Dassi Erlich Tweet
Israel update:
As expected, appeal on the Leifer extradition decision was filed in the Supreme court last week.
Defence asked an extra 60 days to submit relevant paperwork. Prosecution opposed.
Supreme court gave defence until Nov 8th
Court date will be scheduled after this.
https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1318667368885669889
Tory Shepherd: Imagine if Scott Morrison was hanging out with a white supremacist whose wife was working in his home
Australia hasn’t seen an outbreak of outrage about the PM’s QAnoner buddy. But it should, writes Tory Shepherd.
Tory Shepherd - October 21, 2020
It’s easy to poke fun at Flat Earthers, who exist all around the globe.
It’s tempting to scoff at those who believe the trails behind planes are actually chemtrails, designed to manipulate the human population. And to mock those who believe they’ve been anally probed by aliens.
It was quite amusing to hear about the “Pizzagate” conspiracy when it first emerged in the lead up to the 2016 US election. Pizzagaters were convinced a child-sex-trafficking ring was operating out of the basement of the Comet Ping Pong pizza bar in Washington, DC.
Comet Ping Pong did not have a basement.
But Pizzagate got decidedly less funny when a wannabe hero walked in and fired a semiautomatic rifle.
Something even less funny is happening with the QAnon conspiracy theory, which grew out of Pizzagate. In fact, this black hole’s gravity is so strong it’s pulling in all the other conspiracy theories.
Baseless claims about the dangers of 5G technology, complicated fantasies about “sovereign citizens”, and bewildering beliefs about coronavirus, are being mashed together to form a vast, dark meta-conspiracy theory.
QAnon adherents believe (based on some bollocks on the internet posted by the anonymous “Q”) that a cabal of satanic paedophiles is trafficking children all around the world, and that US President Donald Trump is going to bring them to justice.
Trump, of course, has done nothing to discourage this idea. He retweets QAnon messages, and speaks of them with admiration.
They are “people that love our country”, he says, and “they are strongly against paedophilia, and I agree with that”.
The Australian variant includes the belief that thousands of children are being trafficked via secret tunnels under major cities. And, just as in the US, it’s been adopted by people from anti-vaxxers to neo-Nazis. People who believe in one conspiracy theory tend to start collecting them.
(When asked to explain the roundness of the Earth when seen from space, Flat Earthers often argue the moon landing was a hoax.)
QAnon is uniting the fanatics, and making them more dangerous.
QAnon beliefs have been linked to violent threats against the “elite” QAnon believe run the cabal. There have been kidnappings and at least one murder. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are all saying they’ll ban QAnon content.
So it should come as no surprise that people are keenly interested in Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s relationship with Tim Stewart, one of Australia’s most prominent QAnoners.
Ellen Whinnett revealed in this paper on the weekend that Mr Stewart, initially banned from Twitter for “co-ordinated harmful activity”, was banned again when he set up under a different name.
Whinnett, News Corp Australia’s national investigations editor, described Mr Stewart as a “long-time associate” of the PM’s.
“Mr Stewart and Mr Morrison are friends through their wives, Jenny Morrison and Lynelle Stewart, who have been close for years and were in each other’s bridal parties,” she wrote.
“Mrs Stewart works as a personal assistant to Mrs Morrison at Kirribilli House in Sydney.”
South Australian Labor Senator Penny Wong used Senate estimates hearings this week to grill officials from the PM’s department about a possible “vector of influence”.
She pointed to the FBI’s warning that QAnon beliefs were “very likely to motivate some domestic extremists wholly or in part to commit criminal and sometimes violent activity”.
And she asked whether they had briefed the PM on the dangerous belief “that there’s a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles whose activities extend to trafficking children through a secret labyrinth of tunnels under Melbourne and Sydney”.
They hadn’t briefed him, they said, although ASIO might have. The various officials practically shrugged.
There’s hardly been a broad outbreak of outrage about QAnon in Australia, or about Mr Morrison’s buddy. But there should be. QAnon is a dangerous cult and a terror threat. Imagine if Mr Morrison was hanging out with a white supremacist, or an Islamic extremist, whose wife was working in his home.
QAnoners’ beliefs are laughable, but deeply unfunny. We should be worried, and trying to work out how to pursue them to the ends of the Earth.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/tory-shepherd-imagine-if-scott-morrison-was-hanging-out-with-a-white-supremacist-whose-wife-was-working-in-his-home/news-story/4c4b44a179187decf09d7010f4a06ea0
FURTHER QUESTIONS EMERGE OVER PM'S FRIEND AND QANON CONSPIRACY
QAnon has been identified as a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison hasn’t been briefed about the conspiracy theory by his officials.
BY EDEN GILLESPIE - OCTOBER 21 2020
Tim Stewart, a family friend of Mr Morrison, had his Twitter account ‘BurnedSpy34’ shut down a second time this month after operating an anonymous account that promoted QAnon content.
The QAnon conspiracy centres around the baseless theory that US President Donald Trump is fighting an elite cabal of pedophiles that operates a global child trafficking ring.
The theory has been flagged as a growing domestic terror threat by the FBI.
“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,” a May report by the FBI read.
But the Prime Minister has not been briefed by his officials.
Lachlan Colquhoun, the first assistant secretary in Prime Minister and Cabinet’s national security division confessed yesterday: “We have not briefed the prime minister”. However, he suggested ASIO may have briefed Mr Morrison after the FBI’s report, according to Guardian Australia.
In a Senate’s Estimates hearing on Tuesday, officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet claimed they were not aware of Mr Stewart's Twitter account being suspended.
Labor’s Senate leader, Penny Wong said she wished to ask questions about the Prime Minister’s relationship with members of the “fringe conspiracy movement” in the interest of “transparency”.
The department’s deputy secretary, Stephanie Foster, defended the appointment to Kirribilli House of Mr Stewart’s wife - a close friend of Mr Morrison’s wife.
She insisted all checks were undertaken - “including the relevant police checks” - to “assist with the employment of a staff member for Kirribilli House”.
“That was our responsibility, and we felt we had executed that responsibility appropriately,” Ms Foster said.
“I’m not sure there is a broader role the department can take with this issue.”
Crikey INQ journalist David Hardaker uncovered the connection between Mr Morrison and Mr Stewart last year.
INQ revealed Mr Morrison’s wife Jenny and Mr Stewart’s wife were bridesmaids at each other’s weddings and have been friends since they were teenagers.
It’s not the first time that Mr Morrison has been questioned over his connections to those promoting unproven theories.
Mr Morrison has been criticised for failing to censure backbencher Craig Kelly over his unverified online claims about the benefits of hydroxychloroquine in fighting COVID-19.
The backbencher - who has a substantial reach on Facebook - has also claimed there is “no climate emergency”.
The World Health Organisation dropped clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine in July after finding it produced “little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.”
In recent months, Mr Kelly has shared a number of articles and videos discussing the benefits of the drug, claiming there is a “political war on hydroxychloroquine”.
“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 wrote.
When asked about the comments, Mr Morrison said he would not "get onto what people talk about on Facebook."
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/further-questions-emerge-over-pm-s-friend-and-qanon-conspiracy
Royal commission files reveal previously unseen details about abuse by priests in Newcastle
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Abuse survivors have welcomed reports from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse made public on Tuesday that reveal previously unseen details about abuse by priests within the Anglican and Catholic churches in Newcastle.
After years of redactions and delays while relevant criminal cases were concluded, Commonwealth Attorney-General Christian Porter released the long-awaited reports, including case study 43.
It focused on allegations against Marist Brothers in Newcastle and the Lower Hunter.
Child sex abuse survivor Peter Gogarty is hopeful that senior Catholics will still be held to account for what they knew about paedophile priests in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese.
He said it was clear senior church leaders knew what was going on, but no-one had been held accountable.
"To date, we still have not have a successful prosecution for all those people that enabled this abuse, that moved abusers around so they could do it again," Mr Gogarty said.
The death of Andrew Nash
One of the cases heard by the royal commission involved 13-year-old Andrew Nash, who was a student at Marist Brothers Hamilton in the 1970s.
He was found dead in his bedroom after he took his own life in October 1974.
Andrew's mother, Audrey Nash, who gave evidence at the commission's public hearing in 2016, said within hours of his death a number of priests and brothers came to the house, including his former master and the school principal.
They asked if Andrew had left a note: when she said no, they left.
After the funeral, Mrs Nash said she never heard from any of the Brothers again.
In the time since Andrew's death, Mrs Nash came to believe Andrew was sexually abused by his form master, Brother Cable.
"The circumstances give rise to an inference that Cable asked whether Andrew left a note because Cable was concerned that Andrew's suicide might lead to suggestions that he was sexually abused coming to light," the report said.
The commission found the school principal at the time, Brother Wade, not a credible witness.
He failed to recollect visiting the house — the commission said he was neither frank nor forthcoming in his evidence regarding his lack of recollection of that event.
William Wade was sentenced last month to four months community service for failing to provide evidence to police in abuse investigations into Francis Cable, also known as Brother Romuald, and Brother Dominic.
The Marist Brothers have told the commission they now accept all evidence points to Andrew having been sexually abused, and having taken his own life.
After reading the report, Audrey Nash, who is now 94, said it had been a painful wait.
"Australia now knows what happened to my son Andrew after today," she said.
"Andrew is not forgotten.
"I had to wait 46 years to find out who was responsible for my son's death.
"This report details the crimes and failings of the Marist Brothers and the Roman Catholic Church."
(continued)
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Decades of abuse
The royal commission reserved its harshest language for those who failed to report allegations of child abuse to the police.
In the case of convicted paedophile, Vincent Ryan, two nuns reported the abuse of boys at St Josephs Primary School to their superiors in the church.
But no-one in, or associated with, the Church authorities reported the allegations against Father Ryan to police.
"We consider it extraordinary that any person in 1975 would not view a report that a man had been touching primary school boys sexually on their crotch area, a report that a man had been engaging in masturbation and oral and anal sex with primary school boys, as criminal conduct," the commission said.
It goes on to state there was a failure on the part of those who were informed of the abuse, particularly Monsignor Cotter who later wrote that he would have preferred to deal with matters "in-house" rather than report them to police.
That approach it said was wrong, concluding that missing that opportunity to bring an end to Father Ryan preying sexually on children within the diocese had devastating consequences for those children Father Ryan went on to abuse in the future.
It said he sought to protect the church and Father Ryan, and no steps were taken to protect the welfare of the children in the diocese.
Ryan went on to be charged with the sexual abuse of more than 30 boys in 1995 and was ultimately sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment.
'We did wrong'
The examination of child sexual abuse within the Anglican diocese of Newcastle is now accessible in full as well, including what church officials knew about the former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence who was last year jailed for eight years for abusing a 15-year-old boy.
Anglican Bishop of Newcastle Peter Stuart said the church had been waiting for the release for some time.
"We knew that it had been redacted because of proceedings of Graeme Lawrence who is now in prison for his serious sexual offending and so we welcome the release of this report so that people can read it in its entirety," Bishop Stuart said.
"In 2017 the royal commission published most of the report into the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle and it made for very confronting reading, so we've been waiting to see these last sections on Graeme Lawrence.
"I'm overwhelmed with regret for our significant and systemic failures."
Bishop Stuart said the diocese was working to ensure this did not ever happen again and was continuing to work with abuse survivors.
"Once again as a diocese, we're confronted by the failings over a 30-year period, but we're committed and remain committed to do all we can to ensure that people can have confidence in what the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle is doing."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-20/royal-commission-report-clergy-sex-abuse-newcastle-release/12785764
—
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
Previously redacted reports
The Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference required that its work did not prejudice current or future criminal or civil proceedings. For this reason, the Commissioners delivered an un-redacted and a redacted version of certain reports and recommended that the un-redacted version should be tabled and published at the conclusion of the relevant criminal proceedings.
The below previously un-released versions were tabled on 20 October 2020:
Report of Case Study No. 43: Catholic Church authorities in Maitland-Newcastle (PDF)
https://caroyalcomm.govcms.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/unredacted-case-study-no-43.pdf
https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/previously-redacted-reports
US marine says Australian special forces soldiers made 'deliberate decision to break the rules of war'
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A United States Marine Corps (USMC) helicopter crew chief says Australian special forces shot and killed a bound Afghan prisoner after being told he would not fit on the US aircraft coming to pick them up.
Josh* flew 159 combat missions for the USMC's Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 (HMLA-469).
He has allowed the ABC to publish pictures of him but has asked that we don't use his real name because he fears retribution.
He has told ABC Investigations he was a door gunner providing aerial covering fire for the Australian soldiers of the 2nd Commando Regiment during a night raid in mid-2012.
The operation took place north of the HMLA-469 base at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
It was part of a wider joint Australian special forces-US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) campaign targeting illicit drug operations that were financing the Taliban insurgency.
"We had done the drug raid, the Aussies actually did a pretty impressive job, wrangling all the prisoners up," Josh said.
