donation scandals.

 

Mr Moselmane, who wrote essays and speeches praising Beijing's leadership, calling for a "new world order" and dismissing "the obsolete scum of white Australia" had his comments distributed via WeChat group that his staff member John Zhang was involved in.

 

Sources close to the investigation, who declined to be identified because inquiries are ongoing, confirmed Chinese state media journalists were also part of the WeChat group.

 

Mr Moselmane told the ABC in August that the social media group was "just a friendly chat group" and has strongly denied the claims against him.

 

"There's nothing sinister. But it's been made to sound like something covert," he said.

 

Australian Federal Police have alleged that Mr Zhang, who attended a propaganda training course in 2013 run by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, had concealed from Mr Moselmane that he and others were collaborating with the Chinese state apparatus.

 

The Chinese Communist Party's international state media mouthpiece, Xinhua, published a report overnight claiming the Australian intelligence agency recently raided the residences of Chinese journalists in Australia, questioned them and seized their computers and smartphones.

 

Senior Australian government sources confirmed questioning took place, but said it was normal procedure and it shouldn't be compared with the treatment of Smith and Birtles who had been forced out of China.

 

A spokesperson for ASIO said it was standard practice not to comment on intelligence matters.

 

The Chinese embassy confirmed on Wednesday that it had provided consular support to Chinese journalists in Australia. “[We have] made representations with relevant Australian authorities to safeguard legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens,” it said in a statement.

 

Documents filed in the High Court allege that Mr Zhang used a private social media chat group with Mr Moselmane to encourage the MP to advocate for Chinese state interests.

 

He is also accused of failing to disclose to Mr Moselmane that he was acting "on behalf of, or in collaboration with" key apparatus of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), "including the Ministry of State Security and the United Front Work Department".

 

ASIO is examining if covert activities or agents directed by the Chinese Communist Party may have sought to influence Mr Moselmane, Mr Zhang or others in Mr Moselmane's office and whether the politician and his staffers had any knowledge or involvement."

 

Mr Zhang is challenging the constitutional validity of the new federal foreign interference laws, specifically the offence of "reckless foreign interference" in section 92.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995, upon which the warrants are based. The laws were passed in 2018 and this is the first time they have been challenged in court.

 

Birtles and Smith, the China correspondents for the ABC and The Australian Financial Review, were forced to board a flight to Sydney on Monday night after spending five days under protection in Australian diplomatic missions.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/asio-questioned-chinese-journalist-in-australia-20200909-p55tv9.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 2:44 a.m. No.10575548   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1373 >>5056

>>10512833

HIV-positive alleged paedophile Jadd William Brooker granted bail – but prosecutors plan to appeal

 

An accused paedophile who allegedly said he wants to infect children with HIV has been granted bail by a magistrate despite police outlining more shocking allegations – as one of his alleged victims awaits an AIDS test.

 

The HIV-positive alleged paedophile accused of wanting to infect children with the virus has been granted bail despite police warnings he had repeatedly pursued underage adolescents for sex and attempted to destroy potential evidence.

 

On Thursday, the Christies Beach Magistrates Court released Jadd William Brooker to live with his grandmother on home detention, and banned him from accessing the internet.

 

However, he will stay in custody for now as prosecutors plan to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.

 

SA Police had urged the court not to free Brooker, saying that since his court appearance last week they had gathered evidence showing:

 

ONE of the teenagers with whom Brooker allegedly had sex had not been told of the accused paedophile’s HIV status.

 

THAT same teenager was the subject of hundreds of pieces of child exploitation material, of the “worst kind” recognised by the law, allegedly created by Brooker.

 

WHEN Brooker’s mother called him in prison and volunteered to delete his Facebook account, he asked her to wipe other accounts on his behalf.

 

BROOKER had pursued 19 other children, aged between 13 and 16, for sex online and is connected with other alleged paedophiles all around the world.

 

Despite those concerns, Magistrate Rodney Oates said Brooker had no prior criminal history, no previous breaches of bail and the presumption of innocence.

 

“I do take into account the fact other charges are being investigated but, in relation to this bail application, I must focus on the charges that are before this court,” he said.

 

“Conditions and measures can be put in place to ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”

 

Brooker, 38, of Glenelg East, has yet to plead to multiple aggravated and basic counts of disseminating and possessing child exploitation material.

 

Prosecutors allege those offences occurred between December 2015 and August this year.

 

They further allege Brooker had ongoing, illegal sexual relationships with two male teenagers – one of whom has since died by suicide – that will be the subject of more charges.

 

Investigators also allege they have evidence showing Brooker’s “intention to infect both children and adults with HIV”.

 

Last week, they told the court they expected to make up to 40 more arrests following an analysis of Brooker’s computers and internet use.

 

On Thursday, police prosecutors said Brooker should not be released.

 

“(The surviving victim) was unaware of Brooker’s medical status when they engaged in sexual activity, and he is currently undergoing medical testing,” they said.

 

“Police have monitored Brooker’s prison calls … his mother asked if she should delete his Facebook page because there’s been a lot of negative comments and threats made.

 

“He asked her to delete his Microsoft Live account and provided his email address and password.

 

“Given the nature of the charges, a lot of potential evidence is stored in the cloud – potentially millions of pieces of evidence – and this is an attempt to destroy it before police can uncover it.”

 

They said the surviving victim was also speaking to police and giving a statement.

 

“We’ve identified that Brooker has been speaking to people all over the world, disseminating and receiving child exploitation material,” they said.

 

“A lot of that material has been identified as Category 5, the most serious form, and the person depicted in it is (the surviving victim).

 

“Brooker has induced him to partake in activities and then disseminated this to other people.”

 

They said they had no confidence Brooker would stay offline if bailed.

 

“We have identified 19 conversations between Brooker and other people, between the ages of 13 and 16, over Skype and Telegram,” they said.

 

“In each, child exploitation material is either being disseminated or received … these need to be investigated and, in this day and age, it’s almost impossible to prevent someone accessing the internet.”

 

Counsel for Brooker said the court could give no regard to charges that had yet to be filed, arguing their client’s clean record made him a suitable candidate for bail.

 

Mr Oates agreed, releasing Brooker on $1000 bail to live with his grandmother under 24-hour electronic monitoring.

 

He banned Brooker from using the internet, communicating with anyone under the age of 18 and ordered he turn over any internet-accessible devices to the authorities upon their request.

 

(continued)

 

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/south-australia/hivpositive-alleged-paedophile-jadd-william-brooker-granted-bail/news-story/978a88908f4933702ec8635c2d872b84

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 11:38 a.m. No.10578919   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9104 >>4843

Coronavirus: Victoria exposed in ADF assistance documents | 9News Australia

 

Published on 9 Sep 2020

 

Documents released by a Senate committee has confirmed Victoria’s call for 850 defence personnel in hotel quarantine assistance was made and cancelled in the space of 24 hours.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C82CQyFmjY8

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 11:55 a.m. No.10579104   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10578919

Parliament of Australia - Select Committee on COVID-19

 

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/COVID-19/COVID19

 

Additional Documents

 

Answers to Questions on Notice

 

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/COVID-19/COVID19/Additional_Documents?docType=Answer%20to%20Question%20on%20Notice

 

339 - Answers to questions on notice from the Department of Defence, asked by Senators Gallagher and Paterson at a public hearing in Canberra on 18 August 2020, received 1 September 2020.

 

https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=62db868f-2c66-4218-9e63-d11459e60cae

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 11:09 p.m. No.10586484   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5777 >>4843

Repost from Q Research General #13546

 

>>10585815 (pb)

 

Tom Hanks accused of getting special treatment after returning to Australia amid coronavirus quarantine

By Tyler McCarthy | Fox News

 

Tom Hanks traveled to Australia for the first time since contracting COVID-19 there in March — and he is seemingly getting special treatment when it comes to the country’s quarantining policy.

 

Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, were among the first celebrities to publicly announce they had contracted the coronavirus. They found out while Hanks was filming Baz Luhrmann’s big-budget Elvis Presley biopic in Australia. The couple isolated for two weeks in March before finally getting the all-clear to return home to Los Angeles.

 

However, Hanks is getting back to work on the film and returned to Queensland on Tuesday, after he was given the OK by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to bypass the quarantine process average Australian citizens have to go through.

 

That’s not to say that Hanks will not be observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine. He’ll simply be doing it from a luxury resort in Broadbeach where Australia’s 7News notes the production company has rented out several floors of the resort so that cast and crew can isolate in comfort while still observing the government’s rules.

 

Despite the country having stipulations in place to allow this kind of thing for the entertainment industry, among other sectors, it rubbed some Australians the wrong way amid reports that the standard hotels participating in the country’s mandatory quarantine are unsatisfactory.

 

They’ve been accused of having a lack of fresh air, bad food and offering only small, dirty rooms to average citizens returning to the country from abroad, according to the outlet. Many were quick to point out that celebrities are seemingly getting VIP status while numerous stories about citizens being separated from their families or left with limited resources come out of the hotels.

 

“The industry plan for COVID in relation to the screen industry is a plan that has been approved, just like there is for the resources industry, just like there is for the agriculture industry,” Palaszczuk said when asked about the exemption in Parliament.

 

“Under that plan, they have to stay in the place for two weeks, just like everybody else," she added. “They will have random checks, as is my understanding, by police.”

 

In March, Hanks, 64, and Wilson, 63, announced they’d tested positive for COVID-19. Hanks has previously said that it was early in the country’s response to the virus and noted that he and his wife were quickly put on lockdown to prevent them from spreading it to anyone else.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/tom-hanks-coronavirus-special-treatment-australia-quarantine

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 11:26 p.m. No.10586571   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Trump is targeting Assange because he dislikes Obama, court told

 

London: A peace expert appearing for Julian Assange's defence team has told a London court that Donald Trump's hostility towards Barack Obama is partly why the Trump administration is pursuing Assange over the publication of classified military and diplomatic cables a decade ago.

 

Assange is fighting the United States' request to extradite him from Britain to face 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act. If found guilty, the maximum sentence he faces for the combined charges is 175 years in jail.

 

Paul Rogers, a professor of peace studies at Bradford University in Yorkshire, England, told the Old Bailey via video link that under former president Barack Obama, the US government had not attempted to prosecute Assange.

 

He said the fact that that had changed under Donald Trump made it clear that the attempts to prosecute Assange were political.

 

Rogers, who made his comments under examination from Assange's lawyers, said the Trump administration's decision to pursue Assange was due to the President's war with the press and his dislike of Obama.

 

"This does appear to be a political trial," he said, pointing to what he said were several factors at play.

 

"One is that Mr Trump appears to take considerable personal antipathy to president Obama and what he did in his two periods in office.

 

"Obama took this decision on Assange, and I think it's reasonable to say that would be one reason – obviously a significant one – why President Trump would take a different view."

 

The QC representing the US government, James Lewis, suggested that one reason the Obama administration did not pursue Assange was because the Australian was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he claimed political asylum to avoid being extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations in 2012.

 

"If somebody is hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy, what would be the point of indicting him when he was not available for trial?" Lewis asked.

 

Rogers replied: "I would suggest that it would make very good sense to actually initiate that process because once it had been initiated, presumably, it would have been a standing attempt."

 

Under the UK's Extradition Act, a judge can deny extradition if it is demonstrated that it would breach the accused's human rights.

 

Assange says the publication of hundreds of thousands of unredacted documents was an act of journalism and is protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

 

The charges mostly relate to hacking and conspiring with Chelsea Manning, a former army intelligence officer who penetrated the Pentagon's systems, to obtain the more than half a million documents published by Wikileaks in late 2010.

 

Obama commuted Manning's 35-year prison sentence in one of his final acts as president, saying she had served a tough prison sentence. Trump was highly critical at the time.

 

On Wikileaks, Trump has held a variety of views, some of them contradictory.

 

Trump told supporters "I love Wikileaks" in the same year that the website published Democratic National Committee emails, which multiple US intelligence agencies concluded were stolen by Russian hackers. However, he has also attempted to distance himself from Assange, saying he doesn't know anything about him. He said it was "OK with me" if he was arrested in 2017.

 

Assange lived at the Ecuadorian embassy until he fell out with his hosts and they withdrew his asylum.

 

He was dramatically arrested in April 2019 and, in May of that year, the US Government announced charges against him under the Espionage Act.

 

In June 2019, the US formally requested Assange's extradition, leading to the hearing at London's Central Criminal Court which resumed this week after long delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The hearing is expected to continue until October. The judge could take several months to make a decision but both sides have already pledged to appeal.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/trump-is-targeting-assange-because-he-dislikes-obama-court-told-20200909-p55u3g.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 11:32 p.m. No.10586638   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7215 >>5056

>>10575515

Australia's raid on Chinese journalists shows ugly duplicity on press rights

 

By Sima Ming - Source: Global Times - Published: 2020/9/9

 

The Australian intelligence agency staff raided the homes of Chinese journalists, questioned them for several hours and detained their computers and mobile phones, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. The Chinese journalists were required to keep secrets about this forced search and interrogation.

 

The groundless search has outrageously infringed on the legitimate rights of Chinese journalists and media institutions. Australia has severely disrupted normal China-Australia cultural exchanges and poisoned bilateral relations by these egregious actions. This is a serious political issue.

 

Australia has always boasted about its so-called freedom of the press. If this is really the case, then Australia should have respected journalists and protected their reporting rights. But the reality is quite different. Australia has torn off its hypocritical veil, revealing its true face.

 

On October 21, 2019, mainstream Australian newspapers blacked out text on their front pages in a coordinated protest against the country's press restrictions, puncturing the hypocrisy of so-called freedom of the press.

 

On June 5, 2019, Australian police raided the headquarters of the country's national broadcaster ABC, claiming it had published classified information about Australian special forces' alleged abuses in Afghanistan. Also, a reporter of the Sunday Telegraph of Sydney had her home raided by the authorities in June 2019 after reporting on a government plan to expand surveillance on Australian citizens. The incidents triggered a collective protest by Australian journalists.

 

It is reported that in the past two decades, Australia has passed over 60 pieces of legislation in a bid to tighten the freedoms of press. Whatever the Australian government intends to cover up, its hypocrisy cannot hide the double standards toward freedom of the press. When they spread fake news via media outlets in an attempt to smear or attack other countries, they label such moves "freedom of the press." But when some media outlets report the truth which they are reluctant to see, they resort to political crackdowns.

 

Nonetheless, Australian authorities have not been satisfied with manipulating merely domestic media outlets. Regardless of the basic norms governing international relations and bilateral ties between China and Australian, they have raided the residences of Chinese journalists based in Australia. This is a result of ideological bias, as well as moves following the US, which has adopted a hard-line policy against China under the Trump administration.

 

Australia's despicable political calculation - intending to impose trumped-up charges on the Chinese media outlets - will turn out to be in vain. Chinese Australia-based reporters strictly abide by all kinds of rules and regulations set by the Australian government and have qualified professional ethics. Like Australia-based journalists from other countries, Chinese journalists report based on the statements of interviewees, public information and resources. They have not interfered in Australia's internal affairs nor are they undermining its national security.

 

Some people in Australia have been preaching the "China infiltration theory" without any concrete evidence. As a member of the Five Eyes alliance, Australia willfully steals other countries' information and data, undermining other countries' sovereignty and security. Now, by playing the victim, Australia has no fear to showing its despicable face.

 

If Australia does not reflect critically and instead continues to indulge in the game with anti-China exclusion, it will ultimately drive itself to do things against its own conscience.

 

The brutal and barbaric acts of the Australian authorities against journalists are incompatible with and contrary to the freedom of the press. It's like the ghost of McCarthyism is coming back from the grave. The anti-China forces in Australia should put down their discriminatory ways and show their courage to dissolve the knot in their hearts. To do that, they should never lose conscience. They need to always measure with an objective mind whether or not their actions will bring about bad consequences for others and for themselves.

 

If the Australian side is obstinately determined to take the anti-China road, then we can only advise them that their evil doings will blowback to burn themselves. The "white terror" created by Australia cannot suppress China's noble and righteous spirit. Nor can its chilling effect block voices of justice from the insightful people of the international community.

 

The author is an observer of international affairs. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1200366.shtml

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 9, 2020, 11:44 p.m. No.10586729   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4892

Dassi Erlich Tweet

 

Last steps…..not long to go now.

 

#bringleiferback

 

@NicoleYMeyer

 

@EllySapper

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1303908162303451136

 

 

‘A victory for justice’

 

The decision means alleged victims Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper must now wait until September 21 for a judgement on whether their former principal will be extradited.

 

MALKA Leifer is one step closer to extradition after the alleged sexual abuser had her appeal against a May ruling that she is mentally fit to be sent back to Australia quashed by Israel’s Supreme Court last week.

 

The decision means alleged victims Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper must now wait until September 21 for a judgement on whether their former principal will be extradited to face 74 charges of child sexual abuse.

 

Reacting to the news, Erlich said she and her sisters were “exhilarated” that an end was in sight.

 

“During this tumultuous journey there were moments that this did not seem possible!” she tweeted.

 

A panel of three Supreme Court justices unanimously rejected Leifer’s appeal, saying none of the arguments presented by her lawyers point to her being mentally unfit to stand trial and be extradited.

 

The head of the panel, Justice Yitzhak Amit, rejected the claim that Leifer enters a “psychotic state” before each hearing and therefore her mental state fluctuates with the legal proceedings. He cited six psychiatrists determining that she is feigning mental illness.

 

The judges also pointed out that before fleeing to Israel, Leifer taught at and then ran the Adass Israel ultra-Orthodox all-girls high school – jobs that someone with severe mental illness would not have been able to hold.

 

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said, “Video and other evidence made it obvious that Leifer was faking mental incapacity. This unanimous rejection of her appeal by the Supreme Court helps restore faith in a system that allowed Leifer’s alleged victims to wait for so long.”

 

Federal Liberal MP Dave Sharma told Parliament last week, “I cannot overstate what a victory this is. It’s a victory for justice, it’s a victory for the victims of child sexual abuse everywhere and it’s a victory for those brave victims who have been so courageous in leading this campaign: Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper.”

 

Federal Labor MP Josh Burns added, “One big step closer to justice. It’s time for this roller coaster to end.”

 

If Jerusalem District Court Judge Chana Miriam Lomp approves Leifer’s extradition on September 21, Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn will have to sign off on the order. However, both the court decision and Nissenkorn’s stamp of approval can be appealed to the Supreme Court as well.

 

https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/a-victory-for-justice/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, midnight No.10586831   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

Twitter permanently suspends QAnon account belonging to friend of Australian PM for 'harmful activity'

 

BurnedSpy34 and two other accounts associated with prime minister Scott Morrison’s friend have been removed by the social media giant in its crackdown on conspiracy content

 

Christopher Knaus and Josh Taylor - 10 Sep 2020

 

Twitter says it permanently suspended a QAnon account belonging to a family friend of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, for “engaging in coordinated harmful activity”.

 

Twitter is in the middle of a broader crackdown on QAnon content and is attempting to reduce the amplification of accounts spreading “clear and well-documented informational, physical, societal and psychological offline harm on our service”.

 

BurnedSpy34, a prominent and prolific member of the Australian QAnon scene, was recently permanently suspended.

 

The man behind the account, Tim Stewart, regularly tweeted content associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory to his tens of thousands of followers, including bizarre and unfounded claims about Alexander Downer and Julie Bishop, among others.

 

“The account you mentioned below has been permanently suspended for engaging in coordinated harmful activity,” a Twitter spokeswoman said.

 

Last year, the Guardian revealed that the owner of the account was a long-standing family friend of the Australian prime minister and his wife, Jenny. The families’ association was driven by the friendship between Stewart’s wife and Jenny.

 

His wife worked on the prime minister’s staff in a publicly funded position but not in any policy or advisory capacity. There is no evidence she shares her husband’s views. It is not clear whether the employment arrangement is ongoing.

 

Twitter is understood to have removed 7,000 accounts in the past several weeks for breaching its rules against spam, platform manipulation, and/or ban evasion. Its broader actions are expected to reduce visibility for 150,000 accounts globally.

 

Two other accounts associated with BurnedSpy34 have also been removed.

 

The Twitter spokeswoman said Twitter is also no longer serving QAnon content and accounts in trends and recommendations to users. The digital giant is seeking to avoid highlighting QAnon activity in search and conversations and blocking URLs associated with QAnon from being shared on its platform.

 

“We will permanently suspend accounts Tweeting about these topics that we know are engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, and attempting to evade a previous suspension,” a spokeswoman said. “We will continue to review this activity across our service and update our rules and enforcement approach again if necessary.”

 

Stewart was approached for comment.

 

Last year, he said he had not attempted to influence Morrison or had conversations with him about any QAnon content.

 

“I have never spoken to Scott about anything of a political nature. I’m not an adviser. The idea of me talking to him about this … it’s just not true,” he said.

 

The QAnon conspiracy is a sprawling and often incoherent set of beliefs that generally postulate that Donald Trump is secretly fighting a shadowy deep state, which is hiding satanic paedophile rings. QAnon followers believe that a secretive individual named Q leaves them clues on the internet to decipher.

 

The theory has been labelled dangerous and a potential motivator for domestic extremists in the US.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/10/twitter-permanently-suspends-qanon-account-belonging-to-friend-of-scott-morrison-for-harmful-activity

 

>Mission 4: Learn use of camouflage [digitally] _primary account suspended-terminated _use of secondary

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 12:28 a.m. No.10586963   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>6972 >>0911 >>5056

Salvation Army to re-examine claim against serial paedophile James Michael Brown

 

1/2

 

He was known as "king of the kids", but beneath his charming veneer was a paedophile journeyman who infiltrated three religious groups over 20 years.

 

Starting in the mid-1970s, James Michael Brown abused more than 20 boys, first as an Anglican preacher and finally, victims claim, as a soldier within the Salvation Army.

 

Brown died earlier this year after pleading guilty to more than a dozen charges relating to two young Salvation Army soldiers between 1997 and 2002.

 

One of them was Michael Crawford, who in 2014 made a complaint about Brown to the Salvation Army. It took the Salvos two years to formally respond.

 

"After I went to the Salvation Army, I received a letter that said that Jim wasn't a member of the church, that there was no documentation, there was no records," Mr Crawford said.

 

The Salvation Army claimed it was not liable for the abuse, telling Mr Crawford that Brown was never a Salvation Army soldier and that he rarely attended its Newcastle church.

 

But 7.30 obtained evidence putting Brown in uniform and in a Salvation Army Corps directory, along with evidence from whistleblowers who put him in the frame.

 

"The facts in the police case show clearly that he was a soldier within the Salvation Army," Detective Sergeant Kristi Faber said.

 

"There are statements obtained and evidence obtained that he wore his Salvation Army uniform and he also did youth ministry and this was known within the Salvation Army."

 

After repeated denials about Brown, the Salvation Army has responded to the investigation.

 

"New information contained in questions first put by ABC 7.30 this week has, following careful consideration, provided a context for reassessment of the claim," the Salvation Army Australia said.

 

"In turn, there is an opportunity for Mr Crawford to have his claim considered fresh by the National Redress Scheme or the Salvation Army's own internal redress office, the Centre for Restoration."

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 12:29 a.m. No.10586972   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>0911 >>5056

>>10586963

 

2/2

 

A trusted brand shattered by abuse claims

 

The Salvation Army has been one of Australia's most trusted institutions for more than a century.

 

But some former members believe the church has not always looked after its own people.

 

Mr Crawford said he felt betrayed after he made complaints.

 

"They're an institution that are there to help people. They weren't helping me at all. They didn't care. They didn't want to know my story," he said.

 

"I was roughly 10 years old and my dad had distanced himself from our family.

 

"I didn't have a father figure and being a part of this church, it became very important to us, and it was a lifeline."

 

That father figure was Brown and Mr Crawford's mother Karen Goodliff said she never knew what went on when her son was alone with him.

 

"He was a beautiful boy and then he started to change, profoundly," Ms Goodliff said.

 

She said she trusted Brown, only to learn later about the harm he had done.

 

"He came into the church community accompanied by another gentleman and they were well-loved and arrived on big shiny bikes and of course, all the youth were very interested in that," she said.

 

The man who brought Brown into the fold was former Salvation Army officer, Howard Mole.

 

"He was a funny guy and easy to chat to, get along with, and kids, they did get along with him," Mr Mole said.

 

"So the sad thing is, is he's used that very deceptively to us.

 

"We just thought he was doing ministry and that's the thing, that he obviously had another agenda."

 

Brown 'groomed the adults first'

 

Detective Sergeant Faber, who investigated Brown, said his agenda started with grooming entire families.

 

"Yeah definitely, he was a master groomer. I don't know if he wrote the book on it, but he pretty much groomed firstly the adults in the communities he went in to," she said.

 

"He clearly was king of the kids, he had all the toys to bring kids in and he was a mentor to the children within these churches.

 

"We saw clearly him doing this in three church groups, being the Anglican, the Baptists and the Salvation Army. And then once he groomed these adults within those groups he had access to children."

 

Most of his known victims of more than 20 boys were assaulted while Brown was an Anglican lay worker.

 

The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle Peter Stuart said Brown's crimes were appalling.

 

"He was able to move from one place to another and do great harm," Bishop Stuart said.

 

"The Diocese of Newcastle should have known more about James Brown offending at an earlier point and taken action clearly to prevent his further offending.

 

"Every church, every organisation needs to do its best to make sure that people do not move from organisation to organisation."

 

Mr Crawford said while Brown had destroyed his life in many ways, he had regained strength and trust.

 

"You can smash a tile and make a beautiful mosaic out of it, so I guess that's how I look at myself," he said.

 

"Whilst I'm broken, I'm still an OK person being put back together."

 

Watch this story tonight on 7.30.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/king-of-the-kids-salvation-army-to-re-examine-paedophile/12630802

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 1:18 a.m. No.10587164   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

Annastacia Palaszczuk slams Scott Morrison and Queensland opposition over 'disgusting' border bullying

 

It comes as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton called Ms Palaszczuk "pig-headed" for not relaxing coronavirus restrictions.

 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the prime minister and the state opposition are using people's personal tragedies involving border restrictions to subject her to the worst bullying she's seen in her lifetime.

 

Ms Palaszczuk lashed out at Scott Morrison after Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington asked her about the case of Canberra woman Sarah Caisip who tried but failed to enter the state in time to see her dying father.

 

She's now in quarantine and is set to miss his funeral at 2pm on Thursday in Brisbane after health officials told her she wasn't supposed to even be in Queensland because her right to enter didn't cover her father's death.

 

Ms Palaszczuk revealed Mr Morrison had called her to speak about the case ahead of the funeral.

 

"It is absolutely not acceptable for the leader of the opposition to do what she is doing today: a coordinated campaign with the prime minister's office is disgusting and it is demeaning," Ms Palaszczuk told state parliament.

 

"I would hope that the prime minister would work in a cooperative matter with everyone across this country and this divisiveness, and these fights, and this intimidation, and this bullying is the worst I've ever seen in my lifetime."

 

Mr Morrison also made a public plea on behalf of the Caisip family on Thursday, saying it wasn't about borders and that Ms Palaszczuk's lack of action over the "heartbreaking case" had forced his hand.

 

"The only thing that matters today is that Sarah can be with her 11-year-old sister Isabel and her mother Merna while they mourn the passing of their father and husband Bernard at Mount Gravatt today," he told radio 2GB.

 

"It was Father's Day on the weekend … In this midst of all this heartache surely just this once this can be done.

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also joined demands for the Queensland government to relax its coronavirus measures on Thursday, calling Ms Palaszczuk "pig-headed".

 

"The premier here in Queensland is just so pig-headed and people are suffering because of it," Mr Dutton told radio 2GB.

 

Ms Palaszczuk reiterated the state's chief health officer was in charge of assessing medical exemptions to cross the border.

 

She said the state's hospitals were already treating 1,000 NSW residents a week, but admitted that many people were missing funerals.

 

"Around the world, we have seen bodies being buried in the pits … where no families have been able to say goodbye," the premier said.

 

"This is a world pandemic, this is not the time to carry on like this, this is a time when every single person in this country should be working together and this politics of division is disgusting and disgraceful."

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/annastacia-palaszczuk-slams-scott-morrison-and-queensland-opposition-over-disgusting-border-bullying

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 1:37 a.m. No.10587215   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7225 >>7239 >>1086 >>4134 >>5056

>>10563843

>>10575515

>>10586638

Barred scholar Chen Hong thought ASIO’s visa missive was ‘fraud’

 

1/2

 

Shanghai based Australian scholar Chen Hong wants to come back to Australia despite losing his visa on the basis that he has been assessed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) as a possible security risk to Australia.

 

“Once the pandemic is over, I would love to visit Australia again,” he said in an interview with The Australian by phone from Shanghai.

 

He said he was “shocked and disappointed” to learn that his visa to visit Australia revoked.

 

“There was no way I would be doing anything which is a risk to Australia,” he said.

 

“This is the kind of thing I never imagined would be happening to me.”

 

Chen, who has been director of the Australian Studies Centre at the East China Normal University since 2001 and has been visiting Australia since the early nineties, is a long time student of Australian author Patrick White and translated for former Prime Minister Bob Hawke during a visit to China in the nineties.

 

He said he initially thought an email he got from the Federal Department of Home Affairs telling him his visa was revoked as he as a possible security risk to Australia was a scam.

 

“A month ago, I received an email saying my visa was revoked on the basis that I was a security risk to Australia,” he said.

 

“I thought it was a fraud or a scam.”

 

But he said he then came back to the email and was shocked to find it was real.

 

“I was disappointed and distressed,” he said.

 

Mr Chen said he then wrote back to the department, hoping to convince it to change its mind.

 

“I wrote a letter back saying that there was no way I accept that assessment of me,” he said.

 

“I am one of the most vocal proponents of understanding between Australia and China.

 

“I have a deep fondness of for Australia.”

 

He said he had been given no reason for the decision and had received no reply to his email trying to get the decision overturned.

 

Mr Chen, who has had his visa to visit Australia revoked, along with Australian studies scholar Li Jianjun, is one of the most high profile academics in the network of Australia China centres around China.

 

Li Jianjun, who is director of the Australian Studies Centre, Beijing Foreign Studies University and has been secretary-general of the Chinese Association for Australian Studies since 2014, is currently working on a PhD on Australian writers of the fifties and sixties including James Aldridge, Frank Hardy, Jack Lindsay, Dymphna Cusack, Katharine Susannah Prichard, Mona Brand, Wilfred Burchett, Leslie Rees, and Henry Lawson.

 

Chen often describes Australia as his “second home” and says he has a lot of friends in Australia, some of whom keep in regular communication through WeChat groups, China’s equivalent of WhatsApp.

 

He has been a frequent commentator on Australian affairs for Chinese newspapers such as the nationalistic Global Times as well as with the Australian media.

 

He said he had had a three-year visa to come to Australia which was due to expire next year.

 

He said he had been visiting Australia two to three times a year and visited the county five or six times last year.

 

His last visit to Australia was in January for the annual high level dialogue between Australia and China.

 

The Australian delegation was headed up by former Prime Minister John Howard.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 1:39 a.m. No.10587225   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10587215

 

2/2

 

Mr Chen’s interest in Australia goes back to the eighties when he began studying Australian literature at East China Normal University.

 

The university hosted one of a number of centres of Australian studies which were initially focused on the study of Australian literate.

 

Chen became a passionate follower of author Patrick White and has a WeChat group of fellow Chinese followers of White.

 

Chen began studying Australian literature at the East China Normal University in the eighties, deciding to become an expert on Patrick White after reading White’s The Tree of Man.

 

He did his Masters thesis on White’s Voss, based on the experience of explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, which he credited with giving him an insight into the Australian outback.

 

He did a PhD on White and translated David Marr’s biography of White into Chinese.

 

Giving a paper on White at an Australian studies conference in China in 1990, he met former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who arranged for him to visit Australia in 1991.

 

He spent time at La Trobe University in Melbourne, beginning a lifetime of building up contacts in academia in Australia.

 

In 1994 he was asked to translate for former Prime Minister Bob Hawke during a visit to China.

 

In 2001 he took over as director of the Australian studies centre at his university, building it up as one of the most active and high profile of more than 30 Australian studies centres across China.

 

Chen said he did have a WeChat group which included friends based in Australia which has been mentioned this week in the media in Australia.

 

“It is a totally innocuous private friendly WeChat group.

 

“I went through it last week. I scrolled back and looked through the content.

 

“I have a lot of close friends in Australia.

 

“We post articles in Chinese and English of interest. We share pictures and post funny pictures of animals.”

 

Mr Chen said he had been critical of Australian policy on China and what he saw as the rise in anti-China sentiment in his writings recently.

 

He said he hoped these comments, which have not gone down well with some in Canberra, were not part of the reason that he had his visa withdrawn.

 

“There are of course a lot of things which Australia and China don’t agree on.”

 

He said he felt that “Canberra” had been leading the anti-China rhetoric and was “taking measures to break up with China”.

 

“When China makes any response to it, it is attacked as ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy,” he said.

 

Mr Chen has argued this his criticisms on the federal government’s policies on China are akin to the argument put forward by forward by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who spoke frankly about China’s human rights issues on his first visit to Beijing as Prime Minister.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/barred-scholar-chen-hong-thought-asios-visa-missive-was-fraud/news-story/e9773eba7f6ac4c9e57d3f19349c4f0d

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 1:44 a.m. No.10587239   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1086 >>4134 >>5056

>>10587215

Barred scholar Chen Hong’s deep connections to Australia

 

Shanghai-based academic Chen Hong has been a frequent visitor to Australia, with an interest in the country that dates back to his scholarship of Patrick White in the 1980s and has included a role as a translator for former prime minister Bob Hawke in the 90s.

 

Chen, who has had his visa to visit Australia revoked, along with Australian studies scholar Li Jianjun, is one of the most well-known academics in the network of Australian studies centres around China.

 

While writing frequent articles critical of Australia in publications such as China’s nationalistic Global Times, Chen enjoyed his regular visits to Australia, where he had many contacts and friends dating back to his first visit in 1991.

 

His columns and articles critical of Australia appeared in stark contrast to his love of visiting the country, particularly in recent times.

 

Urbane, friendly and fluent in English, Chen headed the chair of Australian studies at the East China Normal University in Shanghai, using it as a base for his frequent international travel.

 

As political ties between Australia and China worsened, he wrote articles critical of federal government policy that irritated Australian diplomats but would have gone down well with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Chen began studying Australian literature at East China Normal in the 1980s, deciding to become an expert on White after reading The Tree of Man.

 

He did his masters thesis on White’s Voss, based on the experience of explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, which he credited with giving him an insight into the Australian outback.

 

He did a PhD on White and translated David Marr’s biography of White into Chinese.

 

Giving a paper on White at an Australian studies conference in China in 1990, he met former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, who arranged for him to visit Australia in 1991.

 

Chen spent time at La Trobe University in Melbourne, beginning a lifetime of building up contacts in academia in Australia.

 

In 1994, he was asked to translate for former prime minister Bob Hawke during a visit to China.

 

In 2001, he took over as director of the Australian studies centre at his university, building it up as one of the most active and well-known of more than 30 Australian studies centres across China.

 

In an interview with The Australian in Shanghai last year, he said the centre’s mission was to “promote a better understanding between the two countries and people”.

 

While he described Australia as his “second home”, he argued that his criticism of Australia was like Kevin Rudd, who famously decided to speak out about China’s human rights shortcomings in a speech in Mandarin at Peking University on his first visit to China as prime minister.

 

“When Kevin Rudd was in Beijing, he said if you want to be a true friend of China, you do not just compliment China, you speak out when you see something you don’t agree with,” Chen told The Australian.

 

On a visit to Australia last year, he said he was looking to recruit junior academics from Australia with an interest in China to work at his university in Shanghai.

 

He expressed his concern at what he saw a growing “anti-China hysteria” in Australia.

 

He argued that Australian universities saw Chinese students as a “money tree” and warned that there was a danger that the Chinese student market in Australia was being taken for granted.

 

Also denied a visit was Li, another senior Chinese academic with a longtime interest in Australia.

 

Li is director of the Australian Studies Centre at Beijing Foreign Studies University and has been secretary-general of the Chinese Association for Australian Studies since 2014.

