U.S. judge orders Iran to pay $1.4B over missing former FBI agent

Seriously?…Good luck with that…

Oct. 6 (UPI) – A federal judge has ordered Iran to pay the family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson $1.4 billion in connection with his disappearance more than a decade ago.

In his opinion, Washington, D.C., District Court Judge Timothy Kelly said the damages are based on the nature and extent of the harm and the need for deterrence.

"Iran's kidnapping, torture and detention of Levinson since 2007 is barbaric conduct that has caused him and his family immeasurable suffering," Kelly wrote.

"Moreover, Iran's kidnapping and torture of and attacks on U.S. citizens, either directly through Iranian state institutions or by the provision of material support to militant groups, is 'part of a longstanding pattern and policy, making the need for deterrence clear.'"

Levinson, a part-time CIA consultant after retirement, was working as a private investigator when he disappeared on Iran's Kish Island in 2007. He'd been investigating a cigarette smuggling case and was set to meet U.S. fugitive Dawud Salahuddin when Iranian security officials detained them both.

Levinson's family said in March they were informed by U.S. officials that he died in Iran.

"How those responsible in Iran could do this to a human being, while repeatedly lying to the world all this time, is incomprehensible to us," the family said.

Levinson's relatives sued Iran for the imprisonment and cover-up.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/10/06/US-judge-orders-Iran-to-pay-14B-over-missing-former-FBI-agent/1921601987065/

Western companies pouring big money into China

Slideshow

World-famous firms investing big in the People's Republic

With everything from the US trade war to COVID-19 supply chain disruption and surging production costs prompting an exodus of foreign firms from China, you'd be forgiven for thinking every single Western company is pulling out of the Asian nation. But you'd be very wrong indeed. Eager to tap into the world's biggest domestic market, a slew of familiar names are bucking the trend by doubling down on their investments in the country. Click or scroll through to see the big Western businesses buying into China right now. All dollar values in US dollars.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/western-companies-pouring-big-money-into-china/ss-BB19KHbr

Report Reveals Nearly 400 Church of England Figures Have Been Convicted of Child Sex Abuse

LONDON—Alleged child predators in the Church of England were given more support than their victims, according to a report released Tuesday which has laid bare a toxic culture of allowing abusers to hide in plain sight for decades under the pretense of providing care and love.

The report, written following an independent inquiry into child sex abuse, reveals that 390 church leaders were convicted of child sex abuse between the 1940s and 2018. In 2018 alone, 2,504 safeguarding concerns were raised about children or vulnerable adults, and there were 449 allegations of recent child sex abuse. Less than half of those allegations were reported to outside authorities.

The report comes from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales, which was set up in 2014 after hundreds of people accused former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile of child sex abuse following his death in 2011. Over the past six years, it has been systematically investigating claims against public and private institutions in England and Wales, as well as against powerful public figures like Savile, a television presenter and radio DJ.

The damning report said that, just like in Savile’s case, alleged abuses were able to happen because of a culture of deference to power, which made the church a place where alleged predators “could hide” without consequences. The inquiry said its evidence showed that, for decades, the church has been undermining “its own underlying moral purpose to provide care and love for the innocent and the vulnerable.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hundreds-of-church-of-england-figures-have-been-convicted-of-child-sex-abuse

MARINES BECOME MOBILE, MORE LETHAL WITH CYBER EW TRAINING

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. –

Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group and 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, 1st Marine Division, received two weeks of training in tactical Cyber Electronic Warfare reconnaissance and survey capabilities from September 7 to 18, 2020, on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. This training introduced I MEF Marines to newly developed capabilities generated from U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace.

This training further developed Marines’ ability to map out the digital terrain, making them a critical asset for not only a geographic combatant commander, but also the national cyber enterprise within the Department of Defense. USCYBERCOM and MarkPoint Technologies will provide this training for two years under a direct award called Rapidly Deployable Access Capabilities. One of MARFORCYBER’s missions is bringing newly developed capabilities that can enable future cyber operations to the tactical warfighter.

Markpoint Technologies focuses on providing wireless, cyber-software products and services to support Department of Defense missions.

The course, which was a two-week program, provided innovative training for Marines working with information related capabilities. The course included Cyber EW reconnaissance and survey capabilities, training and analysis, and supported the development and delivery of future capabilities that address the constantly changing battlefield with the Internet of Things.

“Getting to work with Marines from other aspects of the Marine Corps is a great opportunity, especially for a junior Marine, like myself,” said Lance Cpl. Christopher Brown, a student in the course, and a cryptologic digital network operator from 1st Radio Battalion, I MIG. “This training gives Marines from all job fields the opportunity to come together and learn a new skill set.”

https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2372836/marines-become-mobile-more-lethal-with-cyber-ew-training/