"We just watched them tackle and hogtie these guys and we knew their hands were tied behind their backs."
He says the commandos then called up the US aircraft to pick them and about seven prisoners up.
He says the Americans only had room on the aircraft for six.
"And the pilot said, 'That's too many people, we can't carry that many passengers.' And you just heard this silence and then we heard a pop. And then they said, 'OK, we have six prisoners'.
"So it was pretty apparent to everybody involved in that mission that they had just killed a prisoner that we had just watched them catch and hogtie," he said.
Josh says neither he nor any of his crew spoke about what had just happened.
"We were all being recorded on our comms," he said.
"All of us were pretty aware of what we just witnessed, and kind of didn't want to be involved in whatever came next."
Josh says he later discussed the incident with his crewmates after returning to Camp Bastion.
"This was the first time we saw something we couldn't morally justify, because we knew somebody was already cuffed up, ready to go, taken prisoner and we just witnessed them kill a prisoner," he said.
"This isn't like a heat of the moment call where you're trying to make a decision. It was a very deliberate decision to break the rules of war.
"I think that was the first thing that happened that didn't quite sit right with us, where we were like, 'OK, there's no excuse, there's no ambiguity, there's no going around this one'."
(continued)
2/2
'Lots of fire and bodies were often left in their wake'
ABC Investigations understands that — as part of its inquiry into alleged special forces war crimes in Afghanistan — the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) is investigating the killing of at least one prisoner by Australian commandos.
It is unclear if this alleged killing is one of those being investigated.
When contacted for a response to this story, an Australian Defence Force spokesperson said: "It is not appropriate for Defence to comment on matters that may or may not be the subject of the Afghanistan Inquiry."
Josh says he did between one and two dozen drug missions with the Australians from 2nd Commando in 2012, mainly providing aerial cover fire and sometimes dropping sniper teams on overwatch positions.
"A lot of us wanted to work with the Australians because we were all like — I don't know if bloodthirsty is the right term — but we wanted action. They wanted to shoot. And when you worked with the Aussies you get involved pretty often," he said. "Lots of breaching of walls with explosives and lots of fires and bodies were often left in their wake."
He says on a mission early in his 2012 deployment, one of his USMC comrades was shocked by what he witnessed the commandos do on a joint drug operation.
"They go down for a landing. As soon as the Aussies exit, there was somebody just sitting on a wall watching them land. They got off and popped the guy a few times in the chest."
Josh says his fellow marine later confronted the commandos about the killing.
"My buddy came and asked, 'Hey, what happened to that guy?' And he said, 'Oh, he's dead mate.' And he's like, 'Why? He wasn't even armed. What happened there?' He said, 'Oh, he was armed when we got through with him.'"
'We're not going to work with those f—ing guys'
A member of 2nd Commando's Oscar platoon who served on that deployment has confirmed that the Americans were unhappy with the conduct of some of his comrades.
"Our platoon commander pulled our platoon together and said that the [DEA] has said in no uncertain terms that they won't operate with [2nd Commando] November platoon any more due to their behaviour in the field," he said.
Another commando from Oscar platoon who was on that deployment confirmed to ABC Investigations that November platoon had a bad reputation among the Americans.
"I remember talking to [DEA agent] afterwards, and he said, 'We're not going out with those f—ing guys ever again'. Every DEA team that went through there loved working with us and had no problem, but November platoon was the first platoon that the DEA said they wouldn't work with," the former commando said. "Something obviously went down."
Former USMC helicopter crew chief Josh says he flew dozens of missions with other special forces, including USMC special operations and the British SAS.
"The [British] SAS always had an incredible restraint, at least in the times when me and my friends worked with them. Sometimes a frustrating amount," he said.
"Everybody else would step on the lines, but the Aussies would just see the line and just hop right over it."
''* Name has been changed''
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-21/soldiers-killed-man-who-could-not-fit-on-aircraft-says-us-marine/12782756
US allege Australian gemstone trader Ahmed Luqman Talib funded al-Qaeda terror plots
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An Australian gemstone trader has been named by the US State Department as a “facilitator” providing financial and logistic support to al-Qaeda for their terrorist plots across the world.
Ahmed Luqman Talib has been declared by the US Government as actively involved in operational activities on behalf of al-Qaeda, allegedly using his business as a front to move money for the group.
It is understood American intelligence, working with Australian counterparts ASIO began probing the Melbourne-based 30-year-old last year as it tracked suspicious money movements, notably from Australia to his native Sri Lanka, Turkey, Qatar, Tanzania and Colombia.
He was allegedly found to have also had links with a controversial Turkish humanitarian organisation that six years ago was linked to al-Qaeda and suspected by Russian intelligence of smuggling guns to jihadists in Syria and Libya.
Yesterday his $1.4 million home in Melbourne’s north east suburb of Doncaster that he shares with his wife Jerry Campbell, originally from Singleton in NSW, was raided by Victoria Police detectives, ASIO and the Australian Federal Police.
A large number of plain clothes detectives were seen weaving in and out of the four-bedroom home located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.
At one point Mr Talib came out for a cigarette and spoke to agents before leading them into the backyard. He has not been charged with any offence.
“The AFP can confirm that search warrant activity is occurring in Doncaster, Victoria,” a spokesman said last night.
“The activity is being led by a Commonwealth agency. The activity does not relate to any specific threat to the community.”
Neighbours knew little about the family who moved into the street earlier this year.
One resident described them as “fairly quiet” and that they kept to themselves.
It is understood police inquiries were also being made at addresses in nearby Mulgrave as well as links to a registered business in Mt Waverley as well as ties in NSW and Queensland.
Based on US intelligence advice, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Mr Talib a facilitator “for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, al-Qaida”.
Mr Talib, also known as Adam Taleb and Ahmad Luqman migrated to Sydney from Sri Lanka in 1995, has two concurrent Australian passports as well as citizenship and a passport from Venezuela.
(continued)
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Department Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said the Australian’s gemstone business allowed him the ability to move with ease funds internationally “for the benefit” of al-Qaeda; his Melbourne-based business Talib & Sons Pty Ltd has also been blocked from any business with the US which will freeze assets it comes across.
His naming also bans any US citizen or financial institution from transacting for or on behalf of him.
Al-Qaeda has long had a hand in Australia.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton declined to comment but US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “Talib has had financial dealings in a number of countries, and his business dealing in gemstones has provided him the ability to move funds internationally for the benefit of AQ. The United States has made significant progress in degrading AQ’s support networks around the world. We will not relent in our efforts to target AQ’s terrorist activities and those who support them.”
According to Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) records the company was created in 2019 at an address of his accountant in Mount Waverley and lists Mr Talib, who was born in Birmingham England but migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, as director and his wife Ms Campbell, as a minority member share holder.
Mr Talib and 32-year-old Ms Campbell, who married in 2007 and studied together at Bond University, came to prominence in 2010 when he was shot by Israeli special forces when he was part of a protest international flotilla of boats attempting to enter Gaza which had been blockaded by Israel.
His sister Maryam, a former Griffith University student now in pharmaceuticals in Kuwait, was also with the pair.
He then became active with Far Leftist Socialist Alternative and NSW Green Left as well as Amnesty International, speaking at various sponsored rallies and discussions on his experiences.
Mr Talib’s family came from Sri Lanka to Sydney in 1995, he studied for a time in Griffith, NSW, before moving to Brisbane.
His parents Luqman and Zakira Talib moved to Kuwait in 2000 but maintain strong ties to Australia.
Mr Talib, a devout Muslim, moved back from Kuwait to Australia to study international relations at Bond where he met his future wife who was studying nursing.
Her medical skills came in handy in 2010 when she had to attend to her husband’s leg bullet wound and dozens of other shooting victims during the internationally condemned Gaza blockade by Israel.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Ms Campbell or any other member of Mr Talib’s family.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts/us-allege-australian-gemstone-trader-ahmed-luqman-talib-has-funded-alqaida-terror-plots/news-story/9a36bb501bfc8c999ebcdea02b3ce6d0
https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-designates-al-qaida-financial-facilitator/
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1157
ABF arrests man after seizing parts of 11 childlike sex dolls
Australian Border Force (ABF) investigators have arrested a 43-year-old Padstow (NSW) man after parts of 11 childlike sex dolls were detected in air cargo shipments.
Investigations began after ABF officers detected and seized the parts in three separate consignments at air cargo facilities in Sydney on 19 September and 16 October 2020. Yesterday (Tuesday 20 October) ABF, with the assistance of NSW Police Force detectives from Bankstown Police Area Command, executed search warrants at an address in Padstow.
During the warrants officers located and seized an electronic device allegedly containing child abuse images, and a further childlike sex doll. A number of additional electronic devices were seized pending full forensic examination. Investigators also located a number of cannabis plants, a quantity of marijuana and publications containing child abuse material.
The man was arrested and charged with three counts of Import Tier 2 good, contrary to section 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901.
Bankstown detectives also charged the man with cultivate prohibited plants and possess prohibited drug.
The man was refused bail to appear at Bankstown Local Court today (Wednesday 21 October 2020).
Importing childlike sex dolls is an offence under the Customs Act. The maximum penalty if convicted is up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or fines of up to $525,000. Under the Criminal Code the possession of a childlike sex doll attracts a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
ABF Superintendent Regional Investigations NSW Garry Low said the ABF has a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse material and will use all available powers to protect the community from people associated with these abhorrent activities.
“Child sexual abuse is a global issue, and the ABF actively engages with its law enforcement partners both domestically and internationally, to further investigate and prevent harm to children in Australia and overseas,” Superintendent Low said.
The ABF seize all childlike sex dolls detected at the border. Where ABF officers find additional evidence of child abuse material, it is referred to the appropriate federal and state authorities for investigation.
Bankstown Police Area Command Crime Manager, Detective Chief Inspector Darren Beech said the arrest was the result of great work between the two agencies.
“We do not condone any form of child exploitation and we will continue to work with other agencies in the detection and prosecution of persons attempting to purchase these items,” Det C/Insp Beech said.
People with information about those who may be importing childlike sex dolls or other child abuse material should contact Border Watch at www.Australia.gov.au/borderwatch . By reporting suspicious activities, you are helping to protect Australia's border. Information can be provided anonymously.
https://newsroom.abf.gov.au/channels/Border-Operations-hidden-/releases/abf-arrests-man-after-seizing-parts-of-11-childlike-sex-dolls
Australia to join India, US, Japan in large naval exercises
Australia will join India, the United States and Japan in next month's Malabar naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, in a move that is expected to strengthen the military relationship between the four democracies amid increased tensions with China.
Conducted annually since 1992, the maneuvers have grown in size and complexity in recent years to address what the US Navy has previously described as a "variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific."
The participation of Australia means that all four members of the so-called Quad will be participating in the exercises for the first time since 2007.
The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is an informal strategic forum for the US, Japan, Australia and India, featuring semi-regular summits and information exchanges between the four nations.
While not a formal military alliance like NATO, it is seen by some as a potential counterweight to growing Chinese influence and alleged aggression in Asia-Pacific. The collation has been denounced by Beijing as an anti-China bloc.
The Australian and Indian defense ministries announced the expansion of the drills, which had been long-speculated, late Monday.
Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said the Malabar exercises were key to enhancing Australia's maritime capabilities, and showcased the "deep trust between four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their shared will to work together on common security interests."
Australia's previous participation in the drills in 2007 sparked diplomatic protests from China. Relations between China and Australia have since deteriorated, however, with the two countries locked in a series of long-running trade disputes.
Other members of the Quad have also seen tensions with Beijing spike in recent months. Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control — the de facto border between the two countries in the Himalayas — in June.
Japan and China remain at odds over the disputed Senkaku Islands, named the Diaoyus by China, where Beijing has increased the presence of its coast guard vessels.
The US meanwhile has increased the tempo of its naval and air missions in the South China Sea, while pushing back at Beijing's claims to the vast waterway.
In a statement Monday, India's Defense Ministry said the four participants "collectively support free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and remain committed to a rules based international order."
The exercises will begin in November in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, India said.
Malabar began as a bilateral exercise between India and the US. Japan became a permanent Malabar member in 2015.
Previous exercises have taken place in the Indian Ocean as well as off the coast of Japan a year ago, and around the US Pacific territory of Guam and in the Philippine Sea in 2018.
The 2017 exercises in the Indian Ocean involved aircraft carriers from the US, India and Japan in what were then described as the largest naval exercises in the region in two decades.
https://cnnphilippines.com/world/2020/10/20/australia-naval-exercises.html
Q Post #4915
Oct 21 2020 13:56:57 (EST) NEW
A deep dark world is being exposed.
The truth won't be for everyone.
Have faith in Humanity.
Q
https://qanon.pub/#4915
—
Q Post #4921
Oct 21 2020 19:58:40 (EST) NEW
Ek4G8urXIAEKasf.jpg
https://qanon.pub/#4921
Q Post #4923
Oct 21 2020 20:55:05 (EST) NEW
https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319071346282778624
Dearest Virginia -
We stand with you.