 

He has also been managing editor of the Chinese Journal of Australian Studies published by the Social Sciences Academic Press (China). He was a visiting scholar at Griffith University in 2002 and a visiting research fellow at Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King’s College London in 2016 and was a recipient of the BHP Billiton Australia China Scholarship in 2017.

 

He has been working on a PhD at the Western Sydney University’s Writing and Society Research Centre, researching Australian writers in China in the 1950s and 1960s.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/barred-scholar-chen-hongs-deep-connections-to-australia/news-story/d9fbcbd42933d88ccf3723de45804e43

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 1:55 a.m. No.10587277   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Ghislaine Maxwell's privacy does not justify keeping deposition sealed, Epstein accuser says

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who said she was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking told a U.S. appeals court that Ghislaine Maxwell’s desire for privacy failed to justify the continued sealing of a deposition that the British socialite has fought to keep out of the public eye.

 

Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre made the argument in a Wednesday filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ahead of Sept. 22 oral arguments over the release of materials from her now-settled defamation lawsuit against Maxwell.

 

Many documents from that case were unsealed in July, and Maxwell is appealing U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska’s order to release other materials, including her April 2016 deposition and a deposition by a second Epstein accuser.

 

“Maxwell’s vague argument about privacy interests cannot justify total closure of the deposition materials,” and overcome “the public’s presumption of access,” Giuffre’s lawyers Sigrid McCawley and David Boies told the Manhattan-based appeals court.

 

Lawyers for Maxwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and eventually abuse three girls from 1994 to 1997 and to committing perjury by denying her involvement with the late financier under oath.

 

Her trial is scheduled for next July. Epstein killed himself at age 66 in August 2019 at a federal jail in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

 

Maxwell has said her deposition contained “intimate, sensitive, and personal information,” and whose release would cause irreversible, negative publicity.

 

She said this would undermine her constitutional rights to remain silent and obtain a fair trial by an impartial jury, outweighing any presumption of public access.

 

But lawyers for Giuffre, who has said Epstein kept her as a “sex slave” with Maxwell’s assistance, said Maxwell did not meet the high legal hurdle of showing Preska abused her discretion.

 

The lawyers said an unsealing would not compel Maxwell to make self-incriminating statements, saying that she “was deposed twice in 2016, and twice at that time failed to invoke her right to remain silent.”

 

They also said there was no basis to credit Maxwell’s “speculative” fear of unfair pretrial publicity and a tainted jury pool, especially in large metropolitan areas such as New York.

 

“The size and heterogeneity of such communities make it unlikely that even the most sensational case will become ‘a cause celebre’ where the whole community becomes interested in all the morbid details,” Giuffre’s lawyers said, quoting a decision from another federal appeals court.

 

The Miami Herald also wants Maxwell’s deposition unsealed.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-ghislaine-maxwell/epstein-accuser-says-ghislaine-maxwells-deposition-should-be-made-public-idUSKBN26031R

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 2:02 a.m. No.10587316   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Alan Dershowitz Loses Bid to Access Secret Jeffrey Epstein Files

 

Harvard Law professor emeritus and celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz was dealt a setback in federal court on Wednesday after repeated efforts to access a full suite of documents related to his former client Jeffrey Epstein were denied.

 

“Mr. Dershowitz has had several bites at this particular apple,” Senior U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska says at the outset of her order.

 

Dershowitz has made several failed attempts to modify a years-old protective order in the settled defamation case between Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre and alleged Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. While the lawsuit between Giuffre and Maxwell was settled in 2015, Giuffre and her legal team have fought for years to unseal the entirety of the documents in that case.

 

Those documents make up just some of the Epstein files sealed by various courts and are widely believed to contain the names of numerous elites in politics, finance and the arts who presumably took part in the infamous pedophile’s alleged global child sex-trafficking operation.

 

The process of sealing, unsealing and slowly releasing those documents has long been controlled by a protective order issued by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in 2016. A high-stakes legal battle has been fought for years to have those documents released to the public on one side–and to have the documents kept under judicial lock and key on the other side–due to the highly sensitive allegations they are widely believed to contain.

 

Dershowitz has an ongoing defamation case against Giuffre–who also has a defamation case against him–which is a separate legal matter from the long-settled defamation case between Giuffre and Maxwell. (Giuffre sued Dershowitz for defamation in early 2019; Dershowitz counter-sued Giuffre for defamation in late 2019.)

 

The elite attorney has consistently argued he needs access to all of the Epstein files to wage his continued battle against Giuffre. He has consistently been denied such access by Preska–and third parties have argued against providing Dershowitz such access.

 

The SDNY’s Wednesday order was no different in this regard. Dershowitz was given another definitive–if not final–reply that the court will not modify the original protective order to give him carte blanche access to the files.

 

“Most recently, Mr. Dershowitz sought modification of the Maxwell protective order to permit him blanket access to all sealed materials and discovery at issue in the Maxwell litigation, a request that the Court denied,” the order explains. “Core to the court’s conclusion were several issues. First, Mr. Dershowitz’s request was staggeringly overbroad given the relatively constrained facts at issue in the Dershowitz litigation. Second, the proposed modification of the protective order would threaten to undercut the carefully planned unsealing process in Maxwell.”

 

While Giuffre and her attorneys recently said they were glad to provide Dershowitz with additional information, Judge Preska was troubled by such an agreement based mainly on privacy issues and instead decided to grant a more limited form of accommodation.

 

“[T]he court will permit modification of the Maxwell protective order to allow limited disclosure to Mr. Dershowitz of sealed documents and testimony that mention Mr. Dershowitz, subject to an exception that is the subject of a sealed order to be provided to Ms.Giuffre,” the court order notes. The court will not permit modification to allow a disclosure to Mr. Dershowitz of sealed materials outside of that universe.”

 

The primary reason for the denial is that multiple non-parties relied on the original protective order when they previously provided discovery “in [the] contentious litigation.” Giving Dershowitz unfettered access to those sealed materials would be in violation of those non-parties “reliance interests,” Preska determined.

 

Then there’s the matter of Epstein’s victims themselves—who lobbied the court specifically against Dershowitz learning their information.

 

Per the ruling:

 

[T]he gravity of the privacy interests of nonparties–particularly nonparties who are alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse–weighs heavily against the unilateral disclosure that Mr. Dershowitz seeks. Those interests are particularly acute given that the psychological and emotional wellbeing of survivors of alleged sexual assaults may be implicated by such a broad disclosure. Indeed, protecting such interests is one of the core purposes of the unsealing process in Maxwell.

 

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/alan-dershowitz-loses-bid-to-access-secret-jeffrey-epstein-files/

 

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

 

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1113.0.pdf

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 2:15 a.m. No.10587369   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Resignations in the news

 

Besieged icare chief and deputy to step down

 

The chairman of embattled insurance agency icare will resign from his position later this month and be replaced by former NSW Labor leader John Robertson following deepening allegations of ­financial mismanagement and criticisms over the organisation’s workplace culture.

 

Michael Carapiet, chairman of the icare board since 2015, will step down from September 25 along with deputy chairman Gavin Bell, according to an email circulated to all staff at the agency on Tuesday night.

 

The office of NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet characterised the resignation of Mr Carapiet as a retirement that coincided with the natural end of his contract.

 

His replacement, Mr Robertson, is the chief operating officer of food relief organisation Foodbank, but is best known for his previous roles as NSW Labor leader between 2011 and 2014, and secretary of Unions NSW.

 

“John joins icare at what is a crucial time for the organisation and will be integral in ensuring we deliver the very best system we can for injured workers,” said Mr Perrottet, in prepared remarks.

 

An independent inquiry, led by former NSW Supreme Court judge Robert McDougall QC, is reviewing the agency’s operations and management. A separate audit of Mr Perrottet’s staffing arrangements, which were drawn into the icare scandal, are expected to be released on Wednesday.

 

“It is important he (Mr Robertson) is involved in the search and appointment of a new CEO and is on the ground as Robert McDougall undertakes his review into icare,” Mr Perrottet said.

 

The departures of Mr Carapiet and Mr Bell mark the latest in a string of top executives to leave the organisation in the wake of management malpractice allegations and concerns over the agency’s ­financial stability.

 

Chief executive John Nagle resigned in August amid revelations of a conflict of interest involving a contract awarded by icare to his wife; another board member, Mark Lennon, quit in July when allegations of impropriety were raised by his colleagues in the NSW Labor opposition.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/besieged-icare-chief-and-deputy-to-step-down/news-story/b9387529aeead468a492fd03b7a209b5

 

 

Senior Palaszczuk Government minister announces resignation

 

Natural Resources and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham has announced he will not be recontesting his seat at the state election in October.

 

The Member for Stafford, who is a senior member of the Labor cabinet, announced the shock retirement on the last day of parliamentary sittings before the October 31 election.

 

Dr Lynham is the third government minister to retire in less than a week, with Kate Jones also following suit and Disability Services Minister Coralee O'Rourke last weekend announcing an end to her political career.

 

Dr Lynham was elected as the Member for Stafford in 2014.

 

He is also a maxillofacial surgeon and has juggled political commitments around maintaining his active registration in the medical field.

 

"It has become very clear to me that I cannot maintain my medical registration as a doctor and give 100 per cent to this job," he said.

 

"And the people of Stafford and Queensland deserve 100 per cent."

 

There had been speculation Dr Lynham was being forced to retire by the right faction of his own union, the Australian Workers Union.

 

But one Labor source told the ABC Dr Lynham informed them of his intention to retire some weeks ago, and assured them he was under no pressure to leave.

 

"But someone wanted to make a hero of themselves by talking to the Courier Mail," the source said.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/anthony-lynham-senior-minister-palaszczuk-government-quits-staff/12648624

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 10, 2020, 2:39 a.m. No.10587482   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

How should the media cover conspiracies like QAnon? | The Drum

 

ABC News (Australia)

 

Published on 10 Sep 2020

 

The potent cocktail of the global pandemic and unregulated social media have meant that in 2020 - conspiracy theories have exploded into the mainstream.

 

You might have a friend who's questioning public health advice, or a family member increasingly drawn to fringe views online. Everyone has a story.

 

Just this week, Twitter permanently suspended the account of a friend of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, for promoting the QAnon conspiracy.

 

So - how do we talk about these issues, without giving them unnecessary attention or publicity?

 

The Drum’s Ruby Cornish takes a look.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0vFoUyCIw

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 12:23 a.m. No.10600877   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1062 >>5070

Assange's extradition hearing delayed by lawyer's wife's COVID scare

 

London: Coronavirus has halted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's extradition hearing in London.

 

The wife of one of the barristers for the US may have had exposure to the virus. Tests are being taken and the outcome will be known on Friday.

 

Assange's barrister Edward Fitzgerald, QC, asked district judge Vanessa Baraitser at the Old Bailey on Thursday morning, London time, to suspend the hearing until the result was known.

 

"We shouldn't really be here today. COVID would be in the courtroom and it's not possible to tell how far its extent is," Fitzgerald said.

 

A QC representing the US government, James Lewis, who appeared via video link from his flat in London, agreed and called for a suspension until Monday.

 

"It's certainly not easy to cross-examine a person over video link," he said. "Hopefully, if the tests are negative we can get back to where we were on Monday. If they're not, we'll have [to] reconsider the matter and our particular options."

 

The judge had wanted to resume on Friday and make another decision then but agreed to adjourn until Monday, given both sides were in agreement.

 

"I'm therefore willing to accede for the time being to the joint application to adjourn this case until Monday at 10 o'clock in the morning."

 

The delay is the latest twist in the long-running saga surrounding the Australian.

 

Assange's hearing has already been delayed by months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The hearing, which restarted on Monday, was expected to run for four weeks into early October.

 

The US Department of Justice wants the 49-year-old extradited to face charges of computer hacking and conspiring with former US Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning to steal more than half a million classified documents relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

 

Assange says he is a journalist and that his human rights would be violated if he was sent to the US to face trial.

 

Under Britain's Extradition Act, a judge can refuse a request for extradition if they deem that the accused's human rights would be violated.

 

Assange is being held in custody at Belmarsh prison.

 

Earlier this week, Assange's defence team had a request for an adjournment until after the US presidential election denied.

 

The hearing has heard from a peace expert, who claimed that US President Donald Trump was pursuing Assange, a decade after WikiLeaks published the documents, in part because of his loathing of former president Barack Obama.

 

Assange faces 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act and a maximum sentence of 175 years.

 

He has attended the hearing each day this week, wearing a suit and tie, with this white hair neatly cut. However, he has been warned that his hearing could continue without him if he didn't refrain from interjecting.

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/europe/assange-s-extradition-hearing-delayed-by-lawyer-s-wife-s-covid-scare-20200910-p55uil.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 12:38 a.m. No.10600911   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10586963

>>10586972

Salvation Army to re-examine claim against serial paedophile James Michael Brown | 7.30

 

ABC News (Australia)

 

Published on 10 Sep 2020

 

The Salvation Army has long been one of the nation's most trusted institutions. But some former members believe it hasn't always looked after its own people.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQD69a5goXM

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 1:11 a.m. No.10601009   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

Online child sexual exploitation reports in Australia have surged under coronavirus lockdown, AFP say

 

Public tipoffs about online child sexual exploitation material have surged during the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the authorities to warn that, statistically, every Australian would know an abuser.

 

Reports made by members of the public to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) increased by 122 per cent as the nation went into coronavirus lockdowns through April, May and June.

 

Last week alone, more than nine men were put before courts as a result of Australian Federal Police (AFP) child exploitation investigations.

 

Speaking exclusively with the ABC, the coordinator of AFP forensics in NSW, Nathan Green, said people were spending more time online and that meant offenders were spending more time with potential victims.

 

"The restrictions that COVID has brought in have resulted in families being locked up at home, and if in that family there happens to be an abuser it's fairly apparent what's going to happen," he said.

 

The number of reports received by the ACCCE in the 12 months to July 2020 was 21,000 up from 14,000 in the same period in the previous year.

 

Jennifer Garcia, a digital forensic examiner with the AFP, has never been busier, executing back-to-back warrants around the clock in recent weeks.

 

A single investigation which Ms Garcia's team has been working on for the past six months resulted in 40 children in NSW being rescued from situations where they were being abused.

 

"They were children in direct harm, being sexually, physically or emotionally abused, or a combination of all three," she said.

 

In any given month the 21 members of the AFP's digital forensics team in NSW could be dealing with 30 to 40 active investigations.

 

'Everybody' would know an abuser

 

Mr Green said most people did not realise the level at which child exploitation offending is taking place in Australia.

 

"There's no socio-economic group, there's no defining characteristic, it's every walk of life, for both the offenders and the victims, there's no group that's immune," he said.

 

Mr Green said abuse was so prolific that: "Statistically, everybody would know somebody, there is a lot of child abuse going on in the community today, and a lot of it is facilitated through technology."

 

Ms Garcia said it was a common misconception that digital forensic experts spend all their time sitting in front a computer screen.

 

Perpetrators use sophisticated tools to conceal their offending and often attempt to delete evidence when police come knocking with the click of a button.

 

Digital forensic investigators are often required to be on the front line when warrants are executed.

 

Legislative requirements mean there is a 30 to 40-day time limit to search hard drives.

 

"Finding the evidence in amongst that absolute deluge of material is a real challenge," Mr Green said.

 

"It's no longer finding the needle in the haystack, it's finding the right coloured needle in a haystack of needles."

 

The burden of exposure

 

Mr Green said the work could be incredibly gruelling but rewarding.

 

"Removing a child from harm, it's a very visceral and immediate thing, you don't really ever have to wonder if what you've done is important that day," he said.

 

He said his team members often struggled to drag themselves away from their work.

 

"The drive that they have to protect children is amazing," he said.

 

"Almost always when you take that extra little step, you'll find another victim, or one more person who could be removed from harm.

 

"Or one more element to the offence, which could remove someone from a position to offend and maybe keep them in jail a little bit longer."

 

He said the work was confronting and often took a toll on investigators.

 

"It affects your home life, when you come back from a hard job and you go home, your child will come up and give you a hug, and sometimes those emotions are pretty close to the surface," Mr Green said.

 

Like most of the team, Ms Garcia is also a parent.

 

Sometimes she'll work through the weekend and come home on Sunday to find her daughter sitting at the breakfast table.

 

"I look at her, and I ask myself, 'what's the difference between her and that poor child we saw?'," she said.

 

"It's just circumstance, that's all it is."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-11/child-sexual-exploitation-reports-jump-in-covid-lockdown-afp-say/12648260

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 1:16 a.m. No.10601023   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

Bundaberg man charged with distributing child pornography overseas after lengthy AFP investigation

 

A 49-year-old Queensland man has been charged with more than 100 offences for allegedly possessing and distributing child abuse material overseas via encrypted apps.

 

The man was charged after an investigation by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), sparked by a tip-off from a member of the public about an Australian citizen in Mongolia.

 

The man's mobile phone was seized upon his return to Australia last December and he was charged with possessing child abuse material outside Australia.

 

Specialist officers from the AFP's digital forensic team allegedly found a "significant amount of child abuse material" on his phone.

 

Police have alleged it was transmitted using two encrypted messaging applications, Telegram and Scruff.

 

The man, from Woodgate near Bundaberg, faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.

 

Police confirmed he had been charged with a string of additional offences, including 43 counts of distributing child pornography material outside Australia and 38 counts of distributing child abuse material outside Australia.

 

In a statement, Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson, from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and Child Protection Operations, said the AFP worked closely on the investigation with international law enforcement partners.

 

"Online child exploitation material is a crime that knows no border, which is why the relationships we have built with international law enforcement is so critical to these investigations," she said.

 

"This investigation shows that we will act on reports of child abuse online, even if those accessing it are located overseas.

 

"The AFP and its partners will never relinquish our duty to keep children safe.

 

"We need to be acting as a community to be alive to the risks that may be facing our children and prevent online child sexual exploitation — during national child protection week and every week."

 

If convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-11/afp-charges-queensland-man-child-pornography-overseas/12655692

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 1:38 a.m. No.10601086   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10587215

>>10587239

Western Sydney University provided letter of 'support' to ASIO for banned Chinese PhD Student

 

Western Sydney University provided a character reference to ASIO for leading Chinese scholar and current WSU doctoral student Li Jianjun after the spy agency cancelled his student visa.

 

The university has also expressed support for Mr Li in a video message to Chinese students from Vice-Chancellor Barney Glover.

 

"The university is supporting the student in requesting the reconsideration of the decision to cancel the student visa."

 

"This is an extremely uncommon situation and we look forward to him returning to Australia when possible," Vice-Chancellor Glover told students.

 

The university says it doesn't know what evidence ASIO'S Director-General relied on when the agency assessed Mr Li as a possible security risk.

 

Mr Li's visa cancellation was revealed by the ABC after Australian journalists were forced to flee Beijing this week amid an escalating diplomatic row.

 

High level university sources said there was "outrage" among senior academics over the visa cancellation.

 

The ABC understands Mr Li was in China when his visa was cancelled last month, and his close university colleagues convinced senior management to write a letter to ASIO supporting the scholar.

 

Mr Li was part of a WeChat group that included suspended NSW Upper House MLC Shaoquett Moselmane whose home was raided by the Australian Federal Police and ASIO in June.

 

Mr Moselmane and Mr Li have become embroiled in a joint AFP-ASIO investigation into allegations the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tried to infiltrate NSW parliament through his staffer, John Zhang.

 

Mr Li was in a group chating with Mr Moselmane, Mr Zhang, another academic whose visa was cancelled and several Chinese journalists.

 

Mr Zhang maintains his innocence and Mr Moselmanne has said he is not a suspect in the investigation.

 

Senior sources at the university would like the private messages released for transparency and to understand a significant event in WSU's history.

 

They told the ABC the university was told by Mr Li the messages were innocuous and mostly involved arranging dinner parties.

 

Government sources said ASIO would only brief universities about its investigation if it involved the university's own infrastructure being compromised.

 

The character reference sent to ASIO was signed by Vice-Chancellor Glover who was told by senior staff Mr Li was a "worthy, high quality scholar".

 

The University wanted this on the record in case Mr Li tried to re-apply to enter Australia for a person they regard as being of "quality and integrity".

 

Mr Li is one of the most well-known academics in a network of Australian studies centres at universities across China.

 

He is the secretary-general of the Chinese Association for Australian Studies, which oversees the network, and the director of Australian studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

 

Mr Li has received tens of thousands of dollars in grants from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and private companies.

 

He received a $60,000 scholarship funded by BHP Billiton to do his PhD at UWS on Australian writers in China in the 1950s and '60s.

 

The Foundation for Australian Studies in China, which awarded the scholarship to Mr Li, has also sent a character reference in support of him to the Home Affairs Department.

 

Western Sydney University like most Australian tertiary institutions has a strong financial interest in good relations with Beijing.

 

Chinese students account for a large portion of many universities' revenues.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-11/western-sydney-university-character-reference-li/12652722

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 1:49 a.m. No.10601128   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Resignations in the news

 

Rio Tinto CEO, top executives resign amid cave blast crisis

 

Rio Tinto boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two senior executives will be replaced after an investor revolt forced the mining giant's board to escalate its response to the blasting of the ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters.

 

Mr Jacques, Rio's iron ore division boss Chris Salisbury and corporate affairs boss Simone Niven will depart the company within six months, the board said, following a series of crisis meetings held this week.

 

In a statement issued on Friday morning, the board said Mr Jacques, 48, would stay as chief executive until the appointment of his successor or until March 31, whichever was earlier.

 

The decision comes after months of escalating pressure from Aboriginal groups, top shareholders and government leaders over Rio Tinto's decision to destroy the two culturally significant rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region, which had evidence of continual human occupation tracing back at least 46,000 years.

 

Mr Jacques, Mr Salisbury and Ms Niven – whose department oversees community relations – were last month stripped of $7 million of their 2020 bonuses after a board-led review found they had to bear some responsibility.

 

Rio chairman Simon Thompson said at the time no one would be stood down over the matter, because the board had decided they were the best people to lead the critical reforms to heritage processes that were required.

 

However, the bonus cuts failed to satisfy many shareholders and Indigenous leaders who told board members that docking the pay of well-paid executives fell significantly short of true accountability for the destruction of such a significant site.

 

Mr Thompson said on Friday the dramatic escalation of penalties had been prompted by a series of "important stakeholders" voicing concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified.

 

"There were certainly some shareholders who felt strongly that the accountability was inappropriate and that this was an issue that needed to be addressed to rebuild trust," Mr Thompson told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

 

In order to enhance the board's focus and engagement in Australia, Simon McKeon, a non-executive director and former Australian of the Year for his philanthropic endeavours, would be appointed as Rio's senior independent director immediately.

 

Among the prominent investors to denounce the board's proposed financial penalties were AustralianSuper, HESTA, Unisuper and a group of 81 British pension funds, which made their demands for greater sanctions clear.

 

The National Native Title Council wrote to Mr Thompson describing the pay cuts as wholly inadequate and accusing the board of being "divorced from reality".

 

The blasting of the Juukan Gorge was legally sanctioned as part of a long-planned expansion of Rio's Brockman 4 iron ore mine, but it went against the wishes of the land's traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people, who said they were shocked and left devastated.

 

Although Rio Tinto claimed it believed it had the PKKP's consent until it was too late to stop the blast safely, the miner has issued public apologies and has acknowledged multiple failures in its communication with the traditional owners that could have prevented the debacle.

 

"What happened at Juukan was wrong," Mr Thompson said on Friday. "We are determined to ensure the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation."

 

…..

 

Ancient artefacts unearthed at the Juukan Gorge shelters – including grinding and pounding stones, a 28,000-year-old marsupial bone sharpened into a tool and a 4000-year-old belt made of plaited human hair with DNA linking it directly to today's PKKP people – had placed the caves among the most significant archaeological research sites in Australia.

 

The loss of the site has highlighted the power imbalance between Australia's mining industry and traditional owners and raises questions now being considered by a federal parliamentary inquiry about the need for stronger legal protections for traditional owners to safeguard heritage sites on their ancestral land.

 

A spokeswoman for the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation said on Friday it had no comment to make on the executive resignations, but it would continue to work with Rio Tinto.

 

“Our focus continues to rest heavily on preserving Aboriginal heritage and advocating for wide-ranging changes to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again," she said. “We cannot and will not allow this type of devastation to occur ever again.”

 

https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/rio-tinto-ceo-top-executives-resign-amid-cave-blast-crisis-20200910-p55uf8.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 2:05 a.m. No.10601161   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10238194

>>10239411

Rogue Afghan soldier Hekmatullah sent to detention in Qatar

 

Rogue Afghan soldier Hekmatullah is being transferred to a detention facility in Qatar where he will be held with five other prisoners, all of whom have been convicted of killing Coalition troops or civilian humanitarian workers in insider attacks.

 

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds confirmed the transfer on Friday, reaffirming the government’s position that Hekmatullah must not be released as part of US-brokered peace talks with the Taliban.

 

“We have communicated our position repeatedly and consistently and at the highest level to the government of Afghanistan, which is solely responsible for his custody, and to the United States,” they said.

 

“In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban agreed to a number of steps, including the release of Afghan government and Taliban prisoners, as goodwill preconditions that oblige the Taliban to enter into intra-Afghan negotiations with the government of Afghanistan.

 

“Australia has worked hard with the United States, the government of Afghanistan and other nations, including the British and French governments, since February 2020 to keep Hekmatullah in detention, and to keep these six sensitive prisoners separate from the wider goodwill agreement.

 

“That agreement has already seen the release of some 5,000 Taliban-associated prisoners and detainees.”

 

Hekmatullah, a former Afghan National Army sergeant, killed Robert Poate, Lance Corporal Stjepan “Rick” Milosevic and Sapper James Martin at a forward ­operating base north of Australia’s main base at Tarin Kowt on ­August 29, 2012 in a so-called “green on blue” attack.

 

Scott Morrison has argued that Hekmatullah should never be freed after he was sentenced to life imprisonment by an Afghan court, while French President Emmanuel Macron has also strongly opposed the release of Taliban terrorists who killed French soldiers and aid workers.

 

Senator Payne and Senator Reynolds said that Australia was not “standing in the way of peace talks” and that there was “no military solution to violence in Afghanistan.”

 

“Australia appreciates that the Afghan government, in making the decision to move the prisoners to Qatar, is doing its best to recognise and respect the concerns of the countries that want to see justice served,” they said. “The transfer of these last six sensitive prisoners, including Hekmatullah, from Afghanistan to a detention facility in Qatar, is a measure decided by the government of Afghanistan and the United States as a means of facilitating the start of the Intra-Afghan Negotiations, scheduled to begin on 12 September, while keeping the prisoners detained.”

 

“The Australian Government’s longstanding position is that Hekmatullah should serve a full custodial sentence for the crimes for which he was convicted by an Afghan court, and that he should not be released as part of a prisoner amnesty.”

 

“We will continue to advocate our position robustly, wherever he is being held. Justice and peace are not incompatible. Both have a place in peace arrangements.”

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/rogue-afghan-soldier-hekmatullah-sent-to-detention-in-qatar/news-story/73c1bdebf0e82f0a0f82f9fcbf9b2ec8

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 3:10 a.m. No.10601384   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Tweet

 

We all have an important role in protecting children and young people from sexual assault and exploitation. No matter what your job is, it’s your job to protect kids. #WhiteBalloonDay #WBD2020 #Bravehearts #ProtectKids #NCPW20

 

https://twitter.com/ACCCE_AUS/status/1304255970391056388

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 4:27 p.m. No.10608651   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8737 >>5056

Q Post #4668

 

Sep 11 2020 14:59:20 (EST) NEW

 

>>10605891

https://www.yaktrinews.com/eastern-washington-woman-arrested-for-starting-fires-while-crews-worked-to-fix-fallen-power-lines/

https://www.khq.com/news/arson-suspect-arrested-after-allegedly-starting-multiple-fires-in-spokane-on-monday/article_62df8a40-f223-11ea-8a02-af6f5dca5965.html

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2020/09/man-arrested-on-arson-allegation-in-wildfire-west-of-eugene-deputies-say.html

https://nbc16.com/news/local/man-seen-starting-fires-at-oregon-state-park-local-fire-chief-says?fbclid=IwAR0oZy___Y1f9W7R3oUpWPNWXnbYLmy8LuqD_tR_LNUk8H09mj1EqwAwr-U

https://kion546.com/news/2020/09/07/woman-accused-of-intentionally-starting-fires-on-highway-101-arrested/

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4668

 

 

FBI Portland Tweets

 

Reports that extremists are setting wildfires in Oregon are untrue. Help us stop the spread of misinformation by only sharing information from trusted, official sources.

 

FBI Portland and local law enforcement agencies have been receiving reports that extremists are responsible for setting wildfires in Oregon. With our state and local partners, the FBI has investigated several such reports and found them to be untrue.

 

https://twitter.com/FBIPortland/status/1304485033210769409

 

Conspiracy theories and misinformation take valuable resources away local fire and police agencies working around the clock to bring these fires under control. Please help our entire community by only sharing validated information from official sources.

 

SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE LOREN CANNON

Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

https://twitter.com/FBIPortland/status/1304485157337018377

 

 

Loren 'Renn' Cannon Named Special Agent in Charge of the Portland Division

 

November 30, 2016

 

FBI Director James B. Comey has named Loren “Renn” Cannon as the special agent in charge of the Portland Division. Mr. Cannon most recently served as the section chief of the Leadership Development Program in the Human Resources Branch at FBI Headquarters.

 

Mr. Cannon entered on duty with the FBI in 1998 and began his career in the San Francisco Division, San Jose Resident Agency, where he investigated violent crime, drug trafficking organizations, and international terrorism. Mr. Cannon also served as the San Francisco SWAT senior team leader.

 

Throughout his career, Mr. Cannon has held leadership positions in the San Francisco Joint Terrorism Task Force, as the deputy on-scene commander in Afghanistan, and as the assistant legal attaché in Sydney, Australia.

 

Mr. Cannon will assume this new role in late January.

 

https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/loren-renn-cannon-named-special-agent-in-charge-of-the-portland-division

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 4:39 p.m. No.10608737   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10608651

FBI Portland Issues Statement on Unrest and Requests Public Tips

 

FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

Uploaded on 26 Aug 2020

 

FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Renn Cannon issued a statement about the unrest in Portland and requested the public's help if they have information about criminal activity.

 

More at: www.fbi.gov/video-repository/portland-sac-dmt-082620.mp4/view

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arS7UPf0N_c

 

 

FBI Portland Issues Statement on Unrest and Requests Public Tips

 

Video Transcript

 

My name is Renn Cannon, and I’m the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland office.

 

The death of George Floyd and many others have prompted communities across our nation to examine the relationship between law enforcement and the people we serve. That work is worthy of everyone’s attention.

 

What concerns me in Portland, however, is that violent agitators have taken control of the stage. They are using criminal violence to crowd out everyone else. The violence of a few is diminishing the voice of the many.

 

It’s hard to move forward in Portland when we spend night after night working to counter violence in the streets. Law enforcement wants it to end. The community needs it to end so we can move into 21st century public safety the right way. Change can be hard and messy. Our commitment in the FBI is to conduct investigations with the integrity you expect. Knowing we are human and therefore not perfect, we undertake that commitment with resolve and with humility.

 

The FBI’s mission is to uphold the Constitution and to protect the American people. We can do both, and we will do both. We will do everything we can to protect your First Amendment right to protest and make your voice heard. We will also work to keep everyone safe. To that end, please know that criminal activity is not protected. There is no permit for assault, arson, or significant property damage. This violence has real victims, among them business owners, residents, and individuals exercising their Constitutional rights.

 

I want to ask you for your help. If you have images or video evidence of criminal activity that is taking place in the city of Portland, please visit the FBI’s digital media tipline where you can upload these items at fbi.gov/PDviolence. Please help us if you can.

 

I also want to reiterate very clearly the FBI does not pursue individuals who are exercising their right to protest, and we do not investigate ideology. We will, however, pursue individuals who commit crimes because their rights end when they violate the rights of others.

 

https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/portland-sac-dmt-082620.mp4/@@download/file/portland-sac-dmt-082620.mp4

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arS7UPf0N_c

 

https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/portland-sac-dmt-082620.mp4/view

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 6:43 p.m. No.10611062   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

>>10600877

UK extradition hearing for Assange to resume Monday after negative COVID test

 

LONDON (Reuters) - The London extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will resume on Monday after one of the lawyers in the case received a negative test result for COVID-19.

 

Judge Vanessa Baraitser granted an adjournment on Thursday after being told one of the lawyers representing the United States might have been exposed to the virus.

 

The hearing at London’s Old Bailey court will now resume as planned, a court official said.

 

Assange is fighting extradition to the United States where he is wanted for conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/uk-extradition-hearing-assange-resume-115158780.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 7:03 p.m. No.10611373   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10575548

Charges increased five-fold, bail denied following analysis of accused paedophile Jadd William Brooker's electronic devices

 

South Australian police have identified child abuse victims in Adelaide, New South Wales and Italy after analysing electronic devices seized from an accused paedophile, a court has heard.

 

Jadd William Brooker, 38, was earlier granted home detention bail by Magistrate Rodney Oates but the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.

 

Justice Sam Doyle refused to release him on Friday.

 

He said the alleged offending was "extremely serious", with one investigating officer describing it as the "worst and most degrading witnessed in 14 years of investigation".

 

Prosecutor Lucy Boord told the court that on Friday police increased his charges from eight to 44 child sex offences after investigators started to analyse his phone, laptop and a hard drive after seizing them on August 26.

 

"We are in the very early stages of the investigation in this matter and each day sees police uncover further information," she said.

 

"E-crime have identified 4.5 million items of interest across those three devices … at least 10,000 are probable child pornography."

 

She said only 30 per cent of one messaging app and part of another had been analysed and so far police had identified three child abuse victims.

 

The court heard one was a 15-year-old boy from New South Wales and another was a boy from Adelaide, who has since died.

 

Ms Boord told the court that the third identified child was a 16-year-old boy from Italy and that there were up to nine further potential unidentified victims.

 

"Those discoveries of those three known children have been made whilst there has been, what I'll call, a cursory search of two of the accused's messaging apps, which is Skype and Telegram," she said.

 

She told the court that police still had to analyse 50,000 messages across nine messaging apps, including iMessage, Kik, WhatsApp and Instagram.

 

Boy being tested for HIV

 

The court heard that Mr Brooker — who is HIV positive — was also conversing with a "like-minded individual" about his desire to infect children with HIV.

 

Ms Boord said the accused allegedly engaged in filmed sexual activities with the New South Wales boy, who was now being tested for HIV.

 

"The seriousness of that offence needs to be viewed against that conversation along with … various footage of that sexual interaction," she said.

 

"This is no idle bragging between people over the internet — there is evidence that this has actually occurred."

 

Tim Clarke, for Mr Brooker, told the court that his client was not a flight risk because he had ties in South Australia and had the support of his grandparents and mother.

 

"It's serious offending, [but] it's not the most serious in the sense that bail has been granted for allegations as serious as murder," he said.

 

Mr Clarke said Magistrate Oates appropriately granted bail on the presumption of innocence and presumption in favour of bail.

 

He told the court that Mr Brooker's online presence could be controlled by police while on home detention bail.

 

Justice Doyle accepted that there was a "degree of emotion" involved in the way police and prosecutors outlined their case, but said the "bare descriptions" were enough to demonstrate the seriousness of offending.

 

Mr Brooker was remanded to appear again before the court in April 2021.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-11/jadd-william-brooker-denied-home-detention-bail/12656304

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 7:49 p.m. No.10612001   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2025 >>5056

Man charged after ‘sextortion’ campaign against underage girls

 

1/2

 

A 23-year-old Sri Lankan national residing in Melbourne has been charged with child abuse material offences, after allegedly coercing young girls into sending explicit images and videos of themselves then distributing the intimate content to their family and friends as a punishment for failing to send more.

 

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) began an investigation in April this year, after receiving tips from both the London Metropolitan Police (MET) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about young girls, aged between 12 and 14, allegedly receiving threatening messages seeking self-produced child exploitation material (CAM).

 

Investigators traced the messages to an address in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood and executed a search warrant in June 2020. Investigators seized a number of devices for further digital forensic examination.

 

Evidence from the seized devices allegedly show the man contacted two young girls, one in the UK and one in the US, using fake social media identities. After gaining their trust, both girls sent intimate content to the man. It is further alleged, he then used these images and videos to blackmail them for more content, under the threat of sharing the previously sent images with their friends and family.