Now and always.
Find peace through prayer.
Never give up the good fight.
God bless you.
Q
https://qanon.pub/#4923
—
Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets
#TheGreatAwakeningWorldwide #DocumentDump #LetThePeopleDecide #EndCSAandSexTrafficking #ThankYou @ParisHilton @MichelleLicata8 @Kids2_KidsToo @teresajhelm @anniefarmer @elizableu @patrick_stupfel @ArtisticBlower @pinkPeptobismol #SaveTheKids #kids
https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319071346282778624
The Rubber Duck ™ @TheRubberDuck79
RETWEET/SHARE!
#WWG1WGA #MAGA #KAG
#TheGreatAwakening #DigitalSoldiers
https://twitter.com/TheRubberDuck79/status/1319068631419015168
—
I'm very grateful to Judge Preska for her decision to unseal these depositions. This journey to justice has taken decades for my fellow abuse survivors and me, including years in which our voices were ignored. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein did not act alone.
https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319021584942727168
—
With more transparency, I am hopeful that all who helped perpetrate these heinous crimes will be held accountable. #SaveOurChildren #GhislaineMaxwell #Epstein #Justice #Truth @teresajhelm @elizableu @ParisHilton @bsfllp @ArtisticBlower @anniefarmer @pinkPeptobismol @netflix
https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319021586620379136
George Pell: Victorian corruption body chasing Vatican’s mysterious $2m cash transfers to Australia
Anti-corruption authorities in Victoria will look into money wired from the Vatican to Australia and allegedly connected to Cardinal George Pell’s trial after receiving information about the matter from federal police.
Separately, The Australian can reveal that Vatican prosecutors investigating unauthorised financial transfers have been given details of more than $2m wired to Australia between February 2017 and June 2018 — almost double the $1.1m reported by Italian newspapers and the Times of London.
There were four transactions in that period, the first for more than €250,000 from the Vatican’s secretariat of state in February 2017, according to documents being considered by Vatican investigators.
The second came from the secretariat in May 2017, while the third and fourth totalled more than €800,000 and were sent in December 2017 and June 2018.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Australian Federal Police said it had “received information from Austrac on this matter” and was “undertaking a review of the relevant information”. “The AFP has concurrently referred aspects of this matter to the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission,” the AFP statement reads.
Austrac, Australia’s financial intelligence agency that investigated money laundering and organised crime, confirmed earlier this week that it had passed information to the AFP and to Victoria Police for further investigation.
At the heart of the Vatican’s investigation is Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was dismissed from his high-ranking position running the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in September after being linked to the fraud probe.
Cardinal Becciu, who has denied all wrongdoing, was the deputy secretary of state until 2018 and had a well-known rivalry with Cardinal Pell when the latter was appointed as the head of Vatican finances.
Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera have reported that Vatican investigators were told that money was sent to Australia to help the case against Cardinal Pell, a claim yet to be substantiated.
In an earlier statement, Cardinal Becciu said: “I categorically deny interfering in any way in the trial of Cardinal Pell.”
Cardinal Pell was charged in June 2017 with a series of sexual assault offences.
He was acquitted of the charges by the High Court in April this year.
The transfer details given to the investigators and obtained by The Australian include references to Cardinal Becciu.
They also include references to Neustart Australia Pty Ltd, a company that is linked to an American technology firm.
The Vatican investigation is also looking into the purchase of a $363m London property, while a 39-year-old woman working for Cardinal Becciu was arrested last week over allegations of unauthorised payments in Slovenia.
Apart from Cardinal Becciu’s sacking and the arrest in Milan, five senior Vatican police, auditors and financiers have been fired or suspended and a money broker has been arrested and charged with “embezzlement, money laundering and extortion” in relation to the London property.
Robert Richter QC, the barrister who led Cardinal Pell’s defence, has previously called for Australian authorities to investigate allegations that money transferred from the Vatican was being used to influence the case against his client.
The Pope appointed Cardinal Pell to oversee Vatican finances in 2014. The former archbishop of Sydney launched an audit of those finances, led by an external accounting company but was overruled by Cardinal Becciu.
Cardinal Pell, in 2014, wrote in Britain’s Catholic Herald Magazine that he had discovered “some hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away … and did not appear on the balance sheet”, suggesting some departments had long had “an almost free hand”.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/corruption-body-chasing-vaticans-mysterious-pell-2m/news-story/4994c9a075a83271e8fac8edd39fa320
I know a marriage killed by QAnon and Trump, with help from alienation
Matt Dooley - 22 Oct 2020
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Everyone remembers where they were when Trump won the election. Alex and Mary* remember it especially well. It was the night their relationship fell apart.
Alex and I first met in 2012. I went to dinner one night with him and his fiancee, Mary. I remember her as a bright, intelligent woman with a passionate interest in animal rights. Fast forward to the evening of 8 November 2016, and a gaudy reality TV star was on the verge of being elected president of the most powerful country on Earth. As Alex and Mary watched state after state fall for Donald Trump, it became clear that the beginning of this new chapter in American history would mark the end of their marriage.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mary had become a dedicated conspiracy theorist, paving the way for her embrace of a bizarre conspiracy theory known as QAnon. “I had a nervous breakdown,” says Alex. “I couldn’t wrap my mind around the whole Trump thing and all the weird stuff Mary was getting into. I just fell apart.” Mary is unambiguous about the reason their marriage ended. “It is 100% my fault. I came in as one person and left as another.”
Alex and Mary moved from Australia to California in early 2014. Alex had a job offer and they decided to take the plunge. From day one, Alex was pulling long days at the office and Mary passed a lot of her time online, frequenting a huge message board community called 4chan. A naturally inquisitive person, Mary enjoyed reading about fringe opinions with a specific focus on alternative medicine. After a series of bungled health diagnoses, Mary had lost faith in the authorities. She viewed the entire medical system as a web of malevolent conspiracies. 4chan had vibrant communities for discussing these issues and more. At the darker end of the 4chan spectrum there lurked several large groups dedicated to white supremacist hate speech, antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
Mary’s network of 4chan friends became an increasingly important antidote to the sense of alienation she experienced in her new town. While Alex jeered Trump’s orange skin and ridiculous hair, an avid following was growing across America and the world.
In Trump, Mary saw someone who was finally going to shake up the establishment and put an end to the hegemony of the political elite. “I was praying and meditating for Trump to win,” she says. “That is where all of my consciousness was”. Alex admits he didn’t take it seriously. “If she brought up Trump, I just tried to shut it down,” he sighs. “ I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to seriously believe in that guy’s bullshit.”
One day in the autumn of 2016, Alex drove Mary out past the used car yards and fast-food joints to a convention centre near the airport. “I knew she had been doing some chanting or something with the Hare Krishnas and dabbling in Scientology,” says Alex. “It was her thing and I respected that. I just didn’t want to know about it”.
Mary wasn’t on her way to a Hare Krishna meeting. She was going to a presentation by David Icke, an English conspiracy theorist whose ravings include: the existence of a nefarious reptilian race invading Earth from a parallel universe; various antisemitic nonsense; the obligatory UFO fare; and a cabal of deep state villains.
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Icke has attempted to foretell the end of the world several times (incorrectly, thus far). His predictions imagine absurd cataclysmic showdowns between good and evil. In 2019, the Australian government rejected Icke’s visa application on grounds of character. While an army of multi-dimensional lizard people may seem far-fetched, Public Policy Polling released a study in April 2013, which showed that 4% of Americans believed lizard creatures control the world. That is more than 12 million people.
Mary describes how she felt after seeing Icke speak: “I came away smiling. I felt like everything was clear, like it all made sense”. In October 2017, an anonymous blog post turned up on the message boards. It was posted by a mysterious member, named “Q”, who claimed to be a high-level US government whistleblower with secrets to share. Again, Mary felt like puzzle pieces were falling into place. “I had been waiting for this. I knew Q was coming,” she says.
David Singh Grewal, professor of law at UC Berkeley School of Law, has published research on the dynamics of conspiracy theory. He explains how the over-simplification of a perceived enemy allows the conspiracy theorist to role-play “the one good cop that takes down the bad guys and makes America great again”. “The conspiracy theory gives the believer a feeling of empowerment,” he says. “They feel as though they have all the answers.”
Rather than being one specific conspiracy theory, QAnon is better thought of as a constellation of conspiracy theories. At the core of this ever expanding galaxy of conspiratorial solar systems is the idea that a shady cabal of cannibalistic pedophiles are working in the shadows to bring down Trump’s presidency.
The genius of Q is that it remains non-specific. Just about anyone can find a version of truth that suits their palate. For Mary, it was distrust in the medical system and disgust at child abuse. Others have been motivated by changing racial demographics, feminism, gun rights, Covid, 5G towers – you name it. BYO fears and grievances.
Three years and five thousand odd messages after the original post, Q content is a rambling mishmash of obtuse clues and inane conjecture. Every post is a regurgitation of publicly available information organised into a dramatic narrative, concocted to keep millions of followers coming back for more. And Mary is all in.
Alex and Mary’s relationship ended in divorce over their fundamental disagreements. Alex says he doesn’t think he could have changed Mary’s mind, but he is philosophical about the way society mocks conspiracy theorists. “I just couldn’t get past taking the piss out of it,” he says. “But I think that is the problem with QAnon and this whole Trump thing. Everyone on the left spends too much time making jokes.”
Asked if she thinks the wild web of QAnon conspiracies might be bullshit, Mary pauses for a moment. “Well, I guess it could be. But it’s a great story if it is”.
Alex and Mary’s names have been changed for the purpose of this article.
• Matt Dooley is an Australian writer and journalist
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/22/i-know-a-marriage-killed-by-qanon-and-trump-with-help-from-alienation
Magda Szubanski targeted by coordinated 'avalanche of hate' from rightwing extremists over Covid mask ad
Australian comedian subjected to ‘volumetric cross-platform online abuse’, e-safety commissioner reports
Josh Taylor - 22 Oct 2020
Magda Szubanski was targeted by a coordinated “avalanche of hate” from rightwing extremists online after appearing in a Victorian government ad encouraging mask use, Australia’s e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, has said.
In late August, when Victoria was reporting Covid-19 cases of close to 200 a day, Szubanski was one of several celebrities to appear in ads encouraging social distancing and compliance with mask rules.
Szubanski brought back her Kath & Kim character Sharon Strzelecki for the promotion, and quickly found herself on the receiving end of an online trolling campaign.
At the time, Szubanski said the abuse came from Covid-19 deniers.
“They don’t believe Covid-19 is real,” she tweeted. “That poses a far greater risk to other people’s health than me being fat. Fat ain’t contagious.”
Inman-Grant told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday night that the abuse Szubanski received after the ads aired, was “volumetric cross-platform online abuse, which is coordinated by ostensibly white extremists [and] conspiracy theorists”.
“The whole idea is to create an avalanche of hate, directed towards specific targets, usually women or those with other intersectional factors,” she said.
Inman-Grant said her office had been tracking the QAnon conspiracy theory movement as well as the Boogaloo far-right movement.
Inman-Grant said attacks on Szubanski and the Australian human rights activist lawyer Nyadol Nyuon were all “coordinated rightwing extremist attacks”.
“We’re aware of it, we’re watching it, but we also have education programs to try and address [it].”
South Australia police apologised to Nyuon in June after an officer sent her an abusive message on Facebook after an appearance on the ABC’s Q&A program. Nyuon has said she frequently receives racist abuse online after appearing on TV.
“Volumetric attacks” are commonly organised in closed groups on Facebook or other platforms. Guardian Australia has previously reported politicians were targeted by one such group earlier this year as disinformation spread online about the Victorian lockdown being imposed for another year.
Facebook has recently imposed bans on accounts and groups devoted to promoting QAnon and the Boogaloo movement, but critics have said the tech giant has often acted too slowly in these cases, with some groups not being removed until after an act of violence had been committed by someone associated with the group.
Last month, Asio reported 40% of its counterterrorism caseload involved far-right violent extremism, up from 10% to 15% in 2016.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/22/magda-szubanski-targeted-by-coordinated-avalanche-of-hate-from-rightwing-extremists-over-covid-mask-ad
Removing QAnon accounts is not the answer
Alexandra Tselios - October 22, 2020
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Trying to navigate the pandemic in the age of social media has one oscillating between two schools of thought: ‘everyone has a right to an opinion’ and ‘this narrative is scientifically inaccurate and should be censored.’
Once upon a time, misinformation-peddling fringe-dwellers from the United States wouldn’t be familiar to the average Australian. But COVID-19 has enabled uptake of conspiracy theories, breeding an epidemic in scientific illiteracy. It's gotten worse with time, and boosted by social media, it continues to grow.
While 77 per cent of us feel it’s crucial to have a Prime Minister who nurtures a good relationship with the US president, only 32 per cent feel the Trump administration has been good for Australia. So, it has been surprising to see many Australians embrace the theories QAnon propagated, considering its foundational belief is Donald Trump’s fight against a cannibalistic, paedophilia-driven satanic ‘deep state’ network.