 

When both children refused his demands, the man allegedly made contact with multiple friends and family members of both girls and shared the intimate images and videos.

 

The man allegedly sent dozens of messages to the girls in which he threatened to release more of the sexually explicit material and that he would “ruin their lives” if they failed to comply with his requests.

 

The AFP arrested the man yesterday at his new Doveton address (11 September 2020).

 

He faced Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday, charged with:

 

  • One count of possessing child abuse material using carriage service contrary to section S474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • Two counts of causing child pornography material to be transmitted (to self) using a carriage service contrary to section S474.19(1)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • One count of causing child abuse material to be transmitted (to self) using a carriage service contrary to section S474.22(1)(a)(iv) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • Two counts of soliciting child pornography material using a carriage service contrary to section S474.19(1)(a)(iv) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • One count of soliciting child abuse material using a carriage service contrary to section S474.22(1)(a)(iv) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • Nine counts of transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service contrary to section S474.22(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth);

 

  • One count of transmitting child pornography using a carriage service contrary to section S474.19(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

 

If convicted, he is facing a maximum term of 15 years imprisonment.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 7:50 p.m. No.10612025   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10612001

 

2/2

 

AFP Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling said police will do everything their power to ensure children are protected from predatory offending against their innocence.

 

“Child exploitation material can have a devastating, life-long impact on its victims,” Detective Superintendent Crossling said.

 

“In this case, not only are they victims of self-produced child exploitation material, but it has been doubly weaponised against them to facilitate so-called sextortion.

 

“Sextortion is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share intimate images of you online unless you give in to their demands.

 

“These demands are typically for money, more intimate images, sexual favours, or in an effort to control or humiliate a victim.”

 

D/ Superintendent Crossling said authorities encourage anyone who falls victim to image-based abuse to report the matter to the site or application where it is appearing and to the authorities.

 

“We also encourage people to seek help from a trusted relative or friend or professional support service – it can be a complex situation, but nothing is so bad that you cannot tell someone,” said D/ Superintendent Crossling,

 

If you are the victim of image-based abuse, consider the following course of action:

 

  • do not send any more personal images or videos

 

  • get support from a trusted friend or family member, or professional support services

 

  • collect as much evidence as you can, including screenshots, URLs or any other records

 

  • block the persons number/profile/email address (do this after collecting evidence)

 

  • giving in to requests is not encouraged, once you have complied with their demands there is nothing preventing them from targeting you again

 

  • report the matter to police

 

  • If you are worried about your physical safety, call Triple Zero (000) or contact your local police station.

 

If content has been posted online, report the site where content is hosted to the eSafety Commissioner (esafety.gov.au).

 

Note to media:

 

Use of term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

 

The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.

 

Use of the phrase "child pornography" is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:

 

  • indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

 

  • conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

 

Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.

 

Editor’s note: Arrest footage available through this Hightail link - https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/w82WhKDCtd

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/man-charged-after-%E2%80%98sextortion%E2%80%99-campaign-against-underage-girls

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 11, 2020, 11:53 p.m. No.10614940   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>3152 >>5047

Michael McGowan Tweet

 

WA Liberal Party MP Andrew Hastie is joining the - partly Qanon driven - outrage about new Netflix program Cuties.

 

https://twitter.com/mmcgowan/status/1304361834909065218

 

 

Michael McGowan

Michael McGowan is a Guardian Australia reporter based in Sydney. He previously worked at the Newcastle Herald, where he covered state and local politics.

Email: michael.mcgowan@theguardian.com.

Signal: +61 401 519 646

 

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/michael-mcgowan

 

 

Lyle Shelton Facebook Post

 

I’m on WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie’s email list. This is what he sent out this afternoon. What a champion. With people like him in public life with the courage to speak up about and push back on the rubbish in our culture, there is hope.

 

Andrew Hastie MP

 

Dear Friend,

 

Loving and protecting our kids is instinctive to us. So it’s troubling that we need to be reminded as a society to care for our kids.

 

But it’s necessary—especially when we have multinational entertainment services like Netflix streaming programs that sexualise young girls and objectify their bodies.

 

This week Netflix premiered a new program called Cuties, which depicts scantily dressed 11 year old girls dancing in a hypersexual manner.

 

Their original promotional poster was so inappropriate that Netflix pulled it, after a public backlash.

 

That’s not entertainment. That’s normalising paedophilia.

 

The film was rated MA 15+ on the 8th September by the Australian Department of Communications. I strongly disagree with this assessment.

 

This week also happens to be National Child Protection Week, run by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN).

 

The 2020 theme is ‘Putting Children First’—a call to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children in our communities.

 

What can we do about it?

 

I’ve spoken and written a lot about Australian sovereignty over the past few years.

 

Sovereignty begins in the family home.

 

If the safety and wellbeing of our kids are threatened, then families like yours and mine need to assert our sovereignty and take back control.

 

Today, Ruth and I took back control when we cancelled our Netflix subscription.

 

As a father to young children I don’t want anyone, including Netflix, undermining my family, my community and the welfare of Aussie children.

 

They are our future and we must put their safety and wellbeing first.

 

Best,

 

Andrew Hastie MP

 

https://www.facebook.com/lylegshelton/posts/1840058726148380

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 4:55 p.m. No.10623152   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10614940

Q Post #4682

 

Sep 12 2020 12:34:03 (EST) NEW

 

Attempts to 'normalize' will fail.

Who will be next?

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4682

 

 

Q Post #4683

 

Sep 12 2020 12:55:45 (EST) NEW

 

>>10618970

You.

Have.

More.

Than.

You.

Know.

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4683

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 7:55 p.m. No.10625463   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5496 >>5047

QAnon spreads across globe, shadowing COVID-19

 

BY CHRIS MILLS RODRIGO - 09/12/20

 

1/2

 

The QAnon movement is spreading around the world, turning an outlandish conspiracy theory revolving around President Trump into one of the nation’s most dangerous exports.

 

Flags and banners brandishing one of the conspiracy’s mottos — “WWG1WGA,” an acronym for “where we go one, we go all” — dotted the crowd at a rally against lockdowns in Germany last month.

 

And when Trump visited Japan in 2019, he was greeted by cardboard cutouts of the letter Q.

 

These aren’t just isolated instances either. Researchers have found large QAnon communities in more than 70 countries.

 

The original conspiracy theory was tightly focused on an alleged cabal of deep state figures and Hollywood elites running child trafficking rings that Trump was working with the military to expose. But it has since evolved into a meta-conspiracy theory that pushes its anti-institution and anti-Semitic strains more explicitly.

 

Experts who spoke with The Hill about the theory’s spread said it has become worse because of the coronavirus, which itself is the subject of many conspiracy theories. This helped create a perfect storm fostering distrust in established government and public health institutions.

 

“Pandemics fuel a lot of questions and make people very skeptical, especially in cases when what we would consider to be credible and trustworthy institutions all of a sudden themselves don't seem to have the right answers or are not aligned on how to manage the situation,” Anna-Sophie Harling, head of media evaluation startup NewsGuard’s Europe team, said in an interview.

 

“Conspiracies are rooted in the idea that we're all being lied to by some greater authority or voice and QAnon perfectly ties into that.”

 

The hyper-viral short documentary “Out of the Shadows” fueled baseless theories linking the coronavirus’s origins to Bill Gates, 5G towers and the World Health Organization, Alex Newhouse, digital research lead at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute, told The Hill.

 

And as institutional distrust grew, QAnon, which pushed a lot of the disinformation in the first place, was able to grab a foothold.

 

Another way that the pandemic has contributed to the international spread of QAnon is by isolating people and leaving them with little to do but go online.

 

“As a consequence of people not working as much, people are spending a lot more time online and they started going down these rabbit holes,” said Travis View, co-host of the "QAnon Anonymous" podcast.

 

Social media has been the biggest vector for QAnon’s international growth.

 

In a report released last month, NewsGuard found QAnon Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages with thousands of followers emerging across Europe. Many of these hubs for the QAnon community used the COVID-19 pandemic to expand their reach and tie the virus to the “deep state,” one of the theory’s primary enemies.

 

QAnon’s presence online has also been seen in Australia, Russia, Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela. Followers have also spread in other communities distrustful of the government, from anti-vaccinations groups to people who oppose wearing masks that help limit COVID-19’s spread.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 7:56 p.m. No.10625496   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

>>10625463

 

2/2

 

The proselytizing for QAnon can be subtle. A post this week in a British anti-mask group that celebrated not wearing masks in stores was met by a long comment in agreement that ended with “I am declaring that Jesus is my Lord and not Satan,” a nod toward QAnon’s Satanic panic messaging.

 

“Mommy bloggers” and Instagram influencers have also started parroting QAnon talking points alongside their normal meditation or spiritual energy posts, according to View.

 

Many social media platforms have taken some steps to slow this spread.

 

Twitter in July banned thousands of accounts affiliated with QAnon and instituted policies meant to limit its spread. Facebook last month removed 900 groups and pages from its platform in a crackdown on QAnon and expanded its policy on violent extremism.

 

These efforts have fallen short, however. A cursory search for terms associated with QAnon on either platform yields hundreds of results. The challenge of identifying and taking down these groups is made even harder when they’re international, given the comparatively limited number of content moderators that social media companies employee with native languages other than English.

 

Other social media platforms, like the messaging app Telegram, that spread QAnon content abroad have done little to rein it in.

 

“Telegram is much more popular in certain countries in Europe, especially around the post-Soviet world … it's a little bit more lax in terms of content moderation,” Zarine Kharazian, assistant editor at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told The Hill.

 

It’s difficult to know just how many QAnon adherents there are abroad, or in the U.S. for that matter. The size of foreign Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages identified by experts and The Hill give enough evidence to suggest the number is likely in the tens of thousands.

 

The versions of QAnon abroad are fairly similar to the theory in the U.S. It is deeply anti-Semitic, casting Jewish Holocaust survivor George Soros as the puppeteer behind politicians and clearly takes inspiration for its “global cabal” from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fake document historically used to smear the Jewish community.

 

QAnon abroad also still keeps Trump as an important figure, although to varying degrees. In countries where the leader has close ties to the American president, they are often considered white hats, a term used by the community to describe those working within the government to expose the deep state.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was referenced in a “Q drop,” the cryptic messages posted by an unknown figure who purports to have insider information on image board 8kun that make up the basis of the conspiracy.

 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is another figure considered by many in the community to be a white hat because of his ties to prolific QAnon poster Tim Stewart, who was banned from Twitter this week.

 

The belief that elites, the specific examples of which vary by country, are running child trafficking rings appears to be present in every iteration of QAnon. The allegation that they’re running them to harvest “adrenochrome,” an easy to obtain chemical compound, to keep themselves young has become a particular obsession of the community abroad, according to Newhouse.

 

The international spread of QAnon has also started to manifest itself physically.

 

In addition to the presence of QAnon signs and supporters at anti-lockdown protests, experts believe the community was also a driving force behind the “Save the Children” rallies that have occurred all over the world. QAnon adherents flooded social media for weeks with posts about child trafficking, a legitimate concern that deserves attention.

 

QAnon supporters, however, used that real problem as a way to suck people into their conspiracy while doing little to address trafficking and often obfuscating actual solutions.

 

No cases of violence abroad have been linked to QAnon yet, unlike in the U.S. where it has been tied to several cases of criminal activity.

 

But observers say they are worried about violence, saying the fact that proponents of the conspiracy eagerly anticipate the execution of political opponents underscores how it could become a global threat.

 

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/516102-qanon-spreads-across-globe-shadowing-covid-19

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 8:05 p.m. No.10625663   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

Celebrity chef Pete Evans ‘health coach’ title under fire from AMA

 

His publishers Pan Macmillan call him the number one ‘health coach’ but the Australian Medical Association has taken aim at the claim, due to Pete Evans’ increasing promotion of the most extreme anti-vaccine activists and his continual undermining of COVID-19 health measures.

 

The Australian Medical Association has taken aim at former celebrity chef Pete Evans and publisher Pan Macmillan for promoting Evans as “the number 1 selling Australian health” author.

 

The former My Kitchen Rules judge has firmly embedded himself in the anti-vaccine camp by proclaiming the likes of disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield, TV producer Del Bigtree and Robert F Kennedy Jr as “heroes”.

 

Evans also said COVID-19 a “‘f**king scam” and “social distancing will make you sicker and lower your immune system” in live posts last week. He has a new ‘lifestyle’ book out next month.

 

AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid said: “Pete Evans should stick to writing cookbooks and leave the health advice to people who have actually studied science and medicine at university, not via Google”.

 

“If someone who compares COVID-19 to Barney the dinosaur and calls three of the most notorious anti-vaxxers ‘heroes’ can be ‘Australia’s leading health author’, then I’ve still got a chance of running out for the West Coast Eagles in the grand final.”

 

Evans has used his 1.5 million social media following, garnered through his mainstream media career as a television chef, to give a platform to the most extreme anti-vaccine campaigners of late, including Wakefield and Bigtree, the producers of Vaxxed, which perpetuates the thoroughly scientifically debunked, non-existent link between the measles mumps and rubella vaccine and autism.

 

Evans calls himself “pro safe” but his rhetoric is exclusively anti-vaccine, especially with regards to any future COVID-19 vaccine.

 

He also believes in the QAnon conspiracy that the world is run by Satan-worshipping paedophiles plotting to oust US president Donald Trump and that tech billionaire Bill Gates is behind a bizarre plot to depopulate the world through vaccination.

 

“It’s ironic that his latest book is called Heal. It’s hard to heal a baby with whooping cough, or a young adult with meningococcal disease, and you’re certainly not going to do it with a $15,000 lava lamp, or by staring into the sun,” Dr Khorshid said.

 

“You are only going to be able to do it by ensuring that enough people who can be vaccinated against preventable disease are vaccinated, to protect those who can’t.”

 

Evans recently opened the Evolve Health Lab in Byron Bay that sells “bio-hacking” through arctic chambers and light machines.

 

Pan Macmillan, which describes Evans as “the #1 selling Australian health and wholefood author” and “health coach” defended their commercial relationship.

 

“Pan Macmillan has had a successful publishing relationship with Pete Evans since 2014. The company has published 15 books of recipe and food-related content that is healthy, safe and nutritious,” the company said in a statement to The Sunday Telegraph.

 

“These books have been bought in the hundreds of thousands by people who admire his food ethos and has led to him being Australia‘s No.1 selling Australian wholefood author for the past three years.”

 

https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/celebrity-chef-pete-evans-health-coach-title-under-fire-from-ama/news-story/8206062a824c88fa216fa73c7fcba897

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 8:13 p.m. No.10625777   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10586484

Peter Dutton says Tom Hanks should not be treated differently

 

Peter Dutton has hit back at the Qld government which accused him of “lying” about being the one who gave Tom Hanks entry to Australia.

 

Home affairs minister Peter Dutton has hit back at the Qld government for saying he was “lying” about how Hollywood star Tom Hanks entered Australia to film a movie.

 

The row started because the famous actor was granted an exemption from Queensland’s strict border rules and entered the state from America on Tuesday night.

 

Hanks was granted permission to self isolate in a resort on the Gold Coast, instead of undergoing the state’s Brisbane-based hotel quarantine system.

 

Speaking on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning, Mr Dutton, who has been critical of the Qld government’s treatment of Hanks, reiterated his position the Hollywood star should not have been treated differently to any other traveller trying to enter Australia.

 

“Mr Hanks and his party have not gone into hotel quarantine as other Australians would have to,” he said.

 

“The Queensland Government made separate arrangements for that.

 

“Mr Hanks should be treated no differently than somebody else coming back, and that’s the basis on which we argue here.”

 

Mr Dutton also hit back at Qld Deputy Premier Steven Miles’ comments on Saturday that it was he, as the federal minister responsible for borders, who had actually allowed Hanks’ entry into Australia.

 

“He was saying that it was us that let Tom Hanks in, when in fact it was him and his own department that let Tom Hanks in,” Mr Miles said.

 

When asked about this on Sunday, Mr Dutton said that Border Force had only granted Hanks entry because the Qld government and Qld Health had porvided a letter of support.

 

(It was approved) based on the letter of support from Queensland Health and based on the fact that the Qld Government had, as I understand it, provided financial incentive for the movie to be shot in Queensland,” he said.

 

“So Border Force will only approve Mr Hanks if he’s coming in under that arrangement.

 

“If he was coming here as a tourist, he wouldn’t be approved by Border Force.”

 

Speaking on Insiders, Mr Dutton pointed the finger at state governments which have not budged on relaxing border restrictions to parts of the country where there are zero to nearly no cases of COVID-19.

 

He said the restrictions in Qld were not based on health advice, but are still being implemented for political gains by the Palaszczuk government, which is seeking re-election in October.

 

Communities in northern New South Wales which have stronger ties to southeast Queensland have been barred from entering the state, despite there being no active cases of coronavirus in the region.

 

“Somebody coming from the ACT where there have been no cases, having to go into a hotel in Brisbane for two weeks before they can see a loved one, who has a life expectancy of only one week, is an outrage and there’s no comparison to make there,” Mr Dutton said.

 

Mr Dutton also noted the cap on returning travellers could be increased if the hotel quarantine limits were increased.

 

Insiders host David Speers questioned Mr Dutton as to why former Prime Minister Tony Abbot was granted permission to go to Europe, while international travel has been banned for Australian citizens.

 

Mr Dutton said the Border Force commissioner approves individual cases for travel relating to business and compassionate reasons.

 

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/peter-dutton-says-tom-hanks-should-not-be-treated-differently/news-story/0dbeb99b034b9f6a77ad4c3855de8259

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 8:27 p.m. No.10626007   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7663 >>4843

Protests flop in Melbourne gloom

 

A second round of anti-lockdown protests fizzled out on Saturday amid confusion over locations, gloomy weather and an immense police presence.

 

Several people were arrested by the Botanic Gardens, while a handful of individuals loitering on the grass, waiting for reinforcements that never came, were moved on with fines or without incident.

 

Only 10-15 turned up at Fitzroy Gardens, a late inclusion by organisers, and they were hopelessly outnumbered by police.

 

A statement from Victoria Police on Saturday afternoon said 14 people were arrested and 51 fines issued amongst a pool of about 100 protesters at "various locations".

 

Police would not clarify where the 100 had gathered or where the arrests were made.

 

In Fitzroy Gardens, small groups were told to leave and warned they would be fined if they came back. One older woman had her signs, including "Open Our Churches", confiscated by officers.

 

The location was a ploy to throw police, but online chatter indicated it only confused protesters who had been planning to show up at the Shrine for a "freedom walk" around the tan.

 

In the end, there was no mass walk at all.

 

"Police had significant prevention activity in the lead up to and duration of [Saturday's protest], which included visiting 90 persons of interest to urge them not to attend," Victoria Police said.

 

"Our investigations into this protest will continue, and we expect to issue further fines once the identity of individuals has been confirmed."

 

Police also appeared to have learned from last Saturday's violent protests, in which hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the Shrine before moving to Albert Park Lake.

 

An officer was allegedly punched in the head and dozens of demonstrators were wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.

 

This time officers blocked all entries to the Shrine before anyone arrived and picked off the handful of individuals before they had a chance to gather.

 

Police moved to Carlton Gardens after midday when anti-lockdown and conspiracy theorist messaging channels touted it as the new meeting spot. Only a few protesters had turned up.

 

Earlier this week, more than 1300 people indicated their online interest in the freedom walk slammed by premier Daniel Andrews as "selfish and unlawful" on Saturday morning.

 

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius likened turning up to another anti-lockdown press conference on Friday to a "dog returning to eat his own vomit".

 

Organiser Tony Pecora – a former candidate for Clive Palmer's United Australia Party – appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday via video link after his arrest on two counts of incitement.

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/protests-flop-in-melbourne-gloom-20200912-p55v0c.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 9:40 p.m. No.10627016   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7027 >>5056

Australia Burned Under a Haze of Misinformation Earlier This Year. The U.S. Is Next.

 

Ketan Joshi - 13 September 2020

 

1/2

 

In January, I watched Australia burn from a distance, gripped with anxiety and sadness. Only a few months after I moved to Norway, the most terrifying firestorms the country has ever encountered tore through the land.

 

The sky grew blood red. The pollution from particulates broke records. Towns were razed, homes and lives were lost. Every single person in Australia was impacted in some way, many in deeply tragic and irreversible ways. The place where I was married was burned to a crisp. It was climate change that shoved the familiar phenomenon of bushfires into shockingly new territory.

 

In Australian media and politics, there is a strangely powerful immune system that can automatically detect the presence of a threat to the fossil fuel industry. This immune response is quite unique. Someone once tried to do a carbon price; ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott (now a UK trade advisor) claimed an entire town dependent on the steel industry would be erased. In 2019, the center-left opposition suggested an emissions standard for vehicles; current Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that’d be the “end of the weekend” because people wouldn’t be allowed to off-road.

 

Climate-intensified wildfires that changed the lived reality of a large majority of Australians in horrific and unforgettable ways triggered an unprecedented immune response to deny reality and a chance at serious climate change. American conservatives have been mostly silent on the wildfires so far, but the Australian experience suggests there’s a risk of misinformation flaring up to downplay climate change’s role in the carnage and shift blame elsewhere.

 

The first, most unsophisticated reactions to Australia’s obvious climate disaster came from politicians. Current leader of the rural, right-wing party the Nationals, Michael McCormack, described climate activists as “raving, inner city lunatics” for linking bushfires to climate change. Australian government politician Craig Kelly (regularly someone with the biggest individual reach on Facebook among Australia’s parliament, far greater than the prime minister) ran hard and fast with old school climate denial. An old line— ‘Australia’s always had bushfires’ (pioneered by a former environment minister who claimed to have seen it on Wikipedia)—echoed out from the Prime Minister Scott Morrison down to the party rank and file.

 

Off the back of this, a blaze of misinformation began to form, spreading through traditional and social media platforms in Australia and around the world with incredible speed.

 

Two ideas gained real legs. First was the theory that the fires were so intense because environmentalists and greenies had opposed hazard reduction burns where dry fuel is burned off outside of bushfire season. It is an old one; in 2009, News Corp columnist Miranda Devine wrote that “it is not arsonists who should be hanging from lamp-posts but greenies.” It was a lie in 2009 and it was a lie in 2020: Hazard reduction hadn’t decreased at all, and the Greens, Australia’s most liberal party, fully support this activity.

 

The second, more prominent claim was that the fire crisis was so bad because an unprecedented number of fires were being lit intentionally by arsonists. Some iterations of this theory specified climate activists intentionally lighting the fires to fake a climate crisis. This grew off the back of deceptive reporting in News Corp’s masthead, the Australian, and commercial TV network Channel Seven:

 

It spread worldwide, retweeted by Donald Trump Jr. and the conservative BBC journalist Andrew Neil. It even made it onto Fox News, where host Tomi Lahren yelled, “so I hate to break it to the Greta Thunbergs of the world…the fact of the matter is this: Australia has an arson problem you can’t pin on global warming, climate change, or whatever title you’re giving your environmental boogeyman these days.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 9:41 p.m. No.10627027   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10627016

 

2/2

 

The source of confusion stemmed from botched numbers that mixed accidental fires, such as poorly disposed cigarettes, and those fires that were intentionally lit. By the time there was clarity, it was too late. Australia’s politicians simply began inventing numbers, inflating them each time:

 

Quickly, the prominence of the meme was exaggerated using automated Twitter accounts. These are multiple accounts run by real people, with the intent of spreading the lie further and giving it a veneer of support that didn’t exist.

 

As we move well past that disaster, we’re beginning to realize just how bad the misinformation was. For the state of New South Wales, Australia’s biggest, a subsequent inquiry found no major fires were started by arson, and if you look at all 11,7444 fires, only 11 were started by arsonists trying to cause bushfires. The fact checks that came out both during and after the crisis failed to achieve the same prominence as the myth.

 

The other common rhetorical tactic politicians and others deployed in downplaying climate change was intentionally confusing the reasons that wildfires ignite with the factors behind why they spread quickly and destructively. Climate change worsens the conditions required for fire to spread, measured in Australia as the Forest Fire Danger Index, which has been worsening for decades. This is why the arsonists meme is both false and misleading: The main impact of climate change is intensifying this disaster, not triggering it.

 

Upsettingly, climate change does worsen ignition; power lines sag in heat and can spark deadly fires (as they did in 2009, in Australia, and as California knows too well). Climate-intensified wildfires themselves can spark their own weather, building huge: clouds of smoke that generate lightning, which sparks even more fires.

 

It is clear that California’s recent wildfires face a similar pattern. If it emerges anything like Australia’s misinformation firestorm, it’ll have the following features:

 

  • An attempt to blame a prominent group for intentionally igniting fires

 

  • A confusion between what started the fires and catalyzing factors such as high temperatures and dry fuel loads that allowed them to spread

 

  • TV and print media—particularly News Corp outlets such as Fox News or the Wall Street Journal—participating by presenting far more time for minor, unchanging factors while downplaying climate factors

 

  • Political and media commentators helping that spread through both repetition and alteration

 

  • Social media as a tool for spreading these theories through far-right groups, automated accounts and the viral publication of traditional media stories

 

At the time of writing, it’s only hours since San Francisco’s skies turned Blade-Runner orange. But there are early signs of conspiracy theories that “antifa” are intentionally lighting fires. A Republican senate candidate seemed to be one of the first, and the claim has now spread virally on Facebook. A couple that travelled to an Oregon town to take photos of fires (tip: never do this in any circumstance), but locals thought they were antifa arsonists, and there were calls to “send people out with guns.” This style of misinformation combined with America’s gun problem could have horrific consequences. In the town of Mollalla, Oregon, unidentified men armed with AR-15 machine guns forced three journalists to leave town, amid rumors of “antifa raids.”

 

Ultimately, the misinformation immune response in Australia’s political and media circles introduced enough doubt and confusion around the link between climate and wildfires to do real damage. It is worthwhile to point out to friends and family who might be vulnerable to this type of misinformation that it’s all happened before in Australia, and that those viral memes were shown decisively to have been false. Priming people to expect this wildfire of misinformation can help control outbreaks. Given the importance of broad public awareness of the link between the burning of fossil fuels and wildfires, it’s worth preparing for a misinformation firestorm well before it happens.

 

Ketan Joshi is an Australian clean energy analyst now writing on climate, energy and media, based in Oslo, Norway. He’s the author of Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future with NewSouth Publishing.

 

https://earther.gizmodo.com/australia-burned-under-a-haze-of-misinformation-earlier-1845031119?IR=T

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 10:18 p.m. No.10627331   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7349 >>5056

Ex-SCECGS Redlands teacher Gary Featherstone avoids jail as nudist camp victim’s transcript revealed

 

A former Sydney private school teacher has avoided jail again for child porn. But now, we can reveal how he took his victims to nudist camps in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland for the first time.

 

1/4

 

A world-renowned composer and notorious paedophile used four minutes from the moment police knocked on his door to when they entered the property to erase evidence he had downloaded horrific child abuse images from the Russian dark net.

 

By stalling opening the door, Gary Maxwell Featherstone has again avoided jail despite him being one of Australia’s worst serial paedophiles whose global child porn access has even been noted by the FBI in America.

 

Police knocked on Featherstone’s front door in a village west of Forster on the NSW Mid North Coast at 9.25am last February.

 

He did not open it immediately, later saying he was dealing with laundry. But a forensic check of his PlayStation found that at 9.21am he had been accessing abuse material.

 

“It would appear that the accused was caught in the act of accessing child abuse material when police arrived at his address and he was unable to completely hide his activity,” a police statement tendered to the Katoomba District Court stated.

 

The videos, accessed Tor dark websites, images and movies included boys under 10 years in bondage, toddlers in bath tubs and others in sex acts which were found on his device’s deleted section.

 

Featherstone initially denied all actions but then pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of use carriage service to access child pornography.

 

“Due to the images being deleted, police will not be pursuing a possess child abuse material charge as he was not technically in possession of the images,” a NSW Police statement tendered to court stated.

 

He was sentenced to 18 months to be served until December 2021 but the sentence was immediately suspended with Featherstone instead ordered to be of good behaviour and adhere to Taree Community Corrections supervision for that period.

 

This was despite earlier court hearings describing the risk of him offending with accessing child abuse material as “significantly high”.

 

The now 71-year-old was first arrested in 2003, ironically when Australian Federal Police at the behest of the FBI and US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, entered his home to find a child abuse video still playing, one of 50,000 “depraved” images and videos a search of his home would turn up.

 

The SCECGS Redlands private school teacher – who was listed on the International Who’s Who of Music as one of the 20th Century’s most outstanding composers and The American 500 Leaders of Influence in music – escaped jail instead handed a suspended sentence, prompting the NSW State Government to order a review which eventually saw him jailed for two years.

 

Then he was arrested again a year later and charged with 59 child abuse offences with evidence some of those on the videos were actually his 11-14 year old victims, filmed at “family friendly” nudist camps in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. Some of his victims were pulled from orphanages and boys homes and were ordered to pretend to be his sons as he took them to nudist camps across Australia.

 

It was an investigation by News Corp Australia that identified those on the videos with victims in Australia and convinced the NSW Police to initiate a case.

 

He was jailed for 13 years in 2006, released in 2011, jailed again for having child porn, released again, faced another year in jail in 2018 and two months after his parole expired in February last year police knocked on his door.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 10:20 p.m. No.10627349   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7363 >>5056

>>10627331

 

2/4

 

FEATHERSTONE’S VICTIM’S WORDS REVEALED

 

'An investigation by News Corp Australia almost 14 years ago saw Gary Maxwell Featherstone jailed on 12 charges relating to abuse of boys he would collect from orphanages.

 

For more than six years he would order the boys to pretend they were his sons, as he would travel about Australia to well-known family-run nudist camps to abuse and film them.

 

Some of the boys would eventually be shared with other men.

 

This is the never-before-published transcript of one of his victims speaking to this reporter that formed the centre piece of a file of material put together to convince police in four states particularly NSW that a monster was on the loose.

 

The videos of his abuse have been destroyed.

 

Featherstone hid behind his global fame, his respected status and his ill mother but this is the story of one of his victims.

 

Names have been redacted to protect the identity of the innocent.'

 

*********

 

"I was 12.

 

A friend (name redacted – CB) introduced me to him, he was a couple of years older than me, he was about 15.

 

At this stage, we were growing up in boys’ homes. I didn’t really care about much because things could not have gone any lower than things had already got.

 

What he was doing, it was all pretty normal.

 

(CB) I knew was molested before and once I got to know Featherstone I knew he was molesting him as well.

 

So he (Featherstone) was showing a lot of affection towards me and stuff like that and doing a lot of things that I had not had in a long time, showing me attention buying things and taking an interest basically.

 

I tried to talk to (CB) about it maybe three years ago but he goes ‘it’s behind me I’ve had enough’. CB and (redacted) look at it in a different way. They’ve got a lot of anger, (CB) hides behind the alcohol a lot.

 

CB was eventually “sold’’ to another man (redacted) from (redacted) in Rockdale.

 

The very first night it was him (Featherstone) touching me and then he pushed me down towards … (points below his waist and starts to cry).

 

We were playing computer games and having some pizza takeaway, it was always pizza, we’d get a video to watch after 8.30 then … (crying)

 

You see there wasn’t a weekend, there wouldn’t have been one weekend in the first four years where I can say he never touched me. Yes without hesitation I can swear on the bible, or the Koran or whatever.

 

I went to YMCA camps in Yarramundi (Hawkesbury) and one up there near Newcastle. There should be documentation at the John Hunter Hospital because I broke my ankle and we went there to get plaster.

 

Featherstone was a youth leader but he would molest us there.

 

He’d go to nudist conventions where nudist from all over Australia and overseas … the same would happen. Yeah that was pretty much the first month of meeting. At Wiseman’s Ferry, Windsor way, River Island near Mittagong, the Wombeyan Caves there, River Valley on the Echuca, Helios (nudist camp) in Gembrook in Victoria. He would film us at these places. I was at Rosco (nudist camp) when the Newcastle earthquake happened. I know that there are two videos that are circulating publicly because it was a health, health nude and sun and health conventions.

 

He’d drive everywhere with us.

 

There was Tindo (Nudist Club Cockatoo Valley South Australia) another one in Queensland near the Howard brewery on the highway heading towards the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast up near Caboolture and Kings Bridge and another up the north coast, we’d drive to all places. CB went on all the trips as well.

 

The one at (near brewery) he was actually run out off that I know because we packed up very quickly and we had to go. It use to have a petrol station space ship that’s how I remembered.

 

I’m not sure if the police at Newcastle still have it but they were called out New Year’s Eve for the earthquake to Rosco because there was pot down there. They spoke to (redacted), they spoke to myself and Gary (Featherstone) and he said he was my father.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 10:22 p.m. No.10627363   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7376

>>10627349

 

3/4

 

Gary would tell people at the nudist resorts he was my father and he would say `if you are ever asked, your mother and I are separated and you’ve come to live with me for a while”.

 

He would say CB was his older son from his first marriage.

 

I could describe them all Kiata, I could describe Rosco, River Valley, River Island, Helios, all of them.

 

He use to take me up to the Blue Mountains with his ‘girlfriend’ Lyn (name redacted). She was a much older lady than he was. I hate to say it but she was gullible in some senses where she looks back now and can see why I was playing up. She knows why now.

 

She was a bit gullible that way, I mean I don’t know anyone in their right mind that if you were going out with each other, she would sleep in the lounge room and he would sleep in the bedroom with (CB) and myself.

 

I was speaking to my mom a couple of days ago when (Featherstone) was arrested (for child pornography) and it was like a light had been switched on and I thought ‘now this is my chance now people are going to believe you’.

 

I tried to tell people, yes many people, many, many people. Mainly counsellors going all the way back to the very first night. Nobody would ever believe me.

 

One councillor Freida once said ‘something’s not right here and she called a case conference and said I was not allowed to go back to Gary’s house on weekends. She said we were not allowed to go over there. She knew something was up.

 

Gary would say ‘meet me on a Thursday after school and stay a week and I will drop you off at the horse paddock and you can run down to Carol Cottage (boys home) again on Wrights road in Kellyville (north west Sydney).

 

Gary’s mother had her horse Roxy on a corner and the nudist resort Kiata (Hawkesbury) was just down the road. She goes oh those funny people go down there’ and Gary would make sly funny jokes and sayOh you wouldn’t catch me going down there you don’t know what they could get up to’.

 

I couldn’t tell anybody what was going on because nobody would believe it.

 

I was a kid in a boys’ home who had a history of running away and getting into trouble in the boys home. Until this came out nobody was going to believe me. I felt that, he was an upstanding citizen in the community, that is what everybody thinks, he helps children and that. They’re going to think ‘here’s a bloke trying to accuse another man of something …’

 

I didn’t know really, I wasn’t sure I was confused, `is this right, is this normal? Are other kids having to go through this? I just didn’t have a clue until he got (name redacted boy 4) and I was 16 then.

 

He use to put on these electric type blue movies the older type of porn movies and I remember he’d video me and he used to say that he’d tape over them ‘don’t worry no-one will ever know, no one would ever know’. He would have this big old grey camera with battery pack VCR tape. He would … film us … engaged in activities by myself and with him. It would begin with oral sex then anything goes …

 

He would always constantly say ‘I love you, I love you I won’t let anything happen to you’. He goes ‘if you need anything just tell me and I will help you’ and I had no self-esteem basically, I had nothing. I didn’t care anymore. I was just a tool. I figured if I had to do that to make somebody happy then there’s nothing else I could do really.

 

When I heard about (boy 2) I wanted to kill him, I wanted to kill Gary, I had no hesitation.

 

The only person in my life I ever wanted to kill was him. It was against everything I’ve ever believed him but he’s got nothing, he’s got away with it.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 10:23 p.m. No.10627376   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10627363

 

4/4

 

I know I’m not the only one. He’s taken away kids from Kiata nudist resort – a kid called (boy 5) who use to go out there with his grandmother. He was exactly like me but living in a broken down home, easy prey.

 

There were six of us including me being abused.

 

We would also go to a gay club upstairs on Darlinghurst Road. There was a video machine downstairs and we would hire a video. I was 14 then. Bouncers never said anything, no nothing, they would just get $10 to look away. We just walked in, up the stairs, paid the guy and you just chose a video, then you walk downstairs and the first cubicle on the right had a bed and a dirty sheet and a TV at the foot of the bed and a bucket to discard things.