Fear porn
Australians tend to have a more cynical view on leaders, requiring them to prove themselves before we accept them as an authority. Perceptions around a lack of transparency over the current epidemic followed by censorship by tech platforms can – understandably – lead to fear among the populous.
We may be dismissive and sardonic by nature, but we are not immune to conspiracy theories; the 1967 disappearance of then-prime minister Harold Holt the most notable example. While Holt officially vanished while swimming off the Victorian coast, conflicting theories place Holt as a either a spy (and didn’t drown but was scooped up by a Chinese submarine) or the victim of a CIA assassination.
So why has an American fringe theory about satanic paedophiles threatening the White House taken off halfway around the world?
University of Melbourne sociologist Robin Canniford said people are particularly susceptible to believing them during heightened times of anxiety, such as this pandemic. A general distrust in government and authority adds fuel to an already culture-wide scepticism and cynicism about their motives, and the notion of life not being what it was – has people searching for answers.
Science illiteracy and arrogance
Like most other societies, we have groups of individuals who will never accept the status quo. But where this fringe element once had only analogue means to discover and profligate information, the internet now enables them to seek out like-minded thinkers and find a degree of consensus.
Recently, ‘Save the children’, an important slogan with considerable merit and credible organisations making impact, has been hijacked by those wanting to paint a patently false picture to try to prove that COVID-19 is a hoax. There has always been corruption, criminal activity and negligence across government, medical and the scientific communities, but evidence is crucial. These theories currently circulating largely make no sense or have been significantly distorted and misrepresented to fit an agenda.
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Meanwhile, any fact-based evidence is questioned as lacking credibility due to being sourced from mainstream media, or anyone identified as from the left (the two, per QAnon, are inexplicably tied). If you provide evidence from independent fact checking websites, you’re then asked, ‘But who funds the fact checkers?’.
The worn-out plea to ‘stop politicising COVID’ from all sides is now redundant, considering that political conspiracy theories and the promotion of disinformation to undermine a political opponent has long been a way to weaponise emotion. As recently written by Jamelle Bouise for the New York Times, we could reference the Obama driven birther campaign as a recent example. Conspiracy theories are largely and historically driven by political agenda, even if that agenda is anti-government or anti-authority, meaning the weight of an appropriate response from world leaders is even more critical.
Censoring isn’t the solution
Well-meaning critical thinkers looking to fight misinformation inadvertently play a hand in certain theories going viral during COVID-19, by sharing, retweeting or responding to propaganda. The broader conspiracy theories currently circulating are hysterical and primarily based on screenshots of text messages from people no one knows, ‘experts’ who aren’t credible with digital footprints showcasing debunked biased research and, of course, YouTube and memes.
While online groups sharing misinformation was once statistically smaller, they are growing louder with denialists becoming a dangerous voice for those struggling to navigate the influx of content. QAnon gained millions of supporters worldwide, gaining significant traction on social media from vulnerable audiences not au fait with how to determine what is a credible source.
The argument can therefore be made that it is not the removal of accounts and voices, but rather greater efforts required to educate the public on how to determine credibility and reliability from the sources they share.
A recent study found that the average Australians trust in mainstream media increased from 35 per cent to 51 per cent in April 2020, highlighting the pressure news outlets face to remain objective and accountable. In a fragmented and decentralised landscape, it’s important that legitimate voices lead the way by consistently embracing evidence, understanding research and prioritising principles of objective analysis to save the truth from being replaced by outlandish and harmful fairy tales.
Alexandra Tselios is the CEO of The Big Smoke Media Group and Director of Australian-Israeli publication Plus61J. She is also a social commentator across Australia on radio and TV.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/removing-qanon-accounts-is-not-the-answer/news-story/6e5a9acf2ad1e174b2768f4040a150d0
Tech giants part of a 'galactic empire': Home Affairs boss
One of Australia's most senior public servants has labelled Facebook and other tech giants a "galactic empire" for moving to end-to-end encryption and not subjecting themselves to the regulation of nation states.
Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said Australia, the United States and Britain were trying to engage with companies such as Facebook over their move to further encrypt messaging services, issues around the "dark web" and other regulation, but lamented "there's not much concession and there's not much give from the other side".
In a reference to the fight between good and evil in the Star Wars films, Mr Pezzullo said tech giants were part of a "galactic empire" that had detached themselves "like a Death Star", while his department was part of a "rebel alliance".
Speaking at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age's National Security Summit on Thursday, Mr Pezzullo said more work needed to be done dealing with global tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Apple, which were "post-national" in nature.
"The galactic empire has in fact revealed itself, I say that with regret," Mr Pezzullo said. "We've been trying to work particularly with Facebook, and we are forming a rebel alliance.
"Currently the rebel alliance is the [US] Department of Justice, ourselves [Home Affairs], the Home Office in the UK and indeed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
"We are dealing with a galactic empire that has sought to basically disengage itself from the sovereign international society."
Mr Pezzullo's comments came shortly after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the summit the dark web, encryption and other anonymising technologies were allowing "paedophiles, terrorists and a whole variety of criminals to further obscure their true identity and their malicious activity".
Facebook is introducing end-to-end encryption across its messaging platforms – including Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram – which prevents anyone from being able to read private messages by encrypting both ends of a conversation.
Mr Pezzullo said tech giants were disregarding democratic countries trying to balance security, liberty and privacy.
"Regrettably some of these companies have taken it upon themselves to seek to detach themselves like a Death Star to basically disconnect themselves from the international society of states," Mr Pezzullo said.
"Whether it's through competition, whether it's through trust arrangements, whether it's through the dark web initiatives that we are pursuing, regrettably we are going to have to deal with this galactic empire.
"We would prefer to engage in dialogue, there is ongoing dialogue, but I must say … there's not much concession and there's not much give from the other side."
Mr Pezzullo warned nation states had significant weapons at their disposal – including the ability to shape or remove certain technology products – and this should be considered as part of an emerging approach of combining economics and security policy.
He spoke about the importance of economists and strategists working together to address the emerging challenges facing Australia, warning poorly managed supply chains allowed transnational crime networks to flourish.
He said internet-connectivity had been a positive development for the world, but warned "that very same connectivity brings child exploitation networks into our living spaces, cyber criminals who can lock up our computers, hostile state actors who can engage in deliberate, targeted disinformation to corrode our social cohesion, to undermine our elections, to undermine our national confidence and our national unity".
"Warfare itself has to be rethought because it's occurring at many different levels and many different ways," Mr Pezzullo said.
It was reported on Wednesday that Russia is being accused of carrying out mysterious "Havana Syndrome" attacks against two CIA officials visiting Australia last year using microwave weapons.
Asked about the incident, Mr Pezzullo said: "I don't have any comment to make on that story". But he said "we have to be expansive in our use of the term weapons".
"Think about things like disinformation, misinformation. Yes, that does include espionage and it touches on the matter that you raised that I neither spoke in confirmation or denial about," he said.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/tech-giants-part-of-a-galactic-empire-home-affairs-boss-20201022-p567il.html
Q Post #3602
Nov 16 2019 14:41:22 (EST)
https://www.starwars.com/games-apps/star-wars-commander
How do 'select' bad actors attempt comms w/o SIGINT collection?
Rebellion or Empire?
Private [invite only] faction(s)?
Dark Light
Q
https://qanon.pub/#3602
—
Q Post #4000
Apr 28 2020 19:58:18 (EST)
EJhVEGbUwAAVp8P.png
https://www.starwarscommander.com/transmissions/game-closure-announcement/
Q
https://qanon.pub/#4000
'Consequences catastrophic': Dutton says cyber attacks on critical infrastructure rising
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will warn Australia must prepare to counter prolonged and catastrophic cyber attacks on critical infrastructure that could disrupt entire industries.
Mr Dutton will say Australia is continuing to experience a rise in cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, warning that a serious penetration of Australia's energy sector could mean "widespread failure" of electricity networks, disrupting hospitals, transport, banking and food supplies.
Speaking at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age's National Security Summit on Thursday, Mr Dutton will say Australia needs to harden its networks against these threats.
The government is looking to impose new obligations on owners and operators of critical infrastructure to provide details about their networks. The Home Affairs Minister will be able to declare an emergency to give agencies such as the Australian Signals Directorate the power to plug into the networks of critical infrastructure to fend off major attacks.
"While private industry has obligations to protect critical infrastructure, some threats are too sophisticated or disruptive to be handled alone," Mr Dutton will say, according to a draft of his speech.
"And so the government will provide assistance in response to immediate and serious cyber attacks on Australian systems. We will provide support to those companies."
While not naming the countries involved, Mr Dutton will say Australia's critical infrastructure is a prime target for foreign interference and other malicious activity.
Australian security agencies believe China was probably behind a series of cyber raids this year on all levels of government, industry and critical infrastructure, including hospitals, local councils and state-owned utilities.
"We are continuing to see an increase in attacks targeting infrastructure and systems that are essential to our way of life," Mr Dutton will say.
"In the past two years we have seen cyber-attacks on federal Parliamentary networks, logistics companies and universities – just to mention a few. Internationally, we have seen cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure including water services and airports.
"The potential consequences of a successful attack could be catastrophic. A prolonged and widespread failure in the energy sector, for example, could cause knock-on disruptions to other essential systems including medical, transport, traffic management systems, banking services or even the supply of food and groceries."
Mr Dutton will renew his attack on Facebook and other companies for moving to end-to-end encryption, saying it will hinder efforts to tackle online crime including child sexual abuse.
This month, Australia joined its "Five-Eyes" intelligence partners – the United States, Britain, New Zealand and Canada – along with India and Japan, in signing a statement calling on tech companies to come up with a solution for law enforcement to access end-to-end encrypted messages.
Facebook is introducing end-to-end encryption across its messaging platforms – including Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram – which prevents anyone from being able to read private messages by encrypting both ends of a conversation.
"We are calling on technology companies, including Facebook – but not just Facebook – to design their systems so they are safe, so they co-operate with law enforcement by providing lawful access to encrypted communications and engage in consultation with governments and other stakeholders to facilitate legal access in a way that is substantive and genuinely influences design decisions," Mr Dutton will say.
Mr Dutton will warn the dark web, encryption and other anonymising technologies are allowing "paedophiles, terrorists and a whole variety of criminals to further obscure their true identity and their malicious activity".
Meanwhile, Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles will on Thursday tell the National Security Summit that the Morrison government has had "no leadership or clear voice" on its relationship with China.
He is expected to say the government is allowing "fringe-dwellers to determine the discussion while the adults are silent".
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/consequences-catastrophic-dutton-says-cyber-attacks-on-critical-infrastructure-rising-20201021-p56732.html
National Redress Scheme: Scott Morrison names and shames groups refusing to sign up
The Prime Minister has revealed the government is finalising sanctions it will slap on groups “blatantly” refusing to sign up to a national scheme.
Four institutions including the Jehovah’s Witnesses could be stripped of their charitable status after failing to sign up to the National Redress Scheme.
Scott Morrison on Thursday revealed the government was finalising sanctions it will slap on the organisations.
The Prime Minister named and shamed the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Kenja Communication, Lakes Entrance Pony Club and Fairbridge Restored Limited for “blatantly” refusing to join the scheme.
“It is not acceptable,” Mr Morrison said.
Two institutions – the Australian Air League and the Boys’ Brigade NSW – have signalled their intent to sign up to the redress scheme since July 1.
Mr Morrison reaffirmed his government’s support for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse on the second anniversary of the national apology.
“It’s a day that I’ll never forget … And nor should we,” he said.
“Our apology didn’t and can’t undo our shared failures.
“But I earnestly hope it provided some small measure, some moment of solace to all those who suffered and continue to.”
One of 409 recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2017 is still yet to be implemented.
A further 76 continue are being progressed.
The National Redress Scheme has received almost 8300 applications.
Of those, 4670 decisions have been made, including 3826 payments.
The average redress payment is around $82,000.
“We still have more work to do,” Mr Morrison said.
One of those areas includes a national strategy to prevent child sexual abuse.
“Unfortunately, progress to finalise the strategy has been significantly impacted by the pandemic,” Mr Morrison said.
“I know this is deeply disappointing for everyone involved, including the government.
“But let me reassure the house, the government will deliver this strategy, and we now expect it to be finalised in 2021.”
Need to talk to someone?
Don't go it alone. Please reach out for help.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
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Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 or kidshelpline.com.au
Headspace: 1800 650 890 or headspace.org.au
Are you anxious? Take the Beyond Blue quiz to see how you’re tracking and whether you could benefit from support
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety-and-depression-checklist-k10
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/national-redress-scheme-scott-morrison-names-and-shames-groups-refusing-to-sign-up/news-story/f519cf23a9d8422a1882095d07f3143f
Raided, suspended MP Shaoquett Moselmane’s return to NSW parliament
Suspended Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane, whose home and parliamentary office were raided as part of an unprecedented national security investigation, has returned to the NSW parliament for the first time since stepping aside in June.