 

So this went on for four or five years.

 

I tried to speak about it, tell people, my mother.

 

He (Featherstone) goes ‘well Pete put it this way, who are they going to believe, you or me?’ At that stage of my life I thought ‘yea he’s pretty much right they are not going to believe me are they?’

 

I started playing up a lot, I had become withdrawn, I had become outwardly aggressive, always yelling I was now 16 by then.

 

I think I was more confused than enraged, everything was just building around and I didn’t know how to deal with it so I acted up I guess.

 

I kept a lot of it inside for a very, very long time and only started talking about it to a counsellor when I went to the Sir David Longland Correctional Centre (now Brisbane Correctional Centre)

 

She basically told me it was not my fault. I had nothing to be ashamed off.

 

When I told my mum and (counsellor) it was like a pretty big lift, because I can’t even hug my stepfather. I don’t touch him. I don’t have a particularly good relationship with him, or my mum I don’t have a good relationship properly with the way a female would like it.

 

I have a lot of flashbacks, vivid memories.

 

Basically it has wrecked my life. I don’t eat, I don’t sleep properly, I have flash backs all the time.

 

All I have to see is the Law & Order SVU (Special Victims Unit) TV show or a Current Affair or something like that, the news; the Anglican Church down here (Adelaide) which was on the news last night for abuse.

 

I want him to see my face and think `shit’, I’m in serious trouble now. At the end of the day, he took more than anything out of my life. He got me onto drugs at one stage, now I’ve been clean for over two years. He didn’t take drugs himself, he was just buying them. He bought me heroin on numerous occasions, ecstasy and acid LSD.

 

I’m no saint. I used the heroin in the long run to stop the thoughts, stop flashbacks, stop wanting to go and jump off a bridge, stop wanting to finish it all. I went to jail.

 

I’m good now, clean. Am getting my life back on track."

 

https://www.themercury.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/crimeinfocus/exsceggs-redlands-teacher-gary-featherstone-avoids-jail-as-nudist-camp-victims-transcript-revealed/news-story/f79df1c640dac01ec980141ad9841363

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 11:05 p.m. No.10627663   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7678 >>4843

>>10626007

Violence erupts as hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters chanting 'freedom' storm Queen Victoria Markets - pegging stolen FRUIT at riot squad officers and kicking police horses

 

1/3

 

Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters have massed in Melbourne for a second day, with some throwing fruit at police after raiding market stalls.

 

Protesters chanting 'Freedom' and 'Power to the people' were outnumbered by officers at Queen Victoria Market on Sunday.

 

Footage of violent scuffles and officers on horseback moving through a group inside the market has been posted online.

 

'There were a few tense moments when protesters started grabbing fruit and throwing it at police,' photographer Erik Anderson said from the scene.

 

Protesters yelled 'this is not a police state' and 'you've got to be on the right side of history'.

 

Mr Anderson estimated that police had arrested dozens of protesters.

 

Huge crowds of protesters were filmed marching down empty streets in Melbourne, calling for Daniel Andrews to ease the city's draconian lockdown restrictions.

 

One man was spotted kicking a police horse as officers attempted to calm crowds hurling abuse at them as they rode through the markets.

 

Melbourne remains in a Stage Four lockdown, meaning residents cannot leave their houses without a valid reason, and restrictions are in place to limit movement more than 5km from a person's home.

 

The restrictions remain in place, and both a State of Emergency and State of Disaster, have been extended a further four weeks despite the embattled state only recording 41 new cases and seven deaths on Sunday.

 

The latest figures released on Sunday morning take the state's death toll to 723 and the national count to 810 since the start of the pandemic in late January.

 

Leading up to the demonstration, organisers used encrypted phone apps to communicate, in an attempt to avoid police finding out the location of the planned rally, Herald Sun reported.

 

In messages sent to participants, organisers encouraged people to 'be agile, like water' and stick together throughout the course of the day.

 

'Be ready to swarm the location to assemble. Once we have assembled, we are all safe,' one of the organisers said.

 

'Conducting these protests is dependent on having sufficiently large numbers to outnumber any police presence at a location of assembly.

 

'Best way to achieve this is to ensure you have talked to everyone you know that might be interested in attending, and attempt to just bring at least one other person with you.'

 

Tensions between police and protesters escalated 11.45am on Sunday when about 50 people were cornered by police on Peel Street.

 

Riot police had to separate the crowd and Peel Street remains blocked off to the public.

 

Pictures taken at the scene show officers shepherding protesters through the streets and arresting people who do not comply with orders.

 

One man wearing a red and black bandanna told police he had lost faith in authorities throughout the pandemic.

 

He told police he felt unsafe in their presence, and that contributed to his decision to attend the illegal protest.

 

'Dude I'm scared. I don't even know how I'm going to pay this fine,' he said.

 

'Heartless soulless people. We've all lost faith.'

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 11:07 p.m. No.10627678   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>7695 >>4843

>>10627663

 

2/3

 

The second protest for the weekend comes hours after a woman shared footage of police dragging her from her car.

 

Natalie Bonett, 29, said she was making her way through the COVID blockade in Wallan, 60km north of Melbourne, on Saturday when she was stopped by police.

 

They informed her it was against the law to have her phone attached to a car charger which was mounted onto her windshield.

 

Following a brief and tense exchange, video shows the officer reach in drag the masked woman from her car as her passenger tried to pull her back in.

 

Ms Bonett, a lash technician in Melbourne, screamed and pulled away from the officer in the footage, demanding he stop touching her and get out of her car.

 

A passenger in the car attempted to hold her back, trying to tell the officer she's 'got anxiety' while Ms Bonett became increasingly distressed.

 

'What the fk are you doing, what the fk, get off me,' she shouted at the officer.

 

'No, I don't feel safe. You're armed,' she responded.

 

Police previously vowed to issue more $1,652 fines ahead of Sunday's protest.

 

'Police had significant prevention activity in the lead up to and duration of today's which included visiting 90 persons of interest to urge them not to attend,' a police statement on Saturday said.

 

'Our investigations into this protest will continue, and we expect to issue further fines once the identity of individuals has been confirmed.'

 

'Anyone thinking of attending a protest can expect the same swift and firm response from police as has occurred today and at previous protests that were in breach of Chief Health Officer restrictions.'

 

Officers on horseback and in riot gear marched through the city during Saturday's protests.

 

Demonstrators were taken away in handcuffs as police tried to avoid a repeat of last week's protest that saw violent clashes leading to 17 arrests.

 

One man was arrested on Saturday after holding an anti-lockdown sign and calling out to police outside the Shrine of Remembrance.

 

The man told News Corp he wasn't a conspiracy theorist but was anti-government and nodded when asked if it was 'worth the fine'.

 

Another mask-wearer was seen being spoken to by an officer while holding a sign that read: 'I am just exercising… my human rights'.

 

One elderly woman had her details taken by police after she held up a sign with the message: 'open our churches'.

 

One woman was dramatically restrained on the ground by multiple officers at the Observatory Gate because she wouldn't give her ID, the Herald Sun reported.

 

She was shoved into the back of a police car while screaming to be let go.

 

'They've arrested me because I won't say my name. I've been in Melbourne all my life, I just want to go for a walk,' the woman said.

 

Meanwhile a man with a picture of Premier Daniel Andrews stuck to the back of his face shield paraded through the protest while another had a mask saying 'sack Daniel Andrews'.

 

The 'Freedom Walk' is believed to be the doing of sacked Clive Palmer political candidate and conspiracy theorist Tony Pecora, 43.

 

Mr Pecora was arrested by police after allegedly planning the event and charged with two counts of incitement.

 

The 43-year-old allegedly created the event on social media under the alias Arkwell Tripellego.

 

He believes the deadly coronavirus was 'genetically engineered by world banks to kill off weak humans'.

 

He then quoted Midnight Oil, allegedly telling police if someone contracted coronavirus at one of his events 'it would be better to die on your feet than live on your knees'.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 11:09 p.m. No.10627695   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4843

>>10627678

 

3/3

 

On Sunday, Mr Andrews announced an extension of the State of Emergency and State of Disaster in Victoria.

 

Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos said the extension of the State of Emergency, which will now last until at least October 11, was crucial for the implementation of necessary COVID-safe guidelines.

 

'The State of Emergency ensures we have all the tools we need to fight this virus – keeping all of us safe,' she said.

 

Meanwhile Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville said it wasn't an easy decision to make.

 

'Extending a State of Disaster is never a decision we make lightly – and it won't be in place a moment longer than it needs to be,' she said on Sunday.

 

'We are at a critical point right now. And we have to do everything we can to hold onto the gains we've made, which means giving Victoria Police everything they need to enforce the Chief Health Officer's directions as we keep driving down cases.'

 

The financial rescue package will inject up to $1.1billion into small and medium sized businesses that are most affected by coronavirus restrictions.

 

A further $251million will be dedicated solely to support bars, restaurants, pubs, clubs and hotels which have been decimated during the two lockdowns.

 

The Licenced Venue Fund will provide grants of up to $30,000 to venues, while the government has also waived liquor license fees for 2021.

 

'For our state to recover, we need our businesses to recover too. As we take our first safe and steady steps towards COVID Normal, this support will help make sure we get through this together,' Mr Andrews said.

 

'We'll continue meeting with and listening to businesses, so we can do everything we can to support them and their workers.'

 

From Monday, the city of Melbourne will move from the strict Stage Four lockdown into the first step of the roadmap toward reopening.

 

While modest, the changes will allow for more time outdoors and social interactions.

 

Mr Andrews said if numbers were kept low the state could open with 'real confidence' and keep them low.

 

'You can open up and stay open,' he said. 'That is what we want and that is what we will deliver.

 

'That is what we will deliver in regional Victoria and right across metropolitan Melbourne, not bouncing in and out of lockdowns, but making sure that everything that Victorians have given counts for something and delivers us, as I said, a summer that will be like no other.'

 

People living alone or single parents will be able to invite one other person into their homes.

 

Mr Andrews said he would allow 'social bubbles' even when exercising outdoors, which will now be extended to up to two hours per day - which can be split over two sessions.

 

Playgrounds and outdoor fitness equipment will reopen, and Melbourne's 8pm lockdown has been pushed back to 9pm.

 

Regional Victoria will also enjoy the loosening of several restrictions after successfully stemming the spread of the virus.

 

Up to five people from two separate households will be able to gather in public places, while outdoor pools and playgrounds will also open.

 

Religious services will be able to go ahead with up to five people.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8726999/Hundreds-anti-lockdown-protesters-chanting-freedom-face-police-Victoria.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 12, 2020, 11:15 p.m. No.10627735   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Jeffrey Epstein was ‘bankrolled by “pimp” Ghislaine’s father Robert Maxwell’

 

INVESTIGATORS have sworn testimony claiming that Jeffrey Epstein was secretly bankrolled by Robert Maxwell – the father of alleged pimp Ghislaine.

 

Sex trafficker Epstein – who killed himself in jail last year – mysteriously amassed a huge fortune despite only managing the wealth of a handful of exclusive clients.

 

Now an insider has told The Sun that he had been initially funded by tycoon Maxwell, who swindled a pension fund before he was found dead in 1991.

 

Frenchman Jean-Luc Brunel, a model scout pal of Epstein, is said to have disclosed Maxwell’s involvement to friends almost 20 years ago.

 

The claim has since been passed onto US lawyers investigating Epstein’s crimes and those of his alleged co-conspirators, in the form of sworn testimony.

 

A former close associate of Brunel told The Sun: “He was having a conversation with some acquaintances in New York City around 2002.

 

“Jean-Luc was telling them how Ghislaine’s father Robert Maxwell was one of the reasons why Jeffrey Epstein had money.

 

“He said Maxwell had been one of Epstein’s early investment clients. I assumed that Maxwell had invested in Epstein, who then used that money to make his own.

 

“Jean-Luc also started talking about a book featuring Robert Maxwell and wanted to get hold of a copy straight away.”

 

Former Wall Street trader Epstein rose to prominence in the financial world in the 1980s, founding his own money management firm.

 

The company was formed to manage the assets of clients with more than $1billion and included Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner.

 

Czech-born businessman Maxwell built a publishing empire after moving to Britain following the Second World War.

 

But in 1991 his body was discovered floating in the Atlantic Ocean, after he toppled off yacht The Lady Ghislaine, named after his daughter.

 

It later emerged that the fraudster had stolen hundreds of millions of pounds from his own company’s pension funds.

 

His daughter Ghislaine fled to New York City after his death and soon began dating Epstein.

 

It has never been revealed how they knew each other or met.

 

Epstein committed suicide in prison last year aged 66, before he could go on trial over claims that he ran a child sex trafficking operation.

 

Ghislaine, 58, was arrested in July and charged with grooming girls as young as 14 for Epstein.

 

She is currently locked up in a New York jail and facing 35 years behind bars.

 

Her close pal Prince Andrew, 60, has been engulfed in the scandal following allegations that he slept with Epstein sex slave Virginia Roberts when she was a teenager.

 

The duke vehemently denies any accusations of wrongdoing.

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12654218/jeffrey-epstein-bankrolled-by-ghislaine-father-robert-maxwell/

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 1:26 a.m. No.10628421   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8433 >>5056

AFP to seize paedophiles’ cars, cash and homes for the first time

 

1/2

 

Paedophiles will lose their homes, cars and cash as Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw vowed to “go after the assets of paedophiles’’ who profit from evil online child abuse.

 

Exclusive: Paedophiles will lose their homes, cars and cash as federal police fight an explosion in child sex crimes by confiscating offenders’ property for the first time.

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton revealed today police will target the assets of child abusers through the Coalition Government’s proceeds of crime laws.

 

“If a sex offender is found to be profiting or seeking to gain from the exploitation of children, they can expect to have their bank account, their home or even their car seized,’’ he told New Corp Australia.

 

“We are going to target those who profit from an abhorrent trade in child abuse.’’

 

The crackdown comes as police revealed that “dark web’’ servers have crashed under the rocketing demand from perverted Australians paying to watch children being sexually abused online.

 

For the price of a pack of cigarettes, viewers can direct impoverished parents in third-world countries to video themselves raping, molesting and torturing their own young children.

 

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw yesterday vowed to “go after the assets of paedophiles’’ who cash in on evil online child abuse.

 

“It is truly sickening that offenders are profiting from the abuse, degradation and misery of children,’’ he writes today.

 

“I make no apologies for using the full force … of the law in our fight to lock these offenders away, and strip them of their tainted assets.

 

“We will never give up in our fight to rescue the victims and unleash maximum damage to those who do our children harm.’’

 

Commissioner Kershaw said the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce, CACT, would target paedophiles in the same way as drug dealers, bikies and fraudsters.

 

The “new and aggressive strategy’’ would confiscate the assets of criminals who make money through exploiting children, such as pay-per-view rapes.

 

The CACT will follow the money trail of online child abuse using an elite team of police, lawyers, financial investigators and forensic accountants from the AFP, Australian Taxation Office, Border Force, AUSTRAC and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 1:28 a.m. No.10628433   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

>>10628421

 

2/2

 

The AFP yesterday revealed a sickening surge in the number of photos and videos of child abuse viewed by Australians.

 

AFP Assistant Commissioner Lesa Gale said demand for the sickening videos had crashed internet servers.

 

“Australian law enforcement officers observed sites hosting online sexual abuse material crashing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increased volume of traffic,’’ she said.

 

Traffic to dark web forums showing child sex material more than doubled during national COVID-19 lockdowns between February and April, compared the same period last year.

 

Police are now finding up to 80,000 child sex images on devices when they arrest offenders – up from 1000 images 15 years ago.

 

The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation fielded more than 21,000 reports of child sex exploitation last financial year, compared to 14,000 the year before – a 50 per cent jump in just 12 months.

 

Police laid 1214 charges against 161 people and rescued 67 Australian children from harm between July 2019 and June this year.

 

An Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) study has revealed that hundreds of Australians have been caught paying for “webcam child sex tourism’’ by viewing online videos of children being abused overseas, often in The Philippines.

 

The AIC calculated that more than 250 Australians – including aged care workers, gardeners and a housewife – had spent more than $1.3 million to watch child sexual abuse streamed on the internet between 2006 and 2018.

 

Most were aged in their 50s and 60s, and 10 per cent were convicted sex offenders – but more than half did not have a criminal record.

 

“Offenders often request how they want the child to be sexually abused,’’ the AIC report says.

 

“The impact on the victim is similar to childhood sexual trauma which includes traumatic sexualisation, betrayal and powerlessness.’’

 

Last year alone the CACT froze $250 million worth of assets, including $100 million of assets outside Australia belonging to criminals.

 

The assets are “restrained’’ so owners cannot sell or give away money or property, while CACT fights matters in the courts.

 

CACT has the power to secretly restrain the assets of criminal groups without their knowledge, pending a court judgment.

 

If a judge approves confiscation, the Australian Financial Security Authority sells the property and banks the proceeds in the Commonwealth’s Confiscated Assets Account.

 

The tainted money is then spent on crime prevention, including online child safety, Neighbourhood Watch programs and a national DNA program for missing persons.

 

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/crimeinfocus/afp-to-seize-paedophiles-cars-cash-and-homes-for-the-first-time/news-story/27436d456e18e3190060c5a48dcda5dc

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 1:32 a.m. No.10628458   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

AFP says Facebook’s security upgrade gives child molesters a platform to groom kids online

 

Australia’s Federal Police have lashed Facebook over encryption plans they claim will give child molesters an “open platform” to groom kids online.

 

Angry police have slammed Facebook over encryption plans they claim will give child molesters an “open platform” to groom kids online.

 

Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Lesa Gale said Facebook’s switch to end-to-end encryption on its Facebook Messenger service would “severely curtail referrals we receive about child exploitation material”.

 

“Facebook makes up 40 to 60 per cent of child exploitation reports received by the AFP,” she told News Corp Australia. “The AFP believes that encryption will provide offenders with an open platform to groom children online.

 

“It will throw many investigations into the dark … it will be harder for the AFP to identify paedophiles and their victims.”

 

Ms Gale said half the tip-offs to the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children would “vanish” once Facebook encrypted its Messenger service.

 

“This will have an adverse impact on the AFP to identify and disrupt instances of online child exploitation – and of course victims themselves,” she said.

 

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton yesterday warned that depraved child sex offenders would “act with impunity” as a result of Facebook’s encryption.

 

“The millions of referrals made per year by Facebook regarding Facebook regarding child exploitation on their platform will be lost if they move to blunt end-to-end encryption,” he said.

 

“The offenders will be able to act with impunity and law-enforcement (will be) hamstrung from identifying and rescuing the children.”

 

A Facebook spokeswoman yesterday said end-to-end encryption – which uses a “lock” so it can only be viewed by the sender and recipient – “protects people’s safety”.

 

“We lead the industry in combating child exploitation in both public and private spaces on our services and remain committed to the safety of the people who use them,” she said.

 

Facebook removed 9.5 million pieces of content that violated its ban on child nudity or sexual exploitation of children, between April and June this year.

 

The spokeswoman refused to explain how the social media giant could continue to remove content it will no longer be able to see once encrypted.

 

She cited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s statement last year that “we are working to improve our ability to identify and stop bad actors across our apps … even when we can’t see the content of the messages’’.

 

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/behindthescenes/afp-says-facebooks-security-upgrade-gives-child-molesters-a-platform-to-groom-kids-online/news-story/a5031601c3714d608cffb5c7f38e28ba

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 2:15 a.m. No.10628572   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

Elise Thomas Tweet

 

On the other hand, there are already at least 3 other sites providing basically the same service Qmap did. There'll be a bit of competition now to see which gets the lion's share of Qmap's former traffic, but either way the disruption won't last long.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1304941162940096513

 

Travis View @travis_view

 

The threads on the 8kun board where Q posts typically contain antisemitism, porn, and angry trolls. The imageboard also doesn't have an intuitive User Interface for many QAnon followers.

 

Consequently, QMap going down actually does make the Q drops harder to access.

 

https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1304798019922006019

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 2:58 a.m. No.10628753   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8757 >>5047

The Project Tweet

 

QAnon is the rapidly growing conspiracy movement that defies all logic, and it’s spreading online like wildfire. So why are people falling for something which has no basis in fact?

 

https://twitter.com/theprojecttv/status/1305063565938905094

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 2:59 a.m. No.10628757   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9984 >>5047

>>10628753

Why Is QAnon Spreading So Rapidly? | The Project

 

Published on 13 Sep 2020

 

QAnon is the rapidly growing conspiracy movement that defies all logic, and it’s spreading online like wildfire. So why are people falling for something which has no basis in fact?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXXomPiR0MM

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 11:39 a.m. No.10632397   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5056

Q Post #4686

 

Sep 13 2020 11:32:54 (EST) NEW

 

EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW [AS WRITTEN].

TRANSPARENCY [DISCLOSURE] AND ACCOUNTABILITY [JUSTICE] IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD.

FUTURE OF OUR REPUBLIC AT STAKE.

WATERGATE x1000

SEPT 14-18, 21-25 [track & follow events]

Did Kevin set his alarm?

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4686

 

 

Kevin Corke Tweet

 

Remember when I said, wake me when there are indictments and or arrests? Well, a solid DOJ source just told me to "set my alarm clock."

I said, I'll believe it when I see it.

#DurhamReport

 

https://twitter.com/kevincorke/status/1304552716635697152?s=20

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 11:55 p.m. No.10641237   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1248 >>5047

What lies beneath: tunnels for trafficking, or just a subterranean service? Time to rescue these spaces from the conspiracists

 

Victoria Kolankiewicz - September 14, 2020

 

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Digital communications have spread conspiracy theories more widely than ever before, particularly in this uncertain and tumultuous year. QAnon, for example, is a movement that seeks to identify a “deep state” or “global elite” complicit in human trafficking, “Pizzagate” and the orchestration of a global pandemic. One conspiracy theory “going viral” is that extensive operations are taking place to rescue children held in secret underground locales beneath densely populated cities.

 

Tunnel networks beneath major Australian cities such as Melbourne and Sydney have received similar treatment. Misconceptions of their form and purpose are communicated via social media. The stuff of urban legends, once circulated among acquaintances, is now online.

 

The misunderstandings of these spaces reveal a more glaring oversight: of wartime histories, transportation follies, essential services and the unique geologies and climates that require drainage infrastructure. These tunnels are hidden by necessity. But they are close enough to the surface to be easily accessible, preventing their use for any large-scale conspiracy.

 

Why the fixation with tunnels?

 

Abandoned or atypical urban spaces have long piqued the public imagination. Sites of abandonment are also associated with notions of freedom and excitement. Urban exploration has increased significantly within the past decade, amplified by social media sharing of imagery and aesthetics.

 

Rumours abound of complex tunnel networks in major Australian cities, created in the wake of the second world war. Larger air raid shelters were often located close to urban settlement, but escaped use. They remained in public memory as mythology: bunkers can be located across Australia, from Dover Heights in Sydney, to Prospect and Glenelg in Adelaide. Over 20 air raid shelters exist in Brisbane alone.

 

The fabled “Northcote Tunnel” in Melbourne was the subject of decades of rumour. It was eventually found to be the result of a search for an underground stream, not the large-scale 1940s American construction it was said to be.

 

Tunnels beneath Sydney served similar purposes, either by design or as the result of a failed transport infrastructure project. The St James tunnels are a prime example. This “hidden” space is about to be converted to a tourism precinct.

 

Beneath the streets of Melbourne, Sydney and beyond, mail and precious cargo were often transported about the city in underground tunnels from nearby railway stations or ports to parliament or the General Post Office.

 

So what are these spaces used for today?

 

Today, urban tunnels carry telecommunications, gas, electricity, water and sewerage infrastructure.

 

Exact locations remain secret for security and operational reasons. Access is allowed in rare cases. In the case of the Royal Melbourne Hospital steam tunnels, members of the public can book a place on once-yearly tours.

 

Stormwater drains are most abundant in urban areas; perhaps this is why they feature so heavily in conspiracies. Where depressions, undulations or linear tracts of open space exist in the landscape, a stormwater drain is likely lurking beneath the surface. These drains are needed to divert rainwater from areas where hard surfaces would otherwise lead to flooding.

 

In Melbourne, the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works started building these drains in the early 20th century. I have explored many of these complex networks, over 1,400 kilometres of drains that span almost all of metropolitan Melbourne and its fringes. These drains are literally beneath the feet of city dwellers: many would be surprised to find that a drain runs beneath the major thoroughfare of Elizabeth Street, historically Williams Creek.

 

The Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board built similar infrastructure in Sydney. Open and closed conduits were built in concrete and brick — as well as bluestone in Melbourne, and limestone in Sydney — throughout the past century. Sydney’s stormwater network totals 454 kilometres of drains and spans 73 water catchments. These drains ultimately carry 500 billion litres into Sydney Harbour or Botany Bay.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 13, 2020, 11:56 p.m. No.10641248   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

>>10641237

 

2/2

 

Dangerous, yes, but for more mundane reasons

 

These hidden spaces can be controversial or dangerous, but not for the reasons put forth by QAnon and its ilk.

 

Social groups have emerged around drain exploration, with the Melbourne-based Cave Clan the best-known example. They have clear rules to ensure the safety of their members. “No drains when it rains” is one such rule: sudden rain can catch out explorers as water levels rise quickly inside drains.

 

Drownings have been reported in both Sydney and Melbourne. The unpredictability of sudden torrential flows means these spaces are fundamentally unsuited to the purposes suggested in conspiracy theories.

 

Frequent visits by urban explorers would also quickly identify any secretive mis-uses of drainage infrastructure. This would equally apply to other underground spaces such as steam and service tunnels – maintenance staff would soon spot anything amiss.

 

More crucial, however, is that the design of these drains means they could not play any part in supposed trafficking networks. Some of these drains are large enough for adults to explore. The vast majority, though, are too small to be accessed, with diameters as narrow as 300mm.

 

Even the most cavernous drains would not be suitable for storage. Larger drains are designed to hold larger flows, often at a confluence of catchment areas. While they these drains could host human beings, they would be at risk of drowning whenever it rained. Tidal flows or litter traps can also prevent access.

 

Social groups have emerged around drain exploration, with the Melbourne-based Cave Clan the best-known example. They have clear rules to ensure the safety of their members. “No drains when it rains” is one such rule: sudden rain can catch out explorers as water levels rise quickly inside drains.

 

Drownings have been reported in both Sydney and Melbourne. The unpredictability of sudden torrential flows means these spaces are fundamentally unsuited to the purposes suggested in conspiracy theories.

 

Frequent visits by urban explorers would also quickly identify any secretive mis-uses of drainage infrastructure. This would equally apply to other underground spaces such as steam and service tunnels – maintenance staff would soon spot anything amiss.

 

More crucial, however, is that the design of these drains means they could not play any part in supposed trafficking networks. Some of these drains are large enough for adults to explore. The vast majority, though, are too small to be accessed, with diameters as narrow as 300mm.

 

Even the most cavernous drains would not be suitable for storage. Larger drains are designed to hold larger flows, often at a confluence of catchment areas. While they these drains could host human beings, they would be at risk of drowning whenever it rained. Tidal flows or litter traps can also prevent access.

 

Child trafficking is a very relevant issue, but it is certainly not taking place under cities across the nation. Rather than abandoning subterranean spaces to conspiratorial narratives or urban mythology, these spaces are important for other reasons. These point to the need to build a common understanding not only of their form and function, but also of the ethos underlying their existence, a concern for the common good.

 

That something as impressive and as everyday as our civic infrastructure inspires such fascination and fear is indeed curious. Ultimately, these spaces are too utilitarian to serve the purpose claimed by viral social media posts.

 

https://theconversation.com/what-lies-beneath-tunnels-for-trafficking-or-just-a-subterranean-service-time-to-rescue-these-spaces-from-the-conspiracists-144276

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 12:35 a.m. No.10641391   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1398 >>5047

‘UNHOLY ALLIANCE’: CONSPIRACY THEORISTS ARE CIRCULATING RUSSIAN AND CHINESE DISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19 ON SOCIAL MEDIA

 

How much of conspiracy theories are deliberate acts of disinformation? According to experts, conspiracy theorists are sharing COVID-19 messages from state organisations in Russia and China that cater to the countries’ strategic interests and seek to sow division in the West.

 

BY EDEN GILLESPIE - September 14, 2020

 

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We’ve heard a litany of conspiracy theories since the pandemic began, but where exactly are they coming from and to what extent are they organised?

 

From anti-5g articles to fabricated stories about vaccination trials, Russia is using bots, state media and troll farms to cultivate a disinformation narrative during the pandemic.

 

But Russia is far from the only country that’s using social media to spin the truth, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

 

The Chinese Communist Party is also using social media to paint a positive image of its government and to heap blame on the United States for the COVID-19 crisis, researchers at ASPI have found.

 

In March, an official Twitter account from the Chinese Foreign Ministry promoted the conspiracy that the US engineered COVID-19 and deployed it during a military exercise in Wuhan.

 

Australian conspiracy theorists are helping this kind of disinformation spread like wildfire, according to Dr Timothy Graham, a Senior Lecturer in Communication at Queensland University of Technology.

 

“QAnon, for example, is a really susceptible population of individuals who are ready to be co-opted and to have their already existing beliefs cultivated and exploited for strategic purposes,” Dr Graham told The Feed.

 

“They don’t need to get an army of 10,000 trolls and bots to jump in when they’ve already got QAnon that’ll come in and go ‘exactly, that’s the deep state again’ and ‘Trump is going to be our saviour’,” he said.

 

“There’s almost an unholy alliance in a sense between anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists and foreign disinformation because their interests converge to an extent and they each do the job of amplifying the other one’s interests and content.”

 

Dr Graham said in the pre-internet days, an individual or group that was unwittingly doing the work of the Kremlin was referred to as a “useful idiot”.

 

He said that in the Soviet era, they were generally the elite or high-level officials but these days, due to the internet, there are “millions of useful idiots”.

 

“These individuals who genuinely believe there is a western government conspiracy or cover-up of vaccines and they’re being engineered or weaponised to control populations with the help of Bill Gates. When Russian disinformation comes along, all they really need to do is just help them on their way,” Dr Graham said.

 

“It’s almost like they make the job too easy. It’s not difficult to target these groups on Facebook and inject content into there.”

 

Elise Thomas, a researcher at ASPI, is concerned that the untruths spread by both non-state and state actors could damage public health messaging.

 

“It's definitely a concern. I mean, we saw the protests in Melbourne and around the country on the weekend,” Thomas said.

 

“Particularly in a public health crisis, anything that is sowing distrust in health authorities is really concerning, and could have very serious, real-world implications, particularly if anybody at those protests was infectious,” she told The Feed.

 

According to Thomas, one story that has achieved widespread circulation was about a US vaccination trial that supposedly killed five people in Ukraine. Except, it never actually happened.

 

ASPI revealed that the story originated from a press release posted onto the websites of the Luhansk People’s Republic, a pro-Russian self-declared state in Eastern Ukraine.

 

The press release hit the web the day after Russia announced it would produce its own vaccine. And it didn’t take long for the story to be shared onto a popular Australian anti-vaccination Facebook group.

 

“You see a lot of people repeating it on Twitter, or whatever and they have no idea that it originated from a pro-Russian Ukrainian separatist group,” Thomas said.

 

“They just remember they saw somewhere that Ukrainian soldiers died in a vaccine trial and they just repeated it,” she added.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 12:37 a.m. No.10641398   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

>>10641391

 

2/2

 

But what are these countries hoping to achieve?

 

COVID-19 is the latest issue that has been weaponised by Russia to sow discord in the West, according to Dr Graham.

 

“Russian disinformation has co-opted COVID-19 to divide and polarise and drive a wedge into already existing tensions in those societies,” he told The Feed.

 

He said the Internet Research Agency - which was responsible for interference in the 2016 US presidential election - has thousands of employees working at troll farms in Russia.

 

At trolls farms, people are paid to “pose as someone who is concerned about these issues and try to infiltrate already existing tensions and get those likes, those retweets and that engagement to make that situation worse,” Dr Graham said.

 

He told The Feed that prior to the US election, IRA hired operatives to suss out divisive issues in the US - like the Black Lives Matter movement - that it could “dive into and whip up on social media”.

 

A Twitter account linked to Russia that posed as the Tennessee Republican Party during the election was so successful that it managed to get retweeted by celebrities like Nicki Minaj and Anne Coulter.

 

More recently, the IRA was busted by the FBI after it was revealed that it was behind the news site Peace Data, which had been hiring unsuspecting US contributors.

 

The site used impressively realistic AI-generated images for the site’s fake editors headshots, to appear legitimate.

 

But China has relied on a far less sophisticated approach, according to Dr Graham.

 

“The focus has been much more on trying to put a positive spin on key issues that relate to China and the way that it handled the outbreak of the pandemic,” he said.

 

“It's really kind of a blunt, rather non-sophisticated approach.”

 

‘It’s not just China and Russia’

 

Thomas stressed that conspiracies and disinformation are often spread by the mainstream media, as well as fringe news outlets.

 

“We definitely are seeing that Australia to be honest, isn't as much of a target for Russia. And it's not Russian and Chinese state media is not where the bulk of this is coming from either, it’s also coming from Breitbart, Info wars, Alex Jones, even Fox News,” Thomas told The Feed.

 

Dr Graham agrees that we need to pay more attention to “domestic disinformation” and identify cases where the Australian media has spread untruths.

 

“The problem of state and foreign interference needs to be addressed but the conditions that make that work are home-grown,” he said.

 

“When Australia has a highly polarised political atmosphere, when there’s little consensus and when there’s a breakdown in trust in mainstream media and democratic institutions, this is the perfect storm. It’s the perfect conditions for foreign actors to come in and make matters worse.”

 

“The health of our media system is hopefully something can be addressed in the months and years to come because that really is the entry point. That’s how the poison gets in.”

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/unholy-alliance-conspiracy-theorists-are-circulating-russian-and-chinese-disinformation-about-covid-19-on-social-media

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 12:49 a.m. No.10641442   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1446 >>5047

Disaster planners warn conspiracy theories pose a security threat

 

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Conspiracy theorists have exploited the coronavirus pandemic and summer bushfires to split the community, raising concerns about a developing national security threat.

 

NSW Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said on Sunday contingencies to address risks associated with conspiracy theories being used to undermine social cohesion were "front of mind".

 

The warning comes as violence erupted in Melbourne on Sunday at anti-lockdown rallies. The organiser was arrested and bailed last week after he was charged with inciting protest activity. A court heard on Friday the 43-year-old man believed coronavirus is a "genetically engineered virus created by world banks to kill off weaker humans".

 

Mr Elliott said the present climate was fertile ground for extremists.

 

"Every time you have a natural disaster you will have people wanting to take advantage of it," he said. "The world that we live in at the moment has people using every opportunity available to them to undermine civilised society.

 

"We certainly have discussed with our intelligence agencies the cause of virtually every natural disaster. I know people get on the internet outside the academic sphere that provides us with advice on these things and put forward conspiracy theories that are just there to cause havoc in the community and to split the community."

 

A spokesperson for ASIO said it is aware of extremists seeking to exploit the circumstances and uncertainties of the COVID-19 environment.

 

"While the threat of violence inspired by Islamist extremism remains ASIO’s principal terrorism concern, extreme right-wing groups and individuals willing to engage in acts of violence to achieve political objectives represent a serious, increasing and evolving threat to security," the spokesperson said.

 

Deakin University researchers Lydia Khalil and Joshua Roose said the management of Australia's disaster and emergency response needs to recognise how COVID-19 and the summer bushfires have been used by extremists to create social division, fuel racism, spread false information and create distrust in government.

 

“The back-to-back emergencies - COVID-19 pandemic and Australian bushfires reveal that the government's disaster and emergency management response must include a recognition that these crises will play into the hands of extremists," Ms Khalil said.

 

"Governments are missing a key element of crisis response; they must not only put together strategic communications campaigns to deal with disinformation and project a sense of order and control during crisis, but they must now also account for the accelerations of violent extremism as part of their disaster management.”

 

Research by Ms Khalil and Dr Roose, previewed in the Lowy Institute's Interpreter, has found some alternative right groups have used encrypted social media sites in Australia to blame ethnic diversity for the pandemic and to contest the government's legitimacy during a time of crisis. Those views are filtering through to social media through individuals.

 

Mr Elliott said the research is "pretty much on the money".

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 12:50 a.m. No.10641446   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1531 >>1589 >>5047

>>10641442

 

2/2

 

Ms Khalil and Dr Roose, who are senior research fellows at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, found extreme right wing groups had spread baseless conspiracy theories blaming Muslims for starting the summer bushfires as part of a jihad, the Chinese for deliberately spreading COVID-19 and the 5G network for spreading the virus. Alternative right bloggers have blamed Chinese Australians for emptying supermarket shelves and ethnic diversity for the spread of coronavirus. ISIS had also presented the virus as a punishment from God and was using it as a recruiting tool.

 

"Globally, dozens of 5G phone towers have been burnt in the belief that they are playing a role in spreading coronavirus, including the UK, NZ and recently in Melbourne," Dr Roose said.

 

"This indicated that at least some people subscribing to conspiracy theories are prepared to take violent action."

 

Dr Roose and Ms Khalil warned that left unaddressed, the violent extremism and distrust of government threatened to "incubate and spread, which makes maintaining and recovering government legitimacy and trust in the long term all the more difficult".

 

"Far-right figures have also used the government’s COVID-19 response to stoke distrust in government by claiming that the government is using the crisis to control average Australians," the researchers said.

 

Some alternative right social media sites have promoted the idea that lockdown measures were part of government plots to control citizens beyond the crisis.

 

The researchers warned that disasters and emergencies play into “accelerationism” theory, found throughout the extreme right, which argues that liberal-democratic order is a failure and that its demise must be accelerated through stoking social division and violence.

 

Dr Roose said posts on social media sites had attacked multiculturalism as a failed project and referred to coronavirus as the "diversity flu". In a video seen by The Herald, one commentator says: "If it wasn't for diversity we wouldn't be in this mess".

 

Jacinta Carroll, a senior researcher from the Australian National University National Security College said the coronavirus had provided an opportunity for right wing groups in Australia to raise their profile. She said ISIS had used the coronavirus to help it raise money and supporters.

 

"ISIS has said that if you engage in jihad you will be immune from coronavirus. There is also quite a lot of propaganda about coronavirus being God's punishment of the west," she said.

 

Associate Professor Debra Smith from Victoria University said extremist groups had spread baseless conspiracy theories about the deliberate spread of the COVID-19 as a biological weapon.

 

Dr Kristy Campion, a lecturer and researcher at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security (AGSPS) at Charles Sturt University, said right wing extremists had encouraged people to create fake news about the coronavirus to create social unrest on encrypted social media channels including Telegram. She said images of social division including fights over toilet paper had helped feed the extremist coronavirus panic narrative.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/disaster-planners-warned-conspiracy-theories-pose-a-security-threat-20200913-p55v55.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 1:02 a.m. No.10641501   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

China two steps ahead on cyber, says former NSA director

 

A former head of the US National Security Agency has warned Australia and other Western nations are at a disadvantage in their rising cyber battles with China, because China is willing to take more drastic actions to advance its interests.

 

Admiral Michael Rogers, who served as the 17th director of the NSA and advised both Barack Obama and current US President Donald Trump, told a Credit Suisse forum on global super trends, that Australia needed to be realistic about the heightened cyber threat posed by China.

 

"Let's not pretend that these things aren't happening or ignore this activity… We have to acknowledge that they're a competitor that is willing to do things we're not… and who does not automatically go along with the structures we've built [in the last 70 years]," Mr Rogers said.

 

"I don't think any nation in the world can say right now that they are where they want to be [in terms of their cyber defences].

 

"Australia has just developed and released a cyber security strategy… and we have to give that time to play out, but all of us need to ask ourselves what we need to be doing differently… We can't keep doing the same thing but expect different results."

 

Before releasing its cyber strategy Prime Minister Scott Morrison had made a rare declaration that the country was suffering persistent cyber attacks from a "sophisticated state-based actor," which was understood to mean China.

 

The government said the number of attacks had increased by 330 per cent since the start of the year, and were targeting government, industry, critical industry, education, health and essential services providers.

 

The theft of intellectual property was considered to be a major motivating factor.

 

Mr Rogers' remarks came as relations between Australia and China deteriorated last week, when The Australian Financial Review's China correspondent Michael Smith and the ABC's Bill Birtles had to return home after nerve-racking encounters with China's Ministry of State Security.

 

They were the last two foreign correspondents for Australian news outlets in the country. It also emerged on Monday that a Chinese military contractor has compiled profiles on more than 35,000 prominent Australians, ranging from Prime Minister Scott Morrison to tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.

 

The company, Zhenhua Data lists the People's Liberation Army and Communist Party among its main clients and boasts of waging "hybrid warfare" and manipulating reality via social media.

 

The relationship between Australia and China has frayed substantially since the federal government blocked Chinese telecommunications company Huawei from supplying equipment for the construction of the next-generation 5G mobile network.

 

The US and UK have followed suit in banning Huawei from their own networks. The US is also forcing ByteDance to sell its US portion of social media app TikTok, or risk it being banned on September 15.

 

Mr Rogers said a blanket ban on Chinese tech businesses in Western countries would be unnecessary, but he agreed with taking a cautious approach to any business, like Huawei, which is involved in critical infrastructure.

 

"You have to consider, are you comfortable with the idea of there being Chinese technology in certain aspects of your infrastructure or your broader social constructs," he said.

 

"It's not a matter of China being bad and the rest of the world being good, but in some areas there is elevated risk to our long-term national security and long-term economic competitiveness in such a way that we should not allow or endorse a China-based solution."

 

Mr Rogers, who retired from the NSA in January 2018, also weighed in on the possibility of a big tech break-up in the US.

 

Currently the White House is watching with interest the local competition regulator's push for the tech giants Google and Facebook to pay publishers for news. It was reported earlier this month that Google is facing an antitrust case in the US ahead of the Presidential elections.

 

Mr Rogers said the current period would test the boundaries between the corporate sector and government, acknowledging that tax laws in particular were formulated in a time when businesses were predominantly "bricks and mortar" and weren't necessarily conducive to the digital age.

 

But, he cautioned regulators from being too heavy-handed when it came to policing the tech giants.

 

"If we're not careful and we take this to the extremes, we will kill the geese that have laid the golden eggs," he said.

 

"I don't think we'll see an immediate break-up per se, but the government is asking some pretty fundamental questions of these companies."

 

https://www.afr.com/technology/china-two-steps-ahead-on-cyber-says-former-nsa-director-20200909-p55u08

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 1:18 a.m. No.10641562   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1566 >>4345 >>5084

Politicians’ families ‘targeted by China spies’

 

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The families of Australian politicians have been the target of open-source surveillance by a Chinese company that claims to have done work on behalf of Beijing’s intelligence agencies, cybersecurity experts claim.

 

The children or spouses of Scott Morrison, US Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos, his predecessor Joe Hockey and Parliament intelligence committee chairman Andrew Hastie have all been the subject of intelligence assessments, according to a database leak from a Chinese company.

 

The leaked database from Shenzhen Zhenhua Data indicates it has been conducting open source intelligence collection and forming assessments of people of note in targeted fields all around the world. In total, 2.4 million people and 650,000 organisations have been the target of the open-source surveillance activities, according to the leaked files, some of which have been seen by The Australian.

 

Those who have been tracked include prominent politicians — along with their partners and even children — academics, companies involved in defence contracts, military and defence organisations, think-tanks and even criminal networks including Mexican drug cartels.

 

More than 50,000 Americans and 35,000 Australians are included in the database, leaked by a whistleblower.

 

The most significant names in the Shenzhen Zhenhua database include US President Donald Trump, US Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her entire family including children Alexandra and Paul, along with Shinzo Abe, Vladimir Putin and his children.

 

There are also members of the British Royal Family and high-profile journalists, according to the database which was copied by a Chinese activist and leaked to an international group of cybersecurity analysts 18 months ago.

 

Members of the group include former Australian government cybersecurity contractor Robert Potter — based in Canberra — and Fulbright University academic Chris Balding.

 

Mr Balding, in an interview with Sky News Australia, said the group had gone to great lengths to verify the database, including having the data analysed by some intelligence agencies globally.

 

“We’ve done extensive background research to basically vet the individuals, the data where this comes from,” he said.

 

“We feel very confident in saying that not only does the company claim to work with Chinese military, Chinese security and intelligence, but that we can actually track the individuals that have written this code, the individuals that own this company and who they are connected to, who sits on the board of directors.

 

“(And) yes, they do actually in fact either work for the PLA or the Ministry of State Security.

 

“This information is being used by the Chinese state to try and target influence operations or intelligence operations around the world.”

 

Mr Potter added: “We put together a team of people, people like myself from defence backgrounds, former intelligence officers, current intelligence, current intelligence officers and we pulled our resources together.”

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 1:19 a.m. No.10641566   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10641562

 

2/2

 

Mr Potter, who has recently done cyber defence work for the US State Department in Washington through his company internet 2.0, said Shenzhen Zhenhua Data was gathering data globally and sending it back to a server in China.

 

“I would suggest that every person who has a profile in this database has probably been the victim of a pretty extensive breach of their privacy, not just in terms of the level of scraping that has occurred form the open source, collating that into a profile rendered in another country, taken from platforms where they didn’t really consent to this information being shared in that way,” he said.

 

“I think most people who sit in senior roles in government would expect a degree of intelligence activity, they probably wouldn’t expect it to come from the privacy sector.

 

“Open-source intelligence is probably one of the most underrated sources of intelligence.

 

“The Australian Strategic Policy Institute rates it as being responsible for 94 per cent of assessments that are made within the government.

 

“So it’s hugely important, even if it sits in the open space, when it’s then put together and is curated into a human terrain assessment of a country, it’s able to do global profiling of and for the purpose of targeting influence operations from there.”

 

Mr Balding said the open-source intelligence tracking of the children of high-profile figures was highly concerning, with data taken from sites including LinkedIn and Facebook and matched with biographical data and news mentions.

 

“It’s very possible to get a very, very detailed understanding of an individual or an institution,” he said.

 

“What we see is China seeking to gain influence and so we noticed this among the children of Australian politicians.

 

“We saw it among the children of politicians in other countries and we basically see large family networks mapped among not just prominent politicians like the Trump family but also business leaders and other influential individuals that are in a place to influence Chinese-related policy.”

 

Previous revelations from the international group of cybersecurity experts include a leak of facial recognition software used to identify minority groups, obtained by The Australian, and a leak of Wuhan laboratory databases, which showed significant parts had been deleted.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/politicians-families-targeted-by-china-spies/news-story/878eb8f132dd264645282683dbc4e1a6

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 2:32 a.m. No.10641784   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

 

Just in case #JeanLucBrunel thought he wasn’t on our radar any longer here’s a throw back from 1988. Do you think a predator from that long ago has changed his ways? No way! https://youtu.be/53OyRG73_oU

#SexTraffickingPandemic #SaveOurChildren #TruthBeTold #GhislaineMaxwell #MC2Models

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1305265818955952128

 

Jean-Luc Brunel CBS 60 minutes 1988 Karin Models friend of Jeffrey Epstein

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OyRG73_oU

 

 

Vermont Conservative @VermontConserv1

 

How many decades will Jean Luc Brunel get away with raping women?

This is atrocious!

 

https://twitter.com/VermontConserv1/status/1305276201594793984

 

 

??????? @mcwoodysio

 

Forever like the rest of these shadow ppl sad realization I know it angers me beyond belief

 

https://twitter.com/mcwoodysio/status/1305288830824648705

 

 

Dark to light my friend. They think we are going away but we are fighters and stronger up against the wall banding together!! WE ARE FIGHTERS!!!! #DarkToLight #Truth #SaveOurChildren @jebrittan2 @elizableu @teresajhelm

 

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1305291490290098176

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 3:20 a.m. No.10641932   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1937 >>5084

Not a ‘Victimless’ Crime: How Child Sex Abuse Dolls Facilitate Crimes Against Children

 

Debunking the myth that child sex abuse dolls could prevent the sexual abuse of children activist Caitlin Roper argues that the products facilitate a new form of technologically-mediated abuse of children. This piece gives readers some background on child sex abuse dolls and a greater understanding of the current debates around this issue from a radical feminist perspective and exposes how child sex abuse doll/robot technology can be utilised to abuse living children.

 

Caitlin Roper is an Australian activist, writer and PhD candidate researching female-bodied sex dolls and robots. She is Campaigns Manager for Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation, a grassroots campaigning movement challenging the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls in media, advertising and popular culture. You can find her on Twitter at @caitlin_roper.

 

1/4

 

An American mother has shared her distress upon discovering a child sex abuse doll modelled on her eight-year-old daughter.

 

Last month, Terri received a Facebook message from a friend alerting her to images of a child sex abuse doll being sold on Amazon. When she opened the images, she realised the doll bore a striking resemblance to her daughter Kat. One picture appeared to recreate a photo of her daughter she had previously shared to Facebook.

 

“I read the message from my friend and saw the image, and I instantly started to cry uncontrollably. I was completely overwhelmed with a mix of emotions that I’ve never felt before,” Terri told Child Rescue Coalition.

 

“The image of the doll looked very similar to a photo I’ve taken of my daughter. This image had the same socks as my daughter and the same pose as my daughter on our sofa at home. She had that same sweatshirt and facial features as that image, even the same stuffed animal!”

 

While Amazon removed the doll several days after Terri contacted them, she then learned the doll was listed elsewhere. Terri is now working with Child Rescue Coalition to make child sex abuse dolls illegal in the US.

 

Terri’s ordeal has highlighted both the growing popularity of child sex abuse dolls and how easily they can be custom-designed to appear like a specific child.

 

LIFE-LIKE, ANATOMICALLY CORRECT, REPLICA CHILDREN FOR MEN’S SEXUAL USE

 

Child sex abuse dolls are lifelike, anatomically correct silicone sex dolls modelled on the bodies of children – typically girls – marketed for men’s sexual use. Their bodies, facial features and weight are similar to a living child, but they are also designed to accommodate an adult male’s penis.

 

Dolls like these have been sold through mainstream online retailers like Amazon, eBay, Wish and Alibaba. In China, child sex abuse dolls can be rented by the hour from sex shops and come with disposable private parts. In July, Australian grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout exposed major Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba selling child sex abuse dolls modelled on the bodies of pre-pubescent girls, toddlers and even infants, resulting in the products being removed from sale.

 

Academics and advocates for child sex abuse dolls claim their manufacture and use is a ‘victimless’ crime. Some have proposed they could be made available to paedophiles for therapeutic purposes, and pitch the dolls as a possible solution to child sexual abuse, speculating that if paedophiles can simulate child sexual abuse on childlike dolls it could prevent their abuse of living children.

 

“IT’S JUST A SEX TOY LIKE ANY OTHER”

 

An argument in support of child sex abuse dolls is that they are sex toys like any other. US-based organisation Prostasia Foundation describes the use of child sex abuse dolls as “the personal and private use of sex toys” and claims that laws against them are therefore “unconstitutional, misguided and immoral”. Canadian psychologist and neuroscientist James Cantor tweeted, “I’m okay with latex sex dolls and I don’t care what they look like”, and “Australia protecting society from crimes against latex. Thought crimes against latex.”

 

If child sex abuse dolls are merely sex toys like any other, it could theoretically be argued they do not raise any unique ethical issues. But child sex abuse dolls, and sex dolls and robots more generally, are distinct from traditional sex toys on the basis of their embodiment in human form, specifically the female form. They are not merely latex sex toys. Their childlike appearance is not incidental, it’s the very point.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 3:22 a.m. No.10641937   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1949 >>5084

>>10641932

 

2/4

 

Child sex abuse dolls are intentionally designed to look and feel like a real child, to facilitate men’s embodied fantasy experience of raping a little girl. If they were nothing more than a latex sex toy, why should they be shaped like children? Why are some of these dolls marketed in a way that eroticises child abuse, with some appearing to be crying or in pain? The ability to simulate child sexual abuse is precisely the drawcard for users. Indeed, this is why some academics pitch child sex abuse dolls as an alternative to sexually abusing a child, because they believe the dolls could function as stand-ins for living children.

 

“YOU CAN’T RAPE A ROBOT”

 

Defenders of men’s access to female-bodied sex dolls and robots argue that they are objects, not moral agents, that they cannot be victims of rape or child sexual abuse and conclude there is no harm - as they say, “you can’t rape a robot.” But feminist objections to female-bodied sex dolls and robots have never focussed on harm to dolls and robots, or to inanimate objects, they are concerned with harm to women and children.

 

Sex dolls and robots function as a stand-in for a woman or child, and simulating rape or child sexual abuse on a doll or robot is a symbolic representation of the rape of a real woman or child. In his paper ‘Robots, Rape and Representation’ philosopher and Professor Robert Sparrow argues robots designed to facilitate rape fantasies are unethical, as a representation of the rape of a real woman, and an endorsement and encouragement of rape that may increase the rate of rape and that expresses disrespect of women.

 

“BETTER A ROBOT THAN A REAL CHILD”

 

Some academics and advocates for child sex abuse dolls claim paedophiles could use childlike dolls instead of children, and this would be a preferable outcome. Many of these advocates for child sex abuse dolls regard paedophilia as a legitimate sexual orientation, one that is unchangeable and outside the control of the individual, and are sympathetic to paedophiles with the view that sexual outlets should be made available to them.

 

University of Oslo researchers Ole Martin Moen and Aksel Braanen Sterri argue that if paedophiles have no control over their sexual preferences, using a child sex abuse doll or robot might be “one of the best strategies open to them, given the unfortunate situation in which they find themselves.” Likewise, author of Love and Sex with Robots, David Levy, told The Guardian, “It would be preferable for paedophiles to use robots as their sexual outlets than human children.”

 

But why is it positioned as either/or, as though the options are to make child sex abuse dolls or robots available to men, or for men to continue sexually abusing children? It is a flawed premise. There is no evidence that paedophiles will use child sex abuse dolls instead of and not in addition to children. And there’s a serious risk that child sex abuse dolls will strengthen and encourage users’ sexual desires for children.

 

The fact that the issue is framed as a choice between child sex abuse dolls or living children, as though those are the only options – that men be granted access to child sex abuse dolls or offend against actual children – is evidence of how men’s sexual desires go unchallenged. Men’s sexual preferences, even their desires to rape children, are elevated to the status of ‘needs’ that must be accommodated. Why are men’s sexual desires above scrutiny? Why can’t they be challenged? Men’s complete sexual freedom should not be prioritised over the rights of women and girls.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 3:23 a.m. No.10641949   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1952 >>5084

>>10641937

 

3/4

 

There is no evidence for the previously popular idea that men perpetrate sexual violence against women, children and other men due to uncontrollable sexual desire, or because they do not have sufficient outlet for their ‘urges’. There is also no evidence that child sex abuse dolls will lead to a reduction in the abuse of children.

 

There is no shortage of sexual outlets available to men outside of intimate relationships. They can pursue casual sexual encounters through dating or hook-up apps, they can access an endless supply of pornography, webcam models, OnlyFans, or engage in cybersex. There are thriving legalised and decriminalised sex industries where men have their pick of prostituted women for sex on demand, and now, sex doll brothels.

 

Despite having access to all these sexual outlets, men have not stopped raping. On the contrary, men’s sexual violence remains prevalent throughout the world.

 

The argument then that child sex abuse dolls could prevent individuals who would otherwise rape children from doing so, also fails to consider the wider cultural context in which these products are manufactured - a system of institutionalised male dominance, the routine sexual objectification of women and a culture that eroticises girls.

 

Girls are routinely presented as sexually available and appealing. Many women report first experiencing sexual attention from adult men as children. “Teen porn” is consistently one of Pornhub’s most popular search terms. “Barely Legal” pornography depicting teens with pigtails, flat chests and braces is widely available. School girls are fetishised, and sexy school girl costumes are sold in mainstream retailers. Collective Shout has exposed major bookstores and online marketplaces selling erotic e-books that feature incest and child abuse, and Instagram’s hosting sexualised images of underage and even pre-pubescent girls.

 

Can we really separate men’s demand for child sex abuse dolls modelled on the bodies of pre-pubescent girls from a wider culture in which girls are sexualised and treated as appropriate objects of men’s sexual entertainment? The answer isn’t in finding new ways to cater to men’s sexual desires, but to go to the source, and address the cultural factors at play that encourage and legitimise predatory attitudes towards girls.

 

“CHILD SEX ABUSE DOLLS COULD PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE”

 

Supporters of child sex abuse dolls claim they could prevent the sexual abuse of living children. But there is no evidence for this, and it’s difficult to imagine how research of this nature could be carried out in an ethical way. A 2019 report from the Australian Institute of Criminology suggests the opposite is true. The authors reviewed the research on sex dolls, child sexual exploitation material and sexual offending against children and concluded there was no evidence that child sex abuse dolls will prevent child sexual abuse, and that they could increase the risk of child abuse. From the report:

 

“[It is] reasonable to assume that interaction with child sex dolls could increase the likelihood of child sexual abuse by desensitising the user to the physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by child sexual abuse and normalising the behaviour in the mind of the abuser.”

 

The report also suggests child sex offenders could use the childlike dolls as a tool to groom children for sexual abuse, just as predators have used pornography to groom children.

 

“IT’S A VICTIMLESS CRIME”

 

Some advocates characterise the use of child sex abuse dolls as a ‘victimless’ crime, putting childlike dolls in the same category as sexualised depictions of children in drawings or cartoons, or artificial or computer-generated child abuse material, because no child is being abused in their production. Under Australian law, this content constitutes illegal child sexual exploitation material, as depictions of child sexual abuse (including virtual child sexual abuse) are thought to normalise the sexual use and abuse of children and encourage offenders.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 3:24 a.m. No.10641952   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10641949

 

4/4

 

The United Nations has taken the same approach to virtual child abuse material. From the 2020 United Nations Report from the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children:

 

“The increased accessibility and availability of child sexual abuse material online appears to normalise this crime and may encourage potential offenders and increase the severity of abuse. This includes new phenomena, such as drawings and virtual representations of non-existing children in a sexualised manner, widely available on the Internet.

 

“The increasing social acceptance of early sexualisation is exacerbated by the widespread dissemination of child sexual abuse material on the Internet and the production of highly realistic representations of non-existing children. This objectification of children comforts offenders in their actions.”

 

THE HARM TO LIVING CHILDREN

 

Contrary to claims from defenders of child sex abuse dolls, the reality isn’t as simple as a doll or a child. Child sex abuse dolls don’t just aid in the fantasy of abusing a generic, hypothetical child. Buyers can commission a custom-made doll in the likeness of a known child.

 

Australian Member of Parliament Connie Bonaros, who introduced laws to criminalise child sex abuse dolls in South Australia, warned that images of children taken in public or sourced from social media could be used to create child sex abuse dolls.

 

"You can send a photo of a child to one of the manufacturers of these dolls and ask for that doll to look like that child," she said.

 

There is already evidence users of child sex abuse dolls are incorporating specific human children in their abuse fantasies. Last month, an Australian man was charged after police caught him with hundreds of images of child sexual exploitation material and five homemade child sex abuse dolls. The dolls, dressed in girls’ clothing, were reportedly made from stuffing and pantyhose with sex toys built into them. One had a laminated photo of a real child’s face attached to its head.

 

A Collective Shout investigation on the sexual exploitation of girls online uncovered a paedophile forum where men shared sexualised images of pre-teen girls originally posted on Instagram and shared their fantasies for raping them. One topic of conversation among these men was their desire for child sex abuse robots in the form of a particular nine-year-old child.

 

Far from being a ‘victimless’ crime, the development of child sex abuse dolls facilitates a new form of technologically-mediated child sexual abuse, one where men can simulate rape, abuse and torture of specific children using customised dolls. Child sex abuse dolls allow men to enact the abuse of children despite physical distance - the sexual abuse and violation of children without predators ever having access to them, without even knowing them or having ever come into contact with them.

 

In her autobiography Trigger Warning: My Lesbian Feminist Life, Sheila Jeffreys writes,

 

"It is clear that men will make use of whatever technology is available to engage in forms of terrorism against women and they tend to keep up with the changes efficiently." It is clear also that men’s sexual terrorism extends not just to women, but increasingly to girls too.

 

There is nothing ‘victimless’ about child sex abuse dolls. They normalise and legitimise children as sexual objects, and ultimately normalise the sexual use and abuse of children. Even though the products are still in their infancy, living children have already been harmed through their manufacture and use. It will get worse.

 

Those of us with an investment in the rights of women and children must fight this form of sexual terrorism. Men’s sexual desires must not come at the expense of the rights of women and girls.

 

https://filia.org.uk/news/2020/9/10/not-a-victimless-crime-how-child-sex-abuse-dolls-facilitate-crimes-against-children

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 8:47 p.m. No.10652576   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

Q Post #4709

 

Sep 14 2020 20:35:44 (EST) NEW

 

Julian Assange

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4709

 

 

Q Post #4710

 

Sep 14 2020 20:35:55 (EST) NEW

 

Seth Rich

Q

 

https://qanon.pub/#4710

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 11:47 p.m. No.10653948   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

Ron / CodeMonkey Tweet

 

Huge ddos ongoing the past couple hours. Sorry if there is a bit of downtime or slowdown as attacks are mitigated. Big thanks to @LimTheNick for helping.

 

https://twitter.com/CodeMonkeyZ/status/1305687770468241408

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 14, 2020, 11:54 p.m. No.10653978   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Julian Assange extradition delayed by further tech, coronavirus issues

 

London: The extradition hearing for Julian Assange has been plagued by technical difficulties, throwing proceedings into further delay because of coronavirus.

 

Assange is fighting the US Department of Justice's request for him to be extradited to the US to face 18 charges of violating the Espionage Act. The charges relate to the publication of more than half a million US defence and diplomatic documents on the WikiLeaks website.

 

The charges carry a maximum 175 years jail term.

 

Court officials in London spent more than an hour trying to establish a video link to the United States to hear the evidence of Eric Lewis, a US attorney who opposes Assange's extradition.

 

"No publisher of information has ever been successfully prosecuted for publishing national security information ever," Lewis said.

 

He told the court that if convicted, the 49-year-old would likely spend the rest of his life in jail.

 

"Under the best-case scenario we are looking at a sentence somewhere between, 20 years, if everything goes brilliantly to 175 years," he said.

 

Lewis spent around 90 minutes giving evidence before an audio clip interrupted his testimony. The judge walked out as the tech troubles interfered with the hearing which was then adjourned until lunch.

 

But after lunch court officials could not re-establish a link to Lewis and the hearing was called off for the rest of the day and will resume on Tuesday.

 

It is not the first time that the hearing has experienced difficulties connecting to, or hearing clearly, witnesses who are choosing to give evidence remotely as a result of the pandemic.

 

The hearing only resumed at the Old Bailey in central London on Monday following a two-day break after a coronavirus scare, when the wife of one of the lawyers representing the US government developed symptoms which she feared might be COVID-19.

 

The test proved negative and her diagnosis was no more than a common cold.

 

But when court resumed on Monday, Assange's legal team asked District Judge Vanessa Baraitser to order that everyone must wear masks in the courtroom.

 

She refused.

 

"Those that wish to wear masks in the well of the court are welcome to do so unless they are directly addressing the court and I understand masks are available for this purpose," she said.

 

"But there is no obligation to do so and I make no direction … in this regard."

 

She instead said that anyone, including Assange who is sitting behind a glass wall in the dock, could wear a mask if they wished.

 

Assange wore a mask to his extradition hearing for the first time but his QC Mark Summer claimed there had been "difficulties in getting him masks."

 

Assange's extradition hearing was already delayed by several months due to the pandemic. Assange has subsequently claimed that his incarceration is a risk to his health, exacerbated by coronavirus.

 

He is being held at Belmarsh prison on London's outskirts. His extradition hearing is expected to run until October.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/assange-extradition-delayed-by-further-tech-coronavirus-issues-20200914-p55vma.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 12:39 a.m. No.10654134   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4137 >>5084

>>10587215

>>10587239

Banned Chinese scholar says guilty of emojis, not security risk in Australia

 

1/2

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Chinese scholar banned from Australia on security grounds says he has become critical of Canberra in recent years but is no security risk, adding his biggest contribution to a WeChat group at the centre of a security investigation was usually an emoji.

 

A decision by Australia’s national security agency to cancel the visas of two Chinese academics of Australian literature has embroiled Canberra’s oldest soft power programme in China in a bitter diplomatic dispute.

 

One of the banned academics, Chen Hong, had drawn recent attention for criticising the Australian government in the Chinese newspaper The Global Times.

 

Chen told Reuters in an interview that he became critical of Australia after 2017, when Canberra began a “heatbreaking” noisy political debate about Chinese influence.

 

“I don’t think Australia is a country that should be clamping down on voices,” Chen said.

 

“In my classroom my students all know that I am an ‘Australianist’,” he said.

 

Chen teaches Australian culture at the East China Normal University in Shanghai, where he is director of the Australian Studies Centre.

 

Chen first visited Australia as a 24-year-old at the personal invitation of former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam.

 

Whitlam established diplomatic relations between Australia and China in 1972, and later headed the government’s Australia China Council, which helped fund the study of Australian literature in Chinese universities.

 

ASIO RAIDS

 

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation moved in August to cancel Chen’s visa, and that of Li Jianjun, director of the Australian Studies Centre at Beijing Foreign Studies University, labelling them a risk to national security, Chen confirmed.

 

ASIO has declined to comment on its reasons.

 

Chen said the men were members of a WeChat group with a New South Wales (NSW) state Labor politician and his staffer, whose homes were raided in June by federal police in a foreign interference investigation.

 

China’s foreign ministry said Chinese journalists in Australia were also searched by ASIO, but ASIO has declined to comment, and the government has said only that it takes foreign interference seriously and ASIO acts on evidence.

 

High Court documents lodged by the NSW politician’s staffer, who is challenging the foreign interference law, show the investigation centres on a private social media group.

 

Chen says the WeChat group included two Chinese journalists and was used to organise a dinner on one of his visits to Sydney.

 

Afterwards, people who attended the dinner continued to post photographs and newspaper articles. Chen says he was the least active member, and usually responded with an emoji or meme.

 

“I cannot establish any remote link between what I have been doing and the allegations that I constitute a risk to Australian security,” he said.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 12:40 a.m. No.10654137   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10654134

 

2/2

 

Western Sydney University, where Li is studying for a PhD, told Chinese students in an email it was supporting Li to seek a review of the visa cancellation.

 

The university told Reuters in a statement Li had an “impressive track record”. The visa decision was a matter for government, it said, adding it supported new government guidelines on foreign interference.

 

Jocelyn Chey, a former Consul-General in Hong Kong who also helped establish the Australia China Council in 1979, says she regards Li as “one of our best friends in China”.

 

“Any time I have heard him speak about Australia it has been very positive,” she told Reuters in an email.

 

POLITICAL RESEARCH

 

Two Australian academics who knew Chen said they were surprised by his recent criticism of the Australian government.

 

“From an Australian point of view, he seems to slip between academic work and journalism and the (China Communist) Party line,” said Greg McCarthy, a former chair of Australian studies at Peking University.

 

McCarthy said he believes Chen felt betrayed as the diplomatic dispute between Canberra and Beijing worsened after 2017.

 

“Chen stepped into the middle of politics with a background in literature and an idealised version of Australia,” he said.

 

Chen’s engagement with Australia began in 1987 with a PhD on Australia’s Nobel laureate Patrick White and he began studying in Australia in 1991. When he returned to Shanghai in 1994, he was asked by his university to interpret for another former prime minister, Bob Hawke, on a business trip.

 

Chen’s university encouraged him to “diversify” from Australian literature, he said, so he “expanded research to Australian politics and foreign affairs”.

 

He said the Global Times is the only English-language newspaper that offers opportunities in China to have his articles published, and his criticism of Australia is aimed at improving relations. He said he continues to write on Australian culture in Chinese literary journals.

 

Chen visited Australia six times in 2019, including one visit at the invitation of the Chinese embassy, which organised for three Chinese academics to meet with Australian think-tanks - including the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, labelled as “anti-China” by Beijing.

 

The Chinese embassy paid for his $1,000 airfare, he said. “You can’t buy someone for that,” he added.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-china-scholars-interview-idUKKBN2650SI

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 1:34 a.m. No.10654345   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10641562

Repost from Q Research General #13625

 

>>10646721 (pb)

 

Leaked Chinese database show company's interest in Australia's space and science sector

 

Australia's fledgling space sector is proving to be a hot target for Chinese snooping, with Beijing tracking the movement of top-secret equipment from a tracking station outside Canberra to NASA in the United States.

 

Key points:

 

Zhenhua Data tracked a parcel from the CSIRO's Deep Space facility outside Canberra to a NASA lab in California

The massive database also profiles some of the agency's senior staff

A parliamentary inquiry is already underway into foreign interference through social media

 

And Commonwealth scientists with world-leading expertise have also been targeted by a Chinese company with links to the People's Liberation Army.

 

A leaked database developed by Shenzhen-based data company Zhenhua Data, obtained by the ABC as part of an international consortium of media outlets, has more than 70 records that reference CSIRO's staff and classified operations.

 

One entry shows Zhenhua Data monitored the March 2019 transfer of "scientific equipment" from Canberra's Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla all the way across the Pacific Ocean to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

 

It records the name of the German-flagged container ship that took the cargo, as well as the Los Angeles-based customs company that took possession of the package after it arrived at the Long Beach port.

 

"This database has got a vast amount of import-export data that is scraped up, presumably, or stolen or supplied somehow from import-export agents," Clive Hamilton from Charles Sturt University told the ABC.

 

"So this database is not just tracking people, but also tracking the movement of goods which might be of interest to China's intelligence services."

 

The database also shows Zhenhua spied on CSIRO's "transformational bioinformatics team" which is researching artificial intelligence (AI) and genomics in medicine.

 

An AI researcher at the Australian National University has also been profiled by the Chinese firm, and Zhenhua has also documented the CSIRO's work in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 and exploration on Mars.

 

"There'd be hundreds of thousands of references to CSIRO available on the public record," Professor Hamilton said.

 

"But this database is not indiscriminate, it's curated by people sitting there and deciding what to leave in and what to keep a little bit more of."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-15/chinese-database-zhenhua-interest-australia-space-science-sector/12662996

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 2:03 a.m. No.10654454   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10491128

>>10491182

Australian Signals Directorate Tweet

 

“Every organisation in the #FiveEyes relationship contributes uniquely to the greater endeavour.” In her inaugural public speech, Director-General ASD highlighted the importance of our international alliances.

 

https://www.asd.gov.au/publication/speech-transparently-secret-asd

 

https://twitter.com/ASDGovAu/status/1305700215286976512

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 2:46 a.m. No.10654596   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4599 >>5047

Elise Thomas Twitter Threads

 

This is a great piece. QAnon's rapid advance into wellness and spiritual community groups has been one of the striking features of the conspiracy explosion we've seen during this pandemic.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1305641439716499457

 

Lenore Taylor @lenoretaylor

 

Disturbing insights from @sarahwilson The wellness realm has fallen into conspiritualism – I have a sense why

 

https://twitter.com/lenoretaylor/status/1305621194557669376

 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/15/the-wellness-realm-has-fallen-into-conspiritualism-i-have-a-sense-why

 

 

@_MAArgentino has done great work on 'Pastel QAnon' and the shift in aesthetic of this particular tentacle of the QAnon away from, e.g. the evangelical US-based QAnon's eagles and crosses to the kind of branding you'd see on a flower-scented soap

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1305641442652467200

 

 

The collision of this with the trend away from QAnon's more traditional hashtags to more ambiguous hashtags like (#)Savethechildren as documented by @Shayan86 is likely to contribute as well

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1305642210877030400

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 2:48 a.m. No.10654599   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

>>10654596

 

I've talked a lot about how the Australian conspiracy scene is downstream from the MAGA-binfire and the US conspiracy industry more broadly, but that influence really has gotten markedly worse over the past few months. So many "real Aussie patriots" praying for Trump to save them

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1305671299734224896

 

 

Ravi Nayyar @ravirockks

 

What are your thoughts on how the MAGA stuff has gotten into our SF community, Elise? Is that another contributor to the cultural issues therein?