Mr Moselmane, an upper house MLC, gave a personal statement to the Legislative Council saying that he had done nothing wrong and that he remained unclear why he was targeted by police and security officials.
“It was hard, Mr President,” Mr Moselmane said. “To date, Mr President, I remain none-the-wiser as to what this investigation is all about. I don’t know why it was necessary for my public humiliation, nor do I know who decided that it was necessary for the media to accompany the police raid into my home.”
Mr Moselmane, who has not been charged with any offences, said he did not understand why the Australian Federal Police had collected “hair and dust from my family cars” and walked sniffer dogs through his home.
“I wonder what evidence that would have provided the AFP to assist their foreign interference investigation,” he said.
The raids, conducted in partnership with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, were executed on June 26 in connection with the possible infiltration of the NSW parliament by Chinese Community Party agents.
Mr Moselmane’s part-time staffer, John Zhang, was similarly raided by officers and has since resigned from his role in Mr Moselmane’s office. He is challenging the legality of the warrants in the High Court of Australia.
While Mr Moselmane has insisted numerous times that he is not a suspect in the matter, officials have yet to publicly confirm whether this is the case, though they have previously said the matter remains ongoing.
The Legislative Council moved on Wednesday to seek clarity from the AFP about the status of the investigation and Mr Moselmane’s alleged role.
“It is because I have done nothing wrong that I am back here in this honourable house,” Mr Moselmane said, thanking numerous MPs and members of the community for their support.
He singled out the President of the Legislative Council, John Ajaka, for calling every morning for more than 100 days since the raid “simply wanting to ask are you okay?”.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/raided-suspended-mp-shaoquett-moselmanes-return-to-nsw-parliament/news-story/4ce0c6367fa69519b6ca2dcac97fdacf
Remote human trafficking
Jessica Borten looks at how the human trafficking industry has continued online throughout the pandemic.
Jessica Borten - 21 October 2020
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During isolation, students have attended lectures via Zoom, consumers have shopped online, and employees have collaborated remotely from the comfort of their homes. Victims of human trafficking have, meanwhile, been in lockdown with their perpetrators.
The global pandemic has successfully postponed the Olympic Games and halted international tourism, but the human trafficking industry continues to thrive in a digital format and adapt to the changing world.
So how can society abolish an issue that affects millions of victims worldwide?
The answer: educating the next generation.
Human trafficking: defining the issue
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. The phrase is synonymous with violent abuse and coercive exploitation. It is an unfortunate reality for men, women and children around the world. Due to the intricate and complex nature of human trafficking, it is almost impossible to tally an accurate victim count, but the number is estimated to sit high in the millions.
The A21 Campaign is a not-for-profit organisation tackling human trafficking. Representatives from its global team say anyone can become a victim without knowing the risks.
“The most vulnerable community groups are usually those without access to jobs, medical [assistance], education, or accommodation. This leads to instability, increased vulnerability, and then potential exploitation,” a representative explains.
“However, without proper awareness of the risks of human trafficking, anyone can become a victim.”
Human trafficking in an Australian context: breaking down misconceptions and stereotypes
The fight against human trafficking may seem like a foreign war to many Australians, with the media dominated by a revolving door of stories spotlighting modern slavery in undeveloped, third world societies. The A21 global team says this generalisation is harmful.
“Human trafficking is a global issue, and it requires a global response, but in order to combat this injustice, people need to be first aware of what is happening in their own local communities,” a representative explains.
“It is important to understand that human trafficking cannot be generalised as each human trafficking case often includes its own business model, recruitment tactics, and methods of control.”
Bond University criminology professor and former police officer Dr Terry Goldsworthy says the term “slavery” is a term people have difficulty with.
“We tend to think in historical terms, the typical one being African Americans transported to the U.S. Colonies, whereas in the modern-day, the concept of slavery can be much more subtle,” Goldsworthy says.
“You’re talking about someone who’s not necessarily chained up at home but is restricted by terms of passport removal, financial support, non-payment and poor working conditions, so it’s a much more subtle definition in terms of slavery or trafficking.
“It’s perhaps not like a movie where a woman is kidnapped, drugged and passed around and imprisoned as she gets moved around, [a victim] might be down at [your local shopping centre] but still fulfil the conditions of slavery.”
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Human trafficking in a global pandemic: trafficking victims remotely from behind a screen
Amidst the chaos of toilet-paper stockpiling, border closures and hand sanitiser shortage, victims of human trafficking remain invisible.
“[Victims] would be suffering the same issues we are; we’ve all had some anxiety levels depending on where you live and the impact [COVID-19] has had on you, so those anxieties would only be adding to the anxieties they already had,” Goldsworthy explains.
“Certainly, they wouldn’t be in an environment where I’d imagine there’d be much concern shown for their health and wellbeing. And if there’s continuing of the physical trafficking and sexual exploitation, then their exposure to that risk is even greater.”
The internet has created a virtual hunting ground for offenders of human trafficking to access and recruit unsuspecting victims via social media. Goldsworthy says technology has impacted the way organised and transnational criminals operate and is allowing human trafficking to continue amidst the pandemic.
“There’s so much more opportunity,” he says.
“Porn Hub has a really good intelligence database into usage, and during COVID-19 its usage has gone through the roof. I would think that organised crime groups would be thinking: if we can’t traffic the [victims] physically to a client, we can do it remotely through putting them up on Porn Hub.”
The severe loss of employment and increased poverty is also making more people vulnerable to potential trafficking according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s report Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trafficking in Persons.
“Dramatic increases in unemployment and reductions in income, especially from low wage and informal sector workers, mean that significant numbers of people who were already vulnerable find themselves in even more precarious circumstances,” the report says.
“This means a vulnerable population has now become even more exposed to the risk of severe exploitation as they try to identify means to secure their livelihoods.”
The future of human trafficking: raising tomorrow’s activists
The future of human trafficking is unclear for law enforcement, but both the A21 Campaign and Goldsworthy agree that education is crucial.
In 2021, the A21 Campaign aims to implement its Primary Prevention Program into schools across Queensland and New South Wales. The program educates young people about identifying victims of human trafficking and strategies to keep themselves and others safe. Representatives say the organisation has observed a “ripple effect” since implementing the program in Thailand.
“We have received a lot of very positive feedback from schools, NGOs, government bodies and individuals – including parents and [past] students – that have praised the program and have wanted it to continue within their schools,” representatives say.
“Teachers and principals have reached out to our teams after sessions to ask for help or advice on other child safety and online abuse issues occurring in their schools, in which we have been able to assist or refer on. We have also had children self-identify, recognising that an area of abuse we’ve spoken about has been happening in their own lives.”
Although some people protest against introducing topics such as human trafficking and sexual exploitation to children, Goldsworthy argues education will allow them to make informed decisions.
“I don’t know why people would think that we shouldn’t teach them about it,” he says.
“We teach them about drugs and the dangers of drugs so they can make informed choices and, certainly, if you look at the victims, you should be educating those victim groups that are at risk about the type of behaviours.
“If they’re not aware of these things, if they have no idea what happens to a lot of young people who perhaps go overseas misinformed, then they’re not going to avoid that trap.”
Technology has been hailed our saviour in these “tough times” but victims of human trafficking are in isolation fearing the webcam more than they fear contracting the virus, even in a contagious world.
As victims slip into the shadows of pandemic headlines, their voices remain silenced, their struggles invisible and their stories forgotten.
But we’re all in this together… right?
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2020/10/remote-human-trafficking/
Video shows SAS soldiers discussing a fellow operator apparently killing a 'compliant' prisoner in Afghanistan
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Video footage obtained by ABC Investigations shows members of an SAS patrol in Afghanistan talking about the apparent execution of a "totally compliant" prisoner by one of their comrades.
The patrol commander describes the incident as "f—ing bullshit".
"I'm not happy with it," he says in the footage.
The metadata of the footage, taken from the helmet camera of one of the SAS soldiers, reveals the conversation took place a day after an operation in the village of Shina in Uruzgan Province in mid-May 2012.
During that raid, by members of 3 Squadron SAS, three Afghans were killed.
ABC Investigations revealed in July that two of the bodies were photographed by the SAS with the same gun — an AK-47 assault rifle with teal-coloured tape around the stock.
It is understood the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) is investigating the killings at Shina and the alleged planting of the weapon to justify the men's deaths.
The new footage reveals disquiet among SAS patrol members about the killing of a prisoner by a senior operator.
'His eyes rolled back like a shark'
The video shows three SAS operators standing by the mud wall of a compound during an operation, while other soldiers in the patrol take up positions nearby.
In the video, the operators are discussing the apparent killing of an Afghan prisoner by a senior soldier.
"Mate, it's ridiculous," says one.
"I know, it's ridiculous. If I thought it would make any difference, I'd say something to him," says the patrol commander, speaking about the senior operator.
"His eyes rolled back like a shark. He's a f—ing idiot."
"He was doing exactly what he said," says a third operator, referring to the prisoner.
"He was totally compliant," says the patrol commander. "Mate, I was more worried about getting…"
"Getting shot," interrupts the first soldier.
"…getting shot while he was swinging his weapon around," continues the patrol commander.
"I was on the other side from where the PUC was. Thought I was going to get shot," says the third patrol member.
A PUC is a Person Under Confinement, or a detainee.
"It's f—ing bullshit. I'm not happy with it," says the patrol commander.
"One of the engineers went, 'Yeah it happened, he just took him around the corner and f—ing shot him.'"
"You can't do it in front of anyone but a f—ing operator," says one of the operators.
"You can't do it in front of anyone. You don't do it front of anyone, it's so wrong on so many levels," says the patrol commander.
No killings are shown on the helmet camera footage.
(continued)
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Footage could be evidence for IGADF
The ABC knows the identity of the three men talking in the footage, but has chosen not to name them.
The SAS operator they are talking about featured in the Four Corners Killing Field story in March, and was identified as 'Soldier B'.
In the story, an SAS patrol member accused Soldier B of taking away an Afghan man with non-life threatening injuries.
The man was later found dead, and an Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission investigation found he was a civilian who had been beaten to death.
Another video shot earlier that day, on the same helmet camera as the conversation between the patrol members, shows Afghan men being rounded up and detained by the patrol.
The footage could be key evidence for the IGADF inquiry.
The inquiry has interviewed hundreds of witnesses, including SAS operators, about more than 55 separate incidents of alleged breaches of the laws of war by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
When the ABC contacted Defence in July about the killings at Shina and the allegations of an assault rifle being planted on two of the bodies, it refused to comment.
"It is not appropriate for Defence to comment on matters that may or may not be the subject of the [Inspector-General's] Afghanistan Inquiry," said a spokesperson at the time.
For this story, a spokesperson said Defence "strongly supports the IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry, and respects the integrity and independence of the process".
"Until the report is released, and in order to protect the integrity and independence of the Inquiry, it is not appropriate for Defence to comment further."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-22/video-shows-sas-soldiers-discussing-apparent-execution/12789520
Aged Care Royal Commission hears there are around 50 sexual assaults a week of residents nationally
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Fifty people in residential aged care across the country are sexually assaulted each week, the aged care royal commission has heard.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is hearing the final submissions after a two-year-long inquiry — it has heard reports of violence, abuse, neglect and malnourishment in Australian aged care homes.
Counsel assisting the inquiry Peter Rozen QC told the inquiry the commission received 588 submissions mentioning sexual assault, and 426 allegations of sexual assault in residential aged facilities were reported to the federal Health Department in 2014-15.
"That number of 426 increased to 790 in the year 2018-19 … the increase in the reporting of allegations of assault was far greater than could be accounted for by the increase in the number of permanent residents over the same time period," Mr Rozen said.
He said those figures were concerning, but understated the extent of the problem, partly because an assault was not reportable if the alleged perpetrator was a fellow resident and had a diagnosed cognitive or mental impairment and the aged care provider had put in place arrangements to mange the alleged perpetrator's behaviour.
"Considering 50 per cent of people receiving residential aged care have a diagnosis of dementia, the effect of this exemption is likely to be significant," he said.
Mr Rozen said the best estimate of the number of incidents of unlawful sexual contact was an average of 50 per week.
"This is a national shame," Mr Rozen told the inquiry.
"Many witnesses have explained they placed their loved ones in residential aged care because they felt it would be safer for them, or because safety was a concern.
"It is therefore entirely unacceptable that people in residential aged care face a substantially higher risk of assault than people living in the community,
"As disturbing as these figures are, the evidence of the lack of follow-up by the Australian Government department that receives the reports is, if anything, worse."
The commission has been urged to recommend sweeping reforms to Australia's aged care system.
Counsel assisting the inquiry have asked for 124 recommendations including:
A new law based on human rights principles for older people
Mandated staffing ratios in residential aged care
Compulsory registration of personal care workers
A demand-driven approach to aged care rather than the current rationed approach
A new and independent process for setting aged care quality standards
A new enforceable general duty of care on approved providers
An independent pricing authority that will determine aged care prices
The commissioners were split on a recommendation to establish an independent aged care commission to oversee the aged care sector.