 

https://twitter.com/ravirockks/status/1305705060815368193

 

 

SF…? Sorry, there are too many acronyms in my life, I'm not sure what you're referring to.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1305773165411409921

 

 

No problemo, ma’am

‘Special Forces’

 

https://twitter.com/ravirockks/status/1305773365378990080

 

 

Oh yeah, definitely a concern although I'd personally be more worried about the white supremacist stuff than MAGA with them (obviously there is some crossover there as well). We know some white supremacist groups deliberately target military and law enforcement for recruitment.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1305774441763237888

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 10:23 p.m. No.10664636   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Assange defence questions why Obama didn't seek to prosecute him

 

London: A US attorney supporting Julian Assange claims the WikiLeaks founder will not get a fair trial if he is extradited to the United States to face charges of violating the Espionage Act.

 

Assange is facing 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act for encouraging former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into defence systems. Manning passed more than half a million secret diplomatic and military cables to Assange who published them on the WikiLeaks website.

 

Attorneys and experts appearing on his behalf have already told the court that his extradition is a "political prosecution" that was never advanced by the Obama administration but taken up by President Donald Trump, who has held both supportive and negative views of WikiLeaks over time.

 

Ex-US Justice Department official Thomas Durkin appeared via video link from the United States on behalf of Assange's legal team as the hearing, which was frequently hit by technical difficulties for another day, resumed.

 

"It seems very clear to me that the Obama administration made a decision not to prosecute," Durkin said. "I think that's what happened, they decided not to go ahead … and for Donald Trump's political purposes they decided to reinstate the charges."

 

In 2013, The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration had all but concluded it would not pursue Assange because they could not do so without also pursuing media outlets that published WikiLeaks cables, including The New York Times, the Post and Britain's Guardian newspaper.

 

Lawyers for the US government have repeatedly stressed throughout the extradition hearing that the charges laid against Assange relate to offences of computer hacking and only the publication of informants names.

 

In domestic matters, the US Justice Department, under Attorney-General William Barr, has pursued what appears to be a pro-Trump political agenda, issuing an early conclusion on the Mueller Report into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, then commissioning a probe into the origins of the Mueller report.

 

In London, under cross-examination by James Lewis, the QC representing the US government, Durkin conceded he did not have any first-hand knowledge of why the case against Assange never went ahead when Obama was in power.

 

"All your knowledge about their deliberations derives from newspapers articles, is that right?"

 

"Of course," Durkin agreed.

 

Under re-examination by Assange's lawyers, Durkin, who worked in the Justice Department for six years, said he never saw any reports contradicting newspaper reports surrounding the decision of whether or not to pursue Assange.

 

"If the Obama administration had intended to prosecute Assange, it would be my opinion that they would have corrected those stories in some way," he said.

 

Lewis asked Durkin: "Are you saying that Mr Assange will not get a fair trial in the US or are you just saying it's going to be difficult?"

 

"I don’t believe he would be able to get what I would consider to be a fair trial in the United States," Durkin said.

 

Durkin said Assange faced the rest of his life in jail if extradited to the United States where he would be pressured into accepting a plea bargain, pleading guilty to reduce his sentence to avoid what he called the "trial tax," where prosecutors call for lengthy sentences as a way of punishing criminals who exercise their right to a trial.

 

Durkin completed giving evidence by confirming that the was being paid by Assange's legal team for his time and expert testimony.

 

But when asked if he would disclose the sum, Durkin said: "Only if the judge will redact [the amount] so that my other clients can't see" he said.

 

Lewis laughed and said: "I'm not going to press that."

 

On Wikileaks, Trump has held a variety of views, some of them contradictory.

 

Trump told supporters "I love Wikileaks" in the same year that the website published Democratic National Committee emails, which multiple US intelligence agencies concluded were stolen by Russian hackers.

 

However, he has also attempted to distance himself from Assange, saying he doesn't know anything about him.

 

Trump said it was "OK with me" if Assange was arrested in 2017.

 

Assange is in remand in Britain's Belmarsh Prison while his extradition hearing takes place at the Old Bailey in London.

 

The hearing resumes on Wednesday and is likely to run until early October.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/assange-defence-questions-why-obama-didn-t-seek-to-prosecute-him-20200915-p55w09.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 10:27 p.m. No.10664658   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

Julian Assange, like Jeffrey Epstein, may not be safe in US prison

 

Julian Assange may not be safe in a US correctional centre, like the now dead accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a London court has been told.

 

US lawyer Tom Durkin, a defence counsel of 47 years experience, told Assange’s extradition hearing in the Old Bailey that he had low confidence that the Australian WikiLeaks founder would be safe from harm because like Epstein, Assange likely has private compromising information on many powerful people.

 

In his written testimony, contested fiercely by the US prosecutors, Mr Durkin alleged that Assange, medically assessed as facing serious depression and Asperger’s Syndrome, will not receive adequate mental health care in a US prison.

 

Mr Durkin said the operating procedure around suicidal prisoners in US correctional facilities has failed.

 

“Jeffrey Epstein, then one of the highest profile prisoners in the US prison estate who was famously accused of sex trafficking and awaiting trial, committed suicide while ostensibly being guarded continuously in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York; the two cameras that were supposed to be filming his cell malfunctioned the night he did so.

 

“Mr Epstein was reported to have private, compromising information on many powerful people, just as Mr Assange likely does. My confidence that he (Assange) will be safe from harm —whether inflicted by himself or others — is low.’’

 

Epstein was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019 and his death was ruled a suicide by hanging by the New York medical examiner. However Epstein’s lawyers believed the evidence was far more consistent with murder.

 

Mr Durkin also told the court that Assange would have to reveal sources who provided data and information to WikiLeaks if he agreed to any US plea bargain.

 

He said a realistic assessment of Assange’s sentencing, if found guilty on the current indictment, would be 30 to 40 years or an effective life sentence given Assange was 49 years of age. He said there was a “trial tax’’ which offers an incentive to plead guilty. “You get penalised for going to trial,’’ he said.

 

Mr Durkin said that any plea deal would involve Assange’s full co-operation with the authorities including revealing sources of information given to WikiLeaks.

 

“Absolutely, co-operation always has to be what government requires: complete full and truthful,’’ he told the court.

 

Mr Durkin said pleading guilty could reduce the sentencing by three levels, but based on his experience he believed Mr Assange’s sentencing would be in the highest ranges of the Federal sentencing levels of level 38 to level 43, which translates to 235 months to a life sentence.

 

Earlier another experienced US lawyer Eric Lewis warned that the latest US indictment, issued two months ago expands on the earlier 18 charges and has exposed Assange to ever greater jail terms.

 

He said the US sentencing judge would look to adjust any sentence because the latest indictment broadens the charges to involve activity involving extensive participants, another involves a teenager, another involves a specialist skills such as his computer technical skills and another could involve obstruction while trying to prevent the identification of Chelsea Manning as a source.

 

He added that a further adjustment could be made if government officials are identified as a result of the WikiLeaks disclosures.

 

He said the court has power to accumulate the 18 counts but not above the maximum term of 175 years.

 

He agreed there was a real risk Assange would spend the rest of his life in prison.

 

The trial continues.

 

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/julian-assange-a-victim-of-trumps-deflection/news-story/c25a0b296c7c213bb2361a0788b9360c

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 10:42 p.m. No.10664744   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

Ben Lee Joins Fight Against Batshit QAnon Conspiracy: “I’ve Been In A Cult Before”

 

EMMY MACK - SEP. 15, 2020

 

Australian singer-songwriter Ben Lee has picked up a pitchfork against the batshit QAnon conspiracy theories gaining traction in the US.

 

For the uninitiated, QAnon is a far-right tinfoil hat movement which legitimately posits that Donald Trump is secretly batting a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles responsible for a global child sex-trafficking ring.

 

Yep.

 

Its roots are grossly antisemitic, and the QAnon monster has quickly grown to engulf a number of other bogus conspiracies including the belief that COVID-19 is a hoax, the whole anti-5G thing, and more. If you need a bit more background, you can check out super informative explainer from Business Insider on the theory’s roots and how it’s spreading here in Australia, too.

 

Anyway, as Junkee points out, the US-based Lee has recently been dedicating his Twitter account to dismantling much of the QAnon BS, which has been fuelling recent anti-mask, anti-lockdown and anti-social distancing protests across Australia, the US and the globe.

 

“If you are a QAnon believer, I’d like to gently suggest picking up the book Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan,” Lee tweeted this week. “It may not resonate, but theres no harm in giving it a read! Peace and love peace and love.”

 

He added: “Hi QAnon I’ve been in a cult before and from experience I can see you are one love Ben”.

 

Lee, himself a proponent of wellness and new age spirituality, has also been heaping pressure on wellness figures to denounce QAnon.

 

This week, he congratulated Off The Matt Yoga for a six-part anti-QAnon Instagram slide, which was part of a combined effort from wellness influencers to publicly denounce the movement.

 

“This is the moment to make clear your community will not be used as a funnel for paranoid, racist, anti-semitic theories,” he wrote.

 

It comes after he called on the likes of Eckhart Tolle, Gwyneth Paltrow and Deepak Chopra to use their own voices to spread awareness.

 

“I would like to make a public request to the leaders of new age/health and wellness industries to make clear their position in regards to the QAnon conspiracy theory/political cult,” he tweeted on September 8.

 

Hopefully these public figures catch Ben’s disease.

 

Read some of his tweets below.

 

https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/ben-lee-joins-fight-against-batshit-qanon-conspiracy-ive-been-in-a-cult-before/

 

 

Ben Lee Tweets

 

Hi QAnon I’ve been in a cult before and from experience I can see you are one love Ben

 

https://twitter.com/benleemusic/status/1305659095161032704

 

 

If you are a QAnon believer, I’d like to gently suggest picking up the book “Combatting Cult Mind Control” by Steven Hassan. It may not resonate, but theres no harm in giving it a read! Peace and love peace and love

 

https://twitter.com/benleemusic/status/1305218427993255937

 

 

For the record, I’m a big NO to conspiracy theories, spiritual/self-help gurus, racism, paranoia and unchecked capitalism. Have a nice day!

 

https://twitter.com/benleemusic/status/1297924137818578944

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 10:58 p.m. No.10664820   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4829 >>5084

Spread of fake news around US fires 'strikingly similar' to Australian summer, researchers say

 

By James Purtill - Tuesday 15 September 2020

 

1/2

 

Back in January, when huge areas of the east coast of Australia were on fire, researchers at Queensland University of Technology announced that a targeted, coordinated online campaign was trying to mislead the public by promoting the debunked idea that arson was the main cause of the fires.

 

Twitter accounts suspected to be bots or trolls were driving the popular #ArsonEmergency hashtag, the researchers had found. This was deflecting attention away from a more obvious cause: climate change.

 

For many Australians, the development brought home the fact that the disinformation strategies used to great effect in the 2016 US presidential election could be applied to their own country, and there was very little they could do.

 

Nine months later, huge areas of the west coast of the United States are on fire, and false claims of arson are spreading online.

 

Anonymous accounts, some of them bots, are wrongly asserting that hundreds of arsonists have been arrested, and that some of the fires had been started deliberately by left-wing and environmental activists to force people to leave their homes. Police say this has meant some residents have refused to evacuate.

 

Like in Australia, authorities have said there is no substance to the claim of widespread arson, but the rumours persist, fanned by news outlets publishing reports of isolated arrests or made-up data.

 

The researchers who conducted the Australian analysis say the spread of misinformation in the US is "strikingly similar" to what they saw earlier this year.

 

As well as this, an initial analysis of Twitter hashtags shows suspicious bot activity.

 

Suspicious bot activity around arson hashtags

 

The Hoaxy tool maps the 'diffusion' of tweets into clusters, and ranks the accounts on their likelihood of being a bot. For the hashtag #arson, the tool says three of the four most prominent accounts are highly likely to be bots. The account with the most popular #arson tweet is the White House correspondent for Fox News (though his tweet was about an act of urban arson and was not linked to the wildfires).

 

Bots are retweeting bots. One suspected bot account with thousands of followers tweeted that arson and not climate change caused the US fires. This was then retweeted by dozens of suspected bots, as well as by accounts that appear to be genuine, including, for example, a father of four and Arsenal supporter in Bristol.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 15, 2020, 11 p.m. No.10664829   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10664820

 

2/2

 

The #ArsonExposed and #Arsonthenewclimatechange hashtags also show bots spreading dis- or misinformation. (Misinformation is false information, and disinformation is the same, but spread with an intent to mislead.) Though this type of analysis is not conclusive, (misinformation is spreading on other platforms, too, namely Facebook), it does at least suggest a common pattern of bots and misinformation.

 

"The signs are already there that it's happening," said Dr Daniel Angus, an associate professor in digital communication with QUT.

 

Dr Angus, along with Timothy Graham and Axel Bruns, as well as other colleagues, analysed the #ArsonEmergency hashtag in January. They haven't had time to do the same for the US bushfires, (they're busy with investigating 5G and COVID-19 conspiracy theories), but Dr Angus said the strategies and framing used in the US are very similar.

 

"Tactics-wise these are pretty standard misinformation tactics," he said.

 

"One striking similarity is they're already getting figureheads, such as political candidates, to amplify these particular messages."

 

Misinformation, he said, often spreads in a "self-referential loop": An idea begins online, is picked up and amplified by a prominent public figure, which then encourages the original proponents and gives credence to what had been a fringe view. The cycle starts over and again, each time reaching more and more people.

 

In the case of the Australian bushfires, federal Coalition MPs including Eric Abetz, Craig Kelly and George Christensen helped amplify the conspiratorial claim that many of the bushfires had been started by arsonists.

 

This theory is not supported by the best available evidence.

 

In the case of the US, the arson rumour has been strongly backed by a Republican who recently made a failed bid to represent Oregon in the US Senate.

 

President Trump hasn't talked about arson, yet. On Tuesday, he said the west coast bushfires were not a result a of climate change, but "bad forest management" — a similar claim to the unsupported argument that 'greenies' opposing logging and hazard reduction burning were responsible for the Australian bushfires.

 

"The US is in a very early phase of misinformation — similar to where we found ourselves in January," Dr Angus said.

 

"When politicians and celebrities get involved, we see them as misinformation super-spreaders."

 

https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/spread-of-arson-disinformation-us-wildfires-similar-to-australia/12666336

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 16, 2020, 12:15 a.m. No.10665260   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9353 >>5084

Repost from Q Research General #13647

 

>>10663727 (pb)

 

Australian police accessed Chinese diplomats' emails and messages as part of foreign political interference investigation

 

Australian police accessed the communications of top Chinese diplomats and named a Chinese consular official in a warrant as part of an investigation into political interference, in the months before a crackdown on Australians in China.

Key points:

 

Correspondence between Chinese diplomats and a policy adviser to NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane has been seized by Australian police

The seizures were made as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to infiltrate the NSW Labor Party

The Consulate-General in Sydney says the accusations are "nothing but vicious slanders"

 

The ABC has uncovered explosive details of the highly sensitive investigation that has privately infuriated the Chinese Government in recent months as the Australia-China relationship has deteriorated into its worst crisis since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

 

Search warrants seen by the ABC reveal the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are investigating whether China's Sydney consulate conspired with a New South Wales MP's policy adviser, John Zhisen Zhang, in a plot to infiltrate the Labor Party and influence voters.

 

The warrants identify Sydney Consul Sun Yantao, who is responsible for managing relations with the Chinese diaspora and pro-Beijing organisations.

 

Mr Sun was appointed to the Sydney consulate by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which has been taken over by China's foreign influence agency, the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

 

In a statement, the Consulate-General in Sydney said accusations it "engaged in infiltration activities are totally baseless and nothing but vicious slanders".

 

"The Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney is committed to promoting friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in various fields between the Chinese side and New South Wales," the statement said.

 

"It always observes international law and basic norms of international relations while exercising duties in Australia."

 

Australia accused of breaching sacred international treaties

 

More

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-15/australian-police-accessed-chinese-diplomat-communications/12665724

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 16, 2020, 12:31 a.m. No.10665334   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5347 >>4868 >>5084

Reposts from Q Research General #13643

 

>>10661007 (pb)

>>10661027 (pb)

>>10661037 (pb)

 

Aussie WHISTLEBLOWER INSIDER gives first-hand EVIDENCE of #Spygate origin prior to Candidate Trump running!

 

https://twitter.com/KillAuDeepState/status/1305831248330256389

 

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1305831248330256389.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 16, 2020, 12:58 a.m. No.10665435   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8138 >>5084

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet

 

The Last Stand.

 

#Marines establish a hasty defense to protect critical locations during Exercise #Koolendong. A strong defense helps ensure follow on forces can mass against #security challenges. #FreeandOpenIndoPacific

 

https://twitter.com/MrfDarwin/status/1305683503120613377

 

>https://qanon.pub/?q=last%20stand

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 12:03 a.m. No.10678764   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930 >>5084

Q Post #4727

 

EBpXUniVUAAou98.jpg

 

https://qanon.pub/#4727

 

 

Victoria's Secret reportedly continued to work with a modelling agency after it was accused of supplying underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein

 

MARY HANBURY

 

JUL 30, 2019

 

• Les Wexner, CEO of Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands, said he “completely severed” ties with Jeffrey Epstein 12 years ago.

 

• However, according to Bloomberg, the lingerie giant continued to work with a modelling agency that was once accused of supplying Epstein with underage girls.

 

• In 2015, Epstein accuser victim Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre) said in court filings that Jean-Luc Brunel, an international modelling scout and the owner of MC2 Model Management, had supplied Epstein with dozens of underage girls.

 

• According to Bloomberg, three MC2 models walked in Victoria’s Secret’s 2015 fashion show, and the agency’s models were at auditions in 2017 and 2018.

 

• Representatives for L Brands and MC2 Model Management did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.

 

• L Brands recently hired an outside law firm to review its relationship with Epstein.

 

Les Wexner may have cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein 12 years ago, but Victoria’s Secret reportedly continued to work with a modelling agency for years after it was accused of supplying Epstein with underage girls. Epstein is currently facing sex-trafficking charges.

 

In 2015, Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts (now Giuffre) said in court filings that Jean-Luc Brunel, an international modelling scout and the owner of MC2 Model Management, had supplied Epstein with dozens of underage girls to feed his and Ghislaine Maxwell’s “strong appetite for sex with minors.” Maxwell has been accused of acting as Epstein’s madame, recruiting underage girls and abusing them alongside him.

 

“[Brunel] appeared to have an arrangement with the U.S. Government where he could get passports or other travel documents for young girls. He would then bring these young girls (girls ranging in age from 12 to 24) to the United States for sexual purposes and farm them out to his friends, including Epstein,” Giuffre said in the lawsuit.

 

According to Bloomberg, Epstein also once had a $US1 million investment in MC2 Model Management.

 

Giuffre said in court filings that she had sexual intercourse with Brunel on several occasions, when she was between the ages of 16 and 18.

 

“He was another of Epstein’s powerful friends who had many contacts with young girls throughout the world,” she said.

 

Brunel later tried to sue Epstein, alleging that he had been unfairly caught up in his legal troubles, but the case was dismissed.

 

Victoria’s Secret continued to work with MC2-represented models after Wexner severed ties with Epstein, Bloomberg reported.

 

“Three MC2 models walked in Victoria’s Secret’s 2015 fashion show, and the agency’s models were at auditions in 2017 and 2018. They have also posed for its catalogues and website,” Bloomberg wrote.

 

Representatives for L Brands and MC2 Model Management did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.

 

Last week, L Brands confirmed to Business Insider that its board of directors had hired an outside law firm to review its relationship with Epstein.

 

An L Brands spokeswoman said that while Epstein was Wexner’s personal money manager, “we do not believe he was ever employed by nor served as an authorised representative of the company.”

 

“Mr. Epstein’s crimes are abhorrent, and we applaud every effort to bring justice to those harmed,” she said.

 

If you are a current or former employee of Victoria’s Secret and have a story to share, contact this reporter at

mhanbury@businessinsider.com

or securely via encrypted messaging app

 

Signal - https://signal.org

 

at +1 (646) 768-4716 using a non-work phone.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/victorias-secret-used-jeffrey-epstein-linked-modeling-agency-report-2019-7

 

https://archive.vn/jcwDV

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 12:06 a.m. No.10678776   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4930

Q Post #4728

 

Roberts_Giuffre_with_Prince.jpg

 

TELEMMGLPICT000206038641_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqZPVFFbCSzHWTPEdf5MFbGsU5dmkAmHmd_AZOJznhKYE.jpg

 

https://qanon.pub/#4728

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 1:12 a.m. No.10679059   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>1837 >>5070

>>10575174

Julian Assange interrupts extradition hearing again

 

London: Julian Assange has again interrupted his extradition hearing, claiming that he never put informants lives at risk, when he published hundreds of thousands of State Department documents on his WikiLeaks website.

 

The 49-year-old intervened in his extradition hearing for the second time since it's resumption at the Old Bailey in London last week, earning him another stern reprimand from the judge hearing his case.

 

Assange cried out from the dock after lunchtime during evidence being given by former military analyst Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the classified Pentagon Papers that revealed the US government knew it would not win the Vietnam War based on existing resources.

 

Ellsberg was pursed under the Espionage Act as is Assange. All charges against him were eventually dropped and he has become a vocal supporter of Assange as well as Chelsea Manning, who leaked to Assange the hacked files. Ellsberg also supports Edward Snowden who leaked classified documents he had access to as a CIA subcontractor.

 

The United States government has asked Britain to extradite Assange to face 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act with most charges relating to computer hacking.

 

However, the US government is pursuing Assange over the publication of unredacted documents which exposed the names of informants. The distinction the US government is repeatedly trying to make separates Assange from the press which also published information revealed by WikiLeaks but without naming journalists, human rights advocates and dissidents who were informing on their governments and repressive regimes.

 

Ellsberg confirmed that when he leaked his cache of documents, he withheld four volumes of documents. But he said that the only withheld these because they related to negotiations which he did not want to jeopardise.

 

Assange's outburst came as the QC representing the US government, James Lewis, was cross-examining Ellsberg.

 

Lewis cited an Ethiopian journalist who fled the country after being interrogated and threatened once he was outed as having been a source for the United States.

 

Lewis also read out media reporting of a Chinese national named in the WikiLeaks cables reported being harrassed by non-state groups. The Chinese national fled to the United States.

 

Ellsberg claimed to have never seen evidence that an informant exposed by WikiLeaks was harmed or killed in retaliation.

 

"I find the government highly cynical … am I right in believing not one of them who was subject to threats or interrogation by these brutal and ruthless regimes actually suffered physical harm?

 

"Were any of the threats carried out? Even one? Isn't the answer no?" Ellsberg said.

 

"The rules are you don't get to ask questions, I do," said Lewis.

 

Assange also rejected the claims that he put lives at risk.

 

"Through his rhetorical sleight of hand he is suggesting that I put lives at risk," Assange said from the dock.

 

"This must be corrected.

 

"The damage to me will be irreparable if the media reports that I harmed people, when it is not true," he said.

 

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser reprimanded Assange, for the second time in as many weeks.

 

"I have warned you about this before, you are not entitled to interfere like this," she said.

 

The extradition hearing has previously been told that Osama bin Laden had WikiLeaks documents in his compound on the night that he was killed by US Navy Seals in a dramatic helicopter raid in Pakistan in 2011.

 

The court also heard from former Der Speigel journalist John Goetz, one of the original members of the consortium of media outlets to partner with WikiLeaks and publish the contents of their documents.

 

Goetz, a US journalist based in Berlin said that Cryptome and not WikiLeaks was the first website to publish the unredacted documents in full.

 

When asked under cross-examination, he said he had left Der Spiegel when it combined with Le Monde, The New York Times, The Guardian and El Pais to condemn WikiLeaks decision to publish the names of informants, marked as "Strictly Protect" in the official cables.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/julian-assange-interrupts-extradition-hearing-again-20200917-p55wd9.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 1:32 a.m. No.10679123   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4892

Dassi Erlich Tweets

 

2011 we gave our statements to SOCIT.

 

9 years

72 months

2,190 days

 

Sept 21 is THE extradition decision (10am -Jerusalem District Court).

 

72 court hearings & it has all come down to this!

 

WILL MALKA LEIFER COME BACK TO AUSTRALIA?

 

Anxious. Wired. Hopeful

 

#bringleiferback

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1306377604232953856

 

 

Only 5 days to go…

 

@EllySapper

@NicoleYMeyer

 

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1306378226353094656

 

 

A Current Affair Tweet

 

These three women are survivors of sexual abuse. Thanks to a controversial law threatening sexual assault victims with jail sentences for telling their stories, they’re now the only survivors in Victoria that are legally allowed to speak out. #9ACA

 

https://twitter.com/ACurrentAffair9/status/1306111468174073856

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 2:20 a.m. No.10679353   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9361 >>5084

>>10665260

China responds furiously to consul being named in Australian foreign interference investigation

 

1/2

 

The Chinese Government has condemned allegations that Beijing tried to infiltrate Australian politics as a "malicious smear and slander," after the ABC revealed police warrants connected China's Sydney Consulate to the alleged plot.

 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded to a question about the revelations with 90 seconds of stony silence before accusing Australians with "Cold War" mindsets of peddling lies.

 

The ABC revealed on Tuesday night that a Chinese Consul to Sydney, Sun Yantao, was named in an Australian Federal Police (AFP) warrant, in an investigation into an alleged plot to infiltrate the New South Wales Labor Party.

 

The search warrants were served on NSW policy adviser and Chinese-Australian community leader John Zhisen Zhang in June as part of police raids targeting the 62-year-old and his boss, state Upper House MP Shaoquett Moselmane.

 

Mr Wang told the media conference China was "strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed" to the allegations which were "stigmatising normal operations of China's diplomatic missions."

 

"Some people in Australia are bent on hyping up anti-China sentiments and trying to grab headlines by smearing China and attacking China," he said.

 

"They have gone to great extremes to poison China-Australia relations.

 

"We hope that these people discard their Cold War mindsets and ideological prejudice and stop politicising and stigmatising the normal operations of China's diplomatic missions."

 

The AFP and spy agency ASIO are investigating whether John Zhang was part of a group of foreign agents who encouraged and helped Mr Moselmane to champion Chinese Government interests within the NSW Labor Party and to voters.

 

The warrants named Consul Sun Yantao among at least seven other people whose communications with Mr Zhang were suspected by the AFP to contain evidence of the alleged plot.

 

Mr Sun is responsible for coordinating relations with the Chinese diaspora, pro-Beijing organisations and China's foreign influence agency, the United Front Work Department.

 

The Federal Government sought to dampen the fallout from the explosive revelations, with Trade Minister Simon Birmingham indicating the investigation was not focused on prosecuting Chinese officials.

 

"My understanding is that investigations that might be under way relate very much to potential foreign interference activities by publicised figures who have been identified in the media, who are Australians," Mr Birmingham told ABC News.

 

Fears for Australians in China

 

Former diplomat and senior Defence official Allan Behm told the ABC he feared China's recent crackdown on Australian journalists in China would be expanded in response to the revelations.

 

"The Australian Government needs to act right now," said Mr Behm, who was a foreign policy adviser to the former federal Labor government.

 

Earlier this month, ABC correspondent Bill Birtles and Australian Financial Review journalist Michael Smith were evacuated from China, following the arrest last month of Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei.

 

"[The Australian Government] needs to warn Australians who are in China that they must be extremely careful — that they must do nothing that attracts attention or that might otherwise provoke the Chinese Government," Mr Behm said.

 

"If they have no real reason for conducting business in China at the moment, they would be pretty well advised to return to Australia."

 

The AFP-ASIO investigation is understood to have fed into the deepening diplomatic crisis between Australia and China in recent months.

 

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings, also a former senior Defence official, said the allegations surrounding the Sydney Consulate would have global ramifications.

 

"That is a bombshell that will be frankly electrifying through the national security community in Australia," he said.

 

"It's something that will be paid attention to all around the world. Everyone is going to sit up and pay attention to this development.

 

"This now has to be demonstrated but it is a very serious allegation indeed."

 

ABC Investigations earlier reported that senior Chinese media officials in Australia had been targeted and the visas of two leading Chinese scholars were revoked as part of the investigation.

 

It emerged the journalists were among four questioned in ASIO raids in June, prompting Chinese state media to claim Australia had "severely infring[ed] on the legitimate rights of Chinese journalists".

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 2:22 a.m. No.10679361   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10679353

 

2/2

 

'Australia's diplomacy is in the pits'

 

The Federal Government recently warned Australians that they are "at risk of arbitrary detention" in China, while the Chinese Government warned its citizens of the risk of "arbitrary" searches in Australia.

 

Mr Behm, a former adviser to Labor's Penny Wong when she was shadow foreign minister, questioned whether the Federal Government had a diplomatic strategy to manage the potential fallout from the latest revelations.

 

"It is a very big move to identify by name a Chinese diplomat, particularly a Consul in Sydney, in a warrant, and it's an even bigger moment when that warrant becomes public information," he said.

 

"I doubt that there was very much at all by way of serious diplomatic consideration given to this — it looks very much like action without a plan."

 

He accused the Government of failing to heed advice from its diplomats.

 

"At the moment, Australia's diplomacy with respect to China is absolutely in the pits," said Mr Behm, now head of the Australia Institute's International and Security program.

 

"It is high time that the Australian government listened carefully to its diplomats and actually build a proper diplomatic policy and a strategic plan in the management of our relationship with China.

 

"Australians who are resident in China, they could also become subject to all sorts of investigations and visits.

 

"The Chinese government doesn't sit down when other governments undertake what it regards as provocation, so we can expect that they will retaliate in one form or another."

 

A question of diplomatic immunity

 

The ABC also revealed that John Zhang has also accused Australian authorities of breaching domestic and international law by accessing his communications with top-level Chinese diplomats and their families in Australia.

 

Mr Zhang's emails, messages and records of phone calls with diplomats and their families were contained on laptops and phones seized in the June raids.

 

Mr Zhang formally complained to Federal Government ministers that his phones and laptops were also searched by the Australian Border Force (ABF) at Sydney Airport in January.

 

He accused the ABF and AFP of breaching two of the most sacred international treaties enshrined in Australian law — the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations — which offer protections to the communications of diplomatic officials.

 

Ben Saul, professor of International Law at the University of Sydney, said it was significant that Australian authorities had managed to obtain communications involving Chinese diplomats.

 

"Legally, it's a grey area," said Professor Saul.

 

"Those communications are normally protected from interference by the host state — that is Australia here — under international law and also under Australian law.

 

"The risk of accessing a foreign government's consular and diplomatic communications is that it may well invite retaliation by the other states.

 

"The reason why international law prevents states from interfering in the communications of other states is precisely because all states have a real interest in preventing the other side from accessing their own communications.

 

"As soon as one state starts accessing the other side's communications, it really does invite a kind of tit-for-tat escalation and raises real risks of abuse of any access of communications."

 

Other international law experts and ex-diplomats, including Mr Behm, described the claim that diplomatic protections had been breached as unconvincing.

 

They said it would be impossible for Australia to investigate allegations of foreign interference without being able to search the communications of people in contact with foreign governments.

 

"Mr Zhang's claim that he has a kind of a carrier's immunity because the sources of his communication may have diplomatic immunity, I don't think hold water," Mr Behm said.

 

"He is a private citizen who has information on his laptops and under the law, the intelligence authorities are absolutely entitled to look at these laptops and to read whatever information is on it."

 

Mr Zhang could face up to 15 years in jail if charged and convicted of foreign interference.

 

He maintains his innocence and is challenging the investigation and the foreign interference legislation in the High Court.

 

Mr Moselmane also maintains his innocence, telling the 7.30 program last month police had advised he was not a suspect in the investigation.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-17/china-responds-with-fury-to-foreign-interference-investigation/12671412

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 3:04 a.m. No.10679556   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

Patchouli パチュリ Tweet

 

At the beach in byron bay Australia today. オーストラリアビーチのパーキングにも流行りのやつ。 #Qアノン #qanon #ByronBay

 

https://twitter.com/AstroPatchouli/status/1306178418694733824

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 17, 2020, 3:23 a.m. No.10679652   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5047

Elise Thomas Tweet

 

Ironically, the Qanon movement is beginning to damage real anti-child trafficking efforts, including flooding hotlines with bogus reports and, as @_MAArgentino discusses, posing as legitimate anti-child trafficking groups.

 

https://twitter.com/elisethoma5/status/1306342724728057856

 

Marc-André Argentino @_MAArgentino

 

1/ Thread on QAnon hijacking Save the/our Children Facebook. I identifed 61 groups that have branded themselves as anti-child trafficking pages or organization; in reality they are predominantly QAnon pages sharing fall cabal, out of shadows, & pedowood videos, as well as Qdrops

 

https://twitter.com/_MAArgentino/status/1306336458345771008

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 12:18 a.m. No.10691837   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5070

>>10679059

Julian Assange aimed for 'stringent redactions', extradition court hears

 

London: Julian Assange was "insistent" on redacting the names of Iraqi informants and even deployed software to remove Iraqi words from WikiLeaks cables which he later published in full, a prominent NGO told the Australian's extradition hearing.

 

John Sloboda who founded Iraq Body Count, a London-based non-government organisation that tallies civilian casualties gave evidence at London's Old Bailey, on behalf of the defence.

 

The US Department of Justice wants Assange extradited to the United States so he can face 18 charges of computer hacking and for publishing the names of informants.

 

Sloboda, who worked with Assange and the WikiLeaks team on the Iraq war logs in 2010, said the Australian was determined to scrub sources' names from the documents before publishing.

 

"It was impressed upon us that the aim was a very, very stringent redaction of the logs before publication.

 

"That was the aim of Mr Assange and WikiLeaks," he told Assange's lawyer.

 

Sloboda said it would have taken an "army of people" "a very long time" to redact the files by hand and that it was his colleague who came up with the idea of developing software that would scrub non-English words from the documents.

 

He said redactions of occupations were also carried out to stop informants' identities being guessed.

 

He said this laborious process created tensions between WikiLeaks and the media outlets they were partnering with at the time, as the news organisations wanted to begin publishing documents they had already redacted.

 

However, Sloboda said Assange and WikiLeaks did not want partial publications of the files but wanted to publish the war logs all at once.

 

The files were eventually published, unredacted, in October 2010. The court has previously heard that the website Cryptome first published the WikiLeaks cables in full after Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding revealed the password to the server in their book WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War.

 

US prosecutors have repeatedly argued that WikiLeaks' publication of the documents in full disqualifies Assange's claim that he is a journalist, saying no responsible journalist has or would publish the identities of human intelligence sources.

 

In its indictment the US alleges Assange said in August 2010 that it was "regrettable" that sources disclosed by WikiLeaks could be harmed but added that WikiLeaks was "not obligated to protect other people's sources".

 

Under cross-examination by James Lewis, the QC representing the US government, Sloboda said he was unaware of these comments.

 

Sloboda said he had no explanation for how the documents WikiLeaks published in October 2010 contained the names of informants.

 

"I have no explanation for that at all," he said.

 

"Might it be because Mr Assange took a cavalier attitude to the publication of these logs and to the redaction of persons who were placed at risk by their publication?" Lewis asked.

 

"No," Sloboda said.

 

"Well, what's the alternative?" Lewis said.

 

"I imagine the alternative is that some element of the redactions, for some unknown reason … the redaction program allowed those names to remain in the document, but that simply is conjecture."

 

Assange has spoken out in court to deny he put lives in harm's way. He faces a combined sentence of up to 175 years if convicted of all counts in the US. His extradition hearing is expected to run until October.

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/julian-assange-aimed-for-stringent-redactions-extradition-court-hears-20200917-p55ws5.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 12:33 a.m. No.10691907   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4892

THE JERUSALEM POST’S 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL JEWS OF 2020

 

The Jerusalem Post is proud to present its 2020 list of the 50 Most Influential Jews. Many people influence the world we live in and impact our daily lives. This year, we strived to create a list showcasing the diversity of the Jewish nation while highlighting people from all walks of life – government, art, medicine, literature and science.

 

ENJOY THE LIST AND HAVE A SHANA TOVA!

 

https://www.jpost.com/50-most-influential-jews

 

 

#31 - Exposing sexual abuse: The Sapper sisters

 

Waiting for justice for Leifer

 

In Jewish communities around the world, especially in ultra-Orthodox circles, pedophilia has traditionally been something that was not discussed.

 

That is changing, thanks to the courageous efforts of the Sapper sisters, who have tirelessly fought for the extradition to their native Australia of their allegedly sexual abuser, their then-school principal Malka Leifer.

 

In 2007, one of the sisters, Dassi Erlich, who was living in Israel at the time, began having nightmares and anxiety attacks, and sought professional help. During her sessions with a therapist, the story of what had happened to her as an adolescent gradually emerged. The therapist contacted a Melbourne psychologist, who in turn contacted a senior teacher at the Adass Israel School for Girls, where the Sapper sisters, who were from a family of seven siblings, were overseen by Leifer.

 

The teacher confronted Leifer who denied any wrongdoing. Seeking to prevent harm to any other student, the teacher took the matter to the school’s leading rabbis who convened a meeting with members of the school board. Keen to avoid a public shaming, it was quickly arranged via the board for Leifer and her family to immediately return to Israel, from where she had come to Melbourne in 2001.

 

Erlich subsequently returned to Australia and filed a police complaint. As police investigations intensified, there were more reports of incidents of sexual abuse that had been instigated by Leifer. There were at least eight other pupils on whom Leifer had foisted her attentions. Police toted up 74 charges against her, and called for her extradition. But Leifer’s lawyers kept insisting that she was mentally unfit to stand trial. The case dragged on and on with hearings in Israel to determine Leifer’s mental state; while extradition requests came from high-ranking Australians to their Israeli counterparts. Malcom Turnbull, while prime minister of Australia, met with Erlich and later brought up the extradition in conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Australia’s Attorney-General Christian Porter during a visit to Israel, did the same at his meeting with his Israeli counterpart Avichai Mandelblit.

 

Erlich and her sisters, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper, have come to Israel to attend Leifer hearings, and during their visits have also met with Israeli politicians, including Ayelet Shaked when she was justice minister.

 

The sisters have also testified before the Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Abuse.

 

Erlich started the “Bring Leifer Back” campaign, which received a lot of support from Jews and non-Jews alike.

 

It seems as though Erlich’s efforts might finally bear fruit, because in May of this year the Jerusalem District Court court determined that Leifer was fit to stand trial. Leifer’s subsequent appeal was rejected in September by the Supreme Court.

 

Waks, Erlich and her two sisters are active in encouraging victims of sexual abuse to speak up and speak out. Only when potential perpetrators are aware that their victims will not be afraid to go to the police is there a chance that such abuse will be greatly reduced.

 

And it will be due, in part, to the efforts of Erlich and her sisters.

 

https://www.jpost.com/50-most-influential-jews/sapper-sisters-642226

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 1:01 a.m. No.10692018   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2028 >>5084

'Blue murder': Why Morrison is 'praying' for a Trump election win

 

1/2

 

With the world watching as the US heads to the polls, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be quietly praying for a second Donald Trump term.

 

That’s the prognosis from his predecessor Kevin Rudd, who says at least when it comes to the major issue of climate change, the PM benefits from one result.

 

“Because Trump has been such a climate change denialist, people like Morrison have been able to fly beneath the radar in terms of not doing much globally in terms of Australia’s Paris [agreement] commitments,” Mr Rudd told Yahoo News Australia.

 

“If you have an inert America on climate change, it’s made it easier for Morrison to frankly get away with blue murder in terms of what needs to be done.”

 

If you believe current polling, Democratic candidate Joe Biden is on track to claim the White House on November 3 – an outcome that would reset the world’s fight against global warming.

 

“If there’s a Biden-elect, let me tell you for a whole range of reasons… in terms of climate change this is a massive heart of the Democratic party and movement demanding that the United States take much harder measures domestically and globally on climate change.

 

“So the ability of the Morrison government to skate through under a Biden administration will be severely constrained. Hence why I think he’s lighting a candle in his church of his preference for the re-election of Trump,” Mr Rudd said.

 

The issue of climate change has plagued the Coalition government, tearing down Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership and scuttling any chance of a much needed national energy policy. Since coming to the leadership, Mr Morrison has been pragmatic in his approach by acknowledging the reality, but has largely avoided the issue.

 

Meanwhile the government’s gas-led recovery out of the coronavirus recession, formally announced this week, has been met with scathing criticism from climate activists and economists.

 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office dismissed Mr Rudd’s criticism of the Morrison government on climate change.

 

“We are not going to take lectures from a former Prime Minister who failed to take any meaningful action against what he described in his own words as, ‘the great moral challenge of our generation’,” a spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s office told Yahoo News Australia.

 

“Our focus is on cutting emissions and cutting power prices which is why this week we announced an extra $1.9 billion investment in the low-emissions technologies of the future, and established a plan to deliver more support for our energy grid through gas-fired power that can also help bring renewable energy sources into our energy grid.”

 

During his time as leader Kevin Rudd was unable to get an emissions trading scheme through the parliament. When the party installed Julia Gillard as leader, she introduced a tax on carbon which was later repealed by the Coalition government Mr Morrison now leads.

 

(continued)

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 1:02 a.m. No.10692028   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10692018

 

2/2

 

The US-Australia alliance and dealing with a rising China

 

When it comes to another major global issue for Australia and arguably its most important ally, the Morrison government has subtly shown a level of trepidation about Donald Trump’s administration.

 

During a recent Washington visit, Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds sought to strengthen military ties with the US. But the pair notably stopped short of agreeing to join the country in naval exercises in the South China Sea within 12 nautical miles of China’s claimed territories – something that would be seen as a provocation.

 

“There was a notable plume of dust emerging behind Marise Payne’s limousine as she escaped from Washington not wishing to sign up to the latest piece of American bravado about Royal Australian Navy ships conducting freedom of navigation operations within the 12 mile limit of China’s reclaimed islands,” Mr Rudd said.

 

The former PM criticised the government’s megaphone diplomacy when dealing with China, accusing it of treating the rising tensions as “domestic political raw meat” as it tries to look tough on the rising authoritarian power.

 

But Donald Trump takes that to an entirely different level.

 

“My point is, there is even a limit to hairy chestedness on China as far as the Morrison government is concerned, and frankly they’re running for cover at that time [in Washington] I thought was indicative of a level of concern of where Trump and [US Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo could take them,” Mr Rudd told Yahoo News Australia.

 

Rudd’s offer to Morrison on Chinese relations

 

Mr Rudd, who is the president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, is currently working on a PhD thesis about the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which he says has given him a “new layer of understanding of Xi Jinping’s worldview and the challenges it represents for the rest of us.”

 

“He is quite a hard wired Marxist-Leninist in his core.”

 

Just after Mr Morrison won the election last year, Mr Rudd approached him and offered to have a discussion about China and how to manage the relationship.

 

“So I went and spent some time with him at Kirribilli, since then we’ve not really discussed the matter,” he said.

 

Whoever wins the US election will face major challenges on how they respond to an increasingly assertive China as it pursues expansion in the South China Sea and tries to reclaim Taiwan, increasing the possibility of military conflict.

 

And in recent history, where the White House goes, Australia has followed.

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/blue-murder-why-morrison-is-praying-for-a-trump-election-win-040221466.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 2 a.m. No.10692229   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

Queensland childcare worker accused of child rape among 104 charges

 

A Queensland childcare worker has been charged with multiple counts of raping children among more than 100 offences that also include bestiality.

 

Townsville child protection investigation unit detectives will allege the 39-year-old man was indecently assaulting children and recording the offences.

 

Police also said he took images of his victims and distributed them over several years.

 

The north Queensland childcare worker has been charged with 104 offences including multiple counts of rape, indecent treatment, bestiality, making and distributing child exploitation material and supplying dangerous drugs.

 

He is due to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court on September 29.

 

Detective Senior Sergeant David Miles said 11 children, with ages ranging from infancy to 16 years old, and one adult were identified as victims between 1995 and 2020.

 

He said police believed there were more victims yet to be identified.

 

"We’re working closely with [the Townsville childcare centre where the man was employed] at the moment," he said.

 

"We have identified some victims from that particular centre and we're working back through historical records at the moment to identify whether there were any more."

 

Senior Sergeant Miles said he suspected some offences might have happened at the centre but it appeared that most offences were committed against the man's own children.

 

"This individual has offended against his siblings, his own children and he has preyed upon vulnerable women in our community who have young children and he has then been providing them with drugs for the purpose of sedating his victims for the purpose of conducting his offences," he said.

 

Senior Sergeant Miles said a two-year-old victim was recovering in Cairns.

 

“That young child we know has been offended against and was subjected to being passed around as a result of exchanging of drugs and the child, she was recovered at an address in Cairns,” he said.

 

Senior Sergeant Miles said he did not believe the crime occurred in Cairns but the child was taken from a family in the area and was back in the hands of the department of child safety.

 

The investigation had led to two other people being charged and one being cautioned, officers said on Thursday.

 

A 33-year-old West End man was charged in July with 15 offences including six counts of distributing child exploitation material and possessing child exploitation material.

 

A 38-year-old woman appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on September 8 in relation to three offences of possessing child exploitation material, distributing child exploitation material and burglary.

 

A 49-year-old woman was cautioned on three counts of bestiality.

 

The three were known to the childcare worker, Senior Sergeant Miles said.

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-childcare-worker-accused-of-child-rape-among-104-charges-20200917-p55wmb.html

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 2:43 a.m. No.10692395   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

Arthur Sinodinos Tweet

 

Lively discussion on US engagement in the Indo-Pacific & on supply chains with trusted allies and House members @RepMcCaul @RepKinzinger @RepAndyBarr @RepJohnCurtis @RepAGonzalez & NZ @NZAmbassadorUS

 

https://twitter.com/A_Sinodinos/status/1306726993451454491

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 3:31 a.m. No.10692556   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5084

>>10491351

>>10532738

Fiona Patten MP Tweets

 

This arrived in the mail this morning no return address to thank them #straighttothepoolroom

 

https://twitter.com/FionaPattenMLC/status/1306743093111128064

 

 

Jerry Zoumis @JerryZoumis

 

Replying to @FionaPattenMLC

 

The actual @ChurchofSatan will no doubt think this is lame

 

https://twitter.com/JerryZoumis/status/1306756879284989953

 

 

The Church Of Satan @ChurchofSatan

 

Replying to @JerryZoumis and @FionaPattenMLC

 

Indeed. Looks like something put together by a fanatical Christian based on their bigoted assumptions of what Satanism is about.

 

https://twitter.com/ChurchofSatan/status/1306760246543527936

 

 

Fiona Patten MP @FionaPattenMLC

 

Replying to @ChurchofSatan and @JerryZoumis

 

Indeed!

 

https://twitter.com/FionaPattenMLC/status/1306760736287281152

 

 

Fiona Patten

 

Fiona Heather Patten (born 1964) is an Australian politician. She is the leader of the Reason Party and has a seat in the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region.

 

Patten established the Australian Sex Party in 2009 to focus on personal freedoms after deep frustration with stagnation on censorship, freedom, marriage equality and drug law reform. On 22 August 2017, it was announced that the Australian Sex Party would be changing its name to the Reason Party.

 

Before entering politics, Patten was the CEO of Australia's national adult industry association, Eros Association. She championed sexual rights and health movements for more than 20 years, particularly on HIV/AIDS, after initially starting out as a small businesses owner with her own fashion label.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Patten

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:10 p.m. No.10704830   🗄️.is 🔗kun

>>10535335

Notables

are not endorsements

 

#9 - Part 1

>>10099807 Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert transferred to ‘worst female prison in world’

>>10104103 Video: Foreign affairs and Defence Ministers meet US counterparts | 9 News Australia

>>10109918 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Today’s #AUSMIN2020 meeting is underway with an ambitious agenda

>>10109998 AUSMIN 2020: US praises Australia for not 'bowing' to China

>>10110039 Australia backs US bid to rally democracies against China

>>10110133 AUSMIN a thrilling, unexpected triumph for White House

>>10110632 Sydney man accused of sexually exploiting New Zealand girl

>>10115695 Video: AUSMIN 2020 - Secretary Pompeo Holds a Joint Press Availability

>>10122402 Melbourne earthquake felt by hundreds of people across the eastern suburbs

>>10122856 Federal Government seeks access to jailed Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who's been moved to new prison in Iran

 

>>10122876 Influential UK MP lashes ‘hostage takers’ over detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert

>>10123114 John Patrick Casey: Catholic priest’s sexual assault appeal fails in Supreme Court

>>10123153 Video: Alexander Downer - Australia must keep America 'fully engaged' in Indo-Pacific region - Sky News Australia

>>10123307 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: We and our allies will fly, sail, & operate wherever international law allows. #AUSMIN2020

>>10123307 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: Even in dark days, America will never lose the ability to dare greatly.

>>10123369 Video: Australian Federal Police - Stop human trafficking happening in plain sight

>>10123418 Border Force officers seizing large number of lifelike child sex dolls ordered online

>>10135836 China hits back at Australia-US statement on South China Sea, Hong Kong

>>10136626 Biden presidency could put Australia back in ‘naughty corner’ over lack of climate action

>>10136706 Kylie Moore-Gilbert granted meeting with Australian ambassador to Iran

 

>>10136821 Google and Facebook to be forced to share revenue with media in Australia under draft code

>>10142926 Australia backs India over deadly border clashes with China

>>10146828 TikTok: President Trump announces US ban of popular video app

>>10156088 Resignation of James Murdoch ‘does not absolve him of the blood on his hands’

>>10156246, >>10156261, >>10156272 'The US enterprise is up for grabs': why the Trump-Biden race is so important for Australia

>>10157518 Australian intelligence agencies investigate Chinese-owned TikTok over security concerns

>>10158011 Modern slavery rife in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, charity claims

>>10158011 PDF: Murky Waters - A qualitative Assessment of Modern Slavery in the Pacific Region - Minderoo Foundation, 2020

>>10167430 (2018) FBI Focuses on Millions of “Mishandled” $$$ Funneled from Australian Gov to Clinton Foundation

>>10167460, >>10167466 Daniel Andrews has significant ties to Chyna/CCP going back to 2013 prior to his election as premier in 2014

 

>>10167481 Australia's MP Daniel Andrews and Hillary Clinton

>>10167481 Daniel Andrews Tweet: I met @HillaryClinton earlier in the week.

>>10167767 Video: Barnaby Joyce casually name drops George Soros during interview with Channel Seven’s Sunrise

>>10167767 QMAP.pub - Players in the Game - George Soros - Billionaire "philanthropist" and investor

>>10176846 Family of jailed Australian academic 'reassured' by ambassador's visit

>>10177085 Part-time Labor staffer John Zhang challenges investigation into possible foreign interference

>>10177186 Video: Modern day slavery occurring in Australia - 7NEWS

>>10177186 Australian Federal Police lift the lid on 'modern-day slavery' in Australia's suburbs

>>10177348 Video: Satan's Children (1989) Teresa's daring escape from brutal satanic cult and bizarre rituals | 60 Minutes Australia

>>10229949 Video: Satan's Children Part 2 - Servants of Satan (1989) - follow up by Australian 60 Minutes journalist Ian Leslie

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:11 p.m. No.10704836   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 2

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Bun - Part 1

>>10122961 'FLIGHT RISK' What is the conspiracy theory about Tom Hanks being arrested in Australia?

>>10136594 As US cases soar, Trump says Australia has 'tremendous problems'

>>10137789 Coronavirus: COVID-19 vaccine developed by Adelaide scientists clear for more volunteers

>>10155115, >>10155141, >>10155156 The threads that don't connect: Covid gives Australian conspiracy theorists a common home

>>10155779, >>10155789 Hydroxychloroquine is a poor coronavirus treatment but a perfect parable for our times

>>10157800 Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declares a STATE OF DISASTER and introduces an 8pm curfew for Melbourne

>>10158200 U.S. Department of State Tweet: We are lucky to count Australia as a close partner through it all. #USwithAUS

>>10158895 Q Research General #12999: CV PANIC in Melbourne, WAKE UP Australia! Edition

>>10167665 Liberal MP Craig Kelly’s ‘dangerous’ hydroxychloroquine claim asks if Vic premier should be jailed

>>10167809 President Trump Tweet: Big China Virus breakouts all over the World, including nations which were thought to have done a great job

 

>>10167952 Video: INVESTIGATION: Hotel quarantine security breach causes COVID-19 second wave | 60 Minutes Australia

>>10170026 State of emergency vs state of disaster: What’s the difference?

>>10174955 Video: Victorians face $4957 on-the-spot fine for breaching isolation orders - Sky News Australia

>>10187191 Promising antibody response in Australians given Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

>>10209323 Australia pledges to share coronavirus vaccine: PM

>>10238919 The hidden fallout of the pandemic: Fears lockdown linked to jump in child abuse material arrests in WA

>>10239291 Video: Ivermectin treatment is a ‘real killer of coronavirus’: Professor Thomas Borody - Sky News Australia

>>10239610 Marines complete quarantine in the Northern Territory

>>10250589 Ex-Bachelorette Ali Oetjen shares false conspiracy theory, coronavirus pandemic is a 'cover-up for widespread child sex trafficking'

>>10262267 Coronavirus: All parties eager to sign up for a new national forum (National Cabinet)

 

>>10304251 Daniel Andrews says Victoria may never eliminate COVID-19

>>10306643 Taking Hydroxychloroquinine in Queensland as a preventive for COVID-19 is a $1334 fine and 6 months prison

>>10315234 Australia could have a COVID-19 vaccine within six months

>>10336102 Scott Morrison expects a successful coronavirus vaccine would be mandatory in Australia

>>10337972, >>10337978 Lieutenant-General John Frewen, the head of the Defence COVID-19 Taskforce, pulls rank on Premier's quarantine claims

>>10338193 Coronavirus vaccine should be mandatory in Australia: PM

>>10339491 Q Research General #13230: No Compulsory Vaxxes for Aussies or Anyone Else! Edition

>>10343294 AstraZeneca to be exempt from coronavirus vaccine liability claims in most countries

>>10343567 List of "conspiracies" proven to be real - Big Pharma

>>10343915 Coronavirus vaccine: Australia rules out mandatory immunisations

 

>>10369123 Aussie tennis great Pat Cash promotes conspiracy theory coronavirus film

>>10369282 St Vincent’s Melbourne trials Trump-spruiked malaria drug hydroxychloroquine

>>10388884 60 Minutes Australia: Dr Fauci’s virus message for Australians

>>10388884 Video: SUNDAY on #60Mins: Dr Anthony Fauci’s message of hope: we will get through this

>>10396970, >>10396979 60 Minutes Australia: Dr Anthony Fauci reveals Australia is a ‘global leader’ in coronavirus fight

>>10397835 >>10397841, ASIO working to prevent foreign spies from stealing Australian coronavirus vaccine research

>>10410995 Video: Dr Anthony Fauci's 2018 interview on flu dangers and future virus pandemic | 60 Minutes Australia

>>10436864 Australia to send 55 firefighters to the US to battle wildfires amid the pandemic

>>10480915 Black market cat drugs being studied as COVID-19 treatment

>>10491426 Melbourne anti-lockdown protest organiser calls coronavirus a ‘scam’

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:12 p.m. No.10704843   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 3

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Bun - Part 2

>>10491438 Video: Anti-lockdown ringleader calls coronavirus a "scam" | A Current Affair

>>10491693 Detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei authored Facebook posts about Wuhan coronavirus cover-up

>>10499142 SHOCK REPORT: This Week CDC Quietly Updated COVID-19 Numbers – Only 9,210 Americans Died From COVID-19 Alone

>>10499184, >>10499961 A Doctors’ Open Letter to Daniel Andrews re: government’s management of the COVID-19 viral pandemic

>>10499240 Greens deliver despot Dan 6 more months of emergency powers - michaelsmithnews.com

>>10499543 Victoria's Births, Deaths and Marriages - deaths registered per month - - michaelsmithnews.com

>>10500441 Open Letter to Health Minister About Ivermectin — “One Dose is Normally Sufficient for Recovery”

>>10500546 Breakthrough Drug: Ivermectin Shows 'Astounding' Results Against Coronavirus

>>10501605 Tony Abbott rails against Victoria's coronavirus response - 'Health dictatorship'

>>10501610 Video: Australia and the Coronavirus Crisis, PolicyExchangeUK - With Hon Tony Abbott AC, Health dictatorship reference @ 8:35

 

>>10501615, >>10501618 'Unaccountable experts': Tony Abbott calls for end to lockdowns, travel bans

>>10501618 Stewart McDonald, Scottish National Party MP questions Tony Abbott about "health dictatorship", a term also used by QAnon conspiracy group

>>10501635 Video: Stewart McDonald - "Are you familiar with Qanon, Mister Abbott?" Tony Abbott - "Look, I'm afraid I'm not. But I'm sure you'll enlighten me."

>>10501671, >>10501674 Pregnant woman arrested in Ballarat for creating anti-lockdown protest event on Facebook

>>10504219 Snr Sgt Tim Argall, 'authorising Officer' on the search warrant for pregnant protest inciter from Ballarat, had affair with Lawyer X

>>10508924 Victoria Police are trained to issue summonses rather than arrest where possible - why was this pregnant mum handcuffed?

>>10509221 >The (alleged) Facebook post that got pregnant mum Zoe Lee arrested today

>>10523738, >>10523747 The bodybuilder conspiracy theorist behind a group pushing COVID-19 checkpoint breaches

>>10534097 Coronavirus Australia live news: Anti-lockdown protesters gather across Australia, arrests made in Melbourne and Sydney (Q WWG1WGA sign in Perth)

>>10535023 Sharon McGowan Tweet: Anti-lockdown protesters are now walking down Albert Park towards St Kilda. (WWG1WGA sign in Melbourne)

 

>>10535035 Wake up Australia Tweet: The crowd is kind of shy, Beautiful, Full of hope and joy, Chanted, Free Victoria (Q sign in Brisbane)

>>10535045 Morgans Tweet Freedom Day Byron Bay wwg1wga (WWG1WGA sign in Byron Bay)

>>10535053 JayTeePee Tweet: Almost 10,000 West Australians stood together at Parliament House for FREEDOM DAY (#WWG1WGA T-shirt in Perth)

>>10535070, >>10535082 WeareMaximus Tweets: Brisbane / Chant of the day… Free Victoria / Free the children chant (Q WWG1WGA T-shirts in Brisbane)

>>10535235 No arrests as hundreds protest in Brisbane (Q Make Australia Great Again sign in Brisbane)

>>10535606 Tommyblues Tweet: Small one in Cairns but good to see numbers none the less (The Great Awakening sign in Cairns)

>>10535729 6% Jo Tweet: It was excellent. Brisbane protested with them (Q / WWG1WGA / Children / Human Trafficking signs in Brisbane)

>>10535808 N.Marsters Tweet: Oh Yes, we here in Brisbane, Australia. #freevictoria #FreedomDay (Q sign in Brisbane)

>>10536615 UN Forced To Admit Gates-Funded Vaccine Is Causing Polio Outbreak In Africa

>>10542825 Chanting for 'freedom' and shouting of Fascism, a city's fringe erupts in anger

>>10553790 Protesters Clash with Police While Rallying Against Australia’s COVID Restrictions

 

>>10575094 Coronavirus Victoria: Brett Sutton says he did not recommend Melbourne curfew

>>10575404 Coronavirus vaccine setback a headache for Trump

>>10578919 Video: Coronavirus: Victoria exposed in ADF assistance documents | 9News Australia

>>10579104 Parliament of Australia - Select Committee on COVID-19 - Answers to Questions on Notice - EMV Commissioner Andrew Crisp

>>10586484 Tom Hanks accused of getting special treatment after returning to Australia amid coronavirus quarantine

>>10587164 Annastacia Palaszczuk slams Scott Morrison and Queensland opposition over 'disgusting' border bullying

>>10588476 Was Australia's crippling lockdown based on a MONUMENTAL stuff-up?

>>10625777 Peter Dutton says Tom Hanks should not be treated differently

>>10626007 Second round of anti-lockdown protests flop in Melbourne gloom

>>10627663, >>10627678, >>10627695 Violence erupts as hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters chanting 'freedom' storm Queen Victoria Markets

>>10643198 Outrage over Victoria Police officer filmed stomping man's head

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:13 p.m. No.10704854   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 4

>>10186848, >>10186858 Scott Morrison vows to tackle Chinese interference

>>10186881 Australian PM Scott Morrison urges US and China to respect international law, resolve disputes peacefully

>>10186905 'Buyer beware': Prime Minister says there is no case to ban TikTok

>>10186977 NSW man Justin Radford hit with 80 new child abuse charges

>>10187001, >>10187014 Operation Arkstone – Wyong man faces further 80 charges

>>10187149 Police ‘suspect Shaoquett Moselmane staffer John Zhang spied for China’

>>10191152 NSW police officers charged with attempted rape, production of child abuse material

>>10197616 Australia takes paedophile hunt online with 100 cyber detectives

>>10197633 Peter Dutton confirms Australia could spy on its own citizens under cybersecurity plan

>>10197753 We're waiting to take your call: Prime Minister Scott Morrison to China's President Xi Jinping

 

>>10197785 Global Times Tweet: If you want peace, don't just talk the talk. Walk the walk: Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin #HuSays

>>10197814, >>10197817 Trump administration's probe of the Russia investigation may be nearing conclusion

>>10208724 Trump issues orders banning TikTok and WeChat from operating in 45 days if they are not sold by Chinese parent companies

>>10208842 British paedo monster carried out sick sex attack on Tinder date’s nine-year-old daughter in Australia

>>10208990 Change of command for Australia's special forces ahead of explosive war crimes report

>>10209217 War crimes report will make uncomfortable reading, says Linda Reynolds

>>10209400 Senior Westpac contingent pushes for bank to settle Austrac legal case

>>10209489 South Australian man charged with online child abuse offences after Canadian tip

>>10209606 International tip-off leads to arrest of Sydney man on child abuse charges

>>10228782, >>10228790 South China Sea: Trump card Australia has over China - RARE-EARTH MINERALS

 

>>10229176 Report: Ex-CIA Chief Brennan Has Been Told He Is Not Target Of Durham Probe

>>10236191 SHOCKING VIDEO - MAN WHIPS A TERRIFIED HALF-NAKED CHILD WHO IS SUSPENDED UPSIDE DOWN, HANDS AND FEET BOUND.SEE SOMETHING. SAY SOMETHING.

>>10237675 Kyle Daniels: Child to give evidence in swim coach sexual abuse trial

>>10237919 Mass Surveillance being installed throughout Melbourne using the COVID-19 Lockdowns and Curfew as Cover?

>>10238194 Afghan prisoner swap likely to free Hekmatullah, rogue soldier who murdered three Australians

>>10238328 Foreign forces ‘spying on diaspora’, says ASIO

>>10238835 “Offshore Punch” - Australian Federal Police will bust cyber crims in their lairs

>>10239098 City of Sydney councillor Robert Kok advising 'pro-Beijing' group linked to Chinese Communist Party

>>10239411 Scott Morrison’s plea to Donald Trump over Diggers’ killer Hekmatullah

>>10245266 Video: Justinian Deception - GNOSTIC-CONTROL

 

>>10250659 PM seeks clarity after Trump cans G7 summit

>>10250704 'Put up or shut up' says Labor MP raided in Chinese influence investigation

>>10250763 Alexander Downer criticises Chinese diplomacy

>>10250880 U.S. Space Force unveils doctrine explaining its role in national security

>>10250887 Space Force releases 1st doctrine, defines “spacepower” as distinct form of military power

>>10250887 PDF: Space Force Capstone - SPACEPOWER - Doctrine For Space Forces

>>10250950, >>10250953 Defence to probe special forces’ cultural and leadership flaws

>>10250766, >>10251258 Tunnels being exploded in MELB? Fire at battery recycling factory in Campbellfield causes smoke alert for nearby suburbs

>>10258181 Kamala Harris pick is safest road for Joe Biden and will hurt Donald Trump

>>10258181 Joe Biden Tweet: Let’s go win this, @KamalaHarris

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:15 p.m. No.10704868   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 5

George Papadopoulos Tweet Bun

>>10146088 “This was a UK-Australia spying operation, the Israelis helped too”—me in the Washington Post Magazine in 2019

>>10146088 My prediction on which countries had a heavy involvement in working with our intel, willfully or coerced, came true

>>10197666 I reported the Australian “official” to US officials for his brazen spying and bizarre behavior at my “meeting” with him

>>10303421 The indictments of numerous Obamagate players coming will sway moderates to Trump…Boomerang!

>>10303421 Prediction: Clinesmith flipped on Bill Priestap…He was also involved with the Australian set up meeting in London with Alexander Downer

>>10303421 He needed a useful idiot like Alexander Downer and the Australian government complicit to try and divert attention from Steele

>>10303421 Obama administration was illegally spying on my legitimate business ties…Downer, Mifsud, Halper, FBI, Mueller, DIA, CIA all probed that

>>10314736 We have to ask what was the Australian government actively doing trying to sabotage the campaign with fake info

>>10314736 Mueller’s team made it clear that Downer was in on whatever operation they were pulling against the campaign

>>10337615 A professional like Durham investigating the traitors behind this massive scandal that our own government and “allies” set up

>>10377484 Things to watch as a result of the Durham-Brennan interview:…2) UK and Australian intelligence used against the campaign

 

>>10303421 Don’t mess with our democracy, and if anyone did, hold them accountable. Boomerang!

>>10303421 Prediction: Clinesmith flipped on Bill Priestap…He was also involved with the Australian set up meeting in London with Alexander Downer

>>10303421 He needed a useful idiot like Alexander Downer and the Australian government complicit to try and divert attention from Steele

>>10303421 The bizarre allegation I was an “Israeli agent”. Downer, Mifsud, Halper, FBI, Mueller, DIA, CIA all probed that

>>10542962 Can’t wait for it to be revealed that the meeting with the Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer, was recorded and a set up.

>>10564023 The fraudulent and baseless “investigation” was launched as a FARA case, not CI….It explains why Downer…was probing me in a bizarre manner

>>10564023 Downer had connections to wood side and halykut and provided the perfect cover to go in and try and set me up

>>10564023 Storm Montpelier Tweet: The Spectator…in May 2018 talks about Brennans group at Langley and says it started in April 2016

>>10564023 The same month I met “Putin’s niece,” Joseph Mifsud and a bunch of odd Australian and UK “diplomats” who I later reported to US authorities

>>10564036, >>10564040 spectator.org - John Brennan’s ‘Exceptionally Sensitive’ Issue (2018)

>>10665334 Dr Russell McGregor Tweet: Aussie WHISTLEBLOWER INSIDER gives first-hand EVIDENCE of #Spygate origin prior to Candidate Trump running!

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:16 p.m. No.10704880   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 6

>>10258375 U.S. Marines Tweet: The Sunlight Hurts My Eyes - The Marines practiced direct & indirect fire missions to maintain their readiness

>>10261695, >>10261699, >>10261705, >>10261715, >>10261728, >>10261731 Anons better buckle THEEE fuck UUUPPP. Some insight about how and where things are going

>>10261813 SAVE THE CHILDREN. I am a victim of child abuse. Never sexual, but violence and torture and all kinds of psych abuse and threats. THIS IS PERSONAL FOR ME.

>>10269155 What happens during a national cyber emergency? Government wants to take over if things get out of hand

>>10269155 PDF: Australian Government Consultation Paper - Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance

>>10269358 China warns of long-lasting feud with 'toxic' Australia

>>10282969 'Lack of clarity': Laws to be changed to deploy the Australian Defence Force domestically

>>10283199 Matty Kelly Tweet: In a small country town in S/W Victoria Australia. #WWG1GWA #Qanon

>>10293459 Wayne Daniels Tweet: #WWG1WGA from the Gold Coast Australia…patriots rise up and spread the word it’s ubiquitous and can’t be stopped

>>10302477, >>10302533, >>10302551, Video: Christ’s Cross helped me avoid bitterness: Cardinal George Pell

 

>>10304143 Defence Department warns that 'highly active' spies pose 'extreme threat' to Australia's shipbuilding plan

>>10314125 Scott Morrison plans trip to meet Shinzo Abe in Japan

>>10314460 Boris Johnson Tweet: 75 years ago, brave men and women from many nations stood together in the Far East to bring an end to the Second World War

>>10314624 Peter Dutton releases new accountability guidelines for ASIO

>>10314624 PDF: Minister’s Guidelines to be observed by ASIO in performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers

>>10315185, >>10315193, >>10315198 Covert war crimes inquiry compromised by former AFP chief Mick Keelty

>>10315280 Federal Police join global assault on the ’ndrangheta — powerful Calabrian mafia clans linked to some of Australia’s biggest drug importations

>>10315326 Google says draft ACCC news code will hurt search, YouTube functions

>>10315902 Video: Department of Defence Australia - Information Warfare

>>10324877 Video: Interview with His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Interviewed by Marilyn Rodrigues, Journalist for The Catholic Weekly

 

>>10325392, >>10325414 The obscure graph that shows how Trump could steal the US election - QAnon swells during pandemic

>>10325968 Video: United Collective Millions rise up Australia

>>10328330, >>10328335 Video: (2019) Biden accused of inappropriate touching | Nine News Australia - "So today, Cue (Q) the President"

>>10335997, >>10336010 Exhaustive Bipartisan Senate Investigation Finds ‘No Credible Evidence’ for Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory

>>10336010 Q Post #4016 - Was the DNC was hacked by Russia? CIA [BRENNAN] FORCE? Seth Rich internal DL hand-to-hand pass USA?

>>10336656 Innocent: Cardinal George Pell’s private prison journal to be released

>>10336680 Cardinal George Pell's Prison Journal - Innocent! Donate to Support this Project

>>10336885 Bendigo paedophile, Peter Raymond Hartland, who would buy a 12-year-old boy ice-cream after raping and abusing him

>>10337102 Too fat for jail: Paedophile teacher, Peter John O'Neill, won't be locked up for sexually abusing six students because he is morbidly obese

>>10338955 Video: The Plot Against the President (Trailer) by Amanda Milius

 

>>10338955 Pro-Trump Russiagate Doc in the Works From Daughter of Hollywood Legend

>>10354697 Video: Department of Defence Australia - National science week - cyberspace warfare

>>10354951 'What are you planning to say?' Pope quizzed whistleblower priest, book claims

>>10355825, >>10355829 40-year fight for justice - Professional Australian Rules footballer repeatedly raped his two stepdaughters

>>10355957, >>10355963 Sexual abuse redress scheme taking years to deliver compensation for victims who've already waited decades

>>10369382 U.S. Naval Institute Tweet: #OTD 1908, 500,000 Aussies turned out to welcome the arrival of the Great White Fleet to Sydney

>>10369382 Great White Fleet - United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February

>>10369579, >>10369592, >>10369602 ASIO has never acknowledged its chamber of secrets exists. Here's what's inside

>>10369713 Brisbane man charged with online child abuse offences after tip from the United States

>>10377032, >>10377041 The Trump Effect: What Trumpian Politics Mean for Australia

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:17 p.m. No.10704892   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 7

Dassi Erlich / Malka Leifer Extradition Bun

>>10122611 Dassi Erlich Tweet: “Some of the things that happened with this case have never taken place in the history of the…state of Israel".

>>10122611 Latest Malka Leifer appeal in Israel heard in secret

>>10122630 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Even head judge Yitzhak Amit told the defence that the number of appeals was unprecedented

>>10122630 Dassi Erlich Tweet: This statement from a Supreme court judge felt validating

>>10422558 #LetUsSpeak: Victoria blocks sexual assault victims from using real names

>>10423279 Dassi Erlich Tweet: I am aghast and bewildered…How was this allowed to happen in Victoria??

>>10423279 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Our lawyers tell us this could impact us too from this point forward

>>10423279 Dassi Erlich Tweet: It appears it's now a culpable offence for a survivor to speak up at various points in the legal process

>>10423279 Dassi Erlich Tweet: This is a bizarre discovery and we hope that this is just a legislative error

>>10436289 Dassi Erlich Tweet: We have been silenced. We are no longer able to use our voices to speak up. We hope this is fixed quickly.