Commissioner Lynelle Briggs argued against a new commission and instead called for a revamped federal Health Department.
"The department would be staffed appropriately and resourced appropriately so that it has enough qualified staff and money to do its job," she said.
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Privatisation flagged as 'huge difference'
Jennifer Line, 87, worked in aged care for most of her career.
In retirement she has become an advocate for residents. She and her friends were among the thousands who made a submission to the royal commission.
"The privatisation of aged care has made a huge difference," she said.
"When I was working there, when people needed to be in aged care, they went and money was not such an object, and more registered nurses were working there."
Mr Rozen said the evidence before the commission showed high-quality aged care was "not being delivered on a systemic level in our aged care system and the level of substandard care is unacceptable by any measure".
"At least one in five people receiving aged care have experienced substandard care," he said.
Mr Rozen said identifying the extent of substandard care in Australia's aged care system was a difficult task because of deficiencies in the data available to measure the quality of care.
"This should not be the case. It should be a relatively straightforward task to assess the quality of care provided in our aged care system," he said.
"That it is difficult says much about the maturity of the sector and the lack of curiosity of the Government that funds and regulates it."
Mr Rozen said until recently, there had been a "surprising absence" of any mandated quality indicators for Australia's aged care system.
"This contrasts with the health sector where there's a long history of measuring quality," he said.
The commission heard that in 2017-18 when participation in an aged care quality indicator program was voluntary, just 8 per cent of approved providers submitted reports, and last financial year, mandatory reporting was limited to three measures: use of restraints, pressure injuries, and unexplained weight loss.
The commission is expected to make its final recommendations next year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-22/aged-care-royal-comm-told-of-50-sex-assaults-a-week/12801806
Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet
#TheGreatAwakeningWorldwide #SaveTheChildren #kids #EndCSAandSexTrafficking #Epstein #GhislaineMaxwell #JeanLucBrunel #kidstoo #SaveOurChildrenWorldwide @jbolam33 @zjcat7 @lisapodcasts @KirbySommers @elizableu @teresajhelm @pinkPeptobismol @MichelleLicata8 @Jena_LisaJ
https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319217273664491520
Brigandine @Brigandine
https://twitter.com/Brigandine/status/1319213082485399552
Pope Francis warned of coronavirus exposure
The Vatican’s ambassador to Australia, Bishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, has tested positive to coronavirus in Canberra less than 14 days after a private, face-to-face meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
The meeting, at the Pope’s request, took place within the two-week infectious period for COVID-19 and the Australian government has warned the Holy See of the infection.
The ACT Health Office announced on Thursday that Canberra had recorded its first active COVID-19 case in months but said the infection of a diplomat in his 70s who had returned from overseas was an “acquired infection”, detected while he was in quarantine.
The ACT Health Office also said the diplomat had travelled from Sydney, after his arrival from overseas on October 9, in a private vehicle and had not made any stops “en route to Canberra”.
He tested positive on Monday, his 10th day of quarantine after his arrival in Sydney.
The Australian government notified the Australian ambassador to the Holy See in Rome of the infection after the “incident room” — which includes health and foreign affairs officials — acted according to the international protocol.
ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said Canberra health authorities were working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and federal health authorities.
The ACT Health Department refused to release the name of the virus victim but a spokesman said ACT Health “has been engaging with the Australian Department of Health and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as per our usual protocols”.
Bishop Yllana travelled to Poland last month to induct the Bishop for Port Pirie in South Australia, Polish-born Australian Karol Kulczcki, who could not leave Poland because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Bishop Yllana was called to Rome after the September 29 induction to see the Pope in relation to allegations about mystery transfers of money from the Vatican secretariat to Australia, allegedly to adversely affect the child sex abuse trial of Cardinal George Pell.
The Vatican listed a personal meeting between Bishop Yllana and Pope Francis at the Vatican on October 6.
Bishop Yllana returned to Australia three days later.
The Vatican embassy in Canberra was closed on Thursday afternoon and did not respond to emails, personal approaches or calls from The Australian.
The Australian revealed on Thursday that anti-corruption authorities in Victoria will look into money wired from the Vatican to Australia, allegedly connected to Cardinal Pell’s trial, after receiving information from the Australian Federal Police.
The Australian also revealed that Vatican prosecutors investigating unauthorised financial transfers were given details of more than $2m wired to Australia between February 2017 and June 2018, almost double the $1.1m reported by Italian newspapers and London’s The Times.
AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency that investigates money laundering and organised crime, confirmed this week it had passed information to the AFP and Victoria Police for further investigation.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/pope-francis-warned-of-coronavirus-exposure/news-story/1cda7c8ce9ea63a654bbbcb92d444f99
Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre tweeted QAnon slogans just before new Ghislaine Maxwell evidence is due to be unsealed
Alexandra Ma - October 23 2020
• Virginia Giuffre Roberts, a woman accusing sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell of underage sex trafficking, shared QAnon slogans on Wednesday and Thursday.
• QAnon is a baseless far-right conspiracy theory that claims President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a "deep state" cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals.
• The posts come as an appeals court in New York prepares to unseal hundreds of pages of testimony by Maxwell, in which she details her personal relationship with Epstein.
• Social media companies, including Twitter, have been trying to limit the spread of QAnon content.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a woman who has accused Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell of underage sex trafficking, tweeted a series of slogans and a graphic related to QAnon ahead of a scheduled document drop in the case.
An appeals court in New York is preparing to unseal hundreds of pages of Maxwell's testimonies about her relationship with Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
They are due to be published by 9 a.m. New York time on Thursday.
Maxwell, who is accused of procuring underage girls for Epstein, recently lost a legal battle to keep her depositions from being used in Giuffre's criminal case against her.
Ahead of Thursday's document unsealing, Giuffre shared an graphic of a young girl and a teddy bear inside a giant "Q" — with the words "We've Awoken, Stop Pedophilia" inside.
QAnon is a baseless far-right conspiracy theory that claims President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a "deep state" cabal of satanic pedophiles and cannibals.
Giuffre in her tweet added hashtags that had been co-opted by QAnon followers, such as #TheGreatAwakeningWorldWide and #SaveTheChildren.
On Wednesday night, Giuffre also reshared a post containing the hashtags #WWG1WGA — an acronym for the QAnon slogan, "where we go one, we go all" — and #MAGA, the Trump campaign slogan that's short for "Make America Great Again."
Social media companies have been trying to crack down on QAnon-related content, but members have been circumventing bans to keep the movement active.
Twitter, where Giuffre shared her messages, announced in July that it would begin cracking down on QAnon-related accounts and messages.
However, The Washington Post reported in early October that there were still tens of thousands of active Twitter profiles that referenced QAnon in their profiles.
https://www.insider.com/epstein-accuser-virginia-roberts-giuffre-qanon-slogans-ghislaine-maxwell-2020-10
Remdesivir, the virus treatment given to Trump, gets formal US approval
The US Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences's antiviral therapy remdesivir on Thursday (US time), making it the first drug to obtain formal clearance for treating the coronavirus.
Regulators had granted an emergency-use authorisation for remdesivir earlier this year, and since then the drug has become a widely used therapy in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. It was given to President Donald Trump this month when he was diagnosed with the virus.
The approval of remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, will allow Gilead to market the drug and talk about its benefits to doctors, nurses, and patients in the US. That could help solidify its position as a go-to medicine for COVID-19 patients even as other drugs for the disease begin to reach the market.
In Australia, remdesivir was approved in July for use in adults and adolescent patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms who have been hospitalised.
"Veklury is now the first and only approved COVID-19 treatment in the United States," Gilead said in a statement. While the drug was in short supply initially, Gilead said that the medicine is now widely available in hospitals across the country as manufacturing capacity has rapidly expanded.
Gilead shares gained 3.6 per cent in trading after the close of regular market hours on Thursday. Analysts estimate that remdesivir will have sales of $US2.17 billion this year, according to 13 surveyed by Bloomberg.
The company said in June that it will charge US hospitals roughly $US3120 for most patients who need remdesivir.
The approval is based on a US government-sponsored trial involving more than 1000 hospitalised coronavirus patients that found that those who received the drug recovered about five days faster than those who got a placebo.
The overall side-effect rate was similar to the placebo in the government study. The most common side effects are nausea and elevated liver enzymes, according to the product's label.
The drug hasn't been proven to reduce deaths from COVID-19. In a World Health Organisation trial, the medicine failed to reduce fatalities, according to preliminary results that were posted on preprint servers last week.
Gilead has criticised the findings. In a letter posted on the company's website, Chief Medical Officer Merdad Parsey said the WHO's findings don't negate other study results.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/coronavirus-treatment-remdesivir-gets-formal-us-approval-20201023-p567uf.html
For five eyes only
Hidden among the diplomatic musical chairs announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday was Erika Thompson — the staffer who introduced Alexander Downer to former Trump adviser George Papadopoulos. As the story goes … in 2016, Thompson’s boyfriend Christian Cantor was in the political branch at the Israeli embassy and a friend of Papadopoulos. “All of a sudden, [Cantor] decides one day to introduce me to his so-called girlfriend, who just happened to be an Australian intelligence officer and the assistant to Alexander Downer,” Papadopoulos later claimed, as part of his theory that Downer was sent by MI6. The trio downed a few sneaky gin and tonics at the Kensington Wine Rooms and the rest is history! Literally. There’s a plaque outside the bar that reads: “Donald Trump got into trouble here when a chat over wine turned to Russian hacking. The Mueller Enquiry.” Luckily for Thompson, she was omitted from The Comey Rule telemovie’s short and (accents not so) sweet take of that faithful night. She’s now jetting off to a new gig as Australia’s ambassador to Colombia.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/strewth/no-big-dance-for-scott-morrison/news-story/596cadadf9ded51d016f4e144f496de3
https://twitter.com/whiteswine/status/1251349839113150464
Alleged Jeffrey Epstein victims want justice, but Ghislaine Maxwell's deposition is a determined, redacted denial
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In a moment when the world was ready to read Ghislaine Maxwell's own words about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, there was a sense her testimony could reveal explosive details about the alleged sex trafficking ring they are accused of operating and who else might be involved.
Ms Maxwell was deposed during a 2016 defamation suit, but the transcript was only unsealed today, revealing her account of the Epstein case for the first time.
In the 465-page document, Ms Maxwell responds to questions about the alleged abuse and predation of girls as young as 14 with both broad denial and precise rebuttal.
Ms Maxwell repeatedly denies ever seeing Epstein engage in a sexual act and says she knows nothing about underage girls being at his properties.
Epstein is dead and Ms Maxwell is sitting in a Brooklyn prison, but for their accusers, that is nowhere near enough.
The alleged victims are seeking a kind of justice that is as far reaching as the depravity they say they endured and some had hoped the release of the Maxwell deposition would reveal who else may have to fall.
Yesterday, ahead of the document's release, alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre tweeted: "With more transparency, I am hopeful that all who helped perpetrate these heinous crimes will be held accountable.
"Watch the draconian oligarchs turn against one another."
After being charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, Epstein took his own life in jail. A year later, Ms Maxwell was charged with similar crimes, accused of grooming girls and serving them to powerful predators.
Coded messages, black books and flight logs were tended as evidence of a sophisticated global sex trafficking ring allegedly run by the pair for their own amusement and for that of their wealthy friends.
The women say when they were allegedly promised a better life, they were vulnerable and living at the fringes.
But even though the women had so little to their names, their abusers still found something to take.
Marie Farmer said she decided not to have children because she could never trust they would be safe. Ms Giuffre said a piece of her was taken and she could never get it back. Teala Davies said she lived with fear for her daughters — "everyone's daughters".
Victims identified, other names redacted
Large parts of the deposition have been redacted, although the names of some victims do appear.
Miami Herald journalist Julie Brown who investigated how Epstein secured a plea deal in his earlier conviction and eventually blew the case open, asked why some victims' names remained visible to the public when presumably high-profile identities had been redacted.
There are sections of the deposition where, despite the redactions, the identities at the centre of questioning are apparent.
Ms Giuffre has alleged British royal Prince Andrew to be among the men to whom she was trafficked. She says it happened three times.
Both Prince Andrew and the palace have emphatically denied he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre, saying "any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation".
At the centre of allegations involving Prince Andrew is a photo of the royal, Ms Giuffre and Maxwell. Ms McCawley appears to ask Ms Maxwell about that photo in the deposition.
Ms Maxwell said she did not recognise the photo and she was not sure it was real.
Ms McCawley persists and asks if Ms Maxwell's house in London features the balustrade and painting seen in the image.
"I do have a picture," Ms Maxwell said.
"Do you recall on the left-hand side having a railing that looks like that with sort of a bubble wood top?" Ms McCawley says.
Ms Maxwell: "I do."