>>10436289 Dassi Erlich Tweet: We can no longer comment on our case. Last night, @DanielAndrewsMP called and reassured us our voice is important

 

>>10436289 Dassi Erlich Tweet: We spoke to Attorney-General @JillHennessyMP and she acknowledged that this law creates an unintended barrier

>>10436289 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Our lawyer Nick Mazzeo has commenced the application process to lift this gag

>>10436289 Dassi Erlich Tweet: LET US SPEAK #LetUsSpeak

>>10449920 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Update on our application to lift our enforced silence

>>10449920 Dassi Erlich Tweet: We need to gain a courts permission to share our truth

>>10449920 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Not every survivor will be in the same position as us who are fortunate enough to be helped

>>10456757 Lawyers Movement Australia Tweet: Thank you Dassi. The courage of you and your family changes the world.

>>10456757 PDF: Media Release - Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy: Urgent Changes To Ensure Victim-Survivors Can Speak Up

>>10491267 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Spent weekend writing Affidavits. Applications to speak our truth (again)filed in Magistrate's court Mon

>>10501251 Finalising a process that should have never began, but we hope will pave the way for others cases like this

>>10501251 Three high-profile abuse survivors in Victoria are fighting to keep advocating under real names

 

>>10501251 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Our choice to speak has been restored! Judge Metclaf heard us. We have our voice back!

>>10501251 Hugely relieved and empowered to continue advocating for the rights of all sexual abuse survivors!

>>10501251 Brave survivors of alleged predator principal win right to be heard

>>10512571 Dassi Erlich Tweet: BREAKING NEWS FROM ISRAEL: The Supreme court has rejected the appeal on Malka Leifer’s mental fitness to stand trial!

>>10512571 Dassi Erlich Tweet: The order to let us speak came just in time! Imagine if we couldn't share this huge step forward

>>10512571 Israel's Top Court Clears Way to Extradite Accused Pedophile Malka Leifer to Australia

>>10512571 Dassi Erlich Tweet: During this tumultuous journey there were moments that this did not seem possible!

>>10586729 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Last steps…..not long to go now. #bringleiferback

>>10586729 ‘A victory for justice’ - alleged victims…wait until September 21 for a judgement on whether their former principal will be extradited

>>10679123 Dassi Erlich Tweet: 2011 we gave our statements to SOCIT….72 court hearings & it has all come down to this!

>>10679123 A Current Affair Tweet: These three women are survivors of sexual abuse…the only survivors in Victoria that are legally allowed to speak out

>>10691907 The Jerusalem Post’s 50 Most Influential Jews Of 2020 - #31 - Exposing sexual abuse: The Sapper sisters - Waiting for justice for Leifer

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:18 p.m. No.10704903   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 8

>>10377333 Video: California fighting 560 wildfires, requests help from Canada and Australia

>>10380483 President Donald Trump Tweet: AMERICA FIRST! #MAGA

>>10388708 ‘This election is critical’: Meet the US citizens in Australia working to defeat Donald Trump

>>10398187, >>10398200 Christchurch court hears graphic account of mosque killings on first day of Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant's sentencing hearing

>>10399734, >>10399740 Swapping Biden for Trump wouldn't make much difference to Australia - Alexander Downer

>>10411081 Mission impossible: Andrews' emergency power play looks doomed

>>10411371, >>10411386 Religious leaders question ethics of Oxford University developing coronavirus vaccine using cell lines from aborted foetus

>>10411386 PDF: Joint letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison from Anglican, Catholic and Greek Orthodox Archbishops

>>10411405 Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP responds to concerns from the faithful about a potential COVID-19 vaccine

>>10411490, >>10411522 ASIO issues alert to universities over China links

 

>>10411522 PDF: UNITED STATES SENATE - PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS - CHINA’S TALENT RECRUITMENT PLAN CONTRACTS

>>10411837, >>10411842 Mosque victims urge life without parole for Brenton Tarrant

>>10422558 #LetUsSpeak: Victoria blocks sexual assault victims from using real names

>>10422586 Mystery seeds arrive in Australia from Asia sparking scary warning

>>10423498 Thousand Talents ‘spreads sunshine’ on China ties, Deputy ambassador Wang Xining claims

>>10424801 New law a ‘major victory for paedophiles’

>>10428059 Q Post #4627 - One party discusses God. One party discusses Darkness.

>>10428059 President Donald Trump Tweet: Two Democrat Caucus Meetings removed “UNDER GOD” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

>>10428059 Magnanimous Tweet: Watching the DNC last night, I noticed their logo…. now, where have I seen that uneven star before?

>>10436555, >>10436562 Christchurch shooting: Mosque attack gunman Brenton Tarrant jailed for life without parole

 

>>10436621 Coalition to pursue power to block deals such as Victoria's belt and road agreement with China

>>10436864 Australia to send 55 firefighters to the US to battle wildfires amid the pandemic

>>10436864 NSW Rural Fire Service Tweet: We're returning the favour…55 Australian firefighters will travel to the #USA to assist

>>10449351 Video: Catching a monster: Australia’s worst paedophile Peter Scully | 60 Minutes Australia

>>10449816 Vatican told Whistleblower priest Father Glen Walsh to be a hostile witness: friend

>>10450014 Peter Dutton to consider any request for deportation of Brenton Tarrant

>>10450040 Minister accuses foreign governments of meddling in multicultural communities, exploiting 'proud Australians'

>>10450093, >>10450096 Daniel Andrews’ eyes wide shut on Chinese spy threat

>>10450145 Australian Vanessa Pappas takes the top job at TikTok

>>10450272 US Embassy Canberra Tweet: Thank you, @NSWRFS, for returning the favor in our time of need. #USwithAUS

 

>>10457947, >>10457964 Chinese military links inside University of Technology Sydney

>>10468277 WA Police arrest 18 alleged members of ‘paedophile ring’ during investigations under Operation Timing Belt

>>10468564 'More organised, sophisticated and security conscious than before': Right-wing extremist threat growing

>>10480585, >>10480589 Morrison government to hold inquiry into secretive uni deals with China

>>10480773 Adelaide man allegedly caught with child abuse material after suspicious transactions

>>10481133, >>10481142 Christopher Pyne: The world needs Biden to defeat the cult of Trump

>>10481572 MP Anne Webster weeps in court over conspiracy theorist’s ‘evil’ pedophile posts

>>10491101 Facebook will stop news sharing in Australia if new regulations become law

>>10491128 Australian Signals Directorate: ASD chief’s terrorism warning

>>10491182 Video: Long histories - short memories: the Transparently Secret ASD in 2020

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:19 p.m. No.10704919   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 9

Virginia Roberts Giuffre / Prince Andrew / Ghislaine Maxwell / Jeffrey Epstein Bun - Part 1

>>10109324 Courtney Love Cobain Tweet: Hey. About my name in Epstein’s address book…I didn’t know him, never met him, didn’t know who he was.

>>10109324 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Hmmmm From what #Epstein told me its a completely different story.

>>10109324 Courtney Love says she hopes Jeffrey Epstein “burns in hell” after her name is found in his address book

>>10123223 Ghislaine Maxwell loses late bid to block deposition's release, quickly appeals

>>10136761, >>10136776 Ghislaine Maxwell had 'continuous' orgies with girls as young as 15 on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Caribbean island

>>10145477 PDF: Virginia Giuffre Complete 2016 Deposition

>>10145567 Interesting. (Virginia Giuffre's) lawyer won't let her answer WHO gave her the records of her employment at Mar A Lago

>>10146197 Alan Dershowitz calls Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre a 'serial liar' while once again denying he ever had sex with her

>>10156632 >>10156663 Prince Andrew 'spent two days alone at Epstein ranch with the tycoon's sex slave'

>>10156663 Unsealed Jeffrey Epstein Documents on Documentcloud

 

>>10156766 Met Police destroyed records for the night Prince Andrew allegedly had sex with teenager in London, says former Royal protection officer

>>10157429 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Hey #GhislaneMaxwell just sitting outside, taking some time to de-stress after you & your lawyers shenanigans

>>10167879 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Let the awakened no longer be silent- let us be heard from every corner of earth

>>10176973, >>10176982 'I WAS THERE' Prince Andrew WAS at club with Jeffrey Epstein ‘sex slave’ Virginia Giuffre – not Pizza Express, new witness claims

>>10177046 Heidi Klum 'Never' Traveled on Jeffrey Epstein's Private Jet, Says Her Lawyer: 'Totally False'

>>10187041 Donald Trump: Jeffrey Epstein might have been killed

>>10238057 NO HAPPY ENDING - Virginia Roberts brands Prince Andrew an abuser and ‘not the prince from the fairytales’

>>10238057 Video: Surviving Jeffrey Epstein - Extended Teaser

>>10250857 Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell ask to halt release of sealed documents in civil case after learning of 'critical new information'

>>10251007, >>10251008 Court ruling could lead to more Jeffrey Epstein secrets being spilled

 

>>10258436 LETTER from Sigrid S. McCawley re: Response to Maxwell Request for Stay of Unsealing Process

>>10268932 Judge Hands Ghislaine Maxwell Another Loss in Fight over Sealed Epstein Documents

>>10283011 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Cheers to a new lease on a new life & victory over one of my predators on the front page of New York Post!!

>>10303800 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Twitter Thread: I am holding an online fundraiser on August 22nd to raise awareness…and start a new movement #kidstoo

>>10355380 Billionaire Aussie Trucking Magnate Hosted Ghislaine Maxwell & Jeffrey Epstein on Sydney Harbour - 1995 Sydney Morning Herald archive

>>10355462 Old Newspaper Clipping Claims Epstein and Maxwell Partied with Australian Billionaires

>>10355759 Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffery Epstein in Australia, 1995 - HI RES SCANS - Sydney Morning Herald - 24 Dec 1995 - Page 85

>>10356031 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: He didn’t stay long…Aussie Girls are pretty blue eyed blonde haired surfer looking and he wanted to see if it was true

>>10356031 Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's 'tour Down Under': Untold story of infamous pair's trip to Australia

>>10388481 Alan Dershowitz Tweet: Guiffre is now crediting Wexner. But she has claimed she had sex with Wexner multiple times…I challenge her to respond. She won’t!

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:20 p.m. No.10704930   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 10

Virginia Roberts Giuffre / Prince Andrew / Ghislaine Maxwell / Jeffrey Epstein Bun - Part 2

>>10411667 Virginia Roberts says duke played a 'guessing game' with Ghislaine Maxwell about her age when she was 17-years-old before comparing her to his daughters

>>10411717 Video: Surviving Jeffrey Epstein: Virginia Giuffre Tells Her Story

>>10411734 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Unfuckingbelievable!!!! A major honour for a major participant in a sex trafficking op!

>>10411734 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I could get out of Australia I would show up at his ceremony and ask the audience why, why would you celebrate this man?

>>10411734 Prince Andrew to Receive a Major Royal Honor After Epstein Scandal

>>10423611 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I am his victim & survivor & I have a vendetta for those with power whom…take advantage of vulnerable girls

>>10423611 Change.org petition - Do not award a new honor to Prince Andrew

>>10423660 Ghislaine Maxwell's request to be moved to the general prison population denied by judge

 

>>10436714 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Victoria's New 'Gag-Law' Protects Pedophiles And Rapists - My fellow Aussie’s we cannot allow this to happen

>>10436714 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I 1000% back #LetUsSpeak campaign and so should every other Aussie who knows what this means

>>10450332 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Virginia Giuffre Retweeted Preciosa17 @Preciosa172: Prince Andrew and Courtney Love

>>10450332 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Baffling law is passed that could see rape victims thrown into JAIL just for telling their stories

>>10450332 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: “They” are coming at us from all directions- you know what that means? We’re rattling some nerves

>>10457517 Ghislaine Maxwell docs may not be released for years after judge lets dozens of her ‘abuser’ pals to appeal one by one

>>10457668 Spinky @Spinky363 Tweet: Replying to @VRSVirginia - I am going to start bugging all the Q people on twitter. We know who is on the flight logs

>>10457668 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Hallelujah!! Follow the money & read the flight logs and notebooks!!

>>10581077 Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating's daughter Katherine 'was at Jeffrey Epstein's lair' (2019)

 

>>10587277 Ghislaine Maxwell's privacy does not justify keeping deposition sealed, Epstein accuser says

>>10587316 Alan Dershowitz Loses Bid to Access Secret Jeffrey Epstein Files

>>10627735 Jeffrey Epstein was ‘bankrolled by “pimp” Ghislaine’s father Robert Maxwell’

>>10641784 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Just in case #JeanLucBrunel thought he wasn’t on our radar any longer here’s a throw back from 1988

>>10641784 Video: Jean-Luc Brunel CBS 60 minutes 1988 Karin Models friend of Jeffrey Epstein

>>10641784 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Dark to light my friend. They think we are going away but we are fighters and stronger up against the wall banding together!!

>>10678764 Q Post #4727 - EBpXUniVUAAou98.jpg

>>10678764 Victoria's Secret reportedly continued to work with a modelling agency after it was accused of supplying underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein

>>10678776 Q Post #4728 - Roberts_Giuffre_with_Prince.jpg

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:21 p.m. No.10704939   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 11

>>10491577 'We don't respond to coercion': Frydenberg rejects Facebook news boycott threat

>>10491684 Prominent Australian TV anchor Cheng Lei detained in China 'without charge'

>>10491693 Detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei authored Facebook posts about Wuhan coronavirus cover-up

>>10491722 AFP consider Ben Roberts-Smith a suspect in war crimes, court told

>>10495009 Australia risks backsliding into a poor country in Asia Pacific - globaltimes.cn

>>10498841 Who is Q FAQ - https://qanon.news/Archives/x/10472611#10472992

>>10501740 José Ramos-Horta urges Australia to drop Witness K and Bernard Collaery prosecution

>>10501793 Australia in the US Tweet: #OTD in 1951, (Australia, New Zealand and the United States) signed the #ANZUS mutual defense treaty

>>10501813 Pacific Marines Tweet: After fighting together in World War II, the U.S. remains committed to our mutual defense treaty with #Australia

>>10506023 Q Post #4629 - CORRUPT. CONTROLLED. ENEMIES OF THE REPUBLIC.

 

>>10506023 Q Post #4634 - Why did it take a political outsider to [finally] confront China?

>>10508278 Daniel Andrews’ Belt and Road deal with China rejected by Victorian voters

>>10512833 Alleged Adelaide paedophile Jadd William Brooker intends to infect children and adults with HIV, court told

>>10512938, >>10512953, >>10512966 Australian special forces Instagram account mocks war crime allegations, calls to 'Make Diggers Violent Again'

>>10513223 Pacific Air Forces Tweet: BREAKING: US & Australian militaries demonstrate rapid long-distance air strike capabilities #B2 Spirits

>>10524154 Cyber attacks on Australia blurring the lines between peace and war, Defence Minister says

>>10524154 PDF: Inaugural ACSC Annual Cyber Threat Report: July 2019 to June 2020

>>10524698 'I will fight to the end’: Australian writer Yang Hengjun's message from behind bars in China

>>10524749 Video: Ambassador Culvahouse Commemorates the 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II - US Embassy Canberra

>>10533827 Federal liberal MPs push for investigation into South Australian MP Jing Lee over alleged China links

 

>>10534202 Q Research General #13481: Aussies Fight Back! Edition - https://8kun.top/qresearch/res/10533922.html

>>10539776 Video: Pedos Down Under Radio Episode #4 with Laurence

>>10539782 Video: VIP Abuse Ring - Australian Survivor Speaks #2 - "This content is not available on this country domain due to a defamation complaint."

>>10540210 Video: Sacha Stone - Message to all Australians

>>10543689 Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet: #Marines and #YourADF are able to work together in any environment, day or night

>>10544589 Foetal cells are used to make the Oxford coronavirus vaccine. But they came from a foetus in 1973

>>10553877 ACCC stand against Facebook and Google backed by international media

>>10554450 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Looking forward to meeting personnel from #YourADF and @USMC with US Ambassador to Australia, Arthur Culvahouse Jr

>>10559397 Video: The Truth goes Mainstream as the boot clamps down (Beast System Reveals itself)

>>10562981 Man attacking the Police during the Melbourne protests. Agent Provocateur?

 

>>10563323, >>10563337 Parents warned about shocking suicide video on TikTok that may be hidden in other content

>>10563752, >>10563761 OPINION: Kevin Rudd - Scott Morrison is yearning for a Donald Trump victory

>>10563843, >>10563846, >>10563852 Australian correspondents Bill Birtles and Mike Smith pulled out of China after five-day diplomatic standoff over national security case

>>10564187 Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet: Low light live fires train #Marines to be #ready to execute, even in the dark. #MRFD #freeandopenindopacific

>>10567685 Queensland passes law to jail priests for not reporting confessions of child sexual abuse

>>10574893 Scott Morrison issues stark warning to TikTok over suicide video

>>10574945 Prime Minister Scott Morrison Facebook Post - Keeping kids safe online - The laws and standards of behaviour from the real world must also apply online

>>10574945 Video: Prime Minister Scott Morrison - No child should be exposed to horrifying content like the video which has been circulating on TikTok

>>10575446 Man in custody after incident near ASIO building

>>10575494 Paedophile crackdown will see sick perverts jailed for 20 YEARS for owning a child sex doll

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:28 p.m. No.10704997   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 12

Qanon "Conspiracy Theory" Hit Piece Bun - Part 1

>>10122782, >>10122790 QAnon: The online cult that is a danger in the real world - David Aaronovitch - theaustralian.com.au

>>10137641 Nine News Australia Tweet: Conspiracy theories involving a child sex-trafficking ring, a pizzeria and Hillary Clinton has gained momentum

>>10137641 A baseless US conspiracy theory found a foothold in Europe. New research shows how - 9news.com.au

>>10158806 >>10158815, >>10158815, >>10158821, >>10158830 QAnon Has Gone Global - Mack Lamoureux - vice.com

>>10167571, >>10167576 Under the influence: Peddling conspiracy in a pandemic - Lydia Khalil - The Interpreter / Lowy Institute

>>10251170, >>10251173 Reddit community QAnon Casualties share stories of conspiracy cult - Jack Gramenz - news.com.au

>>10269756, >>10269765 QAnon followers are hijacking the #SaveTheChildren movement - Kevin Roose - New York Times

>>10273883, >>10282908 Bizarre, yes. Crazy, maybe. But the media ignores QAnon at our peril - Jack the Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au

>>10291603 Video: President Donald Trump dodged questions Friday about his thoughts on QAnon during a White House briefing - Associated Press

>>10302798 >>10302822, How the QAnon Conspiracy Theory Went Global - Masood Farivar - voanews.com

 

>>10315622 Elise Thomas Tweet: Some QAnon conspiracists in Melbourne believe the US Army is helping to secretly excavate the tunnels full of abused children under the city

>>10325970, >>10326000 Someone Made A New Bananapants 'Satanic Pedo Cabal' QAnon Pizza Map, Looks Legit - Robyn Pennacchia - wonkette.com

>>10355349 ‘People that love our country’: Donald Trump praises QAnon conspiracists - newdaily.com.au

>>10355898 Former Australian Idol winner Natalie Gauci promotes bizarre and baseless conspiracy theories - Demeter Stamell - dailymail.co.uk

>>10368701 Facebook’s latest purge of QAnon conspiracy theory pages unlikely to affect growing Australian following - Christopher Knaus - theguardian.com

>>10368701 Marc-André Argentino Tweet: Australian Q research board…lerge (sic) focus on pedophilia in Australia and in the Catholic Church

>>10368701 Genesis of a Conspiracy Theory: Key trends in QAnon activity since 2017 - Institute for Strategic Dialogue - Aoife Gallagher, Jacob Davey & Mackenzie Hart

>>10368986 Qantas denies it's part of flying conspiracy after disturbing Freemason and NWO symbols spotted on engines of national carrier plane

>>10396643 Ariel Bogle Twitter Thread: QAnon is filtering through Australia's existing conspiratorial communities

>>10396658, >>10396666, >>10396673 How the QAnon conspiracy theory is tearing family and friends apart in Australia - Ariel Bogle - abc.net.au

 

>>10411182, >>10411189 Why QAnon is attracting so many followers in Australia — and how it can be countered - Kaz Ross - theconversation.com

>>10423422 US Congress introduces resolution to condemn QAnon conspiracy theory - David Morgan - smh.com.au

>>10423457, >>10423468 QAnon looms behind child trafficking protests and viral #SaveOurChildren hashtags - Brandy Zadrozny & Ben Collins - 7news.com.au

>>10436350, >>10302822 The Global QAnon Conspiracy Theory - Voice of America / Learning English - Masood Farivar & Susan Shand

>>10436368 Liberal senator Gerard Rennick launches grenades at super. Labor senator Tim Ayres: "it feels like I'm sort of at a Qanon cell meeting"

>>10436448 Celebrity chef Pete Evans makes wild claims that Australia 'is run by paedophiles', reiterates QAnon conspiracy theory - Demeter Stamell - dailymail.co.uk

>>10450489 Elise Thomas Tweet: Through tempest, storm and darkest night, QAnon followers will…. sit inside their houses making memes

>>10456998 Australian MP takes on conspiracy theorist in court but experts don't know where to begin with online battle - Michael McGowan - theguardian.com

>>10457266 COVID conspiracy theorists declare 'digital warfare' on media - Noel Towell - theage.com.au

>>10466141, >>10466217 EXCLUSIVE: Despite Reports, FBI Does Not Label QAnon Group a ‘Terrorist Threat’ - Marisa Sullivan - celebmagazine.com

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:30 p.m. No.10705018   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 13

Qanon "Conspiracy Theory" Hit Piece Bun - Part 2

 

>>10466217 Exclusive: FBI document warns conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat (2019) - Jana Winter - news.yahoo.com

>>10466217 Trump praised the supporters of QAnon, a conspiracy theory the FBI says is a domestic terrorism threat - Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin & Amanda Seitz - chicagotribune.com

>>10481398, >>10481410,, >>10481424 QAnon: Conspiracy theory takes hold in Cairns - Pete Martinelli - cairnspost.com.au

>>10481665, >>10481669 QAnon Australia: Explaining The Absurd And Dangerous Conspiracy Theory Down Under - Cam Wilson - gizmodo.com.au

>>10491351, >>10491362 Victorian MPs hit with tsunami of vile anti-lockdown abuse from conspiracy theorists - Josh Butler - thenewdaily.com.au

>>10501359, >>10501361, >>10501370 Donald Trump, QAnon and the limit of Twitter's crackdown on conspiracies - Ted O'Connor - .abc.net.au

>>10501618 Stewart McDonald, Scottish National Party MP questions Tony Abbott about "health dictatorship", a term also used by QAnon conspiracy group - Latika Bourke - smh.com.au

>>10501635 Video: Stewart McDonald - "Are you familiar with Qanon, Mister Abbott?" Tony Abbott - "Look, I'm afraid I'm not. But I'm sure you'll enlighten me."

>>10512673, >>10512678, >>10512685, >>10512692 'Stop the cabal': What is the conspiracy movement QAnon? - John Buckley with Simone Fox Koob - smh.com.au

>>10501618 Stewart McDonald, Scottish National Party MP questions Tony Abbott about "health dictatorship", a term also used by QAnon conspiracy group - Latika Bourke - smh.com.au

>>10501635 Video: Stewart McDonald - "Are you familiar with Qanon, Mister Abbott?" Tony Abbott - "Look, I'm afraid I'm not. But I'm sure you'll enlighten me."

>>10512673, >>10512678, >>10512685, >>10512692 'Stop the cabal': What is the conspiracy movement QAnon? - John Buckley with Simone Fox Koob - smh.com.au

 

>>10532456 Video: Joe Biden has a suggestion for QAnon supporters - Yahoo News

>>10532456 Biden tells QAnon followers to seek mental health counseling before the Affordable Care Act is repealed - David Knowles - au.news.yahoo.com

>>10532738, >>10532745, >>10532756 The other virus: distrust rides high on the back of COVID-19 - Jewel Topsfield - smh.com.au

>>10533251, >>10533267 QAnon is here to stay. Is it the future of our politics? - Kishor Napier-Raman - crikey.com.au

>>10533310 Pandemic linked to rise of conspiracy theories - Anna Patty - brisbanetimes.com.au

>>10535408 Marc-André Argentino Tweet: Tonight I want to share some of the research I have been doing on what I am calling "Pastel QAnon"

>>10535408 Marc-André Argentino Tweet: 8kun QAnon worries me less than Pastel QAnon

>>10535408 Elise Thomas Tweet: I think they're different kinds of risk, because of the different demographics

>>10535408 Elise Thomas Tweet: For extremist violence, 8kun is more of a worry; for social movements, holistic light-worker crystal healing QAnon is more of a concern

>>10553714, >>10553730 Australia's conspiracy theorists are increasingly energised, but police crackdowns may be counterproductive - Elliott Brennan - theguardian.com

>>10575201 New Zealand election TV debate: fears inclusion of fringe party may 'legitimise conspiracy theories' - Charlotte Graham-McLay - theguardian.com

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:32 p.m. No.10705047   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 14

Qanon "Conspiracy Theory" Hit Piece Bun - Part 3

>>10575345, >>10575371 The ‘highly sophisticated’ religious movement trying to brainwash Australians - Cait Kelly - thenewdaily.com.au

>>10575371 Twisting the truth: ongoing inauthentic activity promoting Falun Gong, the Epoch Times and Truth Media targets Australians on Facebook - Elise Thomas - ASPI

>>10586831 Twitter permanently suspends QAnon account belonging to friend of Australian PM for 'harmful activity' - Christopher Knaus and Josh Taylor - theguardian.com

>>10587482 Video: How should the media cover conspiracies like QAnon? | The Drum - ABC News (Australia) - Ruby Cornish

>>10614940 Michael McGowan Tweet: WA Liberal Party MP Andrew Hastie is joining the - partly Qanon driven - outrage about new Netflix program Cuties

>>10614940 Lyle Shelton Facebook Post: I’m on WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie’s email list. This is what he sent out this afternoon. What a champion

>>10625463, >>10625496 QAnon spreads across globe, shadowing COVID-19 - Chris Mills Rodrigo - thehill.com

>>10625663 Celebrity chef Pete Evans ‘health coach’ title under fire from AMA - Jane Hansen - geelongadvertiser.com.au

>>10628572 Elise Thomas Tweet: There are already at least 3 other sites providing basically the same service Qmap did

>>10628753 The Project Tweet: QAnon is the rapidly growing conspiracy movement that defies all logic, and it’s spreading online like wildfire

>>10628757, >>10628926 Video: Why Is QAnon Spreading So Rapidly? | The Project

>>10641237, >>10641248 What lies beneath: tunnels for trafficking, or just a subterranean service? Time to rescue these spaces from the conspiracists - Victoria Kolankiewicz - theconversation.com

 

>>10641391, >>10641398 ‘Unholy Alliance’: Conspiracy Theorists Are Circulating Russian And Chinese Disinformation About Covid-19 On Social Media - Eden Gillespie - sbs.com.au

>>10641442, >>10641446 Disaster planners warn conspiracy theories pose a security threat - Anna Patty - smh.com.au

>>10654596 Elise Thomas Tweet: QAnon's rapid advance into wellness and spiritual community groups has been one of the striking features of the conspiracy explosion we've seen during this pandemic

>>10654596 Elise Thomas Tweet: @_MAArgentino has done great work on 'Pastel QAnon' and the shift in aesthetic of this particular tentacle of the QAnon

>>10654596 Elise Thomas Tweet: The trend away from QAnon's more traditional hashtags to more ambiguous hashtags like (#)Savethechildren as documented by @Shayan86 is likely to contribute as well

>>10654599 Elise Thomas Tweet: The Australian conspiracy scene is downstream from the MAGA-binfire and the US conspiracy industry…So many "real Aussie patriots" praying for Trump to save them

>>10664744 Ben Lee Joins Fight Against Batshit QAnon Conspiracy: “I’ve Been In A Cult Before” - Emmy Mack - musicfeeds.com.au

>>10664744 Ben Lee Tweet: Hi QAnon I’ve been in a cult before and from experience I can see you are one love Ben

>>10664744 Ben Lee Tweet: If you are a QAnon believer, I’d like to gently suggest picking up the book “Combatting Cult Mind Control” by Steven Hassan

>>10664744 Ben Lee Tweet: For the record, I’m a big NO to conspiracy theories, spiritual/self-help gurus, racism, paranoia and unchecked capitalism. Have a nice day!

>>10679652 Elise Thomas Tweet: Ironically, the Qanon movement is beginning to damage real anti-child trafficking efforts, including flooding hotlines with bogus reports

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:33 p.m. No.10705056   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 15

>>10575515 ASIO questioned Chinese journalist in Australia

>>10575548 HIV-positive alleged paedophile Jadd William Brooker granted bail – but prosecutors plan to appeal

>>10586638 Australia's raid on Chinese journalists shows ugly duplicity on press rights - globaltimes.cn

>>10586963, >>10586972 Salvation Army to re-examine claim against serial paedophile James Michael Brown

>>10587215, >>10587225 Barred scholar Chen Hong thought ASIO’s visa missive was ‘fraud’

>>10587239 Barred scholar Chen Hong’s deep connections to Australia

>>10600911 Salvation Army to re-examine claim against serial paedophile James Michael Brown | 7.30 - ABC News (Australia)

>>10601009 Online child sexual exploitation reports in Australia have surged under coronavirus lockdown, AFP say

>>10601023 Bundaberg man charged with distributing child pornography overseas after lengthy AFP investigation

 

>>10601086 Western Sydney University provided letter of 'support' to ASIO for banned Chinese PhD Student

>>10601161 Rogue Afghan soldier Hekmatullah sent to detention in Qatar

>>10601384 Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Tweet: No matter what your job is, it’s your job to protect kids

>>10608651 Q Post #4668 - https://kion546.com/news/2020/09/07/woman-accused-of-intentionally-starting-fires-on-highway-101-arrested/

>>10608651 FBI Portland Tweet: Reports that extremists are setting wildfires in Oregon are untrue

>>10608651 FBI Portland Tweet: SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE LOREN CANNON - Federal Bureau of Investigation

>>10608651 Throughout his career, Mr. Cannon has held leadership positions…and as the assistant legal attaché in Sydney, Australia

>>10608737 Video: FBI Portland Issues Statement on Unrest and Requests Public Tips - FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation

>>10608737 Video Transcript - FBI Portland Issues Statement on Unrest and Requests Public Tips - Renn Cannon, FBI Portland office

 

>>10611373 Charges increased five-fold, bail denied following analysis of accused paedophile Jadd William Brooker's electronic devices

>>10612001 >>10612025 Man charged after ‘sextortion’ campaign against underage girls

>>10623152 Q Post #4682 - Attempts to 'normalize' will fail. Who will be next?

>>10623152 Q Post #4683 - You. Have. More. Than. You. Know.

>>10627016 Australia Burned Under a Haze of Misinformation Earlier This Year. The U.S. Is Next. - Ketan Joshi - gizmodo.com

>>10627331, >>10627349 Ex-SCECGS Redlands teacher Gary Featherstone avoids jail as nudist camp victim’s transcript revealed

>>10628421, >>10628433 AFP to seize paedophiles’ cars, cash and homes for the first time

>>10628458 AFP says Facebook’s security upgrade gives child molesters a platform to groom kids online

>>10632397 Q Post #4686 - EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW [AS WRITTEN]….Did Kevin set his alarm?

>>10632397 Kevin Corke Tweet: Remember when I said, wake me when there are indictments and or arrests?

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:35 p.m. No.10705070   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 16

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition Bun

>>10292284 Lawyers for Julian Assange say '11th hour' decision by US government to lodge new charges against him is 'astonishing and potentially abusive'

>>10368354 Crowdfund appeal launched for Julian Assange

>>10368361 Stella Moris: Join my fight to free Julian Assange and stop US extradition

>>10423178 Partner says Assange 'in a lot of pain'

>>10542765 Mother of Assange's two children tearfully warns of the WikiLeaks founder's fate as the US begins its Old Bailey extradition bid

>>10563657 Julian Assange's new friend Bob Carr fights his US extradition

>>10563697, >>10563701 Julian Assange ‘a suicide risk’, says defence

>>10575174 'This is nonsense': Julian Assange interjections earn stern warning

 

>>10586571 Trump is targeting Assange because he dislikes Obama, court told

>>10600877 Assange's extradition hearing delayed by lawyer's wife's COVID scare

>>10653978 Julian Assange extradition delayed by further tech, coronavirus issues

>>10664636 Assange defence questions why Obama didn't seek to prosecute him

>>10664658 Julian Assange, like Jeffrey Epstein, may not be safe in US prison

>>10679059 Julian Assange interrupts extradition hearing again

>>10691837 Julian Assange aimed for 'stringent redactions', extradition court hears

>>10611062 UK extradition hearing for Assange to resume Monday after negative COVID test

 

#9 - Part 17

Australian / Regional Resignations Bun

>>10122451 Labor Senator Penny Wong's chief of staff, Marcus Ganley ‘quit after sex claim’

>>10143641 James Murdoch resigns from News Corporation board of directors

>>10176837 David Hutchinson resigns as Queensland LNP president

>>10176837 SANFL CEO Jake Parkinson announces resignation

>>10197874 iCare review brought forward as CEO John Nagle quits

>>10197874 AMP Australia boss Alex Wade exits over 'internal matter'

 

>>10220297 ‘Inappropriate photos’ behind sudden exit of AMP executive Alex Wade

>>10398399 AMP chairman David Murray resigns, top exec Boe Pahari stands down

>>10491765 QBE CEO Pat Regan to depart following probe

>>10587369 Besieged icare chief and deputy, Michael Carapiet and Gavin Bell, to step down

>>10587369 Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham announces resignation

>>10601128 Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques resigns amid ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelter blast crisis

Anonymous ID: 967d6f Sept. 18, 2020, 10:37 p.m. No.10705084   🗄️.is 🔗kun

#9 - Part 18

>>10637131 Australia is a Full Scale Pilot Test For The New World Order

>>10641501 China two steps ahead on cyber, says former NSA director, Admiral Michael Rogers

>>10641562, >>10641566 Politicians’ families ‘targeted by China spies’

>>10641932, >>10641937, >>10641949, >>10641952 Not a ‘Victimless’ Crime: How Child Sex Abuse Dolls Facilitate Crimes Against Children

>>10652576 Q Post #4709 - Julian Assange

>>10652576 Q Post #4710 - Seth Rich

>>10653948 Ron / CodeMonkey Tweet: Huge ddos ongoing the past couple hours. Sorry if there is a bit of downtime or slowdown as attacks are mitigated

>>10654134, >>10654137 Banned Chinese scholar says guilty of emojis, not security risk in Australia

>>10654345 Leaked Chinese database show company's interest in Australia's space and science sector

 

>>10654454 Australian Signals Directorate Tweet: “Every organisation in the #FiveEyes relationship contributes uniquely to the greater endeavour.”

>>10664820, >>10664829 Spread of fake news around US fires 'strikingly similar' to Australian summer, researchers say - James Purtill - abc.net.au

>>10665260 Australian police accessed Chinese diplomats' emails and messages as part of foreign political interference investigation

>>10665334 Dr Russell McGregor Tweet: Aussie WHISTLEBLOWER INSIDER gives first-hand EVIDENCE of #Spygate origin prior to Candidate Trump running!

>>10665435 Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet: The Last Stand. #Marines establish a hasty defense to protect critical locations during Exercise #Koolendong

>>10678764 Q Post #4727 - EBpXUniVUAAou98.jpg

>>10678764 Victoria's Secret reportedly continued to work with a modelling agency after it was accused of supplying underage girls to Jeffrey Epstein

>>10679353, >>10679361 China responds furiously to consul being named in Australian foreign interference investigation

>>10679556 Patchouli Tweet: At the beach in byron bay Australia today. "NO STOPPING Q ANON"

 

>>10682663 VIC based coffee company Bean Around Town. Logo: 3 pedo swirls, 3 pentagrams.

>>10688603 Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore fire deemed suspicious

>>10692018, >>10692028 'Blue murder': Why Morrison is 'praying' for a Trump election win

>>10692229 Queensland childcare worker accused of child rape among 104 charges

>>10692395 Arthur Sinodinos Tweet: Lively discussion on US engagement in the Indo-Pacific & on supply chains with trusted allies and House members

>>10692556 Fiona Patten MP Tweet: This arrived in the mail this morning no return address to thank them - Satanic Network Victoria Certificate of Appreciation

>>10692556 The Church Of Satan Tweet: Looks like something put together by a fanatical Christian based on their bigoted assumptions of what Satanism is about

>>10692556 Fiona Patten MP Tweet: Indeed!