Ms Maxwell also said Ms Giuffre's characterisation of what happened in her London home was "ludicrous", "an obvious lie" and "just not possible".
"President Clinton" does appear unredacted in the document.
Ms McCawley asks: "You did fly on … Jeffrey Epstein's planes with President Clinton, is that correct?"
Ms Maxwell says she has done so, but she is unable to say whether former US president Bill Clinton and Epstein are friends.
(continued)
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'I wouldn't describe sex toys'
In a line of questioning that appeared to test just how intimately Ms Maxwell knew Epstein's sexual behaviour, Ms McCawley also asked if Ms Maxwell recalled a basket of sex toys in Epstein's Palm Beach apartment.
In what appears to be strained dialogue, Ms Maxwell asked the lawyer to define what she meant by a sex toy before eventually saying: "I don't recollect anything that would formally be a dildo, anything like that."
Asked how she would describe sex toys, Ms Maxwell said: "I wouldn't describe sex toys."
Among other questions about Ms Maxwell's exposure to Epstein's sexual demands, Ms McCawley asked about his nipples.
"Does Jeffrey like to have his nipples pinched during sexual encounters?" Ms McCawley asked.
"I'm not talking about any adult sexual things when I was with him," was Ms Maxwell's response.
Throughout the entire deposition, Ms Maxwell is careful to avoid commenting on girls under the age of 18. All her answers pertain to "adults".
"I'm not interested in talking about under age," she said.
"I can only testify to what I know, professional masseuses, adult, I cannot testify to anything else."
Maxwell asked key question 28 times
At page 168, lawyer Ms McCawley asks Ms Maxwell to look at the evidence, including a police report that is in front of her, and says: "do you believe that Jeffrey Epstein abused any minor children?"
Ms Maxwell refers to the police report and says: "You gave it to me, I did not look at it."
Ms McCawley persists and asks Ms Maxwell, in different forms, a further 27 times if she believed Epstein sexually abused minors.
Among Ms Maxwell's responses were lines about how she believed Ms Giuffre was a liar and that she was not aware why Epstein had gone to jail in 2008.
Epstein was originally convicted of securing and procuring an underage girl for prostitution in a plea deal that has been widely criticised.
Ms McCawley asked: "Do you know that he spent time in jail related to an issue with a minor child?"
"I did not know that," Ms Maxwell said.
Among Ms Maxwell's alleged crimes is perjury. Prosecutors will argue she lied when she gave the deposition released today when she denied knowing of Epstein's alleged crimes.
That defamation lawsuit was brought by Ms Giuffre who said Ms Maxwell defamed her when she publicly called her a liar for making allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking.
Ms Maxwell has long fought to have that evidence suppressed, arguing she would not get a fair trial if details were made public. But this week the second US court of appeals in Manhattan upheld an earlier judgement ordering the deposition be released.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-23/ghislaine-maxwells-secret-jeffrey-epstein-documents-unsealed/12806036
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/1137/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=1137&entry_lte=1137&order_by=asc
Ghislaine Maxwell deposition: Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts Giuffre bathtub sex claim ‘not possible’
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Ghislaine Maxwell admitted under oath that the photograph of Australian woman Virginia Roberts Giuffre with Prince Andrew’s arm around her waist includes details from a room inside of her London mews home.
But Ms Maxwell says the claims Ms Giuffre had sex with her friend Andrew in the bathtub in her mews house was “just not possible” because “the tub is too small for any type of activity whatsoever”.
Ms Maxwell’s 418-page deposition, which she had provided to a 2015 court case against Ms Giuffre, was released in the United States on Thursday with most names redacted.
Ms Maxwell is currently awaiting trial on charges that she acted as the “madam” and lured under age girls for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Ms Maxwell’s lawyers had desperately tried to keep the deposition sealed, but prosecutors wanted it to test if Ms Maxwell had perjured herself.
Ms Maxwell’s attorney Adam Mueller unsuccessfully argued that the release of the deposition could prejudice a jury in her current trial.
The deposition was made during a defamation court case brought about by Ms Giuffre five years ago.
In it, Ms Maxwell reveals she had an intimate relationship with Epstein and she worked with him through the 1990s until around 2009, after which she continued to receive money and loans from him and at least one car.
Ms Giuffre claimed she was trafficked by Epstein to his associates, including having sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions, once when she was aged 17.
A critical passage in the deposition refers to the claims made by Ms Giuffre that she and Andrew had sex in the bathtub of Ms Maxwell’s London mews house.
While Andrew’s name was redacted, the questions referred to Ms Giuffre’s claim about that night, including attending a nightclub, being provided with clothes and a designer handbag and sex in the bath tub.
Ms Maxwell provided information to the court that was similar to Andrew’s statements in the disastrous BBC interview in November 2019 about the now-famous photograph where he said: “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken”.
Ms Maxwell said in the deposition: “We can’t really establish the photograph and all that. I don’t know if that’s true, if that’s a real picture or not … I don’t recognise that picture. I’m not sure if that’s a real picture or not.”
However she admitted that in her London home she had a picture on the wall in the position shown in the photograph and also had a railing with a bubble wood top, again depicted in the photograph.
(continued)
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In the deposition, Ms Maxwell said she spoke to a person, believed to be Andrew, about Ms Giuffre in January 2015.
She said the two spoke about Ms Giuffre being a liar.
“I don’t think he told me why she was a liar. The substance of everything that she said was a lie with regard to him …. and he asked me if he even knew her. We discussed Virginia’s entire tale,” she testified.
The legal counsel exchange with Ms Maxwell was then as follows:
Q: So did tell you that he did not have sex with Virginia Roberts?
A: He doesn’t even know who Virginia Roberts is.
Q: Did he tell you that he didn’t have sex with her?
A: It would be difficult to have sex someone you don’t know.
Q: He may not remember her?
A: I think the inference is he didn’t know who she was, he didn’t have any recollection of her whatsoever.
Q: Has (redacted name) ever come to your London town home?
A: Yes. Ever being the entire time I owned my house, yes.
She then added Ms Giuffre was lying because her characterisation of what took place in her bathroom was just not possible.
“She then characterised things took place in my bathroom in the bathtub itself. The tub is too small for any type of activity whatsoever,” Ms Maxwell said.
Throughout the deposition Ms Maxwell was evasive and refused to answer many questions about Epstein’s activities.
She admitted to knowing about a puppet, but couldn’t recall who was with the puppet. Ms Giuffre has claimed Andrew groped herself and another woman with the Spitting Image puppet when they were together in New York.
Ms Maxwell also testified that former US president Bill Clinton had never been to Epstein’s US Virgin Island hideout.
She repeatedly refused to answer nearly a dozen questions about whether Epstein abused minors.
She admitted keeping in touch with Epstein following his 2008 conviction — which was about soliciting an under age prostitute — because “I’m a very loyal person and Jeffrey was very good to me when my father passed away and I believe that you need to be a good friend in people’s hour of need”.
She said it was a “nice thing for me to do” and she felt “I was being thoughtful in somebody’s hour of need”.
In the BBC interview, Andrew said he kept in touch with Epstein because “I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do”.
Ms Maxwell testified that Ms Giuffre was “a liar, an exaggerator, a fantasist and absolutely true terrible person”.
From the deposition it showed the court had email evidence that Epstein was offering money to Giuffre’s friends and associates to testify against her.
Epstein committed suicide in August, 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/ghislaine-maxwell-deposition-prince-andrew-virginia-roberts-giuffre-bathtub-sex-claim-not-possible/news-story/02f957dc4e4be1dffe30a2711e167336
'Everything Virginia Roberts says is a lie': Prince Andrew repeatedly told Ghislaine Maxwell his sex accuser was untruthful, court documents reveal
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Prince Andrew repeatedly labelled his sex accuser Virginia Roberts 'a liar', claiming 'everything she said is a lie', new court documents revealed last night.
The claim was made by Ghislaine Maxwell, the Duke's longtime friend – now accused of being a madam for billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The exchange was in a previously unknown phone call between the two as scandal swirled around them when Miss Roberts, Epstein's former 'sex slave', made bombshell claims she was forced to sleep with the prince.
It came out in a 465-page deposition that Maxwell, 58, had fought tooth and nail to keep under wraps before a court ordered it be released.
The names of all of those in Epstein's circle, including Prince Andrew, were redacted but previous accounts given by Epstein victims, plus an index at the back of the papers, allow them to be identified.
Maxwell was questioned in 2016 as she defended herself in a defamation claim, having called Miss Roberts a liar. The case was later settled out of court.
Over seven hours, the British socialite was quizzed extensively about her relationship with Epstein, her knowledge of 'sexual trafficking', sex with minors, non-consensual sex and sex involving Miss Roberts.
She was also asked questions about whether she recruited girls for Epstein to have sex with, 'sex toys' and dressing up, explicit images, 'orgies' and nudity at Epstein's homes.
Her lawyer Jeffrey Pagliuca jumped in to object to the questions 435 times, but Maxwell, daughter of disgraced media tycoon Robert, never once asserted her right not to self-incriminate.
Maxwell's most personal account to date is one she hoped would never see the light of day as she sits in prison awaiting trial on child sex trafficking and perjury charges.
Her lawyers argued releasing it now would condemn her before she goes before a jury next year.
Maxwell insisted she and her friends were innocent of the accusations against them – even as she did her utmost to avoid actually answering the questions of lawyers.
She spent the interview, a sworn testimony, obfuscating, evading and positing outraged denials. As she seeks to defend herself from charges that she was heavily involved in the abuse, the new revelations of her determination to protect Epstein and destroy his main accuser could have a crucial bearing on her forthcoming trial.
THE PHONE CALL
A phone call between the prince and Maxwell saw them both blast Miss Roberts as a liar, the court papers say.
It was made after Miss Roberts released a bombshell deposition in 2015 claiming she was forced, as Epstein's 17-year-old 'sex slave', to sleep with Andrew, claims he emphatically denies.
An email chain, uncovered last year, showed the Duke ask Maxwell: 'Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts,' to which he got a reply saying: 'Have some info. Call me when you have a moment.'
Sigrid McCawley, for Miss Roberts, asked Maxwell: 'What did you talk about?' and was told 'Just what a liar she is.'
'What did he [the Duke] say to you?' Maxwell was asked, replying: 'What a liar she is… I don't think he told me why she was a liar. The substance of everything that she said was a lie with regard to him.'
Mrs McCawley pressed: 'What did you say to him?' to which Maxwell said: 'She is a liar.'
Maxwell branded Miss Roberts a liar 28 times in the interview, also dismissing the now mother-of-three as an 'awful fantasist'.
THAT LONDON PHOTO
Miss Roberts claims that one of the occasions she was forced to sleep with the Duke was at Maxwell's London townhouse, where a photograph of the beaming prince with his arm around the teenager was taken.
But Maxwell's memory during the deposition often deserted her, to the point she was unable to con-firm that the now infamous picture was taken at her own house.
The setting looked 'familiar', she said, but she did not know who took the picture nor could be sure where.
She denied the claims that she, Andrew, Epstein and Roberts had spent the night out in London, having dinner before going to a club, saying she 'did not recall' before doubting that 'it actually happened'.
Maxwell insisted in the deposition that Miss Roberts was even lying in recalling how she and the prince had sex in the bath of Maxwell's home. 'The tub is too small for any type of activity whatsoever,' Maxwell said.
(continued)
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THE PUPPET
Maxwell rejected claims she took part in orgies and – despite claiming to have run Epstein's household – expressed ignorance and disbelief of claims that girls as young as 13 came to his home in Palm Beach, Florida, to give him sexual massages.
Maxwell insisted she had never seen the financier having sex with anyone and refused to be drawn on his sexual proclivities.
Maxwell was also asked did [Andrew] 'ever tell you that he had sex with Virginia Roberts?' She replied: 'He did not.'
Insisting that he didn't even know who Miss Roberts was, she added: 'It would be difficult to have sex with someone you don't know.'
Maxwell was also asked about claims Epstein kept a Spitting Image puppet of the Duke at his New York home and Andrew used it to grope a young woman.
She was asked if she put the puppet's hand on the woman's breast while – as the latter alleges – she was sitting on the prince's knee.
'I don't recollect,' Maxwell replied, after arguing over the definition of a puppet. 'I recollect the puppet but I don't recollect anything around the puppet.'
EPSTEIN'S SOUVENIRS
Although Maxwell insisted that Miss Roberts' testimony was a 'tissue of lies' – challenging the lawyers at one point: 'Are we tallying all the lies?' – her memory often failed her on the actual truth of her claims.
Some of Epstein's accusers have said that Maxwell would take photos of them naked or even having sex with the financier, so he could keep them as souvenirs. Maxwell claimed, however, any pictures she took were never 'remotely inappropriate'.
She added: 'I took very few and they were always by request, this was a picture you could… gift to your parent or to your grandparents to put on their mantelpiece.'
Pressed to name just one person she had photographed in either a naked or semi-naked state, she replied: 'I seriously cannot recall.'
LOYAL FRIEND
Epstein served a brief prison sentence in Florida in 2008 after pleading guilty to procuring an underage girl for prostitution as part of a controversial plea deal.
Maxwell admitted she continued to work for him after he came out of prison, earning less than $500,000 (£382,000) a year. 'There were six homes… I hired all sorts of people,' she said. 'A very small part of my job was from time to time to find adult professional massage therapists for Jeffrey.'
Asked why she stayed with him after he was convicted, she replied: 'I'm a very loyal person and Jeffrey was very good to me when my father passed away.'
Asked if she ever considered herself Epstein's girlfriend, she said: 'That's a tricky question. There were times when I would have liked to think of myself as his girlfriend.'
Maxwell refused to discuss their sex life, declining to comment on whether – as some accusers claim – he liked having his nipples pinched.
DODGING QUESTIONS
Maxwell, currently in jail in Brooklyn, now faces a far more serious legal challenge.
She has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sexual acts in the mid-1990s. She also faces two counts of perjury. Miss Roberts says Maxwell recruited her at age 17.
She says Epstein – who committed suicide in jail last year – forced her to have sex with numerous wealthy and influential men, including Prince Andrew.
The latter, whose name was redacted but who is clearly identifiable, and the other men have denied her allegations.
'I never saw any inappropriate underage activities with Jeffrey ever,' Maxwell said. The lawyers asked her 23 times whether she 'believed' Epstein sexually abused minors yet she refused to give a direct answer.
'JOURNEY TO JUSTICE'
Miss Roberts, from her home in Australia, said: 'I'm very grateful for the decision to unseal these depositions.
This journey to justice has taken decades for my fellow abuse survivors and me, including years in which our voices were ignored. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein did not act alone.
'With more transparency, I am hopeful that all who helped perpetrate these heinous crimes will be held accountable.'
There was no comment from Prince Andrew last night but Buckingham Palace previously said it is 'emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8869959/Prince-Andrew-repeatedly-told-Ghislaine-Maxwell-sex-accuser-untruthful.html
High Court confirms more former staff have raised sexual harassment complaints against former Justice Dyson Heydon
The High Court has confirmed three further allegations of sexual harassment have been raised against former justice Dyson Heydon.
An independent investigation commissioned by the High Court earlier this year found six former associates were sexually harassed by the former judge.
At the time, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel said the complaints of six women who had worked as judges associates had been "borne out", and she was ashamed such harassment had happened at the High Court.
The court has now confirmed that in the wake of that investigation, by Vivienne Thom, the former inspector-general of intelligence and security, more complainants have come forward.
"The allegations were of sexual harassment or possible bullying," a court spokesman said today.
Three of the complaints related to sexual harassment allegations. The spokesman said no further action was recommended by Dr Thom.
Mr Heydon's lawyers have responded to previous allegations by emphatically and categorically denied allegations of predatory behaviour, saying any offence caused by their client's conduct was "inadvertent and unintended". The ABC has contacted them for comment about the new claims.
When the initial complaints were first raised in June, the court wrote to more than 100 former associates offering them the chance to speak up about conduct at the court when Mr Heydon was on the bench between 2003 and 2013.
"The four individuals who made allegations to Dr Thom were very clear that, although they wanted this information to be provided to the Court, they were not making formal complaints and did not expect, or want, these matters to be investigated," the court spokesman said.
No complaints lodged with police
ACT Policing said any report of unlawful behaviour would be investigated but it "has not received a complaint or allegation from any victim in this matter".
The ACT branch of the AFP said it received a request from the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions in June to investigate allegations against Mr Heydon.
The matter was raised at a Senate Estimates hearing this week, where the High Court's principal registrar Phillippa Lynch said it had since developed a new human resources policy for chambers staff in the wake of Dr Thom's report.
"Associates can speak at any time to a particular senior registrar or myself about any issues, and they have the opportunity to speak privately and informally," she said.
Ms Lynch also confirmed in the Estimates hearing that police had requested a copy of Dr Thom's report.
"I've indicated to the AFP that the court would have no difficulty if any of the complainants provide their part of the report to the AFP, but if the AFP wanted to press the matter, I would need to seek agreement from the associates involved," she said.
"The report contains very sensitive personal information."
ACT Policing has confirmed it doesn't "require" the document at this point.
"ACT Policing has liaised with the Principal Registrar of the High Court to seek a copy of an internal report in preparation for any formal complaint or allegation," a police statement said.
"As no complaint has been received, the report is not required at this time.
"The High Court has advised ACT Policing that individuals can provide a copy of their report directly to ACT Policing should they wish to do so."
Separate investigation underway
Another investigation into Mr Heydon's alleged behaviour is being managed by the Federal Attorney-General's Department and is close to being completed.
It was launched after Attorney-General Christian Porter asked his department to look into a Sydney Morning Herald report, that claimed Mr Heydon inappropriately touched a colleague when he was the royal commissioner investigating trade unions.
Mr Heydon has denied the allegations.
During Estimates, the Department Secretary Chris Moraitis said the investigation had taken months to complete because they had to track down everyone who worked at the commission.
"[We have had to] reach out to all the people who were engaged either as contractors, employees, public servants or in other capacities that were working," Mr Moraitis said.
"So that's taken us quite a few months [and] my chief operating officer has been conducting that and we have written or been in contact with nearly everyone."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-23/more-sexual-harassment-allegations-dyson-heydon-high-court/12806288
Nationwide Operation Molto removes 16 children from harm
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Forty-four Australian men are facing 350 charges of possessing child exploitation material after a law enforcement referral sparked a large, nationwide criminal investigation.
Operation Molto, coordinated by the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), has removed 16 children from harm after identifying alleged offenders in every Australian state, plus the ACT.
The year-long operation started when the ACCCE was referred a law enforcement report showing thousands of offenders were using a cloud storage platform to share abhorrent child material abuse online.
Some of the alleged offenders, who are also accused of producing their own child abuse material online, were allegedly in possession of material that was produced by a man arrested by the AFP in 2015 under Operation Niro, which resulted in the dismantling of an international organised paedophile syndicate. The material was classified as the most abhorrent produced.
The alleged offenders are aged between 19 and 57 years old. 11 alleged offenders in Victoria are facing 105 charges. Six children have been removed from harm in that state. Eight alleged offenders in NSW are facing 49 charges. One child has been removed from harm in that state. 11 alleged offenders in Queensland are facing 114 charges. Two children have been removed from harm in that state. Nine alleged offenders in South Australia are facing 67 charges. Six children have been removed from harm in that state. Two alleged offenders in Western Australia are facing seven charges with no children having to be removed from harm in that state.
The alleged offenders were also employed in range of occupations, including construction, transport, law enforcement and hospitality.
Molto, an ongoing investigation, has been supported by hundreds of police and specialists across Australia. It has also received assistance from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and AUSTRAC.
(continued)
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AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said while the hard-work, diligence and co-operation of police should be recognised, victims remained front of mind for law enforcement agencies.
“Arresting offenders and putting them before the court is only half the battle,’’ Commissioner Kershaw said.
“Identifying victims is a race against time and the ACCCE’s victim identification team is relentless in rescuing children from sexual abuse.
“Pixel by pixel, our investigators painstakingly look for clues and never give up and the tools they use give Australian police access to world leading expertise.
“Viewing, distributing or producing child exploitation material is a crime. Children are not commodities and the AFP and its partner agencies work around-the-clock to identify and prosecute offenders.”
As a result of AFP investigations there were 134 children who were removed from harm, 67 domestically and 67 internationally, from July 2019 to June 2020.
In the past 12 months alone, the ACCCE has intercepted and examined more than 250,000 child abuse material files. Of these, 44 referrals were made to ACCCE’s victim identification team, making up more than 4000 images and 2200 videos.
The ACCCE’s victim identification team has also sent 49 referrals relating to victims of child abuse to 20 countries in the past 12 months.
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: vision is available to download here via hightail - https://spaces.hightail.com/space/7dKVZclCO0
https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/nationwide-operation-molto-removes-16-children-harm
WA man, 25, accused of international ‘sextortion’ of 112 girls
A 25-year-old man has been charged over the alleged online ‘sextortion’ of 112 girls in various countries after an investigation by the Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET).
The man is expected to face Perth Magistrates Court today (23 October 2020) on 113 offences relating to 112 victims, after he allegedly pretended to be a teenage social media celebrity to befriend girls before blackmailing them into performing sexual acts on camera.
The WA JACET launched an investigation after reports from the United States’ Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Interpol about a person suspected to be in Australia who was targeting girls through social media.
One 13-year-old in the United States told police that a person she had met online and thought was a 15-year-old boy, had started asking her sexually explicit questions.
She claimed he sent her screen shots of the chat that were edited to make it appear she had liked his sexual fantasies and threatened to send those screen shots to her family and friends if she did not comply with his demands.
He allegedly forced her to take off her clothes and engage in sexual acts, while he and others watched her online.
Police will allege the same person used similar deceit to blackmail other girls in various countries into providing him with sexually explicit images or videos.
Investigations by WA JACET, which comprises Australian Federal Police and WA Police Force officers, identified a man from the Perth suburb of Parkwood as the person allegedly operating the social media accounts.
A search warrant was executed at the then 24-year-old’s home where investigators seized several electronic devices including a mobile phone, computer hard drives and USBs.
Police allege an initial review of the devices found more than 2000 images, most sexually explicit, of girls.
A detailed review of hundreds of social media chats stored on the man’s devices and others provided by Homeland Security Investigations is ongoing. Further charges may be laid.
The man is on court-ordered bail conditions which include that he is not to access the internet or any online service except for banking, employment or seeking legal advice; not to have unsupervised access to any children under 16 and to surrender his passport.
AFP Detective Senior Constable Barry Duman, from WA JACET, said police are working with international law enforcement partners and the social media companies to try to identify all the girls targeted, to check on their welfare and provide them support.
He said police will allege some of the evidence seized included text conversations and videos of the girls pleading for the man to leave them alone, detailing their distress, fear and humiliation.
“This type of online exploitation and abuse is devastating and can cause life-long trauma,” Detective Senior Constable Duman said.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure children are protected from predatory offending against their innocence.”
Detective Senior Constable Duman said the 13-year-old girl in the United States had been very brave to tell her mother and seek help because fear, coercion, and manipulation can keep these crimes going.
“We encourage parents and carers to speak to their children regularly about their online activities so they feel comfortable about asking for help if needed.
"Make no mistake, this despicable behaviour is a crime, help is available and police will investigate any complaints about this type of online conduct.”
HSI Attache to Australia, Adam Parks, said this result underscores the notion that these types of offences do real harm to real children around the world.
“Online child exploitation is a borderless crime that requires a borderless response,” he said.
“As such, HSI is grateful for the exceptional work of the AFP and WAPF for identifying the alleged offender, which may enable the start of the healing process for the victims.”
(continued)
https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/wa-man-25-accused-international-%E2%80%98sextortion%E2%80%99-112-girls
Repost from Q Research General #14335
>>11221467 (pb)
Stepdad repeatedly raped young girl before she choked newborn baby to death
A man who had a sexual relationship with his stepdaughter, resulting in a baby whom she killed, has been sentenced.
A stepfather whose child abuse victim killed their newborn baby in a caravan park toilet more than two decades ago treated her like his “sexual partner” and she remains traumatised, a Perth court has heard.
The man, who is now aged 56 and cannot be named, pleaded guilty in the WA District Court to having a sexual relationship with the girl when she was aged between 11 and 16 in the 1990s.
Nobody knew about the pregnancy and after the boy was born at the Kambalda caravan park, she stuffed toilet paper in his mouth to keep him quiet then he suffocated.
She left him in the toilet bowl and his body was discovered the next day.
The baby did not have a name, but others have referred to him as Rijul, meaning “innocent” in Hindi.
The mystery was finally solved last year, with the woman pleading guilty to infanticide, and she was handed a suspended jail term.
District Court Judge David MacLean said the abuse tragically became a “routine event” for the girl.
“It appears that you treated the victim as being your sexual partner,” he said on Thursday.
“Through your conduct, you took away the right that this victim had … to have a happy and safe childhood.
“The conduct was aggravated by the fact that it was your duty to protect this child and instead you relentlessly used her for your sexual gratification.”
Judge MacLean said the abuse had a “significant traumatic impact on her life” as a teenager and as an adult.
“Not only did it devastate and destroy this child’s childhood, but she’s carried it with her,” he said.
“It’s sadly, as is often experienced in these courts, echoed and rippled into the lives of those who are close to her.”
Judge MacLean noted the stepfather had since led a lawful life, and he accepted the man was at low risk of reoffending.
The offender was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison and must serve at least six-and-a-half years before he can be eligible for parole.
https://www.news.com.au/national/western-australia/stepdad-jailed-over-sexual-relationship-with-girl-that-resulted-in-baby-found-dead-in-toilet/news-story/4f2104a91b12856d95f494cb25129742